AN EXPEDITION INTO SPAIN’SHISTORY AND CULTURE

Jay Cinq-Mars shares his experiences conductingarchival research on theSpanish Civil War. PAGE 4

BRYCE CANYON

Share the thrill of a studentovernight backpacking tripthrough the backcountry ofBryce Canyon. PAGE 6

THE FOURTH ANNUAL HONORS EVENING

A photographic essay PAGES 8-9

TWO NIGHTS OF JAZZ

Jazz lectures and PizzaSeminars, find out what'shapppening this fall. PAGE 11

HonorsP E R S P E C T I V E

Volume 3 - Fall 2007

Fourth Annual Honors Evening

At the Fourth Annual Honors Evening, twenty-five students presented their Junior/SeniorHonors Projects to several hundred guests including Provost Ahmed Abdelal, Executive ViceProvost Susan Powers-Lee, Associate Deans Rick Scranton, Richard Rasala, and Chester Britt,and many faculty mentors and fellow students. For the first time, twelve students engaged inHonors Seminar Research also joined in the poster presentations along with several studentsengaging in shorter-term research projects for a record total of thirty-nine presentations in theCurry Student Center Indoor Quad. These presentations help to further cement the commit-ment of the Honors Program and the University to undergraduate research.

Dinner followed in the West Addition of the Curry Student Center. After greetings fromExecutive Vice Provost Susan Powers-Lee and Andrew Cabasso, President of the HonorsStudent Council, students were treated to a rousing address from Professor Emmett Price from the Department of Music, who lived up to his fame as a great speaker by challenging students to reach beyond what they think they can do in order to do their best work.

Each student presenter was recognized for their work. Additional recognitions were made ofHonors students who won the 2007 Presidential Scholarship, the Goldwater Scholarship, andour first-ever National Collegiate Honors Council Partners in the Parks Awards. Efforts of theHonors Student Council officers, the First Year Reading Committee, and the EnhancingHonors Committee were also recognized.

To top off the jubilant tone of the event, graduating seniors received Honors cords to wear attheir graduation ceremony. The consensus was that this evening was our “best ever” and welook forward to topping it next spring!

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Director’s WelcomeAs always, spring flew by with great classes, tons of committee work, and successful events including ourAlum Network Evening. Our annual Honors Evening in April was an opportunity to recognize the accom-plishments and efforts of a number of students including those who completed their Junior/Senior HonorsProject. Provost Ahmed Abdelal, along with many faculty, listened attentively to a number of research presen-tations during the poster sessions. That evening, after dinner, seniors flipped their "Honors cords" overtheir shoulders in preparation for graduation.

Last spring's work will carry us through a series of fall Honors efforts starting with Michael PatrickMacDonald's book, Easter Rising, chosen for the First-Year Reading Project. Our thanks go out to the stu-dents, faculty and staff that read from a wide selection of possible choices before reaching this decision.MacDonald visited campus on September 2.

This fall's Enhancing Honors 101 course for first year students is made possible in part by the efforts of thestudent led Enhancing Honors Committee. Some committee members attended workshops at the NCHCnational meetings in Philadelphia last fall with Honors Program staff and returned to spearhead this projectto develop a curriculum guideline, a mentor job description, and facilitate a series of spring workshops withprospective mentors. Almost thirty upper-class mentors will work with us on this course. An additionalgroup of seven upper-class teaching assistants will provide support in Professor Susan Setta's course,Theology, Ethics and Practice in the World's Religions, during the fall semester. These two courses are part of alarger initiative for entering students called the First Year Inquiry Series, a new opportunity that expandsupon the success of the Honors Interdisciplinary Seminars for advanced students.

Check inside for pictures shot by our five “reps” who we helped send to Bryce Canyon, Utah, to participate ina NCHC Partners in the Parks adventure in May. We hope to continue to support these trips over the nextyear, so be sure to look for application announcements. Tales of heavy-duty hiking and maybe a “tall tale” ofbear sighting characterized this particular adventure.

Congratulations go out to our new Honors Student Council officers: President - Andrew Cabasso, Vice-President - Barbara Lee, Treasurer - Mariam Hovhannisyan, Secretary - Pamela King, Co-AcademicChairpersons - Rebecca Rabino & Michael Grant, Co-Events Coordinators - Leah Rondon & TheresaLangschultz.

The office is humming along - we've just celebrated our first year in our new digs at WVF. We'll be headingto Denver in late October to attend NCHC meetings and plan on returning with lots of ideas and “honors”inspiration. As always, don't hesitate to contact me about both program ideas and concerns. Hope you candrop by…

Professor Maureen Kelleher, Director

3 www.honors.neu.edu

Seminar ProfileSeminar students attended the 13th Americas’ Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS) in Keystone, Colorado

Can you read the Rosetta Stone? What happened to the filet mignon I FedExed?

