OCTOBER 2009
IN THE NEWS
The
First 100 Days Of
Nancy H Blattner, Ph.D., Caldwell College's New President
Caldwell Begins Classes
for 1st Ph.D. in Applied
Behavior Analysis
Nancy H. Blattner, Ph.D. to Be Inaugurated as Caldwell
College’s Eighth President
Education Division Offers New Graduate Programs
Caldwell's Kyrie Timbrook
Named ECAC Robbins
Scholar - Athlete
AROUND CAMPUS
Caldwell Students Take Part
in Study Travel Experiences
And Seminars
Raising Awareness and Funds
By Texting “Hope”
Caldwell Student Receives Scholarship From National Federation Of The Blind
Travels To National Convention
Caldwell College Campus
Ministry Holds Pizza Pie-Off
with Help from Local
Restaurants & Pizzerias
DEPARTMENT NEWS
Art
Business
Education
English
Foreign Language
Music
Student Development
SAVE THE DATE
Upcoming Events
October 2009:
Disabilities Awareness Month
Thursday October, 8 - 8 p.m.
Terzetta in Concert - Alumni Theatre
November, 4 - Noon
Dr. Maxine Susman Will Read From
Her two new Poetry Collections
Lecture Hall, Werner Hall
Friday November, 6 and 7
Nancy H. Blattner Ph.D - Inauguration
Tuesday November, 17 - 7 p.m.
Author John Wefing On His
Recent
Book
- Lecture Hall, Werner Hall
November, 18 - 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
The Clothesline Project:
Speaking Out Against
Domestic Violence
Find Out More >
HR UPDATE
October - 2009
www.caldwell.edu
Designed and Programmed by
Graphic Imagery, Inc.
Editor and Copywriter
Colette M. Liddy
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Dr. Nancy Blattner became President of
Caldwell College on July 1, 2009. Here are
some of her thoughts about her first 100
days on the job as the 8th President of
Caldwell College.
Colette Liddy, Director of Media
Relations & Advertising - WHAT’S BEEN THE
MOST EXCITING OR REWARDING PART OF THE JOB
SO FAR?
Dr. Blattner - Getting to know the Caldwell
students - those who were on campus this
summer and those who have returned for the
fall semester - has been the highlight of my
time here. Because I’ve always enjoyed
interacting with the students, I’ve been
pleased that there have been so many
opportunities to get to meet and engage the
students. My husband and I hosted all of
the first-year students at our home for an
ice cream social during their orientation
activities. We had a great time, talking
with the students and playing games in our
backyard. While there’s nothing relaxing
about the 8 p.m. Wednesday evening Zumba
class I attend with the women’s volleyball
and basketball teams, working out with the
students has been a lot of fun, and I hope
this allows them to get to know me on a
different level. Just chatting with
students every day on campus as I go from
building to building is a real
day-brightener for me.
Colette - YOU HAVE HIT THE GROUND
RUNNING. WHERE HAS THE JOB TAKEN YOU IN
THESE 100 DAYS?
Dr. Blattner - In these first few months,
I’ve visited Trenton in late July when the
New Jersey Commission on Higher Education
approved Caldwell College’s first doctoral
program in Applied Behavior Analysis. The
alumni Shore event brought me to Spring Lake
for lunch and a presentation on the water.
I’ve also traveled into Manhattan and to
Newark to have lunch with board members, to
St. Dominic’s Academy in Jersey City, and
attended my first AICUNJ meeting in
Summit. Some of where I’ve ‘gone’ has
occurred closer to home: attending the July
4 Grover Cleveland celebration and touring
his historic home, attending the 9/11
candlelight vigil at the Caldwell green,
becoming a parishioner at St. Aloysius, and
visiting Sr. Fran, OP, at the Mount. And,
of course, most of where the job has taken
me has been on campus - into classrooms,
conference rooms, laboratories, the library,
the academic support center, faculty and
staff offices, the gym and recreation
center, the playing fields. I’ve also
literally started to ‘run’ for the first
time in my life, training for the April 5K
fundraiser to benefit the autism clinic on
campus. We’ll see if I’m up to that
challenge when spring gets here!
