This event is part of the Latin Heritage Month Celebration, and is sponsored by Vista, alumni relations, WCMA and the Multicultural Center. Salazar was co-founder of Vista at Williams.

Salazar graduated from Williams with a B.A. in political science, and received her master's degree in vocal performance from the Manhattan School of Music. At the Manhattan School of Music, Salazar studied European opera and classical music, but discovered her passion was for the folk and popular music traditions of Latin America.

She returns to Williams to pay tribute to the great Argentinean cantante, Mercedes Sosa, who died on October 4.

Bryant is the visiting lecturer in Africana Studies and music and studio instructor of intermediate and advanced jazz guitar at Williams. He received his M.A. in classical guitar at the Yale School of Music. He has toured as a cultural ambassador for the U.S. Department of State four times and recently performed at the Kennedy Center with the Billy Taylor Trio, as has performed with numerous well known national and international artists.

Kornhauser is a composer, arranger, teacher, and multi-instrumentalist (guitar, bass guitar and cello) in a wide variety of musical environments.

END

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/

To visit the college on the Internet: http://www.williams.edu/ Williams College can also be found on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/williamscollege and Twitter: http://twitter.com/williamscollege

Event: Meira Bernstein

"We have made tremendous strides," says Chris Abayasinghe, assistant director of dining services.

All campus food waste -- 20 tons annually -- is salvaged, then hauled off campus to be used as compost on local farms.

New garbage disposals in two of the four dining halls have reduced water consumption from 1,200 gallons of water per meal to 3 gallons per meal, each. Replacing the dish machine in another dining hall resulted in an annual water savings of 780,000 gallons of water, while reducing energy costs of the water needed to be heated. Replacing all rinse jet sprayers on campus with low distribution spray heads saved two gallons of water every minute -- an accumulated water savings of over one million gallons annually.

At the Paresky Center, the major hub for the college's food preparation, an on-site bakery uses a rotary oven to bake up to 90 two-pound bread loaves at once, significantly reducing energy consumption. Another oven bakes 380 cookies every 10 minutes in a minimal space. On-demand induction stovetops heat up instantly as needed, using minimal energy. Meanwhile, occupancy sensors automatically adjust the heating, cooling, and lighting to the minimum necessary.

Sustainability is addressed in the smallest details, as well -- from napkin dispensers that dispense only a single napkin at a time, to biodegradable soaps that are dispensed in specific amounts to reduce waste. Dining services uses minimal disposables, and those that are used are fully compostable.

In addition, Williams goes through 120 gallons of vegetable oil every week. Rather than discarding it, the college saves it for a local pork farm, Flying Pigs Farm, which converts it to biodiesel fuel. Flying Pigs then uses this biodiesel to deliver its products to restaurants in the New York City area -- in this way, the college helps small farms lessen their own carbon footprint. 

"We're shooting for sustainability from every angle," says Abayasinghe. "This includes purchasing, catering events, the equipment we use, the design of our buildings, how we serve our food, and what we do with the leftovers. Sustainability has become our standard operating procedure."

The results are impressive; when the college decided to eliminate its use of bottled water -- both through the strategic placement of water stations and by delivering glasses and drink machines to campus events -- waste was eliminated drastically.  Measured over the course of two weekends -- commencement and alumni reunion weekends -- the college eliminated 10,000 bottles worth of waste.

At another annual event, the all-campus barbecue, the decision to eliminate disposables and bottles/cans allowed the college to reduce its waste from 10-yard dumpster's worth, to a mere 22 garbage bags -- 11 of which were compost, and another five of which were filled with recyclables.

"It took some real thought," said Abayasinghe. "But it was incredible how much waste we eliminated."

This approach to events is now standard operating procedure.  The catering department has developed a 20-point sustainability guideline for all events. Among these are to use local foods and to "use reusable dishes, flatware and glassware or biodegradable disposables."  Williams traditional rivalry, the Williams/Amherst football game and tailgating, will "Go Green" this year.

Such changes require commitment. Bob Volpi, director of dining services, notes that this commitment comes both from the students, most of whom are passionate about the environment, as well as from the highest levels of the administration. Indeed, sustainability is one of the college's four strategic imperatives; the others, which dining services also integrates into all working areas, include diversity, relationships, and stewardship.

"It's a college initiative," said Jeanette Kopczynski, assistant director, catering and faculty house. "And it's our goal to do the best we can as a department."

"Sustainability is simply how we do business," agrees Volpi. "It's here to stay."

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: http://www.williams.edu/ Williams College can also be found on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/williamscollege and Twitter: http://twitter.com/williamscollege

News: ABenjamin

"I was having a lot of difficulties with math," said Ury, now an 8^th grade student at the Berkshire Arts and Technology Charter Public School (BArT) in Adams. "I really needed extra help."

For that extra help, she began attending an intensive after-school academic tutoring program where Penn and other Williams students volunteer regularly, as part of a "Williams/BArT tutoring corps." The tutoring corps, which involves roughly 25 Williams students, provides BArT students with five hours each week of extra instruction in targeted subjects. The program has been cited by the school as a critical part of BArT's impressive academic gains as measured by the MCAS and Stanford achievement tests, and has continued in this academic year.

