Archives for June 2014

NEW PALTZ, NY (06/03/2014)(readMedia)– SUNY New Paltz proudly congratulates the following local residents for being named to the spring 2014 Dean’s List:

Matthew Alfultis, a resident of Waterford,  Alfultis’s major is Sociology.

Alec Johnson, a resident of Salem,  Johnson’s major is Marketing.

Thomas Whittico, a resident of East Lyme, Whittico’s major is Undeclared:Pre-Comm Disorders.

Dean’s List designation is reserved for students who excel academically and earn at least a 3.3 grade point average in a semester with a full-time course load.

Located in the heart of a dynamic college town, ninety minutes from metropolitan New York City, the State University of New York at New Paltz is a highly selective college of about 8,000 undergraduate and graduate students.

One of the most well-regarded public colleges in the nation, New Paltz delivers an extraordinary number of majors in Business, Liberal Arts & Sciences, Engineering, Fine & Performing Arts and Education.

New Paltz embraces its culture as a community where talented and independent minded people from around the world create close personal links with real scholars and artists who love to teach.

HARRISONBURG, VA (06/03/2014)(readMedia)– The following students qualified for the dean’s list at James Madison University during the spring 2014 semester.

• Samantha Blake of Amston

• Mara Fischer of Lyme

James Madison University offers each student a future of significance – not an education of mere prestige, but an extraordinary education of exceptional scholarship, inventive thinking, unparalleled attention to the world community, a university-wide enthusiasm for teaching, and a commitment to student success.

WORCESTER, MA (06/02/2014)(readMedia)– During its 110th Commencement exercises on May 18, Clark University awarded 544 bachelor’s degrees, 472 master’s, and 24 doctoral degrees. The following local students received degrees:

Felicia S. Bakaj of Lebanon; Bachelor of Arts in environmental science

Adam L. Kelley of East Lyme; Bachelor of Arts in English and philosophy

Emily L. Newton of East Lyme; Master of Public Administration

Kristina Noelani Kalolo of East Lyme; Master of Arts in International Development and Social Change

Allison S. Fichtelberg of Niantic; Bachelor of Arts in psychology

Katie A. Freaney of Old Lyme; Master of Arts in Teaching

James M. Spina of Old Lyme; Bachelor of Arts in biology

Charles Francis Catania of Uncasville; Master of Business Administration

Clark Class of 1976 alumnus Ron Shaich, founder, chairman of the board, and CEO of Panera Bread Company, received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree and delivered the Commencement address.

“So here’s the question for today … what really matters in creating a successful career and a successful life?” Shaich asked the Class of 2014. “If there’s one lesson that I take from my 30 years as a business builder, it is this: Knowing what matters dramatically increases the probability that you will produce the outcome you desire.”

Michael Crow, president of Arizona State University, spoke at the master’s and doctoral degree-granting ceremony. Crow, who is nationally recognized for innovative leadership and his commitment to a “reinvention” of the American research university model, lauded Clark University for charting a different academic path. Crow told new graduates they need to do more than just criticize the status quo, they should identify problems from different perspectives and foster change.

Crow received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree, as did Cynthia Enloe, research professor in Clark’s International Development, Community, and Environment Department and a renowned feminist teaching and research on women’s politics.

More information about the 2014 Clark University Commencement is available online.

Founded in 1887 in Worcester, MA, Clark University is a small, liberal arts-based research university addressing social and human imperatives on a global scale. Nationally renowned as a college that changes lives, Clark is emerging as a transformative force in higher education today. LEEP (Liberal Education and Effective Practice) is Clark’s pioneering model of education that combines a robust liberal arts curriculum with life-changing world and workplace experiences. Clark’s faculty and students work across boundaries to develop solutions to complex challenges in the natural sciences, psychology, geography, management, urban education, Holocaust and genocide studies, environmental studies, and international development and social change. The Clark educational experience embodies the University’s motto: Challenge convention. Change our world.

 

Red River Entertainment Releases

The Truckin’ Sessions Trilogy

 

Dale Watson Adds 3rd to Truckin’ Sessions Collection

 

AUSTIN, TEXAS — Back in 1998, maverick country traditionalist Dale Watson issued a 14-song collection of songs in the tradition of Red Simpson, Merle Haggard, Red Sovine and Dave Dudley called The Truckin’ Sessions.  A decade later and Watson released another 14-song outing, The Truckin’ Sessions 2.

 Now, the self-titled “Ameripolitan” artist is adding another new 14-song set, The Truckin’ Sessions 3, to the group, and Red River Entertainment will release them all in one package, The Truckin’ Sessions Trilogy, on July 8. 

 As with the first two releases, Truckin’ Sessions 3 is an immediately likable set and it doesn’t matter if the listeners are even truckers.  “The first two got great response, and a lot of women really liked the songs,” Watson said.  “That really did surprise me.”

 Watson stays true to form on the album, writing and recording without the use of modern effects and not trying to appeal to the current state of so-called “Country” music.  Rather, Watson follows the tradition set  by country troubadours like Ernest Tubb , Hank Williams, Sr., Bob Wills,  Waylon Jennings, among others. All the songs on the The Truckin’ Sessions Trilogy could easily have been written in the 1960s.

