Nimbus Fall 2015 by New College of Florida

#77 FALL 2015

A publication of New College of Florida

HONDURAS HEAVEN

30 YEARS OF CORAL, CRABS, CREATIVITY AND CONNECTIONS Duncan Odom â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;88 New College Global Perspectives

Evolution, in academics, genes, and cancer in a global environment

* NCAA Communications Committee Colin Boyle - Communication’s Chair Jordan Clark Michael Dexter Hazel Bradford Shannon Strischek Editorial Staff Jessica Rood Director of Communications and Marketing Jessica Rogers Associate VP for Advancement Kim Butler Creative Services Manager

David Gulliver News Services Manager

Honduras Heaven

Glen Van Der Molen Assistant Director, New College Alumnae/i Association

30 years of coral, crabs, creativity and connections

16 In the Community Students make meaningful connections

20 Profiles

Duncan Odom ‘88 Professor Emily Saarinen ‘99 Akgun Temizer Shanna Ratner ‘72

* Nimby-doodle by Sara Sarmiento ‘13 Like our Nimby-doodle? Submit your version of the Nimbus masthead for consideration to ncf.edu/submissions.

Also inside this issue: On Campus > 1 Op Ed > 5 We Heard You > 7 Reunion > 19 Chapter News > 26 Class Notes > 28

Publisher Office of Communications & Marketing New College of Florida 5800 Bay Shore Road Sarasota, FL 34243-2109 941.487.4153 communications@ncf.edu NCAA Board of Directors Executive Committee Chair – Frazier Carraway ’72 Chair-Elect – Cindy Hill ’89 Treasurer – Chad Bickerton ’05 Communications Chair – Colin Boyle ’89 Governance Chair – Maia Hinkle ’05 Immediate Past Chair – Susan “Spozy” Sapoznikoff ‘83 Hazel Bradford ‘75 Jordan Clark ‘04 Michael Dexter ‘07 Carmela French ‘06 Steve Jacobson ‘71 Gera Peoples ‘94 Leslie Reinherz ‘70 Rick Schofield ‘85 Norman Stein ‘69 Shannon Strischek ‘05 Sarah Thompson ‘06 Vernon Woodworth ‘70 MaryAnne Young Vice President for Advancement Dr. Donal O’Shea President of New College For a full board listing, visit ncf.edu/bot and ncf.edu/foundation-bot

ON CAMPUS

STEM: One hot topic in education right now is getting more women into the STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). But New College has always excelled in that area. This year, about 22 percent of female graduates’ AOCs were in the sciences and math. And back in 1970 (a rough guess at that undated photo), again, about 22 percent of women had AOCs in the sciences and math. New College, showing higher education how it’s done, for almost half a century. Know more about this photo? Contact communications@ncf.edu.

THEN & NOW CAMPUS NEWS

Commencement 2015: New College Says Farewell to 177 Graduates ew College of Florida awarded bachelor’s degrees to 177 students in a sunset ceremony May 22, on the College’s Bayfront. The keynote speaker was Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish, three-time nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize and author of the international best-seller “I Shall Not Hate: A Gaza Doctor’s Journey.” Dr. Abuelaish is the founder and president of the Daughters for Life Foundation. New College and the Daughters for Life Foundation are partners in a program that brings young women from the Middle East to New College on full four-year scholarships. Dr. Abuelaish received an honorary doctorate during the ceremony. The student speaker was Cassandra Corrado, a literature and gender studies AOC from the Fort Lauderdale area. Corrado is a former student government president and is known for her volunteer work on sexual violence prevention. Nearly one-third of this year’s class graduated with degrees in the STEM fields, including the sciences and mathematics.

The graduating class includes three winners of Fulbright scholarships. To watch both speeches and see the social media coverage, visit ncf.edu/commencement.

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CAMPUS NEWS

New College of Florida is Named “Best Buy” for 2016 in Fiske Guide to Colleges he first of the major 2016 college guidebooks is out, and New College of Florida again starts the season ranked as a “Best Buy” college – one of just 20 public colleges in the United States to receive the designation in the respected and long-running Fiske Guide to Colleges. New College has appeared on Fiske’s “Best Buy” list since 2003. To be a “Best Buy,” colleges must meet Fiske’s criteria for a top four- or five-star ranking for academic excellence and be in its moderate- or low-price groups.

The Guide’s review, based in part on interviews with students, calls New College a “fast-rising star” with an “incredibly thought-provoking and challenging curriculum.” Students said that New College professors are “not only experts in their fields but are extremely accessible to students and invested in our education.” For the 2016 edition, the Fiske Guide selected 44 “Best Buy” colleges and universities – 20 public, 24 private – in the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom. Other public colleges on the list include top national universities such as the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Indiana University. Private colleges on the list include Trinity College Dublin and University of Edinburgh. The guide, founded by former New York Times education editor Edward B. Fiske, is in its 32nd year.

FOUNDATION

New College of Florida Announces New Leadership for the New College Foundation aryAnne Young has been selected as the new vice president for advancement and executive director of the New College Foundation. Jessica Rogers will serve as associate vice president for advancement and associate director of the Foundation. Young was recently the vice president for advancement at Mount Holyoke College, a noted liberal arts college for women in western Massachusetts. In that position, she worked with three presidents, seven board chairs and managed a staff of 38. She planned and implemented two fund-raising campaigns; the most recent, in 2013, exceeded its goal by raising $305 million. Young, a 1981 alumna of Mount Holyoke, began her career there as a program officer for the alumnae association. She moved to the College’s Office of Development as an annual giving officer and progressed to director of annual giving and director of development. She began work at New College on July 20. “I am very excited to join New College and President O’Shea’s team. I believe providing excellent, affordable education is essential in solving the issues facing our world,” Young said. “I was impressed by the exceptional faculty, enthusiastic students and devoted staff I met. I am honored to have been selected and look forward to working with the students, faculty, trustees, alumni, and staff of the

New College of Florida | nimbus

New College community.” Jessica Rogers will play a pivotal role in the new leadership MaryAnne Young (left) and Jessica Rogers (right). team. Rogers has worked at New College since July 2006, where she has overseen campaign planning, served as a strategic advisor on development projects and managed the Alumnae/i Association’s engagement program. She will continue to oversee all aspects of alumni relations, events, annual giving and stewardship, while adding a crucial element of major gifts fundraising to her activities. Jessica will work extremely closely with Young, President O’Shea, and the rest of the leadership team at New College. “New College has an inspiring mission and excellent reputation. I’m honored to be selected for this newly created, important and strategic role,” Rogers said. My previous roles have positioned me for success, and I’m eager to continue to work alongside our students, faculty, staff, alumni, parents, and board members in building the necessary resources and relationships to propel New College to greater heights.”

ON CAMPUS CAMPUS NEWS

PUSH/SUCCESS Program Plants Seeds of Interest in the Sciences hree middle-schoolers huddled around a microscope at New College of Florida recently, carefully combing through a clump of Spanish moss. Their mission was to find what may be hidden inside the moss. One of the boys pointed at something. “That thing ... It looks like a piece of wood.” “Oh, that thing, you mean that shiny ball?” his partner asked. “It looks like dandruff,” observed the third boy. The trio, along with more than 30 other middle and high school students, spent a week at the Rhoda and Jack Pritzker Marine Biology Research Center June 8-12, part of the annual PUSH/SUCCESS program. PUSH (Preparing Unique Students for Healthcare careers) is for students in grades 9 through 11. SUCCESS (Students United to Create Culturally and Educationally Successful Situations) is for students in grades 6 through 8. Both programs focus on typical, not gifted, students, and on students from demographics under-represented in science. “In fact, we really target the average student,” said biology Professor Sandra Gilchrist. “Those are the students who don’t get a chance in a lot of the other programs.” To participate, student must fill out an application form that includes their grades for the year. They must also get a recommendation letter from one of their teachers. At New College, under the watchful eye of Gilchrist and

NEW TOPICS

A DYNAMIC LECTURE SERIES FOCUSED O N C O N T E M P O R A R Y I S S U E S

her teaching assistants, the children performed experiments, recorded observations, took field trips and produced data. “Hopefully [it will] inspire them to do their own experiments for science fair projects at their own schools,” Gilchrist said. Another goal is to show students how the health of Sarasota Bay is important to the health of the citizens who live in the area. “We try to make it relate to things around them,” she said. Joey, a seventh-grader at Island Village Montessori School in Sarasota, said he liked being outside and doing activities such as walks along the bay to takes samples for study and to study bugs that feed on leaves. Vincenzo, from Sarasota Military Academy Prep, said he liked studying anemones. “They have an interesting life cycle,” he said. Jacob, a seventhgrader also from Island Village Montessori, said he’s learned a lot studying brine shrimp. “I really like observing them in different environments.” Gilchrist credits private donations, as well as grants from organizations including the Dart Foundation, Sarasota Bay Estuary Program and Publix Charities with making the program possible. “The nice thing is, we’ve had students who have done this multiple years. It’s interesting to see, once they get into the senior level, what they’re choosing to do,” Gilchrist said. “I’m proud of them.”

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15 | 5:30 p.m. “The Transformation of Media, Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow” with Don Browne, former President of Telemundo Tickets: $20 | ncf.edu/new-topics-new-college Register online at donate.ncf.edu

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ON CAMPUS CAMPUS NEWS

State Budget Funds Major Projects at New College lorida’s budget, approved June 23, funds two major initiatives at New College of Florida: construction of the Heiser Natural Sciences Complex expansion, and programming at the Center for Engagement and Opportunity, or CEO, the College’s career services program. The budget sets aside $3 million for the first phase of the Heiser expansion, a 22,000-square-foot addition that will increase classroom, office and laboratory space by about 50 percent. It also includes $500,000 to support the CEO, which has dramatically increased the number of internships offered to New College students. The state legislature approved the budget on Friday, June 19. Gov. Rick Scott signed the budget, eliminating by line-item veto $461.4 million in spending projects, but approving the New College proposals. “We’re pleased that the legislature and governor chose to support these two projects,” said John Martin, vice president of finance and administration at New College. “They are closely aligned with the state’s goals of producing more graduates who are trained in science and mathematics, and well prepared to meet workforce needs now and in the future.”

