[from left] Dr. David G. Carter, Sr., chancellor of the COnnecticut State University System (CSUS); Lawrence D. McHugh, '62, chairman of the CSUS Board of Trustees; and Gov. M. Jodi Rell.

The state Bond Commission, with the support of Governor M. Jodi Rell, has approved $95 million in funding to support the first phase of the 10-year, $950 million CSUS 2020 capital improvement program. CSUS 2020 will benefit the Connecticut State University System (CSUS), which in addition to Southern Connecticut State University, includes Central, Eastern, and Western Connecticut state universities.

Southern’s share of funding for the first, three-year phase is approximately $42 million, which will forward a number of critically needed construction projects. Twenty million dollars will finance the design of a new, state-of-the-art academic/science building, which will be located on Fitch Street, and the design and construction of a new 450-space parking garage. The initial phase will also include supplemental funding for renovations to the old student center to create a new home for the School of Business.

Other improvements that are part of CSUS 2020’s initial phase include the renovation of the data center in Jennings Hall and upgrades to the mechanical and electrical systems in John Lyman Center for the Performing Arts and several academic buildings.

The new CSUS 2020 projects address key areas of current and future academic growth, as well as statewide and national employment needs. For example, recent enrollment reports at Southern show the number of freshman and transfer student applications are among the highest in business administration and the sciences and health fields. Southern’s new academic science building will provide state-of-the-art laboratory space for biology, chemistry, physics, and computer science, helping to meet Connecticut’s initiative for STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) professionals.

CSUS 2020 will continue the progress made through the previous $260 million campus construction program, which funded the new Michael J. Adanti Student Center and the expansion and renovation of Engleman Hall and Buley Library.

Scot Phelps

Emergency Management Program Launched

Southern initiated a 12-credit, graduate-level certificate program in emergency and disaster management this fall, the first program of its kind in Connecticut. The certificate program, which can be completed in two to four semesters, is designed for those who already serve in an emergency management role — as a professional or as a volunteer — as well as for those who are interested in entering the field.

The program was developed by Scot Phelps, a certified emergency manager and a former assistant commissioner for emergency management at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Phelps has more than two decades of emergency response experience, including serving as a paramedic and paramedic instructor. Most recently, he developed and led the master of public administration program in emergency and disaster management at Metropolitan College in New York City. For more information about the program, visit www.SouthernCT.edu/emergencymanagement/ .

Walter J. Stutzman

The Stutzman Family Foundation, represented by Walter J. Stutzman, has made a gift to establish and support the Southern Applied Music Program. The gift, which was given in memory of Mr. Stutzman’s parents, Geraldine and Jacob Stutzman, will provide free lessons on a variety of musical instruments to all declared music majors who maintain a C- or better average in music courses. The foundation has agreed to fund the program with initial grants of $80,000 for the first four years and additional necessary funding in the years following.

The contribution was inspired, in part, by Walter Stutzman’s firsthand experience as a student at Southern. Following a successful career in information technology, he retired in July 2005 to pursue a second career as a music teacher. He currently is enrolled at Southern and plans to graduate with a degree in music in 2009.

Announcement of this leadership-level gift was made to the community as this issue was set to go to press. More information will follow in the next issue.

Kalu Ogbaa, who fought in the NIgerian Civil War, is the author of a new book on the conflict.

It has been 38 years since the end of the Nigerian Civil War. But for Kalu Ogbaa, professor of English, the memories of the bloody conflict remain as vivid as the battle scars on his hands.

At the age of 21, Ogbaa fought in the war on the side of the Republic of Biafra, a predominantly Christian sector of southeastern Nigeria that seceded in 1967. Nearly three years after its proclamation of independence, Biafra surrendered to the largely Muslim north, ending the armed struggle that resulted in an estimated 2 to 3 million deaths, primarily on the Biafran side.

He recently published a book, “General Ojukwu: The Legend of Biafra,” which provides a critical analysis of the war with a fresh perspective on the role of Gen. Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, who led the Biafran forces.

“People don’t understand the war,” says Ogbaa, who has written six other books. “It was a war of annihilation. Starvation was a legitimate weapon of war to the Nigerian military junta.”

Ogbaa calls Ojukwu, now 74, “the most celebrated Nigerian alive,” but acknowledges that some Nigerians, particularly the younger generation, blame him for the war.

