Hamilton Magazine - Winter 2019

HAMILTON Magazine

DIGITAL HAMILTON Technical Know-How; Creative Problem-Solving

Winter 2019

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THINGS YOU’LL LEARN Who’s Saving the Northern Gannet Nearly two decades after the Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico, one Hamilton alumnus remains hard at work restoring natural resources. PAGE 9

The Hill is Alive ...

Duke Ellington, Natalie Merchant, Jimi Hendrix, and Michael Stipe have something in common. PAGE 18

Suffragists Survived The decades-long battle to win U.S. women the right to vote almost died on a sweltering day in Nashville.

Wouldn’t that nail-biting tale make for great TV? PAGE 36

Rocks are Hot Two professors devise a plan to buy an expensive piece of

state-of-the-art research equipment and use it to help cover its cost. It’s working. PAGE 40

What Not to Miss in The Big D You might consider washing down that Hot Mess with a jalapeño margarita the next time you’re in Dallas. PAGE 55

On the Cover

Behind the goggles (and smiling at right) is Judy Zhou ’19, who created a virtual reality empathy exercise that can be used in counseling offices and classrooms. PAGE 26

COMMENTS

HAMILTON MAGAZINE WINTER 2019 VOLUME 84, NO. 1 EDITOR Stacey J. Himmelberger P’15,’22 (shimmelb@hamilton.edu) SENIOR WRITER Maureen A. Nolan (manolan@hamilton.edu) HAMILTON HUB MANAGER Kimberly A. Dam (kdam@hamilton.edu) NECROLOGY WRITER Jorge L. Hernández ’72 STUDENT CONTRIBUTORS Jacob Altman-Desole ’19 Julia Dupuis ’21 Molly Geisinger ’19 Lynn Kim ’21 Kyra Richardson ’21 Majestic Terhune ’21 ART DIRECTOR Mark M. Mullin DESIGNER Vanessa L. Colangelo PRODUCTION MANAGER Mona M. Dunn PRODUCTION ASSOCIATE Phyllis L. Jackson CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER Nancy L. Ford WEB COORDINATOR Esena J. Jackson STUDENT ILLUSTRATOR Jack Confrey ’19 VICE PRESIDENT, ADVANCEMENT Lori Rava Dennison ’87, P’16 ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT, COMMUNICATIONS Michael J. Debraggio P’07

CONTACT Email: editor@hamilton.edu Phone: 866-729-0313

Navigating What’s Next STAC EY J. HI M M EL B ER G ER P’1 5,’22 E D I TO R

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’VE NEVER BEEN A FAN of “from the desk of the editor” messages in college magazines.

Although there’s the occasional one that inspires, generally these missives strike me as self-serving. I mean do you really care that I got the idea for a particular story after a chance encounter with a professor on Martin’s Way or that snow is gently falling outside my window as I write this? (It’s January in Clinton for Pete’s sake.)

For this issue, however, I acquiesce. A bit of backstory about how this issue came to be is warranted. After all, you’ve probably noticed that the Hamilton magazine you’re holding looks and feels different from the one you’re accustomed to receiving. The last major redesign of the magazine came in 2005 — the same year YouTube was launched. Today, almost five billion videos are viewed on the site each day. Let’s just say that a lot has changed in the way we access and consume information.

Plans for a redesign began two years ago with alumni focus groups, on campus and off, and a readership survey. Results were shared with Zehno, a higher education communications firm who helped us think about how to translate our good data into the pages of a redesigned magazine. Although many topics were explored, we focused on two primary questions: n

© 2019, Trustees of Hamilton College

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How do they wish to receive it?

The survey and our conversations showed that you are interested in staying informed about what’s happening on campus — especially when it comes to the work and achievement of students — but you most want to read about fellow alumni. This opinion is held by graduates across

30%

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What kinds of news and information do alumni want from Hamilton?

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the decades. Further, you want to know not only about prominent alumni, but, as one person in a focus group put it, “regular alums doing cool things” in their communities and workplaces.

Other content-specific suggestions that came up repeatedly: present content and photos that bring alumni back to College Hill and evoke a sense of nostalgia and pride; invite more “voices” into the magazine; tackle stories that take a candid look at campus issues, including those that

Alumni most want to read about their fellow alumni, especially “regular alums doing cool things” in their communities and workplaces. are controversial; offer bonus content online such as recordings of retired professors teaching a class, videos, and links to Spectator articles.

The magazine staff wasn’t surprised by these suggestions — in fact, we wholeheartedly agree.

When planning for the next iteration of the magazine, we set out to create sections that address your comments, and we will keep your feedback in mind as we plan features moving forward.

For example, beginning on the next page, you’ll find Because Hamiltonians. Each issue will lead off with short profiles about people “doing cool things” on scales large and small. Later in the book comes Common Ground, a page that presents perspectives of two individuals weighing in on a serious issue or something just for fun.

Know Thyself gives you a quick look at a Hamiltonian’s path since College Hill, and The Big Question features answers to a crowdsourced question

THE TRUSTEES Stephen I. Sadove ’73, Chair Susan E. Skerritt K’77, Vice Chair

we’ll pose each issue. A handful of answers will appear in the print issue with the rest published online. (See the back cover for next issue’s question, and please send photos!)

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HEN WE ASKED alumni about their preference for how information is delivered, the majority said that College news is best consumed electronically. It’s more timely and more in line with how they are accustomed to receiving news. Most also indicated a desire to go online to find alumni news that’s more current, to search for news by class year, and to post news directly.

That led to the development and launch of the Hamilton Hub (hamilton.edu/hub) last spring.

However, we heard two things loud and clear: 1) Some form of class notes should be preserved in the magazine. We’ve created a section in the back of the book called Hubbub where you’ll find a sampling of items posted by alumni on the Hub. 2) Even though you can post news directly to the Hub, correspondents serve a vital role in the news-gathering process. Correspondents, along with class presidents, will be in touch with you, encouraging you to post and engage via the Hamilton Hub. The more people who contribute and connect, the more successful the Hub will be as a news/networking/event-sharing tool.

Like the former Class Notes, the Necrology section is now available electronically (hamilton. edu/necrology). Our magazine team remains committed to the long-standing tradition of publishing alumni memorial biographies. We’ve created a database that allows you to search for obituaries of classmates going back to 2008.

Finally, a word about another great way to stay up-to-date — our monthly e-newsletter Hamilton Headlines. The Communications Office

is constantly making adjustments to create a more dynamic experience by including videos, slideshows, and other content. If you’re not receiving Hamilton Headlines in your inbox each month, let us know.

There’s no question that the redesigned Hamilton magazine represents change. And as exciting as change can be, it can also take some getting used to. We’re hoping you’ll spend time with the magazine and visit the Hamilton Hub.

We heard you — Some form of class notes should be preserved in the magazine, and class correspondents serve a vital role in the news-gathering process.

Our staff has worked hard to maintain what you told us you liked best about the old magazine, while providing new ways for you to engage with each other and with the College. Our primary mission, however, is the same — to tell stories that capture the contributions of Hamiltonians everywhere and bring you back to College Hill three times a year. Let us know what you think. n Send your letters, story ideas, and feedback to editor@hamilton.edu or Hamilton magazine, 198 College Hill Road, Clinton, NY 13323.

We welcome comments on topics discussed in the magazine or on any subject of possible interest to the College community. Please include your name, class year, and location, and whether you intend for your letter to be published. We reserve the right to judge whether a letter is appropriate for publication and to edit for accuracy and length.

CHARTER TRUSTEES Aron J. Ain ’79 Richard Bernstein ’80 Harold W. Bogle ’75 Brian T. Bristol Julia K. Cowles ’84 Robert V. Delaney, Jr. ’79 Amy Owens Goodfriend ’82 Philip L. Hawkins ’78 David P. Hess ’77 Gregory T. Hoogkamp ’82 Linda E. Johnson ’80 Lea Haber Kuck ’87 Robert S. Morris ’76 Daniel T.H. Nye ’88 Ronald R. Pressman ’80 Imad I. Qasim ’79 R. Christopher Regan ’77 Nancy Roob ’87 Alexander C. Sacerdote ’94 Jack R. Selby ’96 David M. Solomon ’84 David Wippman ALUMNI TRUSTEES Roger H. Berman ’76 Johannes P. Burlin ’87 Daniel C. Fielding ’07 Matthew T. Fremont-Smith ’84 Ann E. Goizueta ’90 James E. Hacker ’81 Alison M. Hill ’87 Elizabeth A. Marran K’77 Christopher P. Marshall ’90 Julie L. Ross ’84 Greg M. Schwartz ’94 Kathleen O’Connor Stewart ’84 LIFE TRUSTEES Henry W. Bedford II ’76 David W. Blood ’81 Christina E. Carroll Drew S. Days III ’63 Gerald V. Dirvin ’59 Sean K. Fitzpatrick ’63 Lee C. Garcia ’67 Eugenie A. Havemeyer Robert G. Howard ’46 Joel W. Johnson ’65 Kevin W. Kennedy ’70 † A.G. Lafley ’69 † George F. Little II ’71 David E. Mason ’61 Arthur J. Massolo ’64 Elizabeth J. McCormack Donald R. Osborn Mary Burke Partridge John G. Rice ’78 Howard J. Schneider ’60 Thomas J. Schwarz ’66 Stuart L. Scott ’61 † A. Barrett Seaman ’67 Nancy Ferguson Seeley Chester A. Siuda ’70 Charles O. Svenson ’61 Thomas J. Tull ’92 Jack Withiam, Jr. ’71 Jaime E. Yordán ’71 † Chairmen Emeriti PRESIDENT OF THE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION Gordon D. Kaye ’74

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BECAUSE HAMILTONIANS [...]

Go ahead. Fill in the blank. There’s no shortage of possibilities Because Hamiltonians make an impact in their professions and communities throughout the world.

GO GLOBAL

Bob Kunze-Concewitz ’88 A BUSINESS ON THE ROCKS isn’t always a bad thing. “I love seeing our cocktails in consumers’ hands — the Aperol Spritz (orange) and Negroni (red) are very distinctive and very visible,” says Bob Kunze-Concewitz ’88, CEO of the Campari Group.

Campari is the sixth largest company in the premium spirits industry worldwide, and its products are marketed and distributed in more than 190 countries. Kunze-Concewitz has lived in Milan, Italy, for 13 years, and, as always, his career keeps him busy.

“We bought Cognac Bisquit at the beginning of 2018, sold our Italian soft drinks business, and moved our U.S. headquarters from San Francisco to New York City. We generate on average half of our

growth via acquisitions, so you never know what our next big project will be,” Kunze-Concewitz says.

Before joining Campari, the Hamilton economics major earned a master’s degree in business administration and had a 15-year international career in marketing at Procter & Gamble where he learned his craft. He says he loves being CEO of a company as dynamic as the Campari Group.

His favorite Campari cocktails? That’s easy. A Negroni, made with Campari, gin, and red vermouth; a Boulevardier, made with Campari, Wild Turkey 101, and red ­vermouth; and a Grand Margarita, made with Grand Marnier and Espòlon tequila. n

CARRY ON A TRADITION Jim Clough ’67

ON A FAMILY VACATION to Nova Scotia in 1963, Jim Clough ’67 discovered bagpiping. The music moved his brother, and eventually him, when Clough heard his brother practicing at home. Two years later, Clough became a piper too, and he’s been cultivating and perfecting the art for nearly 53 years.

Clough pursued bagpiping during his summers off from teaching sixth-graders in Rome, N.Y. After traveling to Syracuse to play in a pipe band, he founded in 1973 what would become the Mohawk Valley Frasers.

In addition to studying with top pipers over the years, Clough has helped many of his own students excel as musicians. His

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Frasers have won EUSPBA Supreme Championships four times and twice risen to the Grade 2 level.

Closer to home, the Frasers perform each year at Hamilton, leading processions at Commencement and Reunions. “The annual tradition helps me stay in touch with old friends, and, speaking of ‘old,’ at age 72, I like doing things that make me feel relevant,” said Clough, who shares his enthusiasm for pipe music with his wife Liz, a drummer, and his daughter Jessie Clough ’07, a Highland dancer. n — Molly Geisinger ’19

BECAUSE HAMILTONIANS [...]

RECOGNIZE POTENTIAL

Kris Hoffman ’85 ANY DAY SHE CAN manage it, Kris Hoffman ’85 rides her bike 10 miles or so to a job she loves in Colchester, Vt. — director of education for the Woodside Juvenile ­Rehabilitation Center, the state’s most ­secure facility for youth. Hoffman, who has been at Woodside since 2011, describes her students as “the best kids in the world under the worst circumstances.” They range in age from 10 to 18, some staying in the 100-bed center for a few days, others a few months or more. Hoffman and her staff work to determine students’ individual ­educational needs and build a program to meet them.

Do you still work in the classroom?

I do some teaching, [but] I mostly ­administer the program. I work with the community, the Vermont Agency of Education, the Department for Children and Families, stakeholders, and other com­ munity groups of specialized populations to develop initiatives or bring initiatives into our building so that our kids can have a free and appropriate education despite that fact that they are locked in this facility.

Which part of your job do you like best?

Anything I can do with kids. In fact one of the reasons I was late for this phone call was that on Friday afternoons student-­ athletes from Saint Michael’s College come here and play with the kids. They are outside playing kickball right now with the women’s varsity hockey team. After we get

“A lot of times you have to hold on to the fact that these are kids and that you’re planting seeds.”

off the phone, I’m going to run out there and play kickball with them, which is a great way to end the week.

I just love seeing them behave like kids.

They are preparing for court, they have really difficult family situations, they feel like they are at the bottom of a pit and they can’t crawl out. They have substance-abuse problems, mental-health trauma, all kinds of issues. But on the days that I can go out there and play kickball with them and we’re all laughing, that’s really just the best ever.

Give an example of when you thought, ‘Boy am I glad I’m doing this job.’

When the kids call or come back or I ­encounter them in the community and they are so excited to tell me how well they are doing — or that they finished high school or are working or they’re in community college, I think that’s great. They’re always thankful and grateful; those are the best moments.

When people learn what you do, do they ever have negative stereotypes?

People have a lot of ideas about “juvie.”

I try to portray that I want to treat everybody with unconditional positive regard, regardless of their current situation. And I’m always going to come down on the side of children. Things are hard for children and families, and I’m hoping that I can leave people with one little kernel of truth — that no one is born to become some kind of criminal monster. I don’t want to throw people away. •

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KATARZYNA GRUDA

BECAUSE HAMILTONIANS [...]

TEACH

Osvaldo Adames ’15 DETERMINED TO CHANGE the education system for low-income students and students of color, Osvaldo Adames ’15 took a job teaching eighth-grade math at the Bronx School for Law, Government and Justice — his alma mater. There, he quietly nurtured a goal: to have his students take the state Algebra 1 exam in eighth-grade rather than ninth, which was typical at the school. If students succeeded, they would get a jump on the pursuit of higher-level math in high school. Adames, a Hamilton math major, was convinced that with adequate support, his students could make the grade on the exam.

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That first year of teaching, he identified 19 students ready for the challenge, and every one of them passed. In each of the next two years, Adames identified larger and larger groups of students to tackle the test, and they continued to do well. He is carefully tracking the data that help him zero in on students’ needs.

This year, his fourth at the school, the administration asked Adames if he wanted all of his eighth-graders to take the exam, reflecting a citywide push. Or he could choose to wait one more year. Adames ­responded that 100 percent participation

had always been his goal. This would be the year. “I was comfortable enough in my data, and I was confident enough in what I’m doing, that I was able to voice that opinion and face the challenge of preparing all of them to pass,” he says.

And that’s what he’s doing — fine-tuning his curriculum, firing up his students, and ­explaining to them that even if they don’t pass the exam this year, they’ll be better ­prepared to retake it as ninth-graders. “Hope­ fully we’ll have a very successful year because of that,” he says. n

BECAUSE HAMILTONIANS [...]

SWING

Leo Rayhill ’49

Howard Morgan ’84 HOWARD MORGAN ’84 BECAME CHAIR of the Parkinson’s Foundation board of directors in June. He’d been involved with a previous iteration of the board since 2004, drawn to the cause because his late father suffered from the disease. Morgan sees opportunity and obligation in taking on the role.

The foundation was born two years ago from a merger of the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation, of which Morgan was a part, and the National Parkinson’s Foundation.

“It was a chance to use my merger and acquisition skill set, my private equity skill set, to combine two not-for-profits — really a kind of a merger of equals,” he says. “The opportunity, almost the obligation, to try to make that happen was once-in-a-lifetime.”

Morgan is a partner and the senior ­managing director of Argand Partners, and the foundation saw him as a leader who could accelerate its growth. It’s a chance, he says, to have an impact on people with Parkinson’s, “both trying to cure it — maybe that’s too aspirational — but certainly making lives better for those who have it, and, just as important, for those who care for those who have it.” n

Jack Confrey ’19

LEAD

HIS HOUSE IS BURSTING with LPs and CDs, some neatly stored on specially made shelves, others within easy reach. Music is always playing, and it’s almost always jazz.

