Williams College Press Releases

May 1, 2008: Williams College Announces Its Commencement Speakers and Honorary Degree Candidates

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 09:00:00 EST

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., May 1, 2008 -- Acclaimed artist and sculptor Richard Serra will be the principal speaker at Williams College's 219th Commencement on Sunday, June 1. Financial director and advisor Robert Lipp will be the baccalaureate speaker on Saturday afternoon, May 31. Former Secretary of State George Shultz will hold a public conversation on Saturday morning, May 31.

Actor, director, and author LeVar Burton was to give the baccalaureate address but later informed the college that a new professional commitment would prevent his being in Williamstown that weekend.

During the Commencement ceremonies on June 1, President of the College Morton Owen Schapiro will confer honorary degrees on Serra, Lipp, Shultz, British economist Frances Cairncross, and women's health advocate Dr. Nawal Nour.

Richard Serra

American artist Richard Serra is best known for his monumental, site-specific sculptures made from plates of rusted steel. His "challenging and innovative work" has "radicalized and extended the definition of sculpture" (Museum of Modern Art).

Most striking about Serra's sculptures is their size: some weigh hundreds of tons, and viewers can literally walk through the canyons formed by the curved metal slabs. Space, and especially the display site, is crucial to Serra's work.

He has exhibited extensively in major museums and exhibitions throughout the world, and has created site-specific sculptures for both public and private venues in North America and Europe. "Snake," a long, sinuous piece that resembles a serpent, is on display at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, along with seven other Serra works. "Fulcrum," a 55-foot steel sculpture, stands outside the Liverpool Street station in London, and "Charlie Brown," at 60 feet, stands inside Gap Inc. headquarters in San Francisco.
In summer 2007, the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) held a retrospective of Serra's work titled "Forty Years," which included major sculptures like "Intersection II" and "Torqued Ellipse IV" as well as three new pieces.

For this retrospective, MOMA allotted 20,000 square feet of open space for a new sculpture described by The New Yorker as Serra's "masterpiece so far." "Sequence" creates a maze of metal to be explored and experienced: "the effect is like materialized music, actuated by your movement."

Serra was born in San Francisco in 1939. After earning a B.A. in English literature from the University of California, he supported himself by working at steel mills and shipyards. During those years, he developed an interest in industrial materials, which would influence his later work. Serra trained as a painter at Yale University's School of Art and Architecture, where he worked with Josef Albers on his book, "The Interaction of Color" (1963). He received his M.F.A. in 1964.

Robert I. Lipp

Robert I. Lipp retires in June 2008 from the Williams Board of Trustees, on which he has served since 1999. He is chair of the Executive Committee and serves on the Board's Alumni Relations and Development, Audit, Budget and Financial Planning, and Instruction and Finance Committees. Lipp plays a major role in The Williams Campaign and serves as one of five campaign co-chairs.

He has served J.P. Morgan Chase as a senior advisor since 2005. Lipp served Travelers Insurance as chief executive from the end of 1993 to early 2000. He was named chairman of The St. Paul Travelers Companies in April 2004.

He began his career in banking at Chemical Bank (now J.P. Morgan Chase), where he rose to the position of president and director, leaving there in 1986 to join what ultimately became Citigroup. He retired from Citigroup as chairman and chief executive of the company's Global Consumer Group and member of the Office of the Chairman in 2001.

He serves as a director of J.P. Morgan Chase & Company, The Travelers Insurance Companies, and Accenture Ltd. He is director and former president of the New York City Ballet and previously a trustee at Carnegie Hall.

He received his B.A. from Williams in 1960, his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School in 1963, and his J.D. from New York University in 1969. Lipp has taught a Winter Study course at Williams titled "Managing Nonprofits: An Insider's Look."

He established the Bari Lipp Endowment in Dance at Williams in memory of his first wife, Bari Lipp. He has two children: Wendy, Williams Class of 1990, and Jeff, Williams Class of 1992 and is married to Martha Berman.

George P. Shultz

President Nixon appointed George Shultz Secretary of Labor in 1969. In June 1970, he became director of the Office of Management and Budget. In May 1972, he was named Secretary of the Treasury, a post he held two years.

He left government service in 1974 to become president and director of the Bechtel Group, Inc., where he remained until 1982, when he joined the Reagan administration serving as chairman of the President's Economic Policy Advisory Board (1981-82) and Secretary of State (1982-1989). He rejoined the Bechtel Group as director and senior counselor and rejoined Stanford University as Professor of International Economics at the Graduate School of Business.

Shultz is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor; the Seoul Peace Prize; the Eisenhower Medal for Leadership and Service; and the Reagan Distinguished American Award.

His publications include his memoir, "Turmoil and Triumph: My Years as Secretary of State" and the recent, "Putting Our House in Order: A Citizen's guide to Social Security and Health Care Reform."

He graduated from Princeton University in 1942, then joined the U.S. Marine Corps and served through 1945. In 1949, he earned a Ph.D. in industrial economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he taught until 1957, and then at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business where he was named dean in 1962.

Frances Cairncross

Frances Cairncross, a British economist, journalist, and academic, is Rector of Exeter College, Oxford, with which Williams operates the Williams-Exeter Program.

She received her degree in modern history from St. Anne's College, Oxford, and later completed a master's degree in economics at Brown University.

After spending 11 years working for The Guardian, she joined The Economist in 1984 and was on the staff for 20 years, most recently as management editor. She also has been on the financial staff of The Times, The Banker, and The Observer.

Her books include "Costing the Earth: The Challenges for Government, the Opportunities for Business," and "Green, Inc." Both were written while she worked as environment editor of The Economist between 1989 and 1994. For her coverage during that period, she won the first Reuter's-Alpe Action Award.

Cairncross' latest book, "The Company of the Future," was published in 2002 by Harvard Business School Press. She is also the author of "Death of Distance 2.0: How the Communications Revolution Will Change Our Lives," a major book on the impact of technology on society and business, first published in 1997 and republished in a new edition in 2001.

She has also served as the governor of Britain's National Institute of Economic and Social Research and was a member of the Council of the Institute for Fiscal Studies; an honorary fellow of St. Anne's College, Oxford; a Visiting Fellow of Nuffield College, Oxford; and a non-executive director of Alliance and Leicester, a major UK bank. She chaired the Economic and Social Research Council for six years until 2007 and was president of the British Association for the Advancement of Science in 2005-06.

Nawal Nour

Dr. Nawal M. Nour is the founder of the first and, to date, only hospital center in the United States devoted to the medical needs of African women who have undergone female genital cutting. "It hit me to the core," Nour has said in interviews, "that we need to find ways to stop this practice."

A secular Muslim, Nour was born in Sudan, raised in Egypt, and educated in Britain and the United States. She received a degree from Brown University and an M.D. from Harvard Medical School.

During her residency, Nour began to work among Boston's African immigrant population. She received permission from the Brigham and Women's Hospital to open the African Women's Health Center in 1999. The clinic became popular, it was reported, mostly because the patients found understanding from Nour. Massachusetts alone has approximately 7,000 immigrants and refugees who have been victims of female genital cutting. It is estimated that 130 million women worldwide suffer from this practice.

She is the primary author of "Female Genital Cutting, Clinical Management of Circumcised Women." This educational slide-lecture kit, created while Nour served on a female genital cutting task force for the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, aims to educate obstetricians-gynecologists on the medical management of circumcised women in the United States and Canada.

In 2003, Nour was honored with a MacArthur Foundation fellowship worth $500,000, which she used to advance her work. Her ambition is to help grass-root organizations in Africa that are working to stop female circumcision.

Information about Commencement

In addition to the formal academic procession and the awarding of degrees, Commencement includes recognition of the National Olmsted Prizes for Secondary School Teaching recipients, announcement of the William Bradford Turner Citizenship Prize, brief speeches by three members of the Senior Class, and the Commencement Address.

Every effort will be made to hold the ceremony outdoors on West College Lawn and the public is invited. In case of heavy rain or threat of lightning, the ceremony will be moved to Lansing-Chapman Hockey Rink for indoor Commencement. If moved indoors, admission is by ticket only. Additional seating will be available on a first come basis in Chandler Gymnasium where the ceremony will be broadcast on a large screen. Tickets are not required for seating in Chandler Gymnasium.

For more information, go to http://www.williams.edu/home/commencement/

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For building locations on the Williams campus, please consult the map outside the driveway entrance to the Security Office located in Hopkins Hall on Main Street (Rte. 2), next to the Thompson Memorial Chapel, or call the Office of Public Affairs (413) 597-4277. The map can also be found on the web at www.williams.edu/home/campusmap/

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April 23, 2008: Mathematician Edward B. Burger Named Gaudino Scholar at Williams

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 09:00:00 EST

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., April 23, 2008 -- Dean of the Faculty William G. Wagner has announced the selection of Edward B. Burger, professor of mathematics, as Gaudino Scholar at Williams College. Burger will succeed Julia Cassiday, professor of Russian, who has served in this distinguished role since 2006.

"We recommended Ed Burger for this honor not only because he is a superlative teacher, but also because of the outstanding quality of his research," said Dean Wagner. "He is exceptionally innovative and creative as both teacher and scholar, and his work in both areas has been very influential. We are delighted that he has agreed to serve as Gaudino Scholar."

Robert Gaudino, a professor of political science at Williams College from 1955 to 1974, was devoted to the idea that to truly learn, students must take the risks inherent in a search for truth and confront uncomfortable ideas and situations.

Soon after Gaudino's death, former students created a fund in support of a Gaudino Scholar, a Williams faculty member who is expected to promote experiences for students to confront differences and learn through contrasts.

Burger is the recipient of numerous honors, including the 2007 Award of Excellence from Technology & Learning magazine, the 2007 Distinguished Achievement of The Association of Educational Publishers, the 2006 Lester R. Ford Award of the Mathematical Association of America, and the 2001 Deborah and Franklin Tepper Haimo Award for Distinguished College Teaching of Mathematics from the Mathematical Association of America.

He is the author or co-author of more than 30 research articles and 12 books, including "Coincidences, Chaos, and All That Math Jazz: Making light of weighty ideas" and "Extending the Frontiers of Mathematics: Inquiries into proof and argumentation." He is also an associate editor for the American Mathematical Monthly and a member of the Editorial Board for AK Peters Publishing.

His newest book, "Seven," which he is writing with media guru Jacqueline Leo, has been chosen for publication by TWELVE. "There are seven great reasons readers will want this book," said TWELVE publisher Jonathan Karp. "Historical illumination. Memory enhancement. Psychological awareness. Business performance. Personal growth. Mathematical wisdom. And great water cooler conversation."

Burger has written and starred in number of educational videos, including the 24-lecture video series "Zero to Infinity: A History of Numbers" and "An Introduction to Number Theory." He has delivered more than 400 lectures worldwide and has appeared on more than 40 radio and TV programs including NPR and ABC News Now on WABC-TV in New York.

His research interests include algebraic number theory, Diophantine analysis, geometry of numbers, and the theory of continued fractions. He teaches Abstract Algebra, The Art of Creating Mathematics, and Diophantine Analysis.

