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Headlines

Williams College Announces its 2010 Honorary Degrees

posted March 17, 2010.

Author Jay McInerney '76 will be the principal speaker at Williams College's 221st Commencement Exercises on Sunday, June 6. Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley '75 will be the Baccalaureate speaker the day before. McInerney and Coakley will receive honorary degrees at the Commencement as well as G. Wayne Clough, secretary of the Smithsonian Institution; Adam F. Falk, 17th president of Williams College; and Stephanie Wilson, astronaut.

New Book Suggests Paradigm Shift in Understanding of Ancient and Medieval Political Theory

posted March 16, 2010.

We like to think of the political thought that emerged in the Middle Ages as something of an aberration. Stuck between the secular politics of the ancient and modern worlds, it looks like a strange hiatus where the supernatural held sway.  But that's not how history unfolded, says former Williams president Francis Oakley. In a groundbreaking new book, he concludes that the Middle Ages, not ancient Greece and Rome, "provided the origins of our inherently secular politics."

Maria Elena Cepeda's New Book Examines the "Boom" of Latina/O Music

posted March 12, 2010.

In her new book, "Musical ImagiNation" (New York University Press, January 2010), María Elena Cepeda shows how popular music has become an alternative, dynamic space for conceptualizing transnational Colombian identity.

Williams College Names Philosophy Professor William Dudley as Next Gaudino Scholar

posted March 9, 2010.

Williams College has announced the selection of William Dudley, professor of philosophy, as Gaudino Scholar to succeed Ed Burger, professor of mathematics, who has held the role since 2008.

Williams College Nurses Travel to Haiti to Provide Relief to Earthquake Survivors

posted March 9, 2010.

Ruth Harrison and Carol Stein-Payne, who work in the Thompson Health Center at Williams College, recently returned from Haiti where they provided medical care to survivors of the January earthquake.

Williams Theatre Professor Set Designer for Young Jean Lee's "Lear" at SOHO Rep

posted March 9, 2010.

The stage of the Soho Rep in New York City was recently home to the set design of David Evans Morris, assistant professor of theatre at Williams College. Morris designed the set for Young Jean Lee’s play “Lear,” a reimagining of Shakespeare’s “King Lear.”

Geologist's Personal Revelations of "Heroic Engagement with the Earth" Published Posthumously

posted March 9, 2010.

On a trip to the Williams College archives, Geology Professor Reinhard A. Wobus discovered an interesting and unpublished manuscript in the box he had delivered. It was the autobiography of T. Nelson Dale, a geologist who taught at the college from 1893 to 1901, and who was the father of Margaret ("Peggy") Dale, a resident of Williamstown for most of her 105 years and a close friend of the Wobus family.

Two Art Exhibits Scheduled for Williams College Multicultural Center

posted March 1, 2010.

The Williams College Multicultural Center (MCC) will host two art exhibits this spring titled "Identifying Identity" by Ashley Carrera '10 and "Journey Woman" by Helina Metaferia.

Williams College Prof. Liza Johnson's Film "In the Air" Premieres at Berlin Film Festival

posted February 25, 2010.

“In the Air,” a film by artist and filmmaker Liza Johnson, who is associate professor of art at Williams College, premiered at the Berlin Film Festival the week of February 12, and travels from the festival to showings at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. The film screened on Wednesday night at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, with work by Jeannie Simms, Patty Chang, and Sharon Lockhart.

Inciarte '10 Wins First Woodrow Wilson-Rockefeller Brothers Fellowship for Aspiring Teachers of Color

posted February 22, 2010.

Himilcon Inciarte ’10 from Norwalk, Conn., has won an inaugural Woodrow Wilson-Rockefeller Brothers Fund Fellowship for Aspiring Teachers of Color. He is one of 25 students across the country to win the competitive fellowship.

Research on Memory/Learning Focus of Williams Professor Nate Kornell

posted February 22, 2010.

Are we overestimating remembering and underestimating learning?  Research by Nate Kornell, an assistant professor of psychology at Williams College and Robert A. Bjork of the University of California, Los Angeles, which address this question, was recently published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology.

In "Mathletes," Williams Professor Edward Burger Shows How Math Counts in the Winter Olympics

posted February 16, 2010.

Williams College mathematician Edward Burger is featured in NBC News and National Science Foundation partnership  “Where Science Meets the Olympics,” a 16-part video series, which explain the science behind Winter Olympian performers. 

Spring Planetarium Shows at Williams College Announced

posted February 15, 2010.