Leo Rayhill ’49 hosted his first jazz radio show at Hamilton’s WHC, where he spun tunes and acted as his own engineer. For nearly 60 years, he’s been putting out music and still hosts his long-running show, Sounds of Jazz, on WCNY-FM in Syracuse, N.Y. He’s interviewed some greats, among them Stan Kenton, Duke Ellington, and Count Basie.

Rayhill calls Louis Armstrong his most wonderful guest. Armstrong arrived apologizing for being overbooked and able to spare only a couple of minutes. “He stayed two hours,” Rayhill recalls.

FEED

Sheri Silverman Labovitz K’73 AS PRESIDENT of Second Helpings Atlanta, Sheri Silverman Labovitz K’73 is helping to reduce both hunger and food waste. Through the collection and distribution of excess food from a network of over 80 grocery stores, corporate kitchens, universities, hospitals, stadiums, and other large event venues, her organization serves more than

If jazz has a rival for Rayhill’s affection, it’s his alma mater. He saw his first Hamilton football game as a kid growing up in Utica, N.Y., and went on to play for the Continentals. He’s been a class agent and still volunteers however he can. Hamilton teaches students to think, Rayhill says. “The teachers were wonderful, they brought me along, and I wound up with pretty good marks. Not at the beginning, but I was good at the end.” n

50 agencies that feed the hungry. SHA’s “90-minute model” uses a unique approach — the organization’s 500 volunteers typically complete their pick-up and drop-off routes in just 90 efficient minutes, collectively operating some 180 routes each week.

Labovitz, a retired attorney, hopes to lead SHA as it breaks records. In 2017, the organization rescued over 1.5 million pounds (or 1.3 million meals) and planned to significantly exceed that number in 2018.

Labovitz’s social awareness and community involvement stem from her time at Kirkland, where she pursued an interdisciplinary urban-government major. She says her work with SHA allows her to tackle issues of poverty and hunger she first witnessed while working on a Utica, N.Y., urban poverty project for a photography class.

Labovitz describes her career journey and the opportunity to tackle issues she studied on College Hill as coming “full circle.” • — Kyra Richardson ’21

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SING

Juliette Reiss ’03 NOT SURPRISINGLY, Juliette Reiss ’03, an actress in Los Angeles, participated in theatre productions at Hamilton. But she also loved singing with the College Choir and the a cappella group Tumbling After, for which she served as president.

“When I first moved out here, I knew only one person, from Hamilton actually, who introduced me to a girl who has become one of my best friends. She joined ­Angel City Chorale about four years ago, and I’d go to her concerts. Every time I walked away, I missed it — I missed singing!”

Angel City Chorale is an LA-based choir with 160 singers ranging in age from 19 to 88. After the choir’s December 2017 concert, Reiss decided to try out. After just three weeks with the group, word came that the popular NBC show America’s Got Talent had invited them to audition, most likely after seeing clips online. After receiving the coveted “golden buzzer” at their first performance, ACC advanced to the semifinals before elimination.

“We come from different backgrounds, religions, locations, and viewpoints, and

PROMOTE UNDERSTANDING Andrew Lee ’94

NANCY L. FORD

LIKE MOST HAUDENOSAUNEE, Andrew Lee ’94 learned from an early age that when setting a course of action, one must consider the wisdom of seven generations who came before and the consequences that decisions will have on seven generations ahead. Lee takes that advice to heart as chairman of the board of the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian.

“When you visit the NMAI, you have an opportunity to start learning the complexities and nuances of the American Indian experience and how it fits into the larger American experience,” says Lee, who is half Seneca.

“You not only come away with a deeper understanding of some of the challenges Natives have faced, but also a newfound ­appreciation for just how resilient, innovative, and pioneering this population has been and continues to be.”

He is particularly excited about a museum initiative called Native Knowledge 360,

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in coming together, we learn different languages, about different cultures, and about each other,” Reiss said. “The big message [of ACC] is to promote diversity and celebrate those things that make us individuals, but still come together and make something beautiful.” n — Lynn Kim ’21 (whose high school vocal teacher is also a member of Angel City Chorale)

which incorporates technology and social media to reach young audiences who may not be able to visit the museum, transforming both the substance and delivery of what they learn about American Indians in school.

Lee has held executive positions in the fields of health care, American Indian affairs, and philanthropy, and most recently completed a six-year term as a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum. His experiences confirmed his belief that in order to shape their image and identity for the next seven generations, Native Americans must adopt a policy of self-determination.

“The prospects of overcoming long legacies of socioeconomic blight are much stronger when Native nations adopt a ‘just do it’ attitude and take over functions and systems that were previously controlled by outsiders.

This makes sense intuitively, and the results are inspiring,” he says.

Lee points to a growing number of tribes running world-class health care systems and tribal schools where students are exceeding standard benchmarks and learning their ­Native languages. “That’s sovereignty in action, and the results are compelling,” he says. n

BECAUSE HAMILTONIANS [...]

REBUILD Kevin Reynolds ’94 AFTER THE DEEPWATER HORIZON EXPLODED in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, triggering a massive oil spill, scientist Kevin Reynolds ’94 of the federal Department of the Interior’s Fish and Wildlife Service was put in charge of measuring the unthinkable — the injury to the natural resources managed by his department.

It took years, but in 2016, BP and other defendants reached a record $20.8 billion settlement with the federal government and five states, with $8.8 billion earmarked for restoration. Reynolds leads the Interior Department’s Gulf restoration work.

What it is like to work on such a long-term effort?

Here’s what I love about my job — it’s the progress. When we talk about the $1.033 billion spent so far — which, by the way, incorporates 97 individual projects that we’re implementing — you name it, we’re doing everything from as small as putting up osprey nest platforms on the coast to something as large as sinking an entire container ship and forming an artificial reef off the coast in Texas. And [there’s] a $72 million project where we’re enhancing a barrier island; we’re building land for pelican restoration.

It sounds like your job has lots of components.

I love the variety when it comes to what we’re doing. For example, the northern gannet was the third most frequent bird killed by the spill because it summers in the Gulf. Do you know where northern gannets nest? They nest in Nova Scotia. It’s an amazing bird; they dive straight down to get their fish. [To boost their numbers], we will, in theory, go to their breeding and nesting ground to really get the most bang for our buck for the public’s restoration dollars.

And I love the fact that [our work] is novel, it’s not cookie-cutter. The position I’m in right now was created because of the Deepwater Horizon spill. It’s unique.

I have a great team of passionate individuals who really want to get progress on the ground.

BONNIE HEATH

How long is it going to take to fix?

BP has 15 years of payments scheduled. They did not want or could not, depending on your point of view, pay $20.8 billion in one lump sum. So there’s a schedule of payments by BP every April for the next 13 years. We’ve received two payments so far. Beyond that we know we’ll still be doing the work. We’ll be monitoring and evaluating our progress.

It takes some species of sea turtles 20 years to reach breeding age, right?

So how many nesting sea turtles were killed by the oil? And how do we know what that will do to the sea turtle population 50 years from now? There are a lot of unknowns.

So it’s long-term work with no set end?

It’s a work in progress, and we’re going to learn as we go — another reason I wanted this job. n

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THE BIG PICTURE

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Preparing the ‘Whole Person’ HAMILTON HAS LONG EQUIPPED ITS GRADUATES WITH SKILLS THAT LEAD to lives of meaning and purpose. The new Joel and Elizabeth Johnson Center for Health and Wellness enhances that mission by providing improved space for students to develop strategies that better their health and well-being. Featured in the facility, located in the heart of campus near Beinecke Student Activities Village, are spaces for counseling sessions, a biofeedback room, two rooms for group therapy, a medical procedure room, six exam rooms, a sunroom, and offices for the professional staff and student EMTs. Opened in January, the building is named for benefactors Life Trustee Joel Johnson ’65, P’93 and his wife, Elizabeth Johnson P’93, a psychologist and ordained minister. “Students are accepted [to Hamilton] based on their record and academic capabilities, but a college has to meet the needs of the whole person and teach students how to care for themselves in all areas of life,” Elizabeth Johnson said.

PHOTO BY NANCY L. FORD

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Jack Confrey ’19

ASK AN EXPERT

Preserving Your History

by Christian Goodwillie, director and curator of special collections and archives

Nothing lasts forever, but with care, your family’s photos, letters, videos, diaries, and other precious materials can survive for generations. Here are some tips:

1| FIRST, DO NO HARM Don’t attempt repair work yourself, and never use tape, even archival tape, to fix torn materials. If a letter tears apart along a fold, for instance, put both pieces in a Mylar enclosure through which the letter can still be read.

Consider a professional repair job for your most important items.

2| BOOKS If books are kept on a shelf, make sure that they are upright, not leaning. Ideally, large volumes should be stored flat. For extra protection, have a custom-fit “clamshell box” made. That’s an exterior casing that goes over the book, like a tough second skin. If a book includes handwritten pages, for instance a record of births or deaths recorded in a Bible, mark the page by inserting a piece of acid-free paper. That will alert people that it’s not just another book but contains something special.

3| STORAGE Store materials in a climate-controlled environment, not a basement or an attic. Don’t keep materials in airtight containers such as storage

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tubs. Make sure the containers have a few holes. As paper, photos, and other materials with acid decompose, which is inevitable, the process accelerates in an airtight container.

Protect your most important photos, letters, and other papers in transparent Mylar enclosures (“L-Velope”) that are open on two sides, making it easier to insert materials.

Transparent enclosures preserve materials and allow them to be viewed without handling them.

4| DIGITIZE Scan your most important items. Digitize photos, slides, audiotapes, and videotapes.

Slides and audiotapes are especially vulnerable to degradation and should be digitized ASAP. And back up your digital archive. As a bulwark against digital degradation and changing technologies, make prints of photos you love.

5| NOMINATE AN ARCHIVIST Enlist a relative to be the caretaker of the family archive. That’s a job for someone who is willing to keep materials secure and organized, to make copies to share freely, keeping the originals safely preserved. Ask your older relatives to help you identify photos and provide context and information about your family’s materials.

See if they are willing to be recorded as they share their knowledge and memories.

ALL CHARGED UP! Thanks to some $230,000 in grants from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and National Grid, Hamilton has installed electric car charging stations at 10 locations on campus. Each can charge two vehicles simultaneously with no cost to users.

Every day, every day I have the blues Oh, every day, every day I have the blues Well you see me worryin’, baby, because it’s you I hate to lose

GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of its co-founder Joe Williams (191899), Hamilton’s Fillius Jazz Archive created a video (hamilton.edu/joewilliams) from outtakes of a documentary of his life titled Williams: A Portrait in Song. Combining concert footage with interviews and archival film clips, the video captures the legendary jazz and blues singer at the height of his career, reflecting on his long life in the music business. Williams, who was from Chicago, became nationally known for his recording of “Every Day I Have the Blues” with the Count Basie Orchestra.

Sign Me Up Wouldn’t you love to be back in a Hamilton classroom for one of these spring semester offerings?

Archaeology of Death. While death is a human universal, the ways societies deal with death, bodies, and burial vary greatly. Explores mortuary practices through the archaeological record and what they can tell us about ritual, social, economic, and ideological institutions in the past.

ARCH

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Mafia, Myths & Realities.

Examination of the evolution of the mafia from the brigand “gangs” of the Unification period in Italy to the “Black Hand” of the early 20th century in the United States, to modern-day mobsters who have turned to human trafficking in migrant refugees. Explores the myths and stereotypes surrounding the portrayal of the mob

by Hollywood vs. the reality of how it actually operates in the highest levels of government.

ITALN

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The New Field House ready for action.

What’s ‘New’?

28,000

square feet available (about the size of half a football field)

400-500

HAMILTON’S NEW FIELD HOUSE (yes, that’s its official name) provides space for students to stay on top of their game in the off season when the Clinton weather ­becomes uncooperative. Featuring the same turf found on the outdoor Steuben and Withiam fields, the new facility is lined for lacrosse, field hockey, soccer, and football.

It also houses a batting cage for baseball and softball equipped with state-of-the-art technology, including a HitTrax system that allows batters to calculate the exit velocity of their hits. The New Field House hosts varsity, club, and intramural athletes plus any member of the community with a desire to stay fit.

pounds of force that the protective netting, used to divide the space into smaller areas of play, can withstand

4 p.m.-midnight peak hours for athletes using the facility

88

average inches of snow per year in Clinton

65˚F

average temperature inside the New Field House (even on Jan. 21 when the outdoor temp. in Clinton maxed out at 4˚F)

Experiencing Empathy. Explores the education landscape in New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina through onsite interviews and filmmaking. Students engage in approximately 14 pre- and post-travel training and discussion sessions as well as one week over spring break in New Orleans. Focus on developing empathy through contact with and representations of subjects.

EDUC

297

Contemplative Neuroscience.

The Buddha proposed that we can end suffering by training the mind. Explores the contribution of Buddhism to psychology and neuroscience.

Can we train attention to promote resilience, compassion, and well-being? What is the core nature of self and thought? What is the relationship between the brain and consciousness? Drawing upon Buddhist philosophy, we will investigate these questions from the perspective of modern neuroscience, examining empirical studies using methods such as EEG, fMRI, and single-cell electrophysiology.

NEURO

333

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RECENT NEWS HIGHLIGHTS from across the Hamilverse

1

WELLIN HALL

Days before the midterm elections, two Washington insiders — Mark Elias ’90, general counsel for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, and Mike Dubke ’92, P’19, former White House communications director in the Trump administration — discussed rising political polarization as part of the Common Ground speaker series. Their conversation was moderated by veteran journalist Jackie Judd P’14.

3

2 2 KIRNER-JOHNSON BUILDING

Before becoming involved with the Levitt Center’s Social Innovation Lab, Ishan Mainali ’21 heard only vague explanations for the social and economic problems in his native Nepal. Thanks to Hamilton funding, he spent the summer studying educational inequality — specifically the disparity between urban and rural communities — and teaching in the mountain village of Khungkhani. After experiencing ways of thinking he never before considered, Mainali is using that “knowledge and vocabulary to think about social problems and potential innovative solutions.”

3 KENNEDY CENTER FOR THEATRE

AND THE STUDIO ARTS

King Stag, a fairy tale set in a fantastical world of deception and greed, brought ­Bunraku-style puppets to Romano Theatre.

Directed by Professor of Theatre Craig Latrell and created by puppet designer Sara Walsh, the figures ranged from the stag referenced in the title, to a towering bear, to an animated statue. A cast of 21 student actors developed skills to infuse the puppets with personality and lifelike movement.

1

4 DAYS-MASSOLO CENTER

Confessional writing — personal, introspective writing from the “I” perspective — at first glance might be considered self-indulgent. But Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Gregory Pardlo disagrees. The author met with students for a workshop on “Mining Your Business: The Evolution of Confessional Writing.”

WANT MORE HAMILTON NEWS? Visit hamilton.edu/news.

And if you’re not receiving our monthly Hamilton Headlines in your inbox, send a note to editor@hamilton.edu, and we’ll add you to the list.

14

H A M I LTO N

5

4

For five years, Hamilton’s Food Harvest program has been reducing waste on campus and hunger in Utica. On any given week, members of athletics teams, Greek organizations, and service groups can be found packaging leftovers in Commons and McEwen dining halls. The food is delivered to local organizations such as the Utica Rescue Mission and the Johnson Park Center.

6 COLLEGE CHAPEL

The Chapel was one of many campus buildings that became a teaching tool last semester for the course Modern Architecture: 1750 to the Present. Students pored over original blueprints, scoured College Archives, and conducted interviews before presenting their findings on the interactive platform Story Map Journal.

Their research showed how campus building design aligned with regional, national, and international movements in architecture.

7

5

8 6

7 SAGE RINK

All hail Lord Stanley! Members of the men’s and women’s hockey teams got up close and personal with the National Hockey League’s Stanley Cup when it made a stop at Sage Rink as part of Clinton’s Hockeyville celebration.

8 BURKE LIBRARY

Stories of the Mitchell Family, who helped introduce jazz to the Utica area, and news clippings of Kate Oser, a Clintonian involved in social justice struggles for four decades — these are just a few treasures of the Oneida County Black History Archive that became part of Burke Library’s Special Collections thanks to Cassandra Harris-Lockwood K’74.

The 20th-century oral histories, papers, and photographs were gathered by Harris-Lockwood through her For the Good Foundation.

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Illustration by Tom Woolley

Recent NEWS HIGHCOMMONS LIGHTS FROM ACROSS THE HAMILVERSE

First Impressions What do our newest tenure-track professors think about Hamilton so far?

Here are thoughts from three of them pulled from interviews conducted by Majestic Terhune ’21.