He has taught or been a visiting scholar at the University of Texas at Austin, Westminster College, James Madison University, the University of Colorado at Boulder, and the Macquarie University in Australia.

He received a B.A. from Connecticut College and his Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin.

The Robert L. Gaudino Memorial fund, established in memory of Robert Gaudino's profound impact on his students, has made a distinct contribution to Williams and complements the primary objectives of the college's educational mission: promoting active learning, combating fragmentation of knowledge, and assembling an open community of learning characterized by integrity, mutual respect, and rigorous intellectual endeavor.

Chair of the Gaudino Fund, Dr. Michael Morfit is coordinator of the Master of Science in Foreign Service at Georgetown University, after having served a distinguished career as a Foreign Service Officer with USAID and was directly involved in U.S. Government planning and policy formation for major international development initiatives.

END

Founded in 1793, Williams College is the second oldest institution of higher learning in Massachusetts. The college's 2,000 students are taught by a faculty noted for the quality of their teaching and research, and the achievement of academic goals includes active participation of students with faculty in their research. Students' educational experience is enriched by the residential campus environment in Williamstown, Mass., which provides a host of opportunities for interaction with one another and with faculty beyond the classroom. Admission decisions are made regardless of a student's financial ability, and the college provides grants and other assistance to meet the demonstrated needs of all who are admitted. To visit the college on the Internet: www.williams.edu

April 22, 2008: Henry David Thoreau Foundation to Help Support Pilot Project on Environmental Leadership at Williams

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 09:00:00 EST

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., April 22, 2008 -- The Henry David Thoreau Foundation has announced the award of a $24,800 grant for building environmental leadership skills among students. The proposal, "Using the Study of Green Building Practices at Williams College to Educate Environmental Leaders for Tomorrow," was presented by the Center for Environmental Studies (CES) and the Zilkha Center for Environmental Initiatives.

The CES and the Zilkha Center will jointly supervise this pilot program, slated for implementation in 2008-09. The aim of the program is to develop knowledge of sustainable building practices and create opportunities for collaboration of 10 students with Williams faculty, staff, architects and engineers. The Thoreau Foundation grant will cover a range of expenditures, including those related to a semester-long symposium, visits to green building sites, and conferences.

Those chosen as Thoreau Fellows will develop an understanding of green building practices. They will be expected to apply this framework to the development and operations of selected buildings on campus.

In the fall 2008, the initiative will focus on the Green Building Symposium, an ongoing symposium designed to explore the main concepts of sustainable design through presentations and dialogues led by a range of experts. Thoreau Fellows will also attend GreenBuild, an international conference sponsored by the U.S. Green Building Council, and conduct on-site studies of buildings on campus and green architecture in the local area. At the end of the semester, they will present what they have learned in a seminar for the student body.

During Winter Study of 2009, the Thoreau Fellows will enroll in a winter study class, "Green Design Workshop and LEED Certification Course." In addition, each fellow will be required to submit a proposal for a project involving new construction, renovation or operations at Williams.

Thoreau Fellows will continue working on their projects during the spring and summer, presenting their recommendations to mentors and the appropriate committees. In addition to building a working knowledge of green building practices and engaging with the faculty, staff and other experts, Fellows will regularly share their findings with other students and the community.

The project will be directed by an interdisciplinary team, helmed by Stephanie Boyd, acting director of the Zilkha Center, and Sarah Gardner, associate director of the CES and lecturer in environmental studies.

The Zilkha Center was founded last fall with a $5 million alumni donation to achieve the college's sustainability goals. The CES, established in 1976, coordinates academic programs in environmental studies and manages the Hopkins Memorial Forest.

END

Founded in 1793, Williams College is the second oldest institution of higher learning in Massachusetts. The college's 2,000 students are taught by a faculty noted for the quality of their teaching and research, and the achievement of academic goals includes active participation of students with faculty in their research. Students' educational experience is enriched by the residential campus environment in Williamstown, Mass., which provides a host of opportunities for interaction with one another and with faculty beyond the classroom. Admission decisions are made regardless of a student's financial ability, and the college provides grants and other assistance to meet the demonstrated needs of all who are admitted.
To visit the college on the Internet:www.williams.edu

News: Yue-Yi

March 31, 2008: De Veaux Named 2008 Mosteller Statistician of the Year

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 09:00:00 EST

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., March 31, 2008 -- Professor of Statistics Richard D. De Veaux has been named the 2008 Mosteller Statistician of the Year at an award ceremony on March 11, 2008.

The Award is presented by the Boston Chapter of the American Statistical Association every year to a distinguished statistician who has made exceptional contributions to the field of statistics and has shown outstanding service to the statistical community.

The Prize is named for Charles Frederick Mosteller, one of the most eminent statisticians of the 20th century, and founding chairman of Harvard's statistics department.

De Veaux's contributions to the field of statistics have been prodigious. His research focuses on data mining, its methodology, and its application to problems in science and industry, including artificial neural networks and advanced statistical techniques, including decision trees, MARS, and boosting algorithms.

He joined the Williams College faculty in 1994.

He has also taught at the biometry unit of I.N.R.A. (the French Agricultural Institute); the Probability and Statistics Laboratory in Toulouse, France; the UFR Biomedical
Department in Paris, France; and the Department of Operations Research and Financial Engineering at Princeton University, where he was the William R. Kenan Jr. Visiting Professor for Distinguished Teaching in 2006-07.

De Veaux is the co-author of a number of textbooks on statistics, including "Intro Stats," "Stats: Data and Models," and "Stats: Modeling the World." The textbooks are designed for reaching out to the "math-phobic." The journal American Statistician has called his work "accessible, non-threatening, and occasionally quite funny."

He holds a number of patents and has consulted with American Express, Bell Communications, First USA Bank, Merck Laboratories, and the National Security Agency (NSA) among others.

He is a fellow of the American Statistical Association.

He earned his A.B. and his B.S.E. in civil engineering from Princeton University in 1973, and his Ph.D. from Stanford University in 1986.

Before coming to Williams, De Veaux held posts at Princeton University and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

END

Founded in 1793, Williams College is the second oldest institution of higher learning in Massachusetts. The college's 2,000 students are taught by a faculty noted for the quality of their teaching and research, and the achievement of academic goals includes active participation of students with faculty in their research. Students' educational experience is enriched by the residential campus environment in Williamstown, Mass., which provides a host of opportunities for interaction with one another and with faculty beyond the classroom. Admission decisions are made regardless of a student's financial ability, and the college provides grants and other assistance to meet the demonstrated needs of all who are admitted.
To visit the college on the Internet:www.williams.edu

News: Peter

March 20, 2008: Williams Professor Receives Grant to Investigate Effects of Risky Pensions

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 09:00:00 EST

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., March 20, 2008 -- The Social Security Administration has awarded Williams College Assistant Professor of Economics David Love a grant of $40,000 in support of work by Love and Federal Reserve economist Paul Smith on the effects of risky pensions on household saving and labor supply decisions.

Recent pension freezes in large firms such as Verizon and IBM, along with terminations of defined benefit plans in the struggling steel and airline industries, demonstrate that even traditional pensions are not risk-free.

A primary goal of this research will be to estimate the welfare implications associated with the recent spate of pension freezes.

Love has been on the Williams faculty since 2003 and teaches several levels of macroeconomics as well as a senior seminar on national savings.

Love has worked as an economist with the Federal Reserve Board and as a visiting assistant professor at Columbia Business School.

His interests focus on macroeconomics, public finance, household savings, and portfolio choice.

His work has published in a number of academic journals including the National Tax Journal, Journal of Monetary Economics, and Journal of Pension Economics and Finance.

He received his B.A. from the University of Michigan in 1996 and his Ph.D. in economics from Yale University in 2003.

END

Founded in 1793, Williams College is the second oldest institution of higher learning in Massachusetts. The college's 2,000 students are taught by a faculty noted for the quality of their teaching and research, and the achievement of academic goals includes active participation of students with faculty in their research. Students' educational experience is enriched by the residential campus environment in Williamstown, Mass., which provides a host of opportunities for interaction with one another and with faculty beyond the classroom. Admission decisions are made regardless of a student's financial ability, and the college provides grants and other assistance to meet the demonstrated needs of all who are admitted.
To visit the college on the Internet:www.williams.edu

News:Brankley

March 20, 2008: "Introduction to Topology," Newest of Colin Adams' Math Textbooks

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 09:00:00 EST

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., March 20, 2008 -- "Introduction to Topology," co-authored by mathematics professor Colin Adams, was recently released by Pearson Prentice Hall.

"Introduction to Topology" is geared toward students with a minimal background in formal mathematics. It is designed to serve as a textbook for a one- or two-semester introduction to topology at the undergraduate level, or at an introductory graduate level.

Topology is the study of properties of spatial objects that are preserved under deformation. It is often said that a topologist cannot tell a coffee cup from a doughnut. Topology is generally considered one of the three linchpins of modern abstract mathematics (along with analysis and algebra).

Adams is the Thomas T. Read Professor of Mathematics at Williams College.

Always described as innovative, demanding, and a very popular teacher, he has played a crucial role in the doubling of the enrollments in Williams math classes and the tripling of the number of majors.

He is particularly interested in the mathematical theory of knots, their applications and their connections with hyperbolic geometry and has written numerous research articles on knot theory and hyperbolic 3-manifolds. His research is supported by the National Science Foundation.

Author of "The Knot Book," an elementary introduction to the mathematical theory of knots, Adams and co-authors Joel Hass and Abigail Thompson wrote "How to Ace Calculus: the Streetwise Guide" and "How to Ace the Rest of Calculus: the Streetwise Guide," humorous supplements to calculus.

He also writes a mathematical humor column called "Mathematically Bent" which appears in the Mathematical Intelligencer.

He received the Robert Foster Cherry Great Teacher Award from Baylor University in 2003. The Mathematical Association of America (MAA) awarded him its Deborah and Franklin Tepper

Haimo Distinguished Teaching Award in 1998. His honors include, among others, being named the Polya Lecturer for the MAA from 1998 to 2000 and a Sigma Xi Distinguished Lecturer from 2000 to 2002.

Adams received his B.S. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1978 and his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1983.

END

Founded in 1793, Williams College is the second oldest institution of higher learning in Massachusetts. The college's 2,000 students are taught by a faculty noted for the quality of their teaching and research, and the achievement of academic goals includes active participation of students with faculty in their research. Students' educational experience is enriched by the residential campus environment in Williamstown, Mass., which provides a host of opportunities for interaction with one another and with faculty beyond the classroom. Admission decisions are made regardless of a student's financial ability, and the college provides grants and other assistance to meet the demonstrated needs of all who are admitted.
To visit the college on the Internet:www.williams.edu

News: Peter

March 19, 2008: Glenn Shuck's New Book Examines Current Cultural Pessimism

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 09:00:00 EST

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., March 19, 2008 -- Williams College professor Glenn Shuck is the author of "Escape into the Future: Cultural Pessimism and its Religious Dimension in Contemporary American Popular Culture," recently released by Baylor University Press. Written with John M. Stroup, the book explores the subtle pessimism that pervades the present-day American milieu, as expressed in popular culture and religious discourse.