Ogbaa came to the United States in 1977 to pursue his master’s degree and went on to earn a Ph.D. at the University of Texas at Austin. He returned to Nigeria to help start Imo State University, but came back to the United States about eight years later, citing the influence of the military regime and lack of academic freedom. He attempts to travel to Nigeria every year to visit and conduct research.

Cynthia Stretch

Troy Paddock, an associate professor of history at Southern, has received the CSUS Trustees Research Award, one of the most prestigious honors bestowed on faculty by the Connecticut State University System (CSUS). Each year, the recipient is selected from four university-level award winners from each of the four CSUS campuses, Southern, Central, Eastern, and Western.

Paddock has conducted research on how education, public discourse, and the development of a national identity in Germany between 1890 and 1914 combined to engender anti-Russian propaganda. His revised dissertation on the topic is currently under review at Camden House publishers. Paddock has taught at Southern since 1998.

Nicole Henderson, an associate professor of English, was honored as the recipient of Southern’s Teaching Award. Henderson serves as the university’s composition program coordinator and played a key role in the development and organization of Southern’s new First-Year Experience program, which she now directs. She joined Southern in 1999 as one of several writing specialists hired by the English Department to bolster the quality of student writing.

Patricia Panichas, '74, M.S. '78, 6th Yr. '85.

The J. Philip Smith Outstanding Teaching Award, among Southern’s most noteworthy honors for faculty, was presented to Cynthia Stretch, associate professor of English, and Lois Lake Church, adjunct instructor of English. The awards were made at Commencement exercises in May. Stretch, who has been a member of Southern’s English Department for 10 years, teaches first-year composition and general education literature, as well as 19th- and early 20th-century American literature. In fall 2005, Stretch was invited to be a Fulbright Senior Lecturer at the University of Barcelona in Spain. She also wrote a successful Fulbright proposal to bring a colleague from the University of Barcelona to Southern to teach literature and women’s studies. In addition, she was a leader in developing innovative course materials for Southern’s First-Year Experience program, which was launched in 2007-08.

Fellow award recipient, Lois Lake Church, M.S. ’08, teaches composition at the university. She also teaches English with the Connecticut College Access and Success (ConnCAS) program and tutors in the Campus Writing Center. An accomplished writer, Church won second place in the 2006 Southern Connecticut State University Short Fiction Contest and first place in the 2008 Connecticut State University System Essay Contest. She is the editor in chief of Noctua Review, the graduate magazine of literature and art at Southern, which published its inaugural issue in May. (See related story on the back cover of the magazine.)

Lois Lake Church, M.S. '08

Building on a distinguished career as a gymnastics competitor, coach, administrator, and judge, Patricia Panichas, ’74, M.S. ’78, 6th Yr. ’85, traveled to China in August to serve as a judge on the sport’s biggest stage, the Olympic Games. Panichas was the only U.S. judge selected to participate in the sport at the Beijing Games. In recognition of her achievements, Panichas was selected as a 2008 recipient of the National Association of Girls and Women in Sport Pathfinder Award for Connecticut.

A member of the exercise science faculty, Panichas spent 28 years as the head coach of the Southern women’s gymnastics program. During that time, she recorded nearly 250 victories and led the Owls to 10 Eastern College Athletic Conference Championships.

A professional baseball career is the next step for two former Owls, pitcher Jim Fuller, who signed a professional contract with the New York Mets, and shortstop Mike Diaz, who inked a deal with the Houston Astros.

As a Southern student, in 2008, Fuller led the nation in strikeouts (145), ranked second in strikeouts per nine innings (13:45), and was among the top 10 nationally in hits allowed per innings and earned-run average. An All American, Fuller was previously selected as both the ABCA/Rawlings Northeast Region and Northeast-10 Pitcher of the Year.

Diaz closed his Southern career with a .365 batting average. In the Owls all-time record book, he ranks first in triples (16), second in stolen bases (73), third in hits (221), and fifth in at-bats (606). His eight triples in 2008 were a single-season record for the program.

Diaz began his professional career with the Astros’ Class A New York-Penn League affiliate, the Tri-City Valley Cats. In his first professional start, the former Southern All-American made the game-winning home run, leading the Tri-City Valley Cats to a 7-6, 11-inning win over the Lowell Spinners.

The Southern baseball team finished the 2008 season with a 36-19 win-loss record and reached the NCAA Tournament for the third time in the past four years.