PSS Winter 2012 by Hobart and William Smith Colleges

WINTER 2012

The Big Idea HWS community members whose ideas are lighting up the world

Christopher McDonald â&#x20AC;&#x2122;77 Supports Performing Arts Center Wendi Bacon â&#x20AC;&#x2122;12 Wins Marshall Scholarship Reunion 2012: Celebrating Campaign for the Colleges

Pulteney Street Survey | Winter 2012 Catherine Williams EDITOR Peggy Kowalik ART DIRECTOR/DESIGNER Melissa Sue Sorrells Galley ’05 ASSISTANT EDITOR Lucia Berliner ’12, Sarah Burton ’11, Ken DeBolt, Anna Dorman ’14 , Horace Havemeyer III ’64, Helen Hunsinger ’12, Mary K. LeClair, Belinda Littlefield ’11, Whitman Littlefield ’11, Cynthia L. McVey, Dominic Moore ’05, Jeanne Nagle, Alden Ruml ’13, Melissa Sue Sorrells Galley ’05, Sarah Tompkins ’10, Samantha Tripoli ’11, Catherine Williams CONTRIBUTING WRITERS/EDITORS Kevin Colton CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER Daniel Aubry, Andrew Markham ’10, Isaac Oboka, Gregory Searles CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Rebecca Frank, Caley Goldblatt ’12, Mary K. LeClair, Belinda Littlefield ’11, Betty Merkle, Kathy Killius Regan ’82, P’13, Jared Weeden ’91 CLASSNOTES EDITORS Mark D. Gearan PRESIDENT David H. Deming ’75 CHAIR OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES Katherine D. Elliott ’66, L.H.D. ’08 VICE CHAIR OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES Catherine Williams VICE PRESIDENT FOR COMMUNICATIONS Kathy Killius Regan ’82, P’13 DIRECTOR OF ALUMNAE RELATIONS Jared Weeden ’91 DIRECTOR OF ALUMNI RELATIONS William Smith Alumnae Association Officers: Susan Flanders Cushman ’98, President; Chris BennettWest ’94, Vice President; Kate MacKinnon ’77, Past President; Lynne Friedlander Jenco ’80, Historian Hobart Alumni Association Officers: Edward R. Cooper ’86, President; James B. Robinson ’96, Vice President; Garry A. Mendez III ’96, Historian; Robert H. Gilman ’70, Immediate Past President VOLUME XXXIX, NUMBER ONE THE PULTENEY STREET SURVEY is published by the Office of Communications, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, 639 S. Main Street, Geneva, New York 14456-3397, (315) 7813700. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Pulteney Street Survey, c/o Alumni House Records, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Geneva, New York 14456-3397. Opinions expressed in The Pulteney Street Survey are those of the individuals expressing them, not of Hobart and William Smith Colleges or any other individual or group. Hobart and William Smith Colleges value diversity and actively seek applications from underrepresented groups and do not discriminate on the grounds of race, color, religion, sex, marital status, national origin, age, disability, veteran's status, or sexual orientation.

Lakeviews

Overheard

Parliamentar y, My Dear Geneva

Passion for Perfor ming

The Big Idea

Athletics

Classnotes

Alumni and Alumnae News

Reunion 2012

Bookshelf

Worlds of Experience. Lives of Consequence.

Contents

PHOTO BY KEVIN COLTON

DEAN OF HOBART COLLEGE EUGEN BAER P’95, P’97, HON ’07 RACES SOEREN WACKER ’14 OF HATTSTEDT, GERMANY, DOWN WILLIAM SMITH HILL DURING FALL NATIONALS, A DECADESLONG TRADITION AT HWS.

COVER: PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY KEVIN COLTON

HOBART AND WILLIAM SMITH COLLEGES

Lakeviews

Dear Friends,

n campus this year, we have been engaged in a broad conversation about the power of an idea to create meaningful change across disciplines and sectors. From social entrepreneurs to business entrepreneurs, we have considered how ideas – and frequently simple ones – have advanced causes, businesses and large-scale movements. For the past decade, the Colleges have been privileged to host some of the most remarkable men and women of our generation who have visited our campus to speak at The President’s Forum and the Fisher Center, to impart career guidance through the Salisbury Center for Career Services, to offer advice at Convocation and Commencement, and to share their reflections as recipients of the Elizabeth Blackwell Award. Many of these remarkable men and women have been Hobart and William Smith alums and parents. This fall, just as we were preparing to honor Eunice Kennedy Shriver with the 38th Elizabeth Blackwell Award, we learned that a member of our community, Dr. Wangari Maathai P’94, P’96, Sc.D. ’94, the 36th recipient of the Blackwell, had While on campus in 2008 to accept the Elizabeth Blackwell Award, Dr. Wangari died. Maathai, who was the first woman from Africa and the Maathai, the founder of the Green Belt Movement and the 2004 Recipient of the Nobel first environmentalist to win the Nobel Peace Prize, was the Peace Prize, planted an Asian flowering Kousa Dogwood tree near the Quad. Pictured founder of the Green Belt Movement, an organization devoted above are Frank Pullano, Courtney Good ’08, the former Dean of William Smith College Debra DeMeis, President Mark D. Gearan and Maathai. to conserving the environment and improving the quality of life for African women through leadership and entrepreneurial skills. Recognized by the international community as a passionate advocate for civil liberties and sustainability, she was known to the HWS community for her dedication to the Colleges and her pride in the accomplishments of her three children, including Wanjiri Mathai ’94 and Muta Mathai ’96 who graduated from HWS. Maathai had a simple yet compelling idea – that by planting trees, she could improve the lives of rural women and help the environment. That simple idea turned into a human rights and environmental revolution, one that has profoundly affected the lives of millions of people. Maathai will be greatly missed by her family, friends and many admirers around the globe, but her idea will endure. The Colleges themselves were founded as a result of an enduring idea – that higher education has the capacity to transform the lives of young men and women and that they in turn can transform their own communities and the world. This idea has required the care and nurturing of generations of people who, through volunteerism and philanthropy, have propelled Hobart and William Smith into the future securely. Each day, I observe an energy and optimism in the efforts of HWS community members who are united by the idea that in advancing the Colleges and creating opportunities for students, they are changing lives. The results have been extraordinary – greater access for talented and deserving students, a 21st century campus that marries nearly 200 years of history with modern facilities, and the support of research, creative pursuits, academic dreams and career trajectories of thousands of students. As we celebrate the many accomplishments of our students, faculty and graduates in this publication, I ask you to consider how you can remain engaged in the life of the Colleges. Consider mentoring a current student as part of our Career Network or assisting with new student recruitment as part of the Admissions Volunteer Network. Volunteer to organize events in your area. Make HWS a philanthropic priority with annual support and through Campaign for the Colleges. Stay in touch with Hobart and William Smith through Facebook, Twitter and our website. And of course, consider returning to Geneva to visit your alma mater. Sincerely,

Mark D. Gearan President

2 Pulteney Street Survey | Winter 2012

PHOTO BY KEVIN COLTON

Chair of the Board of Trustees David H. Deming ’75 (left) and Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees Katherine D. Elliott ’66, L.H.D. ’08 (center) present the Elizabeth Blackwell Award to Timothy P. Shriver, the chair and CEO of Special Olympics, who accepted the award on behalf of his mother, Eunice Kennedy Shriver.

Eunice Kennedy Shriver Honored with Elizabeth Blackwell Award

n recognition of her work to improve the lives of people with intellectual disabilities, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the founder of Special Olympics, was posthumously honored as the 38th recipient of the Elizabeth Blackwell Award during a special ceremony in October. Timothy P. Shriver, chair and CEO of Special Olympics, accepted the award on his mother’s behalf and offered a stirring talk to a crowd of HWS community members and local Special Olympics athletes in the Vandervort Room of the Scandling Campus Center. “A woman of enormous conviction and unyielding determination, Eunice Kennedy Shriver worked tirelessly for more than five decades on behalf of those with intellectual disabilities,” said President Mark D. Gearan. “By expanding the lives of millions of people and by believing that all people have the right to live with joy and hope, Eunice Kennedy Shriver created a culture of inclusion and dignity that has changed the world.” In the 1960s, Eunice Kennedy Shriver started a summer camp in her backyard that eventually evolved into the Special Olympics – a global movement that today serves three million people in nearly 200 nations around the world.

EUNICE KENNEDY SHRIVER

more ➝

HOBART AND WILLIAM SMITH COLLEGES

“I am enormously humbled and proud to receive this award on behalf of my mother,” said Timothy Shriver, who has continued his mother’s legacy through his leadership of the Special Olympics. “The idea all came from a simple insight. My mom was just furious – she saw something that was wrong and she was furious about it… It was just a combination of a belief in human dignity, a fury about injustice and a willingness to ask young people to help.” During the course of his speech, Shriver noted that despite all of the efforts and changes that his mother and the Special Olympics have achieved, their work is far from over. “If she were here today, I think she’d be saying, don’t take the treatment that people with intellectual disabilities are getting today as the norm.” Eunice Kennedy Shriver’s advocacy for the rights of individuals with intellectual disabilities began in 1957 when she took over the Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Foundation, which helped achieve many significant advances, including the establishment by President John F. Kennedy of The President’s Committee on Mental Retardation in 1961, the development of the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development in 1962, and the establishment of Special Olympics in 1968. In addition to the Elizabeth Blackwell Award, Eunice Kennedy Shriver has received many honors including The Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Mary Lasker Award and inclusion in The National Women’s Hall of Fame. ●

The Blackwell Award is given to women whose lives reflect the ideals and achievements of Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell-among them the determination to break through stereotypes that limit women’s talents and aspirations and the dedication of those talents to the betterment of humanity. Blackwell is the first woman in America to receive the Doctor of Medicine degree. She earned her degree in 1849 from Geneva Medical College, later Hobart College. Shriver joins such notable women as former Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright, former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, professional tennis legend Billie Jean King, and anthropologist and author Margaret Mead.

In conjunction with the presentation of the Elizabeth Blackwell Award, the Student Athlete-Advisory Committee announced a partnership with Special Olympics in which HWS will host clinics for Special Olympics athletes and invite them to take part in game day activities. In addition, HWS student-athletes will support Special Olympics athletes at their events. Pictured here are HWS student-athletes, Special Olympics athletes, HWS coaches including Director of William Smith Athletics Deb Steward, President Mark D. Gearan and Timothy P. Shriver.

4 Pulteney Street Survey | Winter 2012

Geneva | ca.1963 WAVELENGTHS

Seneca Street

TOP Daily Update Stories

SMARTMONEY RANKS HWS TOP 10

SmartMoney has recognized Hobart and William Smith as an exceptional investment, listing the Colleges as 10th in its ranking of private “Colleges that Help Grads Get Top Salaries.” The study compared median pay figures for recent graduates and mid-career graduates.

THREE SENIORS HIRED BY J.P. MORGAN

HWS FORMS PRISON EDUCATION PROGRAM

HWS have become only the third institution of higher education in New York State to have a prison education outreach program, joining Cornell University and Bard College in the effort. The HWS Educational Second Chances Program will bring HWS professors to Five Points Correctional Facility in nearby Romulus, N.Y., with student volunteers serving as teaching assistants.

3 MILES LOST OPENS FOR BEN FOLDS

This summer, Michael Garland ’12, Jessica Tarantino ’12 and Sarah Tarantino ’12 interned at J.P. Morgan in New York City and have landed positions with the financial industry giant. Garland will return after graduation to take a position as an analyst on the energy derivatives desk, while the Tarantinos will pursue careers as credit risk analysts.

After competing in the Student Activities-sponsored “Sing On,” Three Miles Lost beat out the Colleges other two a capella groups – Hobartones and A Perfect Third – for the opportunity to open for Ben Folds, a solo alternative rock artist and pianist, when he performed at The Smith Opera House in November.

HWS CELEBRATES VIETNAM

During a weeklong Master Artists 2011 Tour, the HWS community was able to engage with Vietnamese films, fashion and traditional cuisine. The highlight of the week was a Vietnamese Music and Theater concert in Albright Auditorium which included the performances of renowned ethnomusicologist and National Heritage Fellow Dr. Nguyen Phong.

6 Pulteney Street Survey | Winter 2012

BLACK BOX THEATER NAMED FOR COLLINS

A longtime member of the Geneva Community Center Advisory Committee, Professor of Education Pat Collins was instrumental in establishing the Center’s Black Box Theater. In honor of his many contributions to the Center and to youth theatre in Geneva, the Center’s Black Box Theater was renamed The Pat Collins Black Box Theater.

www.hws.edu/dailyupdate

PENGUIN PLUNGE FOR CANCER

Created by members of Hope House (the HWS cancer awareness theme house) the third annual Penguin Plunge brought more than 100 students, faculty and staff together for the icy dip, raising more than $1,000 for Embrace Your Sisters, a local organization that provides emergency funding to families affected by breast cancer.

HWS NAMED BUSINESS OF THE YEAR

Bestowing one of the highest honors a business can receive locally, the Geneva Area Chamber of Commerce recently named Hobart and William Smith Colleges the 2011 Business of the Year in honor of the Colleges’ many contributions to the city of Geneva.

FOUR SELECTED FOR TEACH FOR AMERICA

In a process so competitive that a recent New York Times article compared admittance to getting into an Ivy League graduate program, Gideon Porter ’12, Lucia Berliner ’12, Charlotte Lysohir ’12 and Kristen Kush ’12 have been selected for Teach for America for a two-year term. After graduation, the four will work in high-poverty public schools throughout the country.

WAVELENGTHS

“S

he did the most extraordinary Marshall interview I have conducted in 10 years.”

—DR. RAY RAYMOND, chair of the New York Marshall Committee, commenting on Wendi Bacon ’12, one of only 36 students nationwide selected to receive a Marshall Scholarship

“You Scrooge McDucks should just give it up and give it in.” —JAMAR GREEN ’12 encouraging fellow seniors to make a gift to the Annual Fund in “Popular,” a rap performed with David Blades ’12 (go to HWS.edu to see the video)

“It was all in her hair, man. It really was. All the bad juju was in her hair and she cut it all off and everything got better.” —BRAD FALCHUK ’93, writer, director and producer of Glee! and American Horror Story, in an interview in Entertainment Weekly on the transformation of character ‘Quinn’ at the end of Season 2 of Glee!

“TV show writing has also been great fun… [but] If I had to pick one, it would be a novelist. I’ll die with those boots on. I love the novel.” —TOM PIAZZA, HWS’ Trias-Writer-inResidence, commenting on his work as a writer for the HBO series Treme and his career as an award-winning novelist

“About 1,000 millisieverts.” —DR. ROBERT GALE ’66, L.H.D.’87, in an interview with Vanity Fair (January 2012 issue), citing the level of radiation exposure at which white blood cells start to decrease. Gale, an expert in radiation biology, visited workers from Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, which was hit during the earthquake and tsunami last year.

“If you’ve ever wished you could ϐly, join the club. If you’ve ever wondered why you wished you could ϐly, take this course.” —CAROLINE MANRING, assistant professor of English, describing her firstyear seminar ‘Avian Persuasion’

“Foods encode an entire semiotic system of political, cultural and social signiϔications.” —PSYCHE WILLIAMS-FORSON, guest lecturer in The Fisher Center for the Study of Women and Men, discussing African and AfricanAmerican food cultures in the United States

HOBART AND WILLIAM SMITH COLLEGES

Bacon ’12 Named Marshall Scholar by Sarah Tompkins ’10

PHOTO BY KEVIN COLTON

endi Bacon ’12 has been awarded the Marshall Scholarship, one of the most prestigious awards available to American students, providing full funding for three years of study in the United Kingdom. She is one of only 36 students in the country to receive the highly-coveted scholarship, and she was ranked first among candidates in the New York region. Bacon will use the Marshall Scholarship to pursue a Ph.D. in hematology at Cambridge University in England, under the guidance of Cambridge University Senior Research Associate Dr. Katrin Ottersbach. Focusing on developing a better model for infant acute leukemia and finding targets for cancer therapy, her Ph.D. project was developed while completing a research internship with the Department of Hematology at the Cambridge Institute of Medical Research in Cambridge, England, during the summer of 2011. Her internship was made possible thanks to the Charles H. Salisbury International Internship Stipend. As the top candidate in the New York region, Bacon has been additionally honored with the region’s named endowed scholarship, making her The Walter and Leonore Annenberg Marshall Scholar. The New York region includes schools such as Cornell University, the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia University, among others. “Wendi has a command of her discipline that is truly extraordinary,” says Dr. Ray Raymond, chair of the New York Marshall Committee. “We were impressed by her creative and innovative leadership. She did the most extraordinary Marshall interview I have conducted in 10 years. It was a pleasure to meet such a brilliant, creative young person who is also so modest and selfless.” Bacon discovered her interest in blood cancers during a summer internship at the Duke Bone Marrow Transplant Clinic where she researched the fatal blood cancer myeloma with Hobart alumnus Dr. David Rizzieri ’87 and his colleague Dr. Cristina Gasparetto. “I went through hundreds of patient charts,” says Bacon, who read nearly every case about the rapid deterioration of each patient, inevitably ending in death. “Seeing that over and over

WENDI BACON ’12 WORKS IN THE LAB IN EATON HALL.

again – it’s impossible not to be changed.” At Duke, Bacon was part of the team that found a drug that will improve the lives of patients suffering from multiple myeloma, an incurable bone cancer. In December, she presented these findings at the American Society for Hematology conference in San Diego. Bacon credits Hobart and William Smith with nurturing her interests and providing the opportunities that led to the Marshall. “The experiences I had at HWS got me three papers, two presentations and an abstract award from the American Study of Hematology,” she says, referencing the work she did with Rizzieri as well as Professor of Chemistry Walter Bowyer, her research adviser. “I don’t think I could have had the same phenomenal experiences anywhere else.” “Wendi is an incredibly smart and motivated student,” says Bowyer. “She is easily among the top students I have known in the past 22 years of teaching at HWS. On top of that, she is probably the most creative student I have worked with ever. She has the intelligence, energy, creativity and experience to succeed at

whatever she undertakes.” A double major in biochemistry and Spanish, Bacon is the recipient of the Blackwell Medical Scholarship, which has provided her a full, four-year tuition scholarship to attend William Smith and a reserved seat at SUNY Upstate Medical University College of Medicine. She is currently working on two honors projects, the first on myeloma cell biology and the second on linguistic anomalies in dubbed films. She also works as a teaching fellow in the biology and Spanish departments. Bacon created and instructs Tae-Kwon-Do classes for children in the Geneva Boys and Girls Club, and has coordinated Alternative Spring Break trips to Nicaragua. Since 1953, Marshall Scholarships have been awarded to American students who show high levels of ability and exemplary scholarly records. Other Marshall Scholars include Stephen Breyer, associate justice of the U. S. Supreme Court; Thomas Friedman, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist for the New York Times; and Roger Tsien, Nobel Prize winner in chemistry. ●

Bacon’s HWS Mentors

WALTER BOWYER PROFESSOR OF CHEMISTRY

8 Pulteney Street Survey | Winter 2012

KRISTY KENYON ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF BIOLOGY

PATRICIA MOWERY, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF BIOLOGY

CAROLINE TRAVALIA, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF SPANISH AND HISPANIC STUDIES

SCOTT MACPHAIL HEALTH PROFESSIONS COUNSELOR

WAVELENGTHS

External funding from foundations and government agencies is critical to enabling faculty to pursue research, acquire needed equipment and encourage curricular change. In addition, this type of support influences admissions and faculty recruitment and enhances the Colleges’ reputation.

National Science Foundation Funds Cancer Project by Sarah Tompkins ’10

rofessor of Biology Sigrid Carle ’84, Associate Professor of Chemistry Justin Miller, Assistant Professor of Biology Patricia Mowery and Associate Professor of Chemistry Erin Pelkey have been awarded a grant by the National Science Foundation to fund the “Transforming Cell Biology and Organic Chemistry Through Incorporation of the HDACi Cancer Therapeutic Laboratory (L-R) CARLE, MOWERY, MILLER, PELKEY Project.” The project combines cell biology with organic chemistry in an interdisciplinary program designed by HWS faculty to seek and characterize possible anticancer therapies. “Scientific exploration increasingly requires interdisciplinary inquiry. Undergraduate biology courses often fail to stress cross-disciplinary knowledge,” explains Carle, the project’s director. “As a result, students invariably compartmentalize their learning and fail to grasp deeper concepts.” Under the guidance of two biology and two chemistry faculty members, students in both departments will work together to develop experiments, analyze results and propose the direction in which the study should continue. “Traditionally students don’t have a chance to experience the multi-researcher/ multi-discipline approach. This project will give students that opportunity,” says Mowery. The project will also give students the opportunity to work on a real world problem, says Miller, who explains that the classroom does not traditionally provide students with a true expression of science. “Too often, undergraduate laboratory experiments seem ‘canned,’ with known procedures and outcomes. Failure to produce the desired outcome means a failed experiment,” explains Miller. “But that’s not how science works. While the possibility of experimental failure is daunting, we often learn much more from our failures than from our successes.” In addition, the program presents the opportunity for students to grow and expand knowledge within each specific course by giving them control over the design and process of the experiments. This unique prospect allows undergraduate students to discover what it’s like to work in a real drug discovery process, better preparing them as scientists for graduate school, laboratory work and future endeavors. The project also has the potential to have a much broader impact, contributing fundamental knowledge to society’s understanding of HDAC (histone deacetylases) which are enzymes that modify gene expression, HDACi (HDAC inhibitors), and their functions. There also exists the possibility of discovering novel cancer therapeutics as the modification by HDACs sometimes leads to improper gene regulation that HDACi can correct. The grant will also help fund the publishing of findings made by the biology and chemistry faculty as they study the student learning experience. In particular, the faculty involved in developing and conducting the project hope to create a model for semester-long, cross-disciplinary exercises that other programs can use to enhance the student learning experience. ●

During the fiscal year ending May 31, 2011, annual revenue from foundations and government agencies was $6.4 million. There are currently 82 active grants including 15 from the National Science Foundation, four from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and three from the National Institutes of Health. These grants cover everything from scientific research to support for programming in the performing arts.