RHEA DATTA Assistant Professor of Biology

MACKENZIE COOLEY Assistant Professor of History Hamilton’s like honey; it’s always sweet, but definitely sticky. It’s a much smaller community than I’m used to. I remember during my campus visit, seeing the amount of devotion that faculty gave to their students, the amount of empathy that inculcated in themselves, and the results of that in their students. During my visit, I was asked questions in four different languages from students in the class, and this is for a history job, not for a language job.

That kind of self-confidence and chutzpah in the student population is something that’s so attractive about being here.

It’s also sticky. It’s small — for moments I found that intimidating, going from that world of anonymity to connections of intimacy and long-term relationship-building. I found the relationships that I’ve built with my research assistants to be probably the most amazing experience I’ve had in my career so far.

16

I grew up around teachers. My family is one of academics, and it was very logical to me that if you’re trying to create new knowledge, you have to figure out how to communicate it.

I’ve been working in a research environment for a very long time, and I always wanted to be a part of a process where you do research and bring it into a classroom and explain the whole process. Not just the facts, but how you create knowledge. And so, that part has always been interesting to me — communicating work, communicating in a classroom. I don’t see it as telling people facts. I just see it as part of the research process.

When I came here over the summer, I came in ready to set up my lab, and I had two students reach out to me to work with me. I was like, “Sure, I don’t really have research going, but if you’d like, you can help me clean up the lab.” They were so dedicated. That was my first week here, and that gave me a sense of what Hamilton students might be like. They’re committed, and they follow through. They’ll work hard to get it done.

AARON STRONG Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies Most of the other places I went to were like, “Whoa; we want someone who is a defined thing, like an atmospheric chemist or someone who is a scholar of these particular theories,” and I dabble in those things, but that’s not who I am. Hamilton and the Environmental Studies Program ... want someone who is a true interdisciplinarian. They want someone who can work with students on climate justice and can work with students who are interested in climate modeling and measuring carbon dioxide fluxes and doing field work. They want someone who can speak to the faculty in environmental studies across all sides of the College, and that’s necessary for an environmental studies and interdisciplinary program to succeed.

Hamilton was looking for who I am, and that makes me really happy. n

BECAUSE HAMILTON [IS AMBITIOUS]

Because Hamilton Co-Chairman Jeff Little ’71 at the campaign kickoff in November.

THIS WINTER, THE COLLEGE LAUNCHED BECAUSE HAMILTON, a $400 million campaign that would more than double any of its previous fundraising successes. With $205.9 million already committed, the campaign, which will conclude on June 30, 2023, is off to a promising start. Hamilton is reaching so high to ensure that it can provide students with the finest 21st-century liberal arts education.

To learn more about the six campaign priorities, visit

hamilton.edu/becausehamilton 17

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PERFORMERS ON COLLEGE HILL

SHOW AND TELL

A SAMPLING FROM THE ’50S THROUGH TODAY

10,000 MANIACS

(SPRING 19 87)

PSYCHEDELIC FURS (FALL 1983)

CHUCK BERRYING (SPR 1966)

PATTI LABELLE AND THE BLUE BELLES

JIMMY JAME S

(SPRING 1966)

(SPRING 1965)

LITTLE RICHARD

AND HIS ROYAL GUARDS

(SPRING 1965)

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SIMON & GARFUNKEL

H A M I LTO N

(WINTER 1966)

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MACKLEMORE & RYAN LEWIS

(SPRING 2013)

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19

VOICES

VIEW FROM COLLEGE HILL

Because Hamilton Changes Lives

BY DAV I D W I P P M AN

L

AST SPRING, I TAUGHT A SEMINAR on international law for 12 Hamilton ­seniors. It was a remarkable group, but I will mention just three. One ended up on stage with me at Commencement: Eleni Neyland, the 2018 class speaker. A second, Charles Dunst, was editor of The Spectator. A third, Audrey Nadler, was a teaching assistant, figure skater, and musician who performed a remarkable viola solo at the Hamilton Orchestra’s spring concert.

Since graduating, Eleni played a key role in ­Anthony Brindisi’s successful campaign for Congress before beginning a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship in Malaysia. Charles is working as a journalist in Phnom Penh and has already published major articles in The New York Times and The Atlantic. Audrey has returned to Spain, where she spent her junior year, this time on her own Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship.

What these students are doing is amazing, but not surprising. From abolitionists to statesmen, and from educators to scientists, artists, and corporate leaders, Hamilton graduates have long used the skills they developed on College Hill to make the world better.

Notable examples include William M. Bristol, Class of 1882, who was an entrepreneur before the term was coined; Elihu Root, Class of 1864, and Sol Linowitz ’35, two of America’s most distinguished public servants; Bob Moses ’56 and Mary Bonauto ’83, leading civil rights pioneers; and Paul Greengard ’48, recipient of a Nobel Prize.

What happens on College Hill matters because Hamilton prepares students not just to enter society, but to change it.

20

H A M I LTO N

The Because Hamilton campaign represents our plan for continuing Hamilton’s extraordinary climb. Six priorities were identified after a yearlong process that gathered input from students, faculty, staff, and alumni.

Some of these priorities will strengthen what we already do so well: providing access to talented and deserving students, regardless of their financial circumstances; increasing opportunities for students to obtain career-related experience through internships, independent research, and community service; and embracing the humanities by modernizing the spaces in which these disciplines are taught.

Other priorities respond to pressing needs in society. Top among these is establishing digital fluency as a foundational skill for all Hamilton ­students by fostering a College-wide culture of digital teaching, learning, and innovation. Leaders today must know how to write well and speak persuasively, but also how to find, evaluate, and use data and technology. Our plan is to produce ­liberally educated and ethically trained students who are prepared to be responsible adopters, ­innovators, and practitioners of digital learning and discovery.

Hamilton is already one of the best colleges in America, and I’m proud of the education and opportunities we provide. Achieving our campaign goals will ensure Hamilton continues to attract, educate, and graduate leaders like Eleni Neyland, Charles Dunst, and Audrey Nadler. n

COMMON GROUND

4950th th&

THE HAMILTON COMMUNITY INCLUDES

all kinds of people who bring all kinds of perspectives.

For fun, we asked Gillian Roberts ’20, a geosciences major from Fairbanks, Alaska, and Akela Baldwin ’20, an environmental sciences major from Honolulu, Hawaii, to answer this question:

What do students ask you about your home state, and what’s it like responding to them?

GILLIAN ROBERTS ’20

I

t’s the worst! They are all typical, “Are there penguins?” “Are there polar bears?” People ask if I live in an igloo and have sled dogs.

What people think are stereotypical Alaskan things are not true at all. All those shows like Gold Rush: Alaska capture the extreme lives of Alaskans living off the grid, but most Alaskans live in cities, shop at the grocery store, go to Starbucks. So I battle a lot of stereotypes about Alaska living. Another big topic of discussion is the weather.

People think Alaska is cold all

AKELA BALDWIN ’20 the time. Living in Alaska is a lot like living anywhere else in America, just with extreme ­temperatures in the winter and only about four hours of daylight, while summers can get up to the 80s and about four hours of dusk. It’s always pretty awkward when people ask how long it took me to drive here from Alaska. Fun fact: My car has never been in Alaska. n

I

get asked “Do you surf?” “Do you dance hula?” [But] the question I get most is, “What made you decide to come here?” Many people want to know why I would want to leave such a beautiful place and how I heard about Hamilton. I tell them I was drawn to its closeknit community, the open curriculum, and its location. I knew that these factors would allow me to gain valuable connections with faculty and students, explore a variety of academic fields, and experience a rural setting with few distractions off campus. I

enjoyed my occasional visits to the East Coast during dance trips and summer camps and appreciated the opportunity to learn from the vast differences from my hometown. I can hardly ever say that I’m from Hawaii without getting some type of reaction or question, but I do appreciate people’s interest in getting to know me. I also genuinely enjoy sharing my culture and recounting the journey that brought me here. In a sense, it grounds me. n

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21

THE BIG QUESTION

WE ASKED OUR READERS

For more responses, see hamilton.edu/bigquestion

Field Mapping in Big Bend National Park with Don Potter.

Although the man had been going to the park for decades, when he sat with me discussing the geologic map I was creating, the energy emanating from him and investment in my understanding were unparalleled. It was as if he was learning the material for the first time. His spirit and demeanor conveyed to me that my learning was critical to him, and he simply adored helping me grapple with and understand the geology of the area.

— SUE FOSTER ’88

22

H A M I LTO N

Austin Briggs’ James Joyce senior seminar was the high point of my time on the Hill. Professor Briggs brought wit, wisdom, humility, and friendship into our class and helped me find humor, complexity, and profoundly moving meaning within the pages of Ulysses. I think about that class frequently and miss the cozy sense of belonging I felt in that creaky seminar room, accompanied by a hissing radiator and chairs filled with kindred spirits.

Professor Doug Raybeck’s anthropology course on social interaction. Doug was a fantastic teacher, challenging, creative, always engaging, often mischievous. He enthusiastically embodied the Kirkland College mode of teaching: seminars rather than lectures, in which teacher and students learn from each other. Insights garnered from our discussions are with me to this day. Insights from Erving Goffman’s The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life are with me to this day. One example: During an escalating argument at a picnic, I told a man who was gesturing in my face: “You’re invading my personal space!”

— JANE SIMMONS GLENN ’04

— ELISABETH HORWITT K’73

Public Speaking — Logos, pathos, ethos. Simple terms, but hard and essential to do.

— DANIEL HAYDEN ’93

Sociology 101 with Dan Chambliss. To put it mildly, that class revolutionized (and dramatically expanded) my world view.

— LILLY MCCULLOUGH ’15 History of the English-Speaking People with [Edgar] “Digger” Graves. His vivid description of Charles I in 1649 on a “bitter cold January morning at the Tower of London” was so detailed as to what people were wearing and who was there that one would believe that Digger was there in another life.

— CHRISTOPHER FRANCIS DURHAM ’57

What was the most unforgettable course you took at Hamilton?

Illustration by Alex Eben Meyer

History of Western Philosophy with Russell Blackwood and Bob Simon. Professor Blackwood could describe the most difficult philosophical principles with the same clarity and nonchalance most of us master only when ordering our favorite specialty drink at Starbucks.

— JIM MOREY ’83 Freshman English: Having to pass with two (out of eight) perfect in-class blue-book compositions. No one got the second “perfect” (no misspelling, no comments like “awk,” “jargon,” “really?,” no run-on sentences) until the seventh or eighth try.

Talk about stress.

Paul Parker’s Art Slides. Not the most difficult of courses, but each class seemed to teem with mental clips of Professor Parker’s stories of life as a young musician in the Roaring ’20s, loaded with glimpses of speakeasies, booze, machine gun staccato, and mob bosses. His insights helped expand (for most of us) our very limited understanding of life and, by extension, art.

Without a doubt, the most unforgettable class was anything Esther Kanipe taught. Her knowledge and, more importantly, her passion made her classes like Modern European Diplomatic History exciting, memorable, and stimulating to a young mind. Isn’t that the essence of a great class?

— MIKE KING ’65

Intro to Women’s Studies with Vivyan Adair! Life changing.

Opened my mind and heart.

— TOM DOOLITTLE ’79

— LAUREN BROADHURST COOK ’03

Creating Palestine with Ambassador [Ned] Walker [’62]. At one point, he showed us a photo of folks sitting around a table. In that picture was a young Amb. Walker, Madeleine Albright, Yasser Arafat, and senior leadership of Ariel Sharon’s administration. There are few people equally qualified to teach about the Middle Eastern conflict, and specifically the Israeli occupation of Palestine. As a Moroccan-born, Muslim-raised student, I was impressed at the way Walker mediated our discussions, which were frequently emotional and intense, with fairness, humor, and thought-provoking insights.

— ZAK CHERRABI ’12

— NEAL PILSON ’60

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QUOTABLES

That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.

Netflix co-founder Marc Randolph ’80 on his wife’s reaction when he first pitched the idea that would become the worldwide streaming service. Randolph met with students on Oct. 1 to share the try-and-try-again approach he has employed in his four decades as an entrepreneur.

Asking why nationalism and tribalism are creeping back into Europe is like asking why weeds and vines creep back into gardens: it’s nature.

Foreign policy expert Robert Kagan P’20, a Washington Post ­columnist and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, on the role of the U.S. in cultivating the liberal world order — ­ “a system based on open economic systems, free trade, and support for liberal and democratic government.” He spoke at Hamilton on Oct. 5.

24

H A M I LTO N

The first thing they do is their homework.

One giant leap for Hamkind!

A banner made by members of the Hamilton Society of Physics for Students, who gathered on Dunham Green to launch a ­high-altitude weather balloon into the stratosphere on Nov. 4.

A year-and-a-half in the making, the balloon was equipped with a camera, GPS, and parachute to bring it back to earth. Weather conditions caused the balloon to travel farther than planned; it came to rest 345 miles from campus in the White Mountains National Forest of New Hampshire. Students retrieved the craft two weeks later — impressive considering that less than 20 percent of balloons released by the National Weather Service are found and returned.

Michael Klosson ’71 talking about children at a camp for Rohingya refugees in Cox’s ­Bazar, Bangladesh. Despite their unstable situation, many share a “resilience of the human spirit” with dreams of becoming doctors and teachers. A former U.S. ambassador, Klosson is vice president of policy and humanitarian response for Save the Children. He spoke on campus on Oct. 25.

VOICES

KNOW THYSELF

Greg Schwartz ’94

’07

ZILLOW GROUP

Greg Schwartz ’94 had a big job in New York City when the Zillow Group, the online real estate company, approached him about a position that would offer a 70 percent pay cut and a twice monthly commute to the margin of the map — Seattle.

It wasn’t an enticing offer, but Schwartz agreed to an interview.

A delayed flight delivered him at 2 a.m. his time to a three-hour session with company co-founder Rich Barton. The sleepless Schwartz emerged absolutely destroyed yet absolutely hooked.

A Hamilton government major and an alumni trustee, Schwartz is now Zillow’s president for media and marketplace.

START HERE

’94 KIRSHENBAUM & BOND AND DDB NEEDHAM AD AGENCIES,

media planner “Those two ad agencies exposed me to literally hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people who were building their careers in tech and to tons of really interesting ideas.”

’99

DOUBLECLICK,

director of business development

•

“ I found my first business mentor in Wenda Millard, an iconic media exec, who I worked with through three companies and from whom I learned to build high-performance teams, the art of selling, and the importance of precision.”

’12

(2007-15, chief revenue officer; 2015-18, chief business officer; 2018-present, president, media and marketplace) “I wanted to be in something that was pure-play digital. I wanted to be part of something that was changing the world a little bit.”

’05

’18

CNNMONEY,

“ I’m not a retrospective guy because there’s

so much to do ahead.

The most important part of the experience has been how personal [Zillow] has become to my teammates and me.

’01

YAHOO FINANCE & AUTOS,

director of advertising sales “What I learned there — and what’s driven the next insight of my career — is I really learned about ­marketplaces.”

VP sales

“

My career has been super-interesting and fulfilling, but my most joyful moments of the last few years were when I skied the iconic Blackcomb Glacier with my wife and daughters (Ella, 13, and Sloan, 7), where you can find us most weekends.

Magic.

•

“ I joined my first nonprofit board, the Woodland Park Zoo, where I learned the importance of achieving consensus when leading a public institution, which is surprisingly demanding, though possible.”

Joined Hamilton board as an alumni trustee

BOB HANDELMAN

EXPLORING INDIA’S SACRED SPACES In this photo illustration, Associate Professor of Religious Studies Abhishek Amar stands “inside” the virtual Vishnupada temple.

26

H A M I LTO N

Digital Hamilton How students are applying technical knowledge to explore, create, and test ideas

T

By MAUREEN A. NOLAN

O HAMILTON STUDENTS and other digital natives, this may be stating the obvious — digital fluency is an essential 21st-century attribute. With its strategic plan and new capital campaign Because Hamilton, the College has made digital fluency a priority alongside the ability to write well, speak persuasively, and employ quantitative knowledge. The goal is to accelerate Hamilton’s culture of digital education, learning, and innovation, according to President David Wippman, who discussed the long-range plan at a Student Assembly meeting last semester.

You are accustomed to finding information online and navigating the online world, Wippman told students, explaining that the College wants to make sure that everyone has some knowledge of what makes that online world tick and some exposure into how different techniques can be used. The intent is to infuse content such as machine learning, big data, and data analytics into the curriculum and teach skills around things like coding and design.

A “Digital Hamilton” goes well beyond the acquisition of technical knowledge. Any Hamilton professor who is using advanced technology, and there are many, say that technology is merely a tool to further scholarship and ideas. Hamilton is e­ specially dedicated to developing in its students an understanding of the moral and ethical consequences of new technology.

Here are five examples of how faculty and students across disciplines are exploring the power of these new technologies.

Imagine what’s to come.

