Thursday, December 6, 2007

Hodson Trust Awards More Than $4.5 Million to Washington College

Chestertown, MD — Washington College has been awarded more than $4.5 million in grants from the Hodson Trust and the Hodson Scholarship Foundation - among the largest cumulative awards Washington College's largest donor has ever presented to the school.

The gift, totaling $4,614,129, consists of $3,578,759 from the Hodson Trust and $1,035,370 from the Hodson Scholarship Foundation.

"For many decades, the Hodson Trust has played a critical role in the growth of our institution and the success of generations of our students," said Baird Tipson, President of the College. "In addition to building upon existing scholarship endowments, this year's awards herald the start of two new initiatives - scholarship support for Maryland veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan and a shared fellowship with the John Carter Brown Library at Brown University, the greatest academic library for early Americana. We are grateful for the Hodson Trust's special commitment to four of Maryland's premier independent institutions of higher education." Three other Maryland institutions - Hood College, St. John's College and the Johns Hopkins University - also received Hodson Trust grants.

In its current gift to Washington College, the Trust has designated $78,759 to support the first three Hodson Trust Star Scholarships (awarded to Maryland veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts) and $305,894 to fund current minority and general merit scholarships. The grant also provides a $729,477 addition to the Hodson Scholarship Foundation endowment, $2.5 million to the Hodson Trust Merit Scholarship Endowment, and $1 million to endow a Hodson Trust-John Carter Brown Library Fellowship affiliated with Washington College's C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience.

The Hodson Trust was established by the family of Colonel Clarence Hodson, founder of the Beneficial Corporation, to support excellence in education. Since 1920, the Hodson Trust has given more than $198.2 million to fund academic merit scholarships as well as research grants, technology improvements, facilities, library expansion, athletic programs, faculty salaries and endowment funds at the four Maryland schools. For information about the Hodson Trust, visit www.hodsontrust.org.

December 5, 2007

Washington College's Dr. Kathryn Moncrief Is Co-Editor of Newly Published Book on English Drama

Chestertown, MD — Dr. Kathryn M. Moncrief, Chair of the Department of English at Washington College, is the co-editor and a contributing author of Performing Maternity in Early Modern England, newly released by the England-based Ashgate Publishing Company.

The book is a collection of essays that explore the literary, cultural and historical aspects of maternity from 1540 to 1690 in plays and other texts—including midwifery manuals, medical guides and diaries from the period. It features writings by several top scholars in the field, including Dr. Moncrief and her co-editor, Dr. Kathryn R. McPherson of Utah Valley State College.

Drs. Moncrief and McPherson co-authored the book's opening essay, "Embodied and Enacted: Performances of Maternity in Early Modern England." Dr. Moncrief also authored "'Show me a child begotten of thy body that I am father to': Pregnancy, Paternity and the Problem of Evidence in All's Well That Ends Well," another essay featured in the book.

Performing Maternity in Early Modern England isn't the only collaborative effort of Drs. Moncrief and McPherson; they also are currently leading a Shakespeare Association research seminar, "Gender and Instruction in Early Modern England," and have begun work on a book on the same topic.

The various writings and projects all reflect Dr. Moncrief's specialties in research as well as the classroom: early modern English drama (Shakespeare and his contemporaries), 16th- and 17th-century English literature and culture, and women in early modern England, among other subjects.

Dr. Moncrief received her B.A. from Doane College, her M.A. from the University of Nebraska, and her Ph.D. from the University of Iowa. She became Chair of the Washington College Department of English in the summer of 2007.

December 5, 2007

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Exhibition of Artworks by Washington College's Ray Noll on View in Pennsylvania Capital

Harrisburg, PA — An exhibition of recent paintings and drawings by Washington College Lecturer in Art Ray Noll is currently on view at the ABC Art Gallery in Harrisburg, PA. "Viva Italia!" opened November 24 and will run through January 26, 2008.

Most of the art, reflecting Italian influences, has been completed in the past four years and has never been exhibited or made available for sale until now.

The gallery is part of the Appalachian Brewing Company, a popular microbrewery that attracts large crowds and supports the arts with its cavernous second-floor exhibit gallery. Visitors enjoy great food, handcrafted lagers, and the chance to peruse and acquire artworks. During the busy weeks of the Christmas season the art gallery hosts an average of 500 people a week.

Noll, who in addition to teaching art is a Design and Multimedia Associate in the Office of College Relations and Marketing, traveled to Italy for three consecutive summers with his wife, Dr. Deb Marciano, Associate Professor and Coordinator of Elementary Education at Washington College. "Deb is nearly fluent in Italian and her language ability allowed us to rent cars and stay in remote places few tourists visit," said Noll. "Visiting Italy for the first time at mid-life felt like a homecoming of sorts — all the pieces of the visual puzzle of Western art suddenly made sense or at least had a tangible reference point. I had arrived at the source. It was a richer experience than I ever imagined."

Noll took inspiration from the deep-rooted artistic environment and the result was a series of paintings and drawings featuring Italian themes and influences. "These works of art are intended to capture the vibrant pulse of Italy's present while honoring centuries of artistic traditions that form the legacy of Western culture."

The Appalachian Brewing Company and its ABC Art Gallery are located at 50 North Cameron Street in Harrisburg. For more information, call 717/221-1080.

December 4, 2007

Saturday, December 1, 2007

Washington College's Dr. Lauren Littlefield Wins 2007 Maryland Psychology Teacher of the Year Award

Chestertown, MD — Washington College is pleased to announce that Dr. Lauren Littlefield, Associate Professor of Psychology and Chair of the Department of Psychology, has won the Maryland Psychology Teacher of the Year Award presented by the Maryland Psychological Association.

"With the 2007 Maryland Psychology Teacher of the Year Award, we recognize a psychologist who has demonstrated excellence, dedication and innovation in teaching undergraduate students in psychology," said Grady Dale Jr., President of the Maryland Psychological Association. "We have had the pleasure of seeing at first hand Dr. Littlefield's excellence in teaching."

Last spring, Dr. Littlefield's thesis students swept top honors for Washington College, winning first and second prizes at the Maryland Psychological Association's 2007 Ocean City Institute. They won for their projects on emotional intelligence in children with reading disorder and on the psychological underpinnings of identity status in college students.

"In fact, the judges had a difficult time," said Dale, "since all her students' presentations were excellent, demonstrating a high level of learning using sophisticated methods of research — an obvious outgrowth of Dr. Littlefield's work, concern and care for them."

Receiving the coveted award "really makes me proud," said Dr. Littlefield, "but I don't attribute it all to myself." When she was presented the award at a ceremony outside Baltimore last month, "I dedicated it to three groups of people," she said. "First, my parents and my husband, who've always been there to support me. Second, I dedicated it to my teaching mentors at Washington College [Dr. George Spilich and Dr. James Siemen]. Third, I dedicated it to my students. I enjoy working with them — we're like a team, and they're a great team to be a part of. They're bright and they challenge me to keep my teaching interesting and contemporary."

Dr. Littlefield herself is a Washington College alumna (Class of 1991); she went on to get her master's and doctoral degrees at Drexel University, and continued with post-doctoral training at the University of Virginia and the Woodrow Wilson Rehabilitation Center.

Joining the Washington College faculty in 1998 was like coming home, said Dr. Littlefield. "I was inspired by the quality of education I got here, and I wanted to give back."

November 30, 2007

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Congressman Gilchrest to Lead Public Discussion on Iraq War at Washington College

Chestertown, MD — Congressman Wayne T. Gilchrest will lead a discussion and public forum on the Iraq War situation when he presents "Iraq And Back: Congressman Gilchrest Shares Perspectives on the War in Iraq," at Washington College's Hynson Lounge on Tuesday, November 27, at 7 p.m.

Gilchrest, a Republican, has been Kent County's Congressman for the past nine terms. A native of Rahway, New Jersey, he joined the U.S. Marine Corps after graduating high school in 1964 and served his country during the invasion of the Dominican Republic and in the Vietnam War. He became a platoon sergeant in Vietnam, where he was wounded in combat. He was awarded the Purple Heart, Navy Commendation Medal and the Bronze Star.

After an honorable discharge, he studied liberal arts at Wesley College in Dover, Delaware, where he received an associate's degree, and then went on to receive a bachelor's degree in history from Delaware State College in 1973. He discovered his passion for teaching and has taught American history, government and civics in New Jersey, Vermont and for eight years at Kent County High School.

He was first elected to Congress in 1990, and has been a champion for many environmental issues, especially the Chesapeake Bay and global climate change. He has earned a reputation as an independent thinker, who has bucked his party and his leadership on issues that matter to his district and his constituents.

