New Student Life Staff

Important positions filled in Dean of Students Division

Wells College Associate Dean of Students Joel McCarthy and Director of Campus Involvement Alyssa Binns Gunderson have announced that Trina Nocerino, most recently of Syracuse University, and Rebecca (Becca) Cooper, a 2007 Wells College graduate, have joined the Student Life staff.  Nocerino will begin her duties as the new Director of Residence Life and International Student Services on August 1.  Cooper has already begun working as the Programming and Events Coordinator.

Trina Nocerino comes to Wells from Syracuse University, where she served as a full-time assistant residence director for three years and was then promoted to a residence director in the Office of Residence Life. She brings experience in resident advisor (R.A.) supervision, residential curriculum planning, advising, and training.  Nocerino earned both her Bachelor of Arts degree and her Master of Science degree in Higher Education Administration from Syracuse University.  

“Trina will be an outstanding addition to our Student Life staff,” said McCarthy. “She brings a wealth of residence life and training experience to Wells.  She is well connected to the field of student affairs and is an active member of several professional associations, including the Association of College and University Housing Officers – International (ACUHO-I).”  Trina completed an ACUHO-I internship at American University during her graduate studies.

Nocerino has presented at numerous conferences on a variety of student affairs topics, including diversity, training, and pop culture.  At Wells, Nocerino’s responsibilities will include supervising 17 RAs, implementing a support structure for international students, overseeing residential programming, and working directly with the Associate Dean of Students to create and implement an RA training program.

Becca Cooper joins the Student Life staff after graduating from Wells this spring with a Bachelor of Arts in performing arts and a minor in communications. She held many leadership positions during her four years at Wells, including positions as class officer and as a Collegiate Cabinet (student government) member. She participated on several student committees as well as various clubs and organizations. During 2006-07, as Collegiate president, Becca worked closely with the Student Life department to update documents and plan numerous programs.

Becca began her position as Programming and Events Coordinator on May 30 and continues to focus on the coordination of summer conferences in addition to working with student groups and space reservations during the academic year. 

“I am looking forward to working closely with Becca in the Office of Campus Involvement,” said Binns Gunderson.  “I hope that everyone will join me in congratulating Becca on her new position.” 

New Science Building Dedication

Activities planned for the last weekend of September

Save the Date 

Dedication ceremonies for the college's new science center, which will be named in honor of Ann Wilder Stratton ’46, will be held the last weekend in September! A full schedule with more details will be shared in the coming months. We hope you will join us to celebrate the opening of this wonderful new addition to campus. 

June, 2007

Each year, students nominate Wells professors for the Excellence in Academic Advising Award and the Excellence in Teaching Medal. Final selection is made by a committee comprised of two former recipients, an on-campus alumna, President of Collegiate, and the Director of Academic Advising. The Vice President for Academic Affairs convenes the committee. This year, the following honors were bestowed at Honors Convocation held on May 9, 2007:

EXCELLENCE IN ADVISING AWARD

Visiting Assistant Professor of Theatre Siouxsie Grady

Academic advising is a vitally important responsibility of the faculty at Wells College. The purpose of this award is to recognize the fundamental importance of academic advising to the students of Wells and to support faculty in their advising work. 

Five faculty members were nominated for the 2007 award. Among the comments made in Professor Grady’s favor: “There is no doubt that this professor fulfills the official role as an academic advisor superbly. There are any number of faculty members who do. What makes this advisor stand out however, is the ability and constant willingness to go above and beyond for advisees and students.” Another stated, “This professor is one of those amazing advisors who go far out of the way and way beyond the line of duty to help students. She is interested in my development as a person.” And another wrote, “My advisor gets so excited about the students’ desires and dreams, encourages them towards those dreams, and is always looking for ways to help the students grow towards them.  I have never heard her say that I could not do something.” 
 

EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING MEDAL

Associate Professor of Mathematics Thomas Stiadle

Excellence in teaching is most highly valued at Wells College. The College’s Excellence in Teaching medal recognizes the outstanding contributions of faculty. The intention of this award is to acknowledge the fundamental importance of the quality of teaching to the mission of Wells and to support faculty in their pursuit of excellence in teaching.

