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About Jean Cardinale

Jean Cardinale is the head of the UConn Libraries' Public Programming, Marketing & Communications efforts.

The 2010-2011 Human Rights Film Series at the Dodd Center

Please join the Human Rights Institute, the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center, and the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies for the opening film of the Human Rights in the Americas Film Series.

Screenshot of a restavek girl from Karen Kramer’s film, Children of Shadows.

Film: “Children of Shadows”
Directed by Karen Kramer

Wednesday, September 15, 2010
4:00 pm, Konover Auditorium
Filmmaker Karen Kramer, who has recently returned from Haiti, will join us for a Q & A and reception following the film, moderated by Samuel Martinez, Associate Professor of Anthropology at UConn.

 In Haiti, many parents are forced by destitution and desperation to give away their children. The children, who may be as young as four years old, then go to live and work for other families as unpaid domestic servants, or slaves. They are known as “restavek” children.  Children of Shadows follows the children as they go through their daily chores – the endless cycle of cooking, washing, sweeping, mopping, going to the market, or going to run errands. In heartbreaking interviews, the children speak openly and shyly about the lives they are forced to lead. Their “aunts” (adoptive caretakers) speak openly and proudly of the vast mountain of work that “their” restavek does for them. The camera goes deep into the countryside to interview the peasant families as to what kind of situation would force them to give away one or more of their children.

Connecticut Agricultural College welcomes new President

Charles Chester McCracken
Dr. Charles Chester McCracken, 6th President of the University of Connecticut

On September 1, 1930, Connecticut Agricultural College welcomed Dr. Charles Chester McCracken as President.  A former professor of school administration at Ohio State University, McCracken led the small agricultural institution through the tumultous early years of the Great Depression.  Although he was not a successful administrator, McCracken presided over the accreditation of the college in 1930 by the New England Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools, the introduction of courses of study leading to the Bachelor of Arts degree (1933), and the renaming of the institution to Connecticut State College (1933).  McCracken resigned in 1935 to accept the position of educational counselor for the Board of Christian Education of the Presbyterian Church.  In accepting McCracken’s resignation, Governor Wilbur Cross stated that McCracken “will now be able to devote his whole attention to educational problems without the worry of finances or the details in the administration of a college.”  Additional information regarding Dr. McCracken’s tenure as President is available in the University Archives and in Red Brick in the Land of Steady Habits, a narrative history of the University of Connecticut by Dr. Bruce Stave published in 2006.

Alfred Gulley Dies

Alfred Gulley, seen in a photo from the 1917-1918 Nutmeg Yearbook, was a professor of horticulture at Connecticut Agricultural College for 23 years.

 

Just one month after turning 69, Alfred G. Gulley died on August 16, 1917.  He had been a professor of horticulture at Connecticut Agricultural College for 23 years.

Born July 15, 1848 in Dearborn, Michigan, by the time of his passing Gulley was in charge of the campus grounds, including supervisions of ornamental plantings and devising the layout of walkways and roads throughout the campus

Writing of Gulley in his annual report to the State Legislature, CAC President Charles L. Beach said he “was loved and respected by the faculty and students alike and … his life and character were an inspiration and example to the students with whom he came in contact and his judgment and council had much influence in shaping the development of the institution during its formative period.”

Soon after Gulley’s death, the Horticultural Building in which he taught was named in his honor.

The 1917-1918 Nutmeg Yearbook is dedication to Gulley:

  “As a token of our regard for him as a friend and in testimony of our admiration for him as a man and a scientist, this volume is respectfully dedicated by The Editors.”

Horticulture Hall and the ornamental gardens near it are seen in a photograph from 1917, the year Alfred Gulley died. The building was named for Gulley after his death.

Happy Birthday, Charlie!

Charles C. McCracken, president of Connecticut Agricultural College when it became Connecticut State College, was instrumental in launching the career of operatic soprano Ruby Elzy in the 1920s.

Charles C. McCracken, president of the University from 1930 to 1935, was born on June 27, 1882. In what during his tenure that the-then Connecticut Agricultural College became Connecticut State College; the Husky became the college mascot; and college received its first national accreditation. After years of disputes with trustees and faculty over his management of the college, McCracken resigned in 1935 after the Trustees had enacted what became known as “The Gag Rule”,  the aim of which was to stop campus discussion of whether military training should be mandatory for college men.

A little known episode in McCracken’s life is that he “discovered” Ruby Elzy, an African American college student who became a nationally known operatic soprano and who created the role of “Serena” in George Gershwin’s folk opera Porgy and Bess.

On a fact-finding trip with a committee studying Negro schools and colleges in the South, Charles McCracken, of The Ohio State University, visited Rust College in Mississippi. As the committee met, Elzy was rehearsing for a concert nearby, and her voice carried into the windows of the meeting room. Committee members left the room to hear her sing and McCracken was so taken by her talent that he decided to bring Elzy to Ohio State. She graduated from OSU in 1930, the year McCracken left to become president of CAC.

