Monday Morning Update

March 21, 2011

Commencement 2011: The College will celebrate its 60th Commencement on Sunday, May 22 and local television legend Mary Richardson will deliver the keynote address to the Class of 2011. Long-time host of the award-winning "Chronicle" series on Boston's WCVB-TV, Richardson will receive an honorary doctor of humane letters degree for her civic accomplishments and broadcasting achievements. Also receiving honorary degrees will be local education leader Manthala "Matt" George '62, celebrated Broadway director Rob Ruggiero '83 and renowned writer and educator Brother Herman Zaccarelli, C.S.C. For more on these talented honorees, visit here.

Housing Matters: Massachusetts is moving away from an emergency shelter model of addressing homelessness to more effective approaches -- prevention, improved services and real housing options. Experience and tight budgets are forcing this shift to better ways of housing our homeless neighbors, writes Dennis Carman '82 in a recent Enterprise article. A veteran advocate for homeless people, Carman is the President/CEO of the United Way of Greater Plymouth County and the convener of the South Shore Regional Network to End Homelessness. To read his insights, visit here.

String Quartet: Next Tuesday, the Martin Institute will echo to the sounds of Haydn, Beethoven and Fauré when the Lydian String Quartet performs the spring Nakamicki Concert. For 30 years, their mastery of traditional works, infused with their flair for contemporary repertoire, has won world-wide acclaim. Members of Brandeis University's Music Department, the Quartet will begin their free, public performance at 8 p.m. with a meet and greet reception to follow. For more, visit here.

Football Fallout: As an NFL lockout looms for next season, Economics Professor Akira Motomura believes that the absence of football will have a big impact on local businesses. A sports economist, Motomura argues that businesses that depend on football traffic, like restaurants and bars, will definitely be hurt as spending could easily shift to other locations. For more on his insights, including whether the NFL can survive a lockout, visit here.

Media Hits: Many U.S. news outlets covered Communication Professor Ron Leone's study on movie ratings and violence. Interest in his research went beyond America as we noticed coverage of his research in the Hindustan Times, one of India's top English language papers. We also noted that the recent New York Times story on John Hanawalt '10 got even wider coverage when it ran in the International Herald Tribune. In addition, Religious Studies Professor Chris Ives called in a question to NPR's On Point program, which discussed pilgrimage as a model for living a meaningful life, a topic the Buddhist scholar explores with his students here at Stonehill.

Survivor's Story: Slovakian schoolboy Tomi Reichental was nine when the Gestapo shipped him to Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. He survived the Holocaust, eventually settling in Ireland and his story is told in Till the Tenth Generation, a documentary by Emmy-award winning director Gerry Gregg. With Gregg, Riechental will be in the Martin Institute next Monday at 7 p.m. to screen the film and to discuss the importance of remembrance. For more on this free presentation, visit here.

Contact

For more information, contact Communications and Media Relations at 508-565-1321.