"I found the tutoring really helpful," said Ury. "Gershwin showed me different ways of looking at problems. I started getting the answers right in science and math. I'm just really proud about that."

Ury isn't alone. Thanks to programs like the tutoring corps, BArT demonstrated dramatic growth in their 2009 MCAS results and other standardized test results. As a school, BArT met annual yearly progress (AYP) in both mathematics and English Language Arts and demonstrated significant achievement in all sub-categories. In English Language Arts 96% of all students at BArT earned a passing grade, and the percentage of students who scored in the proficient/advanced category improved 65% over the previous year. For mathematics, 70% earned a passing grade in mathematics, with a 90% increase in the percent of students scoring proficient/advanced.   Using the Stanford Achievement Test (SAT 10) as a standard of measurement, the majority of BArT students at every grade level exceeded the national average of other students who also took this exam in both reading and mathematics.

"The Williams tutors have been extremely helpful," said BArT principal Ben Klompus. "From the start, BArT has worked to meet students' individual learning needs, and to growing a program where every student is able to excel. The Williams/BArT tutoring corps is an extremely important way for us to do that."

Many Williams students worked one-on-one with BArT counterparts. Penn, however, quickly moved from one-on-one tutoring to a larger group setting.

"It was definitely intimidating at the beginning," said Penn.  "It was hard to figure out where each needed help and where they didn't. Sometimes it was hard powering through an hour and a half when they were tired after a long day at school. But it was also really fun."

Penn worked with students on specific math problems, breaking them down into parts. "Breaking it down allowed them to understand each step, which allowed them to then rely on themselves," he said. "Many of them seemed to need an extra push of confidence, so that they could confront a problem on their own."

Klompus says the Williams/BArT tutoring corps was modeled on a similar program in Boston.

"We had been searching for a tutoring model that provides students who need extra help in math classes with additional targeted instruction," said Klompus. "We saw a great model at the MATCH Charter School, which helped us to envision a similar program here. It's worked out terrific."

After seeing the MATCH program, BArT enlisted the help of Kaatje White, Director of the Williams Center at Mount Greylock, to present the idea to potential Williams volunteers. At first, ten students signed up for the program. Over the course of the year, the program grew to 25 students, who collectively came three days a week.

While the tutoring was in math, Williams students came from all backgrounds.

"I'm a sociology major," Penn laughed. "I've taken one math class on campus. But all of the math skills came back as I worked."

At the end of each tutoring session, BArT asked both students and tutors to evaluate the program and each other in a 360-degree evaluation.

"Our students are exceptionally enthusiastic about the program," said Klompus.  "They appreciate the opportunity to work with college students. Sometimes, this is our students' first exposure to a college student. I think that they are amazed that these students travel from Williamstown just to help them learn math."

Williams students volunteer in many of the area schools.  They can be found supporting students and teachers at Mt. Greylock Middle and High Schools, Williamstown Elementary School, Pine Cobble School, Hancock School, as well as assisting programs like the Williamstown Youth Center and A Better Chance. (And, Williams associate dean and registrar Charles Toomajian is a founding trustee and first chair of BArT.)

Penn says that he gets as much out of the program as he gives.  "I'm a big fan of getting off campus, of leaving the purple bubble," said Penn. "We can build these walls around us, and never see what's here. But there are people here, kids, and we can learn things from getting to know them."

A native of Houston, Texas, Penn said, "it would be kind of sad if I traveled all this way and then never explored rural New England. Doing this is absolutely worth it."

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: http://www.williams.edu/ Williams College can also be found on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/williamscollege and Twitter: http://twitter.com/williamscollege

Williams dining services prepares 885,690 meals annually, for its approximately 2,000 students, in four dining halls, a faculty house, and a number of snack bars. The college also runs over 425 catered events each academic year. In each of these settings, the college maintains a deep and long-term commitment to local food.

A few years ago, the college purchased only a handful of foods from local producers. Today Williams spends up to 20 cents of every food dollar on local foods -- a $400,000 boost to the local economy. One hundred percent of their milk is now supplied by High Lawn Farm, a small dairy in nearby Lee, Massachusetts that raises grass-fed, hormone-free Jersey cows. Dining services employees use this milk to make gourmet-quality gelato and ice cream.

In addition, virtually all of the college's summer vegetables, and many of its winter storage vegetables come from Peace Valley Farm, a 60-acre family farm located ten minutes from campus. Other local producers supply pastured meats, a limited supply of organic shiitake mushrooms, organic honey, low-spray apples, melons, blueberries, organic granola, free-range eggs, and several varieties of artisanal cheeses. Across campus, 100% of coffee is fair-trade, brewed by Dean's Beans in nearby Orange, Massachusetts, and local, grass-fed beef hamburgers are served nightly in two of the campus dining halls.

Executive chef Mark Thompson notes that Williams Unit Chefs plan menus around the harvest timeline to incorporate fresh products that can be blast frozen for use in the colder months. Onsite vacuum sealers and flash freezers make processing local foods simple, and loading docks are specifically designed to accommodate small growers.

"It's become like clockwork," said Thompson. "Each July, Bill Stinson from Peace Valley Farm calls me to say that he's got 400 pounds of ripe tomatoes ready, along with onion and basil." In a matter of days, Thompson and his staff have processed these ingredients into 50 gallons of tomato sauce, which are blast-chilled, then frozen for use during the school year.

