June 2012
Issue #72

Transparency in higher ed leadership

We recently designed Errors of Omission: Transparency and Disclosure of Trustee Conflicts of Interest, at Leading Private Colleges and Universities in Massachusetts, funded by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), based on research by the Tellus Institute. It “provides an analysis of the transparency of related party business transactions at leading private, nonprofit institutions of higher education in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Specifically, it examines disclosures by colleges and universities of their business relationships with firms affiliated with trustees who sit on their boards. In a majority of cases reviewed in this study, errors and omissions in reporting raise questions about the quality of information that schools are providing to the public and the effectiveness of the current transparency system.”

     One of the things I love most about what I do is getting to work with so many people and organizations doing great work. Often, years go by between opportunities to collaborate. As a seven-year member of the SEIU when I was employed at Oxfam America in the nineties, it was good to reconnect with my old union. And this was the first time I’ve worked with the Tellus Institute since 2006.

     A shout to Eric Johnson at Red Sun Press is in order for making this all happen.

Dental professionals on the front line

Mercury has long been recognized as harmful to human health and the environment. It is highly toxic to humans and may harm vital organs including the nervous, digestive, respiratory, renal, and immune systems. Because it is so toxic, international efforts are underway to eliminate the use of products with intentionally added mercury.

     This report, Occupational Exposure to Elemental Mercury in Odontology/Dentistry, was produced by: University of Massachusetts Lowell, Lowell, Massachusetts;
Institute for the Development of Production and the Work Environment, Quito, Ecuador; and University of Sonora, Hermosillo, State of Sonora, Mexico. It shows how “dental professionals may be routinely exposed to ambient air with elevated concentrations of mercury. This mercury vapor enters the body primarily through inhalation and is transported throughout the body and accumulates in different organs. A review of literature is used to elucidate: the health effects of the type of mercury used in odontology, mercury exposure, and body levels in dental workers, correlation of body levels with the work environment and work tasks, and recommendations for reducing exposures.”

    To learn more about mercury reduction efforts at UMass Lowell’s Lowell Center for Sustainable Production, go to http://sustainableproduction.org/MercuryProject.php

Back to schools

We continue to design a number alumni bulletins for independent schools including Middlesex School and The Rivers School, shown here.

     I started my career as a magazine designer and am always happiest working on periodicals — repeating, multi-paged publications.

     In the January issue of the DG Communicator, I wrote about serving on a panel to judge the content and design of alumni magazines in the Northeast. From that experience, I took away a new appreciation for the importance of each element in the production of an excellent alumni publication — writing, editing, research, photography, design, printing. I truly love playing my part.