The CDE at 50
His association with the Center for Development Economics spans the better part of its existence. Now Steve Lewis ’60 shares his perspective on the program’s first half-century. Economics professor Jerry Caprio ’72 once gave an exam with a question that began: “Suppose you are the advisor to the prime minister…” One of his students, a…
Beyond the Reading Group
Invisible Man is a daunting book. It’s daunting in terms of the complicated questions author Ralph Ellison raises about race, culture and society. In terms of how the book addresses universal themes such as invisibility, opportunity, self and community. In terms of i ts place in history, published just before the dawn of the modern Civil…
Squash with Street Cred
A sport long associated with a tiny subset of America’s elite helps to change the lives of inner-city kids. “Tony? Hey, Tony! They’re here, man.” Dozens of them—middle school and high school students—pour into the locker rooms of New York City’s Stephen L. Green StreetSquash Community Center on 115th Street, between Fifth and Lenox Avenues….
Taking Democracy Door to Door
As one of 1964’s youngest Freedom ?Riders, Chris Williams, today a College staff member, helped shape Civil Rights in America. Chris Williams devotes his days to making the College’s buildings flow and function. As assistant director for architectural services, he rattles along access roads in his blue pickup truck, stopping to check a building’s code…
Scrum for a Cure
Eighty minutes of rugby is hard enough. Believe me, I know from personal experience. But this spring, Williams’ women ruggers will truly push their mental and physical limits when they attempt to play rugby for 24 hours straight. That’s right, a match that lasts an entire solar day. As part of a fundraising event…
Eat. Prey. Love.
“The story goes that even after the Return they tried to keep the roller coasters going. They said it reminded them of the before time. When they didn’t have to worry about people rising from the dead, when they didn’t have to build fences and walls and barriers to protect themselves from the masses of…
Chemical Intuition
Of all widely taught undergraduate courses, few have reputations as fearsome as organic chemistry, the study of carbon and its myriad compounds. College students almost universally speak of “orgo” as a killer class that separates real scientists from dabblers and is a make-or-break for anyone considering medical school. But Thomas E. Smith ’88, professor of…
Bodner Mourned
The Williams community is mourning the unexpected death of Visiting Artist in Residence Steven Bodner, 35 (pictured above), who passed away Jan. 11. He joined the music department in fall 2000 to direct Symphonic Winds, which grew over time from eight students to as many as 80. “He seemed to be in a constant state…
WCMA Director to Step Down
Lisa Corrin has announced she will step down as the Class of 1956 Director of the Williams College Museum of Art on June 30. She will continue to teach at the College for the 2011-12 academic year and plans to serve as both a Clark Fellow at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute and…
Two Seniors Receive Teaching Fellowships
Gabriela Hernandez ’11 and Oscar Moreno ’11 were among 25 students selected nationally to receive Woodrow Wilson-Rockefeller Brothers Fund Fellowships for Aspiring Teachers of Color. Hernandez, who is an art history major completing a concentration in Africana studies, has taught Spanish at Breakthrough Collaborative, a national nonprofit that recruits high school and college students to…
New Dean of Faculty, Provost Named
On July 1, philosophy professor Will Dudley ’89 and English professor Peter Murphy will begin serving as provost and dean of faculty, respectively. Dudley, the College’s Gaudino Scholar, is a past chair of the Committee on Undergraduate Life and served on the Committee on Educational Policy, Faculty Interview Panel and Committee on Diversity and Community….
Our Stories, Our Responsibilities, Our Community
The College kicked off the spring semester on Feb. 3 with the third annual Claiming Williams Day—14 hours of lectures, forums, films and performances exploring community on campus. This year’s events, including a spoken-word presentation and Q&A by the four-woman troupe HerStory (pictured left) on the MainStage of the ’62 Center for Theatre and Dance,…
Men’s Basketball Success
Senior co-captain Troy Whittington led men’s basketball to an undefeated NESCAC season, securing a first-place ranking and top seed in the NESCAC Tournament in February. For the latest sports news and standings, visit http://williams.prestosports.com/landing/index
Students Witness Egyptian Revolution
Williams adjunct faculty member Julia Morgan-Leamon was teaching a printing and drawing course in Egypt during Winter Study when the protests began in Cairo. After seeing to it that her students got out of the country safely, she stayed on for a few weeks to document in watercolor what she was witnessing. See what she…
Options
I was dismayed to read about the Gaudino Option in the September 2010 Review. One of the greatest lessons the College is capable of imparting to its students is that we all are responsible for the work we do. Our school work and our professional work represent, in some significant way, the people we are….
Perfect
I cannot think of many times I have ever enjoyed reading a college publication as I experienced this morning with the January 2011 issue. Some of my wife Mary’s and my happiest moments were when we got “Parents of the Williams Crew” off the ground in 1993. —R.C. Everett, 1996 Eph parent, Scarsdale, N.Y. I…
Learn
The story about the math/statistics professors and the responses by the students makes me feel very enthusiastic about Williams, more than I have for a while (“Fun, Seriously,” January 2011). I have been telling my grandchildren to study statistics, as it is the key to understanding the real world. —Stephen Stolzberg ’63, Portland, Ore. As…
Making the Most of the Fiscal Crisis
I came to Williams as it was exiting the global economic crisis as from a cold shower, with energy high and senses fully alert. And while few would long to repeat the experience, it’s now clear to me, nearing the end of my status as newcomer, that the College definitely made the most of it….