The Heiser expansion, expected to begin in April 2016, will add teaching labs for bioinformatics, molecular biology, earth science, bio-organic chemistry, and biology and environmental studies. Nearly one-third of New College graduates concentrate in science and mathematics, and every semester, more than half of the College’s students take at least one science course. The governor’s action follows the state Board of Governors’ restoration of another $540,000 to New College’s budget, money initially withheld under the Board’s performance metrics system. The Board has now restored the entire $1.1 million it withheld in June 2014.

FOUNDATION

Johnstons Help Fund Students for College Leadership Florida hree New College students attended the College Leadership Florida program, thanks to support from College trustee Bill Johnston and his wife Betsy. Saif Iqbal, James Montgomery and Francisco Perez took part in the program. All three entered their third year at New College, and also are members of the College’s sailing team. College Leadership Florida is a version of the long-running Leadership Florida program created by the state Chamber of Commerce. The college-level program educates students about social and economic issues, with a goal of stimulating personal growth and a commitment to serving the state.

Thursday, November 5, 2015 6:00 p.m. | College Hall Bayfront For tickets, go to donate.ncf.edu/clambake2015 or call 941-487-4800 Proceeds benefit New College of Florida

New College of Florida | nimbus

New College students Cornell “CJ” Lee and Maiah Taylor are graduates of the program, as is 2014 alumnus Michael Long, who now runs SailFuture, a national non-profit for at-risk youth. When a previous supporter was unable to cover the program’s $2,000-per-person cost for the students, the Johnstons stepped in to provide assistance. “I asked CJ and Michael about the worthiness of the program, and both raved about it,” Johnston said. “I think New College students are perfect fit for Leadership Florida – they’re intelligent, they’re independent thinkers and they want to make a difference in the world. Betsy and I are happy to support them.”

OP ED

Ireland and its Boundaries BY ANDREW SCHL AG

Thesis student Andrew Schlag was one of New College’s inaugural James Joyce Scholars. While on his fellowship, he attended a poetry reading that led him to think about how the country has produced and inspired so many writers. The association between islands and isolation does not hold for Ireland; things fall apart when one attempts to define its boundaries. Irish history (as narrated by our guide, Kevin O’Halloran) and my experience of Dublin so far underscore this fact. The Irish are everywhere and everywhere is in Ireland. At first it seemed a strange contradiction that Irish identity and place have come to be defined by the very writers that denounced and went into voluntary exile. Joyce, Beckett, Wilde, O’Casey their lives and works determine the material and cultural landscape of Dublin. Yet the Irish condition seems to allow for such contradictions, I’ve come to think. I attended a reading by the American experimental poet Susan Howe at Belvedere House. Joyce, of course, attended Belvedere, a beautiful Georgian structure with an interior of sky blue walls and rococo plaster ornamentation. But the connections between the reading and Irish literature

do not stop there. An objective of the reading was to analyze Howe’s connections with Dublin, which turned out to be many. Howe’s Irish mother, Mary Manning, before moving to Boston and begetting a daughter, adapted Finnegans Wake for the stage, and later made a name for herself as a critic upon returning to Dublin after her husband’s death. Howe would visit Dublin in her youth and later apprentice at The Gate, a Dublin theater. As a child, Yeats was her Mother Goose, and Joyce her initiation into the magic of language - the ear as the eye and the eye as the ear, she mused. She confessed that she has always felt a sense of placenessness resulting from her sense of belonging in both the United States and Ireland, having crossed and re-crossed the Atlantic so many times in mind and person over the

years. Howe offered that she wouldn’t mind being claimed by Ireland, suggesting some of her books were American and some Irish. Unexpectedly, Howe turns out to be a great example of the borderless quality of Ireland - a place of migration and experimentation - which is the very source of its vitality. Join the conversation on twitter #Nimbus

NewMusicNewCollege MIYA MASAOKA: A Line Becomes A Circle Saturday, November 14 | 8 p.m. Mildred Sainer Pavilion Learn more: newmusicnewcollege.org Purchase tickets online at donate.ncf.edu www.ncf.edu

ON CAMPUS

What’s Happening ORIENTATION

Orientation was up and running Aug. 15, with students arriving from as far as Arizona, Oregon and Israel. Welcomes by President Don O’Shea, Provost Steve Miles and Dean of Studies Robert Zamsky were all a great success. Also covered were sessions on information technology, relationships, alcohol and drugs, and sexual harassment and discrimination, and mini-classes to start determining their AOCs. First-years were walking the campus – shoes recommended, for now – and participating in group games, watching movies on Z-Green, having “mocktails” with their RAs and getting wet at the nighttime pool party and the Sail Club cookout on the Caples waterfront.

FAMILY WEEKEND

Mark your calendars! This year’s Family Weekend will take place September 25-27, 2015, offering a variety of events for students and families, including, a Friday night Bash by the Bay, a family photo booth, 5k fun run/walk, lunch and learn cultural exchange fair and a Sarasota dinner adventure. Learn more: ncf.edu/family-weekend

COMMENCEMENT

New College of Florida awarded bachelor’s degrees to 177 students in a sunset ceremony May 22, on the College’s Bayfront. Among this year’s graduates are 3 Fulbright Scholarship winners and 2 U.S. State Department Gilman Scholarship winners. Nearly one-third of the members of the graduating class had all or part of their AOC in a STEM field of science or mathematics. Graduates had 84 different combinations of AOCs, in fields like economics/applied mathematics, chemistry/computational science, environmental studies/anthropology and history/German language and literature. The musical performance was by the New Cats, a student jazz group that started as an independent study project in 2009 and has been carried on by successive classes. They played selections by Dizzy Gillespie and Antonio Carlos Jobim.

New College of Florida | nimbus

WE HEARD YOU

Best of Social Media TOP TWEET “If it makes you angry or sad or scared, do something about it. We don’t live in a single-issue world. #NCFcommencement” “ That’s purty!” New College graduation tent

– Joni Younkins-Herzog

“Decision day has arrived and I am #NCF Bound” – @Paola Bae-z

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HONDURAS / COVER STORY

Honduras Heaven

30 years of coral, crabs, creativity and connections BY DAVI D GU LLI VE R

CAYOS COCHINOS SITS A DOZEN MILES off the coast of Honduras, a speck on the map. There are five or six homes, and one hotel. There are ceiling fans, and screens on the windows; no air conditioning, but there is hot water, most of the time, at least. In the words of one frequent visitor: “There’s nothing there to do except be in the water.” But that water has driven what has become a unique program for New College. In 2010, National Geographic described it thusly: “The waters around this collection of coral cays are a marine biologist’s dream: protected by the government, off-limits to commercial divers and fishermen, and busy with creatures that may not yet have names.” Simply put, it’s heaven.

Last summer was the 30th year that New College students have gone to Honduras. This year marks a first for the program: Until now, a handful of students have gone at a time, doing research for a thesis or a future ISP. This year it’s a full-fledged summer course, drawing a half-dozen Novo Collegians, plus five students from other schools. The constant is Sandra Gilchrist, professor of biology. She first scouted the marine reserve back in 1983. While much has changed since then, one aspect never does. “Each time I go, I find something new and interesting in this dynamic system,” Gilchrist said. “I find it fascinating to see students discover their own interests simply by being in the environment.”

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Honduras program students examine life on the coral reefs just offshore. Students’ projects have included examining vectors of coral disease, the feeding habits of flamingo tongue snails on sea fans and the symbiotic relationship between clinging crabs and giant anemones.

New College’s Honduras program began with a cold call from an enterprising and good-hearted hotelier. Julio Galindo owned the Anthony Key Resort on Roatan, a large island about 25 miles from the coast. He saw “dolphin encounter” tour groups, and that got him thinking. “His idea was to contribute to Roatan by enticing scientists to come there and study,” Gilchrist said. So he created the Roatan Institute of Marine Science (RIMS), in a building that most recently had been a casino. But there were at least some basic lab facilities, and accommodations, and still-pristine reefs offshore. So Gilchrist got a grant from the New College Foundation, and she and biology Profs. Al Beulig and Leo Demski headed south. Prof. Beulig split off and partnered with another program in Belize (see sidebar “The view from Panama”) but Gilchrist and Demski stayed in Honduras. She began her ongoing work with hermit crabs, and he studied squirrelfish – reddish in color, and

10 New College of Florida | nimbus

known for their huge eyes – that normally are deep- water fish but were attracted to Roatan’s reefs. Their work, in a way, outlived the reefs. Galindo retired, and his son was more business-minded, bringing in more high-school groups that wanted to use the RIMS labs. A new port on Roatan brought in cruise ships and massive dive boats, sometimes putting 100 divers on the reef at a time, stressing the delicate corals and potentially disrupting the ecosystem. Nature itself would deal a bigger blow. In 1998, Hurricane Mitch struck Honduras. It hovered on the coast for days, submerging the smaller islands and scouring the reefs. “It just sandblasted them,” Gilchrist said, “and badly damaged one of their research sites.” The New College professors faced a difficult decision, whether to stay where they had invested nearly two decades of work, or to accept that this onetime paradise was no longer the same.

