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Fall 2021: Easing the Safety Protocols
Fall 2021: Easing the Safety Protocols ke.dunbar Fri, 04/16/2021 - 11:49 The University today announced its aspirations of the return of in-person classes and more students residing on campus amid an easing of the safety protocols this coming fall, if conditions allow. “We are hopeful that the virus will wane in its prevalence so we may collectively transition to a new normal of post-pandemic campus life,” said Francesco C. Cesareo, Ph.D., president of Assumption. “The uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic has required each of us to make unprecedented and abnormal sacrifices for the benefit of the common good. Those sacrifices have been a challenge for our community, but the selfless efforts that define the Assumption spirit endured. The University community is grateful for the continued patience of students and their families, as well as faculty and staff, since last March.” VACCINATION REQUIREMENT (AND EXEMPTIONS) Pivotal to welcoming as many students as possible back to campus this fall is achieving a minimum 90 percent vaccination rate of the campus community. To reduce the transmission of COVID-19 and the possibility of acute illness if you are infected, the University will require that all faculty and staff are fully vaccinated by Monday, August 9. Students must be fully vaccinated two weeks prior to their return to campus. To be fully vaccinated, individuals must have received all required vaccine doses and two weeks have passed after the final vaccination. Exemptions for religious, medical reasons, or moral or freedom of conscience objections.will be considered on a case-by-case basis. ACADEMICS & ENJOYING THE ON-CAMPUS EXPERIENCE If Commonwealth guidelines and the public health situation allow, and if 90 percent of the campus community is vaccinated, the fall 2021 semester will differ from the 2020 fall semester in the below ways: The Academic Calendar (Subject to change based on the health conditions in the fall) Returning students will move into residence halls by class year on Saturday, August 28 and Sunday, August 29 (it is anticipated that a quarantine will not be necessary for those who are vaccinated). In-person classes will begin on Monday, August 30. Students will again enjoy a day off on Labor Day and a return of the Columbus Day midterm break in October. Campus Experience Students who are vaccinated may be permitted to visit other residence halls and leave campus at their convenience. Public gatherings and gatherings within residence halls will be accommodated in accordance with Commonwealth guidelines. Maximum residential student occupancy will increase to 75 percent, or more, if permitted by the Commonwealth. Most classes will be held in-person with additional students permitted in classrooms, which will be determined by Commonwealth social distancing guidelines for the fall. Social distancing, wearing masks, daily symptom tracking, and regular testing will likely continue. Individuals who test positive for COVID-19 will follow the isolation protocol. Fully vaccinated individuals who have close contact with a COVID-19 positive individual will not need to quarantine unless symptomatic. Those not fully vaccinated who come into close contact with a COVID-19 positive individual will be required to quarantine. President Cesareo added that the University’s decisions and safety protocols have been implemented to promote the health and safety of our campus community during a time of uncertainty and fluctuating conditions, which remains paramount as the University moves toward loosened protocols in the fall. AU sign for web.jpgAssumption announced its aspirations of returning of in-person classes, more students residing on campus, and easing of the safety protocols this coming fall, if conditions allow. General Request Information Apply Visit Assumption Office of Communications
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Teaching While Black: From Enslaved to Educator
Teaching While Black: From Enslaved to Educator ke.dunbar Thu, 04/15/2021 - 09:08 Fanny Jackson Coppin, Oberlin College’s second Black female graduate and its first Black instructor, was a lifelong educator and activist. John Frederick Bell, Ph.D., assistant professor of history, will deliver a virtual lecture on Coppin’s life and legacy entitled, “Teaching While Black: The Life and Lessons of Pioneering Educator Fanny Jackson Coppin,” on Tuesday, April 20 at 7 p.m., as part of the Shrewsbury Public Library’s Social Justice Talks series. Prior to the Civil War era, no African American woman had earned a bachelor’s degree or had been appointed to teach a class of white students. Coppin managed to do both and much more. Though born into slavery, she went on to spend more than three decades as principal of Philadelphia’s Institute for Colored Youth (now Cheyney University). Prof. Bell will explore how Coppin’s life, filled with adversities and achievements, shaped her teaching philosophy. According to Prof. Bell, Coppin dismissed disparities in students’ means, backgrounds, and preparation and instead operated on the premise that every child had the ability to learn. “Fanny