Summer 2010

Making the Berkshires Work

For some Ephs, the seed is planted as early as their first years at Williams—“Someday, I want to make my home in the Purple Valley.” They might stay on for a short time after graduation to work on campus before making their next move, or return later to join the faculty or staff. Or they…

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Behind the Mask

After a 20-year career with the L.A. Opera Company, artist Beckie Kravetz ’81 brings sculpture to life in her Massachusetts studio. Beckie Kravetz ’81 became a sculptor by way of the stage. A theater major at Williams, she went on to Yale School of Drama to study dramaturgy and dramatic criticism but found herself lured…

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A Culture of Sport

Can athletics and academics coexist at a liberal arts college? Forget the legendary school rivalries such as Williams-Amherst. Less visible but more pervasive on campuses across the country is the competition between academics and athletics. The Alumni Review asked philosophy professor Will Dudley ’89 and athletics director Harry Sheehy ’75 to discuss the relationship between…

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Room to Grow

It’s a home away from home. A refuge. A place to entertain friends—or just oneself. A blank canvas that can be as cluttered or clean, as ornate or unadorned, as one wishes. The dorm room. Here students offer a peek into their special spaces.   Lehman This television was in the basement of my house…

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From the Bookshelf

Thereby Hangs a Tail: A Chet and Bernie Mystery. By Spencer Quinn (Peter Abrahams ’68). Atria Books, 2010. Canine narrator Chet and his human companion Bernie set out to solve a celebrity dog-napping. García Márquez: The Man and His Work. By Gene H. Bell-Villada, professor of Romance languages. The University of North Carolina Press, 2010….

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New Justice

Shortly after President Obama nominated Solicitor General Elena Kagan to the U.S. Supreme Court in May, the Alumni Review asked two Williams political science professors—both alumni, at very different stages of their careers—five questions about the seat to be vacated by John Paul Stevens. Here’s what we learned: Q. What is the biggest effect that…

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Along a Long Line

  “Maybe it’s time to start thinking about  the world as a shared space divided by scientific measure rather than national boundaries.” Several years ago art professor Mike Glier ’75 bought himself a French easel and, much like the Impressionists of the 19th century, began painting outdoors in Williamstown and near his home in Hoosick,…

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The Literary Environment

“At their best, environmental history, philosophy, religion, literary studies and the like engage the underlying assumptions of environmental policy and environmental science.” It’s an inevitable question that Jennifer French is happy to answer: How, as a professor of Spanish, did she come to be named director of Williams’ Center for Environmental Studies (CES)? A scholar…

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In Memoriam

Lawrence Graver, the John Hawley Roberts Professor of English, emeritus, died Feb. 28 at his home after a long illness. He was 78. To read his complete obituary, visit http://tinyurl.com/graverobituary.

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Wms. Club Operations Move to Princeton Club

The 97-year-old Williams Club moved its membership program and related activities to the Princeton Club of New York on June 1, ceasing its own hospitality and restaurant operations. In a letter to the campus community in May, Mike Reed ’75, VP of strategic planning and institutional diversity and acting VP of alumni relations and development,…

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Bolton Named Dean

Physics professor and department chair Sarah Bolton will begin a three-year term as dean of the College on July 1. Bolton has held many positions on campus, including as chair of both the Faculty Steering Committee and physics department and as a member of the Committee on Educational Policy, Faculty Review Panel and Council of…

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Sports Wrap

Cedar Blazek ’13 has set a new single-season home run record for women’s softball, scoring her 10th with a two-run homer as the Ephs swept Amherst in a double header in May. Blazek is responsible for three of the Ephs’ walkoff wins during the season. The women’s track team captured its 10th consecutive NESCAC crown…

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N. Academic Building Now Hollander Hall

The north academic building, completed in 2008, has been named Hollander Hall by Richard and Jackie Hollander in honor of their sons Jordan and Adam, both Class of 2010. Inspired by Williams’ effect on the lives of their sons and fellow students—and by their deep admiration for Morty Schapiro’s Williams presidency—the Hollanders funded the building’s…

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Malcolm New Alumni & Development VP

John Malcolm ’86, president and CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) of Greater Los Angeles, will return to Williams in July as VP for alumni relations and development. Malcolm currently oversees programs matching volunteer mentors with more than 1,500 youth, most of whom live at or below the poverty level. He previously was VP…

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McInerney, Coakley Top Commencement

Members of the Class of 2010 and their families and friends participated in a weekend packed with activities leading up to the College’s 221st Commencement on June 6. Highlights included a baccalaureate address by Martha Coakley ’75, attorney general for Massachusetts and Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, and a commencement address by Jay McInerney ’76,…

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At the Heart of Williams

“Education is a social activity. … It’s about the development of habits of mind. … To be done well, it has to be experienced, by student and teacher, as a human interaction.” While I hope some day to meet all of you who receive this magazine, I look forward to using this column in the…

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A Tale of Two Haitis

  I lived in Haiti nearly five years and was indignant on a regular basis. Barefoot children peddled for pennies in the street while SUVs carrying foreign VIPs whizzed past. U.N. officials trumpeted peacekeeping success as their troops fired thousands of bullets indiscriminately into slums. U.S. government travel warnings perpetuated the myth that Haiti was…

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Troupe Effort

In “Combo Za: Making It Up for 25 (March 2010) Rob White writes, “Someone used the phrase ‘combination pizza’ as a skit punch line, and the group found a name.” That someone was me. It was possibly the worst punch line in the history of improv comedy. My colleagues sailed to the rescue by uttering…

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A Student Once More

Congratulations on the interview with Fred Rudolph ’42 (“Beyond the Log,” March 2010). It took me back to my senior seminar class in American history and literature with Fred and Charles Keller, when those two plumbed the intellectual depths of the 20 or so men around the table. They ranged from very bright, mature students…

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Knights and Ladies

The interesting article on professor James Pethica (“The Patroness & the Poet,” March 2010) refers to “Sir Gregory,” an impossible construction; he was, of course, “Sir William.” Meanwhile “Lady Isabella Gregory” could be so styled only if she were entitled to the honorific “Lady” in her own right, i.e., by being the daughter of a…

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Blue-Minded Ephs

The article on alumni involved in solving ocean issues (“Shades of Blue,” September 2009) bolstered my observation that Ephs play a disproportionately large role in this increasingly important field. My company, Waterview Consulting, links ocean science with management and policy through strategic communications. Unexpectedly often I encounter successful leaders addressing ocean issues and discover they…

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