Support of American Heart Association Brings Benefits to Connecticut

The Greater Hartford Heart Walk, a noncompetitive 5K walk held annually each fall by the local affiliate of the American Heart Association, is one of many similar endeavors around the state by nonprofit organizations seeking to raise awareness and raise funds – and one of three organized annually by the American Heart Association in Connecticut. What is often overlooked, especially when the sponsoring organization bears a well-known national name, are the array of benefits that result close to home.   The American Heart Association is a case in point.

Cardiovascular diseases and stroke are the #1 cause of death in Connecticut. Last fall, just over 1,500 walkers at the Greater Hartford walk helped to raise nearly $190,000 to support research, advocacy and awareness of cardiovascular disease and stroke.  That money does not simply disappear into a giant national pool of funds – much of it finds its way back to Connecticut.

The organization currently supports 43 research studies in Connecticut with awards totaling $9,300,533, officials report.  The grants and fellowships help to advance discovery, interpretation and delivery of new knowledge to spur improvements in cardiovascular health.  Among those supported by awards from the American Heart Association are researchers on the University of Connecticut campus in Storrs, the UConn Health Center in Farmington, Yale University and the Yale University School of Medicine.

The organization’s Greater New Haven Heart Walk will take place on Saturday, May 2 at Savin Rock. The event is hoping to raise over $340,000.  [Walk registration will begin at 9:00 a.m. and the walk will kick off at 10 a.m. with a walk along Savin Rock Beach.]  The Greater New Haven Heart Walk is part of the American Heart Association’s national healthy living initiative, My Heart. My Life. The program focuses on improving nutrition, physical activity and children’s health, helping individuals and families understand how to make incremental changes for a substantial long-term health impact.

The American Heart Association also urges employers to “create a culture of physical activity and wellness so that we may all live longer, heart healthy lives.”  The local chapter, based in Wallingford, works with Connecticut corporations to become a Fit Friendly Worksite.

Through the Fit-Friendly initiative, the American Heart Association provides free tools for worksites and employees including a Healthy Workplace Food and Beverage Toolkit, walking and physical activity programs, worksite wellness materials, and more.  Eligible worksites can then receive recognition by the American Heart Association at local events and in recognition program communication materials including an Annual Honor Roll published on the organizations website and other amenities.  In Connecticut, 40 companies have been designated as Fit Friendly Companies and in Massachusetts, 78 companies are committed to better employee health.

“More than two-thirds of American adults are overweight or obese putting them at risk for heart disease and stroke”, said American Heart Association Connecticut and Western Massachusetts Executive Director Dina Plapler. “Making healthy changes in the workplace, where many adults spend much of their day, is an important way to help people be healthier”.

The annual Greater Hartford Go Red For Women Luncheon, another well-attended education and fundraising event, celebrated its 10th anniversary this year.  The March 18 event at the Connecticut Convention Center included survivor speaker, Leigh Pechillo.  A native of Connecticut, Leigh experienced sudden cardiac arrest on Mother’s Day, May 11, 2014.  She was fortunate that her husband knew CPR and helped to save her life.  Her husband, daughter and son were presented with a Heart Saver Award by American Heart Association President, Nancy Brown at the event.  The event raised over $400,000 to benefit women’s heart health.

The Go Red For Women initiative is dedicated to making an impact in the community through education and fundraising to fight the number one killer of women, heart disease. Heart disease and stroke account for 31.1 percent of all female deaths in Connecticut and on average, nearly 13 women die from heart disease and stroke in Connecticut every day.

For more information on the Greater New Haven Heart Walk go to www.newhavenheartwalk.org. Other Heart Walks taking place in Connecticut this year include the Rocky Neck Heart Walk on Sunday, September 27 at Rocky Neck State Park and the next Greater Hartford Heart Walk on Saturday, October 3.  For more information on these events and more, visit www.heart.org/connecticut.

Digital Citizenship Summit will Bring State, National Tech Experts to Connecticut

Connecticut will be the center of the digital universe this fall, when the University of Saint Joseph (USJ) in West Hartford hosts a Digital Citizenship Summit, bringing local and national experts together to explore the good, the bad and the ugly about the pervasive and ubiquitous use of technology in our personal and professional lives. The term “digital citizenship” describes appropriate, responsible tech and Internet use. Similar to the rights and responsibilities involved in being a citizen, there are legal and ethical obligations with being a digital citizen, organizers explain.

The aim of the Digital Citizenship Summit, to be held on October 3, is to create positive, practical solutions along with amplifying the overall message of improving tech usage. Topics for the all-day Summit include digital literacy, etiquette, wellness, security, and law.

“We believe that digital citizenship deserves its own space for educational, non-profit, and industry leaders to focus on solutions and push new ideas forward focused on positive, practical solutions to improve our use of technology and the Internet. The Digital Citizenship Summit aims to bring together the various silos of thought and activity across the country in order to create a stronger, more unified message for better tech usage,” organizers said.

This inaugural event is being sponsored by the University of Saint Joseph’s School of Education, Office of Student Affairs and Office of Informational Technology and will engage students, teachers, parents, administrators and policy makers in a dynamic conversation focused on digital citizenship.  It comes in the first semester of the administration of incoming university President Rhona Free, who takes office July 1.  Free is a past national Professor of the Year as selected by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE).

