Suffolk University - Press Release Archive 2009-2010

With three weeks left in the 2010 election cycle, Democratic incumbent and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (46 percent) leads Republican Sharron Angle (43 percent) by 3 points in the Nevada race for U.S. Senator, according to the latest Suffolk University poll. The race is within the statistical margin of error. Tea Party candidate Scott Ashjian has 2 percent, and just 3 percent of likely voters remain undecided.

Forty-five percent of likely voters said that Republican Sharron Angle better represents the Tea Party message compared to the 13 percent who said Tea Party candidate Scott Ashjian best represented that message. Another 42 percent were undecided. Furthermore, when asked if Ashjian is in the race to help split the votes in favor of Harry Reid, 28 percent of likely voters agreed with the statement, while 26 percent disagreed saying Ashjian is a true Tea Party candidate, and 46 percent remained undecided.

“Harry Reid is hanging on by a thread,” said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center. “Both the Republican and Tea Party nominees are listed side by side on the Nevada ballot and, ironically, the difference in the race could be the handful of points secured by the Tea Party candidate Scott Ashjian, at the expense of Republican Sharron Angle.”

The Nevada ballot for U.S. Senate includes eight candidates listed alphabetically as well as the “none of these candidates” ballot option, which garnered 4 percent in the poll.

In the 2010 June Republican Primary, the Suffolk University statewide survey released June 2 was the first to predict that Sharron Angle would defeat front-runner Sue Lowden, and businessman Danny Tarkanian. Suffolk’s poll recorded the Angle momentum generated late in the Nevada Republican Primary. She went on to win by double digits on June 8.

Meanwhile, in the race for governor, Republican Brian Sandoval (50 percent) comfortably leads Democrat Rory Reid (39 percent) by 11 points. Green Party candidate David Scott Curtis and Independent candidate Eugene “Gino” DiSimone both have 1 percent, while 3 percent said they will vote for none of the seven candidates listed for governor. There are only 5 percent of likely voters still undecided.

Hillary Clinton (62 percent favorable – 29 percent unfavorable) is the most popular politician of the six public figures polled. This mirrors findings in the Suffolk University polls of Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Ohio likely voters in the last three weeks. President Barack Obama scored a 52 percent favorable – 46 percent unfavorable rating in Nevada.

In the race for lieutenant governor, incumbent Republican Brian Krolicki (42 percent) led Democrat Jessica Sferrazza (30 percent). For secretary of state, incumbent Democrat Ross Miller (40 percent) led his Republican challenger Rob Lauer (24 percent) by 16 points. In the race for state treasurer, Republican Steven Martin (38 percent) edged incumbent Democrat Kate Marshall (33 percent). Finally, in the race for state controller, incumbent Democrat Kim Wallin (31 percent) led Republican Barry Herr (26 percent) although 32 percent were undecided. Unlike the U.S. Senate and governor races, which had a low amount of undecideds, all of the constitutional offices had undecided counts ranging from 19 percent to 32 percent signaling that the last two weeks of advertising could swing the outcomes.

When asked to think about their local congressional races, 47 percent of likely voters said they would vote Democrat, while 43 percent said they would vote Republican, and 9 percent said they were undecided.
Few believe that the recession is over in Nevada. Only 5 percent indicate it is, while 92 percent say it’s not over. And when likely voters were asked if the job situation will improve in the next six months, only 33 percent indicated yes, while 60 percent said no.

Current issues in Nevada that were polled included marriage equality for same-sex couples, of which 25 percent of likely voters stated they favor absolute prohibition of any legally recognized union, while 20 percent said it should remain as it currently is, with domestic partnerships receiving some but not all the legal benefits of marriage, and 21 percent of likely voters saying the law should be changed so that domestic partnerships receive all the same legal benefits of marriage. Thirty percent of likely voters in Nevada said same-sex couples should be able to legally marry.

In the bellwether of Nye County, Angle bested Harry Reid by 1 point, 41-40 percent, while Sandoval led by 15 points, 50-35 percent. In November, 2006, Nye County was within 2.5 points of the winners’ statewide numbers in both the gubernatorial race and U.S. senatorial races.

Methodology

The statewide survey of 500 Nevada likely voters was conducted Oct.8 – 11, 2010. The margin of error is +/- 4.4 percent at a 95 percent level of confidence. The Nye County bellwether included 300 likely voters polled 10/10-10/11. Bellwethers are designed to predict outcomes, not margins. Marginals and full cross-tabulation data will be posted Wednesday Oct. 13 at 1p.m. EST on the Suffolk University Political Research Center Web site: www.suffolk.edu/college/1450.html. For more information, contact David Paleologos at 781-290-9310.

Oct. 12, 2010 -- Modern Theatre to Open in November, Completing Revival of Boston’s Historic Theater District: Suffolk University Plans Grand Opening Celebration

Suffolk University is poised to open the Modern Theatre, which brings a brand-new performance space to the Washington Street Theater District while restoring an important facet of Boston theatrical history.

The grand facade of the historic theater, Boston’s first designed specifically for showing movies, has been painstakingly restored, stone by stone, and reconstructed as part of the Modern Theatre and residence hall development.

Inside, an intimate jewel-box theater showcases central design elements that are a modernization of some of the most distinctive historic features of the 1914 theater. The state-of-the-art, 185-seat venue will be ideal for live performances, conversations, readings and film screenings, and will promote excellence and innovation through all of its programming.

The University will welcome the general public to the new Modern Theatre during a Friday, Nov. 5, 2010 community open house, part of a two-day grand opening that begins with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday, Nov. 4, for invited guests. Mayor Thomas M. Menino, who has supported the University’s preservation efforts and whose vision for the revitalization of Boston’s Theater District has become a reality, will be the guest speaker.

“We are proud to play a part in the revitalization of the Theater District and Downtown Crossing,” said Suffolk University President David J. Sargent. “Not only does the University now have a more visible showcase for its Theatre Department and public programming, but our students will be even more connected to the vibrant cultural life of the city.”

While the “front of the house” is dedicated to the arts, the building also provides housing for nearly 200 students in a 10-story residence hall built in a setback above the theater and accessed through another University residence hall at 10 West St.

With the addition of the new student rooms, the University meets a Master Plan goal of creating more student housing on campus while providing a larger audience for the renewed theater district and other downtown Boston businesses.

“We have taken an important step toward our goal of housing more students in University residence halls,” said John Nucci, vice president for External Affairs. “This is good for the city, which wants to preserve neighborhood housing for city residents and revitalize the downtown area, and it’s good for the students, because they have a safe and convenient place to live and study.”

The new building also continues the University’s efforts to create a sustainable campus environment. It is expected to be certified LEED -- Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design -- Silver, a designation resulting from green design across all phases of planning, construction and operation.

Modern Theatre history

The Modern Theatre was included on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979 as part of the Washington Street Theater District. In 1995 it was designated a Boston Landmark.

The building initially was constructed as retail and warehouse space in 1876, four years after the Great Boston fire destroyed the area. In 1913, it was converted into the Modern, the first Boston theater designed specifically to show films.

Under the direction of owner Jacob Lourie, the Modern Theatre became the one to watch in Boston. He was the first to introduce films with sound and premiered The Jazz Singer in Boston. When nearby vaudeville theaters began adding movies to their lineups, he came up with the concept of the double feature – two movies for the price of one – a concept that soon swept the nation.

But by the 1980s, the building fell out of use and was considered beyond repair. Then Mayor Menino and Suffolk University stepped in to save the facade and ensure that there would still be a theater on the site.

Revival

The CBT architectural firm designed the new jewel-box theater and residence hall in harmony with the restored Modern Theatre facade, which was rebuilt in the exact spot where it previously stood.

The interior of the theater also draws on the original. Tony-award-winning theater scene painter and designer John Lee Beatty created a mural design for the stage house walls, inspired by colors and themes from the earlier theater.

Meanwhile, the first exhibit in the lobby gallery will feature artifacts from the original movie house, vintage photographs of the building, and images of the movie posters and Hollywood stars once featured there.

Programming

The intimate 185-seat theater will focus on three themes in its inaugural programming:
• Performances @ the Modern
• Movies @ the Modern
• Conversations @ the Modern

Modern performances will include a reading by F. Murray Abraham of The Last Will and the Actors’ Shakespeare Project’s production of Antony and Cleopatra, featuring Paula Plum.

The theater will host a documentary film series with DocYard Productions, and its Conversations lineup includes comedian Lewis Black, Daily Beast political journalist Peter Beinart, author and columnist James Carroll, psychiatrist-author Robert Jay Lifton, and author Maxine Hong Kingston.

The grand opening celebration will be held from noon to 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 5 with a community open house featuring tours of the lobby gallery and theater, and original site specific entertainment as part of the tour.

Oct. 7, 2010 -- Suffolk University Poll of Ohio Shows Republicans Leading for U.S. Senator and Governor: 90% of Likely Voters Say Recession in Ohio is Not Over

With less than four weeks left in the 2010 midterm election cycle, Republican Rob Portman (47 percent) has opened up a 10 point lead over Democrat Lee Fisher (37 percent) in the Ohio race for U.S. Senate, according to the latest Suffolk University poll. Independent Michael Pryce has 4 percent, and just 7 percent of respondents say they remain undecided, while 4 percent said they would vote or lean towards someone not on the ballot.

Meanwhile, the race for the Governor of Ohio is much closer. Republican John Kasich (46 percent) edges Democrat Ted Strickland (42 percent) by just 4 points, though the race is within the statistical margin of error. Green Party candidate Dennis Spisak has 4 percent, followed by Libertarian Ken Matesz, with 2 percent. There are 5 percent still undecided.

“Among voters who know both Portman and Fisher, Portman led 53 percent to 36 percent. We see a similar trend among voters who know both Kasich and Strickland, where Kasich leads 48 percent to 40 percent,” said David Paleologos, director of the Political Research Center at Boston’s Suffolk University. “Presumably by November 2, likely voters will know both major candidates for both races and this dynamic, along with a bad economy, foreshadows a dismal outcome for both Democratic candidates.”

Few believe that the recession is over in Ohio. Only 5 percent indicate it is, while 90 percent say it’s not over. And when likely voters were asked if the job situation will improve in the next six months, only 28 percent indicated yes, while 62 percent said no.

Hillary Clinton (60 percent favorable – 33 percent unfavorable) is the most popular politician of the eight public figures polled. This mirrors findings in the Suffolk University polls of Pennsylvania and Illinois likely voters in the past two weeks. Among other figures, President Obama scores a 48 percent favorable – 46 percent unfavorable rating in Ohio.

Both Democrats in statewide elections have unfavorability ratings that surpass their favorable ratings. Democrat for U.S. Senator Lee Fisher scores 27 percent favorable to 37 percent unfavorable, with 23 percent undecided, and Democrat for Governor of Ohio Ted Strickland scores 43 percent favorable to 45 percent unfavorable, with 10 percent undecided. All other candidates for statewide office have higher favorable ratings than unfavorable.

In the race for Attorney General, Republican Mike DeWine (44 percent) leads Democrat Richard Cordray (38 percent). In the Secretary of State and Treasurer races, Democratic candidates lead their Republican challengers. For Secretary of State, Democrat Maryellen O’Shaughnessy (40 percent) leads Republican Jon Husted (33 percent) by 7 points, and for Treasurer, Democrat Kevin Boyce (37 percent) leads Republican Josh Mandel (34 percent).

When asked to think about their local congressional races, 48 percent of likely voters said they would vote Democrat, while 41 percent said they would vote Republican, and 10 percent said they were undecided.
Current issues in Ohio that were polled included marriage equality for same-sex couples, of which 43 percent of likely voters stated they favor absolute prohibition of any legally recognized union, and 24 percent of respondents said they favored legal recognition of marriage between people of the same sex, while 18 percent said they preferred the recognition of civil unions only.

Other issues included the legalization of medical marijuana, which the Ohio state legislature voted down in House Bill 478. Forty-three percent of likely voters said marijuana should be legalized for medical purposes only, while 20 percent said it should be fully legal for personal use. Another 23 percent of respondents said it should be illegal under any circumstances, and 12 percent said marijuana laws should remain as they are – decriminalized but not fully legal.

In the bellwether Clark County, both races continued to produce leads for the Republican. In the Senate fight Portman led Fisher 43 percent to 36 percent, while in the race for governor, Kasich led Strickland 44 percent to 42 percent. In the 2006 gubernatorial election in Ohio, Clark County was within one percentage point of the state total for all gubernatorial candidates and closer than all other counties to the statewide numbers.

Methodology

The statewide survey of 500 Ohio likely voters was conducted Oct. 4 - 6, 2010. The margin of error is +/- 4.4 percent at a 95 percent level of confidence. The Clark County bellwether included 300 likely voters polled 10/5-10/6. Bellwethers are designed to predict outcomes, not margins. Marginals and full cross-tabulation data will be posted Thursday Oct. 7 at 1 p.m. on the Suffolk University Political Research Center Web site: http://www.suffolk.edu/research/1450.html. For more information, contact David Paleologos at 781-290-9310.

Oct. 4, 2010 -- Suffolk University Poll Shows Democrat Quinn Leading for Governor in Illinois:Hillary Clinton more popular than Barack Obama in his home state

With barely four weeks left in the 2010 election cycle, Democrat Pat Quinn (43 percent) has opened up a six point lead over Republican Bill Brady (37 percent) in the Illinois race for governor, according to the latest Suffolk University poll. Independent Scott Lee Cohen has 7 percent, Green Party candidate Rich Whitney polls 3 percent, and Libertarian Lex Green gets 1 percent, while just 8 percent remain undecided.

Meanwhile, it’s nearly a dead heat in the race for the U.S. Senate. Republican Mark Kirk (42 percent) edges Democrat Alexi Giannoulias (41 percent), though the race is well within the statistical margin of error. Green Party candidate LeAlan Jones has 4 percent, followed by Libertarian Mike Labno, with 3 percent. There are 10 percent still undecided.

“Pat Quinn’s TV ads have put Bill Brady under a microscope and are shifting voters’ focus away from Quinn’s slow progress in dealing with the mess he inherited from Governor Rod Blagojevich,” said David Paleologos, director of the Political Research Center at Boston’s Suffolk University. “Quinn’s efforts to focus voters on Brady’s negatives are designed to make Quinn look better in comparison, while solidifying his base of support.”

Quinn’s margins over Brady among ages 18-44 years (+25 points), Cook County voters (+30 points), and minority voters (+38 points) are the driving forces behind the Democrat’s edge in the statewide numbers.

Blagojevich was impeached and removed from office amid a federal probe into his alleged ‘pay-to-play’ political practices, which allegedly included an attempt to sell an appointment to the U.S. Senate seat previously held by Barack Obama.

Hillary Clinton (61 percent favorable – 32 percent unfavorable) is the most popular politician of the eight public figures polled. This mirrors findings in the Suffolk University poll of Pennsylvania likely voters last week. Among other figures, favorite son Obama scores a 52 percent favorable – 41 percent unfavorable rating in Illinois. All other candidates for statewide office have higher unfavorable ratings than favorable, including former Governor Rod Blagojevich, whose favorability rating is just 10 percent. Blagojevich’s unfavorable rating is 79 percent.

In the races for Attorney General and Secretary of State, Democrats Lisa Madigan and Jesse White lead their Republican and other opponents handily, while Republican Judy Baar Topinka leads for Comptroller. More voters for State Treasurer are undecided (36 percent), although Republican Dan Rutherford (32 percent) leads Democrat Robin Kelly (26 percent).

Few believe that the recession is over in Illinois. Only 12 percent indicate it is, while 83 percent say it’s not over. And when likely voters were asked if the job situation will improve in the next six months, only 35 percent indicated yes, while 54 percent said no.

Current issues in Illinois that were polled included marriage equality for same-sex couples, of which 37 percent of likely voters stated they favor absolute prohibition of any legally recognized union, and 30 percent of respondents said they favored legal recognition of marriage between people of the same sex, while 24 percent said they preferred the recognition of civil unions. Other issues included term limits for Congressional officials. Sixty-nine percent of likely Illinois voters said that there should be federally mandated term limits for Congressional officials of no more than six terms of two years each.

In the bellwether Randolph County, both races remained close. In the Senate fight Kirk led Giannoulias 35 percent to 30 percent, while in the race for Governor, Brady led Quinn 38 percent to 37 percent. In the 2006 gubernatorial election in Illinois, Randolph County was within one percentage point of the state total for all gubernatorial candidates.

Methodology
The statewide survey of 500 Illinois likely voters was conducted Sept. 30 – Oct. 3, 2010. The margin of error is +/- 4.4 percent at a 95 percent level of confidence. The Randolph County bellwether included 300 likely voters polled 10/2-10/3. Bellwethers are designed to predict outcomes, not margins. Marginals and full cross-tabulation data will be posted Monday Oct. 4 at noon on the Suffolk University Political Research Center Web site: www.suffolk.edu/college/1450.html. For more information, contact David Paleologos at 781-290-9310, dpaleolo@suffolk.edu.
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Sept. 28, 2010 -- Suffolk University Poll Shows Republicans Lead for Senate, Governor: 83% Say Recession Not Over in Pennsylvania

With five weeks until the general election, Pennsylvania is leaning Republican, as GOP gubernatorial candidate Tom Corbett (47 percent) leads his Democratic rival Dan Onorato (40 percent), while Republican Senate candidate Pat Toomey (45 percent) clings to a five point lead over Democrat Joe Sestak (40 percent), according to the latest Suffolk University poll.

“With the number of undecided voters shrinking, both Democrats need to shake things up in their respective races,” said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center in Boston. “Otherwise, it will be a doubleheader victory for the GOP in this key state.”

In the Presidential election of 2008, Democrat Barack Obama bested Republican John McCain by a 55 percent to 44 percent margin. President Obama’s favorable rating in the latest Suffolk poll is 41 percent favorable and 51 percent unfavorable.

Hillary Clinton, who easily defeated Obama in the Pennsylvania Democratic Primary in April 2008, was the most popular political figure in the poll, as 56 percent gave her a favorable rating while just 34 percent indicated an unfavorable view. And among those voters still undecided for governor, Secretary of State Clinton’s popularity was 66 percent favorable to just 24 percent unfavorable, suggesting that she could make an impact in the governor’s race.

“Hillary Clinton could be a catalyst to motivate voters at a time when Democrats like President Obama and Gov. Rendell are suffering the throes of the bad economy,” Paleologos said.

Indeed, few believe that the recession is over in Pennsylvania. Only 10 percent indicated they thought the recession had ended, while 83 percent said it was not over. And when likely voters were asked if the job situation will improve in the next six months, only 29 percent indicated yes, while 59 percent said no.

In the governor’s race, Corbett was seen as the candidate more likely to change the way government works in Harrisburg (Corbett 44 percent vs. Onorato 28 percent).

“Clearly, the challenge for both Onorato and Sestak is to disconnect themselves with the policies of Democratic incumbents,” Paleologos said.

A whopping 84 percent of likely Keystone State voters said that Pennsylvania law should be changed so that all parties have the same signature requirements when running for governor. Currently, Democratic and Republican candidates only need to secure 2,000 certified signatures, while Independent or third party candidates must garner 19,082 signatures. Of those polled, 72 percent said that they would consider an Independent candidate in Pennsylvania, while 16 percent said they would not vote for an Independent candidate under any circumstance and 9 percent said they would definitely vote for a third party candidate.

In the bellwether Erie County, both races were much closer. In the Senate fight Toomey led Sestak 42 percent to 41 percent, while Corbett led Onorato 43 percent to 42 percent. In the last mid-term general election in Pennsylvania, Erie county was within two points of the Rendell 58-42 percent statewide win over Republican Lynn Swann in the governor’s race, and Erie County exactly matched the 59-41 percent win of Bob Casey over Rick Santorum in the Senate fight in that same election.

The Suffolk University poll taken in May 2010 was the closest to call the Democratic Primary between Joe Sestak and Arlen Specter. The SUPRC poll showed a nine point lead for Sestak, who won by eight on election day.

Methodology
The statewide survey of 500 Pennsylvania registered voters was conducted Sept. 24-27, 2010 using live telephone interviews. The margin of error is +/- 4.4 percent at a 95 percent level of confidence. The Erie County bellwether included 300 likely voters polled 9/26-9/27. Bellwethers are designed to predict outcomes, not margins. Marginals and full cross-tabulation data will be posted Tuesday Sept. 28 on the Suffolk University Political Research Center Web site: www.suffolk.edu/college/1450.html. For more information, contact David Paleologos at 781-290-9310, dpaleolo@suffolk.edu.
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Sept. 27, 2010 -- Rappaport Center Poll: Mass. Residents Think State Government Lacks Transparency

Massachusetts residents believe strongly in open government but view state government as secretive, according to a new poll released by the Rappaport Center for Law and Public Service at Suffolk University Law School.

Seventy percent of registered voters believe that public access to government records is critical to the functioning of good government, according to the poll. But 57 percent of voters view Massachusetts' state government as somewhat or very secretive. By contrast, the majority of respondents view local government as somewhat or very open.

The poll was conducted by the Suffolk University Political Research Center and taken as background for a symposium on Massachusetts' public records law, to be held Tuesday, Sept. 28 from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., at the Rappaport Center for Law and Public Service at Suffolk University Law School. The conference will examine problems in the operation of the 1973 law, which is intended to provide public access to government documents. The meeting is co-sponsored by the ACLU of Massachusetts and the Massachusetts City Solicitors and Town Counsel Association.

The symposium is timed to fall on International Right to Know Day and will feature speakers from across the United States and overseas.

"Ninety other countries have adopted public records laws since 1973," said Alasdair Roberts, the Rappaport Professor of Law and Public Policy at Suffolk Law School. "There's a lot we can learn about ways of improving the Massachusetts law."

The poll shows that public attitudes on openness are strongly connected to views about government taxation and spending. Supporters of Question 3, which would cut the state sales tax to three percent, are more likely to regard state agencies as secretive. Similarly, opponents of federal stimulus spending are more likely to regard the federal government as secretive.

In general, though, attitudes toward openness are not strongly tied to party preferences. Large majorities of Democrats, Republicans and Independents agree that public access to government records is critical to the functioning of good government. Regardless of party preference, local government is viewed as more open than state government.

The statewide survey of 500 Massachusetts registered voters was conducted September 16-19, 2010. The margin of error is +/- 4.4 percent.
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Sept. 21, 2010 -- Suffolk University/7News Poll Shows Patrick Leads Charlie Baker by 7 Percent: Candidates Meet Tonight for Televised Debate

BOSTON – With 42 days until the general election, Gov. Deval Patrick (41 percent) leads Republican Charlie Baker (34 percent) by seven points, according to the latest Suffolk University/7News poll. Independent Tim Cahill has 14 percent, and Green-Rainbow candidate Jill Stein, 4 percent, while 6 percent remain undecided.

“Deval Patrick continues to click with voters as time ticks away,” said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center. “He does so despite a majority of voters who say that he does not deserve reelection.”

Tim Cahill’s candidacy continues to be a factor. When Cahill voters were asked who their second choice would be if their candidate could not win the election, 46 percent of Cahill voters chose Baker, while 35 percent chose Democratic candidate Patrick, with 13 percent undecided.

“Tonight’s debate is wide open, and that is the reason why people will be watching,” said Paleologos. “You can expect that Tim Cahill will be treated like royalty by his opponents, as Cahill voters are now the biggest block of votes left to decide the outcome.”

Sixty-five percent of voters surveyed said they plan to watch tonight’s televised debate. When asked who would win the debate, 44 percent of voters said they were undecided about the outcome; 25 percent said Patrick would win; 22 percent said Baker; 6 percent, Cahill; and 1 percent said Jill Stein would win the debate.

Among those voters who are familiar with the Democratic and Republican candidates, Baker (39 percent) leads Patrick (38 percent) by a percentage point.

“That statistic tells us that, as Baker becomes more well known, he has the potential of overtaking Patrick, which makes the remaining debates all the more critical for Baker,” Paleologos said.

Among women, Patrick (43 percent) leads Baker (31 percent) by double digits. But among men it is almost a dead heat, with Patrick leading Baker by 2 percentage points.

