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On Migration, Vocation, and Social Justice for Immigrants
On Migration, Vocation, and Social Justice for Immigrants ke.dunbar Fri, 12/18/2020 - 09:17 Renowned Guatemalan-American film director and producer Luis Argueta presented a lecture titled, “Ausencia: On Migrations, Vocations, and Social Justice,” on Thursday, February 18 at 4 p.m. via Zoom. In this conversation on Central American migration, Argueta discussed his forthcoming documentary, Ausencia (Absence), which delves into migration pressures, patterns, and reintegration of returning migrants to Guatemala, as well as his personal reflection on vocation and the questions that inform his work. Since 1977, Argueta has shared transnational immigrant stories through his works, which include feature films, documentaries, shorts, and commercial and episodic TV. His film series on immigration—abUSed: The Postville Raid, ABRAZOS and The U Turn—shines a light on the true human face of immigrants, their resilience and struggles to succeed, as well as their contributions to their communities and to American society. Argueta’s 1994 film, The Silence of Neto, was the first Guatemalan film to be submitted to the Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language Film category. In 2015, he became the only filmmaker to receive Guatemala’s highest honor, the Orden del Quetzal in the degree of Grand Officer. Argueta also received the 2019 Harris Wofford Global Citizen Award from the National Peace Corps Association. The lecture, which was rescheduled after cancellation last spring due to the pandemic, was the Ecumenical Institute’s 2021 St. Marie Eugenie Milleret Lectur and co-sponsored by Campus Ministry, the Department of Modern and Classical Languages and Cultures, the Latin American and Latino Studies program, and the Center for Purpose and Vocation. Luis Argueta and Pope Francis web.jpgRenowned Guatemalan-American film director Luis Argueta and Pope Francis. GeneralCampus Ministry Request Information Apply Visit Assumption Office of Communications
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Assumption Achieves ‘Military Friendly School’ Status for a Third Year
Assumption Achieves ‘Military Friendly School’ Status for a Third Year ke.dunbar Mon, 02/22/2021 - 14:10 In recognition of several programs to serve the unique needs of Veterans, active military, and their families, Assumption University has been named a Military Friendly® School for the third consecutive year. As a certified Yellow Ribbon School, Assumption honors students who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces for their personal sacrifices by providing a number of resources to support them in their academic pursuits. Because Veterans often have unique needs outside of the classroom, Assumption assembled a team of individuals aware of these needs to provide Veterans a seamless transition into higher education. Examples of the support Assumption offers its Veteran students include Veteran-specific financial aid programs and packages; an annual Veterans Day observance ceremony; a Veterans Success Committee to ensure Veteran students’ concerns are heard by administrators and staff; a Veterans Lounge for Veterans only to meet, study, and learn; and a network of support through aptly trained faculty and staff. Through a collaboration with the Worcester Institute for Senior Education (WISE), of which many of its members are Veterans who are always willing to lend an ear, or hand, to a fellow service member. Assumption has also expanded its academic programming to serve Veterans and their families, most notably through the Special Ops: Service Members, Veterans, and their Families (SMVF) certificate program, which aims to train human services professionals to effectively engage and empower members of the SMVF community and assist them in their unique needs such as knowledge of service-related injuries, disabilities, and treatment; an increased sensitivity to the barriers and special considerations for SMVF; and understanding on how to assist SMVF in enrolling in care systems. The Military Friendly School designation reviews public data, survey data from its institutions, and from the Veterans it supports in their pursuit of a college degree. For more information on Assumption’s Veterans programs, visit the website. Military Friendly for web.jpgAssumption has been named a Military Friendly® School for the third consecutive year. RankingsVeterans Request Information Apply Visit Assumption Isabella DeScenza '21
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What Recent Excavations Tell Us about Norse Vikings and the Settlement of Vinland
What Recent Excavations Tell Us about Norse Vikings and the Settlement of Vinland ke.dunbar Tue, 02/16/2021 - 11:40 The Rooms Provincial Museum’s Curator of History Kevin McAleese will present a lecture titled “Finding Vinland…Then and Now,” on Monday, March 29, at 7 p.m. via Zoom, which will explore the history of the Norse Viking settlement in Vinland and what the recently discovered Viking artifacts can tell us about the historical settlement. It has been more than 1,000 years since Vinland (present-day Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada) was settled by the Norse Vikings. According to McAleese, the small Canadian province not only marked the final point of the Norse migration journey, which also included colonizing Iceland in AD 850 and Greenland in AD 985, but was the farthest they reached whilst expanding into the Western Hemisphere. The lecture will explore the remarkable re-discovery of Vinland, particularly L’Anse aux Meadows, approximately 960 years after the Norse left, through archaeological research as well as recent excavations from Iceland, Newfoundland, and Labrador on sites that precede and follow the brief Norse settlement at L’Anse aux Meadows. McAleese has served as the curator of history at The Rooms Provincial Museum of Newfoundland and Labrador in St. John’s, Canada, since 1994. He received an M.A. in archaeology from Memorial University of Newfoundland, and a B.A. in archaeology from Simon Fraser University. McAleese has been conducting while also conducting archaeological digs, and editing and publishing books and articles on Viking and indigenous culture in Iceland, Greenland, and eastern Canada since the 1970s. The lecture is co-sponsored by the Human Arts Series and the History and Medieval and Early Modern Studies programs at Assumption. For Zoom invite, please contact jchlapowski@assumption.edu. The lecture will be followed by a question-and-answer session, as well as a virtual wine and cheese. finding vinland for web.jpgCanadian Museum Curator Kevin McAleese will discuss the recent discovery of Ancient Viking settlements in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, during Assumption's spring HumanArts lecture. General Request Information Apply Visit Assumption Daniel Carito '21