"I also know he'll call me in mid-July with pickling onions and cauliflower, which we'll turn into marinated vegetables for our Harvest Dinner, and that in the fall, we'll be making pesto from his fresh basil. It's just part of the cycle."

Thompson even finds uses for unusual local ingredients. Last year, Stinson offered the college 200 pounds of chive blossoms. Dining services purchased these and used them in a homemade chive-infused vinegar, which were offered at the campus salad bars. 

"It takes a little planning to work this way," says Thompson. "But this approach allows us to serve the very best food."

Bob Volpi, director of dining services, agrees. "It starts with deciding what's important. We want to make sure the food we serve is healthful, fresh, and good. We buy local produce, because that is what's best. We buy High Lawn Farm's milk, because it's the healthiest, best-tasting milk we can get."

Jeanette Kopczynski, assistant director of catering and the faculty house, created a 20-point list of guidelines for catered events; among these guidelines are "use organic, locally grown and produced foods whenever possible."

While critics dismiss sustainable food practices as too expensive, the college is tangible proof that an institution can prioritize sustainability without increasing costs. Last year, when the college purchased the highest volume of local foods than ever before, Williams enjoyed its lowest food cost ever -- less than 15% below what it was a few years prior.

"It simply does not cost more to do it this way," said Volpi.

For example, prior to making the transition to High Lawn Farm dairy products, dining services staff analyzed the quantity and types of milk consumed at the college. They found that the majority of the milk consumed on campus was fat-free, while whole milk was least-consumed. Meanwhile, High Lawn Farm's other clients preferred the higher-fat products. The college purchased High Lawn Farm's excess skim milk for a lower price; the deal saved the college $10,000 annually on dairy costs.

"It was a perfect match," said Roberto Laurens, farm manager at High Lawn Farm. "They needed the very product that we most needed to sell."

Volpi came to Williams from Bates College, where he greatly improved the sustainability of the college's dining services. Under Volpi's direction, Bates College won the coveted National Award for Environmental Sustainability from Renew America.

"The benefits of local food are compelling -- a healthier local economy, better relationships with the town, and the best, freshest foods available. Plus," says Volpi, "there is another reason to buy locally. It's just the right thing to do."

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: http://www.williams.edu/ Williams College can also be found on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/williamscollege and Twitter: http://twitter.com/williamscollege

news: abenjamin

Quamrul Ashraf, assistant professor of economics. Ashraf received his B.A. from Trinity College in 1999 and his Ph.D. in economics from Brown University in 2009. He wrote his dissertation on Cultural, Biological, and Geographical Determinants of Comparative Development. His teaching and research focus include economic growth, macroeconomics, population economics, and computational economics.

Devyn Spence Benson, assistant professor of Africana studies and history. Benson received her B.A. in 2001 and her Ph.D. in history from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill in 2009. Her dissertation was titled Not Blacks, But Citizens! Racial Politics in Revolutionary Cuba, 1959-1961. Benson specializes in Latin American history, the Caribbean, Cuba, African Diaspora studies, and global history.

Mea Cook, assistant professor of geosciences. Cook completed her A.B. from Princeton University in 1999 and her Ph.D. in marine geology and geophysics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in 2006. Her dissertation was titled The Paleoceanography of the Bering Sea during the Last Glacial Period. She is teaching global warming, carbon cycle, climate changes, and environmental science.

Justin Crowe, assistant professor of political science. He received his B.A. from Williams College in 2003 and his Ph.D. in politics from Princeton University in 2007. His dissertation is titled Building the Judiciary: Law, Courts, and the Politics of International Development. Crowe has taught at Pomona College. His interests include American Constitutionalism, political development and politics and history.

Sara Dubow, assistant professor of history. Dubow graduated from Williams College in 1991. She completed her M.A. in history at Amherst College in 1996 and her Ph.D. in U.S. history at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey in 2003. Her dissertation is titled Ourselves Unborn: Fetal Meanings in Modern America. Dubow has taught at Hunter College of the City University of New York. Her areas of expertise include women's and gender history, early American history, and 19^th and 20^th century American history.

Nate Kornell, assistant professor of psychology. Kornell received his B.A. in psychology from Reed College in 1996 and his Ph.D. in psychology from Columbia University in 2005. His research interests include human learning and memory, memory monitoring and self-regulated study, optimizing learning, applying principles of learning and memory to educational settings, and memory and memory monitoring in animals. His work has been published in more than 20 scientific journal articles.

David Morris, assistant professor of theatre. Morris graduated from Williams College in 1996 and completed his M.F.A. in scenic design at the University of Washington, Seattle in 2001. He has done scenic design in New York City and in regional opera, on tour, industrial, at Bard College and The New School, and at may other venues.  He previously taught at Bard and Williams. 

Oyindasola Oyelaran, assistant professor of chemistry. Oyelaran received her B.S. from Salem College and her Ph.D. in chemistry from Harvard University in 2005. She did her postdoctoral work at the National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, and Laboratory of Medicinal Chemistry.  She has conducted research in pharmacology at the Wake Forest University Medical School.  She was co-founder of the Harvard Women in Chemistry and was on the Women in Science and Engineering Task Force at Harvard.