When asked which of the four candidates is most likely to raise taxes, 48 percent said Patrick; while 7 percent indicated Baker; 5 percent said Cahill; 4 percent Stein; and 34 percent weren’t sure.

And 52 percent of voters said Massachusetts is heading in the wrong direction, while 37 percent said the state was headed in the right direction.

A majority (51 percent) of voters said they support the November referendum question that would cut the state’s sales tax from 6.25 percent to 3 percent, while 42 percent were opposed.

In the race for state treasurer, Democratic nominee Steven Grossman (39 percent) led Republican nominee Karyn Polito (28 percent), with 33 percent undecided.

The poll shows a tight race for state auditor, Democratic nominee Suzanne Bump (29 percent) led Republican Mary Connaughton (27 percent) and Green-Rainbow candidate Nathanael Fortune (3 percent), with 41 percent undecided.

Methodology
The statewide survey of 500 Massachusetts registered voters was conducted September 16-19, 2010. The margin of error is +/- 4.4 percent at a 95 percent level of confidence. Some questions have been embargoed until 9 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 21. Marginals and full cross-tabulation data will be posted at that time on the Suffolk University Political Research Center Web site: www.suffolk.edu/college/1450.html. For more information, contact David Paleologos at 781-290-9310, dpaleolo@suffolk.edu.
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Sept. 14, 2010 -- New Look for Suffolk University’s Ram Athletics Logo

Suffolk University today unveiled an updated and dynamic new Ram logo designed to boost the visibility of the University’s athletics programs.

The new Suffolk Ram – an imposing yet majestic image of a leaping ram, with head down and horns prominent, as if ready to butt heads with a rival – was introduced to students in a spirited campus event.

The new icon is drawn with bold and expressive lines that will make it immediately recognizable.

“It’s a wonderful modern version of what’s been a great tradition for the University,” said Nancy Stoll, vice president for Student Affairs. “It will give a real boost to the athletics program.”

The old Ram logo had served Suffolk University well since the athletics teams’ name was changed from the Royals to the Rams in 1950. But the image itself hadn’t had a major makeover in decades; the new logo has a cleaner, more contemporary look.

Chris Mitchell, an internationally known illustrator, based in England, created the new logo in collaboration with Suffolk University’s Office of University Communications. Mitchell has illustrated logos for familiar global brands, including beer makers Tiger and Carling; Schweppes tonic water; and major sports teams such as Tottenham Hotspur, one of England’s premier football clubs and many others.

Said Chris Mitchell: “It was clear that the new identity, whilst being a flagship for the Athletics department, had to be proudly endorsed by the students and to unite them in their sporting endeavors. A modern, powerful, dynamic, illustrative ram icon was required. Suffolk University took the bold step to take their identity to another level.”

The new logo will begin to appear on practice uniforms and other athletics gear as the academic year progresses, and merchandise is beginning to arrive in Suffolk’s bookstore.
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Suffolk University, located in historic downtown Boston, with international campuses in Madrid and Dakar, Senegal, is a comprehensive global institution distinguished by the teaching and the intellectual contributions of its faculty. Suffolk University offers a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programs in more than 90 areas of study. Its mission is to provide access to excellence in higher education to students of all ages and backgrounds, with strong emphasis on diversity. Learn more at www.suffolk.edu.

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Sept. 2, 2010 -- Suffolk University Listed in 2011 "Guide to Military Friendly Schools"

BOSTON – Suffolk University has been included in the 2011 list of “Military Friendly Schools” by G.I. Jobs magazine. The annual list recognizes those colleges and universities that are doing the most to embrace veterans and military personnel.

“This honor recognizes Suffolk University’s commitment to our veteran and active-service-member students, along with the breadth of services that we offer them,” said Richard DeCapua, Suffolk University’s associate dean of students.

G.I. Jobs is a monthly magazine that assists veterans in seeking civilian employment and education. It publishes a list of the 15 percent of U.S. colleges and universities that are the most military friendly in its annual Guide to Military Friendly Schools, a handbook that helps military students navigate their educational options.

DeCapua cited a number of reasons for Suffolk’s selection, including the University’s overall financial and personal investment in veterans receiving an education, an array of support systems and training services related to issues shared by military students, and opportunities where veterans can get involved in community-wide activities.

Suffolk has a long history of welcoming returning veterans, and views the G.I. Bill as a well-deserved recognition of the service that U.S. military personnel and veterans have provided to their country. The University has made a commitment to fund costs in excess of the minimum for all accepted veterans studying in its Sawyer Business School, College of Arts and Sciences, and Law School.

Through the expanded G.I. Bill, the federal government will fund higher education for veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars at a rate equal to the tuition at public institutions within the state where the student is enrolled.

In 2009, Suffolk joined the Yellow Ribbon G.I. Education Enhancement Program. This year, the University offers veterans enrolling in its programs up to $25,000 in grant monies annually while they pursue a degree.

“Through its participation in the Yellow Ribbon and other programs, Suffolk University has committed itself to the ongoing academic needs of our military veterans and active service members,” said DeCapua. “The goal is simple: to provide a first-class academic experience to those men and women who have bravely served our country so that they can be successful in the profession of their choice.”

Marketing Professor Michael Barretti, director of Executive Education and Life-long Learning at Suffolk, who served as an officer in the United States Marine Corps for 20 years and is a decorated Vietnam veteran, said Suffolk is continually looking for ways to enhance educational opportunities for veterans.

Beginning in January 2011, Suffolk will extend its globally- ranked Executive MBA Program to Arlington, Va., primarily due to the geographic clustering of the military facilities in Washington D.C., northern Virginia and lower Maryland, better known as the “Capital Region.” The Financial Times recently ranked Suffolk’s EMBA program one of the top 100 EMBA programs worldwide.

Another resource for military students is Suffolk University’s Veterans Upward Bound Program, federally funded through a grant from the U.S. Department of Education. This pre-collegiate program helps military veterans develop the academic and personal skills necessary for success in enrolling and graduating from a post-secondary institution.

Suffolk University, located in historic downtown Boston, with international campuses in Madrid and Dakar, Senegal, is a comprehensive global institution distinguished by the teaching and the intellectual contributions of its faculty. Suffolk University offers a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programs in more than 90 areas of study. Its mission is to provide access to excellence in higher education to students of all ages and backgrounds, with strong emphasis on diversity. Learn more at www.suffolk.edu.

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Sept. 1, 2010 -- Sawyer Business School at Suffolk University Presents First Business Complexity and the Global Leader Conference

BOSTON -- Suffolk University’s Sawyer Business School will bring together business leaders and scholars in October for the first Business Complexity and the Global Leader Conference, a three-day symposium on business complexity, addressing what many executives say is the single biggest challenge facing their enterprises.

Today’s business environment has become extraordinarily complex, with systems, economies and governments so interconnected as to have seemingly moved beyond management control in many cases. The global financial crisis and the new regulatory environment that has emerged in its wake have created new complexities for businesses. Health epidemics such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and the H1N1 virus have impacted business mobility. For BP and other companies, the complexities surrounding the Gulf oil spill are mindboggling.

A recent IBM survey found that the rapid escalation of complexity has become the single biggest challenge CEOs face, and about half of them doubt their ability to manage those complexities. Of the more than 1,500 CEOs and other senior executives surveyed, eight in 10 expect their environment will grow even more complex.

While the conversation to date has mostly focused on finding ways to reduce or avoid complexity in business, Suffolk University’s Business Complexity and the Global Leader Conference will look at what can be learned from this increasing complexity that will support more effective leadership.

“Complexity is a reality,” said Greta Meszoely of the Business School faculty, the conference organizer. “Rather than attempt to try to reduce it or ignore it, we must acknowledge our increasingly interconnected and complex world. We can no longer just focus on our internal organizations but instead must develop an understanding of our role in a connected ecosystem of complex adaptive systems.”

The conference, to be held Oct. 18-20, 2010, will be presented by the Sawyer Business School’s Institute for Executive Education. Thought leaders and practitioners who will participate include:

• Geoffrey West, theoretical physicist and distinguished professor at the Santa Fe Institute, who in 2006 was named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world
• Juan Perez Mercader of Spain's Centro de Astrobiology and Harvard’s Origins of Life Initiative
• Cesar Hidalgo, assistant professor with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Media Laboratory
• Paolo Gaudiano, president and chief technology officer, Icosystem Corp, which provides companies and government agencies with predictive analytics.
• Phil Budden, Britain’s Consul General for New England
• Marv Adams, executive vice president, TIAA-CREF. His past roles include CIO of Ford Motor Company, CIO of Citigroup and President of Shared Services at Fidelity Investments.
• Paul Pedini, senior vice president, Jay Cashman, Inc., and a civil engineer who spent a decade working on Boston’s Big Dig Central Artery project.

“The Sawyer Business School is preparing the way for global leaders of tomorrow and supporting leaders of today,” said Professor Michael Barretti, director of the Sawyer Business School’s Institute for Executive Education and Life-Long Learning. “Suffolk University is developing programming that will support our understanding of the underlying forces that have changed our business landscape in what Stephen Hawking refers to as the ‘century of complexity.’”

The Business Complexity and the Global Leader Conference aims to create the foundation for productive dialogue to support a better understanding of complex adaptive systems as they relate to business. More information may be found at www.businesscomplexity.com.
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Suffolk University, located in historic downtown Boston, with international campuses in Madrid and Dakar, Senegal, is a comprehensive global institution distinguished by the teaching and the intellectual contributions of its faculty. Suffolk University offers a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programs in more than 90 areas of study. Its mission is to provide access to excellence in higher education to students of all ages and backgrounds, with strong emphasis on diversity. Learn more at www.suffolk.edu.
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July 7, 2010 -- "A Short History of Cape Cod," by Robert Allison; Suffolk University History Professor Chronicles the Cape’s Transformation from Industrial Setting to Vacation Destination, with Profiles of Famous Residents

Cape Cod was once known primarily for its industry, such as the processing of guano and fish oil, according to Robert J. Allison, chair of the Suffolk University History Department, whose newest book chronicles the history of the peninsula where the Pilgrims first landed.

A Short History of Cape Cod offers a captivating look at the seaside paradise, illustrated with more than 100 photographs. It includes 20 personal profiles of historic figures and a detailed chronology.

Allison explains that Cape Cod wasn’t always a recreation spot. The Cape became a vacation destination after World War II, when servicemen who had trained there began to introduce their families to its beaches and dunes. These jaunts paved the way for today’s Cape Cod vacations.

Before this 20th century transformation, factories were more the norm for Cape Cod. Penzance Point in Falmouth was a guano manufactory; Herring Cove Beach in Provincetown, also known as "Hell Town," had a fish oil plant.

“Men once set out to hunt whales from Provincetown Harbor,” Allison writes. “Today boats go to watch the whales and study them.”

Landmarks detailed in Allison’s history include the Wellfleet site of Guglielmo Marconi’s first transatlantic radio transmission as well as more obscure places, such as the country’s first traffic rotary, built in 1914

Allison profiles famous residents ranging from authors Kurt Vonnegut and John Dos Passos to Joseph P. Kennedy, patriarch of the Kennedy clan, and President Grover Cleveland.

A Short History of Cape Cod
By Robert Allison
ISBN-13: 978-1-889833-99-6
Commonwealth Edition
www.commonwealtheditions.com
266 Cabot Street, Beverly, MA 01915
978-921-0747

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June 24, 2010 -- Suffolk University Names Camille A. Nelson Dean of Law School

BOSTON -- Suffolk University announced today that Camille A. Nelson, a distinguished legal scholar and professor of law at Hofstra University School of Law, will become dean of Suffolk University Law School, effective Sept. 1, 2010.

Nelson will be the first woman and the first person of color to hold that position in Suffolk Law School’s 104-year history.

“Camille Nelson joins us in sharing a longstanding conviction that the potential for excellence is unlocked when doors are opened to people of ability from all backgrounds and circumstances, and I am confident that she will continue Suffolk University Law School’s mission of opportunity,” said Suffolk University President David J. Sargent. “She is committed to public service and the pursuit of social justice, and we expect that the Law School will flourish through her energy, collaborative leadership style and vision.”

“I look forward to joining the Suffolk University community and to serving as dean of the Law School,” Nelson said. “Suffolk University Law School is an incredible place, and I am honored to be joining its ranks. It is a community of engaged scholars, dedicated teachers, involved alumni, hard-working professionals and exceptional students. The institutional commitment to service and to fostering access to the legal profession is inspiring and resonates strongly with me. There is a positive momentum at the school, and I am enthused about being a part of this vibrant institution."

Nelson was chosen to become Suffolk Law School’s 12th dean following a nationwide search and strong faculty support.

“Camille Nelson is an inspiring individual who has both the vision and the capacity to help us build on our success,” said Anthony P. Polito, co-chair of the Dean Search Committee and a professor of law at Suffolk University Law School. “She is an outstanding teacher and scholar, who understands our law school’s mission.”

Since September 2009, Nelson has been a faculty member and Professor of Law at Hofstra University School of Law, where courses she taught included Comparative Criminal Law and Transnational Law. Before joining Hofstra, she served as a visiting professor at Washington University in Saint Louis School of Law, where she became the Dean’s Distinguished Scholar in Residence. From 2000 to 2009, she was a Professor of Law at Saint Louis University School of Law, where she taught Contracts, Criminal Law, Critical Race Theory, Legal Profession and Sports Law Ethics.

Following her undergraduate education at the University of Toronto, Nelson received her law degree from the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law and went on to receive a Master of Laws from Columbia Law School in New York. She clerked for Justice Frank Iacobucci of the Supreme Court of Canada and then worked as an associate at McCarthy Tetrault in Toronto, the largest law firm in Canada.

Nelson is widely recognized for her writings and lectures, which have focused on the intersection of critical race theory and cultural studies. Her writings are respected for both their insights and creativity. Nelson has published nearly two dozen journal and law review articles, including articles in the Iowa Law Review, the Yale Journal of Law & Feminism, the Southern California Interdisciplinary Law Journal, the University of Florida Journal of Law and Public Policy and the Wisconsin Law Review.

As a gifted teacher, Nelson was named Faculty Member of the Year at Saint Louis University School of Law in 2004. In 2006, she received the university-wide Faculty Excellence Award from Saint Louis University. Nelson was honored with an Extraordinary Service Award from the National People of Color Legal Scholarship Conference at George Washington University School of Law in 2004. In 2005, she received the Derrick A. Bell Jr. Faculty Award from the Association of American Law Schools, Section on Minority Groups, for her activism, mentoring, colleagueship, teaching and scholarship. In 2010 she was elected to the American Law Institute.

June 11, 2010 -- Suffolk University Named "WasteWise 2009 Partner of the Year" for Leadership in Recycling

BOSTON -- The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection has recognized Suffolk University as the 2009 “Partner of the Year” for its comprehensive recycling and waste-prevention efforts.

MassDEP and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sponsor annual WasteWise Leadership Awards, including “Partner of the Year,” to recognize companies and organizations that demonstrate recycling leadership, sustainability and innovation.

“These efforts are models for other communities and organizations that are looking to protect our environment and save money by reducing waste and expanding recycling programs,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Ian Bowles.

MassDEP Commissioner Laurie Burt described Suffolk University as among the “forward-thinking, innovative organizations that are doing the right things to help our environment.”

Since launching its waste-reduction initiatives in 2006, Suffolk University has successfully expanded recycling and waste prevention awareness throughout the campus, increasing the recycling rate from about 5 percent to 45 percent. In that time, the University has reduced trash output by close to 540,000 pounds.

Several of the University’s core waste-reduction initiatives focus on residence halls and student involvement. Spring 2009 saw a 65 percent decrease in waste output in the residence halls, compared to Spring 2006. This is due in part to recycling accommodations on each floor and a “Dump and Run” donation program during spring move-out. New students and employees receive an orientation that outlines campus sustainability initiatives, as well as how to become involved in service-learning projects, departmental green teams and environmental clubs.

Other green initiatives include the “mug club,” which provides campus café patrons with a discount for using their own mugs; a “bring-your-own-bag” program to facilitate waste reduction at the University and Law School bookstores; several community partnerships; and the use of green cleaning products.

For more information on Suffolk University’s recycling and sustainability programs, visit target=_blank>www.suffolk.edu/offices/4919.html.

MassDEP and the U.S. EPA jointly support the voluntary Massachusetts WasteWise Program, which provides waste-reduction assistance to participating businesses and organizations. For more information about the WasteWise program, visit www.mass.gov/dep/recycle/reduce/wastewise.htm

June 3, 2010 -- Angle Surges into Lead in Nevada Senate GOP Primary; Suffolk University Poll Shows Sandoval (Governor) and Krolicki (Lieutenant Governor) with Solid Leads over Respective Fields

BOSTON – Former Nevada state Assemblywoman Sharron Angle has surged to the front of the pack in a close race for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate, according to a poll released today by the Suffolk University Political Research Center in Boston. The Suffolk University poll is the first to show Angle leading the large field of opponents in the June 8 Primary.

"The 'Tea Party Express' endorsement of Angle has energized her effort to rise from relative political obscurity to flat-out front-runner," said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center.

Among the 13 candidates vying to challenge incumbent Democratic Sen. Harry Reid, Angle (33 percent) led Las Vegas businessman Danny Tarkanian (26 percent), former chairwoman of the Nevada Republican state party and former Nevada state Sen. Sue Lowden (25 percent), businessman John Chachas (4 percent), assemblyman Chad Christensen (4 percent), Dr. Garn Mabey (1 percent) and U.S. Marine Bill Parson (1 percent), with 7 percent still undecided.

“The Nevada GOP is drawing a right angle in the quest for Capitol Hill,” said Paleologos. “Although Danny Tarkanian is more personally popular and Sue Lowden is seen as the more viable candidate against Harry Reid, voters are lining up behind Angle in great numbers, especially in the Washoe County area."

Although he trails Angle, Tarkanian (65 percent favorable - 17 percent unfavorable) was the most popular candidate, compared to Angle (55 percent favorable - 25 percent unfavorable) and Lowden (52 percent favorable - 32 percent unfavorable).

The horserace among the three major candidates would shift if the other 10 were not in contention. When other candidates' supporters were asked which of the three leading candidates they would support if it were apparent their first choice couldn't win, Lowden (33 percent) led, followed by Tarkanian (25 percent) and Angle (14 percent). And when Republican voters were asked which candidate has a better chance of defeating Harry Reid, Lowden (33 percent) again led Angle (27 percent) and Tarkanian (23 percent).

Republican contests in Nevada include nearly a dozen local races for contested state senate and assembly seats, which will affect turnout and get-out-the-vote efforts.

In the Republican Primary for governor, former U.S. District Court Judge Brian Sandoval (47 percent) led Governor Jim Gibbons (25 percent), former North Las Vegas Mayor Michael Montandon (10 percent), Stan Lusak (1 percent) and real estate investor Tony Atwood (1 percent), with 16 percent undecided.

For lieutenant governor, incumbent Brian Krolicki (63 percent) had a comfortable lead over Barbara Lee Woollen (14 percent), the former co-owner of Cinelease, with 22 percent undecided.

As international oil giant BP continues to struggle in its efforts to stop the Gulf of Mexico oil gusher and contain the economic and environmental damage, most Nevada Republicans oppose a moratorium on offshore drilling. Thirty-two percent of likely Republican voters would support a moratorium on all U.S. offshore drilling until appropriate safety measures have been designed and tested, while 62 percent oppose a moratorium on offshore drilling.

Nevada Republicans overwhelmingly support the recent Arizona law cracking down on illegal immigrants: 89 percent said they supported the law, and 5 percent opposed it. When asked if a similar law should be passed in Nevada, 85 percent said yes, and 9 percent no.

Demographics

Suffolk University conducted the Republican Primary poll using live telephone interviews on Tuesday June 1, through Wednesday, June 2, 2010. The margin of error on the statewide survey of 400 is +/- 4.90 percent at a 95 percent level of confidence. All respondents were likely Republican voters in the Nevada Primary to be held Tuesday, June 8. Frequencies/marginals and 140 pages of cross-tabulation data will be posted today on the Suffolk University Political Research Center Web site -- www.suffolk.edu/research. For more information, contact David Paleologos at 781-290-9310.

May 26, 2010 -- Mass Voters: No State Benefits Without Proof of Citizenship; Suffolk University/7News Poll Shows High Awareness of Arizona Immigration Law

Voters Say President Obama’s Aunt Should Stay

BOSTON – Massachusetts voters overwhelmingly support requiring individuals to provide proof of citizenship or legal residency in order to receive state benefits such as public housing or public assistance, according to the latest Suffolk University/7News poll.

Eighty-four percent of voters polled said the Massachusetts Legislature should act to require proof of citizenship for those receiving state benefits, while 12 percent opposed such a move, and 4 percent were undecided.

“Voters are mixed on immigration reform, but when you introduce the issue of taxpayer- funded public assistance programs, Massachusetts voters draw a line in the sand,” said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center. “They are saying, by a wide margin, that they want proof of citizenship or legal residency clearly established before one taxpayer dime is given to a recipient.”

The recent Arizona law cracking down on illegal immigrants has sent shock waves from coast to coast, and Massachusetts voters are listening. Ninety-four percent of voters said they were aware of the Arizona law on illegal immigration, while 6 percent were not, the Suffolk University/7News poll found.

In the poll of registered voters, 53 percent said they supported the Arizona law, while 40 percent opposed it. Yet, when asked if Massachusetts should pass a law similar to the Arizona law, 43 percent said yes and 50 percent said no.

“There is a great lesson to be learned here about states’ rights,” said Paleologos. “Voters here support the right of Arizona to pass its own law to deal with its border issues directly. However, in Massachusetts, voters do not feel the urgency to have the Legislature follow suit.”

Voters showed sensitivity to individual cases. When asked if President Obama’s aunt, Zeituni Onyango, who was granted political asylum, should be deported after living illegally in South Boston for six years, 58 percent said that political asylum is the right decision because she risked being harmed in her homeland of Kenya. Twenty-nine percent said that she received special treatment and should be deported regardless of the risks, and 13 percent were undecided.

Massachusetts voters also weighed in on the broader issue of producing documentation, with 60 percent saying that everyone in the United States should be required to produce documents proving that they are here legally, 30 percent saying no, and 7 percent undecided.

Methodology
The statewide survey of 500 Massachusetts registered voters was conducted May 20-23, 2010. The margin of error is +/- 4.4 percent at a 95 percent level of confidence. Marginals and cross-tabulation data are posted on the Suffolk University Political Research Center Web site: http://www.suffolk.edu/college/1450.html. For more information, contact David Paleologos at 781-290-9310, dpaleologos@suffolk.edu.

May 25, 2010 -- Suffolk University/7News Poll shows Patrick with Double-Digit Lead; Voters Overwhelmingly Oppose Unlimited Corporate Spending on Campaigns

BOSTON – Gov. Deval Patrick has widened his lead in the race for the corner office and is now ahead of his closest rival, Republican Charlie Baker, by 13 points, according to the latest Suffolk University/7News poll.

In the poll of registered voters, 42 percent say they would vote for Patrick, compared to 29 percent for Baker and 14 percent for independent Tim Cahill. Green Party candidate Jill Stein gets 8 percent, while 7 percent were undecided. Of the three candidates whose numbers improved since a February 2010 Suffolk University/7News poll, Patrick’s increase of 9 points was higher than Baker’s (+4) and Stein’s (+5). Cahill dropped 9 points, likely due to a $1 million barrage of attack ads financed by the Republican Governor’s Association.

Cahill’s Loss is Patrick’s Gain

“Tim Cahill’s decline has been a clear net positive for Gov. Patrick,” said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center. “Patrick is the better-known alternative, is trusted the most and is perceived to have run the best campaign thus far. More than 60 percent of voters still have no opinion of Charlie Baker or have never heard of him, so he hasn’t given voters a reason to choose him.”

Patrick led among men (39 percent to 30 percent), women (45 percent to 29 percent), white voters (40 percent to 30 percent), minority voters (56 percent to 24 percent) as well as in every region of the state.

