Media Fest:
Critiquing Coverage of War, Terrorism, and Religion
A correspondent for The New York Times, a scholar who examines the tension between Islam and the West, and a panel of local reporters led a series of presentations that critiqued media coverage of terrorism and religion during a two-day Media Fest on the Portland campus in early April.
“Meet the Press: The Media and the Community Critique the Coverage of War, Terrorism and Religion,” was sponsored by USM’s Department of Media Studies. Funding was provided by the Maine Humanities Council, with support from the New Century Committee Program, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
New York Times correspondent Gustav Niebuhr, on leave from the Times
and serving as a visiting fellow at Princeton, spoke on “Reflections
on the News Coverage of 9/11: A Personal View from within The New
York Times Newsroom.” He presented to a packed house on April 10
in a public lecture. Professor Michael Sells of Haverford College spoke
on “The Media and Islam in the Wake of 9/11” the next morning. The series
concluded with a panel of local reporters who discussed coverage in
Maine.
back to top
USM’s Osher Map Library and Smith Center for Cartographic Education and Harvard College Library have been selected as co-hosts of the 20th International Conference on the History of Cartography.
The two institutions will host the 2003 conference, scheduled for June
15-20. The conference is designed to bring together those from around
the world who work with early maps for the exchange of new research
and ideas.
“This is the most prestigious conference of its kind,” said USM Professor
Matthew Edney, the Osher Map Library’s faculty scholar, who is chair
of the 2003 conference program committee. “The fact that we were chosen
speaks volumesabout the reputation of the Osher Map Library.”
For updated information on the 2003 Conference, check the Web site
at: www.ichc2003.org.
The Osher Map Library recently acquired a rare book, a Passover  Haggadah
that serves as a guide to the rituals, songs, and prayers during the
Seder dinner celebrating Passover. While the Haggadah is one of the
most common religious texts in Jewish households, this copy is anything
but common.
“Scarce,” reads the catalog description of the 221-year-old Amsterdam Haggadah, considered the first book in Hebrew to contain engraved copperplate illustrations. “Wine stains on several leaves” give evidence of its use during Seder meals during its long life, but the paper is “crisp and fresh and [the] folding map [is] in exceptional condition.” That “folding map” is the second map of the Holy Land printed in Hebrew and the first to appear in a Jewish publication.
The lavishly illustrated Amsterdam Haggadah achieved great popularity among Jewish communities of Europe and the United States and has been widely copied, explains Dr. Harold L. Osher of Portland. Osher and his wife, Peggy L. Osher, are the benefactors of USM’s Osher Map Library.
That popularity was due in large part to illustrations by artist Abraham ben Jacob that were refined and detailed thanks to the use of copperplate engravings rather than traditional woodcuts. Amsterdam was known as a center of high quality, innovative publishing with a tolerant environment that placed no restrictions on the Jewish ownership of printing presses.
“It’s a wonderful addition to the collections,” said Harold Osher, “and at the Map Library it can be shared with many people, students, scholars and the general public alike. As part of the Passover holiday, it will serve as an annual reminder that our precious personal freedoms should not be taken for granted.”
back to top
After nearly two years of planning, construction is underway on USM’s Bioscience Research addition to the Science Building on the Portland campus. The facility has been designed to greatly improve the ability of USM faculty to conduct research.
Construction crews broke ground on Monday, March 25. The $11.2 million
addition, which is funded as part of the state’s R&D initiative,  will
feature 12 research labs and support space on a basement level and two
floors above ground. “When completed in April of 2003,” said President
Richard Pattenaude, “it will provide the facilities that will allow
faculty to attract external grants and generate the teaching and research
needed to support this region’s evolving industries. Moreover, USM will
become more valued as an institution that can provide new economic and
educational opportunities for the people of Maine.”
back to top
Betty Lou Whitford, a professor of education and co-director of the National Center for Restructuring Education, Schools, and Teaching at Columbia University’s Teachers College, has been named the new dean of USM’s College of Education and Human Development (COEHD). Whitford will take her new post on August 1. Jack W. Trifts, professor of finance at the Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins College, has been named the new dean of USM’s School of Business. He will assume his position at USM on July 1.
Betty Lou Whitford succeeds Richard Barnes, COEHD dean since 1992, who has decided to return to the faculty. Whitford, who earned her Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction and the sociology of education at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has written numerous articles and edited books on such subjects as high-stakes testing, teacher decision making, and reform efforts. She has received grants and funding from the Carnegie Foundation and the Ford Foundation, among others.
