The Pulteney Street Survey - Winter 2023

THE PULTENEY STREET SURVEY

BICENTENNIAL ENCORE

A Celebration 200 Years in the Making

IN THIS ISSUE: Research, Mentorship & New Perspectives on STEM

League Champs

William Smith Field Hockey defeated the University of Rochester in November to claim the Liberty League championship title and launch their first NCAA tournament bid since 2015. In December, the National Field Hockey Coaches Association named the team’s staff, led by Head Coach Sophie Riskie '07, the Region III Coaching Staff of the Year.

THE PULTENEY STREET SURVEY

faculty, staff, volunteers, and visitors. HWS prohibits discrimination and harassment in their programs and activities on the basis of age, color, disability, domestic violence, victim status, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status, or any other status protected under the law. Discrimination on the basis of sex includes sexual harassment, sexual violence, sexual assault, other forms of sexual misconduct including stalking and intimate partner violence, and gender-based harassment that does not involve conduct of a sexual nature.

EDITOR, VICE PRESIDENT FOR MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS Catherine Williams / SENIOR MANAGING EDITOR Andrew Wickenden ’09 / DESIGNER Lilly Pereira / aldeia.design / CONTRIBUTING WRITERS/EDITORS Ken DeBolt, Mackenzie Larsen ’12, Mary LeClair, Colin Spencer ’19, Natalia St. Lawrence ’16, Mary Warner ’21, Andrew Wickenden ’09 and Catherine Williams / CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Kevin Colton and Adam Farid ’20 / Additional photos and images courtesy of Gloria Bankočević, Hobart and William Smith Colleges Archives, Image Press Agency / Alamy Stock Photo, Johny Jones, Hannah Keiper / University of Rochester Athletics, Amanda Kirk and Fitzroy Books, The New York Times, Pulitzer.org / PORTRAIT ILLUSTRATOR Kathryn Rathke / PRESIDENT Mark D. Gearan / CHAIR OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES Craig R. Stine ’81, P’17 / VICE CHAIR OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES Cassandra Naylor Brooks ’89 / VICE PRESIDENT FOR ADVANCEMENT Robert B. O’Connor P’22, P’23 / William Smith Alumnae Association Officers: Katharine Strouse Canada ’98, President; Roxanne Jackson ’81, Vice President; Kirra Henick-Kling Guard ’08, MAT ’09, Immediate Past President; Amanda E. Shaw ’11, Historian / Hobart Alumni Association Officers: Paul Wasmund ’07, President; Mark A. Darden III ’87, P’17, Vice President; the Hon. Ludwig P. Gaines ’88, Immediate Past President; Andrew Donovan ’12, Historian. / For

please e-mail Andrew Wickenden ’09 at wickenden@hws.edu.

Lake Views & Vuja De

As I write this note, winter has arrived in Geneva, Hobart’s Bicentennial year has come to a close and the calm of campus allows for reflection and gratitude. The Bicentennial engaged the Hobart and William Smith community in a year of celebration and observance of our history of academic excellence and innovation, of service to country and communities, and of deep engagement with the people, ideas and environment that surround this special place.

As Mary and I returned to campus in August to welcome the incoming Classes of 2026, I was reminded of the essay written by E.B. White titled “Once More to the Lake.” Written in 1941 for Harper’s Magazine, White describes his return to a lake in Maine he had visited every year as a boy. Returning as an adult with his young son, White observed the many changes in his life and world that have occurred but noted the lake as “constant and trustworthy.”

For my return to Geneva, the “constant and trustworthy” Seneca Lake was a welcome sight. And the enduring attributes of Hobart and William Smith – a dedicated faculty and staff and engaged student body – remained vibrant and effective. I am honored and excited for this next chapter and grateful for the chance to advance the Colleges in its third century. This edition of The Pulteney Street Survey captures the energy and innovation of our campus. The Bicentennial Gala and Stern Family Forum with Governor Chris Christie and James Carville were memorable events for the pride we share in our history and the excitement we feel for the future. The highlight of the Gala was the announcement of the lead gift by Board of Trustees Chair Craig Stine ’81, P’17 and Kathy Hay Stine P’17 to renovate and name the Intercultural Center for Dr. Alger L. Adams ’32, D.D. ’83, the first Black graduate of Hobart. The research and mentorship that our students prize in STEM disciplines is thoughtfully presented in the pages that follow – profiling the engagement of faculty with our students, their scholarship that enlivens our classrooms and labs, and the 21st century approach to a liberal arts and sciences education.

In his book Originals, Adam Grant provided a timely frame for me as I return to HWS after five years: “Déjà vu occurs when we encounter something new, but it feels as if we’ve seen it before. Vuja de is the reverse – we face something familiar, but we see it with a fresh perspective that enables us to gain new insights into old problems.”

This past semester back on campus has provided many moments of “vuja de” as I observe things that are familiar from my prior 18 years as president, but see them in a different lens. I have been impressed with the innovations in the curriculum, new athletic teams and enhanced commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. But I am also reminded of the many changes in our world and in higher education that have marked these five years – the pandemic, challenges to democracy, increased polarization, racial reckoning. We are fortunate to have a “constant and trustworthy” mission statement to prepare students to lead lives of consequence, and the importance of that mission could not be more vital for our society at this time. I look forward to continuing this conversation in the year ahead as we tackle our challenges and honor our charge to educate the next generation who will bring credit to Hobart and William Smith as their predecessors have done for 200 years.

Wishing you a happy and healthy 2023.

Sincerely,

MARK D. GEARAN President

“We are fortunate to have a “constant and trustworthy” mission statement to prepare students to lead lives of consequence, and the importance of that mission could not be more vital for our society at this time.”

The President's Garage Band (including Professor of Chemistry Justin Miller on the left and Patrisha Blue '77 on the right) takes the stage at the Bicentennial Gala, joined by Patricia Adams and Zinnia Lily Roehl-Gordon (center) — the daughter and great-grandniece of the Rev. Dr. Alger L. Adams ’32, D.D. ’83, the first Black graduate of Hobart College. It was announced during the Gala that the Colleges’ renovated intercultural center will be named in Adams’ honor. >>

PHOTO BY KEVIN COLTON

BICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION

A Night to Remember

In October, more than 2,000 alums, students, faculty, staff and friends gathered in Bristol Field House for a Gala celebrating Hobart College’s Bicentennial. The evening included musical and dance performances, reflections on the institution's history, legacy and vision, and a recognition of the impact of HWS graduates, including the announcement of the Alger L. Adams ’32 Intercultural Center.

As President Gearan said in his address that night, “Very few institutions of higher education have been in existence for 200 years. In fact, our longevity makes Hobart College one of the 50 oldest colleges and universities in the nation. The initial idea of Bishop John Henry Hobart was to create a place of higher education, and Geneva, with its bustling community on the side of a spectacular lake, was the right place to do that. And for 200 years, this beautiful place has inspired students to achieve new heights of knowledge and to go on, as our mission statement reads, to lead lives of consequence.”

