CGA Members in the News

Richard Benfield, professor of geography at Central Connecticut State University and a moderator and final round judge at numerous Connecticut State Geographic Bees, was awarded a Stanley Smith Horticultural Trust Grant for his project, “Diversifying Gardens: Attracting New Ethnic Audiences and Hiring More Ethnic Minorities in America’s Public Gardens.” Benfield will investigate the multi-ethnic nature of two world-renowned botanical gardens, Kirstenbosch in Cape Town, South Africa, and van Dusen Botanic Garden in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Nancy Rogalsky, an outstanding teacher at Farm Hill School in Middletown, recently received a prestigious “Teaching American History With Liberty and Justice for All” grant from ACES and Yale University. Nancy is using the grant to teach students at Farm Hill and in the Middletown district about the history, geography, and government of colonial times. Nancy is also conducting a Family Geography Challenge at her school. She is a long-time Teacher Consultant for the Connecticut Geographic Alliance.

CGA would like to welcome its newest member, Marsha Alibrandi (SGI 89). Marsha is an Assistant Professor of Secondary Education and Curriculum at Fairfield University’s Graduate School of Education. She has been instrumental in planning activities and coordinating events for the Connecticut Consortium for Teaching with Primary Source Documents. The CGA is proud to be working with libraries and educational groups across the state using Library of Congress materials.

If you or a colleague has achieved a notable moment in geography education, please send the news to Bill DeGrazia at BDGeoTC@aol.com for inclusion in a future CGA newsletter.