Benjamin Rubin, assistant professor of classics. Rubin graduated from Macalester College in 2001 and, in 2008, received his Ph.D. in classical art and archaeology from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. His dissertation is titled (Re)presenting Empire: The Roman Imperial Cult in Asia Minor, 31 BC-AD 68. Rubin's teaching and research interests include: Roman urbanism and social history, Greek and Roman art and archaeology, divine kingship in the ancient Mediterranean world, the art and ideology of the Achaemenid Empire, and postcolonial theory and gender studies.

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: http://www.williams.edu/ Williams College can also be found on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/williamscollege and Twitter: http://twitter.com/williamscollege

The center is charged with finding ways to incorporate principles of sustainability into campus life and to help the college in reducing its greenhouse gas emissions to 10 percent below 1990-91 levels by 2020.

It is a difficult task.  Since the 1990-91 academic year, the amount of building space on campus has increased.

Testament to the progress already being made, Williams College received an A-minus on the College Sustainability Report Card 2010 of the Sustainable Endowments Institute -- the highest score an institution can achieve. The complete College Sustainability Report Card is available at http://www.greenreportcard.org/

"Greenhouse gas emissions were down 28 percent last year from the peak in 2005," said Stephanie Boyd, director of the Zilkha Center. "In the last year, many energy conservation projects have been implemented across campus and we have added renewable sources of energy to our portfolio."

Older lighting fixtures, motors, and fans have been replaced with new energy efficient ones; occupancy sensors have been installed turning lights off when nobody is in a space; and building systems have been set to turn down or off at night and during the weekends. The campus was closed during the Winter Break in early 2009 and the college will extend that experiment to a second year this winter.

"Renewable energy has to play a large role in reaching our 2020 emissions goals," said Boyd. "We're working on a renewable energy plan -- looking at a lot of different options, including the possibility of working with others. The best solution might not be one that involves Williams alone."

In an attempt to reduce paper waste, this year's new "Paper Cut" program cuts back students' previously unlimited free printing options.  Students must pay if they exceed their free allotments. One month into the semester, paper use was down 25 percent compared to the previous year.

Another effort new this year is that all the college's dining halls have become tray-free. Early numbers show there has been about 20 percent less food waste, perhaps because diners are more conservative, taking only food they plan to eat.

Heating efficiency in dorms, Boyd said, remains to be solved and is complicated by the diversity of buildings, but new steam meters are being installed around the campus to allow evaluation of heating inefficiencies.

An important mission of the Zilkha Center is to find meaningful ways to engage students, faculty, and staff. "We are asking a lot of questions about why we do things the way we do," said Boyd. "How can we develop sustainable approaches to our lives? While it is important to reduce our emissions, it is equally important to adopt more sustainable practices in all our lives."

In accomplishing its mission, the Zilkha Center is encouraging students to come up with ideas and to be responsible for the implementation of those ideas. During the summer of 2009, six student interns worked in the Zilkha Center on projects ranging from green grounds maintenance, to greater energy efficiency in the college's hockey rink, to local food, to renewable energy possibilities.

"When students get a chance to design and develop projects, they learn a lot about the realities of making a campus more sustainable," Boyd said. "Our goal is for them to take what they've learned out into the world and to be leaders on these issues. 

"While we want Williams to meet its own emissions goals, what's really important is the global situation.  We hope that by educating our students and showing leadership on campus, we can contribute to the global move towards sustainability." 

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: http://www.williams.edu/ Williams College can also be found on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/williamscollege and Twitter: http://twitter.com/williamscollege

News: Chris Marcisz and Amy Johns

Students are selected for Phi Beta Kappa at the end of their junior years, based on their cumulative grade point averages. The top five percent of the class is granted election. The following students, (listed in name, major(s), hometown format) make up the elected seniors:

Chloe Blackshear, comparative literature, Chapel Hill, N.C.

Ireane Cao, art, Springfield, Va.

Christopher Chudzicki, physics and math, Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Carolyn Clark, English, St. Louis. Mo.

Yang Du, economics and physics, Hubei Province, China

Kristine Ericson, history and art, Hanover, N.H.

Ruth Ezra, art, Ithaca, N.Y.

Julianne Feder, religion, New York, N.Y.

Cristina Florea, anthropology and history, Bucharest, Romania

Andrew Forrest, political economy, Roslyn Heights, N.Y.

Matthew Furlong, philosophy and sociology, Amesbury, Mass.

Sophie Glickstein, history, Edina, Minn.

Benjamin Iliff,  biology and psychology, Arnold, Md.

Steven Jackson, physics and math, Victor, N.Y.

Jamie Lahvic, biology, Richmond, Va.

Kefei Lei, computer science, Shenyang, China

Yibai Li, economics and Asian studies, Brooklyn Park, Minn.

Joseph Lorenz, religion, Takoma Park, Md.

Zachary Miller,  economics and history, Bridgeton, N.J.

David Moore,  computer science and math, Knoxville, Tenn.

Ralph Morrison, math, Danville, Ky.

Kathleen Palmer,  chemistry, Westport, Conn.

Lauren Sinnenberg, biology, Westfield, N.J.

Stephen Vrla, history, Paradise Valley, Ariz.

