Congratulations, Alyssa!

Dr. Kristie Koenig will be presenting "Listening to Perspectives of Individuals with Autism: Intervention Model for Adolescents and Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders," and Professors Anita Perr and Sheri Wadler will be presenting their poster, "New Trends in Multicultural Education: Disability in a Global Context, an Intersession Course in Ghana, Africa." Teaching Assistant and PhD candidate, Siaw Chui Chai, will also be participating at the conference and will be presenting her poster, co-authored by Dr. Jim Hinojosa, "Enabling Optimal Daily Hand Function for Clients with Flexor Tendon Injury."

Just one more reason to make physical therapy your vocation and NYU your educational institution.

By joining the NYU Steinhardt Alumni Network, you will open up a door to countless professional networking opportunities, the latest jobs in the education, art, and health sectors, and gain access to ground-breaking news articles focusing on the latest cover letter and resume tips.

So login to your LinkedIn account, and spread the word amongst your fellow alumni - join the Steinhardt Alumni Network today!

The Keogh Award is bestowed upon an NYU alum who is a respected and distinguished public figure of recognized stature or identity who has clearly demonstrated a record of outstanding public service in his or her professional, vocational, social, and cultural endeavors.

Dr. Inonge Mbikusita-Lewanika is the Ambassador of the Republic of Zambia to the United States of America. Her impressive career has been marked by her tireless devotion as an international advocate for women and children.

Prior to her appointment to Washington D.C., Mbikusita-Lewanika was Ambassador and Special Envoy to the Zambian President during his term as Chairman of the Organization for African Unity (OAU) and served as a Member of the Zambian Parliament from 1991 to 2001. In 2001, Mbikusita-Lewanika chaired the National Crisis Committee of the Alliance of Opposition Political Parties and became a candidate for President of the Republic of Zambia. From 1997 to 2002, she served as President of Federation of the African Women's Peace Networks (FERFAP) and contributed to the mobilization of peace activities. In that capacity, she was selected to be among ten prominent African Women Peace Workers who visited Rwanda soon after the genocide. She later led a United Nations delegation to Burundi and Rwanda to assess the effects of the genocide on women and children and recommend intervention strategies. Mbikusita-Lewanika is also a founding member of the AMANI Forum, African Parliamentarians for Peace and Conflict Resolution.

Mbikusita-Lewanika's passion for child and youth development led her to pursue her PhD in early childhood and primary education from the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development at New York University. An educator by nature, she has been a member of the Haggai Institute Faculty since 1987, and has worked in various levels of education, both nationally and internationally. For nine years, Mbikusita-Lewanika served as a founding Board Member of the International Youth Foundation, and currently serves on a number of boards as an Advisor for children and youth, including the Nike Foundation Advisory Board. Mbikusita-Lewanika also serves as Chairperson of YAPYA, the Zambia Youth Investment Fund.

In recognition of her outstanding work on behalf of the world's children, Mbikusita-Lewanika has also been honored with the UNICEF Award for Distinguished Service for the Children of the World, and was heralded as "the most knowledgeable person about the children of Africa." She has also received the Athena International Award for leadership and improving the lives of others.

This year, the Steinhardt Dean's Luncheon took place in the Barney Building, home to the Department of Art and Art Professions and one of NYU's most historic spots. Alumni enjoyed a casual lunch while listening to NYU Jazz and String students, viewing open studios and projects by current Art students, and taking a tour of the building.

Later in the day, alumni celebrated the life and work of famed author and alumnus, the late Frank McCourt. Featured speakers included MCC Professor Terry Moran, Journalist and Writer Pete Hamill, Folklorist and Musician Mick Moloney, and two of McCourt's former students at Stuyvesant High School, John Kwok and Samantha Marchiano.

A recording of the event is coming soon, so please stay tuned!

Click below to see a slideshow from the evening:

On October 1st, 2009 the Department held a farewell reception in Paula's honor. The well attended event included alumni, faculty, students and staff, along with many of Paula's local colleagues.

See a slideshow of pictures from the reception:

"Immokalee, My Home" will premiere on Saturday, November 14th at 4:30pm. Visit the festival website for details and tickets.

"Immokalee, My Home" is a portrait of life in Immokalee, Florida, the heart of industrial agriculture in the United States and home to its largest population of migrant farm workers. Through visits to carnivals, churches, tomato fields, and workers' homes, a narrative emerges. The surface story is of one community's struggle for farm worker rights. Florida farm workers live in slave-like conditions. Some are beaten, not given food or water, or not paid. Yet, they continue to come. This is the deeper tale revealed. Ultimately, it is a tale of migration, of immigration, and of the persistent hope for a better life.

"In today's increasingly globalized world," he writes, "our children need more exposure to different people and cultures, not less."

Although he recognizes that the hiring of foreign teachers alone will not solve critical shortages in science and math educations, Zimmerman notes that foreign teachers can help students in innumerable ways.

"As more and more countries outpace the United States in science and math, these teachers might help up catch up. Best of all, though, they can also teach our kids something new and important about the larger world." 

 To read Professor Zimmerman's entire opinion article, click here. 

The online application for NYU Steinhardt is now available.  Click on "Apply Now" to access the application.

Programs Not Reviewing Applications

Academic reviews and new opportunities to strengthen programs are currently being explored by the faculty in a handful of programs. We will, therefore, not be reviewing applications in 2010 for the following programs:

• Art in Media - MA (ARSM) – prospective applicants should consider our M.F.A. in Studio Art (ARSA) or our M.A. in Studio Art: Summer Program (ARST)
• Arts & Humanities Education - MA and PhD (AHUM) -- prospective applications should consider ouf M.A. in Art Education program
  
• Professional Certification Program in Childhood Education (CHEP)
• Dance Education - PhD and EdD (DADE)
• Mathematics Education - PhD (MAEC) – prospective applicants should consider the PhD in Teaching & Learning (TLPD)
• Philosophy of Education - MA and PhD (PHED)
• School Psychology - PhD (SCPT) and Advanced Certificate (PSSP)
• Visual Culture and Education - MA (ARTH) and PhD (AVCE) -- prospective applicants should consider the MA in Media, Culture, and Communication (MDCC) or the PhD in Media, Culture, and Communication (MCCD)
  

* This message is subject to change without notice.

Zimmerman notes that "the idea that there should be state-supported education was, although not unique to the United States, in many ways distinct to it. By 1850 there was a greater fraction of elementary school-age kids going to school in our country than in any other on earth."

Despite their many deficiencies (which include lack of heat and lack of proper training for teachers), one-room schoolhouses were communal institutions, often the only public building in a community, providing truly democratic spaces for functions like debates and voting.

To listen to the segment, produced by the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, click below.

Dr. Charles "Chip" Edelsberg, executive director of the Jim Joseph Foundation of San Francisco, recently met with the inaugural class of Jim Joseph Foundation Fellows at NYU Steinhardt. This group of eight students will begin their studies at NYU in the masters and doctoral programs in Education and Jewish Studies in the Fall of 2009. They are receiving full scholarships and doctoral stipends out of the Jim Joseph Foundation's $5 million grant to NYU, which was awarded in 2008.

Each fellow had the opportunity to share his or her educational and professional background, career aspirations, and appraisals of the greatest challenges facing Jewish education. Dr. Edelsberg spoke about the work and philosophy of the Foundation, including a dedication to ongoing immersive Jewish experiences, peer-to-peer engagement, and strengthening established institutions, then guided the group into a compelling discussion about the current trends and developments in the American Jewish educational scene.

Dr. Edelsberg emphasized the Foundation's belief in investing in young people to strengthen and enhance Jewish education, which it does in a variety of ways, including through its $5 million grant to NYU. If you want to learn more about the Programs in Education and Jewish Studies, visit us here.  To learn more about the Jim Joseph Foundation, see their website here.

Professor Raver teaches in the Department of Applied Psychology and she is the Director of the Instutute for Human Development and Social Change.

Watch the Video

New York University has prepared throughout the spring and summer to address the expected increase in the number of flu cases this fall as students and staff return to classes (please refer to http://www.nyu.edu/shc/flu for a brief summary of our planning and the latest updates throughout the academic year).

At this juncture, we are writing to remind you of the ways in which you as a student and as a parent, can help yourself and your son or daughter - and, by extension, the entire NYU community - to prevent the unnecessary spread of flu and infection. For students studying abroad for the entire semester, please consult with the Student Life staff upon arrival at the site for specific guidelines as not all of the following will apply.

First, if you have flu-like symptoms (fever, cough, sore throat, body aches) before coming to campus for the start of classes, please wait until you are fever free (at rest, temperature less than 100 degrees Fahrenheit) for at least 24 hours before arriving. Please e-mail advisement.provost@nyu.edu to advise us that you will be arriving late and this office will notify your academic advisers about any absences from orientation activities or classes. If you re living in the residence hall, your assignment will be secured by emailing housing@nyu.edu from your NYUHome account with the subject line "DELAYED CHECK-IN" about your illness and anticipated move-in date.

Second, if you have any chronic illnesses such as asthma or diabetes, please make sure that you discuss with your personal health professional any precautions that you might need to take prior to coming to campus. You can also call to discuss your concerns with a NYU Student Health Center (SHC) clinician at 212-443-1000.

- All students, whether living in NYU Housing or off campus, should also consider preparing a "stay at home kit" with over the counter items such as a thermometer, fever reducing medicine (e.g. acetaminophen, ibuprofen, but not aspirin), surgical masks (to be used when ill and in shared space environments), Gatorade and other electrolyte type drinks, and a few nonperishable food items such as protein bars, and soups. Although the University will provide food and other supplies to ill students living in NYU Housing (see section below "Where Can You Go To Get Help If You Are Sick With the Flu?"), it is always good to be prepared.

- If you get sick during the semester, please stay in your residence hall room if you live on campus, or apartment/house if you live off campus; stay away from class and other public areas until you are fever free for 24 hours. Contact a friend, parent, or a resident assistant (RA) if you live in NYU Housing, so that someone knows you are ill and how that person can assist
you.

- Students living in residence halls who are from the local area are advised to return home to recover from their illness until they are fever free and able to return to campus.

- Call the NYU Student Health Center if you need any advice or have any concerns at 212-443-1000.

- If you are ill, your instructors are being asked to be flexible in their approach to student absences because of the flu. This self-isolation will give your body time to recuperate and will help prevent the unnecessary spread of the flu to others.

How Will You Know If You Have the Flu?
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines flu-like illness
this way: A fever of 100.4F or greater, plus a cough or sore throat and possibly other symptoms like runny nose, body aches, headaches, chills, fatigue, vomiting or diarrhea. Fever is often a key factor, although it is not always present with H1N1 flu. If you have the other symptoms listed but have no fever, call your personal health professional or the NYU Student Health Center for advice.

Where Can You Go To Get Help If You Are Sick With the Flu?
You may not need to see a health professional if your symptoms are mild. When in doubt, call your personal health professional or call the NYU Student Health Center at 212-443-1000 or consult the SHC website at http://www.nyu.edu/shc for the latest advice and guidance. The vast majority of people who become ill have mild to moderate severity and recover fully in a week or less, without any medical intervention. However, if you are ill with flu and are pregnant or
have any chronic illness, please call your personal health professional or the Student Health Center right away.

If you miss class because you are ill, please contact your instructors directly to request an accommodation. In addition, please also notify your academic adviser. If this is not possible, you may contact advisement.provost@nyu.edu for assistance.

If you become ill with flu and are staying in NYU residence halls, the University will make arrangements to provide food for you in your room. Residence hall staff will be checking on students regularly and transportation to the NYU Student Health Center will be made available for those who require an assessment but cannot get there under their own power. Always call the Student Health Center first when you have a concern. However, if you are having trouble breathing, or have severe symptoms, call 911 or NYU Public Safety (212-998-2222) for immediate assistance.

How Can I Decrease My Chances of Getting Flu?
The best way to stay healthy is to wash your hands often and vigorously for 30 seconds with soap and water, cough or sneeze into a tissue, or if not available, into your elbow or sleeves BUT NOT into your hands. Keep your hands away from your face. Hand sanitizers with at least 60% alcohol are also effective when soap and water are not immediately available, especially prior to eating, or after shaking hands or touching high traffic and high usage hard surfaces (phones, computer keyboards, etc). While you can count on NYU to be vigilant in keeping high traffic areas clean, it is important that each student take precautions to increase our ability to reduce the spread of germs and flu.

We expect seasonal influenza vaccine to become available in mid to late September and will inform the NYU student community on how to obtain a vaccination. Similarly, when H1N1 vaccine becomes available (although delays are anticipated), students will also be notified.

Stay informed by checking the Student Health Center website at http://www.nyu.edu/shc/flu regularly for advice and updates as we expect that public health guidance will be updated and summarized regularly for the NYU community.

Our best wishes for a successful academic year,

Linda Mills
Senior Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education and University Life

Henry Chung, M.D.
Associate Vice President, Student Health

------------------------------------------------------------

Additional resources:

Information on the NYU response to the flu:
http://www.nyu.edu/shc/about/news-swineflu.html

Information on the flu from U.S. health officials:
http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu

Recommendations for colleges and universities:
http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/schools

Please read the information on the link carefully as times and locations vary.

To RSVP, please visit one of the links below:

Community Public Health Program
November 17th from 5-6pm

Food Studies Program
October 27th from 12-2pm
November 24th from 12-2pm

Clinical Nutrition Program
Thursday, December 17th, 6:30-8pm

After 24 years in the Department, Clinical Professor Paula McCreedy has retired from teaching. Paula served as the Department's longstanding, dedicated Academic Fieldwork Coordinator and also shared her clinical expertise in the areas of mental health, human development, community practice, professional issues and occupation.

On October 1st, 2009 the Department held a farewell reception in Paula's honor. The well attended event included alumni, faculty, students and staff, along with many of Paula's local colleagues.

See a slideshow of pictures from the reception:

.

Global Food Cultures: Mexico  lead by Dr. Amy Bentley
International Issues in Nutrition  lead by Dr. Domingo Pinero
Issues in Global Public Health  lead by Dr. Yumary Ruiz

Please click here to download an application and get further information about these programs.

Richard Arum has initiated a new study of education in AbuDhabi which will create some opportunities for student research.  In addition, Miller-Idriss, Burde andHosay have also been appointed affiliated members of the resident humanitiesfaculty at NYU Abu Dhabi, which will begin offering courses in September, 2010.

René Arcilla, Mediumism: A Philosophical Reconstruction of Modernism forExistential Learning (SUNY Press)

Tickets will be available online for most events beginning August 3. In-person sales at NYU Ticket Central, now located in the Skirball Center lobby, begin on August 24.   Please visit the Skirball Center Website for a current calendar and more information.  

Citing surveys from Transparency International, a global organization that fights corruption, Zimmerman notes that 24 percent of respondents across the globe reported paying bribes to the police in the last year. Abuse and murder of civilians by police is all to common in some countries.

Zimmerman recounts his own experience with official corruption on a recent trip to the African country of Togo with his daughters.

While police corruption and brutality do happen in the U.S., Zimmerman writes that, from an international perspective, the Gates controversy "is a tempest in a teapot."  He call for an official investigation into the incident and reminds us that "in a world in which police routinely abuse civilians or extort bribes from them, we're pretty fortunate to be debating the arrest of Gates."

To read the full article, click here. 

Beverly is a fellow of the American Occupational Therapy Association. Her history in rehabilitation dates back to being recruited by Dr. Kessler to head the Occupational Therapy Department at the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation.  She started two OT programs in New Jersey and worked for over 18 years in the Department of Occupational Therapy at New York University. She wrote numerous papers and chapters in medical textbooks; she lectured throughout the US and abroad.  