Shuck and Stroup define cultural pessimism as "an outlook that sees various domains of contemporary life as linked, headed in a disastrous direction and capable of improvement only in the event of a striking and complete reversal of direction."

They examine this ethos through a multiplicity of documents from popular culture and spirituality -- ranging from "The X-Files" and "Fight "Club" to evangelical writings -- as well as contemporary scholarship.

"Escape into the Future" delves into 40 years of cultural "texts," seeking to isolate feelings of powerlessness, dissatisfaction, and fatalism.

Whether the growing uncertainty about individual agency in economic processes, the increasing significance of technology as a means of control and power, or any of the other numerous facets of this thesis, the authors examine the language of each cultural document to clarify and extrapolate the forms of underlying pessimism.

"Escape into the Future" also considers real-world analogues to the frameworks shaping the cultural documents, and engages with other academic works on cynicism.

Shuck's 2004 book, "Marks of the Beast," explored themes of dissatisfaction and apocalyptic thought in modern Christian movements -- borne from a disenchantment with the way the world is and the direction in which it is heading.

"The future, as always, is risky" the authors write in the epilogue, "And if we wish to survive itâ€¦ we must continue to play the variety of dubious games actually available. For as long as we play, we at least remain in the game. We know at the backs of our minds that the house almost always wins, but we play for the rare chance that it will not."

Shuck is assistant professor of religion at Williams College. He received his B.A. from Texas Lutheran University in 1994 and his Ph.D. in religious studies from Rice University in 2004.
Stroup is a professor of religious studies at Rice University.

END

Founded in 1793, Williams College is the second oldest institution of higher learning in Massachusetts. The college's 2,000 students are taught by a faculty noted for the quality of their teaching and research, and the achievement of academic goals includes active participation of students with faculty in their research. Students' educational experience is enriched by the residential campus environment in Williamstown, Mass., which provides a host of opportunities for interaction with one another and with faculty beyond the classroom. Admission decisions are made regardless of a student's financial ability, and the college provides grants and other assistance to meet the demonstrated needs of all who are admitted.
To visit the college on the Internet:www.williams.edu

News: Yue-Yi

March 19, 2008: Williams College Announces Eight New Administrative Appointments

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 09:00:00 EST

Timothy J. Cherubini as head of collection development and acquisitions, Sawyer Library. Cherubini received his B.A. from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania and a masters in music and a master of library science from Indiana University. He previously worked for Southeastern Library Network.

Jane Cary as associate director in the Office of Career Counseling and director of science and technology advising. She received her B.A. from Bates College and her M.A. in student personnel administration from Teachers College, Columbia University. She was previously associate director for graduate admissions at Bennington College.

Stephen Connally as desktop system specialist, Office of Information Technology. He has studied in the engineering program at the University of Massachusetts and is currently enrolled in the project management certificate program at Boston University. He has been an executive IT recruiter for Park Hudson International.

David C. Dower, director of facilities planning and construction. He received his B.A. from the Boston Architectural Center and his M.A. in urban affairs from Boston University. He was previously assistant director of property operations for Harvard University. Dower is the recipient of the 2006 Harvard Heroes Award for leadership, teamwork, adaptability, and work that exceeded expectations.

Danielle Gonzalez as employment manager, Office of Human Resources. She studied at the University of South Florida and previously was director of human resources and operations at the National Patient Safety Foundations in North Adams.

Jeffrey Jones as in-house college counsel. Jones received his B.A. from Williams and his J.D. from Harvard Law School. Since 1974, he has been part of the Palmer & Dodge legal team representing Williams on a wide range of issues.

David Parks as network and systems administrator, Office of Information Technology. Parks received his B.S. from Syracuse University and previously worked as a senior systems engineer at @utoRevenue in Lee, Massachusetts.

Joshua Trivilino as desktop systems specialist, Office of Information Technology. He received his B.S. from St. Lawrence University. Previously, he worked as an IT operations specialist at Akwesasne Mohawk Casino and an IT helpdesk/technician at St. Lawrence University.

END

Founded in 1793, Williams College is the second oldest institution of higher learning in Massachusetts. The college's 2,000 students are taught by a faculty noted for the quality of their teaching and research, and the achievement of academic goals includes active participation of students with faculty in their research. Students' educational experience is enriched by the residential campus environment in Williamstown, Mass., which provides a host of opportunities for interaction with one another and with faculty beyond the classroom. Admission decisions are made regardless of a student's financial ability, and the college provides grants and other assistance to meet the demonstrated needs of all who are admitted.
To visit the college on the Internet:www.williams.edu

News: Iliyana

March 18, 2008: Named Professorship at Williams Will Honor Longtime College and Community Member

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 09:00:00 EST

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., March 18, 2008 -- Williams College will celebrate the legacy of longtime college and community member J. Hodge Markgraf by naming a professorship in his honor. It will go to a faculty member in any field who displays the "strikingly balanced skills of scholarly excellence and high citizenship that Hodge Markgraf did for almost 60 years."

"As an alumnus, teacher, scientist, mentor, and administrator, he was involved with much of the college's history since he arrived here as a freshman in 1948," Williams President Morton Owen Schapiro said on the occasion of Markgraf's death in 2007. He had also served the local community in many capacities, including as deacon of the First Congregational Church in Williamstown, treasurer of Northern Berkshire Health Systems Inc., and corporator of Williamstown Savings Bank.

He graduated from Williams in 1952 summa cum laude with highest honors in chemistry along with the highest honor for student citizenship. Among many other activities, he served as secretary of his fraternity, Beta Theta Pi. Ten years later Williams President John Sawyer appointed him, as a young professor, to the sensitive position of secretary to the trustee, faculty, alumni, and student committee that ultimately recommended Williams phase out its fraternity system, making it the first college in the country to do so.

After earning a Ph.D. in chemistry at Yale University in 1957, which included study as a Fulbright Fellow at the University of Munich, he worked as a research chemist at Procter & Gamble before joining the chemistry department at Williams in 1959.

Students considered him a passionate and gifted teacher at all levels of the chemistry curriculum, and he helped introduce the practice, now widespread at Williams, of involving undergraduates in research.
He published frequently in chemistry journals about his research, which was supported by the National Science Foundation, American Chemical Society, Research Corporation, Pfizer, Inc., and Merck & Co.

In addition to his many years as department chair, he also served the broader college as provost, marshal, and vice president for alumni relations and development. In the last of these roles, President Schapiro said, Markgraf "oversaw the college's Bicentennial Celebrations [in 1993] and led The Third Century Campaign, which raised the most money ever by a liberal arts college and helped establish the ground from which so much of the college's subsequent excellence has grown."

In 1999 he served as secretary to the college's Presidential Search Committee.

He held visiting professorships at Duke University and the University of California at Berkeley, and in the summer of 1960 he worked as a research associate at the Sprague Electric Co., in North Adams.

After officially retiring from Williams in 1998 he continued to teach there and, for a semester, at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. He also carried on with his lab research and participated in the Dreyfus Foundation's Senior Scientist Mentor Initiatives for retired faculty who continue to involve undergraduates in research.

"There is no question that Hodge set at Williams the most brilliant combined example of scholarship, teaching, and citizenship within the memory of anyone alive today," said Williams Trustee Paul Neely, Class of 1968, whose gift to the college established the J. Hodge Markgraf Professorship. "That is what should be honored."

END

March 14, 2008: Bolton's "Robot Ghosts and Wired Dreams" Explores Evolution and Role of Japanese Science Fiction

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 09:00:00 EST

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., March 14, 2008 -- "Robot Ghosts and Wired Dreams: Japanese Science Fiction from Origins to Anime" co-edited by Christopher Bolton of Williams College, Istvan Csisery-Ronay Jr. of DePauw University, and Takayuki Tatsumi of Keio University in Tokyo surveys Japanese science fiction, which developed as a genre since the end of the Second World War.

The collection of essays, including "The Mecha's Blind Spot" by Bolton, is published by University of Minnesota Press. It focuses particularly on the past decade, which has brought an influx of Japanese science fiction to global culture.

Despite the primarily visual nature of Japanese science fiction commonly seen in the West, particularly the comic books known as manga and the film and television media known as anime, the authors also highlight a "vibrant tradition of prose" with "rich exploration of the genre."

Bolton's contributions in particular confront the conflict and interdependence between man and machine. "The increasing mediation of electronics in our experience, with images of screens that get between the characters and the world," is a common theme in Japanese science fiction.

Bolton's chapter, "The Mecha's Blind Spot: Patlabor 2 and the Phenomenology of Anime," explores the nature of the intersection between humanity and technology: "The trope of a body that is both enhanced and invaded by technology is a staple in anime."

Bolton and the 10 other contributing authors from North America, Europe, and Japan put the popularity and nature of Japanese science fiction in historical and global context. Writing on post-war works of literature and film, the authors in "Robot Ghosts" analyze Japan's national identity following defeat and its coming to terms with the pre-war years, which the authors extricate through iconic Japanese monster movies (such as Godzilla) and a literary focus on the ocean and Japan's former naval empire.

The authors argue that the literature has developed within a national context, even as it is consumed by a global market.

But the global market will see their own, more familiar imagery within the literature, as Bolton details in his discussion and analysis of an interview with the director Mamoru Oshii. Oshii's popular 1993 film "Patlabor 2," which culminates in a fake terrorist attack, was viewed by the Japanese in a fundamentally different way after the Tokyo subway terrorist attacks in 1995; likewise, Bolton asserts, an American audience watching that same film will see parallels to 9/11.

Bolton is the author of a number of published articles and translations, and is an associate editor of "Mechademia," an annual forum for academic criticism of anime, manga, and fan arts, also published by University of Minnesota Press.

He received his A.B. from Harvard University and his Ph.D. in Japanese from Stanford University in 1998.

END

Founded in 1793, Williams College is the second oldest institution of higher learning in Massachusetts. The college's 2,000 students are taught by a faculty noted for the quality of their teaching and research, and the achievement of academic goals includes active participation of students with faculty in their research. Students' educational experience is enriched by the residential campus environment in Williamstown, Mass., which provides a host of opportunities for interaction with one another and with faculty beyond the classroom. Admission decisions are made regardless of a student's financial ability, and the college provides grants and other assistance to meet the demonstrated needs of all who are admitted.
To visit the college on the Internet:www.williams.edu

News: Peter

March 11, 2008: Daniel Aalberts Awarded NSF and NIH Research Grants

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 09:00:00 EST

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., March 11, 2008 -- Daniel Aalberts, associate professor of physics at Williams College, was recently awarded grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Aalberts uses statistical and computational physics methods to study biological polymers. His research focuses on RNA, single-stranded nucleic acids that play a variety of roles, including supplying cells with the information needed to build proteins and catalyzing key chemical reactions.

