Summer Scene 2014

scene Summer 2014

News and views for the Colgate community

Colgate’s Front Door Boiling Point Atomic Disruption “Nerds in Heaven”

scene

Summer 2014

24 Colgate’s Front Door

James B. Colgate Hall is home to the new Hurwitz Admission Center

28 Boiling Point

Having experienced the Rwandan genocide, Professor Susan Thomson is an outspoken human rights defender

32 Atomic Disruption

“Twitter play” amps up course on the nuclear age

34 “Nerds in Heaven”

Catching up with alumni of the National Institutes of Health Study Group

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Message from President Jeffrey Herbst

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13346 — Inbox

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Work & Play

12

Tableau: “Out of Darkness”

13

Pomp and circumstance: the university mace

14

Life of the Mind

18

Arts & Culture

20

Go ’gate

22

New, Noted & Quoted

40

The Big Picture

42

Stay Connected

44

Class News 70 Marriages & Unions 70 Births & Adoptions 70 In Memoriam

72

Salmagundi: “Every ’Wich Way” puzzle, 13 Words or Fewer contest, Rewind

DEPARTMENTS

On the cover: Alumnae reconnect at Reunion 2014. Photo by Andrew Daddio Left: A hot air balloon lifts off from Whitnall Field, taking adventurers to new heights. Photo by Michael Schon ’12 News and views for the Colgate community

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scene team

Contributors

Volume XLIII Number 4 The Scene is published by Colgate University four times a year — in autumn, winter, spring, and summer. The Scene is circulated without charge to alumni, parents, friends, and students.

Illustrator Jim Dryden (“Boiling Point,” pg. 28), who has been recognized by the American Society of Illustrators, draws inspiration from diverse cultural and ethnic traditions. His clients include Disney, John Deere, and Target, and organizations such as the American Red Cross, Chicago Jazz & Blues Festival, Minnesota Arts Council, and the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

Interim Vice President for Communications Barbara Brooks Managing Editor Rebecca Costello Associate Editor Aleta Mayne Director of Creative Services Gerald Gall Coordinator of Photographic Services Andrew Daddio Production Assistant Kathy Bridge

Freelance science writer Allison Curley ’04 (“Nerds in Heaven,” pg. 34) spent seven years researching the neurobiology of schizophrenia during her PhD and postdoc studies at the University of Pittsburgh, but she likes to think her greatest discovery was a love of scientific communication. She spends her free time snapping photos and making messes in the kitchen, and remains blissfully ignorant about the Steelers.

Contributors: Daniel DeVries, Admission Marketing Manager; Matt Faulkner, Assistant Director of Athletic Communications; Matt Hames, Manager of Media Communications; David Herringshaw, Online Community Manager; Jason Kammerdiener ’10, Web Content Specialist; Karen Luciani, Art Director; Katherine Mutz, Graphic Designer; Brian Ness, Video Journalism Coordinator; Timothy O’Keeffe, Director of Web Content; John Painter, Director of Athletic Communications; Mark Walden, Senior Advancement Writer

New online edition: colgate.edu/scene “Easy to navigate, looks great!”

“Really professional and clean.”

“Lovely. Like the print magazine, it’s got great visuals.

Almost as good as the print magazine (but that really can’t be beat).”

Check it out, take the survey, and add your comments.

And don’t worry, the Scene will continue to arrive in mailboxes. But if you’d like to go paperless, e-mail us at scene@colgate.edu with your name, class year, address, and e-mail address. We’ll send you an e-mail when we post new online editions (colgate.edu/scene).

scene: Summer 2014

Colgate University 315-228-1000 Printed and mailed from Lane Press in South Burlington, Vt. If you’re moving... Please clip the address label and send with your new address to: Alumni Records Clerk, Colgate University, 13 Oak Drive, Hamilton, NY 13346-1398 or call 315-228-7453.

A new online version of the Colgate Scene magazine has burst onto screens. The redesigned website provides a significantly improved reader experience with many new features, including: • a more attractive and streamlined presentation • improved navigation • search and sharing functions • mobile- and tablet-friendly

“Impactful, inviting, warm.”

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Contact: scene@colgate.edu 315-228-7415 colgate.edu/scene

Opinions expressed are not necessarily shared by the university, the publishers, or the editors.

“Way more readable, approachable, and eyecatching.

A real step up on every level.”

Notice of Non-Discrimination: Colgate University does not discriminate in its programs and activities because of race, color, sex, pregnancy, religion, creed, national origin (including ancestry), citizenship status, physical or mental disability, age, marital status, sexual orientation, veteran or military status (including special disabled veteran, Vietnam-era veteran, or recently separated veteran), predisposing genetic characteristics, domestic violence victim status, or any other protected category under applicable local, state, or federal law. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the university’s non-discrimination policies: Marilyn Rugg, Associate Provost for Equity and Diversity, 13 Oak Drive, Hamilton, NY 13346; 315-228-7288.

Message from President Jeffrey Herbst

In the tumultuous economy

of the past 50 years, higher

education has escaped the sort of creative destruction that is common in other sectors. But today, its pillars of stability are being threatened — and the conversation about how colleges and universities should change has not been as sophisticated as it needs to be.

Two professors then gave dynamic presentations on their digital innovations in the liberal arts classroom. Karen Harpp of Colgate’s geology department shared the story of her evolving online course Advent of the Atomic Bomb (you can read more on pg. 32), and Erland Stevens, professor and chair of chemistry at Davidson College, discussed his online course on Medicinal Chemistry.

Given that many of our students will soon have jobs and careers that cannot even be imagined, it has never been clearer that education for a lifetime is critical. We also face real concerns about how students will fare after graduation, which have only accelerated due to the rising cost of college and the challenging job market. To that end, our Innovation + Disruption event also included a summit for some of the country’s leading career services professionals to discuss how to help launch our graduates successfully.

Almost 400 presidents, provosts, deans, trustees, faculty, entrepreneurs, career services professionals, colleagues from high schools, and journalists — as well as many watching via Livestream feed — came together for this important gathering.

Personally, I think this is an extraordinarily exciting time to be a college leader. We are in the knowledge business at a time when knowledge is being created, transformed, and transmitted at an unprecedented rate. It is a profound moment of challenge but also one of great possibility.

Watch the symposium at colgate.edu/innovation.

At the Innovation + Disruption event at the TimesCenter in New York City in May, President Jeffrey Herbst (right) gathered a group of college presidents for a panel discussion titled “Seizing the Initiative in the Digital Age” moderated by Jeff Fager ’77, executive producer of 60 Minutes and chairman of CBS News. From left: Fager, Adam Falk (Williams), Raynard Kington (Grinnell), Georgia Nugent (Kenyon, emerita), David Oxtoby (Pomona), and Joan Stewart (Hamilton). The event was sponsored by Backflip Studios, Chegg, Craftsy, The Clayton Christensen Foundation, The Disruptor Foundation, and the TimesCenter.

Lorenzo Ciniglio

For decades, colleges enjoyed a growing student population, favorable conditions for raising tuition, and a consensus that a college education was the gateway to a successful career. At the same time, no one was challenging — in either technology or foreign competition — the American educational model.

Now, there is a national conversation about costs, as well as a nascent debate about the value of degrees. The population of college-bound students has flattened (and their demographics are becoming more complex). Whether foreign competition will arise remains to be seen. Finally, there is the widely touted notion of online education as a fundamental, perhaps existential, threat to so-called brick-and-mortar schools. Yet, the pendulum has swung from those who, only a few years ago, were predicting a kind of apocalypse for higher education, to an increasing comfort with the status quo.

We need to go beyond that false dichotomy. Instead, it seems to me that this new era will present significant, unprecedented challenges to colleges and universities — while at the same time offering major opportunities for what has been, after all, one of the most successful parts of the U.S. economy since World War II. And, I admit, I have availed myself of managementand-growth guru Andy Grove’s dictum that “only the paranoid survive.”

Accordingly, in May, we hosted a symposium titled “Innovation + Disruption in Higher Education” at the TimesCenter in New York City to discuss the challenges that colleges are confronting. Our keynote speaker was perhaps the leading thinker on disruption in the world today: Clay Christensen, the Kim B. Clark Professor of business administration at the Harvard Business School and author of The Innovator’s Dilemma. His seminal thesis, that even well-functioning organizations can fail to recognize the technologies that will disrupt them, is profound and especially appropriate for higher education.

Joining me in a panel discussion were leaders of several colleges that helped invent the modern form of college education: Adam Falk (Williams), Raynard Kington (Grinnell), Georgia Nugent (Kenyon, emerita), David Oxtoby (Pomona), and Joan Stewart (Hamilton), with moderator Jeff Fager ’77, executive producer of 60 Minutes and chairman of CBS News. It was especially important to host this panel because a world where change is the only constant should hear from leaders with unique insights into learning, and from institutions that have been equipping students to deal with change for generations.

News and views for the Colgate community

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Inbox

scene

On slugs and giant clams “The Last Good Buy” (Spring 2014, pg.

26) was a fascinating look at an important topic, although I am still not convinced that I should let slugs eat my garden.

Nonetheless, the illustrations and accompanying text were so well done that I shared them with teachers and students at my school who are studying environmental issues.

Spring 2014

News and views for the Colgate community

The Last Good Buy Lifelong Launchpad

Patricia McMahon Griffin ’76 Derby, N.Y.

Wonders of the Earth

The Scene welcomes letters. We reserve the right to decide whether a letter is acceptable for publication and to edit for accuracy, clarity, and length. Letters deemed potentially libelous or that malign a person or group will not be published.

Letters should not exceed 250 words. You can reach us by mail, or e-mail sceneletters @colgate.edu. Please include your full name, class year if applicable, address, phone number, and/or e-mail address. If we receive many letters on a given topic, we will print a representative sample of the opinions expressed.

convinced me that an errant swimmer could easily have a foot or hand trapped in one of these giant clam shells. I decided to leave it alone and follow the beautiful striped (highly venomous) sea snakes as they hunted in the reef!

Ron Schaper ’70 Coral Springs, Fla.

What they’re saying online colgate.edu/news April 1, 2014 “Colgate to launch graduate school of dentistry” Richard Frost: Plaudits to Brooks, Hicks, Herbst, and Ross for the puns and mockery of administrative bloviation. I particularly enjoyed the promotion of Colgate in the observatory’s maroon sky. A Swarthmore classmate (1951) asks whether toothpaste and college share the same DNA. I didn’t think so, but why not? All used toothpaste has DNA, and so do old colleges.

Tim Carroll ’77: Will there be a formal brush period for sophomores now?

“The Last Good Buy” is an interesting commercial tie-in with ecological extinction.

One note on the report of the giant clam’s “unsubstantiated” ability to trap a diver’s arm or foot… When sailing in the Seychelles Islands in the Indian Ocean, I have encountered these huge clams while diving and wondered about their dangerous reputations. A healthy specimen of about 3 feet in diameter had its shell open 8 to 10 inches in the normal filter-feeding manner.

I gently poked a hotdog-sized piece of coral from the ocean floor into the opening and the clam instantly slammed closed, trapping the coral. It

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scene: Summer 2014

David Badami ’88: I bit.

Barbara Needell ’79: Being a dentist, I can offer all my support for the new program. I have always Gleemed that Colgate students were Ultra Brite. In

my 28 years of practice I have heard all of the Colgate dental comments. So this is a natural transition for Colgate to make. I offer my help in instruction in any of the Composite areas of study.

Although I am well Rooted in Florida, I can act as adjunct faculty. The theme can be “Drill, fill, and bill,” since it has been used by us dentists for years. So, with Pulp Fiction as our favorite movie and Crown Royal as our favorite drink, we can help Colgate Bridge the Gap between a university and the medical/dental mecca of the world!

Ken Belanger, biology professor: Finally … we don’t have to explain why we’re a “University”!!! I was really getting tired of that drill. Filling in those gaps for prospective students and candidates who might brush us away. I’m alright with this … as long as we don’t lose our floss-ophy department!

May 18, 2014 Keynote address by Gloria Borger ’74, at Colgate’s 193rd commencement Michael Weiner ’77: “Ms. Borger has reminded us that the ability to selfdirect, combined with a vigilant focus on balance, are indeed the fundamentals to an ultimately rewarding and happy life.”

Facebook.com/ colgateuniversity May 30, 2014 Jennifer Koskinen ’93 “I’m smiling from ear to ear (and singing along thousands of miles away) while listening to my college a cappella group, The Swinging ’Gates, in a live reunion stairwell-sing at Colgate University via speaker phone, and posting about it on FB… All thanks to technology that didn’t exist when I was singing with these amazing women.”

June 13, 2014 Ramsey Brame ’04

“Just sippin’ some joe on the commute to work. Happy Colgate Day!”

Habits

75% read every issue, 18% read most issues, 6% read it occasionally

Call for Nominations: Colgate Board of Trustees

59% read all or most of the Scene, 40% read some of it, 1% don’t read it

The Nominating Committee of the Board of Trustees welcomes recommendations for new members to bring guidance and wisdom to the university’s governing board.

The board seeks energetic and committed people with expertise in areas including, but not limited to: higher education, finance, the arts, technology, global learning, legal affairs, marketing, or media relations.

Nominees should display the ability to exercise informed, independent judgment and to act in the best interests of Colgate to properly steward the university’s academic, program, and fiscal resources.

Candidates should be willing to fully immerse themselves in the work of the board. They should place Colgate as a priority in terms of time and philanthropy, and be committed to staying abreast of the changing landscape of higher education. The full board meets at least four times a year, and trustees are expected to participate in meetings at other times. Trustees are also often asked to attend and/or host other university events.

Each year, the board welcomes three to five new trustees for threeyear terms that may be followed by two additional three-year terms.

Recommendations may be made by mail to: Trustee Nominating Committee, c/o Robert L. Tyburski ’74, Secretary, Colgate University, 13 Oak Drive, Hamilton, NY 13346, or by e-mailing rtyburski@colgate.edu.

Time spent reading the Scene: 60 minutes or more................................ 18% 30 to 59 minutes.......................................45% 10 to 29 minutes.........................................31% 1 to 9 minutes............................................... 5%

@colgateuniv

You prefer to read the Scene…

In print............................................................83% Online................................................................ 5% Combination of print and online..... 12%

@TheNinaRestieri “Anyone who looks at my spotify today, I am making an ’80s playlist for @colgateuniv reunion this weekend, don’t judge #cheesymusic

Shelf life: Keep it more than a month.................33% Keep it up to a month.............................33% Keep it up to a week............................... 28% Discard immediately after reading... 6%

@audralynn86 – Audrey Stevens “My new intern is a recent grad from @colgateuniv. So excited to have her start today! Woohoo to the Colgate network! #colgateconnection

Opinions

How are we doing?

We recently asked a random sample of Colgate people their opinions about the Scene. The survey is sponsored by the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education for alumni magazines across the nation. Thank you to all who responded; your feedback will help inform our future work.

Who responded?

Number of responses...........................1,027 Alumni .........................................................96% Parent or other relative......................... 12% Faculty/staff, current or retired...........1% Age: Under 25........................................................... 2% 25 to 34............................................................ 18% 35 to 49............................................................ 21% 50 to 64...........................................................32% 65 and over .................................................27% Women 35%, Men 65%

91% say the Scene strengthens their personal connection to Colgate.

86% consider the content excellent or good — compared to 80% nationally.

Topics you take the most interest in (Interested or Very Interested): Class notes...................................................89% Campus controversies...........................77% Visiting speakers...................................... 76% Obituaries.................................................... 76% Colgate history and traditions..........75% Admission policies and results.........72% Athletics........................................................66% Cultural events, performances.........64% Issues facing higher education........ 56% Student research/academics..............53% Letters to the editor.................................53% Credibility: Consistently portrays the institution accurately and objectively............23% Contains some “spin” but is generally accurate and objective.....................45% Usually portrays the institution only in a positive light................................23% Is not a good source of objective information............................................. 3%

Action steps: The Scene has inspired you to: Contact a classmate or friend............45% Make a donation to Colgate............... 39% Submit a class note................................. 36% Attend an event.........................................35% Other: • “Engaged the Upstate Institute in the K-12 STEM initiative in NYS.”

• “Purchased a book written by a fellow alum.”

• “Joined ‘A Better Colgate.’”

• “Wrote a profile piece.”

A sampling of comments: • Keeps me current with the university NOW, as opposed to only in a nostalgic sense.

• Don’t be afraid to report and discuss

• Stunning photography with articles written at a college level instead of the “dumbed-down” level of most media sources, print or online.

• Some articles are too long.

• Less paper — standard size format — more economical.

• Please don’t move it online! I leave

the Scene on the kitchen counter, and read bits of it at a time over the month. If it was only online, sadly, there is a decent chance I wouldn’t read through it at all.

• Make it only available online — send by e-mail.

• Very accessible and easy to read —

gives very quickly a broad overview of what’s happening at Colgate.

controversies.

• Fosters pride in the school.

• Secular progressive politically left leaning bias.

• Too conservative.

News and views for the Colgate community

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Campus scrapbook A

B C

A

At the Deans’ Brunch for students, Kim Taylor and Scott Brown prove that they sustain bellies as well as minds. Photo

by Ashlee Eve ’14

B

Masque and Triangle perform Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew alfresco: “Sit by my side, and let the world slip; we shall ne’er be younger.” Photo by Anna Heil ’16

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Seniors light the way into their future on commencement weekend. Photo by Andrew Daddio

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Alash, a group of Tuvan throat singers who can sing multiple pitches at the same time, perform in Love Auditorium. Photo

by Andrew Daddio

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Student band Body Electric energizes the crowd during Spring Party Weekend. Photo by Ashlee Eve ’14

F

Talking tariffs on the terrace: Topics of International Trade with Professor Piyush Chandra. Photo by Ashlee Eve ’14

G

Broad Street Behind the Beat, a vocal jazz performance at the Palace Theater directed and performed by students.

Photo by Anna Heil ’16

H

Jumping for joy! Photo by Ashlee Eve ’14

I

Asia Fantasia, presented by the Asian Studies Program and student clubs. Photo by Ashlee Eve ’14

scene: Summer 2014

D

E F

G

H

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News and views for the Colgate community

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scene: Summer 2014

Konosioni auction beneficiaries

Andrew Daddio

From infant death prevention to providing bikes for those in need, four area nonprofits shared the impact of funding raised at the 2013 Konosioni Senior Honor Society charity auction. The brown bag luncheon took place just before this year’s event.

Borger addresses Class of 2014

As the Class of 2014 celebrated their graduation, commencement speaker Gloria Borger ’74, P’10 recognized another significant milestone: the 40th anniversary of Colgate’s first coeducational graduating class.

“Colgate had made an immense effort to welcome us girls,” reflected Borger, who is now chief political analyst for CNN. She reminisced about how thoughtful the school had been in preparing for the arrival of its first women, describing the “ironing boards … and full-length mirrors … and, this is my favorite touch, plastic flowers had been carefully placed in the bathroom urinals.

“Coeducation may have started out as an arranged marriage,” Borger said, “but it blossomed into so much more.