These were some of the questions raised in the Honors Seminar: Information Quality: Technology and Philosophy, this past spring. Theanswers were as diverse as the students' majors (Physics, Computer Science, English, International Business, Management InformationSystems, and Electrical Engineering).

Our seminar focused on Quality Information emerging as a new asset and currency for organizations. In the seminar we also discussed howinformation quality is defined, measured, analyzed, and improved using lenses from various areas such as information quality, organizationallearning, computer science, management information systems, and philosophy. Students learned how different perspectives from differentdisciplinary areas are used to frame and solve information quality problems differently in the global information flow. The students alsodeveloped a global game of information quality, reflecting upon different perspectives and resulting analyses.

Specifically, one group of entrepreneurial students developed a papercalled CEIP Maps, Context-embedded Information Product Maps.Sam Chase, Jonathan Fisher, Andrew Leinung, Dillon McDowell, MJParadiso, Jon Simons and Chris Yarsawich collaborated on the presen-tation and publication of the research paper, CEIP Maps: Context-embedded Information Product Maps and presented to President Aounat the Research Scholarship Expo on March 28.

The students also submitted their paper to the prestigious 13thAmericas Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS) in Keystone,Colorado, where nearly a thousand researchers from 35 countries hadgathered. We were delighted to learn that we would be joining inter-national scholars in Colorado in August. The response from the audi-ence was fantastic. The students received a huge applause after pres-entation. The attending scholars were extremely surprised that under-graduates could conduct a research and have their papers accepted.Many researchers wanted to use the IP Maps, what we developed inthe research, and also wanted students to come and present again.

Each student took a piece of the project:

“Trade request denied-fee Mismatch,” the error message read. JonSimons examined the paradigm context of the financial transactioninformation in a global financial company to investigate the reasonsfor the failed inter-organizational transaction process. It turns out thatdifferent rules for fee calculation created the mismatch.

“Cannot report HAART.” Andrew Leinung explained the role contextof medical information in an AIDS clinic, examining how the data ele-ments for Highly Active Antiretroviral Treatment (HAART) informa-tion were collected by doctors, stored by the IT department, and usedfor reporting HAART information to the state.

Sam Chase discovered a bottleneck associated with automated X-rayanalysis in an English hospital. He further tested the usability of theCEIP in the hospital. MJ Paradiso investigated how the place context ofinformation could be explicated in a small real estate company, and ledthe presentation at the AMCIS conference. Jonathan Fisher analyzedinformation contexts at a small tutoring company using a template.Chris Yarsawich demonstrated how an improved product map expli-cates hidden problems in a document service company. He also ledthe writing of many drafts of the paper. Dillon McDowell also used theCEIP template in a healthcare organization and

The class began with principle-based learning and moved on to prob-lem-based learning during which students' integrated theory withreflections on their co-op work experiences. The students plan to con-tinue with their new-found interest in research in their careers no mat-ter which path they choose.

Yang Lee is an Associate Professor in the Information, Operations, and Analysis Group, College of Business Administration.

Student ProfilesAn Expedition into Spain's History & CultureImmediately after finishing my spring semester, I journeyed acrossthe Atlantic to conduct archival research in Spain. Sponsored by aProvost Undergraduate Research Grant, I traveled to half a dozen ofthe country's most beautiful cities in as many weeks, includingMadrid, Salamanca, Cordoba and Sevilla. My itinerary, whichchanged unexpectedly on site, revolved around a three week stay inSalamanca, home of the Archivo General de la Guerra CivilEspañola. There, I studied documents pertaining to Soviet espionageoperations of the Spanish Civil War of 1936-39, specifically those ofthe KGB's Spanish arm, the Servicio de Investigación Militar, created at the behest of a Soviet master spy. The endeavor provedimmensely fruitful, and indescribably exciting, as I not only copiedover 5,000 pages of relevant material but developed incrediblefriendships that have made a return trip in the near future a virtual certainty.

My adventures began on Thursday, 26 April, a long day thatinvolved nine hours of flight time, a three hour train ride and a hardlesson in riding Madrid's modern metro system, the third largest inthe world, in between - in all a distance of some 4,000 miles trav-eled from my home in Warwick, Rhode Island. Two semesters'worth of preparation paid off that day, easing the transition consid-erably. Professors Jeffrey Burds, of the History Department, andStephen Sadow, of Modern Languages, each kindly offered opportu-nities for directed studies during the two semesters prior to my trip.They guided me through mountains of material, helping to bringboth my language and research abilities to the levels necessary to doproper investigations overseas. Dr. Maureen Kelleher in the HonorsProgram also supported that truly joint effort.