HOBART AND WILLIAM SMITH COLLEGES

Mertens Chi Phi Adviser of Year During the 146th Annual Chi Phi Congress in July 2011, Associate Professor of Economics Jo Beth Mertens was named Chi Phi Fraternity Faculty Adviser of the Year. “This is not an award that is given out lightly,” explains Michael Erickson ’10, a field executive for the Chi Phi National Fraternity and an alumnus of the Chi Phi Upsilon chapter at Hobart. “Out of the 56 active chapters and colonies throughout the U.S., Professor Mertens exhibits the truest form of our fraternity’s principles of truth, honor and personal integrity, all while consistently holding the brothers to these same ideals.” Mertens, who has served as the Chi Phi faculty adviser since 2005, holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Arkansas, a master’s degree from Duke University and a Ph.D. from Emory University. ●

HWS Runs On Wind

ind energy now supplies 100 percent of the electricity used at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, making HWS the first small liberal arts college in New York to be powered solely by wind. The capability is part of a new agreement between HWS and Community Energy, Inc., a renewable energy marketer and developer. The Colleges have begun purchasing Renewable Energy Certificates equal to 100 percent of the campus’ electricity use, or 12,000 megawatt hours of electricity, which will be matched annually with wind energy entering the electricity grid in the United States. As a charter signatory of the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment, the Colleges have reached their goal of being powered by 100 percent renewable energy three years ahead of schedule. Purchasing wind renewable energy credits since 2002, the Colleges were the first institute of higher education in New York to use wind power as an alternative energy source. “This is an exciting and significant milestone in our effort to reduce the Colleges’ impact on the environment and achieve climate neutrality by 2025,” says President Mark D. Gearan. “And like many good ideas at the Colleges, this one came directly from our students.” The renewable energy purchasing review and recommendation was initiated by Maeve Donnelly ’13 and Noah Lucas ’13, who, after working on a project analyzing alternative energy options, submitted a proposal on wind energy to the President’s Climate Task Force, made up of students, faculty and staff. “Their thoughtful proposal took into account both the impact on the environment and the cost to the Colleges,” says Professor of Economics Tom Drennen, the co-chair of the Climate Task Force and former chair of the Environmental Studies program. The environmental benefit from the Colleges’ purchase is equal to offsetting approximately 8,275 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year, or the equivalent of removing 1,622 passenger vehicles from the road, according to the Environmental Protection Agency’s greenhouse gas equivalencies calculator. ●

10 Pulteney Street Survey | Winter 2012

Theta Delta Chi Achieves Academic Excellence At the Theta Delta Chi National Convention this past summer, the Hobart Xi Charge was presented with the Academic Excellence Award for having the highest cumulative average among all chapters. In addition to achieving national academic success, Theta Delta Chi also increased its level of philanthropic support, raising more than $70,000 for the Wounded Warrior Project, the Red Cross to aid relief in Japan, and Grassroots Soccer, an organization that educates children in Africa about AIDS. The Hobart Charge of Theta Delta Chi was founded in 1857, making it one of the oldest fraternities at Hobart College. ●

WAVELENGTHS

Faculty Promotions Six members of the Hobart and William Smith faculty – experts and active members of their respective fields – have received promotions. Jeffrey Anderson has been made a full professor of anthropology. Anderson received his B.A. in sociology and anthropology from Knox College and his M.A. in social sciences and Ph.D. in anthropology, both from the University of Chicago. An expert on the Arapaho tribe of Native Americans, Anderson has authored three books and numerous articles and short works. His manuscript, Arapaho Women’s Quillwork Art: Life, Creativity, and Ritual, is forthcoming from the University of Oklahoma Press. He has worked on various projects in efforts to revitalize Northern Arapaho language and culture, and has lent his skill to three Arapaho language textbooks. In 2009, he served as codirector of the HWS summer study abroad program to Siberia, funded by a Fulbright–Hays Group Projects Abroad Grant.

Feisal Khan has been named associate professor of economics. Khan received his B.A. in economics and political science as well as his M.A. in economic development from Stanford University. He earned his Ph.D. in political economy and public policy from the University of Southern California. The recipient of a number of grants, Khan is a prolific author. His contribution to the Woodrow Wilson Center’s edited volume Running on Empty: Pakistan’s Water Crisis, is listed by the Center for Global Development in Washington, D.C., as one of its “Essential Readings” on Pakistan.

Michelle Iklé has been named associate professor of dance. She received her B.A. from SUNY Buffalo, and her MFA from SUNY Brockport where she studied dance science and somatics with a secondary emphasis on dance performance. Iklé is a certified instructor and teacher trainer at the Eastwest Somatics Institute for Movement Education and Therapy. Her work has been commissioned by Shelter Repertory Dance Theatre, Wells College, and Middle Tennessee State University. She continues to perform and choreograph as an independent artist with regional companies and at national conferences and festivals.

Kristen Welsh has been named associate professor of Russian area studies. She received her A.B. in Russian literature and comparative literature from Brown University, and both her M.A. and M.Phil. in Russian literature from Yale University. Welsh continued her studies at Yale, earning an additional Ph.D. in Slavic languages and literature. She previously taught at Williams College, the College of William and Mary, Colby College and Yale. She has authored numerous articles in scholarly journals and is working on a book manuscript. On campus, she has served as coordinator for the Russian area studies and Russian language programs, as well as president of the Zeta of New York Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. In 2009, she served as co-director of the HWS summer study abroad program to Siberia, funded by a Fulbright– Hays Group Projects Abroad Grant.

Matthew Kadane has been named associate professor of history. He received his B.A. in philosophy from Southern Methodist University, his M.A. in historical studies from the Graduate Faculty of the New School for Social Research, and both his A.M and Ph.D. in history from Brown University. Prior to joining the Colleges, Kadane was a lecturer at Harvard University. Kadane’s first book, The Watchful Clothier: The Life of an Eighteenth-Century Protestant Capitalist, is forthcoming from Yale University Press. Kadane was awarded the Derek Bok Distinction in Teaching Award at Harvard University in 2001 and 2002 and the John Lax Fellowship at Brown University in 2004. He is currently a Regional Visiting Fellow at the Institute for European Studies at Cornell University.

Vikash Yadav has been named associate professor of political science. He received his B.A. in history from DePauw University and his M.A. from the University of Chicago. He earned his Ph.D. in political science from the University of Pennsylvania. Yadav served as a Queen Elizabeth Visiting Scholar at St. Antony’s College at the University of Oxford and attended the School of Criticism and Theory at Cornell University. Prior to joining the Colleges, he taught at the American University in Cairo and Mount Holyoke College. In 2008, Yadav published the book, Risk in International Finance, and has also authored numerous articles and review essays. He is the current chair of the Asian studies department and has served as chair of the international relations program.

Magee Selected as Public Intellectual Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies Darrin Magee has been selected as one of 20 Public Intellectuals Program Fellows (PIP) by the National Committee on United States–China Relations. Launched in 2005, the Public Intellectuals Program seeks to nurture the next generation of China specialists, providing them with opportunities for professional growth and development, as well as access to senior policymakers and other experts in the United States and China. Over the course of two years, PIP Fellows take part in programs that encourage growth beyond academia and into the public and policy community. Magee is a China geographer with expertise in water and energy in China. He earned his master’s and Ph.D. from the University of Washington, along with a B.A. in French and B.S. in mathematics from Louisiana State University. Magee is the second HWS faculty member to be named a PIP Fellow, after Associate Professor of Education Helen McCabe was a member of the first PIP class (2005-2007). ● HOBART AND WILLIAM SMITH COLLEGES

Temple to Serve as Senior Consultant for USAID Kelly Awarded NEA Grant Assistant Professor of Education Mary Kelly has been awarded a Challenge America Fast-Track grant by the National Endowment for the Arts to help fund The Arts Experience: A Festival Celebrating Inclusion and the Arts, a two-week program hosted at the Colleges in April. Entering its third year, the festival is supported by a partnership between the Colleges and The Collaborative of the Finger Lakes, Inc., a consortium of 11 NYSARC agencies. The festival includes workshops, speakers, films and live concerts. Last year’s conference drew more than 1,000 visitors. The grant will allow organizers to welcome FLAME, a rock band comprised of musicians with developmental disabilities, and host a screening of the critically-acclaimed documentary Wretches and Jabberers, which follows two men with autism as they work to change global attitudes toward disabilities. ●

rofessor of Education Charles Temple has been invited by USAID to serve as a senior consultant on a five-year literacy, curriculum development and teacher training project in the Republic of Georgia. “We are particularly excited because it will serve as a large scale demonstration of the approaches we developed in the Reading and Writing for Critical Thinking Project,” says Temple, who created the Project in association with the International Reading Association to blend literacy instruction with critical thinking. First used in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union in 1996, the Project promotes open societies by using the classroom as a microcosm of society at large. In a recent blog entry for Psychology Today, Temple writes that a teacher in a southern Balkan country stressed the need for training in order to teach critical thinking, “Because we don’t want to keep passing on this dictatorship of ‘I have the right answer and you must learn it’ that we were raised with.” Since the first trips Temple took to Eastern Europe 15 years ago, the project has prepared volunteer teacher trainers to promote critical thinking in primary and secondary schools and universities in 40 countries on five continents. In 2009, the Project went digital, enrolling 30 teachers from all around Argentina in an online

course on teaching for active learning. In 2011, Temple conducted workshops and training for teachers, children’s book writers and illustrators in Liberia, Qatar, Zambia, South Africa and Sierra Leone. He anticipates at least three more trips to Sierra Leone in 2012. In writing about the Project’s work in West Africa, Temple says: “Our partners at that Reading and Writing for Critical Thinking Project location specialized in teaching children in post-conflict areas. They had found that children could benefit from teaching that helped them think critically, and they asked us to help. It was not just the ends of critical thinking they were after, but the instruction that encouraged it.” Temple is the author and co-author of numerous books and many of the Project’s award-winning training materials. In 2006, he was the recipient of a prestigious Fulbright Scholar Award to Romania, where he spent his sabbatical helping two universities improve their teaching and curriculum. ●

Laird Receives Two Weather Grants Associate Professor of Geoscience Neil Laird, a leading researcher on mesoscale meteorology with a focus on lake-effect snow storms and severe weather, recently received two grants to work with two regional National Weather Service Forecast Offices. The grants, which will fund four undergraduate research students this summer, were awarded through the Cooperative Program for Operational Meteorology Education and Training (COMET®), a program sponsored by the National Weather Service to promote a better understanding of mesoscale meteorology and address education and training needs in the atmospheric and related sciences.● 12 Pulteney Street Survey | Winter 2012

CHILDREN IN SIERRA LEONE, MANY OF THEM INJURED IN THAT COUNTRY’S VIOLENCE, PLAY SOCCER. THE PHOTO WAS TAKEN BY PROFESSOR OF EDUCATION CHARLES TEMPLE ON ONE OF HIS RECENT TRIPS TO THE COUNTRY CONDUCTING WORKSHOPS AND TRAINING SESSIONS FOR TEACHERS.

Two New Programs Created n recognition of the changing needs of 21st century graduates and in response to the growing interests of students, faculty across the curriculum have created two new academic programs – Social Justice Studies (SJS) and Middle Eastern Studies (MES).

“Social Justice Studies really becomes something you can’t stop thinking about; you can’t forget the kinds of things you learn in SJS because they are so poignant and closely tied to all of our everyday lives,” says Andrews. “The theoretical as well as practical requirements of the program will stay with me. I can think critically about social problems, but I can also begin to think about how I might actually face them practically.”

Social Justice Studies

Middle Eastern Studies

Offering two minor options – Social Justice Studies, and Civic Engagement and Social Justice – the SJS program is a much-needed addition to the minor offerings at the Colleges. Nearly a quarter of all students completing individual programs of study do so with a social justice focus. “The Social Justice Studies program offers students an interdisciplinary concentration that is rooted in the concept of equality and the recognition of human rights,” explains Donna Davenport, professor and chair of the dance department. She and Assistant Professor of History Colby Ristow are co-coordinators of the SJS program. The SJS steering committee also includes Assistant Professor of Writing and Rhetoric Neeta Bhasin, Professor of Sociology Jack Harris, Assistant Professor of Education Khuram Hussain, Assistant Professor of Education Mary Kelly, as well as two ex-officio members, Director of the Center for Community Engagement and Service Learning Katie Flowers HON’11 and Associate Dean for Teaching, Learning and Assessment Susan Pliner. Davenport says: “Social justice studies across the curriculum – in history, rhetoric, politics, religion, philosophy, law, economics, media, and the arts – interrogate inequalities in gender, social class, sexuality, and race, and the systems that perpetuate them.” The program’s first declared minor is Cory Andrews ’12 who, during the course of three years, has chosen elective classes across disciplines that all centered on the theme of social justice. He spent the summer on campus interning with the Colleges’ literary journal, the Seneca Review, as well as working as a research assistant for Karen Frost-Arnold, assistant professor of philosophy. When he learned the minor had been approved, he says it was his “first choice.”

The MES Program allows students to explore the vitality of the politics, economics, societies and cultures of the Middle East and the place of the region in relation to broader global concerns. Currently only a handful of the Colleges’ peer institutions offer a Middle Eastern Studies minor. “Professor of Religious Studies Michael Dobkowski and I worked together to design a minor that ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF POLITICAL reflects the best of what we have SCIENCE STACEY PHILBRICK YADAV seen in a number of recent individual majors, as well as in courses used by international relations, political science and religious studies majors with concentrations related to the modern Middle East,” explains Assistant Professor of Political Science Stacey Philbrick Yadav, coordinator of the MES program. “Many of these students told me that they would undoubtedly have minored in Middle Eastern Studies had the option been available.” Previously, students elected an Islamic studies track within the religious studies major, or a Middle Eastern regional track within the international relations major. Several of the students whose experiences inspired Dobkowski and Philbrick Yadav to develop the MES minor program have gone on to successful, related career and service programs since graduation. Andrew Mahoney ’11, for example, studied in Jordan in 2010 and designed an individual major, “Political Economy of the Middle East.” Today, he’s working for the Project on Middle East Democracy in Washington, D.C. “The breadth of coursework I completed under the talented professors who will comprise the Middle Eastern Studies faculty was invaluable in preparing me for work in the foreign policy community,” he says. “In combination with the HWS semester program in Jordan, our fourth year with a Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant to support Arabic instruction, and our periodic team-taught course in Egypt, it is wonderful to see Middle Eastern Studies taking shape at HWS,” says Philbrick Yadav. ●

CORY ANDREWS ’12, THE COLLEGES’ FIRST SOCIAL JUSTICE STUDIES MINOR, MEETS WITH ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF HISTORY COLBY RISTOW AND PROFESSOR OF DANCE DONNA DAVENPORT OUTSIDE TRINITY HALL.

HOBART AND WILLIAM SMITH COLLEGES

It’s Parliamentary, my dear Geneva Klinger ’12 and McConnell ’12 rank 21st at the debate World Championships by Sarah Tompkins ’10

these competitive intercollegiate circuits. Thrived seems an inadequate way to describe the stunning academic achievement of Gerald “Buzz” Klinger ’12 and William McConnell ’12. Representing the HWS debate team, the pair joined the ranks of the world’s most eloquent university speakers at the 2012 World Championships in Manila, Philippines, emerging 21st out of 396 teams from across the world – outperforming any previous HWS team in the program’s history. Following nine rounds of heated debate, the team entered the “octofinals,” where they battled the 32 remaining teams. In their final debate, Klinger and McConnell were presented the complex motion to support nationalism, and while they did not advance to finals, the pair bested all but WILLIAM MCCONNELL ’12 AND GERALD “BUZZ” KLINGER ’12 IN MANILA, PHILIPPINES, FOR THE 2012 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS. three of the 71 North American teams – the Colleges. Because of their success at the Stanford’s A team, Yale’s B team and Harvard’s highest level, people across the country and A team. internationally are really taking note of our A quick glance at the list of schools vying team’s debating prowess.” for the title of grand debate champion reveals In 2004, the HWS Debate Team entered a compilation of the world’s most impressive the daunting American Parliamentary Debate academic institutions. To take a place of such league, which consists of many of the top prominence on the world stage is a significant colleges in the nation. A few years ago, they accomplishment for a small liberal arts school. began competing on the international circuit “The universities that are attending are the best against Oxford, Sydney, Cambridge and all the in the country and the world,” says Barnes. best debaters in the world. It is clear the team “The students participating in the debates has not merely endured, but has thrived in are among the most intelligent at their colleges

“I

t’s hard to explain to most people but the team’s accomplishments are jawdropping,” says Assistant Professor of Philosophy Eric Barnes, the coach and adviser to the HWS debate team. “The team has done a tremendous amount for the reputation of

Elementary Debate

In the fall, HWS Debate team members took their award-winning argumentation skills to a different audience: the fifth graders of Geneva’s North Street Elementary School. Each Thursday, elementary and college students worked side-by-side to hone critical thinking and public speaking skills. The program was so successful that it will continue throughout the spring semester. “We teach them to see different sides of each debate and come up with strong points on both sides of an issue,” explains the team’s vice president, Anna Dorman ’14. “The kids totally love it.” Debate topics have included relatable issues such as the implementation of school uniforms, what constitutes acceptable amounts of homework, and the importance of physical education in schools. “We are helping kids learn the fundamentals of debate – developing an argument and providing solid reasoning to back it up,” says Thomas Luly ’12. “It’s a great way for kids to engage in discussion on a variety of topics – and they have fun doing it.” 14 Pulteney Street Survey | Winter 2012

and universities. To see Buzz and Will compete at this level is extremely impressive.” With the sheer amount of knowledge needed to compete in this upper echelon, it may come as no surprise to learn that a majority of Klinger and McConnell’s competition were not students working towards their bachelor’s degrees, but rather graduate students. “The Worlds are open to anyone still in school,” explains Barnes. “Many of these people are studying law or are pursuing their PhDs. These are people who have gone to work or gone back to school; very few of the top people are ever undergraduates.” “It was sometimes intimidating to see that we would have to debate teams from very prestigious schools, but we beat many of them,” says Klinger, who ranked 4th out of 314 debaters at Yale in fall 2011 during the most prestigious tournament in North America. “We have a good deal of experience through participation in tournaments elsewhere. Having the opportunity to get that experience is important in allowing us to complete at a high level.” With a confidence earned through success at tournaments hosted last semester by the University of Toronto and Yale, where HWS ranked eighth in North America, the team set out with the ambitious goal of breaking into octofinals – a feat no other HWS team had accomplished in the seven years it had been competing in the World Championships. Needless to say, when Klinger and McConnell learned of their success, they were thrilled to be counted among the best and brightest. “It was incredibly rewarding to get to that point. When we found out that we did break through to See page 52 for octofinals, well...it was more on the Debate a pretty good feeling,” Team’s success. laughs McConnell. ●

Little Theatre | ca.1978 Campaign

Godspell

Passion for Perfor ming

In this Little Theatre production of Godspell, Raymond Cabrera ’81 provided what the May 19, 1978 Herald called “a subtle interpretation of Jesus,” while Dana Smith Burton ’79 took center stage accompanied by Cabrera and Carol Cossum Maher ’79. According to Nyna K. McGraw Malley ’81, P’10, the assistant director of the production, “Maher’s voice was so beautiful that we developed a part for her.”

