 Pictured at the Elm-Ivy Award ceremony on April 30 are (front row, from left) Brian Edwards, Dolores Garcia-Blocker, Isiah Mack, Doris B. Townshend, Phyllis Seton (who helped found the awards with her husband, Fenmore), Dianne Davis, Lindy Lee Gold, Kathrine Burdick, Theresa Argento, Jessica Bialecki, (back row, from left) Yale Vice President for New Haven and State Affairs and Campus Development Bruce Alexander, New Haven Alderwoman Ina Silverman, Christoper Ozyck, Curtis Patton, City Chief Administrator Robert Smuts, Gabriel Hernandez, President Richard C. Levin, Robert Blocker and Yale Associate Vice President for New Haven and State Affairs Mike Morand. |
Town-gown partners honored
with Elm-Ivy Awards
Thirteen individuals who have promoted good relations between the City of
New Haven and Yale were honored recently with Elm-Ivy Awards.
President Richard C. Levin and City Chief Administrator Robert Smuts, representing
New Haven Mayor John DeStefano Jr., presented the awards at a ceremony held
on April 30 in the Presidents Room at Woolsey Hall.
The awards were established at Yale in 1979 by Fenmore Seton, Yale Class of
1938, and his wife Phyllis. The honors evolved from the Elm and Ivy Fund, also
created by the Setons, which identifies individuals from New Haven and Yale
whose work enhances understanding and cooperation between the city and University.
The awards are so named because New Haven is called the “Elm City” and
Yale is in the Ivy League.
Elm Awards are given to members of the New Haven community, and Ivy Awards
to Yale faculty, staff and students. Profiles of this year’s winners
follow:
Elm Awards
Theresa Argento, community activist and cultural leader. The longtime New Haven
resident “has reached out to her neighbors at Yale University to include
students, staff and faculty in the commemoration, celebration and perpetuation
of New Haven’s Italian-American heritage,” notes her citation.
She plays a major role in the annual feast of St. Andrew, the patron saint
of Amalfi, Italy; established, with support from Yale, a fund to provide college
scholarships to children of Amalfitano descent; and helped to revive the Columbus
Day Parade.
Dolores Garcia-Blocker, principal, Cooperative Arts and Humanities Magnet High
School. Garcia-Blocker’s citation describes her as “a gracious
and enthusiastic partner with Yale University, creating opportunities for her
students to spend time on Yale’s campus in classes, museums and libraries
as part of their course-work during the school year.” It adds, “Garcia-Blocker
is creating an intergenerational community of learners and practitioners in
the arts that stands proudly with the best in the nation.”
Lindy Lee Gold, civic activist. Describing her as “a catalyst, a connector,
a celebrator,” Gold’s citation notes, “Lindy has been a connector
with Yale University, linking people and resources from the University with
individuals and organizations making a difference in our hometown.” An
official with the state’s Department of Economic and Community Development,
Gold has “provided untold thousands of hours of her own free time as
a volunteer,” notes her citation. She has been active with the Anti-Defamation
League, Casa Otoñal, the Shubert Theater, the Arts Council and other
community groups.
Isiah Mack, president, Bristol Street Blockwatch, and former vice chair, Dixwell
Management Team. Last year, Mack worked in partnership with the Yale Urban
Resources Initiative to transform “a barren urban lot into a Southern
garden oasis,” notes his citation. As part of his work to improve the
Dixwell neighborhood, he supported neighbors’ efforts to expand and improve
Scantlebury Park — efforts, notes the citation, “that will come
to fruition this year as the city undertakes a project funded by Yale that
will double the size of the park and add to its amenities.”
Christopher Ozyck, greenspace manager, Urban Resources Initiative, Yale School
of Forestry & Environmental Studies (F&ES). Ozyck is “widely
known as someone who will support community-driven environmental projects,” notes
his citation. He has mentored 50 interns at the Yale initiative and this spring
will lead a team of students from area high schools and F&ES to plant 100
trees in city neighborhoods. He was lead organizer for the Vision Trail, the
Harbor Trail and the 2007 historic Quinnipiac River Loop Trail. He also is
the founding president of the board for the Elm City Parks Conservancy.
Doris B. Townshend, community historian. The author of six books and numerous
articles on local history, Townshend “has shone a bright and lasting
light on New Haven’s past that illuminates our present and offers guidance
for the future,” says her citation. She was a primary force in the restoration
of Fort Nathan Hale and the catalyst for the creation of a monument honoring
the Quinnipiacs, the region’s first inhabitants. “She has also
been a generous interlocutor for scholars from Yale and has graciously shared
her time and knowledge with her neighbors at the University,” notes her
citation.
Ivy Awards
Robert Blocker, the Henry and Lucy Moses Dean, Yale School of Music. During
his tenure, Blocker “has galvanized his school to launch a nationally
admired program with the New Haven Public Schools and excited Yale alumni donors
to be partners,” notes his citation. “The Class of ’57 Music
Education Project now reaches more than 20 New Haven public schools and involves
more than 40 Yale School of Music students. The program has helped make music
an integral part of life and learning in the public schools, regular nourishment
for the mind and the soul rather than an occasional treat.”
Kathrine Burdick, general secretary, Dwight Hall at Yale, The Center for Public
Service and Social Justice. For a decade, Burdick “has served as an adviser
to Yale students in all the various aspects of the work of Dwight Hall, including
program development, education and training, program management, Yale and community
partnerships, public relations, finances and fundraising,” notes her
citation. It adds that Burdick, who is retiring this year, leaves the organization “better
than when she came, true to its roots of service and well prepared to nurture
and educate future generations of servant leaders for New Haven and beyond.”
