Analyzing competition, monopoly in food industry

The next time you pick up a gallon of milk at your local supermarket, think of Ron Cotterill.

In a 25-year career as a professor of agricultural economics, the director of UConn's Food Marketing Policy Center has studied food industry pricing extensively. Several times, Cotterill has released findings that have led to appearances before Congress and enactment or revision of legislation related to food pricing.

Most recently his research has concluded that supermarkets are making excessive profits on milk, gouging consumers while farmers are struggling for profitability. In one study Cotterill sought to evaluate the impact of a four-year federal program - the Northeast Dairy Compact - that guaranteed New England farmers a minimum price for milk.

He says the supermarkets not only raised the price of milk by 3 cents a gallon to cover the cost of the program, they also raised the retail price by another 14 cents for their own profit, and attributed the entire increase to the Compact.

After the program expired, farm prices plummeted 50 cents a gallon to an average $1 per gallon of milk, while consumers continued to pay about $3 per gallon. The differential between average consumer costs and farming left immense margins of profit for retailers and processors, he concluded.

Cotterill's study has garnered him extensive publicity and placed him in the political spotlight, too. But he takes it in stride. "I've spent my whole career at the interface of politics and academia," he says.

Cotterill does not shy away from challenging vested interests, but picks the issues carefully and conducts meticulous research so that it can withstand the scrutiny he has come to expect.

Although he recognizes that his research often generates controversy, Cotterill relishes debate.

"Most of the economists in my subject area of industrial organization and anti-trust economics work for the big guys," he says. "Only a very small fraction work for the little guy and the public interest. As the trend continues toward greater economic concentration, our research becomes all the more important."

Researcher finds bones adversely affected by smoking, caffeine

Caffeine, alcohol, and smoking may influence how likely it is that a person will developosteoporosis or break a bone in their later years, says a study by Jasminka Ilich-Ernst, a registered dietician and associate professor of allied health at UConn. The study was recently published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition.

"While doing our preliminary calculations, it was immediately obvious some factors such as smoking are detrimental to bone health, while others, if kept to a moderate level, could actually be beneficial," says Ilich-Ernst, who has been researching the effects of calcium and other vital nutrients on bones in animals and humans for 20 years.

For the UConn study, 136 healthy women aged from 60 to 80 were recruited. Each participant completed a series of questionnaires for determining the source, amount, and frequency of calcium, alcohol, and caffeine in their diets, as well as their smoking history and level of physical activity over their life span. Their bone mineral density also was measured.

The findings indicate that no matter how long ago former cigarette smokers had given up the habit or how much they smoked, their bone health was compromised. In the study, caffeine also showed adverse effects on bone mineral density, especially in women who had lower calcium intake.

To ensure strong, healthy bones, Ilich-Ernst advocates a balanced diet consisting of natural foods and plenty of low-fat dairy products as a source of calcium. "If possible, people should take all their nutrients from real food," she says. "Forget the processed and ready-made products."

But for those who smoke, have recently kicked the habit, or consume large quantities of coffee or caffeine, and who can't get enough calcium from food, Ilich-Ernst believes a calcium supplement on top of a healthy diet is needed.

New figures just released by the National Osteoporosis Foundation indicate that osteoporosis and low bone mass are a major public health threat for 55 percent of the U.S. population aged 50 and older.

UConn helps family businesses gain a competitive edge

Forget the storied "Mom and Pop" image of family businesses. In Connecticut they are the backbone of the economy. According to economic surveys, 69,000 firms, more than 80 percent of state businesses, are family-owned and employ more than 60 percent of the state's workforce, generating 50 percent of the gross state product.

Since 1995, UConn's Family Business Program has offered a distinctive opportunity to explore strategies for overcoming the unique challenges faced by family-owned firms.

The program, staffed by seasoned family business owners, is a "think tank" for members to gain exposure to new ideas and review best practices that may be incorported into their own family operations through the use of focus groups, workshops, and retreats. The program's first retreat was held this past June to address succession in the family business.