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27

BOB HANDELMAN

Judy Zhou ’19 sports a virtual reality headset to experience her “empathy walk.”

Privilege Step By Step

N

OT LONG AFTER arriving at Hamilton, Judy Zhou ’19 needed to make a large-format poster for a chemistry class, and the College’s digital media interns were on duty to help. Zhou was intrigued by them, curious to know exactly what they did on campus.

Her zeal and talent for technology were about to be unleashed.

“They told me they basically get paid to learn all of this tech, and I was like, ‘This is amazing, where do I sign up?’ So I signed up and got the job,” Zhou recalls, still sounding awed. Digital media interns work with the professional staff at Burke Library, headquarters for technology on campus.

Zhou loved that job. By her sophomore year she’d excelled as the intern in charge of 3D printing. More tech lay ahead for the inexhaustibly creative computer science major who minors in art.

As a junior, Zhou jumped on an offer to become a Hamilton instructional technology apprentice, and by the end of the yearlong experience she’d created a virtual reality project so promising she has hopes of fully developing it for a wide audience after she graduates. During the apprenticeship she worked with College educational technologists who collaborate with professors and students to foster new ways of teaching and learning.

28

H A M I LTO N

To cap the experience, Zhou was required to develop a “passion project” that could be used in a classroom. Her inspiration was a “walk of privilege,” an exercise she’d done during training as a resident advisor. Participants stand side-by-side, and, when asked, step forward or back in response to prompts such as, “If you come from a single-parent household, take one step back” or “If one or both of your parents have a college degree, take one step forward.” The idea is to illustrate the impact of privilege.

Remembering how moved she’d been to see RAs she knew standing far ahead or far behind her, Zhou realized that the powerful exercise was worth bringing to more students — in classrooms.

She resolved to build a virtual reality “empathy walk.” First, however, she needed to learn the software Unity, a cross-platform gaming engine. Also, she needed responses from real people to use to place the avatars in her VR environment. Zhou surveyed 25 people of different ages, races, religions, and backgrounds to see how they responded to the prompts.

She created her “empathy walk,” which begins with the user standing in a gym with avatars who then disappear until the ­exercise ends. “The purpose is to focus on yourself and what you are doing rather than looking around to see the people who moved,” she explains. “This design promotes self-reflection, while seeing where everyone else stands at the end promotes empathizing with others.”

To fully put the user in that VR gym, Zhou incorporated ­A mbisonic sound, a 360-degree surround sound that indicates ­avatar movement. At the end of the walk, the avatars reappear, and the participant can scan the gym to check their locations.

Even in its current beta stage, Zhou’s project is amazing, says Hamilton Instructional Designer and 3D Technology Specialist Ben Salzman ’14, who recruited Zhou for the apprenticeship and became her mentor. With more work, he envisions the walk being of use in counseling centers as well as classrooms.

In Salzman’s estimation, Zhou will leave Hamilton equipped to enter a job in college instructional technology. Until the apprenticeship, she’d never used Unity. Now she’s skilled enough to help a literature professor explore a VR project with a class. The experience came through the Instructional Technology Apprenticeship Program, part of the New York Six liberal arts consortium of colleges, of which Hamilton is a member.

Zhou, now a senior working for Hamilton as an assistant web developer, is leaning toward web development as a career. Her dream job would combine art and technology. She’s ready for whatever.

“Through comp sci and projects, I’ve developed my way of thinking, of step-by-step checkpoints to get to my end goal,” she says.

BOB HANDELMAN

Students (right) and Assistant Professor of Biology Natalie Nannas (below) experiment with the flexible DNA model.

DNA in 3D

T

EACHING HER INTRO to biology and intermediate genetics courses, Assistant Professor of Biology Natalie Nannas would find herself waving her hands a lot, and it wasn’t to capture her students’ attention.

Both courses are based in DNA. “There are several processes that DNA do that really help get us from our genes to what we look like,” Nannas says. “And it’s hard to explain these processes to students because so often we see them on paper and in two dimensions; really the process is three-dimensional, and it’s happening in our cells all the time. So I find myself sort of waving my hands a lot and trying to draw things that are three dimensional but in two-dimensional space.”

No more of that for Nannas, who collaborated with Hamilton instructional designer Doug Higgins to create a flexible plastic DNA model using a 3D printer. Higgins is a member of the Research & Instructional Design Team, part of Library and Information Technology Services. The twistable DNA model he designed is just over five feet long, lightweight, and pulls apart in ways that allow Nannas to show students a variety of processes. The only DNA models ­Nannas could find on the market were rigid and static.

“There’s a lack of digital technology for the undergraduate level in molecular biology and genetics,” she says. “A lot of times they are surface-level, like videos and animations. They’re not deep, immersive technologies or ways of understanding material because I don’t think there’s been any investment in that kind of digital development.”

Nannas initially had approached the design team to discuss creating a DNA virtual reality instructional tool, which was a great idea for what she wanted to do, Higgins agreed. As they talked

about her teaching needs, a secondary idea emerged: the twistable DNA model. “We like to collaborate with a professor to meet the overall outcome, with the focus on the teaching and learning and research over the tool,” Higgins says.

He got to work on the model and took a prototype to Nannas for her to try. She provided feedback, they swapped suggestions, and in the end came up with a model that helps students get a handle on DNA. “When I have the model up there and I’m pulling it apart, it makes things a little more approachable. The students ooh and aah. They are willing to raise their hands and say, ‘I don’t know why that’s happening,’” Nannas observes.

The model is adaptable. At Nannas’ request, Higgins created a new component used to illustrate a breakthrough genetics technique, CRISPR, which allows scientists to modify any genome in any o ­ rganism with great precision. In November, a Chinese scientist made the controversial announcement that he used CRISPR to create genetically modified babies.

“It’s going to be so important and such a part of everybody’s life that I’m glad we’re investing in students’ ability to understand this technology through digital learning,” Nannas says.

The ideas are continuing to flow for Nannas and Higgins, who have talked about printing a number of small DNA models that students could each use during labs. As for the VR concept that ­initially brought her to the team, Nannas is working on that with 3D Technology Specialist Ben Salzman ’14 and Andrew Groll ’19.

The intention is to design a VR environment in which students can wear a headset to manipulate DNA molecules in 3D.

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Images from Sacharja Cunningham’s ’19 video Astral, which can be found at hamilton.edu/astral.

Beyond Words

S

ACHARJA, you’re conjuring again.

At first, you hear just a voice. The screen is black, then fills with the pink-purple-blue motion of an otherworldly night sky. From the bottom of the screen, a solitary figure in a hoodie rises, back to the camera, to speak the next line of his spoken-word poem. It’s Sacharja Cunningham ’19. this poem of a place place in a poem has bloodlines.

Cunningham created the 15-minute video Astral to process through art what he’d long been processing internally. In it he considers issues of race, identity, nation, and his African ancestry within the swirling context of the Black Lives Matter movement, campus activism around diversity and inclusion, his semester in Ghana, and Donald Trump’s presidency.

Astral was a project for an advanced videography course with Professor of Art Ella Gant, taken when Cunningham was just back from study abroad. “There were constant news stories that made me think, reflect internally, how do I process the fact that every day or every other day there is some sort of threat of anti-blackness? And how do I honor people who, despite all of that, have contributed to making black people’s lives more livable in the United States and abroad?” he asked himself.

Drawing on his Africana studies major, a passion for storytelling and spoken-word poetry, and technical skills, Cunningham created Astral in the digital arts suite of the Kennedy Center for Theatre and the Studio Arts. He pulled a lot of all-nighters to finish it. It was the most demanding, technically advanced, and time-consuming project he’d ever undertaken — and the most meaningful.

In it he conjures the voices, words, and images of figures who embody his concerns: Trayvon Martin, Audre Lorde, Aiyana Stanley-Jones, James Baldwin, and others. Cunningham claims them as his ancestors, speaking to them and letting them speak. He draws

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connections through their lives, words, work, deaths, politics, and his own life. “A lot of what I’ve found over my four years here is that to be at the core of [the] liberal arts is to make those connections across disciplines, across people,” he explains.

Cunningham, a digital media intern at Hamilton, saw video as a way to go beyond the poetry he’d done previously. Shooting, performing, editing, revising, and grappling with the green screen and audio allowed him to bring new dimension to his work and to invite more people into it by sharing it on YouTube.

Still, all the video technology at students’ fingertips is just a tool, albeit a tool of power and magic, points out Gant, who has worked in digital arts for decades. Ideas have primacy over tools. She wants students to discover, to tap into their imagination and curiosity. Her primary objective as a teacher, she says, is to help them understand how they can use any tool to go further then they think they are capable of going. Cunningham did that. Gant says Astral exemplifies the goals she has for her students’ work.

“The ultimate point of making art is communicating something, making contact with other human beings, helping each other to understand each other, looking at someone from someone else’s point of view. All the kinds of basic things we talk about now. For me, that’s one of the great things about digital arts,” Gant says.

Cunningham wants to make digital technology part of a career in education, although he doesn’t yet know the precise shape his career will take. “I’m a digital media intern, which combines education with technology and instructional design, so I’m exploring my options because there are a lot of different programs, a lot of different types of schools, that I could go to,” he says.

NANCY L. FORD

Andrew Wei ’20 used data — and lots of it — to investigate “confirmation bias,” the idea that people seek out news that reinforces what they already believe.

A Mind for Data

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CHIEVEMENT. AMBITION. American Dream.

Capitalism. Free Competition. Free Enterprise. Maybe the most challenging part of the research for Andrew Wei ’20 was constructing the dictionary of terms he would use to mine Google News data. But on the trail of research, Wei is seemingly unstoppable. He created a dictionary of not the typical one or two search terms but 38. That brought him some 30,000 data sets with which to work.

And if that doesn’t hit “big data” heights, the project required him to learn and employ big data research techniques. Wei analyzed data generated between 2008 and 2015 from all 50 states. His pressing question was why income inequality has grown persistently in the United States for 25 years. He wondered, too, why both the rich and the poor became more conservative — meaning opposed to income redistribution — as inequality grew. Could those things be related to the news they consume?

His research quest was to determine whether increases in income inequality cause people to seek out news stories that affirm the American dream — the belief that hard work leads to success.

Call that belief personal individualism. He also looked at searches for stories that show that the economy functions best with minimal government intervention — economic individualism.

Wei found that yes, people do look for more stories about individualism when income inequality increases. He also found evidence of confirmation bias, meaning that people sought out news stories that reinforced what they already believed. Finding that bias is the really interesting part of his research, says Ann Owen, the Henry Platt Bristol Chair, Public Policy, and professor of economics, who advised Wei on the project.

“His results could explain increasing polarization about economic policy as people just seek out news that confirms what they already believed to be true. So, I think it is a very relevant conclusion,” Owen says.

Among other things, Wei has learned that he loves doing research, even though it doesn’t always go smoothly. “In research, you’ll come up with setbacks constantly, and it can be just about the most frustrating thing ever. You’ll think you’ll never find the solution, but you do. And when you do, well, it’s quite awesome,” he says.

Wei is a double major in economics and math who met Owen when he was that rare first-year student enrolled in her Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory course. In class, he was fairly quiet, but afterward he would buttonhole her to delve into the hardest stuff they’d covered. That made them kindred spirits; Owen, too, likes the hardest stuff, which in this case was long-run economic growth and income inequality.

The next academic year, Wei asked Owen for an opportunity to do research with her, and they successfully applied for a Levitt Center grant that funded a summer’s worth of work with the Google News data.

At the end of the summer in the paper he produced, Wei pointed out that the news plays a role in voters’ ability to make informed policy choices. Bias in the demand for news or in the supply of the news can cause voters to misperceive economic reality. “In the case of income inequality, reading news stories that emphasize individualism, the notion that hard work leads to success, can cause voters to overestimate social mobility and choose inefficiently low levels of redistribution,” he wrote.

The rise in demand for stories of individualism as inequality grows implies that people seek out the stories to reassure themselves that they, too, can move up, or that they want to justify their positions at the upper end of income distribution. Wei also found that more conservative and more educated states demand more news stories of individualism, which implies that people tend to prefer news that aligns with their socioeconomic and ideological backgrounds.

His Levitt research concluded, Wei is exploring a related subject in an independent study with Owen. “The question now is, how does the supply of news stories of individualism respond to economic conditions and demand?” he says.

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A detail from the virtual Hindu temple. For a video walkthrough of this and other VR projects developed by faculty and students, see hamilton.edu/dhi.

A Sense of Place

T

O SET FOOT in India’s Vishnupada temple, the most important site in the sacred city of Gaya, is to absorb a sense of place and purpose. Each year hundreds of thousands of pilgrims travel there to perform death rituals to honor their ancestors. With its niches, shrines, and statues, the temple is rich with information, and every object tells a story about Gaya’s complex history.

This is why Associate Professor of Religious Studies Abhishek Amar wants students in his Dying, Death, and Afterlife course to experience Vishnupada inside and out. To get there they pull on a virtual reality headset and are transported from Christian A. Johnson Hall into a structure of pillars and stone. It can be dizzying.

“I’m not trying to give them just a glimpse,” Amar says. “I’m putting them in the place and its context.”

Gregory Lord, former lead designer and software engineer of Hamilton’s Digital Humanities Initiative, painstakingly developed the virtual Vishnupada, working with Amar. It’s made to accurate scale using drawings and three-dimensional photographs taken at the site, most by Amar himself.

The temple provides the wow factor in an ongoing broader project — Sacred Centers in India, a digital archive that preserves a record of relatively unstudied objects and buildings as they exist and are used today. Gaya is home to roughly 55 shrines and temples; so far the digital archive includes data for 20 of the religious sites.

Over the six years it has taken to create the project, a half-dozen students have worked on it, hired by the DHi as interns or class scholars.

All told, the archive is an ambitious undertaking that benefits Amar’s research, Hamilton students, and scholars around the world; the archive is open for public use. Amar specializes in the archaeological history of South Asian religions, researching the history of

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Hindu Gaya and the nearby town of Bodhgaya, one of the earliest and most important sacred sites for Buddhists. Completing a Bodhgaya digital archive is a future phase of the Sacred Centers project.

Amar turned to digital technology in his scholarship in part because it enables him to apply a quantitative approach to exploring large amounts of data. “There has to be some kind of organizational structure so that it helps you think and process it, to ask all sorts of new questions that we had not thought about previously,” he says.

He developed the virtual temple specifically to supplement more traditional coursework. He’s found that many students are very savvy about technology, delving deep for their individual projects.

“They understand this digital world; they engage with it. My goal is to help them also have some kind of critical sense of how to engage with this, because digital is real now,” Amar says.

When James Kurtak ’17 hears snatches of conversation and background sounds in the virtual temple, he could be forgiven a flash of proprietary pride. For a course project he developed the 3D audio. A Hamilton economics and Hispanic studies major, Kurtak discovered on his own that he loved to code. He also loved taking courses with Amar. After Kurtak first experienced the temple, he pondered the idea of adding sound. He’d already developed his own VR and 3D modeling projects, and, with Amar’s approval, he went to work, finding it difficult going. He succeeded all the same.

Kurtak now works as a quality assurance specialist at the Jahnel Group, a software start-up in Schenectady, N.Y., but expects to move into a position as a Java developer. His work on the temple and on his own projects helped him get through the door at Jahnel.

Some tech companies don’t necessarily look for computer science students, Kurtak says. “They’re more looking for [people] working with stuff exactly like this and who have an enthusiasm for new technology,” he says.

Lauren Scutt ’17, a religious studies major with a history minor, confesses that she had no digital skills when she began to work on the Sacred Centers project. She was a DHi class fellow who worked with Amar to organize the metadata, which meant she had to learn to look at the project through the eyes of its potential users. As she built her digital chops, Scutt developed a deeper understanding of the material.

“I honestly could go on and on about everything I learned. I think it led me to figuring out what I wanted to write my thesis about. It became a critical skill for me in internships I had and then also now in my job,” says Scutt, who works as an account executive at Grey Advertising in New York City.

Amar has learned that providing digital opportunities to students has the potential to create new paths for them after Hamilton. “If we continue to do that, they’ll be successful,” he says. n

BOB HANDELMAN

Associate Professor of Religious Studies Abhishek Amar supervises as Nathaniel Colburn ’18 takes a virtual trip to India’s Vishnupada temple.

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A Student

STAND Against Slavery

BY JACOB ALTMAN-DESOLE ’19

T

HE HAMILTON OF 1837 was a staid, Presbyterian institution.

Yet that year, a decade after the liberation of the last slaves in New York State, 58 Hamilton students — more than 60 percent of the student body — signed and sent to Congress a strongly worded petition to ban slavery in the United States. Their action would anger state legislators, jeopardize College funding, and trigger a crackdown on student abolitionists. The signers were members of the Hamilton Anti-Slavery Society, an affiliate of William Lloyd Garrison’s American Anti-Slavery Society. The opening line of their petition declares “slavery as it exists in America is a hainous (sic) sin against God, and a flagrant violation of the rights of man.”

