COLLEGE RECOGNITION
The College was reaccredited by the Middle States Commission of Higher Education (MSCHE) in June 2000.  Membership in the Middle States Association follows a period of candidacy lasting up to five years and is only continued as a result of periodic reviews and evaluation of
institutional achievements.  In June 2005, the College submitted its Periodic Review Report (PRR) to the Commission.  We were informed this week that the MSCHE accepted the College's Periodic Review Report and reaffirmed our accreditation for the next five years (through 2010)..

The College's recruitment DVD, produced by the offices of Enrollment Management and Communications/Public Affairs, was selected to receive a CASE District II Gold Award.  Awards will be presented at the gala and reception scheduled Monday, February 6 in Pittsburgh.

A team of Ramapo students, led by ALEXANDRE OLBRECHT(SB), made it to the semi-final round of the College Fed Challenge.  The team consisted of STEVEN BLOOM, TIMOTHY HAASE, MADVEE MUTHU and KEVIN PURN. The College Fed Challenge is intended to help students become more knowledgeable about the Fed and the decision-making process of the Federal Open Market Committee, the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy-setting group.

FACULTY AND STAFF KUDOS
HENRY VANCE DAVIS (SSHS) published “Harold Wright Cruse: The Early Years and the Jewish Factor” in the fall issue of “The Black Scholar: A Journal of Black Studies and Research.”  

“Managing Generation Y,” an article by SUSAN EISNER (SB), has been accepted for publication in the refereed, international publication, “Advanced Management Journal.”  She was invited by the Society for Advancement of Management to serve on a panel of judges for its Student Case Competition at its upcoming Annual Conference in April.  Eisner also has been selected for inclusion in two biographical listings for 2006:  “Who’s Who in America,” and “Who’s Who Among American Women.”  In addition, she attended “The 11th Conference on the Presidency at Hofstra University” and “EQ: Leadership and the Power of Emotional Intelligence at Columbia University
Teacher's College.”

NIZA FABRE (AIS) presented, “The African Cimarron: Ladinos and Bozales in Esmeraldas, Ecuador,” a Culture Mix Activity sponsored by Operation Link-Up during Diversity Week.  Fabre explains that Ladino with a “D” means a slave who learned the language of the master and embraced the religion of the master. 

ANN LEPORE (CCIS/CA) has a new video piece, “FairHaven,” which will be screened Thursday, December 15 from 7 to 9 p.m. at Mushroom Arts Gallery in Manhattan, 19 West 26th Street between Broadway and 6th on the fifth floor.

“Photography Reborn:  Image Making in the Digital Era,” a book by JONATHAN LIPKIN (CA), is scheduled to be published by Harry N. Abrams, Inc.

JAMES MORLEY (SSHS) published a review of Renaud Barbaras’ text  “The being of the phenomenon:  Merleau-Ponty’s Ontology” for the “Journal of Phenomenological Psychology.”  He also presented a research paper titled “Chasmatic Biology: Evolution and Epigenesis in light of Merleau-Ponty’s Nature and College de France Lectures” in the “International Merleau-Ponty
Circle.”  He also presented “The Psychopathology of Certainty” for the University of Bournemouth, UK, International Human Science Research Association and “Merleau-Ponty’s Psychology of Imagination” at the University of Helsinki, Finland, International Association for Philosophy and Literature and “Merleau-Ponty’s reading of evolution: ontogeny and phylogeny in light of his ontology” at Binghamton University, Conference on Philosophy, Interpretation and Culture.

IRINA NAKHOVA (CA) participated in “Public Interiors Between Two Cultures: A Conversation with Russian-American Artist Irina Nakhova” at Harvard University.  The presentation was co-sponsored by the University’s Literature and Culture Seminar, Davis Center, and Politics and the Arts Seminar, Humanities Center, and moderated by Svetlana Boym, a professor of Slavic and Comparative Literature.

TRENT SCHROYER (TAS), along with Tom Golodik, edited a book, “Creating A Sustainable World:  Past Experience/Future Struggle,” that will be published by The Apex Press in January. 

In April 2005, Ramapo alumnus TRYON EGGLESTON of Bloomfield College and STEPHEN SCHUR (MAC) reached out to webmasters of New Jersey institutions of higher education asking them to join the New Jersey Higher Education Webmasters group.  The organization is open to New Jersey's public and private colleges, universities and community colleges.  The purpose is to
provide avenues for sharing concerns, visions, standards and policies, strategies, new technologies, NJ state and federal regulations, and training opportunities related to higher education webmasters.  The first meeting of the organization was held at Ramapo in June of this year. To date, 13 web administrators from three state colleges, four community colleges, and four private New Jersey colleges have signed on.  The organization has just adopted its bylaws, created and posted a new Web site, and elected officers including Stephen Schur Tryon Eggleston. Their new Web site address: http://www.njhewa.org.

TILAHUN SINESHAW (SSHS), was one of several authors of “National Character Does Not Reflect Mean Personality Trait Levels in 49 Cultures” published in the October issue of “Science.”  He also published “Universal Features of Personality Traits from the Observer’s Perspective: Data from 50 Cultures” in the “Journal of Personality and Social Psychology” and “Personality
Profiles of Culture: Aggregate Personality Traits (2005)” in the “Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.”      

MARTA VIDES (SSHS) is one of about 35 invitees to participate in the 2006 Oxford Round Table titled, “Criminal Law and Justice” to be held at Harris Manchester College at the University of Oxford, England.

BEHZAD YAGHMAIAN’s (SSHS) book, “Embracing the Infidel:  Stories of Muslim Migrants on the Journey West” was recently published by Delacorte Press/Bantam Dell. The leading trade reviewer, Kirkus, pronounced the book, “An ‘El Norte' or ‘Grapes of Wrath’ for the Muslim World--affecting, immediate, and well written.”

STUDENT AND ALUMNI NEWS
“Several Ways to Die Trying,” a film written and directed by student GLEN TICKLE, premiered at the Cape May New Jersey Film Festival.  It’s the story of a young writer who wants to kill himself but gets writer's block when penning his suicide note.  He falls in love and has to decide if the girl
is worth living for.  Glen notes that while it was filmed outside of an academic setting, it features Ramapo College students DAN VAN WINKLE, who starred in the film, and TOM ESTLER, a production assistant.  Alumni who participated in the project include:  JUSTIN ULBRICH and MATT ZIEGEL who were the directors of photography; producer STEPHANIE A. BELLO; and
STEPHANIE RATH, who was the animal wrangler, production assistant and temporary line producer.  The film's website is www.filmkid.com.

Alumnus THOMAS AMMAZZALORSO was selected for the Aramco Educators to Saudi Arabia Program to examine Saudi education; industry and technology; culture and history; and global relations though site visits, panel discussions and cultural activities in the cities of Dhahran, Riyadh and Jiddah for a 10–day visit.  The Aramco Educators to Saudi Arabia Program aims to
cultivate a greater awareness and understanding of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the U.S. primary and secondary schools and communities.