Williams College Press Releases
Williams College Senior Molly Hunter Wins First Jones '66 Journalism Fellowship
Full Story - Mon, 11 May 2009 04:00:00 -0500
Description:WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., May 11, 2009 -- Williams College senior Molly M. Hunter has been awarded the inaugural Jeffrey Owen Jones '66 Fellowship in Journalism. The $10,000 grant is intended to help a graduating senior make a start on a career in the field of journalism.<br /><br />"Competition for the fellowship came from five remarkable candidates.&nbsp; Molly swayed the selection committee with her probing mind, fearless work ethic, and sparkle of enthusiasm," said Peter Richardson '66, a representative of the organizing committee.<br /><br />The fellowship was endowed by a group of friends and family to honor Jones, who died of lung cancer in 2007. The endowed fellowship will go each spring to a student who exemplifies the qualities for which Jones was widely admired: integrity, talent, independence of mind, wit, strength of character, skepticism of authority, and concern for others.<br /><br />During his college years, Jones was editor of the student newspaper, The Record. Following a Fulbright year in Uruguay, he served as editor of Behavior Today Magazine before moving into broadcast journalism.&nbsp; In 1997, he won an Emmy for Outstanding Fine Arts Programming. <br /><br />Hunter, who is from Kentfield, Calif., writes for the Williams Record. She is also co-chair of the Stanley Kaplan Program in American Foreign Policy, serves as an eco-representative for the Zilkha Center for Environmental Initiatives, and has student taught at the Williamstown Elementary School. <br /><br />She is a political science major with a leadership studies concentration. This summer, she will travel to the Middle East, undertaking a reporting project focusing on the Iraqi refugee crisis. She plans to investigate access to education and health care, pervasiveness of child labor and prostitution, illegal employment of refugees, and the truth behind "voluntary returns." She hopes to freelance her stories to a variety of news outlets and through the digital media. <br /><br />Hunter hopes that by providing original reporting on these issues through the voice of a young American woman reporting in the Middle East, she will also give voice to her underrepresented female peers from the region. She looks forward to working for an established news service in the fall. <br /><br />In 2008, Hunter was awarded the Levien Journalism grant, part of the Williams Alumni-Sponsored Internship Program and worked at ABC News, where she was a digital media and political intern. Sara Just, a senior producer at ABC, said Hunter has a combination of attributes that will help her succeed in the world of journalism: "the right blend of intellectual curiosity, attention to detail, fearless work ethic, and sparkle of enthusiasm." <br /><br />When the college announced the new fellowship, it said, "Today the field of journalism is under siege -- battered by commercial pressures, public antipathy, and its own painful failings. An award that in some small way goes against this grain, by helping a promising young person into the field, would not only honor Jeff [Jones], but would most certainly have pleased him." <br /><br />And, as Hunter puts it, "I am confident my generation will successfully tackle the new age of media; I plan to be a part of it."<br /><br /><br />END<br /><br />Williams College is consistently ranked one of the nation's top liberal arts colleges.&nbsp; 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 this research. Students' educational experience is enriched by the residential campus environment, 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.&nbsp; Founded in 1793, it is the second oldest institution of higher learning in Massachusetts.&nbsp; The college is located in Williamstown, Mass.&nbsp; To visit the college on the Internet:&nbsp; www.williams.edu<br /><br />News: Trillia<br />
Marco Sanchez '10 Wins "Claiming Williams" Public Service Announcement Contest
Full Story - Mon, 11 May 2009 04:00:00 -0500
Description:WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., May 11, 2009 -- "There is No Mold," a stop-motion video by junior Marco P. Sanchez, is the winner of the Claiming Williams Public Service Announcement (PSA) Contest. Senior Matthew Wollin's "The Privilege of Claiming Williams" received an honorable mention. &nbsp;<br /><br />The PSA contest was held this winter as part of the Claiming Williams event, a day for collaborative exploration of community at the college. The theme, which was also the focus of the PSA contest, was "Examining privilege, building community."<br /><br />Sanchez, an art studio major from El Paso, Texas, used the amorphous medium of clay to imply that there are no definitive answers to the questions: "What does a Williams student look like? What does a Williams student sound like? What does a Williams student do? Where does a Williams student come from? What social class is a Williams student a part of?" His work, which judges called "a very engaging and artful visual execution," concluded with the declaration, "There is no mold," in celebration of diversity within the College community.<br /><br />"This was the most adventurous in its approach and the craftsmanship of the stop motion work was fluid," the judges said. "The images, audio, and ideas formed a cohesive whole." <br /><br />Sanchez will receive a prize of $500 for his PSA, which can be viewed on the Williams College website at <a href="http://claiming.williams.edu">claiming.williams.edu</a><br /><br />Organized by the Claiming Williams Steering Committee, the PSA contest was open to all Williams students, staff, faculty, and alumni. <br /><br />"We are excited about offering this opportunity as we believe this forum -- digital video -- offers a potent platform for individuals and collaborative teams to give public voice to their aspirations of what they respect about Williams and what still needs improvement to become a stronger institution for all," said Ed Epping, professor of art and steering committee member.<br /><br />The PSAs, ranging in length from 30 to 90 seconds, were reviewed by a panel of judges for effectiveness, production, and originality. The judges were Noah Harlan of 2.1 Films, Val DiFebo, of Deutsch, and Steve Harty of North America, BBH. &nbsp;<br /><br />All categories of narrative for either the audio or digital video format were permitted, whether documentary, experimental, narrative, or animated. <br /><br />END&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;<br /><br />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. <br />To visit the college on the Internet:www.williams.edu<br /><br />News: Yue-Yi<br />
Williams College's Long Term Employees Feted at Annual Celebration
Full Story - Wed, 06 May 2009 04:00:00 -0500