Leiyu Xie, math and economics, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, China

At the end of the academic year, the seniors in the top 12.5 percent of the class, excluding those already members of Phi Beta Kappa, are eligible for election as well.

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: http://www.williams.edu/ Williams College can also be found on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/williamscollege and Twitter: http://twitter.com/williamscollege

News: Laura Corona

Shore-Sheppard notes that while the debate can seem complex, the need for reform comes down to two big issues. "First, a large chunk of the American population has unstable health coverage, or no coverage whatsoever. Second, health care costs are high and rising."

President Obama, she says, is tackling coverage first. Shore-Sheppard knows a little something about health coverage; she has spent much of her career studying the effect of expanding children's access to Medicaid.

"Originally, Medicaid was offered to only the very poorest children," she said. "It has since been expanded, along with the newer State Children's Health Insurance Program, CHIP, to cover children with family incomes below 300 percent of poverty" -- three times the federal poverty level. "My research has studied the effects of this expansion on private health insurance coverage, on children's physician visits, and on other factors."

Most recently, Shore-Sheppard and a collaborator were awarded a two-year grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to study the impact of public dental coverage on access to care for low-income children. While Medicaid covers dental services for children, reimbursement is low, and many dental providers don't accept Medicaid. Consequently many low-income children go without dental care.  Her study will be the first to examine how states responded to the increased flexibility and greater federal funding offered by CHIP and whether the changes states made resulted in improved access to dental care for children.

One of her research papers, Stemming the Tide? The Effect of Expanding Medicaid Eligibility On Health Insurance Coverage, published last year in the BE Journal of Economic Analysis and Policy, examined whether public health insurance "crowds out" private insurance -- a claim often made by insurance companies. In other words, do people drop private coverage when public coverage is expanded?

"Based on the evidence, it seems that the number of people who drop private insurance for government-funded insurance is quite small. We can't rule out that there is a small crowd-out effect, but we can rule out a large one."

The larger problem, Shore-Sheppard found, is that as public coverage expands beyond the poorest children, eligible children are not being enrolled in the program; they simply remain uninsured.  Shore-Sheppard notes that this might be because as one moves up the income scale, parents don't know that their children are eligible for public coverage. Another possibility is that while they know their children are eligible, they do not enroll until they really need it.

Either way, Shore-Sheppard feels that the low enrollment speaks to the need for a government mandate, like the one that exists in Massachusetts. "To truly expand coverage, a mandate is very effective. However, for a mandate to work, both logistically and ethically, coverage must be made affordable."

Shore-Sheppard notes that while there's evidence that children who have more stable coverage are more likely to see the physician, expanding coverage won't solve all the problems.

"It's also essential to tackle health costs," she says.

Health costs, she says, have been rising for many reasons. First, there have been vast technological improvements in health care. While these improvements may enhance diagnostic care or treatment, they are extremely expensive. Other factors include "defensive medicine" -- the tendency to order a battery of tests for a patient to rule out any potential problems -- as well as the practice of paying providers by the procedure, a highly inefficient provider payment system, a rise in many chronic diseases, an aging population, a lack of cost-awareness by patients of the costs involved, and the cost of pharmaceutical research and development. 

"It's like somebody opening a credit card bill at the end of the month. They may not have spent large sums on any one item," she says, "but the combined total can be many thousands of dollars." 

"People want a magic bullet," she adds. "But there's no one magic bullet that will solve the cost problem." 

Shore-Sheppard notes that she is frustrated by the presence of "red herrings" in the health care debate, like the often-discussed "death panels."

"I respect differences of opinions," she says. "But to simply disrupt the process is irresponsible, and it's bad for constituents. If we fail, health care costs will continue to rise. The uninsured will still be there. We have two very big problems, and they're not going away."

While much attention has been focused on the "public option," or government-provided health care, Shore-Sheppard notes that a public option might not be necessary if we could create incentives for insurance companies to do the right thing.

"We can set up regulations that make it clear to insurers that claims must be honored, so there's no ambiguity. Also, if everyone had coverage, the whole notion of pre-existing coverage would be moot. There's an opportunity to create incentives that aligns insurance companies' interests with what we think is right socially." 

However we move forward, Shore-Sheppard says she hopes that her work, and that of other researchers, continues to have a place in the debate.

"Sound health policy must be informed by data," Shore-Sheppard says. "It's not always a seamless transition from research to policy, but good policy will be based on the evidence that exists."

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: http://www.williams.edu/ Williams College can also be found on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/williamscollege and Twitter: http://twitter.com/williamscollege

News: A. Benjamin

The three-year $330,000 NSF grant, under the direction of Professor John Kappelman of the University of Texas-Austin, is supporting research on "Blue Highways: Evaluating Middle Stone Age Riverine-Based Foraging, Mobility, and Technology Along the Trunk Tributaries of the Blue Nile."

As part of this research, Skinner and her students will test the idea that the lifestyle of humans living near the Nile tributaries during the Middle Stone Age was centered on food and water resources concentrated near the riverbanks during the seasonal dry period.

Water holes holding fresh water would have attracted mammals and contained other food sources in one place. Previous research in the area has revealed the presence of human occupation in the form of tools.

