obserVThe Magazine of The UniversiTy of harTford erwinTer 2012 The Hotel Casablanca New england premiere of Pasatieri opera c1-c4obsv_Wtr12.indd 2 3/5/12 2:15 AM Walter Harrison, President Walt’s observations In the fall of 1997 two prospective white build our percentage of students of color. students, Jennifer Gratz and Barbara They were thinking not only about making Grutter, challenged the use of affirmative the University a more lively educational action in the admission decisions of the institution but also about opening up potential University of Michigan Law School. At markets in the fastest-growing segments of the time, I was vice president of university the college-age population. relations there, which plunged me into Today, I am especially proud of what the most hectic eight months of my life, our team has accomplished without using i am especially proud working as part of the leadership team that any affirmative action: 25 percent of our was defending the university. student body are now American students of what our team The case meant a lot to me. Almost of color. If you add to that the 4 percent has accomplished a decade before, I had written parts of the of our students who are international, you Michigan Mandate, the plan that had suc- see even more vividly what a diverse and without using any cessfully helped provide access to thousands interesting group of young people we have affirmative action: of students of color. I also had spent much here. I don’t think it is an exaggeration to of my life working for opportunities for say that we are a model for how to become 25 percent of all students, regardless of race or economic a diverse university. our student body are background, to attend and thrive at colleges In my view, this has been part of our and universities around the country. mission since the University’s founding in now american These two cases ended up in the U.S. 1957—providing access for students from students of color. Supreme Court, where Justice Sandra Day all races and ethnic or religious groups, and O’Connor wrote a majority opinion that providing an opportunity for a quality educa- upheld the university’s admissions policy. tion regardless of students’ socioeconomic It remains the law of the land, although status. Dorothy Schiro, one of our founders, the Supreme Court recently agreed to called the University of Hartford a “university hear a major case involving race-conscious of the people, by the people.” admissions at the University of Texas. Today, we face new challenges in When I arrived at the University of improving our percentage of faculty of color. Hartford in June 1998, I was pleasantly Only about 12 percent of our faculty are surprised to find that students of color made nonwhite, and many of those are internationally up 13 percent of the student body (almost born. U.S.-born faculty of color are only twice the percentage of Michigan’s). I was about 5 percent of the total. We face significant happier still when Chuck Colarulli, associate hurdles in overcoming this obstacle: the provost and dean of undergraduate studies, numbers of students of color earning PhDs and Rick Zeiser, dean of admission, told me nationally are not keeping up with the that fall that they were working on plans to demand, which means we encounter great c1-c4obsv_Wtr12.indd 3 3/5/12 2:16 AM competition for newly minted PhDs. We are trying new methods to attack this problem, and I believe we are on the right track. When I first arrived at the University, I spent many hours listening to the late Jackie McLean and his wife, Dollie, describe what life was like for them when Jackie was the only full-time black faculty member at the University in the early 1970s. We have come a long way since then, but we still have some way to go. Our aspiration is to have our faculty numbers more closely match our student numbers in the years to come. And although we have a fairly good efforts—and all of our hopes—to make this percentage of staff of color, we must work a model university and, thereby, to fulfill our hard to increase the number in our senior founders’ dreams. ranks. In the last few years we have made I keep a picture of the University’s first significant progress in this area with new board of regents in a frame across from my hires. Now, we are working hard to provide desk. I look at that picture every day, hoping professional-development opportunities that those people who led the University at its will enable our staff of color—and all of founding would be proud of what we have our staff—to advance in their careers and accomplished and supportive of the roads we further enrich the University of Hartford. have yet to travel. My fervent hope