Looking for solutions, Gilchrist visited Cayos Cochinos – a small island a dozen or so miles off the coast of Honduras. “I fell in love with it, because it has so much invertebrate life, and the reef is right there off the shore,” she said. And so the Honduras Coral Reef program began again. Now, every June, the one hotel on Cayos Cochinos briefly becomes New College’s southernmost campus. Students haul in cameras and lab gear, and they also bring along school supplies, something the island’s children have come to depend on. Students’ projects have included the symbiotic relationship between certain fish and corals, and the predatory behaviors of the mantis shrimp. Gilchrist continued her two longrunning projects, on how hermit crabs acquire their shells, and on how increased warming influences coral disease distribution. Hermit crabs fascinate Gilchrist, from their détente with octopus, living near

HONDURAS / COVER STORY

Acclimation to the Island Environment 7/11/15 “Just want to point out how much I’ve been able to learn and observe on the trip!! I definitely feel the effectiveness of the immersion model of this class. Reading and learning the material in a class and a lab offers one perspective, however having visual and tactile experience to associate the labels and terminology with makes the learning process almost instantaneous! I feel very fortunate to be on this trip and to gain all of these experiences.” - Austin Seroka Read more: newcollegecoralreefers2013.blogspot.com

the predators’ dens to acquire scraps of food and cast-off shells. Their work determined that hermits probably use scent, as well as sight, to find the shells. How do we know? That’s why Gilchrist ships hundreds of pounds of shells to Cayos Cochinos. She and students will place the clean, dry shells – identical to shells from the reef -- in the hermits’ environment, and see what the crabs choose. They pick the natural shells twice as often, she said. She also has examined how long hermit crabs on land will keep a particular shell – four years is the longest they’ve found, she said. Shipping shells to a tiny island has its drawbacks, though. Three years ago, for the first time, Honduran officials seized the shells, saying she needed a biological items permit. The ensuing hassle truncated her project for three years. But there were plenty of other projects to keep her and her students busy. She and her students also have looked at various aspects of coral disease, and why it affects one colony while a neighboring colony stays healthy. They eliminated ocean currents as a disease vector, and now are focusing on a particular fish as a carrier of the disease. Some of her students have continued that work, one of the

best aspects of the program, Gilchrist said: “The shared interest in ecology and coral reefs allows students to form lasting scholarly connections with each other and with their faculty mentor.” Like 2008 graduate David Anderson, for example. He came to New College in 2005 already planning on a career studying coral reef biology, and he made the most of his time here: he went to Honduras four separate times. “It’s amazingly beautiful. It’s pristine,” he said. “Dr. Gilchrist sits with you and has breakfast and asks what you’re going to do.”

For Anderson, it was spend three to four hours a day in the water, with clipboard, underwater paper, pencil and measuring tape, finding creative ways to accomplish his research objectives. In his first visit, he observed how some corals were diseased, while others were not, or did not yet show symptoms. That led to his thesis project, examining whether diseased corals shared a genetic marker. In subsequent visits, he gathered samples, conducted his own genetic sequencing in New College’s labs, and wrote a paper with Gilchrist on his findings.

Biology Prof. Sandra Gilchrist and Honduras program student Grace Wickerson prepare to snorkel the reefs at Turtle Bay Eco Resort, just off Cayos Cochinos.

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A view of Cayos Cochinos Menor from the Honduras program’s home base at Turtle Bay Eco Resort.

Anderson went on to a doctoral program in Puerto Rico, where he conducted World Bank-funded coral surveys across the Caribbean. He is now a National Science Foundation fellow pursuing a doctorate in immunology at Washington University. Other colleges have similar programs, Anderson said, but the undergraduates usually are just contributing to a professor or graduate student’s project.

In New College’s Honduras program, students develop and pursue their own ideas. “I think it fits in perfectly with the New College vision, what it promotes in all of its students, to be a creative thinker and an independent thinker,” he said. “My experience there was formative. I would not be the person I am today without it.” Asked for a particular moment that

has stayed with him, Anderson demurred; the whole experience is almost overwhelming. But he immediately thought of the mornings when he went out at 4 a.m. to snorkel on the reef. “The feeling of calm on the reef in the daylight ... is completely the opposite of the feeling at night,” he said. “It’s spooky, and fun, and a different population comes out, with predatory fish and octopuses on the prowl.” And one morning he emerged from the water and was confronted by armed Honduran park rangers, who saw his flashlight and figured him for a poacher. “Luckily,” Anderson said, “I had studied Spanish at New College, too.”

Melancholy 7/20/15 “Every now and then when we would be out on the dock there would be this amazing shooting star that was exceptionally bright and had a really long tail. That was my trip to Honduras in a nutshell. Every single person that I met and every experience that I had was amazing. I am that nature child that is content wearing raggedy clothes, living most of my time in my bathing suit with sand in uncomfortable places, listening to the sound of water lapping against the shore, diving every day, and never ever wearing shoes again!! There were struggles but I wouldn’t trade any of it for the world and when the opportunity presents itself again I’ll be on my way to another place on another adventure.” - Mei-Jing Bernard Read more: newcollegecoralreefers2013.blogspot.com

12 New College of Florida | nimbus

The View from Panama Professor Al Beulig helps expand Institute for Tropical Ecology BY JESSICA RO O D

FROM THE TOP OF VOLCAN BARU, on a clear day you can see the Pacific Ocean. Professor Alfred Beulig would know – he’s one of the few people of a group in Panama who have ever climbed it. A group of four started the trek on a summer day in 2000, but only Beulig and a New College student made it to the top of the 11,000-foot peak. The view from the top was fitting for Beulig, who has traveled to both Caribbean and Pacific to study ecology and coral reefs with his students. It began in the late 70s, when he started an off-shore, off-campus reef ecology program in American Samoa. Logistics then led him to Belize, and then later to Honduras with New College professors Leo Demski and Sandra Gilchrist (see Honduras pg. 9), to develop a program. Ensuing these projects, he became involved in a new program, which would become his labor of love for 19 years in Panama. “The thrill, when you go down there - there’s always something new. It’s always a growth and learning experience for me as well as the students,” says Beulig. Connected by a love of sailing and a former New College student, Beulig and Dr. Peter Lahanas (a post-doctoral at the University of Florida) founded the Institute for Tropical Ecology and Conservation (ITEC) in 1996. The program boasted eight students at that time and began on a little hamlet called Boca Del Drago, “the mouth of the dragon.” Beulig now teaches ITEC’s reef ecology course there. In 2011, they

moved from their little beach hamlet to a facility owned by the Dickson family (whose son is now the lab manager at ITEC) and were given a “lease in perpetuity” with access to 160 acres of forest, some open areas and the coral reef. The agreement stipulated that a four-building complex could be built on the property, serving as a mess hall, faculty and student residence hall, research laboratory, lecture hall and conference center as well as a dive “bodega” for diving equipment for faculty and students. However, a “four-building complex” doesn’t quite do the campus justice. Beulig’s students now have access to what will be state-ofthe-art facilities and to opportunity-rich research areas within the forest and the reef. This “mini-Galapagos” as Beulig calls it, serves as a laboratory for unanswered questions by naturally curious New College students. At times, there can be up to 30 people on ITEC’s new campus, with participants from all over the world – Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Turkey and Canada. Often, groups will use the space as a conference facility. That said, this is no vacation spot. When New College students reach the campus, they are researching and working full-time, seven days a week, ten hours a day. Most of the time, they’re working on their independent study project (ISP). Fully immersed in

the scientific method and in typical New College fashion, the students that go to Panama with Beulig start with an idea, formulate hypotheses, collect and analyze data and often publish their results. Beulig even has students practice writing grant proposals as he acts as the “grantor,” critiquing their work. They begin with two weeks of data collection, after their initial familiarization dives and preliminary trials and are in residence about a month. His students often go on to work in places like the Belize Zoo, some even putting enough data together to present at national conferences. “Two of my students (third-years) came down from New College, and both of them got sick. One had an ear infection and one got the flu. Both persevered and did two projects - each of which was accepted by the 11th International Coral Reef Symposium,” Beulig said. In the immediate future, Beulig says plans for a boardwalk are in the works to guide students over a marsh area, bringing them closer to the reef. Direct water access is important for their research, in addition to the dive boat they have now. ITEC’s staff and Beulig will soon implement the construction of an on-site mini-lab, with water tables and aquarium complexes, where seawater could get pumped directly into specimen areas to do behavioral observations. As Beulig wrapped up the spring semester and got ready for his trip, he contemplates his years at New College, the students, ITEC and his years in Panama. “It’s just one of the things I do. And I’ll keep going as long as I can – even after I pull the plug here.”

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NEW COLLEGE HAS PRODUCED 81 STUDENTS SELECTED AS Ross Sea FULBRIGHT SCHOLARS (more than 25 in the last five years). Ross Ice Shelf

Altogether, our Fulbright students have traveled to more than 30 countries on six continents. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve also had 28 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellows, 15 Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarship for Study Abroad winners, six Goldwater Scholars, five Udall Foundation Scholars, two

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Weddell Sea

National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellows, two Frost Scholars, two Truman Scholars, one Rhodes Scholar, one Marshall Scholar, and one Gates Cambridge Scholar. Ronne Ice Shelf

Hilary Ramirez (above), of Orlando, Florida, is studying Russian in Vladimir, Russia. Her academic concentration is international and area studies.

Kara Sea

Global Perspectives ARCTIC OCEAN

Laptev Sea

Barents Sea

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n no

East Siberian Sea

rwegian Sea

Honduras and Panama aren’t the only places our students go. New College’s study abroad/ off-campus study program sends Novo Collegians all over the world! From China to Peru, students gain in-depth knowledge of other cultures and an appreciation of diversity. It can be an enriching and for many, a life-changing experience promoting personal growth, NORTH flexibility and independence. PACIFIC Chukchi

Sea

White Sea

Gulf of Bothnia

Lake Onega Lake Ladoga

Bering Sea

Baltic Sea

Sea of Okhotsk

Lake Baikal

Lake Balkhash

Sea of Azov Aral Sea

Black Sea

h ra

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Sea of Japan

ur key

Caspian Sea

Mediterranean Sea

OCEAN

Yellow Sea

East China Sea

Persian Gulf

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Gulf of Tonkin

hin a

Red Sea

l y n O ’ Re i

C y,

Gulf of Oman

z az

Philippine Sea

Bay of Bengal

Arabian

Gulf of Aden

Sea

South China Sea Andaman Sea

Gulf of Thailand

Laccadive Sea

Celebes Sea

zabet h So E li c

Lake Victoria

Lake Nyasa

Arafura Sea Timor Sea Gulf of Carpentaria

Coral Barrier

O C E A N

Banda Sea

at Gre

I N D I A N

Java Sea

n is l, Tu ia

Lake Tanganyika

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Re ef

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en ns

, A u s t ral

OCEAN

ia Great Australian Bight

ia n

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Kevin

Ka ylin H a g

PACIFI

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SOUTHERN OCEAN

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Amery Ice Shelf

Madeleine Yount (above) is a first-generation college student from Fort Pierce, Fla., concentrating in international studies with an issue track in development, and has written papers on educational disparities and the Afro-Brazilian culture of northeast Brazil. She is studying Portuguese (Brazil’s official language) and Brazilian culture, and traveling to the region to study agrarian reform and sustainable development, and work in a rural primary school.