▼ President Mark D. Gearan kicks off the Gala event surrounded by members of the Colleges’ Chorale, which, under the direction of Professor of Music Bob Cowles, sang the Hobart alma mater.

▲ ABC News Reporter Andrew Donovan ’12 and Interim Vice President for Admissions and Financial Aid Kathy Killius Regan ’82, P’13 interview Hobart Basketball Head Coach Stefan Thompson ‘13 on the Purple Carpet.

▶ Jimmy Steele ’89 plays the opening notes of the Hobart alma mater.

▶ Led by Associate Professor of Dance Kelly Johnson, students perform a Guinea-style West African dance.

◀ Students rock out as the President’s Garage Band sings “Sweet Caroline.”

◀ Board Chair Craig Stine ’81, P’17 announces that the newly renovated and expanded Intercultural Center will bear the name of Rev. Dr. Alger Adams ’32, D.D. ’83, Hobart’s first Black alumnus. Adams’ daughter, Patricia, joins Stine on stage. The naming was made possible through a lead gift from Stine and his wife, Kathy Hay Stine P’17.

▲ HWS Trustee Bill Whitaker ’73, L.H.D. ’97 introduced the film “The Course Ahead,” also narrated by him.

▼ President Gearan, former President Gregory J. Vincent ’83, Board Chair Craig R. Stine ’81, P’17, Dean Scott Brophy ’78 and students gathered on South Main Street to raise the Hobart Bicentennial flag.

▶ Bicentennial Weekend kicked off Friday night when political commentator and strategist James Carville LL.D. ’13, P’17 and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie took the stage at the Smith Opera House for the Stern Family Forum, moderated by Emmy Award-winning 60 Minutes correspondent and HWS Trustee Bill Whitaker ’73, L.H.D. ’97. The forum was the latest in a series, funded by Honorary Trustee Herbert J. Stern ’58, P’03, LL.D. ’74 and Trustee Samuel A. Stern ’03, that invites notable guests to campus to bring nuance to difficult, sometimes controversial subjects. As Sam Stern said during the event’s introduction, “Disagreement and differences of ideas aren’t bad things when they’re done with civility. Indeed, they [fuel] the fire of the free mind….Some ideas rise, some ideas fall and even more importantly, new ideas are born.”

▲ On Saturday, the HWS Veterans Alum Committee honored the military service of alums with the release of a book documenting the history of the Colleges through the experiences of those who served. Hobart and William Smith Colleges’ Legacy of Military Service was unveiled during a panel discussion with its authors, Col. C.R. “Dick” Anderegg ’67, Lt. Col. John Norvell ’66, P’99, P’02, Col. Katherine Platoni ’74 and Lt. Gen. Jack Woodward ’68. Jean S. Anderegg ’67, who was the inspiration behind the project, moderated the conversation. Read more about the book on p. 33.

AND MORE!

Browse photos and videos from Bicentennial Weekend. Listen to reflections from the HWS community. Revisit the Bicentennial Gala and celebrate this once-in-alifetime event at hws.edu/hobartbicentennial/media.aspx.

A Banner Year

Celebrating the largest fundraising year in HWS history

New gifts and commitments to Hobart and William Smith totaled nearly $40 million during the 2021–22 fiscal year, shattering every giving record in the history of the Colleges. As of June 30, 2022, the Colleges received gifts from more than 5,200 donors for a total of $39.9 million raised — that’s $12.2 million more than had previously been raised in one year. Gifts during the 12-month period, including 11 of $1 million or more, support the Colleges’ efforts to expand scholarships and financial aid, enhance student experiences and drive academic excellence.

“The significant support from our alums, parents and friends is especially appreciated during our Bicentennial year," says President Mark D. Gearan. “We are excited to build upon our proud history of providing a transformative educational experience to talented students. I am grateful to all those who contributed and the confidence they share in our future. Our Advancement team worked tirelessly under the able leadership of Bob O’Connor and former President Joyce Jacobsen to achieve these impressive results and our students, faculty, staff and coaches will benefit from their efforts.”

Chair of the Board of Trustees Craig Stine ’81, P’17 is equally effusive. “I’m a big believer that success breeds success, and I think this year will serve as a launchpad for future record-breaking years,” he says. “As we celebrate the Hobart Bicentennial in 2022, there can be no stronger indication of our bright future.”

Donations during the 2021–22 fiscal year include more than $10 million in annual giving; the record-breaking Athletic Day of Donors, which brought in close to $1 million last winter; and more than 40 commitments of $100,000 or more supporting various institutional priorities.

“We had a very good year and we are most grateful for the investment so many made in our students and this extraordinary community,” says Vice President for Advancement Bob O’Connor P’22, P’23. “As a parent of a graduate and a current senior, I am witness to the transformational experiences our faculty and staff provide to our student body. And, as our aspirations and goals continue to climb, we are committed to meeting those expectations as we prepare for the next 200 years.”

Olivia DuRoss ’25, Emma Johnston ’25 and Natalie Haythorn ’25 wave the HWS flags during the Herons soccer team’s victory over Bard during Homecoming and Family Weekend. ▶

COMMIT TO THE FUTURE WITH

THE ANDERTON IMPACT CHALLENGE

A former trustee hopes to inspire alums and friends — and leverage a $1 million gift into even more support for student scholarships and financial aid.

Backed by a generous bequest of $1 million from James F. Anderton IV ’65, the Anderton Impact Challenge for Scholarship and Financial Aid calls on the HWS community to commit to the Colleges’ future. To reach the $3 million overall goal, alums and friends 60 years and older who join the Wheeler Society with a planned gift of $100,000 or more will receive a 50 percent match through the Anderton Impact Challenge.

For more information, please visit hws.edu/anderton-challenge or contact Angela Tallo ’05 at (315) 781-3545 or tallo@hws.edu.

CERTIFIED GOLD

The Council for the Advancement and Support of Education recognized the Colleges’ marketing efforts, led by Vice President of Marketing and Communications Catherine Williams, with three national Circle of Excellence Awards. The new HWS website and the student recruitment viewbook were each awarded silver, while the branding redesign won gold. The Colleges’ branding and communications work also earned regional CASE praise with seven “Best of District II” honors.

“As a Board member and an alum, I’m so pleased with the storytelling mastery of the new branding,” says Trustee Michael Rawlins ’80, P’16, Head of the Enterprise Content Platforms Design Team at the Walt Disney Company. Rawlins and Trustee Linda Arrington ’88, Chief Marketing Officer for the Commercial Banking sector of JPMorgan Chase, both served on the taskforce that oversaw the branding project. “A Hobart and William Smith education is not just about the diploma — it’s about the experiences and community. Our branding is compelling because it’s unique to the experiences that you get when you come to Geneva.”