This year students nominated eight faculty members for the teaching medal. Regarding this year’s recipient, a student wrote “Professor Stiadle has the teaching of the subject matter down to an art form. It is conveyed with great knowledge and clear teaching… when someone asks a question, no matter how mundane, he patiently explains things again and somehow manages to make the second explanation so concise and understandable that even if you understood it the first time, you will likely gain a new understanding.” Stiadle was also described as “constantly striving to improve explanations by asking where people tended to get confused, which areas were hardest and why, or whether we understood what is being explained at the moment.” Another nominator said, “Through diligence in teaching and obvious enthusiasm for not only the subject itself but the logical thinking and principle behind the subject, has made my mornings consistently interesting and caused me to appreciate the beauty of the discipline more easily than ever before.” And lastly, a student stated, “I am nominating this professor because he is the champion of creating such exhilarating moments of understanding, and in so doing has inspired me to new levels of interest and enjoyment of math.” 

June, 2007

Joel McCarthy brings experience in residential life, planning, assessment

Wells College Dean of Students Anne Lundquist has announced that Joel McCarthy, most recently of Syracuse University, is Wells’ new associate dean of students for residence life. He will begin his duties on June 18.

Joel McCarthy comes to Wells College from Syracuse University, where he served as the coordinator for communications in the Office of Residence Life. He brings to Wells experience in staff selection and recruitment, orientation, advising, assessment and strategic planning. 

“Joel will be a great addition to our Student Life staff,” said Lundquist. “He brings a wealth of residence life experience to Wells, along with a rich background in diversity programming and intergroup dialogue planning and programming.  He is well-connected in the student affairs arena and we are pleased that he will be able to enrich our community with his ideas and energy.”

McCarthy has presented at national conferences on a variety of student affairs topics.  His article “The Evolution of a Learning Community:  Success Through Collaboration” is forthcoming in a book entitled Building Community: Stories and Strategies for Future Learning Community Professionals and Faculty. McCarthy earned his M.A. in higher education administration from Syracuse University and his B.A. in graphic design and secondary education from Bradley University. He is a member of the Intergroup Dialogue Planning Committee at Syracuse and the College Student Personnel Association of New York’s Planning Committee.

At Wells, McCarthy will be responsible for the residence life program, including residence assistant training and development, housing operations, and student disciplinary issues.  He will also oversee and implement the Community Standards program in the residence halls, and serve as advisor to the Student Diversity Committee.

For more information about Joel McCarthy’s appointment at Wells College, please contact Communications Director Kelly Tehan at 315/364-3260.

June, 2007

Two Wells women are honored for their volunteerism, service, humanitarian efforts

Carrie Bolton, president of the Wells College Alumnae Association, has announced the College’s two 2007 Alumnae Award recipients. Shirley Schou Bacot of Montclair, New Jersey, and Karen Eckberg Gottovi of Raleigh, North Carolina, will be honored on Saturday, June 2 during Wells’ annual Reunion Weekend. 

The Wells College Alumnae Award honors Wells women of high achievement in professions and careers, in volunteer and community work, in service to their alma mater, or in some combination of these endeavors. 

Shirley Bacot, Wells College Class of 1958, is recognized for her extraordinary volunteerism and for her indefatigable support of Wells. For more than 30 years, Shirley has volunteered at the Memorial Home for Aged People of Upper Montclair. As board president of the Senior Care and Activities Center of Montclair, she co-chaired that organization’s successful $3.1 million capital campaign undertaken to build a state-of-the-art elder day-care facility, which has since been named in her honor. Shirley has volunteered since the early 1980s with the New York Philharmonic; in 2005, she was unanimously elected to its board of trustees. 

In addition to a lifetime of exemplary community service, Shirley has been a generous donor and dedicated leader and volunteer for Wells. Beginning in the 1980s and continuing today, she has held almost every volunteer fund raising position available. She has also been an important supporter of the College’s internship program, partnering with late husband J. Carter Bacot to provide Wells students with experiential learning opportunities at the Bank of New York, where he was chairman and CEO for 16 years.

Both Shirley and Carter served Wells as trustees, Shirley from 1989 to 1998, culminating in five years as chair of the board. She led the College through the largest capital campaign in its history, exceeding the $50 million goal by $8 million. Her financial support and project leadership has also been instrumental in the creation of Wells’ new science facility.

Karen Gottovi, Wells Class of 1962, is honored for a distinguished career in public service, her commitment to the environment and outstanding leadership.

