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College of Arts and Sciences Newsletter
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Volume 1, Number 1, January 2016
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Thomas Stanwood, a 2008 Philosophy alum, has his eye on gold. Shooting 100 arrows a day, he's training for the Olympic trials in archery. As a teenager, he watched the movie trailer for Robin Hood and realized he wanted to be just like the fictional character. "In the trailer, Robin Hood looked pretty cool shooting arrows," Tom said. "So I began shooting tree stumps in my Middleboro neighborhood." He competed locally, won a handful of state and New England championships, and still holds local records. But like any seventeen-year-old, Tom developed other interests and put his compound bow on the shelf.
In 2009, the Suffolk law student picked up the Olympic bow for the first time. Although it was physically demanding, Tom wasn't surprised that he was good. "I remembered I was good when I first started shooting arrows as a kid," he said. "So I expected to be good." Tom was so good that he tried out for the 2012 Olympic Archery team. Unfortunately, he was named an alternate and missed out on bringing home the silver medal. But he didn't give up. "I don't want to be a what-if guy," he said. "I don't want to be 60 years old wishing I did it again."
Now the full-time lawyer is getting ready for April's Olympic trials. At these trials, the field will be dwindled down to the top eight archers in the country. And in May, the trials will cut the field down to the top three. The final three archers travel to Rio de Janeiro in August for the 2016 Summer Olympics. Tom hopes to be one of them. "I want to see what I am capable of," he said.
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Hoover Dam and the Shaping of the American West
This July, Professor Anthony Arrigo will travel to the Black Canyon of the Colorado River and host a workshop titled, Hoover Dam and the Shaping of the American West. The workshop is part of a series of workshops funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Landmarks of American History and Culture Workshop for School Teachers. It brings together thirty-six teachers from across the nation for an intensive learning experience about Hoover Dam's role in shaping the American West.
During the NEH funded workshop, leading scholars will guide participants as they examine archival materials such as letters, photographs, and oral histories. The teachers will learn about the challenges and triumphs of Hoover Dam's construction process, as well as the physical workings of the dam and its distinctive architectural design. But the goal of the workshop is to show that the story of Hoover Dam is more than just its physical stature. It will investigate the overarching implications of Hoover Dam's construction including politics, law, economics, engineering, labor, gender, race, class, and the environment.
Years ago, Professor Arrigo visited Hoover Dam. His visit sparked the ideas for his book, Imaging Hoover Dam: The Making of a Cultural Icon, and writing his book helped lay the groundwork for this summer's workshop. "Hoover Dam is celebrated as a great feat of Americanism, and it is that," Arrigo said. "But the photographs tell a different side, a different aspect."
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A Brand-New Learning Space
When students returned to campus on January 25th, they received a belated holiday gift. The second floor of the Liberal Arts building endured a major renovation, and a brand-new space, which is near the Writing and Reading Center, welcomed returning students. The space, called The Learning Commons, is for students, faculty, and staff to use as a 'touch down' spot. It has four learning pods that are reservable meeting booths for 4-5 people.
Because of their collaborative design, the learning pods provide multiple levels of interaction and allows for group study, casual conversation, and productive meetings. "
I've been watching the new space take shape over the last month and I love it," said Dr. Amy Shapiro, Associate Dean for the College of Arts and Sciences. "Our hard working students deserve a great space like this to work, collaborate, and socialize."
The space, which is open for use as long as the building is open, also offers ten open-model computer stations and a multi-function device that prints, copies, and scans documents. The new area is controlled and managed by the university's Computing and Information Technology Services (CITS), and students need to reserve the booth tables. To do so, they can use the new Crestron touch screen pad at each pod. The pad is connected directly to ReservIt and displays availability in real-time. There is also signage indicating how to contact CITS with questions, comments or training.
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Copyright © 2015 University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. All Rights Reserved.
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