He recently co-founded the House Dialogue Caucus and has been a leader in bringing together members of both parties to reach concensus on policy issues involving Iraq and the Middle East. He has visited Iraq and the Middle East three times since the war began, and he just returned from his latest visit last month.

His presentation at Washington College comes at a critical time in the world debate on U.S. policy in Iraq and how that relates to Iran and the ongoing tensions between Israel and the Arab world.

"Iraq and Back" is presented by the Goldstein Program in Public Affairs. Hynson Lounge is located in Hodson Hall. Admission to "Iraq and Back" is free and open to the public.

November 21, 2007

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Washington College Author/Professor Presents 'Two Lives of Sally Miller'

Chestertown, MD — Dr. Carol Wilson, Professor of History at Washington College and the author of The Two Lives of Sally Miller: A Case of Mistaken Racial Identity in Antebellum New Orleans, will present a lecture based on her book at the Casey Academic Center Forum on Tuesday, November 27, at 4:30 p.m. A booksigning will follow.

Dr. Wilson's talk is being presented by the C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience.

In 1843, the Louisiana Supreme Court heard the case of a slave named Sally Miller, who claimed to have been born a free white person in Germany. Sally, a very light-skinned slave girl working in a New Orleans café, might not have known she had a case were it not for a woman who recognized her as Salomé Muller, with whom she had emigrated from Germany more than 20 years earlier. Sally decided to sue for her freedom, and was ultimately freed, despite strong evidence contrary to her claim.

In The Two Lives of Sally Miller, Dr. Wilson explores this fascinating legal case and its reflection on broader questions about race, society and law in the antebellum South. Why did a court system known for its extreme bias against African-Americans help to free a woman who was believed by many to be a black slave? Dr. Wilson explains that while the notion of white enslavement was shocking, it was easier for society to acknowledge that possibility than the alternative—an African slave who deceived whites and triumphed over the system.

In addition to The Two Lives of Sally Miller, Dr. Wilson also is the author of Freedom at Risk: The Kidnapping of Free Blacks in America, 1780-1865.

Admission to "The Two Lives of Sally Miller" is free and open to the public.

November 21, 2007

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

In Memoriam: Patrick C. McGrath April 6, 1988-November 16, 2007

The Washington College community is mourning the loss of Patrick McGrath, a sophomore from Columbia, PA, who died Friday, November 16, in his dormitory room in Kent House. He was 19. The cause of death is unknown at this time.

Patrick graduated in 2006 from Lancaster Catholic High School, where he was active in the swim program, in religious activities, and in various service organizations, particularly the Good Samaritan Program. Because Lancaster Catholic doesn't offer lacrosse, Pat played club lacrosse with Conestoga Valley. He also worked as a lifeguard at Hempfield Sports Complex.

"He was one of those kids that everyone really liked," recalls John Guilfoyle, his guidance counselor at Lancaster Catholic. "When he was applying to colleges, he had a number of very nice teacher recommendations. Everyone here is just devastated."

Guilfoyle says Pat ultimately chose Washington College because he was interested in history and liked the Chestertown area.

At Washington College, Pat focused his studies on business and accounting, and remained interested in sports, particularly club lacrosse, soccer and wakeboarding. He was a resident assistant in Kent House and served as an SGA senator. He also was involved in Safe Ride, a new student-run shuttle that operates on weekends.

During the school year, Pat worked at Play It Again, Sam, a popular coffee shop in Chestertown. He spent last summer working as a lacrosse specialist at Camp Canadensis in the Pocono Mountains, where he quickly won the respect and admiration of campers and fellow counselors alike.

"In a close-knit community such as ours," College President Baird Tipson remarked at a candlelight vigil on Sunday, "we are all touched by the tragic loss of Pat McGrath. To lose anyone so young is so difficult, but particularly so when we lose someone with such a big and good heart. Pat will continue to inspire us with his example of service and his selfless dedication to others."

His friends and classmates are posting messages on Pat's Facebook site and atobits.lancasteronline.com. Washington College is offering individual counseling (contact the Counseling Center at 410-778-7261), as well as resources for parents whose sons and daughters are struggling to cope with their grief.

Pat was the youngest of five children. His father, Marty McGrath, is an administrator at Franklin & Marshall College; his mother, Caroline, teaches at Our Lady of the Angels, a parochial school in Columbia. In addition to his parents, Pat is survived by two brothers, Brian and Kevin; and two sisters, Claire and Laura. His maternal grandfather, John W. Shenk, nephew Kieran Kramer and niece Sahara McGrath also survive.

Friends may call during a viewing scheduled for Wednesday, November 21, from 4 to 8 p.m. at Kraft Funeral Home, 519 Walnut Street in Columbia. A mass of Christian burial will be held at St. Peter's Catholic Church at 11 a.m. on Friday, November 23. The church is located at 121 Second Street in Columbia. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to Our Lady of the Angels Catholic School, Lancaster Catholic High School, or to the College's Washington Fund.

November 20, 2007

Friday, November 16, 2007

WC in USA Today Article about Veterans' Scholarships

Chestertown, MD — USA Today ran a front page article about college scholarships for veterans, and Washington College is included in the story for participation in the Hodson Trust Star Scholarship program. The online version, accessible via the following link, features a photo of Jim Schelberg '11 with his brother (and fellow Marine) in Iraq last December. And check out the photo credit: the picture was taken by Charles Grigg '09.

Read the full story in USA Today.

November 15, 2007

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Screening of "Estamos Aquí: We Are Here," with Filmmaker, November 14

Chestertown, MD — The Washington College Department of Sociology and Anthropology, theC.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience, the Goldstein Program in Public Affairs and the League of Women Voters of Kent County will present a screening of "Estamos Aquí: We Are Here," with an introduction by filmmaker Sharon Baker, at the Norman James Theatre on Wednesday, November 14, at 6:30 p.m.

"Estamos Aquí" reveals the humanity behind the headlines of one of the most important issues facing the United States. The story of one community in a changing nation, this poignant documentary film explores the evolving social, political and economic landscape of Georgetown, Delaware. This small, traditionally white community is home to the largest poultry-producing county in the nation, and is in need of a growing labor force.

As the United States experiences the largest immigration wave in its history, this rural farming community becomes home to thousands of predominantly Guatemalan immigrants, fleeing from the aftermath of a brutal civil war and escalating poverty in their homeland in search of opportunity and employment. Their struggles, and those of the community at large, shed light on the challenges facing millions of Latin Americans who have come to this country in search of the American Dream. An intimate portrait develops of a close-knit community united by faith, endurance, and hope for the future.

Norman James Theatre is located in William Smith Hall. A question-and-answer session with "Estamos Aquí" director Baker will follow the screening. Admission is free and open to the public.

November 13, 2007

'The Two Worlds of Captain John Smith,' Nov. 29

Chestertown, MD — Dr. John L. Seidel will explore the ways in which environment shaped the colonization of the New World in the early 1600s and the surprising links between John Smith, Virginia, Bermuda and Shakespeare in "The Two Worlds of Captain John Smith" at Litrenta Lecture Hall on Thursday, November 29, at 5:30 p.m.

Drawing on documents, environmental clues and the latest archaeological excavations at Jamestown, the lecture will investigate the ways in which two English colonies diverged due to dramatically different environments. Jamestown, settled 400 years ago in 1607, became the first permanent English colony in North America.

Bermuda was brought to the attention of the English shortly thereafter, with a disastrous shipwreck in 1609. A remarkably similar cast of characters was involved in both colonization efforts, which had similar objectives. The ultimate fates of the two colonies were quite different, however, despite their similar aims.

Washington College has active programs in environmental research and archaeology in the Chesapeake, led by Dr. Seidel, who is the Director of the Washington College Center for Environment & Society. The College also has an active presence in Bermuda, with student trips and summer courses to the island led by Professor Donald Munson, Director of theJoseph H. McLain Program in Environmental Studies.

The event is sponsored by the Center for Environment & Society and the McLain Program in Environmental Studies. Admission is free and open to the public. Litrenta Lecture Hall is located in the John S. Toll Science Center. For more information, please contactjfairchild2@washcoll.edu or 410/778-7295.

November 13, 2007

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Washington College Celebrates Children's Book Week with "Blog-Blog" Launch

Chestertown, MD — In honor of Children's Book Week, Washington College is launching "Blog-Blog: Book Lovers' Online Gallery" with a kickoff celebration in Miller Library's Beck Lab on Tuesday, November 13, from 4 to 6 p.m.