Colette - IF YOU COULD TELL YOUNG PEOPLE
BACK IN MISSOURI WHY THEY SHOULD COME TO CALDWELL COLLEGE, WHAT WOULD YOU TELL
THEM?
Dr. Blattner - Caldwell College is a
community where academic excellence is
prized within the context of developing the
entire student: intellectually, spiritually,
and aesthetically. Educational encounters
occur within the classroom and in
co-curricular venues, delivered by
professional and caring faculty and staff.
The opportunities for students are
limitless. Caldwell is a place where
students can develop their leadership skills
while serving as officers of student
government or one of the more than two dozen
clubs and organizations. They can
participate in Division II athletics or play
intramural sports. And Caldwell College is
situated on a pristine campus, located
within a lovely and safe town only 20 miles
away from New York City. What more could
anyone want?
Colette - WHAT IS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE
OF THIS JOB?
Dr. Blattner - The biggest challenge perhaps
thus far has been the transplanting of my
life from Missouri to New Jersey. Along
with the physical move that brought my
husband and me almost 1000 miles, we are
settling into a new home and a new community
while at the same time I am meeting new
people every day, learning new procedures,
and becoming acclimated to the culture and
traditions that are unique to Caldwell
College. Since I like to view challenges as
opportunities, I see each of these as
possibilities: ways to make new
acquaintances, to continue my life-long
learning process, and to grow through each
of these encounters and experiences. The
warmth and welcome that we have received
from the campus and the town have been
extraordinary, and that’s why we already
feel that we have established a home in New
Jersey, despite the brevity of our time
here.
Colette - WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO
THIS YEAR?
Dr. Blattner - In a general sense, I am
looking forward to experiencing every
activity, event or celebration on campus for
the first time! More specifically, I’m
looking forward to the history and heritage
trip to Spain and France for the presidents
of Dominican colleges and universities from
October 5 through 15. As part of my
exploration of the Dominican tradition, I
have also begun the formation process to
become a lay associate of the Sisters of St.
Dominic of Caldwell.
The highlight of my
professional career will occur this fall
when I am inaugurated as the eighth
president of Caldwell College on November
7. I am both honored and humbled by the
planning that has taken place and the
celebration that will occur to mark my
installation. In the spring I’m excited
about the first Caldwell Day on April 30
when the faculty, staff and students are
invited to spend the day in service to local
schools and social agencies in the community
of Caldwell and the surrounding area.
Seeing all of us work together to put our
mission into action with regard to social
justice is very exciting to me.
Colette - WHAT IS YOUR BEST DISCOVERY
ABOUT THE GARDEN STATE SO FAR?
Dr. Blattner - The best discovery has to be
the beauty and diversity of what’s available
in New Jersey within a relatively short
distance: the fireworks in Liberty State
Park, the beaches down the shore, the lovely
Delaware Gap area, the variety of
restaurants and cultural venues in Newark,
and the proximity to New York City.
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When 11 students walked through Caldwell
College's doors this September they made
history in New Jersey and history at
Caldwell College. They became the first
doctoral students in the first Ph.D. program
in the state of New Jersey for Applied
Behavior Analysis (ABA). And they joined the
first doctoral program ever offered in
Caldwell College's 70-year history.
 ABA is a well-developed scientific
discipline that is best known for its proven
ability to greatly help children with autism
spectrum disorder. Caldwell's Ph.D. program
was recently approved by the New Jersey
Commission on Higher Education and Middle
States. The College has been a leader in
training the new autism specialists since it
began offering the first Master's in ABA in
New Jersey back in 2005.
Jessica Rothschild, M.A. teaches in Bernards
Township, New Jersey. She received her
Master's in ABA from Caldwell and now she
has joined the doctoral program. " I am
working towards my Ph.D. to continue
providing the autism community with
qualified and knowledgeable service. In
addition, I will continue to conduct
research to contribute successful methods to
use when teaching individuals with autism ".