See the phases of the moon, learn the zodiacal constellations, and travel to a neighboring galaxy at the weekly planetarium show offered at the Milham Planetarium, located inside the Old Hopkins Observatory on Main Street at Williams College.

Williams College Alumna Wins Presitigious Gates Cambridge Scholarship

posted February 12, 2010.

The Gates Cambridge Scholarship program has announced Williams College alumna Emily Gladden ‘07 as one of 29 Americans to receive the scholarship to study at Cambridge University in October 2010.

Program in Teaching Announces Spring Events Schedule

posted February 4, 2010.

The Program in Teaching at Williams College resumes its public events, a series of luncheons, on Wednesday, Feb. 10.

Winter Study Offers Students a Way to Stretch Their Minds and Interests

posted February 3, 2010.

Winter Study, a Williams College tradition since 1968, allows students and faculty to explore interests outside of their major areas of study and expertise.  Students enroll in a single course during the month of January.  Courses are taught on a pass/fail basis, encouraging students to take risks by doing something different outside of their comfort zone.

Faculty Volunteer Their Expertise to Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Berkshire Community College

posted February 1, 2010.

In past years, many Williams College faculty have volunteered at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Berkshire Community College (OLLI at BCC) and its predecessor organization, the Berkshire Institute for Lifetime Learning (BILL).

Students in Experimental Film Class Exhibit Amusing Takes on "The Mountains"

posted February 1, 2010.

It's often said that only a college with a sense of humor would have a purple cow for its mascot.  At the same time, Williams College has a whacky fondness for the poem "I never saw a purple cow; I never hope to see one; but I can tell you anyhow; I'd rather see than be one."* Situated in what is known as "The Purple Bubble," however, this humor-sense has largely gone unnoticed outside the bubble.

Geology Professor Markes E. Johnson's "Atlas of Coastal Ecosystems" Released (corrected 2/2/10)

posted February 1, 2010.

The University of Arizona Press has announced publication of the "Atlas of Coastal Ecosystems in the Western Gulf of California: Tracking Limestone Deposits on the Margin of a Young Sea."

New Edition of "Garcia Marquez: The Man and His Work" by Gene Bell-Villada

posted January 25, 2010.

The University of North Carolina Press has announced issue of a second edition of "Garcia Marquez: The Man and His Work," revised and expanded by Gene H. Bell-Villada, professor of Romance Languages at Williams College.

Tenure Awarded to 10 Assistant Professors

posted January 25, 2010.

On Saturday, Williams College announced the award of tenure to 10 assistant professors: Leslie Brown, history; María Elena Cepeda, Latina/o Studies; Alexandra Garbarini, history; Bernhard Klingenberg, statistics; David Love, economics; Brian Martin, French; Christopher Nugent, Chinese; Mérida M. Rúa, Latina/o Studies and American Studies; Olga Shevchenko, sociology; and Christian Thorne, English.

Williams College Admits 216 of 533 Students for Early Decision

posted January 19, 2010.

Williams College announced acceptance of 216 of the 533 applicants for its Early Decision program. The 216 accepted applicants represent 39 percent of the total number of students projected for the Class of 2014.

Art Historian Samuel Edgerton's New Book Looks at How Linear Perspective Changed Our Vision of the Universe

posted January 13, 2010.

Cornell University Press has announced the publication of "The Mirror, the Window, and the Telescope," by Professor of Art Emeritus Samuel Edgerton.

Williams College Honors Nine Students as Gaudino Fellows

posted January 5, 2010.

Nine Williams College students have been named Gaudino Fellows and will spend January Term abroad pursuing projects in honor of Robert Gaudino, professor of political science at Williams from 1955 to 1974, who promoted the idea that to truly learn students must confront uncomfortable ideas and situations and take the intellectual and emotional risks inherent in a search for truth.

Morgan McGuire's Award-Winning Research will Improve Video Game Quality

posted December 15, 2009.

Research presented in a paper by Morgan McGuire, assistant professor of computer science at Williams College, and co-author Dr. David Luebke of NVIDIA, introduces a new algorithm to improve computer graphics for video games.

Grant will Fund Development of a New Computer Program to Give Students Analytical Experience with Geosciences' Data

posted December 15, 2009.

The National Science Foundation recently awarded a grant of $144,244 to Williams College to fund a project titled "Visualizing Strain in Rocks with Interactive Computer Programs." The project is under the direction of Paul Karabinos, professor and chair of the geosciences department.

Aroop Mukharji '09 Wins Prestigious Marshall Fellowship (corrected 12/4/09)

posted December 2, 2009.