The NSF Research in Undergraduate Institutions grant, in the amount of $260,000, will support a three-year project "Improving RNA Pseudoknot Models and Algorithms." RNA is a long, thin molecule that folds into complex, compact shapes through complementary base paring.

One such shape, the pseudoknot, is the rare but highly functional stacked structure that most RNA enzymes take on. Most traditional RNA prediction methods exclude pseudoknots. To bridge that gap, Aalberts and his undergraduate collaborators have been developing and improving mathematical models to explain pseudoknot structures and calculate their abundance.

A $226,000 NIH Academic Research Enrichment Award grant, also a three-year award, will support a project titled "Binding and Splicing mRNA." Splice junctions in messenger RNA indicate the boundaries of sequences that intervene in genetic information. As these sequences must be edited away to locate gene signals, predicting these junctions is crucial. While statistical models for this processing step are still incomplete, one effective approach on the cellular level is preferentially binding a small RNA molecule to these splice junctions.

Students in Aalberts' laboratory this year include Teng Jian Khoo '09 from Penang, Malaysia, and Sandy Nandagopal '09 from New Delhi, India. Among the students who have previously worked with Aalberts on pseudoknot structures are Nathan Hodas '04, winner of the American Physical Society's Apker Award for outstanding undergraduate research, Evan Miller '06, and Alex Zaliznyak '07. Past undergraduate collaborators on his binding and splicing projects include Jeff Garland '03, Hodas, Eric Daub '04, Jesse Dill '04, Rob Cooper '06, and Will Parker '08.

Aalberts joined the Williams faculty in 1997. He teaches classes in computational biology, mathematical methods for science, and modern physics. His work has been published in several peer-reviewed journals, including Bioinformatics, Nucleic Acid Research, and Physical Review E.

He received his S.B. in physics and Ph.D. in theoretical statistical & condensed matter physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

END

Founded in 1793, Williams College is the second oldest institution of higher learning in Massachusetts. The college's 2,000 students are taught by a faculty noted for the quality of their teaching and research, and the achievement of academic goals includes active participation of students with faculty in their research. Students' educational experience is enriched by the residential campus environment in Williamstown, Mass., which provides a host of opportunities for interaction with one another and with faculty beyond the classroom. Admission decisions are made regardless of a student's financial ability, and the college provides grants and other assistance to meet the demonstrated needs of all who are admitted.
To visit the college on the Internet:www.williams.edu

News: Yue-Yi

March 11, 2008: Williams College Senior Shannon Chiu Named Gates Cambridge Scholar - Alumnus Shawn Powers '04 also Wins Scholarship

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 09:00:00 EST

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., March 11, 2008 -- The Gates Cambridge Scholars Program has announced the award of scholarships for study at the University of Cambridge to Williams College student, Shannon Chiu '08, and alumnus Shawn Powers '04. The scholarships will cover tuition, living expenses, and travel fees.

Six hundred thirty-five students from the United States applied for the Gates Cambridge Scholarship this year and 45 were selected for the award. The selection was based on intellectual caliber, leadership ability, and desire to enrich the lives of others.

Chiu, who hails from Woodbridge, Conn., will complete her B.A. this year. A pre-med major, she is majoring in biology with a concentration in neuroscience. At Cambridge, she intends to complete a M.Sc. in experimental psychology.

"My work at Cambridge next fall will bridge my current pursuits in clinical and behavioral neuroscience, as well as offer a much more in-depth study of the variability of age-related atrophy," Chiu said. "In the future, I hope to play a role in the effort to combat degenerative brain disorders."

At Williams, Chiu has been exploring an interest in fighting neurodegenerative disease in an independent project in neurosciences at Williams on the Nintendo game "Brain Age," exploring the hypothesis that cognitively stimulating activities may mitigate age-related decline.

Chiu says she knew she wanted a career in medicine after her experience two years ago, when as a Class of 1972 Intern, part of the Alumni Sponsored Internship Program, she worked as a research associate in the Emergency Department (ED) of the Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York City.

The internship gave her the chance to assist medical staff in a number of research studies, including acute HIV, intubation procedures, migraine drugs, and patient satisfaction with ED attending physicians. "The day-to-day proximity to patients and their needs made me realize how much I wanted to be able to make a positive difference in others' lives, particularly the ill and the neglected."

Outside of the classroom, Chiu has worked on the Williams College student newspaper, most recently as executive editor. She is a co-chair of the Biology Major Advisory Committee, and an editorial member of the college yearbook, the Gulielmensian. She also has worked on the Williams Literary Review, in the Math/Science Resource Center and tutoring program, and participated in the Asian Theater Project and played JV field hockey.

Raised in Danvers, Mass., Powers graduated summa cum laude in economics in 2004. He will pursue a M.Phil. in development studies at Cambridge, and hopes to gain a comprehensive understanding of development theory and practice from this interdisciplinary program.

At Williams, Powers discovered his affinity for development economics and subsequently administered a system for distributing surplus dining hall food to aid organizations in the area.

After graduating from Williams, he completed a year as an Emerson National Hunger Fellow, which included field work in Alaska, and another year as a Fulbright scholar in the Philippines, where he studied the impact of community-initiated and -funded development projects. Since then, he has founded an advocacy program at Alaska's statewide food bank. He is a columnist for the Anchorage Daily News.

The Gates Cambridge Trust was established for outstanding international graduate students in 2000 with a $210 million donation from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. This highly competitive program is similar to the University of Oxford's Rhodes Scholarships.

Last year, Alan Rodrigues '07 became the first Gates Cambridge Scholar from Williams. He is currently pursuing a M.Phil. in computational biology at Cambridge's Emmanuel College.

END

Founded in 1793, Williams College is the second oldest institution of higher learning in Massachusetts. The college's 2,000 students are taught by a faculty noted for the quality of their teaching and research, and the achievement of academic goals includes active participation of students with faculty in their research. Students' educational experience is enriched by the residential campus environment in Williamstown, Mass., which provides a host of opportunities for interaction with one another and with faculty beyond the classroom. Admission decisions are made regardless of a student's financial ability, and the college provides grants and other assistance to meet the demonstrated needs of all who are admitted.
To visit the college on the Internet:www.williams.edu

News: Yue-Yi

March 11, 2008: Williams College Invites Berkshire County High School Students to Apply for Summer Science Fellowships

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 09:00:00 EST

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., March 11, 2008 -- For the 18th summer, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute will support four fellowships in the biological sciences for current high school juniors from Berkshire County. The recipients will participate in ongoing research projects of Williams College faculty between July 7 and August 1. The fellowships carry a stipend of $1,200.

The program seeks students motivated to engage in hands-on research both collaboratively and individually with faculty members, college students, and peers. An eagerness to learn, a willingness to work hard and creatively, and a demonstrated ability to work well with adults and peers are important attributes of successful applicants.

Students will be chosen based on their application letters and on quality of recommendations by high school teachers. Performance in high school courses will also be considered.

Students who wish to apply should send a letter of interest that clearly describes why they would like to participate in hands-on, investigative research and should arrange for a copy of their high school transcript to be forwarded and two letters of recommendation from high school science teacher(s) and/or guidance counselor(s).

All application materials should be sent to Dr. Wendy E. Raymond, Department of Biology, 226 Bronfman Science Center, Williams College, Williamstown, MA 01267. Applicants should include their home address, phone number, email address, and school name on their letter of interest.

All application materials must be received on or prior to Thursday, April 17, 2008.

***
For building locations on the Williams campus, please consult the map outside the driveway entrance to the Security Office located in Hopkins Hall on Main Street (Rte. 2), next to the Thompson Memorial Chapel, or call the Office of Public Affairs (413) 597-4277. The map can also be found on the web at www.williams.edu/home/campusmap/

END

Event: Iliyana

March 5, 2008: Fay Vincent Makes Major Gift to Williams for Financial Aid

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 09:00:00 EST

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., March 5, 2008 -- Former Baseball Commissioner Francis T. (Fay) Vincent, Jr. has made a $7 million gift to Williams College to support undergraduate scholarships and to create a new graduate fellowship.

The Flynt Fellowship, named for long-time Williams administrator and alumnus Henry N. (Hank) Flynt, Jr. of Williamstown, will be awarded annually to a Williams senior or recent graduate to defray the cost of graduate or professional school.

"This remarkable gift will help some of our best students achieve their educational dreams beyond graduation, extending their ability to change the world in profoundly positive ways," said Williams President Morton Owen Schapiro.

Williams already awards several graduate fellowships each year, most of which support students going on to Oxford or Cambridge Universities in England. The Flynt Fellowship will be available for graduate study anywhere, and can be used for professional degrees as well as Ph.D. programs.

"My commitment to undergraduate scholarships is personal and heartfelt," said Vincent, who was himself a scholarship student while at Williams from 1956 to 1960. "Hank Flynt made us proud to be among his group of scholarship students and gave us support in many ways, not just financially," Vincent said. "In addition, I hope this graduate fellowship will further enhance Williams' appeal to the best and brightest students."

The major share of the Vincent gift will come after his death, but he has pledged to provide annual funding for the Flynt Fellowship throughout his lifetime, so it can get up and running before it is fully endowed by his bequest. Vincent, a former Williams trustee, lives in Florida and spends summers in Williamstown.

Williams admits students without regard to their ability to pay and promises to meet 100 percent of the demonstrated financial need of all admitted students for four years. Beginning with the next academic year, the college also will eliminate loans from all of its financial aid awards and replace them with larger grants.

Flynt ran the college's financial aid operation from 1950 to 1980 and remained involved with aspects of it for years afterward. Generations of Williams financial aid students have expressed their indebtedness to him, not only for the funds he provided them but for the individual care with which he did so.

END

March 3, 2008: Williams Provides Data to U.S. Senate Finance Committee

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 09:00:00 EST

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., March 3, 2008 -- Williams College has responded to the U.S. Senate Finance Committee with information it asked for on the college's endowment, fees, and financial aid.

The committee requested the information from the 136 colleges and universities in the country with endowments of $500 million or more. Williams' endowment as of last June 30 was $1.89 billion.

The response from President Morton Owen Schapiro
( http://www.williams.edu/admin/president/letters/080229_SenateFinCom.pdf ) stressed the college's focus on providing "the finest possible liberal arts education that is accessible to students of all economic backgrounds" and pointed out that Williams admits students without regard to their ability to pay and promises all admitted students the financial aid needed for them to attend for four years.

"Recent changes in the college's financial aid have been dramatic," Schapiro reported. "In the past ten years, we have significantly expanded the percentage and the income range of our students on Williams-based aid, and lowered for this group the median net cost (total fee minus grant aid) by 18 percent in nominal terms, which is 37 percent in real, inflation-adjusted terms."

The percentage of students on Williams-based aid has risen to 47 percent overall and to more than 50 percent in the most recent entering class. Meanwhile, the percentage of aided students with the greatest financial need (those who receive grants that cover 75 percent or more of the total fee) has increased five-fold, and the family income at the 95th percentile of the aided group has risen to $178,600.