Williams College students participating in the Winter Study course Archaeology in Ethiopia will spend two weeks at John Kappelman's excavation site in northwest Ethiopia, which evidence has suggested may have been a refuge during times of climate stress.

Kappelman, a paleontologist, recently completed the first high-resolution CT scan of "Lucy," the 3.2 MYR-old and best preserved Australopithecine.

"Dating the occupation would indicate whether the site might have been one of the essential ones in human development," said Skinner. The oldest hominid, Ardipithecus, recently reconstructed, was found in Ethiopia and the oldest fossils of modern human aspect have all come from there as well.

Skinner's interdisciplinary research focuses on overlaps between chemistry, geology, and archaeology. She has conducted work on electron spin resonance, a technique that dates materials by looking at damage to fossils from environmental radiation.

Her research has been conducted at sites across the globe, including Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania, Mesmaiskaya Cave in Russia, the Narmada River in India, and Sao Raimundo in Brazil.

Her work has appeared in numerous scientific journals, including Nature, The Journal of Human Evolution, The Journal of Coastal Research, and Applied Radiation and Isotopes. In 2005, her work on burnt bones from South Africa was featured in Discover Magazine as one of the top 100 scientific stories.

Skinner received her bachelor's degree from Radcliffe College, and her doctorate from Yale University. She joined the Williams faculty in 1967.

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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: http://www.williams.edu/ Williams College can also be found on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/williamscollege and Twitter: http://twitter.com/williamscollege

News: Laura Corona

This past summer the Steamboat Foundation provided 13 Steamboat Scholars from different universities with internships in a variety of fields, such as journalism, medicine, and art history.  Each scholar is given $12,000 and the opportunity to live and participate in leadership-building initiatives with the other scholars.

An art major, Steinkraus worked in the contemporary program at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston with artists-in-residence, including David Wilson, a MacArthur "Genius " grant recipient who is director of The Museum of Jurassic Technology in Los Angeles; Taro Shinoda, a Japanese installation artist; and Luisa Lambri, an Italian photographer. 

Steinkraus is one of four students from Williams College who have been chosen for the honor.  The others were Adam Weber '07, Kim Dacres '08, and Matthew Lincoln '09, who were selected for the fellowship and worked at the Gardner Museum.

Williams students wanting more information about the Steamboat Foundation internship should contact Ron Gallagher in the Office of Career Counseling. The application deadline is Jan. 8, 2010.

Selection for the fellowship is based on students' academic and extra-curricular achievement, potential for leadership, and financial need.

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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: http://www.williams.edu/ Williams College can also be found on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/williamscollege and Twitter: http://twitter.com/williamscollege

News: Leah Eryenyu

Students awarded PPIA fellowships spend their summers at one of the Junior Summer Institutes at UC Berkeley, Michigan, Carnegie Mellon, Maryland, or Princeton. Students take classes in economics, statistics, and public policy and analysis.

A political science major from Chicago, Ill., Vielma's interests lie in U.S. economics and politics, housing policy, and income equality. She completed her program with 16 other students at the Heinz College at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, which specializes in public policy. She studied economics and statistics with Professor Marc Wessel, cross-cultural communication with Professor Amir Anwar, and policy analysis with Professor Sylvia Brozutzky.

"I really enjoyed the PPIA fellowship," Vielma said.  "It gave me the opportunity to experience life at a big research university, so I know what to expect in graduate school," she said. "I think I also got some insight on what graduate schools in public policy are looking for in successful applicants."

PPIA serves to educate rising college seniors in public policy. It focuses its efforts on diversification, assembling a wide array of students representative of groups not always visible in leadership positions.

After their senior year, PPIA fellows are often recruited by schools affiliated with PPIA. The program works with more than 30 affiliated Consortium schools, including Brown University, Carnegie Mellon, Columbia University, and Harvard University. Fellows pursuing degrees at any of the affiliated Consortium receive a minimum of $5,000 towards their tuition.

The application deadline for this year's program for Williams students is Nov. 1.

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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: http://www.williams.edu/ Williams College can also be found on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/williamscollege and Twitter: http://twitter.com/williamscollege

News: Laura Corona

Astronomy students at the college will host free shows for the public on the following Friday evenings at 7:30 p.m.: October 2, 9, 16, 23, 30; November 6, 13, 20; December 4; and January 8, 15, 22.  Audiences will be treated to shows from the high-precision Zeiss Skymaster ZKP3/B opto-mechanical planetarium projector, installed in April 2005.

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.

Fall 2009 shows will be hosted by Williams College students Emma Lehman '10, Ana Inoa '10, Sara Dwyer '11, and Matthew Hosek '12. Field Memorial Professor of Astronomy Jay Pasachoff is Director of the Hopkins Observatory.

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, on which planetarium patrons share 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.

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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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In a senior colloquium advised by Professor of Mathematics Frank Morgan, Davide Carozza '09, of Washington D.C., investigated the paths around the diamond. Could you cut off seconds?

"When you hit that final long ball in the World Series of Baseball and know you need the home run, what is your optimal path around the bases?" they asked.

Carozza compared the recommended path around the bases -- the so-called "banana path," which follows the baseline halfway to first base before veering to the right to set up a better angle to continue to second -- to a more continuous path.

Carozza found that running a circular path around the bases could account for a base-running time 20 percent faster, a time increase of more than four seconds. 