And we’re all the better off for it.”

In her closing, Borger urged the newest alumni to remember the valuable lessons they learned. “Your student days at Colgate are indeed over. That’s the bittersweet news. The good news is that you’re not really leaving — you can, and you should, take Colgate with you.”

In addition to Borger, receiving honorary degrees were George Avakian, a music historian and innovator in jazz recording; Mark Golden, CEO of Golden Artist Colors; and Lorie Slutsky ’75, president of the New York Community Trust.

More than half of this year’s 749 graduates earned university honors.

One of the diplomas was awarded to

Luke Stalker, a member of the class who died on March 10, 2013. Audience members stood and cheered as Stalker’s father, Peter, strode to the stage to accept the diploma from President Jeffrey Herbst on behalf of Luke.

In his remarks to the graduates, Herbst mentioned the special bond he had with the class. “I have always thought of you as my class. We entered Colgate together in the fall of 2010 . . . it has been a special pleasure to watch you learn, evolve, and leave your mark on our school.”

• In the past eight years, the Utica Safe Schools Build a Bike Program has distributed more than 3,000 refurbished bikes to children from low-income families. The group received $5,000 for their initiative, which also teaches the importance of nutrition, exercise, and a healthy lifestyle.

• The Mohawk Valley Perinatal Clinic’s Safe Sleep for Babies Initiative provides portable cribs and education to families in need. The program has given away 575 cribs, and the $7,300 in new funding will allow the purchase of 100 more.

• Community Action Partnership received $5,000 to cover procedures and testing at the Mary Rose Clinic, the only free health clinic in Madison County. Sometimes patients need more than the average prescription or bandage, and this is where the funding becomes most important.

Beloved cashier battles cancer; students respond

Since Frank Dining Hall opened in 1984, thousands of students have been greeted by the infectious smile and charm of cashier Jean Brooks. One of the most recognizable faces on campus, she has built relationships with

• Community Bikes, started by Chuck Fox ’70, received $2,700. Individuals and families, recommended by local agencies and counselors, are paired with a volunteer to find the perfect bike for their needs, be it to play in the sun or to commute to work. Everyone leaves with a bike, helmet, bicycle lock, and the knowledge of how to safely use their new equipment.

This year’s auction raised $14,000 and will benefit a whole new group of nonprofits in the coming year.

Aleta Mayne

work & play 8

Brown bag

both current students and alumni, fondly referring to all as her “children.”

After Brooks, 70, was diagnosed with cancer in February, support

— Kellyann Hayes ’16

Embracing Real Beauty

Stacy Nadeau is on a mission to help change people’s perceptions. “I want to challenge you to find your own best, healthy self, where mental health and physical health meet in the middle,” said the model for the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty during a talk in Golden Auditorium in March.

Nadeau spoke about the growing global issue of negative body image.

Dove’s campaign focuses on displaying images of real, relatable women from diverse backgrounds that have not been airbrushed or Photoshopped.

One of the original six women in the campaign, Nadeau explained how images of an everyday girl like herself became plastered nationwide, in magazines, on billboards, and even bus stops.

Now Nadeau is calling on everyone — women and men — to keep talking, speak up, and discuss ways to incite more action. “Stop creating negative checklists about your body,” she said.

“Stop bonding over conversations about things we don’t like about our

Ashlee Eve ’14 Anna Heil ’16

came pouring in. She was the guest of honor at the 12-hour Relay for Life walk-a-thon for cancer research in March. And when members of the 2013 hockey team found out about her diagnosis, they collaborated and reached out to alumni to figure out how they could help.

“Jean has always supported us at the hockey rink, so we feel an incredibly close connection to her,” said Christian Long ’13, a former member of the team (pictured with Brooks, opposite page, lower left). “I’ve known her since my first day at Colgate, and I could always count on her for words of encouragement after a bad test or game.”

To help with treatment expenses beyond what insurance covers, Long set up a GoFundMe.com campaign. It launched on April 7, and in less than 24 hours, $21,000 was pledged. By press time, nearly $40,000 has been raised toward Long’s goal of $50,000, which he hopes will cover Brooks’s out-of-pocket expenses for treatment for the rest of her life.

“It’s beyond amazing,” said Brooks, adding that she’s still stunned by the overwhelming support. “I wish there was some way to thank each person wholeheartedly. It’s a huge burden that’s been lifted. The only fight I have now is the cancer.”

— Laura D’Angelo ’14

bodies. Let’s change the conversation!”

Project Beauty, a campus group spearheaded by Emily Sisto ’16 and Alyssa Berger ’16, has stepped up to this challenge.

“We wanted to shed light on the topic,” said Berger, vice president. “We want to be a support group on campus and let people know that beauty isn’t homogeneous,” added Sisto, president. “There are many different forms and shapes — not just one, correct image.”

In addition to bringing Nadeau to campus, the group has posted positive messages — “Beauty is more than just a number on the scale” and “You only have one body; take care of it” — around the gym and in campus bathrooms.

They plan to collaborate with the Active Minds student group, which focuses on mental health awareness, as well as the Shaw Wellness Institute.

(The counseling center also offers services in relation to body image issues.)

The group is also brainstorming ways to bring more awareness to male students. “There were a couple of men at the Stacy Nadeau talk,” said Berger, “so it’s a start!”

— Aminat Olayinka Agaba ’14

Above: Queerfest concluded with Dragball! — an event that not only challenges gender stereotypes, but also ends the week on a lighthearted note.

At left: Night Market

Night Market

creative director, Allums uses art to help individuals express identity and encourage self-love, and recruits artists worldwide to share their stories.

“I was most touched by Kye’s message of simply being who you are and remaining true to one’s self,” said Drea Finley ’13 of his “vibrant and reflective voice.”

Queerfest celebrations also featured brown bag luncheons and talks from two notable figures in the LGBTQ community, Ignacio Rivera and Buck Angel. The week ended with Dragball!

— a popular annual event featuring student performances and contests.

— Aminat Olayinka Agaba ’14

Celebrating Queerfest

Reunion brings Colgate faithful back to campus

Spongy Hawaiian butter mocha dessert, Korean sushi, French crepes, and Indian palak paneer were just some of the dishes available at Night Market.

After the spring Dancefest, hungry students rushed into 110 Broad Street to indulge in food from around the world. An estimated 500 students — from all corners of campus — chowed down during the alcohol-free event at 110 Broad Street in April. Within an hour, all the food — more than 34 dishes prepared by students from 12 cultural clubs and organizations — had been devoured.

— Aminat Olayinka Agaba ’14

“There’s so much negativity in the world… Do something that makes you smile — anything,” said Kye Allums in his keynote address kicking off Queerfest at the end of March. Allums made national headlines in 2010 for being the first openly transgender athlete in NCAA Division I history.

After retiring from the George Washington University women’s basketball team in 2011 and graduating with a degree in fine arts, Allums founded Project I Am Enough. As

Einstein’s theory of relativity tells us that what you see depends on where you’re standing. The genius could have based his legendary thought experiments on a trip to Colgate’s reunion. More than 2,100 alumni and friends flocked to campus for Reunion 2014, and each had a unique experience tailored to personality and interest.

For those with an academic bent, there were more than 50 Reunion

News and views for the Colgate community

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Andrew Daddio

work & play

Members of the Class of 1954 reconnected and reminisced at Reunion 2014.

College lectures, including talks by Jim Young ’64 on working with clay, CNBC’s Eamon Javers ’94 on corporate espionage, and Carrie Blackmore ’08 on entrepreneurship and craft brewing. Maura Lofaro ’89 and Jason Barto ’89 talked environmental conservation, while Dr. Edward “Biff” Jones ’64 discussed medical ethics.

By night, astronomy professor Tom Balonek conducted a tour of the stars over Colgate. By day, English professors Jane Pinchin and Jennifer Brice held an information session on this fall’s upcoming online Living Writers

course, powered by ColgateX. Associate vice presidents Michael Sciola and Timothy Mansfield spoke about the value of Colgate’s new professional networks. President Jeffrey Herbst, dean of the college Suzy Nelson, and admission vice president Gary Ross ’77 discussed the state of the campus and elements of the new strategic plan, which emphasizes increasing resources for financial aid and the university’s commitment to living the liberal arts.

This reunion marked several milestones for organizations: the 40th

Few things are quite as tempting as a Maxwell’s milkshake on a warm day. Folks were encouraged to treat themselves to local favorites during Buy Madison/Shop Hamilton Week. Whether it was a banana smoothie from Hamilton Whole Foods, the spinach-artichoke dip at the Colgate Inn, or maybe even a new blouse from Steph boutique, purchases through the program increased awareness about the importance of supporting the local economy.

Shoppers buying items of any amount could earn a total of seven punches on a card for the chance to win gift certificates.

Dancers in elaborate and colorful costumes paraded across the Palace Theater stage in June at the “Deep Blue” performance by ArcheDream for HUMANKIND (pictured). Modern technology merged with ancient ritual storytelling as a spectacle of illusions lit up the stage. The dancers illustrated “day, night, the lizard,

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scene: Summer 2014

anniversary of the Swinging ’Gates a cappella group, the 95th anniversary of the Alumni Council, and Konosioni’s 80th anniversary.

Throughout the weekend, a festival-like atmosphere pervaded Whitnall Field. Saturday night, after class banquets, those gathered outside their tents could hear tunes from Gent Treadly and the Skycoasters.

Bill Williams ’59, who traveled from California, said, “Classmates become close — we’ve stayed in touch, and this a great place to come together and reminisce.”

Recognizing multicultural work

At the ALANA Cultural Center’s Spring Soiree in April, keynote speaker Garfield O. Smith ’85 recognized the contributions of previous Colgate students who have paved the way for current students — including those receiving this year’s multicultural awards.

“Many of the same issues [as when I was a student] are still here, and thus, many of the same opportunities are as well,” reflected Smith, who facilitated the ceremony.

Now the vice president of marketing at Oberthur Technologies, a security services company, Smith majored in political science. As a student, he

the birds, air, and the phoenix” through graceful movements, use of blacklight, and accompaniment from the musical selections of director Eric Obenthaler.

Blending traditional and contemporary sound, The Jammin’ Divas filled the Barge Canal Coffee Company with their original folk songs in late June. Hailing Village Green from Ireland, Australia, Israel, and the United States, the women of this eclectic band create music in the hopes of bridging cultural divides.

The previous evening, community members had the opportunity to learn more about their music and its meaning during a meet-and-greet session.

Crowds gathered on the Village Green on July 10 as Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 resonated in the open air. The central New York ensemble Symphoria also played musical masterpieces by Mozart and Brahms as well as several patriotic American classics. This annual concert highlighted a Hamilton summer in full swing as people brought out their summer picnic blankets and folding chairs to enjoy the melodies while the sun set.

— Lauren Casella ’16

received the Stimets Award, the George Cobb Fellowship, and the President’s Award. In difficult times, Smith said, he “would often think about the likes of Adam Clayton Powell Jr. [’30], the first person of African-American descent elected to Congress from New York. Or Naceo Giles [’70], who, in 1969, led a 70hour sit-in to protest racial injustice

Get to know: Joe Eakin

Andrew Daddio

Garfield O. Smith ’85

at Colgate and fight for a place that students of color could call their own.”

Noting the power of cross-cultural collaboration, Smith cited a study coauthored by Harvard University economist Richard Freeman. “Now, even scientific proof exists to show the benefits of collaboration to achieve a goal,” Smith said. “Take hold of the opportunity to reach out to others unlike yourself to solve these issues.”

Hoa Dieu Bui ’14, Danielle Bynoe ’14, and James Speight ’14 were honored for outstanding work in the multicultural community. Speight has been active in promoting multicultural awareness in Greek Life; Bui helped run Colgate’s Anti-Racism Coalition; and Bynoe has worked with the Broad Street Association to facilitate conversations between Broad Street residents and the campus community.

Colgate faculty and student groups that have contributed to the mission of diversity and inclusiveness were also recognized.

— Marilyn Hernandez-Stopp ’14

Senior designer and technician, Ho Tung Visualization Lab Discovered stars in the Lone Star State. When I was a freshman [at the University of North Texas], I took an astronomy course and all of our labs were in the planetarium. I loved it. I went to them and said, ‘Hey, do you guys need any help?’ They offered me a job. I started programming Digistar II [dome digital theater system], producing shows, presenting to school groups and the public, teaching astronomy labs — both in the planetarium and at the observatory — and I knew I wanted to get into the business.

From the earth to the sky, and in between. My degree is in geography, with a specialty in earth science. For this job, I have to know a little bit of everything. We’re producing content for biology, chemistry, geology, geography, physics and astronomy, the classics, history, and even theater.

Athens wasn’t built in a day. For this big project that we’ll be working on this summer about the death of Socrates, Professor Robert Garland wrote the script and we’ll put the visuals to it. I’ve been researching what certain buildings looked like, so we can design it properly.

We’re building 3D models of Athens, using the animation programs Maya and 3DS Max. Outreach that counts. Since March 2008, we’ve had more than 250 school groups [who are shown science demos and tour spots like the dome, the greenhouse, and the Linsley Geology Museum]. For total attendance, we’ve had about 50,800.

Freezy freakie. With our outreach programs, we make ice cream using liquid nitrogen. We get a big bowl, add half-and-half, heavy cream, sugar, and flavoring. Liquid nitrogen freezes it, so you get instant ice cream. It’s fattening, but it’s great, and the kids love it.

I know they can, I know they can. My favorite [Vis Lab] show is “The Little Star that Could,” for kindergartners to second graders. It talks about our sun, who meets other stars as he travels around the Milky Way. You can hear the kids laughing throughout the show. Anytime that I can see a kid’s happiness from watching a show, it’s great. Also, for them to be able to remember facts afterward, especially that young, it’s a good show — and that happens a lot.

Faces covered in whipped cream as they eyed their opponents, Colgate students and local residents sat side by side in a race to finish their pie at the Gate-Town Connection. The event aims to strengthen ties between the Colgate and Hamilton communities. This year’s head organizers, John Lee ’15 and Tyler Mark ’15 (members of the Blue Diamond Society), worked with the athletics department and the Hamilton Business Alliance to continue the tradition, which was started four years ago by Jordan Sheiner ’12. On Whitnall Field, Colgate students manned stations for moon bounces, sumo wrestling, and an inflatable race course. Varsity athletes hosted kickball, tug-of-war, face painting, and relay races.

Photographs taken by members of the Photography Club were on display as people waited in line for food from the Hamilton Eatery and an ice cream truck.

— Photo and caption by Hannah O’Malley ’17

Student life — cubed. I’ve been filming 360-degree video with this little camera, which is six GoPros in a cube. I filmed some Colgate hockey games, so the team came to the dome and saw some of the content. I’m also putting together a show called “Life on the Hill,” through the eyes of the students. And I’m working on a promo for athletics — one for hockey, one for football. We had a camera hooked up to a quarterback during practice.

Office space. I’m a big Star Wars geek, as you can see from all of my ships [hanging from the ceiling]. The Lego Death Star was a gift from my students a couple of years ago. They all pitched in and came in to build it during their breaks over the summer.

I got that chessboard in Teotihuacán when I went with Professor Tony Aveni to Mexico.

We were working on a documentary about churches that were built on top of Aztec temples.

I love chess. [He has seven chessboards at home.]

— Aleta Mayne

News and views for the Colgate community

11

Tableau

Out of Darkness

By Matt Knowles ’15 The engine roared and the car lurched forward, hurtling us into the morass of mud that used to be the right side of the road. Our wheels quickly lost traction and consequently all of the momentum we had built up before reaching the hill. “Ehhh,” sighed Ben, my driver. The rainy day had turned the rural Ugandan road into a slipand-slide. Ben called over some boys on the side of the road who had been helping other vehicles that were also stuck. They asked for 20,000 shillings (about $8) for their assistance, which I was more than willing to pay to get home before nightfall after a long day of collecting data. They got behind the car and started shoving and yelling, rocking the car back and forth. Ben gunned the engine, mud spraying everywhere. The smell of burning rubber wafted upward. Exasperated, I gazed outside into the dark. Night had come and we weren’t budging.

Nabaya, my host-father, climbed out of the back of the car and assured me that we would make it through. Ben didn’t seem particularly worried either, jovially chatting with the boys trying to help us. It seemed like I was the only one who believed we’d never get the car free. Just as I was giving up hope, Ben managed to get the car out, and in an hour we were safe and sound. Moments like this during my four months in Uganda showed me that Africa is not the “dark continent” it is made out to be. The darkness we find is often what we bring with us.

I entered Colgate with a strong penchant for economics and a vague desire for some sort of international career. The spring of my first year, I took a course on comparative politics taught by Professor Illan Nam that introduced me to the study of development and how the conversation extended well past foreign aid.

One particular book really sparked my academic interest: States and Power in Africa — written, coincidentally, by our very own president, Jeffrey Herbst. His analysis of the confluence of historical, political, and economic factors that led to state formation in Africa taught me to think in completely new ways.

Over the subsequent years, I have come to believe that the vast inequality of wealth and poverty is the greatest tragedy of the modern age. Learning that I could have the power to do something about it motivated me to pursue a career in development economics. I took every course related to the field I could find.

Before I knew it, I was a junior studying with the School for International Training (SIT) to study development for the semester and work as an intern at a think tank in Tanzania the following summer.

Part of my time with SIT included an independent study project of my own design. I chose to research coffee cooperatives in the rural Bugisu region of Eastern Uganda. My objective was to analyze whether or not cooperative membership

was associated with higher incomes and better coffee prices for farming households. In order to do this, I spent five weeks in the field administering surveys and collecting data, working only with Ben, a young man who also served as my translator. We spent close to nine hours working and driving together every single day and soon became close friends. The project was a massive undertaking and, as I would soon discover, too ambitious for an undergraduate with very little experience in developing countries and none in the field. Innumerable unanticipated difficulties began to pile up and my data collection slowed to a crawl. Even before our car got stuck in the mud (twice, actually) we dealt with unreliable mobile phone networks, cultural disconnects, language barriers, car troubles, possibly inaccurate data (because none of the farmers keep records of their incomes), and claylike laterite soil roads that would turn into impassable, slick mud whenever it rained (which it did every day).

As the weeks passed, I was quickly getting nowhere and I became incredibly discouraged and miserable. I cursed my ignorance of the challenges I would find on the ground, and all that I could think about was going home. It was around this time that Nabaya took me to his family’s village on top of the foothills surrounding neighboring Mt. Elgon. The trip turned out to be exactly what I needed to pull me out of my funk.

After a harrowing journey up ridiculously steep slopes, we had lunch in his childhood home. He told me stories of when he was a little boy during the time of Idi Amin.

He had to carry tens of kilograms of coffee on his head over the mountains to sell in Kenya across the border. It would take days of walking on dangerous footpaths barefoot and in all sorts of weather — when he was only 10 years old! And yet, he speaks about it like it was nothing.