Fortunately, everything proceeded smoothly that day and I arrived atthe archives on time to meet Dr. William Chase, professor of historyat the University of Pittsburg. Professor Chase, conducting his ownresearch, introduced me to the staff and guided me through all thebureaucratic idiosyncrasies. Weeks before, Dr. Burds had ensuredour meeting took place, supplying me with his former colleague'scontact information. I spent the rest of the day acquainting myselfwith the material and with Salamanca generally. The next dayspassed as if hours, and before I knew it my initial, brief stay in

Salamanca ended. I excitedly headed south by train to Cordoba tomeet with an old friend, Ismael, then studying translation at thecity's renowned university. Though I was anxiously anticipating myreturn, I never came to regret leaving, as I learned more with himin the weeks that followed than I could ever have imagined.

The remainder of my journey, about forty days in all, flashed by mein an instant. I moved from plaza to plaza, city to city as if guidedby fate. Ismael, his friends and I explored not only every corner ofCordoba, but Seville, Spain's cultural capital, and also Gerena, hishometown to the northwest. I experienced every facet of southernSpanish - rather, Andalusian - culture, from local cuisines and soc-cer rivalries (¡Sevilla F.C., hasta la muerte!), to provincial politicsand of course, the region's famous nightlife. Two weeks later, Ireturned to Salamanca and energetically completed the work I hadset out to, receiving a lesson in the unpredictability of archivalresearch during my final days. Seventy two hours before leaving thecity, I came across a treasure trove of invaluable material document-ing various key battles and joint Soviet-Spanish espionage operations.The find ultimately led to a great deal of frustration, and evenunnecessarily extended the trip, but it all proved worthwhile.

The most exciting moment? Midway through my stay inSalamanca, I met and befriended David Ruiz Miguel, a 25 year-olduniversity student. David, along with a dozen friends, had traveledto the city from his hometown of Fuenlabrada in Madrid for a week-end of relaxation and fun. We got to know each other so well thathe invited me to return with him and stay with his family. I grate-fully accepted and spent my final days in Spain exploring thenation's bustling capital city. It turned out to be fate. Luis, David'sfather, serves as a policeman in Spain's Policia National, whose originalmembers comprised the Servicio de Investigación Militar during theCivil War. In a series of interviews, he explained the history of everycorps of the Spanish police force, from that conflict to the presentday. Our friendship grew even more, and his family in many waysbecame mine. Incredibly, before I left, Luis told me that, if ever Iam in Spain again, I must return to his home. I most certainlyintend to.

-Jay Cinq-Mars, history, '10

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left: Salmanaca Cathedral, Spain

above: Jay Cinq-Mars ‘10

behind: Spanish Civil War document

5 www.honors.neu.edu

The Effect of Ecotourism in Southern MexicoIn the fall of 2006, when I decided to switch into the HumanServices department, my academic life suddenly kicked into highgear. Within days of joining the major, I applied to the HumanService Summer I Dialogue program to Mexico. From there, mycuriosity and enthusiasm just grew and grew. I soon discovered thatI was eligible to apply for a research grant from the Provost andhoping to expand the experience of the Dialogue program, I beganto investigate potential research topics in Southern Mexico.

Drawing from my background of interest in Ecology and outdooradventure, I proposed to continue to travel in Mexico in order toexperience first hand the development and impact of Ecotourism. Iwas very shocked by the results of this research project. Going intoit I was expecting to be greeted by the kinds of programs and tours Ihad researched on the Internet. However, there is a huge discrepancybetween what an American tourist can do through an Americanagency and what an average Mexican tour guide can offer. Themeaning of the phrase “Ecotour” seems to be completely lost intranslation. Expecting to be guided through lush wilderness andeducated in the local ecology, we found instead that we were met bydesperately under-funded guides hoping to make a little moneyhowever they could. One of our “ecotours” guided us literally pastnot only a quarry but also a garbage dump!

At least hoping to find the high costs of these tours being redistrib-uted back into local communities, I was upset to see that all the besttours were run completely independently of the local people. Evenworse, instead of finding a keen interest in ecology, my inquiriesabout environmental tourism were met with anything from confusion to utter disgust. How could I have expected elevated eco-literacy in a place where most people are not even exposed to basicliteracy education? We realized we needed to take a huge step back.