Description:WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., May 6, 2009 -- Williams College celebrated its annual Appreciation Day on Tuesday, May 5, honoring staff members who have reached special milestones in service.&nbsp; The celebration included a luncheon at the Williams Inn for employees completing their 5th, 10th, 15th, or 20th year of service and a dinner at the Mill on the Floss for employees who have been with the college for 25 years and for those who are retiring.<br /><br />This year's retirees, followed by their respective departments and hometowns, were: John R. Anderson (Williams College Museum of Art, Adams, MA); Stephen R. Birrell '64 (Vice President for Alumni Relations and Development Office, Williamstown, MA); Kent P. Clark, Sr. (Facilities, North Adams, MA); Joyce M. Cozzaglio (Development Office, Adams, MA); Sara L. Holden (Development Office, Williamstown, MA); Robert T. Kove (Williams College Museum of Art, Clarksburg, MA); Patricia A. Peck (Advancement Information Systems, Clarksburg, MA); Marjorie L. Rancatti (Dining Services, Hinsdale, MA); Constance A. Sweet (Dining Services, Williamstown, MA); Roger C. Tatro (Facilities, Carksburg, MA); Gladys M. Williams (Dining Services, North Adams, MA); and Phyllis J. Wylde (Williams College Libraries, Williamstown, MA).<br /><br />Employees celebrating their 25th year of service included: Kim A. Altiere &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;(Admission Office, North Adams, MA); William T. Beattie (Facilities, Clarksburg, MA); Edward M. Bourdon (Facilities, Adams, MA); Kathleen W. Crandall (Facilities, North Adams, MA); Christina A. Cruz (Vice President for Strategic Planning &amp; Institutional Diversity Office, Williamstown, MA); Richard W. Cummings &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;(Athletics Department, Bennington, VT); Linda L. Hall (Williams College Libraries, Pownal, VT); James G. Kolesar '72 (Office of Public Affairs, Williamstown, MA); Nancy Mowll Mathews (Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown, MA); Diane B. Noyes-Tovani &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;(Dining Services, Pownal, VT); Diane A. Perault (Career Counseling Office, Williamstown, MA); Jean A. Walden (Facilities, North Adams, MA); and Margaret M. Weyers (Faculty Secretarial Office, Sand Lake, NY).<br /><br />Employees celebrating 20 years of service included: David A. Boyer (Facilities, North Adams, MA); David J. Boyer (Campus Safety and Security, Williamstown, MA); Barbara A. Casey (Registrar's Office, North Pownal, VT); Mary Lynn Chick (Dean's Office, Williamstown, MA); Judith A. Clark (Dining Services, North Adams, MA); Jerald R. Cote (Facilities, North Adams, MA); Donna M. Denelli-Hess (Department of Health Services, Williamstown, MA); Laura E. Hobson (Office of Financial Aid, Clarksburg, MA); Walter J. Komorowski (Williams College Libraries, Pittsfield, MA); Kyle P. Lawson (Facilities, Adams, MA); Carol A. Luscier (Dining Services, Adams, MA); Alberta L. McCarthy (Dining Services, Williamstown, MA); Mary L. Morrison (Registrar's Office, North Adams, MA); Roger R. Parks (Facilities, Williamstown, MA); Dick Quinn (Office of Public Affairs, Williamstown, MA); Donna M. Richardson (Development Office, Adams, MA); and Karen D. Ware (Athletics Department, North Adams, MA).<br /><br />Employees who were honored for 15 years of service included: James F. Allison (Office for Information Technology, Bennington, VT); Brenda L. Aubin (Dining Services, North Adams, MA); Wendy J. Berasi (Facilities, Clarksburg, MA); Alfred H. Boyer (Athletics Department, North Adams, MA); Gail Burda (Dean of the Faculty's Office, North Adams, MA); Howard J. Garbarsky (Athletics Department, Williamstown, MA); Linda M. Goyette (Advancement Information Systems, North Adams, MA); Patricia A. Hurlbut (Facilities, North Adams, MA); Keli A. Kaegi (President's Office, Williamstown, MA); Kathy S. Kimball (Dining Services, Williamstown, MA); Richard F. Martin (Facilities, North Adams, MA); David J. Maselli (Facilities, Clarksburg, MA); Jill S. Mendel (Controller's Office, Adams, MA); Marcela Villada Peacock (Multicultural Center, Williamstown, MA); Annette M. Procter (Office of Public Affairs, Williamstown, MA); Christopher Williams (Facilities, Shaftsbury, VT); and Gladys M. Williams (Dining Services, North Adams, MA).<br /><br />Employees celebrating their 10th year with Williams included: Michele S. Alice (Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown, MA); Karen Gorss Benko (Williams College Libraries, North Adams, MA); Christine W. Blackman (Williams College Libraries, Pownal, VT); Kathleen A. Butterfield (Economics Department, Bennington, VT); David B. Choquette (Facilities, Stamford, VT); Sherman L. Derby, Jr. (Facilities, Hancock, MA); Lance E. Gallup (Office for Information Technology, Pittsfield, MA); Alice T. Gelheiser (Department of Health Services, Pownal, VT); Donald V. Girard (Facilities, North Adams, MA); Reina I. Gutierrez (Dining Services, North Adams, MA); Robert C. Jarvis (Facilities, North Pownal, VT); Andrew T. Jones (Center for Environmental Studies, Williamstown, MA); Kelly F. Kervan (Controller's Office, Bennington, VT); Jody J. Kocsis (Dining Services, Pownal, VT); Tina L. Lemaire (Facilities, Stamford, VT); Sean M. Logan (Admission Office, Buckland, MA); Sheila Mason (Development Office, Williamstown, MA); JoAnne Moran (Facilities, Pittsfield, MA); Robert R. Noel (Facilities, Pownal, VT); Richard Ian Noyes (Dining Services, North Adams, MA); Michelle E. Picard (Music Department, North Adams, MA); Thomas S. Powers (Center for Development Economics, Williamstown, MA); Christine A. Robare (Development Office, Stamford, VT); Ellen D. Rougeau (Office of Campus Life, Williamstown, MA); Karen S. Saunders (Dining Services, North Adams, MA); Paul J. Smernoff (Office for Information Technology, Williamstown, MA); William E. Southgate (Facilities, Pownal, VT); Debra A. Stawarz (Office of Human Resources, Adams, MA); Lynn A. Taft (Williams College Libraries, North Adams, MA); Daniel C. Viall (Science Center, North Adams, MA); Shelby L. Walden (Vice President for Operations Office, North Adams, MA); Jianjun Wang (Office for Information Technology, Williamstown, MA); Alison J. Warner (Campus Safety and Security, Cheshire, MA); Dawn Wellspeak (Conference Office, Adams, MA); Robert H. White (Alumni/Development Communications, Williamstown, MA); Cheryl L. Whitney (Dining Services, North Adams, MA); and Paul E. M. Yarter (Campus Safety and Security, Williamstown, MA).<br /><br />Employees celebrating five years of service included: Carol L. Allard (Office of Financial Aid, Williamstown, MA); Brenda C. Baliakos (President's House, Williamstown, MA); Barbara A. Bell (Theatre Department, Bennington, VT); Pamela Besnard (Development Office, Williamstown, MA); Kenneth E. Bolte (Dining Services, North Adams, MA); Stephanie A. Boyd (Zilkha Center for Environmental Initiatives, Williamstown, MA); Kortni P. Cahoon (Admission Office, North Adams, MA); Lynne M. Cassano (Williams College Libraries, Bennington, VT); Kristian S. Dufour (Office of Public Affairs, Williamstown, MA); Mark R. Grandchamp (Facilities, North Adams, MA); Jessica A. Gulley (Office of Campus Life, Bennington, VT); Anita L. Gutmann (Provost's Office, Adams, MA); Erik J. Kristensen, Jr. (Campus Safety and Security, Lanesborough, MA); Nicole R. Landy (Dining Services, Williamstown, MA); Michelle R. Larabee (Facilities, North Adams, MA); Thomas J. Martin III (Dining Services, Williamstown, MA); Kay J. Oehler (Economics Department, Williamstown, MA); Lisa A. Remillard (Facilities, North Adams, MA); Nicole D. Renaud (Registrar's Office, North Adams, MA); Maria N. Restrepo (Dining Services, Williamstown, MA); Roberto Rivas, Jr. (Admission Office, Stamford, VT); Robert S. Scherr (Chaplain's Office, Williamstown, MA); James H. Trapp (Development Office, Williamstown, MA); Nicole G. Wilson (Registrar's Office, Pownal, VT); Chris Winters (Provost's Office, Williamstown, MA).<br /><br /><br />END<br /><br />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. <br />To visit the college on the Internet:www.williams.edu<br /><br />News: Katie Aldrin<br />