As her daughter said during Beverly's funeral, "While we were all proud of mom's accomplishments, they would be hollow without having a close loving family and many friends. That is the real measure of someone's life. Not only did she give us advice or meat pies, or blueberry muffins, or things to help us in our daily lives. Not only did she earn degrees and accolades. But she really touched others lives in such a positive and meaningful way. To love and be loved-in her case by so many-is the measure of a life well lived. She was so giving of herself, and so many of you have told me throughout the years how giving she was and how she made you not only better professionals but better people. How she helped you through hard times and was a confidant." 

Beverly inspired creativity and modeled intense caring and patience. She guided with a soft touch and encouraged us to think outside the box. She developed relationships between people and departments so that optimal services could be provided.

Beverly Bain is awarded a RESNA Mentor Award for her efforts and contributions as an educator in the fields of occupational therapy, assistive technology and rehabilitation and service to RESNA in the Occupational Therapy Professional Specialty Group."

After Anita's address, Donna Kelly accepted the award with the following words: 

"It is my honor to accept this award on behalf of the family of Dr. Beverly Bain. Beverly had been my mentor and a model of excellence to strive towards as an OT involved in assistive technology, as a director, and also as a person. 

All who knew Beverly were amazed by her endless energy, enthusiasm and passion for OT, for teaching, and for assisting individuals with disabilities. This was infectious. She made you feel good about what you were doing presently, and also sparked you to do more. This was her gift and how she touched so many lives. I am going to read her daughter Karin's words of acceptance.

On behalf of my mother, Beverly K. Bain, my father, John Bain, and me, Karin Bain Kukral, we appreciate and are honored by this award. We wish we could have been there in person. But we understand this award is a way for so many of you to express your appreciation of how you have been so positively touched by her. I have had many people tell me that they wouldn't have done many things, or gone as far professionally, if it weren't for mom's encouragement.  

When I was asked to say something in accepting this award on her behalf, I thought about what it means to be a "mentor" versus just a teacher or consultant. Inspiration and guidance, both on very personal level, came to mind. These were what mom was really great at giving. She had such a passion for her work and research; for her patients and co-workers; for systems, testing and procedures to the smallest of gadgets and switches-all to make life better for those less fortunate. She inspired many people in diverse fields-not just therapists and patients-by example and compassion to reach beyond what they thought they could do. In a way, mentoring is just another way of mothering.

While I pursued a very different career path than my mother, there are three tenets that hold true no matter what you do:

1.        Be the best that you cans be, whatever you do, by working hard;

2.        Be open minded and creative in your approach to problem solving;

3.        Whenever possible, help others achieve their goals by being compassionate and giving of yourself. 

One way for all of you to further honor my mother would be to hold true to these three tenets, and find passion in whatever you choose to do." 

The Department of Occupational Therapy mourns the loss of our dear friend and colleague and celebrates this recognition of her excellence.  

Obituary

Log on to the PTCAS system at http://www.ptcas.org.  PTCAS will be available for summer 2010 applications beginning July 15, 2009.

Held in conjunction with the National Dance Education Organization's annual conference, the event featured lively performances by Steinhardt's dance faculty, students, and alumni.

"It is indeed an extraodinary privilege to be selected as an honorary degree recipient," said Dr. Moffat after receiving a celebratory diploma and hooding from USP President, Philip P. Gerbino, PharmD. She then spoke to USP's graduating class about the current problems of obesity and diabetes facing America and urged that "as professionals, we shall always have the inherent responsibility of identifying the needs ot society and concomitantly devising programs to meet those needs...Each of you in your own way has the ability to shape your destiny and the destiny of your particular profession."

The NYU Department of Physical Therapy congratulates Dr. Moffat on this most presitgious honor.

"It is indeed an extraordinary privilege to be selected as an honorary degree recipient," said Dr. Moffat after USP President, Philip P. Gerbino, PharmD, presented her with a celebratory diploma and hooding. "I commend your university in creating the next generation of leaders, who will meet the changing demands of health delivery service."

After speaking to USP's graduating class about the current problems of obesity and diabetes facing America, Dr. Moffat urged her audience that "as prfodessionals, we shall always have the inherent responsibility of identifying the needs of society and concomitantly devising programs to meet those needs...Each of you in your own way has the ability to shape your destiny and the destiny of your particular profession."

The NYU Department of Physical Therapy congratulates Dr. Moffat on this most prestigious honor. 

NACAC - PERFORMING AND VISUAL ARTS FAIRS

Houston - Wednesday, September 30
Tampa -  Tuesday, October 6
Atlanta  - Wednesday, October 7
Chicago - Saturday, October 10
Interlochen - Sunday, October 11
Minneapolis - Monday, October 12
San Francisco - Saturday, October 17
Los Angeles - Sunday, October 18
Portland - Wednesday, October 21
Seattle - Thursday, October 22
Washington DC - Sunday, October 25
Philadelphia - Monday, October 26
Boston - Monday, November 2
New York - Tuesday, November 3
Here is the NACAC website if you need dates / times for each fair.

OTHER FALL FAIRS

Upstate NY College Fair, Rochester, NY Wednesday, November 4
Pasic, Percussive Arts Society, Indianapolis, IN  November 11 – 14
NYSSMA, Rochester, NY, December 3 – 6

Learn how to think through and solve real-world problems faced by professional chefs.
Expand their culinary creativity through targeted exercises and games.
Gain insight into the workings of a professional kitchen through case studies.
Learn how to develop essential skills that go into creating a successful chef: problem solving, palate development, teamwork and communication.

About the Authors:

Jonathan Deutsch is a classically trained chef and is Assistant Professor in the Department of Tourism and Hospitality and Center for Economic and Workforce Development at Kingsborough Community College, City University of New York and the Doctor of Public Health Program at the CUNY Graduate Center. After studying culinary arts and hospitality management at the Culinary Institute of America and Drexel University, he earned his Ph.D. in Food Studies and Food Management at New York University. He is the author (with Rachel Saks) of Jewish American Food Culture (Greenwood, 2008) and editor (with Annie Hauck-Lawson) of Gastropolis: Food and New York City (Columbia University Press, 2009). He worked in a variety of foodservice settings including catering, institutions, product development, restaurants and luxury inns, both in the U.S. and abroad. He currently cooks, teaches, writes, and consults on food and foodservice.

Sarah Billingsley is a cookbook editor, food writer and experimental home cook. She earned her Master's degree in Food Studies and Food Management at New York University and is a member of San Francisco Professional Food Society. She worked at an editor on the 75th anniversary edition of Joy of Cooking, and was a dining critic and food writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. A graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, she has worked in publishing, public relations, product development and market research. Sarah currently lives and works in San Francisco, where she cultivates a backyard food garden during the endless California growing season.

Cricket Azima is a dynamic young professional chef who specializes in cooking for and with children. She is the founder of The Creative Kitchen, Food Editor for Kiwi Magazine, Family & Kids Editor for The Nibble, Director of Kids' Programs for Kidfresh, and Director of Culinary Curriculum and Recipe Development for Batter Up Kids Culinary Center. She is also the author of Everybody Eats Lunch. Since 1999, Cricket has been teaching cooking classes to over 1000 children of all ages at various locations in New York City. As an instructor, Cricket is one of a kind. She strives to teach more than a recipe or basic cooking technique, with a teaching philosophy that is based on the educational benefits of cooking. Cricket developed her cooking and teaching philosophy while pursuing her Master's degree in Food Studies and Food Management at New York University (NYU). She is also a graduate of Boston University and The Institute of Culinary Education.

About The Creative Kitchen:

The Creative Kitchen^TM is a multi-media company focused on culinary skill-building. Its approach teaches people about food and how to cook in a fun, safe, and educational manner. The curriculum, that targets children ages two and older as well as adults, includes a series of books, television show concepts, DVDs, and related products that present educational content through recreational food-related activities. The founder, Cricket Azima, inspires people to express themselves creatively through cooking, the arts and using all senses in the learning process.

Culinary Improvisation:
Skill Building Beyond the Mystery Basket
Jonathan Deutsch, Ph.D. and Sarah Billingsley with Cricket Azima
The Creative Kitchen, May 2009
www.thecreativekitchen.com
$34.95 CD-ROM
ISBN-13: 978-0982413906
ISBN-10: 0982413904

Available on www.amazon.com

Sample chapters are available at www.culinaryimprovisation.com.

Contact erin@thecreativekitchen.com for desk copies or to book an author lecture.

Citing the first "muckraking" journalists, such as Henry Demarest Lloyd and David Graham Phillips, Zimmerman argues that  journalists who investigate issues of corruption or malfeasance can have a profound effect on democracy.

Although some small blogs are maintaining coverage of state capitols in the wake of cuts to mainstream media, it is unclear whether these innovations will work.

"Without more reporting from state capitols, most of us won't have a clue what our lawmakers are doing," he writes. 

Writing in The New York Times, book critic Dwight Garner calls Michael and Elizabeth Norman's Tears in the Darkness "authoritative history" and "a narrative achievement."

Tears in the Darkness: The Story of the Bataan Death March and its Aftermath, is the extraordinary story of America's worst military defeat told from the shifting point of view of three cultures: American, Japanese, and Filipino. Until the Japanese surrendered in August 1945, the Filipino and American prisoners of war on the tiny Philipine peninsula of Bataan suffered an ordeal of unparalleled cruelty and savagery: forty-one months of captivity, starvation rations, dehydration, hard labor, deadly disease, and torture.

Juxtaposed against the sobering tale of the Death March and its aftermath is the story of Ben Steele, a young 22 year old Montana cowboy who wanted to see the world and serve his country.

To read the full New York Times review of Tears in the Darkness, click here.

To read an interview with Michael and Elizabeth Norman, click here. 

Elizabeth Norman is a professor in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences in the Professions at NYU Steinhardt. 

Module 1: Gross Screens/Scans and Differential Diagnosis
Gail D. Deyle, PT, DPT, DSc, OCS, FAAOMPT
Physical Therapy Consultant in San Antonio, TX
October 9-10, 2009

Module 2: Shoulder
Eric J. Hegedus, PT, MHSc, OCS, CSCS
Doctor of Physical Therapy Division
Department of Community and Family Medicine
Duke University
October 30-31, 2009

Module 3: Elbow, Wrist and Hand
Susan Michlovitz, PT, PhD, CHT
Cayuga Hand Therapy PT, Ithaca, NY
and
Adjunct Associate Professor, Rehabilitation Medicine
Columbia University
November 20-21, 2009

Module 4: Knee
Tara Jo Manal, PT, DPT, OCS, SCS
Director of Clinical Services, Department of Physical Therapy
University of Delaware
December 4-5, 200

Registration Deadline: 1 month prior to each module

Contact: Anne Seaton, 380 Second Ave, 4th Fl, New York, NY 10010, 212-998-9414, mas2@nyu.edu

Only Physical Therapists may apply

Seating is limited to 30

Cost: $400 per weekend,$1600 for 4 weekends

Credits can be applied towards the Clinical Residency Program in Orthopedic Physical Therapy. The student must enroll as a special student at NYU and attend all 4 modules to obtain 3 graduate credits.

NYU is an eligible sponsor of the mandatory continuing education hours for licensed PTs required by the New York State Education Department.

• Babies and Toddlers (up 5 yrs. old)
• Bobkittens" a.k.a Kids (6-11yrs. old
•  "Jr. Bobcats" a.k.a Young Adults (12-16yrs. old)
• Moms and Dads To Be
• Single Parents
  

This issue, and many others, were discussed at a recent event hosted by the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Humand Development and the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service on May 27. The breakfast discussion featured Dalton Conley, University Professor and Dean of Social Sciences, New York University; Linda Mills, Senior Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education & University Life and Professor of Social Work, Public Policy and Law, New York University; Lionel Tiger, Charles Darwin Professor of Anthropology at Rutgers University, and Peg Tyre, Pulitzer Prize winner and author of The Trouble with Boys.

The Future of Men from NYU Steinhardt on Vimeo.

Although her journey from the housing projects of the Bronx to Princeton University and Yale Law School is impressive, they write, her successes stand in stark contrast to the realities of many of today's Latino students. Making up more than 25 percent of students K-12, Latinos face the largest drop-out rate and lowest college attendance level of all racial/ethnic groups.

They call on President Obama to develop evidence-based interventions to help curb the Latino/white achievement gap.

"Judge Sotomayor's biography is all the more inspiring considering the odds she faced," they write. "After celebrating her biography and debating her ideology let us turn this moment into a reflection of the work ahead so that the more than 16 million Latina and Latino children have a fair chance to follow her path."

To read the full article, click here.

View some photos of the event:

The presentation of the 2009 AOTA and AOTF Awards & Recognitions at the conference on April 25^th was a particularly proud moment for the NYU Occupational Therapy community.  Congratulations go out to Assistant Professor Kristie Koenig, who was named to the American Occupational Therapy Association Roster of Fellows this year.  This prestigious and highly selective award acknowledges her for "Innovative Leadership in Research, Education and Practice in Occupational Therapy." We are proud to add her to the list of NYU OT faculty who hold the AOTA Roster of Fellows recognition: Jane Bear-Lehman, Jim Hinojosa, and Anita Perr.

Also named on this year's AOTA Roster of Fellows was NYU Alumna Sharon A. Gutman, PhD, OTR, Class of '97, who was honored for "Outstanding Contributions to Research and Intervention in Autism." Another NYU Alumna, Margret Kaplan, PhD, OTR, Class of '02, received the AOTA Recognition of Achievement Award for "Promoting Family-Centered Practice for Underserved Children."  Hearty congratulations to them both and to the many other NYU OT Alumni who were recognized at this year's conference.

The NYU OT faculty presentations at this year's AOTA conference included a workshop entitled, "Evaluation and Treatment of Peripheral Nerve Injuries: An Evidenced-Based Approach," given by Clinical Assistant Professor Sally Poole, MS, OTR/L, CHT and her colleagues Colleen Maher, MS, OTR/L, CHT and Serina Berger, MS, OTR.  Associate Professor and Department Chair Jane Bear-Lehman, presented a poster, "Unilateral and Bilateral Upper Extremity Weight-bearing Effect on Hand Function And Functional Performance After Brain Injury," and former Teaching Assistant, Tien-Ni Wang, presented a poster entitled, "The Relationship Between Postural Control and Fine Motor Skills in Preterm Infants."

The first one is "Immigration & HIV risk among documented and undocumented Mexican immigrants" (PIs: F. Kapadia & Y. Ruiz) and totals $10,000. 

The second is "Migration and HIV risk among Poblano migrants in New York City: A Community-Academic Collaboration" (PIs: F. Kapadia & Y. Ruiz), which totals $14, 995. 

Both grants will be conducted during the Fall 2009 - Spring 2010 academic year.

Steinhardt recently unveiled a new video website!  Check back often to stay up-to-date with our students and faculty, as well as view media on the alumni events that you were not able to attend.

Recent alumni events include:

The Juicy Couture Roundtable

Gastropolis: Food and New York City book signing and panel discussion

The Walter Reinhold Recital

The Educational Theatre Alumni Reception and Performance and more!

The last entries will be accepted on June 8, 2009 at 8:00 am GMT. Brand winners will be announced on June 15. The top three finalists will be announced on June 25 and the grand prize winner will take the main stage at Cannes on June 26, after they will have provided the ultimate in "consumer feedback." The U¹² competition is open to everyone. For complete competition rules and to submit video entries, please visit MOFILM at www.mofilm.com.