Strochlitz Travel Grant Awardee to present on her research, Thursday, June 17th

Curator Marisol Ramos is showing Dr. Sellin one of the archives  Venezuelan newspaper

Curator Marisol Ramos is showing Dr. Sellin one of the archives Venezuelan newspaper

Every year, we get several visiting scholars that take advantage of the Strochlitz Travel Grant. This travel grant, an endowment created and supported by Rose and Sigmund Strochlitz, Holocaust survivors and great supporters of the Thomas J. Dodd Center from its beginning, is intended to encourage use of these unique collections and to provide partial support to outstanding scholars who must travel long distances to consult them.

This month we have the pleasure to have Dr. Amy Sellin, who is visiting us from Durango, Colorado to use a variety of materials in our Latin American holdings, mainly newspapers from Venezuela, but also rare books from Chile, Puerto Rico and Venezuela on education, including those national histories and geographies which appeared in textbook form for young readers and learners.

Dr. Amy Sellin

Dr. Amy Sellin is visiting us from Durango, Colorado where she is an Assistant Professor and Chair of the Modern Language Department

Dr. Sellin is an assistant professor and chair of the Department of Modern Languages at Ft. Lewis College. She received her B.A. in Spanish and Latin American Studies at the University of California, Berkeley and her M.A. and Ph.D in Hispanic Studies at Brown University.  Her academic interests include nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Venezuelan literature, nineteenth-century Spanish literature, and contemporary women’s writing in Spanish.

Please mark your calendar to attend her presentation:

Chavez’s Educational Missions: A Return to the Nation-Building Goals of Venezuela’s Independence Era?

  • Day: Thursday, June 17th 2010
  • Place: Class of ’47 at the Library
  • Time: 1:00-3:00pm

But There Were No Beach Balls…

Connecticut Agricultural College's Class of 1907 was the first graduating class to wear caps and gowns. The graduates, standing on the steps to Grove Cottage, the women's dormitory from 1896 to 1919, include Lena Hurlburt, fifth from right. Hurlburt was captain of the women's basketball team and first woman on the staff of The Lookout, the student newspaper.

 

As candidates for graduation came forward to receive their diplomas on June 14, 1907, they looked different from their predecessors at Connecticut Agricultural College.

They were wearing caps and gowns.

The Class of 1907 was the first class to wear academic gowns and mortar board caps to their commencement exercises at CAC. Previously the graduates had worn either suits and ties or hand-sewn dresses.  In the more traditional academic garb, the graduates in 1907 listened as Rev. Rockwell Harmon Potter, pastor of Center Church in Hartford and later dean of the Hartford Seminary, deliver an address on “The School of Life”.

Also on June 14 in UConn history:

1895 – Andrew L. Hyde elected as first alumni trustee;

1899 – Storrs Agricultural College became Connecticut Agricultural College;

1914 – Gold Hall, first residence hall for men, burned down. It had been built in 1890;

1963 – The Mace, symbol of University authority, was first used at Commencement.

Benjamin F. Koons and the Observance of Memorial Day

UConn's first president, Benjamin F. Koons, was a veteran of the Civil War, and had strong opinions on how Memorial Day was to be observed.

 

Memorial Day was first observed in 1866 in Waterloo, New York to honor the memory of Union soldiers killed during the Civil War (1861-1865). It was then known as “Decoration Day”, as the graves of the fallen were decorated in remembrance, and it consolidated what had been locally observed remembrances in many locations.

Over the years, the day has come to be a time to remember all who have fallen in service to the nation. In addition to visits to cemeteries and grave sites, it alos has become a day of picnics, parades, and events like the Indianapolis 500.

For some in the 19th century, including Benjamin Franklin Koons, first president of UConn when it was the Storrs Agricultural College, the thought of spending the day grilling hamburgers and hot dogs would have been distressing.

Koons was a veteran of the Civil War, and was a member of the Francis S. Long Post No. 30 of the Grand Army of the Republic in Willimantic, Connecticut. He had enlisted as a private in his native Ohio in 1862, and survived 17 engagements, at was at Appomattox when the war ended.

The Hartford Courant noted in Koon’s obituary in December 1903 that “it has been his custom of late years to deplore the perverted use of Memorial Day, believing that May 30 was consecrated to the defenders of the Union and not athletic carnivals.”

Feathers and All…

In sweltering heat, the Class of 1963 received their degrees from the University of Connecticut in an outdoor ceremony held in Memorial Stadium.

The commencement speaker was Raymond Baldwin, who, 24 years earlier, while serving as Governor of Connecticut, signed the legislative act turned Connecticut State College into the University of Connecticut.

Before starting his address, Baldwin joked about the event that occurred on May 26, 1939. He recalled that he signed the bill with a quill pen, and told the commencement audience that he believed it was probably the last document in Connecticut that was signed with a quill pen.

“I’m not sure but I think the School [sic] of Agriculture produced that pen from some goose. Anyway, it worked pretty well. Actually, there is an aftermath to that. Today the question came up as to who had the pen, and President Babbidge and the Provost of the college looked at me with some suspicion and I want to assure you that I didn’t keep the pen. I gave it to Al Jorgensen and you’ll have to look him up for that.”

