Upfront Open Minds

During Homecoming and Family Weekend in September, I joined student Trustees Gib Shea ’22 and Nuzhat Wahid ’22 for a forum on the Quad, where we re ected on the start of the semester and had a wide-ranging dialogue with parents and alums in the audience. We discussed the pandemic, of course, including the Colleges’ safety protocols and mental health support systems, but also study abroad plans, faculty research and the renovation of the Intercultural A airs Center. The conversation reminded me how fortunate we are at the Colleges to be surrounded by so many smart, thoughtful people with such a broad set of experiences and outlooks. The forum brought into focus one of the primary functions of our campus as a proving ground where students — and the rest of us — can explore, engage and disagree, analyze, synthesize and understand more fully that each of our perspectives is only one of many.

In this spirit, I am excited to announce two new programs to encourage students to explore the complexities of thorny issues. The Stern Family Forum, generously funded by Honorary Trustee Herbert J. Stern ’58, P’03, LL.D. ’74 and Trustee Samuel A. Stern ’03, supports annual events with notable guests who will bring nuance to di cult, sometimes controversial subjects. The forum will be coordinated by Provost and Dean of Faculty Sarah Kirk, Hobart Dean Scott Brophy ’78, P’12 and Professor of Philosophy Eric Barnes, who heads up the Colleges’ award-winning debate team. Meanwhile, Vice President for Campus Life B.B. Barile and Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Khuram Hussain are directing a program explicitly designed to develop e ective practices for engaging in di cult conversations. With support from an anonymous alum donor, they will challenge rst-year students and their community assistants (formerly RAs) to embrace complexity and ambiguity, and navigate con ict without contempt. Like so many liberal arts skills, being comfortable with discomfort is valuable not only for critical inquiry in college classrooms, it’s also essential for productive participation in wider campus life and the world beyond HWS.

The other major academic development on campus is the Master of Science in Management program, which launched this fall (see p. 26). Building on a liberal arts foundation, the intensive one-year program prepares graduates to step into leadership roles in a range of elds. This evolution in the curriculum is rooted in a long tradition at HWS, one in which students learn to meet complex and emerging challenges with innovative, interdisciplinary solutions, as countless alums are doing today — from COVID-19 to urban redevelopment to election security (see p. 30).

Elsewhere in this issue, you will read about intriguing student and faculty scholarship; a new endowment for environmental research and another for the Colleges’ Phi Beta Kappa chapter, which turned 150 this year; and the 12 new and returning athletics programs HWS will launch starting next fall.

With the holiday season approaching, I look forward to seeing many of you at our upcoming o -campus gatherings — and on campus, too, as we prepare to celebrate Hobart’s Bicentennial throughout 2022.

Until then, wishing you a happy and healthy end of 2021,

JOYCE P. JACOBSEN President

Since the rst performances under the name Koshare in the 1970-71 academic year, the group (later organized as a guild, and later still a collective) has put on an annual concert, attracting dancers and choreographers of all majors and experience levels. The concert’s popularity has grown beyond the bounds of the HWS campus, and since 2013, performances have been staged at the Smith Opera House, the historic venue whose 1,300 seats have sold out every year since. Almost.

Due to the pandemic, the 2020 season was the rst since Koshare was founded that the annual concert didn’t happen. In some ways, it was good timing. Over the past 50 years, students’ recreational interest in dance has paralleled the growth of the HWS Dance Department, and the lines between the two have blurred. There came a subtle but steady shift toward academicizing and professionalizing what had been a club.

“As the number of dance majors and minors grew, and dance and step teams were formed, the choreography became more competitive and less inclusive,” says Professor of Dance Donna Davenport. “Professionalism started being associated with past training, which in many cases comes down to privilege.”

In response, the student group has chosen a new name, Kinetic Dance Collective, and is returning to the historical roots of student-led dance at HWS: fun performances featuring all styles and traditions, and dancers with any degree of experience (or none at all).

For the fall 2021 concert, the group restructured the processes for auditions, choreography submission and leadership selection, to ensure the focus is on the dancing and the unique culture it inspires at HWS — “the energy and support that you feel from the audience [and] the energy and dedication of our students,” as Kinetic Dance Collective co-president Bryna Gage ’22 says. “We dance because we love it and want to make it accessible to everyone on campus and give students a sense of belonging through dance.”

PHOTO BY KEVIN COLTON

"In the fall of 1968, Sharon Tomlinson was hired by Miss Janet Seeley to teach modern dance at Hobart and William Smith. Sharon was young and had spent some time in New York City dancing with Mary Anthony among others. She brought to Geneva the ideas that were shaping modern dance at the time.