Patrick captured 76 percent of registered Democrats, while Baker won 77 percent of registered Republicans. Among independents, Baker led Patrick by 35 percent to 26 percent, far less than the 64 percent to 29 percent advantage among independents that Scott Brown had over Martha Coakley in a Jan. 14 Suffolk University/7 News survey. That survey was the first live telephone poll to show Brown winning.

Opposition to Ruling on Political Funding

As political pundits pore over the impact of the massive media buy against Cahill, voters overwhelmingly opposed the recent Supreme Court ruling that corporations and unions can spend unlimited amounts of money on advertising to help political candidates win elections. Eighty-two percent of voters surveyed opposed the ruling, while 14 percent supported it. Seventy-eight percent of voters said it would have a negative effect on elections, while 11 percent said it would have a positive impact.

Managing Local Aid Cuts

When voters were given four possible local actions to make up for projected cuts in local aid, 34 percent said that communities should increase employee contributions to city and town health care plans; 25 percent said that communities should impose a 5 percent salary cut on all city and town employees; 17 percent said that communities should raise property taxes with a Proposition 2½ override; and 6 percent preferred layoffs of selected teachers, police, firefighters and other municipal personnel. Seventeen percent were undecided or had no opinion.

Taking Economic Temperature

Following a positive report on Massachusetts unemployment rates, 45 percent of voters said the economy is improving, while 49 percent said it is not. Meanwhile, 49 percent of voters said they planned to spend the same as last year on summer vacations, while 27 percent will spend at least 10 percent less, and 13 percent plan to spend at least 10 percent more.

Treasurer’s Race

Both Democratic candidates led the Republican nominee for state treasurer, with a significant number undecided. Businessman and party activist Steve Grossman led Republican State Sen. Karyn Polito 37 percent to 28 percent, with 36 percent undecided, and Boston City Councilor Stephen Murphy led Polito 36 percent to 29 percent, with 35 percent undecided.

Tax Cuts & Casinos

Voters also weighed in on two possible tax-cutting ballot measures. Forty-nine percent of registered voters support an initiative petition to reduce the sales tax from 6.25 percent to 3 percent, while 44 percent oppose it, and 7 percent are undecided. These were the exact same findings as in the February Suffolk University/7 News poll. Voters also supported the elimination of the added sales tax on alcohol by 48 percent to 43 percent, which was slightly closer than the 54-39 margin in February. Casinos in Massachusetts had the support of 55 percent of voters and were opposed by 34 percent, closely tracking the 57-34 margin in February.

Methodology

The statewide survey of 500 Massachusetts registered voters was conducted May 20-23, 2010. The margin of error is +/- 4.4 percent at a 95 percent level of confidence. Some questions have been embargoed until 11 p.m. Wednesday, May 26. Marginals and cross-tabulation data totaling 450 pages will be posted on the Suffolk University Political Research Center Web site: http://www.suffolk.edu/college/1450.html. For more information, contact David Paleologos at 781-290-9310, dpaleologos@suffolk.edu.

May 13, 2010 -- Medical Visionary Paul Farmer and Newark Mayor Cory Booker to Speak at Suffolk University Commencement Exercises on May 23: 2,469 Students to Receive Undergraduate and Advanced Degrees at Weekend Ceremonies

BOSTON – Dr. Paul Farmer, who has devoted his life to treating impoverished patients in Haiti and other underdeveloped nations, and urban reformer Cory A. Booker, mayor of Newark, N.J., will speak as more than 2,400 students receive degrees at Suffolk University commencement exercises on May 22 and 23, 2010.

Booker will address Law School graduates at 9:30 a.m. Sunday, May 23, and Farmer will speak at 2 p.m. to College of Arts and Sciences and Sawyer Business School undergraduates, with both ceremonies to be held at the Bank of America Pavilion on Boston’s waterfront.

The Sawyer Business School graduate commencement exercises will take place at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, May 22, at the Sheraton Boston Hotel, with Wycliffe “Wyc” Grousbeck, managing partner, governor and CEO of the Boston Celtics, as speaker.

Karen B. DeSalvo, MD, MPH, MSc, professor of Medicine and vice dean of Community Affairs & Health Policy at Tulane University School of Medicine will be the speaker at the College of Arts and Sciences graduate ceremony to be held at 1 p.m. May 22 at the Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel.

Honorary Degrees

The College of Arts and Sciences will award the following honorary degrees:
• Farmer, Doctor of Humane Letters
• DeSalvo, Doctor of Humane Letters
• Grousbeck, Doctor of Commercial Science
• Charles Burnett, award-winning American independent filmmaker, Doctor of Humane Letters

The Law School will award the following honorary degrees:

• Booker, Doctor of Laws
• The Hon. Bernice Donald, U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Tennessee, Doctor of Laws
• Kenneth R. Feinberg, Feinberg Rosen, LLP, Doctor of Laws
• Justice John M. Greaney (Ret.), Director, Macaronis Institute for Trial and Appellate Advocacy at Suffolk University Law School, Doctor of Laws

Statistics

College of Arts and Sciences bachelor’s degree candidates: 710
College master’s degree and doctoral candidates: 290

Sawyer Business School bachelor’s degree candidates: 482
Business School master’s degree candidates: 433

Law School to confer 493 juris doctor, 61 master of laws degrees

Dr. Paul Farmer

Farmer, a physician and medical anthropologist, began his lifetime commitment to the Haitian poor in 1983 while he was still a student. Later, after entering medical school, he founded the Zanmi Lastane clinic in Haiti. The clinic’s name, translated from Creole, is Partners In Health, and Zanmi Lastane has grown into a complex that includes a primary school, hospital and medical training facility. Farmer took “60 Minutes” on a tour of the facility in 2008 to show the health care challenges poor nations face and what can be done to help.

The subject of Tracy Kidder’s 2003 book, Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World, Farmer has embraced a practical and moral mission to bring health care and a better life to those most in need of assistance.

He is chair of the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School, an attending physician in infectious diseases and chief of the Division of Global Health Equity at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and medical director of the Clinique Bon Sauveur in rural Haiti. As a founding director of the international charitable health-care organization Partners In Health, Farmer has led an effort to deliver health care in poor communities around the world. His innovative, community-based tuberculosis and AIDS treatment strategies have been highly successful in many resource-poor regions.

Former President Bill Clinton, who serves as the U.N. Special Envoy to Haiti, appointed Farmer Deputy U.N. Special Envoy to Haiti in August 2009. The January earthquake gave increased urgency to their efforts in the Caribbean nation.

Farmer recently published a collection of his writing since 1988, Partner to the Poor: A Paul Farmer Reader, with a foreword by Kidder.

Farmer will receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree at the afternoon ceremony. He has received honorary degrees from and delivered commencement addresses at many colleges and universities, including Columbia Medical School, Princeton, and Emory. He was a keynote speaker at the 2006 Notre Dame Forum on The Global Health Crisis and is the recipient of a MacArthur "genius" grant.

Mayor Cory Booker

Booker, an attorney and Rhodes Scholar, was elected mayor of Newark at age 37, promising change in a city that had long struggled with crime, unemployment, and corruption. Under his leadership, Newark has led the nation in crime reduction. Booker has invested in public parks and playgrounds and doubled affordable housing to further improve the quality of life in his adopted city.

His sometimes-unorthodox approach to engaging with Newark’s challenges has seen him living in a crumbling public housing project for eight years and frequenting street corners notorious for drug dealing.

His first, unsuccessful, run for mayor of Newark was chronicled in the Oscar-nominated documentary “Street Fight,” and Booker has appeared on national talk shows, including "Real Time with Bill Maher" on HBO.

Booker has been the commencement speaker at a number of colleges and universities, including Harvard Law School, New York University School for Continuing and Professional Studies, and Teachers College at Columbia University.

His civic efforts have been recognized in numerous publications, including Time, Esquire, the New Yorker, Black Enterprise and The New York Times Magazine.

He is a member of numerous boards and advisory committees, including Democrats for Education Reform, Columbia University Teachers’ College Board of Trustees and the Black Alliance for Educational Options.

Booker is a graduate of Stanford University, studied Modern History at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar, and completed his law degree at Yale University.

Suffolk University will award Booker an honorary Doctor of Laws degree.

May 13, 2010 -- Sestak Leads Specter in Penn. Dem. Primary for Senate: Suffolk University Poll Shows Republicans Toomey (Senate), Corbett (Governor) Will Represent GOP in Fall Election

BOSTON – Congressman Joe Sestak (49 percent) leads incumbent Arlen Specter (40 percent) by 9 points in the race for U.S. Senate among likely Democratic Primary voters in Pennsylvania, according to a poll released today by the Suffolk University Political Research Center. Twelve percent of voters were undecided.

The winner of the Democratic Primary will most likely face Republican Pat Toomey, who led Peg Luksik 60 percent to 9 percent in the Republican Primary for U.S. Senate.

“The key to the Democratic Primary will not only be the get-out-the-vote efforts by both campaigns but also those of other Democratic races across Pennsylvania,” said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center. “This Democratic Primary is tricky because there will be higher than usual Democratic primary votes cast in three Congressional districts and in areas like Berks and Lackawanna counties, where a dozen or so state Senate and state rep. candidates will be dragging out their own voters.”

Highlights

Sestak led Specter among men and women as well as all age groups. In addition, Sestak led 58 percent to 31 percent in central Pennsylvania and 55 percent to 37 percent in the Philadelphia/Delaware Valley area. Specter carried the southwest Pennsylvania area 45 percent to 38 percent. The highest undecided block of voters is in western Pennsylvania, where 17 percent are still undecided for U.S. Senate.

A heavy minority vote could make a difference for Specter. Sestak won white voters 51 percent to 37 percent but trailed among minority voters, where Specter led 52 percent to 37 percent. Sestak carried union households by a wide margin, 60 percent to 36 percent.

The Democratic Senate bellwether of York County showed a tighter race than the statewide survey, with Sestak leading 42 percent to 39 percent.

Divided Loyalties

Only 50 percent of Specter voters said they would support Sestak in the November General Election; while 6 percent said they would support the Republican; 5 percent will vote for one of the independents; 4 percent said they will not vote; and 34 percent were undecided.

Sestak voters were even less loyal. Forty-five percent of Sestak voters planned to vote for Specter if he were the nominee; while 14 percent would vote for the Republican; 9 percent would choose one of the independents; 5 percent will not vote; and 28 percent were undecided.

This contrasts sharply with the Suffolk University Ohio Primary poll, which showed that at least 70 percent of supporters for either Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate would support the Democratic nominee in November against the Republican.

“This finding is even more powerful given that, unlike Ohio, the Pennsylvania Democratic Primary is closed and only allows registered Democrats to cast Democratic ballots,” said Paleologos.

Onorato vs. Corbett Likely November Matchup

In the Democratic Primary for governor, Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato (46 percent) comfortably led his three opponents: state Sen. Anthony Hardy Williams (13 percent), state Auditor Jack Wagner (9 percent), and former Congressman Joseph Hoeffel (8 percent). This trend also was seen in the Democratic bellwether of York County, where Onorato led Williams 37 percent to 8 percent.

In the Republican Primary for Governor, Attorney General Tom Corbett (58 percent) led state Rep. Samuel Rohrer (20 percent) by 38 points, with 22 percent undecided. This trend also was seen in the Republican bellwether of Lackawanna County, where Corbett led by 34 points.

Medical Marijuana

Democrats and Republicans were split regarding the issue of legalizing medical marijuana; a bill is now before the Pennsylvania Legislature. Seventy-six percent of Democrats strongly/somewhat supported the measure, while 23 percent were not very/not at all supportive. Among Republican Primary voters, 45 percent were very/somewhat supportive, while 54 percent were not very/not at all supportive.

Demographics

Suffolk University conducted two separate Primary polls through live telephone interviews. Each was fielded Monday, May 11, through Wednesday, May 13, 2010. The margin of error on each statewide survey of 400 is +/- 4.90 percent at a 95 percent level of confidence. All respondents from the statewide survey were likely Democratic or Republican voters in the respective Pennsylvania Primaries to be held Tuesday, May 18. Frequencies/marginals and 245 pages of cross-tabulation data will be posted today on the Suffolk University Political Research Center Web site -- www.suffolk.edu/research/1450.html. The Democratic bellwether of York County, and the Republican bellwether of Lackawanna County were conducted May 12 and May 13; each included a total of 250 likely respondents. Bellwether test are designed to predict outcomes - not margins.

For more information, contact David Paleologos at 781-290-9310.

April 30, 2010 -- Fisher Breaking Away in Buckeye Democratic Primary: Suffolk University Poll Shows Ohio Democrats Will Stay True to Party in Fall Election

BOSTON--Lieutenant Governor Lee Fisher (55 percent) is widening his lead over Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner (27 percent) by nearly 30 points in the race for U.S. Senate among likely Democratic Primary voters in Ohio, according to a poll released today by the Suffolk University Political Research Center. Eighteen percent of voters were undecided.

The winner of the Democratic Primary will face Republican Rob Portman, who is unopposed, in the general election. Incumbent Sen. George Voinovich, a Republican, will retire at the end of his term.

“What was a single-digit race a couple of weeks ago has really opened up," said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center. "As always in a projected low turnout, the race is down to who can turn out their core base of support on Election Day. However, this poll suggests that, although the margin may be in question, the outcome will not be.”

Highlights

Fisher led Brunner comfortably among men and women, in all age groups, and among union and non-union households. Fisher extended his lead to 38 points (63 percent-to-25 percent) in Cuyahoga County and to 48 points (61 percent-to-13 percent) among all minority voters.

Brunner's best showing was among households with school-age children, where she trailed Fisher by 13 points (Fisher 43 percent, Brunner 30 percent).

Fisher has raised considerably more money than Brunner, and his campaign has spent about $3 million, as opposed to her $800,000, according to news reports.

Fisher's fund-raising edge has driven a perception edge, according to Paleologos. When all likely Democratic voters were asked which candidate has the best chance of defeating Portman in the November general election, 55 percent chose Fisher, while 15 percent said Brunner.

Strong Party Unity

Supporters of Fisher and Brunner are showing strong party loyalty looking ahead to November. Seventy-two percent of Fisher voters said they would vote for Brunner if she were the nominee against Republican Portman this fall, while 6 percent would vote for Portman; 10 percent would select one of the independent candidates; and 12 percent said they wouldn't vote at all.

Similarly, 74 percent of Brunner voters said they would vote for Fisher if he were the Democratic nominee against Portman, while 8 percent would vote for Portman, 7 percent for one of the independent candidates, and 10 percent wouldn't vote.

“Unlike the divisive 2008 Democratic Primary for president between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, when many more Democratic voters said they would vote for John McCain in November if their candidate lost, Ohio Democrats are steadfast in their support of the Democratic nominee come November,” said Paleologos.

President Popular among Democrats

Barack Obama holds high popularity among his base of Democratic voters, as 86 percent of respondents viewed him favorably and 12 percent unfavorably. Registered Democrats account for 30 percent of registered voters in Ohio; Republicans represent 19 percent; and unaffiliated voters represent a majority at 51 percent.

Strickland Endorsement

In a year where endorsements from incumbent politicians are often a curse, Ohio bucks the trend. Fifty percent said that Gov. Ted Strickland's endorsement of Lee Fisher made them more likely to support Fisher in the May 4 Primary, and 10 percent said it made them less likely to support him.

Ohio Bellwether

The U.S. Senate Democratic Primary bellwether of Erie County showed trends similar to the statewide ballot test. Fisher (54 percent) led Brunner (27 percent) with 17 percent undecided. In the 2004 Democratic Primary for U.S. Senate, Eric Fingerhut defeated Norbert Dennerll in Erie County, Ohio, 72 percent to 28 percent, nearly exactly matching the statewide Ohio Democratic results (Fingerhut 71 percent. Denerll 29 percent statewide).

Bellwether tests have been 96 percent accurate in predicting straight-up winners when they agree with the statewide poll and are taken within three days of an election. Bellwether tests are designed to predict outcomes, not margins.

Demographics

The Suffolk University statewide Democratic Primary poll was conducted was conducted by live telephone interviews Tuesday, April 27, through Thursday, April 29, 2010. The margin of error on the statewide survey of 400 is +/- 4.90 percent at a 95 percent level of confidence. All respondents from the statewide survey were likely Democratic voters in the Ohio U.S. Senate Primary to be held Tuesday, May 4. Frequencies/marginals and 92 pages of cross-tabulation data will be posted today on the Suffolk University Political Research Center Web site -- www.suffolk.edu/research/1450.html. The bellwether of Erie County, Ohio, was conducted April 28 through 29 and included a total of 250 likely Democratic respondents. For more information, contact David Paleologos at 781-290-9310.

April 14, 2010-- Emerging Trends in the Business of Sports; Suffolk U. Business School Forum Focuses on Changed Economy, New Markets, New Rules

BOSTON – An all-star lineup of team executives and athletes described international markets as “the next frontier” for major U.S. sports in an April 13 Suffolk University forum on emerging trends in the business of sports.

The forum, sponsored by Suffolk’s Sawyer Business School, also looked at how Boston teams have held up during the recession, as well as the impact of league rule changes on both fan interest and player safety.

Panelists included:

Rich Gotham, president, Boston Celtics
Bob Sweeney, former Boston Bruins center and current director of development for the Boston Bruins Foundation
Kristine Lilly, World Cup soccer champion, Olympic gold medalist and current Boston Breakers star
Murray Kohl, vice president of sales for The Kraft Sports Group, which includes the New England Patriots and the New England Revolution
Ted Johnson, former New England Patriots linebacker and Super Bowl champion

The discussion was moderated by Catherine McCabe, associate professor of marketing in the Sawyer Business School, and by sports marketing consultant Karin Piscitelli.

Gotham described the effect of the recession on professional sports as “profound,” but added that Boston has held up better than many cities. “We have tremendous loyalty from our fans,” he said.
Panelists pointed to growing interest in their teams and leagues overseas. The biggest hindrance to franchises popping up in London or Munich is the travel problem, they said, especially for U.S. teams based on the west coast. Still, panelists predicted it’s only a matter of time before leagues begin to expand internationally.

Given soccer’s status as the world’s most popular sport, significant rule changes to boost fan interest in the United States are unlikely, said Lilly. “Just come watch us play, then be a critic,” she said. “Every time someone comes and watches us play, they come back.”

The latest event in Suffolk University’s Executive Speaker Series in the Business of Sports was part of the University’s academic partnership with the Boston Celtics. Under the innovative academic partnership, business students are studying the 17-time world champion Celtics’ business and marketing efforts. Students are working on consulting projects with the Celtics and getting first-hand insights on the business of basketball from front-office personnel.

April 9, 2010 -- Suffolk University Physics Student Wins Prestigious Goldwater Science Award: Scholarship Aims to Encourage Nation’s Top Undergraduates to Pursue Math & Science Careers

BOSTON – Suffolk University junior Nathaniel Steinsultz’s excellence in physics has been recognized with a 2010 Barry M. Goldwater Award for Math, Science and Engineering.

The Goldwater Scholars were selected on the basis of academic merit from a field of 1,111 mathematics, science and engineering students who were nominated by the faculties of colleges and universities nationwide.

“The Goldwater Award for Mathematics, Science and Engineering recognizes the top 300 students in U.S. colleges and universities,” said Physics Department Chair Walter Johnson, who serves as the University’s liaison to the Goldwater Scholarship committee.

“I am so pleased that Nat Steinsultz is one of this year’s winners. In Physics we have some incredibly bright, talented students – but occasionally one comes along who is off the scale – like Nat,” said Johnson. “It is a great honor for him, the Physics Department, and the College of Arts and Sciences.”

Steinsultz has been working with faculty members on nanotechnology research and presented a poster on Hydrogenization of Palladium Nanoparticles at the PittCon 2010 scientific conference in Orlando, Fla. This summer he will be working in a Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program at MIT's Materials Processing Center/Center for Materials Science Engineering.

“Dr. Johnson started pulling me in on Physics Department projects during my first semester here,” said Steinsultz. “Since then, I have had countless research opportunities. The small class sizes have really helped me learn at a challenging pace, which I find wonderful.”

Steinsultz also attributes his success to the encouragement of the Honors Program administrators. “The faith and trust they have in their students' ability to succeed is unending. They really encouraged me to do great things and have helped me shape my academic program to suit my needs,” he said.

Steinsultz intends to earn his PhD in Physics, conduct further research in nanotechnology and teach at the university level.

“I hope my research will keep me on the cutting edge of technology,” he said. “There is a lot of promise in the field of nanoscience, and I believe that it will completely revolutionize the future.

The Goldwater scholarship program was authorized by Congress in 1986 and is aimed at providing a continuing source of highly qualified individuals to academic study and research in mathematics, the natural sciences and engineering.

March 30, 2010 -- Madoff Whistleblower to Deliver Keynote Speech at Suffolk University Forum

BOSTON -- Harry Markopolos, the man who blew the whistle on Bernard Madoff’s $65 billion Ponzi scheme, will headline an April 1 Suffolk University forum on reforming the financial markets.

Markopolos, a former securities industry executive who spent nine years trying to expose the Madoff securities fraud, will deliver the closing keynote address. The afternoon conference, Rebuilding Financial Integrity: The Emergence of Business Ethics in Institutional Reform, is sponsored by Suffolk University’s Sawyer Business School.

Keith Darcy, executive director of the Ethics & Compliance Officer Association, will be the program’s opening keynote speaker.

A panel of experts from the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Reserve Bank, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and TIAA-CREF will discuss regulatory changes they believe are needed to achieve reform; whether the public can rely on the financial sectors’ commitments to engage in meaningful self regulation; investor protection; and other topics.

“While the progress of economic recovery is at the forefront of the public mind, recovery should not distract from the importance of institutional reform,” said Miriam Weismann, Sawyer Business School associate professor of business and law, who will moderate the panel discussion. “This program is designed to examine the progress of reform in the financial markets and the business community.”

Panelists include:

William Emmons, assistant vice president and economist, Federal Reserve Bank, St. Louis
David Bergers, director, Regional Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Boston
Daniel M. Sibears, executive vice president, Member Regulation Programs, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority
Matt Halperin, senior managing director, Risk Management, TIAA-CREF

The event will be held from 1:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Thursday, April 1, at Suffolk University’s Sargent Hall, 120 Tremont St., Boston. The event qualifies for four Continuing Professional Education (CPE) and four Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credits.

Media interested in covering the event should contact Greg Gatlin, ggatlin@suffolk.edu, 617-573-8428, or Mariellen Norris, mnorris@suffolk.edu, 617-573-8450.

March 25, 2010 -- Part-Time Suffolk University Business Students Use Vacation Time for International Consulting Projects: Avid Technology Employee Travels to Argentina; Scottish Development International Asst. VP Heads to Greece

BOSTON-- Noel Perez is a manager at Avid Technology Inc., the Tewksbury, Mass.-based digital media company. Yet he recently got some invaluable global business experience working for a licensing firm in Argentina that is marketing Mattel’s Barbie dolls in South America.

Perez didn’t quit his job at Avid. Instead, he used vacation time to do a Global MBA consulting project at License Stores, S.A., an Argentinean firm that launched the world’s first Barbie Store in Buenos Aires.

Meanwhile, Megan Donnachie, associate vice president at Scottish Development International, was able to gain experience in the tourism industry through a consulting project with the PAP Corp. in Greece, where she worked on marketing and product development for the firm’s oceanside resorts.

These student experiences were part of an innovative program at Suffolk University’s Sawyer Business School, through which some part-time Masters in Global Business Administration candidates are taking time off from their regular jobs to get international work experience through consulting projects at firms outside of the United States.

Marketing Barbies in Buenos Aires is a world away from the digital audio and video technology that has made Avid such a big name in the media production world.

But, says Perez, the international work experience he got with the Argentinean firm has helped him advance his career at Avid, which was fully supportive of the internship.

“There’s a definite benefit and a relationship between what I learned earning the Suffolk Global MBA and the international work I’m doing now,” says Perez, whom Avid Technology promoted to logistics manager for Asia Pacific shortly after his return from Argentina.