“Al Jorgensen”, of course, was former UConn President Albert N. Jorgensen. And there was no need to check with him.

The quill pen was, and is, part of the University Archives collection.

Quill pen used by Gov. Raymond Baldwin in 1939 to sign legislation that changed Connecticut State College into the University of Connecticut.

Governor signs bill to create a new University

Governor Raymond Baldwin signs bill creating the University of Connecticut, May 26, 1939

Marking the fifth and final name change of the small school in the eastern hills of Connecticut, Governor Baldwin formally signs the bill creating the University of Connecticut with state and school officials looking on.  Previous names reflected the changing nature of the institution as it evolved to meet the needs of the citizens of Connecticut: 

  • Storrs Agricultural School                   1881-1893
  • Storrs Agricultural College                  1893-1899
  • Connecticut Agricultural College         1899-1933
  • Connecticut State College                  1933-1939

A Remembrance from 90 Years Ago

President Charles L. Beach, right, and student Paul Manwaring, stand under the north arch of Hawley Armory at the dedication of Gardner Dow Field on Alumni Day, May 22, 1920. After the north and south arches were taken down sometime around 1950, the Dow plaque was moved the to west side of the Armory building.

In May of 1920, the campus community, at what was then Connecticut Agricultural College, gathered near the north end of Hawley Armory for a solemn occasion.

Eight months earlier, on September 27, 1919, Gardner Dow, a member of the CAC football team, died from injuries he sustained when he collided with an opponent from the University of New Hampshire. The tragedy occurred during CAC’s season opening game at UNH in Durham, New Hampshire. 

On October 6, the CAC Athletic Association, which had oversight of all campus athletic activities and facilities, approved a measure naming the college’s athletic field the Gardner Dow Field.

Students, faculty, alumni, and others gathered on May 22, Alumni Day in 1920, to dedicate Gardner Dow Field, which at  one time stretched from Hawley Armory east to Memorial Stadium, with football and baseball fields, tennis courts, a track, and other athletic facilities. As the University grew, those facilities were moved to separate locations throughout the campus.

On that day in May 90 years ago, a plaque was unveiled in memory of Dow, and placed on an arch at the north end of the armory.  The plaque was moved to the east wall of the armory in the 1950s, and it is still there today, in 2010, facing what remains of Gardner Dow Field.

We Remember Homer

Homer D. Babbidge and students in front of the Student Union, 1967

Homer D. Babbidge and students in front of the Student Union, 1967

Homer Daniels Babbidge, Jr. was born today in 1925, in West Newton, MA.  Educated at Yale University, Dr. Babbidge became the eighth President of the University of Connecticut on October 20, 1962 at the age of 37.  A charismatic, respected and much beloved member of the University community, Babbidge resigned from the University in the summer of 1972 after ten years of service.  Several years after Dr. Babbidge left the University the new library, which replaced the Wilbur Cross Library in 1978, was named after him.  Today, Homer Babbidge would have been 85 years old.  Unfortunately, he died on March 24, 1984, but his legacy and name live on at the University.

Daniel Pearl Freedom of the Press Act Signed Into Law

Today we are pleased to report that President Obama signed into law the Daniel Pearl Freedom of the Press Act.  The Daniel Pearl Freedom of the Press Act is named in honor of former Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl who was kidnapped and murdered by terrorists in Pakistan, just four months after the September 11th attacks.  For those who follow our blog and our events, know that this past October we were honored to award the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) with the Thomas J. Dodd Prize in International Justice and Human Rights.  The program allowed the University to learn more about the struggle for press freedom and about the work CPJ does to defend the rights of journalists around the world.   It also provided us with the opportunity to meet Mariane Pearl, wife of the late Daniel Pearl.

President Obama and members of Daniel Pearl’s family in the Oval Office.  Photo by Luke Sharrett/The New York Times

“Daniel Pearl’s tragic death shocked the world and, at the same time, opened our eyes to the abuse and harassment that many journalists face across the globe.  With this bill, we pay tribute to Daniel’s life and his work by shining a spotlight on this sort of all-too-frequent repression,” said Senator Chris Dodd, a champion of the bill.  Senator Dodd also introduced companion legislation in the Senate.

According to the press release from Senator Dodd’s office, this legislation calls upon the Secretary of State to greatly expand its examination of the status of freedom of the press worldwide in the State Department’s Annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices.  Specifically, the legislation requires the State Department to identify countries in which there were violations of press freedom; determine whether the government authorities of those countries participate in, facilitate, or condone the violations; and report the actions such governments have taken to preserve the safety and independence of the media and ensure the prosecution of individuals who attack or murder journalists.  The text of the legislation can be found here.

President Obama was joined by Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), Congressmen Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Mike Pence (R-IN), co-chairs of the Congressional Caucus for Freedom of the Press, as well as members of Daniel Pearl’s family.