That conversation set the tone for the rest of my time in the field. I paid less attention to my own difficulties and more to the way in which villagers around me faced everyday hardships. A muddy road might be discouraging, but it never stopped the locals from carrying their produce to market, wearing no shoes, but smiling widely. Even though they had to deal with drought, disease, poverty, or worse on a daily basis, they pushed through their work undeterred. I remember one of the farmers I interviewed in particular. The woman, a single mother of four, successfully ran the entire farm, property, and family on her own after her husband died five years ago. I wondered how people like her were able to persist through such difficult obstacles every day and came to suspect that it had to do with expectations.

Inspired by this notion, I decided to take a much more laid-back approach to these challenges. It was simply the nature of the beast that unexpected problems would pop up. Instead of blaming those around me, I tried to do my best to take things in stride.

The fact is, I had brought the darkness to Africa myself. I was far too quick to blame the farmers, the environment, and the Ugandan culture for my difficulties.

The real culprit of my frustration was how my unrealistic expectations negatively affected my reactions. I now understand that development projects go awry when workers don’t respond to the conditions on the ground. At least in my case, things did not go quite that badly. I managed to obtain 94 out of my original goal of 100 surveys — enough to be able to analyze the data in the hopes of future publication. But, beyond the results, I have learned that an intimate knowledge of the local culture and environment are the most important things in development work. It seems that sometimes the worst experiences make for the best lessons.

During his semester in Africa studying development economics, Matt Knowles ’15 competed with the Uganda Rowing Federation in the East African Rowing Championships.

12

scene: Summer 2014

An acorn and oak leaves reflect strength, stability, and continuity.

Pomp and circumstance Photography by Andrew Daddio

1991

“First-rate institutions demand first-rate ceremonial trappings.”

On those days of grandeur when our professors don their caps and gowns, you may have noticed the person at the head of the procession carrying a rather large, shiny object.

The ceremonial mace (not the kind that comes in a spice jar or that fends off muggers), originally a weapon meant to protect a king, dates back nearly 800 years. Colgate’s, carried by the university marshal at commencement and convocations, anniversaries and inaugurations, debuted only a couple of decades ago.

William J. Oostenink (longtime professor of biology), who served as marshal from 1972 to 1996, spearheaded its creation. He got the idea in the late 1980s when a man from Florida who was doing research for a book about maces asked him about Colgate’s.

“I was genuinely sorry to have to tell him that Colgate did not have one,” said Oostenink. “A friend, bent on encouraging me, trotted out what I suspect was a made-for-the-occasion aphorism: ‘First-rate institutions demand first-rate ceremonial trappings.’” And so, Oostenink picked up the baton and ran with it.

It took a few years (and the work of a committee including Oostenink; former archivist and retired history professor Howard Williams ’30; retired fine arts professor Bill Fitchen; and local architect Arthur Meggett) from conception to delivery. Walter Fullam ’32 (who died in 2000) and his wife, Dorothy, provided the funding. Starting with Oostenink in 1991, Colgate's mace has been gracing our monumental events in “fair Chenango” ever since.

Memorial Chapel’s dome, rendered to scale

Hand-carved, solid gold

Crafted by sculptor Leonard Urso, a former designer and silversmith for Oneida Limited Silversmiths and distinguished art professor at Rochester Institute of Technology Original artist's sketch

By Rebecca Costello

The scholar’s path to knowledge and the winding pathways of campus

13 ridges carved into the walnut staff

mace

Walnut stand (and museum case) crafted by Roger Hoffman, professor of biology emeritus

Ridges reflect the contours of campus

Deacon Jonathan Olmstead, whose home was the site for that first meeting of 13 men with 13 dollars, was Colgate’s first university marshal. Karen Harpp, associate professor of geology, took on the role this past year.

Catch a glimpse of the mace in the 2014 commencement video at colgate.edu/commencement.

13 Page 13 is the showplace

for Colgate tradition, history, and school spirit.

scene: Summer 2014

Entrepreneurial stars come out

Kicking off the third-annual Entrepreneur Weekend in April, superstar entrepreneurs shared the stage for a conversation on founding, funding, building, and scaling the most innovative companies in the world.

“When we assess entrepreneurs, we try to put some hurdles in front of them to see if they have the grit to overcome them,” said Ashton Kutcher, actor and founder of A-Grade Investments. With CNBC’s David Faber moderating, other panelists included Tony Bates, former executive vice president of development and strategy for Microsoft, CEO of Skype, and head of enterprise for Cisco Systems; Brian Chesky, co-founder and CEO of Airbnb; and John Donahoe, eBay president and CEO. Daniel Rosensweig P’15, P’17, former COO of Yahoo and now CEO of Chegg, joined them and was responsible for enticing these well-known friends of his to drop into Hamilton.

More than 2,000 people filled Cotterell Court for the event.

Showing the grit that Kutcher referenced, Colgate student entrepreneurs pitched their own ideas Friday night Shark Tank style. Presenting to the panelists were: Katie Rydell ’14 for her LateDate app; Ariel Sherry ’15 for her Age Together consulting service; and Daniel Swiecki ’14 and Joshua Lasker ’14 for their Sapling Advisory project, which matches financial advisers with clients. In a surprise twist, all of the students were named winners and split the $15,000 purse.

They received $5,000 each to develop their projects, which were cultivated through the Thought Into Action Entrepreneurship Institute (TIA).

On day two, Julian Farrior ’93, founder of Backflip Studios, was

awarded the inaugural Entrepreneur of the Year award at a luncheon attended by more than 300 people.

“This place allowed me to study philosophy. I studied art. I also went deep into mathematics,” Farrior said.

“I realized I loved the creative process — that was the seed for a number of different choices I’ve made in my life.”

Five winners of Colgate’s 2014 Entrepreneurs Fund competition were also announced: Vern Clothing, Sapling Advisory, HUGS (Hamilton United Gift Shop), Prettier Please, and Late Date. Each venture received seed capital, incubator space in Hamilton over the summer, and intellectual resources from within the Colgate community.

At a second Shark Tank session, other TIA students presented project ideas. Acting as auctioneer, David

Giuliani on campus

Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani discussed the state of American politics and the need for resolute leadership in a lecture at Memorial Chapel in April.

“A leader has to know what he or she wants to accomplish,” said Giuliani, who is known as “America’s Mayor” for his leadership during and after the September 11 attacks. “You have to have strong beliefs.”

Giuliani acknowledged the difference between ideological leaders and practical leaders. “When our principles meet resistance, an effective leader finds a way to take a percentage of what he or she wants,” he said. “In order for human beings to work together, we have to compromise.”

Giuliani maintained that President Barack Obama has not yet made that shift to practicality, but will be forced to compromise with Republicans in

’Gate gamers: Amid a sea of wires and circuit boards, Sean Foster ’16 (pictured) spent many hours in the lab with partner Lillie Pentecost ’16 to complete their project “Flippy-Floppy Bird,” a replication of the popular iPhone app. Using logic, a pseudorandom number generator, and countless other devices they’ve studied in Physics 336: Electronics, they were able to create an LED version of the game in which the player safely navigates a “bird” through obstacles.

Students in this class, taught by Professor Catherine Herne, were given the challenge of creating something that simply worked, putting both their digital skills and creativity to the test. Many of the outcomes were games, which rely heavily on logic, including Color Blitz, Hangman, and Digital Rock-em-Sock-em!

Catherine Herne

Andrew Daddio

life of the mind 14

Entrepreneur Weekend panelists, left to right: John Donahoe, Tony Bates, Ashton Kutcher, Daniel Rosensweig P’15, P’17, Brian Chesky, and moderator David Faber.

Fialkow ’81, P’17 drew out financial support for the hopeful entrepreneurs.

Hands shot up in rapid succession, offering support in increments of $250 or $500.

By the end, Fialkow’s firm had invested $25,000 and he had helped raise nearly $20,000 more from audience members. These investments will go into ventures ranging from Bus Path, which installs GPS devices on Colgate Cruisers, to ENGAGE, an educational program to improve educational opportunities for underserved youth in the Baltimore area.

Ashlee Eve ’14

Rudy Giuliani, former New York City mayor

his last two years in office.

In a lengthy question-and-answer session with students, Giuliani defended charter schools, the constitution, low taxes, and the mayoral capabilities of his successor, Michael Bloomberg.

Andy Philipson ’14 asked for Giuliani’s thoughts on gun control. “It is behavior we have to deal with, not guns,” answered the former federal prosecutor.

Students also asked about building up the U.S. military. Giuliani stressed a policy of peace through strength, both militarily and economically. “You prevent war by being so damn strong that nobody wants to go to war with you.”

In an appropriate last question, Patrick (P.J.) Benasillo ’17, a fellow New Yorker, asked Giuliani what September 11, 2001, was like for him.

A respectful quiet filled the room as Giuliani responded. “It was the worst day of my life and the best day of my life. I’ve never seen worse things and I’ve never seen such bravery. I knew people were looking at me. Therefore, their reaction would be determined by my reaction.”

Giuliani’s appearance, during which he also visited the village of Hamilton Fire Department and had dinner with students, was sponsored by the College Republicans, the Center for Freedom and Western Civilization, and the Budget Allocation Committee.

— Jacqueline Oshry ’14

Carmichael, Harry T. Reis, and John G. Holmes was the basis for “The costs of being put on a pedestal: Effects of feeling over-idealized,” a paper published in the May issue of the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships.

The researchers conducted three studies: the first was an experiment with 99 dating couples, the second was a survey of 89 married couples, and the third was a survey of 156 dating couples. The studies found that relationship satisfaction suffers when people feel that they are put on a pedestal, or over-idealized, by their romantic partner. In the experiment, participants physically distanced themselves from their partners after a perceived over-idealization.

Tomlinson stressed that relationship maintenance requires a delicate balance. People were most satisfied with their relationship when there was some idealization and they believed that their partner saw them as slightly better than they saw themselves.

“While it may be tempting to provide effusive praise, I think it’s also important to communicate understanding and validation of a person’s core identity,” Tomlinson told Live Science.

The paper grabbed a lot of international media attention, including stories in the Business Standard, India Times, and on Fox News.

— Hannah O’Malley ’17

found Sparber, an associate professor of economics. In fact, the research found that “inflows of foreign H-1B workers may explain between 30 percent and 50 percent of the aggregate productivity growth … that took place in the U.S. between 1990 and 2010.”

Sparber and his research associates — Giovanni Peri and Kevin Shih, both of the University of California, Davis — began their research in 2013.

They continue to study the numbers, and recently released a new report on the impact of H-1B visas on the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professions.

According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, the team found that as immigrants in the STEM professions flocked to a city, wages grew for the native-born, college-educated population. Their findings were released in May by the National Bureau of Economic Research.

“A one percentage point increase in the foreign STEM share of a city’s total employment increased wages of native college-educated labor by about seven to eight percentage points and the wages of non–college-educated natives by three to four percentage points,” according to the WSJ article.

Importantly, the results identify a causal effect of immigration on wages that is distinct from the fact that productive cities will attract more immigrants.

Sacred forests, Martian rocks, circadian rhythms

Immigration fuels wage increases overall, study shows

As the national debate over immigration policy continues, research by Professor Chad Sparber and two colleagues has added to the dialogue.

An increase in H-1B visas — a program for U.S. companies to bring in skilled immigrants — did not harm U.S. workers or the U.S. economy,

What are the consequences when one romantic partner feels over-idealized by another? Jennifer M. Tomlinson, an assistant professor of psychology, set out to examine whether it can hurt a relationship when one person is glorified.

Her research with fellow psychologists Arthur Aron, Cheryl L.

Andrew Daddio

The perils of pedestals

Economics professor Chad Sparber

Thanks to a new $90,000 award from Colgate’s Picker Interdisciplinary Science Institute, faculty researchers can continue to assess Ethiopian forests maintained as sacred sites around Christian Orthodox Tewahedo churches for a second year.

Colgate professors Catherine Cardelús (biology), Eliza Kent (religion), Peter Klepeis (geography), Peter Scull (geography), and Carrie Woods (biology) are collaborating with Izabela Orlowska and Alemayehu Wassie Eshete, both of Bahir Dar University, Ethiopia.

Findings from the team’s first year of research indicate that the forest ecosystems are affected by the planting of non-native trees, geographic location, varying methods of grove maintenance, and community identity. The latest grant will allow the team to analyze their findings and work closely with local Ethiopian communi-

Live and learn

Avalon Bunge ’15 and Jake Mahr ’17 spun their way through Spring Break 2014. The two Clay Club members accepted an invitation to visit the home and pottery studio of Jim ’64 and Sarah Young in northwest Arkansas. The Youngs are the founders of Van Hollow Pottery, offering classes and selling pottery on the shores of Beaver Lake in the Ozark Mountains. After an intense living-learning experience, Bunge raved about the trip: For a week, we ate, slept, and breathed pottery. We learned new techniques for wheel throwing and slab building, and used Jim’s many tools — most of them handmade and unique — to stamp and shape wet clay.

But that was only the beginning. Jim mixes all his own glazes, and we got a lesson in glaze chemistry and then had the chance to play with glaze combinations, sometimes applying as many as five glazes to a single piece. When we combined the glazes with the new and improved clay forms we’d created, the results were spectacular.

The crowning glory of the week was raku, an alternative firing technique where pieces are glazed, brought up to approximately 1900 degrees F, and then plucked from the kiln while the glaze is still molten and plunged into buckets of combustible materials. Then the lid is slammed onto the bucket, creating a reduction chamber that does amazing things to the elements and minerals in the glaze.

A raku firing is fast, dynamic, and incredibly exciting. And Jim is planning to give a raku kiln to Colgate’s clay studio!

We are over the moon about the opportunity to do raku at Colgate. But even more, we’re grateful for Jim and Sarah’s amazing warmth and generosity in opening their home to us and sharing their wealth of pottery knowledge, delicious cooking, energetic dog Skipper, and their brilliant joie de vivre.

News and views for the Colgate community

15

Rowlett to lead Council on Undergraduate Research

Professor Roger Rowlett and a student work with an X-ray diffractometer.

Colgate professors are not only sought after by students and alumni, but they also are often chosen to lead their professional organizations. That honor has most recently come to chemistry professor Roger Rowlett, who has been elected president of the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) for 2015–16.

With nearly 700 institutional members and more than 10,000 individual members, the CUR is the leading organization that supports high-quality undergraduate studentfaculty collaborative research and

Jessica Huang ’14 and Michael Manansala ’14 presented research in Japan over spring break.

Seniors present research to leading scholars in Japan

scholarship. Rowlett has been a member since its first biennial conference, which was held at Colgate in 1985.

“CUR has served a pivotal role in my personal professional development as a scholar and teacher in the undergraduate education setting,” said Rowlett, who is the Gordon and Dorothy Kline Professor of chemistry. “I know I am not alone among faculty and undergraduate students whose research successes were made possible or enhanced by CUR in some way. I am honored that my colleagues have entrusted me with this leadership responsibility.”

Andrew Daddio

life of the mind

ties on forest conservation plans.

Also receiving institute funding is Jonathan Levine, assistant professor of physics and astronomy: $30,000 to study laser-atom interactions in a mass spectrometer for dating Martian rocks. This study is in collaboration with F. Scott Anderson and Tom J. Whitaker of the Southwest Research Institute in Colorado.

In addition, Krista Ingram, associate professor of biology, received a two-year award for her work on the influence of circadian rhythms and gene-by-environment interactions on human behavior with colleagues Allan Filipowicz (Cornell University), Neil Bearden (INSEAD, Singapore), and Kriti Jain (IE Business School, Madrid).

— Lauren Casella ’16

16

scene: Summer 2014

Over spring break, Jessica Huang ’14 and Michael Manansala ’14 put the capstone on a research project they’ve been working on for much of their Colgate careers. Traveling to Kansai, Japan, the seniors presented their research in front of an audience of leading scholars from Japan at the Phonological Association in Kansai conference at Kobe University. They were accompanied by professors Yukari Hirata and Spencer Kelly, who have been advising them.

The project, which was supported by a National Science Foundation grant, involved the fields of Japanese language learning and psychology/ neuroscience. The researchers studied whether visual cues help people learn Japanese — specifically, whether the use of hand gestures helps to distinguish vowel lengths, which change the meaning of Japanese words. According to past studies, English speakers in particular have found learning Japanese difficult because they are not used to vowel lengths affecting the meaning of words. “[We] compared two different types of hand gestures to see which type would teach native English speakers to better distinguish the vowel lengths in Japanese,” explained Manansala, a molecular biology and Japanese double major from Dumont, N.J. “We also tested whether actually doing the gestures while learning, or just watching, would be better.”

The team, which also included April Bailey ’14 and Kristen Weiner ’15, is among 88 Colgate students to

participate in the study over the past three years. Huang and Manansala also used high-end software and technology to measure participants’ brain wave responses.

Ultimately, the study showed no direct relationship between hand gestures and increased learning. According to Hirata, these findings lead to an overall question of whether a nonnative speaker could ever fully reach the aptitude for the Japanese language (or any language) of a native speaker.

While the project started in 2006 (funded by Colgate’s Picker Interdisciplinary Science Institute) with a group of students working under Hirata and Kelly, Huang and Manansala joined in during their sophomore year and incorporated the research into their senior thesis papers.

“We really wanted our students to see not only the technical aspects, but also the bigger picture of how you do research,” Hirata said. “They [weren’t] just doing what we told them to do, but they also [took] time to digest information, and they’ve developed an understanding of this project as a whole.”

“The professors made us feel like we were a vital part of the project,” said Huang, a Japanese and philosophy double major from Ridgewood, N.J. “So, it was our responsibility to do well, but we also wanted to contribute as much as possible. We formed a nice team.”

Hirata and Kelly are writing three full-length manuscripts on their findings, which are co-authored by Huang and Manansala.

“It’s been a fun process starting as sophomores and not really being sure what would happen with this,” reflected Manansala. “As seniors, being able to present it was really rewarding.”

— Aminat Olayinka Agaba ’14

Five Fulbrights

Four recent graduates and one professor will be exploring different parts of the world with their newly awarded Fulbright grants. Recipients of Fulbright grants are selected on the basis of academic achievement and potential for leadership in a specific field.

Jessica Graybill, associate professor of geography, is heading to Russia this August to study the social and cultural geographies of climate change in Vladivostok. As the winner of a Science and Innovation Fulbright,

Graybill will seek to understand how citizens approach the problem of climate change facing their coastal city.

Her research focuses on sustainability and its impact on the Arctic regions.

Neal Barsch ’14 of Englewood, Colo., will travel to the Philippines. An economics major and music minor, he will study the possibility of bringing mobile financial services, such as branchless banking, to the rural poor by using the existing infrastructure of the country’s ubiquitous sari-sari stores.

Margaretta Burdick ’14 of Bedford, N.Y., received an English Teaching Assistantship in Turkey. A political science and psychology major, Burdick developed an interest in Turkish culture during a trip to Istanbul while abroad with the Geneva Study Group.

Emma Ellis ’14 of Northwood, N.J., was awarded an English Teaching Assistantship in Mongolia. The English major hopes to pursue her interests in literary journalism by producing travel articles about her experiences in Mongolia.

