September 2016
Off to a Strong Start 
I have simply been blown away these past few days at seeing Adelphi spring to life with even more energy.
 
On Sunday, at Matriculation, our Center for Recreation and Sports was filled to capacity with the talented members of the Class of 2020--our largest freshman class ever--and our dedicated faculty, staff and returning students.
 
We've created a robust Opening Week of programs and activities to welcome everyone back and launch the academic year with added vibrancy. I hope you had the chance to be part of our inaugural Panther Picnic yesterday. Next week, the Center for Career and Professional Development hosts the Welcome Back Block Party--a terrific opportunity for students to find opportunities for jobs on and off campus.
 
We arrive at this wonderful moment thanks to a year of hard work and dedication. In fact, in the past few months, awards and accolades have poured in, showing that we are gaining recognition for excellence across the board. It's hard not to feel great about these terrific headlines.
 
USA TODAY College Calls Adelphi a Top-10 College for Social Work  
We ranked fourth on the list and second among schools in New York. USA TODAY cited our "tradition of providing students with an excellent education" and our knowledgeable and experienced faculty.

Adelphi Makes Fiske Guide Best Buy List for the 11th Straight Year 
Adelphi is just one of three private colleges in New York State and 26 nationwide to make the cut.

Adelphi Wins Third Northeast-10 President's Cup for Outstanding Athletics 
We earned the accolade for overall athletic excellence in our athletics conference. The Panthers won six conference titles and 14 of the 23 teams had winning records. 
 
We ranked in the top 300 of approximately 1,500 eligible colleges and universities nationwide for being an excellent school for women.

We came in at 13 out of the 352 qualifying colleges and first among schools in New York State. 
 
We didn't slow down, even over the summer. 
 
Early in the season, three of our students joined Michael D'Emic, Ph.D., assistant professor of biology and a noted paleontologist, on Adelphi's first-ever dinosaur dig. Unexpectedly, the team unearthed a shoulder blade from a dinosaur species that Dr. D'Emic believes has not previously been discovered. Dr. D'Emic's trip was just one of many faculty-led research and study abroad trips this summer, and it is a great example of our commitment to high-impact teaching and learning--a priority of Momentum: The Strategic Plan for Adelphi University 2015-2021.
 
We've started the exciting work of implementing Momentum. You'll read below about initiatives already underway to establish Adelphi as a model of diversity and inclusion. We are also focused on making Adelphi a well-known and widely recognized university. Part of this work involves creating a comprehensive brand strategy--taking a fresh look at identity, design and key messaging plus a distinct textual, verbal and visual vocabulary.
 
Together, these elements will play a large part in helping us elevate the profile of Adelphi and establish a compelling personality and promise that distinguishes us to all audiences, and which all stakeholders can get firmly behind. 
 
I am thrilled by the work in progress and look forward to sharing more with you throughout the fall. 
 
As we begin this new year, let us remember that the way we learn together, the way we work, play, interact, form friendships and make connections to the region and our alumni can only be done with a spirit of openness, enthusiasm and full engagement.
 
Welcome back! 

Christine M. Riordan, Ph.D.
President
UNIVERSITY NEWS
 
Welcome, Class of 2020. You're Our Most Diverse and Largest Ever!    
A warm welcome to our freshmen and to all of our new students. We've spent months preparing for you to join us, and we are committed to ensuring your success at Adelphi and beyond. I'm confident that Adelphi will become your home away from home.  
 
More than 1,200 freshmen have joined the Panther family, an increase of nearly 40 percent over last year. And many more of our new students are from historically underrepresented backgrounds. In fact, 46 percent of the students identify themselves as African American, Hispanic or Asian--an 8 percent increase over last year. The students come from 25 states and 13 countries. They are published writers and researchers and accomplished athletes and performers--including an artist who has already debuted at Carnegie Hall. 
 
Nearly 200 new transfer students are also starting at Adelphi--an increase of 52 percent over 2015. Our graduate enrollment is holding steady.
 

New Students Jump Into Community Service

This year, 58 of our incoming freshmen chose to participate in our signature Freshman Community Action Program (FCAP), a hands-on program in which students participate in meaningful volunteer activities and learn about Adelphi's emphasis on serving the community. They volunteered at homeless shelters in New York City, worked at a veterans hospital on Long Island and helped clean up public places in our neighboring town of Hempstead. Between the service work, they gathered to discuss and reflect on their experiences. 
 
Nexus Opens   
The Nexus Building is open! It is a thrill to see this new home for our College of Nursing and Public Health and hub for student and alumni services in full swing. You will find a complete update about Nexus-related moves on eCampus. Thank you to our facilities team members for getting us over the line on this vital project, and to all the faculty and staff who have been so cooperative with the office moves related to Nexus. 
 
Diversity Training Workshops Enhance Our Culture of Inclusion
This month, thanks to the hard work of Adelphi's Diversity Committee, we are launching our new Diversity Certificate Program for faculty and staff. It is part of a broader goal to enhance our culture of inclusiveness. The program consists of five workshops and a capstone experience, led by expert faculty and staff. The workshops will address diversity-related topics, including race, creed, color, national origin, ethnicity, sex, sexual orientation, gender expression, disability, age, religion, and marital and veteran status.

