Students Celebrate Earth Week

During a ceremony in her honor, Dr. Kathleen Hinge — the 2018 Friend of the Earth Honoree — helped plant a tree outside the Granito Center.

Students and faculty participated in a week of activities leading up to Earth Day on Sunday, April 22.  One of the highlights of the week was the planting of a tree in honor of Physics and Mathematics Professor Dr. Kathleen Conlon Hinge.  Dr. Hinge received the 2018 Friend of the Earth Award.

Chancellor of External Affairs Sr. Kathleen Sullivan, O.P., said Professor Hinge was chosen to receive the award because of her accomplishments as Science Department Coordinator. “She has introduced new courses and a minor in Earth Science and Environmental Sustainability,” said Sr. Kathleen. “ She also arranged for a visit to campus by a renowned environmentalist and Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellow who spoke to many classes and groups on “The Last Chance for the Earth:  Why Scientists and Citizens Must Act Now.”

Some of the other Earth Week activities included a campus seed planting, a sustainable cooking demonstration by celebrity chef Aarti Sequeira, a campus cleanup, and participation in the United Way Spring Day of Caring.

 

April 19, 2018

Visiting Fellow Urges Students to Speak Out About Climate Change

Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellow Dr. Robert K. Musil delivered a lecture entitled “Last Chance for the Environment? Why Scientists and Citizens Must Act” on March, 19, 2018 in the Fury Lecture Hall.

Environmental leader and author Dr. Robert K. Musil, head of the Rachel Carson Council and former CEO of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Physicians for Social Responsibility, urged students to speak out about climate change during a March 19, 2018 speech in the Fury Lecture Hall.

During his lecture entitled, “Last Chance for the Environment? Why Scientists and Citizens Must Act,” Dr. Musil said the science behind climate change is undeniable and the students should speak up, march, lobby, and finally, un-elect those who will not pay attention.

”Unless you all make it part of what you do – when you wake up, when you go to bed, and in 2018 – things aren’t going to change in your lifetime, and they will get very bad,” he said.  “There will be more Superstorm Sandys.  There will be more forest fires.  There will be more destruction of coastal lands. It will be bad.”

Dr. Musil is visiting Dominican College for several days and speaking with a variety of classes as part of the Council of Independent Colleges Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellows Program. This program brings prominent artists, diplomats, journalists, business leaders, and other nonacademic professionals to campuses across the United States for substantive dialogue with students and faculty members.

 

 

March 20, 2018

College Celebrates Earth Week

Dr. Bernadette Connors received the 2017 Friends of the Earth Award during a tree planting ceremony to kick off Earth Week at the College.

Dominican College kicked off its celebration of Earth Week on Tuesday, April 18,  by planting a magnolia tree at a ceremony honoring Biology Professor Dr. Bernadette Connors, who was given the 2017 Friend of the Earth Award. 

Chancellor Sr. Kathleen Sullivan, O.P. said Dr. Connors is a wonderful asset to the College and pointed to her work with students in cleaning up tributaries to the Hudson River. “She has given her life to the earth and its care and to the students who are learning how the earth is impacting our lives,” she said. 

Some of the other Earth Week activities are a campus cleanup on Thursday, April 20, a pond cleanup on Friday, April 21, and participation in the United Way Spring Day of Caring on Friday, April 21.  There is also a  photography exhibit in the Sullivan Library on the 2014 People’s Climate March in New York City.  For a complete listing of Earth Week events, check the calendar of events.  

April 18, 2017

College Holds Interfaith Discussion on Pope’s Encyclical on the Environment

Pope Panel and Radio 006

Representatives of several different religions participated in a panel discussion on Pope Francis’ “Laudato Si.”

The Pope’s encyclical on the environment was widely praised by representatives of several different world religions during a panel discussion at Dominican College on April 12, 2016.   Representatives of Catholicism, Judaism, Buddhism, and Islam took part in the discussion of Pope Francis’ Laudato Si’ in the Lawrence Room.

Rabbi Lawrence Troster said he was struck by the fact that the Pope said he was writing the encyclical for all people – not just Catholics. “And he’s not trying to prescribe for us what we’re supposed to do,” he said. “The Pope wants to start a conversation between everybody – no matter what you do or who you are, and that’s exactly what we’re doing here.  That in itself is a major achievement,”

The panel members stressed that there was an interconnectedness and oneness among all humanity when it comes to caring for the environment. The Reverend Monsignor Ed Ciuba said that everyone has a responsibility to the world and the planet, which is our common home. “We are all different. We all sing a different tune, but we have been made to sing in harmony and we are not singing in harmony.”

While the panelists all agreed there is much work to be done in caring for the environment, they also all had a message of hope. In speaking about the Pope, Islamic scholar Ibrahim Abdul-Matin said, “As human beings I think it’s pretty awesome that we have a spiritual leader who looks beyond the present and looks past the past that we acknowledge.”

Buddhist monk Bhikkhu Bodhi and Adam Hinge of Columbia University also took part in the discussion, which was sponsored by the Humanities Council.

 

April 13, 2016

Dominican College and Sparkill Creek Watershed Alliance Win Grant

Dominican College in collaboration with the Sparkill Creek Watershed Alliance (SCWA) has been awarded a grant through the Water Resources Grant Program of the NYS Water Resources Institute (WRI) at Cornell University.