Despite the fact that the project took a sharp turn in a direction Ihadn't expected, I was very pleased with the way it turned out. I wasexposed to so much more than I had ever hoped to be and theplaces we visited really helped to identify which things I will beinterested in studying in the future. I hope to return to LatinAmerica, this time focusing on more critical issues, such as literacy,women's rights, cooperative education, and contemporary socialmovements. However, by maintaining a dedication to eco-literacyand the environment, I also hope to find, or develop, a middleground that can address environmental issues while simultaneouslyworking to improve quality of life.

We had the opportunity to visit so many amazing organizations,both with the Dialogues program and during my independent study.There is a successful history of cooperative efforts in every realm,including the environment. What I would like to do is find a way todraw the tourist's attention to these types of organizations. I thinkeveryone is beginning to realize that coming together is the mostpowerful way to tackle big issues. Right now the environment mightnot be a top priority but it definitely plays a role. I can't wait to continue to learn and grow through continued research and travel.

-Scarlett Trillia, human services, '10

...by maintaining a dedication to eco-literacyand the environment, I also hope to find, ordevelop, a middle ground that can addressenvironmental issues while simultaneouslyworking to improve quality of life.

Scarlett Trillia on an “Ecotour” in Southern Mexico

Fellowships, Scholarships and Awards

6

Bryce CanyonCollege is a time to try out new things. This May,five NU Honors students had an opportunity todo just that by participating in the first everPartners in the Parks program. C.W. Post HonorsDirector Dr. Joan Digby was enjoying the beautyof the Rocky Mountains and wanted to share herlove for adventure with Honors students nation-wide. A few months, and many e-mails andphone calls later, the Honors Program atSouthern Utah University and Bryce CanyonNational Park stepped up as the program's firstco-hosts. Two dozen students from severalschools across the country gathered in Cedar City,Utah. The adventure began right away as we survived an 18-passenger plane ride to get there.This would be first of my many new experienceson the trip.

Our weeklong mission was to offer help to parkrangers, document our learning, and have somefun along the way. Learning experiences wereabundant for both the out-of-town and local pro-gram participants. We slept in two person tentsand prepared all of our meals on camp stoves.We saw Saturn's rings through a refrigerator-sized telescope. We aided park rangers in observ-ing prairie dogs for park records and in docu-menting an active archaeological site. An expertin “soundscapes,” or the auditory psychology of apark visitors' experience, offered rare insight intothe behind the scene workings of a national park,and a geology professor led us through the spec-tacular “hoodoos” unique to Bryce.

The most thrilling part was an overnight backpackingtrip through the backcountry, a vast isolated areaof the park which about only one percent of visitorstrek through. After a five mile hike down into thecanyon, we set up camp for the night. We sleptoutside under the darkest sky in North Americawithout a tent. Being in the middle of the desertwithout the usual amenities nearby was both awe-inspiring and a little bit nerve wracking at times.But without a doubt, it was an experience toremember. During the eight mile trip back upthe canyon the following day, one of our peerseven snapped a photo of a black bear, an extremelyunusual sight in the park.

We learned a lot on this trip. We learned how totell time without a watch by just doing what wasnatural according to the time of day. We learnedthat if you really listen, silence is more than theabsence of sound. We also learned that we cansurvive with taking just one shower the entireweek, something we never would have fathomedbefore the trip.

The trip proved to be a test of limits. For many, itwas a chance to gain a different perspective onnatural surroundings, but for some, it was a firstencounter with nature. It certainly offered every-one a chance to try something new. A spring2008 trip will be hosted by Lamar University toTexas' Big Thicket National Preserve. Based on thegroup's experience this trip, we strongly encourageNortheastern Honors students to partake in thisand future Partners in the Parks programs.

- Joanna Grab '09 & Kelly Rosencrans '09

The trip proved to be a test of limits. For many, it was a chanceto gain a different perspective on natural surroundings, butfor some, it was a first encounter with nature.

Partners in the ParksFive Honors students were awardedtravel grants to attend the firstNational Collegiate Honors Council'Partners in the Parks’ trip toSouthern Utah University and BryceCanyon National Park:

K ATE A L L S TA D T '08

JOANNA GRAB '09

WIL L IAM NEFF '10

CHR ISTOPHER LEE '10

K E L LY ROSENCRANS '09

s and Awards

7 www.honors.neu.edu

Barry M. Goldwater ScholarshipM ATTHEW BOUCHARD, physics '08

Steamboat Foundation ScholarshipMEGHAN EATON, health sciences '09“Bone toxicity following pediatric bone transplantation”

Northeastern University PresidentialScholarsE L IZABETH ANDREWS, nursing '09

LAUREN CHAPMAN, chemistry and chemical biology '09

SETH HOUSMAN, criminal justice '09

STEFANIE LOSAV IO , psychology and linguistics '09

SEAN MAYO, electrical and computer engineering '09

M AT I LDA UR I E , mechanical engineering '09

Matthews HonorsUndergraduate Award 2007-2008 S A R A H R O B E Y, history '08‘Migrant Mother’: An American Icon.

