IN THIS ISSUE: » This Month's Highlights » News from CSUS » Video December 2011 Catalyst for Connecticut This Month's Highlights CSUS Students and Alumni Caring for Connecticut Alumni, faculty and students of CSUS - who work and learn in healthcare facilities throughout the state - have an impact on Connecticut in many different ways. STEM Program Sparks Interest in 'Young Engineers' During the past decade, enrollment at the School of Engineering and Technology at CCSU has increased more than 250 percent. New Britain Herald Southern, Western to Offer Doctorate in Nursing Education Two state universities are cooperating to offer a doctorate in nursing education. It is one of three such programs in the country. Danbury Patch Eastern Researchers Recommend Educational Toys Researchers named the Tinkertoy construction set as their choice for this year's recommended toy to help children learn creative play skills. Bloomberg Businessweek News from CSUS Malloy Visits CCSU Seeking Ways to Improve Education Gov. Dannel Malloy and Education Commissioner Stefan Pryor met with a group of faculty members at CCSU to discuss state regulations, the placement of student teachers and how to draw top students into the teaching field. New Britain Herald Eastern Gives Students Space to Work 'Remotely' While Eastern President Elsa Núñez knows American businesses will continue to outsource jobs, she doesn't see why those jobs have to go overseas. Why not send them to Willimantic? "My goal is to get companies to outsource to me, not to India." CSUS's Institutes and Centers Academic institutes and centers at Central, Eastern, Southern and Western Connecticut State Universities provide unique research opportunities for the study and practice of many fields, advancing the work of faculty, students and the community. Meriden Board of Ed Approves Fourth Year of High School Math The Board of Education approved requiring a fourth year of math for Meriden high school students. The recommendation stems in part from a new law requiring incoming freshmen in the Connecticut State University System to have four years of math starting in 2015. Meriden Patch Robotics Competitors Have Fun and May Someday Save the World Students from New Britain High School, HALS Academy, and Pulaski, Slade and Roosevelt middle schools in New Britain participated in the sixth annual Connecticut B.E.S.T. (Boosting Engineering, Science and Technology) Robotics Competition. New Britain Herald Alumni in the Arts The team at The Bushnell in Hartford has more in common than only their workplace - many graduated from the universities of the Connecticut State University System to work at one of the state's premier performing arts centers. Western Provost Gates Among Top 100 It's been only four months since Jane McBride Gates arrived in Connecticut to serve as provost at Western, but she has already been named one of the 100 most influential blacks in the state. News Times University Students Assembly for MS Effort Twenty Connecticut undergraduates are challenging the common perception that college students are consumed only with their campus environment. They are reaching out from their different campuses to fight multiple sclerosis. The Quinnipiac Chronicle More News from: Central | Eastern | Southern | Western   The Connecticut State University System consists of four comprehensive universities: Central Connecticut State University in New Britain, Eastern Connecticut State University in Willimantic, Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven and Western Connecticut State University in Danbury. With more than 36,000 students and 180,000 alumni, CSUS is the largest public university system in Connecticut.