Psychologist Marlene Sandstrom Awarded NSF Grant in Support of Research on School Bullying
Full Story - Tue, 21 Apr 2009 04:00:00 -0500
Description:WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., April 21, 2009 -- The National Science Foundation has announced the award of a grant of $77,092 to <a href="/">Williams College</a> to support the work of <a href="/Psychology/Faculty/MSandstrom/MSandstrom.html">Marlene Sandstrom</a>, associate professor of psychology.&nbsp; The title of her research project is "Pluralistic Ignorance and School Bullying: Do Misperceptions of Classroom Norms Contribute to Peer Harassment?" Sandstrom will explore bystander passivity in school bullying.<br /><br />The results of this research will contribute to a broader understanding of how children balance private attitudes with perceptions of peer attitudes when deciding their own behavior. Results could also affect the content of classroom-based intervention programs. <br /><br />Anecdotal evidence and observational studies show that other children are present during most acts of bullying, but they rarely try to help the victim.&nbsp; Sandstrom proposes that one explanation for this phenomenon is a misperception of group norms. When children observe an episode of bullying, they look to their peers for cues about how they should react. Children misjudge their peers' failure to help as evidence of their tolerance for bullying, a process known as pluralistic ignorance. Repeated episodes of pluralistic ignorance can solidify a misrepresentation of tolerance and promote future instances of passivity.<br /><br />Her current project has four goals:<br /><br /><ul><li>to determine whether pluralistic ignorance occurs during instances of school bullying</li> <li>to investigate possible differences in pluralistic ignorance between late elementary school and late middle school students</li> <li>to explore whether the manipulation of children's knowledge about peer attitudes will affect their willingness to help during a bullying episode</li> <li>to determine to the extent to which children's willingness to help is related to changes in perceptions of group norms</li> </ul> <br />Before coming to Williams, Sandstrom served as a clinical fellow in psychology with a subspecialty in community mental health at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. She was also a clinical assistant for the Families and Schools Together Track Project, an intervention program for children at risk for the development of behavioral and social difficulties.<br /><br />Sandstrom's research interests include childhood peer relationships, peer rejection, and bystander behavior in the school context. Her work has focused on social vulnerability during childhood, such as the ways in which children cope with teasing, ostracism, and victimization at school. <br /><br />Her work has been published in Child Development, the Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, the Journal of Pediatric Psychology, and Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, among others. <br /><br />She received her B.A. from Yale University, her Ph.D. from Duke University, and completed postdoctoral work in pain management and anxiety disorders at the Duke University Medical Center.<br /><br />END<br /><br />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<br />
Williams Professor Scrutinizes the Everyday in Postsocialist Moscow
Full Story - Tue, 21 Apr 2009 04:00:00 -0500
Description:WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., April 21, 2009 -- <a href="/AnthSoc/shevchenko.php">Olga Shevchenko</a>, assistant professor of sociology at <a href="/">Williams College</a>, is the author of "Crisis and the Everyday in Postsocialist Moscow," published by the Indiana University Press.<br /><br />Drawing on more than 100 in-depth interviews with Muscovites from various walks of life, Shevchenko's book explores how postsocialist Russians made sense of and responded to the acute uncertainties of everyday life. <br /><br />These uncertainties were spurred by the rise of unemployment, currency devaluations, and political upheavals that plagued the nation in the 1990s. By the end of the decade, Shevchenko says, the ground rules of postsocialist life were shaped by this experience of "routinized crisis."<br /><br />"I followed up on the themes that emerged in the course of my interviews, looking for tangible everyday forms in which social change could be observed, and exploring ways in which the experience of a societal crisis was embodied in a variety of diverse daily practices, from shopping for furniture and watching the news to seeking medical attention and solving crossword puzzles," she writes.<br /><br />In the book, Shevchenko details her discovery of two interrelated trends emerging as central to achieving some measure of stability in Moscow.<br /><br />First, domesticity and the household took on greater symbolic weight, while wider networks of belonging lost relevance. The family became both a political and symbolic refuge from the chaotic political and economic restructuring of the postsocialist decade, "the safety buffer absorbing the shocks and failures emanating from the outside world."<br /><br />The second trend was the high premium on achieving and displaying autonomy. "In a sense, crisis turned into a symbolic resource," Shevchenko writes, "and grew to become the individuals' second nature, a source not only of daily aggravations, but, paradoxically, also of a sense of identity, dignity and status." <br /><br />By the end of the first postsocialist decade, one "could most easily achieve trust through affirmation of universalized distrust, and the shortest path to building solidarity was an assertion that 'nowadays' solidarity was impossible." <br /><br />By highlighting these aspects of the postsocialist crisis, Shevchenko's book draws attention to the consequences of prolonged social instability for people's basic notions of personhood, safety and practical competence.<br /><br />At Williams, Shevchenko teaches Invitation to Sociology, Images and Society, Culture, Consumption and Modernity, Communism and Its Aftermath and Memory and Identity. Her new project looks at family photography and the generational memories of socialism in Russia.<br /><br />She is the recipient of a number of awards, including an International Collaborative Research Grant from the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research in 2006 and a Class of 1945 World Fellowship awarded by Williams College in 2005.<br /><br />Shevchenko earned her B.A. from Moscow State University, her M.A. from Central European University, and her Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania.<br /><br />END<br /><br />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<br />
Visiting Ugandan Government Official Focuses Williams College's Attention on World Agriculture ...