• Opening Music and Steinhardt Singers
• Dean Brabeck and Dean Robin Welcome
• David McLaughlin - Provost of NYU
• Distinguished Alumni Speaker Linda Carter, Ph.D. '74
• Faculty Speaker Robert Rowe
• Student Speaker Preetika Mukherjee, Ph.D. '09, Department of Applied Psychology
• Student Awards
• Steinhardt Singers
• Hooding Ceremony
• Congratulations!

The article is titled NYU Students Bring Aid to the Bronx and is available online.

As an education intern at the Jane Goodall Institute-Uganda, I am working for both urban and rural schools in districts that are located near large chimpanzee populations in the lush East African country of Uganda. I am helping to write an environmental education curriculum guide for Primary 1 and Primary 2 — the equivalent of our 1st and 2nd grades. I came here because I wanted to help educate communities who live side by side with wild animals in the hopes of benefiting the animals as well as the people. I feel you have to help the people living in the same habitat first and educate them as to why the animals around them are so important before you can get them to see their intrinsic value and want to aid in conserving them. I chose to study in Steinhardt’s Environmental Education Conservation Program because I was looking to push my career forward and move from working with captive animal populations (in zoos) to making a difference in wild habitats.

I am working with teachers to write basic environmental education lesson plans to go along with the national educational requirements. The most difficult obstacle I have found is the lack of materials available to the students. They don’t have the basics we have, such as crayons, scissors, individual workbooks, etc. I have been trying to come up with recipes for materials, like glue (made out of cassava flour and water). Otherwise, they have the environment outside the school to work with. I liken it to being in a summer camp situation where instructors can’t carry loads of materials into the woods or on a hike for activities and can only use what they find around them and their imaginations.

New York artist, Janet Goldner was selected for a Fulbright Specialists project in Bamako, Mali at Balla Fasseke Kouyate Conservatory of Arts and Multimedia during the month of May, according to the United States Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.

Goldner conducted a three week seminar for visual art and multimedia students.  Using a process originated by the renowned feminist art critic, Arlene Raven, students examined the reasons and context of their artistic production in order to deepen their understanding of their work.

Over thirty years as an active artist, Goldner has shown her work in over twenty solo exhibitions, and nearly one hundred group exhibitions throughout the United States, as well as in Lithuania, Germany, Italy, Bosnia, Australia, New Zealand, and Mali. She is the recipient of numerous awards, grants, and artist residencies, including a Fulbright Senior Research Fellowship to Mali in 1994-5 and a grant from the UN Special Committee Against Apartheid.  Her work has been published in many books, journals, magazines, catalogs and news sources.  An artist-scholar, she has curated exhibitions, published articles and catalogs, and lectured at conferences, universities, and community venues.  She has also conducted sculpture workshops and community art projects in both the United States and Mali.

Goldner is one of over 400 U.S. faculty and professionals who will travel abroad this year through the Fulbright Specialists Program. Recipients of Fulbright Scholar awards are selected on the basis of academic or professional achievement.  The Fulbright Specialists Program, created in 2000 to complement the traditional Fulbright Scholar Program, provides short-term academic opportunities (two to six weeks) to prominent U.S. faculty and professionals to support curricular and faculty development and institutional planning at post secondary, academic institutions around the world.

The Fulbright Program, America's flagship international educational exchange activity, is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Over its 60 years of existence, thousands of U.S. faculty and professionals have taught, studied or conducted research abroad, and thousands of their counterparts from other countries have engaged in similar activities in the United States. Over 285,000 emerging leaders in their professional fields have received Fulbright awards, including individuals who later became heads of government, Nobel Prize winners, and leaders in education, business, journalism, the arts and other fields. 

For further information about the Fulbright Specialists Program, please contact FULSPEC@cies.iie.org or consult www.cies.org.  For further information about Janet Goldner, please contact art@janetgoldner.com or consult www.janetgoldner.com.

For more information on the OMG Center, please click here.

For more information on the RWJ Foundation Emerging Fellows program, please click here.

Much of our hour-long conversation focuses on the primary issues: time, money and access. It is clear that through her post at Slow Food, Lesser is committed to changing our country for the better. Her carefully chosen words throughout the meeting demonstrate her ability to see the bigger construct that impacts American's eating habits - policy, legislation, education - and that she wants to do something about it.  

For more on this article, please click here.

A National Program Connecting Mentors and Projects Before They Are Submitted to Festivals

Narrative Lab Submission Deadline: Friday, April 17

Led by experienced producers, the Labs assist filmmakers in tackling the creative challenges of completing their modestly-budgeted, independently produced films - getting a leg-up before industry exposure. The five-day mentorship program in NYC challenges filmmakers to realize the full potential of their footage and stories with ongoing dynamic feedback and advice on technical & creative issues and distribution methods. The Labs are for first-time, narrative feature directors in the late stages of post-production. For more information & application: http://labs.ifp.org

Given the Obama administration's emphasis on education reform, he argues that "improving teacher preparation will be difficult unless we establish new and more definitive models of excellence for our schools of education."

Fraser, senior vice president for programs of the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, is also the author of Preparing America's Teachers: A History. 

To read the full Commentary, click here.

In a statement announcing the appointment, Tisch remarked that under her leadership, the Board will "embrace innovation with a data-driven approach that seeks to constantly identify and advance policies and best practices to raise test scores, raise graduation rates, and finally close the achievement gap." A former elementary school teacher, Tisch serves on the executive committees of numerous non-profit organizations and institutions of higher education, in addition to currently serving on the Dean's Council of NYU Steinhardt. The New York State Board of Regents sets education policy and supervises the State Department of Education as well as the state university system.

Alumni and friends of NYU
NYU Steinhardt's Department of Occupational Therapy
Invite you to join us for an

Alumni Dessert Reception

during the
American Occupation Therapy Association's
89th Annual Conference

Friday, April 24, 2009
8:00 - 10:00 p.m.

HILTON AMERICAS
ROOM 336A
1600 Lamar
Houston, TX 77010
Conference Headquarters

No RVSP necessary; for more information please contact: occupational.therapy@nyu.edu, or 212-998-5825

New York City is known for its unique street style and we want you to capture it. Juicy Couture is sponsoring a photography competition in conjunction with NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, and PAPER magazine. Send photos of the fashion that New York City is known for and you could win $1,000 in prizes, a photo exhibit at Juicy Couture's Bleecker Street location, invitations to a reception hosted by Jiucy Couture and PAPER Magazine, and exposure on juicycouture.com.

To enter, email your photos (no more than 20MB) to juicymarketing@juicycouture.com no later than Monday, April 20, 2009. All photos will be judged based on their overall photographic and artistic quality, as well as their interpretation of the theme. For more information, email the address above.

To watch a video of the Dean's Roundtable with Juicy Couture, click here.

Rosenman, who passed away in 2008, was one of Hollywood's most iconic and respected film and television composers. With a career spanning 46 years, he can best be remembered for his Academy Award winning work in "Barry Lyndon" (1975) and "Bound for Glory" (1976), as well as his early film scores for the James Dean films "East of Eden" and "Rebel Without a Cause."

In addition to his more popular and recognizable works, Rosenman was an accomplished concert composer. The recent concert (a collaboration between Tisch Film and Animation students and Steinhardt Film Composers) honored Rosenman's deep commitment to music by performing his film scores in a concert suite and introducing short films inspired by Rosenman.  Maestro Dunn, who originally started out on the path to become an ophthalmological surgeon, was one of Rosenman's former students.  Their paths crossed most fortuitously when Dunn and his family were in the process of searching for a home in the Los Angeles area.  The night of the performance, Dunn warmly introduced each piece, giving the audience an opportunity to hear again the manner in which Rosenman was able to draw on concert techniques in his compositions for film.

In addition to the 600 guests in attendance were Judie Gregg Rosenman and more than 35 family and friends who traveled from California to be a part of the special tribute. The evening marked the inauguration of The Leonard Rosenman Collection, a gift of the composer's manuscripts and scores to the Steinhardt Film Scoring Program and the Fales Library Special Collection. The Collection is the second major gift of its kind, and will serve as a resource to student's studying film scoring, in particular those with an interest in composing.  Rosenman, a native-New Yorker, established a connection to NYU in the mid-nineties while he was a composer in-residence at the school; he had a strong appreciation for the Steinhardt program's inclusive approach among all the musical disciplines (history, composition, film scoring, etc.) and developed relationships with faculty members, such as Michael Patterson and Dr. Ronald Sadoff.

Dunn, Patterson, and Sadoff (current Director of the Film Scoring Program in Steinhardt) were instrumental in planning the evening. In his remarks, Sadoff reflected on the generosity of the Rosenman family and the influence of this masterful musician: "Our students and the world's leading film music scholars will study these scores for generations.  Reflecting the contents of the Rosenman collection, this concert serves as a testament to Leonard's tremendous talent and influence.  But it also represents a more subtle and integral aspect of Rosenman's creative process: his seamless flow of musical ideas which permeated both his concert music and his film scores.  His straddling of those two musical spheres was no mean feat, but it was here where Leonard most profoundly influenced my vision for film scoring at NYU."

To learn more about Steinhardt Film Scoring Program or the Fales Library Special Collection please visit www.nyu.edu.

The study stems from the Chicago School Readiness Project (CSRP) that Raver developed; the study measured the impact of classroom-based interventions in Head Start classrooms. The interventions were designed to reduce children's behavioral problems and improve their readiness for school.

Sue Shellenbarger, a Wall Street Journal columnist who covers  work and family, recently noted Raver's study in a column on classroom behavior. 

To read more about Raver and the Chicago School Readiness Project, click here.

To read Sue Shellenbarger's column, click here.

RSVP at http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/appsych/rsvp

RSVP at http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/appsych/rsvp

NYU Jazz Studies website here.

Two graduates of the Department of Administration, Leadership, and Technology are being recognized for their stellar dissertation work.

 
Amy Lui-Abel, PhD '08 and member of the Steinhardt Alumni Association, has been recognized for the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Workplace Learning SIG 2008 Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award. The work is titled The Development of a Conceptual Framework and Taxonomy for Defining and Classifying Corporate Universities. The award will be presented at this year's AERA Conference in San Diego, CA. The same dissertation was a nominee for NYU Steinhardt's 2008 Outstanding Dissertation Award.

Lui-Abel's forthcoming publications include a chapter in The International Handbook of Workplace Learning by Sage Publications, titled Corporate Universities in the USA, and a refereed journal article titled Institutionalizing Strategic Learning in the Workplace: The Evolution of Training Departments into Corporate Universities.

Lynn Bacon Keane, PhD '07, recently won the Delta Pi Epsilon Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award for her dissertation, A Technology-Supported Academic Community of Practice: A Case Study. 

A graduate of the Business Education program at Steinhardt, Lynn's research focuses on learning in community, service learning, and new technologies to support learning and collaboration. Currently teaching in the Technology Support and Training Management program at the University of South Carolina, she and her colleagues are implementing an innovative service learning project in which students from USC's capstone project management class collaborate with training students to deliver computer workshops to senior adult participants. Keane has also delivered several presentations this past year about using wikis, blogs, and web 2.0 technologies in the classroom.

Visit the Department of Administration, Leadership, and Technology website to learn more about this program of study.

Earth Hour: Vote for planet Earth by turning off your lights on Saturday, March 28 from 8:30-9:30 pm. New York University and NYC have signed on to join billions of people around the world by turning off lights in this visible commitment to meeting the challenge of global warming. Learn more about Earth Hour.

NYUnplugged is the campus-wide residence hall energy-saving challenge which starts on April 1st and runs throughout the month. NYU residence halls compete to achieve the greatest reduction in electricity use. The winning hall gets prizes and a "party in the dark" at the end of the semester. Last year's champion was Greenwich Hall with a 24% reduction!

Visit the NYUnplugged website for more info, how to get involved, and live tracking of results.

In early April, application forms will be available for Green Grants - competitively-awarded funds for campus greening projects that improve NYU's environmental performance, advance applied research goals, and foster a campus culture of sustainability. The NYU Sustainability Task Force-sponsored grants are open to all NYU students, faculty, and staff.

Learn about how to apply at the Green Grants Info Session on April 22nd, and read more about this year's projects at the Green Grants website.

More events

• » April 16-18: Trail Conservation Camping Trip
• » April 20-24: Earth Week Film Series
  Don't miss films such as "Still We Ride!", a documentary about the Critical Mass biking movement - check the Earth Week Calendar for a complete screening schedule.
• » April 21, 6:00 pm: Oxford expert Cameron Hepburn lecture -
  Beating Long Odds: A New Global Deal on Climate Change' (Gould Welcome Ctr, 50 W. 4th St)
• » April 22:
  • » 10:00-2:00 pm: Earth Day Street Fair
    Featuring Music by Long Haul and Steinhardt Undergraduate Student Performers
    (Washington Place between Greene and Washington Square East)
  • » 4:00-5:00 pm: Green Grants Info Session (RSVP)
    (Silver Center, Jurow Lecture Hall)
  • » 5:00-8:00 pm: Green Grants Project Symposium (RSVP)
    See posters, presentations, video, and more as leaders of NYU's 2008-09 Green Grants present the outcomes of their projects. (Silver Center, Jurow Lecture Hall and Silverstein Lounge)
  • » 6:00-9:00 pm: Earth Day Networking Dinner - Eat and Greet, Minus the Meat! (RSVP)
    Join Earth Matters for a delicious vegetarian buffet and panel discussion: "Follow Your Food," featuring keynote speaker, PETA's Bruce Friedrich. (Kimmel Center, Rosenthal Pavilion)

View the full Earth Week calendar for more info.

Release of NYU Environmental Assessment

The Sustainability Task Force has completed NYU's first comprehensive Environmental Assessment, a detailed evaluation of data and statistics regarding NYU's environmental impacts. Using this snapshot of NYU's eco-footprint, we can track NYU's progress toward sustainability in the future.

Review the Environmental Assessment Report on the Sustainability website to learn more.

Are you a Veteran and also a student or alumnus of New York University? Let us know!

A networking group is being created for the unique men and women who contribute so much to our country and our NYU community. The non-political group will work to connect alumni and students who have shared common experiences and have common interests. Participation will also be a great way to focus on generating ideas on how to assist veterans make a transition from military to campus life or to just get together.

Faculty, students, staff and friends are encouraged to join and support the veterans of our country's Armed Forces.

Ron Sadoff, Steinhardt associate professor of music, composed the score for "Chuck Jones: Memories of Childhood," which features music by David Schroeder, director of NYU Jazz studies, and his band Combo Nuvo.

The original TCM documentary, created by Oscar-winners John Canemaker and Peggy Stern, features one of the last filmed interviews with Jones. The half-hour documentary also includes clips from Jones' cartoons, along with vintage photographs and new animation based on drawings Jones made during the interview. 

Canemaker is a professor at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, where he directs the Animation Program of the Kanbar Institute of Film and Television.

For more information, visit tcm.com.

The Job Squad focused on a group of four job seekers hitting the pavement to find work during  challenging economic times. Nova, as the just-out-of-college grad looking for her first real job, was joined by three others; the downsized-loyal employee with kids; the stay-at-home mom suddenly forced to try to return to the workforce to help the family; and a 60-plus job seeker who took a beating in the stock market, making retirement a distant dream.

Watch the video

Teaching Robots to See
Thursday, March 26, 7 - 9 p.m.
Woolworth Building, 15 Barclay Street (between Broadway and Church), 4th floor (NYU-SCPS entrance)
By combining recent advances in automatic machine learning and visual neuroscience, mobile robots can be taught to detect and recognize objects and obstacles and can automatically adapt to unknown environments. Speaker Yann LeCun is Silver Professor of Computer Science at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, NYU. His learning-based image understanding techniques are used in many industrial applications including video surveillance, document understanding, and human-computer interaction.