And when Donnachie returned to Scottish Development International, which promotes trade and investment between Scotland and the United States, she was able to add tourism to her portfolio, which previously had focused on textiles.

Because Suffolk’s Sawyer Business School offers a Global MBA that is career oriented, it requires that full-time Global MBA students complete a major project during a three-month full-time summer internship outside of their home country. In Summer 2009, GMBAs completed internships in seven countries.

Lillian Hallberg, the Sawyer Business School’s dean of MBA programs and assistant dean of Graduate Programs, said the Global MBA program also wanted meaningful international experiences for part-time students like Perez. She said that part-time students usually are working, so, because their time is limited, they are offered two options:

Complete a three-month consulting project with two-week residency at a firm outside of the United States
Complete a company-based global research project locally

Perez chose to pursue the international consulting project. He considered opportunities to work on marketing projects in Spain and Chile, but he chose License Stores SA, the developer of the Barbie Store concept, after Hallberg introduced him to a former Business School faculty member who had moved back to Argentina.

From his home base in Massachusetts, Perez conducted extensive research focused on presenting the Barbie Store -- which is modeled on the American Girl stores – as a tourist destination rather than merely a place to shop.

Perez, using accumulated vacation time, traveled to Buenos Aires in August 2009 and spent 17 days gathering information to create a marketing plan for the Barbie Store.

“By the time I got there I had lists of travel agencies and hotels and had scheduled appointments with ad agencies and other key players,” said Perez.

He presented a preliminary report to the Barbie Store before leaving Argentina. He later created a comprehensive marketing plan that laid out events and activities for each month of the year, working closely with faculty adviser Daniel Ladik, an associate professor of Marketing.

Perez said he received positive feedback from store co-founder Pebly Garcia, to whom he reported in Buenos Aires. Among the ideas adopted by the Barbie Store:

Target print and online marketing to tourists
Employ a street crew: young women dressed like Barbie handing out fliers and incentive coupons in popular tourist areas
Offer an event to local concierges before Buenos Aires hosts an international concierge conference this July

Perez said that his new position at Avid Technology was a direct outgrowth of his earning a Global MBA. The company approached him about the position based on his academic pursuits.

March 22, 2010 -- New Book from Suffolk Law Professor Examines Attack on Technocrats: The Logic of Discipline: Global Capitalism and the Architecture of Government

BOSTON -- Suffolk University Law School Professor Alasdair Roberts examines how the financial crisis has provoked populist challenges to the power of technocrats within government in his latest book, The Logic of Discipline: Global Capitalism and the Architecture of Government.

The new book documents efforts between 1980 and 2007 to increase the power of technocrats in central banks, regulatory agencies, finance ministries and other parts of government.

“Many people argued that those years saw the triumph of free markets and democratic values,” said Roberts. “But we often saw democratic values compromised so that markets would work more efficiently. We appointed guardians -- like central bankers and strong finance ministries -- to make the hard choices that politicians and voters seemed unwilling to make themselves.”

Roberts said that this model of “guardian power” was already failing before the financial crisis. The crisis itself did further damage, as the credibility and trustworthiness of technocrats was called into question.

The idea that technocrats should be trusted with authority is “badly battered,” said Roberts. “Simplistic attempts to get key government functions ‘out of politics’ have not worked.”

Professor Susan Rose-Ackerman of Yale Law School said that The Logic of Discipline is a “provocative and wide-ranging book . . . [that] uses the current economic crisis to reveal deep flaws in a wide range of reforms popular at end of the twentieth century.”

Professor Donald Kettl, Dean of the University of Maryland School of Public Policy, said that Roberts has written “a terrific new book . . . which stokes our intellectual capital for tackling the big changes government needs.”

Roberts’ 2006 book, Blacked Out: Government Secrecy in the Information Age (Cambridge University Press), won four book awards. His 2008 book, The Collapse of Fortress Bush: The Crisis of Authority in American Government, was recommended by Choice, Kirkus Reviews, Library Journal and Publishers Weekly. Roberts is the Jerome L. Rappaport Professor of Law and Public Policy at Suffolk University Law School’s Rappaport Center for Law and Public Policy.

The Logic of Discipline, was published by Oxford University Press in March. To request a copy of the book or to schedule an interview with Professor Roberts please contact Greg Gatlin, 617-573-8428, ggatlin@suffolk.edu or Mariellen Norris, 617-573-8450, mnorris@suffolk.edu in Suffolk’s Office of Public Affairs.

To view Roberts discussing The Logic of Discipline, see http://www.youtube.com/suffolkuniversity#p/u/26/5lWBZ2da9sI.

March 1, 2010 -- Suffolk University’s Center for Women’s Health and Human Rights Spearheads Efforts to Teach Advocacy Skills at U.N.

BOSTON -- Suffolk University’s Center for Women's Health and Human Rights will offer experience in the art of advocacy at the United Nations through sessions to be held in conjunction with the 2010 Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference and the meetings of the Commission on the Status of Women.

Each practicum offers an opportunity to observe how the United Nations, as an international institution, works to address issues requiring multilateral engagement and coordinated action.

The 20 participants chosen for each session will gain temporary delegate status, attend official and non-government organization (NGO) sessions, and contribute to the official documentation of both official and NGO meetings at the United Nations in New York.

The practicum on the Commission on the Status of Women, co-sponsored with the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom and the National Women's Studies Association, will take place Feb. 26-March 6, 2010.
The practicum on the Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference, co-sponsored with Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, Women in International Security, Peace and Justice Studies Association, and Reaching Critical Will, will be held April 30-May 8, 2010.

The programs are competitive, with women across the nation applying for the 20 spaces in each practicum. The CSW practicum is open to college students at any level while the NPT practicum will be open to women of all ages.

“We became interested in putting together an intergenerational learning community for the NPT treaty review because older women may be better able to demystify the technical language of nukes, which can be so intimidating to non-scientists,” said Laura Roskos, activist in residence at the Center for Women’s Health and Human Rights. She and Amy Agigian the Center’s founding director, serve as faculty. Participants’ areas of expertise and study include law, women’s studies, education and international relations, journalism and communication. Fifty to 80 applicants typically seek to attend, from which Agigian and Roskos select a cohort.

In addition to learning about negotiation, advocacy points and networking, practicum participants complete several assignments, the most important of which is to create an advocacy project when they return to their home campuses.

“We teach the women how important citizen engagement is,” said Roskos. “They figure out the ropes, learn how to network with NGOs, meet government officials and participate in turning specific proposals into documents that can be adopted by U.N. bodies. This success empowers them to engage in successful civic campaigns in their home environments.”

This will be the third practicum at the Commission on the Status of Women. The CSW focuses on gender equality and the advancement of women, with the U.N. drawing representatives of governments to address the problems facing women around the world. This year more than 4,000 registered representatives from NGOs will lobby the delegates about current issues and work to put new ideas on the table. The NGOs engage in hundreds of events, such as performances and panel discussions directed at the local, national and international issues affecting women.

The Treaty on Nuclear Non-Proliferation first came into effect in 1970. It promotes nonproliferation, peaceful use of nuclear energy and disarmament. The governments of U.N. member nations meet every five years to review progress towards a nuclear free future, with this being the seventh formal review. In addition to governmental delegations, civil society groups from around the world gather to show their support for an end to nuclear weapons through a variety of means, including expert panels, mass actions and creative displays. At least 2,000 people are expected from Japan NGOs alone, according to Roskos, who foresees “lots of hard debate on what concrete steps President Obama can take now to move the United States toward the nuclear-free future he has spoken about so eloquently in the past.”

Feb. 26, 2010 -- Suffolk University/7News Poll shows Republican Baker Surging;Voters Looking to Cut Taxes and Support Casinos

BOSTON – Riding the coattails of Scott Brown’s upset win for U.S. Senate, Republican Charlie Baker has jumped into second place and is within striking distance of Gov. Deval Patrick in a tight gubernatorial race, according to the latest Suffolk University/7News poll.

Patrick (33 percent) still leads the tightening field, followed by Baker (25 percent), who edges out Independent candidate and State Treasurer Tim Cahill (23 percent). Green Party candidate Jill Stein has 3 percent, while 16 percent are undecided. In a November, 2009 poll, Patrick led Cahill 36 percent to 26 percent, while Baker, the former Harvard Pilgrim chief executive, was a distant third with only 15 percent.

“Charlie Baker has nearly doubled since the Scott Brown win,” said David Paleologos, Director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center. “Baker is where Brown was two weeks before the Senate election – he still trails, but he is surging and within striking distance.”

Gubernatorial Primaries

Baker (47 percent) has also strongly overtaken fellow Republican Christy Mihos (17 percent) in the Republican Primary for Governor. In the November Suffolk University/7NEWS poll, Mihos led Baker 33 percent to 30 percent in the GOP Primary.

In the Democratic Primary for Governor, Deval Patrick led his Primary opponent, Grace Ross, by a 59 percent to 15 percent margin with 26 percent undecided.

Patrick’s unfavorable rating among all registered voters has hit 50 percent, while 38 percent have a favorable view. And 60 percent say it’s time to give someone else a chance compared to 29 percent who say Patrick deserves to be re-elected.

Scott Brown Voters

Despite high popularity (61 percent favorable – 24 percent unfavorable), there are some potential warning signs for Republican Sen. Scott Brown. When self-identified Brown voters were asked why they voted for him in the January 19 special Senate election, less than half (47 percent) said he was the best candidate for the job, while 24 percent said it was a vote against the proposed national healthcare plan, 10 percent said it was more of a vote against Martha Coakley, 10 percent said it was a vote against Democrats in general, and 7 percent said it was more of a vote against Barack Obama.

“For many voters, Brown’s win was about opposition to the proposed national health-care plan, Democratic leadership in Washington and Democrats in general,” Paleologos said. “If he doesn’t demonstrate his independence in Washington, those fickle protest voters may return to a popular Democratic candidate in two years, when Brown will be campaigning for re-election.”

Among those who voted for Brown in the Jan. 19 special election, 43 percent say they would vote for Baker, 28 percent would pick Cahill, 11 percent chose Patrick and 2 percent picked Stein, while 16 percent of Brown voters remain undecided for governor.

Tax Cuts

Voters also weighed in on two possible tax cutting ballot measures. Currently, 49 percent of registered voters support reducing the sales tax from 6.25 percent to 3 percent, while 44 percent oppose the question and 7 percent were undecided.

Voters also supported the elimination of the added sales tax on alcohol by a 54 percent to 39 percent margin with 7 percent undecided.

Casinos in Massachusetts were supported by a 57 percent to 34 percent margin with 9 percent undecided.

Tea Party

Despite no organized party in Massachusetts, 13 percent of Massachusetts voters said they would cast a ballot for a Tea Party candidate in an election for U.S. Congress in their district, while 21 percent would vote Republican and 45 percent would vote Democratic.

The make-up of the self-identified Tea Party voters in Massachusetts was as follows:

• Independents 72 percent, Republicans 17 percent, Democrats 9 percent
• Men 62 percent, Women 38 percent
• 45-64 years 60 percent

Methodology

The statewide survey of 500 Massachusetts registered voters was conducted Feb. 21-24, 2010. The margin of error is +/- 4.4 percent at a 95 percent level of confidence. Some questions have been embargoed until Monday, March 1, 2010 at 11p.m. Marginals and full cross-tabulation data totaling 450 pages will be posted at that time on the Suffolk University Political Research Center Web site. For more information, contact David Paleologos at 781-290-9310, dpaleolo@suffolk.edu.

February 19, 2010 -- Suffolk University to Host Boston Debate League High School Championship

BOSTON – Suffolk University will host the Boston Debate League Championship, bringing together the top two Boston Public high school debate teams, on Saturday, March 7, in Sargent Hall, 120 Tremont St., Boston.

This will be the first time that Suffolk University hosts this significant event.

"Academic debate is one of the most important of educational activities, as it helps students develop a critical, keen mind, research skills and excellence in speaking" said Robert Rosenthal, chair of Suffolk University’s Department of Communication and Journalism, which is sponsoring the event in conjunction with the Boston Debate League. "Working with the Boston Debate League to nurture this intellectual tradition in the Boston Public Schools is central to the core values of the University."

The Boston Debate League, or BDL, is a nonprofit organization that has partnered with the Boston Public Schools to develop after-school debate and mentorship programs serving traditionally underrepresented student populations. The League organizes six citywide debate tournaments held throughout the academic year. Students learn to argue for and against public policy proposals on issues ranging from science and economics to politics and government.

For many students, tournaments are opportunities to connect intellectually with their peers and to have their ideas about important issues considered seriously by adults, according to BDL Executive Director Steve Stein, who said that “such an experience has a powerful effect on a students’ self-esteem and continued interest in education.”

A University of Missouri study found that, after one year in an urban debate program, debaters attended school more frequently, improved their GPAs by 10 percent, decreased risky behaviors and achieved a 25 percent increase in literacy scores relative to a non-debating control group.

“It presents debate in a variety of ways so as to reach a broad spectrum of students, from those already highly achieving to those who are off track academically and at risk of dropping out,” said Stein.

BDL business and community supporters will be on hand for the debate championship, which will begin at 12:30 p.m. with a reception and presentations, followed by the City Championship Finals at 2:15.

For more information on the event or the BDL, please contact Steve Stein, 617-933-1897, Steve@bostondebate.org.

February 2, 2010 -- Mitchell Weisberg to Chair Session & Present Paper at 5th Annual iConference: Discussing Suffolk U. Classroom Case Study of “eReaders’ Disruption of Publishing Industry”

BOSTON -- Mitchell Weisberg, a lecturer in the Department of Strategy and International Business at the Sawyer School of Business, Suffolk University, has been selected as a Session Chair at the 2010 iConference in Urbana-Champaign, Illinois. He is presenting a paper at the conference on “Innovative Technology in the Classroom: A Live, Real-Time Case Study of eReaders’ Disruption of the Publishing Industry.”

Weisberg’s research and paper are based on innovations that he brought to his teaching of Strategic Management 429, the capstone course at Suffolk University’s Business School, which he teaches with a focus on industry-disruptive technologies.

Weisberg’s class examined the impact of digital technology on the textbook-publishing industry. The students’ experience was enriched through the use of digital textbooks (eTextbooks), including Sony eReaders, Amazon Kindles and CourseSmart online textbooks. Students analyzed the companies and developed strategies to compete in the transforming publishing market. By using the devices that they are studying they engaged in a “real-time case study” in the course.

The iSchools are interested in the relationship between information, people and technology. This is characterized by a commitment to learning and understanding the role of information in human endeavors. The iSchools take it as a given that expertise in all forms of information is required for progress in science, business, education and culture. This expertise must include understanding of the uses and users of information, as well as information technologies and their applications in business and society.

The 5th Annual iConference, at the iHotel and Conference Center, is bringing together scholars, professionals and students to examine iMPACTS: of the iSchool movement, and how impact can be defined, identified, measured and communicated to key audiences. The iConference is being held on February 3-6, 2010, at the iHotel and Conference Center at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Papers presented at the conference are published in a peer-reviewed publication.

February 2, 2010 - Suffolk Law School to Establish Investor Advocacy Clinic with $250K Grant

BOSTON – Suffolk University Law School is opening a new Investor Advocacy Clinic intended to help small investors who believe they have been mistreated by a stockbroker, but do not have the financial resources to obtain a lawyer. The clinic is being established with a $250,000 grant from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Investor Education Foundation.

“It’s particularly significant that the clinic is opening now, at a time when so many Americans are feeling great financial pressure,” said Law Professor Dwight Golann.

The grant has allowed Suffolk to hire an experienced Boston litigator, David Gibbs, as practitioner-in-residence and co-director.

“Our goal is to give ordinary investors crucial assistance in vindicating their rights and at the same time teach students how to provide first-class representation to clients,” said Gibbs.

Suffolk University Law School has a comprehensive clinical program that offers services to underserved populations while giving students the opportunity to act as attorneys for actual clients with assistance from faculty supervisors.

“This is a school that values the practice of law,” said Jeff Pokorak, director of Clinical Programs. “The new Investor Advocacy Clinic, together with our other clinics and internships, allows Suffolk to graduate more students who are practice-ready and prepared for the immediate challenges of the legal marketplace.”

Other law schools receiving FINRA Foundation grants are Florida International University College of Law, Miami; Howard University School of Law, Washington D.C.; and Pepperdine University School of Law, Malibu, Calif. The Foundation made its grant decisions based on the recipient law schools’ readiness to launch and maintain clinics that will allow supervised law students to assist underserved investors involved in securities disputes. As a condition of the grant, each law school was required to demonstrate institutional support of the clinic beyond the three-year grant period.

"These grants will significantly expand the geographic reach of securities advocacy clinics available to investors. All four law schools will use these start-up grants to create dynamic clinics that provide a real service to investors in their communities," said FINRA Foundation President John Gannon.

January 28, 2010 - Suffolk’s Rappaport Center Unveils 2010 Gubernatorial Speaker Series Lineup: Republican Baker Debuts Feb. 4

BOSTON -- Republican Charlie Baker will kick off the 2010 Gubernatorial Speaker Series to be presented by the Rappaport Center for Law and Public Service at Suffolk University Law School.

Baker, former CEO of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, will be the first of four candidates to address a roundtable of senior policymakers, nonprofit leaders, representatives from the business community, lobbyists, lawyers, faculty and students. Baker will speak and take questions from noon to 1:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 4, in the first-floor function room at Sargent Hall, 120 Tremont St., Boston.

The Rappaport Center’s Speaker Series affords the gubernatorial candidates a forum to discuss policy issues they think are important to Massachusetts voters and to identify their priorities.

The series will continue March 22 with Treasurer Tim Cahill, who has cast his hat into the ring as an independent. Republican businessman Christy Mihos will take part in the series April 7. Democratic candidate Gov. Deval Patrick has agreed to participate sometime in May, with a date yet to be determined.

“The Rappaport Center provides a forum for discussion of important public policy issues percolating at the state and local level,” said Rappaport Center Executive Director Susan Prosnitz. “The 2010 Gubernatorial Speaker Series reflects the Center’s commitment to bringing top policymakers to the table for candid and in-depth discussions among a wide array of stakeholders and interested constituents.”

The event is open to the Suffolk University Law School community and invited guests.

The Rappaport Center for Law and Public Service at Suffolk University Law School was established in 2006 through a generous gift from the Jerome Lyle Rappaport Charitable Foundation and Jerry and Phyllis Rappaport. The Center fosters innovative thinking on law and public policy and promotes emerging leaders who are deeply committed to public service and pro bono work. The Center’s primary functions include:

Sponsoring public policy programs
Advising students who are interested in public service careers
Managing the pro bono program.

Jan. 18, 2010 -- Election Eve Bellwethers Show Brown Widening Lead over Coakley; Suffolk University Survey on U.S. Senate Special Election

BOSTON – Republican Scott Brown has surged to a double-digit lead over Democratic rival Martha Coakley in three Bay State communities identified as bellwethers, according to the latest Suffolk University bellwether polling of the race for U.S. Senate heading into tomorrow’s Massachusetts special election.

Gardner, Fitchburg and Peabody all show solid margins for Brown, the state senator running against Attorney General Coakley. Those cities were identified as bellwether communities because in the most recent “like election” – the November 2006 Senate race between the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy and Republican challenger Kenneth Chase – the results in all three communities were within 1 percentage point of the actual statewide results for each candidate. Additionally, party registration in those cities is similar to the statewide voter makeup.

“Brown has continued to build on the momentum that we saw last week in the Suffolk University statewide poll,” said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center in Boston. “There’s still a day left, and a number of factors, including weather, can affect turnout, but the latest bellwether polls suggest a solid lead for Brown.”

Suffolk University released a statewide poll Thursday, Jan. 14, that showed Brown (50 percent) leading Coakley (46 percent) by 4 points. The results showed a race within a margin of error of 4.38.

The bellwether polling, conducted Saturday, Jan. 16, and Sunday, Jan. 17, shows:

Brown (55 percent) leads Coakley (40 percent) by 15 points in Gardner. Independent candidate Joseph L. Kennedy polls 2 percent, while 3 percent are undecided.
In Fitchburg, Brown (55 percent) has a 14-point lead over Coakley (41 percent), with 2 percent for Kennedy and 2 percent undecided.
Peabody voters give Brown (57 percent), a 17-point lead over Coakley (40 percent), with Kennedy polling 1 percent and 3 percent undecided.

The bellwether polls are designed to predict outcomes and not margins. Suffolk’s bellwether polls have been 96 percent accurate in picking straight-up winners when taken within three days of an election since 2006.

Results of the November 2006 survey in the three bellwether communities closely traced the final statewide outcome. Those 2006 results were as follows:

Statewide: Edward M. Kennedy (D), 67 percent; Kenneth Chase (R), 29 percent; blanks, 4 percent
Gardner: Kennedy, 68 percent; Chase, 30 percent; blanks, 3 percent
Fitchburg: Kennedy, 67 percent; Chase, 30 percent; blanks, 4 percent
Peabody: Kennedy, 67 percent; Chase, 29 percent; blanks, 4 percent

Party registration in the three bellwether communities largely mirrors statewide registration, with the following breakdown:

Massachusetts statewide: Democrats, 36 percent; Republicans, 12 percent; unenrolled, 52 percent
Gardner: Democrats, 35 percent; Republicans, 12 percent; unenrolled, 53 percent
Fitchburg: Democrats, 34 percent; Republicans, 11 percent; unenrolled, 55 percent
Peabody: Democrats, 35 percent; Republicans, 9 percent; unenrolled, 56 percent

David Paleologos can be reached at 781-290-9310 or at dpaleolo@suffolk.edu.

Jan. 14, 2010 -- Suffolk University/7News Poll shows Brown Overtaking Coakley; Health Care Seen as Unaffordable with Massachusetts Recession Continuing

BOSTON – Likely voters in the Bay State have turned expectations upside down as Republican State Sen. Scott Brown (50 percent) now leads Democrat Attorney General Martha Coakley (46 percent) in the race to be the next U.S. senator from Massachusetts, according to a Suffolk University/7News poll. Independent candidate Joseph L. Kennedy -- no relation to the legendary Kennedy clan -- had 3 percent, with 1 percent undecided.

“Although the results show a race within the statistical margin of error, Scott Brown has surged dramatically,” said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center. “He is attracting independent support by a wide margin and even winning some Democrats who won’t vote the party line this time.”

Statistical breakdown

Among men, Brown led Coakley 55 percent to 41 percent but trailed among women 50 percent to 45 percent.
Seventy-eight percent of registered Democrats preferred Coakley, while 91 percent of registered Republicans and 65 percent of independents favored Brown.
Brown led in most areas of the state, except Suffolk County, where Coakley crushed Brown 69 percent to 31 percent.
Brown (57 percent favorable to 19 percent unfavorable) was viewed more positively than Coakley (49 percent favorable to 41 percent unfavorable).

The supporters of third-party candidate Joseph L. Kennedy may have the final say in who will electorally succeed the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy.

“Two weeks ago, who would have thought that Libertarian-leaning independents supporting Joseph L. Kennedy might be critical to the Democratic and Republican nominees?” said Paleologos. “A late rotation away from Kennedy to one of the major candidates could have a significant impact.”

Perceptions

When likely voters were asked who they thought would win the election, apart from whom they personally support, 64 percent said Coakley, compared to 26 percent for Brown.

Meanwhile, 52 percent of those surveyed said Coakley’s endorsement by Vicki and Joe Kennedy would make no difference in their vote, while 27 percent said it would make them less likely to vote for her.

When asked about performance expectations for a Senator Coakley, 24 percent said she would be an independent voice in the Senate, while 64 percent said she would toe the Democratic party line.

Pressing issues

The survey asked whether the recession was over in Massachusetts, and 90 percent of voters said no. The most important issue facing our next U.S. senator is the economy/jobs, according to 44 percent of voters polled; 38 percent said health care.