A third English Teaching Assistantship was given to Jessica Hall ’14, who will be in South Korea. An English literature and anthropology major from Gallatin, Tenn., her senior thesis focused on Korean pop music. Hall was the choreographer for the Korean Student Association dance team.

Honoring this year’s retiring faculty

Promoted to the role of professor in 2011, Emily Hutton-Hughes served on the libraries’ senior management team. As head of collection development, she was instrumental in building an outstanding collection of print, digital, and audiovisual material. She guided the evolution of the collection from a print-only universe to our current digital era. Recently, HuttonHughes served as co-coordinator of the groundbreaking ConnectNY Shared Print Trust Project.

D. Kay Johnston, professor of educational studies and women’s studies, developed the childhood education program, and as chair of the Department of Educational Studies, expanded the departmental major/ minor and MAT program. Johnston chaired and served on the Faculty Affairs Committee and directed the women’s studies advisory board. The author of several books about teaching, including Education for a Caring

Back on campus Analyzing the Ukrainian crisis The reaction of the international community to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine has been too slow, too timid, and too little, asserted Arnoldas Pranckevicius ’02. The external policies adviser to European Parliament President Martin Schulz, Pranckevicius shared his perspective in a lecture titled “Ukrainian Crisis: A Key Challenge to the European Security Order” in Persson Auditorium in March.

Noting the quick progression of the crisis, he said, “What was unimaginable only a month ago, today is a reality.” For the past two years, Pranckevicius has been working on a special mediation mission launched

by Schulz to help Ukraine meet key conditions to sign a strategic pact with the European Union.

“How do we show Russia that what it has done with Crimea is not only unacceptable, but also that it cannot be repeated elsewhere?” posed Pranckevicius. He then launched into a detailed case study that addressed the origins, causes, and repercussions of the Ukrainian revolution, Crimea’s annexation, and ongoing tensions in Eastern Ukraine.

But, he added, “sometimes people forget to look at the positive side effects.” For example, he said, “Paradoxically, what Putin has unintentionally done is mobilize the people of Ukraine, accelerate its European integration, and forge much closer transatlantic cooperation between the United States and the EU.” Pranckevicius ultimately stressed that the peaceful resolution of the

Society, Johnston was awarded the AAUP Professor of the Year Award, the Alumni Distinguished Teaching Award, and the Sidney J. and Florence Felton French Award for Inspirational Teaching.

For the past 27 years, Douglas Macdonald taught political science.

He also was director of the International Relations program and the Geneva Study Group. The title of his influential book Adventures in Chaos: American Intervention for Reform in

crisis is not just the responsibility of Russia or the European Union, but of the entire international community.

“His talk connected many of the bits and pieces of the whole incident, providing a context and cohesiveness to the situation,” remarked Anan Hossain ’17.

Pranckevicius also discussed the demands of his advising job. An international relations major at Colgate, he studied at the Paris Institute of Political Studies as one of 70 Rotary World Peace Scholars. After finishing his master’s degree, he fulfilled his dream of working to improve the state of affairs in Lithuania — his native country — by serving as domestic policy adviser to Lithuania’s president.

He’s been in his current role — which he landed after winning an open competition to work in the European Parliament — since 2006.

Pranckevicius’s visit was supported by the International Relations Program.

— Hannah O’Malley ’17

the Third World captures the thrust of his scholarship. After retirement, Macdonald will continue his scholarly work as a visiting professor at Williams College.

Also recognized at commencement for his retirement was Dick Biddle, the winningest coach in Colgate and Patriot League football history. After 18 seasons, he retired as Fred ’50 and Marilyn Dunlap Endowed Chair for Football emeritus (read more in the winter 2014 Colgate Scene).

News and views for the Colgate community

17

Duy Trinh ’14

A fairy tale unfolds on stage in Wald.

scene: Summer 2014

A wondertale

Imaginations ran wild as students envisioned the magical qualities of forests (or wald in German) as the setting for a play inspired by the traditions, history, and grammar of Grimm’s fairytales. The students wrote and produced Wald, a wondertale for English 357: Children’s Theater Workshop, which was taught and directed this past spring by theater professor April Sweeney.

“A lot of people think plays for children are not necessarily plays for adults,” said Sweeney, who charged her students with developing a play for all ages. She asked them to explore their own childhoods — what they remembered and what types of stories they enjoyed hearing. Then, they collaborated on their research, improvisations, explorations, and scenes, developed the characters, and, soon, a storyline unfolded.

Over three days in April, they performed Wald, a wondertale for full crowds, including local school groups.

The piece wasn’t solely for entertainment value — educational lessons and audience participation were also key components. The hour-long play featured the epic folk music of Kristina Jung (former Max Kade Fellow at Colgate), and the costumes of New York City-based designer Tyler Holland.

“The presence of children really is a magical thing,” reflected Kristen Friberger ’14. “As young twenty-somethings, we forget the sense of wonder and willingness to believe.” Friberger reflected on the creative process on her Tumblr page “A Grimm Outlook,” which featured blog posts, images, and videos. She and her classmates

were required to keep digital journals on Tumblr, with weekly entries throughout the semester. For this, Sweeney received a university grant to provide students with iPads for the duration of the course. By reading each other’s journals, classmates could consider each others’ points of view, which drove the direction of the piece.

“The play was generated from who they are [as students] and what they are interested in,” Sweeney said. “It gave them a sense of ownership over the work.”

The collaborative effort resulting in Wald, a wondertale proved that a play for children can be a play for adults, too — a truly magical experience for all.

— Lauren Casella ’16

Charlotte Arbogast ’16 and Ben Mandell ’14 play newlyweds who are navigating marriage in August Strindberg’s A Dream Play.

Imagining dreams and questioning life

How do we interpret and express our dreams? Twelve theater majors set out to answer that question (among others) with the spring University Theater production of A Dream Play.

Written by August Strindberg in 1901, the avant-garde play aims to capture the vivid, intense, and meaningful way things happen in dreams.

The Colgate audience was invited into the dream in April. In a reversal of roles, the play was performed on a stage constructed on top of the seats in Brehmer Theater and the audience sat on the traditional stage.

“It’s a very emotional, completely different play that is beautiful to see at work,” said director Simona Giurgea, senior lecturer of English in the University Theater. “It requires a lot of tenderness and giving of the self on the part of the students, who are

Gerard Gaskin

arts & culture 18

becoming vulnerable, in touch with each other, and responsible for each other.”

Students in Giurgea’s English 259: Performance 1 class were involved in every aspect of the production — from the acting and singing, to the complex sound and lighting design. Their video clips were projected onto the backdrop amidst electronic beats fused with occasional lyrics and sounds.

The actors donned creative costumes and props, including a sparkling tutu, a navy-and-gold military suit, and extra-large hats. Parts of the costumes even required sculptural art projects — like the giant, mascot-sized heads that the students wore.

Combined, the play’s elements expressed abounding symbolism and asked the audience to consider the challenges and joys of love, law, health, academia, religion, and life.

“This has been an excellent chance for me to delve into the nuances of studying a part and really getting to know the world of a play,” reflected theater major Ben Mandell ’14, who played “the lawyer.”

The actors’ movements demanded swift changes, to replicate the nonsensical nature of dreams. “Professor Giurgea provides a crucial dynamism that gives the play heart and soul, and passes that on. I have learned a great deal about myself as an actor and as a person from working with her,” Mandell said.

Kuna experience of both traditional and modern life.

The April 7 opening featured a lecture in Persson Hall followed by a reception in Alumni Hall. Mari Lyn Salvador — director of the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley, and a world expert on Kuna molas — discussed “The Art of Being Kuna: Layers of Meaning Among the Kuna of Panama.”

Student employees of the museum assisted Senior Curator Carol Ann Lorenz with the installation of the exhibition. Alumni, faculty, staff, and friends of the university funded the purchase of individual pieces. The Native American Studies program funded three molas in honor of Emily Hutton-Hughes, head of collection development for the university libraries, upon her retirement.

In addition to visitors from the local community and the university, several grade school classes came to view the exhibition.

— Lauren Casella ’16

Layered Meanings

Warren Wheeler

Colorful geometric and representational designs on cotton panels decorated the second-floor walls of Alumni Hall this past spring. Sponsored by the

Kuna, Mola Panel with Neles Curing a Baby

Longyear Museum of Anthropology, the exhibition Layered Meanings: Kuna Indian Mola Textiles from Panama was on display from April through June.

A form of artistic expression and ethnic identity, molas are appliqué and reverse-appliqué textiles that constitute the front and back panels of women’s blouses among the Kuna people of Panama’s San Blas Islands.

Historically, Kuna women wore extensive paint designs on their upper bodies. Eventually, they put the designs onto blouses, first with paint and later using the reverse-appliqué technique, which they developed. The women would layer two colored cloths, reproducing their traditional linear designs by cutting slits through the top layer, turning the edges under, and stitching them to the lower layer.

Subject matter on molas has expanded greatly over the last century.

A mola will typically depict local flora and fauna, everyday activities, indigenous religious practices, and folktales.

Each image on a blouse draws on the

2014 Senior art projects: selections La Mirada, 68" x 50", acrylic on canvas Inspired by Chicana feminist Gloria Anzaldua, Jessica Aquino “chose specific angles of perception — such as ‘the gaze’ — as a ‘political subversive gesture’ to raise questions such as: Who holds the power in this encounter: who is the viewer, who is the subject on display? Which of the two is confronting the other by returning the gaze? Who is she staring at? Is she critiquing, judging, confronting?”

Quonnie, found architectural elements, food coloring on rice paper “Life is made up of experiences layering upon one another like thin sheets of rice paper that you can see through to the pages beneath,” Hanna Atwood wrote in her artist’s statement. “I do not think we should hide these layers.” Instead, Atwood’s artwork — a combination of painting and sculpture — strives to celebrate the juxtapositions, layers, and imperfections.

Kellogg receives lifetime achievement award

In May, Marjorie Bradley Kellogg, associate professor of English and scene designer, was awarded the Robert L.B. Tobin Award for Lifetime Achievement in Theatrical Design. The Theater Development Fund presented the prestigious award to Kellogg for her impressive body of work, according to BroadwayWorld.com and Live Design magazine.

Kellogg’s most recent projects include the set design for the spring production of Othello at Minneapolis’s Guthrie Theater and Passions at the 2013 Glimmerglass Festival.

Her designs for the 2004 world premiere of Richard Danielpour’s opera Margaret Garner were exhibited at the June 2007 Prague Quadrennial, an international exposition of scenography. In addition to doing other opera work, she was resident designer for the 1992-93 season of Tony Randall’s National Actors Theatre on Broadway and assisted several famous designers before she herself designed a series of plays between 1975 and 1993.

Other Broadway credits include the George C. Scott revival of On Borrowed Time; Lucifer’s Child starring Julie Harris; American Buffalo with Al Pacino; and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.

Mark Williams (3)

Colgate commissioned Paul Walsh, a professor at the Yale School of Drama, to translate Strindberg’s play and discuss his work as part of the Arts and Humanities Colloquium Series.

“The play includes quite a few instances of wordplay and poetic lines,” explained Charlotte Arbogast ’16, who played the role of the daughter. “[Walsh’s] lecture brought to my attention the amount of effort that had to go into the translation.”

— Hannah O’Malley ’17

From Inside My Godmother’s Home (Desde el Interior de la Casa de mi Madrina), 20" x 30", digital print, various materials used for the piece depicted in photograph including ink and gouache on paper In response to being far away from her home in San Antonio, Texas, Melissa Gamez-Herrera chose to examine her identity through her relationship to memory and places.

“I play with light and physical construction to create my own environment,” she said. “I love illusion, manipulation, and experimental play in photographs … art must encourage inquiry and wonder.”

Slide show: colgate.edu/artprojects2014

News and views for the Colgate community

19

go ’gate

teams earned perfect scores of 1,000, and the Patriot League averaged a score of 991, which was second in the country among conferences.

The Golden Gates

Men’s rowing wins gold at Dad Vail

The men’s Varsity 4+ captured the program’s first Dad Vail Regatta gold medal with a thrilling victory on May 11. Thunderstorms delayed the grand final for nearly three hours, but it was worth the wait — the Raiders crew beat out Oklahoma City by less than three seconds to claim the Thomas A. Curran Cup. In the boat were Ryan Kelliher ’15, Sal Curasi ’15, Graham Horman ’17, and Clarke Cady-McCrea ’17, along with coxswain Natalie Smith ’17 (pictured above with Head Coach Khaled Sanad, Assistant Coach Michael Cute, and a regatta official). They claimed their opening heat in 6:49.938, edging out SUNY Geneseo’s 6:53.542 and advancing to the semifinal round. There, they lost to Oklahoma City by 2.191 seconds but still advanced to the grand final.

When it mattered the most, the Raiders pulled through, crossing the line in 6:25.584 to clip Oklahoma City’s 6:28.254.

The Freshman/Novice 4+ crew of Justin Manzi, Andrew Isaacson, Francis Migliore, and Shane Buchanan, along with coxswain Smith, also had a strong showing. In the heat, they clipped Michigan by more than five seconds with a time of 6:42.261. They were victorious again in the semifinal, posting a 6:51.014 result to defeat SUNY Maritime by more than four seconds. Their time in the grand final, 7:56.291, landed them in sixth place.

APR is an annual scorecard of academic achievement calculated for all of Division I. Teams must meet a certain academic threshold to qualify for the postseason, and they also can face penalties for continued low academic performance.

The score requirements for the top 10 ranged from 980 to a perfect 1,000, depending on the sport, with the majority of top-10 teams earning a perfect APR. The most recent APRs are multiyear rates based on scores from 2009–10 through 2012–13.

Colgate is one of just 58 schools to have received at least one Public Recognition Award in the program’s nine years. Seven of those 58 schools (including Colgate) are Patriot League members. During 2012–13, 21 Colgate

The athletics division handed out hardware and recognized accomplishments on May 4 during The Golden Gates, the seventh annual all-sports banquet, at Cotterell Court.

A crowd of more than 600 welcomed U.S. Olympic ice hockey goaltender Jim Craig P’15 as the featured speaker. Craig played on the 1980 team that won gold at the Lake Placid Winter Olympic Games. His daughter, Taylor, will be a senior forward on the ice for the Raiders next season.

“Remember the importance of taking advantage of opportunity,” Craig said. “You can’t achieve it if you don’t dream it.”

Volleyball player Diane Seely ’15 and basketball player Murphy Burnatowski ’14 were each named Athlete of the Year. Seely was Patriot League Player of the Year and earned a spot on the All-Academic Team. Burnatowski picked up All-Patriot League Second Team honors and was the team’s Bob Duffy-Tucker Neale MVP recipient — claiming both for a second time.

Earlier in the evening, Colgate recognized two rookies who made an immediate impact on their teams: Sarah Bowles ’17 from lacrosse and Charlie Finn ’17 from ice hockey. Bowles was

Colgate placed 12 teams among the top 10 percent of their respective sports in the latest Academic Progress Report (APR), earning Public Recognition Awards from the NCAA. The

20

scene: Summer 2014

Bob Cornell

NCAA recognizes Colgate

In the home game against St. Bonaventure, women’s lacrosse won 18-6. The team ended the season in the quarterfinals with a 10-8 loss at Holy Cross and a 7-9 overall record.

Softball finishes with a victory

Colgate softball finished the season taking two games from Holy Cross in May. The Raiders recorded 2­-0 and

Go figure – Playing for a cause 7

Colgate teams held a total of 16 charity events in 2013–14

$10,000+ raised for Autism Awareness

25 pink ribbons worn by dance team for Play for Kay (breast cancer awareness)

2-1

Colgate beat Dartmouth during the Make-A-Wish fundraising game

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rainbow socks worn by men’s basketball players during the Blue for Q game in support of LGBTQ initiatives

4,379

spectators at football vs.

Bucknell game in support of ependymoma awareness

6-­4 victories over the Crusaders to end their season with an overall conference mark of 5­-13 and a 13­-30 overall record.

In game one of their three­-game set, Eileen Ornousky ’14 drilled her third homer in four games to give the Raiders the 2­-0 win.

After falling 6-­5 in eight innings in game two, the Raiders rebounded with a 6­-4 performance in the series finale. Strong defense and pitching from the Raiders in the final two innings secured them the win.

Two players earned all­-league recognition: Mariel Schlaefer ’16 and rookie Katie Bushee ’17. After leading the team in season home runs with five, Schlaefer showcased why she was voted to the All­-Patriot League First Team for the second consecutive year. She was voted to the first team after finishing the season hitting .255 on the year and .268 in conference play. She recorded six doubles and one triple while reeling in 16 RBIs to place second on the team. The Brookfield, Conn., native earned a team­-high 17 walks and four stolen bases.

Bushee received her first league honor after being tabbed to the All­ Patriot League Second Team for her performance in the outfield. The San Marcos, Calif., native led the team for most of the year with a .322 batting average. She also accounted for 29 Colgate runs and 17 stolen bases — both team highs. In her 143 at bats, Bushee recorded 46 hits, 13 doubles, and three triples to go along with her first two career home runs.

Watch clips from this softball season in the video series Sisters of the Diamond by outfielder Jennifer Martin ’14, who wanted to record memories from her final season: www.colgate.edu/sistersofdiamond.

Burke is PL rookie of the year

Brandon Burke ’17, a men’s lacrosse goalkeeper from Potomac, Md., was named 2014 Patriot League Rookie of the Year. He’s the first Colgate lacrosse player to win a major award from the Patriot League since 2012 when Peter Baum ’13 captured the league’s Offensive Player of the Year and Ryan Walsh ’15 claimed the rookie honor.

Burke won Colgate’s starting position in the preseason. His highlight reel of saves throughout the season demonstrates why he ranks statistically as one of the nation’s top goalkeepers.

Bob Cornell

a major contributor with 16 goals and two assists for 18 points. Finn was in the ECAC Hockey top five in goalsagainst average and save percentage.

Captains Macy Warren ’14 from rowing and Nick Arpey ’14 from soccer were each named Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Warren has twice been named National Scholar-Athlete by the CRCA, in addition to making the Dean’s List every semester. Arpey is a three-time Patriot League Academic Honor Roll recipient and was named to the 2012 Academic All-Patriot League Team.

The Howard N. Hartman Award for coach of the year was presented to Men’s Hockey Head Coach Don Vaughan.

The John LeFevre ’41 Appreciation Awards went to Associate Provost Trish St. Leger and volunteer photographer Phil Inglis. Student-Athlete Advisory Committee leaders Kaylee Fifer ’14 from volleyball, Lauryn Kobiela ’14 from basketball, Alex Lagowitz ’15 from golf, and Jimmy DeCicco ’15 from football also were recognized.

That evening, several tributes were made to Brian Crockett ’13, a former Raiders football student-athlete who died March 4 at age 22 after surgeryrelated complications.

Brandon Burke ’17

“I’m humbled, but I’ve got to say thank you to Bobby Lawrence [’14], Leo Stouros [’16], John Baker [’16], and Matt Yeager [’15],” Burke said. “They made my job a lot easier. For every single game and every practice, they’ve given one hundred and ten percent to play in front of me and keep the fewest shots possible coming my way.”