Front Row Seat

The Cook Circ le

HOBART AND WILLIAM SMITH COLLEGES

Passion for Performing Actor Christopher McDonald ’77 makes $1 million gift to the Performing Arts Center by Catherine Williams

ACTOR CHRISTOPHER MCDONALD ’77 IN CHARACTER AS ‘TOMMY JEFFERSON’ ON HARRY’S LAW

PHOTO COURTESY OF NBC

16 Pulteney Street Survey | Winter 2012

n an act of extraordinary commitment to Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Actor Christopher McDonald ’77 has pledged $1 million to the Performing Arts Center, the final capital project of Campaign for the Colleges. McDonald’s gift will help fund the construction of a 55,000-square-foot facility that will create academic space for theatre, music and dance. To date, more than $18 million has been dedicated toward the Performing Arts Center’s $28 million goal, the most money ever raised for a single capital project in the history of the Colleges. “It’s time to give back, to help the school because I have benefited so much from my liberal arts education,” says McDonald, who came to Hobart with the intention of becoming a dentist and ultimately switched his major and career path after becoming involved in the Little Theatre and Koshare Dance Collective. The process of auditioning for and earning parts with the Little Theatre “sparked an interest in me that I didn’t even know I had,” explains McDonald. “I had no delusions of grandeur of trying to be an artist, but because it was there – the theatre was there, Koshare was there, I was exposed to these opportunities and it just lit me up. I loved it.” McDonald explains that the Colleges are at a distinct disadvantage without performing arts facilities. “Our current facilities discourage prospective students from looking

STEVE BUSCEMI AND CHRISTOPHER MCDONALD ’77 ON THE SET OF HBO’S BOARDWALK EMPIRE. IN THE SERIES, MCDONALD PLAYS ‘U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL HARRY DAUGHERTY.’

at the Colleges, as I found out when I tried to get my own children to consider Hobart and William Smith,” says McDonald. “They loved it here but there’s no decent performing arts center so they’ve gone elsewhere. I don’t want that to happen again.” “I am personally grateful to Chris for his commitment to his alma mater and for the generosity he has shown through this gift and through his many efforts over the years mentoring our students,” says President Mark D. Gearan. “Chris’ support means so much to our faculty and our students and it is through his efforts that we will create a facility that will be a source of inspiration for our entire community.” The new Performing Arts Center will help to draw a new generation of students and scholars to the Colleges and in doing so will provide opportunities that, according to McDonald, were instrumental in allowing him to discover his passion. “Hobart and William Smith changed my life. It was here that I discovered acting. That was it for me,” says

Q: How did you end up working with Stella Adler? A: As a struggling actor in Manhattan, I didn’t have the money to pay for Stella Adler’s acting classes so I approached her to propose an exchange of services: her acting classes for my driving and bartending. In our time together, especially in the car, she’d discuss film theory and playwrights with me. It was amazing. I had a closer relationship with her than if I’d paid for the courses. As an actor, I really benefited from her tutelage. You knew you were one of the good ones if you could survive a Stella Adler scene study without

McDonald. Described by the New York PHOTO COURTESY OF HBO Times as one of the hardest working and most prolific actors in Hollywood, McDonald has performed in nearly 100 films and countless television and theater productions. After graduating from Hobart, he went on to study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, and the world-renowned Stella Adler Acting Conservatory in New York. He reprised his role as Billy Flynn in the 10th Anniversary of Broadway’s “Chicago,” sharing the stage with Broadway legends Joel Grey and Chita Rivera, and is the recipient of the Drama– Logue Best Actor Award. Currently, McDonald is known to television audiences as Tommy Jefferson in NBC’s “Harry’s Law,” starring alongside Academy Award winning actress Kathy Bates. He also has a recurring role on HBO’s acclaimed miniseries “Boardwalk Empire” where he

being ripped apart, or survive being ripped apart and come back and do it again, because she didn’t suffer fools. She would say, “You haven’t done your work. Get off the stage, darling.” People would leave in tears. Only the good ones came back. She taught us, “the truth of your art is in your imagination,” allowing actors to embrace any type of role with confidence. Q: Why have you stayed connected to Hobart and William Smith? A: Hobart and William Smith was a life-changer for me. I came to school to study science.

plays U.S. Attorney General Harry Daugherty. On the silver screen he has starred in such films as “Requiem for a Dream,” “Thelma and Louise,” “The Perfect Storm,” “Quiz Show” and “Happy Gilmore,” working with such acclaimed actors as Ellen Burstyn, George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Ralph Fiennes and Susan Sarandon, among many others. While at Hobart, McDonald played football for two years and was backup goalie on Hobart’s varsity soccer team for two years. He was Song Master of the Kappa Alpha Society and received his degree in English, cum laude. McDonald has returned to campus numerous times to present lectures, network with students, participate in Reunion and, in 2008, to co-emcee William Smith College’s Centennial Gala with his friend and former teacher, Mara O’Laughlin ’66. ●

After joining Little Theatre, I discovered that I had a passion for acting. Busy with the sciences and football, I wanted to do something else that was not inside my comfort zone. And then I walked into the Little Theatre. Professor E.E. Griffith, God bless him, he said, “Yeah, we’re going to use you.” I auditioned and got cast. Professor Roger Farrand was also influential. Several productions later, at the end of my sophomore year, I changed my major much to my parents’ chagrin. In hindsight, though, we were all glad I did.

Q: How did you end up in Koshare Dance Collective? A: I had a crush on a girl who was a dancer in Koshare and they needed guys, so I decided to join. I really loved the natural modern dance moves we were doing. So, even after the infatuation with that particular girl went away, I stayed with Koshare. I learned how the commitment to movement – the stretching, rhythm and endurance necessary to dance – truly made me a better athlete. Q: How did the Colleges prepare you for life after graduation? A: The education I received kept

more ➝

HOBART AND WILLIAM SMITH COLLEGES

Front Row Seat PHOTO COURTESY OF UNIVERSAL

CHRISTOPHER MCDONALD ’77 AS ‘SHOOTER MCGAVIN’ IN HAPPY GILMORE CO-STARRING ADAM SANDLER.

me on a path of the pursuit of knowledge. The great literature and creative thinking I was exposed to have stayed with me to this day. I further cemented my passion for acting when I was exposed to West End Theatre in London while studying abroad my senior year. You get a global outlook from the Colleges. There are so many successful people who have graduated from Hobart and William Smith, and there’s a reason for it; we’re trained to think differently and encouraged to look at all aspects of a situation. With knowledge comes confidence that one can make a change in this world. Q: Why do you think it is important for the Colleges to have a place for the performing arts? A: Our facilities now are in gymnasiums and lecture halls. We need to give today’s students facilities that match their expectations and their needs. And the plans for this Performing Arts Center are stunning. This center is going to make a difference on campus. It’s time to step up if we want to keep this school thriving and competitive in the arts with theatre, dance, music and film.

18 Pulteney Street Survey | Winter 2012

Q: Why is the location of the Performing Arts Center significant? A: I was so broke when I was going to college here – my parents didn’t have the money and I didn’t want to borrow any more – that I lived for two semesters in a motor home in Medbery Parking Lot with a 60 foot extension cord plugged into my buddy’s room in Medbery Hall. The groundskeepers never called me on it. I literally lived on the site for the new performing arts center. The irony is not lost on me. Q: Why did you decide to support this project? A: I hope to encourage my classmates and all alumni and alumnae, each one influential in his or her own right, to give back to Hobart and William Smith. It’s time to help fund this very worthy project because it’s only going to make the Colleges better. The new Performing Arts Center is going to be good for the community, and it’s going to be exciting to come back to see what our theatre, dance and music majors are coming up with in the arts. These students are so willing to learn and so smart in their questions. And let’s be honest, it’s also a great and worthy tax deduction, particularly in this economy. The Colleges made it painless for me. It’s a win-win.

The Performing Arts Center moves forward with support from key donors

ust $9.3 million in support is needed to complete the funding goal of $28 million for the construction of the new Performing Arts Center. With expanding programs in dance, theatre and music, and increased interest from prospective students, the need for a new center has never been greater. “Hobart and William Smith are always pushing forward, always adapting and growing to provide students and faculty with the facilities, programs and opportunities they need to be successful,” says President Mark D. Gearan. “I feel strongly that academic space for the performing arts is currently the Colleges’ greatest need and that a newly constructed building will benefit the entire HWS community. The Performing Arts Center is my top priority.” Since Hobart’s founding in 1822, the Colleges have never had facilities dedicated to theatre, dance and music. Bartlett, where theatre is housed, was designed to be a lecture hall and ball room. Winn-Seeley, where dance currently performs and practices, is a gym. The Chapel is the site of musical performances while practice happens on the second floor of Williams, also the headquarters of Information Technology. The new Performing Arts Center will offer faculty and students a place where they can fully explore and exercise artistic self-expression, form partnerships across disciplines, and share their work with the HWS and Geneva communities. “The only thing holding our faculty and students back is contemporary spaces,” says Gearan. “Having a front row seat in the evolution of this project has, for me, been an extraordinary opportunity as I’ve witnessed the thoughtful generosity of our many donors who have gotten us so far already. As the gifts for the Center have come in, the level of excitement and collaboration at the Colleges has just soared.” Groundbreaking for the new Performing Arts Center will occur as soon as fundraising is complete. As the Colleges move closer to that moment, the building’s schematics have continued to evolve. Throughout the process, faculty, administrators and trustees have worked closely with the Gund Partnership, the award-winning, Boston-based architecture firm, to finalize design and start construction plans. “The Hobart and William Smith Performing Arts Center

Located on the current site of Medbery Parking Lot and across the street from the Scandling Campus Center, the Performing Arts Center will define the entryway of campus and signify the importance of the arts. Educationally-focused and efficient, every inch of the Performing Arts Center will serve multiple functions. Its soaring, open lobby will feature large windows, seating nooks and a small art gallery, as well as access to the building’s large performance spaces. With flexible floor and seats, these spaces will adapt and change with the imaginations of students, faculty and staff. The 55,000-square-foot facility will also include sound-dampened rehearsal spaces and faculty offices and it will be fully wired with modern technology, including lighting and sound equipment. This will be the Colleges’ first LEED-certified building. Creating a new Arts Quad, the Center will open a whole new area for student activity and promote a more connected campus culture.

is a pioneering model of interdisciplinary performing arts, but it is not overdone. It walks a delicate line between inspiration and practicality,” says Graham Gund, FAIA, LEED AP, founder and president of the Gund Partnership. “I’ve worked on more than 30 fine and performing arts buildings for colleges and universities as well as for cultural centers across the country, and I’m extremely proud to be associated with this project.” Housing the facilities for theatre, music and dance in 18.7M

28M

the same building, the Center will be located at the heart of campus–where Medbery Parking Lot currently sits– making the arts more visible on campus and emphasizing the importance of the arts in the overall liberal arts experience. “Faculty, staff and students from all disciplines will tell you that this is their performing arts building, too,” says Associate Professor of Chemistry and Associate Dean of Faculty Christine de Denus. “Regardless of one’s primary academic interests, the arts have an incredible ability to capture the imagination, even for those who might never consider participating in a dance or play.” “A home for innovation and creativity, the new Performing Arts Center will enrich the lives of everyone who works and lives here. It will transform our campus,” says Gearan. “I extend my thanks to everyone who has made a gift to the center so far. We are making extraordinary progress, but we still need your support. We are very eager to begin.” ●

GOAL

Just $9.3 million in support is needed to complete the funding goal of $28 million for the construction of the new Performing Arts Center.

To learn more about the Performing Arts Center or to make a gift, contact Vice President for Institutional Advancement Robert O’Connor at (315) 781-3535 or oconnor@hws.edu.

HOBART AND WILLIAM SMITH COLLEGES

Honoring Parents Colleges Recognize Generosity of Trustee Lang and Lyn Cook P’99, P’05 with Naming of New Giving Society

“W

C I R C L E

LYN AND LANG COOK P’99, P’05

hen parents send a child to college, they want to see that their son or daughter is personally fulfilled and engaged in academic work and with people who will help them grow,” says Trustee Lang Cook P’99, P’05. “And as that child builds a relationship with his or her college, the connection between the parents and the college also grows.” “For us, it started with visits to see our sons play squash and to attend family weekends, that sort of thing,” says Lyn Cook. “Over time, and with two of our four children attending – Whitney ’99 and Freddy ’05, our involvement expanded.” “Today, we feel like adopted alums,” says Lang. In the past 17 years, Lang and Lyn Cook have graciously hosted alums, parents, and prospective students and their families at numerous events. As active parents, they have been instrumental in increasing parent interest and engagement in the Colleges. In 1996, Lang joined the Campaign Steering Committee and, in 2002, accepted an appointment on the Board of Trustees. As a Board member, Lang’s experience as the founder of his bond firm ‘Langdon P. Cook and Company’ has been put to good use through service on the Investment and Institutional Advancement Committees. “As a member of the Board, I was able to see firsthand how the Colleges handled the recession,” says Lang. “There were real financial strains. At an unnerving time, what I observed was a strong collaboration among the administrators, faculty and trustees who all worked together to get through the financial crisis. With each year that has passed, we have felt more and more confident in the Colleges.” The Cooks recently translated that confidence into one of the largest donations the Colleges have ever received from non-alum parents. Their gift of $1 million will support the Colleges’ greatest needs. “This is an exceptional display of generosity, one that reflects the Cooks’ dedication to Hobart and William Smith as well as the growing role that parents and families are playing in the future of the Colleges,” says President Mark D. Gearan. “Over the years, the Colleges have benefited tremendously from the Cooks’ counsel. The conviction that Lang and Lyn have shown in our strategic priorities has inspired a new generation of parents and families to consider the many ways they can make a similar difference.” The Cook Circle is being established in honor of the Cook family to encourage and inspire other families to provide support to the Colleges. Non-alumni families – parents and grandparents – who have made cumulative commitments to the Colleges of $25,000 or more will be recognized as members of The Cook Circle. Those who have given $100,000 or more in cumulative commitments will be inducted as Lifetime Members of The Cook Circle and will receive permanent recognition on campus. The inaugural induction and celebration of The Cook Circle will take place in New York City in fall 2012. Moving forward, Cook Circle events will take place annually in the metro New York area. “Parents have one of the most direct experiences of the value of Hobart and William Smith,” says Lyn. “If your child is having or has had a good experience, then it makes sense to move the Colleges up in one’s list of philanthropic priorities; that’s what we did.” “We are thrilled about the establishment of The Cook Circle and about the opportunity to gather each year with similarly motivated parents,” says Lang. “We hope that current and future generations of families will be inspired, as we have been, to make an investment in Hobart and William Smith.” To learn more about membership in The Cook Circle, please contact Kelly Young, Director of Parent Relations and Stewardship, (315) 781-3783 or keyoung@hws.edu.

20 Pulteney Street Survey | Winter 2012

In The Lab | ca.1936 Feature

Mustard Gas

The Big Idea

Under the direction of Professor of Chemistry Ralph H. Bullard and as part of Hobart Collegeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s citizenship program, advanced Hobart students began conducting experiments for an anti-mustard gas compound. In 1939, Hobart officially announced that Bullard, with the help of successive years of Hobart students, had discovered a chemical compound that could be soaked into the clothing of soldiers to neutralize mustard gas on contact, preventing the burns for which the gas is renowned.

22 profiles featuring HWS community members

HOBART AND WILLIAM SMITH COLLEGES

22 Pulteney Street Survey | Winter 2012

t’s a common enough metaphor – a cartoon character has a sudden, brilliant idea and – bam! – a light bulb appears over his head. Devotees of popular culture trace the use of the incandescent bulb as the icon of an idea to a Felix the Cat cartoon circa 1920. Others say the metaphor is losing its juice, so to speak, with the advent of the compact florescent. But whether you prefer a CFS, LED, incandescent or a simple flame, as far back as Plato, light slicing through darkness has symbolized the enlightening, illuminating, clarifying results of a good idea. “Ideas,” Dean of William Smith College and Professor of History Susanne McNally says, “have consequences that cannot be imagined. They cloak the events of our days with meaning. They give our lives purpose. They are the lenses through which we see the world.” The individuals profiled on the following pages are advancing ideas that are changing the way we see the world, whether that’s through the construction of a school in Haiti, the development of a new business, the creation of a painting, or the search for life on Mars.

HOBART AND WILLIAM SMITH COLLEGES

JONATHAN FLINT ’73

Jonathan Flint ’73 and Terry McGuire ’78 invest in highrisk ideas that change lives. by Mary K.LeClair and Catherine Williams

24 Pulteney Street Survey | Winter 2012

“W

e tend to get excited about ideas that bring something entirely new to the market, ones that are disruptive,” says Jonathan Flint ’73. “We look for technologies or services that provide greater efficiencies or those that perform better for customers. We get excited about companies doing something compelling, about ideas that have a sustained competitive advantage. We want to bring something to the table that can’t be copied the next day.” “It comes down to this,” explains Terry McGuire ’78. “Is the idea game changing? By investing in this idea, are we really going to change peoples’ lives?” Flint and McGuire are the founders of Polaris Venture Partners, a venture capital firm that specializes in nurturing big ideas into innovative products in the fields of technology and life sciences. They invest in seed, early stage and middle market companies, and currently have $3.5 billion under management with investments in more than 110 companies. The scope of their influence is significant. Under their management, companies have created advances in pharmaceuticals and nanopharmaceuticals, developing drugs that bond to disease-causing proteins or ones that can be inhaled. They have backed the creation of medical devices that monitor

health non-invasively through the skin as well as ones that improve surgery and recovery rates. They are behind major innovations in e-commerce, hybrid cloud file storage, mobile device technology, social networking and blogging. Basically, if you’ve used the Internet, received a weather report, or been to the doctor, your life has likely been affected by the work of Flint and McGuire. Since the two started Polaris in 1996, venture capitalism in the United States has doubled, today infusing between $25-30 billion each year in emerging businesses that offer immense potential with high risk. In order to become one of the leading venture capital firms in the nation, Flint and McGuire have had to become experts in evaluating business ideas and, more importantly, they say, experts in assessing people. “I do think there is an ability in some people to be able to bring home an idea—it’s hard to describe,” McGuire says. “It’s about identifying people with raw determination. It’s not enough to be smart; you have to be clever. Every company will hit bumps in the road. A clever CEO will figure a way around that, or be able to abandon a product that just cannot succeed.” The two agree that their success as a firm is measured by their ability to select ideas that will be profitable to investors. That profitability, however, is almost always dependent on the personalities of the people behind the idea. “Good entrepreneurs aren’t

afraid to fail; they are risk takers,” says Flint. Flint and McGuire met while working for the venture capital firm Burr Egan Deleage. They both took a risk when they began their own company, which today has six senior partners and more than 30 employees. Flint, who majored in English and history at Hobart, took a non-traditional path to his current career. After working in Hollywood with director John Landis, he was an investigator and researcher on the Nixon Impeachment Inquiry Staff of the House Judiciary Committee and then for the Watergate Special Prosecution Force. Flint attended the University of Virginia law school and was a litigator for Testa Hurwitz & Thibeault. When he landed an assignment representing Burr Egan Deleage, he became fascinated with the field. “I saw the work of venture capital as collecting and identifying great people with exceptional talent and putting good teams together. I thought I would be good at that. I also knew that as a litigator, that I was good at due diligence... at investigating people, products and markets.” But the field of venture capitalism was, as it is today, highly competitive. And Flint and his wife, Alice, had just had their first daughter. “But I knew this was the right career for me,” says Flint. “I took a risk and offered to work for free for six months. I made Bill Egan an offer he couldn’t refuse.” At Hobart, McGuire majored in physics and economics. After getting an engineering degree from Dartmouth, he began working for a small startup whose founders were looking for venture capital to propel their business. The business ultimately failed. “It was a good experience for me,” McGuire explains. “I got exposure to venture capitalism and I got to see firsthand what the owners of a young business go through.” McGuire earned his MBA from Harvard where he was elected president of Harvard Business School’s Venture Capital Club, of which every MBA candidate was a member. After graduation, McGuire was one of only three Harvard MBAs to land a job in the field, first with Golder Thoma & Cressey before moving on to Burr Egan Deleage. Flint and McGuire say that the best thing that ever happened to them professionally was meeting at Burr Egan Deleage. “We complement one another very well,” says Flint. “We are good partners with complementary strengths and weaknesses.” “I think it is fair to say I wouldn’t have taken the entrepreneurial plunge without Jon,” says McGuire. “This is a wonderful partnership. We continue to share a common vision of our firm’s mission and purpose. An essential component of the mission is the belief that supporting the entrepreneur is one of the keys to a successful venture.” In an effort to generate more and better

ideas, the two have created a series of “Dogpatch Labs,” idea incubators designed to mentor new entrepreneurs as they launch their companies. There are now four Dogpatch offices in Cambridge, Mass., Palo Alto, Calif., New York City, and Dublin, Ireland. “It’s a great way for us to encourage innovation and to see from the start which ideas and people might be ready for investment,” says McGuire. One of Polaris’s companies recently completed successful clinical drug trials. The company’s CEO contacted McGuire to share the good news. “The call wasn’t centered on how much money we made,” McGuire says. “The call was really about ‘think how many lives we’re going to touch; we’re going to improve millions of lives.’ And so I think the best entrepreneurs are driven by the fundamental nature of what they’re doing. Advancing an idea, touching lives, and in the case of life science, saving lives. And if you do that right, the money part is a natural consequence.” ●

“I think the best entrepreneurs are driven by the fundamental nature of what they’re doing. Advancing an idea, touching lives, and in the case of life science, saving lives.”

TERRY MCGUIRE ’78

HOBART AND WILLIAM SMITH COLLEGES

“We’d strive to be sharp, lively, thoughtful, challenging, and, above all, accessible. This remains our editorial mission today.” HORACE HAVEMEYER III ’64 AMONG SELECTED METROPOLIS COVERS FROM THE PAST 30 YEARS.

