News for the Smith College Community //February 10, 2000
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Alumnae Residents Keep Students Entertained Next week when television actress Mimi Kennedy '70 arrives on campus as an alumna-in-residence guest of Tyler House, there's no telling where her visit might lead. Last year when Toronto bagel moguls the Slater sisters, Lisa '73, and Abigail '80, spent three days on campus as alumnae-in-residence, they commandeered the Washburn kitchen one afternoon to put on an entertaining bagel-baking workshop. Then the Slaters, who since leaving Smith have made their name synonymous with bagels in Toronto through their Hot Bagelworks Bakery restaurant chain, produced a delectable lineup of fresh-baked bagels and breakfast breads. "They were dynamos," says Sue Briggs, administrative assistant in the Office of the Dean of the College, the office that administers the program. "They were wonderful people." When Madeleine L'Engle '41, renowned author of more than 40 books including A Wrinkle in Time, visited in 1997, the kitchen of host Morris House was commandeered, this time by the students, when they learned it was L'Engle's 81st birthday. The students baked her a cake and threw her a surprise birthday party. Kennedy is likely to keep her hosts entertained during her stay. A comic actress who plays the role of Abby O'Neill, Dharma's mother on the ABC hit sitcom Dharma & Greg, she is often responsible for delivering sarcastic one-liners that offset the drollery of her on-screen husband, Larry Finkelstein. Not that humor or culinary talent are requirements for participants of the Alumnae-in-Residence Program, now in its third year. Each guest brings her own unique talent or wisdom to share with the host students. In the program's first year, in addition to L'Engle, the college hosted Barbara Keiler '74, who writes Harlequin romance novels by the dozen under the name Judith Arnold, and Maria Maggenti '86, filmmaker (The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love) and director of music videos including one for rock star Melissa Etheridge. Other guests of the program have included Glamour and Self executive editor Judith Daniels '60, and Voice of America journalist Edie Smith '61. Alumnae-in-residence guests are invited to Smith after being nominated from among several potential participants on a list distributed to students, says Briggs. "The list is very varied," she says. "The rich and the famous and the quiet and not-so-famous. Many of them are leading fantastic and interesting lives." The alumnae guests are invited to spend between one and three days on campus, sharing tea and discourse with students, visiting classes, and holding conversations over dinner in the residence dining halls. The guests are also invited to bring along a classmate. The Alumnae-in-Residence Program began three years ago partly as an effort to provide opportunities for students to meet and socialize with alumnae in informal settings, says Dean of the College Maureen Mahoney, who originated the idea for the program. "It gives students a chance to ask questions that they might not normally ask during formal occasions," she said. "Students can ask more personal questions." "The students are always intrigued by the choices people have made to get where they are," adds Briggs. The Alumnae-in-Residence Program is part of a broader endeavor by the college to create venues for students to learn about and examine a spectrum of people's life choices, Mahoney says. And while there is an educational element to the program, Mahoney emphasizes that, for students and their guests, "fun is the objective. And it's the person who makes it come alive." When Mimi Kennedy arrives next week, it's sure to be fun for students as she will likely keep them laughing. But as enjoyable and entertaining as the alumnae residence is for students, the guests seem to enjoy their visits just as much, says Briggs. "The alums love being back on campus," she says. "It keeps them connected to the college." Mimi Kennedy will be on campus from February 16 through 19, and will attend afternoon tea hosted by Tyler, Northrop and Jordan houses in the Alumnae House Living Room on February 18 at 4 p.m. All Smith community members are invited t the tea.