The discussions were designed for all family members, even those not currently involved in the business. By involving the entire family participants can begin to create a unified vision of the firm, develop consensus and then work to set individual goals, identify career objectives for family members and develop a strategic plan, says Priscilla Cale, director of the Family Business Program.

"The baby boomers are starting to retire, so we're going to see a huge management turnover in the next five years. The goal of the retreat was to help all family members who are not working in the business develop a better understanding of the core business, as well as for spouses to understand the implications of estate and succession plans on their children," says Cale.

Every month, members of the UConn Family Business Program come together to discuss issues affecting their business and having an impact on their profitability. The program offers "a distinctive opportunity" for family business owners to learn from professionals and peers, Cale says.

Homeland Security decisionmakers turn to UConn to manage change

When the Department of Homeland Security was created earlier this year by President Bush, one of the major organizational challenges was the integration of several federal agencies into one agency, the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (CBP), entrusted with preventing terrorists and terrorist weapons from entering the United States.

CBP combines into one agency the functions of the U.S. Customs Service, Immigration and Naturalization Service, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, and U.S. Border Patrol. The agency turned to UConn's College of Continuing Studies (CCS) to develop a Management Development Institute program to assist CBP decision-makers in learning how to manage the reorganization.

"All participating agencies will be experiencing radical changes in their hierarchical structures, work assignments, and agency processes and procedures," says Roy Pietro '77 (BUS), CCS associate director. "Managers will learn how to better manage change, work through the restructuring, and think more strategically."

UConn will train annually 30 to 90 managers from across the U.S. and abroad, under a three-year contract with CBP. The initial training session held in Storrs during March included participants from Texas, Florida, New Mexico, Alaska, Colorado, Virginia, California, and Puerto Rico.

The 11-day immersion program, a partnership between the College of Continuing Studies and the U.S. Customs Leadership Center, addresses the common barriers and obstacles to change and how managers can help employees adjust to and support workplace change. The program includes components on managing resources and management-in-crisis situations, and provides three months of follow-up leadership mentoring and coaching on WebCT, an interactive website resource where participants communicate with instructors and fellow managers.

Dental School wears top crown again

The UConn School of Dental Medicine is ranked the Number One dental school in the nation for the second time in three years. The ranking is based on Class of 2003 student test scores on the National Board Dental Examinations.

Students Holman Yu, Evyenia Kollia, and Mark Tromblay show their pride in the School of Dental Medicine.

"This is a phenomenal achievement for this hard working, bright group of students," says Peter J. Robinson, dean of the School of Dental Medicine. "To achieve this ranking twice in three years - the Class of 2001 had exactly the same ranking - is a great tribute to our faculty, who take great pride in providing these students the education and mentoring that enabled them to achieve this level of greatness."

Monty MacNeil, associate dean for academic affairs for the school, says the accomplishment speaks highly of both the students and the program: "It starts right from the admissions process. The reputation of the school attracts a certain kind of student; our admissions committee does a stellar job recruiting top-notch students; and then we deliver a very strong four-year program," he says.

The National Boards are administered by the American Dental Association and used to determine the qualifications of students who seek to practice dentistry. The tests are valid nationwide and are an accepted assessment of the ability of practitioners to recall important biomedical and dental sciences information and to apply that information in a problem-solving context.

The UConn dental school consistently ranks in the top four on the National Boards.

National acclaim for education program

The Neag School of Education has earned national recognition for producing high-quality teachers who stay in the field far longer than many of their colleagues.

Graduates of the Neag School, such as Jaime Columbia '97 (ED), '98 M.A., are highly sought after by Connecticut schools. Ninety percent remain in the state and a third take jobs in the most challenging school districts.

In its report, "No Dream Denied," the National Commission for Teaching and America's Future points to UConn's five-year integrated Bachelor's/ Master's program as an example of a teacher preparation program that "well prepares graduates who are more likely to stick with teaching and contribute to the development of a strong professional learning community in the schools they serve."