Systems Biology: Learning the Circuits That Run Life's Program
Thursday, April 16, 7 - 9 p.m.
Woolworth Building, 15 Barclay Street (between Broadway and Church), 4th floor (NYU-SCPS entrance)
Whole genome sequencing has allowed biologists to collect complete parts lists for several organisms. The challenge now lies in building up working models of how the thousands of genes composing an organism result in function, form, and behavior. In spite of the formidable challenges associated with building up models of these networks (due to their size and complexity), biologists are starting to achieve critical milestones.

This event is led by Rich Bonneau, assistant professor at NYU's Center for Comparative Functional Genomics. Bonneau was recently selected as one of the top 20 scientists under 40 years old by Discover magazine.

Neurocinematics! Where Neuroscience Meets Filmmaking
Monday, May 4, 7 - 9 p.m.
New York Academy of Sciences, 7 World Trade Center, 250 Greenwich St., 40th floor
Join us as a panel of experts on the brain and cinema draw an interdisciplinary connection between film and neuroscience.

Speakers:
David Heeger and Barbara Knappmyer of the NYU Computational Neuroimaging Laboratory
Nava Rubin of the NYU Center for Neural Science
Uri Hasson of the Department of Psychology and the Neuroscience Institute at Princeton University
Michael Grabowski, NYU Adjunct Instructor in Film, Video, and Broadcasting

 To learn more or register for the events, click here.

Congratulations to Merryl Tisch on her election as Chancellor of the NY State Board of Regents

by Meredith Kolodner, Daily News Staff Writer

Steinhardt alumna and philanthropist Merryl Tisch, who once taught first grade, was elected Monday as the first woman chancellor of the Board of Regents. She will serve out the remaining year of outgoing Chancellor Robert Bennett's three-year term. Tisch, a board member since 1996, said she hopes to up graduation rates for black and Latino students, English language learners and special-needs kids. "As chancellor, I will insist that we continue to raise standards for all of our children and hold every school district accountable for their results," she said. The Regents supervise the state universities, museums and libraries, and set overall education policy.

Congratulations Shoshana!

Congratulations Richard!

IREX, an international non-profit organization in Washington, DC, is offering an exciting international travel grant opportunity for US secondary level teachers through the Teaching Excellence and Achievement Program (TEA).  This program is funded by the U.S. Department of State. 

IREX is recruiting for the U.S. teachers reciprocal visit component of the program. The applicants we are seeking are U.S. secondary-level teachers of English or the social sciences to participate in a two-week professional exchange program in one of the following countries: Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Colombia, El Salvador, Georgia, Ghana, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Nicaragua, Senegal, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Ukraine.

Eligible applicants must be:

Secondary-level (middle or high school), full-time teachers with five or more years of classroom experience in disciplines including English as a Foreign Language, English Language or Literature, and the Social Sciences (including social studies, civics, and history); U.S. citizenship; and ability to travel in April, 2010.

The program is fully funded and provides: visa support; round-trip domestic airfare, lodging and meals to attend the TEA U.S. Conference; round-trip airfare from the U.S. to the assigned country; emergency medical insurance; as well as lodging and a daily stipend in host country.

The TEA U.S. teacher application is available for download at our website: www.irex.org.

The New York University Creative Writing Program is pleased to announce the launch of The Iraq Veterans Writing Workshop, a free, non-partisan outreach program offered to the veterans' community in and around New York City.

Resuming in February 2009, an experienced and dedicated NYU Creative Writing Fellow will lead a weekly writing workshop for veterans of the Gulf War and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in a wheelchair accessible classroom at NYU. This workshop will be free of charge, small in size (limited to fifteen writers), and will offer participants the opportunity to express themselves on paper, to bear witness to their experiences, and to explore the basics of the craft of writing in a welcoming community of fellow veteran writers.

The Veterans Writing Workshop will be held on Saturday afternoons from 2:00- 4:00 pm. If you are interested in joining, or to find out more, please contact Zachary Sussman, Program Coordinator, at (212) 992-9809 or zachary.sussman@nyu.edu.

"Music reduces depression," he says. "We have so many examples of people who are isolated and withdrawn and not relating who, through musical interaction, will become animated and interested in what is going on around them."

The Music Technology Program of New York University's Steinhardt School showcased the latest work by our students. The event consisted of posters, performances and interactive demonstrations spanning a multitude of music and audio related topics.

The Music Technology Program at New York University (NYU) is pleased to announce the opening of its new Ph.D. program in Music Technology, to start in the Fall of 2008. The doctoral program and its curriculum are the results of collaboration between NYU's Departments of Music and Performing Arts Professions in the Steinhardt School, and Computer Science and Mathematics in the Courant Institute.

The Music Technology Program of New York University's Steinhardt School showcased the latest work by our students. The event consisted of posters, performances and interactive demonstrations spanning a multitude of music and audio related topics.

The computer-based mapping of musical information to intuitive visual representations has many applications to the composition, analysis, education and performance of music, to name a few examples. This workshop will feature talks and demonstrations highlighting some of the most recent advances in the field, and will provide a space for discussing the methodological, artistic and scientific implications of this line of work.

The International Conference on Music Information Retrieval (still referred to by its historical acronym, ISMIR) is the first established international forum for research on the organization of music-related data. Given the tremendous growth of digital music and music metadata in recent years, methods for effectively extracting, searching, and organizing music information have received widespread interest from academia and the information and entertainment industries.
The purpose of ISMIR is to provide a venue for the exchange of news, ideas, and results through the presentation of original theoretical or practical work. By bringing together researchers and developers, educators and librarians, students and professional users, all working in fields that contribute to this multidisciplinary domain, the conference also serves as a discussion forum, provides introductory and in-depth information on specific domains, and showcases current products.
Symposium : Interactive Visualizations of Music: May 29th, 2008 at 2pm

Susan Braham undertook a professional transformation to occupational therapy after pursuing careers in dance performance, choreography, massage therapy and yoga therapy. Building on her varied experience, she hopes to continue to expand her holistic perspective on helping others during her graduate work at NYU. Her motivation in the field of OT is grounded in the desire to empower people, and to help them help themselves. Susan has particular interest in hand and upper extremity work as well as in pain management, end of life issues, and hospice care.

Janelle Carbo began the OT program at NYU determined to become a hand therapist. Although she continues to pursue that goal, she has adopted a new perspective that is less focused on a person's hands and more concerned with the person as a whole.  Indeed, her interests in occupational therapy are varied, and she approaches the transition from student to practitioner with the desire to be client-centered while striving to become the best professional that she can be.

Razia Khan recently participated in the Disability in a Global Context course in Ghana which has inspired her to set her sights on a series of new goals. Previously committed to becoming a school-based therapist in the US, she is now interested in practicing abroad and creating programs for occupational therapy education in developing countries. Razia aspires to make a contribution to global awareness, and to help people who have limited access to the services that we take for granted in the US.

The Frieda J. Behlen Occupational Therapy Scholarship is an endowed fund created principally by gifts from NYU OT alumni to honor the memory of Frieda J. Behlen, founder and longtime chair of NYU's Department of Occupational Therapy.  The award takes the form of a tuition credit applied toward summer courses because summer student financial aid is generally not available. 

His awards included: "The 2000 Distinguished Teaching Excellence Award" of New York University" School of Education, designating the recipient as "A distinguished Professor" in his field of endeavor, presented during the University's Commencement Ceremony; "Presidential Citation" by U. S. President Bill Clinton on July 16, 1997 for 50 years of teaching, The White House, Washington D.C.; "Professor of the Year Award", 1992, New York University" and "Educator of the Year Award", 1979, Hellenic American Educators.

NYU Alumna Linda Sanger made a gift to the Education Health and the Arts Foundation (E.H.A.), of New York University in 2002, for a Children's Book Collection entitled "The Constantine Georgiou Children's Book Library". The Georgiou Book Center houses an extensive collection of children's traditional, religious and holiday literature. "Our library is the first of its kind at a University," said Georgiou in a previous interview. "I hope it will set a precedent for other institutions to emulate. It is wonderful to finally have a children's library that everyone - children, students and the community- will be able to use. I have worked diligently over the years, and with much love, to bring recognition to the field of children's literature. This wonderful gift from the E.H.A. Foundation is inspiring."

Tributes were paid by prominent persons. Dr. Jerrold Ross, Dean of St. John's University School of Education, said "Constantine must be reading to the angels by now. I recall with great delight that the New York City Teacher's Center wanted to hear from Constantine over anyone else, enlightening the universities' mentors and guides. The modesty with which Constantine received this news only heightened the warmth and excitement that heralded his many appearances for that group. The same was true of his courses. Constantine was genuine, unique, scholarly and intensely human."

Dr. John G. Siolas of St. John's University said, "he was my Professor, Mentor and a father to me for many, many years." Dr. Steve Papadopoulos of the City University of New York (CUNY) remembered him as "a wonderful person. We will love you and miss you, always." Many recall him as a benefactor who helped all. 29 year old Dr. Despina Siolas of Stony Brook University Medical School said, "I'm very sorry to hear the sad news. I have many memories of Prof. Georgiou and his books, especially, The Clock."

Dr. Constantine Georgiou is a descendant of a famous Greek Shipping family: The House of Rallis based in London, England. His Mother's family, the Rallis brothers, was from Epirus, Greece. His father was from Cyprus. He was born in New York City on April 2 the date of Hans Christian Anderson's birthday which has been designated as "The International Children's Book Day ". He spent most of his childhood years in Calcuta, India, London and New York . The late educator aided the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, Greek-American organizations, international universities and companies. Many influential business and education leaders were aided by Professor Georgiou in their early years as Graduate Students and Doctoral Candidates at New York University.

"Children and Their Literature" by Dr. Constantine Georgiou is the leading reference book on this topic. Dr. Georgiou said, "Some of the loveliest children's books published today are new editions of the well-loved tales, selected from the world's folklore.Considered universal literature, these time honored stories have been born out of a deep understanding of real life, which they mirror in story form. The portrayal of life is infused with a worldly wisdom that know no boundaries of time or social order. Indestructible, they have transcended time and have come down in literary history as the world's heritage of rich and profound tales." Professor Constantine Georgiou was a rare individual blessed with a gift for inspiring others. He was a STORYTELLER. His example will be emulated by the students he inspired who will carry on his legacy of community and education service in the years to come.

Zimmerman argues that the federal government has historically distributed aid to schools for construction and repair. He cites Franklin Delano Roosevelt's focus on rural schools during the economic crisis of the 1930s.

"All told, the federal goverment spent over $1 billion on school construction between 1933 and 1942," he writes. "So when present-day Republicans say that school building has always been the exclusive province of states and localities, they're simply misinformed."

Zimmerman notes that federal funding for school contruction began to dry up in the 1950s, as Southern congressmen blocked school funding bills because the measures required the schools to desegregate. He cites a Department of Education study that found by 1999, 75 percent of schools were in "disrepair."

"Ironically, these same years witnessed massive and unprecedented incursions into teaching, curriculum and other school priorities," he writes. "In a nation founded on the ideal of human equality, no child should be left behind in a decrepit, dilapidated school."

To read the full column, click here.

The 2009 Awards night will take place on April 23rd, at the Kimmel Center for Student Life.

Students may nominate themselves for a variety of awards and scholarships.  All student nominations must be submitted by March 6, 2009.  Please click the following link to apply:  http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/appsych/awards

How are children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) educated?

Most often, children with an ASD are educated in a self-contained class. Alternatively, they can be placed in a general education class with an aide. Neither setting is ideal. Self-contained classes don’t help children learn how to interact with their typically developing peers and often don’t provide sufficient access to the academic curriculum. General education classes are too large, socially stressful and over-stimulating for most children with ASD.

Talk a little about your ideas for integrating children with autism into public school classrooms.

My ideas for integrating children with autism evolved from my experience as a parent, special ed advocate, and school board member in Brooklyn’s District 15 in the late ‘80s and early 90s. District 15 tried a radical experiment: it created a school in which special and general education children were educated together in the same classroom with two teachers sharing the teaching responsibilities. This experimental program, called The Children’s School, showed that a carefully designed, truly collaborative team teaching (CTT) classroom is the best option for most children with special needs.

How is the program that you helped create different from the collaborative team teaching (CTT) program?

Working with a group of District 15 educators, we set out to create a therapeutic environment within the academic framework of a CTT class. The main idea is to train a team of teachers and therapists on the strategies, structures, and approaches that work best with higher functioning children on the autism spectrum. There are weekly team meetings, so that everyone interacting with the child is aware of his needs and the strategies the team has decided to use to maximize the child’s success. Today, almost all the children who started out in the Nest program are thriving. Parents and principals alike are thrilled and tell me that the structure and strategies they learned have influenced the entire school community and how we treat all children.

by Alison Fanous

Professor Gerald Voelbel joined NYU as Assistant Professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy in September 2008.  He has a PhD in Psychology with a concentration in Neuropsychology.  Coming from outside the field of occupational therapy, Professor Voelbel brings increased perspective to the OT Department; he brings insight into the value of conversation and connection between neuroscience, neuropsychology and occupational therapy.

"The crossover is trying to understand the neural science part of it, cognitive as well as brain aspects, and then linking it to rehabilitation."

In fact, much of Professor Voelbel's work is focused on translational research.  Professor Voelbel describes his research in three stages: first, understanding the cognitive deficits that occur as a result of an event such as traumatic brain injury or a condition such as multiple sclerosis; second, gaining an understanding of what parts of the neural system are affected by the disorder.  The third aspect involves cognitive rehabilitation: trying to give cognitive tools to people with disorders so that they can have richer life experiences and return to their normal lives.

Professor Voelbel's research focuses on patients who have suffered traumatic brain injuries and people diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Functional neuroimaging tools are used to see what parts of the neural system are affected in such patients.  Professor Voelbel uses a neuroimaging tool named functional near-infared spectroscopy (fNIRS), which employs light of a specific wavelength that can penetrate bone and detect changes in oxygenated and deoxygenated blood.  Using this tool, researchers are able to see when the brain is active in a specific region: active regions have more oxygenated blood and vasodilation, and after the cells use it the blood becomes deoxygenated. "We can see where the oxygenated blood is going and where it is used.  We can see what parts of the brain are active and which are not."

The clinical relevance of this tool is significant, says Professor Voelbel.  Through his research, he observes that there are specific brain disorders (such as in mild traumatic brain injury) for which there are very few good diagnostic tools because there is no damage to brain tissue, no contusion, or no hematoma. "However we do know there is disruption in the cellular mechanism in the acute phase.  PET scans show this over 10 days: cells are working harder but being deprived of glucose and oxygen as the vascular system is constricted."  The ability of fNIRS to detect and show the oxygenation level of blood in the brain means that it may be utilized as an emergency room tool to diagnose mild traumatic brain injury or concussion.  This tool is also mobile so it can be used to perform bedside evaluations of whether or not a patient is aware, has cognitive faculties, or is emerging from a coma. 