Elizabeth Sockol (above) received a Student Research and Travel Grant to fund her study abroad in Tunisia, spring Ross Ice Shelf semester 2014. There, she conducted her thesis research, took courses related to her major, and began her language study in Arabic. Ross Sea

www.ncf.edu

Students Make Meaningful Connections in Sarasota/Manatee Community Moving ahead with women’s rights advocacy IT’S HARDLY UNUSUAL for New College of Florida students to have internships, but Cassandra Corrado’s work has taken her into hospital emergency rooms, assisting and advising women who have been victims of sexual violence. The 2015 graduate and former student government president doesn’t like being called an expert in women’s rights, sexuality or relationships. She’s quick to note that it takes years of study, work and experience to achieve proper credentials. Still, Corrado recites facts, statistics and theory from the field, and is convincing without being self-righteous. While she had always been interested in women’s rights, Corrado built her expertise from scratch. During her first days on campus, she joined Vox, the student group that supports Planned Parenthood in Sarasota, quickly becoming its public relations chair and then co-president. In her second year, for her independent study project, she planned a “Take Back the Night” event, to show support for women and opposition to sexual violence. It was a disappointment, with a small turnout. But she learned from it, and for the next year recruited more volunteers and improved publicity. The next walk drew a much bigger crowd and even more people attended last year. The issue is deeply personal for her. Corrado knows many people who have been in abusive relationships, which led her to start a support group for victims of sexual violence. Again, it prompts her to talk about not only the numbers, but the fallibility of them as well. “You might say one in four women will experience sexual assault while they are in college,” she said. “But one in four is a big, scary number and until you look around a room of 40 people, it doesn’t really hit you what that number is. At the same time, one out of four doesn’t communicate the psychological effects that follow.” When she was in the thick of planning last year’s Sexual Assault Awareness Month, it came with perspective. Before a planning meeting, she recalled, a friend asked her, “Do you remember two years ago this was your ISP?” Corrado paused. “This is something I didn’t plan on being all three years, focusing entirely on relationship education

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programming, but I love doing it. It’s what I’m really good at. I don’t think I would change that.” During her first year, Corrado helped bring sexuality educator Megan Andelloux to campus. She eventually became an intern for Andelloux’s organization, the Center for Sexual Pleasure and Health, and – while still in college – served as secretary of the nonprofit’s board of directors. Her interests and advocacy led her to SPARCC, the Safe Place and Rape Crisis Center, a long-running Sarasota organization. In February 2014, Corrado became an intern with the sexual assault response team, serving as an on-call responder when people report rape or abuse. In that role, Corrado would respond within one hour, day or night, whenever needed. Her job was to accompany the victim in the emergency room and provide support during medical treatment, rape kit exams and police questioning. She’d often find herself challenging doctors and nurses who might downplay the need for education and medications that help prevent HIV transmission in those who have been accidentally exposed. Raana Simmons, sexual assault outreach advocate at SPARCC, says Corrado is a “true gem” and her passion for the work to end gender-based violence is “both contagious and motivating.” “Cassandra’s involvement with the gender-based violence movement is something special, as she has the ability to build partnerships with a dynamic array of individuals and institutions,” Simmons said. “Her messaging and demeanor in the community strikes chords that many people who have volunteered in our program have not come close to matching.” As Corrado talks, sometimes it’s difficult to remember that she’s a brand-new graduate, still just 22. You could tell her it seems like she’s accomplished so much, but she won’t buy it: “There are times it feels that way, and sometimes I’m sitting here and it feels like I haven’t done nearly enough.”

IN THE COMMUNITY

Fostering relationships through tutoring TWENTY MIDDLE-SCHOOL KIDS ARE SITTING AT TABLES in the Robert L. Taylor Community Center, working on homework and occasionally goofing around, when New College student Devon Powell walks in. Cries of “Devon!” come from several, and the energy in the room immediately picks up. Powell’s no pop star – he speaks softly, dresses casually and looks pretty much what you’d expect a chemistry major to look like – but to these sixth- and seventh-graders, he’s a big deal. Powell has been tutoring students at Taylor, in Sarasota’s Newtown area, since last October, and he’s built relationships with many of the kids. He’s one of several New College students who volunteer a few times a week to work with the kids, most of them from Booker Middle School, on math, English, history and other subjects. On that March day, just before spring break, the third-year student from Orlando is with two other regulars, first-years James Van Hollen and Caterina Duffy. And just before they arrive, they get an unexpected reinforcement: Juliana Musheyev, a 2014 graduate of New College who lives in the area and wants to get involved as well. They get right to work. Powell hunkers down with sixth-grader Dillon and they get to work on geometry homework, figuring the areas of parallelograms. Many of the kids are classmates, and so Van Hollen, Duffy and Musheyev are helping kids on the same assignment. But a few minutes later, afterschool program director Alice Faye Jones – known to all as Miss Alice – cuts in on Powell and Dillon for a moment, to help an older student with a tricky polynomial factoring problem. It doesn’t faze Powell, who plans to pursue a doctoral degree in chemistry. New College students have been tutoring at Taylor for several years, and Miss Alice says their help has been invaluable. “I am so grateful for the New College students,” she said. “It’s not only helping

me, it’s helping the students in the community. They’re getting the help that they need. Work is really and truly getting done. “Since the New College students have been coming, all of my students’ homework is being completed, parents are satisfied, teachers are calling me or emailing me, sending me grades – grades have been improved. They’re showing progress.” Miss Alice says the success comes from more than just the tutors’ academic skills. “They’ve created a bond. They interacted with them, they got a chance to talk with them, they actually started a relationship on a friendly basis,” she said. “And the students give ‘em hugs, they tell their parents how this one person actually helped them and their grades started shooting up.” For Powell, those relationships are the best part of the work. He enjoys tutoring, which he also did while in high school, but at first wasn’t sure what to expect from a room of middle-schoolers. “Originally, I thought, you know little kids, they’re hyper and difficult to deal with,” he said. “But at the middle school age, they’re starting to become a person, more than a kid. It’s really easy to talk to them and have good conversations because they don’t have the filters that an adult has. They just say what’s on their minds, and that’s really cool. It reminds me of how communication used to be, and I like it.”

Family Weekend September 25 - 27, 2015 Mark your calendars! This year’s Family Weekend offers a variety of events for both students and families alike, including a Friday night Bash by the Bay, a family photo booth, 5k fun run/walk, lunch and learn cultural exchange fair and a Sarasota dinner adventure. ncf.edu/family-weekend

www.ncf.edu

IN THE COMMUNITY

Work takes New College student out of her comfort zone JESSICA LOEB STUDIED ENGLISH LITERATURE at New College of Florida, and her senior thesis analyzed works by Conrad, Montagu, Achebe and Mernissi to examine the ideas of colonialism and resistance. And that, oddly enough, explains why she spent three hours each week helping people sift through their finances and prepare their income taxes. Loeb, a 2015 graduate, volunteered with the United Way. She worked with a range of people, from retirees to college students, the wealthy and the poor. She says math and finance is a better fit for humanities students than you might think. “At New College and through my studies, I worked so much of my right brain, I did some many things creatively and conceptually, I’m always trying to work more of my left brain,” she said. “I think that New College really helped me do that. A lot of people hear ‘liberal arts’ and they just hear the ‘liberal’ and the ‘arts.’ But to me, to study English well, you have to be logical and critical, and that’s given me the impetus to go outside of my comfort zone.” She became comfortable with forms and figures while working in the College’s financial aid office, verifying families’ financial data and assisting them over the phone. But to become a tax volunteer, she had to complete a training program and pass an online certification test – not what one normally expects from a literature student. “The training and test were hard, but I like doing things that are hard,” she said. “If it’s a good challenge and a challenge I believe in, I stick through it to the end.” She worked from 3 to 6 p.m. once a week at offices on 2nd Street in Sarasota. She often saw four or five people during her shift, and some of them required multiple visits. Loeb recalled one woman who had a difficult financial situation –

18 New College of Florida | nimbus

she can’t discuss details – but they eventually worked through her problems. “I really felt like I was able to help her,” Loeb said. “And it really helped me see that I can do this. It makes me feel capable and confident. A lot of the times, when people come in with a whole mess of papers, I don’t feel confident, and I just have to ask questions and work through it slowly. It’s a good challenge.” In that way, tax counseling is a bit like her coursework or thesis, she said – deciphering how social and governmental systems work, well enough to guide someone through. “It’s not glamorous, but it’s a way you can really help people who are struggling, by letting them know about how these complicated systems work,” she said. Her supervisor, program manager Holly Bullard, said many of the volunteers wash out when they see how hard the work is. But she said Loeb has rare qualities. “It takes a special kind of person to do this,” Bullard said. “Jess has been outstanding in her people skills. She has that ability to connect that not everyone has.” “You have solidarity with people,” Loeb said. “There’s only so much I can do for people, but I’m that person who can be empathetic and can help people hold on. You can give people hope.” Loeb’s talent for communication comes from her two passions. One is traveling. She has been all over the United States and Canada, and visited Costa Rica, Peru, Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany, and Morocco. Her parents, though not wealthy, believe in travel as a way of learning, and so would constantly save for trips abroad. At age 13, instead of having a bat mitzvah, she went to Israel. The other passion, not surprisingly, is volunteering, something she’s done since ninth grade in Hollywood, Fla. In just her time at New College, she tutored at Robert L. Taylor Community Center, Booker High School, and Saint Stephen’s Episcopal School. She trained as a Health Care Navigator to assist people with the Affordable Care Act. She worked at Planned Parenthood. And on campus, she has been one of the student government’s representatives who assist students on academic probation. “I just don’t feel right if I’m not volunteering,” she said. “It’s like exercise for me. It’s just something that I need to do.” Her volunteer work has her considering a career in social work. But for now, she’s bringing her passions together by working in China, teaching English to children in a Montessori school in the coastal city of Xiamen. She said it wouldn’t have happened without her experience at New College. “New College was the only school I applied to,” she said. “It was my dream school. It definitely was the college that changed my life.”