26 Pulteney Street Survey | Winter 2012

Mission Statement

The founder and publisher of Metropolis talks about the early days of the magazine by Horace Havemeyer III ’64

hen I started working on Metropolis, I had a fairly simple goal: to create a magazine that explained why buildings and objects looked the way they did. At the time, postmodernism was new and Michael Graves’s classic modernism was even newer. But I was confused. I had grown up in grand old houses and spent a lot of time studying the history of buildings. I had attended events at the Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies, where the first lectures on postmodernism were presented. I’d even helped publish Skyline, a magazine that the organization launched in an attempt to reach a broader cultural audience. And yet when I read a lot of the writing about architecture and design at the time, I was baffled. Why was so much of it arcane, pretentious, sometimes even impenetrable? Metropolis was founded in large part in response to that question. I did, however, get some good ideas from Skyline (which closed in 1980). The great Massimo Vignelli was one of its design advisers. His best idea was to use a tabloid size and print the magazine on good offset paper rather than on newsprint. This was how we printed Metropolis in its early years. Skyline also covered more than just architecture. This approach dovetailed nicely with my belief that most readers consider architecture and design to be one subject. (Certainly, most professional designers share this view.) As a result, Metropolis has always covered all aspects of design. Establishing the Metropolis “voice” was a real challenge (and remains, as it should, a work in progress). I had always respected publications that not only communicated clearly but were free of jargon and what I called “cheap shots.” Many of the articles in Skyline were written in the priestly language of architecture. The institute’s other publication, Oppositions, was a thicket of unreadable jargon. I thought this was an odd way to reach a larger audience. Metropolis would instead offer an alternative. We’d strive to be sharp, lively, thoughtful, challenging, and, above all, accessible. This remains our editorial mission today. From the beginning, we tried to tell stories from multiple points of view. That meant we’d interview the architect or designer as well as the client and end user. We wouldn’t ignore the larger cultural context. And we’d not only tell a compelling story with text but visually show the process through the layered use of photographs, diagrams, sketches, drawings, and floor plans. Like all design publications, we were interested in showing beautiful buildings and objects, but we weren’t content with merely showing them as objects of desire. Through the years, all of these approaches were refined and improved, but the desire to explain clearly and concisely why things looked the way they did was in our DNA from the start. Thirty years later, I’m surprised by how many of our original ideas for the magazine have survived, pretty much intact. The mission statement of the founding editor, Sharon Lee Ryder, in our inaugural issue, July 1981, describes a publication that bears a striking resemblance to the one [we produce today]. Another surprise has been our readership. I’d originally conceived of a design magazine aimed at a general-interest audience, but our depth and broad, inclusive view of the field appealed to professional designers; by the 1990s they comprised the bulk of our readers. They are the audience we strive to serve today. So after three decades I am pleased with our progress and especially proud of our dedicated staff. During one of the most challenging business climates ever, they’ve managed to maintain our high standards and break new editorial ground. The essence of this magazine, however, is to constantly look forward. The emergence of the iPad and other tablets provides us with an opportunity to create a new media form and a viable and lasting future. The changes and challenges to design and to the world at large need Metropolis. We will be there to cover them. ●

Wilder by Design by Whitman Littlefield ’11 “Making ideas into a reality is the most fun part of my job,” says up-and-coming New York City designer Aimée Wilder ’00. “There really is no way to know if an idea is good until it’s turned into a product and the public responds. You just have to go with your gut.” ‘With her gut,’ is how Wilder has been living, and it’s paying off. In 2008, after working in-house at Martha Stewart Living and freelancing for Gap Kids, she received several high-profile job opportunities. But she turned them down. “It was a big risk,” she admits. “But the last thing I wanted to do was end up in a dark, windowless room working on computer aided designs at a large corporation; it just seemed like a dead end for me.” Instead, she maxed out her credit cards and built a website, aimeewilder.com. Her work, with its hip, childish modernity, has been well-received overseas and has attracted the attention of Vans, who has licensed her designs for footwear and fashion accessories. “The opportunity with Vans was probably my biggest break for my artwork,” Wilder says. “Working with a large brand gave me the opportunity to strategically launch my wallpaper in the same season as the footwear, and the wallpaper has really taken off.” In addition to wall treatments, she also designs bedding and hopes to branch out into other home textiles as well as vinyl collectibles. Keep an eye out for a new line of notebooks from Mead and a few other top secret product licenses in the mix. “I take my ideas and make them accessible for the public,” she says. “My business keeps me going–there’s so much to do! When I’m finally able to sit down and focus on designing and implementing my ideas, it’s refreshing.”

Reprinted from the April 2011 issue of Metropolis magazine with permission.

HOBART AND WILLIAM SMITH COLLEGES

One Million Pounds of Ice by Melissa Sue Sorrells Galley ’05

WILLIAM GLAAB ’06 AND COURTNEY APPLE ’08

Business and Heart: Hand in Hand by Sarah Tompkins ’10 After three years of brainstorming, it was in an airport – waiting to board a plane bound for Argentina – that it finally clicked. Social entrepreneurs Courtney Apple ’08 and William Glaab ’06 stumbled across the organization Clean the World in a magazine article. The not-for-profit agency seeks to provide children in impoverished countries with a much needed staple of everyday life – soap. “It was one of those ‘ah-ha’ moments,” explains Apple. “For some time, we had wanted to start a business that could thrive while also giving back to the community.” “We wanted to create a product that could affect a life in a really significant way,” says Glaab. Each year, more than five million people in impoverished countries die of respiratory infections and diarrheal diseases. Many of those deaths, Apple and Glaab say, could be prevented through proper hygiene. With the simple act of washing hands, deaths could be reduced by 45 percent. “Courtney and I saw these startling statistics and a light bulb went off in our heads,” says Glaab. 28 Pulteney Street Survey | Winter 2012

Their solution was to establish a company, Hand in Hand Soap, that manufactures and distributes a lightly scented and luxurious soap that is 100 percent eco-friendly, biodegradable and sustainable. Most importantly, for each bar purchased, Hand in Hand donates a bar of soap to those in need. The business has been profitable; they have sold their sustainable suds to thousands of caring consumers. In addition to supporting disease prevention, their customers enjoy knowing that each bar is free from palm oil, is cruelty free, and has been certified by Fair Trade USA. And, for each bar purchased, profits are used to save 50 feet of rainforest in Southeast Asia. The couple proudly reports that in February, using the services of Clean the World, Hand in Hand Soap will make its first delivery to Haiti. Additionally, their product has been getting attention from major retailers throughout the nation, and has been featured in numerous magazines including InStyle, Philadelphia Magazine and Daily Candy, as well as countless blogs. With the resoundingly positive attention Hand in Hand Soap has received, the couple plans to expand their product line. “Our goal is to create more sets of soaps in the immediate future. We’re keeping the soap our No. 1 concentration, but there is so much room to grow. The sky’s the limit,” says Glaab. ●

“With the advent of refrigeration, ice is a product we seldom need but cannot live without,” says Joe Lillis ’92, president of Cape Cod Ice. “Ice has become a luxury product, and I’m an ice snob, no doubt.” Inspired by his own palette, Lillis founded On the Rocks, which makes designer ice from natural spring water for upscale bars, restaurants and natural food stores. “We produce specialty ice for quality-conscious consumers,” says Lillis. “Our ice doesn’t affect the quality of the beverages it chills, and the large size cube and harder consistency allows the ice to melt more slowly so it won’t dilute your drink.” Lillis brings this passion for high-quality ice to the mainstream commodity ice market as well. His Cape Cod Ice brand has a proprietary process that keeps water moving continuously as it freezes resulting in a cleaner, harder ice with fewer impurities. “We make a product that people can make at home for free, so we have to do it better. We test our water quality more frequently than the city checks the tap,” he says. In fact, unlike many other ice manufacturers, Cape Cod Ice produces only food-grade ice. As the former chair of the International Packaged Ice Association, Lillis has lobbied the Food and Drug Administration to implement a series of ice-quality guidelines, similar to those for bottled water. Clean, food-grade ice is especially important to Lillis because he’s been known to move mountains of ice during natural disasters and other emergency situations. Cape Cod Ice sent more than 100 trailers of ice to New Orleans in the days following Hurricane Katrina. “Ice is so ingrained in our everyday lives that we don’t think about it until we don’t have it,” says Lillis. “When there’s an emergency or when there’s no power, that’s when we realize how central it is.” At peak production, Cape Cod Ice is capable of manufacturing more than one million pounds of the cold stuff each day and produces more than a dozen different types, from cubes to giant blocks for ice sculptures. They also maintain thousands of ice freezers and serve as public cold storage. Lillis, who learned the family business from the ground up as an ice bagger and delivery truck driver, knows the ice business, sure, but does he have a favorite shape? You bet. Called Vogt large tube ice, it’s cylindrical and has a hole down the center. And if he could pour absolutely anything over those frosty little tubes? “Corona with a bunch of limes,” he says. “And some salt on the rim, please.” ●

Peter’s Bees Wax by Melissa Sue Sorrells Galley ’05 It all started with a bee hive. In a chimney, of all places. “We removed more than 200 pounds of honey and somewhere around 60,000 bees,” says Peter Rountree ’06. “I didn’t want to displace this thriving colony so I started managing them. From there it just grew. And grew. It got a little out of control, actually.” Today, Rountree keeps more than 75 hives in Boulder County, Colo., and is the proprietor of Uncle Pete’s Bees, an all-natural “personal primping products” company devoted to protecting Boulder’s bee population. From the byproduct of his honey harvest, Rountree makes all-natural lip balm as well as handcrafted moustache wax for the “sophisticated brute.” “After I’d been taking care of the bees for a while, I made some lip balm from their bees wax, and I gave it to my friends as a holiday gift. Everyone loved it,” says the young entrepreneur, whose honey won a blue ribbon at the Boulder County Fair this year. “I realized I could make a sustainable, local product and earn enough to support my bee habit.” Months of rigorous testing followed, as Rountree and his friends purposely chapped their lips on the ski slopes so they could test-drive different formulas. “A lot of the bees wax balms on the market are very spicy or have an intense peppermint flavor,” he says. “I wanted mine to be subtle and smooth.” He settled on an all-natural mix of his own wax blended with shea butter, lanolin, vitamin e and several essential oils. “It’s all local or purchased sustainably,” says Rountree. “And I believe it’s the most effective balm on the market for cold-weather sports.” “My products are in many stores locally and my honey is served at select fine dining restaurants,” says Rountree. “The bees are facing a very harsh environment, and I’m constantly adapting my techniques to meet their needs. It’s been an extremely busy few years but it feels good to grow my business while directly affecting the local ecosystem.” ●

PETER ROUNTREE ’06 WITH HIS BEES IN COLORADO.

JOE LILLIS ’92 AT HIS ICE MANUFACTURING FACILITY IN RHODE ISLAND.

HOBART AND WILLIAM SMITH COLLEGES

Teaching Freedom Alumna advocates for high quality public education for all children by Catherine Williams

WENDY PURIEFOY ’71

PHOTOS BY KEVIN COLTON

30 Pulteney Street Survey | Winter 2012

endy Puriefoy ’71 has dedicated her life to the notion that public education is a civil right. “Public education is the single most important public institution in a democratic society,” she recently wrote. “It is our ultimate department of defense against poverty, ignorance, hatred and intolerance.” A nationally recognized expert on issues of school reform and civil society, Puriefoy is a passionate advocate for high quality public education for all children, especially the poor and disenfranchised. She is the president of Public Education Network (PEN), a network comprised of a National Office, 76 Local Education Funds (LEFs) and individuals working to advance public school reform in low-income communities across the country. PEN is the nation’s largest network of community-based school reform organizations. It leverages its broad base of members to develop and scale innovative strategies that improve student outcomes within the public education system while also advocating for public support and policy change. Based in Washington, D.C., PEN’s National Office plays a critical role in representing the combined work of LEFs, interpreting LEF roles and performance, and acting as the broader voice of PEN. Under Puriefoy’s leadership, PEN and its members mobilize resources for quality public education on behalf of 12 million children across the country. “When you consider race and income disparities, the achievement gap in American schools is huge,” she says. “Our nation was founded by adventurous and courageous people but it was carried on by educated people. Democracies are complex things that require an educated population. There is a direct link between the quality of public education and the quality of life in a democratic society. We cannot afford to have a nation that is only half educated. If you are not educated, you simply are not free. Low education attainment in the country shackles the nation’s intellectual and economic growth and compromises our power globally.” Puriefoy’s life as an education and civil rights advocate started as a child in Philadelphia. “Both of my parents were deeply engaged in their community,” she explains. “My mother started the first local workshop for intellectually disabled children and served on the local school board. My father started the first private swim club owned by African Americans. Both my mother and father were active in the civil rights movement. They were always working to make the world a better place. I didn’t know any other way to live.” At William Smith, Puriefoy excelled. She was the first-ever student trustee elected to sit on the HWS Board of Trustees and was a member of the Presidential Committee on Minority Affairs and the Academic Affairs Committee. But what Puriefoy remembers most about her years in Geneva are the ways in which her professors and fellow students negotiated

“We cannot afford to have a nation that is only half educated. If

the nation’s contentious political and social environment. “I was at Hobart and William Smith during the ‘Tommy the Traveler’ incident,” Puriefoy explains. A traveling salesmen and reported FBI undercover agent, a man whom Walter Cronkite referred to as an ‘agent provocateur,’ Tommy Tongyai encouraged Hobart students to bomb the campus ROTC office. “It was reprehensible and the students rioted.” The results could have been dire, she says. “The Colleges could have closed down like several other colleges in upstate New York but President Beverly Causey and the faculty believed in the students and thought this was a teachable moment. They were so right.” Instead, Puriefoy says, “We had extraordinary conversations in the classroom and during open panel discussions. What happened at the Colleges at that time was truly remarkable. HWS made it possible for us to share our beliefs and to truly explain them to people who might not have been like-minded. I believe that it was the experience of working through something difficult and divisive like that – the reality of the situation – that gave me the tools for my career. That was an exceptional lesson.” After graduation, Puriefoy earned three master’s degrees in African American Studies, American Studies, and American Colonial History from Boston University (“That’s what happens when you don’t finish your Ph.D.,” she quips.) In 2006, she received an honorary doctorate of humane letters from Amherst College. One of her first jobs was serving as a special monitor of the 1974 court-ordered desegregation plan for Boston’s public schools. “I saw people at their worst and their best,” Puriefoy says. “Boston is an amazing city and it’s a better city

today because of the work that Judge Arthur Garrity and concerned citizens did during the school desegregation process.” In Boston, Puriefoy was a trust officer at the Boston Foundation Safe Deposit & Trust Company, the first African American woman to hold that position. She was eventually named executive vice president and chief operating officer of The Boston Foundation, one of the nation’s oldest community foundations, with an endowment of more than $750 million. During her time in philanthropy, she worked in South Africa during the fall of apartheid helping American companies collaborate with the South African government and community groups on issues of ethical divestment and community reinvestment. “I was able to meet very brave people, like Albertina Sisulu, who was formally under house arrest and all the while working as a freedom fighter. This was during the time when her husband, Albert Sisulu, was still imprisoned on Robben Island with Nelson Mandela,” she says. “Mrs. Sisulu’s windows were covered in barbed wire to protect her against the many firebombs that were lobbed at her home by pro-apartheid advocates. I knew that these same people, just days or weeks after sharing their stories with me, could be jailed or tortured.” These experiences in Boston and South Africa, she says, “…reinforced in me a deep appreciation for democracy and the Constitution, for the importance that the constitutional framers placed on education and for my own belief that public education is a fundamental foundation of democracy.” Public Education Network, which Puriefoy has helmed for 20 years, began life as a loose

you are not educated, you simply are not free.”

affiliation of grassroots LEFs supported by the Ford Foundation. As the Ford Foundation was winding down its support of successful LEF projects, all involved agreed that a central group that could coordinate efforts and funnel resources was essential in continuing to see positive outcomes. Puriefoy served as the chair of the search committee for the organization’s first director. “We took a short break after completing interviews with prospective applicants. When I returned to the conference room, everyone had these mischievous looks on their faces. The board chair, David W. Hornbeck, said they had unanimously decided that I take the job and they were willing to wait a few weeks until I made the right decision. Puriefoy says. “I made the right decision.” Puriefoy explains that what keeps her going are the opportunities. “The need for great public schools is as strong as ever, and the learning landscape is changing,” she says. “Technology is rewiring the brain and the type of education we need will be one that produces individuals welleducated enough to teach themselves over and over again.” Puriefoy says that the Colleges provided her best example of this. “I got a great liberal arts education here and it has stood me in very good stead,” she says. “My classmates and I were given so many opportunities at Hobart and William Smith – but the question that governed our lives was - what will you do to help others? I’ve answered that by becoming an education advocate.” In 1992, Puriefoy returned to the Hobart and William Smith Board of Trustees, serving for two years. She is a founding member of the Advisory Board of The Fisher Center, served on the Centennial Honorary Committee, and received the Alumnae Achievement Award in 2000. In 2007, Puriefoy received The President’s Medal, presented to individuals for outstanding service to the community, the country and their profession. ● HOBART AND WILLIAM SMITH COLLEGES

IN MEDICAL RESEARCH by Melissa Sue Sorrells Galley ’05

Robert Distel ’76 on Translational Research I started my career as a research technician at Harvard, and I always wondered how our work in the lab made its way into clinical trials and, eventually, into the hands of patients. Over the years I saw it not happen more than I saw it happen, and I began to talk with friends and colleagues about how we could harness some of these really interesting discoveries and move them forward. In the world of science, the process of moving an idea from the bench to the bedside is called ‘translation,’ and it’s extremely complicated. There are many groups involved at every step of the way, from researchers to

• • • •

Research Director, Translational Research Laboratory at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Associate Director, Harvard Catalyst Laboratory for Innovative Translational Technology at Harvard Medical School Ph.D., Biology, Tufts University B.S. Biology, Hobart College

32 Pulteney Street Survey | Winter 2012

pharmaceutical executives, and every group has its own culture, language and way of working. In too many cases, these differences get in the way of meaningful outcomes for patients. One of the most fundamental disconnects in science is between basic researchers and clinical researchers. Basic researchers design and complete controlled experiments in a laboratory, and they get very precise results. Clinicians, on the other hand, perform their tests in live patients, so they can’t control all of the variables. In order to improve upon existing cancer therapies and develop new ones, basic researchers need incredibly precise measurements of how cancer therapies work in humans. Currently, the clinicians are unable to provide those measurements without compromising patient care. They are working together, but they speak different languages,

and there are very few translators out there. That’s where my lab comes in. In 2002, Dr. Lee Nadler, the Senior Vice President of Experimental Medicine at Dana-Farber and the Virginia and D.K. Ludwig Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, invited me to work with him to create a new Translational Research Laboratory. We have the lab space and expertise to bridge the gaps between different cultures in the scientific community, leading to more multidisciplinary collaboration. Currently, we’re exploring the diagnostic potential of circulating tumor cells, which break off from the main tissue mass and move through the blood stream. Do these cells have the same makeup as the rest of the tumor? Can we use them to study the tumor as a whole? And, if we can, how will we harvest them? Even if the circulating tumor cells are a perfect diagnostic tool, they’re useless unless we can develop a simple and efficient technique to collect them.

Julia James ’04 on Revolutionizing Communications between Science and Society

• • • PHOTO BY KEVIN COLTON

There are very few of these cells in a single sample of blood, so we’re working on a new device that will filter the circulating tumor cells out of a sample. If we can do that, we may gain a massive amount of data about what’s happening inside of a patient’s body just by taking a tube of blood. We’re hopeful that these technologies will eliminate a significant barrier between basic and clinical researchers working to cure cancer. I feel incredibly lucky to work with remarkable, basic biomedical researchers as well as clinicians and physician-scientists who are all working together to find more effective approaches. My work is incredibly exciting. I have the flexibility to bring technologies together, collaborate with researchers, and bring therapies to patients. We’re advancing science and everyone benefits. ●

While I was at Oxford, I was working on therapies for HIV, however I didn’t interact with patients at all. I felt very far removed from the people I wanted so desperately to help. I wondered why there wasn’t a better way to connect researchers and the public to create a dialogue. I realized, if it didn’t exist, I’d have to help create it. I want to break down the barriers between researchers and the communities they serve. New therapies come out of labs every day; however among the people those therapies are meant for there is an almost cultural skepticism about science that drowns out all of the other voices. It’s understandable; they’re reacting to some unethical practices of the past, but we have to change the way new technologies are seen by the public, otherwise, what’s the point of creating them? I see a way–and a real need–to incorporate the public into the research process. There are a lot of great researchers out there who would benefit from a successful integrated approach to engaging the community in their work. I believe the solution is a new frontier incorporating global health, communications and mentoring. Right now, I am applying to post-doctoral fellowships so that I can pursue this project. In the meantime, I’m working with the largest government-funded mentoring program in the country, which I view as an extension of my field work. I’m learning things every day that will help me begin building an infrastructure for twoway exchange between science and society.

• •

Outreach Coordinator, New York City Mentoring Program Rhodes Scholar (Green Templeton College 2004) D.Phil., Immunology and Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford Diploma, Integrated Immunology, University of Oxford B.S., Chemistry, William Smith College

Rick Andrews ’73 on Treating Kidney Disease Winston Churchill said, “once in a while you will stumble upon the truth but most of us manage to pick ourselves up and hurry along as if nothing had happened.” I stumbled into working on renal disease in the 80s, but once I started meeting the patients who suffer through dialysis I couldn’t go on as if nothing happened. Today, my company is working on therapies to treat acute kidney injury (an often fatal, in-hospital event) and to combat chronic kidney disease, the kind you see in patients with diabetes and hypertension. Chronic patients suffer progressive loss of kidney function due to fibrosis, which leads to chronic dialysis. We are developing peptides that protect the kidney and block the process by which fibrosis forms. Our therapies have been shown, so far, to be safe and to stop kidney loss. One additional benefit is that our peptides are not destroyed by stomach enzymes, so they can be taken orally. This could be a major breakthrough: a pill to prevent and treat chronic kidney disease. If it’s effective in humans, these patients would not face the prospect of chronic dialysis! This breakthrough results from more than 25 years of work. Groundbreaking ideas don’t become game-changing innovations without a whole team of talented people working hard for a common goal. Hard work and commitment are what make good ideas real.