Plans are for the Summit to include a panel discussion, breakaway sessions, a keynote talk TED-style, and a social event to “connect with all the fascinating big thinkers across the country who are pivotal in shaping digital citizenship.”

Among the speakers will be:

• Alan Katzman is Founder of Social Assurity, the leading youth social media advisory service in the country. They work with students and families on customized social media training to maximize the students’ opportunities and use of social media to their advantage.  He is an entrepreneur and former attorney with an expertise in law, technology and software, compliance, human resources and investigations.
• Mike Ribble: Known as the godfather of digital citizenship, Kansas-based Ribble is an international speaker, researcher and author of the books Digital Citizenship in Schools (soon to be in its 3rd edition) and Raising a Digital Child. He has worked within the education field his entire career, including as a science educator, an assistant principal at the high school level, and adjunct faculty at the college level.
• Jennifer Scheffer: Mobile Learning Coach and Instructional Technology Specialist at Burlington, MA Public Schools, she is a dynamic and energetic teacher leader with over a decade of experience teaching project-based computer technology, marketing, and business management courses. She coaches students on how to leverage social media tools to showcase their talents, create a positive online presence, and build their professional network.
• Sarah Thomas is a Google Certified Teacher and Edmodo Certified Teacher, as well as a leader of the Washington, DC Google Educator Group and founder of the EduMatch project. She is the Technology Liaison at John Hanson French Immersion School in Oxon Hill, MD and teaches Technology Integration and English Language Arts at the middle school level.  She is a recipient of the 2014 Digital Innovation in Learning Award and was named by the National School Board Association as one of the “20 to Watch” in 2015.

The organizing committee for the Summit includes:

• David Ryan Polgar, a frequent speaker and respected tech commentator whose ideas and thoughts concerning digital citizenship have been featured in publications including The Boston Globe, Financial Times, Sydney Morning Herald, US News & World Report, and Forbes. With a background as an attorney and college professor, he examines the use of technology from an ethical, legal, and emotional perspective.
• Marlialice B.F.X. Currran, an Associate Professor at USJ, focuses on digital citizenship and social media in K-12 teacher education. A former middle school teacher, principal and an advocate for young adolescents, Curran was named one of the Top 10 Digital Citizenship bloggers by Common Sense Media in 2014.
• JoAnn Freiberg is an Educational Consultant with the Connecticut State Department of Education, responsible for managing bullying, improving school climate and character education, and has taught at numerous colleges in Connecticut and currently is Co-Chair of the National School Climate Council.

Often referred to as a Tech Ethicist, Polgar has become a respected and unique voice in the digcit community. He is a contributing writer with the Family Online Safety Institute, iKeepSafe, and The Good Men Project, along with appearing regularly on television to discuss issues such as tech balance, cyber ethics, and tech etiquette.  He has delivered two TEDx talks on digital technology.

In describing Dr. Curran, Common Sense Media said “she is a long-time proponent of responsible online behavior, and encourages her undergraduate and graduate students to learn and explore what it means to be socially responsible both face to face and online, how teaching empathy is the most important 21st century skill and how social media can change teaching and learning in PK-12 classrooms.” Dr. Curran and Tracy Mercier co-founded the digital citizenship #digcit chat on Twitter in 2011. The first chat was inspired as a result of a digital citizenship course at USJ.

Registration for the Summit will be available later this spring, along with additional details regarding the agenda and program, at the website www.digcitsummit.com.

Photo: Marlialice B.F.X.Curran,  David Ryan Polgar,  JoAnn Freiberg. 

Connecticut Has Most Disengaged Employees; State Tied for Last Place in Gallup Survey

Actively disengaged employees are not just unhappy at work, these employees undermine the accomplishments of their engaged coworkers. They monopolize managers' time, account for more quality defects and quit at a higher rate than engaged employees. No state in the nation has more actively disengaged workers than Connecticut, according to a new two-year survey by the Gallup organization, for the period January 1, 2013 through December 31, 2014.

There is a four-way tie between Connecticut, New York, Michigan and Kentucky for the highest percentage of actively disengaged workers – 21 percent in each state, according to the Gallup survey. Residents of South Dakota, Wyoming, Alaska and Vermont reported the lowest percentages of actively disengaged workers, each with less than 15 percent. The national average for 2013-2014 was 18 percent active disengagement.

On the other side of the ledger, workers in Montana (39%), followed closely by those in Mississippi (37%) and Louisiana (36%), had the highest levels of employee engagement in 2013 and 2014. With 22 percent of workers engaged, the District of Columbia had the lowest employee engagement, followed by New York, Minnesota and Connecticut. Nationally, 31 percent of workers were engaged during this time period.

Gallup identifies workers as engaged, not engaged or actively disengaged based on their responses to items that assess key workplace elements found to predict important business outcomes.

• Engaged employees are involved in and enthusiastic about their work and workplace. Day after day, they are passionate about their jobs and feel a profound connection to their company. They are more productive, drive innovation and promote organizational growth.
• Not engaged employees are essentially "checked out." They demonstrate less concern about customers, productivity and profitability. They do not own or feel passionately about their work.
• Actively disengaged employees are not just unhappy at work; these employees undermine the accomplishments of their engaged coworkers. They monopolize managers' time, account for more quality defects and quit at a higher rate than engaged employees.

