Yesterday, we capped off our day of celebrating our student's scholarly achievements at our annual Honors Convocation. A reception outside the Antonucci Science Complex followed.

Recently, Sigma Sigma Sigma were on the quad for their annual Teeter Totter-AS-Thon. The sisters teeter-tottered for 36 hours to raise money for the March of Dimes and The Robbie Page Memorial Fund. Learn more about Greek Life here.

Recently, the Center for Faculty Scholarship hosted a celebration of recent faculty-authored publications in Miller Oval. The event celebrated six faculty members who recently published books, and one who released an album. Each faculty member  briefly discussed their work, with time for Q+A and discussion before the reception to honor them and their accomplishments

It's been a busy two days, so far, for our Young Falcons Academy week, where students from Fitchburg and Leominster public middle schools partake in a week full of activities on campus. Yesterday and today, the Young Falcons met with current students to find out what college life was really like, make shadow puppets in Conlon Fine Arts with Professors Sally Moore and Andrea Olmstead, learn about therapy dogs meeting a Fitchburg State favorite Daisy the Therapy Dog, just to name a few. 

Members of the Fitchburg State Falcons Football Team are on the quad today as part of their Be The Match Swab Event. Every three minutes, someone is diagnosed with a blood cancer like leukemia. For patients with blood cancers like leukemia, lymphoma and other life-threatening diseases, a cure exists. Be The Match® is a community of donors, volunteers, health care professionals and researchers who deliver cures by helping patients get the life-saving marrow transplant they need. The team is asking fellow Falcons to help save a life, Be The Match!

Last week, our Center for Diversity and Inclusiveness offered students a mid-semester break treated students to ice cream sundaes and a break from studies and projects.

Discovery & Access Strategic Projects Manager, Lamont Library,
Harvard University Kai Fay visited English Studies Professor Kisha Tracy's Storytelling and Oral Tradition class last week, "Humans are terrible at remembering facts, what we are good at is remembering stories," was how the oral tradition was explained. 

This morning, Fitchburg State University hosted educators and administrators from across Massachusetts for a daylong series of discussions and workshops on Early College, a program that lets high school students experience and complete college-level coursework.

Fitchburg State President Richard S. Lapidus opened the event by citing the growth of Early College on the university’s campus, with the number of participating students growing by more than 40% in the last year. The university has formal agreements with Mount Wachusett Community College and local high schools including Athol, Fitchburg, Gardner, Leominster, Narragansett Regional, and Sizer School that create credit-bearing opportunities for students. 

Local Artist and Alum Amber Haney was a spoke to students in  English Studies Professor Kisha Tracy's Writing II class. Amber talked about Art Therapy, Art in the Public Space, and challenged students to affect their environment through their art. 

Today, Commissioner of Higher Education Noe Ortega visited the Fitchburg State campus as part of his tour of the state's 29 public colleges and universities. During his visit, Commissioner Ortega had lunch with and listened to students, experienced an immersive classroom simulation with education students, spoke with game design students at the downtown game studio about their projects, experienced a virtual nursing simulation designed by students, and checked out facilities including the strength and conditioning laboratory at Landry Arena.