• President and CEO, Thrasos Innovation, Inc. • S.M., Technology and Policy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology • M.S., Chemistry, Purdue University • B.S., Chemistry, Hobart College

HOBART AND WILLIAM SMITH COLLEGES

Pain Relief Alumna shares acupuncture techniques in Kenya by Mary K. LeClair

ith a suitcase filled with auricular needles, probes, latex gloves, alcohol swabs and hand sanitizer, Acupuncturist Sarah Nargiso ’07 stepped off a plane in Nairobi, Kenya, last June ready to treat those living in considerable physical pain. For the rest of that day, Nargiso and two fellow acupuncturists traveled the bumpy roads to reach the small town of Talek, Kenya, in the heart of the Maasai Mara National Reserve. There, they set up a clinic in an empty cement building where they would work for the next three weeks. “We understood our purpose the minute we arrived. I immediately saw that the people of Talek had absolutely nothing,” says Nargiso. “Many were experiencing physical pain; they don’t have a hospital or access to any medicines; even Aspirin is unavailable. They just live in pain.” Nargiso is a co-founder of One World Health Project, an organization that was established in 2009 by students in the master’s degree program of Traditional Oriental Medicine at Emperor’s College in Santa Monica, Calif. The concept of acupuncture outreach was inspired by a lunch break conversation and soon developed into a non-profit organization. The group’s mission is to promote wellness education and increase access to acupuncture in underserved communities locally and abroad. They have since created programs to both treat and raise awareness about acupuncture and

34 Pulteney Street Survey | Winter 2012

ABOVE: SARAH NARGISO ’07 WITH PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN IN KENYA, WHERE SHE PERFORMED ACUPUNCTURE ON PATIENTS EXPERIENCING PHYSICAL PAIN.

“In addition to treating the community, we also empowered them,” says Nargiso. “We taught them simple acupuncture and Oriental medicine practices so they can continue to heal their community.” Oriental medicine around Los Angeles. In the Fall of 2010, they were invited to Talek by a Kenyan Maasai warrior and nurse practitioner who wanted to bring treatment to his people. While in Talek, Nargiso and her colleagues served nearly 400 people, who each morning were lined up seated on the ground outside the center and continuously streamed in throughout the day for what they called “magic” treatment for their pains. The three treated those suffering from severe headaches, neck and back pain and respiratory conditions. Nargiso discovered that the leading causes of these ailments are related to the harsh physical lifestyle of the Maasai people. They walk many miles just to graze their cattle, and collect water and firewood for their families. The women especially, must walk great lengths carrying large and extremely heavy jugs of water strapped to their heads just for their families to survive. They use a fireplace in their huts to cook, but ventilation is poor and leads to painful respiratory conditions and eye pain. All of this, in addition to the natural elements in rural Kenya, where Malaria and Typhoid are ever present, and whose symptoms linger a lifetime. The One World Health Project’s wellness program was designed as a sustainable system. As Nargiso was seeing patients she also found time to train a few local healthcare workers in simple auricular acupuncture protocols to continue treatment. In March, Nargiso will return to check on the progress of her students and offer new clinics. She has received several invitations from other villages who have heard of their work and hopes to expand the project’s reach. “In addition to treating the community, we also empowered them,” says Nargiso. “We taught them simple acupuncture and Oriental medicine practices so they can continue to heal their community. The response was overwhelmingly positive.” Nargiso says she experienced true Kenyan culture when she had the opportunity to leave the clinic for a day and travel with local residents to the nearest “city” to pick up supplies. The trip took five hours one way and she boarded the hot, rundown, crowded public bus at 4 a.m. Due to heavy rains the night before, the roads were muddy and twice they slid off the road, requiring passengers to pull the bus back on the road. After shopping, the bus was packed to the brim with necessities and supplies that the passengers had purchased. Nargiso made the return trip sitting atop bags of potatoes and dodging produce hanging from the ceiling. She loved living the native life.

“Sitting with my legs clutched to my chest I learned so much about the culture and the people of Kenya. The bus ride was crazy and exhausting and unlike anything I have ever experienced but I loved every minute of it. I got a real feel for the culture that day,” Nargiso says. “The people of Kenya are among the warmest I have ever known. Patient and generous, they may not have much but they will give you all that they have.” Each day, she was moved and humbled by the generosity and gratitude of the people she treated. She often received hugs from her patients as well as gifts of fine beadwork they had crafted for their livelihood. Already graduated and nationally certified, Nargiso will soon take her California board exam, and intends to set up a practice in California as a licensed acupuncturist. “Oriental medicine changes lives. That is why I love this work,” says Nargiso. “One of my instructors at Emperor’s College used to tell me that you have to approach every patient with genuine care and warmth–with an open heart. The ability to do that is rare and often under appreciated. I feel so privileged to have found that potential, and I cannot wait to continue to share it with the world.” ●

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: SARAH NARGISO ’07 TREATS A PATIENT WHILE OTHER COMMUNITY MEMBERS LOOK ON, LEARNING HOW TO PERFORM THERAPIES. A PATIENT UNDERGOES EAR ACUPUNCTURE TREATMENT, AN EFFECTIVE METHOD FOR RELIEVING A VARIETY OF ACUTE AND CHRONIC PAINS. THE MAASAI POSE FOR A PHOTO IN HAND-BEADED GARMENTS.

HOBART AND WILLIAM SMITH COLLEGES

Anna Hertlein ’12 While trying to tie her interest in sustainability into her role as a resident assistant, Anna developed the Eco Reps program at HWS. These greenminded students monitor energy issues, educate students about waste concerns, and keep track of the sustainability status of residence halls.

Noodling Noggins Each year, HWS students come up with ideas that surprise us with their innovation, creativity and, in many cases, practical applications. Herewith –a sampling of fresh ideas from HWS students. en that ’t ev hasn group,” also e h s d ds focu s an rien nd esse online e and f hoto a n i s p 7 u H / b a 4 . o “2 ad w an ed t . Be is a uplo unch rEffect, like L.L sers to a l y s u o t ad s Trem clien h allow alre has is first, rk with ic . e h i s l w r a o H v Cha ated. o w t.com, ed can r u im t t grad lowed h ed AnyA d-pain n l h a a c h a has ly laun s a nt ted rece recrea t i have

’12 e l a H rles a h C

Yaoxin Liu ’12 and Yixiao Sha ’12 Using a five-dimensional system, Yaoxin and Yixiao developed a mathematical model that explains the interactions between the Hepatitis Beta (HBV) and Hepatitis Delta (HDV) viruses and their impact on the human body. Numerical simulations show the existence of positive steady states representing chronic co-infection, suggesting that co-infection increases damage due to general inflammation.

LIU

SHA

36 Pulteney Street Survey | Winter 2012

Women’s Studies Students

Students in Professor of Women’s Studies Betty Bayer’s senior seminar created waves in the online feminist community, opening up a vital dialogue on feminism for today’s young women. The group’s response to a piece in the online feminist journal On the Issues moved its editors to introduce a new section, “Student Think Tank.”

2 a ’1 ing it is t r a l g o e a M how chalnlenand cann l e c a Mar rned abowuhtat onecrceated tuhteomated

A e s ce Con termin cela ha n and . Her o ) e k r s A i d a ia M AR to kios (EL tal L cle, ing recy onmen sistant d-look ts the . u e s ir Env cling A ace-ag d outp ethod m n y p l a c s sa ls Re ly labe e dispo itive l pos s UPC b a n n stai sca t su mos

or t e eff d th g HWS e l n kin eo ch , ma , Gid ram rogram have su g o r P P o al t s n n e e o o i t c i ucat d Chan York Sta Correct d E ts son l Secon n New . Poin l Pri Five sistants rnel ucationa cation i t o a C s h u e a c d d h a g E t e e n S by hi er ll t e HW teac s wi high ired Insp anize th tion of rofessor erve as u s g t p r to o ird insti w, HWS lunteers th vo No t . n the e m stud ogra a pr y while t i l i c Fa

r ’12 e t r o on P e d i G

Maeve Donnelly ’13 and Noah Lucas ’13 Wind energy now supplies 100 percent of the electricity used at the Colleges, and like many good ideas at Hobart and William Smith, this one came directly from students. Maeve and Noah initiated the renewable energy purchasing recommendation and submitted their proposal on wind energy to the President’s Climate Task Force.

Melody Acosta ’12

Adam Brooks ’12 The molecule Adam created in the lab has a long chemical name but its nickname is “7 wire” because it has a seven-carbon bridge. Adam hasn’t gotten his molecule tattooed on his bicep (yet), but he does have a nuclear magnetic resonance image of it hanging at his lab bench and in his dorm room.

Known around campus for her completely edible, sculpted cake toppers, Melody recently created an uncanny portrait of Colleges’ President Mark D. Gearan completely from sugar and fondant. Her idea is to combine her interests in art and baking into a business post-graduation.

HOBART AND WILLIAM SMITH COLLEGES

Translating Media

PHOTO BY KEVIN COLTON

by Jeanne Nagle

JAVIER SARALEGUI ’81 AT HOME IN NEW YORK CITY

“If you have an idea, you have to bounce it off people.”

38 Pulteney Street Survey | Winter 2012

avier Saralegui ’81 seems to have a genetic predisposition for success. “I come from a very entrepreneurial family where thinking out of the box was always stressed,” says Saralegui. And it’s hard to argue with the clan’s track record. One brother is a movie producer whose films include Speed and Independence Day, while another has served as publisher of Sports Illustrated. Another sibling founded a private satellite company, runs a public relations firm and operates a handful of restaurants in New York City. His aunt, Christina Saralegui, is one of Latin America’s most famous talk show hosts. Like his family, Saralegui has made a major name for himself. As a college graduate entering a difficult job market in 1981, Saralegui found himself veering from his intended career path in environmental economics to accept a position as ad sales director for Medico Interamericano, a magazine for Spanishspeaking physicians. Within two years, they sold the magazine. The experience opened his eyes to new business possibilities. “I thought ‘I’ve got a knack for this media thing,’” Saralegui recalls. “And the second thing I thought was that the Hispanic niche was only going to get bigger.” After working in ad sales, he tried his hand at electronic media sales with Spanish International Network—now Univision—the first Spanish-language television network in the United States. It was at Univision that Saralegui learned that he was more successful when he simply marketed the network on its merits, rather than emphasizing how different it was because of its Latin emphasis. “It taught me to play by the buyer’s rules,” he says. “Play by the buyer’s rules and good things happen. It’s a lesson that I’ve tried to apply ever since.” Saralegui has parlayed that lesson, along with his understanding of Hispanic culture, into a number of successful management positions within Latin media outlets, including tenure as president of Univision-subsidiary Galavisión. He resigned from Galavisión in 2000 to focus on Univision Online, which he developed from

the ground up. With Univision.com, Saralegui realized that he could take some of what worked in television and apply it to the Internet, pulling from his past experiences to create a unique product tailored to the Hispanic audience. Designed around a preference for strong visuals that he recognized from his days in print media, the site featured plenty of images. Univision.com also featured what Saralegui terms a “Latino-centric sports focus” in addition to Latin-American news and entertainment stories, another proven tactic Saralegui borrowed from his days at Galavisión. Univision.com has proved remarkably successful, as has Univision Movil, a mobile products and services division. “We had a lot of vision and tried a lot of different things,” Saralegui says of his team at Univision. In 2009, Saralegui was persuaded by fellow Hobart alumnus Christopher Henderson ’82 to join mobile marketing platform company JAGTAG as a business development partner. JAGTAG technology enables the users of most cell phones— not just smartphones—to easily access information contained in QR codes without downloading a scanner. (QR codes are bar codes that provide multimedia marketing information.) JAGTAG was sold to Augme Technologies in July 2011. Since then, Saralegui has been hard at work developing “a Hispanic digital incubator.” His new company, formed with his brother Alvaro, helps promote digital startups that serve Latin audiences. Their first client is a Spanish-language search engine called Ya Sabe (“You Know”). Saralegui stresses that he did not reach his level of success alone; he always works with others to refine his ideas. “If you have an idea, you have to bounce it off people,” he says. “I’ve always looked for confirmation of ideas, and I usually try to get it from experts. To put all that together, you have to be blessed with relationships, a strong network and hopefully good instincts. And a little luck doesn’t hurt either.”●

Artisans of Leisure by Whitman Littlefield ’11

ASHLEY ISAACS GANZ ’95 IN GREECE.

shley Isaacs Ganz ’95 had her ‘ah-ha’ moment on her living room couch, which might seem like a strange place for a world traveler to have a revelation about life. Working as an executive with an international tour operator, Ganz organized trips all over the world. But what should have been a dream job for the life-long cultural explorer, just didn’t feel right. “We were not offering the level of luxury or cultural depth that I wanted to provide,” she explains. “I was struggling with it, until my husband asked, ‘Why don’t you create a company and do it the way you want?’ It was a light bulb moment; as soon as I thought about that possibility, I knew it was right and I never looked back.”

Ganz’s love of exploring new cultures and places began when she was a child and carried her through her college career. She focused her studies on sociology, education, and women’s studies at HWS before moving on to graduate studies at the New School for Social Research and the London School of Economics. “I thought I was going to go into academia, and I was trying to pull together a lot of different fields that interested me,” says Ganz of her Ph.D. thesis on the history and sociology of luxury travel and consumer culture. “I didn’t want to just write about the industry; I wanted to be involved in a much more hands-on way.” Buoyed by her husband’s support, Ganz quit her job, put her Ph.D. dissertation on hold, and established her own travel

company: Artisans of Leisure. From there, things came together quickly. “Shortly after forming my company, Japan’s national tourism organization recommended us to the New York Times and Artisans of Leisure was featured in an article. And then my phone started ringing. A lot.” With a team of eight travel planners, Artisans of Leisure creates highly personalized private tours for sophisticated, well-traveled and often demanding clients who expect only the finest hotels, touring with their own guides and drivers, and unique activities customized to their interests. The company’s tours emphasize culture and, as Ganz says, “all the little hidden gems we’ve discovered.” “Recently, we had a family that wanted to go to Russia, but the daughter was captain of her tennis team and wanted to practice every day,” says Ganz. Not only was Artisans of Leisure able to find her space and time to practice, they managed to book a lesson with a Russian Olympic tennis player. For a family traveling to Egypt, the company arranged for the 9-year-old, ancient Egypt-obsessed daughter to meet Zahi Hawass. In another instance, Artisans of Leisure clients met with the King and Queen of Bhutan during a private tour of the Himalayas. “I really feel that travel should be about enlightening experiences, but it should be fun, too,” says Ganz. “Running Artisans of Leisure, I feel like I’m still in academia—researching, learning and teaching on a daily basis while also redefining luxury travel.” ●

“It was a light bulb moment; as soon as I thought about that possibility, I knew it was right and I never looked back.”

HOBART AND WILLIAM SMITH COLLEGES

Candy Rox

PHOTO BY KEVIN COLTON

by Dominic Moore ’05

DAVID BROOKS ’76 IN FRONT OF HIS STORE JUST BULBS IN NEW YORK CITY

A Bright Idea by Dominic Moore ’05 Sometimes you just have to see things in a new light. Whether he’s illuminating an art gallery, brightening up a Broadway set or adding glamour to a boutique clothing store, David Brooks ’76 has built a world-wide reputation doing exactly that: helping his customers find exactly the right light for the job. An attorney by training, Brooks left a management consulting career in St. Louis to take the reins of Manhattan-based store Just Bulbs in 1984. Already a well-known resource for specialized lighting, Brooks streamlined and expanded the business while applying his own management savvy and his experiences in theater and set design at Hobart. Just Bulbs now stocks a mind-boggling 35,000 styles of lighting, from replica Edison filaments to the latest energy-efficient LEDs and from specialized film and theater hardware to hip, new interior design concepts. But the real resource of Just Bulbs isn’t found on the store shelves; it’s in the expertise that Brooks offers to every customer. “With the right lighting, stores can sell more clothes,” he says. “Hair salons can offer better services. Wallpaper and paint stores can be more successful. It’s important to get the right light for the right space.” Brooks is passionate about the details of proper lighting. For example, his store doesn’t stock one Edison bulb – instead, it stocks 25, each one representing a different era and style. “Do you want a bulb that’s accurate to 1893 or one that’s accurate to 1910?” Brooks asks. “We’ve got them all.” These details matter to his customers, too. Gracie Mansion, the official residence of New York City’s mayor, called on Brooks to install authentic lighting throughout the residence and foreign diplomats frequently consult with Just Bulbs to special order obscure European light fixtures that will work with American voltages. “All the embassies in New York have our number,” Brooks quips. And when they come into the store, asking for an alarmingly specific European-style fixture, Brooks just smiles and says, “I’ve got it!” ●

40 Pulteney Street Survey | Winter 2012

You might say it all began with a sweet idea. Trish Frohman ’86 had just retired from a high octane career as the executive vice president of sports sales and marketing for Turner Broadcasting. While looking for a project closer to home and family, Frohman noticed that while trendy coffee shops were all the rage with local adults, young people had no similar outlet, no space which they could claim as their own. The result was Candy Rox in Rye, N.Y. One part after-hours hangout, one part retail candy and gift mecca, Candy Rox is trendy, artistic, music driven and community focused. It was also an immediate success, resonating with youth looking for a positive hangout at the end of the day. Working with D-ash Design, Frohman nailed the details, from the graffiti-art walls and recycled skateboard shelves to the tunes coming through the speakers. The lounge area at the store even comes equipped with an electric guitar and amp, encouraging a creative, open-mic vibe. That fun, youthful

Tango for the 21st Century feeling translates into the store’s online presence, www.candyrox.net. The retail space of Candy Rox contains much of the sweet stuff you might expect, but Frohman also digs up unique and eye-catching gifts. Rock posters signed by the artist are a big hit, as are jewelry and clothing. “We spend an enormous amount of time finding things that the next person won’t have,” Frohman explains. “And we love offering items that give back to the community or hosting shopping nights where a percent of the proceeds go to a local school.” But central to the Candy Rox success story are the kids it serves. They often take part-time jobs at the store and even sell their creations on its shelves. “We’re really driven by feedback and support from the kids,” Frohman says, and that includes their own handiwork, from homemade necklaces to deluxe ducttape wallets. Community-driven and wildly innovative, Candy Rox may be the hippest candy store in America. ●

by Dominic Moore ’05 Sharna Fabiano ’97 isn’t just a master of the art form of tango, she’s helping to evolve the dance into new and innovative directions. As the co-founder of two tango schools, one in Boston and the other in Washington D.C., Fabiano teaches basic skills, but is always looking to energize the field, to connect more people with tango and to build a world-wide community. Because tango is community driven, largely fueled by the work of passionate non-professionals, Fabiano wanted to find a way to make the art form more sustainable. “I wanted a way to present tango to a wider public,” Fabiano says, “as well as to bring credibility and honor to the art form.” The result was Tango Mercurio, a non-profit, educational arts organization that brings tango to new audiences through teaching, cultural events and outreach to under-served youth and the elderly, all while supporting the authentic folk traditions of tango and the community of musicians and dancers who give life to the art form. Instead of teaching tango as a service, Fabiano sees the industry moving toward a non-profit education model, one that throws new light on the dance. “We lump tango in with other forms of ‘entertainment,’” Fabiano says, “but it isn’t that at all; it’s a community-based art form, and because of that it doesn’t fit very well into a commercial business model.” Another project co-founded by Fabiano, Global Milonga, connects a global community of tango dancers through events streamed over the Web. “There is power in people discovering their ability to connect with one another,” Fabiano says of the experience. “It fosters a sense of our collective humanity.” Global Milonga donates the proceeds of its events to Trees for the Future, which supports communitybased re-forestation efforts. A passionate innovator, Fabiano is on the cutting edge of her art, mixing education, outreach and service into a new model for 21st century tango. ●

SHARNA FABIANO ’97 AND DAN ISTRATE DEMONSTRATE THE TANGO.