Professor of Mathematics Stewart Johnson later computed an optimal path calculated to take 16.7 seconds, compared to the recommended path's 22.2 second time.

The research team checked the official rules of baseball to assure the legality of their proposed path, and determined that it could indeed be used.

The research, titled "Baserunner's Optimal Path" will appear in "The Mathematical Intelligencer" in October.

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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: http://www.williams.edu/ Williams College can also be found on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/williamscollege and Twitter: http://twitter.com/williamscollege

News: Laura Corona

Nate Kornell, assistant professor of psychology at Williams College, has found that we are more likely to remember new facts if we are first asked to produce them ourselves -- even if we get them wrong.

Psychologists have known for years that "testing" students about information is more effective than just presenting it. That is, at least, when students get it right. Kornell wondered, "If successful tests enhance learning, do unsuccessful tests impede learning -- or do they also enhance learning?"

To find out, Kornell and two colleagues set up six experiments. In the first two, the researchers asked subjects to answer trivia questions. To make sure the subjects got them wrong, half the questions were fictional, with fictional answers. ("Who is the bouncy and egotistical friend of Kenny Peters?") The rest of the questions were nonfictional, thrown in to keep the subjects from suspecting anything.

The questions were presented in two different ways. In some cases, subjects were simply shown the question and answer together. In the other cases, they were asked the question and given eight seconds to come up with the correct fictional answer. After failing to do so, they were shown both the question and answer.

Then the subjects were tested to see how well they recalled the new information. As it turned out, they were more likely to remember the answer if they had tried and failed to produce it on their own than if they had only studied it. Then the researchers ran the experiment again, changing the length of the time subjects had to study the questions. They found that "unsuccessful retrieval attempts were just as effective as studying the answer."

In the next four experiments, researchers used weak word associations instead of fictional trivia questions. The word pairings, like "olive-branch" and "train-caboose," allowed subjects to make semantic connections between the cue and target. When subjects were "tested" and then provided with feedback, they learned more than if they spent the same amount of time studying the cue and target words together.

From the six experiments, Kornell and his co-authors concluded that "unsuccessful tests are helpful, not hurtful," as long as feedback is provided. Their findings suggest "educators and learners should introduce challenges into learning situations, including using tests as learning events, even if doing so increases initial error rates."

Kornell, Matthew Jensen Hays, and Robert A. Bjork published their findings in the article Unsuccessful Retrieval Attempts Enhance Subsequent Learning, which appeared in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition.

Kornell joined the Williams faculty this fall. He is teaching the course "Optimizing Learning and Memory" and will teach "Cognitive Psychology" in the spring. His research focuses on human learning and memory, education, metacognition and self-regulated learning, and memory in nonhuman animals.

His other articles include The Pretesting Effect: Do Unsuccessful Retrieval Attempts Enhance Learning? (2009) and Learning Concepts and Categories: Is Spacing the "Enemy of Induction"? (2008). His writing has appeared in Psychological Science and the Journal of Experimental Psychology, among others.

Kornell is the authors of chapters in the forth-coming books "The Encyclopedia of Applied Animal Behaviour & Welfare" and "Encyclopedia of the Mind."

Kornell received his B.A. from Reed College. He received his Ph.D. in psychology from Columbia University in 2005. In 2007, the Association for Psychological Science named him a "rising star."

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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: http://www.williams.edu/ Williams College can also be found on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/williamscollege and Twitter: http://twitter.com/williamscollege

News: Alison Hansen-Decelles

Beginning in the summer of 2007, Glier set out to live for nine weeks in each of four places representing a different ecosystem: the Arctic, the Amazon, the Caribbean, and Manhattan Island.

Glier worked in the tradition of "plein air" painters, creating outdoors each day at an easel. His journey culminated in 50 landscape oil paintings on aluminum panels, three thousand photographs, and a collection of stories, some of which he presented online in his travel blog .

Glier endeavored to capture the uniqueness of each ecological "motif" while still maintaining a global perspective. Through his paintings, he reflected on the symbiotic relationship between human beings and their surrounding ecosystems.

"With this work I'm trying to break down what I see as a false dichotomy between nature and human culture," Glier said.

Glier's work addresses the urgent issue of man's connection to and place in nature.

In a race against time, Glier labored to create images of landscapes before accelerating environmental changes altered those landscapes forever, hoping his project will evoke a passion for the living world that will lead to improved environmental policy. 

Coinciding with the book's publication is the exhibition "Along A Long Line" at the Gerald Peters Gallery in New York, which runs from Sept. 17 to Oct. 23. The exhibition features 40 paintings made outdoors and four studio works based on the plein air compositions. "Along A Long Line" will travel to the Williams College Museum of Art from Oct. 31, 2009, to Feb. 21, 2010.

Glier received his B.A. from Williams in 1975 and his M.A. from Hunter College in 1979. Solo exhibitions of his art have been held at numerous institutions, including the San Diego Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art.

Hard Press Editions, in Lenox, Massachusetts, has published artist monographs, art criticism, art theory, fine art prints, fiction, and poetry since 1992.

