Spanning the University

Campus News

University to open Bristol-Myers Squibb Center
Praising public-private partnerships to promote better science and mathematics training as a model for 21st-century growth, Montclair State plans to open a Bristol-Myers Squibb Center for Science Teaching and Learning. The second of its kind in New Jersey, the center aims to improve the way teachers prepare students in mathematics and science education.

The new facility will house the University's Professional Resources in Science and Mathematics (PRISM) program.

Designed as an incubator for excellence in northern New Jersey, the center is made possible through a $500,000 five-year capital grant from the Bristol-Myers Squibb Company.

"A rudimentary knowledge of mathematical procedures and scientific facts will no longer suffice," said MSU President Susan A. Cole. "All our young people should have a reasonable chance to develop an advanced understanding of mathematics, science, complex problem-solving skills and technological expertise. PRISM, operating within the new Bristol-Myers Squibb Center, will teach best practices to the professionals in mathematics and science who teach our children. PRISM and the Bristol-Myers Squibb Center for Science Teaching and Learning will bring a strong collaboration of Montclair State University scientists and education professors to bear on the design and delivery of this inquiry-centered program initiative."

John L. McGoldrick, executive vice president of Bristol-Myers Squibb, joined Cole for the grant announcement in December at the Department of Education offices in Trenton. He said the pharmaceutical industry has a great interest in ensuring the success of mathematics and science teachers and students.

"Bristol-Myers Squibb has a long-standing commitment to improving science and math teaching and learning. The pharmaceutical industry employs tens of thousands of people in New Jersey and elsewhere around the region, and we rely on qualified and highly skilled scientists," he said. "Our partnership with academia and government strives to give our teachers and their students the finest resources in order to enhance our talent pool and ensure that we continue to have the best scientists in the world."

McGoldrick noted that the Center for Science Teaching and Learning at Montclair State, as well as a similar center at Rider University in Lawrenceville also established with a Bristol-Myers Squibb grant, are logical extensions of a $6 million commitment from the company, started in 1993 to help raise the quality of science education across the nation.

Cole and McGoldrick were joined by higher education officials who emphasized the need to improve learning at the K-12 levels by giving current and future teachers of science and mathematics the skills to use inquiry-based teaching in their classrooms.

Rider University has its Science Education and Literacy Center (SELECT) program in place at its Bristol-Myers Squibb Center for Science Teaching and Learning. SELECT and PRISM are professional development programs for teachers that are recognized and used by public and independent schoolteachers of science throughout the state. They also facilitate active learning for undergraduates preparing to teach science and mathematics.

University completes sprinkler installation ahead of state deadline
Montclair State has completed the installation of sprinklers in all its residential facilities as required by law, well before the state-imposed July 2004 deadline.

The installation of sprinklers took two years to complete in Bohn, Freeman, Stone and Webster halls. Blanton, Russ and the Clove Road apartments were already equipped. All new residential construction, including The Village at Little Falls, have sprinkler systems.

The University's more than 2,900 beds are now protected by sprinklers. Funds for the installation, costing just over $1 million, came from the state Dormitory Fire and Safety Trust Fund, which provided a no-interest loan.

New Jersey passed a mandatory dormitory sprinkler law in 2000 after a fire at Seton Hall University killed three freshmen and injured more than 50 other students. The legislation was the first of its kind in the nation and gave colleges and boarding schools four years to install sprinkler systems in all residence facilities. According to the National Fire Prevention Association, 35 percent of dormitories across the country have sprinklers.

In July, New Jersey lawmakers introduced the Campus Fire Safety Right to Know Act of 2003. The bill would require colleges and universities to disclose fire safety information including data on fires, alarms, drills, sprinklers and policies relating to offenders of campus fire safety rules.

State Council on the Arts supports MSU theater

Actress Olympia Dukakis kicked off TheatreFest's Conversations Series in November, and taught a masterclass for theater students.