Research & Development

A sampling of student success from the past year

Erika Sipos ’23 (pictured above with Associate Professor of Biology Shannon Straub) is one of six students nationwide to win a 2022 Undergraduate Student Research Award from the Botanical Society of America. The award recognizes her research on the milkweed family of plants, exploring “evolutionary relationships and genetic diversity…at a speed and capacity greater than ever before” thanks to Next Generation Sequencing technology, Sipos explains. Her research continues as part of an Honors project with Straub.

Founder of the HWS Pre-Law Club Tenzin Yonten ’23 recently participated in TRIALS, a law school prep-program from Harvard Law School, the NYU School of Law and the Advantage Testing Foundation. He is also one of only 44 students across the nation chosen for the 2022 Sidley Prelaw Scholars Program, which is intended to increase diversity in law schools and eventually the legal profession.

Junior Student Trustee Jesse Whelan-Small ’24 was named a 2022-23 Newman Civic Fellow for his service with the FLX College Leaders program, which supports and advises local high school students as they apply to colleges. The fellowship recognizes undergraduates like Whelan-Small who work to find solutions for challenges facing their communities.

The Hosts with the Most

After hosting the nation’s premier collegiate tournament this fall, HWS debaters began 2023 with one of the team’s best performances ever at the world championships in Spain.

In January, after three days of tough competition at the World Universities Debating Championship in Madrid, Sreyan Kanungo ’23 and Kayla Powers ’23 became the first HWS team to win an elimination round in the tournament’s open division and advance to the octofinals. Kanungo and Powers had the best results of any U.S. liberal arts college and placed ahead of 56 other U.S. teams, including Yale, Harvard and Cornell Universities. These results follow strong performances by the Debate Team at fall tournaments, including the United States Universities Debating Championship, which HWS hosted in November.

TOP OF THE CLASS

According to The Princeton Review’s Best 388 Colleges, faculty get “High Marks,” and HWS is a campus where “Green Matters.” The annual rankings placed the Colleges among the 25 schools with the best professors and those with the strongest environmental commitment. Meanwhile, Washington Monthly ranked HWS fourth in the nation for service and cited student commitment to voting.

▲ Representing HWS at the world’s largest debate tournament were Matt Nusom ‘23, Lamia Nur Rahman ’26, Kayla Powers ’23, Sreyan Kanungo ’23 and Trias Postdoctoral Fellow Daniel Schonning ’16, who was honored as one of the competition’s best judges.

“Breaking’ into the elimination rounds at Worlds is a major accomplishment… often the high point of a debating career… although HWS has broken at Worlds three other times, we’ve never won an elimination round. This year, we did!””

ERIC BARNES , Professor of Philosophy and HWS Debate Head Coach

▶ Assistant Professor of Media and Society Jiangtao “Harry” Gu ’13 teaches an intro course in the Gearan Center at the start of the fall semester.

[new faculty books]

Vicious Is My Middle Name

Kevin Dunn, Professor of International Relations

Fitzroy Books, 2022

Dunn’s debut novel for young adults is “an accessible yet fierce paean to punk rock and the way that seemingly small actions can resonate far beyond intention” (Michael T. Fournier, author of Swing State) and “a must-read for anyone who has ever felt like a misfit and found solace in books and music” (Jennifer Whiteford, author of Grrrl).

Yemen in the Shadow of Transition

Pursuing Justice Amid War

Stacey Philbrick Yadav, Associate Professor of International Relations

Oxford University Press, 2022

Drawing on 17 years of field research and collaborations with Yemeni researchers, Philbrick Yadav’s book explores the peace-building efforts of Yemen’s civil actors against a backdrop of stagnant political and humanitarian crises. Reviewers call it an “ambitious, original and reflective” analysis “from one of the world’s leading experts.”

Organize, Fight, Win Black Communist Women’s Political Writing

Jodi Dean, Professor of Political Science, and Charisse Burden-Stelly (eds.)

Verso, 2022

A first-of-its-kind collection, Organize, Fight, Win assembles “a genealogy for the strains of Black feminism that emerged as part of the radicalization of the 1960s” (New York Review of Books), gathering three decades worth of Black Communist women’s political writings.

“a must-read for anyone who has ever felt like a misfit and found solace in books and music”

Jennifer Whiteford, on Vicious Is My Middle Name by Kevin Dunn. Illustrations by Amanda Kirk.

Taylor Leads Team USA

Hobart Hockey Head Coach Mark Taylor was chosen to lead Team USA at the 2023 World University Games in Lake Placid, N.Y. in January. The national team includes Hobart players Luke Aquaro ’25 and Cooper Swift ’25. The games are the largest multi-sport winter event in the world, after the Winter Olympics. Taylor, the most successful coach in Hobart Hockey history, got the Statesmen off to their best start ever in the 2022-23 season, with an undefeated record and number one ranking when this issue went to press.

HALL OF HONOR

Eight William Smith alums were recognized for their outstanding careers as student-athletes. Making up the 10th Heron Hall of Honor class, the 2022 inductees include Bianca Dupuis ’88 (field hockey), Marisa Vespa Hamlin ’08 (basketball and soccer), Liz Brown Royston ’00 (basketball), Amy Young Cutler ’03 (cross country), Seraphine Hamilton ’06 (basketball and soccer), Karen Salemo Van Arsdale ’88 (field hockey and lacrosse), Kathy Odomirok ’89 (field hockey and lacrosse) and Augusta Nadler Williams ’06 (sailing).

At the September ceremony, the Heron Society also presented special awards to three pillars of the William Smith Athletics community. Retired Athletic Director Deb Steward (right) received the Heron Award; Terri-Lee Fiedler ’94, the Hosking Award; and Dr. Tiff Jones ’99, the Joan Hinton Hurd ’65 Lifetime Athletic Achievement Award.

NEW SPORTS START

Led by Head Coach Derryk Williams, the William Smith volleyball team finished their inaugural fall semester with a 16-6 record. The team is one of six athletics programs to launch this academic year, along with baseball (Hobart), bowling (William Smith), swimming and diving (Hobart) and alpine skiing (Hobart and William Smith).

◀ Hobart Hockey Head Coach Mark Taylor in the Cooler.

▼ Ariana Angus ’25 returns a hit during the season opener against Keuka College in Bristol Gym.

▶ The 2022 Heron Hall of Honor inductees

What’s New, Dock?

The Miltenberger and Bennett-Hooper Rowing Center, which opened last fall, offers HWS rowers a state-ofthe-art facility for training and competition.

BY ANDREW WICKENDEN ’09

The Statesmen and Herons crew teams consistently rank among the best in the nation, and with a new facility on the Cayuga-Seneca Canal, Hobart and William Smith rowers now have a show-stopping boathouse and training center to match their achievements on the water.

In 2021, HWS met the $2.4 million fundraising goal for the new rowing center with leadership gifts from Merritt Bennett P’21 and Robert Bennett P’21, and HWS Trustee Paula Miltenberger P’23 and Bay Miltenberger P’23. In total, more than 400 alums, parents and friends of the Colleges contributed to the 5,000 square-foot addition and renovation project.

