Friday, March 4, 2016
Extraordinary Things Are Happening Here
For 120 years, Adelphi has been a pacesetter and a historymaker. It is fitting then that the theme for our strategic plan and this month's Inauguration is "A Modern University With Deep Roots." Our efforts this month, with some highlights shared here, will afford us opportunities to bring our past and present into sharp focus.
 
March is Women's History Month. In the coming weeks there will be many occasions for us to celebrate outstanding female University leaders such as those recognized at the Student Government Association Women's Recognition Dinner on March 29, 2016. This annual event gives us an occasion to salute today's faculty, students and staff, who are providing extraordinary service to the University and continuing our long and distinguished history of preparing female leaders.
 
Did you know that Earle Hall and Waldo Hall, like the Ruth S. Harley University Center, are named after accomplished alumnae who shared their talent and expertise with the University?
 
Waldo Hall is named for Ruth Fanshaw Waldo, of the Class of 1909. Waldo served as a member of the Adelphi University Board of Trustees from 1938 to 1964, including service as board secretary. As a vice president at J. Walter Thompson, she was one of the first women executives in American advertising. 
 
Adelphi's reach extended into early New York City politics as well. Genevieve Beavers Earle, Class of 1907, was the first woman member of the New York City Council and the Republican minority leader of the New York City Council from 1940 to 1949.
 
Women across the campus today continue to push boundaries in the tradition of these visionaries. I hope you take the opportunity to read about Gabrielle Deonath '18, who so eloquently shares her experience as a Muslim woman in her beautiful essay "My Hijab Journey." Deonath writes about choosing to wear the hijab despite the current political climate. 

Last month, members of our University and surrounding communities got the inside scoop on our political climate and this year's "disruptive election" from CNN's John King. King shared his keen insights during a master class with political science and journalism students and also offered a lecture open to all. 
 
Panther Athletics is having a noteworthy winter season, with many University records falling away. So far this year, our men's and women's swimming teams have smashed 15 University records. Track and Field posted two new records and our men's and women's basketball teams earned berths in the NE-10 championship tournament. #HailAdelphi
 
We have many accomplishments--past and present--to celebrate. The Inauguration ceremony and related events planned for next week will give us an opportunity to honor Adelphi's strong foundation and embrace its future--a future I look forward to working with each of you to define. 
 
Thank you for being part of this pacesetting year.
 
All the best,
 

Christine M. Riordan, Ph.D.
President
 
CAMPUS UPDATE
Strategic Planning: Your Feedback Is Fueling Courses of Action  
 
The second half of our strategic planning process is in full swing. After gathering feedback and data and conducting analyses from July 2015-December 2015, we identified six key priorities on which to focus our efforts. Eight work groups, composed of more than 130 faculty members, students and staff, are currently engaged in brainstorming ideas and initiatives to give shape to a draft plan. In the process, they are reaching out to colleagues for their expertise and ideas. The groups are also inviting comments and ideas from everyone in our campus community.
 
The energy is high and the groups are beginning to develop some innovative proposals. 
 
The recommendations brought forward by the work groups will form the basis of a draft strategic plan that will be shared with the entire Adelphi community in April. We will be asking the community to review the draft plan and share feedback through campus-wide town hall meetings and online forms. 
 
We have reached this exciting stage thanks to the active participation of hundreds of people across campus. Your ongoing involvement will make our end result even stronger.
 
To keep you informed, we have established a strategic planning website as well as a more robust site on eCampus, which will launch by next week. There, you will find dates of upcoming forums and ways to share your ideas, offer feedback and receive status updates.
 
We recognize that as helpful as email and website updates are for sharing information broadly, they are one-way communications. Please lend your voice to the process by reaching out to the faculty, students and staff on the eight work groups or by attending forums such as the special two-hour town hall hosted by the Faculty Senate on Wednesday, March 9, 2016, from 12:00 noon to 2:00 p.m. in the AUPAC Concert Hall.  

In the coming days, we will be launching an online feedback form similar to the one used during the 100-Day Listening Tour. In the meantime, please share your ideas with either me at president@adelphi.edu or Dean Sam Grogg, our strategic plan co-chair, at sgrogg@adelphi.edu.

Our plan and the University will benefit from your active participation. Thanks for helping to write this next chapter for Adelphi.

Showing Our Spirit: New Adelphi Apparel
 
Thanks to a collaborative effort with our Barnes & Noble campus bookstore, we now have more ways to show our Adelphi pride. The store is providing new and expanded options, including apparel, gifts and accessories, to better serve students, faculty, staff, alumni, parents and friends. In the coming weeks, you'll find an array of new items, including gear from Alta Gracia apparel, a brand that is committed to paying its workers in the Dominican Republic a living wage.

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
Novel Experiences 
 
Publishing a work of fiction in a second language is no mean feat. Efe Tanci, a student in Adelphi's M.F.A. in Creative Writing program who hails from Turkey, is doing just that, now finishing up the novel that will be his thesis. An engineer by training, he has been energized by his Adelphi experience and is looking forward to returning to Turkey, publishing his stories and sharing what he has learned by starting a writers workshop and, ultimately, Turkey's first M.F.A. in Creative Writing program.