Jackson Coppin’s story illustrates the value of same-race role models for students of color,” said Prof. Bell. “She thrived as an educator in part because her students knew that she shared their struggles. They respected her for overcoming enslavement, resisting discrimination, and earning a college degree at a time when almost no women did.” Bell added that today, Black individuals—and people of color generally—remain underrepresented as teachers at all levels of the American education system. “Students of color now represent over half the American public school population, yet teachers of color account for only 17 percent of American public school faculty,” he explained. “We can speculate on the consequences of this gap for student learning and social development. What is clear, however, is that Fanny Jackson Coppin’s remarkable career points to the transformative possibilities that can arise when women of color command the classroom.” Prof. Bell’s research examines the intersecting histories of race, education, and social reform in 19th century America. His forthcoming book, Degrees of Equality: Abolitionist Colleges and the Politics of Race, will be published by Louisiana State University Press next year. The lecture is open to the public but registration is required. To register for the event, click here. Fanny Jackson Coppin web.jpgJohn Frederick Bell, Ph.D., assistant professor of history at Assumption, will explore the life and legacy of Fanny Jackson Coppin in a lecture entitled, “Teaching While Black: The Life and Lessons of Pioneering Educator Fanny Jackson Coppin,” on Tuesday, April 20 as part of the Shrewsbury Public Library’s Social Justice Talks series. HistoryFaculty Request Information Apply Visit Assumption Office of Communications
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A Conversation with E.J. Dionne: The GOP and Modern American Politics
A Conversation with E.J. Dionne: The GOP and Modern American Politics ke.dunbar Tue, 04/13/2021 - 15:10 E.J. Dionne, political scientist and syndicated columnist with The Washington Post, will discuss the place of ideas in modern American politics during a virtual lecture presented by Assumption University on Thursday, April 22, at 7 p.m. via Zoom. In 1981, the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, a Democrat, wrote: “Of a sudden, the GOP has become a party of ideas.” Dionne, a nationally known and respected commentator on politics, will ponder the validity of Sen. Moynihan’s statement as well as discuss the status of ideas in American politics today during this event, a conversation with Assumption Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Greg Weiner, Ph.D. Dionne is the W. Averell Harriman Chair and Senior Fellow for Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution, as well as a government professor at Georgetown University and a visiting professor at Harvard University. He is also a syndicated columnist for The Washington Post and appears weekly on National Public Radio and regularly on MSNBC; he has also appeared on a number of PBS programs, including News Hour with Jim Lehrer. Dionne began his career as a reporter with The New York Times, where he spent 14 years reporting on politics from around the world, including stints in Albany, Washington, D.C., Paris, Rome, and Beirut. He joined The Washington Post in 1990 as a reporter and has been writing his column since 1993. He is the author, editor, and co-editor of several books, including his most recent, Code Red: How Progressives and Moderates Can Unite to Save Our Country (St. Martin’s Press). Other works include One Nation After Trump: A Guide for the Perplexed, the Disillusioned, the Desperate, and the Not-Yet Deported (co-authored with Norman J. Ornstein and Thomas E. Mann, 2017), and Why the Right Went Wrong: Conservatism – From Goldwater to the Tea Party and Beyond (2016). His book, Why Americans Hate Politics (1991), was nominated for the National Book Award and won The Los Angeles Times book prize, and Newsday called it “a classic in American political history.” A native of Fall River, Dionne is a graduate of Harvard University and received his doctorate from Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar. The lecture is sponsored by the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Center for Scholarship and Statesmanship at Assumption University. The Center aims to cultivate thoughtful citizens who are inspired by the late senator’s example to appreciate the link between ideas and action. Established in 2018, the Center is funded by generous grants from the Thomas W. Smith Foundation and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. The virtual lecture is free and open to the public. For more information or to obtain a Zoom link, please contact Jillienne Church js.church@assumption.edu. EJ DIonne web.jpgPolitical scientist and syndicated columnist with The Washington Post E.J. Dionne will discuss the place of ideas in modern American politics during a virtual lecture on April 22.Political Science Request Information Apply Visit Assumption Office of Communications
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How Can We Rebuild the Institutions of American Life?