The commission - a nonpartisan group of the country's leaders in education, government, and business - has determined that it is not a teacher shortage crisis that is facing school districts across the country, but instead, a severe teacher retention problem. Each year, more than a quarter-million people leave the teaching profession, with retirees accounting for less than a third. After three years, a third of all new teachers leave the classroom.

"When you look at the numbers five years out, the gap grows even larger," says Neag Dean Richard Schwab, one of just two deans from schools of education serving on the commission.

Schwab says the success of the UConn program is due not only to the faculty of the Neag School of Education, but also to faculty of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, who provide students with solid preparation in content areas. He also credited the teachers and practitioners in the professional development schools - selected public schools that partner with the Neag School of Education - who work closely with UConn students.

Graduates of the Neag School are highly sought after. Every one of them leaves UConn with a job; 90 percent stay in Connecticut; and about a third take jobs in the state's most challenging school districts, "making this program an exceptional value for Connecticut," says Schwab.

Anonymous gift to benefit undergraduate engineers

An anonymous donation of $500,000 from an engineering alumnus will be used by the School of Engineering to launch a new learning mentorship program, recruit and retain minority students, and to augment undergraduate scholarships in engineering.

The gift, made through Campaign UConn, will be submitted under terms of the state matching endowment program for a total of $750,000.

The learning mentorship program, which will receive $300,000 under terms of the gift, is designed to address attrition among undergraduate engineering students at UConn. The problem of attrition is common in engineering programs across the country and is particularly high among members of underrepresented populations.

A sum of $200,000 will support the BRIDGE program, a five-week, intensive residential summer readiness program for entering undergraduate engineering students from traditionally underrepresented populations. After successfully completing the BRIDGE program, each student may receive a renewable scholarship of up to $3,000 per year through the School.

The remaining $250,000 of the endowment will support additional scholarships for engineering students not affiliated with the BRIDGE program.

The mentoring program will comprise a corps of senior engineering students who will provide academic mentoring in basic coursework to targeted freshmen and sophomores. The program will also involve peer advisors and graduate students who will help guide participating students in sequencing their coursework, scheduling, developing good study skills, and managing their time.

"This generous gift is a seed that will yield incalculable long-term harvests for the School of Engineering, as we seek to both attract and retain a greater number of undergraduate students," says Amir Faghri, dean of engineering. "Not only can we acquaint more prospective students with the engineering disciplines, we can create a nurturing environment and provide scholarship incentives that will foster higher retention rates."

Graduate students to provide therapy to DCF clients

UConn's Frederick G. Humphrey Center for Marital and Family Therapy and the state Department of Children and Families (DCF) have formed a partnership agreement that meets the agency's growing need for therapists and allows UConn graduate students to gain valuable training and experience.

The DCF eastern regional office, which represents Windham and New London counties, will refer adult clients to the Humphrey Center, part of the School of Family Studies. DCF clients - many of whom have had their children taken away for safety reasons - will receive counseling in areas such as anger management, communication or family therapy relationships by graduate students in the marriage and family therapy program. The students work under the supervision of experienced senior professionals.

"The agreement fulfills DCF's need to find treatment for adults, while it allows our graduate students to get the necessary experience with clients," says Leslie Strong, the Center's associate director. "It will create a caring, integrated, and goal-oriented framework for a partnership between the Humphrey Center, DCF, and families."

The partnership will help address the shortage of adult mental health services facing DCF. "It's going to provide a service we seriously need," says Eugene Marchand, manager of the DCF eastern regional office's community services unit.

It also aids graduate students enrolled in the marriage and family therapy program. Working with DCF clients will count toward the 500 supervised hours of time with clients they need to accumulate.

Graduate students will begin seeing DCF clients during their second year in the two-year master's degree program. First-year students will do a practicum at DCF in preparation. Each graduate student will work with a case load of up to three DCF clients at a time.

