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Former professor publishes book after 15 years of research

Robot simulation, digital scrapbooking and podcasting are just a few activities St. Bonaventure University has planned for sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade girls.

The St. Bonaventure University community has invited girls from 29 area schools to campus on Saturday, Nov. 3, for the sixth annual Girls’ Day. Registration begins at 8:45 a.m. in the Butler Hall Gymnasium.

The event, sponsored by the University’s Computer Science Department, will introduce young girls to various applications of computer technology. A number of workshops presented by St. Bonaventure graduates and students in the computer science field will showcase different aspects of modern technology. St. Bonaventure students will also assist participants during interactive lab sessions and as they travel around campus between workshops.

Suzanne Watson, lecturer of computer science, began the event after reading that interest in the sciences among middle-school girls is plummeting. The interest may not rekindle in later years – a recent article in The Wall Street Journal reveals that the number of incoming freshmen women choosing to major in computer science in college dropped by 70% between 2000 and 2005. With the technical help of Dr. Dalton Hunkins, professor of computer science, Watson set out to change those numbers.

“If we can show them fun and interesting things, then perhaps we can keep this little flame that might be in there alive,” said Watson.

Watson believes that having students and alumni at the event will craft positive role models for the participants.

“These girls need to see women who have succeeded in a technical career,” said Watson. “They need to see women students who are confident, capable and comfortable in what they are doing.”

Through the workshops participants will learn how to maneuver robots through a grid obstacle, make and use social software, manipulate digital images and use Alice educational programming software. Barbara McNally, a 1993 St. Bonaventure University graduate and the technical manager of AOL’s Instant Messenger Group, will host a workshop explaining her role with AOL and highlighting some of the lesser known features in the instant messaging software.

The event will conclude at 3 p.m. following a panel discussion by workshop instructors and students. During the discussion, participants will have the opportunity to ask questions about the computer science field.

“We always look forward to welcoming these enthusiastic young women to campus and giving them a taste of how exciting computer science can be,” Watson said. “Perhaps this positive experience will serve as a gentle nudge down the road when they are considering a course of study beyond high school.”

For more information, visit the Girls’ Day Web site at http://www.cs.sbu.edu/girlsday.

Student members of the Business Information Systems Club at St. Bonaventure University recently installed computers at the CREATE, Inc. Young Adult Center in Harlem.

The students replaced outdated computer equipment installed by the club three years earlier. CREATE was born in a New York City storefront in 1970 as an outreach program to help those recovering from chemical dependence and other problems. Start-up funding was supplied by the Franciscan Friars of the Holy Name Province. CREATE has since grown into a multi-service agency with funding from various, city, state and private agencies.

The Young Adult Center provides temporary housing, social services, career and job counseling, and placement to 50 young adults between the ages of 18 and 25, said Dr. Carl Case, chair of the Department of Management Sciences in St. Bonaventure’s School of Business. Case is the adviser to the Business Information Club.

“The computer lab is highly utilized and is an integral part of the Young Adult Center,” said Case. “Clients use the systems to learn computer application skills, to develop resumes, and to search for jobs.”

St. Bonaventure students who participated in the trip include Tamara Hemminger, president of the Business Information Systems Club; Andrew Mantilia, Student Government Association representative; and club members Angela Colomaio and Jesse Borden.

The computer systems were donated by the technology services department at St. Bonaventure. Financial support for the trip was provided by the St. Bonaventure University Journey Project.

St. Bonaventure University’s men’s rugby team brushed off Colgate Saturday afternoon to claim the New York State Rugby Division II Championship.

The Outlaws’ 37-18 victory before approximately 500 fans earned SBU a home game in the Northeast Rugby Union (NRU) quarterfinals Saturday at 1 p.m. against the University of Vermont. A win Saturday would propel St. Bonaventure into the NRU Final Four the weekend of Nov. 10-11 at West Point.

“Of course, the win was for the four guys left from the 2004 championship team – Pat Harnisch, Chris Grys, Chris Dennison and Mike Gallagher – and the rest of the seniors and juniors who went through last year’s tough fall and spring,” said Outlaws coach Clarence Picard.

Ranked 11th in the nation in Division II by eRugbynews.com, SBU improved its record to 7-0 and has outscored its opponents 308-57. Vermont is ranked 20th in the latest D-II poll.

The two teams that advance to the NRU Finals guarantee themselves a spot in the nationals in the spring.

In a forward-oriented battle, St. Bonaventure scored six tries (touchdowns), with Harnisch and freshman prop J.T. Sheehan each scoring a pair of tries.SBU never trailed, taking a 17-6 lead late in the first half when the Outlaw pack drove over a Colgate scrum and Harnisch fought his way into the try zone for his 15th score of the year.