"It was cold and rainy outside.  I was sitting at my desk," said Aroop Mukharji, when he received the call on his cell. "I have this silly tropical island ring tone that started blasting through the office." Flustered, he answered.  The caller informed Mukharji that he had won a prestigious Marshall Scholarship. "My immediate vocal reaction was garbled gibberish and disbelief.  He must have mistaken me for another Aroop Mukharji."

NSF Grant Benefits Chemistry Research and Local High School Outreach

posted November 30, 2009.

The National Science Foundation has announced an award of a $247,553 to Enrique Peacock-Lopez, professor of chemistry at Williams College, in support of his project, "A Dynamical Study of Chemical Self-Replication and Regulatory Mechanisms." The research will include the participation of undergraduate students and, in addition, the project will support upgrading local high school chemistry teaching.

"Gray Land: Soldiers on War," An Eloquent Look at the Nature of War

posted November 24, 2009.

There's a photo of gray army helmets jumbled in a heap. There's another of a lone gray dog, ears slunk back, standing on a wide stone terrace in Baghdad al-Jadida.  But most of the photos are of U.S. soldiers. For two years, Barry Goldstein, visiting professor of humanities at Williams College, photographed and interviewed more than 50 members of the Third Brigade Combat Team, an armored battalion. Twice Goldstein trailed them to Rustamiyah, Iraq, where he joined them at the military post and on patrol.

Williams College Awarded NSF Grant for Atomic Force Microscope

posted November 24, 2009.

Williams College has received a $303,300 grant from the National Science Foundation to buy an atomic force microscope (AFM) and related equipment. The microscope will be installed in Bronfman Science Center and will become part of the suite of microscopy tools that already exist on campus.

Olga Shevchenko Wins Best Book Award for Study of Crisis in Moscow

posted November 23, 2009.

A new book by Olga Shevchenko, assistant professor of sociology at Williams College, has been awarded a 2009 Heldt Prize from the Association for Women in Slavic Studies (AWSS). The prize, awarded Nov. 14, recognizes the best book by a woman in any area of Slavic/East European/Eurasian studies.

Sustainability is a Strategic Imperative for Williams College Dining Services

posted November 10, 2009.

Sustainability is more than a buzzword within Williams College dining services; it's an imperative. One of the most important ways the college achieves sustainability is by reducing food waste and minimizing resource consumption -- a goal that is written into the department's systems, policies, infrastructure, and building design.

Williams College Students Help Boost Charter School's Academic Progress

posted November 2, 2009.

Abi Ury was struggling academically when she met Gershwin Penn '11. "I was having a lot of difficulties with math," said Ury, now an 8^th grade student at the Berkshire Arts and Technology Charter Public School (BArT) in Adams. "I really needed extra help." For that extra help, she began attending an intensive after-school academic tutoring program where Penn and other Williams students volunteer regularly, as part of a "Williams/BArT tutoring corps."

Williams College Dining Services Takes Local Farms to Heart and to the Table

posted October 29, 2009.

On the front door of the Williams College dining services office -- a small grey clapboard house tucked in the middle of the school's campus in bucolic western Massachusetts -- staffers have placed a bumper sticker that reads "No Farms, No Food." It's a message the college takes to heart.

Williams College Welcomes Nine New Assistant Professors

posted October 29, 2009.

Williams College welcomed nine new assistant professors beginning this fall.

Sustainability and Green Initiatives: Zilkha Center Aims to Change the Culture

posted October 21, 2009.

Keeping Williams College on course to meet its sustainability goals is central to the work of the college's year-old Zilkha Center for Environmental Initiatives. It takes not only thinking big, but also thinking small.

25 Williams Seniors Elected to Phi Beta Kappa

posted October 19, 2009.

Williams College has announced the 25 members of the class of 2010 elected into the national honor society, Phi Beta Kappa. Membership in Phi Beta Kappa signifies top academic success and achievement at colleges and universities across the countries.

Health Economist Examines Impact of Public Health Coverage - Lara Shore-Sheppard Studies Coverage, Says Reform Essential

posted October 19, 2009.

As the national debate rages over health care reform, Lara Shore-Sheppard, associate professor of economics at Williams College, says one thing is clear: "doing nothing is definitely worse than doing something."

Blue Highways: Anne Skinner Leading Williams College Winter Study to Ethiopia

posted October 14, 2009.

In January, Anne Skinner, senior lecturer in Chemistry at Williams College, along with six Williams students, will visit the headwaters of the Blue Nile to conduct archeological research. The project is part of a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant.

Summer Internships: Emma Steinkraus '10 Interned at Gardner Museum

posted October 13, 2009.