SEAN FORT I ER , biology '09“Base Excision Repair in Early Development”

Gladys Brooks Honors Award2007-2008EUNICE LEE, biochemistry '09“Determination of Amount and Location of APEndonuclease at Different Development Stages of Zebrafish Using Red Flourescent Protein”

Undergraduate ResearchAwardsT I ERNEY HOLMES, health science '08

MICHAEL TRAUTWEIN, biology '08

AL L I SON WYMAN, criminal justice '08

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2006-2007 Junior/Senior Honors Projects

PATR ICK ARMSTRONG, economics '07

Prof. Maria Luengo-Prado

The Effects of US and EU AgriculturalSubsidies on Economic Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa

PAUL CARLETON AT WATER , English '07

Prof. Marina Leslie

The Visual Representation of Trauma in theModern Novel

SERENITY BANDEN, behavioral neuroscience '08

Prof. Frank Naarendorp

Visual Adaptation in Mice

I R ENE BUKH , behavioral neuroscience '08

Prof. Martin Block

Behavioral Ontogeny in Captive WesternLowland Gorillas (Gorilla g. gorilla) and TheirPersonality Characteristics

S H AWNA CALHOUN, behavioral neuroscience '07

Prof. Roger Giese

Increasing Activity of PHOSPHODI-ESTERASE I from Crotalus AdamanteusVenorm for Removal of Bulky DNA Adducts

E L I ZABETH FANG, doctor of pharmacy '07

Prof. Robert Campbell

Development and Characterization of a NovelSuppository Dosage Form Against HumanColorectal Carcinoma

K I M B E R LY GAL IONE, criminal justice '07

Prof. Simon Singer

The 1.5 Children No One Cares About: TheEffects of Incarceration on Prisoner's Children

ANNA GARTSMAN, computer science/cognitive psychology '07

LAURA HUGHES , linguistics/psychology '07

Prof. Janet Randall

Introductory Linguistics Study Guide

NICHOLE GREENBERG, nursing '08

Prof. Teri Aronowitz

Girl Talk: The Process by Which AfricanAmerican Late Adolescent Females MakeSexual Decisions

BR IAN GUTHR I E , computer science '07

Prof. Richard Rasala

Special Computer Science Project

B O YA N K O VACIC, international affairs '07

Prof. Jack Levin

Media Coverage of Domestic Terrorism: AContact Analysis of U.S. and U.K. Newspapers

E L I SE LAF LAMME, biology '08

Prof. Daniel Scheirer

Maternal Hemoglobin Concentration andPregnancy Outcome: A study of the effects ofelevation in El Alto, Bolivia

The Fourth AnnualHonors Evening

9 www.honors.neu.edu

MAR ISA LANDAU, psychology '07

Dean James Stellar, College of Arts andSciences

Creating a Template of Nonverbal Cues forImmobile Recipients to use in Communicatingwith Service Dogs

WENDY LEWIS KESL , nursing '07

Prof. Michelle Beauchesne

Increasing Global Awareness of Nurses:Exploring Similarities and Differences inAdvanced Nursing Practice

D AV ID MAGARGEE , industrial engineering '07

Prof. Beverly Jaeger

Facilities Planning: Course Software Selectionand Lab Development Project

MARGOT MORSE , communication studies '07

Prof. Kumarini Silva

Is Paris Burning? Media Coverage of theCrisis on French National Identity during theParis Riots of 2005

CHR IST INA MULKA , political science '08

Prof. Christopher Bosso

An Analysis of Sugar Subsidies in the UnitedStates

K I M B E R LY NICHOLS, multimedia studies '07

Prof. Ann McDonald

Exposing Social Subliminal Messages in PrintMedia Today and the Shaping of Modern SelfImage

K ATHER INE PEE L , criminal justice '07

Prof. Natasha Frost

Death Row Incarceration and the Effect onFamily Relationships

AL ICE SAUNDERS, history '07

Prof. Jeffrey Burds

Vietnam Vets Against the Vietnam War: The People's House in Clarksville, Tennessee(1970-1971)

TOBY SHEPHERD , political science '07

Prof. David Rochefort

Buying Growth or Selling Out? A Study ofMassachusetts' Economic DevelopmentIncentive Program (EDIP)

A M Y S TACHOWSKI , nursing '08

Prof. Teri Aronowitz

Nature of Communication: Voices of 11-14Year Old African American Girls & TheirMothers Talking About Sex