Conceived and spearheaded by Dr. Deb Marciano, Associate Professor and Coordinator of Elementary Education at Washington College, "Blog-Blog" features online children's book reviews written by Washington College faculty and students. It will serve as a valuable and ever-expanding resource for children, teachers, parents and librarians.

To learn more, visit http://books4children.blogspot.com. Light refreshments will be served at the November 13 kickoff celebration.

November 12, 2007

'Peace and Interfaith Dialogue in the Middle East,' Nov. 13

Chestertown, MD — Dr. Mohammed Abu-Nimer, Director of the Peacebuilding and Development Institute at American University, will discuss "Peace and Interfaith Dialogue in the Middle East" at Washington College's Hynson Lounge on Tuesday, November 13, at 7:30 p.m. The lecture is presented by the Goldstein Program in Public Affairs.

In addition to his directorship of the Peacebuilding and Development Institute, Dr. Abu-Nimer is associate professor at American University's School of International Service in International Peace and Conflict Resolution in Washington, D.C. He is an expert on conflict resolution and dialogue for peace, which he has researched among Palestinians and Jews in Israel. Dr. Abu-Nimer's areas of focus include the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the application of conflict resolution models in Muslim communities, interreligious conflict resolution training, interfaith dialogue and evaluation of conflict resolution programs.

Dr. Abu-Nimer has intervened and conducted conflict resolution training workshops in many conflict areas around the world, including Palestine, Israel, Egypt, Northern Ireland, the Philippines (Mindanao), Sri Lanka, within the United States and elsewhere.

He has had articles published in Journal of Peace Research, Journal of Peace and Changes, American Journal of Economics and Sociology and in various edited books. He is a co-founder and co-editor of the new Journal of Peacebuilding and Development.

The Louis L. Goldstein Program in Public Affairs was established in 1990 to encourage students to enter public service by introducing them to exemplary leaders, both in and out of government. The Goldstein Program has hosted journalists, political activists, foreign policy analysts, diplomats, military commanders and government officials of both national and international stature.

The Goldstein Program sponsors lectures, symposia, visiting fellows, student participation in models and conferences, and other projects that bring students and faculty together with leaders experienced in developing public policy.

Hynson Lounge is located in Hodson Hall. Admission to "Peace and Interfaith Dialogue in the Middle East" is free and open to the public.

November 12, 2007

Friday, November 9, 2007

100-Voice Choir Gospel Concert Set to Raise Spirits, Honor Alumnus Rev. Vincent Hynson '87, November 17

Charity Concert Raises Funds for Minority Student Scholarship Program at Washington College

Chestertown, MD — On Saturday, November 17, the 100-Voice Choir returns to raise spirits and celebrate the life and example of the late Rev. Vincent Hynson, Washington College Class of 1987 alumnus and Kent County community leader. The concert will be held at the Kent County High School Auditorium. Doors open at 4:30 p.m. Tickets are just $5 per person and are available at the door or in advance from the Compleat Bookseller or Twigs and Teacups in downtown Chestertown.

This year's concert—through the efforts of many volunteers and Sylvia and Bill Frazier of S & B Productions—will provide two hours of music, song and dance to put anyone and everyone "in the spirit." In addition to performances by the 100-Voice Choir and musical accompaniment by the Holy Horns, the concert's line-up includes a performance by soloist Sue Matthews, selections by the Gospel Shepherds, and a special guest appearance by the Still Pond Coleman Charge Mass Choir.

The Reverend Clarence A. Hawkins will serve as the evening's Master of Ceremonies. A native of Kent County, the Rev. Hawkins studied at Morgan State University, Washington College and John Hopkins University. He has worn many different hats in his lifetime, including teacher, principal, director, county commissioner and ordained minister (elder). He retired from pastoring in 1977.

Proceeds from the concert benefit the Vincent Hynson Scholarship at Washington College. The impetus of Washington College President Baird Tipson, the scholarship honors the late Rev. Vincent Hynson—beloved Kent County teacher, coach, pastor, and community leader—who passed away in 2004. The scholarship is presented to an entering freshman who is a graduate of a secondary school in Kent County, who demonstrates financial need, and whose achievements and aspirations most closely emulate the values of community service exemplified by the life of Rev. Hynson. The scholarship covers 100 percent of the cost of tuition, room and board, books, and fees for the recipient.

"Vincent Hynson was a bridge-builder whose life was dedicated to uplifting our community," said Dr. Tipson, who lends his voice to the tenor section of the choir. "His was the kind of life young people—and all people—should emulate. My hope is that this scholarship honors his life by helping local students who want to give back the chance to develop their talents and to realize their dreams through a Washington College education."

The first recipient of the scholarship, Joyell Johnson, Kent County High School Class of 2006, is now a sophomore at Washington College. A second scholarship was awarded this year to Christalyn Frison, Kent County High School Class of 2007, who entered Washington College as a freshman this fall. Applications are being accepted for students intending to enter college in fall 2008.

To be considered for the Vincent Hynson Scholarship, interested students should submit a scholarship essay and complete all admissions and financial aid application requirements no later than February 15, 2008. Essay instructions and admissions and financial aid information are available from the Washington College Office of Admissions by calling 410/778-7700.

The 100-Voice Choir Gospel Concert is sponsored by S & B Productions, Washington College and the Kent County Arts Council. For more information, contact S & B Productions at 410/778-6006 or the Washington College Office of College Relations at 410/810-7111.

November 8, 2007

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Washington and Lee President Discusses 'Leadership and the Liberal Arts,' November 8

Chestertown, MD — Dr. Kenneth Ruscio, President of Washington and Lee University, will visit Washington College to present a talk titled "Leadership and the Liberal Arts" at Litrenta Lecture Hall on Thursday, November 8, at 5 p.m.

Dr. Ruscio served as national president of Omicron Delta Kappa (ODK) for two terms and is an accomplished scholar in the study of democratic theory and public policy. He was elected Washington and Lee's 26th president in March 2006.

Dr. Michael Harvey, Chair of the Business Management Department at Washington College, said, "We organized this lecture to celebrate the College's 225th anniversary, to celebrate our ODK circle's 70th anniversary, and to spread awareness at WC about the value and the joy of studying leadership from a liberal-arts perspective."

Dr. Harvey noted that leadership was very closely linked to the liberal arts at Washington College and an integral part of its mission.

"Leadership is the ultimate liberal art. It requires an understanding of history and culture, the ability to communicate orally and in writing, the ability to understand and work with many different kinds of people, and above all, imagination, empathy and ethical integrity."

He emphasized the importance of students getting involved in leadership activities and said that "college is the critical time when students have the freedom to think beyond relatively narrow career boundaries. College is when students can expand their horizons, 'play' with ideas and experiences, and grow in intense and meaningful ways."

Litrenta Lecture Hall is located in the John S. Toll Science Center. Admission to "Leadership and the Liberal Arts" is free and open to the public.

November 7, 2007

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Afro-Cuban Ensemble in Concert, November 7

Chestertown, MD — The exciting drum and song traditions of a vibrant musical culture will come alive on campus when the Washington College Afro-Cuban Ensemble performs at Norman James Theatre on Wednesday, November 7, at 8 p.m.

The Afro-Cuban Ensemble was founded in 2005 by percussionist and ethnomusicologist Kenneth Schweitzer, D.M.A., of the Washington College Department of Music. Wednesday's concert will include Santeria drums and songs, rumba, popular sones and boleros (as in "The Buena Vista Social Club") and Brazilian bossa nova.

Admission to the concert is free and open to the public.

November 6, 2007

Environmental Lecture Explores 'Endocrine Disruption' Threat

Chestertown, MD — Washington College's Joseph H. McLain Program in Environmental Studies will present "Endocrine Disruption: What Is It and Should We Be Worried on the Eastern Shore?"—a lecture by Daniel J. Fisher of the Wye Research and Education Center, at Litrenta Lecture Hall on Wednesday, November 7, at 7:30 p.m.

Dr. Fisher is a Senior Research Scientist at the University of Maryland Wye Research and Education Center (WREC) and an Adjunct Associate Professor in the University's newly formed Department of Environmental Science and Technology. He earned his Ph.D. in Marine Science/Aquatic Toxicology in 1986 from the College of William and Mary's Virginia Institute of Marine Science. He currently teaches new courses at the University of Maryland in College Park concerned with Ecosystem Health and Protection and Environmental Toxicology.