 

STAFF SPOTLIGHT
Easing Difficult Transitions for Students With Different Abilities
 
Adelphi is known for offering distinguished learning and pathway programs that are tailored to the needs of a variety of students. Adelphi's Learning Resource Program (LRP), for example, is the only college-based program for students with learning disabilities that has a fully professional staff. "Navigating the process from childhood to adulthood is a tough one for all students but particularly for students with learning and attention disabilities," said Susan Spencer Farinacci, M.S.W. '84, executive director. She and her team are "dedicated to helping Adelphi students make the transition" and have earned the program a national reputation.
 

FACULTY SPOTLIGHT
Education Through Sport, Thanks to New Programs

Playing sports keeps kids fit. It's also an effective way to teach teamwork, negotiation and problem solving, according to research by Meredith Whitley, Ph.D., assistant professor. Dr. Whitley has helped create a new specialization in sport-based youth development, available to master's degree students at Adelphi's Garden City and Manhattan locations. She has also teamed up with Kevin Mercier, Ed.D., to form a partnership with a Manhattan nonprofit to create a fellowship to enhance enrollment.
SHOUT-OUTS
 
Every day, Adelphi students, faculty and staff show their talent and commitment to the community through their work on campus and beyond. Here are some recent examples:

The student members of Adelphi's Society of Physics Students (SPS) and chapter adviser Matthew Wright, Ph.D., assistant professor, won a Marsh W. White Outreach Award to support their Lab for Kids, a day of hands-on physics experiments for students from Westbury (New York) High School at the Cradle of Aviation.

John McDermott, assistant professor, worked with Adelphi alumni and a student to design the sets for the recent production of Sense and Sensibility by New York's Bedlam theater company. The production received a positive review in The New York Times, including a shout-out for McDermott and his team: "As designed by John McDermott...this production allows us to see Austen's world taking shape before our eyes."

Ronald Feingold, Ph.D., professor emeritus, was recognized with the Presidential Award from the National Association for Kinesiology in Higher Education for his exceptional leadership in the field. Dr. Feingold is only the ninth recipient of the special award since the association's inception in 1978.

Gina Miranda-Diaz '83, D.N.P., director of the West New York (New Jersey) Health Department, was one of only 10 nurses nationwide named a Culture of Health Breakthrough Leader in Nursing for her innovative approach to public health by the Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action, a joint initiative of AARP, the AARP Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Dr. Miranda-Diaz told The Hudson Reporter that she hoped to be a role model for future Latina nurses: "There are very few Latina nurses. I wanted to have an impact. I was the first person in my family to go to college. I am the first nurse in my family."
Matthew Hancock '10 was nominated for an NAACP Theatre Award from the Beverly Hills/Hollywood branch of the NAACP for his ensemble performance in the 2014 production of The Brothers Size at The Fountain Theatre in Los Angeles.
  
 
EVENTS 
 
As the presidential primary season heats up, the popular satirical singing group will perform on Wednesday, March 9, at 7:00 p.m., in the Thomas Dixon Lovely Ballroom of the Ruth S. Harley University Center. Paws and Rewind, Adelphi's student a cappella group, will be the opening act.
 
Adelphi students from groups throughout campus will share their talents for an evening of entertainment on Thursday, March 10, at 7:00 p.m., on the Westermann Stage in the Concert Hall in AUPAC.

Presidential Inauguration
Join us for this festive occasion--the formal installation of Adelphi's 10th president and a celebration of Adelphi as a modern university with deep roots. The ceremony starts at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, March 11, 2016, in the Center for Recreation and Sports. 
 
Thank you to everyone who purchased tickets for Adelphi's 16th annual President's Gala, which will be held on Saturday, March 12, 2016, at The Garden City Hotel. With such overwhelming generosity, the event is now sold out. Donations are still being accepted as the funds raised are a crucial source of support for student scholarships at Adelphi. 
   
Adelphi will hold its 120th Commencement on Sunday, May 22, 2016, at 10:00 a.m., at a new venue--the Nikon at Jones Beach Theater. More details to come soon!
 
ADELPHI IN THE NEWS
In February, 70 media stories covering Adelphi appeared in the top 100 national media outlets, with 361 stories appearing in total. In the past month, Adelphi and its experts have been featured in a number of stories. Some highlights of recent coverage include:
Adelphi figured prominently in The New York Times article "Dear Google, Is There a Shrink for That?" (February 8, 2016) on the popularity of boutique psychotherapy. Lawrence Josephs, Ph.D., professor, and alumni Jocelyn Charnas, Ph.D. '09, and Michael Garfinkle, Ph.D. '09, weighed in on the trend.

Newsday previewed the upcoming season for the Adelphi women's lacrosse team in "Adelphi, LIU Post Lead Area Division II, III Women's Lacrosse" (February 11, 2016). Reporter Mike Gavin interviewed some of the players and coach Pat McCabe about the team's recent dominance--two consecutive NCAA Division II national titles--and its prospects for 2016.

For its story "Students Aren't Letting Terrorism Stop Them From Studying Abroad" (February 17, 2016), the New York Post interviewed Shannon Harrison, director of the Center for International Education, and
Brian Rose, professor and leader of Adelphi's short-term study abroad trip to London. Both commented on the importance of studying abroad and offered tips on staying safe.

The student members of Adelphi's chapter of Kappa Sigma fraternity garnered considerable media attention for their 10th annual Super Hunger Fest, a 24-hour fast held during Super Bowl weekend to raise awareness of hunger and collect nonperishable food for Island Harvest food bank. The event was covered by the New York Post, Long Island Business News, FiOS1 News and WALK 97.5 FM, among other outlets.