CHR IS TOPHER YA R S AWICH, English &Russian studies '07

Prof. Harlow Robinson

Vladimir Nabokov as a Multilingual Writer

J ENNEL LE YOPCHICK, psychology '07

Prof. Nancy Kim

The Effects of Causal Information onTreatment Choice

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What’s HappeningHonors Seminar Research

HNRU302 – A History of Espionage –Prof. Jeffrey Burds

LAURA CAREY, civil engineering '10Her Majesty's Spymaster: Elizabeth I, Sir FrancisWalsingham, and the Birth of Modern Espionage

J AY C INQ-MARS , history '10Soviet Secrets & Spanish Blood: The Comintern, theNKVD, the Spanish Civil War

HNRU302 – Technology and Philosophy – Prof. Yang Lee

SAMUEL CHASE '07, JONATHAN F ISHER '10 ,

J O N ATHAN S IMONS '08, ANDREW LE INUNG '10,

D I L LON MCDOWELL '10, MICHAEL PARADISO '10 ,

CHR IS YA R S AWICH '07

Context Embedded Information Product Maps

HNRU341 – Popular Culture, Business, and theCold War – Prof. Bert Spector

SAMUEL CHASE, human resource management '07Opposition to the Original GI Bill of WWII

HNRU342 – Eating and the Environment –Prof. Jennifer Rivers Cole

SETH HOUSMAN, criminal justice '09Integrated Pest Management

HNRU342 – Social Fact from Fiction –Prof. David Rochefort

WIL L IAM NEFF, psychology '10Writing about Social Problems

Special Guests Directed Research

Dean James Stellar, College of Arts and Sciences

MAR IKO HOWE, psychology '07Regulation of Ionotrophic Glutamate Receptors byContigent and Non-Contigent Brain Stimulation

Prof. Jeffrey Burds and Prof. Harvey Green

S A R A H R O B E Y, history '08Migrant Mother: An American Icon

Honors Faculty PublicationsCongratulations to the Honors faculty who havepublished books and papers this year:

EMMETT G. PRICE I I I

Hip Hop Culture. Santa Barbara, CA: ACB-CLIO,Inc., 2006.

JACK LEVIN AND JAMES ALAN FOX

Elementary Statistics in Social Research: TheEssentials, Second Edition. Boston, MA: Allyn andBacon, 2007.

ROSENBAUM, EMILY AND SAMANTHA FREIDMAN

A House Divide: How Generations of ImmigrantsFare in New York's Housing Market. New York, NY:New York University Press, 2007.

BERT SPECTOR

Implementing Organizational Change: Theory andPractice. Santa Barbara, Upper Saddle River, NJ:Prentice Hall, 2007.

YANG W. LEE, LEO L. PIPINO, JAMES D. FUNK,

AND RICHARD Y. WANG

Journey to Data Quality. Cambridge, MA: The MITPress, 2006.

11 www.honors.neu.edu

Pizza and ProfessorsOver 100 students participated in last year's inau-gural Pizza and Professor Series. We would liketo extend a special thanks to the Honors SeminarFaculty who hosted the fall and spring events:

PROFESSOR J E F FREY BURDS , History DepartmentSchool of Hate: The German-Soviet War, Summer1941.

PROFESSOR LORNA HAY WA R D , Physical TherapyDepartmentStandardized Patients and Online Communities ofPractice: A 360-Degree Assessment Model forIntegrating Technical and Professional Skills.

PROFESSOR ANTHONY PENNA, HistoryDepartmentWhat is Environmental History?

PROFESSOR GORDANA RABRENOVIC , Departmentof Sociology and AnthropologyMen and Women: The New Militarism.

PROFESSOR NATE R ICKLES , Department ofPharmacyNew Paradigms for Patient/Healthcare ProviderCollaboration

PROFESSOR DAV ID ROCHEFORT, DistinguishedProfessor - Department of Political ScienceThe Contemporary Medical Thriller and HealthPolicy Advocacy.

PROFESSOR BERT SPECTOR, CBA-HumanResources ManagementHollywood Looks at Big Business

Two Nights of JazzProfessor Leonard Brown in collaboration withthe Honors Student Council hosted a series ofJazz Lectures on Sonny Rollins. Students wereable to attend Rollins' performance at BostonSymphony Hall on April 5, 2007.

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2007 First Year ReadingProjectThe First Year Reading Project is designed toestablish a sense of common knowledge and pur-pose as students move into their first year in theUniversity Honors Program as members of theHonors Living Learning Community. Started in2006, the goals of the project are to present achallenging and engaging text which will provideinsight into an important issue and bring faculty,administrators, staff, honors student mentors andnew students together outside of a traditionalclassroom setting. The text is the foundation for aseries of programming events during WelcomeWeek for incoming Honors students.

