The Ellipses Project:
$6,000.00 to support Cat Balco, assistant professor of painting in the Art School.
Balco, along with a group of five female art students from the university, worked closely with individuals residing in hospice facilities. This program provided patients with the opportunity to tell their stories and help cope with death not only with words, but also through their imagination with painting, drawing, and sculpting.
Multiphysics Modeling Projects of Electronic Device Cooling Technology:
$10,000.000 provided to support Tom Eppes, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering in the CETA School. Eppes worked alongside five female engineering students to investigate advanced electronic device cooling. This program is helping to advance women as scholars in the male dominated field of engineering.
Bridge to the Future Leadership Project:
$10,000.00 awarded to David Goldenberg, professor of business in the Hillyer School and Linda Moran, assistant professor of academic studies in the Hillyer School. Designed for twenty first year female students, the program focused on enhancing the leadership skills through leadership opportunities. Successful women from various career paths spoke with the students, sharing their stories and inspiring the young women to exceed as leaders.
Safe Water Supply Worldwide:
$5,450.00 to provide Edward Gray, professor of chemistry in the Arts and Sciences School. Gray is working with senior Sarah Wahab to obtain a fundamental understanding of the chemistry involved in preserving safe water around the world. Wahab was able to be part of ground breaking research, an opportunity not afforded to many young women in the chemistry field.
The Clarke Project:
3,000.00 to support Katie Lansdale, professor of violin in the Hartt School and the Lion’s Gate Trio. Bringing the music of Rebecca Clarke (1886-1979) to a wider audience, Lansdale along with the Lion’s Gate Trio performed Clarke’s works for the Hartt School and at the York Correctional Institute, Connecticut’s only maximum security prison for women. Through Clarke’s music, inmates and young musicians were given the chance to have intellectual, musical, and social stimulation. Learn more.
p53 Protection Mechanism:
$10,000.00 to support Aime Levesque, assistant professor of biology in the Arts and Sciences School. Teamed with female undergraduate and graduate students, Levesque plans on answering questions concerning the role of p53 in women. The p53 tumor plays a major role in the development of breast cancer. The results research may help to aid in the development of breast cancer therapies that target cancer cells without harming the healthy cells.
$2,650.00 to support T Stores, associate professor of English in the Arts and Sciences School and student Dana Eckstein. Students of a First Year Seminar in the fall of
2011 visited new residents of the Duncaster Lifecare Community Center to connect through their own life experiences. The interviews were recorded and are now being compiled into a documentary to create awareness about shared experiences in critical times of life transitions.
David Goldenberg and Linda Moran, Hillyer College
"Bridge to the Future Leadership Project"
Twenty of the University's newest women students participated for women in the only University-wide SummerBridge program, focusing on leadership and psychology.
Bhin Zhu and Betsy Kadapuram, College of Arts and Sciences (A&S)
"Study of Environmental Estrogens in North Branch of Park River"
This student-professor research team examined water quality in different streams of the North Branch Park River watershed for the presence of environmental estrogens that can cause breast cancer and early onset of puberty for girls.
Ivana Milanovic, College of Engineering, Technology, and Architecture (CETA)
"NASA Coherent Structures Development Research"
Four students from various engineering majors formed a research team, and were mentored by CETA's Ivana Milanovic. Together, the team engaged in research through NASA's Exploration Development Theme.
Mary Arico, CETA, and Ingrid Russell, A&S
"Mad About Science Summer STEM Camp"
CETA, summer place, WELFund, office of communication coordinated to offer an intensive, engaging Summer Place experience for middle school girls from the communities surrounding the University. Grant funds supported program development and provided scholarships for interested participants not otherwise able to attend.
Paige Bray, College of Education, Nursing and Health Professions (ENHP)
"Veteran Teachers of Color Stories"
Bray and her team of women student researchers compiled the stories of local veteran teachers of color, building on Bray's research of the life of Dr. Nettie Webb, who served for over 30 years in a New York area school district integrated before the Brown v. Board of Education decision.
Jenni Freidman, Hartford Art School
"Women in Contemporary Printmaking"
Two women students in the Hartford Art School's printmaking program joined Freidman in attending the Southern Graphics Council National Conference. The students attended "open portfolio" sessions, sharing their work and receiving critique on a national scale. These students will then shared their experiences in an on-campus forum for other members of the University community.
T. Stores, A&S
"First Time in Every Time"
Students in Stores's first-year seminar compiled oral histories of residents of the Duncaster retirement living facility, creating connections between populations that are both in a state of transition. A team of senior women students served as editors of a final compilation of the residents' stories.
Karen Tejada, Hillyer College
"Las Mujeres Pueden Tambien"
Tejada and student Meria Arroy '13 interviewed and compiled qualitative data on the political practices of Salvadoran women residing in the Washington, D.C. metro area. Expanding on earlier research completed by Tejada, this study sought to enhance understanding of the women's unique change and mobilization strategies.
Susan Coleman, Barney School of Business
"Financial Strategies for Women-Owned Firms"
Coleman and a co-author from the Kauffman Foundation will complete final research and writing for A Rising Tide: Financing Strategies for Women-Owned Firms. This book on women entrepreneurs and their quest for funding was the first of its kind, and a first for Coleman as well.
HARTT faculty member Cherie Caluda recorded a CD of select contemporary American art songs whose poetry exclusively features the works of women poets such as Denise Lanctot Baille, Emily Dickinson, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Tess Gallagher, Elizabeth Bishop and Dorothy Parker.
University of Hartford graduate student Evelyn Chong researched whether salivary gland product of the male swiftlet, commonly known as Edible Bird’s Nest, can facilitate antioxidant function in PC-12 cells to reduce harmful byproducts from normal cellular activities.
Hillyer College faculty member Laurel Clark, and students Antoinette DeGrandpre and Michelle Dyer, conducted research on early women settlers in Florida. The information will form the basis of two chapters of an upcoming book: Taming the Territory: Women on the Florida Frontier.
Communications Professor Susan Grantham built on the success of Leading Forward, a leadership development program for female graduate students. The program developed technical skills insight, and networks and networking skills.
This initiative headed by Professors Marcia Hughes, Terri Albert, Katharine Owens and Natacha Poggio, included three students and built upon an established partnership between the University and Kenyan institutions to improve the health and productivity of the Alour, a group of HIV-positive women.
Psychology professor Mala Matacin and Hartford Seminary professor M.T. Winter collaborated to develop a women's leadership curriculum focused on building a community. Four University students, Andrea Wojcik, Jade Parente, Monique Smalls and Victoria Lamagna, took part in the Women's Leadership Institute program offered at The Hartford Seminary.
Communications professors Aimee Miller and Lynne Kelly, together with female graduate and undergraduate student researchers, conducted a study on the experiences of college women with either being a bully or experiencing bullying through various forms including social media.
Engineering professor Saied Moslehpour and two student members of The Society of Women Engineers conducted research to develop complex parts in VLSI (Very Large Scale Integration) and testing them in SPICE (Simulation Program for Integrated Circuits Emphasis) simulation software with other variables.
Health Sciences professor Claudia Oakes engaged student researchers to study older women in West Hartford regarding the challenges these women face as they strive to continue to live independently.