Dr. Fisher has over thirty years of experience in aquatic toxicology and the study of environmental impacts of contaminants. For 16 years he directed the Maryland Department of the Environment's Bioassay Laboratory located at WREC, where he conducted acute and chronic whole effluent toxicity testing for NPDES compliance monitoring with freshwater and estuarine fish and invertebrates. In addition, he established freshwater and estuarine sediment toxicity testing capabilities at WREC that allow for sediment quality assessments.

Dr. Fisher's recent work has been in the assessment of possible endocrine disruptive effects of land applied poultry litter and the development of antibiotic resistance in Eastern Shore streams from poultry litter and biosolids application. He has written more than 100 refereed journal and technical publications on a wide variety of environmental issues.

Litrenta Lecture Hall is located in the John S. Toll Science Center. Admission to the lecture is free and open to the public.

November 6, 2007

Washington College Celebrates French Week with Variety of Offerings

Chestertown, MD — The Washington College Department of Foreign Languages, in celebration of National French Week, is sponsoring a series of Gallic-themed events.

The film "Indigènes" will be shown in Litrenta Lecture Hall on Tuesday, November 6, at 8 p.m. The movie tells the story of the North African Colonial Soldiers' involvement in World War II as part of the Free French forces that liberated France. Pamela Pears, Chair of the Foreign Languages Department, will give a brief introduction prior to the film.

On Wednesday, November 7, at 4:30 p.m., Dr. Colin Dickson, Professor Emeritus of French at Washington College, will present a lecture titled "William Smith's Design for Early America's Colleges and the Teaching of Foreign Languages in the New Nation" in the Sophie Kerr Room at Miller Library. The lecture is part of an ongoing series of talks by Dr. Dickson that explore the teaching of language in the time of Washington College's founding.

A celebration of French culture would be incomplete without a celebration of French cuisine, so the Washington College Dining Hall will be offering a "Night in Provence" dinner On Wednesday, November 7, from 5-8 p.m. The menu includes foods popular in Southern France as well as well-known French standards: crêpes, omelets and cheeses.

Both the film and lecture are free and open to the public. The dinner will be free for students on the meal plan; the cost for faculty/staff is $5.75. The cost for the general public is $7.75.

November 6, 2007

Sunday, November 4, 2007

WC's Olsen Presents 'Literature Before the Book'


Chestertown, MD — What was literary culture like before the printing press, and how does it relate to the literary culture of today? Join Corey Olsen, Assistant Professor of English at Washington College, when he presents "Breaking the Silence: Literature Before the Book," at the Rose O'Neill Literary House on Tuesday, November 6, at 11:30 a.m.
Olsen will be talking about what kinds of things (punctuation, for instance) people take for granted today that did not exist in a primarily oral community. Medieval manuscript images will be presented to the audience and Olsen will discuss the transition of literary art from the spoken word to the printed page.
Olsen taught at Temple University, Columbia University and Nyack College before coming to WC in the fall of 2004. He is the treasurer for the WC Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, faculty advisor for Sigma Tau Delta and the Writer's Union, and humanities editor for the Washington College Review.
He is involved in the scholarly recording of medieval texts and is at work on an interactive web project. "The Medieval Reading Experience" will be a web site, based on the Winchester manuscript of Sir Thomas Malory, designed to introduce modern readers to reading medieval texts in their original forms.
Admission to "Breaking the Silence: Literature Before the Book" is free and open to the public.
November 4, 2007

Friday, November 2, 2007

'World's Room' Poet Weiner to Give Reading at Washington College

Chestertown, MD — Award-winning poet Joshua Weiner will read from his works in Washington College's Sophie Kerr Room on Thursday, November 15, at 4:30 p.m.

Weiner is the author of two books, The World's Room and From the Book of Giants. He has won the Whiting Award and the Rome Prize. His poems appear in The New York Review of Books, Poetry, Slate, Threepenny Review and elsewhere. The poetry editor of Tikkun, Weiner is an associate professor at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Booklist praised Weiner's first poetry collection, The World's Room, for its "immensely readable expressions of youthful joy and moral seriousness," and declared it "a very distinguished debut." Publishers Weekly lauded the combination of "narrative and lyric elements" that "range across subjects and kinds of speech" in Weiner's second collection,From the Book of Giants. "These poems aren't political in any easy way, but have politics, memory and language at their center in a manner that recalls former Poet Laureate Robert Hass's work... Weiner's formal and lyric gifts both soothe and shock in these poems."

Weiner's poetry reading is part of the 2007-2008 Sophie Kerr Lecture Series. The series honors the legacy of its namesake, a writer from Denton, Md., whose generosity has enriched Washington College's literary culture. When she died in 1965, Kerr left the bulk of her estate to Washington College, specifying that one half of the income from her bequest be awarded every year to the senior showing the most "ability and promise for future fulfillment in the field of literary endeavor"—the famed Sophie Kerr Prize—and the other half be used to bring visiting writers to campus, to fund scholarships and to help defray the costs of student publications.

Admission to Weiner's reading is free and open to the public. The Sophie Kerr Room is located in Miller Library. For more information, call 410/778-7879.

November 2, 2007

Senatorial Colloquy Continues at Washington College with Sens. Bayh, Lugar

Chestertown, MD — The Senatorial Colloquy on American History and Politics, led by former Senator Birch Bayh (D-Ind., 1963-81) and hosted by Washington College's C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience, continues with a public conversation between Senator Bayh and Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN, 1977-present) at Washington College's Hynson Lounge, Hodson Hall, on Monday, November 12, at 5 p.m.

Senator Bayh is a senior fellow of the C.V. Starr Center. Throughout a career spanning more than half a century, he won renown as a tireless and effective champion of civil rights and education, and as a highly respected authority on the U.S. Constitution. The only person since the 18th century to write more than one successful amendment to the Constitution, he has been called "a latter-day Founding Father," as well as a master of the art of congressional leadership, often across party lines.

Senator Lugar is the longest serving U.S. Senator in Indiana history, having been first elected in 1976. One of the Senate's most respected voices on foreign policy, he has recently played a pivotal role in that body's ongoing debate on the Iraq War. Senator Lugar is the Ranking Member of the Foreign Relations Committee, which he has also chaired, along with the Agriculture Committee. He was a candidate for the Republican nomination for President in 1996.

Founded in 1782 under the personal patronage of George Washington, Washington College has hosted numerous national leaders throughout its long history—beginning with the institution's namesake himself, who attended the 1784 Commencement.

Later visitors included Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, and George H.W. Bush. The College's alumni have included several members of the U.S. Senate.

The 2007 Senatorial Colloquy is part of Washington College's celebration of its 225th anniversary year, and it draws inspiration from the institution's founders, who believed that the future of American democracy depended on education, civil discourse, and an informed understanding of history.

Admission to the Colloquy sessions is free and open to the public; admission will be on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information on attending, please call the C.V. Starr Center at

410-810-7161. For more background on the Senatorial Colloquy and the participating Senators, please visit the Center's website at http://starrcenter.washcoll.edu.

November 2, 2007

Saturday, October 27, 2007

Internationally Renowned Multi-Media Artists Hill, Quasha Discuss 'Singular Times' at Washington College

Chestertown, MD — The Washington College Department of Art presents "Singular Times and Other Liminal Realities," a lecture and panel discussion by intramedia artist Gary Hill and artist/poet George Quasha, at Litrenta Lecture Hall on Thursday, November 8, at 7:30 p.m. The presentation was organized by Washington College Assistant Professor of Art and intermedia artist Monika Weiss.

Gary Hill's seminal and internationally celebrated work in various media -- especially video and installation art (with a broad orientation including cybernetics, electronics, sound, language and image) -- has been exhibited at major museums around the world, including solo exhibitions at the Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain, Paris; the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; the Guggenheim Museum SoHo, New York; the Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Basel; the Museu d'Art Contemporani, Barcelona; and the Kunstmuseum, Wolfsburg, among many other distinguished venues.

Hill has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Rockefeller and Guggenheim Foundations, and has been the recipient of numerous awards and honors, most notably the Leone d'Oro Prize for Sculpture at the Venice Biennale in 1995, a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Grant in 1998, and the Kurt Schwitters Award in 2000.

George Quasha is an artist and poet who works across mediums to explore principles in common within language, sculpture, drawing, video, sound, installation and performance.

Quasha's axial stones and axial drawings have been exhibited at the Baumgartner Gallery in Chelsea, New York, the Sought Foundation in Philadelphia, the Cotuit Center for the Arts in Cape Cod, the ZONE Chelsea Center for the Arts in Chelsea, and recently in a solo exhibition at the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art at SUNY New Paltz. They are featured in the recently published book Axial Stones: An Art of Precarious Balance (North Atlantic Books: Berkeley, 2006). Last year, Quasha received a Guggenheim Fellowship in film and video.