Both subconsciously and — yes — a bit consciously, we wanted to break away from Miss Seeley’s ideas about technique and choreography, including her ‘dance club.’ That’s how Koshare was born.

I remember dancing in St. John’s Chapel, outside on the Quad, in the sunken gardens at Houghton House, and even in Pulteney Park at an antiwar rally; Vietnam had a huge impact on the campus in those days and there were many antiwar gatherings where artists ‘spoke’ along with other more traditional antiwar activists. It was this vision of dance as a source of communication, protest and celebration that cemented our dedication to Koshare and our desire to make it a permanent force in our lives and on the campus.

The dance studio was akin to a sacred space for us, a place where we worked and shared and delighted ourselves and each other with ideas and moving images. We loved to move, and we enjoyed watching others move; for me, that has not changed even 50 years later. Also, there was a sense of belonging to a group of like-minded people who planned, organized, worked, argued and produced things we were proud of — not unlike a family. This was a refuge and a place of safety on a busy campus where we didn’t always feel we belonged. At times, it was a source of entertainment and, always, it was a place of learning."

"Although the Smith Opera House definitely has its perks, I loved performing in Winn-Seeley. It was such an intimate experience to be dancing within feet of your closest friends, professors and family members. You could feel their energy instantaneously and it fueled the power and passion behind the show. It was also magical to know that you were performing in the same place where decades of former dancers performed."

"Because of my time at Hobart and William Smith, I have this awareness that living a creative life is for everybody. And it comes with everything we do: whether you dance it or draw it or write it or sing it, it makes the world more tangible, more livable, more real, more accessible, more vital. It has more potential to bring about change in oneself and in the world, and I think a lot of the folks who came through Koshare were doing that in their own way. And I’m grateful for that."

"My favorite parts of performing and choreographing for Koshare were how inclusive it was and the community it fostered. I was able to meet people in all different majors and of all different backgrounds and connect with them through the collective joy of movement…it taught me how to value building community using the powerful tools of art and movement…[and] provided me with friendships that will last a lifetime."

"Recently, my 15-year-old daughter stole my 1994 Koshare shirt. She wears it often — probably for its timeless design, but perhaps she also figured out how special it is to me. I’m grateful for the constant reminder of my time spent dancing at HWS and the friends I made there. Being able to perform inspiring pieces choreographed by my enormously talented classmates was a challenge, an honor and a total blast!"

“The liberal arts are all about exposure to many, many platforms and experiential roads to explore. Koshare shows this — anyone can be a part of the magic. For those of us who were studying in the Dance Department, of course we had our concerts throughout the academic year. But Koshare was about the entire HWS community, and those within that community who shared a love for dance and movement. We were all one during Koshare.”

"Koshare was an imperative part of HWS culture! Through dance, students and staff — across genders, races, ethnic backgrounds and ages — were able to connect and come out of their comfort zones. It pulled me out of my comfort zone and helped me to establish close connections with my professors, who encouraged and guided me through this path. I loved the process of choreographing — sleepless nights, late rehearsals in Winn-Seeley or the PAC, the tears, and the ability to become the leader I am today!"

“

ON THE MERITS

As a recipient of a 2021 Ernest F. Hollings Undergraduate Scholarship, Alex Dwyer ’23 will spend 10 weeks next summer working with researchers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The highly competitive national program offers undergraduate training in oceanic and atmospheric science, research, technology, outreach and education. Dwyer, an environmental studies and geoscience double-major, is the fifth HWS student to win the Hollings award since 2014.

Sreyan Kanungo ’23 is helping lead HWS to new heights in prestigious debate and leadership competitions. This fall, Kanungo and Sarim Karim ’22 finished eighth in the English as a Second Language debates at the World Universities Debating Championships, widely regarded as the premier international collegiate debate tournament.

Earlier this year, Kanungo, Reece Wilson ’24 and Jack Maloney ’24 took home the top prize in the business presentation category at the New York State Leadership Conference. The team represented the HWS chapter of the Future Business Leaders of America – Phi Beta Lambda, which Kanungo and Eden LaRonde ’24 cofounded this spring.

For the fifth year in a row, HWS are among the top five U.S. liberal arts colleges for public service, according to Washington Monthly’s 2021 College Guide and Rankings. Ranked third this year for service, the Colleges were also included on the policy magazine’s annual “honor roll” for student voting.