The Caldwell College ABA program will
prepare me not only for life as an educator,
but for improving the lives of individuals
with autism." Eric Rozenblat, M.A. is also
an alumnus of the ABA master's program and
he is continuing at Caldwell in the Ph.D.
program "The doctoral program at Caldwell
College will be a prestigious program that
will attract many applicants, as did the
Master's Program. This is an opportunity I
will not let slip away."
Lori Bechner, M.A. is very happy about the
opportunity. "In order to provide stellar
clinical programming, I need to constantly
be completely up-to-date on both seminal
work in the field, as well as the latest
developments in the peer-reviewed research.
Caldwell's Ph.D. program is led by
experienced, knowledgeable professionals and
I am thrilled to have the opportunity to
study with these experts."
The program reinforces the College's
commitment to autism treatment. "This is
very exciting for Caldwell College and for
the state of New Jersey," said Dr. Nancy H.
Blattner, President of Caldwell College.
"Because New Jersey has the highest
prevalence of autism in the nation, Caldwell
College is taking another huge step in
training qualified professionals to serve
the number of children and families affected
by autism spectrum disorders."
"This is a natural next step for us. We have
been training leaders in the field of ABA
through our Master's level program for the
last several years and now our highly
qualified faculty can take this to the next
level," said Dr. Sharon A. Reeve,
Coordinator of Graduate Programs in ABA at
Caldwell College. "We believe that in the
years to come, the graduates of Caldwell
College's Ph.D. in ABA can have a positive
impact on the lives of thousands of New
Jersey children and their families who are
affected by autism. The Ph.D. program builds
on Caldwell's uniqueness and leadership in
this area and completes the continuum of
educational preparation and training for
special education teaching professionals."
In the future, the College plans to develop an on-campus ABA Center, which
will give graduate students hands-on
training in ABA.
The center will serve the
community by providing parents and their
children with a place to come for evaluation
and training by skilled professionals in the
application of ABA techniques.
In Spring 2009, Caldwell College hosted a
national ABA conference where over 500
people came out to hear widely recognized
ABA and autism professionals.
"As a leading institution of higher
education with both Master's and Doctoral
level programs in ABA, Caldwell College will
continue to share its unique resources with
the community at large." said Dr. Reeve. "In
conjunction with the start of the Ph.D. in
ABA program, we are also rolling out a
number of new courses. These include courses
in ethics and professionalism, teaching
language and social skills, working with
childhood behavior problems, and both
research and applied practical experiences."
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Nancy H. Blattner, Ph.D. will be inaugurated as the 8th President of
Caldwell College at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday November 7, 2009 in the Newman Center
on the college campus. Representatives from New Jersey colleges and
universities, Catholic Dominican colleges and universities around the country
and religious, community, business and civic leaders will join the College in
its Celebration of Community. Blattner is Caldwell College’s first lay
president in its 70-year history.
The Most Reverend John J. Myers, J.C.D., D.D.,
Archbishop of Newark, will preside and preach at the Mass to celebrate the
Inauguration on Friday November 6 at 5 p.m. in the Newman Center.
At
Inauguration on Saturday, November 7, Dr. Alexander Giaquinto, Chair of the
Caldwell College Board of Trustees, will present the chain and the medallion to
Dr. Blattner as a symbol of the Office of the President, and he will formally
confer the investiture.
Paul R. Douillard, Ph.D., Vice President and Dean for
Academic Affairs at Caldwell College will welcome the guests. President of the
Faculty Council Communication Arts Professor Robert Mann is the Master of
Ceremonies.
Ms. Helen Westervelt, Vice-Chair, Board of Trustees will present the
Charter of Caldwell College.
The Most Reverend Thomas A. Donato, D.D., Auxiliary
Bishop of Newark will present the invocation. Father Al Berner, Caldwell
College’s Chaplain will offer the benediction.