Using fNIRS, Professor Voelbel is investigating executive dysfunction in mild traumatic brain injury. This study investigates the cognitive function of problem solving, attention as well as working memory, with the view to helping with treatment protocols for mild traumatic brain injury.  Professor Voelbel has another specific goal for this ongoing research: "I hope to utilize the fNIRS tool in diagnosing concussions in athletes, from recreational athletes all the way to professional athletes." This technology may become useful for deciding when the appropriate time is for the athlete's return to play. He is a co-investigator of a NIH Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grant mechanism, which is investigating the utility of fNIRS technology in moderate and severe traumatic brain injury. "Using this technology we can target interventions that can help with the recovery of cognitive functions."  Professor Voelbel is also conducting research in a similar fashion with people diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, investigating the neural mechanisms that are affected by MS that consequently affect working memory and concentration.

Another pending trajectory of Professor Voelbel's research is to start a speed of processing intervention study: one with multiple sclerosis and one with traumatic brain injury.  "Speed of information processing is one of the primary sequela of these conditions, which can impact people in their everyday lives and the functions of everyday living.  The goal here is to create an enhanced treatment protocol to benefit such patients."

A background in neuroscience and neuropsychology, which is both clinical and experimental, helps to guide Professor Voelbel's research toward turning something that is experimental into something clinically relevant. This of course is what translational neuroscience is all about.  "I'm not just working on the bench, rather I am doing experimental research that can be applied to treat, or diagnose or to understand at a clinical level what is happening with people with MS or traumatic brain injury."

Professor Voelbel teaches Neuroscience and the Medical and Psychiatric Conditions courses in the OT Department.  Both are critical to the education of occupational therapists. For, without an understanding of neural science and the nervous system, he says, occupational therapy practitioners will have difficulty treating patients.  "Most of the interventions that occupational therapists create are ameliorating a disorder of the CNS (central nervous system).  Therefore, understanding the mechanism of the disorder is crucial.  Students in OT are taught to treat the whole person. What I try to teach them is some of the basic fundamentals of neuroscience from the cellular level to a functional level. That is the course that I want them to understand: the movement from the cellular level to the whole person, which is integral to occupational therapy."

Akwaaba: Welcome. That's the way we were greeted over and over again during our intersession course, Disability in the Global Context: Ghana, which took place over 12 days in Accra, Ghana. And we did feel welcomed. In fact, for some of us who are long-time New Yorkers, it was culture shock just to have to smile and greet everyone we met on the street. What a warm and friendly society.

The timing of the course was serendipitous. Ghana recently held elections and run off elections, and we were there for the transfer of power. Although none of us actually made it close enough to see the ceremonies, we were honored to be part of the experience. Ghanaian's hopefulness with their new president echoed our similar situation in the United States.  The connection was mentioned by many people and was often a starting point for further discussions.

As instructors, Sheri Wadler and I, both of the Department of Occupational Therapy at the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, developed this new course as an exploration of place in relation to health and disability. Fifteen graduate students registered for and participated in the course. The interdisciplinary group included Steinhardt representation from the following departments and programs: Occupational Therapy; Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology; Applied Psychology; International Education; and Higher and Postsecondary Education. In addition to Steinhardt scholars, students from the Public Administration and Health and International Health Policy and Management programs at the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and the Global Affairs program at the School of Continuing and Professional Studies attended the course. Each student brought a rich background and experience to the group, and together we were able to explore the complicated issues that arose in Ghana.

Using a framework to interview people with and without disabilities in health facilities and in public places, students were able to hear first hand accounts and personal views on family, health and politics, among many other topics. During the two week course, students visited mental health facilities, hospitals, schools, and elder care centers. They also evaluated the environments they visited in terms of physical accessibility and sensory stimulation. In addition to on-site class seminars, local experts were invited to deliver guest lectures which were lively, enthralling and insightful. In their journals, students reflected on their own learning, and demonstrated ways to synthesize health education in the cultural context of west Africa into their own worldviews and professional roles.

In addition to course work in the cosmopolitan surroundings of Accra, students visited the Gold Coast region contextualing traditional village life and the history of colonial occupation. Tracing the origins of the African slave trade along the Atlantic coast, students visited the Elmina Slave Castle. Organized in conjunction with a group of social work students from a New York Consortium, including students from NYU's Silver School of Social Work. These two groups also traveled together to the Kakum National Forest where they trekked a canopy walk over the rain forest. That same evening, these groups were joined with a group of Tisch School of the Arts Scholars in Cape Coast, Ghana, for a banquet and interactive performance of Fetu dancers and musicians.

As is often the case in special experiences such as this, the whole of the experience is so much more than the sum of its parts. The participants, site visits, excursions, meals, accommodations, and even the bus driver all added to our stories and memories. My own experience was just wonderful. Support from the Steinhardt Office of Academic Initiatives and Global Programs, as well as from NYU Ghana made this course, which required substantial planning, a tremendous success. Class discussions extended beyond my expectations. Much of the credit goes to the students who were mature, adventuresome, caring, and passionate. They placed the bar high for future classes to meet and exceed their experiences.

Gustafson and Bush, a fashion designer and model who is the niece of President George W. Bush, had seen how effective school feeding programs can be. They approached Whole Foods Market with the idea of creating a reusable shopping bag sold exclusively in its stores, proceeds from which would help pay for school meals for kids in Rwanda.

"Whole Foods has such a reach and so many stores, we realized we can have an impact on a small country in a really big way," Gustafson explained. "We can support their entire school feeding program for one year."

Each FEED 100 bag sells for $29.95; $10 from every purchase goes towards the U.N World Food Program's Rwandan operation while the rest covers the cost of the bag and administration of the program. "We've been successful enough to say we've raised over $ 5 million for the U.N. World Food Program and we're supported all of the school feeding in Rwanda in 2008," said Gustafson.

Designed by Bush, the FEED 100 reusable bag is made of organic cotton and burlap. Gustafson stressed the importance of finding a manufacturer that ensures fair treatment of its workers. "We're working with a Chinese factory that is highly audited and that has the capacity to make as many bags as we need but also has very high labor standards," she said.

Already a successful social entrepreneur, Gustafson is looking forward to finishing her degree and applying that knowledge to her work to end world hunger

"I'm very interested in nutrition, public health and looking at the food system as a whole. We hope to find ways to make the food system more sustainable and nutritious for everyone," she says.

Looking ahead, Gustafson hopes to partner with new retail stores in 2009 and is thinking of ways to support school food programs in the United States. "We're thinking about creating a track within FEED that is focused on healthier food in schools across America. People understand that international food issues are really important," she said, "but if we can make a difference in the lives of international kids and kids in the U.S., then we'll really be making a big impact."

We are proud to add her to the list of faculty who hold this recognition: Jane Bear-Lehman, Jim Hinojosa, and Anita Perr.

The deadline for applications was January 1; applicants will be notified of NYU's admissions decisions on April 1; those who are accepted must choose by May 1. Next fall's freshman class will include some 4,400 young men and women.

The number of early decision applicants remained essentially steady this year at 2,987, compared to 2,993 early applicants last year. Early decision applicants will make up approximately 30% of fall 2009's freshman class.

New York University, located in the heart of Greenwich Village, was established in 1831 and is one of America's leading research universities. It is one of the largest private universities in the US; it has one of the largest contingents of international students, and sends more students to study abroad than any other college or university in the U.S. Through its schools and colleges, NYU conducts research and provides education in the arts and sciences, law, medicine, business, dentistry, education, nursing, the cinematic and dramatic arts, music, public administration, social work, and continuing and professional studies, among other areas.

Do you live in the NYC area? Would you like your work considered for exhibition on NYU's campus? Would you be interested in hosting a current Arts Administration graduate student for a visit in your studio? Do you have a current website, blog, MYSPACE page, or flickr page where students can initially see your work?

If so, please send an email with the link to your artwork to Melissa Rachleff Burtt at mjr2007@nyu.edu.

After your work is reviewed online, Curatorial Praxis students may contact you directly to schedule a studio visit throughout the Spring '09 semester. If you do not hear from a student this semester, please note that this course is going to be offered on a regular basis and you may hear from a student in the future.

The Project is an open event showcasing the impact student loan debt has had on the American student. It will be an after-the-space-race space for artists to come together to create art reflecting their distress with student loan debt, gain exposure, and possibly make some cash to help pay back their debt.

The AfterSputnik Art Project will feature artists with student loan debt, reflecting the theme: If your student loan debt was an image, what would you see?

The AfterSputnik Art Project will be held in April 2009 in New York City. Event details are forthcoming. 

Contributing artists will have the option of placing their work for sale, and 50% of the sale of each piece will go to the artist. In addition, the following prizes will also be awarded at the exhibition:

• $700 for the best piece
• $300 for runner-up

Anyone who is interested in being considered for The AfterSputnik Art Project should send the following information to Jody Mousseau at jody@aftersputnik.com:

• Full name
• Do/did you have student loan debt?
• Phone number
• Address
• Graduation date
• Medium of art of piece you would like to contribute
• A sentence or two on why you would like to be involved in The AfterSputnik Art Project

You can find out more about AfterSputnik at www.aftersputnik.com.

Altar Boyz opened to acclaim on March 1, 2005 and received unanimous raves, going on to garner seven Drama Desk nominations and winning the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Musical, Off-Broadway.

For more information:
http://www.broadwayworld.com/viewcolumn.cfm?colid=25709

&

http://www.michaelkadincraig.com/

Read Wayne Shorter's bio here.

Music and Performing Arts at NYU Steinhardt presented a 10th anniversary production of a major work by two legendary figures in the world of music theatre: Alan Menken and Sir Tim Rice. Both men were honored at a pre-show reception and on-stage induction into NYU's Musical Theatre Hall of Fame.

Reviews at Talk Entertainment and New York Insider & more information at
Playbill.com
Broadwayworld.com

Featuring students from Steinhardt Vocal Performance and the NYU Symphony Orchestra, KING DAVID celebrates the journey of the Biblical monarch from his humble beginnings as a poor shepherd boy to his ultimate place as ruler of a great nation.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Evaluation Fellows Program is designed to diversify the evaluation field by providing individuals from historically disadvantaged and underrepresented communities with the necessary skills and training to become program evaluators.

The Evaluation Fellows program invites interested organizations to host emerging professionals in a one-year, full-time fellowship. Individuals from historically disadvantaged and underrepresented communities include ethnic or racial minorities, those from low-income communities, first-generation college graduates, or others who have been historically underrepresented in the program evaluation field. The program's ultimate goal is to infuse the program evaluation field with well-trained individuals from diverse backgrounds, experiences and perspectives to meet the increasing diversity of programs and communities that the profession serves.

Congratulations, Domingo!

Entitled "Syndemic Production in Gay and Bisexual Men: Considerations of the Interplay of Mental Health Burden, Drug Abuse, and Sexual Risk-taking and the Interplay for a Paradigm Shift in HIV Prevention," Halkitis's lecture provided a comprehensive overview of current HIV statistics in the United States as well as a description of HIV prevention strategies in New York City.

Halkitis also provided details of a new research program, "Project Desire," funded by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygeine, that investigates the alarming increase in HIV infection among young gay men in NYC (ages 13 -29).

To read more about "Project Desire", click here.

To watch the full video of Professor Halkitis's talk, click here.

Youse and de Broekert will serve two-year terms on the Executive Council, which comprises four other AARP members from around Oregon. Executive Council members not only influence strategic direction for AARP in Oregon, but also sit on many influential local or state boards, such as Ray Miao, AARP Oregon's volunteer state president and one of the seven members of the Oregon Health Fund Board.

"AARP is lucky to have a wealth of passionate, active leaders in our state who contribute to the association's community service and advocacy goals and values," said Jerry Cohen, AARP Oregon state director. "AARP is literally built on the commitment of our volunteers like Betty-Coe and Al, who bring tremendous talent and diverse backgrounds to the Executive Council."

Youse has been an AARP member for 16 years and AARP advocacy volunteer for the last 10 years. A resident of Salem, Youse has advocated for many issues, including sustainable and livable communities through participation on committees and a special Oregon Attorney General's task force. Youse comes from a 22-year career with the Oregon Department of Agriculture. As a state employee, Youse served three two-year terms within SEIU Local 603, notably as president and as a bargaining delegate advocating for health care reform.

De Broekert, an AARP member for 10 years, has been heavily involved volunteering with the Oregon AARP Driver Safety Program since 2004. De Broekert progressed from a student to an instructor to the state coordinator, managing the program from her Salem home. During her extensive career, de Broekert has worked with profit, nonprofit and governmental organizations. De Broekert was a founding partner of the women-owned consulting firm, ExecuSTAF, providing management-related services. Currently, de Broekert serves as a member of the Oregon DHS Food Service Advisory Committee, the Department of Education Private Schools Advisory Committee and the Trustees of the YWCA of Salem.

"Betty-Coe's and Al's fresh perspectives are a tremendous addition to the Executive Council. Their vast combined experience comprises an enhanced voice for critical health and long-term care as well as financial security issues," Miao said.

For more information about AARP and the Executive Council, visit www.aarp.org/or.

•  Visit Dean Mary Brabeck's blog on GETIdeas.org

Developed by Cisco's Global Education group, the website is meant to foster dialogue among education thought leaders and to function as a hub for the exchange of knowledge and ideas on transforming education.

The website features a blog by noted experts, video content, case studies as well as news and other resources for educators.

In her most recent blog post, Dean Brabeck writes about the need for increased use of evidence-based interventions (EBI) and evidence-based practice (EBP) among educators.

"Teachers need to be encouraged in their early training to use both EBI and EBP approaches," she writes. "Both are attempts to apply science to rigorously examine the results of teaching interventions. And researchers need to be encouraged to fill the gap of knowledge about evidence based interventions."

To read Dean Brabeck's blog entry in full, click here. 

Th exhibition, on view through Saturday, December 6, is staged in conjunction with "The Poetics of Cloth: African Textiles / Recent Art" at NYU's Grey Art Gallery and a parallel exhibition titled "The Essential Art of African Textiles: Design Without End" at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Gallery Viewing Hours are Tuesday 10-7; Wednesday & Thursday 10-6; Friday & Saturday 10-5.

To read the New York Times review and see a slideshow of images from the exhibition, click here.

NYU Steinhardt offers this unique admissions option for prospective candidates who would like the opportunity to progress from master's to doctoral work without interrupting their studies.

Through the 30-credit M.A. program students take a core of graduate level courses in occupational therapy theory, research, and professional skills and select an area of specialization or clinical focus such as pediatrics, mental health, upper quadrant, assistive technology, physical disabilities, or school-based practice.

The D.P.S. provides 36 credits of advanced study beyond the master's degree. Skilled occupational therapists are prepared to deliver, present, and collaborate with interdisciplinary professionals to provide high quality care. Students are offered two areas of advanced clinical specialization: pediatrics and upper quadrant.

Applicants interested in being considered for both the M.A. and D.P.S. must submit:

• completed application for the post-professional M.A. program (OTTH). A second application for the D.P.S. is not required.
• non-refundable application fee of $75.00
• resume/curriculum vitae
• statement of purpose (which indicates interest in being considered for the "Single Decision Option")
• transcripts from each postsecondary school attended
• three letters of recommendation
• official GRE scores
• official TOEFL scores from all applicants whose native language is not English and did not receive the equivalent of a 4 year U.S. undergraduate education from an institution where English is the official language of instruction

Prospective candidates should apply to the post-professional M.A. program (OTTH) and be clear in their statement of purpose that they wish to be considered under the "Single Decision Option for the M.A. and D.P.S." In their statement of purpose, applicants should explain their educational and professional goals as they relate to the progression from core to advanced level study.

Visit "How to Apply" to learn more.

Early application is crucial for the fullest consideration. Visit our financial aid section to see a full listing of options and to learn how to apply for financial aid.