In its analysis, Gallup points out that “Active disengagement tends to be more highly related to labor market trends such as unemployment, underemployment and letting people go.” Previous Gallup research has indicated that employees in very small companies (fewer than 10 employees) have higher rates of engagement and lower rates of active disengagement – which Gallup suggests may be related to the psychological ownership and autonomy that is often present in small companies.

Rates of unemployment and underemployment are also associated with variation in engagement, Gallup’s analysis points out. Recent employment statistics and overall U.S. workforce trends suggest that active disengagement has declined in line with decreases in unemployment and underemployment.  Connecticut’s economic recovery has lagged, although the number of jobs created has steadily climbed.

Ten Innovative Economic Development Plans Due This Month in Hartford’s Strong Cities Challenge

As one of three cities selected as part of a competitive process to participate in the Strong Cities Strong Communities (SC2) Initiative under the auspices of the Economic Development Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce, Hartford has 10 teams of economic development innovators coming down the home stretch in developing and outlining their inventive economic development proposals. The EDA-funded SC2 Hartford Challenge, launched 14 months ago, is in its final phase. Ten multidisciplinary teams of finalists are working on plans aimed at helping to establish Hartford as a “city for entrepreneurs.” The U.S. Economic Development Administration notes that the goal of the SC2 Hartford Challenge is to generate economic development plans that “both leverage local assets and compliment larger trends and opportunities.”

City and community leaders will judge the plans and choose six winners who will share $800,000 in prize money, with the top plan receiving $500,000. The City of Hartford and the EDA will jointly own the winning plans and be able to implement the ideas—both in Hartford and in other cities around the country. Plans are due this week, with six winners to be announced in May.  Funds for the winning plans are provided by EDA.

The two other cities selected — Greensboro, N.C. and Las Vegas — opted to focus on a single project or hire a consulting firm. Hartford officials preferred to provide area residents with an opportunity to create locally-driven proposals and created an open competition, which initially saw 58 teams developing plans, which were then winnowed down to a top 10 last fall.

The most recent descriptions highlighting the teams’ respective economic development plans include:

Hartford.Health.Works (HHW) is an industry-led collaboration with the mission to increase the number of good quality jobs in Hartford by fostering healthcare technology development and manufacturing. To attract existing med tech companies and foster new companies, HHW is creating a FDA-approved, ISO-certified medical device prototyping and manufacturing plant in Hartford and implementing targeted programs to improve access to: A) expertise; B) capital; and C) markets. HHW is also developing biomedical engineering and precision manufacturing education and job training programs at the K-12, college, and graduate school levels. HHW founding partners include: Rising-Tide Health Care, BEACON, and Movia Robotics.

Choose Hartford is a comprehensive initiative to scale up businesses that will create a sustainable regional economy with long-term growth prospects and jobs. The plan aims to increase access to innovative capital options along with an across-the-board effort to ensure collaboration of local, regional, state and federal partners to create the best entrepreneurial ecosystem in the country.

It’s All Here is an asset based economic development model which will build wealth and raise incomes in all of Hartford’s neighborhoods. The team believes that self-employment and small business ownership is the best way to build a new future for all of the city’s residents. Lasting, sustainable economic development has to be built on the talents of city residents, giving access and visibility to new markets and service providers using an interactive website, a multi-lingual call center, physical market locations, and turnkey digital street signage.

Made in Hartford is an entrepreneurial ecosystem to empower Hartford’s community. With a culture of innovation, tradition of industrial adaptation, and healthy urban core, Hartford is ripe for attracting and retaining entrepreneurs. The plan recommends coordinated, strategic actions that will work in tandem with existing investments to provide a sustainable ecosystem for first-time and serial entrepreneurs. Central to this ecosystem is ‘Made-in-Hartford’, a seed accelerator that will cultivate industries and businesses through incubation, mentoring, equity-capital and partnerships. Made-in-Hartford targets Hartford’s established industry clusters and human capital to spark much-needed economic diversification, and at its maturity ancillary initiatives will incentivizing successful entrepreneurs to reinvest in this entrepreneurial ecosystem, bringing about an economic renaissance.

Team Fotofiction: For those of us in the business of innovation, our mantra is: Think outside the box. Unconventional success isn’t born with conventional thinking. Game-changing, outside-the-box ideas often emerge from the most unexpected places. Re-purposing shipping containers is innovative and cutting edge, yet not unproven. From Los Angeles to New Zealand, these containers are being used for a variety of new purposes. The FRATE concept: to create an urban community, where people will live, work, dine and shop in a dynamic, trend-setting environment constructed entirely of modified shipping containers. FRATE thinks inside the box. FRATE is that game changer.

Solutionists focuses on remediating the economic environment that qualified Hartford for the SC2 Challenge, viewing the task as developing a strategy that will result in increased employment opportunities for Hartford residents -- now, and in the future. The plan embraces Social Enterprise and Collective Impact strategies by creating an ecosystem of spirit, policy and financial incentives that encourage and support Social Entrepreneurs in their efforts to start and grow the types of businesses that will produce desired results for Hartford and the Region.