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Despite Hamilton’s location in “the Burned-Over District,” an epicenter of egalitarian reform during the Second Great Awakening, College officials clung to the hierarchy and puritanism of 18th-century New England. Even so, the College graduated several prominent abolitionists in the first half of the 19th century, the most famous being Gerrit Smith, Class of 1818. Smith used his massive wealth to support anti-slavery efforts including the Underground Railroad, the Liberty Party, and John Brown’s Raid of Harpers Ferry.

Asa Mahan, Class of 1824, was an abolitionist minister. As the first president of Oberlin College, he insisted that the school admit students of color. John Curtiss Underwood, Class of 1832, was a Virginia judge and

… [we] Do solemnly and importunately petition and implore your Honorable bodies, to take all measures within the scope of your constitutional powers, for the abatement and removal of this great evil ...

carpetbagger, who gained exploring. Hamilton was not notoriety for ordering the the only northeastern, liberal confiscation of slaveholder arts college where abolitionist property. (One of his ordered controversies had erupted. confiscations was reversed by Disagreement over slavery the Supreme Court in Bigelow revealed generational conflicts v. Forrest.) between students, who largely While Smith, Mahan, and supported the emancipation Underwood made valuable of slaves, and administrators, contributions to the aboli­tionist who favored colonization of movement, their alma mater Africa by freed slaves. disapproved of abolitionist At Colby College in 1833, activity on campus. An early tensions between abolitionist instance of students’ action was students and the president their attendance at an 1835 became so severe that the meeting in Utica, which was president resigned, citing the attacked by a group of anti-­ “extraordinary manner” in abolitionists who beat one which “many of the students student unconscious. That of the college have manifested same year, an ad stating the dissatisfaction towards me.” mission of the Hamilton Anti-slavery societies formed College Anti-Slavery Society at Amherst and Union, who and listing its student leaders also sent anti-slavery petitions appeared in an edition of the to Congress, were shut down New York Evangelical. by their presidents in 1834 and In 1837, when the New York 1836, respectively.

State Legislature questioned Hamilton student abolitionthe College about the student ists, it seems, fared no better. No petition and threatened to record of the Hamilton College withhold $3,000 intended for Anti-Slavery Society exists after Hamilton, the administration 1837, suggesting that College clamped down on the Antiofficials were successful in shut­­ Slavery Society. President ting down organized anti-slavJoseph Penney, in a letter to the ery activity on campus. n The petition, signed in 1837 by students of the Hamilton Anti-Slavery Society, legislature, expressed “surprise is held in the National Archives and Records Administration. that a portion of the students … president and faculty framed the petition as who have been habitually a one-time act of rebellion by bright young ingenious have acted at variance with the Jacob Altman-Desole ’19 contributed this piece to Hamilton magazine after conducting research on the men destined to become upstanding citizens. principles of the College government.”

College’s place in the history of abolitionism. The While Penney certainly wished to retain Penney explained that the signers “were recipient of an Emerson Foundation grant, he worked state funding, other reasons for his denuncimisled by representations” from abolitionist with Doug Ambrose, the Carolyn C. and David M. Ellis ’38 Distinguished Teaching Professor of History. ation of the Anti-Slavery Society are worth societies and “acted without reflection.” The

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NANCY L. FORD

In telling the story of the fight for women’s right to vote, Elaine Weiss K’73, P’07 shows how strategy, persistence, and courage make change happen.

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WOMAN'S HOUR

the

BY MAUREEN A. NOLAN

W

HILE RESEARCHING A

project about Mrs. Frank Leslie, a 19thcentury publisher who bequeathed her fortune to a leading suffragist, journalist Elaine Weiss K’73, P’07 encountered a rivulet of history she couldn’t resist. Mrs. Leslie’s story was big and bold — fabulous wealth, business success, notorious love life — but Weiss followed the rivulet.

It led to sweltering Nashville, Tenn., in the summer of 1920, when a vote by the state legislature would decide the enfranchisement of half the country’s population. After 70 years of women fighting for their right to vote, victory was in sight, but so was defeat.

Suffragists needed 36 states to ratify the 19th Amendment; they had 35. Deep South Tennessee, as they saw it, was their last best hope. In the end, passage of the amendment was a cliffhanger that turned on the surprise vote of the youngest man in the legislature.

In the run-up to the vote, two camps of suffragists, plus anti-suffragist women, liquor industry representatives (legislators were plied with bourbon in a Jack Daniels suite), and motley other vested interests, converged on Tennessee by the hundreds to lobby, manipulate, cajole, bully, or bribe legislators to vote their way. Racism was a strategic factor on both sides of the battle.

This story was big and bold, but it was more. The battle drew to Nashville suffragist hero Carrie Chapman Catt, president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, and two activists for whom Tennessee was home: Sue White of the National Women’s Party, the more militant suffrage group, and Josephine Pearson, president of the Tennessee State Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage. “That made it a bigger story than just what happened in Tennes-

see, though that’s quite a dramatic story in itself,” Weiss says. “That’s when I realized this was the story of women’s suffrage and that it had not been told in anything but a scholarly way.”

Weiss wanted to convey the story in a narrative form that would engage the broadest audience, and for that, Mrs. Leslie would have to take a back seat. She does, however, appear in the book Weiss went on to write.

It was Catt who inherited Leslie’s $2 million fortune to fuel the enfranchisement fight.

Weiss’ book, The Woman’s Hour, The Great Fight to Win the Vote, was published by Viking last March. It is a thick book with an index, notes, and bibliography, yet manages to be rousing, relevant, and surprisingly suspenseful. It’s a book a fan might wish Lin-Manuel Miranda would pick up to read during his next vacation.

A veteran journalist and author, Weiss worked for three-and-a-half years to render the historical record into a narrative, pushing the button to send her completed manuscript to her editor the day before the 2016 presidential vote. She spent election

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“I’m thrilled to be joining forces with Steven Spielberg day knocking on doors on behalf of the first woman presidential candidate nominated by a major political party.

Days later, as Weiss and so many others were absorbing an outcome they hadn’t expected, she wondered what Donald Trump’s victory might mean for her book. She’d anticipated that it would land when the country had elected its first woman president. Weiss recalls asking her editor, “Now what?” Her editor’s response? “[It’s] actually a more important book now.”

At that moment, Weiss didn’t understand what her editor meant. She does now.

“My editor — who is very wise, talented, and politically savvy — was able to articulate what was still inchoate in my mind: that our democracy was about to be challenged in a way we’d not experienced in our lifetimes,” she says. “Women, in particular, would find that rights we’d assumed were secure would now be under threat again.” As she sees it, citizenship rights, voting rights, and press freedom are all under siege.

Weiss points out that a majority of white women voters supported Trump, a candidate who, in her opinion, expressed views and policies that are not in the best interest of women. That’s a situation similar to women anti-suffragists who fought to keep women from getting the vote nearly a century ago.

“The history I chronicle in The Woman’s Hour really informs our current political predicament — and that’s what my editor saw so clearly and immediately,” Weiss says.

Her first book, too, was popular history — Fruits of Victory, The Woman’s Land Army of America in the Great War, which came out in 2008. In her career as a journalist, Weiss has written for many publications, including The Atlantic, Harper’s, and The New York Times, and has won numerous awards. For

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to bring @efweiss5’s book ‘The Woman’s Hour’ to TV. It’s about the women who fought for suffrage nearly 100 years ago. We stand on their shoulders, and I’m delighted to have a hand in helping to tell their stories.”

— A tweet by Hillary Clinton, who will serve as executive producer along with Weiss on a series that will bring The Woman’s Hour to the small screen

this new book, she had to learn writing techniques she hadn’t used before. “I wanted to make this a story, narrative nonfiction, character driven, with a strong narrative arc. And also with some suspense, because of course, we know what happens. My job was to make you forget that you know it happens,” she says.

C

RITICS SAY WEISS PULLED IT OFF.

In The New York Times, Curtis Sittenfeld wrote that her depiction of events was so vivid it gave her goosebumps. Phil Klinkner, the James S. Sherman Professor of Government at Hamilton, is also a fan.

When he thought about whom to invite to speak at the College for Constitution Day, Weiss was the perfect choice. Klinkner had already discovered her book.

“It’s extraordinarily well written. I read a lot of popular history. There were no spoiler alerts. I knew how this ended, but she brought drama to it. And I’m a junky about legislative politics and how laws get passed, and she wrote that very well,” Klinkner says.

He found that Weiss had important things to say about American politics, then and now, for instance, about race and democracy. Klinkner points out that battles about who can or should be a citizen, and what full citizenship rights and inclusion mean in our political system, are again front and center in American politics. The country is seeing a political awakening and mobili-

In this cartoon found in the Tennessee State Library and Archives, Uncle Sam struggles to secure that last button — the final state — needed to ratify the Nineteenth Amendment.

zation among women that it’s probably not seen since the women’s liberation movement of the 1970s or even going back to the suffrage movement, Klinkner says.

After The Woman’s Hour was published, Weiss happened to bump into a friend of Hillary Clinton’s who suggested that Clinton would find the book interesting. Weiss, thrilled, inscribed a book and handed it over to pass along. Then, immersed in an intense tour to promote the book, Weiss forgot about the encounter. “About a month or so later I got a note, a call, from my literary agent saying that she’d been contacted by representatives of Secretary Clinton who had read the book, found it an important story, and wanted to discuss bringing it to a wider audience,” Weiss says.

The upshot — with Clinton as executive producer, Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Television will produce a drama based on the book. Clinton tweeted in August, “I’m thrilled to be joining forces with Steven Spielberg to bring @efweiss5’s book ‘The Woman’s Hour’ to TV. It’s about the women who fought for suffrage nearly 100 years ago. We stand on their shoulders, and I’m delighted to have a hand in helping to tell their stories.” Weiss, too, is an executive producer, working with Clinton on what will be a multi-part program.

A

SK WEISS ABOUT HER HOPES FOR

the television project and her answer is the same as for her book: that people come away with a sense of how fragile America’s democracy is and how ambivalent Americans are about democracy. “Because, in fact, we’ve never wanted everyone to vote. And we still seem not to. But I think recognizing that this

is something we have to overcome, and we have to work hard to make sure that we’re the democracy we think we are,” she says.

Weiss wants people to understand what women and their many male supporters sacrificed for women’s enfranchisement of women, and how feminists who followed pushed boundaries and confronted closed doors. “I want [the book] to bring back history to realize what it took but also for it to teach the lesson that change is hard and you need persistence. It’s not going to be a kind of one-and-done march — OK, we had a women’s march, wasn’t it great, now what?

It takes planning, it takes strategy, it takes persistence, and it takes courage,” Weiss says.

N

ICOLE TAYLOR ’19, ONE OF A HAND-

Photos from the Library of Congress — Top: Members of the National Women’s Party protest at the Republican National Convention in Chicago in 1920. Bottom: Women picket in 1917 outside the White House. Deemed unpatriotic, many found themselves arrested and imprisoned.

ful of Hamilton students who had dinner with Weiss on campus, understands the truth of that. Since her first year of college, Taylor has helped Hamilton students learn about registering to vote. She co-founded and chairs the student ambassador team of HamVotes, a nonpartisan group that educates students about taking part in elections. On National Voter Registration Day, Taylor and other HamVotes volunteers registered roughly 70 students. All told, HamVotes had registered approximately 300 students by the end of September.

As Weiss talked about the tactics and effort employed by the suffragists, Taylor concluded they were some of the best community organizers the country has ever seen. “I think that [their work] is incredibly applicable today, because right now we’re seeing a ton of really powerful community organizers, especially women, especially people of color,” she says. n

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ROCK

EXPERTS and EQUIPMENT that

By

Maureen A. Nolan Photographs by Bob Handelman

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i

N 2015, HAMILTON INVESTED in an x-ray fluorescence spectrometer and two experts to operate it, making the College one of a handful of academic institutions to offer that package to its faculty and students.

The state-of-the-art XRF spectrometer analyzes the composition of rocks, minerals, and soil, and faculty and students in geo­­ sciences and archaeology make use of it for coursework and independent projects.

Professor of Geosciences David Bailey and Associate Professor of Archaeology Nathan Goodale came up with the plan to acquire the spectrometer, which replaced an outdated, nonfunctioning machine.

Sometimes timing is everything. As ­Bailey and Goodale searched for money for the new equipment, they learned that the two technicians who’d been running a successful analytical lab at Washington State University wanted to relocate. Bailey and Goodale made a pitch to the College — hire the technicians to set up and run a lab with a new machine. Besides working with students and faculty, they could take on commercial jobs to help offset the cost of running the lab.

The College purchased the $220,000 spectrometer through a lease-to-own program; money from the commercial jobs may eventually cover the initial investment. The expert team that runs the Hamilton Analytical Lab consists of Richard Conrey, who holds a doctorate in geology, and Laureen Wagoner, who has multiple graduate degrees and post-grad training.

So far so good. “It’s an experiment to see if a small college like Hamilton can find a new model for owning and operating expensive scientific equipment. The lab is not cost neutral yet, but we’re heading in the right direction,” Bailey says.

The lab has been building a reputation for the quality of the data it produces and scored a coup in 2017 when it won a five-year, $300,000 contract with the U.S. Geological Survey. That’s how lava from the devastating summer 2018 eruption of Hawaii’s Kīlauea volcano made it to College Hill for analysis (see hamilton.edu/volcano).

To help accommodate the outside jobs, the lab has hired and trained students. For geosciences major Drew Castronovo ’19,

ABOVE: Lab assistants Drew Castronovo ’19 (left) and Robert Welch ’20 analyze data.

OPPOSITE PAGE: Behind the protective gear is Robert Welch ’20, who examines a tray of cooling beads for rejects after removing them from the muffle furnace.

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working in the lab has been one of his most meaningful experiences at Hamilton. He does the prep work, making rock samples into beads by crushing them into powder, melting them in crucibles, and polishing one side of the glass beads flat so they can be analyzed in the spectrometer.

Conrey is one of Castronovo’s thesis advisors, and working with him as a research mentor has been rewarding. “Even more than that, I think it’s really valuable because on top of getting a college education, I’m also getting work experience in an XRF lab,” Castronovo says.

WORK IN PROGRESS LEFT: Samples are ground into a fine rock “flour.” After adding a flux to lower melting temperature, powders are loaded into crucibles for fusion in a muffle furnace.

CENTER: After 45 minutes of heating at 1000°C, rock powders are transformed into glowing beads of molten glass.

RIGHT: Polished beads prepared for analysis in the spectrometer.

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Lindsay Buff ’17 could be considered another early return on the investment in the lab equipment. A dual geosciences and archaeology major, she was one of the first students to conduct research using the machine. Access to it helped Buff expand her senior project, which involved analyzing volcanic rocks to trace the source material for stone tools from a First Nations pithouse village in British Columbia.

She’s now applying to grad schools with the goal of a doctorate in igneous geochemistry, and she’s convinced that her undergraduate research experience will help her

get there. It helped her land a summer job in a lab while she was a Hamilton student; her boss told her that she wouldn’t have been hired without it.

“One of the issues with going to a small liberal arts college to study science is the lack of big-scale research projects you can do. Having not only the machines there, but also extra faculty whose sole job it is to know how to use the machines, know how to calibrate them, know how to analyze the data, is a huge boon to the College,” Buff says.

•

ABOVE: Robert Welch ’20 removes beads from the furnace.

OPPOSITE PAGE BOTTOM LEFT: Plastic molds and maps used to prepare samples for an analytical technique called laser-ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Fused and cut rock samples can be seen on the bottom of the molds, which are filled with epoxy to create disks that will be polished and sent out to be lased. The technique extends the range of elemental concentrations measured by the XRF technique in Hamilton’s lab.

LEFT: Lindsay Buff ’17 gathers samples in British Columbia during her time as an undergraduate.

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by Julia Dupuis ’21

the

A

T FIRST GLANCE, Eric Grossman ’88 may seem like just another man in a power suit working at an investment bank in Manhattan. As the chief legal officer at Morgan Stanley, Grossman commutes from the New York suburbs, where he lives with his family. But here’s the twist: He wants to overturn a long-standing American tradition — the two-party political system.

It all started after the 2016 presidential election — Nov. 30 to be exact — with a call to Peter Groome ’90, a longtime friend and co-founder of Fathom Communications. “I remember distinctly asking him why he wanted to talk to me about it, as I wasn’t terribly politically active at the time,” Groome said. “Eric told me, ‘If I’m going to do this, I need someone I know, someone I can trust, and someone who can bring some communications expertise to the table.’”

Both Grossman and Groome were frustrated by the lack of energy in the political landscape — they recognized the need to take action instead of sitting on the sidelines. After many conversations, endless networking, and hours of strategizing, an idea started to take shape. “We were basically creating a startup,” Grossman said.