REUNION

Alumnae/i Reunion Weekend Join us October 16-17, 2015 The New College Alumnae/i Association invites you to join us this October to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Alumnae/i Association and the 55th anniversary of the College. Activities will take place on Friday, October 16 and Saturday October 17 and include a picnic, cardboard boat races, mini-classes, panel discussions and more!

Join us for lectures, historical tours, picnics and mini-classes at the 30th Anniversary of the New College Alumnae/i Association.

Please visit ncf.edu/reunions for more information.

Schedule of Events Thursday, Oct. 15th 1:00 - 5:00 p.m. Registration The Keating Center

5:30 - 7:00 p.m. New Topics: “The transformation of Media, Sainer Pavilion Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow” with Don Browne, former President of Telemundo

Friday, Oct. 16th 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Registration

The Keating Center

11:00 a.m.

Jono Miller ‘70 walking tour

The Keating Center

3:00 - 5:00 p.m.

What is health and is there really a mind, body, spirit connection? Kathleen Raskin ’64, Barbara Ceo ’66, and Mike Campbell ‘87

Harry Sudakoff Center

6:00 - 8:00 p.m. Welcome reception with presentations Center for Engagement & Opportunity (CEO)

Saturday, Oct. 17th 9:00am - 1:00pm Registration The Keating Center 9:00 a.m.

Jono Miller ‘70 walking tour

The Keating Center

8:00 - 11:30 a.m.

NCAA board meeting

Harry Sudakoff Center

10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Mini-classes

Academic Center

1:00 - 4:00 p.m. Picnic/waterfront activities $20 for adults, $10 for ages 12 and under

5:30 p.m. Closing reception with student presentations $10 per person

Caples Waterfront Campus College Hall

Jono Miller ’70 retrospective exhibit on October 16-17 (location TBD)

www.ncf.edu

PROFILE / DUNCAN ODOM

Interview: Evolution, in Academics, Genes, and Cancer Duncan Odom ‘88

BY DAV ID GU LLI VE R

BY TODAY’S PREVAILING OPINIONS ON HIGHER EDUCATION, Duncan Odom’s undergraduate record predicted a bleak career. He chose New College of Florida, not a technical institute or a business school. He changed his major over and over, instead of sticking to a fixed track. It took him six years to graduate, when most students graduate in four. Last year, Odom was awarded the Francis Crick Medal by the Royal Society, the world’s oldest scientific academy, recognizing his ground-breaking work in comparative functional genomics. Indeed, Dr. Odom has become one of the world’s leading scientists in human genetics. He is a faculty member at University of Cambridge and Cancer Research UK, where he runs a million-dollar-a-year laboratory. His team of 10 scientists examines how the DNA molecule’s function controls gene expression. They also apply that work to studying cancer. His success may defy conventional wisdom, but it is no surprise to those who have taught him. “Duncan was “ I was and remain so my best student ever, and grateful that the New he wrote an excellent College undergraduate thesis,” said Suzanne program had the Sherman, associate flexibility to be patient with professor of chemistry at New College. “I always my quest to find my path. knew that Duncan would If I had been forced to go far in science, but his finish pure mathematics or career is impressive hard physics as my degree beyond my imagining.” At New College, Odom in four years, I would have switched AOCs from math dropped out of science to physics to chemistry, due to my lack of ability in taking six years to that level of abstraction." graduate -- “very wellspent time,” Sherman said. “Obviously, this is not fashionable today, but because he spent so much time as an undergraduate, Duncan was able to launch his career with a broad and deep background in the sciences,” she said. He went on to the California Institute of Technology, where he studied with Dr. Jacqueline Barton, a member of the

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National Academy of Sciences and a recipient of a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, often called a genius grant. “Duncan was an outstanding student here at Caltech,” Barton said. “He was always bright, engaging, sometimes irreverent, always creative, and wanting to make a difference! And he has!” That creativity, irreverence and brilliance all were on display in his Crick Lecture in London, where in 45 minutes he not only laid out his team’s work in analyzing the mammalian genome, but also worked in a photo from his New College commencement and a joke about his subsequent change of physical appearance. Nimbus spoke with him about his career, at New College and after. Your Crick Lecture explains it well, but can you briefly describe the research you and your team conduct, in layman’s terms. The Odom laboratory’s work seeks to explore and understand the complex and often unpredictable relationships between how changes in our DNA’s regulatory information produce differences in species. For instance, whales and humans have DNA with lots of similarities. So why are they different? It’s because the instructions of how to read the similar bits are different. We were one of a few key laboratories that initially developed the approach now called comparative functional genomics, which means taking experimental snapshots of ‘identical’ cellular information in different species using high throughput sequencing in order to search for consistent patterns of similarity or difference across mammals. How is that work relevant to cancer research? One of the hottest and most dynamic parts of cancer research is how human DNA changes lead to carcinogenesis – and how these changes occur. In other words, the basic questions of how and why our DNA found within particular tissues becomes corrupted to create tumors. The rules followed by cancers share many similarities (and also have important differences) to those that appear to be followed during species evolution. We seek to use normal species evolution as a guide to help us understand cancer evolution. It is that simple.

How did you feel when you learned you had received the Crick Medal? It was really a tremendous honor, but ultimately one that my laboratory earned, not me. It’s pretty cool that many of the prior recipients are right here in Cambridge in neighboring Institutes, like Ewan Birney and Sarah Teichmann at EMBL EBI (European Molecular biology Laboratory – European Bioinformatics Institute). The cash (£500) was nice too. My laboratory team had a big party with part of it. You also were recently elected as a member of EMBO. Can you explain the organization’s significance? EMBO is the European equivalent of the United States’ National Academy of Sciences. It has a mission to support and celebrate outstanding biological sciences and scientists across the breadth of Europe. I was also a member of the EMBO Young Investigator Programme, which provides basically unlimited networking funding during your tenure. So for three years, I was able to travel about Europe visiting professional friends and building my laboratory, supported by the combined resources of the entire European community of countries. It was a lot of fun, and strengthened our research enormously. Can you discuss the evolution of your academic/research interest, from chemistry to genetics, and this particular focus in genetics? Frankly, it was pretty random. I just did whatever interested me that I seemed to be good at, which is why I am not in advanced mathematics research anymore: that level of abstraction was just beyond me. What I think of as my academic sliding across inorganic chemistry to biochemistry to yeast genomics to comparative functional genomics seemed pretty natural and unplanned. The big jumps were moving to the Whitehead (Institute,

at Massachusetts Institute of Technology) into a hypercompetitive genomics lab, and then setting up my own independent efforts in Cambridge, England (in 2006). That one was particularly rough, as I had culture shock on top of it. Folks who stay in one place their whole careers, however nice that place is, rarely reach their fullest potential. I was and remain so grateful that the New College undergraduate program had the flexibility to be patient with my quest to find my path. If I had been forced to finish pure mathematics or hard physics as my degree in four years, I would have dropped out of science due to my lack of ability in that level of abstraction. At New College, we often say that the thesis is comparable, to some extent, with a doctoral thesis. You went on to a top-level research school; is the thesis work comparable, at some level, at the two institutions? Yes. The far more important thing was more subtle than the crudeness of “Can you write a big chunk of text?” Having worked independently in Suzanne’s lab, the social construct of scientific research in an academic lab felt, well, natural and right. When I got to Caltech, doing basic science in an integrated research team just felt like breathing to me. Everything else naturally evolved from that comfort. From your lecture, it sounds like you really enjoy your work. What about it excites you? Every day is an adventure, and I don’t really have a boss. It’s like being paid very well to be an artist. I get to do whatever I want, and mentor clever, ambitious people.

www.ncf.edu

PROFILE / EMILY SAARINEN

Migrations Like some butterflies she studies, Emily Saarinen traveled far but returns home to New College BY DAV ID GULLIV ER EMILY SAARINEN’S LICENSE PLATES GIVE YOU A SNAPSHOT of her life story: One plate commemorates New College of Florida, and the other the Miami Blue butterfly. Saarinen, a 1999 graduate of the College, returned this year as assistant professor of biology and environmental studies. After a year in Alaska doing wildlife surveys and another teaching rock climbing in Thailand, she returned to academia and completed her master’s and doctorate in entomology at University of Florida. She then taught at Oregon State and then at University of Michigan – Dearborn for three years. Throughout her career, that butterfly on her plate has been a major focus of her research. The Miami Blue was thought to be extinct, but there is one population in the Key West National Wildlife refuge. “It’s the one place this butterfly is found in the entire world,” she says. For now, anyway. The Miami Blue is relatively easy to raise in captivity, Saarinen said, and she and other entomologists have plans to reintroduce the species to wild areas that have been rehabilitated or are under protection, such as the Everglades or Biscayne national parks. The next step is to create a captive colony at University of Florida, and Saarinen would like to see one here at New College – which is within the species’ historic range, although it has not been seen here in half a century. “The ultimate goal is to get it off the endangered species list,” she said. “We want populations to be sustaining without any intervention from us.” Reaching that kind of goal starts with hard science. Saarinen and her students analyze butterfly DNA for a group of academic, government and private entomologists studying the Poweshiek skipperling, Dakota skipper and other endangered butterflies. Freezers in her lab store hundreds of samples at -80 degrees C. But she emphasizes putting that lab work into practice. “The theory that I teach students – how do you manage genetic diversity – is what we do when we raise these species in captivity. How do you ensure that it’s going to be a viable population? You monitor it, you make adjustments, you adapt. It’s neat, because students here will learn the theory, and in the long term, apply the skills they’ve learned in the classroom to a real conservation program.”