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Assumption Students Training as Contact Tracers to Assist Worcester in Pandemic Response
Assumption Students Training as Contact Tracers to Assist Worcester in Pandemic Response ke.dunbar Tue, 02/16/2021 - 09:50 In an effort to bring real-world experience into the classroom and assist the City of Worcester in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, several Assumption students are spending the spring semester training to become contact tracers. In their upper-level biology course, Infectious and Epidemic Disease, students will explore the basic biology of COVID-19 while completing 20-hour trainings required to become a Massachusetts contact tracer. The University has partnered with the City of Worcester Division of Public Health’s (WDPH) Academic Health Collaborative to deploy the students as contact tracers later this spring. The special topics course explores the history, epidemiology, clinical and biological elements of significant epidemics such as smallpox, cholera, the plague, tuberculosis, and coronaviruses, and will focus on the current global health crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to the coursework, a community service-learning component of the course features a partnership with WDPH Academic Health Collaborative, who will mentor students as they complete the Johns Hopkins Training program as well as the Massachusetts training program, MAVEN. “This course explores in detail the history of infectious diseases while including a current public health dimension to the classroom instruction,” said Professor Aisling Dugan, Ph.D., associate professor of biology who relied on her infectious disease expertise to design the course. “This unique way of learning about pandemics will provide relevant opportunities for students to become contact tracing interns in late spring, volunteer as contact tracers for the City of Worcester during the summer, or pursue additional roles in the City’s coronavirus response, including vaccination efforts.” “Through this innovative collaboration, students will engage in actual projects and research related to the COVID-19 pandemic, rather than conducting hypothetical research and coursework,” said Kelsey Hopkins, coordinator of the City’s Academic Health Collaborative. Hopkins explained that the WDPH team of 25 individuals focuses on a range of issues relative to public health and the pandemic, and requires additional resources to adequately administer a comprehensive contact tracing program. The city relies on the generosity of trained volunteers and community partners, including college students and Worcester Public School nurses. The students began the training offered by Johns Hopkins University last week, with the goal of completing the training by March 4. Read articles, or listen to news coverage, from MassLive, SpectrumNews1, Telegram & Gazette, Worcester Business Journal, WGBH and WBZ-FM radio. contact tracer for web.jpgAssumption University students are training to become contact tracers to assist the City of Worcester in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic through their upper-level biology course, Infectious and Epidemic Disease. Community Service Learning Request Information Apply Visit Assumption Office of Communications
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Prof. Cavanagh: Engaging Students in Learning Amid a Pandemic
Prof. Cavanagh: Engaging Students in Learning Amid a Pandemic ke.dunbar Tue, 02/16/2021 - 08:15 Assumption Psychology Professor Sarah Rose Cavanagh, Ph.D., is an advocate for infusing emotion in the classroom, in both teaching and learning, as a way to help students manage their anxieties, boredom, and frustrations, especially during the pandemic. In her recent column, How to Play in the College Classroom in a Pandemic, and Why You Should, published in the Chronicle of Higher Education, Prof. Cavanagh shares how professors can “lighten things up in class that are emotionally, academically, and pedagogically sound.” According to Prof. Cavanagh, “play”—or, involving students in an activity for enjoyment rather than solely for an academic or practical purpose–is one of the most natural ways we learn and it offers mental breaks from dire news. She suggests seven strategies professors can use to incorporate play in the college classroom, such as improve “warm up” activities, embrace movement, introduce a little levity, interrupt the usual routines, and know when to take a break. Prof. Cavanagh is a psychologist, professor, and associate director of Assumption’s D’Amour Center for Teaching Excellence. She writes articles and presents lectures and workshops regarding her research on the contribution of emotions and emotion regulation to quality of life. Prof. Cavanagh is the author of Hivemind and The Spark of Learning. chronicle logo for web.jpgAssumption Psychology Professor Sarah Rose Cavanagh, Ph.D., advocates the importance of infusing play in the college classroom in a recent article published in the Chronicle of Higher EducationFaculty Request Information Apply Visit Assumption Office of Communications
