Class Notes
From the libraries of London to the University of Illinois Antoinette Burton ’79 has always been interested in history. Her fascination with the subject grew from childhood, as Burton was raised by a father who was a historian and a mother with a penchant for traveling. Her mother’s adventurous appetite found the family living in England on several occasions, which Burton said predisposed her toward British history. Today, she is the Bastian Professor of Global and Transnational Studies at the University of Illinois. Her specializations and research interests include the British Empire and colonial India and a focus on women, gender, feminism and sexuality. The former Bel Canto, who came to Agnes Irwin in seventh grade, said her first flirtation with the study of women and India began in a library in London in 1986 while on a pre-dissertation research trip. There, she stumbled across a cache of materials on British feminists and Indian women that no one had ever looked at. That’s all it took to get her hooked on a subject that would become a lifelong passion. “I’ve always felt strongly that history is never only about the past, and that studying its long reach into the present is key for understanding, let alone solving, current problems,” said Burton. But before she would ever be appointed the first female to chair the University of Illinois’ History Department in its 121-year history, or become entrenched in the study of colonial India and topics on gender and sexuality, Burton’s foundation in history was fostered in her coursework at Agnes Irwin – in particular, through an interdisciplinary program called CORE. Burton described CORE, which Agnes Irwin instituted in the early 1970s, as wonderful college preparation as it linked history, literature and the arts. “Teachers at Agnes Irwin in the 1970s took the life of the mind extremely seriously, and they made it clear they thought girls could accomplish anything they set out to do.” She credits teachers like Mrs. Trickey, Mrs. Cederstrom, Madame Knauer, Mrs. Miller, Dr. Hutchinson, Mrs. Dohan and Dr. George Barnett with giving her the intellectual curiosity and skills that have “stood me in good stead my whole life – not just as an academic but in the broadly civic worlds we all travel in.” Burton is currently working on a history of resistance and dissent in the British Empire for Oxford University Press. She is also collaborating with a colleague in South Africa on a volume called, 10 Books that Shaped the British Empire, which will be out in fall 2014. Her advice for today’s Agnes Irwin students: “Discover what you love to do; pursue it with energy and determination; seek out others who share your passions; and don’t let obstacles defeat you. And no matter what career you take up, try to step away from those mobile devices every once in a while to hold a good book in your hand, curl up in a chair and lose yourself in the world of history or fiction. Not only is that good soul food, it allows you to slow down this crazy pace we all seem to run in our everyday lives.” Dr. Burton received her Ph.D. in 1990 from the University of Chicago. She was most recently a John Simon Guggenheim Foundation Fellow from 2010-2011. Earlier notable distinctions Dr. Burton has held include a Fulbright Scholarship to the United Kingdom in 1987, an American Council of Learned Societies Research Fellowship in 1993 and a William Evan Residential Fellowship at the University of Otago (New Zealand) in 2004.
the library. Frank is still hard at work for SKF but hopes to retire after two more years. I am actually looking for a small summertime home in Maine with mountain views. I expect once Frank retires we will be able to spend more time together in Maine as a result. Garcia “Garry” Wood ’74 Garry has been the Community Relations Director of CityROCK Climbing Center since 2012. She previously owned Tidewater Exponential Training and Associates from 1999-2008. She volunteers for Pikes Peak Therapeutic Ridging Center. Her parents moved from Devon, PA to Cypress Hilton Head, SC in 2009. Antoinette Burton ’79 says, “I continue to teach and do research at the University of Illinois. My son Nick is 16 and my daughter Olivia, 11, so life is full. My husband, Paul, and I are celebrating our 20th anniversary this year and we are planning a few weeks in London with the kids to celebrate. I hope to make it to the Reunion to see everyone!” (See profile, at left) Leslie Callahan ’79 is still living in the Midwest. Both of her sons are sophomores – Nick is in the honors program at University of Wisconsin and Matt is at John Adams High School, an urban public magnet school. She is teaching legal writing at Notre Dame Law School and serves on the board at a co-ed independent school, the Stanley Clark School. She says, “working with the administrators at SCS brings to mind the extraordinary education that AIS provided. “We were fortunate indeed, with teachers like Mrs. Goppelt, ‘Gov Hutch’, ‘Mac Knaeur,’ and so many others.” Lisa Finkelstein-Domsky ’79 and her family have been living in Jackson Hole, WY since 2003. It snows eight months of the year and they love to ski, hike, bike and do any activity outdoors. Lisa practices Urology in a private practice. “I love my work and the patients. It’s a very rewarding field of medicine. My family is doing well and enjoying life. There are a few AIS alumnae that live here too. We have connected over the years. I see them often!”
:: L isa Finkelstein-Domsky ’79 jumps with her family in Israel: (l-r) Dani, Jodi, Lisa and Mark; Jodi, 22, graduated from the Univeristy of Montana with a B.A. in environmental studies and works for Adventure Llife, and Dani, 18, is at freshman at NYU’s Gallatin School
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