Full Story - Fri, 10 Apr 2009 04:00:00 -0500
Description:WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., April 10, 2009 -- Bringing real world voices and experiences to <a href="/">Williams College</a> is an important part of providing a balanced education. &nbsp;<br /><br />"We want to break down the barrier between learning and doing by learning from those who have been doing in the areas of international relations and economic development," explained Williams Professor William Darrow of the International Studies Program. Williams College's first appointment to the Class of 1955 Visiting Professor in International Studies, Dr. Wilberforce Kisamba Mugerwa, brings plenty of both from his native Uganda. <br /><br />&nbsp;"Dr. Mugerwa exemplifies the kind of person I am thrilled can be available to Williams students and faculty," Darrow said, "and to have the opportunity to share real world experience of the global challenges we face."<br /><br />As a high-level government official in a Sub-Saharan nation, Mugerwa has hands-on experience with development issues. As a smallholder farmer, he has turned his farm into an experimental laboratory for his new techniques and methods for his neighbors. As a politician, he knows how governments get things done (and don't get things done), and as a scholar, he has stepped back to study how all these threads are interwoven. <br /><br />Mugerwa divides his life between his three major interests -- as an academic, a civil servant, and as a farmer. <br /><br />He studied agriculture and planning at Makerere University in Kampala. He went on to serve as a member of parliament for 23 years. As a member of the opposition and later a Minister of State holding various portfolios including that of finance and planning and later as a Minister of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries. Later, he worked for an international development agency. He is currently the chairperson of the National Planning Authority, but has taken a leave of absence for his time at Williams College. <br /><br />Throughout his career, Mugerwa has focused on the role of agriculture in Ugandan life. About 80 percent of the population still lives in rural areas, and 78 percent are involved in agriculture, with most working on sustenance level. <br /><br />At first, as a sort of retirement plan, Mugerwa purchased a small plot of land about 60 kilometers from the capital and grew food he would bring to his home in the city. He eventually expanded to include cash crops like coffee, cocoa, and vanilla. <br /><br />It was an educational experience for him, and for his neighbors. When he arrived, they were having trouble growing "matooke," a variety of banana similar to a plantain, the staple dish in Uganda. The farmers blamed it on land that "had grown old." Using modern techniques of fertilization and management, Mugerwa was able to show his neighbors how to do it. <br /><br />He is very interested in finding ways to help. In Uganda, transactional costs are very high because of poor rural transportation infrastructure. He believes that teaching farmers about sustainable agriculture, giving them access to markets, and helping with equipment and seed stock are among the challenges that policy makers must address. <br /><br />Professor of Economics Douglas Gollin and Dr. Mugerwa are co-teaching a 200-level course at Williams this spring, which is cross-listed in environmental studies, economics, and international relations. The course's 25 students come from a variety of disciplines, including those interested in development and social justice, economics, globalization, and sustainability. <br /><br />END<br /><br />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 <br /><br />News: Chris Marcisz<br />
Williams College Announces 2009 Commencement Speakers and Honorary Degree Candidates (corrected ...
Full Story - Wed, 18 Mar 2009 04:00:00 -0500
Description:WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., March 18, 2009 -- <a href="/">Williams College</a> announced today that Clarence Otis '77 - chairman and chief executive officer of Darden Restaurants - will be the principal speaker at the college's 220th Commencement exercises on Sunday, June 7.&nbsp; Anne Garrels - senior foreign correspondent of National Public Radio - will be the Baccalaureate speaker on Saturday, June 6. <br /><br />President of the College Morton Owen Schapiro will confer honorary degrees on both of them as well as to astronaut and Senator John H. Glenn, writer Tracy Kidder, historian James M. McPherson, and musician James Taylor.<br /><br /><br /><b>Clarence Otis</b><br /><br /><img src="/admin/news/releases/images/1775_Otis.jpg" alt="Clarence Otis" align="right" height="254" hspace="12" vspace="6" width="200">Otis is chairman and chief executive officer of Darden Restaurants, the world's largest full-service restaurant operating company.&nbsp; It employs nearly 180,000 people and serves 400 million meals annually in its Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Longhorn Steakhouse, The Capital Grille, Bahama Breeze, and Seasons 52 restaurants.<br /><br />Before joining Darden in 1995 as corporate treasurer, Otis was managing director and manager of public finance for Chemical Securities, Inc. (now JP Morgan Securities, Inc.). He also worked for Siebert Municipal Capital Group, The First Boston Corporation, and Kidder, Peabody &amp; Company.<br /><br />Otis earned a Juris Doctor degree from Stanford Law School and is a member of the New York Bar Association. He worked as a securities attorney in New York City for four years prior to beginning his career in financial services. &nbsp;<br /><br />Born in Vicksburg, Miss., he grew up in Watts, Calif., at the height of the civil unrest of the 1960s.&nbsp; His family expected him to work hard in school and, as a standout student, he was encouraged to apply to Williams College by Felix Grossman '56, and recommended for a scholarship by a high school guidance counselor. He earned a bachelor's degree, magna cum laude, from Williams where he was elected a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society.<br /><br />He is actively involved in a wide range of educational civic activities.&nbsp; He serves on the board of directors of The Association to Preserve the Eatonville Community, Inc., a historic cultural preservation organization that represents the nation's oldest incorporated African-American municipality, which is located in central Florida.<br /><br />In April 2007, Clarence was presented with a Horatio Alger Award and inducted as a lifetime member of the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans.&nbsp; He is also an active member of the Executive Leadership Council - a professional network and forum for Fortune 500 African-American executives.<br /><br /><br /><b>Anne Garrels</b><br /><br /><img src="/admin/news/releases/images/1775_Garrels.jpg" alt="Anne Garrrels" align="right" height="254" hspace="12" vspace="6" width="200">National Public Radio (NPR) senior foreign correspondent Garrels became a household name in 2003 when she delivered a stream of live reports from Baghdad as one of only 16 non-embedded U.S. journalists to remain in the city throughout Operation Shock and Awe. <br /><br />Her celebrated work on Iraq, which began during the Saddam Hussein regime in 2002 and continued as she led NPR coverage there until 2008, is only one of a mind-boggling array of postings, including Russia and other former Soviet republics, China, Saudi Arabia, Mongolia, Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Israel, and the West Bank.