Access to new media arts offered through New York arts and technology center partnership

UConn students are at the forefront of new media arts thanks to a recently announced partnership with Eyebeam, a leading arts and technology center in New York City.

Pages from a "dirt style" web site created by Stewart Smith '03 (SFA) from the UConn School of Fine Arts/Eyebeam new media arts collaborative project.

Eyebeam is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting critical discussion about new media arts. It also provides access, education, and support for students, artists, and the general public in the field of art and technology.

"Our access to this sort of creative outlet is just not something that most institutions of higher learning can offer their students," says Judith Thorpe, department head of art and art history at UConn.

New media arts is a broad term given to contemporary art using new technologies in production or presentation. Examples range from Nam June Paik's pioneering use of closed-circuit television as part of his work in the 1960s to Alba, the genetically engineered bioluminescent rabbit created by artist Eduardo Kac.

The partnership was initiated earlier this year when two Eyebeam instructors offered UConn a new media arts course for five graduate students and five undergraduates. The students traveled to New York every other week to meet with their instructors. They also toured the studios of prominent new media artists, galleries, and museums; and learned about new media arts. The Eyebeam instructors also visited UConn for classroom critiques and exams.

"Overall, I've found the student body to be incredibly responsive and mature in their discussions," says Liz Slagus, Eyebeam's director of education. "This group is well informed."

The partnership came about because of discussions between Eyebeam faculty and Saul Ostrow, associate professor of art at UConn, according to Thorpe. "Eyebeam has a lot of trust in Professor Ostrow and his insights," she says. "We came forward immediately with something that would benefit both Eyebeam and UConn. Thinking of media as art, and dealing with media and culture, fits in with our program."

Law students counsel nonprofit groups

The UConn School of Law is helping to provide legal counsel for nonprofit groups in the Hartford region, thanks to a $100,000 grant from the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving to the Connecticut Urban Legal Initiative (CULI), a nonprofit organization located on the law school campus.

CULI provides services for legal transactions to Connecticut-area nonprofit organizations that address issues of urban blight in Hartford, Waterbury and other communities. CULI offers UConn law students the opportunity to learn legal transaction procedures while providing actual legal services to clients under the supervision of CULI's attorneys.

The one-year grant helps to implement CULI's Nonprofit Pro Bono Initiative, a partnership with several corporate legal departments and law firms that have committed both funds and volunteer lawyers for the program. The initiative will complement CULI's existing resources and help to better meet the demands of a growing number of nonprofit organizations. The initiative will match nonprofit groups with volunteers who specialize in the fields of law most suited to the client organizations' needs.

Nell Newton, dean of the School of Law and chair of CULI's board of directors, noted that the grant allows the law school to expand significantly on the amount of community service the law school provides in Connecticut.

"This grant from such a broad collaboration of the business community and the Hartford Foundation will enable the law school to substantially increase the number of non-governmental organizations the school serves in the Capitol Region," Newton says. "This is consistent with the best traditions of the School of Law, the Connecticut Bar and the entire University."

Feathered dinosaurs are not ordinary birds
Professor tailors software to help police track crime

Feathered dinosaurs are not ordinary birds

Birds and feathers originally did not flock together, says a scientific study co-authored by UConn emeritus professor Alan Brush.

The recent finding of fossils from flightless feather-bearing dinosaurs in northern China has spurred scientists to take a fresh look at the evolutionary link between birds and dinosaurs.

Writing in Scientific American, Brush and a colleague propose a developmental theory that feathers evolved through a series of transitional stages, each marked by an evolutionary novelty that was essential for the next stage of development.

Their theory is based on the understanding of how feathers develop, rather than on assumptions about how they might have been used, or about the animals from which they may have evolved.

For many years, the first known prehistoric bird, the Archaeopteryx, was considered to be the missing link between reptiles and birds, Brush says. "These fossils didn't offer any new insights on the evolution of feathers, because they look like the feathers of modern birds."

