Embedded Files
february 2025
february 2025
Dear Colleagues,
I hope that everyone had a productive week and that you were able to enjoy some of the warm weather that we’ve experienced this week! Knowing that everyone is very busy, I am repeating in this newsletter information that I have shared in recent emails in case you did not get a chance to see it. In this fast-moving environment for higher education, I believe that it is important to keep everyone updated so that we can continue to remain united in our efforts to advance the objectives of the College.
First, let me take the opportunity once again to congratulate the five faculty members to whom the Board voted to grant tenure and/or promotion at their February Board meeting.
Dr. Yeukai Chiroodza-Imeh, Associate Professor of Education
Dr. Tyra Good, Associate Professor of Education
Dr. Danielle Maurice, Associate Professor of Psychology
Dr. Michael McGravey, Associate Professor of Religious Studies
Dr. Sudad Saman, Associate Professor of Biology
At the same meeting, the Board approved the faculty's recommendation to offer a new certificate in bookkeeping, a new bachelor's degree in finance, and a new master's of education degree in educational leadership. Thank you to Dr. Andrea Hickson-Martin, Dr. Betty Hukowicz, and Dr. Tyra Good for providing an update on the Center of Equity in Urban Education and presenting on the proposed master’s degree.
In recent communication, I have shared updates on what is happening in higher education at the national level. Campuses throughout the country have been anxiously monitoring the developments coming from the new federal administration, higher education associations, and the courts to determine their course of action. On our campus, many faculty and staff have asked questions about what the uncertainty means for them and for their students.
Over the course of the past weeks, the College has continued to monitor very closely the executive orders issued by the new administration addressing among other things immigration; diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice. Along with other higher education institutions, the College received additional information from the US Department of Education in the form of a Dear Colleague Letter in mid-February. The College has also continued to watch decisions made by the courts related to some of the executive orders. This is what you should know:
The Board of Trustees provided guidance to the College at its February 14th meeting and endorsed the College's strategy of remaining consistent with our mission and core values and adhering to all applicable laws.
The President's Cabinet serves as a Federal Response Team, reviews updates in the environment on a ongoing basis, and discusses any needed action items at least once a week.
The College continues to consult with higher education associations and has retained legal counsel to ensure that we adhere to all laws while remaining committed to the College's founding mission and values.
We will continue to communicate any relevant information and updates to you through Cabinet members and through communication such as this one.
On a different note, I am excited to announce our Commencement Speaker and Honorary Degree Recipients for the 2025 Commencement:
Christine Ortiz, Ph.D., Founder of Station1 and Morris Cohen Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at MIT will be the Commencement Speaker.
Paul Stelzer, current and outgoing Chair of the Elms College Board of Trustees and retired president of Appleton Corporation will receive an honorary degree.
Elms Alumna, Deborah Vo, MBA ’89 and Program Officer for Strategy and Initiatives at the Rasmuson Foundation and Commissioner for U.S. Arctic Research Commission will receive an honorary degree.
The Office of Marketing and Communications will proceed with the official announcement of the honorands closer to Commencement. I ask you to keep this information within the Elms community for the moment.
In my welcoming message at last Friday's Black Experience Summit, I celebrated once again the diversity of the Elms College community: the fact that we have different stories and different backgrounds and that we come together to form OneElms. Many thanks once again to Chief Diversity Officer, Dr. Jennifer Shoaff, and the planning committee, for coordinating this year’s Black Experience Summit for our students, our community, and our region.
In the midst of the ever-changing higher education landscape, our commitment remains focused on the holistic well-bring of our students and on helping them to become the best versions of themselves. I am looking forward to meeting our top prospective students and their families at tonight’s President’s Reception! I would like to thank Michelle Proulx and the Admissions team for all their hard work in planning and executing this very pivotal event. I hope to see many of you there.
I want to wish the faculty a restful spring break. I also want to express my sincere gratitude to the entire Elms Community for all that you do for the College and for one another.
Harry E. Dumay, Ph.D., MBA
President
FUTURE ELMSNEWS
Submission pieces can be shared with the following department contacts:
Academic Affairs - Deb Methe
Admissions - Michelle Proulx
Athletics - Sean Milbier
Finance - Brett Carroll
HR - Cheryl Smith
Marketing - Patrick Johnson
Student Affairs - Anna Stabile
Institutional Advancement - Lynn Korza
The deadline for submissions is the third Friday of each month.
UPCOMING CAMPUS EVENTS
March 3 Service Fair
March 7 Coffee Q & A
March 8 2025 Symposium on Grief
March 19 Blazer Blitz
March 24 6th Annual Rev. Hugh Crean Lecture
March 26 Town Hall
March 28 Dance Concert
Check the Master Calendar for exact locations of each event.
Harambee: A History of Cultivating Black Togetherness through Food Justice
Thank you to all who attending the 8th Annual Black Experience Summit!