How Can We Rebuild the Institutions of American Life? ke.dunbar Tue, 04/13/2021 - 11:09 What are the roles of institutions in American life? Yuval Levin, Ph.D., director of Social, Cultural, and Constitutional Studies at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), will discuss this question and more during “A Conversation with Yuval Levin,” a virtual lecture presented by Assumption University on Thursday, April 15, at 7:00p.m. via Zoom. Levin, a widely published and esteemed public intellectual, will discuss the role of institutions in American life, what imperils them, and what can be done to fortify and rebuild them, in a conversation with Assumption Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Greg Weiner, Ph.D. Levin will also explore the legacy of the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan and his decades of contributions to the journal The Public Interest. The legacy of Sen. Moynihan is the inspiration for the work and scholarship of the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Center for Scholarship and Statesmanship at Assumption University. The Center, which was established in 2018 and is funded by generous grants from the Thomas W. Smith Foundation and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, endeavors to cultivate thoughtful citizens who are inspired by Sen. Moynihan, a true scholar-statesman who appreciated the convergence of and link between ideas and action. Levin is the Beth and Ravenel Curry Chair in Public Policy at AEI as well as the founding and current editor of National Affairs. He is also a senior editor of The New Atlantis and a contributing editor to National Review. He served as a member of the White House domestic policy staff under President George W. Bush and held the positions of executive director of the President’s Council on Bioethics and a congressional staffer at the member, committee, and leadership levels. Levin, who is frequently interviewed on radio and television, has published numerous essays and articles in national publications such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and Commentary. He is the author of several books on political theory and public policy, most recently A Time to Build: From Family and Community to Congress and the Campus, How Recommitting to Our Institutions Can Revive the American Dream (Basic Books). He holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. from the Committee on Social Thought at the University of Chicago. The virtual lecture is free and open to the public. For more information or to obtain a Zoom link, please contact Jillienne Church js.church@assumption.edu. levin for web.jpgYuval Levin, Ph.D., director of Social, Cultural, and Constitutional Studies at the American Enterprise Institute, will discuss the roles of institutions in American life during a virtual lecture on April 15. Political Science Request Information Apply Visit Assumption Office of Communications
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Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post Columnist George F. Will to Deliver 2021 Commencement Address
Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post Columnist George F. Will to Deliver 2021 Commencement Address ke.dunbar Mon, 04/12/2021 - 16:28 Pulitzer Prize-winning and nationally syndicated Washington Post columnist George F. Will will deliver the Commencement address during Assumption University’s 104th Commencement exercises on Sunday, May 9 at 10 a.m. at the DCU Center in downtown Worcester. Will and Vincent Strully, Jr., founder and CEO of the New England Center for Children, will receive honorary degrees during the ceremony. Will is a veteran journalist with more than 40 years of experience. His newspaper column has been syndicated by The Washington Post since 1974, and appears twice a week in more than 440 newspapers. He also serves as a regular contributor to MSNBC and NBC News. Will previously served as the Washington editor of National Review magazine (1973-76) before becoming a regular contributing editor of Newsweek magazine (1976-2011). In 1981, Will was a founding panel member on ABC’s This Week and spent over three decades providing regular commentary. He subsequently spent three years with Fox News, where he appeared regularly on Special Report and Fox News Sunday. Will was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for commentary in his newspaper columns in 1977. “Assumption University is honored to welcome George Will as our Commencement speaker as his extensive career and knowledge will serve as an inspirational example to the graduates of the Class of 2021,” said Assumption University President Francesco C. Cesareo, Ph.D. “His insight is valued nationally among readers and his colleagues, and