#lovehartford will implement low cost interventions that promote economic development, foster social interactions, and support changing transportation dynamics founded on the growing demand for affordable urban environments that support the sharing economy and reduce reliance on the private automobile. Short-term projects include the demonstration of open streets with pop-up markets and food trucks. Longer-term projects include a bike share system and support for other evolving transportation technology, like the driverless car. #lovehartford will offer micro-loans to grow small business, and will look to provide locations that include creative placemaking through murals, public art, and other cultural programming.

Also among the ten competitors are Entrepreneur Foundation, community bootstrapping through entrepreneurship; Made at Swift, a food-driven innovation cluster to create jobs and improve population health; and CJM Innovations, fostering an entrepreneurial ecosystem for students and young professionals.

Major New Academic, Residence Facilities Opening At State University Campuses

Years in the making, a number of major new facilities are in the midst of coming on  line at Connecticut's four state universities - Central, Eastern, Southern and Western - that are part of the Connecticut State Colleges & Universities (CSCU) system administered by the Board of Regents for Higher Education.  The facilities include a library, residence hall, classroom building, performing arts instructional centers, and a science and laboratory building, among other new and renovated facilities. At Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven, students now have a first-rate, 21st century library in which to study, conduct research and meet with their friends and classmates, the university announced this week. A ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the opening of the “new” Buley Library was held April 20. The event marked the completion of the $31 million project that renovated the original wing of the building. A 12,000-square-foot area that will serve as an atrium has been added to the older 98,000-square-foot wing as part of the project. When combined with the 135,000-square-foot addition that was completed in 2008, the library now encompasses 245,000 square feet.

“This truly is an exciting and energizing time for Southern because we are gaining the physical resources to prepare our students for success in the 21st century knowledge-based economy,” said SCSU President Mary A. Papazian. “The students already have claimed this library as their own.”

Among the other amenities in the four-story complex is a “learning commons”-- an area on the first floor that includes a computer lab, lounge seating, email stations, a reference help desk and an IT help desk. The library houses space for media collections and special collections, on the ground floor. Three classrooms, two computer teaching labs, a seminar room and a conference room also are part of the new Buley.  In addition, a cyber café and a Student Success Center that includes tutoring rooms, a computer lab and conference space are scheduled to open in the fall.

At Central Connecticut State University in New Britain, there is a Fall 2015 target date for completion of a new on-campus residence hall and food services dining facility. That will follow by just two years the opening of a major new classroom building on the CCSU campus.  The four-story academic building houses classes and faculty offices for the sociology, history, anthropology, geography and political science departments, according to university officials.  It includes 17 classrooms, five seminar rooms, seven labs and 71 offices for faculty and administrators.  Now completing construction at the corner of Harold Lewis Drive and Ella Grasso Boulevard, the new $82.3 million, eight-story 220,000 square foot residence hall "will keep CCSU in the vanguard of higher education in operations and facilities," points out CCSU President Jack Miller, noting its ideal fit into the university's strategic plan for the recruitment and retention of new students.

Opening this fall on the campus of Eastern Connecticut State University in Willimantic is a Fine Arts Instructional Center - a 118,000 square foot building that will contain three main performance venues; an auditorium; a procenium theater and a black box theater.    In addition to the performance spaces there will be instructional labs and other spaces in support of the Performing Arts Department.   There will be design studios for the Visual Arts Department including Printmaking, Sculpture, Painting and Drawing. The building will also have three general purpose classrooms and a gallery.  Construction  has been underway for the past two years.

The new residence hall at CCSU will be the school’s tenth, and the largest on any of the four Connecticut state university campuses, according to CCSU officials. Features include over 600 beds, a 2,000 square foot fitness facility, a kitchenette on each floor, a large kitchen and living room on the main floor, and will house approximately 150 suite-style rooms, each with a living room and bathroom shared by four students. Each floor will also have a computer room, a game room and group study rooms and alcoves for one-on-one studying and socializing.  Construction is also scheduled to begin soon on a new food services dining facility located near the north end of campus near the existing residence halls.  The planned $10.3 million, 22,000 square ft. food services dining facility will include areas for food preparation, serving, and accommodate dining for approximately 1,200 residents.

Renovations are also underway at Willard and DiLoreto Halls at CCSU, among the oldest academic buildings on campus. The $61,085,000 project calls for both of the academic buildings to be completely renovated, including the development of a new main entrance with elevators, bathroom facilities, and additional offices and classroom space, along with new heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, with the interiors of the buildings also receiving enhanced lighting, computer technology and classroom/office upgrades.

Last September, Western Connecticut State University opened its new Visual and Performing Arts Center. Students, faculty and staff were on hand to “put the building through its paces” in a multitude of spaces, including the Concert Hall, Studio Theatre, Art Gallery, Painting Studio, Recording Studio, Scene Shop, Dressing Rooms, Sculpture Studio, and M.F.A. Studios. Since the gala opening, the new facility has enhanced the artistic and academic experience for students, faculty, staff and patrons - and received positive notice in regional and national publications.