Late this summer the Steamboat Foundation celebrated its Sixth Annual Final Dinner at New York City's Harvard Club, where Emma Steinkraus '10, a rising senior at Williams College from Fayetteville, Ark., and 12 other Steamboat Scholars officially commemorated the end of the 10-week internship and leadership development fellowship.

Summer Fellowship: Catalina Vielma '10 Studies at Public Policy Institute on PPIA Fellowship

posted October 13, 2009.

Williams College senior Catalina Vielma '10 was awarded a Public Policy and International Affairs (PPIA) Fellowship and spent eight weeks last summer in intensive study of public policy.

The Fastest Path Around the Bases? World Series Take Notice

posted September 29, 2009.

As the World Series approaches, Major League Baseball teams might want to implement a new base-running strategy developed by members of the Williams College statistics and mathematics department.

Trying and Failing Enhances Learning, According to Research by Nate Kornell

posted September 29, 2009.

Sometimes, coming up with the wrong answer to a question can help you come up with the right one later on.

New Book by Michael Glier, "Along a Long Line," Released Sept. 25

posted September 28, 2009.

"Along A Long Line," a work by artist and Williams College Professor Michael Glier, was published by Hard Press Editions in association with Hudson Mills Press on Friday, Sept. 25. The book follows Glier's artistic and ecological journey along the 70th Longitude.

Adam F. Falk Named 17th President of Williams

posted September 28, 2009.

Williams College announced today the appointment as its 17th president of Adam F. Falk, dean of the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences at Johns Hopkins University. He will succeed on April 1, 2010, William Wagner, who has served as interim president since July 1, following the move, after nine years, of Morton Owen Schapiro to the presidency of Northwestern University.

Summer Recap: 30 Undergraduates Participate in Faculty Research in Humanities and Social Sciences

posted September 17, 2009.

Thirty undergraduates spent their summer engaged with professors at Williams College on individual research projects.

An Overview: Williams Class of 2013

posted September 14, 2009.

The 254 men and 295 women who make up the Williams College Class of 2013 officially began their first day of classes on Sept. 10, when the college opened for the 2009-10 academic year.

New Academic Buildings Attain LEED Gold Certification

posted September 9, 2009.

Schapiro Hall and the North Academic Building have been awarded LEED Gold status -- a tribute to the many people who helped plan, design, and build these sustainable additions to our campus. This is a first for Williams.

Mellon Mays, Williams College Undergraduate Research Fellowships Encourage Careers in Academia

posted September 4, 2009.

This summer, 10 Williams juniors and four students from Cape Town, South Africa spent six weeks at Williams College doing research in the arts and sciences as a part of the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Program (MMUF) and the Williams College Undergraduate Research Fellowship (WCURF).

Two Economics Faculty at Williams Awarded Named Chairs

posted September 4, 2009.

Williams College has announced the award of two named chairs, both in the department of economics.

Williams College Welcomes a Distinguished Group of Scholars and Artists as Visiting Faculty for the Academic Year

posted September 4, 2009.

Eleven distinguished academics and artists will join the Williams faculty for the 2009-10 school year.

Oakley Center for Humanities and Social Sciences Announces 2009-10 Fellowships

posted September 4, 2009.

Eleven faculty and two students received fellowships for research during the academic year 2009-10 at Williams College's Oakley Center for the Humanities and Social Sciences.

National Science Foundation Awards $400,000 Grant in Computer Science to Jeannie Albrecht at Williams College

posted September 3, 2009.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded a five-year grant for $400,000 to Williams College for research on managing distributed applications on mobile computing platforms composed of cell phones, vehicles, and embedded sensors. Jeannie Albrecht, assistant professor of computer science, will direct the project, which is funded as a part of the Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program, one of the most prestigious awards the NSF grants to young scholars that effectively integrate research into their teaching.

New Book Puts the Mirth in Math

posted August 11, 2009.

Peanut butter and jelly, strawberries and cream, math and ... humor? In math professor Colin Adams' newest collection of stories, math and laughs are the world's next big winning combination. "Riot at the Calc Exam and Other Mathematically Bent Stories" (American Mathematical Society, 2009) is chock full of comedic spoofs that aim to eradicate students' anxieties about math.

Williams Promotes Seven to Full Professor

posted August 10, 2009.

Seven Williams professors have been promoted to the rank of full professor: Daniel P. Aalberts, physics; Ronadh Cox, geosciences; William C. Dudley, philosophy; Antonia E. Foias, anthropology; Kathryn R. Kent, English; Robert M. Savage, biology; and Kenneth K. Savitsky, psychology.