The Miltenberger and Bennett-Hooper Rowing Center includes a new training facility, docks and spectator area, and a major renovation of Hellstrom Boathouse, among other upgrades.

“Student-athletes spend a lot of time in these facilities, and we want it to be a place where they can see themselves training at the highest level,” says Merritt Bennett, whose son Randall Hooper ’21 began rowing for the Statesmen in the 2017-18 season.

“They’re the giant-killers in college rowing,” Bennett adds, noting the team’s top-20 ranking and consistent record of outpacing competitors from larger schools. She says the new rowing center will “facilitate even more of what the coaches are trying to do to take the program to the next level.”

Paula Miltenberger, whose son Bryce ’23 is also a member of the Hobart team, agrees that the new facility will elevate the program, as well as the institution, enabling the Colleges to “attract more students and continue to build on what’s an amazing program.”

Bay Miltenberger says the connection between athletics and academics provides “such a rich experience to prepare students for the next phase of life. The rowing program is the reason our son is at Hobart, and we’re really grateful that he’s able to be there and experience such a special school.”

“A lot of people put immense dedication and support into making the Miltenberger and Bennett-Hooper Rowing Center a reality,” says Paul Bugenhagen, head coach of the Hobart and William Smith rowing teams. “HWS Rowing is committed to investing in our student-athletes and enhancing their experience at the Colleges, and I’m particularly grateful to our rowing families, alums and the administration for their investment in us. Without them, this project wouldn’t have been possible.”

▲ Lead donors Paula and Bay Miltenberger P’23 and Merritt and Robert Bennett P’21 and their families join Athletic Director Brian Miller, Head Coach Paul Bugenhagen and President Mark D. Gearan for the ribbon-cutting at the Miltenberger Bennett-Hooper Rowing Center in September.

Compelling Storytelling

A student podcast talks to alums like Brad Falchuk ’93, L.H.D. ’14 about the inflection points in their lives and careers.

Emmy Award-winning writer, director and producer Brad Falchuk ’93, L.H.D. ’14 returned to campus in October for a wide-ranging Q&A session with students in the Bartlett Theatre. The co-creator of the groundbreaking dramas Pose and American Horror Story, as well as Glee, Scream Queens and American Crime Story, Falchuk also sat down for a conversation about storytelling, creativity and the relationship between failure and achievement for an episode of “Entrepreneurial Endeavors.”

The podcast was launched in 2021 by Matt Nusom ’23 and Seamus Galvin ’23 to pick “the brains of successful entrepreneurs who have seen it all and lived to tell the tale.” The show is hosted by Nusom, a double major in environmental studies and philosophy, who won the 2020 Todd Feldman ’89 and Family Pitch Contest, the Colleges’ flagship entrepreneurial leadership competition. Galvin, a mathematics and computer science double major and a member of the 2023 Centennial Center Leadership Cohort, produces and edits the show, which is supported by the Entrepreneurial Studies Department.

Use the QR code to listen to the interview with Falchuk, as well as conversations with other alums about their careers.

▼ Falchuk chats with Nusom and Galvin for their podcast, “Entrepreneurial Endeavors.”

Your Gift to the Annual Fund Matters

Your gift supports every aspect of the HWS experience, from academics to guaranteed internships to experiential learning.

The Annual Fund prepared Ethan Lewis ’23 for hands-on summer research.

A biochemistry major, Ethan spent the summer working with optical engineers at Cornell University AgriTech in Geneva, investigating fluorescent seed coatings for weed control in industrial farming. His work was so impressive that he was invited to continue the research this fall.

The Annual Fund supported Samari Brown ’24 in her journey as a leader.

Samari, a first-generation college student, has become a leader on campus. From her work with HWS Votes to her service as a Junior Trustee, she is a strong advocate for the causes she’s passionate about — and empowers others to use their voices, too.

The Annual Fund helped Jada Eisenbud ’23 explore the world and her future.

While studying abroad in Belgium, Jada interned with the Brussels School of Government as a human rights law researcher. A subsequent internship with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services confirmed her interest in running for public office.

You can help more students with a gift to the Annual Fund for Hobart and William Smith today. Contact Dulcie Meyer P’20 at (315) 781-3082 or dmeyer@hws.edu | www.hws.edu/give

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New Perspectives on STEM ]

Associate Professor of Biology

Mark Deutschlander and students in his ornithology class kayak along the barge canal at Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge, observing birds that depend on wetland habitats for migration and breeding.

Agreen film appears on the surface of a local lake. Squirrels in the city have different colored coats than those in the country. The internet and the human brain exhibit intriguingly similar patterns of behavior.

Scientists at Hobart and William Smith have refined curious observations such as these into piercing hypotheses, and their research reveals complex webs of causes, effects and unanswered questions that cut across disciplines. In experiments and analyses, students, faculty and staff collaborate to understand and protect the environment, explore the origins of life and the universe, sustain and enhance health, comprehend an explosion of data and grapple with the possibilities and challenges that come with it. In the following pages, we take a cross-section of the STEM research underway in the lab and the field for a clearer window on the world.

A scientific community.

Associate Professor of Geoscience David Kendrick leads a lab with introductory geology students, exploring glacial formations at Chimney Bluffs State Park on the south shore of Lake Ontario. The course, taught by Professor of Geoscience Nan Crystal Arens, focuses on the form and function of the solid Earth and complements Kendrick’s first-year seminar, “Earth vs. Humans: Fire, Flood, Environmental Collapse and Other Disasters,” which takes a historical, geologic and cultural look at the relationship between natural disasters and humanity. Together, the classes form a Learning Community, a curricular structure for first-year students that reinforces academic connections between courses and encourages strong bonds among faculty and fellow students.

▲ Deep history.

Digging deep into glacial history during the lab at Chimney Bluffs, Lydia Burnet ’25 tests a rock sample for the presence of calcite, guided by the course teaching assistant, Maddi Meyer ’24.

▶ Making connections.

Pasquale Palumbo III ’23 and Professor Deutschlander examine the tail feathers of a Great Horned Owl. An expert in animal sensory biology and migration, Deutschlander brings the lessons of his ornithology class full circle; as students read and study in the classroom, they return to the Montezuma refuge throughout the semester, not only to observe songbirds, water birds and birds of prey but to study conservation programs, such as the famous Bald Eagle Hacking program that helped to restore Bald Eagles to New York.

“[Beyond] introducing students to basic concepts in geology, the project challenges them to test assumptions, look critically at evidence, put different kinds of evidence together, and communicate findings in images and words.”

—ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF GEOSCIENCE DAVID KENDRICK

Context matters.

Professor of Biology

Kristy Kenyon analyzes frog embryos produced from an animal colony maintained in Eaton Hall. Kenyon and her students use African clawed frogs (X. laevis) to study questions of embryogenesis. Kenyon incorporates embryo experiments in biology courses as well as a bi-disciplinary class she teaches with Professor of Sociology Renee Monson. In “The Politics of Reproduction,” students conduct experiments with frog embryos generated through in vitro fertilization. These experiences create a unique learning environment for examining questions across biological, sociological and political perspectives — practicing science with “context to understand the complexity, and also the importance, of policy decisions,” Kenyon says. The goal is to inspire debate and dialogue among students with different academic backgrounds, interests and beliefs, resulting in “a much more tangible and meaningful learning experience [as they come] to understand how science impacts their daily lives in ways that they may not have experienced before.” ▼

◀ Data. Science. Insight.

