Campus News

Commencement goes virtual for 2020 grads

The University hosted its inaugural virtual commencement ceremony on Oct. 17 for students who were eligible to graduate in May 2020.

The COVID-19 pandemic and its accompanying restrictions on large gatherings upended Central’s typical commencement ceremony format, but the Blue Devil spirit prevailed and more than 1,100 viewers logged in to watch the virtual ceremony and celebrate. All graduates were acknowledged by name, and guest speaker Kathleen C. Greider, Farmington Superintendent of Schools, and President Zulma R. Toro addressed the Class of 2020.

Graduates had access to the virtual ceremony through their own event link, which allowed them to interact with each other throughout the program. The university will determine a plan for May’s commencement with pandemic conditions at the forefront.

Join the alumni virtual book club

Get on the same page with the CCSU Alumni Association Virtual Book Club! In this online community, alumni will connect with each other to read and discuss books on a range of topics, and members are encouraged to add book recommendations. There is no cost to participate — just acquire your own copy of the book. Learn more and sign up at www.pbc.guru/CCSU.

Greening up our act

CCSU strives to be a leader in sustainability. To further our commitment to reducing paper consumption, energy use, and waste, we are moving some of our fundraising and development efforts to digital platforms. Among our immediate goals is to begin using a secure text-to-donate platform and to offer digital-only versions of our print publications to those who prefer that format. We will, of course, continue to mail paper versions of those materials if that is your preference. Stay tuned for more details about these and other environmental protection efforts!

CCSU freshman Deseriah Castillo (left) is shown here with CCSU President Zulma R. Toro and Connecticut Commissioner of Education Miguel Cardona ’97 on Oct. 6 after Governor Ned Lamont announced the expansion of the Educators Rising network in Connecticut. (Photo by John Atashian)

CCSU commits to expanded role in Educators Rising Academy

Governor Ned Lamont and Connecticut Education Commissioner Miguel Cardona ’97 announced on Oct. 6 the expansion of the state’s Educators Rising Academy curriculum in 10 school districts across Connecticut. The new cohort includes the school districts of Stamford, Hamden, Meriden, Hartford, New London, Danbury, New Haven, Waterbury, and Windsor.

The Educators Rising Academy encourages students to consider careers in education in an effort to diversify the pipelines to the state’s teacher workforce.

The new cohort joins the Consolidated School District of New Britain, which has been participating in the program for three years. The state plans to expand the program to the collegiate level to provide support and mentorship for students as they progress to postsecondary education and has secured a commitment with Central Connecticut State University.

“Building on CCSU’s longstanding partnership with New Britain’s schools, the Educators Rising program has been a welcome addition,” President Zulma R. Toro said. “High school students interested in pursuing a career in teaching are provided with the opportunity to get an early start. At no charge, they can enroll in a CCSU education course and earn credits toward their degree before arriving on our campus.”

Computer Science Dept. lands $1 million NSF grant

The National Science Foundation awarded a $1 million grant to the CCSU Computer Science Department through its Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics program. The grant will provide scholarships and support to students who enroll in CCSU’s graduate-level Software Engineering program.

“This project will contribute to the national need for well-educated scientists, mathematicians, engineers, and technicians by supporting the retention and graduation of high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need,” says Dr. Stan Kurkovsky, CCSU’s director of the NSF STEM Scholarship Program and Computer Science Department faculty member.

Over the project’s five-year duration, the grant will fund scholarships to cohorts of 24 full- and part-time graduate students. As each cohort progresses, researchers in the department hope to build up their understanding of understudied topics, including students’ level of identity as a software engineering professional and its relationship to graduation rates for academically talented, low-income graduate students.

The first round of scholarships will be awarded in the spring.

Grant to fund IMRP research on police and community relations

The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving and the Travelers Championship awarded a $300,000 grant on June 30 to the University of New Haven’s Center for Advanced Policing and Tow Youth Justice Institute to launch the Connecticut Institute for Youth and Police Relations in Greater Hartford (CIYPR). Grant funds also covered research efforts by the CCSU Institute for Municipal and Regional Policy, which conducted community listening sessions and surveys to gather resident perspectives on police and community relations. IMRP’s work will support the development of a final report at the end of the year from the Police Transparency and Accountability Task Force of the Connecticut General Assembly’s Judiciary Committee.

CIYPR will enhance education and training delivered to police officers to assist them in balancing the demands of public safety and the best interests of youth and diverse communities.

SOB + COCC

CCSU’s School of Business and banking technology firm COCC announced a continuing education program in June designed specifically for COCC employees.

COCC, based in Southington, specializes in enterprise processing solutions for financial institutions. The continuing education program allows COCC employees to enroll in CCSU’s Official Certificate Program in Business Leadership with all tuition expenses paid by COCC. The two-year certificate program includes coursework in business acumen, leadership, and development to promote growth among the selected candidates.

Learning Lab project gets a $25,000 boost

The American Savings Foundation awarded a $25,000 capital grant to the CCSU Foundation on June 18 that will fund research and planning for a proposed community-based Early Childhood Learning Lab. The Learning Lab will be developed and implemented in partnership with the Consolidated School District of New Britain and in conjunction with the City of New Britain.

The research phase includes several goals, including the development of a comprehensive plan for the lab; a site analysis; data collection from local stakeholders and the surrounding community; and a project manager search, among other actions. Total project planning costs are estimated at $50,000.

The planning team will work with the CCSU Foundation to research and identify possible future funding sources to support the next phase of the project with anticipated completion by September 2022.

ESports Center gets national nod for smart solutions

Trade magazine Commercial Integrator named AdTech Systems one of the winners of its annual Integration Awards in June for its work on the CCSU ESports Center. The award honors stand-out, problem-solving installations that address commercial customers’ needs. The winners in each Integration Awards category were chosen by a panel of industry experts who evaluated the project’s solution deployed, the AV projects’ buildout/challenges, and customer reaction to the installation. AdTech worked alongside George Claffey, CCSU CIO, and his team to complete the installation in a few short months.

Faculty and alumni researchers win Award of Merit

Professor of History Kathy Hermes and her team of researchers were awarded the Connecticut League of History Organization’s Award of Merit this spring for their project, “Uncovering Their History: African, African-American, and Native-American Burials in Hartford’s Ancient Burying Ground, 1640-1815.” The Award of Merit is the organization’s highest honor.

Hermes’s team, which included several CCSU alumni and faculty, created a website of all known African, AfricanAmerican, and Native-American burials found in Hartford’s Ancient Burying Ground, located at the corner of Main and Gold streets next to the First Church of Christ.

Cintorino named COO at CCSU

Sal Cintorino BS ’87, MS ’90, was appointed chief operating officer of CCSU in June after serving as interim COO for more than a year.

In her announcement, Dr. Toro noted, “Mr. Cintorino’s Federal Emergency Management Agency certification in crisis management and emergency preparedness has proven invaluable. This expertise, coupled with 18 years of experience in administrative oversight of the departments of Facilities Management and Environmental Health & Safety and logistical support to the divisions of Public Safety, Athletics, and Information Technology, are among the factors that convinced me that he fully deserves this promotion.”