Greetings will be delivered by
several community and college leaders including Sister Arlene Antczak, OP,
Prioress, of the Sisters of St. Dominic of Caldwell; Susan Gartland, mayor of
the borough of Caldwell; J.B., Wilson, President of Association of Independent
Colleges and Universities of NJ; Richard Ekman, President of the Council of
Independent Colleges; Dr. Alexander Giaquinto, Chair of the Caldwell College
Board of Trustees; Sister Kathleen Tuite, O.P.,Caldwell College’s Special
Assistant to the President for Mission & Ministry; Professor Robert Mann,
President of the Faculty Council for Caldwell College; Timothy Nellegar ’00,
President of the Caldwell College Alumni Association; and Ryan Gleason ’10,
President of the Student Government Association; Sister Mary Carol Anth, CSJ,
Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, Fontbonne University will offer the
Introduction of the President; Sister Barbara Dreher, CSJ will give the
reflection.
Caldwell College English Professor Sister Brigid Brady, O.P.,
Ph.D. will carry the mace. Sister Patrice Werner, O.P., Ph.D., Caldwell
College’s 7th president, will present the mace—the symbol of the president’s
authority--to Dr. Blattner.
Music will be provided by the Caldwell College Choir
& Brass Ensemble and the Caldwell College Wind Ensemble.
Maxine Susman, Ph.D.
Professor of English, at Caldwell College will present a poem she has written
for inauguration entitled Caldwell – a Welcome, a Calling.
Nancy H. Blattner, Ph.D brings over two decades of experience in Catholic and public higher
education to Caldwell College. At Fontbonne University, she served as the Vice
President and Dean for Academic Affairs where she was responsible for leadership
of the entire Academic Affairs division, including all departments, faculty and
curriculum, the library, the office of institutional research and assessment,
the registrar’s office, ESL programs and study abroad. She managed all academic
budgets and the hiring of all faculty members, department chairs and deans. She
initiated and found funding for the university’s first endowed chair. Prior to
that, she was Interim Associate Provost for Graduate Studies and Support
Programs and an American Council on Education Fellow at Longwood University in
Virginia.
Blattner spent 22 years at Southeast Missouri State University in
positions as Academic Associate, Office of the Provost; Associate Dean, School
of University Studies; and Director of Writing Assessment. While there, she
attended the Harvard Management Development Program. She was a tenured full
professor in the Department of English where she taught for 15 years.
She holds
a B.S. in Secondary Education/English, an M.A. in English from Southeast
Missouri State University, and a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from Southern
Illinois University – Carbondale. Dr. Blattner and her husband, Tim, are the
parents of three adult children.
Special inaugural week activities will lead up
to Blattner’s Inauguration. On Wednesday November 4 at 3:30 p.m. a lecture will
be held in the Alumni Theatre on the Catholic Intellectual Tradition: Where is
it Today. The event is open to the public. It will be presented by Msgr.
Richard M. Liddy, Director of the Institute for Catholic Studies at Seton Hall
University. A panel discussion will follow with Caldwell College Vice President
& Dean for Academic Affairs Paul Douillard; Communication Arts Prof. Robert
Mann; English Professor Mary Ann Miller, Ph.D. and Chemistry Professor Angela
Scimone, Ph.D. On Thursday November 5, the college community will deliver food
they have collected over several weeks to benefit the Community FoodBank of New
Jersey and the Caldwell food pantry. On Friday November 6 following the special
Inaugural Mass in the Newman Center at 5 p.m., the Caldwell College Music
Department will present a Faculty Favorites concert at 8 p.m. in the Alumni
Theatre. The concert is open to the public.
Caldwell College was founded in
1939 as a Catholic liberal arts college by the Sisters of Saint Dominic of
Caldwell under the leadership of Mother M. Joseph Dunn, O.P., with the approval
of the Most Reverend Thomas Joseph Walsh, Archbishop of Newark, who became its
first president. As one of the youngest of the many Dominican colleges and
universities throughout the world, Caldwell College is intimately linked to the
800-year history and spirit of the Dominican Order, a worldwide community of
preachers, scholars and educators which traces its origins to the thirteenth
century. Today, the college offers 28 undergraduate degrees, 20 graduate
programs and one doctoral program and 11 NCAA Division II Sports.
Dr. Blattner
replaces Sister Patrice Werner, O.P., Ph.D. who spent over 35 years at the
College, 15 of those years as President. Sister Patrice oversaw great growth
and expansion in all areas of campus life while promoting the mission of the
Catholic Dominican College. Those accomplishments included graduate program
growth, substantial enrollment increases and facility and technology expansion.
