Ready, Set, Vote

Professor Racheal Cobb

Since becoming an assistant professor in 2006, Rachael Cobb has already put her stamp on the Government Department of Suffolk University by being a catalyst for two innovative programs, the University Poll Workers Project and the Boston Area Colleges Election Project.

The University Poll Workers Project, which Cobb established, recruits and trains a diverse array of students to be the next generation of poll workers. It has already yielded positive results, with over 100 Suffolk students working the polls for the City of Boston on Election Day during the past two years. The program will continue to be a resource for students and the community in the fall 2008 Presidential election.

The Boston Area Colleges Election Project is a collaborative effort between the Suffolk and Harvard University Government Departments and Harvard Law School. Through the project, students help to gather data on voter satisfaction in the city of Boston.

“I am passionate about our political processes, and these two programs will enable our students to be even more politically competent by taking action in our democracy,” says Cobb.

Cobb was born and reared in Cambridge, where she still lives with her husband and two young children. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Bryn Mawr College and received her PhD from MIT.

Now, as a professor on Beacon Hill, Cobb is motivated by the eagerness of her students and appreciates Suffolk’s dedication to small class sizes. Her passion for public service is contagious. “Rachael has a remarkable ability to work with all kinds of people,” says professor and chair of the Government Department John Berg. “She is excellent at bringing people together and making things happen.”

Letter From the Dean

We published the first issue of Suffolk Arts + Sciences last year with the word “Encore!” splashed across the cover, in reference to the lead story on Suffolk’s C. Walsh Theatre. We did not quite expect the applause that followed: words of appreciation from across the Suffolk community-”Bravo!” “Knockout!” “Congratulations on an outstanding publication!”-plus five national awards. What means most to us, however, are the kudos and suggestions from our alumni, who responded with enthusiasm.

This fall we bring you the second issue of Suffolk Arts + Sciences. The “Journey” of the cover story refers literally to the Alternative Winter Break trip to El Salvador undertaken by a dozen Suffolk students and staff members, under the leadership of history professor Chris Rodriguez. In addition to completing the construction of an outdoor arena for community gatherings in the small town of El Sitio, the Suffolk delegation commemorated the work of the late Massachusetts congressman and Suffolk University alumnus Joe Moakley JD’56, whose efforts helped to facilitate an end to the civil war that wracked the Salvadoran nation from 1980-1992.

As Maxine Hong Kingston, the renowned author, repeat visitor to the College, and 2008 recipient of an honorary doctorate from Suffolk University, has remarked, “success means effectiveness in the world, that I am able to carry my ideas and values into the world-that I am able to change it in positive ways.” This is precisely what the volunteers on the trip to El Salvador did: they harnessed their classroom learning to their passion for social change and, continuing the legacy of Joe Moakley, shared the “success” of their Suffolk education.

This issue of Suffolk Arts + Sciences pulses with the “journeys,” the success stories, of our alumni, faculty, and students: Gregory Hazelwood BA’98 teaches African American history at Brockton High School, where his mentorship truly matters; Coach Jim Nelson models self-respect and decorum as surely as he demonstrates a sweeping hook shot; and recent theatre graduates Rachel Kelsey and Purnima Baldwin make a bold and important statement about homelessness in Boston with their play, Infinity. The “Standout Talent” section this year features seven students who have taken the injunction to “learn beyond the classroom”-a value literally embedded in our new curriculum through the Expanded Classroom requirement-seriously as they spread across campus and into their communities, applying what they have learned in our classrooms to the world as they find it.

As you will see in these pages, and as I have witnessed throughout my 30-year career at Suffolk University, some of the most precious rewards of a Suffolk Arts and Sciences education take form in civic engagement, in serving others and making a positive change in the world. Let us bring you down a few of the paths, passages, and byways explored by members of our community over the years as they have journeyed toward “effectiveness in the world,” as they have taken their education and built “success.”

And let us know how your Suffolk education has shaped your years since graduation. How have you brought the ideas and values that took form during your time on campus out into the world?

I hope that your journey allows you to stop by campus this year to experience the College in full swing. Believe me, you will leave invigorated.

Dean, College of Arts and Sciences

Government Grads

With his office situated just steps from the Massachusetts State House, Professor John Berg has an interesting perspective on the civic interaction that Suffolk shares with its Beacon Hill neighbor. “We try to encourage enthusiasm for public service and politics,” he says. As chairman of Suffolk University’s Government Department, he has seen decades of students progress through their studies and into a life of public service.

ALAYNA VAN TASSEL

A passion for politics led Alayna Van Tassel BA’01 to the State House, where she interned while attending Suffolk and worked full time after graduating for State Representative David Linsky, State Senator Henri Rauschenbach, and State Senator Jim Marzilli. “The idea of getting involved and working to make a difference in the community was instilled in me at a young age. I pursued a career in public service because I am passionate about, and committed to, progressive social change. Whether it’s improving access to homecare services for seniors, working for women’s access to reproductive health services, or ensuring that marriage equality remains legal in Massachusetts, I know that the work I’m doing is going to impact someone’s life for the better.”

ARTHUR BERNARD

Arthur Bernard BA’80 recalls becoming a Senate page in 1977 and credits that experience with “really opening me up to a whole career of possibilities.” Now, as a senior adviser for Governor Deval Patrick, he has devoted his career to public service. Other prominent positions include serving as chief of staff for Senate President Robert Traviglini and vice chancellor for the University of Massachusetts Boston. He thanks his professors in the Government Department—John Berg, Judy Dushku and Judy Elmusa—for leaving a big impression upon him through their teaching. “Suffolk was the right place to be because it gave me a chance to grow,” he says, “and the Government Department let me feel as if I could do anything and was always there to connect me back to the school.”

BOB GIBBONS

After five years of manual labor directly out of high school, Bob Gibbons BS’78 followed his own path to Suffolk University. Professor John Berg recommended him for his first government job as a legislative aide to Thomas Brownell in 1979. He continued to work as vice president at a private lobbying practice, “a job that provided me with a new perspective on challenges facing the private sector,” he says. He currently works as a senior vice president at Massachusetts Hospital Association, overseeing state and federal relations for all hospitals in Massachusetts. His late entrance to Suffolk University and adaptation to a new career are obstacles he believes no one can be prepared for in life, but “at the end of every challenge, there lies an opportunity.”

THOMAS BROWNELL

As a government student in the early 60s, the Honorable Thomas Brownell BS’63, JD’66 never imagined becoming a judge. Working at Purity Supreme supermarket to pay his way through college, he immersed himself in the world of politics and government. First he became a lawyer, then a legislator and later a part-time professor at Suffolk University. Now in his current career as 1st Justice of Plymouth District Court, he is able to reflect on the importance of his education. “Continuing education is essential; people must never stop learning because the only constant in life is change.” Retirement lies in the future for Judge Brownell, yet he hopes to stay active with a community service job or more teaching. “My father always said, ‘If you help one person a day, then you have done a lot.’”

Standout Talent

The College of Arts & Sciences hosts a community of students who reach far beyond their regular calls of duty. Whether they are volunteering their time and support, introducing new programs on campus, setting and achieving high academic goals, or speaking out and taking action for their beliefs, they are the inspiring scholars who give Suffolk University a great reputation. Here are just some of the students who have not only made great contributions to the University — but also to the community and lives of people they have met along the way.

Left to right: Meredith Sims, Yvonne Wakim, Gustave Cadet, Megan Costello, Mike Nash, Mike Miccoli, Bonnie Jean MacEachern

To read more about each of these students selected for the 2008/2009 Standout Talent pages, visit the digital edition here. Click on the image below to view the page full size.