The committee asked for the average price paid by all students. After reporting that over the past ten years, this is virtually unchanged in real terms -- up one half of one percent, Schapiro added that a fuller description of recent pricing at Williams would be as follows:

The college's total fee represents roughly half of our annual operating spending per student, so even total-fee payers receive in subsidy an amount equal to what they pay. In addition, the total fee is paid by families in roughly the top 5 percent of U.S. incomes. Families from the remaining roughly 95 percent, who generally qualify for Williams-based aid, have over the last ten years seen a reduction in their median net price of 37 percent in real terms. This will go down further now that we've eliminated loans, and further still with any additional changes in our financial aid policies.

Williams announced last fall that beginning in the coming academic year it would eliminate all loans from students' aid packages and replace them with larger grants. It is studying the possibility of further expansions of aid.

"The high-quality, highly subsidized, and widely accessible education that Williams offers depends, in increasing part, on spending from endowment," Schapiro said, pointing out that over the past decade the college has spent each year an average of six percent from its endowment.

"We take seriously our role as stewards of the funds given to us," Schapiro concluded. "We devote considerable administrative, faculty, and trustee effort to making these complicated financial decisions in ways that support our mission and that honor the enormous trust invested in us by those who provide those funds."

END

February 27, 2008: Composer Kechley Snags Two Music Awards

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 09:00:00 EST

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., Feb. 27, 2008 -- David S. Kechley, professor of music at Williams College, has won an ASCAPlus Award from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), in addition to an Aaron Copland Award composer residency from Copland House.

ASCAP, an alliance of U.S. composers, songwriters, lyricists, and music publishers, offers the ASCAPlus Awards to established writers whose main activity is outside of broadcast media. ASCAPlus judges consider "the unique prestige value" of each applicant's catalog of original compositions, and pay special attention to recent performances. Kechley won his award in the 2007-08 Concert Music Division.

Kechley was also one of eight composers nationwide to receive the coveted Aaron Copland Award composer residency in 2007. Copland House is a creative center based in the prairie-style house where Aaron Copland lived from 1960 to 1990. Set on three rustic acres in New York's Hudson Valley, the house has been preserved as a historic site and as an inspiration for today's musicians. In August, Kechley will spend a month living and working at Copland House, all-expenses-paid.

At Williams since 1986, Kechley has taught courses in music theory, advanced composition, and orchestration, and is currently department chair.

His 78 major compositions have been performed nearly 1,200 times around the world, by the Boston Pops, Cleveland Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, U.S. Military Academy Band, and the Kronos Quartet, among many others.

Kechley's work has been featured at national and international music conferences, including the American Society of University Composers and the Music Educators National Conference. He has received two grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, a Guggenheim Fellowship, numerous ASCAP awards, and commission grants from the Barlow Foundation, New England Orchestra Consortium, and the American Composers Forum.

Kechley's new piece, "Colliding Objects: Interactions for Piano and Percussion," was performed for the first time in New England by the Williams Chamber Players on Feb. 15, after it was previewed on the Bargemusic series in Brooklyn last fall.

Another Kechley piece, "Wakeful Visions/Moonless Dreams: A Symphony in Four Movements," will premiere on Friday, Feb. 29, at 8 p.m. in Chapin Hall on the Williams campus. It will be performed by the Berkshire Symphony and conducted by Ronald Feldman.

Kechley received his B.A. and M.M. from the University of Washington and his doctorate in composition jointly from the Cleveland Institute of Music and Case Western Reserve University.

END

Founded in 1793, Williams College is the second oldest institution of higher learning in Massachusetts. The college's 2,000 students are taught by a faculty noted for the quality of their teaching and research, and the achievement of academic goals includes active participation of students with faculty in their research. Students' educational experience is enriched by the residential campus environment in Williamstown, Mass., which provides a host of opportunities for interaction with one another and with faculty beyond the classroom. Admission decisions are made regardless of a student's financial ability, and the college provides grants and other assistance to meet the demonstrated needs of all who are admitted.
To visit the college on the Internet:www.williams.edu

News: Alison Hansen-Decelles

February 19, 2008: Planetarium Announces Spring Programming

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 09:00:00 EST

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., Feb. 19, 2008 -- Williams College astronomy students will host free shows on Friday nights this spring to introduce the public to the wonders of the universe at the Milham Planetarium, located inside the Old Hopkins Observatory on the Williams campus. The shows are scheduled for Friday evenings at 7:30 p.m.: February 22, 29, March 7, 14, April 4, 11, 18, 25, and May 2, 9.

Audiences will be treated to shows from the high-precision Zeiss Skymaster ZKP3/B opto-mechanical planetarium projector. The Zeiss Skymaster is capable of demonstrating phenomena including: retrograde motions of the planets, phases of the moon, the varying temperatures/colors of stars, locations of neighboring galaxies, the mythological figures and zodiacal signs ascribed to constellations, the Southern Hemisphere's sky, comets, artificial satellites, and much more.

The show will also include the new 14-minute video "Colors and Motions of the Sun," made last summer by Williams students.

Astronomy students Anna Tsykalova '08, Will Jacobson '08, Marcus Freeman '10, and Charles Cao '09 will host the spring '08 shows.

Time permitting, attendees will also explore our Milky Way Galaxy via the Ansible MicroDome digital planetarium. The Ansible is based upon flight-simulator technology and can be used to fly (virtually) from planet Earth to anywhere within 1000 light years, in addition to many other features. This versatile digital planetarium complements the high-resolution capabilities of the Zeiss projector.

Professor Jay M. Pasachoff, director of the observatory at Williams, wrote the script for the video, which was made by students in the college's summer technology program. Jamie Sweeney '08 was the lead computer student; Allegra Hyde '10 and Peter Schmidt '08 also participated. Astronomy students filmed or recorded for the movie include Will Jacobson '08, Anne Jaskot '08, and Amy Steele '08, from Williams College, and Keck Northeast Astronomy Consortium summer fellow Evan Tingle '08 (from Wesleyan).

The Hopkins Observatory, built in 1836-38 by the first professor of astronomy at Williams College, Albert Hopkins, is the oldest extant observatory in the United States. Shows will last about 50 minutes.

For reservations (recommended), contact Barbara Swanson at (413) 597-2188. Others will be admitted as space permits. Large groups should call for special appointments.

The Hopkins Observatory is on a small hill on the north side of Main Street east of Spring Street in Williamstown and just east of Lawrence Hall Drive. The planetarium shares parking with the Williams College Museum of Art.

A campus map showing the Hopkins Observatory's location can be found on the web at www.williams.edu/home/campusmap/ or at 829 Main Street, Williamstown, MA in http://maps.google.com

***
For building locations on the Williams campus, please consult the map outside the driveway entrance to the Security Office located in Hopkins Hall on Main Street (Rte. 2), next to the Thompson Memorial Chapel, or call the Office of Public Affairs (413) 597-4277. The map can also be found on the web at www.williams.edu/home/campusmap/

END

February 12, 2008: Williams Announces 12 Promoted to Associate Professor with Tenure

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 09:00:00 EST

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., Feb. 12, 2008 -- Williams College has announced the promotion to associate professor and the award of tenure effective July 1, 2008 to 12 assistant professors. They are: Dieter Bingemann, chemistry; Cecilia Chang, Asian Studies; C. Ondine Chavoya, art and Latina/o Studies; Theo Davis, English; Jennifer French, Romance languages; Stephen Freund, computer science; Manuel Morales, biology; Noah Sandstrom, psychology; Lucie Schmidt, economics; Stefanie Solum, art; Heather Stoll, geosciences; and Janneke van de Stadt, German and Russian.

Bingemann teaches courses in introductory chemistry, thermodynamics, quantum chemistry and molecular spectroscopy, and environmental science. His research interests include investigating the slow, heterogeneous dynamics of glasses, which include materials such as plastics or even sugar coating on cornflakes. His research has been funded by the ACS Petroleum Research Fund, and his work has been published in the Journal of Chemical Physics, Macromolecules, and Chemical Physical Letters, among others. He received his Ph.D. in 1994 in physical chemistry from Georg-August Universitat in Gottingen. He did his post-doctoral work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Bingemann was co-coordinator in 2004 and 2007 of Science for Kids, a Winter Study program at the college in which Williams undergraduates design hands-on science workshops for elementary school students in the local community.

Chang teaches beginning through advanced Chinese language. Her research interests focus on second language acquisition. In particular, she has worked on foreign language pedagogy, curriculum design and evaluation, and multi-media learning programs. As a 2005-06 Oakley Fellow, Chang examined the relationship between the metacognitive awareness of non-native readers of Chinese and their reading comprehension, as well as the development of such awareness across different language proficiency levels. Chang has taught at Princeton University and the University of Michigan and was lead instructor at Middlebury and Princeton's Chinese summer schools. She also holds teacher training workshops at Middlebury in recent years. Her articles on reading comprehension and diversity in advanced-level Chinese courses have appeared in a number of academic journals and she is the author of a computer workbook for intermediate Chinese. Chang earned her B.A. at Fu-Jen University in Taiwan in 1981, her M.A. in applied linguistics at UCLA in 1987, and her Ed.D. at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 2005. She has been teaching at Williams since 1989.

Chavoya teaches in the art history department and Latina/o Studies program. His areas of expertise include Chicana/o art and media, Latino/a visual culture, and avant-garde art practices in North America after 1960. His research focuses on the interactions between art, social space, and the urban environment; the ways artists have perceived, interpreted, represented, and intervened in the urban landscape; and the relationships between racial formation and racial signification. His work has been supported by grants and fellowships from the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum Research Center, American Council of Learned Societies, and Smithsonian Institution, among others. He has curated exhibits at the Williams College Museum of Art and collaborated on the MASS MoCA exhibition and catalogue "The Interventionists." His published work includes a number of anthologized essays and articles in CR: The New Centennial Review, Wide Angle, Performance Research, and Afterimage. His essay on video artist Michel Auder has circulated widely through various reprints including a French translation. He received his B.A. from the University of California at Santa Cruz in 1992 and his Ph.D. in visual and cultural studies from the University of Rochester in 2002.

Davis teaches courses on 19th century American literature and contemporary literary theory. In her book, "Formalism, Experience and the Making of American Literature in the Nineteenth Century" (Cambridge University Press, 2007) Davis argues that Emerson, Hawthorne, and Stowe sought to create an art of abstract experience, and she also examines the role of form in literary studies today. Her next book is an inquiry into the concept of ornament in aesthetics and American literature. She received her B.A. from Brown University in 1994 and her Ph.D. in English and American literature from John Hopkins University in 2002.

French teaches in the departments of Romance Languages and Comparative Literature. Her courses range from elementary Spanish to contemporary fiction, with a focus on culture and politics in 19th and 20th century Latin America. Her research focuses on literary responses to war and colonialism in Latin America. Her recent book, "Nature, Neo-Colonialism, and the Spanish American Regional Writers," re-examines Spanish American fiction from the early twentieth century in the light of the region's economic relationship with Great Britain, emphasizing the writers' concern for social and environmental justice. Her current research, supported by an Oakley fellowship in 2005-06, examines the Paraguayan War of 1864-70 in the literature and cultural discourse of the four countries involved. Her articles and reviews have appeared in numerous publications, including Latin American Literary Review, Conradiana, and Gastronomica. She received her B.A. from the College of William and Mary in 1995 and her Ph.D. in comparative literature from Rutgers University in 2001.

