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. Four initiatives are highlighted; learn more at www.ct.edu/initiatives/institutes.

The Institute for the Study of Crime and Justice
Central Connecticut State University

The Institute for the Study of Crime and Justice (ISCJ) at Central Connecticut State University (CCSU) serves the interests of the state’s criminal justice community.

The ISCJ was formed in 2004 as a collaboration of faculty and students to provide training for criminal justice personnel and evaluations of criminal justice initiatives for local, state and federal government clients. The ISCJ is located in CCSU’s Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice.

Institute coordinators are Professor Stephen Cox and Assistant Professor Reginald Simmons who connect faculty with different agencies for research, training and technical assistance. Cox said students work on research projects ranging from criminal investigation and delinquency to legal decision making.

Work has included evaluating pilot programs for agencies like the state’s Department of Children and Families and city police departments. The West Hartford Police Department’s College Police Academy “Behind the Badge” program was developed with Criminology faculty and allows CCSU students to become familiar with police officer training. Through the ISCJ, students also work closely with faculty and are involved in research projects with criminal justice agencies.

“We see changes being made in the criminal justice system and get credit for the work we do, which is great for building student resumes,” said Cox. “It also leads to internship placement.”

Graduate students have been collecting data for the Juvenile Review Board of the Department of Children and Families regarding less serious juvenile offenders and how to keep them out of court. Others are analyzing bail data from the Judicial Branch to determine what happens to people after they get arrested.

Now, Cox said, the ISCJ is working on a statewide survey of probation officers regarding job satisfaction and their work with offenders. The feedback will help determine what to change and how to better support probation officers in the state.

“The Institute enhances our community engagement and gets our students involved in these activities,” said Cox. “It has worked out very well and done just what we wanted it to do.”

Church Farm Center for the Arts and Sciences
Eastern Connecticut State University

The Church Farm Center for the Arts and Sciences in Ashford is a classroom away from campus for Eastern Connecticut State University’s faculty and students.

The Church Farm property is a 110-acre estate donated to Eastern in 2007 by Joseph and Dorothy (Church) Zaring of Washington, D.C., that has been transformed into an educational center for arts and science. The property — that is surrounded by acres of well-preserved woodlands, meadows and gardens — also includes a historic home built in 1821 and barn built in 1895.

“The Church Farm site is perfect for the interdisciplinary connections, providing students with opportunities to learn best practices in conservation, the importance of habitat diversity, the history of farming in New England and how nature can be used to develop an appreciation of the
arts,” said Carmen Cid, dean of the School of Arts and Sciences. explored educational possibilities in innovative and collaborative ways.
Eastern students have explored educational possibilities in innovative and collaborative ways. Environmental earth science students, for example, have conducted sediment core sampling in the pond to record human-induced environmental changes.

Visual Arts students conducted an independent study project resulting in a proposal for a sculpture garden to be built at Church Farm. Students created the criteria for artist entries, selected the finalists and submitted their proposal to administration for consideration. The sculpture garden will host works of art from students, faculty, and artists in the community.

Other courses taught at Church Farm Center include landscape art classes, biology, and earth science research while students take advantage of the rural setting and the classic appeal of buildings and grounds. In addition, artists and scholars-in-residence utilize the site where outdoor music and theatrical performances have also taken place.

Center for Coastal and Marine Studies
Southern Connecticut State University

In 2006 Southern Connecticut State University’s Center for Coastal and Marine Studies (CCMS) received a $170,000 grant from the Werth Family Foundation in Woodbridge, targeted toward student environmental research. The foundation recently pledged an additional five years of support with a new gift of $250,000.

The CCMS focuses on coastal and marine research and education along Connecticut’s coast and harbors. The center coordinators are Vincent Breslin, professor of science education and environmental studies, and James Tait, associate professor of science education and environmental studies. Since 2001, CCMS faculty and students have sampled and determined
sediment metal contents from harbors in Norwalk, Bridgeport, New Haven, Branford and New London.

Recently, Breslin, Tait and three students journeyed with Werth family members into New Haven Harbor to demonstrate their work. From a boat in the harbor, students used a claw-like implement to pull up sediment from the bottom of the harbor. Off the West Haven shoreline — in an area where extensive oystering takes place — the students pulled up another sample
that was sandier, with coarser grains and shells and contained some living organisms.

The Werth Family Foundation has also been helpful, Breslin said, in making it possible for the center to pay a stipend to students over the summer, allowing them to further their own research or career goals. The center has seven to 10 students doing research at any given time.

The Institute for Holistic Health Studies
Western Connecticut State University

The Institute for Holistic Health Studies (IHHS) at Western Connecticut State University (WCSU) educates people about holistic healthcare opportunities outside of conventional medicine.

Robyn Housemann, IHHS director, associate professor and co-chair in the Department of Health Promotion and Exercise Sciences, said the institute’s mission is to provide an opportunity for the university and community to explore holistic health through programming and instruction.

Located in WCSU’s Department of Health Promotion and Exercise Sciences, the IHHS was the brainchild of faculty Emeritus Jeanette Tedesco to introduce holistic health to the community.

Holistic health is an approach to creating wellness that encourages individuals to recognize the whole person: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. Some holistic health applications are derived from ancient healing traditions and others from modern research. These areas include
stress management, behavioral medicine, traditional Chinese medicine — including acupuncture, acupressure and nutrition — meditation, guided imagery, yoga, therapeutic touch and energy therapies.

The institute also offers classes and workshops in massage therapy, energy healing and guided imagery for relaxation. Housemann said her “Good Grief Stress Relief” program helps students find alternate ways to relieve the stress they feel around finals and the holidays.

The interest among students regarding holistic health has been great, Housemann said. “Many students want to be holistic health practitioners.” In addition, Housemann said, many local practitioners come to the institute to offer services like acupuncture, reiki, massage and hypnosis for smoking cessation and stress management.

To promote awareness, the institute also brings in guest speakers for monthly or bi-monthly workshops in holistic health topics. A health fair is also held each spring in which the institute — and the student organization for health promotion and exercise science — bring in holistic health
providers.

Housemann has also discovered students would like reiki and acupuncture certification programs. She would like to add these certification programs and hopes that in conjunction with her department the IHHS will someday offer a holistic health option.