<br /><br />Garrels cut her journalistic teeth at ABC News; over the course of her 10 years there she served as bureau chief for Moscow and Central America. She subsequently was State Department correspondent for NBC News, before joining NPR in 1988.<br /><br />Upon returning from her initial stint in Baghdad in 2003, Garrels detailed her experiences in "Naked in Baghdad." In the book, Garrels writes: "The obvious stories, press conferences, and official statements that are now the fodder for most news organizations can easily be had from outside Iraq. I am here to try to understand how Iraqis see themselves, their government, and the world around them."<br /><br />Garrels' journalism has won her numerous accolades, including the George Polk Award, the Courage in Journalism Award from the International Women's Media Foundation, the Alfred I. DuPont Columbia University Award, and the Overseas Press Club Award. <br /><br />Listeners across the country continue to enjoy Garrels' reports on "All Things Considered," "Morning Edition," "Weekend Edition Saturday," "Weekend Edition Sunday," and "Day to Day." <br /><br />Garrels was Edward R. Murrow Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in 1996-97, and is currently a board member of the Committee to Protect Journalists. She received her B.A. from Harvard University in 1972.<br /><br /><br /><b>John H. Glenn</b><br /><br /><img src="/admin/news/releases/images/1775_Glenn.jpg" alt="John Glenn" align="right" height="254" hspace="12" vspace="6" width="200">Glenn attended Muskingum College, where he received his private pilot's license at age 21, months before Pearl Harbor was bombed. He arrived at the Navy's pre-flight school in March 1942 and served in the Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force for the next decade, earning the nickname "MiG Mad Marine" for shooting down three enemy MiG jet fighters on a Korean War border patrol. <br /><br />After returning from Korea in 1953, Glenn served for six years as a test pilot and rose to national fame, receiving the fifth of his six Distinguished Flying Crosses for completing the first transcontinental flight to average supersonic speed. <br /><br />In 1959, he volunteered for Project Mercury, NASA's first manned space program, and made history as the third person and first American to orbit the earth in 1962. <br /><br />Glenn joined Royal Crown Cola as vice president for corporate development in 1964, eventually serving as president of Royal Crown International. <br /><br />Throughout his corporate career, Glenn had been encouraged by Robert Kennedy to enter public service.&nbsp; His first Senate campaign in the 1964 Ohio Democratic primary hit a wall when he sustained a concussion in a fall but Glenn won a seat in the U.S. Senate in 1974, and held that seat until his retirement from politics in 1999. Throughout his tenure, he was known for working on legislation to restrict the proliferation of nuclear weapons around the world and address radioactive waste accumulations domestically.<br /><br />Glenn teaches in the department of political science and the school of public policy and management at Ohio State University, where he also chairs the board of directors for the John Glenn Institute of Public Service and Public Policy.<br /><br /><br /><b>Tracy Kidder</b><br /><br /><img src="/admin/news/releases/images/1775_Kidder.jpg" alt="Tracy Kidder" align="right" height="254" hspace="12" vspace="6" width="200">Kidder, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and non-fiction author, published his breakthrough work, "The Soul of a New Machine," in 1981. Following Data General's development of the Eclipse/MV minicomputer, the book showcases Kidder's ability to make the technological processes behind building a computer accessible to the lay reader, along with revealing insights on the tech industry's shift to an increasingly demanding work ethic.<br /><br />He has written on topics as varied as railroads, energy, architecture, and the environment. His books include "House," "Among Schoolchildren," "Home Town," "Old Friends," "My Detachment: A Memoir," and perhaps his most famous book, "Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure the World." <br /><br />"Mountains Beyond Mountains" follows Farmer's endeavors to improve international health care. The work depicts a modern day hero who strives to help the needy, specifically focusing on treating HIV and tuberculosis in Haiti. Jonathan Harr, author of "Civil Action," wrote of the book, "The central character of this marvelous book ... has embarked on an epic struggle that will take you from the halls of Harvard Medical School to a sun-scorched plateau in Haiti, from the slums of Peru to the cold gray prisons of Moscow. [Farmer] wants to change the world. Certainly this luminous and powerful book will change the way you see it."<br /><br />Kidder earned his bachelor's degree from Harvard University in 1967. The following year, he served as a lieutenant in the Vietnam War. He attended the University of Iowa from which he received his M.F.A. and where he participated in the Writers' Workshop, a program known for its literary luster. <br /><br /><b>James M. McPherson</b><br /><br /><img src="/admin/news/releases/images/1775_McPherson.jpg" alt="James McPherson" align="right" height="254" hspace="12" vspace="6" width="200">McPherson is the George Henry Davis 1886 Professor of American History, Emeritus at Princeton University. Author of 18 books, he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1989 for "Battle Cry of Freedom."&nbsp; Considered by many the best single-volume history of the American Civil War, McPherson went on to serve as an advisor for the 1990 critically acclaimed PBS documentary, "The Civil War." <br /><br />In 2009, McPherson was awarded the Lincoln Prize for the second time for his book "Tried by War: Abraham Lincoln as Commander in Chief."&nbsp; The award is given for the finest scholarly work on Abraham Lincoln or the American Civil War soldier. He won the award in 1998 for his book "For Cause and Comrades."&nbsp; His 1964 "The Struggle for Equality," received the Anisfield-Wolf Award, given to writers who have made important contributions to the understanding of racism and diversity.<br />&nbsp;<br />In 2000, he was named the Jefferson Lecturer by the National Endowment for the Humanities. It is the highest honor the federal government confers for distinguished intellectual achievement in the humanities. The recipient is honored for his or her ability to communicate the knowledge and wisdom of the humanities in a broadly appealing way. In 2007, he became the first ever recipient of the $100,000 Pritzker Military Library Literature Award for lifetime achievement in military history.<br /><br />McPherson is an avid preservationist, dedicated to protecting Civil War battlefields. He has served on the boards of both the Civil War Trust and the Association for the Preservation of Civil War Sites. As president of Protect Historic America, he successfully opposed a plan to build a commercial historical theme park near Virginia's Manassas battlefield.