Freund, in the computer science department, teaches courses on program languages and compilers, as well as introductory computer science and advanced programming. His research interests include design and implementation of programming languages and virtual machines, program analysis, and programming environments. Recently, he has focused his attention on techniques for automatically identifying bugs in software. In 2007, he was awarded a five-year, $400,000 CAREER grant from the National Science Foundation for his work on "Hybrid Atomicity Checking." This project builds on research previously conducted by Freund and his collaborators under a joint NSF/NASA program. Freund has published articles in journals including ACM Transactions on Programming Languages and Systems and IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, and he has presented his work at numerous academic workshops and conferences. Before coming to Williams, Freund worked at the Compaq Systems Research Center on programmer productivity tools. He received his B.S. in 1995, M.S. in 1998, and Ph.D. in computer science in 2000 from Stanford University.

Morales teaches courses in conservation biology, ecology, environmental sciences, and an introductory course in The Organism. He has also taught in the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Summer Program for High School Students at Williams. His research focuses on the population and community dynamics of mutualism and looks at a variety of natural systems but especially ant-based mutualisms. He has received numerous research grants, including a National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship, an NSF Research Opportunity Award in 2001 for his project, "Interaction of Top-Down and Bottom-Up Processes in an Ant-Plant Mutualism," and most recently funding from the New York State Biodiversity Research Institute. Morales's publications include articles in Ecology, Oecologia, and Ecological Entomology, among others. He graduated from Kenyon College in 1994 and received his Ph.D. in ecology from the University of Connecticut in 1999.

Sandstrom's courses include Experimentation and Statistics, Neuroscience, and Hormones and Behavior. His research focuses on understanding how hormones modulate learning and memory and, in particular, the ways that estrogens alter the neural and behavioral consequences of ischemic brain injury. He has received grant support from the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health including a $213,000 grant in 2005 for a project titled "Estrogen and Cognition following Ischemia." Sandstrom and his undergraduate students have published over a dozen articles in scientific journals including Hormones and Behavior, Behavioral Neuroscience, and Brain Research. He received his B.A. from Knox College in 1994 and his Ph.D. in experimental psychology from Duke University in 1999. Locally, he is involved in Neuroscience Outreach at the Williamstown Elementary and Pine Cobble Schools.

Schmidt teaches courses on microeconomics, gender and economics, public finance, and population economics. She also helped to create the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Winter Study course, which is part of a community outreach program at the college. It trains students to assist local residents with their taxes. Schmidt's fields of expertise include economics of the family, government transfer programs and the well-being of low income families, and the economics of gender. In Spring 2006 she received a grant of more than $150,000 from the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development for her work on infertility insurance. Schmidt's work has been published in the Journal of Health Economics, the Journal of Human Resources, the Journal of Public Economics, and Fertility and Sterility. She graduated from Smith College in 1992 and received her Ph.D. in economics from the University of Michigan in 2003.

An expert on the Italian Renaissance, Solum teaches courses focused on Florence, Rome, and Venice, along with specialized courses on the myth of Michelangelo and Renaissance domestic visual culture. She also teaches in the Women's and Gender Studies Program. Her forthcoming book and article appearing in the Art Bulletin provide new evidence for and analysis of the role of women in the creation of Renaissance visual culture. Among other awards and grants, the American Council of Learned Societies awarded her one of its prestigious fellowships for a year of research and writing in 2004-2005. Solum has been invited to present guest lectures on feminist scholarship in art history and Michelangelo, among other topics. She received her B.A. from the University of Wisconsin in 1991, and her doctorate in the History of Art from the University of California, Berkeley in 2001.

Stoll teaches courses on environmental science, climate change, environmental geology, and the carbon cycle. Her research focuses on the history of oceans and climate and their complex interactions as archived in the sediment record. She has worked on the geochemistry of ancient volcanic rocks and other projects to better understand the Earth's continuing evolution. In 2007, she was named the European Geoscience Union Outstanding Young Scientist for her work focusing on historical patterns of climatic and oceanographic changes. She is the author of numerous articles in peer reviewed scientific journals including Geochemistry, Geophysics, and Geosystems. In addition to teaching at Williams, she has lectured at the University of Chicago, Brown University, and Amherst College. Stoll earned her B.A. from Williams in 1994 and her Ph.D. in geology and geophysics from Princeton University in 1998. She was a National Science Foundation/NATO postdoctoral fellow at the University of Oviedo in Spain.

Janneke van de Stadt teaches Russian language and literature as well as courses in the comparative literature department, including The World of Isaac Babel, Images of Childhood in Russian Literature, and Reading and Writing the Body. She is interested in Russian-Jewish literature, the confluence of musical and literary narratives, and body theory. In her research, she has focused on Isaac Babel, a Russian Jew who rose to fame as a Soviet journalist, playwright, and short story writer. Her most recent project is titled "Fellow Traveler: Isaac Babel and the Writer's Path." She is the editor of the English translation of "The Inferno" by Luz Arce, a Chilean political activist and author. She was a fellow at the Oakley Center in 2005. Van de Stadt received her B.A. from Amherst College in 1988 and her Ph.D. in Slavic Languages from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2000.

END

Founded in 1793, Williams College is the second oldest institution of higher learning in Massachusetts. The college's 2,000 students are taught by a faculty noted for the quality of their teaching and research, and the achievement of academic goals includes active participation of students with faculty in their research. Students' educational experience is enriched by the residential campus environment in Williamstown, Mass., which provides a host of opportunities for interaction with one another and with faculty beyond the classroom. Admission decisions are made regardless of a student's financial ability, and the college provides grants and other assistance to meet the demonstrated needs of all who are admitted.
To visit the college on the Internet:www.williams.edu

News: Megan Brankley

February 8, 2008: Tolkien Scholars Hammond and Scull Win 2007 Mythopoeic Award

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 09:00:00 EST

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., Feb. 8, 2008 -- Wayne G. Hammond, assistant librarian in the Chapin Library, Williams College, and his wife, Christina Scull, have been awarded the 2007 Mythopoeic Scholarship Award in Inklings Studies, for their two-volume book "The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide."

Published in 2006 by HarperCollins, London, and the Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, the Companion and Guide provides a detailed chronology of Tolkien's life and works, together with an encyclopedic guide to his prose and poems, to persons and places he knew, to ideas and inspirations, and to his interests and attitudes toward contemporary issues.

The Mythopoeic Scholarship Award in Inklings Studies is given annually by the Mythopoeic Society to a book on J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, or Charles Williams (members of an informal group called "the Inklings"), which makes a significant contribution to scholarship.

This is the fifth such award won by Wayne Hammond, beginning with his "J.R.R. Tolkien: A Descriptive Bibliography" (1993). Three previous awards were shared with Christina Scull, for their "J.R.R. Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator" (1995), their edition of "Tolkien's Roverandom" (1998), and "The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion" (2005).

Hammond and Scull have also edited the fiftieth anniversary editions of Tolkien's "Farmer Giles of Ham" (1999) and "The Lord of the Rings" (2004), and supplied expanded indexes to a selection of Tolkien's letters (2000) and "The Lord of the Rings" (2005). In 2005, they co-edited and contributed to The Lord of the Rings, 1954-2004: Scholarship in Honor of Richard E. Blackwelder for Marquette University Press.

Hammond earned his B.A. from Baldwin-Wallace College, Berea, Ohio, and his M.A. in library science from the University of Michigan. He has been a librarian in Williams' distinguished Chapin Library of rare books since 1976. He has also published the standard bibliography of Arthur Ransome, and is the author of numerous essays on literature and art.

Christina Scull received her B.A. from Birkbeck College, the University of London, and was the librarian of Sir John Soane's Museum, London, from 1971 to 1995. In addition to her work on Tolkien, she is an authority on the architect Sir John Soane and his collection of paintings by William Hogarth.

END

Founded in 1793, Williams College is the second oldest institution of higher learning in Massachusetts. The college's 2,000 students are taught by a faculty noted for the quality of their teaching and research, and the achievement of academic goals includes active participation of students with faculty in their research. Students' educational experience is enriched by the residential campus environment in Williamstown, Mass., which provides a host of opportunities for interaction with one another and with faculty beyond the classroom. Admission decisions are made regardless of a student's financial ability, and the college provides grants and other assistance to meet the demonstrated needs of all who are admitted.
To visit the college on the Internet:www.williams.edu

February 4, 2008: From Da Vinci to Iraq to Metaphor: Annual Williams Faculty Public Lectures

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 09:00:00 EST

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., Feb. 4, 2008 -- Six Williams College faculty member's research will be showcased in the annual Public Lecture Series beginning Thursday, Feb. 7. Satyan Devadoss, associate professor of mathematics leads off the series with a lecture titled "Reclaiming Da Vinci: Art, Visualization, Mathematics.

The lectures continue with a different faculty member each Thursday through March 13. Each of the lectures are scheduled for 4 p.m. in the Wege Auditorium in the Science Quad on the Williams campus. The public is cordially invited to attend and the lectures are free.

February 7
"Reclaiming Da Vinci: Art, Visualization, Mathematics"
Satyan Devadoss, Associate Professor of Mathematics

February 14
"What is Iraq? Defining the Iraqi Nation, 1921-2008"
Magnus Bernhardsson, Associate Professor of History

February 21
"Financial Crises: A Hardy Perennial"
Gerard Caprio, Professor of Economics

February 28
"Modeling the Mind: What Clues Can be Gleaned from Amnesia"
Safa Zaki, Associate Professor of Psychology

March 6
"When Art Needs Room to Breathe: The Marriage of Art and Urban Green Space on
Seattle's Waterfront"
Lisa Corrin, Director, WCMA

March 13
"Materializing Metaphor: Bodies, Buildings, and Ephesians 2:11-22 in Medieval Art"
Peter Low, Associate Professor of Art

***

For building locations on the Williams campus, please consult the map outside the driveway
entrance to the Security Office located in Hopkins Hall on Main Street (Rte. 2), next to the
Thompson Memorial Chapel, or call the Office of Public Affairs (413) 597-4277. The map can
also be found on the web at www.williams.edu/home/campusmap/

END

January 16, 2008: Williams College's '62 Center for Theatre and Dance Wins Architectural Kudos

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 09:00:00 EST

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., Jan. 16, 2008 -- The national American Institute of Architects (AIA) announced on January 4 that the Williams College '62 Center for Theatre and Dance and its architects, William Rawn Associates, Architect, Inc. of Boston have won a National AIA 2008 Honor Award for Interior Architecture.

Ten projects around the country have been so honored in this category this year. The award will be given to Williams College and the architects at the AIA Convention in May.

"We were fortunate to have an architect as talented as Bill Rawn to express so functionally and so beautifully the vision for this project set by the college and by lead donor Herbert Allen," said Morton Owen Schapiro, president of Williams College. "This award is further indication that the '62 Center for Theatre and Dance will benefit students, faculty, staff, alumni, and local residents for generations to come."