“We talked to a ton of people, we recruited people who were interested in joining us, we raised money to build the actual organization, we put together a team, and then we laid out a strategy — everything you do when you’re starting a new business.”

In April of 2017, the Serve America Movement was officially born. With the

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SERVE AMERICA MOVEMENT

‘A new party for a new majority’ tagline “a new party for a new majority,” SAM is a political party running on a core conviction to bridge the growing political divide in America through civil dialogue and finding common ground. Almost exactly two years to the day after that initial phone call, SAM scored a big victory in New York State. It managed to get a gubernatorial candidate, former Syracuse, N.Y., Mayor Stephanie Miner, on the ballot in November.

Miner didn’t come close to winning, but she drew enough votes to secure the party an automatic ballot line for any election in the state for the next four years.

That was the outcome Grossman and Groome had hoped for. The eventual endgame is to have SAM candidates represented on the ballot in all 50 states, and they are convinced the time is right for a third party to take root.

“The traditional parties have become tribal — animated as much by their dislike of the other party as what they actually stand for,” Grossman said. “Their candidates are representative of the most extreme wings of each party, and neither seems to be focused on problem solving. A new party, unburdened by the need to cater to the dominant primary voters, would be the most representative of what the American people want.”

As vice chairman, Grossman presides over board meetings and is involved in recruiting and fundraising. “For lack of a better term, I’m spreading the gospel,” he said. Groome is also a member of the board and acts as the driving force behind SAM’s marketing and branding.

Although SAM might be classified as moderate or centrist, Groome argues that ­labels can render the movement meaningless: opposing the two dominant parties might be mistaken as standing for nothing.

“For us, one of the foundational ideas of SAM was to challenge the status quo, to step in and disrupt the system and provide an alternative that was ultimately much closer to the interests of a growing number of people looking for a new political option.”

While SAM’s arrival onto the political scene is a step forward, its real challenge has only begun. SAM’s most daunting task — and its most promising opportunity — is to translate ideas into political reality. “The two parties have constructed a system that makes it very hard for new parties to get ballot access and voter traction,” Grossman said.

“You get used to hearing ‘You’re nuts,’” Groome said. “A lot of people responded that it’s too ambitious, too much of a long shot.”

F

ACING OFF AGAINST the dominant two-party system is no easy feat, but Groome hopes that SAM will be a part of a greater political realignment. “There’s a wave of energy running through the country,” he said. “People want to do something different, and they’re recognizing that the system is broken. They’re tired of that kind of discourse, those extremes, and looking for some common ground, civility, and respect.”

OWEN HOFFMAN

Peter Groome ’90 (left) and Eric Grossman ’88 — joined by a few notable ”advisors“ — meet in Grossman’s Manhattan office a month after the SAM party made its debut at the ballot boxes.

Common ground is the undercurrent to most of SAM’s success, including Miner’s gubernatorial campaign. Although Miner is a Democrat, she chose Michael Volpe, a Republican, as her running mate.

“We don’t expect everyone to have the same political alignment,” Grossman said. “Common ground is what SAM is all about — not adhering to any party or legacy but coming together to have a reasonable discussion. We’re trying to show how the

system can be better. It’s generating interest and traction only because people are starved for the kind of discussion, debate, and compromise that will move us forward as a country and as a people.” n

Julia Dupuis ’21 is a creative writing major from Mission Viejo, Calif., whose pursuits include writing for the Hamilton Communications Office and tutoring at the Writing Center.

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TO MARK THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY of Kirkland College’s first matriculating class, the Hamilton magazine asked a few alumnae to share how their experiences on College Hill shaped their lives.

We asked these women to dig deeper than memories of a favorite class or professor or a stroll through the Root Glen, but instead to describe how Kirkland inspired their life choices, accomplishments, and who they became. The reflections of four women follow; five more can be found at hamilton.edu/meaningofkirkland.

Photos from College Archives. Names and dates are included when known.

If you can provide additional information for any image, please write to editor@hamilton.edu.

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the

Meaning of

Kirkland Shelley Gertzog Cowan K’75

I WAS AN EXPLORER as a kid, starting with the woods and creek near my home, then traveling long distances by myself on a Greyhound. Exploring fed my curiosity, gave me agency in the world. That I could have agency in my education was something I hadn’t imagined.

Kirkland was about discovering that I could also be an explorer of thought.

With each course, it was my responsibility to choose a certain aspect of the curriculum, study it, and connect it to the whole. It was mine to find the sources, frame the learning, and communicate it to others. I was the kind of student Kirkland was looking for.

That I became an anthropologist is pure Kirkland, but it’s also a Hamilton story. From the start, the Kirkland and Hamilton anthropology professors decided to work together, as if one department. Curriculum and faculty hires complemented one another. I don’t know if any other departments operated this way; I’m sure we anthro majors benefited beyond measure. It also meant my earliest Hamilton experiences were with professors who embraced Kirkland just as my Kirkland professors did. This made it easy to find Kirkland was about other Hamilton professors who valued Kirkland’s presence on the Hill and, later discovering that on, gave me enduring access to Kirkland in the Hamilton that emerged.

I could also be an As an anthropology major I spent a semester doing fieldwork in Colombia, explorer of thought. studying beliefs about nutrition in an Andean town where Hispanic and indigenous people had intermingled for years. I conducted shorter ethnographic studies as well. I spent two weeks at a coffee plantation documenting the growing, harvesting, and roasting of coffee, and the entrenched poverty of those who worked the farm. I also spent a week in a jungle living with people who didn’t speak Spanish, much less English.

For a 20-year-old to pull off an authentic Margaret Mead experience — most of which I had to arrange myself — was an accomplishment. Yes, I was adventurous. But I also had two years of Kirkland behind me: deciding what to learn, figuring out how to learn it, and being

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in charge of making it happen. This was the core meaning of my Kirkland, and it left me with a particular fearlessness in the professional world.

The other Kirkland idea that shaped my life has to do with the women and men who imagined Kirkland in the mid-’60s. As I heard it, they set out to cultivate a modern woman, the kind Hamilton men would expect to date and marry: We would have careers, have children, dial back our careers, and maybe re-engage when the kids got older. We would be flexible, adaptable to life’s changes. This strikes me as both prescient and quaint. I think the dreamers got much about us right.

Thanks to Kirkland I entered the world adaptable and unafraid, expecting to fend for myself. Long before the times would demand it, I assumed my career and life would require constant change, that I’d always be moving toward something new, that it would be complicated, that I’d have to figure it out, and, for the most part, I would.

Heather Saunders Estes K’74 SITTING ON THE BRIGHT ORANGE AND RED CARPET of the Kirkland Pit, I curiously watched Ibby Chiquoine show 50 Kirkland students and a few Hamilton men how to insert a Among the first Kirkland students was Mindy Sherer diaphragm, put on condoms, take birth control pills. In 1970, before Roe v. Wade, Planned Ashton K’72. Green hardhats were issued to Kirkland Parenthood staff came to Rudd Health Center every two weeks to provide exams, birth women, whose campus was still under construction when they arrived on College Hill. control, and education — just one of the changes to Hamilton that came with the arrival of Kirkland women.

Kirkland made it easy for me to be curious. I was intrigued by this new college and the possibility of building a progressive, unique program for women. I explored independent studies right away and startled my art professor by rendering drawing studies in fabric rather than pencil. Initially skeptical, he thought, then gave a big smile, “Why not?” My senior project was a mythological story quilt about embryonic origins of goats and humans. Interest in sexuality, with rebellious streaks of intellectual risk-taking and justice fostered by Kirkland, took me through the 37-year run of my career as Planned Parenthood CEO in Northern California. I fell in love with my future husband, Fred Estes ’72, and became a Planned The clash of cultures Parenthood volunteer on campus. I led “rap sessions,” counseled and assisted the nurse practitioners, even joined the organization’s board of directors in Utica as a between Kirkland “consumer” member. and Hamilton showed Kirkland eagerly demanded I take responsibility for my own education. Realme that we can learn life experiences in college earned me expertise to make a difference. I learned from others who do not skills to question, challenge, speak up, and take charge. Other lessons — the best think like us — underway to enjoy an Upstate New York winter is to cross-country ski off into Kirkland standing desperately woods, take cold adversity and turn it into heated adventure. As a ceramics major with Professor Robert Palusky, I discovered the hard way that process of creation needed right now. is more important than product. My beautiful hand-thrown bowl was broken by a dropped kiln shelf while still warm from the fire. Yet it had a different useful life going forward — crushed into grog lending strength to new clay.

With Kirkland’s help, by the time I was a CEO, at 26, I already knew how to meet my failures and adversity with optimism and the heart to build something good from the ashes of our fire-bombed clinics. Skills I brought to manage an engaged staff in politically

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confrontational and emotionally fraught work were begun at Kirkland. Independence of mind, cooperation, and teamwork permeated the air on the Hill.

Both colleges have been particularly on my mind these past two years as I finished my CEO role in such disturbing political times. The clash of cultures between Kirkland and Hamilton showed me that we can learn from others who do not think like us — understanding desperately needed right now. The coed Hamilton of today is far stronger for Kirkland’s existence.

Deep in discussion (from right): Vicki Schoenburg K’78, Paula Jones Hansen K’78, and an unidentified classmate.

Wendy Page K’72 A COMMENT FROM MY SISTER helped me clarify Kirkland’s impact on my life. She said the two careers open to a working-class girl in the late ’60s who managed to get a college education were teaching and nursing. Those were the prescribed, attainable goals. She said I was incredibly brave to do something different, that I had so much imagination and drive to break out of that pattern.

Judy and I grew up in Deansboro, five miles away from the Kirkland camIt takes a lot of energy pus. She, two years younger than I, was a member of the first class of Colgate University women matriculating in 1970, just I was in the charter class of and courage to change Kirkland beginning in 1968. She was a terrific high school English teacher for careers midlife, and her whole career. I have been an artist, working at the Boston MFA School of I think the foundation I Art for 10 years, a software engineer and manager for 25 years, and am now an received at Kirkland ordained minister doing chaplaincy work with end-of-life patients. has given me the Kirkland gave me room to explore beyond those expectations I carried with confidence and me to college. During my four years on the Hill, I traveled to England for the first time. Actually, I traveled to New York City for the first time, too. My world imagination to do so. literally opened up. I widened my horizons on campus and started taking ceramics and photography classes. It gave me confidence that I could try new things, that I knew how to learn. And it gave me the space to dream, to follow my callings. It allowed me to go to art school, engineering school, divinity school — to reinvent myself as I evolved and grew.

Kirkland was a safe space to connect with other women and feel their support. It would be another couple years before I would identify myself as a lesbian, but Kirkland gave me a grounding to explore my sexuality.

Hanging at the rock swing at Alumnae Throughout my life, I have had the confidence to try new things. I learned how to study Weekend in Fall 1976 (from right): and embrace a new field of study on the Hill. I have been able to be competent and excel in Patti Pomerantz K’75, an unidentified several fields. More importantly, I have also had the ability to listen to that small nagging student, and Stephanie Feuer K’77. voice inside that told me it was time to set out in a new direction. It takes a lot of energy and courage to change careers midlife, and I think the foundation I received at Kirkland has given me the confidence and imagination to do so.

My most recent career change to ministry as a chaplain was inspired by my own cancer diagnoses in 1995 and again in 2013. I am grateful to be alive. Companioning people who are facing difficult choices and transitions in their lives, or the lives of those they love, is a privilege and the most rewarding work that I have done.

I have loved discovering other Kirkland women who have grown and changed over the years. It has been a joy to be among their number and feel the validation of always learning and growing.

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Annie Karl Halvorsen K’76 IN AN APPLE ORCHARD on a hill, an idea forged from words and time by visionary men and women grew into Kirkland College. I was there. We were there. And we thought of it as a physical place for a little while. But perhaps the gift is learning it was not.

Kirkland very much still exists and is alive in many hearts and minds, not locked in time or place, but is still a living, growing experience as long as we who are bound to her breathe and live and grow. She is sometimes confused with the “Kirkland” that we identify as strucWho needs desks and chairs? Studying in a ture or space, which is locked in the texture of our memories, the condensed thick feeling of classroom (1972). time long ago. But she is not.

Kirkland is the tapestry of threads between us that connect us to honor a picture of the younger, rougher us. More or less intensely, more or less consciously, we continue to weave the invisible fabric, writing and rewriting memory, rewriting a story of loss and gain. Now, decades later, it is a story, a legend, a dream. Loss is felt so much more Kirkland very much acutely with time and expressed with wistfulness, melancholy, and even still exists and is alive resentment, but we also have a chance to talk about gain, strength, humor, in many hearts and wonder, love. We can talk about learning, knowledge, and wisdom.

Most of what I learned at Kirkland I learned after I left. Each one of us minds, not locked in loves and holds a different Kirkland. There are as many Kirklands as there time or place, but is are people in whose lives she has been allowed to enter, like a hologram, still a living, growing each Kirkland complete and whole. Not static but fluid: a relationship with experience as long as ourselves and with each other, both living and gone, constantly growing and we who are bound to ebbing over time. We are all grown and so different. What is Kirkland now? her breathe and live Does it resemble, even a little bit, that time in our lives? We are all rich and complex, so many different gifts, generations of wisdom and experience that and grow. fold back on themselves, transcending time. We are so tender, so hard, so brittle, so resilient. Kirkland is all that, because we are all that.

Did the short life of the college make our experience more precious? If Kirkland College were still running full force, how would we feel? Would I feel the same depth of bond? Would we even like what the college would become? We will never know the answers. But we were Speaking out at a student protest there. We were together for a short time, and the wail of our grief may still echo when we in the Chapel (1970). peer into that crazy time capsule of the 1970s. But I cannot even remember myself back then; how can I remember you? I continue to be shocked when I look at old photos. Was that really us? What was Kirkland then? I have rewritten her over and over as I grew older.

What did we lose? Nothing. Would you have chosen to be elsewhere? If so, how do you know? We are larger now than we were. We understand so much better now what we had than we did then.

We were us for a little while on a hill that was once an orchard, a farm, wilderness, and although we were together in time, we were each at our own Kirkland. My story about that is wonderful. I would love to hear yours.

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Clockwise from lower left: Kirkland President Sam Babbitt (1978); party in the Root Glen; a canine friend peers through a residence hall window; strolling through a campus winter wonderland; new students gather in the Chapel for opening ceremonies (1968); an unidentified student delivers remarks (1977).

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HIGHLIGHTS FROM

best practices for meeting the changing needs of young patients as they become teenagers and young adults in the healthcare system.

CLASS CORRESPONDENTS David Simonson ’47 simonsona6@aol.com Sheldon Horowitch ’48 morrismgt@aol.com Bob Bloomer ’50 rsbloomer@aol.com Jack Banks ’52 jbanks711@hotmail.com Roger D’Aprix ’55 rdaprix@roico.com Greg Bathon ’56 egab33@gmail.com Bill Poole ’59 eloop3@aol.com John Allen ’60 johnallen347@gmail.com 1961 TBD * Sam Crowl ’62 crowl@ohio.edu Doug Wheeler ’63 dpwheeler@hhlaw.com Jon Vick ’64 jonvick2@aol.com Forrest Jones ’65 forrestljones@earthlink.net Curt Brand ’66 r_curtis_brand@sbcglobal.net Barry Seaman ’67 seamanbarrett@gmail.com Mike Berkowitz ’68 m.berkowitz@sbcglobal.net

*WE HAVE A VACANCY! If you’re interested in learning more about serving as correspondent for this class, contact editor@hamilton.edu.

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LASSE DYRDAL ’48: “I just received Hamilton Headlines with familiar pictures from the Hill. And I send you an early Christmas Card from Hacienda del Sol in Spain where I have been from Nov. 20. On Dec. 18, I shall return to Oslo, hopefully in better shape. I reluctantly must admit that age takes its toll, and my biggest problem is my balance, and it is good to stay away from slippery roads back home. It is my second visit here. Last year was not too successful, so I decided to give it a second chance. And this year I have every reason to be satisfied.

If you look closely you may recognize my Hamilton cap from 2012 and my Hamilton shirt from one of my latest reunions.”

CARL MENGES '51 spearheaded a $500,000

pledge to the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) in New York City in memory of his great-nephew, Bobby Menges, who died last year of cancer at age 19. Diagnosed at age 5, Bobby was the son of Peter ’85 and Liz Finegan Menges ’84; brother of Andrew ’12 and Jake Menges ’17; and grandson of Bud Menges ’53 and Scott Finegan ’59. The donation was made through “I’m Not Done Yet,” a foundation created in Bobby’s memory that helps adolescent patients with serious, long-term, and chronic illnesses transition from pediatrics to adulthood. “By the time patients turn 15, their needs start to change, and Bobby began to notice the void in health care as he got older,” Liz said. “He realized that some of his doctors didn’t understand some of the issues he faced.