Dianne Davis, University Church. A graduate of the Yale School of Nursing who
works as a geriatric case manager at Yale-New Haven Hospital, Davis has been “a
steadfast member” of the University Church in Battell Chapel as moderator “during
a major transition period to a non-denominational church,” says her citation.
She worked “to ensure church members not formally affiliated with Yale
University had an important and continuing role in the University Church community
and governance,” says her citation, and has “linked Yale University
students active in the church with important work in New Haven.”
Dr. Curtis Patton, professor emeritus of epidemiology and public health, Yale
School of Medicine. Patton’s citation notes that his “care for
the power of history to inspire the present and make a better future” has
led him to bring attention to the legacies of two historic New Haveners: Edward
A. Bouchet, the first African-American graduate of Yale College and the first
in the United States to earn a Ph.D., and Dr. Cortlandt Van Rensselaer Creed,
the first African-American graduate of the Yale School of Medicine. “Thanks
to Curtis, you can go into just about any classroom in town and find young
people who know who Edward Bouchet was and what he accomplished,” notes
the citation. Patton also helped organize a tribute to Creed that included
the dedication of a permanent memorial to him at the Grove Street Cemetery.
Undergraduate Ivy Awards
Jessica Bialecki, Class of 2008. Bialecki’s citation describes the New
Haven native as “an extraordinary ambassador in uniting her hometown
and her university.” As an active leader at Dwight Hall since her first
semester at Yale, she was a President’s Public Service Fellow at the
New Haven Ecology Project; founded the Yale Freshman Day of Service; was president
of Best Buddies at Yale, which pairs Yale students with adults in New Haven
with intellectual disabilities; and championed a program to encourage members
of the Yale community to register for the new Elm City Resident’s Card.
Brian Edwards, Class of 2008. Edwards “personifies what can be achieved
through partnership,” says his citation. The Yale student helped institute
Mathcounts, a partnership between the New Haven Public Schools and the University
that promotes mathematics through organized competitions for city youths. Each
week, Yale undergraduates and city math teachers meet after school with students
to prepare for the competition, held on the Yale campus. Under Edwards’ leadership,
the program has expanded to include 40 undergraduates working in 24 schools
and serving more than 300 city students.
Graduate/Professional Ivy Award
Gabriel Hernandez, master’s student in urban education studies. A 2007
graduate of Yale College, Hernandez has served as an actor and mentor in the
Fair Haven-based Bregamos Theater. “The company, and Gabe’s involvement,
embody the best of New Haven as it unites grassroots activists with established
organizations and institutions, using theater to build community across and
beyond lines of race, class and neighborhood,” says the citation. As
a student in Yale’s Urban Teaching Initiative, an intensive master’s
degree program promoting urban education, Hernandez will begin a three-year
stint as a teacher in the New Haven Public Schools this fall.
T H I S
W E E K ' SS T O R I E S
Added sun does not lower breast cancer risk, warn expertsYale affiliates are honored with election to prestigious societies
Ten appointed members of American Academy of Arts & Sciences
Mathematician Peter Jones named to National Academy of Sciences
Ian Shapiro chosen to join American Philosophical Society
Strobel’s students rediscover sense of scientific ‘wonder’ . .
Yale to celebrate 307th graduation
Summertime at Yale
Scientist Joan Steitz wins nation’s largest prize in medicine
University names 18 future leaders as 2008 World FellowsENDOWED PROFESSORSHIPS
Mary E. Miller named Sterling Professor of the History of Art
Joseph Roach appointed Sterling Professor of Theater
Dr. Madhav Dhodapkar is the new Bunker Professor of Hematology
Dr. Richard Edelson is the first Lerner Professor of Dermatology
Architecture students helping to design Mideast Peace Park
China’s President Hu Jintao meets with participants in . . .
In Yale-led study, astronomers discover nine young galaxies . . .
Research on male mating behavior suggests brains may be unisex . . .
Paul Anastas honored as the founder of ‘green chemistry’
Town-gown partners honored with Elm-Ivy AwardsSCHOOL OF MEDICINE NEWS
Drug addicts can learn to save lives, says researcher
Study: No ‘Hollywood heart attack’ symptoms for most women
Findings suggest eating chocolate may be boon to pregnant women
Early-stage bone cells may offer possible estrogen replacement
Expert assesses lessons from 12 years of anti-smoking efforts
Computer program helps keep drug abusers abstinent, study shows
Noted gastroenterologist named chief medical officer at YMG
Yale Ob/Gyn researchers discuss their work at New Orleans meeting
Symposium on pain management aimed at medical school students
Exhibits explore artist’s Liverpool years, British watercolors
Two student-curated shows focus on the medium of photography
Library creates digital archive of ‘oldest college daily’
Two seniors will study at the University of Cambridge as Gates Scholars
Campus leaders discuss strategies for increasing staff diversity
Former Bucknell chaplain is named new pastor of University Church
Professor Miroslav Volf will co-teach class with . . .
Tony Blair
Council of Masters honors 10 juniors for their scholarship . . .
Conference focuses on ‘Women and Men in the Globalizing University’
The future of ‘Computers, Freedom and Privacy’ to be addressed . . .
Karyn Frick honored for contributions to women’s health
Campus Notes
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