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The importance of those programs, particularly in entomology, is becoming more apparent. National news media have noted the drastic decline of monarch butterfly and the phenomenon of honeybee colony collapse. Typically, Saarinen is thinking of solutions. “My big push, as a conservation biologist, is what can we do? What are we not thinking of that we can do?” she said. Research indicates that bees may be dying because of overuse of pesticides. Saarinen points to ideas like Bee Campus USA, where colleges plant flower gardens and trees, and end pesticide use. New College already is close to meeting certification standards, she said. Monarchs are suffering from habitat loss, as agriculture and development destroy fields of wildflowers and milkweed that the butterflies feed upon during their cross-continent migration. She suggests working with the federal Department of Transportation to plant the flowers along highways and in medians, land that otherwise is wasted. The monarch butterflies are iconic, and their journey majestic – Saarinen took her daughter, Lila, and mother to Michoacan, Mexico to see the launch of their migration – but don’t assume she studies them for any sentimental or aesthetic reason. “It’s funny – I actually like the caterpillars a lot more than the butterflies. The butterflies are almost too obviously beautiful,” she said. “The caterpillars I just find fascinating because they have some really complicated behaviors.” Take the ones she studied in Malaysia for her master’s program. In the wild, they appear to be under attack from ants. Actually, though, the ants are tending to the caterpillars, and will protect them from wasps and flies. Why? Saarinen found the caterpillars have a specialized gland on their backs that secretes droplets of sugar. The ants even carry the caterpillars to the most nutritious parts of the plants, to improve the quality of the sugar. The species have even developed a form of communication. If the caterpillar feels threatened, it emits a chemical similar to the ants’ alarm pheromone, and so the ants come to its defense. “That’s why I can be upbeat – because that’s amazing,” she said “Nature’s pretty phenomenal and it’s easy to stay pretty excited about it. It’s worth saving.”

AKGUN TEMIZER / PROFILE

Giving Students the World Akgun Temizer wants Turkish youth to have the same kind of educational experience he did BY B ETH LUBE RECKI

GROWING UP IN ANKARA, TURKEY, Akgun Temizer attended elementary school, high school, and the University of Ankara all free of charge, thanks to government-funded education systems. “I am a product of public education,” Temizer proudly proclaims. “I’m really grateful for the education system in Turkey; it brought me the future.” So it’s not surprising that, once he moved to Sarasota in retirement, Temizer was drawn to New College of Florida, another strong example of public education. He was impressed by New College’s frequent top rankings and the good things he heard about the school from local alumni. That led him to establish a nearly $1.3-million scholarship program for students from his Ankara high school to attend New College. “I wanted to pay my debt to Turkey,” he says. “This would also help my community in Sarasota, because the money will be spent here and the College will benefit.” In fact, Temizer has been told by President Don O’Shea that

the university will learn a lot from the Turkish students, the same way they will be exposed to new people and ideas while in America. “My desire is for the Turkish students to come here and experience this great nation, so they can graduate and go back and apply what they learned from the United States,” says Temizer. In his own life, Temizer has benefited from that same combination of education and international exposure. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in political science, he did his mandatory military service in the Turkish Army and then took a job with the Turkish state department. In 1956, he was sent to Washington, D.C., to work at the Turkish Embassy. It originated as a two-year assignment, but Temizer wound up never going home again. After he lost his “My desire is for the job at the embassy due to a Turkish students to military takeover of the come here and government in Turkey, he took experience this great a position at a Washingtonnation, so they can area construction company, working his way up from the graduate and go bottom to a supervisory role. back and apply what He became a U.S. citizen in they learned from 1969 and then landed a job at the United States.” the International Monetary Fund. In that role he began traveling internationally, assessing different countries’ financial policies and how they fit into the IMF’s mission. Temizer wound up living in Washington, D.C. for 48 years. When he retired in 1987, he realized that he had seen the world but didn’t know the United States as well as he’d like. So he set off in search of a retirement home, trying Hawaii, California, and Arizona before finally settling on Sarasota. “It looked so beautiful and inviting,” he says. “It had small city advantages plus big city advantages.” Never married and with no children of his own, Temizer looks forward to sharing his success in life with a new generation of Turkish students, the first of which should arrive at New College this fall. “My advice to them is to be serious in their studies,” he says. “Education is very important, and I wish many people could have a chance to get the kind of education I did.”

www.ncf.edu

PROFILE / SHANNA RATNER

The Road Not Taken Shanna Ratner envisions new ways to strengthen rural economies BY ROGE R DROUIN IN 1985, SHANNA RATNER FOUNDED A CONSULTING FIRM

specializing in rural community economic development. At the time, Ratner wanted to name her company Rural Development Associates, but the name was already taken. Thus Ratner, New College ’72, had to brainstorm for a new company name, and Yellow Wood Associates, Inc. was born – inspired by the Robert Frost poem “The Road Not Taken.” “I wanted to do something that I didn’t know many people or anyone else was doing, and I wanted to do it in a way that was unconventional. So the poem spoke to me,” she said. After more than 30 years, Ratner has lived up to that goal, taking on complex research initiatives and envisioning new ways to strengthen economies in rural communities from Mississippi to the Adirondacks to Nepal. Ratner, 61, works closely with rural communities to build opportunities—from exploring a framework of economic development concepts to examining the ins and outs of specific options like food processing or nature-based tourism. “I learned how important it was to work with people, as opposed to just giving them a report,” Ratner said. One of the economic solutions she was instrumental in getting off the ground in the Appalachian states region is now becoming a national model for merging high-efficiency home design with affordable housing programs. Yellow Wood worked closely from 2009 to 2015 with the Federation of Appalachian Housing Enterprises to “take a big-picture look” at creating a market-scale model for building efficient, affordable homes for low-income families, without using subsidies. In 2010, Ratner traveled to southern Mississippi and Alabama, where a quarter of African-American owned farms in the country are located. Many of the minority farm owners in these states had a wealth of know-how, but were

24 New College of Florida | nimbus

disconnected from lucrative markets because their farms are small, in low-population areas, and without access to capital. But that’s beginning to change. Yellow Wood helped initiate a plan to unite the farmers so they could have access to larger markets, engage young people and redefine farming as a path to prosperity. The firm worked to secure funding from the Ford Foundation. After the first year of the Deep South Wealth Creation Network (DSWCN), 50 minority farmers worked together to generate over $250,000 in sales of collard greens, turnips, cabbage, sweet potatoes, and pinkeye peas to high-end restaurants, schools, and groceries. Farmers who didn’t know or didn’t trust each other are now working together to take fresh produce to wholesale markets. “It’s a really moving story when you realize these are groups that had no history of working together and very little experience in wholesale markets,” Ratner said. It was at New College that Ratner’s interest in the heartbeat of America’s rural communities grew. As a freshman, she designed her own course of study around the beliefs, attitudes and values of small towns and how that was linked to geography, history, and the culture of settlers. Ratner grew up as a child of the sixties. During high school, she had protested the Vietnam War in Washington D.C., and she took off for Europe and later New York City during her college years. At New College she was allowed the creative liberty necessary for her to think independently and develop her ideas. “New College was a place where you could make your own way and connect to other people who were passionate about learning,” Ratner said. But she also received the support and mentoring she needed. During her fourth year, in 1975, her academic advisor Jan Van der Veen convinced her to abandon a notion of dropping out of college to move to New York City, where she wanted to expand her research on economic development and values to an urban setting. “Bless his heart. It is unbelievable to this day,” Ratner said. “He said, ‘Go to New York and do your research, and we’ll figure out a way to get the credits.’” Without Van der Veen’s advice, Ratner believes she might not have completed her undergraduate degree, her graduate studies in agricultural economics at Cornell University – or to have helped communities around the world.

PROGRAMMING/ACHIEVEMENT 01

03 04 Pique Nique 01 One of New College of Florida’s signature events, the Pique Nique sur la Baie, was held March 27, 2015 on the beautiful campus Bayfront. The luncheon began with champagne as friends mingled and enjoyed the silent auction. Save the date for 2016 Pique Nique: March 11. Scholarship Reception 04 The New College annual scholarship reception, hosted by New College Foundation, was held at The Keating Center on April 23 and attended by 55 scholarship donors and scholarship recipients. New College fourth-years Hilary Ramirez, Kyna Patel and Peter Raab spoke about their New College experience, their future education, their life’s goals and how having received private scholarship support facilitated their academic careers and their plans for the future.

Pique Nique 02 Patrons enjoyed a stunning fashion show presented by The Met and an outstanding lunch provided by our friends at Michael’s On East. As always, the fabulous hats did not disappoint. One live auction item went for $9,000 — a Pique Nique record. Overall, net support totaled $164,000 for the New College of Florida and Jane Bancroft Cook Library. Scholarship Reception Peter Raab ’11 speaks with Pat Hennigan (Foundation board chair) during the scholarship Reception. Raab is receiving a Fulbright Scholarship to study in Columbia.

Alumnae/i Fellows Program 03 Alumnae/i Fellow Michael King ‘94 with Ruth Orlowicz ’93 and Lily Ericsson (auditor of the course) navigating through the 9-mile pond. Student Anna Winter took the photograph. Michael King taught an ISP on conservation titled “River of Grass – On the Very Idea of Conservation.” Established in 1990, the Alumnae/i Fellows Program provides New College alumnae/i the opportunity to supplement the academic and co-curricular experience of New College students by teaching an Independent Study Project (ISP), a semester-long or half semester-long (mod) course for credit, or leading a not-for-credit workshop or seminar. For more information on the Alumnae/i Fellows program and how you can become involved, visit ncf.edu/alum-fellows.

Mentors Needed New College is reinventing its mentorship program to connect New College alums and students with in a collaborative, developmental and forward-thinking relationship that maximizes their New College experience, and helps prepare them for life after graduation. Being a mentor is a unique opportunity that allows alums to reconnect with the College while also having a direct impact

on the success of the next cohort of New College graduates. Students are able to learn more about their interests, begin developing a professional network and learn about opportunities that come after graduation. For more information, contact ncalum@ncf.edu. or visit ncf.edu/mentor.

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CHAPTER NEWS / ALUMNAE/I EVENTS

GAINESVILLE, FL

TAMPA, FL

March 12, 2015 -- Alums and New College staff meet at Jones B-Side on March 12 to discuss the new alumnae/i mentorship program and all things New College.

April 29, 2015 -- One of the regular Tampa Chapter alum Gatherings at Pane Rustica. Andrea Cook ’97 (left) and Elaine Lund ’96 (right).