He wondered why doctors still addressed me, but not him when they spoke.” The funds will support a research grant to HSS to establish

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MIKE BYRON ’58: “After serving nine years (2005-14) on the Augusta, Maine, City Council, and, concomitantly (2008-13), acting as Litchfield’s town manager, I’ve started my fifth year as a substitute teacher at Augusta’s Cony High School and its Capital Area Technical Center, where my students refer to me as: ‘Mr. Mike, the Super-sub.’”

FLETCH WALLER ’56: “This from Victoria, BC, where Ann and I are decompressing from family Thanksgiving and Christmas gatherings for which Ann knocks herself out preparing the home and marvelous feasts. ... 2018 has brought a second great-granddaughter. It hasn’t bothered me to become a great-grandfather; what jolted me was to realize that I have a grandfather for a son!

2018 has been good to us; I report that with some chagrin knowing that the year was a disaster for so many around the world. Our health (no surgeries, knock wood) supported two great trips — Normandy in the spring and the Dolomites for much of September where we hiked with guide Gary Scott, a world nomad mountain climber and hiker. 2019 again will bring the scalpel, however. I will get a pacemaker next month and Ann’s back may well need work. And the year, I fear, promises little but more tumult and conflict throughout the world. To cope, we wish you and all our classmate-survivors maintenance of good health, good fellowship, good fortune, good humor. Ciao.”

THE HAMILTON HUB

SHERWOOD WALLS ’64 (shown here in the center): “You never know when you will run into fellow Hamiltonians. I met these six seniors on the summit of South Dix Mountain in the Adirondack High Peaks Columbus Day weekend. The goal is to become a 46er — climbing all 46 high peaks — halfway there.”

Correspondent JOHN ALLEN ’60 reports: “Recently, Rob Tessler ’60 and his wife Linda Gottlieb visited Bob Taylor ’60 and wife ­Marilyn in Williamsburg, Va. They visited the Winter Park butterfly room in Richmond, Va., the new American Revolution Museum, Yorktown, Va., and other local historic sites. They also dined with Sean Fitzpatrick ’63 and his wife Sue Ellen at the Two Rivers Country Club.”

Correspondent BILL MULLER ’69 shares: “Keith Daniel ’69 participated this summer and fall in his first political campaign since George McGovern! He canvassed for a young progressive candidate for the RI state legislature (yes, he is 28-years-old). He handily won his primary in September and should have no trouble defeating a Libertarian in November. The victory party (there wasn’t one for McGovern) was a blast!”

CHARLIE PRESCOTT ’69: “My ‘retirement job,’ the non-profit Global Address Data Association, which I launched in 2010, has been fortunate to be able to assist our members in bringing their addressing solutions to the market, especially to the developing world, and in building awareness of a particular need of the least fortunate among our global neighbors — a street address. Without one, you don’t exist politically or economically. Our

A VISIONARY AT CBS SPORTS At CBS Sports in the 1970s and ’80s, including stints as president, NEAL PILSON ’60, GP’16,’17 oversaw the network’s rise from third-string player to superstar in live-sports programming, cementing megadeals with the NFL, NBA, and other giants. Later, he launched a consulting firm and, in the words of the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame, “played an integral role in the negotiations for billions of dollars in sports-rights deals.”

The Hall of Fame inducted Pilson in ­December as a member of a class of 11 “legendary professionals,” which he considers to be one of his proudest achievements. But maybe more important to Pilson is the reputation for integrity he’s maintained. “I feel I have the respect of the industry,” he says. Pilson’s astounding impact includes what has been described as one of the most important deals in the history of sports television — bringing to the air live coverage of NASCAR’s 1979 Daytona 500. That exposure made NASCAR a star with sports fans. But ask Pilson which of his deals had the greatest impact on American sports, the ­NASCAR coup comes in a close second.

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“I think probably it was our agreement to acquire and expand the NCAA basketball tournament,” he says. “The other deals with the NFL and the NBA and baseball and NASCAR, the Olympics — those were already major events. We carried them, and we improved on them, but by buying the NCAA basketball tournament, we turned that event into a major national occurrence — something that is celebrated now and has become much, much more important in the sports landscape than it was before.” n

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members are increasingly active in the Western Pacific, Africa, and India. Our member from Ireland, the non-profit firm Addressing the Unaddressed, is now partnering an addressing arm of Google, whose participation is increasing address allocation in Kolkata to thousands of addresses per week, having reached one million addresses last month. Member Addressing Homes of Utah is very busy in Western Africa (Liberia) and the Pacific and recently completed an address allocation of every residence in Palau. The physical address helps increase economic activity at all levels and helps link the poorest into the Internet.

Hamilton undoubtedly prepared me for this.”

WIL EVERHART ’70: Class of 1970 classmates gather for a “70th birthday celebration weekend August 2018 at Grays Run Club. Left to right: Don Younkin, Bill Monaghan, Wil Everhart, Myron Bloom, Jerry Pisanelli, Gary Clark, Doug Redmond, Paul Sherban, and Tom Burkstrand.”

Correspondent ED WATKINS ’74 reports: “The Hamilton Class of 1974 welcomes the addition of two more grandfathers to its ranks. Harold Warren and Don Kendall may now be referred to as ‘Gramps.’

Hopefully both Harold and Don will attend our 45th reunion in June so we can congratulate them in person. And yes, the bookstore has plenty of apparel for doting grandparents to purchase. Trust me on this.”

STEVE ADOLFI ’80: “Thanks to my good friends and Hamilton colleagues for attending Rosemary Adolfi’s (my mom) memorial service. Frank Tietje ’80, Jon Hind ’80, John Anastos ’80, Scott Dillenback ’80, and Craig Lasher ’81 — I could not have better friends in life. Some drove as far as five hours in the morning after Thanksgiving to attend. Thank you.”

JERRY PITARRESI ’71: Marty Kreiswirth

’71 recently retired from McGill University where he served as a professor of English, associate provost (graduate education), and dean, graduate and postdoctoral studies. His wife Kinny Twining Kreiswirth K’72 still works at McGill as a graphic artist. Marty and Kinny enjoy living in Montreal (except for the lower-than-Clinton temperatures and higher-than-Clinton snow). They keep in touch with Bobby Grilli ’73 and Chuck Verrill ’73 and recently saw Peter Rowley ’71.

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ORHAN TANER ’81 (from the Class of 1981 Facebook page): “Just opened my ‘Hamilton Box’ to share some memories with my son (12) during his holiday break. Filled with class

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JIM CUMMING ’78 returned to College Hill to help the Career Center host an event about ­careers in environmental protection. Jim shared his experience working in the Coast Guard and Maine Department of Environmental Protection.

Correspondent CAROL TRAVIS FRISCIA K’77: “… took a road trip from NYC to Clinton to see the amazing Hamilton Senior Art Show at the Wellin Museum and to spend time at the Kennedy Arts Center with the dedicated arts faculty and their graduating students. It was a great opportunity for Kirkland women to see beautiful art created

by Hamilton students!” Pictured at the new student-designed and executed mural outside of McEwen Dining Hall (from left): Carol Travis Friscia, Lisa Huestis K’78, Lori Richard Reidel K’77, Cathy Sommer Iselin K’78, Susan Skerritt K’77.

notes, term papers, final exams, computer printouts (huge green sheets), even one 8" floppy disk that I had saved my computer coursework on, four college handbooks and four phone directories (one for each year), both Hamilton and Kirkland Class of 1981 funny books, transcripts, Dean’s List memorabilia, one green Kirkland t-shirt, and one 1991 Don’s Rok 10th-reunion t-shirt. He asked me why I saved all these in the first place; I said, “Go back to playing Fortnite — I have to think carefully about that answer because it has the potential of changing your perception of me, as well as changing your life.”

4 THINGS NOT TO MISS IN

DALLAS I

By Kara Shannon ’14

t’s easy to call Dallas home, whether you’re new or native to the city. There’s been an outstanding amount of growth in the area, with Dallas-Fort Worth now the fourth largest metro area and Dallas one of the top 10 fastestgrowing counties in the U.S. What this means day-to-day for Dallasites is continuously more ways to have fun (like new restaurants, fitness studios, parks, bars, shops, etc.) in The Big D!

1

THE SIXTH FLOOR MUSEUM AT DEALEY PLAZA Be a quintessential tourist by visiting the site of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination.

KARA SHANNON ’14 is an entrepreneur

AT&T STADIUM See Jerry’s World! Arrange for a stadium tour or buy tickets to a concert or a Dallas Cowboys game.

3 THE MARGARITA MILE Jalapeño, mango, skinny, with a sangria swirl — the margarita options are endless in Dallas.

My favorite is El Come Taco.

Fun fact ... The frozen margarita was invented here!

2 PECAN LODGE VS. LOCKHART SMOKEHOUSE Take a side on the BBQ rivalry! I am on team Hot Mess [at Pecan Lodge]. Let’s just say it involves a sweet potato and shredded brisket.

passionate about building community and culture. She leads marketing, communications, and event efforts at Teach For America Dallas-Fort Worth and is the co-founder of Dallasites 101 (www.dallasites101.com), an Instagram-based marketing and events company that encourages Dallasites to engage in the city. In addition to serving as a member of the Mayor’s Racial Equity and Leadership Fellowship and the Junior League of Dallas, she is on Hamilton’s Alumni Council.

4

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KEN BURNS WITH MARINA GOLDMAN ’82

GIVING VOICE TO HUMANITARIAN HEROES After Scott Allocco ’82 watched the Ken Burns’ documentary Defying the Nazis: The Sharps’ War, he was moved to share a post on Hamilton’s Class of ’82 Facebook page. Not only did the film star MARINA GOLDMAN ’82, who voiced a leading role, but it was just days after 11 members of the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh had been killed and seven more injured during Shabbat services.

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The 2016 documentary (available on Netflix) tells the story of Waitstill and Martha Sharp, a married couple who, in the late 1930s, made repeated missions to Europe to save Jewish refugees and political dissidents escaping the Nazis. Waitstill was a Unitarian minister and Martha, a social worker. They left their two children in the care of their church in Wellesley, Mass., to undertake the dangerous work.

Goldman voiced Martha in the documentary, which also starred Tom Hanks. The project meant much to Goldman. “[It was] personally significant because I got to work with my dear friends [and directors] Artemis Joukowsky and Ken Burns. Martha Sharp is Artemis’ grandmother. I have been so inspired by her story that I started the Martha and Waitstill Sharp Foundation, which gives the Sharp Rescuer Prize and collects stories of moral courage,” she says.

Goldman keeps plenty busy. She’s a nurse practitioner in addiction medicine in Greenfield, Mass.; works with organizations in Sierra Leone to end female genital cutting; and writes and acts in an immersive theatre ensemble in western Massachusetts. n

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PAULA HARRINGTON CLANCY ’85: “Hamiltonians in Ireland! Looks like we just ran into Chris Hyson ’90 at the pub, but Sean Clancy ’85 and I traveled the Emerald Isle with Chris and colleagues from The Lawrenceville School on a whirlwind tour of the West Coast. We hit up Bloomsday in Dublin and Dalkey, which brought up some fond memories of Prof. Briggs’ Joyce seminar on Friday mornings in the library.

One of my favorite English classes of all time. Éirinn go Brách!”

JOHN RICE ’78, a retired GE vice chairman who spent almost four decades at the company, will return as chair of the GE Gas Power business.

RICH BERNSTEIN ’80: “My firm, Richard

Bernstein Advisors, was recently highlighted

by Morningstar as one of the Top 10 ETF ­[Exchange-Traded Fund] Model Managers in the country. Our success can be attributed (at least I think it can be) to Hamilton grads.

Besides yours truly, Matt Poterba ’12 and Katherine Gross ’16 work at RBA. Searching for ‘diversity,’ we recently hired a Colgate grad.”

Correspondent JOSEPH FLYNN ’83 reports: “ICYMI — Matt Cartwright ’83 was re-elected to the U.S. House of Representatives!” And in news of his own, Joseph has been named the 2019 recipient of the Henry L. Barnett Award by the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Nephrology. The award recognizes “demonstrated dedication to the teaching of nephrology, contributions to advocacy for c­ hildren, and/or distinguished service to the field of pediatric nephrology, as well as

outstanding clinical care for children with kidney disease.”

GREG GOOD ’82: “Thanks @Erick Steen

— For the visit, the tickets, and continued support of the Purple home team! (with Bob Oberrender ’82).” To which ERICK

STEEN ’82 replied: “So fun to hang out with you bums. Skol Vikings!”

BARB SMALLEY ’83: “In August, [classmates

from 1983] John Hadity, Alyson Lee, Sibylle Bretz Kinley, and I had a little mini reunion with Mike Weissman at his newly opened Mikey Dubb’s Frozen Custard shop in New Rochelle, N.Y. It was great to catch up but even better to sample some of the best desserts ever; definitely worth the trip — felt like vacation! Visit mikeydubbs.com.”

ELIZABETH KIMBER ’84 is head of the CIA’s

on helping nonprofit professionals and organizations develop effective strategies, high-functioning boards, and raise more ­support.” Check out his website at AdvancementDesigns.com.

NATASHA RATH MARCUS ’91: “On Nov. 6, 2018,

I was elected to the NC State Senate, representing District 41 (parts of Charlotte and its suburbs). More at www.NatashaMarcus.com.”

Correspondent TINA MCSORLEY SOMMER ’96 reports: “Lowey Bundy Sichol ’96 wrote that she’s ‘­Excited to announce the Feb. 12, 2019, launch of the first two books in my new children’s book series: From an Idea to Nike and From an Idea to Disney. ‘From an Idea to...’ is the first business biography series for kids and takes young readers into the world of entrepreneurship and business through the stories of how our favorite companies came to be.

Published by HMH and available now for pre-­order from Amazon.’”

Directorate of Operations. She is the first woman to head up its clandestine arm.

Kimber’s job entails recruiting spies overseas, gathering intelligence, and engaging White House-approved covert actions.

LIBBY EMERSON LEWIECKI ’89: “I won! I ran

for and was elected to the Hingham School Committee. This is my first foray into politics, so wish me luck, please.”

TOM BRUSH ’90: “After over 25 years in the higher education nonprofit world, I launched my own consulting/coaching business focused

Bill Muller ’69 william.muller@usdoj.gov Bill Royer ’70 waroyer@aol.com Rory Radding ’71 roryradding@gmail.com Glenn “Doc” Reisman ’72 glenn.reisman@ge.com Rick Eckman ’73 eckmanr@pepperlaw.com Ed Watkins ’74 az1730@nycap.rr.com Bob Hylas ’75 bobhylas@gmail.com Arla Altman ’76 TwinkieBGood@yahoo.com Carol Travis Friscia ’77 carolfriscia@me.com Marc Komisarow ’78 marc.komisarow@ hamiltonbridgeadvisors.com Brad Auerbach ’79 brad@bradauerbach.com Peggy Daniel ’80 peggydaniel@earthlink.net

STEPHANIE SMITH LUEBBERS ’85 is the new head

of school at Stoneleigh-Burnham School in Greenfield, Mass. Since 2007, she had served as head of the Upper School at the Cincinnati Country Day School. She also held positions as a teacher, coach, academic dean, and associate head of school at boarding and day schools in New York, Vermont, and New Hampshire.

CLASS CORRESPONDENTS

Elly Cyr ’81 ellycyr@comcast.net JOSIE COLLIER ’97: “The new Alumni Association Committee on Equity and Inclusion met for a working lunch during Fallcoming Weekend. Members of the group (bottom left clockwise): Cindy Perez ’98, chair; Anthony Jackson ’15, Spectrum vice chair; Torrence Moore ’92, MARC chair; Melissa Joyce-Rosen ’86, Women in Leade­rship chair; Ann Horwitz Dubin ’06, Spectrum chair; and me, ex officio.

Watch out for this group! Great things are about to happen.”

Visit and post on the hub at HAMILTON.EDU/HUB

Melissa Chesnut-Tangerman ’82 tango@vermontel.net Joseph Flynn ’83 jtflynnmd@earthlink.net Liz Finegan Menges ’84 efmenges131@gmail.com Debbie Grassi Baker ’85 debgbaker@aol.com Melissa Joyce-Rosen ’86 MelissaJR@frontier.com

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CLASS CORRESPONDENTS Monique Lui Holloway ’87 moniqueholloway@comcast.net Maria DiGiulian ’88 mdigiulian@verizon.net 1989 TBD *

KRISTY TAFT SENATORI ’99 has been appointed

executive director of the Cape Cod Commission. “I look forward to continuing the innovative work of the commission and collaborating with Cape community leaders and stakeholders as we design solutions to some of the region’s biggest environmental and economic challenges,” she said.