Prepare for the Next Big Earthquake Aside from the occasional wayward tornado, natural disasters are rarely cause for concern here in New England. While much of the nation is routinely hounded by floods, hurricanes and inclement weather, we in the Northeast are left largely untouched. And as for earthquakes, many would argue that we have nothing to worry about there, either. But is that true? "Earthquakes do occur on a regular basis in New England," says Boston College geologist Alan L. Kafka, an authority on seismology, earthquake hazards and the science of unexpected earthquakes. Kafka, an associate professor of geology and geophysics, will lecture at Smith February 15 at 7:30 p.m. in McConnell Hall 103. Kafka's talk, "Where Will the Next Large Earthquake Occur in the Eastern United States?" is part of the Five College University Geology Lecture Series. "There have been lots of fairly large earthquakes in the Northeast that people don't know about," says Achilles Professor of Geology Robert Burger. "They're not very frequent, but occasionally very significant. We thought this [lecture] would be something that would interest a lot of people, not just geology majors." Among important earthquakes in the Northeast, Burger cites the 1755 Cape Ann, Massachusetts, quake, a shake would have registered 6 on the Richter Scale (which did not exist then). "It was felt from Chesapeake Bay to Nova Scotia," he says. There have been other significant earthquakes as well, Burger explains, including the 1884 New York, New York, earthquake (an equivalent of a Richter Scale magnitude of 5) and the 1925 St. Lawrence River area shake (a magnitude of 7). These earthquakes, along with more recent, smaller ones, all support Kafka's research and fuel his belief that the next large earthquake in the eastern United States is not so far off. "The probability of a possibly damaging earthquake occurring in New England is about one in 20," Burger says. "And this [Kafka's and other geologists' research] is good science. We know there have been decent earthquakes in the past, and we know that there will be again." Multimedia Fair to be Held at Smith With modern technology evolving at an incredible pace, educators are faced with a challenge: how to successfully incorporate that technology in the classroom. Computers and multimedia can be used as a teaching tool in almost any discipline, ranging from the study of music, languages and literature to the sciences and math. The question is how to use that technology, and in what form. To help innovative educators answer that question, the Five Colleges created the Amherst College-based Multimedia Access Project (MAP). Funded in part by a grant from the Mellon Foundation, the MAP's mission is "to provide instructional support and assist development of multimedia projects by faculty members from all five colleges," says director Matthew Mattingly. "The MAP will be organizing a variety of events, from educational workshops aimed at various levels of expertise to media fairs demonstrating projects by Five College faculty and staff." One of those fairs, the fourth annual Five College Multimedia Fair, will take place at Smith February 17. The fair, to be held in Seelye Hall from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., "showcases faculty multimedia projects in all disciplines and at all levels of technical complexity," says a Five College press release. Included will be an online version of two original scholarly texts, Greek Color Theory and the Four Elements and Greek Sculpture and the Four Elements, from UMass; educational software simulating tree and forest growth (and the effects of natural and human-created environmental disturbances on forest growth) from Hampshire College; Rediscovering Beethoven's Opus 23 Through Historically Informed Performance: A CD-ROM Project from Mount Holyoke College; and a Web site, run by an Amherst College religion professor, displaying digitized photos of 60 divination objects from various regions around the world. Several Smith professors will also make contributions to the fair. Associate professor of theater Ellen Kaplan, along with Spanish and Portuguese assistant professor Estela Harretche, created a Web site and CD-ROM program titled From Page to Stage: Juan Rulfo. Students using the program can create storyboards, scripts, and possible dramatizations of Rulfo's stories and ultimately produce and videotape their creations. Also included will be interactive computer programs by math professors Chris Gole and Pau Atela. Featuring interactive (Java) programs that produce all the natural spiral structures mathematically possible, the programs will enable students to explore and better understand the spiral patterns of various kinds of plant growth. Language professors Giovanna Bellesia (Italian) and Hongchu Fu (East Asian languages and literatures) will also participate in the fair, showcasing their CD-ROM based language programs, which are designed to reinforce students' classroom learning with cultural information and language drills. In addition to Five College faculty and staff members' presentations, the fair will feature speakers, panel discussions and vendor representatives. For more information, including details and updates, faculty and staff project descriptions, and parking information, visit www.amherst.edu/~map/. MediaWatch A December 11 column in the Wall Street
Journal, Europe Edition, that refutes Hewlett-Packard Co.'s claim
that it invented e-mail, says, "The first true e-mail system
resulted when Dartmouth College offered computer time-sharing
services to Smith College in 1965, a setup that allowed male
Dartmouth students to trade messages with female Smith students."
The assertion is attributed to John A.N. Lee, a computer historian
at Virginia Polytechnic Institute. In a January 19 Boston Globe article
by Kate Zernike about colleges' January terms, David Cleveland
and Dave Motyka, auto mechanics in the Physical Plant and teachers
of Smith's most popular noncredit Interterm course, "Basic
Auto Mechanics," were featured. "The local version
of 'Click and Clack,' the two are the campus' maintenance men,"
the article says. Students Heather Errico AC and Miriam Ginsburg
'01 are also quoted in the article. Smith ranked fifth in a poll titled
"Gainers and Losers in Black Freshman Enrollments at the
Nation's Highest-Ranked Liberal Arts Colleges" that ran
in the Autumn 1999 issue of the Journal of Blacks in Higher Education.