Quasha also is known for his video-installation work, "Speaking Portraits (in the performative indicative)," in which he has recorded nearly 600 artists, poets and composers in 10 countries and 20 languages describing their views on art. This work has been exhibited at White Box in Chelsea, at the Snite Museum of Art at the University of Notre Dame, at the Samuel Dorsky Museum, and in several other countries (France, Poland, Switzerland and India). It was recently featured in five public installations as part of the 2007 Kingston, New York, Sculpture Biennial.

Quasha's numerous written works include books of poetry, anthologies and writings on art. He has a new book on his fellow Washington College co-lecturer Gary Hill forthcoming from Ediciones Poligrafa (Barcelona).

Hill and Quasha have enjoyed a 25-year performance collaboration (video/language/sound) that continues to this day and also often includes frequent collaborator Charles Stein.

Litrenta Lecture Hall is located in the John S. Toll Science Center. Admission to "Singular Times and Other Liminal Realities" is free and open to the public.

October 27, 2007

Friday, October 26, 2007

Crime, Comedy Combine as Lonergan's 'Lobby Hero' Staged at Washington College

Chestertown, MD — The Washington College Department of Drama will present Kenneth Lonergan's "Lobby Hero" in Norman James Theatre on Friday and Saturday, November 2 and 3, at 8 p.m.

A senior thesis directed by Liz Flair, "Lobby Hero" is the story of young, hapless security guard Jeff (played by sophomore Travis Brown) and his growing ties to a murder investigation. The comedy has Jeff's supervisor William (played by senior Ben Kozlowski) testifying against his problematic brother, while an attractive new rookie cop (played by sophomore Annabelle Shore) is put on the stand against her seasoned partner Bill (played by Ben Majors).

Jeff's big mouth manages to mire him deeper in the investigation until all four characters are brought together realizing how connected they really are. Truth quickly becomes elusive with personal and social responsibilities being placed into question. Loyalties are strained and the cost of justice is unsure as the audience is left to wonder what will happen next.

Admission to "Lobby Hero" is free, but seating is limited and reservations are required; call 410/778-7835 or e-mail drama_tickets@washcoll.edu.

October 26, 2007

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Rose O'Neill Literary House Launches New Series of Community Meetings

Chestertown, MD — Washington College's Rose O'Neill Literary House will hold its first-ever open community meeting on Sunday, October 28, at 6 p.m. All are invited to participate in the cultivation of an active atmosphere of networking, event planning, conversation—and above all, a love for language, stories and the creative life.

While many student, faculty and community groups use the Rose O'Neill Literary House, they rarely have an opportunity to interact. Nor is there any advisory group that shapes policies and programs at the House. The open meetings, which will be held monthly, will help instill a greater sense of interrelatedness among the various users of the facility.

"Anyone with an interest in overseeing, imagining and inhabiting the House is welcome" to Sunday's meeting, said Joshua Wolf Shenk, Director of the Rose O'Neill Literary House. "The House itself is a gathering place and resource for anyone interested in creative life and especially those interested in the writing arts."

Writers on campus have a range of interests—from fiction and poetry to editing, journalism, screenwriting and publishing. The community meetings will bring these creative talents together to imagine and oversee the programs of the Rose O'Neill Literary House and to share writing and reading-related resources and opportunities.

Agenda items for the first meeting include the Literary House refurbishment, spring programs, ground rules for booking events, and more.

The contents of each meeting will be shaped largely by participants. "Come to one meeting, come to every meeting," said Shenk. "We want your input on programs, the House and your ideas for the future."

Pizza and soft drinks will be served at the inaugural meeting.

October 25, 2007

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Cold War History from the Soviet Side: 'Failed Empire' Author Zubok Visits Washington College

Chestertown, MD — Washington College's Conrad Wingate Memorial Lecture Series presents "The Soviet Union: America's Worst Enemy?"—a talk by Vladislav Zubok, Associate Professor of History at Temple University, in the Litrenta Lecture Hall on Tuesday, November 6, at 5:30 p.m. A booksigning will follow.

Dr. Zubok is the author of the newly published A Failed Empire: The Soviet Union in the Cold War From Stalin to Gorbachev; he also is co-author of Anti-Americanism in Russia: From Stalin to Putin and the prize-winning Inside the Kremlin's Cold War: From Stalin to Khrushchev.

O.A. Wested, author of The Global Cold War, hailed Dr. Zubok's new book as "an excellent overview of Soviet foreign policy and a forceful explanation of why Communism collapsed, centering on Gorbachev's mistakes and misjudgments."

The first work in English to cover the entire Cold War from the Soviet side, A Failed Empireprovides a history different from those written by the Western victors.

Dr. Zubok argues that Western interpretations of the Cold War have erred by exaggerating either the Kremlin's pragmatism or its aggressiveness. Explaining the interests, aspirations, illusions, fears and misperceptions of the Kremlin leaders and Soviet elites, Dr. Zubok offers a Soviet perspective on the greatest standoff of the 20th century.

Using recently declassified Politburo records, ciphered telegrams, diaries, taped conversations and other sources, Dr. Zubok explores the origins of the superpowers' confrontation under Stalin, Khrushchev's contradictory and counterproductive attempts to ease tensions, the surprising story of Brezhnev's passion for détente, and Gorbachev's destruction of the Soviet superpower as the by-product of his hasty steps to end the Cold War and to reform the Soviet Union.

In reviewing A Failed Empire, the History Book Club enthused, "Zubok has taken on a huge challenge in attempting to narrate the entire evolution of the Cold War from the perspective of the apex of power in Moscow. He succeeds admirably. ... This is a book that can be read by the specialist and generalist alike. ... The book should reignite serious discussion about the causes of the disintegration of the Soviet Union, which is the subject of his interesting conclusion."

The Conrad M. Wingate Memorial Lecture in History is held in honor of the late Conrad Meade Wingate '23, brother of late Washington College Visitor Emeritus Phillip J. Wingate '33 and the late Carolyn Wingate Todd. He was principal of Henderson (MD) High School at the time of his death from cerebrospinal meningitis at age 27. At Washington College, he was president of the Dramatic Association, president of the Adelphia Literary Society and vice president of the Student Council in 1922-23.

Litrenta Lecture Hall is located in the John S. Toll Science Center. Admission to "The Soviet Union: America's Worst Enemy?" is free and open to the public.

October 24, 2007

Senatorial Colloquy Continues at Washington College with Sens. Bayh, Bumpers

Chestertown, MD — The Senatorial Colloquy on American History and Politics, led by former Senator Birch Bayh (D-Ind., 1963-81) and hosted by Washington College's C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience, continues with a public conversation between Senator Bayh and Senator Dale Bumpers (D-Ark., 1975-99) at Washington College's Hynson Lounge, Hodson Hall, on Monday, November 5, at 5 p.m.

Senator Bayh is a senior fellow of the C.V. Starr Center. Throughout a career spanning more than half a century, he won renown as a tireless and effective champion of civil rights and education, and as a highly respected authority on the U.S. Constitution. The only person since the 18th century to write more than one successful amendment to the Constitution, he has been called "a latter-day Founding Father," as well as a master of the art of congressional leadership, often across party lines.

Senator Bumpers represented Arkansas from 1975 until 1999, and has been acclaimed as one of the Senate's most eloquent orators in recent times. Less than three weeks after he retired from the Senate, he was called back to deliver the closing argument in defense of his friend President Bill Clinton, in only the second presidential impeachment trial in the history of the country. "Mr. Bumpers summoned forth the dignity of an earlier form of public discussion, the kind prized by the Founding Fathers," wrote one commentator in the New York Times.

The 2007 Senatorial Colloquy will continue with Senator Bayh and Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN) in Hynson Lounge on Monday, November 12, at 5 p.m.

Founded in 1782 under the personal patronage of George Washington, Washington College has hosted numerous national leaders throughout its long history—beginning with the institution's namesake himself, who attended the 1784 Commencement.

Later visitors included Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, and George H.W. Bush. The College's alumni have included several members of the U.S. Senate.

The 2007 Senatorial Colloquy is part of Washington College's celebration of its 225th anniversary year, and it draws inspiration from the institution's founders, who believed that the future of American democracy depended on education, civil discourse, and an informed understanding of history.

Admission to the Colloquy sessions is free and open to the public; admission will be on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information on attending, please call the C.V. Starr Center at

410/810-7161. For more background on the Senatorial Colloquy and the participating Senators, please visit the Center's website at http://starrcenter.washcoll.edu.