PHOTO BY ISAAC OBOKA

PHOTO COURTESY OF DANIEL AUBRY STUDIO

HOBART AND WILLIAM SMITH COLLEGES

THE HYPNOTIST BY JONAS WOOD ’99

by Catherine Williams

42 Pulteney Street Survey | Winter 2012

“Art isn’t a nineto-five job. It starts when it starts – sometimes at two in the morning, and ends when it ends.” JONAS WOOD ’99 IN THE STUDIO

n the occasion of Jonas Wood’s most recent solo show at the Anton Kern Gallery in New York City, Roberta Smith of the New York Times wrote: “…his works negotiate an uneasy truce among the abstract, the representational, the photographic and the just plain weird.” Stacks of bird cages stored in a corner, their tiny metal bars forming a rippling kaleidoscope. A static-filled television in front of a geometric landscape of lines and masks. A seemingly silent painting of the artist and a hypnotist that on closer inspection reveals a thunderous, tipping vortex of color and pattern, all of it hinging on the hypnotist’s eyes. For Wood, these are the landscapes of his life that, along with his paintings of sports figures and abstract plants, have garnered him critical and popular acclaim as well as 23 group shows and 11 solo exhibits, including one at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles. “I collect different images, make a lot of drawings and take photographs,” Wood explains. “All of these things turn into collages and eventually paintings. What I’m doing is an exploration of painting. It’s representational, but by experimenting with shapes, colors and forms, I’m approaching it in an abstract way.” It’s this tense line between reality and perception that sets Wood apart. From a family that is equal parts scientific and artistic – his grandfather was both a physician and an artist, his father is an architect and his mother taught drama, Wood’s work and life is grounded in an appreciation for both. Wood chose Hobart because it offered him the ability to take courses in premed and art. “Hobart was the only school I applied to,”

he says. “I wanted a liberal arts college on the East Coast. I visited, loved it and that was pretty much it.” Wood eventually majored in psychology and interned with a dyslexia clinic while abroad in Bath, England. His senior year, he took an independent study with Associate Professor of Art Nick Ruth. “I asked Nick if he would teach me how to paint and he agreed to it.” Wood set up a studio in the basement of Bampton House and, after graduation, continued to paint. He spent one year in Boston working at the McLean Hospital psychiatric center at Harvard University, thinking the experience would help in his applications to grad school for psychology. Eventually, though, he decided to pursue an MFA. “Nick really encouraged me and it was through his connections with the faculty at the University of Washington that I was accepted to their MFA program.” Wood recalls being told during grad school that the odds of any MFA candidate being able to make a living through art were about one in 10. “But once I started painting full time, I knew it was what I wanted to do.” His success is the result of obvious talent combined with an aggressive work ethic. “I’m in the studio seven days a week,” says Wood, who is married to the artist Shio Kusaka. “Art isn’t a nine-to-five job. It starts when it starts – sometimes at two in the morning, and ends when it ends. It’s a monastic life to a certain extent and it involves a lot of sacrifice. But it is also very rewarding.” ● ROSY’S MASKS BY JONAS WOOD ’99

Wood ’99 is currently preparing for an upcoming show at the David Kordansky Gallery in Los Angeles, scheduled to open on March 31.

HOBART AND WILLIAM SMITH COLLEGES

Creating Hope Edward Brennan P’06, P’12 answers a call to action in Haiti by Sarah Tompkins ’10

n Jan. 12, 2010, the entire world watched in horror as a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck the island nation of Haiti. The natural disaster threw Haiti into chaos, with images of utter devastation and news of more than 316,000 deaths rippling like aftershocks around the globe. As the scenes of chaos began to unfold on news networks throughout the world, Edward Brennan P’06, P’12 watched from his home in Hong Kong. Shocked by the devastation, he recognized a call to action. “I needed to do something that would help me understand Haiti, to try to comprehend what had happened,” he explains. As the chief executive officer and chair of DFS Group, the leading luxury retailer in the world catering to travelers in airports, Brennan knew he was in a position to affect real, positive change. So he immediately reached out to Olivier Bottrie, the president of travel retailing worldwide at Estée Lauder Companies and a friend whose Haitian wife still had strong ties to her home country. “I just asked: what can I do?” Two years later, that question has been answered with a sprawling school in the port city of Saint-Marc. In October 2011, Lycée Jean-Baptiste Pointe du Sable opened its doors

44 Pulteney Street Survey | Winter 2012

to 153 students, and will become a haven of learning for 720 pre-kindergarten through secondary school students by 2023. For Brennan, the idea of kindling hope is rooted in his family. Brennan’s godson, Michael, was born plagued with medical afflictions including blindness and cerebral palsy. He was not given long to live. Eleven years later when Michael did die, his optimistic outlook on life left his family with an indefatigable sense of hope. “Despite his physical limitations, he inspired the entire family,” recalls Brennan. “He made me realize that an individual who is able to receive proper care, love and help can lead a happy and productive life. He helped me focus on the importance of giving back.” With Bottrie on his side, Brennan called upon another friend and associate, Martin Moodie, founder and chair of The Moodie Report, who has experience driving major industry charity projects. Armed with Brennan’s vision of helping children to live the best possible lives in a country seemingly lost, the three men began to explore how they could leverage their resources. During a brainstorming session, Bottrie expressed his dream of creating a school to educate those without opportunity. Brennan and his colleagues formed a clear vision for a longterm, sustainable school open to the children of Haiti in greatest need. They wanted to create a safe haven with high academic standards and positive connections to the local community. Above all, Brennan and his partners wanted to create hope. When Brennan took into consideration the seemingly insurmountable odds stacked against Haiti – it is the poorest country in the Western hemisphere and only a little over half of the population is literate, with even fewer granted access to school – he was not daunted. “We looked at these facts and said, ‘Maybe this is where we have the opportunity to make a real difference.’”

“The three of us made a commitment that we were going to run this project,” says Brennan. “We did not want to simply donate financial support and then hand it over for someone else to run. We wanted to immerse ourselves in the situation, to live and breathe it. We wanted to ensure that our vision was executed correctly. We had a different philosophy than many corporations do – instead of writing a check, we wanted to take full responsibility for this and educate our industry on a new model of service and philanthropy.” While developing the school, Brennan made frequent trips to Haiti. “The most important aspect of any venture is a commitment to invest time and research – which is exactly what we did; we made the time,” explains Brennan. “We all met with influential people in government, education and business. We approached the situation saying: here’s our vision, here’s what we’re thinking, and we opened ourselves up to learn.” Brennan quickly discovered that one of Haiti’s greatest ongoing challenges is a so-called “brain drain” in which well-educated young men and women leave their home country to work abroad. “What we’re interested in doing is not only providing an education, but providing opportunity in Haiti,” says Brennan. “So we’ve been working with local industries, helping to strengthen businesses so that they can one day provide our graduates with jobs.” Those future graduates are studying today in state-of-the-art facilities designed to help children in nearly every aspect of life. An onsite clinic provides children with healthcare, and twice daily meals are available to students at the school year-round – not just when school is in session. The school also nurtures students through arts and music education, incorporating a variety of classrooms and a library. Construction has started on a new sports complex with completion scheduled for this summer. A vegetable garden serves as an outdoor classroom on sustainability and the environment. With a dedication to academic excellence, Brennan and his partners consulted with the

French Lycée in New York to create a curriculum that teaches the French, English and Creole languages. With a high level of academic rigor required for the program, the school sought a dedicated staff and strong support system. The next logical step was to reach out to those who would help the growing school expand and enrich. Currently, Catherine O’Connor ’11 serves as a member of the school’s staff, working with the young students as a teacher. “The students of HWS are incredibly enthusiastic about the school, and there has been a great interest in applying for teaching positions and internships,” says Director of the Salisbury Center for Career Services and Professional Development Brandi Ferrara. “This program really provides an excellent opportunity for our students to do meaningful work beyond the Colleges, while using every aspect of their liberal arts backgrounds. They are given the chance to hone their teaching skills while building a life of consequence.” Before the school was constructed, Brennan’s connection with HWS students was well-established. Through DFS, Brennan has sought the skills of many students, providing a significant number with internships and jobs at the company’s base in Hong Kong. “I have always been impressed with the quality of HWS students, with the educational background provided to them and the breadth of courses that one can take. We have moved them into

the business field and they have excelled. That is a relationship we have extended to Hand in Hand.” Brennan hopes that more HWS students take advantage of the opportunities in Haiti. “All that you have to do is look at the children. You see this sparkle in their eyes and the big smiles on their faces. It says to us that these kids have hope – hope that their lives might be better than that of their families’,” says Brennan. “If you take a trip to Haiti, you will find yourself inspired every time. You realize that even in a small way, you can make a difference in the lives of those kids.” ●

“The most important aspect of any venture is a commitment to invest time and research – which is exactly what we did; we made the time.”

EDWARD BRENNAN P’06, P’12

PHOTO BY KEVIN COLTON

THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL AT LYCÉE JEAN-BAPTISTE POINTE DU SABLE IN HAITI. PHOTOS COURTESY OF HAND IN HAND FOR HAITI

HOBART AND WILLIAM SMITH COLLEGES

PHOTO BY KEVIN COLTON

SUSAN SCOTT ’67 IN THE SCANDLING CAMPUS CENTER AFTER DELIVERING A LECTURE TO STUDENTS.

46 Pulteney Street Survey | Winter 2012

One Conversation at a Time Getting Fierce with Susan Scott ’67 by Belinda Littlefield ’11

“A

dialogue is a conversation in which two people enter in one state and emerge from it in a different state because they’ve been influenced by one another,” says Susan Scott ’67. The founder and CEO of Fierce, Inc., a global leadership development and training company, Scott has based her career around the idea that conversations drive individual and organizational success. “While no conversation is guaranteed to transform a company, a relationship, or a life,” Scott explains, “any single conversation can.” The New York Times bestselling author of two books - Fierce Conversations and Fierce Leadership, Scott has spent the past 13 years leading CEO think tanks and teaching people around the world how to have what she calls ‘fierce conversations.’ “The next frontier for exponential growth for individuals and organizations, and the only sustainable competitive edge, lies in the area of human connectivity,” explains Scott, whose company, Fierce, Inc., teaches corporations and organizations how to have enriched conversations that lead to financial and personal success. Fierce, Inc. has worked globally with Fortune 1000 companies, including Ernst & Young, Starbucks, Wal-Mart, Coca-Cola, CARE and Crate & Barrel, in 18 countries. Through her company and the principles set forth in her first book, Scott helps clients realize that we all suffer from some degree of alethophobia, an illogical fear of the truth. While not unreasonable, since, as Scott says, we have all seen some kind of backlash against those who speak forthrightly – a lost place at the table, a lost promotion or a lost relationship – Scott helps her clients to overcome this fear and engage in authentic conversations that address important issues without assigning blame, leading them to live successful lives. Growing up in the 1960s, Scott could not have anticipated her current career. “When I grew up, I thought I had five career options: housewife, airline stewardess, secretary, nurse or teacher,” says Scott. “I wanted to be a high school teacher and became an English major at William Smith because I loved the subject matter and reading novels.”

I had a sudden insight: our careers, companies, relationships and,

one conversation at a time.” Post-graduation, In addition to Scott worked for providing certified several years as a facilitators for handshigh school English on training seminars, teacher before moving Fierce, Inc. also offers to Seattle with her clients the opportunity family in the late 1970s. to buy workshop materials then After working they can use to teach their for several years as a employees how to engage in the headhunter and at an adult suddenly, one kinds of conversations that lead training organization, Scott to success. Each of the workshops began running leadership training conversation provides the tools necessary to sessions for TEC Worldwide, an facilitate enriched conversations. As a international CEO-education and at a time. former high school teacher, Scott had development organization. “It was long held the goal of getting the Fierce an enormous switch and a little principles into the classroom, where scary, but it appealed to me because they could really aid in the educational I can only spend so much time in process. In 2002, the company started my comfort zone,” explains Scott. “I Fierce in the Schools (FITS), which have a real lust for change.” provides students and teachers with In her new role running think the skills to enrich classroom engagement and tanks, Scott engaged in more than 10,000 make their conversations more meaningful hours of conversations with CEOs and senior and better aimed at achieving personal and executives, helping them to facilitate better professional success. conversations, both within the think tank and in Today, Scott tours the world giving keynote their own businesses. In the midst of working addresses that highlight the methods that for TEC Worldwide, Scott had two epiphanies. have brought success to multiple businesses The first, a result of a 1999 keynote speech during the past two decades. Among her most by poet and Yorkshire business strategist recent stops was a three-day visit at Hobart David Whyte, proved that Scott is open to and William Smith Colleges, where she acted as interrogating her own reality – a principle she the Centennial Center for Leadership’s Leader would later outline in her first book. in Residence, meeting with groups from across “Whyte used the term ‘fierce campus as well as holding workshops for conversations,’ and I loved those two words students, faculty and staff members. juxtaposed. It woke me up,” says Scott. “The Scott plans to continue giving keynote next day I was scheduled to lead a training addresses to leaders and companies because, session for 16 international CEOs and that she says, “I love teaching. Anyone who teaches night, instead of going to the banquet, I sat knows that they are the ones who learn the in my hotel room, tore up the outline I’d been most. Our goal is to help change the world, one teaching from for years, and started all over.” conversation at a time.” ● Scott’s second epiphany, which gave rise to the big idea that launched a bidding war among New York publishers for her book, happened while re-reading Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises. “A character is in a bar drinking with his friends and someone asks, ‘How did you go bankrupt?’ He responds, ‘Gradually and then suddenly,’” recalls Scott. “And when I read that I had a sudden insight: our careers, companies, relationships and, indeed, our very lives succeed or fail gradually and then suddenly,

indeed, our very lives succeed or fail gradually and

HOBART AND WILLIAM SMITH COLLEGES

MARK DISSIN ’77 BEHIND THE SCENES AT THE FOOD NETWORK.

48 Pulteney Street Survey | Winter 2012

Dishing Out Hits Alumnus produces popular Food Network programs by Melissa Sue Sorrells Galley ’05

ark Dissin ’77 is passionate about food. As a vice president of production at the Food Network, he spends his days developing series, producing and directing cooking shows and working with chef celebrities. And when the dinner bell rings, he’s still hungry for more. “Cooking is the best way I know to unwind after a long day,”

he says. Each evening, when he leaves his office on the upper floors of Chelsea Market, he walks through the urban food court, selecting fresh ingredients as he makes his way home. “I pick up whatever looks good to me in the moment,” he says. “I work late, but I’m usually able to get dinner on the table by eight or nine.” Dissin – armed with his passion for simple, delicious food – has launched more than 25 shows in his 13 years with Scripps Networks Interactive, the parent network of both Food Network and Cooking Channel. He worked with Rachael Ray to develop the 30-Minute Meals brand and helped launch Guy Fieri’s television career. Along the way, he also won Emmys for his work on 30-Minute Meals (2006), Everyday Italian (2008) and Giada at Home (2010). “I always liked eating and had a cursory interest in cooking,” Dissin says. “I never dreamed of becoming a chef, though; I wanted to work in media.” He began his career as a freelance filmmaker, producer and director, working with a production company specializing in sports, the Comedy Channel (the precursor to Comedy Central) and HBO. “After nearly 20 years in the business, I wanted to try something new, so in 1996, I put television behind me and enrolled in the French Culinary Institute full time for six months,” says Dissin of what he calls his ‘un-midlife crisis.’ This led to positions as a line cook at New York City restaurants Follonico and Eleven Madison Park, before Dissin realized that he could do more with his newly-earned skills. “There I was, sweating and struggling to keep up on a line, when one of my friends won a Nobel Prize in physics,” he says. “It really hit me at that point: ‘what am I doing here?!’” In a stroke of luck, just as Dissin decided he should get back in the studio, he received a call from a former HBO colleague about a maternity-leave opening at the Food Network that has led to an amazing career combining his interests in media and cooking. “The Food Network is a great incubator for creative ideas, and it’s been a really fun, exciting work environment,” says Dissin, who recently announced that he’ll be leaving Scripps to start his own production company, Pre-Sliced Productions. Dissin will continue to produce Guy’s Big Bite, Ten Dollar Dinners and Rachael Ray’s Week in a Day for Scripps. He also premiered two new shows on Cooking Channel in late January: Symon’s Suppers with Iron Chef Michael Symon and Drop Five Pounds with Good Housekeeping, which is based on the book and magazine column of the same name. But he’s also signed on with William Morris Endeavor and hopes this relationship brings even more work to Pre-Sliced Productions. “I’m looking forward to the new challenges,” says Dissin. “Starting my own business isn’t going to be easy, but I can honestly tell you, there is nothing as difficult as being a line cook. The days ahead may be long, but after working on a line, nothing scares me.” ●

PHOTO BY KEVIN COLTON

HOBART AND WILLIAM SMITH COLLEGES

“Researching those layers from the bottom to the top is like reading a book, beginning to end. We don’t know what story it will tell, but I expect it will be about the long-term environmental evolution of Mars.”

Needles and Martian Haystacks by Cynthia L. McVey

J JOHN GROTZINGER ’79 EXPLAINING TO REPORTERS HOW THE MARS CURIOSITY ROVER WILL LAND. GROTZINGER IS THE MISSION LEADER OF THE MARS SCIENCE LABORATORY.

50 Pulteney Street Survey | Winter 2012

ohn Grotzinger ’79 has the distinction of being the Mission Leader and Project Scientist responsible for planning the Mars Science Laboratory, which launched the Mars Curiosity Rover in November, 2011. Given his position today, it’s hard to believe his first application to NASA in 2003 was somewhat of, as he says, a “Hail Mary.” An eminent sedimentologist and stratigrapher, Grotzinger is the Fletcher Jones Professor of Geology at the California Institute of Technology. At the time he prepared his proposal to be included on the Mars Orbiter mission, he had just completed a sabbatical working in Oman, helping the Oman Oil Company find oil and gas in a unique geological setting. His personal mission during the trip was to search for organic molecules. “The field has evolved from one that looks for direct signs of life, such as conventional fossils, to looking at the chemistry of rocks and finding out if they contain complex organic molecules that are less direct signs of life,” explains Grotzinger. He says searching for organic molecules in Oman put him in the right position to lead the mission on Mars. When he submitted the proposal,

THE MARS CURIOSITY ROVER DURING CONSTRUCTION AT NASA. CURRENTLY EN ROUTE TO MARS, THE CURIOSITY IS SCHEDULED TO LAND IN AUGUST, 2012.

however, the correlation between the two projects was more of a hunch. “At the time, most people viewed Mars as a planet made up of volcanic rock,” he says. “I wrote my proposal taking the gamble that sedimentary rocks – those in which 99 percent of the record of life on Earth are preserved – would eventually be found on Mars.” Soon after submitting, a Mars orbiter reported data indicating this might just be the case and Grotzinger was selected as the only sedimentologist on the team. When the rover Spirit landed on Mars in 2004, Grotzinger spent three months waiting while the vehicle turned up no additional signs of sedimentary rock. Spirit’s twin, Opportunity, appeared to hold the same fate until one sol (a Mars day), it sent back images of something different. Grotzinger says he and a paleontologist were the only two people in the room who knew what it was. “We just looked at each other, ‘Oh, my God. Is that really a sedimentary rock?’” he says. “My next thought was, ‘Okay, I’ve got something to do here.” The newest rover, Curiosity, will land on Mars in August 2012. Its mission is to detect organic compounds that may point to the one-time existence of life on Mars. But Grotzinger is keeping his expectations in check. “Even on Earth, a planet teeming with life, it’s not easy to find organic compounds because preservation is very finicky. On Mars, detecting organic compounds is more than a needle in a haystack,” he cautions. The promise, he explains, is in what they can learn if all goes well. Gale Crater, the landing site on Mars, is a mountain more than 15,000 feet high with layers of sedimentary rock.

“Researching those layers from the bottom to the top is like reading a book, beginning to end,” says Grotzinger. “We don’t know what story it will tell, but I expect it will be about the long-term environmental evolution of Mars.” This will help scientists understand the historic divergence of Earth and Mars. Early Mars was very much like Earth, but became cold, dry and inhospitable. “What happened?” asks Grotzinger. “We can get a better perspective of our own ancestry and the evolution of life on Earth by comparing it to how Mars set out on its own direction.” In his own evolution as a scientist, Grotzinger gives much credit to his time at Hobart and an independent research project in geology. While looking for sources of sodium entering Seneca Lake, Grotzinger says two hypotheses led to community sources as polluters, while a third was based on natural causes – glaciers scraping the surface down to the salt layer as they formed the lake. “What I found most interesting was the relationship between how a social problem related to an extraordinary event in the history of the Earth,” he says. “This experience led directly to my chosen field. I wanted to work on things for which the textbook hasn’t been written.” Exploration of Mars fits that bill quite nicely. Grotzinger explains, “Only with the exploration of Mars will I be able to participate in research where we set down a rover and look at a rock and have no clue what to expect.” ●

HOBART AND WILLIAM SMITH COLLEGES

HWS Offered … The nation’s first minor in Men’s Studies The nation’s first major in LGBT Studies One of the nation’s first programs in Women’s Studies

Some of the Schools Defeated by … The HWS Debate Team in Fall 2011 • • • •

Brown University Dartmouth College Harvard University Yale University

18 Number of new faculty members hired for the fall 2011 semester

Percent of seniors who made a gift to the Annual Fund during the 20102011 academic year

60 Number of Honors projects–from 25 different disciplines–scheduled to be completed in the spring

52 Pulteney Street Survey | Winter 2012

by Both Teams

The HWS Sailing Team

• Colgate University • Columbia University • Cornell University • Penn State University • Princeton University • Rensselaer Polytechnic

100

in Fall 2011 • Syracuse University • University of Rochester • University of Vermont • Villanova University

6,057

Percent of HWS electricity supplied by wind energy

Number of students enrolled for every one HWS Professor

Number of prospective students who visited campus in the last 18 months

Number of languages spoken by Dean of Hobart College Eugen Baer

56 Percent of the Classes of 2011 who studied off campus on every continent except Antarctica

Average number of students in an HWS class

Percent of first-year HWS students who applied Early Decision, making HWS their first and only choice

27,964

HWS alums of record

1,255 HWS alums living in New York City

National ranking in faceoff winning percentage of Lacrosse Co-Captain Bobby Dattilo ’12

137

Capital One Academic AllAmericans on the William Smith soccer team in fall 2011

HWS alums with a son or daughter currently enrolled at HWS

HWS alums over the age of 100

Athletics | ca. 1942 ATHLETICS

Snow Lacrosse Roommates Jean Anne Reber ’42 and Jean Elizabeth Seidel ’42 brave the cold to play lacrosse on the Hill behind Smith Hall.