Colgate cut the lead to 17-11 in the second half, but Sheehan bulled his way into the try zone from 15 meters out to give the Outlaws an 11-point lead. A Colgate try and successful conversion cut the lead to 22-18, but substitute lock Mark Hanna used his fresh legs to slice through the Big Red defense, offloading to Kmicinski who dashed another 15 meters before finding Hanna in support for the try and a 27-18 lead. Colgate wouldn’t score again.

Picard praised his entire squad, especially Harnisch for his “inspired play” and Grys for his toughness; he played with a broken rib “but didn’t slow down for a second.”

“There are too many others to mention,” Picard said, “but the man who battered and bruised Colgate all day … was J.T. Sheehan. His scrummaging was peerless, he scored a pair of tries and he even set up Gabe Martinez for a sure score that was called back on a bogus forward pass call.”

Quick Center opens window to Chinese culture with music from ensemble

The acclaimed ensemble Music from China will present a concert at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 9, at the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts at St. Bonaventure University.

The concert, presented in association with Friends of Good Music, is the second in this season’s new world music series.

The group will give a pre-concert lecture at 6:30 p.m. Free to all ticket holders, the lecture will serve as an introduction to various ancient instruments and the customs of performing on them.

Music from China is a musical ensemble that invokes the beauty and power of both traditional and contemporary Chinese music, said Ludwig Brunner, assistant director and programming manager at The Quick Center. Founded in 1984 by Susan Cheng, this group of accomplished musicians, trained in the leading conservatories and orchestras of China, has performed to audiences throughout the United States and abroad.

Praised by the New York Times for “grace and virtuosity,” Music from China offers a repertoire of classical and folk masterpieces, as well as new Chinese music by living composers, featuring Chinese instruments such as the erhu (two-string fiddle), pipa (lute), yangqin (hammered dulcimer), zheng (zither), daruan (guitar) and dizi (bamboo flute).

Directed by erhu virtuoso Wang Guowei, Music from China has appeared at the Library of Congress; the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City; Freer Gallery of Art and the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, both in Washington, D.C.; the Eastman School of Music; the Peabody Institute; the Chautauqua Festival; as well as Princeton, Duke, Pittsburgh, Yale, Bucknell, Colgate and Wesleyan universities.

“Step back in time for several millennia and hear the ancient sounds of the pipa, or listen to the compelling music of the 900-year old erhu. The percussive strength of drums, gongs, cymbals and woodblock instruments summons the spirit of ancient music and invokes the vitality of traditional opera and folk music,” said Brunner.

This concert is presented in conjunction with the exhibition Yangtze Remembered: The River Beneath the Lake – Photographs of Linda Butler, which is on view at The Quick Center until Nov. 15.

This performance is sponsored by The New York State Music Fund, established by the New York Attorney General at Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, and by The New York State Council on the Arts.

For tickets and information, call The Quick Center for the Arts at (716) 375-2494.

For this, and for all other performances, the museum galleries will open one hour before the start of the concert and remain open throughout the intermission. Regular gallery hours are Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. Museum admission is free and open to the public, year round.

Friday Forum

All SBU faculty, staff and administrators are welcome to all the Friday Forums.

Date: Friday, Nov. 2, 2007
Speaker: Mark Wilson
Time: 12:15 to 1:30 p.m.
Place: University Club
Topic: "Crime and Punishment: An Analysis of Voluntary Parole Waivers."
Abstract: In many states across the country, there are inmates who voluntarily waive the right to a parole hearing, and choose to remain incarcerated. What explains this phenomenon? Is it possible to explain some of the variation in waiver rates across states by using economic variables such as per-inmate prison expenditure and state-level unemployment rates?
Cost: $3

Dr. John Mulryan, Board of Trustees Professor of English, attended and participated in the Northeast Milton Seminar, which met at Harvard University Oct. 12-13, 2007. It will meet at St. Bonaventure April 11-12, 2008. On Oct. 27, Mulryan attended the international Milton seminar at Murfreesboro, Tenn., and presented a paper on Milton, Dante, and the narrative art.

Constance Pierce, associate professor of painting and drawing, is exhibiting her art in a national juried exhibition titled “Body of Christ” sponsored by The Washington Theological Consortium. The Consortium consists of seven theological institutions located in Washington, D.C., and each member institution is hosting a portion of the exhibition. Her large oil on canvas, “Genocide: Crucifixion of Darfur,” is exhibited at The Washington Theological Union from Oct. 29 to Dec. 14, 2007. The juror is nationally known sculptor and scholar Theodore Prescott. A reception will be held Nov. 14.

Pierce’s drawing “Prisoner Bound” will be exhibited concurrently at Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria, Va. The “Body of Christ” exhibition recognizes the importance of art as a way of addressing theological questions and deepening the life of faith. The art works explore both the literal and metaphorical meanings of “The Body of Christ” in contemporary society.