October 24, 2007

Friday, October 19, 2007

Guitar Virtuoso Alex de Grassi to Perform at Washington College

Chestertown, MD — The Washington College Concert Series continues its 2007-2008 season with a performance by Grammy-nominated guitarist Alex de Grassi at the Norman James Theatre on Saturday, October 27, at 8 p.m.

Often cited as one of the world's top finger-style steel-string guitarists, Alex de Grassi brings a unique voice to the art of acoustic guitar with his evocative compositions and arrangements, a richly layered sound and sheer virtuosity. The Wall Street Journal has called his playing "flawless" and Billboard hails his "intricate finger-picking technique with an uncanny gift for melodic invention."

De Grassi's trademark is an ability to create a highly orchestrated sound in his solo guitar music. His playing weaves together melody, counter-melody, bass, harmony, rhythm and cross-rhythms, creating a canvas of sound unheard of in a solo guitar performance.

His career has drawn acclaim for numerous recordings released by Windham Hill, RCA Novus, Tropo Records, 33rd Street and other labels, as well as for his live performances as a soloist and within ensemble settings. He has toured extensively on the concert circuit, performing in Europe, Japan and throughout North America, including such venues as Carnegie Hall, the Interlochen Festival, the Montreux Jazz Festival and the Belfast International Festival.

De Grassi was the subject for a PBS concert/television show, "Alex de Grassi: The Artist's Profile."

Now in its 56th season, the Washington College Concert Series will continue with performances by the flute/piano due "2" on February 2, 2008; the Cambodian Classics Ensemble on March 2, 2008; and harpist Elizabeth Hainen on April 26, 2008. Single tickets can be purchased at the door, $15 for adults and $5 for youth and students. Season tickets are available. For more ticket information and a 2007-2008 season brochure, call 410/778-7839.

October 19, 2007

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Beauty in the Wood: Von Voss Presents 'Tree-Talk'

Chestertown, MD — Vicco von Voss '91 returns to Washington College to present "Tree-Talk: The Scientific and Spiritual Understanding of Trees" at Litrenta Lecture Hall on Thursday, October 18, at 7:30 p.m.

"Tree Talk" is being presented as part of the McLain Lecture Series in Environmental Studies.

Vicco von Voss was a double major at Washington College, completing majors in both art and chemistry. He has used his combined scientific and artistic abilities well. After graduation from Washington College he apprenticed with cabinetmaker Heinrich Meyerfeldt in Hamburg, Germany. Von Voss is the recipient of several awards, among them being a Niche Award finalist, an honorary Top Graduate award in Germany, and the Lynette Nielson Award acknowledging excellence in Art from Washington College.

He also is the author of several articles in regional publications; most recently, he penned a main feature in the October 2007 issue of Chesapeake Life magazine.

Von Voss said he believes that a tree is an "ever-changing and organic being," and he uses this concept in creating masterpieces of functional furniture that "serve to celebrate the beauty of the wood and also give the tree a second life."

Litrenta Lecture Hall is in the John S. Toll Science Center. Admission to "Tree-Talk" is free and open to the public.

October 16, 2007

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Senatorial Colloquy Continues at Washington College with Sens. Bayh, Laxalt

Chestertown, MD — The Senatorial Colloquy on American History and Politics, led by former Senator Birch Bayh (D-Ind., 1963-81) and hosted by Washington College's C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience, continues with a public conversation between Senator Bayh and Senator Paul Laxalt (R-Nev., 1974-87) at Washington College's Hynson Lounge, Hodson Hall, on Monday, October 22, at 5 p.m.

Senator Bayh is a senior fellow of the C.V. Starr Center. Throughout a career spanning more than half a century, he won renown as a tireless and effective champion of civil rights and education, and as a highly respected authority on the U.S. Constitution. The only person since the 18th century to write more than one successful amendment to the Constitution, he has been called "a latter-day Founding Father," as well as a master of the art of congressional leadership, often across party lines.

Senator Laxalt, who represented Nevada between 1974 and 1987, was often referred to as "The First Friend" due to his closeness to President Ronald Reagan. He was national chairman of President Reagan's three presidential campaigns (in 1976, 1980, and 1984).

At President Reagan's behest, Senator Laxalt traveled to the Philippines in 1986 to urge then-President Ferdinand Marcos to undertake political and military reforms, and eventually convinced the Philippine leader to step down peacefully, helping to avert a bloody civil war.

Founded in 1782 under the personal patronage of George Washington, Washington College has hosted numerous national leaders throughout its long history—beginning with the institution's namesake himself, who attended the 1784 Commencement.

Later visitors included Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, and George H.W. Bush. The College's alumni have included several members of the U.S. Senate.

The 2007 Senatorial Colloquy is part of Washington College's celebration of its 225th anniversary year, and it draws inspiration from the institution's founders, who believed that the future of American democracy depended on education, civil discourse, and an informed understanding of history.

Admission to Monday's Colloquy session is free and open to the public; admission will be on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information on attending, please call the C.V. Starr Center at 410/810-7161. For more background on the Senatorial Colloquy and the five participating Senators, please visit the Center's website at http://starrcenter.washcoll.edu.

October 11, 2007

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Underwater Filmmakers Present 'Sharkwater' Screening at Washington College

Chestertown, MD — An exclusive viewing of "Sharkwater," a film by experienced diver and underwater photographer Rob Stewart, will be shown at Washington College's Litrenta Lecture Hall on Friday, October 19, at 7:30 p.m.

"Sharkwater" has not been released nationally yet, so this screening will provide the College and local community a unique opportunity to get a first look at the film in this area, followed by a question-and-answer session with the film crew.

The event is being hosted by Washington College's Center for Environment & Society in celebration of the College's Fall Family Weekend and the Chestertown Wildlife Show.

Stewart, who has had a lifelong fascination with sharks, said he made the film in an attempt to debunk historical stereotypes and media depictions of sharks as dangerous creatures; he reveals them as pillars in the evolution of the seas and shows how these magnificent creatures have gone from predator to prey.

A native of Toronto, Stewart joined conservationist Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society on a four-month expedition in some of the most shark-rich waters in the world, including Cocos Island, Costa Rica, the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador and Guatemala, to deter poachers.

"Sharkwater" documents their journey in Guatemala, where they encountered shark poachers and found themselves in a series of life-and-death situations, including pirate boat rammings, gunboat chases, arrests, run-ins with organized crime, corrupt court systems and attempted murder charges that forced them to flee for their lives.

John Seidel, Director of the Center for Environment & Society, said that there were two different themes running throughout the film.

"The film seems to have two tracks," said Seidel. "The first is simply the story of how sharks, which we always think of as endangering us, are endangered by human predation, including long-line fishing, over-exploitation solely for their fins, and through a misplaced fear. The second story line is the human drama of making a film that many people did not want to see made—these included poachers and their business partners, including organized crime, and governments.

"At its heart, however, the film explores the threats to an apex predator, an animal that is the culmination of millions of years of evolution but is now severely threatened by humans," he added.

Seidel said that sharks play an extremely important role in the ecosystem of the ocean and that they are "far more threatened by us than we are by them—somewhere between 50 and 100 million sharks are killed each year, just for their fins.

"What we have been slow to understand is that sharks have a very important place in the world's ocean ecosystems. Their loss would have profound impacts on other species, and this over-fishing is symptomatic of a much larger problem. Oceans cover about 70 percent of our planet, and we can't ignore them just because they're for the most part out of sight. I hope that the people who see this film will appreciate both that threat to sharks and other ocean species, as well as the important role they play in nature, despite our fears. The world would be a much poorer place without them."

Litrenta Lecture Hall is located in the John S. Toll Science Center. The screening is free and open to the public.

October 10, 2007

Washington College Welcomes Its First-Ever Mary Wood Fellow: Author/Editor Hannah Tinti

Chestertown, MD — For five days this October, the Rose O'Neill Literary House and the Department of English at Washington College are welcoming the story writer and editor Hannah Tinti, as the first-ever Mary Wood Fellow.

This extended stay by an emerging woman writer was conceived by Mary Wood '68. "I thought that the young writers—especially the young women writers—might get some encouragement and insight into the writing life by somebody who has broken through the glass ceiling," said Wood, a former board member of Washington College and a long-time friend of literary programs. "And if the writer stays for longer than just one overnight reading, they could talk to her and get to know her."

The College community will get to know Hannah Tinti from October 16th through the 20th. Her packed schedule includes three public presentations, several class visits, one-and-one conferences with students, and even a ride on the skipjack Ellsworth.

