Holiday Chamber Concert to Feature Early English Christmas Music

MADISON, NJ—Early English Christmas music will be the focus of a holiday chamber concert at Drew University on Tuesday, December 8 at 8:00 PM. New York’s premiere viol consort, Parthenia, will present As It Fell on a Holie Eve at The Dorothy Young Center for the Arts. Special guest soprano will be Julianne Baird.

This program will feature early English Christmas music such as As it fell on a Holie Eve, The Cradle, The Night Watch, Sweet was the Song the Virgin Sung, Out of the Orient Crystal Skies, the Shearmen & Tailors carol Lully, lulla and Divisions on Greensleeves by composers William Byrd, Thomas Ravenscroft, Anthony Holborne, Thomas Morley, John Bull and others.

Tickets for the December 8 concert are $33. For ticket orders and more information, call 973-408-3917 or visit www.drew.edu/community.

Julianne Baird has been hailed as "one of the most extraordinary voices in the service of early music that this generation has produced. She possesses a natural musicianship which engenders singing of supreme expressive beauty." She maintains a busy concert schedule of solo recitals and performances of baroque opera and oratorio and has appeared as soloist with many major symphony orchestras including the Cleveland Orchestra under Christoph von Dohnanyi, the Brooklyn Philharmonic under Lukas Foss, the New York Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta and the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Parthenia, which consists of Beverly Au, Lawrence Lipnik, Rosamund Morley and Lisa Terry, has been hailed by the New Yorker as "one of the brightest lights in New York's early-music scene," is a dynamic ensemble exploring the extraordinary repertory for viols from Tudor England to the court of Versailles and beyond. Known for its remarkable sense of ensemble, Parthenia is presented in concerts across America, and produces its own lively and distinguished concert series at Corpus Christi Church in New York City, collaborating regularly with the world's foremost early music specialists and has been featured on radio and television and in prestigious festivals and series including Music Before 1800, Maverick Concerts and the Regensburg Tage Alter Musik.

This event is part of Drew University’s da Camera concert series, which is sponsored by the Frank and Lydia Bergen Foundation. It is also being made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency, and additional funding from the Frank and Lydia Bergen Foundation. Parthenia is a fiscally sponsored organization of the New York Foundation for the Arts. Parthenia is a member of Early Music America.

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Posted: November 20, 2009

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Posted: November 3, 2009

A Pulitzer-winning author reveals the little-known postbellum reinvention of forced labor

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Posted: November 2, 2009

Drew Welcomes Egyptian Scholar, Activist as Faculty Visitor

August 24, 2009

Dear Drew Parent or Guardian,

Health officials are warning of a resurgence of H1N1 influenza, or Swine Flu, this fall. Members of the Drew emergency management team have been working over the summer to prepare for this possibility. I’d like to take this opportunity to brief you on our plans.

Because the flu spreads through human contact, we are directing our facilities staff to clean more frequently, paying greater attention to places that are heavily trafficked and objects that are touched often, such as doors and desks. Facilities will also be installing hand sanitizing stations in buildings throughout the campus. Of course, since proper hygiene is ultimately the responsibility of the individual, we will also be posting flyers across campus reminding members of the community to wash their hands, and instructing them on proper sneezing etiquette. While this may sound overly simplistic, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is actually supplying the posters and encouraging institutions to display them.

The CDC is also recommending that all college-age students be vaccinated for H1N1 influenza. The vaccine is expected to become available in late October and Drew’s Office of Health Services will make it available to all undergraduates free of charge. Beginning in late September, Health Services will also offer a vaccination for seasonal flu for $20. To minimize infection, please encourage your student to receive both vaccines.

We expect to see cases of H1N1 flu on campus this fall and are prepared to manage students according to guidelines issued by the CDC. While we will be able to care for students on campus, recuperation should take place at home whenever possible. For this reason, I encourage you to think now about how you would respond should your student come down with the flu. Because the symptoms of Swine and seasonal flu are indistinguishable, Drew will treat anyone with flu-like symptoms as if they have H1N1 Flu.

We will remain in close contact with state and local health officials throughout the year and will continue to follow all guidelines issued by the CDC for institutions of higher education. We have created a special Web page—www.drew.edu/swineflu—on which we will post the latest information about influenza on campus. All communications on this topic will be archived there as well, along with links to other helpful resources like the CDC guidelines mentioned above.