The Water Resources Research Grant will support the development of a course-based service learning research project that will educate and train undergraduate students in the fields of ecology and molecular microbiology. Students in the courses Molecular Microbiology, Introduction to Ecology, and Research Seminar at Dominican College will be involved in an analysis of the diversity of plant species in the Sparkill Creek watershed area, and will determine the level and type of fecal contamination in this waterway. They will serve as hands-on researchers under the guidance of the Sparkill Creek Watershed Alliance and the Hudson Riverkeeper. The overarching goal of this project is to integrate novel research experience into the Biology curriculum at Dominican College. This research will encourage students to understand the role of “citizen science” while they learn how science professionals who continue in STEM professions and/or graduate studies can serve citizen science and the waterways. The grant will provide funds from April 2015-April 2016.

According to Dr. Madeline Mignone, Associate Professor of Biology and Dr. Bernadette Connors, Assistant Professor of Biology at the College, “The students will benefit from the hands-on experience that this grant makes possible. The course-based service learning project will provide the students with research experience and gives them a sense of community, as they are working with SCWA (a very active and respected citizen scientist) group that has done much in monitoring the Sparkill Creek waters for Riverkeeper.”

Laurie Seeman, Director of the SCWA adds, “Partnership means that there is a shared learning community being developed that is dedicated to the health and well- being of the waterway. The waterway has no voice, except for what we say. Science and data is a language that is a bridge between the citizens and the government and decision makers. Therefore, developing the best science is one of the most important ways to help the creek.”

The Sparkill Creek Watershed Alliance (SCWA) is a community action group committed to promoting environmental awareness, partnerships and practices that restore and preserve the health of the Sparkill Creek and watershed. SCWA has partnered with Riverkeeper over several years by taking water samples at sixteen sites monthly during the months of May to October. This partnership was the first tributary assessment citizen partnership undertaken by Riverkeeper, and has become a model for working with other watershed groups.

The Mission of the New York State Water Resources Institute (WRI) is to improve the management of water resources in New York State and the nation. WRI is uniquely positioned, being federally and state mandated and located on a University campus, to access resources and technologies that are best practices in water management needs. WRI serves as a connection between the water research and water management communities, addressing critical water resource issues. In collaboration with partners around the state, WRI creates and sustains a large network of cross-discipline water resources researchers and managers. They also improve the quality and quantity of information regarding water resources management and technologies available and share their knowledge with educators, managers, and policy makers.

Dominican College, a 2014 College of Distinction, is an independent institution of higher learning, Catholic in origin and heritage. In the tradition of its Dominican founders, it fosters the active, shared pursuit of truth and embodies an ideal of education rooted in the values of reflective understanding and compassionate involvement.

December 18, 2014

Dominican College and Sparkill Creek Watershed Alliance Win Grant

Dominican College in collaboration with the Sparkill Creek Watershed Alliance (SCWA) has been awarded a grant through the Water Resources Grant Program of the NYS Water Resources Institute (WRI) at Cornell University.

The Water Resources Research Grant will support the development of a course-based service learning research project that will educate and train undergraduate students in the fields of ecology and molecular microbiology. Students in the courses Molecular Microbiology, Introduction to Ecology, and Research Seminar at Dominican College will be involved in an analysis of the diversity of plant species in the Sparkill Creek watershed area, and will determine the level and type of fecal contamination in this waterway. They will serve as hands-on researchers under the guidance of the Sparkill Creek Watershed Alliance and the Hudson Riverkeeper. The overarching goal of this project is to integrate novel research experience into the Biology curriculum at Dominican College. This research will encourage students to understand the role of “citizen science” while they learn how science professionals who continue in STEM professions and/or graduate studies can serve citizen science and the waterways. The grant will provide funds from April 2015-April 2016.

According to Dr. Madeline Mignone, Associate Professor of Biology and Dr. Bernadette Connors, Assistant Professor of Biology at the College, “The students will benefit from the hands-on experience that this grant makes possible. The course-based service learning project will provide the students with research experience and gives them a sense of community, as they are working with SCWA (a very active and respected citizen scientist) group that has done much in monitoring the Sparkill Creek waters for Riverkeeper.”

Laurie Seeman, Director of the SCWA adds, “Partnership means that there is a shared learning community being developed that is dedicated to the health and well- being of the waterway. The waterway has no voice, except for what we say. Science and data is a language that is a bridge between the citizens and the government and decision makers. Therefore, developing the best science is one of the most important ways to help the creek.”

The Sparkill Creek Watershed Alliance (SCWA) is a community action group committed to promoting environmental awareness, partnerships and practices that restore and preserve the health of the Sparkill Creek and watershed. SCWA has partnered with Riverkeeper over several years by taking water samples at sixteen sites monthly during the months of May to October. This partnership was the first tributary assessment citizen partnership undertaken by Riverkeeper, and has become a model for working with other watershed groups.

The Mission of the New York State Water Resources Institute (WRI) is to improve the management of water resources in New York State and the nation. WRI is uniquely positioned, being federally and state mandated and located on a University campus, to access resources and technologies that are best practices in water management needs. WRI serves as a connection between the water research and water management communities, addressing critical water resource issues. In collaboration with partners around the state, WRI creates and sustains a large network of cross-discipline water resources researchers and managers. They also improve the quality and quantity of information regarding water resources management and technologies available and share their knowledge with educators, managers, and policy makers.

Dominican College, a 2014 College of Distinction, is an independent institution of higher learning, Catholic in origin and heritage. In the tradition of its Dominican founders, it fosters the active, shared pursuit of truth and embodies an ideal of education rooted in the values of reflective understanding and compassionate involvement.

December 18, 2014