Tinti's first collection of stories, Animal Crackers, was widely praised by critics, and was a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers pick for 2004, among other honors. Her first novel, Resurrection Men, is forthcoming with the Dial Press. She is also the editor of One Story, which publishes one story every issue. The journal, which she co-created in 2001, has had stories recognized in Best American Short Stories, Best New American Voices, Best American Non-Required Reading, and on public radio's "Selected Shorts."

One Story has been profiled in the New York Times, Newsweek and elsewhere. "Perhaps most satisfying of all," Tinti said, "we've seen many One Story writers go on to publish their first books."

Tinti will deliver a talk on publishing at the Rose O'Neill Literary House on Thursday, October 18, at 4:30 p.m. Students who are interested in learning about how to get published and read as a literary writer are encouraged to attend. On Saturday, October 20, at 1:30 p.m., Tinti will give a public reading at Hynson Lounge, where she will be preceded by student writers she will work with during her stay. Late night Saturday, Tinti will make a special appearance at a Writers' Union reading, for which students should meet at the Literary House at 9 p.m.

October 10, 2007

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Five U.S. Senators Gather at Washington College for Bipartisan Conversations on Politics and History

Chestertown, MD — Their experiences span the administrations of every President from John F. Kennedy through George W. Bush. They have drafted amendments to the Constitution, battled over Supreme Court nominations, expanded civil rights, debated wars, brokered peace. Collectively, they have served nearly 100 years in the United States Senate.

And this semester, these five renowned legislators—among the Senate's most distinguished former and current members—will be at Washington College to share their reflections on politics, history, and the art of leadership with students, faculty, and the general public.

Senators from both sides of the aisle, including Gary Hart (D-Colo., 1975-87), Paul Laxalt (R-Nev., 1974-87), Dale Bumpers (D-Ark., 1975-99), and Richard Lugar (R-Ind., 1977-present) will participate in the 2007 Senatorial Colloquy on American History and Politics, led by former Senator Birch Bayh (D-Ind., 1963-81) and hosted by Washington College's C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience. In a series of four public conversations, on October 17, October 22, November 5, and November 12, Senator Bayh and his guests will discuss the history and traditions of the Senate, as well as their own experiences in office. The Senatorial Colloquy will offer exceptional insights into what it is like to belong to what has been called "the most exclusive club in the world."

Amid the historic setting of 18th-century Chestertown, the Senatorial Colloquy also offers some of America's leading lawmakers a chance to reflect on enduring challenges that confront the nation. The goal of the series is to rise above the ins and outs of current politics and consider how the Senate can, in these contentious times, live up to the ideals of Alexander Hamilton and James Madison—who, in The Federalist Papers, envisioned the Senate as embodying nothing less than "a sense of national character."

Senator Bayh, who will participate with one visiting senator in each of the public conversations, is a senior fellow of the C.V. Starr Center at Washington College. Throughout a career spanning more than half a century, Senator Bayh won renown as a tireless and effective champion of civil rights and education, and as a highly respected authority on the U.S. Constitution. The only person since the 18th century to write more than one successful amendment to the Constitution, he has been called "a latter-day Founding Father," as well as a master of the art of congressional leadership, often across party lines. Along with the 25th Amendment (establishing the rules for Presidential disability and Presidential and Vice-Presidential succession) and the 26th Amendment (lowering the voting age to 18), Senator Bayh drafted Title IX of the Higher Education Act (prohibiting gender discrimination on campus) and helped draft the landmark 1964 Civil Rights Act and 1965 Voting Rights Act.

The 2007 Senatorial Colloquy also includes a series of student seminars at which 16 Washington College undergraduates have opportunities to study American politics and history in a small-group setting with Senator Bayh, and to continue the discussion with each visiting senator over a private dinner after each of the Colloquy's public sessions.

"Senator Bayh is not only a legendary figure in American public life, he is also an extraordinary teacher and mentor," said Adam Goodheart, Hodson Trust-Griswold Director of the C.V. Starr Center. "Our students are fortunate indeed to learn about politics and history firsthand from someone who has literally made history. And the four guests whom he has invited to join him this semester are among the most thoughtful, eloquent, and farsighted members of the Senate in recent decades."

Senator Gary Hart (Wednesday, October 17—READERS, PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS THE CORRECT DATE, NOT OCTOBER 15) represented Colorado in the Senate from 1975 to 1987. A leading intellectual figure in American political life, he is widely recognized as among the first to forecast the end of the Cold War, and he co-chaired the U.S. Commission on National Security for the 21st Century, which warned of terrorist attacks on America before 9/11. Senator Hart was a candidate for the Democratic Party's nomination for President in 1984 and 1988. Currently Wirth Chair Professor at the University of Colorado, he has authored more than a dozen books.

Senator Paul Laxalt (Monday, October 22), who represented Nevada between 1974 and 1987, was often referred to as "The First Friend" due to his closeness to President Ronald Reagan. He was national chairman of Reagan's three presidential campaigns (in 1976, 1980, and 1984). At President Reagan's behest, he traveled to the Philippines in 1986 to urge then-President Ferdinand Marcos to undertake political and military reforms, and eventually convinced the Philippine leader to step down peacefully, helping to avert a bloody civil war.

Senator Dale Bumpers (Monday, November 5) represented Arkansas from 1975 until 1999, and has been acclaimed as one of the Senate's most eloquent orators in recent times. Less than three weeks after he retired from the Senate, he was called back to deliver the closing argument in defense of his friend President Bill Clinton, in only the second presidential impeachment trial in the history of the country. "Mr. Bumpers summoned forth the dignity of an earlier form of public discussion, the kind prized by the Founding Fathers," wrote one commentator in the New York Times.

Senator Richard Lugar (Monday, November 12) is the longest serving U.S. Senator in Indiana history, having been first elected in 1976. One of the Senate's most respected voices on foreign policy, he has recently played a pivotal role in that body's ongoing debate on the Iraq War. Senator Lugar is the Ranking Member of the Foreign Relations Committee, which he has also chaired, along with the Agriculture Committee. He was a candidate for the Republican nomination for President in 1996.

All the public conversations begin at 5:00 p.m. in Hynson Lounge, Hodson Hall at Washington College. Admission to the Colloquy sessions is free and open to the public; admission will be on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information on attending, please call the C.V. Starr Center at 410-810-7161. For more background on the Senatorial Colloquy and the five participating Senators, please visit the Center's website at http://starrcenter.washcoll.edu.

The four public conversations will be moderated by Steven Clemons of the New America Foundation, who is a member of the C.V. Starr Center's Advisory Board and author of the popular political blog "The Washington Note." A keen observer of politics inside the Beltway, Clemons also writes frequently on foreign policy, defense, and economic policy.

Founded in 1782 under the personal patronage of George Washington, Washington College has hosted numerous national leaders throughout its long history—beginning with the institution's namesake himself, who attended the 1784 Commencement. Later visitors included Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, and George H.W. Bush. The College's alumni have included several members of the U.S. Senate. The 2007 Senatorial Colloquy is part of Washington College's celebration of its 225th anniversary year, and it draws inspiration from the institution's founders, who believed that the future of American democracy depended on education, civil discourse, and an informed understanding of history.

October 9, 2007

Thursday, October 4, 2007

A Grim Legacy Explored: Author Discusses History of Eastern Shore Lynchings

Chestertown, MD — Civil rights lawyer and scholar Sherrilyn Ifill, author of the acclaimed new book On the Courthouse Lawn: Confronting the Legacy of Lynching in the Twenty-First Century (Beacon Books, 2007), will explore the history of lynching on the Eastern Shore with a lecture/booksigning at the Bethel AME Church on Tuesday, October 16, at 7:30 p.m.

Professor Ifill's talk, sponsored by Washington College's C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience, will focus on how lynching and the violent climate surrounding lynching produced a decades-long legacy of silence, distrust and racial division. She also will lead an open discussion of how communities like those in Kent County—the site of a lynching and near-lynching in 1892 and 1931, respectively -- can use techniques like those used in South Africa's truth and reconciliation process to promote healing.

Sherrilyn Ifill is Professor of Law at the University of Maryland School of Law, and a nationally recognized advocate for civil rights, voting rights, and judicial diversity. She is a frequent guest on WYPR's "The Mark Steiner Show," where she offers commentary on race and the law, and a regular op-ed contributor to the Baltimore Sun and the AFRO-American. Prior to joining the University of Maryland faculty, she litigated voting rights cases for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund Inc.

Ifill first learned of the Eastern Shore's history of lynching from clients she represented in a Wicomico County discrimination suit, African-Americans unfairly affected by state highway siting decisions. Recognizing the link between contemporary inequalities and the long shadow of these grisly events, she turned her attention to bringing these stories back into the public eye.