is that 20 years from Looking back is the best preparation for now, none of this will matter—that we will moving forward. Enjoy this issue. have achieved our goals and that, furthermore, differences based on race will no longer exist. But I am enough of a student of American history to know that racism is, alas, as American as apple pie, and we have much bigotry and intolerance to overcome. Walter Harrison Our nation and this university have President made progress, not without struggle, of course. But stories of that struggle, some of them described elsewhere in this issue of the Observer, inspire me to redouble my 01-32obsv_Wtr12.indd 1 3/5/12 4:04 AM Dear Readers, On February 21, 2012, the University celebrated the 55th anniversary of its Contents founding with Mardi Gras-themed events, including a New Orleans–style menu in the cafeterias, a first-ever student float contest, and beads and T-shirt handouts. That night, at halftime of the men’s basketball game, 8 Founders Day audience members threw paper airplanes at a mid-court target. Grand Prize winner was Kevin O’Shea ’15, a member of the University’s lacrosse team. A student float contest, New Orleans-style food, The special section in this issue features faculty essays and articles beads, and music all added to the Mardi Gras related to black history, both on campus and in the nation. Professor birthday party for the University. Warren Goldstein writes about Martin Luther King Jr. in Birmingham, Ala., and Associate Professor Robert Churchill talks about the Under- 10 Special Section: Black History ground Railroad. We also dove into the University Archives to do some research on campus unrest during the late 1960s and early 1970s. If you University faculty members Warren Goldstein and were a student here then, you may recognize some of the names we found. Robert Churchill write about Martin Luther King Jr. and We have two alumni profiles this time. Christine Kornacki ’07 is the the Underground Railroad, respectively. The Observer illustrator of six new books in the American Girl doll line. Her subjects, digs through the University Archives to find out about Cécile Rey and Marie-Grace Gardner, lived in New Orleans in 1853. campus unrest in the 1960s and 1970s, and more. Rocio “Roxy” Castro ’02 currently works in licensing at Cole Haan in New York City. Her first job after graduation was at Sean John Clothing, Inc. 18–19 Students Find out how both women got the jobs they dreamed of. The University will break with tradition at our 55th spring Com- First-year students shared life experiences with mencement. For the first time in our history, Commencement will become residents in a senior living facility; a Hillyer honors a two-day event. Graduate degrees will be awarded on Sat., May 19, 2012, class led one student to investigate a tragedy. and undergraduates will receive their degrees on Sun., May 20, 2012. The decision to go to a two-day event was driven by the desire to make the Meet Christine Kornacki ’07 event more enjoyable for our graduates and their guests. Parking conges- 22 tion should be greatly alleviated, and a large tent will keep everyone dry if HAS alumna lands a dream assignment as the weather is an issue. illustrator for new American Girl dolls Cécile and Marie-Grace. Go, Hawks! Trish Charles 32 A Hawk’s Tale Editor-in-Chief [email protected] Rocio “Roxy” Castro ’02 began her career in the fashion industry working for Sean “P. Diddy” Combs Read the Observer online at www.hartford.edu/observer. on his clothing line. facebook.com/UniversityofHartfordNews On our cover: Vocal majors Sydney Anderson ’12, left, and Sara Lobdell ’12, right, in a scene from Hartt’s premiere of The Hotel Casablanca. See story, p. 6. twitter.com/UHartfordNews 10 18–19 32 Observer Staff © 2012 University of Hartford. The Observer is published three times a year for alumni, Editor-in-Chief Trish Charles parents, faculty, staff, students, and friends of the University of Hartford. All rights reserved. Class Notes Editor Beverly Kennedy Produced by the Office of Communication, University of Hartford, 200 Bloomfield Avenue, Design WondriskaRusso West Hartford, CT 06117. Circulation Manager Sharon Scorso The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect official University of Hartford policy. 2 OBSERVER 01-32obsv_Wtr12.indd 2 3/5/12 4:04 AM University news Brisson Lisa Photo: WELFund. of director Barzach, Jaffe Amy new weLFund Director sees University expands Graduate Degree Offerings Boundless Opportunities Ahead Amy Jaffe Barzach has been named director of the Women’s Education and Leadership the University of Hartford has nearly 1,700 students enrolled in post– Fund (WELFund) at the University of Hartford.