The First Year Reading Project kicks off with apanel of NU faculty who open our conversationrelated to the themes in the selected reading andreflect on how these themes interface with theirown academic disciplines. Students then breakout into small groups to discuss the book. Thesediscussions allow participants to provide differentperspectives on the reading and are all part of thepreparation for the author's visit to campus.

This year the committee has chosen MichaelPatrick MacDonald's Easter Rising as the text.MacDonald will visit campus on September 2,2007. He will join the Honors Program first yearLiving Learning Community for a discussion ofhis memoir. After his presentation, the HonorsProgram will host a book-signing reception.

The First Year Reading Project Committee meetsseveral times over the spring semester as they dis-cuss possible selections and make their final rec-ommendation. This year, a committee of faculty,staff and students selected the book from a list often nominated selections. If you enjoy readingand are interested in working on the selection fornext year, please contact Lauren Pouchak,Associate Director of the Honors Program atl.pouchak@neu.edu.

What’s Happening (cont.)

13 www.honors.neu.edu

Enhancing HonorsOn the heels of a wildly successful Welcome Weekin 2006, a group of honors students met with theHonors Program to develop a one-credit courseentitled “Enhancing Honors” to provide incomingstudents with upper-class honors mentors.

Enhancing Honors is a team taught course that isnewly required for all first-year honors students.The one credit course is designed to help studentsprepare for their campus honors years and createa sense of community within the first year honorsexperience. During the semester, students willexplore the goals of the University Honors Program:taking part in a Living Learning Community,learning through an Interdisciplinary Perspective,establishing a Research Focus, participating inExperiential Learning, experiencing GlobalAwareness, and contributing to Civic Engagement.thirty two Upper-class students in honors will beclass mentors this fall.

The First Year Reading Project kicks off with a panel of NUfaculty who open our conversation related to the themes in theselected reading and reflect on how these themes interface withtheir own academic disciplines.

Honors Student Council Officers for the 2007-2008 Academic YearPresident - Andrew Cabasso

Vice-President - Barbara Lee

Treasurer - Mariam Hovhannisyan

Secretary - Pamela King

Co-Academic Chairpersons - Rebecca Rabino & Michael Grant

Co-Events Coordinators - Leah Rondon & Theresa Langschultz

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What’s Happening (cont.)

The International Co-op Evening, presented onApril 12, 2007 by the Honors Student Council,Asian American Center, African AmericanInstitute and International Co-op Department,involved much more than learning about newinternational Co-op opportunities. In a collabora-tive effort to develop synergies across participat-ing organizations/centers, representatives focusedon their tremendous transformation process inthe past year and spoke of their mission and goalsto provide full programs and services to students.Nearly 20 students attended for food, prizes and achance to learn about what resources were widelyavailable to them.

In addition to naming West Village F a new homefor all Honors students, the Honors student councilremained active in organizing new and specialevents that enhance student life. AndrewCabasso, President of HSC, recapped a successfulyear for the Honors Program, speaking of thepopular “Study Break” in the fall to dances atKennedy Hall.

Not only has the Asian American Center existedfor over a year, but it has moved into a three-storybuilding on Hemingway Street to provide all stu-dents with study rooms, lounges and a computerlab. Delia Hom, Assistant Director of the AAC,added that their services extend to reachingbeyond the varied experiences of AsianAmericans through the Asian AmericanLiterature Book Club, Film Series and PeerMentoring program. They also find “Bubble TeaTime” for students to get together to have infor-mal, yet meaningful discussions on issues thatare relevant to Asian American college studentstoday.

The library in the African American Institute maybe the University's best kept secret. AssociateDean and Director of the John D. O'BryantAfrican American Institute, Lula Petty-Edwards,welcomed students to find the services, activitiesand events taking place at the Institute education-ally and culturally beneficial. In addition to assist-ing in the recruitment and retention of studentsof African origin, its goals include educating stu-dents to explore their culture and history whilesupporting all NU students to graduation.

The International Co-op Department has seenexponential growth in the number of studentslooking for international experience in the lastyear. Even so, the demand from foreign employ-ers from across the world continues to out-stripthe supply of InternationalCo-op students at NU.Ketty Rosenfeld, Director of International Co-ops,explained the process of applying for internationaljobs while Cynthia Sweet, Advisor of InternationalCo-ops, spoke of the importance of gaining aglobal perspective on life. With a slideshow ofpictures streaming in the background, threeInternational Co-op Alumni, including myself,Ashley Hawley (Nigeria) and Matthew Kurtzman(Nigeria) took center stage to provide personal tes-timonies and details of their experiences.