The survey also found:

54 percent support Massachusetts’ near-universal health care law
62 percent believe Massachusetts cannot afford its health care system
51 percent oppose the proposed national health care plan
61 percent believe the federal government cannot afford the proposed national health care plan
48 percent approve of President Obama’s performance; 43 percent disapprove
56 percent disapprove of Gov. Deval Patrick’s performance; 35 percent approve
55 percent think Massachusetts is on the wrong track

Methodology

The statewide survey of 500 Massachusetts registered voters was conducted Jan. 11-13, 2010. The margin of error is +/- 4.38 percent at a 95 percent level of confidence. Marginals and 240 pages of statewide cross-tabulation data will be available on the Suffolk University Political Research Center Web site – http://www.suffolk.edu/college/1450.html – after 11 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 13, 2010.

To schedule an interview with David Paleologos or for more information, contact Greg Gatlin at 617-573-8428, ggatlin@suffolk.edu, or Mariellen Norris at 617-573-8450, mnorris@suffolk.edu. David Paleologos may be reached at 781-290-9310 or dpaleolo@suffolk.edu.

December 21, 2009 - Suffolk's Center for Innovation and Change Leadership Calls for Award Nominees

BOSTON -- The Center for Innovation and Change Leadership at Suffolk University’s Sawyer Business School announced today that it is seeking nominations for the 2010 Global Leadership in Innovation and Collaboration Award, which will recognize a corporation, non-profit or governmental organization that has exhibited an exceptional approach to innovation and collaboration.

The Center seeks nominations of institutions that are pioneering new models for measurable success while creating a climate that fosters innovative thinking.

“The ability to implement new ways of thinking is critical to institutional survival and success in today’s rapidly changing business, social and civic environments,” said Robert DeFillippi, director of the Center for Innovation and Change Leadership and a professor at the Business School. “Suffolk University and The Center for Innovation and Change Leadership are committed to helping students bring unconventional thinking to business problems and to recognizing those organizations that are leading the way in their approach to innovation and collaboration.”

The Center for Innovation and Change Leadership is an interdisciplinary Center of Excellence housed at Suffolk University’s Business School. The center is a resource for global education in innovation and change. It fosters creative collaborations among academia, businesses, government and non-profit organizations. The Center stimulates innovative solutions to business and social problems through ongoing dialogue, research and practical application of research.

The 2009 Global Leadership in Innovation and Collaboration Award winner was SRI International, the Palo Alto, Calif.-based independent, nonprofit research institute led by Dr. Curtis Carlson, co-author of Innovation: The Five Disciplines for Creating What Customers Want.

The Global Leadership in Innovation and Collaboration Award Committee, composed of representatives from business and academia, will review nominees. Nominees will be evaluated on the basis of their demonstrated ability to be global role models for collaboration and innovation, using specific criteria established by the award committee. For more information on the nominating process, including the criteria to be used in evaluating nominees, please contact:

Laurence J. Stybel
Chairman, Center for Innovation and Change Leadership Award Committee
Sawyer Business School
Suffolk University
8 Ashburton Place
Boston, MA 02108
lstybel@suffolk.edu
Tel: (617) 619-4958

December 8, 2009 -- Suffolk Law Professor Renée Landers to be Honored with Pinnacle Award; Excellence in Arts & Education Cited by Boston Chamber and Women’s Network

BOSTON – The Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce and its Women’s Network will honor Suffolk University Law School Professor Renée Landers with a 2010 Pinnacle Award.

The Pinnacle Awards recognize the accomplishments of women in the Greater Boston business community, and Landers will be presented the award for Excellence in Arts & Education during a Jan. 22, 2010, luncheon ceremony at the Westin Copley Place.

Landers, who teaches health law, constitutional law and administrative law at Suffolk, is a past president of the Boston Bar Association, the first woman of color and the first law professor to serve in that role.

She has been a member of the Suffolk Law School faculty since 2002 and is Faculty Director of the school’s Health and Biomedical Law Concentration.

“I am honored to join the ranks of the wonderful women acknowledged over the years by the Chamber and Women’s Network, and I would like to offer my heartfelt congratulations to all the women chosen for Pinnacle Awards this year,” said Landers. “I am honored to be in their company.”

Landers is the author of an article on the potential for Massachusetts health care reform initiatives to eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in health care and was a member of the National Academy of Social Insurance Study Panel on what Medicare can do to eliminate health care disparities. With the Center for Advanced Legal Studies at Suffolk University Law School, she has chaired conferences on administrative law, patient safety, health care disparities and health reform. In January 2009, she co-chaired the Annual Meeting of the National Academy of Social Insurance on Social Insurance, Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Growth.

Landers, with James B. Rebitzer and Lowell J. Taylor, has published an article and two book chapters on work hours in the legal profession and the impact on promotion and retention of lawyers. She also has written about the National Security Agency’s domestic surveillance program, same-sex marriage, and the status of women and people of color in the legal profession.

She serves as vice chair of the Massachusetts Commission on Judicial Conduct and has served on the Supreme Judicial Court Committee to Study Racial and Ethnic Bias in the Courts and the Supreme Judicial Court Gender Bias Study Committee. She has served on the Council of the Section of Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice of the American Bar Association and on the Section’s Nominating Committee and as Membership chair.

Before joining the Law School faculty, Landers was with the Boston law firm of Ropes & Gray. She previously had served as deputy general counsel for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and as deputy assistant attorney general at the U.S. Department of Justice. Before entering government service, Landers taught at Boston College Law School. She had served as a law clerk to former Chief Justice Edward F. Hennessey of the Supreme Judicial Court. Before attending law school, she served as Massachusetts deputy secretary of state in charge of the Commercial Bureau and the Public Records Bureau.

Landers has been active in many community and public service organizations, including the Big Sister Association of Greater Boston, The Commonwealth Institute, and the boards of the Massachusetts Health Care Security Trust and the Shady Hill School. She is a former president of the Harvard Board of Overseers. She currently serves on the Board of Directors at WGBH, the Board of Overseers for the Dartmouth Medical School, and the Board of Trustees at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

She has received awards from Radcliffe College, Boston College Law School, the Big Sister Association of Greater Boston, the Boston Bar Association and the Massachusetts Women’s Political Caucus.

Other 2010 Pinnacle Award recipients are Mary Richardson of WCVB-TV's Chronicle; Fredi Shonkoff, senior vice president of Corporate Relations for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Inc.; Lyndia Downie, president and executive director of the Pine Street Inn; Beth Tucker, president of KNF&T Staffing Resources; Massachusetts Senate President Therese Murray; Professor Sharon Inouye, MD, MPH, Harvard Medical School; and Catholic Charities President Tiziana Dearing.

Nov. 12, 2009 -- Suffolk University/7News Poll shows Coakley Still on Top as Voters Get to Know U.S. Senate Opponents

BOSTON - Bay State voters expect Attorney General Martha Coakley to be the next U.S. Senator from Massachusetts, and, while 51 percent say they disapprove of the job Deval Patrick is doing as governor, they expect him to win another term in a three-way race, according to a Suffolk University/7News poll.

On the Democratic side of the Senate race, 44 percent chose Coakley, followed by 17 percent for Celtics co-owner Steve Pagliuca, 16 percent for U.S. Rep. Michael Capuano, and 3 percent for City Year founder Alan Khazei. Twenty percent were undecided.

“Steve Pagliuca scored the biggest improvement since September,” said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center. “He traveled from zero to second place by flooding the air waves with TV ads. However, he still has not secured the most aware Democratic voters who are choosing Coakley and Capuano before him.”

On the Republican side, state Sen. Scott Brown (45 percent) led Jack E. Robinson (7 percent) with 47 percent undecided.

In General Election head-to-head matchups between the Democratic contenders and the GOP’s Brown, only Khazei fell short, with 33 percent of voters choosing Brown and 30 percent Khazei.

Gubernatorial race
Gov. Patrick’s negative marks have inched up to 47 percent since September, when they stood at 45 percent. Nevertheless, he remains predominant (36 percent) in a contest with state Treasurer Tim Cahill (26 percent), running as an Independent, and Republican businessman Christy Mihos (20 percent).

Republican primary voters give Mihos the edge (33 percent) over Harvard Pilgrim Health Care CEO Charlie Baker (30 percent) in a GOP primary. Baker led Mihos among registered Republicans (33 percent to 28 percent) but Mihos, a former Independent candidate for Governor in 2006, outpolled Baker among Republican-leaning Independents (39 percent to 25 percent).

A general election scenario with Baker in the mix ticks Patrick up to 38 percent; Cahill remains at 26 percent; and Baker gets just 15 percent.

Bellwethers
Using party primary good voter lists from two key towns, the Democratic and Republican bellwethers showed similar results to the statewide U.S. Senate poll. In the Democratic bellwether of Falmouth, where respondents were required to name both the correct election date or month and precinct polling location, Coakley (33 percent) led Capuano (13 percent), Pagliuca (8 percent), Khazei (2 percent) and 39 percent undecided. In the Republican bellwether of Millbury, Brown (42 percent) led Robinson (7 percent) with 49 percent undecided.

The results from Millbury in the 2006 Republican Primary for U.S. Senate closely tracked the statewide percentages for the two Republican candidates Kenneth Chase and Kevin Scott. Similarly, the Falmouth Democratic Primary results for U.S. Senate in 2008 signaled how Democrats statewide voted.

Methodology
The statewide survey of 600 Massachusetts registered voters was conducted Nov. 4-8, 2009. The margin of error is +/- 4 percent at a 95 percent level of confidence. Bellwether ID’s were fielded Nov. 9-10. Marginals and 424 pages of statewide cross-tabulation data are posted on the Suffolk University Political Research Center Web site: http://www.suffolk.edu/college/1450.html. For more information, contact David Paleologos at 781-290-9310, dpaleolo@suffolk.edu.

Nov. 4, 2009 -- Suffolk U. Professor Available to Discuss New Book, "Joystick Soldiers: The Politics of Play in Military Video Games"

BOSTON -- On Veterans Day, hordes of video game players will engage in virtual warfare as they get their hands on the most-anticipated release of the holiday season, "Modern Warfare 2." But what is the connection between battles fought on screen and those in the real world?

The editors of the newly released book Joystick Soldiers: The Politics of Play in Military Video Games examine the relationship between virtual and real world global conflict.

“Pro-war films, military parades, and even fireworks are early symbolic exhibitions of military power,” according to co-editors Nina B. Huntemann and Matthew Thomas Payne. Yet combining powerful media and play transforms citizens from spectators to participants and “has far-reaching implications for how citizens perceive the role of the military in our society.”

War is an integral theme of the gaming industry and its appeal has seen enormous growth since the invention of the first video game, "Spacewar!" in 1962. Americans spent more than $21 billion on games last year, much of it on combat games, which are used not only for entertainment, but also for military recruitment, education, and even as psychotherapy for soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder.

The book, a compilation of essays, presents a balanced look at the history and culture of the military-entertainment complex and offers in-depth studies of players and political activism.

Loyola University of Chicago Professor Steven E. Jones, author of The Meaning of Video Games, calls Joystick Soldiers “an extremely valuable collection that offers multiple perspectives on the relationship between militarism and video games. The collection as a whole provides the richest and most detailed picture yet of what theorists have called the ‘military-entertainment complex,’ while focusing attention on the specific video games that help to manifest that complex in the culture but also, surprisingly, offer a platform for critique and resistance.”

Huntemann is available for interviews and appearances for perspectives on video games and militarism:

About the editors

Nina B. Huntemann is associate professor of Communication and Journalism at Suffolk University in Boston. She produced and directed the documentary film Game Over: Gender, Race, and Violence in Video Games, distributed by the Media Education Foundation.

Matthew Thomas Payne is a Media Studies doctoral candidate at the University of Texas at Austin. He has served as a coordinating editor for FlowTV -- http://www.flowtv.org/ -- a critical forum for television and new media culture, and is a co-editor of the forthcoming anthology FlowTV: Television in the Age of Media Convergence.

Oct. 29, 2009 -- McDonnell Leads Deeds by 14 Points in Virginia; Suffolk University Poll Also Shows GOP Sweep Down Ballot

BOSTON – Republican Bob McDonnell is just days away from a decisive win over Democrat Creigh Deeds in the Virginia gubernatorial race, according to a poll released today by Suffolk University. McDonnell led Deeds 54 percent to 40 percent, with 5 percent undecided.

Overall 84 percent of Virginia voters said their minds were made up, while 15 percent said they might change their minds before the election. McDonnell was chosen as the candidate with a better plan to deal with the transportation issue (41 percent, as opposed to Deeds' 26 percent). Voters polled said McDonnell was more trustworthy (47 percent) than Deeds (36 percent) and that Deeds' campaign has been more negative in tone (43 percent, compared to McDonnell's 22 percent).

Asked whether Deeds has flip-flopped on the issue of taxes, 43 percent said he had.

“All of the statistical indicators are in place for a decisive Republican win," said David Paleologos, director of the Political Research Center at Suffolk University in Boston. "And it won't stop in the governor's office -- it looks like the GOP will win all the statewide offices on the ballot."

In the lieutenant governor's fight, Republican Bill Bowling led Democrat Jody Wagner 48 percent to 34 percent, while Republican attorney general nominee Ken Cuccinelli led Democrat Stephen Shannon by the exact same margin. The percentage of undecided voters in these races (18 percent) was much higher than for the governor's race.

Economy/jobs (32 percent) and health care (22 percent) were the most important issues to likely voters, followed by taxes (16 percent), education (14 percent) and transportation (11 percent).

Voters were split about how to deal with the issues of transportation and health care, with young and old at opposite ends.

Overall, 45 percent of voters supported an increase in state taxes to pay for new road and transit projects, while 47 percent opposed. However, among respondents 18-55 years of age, increased taxes for transit was supported by a 54 percent-to-39 percent margin, while among those over 55 years of age a tax increase was rejected 54 percent to 38 percent.

Similarly, 44 percent said that government reform is necessary to control health care costs and expand coverage, while 48 percent said that government action on health care will do more harm than good. Yet in the 18-to-55 demographic, health care reform prevailed 53 percent to 40 percent, while Virginians over 55 viewed government action as more harmful than good by a 54 percent-to-36 percent margin.

Sixty-nine percent of respondents thought the federal government should approve offshore oil drilling, while 20 percent opposed, and 11 percent were undecided.

The 2009 Virginia bellwether of Henrico County showed McDonnell leading Deeds 48 percent to 34 percent, consistent with the statewide margin of 14 points. Bellwether samples, which supplement the Suffolk statewide polls, are designed to predict outcomes -- not margins.

The Suffolk University statewide poll was conducted Oct. 26 through Oct. 28, 2009, using live interviewers. The margin of error on the study of 400 is +/- 5 percent at a 95 percent level of confidence. All respondents from the Virginia statewide survey were likely voters. Separate from the statewide study, there were 250 respondents identified from Henrico County on Oct. 27 and 28. Statewide marginals and 140 pages of cross-tabulation data will be posted on the Suffolk University Political Research Center Web site – www.suffolk.edu/college/1450.html -- on Thursday, Oct. 29. For more information, contact David Paleologos at 781-290-9310, dpaleolo@suffolk.edu.

Oct. 26, 2009 -- Corzine Leads Christie by Nine Points in NJ; Suffolk University Poll Also Shows Independents Struggling on Confusing State Ballot

BOSTON – Though most polls are showing the New Jersey governor's race to be dead even between incumbent Democratic Governor Jon Corzine and former U.S. Attorney and Republican challenger Chris Christie, a new poll by Suffolk University signals that Corzine (42 percent) leads comfortably over Christie (33 percent), with independent Chris Daggett trailing with 7 percent. Three percent of voters selected among the other nine independent candidates listed on the ballot, and 14 percent were undecided.

The Suffolk University poll, which included all 12 candidates whose names are printed on the ballot, points to the possibility that the confusing New Jersey ballot ultimately will hurt the campaign of independent Chris Daggett. Daggett is polling 7 percent statewide. His name appears in different locations on the ballot, depending on the county. Some counties list the candidates in rows while others use columns, yet in all 21 counties, the Democrat or Republican is listed first or second in every case.

“Independent Chris Daggett struggles to be found on the ballot, which benefits Jon Corzine, whose campaign is peaking at the right time for him," said David Paleologos, director of the Political Research Center at Suffolk University in Boston. "The poll tells us that voters believe Corzine is the best choice of the twelve candidates and the most comfortable choice of the major three. The bottom line is that, if this trend holds, it will be an amazing comeback for Jon Corzine."

Thirty-five percent of likely voters said that they would be extremely or very comfortable with Corzine, compared to 20 percent for Christie and 9 percent for Daggett. All candidates struggled with personal popularity, with Corzine viewed favorably by 45 percent and unfavorably by 46 percent. Christie polled 34 percent favorable, 46 percent unfavorable, while Daggett scored a 20 percent favorable and 25 percent unfavorable. All three candidates had higher negatives than positives.

Overall 72 percent of New Jersey voters said their minds were made up, while 24 percent indicated they might change their minds before the election. Christie voters were 78 percent determined; 75 percent of Corzine voters were resolved, but only 56 percent of Daggett voters had made up their minds, with 44 percent indicating they might change their minds.

Undecided voters were breaking to Corzine as well. When initial undecided voters were asked whom they would vote for if they were standing in the voting booth right now, 25 percent chose Corzine, 15 percent Christie, 2 percent Daggett, and 55 percent remained undecided.

The positive signs for Corzine come despite overwhelming negativity about the direction of New Jersey and the perception of corruption. Nearly two-thirds of voters (66 percent) said that New Jersey was on the wrong track, and 67 percent said that corruption in New Jersey politics was widespread. Among those who said corruption was widespread, Christie led Corzine, 42 percent to 32 percent.

When voters choosing one of the 10 independents were asked who their second choice was, 29 percent selected Christie, and 24 percent Corzine. But 19 percent chose another independent candidate, disregarding the two major parties, while 29 percent could not name a second choice.

When likely voters were asked if they preferred fewer choices on their ballot, 66 percent said yes, and 34 percent said no.

Corzine is winning the perception game. When voters were asked, regardless of how they intend to vote, who they thought would be elected governor, 58 percent said Corzine, 24 percent Christie, 2 percent Daggett, and 17 percent were undecided.

The 2009 New Jersey bellwether of Gloucester County showed Corzine leading Christie 41 percent to 30 percent, with Daggett getting 11 percent. However, Daggett is listed third on the Gloucester county ballots, right after Corzine and Christie, which may account for a slightly higher number than in the statewide poll, since Daggett is listed lower on the ballot in many of the other counties. In the 2005 New Jersey governor's race, each candidate's Gloucester County results were within 1 percent of their statewide numbers. Bellwether samples are designed to predict outcomes -- not margins -- and to supplement the Suffolk statewide polls.

In 2008, Suffolk University bellwethers were 95 percent accurate in predicting straight-up winners in both Democratic and Republican primaries, and, when in agreement with the statewide Suffolk polls of the respective states, were 100 percent accurate in predicting straight-up winners.

The Suffolk University statewide poll was conducted Oct. 22 through Oct. 25, 2009. The margin of error on the study of 400 is +/- 5 percent at a 95 percent level of confidence. All respondents from the New Jersey statewide survey were likely voters. Separate from the statewide study, there were 350 respondents identified from Gloucester County on Oct. 24 and 25. Statewide marginals and 186 pages of cross-tabulation data will be posted on the Suffolk University Political Research Center Web site – www.suffolk.edu/college/1450.html -- on Monday, Oct. 26. For more information, contact David Paleologos at 781-290-9310.

Oct. 19, 2009 -- Financial Times Ranks Sawyer Business School EMBA Program in Top 95 Worldwide; Suffolk University Program Emphasizes Global Business Leadership

BOSTON – The Executive MBA program at Suffolk University’s Sawyer Business School has been listed in the Financial Times 2009 EMBA rankings as one of the top 95 EMBA programs worldwide.

The Sawyer Business School’s Executive MBA program, the first in New England when it was established in 1975, is the only ranked EMBA program in the region.

The Saturday-only Executive MBA program continually evolves to meet contemporary graduate business education needs. Today it emphasizes global business leadership in response to an identified need to prepare managers who can fill the shoes of retiring “Baby Boom” leaders.

“Making the Financial Times list is a well-deserved recognition for the students, faculty, administrators and alumni of the oldest Executive MBA program in New England,” said Professor Michael Barretti, director of the Institute of Executive Education and academic director of the Executive MBA program. “Everybody has worked very hard to get the program to this level of distinction.”

The Financial Times, an international business newspaper based in London, uses extensive alumni surveys in preparing its rankings. This year’s list was based on interviews with the Class of 2006, evaluating how completion of the Executive MBA program impacted graduates’ career progress, salary growth, and realization of personal and professional goals.

The rankings also reflect faculty scholarship, professional qualifications and international experience; the EMBA curriculum; program management; and University oversight.

“That so many alumni responded so positively to the survey shows that they want to continue to be involved with Suffolk University as emerging business leaders,” said Kristin Polito, Executive MBA program director. “The professional businessmen and women who choose this program – and they do not choose lightly – are prepared to lead despite any hurdles that may confront them. They come away with a strong sense of the many tools they can use to transform obstacles into opportunities.”

“This is an academically rigorous program that demands a significant work-life balance for 21 months,” said Barretti. "However, if you were to ask any of our alumni -- which, by the way, includes me -- I think they will tell you it was very much worth it."

Executive MBA graduates now make up 5 percent of the total 140,000 MBAs who graduate worldwide each year, resulting in a strong point of distinction in the job market. To remedy the continuing demands of students’ work and personal responsibilities, the Sawyer Business School program employs a blended curriculum of in-class and online coursework to provide greater flexibility. Its students are business leaders who choose the program due to its multidisciplinary, cross-functional approach to achieving desired outcomes. They have access to a global alumni network and tuition-free postgraduate learning opportunities. For more on the Executive MBA, see http://www.suffolk.edu/business/1629.html.

Oct. 19, 2009 -- Suffolk University/Boston Globe Poll: Mass. Residents Still Hunkering Down; Most Reining in Spending Despite Optimism on the Economy

BOSTON -- Massachusetts residents say an economic rebound is underway, but they remain hunkered down, cautious about spending and skeptical about the federal stimulus package, according to the latest Suffolk University/Boston Globe poll to be published in tomorrow’s Boston Globe.

While 60 percent of voters polled said they believe an economic upturn has begun, the poll underscores the likelihood of a slow and difficult recovery, with 58 percent expecting that it will take two to three years or more for the economy to bounce back.

“People realize that the profound damage to the economy will require a long time to heal,” said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center. “Although hopeful that an economic recovery is underway, people are realistic about the choices they must make day-to-day as well as long term. They are eating at home more, traveling less, giving less to charity, and say they'll have to work longer to retire.”

And while 39 percent said they have spent less in the past six months, the majority (60 percent) said their spending has been unaffected by the state sales tax increase.

The poll looks at voters’ perspectives on the federal stimulus package – 80 percent said it has made no difference to their households – and on the effectiveness of leadership at the state and national levels.

“Since the financial crisis began, The Boston Globe and Suffolk University have been committed to tracking the impact of this historic economic downturn on Massachusetts residents,” said Globe business editor Shirley Leung. “What they’ve told us has given our readers insight into what is happening in the economy and what to expect in the future.”

Full contents of the Suffolk University/Boston Globe poll will appear in the Oct. 19, 2009 issue of the Globe and will be available online at http://www.boston.com/business and http://www.suffolk.edu/college/1450.html on Monday, Oct. 19. A total of 204 pages of cross-tabs will also be available on the Suffolk site.

The Suffolk University/Boston Globe poll was conducted Oct. 11-13 and includes answers from 400 residents across the state. It has a margin of error of +/- 4.9 percent.

Sept. 24, 2009 -- Suffolk University Receives Federal Grant to Prepare Veterans for College

BOSTON - Suffolk University has been awarded a Veterans Upward Bound grant of $1 million over the next four years from the U.S. Department of Education to help qualified military veterans develop the necessary skills to enroll and succeed in postsecondary education. The University is one of seven colleges nationally to receive the federal grant this year.

Suffolk University’s Veterans Upward Bound (VUB) program will offer free services to 120 low-income veterans from the Metropolitan Boston area who are the first in their families to pursue a college education.