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;<br /><br />He earned his B.A. from Gustavus Adolphus College and his Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University. <br />&nbsp;<br /><br /><b>James Taylor</b><br /><br /><img src="/admin/news/releases/images/1775_Taylor.jpg" alt="James Taylor" align="right" height="254" hspace="12" vspace="6" width="200">Throughout his career, musician Taylor's work has been recognized with 40 gold, platinum, and multi-platinum awards and five Grammy awards. This gifted guitarist is best known for songs such as "Fire and Rain," "Something in the Way She Moves," and "Carolina In My Mind." <br /><br />Taylor's path to 40 million album sales began with cello lessons as a child in North Carolina. He soon switched to the guitar, and was playing in coffeehouses with aspiring guitarist Danny Kortchmar by age 15. He gained his first experience with the recording industry three years later with Kortchmar and the band The Flying Machine, which played material that Taylor had written.<br /><br />Taylor became the first non-British act signed to the Beatle's Apple label. Two years later, Warner Brothers released his album "Sweet Baby James," which held the wildly popular single "Fire and Rain" and went triple-platinum. &nbsp;<br /><br />The following year Taylor won the first of his five Grammy awards for "You've Got a Friend." 1971 also saw him gracing the cover of Time magazine, as a forerunner of "the singer/songwriter era." <br /><br />In 1976, just eight years after releasing his first album, Taylor recorded his "Greatest Hits" album. It received the RIAA's diamond award and sold more than 11 million copies. &nbsp;<br /><br />Recently, there have been a constant stream of accolades: Billboard magazine's 1998 Century Award, inductions into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriter's Hall of Fame in 2000, and a 2008 Emmy nomination for his CD/DVD "One Man Band."<br /><br />Taylor is active in the environmental and political sphere. He served as a board member of the Natural Resources Defense Council for 25 years and has worked with several presidential and gubernatorial campaigns.<br /><br />Related link: <a href="/home/commencement/">Commencement 2009</a><br /><br />END<br /><br />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<br />
Chemistry Professor Thomas E. Smith Wins Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award
Full Story - Mon, 16 Mar 2009 04:00:00 -0500
Description:WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., March 16, 2009 -- Thomas E. Smith, associate professor of chemistry at <a href="/">Williams College</a>, was recently named a national winner of the Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award. Administered by the Camille &amp; Henry Dreyfus Foundation, the award carries an unrestricted research grant of $60,000.<br /><br />This award recognizes tenure-track faculty in U.S. academic institutions that grant bachelor's or master's degrees in the chemical sciences. Candidates are assessed based on "leadership in original scholarly research of outstanding quality with undergraduates and excellence and dedication in undergraduate studies."<br /><br />"The competition for the Teacher-Scholar award was strong," says Mark Cardillo, executive director of the Camille &amp; Henry Dreyfus Foundation. Smith was one of only five winners selected from a large pool of nominees from across the United States.<br /><br />He will use his award to enhance the research and educational development of undergraduate students in his laboratory.<br /><br />Smith and his lab are researching pyran-based anticancer natural products in order to formulate an efficient general strategy for the asymmetric synthesis of these complex molecular structures.<br /><br />The molecules he studies include acutiphycin, which inhibits the growth of malignant cells, and tedanolide C, which exhibits potent cytotoxicity against cancer cell lines. Both of these are natural products of marine origin. Like many biologically relevant natural product classes, they also contain chiral pyran-based ring systems (six-membered rings comprising five carbon atoms and one oxygen).<br /><br />The Smith lab currently includes senior honors candidates Alex Zackheim '09, a chemistry and economics major from Fairfield, Conn.; Cale Weatherly '09, a chemistry and philosophy major from Cincinnati, Ohio; and independent study student Zebulon Levine '11, from Pomfret Center, Conn.<br /><br />The National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the American Chemical Society's Petroleum Research Fund, and Pfizer, Inc. have supported his research and his research has appeared in numerous peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Organic Chemistry, Organic Letters, and the Journal of Chemical Education,<br /><br />Smith received his B.A. from Williams College in 1988 and his Ph.D. from Stanford University in 1996. He did his postdoctoral work at Harvard University. He joined the Williams College faculty in 1998.<br /><br />The Henry Dreyfus Foundation, established in 1946, seeks to advance the sciences of chemistry, chemical engineering, and related sciences as a means of improving human relations and circumstances.<br /><br /><br />END<br /><br />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. <br />To visit the college on the Internet:www.williams.edu<br /><br />News: Yue-Yi<br />
"Ruffians, Yakuza, Nationalists" Reevaluates Modern Japanese Democracy
Full Story - Tue, 10 Mar 2009 04:00:00 -0500
Description:WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., March 10, 2009 -- "Ruffians, Yakuza, Nationalists: The Violent Politics of Modern Japan, 1860-1960," written by Eiko Maruko Siniawer of <a href="/">Williams College</a>, was recently published by Cornell University Press.<br /><br />In her book, Siniawer examines "how a culture of political violence and a democracy could operate at one and the same time." She argues that physical violence became a constant, though changing presence in Japanese politics starting in the middle of the Meiji era. "Democratic politics attracted the very kind of violence that was often undemocratic in its consequences," she writes.<br /><br />With a focus on "the functions and influences of violence in politics," Siniawer traces the role of "violence specialists" in Japan's socio-political history. These non-state actors wielded physical force vocationally and politically.&nbsp; They ranged from the "bakuto" reformers of the Meiji Restoration, to the "soshi" activists who blended politics with ruffianism beginning in the 1880s, to "yakuza" mafiosi bosses elected to the Diet in the early decades of the 20th century.<br /><br />"Ruffians, Yakuza, Nationalists" paints a picture of violence specialists who were driven by a combination of factors rather than an inherent violent impetus. "In practice," Siniawer asserts, "their political violence was inextricably bound up with the most modern of impulses - the construction of a modern nation-state, parliamentary and constitutional democracy, nationalism, imperialism, and fascism."<br /><br />Widespread denunciation of political violence followed in the aftermath of World War II. But this second shift did not eradicate "yakuza" presence in politics.&nbsp; They changed their focus from violence to money, which could be as corrupt and pernicious as physical force.<br /><br />Siniawer's work addresses a lack of post-war scholarship on coercive physical force in Japan as a phenomenon in itself rather than a by-product of other political currents.<br /><br />This book also incorporates a comparative analysis, placing violence in Japan alongside organized crime in Russia and Italy, as well as ruffianism in the United States and Great Britain, two iconic democracies that have struggled with political violence.<br /><br />Siniawer posits that every democratic nation has a latent capacity for violence, which may, given certain combinations of circumstances, manifest as it did in modern Japan.<br /><br />"Eiko Maruko Siniawer advances the provocative thesis that the embrace of democracy does not displace violence from politics but merely transforms it," wrote Michael A. Reynolds of Princeton University. "This is a book that deserves an audience well beyond Japanese history."<br /><br />Siniawer is assistant professor of history at Williams College and specializes in the history of modern Japan. She has written for "Modern Asian Studies," the "Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern World," and "Organized Crime and the Challenge to Democracy." She was a visiting scholar at Harvard University's Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies in 2006-07, and continues to serve as an associate of research there.<br /><br />She received her B.A. from Williams College in 1997 and her Ph.D. in history from Harvard University in 2003.<br /><br />END<br /><br />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.<br />To visit the college on the Internet:www.williams.edu<br /><br />News: Yue Yi<br />