At 130,000 square feet, this uniquely designed facility is divided into three distinct wings: Theatre Arts, Music and Visual Arts, all connecting together. Students taking courses in the art wing benefit from light shining through double-height, northern-exposed windows in the spacious painting and sculpture studios. They work in photography and graphic design studios equipped with both the latest computer technology and the legacy technology of traditional film development.Two theater rehearsal studios, both equipped with audio/visual technology and sprung dance floors complement the university’s increasingly popular musical theater program. Dressing rooms, practice rooms and individual Master of Fine Arts in Visual Arts studios are all incorporated into the spaces, designed for students so they may experience a professional-quality arts education.

The next major opening among the CSCU institutions will likely be a Science and Laboratory Building at Southern Connecticut, due later this year.  Southern's ongoing expansion of its science programs will be greatly enhanced with the construction of a 103,608-square-foot, four-level academic and laboratory science building. Situated adjacent to Jennings Hall, the current home for the sciences, the new building will enhance the ongoing expansion of Southern’s science programs and the university’s capacity to educate more students in the STEM disciplines – science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

According to Southern's website description, the building will be configured in the shape of an “L,” the new building will work in concert with two pre-existing science buildings — Jennings and Morrill halls — to enclose a new “science enclave.” Bedecked with scientific displays and instrumentation visible from within and outside the building, the new center will house teaching and research training laboratories for nanotechnology, physics and optics, the earth sciences, the environmental sciences, cancer research, astronomy, molecular biology and chemistry.  The building’s two wings will be connected at each of its four floors by an alluring connector windowed along its southern exposure and encircling the newly formed science enclave outside. It is along the glass-enclosed path that built-in displays of optical phenomena, the natural environment, nanotechnology, geological formations, biological specimens, and astronomical observations will be interspersed among sun-filled lounges, all to advance interaction among the different scientific disciplines housed within.

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Hartford, Bridgeport Turn to Splashy Websites, Slogans to Promote Cities

Connecticut’s major cities have dual personalities on the internet – one aimed primarily at city residents, the other at potential visitors and prospective residents.  While one site is chock full of detailed information that is the lifeline for locals – with listings of city agencies, services, and department contacts – the other is dominated by splashy photographs, engaging messages, and enticing activities. Such is the marketing of urban cores in the age of the internet, mobile technology and social media – with an eye towards economic development and young professionals seeking an urban address.

In Hartford, the government site is www.hartford.gov and the event-laden site is www.hartford.com   The marketing site currently features a photo of the National Champion UConn Huskies basketball team, which fills the entire home page, save for links to Upcoming Events and Restaurants & Bars.  The menu includes Things to Do, Places to Go, and Everything Else (such as a category named Awesome Things).  The theme Hartford Has It, the city’s tagline, appears on both sites.

The www.hartford.gov site is led by an announcement of road closures in the city due to construction, and features links to government agencies, business services and visitors information, and police.  Hartford history highlights and facts about the city are included, along with a heading called “residents,” which includes a directory of city services, public health, public safety, family services and a link to “Pay Your Taxes.”

In Bridgeport, the city services site is  www.bridgeportct.gov but most of the advertising, including a full-page ad in the latest issue of the Fairfield County Business Journal, is for www.bridgeportbettereveryday.com   The site, which features the headline “Park City” above “bridgeport, ct” highlights livability, green Bridgeport, schools, parks and jobs & economy.  The theme of the site, “Bridgeport is getting better every day,” is reflected in the site’s URL, and the text featured on the home page:

“Bridgeport is a city on the way up. We've got a lot of work to do, but we're investing in the future, making our city a place where our kids and grandkids will choose to live, work and raise their families. We're improving the city by building schools, re-opening parks, making downtown more vibrant, and developing the waterfront. And by investing in cleaner energy, we're creating better jobs and our kids will breathe cleaner air. Bridgeport is getting better every day.”

Individual can sign up for emails from the city in order to “Be the first to know about the ways Bridgeport is getting better every day.”  Material on the site is copyrighted by the City of Bridgeport.

The site points out that:

• Bridgeport is becoming one of America’s greenest cities.
• We’ve got a long way to go, but schools in Bridgeport are getting better every day.
• Bridgeport’s been known as “Park City” for well over a century. And for good reason.
• Bridgeport is a great place to live for families, young professionals, seniors, and everyone in between.

In New Haven, the city government website, www.cityofnewhaven.com, includes a home page message from Mayor Toni Harp, and an array of links to various city services.  Although not produced by the city, the websites www.infonewhaven.com and www.visitnewhaven.com offer information, events, and entertainment information about the city.

Asian Population Grows in CT and US, Becomes More Suburban As Challenges Persist

Asians are the country’s fastest-growing racial group — their share of the U.S. population has increased from 4.2 percent in 2000 to 5.6 percent in 2010, and is expected to reach at least 8.6 percent by 2050, the website newgeography.com has reported.  The White House has estimated that by 2050, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders will make up 9.7 percent of the total United States population -- over 40 million people. Between 2000 and 2010, the Asian Pacific American population in Connecticut increased by 65 percent.  Connecticut's current Asian Pacific population is 147,830, four percent of the total Connecticut population, according to the state’s Asian Pacific American Affairs Commission, an agency created by the state legislature in 2008. 

