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Events
Hofstra Happenings
Fall 2007
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School of Education and Allied Human Services Announces New Graduate Programs
The School of Education and Allied Human Services recently launched new graduate programs geared toward educators looking to advance their professional skills, knowledge and careers.
The Doctoral Program (Ed.D.) in Learning and Teaching prepares students to work as educational researchers, curriculum developers, teacher educators, professional development providers, and mentor teachers in schools, universities and other educational settings. The 60- credit program enables students to acquire broad and deep knowledge of processes of learning and teaching, to develop research skills with quantitative and qualitative methods, and to complete an individualized program of study in an area of specialization. Students also complete qualifying procedures and dissertation projects under the supervision of an adviser and two doctoral committee members with expertise in the area of specialization.
Students may enroll on a part-time or full-time basis. Practicing educators who plan to continue working during their doctoral studies are encouraged to apply.
The Certificate of Advanced Study in Educational Leadership: School District Business Leadership (SDBL) is designed for educators who are preparing for positions as public school district business leaders (deputy superintendent of schools for business, associate superintendent of schools for business, assistant superintendent of schools for business, and any other person having professional responsibility for the business operation of the school district). The program offers two options. The first is a 38-credit program for applicants who have not completed an approved administrative certification program. The second, a 15-credit program, is for applicants who currently hold administrative certification as a school district leader.
The Certificate of Advanced Study qualifies students for the New York State School District Business Leader (SDBL) certification.
The M.S. in Educational Administration and Policy Studies – Concentration in Higher Education, offered by the Foundations, Leadership, and Policy Studies Department, is a 36-credit program with three strands. The Administrative Strand includes 15 credits focused on leadership in higher education settings. The courses – "Introduction to Higher Education in the United States," "Economics and Finance of Higher Education," "Governance in Higher Education," "The Student in American Higher Education," and "Teaching and Learning in Higher Education" – will be offered over a five-semester period.
Students also complete 15 credits in the Foundations and Policy Strand, selecting courses in the philosophical, historical and social foundations of education. A Teaching and Learning Strand includes a three-credit elective. A three-credit independent study project completes the program.
For more information on the Doctoral Program in Learning and Teaching, contact the program director, Associate Professor Bruce Torff, Ed.D., at (516) 463-5803 or via e-mail. For more information on the SDBL Certificate or the new concentration for the M.S. in Educational Administration and Policy Studies, contact Dr. Eustace Thompson, assistant professor of foundations, leadership and policy studies, at (516) 463-5749 or via e-mail.
Journalism Students Earn Top Honors at Competition
School of Communication journalism students Natasha Clark, Amanda DeCamp, Ashley Gray, Margaret Harvlyruk, Jacqueline Hlavenka, Holly Nikeodem, Mike Sisak, Chris Vaccaro and Jesse Webster took four first-place and two second-place awards at The Newsday School of Journalism Awards for 2005-2006, more than any other Long Island college in the competition.
The competition is open to all middle, high school and college newspapers in Nassau and Suffolk Counties. Applicants compete in eight categories: news writing, feature writing, commentary, sports writing, local news/history, editorial cartooning, photography, typography and layout. The submitted entries are judged by Newsday journalists, artists and photographers.
In the Feature Writing category, Margaret Harvlyruk's article "The Usual Suspects" placed first while Holly Nikeodem's piece "Life is a Joke" took second place. Chris Vaccaro took first place in the Sports Writing category with "Fourth and Goal," and Natasha Clark placed second in the Local News/History category for her "Momma Mentors" piece. Pulse, the magazine of the School of Communication, was honored in two categories. Amanda DeCamp, Margaret Harvlyruk and Jesse Webster took first honors in the Typography & Layout category, and Ashley Gray, Jacqueline Hlavenka and Mike Sisak took first honors in the Photography category for their work with the magazine.
"This is very exciting for students, who conceived of, reported, wrote, photographed and laid out these stories on their own," said Carol Fletcher, associate professor of journalism. "I'm immensely proud of our students, and I am sure that for all of them, these honors represent only the beginning of many accolades they will earn throughout their careers."