"Creating Games," Subject of Book by Professor Morgan McGuire of Williams College
Full Story - Tue, 10 Mar 2009 04:00:00 -0500
Description:WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., March 10, 2009 -- "Creating Games: Mechanics, Content, and Technology," by <a href="http://www.cs.williams.edu/~csweb/McGuire-bio.html">Morgan McGuire</a> of <a href="/">Williams College</a> and Odest Chadwicke Jenkins of Brown University, was recently published by A K Peters, Ltd.<br /><br />McGuire, assistant professor of computer science at Williams, and Jenkins present a comprehensive look at the different aspects of game development and how these interact, covering board games, video games and serious games. <br /><br />The book is targeted at three different audiences: students, independent developers, and new professionals in the gaming industry. It offers different approaches for each audience group <br />and incorporates a series of worksheets that facilitate the drafting of a game industry design document.<br /><br />"Games are inherently multidisciplinary and can be taught through the perspective of any discipline," write the authors. While incorporating many disciplines, the material in this book draws primarily on computer science and art.<br /><br />Using principles from these fields, the book explores organization, group dynamics, and licensing, which fall under the broad category of management. It discusses the three components of games: mechanics, or the underlying rules; content, the art, music, and story; and technology, the platform through which the game is presented. Finally, it returns to the issue of management with a chapter on the social issues around games and in the industry.<br /><br />In addition to its brisk, clear prose and the worksheets, numerous supplementary elements make this book both accessible and challenging. These helpful features include a "terms explained" section, exercises, and suggested resources in every chapter, as well as several appendices, one of which gives an extensive listing of the games canon, ranging from ancient to digital.<br /><br />At Williams, McGuire's research centers on computer vision and video games. His areas of interest include using video cameras and computers to understand the 3-D world, increasing interactivity in video game design, and improving 3-D rendering. Since coming to Williams in 2006, he has created an introductory computer science course titled "Strategy, Interaction, and Design in Board and Video Games" and redesigned an upper-level computer graphics course.<br /><br />McGuire serves as an independent consultant for the games industry, and has worked on titles such as Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 (2009), Titan Quest (2006) and ROBLOX (2005). He has also been senior software architect at graphics-related companies and manages two Open Source coding projects. <br /><br />He received his B.S. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2000 and his Ph.D. from Brown University in 2006.<br /><br />END<br /><br />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. <br />To visit the college on the Internet:www.williams.edu<br /><br />News: Yue-Yi<br />
Leslie Brown's "Upbuilding Black Durham" Wins Best First Book Award from Organization ...
Full Story - Mon, 23 Feb 2009 05:00:00 -0500
Description:WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., Feb. 23, 2009 -- The Frederick Jackson Turner Award, given by the <a href="http://www.oah.org">Organization of American Historians</a> for an author's first book on some significant phase of American History will be awarded to <a href="/history/bios/LBrown.php">Leslie Brown</a>, assistant professor of history at <a href="/">Williams College</a>.&nbsp; The award for "Upbuilding Black Durham: Gender, Class, and Black Community Development in the Urban South" (UNC, Chapel Hill, 2008) will be presented to Brown at the organization's annual meeting in March.<br /><br />Before joining the Williams faculty in 2008, Brown taught at Skidmore College, Washington University, and Duke University.&nbsp; While at Duke, she co-coordinated the project "Behind the Veil: Documenting African American Life in the Jim Crow South," at the <a href="http://cds.aas.duke.edu/">Center for Documentary Studies</a>.&nbsp; She received her B.A. from Tufts University in 1977 and a Ph.D. in history from Duke University in 1997.<br /><br />Her book "Upbuilding Black Durham" focuses on Durham, North Carolina, exploring black community politics during the <a href="http://www.jimcrowhistory.org/">Jim Crow</a> era.&nbsp; Using interviews, narratives, and family stories, Brown illuminates the city's black history from emancipation to the civil rights era, and the struggle to give meaning to black freedom and to generate progress.<br /><br />In her book, Brown argues that African Americans' multifaceted identity neither unified nor divided them in Durham, despite Jim Crow.&nbsp; Instead, the alliances and alienation experienced within the interrelated structures of gender and class and the resulting relationships were both interconnected and disjointed, as men and women among the migrants, working, middle, and elite classes sought to carve their own niche in a new free society.<br /><br />Her work has been included in a number of anthologies, including "The Practice of U.S. Women's History: Narratives, Intersections, and Dialogues," "Telling Stories: Black Women in the Academy," "Her Past Around Us: Interpreting Sites for Women's History," and "Stepping Forward: Black Women in Africa and the Americas." &nbsp;<br /><br />Brown is currently working on a book on black women's migration, an edited collection of interviews, a documents collection, and a volume of the writings and speeches of Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm.<br /><br />Of particular interest to Brown are working-class black women.&nbsp; "Theirs was the usual experience of African Americans in the urban south," she writes.&nbsp; These women acted as arbiters on behalf of the community, taking up issues of wages and work conditions.&nbsp; While women of the professional classes focused on respectability, education, and career opportunities, working-class women rallied their efforts behind alleviating the immediate causes and effects of poverty.&nbsp; Throughout their struggles, working-class women challenged both the black elite and middle class within the community, as well as Jim Crow.&nbsp; Their resources helped build Durham's reputation as the "Capital of the Black Middle Class."<br />&nbsp;<br />END<br /><br />Williams College is consistently ranked one of the nation's top liberal arts colleges.&nbsp; 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 this research.&nbsp; Students' educational experience is enriched by the residential campus environment, which provides a host of opportunities for interaction with one another and with faculty beyond the classroom.&nbsp; 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.&nbsp; Founded in 1793, it is the second oldest institution of higher learning in Massachusetts.&nbsp; The college is located in Williamstown, Mass.&nbsp; To visit the college on the Internet:&nbsp; www.williams.edu<br /><br /><br />