Asia is now the largest source of legal immigrants to the United States, constituting 40 percent of new arrivals in 2013, according to newgeography.com.  The state Commission indicates that Asian Pacific Americans can be broken down into four geographically-based groups:

• Pacific Islanders, mostly Native Hawaiians, Samoans, and Guamanians;
• Southeast Asians, largely comprised of Indochinese from Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and Indonesians and Filipinos;
• East Asians, including Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans; and
• South Asians, including those from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Tibet, and the Maldives

In Connecticut, the largest population of Asian Pacific Americans are in Fairfield and Hartford counties, and Asians represent the majority minority in 40 percent of Connecticut school districts, according to Commission data.  Recent data compiled in New Haven indicated that the Elm City’s growth in recent years, and its status as the state’s fastest growing city, has been in large part due to immigrants, including Asians.

In decades past, Asians, as other immigrants, tended to cluster in “gateway cities” and often in the densest urban neighborhoods, like New York’s Chinatown. Now the center of gravity has shifted to the suburbs, newgeography reported.  Between 2000 and 2012, the Asian population in suburban areas of the nation’s 52 biggest metro areas grew 66.2 percent while those in the core cities expanded by 34.9 percent.

In a report issued last year, Connecticut’s Asian Pacific American Affairs Commission reported concerns related to education (especially English proficiency), healthcare, mental health services, job opportunities and legal services.  Concerns have also been raised regarding the increasing costs of higher education in Connecticut.

For example, the Commission noted “the lack of culturally competent health care professionals, including hospital interpreters, is an overwhelming, ethnicity-specific obstacle to health care access resulting in low rates of health services utilization, high rates of emergency room use, and inadequacy of prenatal care.”  The Commission also noted that “up to 53.3 percent of APAs lack English language proficiency due to the high proportion of immigrants (about 74 percent of APAs in Connecticut are foreign born).”  In addition, a report by the Commission indicated that “in the last six years, there has been a 350 percent increase in need for court interpreters.”

California has long been is the most frequent location for Asian immigrants to settle, with 4.8 million currently residing in the state, according to data published by newgeography.com.  New York, with 1.4 million Asians, ranks second while Texas, with 964,000, ranks third.

Asian populations are increasing quickly in the Sun Belt. Texas’ Asian population increased by 71.5 percent from 2000 through 2010, adding a net 402,277, second most in the country over that span behind California’s  1.1 million gain. Texas is home to the only city outside California and Hawaii in the top 20 of our list of the most heavily Asian U.S. cities: the Houston suburb of Sugar Land, where 37.1 percent of the 82,000 residents are Asian.

The newgeography website indicates that “One clear trend is that Asian populations are growing in areas that are on the cutting edge of the economy — in tech centers like Silicon Valley, and near New York’s global service firms (across the river from Manhattan, Jersey City is now 25 percent Asian.) Around the manufacturing and technology companies of the Detroit and Seattle areas, Asian communities are growing.

Meriden Superintendent Benigni Named One of 16 Leaders to Learn From in Education

Each year, the national publication Education Week shines a spotlight on some of the nation’s most outstanding school district leaders in its Leaders To Learn From special report. The 2015 group of 16  exceptional district-level leaders who are tackling some of the most pressing challenges in K-12 education includes Meriden Superintendent of Schools Mark Benigni, the only Connecticut education leader chosen. The 16 educators were selected because their work is highlighted by “ideas and strategies that are yielding strong results that can be borrowed, adapted, and put to successful use in other school systems,” according to the publication.

In Meriden, students at Casimir Pulaski, John Barry, and Roger Sherman elementary schools receive an additional 100 minutes of instruction each day with technical and financial support from a public-private partnership known as the TIME Collaborative.

Led by the National Center on Time & Learning and backed by the Ford Foundation, the initiative has brought expanded learning time to schools in 16 districts across five states – Connecticut, Colorado, Massachusetts, New York, and Tennessee.  In Connecticut, Meriden has been involved with the initiative since 2012.

“It’s not just getting more time for the sake of time.  It’s getting that time to do the enrichment activities that we know our students love and enjoy.  That’s what school should be about – exciting and inspiring kids,“ Benigni said.  “And the results have been tremendous.”  He cites “improved attendance, improved academics, improved feelings about the school climate and culture, but most importantly we have happy kids.”

In selecting Benigni, Education Week noted that “as a city councilor, mayor, and now, a local schools chief, Mark D. Benigni has had one constant priority in his career: expanding educational opportunities for children in his hometown of Meriden.”

As superintendent of the 9,100-student Meriden school district, Benigni has orchestrated initiatives like full-day kindergarten, Saturday enrichment academies, and increased time for teacher collaboration, Education Week pointed out. Also highlighted were his efforts advocating for “state-of-the-art learning environments—breaking ground on a $230 million project to build two new high schools, and securing a $3.5 million grant from the Nellie Mae Education Foundation to design student-centered, blended instruction.”

“Most notably,” his selection as one of the 16 Leaders of 2015, was prompted by bringing the expanded learning time initiative  to three of the district’s elementary schools, “positioning Meriden—a majority-minority district—at the forefront of a national movement to increase student achievement and well-being through longer, more enriching school days.”

