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Pictured from left: Hope Vaughn ’19, Elizabeth Maher ’19, David Hodge (U.S. Department of State), Matt Clausen (100,000 Strong in the Americas), Erin FitzGerald, Dr. James Mitchell, Christopher Nova ’17 and Maggie Hug (100,000 Strong in the Americas).

In recognition of a new minor in Spanish tailored to students in the health and service majors, Salve Regina was one of eight universities in the Western Hemisphere to be honored with a “100,000 Strong in the Americas Innovation Fund Award” for promoting transnational institutional partnerships.

The winners, which include institutions from the U.S., Colombia, Mexico and Canada, were announced by the White House, U.S. Department of State, Partners of the Americas and NAFSA: Association of International Educators.

This is the third round of four grant competitions, which is supported by Santander Bank through Santander Universities. The competition was open to higher education institutions in all countries throughout the Western Hemisphere and to all fields of study.

In addition to Salve Regina, winners of the $25,000 grants include: Universidad EAN, Colombia; Universidad Tecnologica de Tijuana, Mexico; Vancouver Island University, Canada; College of Staten Island, CUNY, New York; Louisiana State University, Louisiana; Marian University, Indiana; and Towson University, Maryland.

The winning institutions are creating new and innovative partnerships that will increase student mobility to and from Latin America, the Caribbean and the United States. The goal of 100,000 Strong in the Americas, President Obama’s signature education initiative in the Western Hemisphere, is to increase the number of U.S. students studying annually in the Western Hemisphere to 100,000, and the number of Western Hemisphere students studying in the United States to 100,000 annually by the year 2020. The initiative is aimed at enhancing hemispheric competitiveness, increasing prosperity and preparing a more globally competent workforce.

Salve Regina’s Initiative

Salve Regina’s Department of Modern and Classical Languages and Office of International Programs worked in partnership with the Council on International Educational Exchange and Pontificia Universidad Catolica Madre y Maestra to develop a new minor in Spanish to incorporate a required six-credit, eight-week summer study and service program in the Dominican Republic.

“This minor, by developing students’ Spanish language skills and knowledge of Hispanic Caribbean cultures, will prepare students graduating from four of Salve Regina’s largest academic majors to better serve the local populations in Rhode Island, southern New England and other metropolitan areas nationally,” said Dr. James Mitchell, associate professor and chairman of the Department of Modern and Classical Languages. “The program is targeted at students majoring in nursing, social work, administration of justice and health care administration.”

“By focusing on majors which traditionally have a curricular barrier to semester study abroad and offering a cost-effective purposeful summer option for immersive study abroad, we will achieve a substantial increase in our institution’s mobility rates to the Western Hemisphere and put in place an infrastructure for continuous growth in mobility from these majors to this region in subsequent years,” said Erin FitzGerald, director of international programs.

The Dorrance H. Hamilton Gallery has announced the opening of “Natural Selections,” an exhibition of paintings, inkjet prints and sculptural ceramics born from a fascination with science and the natural world.

“Natural Selections” unites the creative work of Angela Cunningham, Maria Napolitano and Laurie Sloan. Together, the images and objects of these three New England-based artists blur the boundaries between the microscopic and the macroscopic, transforming the gallery into a vibrant laboratory space.

The exhibition runs through Wednesday, Nov. 9. On Thursday, Oct. 6, the campus community and the general public are invited to attend an opening reception for the artists, which will run from 5-8 p.m. in the gallery. The artists will also discuss their work in the gallery from 6-7 that evening.

Cunningham introduces the viewer to a new and enlivened species of sculptural ceramics. Her three-dimensional organic volumes are stunning mutations that swell and sprout, not unlike their counterparts in nature. From plants and animals, her forms have inherited captivating physical characteristics, unique coloration and elaborate surfaces. Cunningham operates Cunningham Ceramics in Somerville, Massachusetts.

Napolitano’s oil paintings describe a landscape just beyond our reach. Like the artifacts of an excavated civilization, her images present a puzzle-like network of organisms, diagrams and hieroglyphs. This is a mysterious world where botanical imagery is filtered through the lens of scientific illustration and mid-20th century abstract painting. Napolitano lives and works in Providence, Rhode Island.

In Sloan’s invented world, images evolve from file fragments into dynamic composites on a computer screen. Her specimens are an encyclopedic assortment of pictographs that she meticulously shapes and reshapes with design software. Through a hybridization of form and process that mines the sciences, both her inkjet and screen prints explore the possibilities for image growth and visual innovation. Sloan is an associate professor in printmaking at the University of Connecticut.

The gallery is handicap accessible with parking along Lawrence and Leroy avenues. Its exhibits are open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays and Fridays and noon to 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. The gallery is closed on Mondays.

Salve Regina’s Noreen Stonor Drexel Cultural and Historic Preservation Program, in collaboration with the Newport Restoration Foundation, will host its annual conference in Ochre Court Oct. 13-15.

“Preservation in the US: 50 Years On” will identify and discuss the successes and failures of historic preservation on the 50th anniversary of the National Historic Preservation Act. All members of the University community are invited to attend, and conference organizers are offering a limited number of free registrations to Salve Regina students.

The passage of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) in 1966 was a defining moment for historic preservation in the United States. Through the creation of institutions like state historic preservation offices and the National Register of Historic Places, the act marked the entry of the federal government into what had previously been more localized preservation efforts.

The ensuing five decades have seen a wide variety of outcomes, most of which are the consequences – intentional as well as unintentional – of relationships involving both the private and public sectors. As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the NHPA, the conference will reflect on this history and envision how the relationship between the NHPA and historic preservation might look in the future.

In addition to a keynote address from Tom King, author of “Saving Places That Matter,” the conference will include presentations, historic site tours and networking opportunities.

Visit the conference website to register, view the full schedule or learn more. Salve Regina students who would like a complimentary registration should select the “Salve Regina student registration” option on the online form.

Humanity is on the verge of multiple technological revolutions that will change how people work as well as the quality and length of their lives.

Lewis Duncan, provost of the U.S. Naval War College, will visit Salve Regina Wednesday, Oct. 5 to discuss the ethical and societal implications of these new technologies. Sponsored by the Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy, “The Ethical Challenge of New Technologies” will be held at 7 p.m. in the Young Building. To RSVP, visit the Pell Center’s Eventbrite page.

Internationally recognized as an accomplished research scientist in experimental space physics and radiophysics, Duncan is also a leading scholar in the societal and ethical implications of emerging technologies. He remains active in the field of international security studies, participates in national science and technology policy discussions, and is a frequent contributor on issues of higher education strategic change, technology-assisted student-centered learning and STEM educational reform.

Duncan serves on the board of directors of the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, responsible for management of the U.S. National Laboratory of the International Space Station. He is also an associated fellow of the U.N. Institute for Training and Research, supporting the U.N. Operational Satellite Applications Technology program.

For more information on Duncan’s lecture, contact the Pell Center at (401) 341-2927 or pellcenter@salve.edu.