Colgate’s 2014 All-Patriot League first-teamers were Lawrence on defense and Matt Clarkson ’15 in midfield. Lawrence, the captain, earned a first-team nod for the second consecutive year. Walsh headlined the second-team unit at attack and was joined by Eric Foote ’16 in midfield and Alex Kinnealey ’15 as the faceoff specialist. Walsh, who led the Raiders with 31 goals and 45 points, is a repeat second-team selection.

Emily Speck ’14 named Yeardley Love Unsung Hero

Lacrosse defender Emily Speck ’14 is this year’s national female recipient of the Yeardley Reynolds Love Unsung Hero Award.

She joined Yale’s Dylan Levings on the men’s side as being the Division I lacrosse players who share the qualities of former Virginia women’s lacrosse player Yeardley Reynolds Love. The YRL Unsung Hero Award recognizes the accomplishments of two student-athletes “who help his and her team achieve success in ways that may not be measured in goals, saves, or ground balls. It places value on characteristics that often are undervalued in the competitively charged

environment of college lacrosse.” The two winners were each awarded a donation to the charity of their choice.

Speck graduated with a neuroscience degree and also earned Colgate’s Gottesman Award for Excellence in the Sciences and Athletics. She played in 13 games this season with 12 starts on defense, and caused the team’s third-most turnovers with 15.

Fourth All-Patriot League honor for Gensburg

Tennis player Luke Gensburg ’14 became a four-time first team AllPatriot League competitor when he was named to the top team in 2014.

Gensburg is the first Raider to earn first team All-Patriot League all four seasons since the league went to an overall first and second team in 2003.

(Previously, the league had a doubles and singles format for first team).

Gensburg finished the year with a 12-5 singles record and had a 3-3 mark in conference play as the top singles player for the Raiders for the fourth-straight year. He won eight of his first 10 singles matches and earned victories in his first four of the spring season.

Gensburg, who is from Glencoe, Ill., led the Raiders to their first win over Navy since 2006. He won in both singles and doubles to help his team to a 5-2 win. He led the Raiders to a 4-3 record in Patriot League play and a 10-9 mark overall. Gensburg played all season at the top doubles position and went 8-11.

News and views for the Colgate community

21

Featuring contributions by active librarians from across the country, this guide spotlights more than 500 children’s books that have been published within the last four years. With books for newborns through age 14, the selections encompass a variety of formats and themes to reflect the diversity of contemporary society. The guide is intended for librarians, teachers, caregivers, and others who are connected to young readers.

Diane (Bailey) Foote, assistant dean at Dominican University’s Graduate School of Library and Information Science, edited the book for the Association of Library Service to Children.

How I Got Skinny, Famous, and Fell Madly in Love Ken Baker ’92 (Running Press Kids)

In Ken Baker’s new novel, 16-year-old Emery Jackson lives on a Southern California beach with her workoutfiend dad, underwear model sister, and former model mother — so it’s impossible for her not to be aware of her weight. Emery’s “momager” signs her up for Fifty Pounds to Freedom, a reality show in which Emery will have to lose 50 pounds in 50 days in order to win the million dollars that will solve her family’s financial woes.

Emery is skeptical of the process, but when the pounds start to come off and the ratings skyrocket, she finds it hard to resist the adoration of her new figure and the world of fame. But, have things changed for the better?

An E! Entertainment TV news correspondent, Baker is no stranger to the world of fame himself.

The Way of the SEAL: Think Like an Elite Warrior to Lead and Succeed Mark Divine ’86 and Allyson E. Machate (Reader’s Digest) In The Way of the SEAL, former Navy commander Mark Divine reveals exercises, meditations, and focusing techniques to train the mind for mental toughness, emotional resilience, and uncanny intuition.

Blending the tactics he learned from America’s elite forces with lessons from the Spartans, samurai, Apache scouts, and other great warrior traditions, Divine has distilled the fundamentals of success into eight principles for becoming a leader.

22

scene: Summer 2014

War and Crises: 1914–1948, Volumes 1 and 2 Warren L. Hickman ’44 (Self-published)

In War and Crises, Warren Hickman provides a comprehensive look at World War I and World War II — including the political struggle caused by World War II that played a major role in the genesis of free trade. Hickman examines the multiple influences as well as rivalries and jealousies, philosophical differences, and other pressures. As he notes in the preface, Hickman became fascinated with history thanks to three Colgate history professors: Ray Wilson, Doug Reading, and Ray Rockwood.

He added that his interest in research for the book “reflects seventy years of thought triggered by three Colgate professors of philosophy (Howard Jefferson, Herman Brautigam, and Eugene Adams).”

Corruption, Contention, and Reform: The Power of Deep Democratization Michael Johnston (Cambridge University Press)

Professor Michael Corruption Johnston argues Contention that corruption and reform will persist — and The Power of Deep Democratization even be the rule rather than the exception — until Michael Johnston those with a stake in ending it act in ways that cannot be ignored. He asserts that this is the principle of “deep democratization,” enabling citizens to defend their interests by political means. Johnston, who is Colgate’s Charles A. Dana Professor of political science, analyzes four syndromes of corruption: official moguls in Egypt and Tunisia; oligarchs and clans in the Philippines; elite cartels in Argentina; and influence markets in France, Australia, and the United States. Focusing on recent events, he shows that we can assess vulnerabilities to corruption and the effects of reforms. Corruption, Contention, and Reform provides a reappraisal of ways to check abuses of wealth and power.

“Long neglected, issues about corruption and the quality of government have now

become central. Michael Johnston’s argument that, instead of quick fixes, successful

anti-corruption policies must be based on ‘deep democratization’ is very convincing. This

9781107610064 JOHNSTON – COrrupTiON, CONTeNTiON, aNd refOrm C m Y K

new, noted , & quoted

Information is provided by publishers, authors, and artists.

Edited by Diane (Bailey) Foote ’89 (ALA Editions)

book will be a great source of inspiration for scholars in this important field of research.”

Bo Rothstein, University of Gothenburg

“Michael Johnston’s Corruption, Contention and Reform is an elegantly written book.

Challenging, thoughtful, and provocative, it is an outstanding contribution to the study of corruption, which will be of great interest for scholars and practitioners alike. Johnston builds upon decades spent studying corruption worldwide to give us a penetrating

analysis of why corruption seems to be so intractable, while also providing us with some hope for the future and concrete ideas of what we may do to control it more effectively.”

Luigi Manzetti, Southern Methodist University

“This important sequel builds on johnston’s previous book Syndromes of Corruption to

develop reform agendas for his four regimes: Official Moguls, Oligarchs and Clans, Elite Cartels, and Influence Markets. Although he stresses the diversity of corrupt scenarios,

his major innovation is the unifying concept of ‘deep democratization’, a political structure where citizens can check abuses of wealth and power.”

Susan Rose-Ackerman, Yale University

Michael Johnston argues that corruption will persist, and even be the rule rather than the

exception, until those with a stake in ending it can act in ways that cannot be ignored. This

is the key principle of “deep democratization,” enabling citizens to defend their interests by political means. The author analyzes four syndromes of corruption in light of this principle: Official Moguls in Egypt and Tunisia; Oligarchs and Clans in the Philippines; Elite Cartels in Argentina; and Influence Markets in France, Australia, and the USA. Johnston argues

that different kinds of corruption require distinctive responses, each bearing specific risks.

Focusing on recent events, including the global economic crisis and the Arab Spring, he

shows that we can assess vulnerabilities to corruption and the effects of reforms, and use

this information to identify new practices. His book offers a fundamental reappraisal of ways to check abuses of wealth and power.

Michael Johnston is the Charles A. Dana Professor of Political Science at Colgate University.

Corruption, Contention and reform

Popular Picks for Young Readers

Johnston

Books, music & film

Cover illustration: David Sipress, “A shark is

chased by a school of fish that has organized into the shape of a bigger shark”. The New Yorker, 8 April 2013. The Cartoon Bank.

Cover designed by Hart McLeod Ltd

Colorado’s Spanish Peaks Region: An Exploration Guide to History, Natural History, Trails, and Drives Richard C. Keating ’59 (Missouri Botanical Garden Press)

Richard Keating’s guide introduces readers to Colorado’s Spanish Peaks region — much of which is in public ownership and invites exploration — as well as its geological history.

He outlines human history ranging from early native occupation to post– Civil War origins of modern settlement. Illustrations and maps show the federal wilderness areas and other accessible lands for driving and hiking (including some worthy destinations where no trails exist). Appendices feature preparations for outings and tips on mountain photography. The guide also provides checklists of mammals, amphibians, reptiles, and birds as well as ferns, conifers, woody flowering plants, and herbaceous plants.

In the media God’s Gateway: Identity and Meaning in a Hindu Pilgrimage Place James Lochtefeld ’79 (Oxford University Press)

A celebrated Hindu pilgrimage site, Hardwar lies on the Ganges river at the edge of the Himalayas. Its identity as a holy place is inextricably tied to the mythology and reality of the Ganges. In the past few centuries, changes have occurred, such as shifting trade routes, improved transportation, and political instability. These worldly influences have been ignored in the city’s sacred narrative, which presents a fixed, unchanging identity. The city’s complex identity, says Lochtefeld, lies in the tension between these differing narratives. In this fieldwork-based study, Lochtefeld analyzes modern Hardwar as a Hindu pilgrimage center. He looks at various groups of local residents and assesses their roles in managing Hardwar as a holy place. He then examines the pilgrims and the factors that bring them there. He also addresses the wider context of Indian pilgrimage and the forces shaping it today.

Dear Mendl, Dear Reyzl: Yiddish Letter Manuals from Russia and America Alice Nakhimovsky and Roberta Newman (Indiana University Press)

At the turn of the 20th century, Jewish families scattered by migration could stay in touch only through letters. But for many Jews who were unaccustomed to communicating their public and private thoughts in writing, correspondence presented the challenges of correct spelling and properly organized thoughts.

A popular solution was to consult brivnshtelers, Yiddish-language books of model letters. Dear Mendl, Dear Reyzl translates selections from these model-letter books and includes essays and annotations that illuminate their role as guides to a past culture.

Alice Nakhimovsky is a professor of Russian and Eurasian studies and Jewish studies at Colgate. Her co-author, Roberta Newman, is director of digital initiatives at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research.

The Calls of Islam: Sufis, Islamists, and Mass Mediation in Urban Morocco Emilio Spadola (Indiana University Press)

The sacred calls that summon believers are the Emilio Spadola The Calls focus of this study of IslaM of religion and power in Fez, Morocco. Focusing on how dissemination of the call through mass media has transformed understandings of piety and authority, Emilio Spadola details the new importance of once-marginal Sufi practices such as spirit trance and exorcism for ordinary believers, the state, and Islamist movements. The Calls of Islam offers new ethnographic perspectives on ritual, performance, and media in the Muslim world.

Spadola is an assistant professor of anthropology at Colgate.

SufiS, iSlamiStS, and maSS mediation in urban morocco

Also of note:

Straight Talk for College Seniors (CreateSpace) by John W. Tripp ’70 guides graduates on getting themselves in front of potential employers and convincing them to make a job offer. It is intended to be the “last course” for securing multiple job offers in any field, providing tips on a range of necessary skills, from résumé writing to preparing for an interview, to negotiating the best compensation package.

Footnote:

John Ross Carter’s In the Company of Friends: Exploring Faith and Understanding with Buddhists and Christians (SUNY Press) is the winner of the 2014 Streng Book Award for Excellence in Buddhist-Christian Studies. The award is given annually in memory of Frederick J. Streng, one of the scholars who founded the Society for BuddhistChristian Studies. The award will be presented at the annual American Academy of Religion meeting in San Diego in November. Carter is former director of Chapel House and professor emeritus.

“They’d say we’ve got the cost and returnon-investment calculation wrong and it will shift to their side, [but] we disagree.”

— President Jeffrey Herbst, quoted by Goldie Blumenstyk ’79 in her Chronicle of Higher Education article covering the Innovation + Disruption in Higher Education symposium hosted by Colgate

“Just do something so well and have a product that’s so good that people have a genuine desire to share it.”

— Actor/investor Ashton Kutcher, quoted in Forbes’s coverage of Colgate’s Entrepreneur Weekend panel

“While tragedies are rare, the city’s aging infrastructure is responsible for countless disruptions and malfunctions. Billions will need to be spent — but the price of inaction is worse.”

— Adam Forman ’06, a research associate at the New York City–based think tank Center for an Urban Future, wrote the Time article “New York City Is Crumbling” based on his recent report.

“It’s not a sport for the faint of heart… Maybe I’ll quit when I am 85.”

— Jerry Quill ’60, the oldest player in his adult ice hockey league, in the New York Times article “Older Athletes Punching Above Their Age”

“To the extent that BJP’s [Bharatiya Janata Party’s] election to power empowers the until-now–suppressed Hindu fascist elements on the ground, the Bengali Muslim population is under threat (as are other Muslims in India).”

— “Bengali Muslims in India: Bangladeshis until proven otherwise?” by Navine Murshid, assistant professor of political science, on bdnews24.com

“Releasing a polished video with tongue-in-cheek appearances by an array of administrators, faculty, and a local dentist…”

— In “Colgate University pulls one on April Fools,” Syracuse.com jaws about Colgate’s sense of humor.

News and views for the Colgate community

23

or many alumni, James B. Colgate Hall is likely the first building they ever entered on campus.

Generations of prospective students and their families have passed through its arched entranceways to the admission lobby. But, the stately structure wasn’t always the gateway to learning about the university’s offerings. Originally, it was the James B. Colgate Library — the gateway to knowledge of all kinds.

Constructed of brown and blue stone, it opened in January 1891. The building’s

namesake (a trustee since 1861) had offered to provide a fireproof home for the library.

Colgate historian Howard D. Williams ’30 called it “perhaps the most imposing, and certainly

COLGATE’S FRONT

By Rebecca Costello

the most durable structure of the Dodge period [President Ebenezer Dodge, 1868-90].” By the early 1930s, the burgeoning collection was outgrowing the library’s capacity. Its replacement structure was dedicated in 1959 and named for President Everett Needham Case in 1962.

For a short while after Case Library opened, James B. Colgate Hall served as home to the Romance languages department. But in October 1963, a major fire destroyed another building, the old Colgate Academy, which had housed the university’s administrative offices. An extensive renovation — including the addition of another floor — turned J.B. Colgate Hall into the new “ad building” (as many refer to it today, although it’s up for debate whether “ad” stands for “administration” or “admission”).

Another major renovation just this past year has transformed the building’s vaulted spaces. Thanks to the generosity of Dan ’86 and Ellie Hurwitz P’17 and other alumni, parents, grandparents, and friends, the Hurwitz Admission Center fosters a completely reimagined campus visit that honors our history while demonstrating the student experience on campus and around the world — and the power of a Colgate degree.

“Colgate has been extraordinary to me,” said Dan Hurwitz at the center’s dedication ceremony. “I thought it was really important that we had a front door to Colgate that showed everyone what a special place this is.”

Photography by Andrew Da

1890

Colgate historian Howard Williams ’30 noted that the “spot ultimately chosen [for James B. Colgate Library] had been the farm of Daniel Hascall, who will be remembered as one of the Thirteen Men and the first teacher.”

James B. Colgate Library cost $140,000 to build.

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scene: Summer Summer 2014

DOOR Historic images from university archives

THE NEW HURWITZ ADMISSION CENTER IN HISTORIC JAMES B. COLGATE HALL FOSTERS A COMPLETELY REIMAGINED CAMPUS VISIT

2014

addio

Architect Edwin Quick, who was a neighbor of James B. Colgate in

Originally open to the elements, the side porches that formed the entrances now

Yonkers, N.Y., called his design “Romanesque-American” style.

serve as flexible waiting rooms for visitors. Interactive screens feature profiles of successful young alumni in a variety of career fields.

News and views for the Colgate community

25

?

Several yellowed handwritten notes in the university archives’ files on the building detail an intriguing list of names, from authors to Greek goddesses, indicating plaster casts from the Caproni Catalog. But what has become of Victor Hugo, St. George, Niobe, Winged Victory of Samothrace, and the others? Today, the whereabouts of the statues that graced the reading room and loggia is a mystery.

JAMES B. COLGATE LIBRARY, 1891–1958

James B. Colgate, speaking to the crowd at the laying of the cornerstone for the library that bears his name

Hitting the books on the first floor, circa 1950 Down and out. Workers built a conveyor track system to transport the tens of thousands of pounds of books from James B. Colgate Library to the new Everett N. Case Library in 1958.

Construction, before-and-after, and dedication photo galleries at colgate.edu/admissiondedication

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scene: Summer Summer 2014

ACRES OF COUNTRYSIDE MAY SURROUND US, BUT YOU HAVE JUST ARRIVED IN THE MIDDLE OF EVERYWHERE

“This is the place where students figure it all out. When you walk in here, you’re thinking, is this the place for me? I always tell people that Colgate might not be the place for them.

That’s probably not what you expected me to say. But we’re not trying to say that we are better than another university.

We are trying to present you with what we have to offer, in a way that people will feel comfortable and that they are making their own decision.

“With the new, innovative, less-distracting structure of this facility, it makes students feel like they can make their decision in a calm and welcoming environment.”

— Kori Strother ’15, admission tour guide, at the dedication of the Hurwitz Admission Center on June 6

Visitors to the new Hurwitz Admission Center learn about Colgate’s opportunities through digital media — such as video stories in the lobby about students and vibrant displays of photos and factoids in the presentation room. They also get the personal student touch through conversations with tour guides and greeters. The Chipwich finale

has been a sweet and cool end-of-tour tradition for more than 15 years.

News and views for the Colgate community

27

Professor Susan Thomson maintains a cool demeanor despite having lived through some heated moments in Africa.

“Good people do bad things, and bad people do good things,” said Professor Susan Thomson. This philosophy can be a challenge to embrace — we tend to categorize others as either “good” or “bad.” But even after experiencing the Rwandan genocide (and a host of other unimaginably violent events), Thomson has learned to recognize the humanity in all people. “Even the most heinous of killers, in my opinion, deserve justice.”

For the peace and conflict studies professor who is also a trained human rights attorney, this belief isn’t just rhetoric. She dedicates several hours a week to defending people — even some of her critics — who are in desperate circumstances, potentially helping to save their lives. In addition, as an author of two books (a third is in the works) and numerous articles, as well as an oft-cited expert on Rwanda, Thomson is outspoken about her perspective and experiences — to a point. Her stance is considered dangerously controversial by some and, at times, has put her in difficult positions. In fact, for her own comfort and safety, there is a limit to her disclosure in this article.

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scene: Summer 2014

In the preface of Whispering Truth to Power, her most recent book, Thomson recounts some of the horrendous ordeals that she lived through in Africa and is still trying to process. With this year being the 20th anniversary of the genocide, Thomson has been reflecting on how her past is shaping her current work as a professor, human-rights advocate, and scholar-practitioner.

