FACULTY NEWS
Student Design Featured on Times Square Billboard
 |
When Stephen Jablonsky, an assistant professor of Digital Media, had an opportunity to develop a new advertising campaign for a client, The Climate Group, he turned the project into a competition for students enrolled in his spring Senior Project Class, a capstone course that focuses on real world projects and expectations and enrolled in Visual Effects for DVD and Film.
The campaign, titled “Together,” was to educate consumers about ways they can reduce their carbon footprint. An aspect of the campaign called for a 15-second public service announcement to run on the CBS super screen billboard in Times Square, and Jablonsky’s student, Laura Keller, won with her submission. The senior’s spot ran on the 26-by-20-foot screen hourly throughout the month of March.
“It doesn’t get more real than having your announcement featured in Times Square every hour for a month,” said the proud professor, who was also interviewed by The Record newspaper for a story on the achievement.
Jablonsky said the students exhibited the dedication needed to get ahead in the design field with their submissions, which they produced in one week. “I am proud of Laura and the other students who participated,” he said. “ They responded creatively and professionally.”
Professors Present in Australia
|
|
Dr. Frances Shapiro-Skrobe, professor of English and Dr. Ellen Kaiden, professor of Reading and Education, presented papers at the 11th International Conference on Experiential Learning at the University of Technology in Sydney, Australia in December.
They were among the few Americans in a diverse gathering of professionals from academic and business settings, all of whom use experiential learning activities to further their goals. Their presentation, “Promoting American Democracy Through Preservice Teachers’ Experiential Learning Activities,” was a direct outgrowth of the ongoing work of the American Democracy Project and the Teacher Education Program at Ramapo College.
Dr. Kaiden discussed the impact of the
award-winning program, Student Literacy
Corps, initially funded by a U.S. Department
of Education grant, which serves the
literacy needs of students in high-needs
districts. For most preservice teachers, “It is through fieldwork that the veil is lifted,” says Dr. Kaiden. “They learn firsthand about educational inequities that exist and become aware of the need for change in a system that promotes a predestined curtailment of opportunities.” Dr. Shapiro-Skrobe described the successful service-learning program connected to Reading and Writing in Content Areas. Preservice secondary level teachers participating in this middle-school course provide invaluable tutorial support through the College’s Reading, Writing and Study Skills Workshop. “It is through this program that middle schoolers begin to develop an enhanced sense of self-efficacy and agency, which are critical components of members of a democratic society,” says Dr. Shapiro-Skrobe.
The Ramapo Foundation, the Office of the Provost and the Teacher Education Office provided funding for the professors’ work.
Documentary Screened at International Film Festival
|
“Too Lost to Find,” a documentary by Bonnie Blake, associate professor of Graphic/Multimedia Design, was screened at the Red Bank International Film Festival at Monmouth University in West Long Branch, New Jersey in May.
The 12-minute film focuses on Hackensack, New Jersey’s homeless population. Blake has been chronicling the homeless since 2002 and the film is the latest of four shorts she has made about people who sleep in makeshift tents by the Hackensack River, among the gravestones in a cemetery or on mattresses along railroad tracks.
Much of the film centers on the FAITH Foundation, a non-profit homeless shelter that stirred controversy in Hackensack for attracting homeless people to the downtown area.
“Too Lost to Find” premiered at the New Jersey International Film Festival at Rutgers University a year ago and was selected for the Peace on Earth Film Festival in Chicago held last August.
Eastern Communication Association Conference
|
Recently, eight students in the School of Communication Arts presented their papers at the Undergraduate Poster Session of the Eastern Communication Association’s annual conference. These papers were developed in Media Criticism courses taught by professors Ruma Sen, Pat Keeton and Kelly Dolak in fall 2008. All 12 papers submitted by students were accepted for presentation, following which eight students developed their papers into posters under the guidance of Professor Ruma Sen, with design support from Associate Professor Bonnie Blake and Communication Arts student Brooke Dalton.
Paper titles included: “Man of Science, Man of Faith: A Comparison of Jack and Locke from ABC’s LOST: Their Relationship and Ties to Modernity and Post-Modernity” by Joey Lewandowski, “Colombia’s Bad Habits: Drugs, Violence, and the United States” by Eileen Ramos, and “Taking Advantage of the Vulnerable: The Media and Animal Abusers” by Kaitlyn Haitz.
Book by Italian Professor Feted in Rome
|
“Resisting Bodies: Narratives of Italian Partisan Women,” a book by Rosetta D’Angelo, professor of Italian, and Barbara Zaczek, professor of Italian at Clemson University, was recognized in March at the House of Memory and History in Rome.
The book is a translation of texts that explore the experience of partisan women in Italy between 1943 and 1945. “This anthology offers not only a rich source of information but also valuable teaching materials for courses in Italian Literature culture, history and women’s studies,” says D’Angelo.
The event was sponsored by the Italian Federation of Partisans and the Association of Italian Partisans and was held at the American Academy in Rome. Representatives from the University of Rome and the American Embassy attended.
