The U.S. Department of Education has awarded a $1.5 million grant to Southern’s Training All Teachers (TAT) program, which prepares educators to teach students who are not native English speakers. Last fall, a group of nine New Haven teachers began pursuing master’s degrees, tuition free, through the support of the grant. They are the first of some 300 Connecticut educators who will be trained in innovative, effective approaches to educating students whose native language is not English. The training will be offered in a variety of formats, including a master’s degree program, workshops, certification, and participation in a three-credit course. It will allow teachers to be trained with no tuition or fees assessed to them.

The grant, which will be awarded over a five-year period, will primarily benefit teachers in the New Haven School District, as well as those in the Windham, New London, and Norwich school districts. While these districts will receive priority, some components of the program will be open to teachers from other districts in Connecticut.

The grant proposal was written by Lorrie Verplaetse, professor of TESOL (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages) in the Foreign Language Department and TAT project director. It is the largest award that the TAT program has ever received.

As the statewide leader in producing highly qualified special education teachers, Southern has been tapped by the state to address the growing challenge of how to educate autistic children better. Gov. M. Jodi Rell signed a bill that took effect in July authorizing President Cheryl J. Norton and the university to take a lead role in developing recommendations for a comprehensive statewide plan to improve the teaching of children with autism and other developmental disabilities. Southern is working with several state agencies, including the Department of Development Services, the Department of Education, and the Depart-ment of Higher Education to craft such a plan.

James Granfield, interim dean of the School of Education, and Pamela Brucker, chairman of the special education and reading department

“It’s a huge project,” says James Granfield, interim dean of the university’s School of Education. “There is such a need for this, as people are desperate for information on how to serve these students.” Autism spectrum disorders are developmental disabilities that cause substantial impairments in social interaction and communication, as well as unusual behaviors and interests, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Many people with these disorders learn in unusual ways, the CDC states. Individuals with a form of autism vary in their learning abilities, from gifted to severely challenged.

An estimated three to six of every 1,000 children in the United States have the disorder, according to the Mayo Clinic. State and national statistics show a rise in children with autism during the last two decades. Faculty members at Southern have been hard at work gathering data to develop new teaching methods to improve teacher preparation. Data was collected from numerous sources, including public forums, online surveys regarding teacher education programs, and community colleges that train special education paraprofessionals. The compiled information was used to write a report for the General Assembly.

“There is a great need for teachers to have an understanding of this disability,” says Ruth Eren, associate professor of special education. She notes that parents of children diagnosed with autism are often at a loss about how to address their child’s medical, educational, and social needs. Early intervention is considered the key to helping these children.

Southern offers a master’s degree program in special education with a concentration in autism and other developmental disabilities.

In an ongoing effort to create a safe learning environment, Southern is installing a siren/public address system this spring. The equipment, which is being placed on five buildings — Granoff Hall, Engleman Hall, Pelz Gymnasium, Brownell Hall, and North Campus Residence Complex — allows the university to broadcast an audible tone, a live message, or a digital recorded message.

To further enhance campus security, Southern joined the other campuses of the Connecticut State University System to launch SCSUALERT, a new Emergency Notification System. Introduced last fall, SCSUALERT conveys important information to members of the campus community in the event of an emergency, weather-related closing or delay, or other potentially hazardous situation. The system delivers information via text messaging, voice mail, and/or e-mail.

“This system will complement the variety of communication tools already available,” says Southern Police Chief Joseph Dooley, who notes that Web announcements and the WeatherChek telephone line (392-SNOW) are among the systems also in use. For more information on SCSUALERT go to http://www.SouthernCT.edu/scsualert/ .

The Faculty Scholar Award, one of the university’s highest honors, was presented to English Professor Vivian Shipley and Geography Professor Leon Yacher. The award committee selected Shipley based on her book, “Gleanings: Old Poems, New Poems.” Yacher was honored for his book, “The Role of Geographer and Natural Scientist Henri Francois Pittier (1857-1950) in the Evolution of Geography as a Science in Costa Rica.” Shipley’s book celebrates aspects of rural life in her native Kentucky. It was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize, garnered the 2004 Paterson Award for Sustained Literary Achievement, and received enthusiastic reviews in more than 20 national literary journals.

Yacher’s book, which the award committee called a “meticulous biography,” has been lauded for its ground-breaking look at Swiss-born geographer and botanist Pittier. The committee praised Yacher for “single-mindedly conduct[ing] research in archives and libraries on three continents and in three languages to bring light to the career of Pittier…who is still relatively unknown in the English speaking world but seminal to the development of geography in Costa Rica.”

