Recollecting Lincoln
Everyone recognizes the beard—it’s in the Quaker manner, framing the familiar face with its deep-set eyes and sunken cheeks. Yet when Abraham Lincoln was elected president in 1860, he was clean-shaven, meaning a life mask of him created around that time is perhaps the most accurate rendering of the president’s face. A copy of that…
Friend of Hermann Park
Thanks to Chris Knapp ’84, the century-old dream of an urban oasis in Houston has finally been realized. And the result rivals the parks of even the greatest American cities. As the most entrepreneurial of cities—a place where zoning is regarded as a conspiracy against capitalism—Houston is rarely lauded for its scenery. The nation’s sixth-largest…
Fields of Dreams
Williams’ Alumni Sponsored Internship Program helps students gain on-the-job experience in a host of jobs. It was the worst job market in decades for students seeking summer employment. Yet more than 90 rising juniors and seniors representing nearly every academic field at Williams landed work last summer with a host of organizations around the globe,…
A Week with Adam Falk
One would think that the dean of Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts and Sciences at Johns Hopkins University would feel out of place amid buckets of joint compound and boxes of horseshoe shims. But as Adam Falk leads a tour through the mammoth renovation project under way at Gilman Hall, he exudes confidence. Clad in…
Lunch Dates
“In order to become great teachers, students must experience what it is to be engaged, disciplined and inspired students.” That’s one tenet behind Williams’ Program in Teaching, a combination of coursework, advising, teaching experiences and guest speakers designed to help budding educators. Monthly teaching lunches, a popular aspect of the program, routinely attract 25 to…
From the Bookshelf
Reality Check. By Peter Abrahams ’68. HarperTeen, 2009. A high school football star sets off across the country to find his girlfriend, who disappeared from her boarding school in Vermont. Riot at the Calc Exam and Other Mathematically Bent Stories. By Colin Adams, the Thomas T. Read Professor of Mathematics. American Mathematical Society, 2009. A…
In the News
Williams professors and others weigh in on the issues of the day. For a complete listing of media appearances, click here. “If education was a good enough topic for Plato, John Dewey and William James, it should be good enough for 21st century college professors,” says Susan Engel, senior psychology lecturer and Class of 1959…
Leap of Faith
“I’ve often worried that if we look at faith scientifically, we might find out that faith is a sham. But now I see that’s not true.” In reporting on the religious faith of others, Barbara Bradley Hagerty ’81 did not expect to have her own tested. It was 1995, and the journalist, who later…
Intellectual Connector
“I like history on a grand scale. The Cold War. The Vietnam War. I think the bigger the question, the more interesting for students.” The field of leadership studies might be synonymous with James MacGregor Burns ’39, government professor, emeritus, who penned the groundbreaking book Leadership in 1978. But the success of the leadership studies…
Intelligent Delight
Fred Holly Stocking ’36 was a revered and beloved professor of English at Williams for some 40 years. He was curious about everything, generous and encouraging of different opinions and perspectives, clear in his attitudes and convictions, reticent in his manner. Fred had reams of poetry by heart. “If I get far enough from civilization,…
Letters
Thanks very much for the recognition of Sam Schuchat ’83, the California Coastal Conservancy and its sister agency, the California Coastal Commission (“Shades of Blue,” September 2009). You neglected to mention the other sister agency, the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC), the first-ever coastal management agency in the U.S. BCDC has won…
Report from the Field
I should probably stop talking behind your backs. Among the experiences that serving as interim president has given me are more frequent opportunities to meet with groups of alumni, both on campus and far afield. When I return, colleagues ask my impressions of you all, and here is what I have been telling them. I…
Cross Country Finishes Strong
The Williams cross country teams each earned a bid to the 2009 NCAA championship, continuing their successful seasons. After finishing first at the New England regional race, the men placed second at Nationals. Edgar Kosgey ’10 won his third consecutive NCAA qualifier and was named New England Region Athlete of the Year by the U.S….
Hoops Hall of Fame Welcomes Ephs
The New England Basketball Hall of Fame honored a slew of Ephs in October, including the 2002-03 men’s team, which compiled a 31-1 record and was the first New England Div. III team to win the NCAA. The team’s coach, Dave Paulsen ’87, also was inducted into the hall of fame for his career with…
ECAC Ranks Williams Athletics #1
Williams was named a 2009 Eastern College Athletic Conference Jostens Institution of the Year, sharing the title with Duke. It’s the fifth time the Ephs have won the honor, given annually for a host of criteria ranging from documented academic success to total conference championships and NCAA tournament invites.
Sports Wrap
“We were a little unlucky, but Messiah definitely [is] worthy of the National Championship. I am very proud of the way the guys competed all year and am most pleased with the numerous comments from observers about what a classy group of young men they are.” —Men’s soccer coach Mike Russo, on the Ephs’ conduct…
The List: Winter Studies
Every January since 1968, students have participated in Winter Study as part of their academic requirements for graduation. Students can opt for independent study or choose this year from more than 100 courses across every academic discipline—from the perennial “Making Pottery on the Potter’s Wheel” (a top-10 favorite class in January ’09 taught by Pownal,…
In Memoriam
Al Shaw, former basketball coach, passed away on Nov. 29. He was 102. Shaw coached at Williams for 24 years, achieving a 302-171 record. Three of his teams reached the NCAA tournament, including the 1955 team, which played in the Div. I opening round against Canisius at Madison Square Garden. His Ephs won or tied…
They Said:
A collection of opinions and ideas expressed at Williams. “Our approach has been and continues to be to reduce expenditures in a controlled fashion such that we minimize the impact on the quality of the education we offer our students, while both ensuring that a Williams education remains affordable to every student we admit and…
Williams Endowment Update
According to the College investment office’s December endowment report, during the economic downturn Williams’ investment portfolio declined by 18.4 percent for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009. That compares with a 19.9 percent median drop experienced by 146 peer colleges and universities studied by a leading investment advisor to endowments. Taking into account spending…
Mukharji Wins Marshall Fellowship
Aroop Mukharji ’09 was one of 35 students nationwide to receive a prestigious Marshall Scholarship for two years of study in the U.K. The math and political science major plans to pursue a master’s in international relations at the London School of Economics and a master’s in international conflict studies at King’s College London.
College Receives Donation of Williams Club HQ
Some 30 alumni and friends gathered at the Williams Club in October to celebrate the donation of its headquarters to the College. Williams is leasing the building, the site of numerous College events, back to the club in an arrangement that benefits both parties financially. Pictured above, left to right, are former Williams Club Board…
New Course Book Program
Beginning this spring, Williams students receiving financial aid will pay no out-of-pocket expenses for course books. Instead they will swipe their ID cards at Water Street Books and the cost will go on their term bills, to be covered completely by their financial aid grants. In the past, each aided student received a grant of…
Utterback Named MacArthur Fellow
Digital artist Camille Utterback ’92 has been named a MacArthur Fellow by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Utterback is considered a pioneer in the field of “interactive installation,” blending computer code with traditional media to redefine how viewers interact with and experience art. Utterback is one of 24 people to receive a…