School of Law to Hold Fall Convocation September 9 Western New England College School of Law will hold its Convocation marking the start of a new academic year Tuesday, September 9 at noon on the lawn of the S. Prestley Blake Law Center. Harold Hongju Koh, Dean of Yale Law School, will deliver the keynote address. Dean Koh is a leading expert on international law and an advocate of human and civil rights. He has argued before the United States Supreme Court and testified before Congress more than 20 times. He began teaching at Yale Law School in 1985 and assumed the deanship in 2004. He served as Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor and has authored eight books, including The National Security Constitution, which won the American Political Science Association's award as the best book on the American Presidency. Koh earned his A.B. Harvard College, his B.A. and M.A. from Oxford University, and J.D. from Harvard Law School. Fall Convocation brings together members of the School of Law community to start a new academic year of learning and intellectual growth. The inclusion of noted members of the legal community serves as an opportunity to motivate and inspire students in the traditions of the legal profession. Past speakers include Massachusetts Lt. Governor Timothy Murray, former Connecticut Supreme Court Chief Justice Ellen Ash Peters, American Bar Association President Michael S. Greco, and September 11th Victim Compensation Fund Special Master Kenneth R. Feinberg.              New Program Offered for Prospective and Current Teachers Western New England College and The Teachers' Loft have partnered to create a new program for those interested in becoming a licensed teacher in Massachusetts. Called TIMELI (Teacher Induction, Mentoring, Empowerment, and Leadership Initiative), the part-time program offers an alternative path to licensure in secondary education for those new to the teaching profession or currently working in an unlicensed role. "There is clearly a need for licensed teachers in western Massachusetts," says Matt Fox, Director of Recruiting and Marketing for Graduate Studies and Adult Learning at Western New England College. "TIMELI will provide a unique approach for preparing aspiring and current teachers for a variety of fields, especially in high demand fields such as math and science." TIMELI combines coursework on the profession of teaching and classroom field experience with classes in specific content areas. TIMELI is best suited to candidates interested in pursuing an initial license in secondary education in biology, chemistry, English, history, mathematics, or political science. The part-time program will take two academic years to complete, with students typically meeting one night a week through the College's 11-week terms offered during the fall, winter, and spring. The TIMELI program is currently pending final approval from the state Department of Education and expects to enroll the first cohort this fall. For more information or to request an application, contact the Western New England College Admissions Office at 413-782-1517 or by emailing study@wnec.edu. The Teachers' Loft was founded in 2003 and is the endorsing agent of the TIMELI program. As a non-profit, educational organization it provides educational resources for PreK-12 teachers in western Massachusetts by inviting teachers to take part in quality, community-based professional development.              Update from Beijing Professors Curt Hamakawa and Dan Covell are leading a group of 13 Western New England College students on an eight-day visit to Beijing, China, for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad. Professor Hamakawa, director of the Western New England College Center for International Sport Business, is blogging about the group's experiences during their seminar abroad. Here's an update from Beijing: Students on NBC Broadcast: At Monday evening's tennis matches at the Olympic Green Tennis Center, not only did some of our crew meet Venus and Serena Williams' family in the stands, but Whitney, Bre, Jenn, and Marti were shown waving the American flag on NBC's telecast of Venus Williams' match against Timea Bacsinszky, after her 6-3, 6-2 victory over the Swiss athlete! Oh! The People You'll Meet!: Just to prove that you never know who you will run into at the Great Wall of China, our students -- who previously met US beach volleyball sensation Misty May-Treanor earlier in the week at the Olympic competition at Chaoyang Beach Park (as if that wasn't a thrill of a lifetime in itself) -- ran into her again today of all places at . . . you guessed it! Here, the defending Olympic beach volleyball champion graciously spent time chatting with our crew and having many, many pictures taken with our adoring and appreciative students. To read more about the trip, including how some of the students have become media celebrities in Beijing, click here to visit the blog. More Headlines: Greetings from Beijing Information Session for Graduate Engineering Programs August 27 Information Session for Fall Semester Classes Announced Students to Explore Olympic "Classroom" Japanese Students Visit College More News...