Veterans will receive assessment counseling and an individualized education plan. They will take courses in mathematics, laboratory science, composition and literature, and foreign language. Veterans may participate in study skills, tutoring, academic and personal counseling, financial aid planning, college application seminars and cultural events.

"Suffolk University is proud to be the recipient of the Veterans Upward Bound grant,” said University President David J. Sargent. “We are deeply grateful for the service veterans have given to this country. We also understand that many veterans have a critical need for educational services as they seek to improve their lives.”

The Suffolk University Veterans Upward Bound program is one of two in New England; there are fewer than 50 such programs nationwide.

Suffolk University will begin accepting applications for the VUB program in November.

“We are excited about receiving the Veterans Upward Bound grant and adding this invaluable program to our TRIO family at Suffolk,” said Keren Zuniga McDowell, director of Suffolk University’s Office of Academic Access and Opportunity. “This program demonstrates Suffolk’s continued commitment to serving the Greater Boston community while providing access and opportunity for those who have traditionally been underrepresented and marginalized in higher education.”

In 1972 Congress authorized a Veterans Upward Bound program in response to the large number of veterans returning from the Vietnam War. The Veterans Upward Bound Program is funded through the U.S. Department of Education as a part of the TRIO grant programs, which are designed to increase the rate of enrollment in and completion of postsecondary education programs. Suffolk University also participates in the traditional Upward Bound program and in the McNair Scholars Program, which prepares participants from disadvantaged backgrounds for doctoral studies.

Other colleges that received the Veterans Upward Bound grant are Henderson State University in Arkansas; Yavapai County Community College in Arizona; Georgia State University; Boise State University in Idaho; Bemidji State University in Minnesota; and Redlands Community College in Oklahoma.

Suffolk University also participates in the Yellow Ribbon G.I. Education Enhancement Program offering veterans up to $25,000 in grant money annually while they pursue a degree at the University.

Sept. 23, 2009 -- Poll Shows Patrick Leading Gubernatorial Opponents, Despite Negative Ratings; Voters in Suffolk University/7News Survey Approve Legalizing Medical Marijuana

BOSTON -- Voters giving Gov. Deval Patrick negative marks (45 percent) have overtaken those viewing him favorably (42 percent), yet in head-to-head matchups with declared gubernatorial candidates, he comes out on top, according to a poll released today by Suffolk University/7NEWS.

Fifty-six percent of voters surveyed said that "someone else" deserves to be elected, while 29 percent said Patrick deserves to be re-elected.

Yet in a matchup with Republican Charlie Baker, CEO of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, and state Treasurer Tim Cahill, who has declared as an independent, the Suffolk University/7News poll shows Patrick on top with 36 percent of the vote, compared to Cahill's 23 percent and Baker's 14 percent. Twenty-six percent were undecided.

When Republican Christy Mihos is substituted for Baker, Patrick's share of voters remains the same, while Cahill takes 24 percent and Mihos, a Republican businessman launching his second gubernatorial campaign, is preferred by 17 percent of voters.

In a Republican primary pitting Baker against Mihos, Baker comes out on top with 43 percent of GOP voters polled, with Mihos taking 19 percent, and 38 percent undecided.

The majority of voters -- 54 percent -- said they do not think the state would be better off with a Republican governor.

The poll looked at their second-choice candidates, and regardless of whether voters' first choice was Patrick, Mihos or Baker, a strong majority chose Cahill as a second choice. Cahill voters would choose Baker as their backup.

"If all three candidates stay strong, Patrick gets another term," said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center. "This may be the first time in Massachusetts history that a candidate for governor is actually rooting for both opponents to remain strong and equal."

Favorable ratings outweighed unfavorable for the Patrick challengers, yet name recognition was relatively low. While 35 percent of voters view Cahill favorably, 18 percent had not heard of him. Mihos had a 27 percent favorable rating; 22 percent did not know him. Baker, a first-time candidate, was unfamiliar to 45 percent of voters, with 15 percent viewing him favorably.

Voters also weighed in on the following issues:

81 percent approve of allowing medical marijuana sales and usage, with 17 percent opposed.
59 percent favor repealing the sales tax hike, with 36 percent opposed.
35 percent favor eliminating all tolls, with 60 percent opposed.
52 percent favor recognition of legal marriage between same-sex couples, while 28 percent prefer a civil union option, and 13 percent say that same-sex unions should be prohibited.

The statewide survey of 500 Massachusetts registered voters was conducted Sept. 12-15, 2009. Of those polled, 39 percent were registered Democrats, 15 percent Republicans, and 44 percent independent. The margin of error is +/- 4.4 percent at a 95 percent level of confidence. Marginals and 170 pages of cross-tabulation data will be posted on the Suffolk University Political Research Center Web site – www.suffolk.edu/college/1450.html – at 10 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 23. For more information, contact David Paleologos at 781-290-9310.

Sept. 16, 2009 -- Suffolk University/7News Poll: Coakley has Early Lead in U.S. Senate Race; Survey Shows Support for Appointment of Interim Senator

BOSTON – Voters expect Attorney General Martha Coakley to be elected to the U.S. Senate in the January 2010 special election, but they express a marked preference for Joe Kennedy to succeed his uncle, according to a poll released today by Suffolk University/7NEWS.

Voters also said they support a move to allow the governor to appoint an interim senator, with 55 percent favoring a change in state law to make this possible, and 41 percent opposed.

Fifty-nine percent of Democratic voters polled said they would have voted for Joe Kennedy in the Senate primary race, and 62 percent of all voters have a favorable opinion of the former congressman, who has said that he will not run for the seat left vacant by the death of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy.

"If Joe Kennedy runs, Joe Kennedy wins," said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center. "Across every demographic, Kennedy was strong. In fact, fifty-four percent of Martha Coakley Democratic Primary voters said they would vote for Joe Kennedy, if he ran."

Coakley's favorability rate is 53 percent. Her favorability was 56 percent in a March 2009 poll by the Suffolk University Political Research Center.

Democratic Congressman Mike Capuano, who is expected to announce his candidacy this week, had a favorability rate of 16 percent, but 33 percent of those polled had never heard of him. Celtics co-owner Steve Pagliuca's name was added to the poll on the last of the four days the poll was conducted after his name was floated as a potential candidate. Again, name recognition was a problem: 72 percent had not heard of him, and 3 percent viewed him favorably.

On the Republican side, state Sen. Scott Brown, who has declared his candidacy, had 20 percent favorability; 39 percent did not recognize his name. Former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling, said to be considering a run, had no trouble with name recognition; 12 percent did not know him. His favorability was 29 percent in the Suffolk/7News poll, outweighed by his unfavorable rate of 39 percent.

Voters were asked to choose from among potential Democratic Primary candidates, some of whom have since withdrawn from the fray. They chose Coakley (47 percent), Capuano (9 percent), U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch (6 percent) and City Year founder Alan Khazei (3 percent). Thirty-three percent were undecided. Voters who chose Lynch were surveyed again after he dropped out of the race on Tuesday.

When asked whom they would choose in a head-to-head race between Coakley and Brown in the final election, 54 percent chose Coakley, and 24 percent chose Brown, with 20 percent undecided.

Voters said the most important issues facing the next U.S. senator from Massachusetts are health care (45 percent) and the economy/jobs (27 percent).

The statewide survey of 500 Massachusetts registered voters was conducted Sept. 12-15, 2009. Of those polled, 39 percent were registered Democrats, 15 percent Republicans, and 44 percent independent. The margin of error is +/- 4.4 percent at a 95 percent level of confidence. Marginals and 140 pages of cross-tabulation data will be posted on the Suffolk University Political Research Center Web site – www.suffolk.edu/college/1450.html – at 10 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 16. For more information, contact David Paleologos at 781-290-9310.

Aug. 17, 2009 -- The Modern Theatre & the Boston-Hollywood Connection at Suffolk University’s Adams Gallery through November 2009

BOSTON -- The Modern Theatre has played a key role, not only in Boston’s historic Washington Street theater district, but also as an institution that helped establish a link between Massachusetts and Hollywood.

The Adams Gallery at Suffolk University presents an exhibit of old and new photographs, artifacts, video and movie posters that tell the story of The Modern Theatre & the Boston-Hollywood Connection

The exhibit, to run Aug. 31 through Nov. 30, 2009, follows the rise of the Modern Theatre -- from a warehouse built in the ashes of the Great Boston Fire through its heyday as the first Boston movie theater to show “talkies.”

The Modern Theatre & the Boston-Hollywood Connection describes personalities and business innovations that reverberated all the way to Hollywood. One character key to the theater’s history is original owner Jacob Lourie. He introduced the “talkie” to Boston and came up with the concept of the double-feature – which soon had Hollywood studios churning out B movies to meet demand.

Black-and-white photographs show the Washington Street theater district in its heyday, festooned with signs and lit by neon.

And present-day photos document Suffolk University’s ongoing restoration of the theater’s historic facade, which was taken apart stone by stone for repair and will be rebuilt on site as part of a theater/gallery/residence hall complex.

Video clips from films shot in Boston show that the Hollywood connection endures today, and an oral history video now in production will offer a taste of what entertainment was like in the days before television.

The Modern Theatre & the Boston-Hollywood Connection

August 31, 2009 – November 30, 2009
Adams Gallery, 120 Tremont Street, Boston
9 a.m. – 7 p.m. daily
www.suffolk.edu/adamsgallery

July 1, 2009 -- Suffolk Law Professor Warns that Firms Try to Make Patient Data their Private Property: Marc Rodwin’s JAMA Article Prescribes Public Ownership of Data for Good of All

BOSTON -- The advent of the electronic medical record has the potential to launch a new era in public health and patient safety by allowing researchers and public health departments to easily call up data about dangerous side effects of drugs, contagious diseases and therapeutic efficacy. Yet the potential benefits for patients and the public health are being held hostage by private firms that treat patient data as if it were their private property, according to Suffolk University Law School Professor Marc A. Rodwin, writing in the July 1, 2009, issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Rodwin argues that federal law should require that certain medical data – stripped of all identifying information to protect patient privacy—should be reported to a federal agency for public use. Such data could be used to warn the public about dangerous pharmaceutical products, compare the quality of medical facilities, and improve public health monitoring and medical knowledge.

The law does not make patient data the exclusive property of patients, medical organizations or any other party and it does not allow copyright of patient data, according to Rodwin.

Nevertheless, hospitals, insurers and others now sell aggregate patient data to Medical Information Organizations which resell it to third parties. One firm earned more than $2 billion selling medical data in 2006, according to Rodwin’s JAMA article. These Medical Information Organizations employ contracts and software to limit data access to those who pay them.

Rodwin warns that “if legislation does not create an alternative framework, courts might enforce these contracts, and thereby limit the benefits of patient data.”

“Patients supply the information. Data are collected because patients and the public finance medical care through fees, insurance premiums, and taxes,” writes Rodwin. Therefore, the public has a strong claim to the aggregate data.

Adoption of the electronic medical record had lagged due to cost and privacy issues, but Congress has allotted $19 billion for this purpose. As electronic medical records become more commonplace, aggregate patient data become available. But despite federal funds making this possible, private parties seek to profit from the data at the expense of patients and the public, Rodwin maintains.

Rodwin calls on federal policy makers to require that clinicians and medical institutions submit patient data to the Department of Health and Human Services so that it may be used to “vastly improve patient safety, public health monitoring, and medical knowledge.”

Professor Rodwin, whose teaching at Suffolk Law School is focused in the Health and Biomedical Law Concentration, is available for interviews about the issue of public ownership of patient data. To arrange an interview please contact Greg Gatlin, 617-573-8428, ggatlin@suffolk.edu or Mariellen Norris, 617-573-8450, mnorris@suffolk.edu.

For a copy of Professor Rodwin’s article, please contact the JAMA/Archives Media Relations Department at 312-464-JAMA (464-5262) or mediarelations@jama-archives.org.

June 6, 2009 -- Deeds Clings to Slim Lead in Virginia Democratic Primary Photo Finish: Suffolk University Poll Shows Undecideds Key Heading into the Stretch

BOSTON – Virginia voters give Democratic gubernatorial candidate Creigh Deeds (29 percent) a slight lead over opponents Terry McAuliffe (26 percent), and Brian Moran (23 percent), leading up to the June 9 Primary, with a significant 22 percent still undecided. The poll shows that all three candidates are within the statistical margin of error and any one of them could ultimately emerge as the Democrat to face Republican Bob McDonnell in November.

"What makes this race even tougher to call is that when undecided voters statewide were prodded to choose one of the three candidates, many were breaking to McAuliffe and, to a lesser extent, Moran," said David Paleologos, director of the Political Research Center at Suffolk University in Boston. "With the remaining undecided at 22 percent, the Deeds lead could be fluid, and the final tally could hinge on last-minute campaign ads, momentum, the weather, and get-out-the-vote efforts from all the candidates."

Of the three candidates, Deeds was the most popular (38 percent favorable-9 percent unfavorable) and was seen as the candidate with more experience, leadership skills and concern about the problems facing Democratic voters responding to the poll. McAuliffe had the highest unfavorable rating, at 21 percent, but his favorable rating was close to that of Deeds at 37 percent. Moran came in at 33 percent favorable-5 percent unfavorable.

McAuliffe was viewed as the candidate who has run the most negative campaign. Still, 26 percent of voters see him as a slightly stronger challenger to Republican McDonnell, compared to Deeds, 25 percent, and Moran, 22 percent.

Voters who consider themselves independents or Republicans are eligible to enter into the open primary in Virginia, and McAuliffe, the former chair of the Democratic National Committee, led among self-identified Republicans with 29 percent, compared to 24 percent for Deeds, and 22 percent for Moran.

"This is interesting, given that Suffolk University polling in spring 2008 identified "meddling" after conservative talk show hosts implored Republicans and independents to vote for Hillary Clinton in the Democratic Primaries in Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia and other states in a perceived effort to lengthen the divisive nomination process and prop up the weaker of the two candidates in the delegate counts," Paleologos said.

Half of voters said their choice was unaffected by a recent media report alleging that McAuliffe offered money to Ralph Nader to stay off the 2004 presidential ballot in certain swing states. Thirty-three percent said the allegations would make them less likely to vote for McAuliffe, while 10 percent said they would be more likely to vote for him.

Deeds led among most demographics, with McAuliffe a close second, except in the northeast Virginia area where Moran led McAuliffe 38 percent to 22 percent, reflecting home-turf advantage from the 8th Congressional District seat held by Moran's brother Jim.

Former President Bill Clinton, who is supporting Terry McAuliffe, has widespread popularity (71 percent favorable - 19 percent unfavorable). Among voters undecided for Governor, Clinton's favorability was 69 percent favorable - 26 percent unfavorable.

In the Virginia Democratic Primary bellwether of Accomack County, the same tight spread was measured. Accomack County, which closely reflected statewide candidate trends in the Lieutenant Governor Democratic Primaries of 2001 and 2005 as well as the 2008 Democratic Presidential Primary, showed Deeds leading with 26 percent, followed by McAuliffe and Moran, who were tied with 24 percent, with 23 percent undecided.

The economy/jobs was the most important issue (42 percent) followed by health care (20 percent) and education (11 percent). When first and second issues were combined the following results were measured:

Issue	Most Important	2nd Important	Total
Economy/Jobs	41 percent	28 percent	69 percent
Health Care	19 percent	21 percent	40 percent
Education	12 percent	15 percent	27 percent
National Security	9 percent	12 percent	21 percent
Environment/Global Warming	6 percent	8 percent	14 percent
National Deficit/Debt	3 percent	8 percent	11 percent

Methodology

The Suffolk University statewide poll was conducted June 1 through June 3, 2009 using live interviewers. The margin of error on the study of 500 is +/- 4.4 percent at a 95 percent level of confidence. All respondents from the statewide survey were registered voters in Virginia who indicated they would vote in the Democratic Primary and could identify the correct timeframe of the Democratic Primary. The Virginia Democratic Primary Accomack County bellwether included 748 respondents phoned on June 2 and June 3, 2009. Marginals and 238 pages of cross-tabulation data will be posted by noon on the Suffolk University Political Research Center Web site – www.suffolk.edu/college/1450.html. For more information, contact David Paleologos at 781-290-9310.

April 29, 2009 -- Massachusetts & Florida Look Favorably on Obama’s First 100 Days: Suffolk University/7NEWS Polls Show Voters Dislike Business Bailouts Even While Favoring Overall Economic Policy

BOSTON – Florida and Massachusetts voters give President Barack Obama high marks across the board for his professionalism and performance as he reaches his 100th day in office, according to separate polls conducted by Suffolk University/7NEWS.

And even though a majority of voters polled (61 percent in Massachusetts, 60 percent in Florida) disapprove of the stimulus packages given to some banks, financial institutions and auto companies, a majority (53 percent in Massachusetts, 56 percent in Florida) approves of the way Obama is handling the economy. And 56 percent of Massachusetts and 57 percent of Floridians voters polled say the president has a clear plan for solving the nation’s economic problems.

Suffolk University/7NEWS released the polls of Florida and Massachusetts registered voters today. The two East Coast states have different voter profiles: Massachusetts respondents were 48 percent unenrolled/independent, 36 percent Democrat and 15 percent Republican, compared to Florida, where 45 percent of those polled were Democrats, 36 percent Republicans and 17 percent unenrolled/independent. Yet respondents' views on the issues were similar.

In Florida, 60 percent said they approve of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as president, while 66 percent of those in Massachusetts concurred, according to the poll. A majority (68 percent in Massachusetts, 61 percent in Florida) said he is setting the right priorities; and most voters (70 percent in Massachusetts, 61 percent in Florida) said he is meeting expectations.
"Statistically, it doesn't get much better for an elected official than it is for Barack Obama today," said David Paleologos, director of the Political Research Center at Suffolk University in Boston. "Whether one looks at popularity, performance, the economy or foreign policy, Obama has touched all bases in this poll."
Regarding foreign policy, the Suffolk University/7NEWS poll found:

61 percent in Massachusetts, 57 percent in Florida, approve of the way Barack Obama is handling foreign policy
66 percent in Massachusetts, 64 percent in Florida, said that world leaders respect Barack Obama
69 percent in Massachusetts, 62 percent in Florida, said that President Obama has improved the nation's image overseas
91 percent in Massachusetts, 87 percent in Florida said that Obama made the correct decision in using lethal force on Somali pirates who had attacked a U.S. merchant ship

"Foreign policy, which was a traditionally weaker poll issue for Obama during the presidential campaign, is now a strong suit for the new president," said Paleologos.

However, the news isn't all good for Obama, who deals with a struggling economy. Despite overall approval of his economic policies, there are concerns about the types of steps the government has taken:

41 percent in Massachusetts, 47 percent in Florida, said big government is the biggest threat to the country in the future, compared to big business (23 percent) or big labor (17 percent)
54 percent in Massachusetts, 60 percent in Florida would rather have a smaller government providing fewer services
61 percent in Massachusetts, 60 percent in Florida, disapprove of monetary packages for banks, financial institutions and auto companies

"Voters acknowledge that stimulus packages and bigger government are a necessary economic fix for the short term, even though they disapprove,” said Paleologos. “But if Barack Obama's administration calls for bigger government and stimulus solutions for all problems, his favorability may decline in the long term."

Further, 60 percent of Florida voters said they believe that the standard of living for the next generation will be the same or worse, while 35 percent said it will be somewhat or much better. In Massachusetts, 69 percent said the standard of living will be the same or worse, while 27 percent said it will be somewhat or much better.

The Suffolk University/7NEWS polls of Massachusetts voters was conducted April 24 through April 27, 2009. The Florida poll was conducted April 26 through April 28. The margin of error on each study of 400 is +/- 4.9 percent at a 95 percent level of confidence. All respondents from the statewide surveys were registered voters. Marginals and cross-tabulation data will be posted on the Suffolk University Political Research Center Web site – www.suffolk.edu/college/1450.html – at 10 p.m. April 29, 2009. For more information, contact David Paleologos at 781-290-9310.

April 29, 2009 -- President Obama’s High Favorability Surpassed by that of First Lady & Secretary of State

BOSTON – President Barack Obama's personal popularity of 64 percent was surpassed only by the favorability ratings of the two most prominent women in his Washington circle, according to poll of Massachusetts registered voters released today by Suffolk University/7NEWS.

First Lady Michelle Obama was looked on favorably by 70 percent of those polled.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who was preferred by Massachusetts voters in last year’s Democratic presidential primary, retains a slightly higher favorability rate than the president (68 percent).

Massachusetts voters give President Barack Obama high marks across the board for his professionalism and performance as he reaches his 100th day in office, according to the poll.

April 21, 2009 -- Koppel and Coakley to Speak at Suffolk University Commencement Exercises; 1,800 Students to Receive Degrees on May 17

BOSTON – Award-winning journalist Ted Koppel and Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley will be the speakers as more than 1,800 students are awarded degrees at Suffolk University commencement exercises on Sunday, May 17, 2009, at the Bank of America Pavilion on Boston’s waterfront. Coakley and Koppel will be among nine honorary degree recipients at commencement.

The Law School ceremonies will be held at 9:30 a.m., with Coakley speaking. Koppel will address the College of Arts and Sciences and Sawyer Business School ceremonies at 2 p.m.

Ted Koppel is a senior news analyst for National Public Radio and a contributing analyst for BBC America’s World News America. From 2006 to 2008, Koppel served as Discovery Channel’s managing editor and anchored Koppel on Discovery, a series that examined major global topics and events. Koppel spent the first 42 years of his career at ABC News. From 1980 until 2005, he was the anchor and managing editor of ABC News Nightline, one of the most honored broadcasts in television history. A member of the Broadcasting Hall of Fame, Koppel has won every major broadcasting award, including 42 Emmy Awards (one for lifetime achievement), eight George Foster Peabody Awards, 10 duPont-Columbia Awards, and two George Polk Awards. His 10 Overseas Press Club Awards make him the most honored journalist in the club’s history. He will receive the honorary Doctor of Journalism degree at the afternoon ceremony.

Coakley began her legal career in 1979, practicing civil litigation with the firm of Parker, Coulter, Daley & White and later at Goodwin Procter LLP, both in Boston. She joined the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office in 1986 as an assistant district attorney in the Lowell District Court office. Coakley served on the U.S. Justice Department’s Boston Organized Crime Strike Force for two years. After returning to the District Attorney's Office, she was appointed chief of the Child Abuse Prosecution Unit. Coakley investigated and prosecuted hundreds of cases of both physical and sexual abuse of children, including Commonwealth v. Louise Woodward. In 1998, Coakley was elected Middlesex District Attorney. During her eight years as district attorney, she established herself as a passionate advocate for public safety. She was elected attorney general in 2006. Coakley will receive the honorary Doctor of Laws degree at the morning ceremony.

In addition to Coakley and Koppel, the following will receive honorary degrees at commencement:

• Hon. Robert L. Carter, U.S. District Court Judge, Southern District of New York, honorary Doctor of Laws
• Massachusetts House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo, honorary Doctor of Laws
• U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Newton, honorary Doctor of Laws
• Peter Brooke, Advent International Corporation chairman and CEO, honorary Doctor of Commercial Science
• Angela Diaz, MD, MPH, director of Mt. Sinai Adolescent Health Center and Jean C. and James W. Crystal professor of Pediatrics at Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, honorary Doctor of Science
• David Hoberman, Manderville Films, honorary Doctor of Humanities
• Josh McCall, chairman and CEO of Jack Morton Worldwide, honorary Doctor of Commercial Science
Suffolk University’s Graduate School ceremonies will take place on Saturday, May 16.

March 29, 2009 -- Suffolk University and The Boston Globe Conduct Exclusive Poll on Financial Crisis: 40 Percent of Bay Staters Fear for Jobs but Many See Economy Improving by Year’s End

BOSTON – More than three out of four Bay State residents are worried about maintaining their standard of living, and more than 40 percent fear they may lose their jobs, the latest Suffolk University/Boston Globe poll will reveal in tomorrow’s Boston Sunday Globe.