In Princeton Review’s 2021 rankings, the Colleges stand among the institutions with the best return on investment and professors with the biggest impact. For the sixth year in a row, HWS appeared in Best Value Colleges, which recognizes the strongest combination of academics, financial aid and career outcomes. “Of course, the real secret sauce, so to speak, comes from the faculty experience,” as Princeton Review’s Best 387 Colleges notes. In this year’s edition, HWS faculty appeared in the “Great Professors” rankings, a best-of-thebest tribute to colleges that have earned a regular spot on the list for their “truly stellar records of student satisfaction.”

Urban and suburban sprawl takes a toll on biodiversity, but three students have an award-winning idea to restore habitats for bees, moths, butterflies and birds. James Anderson ’23, Maeve Reilly ’23 and Katerina Yacoub ’23 teamed up with the Office of Sustainability to create “pollinator patches” across campus. Pollinator patches are packed with plants that flower throughout the year, providing food and shelter for wildlife. Supported by the Carver & DeLaney Environmental Project Endowment, the new plantings complement campus “grow zones,” where grass and wildflowers are allowed to grow tall to protect and sustain insects and other animals. Together, these efforts help mitigate the stress that mown lawns and paved surfaces place on local habitats. This spring, the pollinator patches project was selected for the IMPACT Conference’s Action Program of the Year, which recognizes direct, student-led action that strives to enrich campuses and communities. The IMPACT Conference is the largest annual conference focusing on college students’ civic engagement and social action.

PHOTO BY KEVIN COLTON

I learned that I can persevere through anything, and if I put my mind to something and set a goal for myself, I can meet and most likely exceed that goal and come out of it a better and stronger person.

MARY BAILLOS ’24, an international relations major and coxswain for William Smith Rowing, on what she learned about herself during her first year at HWS

…we have learned painfully with COVID all over again how quickly the health disparities emerged, how…we’ve invested so much more in our biomedical research infrastructure, which delivered these vaccines, than we have in our public health infrastructure, which is really meant to implement them and provide them.

DR. CHRIS BEYRER ’81, epidemiologist and professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, on PBS News Hour Weekend, discussing the uneven parallels between the COVID-19 and HIV/AIDS pandemics

REV. CHARLES CLOUGHEN JR. ’64, author of One Minute Stewardship: Creative Ways to Talk about Money in Church, on the snowball effect of philanthropy

60 Minutes correspondent and HWS Trustee BILL WHITAKER ’73, L.H.D. ’97, who guest-hosted Jeopardy! in May

It seems like it’s been a fairly short time for us to be crying shortage as… we’re still in the adjustment back to full opening.

President JOYCE P. JACOBSEN, discussing the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s June workforce report on American Public Media’s Marketplace

Associate Professor of Education and Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion KHURAM HUSSAIN, on the impact of gifts to the DEI Fund

The thing that we preach around here is that ideas come from any place. My dad used to say: Never dump on an idea because a thread of an idea may come to another idea…It becomes a chain reaction.

FRED MATT ’81, president of the fourth-generation brewery F.X. Matt Brewing Co., in the Syracuse Post-Standard’s weekly series on leadership Associate Professor of English KATHRYN COWLES’ advice to young writers, in an interview on the blog Neonpajamas

I always knew I wanted to work in television, but it wasn’t until I went on a college field trip to ABC that I experienced the true adrenaline rush of a live television environment. I was thrilled by the pace of the control room, the energy of production teams and the front row seat to some of the most important stories of our time.

SARAH KUNIN ’09, a three-time Emmy and Edward R. Murrow Award-winning television producer, in Reel 360’s Women’s History Month series

IN HER VALEDICTORY ADDRESS to the Classes of 2020 — given in June 2021 — President Joyce P. Jacobsen o ered a meditation on the weirdnesses of the past year. Graduates had left HWS for “a world that was locked down and socially distanced, gripped by social and political unrest, obsessed with rulefollowing and rule-not-following.” But there were “other weird things” — like the solidarity that emerged during the pandemic — that conjured for Jacobsen “a world in which even more weird, strange, bizarre and fateful things could happen.”

As Jacobsen told the 2020 grads, “If weird can lead to good, then let’s continue to be weird. Be at one with your weirdness, and the weird collectivity of what we have all been through. Let that feed your compassion for others, who experienced their pains and losses, just as you experienced yours…Above all, keep alive your love of learning…Be the geeky person who wants to know more. Be the weirdo who cares about ideals, who doesn’t give up on your own goals and ideals and helps others to reach theirs.”

HWS presented the Most Rev. Michael B. Curry ’75, D.D. ’20 with an honorary doctorate during the 2020 Commencement ceremony. In his remarks, Curry, the Presiding Bishop and Primate of the Episcopal Church, re ected on the hardships and sacri ces of the past year, and a vivid memory of his father telling him, “The Lord didn’t put you here just to consume the oxygen.”