Pictured here explaining key concepts during a calculus course, Associate Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science Yan Hao uses her mathematics expertise to explore important questions about everything from socio-economic networks to human health. Hao and Associate Professor of Psychological Science

Daniel Graham teamed up on a study of mammal brains and the signals

they use to communicate. Combining data science and neuropsychology, their research details routing strategies the brain employs to efficiently manage information, which are not dissimilar from some computer networks. The study — which informed Graham’s recent book, An Internet in Your Head: A New Paradigm for How the Brain Works — illustrates the vital insights that arise when age-old questions about human understanding are filtered through new technology and collaborative, interdisciplinary research. Graham writes about how the internet’s architecture illuminates the workings of our brains on his Psychology Today blog, “Your Internet Brain.”

◀ Catalyzing reactions.

Aidan Vanek ’25 and Jadon Layne ’25 work through the process to determine the rate law for a catalyzed decomposition of hydrogen peroxide reaction. As a pre-med biochemistry major, Layne says that “research is an integral part of the journey.” The tools and skills he developed in the lab were crucial to his subsequent summer research at the Yale School of Medicine, but equally important was the mindset. He was “fully immersed in finding the answer to the specific question that we were asking” and “woke up every day thinking about how we could advance or look at our approach from a different perspective. I have been able to apply the foundational skills from lab…to the research I am doing with Professor Justin Miller.”

“…[I] woke up every day thinking about how we could advance or look at our approach from a different perspective.”

—JADO N LAYNE ’25 , who recently completed summer research at the Yale School of Medicine

In the elements.

Professors Neil Laird and Nick Metz and students stop for a selfie during a summer geoscience field course focused on forecasting and observing severe storms. With student researchers, Laird and Metz study severe weather across the country, from tornados in the Great Plains to the winds on Mt. Washington to lake-effect snow in Western New York (an ongoing project funded by the National Science Foundation). Metz, now associate provost, says that faculty research grants fuel teaching and amplify the ways that “the engagement of our faculty can support our students” throughout the academic year and during the summer, both in the classroom and in the field.

Across the universe.

Associate Professor of Physics Leslie Hebb captures the face of the crescent moon with the telescope in the Richard S. Perkin Observatory near the Houghton House arts campus. Hebb was recently awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation to study magnetic activity on low mass stars using data from NASA’s Kepler satellite. With colleagues and student collaborators, she is searching for planets around bright stars using an optical device called an Engineered Diffuser, which minimizes “sources of uncertainty in the light output of the star, especially the effect known as scintillation” — what most people think of as twinkling. As recently published research indicates, Hebb’s observations and analysis have helped confirm the existence of several extrasolar planets.

Mentorship.

Collaboration.

Meaning.

Professor of Chemistry Justin Miller meets with Jonah Silverman ’23, Haley Sax ’23, Madison Stewart ’23 and Rielly Harrison ’23. As part of Miller’s research group, they are searching for pathways toward new anticancer drugs and synthesizing candidate compounds to test in cell biology courses taught by Professor of Biology Sigrid Carle ’84. Miller, who is also the faculty advisor to the Health Professions program, notes that the most meaningful science education is holistic, combining classroom learning, advising and research with a clear sense of how it all fits together. “An educator needs to connect with students, to understand them as people and to appreciate their thought processes,” Miller says. Given the different ways students learn and the range of reasons they enroll in a given course, “the challenge facing a professor is to make the subject relevant, interesting, and approachable for every student, so that each is able to answer the question, ‘What have I learned, and why is it worthwhile?’” ▶

▲ Space and place. Students delve into data aboard the William Scandling. Under the direction of Associate Professor of Environmental Studies

Kristen Brubaker and Finger Lakes Institute Lab Manager Trevor Massey, they explore Seneca Lake and its ecosystems, using limnological tools and equipment to compare the physical, chemical and biological properties of the lake at different depths and locations.

“…the challenge facing a professor is to make the subject relevant, interesting, and approachable for every student, so that each is able to answer the question, ‘What have I learned, and why is it worthwhile?’”

—PROFESSOR OF CHEMISTRY JUSTIN MILLER

Tools of the trade. Among other equipment, trapping and tracking squirrels for the project required binoculars (1); radiocollars (2), which broadcast a unique radio signal specific to each squirrel; ear tags, which are marked with numbers unique to each squirrel and attached with pliers (3); and sample tubes (4) to store ear tissue for genomic analyses. ▼

Tracking environmental change.

Guided by Associate Professor of Biology Brad Cosentino, Mark Suchewski ’22 releases a melanic eastern gray squirrel while Regina Hashim ’24 records data associated with the release location.

With student researchers, Cosentino and colleagues from Yale University and the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry have been studying eastern gray squirrels and the ways cities shape their evolution. Supported by a National Science Foundation grant, the project relies on the data they collect from individual squirrels, as well as data submitted by K-12 students and thousands of citizen scientists from cities across the region. Like Cosentino’s other work, the research explores how environmental change affects the ecology and evolution of wildlife populations — a key area of study amid rapid urbanization and a changing climate.

Eastern gray squirrels, as the project abstract notes, “provide an ideal model system for exploring the different ways urbanization affects evolution.” Gray squirrels are generally gray or black (melanic); the latter, once common in forested areas, are now most prevalent in cities. To understand why, the project looks at how coat color affects squirrels’ antipredator behavior or susceptibility to vehicular collisions in cities.

Led by Cosentino’s former postdoctoral associate John Vanek, Suchewski and Hashim trapped squirrels of each color morph in city parks in Syracuse and collared each with a radiotransmitter to test whether the fitness of gray and melanic color morphs differs in urban and rural environments. The results so far suggest that natural selection is behind the prevalence of the gray morph outside the city, but Cosentino notes that the research team is “following up with additional studies to understand the mechanisms of adaptation, which focus on predation and human hunting. We think this is a neat example of a selection pressure, specifically predation and human hunting, becoming relaxed in cities, which allows the melanic color morph to thrive. Cities often have negative effects on biodiversity, but our work shows cities can maintain rare phenotypic traits in populations that might otherwise be lost.”

PHOTOS BY KEVIN COLTON

Benchwork.

Genesis Rosario ’24 studies glutamate dehydrogenase, an enzyme that lies at the branch point of protein and sugar metabolism in the human body. Rosario is part of Associate Professor of Chemistry Kristin Slade’s research group, which uses chemical, analytical and biological techniques to learn about the implications of cellular “crowding” on aging and disease.

Model methods.