The poll underscores deep concerns about the current state of the economy and its impact on Massachusetts residents. Many (37 percent) say they're spending less than they were six months ago, and a majority (53 percent) project that they may have to work longer than they had expected before retiring.

Despite those concerns, the Suffolk University/Boston Globe poll also suggests that Bay State residents see some light at the end of the tunnel. While many still view economic recovery in the distant future, the number of respondents who expect the economy to improve by the end of the year has jumped to 43 percent. That’s a shift from a Suffolk/Globe poll released six months ago, when 21 percent of respondents expected improvement by year’s end.

“Massachusetts residents remain deeply concerned about their jobs and their standards of living, but they don't think the economic downturn will last forever,” said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center. “They have changed their spending habits and their expectations, but they're starting to express a hint of optimism about the future.”

Full contents of the Suffolk University/Boston Globe poll will appear in the March 29, 2009, issue of the Boston Sunday Globe and will be available online at www.boston.com/business and www.suffolk.edu/college/1450.html Sunday March 29.

"This poll is part of the Globe's commitment to covering the financial crisis and its impact on the Massachusetts economy and its residents," said Globe Business Editor Shirley Leung. "It shows that at its essence the recession is a human story, one the paper is trying to tell as completely as possible.”

The Suffolk University/Boston Globe poll was conducted March 22-March 24 and includes answers from 400 residents across the state. It has a margin of error of +/- 4.9 percent.

March 25, 2009 -- Voters Voice Concern about Ethics in Mass. Government in Poll from Rappaport Center at Suffolk Law School

BOSTON – Massachusetts voters have serious concerns about honesty, ethics and influence in state government, according to a new poll from the Rappaport Center for Law and Public Service at Suffolk University Law School.

The poll finds that 89 percent of respondents rate the level of ethics in state government as either fair (49 percent) or poor (40 percent). Two percent gave the level of ethics in state government an excellent rating, and 10 percent of respondents rated it good.

The poll results will be released Wednesday, March 25, at a Rappaport Center for Law and Public Service roundtable discussion on “Ethics and Lobbying Reform in Massachusetts,” to be held at Suffolk University Law School.

Forty-seven percent of those polled said ethics and honesty in state government have decreased over the last decade, compared to 14 percent who said ethics and honesty increased, and 37 percent who said they remain the same.

A majority (51 percent) said they were “very concerned” about the influence of lobbyists and special interest groups over state government, while an additional 36 percent said they were “somewhat concerned.”

"These results bolster the case for the proposed overhaul of the state's ethics and lobbying laws," said Alasdair Roberts, the Rappaport Professor of Law and Public Policy at Suffolk University Law School. "But the poll also shows justified skepticism about the effect of legal changes alone. Continued leadership will also be critical."

Registered Bay State voters are mixed on whether proposed legislation to toughen rules on ethics and lobbying would help. Of those polled, 46 percent said the legislation would be “somewhat likely” to improve how state government works, while 21 percent said it would be “somewhat unlikely” to improve the situation, and 20 percent said improvement would be “not at all likely.”

The poll was conducted March 17 through March 20, 2009, by the Suffolk University Political Research Center for the Rappaport Center for Law and Public Service at Suffolk University Law School. The margin of error on the study of 400 is +/- 4.90 percent at a 95 percent level of confidence. All respondents from the statewide survey were registered voters in Massachusetts.

March 25, 2009 -- 7NEWS/Suffolk University Poll Shows Frustrated Voters Turning on Patrick and State Government

BOSTON – Gov. Deval Patrick is bearing the brunt of a frustrated electorate, with nearly half of registered voters polled – 49 percent – disapproving of his job performance, according to a poll released today by 7NEWS/Suffolk University. Forty percent approved of the incumbent governor's performance, figures that don't bode well in the year before an expected reelection bid.

Forty-seven percent of registered voters surveyed said that it is time to elect someone else as governor, while 34 percent said that Patrick deserves to be reelected. The numbers have shifted somewhat from a June 2008 Suffolk University survey, when 41 percent said it was time to give someone else a chance, 39 percent said that Patrick deserved a second term, and 20 percent were undecided.

When voters were asked to choose between Patrick and Treasurer Tim Cahill in a hypothetical general election match-up, 30 percent picked Patrick, 35 percent chose Cahill, and 30 percent were undecided.

The 7NEWS/Suffolk University poll was conducted March 17 through March 20, 2009.

"All the major statistical indicators – favorability, job performance and electability – are looking bleak for Patrick," said David Paleologos, director of the Political Research Center at Suffolk University. "The question is whether Governor Patrick can find bottom and rally back in time for the election next year."

The negative perceptions reflected on Beacon Hill in general:

51 percent of respondents said the state is on the wrong track
59 percent are not confident that state government will resolve the financial crisis
When asked whether they believe Massachusetts will again become "Taxachusetts," 71 percent said yes
74 percent do not expect real reform on Beacon Hill this year

"The common thread throughout the survey is lost confidence," said Paleologos. "The last two cycles at both the state and federal levels were fundamentally about voters' hunger for change. Now, in the run-up to 2010, voters are disappointed and frustrated. The lost confidence from each survey answer signals challenging times for any incumbent officeholder."

Voters also supported the idea of recall elections by nearly a 3-1 margin. Seventy-two percent favored adding a recall vote for removing elected officials perceived to be underperforming, while 25 percent did not, and 4 percent were undecided.

Eighteen states, including neighboring Rhode Island, permit the recall of state officials; Massachusetts is not one of them.

The 7NEWS/Suffolk University poll showed some support (32 percent) for an increase in the sales tax to help solve the state's fiscal crisis. Twenty percent supported hiking the gas tax, and 12 percent favored raising the state income tax. Twenty-nine percent said they do not favor raising any of these taxes.

Sixty-one percent of voters support casino gambling, while 34 percent opposed it. These figures are similar to results from an August 2008 Suffolk University poll, which showed 59 percent supporting casino gambling and 29 percent opposed.

Slot machine parlors were supported by a 50 percent-to-48 percent margin in the most recent poll.

The margin of error on the statewide survey of 400 Massachusetts registered voters is +/- 4.90 percent at a 95 percent level of confidence. Marginals and 228 pages of cross-tabulation data will be posted on the Suffolk University Political Research Center Web site – www.suffolk.edu/college/1450.html – at 10:15 p.m. Wednesday, March 25. For more information, contact David Paleologos at 781-290-9310.

March 25, 2009 -- Fathers of Conscience: Mixed-Race Inheritance in the Antebellum South: Suffolk Law Professor's Book Analyzes Court Decisions on Planters' Attempts to Free Slave Partners and Mixed-Race Children

BOSTON – Suffolk Law School Associate Professor Bernie D. Jones explores the social implications of court contests over wills attempting to bequeath property, freedom or both to white slaveholders’ partners of color and their mixed-race children in her book “Fathers of Conscience: Mixed-Race Inheritance in the Antebellum South.”

Some white planters in the antebellum South used trusts and estates law to give their slave partners and children official recognition and thus circumvent the law of slavery. “Fathers of Conscience” examines high-court decisions that resulted when extended families contested the wills, judgments that determined whether that elevated status would be approved or denied by courts of law.

Jones argues that these will contests indicated a struggle within the elite over race, gender and class issues -- over questions of social mores and who was truly family.

Judges acted as umpires after a man's death, deciding whether to permit his attempts to provide for his slave partner and family.

“Fathers of Conscience” is one of the series “Studies of the Legal History of the South.” Each book in the series explores a single aspect of the law or the development of the legal system in the South.

The analysis of differing judicial opinions on inheritance rights for slave partners in “Fathers of Conscience” makes “an important contribution to the literature on the law of slavery in the United States,” according to Mark Tushnet, author of “Slave Law in the American South: State v. Mann in History and Literature.”

Jones teaches Property and American Legal Thought at Suffolk University Law School. She received her undergraduate degree from Hunter College and her law degree from New York University School of Law. She also earned a Ph.D. in History from the University of Virginia.

Jones has served as an assistant corporation counsel in New York City and spent an academic year as a visiting fellow and Dorothea S. Clarke Scholar at Cornell University Law School. Before joining Suffolk Law School, she taught in the Department of Legal Studies at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

March 13, 2009 -- Managing Your Career in a Crisis Economy: Mass. Labor Secretary Suzanne Bump to Deliver Keynote Address at Suffolk University Seminar

BOSTON - Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development Suzanne M. Bump is the keynote speaker for the second session of the "Managing Your Career in a Crisis Economy" seminar series presented by Suffolk University’s Advancement Office.

Session Two will once again gather Suffolk University faculty, alumni, and experts in career management and the labor market to share their expertise. The session will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, March 21, 2009, in Suffolk University Law School Room 265, 120 Tremont St., Boston.

Bump, who co-chaired the Committee on Commerce and Labor during her tenure as a state representative, is a graduate of Suffolk University Law School. As one of the five members of Gov. Deval Patrick’s “development cabinet,” she works across agency and department lines to spur economic and job growth.

Bump will discuss:
• What Massachusetts will look like when the current employment crisis is over
• Where growth opportunities are expected
• How workers can prepare now for future opportunities

Additional speakers include:
• Suffolk University Professor Michael Arthur, a nationally known expert in contemporary “intelligent” careers, project-based enterprises, knowledge management and strategic management.
• Laurence J. Stybel of Stybel Peabody Lincolnshire, an Arbora Global Company, who is Executive in Residence at Suffolk University, will discuss "Having a strategic approach to managing your association memberships."
• Alumnus Ken Mattsson, a career & professional development consultant for Resonare Consulting and assistant director of alumni and graduate student career services for Emerson College, who will discuss "How are you telling your story and, are you telling well?"

Session 1 of the series took place in February.
###

March 6, 2009 -- Adams Gallery Hosts 2 Installations as Part of "Here, There and Everywhere: Anticipating the Art of the Future"

BOSTON -- Two installations at the Adams Gallery are among more than 60 simultaneous Transcultural Exchange presentations worldwide, bringing together artists from various cultures and disciplines in a project called Here, There and Everywhere: Anticipating the Art of the Future. The exhibit will be at the Adams Gallery April 1 through May 7, 2009.

Two artists involved in the Adams Gallery exhibit, Audrey Goldstein and Ilona Anderson, are members of the faculty of the New England School of Art & Design at Suffolk University.

The exhibit coincides with the Conference on International Opportunities in the Arts, presented by Transcultural Exchange April 3-5, 2009, in Boston.

Goldstein worked with Dennis Simms of Berlin to create the installation Point to Point.

Point-to-Point consists of a sculptural backpack Goldstein wore at the DUMBO Arts Festival in Brooklyn. Video of the DUMBO event will be projected onto the backpack, and the notebook Goldstein used to collect signatures of people she met while wearing it will be displayed.

Simms’ soundtrack is a compilation of sounds culled from musicians in Berlin’s clubs, street noise, and the heartbeat.

The work reflects Goldstein’s fascination with the full spectrum of interpersonal relationships, from chance encounters and familial ties to the disembodied and remote intimacy of the online world.

For the installation Common Ground, Anderson collaborated with Janet Callinicos of Brisbane, Australia, and Liza Callinicos of London.

The artists, all of whom have lived in Africa, employed the call and response of African musical tradition to bring to mind the fragile balance in negotiating between cultural contexts. Their installation consists of a romantic embroidered silk petticoat (Anderson), a “memory of a memory” floating above a pile of discarded objects on the floor (Janet Callinicos), and the sound of breath emanating from within (Liza Callinicos).

Images are available.

Here, There and Everywhere: Anticipating the Art of the Future,
featuring the installations
Common Ground and Point-to-Point

Adams Gallery, Sargent Hall, Suffolk University Law School, 120 Tremont St., Boston
Free and open to the public from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily

March 4, 2009 -- Suffolk Law School Presents “Freedom of the Press and Individual Privacy”: Anthony Lewis is keynote speaker at Masterman Institute Inaugural Symposium

BOSTON -- Suffolk University Law School’s Masterman Institute on the First Amendment and the Fourth Estate will present a symposium, “Freedom of the Press and Individual Privacy,” from noon to 4:30 p.m. Thursday, March 5, 2009.

The inaugural symposium will feature two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Anthony Lewis, who will discuss “Journalistic Freedom and Privacy: A case of relative compatibility.”

His keynote luncheon speech will address the issue of when or whether the legal and moral interests in individual privacy should constrain the broad First Amendment freedom to speak or publish.

The afternoon will feature a panel discussion on “Freedom of the Press and Individual Privacy,” moderated by Alasdair Roberts, the Jerome L. Rappaport Professor of Law and Public Policy at the Law School.

Panelists include:

Jonathan Albano, an attorney specializing in media law at Bingham, McCutchen LLP
Scott Armstrong, executive director of the Information Trust; former Washington Post reporter; co-author of The Brethren; founder of the National Security Archive
The Hon. Nancy Gertner, U.S. District Court Judge, District of Massachusetts
Joan Vennochi, Boston Globe Columnist and Suffolk Law School graduate.
John Reinstein, senior counsel and legal director, ACLU Massachusetts

The symposium will take place at the Law School, 120 Tremont St., Boston.

About Anthony Lewis

Anthony Lewis was a columnist for the New York Times from 1969 to December 2001.

As a reporter for the Washington Daily News, he won a Pulitzer Prize in 1955 for national reporting for a series of articles in on the dismissal of a Navy employee as a security risk. The articles led to the employee’s reinstatement.

In 1955, Lewis joined the Washington bureau of the New York Times. In 1956-57, he spent the academic year studying at Harvard Law School as a Neiman Fellow. On his return to Washington, he covered the Supreme Court, the Justice Department and legal matters, including the government’s handling of the civil rights movement. He won a Pulitzer Prize for his coverage of the Supreme Court in 1963.

He became the chief of the Times London bureau in 1964 and began writing his column from London in 1969. Since 1973, he has been based in Boston.

In 2001, he was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal.

Lewis is the author of four books: Gideon’s Trumpet, about a landmark Supreme Court case; Portrait of a Decade, about the great changes in American race relations; Make No Law: The Sullivan Case and the First Amendment; and Freedom for the Thought That We Hate: A Biography of the First Amendment.

For 15 years, Lewis was a lecturer on the law at Harvard Law School, and since 1983 he has held the James Madison Visiting Professorship at Columbia University.

About the Masterman Institute

Suffolk Law School alumnus Edward I. Masterman, JD ’50, LLD ’90, and his wife Sydell established The Masterman Institute on the First Amendment and the Fourth Estate to provide a forum for robust debate and exchange of ideas on freedom of the press and its attendant responsibilities.

The Institute will host a symposium each year that will bring together representatives from government, the legal profession and the press for the purpose of informing, educating and engaging those who care deeply about these issues.

Law School Professor Karen M. Blum, JD ’74, who teaches in the areas of federal courts and civil rights and liberties, is director of the Masterman Institute.

March 3, 2009 -- Suffolk Law School Launches Masterman Institute on the First Amendment and the Fourth Estate

BOSTON -- Suffolk Law School alumnus Edward I. Masterman, JD ’50, LLD ’90, and his wife Sydell have established The Masterman Institute on the First Amendment and the Fourth Estate at Suffolk University Law School to provide a forum for robust debate and exchange of ideas on freedom of the press and its attendant responsibilities.

“Some of the most polarizing and provocative issues of our time involve matters rooted in the First Amendment,” said Professor Karen M. Blum, director of the Masterman Institute. Blum teaches in the areas of federal courts and civil rights and liberties. “We at the Law School appreciate the Mastermans’ foresight in establishing an institute that will bring cutting-edge issues related to the First Amendment to the public eye.”

The Institute will host an annual symposium bringing together representatives from government, the legal profession and the press for the purpose of informing, educating and engaging those who care deeply about First Amendment issues.

Edward Masterman is the founder Masterman, Culbert & Tully LLP. He has served as assistant corporation counsel and as zoning commissioner for the city of Boston. He was Consul General of Austria from 1968 to 1987. He was a director of The Boston Foundation and the New England Legal Foundation and served as a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers; American Bar Foundation.

Sydell Masterman is an artist who exhibits regularly in Massachusetts and Florida.

The first symposium, “Freedom of the Press and Individual Privacy,” will take place from noon to 4:30 p.m. Thursday, March 5, 2009, at Suffolk University Law School, 120 Tremont St., Boston.

Two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Anthony Lewis will give the keynote address, discussing “Journalistic Freedom and Privacy: A case of relative compatibility.”

A panel discussion and reception will follow.

March 2, 2009 -- Suffolk Commissions New Musical Adaptation of Lorca Classic: Award-winning composer and playwright join with Suffolk students in "Blood Wedding"

BOSTON – The Suffolk University Theatre Department has commissioned a new musical adaptation of Federico García Lorca’s classic tale of forbidden love, Blood Wedding. The text is newly translated and adapted by award-winning playwright and Suffolk faculty member, Melinda Lopez. Argentinean jazz fusion artist Claudio Ragazzi composes the score.

Blood Wedding runs at 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, April 2-3, 2009, 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday, April 4, and 3 p.m. Sunday, April 5 in the Studio Theatre, located on the fourth Floor of the Archer Building at 41 Temple St., Beacon Hill, Boston.

Marilyn Plotkins, chair of the Theatre Department and Founding Director of the Boston Music Theatre Project (BMTP), spearheads the endeavor. Inspired by her summer Flamenco study abroad program, Plotkins wanted to tie her work at Suffolk’s Madrid campus in with the next BMTP piece. Lorca, Spain’s most important poet-playwright of the 20th century, was an obvious fit.

Lopez interprets the rhythms of the original Spanish for an American audience. By weaving in Spanish selectively, as one might hear in a bilingual household, she creates a recognizable world that still honors Lorca’s intentions. Ragazzi similarly integrates traditional and contemporary sounds in his music. He infuses traditional flamenco with contemporary jazz, folk, blues and rock rhythms.

“We wanted to connect with the passion and the poetry of the original but have it feel natural and necessary for our actors today,” says Plotkins.

Based on a newspaper account of a young woman who left her fiancé at the altar for another man, Lorca’s Blood Wedding explores the primal needs of a young couple who rebel against the proscriptions of a repressive society with tragic consequences. The play disturbingly foreshadows the author’s own fate. Lorca was executed at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War as a homosexual and outspoken critic of the fascists. He was 38.

Blood Wedding concludes a year of special programs presented by the Suffolk University Theatre Department that explore the diverse cultural traditions of the Spanish-speaking world, including flamenco music and dance and Mexico’s Day of the Dead celebration.

Melinda Lopez is an actor and playwright. In addition to her recent fellowships at the Huntington Theatre Company and the Sundance Institute, she was the first recipient of the Charlotte Woolard Award, given by the Kennedy Center to a “promising new voice in American Theatre.” Her plays include Sonia Flew (Elliot Norton Award: Best New Play, IRNE: Best Play and Best Production) God Smells Like a Roast Pig (Women on Top Festival, Elliot Norton Award: Outstanding Solo Performance) and Caroline in New Jersey (Williamstown Theatre Festival). She has performed in regional theaters across the country and is featured in the movie Fever Pitch. She resides in Bedford, Massachusetts.

Claudio Ragazzi is an award-winning composer and guitarist who has written for television, film and theatre. A graduate of the Berklee College of Music, he has received the prestigious Duke Ellington Master’s Award, a Boston Music Award, and a regional Emmy. His work can be heard in the films Next Stop Wonderland, Something’s Gotta Give, and The Blue Diner and in programs on the Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, and PBS. A native of Argentina, Ragazzi resides in Belmont, Massachusetts.

Admission is free and open to the public, but seating is limited. To make a reservation, please call the Theatre Department at 617-573-8282. All reservations expire 10 minutes prior to curtain. A limited number of seats may be available at the door.

Please note: this production contains adult themes and language that may not be suitable for all audiences.

Feb. 18, 2009 -- Suffolk Announces Second Athletic Hall of Fame Recipients

BOSTON – The Suffolk University Athletic Department and Alumni Association has announced its second Athletic Hall of Fame class. Seven individuals and one team will be honored during a Hall of Fame Induction Dinner on Thursday, May 7, 2009 at the Royal Sonesta Hotel in Cambridge. The reception will begin at 6 p.m., followed by the dinner and induction ceremony at 7 p.m.

Suffolk University will induct six athletes, one coach, and one team into its second Athletic Hall of Fame class.

Jack Resnick, of Revere, who is 75 years young, heads the list of inductees. One night in 1953, Resnick incredibly scored 75 points in one game for Suffolk University while playing against Burdett College. He is also the University’s first 1,000-point career scorer.

Joining Resnick in the University’s second Athletic Hall of Fame class are:

Christos Tsiotos, of Winthrop, the only player in Suffolk history to record both 1,000 points (1,639, fourth on the University’s all-time scoring list) and rebounds (1,016). A two-time Division III All New England selection, he helped to lead the Rams to three consecutive NCAA tournament appearances (1975-77). He is also a member of the Winthrop High School Athletic Hall of Fame.

Kathleen Norton, of Randolph, a 2001 Suffolk alumna, best known for her impressive accomplishments in basketball (the University’s all-time leading women’s scorer with 1,516 points) and softball (2002 NCAA National Division III batting champion with a .606 batting average).

Fred Knox, originally from Medford who now lives in York Beach, Maine, was a premier pitcher between 1958-1961, helping the baseball team succeed with his various skills and durability. As a relief pitcher, he preserved Suffolk’s victory over Division I and College World Series participant Boston College.

Brian Gruning, originally from Somerville who now resides in Tewksbury, is Suffolk’s second all-time hockey career and scoring leader with 226 total points (119 goals, 107 assists). He was also a Division III ECAC All-Star Selection.

Ernst Cleophat, originally from Dorchester who now lives in Augusta, Georgia, averaged a goal a game during his stellar career on the soccer field – highlighted by his three-goal game in a 3-0 defeat of Division I Northeastern University. He is now head coach of the women’s soccer team at Suffolk University.

Joe Walsh, originally from Dorchester who now lives in Chester, New Hampshire, was head coach of the Suffolk baseball team from 1982-1995. During that time, he led the Rams to a 218-167-1 record with three ECAC tournament appearances. He also was head coach of the Suffolk women’s basketball and cross country squads. He is the current head baseball coach at Harvard University.

The 1984 Suffolk baseball team made school history by being the first squad to qualify for Eastern College Athletic Conference post-season play with a record of 15-9. The Suffolk nine produced convincing victories over many worthy opponents throughout the season, including Division II foes Bentley College, Bryant College, and Merrimack College.

Tickets for the 6 p.m. reception and 7 p.m. Hall of Fame dinner and induction ceremony are $50 per person and $35 for alumni from 2004-2008. To purchase tickets to the dinner or for more information, contact Ellen Solomita at 617-573-8514 or esolomit@suffolk.edu. The Royal Sonesta Hotel is located at 40 Edwin Land Boulevard in Cambridge.

Feb. 12, 2009 -- Ford Hall Forum at Suffolk University Presents 2009 Louis P. and Evelyn Smith First Amendment Award Honoring Gwen Ifil

BOSTON -- Ford Hall Forum at Suffolk University presents a lecture by Gwen Ifill, recipient of the 2009 Louis P. and Evelyn Smith First Amendment Award, moderated by journalist Callie Crossley, from 6:30 to 8 pm Thursday, March 5, at the Old South Meeting House, 310 Washington St.

An open discussion and book signing will follow. Admission is free and open to all.

For the past 28 years, the Ford Hall Forum's Louis P. and Evelyn Smith First Amendment Award has honored individuals or organizations that demonstrate extraordinary commitment to promoting and facilitating the thoughtful exercise of our right to freedom of expression. Previous recipients include, among others, Rosa Parks, Pete Seeger, Maya Angelou, Anita F. Hill, and Daniel Schorr. This year, the Forum honors Gwen Ifill.

Ifill is moderator and managing editor of "Washington Week" and senior correspondent for "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer." She frequently is asked to moderate debates in national elections, including the vice presidential debates during the 2004 and 2008 elections. Ifill is also the author of The Breakthrough: Politics in the Age of Obama.