The award focused on the building's four major performance venues together with the lobbies and the interior public passageways that connect the entire building. The awards jury commented: "From the lightness of the dance studio with its soaring views to the machine-like flexibility of the black box theater, each space is functionally and aesthetically suited for its use."

This represents the fifth and most prestigious AIA award that the '62 Center has received since its opening. Other AIA awards include the 2006 Honor Award of the New England AIA and three separate Awards from the Boston Society of Architects (covering the state of Massachusetts) for General Design, for Interiors, and for Educational Facilities.

The '62 Center was also selected as one of two buildings nominated to represent the United States at the 2007 Prague Quadrennial for Theater Design (the other being Frank Gehry's Center at Bard College).

This is the ninth national AIA Honor Award that William Rawn Associates, Architects has received since 1994.

"We are deeply indebted to everyone at Williams College for this award," said William Rawn. "For us, it is a very satisfying affirmation of President Schapiro's commitment to the project and the support of the Trustees and the Theatre and Dance faculty for the building design."

END

Founded in 1793, Williams College is the second oldest institution of higher learning in Massachusetts. The college's 2,000 students are taught by a faculty noted for the quality of their teaching and research, and the achievement of academic goals includes active participation of students with faculty in their research. Students' educational experience is enriched by the residential campus environment in Williamstown, Mass., which provides a host of opportunities for interaction with one another and with faculty beyond the classroom. Admission decisions are made regardless of a student's financial ability, and the college provides grants and other assistance to meet the demonstrated needs of all who are admitted.
To visit the college on the Internet:www.williams.edu

cranson@rawnarch.com

January 16, 2008: 2007 Year in Review: 10 Faculty Promoted to Full Professorships

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 09:00:00 EST

This is a corrected press release.

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., Jan.16, 2008 - In 2007, ten Williams College faculty were promoted to the rank of full professor. They are Sarah R. Bolton, physics; Denise K. Buell, religion; Susan R. Loepp, mathematics; Karen R. Merrill, history; James L. Nolan, Jr., sociology; Amy D. Podmore, art; Cheryl Shanks, political science; W. Anthony Sheppard, music; Steven J. Swoap, biology; and Carmen T. Whalen, history.

Sarah R. Bolton

Bolton's research is focused on studies that will allow new insight into the dynamics governing ultrafast laser systems. Her research has been published in a number of peer-reviewed journals, including Physical Reviews, Journal of the Optical Society of America, and the American Journal of Physics. Bolton teaches across the full spectrum of the physics curriculum, and has developed new courses in the Physics of Sound and Light and Materials Science. Her work has been funded by Research Corporation and the National Science Foundation, most recently research on "Dimensionality Dependence of Semiconductor Ultra-fast Optical Response." She received her B.S. from Brown University and her Ph.D. in physics from the University of California at Berkeley in 1995.

Denise K. Buell

Buell's research interests include early Christian history, feminist Biblical interpretation, religion and cultures of the Roman Imperial Period, and ethnicity and critical race theory. She is the author of "Making Christians: Clement of Alexandria and the Rhetoric of Legitimacy" (1999) and "Why This New Race: Ethnic Reasoning in Early Christianity" (2005), which Karen King of the Harvard Divinity School called "a stunning contribution to the history of Christianity." Her articles have been published in the Harvard Theological Review, Journal of Early Christian Studies, and the Journal of Biblical Literature. She teaches Reading Jesus and The Development of Christianity, among other courses. Buell earned her B.A. at Princeton University in 1987, her M.Div. at the Harvard Divinity School in 1990, and her Ph.D. in religion at Harvard University in 1995.

Susan R. Loepp

Loepp's research focuses on commutative algebra. Her work has been published in the Journal of Pure and Applied Algebra and the Journal of Algebra, among other academic journals. In June 2000, she and physics professor Bill Wootters received a grant from the National Science Foundation to develop a course called Protecting Information: Application of Abstract Algebra and Quantum Physics. They are the authors of the 2006 textbook, "Protecting Information: From Classical Error Correction to Quantum Cryptography." At Williams, she has taught Multivariable Calculus, Abstract Algebra, and Algebraic Error - Correcting Codes. Loepp received her B.A. and B.S. from Bethel College in 1989 and her Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Texas at Austin in 1994.

Karen R. Merrill

Merrill's research focuses on 20th century American politics and political economy, the American West, and environmental history. She is the author of "Public Lands and Political Meaning: Ranchers, the Government, and the Property Between Them," and "The Oil Crisis." She also is the editor of "The Modern Worlds of Business and Industry: Cultures, Technology, Labor." Her work has appeared in the Journal of Urban History, and the Western Historical Quarterly. She has taught Westward Expansion in American History, United States from Appomattox to AOL, 1865-Present, and the History of Oil, among other courses. She received her B.A. from Oberlin College in 1986, her M.A. from the University of Denver in 1988, and her Ph.D. in history from the University of Michigan in 1994. She is presently dean of the college.

James L. Nolan, Jr.

Nolan's major interests are in comparative law, culture, technology and social change, and law and society. He is the author of "Reinventing Justice: The American Drug Court Movement" and "The Therapeutic State: Justifying Government at Century's End." He is also editor of "Drug Courts: In Theory and in Practice" and "The American Culture Wars: Current Contests and Future Prospects." His forthcoming book, "Legal Accents, Legal Borrowing: The International Problem-Solving Court Movement," is a comparative analysis of the emergence of problem-solving courts in England, Ireland, Scotland, Australia, Canada, and the United States. His work has been published in the Sociological Forum, Society, The Sociological Quarterly, and the American Criminal Law Review. Nolan has received funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Fulbright Program. From 2004 to 2006, he was the Director of the Williams-Exeter Programme at Oxford University and a Visiting Fellow at the Centre for Criminology at Oxford University. He has taught Introduction to Sociology, Law and Modern Society, Ways of Knowing, and Technology and Modern Society, among other courses. He earned his B.A. from the University of California at Davis in 1984 and his Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Virginia in 1995.

Amy D. Podmore

A member of the studio art department, Podmore's work has been exhibited at The Rose Art Museum, The DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park, Sculpture by the Sea- in Sydney, Australia, The Massachusetts College of Art, The Carrie Haddad Gallery, Hudson, N.Y., The Institute for Contemporary Art, Portland, Maine, ArtSpace in New Haven, Conn., The Allston Skirt Gallery in Boston, Mass. and at the Williams College Museum of Art. At Williams, she teaches sculpture and drawing classes. Of her teaching, she has said, "As an artist teaching art, I encourage students to critically question their choices, to welcome and trust their intuition, and to take risks." She received her B.A. from the State University College of New York at Buffalo in 1981 and her M.F.A. from the University of California, Davis in 1987 and attended Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in 1986.

Cheryl Shanks

Shanks's research focuses on fluidity in population and territory, the two central components of sovereignty. She is the author of "Immigration and the Politics of American Sovereignty, 1890-1990," as well as articles on the politics of international tourism, anti-immigration movements, and international organizations. Shanks teaches International Law; Genocide, Exile and Famine; and Ethics and Interests in International Politics. She received her B.A. from the University of California at Santa Cruz in 1983 and her Ph.D. from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor in 1994.

W. Anthony Sheppard

Sheppard's forthcoming book, "Extreme Exoticism: Japan in the American Musical Imagination," will look at musical encounters between Japan and the United States in the last 150 years in order to study how culture is shaped by music. He is also the author of "Revealing Masks: Exotic Influences and Ritualized Performance in Modernist Music Theater" (2001). His work has appeared in the Cambridge Opera Journal, Journal of the American Musicological Society, Musical Quarterly, ECHO, and will appear in the Cambridge History of World Music. At Williams, he has recently taught Musics of the Twentieth Century, Music in Modernism, and American Pop Orientalism. He earned his B.A. from Amherst College in 1991 and his Ph.D. in music from Princeton University in 1996.

Steven J. Swoap

Swoap's research concerns the underlying mechanisms for cardiovascular adaptations in response to changes in ambient temperature and food availability. His work has appeared in the Journal of Experimental Biology, Neuroendocrinology, and the American Journal of Physiology, among many others. His research has been supported by grants from the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, American College of Sports Medicine, and American Physiological Society. He received the Arthur C. Guyton Award for Excellence in Integrative Physiology from the American Physiological Society. He teaches Physiology and Molecular Physiology. He earned his B.A. from Trinity University in 1990 and his Ph.D. in physiology and biophysics from the University of California in 1994. He did his postdoctoral work at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.

Carmen T. Whalen

Whalen's research focuses on United States history, 1945 to the present; Latina/o Studies; and Labor, Migration and Women's History. She is the author of "The Puerto Rican Diaspora: Historical Perspectives" and "From Puerto Rico to Philadelphia: Puerto Rican Workers and Postwar Economics." Her work also has appeared in the books "A Nation of Peoples: A Sourcebook on America's Multicultural Heritage" and "The Collaborative City: Opportunities and Challenges for Blacks and Latinos in U.S. Cities." She teaches Latinas in the Global Economy, Community Building and Social Movements in Latina/o History, and Comparative Latina/o Migrations. She received her B.A. from Hampshire College in 1985 and her Ph.D. in history from Rutgers University in 1994.

END

Founded in 1793, Williams College is the second oldest institution of higher learning in Massachusetts. The college's 2,000 students are taught by a faculty noted for the quality of their teaching and research, and the achievement of academic goals includes active participation of students with faculty in their research. Students' educational experience is enriched by the residential campus environment in Williamstown, Mass., which provides a host of opportunities for interaction with one another and with faculty beyond the classroom. Admission decisions are made regardless of a student's financial ability, and the college provides grants and other assistance to meet the demonstrated needs of all who are admitted. To visit the college on the Internet: www.williams.edu

January 10, 2008: Fieldwork Makes the Big Apple a Special Place for Williams Undergraduates

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 09:00:00 EST

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., Jan. 10, 2008 -- Imagine Williams College in the Berkshires. Take away the cows. Swap Spring Street for Madison Avenue, the Purple Bubble for skyscrapers, and traditional coursework for experiential learning.

That's Williams in New York, the study-away program that brings eight Williams students to the Big Apple each semester. The program is about opening doors to institutions, field research, and social realities students might never experience otherwise. It's about breaking down the barrier between college and the "real world."

An important and unique part of the Williams in New York (WNY) experience is the fieldwork. Students choose placement from an impressive array of fieldwork opportunities, from Bellevue Hospital to the Manhattan District Attorneys' Office (DANY) to the Museum of Modern Art, where they spend 15 hours a week supervised by their mentors. These placements are not internships: the placement and direction is so that students will be immersed in the mindsets, politics, ethical dilemmas, and ethos of the workplace much as a researcher would collect sociological or anthropological data in the field.

And they witness all sorts of things. Ben Sykes '08, who was placed at DANY last fall, can't talk about his most memorable experience. It happened behind closed doors. "Suffice it to say, the opportunity to sit in on these confidential matters was unique," he said.