Selected opportuntities include:

21st Century Scholarships are offered to full-time, newly admitted master's and advanced certificate applicants showing the greatest potential and who show the strongest fit with the vision and mission of NYU Steinhardt. Applicants must meet all application deadlines (admission and FAFSA) for automatic consideration. No scholarship application required.

Steinhardt Graduate Scholarships are offered to full-time master's and doctoral students who are academically talented and show a need for financial assistance. Applicants must meet all application deadlines (admission and FAFSA) for automatic consideration. No scholarship application required.

OPPORTUNITY SCHOLARSHIPS

The New York University Opportunity Fellowship is awarded on a highly competitive basis to newly admitted students from underrepresented groups (African Americans, Latinos, and Native Americans) who exhibit strong academic ability. Several scholarships (some with stipend awards) are offered each fall to those intending to pursue full-time study. A completed scholarship application, separate from the admission application and FAFSA, must be submitted by March 1 (only available for the fall semester) to the Office of Graduate Admissions. Click here for the application and instructions. 

The Deans Opportunity Scholarship is a competitive award for newly admitted master's and advanced certificate students from underrepresented groups (African Americans, Latinos, and Native Americans) who intend to pursue full-time study. A completed scholarship application, separate from the admission application and FAFSA, must be submitted by March 1 for the fall/summer and November 1 for the spring to the Office of Graduate Admissions. Click here for the application and instructions.  

The Health Professions Opportunity Scholarship is designed to assist newly admitted full-time graduate students from historically underrepresented groups (African Americans, Latinos, and Native Americans) enrolled in any of the following health-related areas: physical or occupational therapy, community and international health, health education, nutrition, and speech pathology. A completed scholarship application, separate from the admission application and FAFSA, must be submitted by March 1 for the fall and November 1 for the spring to the Office of Graduate Admissions. Click here for the application and instructions. 

Doctoral Financial Aid

 All applicants to Ph.D. and Ed.D programs who meet the December 15 application deadline are considered for fellowships, assistantships, and scholarships.  There are no scholarship applications required.

On Thursday, February 19th 2009, the Department of Occupational Therapy hosted the 6th Annual Anne Cronin Mosey Lectureship on the New York University campus.

The event was held in the Rosenthal Pavilion at the Kimmel Center for Student Life, located at 60 Washington Square South.  With over 140 attendees, this year's Anne Cronin Mosey Lectureship was the largest to date.  Guests included NYU alumni, faculty and current students, in addition to students and faculty from other local institutions and many local Occupational Therapists. 

The evening began at 5:30 pm with a wine reception and dinner, followed by the announcement of the recipients of the 2009 Frieda J. Behlen Scholarships: Susan Braham, Janelle Carbo and Razia Khan.

Gary Kielhofner, DrPH, OTR/L, FAOTA delivered this year's Anne Cronin Mosey lecture, "Scholarship in Support of Evidence-Based Practice: Bridging the Gap between Theory, Research and Practice in Occupational Therapy." He used the Model of Human Occupation as an example to examine arguments concerning the role of scholarship in occupational therapy, and proposed how scholarship can more clearly support practice. 

Listen to the Lecture

You can listen to the full lecture online or download it to your favorite audioplayer.

Click the play button or download the lecture here.

Gary Kielhofner, DrPH, OTR/L, FAOTA

Dr. Kielhofner is currently Professor and Wade/Meyer Chair, Department of Occupational Therapy, College of Health and Human Development Sciences, and Professor of Public Health, at the University of Illinois at Chicago.  Among other scholarly works, Dr. Kielhofner has worked on the theoretical development, research and application of the Model of Human Occupation for over 30 years. He is the author/editor of 17 books and has published over 130 articles. His work has been translated into multiple languages and has influenced occupational therapy worldwide.  Dr. Kielhofner is a fellow of the American Occupational Therapy Association, a member of the Academy of Research of the American Occupational Therapy Foundation, a recipient of the A. Jean Ayres award. He is recipient of 3 honorary Doctoral Degrees, two of which were awarded from European Universities. He was named by the University of Illinois as a University Scholar, an honor bestowed upon only a handful of professors at UIC over the years.

Bridget Burke became interested in occupational therapy at a young age when she saw first-hand the improvements therapy brought about in her baby brother.  During her time as an undergraduate and also at NYU, Bridget has traveled to different parts of the country on various service project trips.  After graduation, she plans to continue volunteering her time, particularly in locations overseas where rehabilitative services are not readily available.  She is exploring many different areas of practice to determine which one she is best suited for and which population she can help most.

Gloria Juarez came to occupational therapy after deciding against continuing a career in the finance industry.  Determined to find a profession that she was passionately interested in, she settled on occupational therapy after recalling how beneficial it had been to her sister.  After volunteering at a hand therapy clinic and a pediatric rehabilitation center, she has found pediatrics to be her true calling.  Gloria believes that pediatric therapy provides an opportunity for the lifelong betterment of the patient, as well as professional fulfillment for the therapist.

The Behlen Scholarship is an endowed fund created principally by gifts from NYU OT alumni.  Income generated by the endowment is given to two students annually.  The award takes the form of a tuition credit applied toward summer courses because summer student financial aid is generally not available.

Visit alumni.nyu.edu/alumniday to sign up to be a Reunion Representative and stay informed of NYU Alumni Day developments!

Change is the spirit of the day - from fluctuating financial markets to the credit crunch to rising unemployment. In today's uncertain times, it seems that everyone is struggling to figure out, "What is next?" and "How do I get there?"

On October 23, 2008, David Schachter, Assistant Dean for Student Affairs at NYU's Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, led a 90-minute talk entitled "Composing Your Career" for 42 Steinhardt alumni and friends. Schachter began the evening by inquiring about the guests' current professional situations, future directions, and the steps they are taking to achieve their goals. Schachter quickly learned that the crowd had diverse pursuits: some hoped to move away from a corporate setting and transition into more creative careers; others were looking to make the next leap in their profession; and some were facing the close of their careers and needed to determine "What's next?"

Schachter explained that each job search has two parts: your interest, and the employer's interest. Describing his belief that "planning and serendipity" get you where you want to be, Schachter shared the words of Louis Pasteur, quoting, "Chance favors the prepared mind," and asked guests to remember this as the evening progressed.

Planning, Schachter explained, requires combining your potential interests with the needs of real employers for real jobs. He walked the audience through a track exercise, a three-step process that includes brainstorming, analysis, and synthesis. Designed to help you hone in on the kinds of organizations and jobs out there based on the kinds of things you're drawn to, the exercise allows you to marry these elements and identify potential "tracks" for you to explore.

Advising guests that knowing what you do want to do is much more important than what you do not want to do, Schachter encouraged everyone to have a ready-made 90 second pitch stating what you want and why. This places emphasis on the positive, which, Schachter contends, will have a powerful impact on your network as well as potential employers.

The key to your success, Schachter explained, is being prepared as you go through the process of finding your next job.

"Through evaluating your skills, and the skills needed [for the position] you can more adequately assess how you can fill the gap," says Schachter. He went on to explain that an employer is looking for someone who can do the job and can prove it through relevant experience, skills, and knowledge; will do the job and can demonstrate passion and understanding of the organization's mission and a demonstrated interest in the profession or field; and lastly, a candidate who will fit into the organization's culture.

Schachter told audience members to be SEER's: Smart, Experienced, Engaged, and Reflective. He then challenged them to put theory into practice, asking each person to test him/herself that evening by making three new connections with others who attended the session.

"Composing Your Career" was the first in a multi-part series of workshops offered by the Steinhardt Alumni Relations Team. For more information on upcoming events, please visit the Steinhardt Alumni Calendar.

Last week, Americans witnessed a momentous milestone as the first African American president, Barack Obama, was elected President of the United States-an achievement that will surely go down in history books.

Though the day will remain vivid in our memories, we must also note that this was also a campaign season of many firsts.  The innovative and controversial campaign tactics of Barack Obama and his republican opponent, John McCain, were the subject of Steinhardt's Alumni Relations September Speakers Series event on October 30.  With only one week left in the campaign season, Professor Charlton McIlwain spoke with Steinhardt alumni in an intimate and frank discussion focusing on the messages behind Obama' and McCain's political advertisements.

McIlwain's presentation outlined the power of words in shaping the image of the presidency, the impact of racial appeals in political advertising, and the media's impact on candidates' image in election media coverage. Additionally, special attention was paid to the media's treatment of Alaskan governor Sarah Palin, and the effect that satirical interpretation of political figures has on the public psyche.

While the past election provided McIlwain with plenty of fodder for research, he has been invested in the topics of media, race and politics for quite some time. As a professor in the Media, Culture, and Communication department at Steinhardt, he has written/published several books and journal articles, including Black Messages, White Messages: The Differential Use of Racial Appeals by Black & White Candidates, and Racial Identity, Ideology and the Youth Vote: Observations From the 2004 Presidential Campaign. To learn more about McIlwain's research and work, please visit his faculty bio page here.

McIlwain also shared his thoughts with Reuters TV following Obama's victory.  To hear his talk, please click here.

Election 2008 was the final installment of the September Speaker Series, but more exciting alumni events are on the way. Stay tuned for details of our Winter Speaker Series, which will focus on such topics as age defying fitness, women's health, going back to graduate school, and investing in real estate in a troubled market. In the meantime, please visit the Steinhardt Alumni Calendar and the Steinhardt Community Calendar for more upcoming events.

Taking a major new step to advance school improvement in New York, stakeholders from across the city have formed the Research Alliance for New York City Schools at New York University, a non-partisan applied research center that is independent of city government and the Department of Education. Utilizing recent advances in education science and drawing on the expertise of the city's and the nation's top researchers, the Research Alliance hopes to be a source of valid and reliable evidence both about the challenges of providing a high quality education for all students and about the effectiveness of promising strategies aimed at addressing those challenges.

 Housed within NYU's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, the Research Alliance will have close academic connections to other NYU schools - the Faculty of Arts and Science, the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service - as well as to Columbia Teachers College and CUNY, and will work to forge connections with other research universities nationally. Schools Chancellor Joel Klein and United Federation of Teachers Vice President Leo Casey joined other members of the Research Alliance to make the announcement.

 The Alliance today announced that it has named Dr. James Kemple as executive director. Kemple, formerly director of K-12 Education Policy at MDRC, a national social policy research organization based in New York City, is a former high school math teacher and program director for a community-based education organization in Washington, DC. He holds a master's and doctorate in education from Harvard University.

The initial funding for the Alliance's work will be provided by a $3 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and a $500,000 grant from the Ford Foundation. Planning for the Research Alliance was funded by the Donors' Education Collaborative, a group of New York City-based funders interested in school reform, the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation, the New York Community Trust, and other local and national foundations.

William Bowen, president emeritus of Princeton University, emeritus president of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and chair of the Alliance search committee, said, "Jim Kemple has a demonstrated commitment to public education, impressive experience leading research projects, unquestioned stature in the field, and, perhaps most importantly, a deep commitment to research that would answer pressing questions facing practitioners and benefit students. In addition, Dr. Kemple is familiar with the New York City school system because of his long experience at MDRC.  Dr. Kemple was the unanimous choice of the Research Alliance Board, and we are extremely pleased that he has agreed to take on leadership of the Research Alliance."  

Kathryn Wylde, president and CEO of the Partnership for New York City, said, "The business community has long contended that a transparent system for measuring results is essential for successful management of the schools. The Research Alliance will provide the independent analysis required to help guide policy and future investment in the education system."

The Alliance will contribute to scholarly research that is relevant to both policy and practice on issues ranging from student achievement and preparation for higher education and the workforce to instructional practice and administrative decision making and the deployment of fiscal resources. Mary Brabeck, dean of NYU Steinhardt, said, "I am thrilled that NYU will be a partner with other research universities in building knowledge about our New York schools that can inform policy and improve students' learning, development, and achievement."

To support the work of the Research Alliance, Chancellor Klein has committed to ensuring that the new center has access to the Department of Education's rich databases on student, personnel, and school characteristics and performance and that the Department will collaborate on evaluations of initiatives aimed at improving the city's schools. Additionally, the Research Alliance will work with the New York State Education Department as a key stakeholder in the success of the city's schools

Said Chancellor Klein, "Many of our reforms reflect the power of data and high-quality analysis, and we believe that the Research Alliance will help us build on our progress by doing independent, high-quality analyses of what programs are working and which aren't. We are committed to the value of transparency, and we think the public is the winner when our work receives independent scrutiny. I look forward to working with the Research Alliance, which will enlist some of the country's most talented researchers to examine issues that are critical to New York City's schools."

Randi Weingarten, president of the United Federation of Teachers, said "The UFT has long recognized the need for quality independent research. We are pleased to join the other members of the Research Alliance in ushering in a new era of knowledge, access and transparency that will enable the public to better understand the workings of our schools. We look forward to their analysis of current data and development of research norms to better calculate progress, alert us to developments, and inform our policy decisions."

"This is a significant step forward for New York City schools," said Luis Ubiñas, president of the Ford Foundation. "By serving as an independent and rigorous evaluator, the Alliance can improve progress on achieving a central goal: providing a quality education to each and every student in our city's public schools. The Ford Foundation is very pleased to support this important work."

Dr. Kemple, the newly appointed executive director of the Research Alliance, brings over 25 years of experience as a practitioner and researcher. He said, "I am honored by this opportunity and am committed to the highest standards of research rigor and to drawing on the talents of the city's and nation's top researchers. We want to ensure that the Research Alliance will be a source of valid and reliable evidence about how best to educate all of the city's young people." Noting the need for balance between independence and collaboration Kemple said, "While we are deeply committed to being an independent and non-partisan resource for policy makers and practitioners, we are equally committed to collaborating with the key stakeholders in the city's public schools to make sure that we are addressing questions that are of primary importance to students, families and educators."  

Efforts to create a research alliance in New York City had been a goal of education researchers and advocates for many years. The movement to create the Research Alliance began in earnest with a 2005 proposal from researchers in New York City organized by the Social Science Research Council to create a non-partisan research consortium to support assessment and improvement in New York City Schools. This was coordinated by the Social Science Research Council which incubated the Research Alliance project. Chancellor Klein endorsed this proposal in 2006.

The Consortium on Chicago School Research, a dedicated research center housed at the University of Chicago, was a model for the development of the Alliance.

"A non-partisan, independent resource gathering and maintaining data to help improve our public schools is exactly what this city needs," said Kim Sweet, executive director of Advocates for Children.

In order to develop and help implement the mission, goals and programs of the Research Alliance, a separate Governance Board, representing various constituencies with an interest in improving school performance, has been established. At present, the Board includes William Bowen; Chung-Wha Hong, executive director of the New York Immigration Coalition; Robert Hughes, president of New Visions; Chancellor Klein; David McLaughlin, provost of New York University; Randi Weingarten; and Kathryn Wylde. The Governance Board, currently in the process of expanding membership to include representation from community members and researchers, will oversee the Research Alliance's research agenda, as well as its operations and budget.

Zimmerman writes that despite often being behind the "racial equality curve", the U.S., in electing Obama to the presidency, is finally ahead of it.

"So Americans should be celebrating, too, no matter whom they supported on Tuesday," he writes. "In choosing Barack Obama . . . the United States proved that it can still can serve as an exemplar for the rest of the world."

Full article available at:   http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/16/arts/music/16circ.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

 The 15-credit Post-Masters Advanced Certificate in Speech-Language Pathology is designed for licensed and certified speech-language pathologists who wish to continue their education beyond the Masters level.

