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Learning Without Lecture Halls: Tales From the Classrooms of Adelphi
It makes me smile when movies portray college classes as cavernous lecture halls—an imposing and distant figure at the front, dwarfed by equations on the blackboard. It's common in movies—a couple of my favorites are Mona Lisa Smile and Good Will Hunting —but it's a sight you'll never see at Adelphi University . 

At Adelphi, you'll find Dr. Brian Stockman, associate professor of chemistry and department chair, teaching a five-hour biochemistry lab to 12 students who are conducting their own personally chosen research in minigroups. Dr. Stockman calls it “my favorite part of the week . ”

You'll also see Dr. Susan Zori, clinical assistant professor in our College of Nursing and Public Health, helping her class of nursing students come up with new and innovative ways to care for seniors; and they propose their ideas in the style of Shark Tank . (Their voice-assist smart cane brings tech to senior care—one of my favorite ideas.) 
You might not see Dr. Aaren Freeman, associate professor of biology and graduate coordinator of the Environmental Studies Program, in his classroom at all. He takes his students to explore the tidal estuaries in Maine for a "boots-in-the-mud" learning experience that brings his classroom to the coastline .

It is most certainly Adelphi's dedication to this unique teacher/student collaboration that continues to lift us in the rankings : We're up four places in U.S. News & World Report , 27 places in the Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education rankings, and 52 places in Money  magazine’s Best Colleges rankings.

In my view, small classes offer our students richer learning, more meaningful academic experiences and a stronger path to success. Read on and discover some of the ways we are skipping the large lecture hall experience—and are better for it—at Adelphi.
Christine M. Riordan, Ph.D.
President
Small classes in computer science make hands-on experiments in virtual reality possible.
Alongside a world-renowned anthropologist, an undergrad digs into the past
For anthropology major Deirdre McIntyre, a junior at Adelphi, a summer fieldwork project in Greece led by Professor Anagnostis Agelarakis, Ph.D., offered experience and insights that can't be gained in the classroom. Take a look .
Teaching small classes, researching the biggest issues

Adelphi faculty members are devoted teachers and mentors. They're also dedicated scholars whose research makes a significant impact in their fields and on society.
Legendary professor brings a light touch to his field: Economics has been parodied as a "dismal science," but the engaging classroom performances by 2018 Teaching Excellence Award winner David P. Machlis, Ph.D., make the subject downright entertaining.
Student nurses study real-life problems. With decades of experience in critical care and nursing administration, Susan Zori, D.N.P., knows what makes a good nurse: the ability to think critically. That's why her classes revolve around problem-solving rather than lectures.
Small classes, good chemistry. Brian Stockman, Ph.D., caps his biochemistry class at 12 students, then splits it into groups of three or four to devise and conduct their own experiments. It's a way for students to learn by testing their ideas instead of following a proven formula.
Great writers aren’t made in lecture halls. For students in Adelphi’s M.F.A. in Creative Writing program, working alongside great writers is not a distant goal. It happens every day in intensive writing workshops. See how this unique program shapes poets, novelists and teachers of writing.
When classes are a "shore" thing. Students in the marine biology class taught by Aaren Freeman, Ph.D., spend most of their time doing what he calls "boots-in-the-mud type work." At the start of this semester, that work took them on a trip to explore intertidal ecosystems in Maine.
With the help of mentors. Close working relationships between graduate students and faculty members are the norm at the Gordon F. Derner School of Psychology, producing important research and spurring career advancement. Just ask doctoral candidate Adam Natoli.
Athletics Update
Adelphi Panthers with stellar grades at their 2018 Commencement
Panthers Make the Grade
Student-athletes benefit from small class sizes at Adelphi, too. Not only do professors know them by name, they also know the sports they play—and not just from the gear they may wear to class. The Athletics Department encourages athletes to introduce themselves and work closely with their professors to stay on top of their studies despite expansive game and practice schedules.

Our athletes are flourishing as a result: 285 out of 356 earned at least a 3.0 GPA last spring. That percentage—80.1 percent—was the highest in the Northeast-10 Conference, making it the fifth time in the past six semesters that Adelphi led the league in that category. We also led the NE10 in student-athletes registering a perfect 4.0.
Alumni Spotlight
Join Us for Spirit Weekend 2018, October 11–October 14
Four days. Thousands of Panthers. Countless memories. It's the biggest weekend of the year for alumni, students, families, faculty and friends. Enjoy concerts, parties and luncheons, games, the second annual Legends Dinner, honoring Alice Hoffman '73, '02 (Hon.) , Mel Pender '76, '97 (Hon.) , and Kathleen Gallo, Ph.D. '95, M.B.A. '98 , and so much more. The events are open to all. For the full schedule of events and information about hotel accommodations, visit the Spirit Weekend website. See you there!
Momentum Tour 2018–2019
The Momentum Tour, Changing Lives, the Next Chapter: Sharing Our Stories, is making stops in the New York area and Boston this month. We'd love to see you at the All-Alumni Reunion Lunch on campus in Garden City on Saturday, October 13. From there, the tour will go to Westchester for an October 16 date in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York , and then to Boston on October 18. I hope you'll join me at one of these events and share the story of how your Adelphi experience helped transform your life.