As always, know that we will be doing our best to ensure this is a healthy, as well as happy, school year.

Sincerely,

Robert Weisbuch

President

MADISON, NJ—Drew University’s McLendon Hall—a state-of-the-art, highly sustainable student residence—has been selected for a Green Building of America Award from Northeast Real Estate and Construction Review magazine. The magazine’s forthcoming Green Success Stories edition will feature a piece on the building’s eco-friendly elements, and their impact on residents and the community.

McLendon Hall was built in 2008 and designed to be a model of sustainable student housing. It was designed by the Philadelphia-based architecture firm of Voith and Mactavish. In 2009, the U.S. Green Building Council bestowed upon it LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certification at the silver level. The building’s primary eco-friendly feature is a geothermal heating and cooling system that utilizes the Earth’s natural temperature regulate its interior heat and air conditioning. Its other green characteristics include water-efficient fixtures, energy-efficient windows, low-emissions paint and roofing materials that deflect heat absorption. At least 10 percent of the materials used during the construction of McLendon Hall were recycled.

The building, at full capacity, can house up to 159 students in mostly double-occupancy rooms located on the second through sixth floors. Each individual room is part of a larger suite that features a common space and full bathroom. The entire 9,000 square foot first floor comprises common spaces for meetings, study and recreation.

Northeast Real Estate and Construction Review is has a circulation of roughly 50,000. The publication boasts more than 100,000 Internet hits per month.

For more information about McLendon Hall and its green features, please visit www.drew.edu/construction.

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Posted: August 8, 2009

MADISON, NJ—In today’s economy, jobs are hard to come by in almost every profession.  But what will the market be like in a few years?  According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the education field will soon see an upsurge in its demand for teachers.  Drew University’s Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program is prepared to meet that demand by training the next generation of highly qualified educators.  Applications for the term beginning in June 2009 are now being accepted. 

“Beyond each student’s focus on his or her academic area of interest, the Drew MAT prepares teachers with 21st century skills,” said Linda Swerdlow, director of the program.  “These include broader and more sophisticated critical and analytical thinking skills; in depth knowledge and appreciation of world cultures; and the ability to use new media and technology.”

Students pursuing Drew’s MAT may work toward certification in biology, chemistry, English, math, social studies or Spanish.  MAT students also take a set of enriching core courses that prepare them to meet the everyday challenges that they’ll face in the classroom.  These include “Integrating Technology in the Content Classroom,” “Human Diversity,” “Adolescent Literacy” and “Students with Special Needs.”  The MAT program also comprises a six-credit student teaching experience.  All this can be completed in as little as one year.     

Established in 2006, the MAT operates as part of the Caspersen School of Graduate Studies, Drew’s tight-knit, student-centered graduate school.  In addition to teaching, Caspersen offers programs in medical humanities; arts and letters; poetry; and history and culture.

For more information about Drew’s MAT or the application process, please contact the office of graduate admissions at (973) 408-3110 or e-mail gradm@drew.edu.

MADISON, NJ—Drew alumnus and trustee Arturo Valenzuela was recently nominated by President Barack Obama to serve as the U.S. state department’s top diplomat overseeing Western Hemisphere affairs. Valenzuela, who graduated from Drew’s College of Liberal Arts in 1965, plans to step down as a university trustee as he prepares to assume his new position.

Valenzuela, who is currently the director of the Center for Latin American Studies in the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, served in the administration of President Bill Clinton as a special assistant and senior director for inter-American affairs at the National Security Council. He also served under Clinton as the deputy assistant secretary for inter-American affairs in the U.S. Department of State, where he was primarily responsible for the U.S.’s diplomatic relations with Mexico.

He is considered to be an expert in the origins and consolidation of democracy; the institutional dimensions of democratic governance; Latin American politics; and U.S.-Latin American relations. He holds doctoral and master’s degrees from Columbia University, and a BA in political science and religion from Drew.