Using a stream table, Associate Professor of Geoscience Tara Curtin and students in her introductory hydrogeology course examine the features of aquatic landscapes and the processes that shape them. The interactive model offers a scaled-down, sped-up representation of natural processes, so that within a single lab period students can see how a stream or coastline would evolve over hundreds of thousands of years. Curtin studies global climate change and uses layered lake deposits to infer seasonal climate conditions in Western New York over the past 14,000 years. She also uses Finger Lake sediments to infer changes in environmental conditions in the lakes and their watersheds over the past 250 years.

▶

A living lab.

At Castle Creek in Geneva, Sam Peeler ’26, Mason Fairfield ’26, Trevor Beatley ’26 and RJ Roseboro ’26 collect and categorize macroinvertebrates like mayflies and riffle beetles. The creek and other living laboratories are equally important for teaching and research. Director of Introductory Biology Laboratories Susan Flanders Cushman ’98, an aquatic biologist who studies stream and fish ecology with the Finger Lakes Institute, uses local ecosystems to engage her lab students in scientific practices — taking samples, analyzing data, writing up methodology and results — while establishing a concrete awareness of the region's habitats and the various factors shaping them.

Crossover solutions.

“The interface between social sciences and STEM is oftentimes overlooked, but I think that to understand the importance of our work, it’s really important to be socially aware,” says Dimosthenis Chrysochoou ’22. Using off-the-shelf drones, the physics major developed a summer research project to detect harmful algae blooms in the Finger Lakes. Julia Bellamy ’22 took his research one step further with her Honors project, which investigated and developed algorithms to quantify a concentration of algae in the photographs initiated through her work in ENV 281: Remote Sensing. Because the blooms impact health and local economies, Chrysochoou and Bellamy wanted to create an affordable method for the community and policymakers to gather data. Their work is part of an ongoing aerial imaging project to track and predict blooms, led by Associate Professor of Physics Ileana Dumitriu, Professor of Environmental Studies John Halfman and Director of the Finger Lakes Institute Lisa Cleckner. Chrysochoou and Bellamy were also part of recent HWS teams to participate in RockSat-C, the only NASA program that gives undergraduates access to space. Pictured here, Chrysochoou makes calculations for the rocket’s launch; Bellamy tweaks the sensor package before the launch. Chyrsochoou is now studying at Columbia University’s School of Engineering and Applied Science, and Bellamy is at Dartmouth College, both through the joint-degree engineering programs with HWS.

Lab results.

In Professor of Biology Patricia Mowery’s lab, Maegan Manning ’22 tested molecule inhibitors with the potential to treat cancer. The inhibitors are synthesized in Professor of Chemistry Erin Pelkey’s lab and could help reveal the “structure of compounds that are most potent against lymphoma cells,” explains Manning, who recently began a two-year biomedical research position at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center. As a Postbaccalaureate Intramural Research Training Award recipient, she works side-by-side with some of the world’s leading scientists. She is based in a translational research lab, focusing on patients infected with HIV and the immunological differences in the way distinct patient groups suppress the virus. She explains that “translational research bridges the gap” between basic research and clinical research. “The hope is that our data can then be used in one form or another to improve the health outcomes of our patients.”

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

Associate Professor of Physics

Ted Allen is pursuing theoretical physics research related to quantum chromodynamic string theory and the quantization of constrained systems.

Assistant Professor of Psychological Science

Stephanie Anglin is studying how beliefs and motives influence scientific reasoning, judgment, and communication.

Professor of Geoscience

Nan Crystal Arens studies the evolutionary interaction between plant and environment; she also explores extinction mechanisms and patterns of origination in Deep Time, plant autecology and eco-morphology, and microplastics in the Seneca Lake watershed. And she maintains a keen interest in communicating science to the public.

Associate Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science

Jocelyn Bell studies general and settheoretic topology, graph theory and labeling, and digital humanities.

Associate Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science Jennifer Biermann specializes in commutative algebra and combinatorics.

Professor of Psychological Science

Jamie Bodenlos is an expert on mindfulness, stress and health.

Professor of Chemistry

Walter Bowyer’s current research explores prehistoric art from a scientific perspective, as well as the effect of volcanic eruptions on the chemistry of tree rings.

Associate Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science Stina Bridgeman studies information visualization, computational geometry, internet computing, computer science education and humancomputer interaction.

Professor of Biology

Meghan Brown’s research focuses on understanding how organisms establish within freshwater ecosystems and the interactions among species in these communities.

Professor of Chemistry

Christine de Denus is synthesizing and characterizing inorganic molecular wire candidates, which may someday replace the silicon chip technology currently found in computers.

Professor of Biology

David Droney studies behavioral ecology and the mechanisms of natural and sexual selection, focusing on corn borer moths.

Assistant Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science Chris Fietkiewicz studies neural simulation and high-performance computing.

Associate Professor of Geoscience Dave Finkelstein’s work spans limnogeology, biogeochemistry and aqueous geochemistry to illuminate biodiversity, vegetation and climate information from modern and ancient environments.

Associate Professor of Psychological Science

Emily Fisher’s research examines stereotyping and prejudice, social capital and community engagement, political psychology, motivated social cognition and science education.

Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science

Jonathan Forde works on mathematical biology and the applications of differential equations in medicine and epidemiology.

Assistant Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science Hanqing Hu specializes in data mining and computer networks and distribution processes.

Associate Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science Erika L.C. King studies graph theory,

focusing on independence, domination and zeroforcing in graphs, as well as graph labeling.

Professor of Psychological Science Julie Kingery’s work explores mindfulness, cognitive behavioral treatments, peer relationships, and teaching and learning.

Associate Professor of Environmental Studies

Beth Kinne is an expert on resource management, particularly water rights and governance.

Professor of Environmental Studies Darrin Magee’s research is situated at the intersection of geography, waste, energy and water.

Associate Professor of Environmental Studies

Whitney Mauer's work explores socio-ecological resilience and ecological restoration with special attention to Indigenous concepts of sovereignty, power and justice.

Associate Professor of Physics Steve Penn’s research explores gravitational wave astrophysics and was instrumental to the Nobel Prize-winning discovery of gravitational waves.

Associate Professor of Psychological Science

Michelle Rizzella investigates cognitive processes that contribute

to reading comprehension; her research lab focuses on memory retrieval and validation of text, the role of misinformation and reading skill.

Associate Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science Joe Rusinko studies algebraic geometry, statistics and mathematical phylogenomics, which tries to develop a picture of the past using the data of the present.

Professor of Biology Jim Ryan is using optogenetics and a 3D printed custom microscope to image living neural circuits.

Professor of Physics Don Spector studies particle theory, quantum physics, information theory, and the mathematical structure of the universe.

Associate Professor of Biology Shannon Straub specializes in plant systematics, phylogenomics, genome structure and evolution, focusing on the evolutionary relationships at different scales in the milkweed and dogbane family.

MORE FACULTY SCHOLARSHIP AT A GLANCE

Honoring 200 Years of Service

A new book, authored by alums and released during Bicentennial Weekend, documents the stories of HWS servicemembers.