Mission: Impossible Mogadishu, June 1993: Young and optimistic — or “naïve,” as she’d say now — 23-year-old Thomson arrived in Somalia to begin her first post as a nation-building officer with the U.N. Assistance Mission. “I wanted to experience a part of the world that was rarely discussed in my undergraduate political science courses but featured frequently in the evening news,” she said.

In addition, Thomson aspired to work for the United Nations, which she held in the highest regard. Born and raised in Nova Scotia, “I learned in social studies classes that former Prime Minister Lester Pearson was the grandfather of modern peacekeeping — the quintessential Canadian value,” she said. (Pearson won the 1957 Nobel Peace Prize for his work as president of the U.N. General Assembly.)

But, after only three weeks, she and her team were evacuated when Somali militias killed 23 Pakistani peacekeepers. Although Thomson didn’t know it at the time, the nature of that mission hinted at future assignments.

March 1994, Rwanda: In order to assess her readiness to continue working for the United Nations, Thomson had to complete a trial mission. She was given the choice of Rwanda or Malawi and picked the former “as only a twenty-three-year-old could,” she said. Two simple reasons: she missed speaking French, and Rwanda was a quicker flight to her base in Nairobi. The assignment seemed easy: for three weeks, visit women’s cooperatives to review how they were using U.N. funding, and write a report.

Once again, an underlying current in the country would complicate matters.

Although there was a civil war in Rwanda between the government and the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF; rebels at the time, but today the ruling political party), Thomson was informed that there was a cease-fire in effect. Her U.N. handler assured her that she would be safe. But arriving in the capital, Kigali, Thomson was disconcerted by the obvious military presence: “platoons marching, RPGs [rocketpropelled grenades], buildings blown out.”

At U.N. headquarters, she was briefed that she

would be working in Gitarama, 30 miles southwest of Kigali. During the assessments, Thomson was struck by “the inequalities between the local representatives and the broader membership.” The leaders, who were elite members of society, were beautifully dressed and well coiffed. Meanwhile, the peasants were emaciated and had split feet and hands. Thomson’s job was to speak to the local representatives; when she asked if she could talk to the peasants to find out how they were benefitting from the funding, she was told that it wasn’t part of her job. “I never got to speak directly to the people I wanted to speak to,” she said. It would be many years until she would have such an opportunity.

A week and a half into the mission, on April 6 at around 8:30 p.m., Thomson returned to headquarters, where her colleagues were debating where to eat dinner. Suddenly, they heard a loud crash outside, but didn’t know what had happened until they received a phone call from the U.N. Assistance Mission about two hours later. “Stay put,” they were told. The plane carrying Rwandan President Juvénal Habyarimana had been shot down as it approached the airport; he and everyone on board had died.

Within two short hours, the Hutu militia was setting up roadblocks around the city, and the mass killings began, sparking the genocide.

Holed up at headquarters for a week, Thomson and her colleagues waited to be evacuated. “The paralyzing fear I felt in Madagascar [six months prior] flooded my system,” she reflected in Whispering Truth to Power. “I spent the next few days numb, without words and without reaction, largely unaware and unable to imagine the systematic and structured killing that was going on outside.” The staffers got a glimpse of what was happening when armed militia forcibly entered the compound and murdered all Tutsi staff members, including Thomson’s driver and translator.

“Their remains lay in the courtyard, and we had to step around and over their decomposing bodies to get to the cars that would take us by road to Uganda,” she recalled.

Resignation Against the advice of others, Thomson continued working for the United Nations and returned to her base in Nairobi in May 1994. “What I had experienced in Kigali became a constant preoccupation,” she recalled. As the media presented grisly photos and reports about genocide fueled by ethnic hatred, Thomson tried to make sense of Rwanda’s political situation. “The more I read, the less I knew.”

At first, her work involved writing access-to-land reports, but “it felt ridiculous to be at my desk,” she said. She wanted to be in the field, helping people (although she wouldn’t know what to call it until years later, Thomson was burdened with survivor’s guilt).

So, in 1995, Thomson took a job investigating sexual violence at refugee camps in Tanzania, alongside a team of delegates from the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Yet again, Thomson would witness an act of senseless violence. Coming out of a meeting, she found her driver dead on the ground. Because of his Tutsi features, he had been killed by Hutu rebels in the camp. Needing a brief respite, Thomson decided to go home to Canada. “I felt odd and overwhelmed,” she said. Everyday events like going to the grocery store made her re-evaluate and question the importance of certain things in life, like “Why are there twenty types of mustard?”

Over the next couple of years, Thomson traveled back and forth to Africa for short stints. “These experiences are so intense that three months can feel like five years for me,” she said.

In 1995, she began earning her bachelor of law at the University College London. Two years later, she moved to Rwanda to work for the U.N. Human Rights Field Operation there. Thomson and her team traveled the country interviewing Rwandans about the violence they had lived through in order to document human rights abuses. Oftentimes, they visited patients in hospitals reeking of dried blood, festering machete wounds, human waste, and charcoal smoke. Although the genocide officially had ended

6 facts about Susan Thomson 1. Attended a Buddhist private high school 2. Has kept stacks of Moleskine journals that are elaborately coded to ensure the anonymity of people she writes about (e.g., “I use the initials of my favorite TV characters.”)

3. Has two sons: one born in Nairobi, Kenya, 1996; one born in Kigali, Rwanda, 1999 4. Leads a weekly meditation group on campus at the Center for Women’s Studies 5. Bungee jumped at Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe Andrew Daddio

September 1993, cyclone-ravaged Madagascar: The United Nations sent Thomson to monitor the gender dynamics of food distribution. “After Somalia, it was kind of a cushy gig,” she joked wryly. The mission was supposed to be a 10-month appointment, but was cut short after three — this time after Thomson saw a man get publicly butchered.

One afternoon, having finished her day’s work in a rural community early, Thomson returned to the U.N. pickup spot on the main road. Sitting on a rock as she waited for her ride, Thomson idly watched cars, motorbikes, and passersby navigate the muddy road. Along came a funeral procession on foot, led by the relatives of the deceased and men carrying the shrouded body on a stretcher. Children, dogs, and goats followed behind. “Suddenly, there was a thud and then a loud wailing and incessant screeching,” Thomson recalled. A motorist had accidentally struck and killed a boy at the back of the procession.

In response, the pallbearers put the stretcher down and approached the driver, who got out of his car and crossed his outstretched arms, giving himself up.

“Time stood still as I watched,” she said. The men began to dismember the driver using farm implements: “They took off his hand, they took off his elbow … they broke his ribcage as you would a Christmas turkey,” Thomson recalled. (“If anyone wonders why I’m a vegetarian, that’s why; my position is don’t kill anything,” she added soberly.) The crowd cheered as the driver was decapitated, and then it was over. The men picked up the boy’s body and kept walking. For three hours — “an eternity” — Thomson waited for her ride, alone and shaking.

When she reported the event to her boss, he explained that it was an example of how the culture’s tribes resolve conflict (“an eye for an eye”). Traumatized, Thomson had a nervous breakdown and was medically evacuated to Sweden, where she spent four months in talk therapy. “It was a surreal event, one that I struggled to make sense of for a long time,” she said.

6. This year received 3 Torch Medals, given by graduating seniors to someone at Colgate who had a significant influence on them

News and views for the Colgate community

29

in 1994, she found that “its aftermath, its heartbreak, and its residue stayed in the individuals.”

In addition, Thomson realized that what she was hearing during those sessions was inconsistent with the RPF and media reports. Confused about what to believe, she began to think that her superficial understanding “was potentially dangerous for the people I was interviewing, and for me.” Less than two weeks into her new job, one particular assignment would put that feeling of unease over the edge. As part of her duties, she attended the public executions of Rwandans whom the RPF was punishing without due process. At one, an execution of six people at a soccer stadium, Thomson watched as their bodies “slumped over in the hail of bullets from six police AK-47s.” The crowd reacted with a mix of cheers, dancing, and weeping. “We documented everything, and that’s where the balance between [my] human emotion and [my job] became such a fraught relationship,” Thomson explained. She decided to resign from the United Nations permanently.

Nonetheless, she still felt a compulsion to live in Rwanda, so when a new opportunity presented itself in the summer of 1998, Thomson enthusiastically accepted. Through the U.S. Agency for International Development, she was hired to train Anglophone lawyers at the National University of Rwanda to prosecute crimes of genocide. She stayed on in that capacity for three years, until feeling the need to return to Canada in January 2001.

“Re-education”

In September 2002, Thomson enrolled in Dalhousie University’s doctoral program. With time to reflect about Rwanda, “I began to think more about what I had not seen,” she recalled. “I had lived there for almost five years, yet I knew next to nothing of the everyday lives of ordinary Rwandans.”

For her dissertation, Thomson planned “a project that would write the voices of peasant Rwandans into academic knowledge, and to understand the workings and effects of state power within their society.” So, in April 2006, she returned to Rwanda to conduct fieldwork, spending several months interviewing more than 400 Rwandans. Thomson was transparent about the nature of her study — she’d received a permit from the local government — but one day in August, she found out that she’d ruffled some feathers. “Oh, that was a bad day,” she said. Some of her interviews were with Hutu who had been imprisoned after the genocide, so Thomson was walking into a prison when a local official pulled her aside. He asked: “Who are you talking to?

What do you think you know?” Thomson refused to tell him anything, to which he responded, “We’re revoking your permit. We need to talk to you.”

The guard followed her home and told Thomson to show him her data. But, concerned about potential government intrusion, she’d kept her interviews on code-encrypted recorders, and she left almost no paper trail by frequently burning her notes in her yard. The officer informed Thomson that someone would be coming the next morning to take her to the Ministry of Local Government. “So I passed an

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scene: Summer 2014

uncomfortable evening,” she recalled.

At 5:30 a.m., there was a knock on the door, and Thomson was taken to the minister’s office. She waited three long days before she was given an audience with him. “Your work is against national unity and reconciliation,” the minister told her. “You listen too much to peasants. They’re liars. You should know better. We thought we could trust you.” He took her passport and said, “You’ll get it back when you’ve been sufficiently re-educated.” At that point, Thomson had no idea what “re-education” meant or how long it might last.

For the next five weeks, a government handler escorted Thomson to re-education activities. She met with a list of political and economic elites from

“There’s a web of violence in my head that I can’t cut through.” whom she would “learn the truth” about the government’s policy of national reconciliation. She was also sent to a weeklong camp with approximately 100 men convicted of committing genocide. For several hours a day, guarded by armed military, they were given history lessons detailing the root causes of the genocide, specifically the “deep-seated ethnic hatred that Hutu have for Tutsi.”

At first, the male prisoners teased the white foreign woman in the group — until they learned who Thomson was. Then, “the teasing stopped and most of the men stepped away from me, perhaps in an attempt to distance themselves from someone who was clearly in hot water with the government.”

However, at one point, when her translator went to the bathroom, a former physician named Antoine sat next to her. Quietly in French, he asked Thomson “to alert the outside world about how being Hutu is a crime in the new Rwanda.” Noticing the interaction, an armed soldier slammed the butt of his rifle into Antoine’s bare feet and threw Thomson to the ground. She was told that if she continued to speak to prisoners, “the punishment would be severe.”

Thomson never saw Antoine again and doesn’t know what happened to him.

After the camp, her re-education with the local elites continued. One afternoon, she managed to slip into the Canadian Embassy, where they helped her obtain a new passport. Then, on October 1, Thomson worked out an escape plan. It was Patriot’s Day, so a crush of people crowded downtown Kigali.

She picked a major hotel “where all the bigwigs were, because I wanted to be hiding in plain sight.”

Aware that she’d have to provide her passport upon check-in but not knowing if she was on a watch list, Thomson was nervous about showing them

her documents. So, she packed a putrid-smelling, disorganized bag with filthy clothes. At the front desk, she rifled through the bag, pretending she couldn’t find her passport. With dignitaries waiting, the attendant let her check in without the required photocopy of her passport, under the name Betty Cooper (from the Archie comics). Thomson arranged a 5 a.m. taxi ride to the airport where, to her relief, she passed through security. She flew directly from Nairobi to Europe and spent a week recuperating before heading home to Canada.

Thomson promised her family that she would never return to Rwanda. In 2007, the Rwandan ambassador made it official by sending her a letter declaring her a persona non grata, a diplomatic term meaning that she is no longer allowed in the country. “My first thought was, how do they know where I live?”

Feeling the heat In describing how her perspective on Rwandan politics has changed over time, Thomson uses the analogy of a frog that is put in a pot of cold water and slowly boiled alive over gradual heat. “For me, it was the same sort of low-grade, rolling boil that eventually overspills.”

The RPF maintains that the genocide was a widespread attack on the Tutsi by the Hutu, rooted in long-standing ethnic hatred. For several years, Thomson believed this and was a strong supporter of the RPF because they ended the genocide with a military victory and proclaimed that they would rebuild the country. “I was not totally blind to [their] shortcomings but felt that their authoritarian practices [e.g., the executions that she documented in early 1998] were necessary to rebuild a peaceful and secure Rwanda,” she recalled. After witnessing “that level of human loss, I wanted to believe that they would stop the killing on all sides.” Thomson also credits the RPF with taking a very sophisticated approach. “They are PhDs, lawyers, and engineers,” she said. “It never occurred to me that they were power mongers who were smooth talkers. I let myself be duped, basically.”

Today, Thomson’s understanding of the genocide is complex, but in the simplest terms, she believes a power struggle between elite Hutus and elite Tutsis (the RPF) created a climate of fear and insecurity that incited peasant Hutu Rwandans to kill their Tutsi brethren. She has been deemed a “genocide denier” by the RPF, who she believes are responsible for more of the killings than they admit. In her writings, she frequently points out that there are still major human rights abuses occurring in the country, especially against those who disagree with the ruling party.

“Susan is an inspirational political scientist who has courageously gone a long way to give voice to the voiceless,” said Oscar Gasana, a Tutsi genocide survivor who is now a conflict studies researcher and management adviser for the Canadian government.

Although she is an established expert on Rwanda, Thomson has learned that Rwandan teachers cannot include her articles on their syllabi because they’ve been told it would “re-traumatize” people. What’s more chilling is that she has been intimidated and

threatened by government loyalists. Because the backlash is severe, Thomson has to choose her discourse carefully. While giving public lectures, she’s been heckled and harassed. Online, she’s been called a liar and a fraud. Her blog post in March about Patrick Karegeya, a former intelligence chief who was found dead in January and is believed to have been murdered by the RPF, was widely read (1,500 views at last count). But it agitated Rwanda’s former minister of justice, who was scheduled to speak at Colgate per Thomson’s invitation, and he canceled his April visit.

Also this spring, a candid speech Thomson gave was posted to YouTube, and certain “Twitterati” blasted her, defending the RPF. The professor admits that the shrapnel can be hurtful: “For every ten mean posts, there is one supportive one; so the imbalance is pretty stark.” But, she participates in social media because she “doesn’t want to appear to be hiding anything.”

Of the more than 100 lawyers whom Thomson trained at the National University of Rwanda, most of them don’t talk to her anymore because of her political stance. “I don’t hold it against them,” she said.

“I probably would do the same thing.” Especially for her former students who are now in high-ranking positions, talking to her would jeopardize not only their jobs, but also their lives.

Thomson does hear from some of her former law students — and even her critics — when she’s asked to write affidavits to grant them asylum from Rwanda. Estimating that she receives two requests a week, Thomson writes 30 to 40 statements a year.

Her role is as an expert (a term she shuns because “it sounds arrogant”) who reviews their cases and writes in their favor. “A lot of my critics have contacted me and, because of the system from which they’re coming, I treat them with humanity rather than being merciless because they hurt my ego.”

Teaching moments “I feel the job of academics is to hold those in power to account,” Thomson has asserted. And that’s exactly what she does, said Marie-Eve Desrosiers, a University of Ottawa professor and Thomson’s co-author on two papers. “Susan demonstrates that there need not be a trade-off between activism and scholarship. She is determined to allow the true, lived experience of Rwandans, rich or poor, powerful or marginalized, to shine through and be properly understood.”

Thomson practices her conviction beyond the issues in Rwanda. A human rights advocate, she is part of a network of feminist lawyers fighting to get rape recognized internationally as a war crime.

“It’s a big challenge because [oftentimes] rape isn’t added as an indictable charge,” she explained. “It becomes an afterthought, and the women and men who are raped don’t get the reparation and support they need. Those who take the risk to come forward find an inhospitable legal system.” The group assists lawyers who are on the front lines of international justice. Thomson uses her skills to translate the emotional language of the victims’ stories into actionable legalese.

At press time, Thomson was helping victims closer to home, planning a traumatic storytelling

project with upstate and central New Yorkers.

In addition, she is attending the Summer School on Transitional Justice in Northern Ireland through the University of Ulster, which brings together practitioners and academics to address gender violence at the international, national, and local levels. “I think of myself as a constant learner,” said Thomson, who received funding to attend from Colgate’s Council for Faculty Development. She will incorporate what she learns into her human rights and gender and peace and conflict studies classes.

Thomson’s knowledge and her experiences are assets in the classroom. “[She] has proven herself to be an inspiration to students in classes she has developed,” said Nancy Ries, professor of anthropology and peace and conflict studies. “She delivers real hands-on training for students interested in working in international governmental and non-governmental organizations.”

When teaching International Human Rights Law and Advocacy this past semester, Thomson used her own examples in documenting human rights abuses. And Thomson’s insight has been invaluable in her Core: Rwanda class with students who weren’t yet born when the genocide happened. Because of Colgate students’ natural curiosity, they’ve also helped Thomson consider new ideas. “I learned a lot from my students, even though I’m technically the specialist in the room,” she said. “My broad epistemological belief is that everything we know is co-produced — the way we communicate, engage, and share is how knowledge is produced.”

In commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the genocide this past spring, Thomson organized five events facilitating a dialogue about Rwanda on campus. The biggest, a roundtable discussion on April 7 about the status of Rwanda today, was attended by a diverse crowd on campus and, at press time, had more than 4,000 views online. Moderated by Colgate President Jeffrey Herbst, the panel featured Thomson; Noel Twagiramungu, former general

secretary for the Rwandan League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights; Joseph Sebarenzi, former speaker of the House of Parliament; and David Himbara, a former staff member in the Rwandan president’s office. All three Rwandans are in exile and have had their own share of terrifying experiences — a point Thomson underscores in order to divert attention from herself. “My experience is just a wee bit of what [these men] have experienced,” she said.

Still, one has to wonder how Thomson has stayed sane after everything that she’s witnessed. She’s learned to reach out to friends for support during difficult times, like the anniversary. “I’m always a little raw in April. I have a lot of memories, and a lot of people I’m close to really suffered.” Thomson has been treated for post-traumatic stress disorder, and “I’m considered healthy, whatever that means.” But she acknowledges that she can come across as flip or uncaring. “It sometimes creates problems in my personal relationships — because I can appear aloof when I’m like, this isn’t a real problem, it’s not like genocide in Rwanda,” she noted. “I can be sharp in my speech, and it jostles people. Sometimes I have no filters, because there’s a web of violence in my head that I can’t cut through, so I just say what I say.”

