Feature Stories

Don Graves ’92, Head of the Cancer Moonshot Task Force

September 1, 2016

A political science class taken to fulfill a curricular requirement at Williams set Don Graves ’92 on a path that eventually led to the Obama administration, where he now leads Vice President Joe Biden’s Cancer Moonshot Task Force. Graves came to Williams to study biology but instead majored in political science and history. He went on to Georgetown Law School, worked in a law firm and ran a civil rights organization, joined the Clinton administration’s Treasury Department as a policy advisor, and worked at the Business Roundtable before returning to treasury in 2010. Continue reading »

The Mathematics of Coral Reef Health

September 1, 2016

Photo by Elizabeth Sherman By Julia Munemo A group of undergraduate researchers in Williams’ SMALL Program—which brings to campus students from colleges across the country for a residential summer program in mathematics—is helping to improve the health of coral reefs. They worked with Assistant Professor of Mathematics Julie Blackwood, who is collaborating… Continue reading »

A School of Our Own

August 31, 2016

by Julia Munemo “Everyone deserves the opportunity to discover the transformative power of a good education,” says Samuel Levin, who, with his mother, Williams senior lecturer in psychology Susan Engel, has written a book about his experience starting a student-run high school. A School of Our Own: The Story… Continue reading »

Ghana ThinkTank

August 31, 2016

By Julia Munemo Don’t be surprised when you see a trailer around campus this fall with the words “Ghana ThinkTank” emblazoned on the side. The international artist collective, invited by the Williams College Museum of Art (WCMA), is one of the many elements of this year’s campus-wide initiative… Continue reading »

The Significance of Place

August 16, 2016
Stone Hill Williamstown

By Julia Munemo Williams faculty members Henry Art and Mark Taylor are neighbors on the southern end of a hilly, rocky ridge that holds a special place in the heart of Williamstown. Stone Hill was named by mid-18th century European settlers who cleared the land for farms, and today… Continue reading »

The Story Behind Sharknado

August 16, 2016

Thomas Vitale ’86 With the fourth installment of Syfy Channel’s Sharknado franchise out this summer, Thomas Vitale ’86, who developed and commissioned the first two Sharknado movies and worked at the Syfy and Chiller networks for more than 20 years before founding his own production company, discusses how a concept about man-eating… Continue reading »

Practical Theater

August 12, 2016

In the CenterStage of the ’62 Center for Theatre and Dance, a student actor knelt down by a potted plant and feigns gardening. She turned to another student seated on a wooden stairwell leading to an open bedroom, part of the minimalist set creating the scene of this play. A… Continue reading »

Ilvermorny on Greylock

July 1, 2016

The next time clouds gather at the peak of Mount Greylock, hiding it from view of the residents below, there could be magic happening. At least in the world of J.K. Rowling. Through her website Pottermore.com, Rowling recently introduced Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and announced that it’s located… Continue reading »

Foreign Affairs Journal

June 27, 2016

By Julia Munemo The inaugural issue of the Williams Journal of Foreign Affairs came out just before finals in the spring. Student contributors wrote pieces that delve into topics we might read about in the newspapers—such as China’s support for the Paris Agreement and the role of the U.N. in… Continue reading »

Round Trip: The Life of Jorge Semprún

June 8, 2016

The first comprehensive biography of Jorge Semprún (1923-2011), whose sprawling life includes exile during the Spanish Civil War, working for the French Resistance in World War II and being nominated for Academy Awards, is receiving a lot of attention in Spain since its May release there. Written by Soledad Fox,… Continue reading »