| October 18, 2006 | Vol 8. No. 4 |
Instone African Service Trip
Debra Instone, PhD, associate dean of arts and sciences (center) with daughter, Marleah Noonan, 16; among Masai women in Kenya.
Debra Instone, PhD, associate dean of arts and sciences, spent six weeks this summer in Africa on a service trip, where she lived among the among the Masai tribe in Kajiado, Kenya; located southwest of Nairobi. She and her 16-year old daughter, Marleah, taught in an elementary school with 400 students but just seven teachers and very few supplies. According to Instone, Masai families usually have to sell a cow to afford to send one of their children to school.
“Most Masai fathers can’t afford to send all of their kids to school, so some kids go to school and some don’t,” says Instone. “Some kids get to tend the cattle, which actually is perceived as a higher status than going to school.”
The Masai believe that God has entrusted them to take care of his cattle and therefore wealth is measured in number of cattle.
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| Construction at the Kimuka School as a result of Marleah Noonan’s effort’s. |
With $1,600 that Marleah raised through family and friends and at her high school, she and Instone had new desks built, painted the school’s walls, and bought supplies including books, pencils and soccer balls.
“I have never met children so hungry to learn and so poorly equipped to do so,” says Instone. “My experience in Kenya was both heart wrenching and heartwarming.”
Instone was one of 30 volunteers who made the trip to Kenya (six to Masailand) through the Global Volunteer Network. Last summer, she traveled to China to teach English to a class of 26 teenagers through a grant from the college’s Center for Teaching Excellence.
Bellia Book Deciphers Financial Aid Confusion
Students can afford the college of their choice, according to a new book by Anthony J. Bellia, dean emeritus of enrollment management at Canisius College.“Financial Aid for the Utterly Confused” helps readers unscramble the jargon and master the procedures to secure the maximum amount of financial aid available to them. In the book, Bellia explains how to start the financial planning process early; how to find federal, state, college-sponsored, military and private aid; how to search for scholarship opportunities; and how to take advantage of 529s and other trusts.
“Financial Aid for the Utterly Confused” sells for $18.95 and can be purchased at amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com
Skinner Presented With Award for Assisting Buffalo Police
Christine Skinner, officer for public safety, was presented with an award by Ellen O. Conley, PhD, vice president for student affairs, on October 4 for assisting the Buffalo Police Department (BPD). Skinner spotted a car in front of the Koessler Athletic Center that was connected with two armed robberies in Buffalo. The BPD was notified and the suspects were subsequently arrested on East Delavan Ave. From left to right: Skinner, Gary Everett, director of public safety and Conley.
Lewis is Newest Public Safety Officer
The Department of Public Safety’s newest officer, Charles Lewis, was sworn in on Friday, September 22. From left to right: Buffalo Police Officers Clay Twitty and Keith Beatty (Officer Lewis’ uncle); Charles Lewis Sr.; Buffalo Police Officer Kim Beatty; Charles Lewis, officer for public safety; Ken Kruly, director of government relations; Gary Everett, director of public safety; and Dominic Barone, assistant director of public safety.
Barker Presents Paper at APSA Meeting
Ray Barker, PhD, adjunct professor of history, presented his paper “Michael Howard’s Effectiveness as Leader of the Opposition” as part of a British Politics Group panel, “Measuring Political Effectiveness: Prime Ministers, Legislators, and Leaders of the Opposition” at the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association (APSA) in Philadelphia on September 2, 2006.
Volonino is Keynote Speaker at IS Conference
Linda A. Volonino, PhD, chair and professor of information systems, was the keynote speaker at the fourth annual Information Security Conference in Lousville, Kentucky in October. Her presentation, which focused on computer forensics, was entitled “When Cyber Crimes Occur, Whose Fingerprints are on the Digital Media Weapon?”