She added, jokingly, “I’m a party killer.”

The self-proclaimed introvert makes these types of comments in an offhanded way. “I think the best thing about me is that I don’t take life too seriously,” she said. “But I think the biggest impact, the one I take most seriously, is my ability to connect with people and really listen to them. So, if trauma had to happen for that outcome, I think it’s a fair trade.

“I don’t see things in black and white. I’m very quick to forgive. Some people with post-traumatic stress are low trust. I don’t want to be that person. I choose to be high trust.”

Follow Thomson on Twitter @susanmthomson

News and views for the Colgate community

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sually, professors cringe when students glance at their smartphones in class. But Karen Harpp has used the devices to transform how her students learn.

This spring, Harpp had her students write a “Twitter play” in her course The Advent of the Atomic Bomb (Core 138S). Each student had to research and take on the persona of a major historical figure in the atomic bomb story — including scientists, military leaders, and journalists. Then, over five weeks, they had to respond via tweet to the events playing out from Pearl Harbor to Japan’s surrender, through the voice of their characters.

Harpp shared how she transformed her course using the edX platform at the Innovation + Disruption symposium on May 5. Sponsored by Colgate, the gathering of leaders in higher education discussed the risks and rewards of innovation in the digital age at New York City’s TimesCenter (you can read more on pg. 3).

Knowing that young adults benefit from the perspectives of others, Harpp has invited alumni into the course for more than 10 years. Alumni, she said, “pushed the students to question their preconceived notions. They asked questions the students never would, and brought in perspectives from the military, government, economics, business, and environmental fields.”

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U

More than 350 alumni, from recent graduates to World War II veterans, joined in on this latest iteration — which Harpp and the organizers fondly dubbed a SPOC (selective private online course). It included course lectures on video, a discussion board, and videoconferences. The students and alumni also collaborated to create an in-depth interactive online timeline.

“We grapple with really complicated questions,” Harpp said of the course, which delves into the scientific, technical, historical, and social perspectives on the story of the atomic age. “Why were the bombs dropped in the first place? What were the immediate physical and political effects, and what are their long-term geopolitical effects?”

It seems fitting, yet perhaps ironic, that the first course at Colgate to experiment with technology that is disrupting higher education would be about technology that was, arguably, the biggest disruptor of the last century.

But the results, said Harpp, associate professor of geology, were remarkable.

“The students would invoke their characters spontaneously in class discussions. I’ve never seen such a level of engagement with the atomic bomb story.”

Here is a taste of how the class’s telling of the story of the atomic age unfolded.

1941 1941

February 23

Plutonium is identified

(Prime Minister of Japan)

So glad his holiness Hirohito approved of my plans at the #ImperialConference41 #CU138S

1941

J Stalin @BrosephStalin13

December 8

(Leader of the Soviet Union)

U.S. declares war on Japan

@KlausFuchs_ About time, we could use a hand over here! #alliance #CU138S

BigBadBobSerber @BigBadBobSerber (American physicist)

Oppie stopped by today, what a pleasant surprise. He said something about a nuclear bomb project? #yolo #CU138S

1789

January 1

Discovery of uranium Uranium, the main component of the Little Boy bomb, was discovered by German scientist Martin Klaproth. At the time of discovery, Klaproth was studying the material pitchblende.

1933 1936

September 12

Szilard conceives the nuclear chain reaction

1896

February 26

Discovery of radioactivity by Henri Becquerel

1900

BY REBECCA COSTELLO scene: Summer 2014

Japan bombs Pearl Harbor

Hideki Tojo @Da_Razor_Tojo

1780

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December 7

January 1

Radioactive Fiestaware begins production Fiestaware launches its dinnerware line in five colors. From the beginning they were made using uranium oxide to make up 14% of the red dye, though this changed to depleted uranium after WWII.

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1945

July 12

1944

1942

Emperor seeks surrender

August 24

Allies liberate Buchenwald concentration camp

November 5

Creation of the Los Alamos Laboratory Originally intended for 30 scientists, the population grew more than 6,000 people during the course of the war.

For two years (1943–1945), a wide range of specialists worked on developing the first atomic bomb.

1945

August 6

Norris Bradbury @NorryBradbury (American physicist)

Little Boy detonates over Hiroshima, Japan

1945

Anybody got any recommendations for fun things to do in Los Alamos? #CU138S

August 9

Fat Man detonates over Nagasaki, Japan

Henry Stimson @HenryStim (U.S. secretary of war)

November 1

First test of hydrogen bomb

@NorryBradbury Work, work, work! We need to focus on the project (you know which one) to protect our country. #CU138S

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January 14

1952

Admiral C. Nimitz @Nimitz13 (Commander-in-chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet)

Oak Ridge begins uranium enrichment

The Japanese officially surrendered on board the USS Missouri today. #bittersweet #peace #CU138S

Eleanor Roosevelt @eleroosevelt (Outspoken U.S. First Lady)

Collect cooking fat! Our govt. needs it. Fats contain glycerine needed for gun powder, explosives and medicine. #morebacon #moreboom #CU138S

J.Robert Oppenheimer @OppenheimerJBob (American theoretical physicist)

April 5

Creation of peace sign This symbol originated as a symbol for nuclear disarmament and was first revealed at an anti-nuclear march from London to Aldermaston, sites of British nuclear weapon production.

1962

@EdwardTeller13 At least my beliefs won’t lead to world annihilation #superbomb #justsaying #CU138S

Albert Einstein @Albert_E1nstein (Theoretical physicist, German-born)

1958

October 16

Cuban Missile Crisis begins

2006

EdwardTeller13 @EdwardTeller13

At 1 of our weekly talks, Bertrand Russell suggested that the world should help Germany after their defeat. What a terrible idea! #CU138S

October 9

(“Father of the hydrogen bomb”)

North Korea’s first nuclear test

@OppenheimerJBob World annihilation? Please.

I'm just trying to look out for national security.

Nobody's messing with the #superbomb #CU138S

CVClausewitz's Ghost @ClausewitzGhost (Prussian military theorist)

2011

March 11

Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant disaster

@Albert_E1nstein A terrible idea? The alternative — to leave Germany decimated — may give rise to a Fourth Reich. #plan #OnPeace #CU138S

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FOR MORE:

Read the Twitter play: colgate.edu/atomic

1945

Video about the Twitter play: colgate.edu/twitterplay

1950

2000

2020

Innovation + Disruption symposium: colgate.edu/innovation News and views for the Colgate community

33

WHERE ARE THEY NOW? C ATCHING UP WITH ALUMNI OF THE NIH STUDY GROUP B Y A L L I S O N C U R L E Y ’0 4 The first time I emerged from the cavernous depths of the National Institutes of Health’s metro station onto the sidewalks filled with scientists scurrying across the campus, I felt both totally out of place and also right at home.

It was the summer after my sophomore year, and I was well aware of the NIH’s prestigious reputation.

From my Colgate neuroscience classes, I knew that Julius Axelrod had conducted his Nobel Prize–winning research on brain cell communication here in the 1950s. I could hardly believe that college students

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scene: Spring Summer 2014 2014

were allowed to do research here, too. It was intimidating, for sure, but also thrilling. I was now a member of an elite community of “nerds” who shared many of my goals and interests.

For those three months of my summer internship in 2002, I learned everything I could about Alzheimer’s disease and how mice can be used to model certain aspects of it. I spent countless hours in the “mouse house” observing my subjects’ behavior and presented my results in a poster session. I attended lectures by world-renowned visiting scientists, and sat

only a few seats away from Axelrod himself at a symposium honoring his 90th birthday.

The highlight of the summer, though, came on my very last day. My research mentor introduced me to Danny Weinberger, a leader in the study of schizophrenia; his research had featured prominently in a paper I had written the semester before. I can still recall the nervous exhilaration I felt explaining my “theory” of the disease and listening to his feedback. (I would have been considerably less excited to meet Tom Cruise.) To this day, the journal article Weinberger “autographed” for me that afternoon sits in my office alongside other treasured mementos from my career as a neuroscientist.

After such a rewarding summer, I jumped at the chance to return to the Bethesda, Md., campus the next year, as a member of Colgate’s unique NIH Study Group. Now in its 23rd year, the program remains the country’s only opportunity for undergraduates to spend an entire semester (and in many cases, the preceding summer) working full time in an NIH laboratory.

Andrew Stephenson ’93 Cleveland Clinic P R E V E N T I N G U N N E C E S S A R Y T R E AT M E N T Andrew Stephenson ’93 was a senior when he participated in the inaugural 1992 study group, so he arrived already passionate about research. “I left it even more convinced that I wanted to do research in my career,” Stephenson said. He’s been a urologic oncology surgeon at the Glickman Urological & Kidney Institute of the Cleveland Clinic since 2006.

When he’s not in the OR, Stephenson develops new tools to help prostate cancer patients select the best treatment option.

Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among men in the United States, but it often grows so slowly that “the majority of men who

During the fall semester of 2003, I and 17 other self-described science “nerds” (there’s even a t-shirt; more on that later) traded Raider hockey games, midnight Slices runs, and the Colgate shuttle for late nights in the lab, journal clubs with faculty leader Jun Yoshino, and the Metro red line.

I recently spoke with several of the 292 alumni of the study group, and polled nearly 100 others, to learn about their career choices and how their NIH experience played a role in where they’ve ended up. For many of us, research is a large part of our professional lives. And, we’re improving health in many ways: treating patients as physicians, dentists, nurse practitioners, genetic counselors, and veterinarians; uncovering the molecular mechanisms of health and disease; creating new drugs and ensuring their safety; training the next generation of scientists and clinicians; and communicating science and health information to the public.

Here is a look at some of the past participants — and the impact they are having today.

have prostate cancer probably don’t need aggressive treatment,” Stephenson explained. Another approach, termed active surveillance, carefully monitors the cancer through tests and biopsies. Treatment, such as surgical removal of the prostate or radiation therapy, is initiated only if the cancer progresses. Often, men who could use the active surveillance approach choose more aggressive treatment because of misinformation about the true risks of their cancer, or because they don’t fully understand the impact that treatment side effects could have on their quality of life, said Stephenson.

With data from thousands of patients, Stephenson and his colleagues developed statistical models to predict treatment outcomes. The models are highly individualized, he said, and take into account a variety of factors including a man’s cancer stage and type as well as his age, ethnicity, and family history. Using this detailed information, the model generates a suggested treatment option, and provides the probabilities of various outcomes, both positive and negative.

“We’re predicting the outcome of therapy not only in cancer terms but also in quality-of-life terms,” he explained, with the goal of persuading men who are unlikely to benefit from treatment to pursue an observational approach.

Phase II clinical trial results suggest that the new tool is beneficial. Men who used Stephenson’s decision support tool are much more satisfied with their outcome, and much more likely to achieve the outcome they desire, suggesting that it is helping men make decisions about treatment, said Stephenson. Plans for a larger, phase III clinical trial are currently underway.

Mwango Kashoki ’93 U.S. Food and Drug Administration ENSURING DRUG SAFETY Mwango Kashoki ’93, also a member of the first study group, credits her NIH experience with developing her interest in clinical medicine. She spent her semester in the laboratory of Bruce Citron ’76 examining the biology of the genetic disorder phenylketonuria.

“The thing that sticks out most is [the feeling of] excitement and enthusiasm,” she said.

Following medical school at Johns Hopkins, in 1998 Kashoki began an internship in internal medicine at Columbia University’s School of Medicine.

After an “epiphany followed by much soul searching” during her second residency year, she switched to a residency in general preventative medicine and public health at Stony Brook University. In order to develop a better understanding of drug development, in 2002 Kashoki took a job as a medical officer at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), where she used her medical and epidemiological training to review drug efficacy and safety data from clinical trials.

As a medical officer, Kashoki was involved in the multidisciplinary review of new drugs such as the fibromyalgia treatments Lyrica and Savella. She sorted through the sea of data generated early in the drug discovery process, as new compounds were developed and further researched, as well as in the end stages when drugs were submitted for FDA approval. With more and more experience, Kashoki became a team leader, and in 2009 was promoted to her current position of associate director for safety in the Office of New Drugs at the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.

In this role, she helps to ensure that “our divisions are following established policies and procedures with regard to evaluating and managing drug safety issues,” she said. Kashoki guides the 17 review divisions that evaluate drugs in particular therapeutic areas. She’s currently focusing on safety in the postmarket period after a drug receives FDA approval.

News and views for the Colgate community

35

Colgate at the NIH Bruce Citron ’76 is credited with coming up with the idea for the study group, in addition to mentoring one of the first participants of the program. In 1975, during the break between semesters his junior year, Citron spent a month in the laboratory of fellow alumnus Donald Court ’65, a geneticist and molecular biologist at the National Cancer Institute. The arrangement was successful for both student and mentor, so Citron returned the following summer to complete another project. Court was very warm and supportive, and “allowed me to actually participate in the research in a hands-on way,” recalled Citron.

Citron was the first of many Colgate students handpicked by Colgate biology professor Fred Weyter to explore molecular biology in Court’s lab, and Court continues to host students to this day. In the nearly 40 years he has been mentoring, “I have not had one bad student from Colgate…

It’s amazing,” Court said. (Barbara Hoopes, a biology professor and three-time faculty leader of the study group, reported that over time, the program has developed a list of “regulars” — the mentors who take students every year. “We usually don’t have people fall off the list and not take students again,” she added.)

Court said he particularly enjoys working with Colgate students because of the fresh perspective they bring. “They have their own ideas of what science ought to be … and they often have great ideas,” he said.

Most recently, Michelle Miron ’13 spent the summer of 2012 in Court’s lab, and returned for a one-year post-baccalaureate program. She will overlap briefly with Katie Cascino ’15, who arrived earlier this summer and will pick up Miron’s project after she leaves to attend Columbia University’s

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scene: Summer 2014

biomedical science PhD program in the fall.

Miron is far from the only recent Colgate grad in Bethesda. The Center for Career Services recently announced that the NIH is the top employer for the Class of 2013.

Like so many of Court’s mentees who would follow, Citron was motivated by his positive experience in the lab to pursue a PhD, in his case at the University of Iowa.

Then in 1985, he landed his own lab at the NIH, and continued Court’s tradition of hosting Colgate students. Inspired by Colgate’s political science–based Washington, D.C., study group (also the first of its kind), Citron suggested the creation of a formal study group in the hard sciences to Weyter, who loved the idea. Weyter handled the Colgate end of the arrangement, while Citron handled the NIH side, and in 1992 Kashoki and 12 other students arrived at the NIH. Weyter led the first two study groups, and since then, nine other professors from the departments of biology, chemistry, and neuroscience have taken turns leading the program. Group leaders both oversee a journal club in which students present papers relevant to their research projects, and teach courses such as Fundamentals of Neurochemistry, Proteins and Nucleic Acids, and Advanced Genetics. The core of the program is at least 32 hours per week (though often many more) performing research under the guidance of an NIH mentor.

Similar to study groups that travel abroad, the NIH program is a total immersion in a foreign culture, albeit one of a different kind, said Hoopes. Students’ first exposure to this “research culture” often comes as quite a shock. But, said fellow study group leader Roger Rowlett (chemistry), they “often get sucked — quite willingly — into it … staying late or coming in weekends to finish up that experiment.”

The program teaches students a lot about themselves, as well as about getting along with other people, a particular research area, and how a lab functions, added Hoopes.

Mike Wolyniak ’98 Hampden-Sydney College G R O W I N G T H E N E X T G E N E R AT I O N Mike Wolyniak ’98 credits the NIH Study Group experience with giving him the confidence to become a scientist. Before then, he wasn’t so sure. “It’s one thing to take the classes and get a good grade. It’s another thing to actually do it,” he explained. Wolyniak learned that the life of a scientist was “pretty fun”, and realized that he was up to the challenge.

He says he’s always been “laser focused,” and knew even before he came to Colgate that he wanted teaching to be a strong component of his career. After earning a PhD in genetics at Cornell and completing a postdoctoral fellowship at Dartmouth, Wolyniak combined his love of science with teaching. He’s now an assistant professor of biology at Hampden-Sydney College, a small liberal arts school in rural Virginia.

Wolyniak is one of six principal investigators (at four institutions) on the Undergraduate Phenotyping of Arabidopsis Knockouts (UNPAK) research project, funded by $230,000 in grants from the National Science Foundation. A small, flowering weed that grows quickly in limited space, Arabidopsis thaliana is widely used as a model organism in plant biology research. Some 27,000 Arabidopsis genes don’t currently have a known function, and UNPAK’s scientific goal is to create a database of the effects of mutations in these genes that can be used by the broader scientific community.

The project also has a strong educational goal: to provide research experiences for undergraduates. Not every student can work in a laboratory, Wolyniak explained, so “we try as hard as we can to bring research into our required classes.” He’s built a few different research experiences based on UNPAK for his genetics and molecular biology classes.

One of Wolyniak’s strongest memories of the NIH Study Group is of long hours spent in the library of the NIH’s main clinical center, Building 10, for study group leader Jun Yoshino’s Neurochemistry course. (In addition to working full time in a laboratory for credit, the participants also take a full course load.) Yoshino challenged pairs of students to search through the literature to piece together a cohesive theory, first of multiple sclerosis, then of Alzheimer’s disease. Wolyniak compared the assignment to building a case like a lawyer. “It was really rewarding in the end. But it was intense,” he added.

T H E N I H S T U D Y G R O U P. . .

Achim Moesta ’98

Andy Muck ’99

Amgen

University of Texas Health Science Center

DEVELOPING NEW DRUGS

IMPROVING EMERGENCY CARE

Achim Moesta ’98 also recalls late nights “grinding through papers” for Neurochemistry. “I managed to get through almost all of college without pulling an all-nighter, but I pulled two in that course,” he laughed.

Now a senior scientist at the biotechnology company Amgen, Moesta said his interest in immunology was sparked by the multiple sclerosis portion of Neurochemistry. After earning his PhD in immunology from Stanford and completing a postdoc at Pfizer, Moesta joined Amgen in 2010 and was promoted to his current position last year. He works in the earliest part of the drug-development pipeline, performing the basic biology research needed to identify new spots in the body that immunology and oncology drugs could be designed to therapeutically enhance.

Moesta also emphasized that the study group gave him “a lot of good foundations” for many of the skills he still uses today — and not just those at the lab bench. The experience also helped hone his ability to think critically and evaluate the literature, as well as to distill a large body of research down to the central aspects.

The 1998 group was the first time students could come early to spend the summer in their assigned labs (which has since become a popular choice).

Moesta found extending the research experience to seven months extremely valuable. It made it easier to complete a project and, without the responsibility of course work, there was more time for the lab, he said.

Yoshino agrees. The summer is where students “learn how to become scientists and how to manage their time,” he said, adding that multitasking is crucial once the semester starts.