 Watson manages some swing with “Texas Armadillo” and keeps humor alive on songs like “Suicide Sam,” “Phillip At The Station,” and “Lugnutt Harry.”   Watson is joined by duet partner Amber Digby for the charming “We’re Trucking Along,” which may be the first-ever truckin’ song duet.

 “Birmingham Breakdown” and “I’m A Truckin’” are right in the middle-of-the-hammer lane, while the Haggard-esque “It’s Been A Long Truckin’ Day” will appeal to anyone who works hard for a living.  Watson’s Lone Stars display some blistering playing on “10-100.”  Of particular note is “Freewheelin’” which Watson wrote live as a guest on Sirius XM Radio’s Roaddog Show, during which truckers called in and gave Watson the actual lines of the song!

 Watson’s father was a trucker who moonlighted as a country singer so his love of the big rigs and truckin’ songs came honestly.  Watson grew up in the CB Generation when songs like “Convoy,” “Teddy Bear” and “Six Days On The Road” were part of mainstream country radio playlists.  “There’s a definite style of music that has to be used when writing a truckin’ song,” Watson explains. “The words mean a lot.  You can’t cover them up with a wall of music.”

Born in Alabama, raised outside of Houston and based in Austin, Watson first emerged on the music scene in the mid 1990s, bringing with him a hardscrabble honky-tonk tradition that has won him an international following, earned him induction into the Austin Music Hall of Fame and established him as a leading crusader against the “Nashville Rash” plaguing the country music industry. Without compromising his musical values, he sounds here like a singer with nothing to prove and no one to fight.

 

Watson wrote all the songs on The Truckin’ Sessions 3, and produced them using his own Lone Stars band. The results are pure Dale Watson.

http://www.theconnextion.com/dalewatson/

 

 

BURLINGTON, VT (05/30/2014)(readMedia)– Some 2,904 students were awarded a variety of bachelor’s degrees during the University of Vermont’s 213th Commencement ceremonies on May 18. There were some 575 advanced degrees and certificates awarded by the UVM Graduate College and approximately 106 women and men took the oath of Hippocrates following the awarding of their M.D. degrees at ceremonies of the UVM College of Medicine. A list of local students and the degree earned by each follows:

Cody Aylward of East Lyme,  Bachelor of Science, Zoology, College of Arts & Sciences

Muriel Bell of Essex, Bachelor of Science, Social Work, College of Education & Social Services

Sage Bierman of Ledyard, Bachelor of Arts, English, College of Arts & Sciences

Janice Brewer of Mystic, Bachelor of Science in Music Education, Music Education, College of Education & Social Services

Courtney Burd of Old Lyme, Bachelor of Science, Nutrition and Food Sciences, College of Agriculture & Life Science

Arianna Dayharsh of Essex, Bachelor of Science, Early Childhood Preschool, College of Education & Social Services

Aaron Dean of Groton, Bachelor of Arts, Psychology, College of Arts & Sciences

Jacob Dryden-Jaffe of New London, Bachelor of Arts, Film and Television Studies, College of Arts & Sciences

Wanda Gortner of Uncasville, Bachelor of Arts, Political Science, College of Arts & Sciences

Samuel Hellman of Norwich, Bachelor of Science, Geology, College of Arts & Sciences

Sean Kratzert of Old Lyme, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Business Administration, School of Business Administration

Karley Reising of Ledyard, Bachelor of Science in Education, Secondary Education Social Sciences, College of Education & Social Services

Chartered in 1791, UVM was the first college or university in the United States that did not give preference to a religious sect in its charter. UVM now has 9,970 undergraduates in seven schools and colleges, 1,317 graduate students and 454 medical students. The University of Vermont combines faculty-student relationships most commonly found in a small liberal arts college with the resources of a major research institution.

WEST HAVEN, CT (05/30/2014)(readMedia)– Brett Rankowitz, a University of New Haven senior majoring in criminal justice and a member of the UNH Reserved Officer Training Corps program, has been awarded the Bronze Cross Legion of Valor Achievement Award.

Brett, a Niantic resident, was awarded the cross for outstanding performance throughout his junior year at UNH. Fewer than 50 cadets and midshipmen nationally receive the cross each year.

“Brett’s constant desire and willingness to achieve a higher standard warranted this prestigious award,” said Capt. Sean Ritchie of the UNH ROTC program. “Every single day he performed to the best of his abilities, and he consistently set a positive example for others within the program.”

Brett, who will be the company commander of the UNH ROTC cadets beginning this fall, has served as an ROTC team leader, squad leader, platoon sergeant, platoon leader and company first sergeant. “His peer and leadership evaluations, without a doubt, demonstrated his knowledge and frequently earned him a score of ‘excellent,”‘ Ritchie said.

As a member of the Nathan Hale Battalion Ranger Company, Rankowitz conducted physical training five days a week, and each Thursday he conducted road marches ranging of up to 12 miles while carrying a 50 pound backpack. “Brett’s willingness to push himself and, subsequently, to achieve a higher standard, motivated and inspired his subordinates and peers daily,” said Ritchie.

The University of New Haven is a private, top-tier comprehensive institution recognized as a national leader in experiential education. Founded in 1920 the university enrolls approximately 1,800 graduate students and more than 4,600 undergraduates.