“I’m honored to have the opportunity to serve as dean of the College of Education and Human Development at USM,” Whitford said. “A major part of what attracts me to USM is the college’s national reputation for high quality programs that are responsive to their communities of practice. I look forward to supporting the faculty, staff, and students in building on the successes of the college and, with the help of local, regional, and national partners, enhancing opportunities for scholarship about and creating solutions to some of the challenges facing public education and our communities.”
Jack Trifts, who holds a Ph.D. from the University of Florida in finance and econometrics, served as associate dean at the Crummer Graduate School of Business for a year and as interim dean in June 2000. The Crummer School has been ranked in the top 50 regional business schools by Forbes magazine. From 1997 to 1999, he was director of the school’s two-year, full-time MBA program.
An expert on corporate finance and investment banking, Trifts has published articles and given numerous presentations on mergers, acquisitions, and restructurings and also has developed and taught seminars in financial management to corporate executives at a number of companies, including AT&T, IBM, and Westinghouse Electric.
USM’s goal of becoming a nationally recognized regional institution was an important factor in Trift’s decision to accept the position. Additionally, he said, he was influenced by the quality of the faculty who will work with him and by the school’s partnership with the local business community. “The futures of the business community and the business school are inseparably linked,” he said. “There is not a single business community in this country that has prospered without the presence of a great university nearby to support it. Similarly, a business school cannot prosper without a partnership with a vibrant business community that supports its programs, hires its students, and shares its expertise. I am excited about the opportunity to work with USM and the business community to further their goals.”
back to top
By anyone’s standards, USM has one of the premier baseball programs in the nation. Soon, the program will have a field to match its level of play.
Work has started on a 500-seat stadium in Gorham, complete with lights,
new dugouts,  a
new press box and a new playing surface. Thanks to financial support
from Maine businesses and other donors, USM is raising $500,000 to contribute
to the total cost of just over $1 million.
“A few years ago we completed the Costello Sports Complex, one of the finest indoor sports facilities in northern New England,” said USM Athletic Director Al Bean, who is spearheading the effort. “We feel it’s now time for a baseball facility consistent with the Huskies’ level of play.”
As part of the private fund-raising effort, individuals and businesses can sponsor a seat at the cost of $100 each. Sponsors can then have their name of choice engraved on a plate that will remain on the seat for the life of the facility. To date, 100 seats have been sponsored by alumni and friends. Bean hopes to have all 500 seats sponsored.
Maine-based businesses who are contributing time, expertise and/or materials to the project include: R.J. Grondin and Sons of Gorham; USM’s Department of Facilities Management; Horizon Solutions (formerly Holmes Distributors of Portland); Jack Bell Construction of Gorham; Maine Natural Gas; Haley and Aldrich, Inc. of South Portland; Blue Rock Industries; Harriman Associates of Auburn; DeLuca Hoffman Associates of South Portland; Hussey Seating of North Berwick; Barker Steele Company Inc. of Scarborough; and Dragon Products.
back to top
The University of Southern Maine Gay and Lesbian Archives, part of the Jean Byers Sampson Center for Diversity in Maine, and housed in the Special Collections of the Glickman Family Library on Forest Ave., Portland, have been presented with the Frances W. Peabody Papers by the Peabody Estate.
The Frances W. Peabody Papers document Peabody’s involvement  with
the AIDS battle in Maine. They span in time from the beginning of AIDS
sensitivity in the state, and include information on The AIDS Project
(TAP), an organization founded in Portland in 1985, with which Peabody
became strongly involved.
In her later years, Frances Peabody was best known for her work with The AIDS Project, with which she became involved following the death of a grandson from the disease. Peabody House, the Portland AIDS hospice center, was created in 1995 and named in her honor.
Before The AIDS Project Peabody’s passion was historic preservation and she was a trustee emerita of Greater Portland Landmarks. The Maine Historical Society, the Victoria Society of Maine, and the Portland Museum of Art have all benefited from her leadership. She was awarded a Distinguished Service Award at USM’s 1998 Commencement. She died in June 2001.
An exhibit of memorabilia and photographs of her life and work, “Hurricane Fran: Frannie Peabody’s Life of Service,” was on display at Lewiston-Auburn College’s Hall Gallery in the spring.
back to top
|