Racial terrorism did not bypass Kent County. On May 17, 1892, an angry mob dragged 24-year-old James Taylor from a Chestertown jail cell and lynched him across the street from the Kent County Courthouse, leaving his body to dangle from a maple tree for an hour, spotlighted by a lantern.

Taylor's death came on the heels of the murder of a Millington doctor and subsequent arrest of 11 black suspects, events that set racial tensions in the county boiling. When the young daughter of a white Kennedyville farmer accused her father's hired hand of sexual assault, vigilantes leapt into action. No jury ever considered the evidence against Taylor.

Nearly forty years after the lynching of Taylor, a mob again demanded blood in November 1931, fanning out across four counties in pursuit of 27-year-old George Davis. Seeking a job opportunity, Davis had entered his former employers' residence and frightened the lady of the house; attempted criminal assault charges ensued. The night after his arrest, 700 angry men assembled outside the Chestertown jail; the group's leader openly carried a rope. Only a quick response on part of the Kent County Sheriff saved Davis's life.

Sherrilyn Ifill's talk is cosponsored by Washington College's Center for the Study of Black Culture, the Chester Valley Ministers' Association, Mt. Olive AME Church, Janes United Methodist Church, Unitarian Universalists of the Chester River, and the African American Schoolhouse Museum & Council.

"This is not a 'black' story or a 'white' one, but a history relevant to every resident of Kent County: black, white, elderly, young, the lifelong resident and the newcomer alike," said Jill Ogline, Associate Director of the C.V. Starr Center. "We hope to lay the foundation for an ongoing conversation on lynching's legacy, looking toward the goals of restorative justice and community reconciliation."

Established in 2000 with a grant from the New York-based Starr Foundation, the C.V. Starr Center explores our nation's history—and particularly the legacy of its Founding era—in innovative ways. Through educational programs, scholarship, and public outreach, and especially by supporting and fostering the art of written history, the Starr Center seeks to bridge the divide between past and present, and between the academic world and the public at large. From its base in the circa-1746 Custom House along Chestertown's colonial waterfront, the Center also serves as a portal onto a world of opportunities for Washington College students. Its guiding principle is that now more than ever, a wider understanding of our shared past is fundamental to the continuing success of America's democratic experiment.

Admission to the October 16 event is free and open to the public. For more information, call 410-810-7157.

October 4, 2007

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Dr. Fredrika J. Teute, Prominent History Scholar, Accepts 2007-8 C.V. Starr Fellowship

Chestertown, MD — The C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience has appointed Dr. Fredrika J. Teute, a nationally prominent scholar and editor in the field of early American history, as its new C.V. Starr Fellow. Dr. Teute will spend the entire academic year 2007-8 in residence in Chestertown, working on a book and teaching at Washington College. She was selected from among dozens of applicants for this year's fellowship.

As Editor of Publications at the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture—a leading center for the study of colonial history, sponsored jointly by the College of William & Maryand Colonial Williamsburg—Dr. Teute has shaped some of the most seminal works in early American history published over the past two decades. In 2006 alone, books published by Omohundro received 10 major prizes, including the Phi Beta Kappa Society's Ralph Waldo Emerson Award and the American Historical Association's James A. Rawley Prize.

At the same time, Dr. Teute has pursued research on her own project, an exploration of the formation of national identity in early Washington, D.C. Her book focuses on the career of the novelist, journalist, and saloniste Margaret Bayard Smith, a little-known but fascinating figure in the rough-and-tumble world of Jeffersonian-era politics. The yearlong C.V. Starr Center Writing Fellowship will afford Teute an opportunity to temporarily lay down her editor's pencil and complete her manuscript.

"The Starr Center is an ideal place for me, with its focus on the Revolutionary period and origins of the United States and its locale not far from Washington, D.C.," said Dr. Teute. "These are the era, concerns, and setting of my own study."

"A primary mission of the Starr Center is to foster innovative approaches to the American past," said Adam Goodheart, the Center's Hodson Trust-Griswold Director. "Dr. Teute's book—weaving together political and social history, literature and the fine arts, through the life story of an extraordinary woman—will, I believe, show readers early America in a whole new light. I am delighted that we are supporting her work."

Dr. Teute received her B.A. at Radcliffe College, her M.A. at the College of William & Mary, and her Ph.D. at Johns Hopkins University. She has served as associate editor of the Papers of James Madison and the Papers of John Marshall, as well as Editor of Publications at the Virginia Historical Society. She has been a Mellon Fellow at the Huntington Library and a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellow at the American Antiquarian Society, of which she is also an elected member. She has co-edited several books and published numerous scholarly articles in leading publications. In addition to her role at the Omohundro Institute, Dr. Teute is a Lecturer in History at the College of William & Mary.

"Dr. Teute's residence in Chestertown provides our students with a wonderful opportunity and promises to enhance the status and reach of the Starr Center in the scholarly community," said Assistant Professor of History Kenneth Miller. While at Washington College, Dr. Teute will teach an undergraduate course and deliver a public lecture on her project.

Established in 2000 with a grant from the New York-based Starr Foundation, the C.V. Starr Center draws on the special historical strengths of Washington College and colonial Chestertown to explore the early republic, the rise of democracy, and the manifold ways in which the founding era continues to shape American culture, through innovative educational programs, scholarship, and public outreach, and especially by supporting and fostering the art of written history. In cooperation with the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History and George Washington's Mount Vernon, the Center administers the George Washington Book Prize, a $50,000 annual prize recognizing outstanding published works that contribute to a greater understanding of the life and career of George Washington and/or the Founding era.

October 2, 2007

Monday, October 1, 2007

The Art of Photography Meets the Age of Globalism at Washington College

Chestertown, MD, October 1, 2007 — The Washington College Department of Art & Art History will present "More and More About Less and Less: Conceptual Photography in the Age of Globalism," a lecture by photographer Daniel Faust, at the Casey Academic Center Forum on Tuesday, October 2, at 5 p.m.

The New York-based Faust's recent photographic excursions have ranged from Chicago, Paris, Seville and Tangier to Dubai and Johannesburg, along with many and miscellaneous places in between. His ever-growing archive of works presently consists of 25,000 images.

Faust is currently exhibiting United Nations photographs in the Istanbul Biennial. Last summer he exhibited in "Hidden in Plain Sight" at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. In 2006 he exhibited at the Second International Biennial of Contemporary Art in Seville.

His work has been published in ArtForum, Grand Street, the New York Times and Parkett.Niche, a novel illustrated with 85 Faust photographs, is slated for publication in November 2007.

Admission to "More and More About Less and Less: Conceptual Photography in the Age of Globalism" is free and open to the public.

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Early Adulthood in the Early '80s: 'This Is Our Youth' Staged at Washington College

Chestertown, MD — The Washington College Department of Drama will present Kenneth Lonergan's "This Is Our Youth" in the first floor lounge of Minta Martin Hall on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, October 4 to 6, at 8 p.m.

A senior thesis production directed by Bobby Bangert, "This Is Our Youth" is the story of three young people on the cusp of adulthood in 1982, a time when everything in their lives and their world seems uncertain. Warren (played by senior Phil Doccolo) is an overeager and lovable failure. A disruptive home life leads him to seek refuge with his friend and role model Dennis (played by Senior Tim Helmer).

Warren's problems only multiply with the introduction of Jessica (played by sophomore Molly O'Connell), the girl he likes and tries to impress. Through their misguided and often unsuccessful attempts at taking control of their lives, the characters are surprised to learn who they really are, and who they intend to become.

Admission to "This Is Our Youth" is free, but seating is limited and reservations are required; call 410/778-7835 or e-mail drama_tickets@washcoll.edu.

September 27, 2007

Tropicante Brings Latin Beats to Washington College

Chestertown, MD — The rich musical traditions of Latin America will come alive when Tropicante performs in Washington College's Martha Washington Square on Thursday, October 4, at 8 p.m. The performance is presented in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month.

Tropicante gets the audience swinging and clapping to the Colombian cumbia, the Dominican merengue, the Venezuelantambor, the Brazilian samba and other popular Latin beats. The ensemble's lively concerts are sprinkled with first-rate musicianship, anecdotes and humor.

Tropicante's appearance at Washington College is presented by the Office of Multicultural Affairs; the Office of Student Activities; the Department of Foreign Languages, Literatures and Cultures; and the Department of Music. Admission is free and open to the public; in the event of inclement weather, the concert will be held in Hodson Hall.

September 27, 2007