Just weeks earlier, Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden L.H.D. ’21 delivered the 2021 Commencement address and was presented with an honorary degree and the 42nd Elizabeth Blackwell Award. In her remarks, Hayden re ected on Dr. Blackwell’s model of determination and resilience, and the previously unfathomable achievement of a 19th-century woman earning a medical degree, much less graduating at the top her class. Hayden said, “Elizabeth Blackwell predicted: ‘100 years hence, women will not be what they are now’…‘None of us can know what we are capable of until we are tested.’ This past year has been a test for all of us. It made you stronger and opened your eyes to opportunities and some surprising possibilities.”

HWS awarded six honorary degrees during the 2020 and 2021 Commencement exercises. In addition to Curry and Hayden, the Colleges recognized four other esteemed recipients, who have each made a considerable impact in their respective professions and communities, and on Hobart and William Smith.

Retired financial executive, philanthropist and advocate for increased female leadership

Artist, activist, Historic Site Manager of Ganondagan State Historic Site and member of the Heron Clan of the Seneca Nation

Director of Public Health for Ontario County

Executive Director of the Boys & Girls Club of Geneva and the Geneva Community Center

BY ANDREW WICKENDEN ’09

For undergraduates, there is no higher recognition than admission to Phi Beta Kappa, the oldest academic honor society in the country. The HWS chapter, Zeta of New York, was founded in 1871 and over the past 150 years has inducted students who demonstrate not only exceptional academic records but intellectual breadth and love of learning. In honor of Zeta Chapter’s sesquicentennial, a $150,000 gift from Dr. Arnold Cohen ’71, P’05 (pictured inset) celebrates the liberal arts heritage shared between HWS and Phi Beta Kappa — and recognizes the academic excellence of students who will one day become members.

Established in 2021, the Dr. Arnold N. Cohen ’71 and Dr. Colleen R. Carey Endowed Phi Beta Kappa Fund will support, in perpetuity, membership for all new HWS inductees and the annual banquet in their honor.

Dr. Cohen, who excelled as a student at HWS and was elected to Zeta Chapter, later attended Harvard Medical School and went on to a distinguished career as a gastroenterologist. With the new endowment, he says he wanted to recognize the breadth and intensity of study undertaken by Zeta members, and “to eliminate any barriers” to membership, “so it’s a pure recognition of their hard work and their ability, and their application of their education.” “To perform at that level requires a consistent, dedicated e ort every day,” Dr. Cohen says. “It’s not just being academically intelligent — it means being emotionally intelligent, it means being disciplined.” “Dr. Cohen’s gift is a generous tribute to Zeta Chapter’s history and a supreme vote of con dence in the talented and curious students who thrive in our curriculum,” says President Joyce P. Jacobsen.

During its 150-year history, the HWS chapter has promoted the liberal arts by honoring students who take exceptional care in cultivating “the life of the mind,” says Professor of Physics Don Spector, Zeta Chapter president. Dr. Cohen’s gift positions Zeta Chapter as “a clear locus” of the liberal arts at HWS, Spector says, “a place where we are committed to preserving and promoting the liberal arts as an educational model that’s important for people living active lives in the world.”

Dr. Cohen, who now teaches medicine at Washington State University, says that in “a time where the liberal arts are maybe not appreciated in the way they should be, I think any institution that recognizes the value of a liberal arts education is a good thing — and should be reinforced.”

Of nearly 300

Phi Beta Kappa chapters nationwide, Zeta of New York was the 23rd

founded.

Each year, the HWS chapter inducts roughly 30

seniors, along with a handful of the most accomplished juniors, into lifetime PBK membership.

To date, more than 1,000

HWS alums are Zeta Chapter members.

During the 1929 Commencement, then-Governor of New York Franklin Delano Roosevelt L.H.D. ’29 (left) delivered the Phi Beta Kappa address at HWS. In a wideranging oration that touched on politics and service, education and civic engagement, he concluded: “We stand, I believe, at the threshold of a better day, a happier day, a clearer day for civilization and America. I have faith in the men and women who are taking up the torch.” At the ceremony, Roosevelt was awarded not only an honorary degree but honorary membership in Zeta Chapter — 10 days before his alma mater’s PBK chapter (Harvard’s Alpha of Massachusetts) inducted him to its own honorary ranks.

Captured during a snowfall last December, Chief Photographer Kevin Colton's shot of Demarest Hall was awarded Gold this year in the annual District II honors from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. The judges described the effect of multiple exposures and light streaming out of the Blackwell Room as “magical.”