The contributions and sacrifices of Hobart and William Smith veterans are memorialized on campus — from a plaque on Coxe Hall to a memorial bench near the flagpole on the Quad. Adding historical context and firsthand details to these markers, Hobart and William Smith Colleges’ Legacy of Military Service narrates the institution’s military connections, with reflections from 117 active and retired servicemembers.

Authored by Col. C.R. Anderegg ’67 and Lt. Col. John Norvell ’66, P’99, P’02, with a foreword by Lt. Gen. Jack Woodward ’68 and an afterword by Col. Katherine Platoni ’74, the book captures the Colleges’ longstanding connection to the U.S. Armed Forces, dating to Hobart’s founding in 1822 (early trustees were veterans of the American Revolution and the War of 1812; students served soon after). Continuing through the Civil War, World War I and II, Vietnam and beyond, the book captures the ways a Hobart and William Smith education has resonated with and enriched alums’ military service, and vice versa. It reveals, as Platoni writes in the afterword, “unmistakable underpinnings” of public service at HWS — an ethos that leads “students to rise to challenges and causes far beyond measure, [with] devotion to enterprises that have and will continue to impact the world in rather enormous ways.”

Read the book online at hws.edu/hobart-bicentennial/veterans-book.aspx

▲ Veterans, authors and dedicated alums, Platoni, Woodward, Anderegg and Norvell pose with their book at the signing event during Bicentennial Weekend.

◀ Members of Hobart College’s Navy V-12 Unit, ca. 1943-44.

A Walk Across the Bridge

BY ANDREW WICKENDEN ’09

There are three international bridges in Brownsville, Texas. Since 2019, Andrea Morris Rudnik ’82 and a small group of colleagues from the local school district have been back and forth countless times, offering aid to asylum seekers who have nowhere else to turn.

Team Brownsville is a small but mighty all-volunteer nonprofit, founded and managed by Rudnik and other current and former Brownsville special education teachers. In the wake of the 2018 U.S. family separation policy, they began asking friends “to buy cases of water” and other “things we could easily carry across the bridge,” Rudnik says. “Yoga mats to go under people so they wouldn’t have to sit on the hot concrete. Tarps to tie to the fence for a little bit of shade.”

By the height of the pandemic, Team Brownsville was managing infrastructure and resources for a camp of more than 1,000, just over the border in Matamoros, Mexico. Their work — which was recognized with the AntiDefamation League’s Kay Family Award in 2020 — has morphed and evolved, adapting to influxes of asylum seekers, the pandemic, political shifts, mercurial U.S. immigration policy and intermittent funding. As Rudnik says, “The picture has changed, but it’s still people in need.”

Professor of English Melanie ConroyGoldman joined the volunteers at Team Brownsville in August while researching her next novel, in which migration is an “important condition of the world I’m writing about.” She arrived in Brownsville, toured the area with Rudnik and began orienting recently arrived migrants to prepare them for the next steps of the asylum process.

“It took a while to understand the scope of what they’ve done and how incredible it is,” Conroy-Goldman says of Team Brownsville’s work. “They’ve obviously had volunteers, but there was no U.S. government help, no U.N. presence, no Mexican government help except in policing. The core group is these teachers who felt moved by misery they saw just a walk across the bridge.”

Conroy-Goldman’s novel is set in a near future but in many ways mirrors

current real-world challenges. “The dystopian future is already here, it’s just that some people are insulated from it,” she says. “Migrants in particular live the dystopian future — it’s their present.”

Rudnik notes that issues fueling migration aren’t going away any time soon. Political repression, violence, climate change and other challenges persist in the countries that migrants are leaving for the U.S. Only a fraction of a percentage of asylum claims are granted,

A grassroots organization led by Andrea Morris Rudnik ’82 is on the front lines of the humanitarian crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border. Professor of English Melanie Conroy-Goldman traveled south last summer to lend a hand.

BRIEFS

ON THE LIST

▼

Since 2019, Rudnik (center left, glasses) and the volunteers at Team Brownsville have helped asylum seekers fleeing violence and political repression in their home countries.

Two companies helmed by HWS alums appeared on Oprah Winfrey’s 2022 Favorite Things list. Showcasing small businesses, the list featured the Sweet Potato Cake from Caroline’s Cakes, where Richard Reutter ’04 serves as president, and the Classic Lip Gloss Collection from 2.4.1 Cosmetics, the company cofounded by Feven Yohannes ’04.

LUCKIEST GIRL ALIVE PREMIERES

The Netflix adaptation of the 2015 novel by Jessica Knoll ’06 was released this fall. Knoll is both the screenwriter and an executive producer for Luckiest Girl Alive, a mystery thriller starring Mila Kunis as magazine editor Ani Fanelli. Knoll (left) is pictured here at the premiere with the film’s stars, Chiara Aurelia (who plays a young Ani), Kunis and Finn Wittrock.

and despite some recent changes in policy, “there really is no good asylum system in place,” Rudnik says. Meanwhile migrants continue to arrive, though if “the work never stops” for Rudnik, it does pay off. “To see people we had worked with for a year, now crossing into the United States — to be able to greet them, to give them a hug, it’s incredible.”

KRAUS INDUCTED INTO HALL OF FAME

The Intercollegiate Men’s Lacrosse Coaches Association inducted legendary Hobart Coach Francis L. “Babe” Kraus 1924 into its Hall of Fame in December. Kraus led the Statesmen for 37 seasons between 1927 and 1966, compiling a 208–119–5 record, including the team’s first undefeated season in 1938. His grandson, Jim Kraus ’74, accepted the plaque at the induction ceremony in Florida, joined by family and members of the HWS community.

PHOTO COURTESY OF IMAGE PRESS AGENCY / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

Marr ’89 Wins Pulitzer

The 2022 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Reporting was awarded to the staff of The Miami Herald, including reporter Madeleine Marr ’89, for the paper’s coverage of the condo complex collapse in Surfside, Fla., in the summer of 2021. Marr has been with the Herald since 2003, covering travel, fashion and food features, as well as the aftermath of the Champlain Towers collapse. The Pulitzer citation commended the Herald for “its urgent yet sweeping coverage of the collapse…merging clear and compassionate writing with comprehensive news and accountability reporting.”

CENTER STAGE

Performing as Lynda Starr, singer-songwriter Youdlyn Moreau ’13 was one of the three winners of the Apollo Theater’s Amateur Night in May 2022 — just a few short weeks before dazzling judges at the 2022 Essence Festival of Culture in New Orleans, where she won the New & Next Artist Competition. It was “an absolute dream come true” for the R&B musician, but it’s also “just the beginning.” As the 2022 winner, Moreau will be back at the 2023 Essence Festival, performing at the Superlounge at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.

“… urgent yet sweeping coverage of the collapse… merging clear and compassionate writing with comprehensive news and accountability reporting.”