COUNSELING CENTER
ACADEMIC AFFAIRS
The Office of Academic Affairs is pleased to announce that the Board of Trustees has voted to approve the College's recommendation to grant tenure and/or promotion to the following faculty:
Dr. Yeukai Chiroodza-Imeh, Associate Professor of Education
Dr. Tyra Good, Associate Professor of Education
Dr. Danielle Maurice, Associate Professor of Psychology
Dr. Michael McGravey, Associate Professor of Religious Studies
Dr. Sudad Saman, Associate Professor of Biology
Please join in congratulating our colleagues on this important achievement in their careers and celebrating their ongoing commitment to excellence in teaching, scholarship, and service at Elms College.
On Saturday, March 8th 'Finding Hope in the Midst of Grief' will be hosted by Elms College and the Diocese of Springfield. Register Here
To learn more contact Celeste Labbe at c.labbe@diospringfield.org
Please support the CEUE by participating in these upcoming events for the Spring 2025 semester!
6th Annual Reverend Hugh F. Crean Distinguished Lecture in Catholic Thought
Guest Lecturer: Rev. Joseph Cheah, OSM, Ph.D., Professor and Chair, Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies, University of Saint Joseph
"Anti-Asian Racism and Catholic Social Teaching"
Monday, March 24, 2025
4:30 p.m.-6 p.m.
Elms College Alumnae Library Theater
This lecture aims to address a critical gap in the Catholic Church's pastoral discourse on anti-Asian racism, as evidenced in documents like Open Wide Our Hearts and Encountering Christ in Harmony. These texts, while significant, lack a robust engagement with the racialized experiences of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI). By focusing on the intersection of anti-Asian hate and Catholic Social Teaching (CST), the lecture seeks to deepen the Church's understanding of racial justice through the lens of AAPI experiences.
Speaker Biography
Joseph Cheah, OSM, Ph.D. is Professor of Religious Studies and Theology, and Chair of the Department of Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies. In the classroom, he sees himself as a co-learner, someone who collaborates with students for insight and understanding. Telling pertinent stories and sharing appropriate experiences from his unique social location as Asian American and positionality as religious priest have helped him to reclaim teaching and learning as an essential part of faculty-student dialogue.
Fr. Joe has made robust contributions in the fields of Asian American religions and theology, Buddhist Studies, World Christianity, race and religion. He is the author of Race and Religion in American Buddhism (OUP, 2011) which is the first monograph to take race seriously as a category of analysis in American Buddhist scholarship (Brooke Schedneck) and “stands to transform the discourse on American Buddhism and Asian American religions in significant and much needed ways” (Sharon Suh). His recent book Anti-Asian Racism (Orbis, 2023) has been reviewed as “an exceptional book … on the genealogy and variants of anti-Asian racism in the U.S.” (Thomas Hampton) and “a must-read for all Americans” (Peter Phan). He is a co-editor on the Palgrave Macmillan series, “Asian Christianity in Diaspora” with Grace Ji-Sun Kim, with whom he co-authored a book on Theological Reflections on “Gangnam Style.” In recognition of his record of exceptional scholarship, the University in 2018 awarded him with the Sister Mary Ellen Murphy Faculty Scholarship Award.
He has been an invited speaker on anti-Asian racism, Catholic Social Teaching, and other topics to audiences at diverse educational levels across the country. He was part of Asian American Christian Collaborative delegates invited to a White House meeting to address central issues faced by Asian American communities.
2nd Annual Anna Maria Walsh Lecture
Speaker: Betsy O'Neill-Sheehan, LICSW, Clinician/Owner of Creative HeARTs Counseling in East Longmeadow
"Holding Self at the Center, Yours and Mine, Together"
Tuesday, April 8, 2025
3:00p.m.-4:00pm
Elms College Alumnae Library
Synopsis of Talk: While self-care and understanding is a crucial part of being available to show up and meet the challenges in our personal and professional lives, how well do we truly know what that means, how to care for self, and when self-care is the answer? (As in, you can’t self-care yourself out of a need for systemic change.) Through story and song, Betsy will journey with us through three levels of self-care, as well as how to truly access and share your authentic self. Betsy will take a deeper dive into the questions “Do you love yourself?”, “How well do you understand your beliefs, wants, and needs?”, and “Do you know how to hold yourself at the center?” and include strategies listeners can use in the future.
Speaker Biography: Betsy is a Clinical Social Work/Therapist with over 20 years of experience as well as a singer songwriter & author. She offers creative approaches to incorporating client interests with traditional counseling methods and current technology. She works with adults, families, and children and is trained and certified to work with trauma & anxiety and has a private practice called Creative HeARTs Counseling (https://www.creativehearts.us/). An additional website that has some basic information, is Betsy O'Neil Sheehan, LICSW (http://www.betsyoneillsheehan.com/). Betsy has written and published “Grace O’Malley – Queen of the Sea”, “Agi & the Thought compass”, and “Splinter”.