ST. PETERSBURG, FL

June 13, 2015 -- New College alums and faculty having fun at the Tampa Bay Rays Alumni game. The Rays won an exciting 5-4 game against the White Sox.

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ALUMNAE/I EVENTS / CHAPTER NEWS

MIAMI, FL

April 30, 2015 -- Miami alums and President Don O’Shea meet at the law office of Damian and Valori. Hosted by Gera Peoples ’94 and Barbara Junge ’81.

WASHINGTON, DC

For updated Chapter events, be sure to check our website at ncf.edu/chapters and “like” our facebook page: facebook.com/ NewCollege AlumAssociation Facebook “f ” Logo

RGB / .eps

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April 25, 2015 -- New College alums at a gathering hosted by Altom ’90 and Jenni ’89 Maglio. President Don O’Shea, Acting VP of Advancement Jessica Rogers, and Director of Career Services Kim Franklin also attended the event. More than 40 alums and friends attended the event and engaged in student career exploration.

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CLASS NOTES

1960s Casey Green ‘69 reports that his Campus Computing Project (campuscomputing.net), launched 1990, will celebrate its 25th anniversary this year. Campus Computing is the largest continuing study of eLearning and information technology in American higher education. The project is widely cited by campus officials and corporate executives in the IT industry as a definitive source for data, information, and insight about technology planning and policy issues that affect U.S. colleges and universities. Lynwood Sawyer’s ’69 latest books from his publishing company, Pigtown Books, are written by Frank Hickey (a career law enforcement officer) and Richard W. Haines (a cult film director).

“Riding the Neon Buffalo” (working title). The piece covers the dramatic, exciting, and untold story of the American Indian casinos. It is directed by Chris Arnolds, with executive producer Hainey Geigomah. Ann Joyner ’72 and her husband provide quantitative and qualitative research and analysis for community groups, activists and legal cases in the areas of fair housing, environmental justice, education and civil rights. Their work has been featured several times in The New York Times (“The Commercial Use of Big Data Can Help Improve Equality”). Their work has also been featured in Tim Berners-Lee’s TEDTalk “The Year Open Data Went World-Wide” and in numerous peer-reviewed articles and books. Ann and her husband love what they do. New College taught Ann to ask the right questions and keep looking until she is satisfied with the answers.

1970s

Eric Mart ‘74 is living and practicing in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

For the first time in 29 years, the non-profit organization, The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) maps.org, started by Rick Doblin ’71 in 1986 when he was a student at New College, earned a government grant of $2.15 million from the state of Colorado. The grant will fund the study of marijuana and post-traumatic stress disorder in 76 United States veterans with chronic, treatment-resistant P.T.S.D. In addition, a paperback version of “Acid Test: LSD Ecstasy and The Power to Heal,” will be published on August 11.

Dan Ryan ’77 spent the academic year on leave from Mills College in Oakland, working with the inaugural year of the Iovine Young Academy for Arts, Technology, and the Business of Innovation at the University of Southern California. He taught team dynamics, Arduino programing, and lock picking among other things and is “liberal-arts-proud” to now have had academic appointments or have taught in natural sciences, social sciences, humanities, and design/art. He spent part of the spring in Berlin, making connections with innovative educators, in hopes of establishing an international network. Innovative educators are invited to get in touch with him.

Ross (Ackerman) Vachon ’72 is writing and producing a film called

Robert Lincoln ‘77 has been selected by Florida Trend magazine as a 2015 Florida Legal Elite attorney in the practice areas of Environmental and Land Use Law. Now in its 12th year, Florida Legal Elite presents a prestigious roster of attorneys chosen for recognition by their peers. For 2015, Robert is the only attorney selected for this honor from the Sarasota and Bradenton regions in the Environmental and Land Use practice areas. Legal Elite attorneys exemplify a standard of excellence in their profession and have garnered the respect and esteem of their colleagues. Lawyers across the state were asked to name attorneys they hold in the highest regard or would recommend to others. Ballots were independently processed and a panel further examined the top vote-getters. The final attorneys selected represent fewer than 2 percent of the active Florida Bar members who practice in Florida. For 2015, only 26 attorneys have been honored as Legal Elite attorneys in the Environmental and Land Use Law practice areas. Michael La Torra ’79 is an associate professor of English at New Mexico State University, where he has been teaching since 2000. Michael’s most recent publication, “What Is Buddhist Transhumanism?” was published in “Theology and Science, 13:2.” Michael has three children, with the oldest turning 30 this year. He and his wife are expecting their first child (Michael’s first grandchild). Michael’s middle son has almost completed college, while his daughter will finish high school next year. In addition to his academic work, Michael has been active in various communities of interest, particularly Transhumanism, where he serves on the

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CLASS NOTES

board of directors of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies (ieet.org), Zen Buddhism (Michael is an ordained Zen priest), and Adidam (where he is a formal devotee of Adi Da Samraj). Anyone who would like to contact Michael and catch up may email mlatorra@gmail.com.

1980s Jim Shore ‘80 was elected as a fellow of The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, and may take time off from hazelnut farming to attend the November induction ceremony at the annual American Bar Association Labor and Employment Law conference. Kevin Fisher ’88 is blessed with a beautiful family. Kevin’s ten-year-old daughter just graduated elementary school. He also has an amazing fouryear-old son and gorgeous wife from Peru. Kevin has had many wild, lifechanging adventures in Latin America and enjoys music, hunting, gardening and teaching. To get in touch with Kevin, email kindayfisher@yahoo.com.

Noah Teitelbaum ’94 moved to Denver and is happily married with two children, one of whom loves his ears. Noah works at home for a test preparation company. Noah is also playing music (pretty badly, but happily) and is doing a lot of hiking. Somewhere along the way Noah seems to have lost his hair. It’s a long way from dreadlocks.

the number and advance the prominence of diverse communities of women in engineering. Emily Rodeheffer Nodine ’92 is excited to be joining the faculty of the Environmental Studies department at Rollins College this fall, after an amazing, but chilly year at the University of Vermont. Shannon O’Malley ’94 just published her second book, “Gay Men Draw Vaginas,” through a $62,000 Kickstarter

1990s Doug Perry ’90 and Konnie Kruczek ‘91 live and work in Sarasota and love it. They have two children and love the progress they’ve seen at New College! As of July 1, 2015, Raymonda Burgman ‘91 joined the Women in Engineering Pro-Active Network (WEPAN) Board. WEPAN’s core purpose is to propel higher education to increase

campaign. See it at gaymendrawvaginas. com. She lives in Oakland, where she plays capoeira and makes websites for schools and non-profits. Kristin Benson ’94 works at Portland Community College and was recently elected the president of the Oregon Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admission Officers. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her spouse, Brad, two kids, Olive and Penny, three hermit crabs and a three-legged dog, Desmond. She engages in shenanigans with fellow

alums and Oregon transplants Suzanne Cohen ‘94, Jana Daugherty ‘94, and Jesse Abrams ’94. Meg (Moore) Parish ’94 recently joined the Colorado Natural Resources section of the attorney general, as an assistant attorney general. She will work on water quality and radiation control issues. Meg and Griff Parish ‘92 have two kids, Ben, 8, and Ginny, 1. Meg and Griff invite any alumni who make it as far west as Denver to stop by! Erika (Dakoff) Greelish ’94 and Jesse Palenchar ’00 became friends through Tampa Homeschoolers Instructing and Nurturing Kids (THINK) and they are both teachers and organizers at the co-op where their children attend classes. THINK is one of Tampa Bay’s largest secular homeschool cooperatives. Erika is the coordinator for this diverse and super fun group. She has taught for other homeschool groups in the Tampa Bay area over the last 10 years, and conducts testing and annual evaluations for homeschooling families. Last October, Erika’s husband, Sean, opened Stilt House Brewery, a microbrewery located in Palm Harbor, where he is co-owner and Head Brewer. Before moving to the Tampa area and becoming involved in the local homeschool community, Jesse worked for Florida State University creating and implementing Cell Biology Institutes for hundreds of Florida public school teachers. Prior to that she completed a

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CLASS NOTES

doctoral degree in plant medicine at the University of Florida, and then worked for UF to help create a variety of training materials for beginning farmers and ranchers. Edon and Ezikai, both born while Jesse was at New College, are 13 and 11 respectively. They are now very tall, and enjoy robotics, BMX biking, traveling, and music. This past May was a busy month for Kati Baruja ‘96! She graduated from the University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign with a master’s in translation and interpreting on May 16 and then two days later checked into the hospital to give birth! She and Kati’s wife Esther welcomed their son Tekové Emet into the world on Wednesday, May 20: “He’s basically perfect.” Esther recently graduated with a master’s in divinity from Chicago Theological Seminary and they’re looking forward to whatever the next step is for their little family. In the meantime any alums in the Chicago area invited to say “hi!” Emily Saarinen ’97, professor of Biology and Environmental Studies, has now been part of the New College faculty for a year!

Kate Parr ‘97 and Pinray Huang ’00 welcomed their second son, Kai, on April 13, 2015. He joins Quinn (3 1/2 yrs) and Arrow (15 yrs, dachshund) in making the family more lively. Kerrick Goodman-Lucker ’98 was married in Pescadero in the summer of 2014 following Kerrick’s partner having a baby and Kerrick having a mild stroke. They continue to be an aggressively cuddly, queer family in public at every opportunity. Kerrick recently worked for the Exploratorium, starting a small community science center as a one-year experiment in hands-on community learning design. Now Kerrick works for the Museum of the African Diaspora as the school and community program manager. Mari McGrath ‘99 started a job with Ghirardelli Chocolate, working in product development for restaurants and retail outlets. “Finally! A job that combines my many hours studying the psychology of the college student with industrial design and business.” She is also a new mom to a mini-pinscher/ dachshund Torpedo J. Montleban. The “J” stands for justice. She expects him to ask to go to New College any day now.

2000s Justin Clarke-Doane ‘01 married Jennifer McDonald at a New York City courthouse in July 2014. They returned to NYC, after three years abroad, so that Justin could begin an assistant professorship at Columbia University and Jennifer could begin a Ph.D. at City University of New York (CUNY). This summer, they are visiting Beijing, where Justin is lecturing at Renmin University of China (RUC). Zeeshan J Hafeez ’01 just graduated with his master’s in business administration from the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia (class of 2015) and is joining Microsoft in Dallas as a cloud consultant and solutions professional.