Wilber’s Winners

Fantastic Fall

HOBART AND WILLIAM SMITH COLLEGES

Athletics THE HERONS CELEBRATE THE WINNING GOAL THAT SENT THEM TO THE NATIONAL SEMIFINALS.

Wilber’s Winners On the field and in the classroom, the Heron Soccer Team Dominates by Ken DeBolt

he William Smith soccer team enjoyed unprecedented success this fall. Four Herons were named Capital One Academic All-Americans, a league-high 13 Herons (72%) earned Liberty League All-Academic honors, and Jessica Tarantino ’12 earned the NCAA Elite 89 Award. The Elite 89 Award is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade point average at each NCAA Championship. The first Heron to earn the award, Tarantino was one of four student-athletes with a 4.0 at the 2011 championship, as was her twin sister Sarah ’12. The Capital One Academic AllAmerica teams are selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America and recognize the best 54 Pulteney Street Survey | Winter 2012

think we’ve had another team who’s student-athletes in the nation. Prior to equaled the brain wattage of this this season, William Smith had just three group.” soccer Academic AllOh, by the way, the Americans: Julie Perry William Smith put Herons had a pretty ’89, a two-time honoree; more student-athletes good year on the pitch Kim Rausch ’98, the only first team pick; and on the 2011 Academic as well. How good? Laura Burnett-Kurie ’08. This year’s team All-America teams In 2011, defender Alyse broke or matched season DiCenzo ’12 and Jessica than any other school records for wins (20), Tarantino represented shutouts (19), goals in the nation. the Herons on the first against average (0.14) team, while Sarah and fewest goals allowed Tarantino garnered second team honors (3). William Smith didn’t allow a single and midfielder Jamie Sawyer ’12 earned goal in September and yielded only one third team recognition. opposition tally in the months of October, William Smith put more studentNovember and December. The Herons led the nation in GAA, athletes on the 2011 Academic AllAmerica teams than any other school shutout percentage (.864), and save in the nation and was one of only two percentage (.919). The on-field general schools to place two players on the first of this stingy D was goalie Amanda team (Johns Hopkins is the other). Davis ’12. The Liberty League Player of “Academically, this season surpasses the Year led the nation in GAA (0.14) and anything we’ve done as a team,” says ranked fifth in save percentage (.912). Head Coach Aliceann Wilber. “I don’t Davis became the 19th Heron to be

PHOTOS BY KEVIN COLTON

named an NSCAA first team All-American, six more than any other Division III women’s soccer program. Midfielder Whitney Frary ’13 also garnered All-America recognition with a second team nod. She led the team with six assists and ranked second with nine goals and 24 points. Six Herons were selected to the All-East team with Davis, Frary, Sawyer, and Jessica Tarantino earning first team honors while DiCenzo and Dineo Mmutla ’15 netted second team recognition. Mmutla led the Herons with 12 goals and 28 points. William Smith went unbeaten in Liberty League play for the fifth consecutive season, capturing the regular season and tournament titles. The Herons made a record 22nd NCAA tournament appearance, topping Lancaster Bible 6-0 in the first round and Wheaton (Mass.) 1-0 in the second. William Smith trailed Middlebury early in the sectional semifinals but rallied for a 2-1 win and booked its third trip to the national semifinals in four seasons with an anticlimactic 4-0 rout of Williams in the sectional championship. While eventual national champion Messiah halted the Herons’ hopes for a national championship, it took a near perfect strike in the 70th minute to lift the Falcons to victory. The 10 members of the Class of 2012 went 68-9-12 over the past four seasons, the most wins for a graduating class since the Class of 1990 (70) and the highest winning percentage (.831) since the Class of 1995 (.833). This year’s seniors

boast a legacy that includes a 23-0-5 record in conference play and four consecutive league championships. “We hope that the legacy they created while they were here is to really be competitors, to find ways to fight and win games,” says Wilber. “I think that’s the stamp they put on the program since they were starting as first-years. We hope the players that remain have learned that from them.” Of course, Wilber was the architect of all of this success. The Division III leader in career wins (443 and counting) was named the NSCAA East Region Coach of the Year for the eighth time in her illustrious career. ●

FANTASTIC FALL Success wasn’t the exclusive domain of Heron soccer, the Colleges also earned NCAA bids in field hockey, football, and men’s soccer while Heron Emily D’Addario ’13 ran in the NCAA Cross Country Championship. Only Salisbury matched the Colleges’ success by gaining bids to all four team tournaments, but the Seagulls failed to keep pace, missing out on an NCAA cross country run.

FIELD HOCKEY (16-5, 5-1 Liberty League) The Herons began the season with a six-match winning streak and climbed as high as No. 13 in the NFHCA Coaches Poll. Led by All-American Kiersten Hamilton ’12, William Smith enjoyed a five-game improvement over a year ago finishing second in the Liberty League and earning an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. The Herons defeated Washington & Jefferson 2-0 in the first round before falling to eventual national champion TCNJ 2-1.

PRESIDENT MARK D. GEARAN WISHES THE MEMBERS OF THE WILLIAM SMITH SOCCER TEAM GOOD LUCK AS THE HERONS EMBARK ON A JOURNEY TO SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS FOR THE NCAA DIVISION III WOMEN’S SOCCER TOURNAMENT.

www.HWSAthletics.com

William Smith went unbeaten in Liberty League play for the fifth consecutive season, capturing the regular season and tournament titles.

For up-to-the-minute news and results go to

ATHLETICS

Head Coach Sally Scatton was named the NFHCA Regional Coach of the Year and Hamilton (9 gls-5 assts-23 pts), Annie Kietzman ’13 (9-11-29), Taylor Cappello ’14 (15-3-33), and Melanie O’Connor ’14 (5-6-16) earned all-region accolades.

FOOTBALL (7-2, 5-1 Liberty League) Hobart was 7-2 this season, earning a share of its seventh Liberty League Championship with a 5-1 record. Hobart earned the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Playoffs by virtue of a 41-24 win over co-champion Union. The Statesmen dropped a heartbreaking 35-28 decision in the first round at No. 7 Wesley. Head Coach Mike Cragg and his assistants were voted the Liberty League Coaching Staff of the Year. Linebacker Devin Worthington ’14 and defensive end Tyre Coleman ’15 headlined 14 Statesmen earning allconference honors by bringing home the Defensive Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year awards, respectively. Cornerback Drake Woodard ’12 capped his career with first team All-East honors from D3football.com while offensive tackle Brendan Hatlee ’12, Worthington, and Coleman were selected to the second team. Coleman led the nation in sacks through the end of the regular season and finished the year second with 13, one off the season record set by David Russell ’98.

deLisser consistently sailed in the top five, ending up sixth in the final standings. HOBART SOCCER (16-4, 6-2 Liberty League) Led by a talented and deep senior class, the Hobart soccer team posted the second most wins in school history, climbing as high as ninth in the nation in the coaches’ poll. The Statesmen won seven in a row to start the year and finished the campaign second in the Liberty League standings thanks to a dramatic 2-1 overtime win against RIT. Unfortunately, the Tigers were also Hobart’s conference semifinal opponent, rebounding with a 2-0 victory. The regular season was strong enough to earn the Statesmen their sixth NCAA invite, but Penn State slipped by Hobart 1-0 in the first round.

Three Statesmen, Tommy Hayes ’12, Charlie Hale ’12, and Caetano Sanchez ’13, were named to the NSCAA All-East teams while Lukas Petersen ’12 and Alex Kittelberger ’13 earned Capital One Academic All-District honors. CROSS COUNTRY D’Addario switched gears this fall and became just the second Heron to earn a spot in the NCAA Championship race. The Liberty League Cross Country Rookie of the Year produced five victories and three course records. D’Addario logged her best 6-kilometer time of the season in the NCAA Atlantic Regional Championship, crossing the finish line in 22:19.6 to finish seventh in a field of 256 runners. At nationals, she was 135th out of 277.

SAILING Both Sam Blouin ’12 and Arielle deLisser ’14 appeared in the singlehanded championships for the second straight season. In the waters off Chicago this year, Blouin posted five top-three finishes, including a pair of wins, to finish eighth out of 18, up seven spots from his 2010 showing. After a bumpy start,

HOBART AND WILLIAM SMITH COLLEGES

Classnotes

Photos Phi Sigma Kappa alums and their wives meet up in Geneva. Attendees at the August 2011 mini-Reunion include (seated) Penny Larkin ’68 and Bob ’68 Schmitt, Barbara and David ’70 Lenkowsky, Terri and Jon ’70 Epstein, (standing) Ted Sergi ’69, Buzz Taylor ’69, Barbara Lee Sergi ’69, Sandy Taylor, Rick ’70 and Dawn Kinsella, Carolyn Parker and Gary Levine ’70, Larry Shanbrom ’71, Susan and Dave ’69 Holland, Bill ’68 and Connie Serrett, Bill ’67 and Carole Foster ’69, Wiquist and Bill Haizlip ’71.

Phi Sigma Kappa brothers from the Class of 1965 reconnect at the Florida home of Hank ’65 and Raelene Bowman. In attendance were (l to r) Vic Burritt ’65, Alan Crombie ’65, John Ake ’65, P’92, Tom Griffith ’65, Craig Heuss ’65, P’90, Hank Bowman ’65, Stu Boxer ’65, Bob Parish ’65, Wayne Magoon ’65 and Al Park ’65. Andy Galante ’65 and Ken McCaffrey ’65 are not pictured. A second Class of 1965 Phi Sigma Kappa will be hosted by Stu and Paula Boxer in July 2012.

When Susan Hughan Greenblott ’07 married Seth Greenblott ’07, it was an HWS affair!! Pictured with the couple at their reception are Keegan Prue ’09, Sean Kipperman ’06, Lachlan MacKinnon ’07, Matt Przygoda ’07, Chris Veneman ’07, Peter Hughan ’99, Gregory Hughan ’72, P’99, P’07, Lynn Gross Hughan ’71, P’99, P’07, Laura Clark ’07, Kyra Tobin ’07, Taylor White ’07, Lindsay Button ’07, Emily Rubin ’07, Elizabeth Guzzetti ’07, Katelyn Miller ’07 and Nancy Nowak Rutherford ’71.

Matt Hawley ’95, James Baker ’96 and Jim Mastrianni ’94 reunite at Mastrianni’s home on Lake George.

72 Pulteney Street Survey | Winter 2012

Emily Otten, Huntley Jane Pizzarelli, Courtney Otten and Josie Otten pose at Quad Party during Reunion 2011.Their parents are Gary ’91 and Jen Montague ’89 Otten and Joseph and Elaine Gay ’91 Pizzarelli.

Carol Spadaccia Kimmerle ’74, P’01 and Cindi Coppini Schneider ’81 meet for lunch in Batavia, N.Y. Kimmerle writes, “Cindi was in my first English class in 1974, and I was also her cheerleading coach. We had quite an impact on each other–I was instrumental in her attending William Smith, and she truly inspired me to keep reaching out to my students and try to make a difference in their lives.”

Maggie and George Woodruff visit the HWS Quad for the first time. Their parents are Bryan Woodruff ’93 and Gail Tenney ’94, and their grandfather is Thomas Woodruff ’72, P’93.

Classnotes

William Smith roommates Worth Douglas ’67 and Royce Solomon Gussack ’67 catch up in Mashpee, Mass. Daniel Reingold ’75 and Andrew Gaines ’83 meet at The Hebrew Home at Riverdale. Reingold is the President and CEO of the geriatric center, while Gaines, a partner at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, recently joined the center’s Board of Directors.

Michael Hoepp ’05, Anna Burns ’05, Zan Winchell ’06 and Virginia Steigerwald ’13 attend the wedding of Katharine Steigerwald and Adam Kosmicki.

Michelle Karp Faselt ’85 visits Hobart and William Smith during a tour of New England colleges with her son, Robbie.

Alex Corless ’14, Sandy Scherzer Gross ’85, Lowell Kronowitz ’85, Ellen Kotzen Spokes ’85, Ellen Unterberg Celli ’85 and Andy Celli ’87 enjoy dinner at the Celli home in early July. Proof of a small world: Geoff Palmer ’88 coaches Andrea Rosenthal ’08 and the rest of the Breck Betties ice hockey team in Breckenridge, Colo. Just before they posed for this photo, Palmer coached the Betties to a 2-1 victory, and Rosenthal scored the game-winning goal to send her team to the Championships.

Alums gather for some fun at The Bogg in Geneva, N.Y., including (back row) Bryan Good ’03, Kristen Mogilnicki Good ’03, Kevin Kubera ’03, Kathleen Sager Kubera ’04, Ryan Adams ’03, Karen Lowe Adams ’05 (with baby Kellen), Crystal Cordes Beatrice’05, Derek Beatrice ’03, Kathleen Porter ’06, Phillip Gillio ’05, (front row) Trevor Chalmers ’03, Sarah Gillio and Paul Gillio ’02.

HOBART AND WILLIAM SMITH COLLEGES

Classnotes

Jamie Hurlburt Frost ’00 married Jason Frost on July 4, 2010, in an intimate, ocean-side ceremony in Portland. Christine Parker ’98 was the Maid of Honor. Also in attendance were William Smith graduates Allyson Ahern ’00 and Jane Detwiler ’01. Katie Coleman Nicoll ’74, Jeff Sullivan ’04, and Kathryn Moloney ’13 meet after the Great Lake Match Race Challenge Cup at the Buffalo Canoe Club. Nicoll was an umpire, which Sullivan and Maloney completed on the water.

Sarah Coffin Westcott ’05 celebrates with new husband, Paul Westcott, and a variety of HWS community members during her wedding reception. Pictured are Katie Illoway Schoettle ’75, P’03, Brian Schubmehl ’07, Harriet Goss Madeira ’77, Chuck Smithers ’78, Gary Madeira ’76, Geoff Disston ’81, Tony Reid ’79, Jarvis Coffin III ’79, P’05, Helen Grassi ’07, HWS Trustee Suzanne Folds McCullagh P’12, Jarvis Coffin Jr. ’53, P’79, P’85, GP’05, Gibson McCullagh ’12, Paul Westcott, Doug Compton ’76, Tim Coffin ’85, Sarah Coffin Westcott ’05, Katie Corradini ’06, Sue Jordan ’06, Associate Professor of Russian Kristen Welsh, Alexandra Haack ’09 , Susanne Madeira Coffin ’79, P’05, Professor of Anthropology Jeff Anderson, Emily Sarokin ’10, Alicia Sands Tiberio ’05, Hannah Sarokin ’13 and Callie Madeira Brauer ’78.

Laila Sheikh Fiero ’06 and Phil Fiero ’06 married in Holliston, Mass. HWS alums in attendance included Matt Jacobus ’06, Bryan Romas ’06, Best Man Mark Madden ’06, Ted Shepard ’04, Jessica Fortier Shepard ’06, Jeremy Lynch ’02, Bridesmaid Katie Bell ’06, Kara Kenney ’06, Bridesmaid Marie Fiero ’03, Joe Schnabel ’06, MAT’07, Amanda Condello ’06, Jennifer Davidson Jacobus ’06, Groomsman Kyle Grantling ’05, Kate Chabot ’06, Bridesmaid Stephanie Sadlon Evans ’06 and Tom Evans ’07.

74 Pulteney Street Survey | Winter 2012

Jordan Denning ’94 and Mira Burghardt were married on August 20, 2011. The couple resides in Yarmouth, Maine.

Jennifer Strong ’06 and Andrew Gauvin celebrate their nuptials with Joe Schnabel ’06, MAT’07, Maid of Honor Amanda Condello ’06, Bridesmaid Kate Chabot ’06 and Mark Madden ’06.

Classnotes

Bride Katie McGuire Bracken ’05, Sarah Kapp ’05, Katie Clifford ’05, Sarah Quintal ’05, Ginnie Bacheler ’73 and Jim Morgan ’05 connect while celebrating Katie’s marriage to John Bracken. Love will ’gourd’ the way! After Caitlin Seadale Cellela ’09 married Andy Cellela, HWS guests celebrated, including Vincent Seadale P’09, Lela Rosen ’09, Jennifer Joy Cagasan ’09, Chi Kong Poon ’09, the groom and bride, Jonathan Correa ’09, Erika Stimpson ’09, Jackie Ekdahl ’09, Seth Abrams ’10. Holding HWS-themed gourds in front are Craig Baylis ’10, Heather Ogletree ’09 and Jenny Zhao ’09.

Caitlin Rogers Connelly ’05 married Daniel Connelly on October 15, 2011, in Concord, N.H., at St. John’s Church. In attendance at the Common Man Inn reception were HWS alums and employees (back) Bill Warder ’96 (with son Owen), Miranda Warder, Greg Weitzman ’05, Michael Hoepp ’05, Emily Maguire ’09, (front) Scott Thoms ’05, Lisa White ’05 (bridesmaid), Dan Connelly, Caitlin Rogers Connelly ’05, Drew Mosher ’05 and Elizabeth Harris Bauer ’05, MAT ’06 (bridesmaid).

Sarah Kelly Birmingham ’98, a teacher at Marcellus High School, poses with her children, Grace and Ryan, who joined the family in June.

Amanda Herman Records ’03 married Jim Records in September 2011. In attendance were HWS dancers Erin Law ’03, Professor of Dance Donna Davenport, Amanda Herman Records, Monicka Koneski ’03, Kelly Doran ’03 and Max Eugene ’01.

Ian Schlanger ’02 and Sara Wingerath-Schlanger ’02 celebrate their wedding with HWS graduates Molly Lieberman ’10, Jack Wingerath ’05, Jen Brownell Rummel ’02 and Melissa Norvell ’02.

Amy Norvell Krajci ’99 cradles new son John Krajci, grandson of John ’66 and Bonnie Norvell P’99, P’02.

Phi Sig brothers Doug Melick ’91, Joel Mayer ’93, Scott Perry ’91, Charlie Updegraph ’90, Tony Sainato ’90 and Jim Nugent ’90 reunite in August 2011.

HOBART AND WILLIAM SMITH COLLEGES

Phi Kappa Tau | ca.1963 ALUMNI AND ALUMNAE NEWS

Composite Theives Pranking the brothers of Phi Kappa Tau, Elizabeth Regan Scarlett ’64 – whose future husband, John Scartlett ’64, was pledging the fraternity – smiled at the camera as she helped her friends Joan Mestrovich Tesser ’64 and Joan Le Bright Youell ’64 “borrow” the fraternity’s 1961 composite while Lynette Carlson O’Pray ’64 kept watch from below. The four women kept the composite hidden in the ceiling above their bunk beds until it was eventually returned after pressure was applied by William Smith Dean Helen B. Heath.