Karen’s career in public service began in North Carolina when she helped found a local chapter of the League of Women Voters. She went on to serve as New Hanover County commissioner, was appointed by the governor to the Coastal Resources Commission, and served in the North Carolina General Assembly. 

While in public office, Karen worked tirelessly for environmental issues, in particular the protection of North Carolina’s fragile coastline. As a state legislator, she helped secure funding to preserve Fort Fisher at the mouth of the Cape Fear River and to establish an aquarium in the area. Her promotion of environmentally sound development practices along the river helped make Wilmington a thriving commercial port again as well as an important historical site, adding greatly to the state’s economic growth. The North Carolina Wildlife Federation awarded her the coveted Legislator of the Year distinction in 1993.

In 1997, Karen was appointed director of the Division of Aging and Adult Services for the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. During her tenure, she oversaw the development of two of the state’s four-year State Aging Services Plans. Under Karen’s guidance, the division was able to implement a wide range of important programs and initiatives. Karen retired last year from the Division of Aging and Adult Services.

The Alumnae Award was established in 1968 as part of the Wells Centennial Celebration, and is presented by the President of the College at a convocation ceremony held during Reunion Weekend each spring. 

For additional information about Shirley Bacot, Karen Gottovi, and the annual Alumnae Award at Wells College, please contact Communications Director Kelly Tehan at 315/364-3260.

May, 2007

Dr. Leslie Miller-Bernal appointed Vice President of Academic Affairs

Wells College President Lisa Marsh Ryerson recently announced that Leslie Miller-Bernal has been appointed Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the College, effective immediately. Miller-Bernal has taught sociology at the College since 1975 and was appointed interim dean last August. 

Dean Miller-Bernal has advanced a number of important strategic planning projects, including the development of the Pilot Information and Learning Center in Long Library and initiating a ten-year academic planning effort.  In addition, she has broadened faculty participation in the academic budgeting process, developed new off-campus study programs, and improved and expanded library services to meet the changing needs of today’s learning community.

“I am confident Dean Miller-Bernal’s collaborative and decisive academic leadership, commitment to excellence for Wells, and broad-based support will serve her well in this new post,” President Ryerson said in her announcement to the campus community.

Miller-Bernal joined the Wells faculty in 1975 and was promoted to full professor in 1991. She earned her B.A. and M.A. at the State University of New York at Stony Brook and her Ph.D. at Cornell University. In her 31 years at Wells she has provided exemplary service in a variety of leadership capacities. In addition to prior service as associate dean of the College, she has served as both chair of the Social Sciences division and chair of the Sociology department, and on faculty committees including Advisory; Academic Standing and Advising; and Admissions and Financial Aid; as well as on important campus-wide planning committees. Miller-Bernal held the distinguished Frances Tarlton Farenthold Presidential Professorship from 2000 to 2005.

One of the nation’s leading scholars in her field, Miller-Bernal’s extensive body of work includes Separate by Degree: Women’s Experiences in Single Sex and Coeducational Colleges (2000); Going Coed: Women’s Experiences in Formerly Men’s Colleges and Universities, 1950-2000 (2004); and her newest book, released earlier this year, Challenged by Coeducation: Women’s Colleges Since the 1960s. In these works and numerous others, Dean Miller-Bernal uses case studies, interviews and historical evidence to track the evolution of both single-sex and coeducational learning.

“Becoming dean of the college at this point in Wells’ history is a wonderful opportunity and an awesome responsibility, in the true sense of the word ‘awesome’,” said Miller-Bernal. “With the growth in enrollment, a new science building, an institutionalized commitment to diversity, and development of our study abroad programs, including some in the non-Western world, Wells faces exciting challenges. As dean I hope to work with faculty, staff, and students to develop these initiatives more fully, all the while mindful of how our past as a women’s college puts us in a unique position to promote equality.”

Dean Miller-Bernal’s husband, Martin Bernal, is professor emeritus at Cornell University. He retired from the Department of Government in 2001, where he held a joint appointment with the Department of Near Eastern Studies. He is the author of Black Athena: the Afroasiatic Roots of Classical Civilization (Rutgers University Press, 1987) and Black Athena Writes Back: Martin Bernal Responds to his Critics, ed. David Chioni Moore (Duke University Press, 2001).

For more information on Miller-Bernal’s appointment at Wells College, please contact Kelly Tehan, communications director, at 315/364-3260.

May, 2007
 

Last updated 06/28/2007