June 7, 2012
by Alexis Mattera
While many colleges and universities – specifically public ones – are cutting back on faculty, the University of Connecticut is putting its shears in storage: President Susan Herbst has announced plans to add 275 new faculty members to the university’s flagship campus in Storrs over the next four years.
According to Gwendolyn Bradley, senior program officer for the American Association of University Professors, UConn’s hiring strategy runs counter to the approach many schools are taking, as they are still reeling from the recession and looking to limit costs wherever possible but to Herbst, expanding the faculty is vital to the university’s future success. "The goal is to improve the quality of education by reducing class sizes and enabling professors to spend more time with our students. We also want to increase the number of courses offered so that our students never have to wait to take a course. We want our students graduating on time," she said. Research is also important to UConn but the focus will be on hiring faculty who both teach and conduct research, depending on the field of study.
The hiring of 65 faculty members – with particular emphasis in the fields of genomics, education, health insurance and finance – will begin this fall, followed by another 90 by the fall of 2013; as a result, the student-to-faculty ratio is expected to decline from the current 18-to-1 to 15-to-1 in four years. You can read the rest of the details here – thoughts from any current or future Huskies?
by Lisa Lowdermilk
It was with great sadness that I read about the suicide of Wendy Chang, a college student at Harvard University...even more so when I learned that four other Boston students have already committed suicide this year.
Even though I never met any of the students personally, I feel that every suicide is a tragedy, especially when I think about how this topic, as well as depression, are still viewed as taboo . While I can understand why some people prefer to avoid talking about death, depression and suicide, I also think that we need to realize that we don't understand what a depressed person is going through unless we do talk about such issues. People contemplating suicide will almost always reach out to someone first and it is our duty to help them.
So if another student comes to you expressing a desire to commit suicide, don't immediately judge him or her. Chances are, he or she is well aware of the stigmatism attached to suicide and is reluctant to admit being suicidal in the first place. Instead, listen, thank the individual for being courageous enough to confide in you and help him or her find help for people contemplating suicide. Virtually every college has resources specifically designed to help students cope with the many stressors of college and life in general. And should you or someone you know confide in the individuals in charge of these services, you can do so knowing that they will keep your circumstances private.
My condolences go out to Wendy's family, as well as to all the families who have ever lost a relative to suicide. Their loved ones will not be forgotten.
Lisa Lowdermilk is a soon-to-be published author (her first novel is a murder mystery for young adults set in the future), an avid video gamer and an artist. She enjoys watching thrillers, trying different restaurants and attempting to breakdance. Lisa completed her Associate of Arts degree entirely online and is now majoring in professional writing at the University of Colorado Denver.
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