Recently, Provost Patricia Marshall welcomed those gathered in the Presidents' Hall for English Studies Professor Elise Takehana who presented her Harrod Lecture "Database and Algorithm as Literary Infrastructure", after an introduction by Acting English Studies Department Chair Lisa Gim.

In the lecture, Dr. Takehana discussed the conflicts and overlaps between storytelling and data analysis by exploring examples in experimental literature, interactive fiction, portraiture, and quantitative approaches to studying language and literature. The talk offered several reflections on the nature of human expression in the age of big data and how that might color what we think of as "human."

In our perpetual effort to provide a better, more accessible education, our Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) sponsored a Show & Tell in one of our Active Learning Classrooms in the newly renovated portion of Thompson Hall yesterday afternoon. An Active Learning Classroom is designed to invite flexible teaching and experimentation in pedagogy, configured to maximize active, collaborative learning and multimodal teaching, in contrast with traditional lecture-style classrooms. Drs. Jannette McMenamy, J.J. Silvia, Elise Takehana, Kisha Tracy present how they are currently utilizing the Active Learning Classrooms. 

Environmental and Earth Science Professor Christopher Picone discussed forms of energy in his Intro to Environmental Science class. Students were shown the rooftop photovoltaic solar panels (PVs) installed here at Fitchburg State University in 2011. Later, a demonstration of how a turbine does was interlaced with a lesson in wind power. The goal of Introduction to Environmental Science is to provide students with the scientific principles, concepts and methodologies required to understand interrelationships of the natural world, to identify and analyze environmental problems both natural and human-made, to evaluate the relative risks associated with these problems and to examine alternative solutions for resolving and/or preventing them.

Earlier this semester, students in Professor Kevin McCarthy's Sound Design course got a tour of the Sound Studio in Conlon. Professor McCarthy pointed out the unique assets in the studio, including a Whisper Booth; a soundproof chamber to record voice-over audio. The Course examines the elements of post-production sound design within the context of film and video production. It blends the artistic and the technical. wherein students use nonlinear editors, digital audio work stations and analog and digital recording equipment to design soundtracks for film and video productions.

Alums Willard French '76, David Holton '68, and William McCaffrey '76, along with Jeffrey A. Wolfman, Vice President for Institutional Advancement, were at the Klondike Ave. Warehouse this afternoon to inspect the Walter Harrod Antique Tool Collection with the intent of evaluating and categorizing for a potential exhibit. Walter F. Harrod, a 1940 graduate of Fitchburg State Teachers College, and Woodworking Professor in the Industrial Arts program (1947 - 1978) was a mentor to these, and countless other alumni.

A new calendar year marks a new semester, and students are on campus ready to learn, explore, and experience as the spring semester starts today.

Yesterday afternoon, Provost Patricia Marshall welcomed those gathered in the President's Hall for Professor Yasser Derwiche Djazaerly's presentation of  the Harrod Lecture "Art and Populism: On American and European Gothic." After an introduction by David Svolba, Chair of the Humanities Department, Professor Djazaerly argued that populism originated in the late Enlightenment and was manifested in the Gothic Revival. After examining Romanticism in light of the current research on populism, the presentation situated Grant Wood’s American Gothic within the modern European discourse on gothic architecture.

Dr. Katharine Covino (English Studies) and Dr. Erin MacNeal Rehrig (Biology and Chemistry) have teamed up to teach this unique STEAM (Science, Technology, English, Art, and Math) FYE which supports students’ academic skills development through learning new and interesting concepts related to plant science, specifically, photosynthesis, pollination, seed dispersal, carnivory, and responses to the environment, while reading and reviewing the YA Lit book, Bloom by Kenneth Oppel. The goal of the course is to draw inspiration and resources from diverse content areas to help students become engaged, curious, and caring members of the university community. In this activity, students are investigating the characteristics of plants that make them successful at seed dispersal while working in teams, solving problems, and applying metacognitive strategies to complete the activity successfully. Here, students perform a seed dispersal experiment wherein seeds are weighed, measured, and reopped from a specific height. The distance of the seed from the drop location data was then recorded.

The Biology, Chemistry, and Earth & Geographic Sciences departments held their annual science symposium this afternoon at the Lisciotti pavilion in the Antonucci Science Building. This is an event where the science faculty present posters on their research to get students interested and involved in the sciences.

The Theater Department's Ellen (Cap) Corduan, and her students, worked on the stage set for the upcoming presentation of A Raisin in the Sun this afternoon in Conlon Fine Arts. The Theater Department will be presenting the play November 15-20, check back for details.