About Hofstra
Hofstra University is a dynamic private college on Long Island, NY, where students can choose from more than 140 undergraduate and 150 graduate programs in liberal arts and sciences, business, communication, education, health and human services, and honors studies, as well as a School of Law and School of Medicine. | more |
Events
Year in Review: 2008
January | February | March | April | May | June/July | August | September | October | November | December
Graduating students braved stormy weather for the spring undergraduate commencement ceremony on May 18. New York Governor and Hofstra Law School alumnus David A. Paterson was the guest speaker and honoree.
May
May 1: Scott Rechler, chief executive officer and chairman of RXR Realty LLC, a multibillion-dollar private real estate company, was honored at the annual Hofstra University Gala on May 1 at the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex. The 2008 gala raised $1.2 million for the Hofstra Scholarship Fund, making it one of the most successful fund-raising events in the University's history. Mr. Rechler has been a longtime friend and supporter of Hofstra, currently serving on the President's Leadership Council and the Hofstra University Honors College Advisory Board.
May 1: President Stuart Rabinowitz announced the creation of an endowed chair in the Department of Religion for the study and teaching of Sikh musical traditions. The Sardarni Harbans Kaur Chair in Sikh Musicology, a gift from Hakam Singh, Ph.D., a retired chemist with a lifelong interest in Sikh music, will concentrate on how Sikh music and scripture are historically intertwined. Sikhism, founded in northern India, is one of the world's largest religions.
May 3: A group of 20 women from Hofstra University helped build a Habitat for Humanity home in Bellport, NY, as part of its special "Women Build" project. The Hofstra group was led by Terry Greis, the energy, environmental health and safety manager for the University's Plant Department. The team also included a first-year student and her mother. In addition to donating their time and energy, the Hofstra team raised $2,300 for Habitat for Humanity of Suffolk County.
May 3 and 4: Students from the Zarb School of Business won the District 2A American Advertising Federation competition in New York City after competing against 10 other colleges, including Penn State, Ithaca College and Georgetown University. The team, under the advisement of Associate Professor of Marketing and International Business Chuck McMellon, won first place after preparing an advertising plan and campaign for AOL's instant messaging and social network platforms.
May 4: The Dutch Festival celebrated its 25th year on Hofstra's South Campus with thousands of tulips in bloom, face-painting, live music and dance performances, craft vendors, and authentic Dutch food and beverages.
May 5: Political analyst and CNN commentator Paul Begala and Frank Luntz, the most-quoted pollster in America, discussed the role of political polls and the shaping of public opinion in the 2008 presidential election during a joint appearance titled "The Evolving Role of the Poll and Public Opinion in Election Politics" at Monroe Lecture Center Theater. The lecture was sponsored by The President's Educate '08 Event Series.
May 5: Yonia Fain, a 94-year-old artist who witnessed many of 20th-century Europe's great social and political upheavals, was the subject of a Hofstra University Museum exhibit at the Lowenfeld Conference and Exhibition Hall. A Painter's Witness to History: Recent Work by Yonia Fain featured eight mixed media works on paper by the internationally known artist who taught at Hofstra for 13 years.
May 5: The Merrill Lynch Center for the Study of International Financial Services and Markets of the Frank G. Zarb School of Business presented its annual conference, Stock Exchange Competition and International Listings. The conference brought together practitioners, policy makers, and academics to discuss issues relating to the recent competition among international stock exchanges, organizational and ownership consolidation, and the patterns and value of international listings.
May 5 and 6: Hofstra's Masquerade Musical Theatre Company presented The Musical of Musicals (The Musical!), directed by Hofstra student Emily Miethner. The show parodies the cliched plots that typify many musicals and make them so irresistible.
May 6: The Department of Biology announced the expansion of its 10-week paid summer research fellowship for juniors and seniors. The expanded program is funded by the OSI Pharmaceuticals Foundation. Previously, Hofstra provided the research fellowship to one student in a hospital setting and two students on campus. With OSI's support, the program will increase the number of student recipients to two and three, respectively.
