Monday Morning Update

August 04, 2008

Best Colleges: Yet another top college guide is recommending Stonehill as a strong choice for students. In its Best Northeastern Colleges 2009, The Princeton Review lists Stonehill among the best colleges and universities in the Northeast. In particular, the students quoted in the guide praise faculty for being attentive, challenging, and accessible. For more about this positive recommendation and to read what the students said about their Stonehill education, visit here.

Raymo Essay: Professor Emeritus of Physics Chet Raymo has a new book out next month titled When God is Gone, Everything is Holy: The Making of a Religious Naturalist. As we wait for Raymo's 16th book, we note that the summer issue of Notre Dame Magazine features an essay by Chet reflecting on the various impacts that his father's basement workbench had on him. To read how this "altar for male liturgies," helped Raymo learn to "repair an electric iron, change a washer in a faucet and stay married to the same woman for 50 years," visit here.

Faculty Award: Associate Professor of Chemistry Maria Curtin has been recognized for her leadership and for her exemplary commitment to science. Teaching at Stonehill since 1993, Curtin was elected a 2008-2009 SENCER Leadership Fellow by the National Fellowship Board of the National Center for Science and Civic Engagement. Curtin is one of only 76 professors and scholars who were chosen as Leadership Fellows from a pool of 1,300 nominees. To learn more about this honor for Curtin, visit here.

Children's Book: Former English major Hanna Haidar '03 has written a children's book Earl's Big Adventure, which follows the travels of a boy and his monkey as they explore Spanish culture in Costa Rica. Written for children three to six, the book charts how the pals negotiate and experience a different culture. Recently, we caught up with Haidar, who is an expert surfer and world traveler, to ask him about his travels, writing, and surfing. To read more, visit here.

Summer Reading: Alumni, friends and neighbors are welcome to attend the September 12th presentation by author Greg Mortenson in the Sports Complex at 4:00 p.m. Mortenson's Three Cups of Tea has topped the New York Times bestseller list and the book is required summer reading for our first-year students. In a recent review of Three Cups of Tea, alumna Lauren Daley '05 described Mortenson as a "real-life action hero" for the way in which the mountaineer has built schools in remote regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan. To read her review, visit here.