- Jimmy Weng '07

Honors StudentCouncil co-hosts

InternationalCoop Evening

15 www.honors.neu.edu

For the past three years, I've been a judicial law clerk in the state appellate courts, most recently at the Massachusetts Supreme JudicialCourt (SJC). A quick explanation might help. An appellate court considers appeals or claims by parties in a case that error or injusticehas occurred in a trial court. Massachusetts has an intermediate appellate court where I served for one year. That court decides the vastmajority of appeals from Commonwealth trial courts (as distinguished from Federal trial courts). A smaller number of appeals go to theSJC, which is the highest state court and the last word on questions of Massachusetts state law. Both courts consider matters coveringnearly the entire range of issues, both civil and criminal.

What is a judicial law clerk? That probably would have been my first question while I was at NU. The short answer is that a judicial lawclerk is a lawyer, often a recent law school graduate, who works closely with a judge. Clerks frequently attend oral arguments in court andperform extensive research and writing. Because clerks serve in areas of the court that are not open to the public, discreetness is takenseriously. An unfortunate result of this is that I cannot explain the work in more detail. The society of former clerks of the SJC (there is an affinity among clerks) explains that the role originated in 1875 when a justice in the SJC hired as “secretary” none other than theillustrious Louis D. Brandeis, who was then a newly minted lawyer. Brandeis, presumably, was paid out of the justice's personal funds,

Alumni Corner

Motif Magazine Readers Awards BestSupporting Male to Sean Hopkins '06

As (Gerry Evans), for Dancing atLughnasa, Cornerstone Playhouse. A Charlestown Rhode Island resident, Sean has appearedlocally in Dancing at Lughnasa (Cornerstone Playhouse), AChristmas Carol (Trinity Repertory Company), Much AdoAbout Nothing, A Midsummer Night's Dream (ColonialTheatre), The Mikado (River Rep), and Jekyll & Hyde(Theatre-By-The-Sea). College acting credits include ItalianAmerican Reconciliation, Pippin, The Lower Depths, SweetBird of Youth, The Streets of New York, The Visit, and direct-ing credits include For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls, andthe Boston premiere of Dead Man Walking. Sean holds adual degree in Theatre and Speech Pathology fromNortheastern University.

but the relation proved satisfactory and the practice has expanded.Law clerks now can be found in many of the courts in theCommonwealth, in the Federal courts, and in the courts of mostother states. Judicial law clerks are not to be confused with clerksof court, who have a more public role.

Why would a new lawyer want to serve as a judicial law clerk?Certainly there are more lucrative jobs. But the position providesan exceedingly rare opportunity - perhaps once in a lifetime - towork with and learn from a luminary of the profession and toabsorb some of the goings-on in a relatively secretive institution.Past clerks speak fondly of their own service, which they believepresented some of the most interesting and meaningful chal-lenges of their careers. The role also is an excellent way to servethe public, which itself is a valuable thing.

After reading this far, you may be wondering how I got to thispoint and whether you can do the same. Right? Well, about tenyears ago, more or less, I was precisely where some of you read-ing this may be today. In the fall of 1997, I was a sophomore atNU and had just declared my major as political science. Ienrolled in Professor Michael Tolley's Constitutional Law classafternoons in the basement of the Ell Library, and I quickly dis-covered that I had a particular affection for the study of legalaffairs. I sought out cooperative education opportunities in locallaw firms that allowed me to observe what lawyers do in practice.I went on to law school nearby at Boston College, worked onesummer with a professor there, and later for the in-house legalteam at a major public institution. Naturally, excellence was aprerequisite, as was some good fortune. However, I would saythat the most important thing was having a real enjoyment of themeticulous work that often goes into being an effective student oflaws.

By the time this article goes to press, sadly, my clerkship will haveconcluded. Some judicial law clerks make a very interestingcareer of their service, but most, like me, move on to practice inprivate firms or in government. Luckily, many of the clerks withwhom I've worked over the years will remain close by in the tight-ly-woven legal community here in Boston. And of all the benefitsof a clerkship, that plainly is the best.

Doug Tillberg '00

c a l e n d a r o f e v e n t s

Northeastern University Honors Program360 Huntington Avenue150 West Village FBoston, Massachusetts 02115

08 .29

First Year move in

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Michael PatrickMacDonald

HonorsP E R S P E C T I V E

Volume 3 – Fall 2007

10 .11

Boston SymphonyOrchestra

10 .16

Pizza and ProfsProfessor Begley

11 .08

Alumni NetworkingEvent

11 .13

Pizza and ProfsProfessor Burds

12 .06

Boston Ballet’s The Nutcracker

12 .04

Pizza and ProfsProfessor Faber