Representatives from various institutions around COnnecticut joined Southern for a meeting to discuss a $287,000 federal grant that will be used to research the environmental habitat of the Eastern oyster and COnnecticut's oyster industry. Vince Breslin [sitting far left], Jim Tait [sitting far right], and Dwight Smith [standing, third from left] serve as Southern's co-coordinators of the Center for Coastal and Marine Studies, the lead organization for the grant. Sean Grace [standing, far right], assistant professor of science education and environmental studies at Southern, also attended.

Southern’s Center for Coastal and Marine Studies will take the lead in a research project to bolster the economic viability of Connecticut’s oyster industry. The center received a $287,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that will help pay for the continuation and expansion of research focusing on the environmental habitat of the Eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) and the contamination levels of oyster tissues. The research is conducted primarily in Long Island Sound and some of the harbors and rivers connected to it.

The project is a joint effort of institutions across Connecticut, including Central Connecticut State University, Western Connecticut State University, Wesleyan University, The Sound School, and the Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk. Southern will coordinate the effort, with each organization contributing various resources including faculty, students, staff, equipment, and facilities.

Southern has been studying sediment contamination along the Connecticut shoreline for several years. The grant will fund the purchase of several pieces of scientific equipment to expand the research. In related news, a $40,000 gift from the Werth Family Foundation will fund the purchase of a mercury analyzer. This is in addition to a previous $170,00 grant from the foundation, most of which will be used to support student environmental research.

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Scientists will have a significantly clearer view of the skies thanks to a new device built by Elliott Horch, an assistant professor of physics. The instrument, called a differential speckle survey instrument (DSSI), is placed on telescopes to improve the crispness of images 20-fold. Horch received a $352,487 grant from the National Science Foundation to develop the instrument three years ago, prior to joining Southern. The device has been sent to Kitt Peak National Observatory, a center for optical astronomy in Tucson, Ariz. After final testing, it is expected to be one of the most advanced instruments for resolution purposes in the world. Among its most promising applications is the study of binary systems, two stars that rotate around each other.

“The disturbances in the atmosphere can cause images to blur together,” Horch says, explaining the need for the instrument. “But using this special instrument is like putting eyeglasses on a telescope. It enables you to see the two stars in a binary system distinctly.”

In addition to being honored at a pinning ceremony, the first graduates of Southern's ACE program will participate in undergraduate commencement.

A pinning ceremony was held to honor the first cohort of nursing students to complete Southern’s Accelerated Career Entry (ACE) program. A total of 13 students completed the 12-month program, which enables students to earn their degrees in approximately half the standard time, excluding prerequisites and university requirements. Participants in the program are required to have a bachelor’s degree in any field from an accredited college or university.

Southern is a state leader in producing highly qualified nurses. In addition to standard undergraduate and graduate programs, it offers a clinical nurse leader program and an R.N. to B.S.N. program that is tailored for registered nurses who wish to obtain their baccalaureate degrees. For information on the program, visit www.SouthernCT.edu/nursing/undergraduateprograms/ace.

Presiden Cheryl J. Norton

President Cheryl J. Norton has been appointed to two prestigious posts in athletics. After previously serving as the vice chair of the Northeast-10 Conference President’s Council for two years, she has been elevated to the rank of chair. Norton will serve a two-year term, which will conclude in June 2010. In addition, she has been appointed to the NCAA Division II President’s Council, a national body whose role includes establishing and directing the general policy of Div. II and establishing a strategic plan for Div. II athletics programs.

Juan Carols Osorio

Two Southern men’s soccer alumni were on center field when the Columbus Crew and the New York Red Bulls squared off in the 2008 Major League Soccer (MLS) Cup on Nov. 23. Juan Carlos Osorio, is the head coach of the Red Bulls, and Brian Bliss, ’87, is the technical director for the Crew. Ultimately, the Crew came out on top with a 3-1 win that gave the team its first-ever MLS Cup victory.

Southern Students assisted local communities by serving as poll workers on election day. The project was made possible by a federal grant.

Thanks to a $28,000 competitive grant from the U.S. Election Assistance Program, Southern students played a critical role in the national elections last fall, with 60 serving as poll workers. Southern was among only 27 colleges and universities in the nation selected to receive the grant, and one of only two from Connecticut. Middlesex Community College was the other recipient.