The New Jersey State Council on the Arts (NJSCA) awarded $118,305 in grants to TheatreFest and Arts Programming in the School of the Arts. The University will receive $39,435 per year for three years.

"We are honored and pleased to continue our strong relationship with the NJSCA," said John Wooten, director of TheatreFest. "This funding will allow us to continue to develop the work of playwrights through the TheatreFest Regional Playwriting Festival, expand our outreach and educational initiatives through TheatreFest for Kids, support culturally diverse, multidisciplinary arts programs through Great Events and launch the Conversations Series to bring renowned artists in multiple disciplines to campus."

Wooten said TheatreFest was cited as a "solid university model for an ongoing arts program" and Arts Programming was hailed as being a strong program.

She stops traffic
by Jennifer Neidenberg '04
Looking for someone to blame for all the traffic jams in midtown Manhattan? Just point your finger at Kathy Mavrikakis, the line producer for the "Late Show with David Letterman." A 1985 graduate of the Broadcasting Department, Mavrikakis is often the one responsible for causing traffic jams in front of the Ed Sullivan Theater at Broadway and 53rd Street whenever her boss feels like having a Civil War re-enactment or playing tic-tac-toe with New York City taxicabs.

Mavrikakis began her 18-year career as an intern for "Late Night with David Letterman" when the irreverent talk show host still worked for NBC. After graduating from Montclair State, she worked briefly for an advertising agency before being hired full time as a receptionist for "Late Night." Over the next 13 years she continued to move up in the ranks, first as an assistant to the associate producer, then production associate, then production coordinator, and then associate producer.

In the early 1990s she accompanied the rest of the 100-person crew to CBS for the "Late Show." Mavrikakis believes that not moving up as quickly as she would have liked is one of the disadvantages of staying with the same company for so long, but she feels there are advantages as well. Working with Letterman for so many years allowed her to gain a greater understanding of what everyone else around her was doing, which, in turn, gave her continued opportunities to take on more responsibilities.

In December 1998, Mavrikakis was promoted to line producer, responsible for coordinating all elements of the production including the budgets for everything from crew to costumes and dealing with the Mayor's Office of Film and Television to arrange permission to close the streets.

Mavrikakis returned to Montclair State last spring as part of a senior seminar class taught by Patricia Piroh '88 '92 M.A. to speak to broadcasting students about her experience in the television industry. She says her job is different every day, and even the most difficult task can be fun. "It's such a kick to watch New Yorkers enjoy what we're doing," she said.

She advised the soon-to-be graduates that internships should be considered a testing-ground time when they need to make themselves valuable, work hard and impress, and that the most important thing, especially in her job, is to prioritize daily.

While Mavrikakis declined to comment on the temperature inside the Ed Sullivan Theater, she did admit that outside the theater the traffic tie-ups are her fault.

Former President David W.D. Dickson passes away

Portrait of David W.D. Dickson, which hangs in College Hall.

Former Montclair State President David W.D. Dickson, the first African-American president to head one of New Jersey's public four-year colleges, passed away Dec. 10 at his home in Palm Coast, Fla. He was 84.

Dickson served as the fifth president from 1973 to 1983 during a period of rapid growth as Montclair State completed the transition from teachers school to comprehensive college. "Many of today's senior faculty members were hired by David as the University sought to accommodate the baby boom generation," said Provost Richard Lynde. "His decisions about personnel ultimately shaped the University for more than a generation."

A graduate of Bowdoin College and Harvard University, Dickson was an expert in 17th-century English literature and a scholar in the poetry of John Milton. He returned to the faculty as a Distinguished Professor of English for several years prior to his retirement in 1984.

"Those of us who had the privilege of knowing and working with David will remember him as a scholar and gentleman in the very best sense of both those words," Lynde said.

Dickson is survived by his wife, Barbara; a son, David; two daughters, Deirdre Dickson and Deborah Jones; a stepson, Robert Mickey; a stepdaughter, Sharon Mickey; a sister, Lois Rice-Fitt; and six grandchildren.

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