widely respected by a number of national publications and networks, many of which rely on his expertise for their reporting. Mr. Will’s appreciation of the intrinsic link between thought and action, and Mr. Strully’s dedication to serving those in the autism community, in which he has dedicated the last 45 years advocating and working for both children and adults with autism and related disorders. Mr. Will’s and Mr. Strully’s commitment to bettering the communities in which they live are valuable examples our graduates will find useful and motivational as they embark on their own journeys of finding a life and vocation of meaning as thoughtful, compassionate citizens.” Will is a member of the advisory board of the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Center for Scholarship and Statesmanship at Assumption University, which was established in 2018 to cultivate thoughtful citizens who are inspired by the late senator’s example to appreciate the link between ideas and action. Will, who was a friend of the late Senator Moynihan, called him “the most accomplished intellectual in 20th-century American politics” who “gave to our democracy the inestimable gift of a good example -- of brave and clear thinking amid the tumults of democracy.” Will has published many books, including his most recent work, The Conservative Sensibility (2019). Altogether, eight collections of Will's Newsweek and Washington Post columns have been published, the most recent being One Man’s America: The Pleasures and Provocations of Our Singular Nation (2008). He has published three books on political theory: Statecraft as Soulcraft: What Government Does (1983), The New Season: A Spectator's Guide to the 1988 Election (1987), and Restoration: Congress, Term Limits and The Recovery of Deliberative Democracy (1992). Will has also written extensively on the sport of baseball; his 1990 book, Men At Work: The Craft of Baseball, topped The New York Times bestseller list for two months; in 1998 he released Bunts: Curt Flood, Camden Yards, Pete Rose and Other Reflections on Baseball, a best-selling collection of his previously published as well as new writings on baseball; and in 2014 he published A Nice Little Place on the North Side: Wrigley Field at One Hundred. In July 2000, Will was a member of Major League Baseball's Blue Ribbon Panel, examining baseball economics. Will holds degrees from Trinity College in Hartford, CT, Oxford University, and Princeton University, where he earned his Ph.D. and later served as a trustee. He has taught political philosophy at Michigan State University, the University of Toronto, and Harvard University. Will served as a staff member in the United States Senate from 1970-72 and lives and works in the Washington, D.C., area. Vincent Strully, Jr., Founder and CEO New England Center for Children Strully is the founder and chief executive officer of The New England Center for Children® (NECC®), an internationally recognized leader in autism intervention, research, and professional development. As CEO, Strully directs all aspects of clinical and financial administration, program development, fundraising, facility design, and strategic planning. He has over 45 years of experience working with children and adults with autism and related disorders. In 2007, NECC signed a long-term agreement with The Health Authority of Abu Dhabi to create a comprehensive center in the United Arab Emirates. NECC programs directly impact more than 8,000 students with autism in 34 states and 15 countries. NECC researchers have published over 300 studies in peer-reviewed academic journals. Since 1987, more than 1,500 NECC employees have completed a master’s degree in one of the on-site programs funded by the Center. Strully was named Ernst & Young's Social Entrepreneur of the Year® for New England in 2007 and the Nonprofit Business Leader of the Year award from Worcester Business Journal in 2017. He was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Western New England University in 2009. The University’s plans for the Commencement have been reviewed and approved by the Worcester Department of Public Health. All Commonwealth COVID-19 safety guidelines and protocols will be enforced by DCU Center staff. Should the public health situation decline in the coming weeks, the University will comply with any recommendations by the Worcester Department of Public Health and transition to a virtual ceremony, if necessary. geroge will for web.jpgGeroge F. Will, Pulitzer Prize-winning and nationally syndicated Washington Post columnist, will deliver the 2021 Commencement address during Assumption University’s 104th Commencement exercises on May 9. CommencementGeneral Request Information Apply Visit Assumption Office of Communications