Speech and Debate Forensic Team Earns Top Honors at Competition
Hofstra's Speech and Debate Forensic Team placed third overall in the Great Eastern Seaboard Forensics Tournament on April 27 and 28, 2007. In addition to its third-place overall finish, Sid Nathan '07 placed fourth overall, Allison Bishop '08 placed third in the category of prose interpretation, and Megan Kirkpatrick '07 placed first in persuasive speaking.
The Speech and Debate Forensic Team is coached by Dr. Charles Fleischman, associate professor in the Department of Speech Communication, Rhetoric and Performance Studies. Dr. Fleischman has directed forensics for more than 20 years and expressed praise for his team's recent achievements, which include a New York State Championship, a top 10 divisional ranking at a national (N.F.A.) tournament, and a national champion in persuasive speaking.
"These three intrepid students, Sid, Allison and Megan, responded to my challenge to extend what they were doing in the classroom by entering an intercollegiate forensic tournament. The results speak for themselves," said Dr. Fleischman. "I am very proud of these three students, and I expect big things from them next year."
Professor's Book Inspires Movie
Actors Ellen Burstyn, Carla Gugino and David Boreanaz are starring in a movie inspired by Hofstra Professor Julie Byrne's book about the "Mighty Macs," a women's basketball team from a small Pennsylvania Catholic college that won three consecutive national championships in the 1970s.
Our Lady of Victory, headed by producer and director Tim Chambers, wrapped up shooting in early July in West Chester, Pennsylvania, not far from Immaculata University, the tiny Catholic school whose women's basketball teams secured a place in college basketball history. The movie came about after Dr. Byrne, the Monsignor Thomas J. Hartman Chair in Catholic Studies at Hofstra, received a call from Mr. Chambers, himself a product of Philadelphia Catholic schools. Mr. Chambers was familiar with the Mighty Macs story and read Dr. Byrne's book, O God of Players: The Story of the Immaculata Mighty Macs (Columbia University Press, 2003). He called her about three years ago to ask for the movie rights.
The inspirational tale has been described by the media as a female Hoosiers, Sister Act and A League of Their Own rolled into one, yet Dr. Byrne said Mr. Chambers rejected a proposed treatment of the script by Disney that would have oversimplified the story and instead raised his own funds for the project.
Although Dr. Byrne's book told the history of the school from the 1930s through the 1970s basketball championship runs, the movie concentrates on the last chapter beginning in the 1971-72 academic year, when the school, then called Immaculata College and an all-women's institution, overcame great odds to win its first national title. The team did not have a home court or the money to send the team to the national tournament where it was seeded 15th in a 16-team field, and coached by a Protestant, 23-year-old Cathy Rush.
"The script emphasizes the difference between the Cathy Rush proto-feminist mentality and the 1970s girls Catholic school mentality," said Dr. Byrne, who noted that Ms. Rush "came into the world of Immaculata and had much different ideas about what it meant to be a young woman in the 1970s. The movie is about the differences and also about finding common ground between the two worlds."
As of press time, a release date for Our Lady of Victory had not yet been announced.
Lainie Kazan Teaches Students the Art of Acting for Television and Film
Following two concerts at the John Cranford Adams Playhouse on June 9 and 10, actress, singer and Hofstra alumna Lainie Kazan '60 co-taught a summer course, "Acting for Television and Film," as part of the University's Visiting Scholars Program.
Ms. Kazan taught the course with Dr. Nancy Kaplan '71, '91, chair of the Audio/Video/Film Department, and Professor Benjamin Moore of the Drama Department. The course focused on techniques used in acting for the camera, processes that differ from those used in stage acting, and extending the range of the student actor to include electronic and film media.
The course was a full student participation course that also included rehearsal and production calls beyond class hours, scene studies and other appropriate projects with written critical evaluations by the instructors. "We are delighted that Lainie came back to Hofstra to work with our students," said Dr. Kaplan. "She is the genuine article, a master at her craft, and we all had a blast working with her."
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