Now in its 40th year, “Washington Week” is the longest-running news and public affairs program on public television. Each week, Ifill brings together some of the best journalists in Washington to discuss the major stories of the week. She has bolstered the program's journalistic roots and its commitment to hearing from the reporters who actually cover the news. Ifill joined both “Washington Week” and “The NewsHour” in 1999, interviewing newsmakers and reporting on issues ranging from foreign affairs to politics.

Callie Crossley is a seasoned broadcast professional whose portfolio includes commentary, media criticism, and speaking, as well as producing and directing television and film. Crossley is a regular panelist on the WGBH-TV program, "Beat the Press." Most recently she's appeared on CNN and NPR as a commentator. Crossley spent 13 years as a network television producer for ABC News "20/20." She was also a producer of the documentary “Eyes on the Prize,” the award-winning series on the civil rights movement produced in the mid-1980s. Her award credits include a national Emmy, an Edward R. Murrow award, an award from the American Women in Radio and Television, and the Alfred I. Dupont-Columbia award. Callie Crossley is a graduate of Wellesley College and was a Neiman Fellow at Harvard University.

The Ford Hall Forum is the nation’s oldest free public lecture series. The Forum promotes freedom of speech and fosters an informed and effective citizenry through the public presentation of lectures, debates, and discussions. Its events illuminate the key issues facing our society by bringing to its podium knowledgeable and thought-provoking speakers, including some of the most controversial opinion leaders of our times. These speakers are presented in person, for free, and in settings that facilitate frank and open debate.

For more information on the Ford Hall Forum, contact Director Alex Minier, 617-557-2007, alex@fordhallforum.org or visit www.fordhallforum.org/. Information about Suffolk University’s partnership with the Ford Hall Forum may be obtained by contacting Mariellen Norris, (617) 573-8450, mnorris@suffolk.edu.

Feb. 10, 2009 -- Managing the Bailout Event at Suffolk University Law School to Address Financial Crisis Response

BOSTON – Top Treasury, Government Accountability Office (GAO) and Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) Congressional Oversight officials will gather at Suffolk University Thursday, February 12, 2009, from 4:00-5:30 pm, to address the Federal response to the financial crisis, including its successes and failures.

“Managing the Bailout: Execution and Oversight of the Federal Response to the Financial Crisis” will be hosted by The Rappaport Center for Law and Public Service at Suffolk University Law School and the American Bar Association.

“The financial collapse has created enormous challenges for federal policymakers,” said Alasdair Roberts, the Jerome L. Rappaport Professor of Law and Public Policy at Suffolk University Law School. “They've had to create massive new programs quickly, under constantly shifting conditions. Now that TARP is almost four months old, we've gathered some of the key players to discuss what went right, what went wrong, and what needs to be done next.”

Panelists taking part in the program include:

• Robert F. Hoyt, former general counsel, U.S. Department of Treasury (December 2006 - January 2009). Hoyt managed the legal work involved in government bailouts of American International Group, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the auto industry, and the capital purchase program set up under TARP.

• Damon Silvers, associate general counsel, AFL-CIO and member, TARP Congressional Oversight Panel , which is examining how Treasury is spending taxpayer money in the bailout of the financial system

• Thomas McCool, director, Government Accountability Office center for economics.

• William. F. Kroener III, co-chair, ABA Task Force on Financial Markets Regulatory Reform

• Professor Cornelius Hurley, director, Morin Center for Banking and Financial Law, Boston University Law School

"The stakes couldn't be much higher,” Roberts said. “The country is in the worst economic condition in six decades. Job losses continue to pile up. We need to learn and adapt quickly to achieve a solid recovery."

The event runs Thursday, February 12, from 4:00-5:30 pm in room 285, Suffolk University Law School, 120 Tremont Street in Boston. Members of the media are welcome.

The Rappaport Center for Law and Public Service was established in 2006 through a generous gift from the Jerome Lyle Rappaport Charitable Foundation and Jerry and Phyllis Rappaport. The Rappaport Center fosters innovative thinking on public policy and promotes emerging leaders who are deeply committed to public service.

February 2, 2009 -- The Box and the Curve: Modern Furniture Exhibit at the Gallery of the New England School of Art & Design at Suffolk University

BOSTON -- "The Box and the Curve," an exhibit at the New England School of Art and Design at Suffolk University Feb 2 through 16, 2009, features the work of two furniture designers who combine art and artisanship in their work.

Mark Del Guidice and David Sears, cutting-edge designers of modern furniture, will discuss their work from 1 to 2 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 10 at the art school gallery.

Sears designs furniture with a mind to both the environment and superb design. His recent work explores modularity, and the exhibit will feature his Cube furniture collection. Sears’s lecture will focus on the importance of material selection and manufacturing techniques for his eco-conscious line.

Del Giudice’s furniture designs emphasize form, surface and distinctive content. He carves hieroglyphic-like markings and quotations in Morse code into the furniture’s surface and employs both color and fine woods.

Both Sears and Del Guidice have taught in the Interior Design Program at the New England School of Art and Design.

"The Box and the Curve"
New England School of Art & Design at Suffolk University
75 Arlington St., 2nd floor, Boston
Free and open to the public
8-11 a.m. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, noon-6 p.m. Sunday
After 7 p.m. enter at Main Lobby at 10 St. James St.

Lecture by artists Mark Del Guidice and David Sears
1 to 2 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 10

Images available, please contact mnorris@suffolk.edu

Feb. 2, 2009 -- The Boston Athenæum and Suffolk University Present Civic Discourse: Media and Democracy, a Series of Panels, Lectures and Films; Featured Speakers Include David Gergen, Lewis Lapham and Charles Burnett

BOSTON -- Civic Discourse is a new initiative sponsored by The Boston Athenæum and Suffolk University. The institutions will jointly present a series of programs each year, devoted to a topic of national significance. The inaugural series will focus on Media and Democracy and will include lectures, panel discussions and films. Events are free and open to the public by advance reservation and will take place at the Boston Athenæum and on Suffolk University’s Beacon Hill campus.

“With the civic discourse initiative, our goal is to reactivate the role of the Boston Athenæum as an institution in which the most pressing issues of the day would find a full and intelligent hearing,” said Stanford Calderwood Director and Librarian Richard Wendorf. “We would like to make the Boston Athenæum synonymous not only with our collections and programming in the humanities, but also with the discussion of important political, social and scientific concerns. We are very fortunate to have been able to forge a relationship with the College of Arts and Sciences at Suffolk University, a major institutional presence in our neighborhood.”

Kenneth S. Greenberg, Dean of Suffolk University’s College of Arts and Sciences, said: “Our goal with the civic discourse initiative is to treat significant – and significantly complex – issues as thoroughly as possible and from a variety of perspectives. We believe the topic Media and Democracy will provide great resonance following the recent national elections. In addition to talks by leading national political and media figures, the series will feature many of Suffolk’s faculty members, particularly professors in the Communication and Journalism Department.”

Funding for the Civic Discourse Initiative has been provided by the Daniel and Joanna S. Rose Programming Fund at the Boston Athenæum and by Suffolk University’s College of Arts and Sciences.

6 p.m. Wednesday Feb. 11, 2009
Inaugural Lecture: The Press - Turning Foe into Friend
David Gergen
Suffolk University, C. Walsh Theatre, 55 Temple St., Boston

Television and the Internet have become indispensable tools for presidential leadership. In fact, the media are a primary institutional force an effective president must manage by cooperation, charm and persuasion. The Obama administration’s future success will be partly measured by its ability to manage the media in order to communicate its legislative goals to the nation. David Gergen is an experienced journalist, presidential adviser and sought-after political analyst. In this talk, he will share his views on how the media have an impact on our nation’s policy focus; what the Obama administration must do to ensure that the members of the media do not resist the president’s goals; lessons to be learned from presidential media greats, such as Roosevelt; and mistakes to avoid.

David Gergen is editor-at-large at U.S. News and World Report, a Senior Political Analyst for CNN, a professor of public service at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and director of its Center for Public Leadership and author of the best-selling book Eyewitness to Power: The Essence of Leadership, Nixon to Clinton. Gergen is a former adviser to Presidents Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Clinton.

Reservations: 617-720-7600

Noon Saturday, Feb. 14, 2009
Film Screening: Citizen Kane (1941)
Boston Athenæum, 10½ Beacon St., Boston

Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane is an Oscar-winning biography of newspaper baron Charles Foster Kane (in essence, a thinly veiled portrait of publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst), who becomes one of America’s most influential men.

The film will be introduced by David Reeder, visiting assistant professor in the Communication and Journalism Department at Suffolk University. Reeder earned his B.F.A. from the University of Kentucky in 1985, specializing in photography and sculpture and worked as a camera assistant for 20 years, perfecting his craft as a filmmaker. His credits include Driving Miss Daisy, Fried Green Tomatoes, Ace Ventura 2, RoboCop3 and the NBC television series In the Heat of the Night.

Reservations: 617-720-7600.

6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2009
Film Screening: The Battle of Algiers (1966)
Suffolk University, Donahue Building, Room 311, 41 Temple St., Boston

Gillo Pontecorvo’s The Battle of Algiers is based on the Algerian struggle for independence from French colonial rule. In particular it follows one fighter of the National Liberation Front (FLN) who turns from being a criminal to leader of the FLN. The film won several awards, including the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 1966.

The film will be introduced by Monika Reasch, assistant professor in the Department of Communication and Journalism at Suffolk University. She teaches both video production and film studies, including a course in World Cinema. She is a native of Germany and holds degrees from four different countries.

Reservations will be accepted starting Feb. 4 at 617-720-7600.

6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 26, 2009
Panel Discussion: New Media, Democracy and Technology
Gloria Boone, Linda Gallant and Nina Huntemann
Boston Athenæum, 10 ½ Beacon St., Boston

Does the Internet make citizens more engaged in the democratic process? How do online social presence, community formation and party identification on social media sites such as Facebook and MySpace affect the political process? Have sites like The Huffington Post, Politico, or The Drudge Report changed political coverage? What impact did online messaging, advertising, or public relations had on the 2008 elections?

Gloria Boone is a professor in the Department of Communication and Journalism at Suffolk University. She teaches classes in advertising, new media, Web design and rhetoric and consults with businesses and health care organizations on advertising, usability, communication and integrated marketing.

Linda Gallant is an assistant professor of Communication Studies at Emerson College. Her teaching and research interests include the application of research methods to social computing and the maximization of information and communication technology (ICT) to advance human communication in multiple contexts – health care, politics and the workplace.

Nina B. Huntemann is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication and Journalism at Suffolk University. Her research interests include communication policy and history, political economy of communication, new media technologies, game studies, critical cultural studies, feminist media studies and media literacy.

Reservations will be accepted starting Feb. 12 at 617-720-7600.

Noon Saturday, Feb. 28, 2009
Film Screening: The Candidate (1972)
Boston Athenæum, 10 ½ Beacon St., Boston

Director Michael Ritchie and executive producer/star Robert Redford explore the machinations and manipulations of media-age political campaigns in this cynical political drama. With an Oscar-winning screenplay and appearances by real-life reporters and politicians, The Candidate takes a biting look at the nature of politics.

The film will be introduced by Boston Athenæum member and Emerson College screenwriting Professor Diane Lake. Lake had a previous career as a political consultant in Iowa and has been a working screenwriter since 1993, writing screenplays for Columbia, Disney, Miramax and Paramount.

Reservations will be accepted starting Jan. 29 at 617-720-7600.

Noon Saturday, March 14, 2009
Film Screening: Good Night, and Good Luck (2005)
Boston Athenæum, 10 ½ Beacon St., Boston

This six-time Oscar-nominated 2005 docudrama chronicles how, in the mid-1950s, Edward R. Murrow and his “See It Now” producer, Fred Friendly, helped to bring an end to the tyranny of the blacklist and the House Un-American Activities Committee’s anti-Communist hearings.

The film will be introduced by Dan Kennedy, an assistant professor of journalism at Northeastern University. He writes for the Guardian (U.K.), CommonWealth and the Boston Phoenix and is a regular panelist on WGBH-TV’s “Beat the Press,” hosted by Emily Rooney. His blog, Media Nation, is online at medianation.blogspot.com.

Reservations will be accepted starting Jan. 29 at 617-720-7600.
6 p.m. Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Panel Discussion: The Shrinking World of Print Journalism: A Danger to Democracy?
Bruce Butterfield, Cullen Murphy, Bob Rosenthal and Joan Venocchi
Boston Athenæum, 10 ½ Beacon St., Boston

For more than two centuries, America’s newspapers have been the public’s primary source of information about our government. As circulation and staffs shrink, there are significant implications for democracy, which is dependent upon an informed public.

Bruce D. Butterfield is assistant professor and professional journalist in residence in the Department of Communication and Journalism at Suffolk University. He spent 16 years as a staff writer for the Boston Globe, where he covered national labor issues and was an investigative reporter on the newspaper’s Spotlight Team. A two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, he has won numerous major awards for his reporting.

Cullen Murphy is the editor-at-large of Vanity Fair magazine and was, for two decades, the managing editor of the Atlantic Monthly. Murphy’s articles and essays have appeared in many publications, including the Atlantic Monthly, Harper’s, the New Republic, Slate, the New York Times, the Wall St. Journal, the Boston Globe, American Heritage and Smithsonian. His most recent book is Are We Rome?, which he wrote, in part, at the Boston Athenæum.

Joan Venocchi writes regularly about national and local politics for the Boston Globe and also covers issues relating to business, law and culture. She began her career at the paper as a researcher on the Spotlight Team, the newspaper’s investigative unit, and shared in a Pulitzer Prize awarded to the team for local investigative reporting.

Robert Rosenthal is chair of the Department of Communication and Journalism at Suffolk University. He is an international consultant specializing in strategic communication, with a core emphasis on institutions subject to government regulation. A specialist in the field of political communication, Rosenthal is a frequent guest on radio talk shows and television newscasts.

Reservations will be accepted starting March 12 at 617-720-7600.

6 p.m. March 31, 2009
Lecture: Take Back the Media: Policy, Protest and Protecting American Democracy
Josh Silver
Boston Athenæum, 10 ½ Beacon St., Boston

Josh Silver argues that the media policies made in Washington D.C. are the cause of corporate programming on radio and TV, fake news that fails to inform, slow, overpriced Internet service and struggling public media. His organization, Free Press, calls for media that give the American people quality news and programming, reflect the nation’s diversity, meet the information needs of local communities and support democracy. Silver will discuss important current policy debates and how individuals can get involved in the public policies that shape our media system.

Josh Silver is the executive director and co-founder of the nonpartisan media policy reform organization Free Press. He previously served as campaign manager for public funding of elections in Arizona and as the director of development for the cultural arm of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington. Silver publishes frequently on media, campaign finance and other public policy issues.

Reservations will be accepted starting March 11 at 617-720-7600.

6 p.m. Thursday, April 2, 2009
Film Screening: Nat Turner: A Troublesome Property (2003)
Suffolk University, C. Walsh Theatre, 55 Temple St., Boston
Presented in conjunction with the Ford Hall Forum

Nat Turner: A Troublesome Property analyzes Turner’s slave rebellion of 1831 and its aftermath in American memory. The film explores many interpretations of the event, including William Styron’s controversial 1967 Pulitzer-Prize-winning The Confessions of Nat Turner and the deep racial divisions that it exposed. What is the distinction between a freedom fighter and a terrorist? The debate over the meaning of Nat Turner has been at the heart of race relations in the United States for the past 178 years.

Charles Burnett is a MacArthur-Award-winning American filmmaker. Major films include Killer of Sheep, The Glass Shield, To Sleep with Anger, Nightjohn, The Wedding, The Annihilation of Fish and Namibia: The Struggle for Liberation. He is co-writer and director of Nat Turner: A Troublesome Property.

Frank Christopher is an award-winning producer, director, writer and editor whose major film credits include Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers, In the Name of the People and the PBS series Remaking American Medicine. He is currently at work on a film about the explorer Samuel de Champlain. He co-wrote and co-produced Nat Turner: A Troublesome Property.

Kenneth S. Greenberg, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Suffolk University and distinguished professor of history, has authored Honor and Slavery, as well as Masters and Statesmen. He is the editor of Nat Turner: A Slave Rebellion in History and Memory and of Thomas R. Gray’s original The Confessions of Nat Turner. He co-wrote and co-produced Nat Turner: A Troublesome Property.

Reservations will be accepted starting Feb. 4 at 617-720-7600.

This film is presented in conjunction with The Ford Hall Forum, a partner of Suffolk University. The Ford Hall Forum is the nation's oldest free public lecture series. Its mission is to foster an informed and effective citizenry and to promote freedom of speech through the public presentation of lectures, debates and discussions.

6 p.m. Monday, April 6, 2009
Panel Discussion: The Role of Television Journalism in a Democratic Society
Robert Rosenthal, Moderator
Suffolk University, C. Walsh Theatre, 55 Temple St., Boston

Broadcast journalists have been praised for breaking important news stories and criticized for breaking political candidates. Is the role of television news in our democracy to present politically neutral information or to provide informed opinion?

Robert E. Rosenthal is chair of the Department of Communication and Journalism at Suffolk University. He is an international consultant specializing in strategic communication, with a core emphasis on institutions subject to government regulation. A specialist in the field of political communication, Rosenthal is a frequent guest on radio talk shows and television newscasts.

Reservations will be accepted starting March 20 at 617-720-7600.

6 p.m. Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Lecture: Mixed Media
Lewis H. Lapham
Boston Athenæum, 10 ½ Beacon St., Boston

The media today speak in so many forked and foreign tongues — film, book, video game, broadcast, blog — that without a dictionary or a concordance it’s hard to know who is saying what to whom. Over the past 50 years it has come to pass that on an examination paper at the end of a year’s course in the history of western civilization a sophomore at a high-end New England university can give as his answer: “The Greeks invented three kinds of columns — Corinthian, Doric and Ironic. They also had myths. A myth is a female moth.”

How does a writer tell a straight story to readers who think in circles? Maybe by sending smoke signals.
Lewis Lapham is editor of Lapham’s Quarterly, the national correspondent for Harper’s Magazine and the author of 13 books, including Money and Class in America, The Wish for Kings, Theater of War and, most recently, Pretensions to Empire. For Bloomberg Radio he hosts a weekly program, “The World in Time.”

Reservations will be accepted starting April 16 at 617-720-7600.

Jan. 29, 2009 -- BRA Approves Suffolk University Academic Building for 20 Somerset Street: New Structure to House Classrooms, Art School

BOSTON -- The Boston Redevelopment Authority board today unanimously approved Suffolk University’s plans for a flagship academic building at 20 Somerset Street that will provide state-of-the-art classroom space as well as a permanent home for the New England School of Art and Design at Suffolk University.

The BRA board approved a plan that calls for the removal of the abandoned structure that once served as the Metropolitan District Commission headquarters and the construction of a unique and vibrant building that will bring an active use back to the site, while remaining respectful of the surrounding neighborhood.

The University also plans to transform the adjacent Roemer Plaza into a welcoming open space and will use the plaza to commemorate the MDC’s storied history of conserving parkland and green space in and around Boston.

The BRA’s approval of the $68 million project caps a four-year development process for the 20 Somerset site. Suffolk University worked closely over the past two years with a BRA-appointed task force made up of members from surrounding neighborhoods, as well as with its neighbors on Beacon Hill and representatives of the abutting Garden of Peace. Task force members, a building design subcommittee and neighbors all contributed to the design of the building and the adjacent plaza.

“This building will be a shining example of the community process at its best,” said John Nucci, Suffolk University’s vice president for External Affairs. “It has been designed in close collaboration with task force members and neighbors who have shared the goal of creating a building that will benefit Suffolk students and the city of Boston for generations.”

The proposed building’s design includes:

A vibrant glass façade on the south side of the building designed to enliven an improved Roemer Plaza
A quiet façade on the opposite north side, designed to be respectful of the neighboring Garden of Peace memorial to homicide victims
State-of-the-art classrooms for students in the College of Arts and Sciences that will feature full media technology and energy-efficient lighting and heating
Art studios for instruction in painting, drawing, sculpture, and printing, along with electronic classrooms for computer instruction in graphic design and interior design
Faculty offices
A public art gallery displaying student and professional work as well as critique spaces

“I want to thank Suffolk University for working cooperatively with the community and the BRA to come up with the right project for this site,” said Mayor Thomas M. Menino. “This new academic building will allow Suffolk to remain competitive and enhance its students’ educational experience.”

The 20 Somerset project is part of an Institutional Master Plan that was approved by the BRA last summer. That master plan creates a blueprint for Suffolk University’s growth in Boston over the next 10 years and also includes the Modern Theatre and residence hall project on Washington Street, which is now under construction. The Modern Theatre project will bring a new 185-seat theater to Downtown Crossing and will allow Suffolk to house more of its students.

The planned academic building at 20 Somerset Street will allow the University to remove additional classroom seats from its Temple Street academic buildings, lightening its student load in the residential part of Beacon Hill.

The University is in the process of finalizing an agreement with the Massachusetts Historical Commission that would allow for the removal of the former MDC building.

Suffolk University’s 20 Somerset building is being designed by the renowned Cambridge-based architectural firm of Chan Krieger Sieniewicz, the same firm that helped the university create its Institutional Master Plan. Suffolk hopes to begin construction by fall 2009 and open the building in 2011. The project will create 150 construction jobs.

Jan. 23, 2009 -- "On Equal Terms: Women in Construction 30 Years & Still Organizing," Installation by Susan Eisenberg at Suffolk University’s Adams Gallery

BOSTON -- The exhibit On Equal Terms: Women in Construction 30 Years & Still Organizing, at the Adams Gallery Jan. 26 - March 17, 2009, celebrates 30 years of women in construction.

On Equal Terms, an installation by artist, poet and educator Susan Eisenberg, grew out of her effort to learn from tradeswoman pioneers about the struggle to bring women into the construction trades. The personal testimonies of the many women she has interviewed inform her work.

Federal policy changes in 1978 opened construction jobs and apprenticeship programs to women, with projections that women would make up 25 percent of the construction work force by now. Yet today women hold only about 2 percent of jobs in the building trades.

Eisenberg was one of the first women in the country to achieve journey-level status as a union electrician, and she worked on construction sites for 15 years. She is the author of We’ll Call You If We Need You: Experiences of Women Working Construction, a New York Times Notable Book.

Her installation employs soft sculpture, found objects, poetry, story, photography, and audio to explore issues of power and social policy.

The public is invited to an opening reception from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 30, with a brief program at 6 p.m. Area tradeswomen, whose voices and experiences animate the exhibit, will be available to the media.

On Equal Terms: Women in Construction 30 Years & Still Organizing
Jan. 26 - March 17, 2009
Adams Gallery, Sargent Hall, Suffolk University Law School, 120 Tremont St., Boston
Free and open to the public from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily

Images available

Jan. 13, 2009 -- Suffolk University Brings 90 Students to D.C. for Presidential Inauguration Seminar

BOSTON -- Ninety Suffolk University students and five faculty leaders traveled to Washington this week for a 12-day Presidential Inauguration Seminar on “Media and the Presidency” offered in conjunction with The Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars.

The seminar focuses on the 2008 presidential election, the media’s impact on the election process and the transition to a new administration, all in the context of the inauguration of Barack Obama and Joe Biden as a milestone in American political history.

The Suffolk students are participating in the Jan. 10-21 seminar as part of their requirements for a course offered by the Government Department.

Students will hear from leading government, political and media figures, such as Ambassador Hussain Haqqani of Pakistan and Sam Donaldson of ABC News. Daily small discussion groups with Suffolk University faculty complement site visits to federal agencies, think tanks, and embassies and attendance at a variety of inaugural events.

“The seminar offers Suffolk students a rare opportunity to experience the historic transition of power from one administration and party to another and the key role the media play in shaping and describing the inaugural process,” said Assistant Professor of Government Brian Conley, one of the faculty leaders. “The small-group discussions, guest lectures and site visits will give students a hands-on introduction to official Washington, the inauguration and the operations of the fourth estate.”

Additional faculty leaders who are leading the daily small-group sessions are Professors Teri Fair and Roberto Dominguez, Meri Power and Erin Cheuvront.