Maya Lilly ’98 moved to Los Angeles in 2003 to infiltrate the “world’s megaphone” with an environmental and positive social message, continuing the work she did at New College with Theatre as Activism. She works both in front of and behind the camera as a director, producer and actor. She has produced for Elevate Films, “The Secret, Neurons to Nirvana” and worked with Josh Tickell ’93 on the gulf oil spill documentary, “The Big Fix.” Maya also produced multi-country shoots for Lauren Greenfield (Sundance award-winning Queen of Versailles), who recently went viral with the Superbowl commercial sensation “Like a Girl.” Maya is currently co-producing the film version of the beloved Starhawk eco-thriller, “The Fifth Sacred Thing.” (thefifthsacredthing.com) In Maya’s spare time, she also creates media for Greenpeace, 350.org and Vulcan Productions and records music with her world pop electronica band, Tryst.

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NCAA/Foundation Board Announcements The New College Alumnae/i Association Board of Directors voted on board applications during its spring meeting held on May 22, 2015. Governance subcommittee members including Current Board treasurer, Chad Bickerton ’05, and Governance Chair, Maia Hinkle ’05, along with former board leadership Raymonda Burgman ’91, Ginger Lyon ’70, and Michael Burton ‘86, reviewed and recommended candidates to the board for appointment. The NCAA received a total of 14 applications, with 12 new and two returning applicants for six available positions. The subcommittee evaluated each application through written submissions, interviews, and letters of recommendation. Due to the exceptionally qualified group of applicants this year, the NCAA board agreed to expand the amount of accepted applicants to seven, which

maximized the NCAA Board’s total capacity. The Board agreed to select the top seven recommended applicants for Board membership. Two returning board members, Hazel Bradford ‘75 and Gera Peoples ‘94 were reappointed to the board. Five new members were also selected to join the board, Carmela French ‘06, Steve Jacobson ‘71, Leslie Reinherz ’70, Sarah Thompson ‘06, and Vernon Woodworth ’70. For more information about the NCAA Board of Directors, please visit ncf.edu/board-of-directors. Carla Eastis ‘88 and Robert Lincoln ‘77 both had terms ending this past spring. We celebrate and thank Carla for her six years of service and Robert for his sixteen years of service to New College and our fellow alumnae/i. The NCAA Board also appointed new leadership at its meeting. Susan ‘Spozy’ Sapoznikoff’s ‘83 term as board chair ended at the May meeting and

Frazier Carraway ‘72 was appointed as chair for a two year term. Spozy will continue to serve on the board as Immediate Past Chair until November 2016. We thank Spozy for her strong leadership and continued commitment to New College and NCAA.

Ryan Stanley ’01 and her husband welcomed their second child on February 7, 2015. Arber Ali Shaqiri was born at home with Sarasota midwife Harmony Miller. Big sister Jude will enter kindergarten at Bay Haven School in the fall. Ryan will continue to work closely with New College students via an internship opportunity with her radio show, “Maternally Yours,” produced at Sarasota’s community radio station, WSLR 96.5 LPFM.

Falon Mihalic ’02 graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design with a master’s of landscape architecture degree in 2012. Since then, she’s become a licensed landscape architect in several states, started her own company, and won several commissions for landscape architecture and public art projects. Most recently, Falon won the Emerging Artist Award from the Houston Arts Alliance. Falon’s partner, Patrick McIlvain ‘01, and she celebrated their ten-year anniversary last summer surrounded by their extended New College family. They now live in Texas where they are enjoying the sunshine.

sociology Ph.D program at the University of California, Merced in fall 2015.

This summer, Maria Duenas ‘06 graduated with a master’s of arts degree in sociology from the University of South Florida. She will be starting a

The New College Foundation Board of Directors welcomes three new members to its board; Community leader and retired senior counsel for KirkPinkerton, Sue Jacobson; Senior Vice President of Institutional Advancement at Brandeis, Nancy Winship; and Distinguished Professor of Human Development, Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry at Virginia Tech and New College Alumna, Sharon Landesman Ramey ‘65. For more information about the New College Foundation Board of Directors, please visit ncf.edu/foundation-bot.

Jessica Brosch ’09 is excited to be completing her first year in medical school! This year she was involved in the medical students for choice club and is taking a leadership role as the president. In addition, as part of her involvement in the medical students without borders group and a trip coordinator, Jessica organized two trips to Haiti and went for a week to the rural plateau area. Jessica also continued to pursue her interest in women’s health by organizing a quality improvement project at a local hospital to determine the barriers to accessing long acting reversible contraception for uninsured patients.

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CLASS NOTES

IN MEMORIAM Thomas Paul Perkins ‘94, 44, of North Port passed away on Thursday, September 4, 2014. Born in Lansing, Michigan he had been a local resident since 1988 after moving here from Texas. He owned and operated his own financial services company. Mr. Perkins enjoyed soccer and coached Northport Soccer League and was also a Buccaneers fan. Survivors include his loving wife of 17 years, Angela, sons, Zachary; Ian and his mother, Rita Perkins. (published in the Sarasota Herald Tribune September 14, 2014.) First-year Julian Toomsen-Hall ‘15 passed away May 9, 2015 while attending New College. A service to celebrate his life was held at the Cannon Chapel on the campus of Emory University. Julian was described as “an old soul with an infectious laugh, an innate thirst for knowledge, and an admirable refusal to think inside the box. He loved and was loved deeply and will be missed by all.” He is survived by his parents Eric Toomsen, Renee Hall-George, and William Jay George, his sister Jessica Toomsen-Hall and her fiancé William Bullock, his brother Isaac Hall-George, his step-brother William George, his girlfriend Catherine Baker, his grandparents Elaine and Vern Hall and Erna and Duane Toomsen, his extended family, and countless souls he touched. Dr. Mey Akashah Cooper ‘96, of Englewood, FL, died November 28, 2014. She was a public health professional whose work centered on the nexus of human rights, humanitarian crises, and environmental health. Having received the François-Xavier Bagnoud Health and Human Rights Award, she was particularly concerned with the human rights implications of state, non-state and private sector actions on the enjoyment of human rights and well-being.

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Mey Akashah had published on a range of topics including compensation for human rights abuses, the impact of climate change and environmental degradation on conflict and sustainable livelihoods, and the health impacts of mercury contamination in the Arabian Gulf. She served in several academic and humanitarian positions, including instructor in Environmental Health at Harvard, adjunct professor at Brown University and water, sanitation, hygiene and public health officer in Haiti following the January 2010 earthquake, and as a consultant for the HarvardKuwait Risk Group. Ruth Elow DeLynn, 87, of Sarasota, died on July 8, 2014. She founded the Ruth E. Delynn Marine Biology Endowed Scholarship at New College. Funeral arrangements by: National Cremation & Burial Society. She is survived by her daughter, Nina (Donald) Berk of Newton, MA; son, William (Donna) DeLynn, of Rye Brook, NY; granddaughters, Kimberly, Amy Julia, & Robin. Ruth was born and raised in NY. She raised her own family in Westchester, spending 15 years as a taxidermist at The Museum of Natural History. She retired to Sarasota with her loving husband, Hubert, who predeceased her. Ruth spent the last 30 years passionately engaged in Marine Mammal Research at Mote Marine Laboratory, where she became known as “The Bone Lady”. Her legacy remains at Mote in the Ruth DeLynn Cetacean Osteological Collection. A celebration of her life will be held at a later date. (published in the Sarasota Herald Tribune July 10, 2014.) Elisabeth Kallay Gonye, 86, died November 2, 2014. She was born September 15, 1928, in Budapest, Hungary and was a resident of Sarasota since 1982. Upon moving to Sarasota

some 30 years ago, Elisabeth turned her attention and her spirit of community volunteering to a number of new causes. She and her husband, Laszlo, played an important role in numerous commercial, cultural, and healthcare-related initiatives which raised millions of dollars. Elisabeth was President of the New College Foundation Associates from 1990 to 1992, and in 1991, she was named its volunteer of the decade. She was a member of the board of directors of the Sarasota Memorial Hospital Century Club. She was a fundraiser for the Moffitt Cancer Research Foundation and was a founder of the Sarasota-Manatee Moffitt Women’s Cancer Awareness luncheon event. Lastly, she served as a director of the Sarasota Opera for more than 20 years. She and her husband founded its Opera Club and chaired the Opera Ball for many years. (published in the Sarasota Herald Tribune November 16, 2014.) Jay B. Rudolph, of Sarasota, passed away on May 23, 2015 at age 98. Born in Syracuse, NY, he graduated from Nottingham High School and the University of Pennsylvania. He lived in Sarasota for over 40 years. He founded Jay B. Rudolph, Inc., operating fine jewelry departments in department stores including Bloomingdale’s. Previously, he was president of Rudolph’s Jewelers, Syracuse, New York. He established a Chair in Judaic Studies at Syracuse University named in honor of his father, B. G. Rudolph and a Chair in Judaic Studies at New College of Florida, as well as an endowed scholarship named after him and his wife for Judaic Studies at New College. (published in the Sarasota Herald Tribune May 27, 2015.)

PICTURE PERFECT

A view from afar: After a day of snorkeling on the reef, cleaning trash in a nearby village, running correlation coefficients on data, teaching English to the children of Cayos Cochinos, or tracking the machinations of hermit crabs, a Honduras sunset from a hammock is well-earned indeed. For a full gallery of images from â&#x20AC;&#x153;Hondorus Heaven,â&#x20AC;? visit nimbe.ncf.edu

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ORIENTATION 2015

2015 Class Profile

293

With 293 members from as far as Arizona, Montana, Oregon and Turkey, the 2015 incoming class at New College of Florida

foreign countries are represented: Germany, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey.

is the largest in the institutionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s history. While most students (81 percent) come from Florida, Average GPA=

3.98

other states are represented in the class.

51 PERCENT of the new students were in the top 10 percent of their high school graduating class, and 77 PERCENT were in the top 20 percent. More than half of the incoming students had a GPA of 4.00 or better.