PHOTO BY JOHNY JONES

BOOKSHELF

New titles from alum authors

Dress Coded and The First Rule of Climate Club

Carrie Firestone ’92

Penguin Random House, 2022

A companion pair of middlegrade novels about girls standing up against unfair school rules and creating change in their communities.

Bad to Me

George Drosdowich ’72

Nine Mile Books, 2022

A coming-of-age novel that draws on Drosdowich’s experiences, set at HWS “amid the heady swirl of American life in the late ’60s and early ’70s” with “one foot in the Beat Generation and another in Hippie culture.”

Evangelical News: Politics, Gender, and Bioethics in Conservative Christian Magazines of the 1970s and 1980s

Anja-Maria Bassimir ’07

University of Alabama Press, 2022

A comprehensive study of evangelical magazine discourse during the 1970s and 1980s and how it navigated and sustained religious convictions in a time of dramatic social change.

12 Winning Strategies for Building a Talent Development Firm: An Action Planning Guide

Dr. Stephen Cohen ’67

SLC Press, 2022

Strategies and insights from an expert consultant in the talent development field highlighting ways businesses in this field can start, build and grow effectively.

Off the Wallabies & other Creature Habits

John Secor ’77, P’10 and James Secor ’10 Peppertree Press, 2022

Whimsical pairings of words and images across six continents of the animal kingdom, set in colorful landscapes with daring rhymes, from poet John and artist James.

Behind Their Screens: What Teens Are Facing (and Adults Are Missing)

Carrie James ’92 and Emily Weinstein

The MIT Press, 2022

A teen-level view of the ins and outs of growing up digital, with advice for parents about how to support your teens.

I Made House Calls

Robert “Mal” Davis ’62, GP’18, GP’23 Independently published, 2022 The lessons, experiences and investment philosophy that guided Davis during his 56-year career as a wealth manager.

Monad+Monadnock

Karen Donovan ’78

Wet Cement Press, 2022

A collection of “clever, razorsharp” poems that “foreground a contemporary strain of absurdity so ubiquitous that it often goes unnoticed,” the publisher notes.

Yours Affectionately, Osgood: Colonel Osgood

Vose Tracy’s Letters

Home from the Civil War, 1862-1865

Edited by Sarah Burrows

Winch ’90, P’25 (under the name Sarah Tracy Burrows) and Ryan W. Keating

Kent State University Press, 2022

A collection of letters written by Union Army Col. Osgood Vose Tracy (ancestor of editor Sarah Burrows Winch ’90, P’25) offering readers

“a broadened understanding and appreciation for the service and sacrifices of Civil War soldiers,” according to James M. McPherson, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Battle Cry of Freedom

For more new alum books, visit hws.edu/alum/alumpublications.aspx.

Youdlyn Moreau ’13 during her award-winning performance at the 2022 Essence Festival.

Wordplay

Writer and strategist Garry “Trey” Mendez III ’96, who recently published his first crossword in the New York Times, considers language, geography and creative reciprocity between writer and reader.

Garry “Trey” Mendez III ’96 believes everyone has a story; he helps people, brands and causes craft theirs. He has worked as a content marketer for a wide range of brands — from custom menswear to international actuarial services — and written about everything from efforts to rehabilitate the men of New York’s maximumsecurity prisons to preserving the music of ancient Polynesian cultures.

Mendez graduated from HWS intending to go to film school, but after an internship with an online magazine, he started working as staff writer and art director. He earned a master’s in publications design from the University of Baltimore and has since led creative communications efforts for nonprofits such as the Jackie Robinson Foundation and Museum, One Economy Corporation and Enterprise Community Partners. Currently based in Croatia, Mendez serves as Head of Content for both TDA, which provides digital marketing solutions, and SkyHawk Global Consulting, a boutique firm offering public sector marketing and sales strategies.

In August, Mendez published his first crossword puzzle with the New York Times through the paper’s inaugural Diverse Crossword Constructor Fellowships. He was one of only five puzzle creators selected for the three-month program, which pairs fellows with the Times’ puzzle editors “to create grids that reflect a range of cultural reference points.”

“As an American who lives in the small country of Croatia, I spend an inordinate amount of time describing the vast distances and differences between places in my home country,” Mendez told the Times. “I guess it makes sense that I’m making my debut with this puzzle inspired by American geography.”

“…crossword puzzles help me scratch that itch to both play a game and play with words.…

When I write anything, I’m trying to engage the mind and sync up with the reader. I love the thought of truly affecting someone I’ve never met with my writing: It’s like an immortality device. The relationship between the constructor and the solver may be the purest expression of the idea of building a bond between writer and reader that ever existed. That’s what drives me to construct.”

PHOTO BY GLORIA BANKOČEVIĆ 80 / THE PULTENEY STREET SURVEY

For a few hints, more reflections from Mendez and a link to the answer key, use the QR code.

JETT WRIGHT ’23

Druid, Admissions Head O’Laughlin Ambassador and summer intern with the Kalamazoo Growlers

Student-athlete (tennis)

Work-study with HWS Office of Athletics Communications

Major: Media & Society, Entrepreneurial Studies

Hometown: Austin, Texas

PARALLELS

What’s the most important thing you learned from your first job? JW: The effect you can have by simply bringing a positive attitude daily. LK: Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty.

Most important lesson from playing sports? JW: The way you carry yourself on and off the court has a ripple effect throughout the entire team. LK: The value of teammates and teamwork.

What brought you to HWS? JW: The community and potential to be mentored. LK: Basketball and the people I met while visiting.

What’s the most eye-opening course you took at HWS? JW: Labor, Race and Gender in the Making of America

LK: Prisons in America

What’s your favorite sports team?

JW: Anything Texas Longhorns

LK: Boston Celtics

Favorite Saga dessert? JW: Boston cream pie LK: Chocolate pudding

If you could be a professional athlete, what sport would you play? JW: Soccer

LK: Basketball

What advice would you give young student-athletes? JW: Enjoy the little things (post-practice meals, card games on the bus) — that’s what you will remember most. LK: Cherish every moment.

What’s the most exciting thing you’ve done since 2020? JW: Attended Game 5 of the 2022 World Series.

LK: Sat greenside on 18th hole on Sunday at the Masters.

What are you most grateful for?

JW: The support and love of my friends and family. LK: My family.

What’s the most important sports moment of the past 20 years?

JW: The Chicago Cubs breaking the curse to win the 2016 World Series.

LK: The 2004 ALCS.

What’s something you will never do again? JW: Let my sister convince me that she is a qualified barber.

LK: Help produce a surprise U2 concert in Times Square.

What book would you bring to a desert island? JW: Open by Andre Agassi LK: Moby-Dick by Herman Melville

LOU KOVACS ’94

President at Octagon, the world’s leading sports and entertainment marketing and talent firm

Student-athlete (basketball)

Internship with the HWS Office of Sports Information

Major: English Hometown: Yarmouth, Mass.

THE PULTENEY STREET SURVEY 300 Pulteney St., Geneva, NY 14456

Working hard, playing hard and savoring the small things across the generations