Emily Fowler-Cornfeld '09, placed at NBC Sports this fall, got to shadow the people who produce the Football Night in America broadcast. "I have also seen the process of creating highlight packages, logging the previous games of the day, searching for music clips for the studio broadcast, and prepping the talent for the show," she said.

Other students in the WNY program have interviewed confessed murderers, gone behind the scenes of the Broadway hit "Jersey Boys," and met with an alumna who works for the luxury handbag retailer Coach.

But while WNY is partly about collecting experiences, the focus is on assimilating them. Students are required to reflect on their fieldwork, to probe the cultural realities they've witnessed. Every other week they write essays on their observations and present them in Williams-style tutorials, which are intimate, in-depth classes with two students and a professor.

At DANY, Sykes said, he encountered the alien social reality of criminals, and he saw the speed, the excitement, and, yes, the mundane paperwork of the legal profession. He was "amazed by how young many of the lawyers trying important cases are and surprised by the snap decisions they had to make when arraigning defendants.

At NBC, Fowler-Cornfeld said she appreciated the opportunities opened to her. "I have grown as a student and as a person," she said, and "will be able to apply what I have learned during the semester to my life and career after college."

The fieldwork tutorial counts as one course. The other three courses vary from semester to semester -- though the program thus far has tended to focus on the humanities, law, media, and advocacy in the fall and the arts in the spring.

Students in the program live at the Williams Club, a multi-purpose gathering spot for alumni in midtown Manhattan. There, they stay in single rooms with private baths and wireless Internet, and they join visiting alumni for meals in the club's dining room and grill.

WNY, which piloted in fall 2005, was the brainchild of Robert Jackall, the Willmott Family Third Century Professor of Sociology and Public Affairs. An inveterate fieldworker, Jackall has immersed himself in the social worlds of police, criminals, attorneys, corporate managers, and public relations representatives, among others. "I've been doing fieldwork all my professional life," he said, "and I know how transforming it is."

Jackall was responsible for working out the fieldwork placements, many of them with Williams alumni, and for developing the core curriculum. He has directed WNY in the fall semesters, leading the fieldwork tutorials and bringing in professionals from disparate worlds to speak to students.

E.J. Johnson, Amos Lawrence Professor of Art, will direct the program this spring as he did last year. A specialist in European and American architecture, one of his Williams courses, Portraits of Cities, features a section on New York and he has focused on art in the city during his directorship.

"The thrill for me as a teacher last year," said Johnson, "was watching the students grow intellectually as they learned to ask more and more probing questions about the institutions in which they were placed. I was present at the blossoming of eight minds."

In the 2008-09 academic year, Liza Johnson, associate professor of art, will become director. She is a writer and filmmaker whose videos have screened in international festivals and fine arts venues.

For more information about WNY go to http://www.williams.edu/go/newyork/index.php.

END

Founded in 1793, Williams College is the second oldest institution of higher learning in Massachusetts. The college's 2,000 students are taught by a faculty noted for the quality of their teaching and research, and the achievement of academic goals includes active participation of students with faculty in their research. Students' educational experience is enriched by the residential campus environment in Williamstown, Mass., which provides a host of opportunities for interaction with one another and with faculty beyond the classroom. Admission decisions are made regardless of a student's financial ability, and the college provides grants and other assistance to meet the demonstrated needs of all who are admitted.
To visit the college on the Internet:www.williams.edu

News: Alison Hansen-Decelles

January 9, 2008: The Story Prize Announces its Finalists

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 09:00:00 EST

FOR RELEASE: JANUARY 9, 2008
Larry Dark, Director
201/725-1181
973/746-7597 (fax)
ldark@thestoryprize.org
www.thestoryprize.org

THE STORY PRIZE ANNOUNCES ITS FINALISTS:
The short story book award features an international lineup, with one American, one Canadian, and one British finalist

Now in its fourth year, The Story Prize, a prestigious annual award for books of short fiction, is pleased to honor three outstanding short story collections chosen from an exceptional group published in 2007. The winner will be announced at an event the evening of February 27 at The New School in New York City. The three finalists are: Sunstroke and Other Stories by Tessa Hadley, Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures by Vincent Lam, and Like You'd Understand, Anyway by Jim Shepard.

The youngest of the bunch, Lam, has already won a major book award, Canada's Giller Prize, and his collection was the first title published by film producer Harvey Weisntein's Weinstein Books. Shepard, a writer widely admired by other writers, is having a breakthrough year -- his book was also a finalist for the National Book Award in November. And Hadley's collection has been universally praised on both sides of the Atlantic.

The finalists for The Story Prize are:

Sunstroke and Other Stories by Tessa Hadley (Picador) -- These ten nuanced stories examine the emotional lives of middle class men and women and, in the process, evoke feelings such as longing, loneliness, lust, nostalgia, and regret. They are set in contemporary Britain, from the 1970s to the present, with characters ranging in age from teens to middle age. The stories are honest, insightful, surprising, painstakingly observed, and superbly crafted.

Tessa Hadley teaches literature and creative writing at Bath Spa University, in Bath, England. She is the author of three novels: The Master Bedroom, Everything Will Be All Right, and Accidents in the Home, which was in the running for the Guardian First Book Award. Her stories have appeared in The New Yorker, Granta, The Guardian, and The Daily Mail. She lives in Cardiff, Wales.

Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures by Vincent Lam (Weinstein Books) -- The protagonists of these twelve connected stories are four young doctors based in Toronto. The story traces their development from medical school candidates to students, interns, and established physicians. Along the way, romantic entanglements, the pressures of the profession, moral dilemmas, and threats to their own health test them, as the Toronto hospital where the doctors work becomes the center of a dangerous epidemic. These compelling stories show a side of doctors and medicine that patients rarely see.

Vincent Lam was born in London, Ontario, and studied medicine in Toronto, where he is now an emergency physician. This, his first book, won Canada's 2006 Giller Prize for fiction, making him the youngest writer ever to do so. His work has appeared in the The Globe and Mail, the National Post, and Carve. Lam's family is from the expatriate Chinese community of Vietnam, and his first novel will be a multigenerational saga set in Saigon during the Vietnam War. He lives in Toronto.

Like You'd Understand, Anyway by Jim Shepard (Alfred A. Knopf) -- These eleven stories feature diverse settings that include: the Chernobyl nuclear meltdown and it's aftermath, a Roman outpost in hostile Britannia, a Nazi expedition in Tibet, a Texas hotbed of high school football, a female cosmonaut preparing for a Sputnik launch, and the executioner's scaffold in revolutionary France. Each story is seen through the eyes of a believable and sympathetic protagonist facing compelling dilemmas that are easy to relate to and feel utterly authentic, no matter how exotic the circumstances seem.

Jim Shepard is the author of six novels--including Project X, Nosferatu, Lights Out in the Reptile House, and Kiss of the Wolf--and two previous collections of stories, Love and Hydrogen and Batting Against Castro. His stories have appeared in A Public Space, Granta, Harper's Magazine, McSweeney's, Ploughshares, and Tin House, among other publications. He teaches at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts.

Founder Julie Lindsey and Director Larry Dark selected the three finalists from among 74 books entered by 48 publishers and imprints. The winner of The Story Prize will be determined by three judges:

David Gates, a novelist, short story writer, and senior editor at Newsweek.

Patricia Groh, coordinator of community services at the Skokie (Illinois) Public Library.

Megahn O'Rourke, literary editor of Slate, a poetry editor at The Paris Review, and a poet, reviewer, and essayist.

The Story Prize's annual event will be at the New School's Tishman Auditorium in New York City at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, February 27. The three finalists will read selections from their work, after which Dark will interview each writer on-stage. At the end of the event, the winner will be announced and presented with $20,000 (the largest top prize of any U.S. book award for fiction) and an engraved silver bowl. The two runners-up will each receive $5,000. Past winners of The Story Prize include The Dew Breaker by Edwidge Danticat (Knopf) and The Stories of Mary Gordon by Mary Gordon (Pantheon).

For more on The Story Prize, including a forthcoming list of other noteworthy story collections published in 2007, as well as links to purchase books online, go to www.thestoryprize.org.

Author contacts:

For Tessa Hadley: Lisa Mondello, publicity, Picador.
Lisa.Mondello@picadorusa.com, 646-307-5633.

For Vincent Lam: Camille March, publicity, Weinstein Books. Camille.March@weinsteinco.com, 212-419-0380.

For Jim Shepard: Kathryn Zuckerman, publicity, Alfred A. Knopf. kzuckerman@randomhouse.com, 212-572-2105.

December 21, 2007: Williams College Announces Rise in Early Decision Applications

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 09:00:00 EST

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., December 21, 2007 -- Williams College has announced the acceptance of 223 Early Decision students to the Class of 2012. The expected class size is 538.

Applications for Early Decision rose 13 percent over last year's total, reaching 600 applicants compared to 531 in 2006. Two hundred sixteen students were accepted Early Decision last year for the Class of 2011.

Of the 114 women and the 109 men accepted, 46 are American students of color, 12 are African American, 17 are Asian American, 15 are Latino, and two are Native American. Thirteen international students were accepted.

Seventy-seven students hail from the mid-Atlantic states, 67 from New England, 27 from the west, 13 from the south, 15 from the Midwest, six from the southwest, and 18 from overseas.

The average SAT I critical reading score was 711; the average math score was 706.

Twenty-nine scored a perfect 800 on the SAT I critical reading test. Fourteen scored a perfect 800 on the SAT I math test; 50 scored 800 on the SAT II math 1 test; and 19 scored 800 on the SAT II writing test.

"Both the quantity and the quality of the Early Decision pool was extraordinary this year," said Richard Nesbitt, director of admission. "We are extremely impressed with the promising talents displayed by the newly admitted members of the Class of 2012."

The admission office ascribes the increase in applications to the success the college is seeing in increasing the socio-economic diversity of entering classes. Some measure may also be ascribed to the recent decision to eliminate loans from all financial aid packages and replace them with increased grants.

Students who know Williams is their first choice may choose to apply Early Decision. The popularity of the college is due to a number of factors that include positioning students at the center of their education; a stellar teaching faculty; research opportunities for undergraduates; first-class student housing; a diverse, inclusive, and supportive community; and the opportunity for a rich social life, including the newly completed Paresky Center, the hub of campus life, and the vibrant '62 Center for Theatre and Dance.

Early Decision applications were due November 15 and candidates were notified on December 13. The deadline for regular decision applications is January 1.

END

Founded in 1793, Williams College is the second oldest institution of higher learning in Massachusetts. The college's 2,000 students are taught by a faculty noted for the quality of their teaching and research, and the achievement of academic goals includes active participation of students with faculty in their research. Students' educational experience is enriched by the residential campus environment in Williamstown, Mass., which provides a host of opportunities for interaction with one another and with faculty beyond the classroom. Admission decisions are made regardless of a student's financial ability, and the college provides grants and other assistance to meet the demonstrated needs of all who are admitted. To visit the college on the Internet:www.williams.edu