A gathering of 50 BGS graduates, active and retired counselors and CCS staff met and mingled in the Grover Gallery in Hartford on September 26 to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of UConn’s Bachelor of General Studies program. UConn Professor Emeritus Robinson Grover hosted the celebration in the spacious gallery that holds his nationally known photography collection.

Dean Krista K. Rodin welcomed the guests and expressed pride that UConn’s BGS degree was among the first of many multifaceted, multi-disciplinary degrees that began the growing trend of degrees designed for working adults.

John D. Petersen, Chancellor and Provost for University Affairs, extolled BGS graduates for their “commitment to their studies and to knowledge” and recognized the BGS program for playing a significant role in reversing Connecticut’s “brain drain” (a term coined to describe the trend of a state losing its best and brightest when students attend out-of-state colleges and consequently find employment outside of Connecticut).

BGS graduate Denise W. Merrill ’88 is serving her fourth term as State Representative, 54th House District, is Deputy Majority Leader and serves on the Appropriations and Education Committees. She called the BGS program “a very pioneering idea” when she started taking classes in 1984. Merrill still remembers her public speaking class, which was “incredibly scary but a great experience” and credits the wisdom and understanding of Tracie Borden, a counselor at the Waterbury campus, for helping her build a program around the credits she had earned at various institutions over the years. BGS counselors “just do God’s work as far as I’m concerned,” she said.

BGS graduate John B. Stewart, Jr. ’91 was the first African-American fire chief in New England, and a City of Hartford Council Member and Majority Leader from 1995-1999. As Hartford Fire Chief, he hired the first two females in a paid...for more on BGS Celebration.

More than 40 government leaders participated in the first cohort of the Government Leadership Certificate program offered through the Institute of Public Service. IPS was chosen from more than 26 applicants to offer this Baldrige-based leadership development program to high-level state agency managers. Led by the Department of Administrative Services, leaders from six agencies took part in this action-learning experience.

All participants completed a capstone project that applied their learning experiences to a project within their agency. The projects, which are anticipated to save the state government millions of dollars in the short term, included: implementing a pilot OCIP (Owner Controlled Insurance Program) estimated to save $15 million on the Adriaen’s Landing project, designing and implementing an interactive employee training system for Bradley International Airport, developing an automated process to administer the state vehicle benefit process, and designing and implementing a paperless billing system across state agencies.  more

The CCS Advisory Board is well into its first year of utilizing its collective intelligence to guide the future of the College. Formed in December 2001, the advisory board plays many roles in helping CCS evolve into a national leader devoted to lifelong learning and workforce development.

Members serve as advocates for the college and provide advice to the Dean on a number of critical issues. The CCS Advisory Board helps to identify needed curricula to respond to emerging trends in diverse fields and provides a curricula task force to test ideas. The Board also offers input on fundraising and enhancing CCS customer service.

Since its incarnation less than a year ago, the advisory board has accomplished many objectives. The board assisted in the development of the BGS 25th anniversary celebrations and the CCS fundraising campaign.   more

As the school year started, my daughter, A.J., was asked to write a story about a girl who stumbled over something on a beach. A.J. wrote that Kelly had stumbled over a rock and hurt her foot in the process. She got mad at the rock and wanted to get rid of it, so she picked it up to hurl it into the sea. Once in her hands, however, the rock was strangely light. Wanting to know why, Kelly tapped the object of her initial anger on a neighboring stone to break it apart. As the rock split open, diamonds scattered at her feet in the sand. She gathered them together and decided to invest them for her family’s future.

A.J.’s story appears to me reflective of our learning processes as adults and as organizations. It is easy to continue what we are doing without really being mindful of all that is going on around us. It takes an obstacle in our path to trigger our awareness. When we reach an obstacle, often the first reaction is to get angry and lash out at the symbol of our distress. If we don’t pause to reflect on the teaching that obstacle is providing, we miss diamond opportunities for change and growth. more

Dennis M. Lee, Ph.D., joined the Center for Continuing Studies in August as Assistant Professor in Residence for Human Resource Management. Dr. Lee came to the College from the Venator Group in New York, where he was Senior Vice President of Human Resources and Logistics. He brings more than 24 years experience in Human Resource Management to CCS, serving as Senior, Executive or Corporate Vice President for major corporations that operated department or specialty retail stores across the U.S.

He will be developing and teaching numerous online human resource management courses, beginning with Strategic Human Resource Management in spring 2003 and Micro/Macro Organizational Behavior in summer 2003. These graduate level courses are designed for the Human Resource Management concentration of the Masters of Professional Studies program (pending approval), and are a joint effort between CCS and the UConn School of Business.  more

The Distance Education program began in spring 2001 with the introduction of the Occupational and Environmental Safety and Health program, which was developed for an online format under the direction of Dr. Charles Reese. That program, which includes undergraduate and graduate courses, has a current enrollment of 88 students. In spring 2002, CCS launched a graduate program in Humanitarian Studies, which is under the direction of Dr. Rodney Allen. There are currently nine students enrolled in that program. more

Alberta R. Perkins Scholarship
Scholarship named after a 40-year veteran CCS employee known for her positive approach to problem solving.
• Gloria Guerrera (Waterbury)
• Elizabeth Monnot (Stamford)
• Kathleen Perillo (Waterbury)

Class of 1944 Scholarship
Established by the class of 1944 to assist non-traditional students returning to school following a significant interruption in their educations.
• Ann Romsky (Stamford)
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Classes include core courses that integrate reading, writing, listening and speaking skills, Grammar, Reading/Writing, Pronunciation/Oral Communication, Vocabulary/American Culture, Accent Reduction, and TOEFL Preparation for students who need to improve their test taking skills and their performance on the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) exam.

Program Manager Marcia Gethin-Jones credits the increase in enrollment and consequent expansion of the curriculum to the high quality of the program, as well as the professionalism, patience and availability of the dedicated instructors.

“Students know this is a serious program and word has gotten around the tightly knit foreign communities,” she says. “Many students in the program have registered on the recommendation of friends.” more

Working with academic and research units across the University, the Center for Continuing Studies provides a gateway linking the University of Connecticut with individuals as well as with corporate and public service sectors statewide, nationally and internationally. The Center for Continuing Studies is dedicated to engaging learners in a lifelong academic partnership with the University of Connecticut.