Volunteers Needed - Experiential Learning Showcase
The Office of Experiential Learning is excited to announce that the 2025 Experiential Learning Showcase will take place on Friday, May 2, 2025. This event will showcase various experiential learning activities like internships, research, study abroad, mission trips, and community-engaged courses that our students, faculty and staff have been involved in over the past year.
In order to make this event go as smoothly as possible, we are encouraging students, staff and faculty to sign up and volunteer for any length of time they are available. If you are able to volunteer, please complete the Experiential Learning Showcase Volunteer Sign Up Form by Monday, April 11, 2025. Please note, if you complete this form, we are expecting you to be available at the times you have indicated. More in-depth details and a confirmation will be sent out the week of the showcase.
If you are involved in the showcase, we would still love your help! Feel free to sign up for a time slot that works for your schedule that day.
If you have any questions about the showcase or volunteering, contact Dr. Jennifer Granger Sullivan, Director of Experiential Learning, at grangersullivanj@elms.edu
Thank you so much for your help and we look forward to seeing you on Friday, May 2nd!
The Experiential Learning Showcase Planning Committee
Jennifer L. Granger Sullivan, Ed.D.
Director of Experiential Learning
Dolores Donlin Noonan '39 Experiential Learning Program
Center for Student Success
SPRING 2025 ART EVENTS
“For a Pair o Wings”
Location: Borgia Gallery
Exhibition Dates: March 17- April 18
Opening Reception Date: March 27, 12:15-1:15
This exhibition is a retrospective exhibition by Hannah Hurricane about motherhood, the environment and birds. Hannah Hurricane has degrees in Environmental Science and Fine Arts. She divides her time between Florida and Texas
Gallery Closed for Installation: April 21- April 30
Please drop off student artworks in the gallery, April 21- April 30. All student work is welcome!
“Student Art Exhibition”: Borgia and Well Gallery
Exhibition Dates: Thursday May 1- May 19th
Opening Reception: Thursday May 1, 12:15-1:15
HUMAN RESOURCES
Elms College Employment Opportunities as of February 21, 2025
Applications are now being accepted for the positions listed below. Anyone interested in making a formal application should go to the Employment page on the Elms College website for a detailed job description and how to apply: www.elms.edu/employment
Open Positions
Assistant Baseball Coach - Pitching
Associate Dean of Graduate Nursing
Director of Graduate & Continuing Education
Director of Public Safety
Full-time Public Safety Officer
Part-time Public Safety Officer
Welcome to new employees:
Madison Rosado~ Grad and Continuing Education Admissions Counselor
Paula Lane-Major~ Administrative Assistant Grad and Continuing Education
Mallory Linn~ Undergraduate Admissions Counselor
Best wishes to departing employees:
Christopher Mattoon – Undergraduate Admissions Counselor
Among the procedures which may be used to select personnel to fill vacant positions are a review of work experiences, qualifications, degrees/licensures/certifications, and employment interviews. This listing pertains to all current staff and faculty job vacancies at the College.
Elms College is committed to a policy of equal opportunity without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, age, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, disability, military status, or genetic information in employment. It is the policy of Elms College to comply with applicable federal and state statutes, rules, and regulations concerning equal opportunity.
ELMS IN THE NEWS:
On January 30th, The Westerly Sun discussed celebrating Irish Women on St. Brigid’s Day in an article mentioning Edith de Faoite from Elms College.
On January 31st, in the Chicopee week of Business West, they discuss The Elms Promies in an interview with Dr. Dumay and discuss the new initiative.
In February, the Instagram Account @buildingsofnewengland shared photos and discussed the history of the Alumnae Library, Berchmans Hall and Gaylord Mansion.
On January 31st, Western Mass News mentioned Julie Beck in an article discussing the closing of Urgent Care facilities and its impact on patients and other primary care offices.
On February 4th, the Daily Hampshire Gazette mentions Elms College & GCC agreement where students can complete a 4 year degree from Elms at GCC.
On February 7th, The Desert Review mentions Elms student on Deans List.
On February 7th, HK news mentions Elms student on Deans List.
On February 7th, Patch mentions Elms College students on Deans List.
On February 7th, The Stanley News mentions Elms student on Deans List.
On February 8th, WN News mentions Elms College graduates.
On February 8th, the Berkshire Eagle mentioned Elms College student named as board member of 2nd Street.
On February 8th Morning Picker mentions Bre Marcyoniak as a trailblazer for women in sports.
On February 12 The Enterprise did a story about one of our alumni and his successful career in the music industry.
On February 14th, Apraxia Kids announced Professor Shelley Velleman as a part of their Professional Advisory Council.
On February 18th, Mass Appeal on WWLP hosted Elms College to discuss the Black Experience Summit.
On February 19th, New England Public Media mentioned The Black Experience Summit in their “Culture To Do” article.
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