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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: http://www.williams.edu/ Williams College can also be found on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/williamscollege and Twitter: http://twitter.com/williamscollege

News: Katie Aldrin

The participating Williams students worked on a wide range of humanities and social science projects, from the spiritual significance of sports, to Shakespeare and early modern political aesthetics, to the economics of HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The faculty research projects, they agree, provided authentic involvement in academic research. Students invested ten 40-hour weeks, learned research methodologies, and were provided a stipend as well as housing.

Iliyana Hadjistoyanova '11 of Sofia, Bulgaria, worked with Alexandra Garbarini, assistant professor of history, in collecting, organizing, and processing information for the second volume in a five-volume series dedicated to Jewish source materials on Nazi persecution, which Garbarini is co-writing with University of Hartford historian Avinoam Patt. This volume deals with the time period from the end of 1938, when "Kristallnacht" occurred, to the sealing of the Warsaw Ghetto in 1940.

The Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and AltaMira Press are publishing the series, which is unique in that it focuses on strictly Jewish responses to anti-Semitic persecution during the 1930s and the years of World War II.

"This is the first series that focuses on Jewish-produced source material from these years," Garbarini explained. "Very little contemporaneous material is available that is published and translated -- there is a real gap in the literature."

The primary sources that Garbarini and Hadjistoyanova worked with included diaries, letters between families and friends, daily news bulletins issued by the Jewish Telegraph Agency, official correspondence within and between major organizations such as the World Jewish Congress and the Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, and letters that Jews wrote to Nazi officials making appeals for exemptions from certain decrees.

In the economics department, Associate Professor Jon Bakija worked with Jon Morgenstern '11 of Santa Monica, Calif., on updating his state income tax model and explaining recent changes in U.S. income inequality. Morgenstern's contributions included recalibrating the model to account for changes in state income tax laws that occurred in 2008 by interpreting the meaning of these tax laws.

"Jon updated my data through 2008 and was very helpful in helping to clean up the data and correct mistakes from prior years," Bakija said, “resolving some last complications before the 2008 data is ready to go."

Steven Hailey ’12 of Fayetteville, Ark., assisted Christopher Pye, Class of 1924 Professor of English, on his book on Shakespeare and early modern aesthetic ideology.

"Working for him opened up a fascinating intellectual terrain," Hailey said. "It makes me realize how lucky I am to be at Williams College. Where else would a sophomore-to-be have such an opportunity?"

The students in this summer’s research program in the arts, languages, and social sciences were: Erin Altenburger '11 from Mendham, N.J.; Ran Bi '11 from Suzhou, Jiangsu, China; Ariel Binder '11 from Amherst, N.Y.; Cristina Diaz-Dickson '10 from Santa Cruz, Bolivia; Sophie Glickstein '10 from Edina, Minn.; Iliyana Hadjistoyanova '11 from Sofia, Bulgaria; Steven Hailey '12 from Fayetteville, Ark.; Joanna Hoffman '10 from Upper Arlington, Ohio; Madeleine Jacobs '11 from Wilmette, Ill.; Majida Kargbo '10 from Westchester, Calif.; Marissa Kimsey '11 from Chicago, Ill.; Hilary Ledwell '12 from Little Rock, Ark.; Mohammed Lotif '11 from Detroit, Mich.; Matthew Madden '12 from Troy, N.Y.; James Muita Mathenge '12 from Nairobi, Kenya; Jose Martinez '10 from San Juan, Puerto Rico; Pierre-Alexandre Meloty-Kapella '10 from Redwood City, Calif.; Jonathan Morgenstern '11 from Santa Monica, Calif.; Sayantan Mukhopadhyay '12 from Jabriya, Kuwait; Lorenzo Patrick '11 from Maywood, Ill.; Taisha Rodriguez '12 from New York, N.Y.; Evalynn Rosado '12 from Stroud, Okla.; Melinda Salaman '11 from Port Washington, N.Y.; Meghan Shea '11 from Nesconset, N.Y; Natalie Smith '10 from Essex Fells, N.J.; Ellen Stuart '11 from Gainesville, Fla.; Bolor Turmunkh '10 from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia; Zhaoning Nancy Wang '11 from Beijing, China; Wentao Xiong '11 from Yueyang, China.

The program was funded in large part by a generous gift from the Class of 1957.

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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/Amanda Korman

• Suspended solids and other contaminants are removed from storm water prior to release into the local storm water system
• Green roofs reduce storm water run-off and insulate well
• Water-efficient landscaping incorporates native plants and requires no irrigation once established
• Energy consumption expected to be about 20% more efficient than a typical building through use of high performance glazing and insulation, automatic lighting controls, and occupancy sensors that set back temperatures and ventilation rates
• More than 90% of spaces have access to outdoor views and daylight
• 23% (by value) of materials were obtained locally and 20% made of recycled materials
• Close to 75% of construction-related waste was recycled
• Low-flow fixtures and waterless urinals reduce water use to 40% below standard
• All sealants, paints, carpeting, and wood products emit only low amounts of volatile organic compounds.

• to determine whether pluralistic ignorance occurs during instances of school bullying
• to investigate possible differences in pluralistic ignorance between late elementary school and late middle school students
• to explore whether the manipulation of children's knowledge about peer attitudes will affect their willingness to help during a bullying episode
• to determine to the extent to which children's willingness to help is related to changes in perceptions of group norms