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT 
Energized by Summer Research in Poland 
Over the summer, two Adelphi students--Veronica Grebe and Ezer Castillo--traveled to Warsaw, Poland, with Justyna Widera, Ph.D., associate professor of chemistry, to study and test materials that could harness the sun's energy to decontaminate water. Grebe, a senior majoring in chemistry, described the study abroad experience as "absolutely wonderful, especially because of how welcoming the people are."
 

Jason Spradley is excited to be at Adelphi as assistant director of the Center for Student Involvement, responsible for multicultural programming and community service initiatives. He described the role as a "perfect fit" for his background and interests. He wants to create a culture of sharing and inclusiveness at Adelphi--what he called "an intercultural environment."
FACULTY SPOTLIGHT 
How the Presidential Election Impacts Muslims  
American Muslims have been the targets of negative rhetoric in the 2016 presidential election, and concern is growing over their mental health. Wahiba Abu-Ras, Ph.D., associate professor in the Adelphi University School of Social Work, is studying the issue and finding cause for alarm. 
SHOUT-OUTS
Congratulations to...

Tonille Watkis '14, who was crowned Miss Black USA. She is the first Jamaican American to win the crown. Lately, she has been touring New York and Connecticut with her empowerment initiative, No Boxes Allowed, named after her autobiographical one-woman play.

Our Bridges to Adelphi program and the Social Training Center. Both were mentioned in an article on FriendshipCircle.org, which called Adelphi a top-10 school for students with autism spectrum disorder.

John McDermott, assistant professor, who was selected to design the sets for Sense and Sensibility, the season opener at Washington, D.C.'s Folger Theatre.
EVENTS
 
Adelphi Community Reads Author Ta-Nehisi Coates 
Adelphi has selected Coates' memoir, Between the World and Me--winner of a 2015 National Book Award--as its 2016 Adelphi Community Reads book. Coates will give a free lecture on Wednesday, October 5, at 7:00 p.m., in the Thomas Dixon Lovely Ballroom of the Ruth S. Harley University Center.  

Alumna and Author Jacqueline Woodson '16 (Hon.)
Woodson, the best-selling author of Brown Girl Dreaming and other works of fiction, poetry and nonfiction, won the 2014 National Book Award for Young People's Literature and was named the Young People's Poet Laureate by the Poetry Foundation. She also just published Another Brooklyn, a critically acclaimed novel for adults. She will give a free lecture on Wednesday, October 26, at 11:00 a.m., in the Thomas Dixon Lovely Ballroom of the Ruth S. Harley University Center.  
 
New York Times columnist David Brooks 
On the eve of the presidential election, Brooks, who writes a weekly op-ed column for The New York Times, will give a free lecture, "What to Expect 'Tomorrow'--Election," on Monday, November 7, at 7:00 p.m., in the Thomas Dixon Lovely Ballroom of the Ruth S. Harley University Center. 
 
AUPAC Season  
AUPAC's 2016-2017 season is about to begin. Highlights include:
Disco Inferno: A '70s Celebration, a nonstop dance party featuring dancers direct from Broadway, on Friday, September 16, at 7:30 p.m.
Crossroads Quartet, a world champion a cappella group, on Saturday, October 1, at 4:00 p.m.
American Brass Quintet, described by Newsweek as "the high priests of brass," on Saturday, October 8, at 8:00 p.m.
ADELPHI IN THE NEWS

In August, six media stories covering Adelphi appeared in top 100 national media outlets, with 576 stories appearing in total. Some highlights of recent coverage include:

Hanna Kim, Ph.D., associate professor, is an authority on the Hindu sect known as BAPS, which has attracted a global following. It is the largest Hindu sect in the United States. When its 94-year-old spiritual leader, Pramukh Swami Maharaj, passed away in August, The New York Times reached out to Dr. Kim for a comment. 
 
Chris Zarou '12 is the president of Visionary Music Group, a record label he started from scratch with no prior experience in the music industry. The label recently signed two emerging artists--Logic and pop star Jon Bellion. In a lengthy interview with Forbes magazine, he spoke about launching his business, signing Logic and Bellion, and his label's appeal to up-and-coming artists.  
 
Elizabeth Cohn, Ph.D., director of Adelphi's Center for Health Innovation, is an expert on precision medicine--using individual genetic and environmental factors to improve disease treatment and prevention. This summer, she co-authored an article in Nature on ways to ensure that this breakthrough biomedical technique benefits all members of society--not just the most privileged. 

The Orlando Sentinel reported that Paul Moravec, University Professor of Music at Adelphi and winner of the Pulitzer Prize in Music, has collaborated with librettist Mark Campbell, a fellow Pulitzer Prize winner, to compose Light Shall Lift Us, a choral work that will debut on September 11 at One Voice Orlando: A Celebration in Song. The concert will raise funds to support health and human services agencies that have been helping Orlando residents heal in the wake of the Pulse nightclub shooting.