The poll shows that between 1998 and 1999, Smith's enrollment
of black first-year students increased from 20 to 32, a 60 percent
change. Other top-five colleges were Colby, Sewanee, Middlebury
and Bates. The father-daughter Smith team of Dan
and Beth Rist were featured in separate articles within two days
of each other in January. Beth Rist '01, the Pioneers' point
guard, was quoted in a January 23 New York Times story about
the legendary yearly basketball matchup between Smith and Mount
Holyoke, referred to on the campuses as "The Game."
"I transferred to Smith last year and my teammeates tried
to prepare me for how nervous you feel for this game," Rist
said. "But you don't understand until you play in it."
Meanwhile on January 21, her father, Dan, longtime technical
director in the theatre department, was profiled in "I.D.,"
a column in Hampshire Life, the weekly magazine of the Daily
Hampshire Gazette. A January 4 article in The Christian
Science Monitor focused on Engineering 100: Designing Intelligent
Robots, the first course offered in Smith's Picker Program in
Engineering. A brief profile of Domenico Grasso, chair of the
engineering department, accompanied the article. PeopleNews will return next week. Sources of further information, if any, are indicated in parentheses. Notices should be submitted by mail, by e-mail (mstanton@colrel.smith.edu) or by fax (extension 2174).
Access Van Service Bioscience Poster Session Softball Clinic Project Survival Storm Warnings S.O.S. Annual Fund Drive Faculty and Staff Staff Fiction Competition Students Scholarship Opportunity Reunion/Commencement Housing Five College students will receive a letter and form at the beginning of March to request housing. Other students who need to be considered for on-campus housing beyond May 6 are asked to submit a Request for Student Housing form. Forms are due back by Monday, March 13. Please note that these are requests, not reservations for space, and must be considered on a space-available basis. Students approved to remain on campus will move to consolidated housing on May 7 at noon in order to allow preparation of the houses for alumnae. Questions about this process should be directed to Kelly Taylor, reunion housing coordinator, Alumnae Outreach, ext. 2040, or ktaylor@ais.smith.edu. Equestrian Center Parking Class of 2000 Counseling Service Offerings Writing Assistance Smithsonian Internships Add/Drop Course Deadlines SSAS grants President's Open Hours Fine Arts Council Public Interest Internships SmithJobs The following were available at presstime. Application reviews will begin immediately. To learn more, call ext. 2278. Secretary/receptionist Office of the Provost/Dean of the Faculty.
Apply to the Office of the Provost/Dean of the Faculty, 27 College
Hall, Prospect St. |
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Sources of further information, if any, are shown in parentheses at the end of event descriptions. An asterisk following a listing indicates that the event is open to the public. Admission charges, if any, are listed when known. Items for this section must be submitted on Event Service Request Forms. Monday, February 14 Lectures/Symposia Biosciences Student Research Symposium Presentation of research from students in the biosciences. Refreshments served. 4-5:30 p.m., McConnell Foyer Meetings/workshops CDO informational meeting Newport News Shipbuilding, for full-time jobs and summer internships. Pizza served. 5 p.m., CDO CDO informational meeting MassMutual of Springfield, for summer internships in their Leadership Development Program. 7 p.m., Dewey common room Student Labor Action Coalition general meeting. 8:30 p.m., Women's Resource Center Religious Life Silence for the Soul A quiet place
for prayer, meditation or reflection. Religious Life Liaisons meeting. 6 p.m., Bodman Lounge, Chapel Other events and activities Yoga class Noncredit, for students. Limited to 40. 4:45-6 p.m., Davis ballroom Tuesday, February 15 Lectures/Symposia Sigma Xi luncheon talk "Hey Chuck, What's a Bond? Understanding Fixed Income Investments." Charles Johnson, accounting. Open to faculty, emeriti and staff. Noon, College Club lower level Lecture by Warren Long, former deputy director of the Union of Concerned Scientists, and author of Consumer's Guide to Effective Environmental Choices. Sponsors: Project on Women and Social Change, Population Committee of the Pioneer Valley Sierra Club. 7 p.m., Jones Library, Amherst* Lecture "Where Will the Next Large Earthquake Occur in the Eastern United States?" Alan L. Kafka, Weston Observatory, Department of Geology and Geophysics, Boston College. Part of the Five College University Geology Lecture Series. (See story, page 1.) 