Benigni began his career as a special education teacher in Meriden, was an assistant principal in the neighboring Berlin district, and served his hometown of Meriden as a city councilor, and then mayor. He returned to the district as superintendent in 2010, after two years as a high school principal in the nearby Cromwell district.

Describing the selection project, Education Week notes that "in school districts across the country, education leaders are using innovative strategies to improve curriculum and instruction, address management challenges, stretch resources, engage parents and communities, utilize new technologies effectively, and create optimal learning environments that prepare all students for success beyond their K-12 years."

Benigni is the first Connecticut education leader selected since 2013, when Connecticut Technical High School System administrator Patricia Ciccone, who served as the superintendent of the 11,000-student technical high school system from 2003 until retiring in December 2012, was among that year's 16 Leaders to Learn From.

“I always knew education was my passion,” Benigni said. “Even as mayor, it was about what I could do to better the lives of people, and most importantly, students.”

https://youtu.be/4HW2QvE25W0

Millennials Present New Challenges to Insurance Industry Seeking Customers

Just as recently appointed Connecticut Insurance Commissioner Katharine L. Wade settles in to her job, the insurance industry is facing new challenges from a new generation. A former Cigna executive, Commissioner Wade has more than 20 years of industry experience and oversees a regulatory agency with jurisdiction over one of the largest insurance industries in the United States.  Hartford has long been considered the nation’s Insurance Capitol, so changes in the industry reverberate across the Constitution State.

It seems insurance companies have their work cut out for them when it comes to engaging their millennial customers. Of all the generations, millennials (born in 1980 to 1996) are the least likely to be fully engaged -- and the most likely to be actively disengaged -- with their primary insurer, according to a recent Gallup survey.

Millennials are the largest generation in the U.S. and will grow to dominate the market in the years to come, Gallup points out, adding that “insurance executives who neglect to take steps to engage this age group do so at their own peril.”

Insurance companies see substantial business gains when they engage customers of any generation, Gallup finds. Compared with their actively disengaged counterparts, engaged insurance customers are less sensitive about pricing when selecting and retaining a primary insurance carrier. They spend more and buy a wider variety of products, including financial offerings, from their insurer than do actively disengaged customers. They also stay with the company longer and are more likely to recommend it to others.

But building and maintaining customer engagement can be challenging -- especially for insurance companies with a diverse customer base. To raise millennials' engagement -- and thereby ensure a more engaged customer base in the future -- Gallup indicates that "leaders must understand how these young customers differ from others in their engagement and consumer behavior."  And they do differ, in substantial ways.

In its 2014 Insurance Panel study, Gallup uncovered insights into what drives millennials to start a relationship or stay in one with an insurance company. The analysis revealed many similarities across generations, but it also uncovered two important approaches to build relationships with millennials, and key factors that differ with past generations.

1. Family is key. Millennials are significantly more likely than other generations to have insurance coverage under a family member who chose the company. When their family members value an insurance company's brand, millennials follow suit. This finding contrasts sharply with older generations' prioritization of factors such as cost and company reputation.
2. Millennials are more likely to buy insurance online. Millennials are more than twice as likely (27% vs. 11%, respectively) as all other generations to purchase their policies online rather than through an agent. Online purchasing is far from the mainstream among insurance consumers overall -- 74% originally purchased with an agent vs. 14% online -- but if this trend among millennials continues to grow, it could substantially change the way insurance companies interact with customers in the coming years.

The bad news?  Millennials are least satisfied of any generation with the online experience, which could contribute to their generally low engagement overall with their primary insurer. Improving interactions with customers online is, therefore, a smart investment toward building strong relationships within this future mainstream customer base, Gallup points out.

As insurance companies consider ways to improve those relationships with millennial customers, Gallup suggests seven key areas worthy of attention:  information security, family incentives, specialized services,  ease of making changes to coverage online, ease of finding answers online, easy access to a range of online services, and overall ease of use in areas including account management, payment and website navigation.

Millennials’ distinctive attitudes also extend to car insurance and long-term care insurance, according to other recent surveys.

Cars are increasingly being rejected by many millennials in favor of public transit or other modes of transportation, including increasingly popular ride-for-hire services.  As a consequence, car insurance is taking a backseat among some, the website NerdWallet reported this month. According to a study by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, Americans are driving fewer total miles today than eight years ago, and driving fewer miles per person than we did in 1996.  It is a reversal after decades of steady growth.

Millennials are less likely to drive — or even have a driver’s license — than previous generations. From 1983 to 2008, the percentage of Americans age 20 to 24 with a driver’s license fell from about 90 percent of that age group to just over 80 percent, according to a University of Michigan study, the website noted.  If you don’t own a car, you don’t need car insurance.

In addition, Forbes recently reported that many of the nation’s millennials think their boomer parents are doing a lousy job planning for their long-term care needs, according to a survey from Genworth Financial, a leading seller of long-term care insurance policies.

The Aging Across Generations study, conducted with the J&K Solutions research firm, found that 27 percent of millennials would give their parents or loved ones a “failing grade” due to not planning for, or talking about, their long-term care needs.  And the kids say they’ll do better, with more than half (56 percent) of millennials surveyed expressing the view that they will plan for their long-term care needs more effectively than previous generations.