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Posted: May 18, 2009

Student Takes Home Anthropology Research Prize

MADISON, NJ—Erica Varlese was recently awarded the John Omohundro Undergraduate Research Award at the 49th annual meeting of the Northeastern Anthropological Association (NEAA).  Varlese, a Drew University student, took home the prize for “Birth Junkies: Labor Support and Resistance in American Birth,” an academic paper based on her honors thesis.

“The paper Erica presented to the NEAA seriously engages and challenges the work of other social scientists,” said Marc Boglioli, a professor of anthropology at Drew.  “I think the judges were impressed by her ability to use complex social theory to make sense of her original data.” 

“’Birth Junkies’ is based on a year’s worth of interviews with doulas: non-medical professionals who provide emotional and physical support during childbirth,” said Varlese.  “I focused my presentation at the conference on the conclusions of my research, which detail the ways in which doulas both support and subvert medical childbirth practices.”

The John Omohundro Undergraduate Research Award is given each year to a selected student at the NEAA’s annual meeting.  In order to be eligible, undergraduates must present their work to anthropology scholars and professionals.  The presented work, which may be an abridged version of a longer paper, is judged by a panel led by the NEAA president-elect.  Each winner of the prize receives $200 and publication of their research abstract in the NEAA newsletter.   

The Northeastern Anthropological Association was founded in 1961.  It is a community of scholars, professionals and students who meet annually to exchange ideas and advance the study of anthropology.  Its 2009 Annual Meeting was held on March 13 and 14 at Rhode Island College. 

Before Varlese defended her “Birth Junkies” thesis at Drew, Boglioli wasn’t worried about the room full of PhDs trying to punch holes in her conclusions.  “Erica’s data on her thesis topic constitutes an important contribution to knowledge,” he said.  “And the anthropology department is very proud of her.”

Dispelling the Myths/Exposing the Realities of Health Care Disparities

Call for Papers:

 

The Drew University Journal of Medical Humanities (DMH) is looking for submissions for its second edition on the topic of health care disparities. 

Suggested threads include:
•    Health/illness/access to care and social disparities (e.g.: urban versus rural communities)
•    Health/illness/access to care and racial/ethnic disparities
•    Health/illness/access to care and socioeconomic disparities
•    Health/illness/access to care and disparities with regard to other demographic information (e.g.: gender, age, etc.)
•    Healthcare as a right
•    Social justice v. market justice
•    Health care reform that might respond to or rectify the above disparities
We welcome discussions on these topics from the standpoints of bioethics, public health, medical anthropology, health policy, medical narrative and history of medicine.  As medical humanities is highly interdisciplinary, we encourage submissions from whatever your field of expertise. We hope this edition of DMH will offer a greater understanding of the issues that we face as a national community in trying to determine what health care justice encompasses.

Mission Statement:

The Drew University Journal of Medical Humanities (DMH) publishes peer-reviewed, original research of an interdisciplinary nature, aimed at breaking down conventional boundaries, bridging the gaps between the humanities, social science, technology, medical education, and public policy, and inviting an honest discussion about the human experience of illness and the need for a more humane approach to health care.  DMH, like the field of medical humanities as a whole, is committed to infusing medical education and practice with ethical, historical, social and cultural meaning.  DMH engages and informs scholars across all disciplines, health care professionals, health care consumers, medical educators and policy-makers.  Giving a platform to a range of diverse voices, DMH publishes articles that advance the work of medical humanities in general as well as articles that focus on special issues or symposia topics.  Submitted manuscripts undergo a rigorous peer-review and editorial procedure to ensure the academic integrity of all published work. 


Please send a statement of intent to Managing Editors Elizabeth Fehsenfeld (efehsenf@drew.edu) and Katie Grogan (kgrogan@drew.edu).  Manuscripts should be submitted no later than June 12, 2009, and will be reviewed by members of the editorial advisory board.  Manuscripts should be formatted in Microsoft Word or WordPerfect, with one inch margins and twelve point font, and should be in the range of 3,500 words.  All copy, including quotations, footnotes, and references should conform to the guidelines of the Chicago Manual of Style, Fifteenth Edition. Please include a cover sheet with: name, title, address, phone number, email address and affiliation.  Submissions can be emailed to the managing editors or mailed to:

Editor—Drew University Journal of Medical Humanities
Caspersen School of Graduate Studies
Drew University
Madison, New Jersey 07940-4000 

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