Tamara Helmich Conway ’90 tamaraconway@gmail.com Ray Lauenstein ’91 rlauenstein@gmail.com Richard Skinner ’92 richardms70@aol.com Brendan McCormick ’93 brendanmccormick@verizon.net 1994 TBD * William Ferguson ’95 hamilton.college@outlook.com Tina McSorley Sommer ’96 mcsommy@gmail.com 1997 TBD * Sam Packer Finkelstein ’98 packer.samantha@gmail.com Sarah House Murphy ’99 sarahehouse@hotmail.com Carol Bennett Lang ’00 carol.b.lang@gmail.com Justin Stein ’01 steinjustin@gmail.com Dan Fillius ’02 danfillius@yahoo.com Amanda Gengler Horrigan ’03 amandagengler@yahoo.com

*WE HAVE A VACANCY! If you’re interested in learning more about serving as correspondent for this class, contact editor@hamilton.edu.

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CLASS OF ’99 alums gather for a mini-reunion

MARTINE KALAW ’03 recently published Illegal Among Us, her memoir about a stateless, undocumented, orphaned African girl who beats the broken immigration system. Martine navigated through an immigration court that bound her in deportation proceedings for seven years to become a U.S. citizen. Now president of Martine Kalaw Enterprises, she provides immigration and organizational development consulting to corporations and is a commentator on global immigration. A TEDx speaker, Martine also spoke on campus in the Red Pit in September thanks to the invitation from Opportunity Programs Director Phyllis Breland ’80.

in Newton, Mass. Back row (from left): Jaimee Smith, Matt Winterroth, Melisa ­McGregor, Ryan Luciano. Front row: Ryan Jones, Jody Steinhilber, Briana Panico Raissi.

A Hamilton alumnus turned diplomat! JAMES DU VERNAY ’03 recently became the new U.S. Consul for Western France and serves at the U.S. Consulate in Rennes.

He previously served as the supervisory director of logistics at the American embassies of both Tunisia and Mali, and at the U.S. embassy in Caracas as the director of human resources.

Earlier assignments included appointments to the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad and U.S. Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City, as well as an economic officer at the Bureau of Energy Resources in Washington, D.C. Du Vernay speaks French, Spanish, and varying degrees of Italian, Vietnamese, and Urdu. A member of the cross country team at Hamilton, he continues as an avid runner who has completed three Paris Marathons.

Visit and post on the hub at HAMILTON.EDU/HUB

Correspondent TARA HUGGINS ’14 reports: ”The Alumni Association of Chicago gathered at Park & Field for what turned into a five-hour Class & Charter Day brunch! We had a lovely time meeting new people and swapping stories over shared experiences.”

Pictured (left to right): Caroline Walton ’15, Lane Lerner ’14, Gabe Klein ’13, Tara Huggins, Matt Chandler ’08, Sarah Goodell ’11, Lauren Zoltick ’11, Meredyth Ohringer ’17, Alex Arenson ’13, Eme Yordan ’13, Kent Sinson ’84, Hannah Strong ’17, Ryan McAlonan ’17.

Bookshelf ARON AIN ’79. WorkInspired: How to Build an

Lydia Kiesling ’05

Organization Where Everyone Loves to Work (New York: McGraw-Hill Education, 2018)

The Golden State

(MCD: New York, 2018)

D

aphne is a bright young woman trapped in a mundane job at a university in San Francisco. Forced into the role of a single parent after her Turkish husband is denied re-entry into United States due to a “processing error,” she makes a snap decision — pack up her 1997 Buick LeSabre, toddler in tow, and head to the remote desert town of Altavista. Here she and her daughter, Honey, move into a small house left to her by her grandparents.

The author’s debut novel, The Golden State has received a starred review from Publisher’s Weekly and been longlisted for the Center for Fiction’s First Novel Prize. Kiesling is editor of the online magazine The Millions and has published numerous essays.

As a child she would visit her grandparents in far northeastern California, and after she graduated from Hamilton she spent a year teaching English in Istanbul. Writing the book, she told Hamilton magazine, gave her a way to spend time in two places she loves dearly. Here’s more of what she had to say.

Where did the idea for this story come from?

I started thinking about this book when my oldest daughter (now 4) was born. I was back at work and, like many parents, trying to juggle commuting, raising a baby, doing a good job at work, breastfeeding, and all the rest. I was struck by how American policies and cultural norms surrounding parental leave and work are sort of inimical to family life. I

kept thinking about what it would be like to be alone with a small child without a support network around you and how that would affect someone of a particularly intense and fretful personality. At the same time, I was thinking a lot about a part of California that was once dear to me and about some friends of friends who were going through a protracted immigration struggle. Slowly I found a way to put it all together.

How much did you draw on your own feelings/experiences as a mom in your writing?

Hugely! I sort of worry when I say this because some people read the character of Daphne as being a terrible mother, or one sort of unsuited to parenting, but one of the things about being a writer is that you can’t dictate how what you write or say will be read, and it would be absurd to pretend that my own ­experience was not foundational to writing this book. I’m grateful for my experience of motherhood every day. But I also think a lot about the way that having children makes women vulnerable to the whims and conditions not only of their immediate surroundings — family, community, etc. — but of society as a whole. I wanted to write a book that showed something I hadn’t seen in fiction before, namely, the minute-to-minute experience of parenting a very young child — and the strain (and joy!) that motherhood brings about in this particular character’s life. n

HOLLY AMIDON ’84. Foods from Far and Away, Bringing Regional Dishes Home (Bloomington, Ind.: LifeRich, 2018) W. BARKLEY BUTLER ’64. Amazing Ants: Simple Sidewalk Science (Unionville, N.Y.: Royal Fireworks Press, 2017) NANCY AVERY DAFOE K’74. Both End in Speculation (NP: Rogue Phoenix Press, 2018)

JAMES GARFINKEL ’80. Day by Day: 1968 That Tumultuous Year in 366 Photographs (New York: Day By Day Publishing, 2018) HARRY GROOME ’60. Celebrity Cast (Villanova, Pa.: Connelly Press, 2018)

VALERIE M. JONES ’79. Nonprofit Hero: Five Easy Steps to Successful Board Fundraising (Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield, 2018) LAUREN MAGAZINER ’12. Case Closed: Mystery in

the Mansion (New York: HarperCollins, 2018) and Wizardmatch (New York: Penguin, 2018)

JAMES T. SCHLEIFER ’64. Tocqueville (Medford, Mass.: Polity Press, 2018) SPIRIT AKA LARRY (LARRY ALFONSO ARIAS ’84).

Recovering from Trauma (self-published, 2018)

MICHAEL STONE ’72. The Power of Licensing: Harnessing Brand Equity (Chicago: Ankerwycke Books, 2018) PETER WELTNER ’64. You Wait For Me Where

Mountain Peaks Are White As Your Hair (Seattle: Marrowstone Press, 2018)

Joseph Lebold and CHRISTOPHER WILKINSON ’68.

Roadside Geology of West Virginia (Missoula, Mont.: Blue Mountain Publishing, 2018) For descriptions of the books listed above, and links to where you might purchase them, visit hamilton.edu/alumni/books.

Visit and post on the hub at HAMILTON.EDU/HUB

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And share with us by tagging your posts #getscrolled so that they appear on our social media aggregator.

CLASS CORRESPONDENTS Céline Geiger ’04 celinegeiger@gmail.com Sara Peach Messier ’05 sara.messier11@gmail.com Colby Bishop ’06 colby.bishop@gmail.com Sara Carhart ’07 carhart.sara@gmail.com Melissa Joy Kong ’08 melissajoykong@gmail.com Fiona MacQuarrie Helmuth ’09 fionahelmuth@gmail.com Kory Diserens ’10 kdiserens@gmail.com

DOING GOOD BACK HOME Chalk up major award number two for ARTHUR WILLIAMS ’16 — the 2018 Musgrave Youth Award from the Institute of Jamaica for ­Williams’ contribution to entrepreneurship and public policy.

In January 2018, Williams received ­Jamaica’s highest honor for young people from Prime Minister Andrew Holness — the Youth Award for Excellence in the International Achievement category. And, of course, there’s the Levitt Social Innovation Post-Graduate Fellowship that Hamilton awarded him in May to establish FreshLife, an enterprise that uses the web and a mobile app to bring to customers’ doors fresh, safely grown produce from rural farmers. FreshLife is gaining ground.

“It’s been an exciting journey, and so far things have been going pretty well as my co-founders and I work to build out the venture,” says Williams, who is from Jamaica and lives there now. “Building a business requires patience and perseverance. You can’t rush the process, and you have to be prepared for the ups and downs. We have good momentum at

the moment and are aiming to launch operations within the first quarter of 2019.”

Williams also has a career he describes as rewarding and demanding. He is a deals associate, based in Kingston, at PricewaterhouseCoopers. There’s more: He is a member of the Kingston Hub of the Global Shapers Community, a network of people 30 and younger who address local, regional, and global issues. Global Shapers grew out of the World Economic Forum.

The media attention Williams’ awards have generated in Jamaica have helped give his work credibility, he says, but he’s trying to stay focused and not get too ahead of himself.

He is determined to learn as much as possible, in particular about the fundamentals of business and finance.

“I hope to further establish myself as a young leader in the field of business and to explore my interests within the policy sphere in Jamaica,” he says. “I intend to return to the U.S. within the next five years to pursue an MBA, hopefully at a top institution.” He also hopes that between FreshLife and his work as a global shaper, he can make a positive impact in communities across Jamaica. n

Visit and post on the hub at HAMILTON.EDU/HUB

Nick Stagliano ’11 stagliano.nick@gmail.com Allison Eck ’12 allison.c.eck@gmail.com Alex Orlov ’13 alexandra.m.orlov@gmail.com Tara Huggins ‘14 tarahuggins4@gmail.com Ben Fields ’15 hamilton2015notes@gmail.com Kaitlin McCabe ’16 kamccabe1@gmail.com 2017 TBD * 2018 TBD *

*WE HAVE A VACANCY! If you’re interested in learning more about serving as correspondent for this class, contact editor@hamilton.edu.

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KELLYN SHOECRAFT ’05: “After several personal experiences with loss, my husband, Nate Stell ’04, and I were inspired to shift the way people support each other during life’s toughest experiences. This led to our launching Here For You. Our ‘Compassion Packages’ include practical household items that are tastefully presented — offering a useful and thoughtful alternative to the customary flower bouquet or fruit basket. When a person is going through a poignant, challenging transition in their life, they shouldn’t have to worry about running to the store for the odds and ends that keep their household functioning. Our site also hosts a blog written for the grieving and their supporters. I share my personal experiences with expected and unexpected loss (my dad died

when I was a junior at Hamilton, and my sister died in 2017; Nate lost his mom in 2011). I also write about strategies for the supporters who wish to be helpful in whatever way they can — first step, never (ever) say, ‘everything happens for a reason,’ or any other platitude.

Thanks for checking us out and keeping us in mind next time you’re looking to support a friend/loved one.”

Great having BRENDAN CUNNINGHAM ’15 back on campus to talk to students about his experience as chief of staff at the New York Assembly. He shared insights about working in politics and government, and how his diverse Hamilton experiences are influencing his career.

BECAUSE HAMILTON [EMPOWERS] PROBLEM Young people have a tough time managing money.

SOLUTION ERICH WOHL ’18

The economics and sociology major is working at Money Experience, a startup that uses an interactive curriculum to teach high school students financial literacy.

“ Millennials and Gen Xers have a hard time managing their finances after

high school. Ill-informed decisions on everything from what to eat to where

to live plague our generation. And those from disadvantaged backgrounds are often the ones who could benefit the most from developing financial literacy.

My goal is to help close the wealth gap by helping students internalize how their decisions impact their financial future and increase their quality of life.”

The world is full of problems.

Hamiltonians deliver solutions. hamilton.edu/becausehamilton 62

Visit and post on the hub at HAMILTON.EDU/HUB

YOUR CLASSMATES ARE HUNGRY FOR NEWS! Feed the Hamilton Hub—

hamilton.edu/hub

Necrology For full memorial biographies of the following alumni, as well as a searchable database for those published dating back to 2008, see hamilton.edu/necrology.

Anthony Rein Kuolt ’46, a sports coach, college administrator, and banker of Bonita Springs, Fla., and Wyckoff, N.J., died on Sept. 4, 2018.

Philip Wade Bresee ’48, an executive of

the former department store in Oneonta, N.Y., that bore the family name and a leader in his community, died on July 24, 2018.

William Sutton Bradley ’56, a chemicals

business executive of Williamsville, N.Y., whose lifetime service to Hamilton earned him a Bell Ringer Award, died on July 12, 2018.

Jonathan Galt Greenwald ’56, an

David Ellsworth Harden ’48, a quality

furniture manufacturing executive and a life trustee of the College, died on Sept. 7, 2018.

internist and cardiologist of Westport, Conn., who maintained a lifelong passion for music, died on July 25, 2018.

John Edmund Romano ’48, a longtime

Frederic Neil Houtenbrink ’56, a flooring

dentist of Utica, N.Y., died on June 8, 2018.

Daniel Charles Swartz ’49, a food industry executive of White Plains, N.Y., died on Sept. 19, 2018.

Donald Bruce Dolan ’50, a dentist and orthodontist of Bradenton, Fla., died on Sept. 12, 2018.

Frederick Munger Miller III ’51, a professional cellist and music teacher of Los Angeles, died on Aug. 30, 2018.

Robert Sherrill Cornelius II ’52, a

manufacturer of flexible packaging of Orchard Park, N.Y., died on Oct. 3, 2018.

Charles Morton Gluck ’53, a physician of

South Burlington, Vt., who worked to bring medical care to developing countries and the rural U.S., died on July 12, 2018.

Donald Frederick Miller ’54, a travel agency owner of Lakewood, Ohio, died on Oct. 4, 2018.

company owner of Waterloo, N.Y., died on Aug. 13, 2018.

John Veeder Moore ’62, an attorney of Elmira, N.Y., died on Sept. 25, 2018.

Richard William Langstaff ’64, a teacher, editor, and IT and insurance consultant of Spring Lake, N.J., who played a year of professional baseball, died on Oct. 10, 2018.

William Arthur Wesp ’71, a banking and investments executive of Centerport, N.Y., who had visited all seven continents, died on Sept. 7, 2018.

Mary Kathleen Sheehan Roden-Tice K’74, a geologist and professor of Plattsburgh, N.Y., who conquered all 46 Adirondack High Peaks, died on July 14, 2018.

Albert Leon Specht, Jr. ’57, a high school

J. Candace Clifford ’83, a lighthouse historian and researcher of Alexandria, Va., died on Aug. 15, 2018.

Robert Pace Flack ’59, a restaurant and food service executive of Oklahoma City, Okla., died on Oct. 6, 2018.

Jeffrey Hammond Long ’05, a technology

earth science teacher of Setauket, N.Y., died on Sept. 21, 2018.

David MacKellar Ostrom II ’59, a buyer in

and business consultant of Washington, D.C., and Greenwich, Conn., who assisted on several high-profile political campaigns, died on July 8, 2018.

the food industry of Peabody, Mass., died on July 22, 2018.

Kenneth Packard Miner, Jr. ’60, a high school history and economics teacher of Weston, Vt., and Greenwich, Conn., died on Oct. 18, 2018.

Donald De Vere Bradley, Jr. ’62, a

Memorial biographies prepared during the previous year will be gathered and published in a booklet to be available at the Alumni Service of Remembrance held during Reunion Weekend in June.

chemicals business executive of Williamsville, N.Y., died on June 20, 2018.

Visit and post on the hub at HAMILTON.EDU/HUB

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Tower of Voices FORTY CHIMES ECHO ACROSS A RURAL PENNSYLVANIA FIELD, each a resounding tribute to one of the passengers and crew members whose plane crashed there on 9/11. The 93-foot-tall instrument, nearly complete and shown here looking up through its center, was dedicated on Sept. 7 at the Flight 93 National Memorial near Shanksville, Pa. Professor of Music Sam Pellman completed the tower’s pitch design just before his own death in 2017. The sole musician on a team of acousticians, architects, and National Park Service staff, Pellman was recruited for the project based on his combined expertise in acoustics and composition. According to the memorial’s website, “The intent is to create a set of 40 tones (voices) that can connote through consonance the serenity and nobility of the site while also through dissonance recalling the event that consecrated the site.”

PHOTO BY TONY URBAN

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HAMILTON

Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Hamilton College

198 College Hill Road Clinton, NY 13323

THE BIG QUESTION What fashion trend from your college days would you sooner bring back — or forget?

FOR NEXT ISSUE, CONSIDER:

Bell-bottoms? Leg warmers? Crop tops?

Cardigans? Send your response by April 1 to editor@hamilton.edu with “The Big Question” in the subject line. Memories and anecdotes are encouraged, but please limit your submission to 150 words or fewer, and include your name and class year. Photos would be swell, too! Responses will be published in the next magazine or on the Hamilton Hub (hamilton.edu/hub).

THE BIG ANSWERS To find out what your fellow readers had to say about the most unforgettable courses they took on College Hill, see pp. 22-23 or hamilton.edu/BigQuestion.

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