College Art Association Honors Haxthausen of Williams College
Full Story - Mon, 09 Feb 2009 05:00:00 -0500
Description:WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., Feb. 9, 2009 -- Charles W. ("Mark") Haxthausen, the Robert Sterling Clark Professor of Art History and former director of the Graduate Program in Art History at <a href="/">Williams College</a>, has been awarded the prestigious Distinguished Teaching of Art History Award from the College Art Association (CAA).<br /><br />In announcing the award, the CAA cited Haxthausen for having "provided long, transformative, and inspiring leadership to one of the most important master's degree programs in art history in the United States.&nbsp; As Robert Sterling Clark Professor of Art History at Williams College and director of the Graduate Program from 1993 to 2007, he has served as an enthusiastic and energetic intellectual model, with his love of scholarship and carefully crafted and innovative pedagogy creating a degree program that in turn has produced numerous leading scholars, teachers, and curators in art history." Haxthausen will be formally recognized at an award ceremony during CAA's 97th Annual Conference on February 25 in Los Angeles.<br /><br />Since coming to Williams from the University of Minnesota in 1993, Haxthausen's teaching repertory has included courses on art-historical method, European modernism, post-1960 art in Germany, and, most recently, silent film. <br /><br />He is editor of "The Two Art Histories: The Museum and the University" (Yale/Clark Art Institute, 2002) and co-editor of "Berlin: Culture and Metropolis" (Minnesota, 1990). His essays have appeared in books, exhibition catalogues, and journals in Europe and North America. Current and recent research interests include: the theory and criticism of Carl Einstein; the Bauhaus, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner; Paul Klee; Sigmar Polke, and Fritz Lang's Metropolis.<br /><br />Haxthausen received his B.A. from the University of St. Thomas, Houston, in 1966, and his Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1976. He began his teaching career at Indiana University in 1970, moving on to Harvard in 1975, where he also served as curator of the Busch-Reisinger Museum for eight years. Subsequently he taught at Minnesota before accepting the directorship of the Williams Graduate Program.<br /><br />The College Art Association's award, established in 1977, annually honors the career of an art history teaching professional. Winners are selected for a multiplicity of criteria: their ability and magnitude in inspiring student pursuit of humanistic studies; rigorous intellectual standards and success in scholarly and lecture presentation; contribution to the advancement of knowledge and methodology in art history; interdisciplinary advancement of historical knowledge; and aid to students in developing their careers.&nbsp; The late Whitney Stoddard, who taught in the Williams Art Department from 1945-1976, was co-recipient of the CAA's distinguished teaching award in 1989.<br /><br />***<br />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/<br /><br />Event: William Su<br /><br />
American Association for the Advancement of Science Honors Astronomer Karen Kwitter
Full Story - Tue, 06 Jan 2009 05:00:00 -0500
Description:WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., Jan. 6, 2009 -- The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has honored Karen B. Kwitter, the Ebenezer Fitch Professor of Astronomy and chair of the astronomy department at Williams College, with the distinction of Fellow for her meritorious efforts to advance science.&nbsp; Most specifically, Kwitter was recognized for her "distinguished contributions to research on planetary nebulae and for efforts to involve undergraduates in astronomy research projects."<br /><br />In recognition, she will be named a Fellow in the AAAS at its annual meeting on February 14. The AAAS is a non-profit that advances science by "serving as an educator, leader, spokesperson, and professional association." The organization publishes the prestigious journal Science.<br /><br />Kwitter's research centers on planetary nebulae, which are glowing gas shells ejected by low- to intermediate-mass stars before they die.<br /><br />As part of a team of astronomers and students, she is currently using planetary nebulae to study the formation of the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies. Carrying out this ambitious project will require, among other efforts, a search for previously undetected planetary nebulae in the outlying regions of the Milky Way Galaxy and M31 (the Andromeda Galaxy), followed by observations of their spectra to determine their chemical compositions.&nbsp; This work by Kwitter and two colleagues, Bruce Balick of the University of Washington, and Richard Henry of the University of Oklahoma, recently was awarded a three-year grant of $583,000 by the National Science Foundation.<br /><br />Kwitter is the author or co-author of more than 50 scientific papers appearing in the Astronomical Journal and the Astrophysical Journal, among others and four books, including "Force and Motion," "Our Solar System," and "Atmosphere and Weather" for the Hands-On Science series. <br /><br />At Williams since 1979, she regularly teaches the introductory astrophysics course, in addition to Observational Cosmology and a seminar Between the Stars: The Interstellar Medium. Her astronomy students have participated extensively in all aspects of her research.<br /><br />Combining her teaching and research interests, Kwitter and her colleague Henry have developed a <br />Gallery of Planetary Nebular Spectra ( http://www.williams.edu/Astronomy/research/PN/nebulae/ ),<br />presenting spectra of more than 120 objects they have observed over the years, in a browsable format that also contains a zoomable spectrum display.&nbsp; Part of her NSF-funded project mentioned above will involve adding newly discovered nebulae to the database and incorporating chemical abundance information. With over 13,000 hits, the website is used as a research tool by professional astronomers as well as a teaching resource for astronomy classes.<br /><br />Kwitter is a member of the Observatories Council of Associated Universities for Research in Astronomy, the American Astronomical Society, Sigma Xi, The Astronomical Society of the Pacific, and the International Astronomical Union.<br /><br />In addition to teaching at Williams, she has taught at the University of Illinois. Kwitter received her B.A. from Wellesley College and her Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of California-Los Angeles. <br /><br />The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is the world's largest general scientific society, and publisher of the journal Science. AAAS was founded in 1848, and includes some 262 affiliated societies and academies of science, serving 10 million individuals.<br /><br />END<br /><br />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<br />