Poet and Scholar Named New Bolin Fellows

posted August 10, 2009.

Williams College has appointed two women as Gaius Charles Bolin Fellows.  They will teach at the college while they complete advanced degrees.  The appointment is for two years.

Lawrence Raab's New Book of Poems Maps the Complexities of Memory

posted July 31, 2009.

Lawrence Raab's new collection of poetry, "The History of Forgetting" (Penguin, 2009), is replete with seemingly casual but rigorously complex poetic explorations of the nature of remembering and forgetting.

"Sublime Voices" Traces Blurred Line Between Fiction and Science in Work of Abe Kobo

posted July 30, 2009.

"Sublime Voices: The Fictional Science and Scientific Fiction of Abe  Kobo," by Christopher Bolton, associate professor of comparative and Japanese literature at Williams College, mines the scientific influence on the fictional works of famed postwar Japanese writer Abe Kobo (1924-1993).

Ben Davidson '10 Named Gilder Lehrman History Scholar (corrected 7/23/09)

posted July 22, 2009.

Williams College senior Ben Davidson of Larchmont, N.Y., has been named a 2009 Gilder Lehrman One-Week History Scholar.

Scientists Capitalize on Extended Solar Eclipse

posted July 22, 2009.

TIANHUANGPING, China July 22, 2009 -- Scientists at this observatory outside Hangzhou joined residents and tourists across China and India in observing the longest total solar eclipse in a century and probably the most-viewed ever.

Henry Kernan '09 Awarded Davis Projects for Peace Prize

posted July 21, 2009.

Henry Kernan of Quito, Ecuador, who graduated from Williams College in June, has been awarded a Davis Projects for Peace grant of $10,000 for his work to promote small-scale mining in Papua, New Guinea while reducing the environmental harms caused by current mining practices, particularly in regard to mercury pollution.

James McAllister Named "Dream Mentor"

posted July 21, 2009.

The University of Virginia Miller Center has named James McAllister a "Dream Mentor" in their Governing America in a Global Era Program (GAGE).

New Book on Supreme Court by Historian James MacGregor Burns

posted July 6, 2009.

James MacGregor Burns, the Woodrow Wilson Professor of Government Emeritus at Williams College, is the author of a new book titled "Packing the Court: The Rise of Judicial Power and the Coming Crisis of the Supreme Court" (Penguin).

Astronomer Sheds Light on Earth-Based Solar Eclipse Research

posted June 10, 2009.

The July 22 total solar eclipse, visible from China and India (but not the United States), will be the longest in the 21st century. Teams of scientists from around the world will gather in China to study the corona, the sun's outermost atmosphere, for almost six minutes, unusually long for totality.

International Problem-Solving Courts, by James L. Nolan

posted May 29, 2009.

James L. Nolan Jr., professor of sociology at Williams College, is the author of "Legal Accents, Legal Borrowing: The International Problem-Solving Court Movement," published by Princeton University Press.

Summer Program in Mathematics Wins New NSF Support

posted May 29, 2009.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded Williams College a five-year $630,216 grant in support of "SMALL," a summer undergraduate research program in math. The SMALL program also received NSF funding in July 2004.

Sandstrom Awarded NSF Grant in Support of Research on School Bullying

posted April 21, 2009.

The National Science Foundation has announced the award of a grant of $77,092 to Williams College to support the work of Marlene Sandstrom, associate professor of psychology.  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.

Williams Professor Scrutinizes the Everyday in Postsocialist Moscow

posted April 21, 2009.

Olga Shevchenko, assistant professor of sociology at Williams College, is the author of "Crisis and the Everyday in Postsocialist Moscow," published by the Indiana University Press.

"Ruffians, Yakuza, Nationalists" Reevaluates Modern Japanese Democracy

posted March 10, 2009.

"Ruffians, Yakuza, Nationalists: The Violent Politics of Modern Japan, 1860-1960," written by Eiko Maruko Siniawer of Williams College, was recently published by Cornell University Press.

"Creating Games," by Morgan McGuire

posted March 10, 2009.

"Creating Games: Mechanics, Content, and Technology," by Morgan McGuire of Williams College and Odest Chadwicke Jenkins of Brown University, was recently published by A K Peters, Ltd.

Leslie Brown's "Upbuilding Black Durham" Wins Best First Book Award

posted February 23, 2009.

The Frederick Jackson Turner Award, given by the Organization of American Historians http://www.oah.org/) for an author's first book on some significant phase of American History will be awarded to Leslie Brown www.williams.edu/history/bios/LBrown.php), assistant professor of history at Williams College.  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.