However, Brush says with the findings from China, it is now known that feathers first appeared in theropod dinosaurs, carnivorous creatures that walked on two legs and had small forelimbs. These dinosaurs evolved before the origin of birds.

"The consequence of these amazing fossil finds has been a simultaneous redefinition of what it means to be a bird and a reconsideration of the biology and life history of the theropod dinosaurs," the authors write. "Now we must acknowledge that birds are a group of the feathered theropod dinosaurs that evolved the capacity of powered flight."

The new evidence also "puts to rest the popular and enduring theory that feathers evolved primarily or originally for flight."

Professor tailors software to help police track crime

Stephen Sacks, professor of economics, at the 911 center at the UConn Police Department.

Computer software developed by a veteran economics professor at UConn is helping police in Connecticut determine how and when to deploy their officers.

"Police departments can spend months, years, refining their beats," says Professor Stephen Sacks, who specializes in operations research. "With this system, they can redraw beats in minutes."

Sacks' software application gives police officers and public safety planners a snapshot of recent crimes in a given district: what types of crimes have occurred; what time of day they occurred; and where the crime was concentrated.

"It's very illustrative," says James Donnelly, director of public safety and telecommunications in the New Britain police department. "It shows you a pattern, and that can help you introduce a countermeasure - whether it's surveillance, flooding the area with officers, or maybe an undercover operation."

Sacks has crafted or improved three basic programs: WinPCAM (a Windows version of a patrol car allocation model), which calculates the minimum number of patrol cars needed to meet various criteria; PoliceDat, which allows flexible and rapid display of police data, including where crimes have been committed by date, time of day, neighborhood, or distance from a local landmark; and the Desktop Hypercube, which allows planners to design patrol districts and evaluate them by displaying various performance measures.

Sacks is working with a variety of police departments in Connecticut, including New Britain, Bloomfield, and the Capitol Region Council of Governments.

"There's a vast range of sophistication in police departments," he says. "Some are still using paper; some are pretty high tech but use only part of what's available; still others are using a lot of technology."

Donnelly says Sacks is one of just a handful of people in the country doing analysis of police operations. "He's one of the few people who will roll up his sleeves and see how many officers to assign, where, and during what time of day," he says. "It's a neglected art."

Physician honored by New England Board of Higher Education

Marja Hurley, associate professor of medicine at the UConn Health Center, is one of the first recipients of the New England Higher Education Excellence Award from the New England Board of Higher Education. The award recognizes individuals and organizations that have shown exceptional leadership on behalf of higher education and the advancement of educational opportunity.

Hurley received the award for her work as the founding director of the Health Professions Partnership Initiative, which provides enrichment and support for students from groups traditionally underrepresented in the health professions. The program has sent 206 students on to medical or dental school in the past 15 years.

The Partnership Initiative is a collaboration between UConn, Central Connecticut State University, Wesleyan University, and the Hartford school district. Through established learning academies, groups of Hartford high school students can take part in enrichment programs throughout the school year and during the summer to help them improve their academic performance and broaden their interest in health care.

"Achieving diversity in the health professions is essential to improving the health status of the minority population in Connecticut," says Hurley. "Our program aims to show these young people the long-term benefits and satisfaction of a career in health care and then provide them with the tools and resources they need to achieve it," she says.

Recently, the initiative has used grants from local foundations to expand its support to students in middle school. "We are building a pipeline that draws students from underrepresented groups into successful and rewarding health careers. The earlier we can reach these students, the more chance they have for success," says Hurley.

Fast-track students enjoy challenge

The first group of students in the fast-track nursing program aimed at easiing the state's nursing shortage is finding the program "intense and challenging." The Master's Entry into Nursing Program is a 12-month curriculum that prepares students to sit for the nursing licensure exam prior to completing a master's degree in nursing.

The 24 students are a diverse group of individuals with bachelor's degrees in fields like education, social work, and healthcare. The students have an average age of 30 years old, says Laura Dzurec, dean of the School of Nursing.

"They're all a little older, with more life experience and more certainty about what they want to do," she says. "They bring a maturity to the practice of nursing."