• develop and deepen their knowledge of speech-language pathology
• advance their skills in a specialty area
• earn credits toward continuing education for ASHA and state licensure
• and/or participate in research

Faculty advisors work with each student to determine the coursework and experiences that will best develop the advanced knowledge and skills needed for that specialty while also meeting the student's professional goals. Students may use advanced certificate coursework toward doctoral study.

For more information, see the program website,  or contact: cs8@nyu.edu (Celia Stewart, Department Chair) or svlevi@nyu.edu (Susannah Levi, Advanced Certificate director).

Application Deadlines:

• December 15
  

Contact Information:

Website: http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/speech/doctoral
If you have general questions, you may email:  harriet.klein@nyu.edu (Harriet Klein, Director of Doctoral Studies) or cs8@nyu.edu (Celia Stewart, Department Chair).

In addition, we encourage you to email the faculty member(s) who shares your research interests. 

Mailing Address:

665 Broadway, 9th Floor
New York, NY 10003-6860

Departmental Phone:

212-998-5230

Watch a clip

Thanks to YouTube user projectvoteorg

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/13/ask-about-new-york-food-history-and-culture/

"Last time I checked," he writes, "universities were supposed to challenge students' biases and preconceived opinions"

To counter the pro-Obama bias expressed by students and many faculty, Zimmerman suggests ways in which teachers can use the hotly contested campaign to infuse "political energy" into the classroom. Teachers, he writes, can bring in outsider speakers to discuss opposing viewpoints, or give assignments that challenge student's preconceived notions.

He looks to Barack Obama himself for inspiration. Obama, Zimmerman reminds us, "taught law for 12 years at the University of Chicago, where he developed a reputation for rigorous open-mindedness. He challenged everyone, especially the students who agreed with him."

To read the full USA Today article, click here.

We are delighted to invite your nominations for the NYU Distinguished Teaching Award.  Nominations may be submitted by students, faculty, and alumni.  Please note that only full-time faculty members with one of the following titles are eligible to receive the award:

• Professor, Associate Professor, Assistant Professor
• Clinical Professor, Clinical Associate Professor, Clinical Assistant Professor
• Research Professor, Research Associate Professor, Research Assistant Professor
• Master Teacher, Teacher
  

Please note that past winners of the award may not be nominated again.  For a list of past award recipients, go to the following link:  http://www.nyu.edu/provost/faculty/distinguished.teaching.html

As you may know, the award was established to recognize full-time faculty who have contributed significantly to the intellectual life of the University through their teaching.  Recipients of the award will have demonstrated their excellence as educators over a sustained period of time.   You may use the following criteria as a guide:   

• A record of outstanding teaching effectiveness both within and outside the classroom
• The ability to inspire, promote, and sustain the intellectual development of students
• A pedagogical approach that is innovative (new approaches using current or new models of teaching), intellectually rigorous, creative, and engaging
• Demonstrated scholarly/professional contributions and their integration into the classroom that foster critical thinking and challenge students to independent inquiry
• Advising/mentoring of undergraduate or graduate students or doctoral and clinical supervision-interactions outside of the classroom and the quality of such interactions
• Contribution to developing or enhancing curricula in the field
• Length of service
• Internal school awards/honors received

Please forward your nominations by Friday, November 14th to:  Professor Amy Bentley, Chair, Distinguished Teaching Award Committee, either in hard copy to Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health, 35 West 4^th Street, 10^th floor, or electronically to amy.bentley@nyu.edu.

Is it au revoir for haute cuisine? Will molecular gastronomy ever rule New York? What's with the love affair with all things porcine? If no one blogs about a restaurant does it still exist? How do I get a reservation at Momofuku Ko?

Don't miss this spirited conversation about the culinary future (and storied past) of our famously food-critical city, featuring Mitchell Davis, cookbook author and vice president of the James Beard Foundation; Paul Freedman, Yale professor, former Cullman Center Fellow, and the author of Out of the East: Spices and the Medieval Imagination; Josh Ozersky, a.k.a. "Mr. Cutlets," author of The Hamburger: A History and Meat Me in Manhattan; Krishnendu Ray, NYU Professor and author of The Migrant's Table; and Laura Shapiro, the award-winning author of Julia Child and other books, as well as a contributor to Gourmet Magazine.

A Farewell to Quenelles will be accompanied by a one-night-only exhibition of New York City menus drawn from the Library's unparalleled Frank E. Buttolph Menu Collection. Curious to know how New York tastes evolved from calf's head soup to grilled corn pebbles? The exhibition will include not only the oldest American menu in the collection - - the Astor House "Lady's Ordinary" menu from 1843 -- but also last week's offerings at the revolutionary WD-50 on the Lower East Side.

TICKETS: $15 General Admission; $10 Library Donors and Seniors. FREE for students with valid identification. Tickets may be purchased by visiting www.smarttix.com or by calling the Smarttix box office at (212) 868-4444.

For more information about the Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers, visit www.nypl.org/csw.

Her publications and funded grants reflect a commitment to research that bridges science and practice, and has been praised for providing new and exciting protocols for teaching sciences in schools. Basu was praised for her productivity as a scholar - she has published widely on the subject of youth and science education. She is the recipient of awards from the Petrie Foundation, the American Education Research Association, and has received a Knowles Young Scholar Fellowship.

"Dr. Basu has been committed to helping inner city children feel excited about science. She has created research that informs teachers how to engage their students and reach their academic potentials," said Steinhardt Dean Mary Brabeck. "Through her passion, scholarship, teaching, and research, Dr. Basu has made a great gift to our community."

The Games for Learning Institute (G4LI) is a joint research endeavor of Microsoft Research, New York University, and a consortium of universities. The partners include Columbia University, the City University of New York (CUNY), Dartmouth College, Parsons the New School for Design, Polytechnic Institute of NYU, the Rochester Institute of Technology, and Teachers College. The G4LI will identify which qualities of computer games engage students and develop relevant, personalized teaching strategies that can be applied to the learning process. Ken Perlin, professor of computer science in NYU's Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences and founding director of the Media Research Laboratory at NYU, who will co-direct the G4LI.

Microsoft Research is providing $1.5 million to the Institute. NYU and its consortium of partners are matching Microsoft's investment, for a combined $3 million. Funding covers the first three years of the G4LI's research, which will focus on evaluating computer games as potential learning tools for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects at the middle-school years (grades 6-8). The institute will work with a range of student populations, yet focus on underrepresented middle-school students, such as girls and minorities.

Video games, with their popularity and singular ability to engage young people, are showing promise as a way to excite and prepare the Net generation, the current crop of students who have grown up on technology. This generation, though well-versed in using technology for social networking and Internet research, is continuing a decline in proficiency and interest in math and sciences - the very skills needed to prepare them for the new demands and requirements of the 21st century.

While NYU will serve as the hub of the G4LI in its Computer Science Media Research Laboratory at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, the multi-institutional organization will have a myriad of partner spokes. The G4LI also will evaluate game prototypes and introduce them, along with accompanying curricula, to an existing network of 19 New York City area schools; results in the classroom will be tracked. Based on the findings, the institute's goal is to expand its research and game development to all K-12 grades. Resulting scientific evidence will be shared broadly with researchers, game developers and educators.

Media coverage of G4LI announcement: 

The New York Times
e-Week
Popular Mechanics
Washington Square News
PC World

In 1998, Nestle joined NYU as the chair of what is now the Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at Steinhardt, a position which she held for fifteen years. When her books, including Food Politics and Safe Food began to generate buzz among such media-mainstays as the Wall Street Journal, Fortune, and Business Week, Nestle stepped down as chair to allow for more research and for writing What to Eat.

Nestle's most recent book, Pet Food Politics: the Chihuahua in the Coal Mine, has garnered praise from academics, policy makers, nutritionists and pet enthusiasts alike. The book offers a detailed account of the 2007 pet food and consumer product recall-one of the largest of its kind in our nation's history. Because the same contaminant-melamine-was involved, its discussion of this incident predicted the current scandal over melamine-contaminated infant formula and foods in China and exposes some of the gaps in today's food safety systems.

Nestle's passion for bringing knowledge to consumers around the world has prompted her to create an informative and interactive blog, What to Eat. The blog boasts frequent musings and discussions on the latest issues in nutrition today. To learn more, please visit http://www.whattoeatbook.com.

Additionally, Nestle was featured on the October 13 episode of the CBS Early Show.  An outline of the segment, which described some of the problems present in mass-produced pet food today, is available on the CBS wesbite.

In a special event for the Steinhardt community in Westchester and Fairfield counties, Nestle will travel to the home of alumni Bill and Annette Fraad for a reception and presentation on her work. For more information on the event, please click here. In addition, Nestle will address all NYU alumni in late February in Los Angeles, CA. Details on the West Coast event are forthcoming, so please stay tuned!

To hear a  podcast of lecture, please click here.

Election 2008 with Professor Charlton McIlwain, the second installment of the September Speaker Series, has been rescheduled for October 30, 2008. To learn more and register, please click here.

During the Summer of 2008, these videos were reviewed in over 30 print and online magazines. Click the links below to read reactions:

• GayWired.Com
• Time Magazine
• Queerty
• EdgeNY
• Public Health Solutions (pdf)

Watch the video

In October Dr. Brabeck also will be awarded the 2008 Distinguished Alumni Award from St. Cloud State University (MA '70) for outstanding contributions to society and the university. At St. Cloud, Dr. Brabeck served as an intern with the College of Education Teachers' Corps, teaching in urban public schools while earning her master's degree.

Dr. Brabeck joined the Steinhardt School as dean in 2003. She is widely known for her leadership in the fields of education and psychology, and recently received the Homes Partnership Board of Directors Service Award, the American Psychological Association Committee on Women in Psychology Leadership Award, and an honorary degree from St. Joseph University.

Speaking with new Clinical Assistant Professor of Music Business Sam Howard-Spink before a capacity crowd, Goldberg began with a reading from his new book, Bumping Into Geniuses, before the on-stage conversation and questions from students.

Among the many topics addressed were differences in the rock music business between the 1970s and today, Goldberg's relationships with myriad clients from Kurt Cobain to Steve Earle, his roles at major and independent record labels at the height of the industry's glory days, and the role of the artist in today's digital media environment.

Dello Joio, an American composer, is the recipient of many grants and awards, including the Academy Award for Music in 2004. He was named composer of the year by the Classical Recording Foundation in 2007.

The Trinity School, founded in 1709, is the oldest continuously operating school in New York City and the fifth oldest in the United States. Founded as The Charity School at Trinity Church, it predates even the French and Indian War, and remained open during the American Revolution due to its loyalist ties. NYU President John Sexton, Trinity parent '87 and '06, will present the convocation at the event.  

The formal convocation will be attended by past and present members of the Trinity community, students, and dignitaries from New York City and New York State and take place on Saturday, October 4 at the The Riverside Church, 490 Riverside Drive between West 120th and 122nd Streets.

Here is the link to the actual publication: http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/cgi/reprint/17/9/2467

Bentley addressed a crowd of fifty Steinhardt alumni and friends during the first installment of the three-part September Speaker Series hosted by the Alumni Relations Office. The lively and interactive discussion offered members of the Steinhardt community an opportunity to hear from the one the school's star faculty members.

The Landscape of American Food, which focused on the evolution of "food" from the farming and production to the consumption and preparation, within the framework of larger historical events, such as the Industrial Revolution which brought about an increased use of and dependency on petroleum; WWII and the Baby Boom which led to innovations in the way we buy and consume; the Science evolution and the rise of genetically engineered crops; and the new and ever emerging conscience which is causing a spike in the demand for organic, as well as the growing food-to-table movement.

Bentley also examined in her talk the numerous factors impacting the American diet today; global warming, shifts in the economy, and the emergence of gourmet culture and the rise of the celebrity chef stand out among an ever-growing list. She continued on to explain how current U.S. dependency on large, self-service grocery stores offers consumers affordable options allowing quality to be usurped by the American demand for convenience. Bentley also explored the recent rise in grocery store alternatives -- Community Supported Agriculture (CSA's), farm subsidies -- and stressed the importance of making healthy, thoughtful food choices available to all Americans, regardless of income.

To read more about Dr. Amy Bentley, please click here.

The Landscape of American Food was the first lecture in the three-part September Speaker Series. To learn more or to register for upcoming talks, click here.

The Trouble with Black Boys . . . And Other Reflections on Race, Equity, and the Future of Public Education

In The Trouble with Black Boys (Jossey-Bass, 2008), Noguera takes a look at the subject of educational equity and social justice. Pulling together a range of subjects, from school improvement to school violence and racial politics, the author examines the links between racial identity and school-related behavior; race and the achievement gap; and the educational future of Latino immigrants. Noguera discusses the role that leaders play in restoring public faith in education and proposes how to reclaim the promise of public education.

Blow Up
By Lyle Ashton Harris
Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Art and Art Professions

Blow Up (Gregory R. Miller, 2008), Lyle Ashton Harris' first retrospective monograph, features full-color reproductions from his career including his "white face" self-portraits of the late 1980s, his collagebased work of the mid-1990s to his more recent Polaroid self-portraits, large-scale collages, and Ghana-based photographs. "Two decades into his career, Harris still concerns himself with the game of appearances and perception: how we present ourselves in public, how our bodies—and the meanings they carry—are received by others, how gender and race are constructed," wrote Jessica Dawson in the Washington Post.

Muslim American Youth: Understanding Hyphenated Identities through Multiple Methods

By Selcuk R. Sirin
Assistant Professor, Department of Applied Psychology

In Muslim American Youth (NYU Press, 2008), Sirin and his co-author Michelle Fine offer a conceptual framework to aid in understanding Muslim American identity formation processes, a framework which can also be applied to other groups of marginalized and immigrant youth. The book provides a roadmap for those seeking to understand how immigrant and Muslim youth negotiate their identities as Americans.

Steinhardt's sophomores, juniors, and seniors welcomed the Class of 2012 at summer orientation sessions. New students took part in study skills workshops, yoga classes, and even a beach party.

• Click here for a glimpse of Steinhardt students through the ages

• Go Green Today!
  

In June, Speculum Musicae presented a concert of works by Elliott Carter, one of the foremost American composers of the 20th century. Carter's music has been receiving special attention this year as he turns 100 in December. The NYU program included two works written by Carter for Speculum, one of the most renowned contemporary music ensembles in the world. The surprise of the evening was that Carter, who lives in Greenwich Village, attended the event and spoke to the audience before the concert.

"Helen has been an enormous force for globally based education here at the school and at NYU," said Brann Wry, associate professor of arts administration, who collaborated with Kelly in creating an arts administration study abroad program in Europe. "She has been a valued friend to an endless number of faculty members. Because of her, thousands of students had the opportunity to learn in a myriad of settings."

Donations to the fund may be sent to Steve Sagner, assistant dean for development and alumni relations, 25 West Fourth St., 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10012. Contact him by email at stephen.sagner@nyu.edu.

• Read more about Steinhardt's graduation ceremony, including speeches and citations
• Watch the Commencement Webcast Video
• View Photos from Commencement

The study's principal investiga­tors are Robert Teranishi, associate professor of higher education, and Jack Tchen, director of NYU's Asian/Pacific/American Institute and associate professor of social and cultural analysis, NYU Gallatin.

Driving the research was a sense that, according to Teranishi, "AAPI are often dealt with unfairly in high­er education. Much of the research and policy is based on untested assumptions and stereotypes about the AAPI student population. However, we found that there is actually very little research about even basic trends in participation of AAPIs in higher education." Among the report's findings is that there is no AAPI composite that represents the population as a whole. "The AAPI population is real­ly a group of subpopulations," said Teranishi, "each with its own very different experiences." The report notes that the 2000 U.S. Census includes 48 different ethnic cate­gories under the umbrella of AAPI, and that the economic, social, and cultural capital varies greatly within and across these groups.