She oversaw the building of the George R. Newman Recreation and Athletic Center;
a new entrance to campus directly from Bloomfield Avenue; a state of the art
apartment style residence hall—Dominican Hall; a new Academic Building and
completely renovated Science labs
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In addition to launching the state’s first
Ph.D. in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)
Autism Treatment, the Caldwell College
Center for Graduate & Continuing Studies
introduced two other new programs in the
Division of Education for the Fall
2009 semester.
The Master of Arts in Literacy
Instruction is a new 30-credit program
designed for K-12 classroom teachers who
seek to enhance their skills in literacy
instruction or move into the role of reading
specialist. Students can choose a
concentration in teaching either reading or
writing and are given the option of
acquiring a New Jersey Reading Specialist
certification upon completion of appropriate
courses.
“Through the structure of the program’s
course offerings, a concerted effort has
been made to balance the requirement of
successful K-12 reading and writing
development,” explains Dr. Edith Ries,
coordinator of the new program. “We believe
that this new graduate program will address
needs that exist within K-12 schools
statewide.”
The Division of Education has also added a
new concentration to its Master of Arts in
Special Education. Students may now follow
a specialized track in the area of
Learning Disabilities Teacher Consultant
(LDTC). This 36-credit program will
prepare students to receive both the Teacher
of Students with Disabilities endorsements
and the LDTC certification.
For further information on these new
programs, please visit
www.caldwell.edu/graduate
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CALDWELL, NJ:
Caldwell College senior softball player Kyrie Timbrook
(Los Gatos, CA/Los Gatos) is one of six recipients of the Eastern College
Athletics Conference Robbins Scholar-Athlete Awards, ECAC Commissioner Rudy
Keeling announced today. Timbrook, an all-Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference
and all-Region first baseman, was selected as the female Division II student-athlete to receive the award.
 “This
is such a great honor for Kyrie and I congratulate her,” said Linda Cimino, Assistant Director of Athletics and the coordinator of the
Student-Athlete Advisory Committee at Caldwell. “Kyrie represents everything a
Division II student-athlete should be: an excellent student, a standout on the
softball diamond and an active participant on campus and in our community
engagement activities. She certainly deserves to be recognized with a
prestigious honor such as the Robbins Scholar-Athlete Award.”
The Robbins Scholar-Athlete Award honors the outstanding academic and athletic
achievements of student-athletes representing ECAC schools in Divisions I, II
and III. One male and one female student-athlete from each division are selected
based on extraordinary achievements in academics, athletics and community
service. Among the six Robbins Award recipients, Timbrook is the only
Scholar-Athlete who received the award after her junior year, as the other five
graduated this past spring.
A Communication Arts major at Caldwell, Timbrook is a two-time member of the
CACC All-Academic Team, which requires a cumulative grade-point average of 3.5
or higher. She also has received the Division II Athletics Directors Association
Academic Achievement Award the past two years. An active member of Caldwell’s
SAAC, Timbrook has volunteered in the community for events such as Halloween on
Bloomfield Avenue, Taste of the Caldwell's and free softball clinics for area
youth softball players.
 Last season for the Cougars, Timbrook made the all-CACC first team and the
Daktronics All-Region second team after a standout season at the plate and in
the field. She led the Cougars in batting average (.364), hits (63), doubles
(19), homers (four), total bases (94), and slugging percentage (.543). Also an
excellent defensive player, Timbrook committed just two errors in 498 chances at
first base and catcher for a .996 fielding percentage. Her performance helped
the Cougars reach the NCAA Division II East Region Tournament for the fifth time
in six years.
The ECAC's membership includes approximately 300 colleges and universities from
Maine to North Carolina and westerly to Illinois. Caldwell student-athletes have
received weekly and year-end honors from the ECAC since joining the organization
in 2004, and the men's and women's soccer teams and men's and women's basketball
teams have competed in ECAC championship tournaments.
Click here for the ECAC's Robbins Award release
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