Admission to the program requires students to have a bachelor's degree with a grade point average of 3.0 or better and completed course work in a variety of specific sciences, such as genetics and microbiology. Many of the students already have advanced degrees.

Denise Travers, who spent 22 years as an Air Force officer and has a master's degree in speech pathology, says the program is helping to fulfill a life-long wish.

"I have always wanted to be a nurse, but life just took me down some other paths first," she says. "I attempted a nursing program one other time but couldn't complete the clinical portion because of my work schedule. This program is a dream come true."

The response to the program by hospitals and agencies is also encouraging. "There is incredible enthusiasm. The agencies are thrilled. Several want to provide scholarship dollars for these students in exchange for a commitment of employment at the completion of the program," Dzurec says.

Interest in the program is high, with more than 70 applications for the next class of at least 24 students who will begin studies in the fall, she adds.

Developing new equipment for discovering drugs

As pharmaceutical companies can attest, discovering new drugs takes time and resources. Sometimes there is also the need to develop new technology or processes in order to further advance such discoveries, which is the purpose of the Center for Pharmaceutical Processing Research (CPPR), a cooperative national effort between UConn, other major research universities and the pharmaceutical industry.

Vials being placed inside a vacuum freeze-dryer at the Center for Pharmaceutical Processing Research at UConn.

The Center stands apart from efforts at other universities as the only one focusing on pharmaceutical processing - how drugs are manufactured, says Michael J. Pikal, director of CPPR at UConn.

"What we're trying to do is improve the reliability, efficiency and the quality of the products in the processes," he says. "We're improving existing technology. We're inventing new technology. A lot of it is how the process is designed initially, tested or monitored."

Established in 1995 by the National Science Foundation, the UConn center brings together university-based research and industrial scientists in a collaborative effort to speed the development of new drugs and bring them to the marketplace. UConn is partnering with 25 major pharmaceutical firms, including two Connecticut companies, Pfizer and Boehringer Ingelheim.

Most often the ideas for projects originate from faculty or industry scientists, but graduate students sometimes present their ideas. In all cases, UConn graduate students play a major role in developing the projects, attending meetings with faculty and industry scientists and making presentations about their work.

"One of the things industry wants out of this as well is to identify talent early," Pikal says. "UConn students commonly go and work for consortium companies."

A project that is nearing completion is the development of a "smart" freeze-dryer, which "self-optimizes" a freeze drying process. This research breakthrough would speed the process of freeze-drying materials in the making of new drugs.

A resource for helping families cope with death

As advances in medicine and technology have made it possible to live longer, healthier lives, the benefits of modern healthcare have complicated many decisions about end-of-life care. Social workers who provide essential psychosocial support, as well as counseling, case management and advocacy services for terminally ill patients and their families have found their jobs increasingly more complex as well.

Despite additional research focusing on end-of-life issues, practitioners and educators continue to report the need for more effective ways to get new information to social workers in the field. In response, the UConn School of Social Work has established the Resource Enrichment Center with funding from The Project on Death in America, which fosters innovations in helping to understand the culture and experience of dying and bereavement.

"Many field professionals are not necessarily picking up journals," says Karen Bullock, assistant professor of social work and coordinator of REC. "There's a disconnect between research and the practitioners. What we're looking to do is establish a mechanism to bring together the professional practitioners so they can get information."

The School's extensive continuing education options will be enhanced by making the REC accessible through the Internet, with periodic online seminars and classes, workshops and presentations led by experts in end-of-life care. This will provide a comprehensive resource to students, practitioners and researchers. A course offered by UConn to gauge the interest and need for such information was filled to capacity, Bullock says.

The REC will include an interactive website with links to information related to the terminally ill, dying and bereaved, including an electronic library, a message center and a question and answer forum.

This project will also help families of patients. "There is a public demand, as well as professional standards that dictate the preparation of practitioners to offer what is appropriate support for the dying and the bereaved," says Bullock.