The report also highlights the range of educational outcomes for AAPI groups. "The variance in out­comes among AAPI students is actually much greater than it is for other groups," said Teranishi. This dispels the myth that AAPI stu­dents are only attending highly selective universities. The study found that there are more AAPI stu­dents attending community college than any other sector of higher education. Over the past decade, the greatest increase in AAPI col­lege participation has also occurred in the community college sector. The report also dispels the myth that all AAPI students are particu­larly proficient in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math­ematics) subjects. In fact, among degrees awarded to AAPI students, there is a larger share awarded to students majoring in social sciences and humanities than is true for the national average.

Cultural Aspect of Taste

Gabriella Petrick was honored for her article, "In Good Taste: Rethinking American History with Our Palates," which will be published this fall as part of a roundtable discussion on the history of the senses in the Journal of American History. In their paper, Petrick and her coauthor, Gerard Fitzgerald, seek to balance the biological, social, and cultural aspects of taste by illustrating how industrialization shaped the flavor of food and how these factors contributed to changing perceptions of what tasted "good."

Social Aggression Among Girls

Elise Cappella received a Carras Award for her study, "The Prevention of Social Aggression Among Girls," published in the journal Social Development.

Q: Can you tell us how girls differ from boys in their expression of aggression?

Girls and boys both use a variety of aggressive behaviors. The focus of intervention and research used to be on boys and their aggression - hitting others, threatening to beat others up, calling others mean names. I was interested in targeting more subtle and insidious forms of aggression — rumor spreading, for example, and malicious exclusion — that are prevalent in late elementary and middle school, especially among girls. Boys tend to use more overt aggression while girls use more social aggression. Girls use social aggression mainly against other girls, and girls experience their involvement in these conflicts more powerfully than boys do.

Q: What have you learned from your study?

I learned that involvement in social conflicts and relational aggression are meaningful parts of girls' lives. Yet there are real alternatives that can allow girls to be both assertive and respectful across a variety of challenging social situations. With engaging and salient group interactions designed to increase emotional understanding and social problem solving, adults and peer leaders can help provide tools for young people to navigate conflicts from multiple perspectives during a conflict.

I also learned that a focus on social aggression is useful when embedded within broader school initiatives. At the school level, a proactive policy of prevention and intervention, communicated widely and reinforced consistently, can be helpful in creating a climate that supports the learning and development of all students.

More Links

• Center for Health, Identity, Behavior and Prevention Studies (CHIBPS)
• Perry Halkitis's Faculty Bio
• Faculty Video: Crystal meth and HIV: What are the connections?
• New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

Earlier this year, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC DOHMH) released a sobering report about an increase in HIV infection rates among young men, ages 13-29, who have sex with men. The 2006 HIV incidence estimates show that gay and bisexual men of all races remain the most heavily affected by HIV, accounting for 53% of all new infections.

In response, a team from NYU Steinhardt's Center for Health, Identity, Behavior and Prevention Studies (CHIBPS) has devised a new study, Project Desire, to better understand the sexual behavior and health of this population. The one-year study is spearheaded by professor Perry Halkitis, doctoral candidate Robert Moeller, and recent MPH graduate Daniel Siconolfi, and is funded by the NYC DOHMH Bureau of HIV/AIDS.

Through street surveys of 540 young men and through semi-structured interviews with 70 men, the research team aims to under­stand the psychological pressures that lead young men to engage in unsafe sex. By studying not only what the youths tell them about their sexual practices but also how they talk about those experiences, the researchers want to discern the way in which fear and anxiety about HIV can lead to unsafe behavior.

"The pressure to claim a gay identity poses a distinct challenge for young men," says Halkitis. "Coupled with the fear of contract­ing HIV, it can feel overwhelming for emerging adults who still strug­gle with integrating same-sex desire into their adult identity." Mutually reinforcing risk factors such as depression, unprotected sex, and substance abuse are also prevalent among the population.

Project Desire will also offer free HIV testing for the 70 men who participate in the interviews. The research team at Steinhardt will col­laborate with the NYU School of Medicine to administer the testing and provide those men who test HIV positive with access to care.

Ultimately, the project aims to create better prevention strategies for young men who have sex with men. Towards that end, the research­ers will assemble focus groups of men aged 13-17, and will craft pre­vention messages in conjunction with the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. By using the young men's own experience to inform the messages, the team hopes to cre­ate relevant prevention strategies that will resonate for this at-risk population.

"Gay men must come together to protect each other," says Halkitis. "Prevention efforts must be part of a program that considers the total­ity of our physical and mental health. Our discussions must focus not only on HIV, but also the spectrum of issues gay men face."

The 2008 Steinhardt Teaching Excellence Awards were presented to Pamela Fraser-Abder, associate professor of science education; Sharon L. Weinberg, professor of educational statistics and psychology; Desiree Hamburger, adjunct instructor, educational theatre; and Maria Hodermarska, adjunct instructor, drama therapy.

Driscoll is a member of the editorial board of Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis and Educational Administration Quarterly, and has served on the editorial boards of Teachers College Record and the Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership. She is the co-editor of To Watch The Water Clear: Philip W. Jackson and The Practice of Education (TC Press, 2007).

Patrice Ryce, a doctoral student in school psychology, has been award­ed a graduate research fellowship from the National Science Foundation. The $30,000 award is renewable for three years.

Ryce is the project director of an ongoing study, funded by the Foundation for Child Development, called "Longitudinal Immigrant Families and Teachers Study" (LIFTS), for which Selcuk Sirin, assistant professor of applied psychology, is primary investigator. LIFTS examines how teachers, the majority of whom are Euro-American, may potential­ly misunderstand immigrant students' apti­tudes or abilities due to cultural differences. Ryce's research will focus on the role of parental involvement in math and science achievement among children of immigrants.

"We're deeply grateful to Mrs. Virginia Gorodnitzki for this exceptional gift," said Dean Mary Brabeck. "Sascha Gorodnitzki highly valued teaching throughout his life and performing career. As a noted member of the Juilliard faculty, he developed a coterie of brilliant pianists. It is fitting that a chair be established in his memory."

In addition, the bequest will establish the Sascha Gorodnitzki Piano Studio, which will house photographs, artworks, written and audio materials that celebrate the pianist's illustrious career and inspiring legacy.

"The Jim Joseph Foundation believes ardently in the importance of Jewish educators and their critical role in ensuring a vibrant Jewish future," said Chip Edelsberg, executive director of the foundation.

Steinhardt's program in education and Jewish studies prepares researchers and practitioners for leadership positions in a wide range of Jewish educational settings, from Jewish day schools and yeshivas to foundations, universities, and cultural organizations. Students receive broad preparation in learning theory, research methods, educational administration, and curriculum development.

The foundation's grant will include funding for program administration and will allow for the hiring of adjunct faculty members in both NYU Steinhardt and Skirball's Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies.

I would say the issue is malnutrition due to OVERNUTRITION!! Ironic, isn't it? Obesity, too much food, meat based diets despite availability of fruits and veggies, large portion sizes, food on the go, fast foods -- result in malnutrition and chronic diseases including cancer, heart disease, and diabetes.

Beth Dixon - Associate Professor

Education. Good nutrition starts by educating children and families about what they eat. Because the majority of young children spend several hours each week in childcare, educating childcare providers about good nutrition is also critical. Today, more than 25% of children between ages 2 and 5 are overweight. To address the obesity epidemic in preschool-aged children in New York City, we are conducting a research study to evaluate the nutrition policies and practices, menus, and preschool- aged children's dietary intakes in 40 group daycare centers in New York City. Our findings demonstrate how critical it is that childcare providers and family members receive education about providing good nutrition to young children.

Marion Nestle - Professor

Calories! It's sobering to discover that the smallest serving of ice cream is 400 calories (and that's without candy additives), a hot chocolate is 700, or a pizza-forone is more than 2,000. In the meantime, consider that most people need 2,000 to 3,000 a day. Low prices--and the huge excess of available calories-- encourage companies to market more food in larger amounts, thereby encouraging people to eat more calories than they need. My advice about healthful eating is simple: eat less; move more; eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains; and don't eat too much junk food.

Lisa Sasson - Clinical Associate Professor

The availability, accessibility, and exposure to food -- everywhere we go food, snacks and beverages are sold. As a result many people consume too many highenergy drinks and snacks between meals and eat irrespective of hunger. We need to get back to the basics of what promotes a healthy diet -- consume less processed foods and eat foods closer to their natural state, take time to sit down and enjoy our meals, rely less on take out and fast foods, spend more time to prepare and cook meals using fresh seasonal ingredients, and be more active in our daily lives.

Amy Bentley - Associate Professor

A major problem is unequal access to healthy, clean food grown in a sustainable manner. While there has been dramatic growth in locally and seasonally produced agriculture -- farmers markets, community supported agriculture, as well as organics, many people -- especially those in low-income neighborhoods -- do not have reliable access to fresh, affordable fruits and vegetables. Highly processed products, often high in calories and minimally nutritious, are cheaper, more abundant, and made more attractive by the millions of dollars food manufacturers spend on advertising them. We need to push harder for the overhaul of farm subsidies, to reward farmers who produce fruits and vegetables, and develop stronger regional food systems that require less energy, support farms of all sizes, and deliver fresher food to consumers.

More Links

• Study Abroad
• Advanced Dance Practicum in Uganda Student Video
• Dance Education Program
• Department of Music and Performing Arts Professions
• Photo Essays from Africa

Steinhardt's study abroad in Kampala, Uganda, was a trip I could not pass up. For 17 days, I had the opportunity to study with students from Makerere University to learn traditional Ugandan dances. Our second week consisted of workshops with children from orphanages. Over the years, I have received extensive pedagogical training -- I am a graduate student studying dance education -- but a state of nervousness encompassed me because I still felt unprepared to work with these children. Questions like, "What could I offer them? What could they learn from me?" continuously played in my mind. But for that hour and a half, these children who had faced tragedies that were unexplainable held their heads high to learn. They could forget about turmoil and misfortune because their main concern was dance. At the end of the week, a finale took place showcasing the work that the students and teachers created. After all was said and done, I realized I left the classroom as a student. The most valuable lesson the Ugandan children taught me was appreciation. Something as simple as learning dance could turn their worlds around. When it was time for me to return to New York I cried, because in that short time a never-ending bond was created with those children, as well as the students at Makerere University. I will carry the lessons learned from this trip with me into the classroom as a dance teacher in the New York City public schools.
-- Assantwa Green

More Links

• Photos from the Study
• More Information on the Study
• Department of Occupational Therapy
• Chiang Mai University
• About the Lampang Province
• More About the Lampang Province

An occupational therapist living in Thailand, alumna Nuntanee Satiansukpong (MS '97, PHD '03) used her training from Steinhardt's advanced occupational therapy program and elements from her native culture to devise a unique treatment plan for autistic children.

"In 2006, I had an opportunity to visit the Thai Elephant Conservation Center in Lampang Province, a northern part of Thailand, and to explore elephants' characteristics, habits, and habitats. I was amazed by their cleverness and gentle nature," Satiansukpong writes.

With her colleagues at the Chiang Mai University in Thailand Satiansukpong created a program matching four autistic young men and four well-trained elephants. The results from the pilot study are promising: participants engaged in activities ranging from learning about elephants and their habitats to actually riding and caring for them. Parents reported that the skills their children learned caring for elephants carried over into their daily lives.

"Animals are an important aspect of our lives and though our interaction with them we learn how to be human. We learn about caring," said Jim Hinojosa, a professor of occupational therapy who worked with Satiansukpong at NYU.

More Links

• Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health
• Jennifer Berg's Faculty Bio
• Sustainability at NYU
• Berg, Santlofer Awarded NYU Sustainability Fund Grant
• Faculty Video: Marion Nestle

Children from New York City public school 116 came to NYU this past June to gather vegetables and cook lunch with their harvest. The celebration was the final class of "Grow, Cook, Eat, Learn," a course created by Jennifer Berg, director of food studies, and adjunct faculty member Joy Santiofer. The program, which received an NYU Sustainability Fund Grant, educated 55 first and fifth grade students about where their food comes from, as well as the environmental, ecological, health, and ethical decisions associated with food production.

For the semester-long study, Berg and Santiofer visited PS 116 classrooms to discuss basic notions of food, agriculture, and the farm-to-table food system. "We incorporated educational standards throughout this project to make our curriculum interdisciplinary," Berg said. "Each week we introduced aspects of mathematics through measuring water, plant growth, as well as calculating how many inches between seeds."

The team encouraged children to keep a journal, write poems, and create art. For the social studies component there was a discussion of early Native American agriculture, including a snack of popcorn and dried green beans.

A highlight of the program was planting a garden, which began in milk cartons in the classroom. When the crops became unwieldy they were transferred to wooden cold frame boxes in Washington Square Village, which were built by NYU's gardening shop. The children visited NYU several times to see the garden's growth, water their harvest, thin out plants, and weed.

On harvest day, the children bagged their produce and cooked lunch in the Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health's kitchen laboratory. The menu was field greens with vinaigrette, roasted beets and carrots, foccacia with garlic and spinach, frittatta with cheese and herbs, and strawberry shortcake for desert.

For Fanny, a first grader, the best part of the day was "finding a carrot that was really big." For her teacher, Chelsea Silber, the Grow, Cook, Eat, Learn Project was special because it gave "a chance for kids who never got to put their hands in soil to grow something from seed to fruit to flower."

From the article:

The design [of the space] addresses and integrates the needs of three unique population groups: faculty and administrators; student clinicians; and patients who range in age from infants to senior adults... The architect worked closely with a lighting designer and acoustic consultant to develop a design that integrates audiovisual technology seamlessly into the space - using it strategically to bridge between physically unconnected labs and learning rooms.

• Click here to see a PDF of the full article.
• More images of the new Speech Language Pathology and Audiology facilities

A faculty member of Steinhardt's Department of Media, Culture, and Communication since 2003, McIlwain has become a respected presence in media coverage and communications. In addition to continuing his academic research, he is the author of the forthcoming book Race Appeal: The Prevalence, Purposes & Political Implications of Racial Discourse in American Politics, and been featured by such news providers as CNN, New York Post, and WNBC News.

McIlwain's most recent TV appearance occurred in late July on WPIX-NYC's news segment which analyzed the implications behind Senator John McCain's latest election advertisement. To view the full feature, please click here.

Don't miss McIlwain as he joins a panel of academics, journalists, and comedians as they discuss The American Hero and the American Dream: Reflections on Our Contemporary Political Narratives at the Brooklyn Museum on September 28.

To see additional features of Professor McIlwain, please visit the following websites:
CNN
NPR
St. Louis Post Dispatch

"We're deeply grateful to Mrs. Virginia Gorodnitzki for this exceptional gift," said Mary Brabeck, dean of NYU's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. "Sascha Gorodnitzki highly valued teaching throughout his life, his perfoming career, and as a noted member of the Juilliard faculty, developing a coterie of brilliant pianists. It is fitting that such a Chair be established in his memory." 

Mrs. Gorodnitzki's bequest generously allows for the creation of a studio, to be named The Sascha Gorodnitzki Piano Studio, that will include photographs, artworks, written, and audio materials, that celebrate Gorodnitzki's illustrious career and inspiring legacy. The search for the Faculty Chair in Piano Studies will commence this fall.

NYU's The Class Project runs October 24-25 at 8pm, October 26 at 3pm, October 30-31 at 8pm, November 1 at 8pm and November 2 at 3pm in the