New Trustees

Event Photos

Reunion

Bookshelf

HOBART AND WILLIAM SMITH COLLEGES

Alumni and Alumnae News Board of Trustees Welcomes New Members

obart and William Smith have always relied on the diverse talents of the members of its Board of Trustees teees to to nurture nur urtu ture tu re and and contribute con ntrrib ibut utee tto ut o tthe he exceleexc xcel xc elel lence and growth of the Colleges. This academic year, the board welcomed five new members - dedicated ted d friends, fri rien ends en ds,, alums ds alum al umss and um and parents paare p rent ntss who nt who bring brin br ing in g with them expertise in the areas of real estate, finance, communications, media and public service. Joining the Board are newly elected appointees including William Green ’83, Megan Massey P’12, P’15, Daniel aniel L. Rosensweig ’83, 3 Craig Stine ’81 and Anita Penny Weeks ’81, P’15. Long-standing Board members Richard Miller and Jane Napier P’89 will now serve as Honorary Trustees. William Green ‘83 has 28 years of experience in real estate and real estate finance. Green co-founded Tannery Brook Partners, LLC, which focuses on capital optimization strategies for commercial real estate lenders and owners. Prior to Tannery Brook Partners, Green served as managing director of Starwood Capital and as managing director, global head of real estate capital markets for Wachovia Securities. In 2005 and 2006, Commercial Property News named Green “Financier of the Year.” Green also serves on the board of directors of BGKG, LLC and is on the editorial advisory board of Real Estate Forum. He established the William and Diane Green P’83, P’87 Endowed Scholarship Fund in honor of his parents, which assists first-year HWS students from East Aurora or Batavia high schools. Megan Massey P ‘12, P’15 currently works in production at the Directors Guild of America, which supports and protects directorial teams’ legal and artistic rights. Prior to her employment with the Directors Guild, she worked on such shows as “One Life to Live” and “Loving.” Massey has served in various capacities on the Delbarton School Board in Morristown, N.J. With extensive experience in fundraising, Massey has organized a number of important capital campaigns. She is a Cancer Hope Network committee member and an active participant within her community of Bernardsville, N.J., where she is involved in a variety of community service projects. Massey and her husband, Stewart, are dedicated supporters of the HWS Parents Fund. 86 Pulteney Street Survey | Winter 2012

Daniel L. Rosensweig ’83 serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of Chegg, where he oversees the overall business operations and executive management. Dan brings successful, high-growth consumer business experience to Chegg having served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Guitar Hero and Chief Operating Officer at Yahoo!. At Yahoo!, Dan was responsible for product development, marketing, international operations and North American operations. Prior to Yahoo!, Dan also served as President and Chief Executive Officer of ZDNet where he managed the successful merger with CNET. When Dan isn’t enjoying quality time with his wife and two daughters, he participates on the Advisory Board of the non-profit DonorsChoose.org and contributes as a member of the Executives in Residence program at Columbia University. Dan also resides on the Board of Directors of Adobe Systems, Inc., and Katalyst Media as well as the Board of Trustees for the James Beard Foundation. In 2008, he dedicated the Rosensweig Learning Commons at HWS. Located on the first floor of the Warren Hunting Smith Library, the Commons has revolutionized the ways in which students and faculty members interact with one another and with information. Craig Stine ‘81 has nearly 20 years of experience as an investment banker. He is currently Vice Chairman of the Global Financial Institutions Group at Credit Suisse Securities. Prior to joining Credit Suisse in 2011, Stine was

Co-Head of Investment Banking at Citadel Securities. Prior to joining Citadel in 2009, Stine spent nearly 18 years with Citi (legacy Salomon Brothers), most recently as co-head of the North American Financial Institutions Group and head of Diversified Financials & Banks. Stine has returned to campus numerous times for Professionals in Residence lectures and to participate in the Salisbury Center for Career Services’ Wall Street Experience. Stine also recently endowed a scholarship fund in economics that will help fund the cost of tuition, room and board for an economics student in his or her third year. Anita (Penny) Weeks ‘81, P’15 is Regional Private Banking Director for BNY Mellon, where she leads a team of senior bankers. Prior to her work with BNY Mellon, she served as Senior Vice President and Team Leader at Northern Trust in Boston. She began her financial services career in BayBank’s management training program. Weeks is a Certified Financial Planner and Series 7 FINRA licensed. She is former President of the Board of Trustees and Alumnae Board Co-President of Miss Porter’s School; member of the board of directors of the Boston Estate Planning Council; and Chair of the New England advisory board of Accion USA. Weeks is an active member of the HWS Professional Network in Boston and has been an active member of the HWS Club of Boston, having served as social director and treasurer. She also served as a council officer from 1986-87. ●

ALUMNI & ALUMNAE

HWS Service Award Presented Michael R. Dick ’70, P’09 was presented with the Hobart and William Smith Colleges Trustee Community Service Award. This prestigious award is given to members of the HWS family who have shown extraordinary commitment as volunteers, serving their local communities and society as a whole. “A dentist by trade, Michael recognized early in his life the transformative power of education to sustain communities, provide opportunities, and enrich the lives of society as a whole,” said Trustee Dr. Richard Wasserman ’70, who presented Dick with the award. Dick graduated from Hobart with a degree in political science and has maintained close contact with his alma mater, serving as class agent, admissions volunteer and Alumni Council representative. Dick served as a Rutland City School Board member, and was the board president for 17 years. During his tenure as president, he played a role in the construction of the new Rutland High School and the consolidation of the elementary schools. He was given the Martha O’Connor Award by the Vermont State Board of Education for his contributions to public education in the State of Vermont. Dick is the recipient of the Vermont State Dental Society’s Citizenship Award for service to the public, having served as chair of the Dental Division of the American Heart Association, assistant district chair of the Boy Scouts of America, a board member of the Rutland Alcoholic Information and Referral Service, and president of the Rutland County Dental Society.

Director of Alumni Relations Jared Weeden ’91 (l) and Trustee Dr. Richard Wasserman ‘70 (r) present Michael R. Dick ’70, P’09 with the HWS Trustee Community Service Award at an HWS gathering at the Rutland Country Club in Rutland, Vt.

Gleason ’85 Honored with Career Services Award Aileen Diviney Gleason ’85, senior vice president of Global Product Solutions at Bank of America Corp., was recently presented with the HWS Career Services Award, recognizing her significant effort in support of students through The Salisbury Center for Career Services and Professional Development. Board of Trustees member Dr. Joy Schildkraut Glaser ’62, P’89, P’97 and Board Chair David H. Deming ’75 presented Gleason with the award during a ceremony at the Yale Club in New York City. In attendance were several recent graduates who benefitted from Gleason’s efforts, including Lindsey Farrell ’08 and Brittany Gannon O’Shea ’06. “Aileen has given HWS students the opportunity to compete among the best in the country for internships and employment at Bank of America,” said President Mark D. Gearan. “We are grateful for her dedication to her alma mater.” Gleason earned a B.A. in economics from William Smith. She was a member of the Student Economic Committee and was elected into Omicron Delta Epsilon, the International Economics Honor Society. She was the captain and MVP of the William Smith lacrosse team in her senior year. She participated in the student phonathon and worked for Saga. Gleason spent a semester in Washington, D.C. and one in London, England. The HWS Career Network is made up of nearly 5,000 individuals around the world who work on a daily basis with HWS students to provide internships, answer questions about career options, and advise students on career trajectories.

Trustee Dr. Joy Schildkraut Glaser ’62, P’89, P’97 (l) and Board Chair David H. Deming ’75 (r) present Aileen Diviney Gleason ’85 with the HWS Career Services Award during an HWS gathering at the Yale Club in New York City.

To learn more about these awards, visit hws.edu/alumni/remarkable. If you’d like to nominate a friend or classmate, contact Betty Merkle in the Office of Alumni and Alumnae Relations at merkle@hws.edu.

www.hwsalumni.com HOBART AND WILLIAM SMITH COLLEGES

College Bowl Team Honored

ifty years ago, Hobart and William Smith’s team of Jerry Levy ’63, Marcia Berges Hodges ’61, James Zurer ’63, Joseph Rishel ’62 and alternate Wayne Atwell ’61 earned their first 30 points of their final appearance on the nationally-televised G.E. College Bowl by correctly adding the number of French Republics to the number of German Reichs (the answer is eight). Leading the scoreboard, the HWS team eagerly awaited the response of Baylor University students as they attempted to gain a last minute advantage on the quiz show that pitted colleges and universities against one another for scholarship money and bragging rights The HWS team had previously beaten Beloit College, Wesleyan University, Carnegie Mellon University and Louisiana State University-Baton Rouge, answering questions in a wide range of categories, including sports, art, logic, history, music, physics and math. Only moments later, the HWS College Bowl Team became national champions, one of only three teams, along with Colgate and Rutgers, to retire undefeated. The team returned to Geneva with the College Bowl trophy and $9,000 in scholarship funds from General Electric. “What an incredible moment in the history of the Colleges,” remarked President Mark D. Gearan during a dinner held in honor of the College Bowl 50th Anniversary during 2011 Homecoming and Family Weekend. “I don’t

After receiving the President’s Medal in celebration of their victory 50 years ago, the College Bowl winners gather for a photo with President Mark D. Gearan. Pictured are (clockwise from top left): James Zurer ’63, Gearan, Jerry Levy ’63, Marcia Berges Hodges ’61, and Wayne Atwell ’61. Joseph Rishel ’62 was unable to attend the event.

think it’s possible to overstate the impact these young people had on the Colleges. As a result of their wins, this team brought much-deserved recognition to the Colleges’ academic programs and introduced a new generation of highachieving students to HWS.” For the teammates, who have kept in touch since the Bowl, their success was

Travel with HWS

Aug. 18 – Se

rooted in a love of knowledge that was nurtured at Hobart and William Smith. “We were representing the Colleges and what our professors were teaching,” says Berges. “But at the time we didn’t think about that – we were just having a good time!” ●

pt. 1

2012

Alums, parents and friends of the Colleges have two exciting opportunities to travel abroad with HWS faculty during 2012.

The Culture and History of Vietnam August 18 – September 1, 2012 Vietnam is dominated by two very distinct regions: the ancient north and the modern south. Led by Professor of Sociology Jack Harris P’02, P’06, the tour will begin with seven days in Hanoi, the country’s traditional, intellectual capital. The second half of the trip will be based in modern Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City). Experience wonderful Vietnamese cuisine, visit with HWS alums who make Vietnam their home, and get a sense of the ancient and modern culture of Vietnam. To learn more about this journey to a fascinating and breathtaking country, visit hws.edu/alumni/vietnam/ for a detailed itinerary and pricing information. There are just a few spaces remaining so book your trip now. Alum

Alumni, Alum

nae and Pare

Trip to Vietn

mni m ni, A ni, Alum Al lluum mna mn nnae ae and ae anndd P Paaar Pare are reen ent nntt

The Culture and History of Ireland September 6 – 16, 2012 Ireland has been described as the terrible beauty, the Celtic Tiger, the land of sad love songs and happy wars, and hundreds of other expressions. On this trip, you’ll create your own description of this beautiful and friendly island. Led by Professor of Economics Pat McGuire and his wife, Sandy, the tour will focus on the West of Ireland, where you can still see and feel Ireland’s long and sometimes tragic history. To learn more about this opportunity to explore the Ireland of legend, song and poetry, visit hws.edu/ireland/ for a detailed itinerary and pricing information. This trip is currently sold out. If interested, please contact Alumni House to be placed on the waiting list. 88 Pulteney Street Survey | Winter 2012

Trip ip to to Ire I la l ndd

September 6–16, 2012

ALUMNI & ALUMNAE

Regional Events

Connect with alums in your area by attending an HWS Club event! Visit www.hwsalumni.com for upcoming event information.

Colleges President Mark D. Gearan gathered members of the Classes of 2009 for a photo during the HWS Club of Boston Annual Holiday Gathering at the Chilton Club.

Bill Zupan ’72, P’09, Cathleen Zupan ’09, Trustee Maureen Collins Zupan ’72, P’09, Stephen Chan ’04 and Andrea Rosenthal ’08 enjoy Travers Stakes Day at Saratoga Race Track. Hosted by the HWS Club of Albany, the event was attended by alums, parents and friends.

Along the Jersey Shore, Hobart and William Smith alums gather at the home of Jim Kellogg ’87 and his wife, Susan.

Tempe Newson ’11, Amanda Shaw ’11, Drew Shumway ’11 and Joanna Vinick ’11 connect during a holiday gathering for Finger Lakes-area alumni and alumnae.

Scott Mason ’81 and Lynne Nowadly Mason ’80, P’13, Jamar Green ’12, Ashley Kent ’07 and Garett Rosati ’05, gather for a photo during the HWS Summer Gathering at the Philadelphia Cricket Club.

Alums, faculty, parents, staff and students of the Colleges gather at the home of Trustee Tom Poole ’61, P’91, L.H.D. ’06 and his wife, Mary Jane Poole P’91, for the Westhampton Summer Gathering.

HOBART AND WILLIAM SMITH COLLEGES

2012 June 1-3 hws.edu/reunion BEGINS MAY 31

Hobart and William Smith are throwing a huge party this June. And you’re invited! Visit hws.edu/ reunion for up-to-the-minute details about Reunion 2012 and to … See Who’s Coming Back.

Wondering if your first-year roommate is planning to return? The Reunion site includes a list of classmates who’ve indicated they intend to return in June. Planning to attend yourself? Add your name to the list of “intents” so your friends know to expect you!

Plan Your Weekend.

There are dozens of activities planned during the weekend. Take an educational excursion aboard the William Scandling research vessel, head back to class with a favorite professor, enjoy wine tasting on the Quad or just take a stroll with friends along Seneca Lake. Discover all of the opportunities online.

Reconnect with Your Classmates.

If you’re on Facebook but haven’t connected with Hobart and William Smith, now’s the time! The site includes links to the Classes’ Facebook pages for alums in classes ending in 2 or 7, so you can start the conversation today.

Get Involved.

Consider getting involved with your Classes’ Reunion Committee (get classmates back to campus for Reunion) or Gift Committee (help raise funds for your classes’ Reunion gift). An HWS liaison will connect you with your fellow classmates and give you everything you need to be an advocate for the best Reunion ever.

View Photos from Previous Reunions.

If you haven’t been back to campus in a few years or aren’t sure what to expect, check out photos, videos and stories from previous Reunion Weekends. And if you’re still not sure, check out the Frequently Asked Questions, which will quash any uncertainties.

90 Pulteney Street Survey | Winter 2012

REUNION IS FOR EVERYONE! Special events are being planned for alums in classes ending in 2 or 7, but all alums are encouraged to attend.

Why Reunion Is Fun for Kids of All Ages? Here are some of the top reasons to bring your whole family for a weekend on Seneca Lake:

Book Your Lodging.

For your convenience, the Reunion website includes a listing of area hotels and inns. Or you can stay in one of our residence halls. We “house” classes together so it’s a fun way to reconnect with college life. This spring, the full Reunion 2012 program, including a registration form, will be mailed to alums in classes ending in 2 or 7 as well as all 50th PLUS alumni and alumnae (online registration will be live at this time as well). If you are not a member of these classes and would like to receive a Reunion booklet and registration form, send your name, class year and mailing address to Rebecca Frank at frank@hws.edu or simply check out the website which includes the online registration and schedule.

• • • • •

A special Kid’s Camp for children ages 12-weeks to 12 years A ‘Just for Teens’ program that combines an intro to college with plenty of fun Statesmen and Heron student-athletes will be in uniform on the Quad, ready to play with kids young and old The lake and the pool are open for swimming Fireworks, a live band, an ice cream social and plenty of activities for all ages

To learn more about how family-friendly Reunion can be, visit

hws.edu/reunion.

This Reunion, join us for a SPECIAL CELEBRATION of CAMPAIGN FOR THE COLLEGES as we pay tribute to all that the campaign has enabled at HWS. Fireworks, a live band and activities for all ages!

HOBART AND WILLIAM SMITH COLLEGES

BOOKSHELF

Q&A

Nothing Daunted William Smith alumna traces the path taken by her grandmother more than 100 years ago by Belinda Littlefield ’11

fter graduating from Smith College in 1909, Dorothy Woodruff and Rosamond Underwood, two society girls from Auburn, N.Y., became disenchanted with the rounds of society luncheons, charity work and young men who filled their lives.

Dorothy Wickenden ’76

Worried at the thought of settling into life with neither adventure nor intellectual stimulation, the two young women learned that two teaching jobs were available in a remote mountaintop schoolhouse in Elkhead, Colo. They applied and were accepted —shocking their families and friends. “No young lady in our town,” Woodruff odruff later commented, “had ever been hired by anybody.”

Almost 100 years later, New Yorker Executive Editor Dorothy Wickenden ’76 came across her grandmother’s letters home, written by Woodruff during her stay in Elkhead. Granted a window into the past, Wickenden committed her grandmother’s adventure to paper, writing an article for the New Yorker in 2009. Her curiosity far from satisfied, Wickenden wanted to do more thorough research into her grandmother’s world, from her birth in Auburn, N.Y., the home of renowned abolitionists and suffragists, to the development of the West, including the railroad, coal mining and the small community of Elkhead. Collaborating with family, historical experts and the descendents of Elkhead, Wickenden embarked on an extensive research project that culminated in her first book, Nothing Daunted. The book, a New York Times bestseller, was voted one of the best nonfiction books of the year by the Boston Globe, the Washington Post, Entertainment Weekly, and the Atlantic. In addition to the support of friends and colleagues, Wickenden W credits the curiosity instilled in her during her time at Hobart and William Smith. “My professors – Mary Gerhart, Katy Cook, Grant Holly, Claudette Columbus, Frank O’Laughlin, John Lydenberg, E Eugen Baer and others – all g goaded me and made me c curious about subjects I m might otherwise have had lit interest in,” explains little W Wickenden. “Thinking about it no I remember Rosamond’s now, com comment, after taking a per personal tour of a coal mine in O Oak Creek. She remarked, ‘I never nev appreciated coal before.’”

Did this book change your view of your grandmother? I’d never known how she’d transformed herself from a pampered society girl into the frank, fearless woman I knew. Now I do, thanks to the extraordinary opportunity to get to know her through letters she wrote when she was in her twenties. Did your grandmother pass down any of the lessons she learned in Elkhead to your mother and you? She impressed on both of us the importance of what she learned from the homesteaders in Elkhead: a willingness to work hard, to appreciate sometimes fleeting moments of happiness, and not to complain. Through her stories about growing up in Auburn, she also inspired my love of American history. My aunt Caroline probably put it best when, in describing Dorothy’s difficult years during the Great Depression, said, “She took life by the throat and dealt with it.” How did you balance firsthand accounts of Rosamond and Dorothy with the formative events of the time they were living in? I worked from their experiences outward. They described arriving at the Brown Palace Hotel in Denver after an extremely hot trip across the Great Plains. I went back and explored the history of the Brown Palace as a way to write about Denver’s early ambitions to be a world-class city. In another letter, Dorothy wrote of taking a perilous train ride over the Continental Divide, and called the railroad “the most gigantic accomplishment I ever saw. We went through and over sheer rock, high mountains, and superb canyons— and I can’t imagine how they ever did it.” I wondered too, and decided to discover the answer. In the book, I move from a scene of Dorothy and Rosamond hanging out of the train window to a short section about the engineering feat – and the human toll – of building a railroad over the Rockies. What was the most moving aspect of your research? Finding the children and grandchildren of the homesteaders, and learning about how they, too, had heard from their parents and grandparents about the year that two Eastern ladies arrived in Elkhead to teach in the new schoolhouse on top of the mountain.

Nightstand: What are you reading? HARRY (JIANGTAO) GU ’13 Modern European History student, Hobart and William Smith Set in Prague before the Velvet Revolution, Love and Garbage by Ivan Klíma raises questions about love and life in both totalitarian and democratic societies. This book is also about how the job of a writer is not just to record the history, but to ask questions that do not need answers to justify their existence.

92 Pulteney Street Survey | Winter 2012

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR LAURA FREE Department of History, Hobart and William Smith The last book I read was Plastic: A Toxic Love Story by Susan Freinkel. In many ways it’s a history of everyday plastic objects, things like lawn chairs, disposable water bottles, grocery bags, lighters, toys. And it’s very readable: Freinkel is a journalist, not a historian, so she knows how to captivate an audience.

STEPHEN TESKE ’07 Ph.D. Candidate in Early Modern British History, University of California, Riverside In American Gods, Neil Gaiman presents an engaging and fantastic story, but also raises some interesting questions about the way superstition and belief travel with believers and are transformed by unfamiliar surroundings.

Michael Printz ’53 has been in marketing research for more than 35 years–he owns focusgroups.com, a 3,000 page website that assists participation in focus groups. But his first love is The Amateur Comedy Club (pictured here), the 128-year-old theatre he manages.

CREATE YOUR LEGACY The Wheeler Society

“W

hen I arrived at Hobart and William Smith in 1949, I decided that I would make the most of my liberal arts education. I managed the lacrosse team. I worked at WEOS. I was a member of Delta Chi. I majored in chemistry, even though I wasn’t fit to wash test tubes. Nothing had a bigger impact on me than the countless hours I spent putting together the annual Freshman Follies variety show with my friends. Having performed on the Bartlett Theatre stage as a student and as a member of an active performance group now, I know how meaningful it can be to be part of a creative family.

That’s why I’m proud to be supporting the endowment for the Performing Arts Center through a bequest from my estate. Once built, this Center will become the innovative heart of campus – filled with creative people doing amazing things.

This is my Hobart and William Smith legacy – what’s yours?”

—Michael Printz ’53

If you would like to learn more about Creating Your Legacy by making a planned gift to the Colleges – in general support or for a special interest, cause, or project – please contact Leila Rice at 315-781-3545 or rice@hws.edu.

HOBART AND WILLIAM SMITH COLLEGES

Non profit org. U.S. Postage PAID Rochester, New York Permit No. 357

HOBART AND WILLIAM SMITH COLLEGES 300 Pulteney Street Geneva, New York 14456 This publication was printed using FSC Certified paper which enables the environmental savings equivalent to the following: 26 trees preserved for the future 76 lbs waterborne waste not created 11,245 gallons wastewater flow saved 1,244 lbs solid waste not generated 2,450 lbs net greenhouse gases prevented 18,750,830 BTUs energy not consumed

Alice Weston Rounds ’32 Red Bank, New Jersey

Kristen Kush ’12 Fulton, New York

Age: 102 French and Latin double major, Retired Librarian Member of the William Smith Basketball Team

Age: 21 Chemistry major, Selected for Teach for America Forward on the William Smith Basketball Team

1. What do you consider the greatest invention of your lifetime? Cellphone

1. What do you consider the greatest invention of your lifetime? iPod

2. Who was your favorite professor? Professor of Greek Language and Literature Herbert Hilarion Yeames

2. Who is your favorite professor? Associate Professor of Chemistry and Associate Dean of Faculty Christine de Denus

3. What person do you most admire? My mother

3. What person do you most admire? J.K. Rowling

4. At what age did you first drive a car? 25 5. How many sports were available for women when you attended William Smith? Five: tennis, basketball, skating, skiing and archery

PARALLELS PARALLELS

• • • • • •

4. At what age did you first drive a car? 16 5. How many sports are available for women at William Smith? Currently, there are 11

6. What clubs were you involved in? The Little Theatre

6. What clubs or other organizations are you involved in? Colleges Brass Ensemble, Neighbor’s Night volunteer, Christian Fellowship Club

7. What is your favorite William Smith tradition? Dancing around the maypole

7. What is your favorite William Smith tradition? Celebrating Excellence Dinner

8. How many students were in each of your classes? It varied from five to 20

8. How many students are in each of your classes? Between seven and 35

9. How many of your professors were women? I had more women than men as professors

9. How many of your professors were women? Eight

10. Do you have advice for current and future students? Take advantage of every opportunity

10. Do you have advice for current and future students? Become involved in one or multiple areas of interest but don’t forget to stop and hang out with friends