For Andy Muck ’99, his HIV vaccine studies at the NIH opened his eyes to “what it meant to do research.” Before the study group, “research” to Muck meant pipetting into test tubes, but his laboratory experience showed that it is “the chance to be part of something that was trying to dramatically change the world,” he said.

Buoyed by his NIH experience, Muck completed an Emerging Infectious Diseases Fellowship at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) the year after graduation. The following year, he attended medical school at Johns Hopkins on a Health Professions Scholarship from the Air Force. After completing his three-year residency in emergency medicine at the San Antonio Uniformed Services Health Education Consortium, he was deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Upon transitioning back to civilian life, in 2011 Muck helped start up an emergency medicine residency program at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, where he is currently associate program director. Muck is applying lessons learned during his time in the Air Force to his current research. Much as a pilot uses a cockpit checklist to prevent cognitive overload, he has implemented checklists to improve patient safety during nursing and physician shift changes, a time when “balls can get dropped,” said Muck.

Like many of the alumni I spoke with, Muck considers his experience at the NIH critical to his success today. Looking back, each experience was built on the one before it, from the CDC fellowship, to medical school, to emergency medicine. “Everything was a step for me,” said Muck. “But the first step was clearly the opportunity afforded by the NIH Study Group,” he said.

“ … was a unique chance to commit to a singular activity as an undergraduate…

It challenged me to heighten my curiosity and work ethic for the benefit of the lab team, not simply for my own education.”

– Brendan Kelley ’02

DESCRIBE YOUR NIH EXPERIENCE

In six words • Pipette, pipette, repeat. Pipette, pipette, repeat.

• Independently solving problems, microliter by microliter • Lots of Paul Simon and science • So many zebrafish, so little time • Encompassing outlook on art of inquiry • Many irregular hours monitoring anesthetized sheep • Like having a real research job • Narrow research focus, great clinical impact • Journal clubs, lots of petri dishes

News and and views views for for the the Colgate Colgate community community News

37 37

T H E N I H S T U D Y G R O U P. . .

“ … didn’t just teach me about research, it taught me what distinguishes good research from the typical research. I learned not only how to approach a project, but how to adapt to it, learn from it, and how to collaborate with others to create a meaningful discovery.”

– Alexander Glaser ’08

Brooke Blicher ’03 Upper Valley Endodontics P R I VAT E P R A C T I C E Over the years, the “science immersion” experience of the NIH Study Group has become a draw for prospective students. Brooke Blicher ’03 was sold during an April Visit Days presentation, after Yoshino described the opportunity to work with world-renowned experts while living in D.C. Blicher was interested in dentistry, so she chose a lab at the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research. In addition to do-

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scene: Summer 2014

ing molecular research in her mentor’s lab, Blicher shadowed several dentists at the National Dental Clinic on campus. There, she was exposed to rare but fascinating cases, such as twins with a form of the clotting disorder hemophilia who required blood transfusions immediately before routine teeth cleanings. These experiences helped Blicher see how dentistry fit into patients’ overall health and treatment plans, she said.

After dental school at Harvard and a residency in endodontics at Tufts, in 2009 Blicher and her husband, Gered Dunne ’03, moved to White River Junction, Vt., where she is an endodontist in private practice, specializing in root canals and root canal surgery.

Blicher also

teaches at Harvard, Tufts, and Dartmouth and gets called into Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center to assist with particularly difficult diagnoses when a patient’s medical problems might be dental-related.

Research has also continued to figure into Blicher’s career. Having observed that patients treated with antibiotics following a root canal report feeling better even without an underlying infection, she undertook a project, in collaboration with several students, to investigate the connection. She recently presented the results at the American Association of Endodontists annual meeting: “Despite there not being an infection, patients reported symptom improvement in response to antibiotics that was greater than what we would expect with the placebo effect,” explained Blicher.

Blicher is also helping current Colgate students learn more about careers in the health sciences. Along with good friend and 2002 study group participant Lauren Lichten ’03, Blicher participated in a panel discussion on career options at the Wolk Medical Conference held at Colgate earlier this year. “It’s exciting to go back and tell current students what I do now,” said Lichten, a genetic counselor at Boston University.

T H E N I H S T U D Y G R O U P. . .

“ … placed me in the primary research setting and exposed me to the methods, mentality, and mindfulness needed to conduct research and achieve progress in a particular field.”

– Hanna Algattas ’12

Kelli Wong Williams ’03

BEYOND THE BOOKS and the bench

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases C A N ’ T S TAY AWAY Blicher’s NIH roommate (and close friend ever since), Kelli Wong Williams ’03, recalls walking around “with big, huge eyes,” amazed at all of the incredible people and research surrounding her. During her six months on the study group in 2001, the chemistry major synthesized improved compounds related to an existing drug for Parkinson’s disease, resulting in authorship on two papers. The experience certainly made a lasting impression on her; she has returned to Bethesda twice for more training.

After graduating from Colgate, Williams traveled across Europe and Asia for a year on a prestigious Watson Fellowship that gave her a unique perspective on global medicine. She then spent a year in the NIH’s post-baccalaureate research program, where she worked at the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine before beginning a dual MD/MPH program at Tulane University.

After a three-year residency in pediatrics at the Medical University of South Carolina, last year Williams returned to the NIH once again, for an allergy and immunology fellowship. During her first year, she spent all of her time in clinics, identifying rare immune system defects in children. This year, she developed her own research plan and is using skin cells she’s collected from patients to learn about the genetic defects responsible for their immune problems. Next year, she’ll be focusing exclusively on her research.

Williams said her current NIH experience is especially rewarding because of both the diverse experiences she has had, as well as her specialization. She particularly enjoys interacting with seminal clinicians and researchers in her field. “Being with them and hearing their ideas and their insights, and having them support me and my endeavors is really exciting,” she said.

Williams also enjoys meeting with the current study groups during their time at the NIH. Although she is not yet sure where she’ll end up after her fellowship is over, Williams plans to stay in research.

The decade of friendship between Williams and Blicher is just one example of the close ties that form between study group participants. Students live together in apartments (some years in suburban Maryland, others in downtown D.C.), where they share meals and social activities. But the strongest bond between fellow participants is a shared love of science and a collective appreciation for the incredible opportunity. Everyone on the NIH study group is a “Nerd In Heaven.” The slogan, originally coined by the 2002 participants, was borrowed by us the next year for use on our official study group T-shirt.

In many cases, current events in the D.C. metro area brought the tight groups even closer together. Students witnessed the September 11, 2001, attack on the Pentagon firsthand, and the following year’s group checked in with nervous parents during the Beltway sniper attacks that terrorized the D.C. area for 23 days. When Hurricane Isabel barreled down on my group in 2003, closing the NIH and the Metro, we hunkered down with candles and board games. Most recently, the govern-

ment shutdown shuttered the NIH for 16 days last October, threatening to affect students’ course credits by preventing them from doing research. (Fortunately, the NIH was re-opened in time for them to complete their requirements.)

The study group isn’t just beneficial for students — the professors who lead the group gain a lot from their time at the NIH, too. Almost all study group leaders perform research during their semester in Bethesda, and in many cases return to the same lab to continue their research during the next time heading the group.

Colgate also benefits from the professors’ experiences.

Hoopes learned a completely new research area, the molecular genetics of body size in dogs, while at the NIH, and her lab at Colgate is currently following up on some of the questions that were raised by her findings. Rowlett said that his NIH research was “crucial for our success in obtaining federal funding” to bring a protein X-ray diffractometer to Colgate (one of only two found at predominantly undergraduate institutions in the country).

Allison Curley ’04

office back in 2002.

One year ago, I decided to put down the pipettes and pursue my love of science using a different tool, the (metaphorical) pen. Now a freelance science writer, I get to talk to scientists on the cutting edge of their fields and learn about a wide variety of complex science and health topics that I distill down for both scientist and general audiences.

Although I am no longer conducting research, I continue to use the curiosity, critical thinking, and literature scouring skills I first cultivated at the NIH (and later honed during my PhD and postdoc), all day, every day. Still immersed in the research community, I catch up with my mentors from both NIH experiences at annual scientific meetings, where I frequently run into Weinberger.

Freelance Writer TELLING THE STORY OF SCIENCE As for me, I was profoundly influenced by my time on the study group. It was at the NIH that I fell in love with research, and after a taste of the life of a scientist, I left Bethesda knowing that I wanted the in-depth understanding of the brain that only graduate school would provide. After leaving Hamilton, I spent two years as a research technician in a lab at Massachusetts General Hospital before beginning a PhD program in neuroscience at the University of Pittsburgh in 2006. Over the next eight years as a graduate student and then postdoctoral fellow in a schizophrenia lab, I revisited many of the ideas I discussed with Weinberger that day in his

News and views for the Colgate community

39

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scene: Summer 2014

Andrew Daddio

News and views for the Colgate community

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Bob Cornell

stay connected

Your portal to alumni programs, volunteer opportunities, career networking, and more

The Office of Alumni Relations is pleased to offer many ways for alumni to stay in touch with each other, and with Colgate! E-mail me with questions or concerns at tmansfield@colgate. edu. — Tim Mansfield, associate vice president, institutional advancement and alumni relations Questions? Contact alumni relations: 315-228-7433 or alumni@colgate.edu.

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scene: Summer 2014

Hockey spirit anything but placid When the men’s hockey team took their A game to Lake Placid for the ECAC finals in March, nearly 400 alumni, parents, and friends traveled with them. Fans enjoyed tailgates and plenty of Colgate spirit before game time in 1980 Rink Herb Brooks Arena.

“The energy in the rink from the Colgate faithful was great — it was like having an extra man on the ice,” said head coach Don Vaughan. “The celebration from our players and fans following the overtime-winning goal in the semifinals will be burned in our collective memories forever.”

Most recently, the Common Good Network came to life in Washington, D.C., at the Longview Gallery in April. During a panel conversation moderated by President Jeffrey Herbst, attendees heard from PeacePlayers International founder Brendan Tuohey ’96, former Senate Parliamentarian Alan Frumin ’68, and Lakota Children’s Enrichment founder Maggie Dunne ’13.

After watching the lively discussion at the Entrepreneur Weekend allstar panel, the Entrepreneur Network launched in Hamilton on April 11.

Noting the support she received 377 green from the Colgate community, Entrepreneur Network chair (and Hukkster co-founder) Katie Finnegan ’05 said, “I’m excited that this network will assist alumni elsewhere. With the excitement we’ve already seen, I know it’s going to be a huge success.”

Learn more at colgate.edu/net works. If your company offers internships, the Center for Career Services

would like to speak with you. Call 315228-7380 or e-mail ccs@colgate.edu.

Welcome home to Hamilton Much may have changed since your last visit to Colgate, yet so much remains the same. Nestled into the quiet countryside, Hamilton and its surrounding communities offer dining, lodging, specialty shops, and recreation. The burgeoning arts and cultural scene features live music, national and international lecturers, film festivals, local artists, and galleries. The Village Green is a hot spot for concerts, socializing, and shopping at one of the oldest farmers’ markets in New York State.

If you are planning to come “home,” the Hamilton Initiative’s professional concierge service now offers customized travel packages. Call 315-8241063 or visit hometohamiltonny.com for information.

2 COLOR WITH TAGLINE

NEW YORK WARM HEARTS, COOL CULTURE

Raider on the road Raider took a trip downstate on April 24 for a Colgate visit to the Big Apple.

Stops included Grand Central Station, Times Square, and the Today Show’s front doorstep. Thankfully, our beloved mascot remembered his smartphone and his camera. He documented his (mis)adventures over the university’s Twitter feed and on video — so you can relive it on youtube.com/ cuatchannel13 whenever the Colgate spirit seizes you.

A Colgate hello to new professional networks In alumni history, 2013–14 will be known as the year of the professional network. Between last September and April, Colgate launched five new groups designed to connect alumni across broadly related industries, provide a conduit for jobs and internships, and raise support for the university’s career services efforts.

Alumni Council call for nominations

The nominations committee of the Alumni Council seeks recommendations for this 55-member volunteer board. Each year, 11 to 13 positions are filled. For a full list of qualifications, visit colgate.edu/acnominations.

The awards committee also seeks nominations from the classes ending in 0 and 5 for awards to be presented at Reunion 2015. A full list of categories can be found at colgate.edu/alumni-awards.

Send nominations by Sept. 1, 2014, to: Tim Mansfield, executive secretary, Colgate University, 13 Oak Drive, Hamilton, NY 13346. For guidelines and more information, visit colgate.edu/alumnicouncil.

Living Writers

Alumni Clubs and Groups

Homecoming Weekend 2014 is September 18–20. Mark your calendar, and make plans to reconnect with Colgate, cheer on our studentathletes, and meet up with old friends.

The weekend kicks off on Thursday evening, when the Presidents’ Club (celebrating its 50th anniversary) will present a keynote event featuring Mark Divine ’85, founder and CEO of SEALFIT and the author of Unbeatable Mind. Other events include: • Bonfire, pep rally, fireworks, and entertainment by Waiting For Henry,

Martin Amis

Marjane Satrapi

Jonathan Franzen

4 Authors, Limitless Learning

Join Living Writers on ColgateX and immerse yourself in the works of four great writers: Nadifa Mohamed, Jonathan Franzen, Marjane Satrapi, and Martin Amis. This free online course is taught by Colgate professors Jane Pinchin and Jennifer Brice.

An ALANA meet-up

Fall 2014

On May 13, associate dean Thomas Cruz-Soto met up with members of the Alumni of Color organization in New York City, bringing a touch of maroon to the Bamboo 52 Sushi Bar. According to Cruz-Soto, the meeting was both entertaining and informative. “We’re galvanizing alumni to connect with the university — we’re exploring their interests and asking questions, letting them know that their time, energy, and ideas are important.” He will take his outreach efforts to Atlanta and southern California in the months ahead. Watch your inbox for details.

Don’t worry, be app-y Thanks to the power of the Colgate mobile app, connecting with fellow alumni is as easy as 1-2-3! Download the app, open it up, then tap the mobile alumni directory to expand your

For more information and to register: colgate.edu/colgatex

professional network and meet with grads nearby — in Paris, N.Y., or Paris, France. While you’re at it, read the latest university news, cruise our social media feeds, and much more. For details, visit colgate.edu/mobilepitch.

Internship fund in the spotlight at Presidents’ Club celebration A dazzling New York City sunset over the Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers illuminated an event that raised nearly $70,000 for the Career Services Internship Fund, which helps students with financial need accept unpaid or underpaid internships.

Employers are demanding that undergraduates augment their academic work with real-world experience. But even though the university is expanding access through financial aid, many students on aid cannot afford to take rewarding — but unpaid or underpaid — internships.

This spring, although the center was able to award a record $472,508.40 to 167 students, more than 280 had requested nearly twice as much in internship support. Presidents’ Club members took action to close the gap at their annual celebration in New York, which attracted more than 600 people, on May 1.

“We are putting a major emphasis on internships,” said President Jeffrey Herbst, “because once these tremendous students come to Colgate and receive an education that is second to none, we want to launch them into a successful career.”

News and views for the Colgate community

Lorenzo Ciniglio

Homecoming 2014 — save the date!

on

the band that features Dave Slomin ’87, Dave Ashdown ’90, and Michael Chun ’88 (read more about them at colgate.edu/waitingforhenry).

• Networking reception for alumni and students powered by Colgate’s professional networks.

• A pre-game tailgate on Saturday before the field hockey team takes down Holy Cross at 11 a.m. and Colgate football rocks Cornell at 1 p.m.

• Shaping Your Vision: the Alumni of Color organization will host this annual event to help students with career and personal development.

Details will be posted to colgate. edu/homecoming as they develop, and we’ll see you here in Hamilton this fall.

Go, ’gate!

Nadifa Mohamed

Faculty members were out in force during the spring, visiting with alumni across the country. Mary Ann Calo (art history) toured the Guggenheim Museum with the Club of New York City, and Peter Balakian (English) discussed his book Black Dog of Fate with the Club of Philadelphia. Meanwhile, the Club of Rochester hosted Mark Stern (education) for a conversation on “Normativity, Nationalism, and Neoliberalism,” and Tim Byrnes (political science) recapped current events with the Club of Chicago.

Check the events calendar at colgate.edu/alumni for more opportunities to interact with Colgate faculty members as they travel to your city, state, and zip in the upcoming academic year.

Andrew Daddio

Powerful professors

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Find your way through this campus tour maze, from James B. Colgate Hall at the start to the Chipwich that everyone enjoys at the end of a Colgate tour.

There is only one path from start to finish, and it will travel through every campus building shown. See pg. 65 for the solution.

START

Rewind Suzanne Sherman-Propp ’85 from Westport, Conn., reminisced at this year’s reunion, which she attended in honor of the 40th anniversary of the Swinging ’Gates.

When I was a student, they assigned you a “big sister” before the start of first year.

I had received a letter in August from my big sister, Alison King ’84, telling me a little bit about herself and mentioning a campus singing group…

The defining moment for me was when Alison came to my dorm room in West Andrews to introduce herself. She had such a big smile and a wonderful personality. She told me how great a place Colgate was and that I would love it. She encouraged me to pay attention to the singing groups…

I have a lot of vivid memories, but I remember Founders’ Day Convocation quite well.

The Swinging ’Gates and the Colgate Thirteen sang. I could not believe how beautiful it was and how fun it looked. (I had sung in high school in a cappella groups.) I was up in the balcony, and I looked down and thought “Oh, that is something for me.”…

I auditioned for the Swinging ’Gates and I made it. I was a member for all four years.

The founding members were so strong, and the alumni were so supportive of us… Even though the group had just started in 1974, I felt like we were an old group already. The university opened right up to us; we’d been accepted and brought into the fabric of the community…

Puzzle by Puzzability

salmagundi

Every ’Wich Way

FINISH

13 Words (or fewer) Submit your creative, clever, or humorous caption of 13 words or fewer for this vintage Colgate photo to scene@colgate.edu or attn: Colgate Scene, 13 Oak Dr., Hamilton, NY 13346. The winner will receive a Colgate Scene T-shirt, and the winning caption will be announced next issue. Deadline: August 29, 2014

Alison (who is now Alison Haley) turned out to be one of my very best friends. She’s the Class of 1984’s reunion program chair this year and she was a bridesmaid in my wedding…

I just love the torchlight. We were talking about it all last night on our way down the hill — what a privilege it is that Colgate brings us together once again and lets us do this incredible ceremony. We get to come together and make this beautiful fire-lit path. It’s so symbolic with the bonfire at the end. I was walking down with the Swinging ’Gates and then my brother (all three of my siblings also graduated from Colgate) walked up behind me and grabbed my hand. That’s a wonderful memory.

Do you have a reminiscence for Rewind?

Send your submission of short prose, poetry, or a photograph with a description to scene@colgate.edu.

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scene: Summer 2014

Above: Class of 2014 graduates embody the reason the word “selfie� was added to the Merriam-Webster and Oxford American English dictionaries this year.

Back cover: A barbeque on the Quad brings students and alumni together to kick off homecoming weekend.

Both photos by Andrew Daddio

News and views for the Colgate community

scene: Colgate University

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