May 7: Day of Peace, organized by the Progressive Students Union to celebrate diversity and coexistence on campus, took place at Calkins Quad. Everyone was asked to wear white or a bright color to symbolize peace. There were performances by Hofstra's Percussion Ensemble; dance students from the Department of Drama and Dance; Sigma 'Cappella, the only co-ed vocal a cappella group at Hofstra; and Hofstra Jazz Nonet.
May 12 and 21: The Hofstra Cultural Center and Hofstra Hillel, in cooperation with Conference of Jewish Organizations of Nassau County, presented two lectures by Israel's leading TV journalist, Michael Tuchfeld, correspondent for The Knesset Channel and news editor for Kol Israel. His lectures were titled "A Two-State Solution: Is It Really Possible?" and "Can Israel Be Jewish and Democratic at the Same Time?"
May 13: Hofstra announced that senior David Miller '08 received a three-year National Science Foundation grant to conduct research in environmental engineering. Mr. Miller, who was an applied physics major with a concentration in engineering and a Phi Beta Kappa member, also won a full scholarship to Princeton University for the Ph.D. track.
May 14: Mathematics major Joseph Pawlowski '08 was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to conduct bio-mathematical research in Italy. The grant covers a period from October 10, 2008, to July 10, 2009. The Bellmore, NY, resident also won Hofstra's Outstanding Graduating Senior Mathematics Award and another Mathematics Department award for his work tutoring Hofstra students.
May 15: Immaculee Ilibagiza, author of Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust, shared her experiences as a survivor of the 1994 Rwandan genocide. She survived by spending 91 days huddled silently with seven other women in the cramped bathroom of a local pastor's house. Her talk was sponsored by Hofstra's chapter of the N.A.A.C.P. in conjunction with New Opportunities At Hofstra (NOAH, Hofstra's Arthur O. Eve Higher Education Opportunity Program), the Black/Hispanic Alumni Association, the Office of Student Leadership and Activities, and the Nortel Black Business Council.
May 15: Rachael Higgins, a fine arts major, won a full scholarship to the prestigious Idyllwild Arts Center Summer Program. The Idyllwild Summer Program, a very prestigious arts colony located approximately 40 miles outside of Los Angeles, offers children, teens and adults unique opportunities in the visual arts, creative writing, dance, music and theater.
May 16 and 17: The Bronx Opera Company celebrated its 40th season and its 10th anniversary of performances at Hofstra by presenting a double bill that featured Mozart's The Impresario and Leoncavallo's immortal Pagliacci at the John Cranford Adams Playhouse.
May 18: Two thousand students celebrated their graduation from Hofstra University. New York Governor and Hofstra Law School alumnus David A. Paterson was the speaker and honoree at the undergraduate commencement ceremony.
May 21 to June 24: The Zarb School offered students the opportunity to study abroad in China to learn about international business and marketing. The course was presented in two phases: the first three weeks were spent in classes at Hofstra, and the rest of the program was conducted in China.
May 24: Hofstra's Science and Technology Entry Program (STEP) hosted a carnival fund-raiser at the Mack Student Center. STEP at Hofstra aims to increase the number of historically underrepresented students seeking careers in science and technology and pre-licensure professions. STEP enrolls middle and high school students from the surrounding community.
May 28: Drs. Cynthia Bogard and Cheryl Mwaria accompanied four anthropology students on a two-week educational tour of the West African nation of Togo. Dubbed the "Green Future Project," the tour enabled U.S. and Togolese students to learn how to organize, implement and maintain sustainable ecology projects while learning about each other's culture, resources and politics. The relationship between Hofstra and the University of Lome in Togo continued into the fall when a group of Togolese students visited Hofstra.
May 30: Hofstra University President Stuart Rabinowitz joined with New York State Senate Deputy Majority Leader Dean Skelos and Senate Health Committee Chair Kemp Hannon to announce a $25 million capital grant that will provide the initial funding for the state-of-the-art facilities needed to house the Hofstra University School of Medicine in partnership with North Shore-LIJ Health System.
