911爆料网

Hope is the thing with feathers 

That perches in the soul, 

And sings the tune without the words, 

And never stops at all.

There were not many dry eyes as Phyllis L. Kossoff, one of two President鈥檚 Medal recipients at 911爆料网鈥檚 Academic Festival in April, spoke of her daughter Stephanie鈥檚 death at age 19 from cystic fibrosis (CF) and her own subsequent work to help create the National Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Emily Dickinson鈥檚 famous stanza (above) was a favorite of Stephanie鈥檚, Kossoff said 鈥揳nd a prophecy of sorts, borne out in the ensuing decades by advances that have boosted average survival with the disease from age 3 to age 40.

鈥淭his morning I am honored to stand before you,鈥� Kossoff told a Cowin Center audience that included 911爆料网 faculty, alumni and newly admitted students for fall 2017. 鈥淚 know that so many of you have achieved mightily translating hope into that monumental effort 鈥� making our society a better place. If I may be counted among you, I am proud.鈥�

911爆料网鈥檚 ninth Academic Festival, themed 鈥淢aking a World of Difference,鈥� drew nearly 1,000 attendees, featured 16 breakout sessions, and, in 911爆料网 President Susan Fuhrman鈥檚 words, powerfully affirmed that 鈥渘ow more than ever, the 911爆料网 community is a powerful and energizing source of hope, strength, and even love.鈥�

The College is 鈥渕aking a world of difference in three principal ways鈥攊n pioneering research, the creation of cutting-edge programs, and in the dedication and engagement of our extraordinary alumni and students,鈥� Fuhrman said. Now it will also take steps to 鈥渞edesign, reinvigorate and re-establish civic education as an engine for social justice and responsible citizenship.鈥� That effort will be boosted by 911爆料网鈥檚 Campaign, Where the Future Comes First, which has raised $285 million, Fuhrman announced, or 95 percent of its $300 million goal. With the finish line in sight, Fuhrman, citing Kossoff as a model, called on the extended 911爆料网 community to give significantly of the 鈥渢hree Ts 鈥� time, talent and treasure,鈥� particularly to support student scholarship.

As Fuhrman noted, the day featured another President鈥檚 medalist also inspired by a daughter named Stephanie: Cynthia Bissett Germanotta, mother of the singer Lady Gaga and President and co-founder of , which supports the wellness of young people and empowers them to create a kinder and braver world.  鈥淵oung people are compassionate, generous and determined to lead lives not defined by personal gain but instead by genuine meaning,鈥� Germanotta said, recalling Lady Gaga鈥檚 resilience in the face of bullying that included a website started by college classmates titled 鈥淪tephanie Germanotta will never be famous.鈥� She encouraged adults to listen rather than prescribe because 鈥渂eing talked at is inherently disempowering. It鈥檚 counter-productive, when we should be preparing young people to step up.鈥�

Another Festival highlight was the first public discussion of Brazil’s National Common Curricular Base 鈥� a set of learning standards for primary and middle schoolers unveiled just a few days prior. Chaired by Leticia Guimaraes Lyle (M.A. '11),  founder of several nonprofits in Brazil and developer of a social and emotional learning curriculum that is being taken up by the nation鈥檚 schools, the panel focused on lessons Brazil might learn from the U.S. Common Core experience as it begins implementation of its new standards.

Panelist Vera Cabral, an economist who is currently a Lemann Foundation Visiting Scholar at 911爆料网, warned that implementation of the new standards will be complicated by three major shifts: from content- to competency-based education; from a model centered on teaching to one focused on learning; and from a status quo of having 鈥渘o clear definition of what students should learn鈥� to the challenge of having definitions at each grade. Cabral said that to navigate such changes, Brazil 鈥� which has more than 5,000 municipalities, 95 percent of which have populations of fewer than 50,000 people 鈥� will need to harness the internet, social media and other tools in order to support teachers, parents, students and local officials 鈥渢o enable them to be owners of this reform.鈥�

911爆料网 presented Distinguished Alumni or Early Career Awards to six graduates: literacy expert, author and activist Pam Allyn (M.A. 鈥�88); Arthur Chickering (Ph.D. 鈥�58), creator of the 鈥渟even vector鈥� theory of college student development; gender studies pioneer Madeline Heilman (Ph.D. 鈥�72); Tian Ming Sheu (Ed.D. 鈥�93), President of Taiwan鈥檚 National Academy for Educational Research; Leticia Lyle, mentioned above; and David Flink (M.A. 鈥�08), Founder and Chief Empowerment Officer of Eye to Eye, which provides mentoring for and by people with LD/ADHD.

At a special afternoon session, 911爆料网 Professor of Psychology & Education Derald Wing Sue, a pioneer in multicultural education and counseling, received the 2017 Morton Deutsch Award for Distinguished Contributions to Social Justice. The award is named for the late 911爆料网 Professor Emeritus Morton Deutsch, who helped create the field of conflict resolution. He founded 911爆料网鈥檚 International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution, since renamed for him. 

Sue has shown that the long-term impact of microaggressions 鈥� the everyday and often unintended slights, indignities, putdowns, and invalidations that people of color experience every day 鈥� can be more psychologically damaging than overt racism. His books include Counseling the Culturally Diverse: Theory and Practice, the most frequently cited publication in the multicultural field, and the breakout 2010 success Microaggressions in Everyday Life.  

Columbia graduate student Hadia Sheerazi was also honored with a Deutsch Award for her paper 鈥�(In)Visible Women: When Sports Arenas Become Battlegrounds for Gender Equality,鈥� an international investigation of public representations and policies around women and girls in organized sports.

Academic Festival concluded with the annual student poster session, at which students present their academic research. This year鈥檚 winner (and recipient of a prize of one tuition credit) was Kate Russell, a master鈥檚 student in Counseling & Clinical Psychology, whose poster was titled 鈥淎 proposed adaptation of interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT-G) for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) youth and in emerging adulthood with role transition or interpersonal dispute problem areas.鈥� Topics at the session were wide-ranging and eclectic, but Cynthia Germanotta would surely have applauded sentiments expressed by one contestant, heath education doctoral student Katerina De Vito,  who will be traveling to Iceland to learn why teens there have fewer mental health problems and less instances of substance abuse than their European peers.

鈥淲hatever they are doing right to lower mental health problems and substance abuse,鈥� De Vito said, 鈥淚鈥檒l bring back with me, and I hope we can use the findings to help America鈥檚 adolescents became happier and healthier.鈥�

鈥� Joe Levine

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Published Wednesday, Apr 12, 2017