NEWS
from
Central Connecticut State University
Honored as a "Leadership Institution" by the
Association of American Colleges & Universities
Media contact:
Bart Fisher,
Associate
Director of
Marketing and Communications
(860) 832-1624;
Fisherb@ccsu.edu
Statewide Coalition,
Connecticut State University System Host Town
Meetings to Discuss Education, State’s Future
In Connecticut, education is
everybody’s business and critical to the state’s
economy and quality of life.
With dramatic changes in
demographics, the advance of technology and
unprecedented demands of global competition,
Connecticut’s long-term economic strength
appears in doubt. Data suggests that if no
action is taken to ensure the quality of
education for all Connecticut residents, the
caliber of graduates that the state’s businesses
and economy depend on may suffer.
To focus public attention on the
issue, a statewide coalition and the Connecticut
State University System (CSUS) are hosting an
unprecedented series of four participatory Town
Meetings during a two-week period beginning
later this month. The series, titled
“Education Now. Prosperity Tomorrow. Growing
Connecticut’s Future.” will address the
fundamental question: Why is education important
to Connecticut’s future?
The Town Meetings will be held at Central,
Eastern, Southern, and Western Connecticut State
Universities and are free and open to the
public. They are designed to stimulate
discussion exploring the connections between
effective education, a sound economy and a
vibrant state.
To highlight the connections
between education and Connecticut’s economy, the
Town Meetings will open with a brief video that
includes striking statistics framing the
conversation and featuring the perspectives of
Governor M. Jodi Rell, Senate President Donald
Williams, House Speaker James Amann, Aetna
Chairman and CEO Ronald Williams, Bank of
America Connecticut President Susan Rottner, and
Community Renewal Team President Lena Rodriquez
among others.
The meetings will be held from
6:45 to 8:15 p.m. and will feature a
different panel of business, education and
community leaders at each location. Audience
participation is a critical component. Ann
Baldwin, veteran broadcaster and principal of
Baldwin Media Marketing, will moderate the
conversations. The schedule is as follows:
· Monday,
March 24,
Western Connecticut State University, Danbury
Midtown Campus, Warner Hall, First Floor
· Tuesday,
March 25,
Central Connecticut State University, New
Britain
Torp Theatre, Lawrence J. Davidson Hall
· Monday,
March 31,
Eastern Connecticut State University,
Willimantic
Student Center, Betty Tipton Room
· Tuesday,
April 1,
Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven
Adanti Student Center
The panelists, and those
introducing the Town Meetings, are as follows:
Western Connecticut State
University, Monday, March 24
Introduction by
Marc Herzog, Chancellor,
Connecticut Community Colleges,
and Judith Greiman, President, Connecticut
Conference of Independent Colleges
·
Chris Bruhl, President and CEO,
The Business Council of Fairfield County
·
Gary Chesley, Superintendent of
Schools, Bethel
·
James Comer, Maurice Falk
Professor of Child Psychiatry,
Yale Child Study Center
·
Noel Hord, CEO, The Hord
Foundation, BCBG Shoes
·
Central Connecticut State
University, Tuesday, March 25
Introduction by Oz Griebel, CEO, MetroHartford
Alliance, and Michael Meotti, Commissioner,
State Department of Higher Education
·
Fernando Betancourt,
Executive Director, Latino and Puerto Rican
Affairs Commission
·
David Fink, Policy Communications
Director, Partnership for Strong Communities
·
Linda Kelly, President, Hartford
Foundation for Public Giving
·
John Rathgeber, President and
CEO, Connecticut Business and Industry
Association
·
Eastern Connecticut State University, Monday,
March 31
Introduction by Michael Hogan, President,
University of Connecticut
·
Sally Boske,
Vice President,
Connecticut Association of Boards of Education
and Executive Director, Connecticut PTA
·
Christopher Clouet,
Superintendent of Schools, New London
·
Diane Randall, Director,
Partnership for Strong Communities
·
Chandler Howard, President and
CEO, Liberty Bank
·
Southern Connecticut State University, Tuesday,
April 1
Introduction by State Education Commissioner
Mark K. McQuillan and Chancellor David G.
Carter, Connecticut State University System
·
Juan
Figueroa,
President, Universal Health Care Foundation of
Connecticut, Inc.
·
Fran
Rabinowitz,
Superintendent of Schools, Hamden
·
Anthony Rescigno,
President, Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce
·
Robert
Santy,
President and CEO, Connecticut
Economic Resource Center
The statewide coalition for Town
Meetings include: African American Affairs
Commission; American Federation of Teachers
(Connecticut); Business Council of Fairfield
County; Capitol Region Council of Governments;
Connecticut Association of Boards of Education;
Connecticut Association of Public School
Superintendents; Connecticut Business and
Industry Association; Connecticut Community
Colleges; Connecticut Department of Education;
Connecticut Department of Higher Education;
Connecticut Health and Education Facilities
Authority; Connecticut Office for Workforce
Competitiveness; Connecticut Public Broadcasting
Network; Charter Oak College, Connecticut Small
Business Development Centers; Connecticut State
University American Association of University
Professors; Connecticut State University System
(CSUS); Connecticut State University System
Foundation; Latino and Puerto Rican Affairs
Commission; Northeast Utilities Foundation;
State University Organization of Administrative
Faculty, AFSCME, Council 4 – Local 2836.
The Town Meetings are free and open to the
public. For more information, call 860.493.0040
or visit
http://www.ctstateu.edu/TownMeeting.htm.
__________________________________________________________
Media Contacts
Bernard Kavaler, Assistant Vice Chancellor,
Connecticut State University System
860.493.0093,
kavalerb@so.ct.edu
Terri Raimondi, Public Relations Specialist,
Connecticut State University System
860.493.0040,
raimondit@ct.edu