Time will tell.  Other impacts on the industry are likely to be more noticeable more quickly.

CT Ranked #3, Bridgeport-Norwalk-Stamford at #5, Among States, Regions with Most College Degrees

Connecticut has the nation’s third highest rate of residents holding a college degree – and the greater Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk area has the fifth highest rate among metropolitan regions, according to a new report by the Lumina Foundation. The report reveals" real progress has been made" in the national effort to increase post-secondary attainment, but "current rates won’t be enough to meet America’s future economic and workforce demands." The annual report, A Stronger Nation through Higher Education, finds that “unless actions are taken now to significantly increase post-secondary attainment, the nation will fall short of workforce needs by the end of this decade.

Connecticut is making consistent progress on increasing attainment, according to the report. The most recent Census data (2013) show that 47.8 percent of the state’s 1.9 million working-age adults (those between the ages of 25 and 64) hold a two- or four-year college degree. This is an increase from last year’s rate of 47.5 percent and an increase from 46.6 percent in 2008. The state’s rate of higher education attainment is above the national rate of 40 percent.

A leading indicator of where higher education attainment rates are heading is the rate among young adults, those between the ages of 25 and 34. In 2013, this rate in Connecticut was 48.4 percent, higher than that of the adult population as a whole and also above the national rate of 41.6 percent.

According to the Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce, 65 percent of U.S. jobs will require some form of postsecondary education by 2020. Yet, according the Lumina report, only 40 percent of working-age Americans (ages 25-64) held a two- or four-year college degree in 2013—the most recent year for which data are available. That figure is up from 2012, when the rate was 39.4 percent, and from 2008, when the rate was 37.9 percent, or a total of more than 2.8 million more degrees.

In Connecticut, 22.5 percent of residents ages 25-64 hold a bachelor’s degree, 17.1 percent have a graduate or professional degree, and 8 percent have an associate’s degree.  Eighteen percent have some college, but no degree, according to the data, provided by the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2013 American Community Survey.

Degree attainment in Connecticut, by ethnicity, was at 53 percent of Whites, 28.4 percent of African-Americans, 22 percent of Hispanics, 71 percent of Asians and 29 percent of Native Americans, according to the 2013 data. The progress nationally reflects incremental gains that the report authors say aren’t nearly enough to reach Goal 2025—a national effort calling for 60 percent of Americans to have a high-quality post-secondary degree, certificate or other credential by the year 2025.

The percentage of Connecticut residents (ages 25 – 64) with a college degree, by county, are:  Fairfield (53.8%), Middlesex (51.2%), Tolland (50.6%), Hartford (45.9%), Litchfield (44.6%), New Haven (43.4%), New London (41.1%), and Windham 32.1%).

In college enrollment, Connecticut exceeded the national average among residents age 18-24, but was slightly below the national average among residents ages 25-53.  Connecticut was below the national average among Hispanics 4.9% vs. 5.2%); slightly above among African-Americans, Native Americans, Asian Americans, and Whites.

“Economists and other experts give us good reason to be convinced that reaching Goal 2025 is a national imperative,” said Jamie P. Merisotis, president and CEO of Lumina Foundation, and a former Connecticut resident. “We have just 10 years to reach it, and our current pace of progress is insufficient for meeting employers’ workforce needs and addressing the growing inequality issues we face as a nation.”  Merisotis, testifying at the Connecticut General Assembly back in 2009, told legislators that "you will need to invest more in educating underprepared students than you do now. But invest you must. The alternative is a Connecticut far less prosperous and far less prepared to deal with the rapidly changing world in which we live."

A Stronger Nation estimates that if current trends continue, 30.7 million more Americans will earn college credentials by 2025. That increase will allow the nation to reach an attainment rate of 48.7 percent over the next 10 years—well short of the 60 percent needed to reach Goal 2025. To reach the Goal, Lumina estimates that another 19.8 million postsecondary credentials will need to be added.

Top 10 states—based on the percentage of adults (25-64) with at least an associate degree in 2013:

1. Massachusetts —51.5% (up from 50.5%)
2. Minnesota —48.1% (up from 47.7%)
3. Connecticut —47.8% (up from 47.5%)
4. Colorado —47.6% (up from 47.5%)
5. New Jersey —46.5% (up from 45.8%)
6. New Hampshire —46.4% (down from 46.7%)
7. Virginia —46.1% (up from 45.3%)
8. New York —46% (up from 45.1%)
9. Maryland —46% (up from 45.5%)
10. North Dakota —45.8% (up from 45.6%)

Among the nation’s metropolitan areas, the leading regions were:

1. Washington, D.C./Arlington-Alexandria, Va.—55.36%
2. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif.—55.32%
3. Boston-Cambridge-Newton, Mass.—54.73%
4. Madison, Wis.—54.67%
5. Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Conn.—54.41%
6. San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, Calif.—53.79%
7. Raleigh, N.C.—53.57%
8. Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minn.—51.80%
9. Albany-Schenectady-Troy, N.Y.—49.82%
10. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Wash.—49%