7:30-9:30 p.m., McConnell Auditorium* Lecture "No Middle East Peace Without Iraq." Dennis Halliday, former UN assistant secretary general and former UN humanitarian coordinator in Iraq. 7:30 p.m., Neilson Browsing Room* Fine/performing arts/films Meetings/workshops Religious Life Episcopal-Lutheran Fellowship meets in the house parlor for worship, lunch and friendship. All welcome. Noon, St. John's Church, Elm Street Other events and activities Language lunch tables Yoga class Noncredit, for students. Limited to 40. 4:45-6 p.m., Davis ballroom Wednesday, February 16 Lectures/Symposia Lecture "Meister Eckhart and the Mysticism of the Ground." Bernard McGinn, University of Chicago Divinity School. 7:30 p.m., Seelye 106 Meetings/workshops Informational meeting Smithsonian Internship Program. 4:15 p.m., Seelye 207 CDO workshop "Cyber Careers for Liberal Arts Graduates." Led by Paula Shea, who will share tips on moving ahead in the technology industry. 4:30 p.m., CDO Religious Life Catholic Adas gathering and informal discussion/reflection. Lunch served. All welcome. Noon, Bodman Lounge, Chapel Buddhist service and discussion. 7:15 p.m., Bodman Lounge, Chapel Ecumenical Christian Church Bible study with discussion, music, and Bible study on a variety of topics. 10 p.m., Bodman lounge Other events and activities Language lunch tables Classical languages.12:15 p.m., Duckett Special Dining Room C Yoga class Noncredit, for students. Limited to 40. 4:45-6 p.m., Davis ballroom |
Thursday, February 17 Lectures/Symposia Discussion "What is Education For?" Margaret Ellen Anderson, biological sciences, discusses how personal commitments and values relate to her life choices. Lunch provided. Noon, Bodman lounge Lecture "Growth, Employment, and Equity: The Impact of the Economic Reforms in Latin America." Barbara Stallings, director, Economic Development Division, United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America. 4:30 p.m., Neilson Browsing Room * Lecture "Trust and Worth: The Politics of People-Building." Rogers Smith, professor of political science, Yale University, and author of Civic Ideals, a study of the prevailing ideologies of American political development. 4:30 p.m., Seelye 201* Meetings/workshops CDO informational meeting Radcliffe Publishing Course, a training course on careers in publishing. Conducted by Amy Traverso '93. Please bring a résumé and writing sample. 10:30 a.m., CDO group room Religious Life Special event featuring the band, All Too Real. Sponsors: Keystone, SCF, SFC, Impact. 7:30 p.m., Davis ballroom* Other events and activities Yoga class Noncredit, for students. Limited to 40. 8-9:15 a.m., Davis ballroom Friday, February 18 Fine/performing arts/films Religious Life Shabbat service Special music service with folk musician David Shneyer. Dinner follows at 6:30 p.m., singing at 7:15 p.m. For reservations, call ext. 2754. Transportation available from the chapel. 5:30 p.m., Center for Religious Life, 38 Woodside Avenue, Amherst College. Orthodox Vespers with Fr. Harry Vulopas. Students of all Orthodox backgrounds are welcome. A light supper follows the service. 5:15 p.m., Bodman lounge Smith Christian Fellowship All welcome. 7 p.m., Seelye 101* Other events and activities Language lunch tables Japanese. 12:15 p.m., Duckett House Special Dining Room Alumnae House tea with actress Mimi Kennedy '70, cast member (Dharma's mother, Abby) of ABC television's Dharma & Greg, who will be the alumna-in- residence at Tyler House and guest at a tea for Northrop, Jordan and Tyler houses. Kennedy will read from her book, Taken to the Stage: The Education of an Actress. (See story, page 1.) All welcome. 4 p.m., Alumnae House Living Room S.O.S. fund drive to benefit homeless youth begins today. See house representatives for information or to donate. Saturday, February 19 Lectures/Symposia WTO Teach-In with talks by students who protested the recent WTO International Conference in Seattle. 7:30 p.m., Seelye 106* Religious Life Other events and activities SASA Spring Jam featuring music from the African diaspora: soukous, reggae, zouk, kwaito and more. Tickets: $2, Smith students; $3, general. 8 p.m., Davis Ballroom* Black Students Alliance Annual New England Conference dinner. Tickets: $10, Smith students; $15, general. 7 p.m., Gamut* Sunday, February 20 Fine/performing arts/films Religious Life Morning worship in the Protestant tradition with the Rev. Leon Burrows, interim Protestant chaplain, and student liturgists presiding. Prayers and light breakfast in the Bodman Lounge 10 a.m. All welcome. 10:30 a.m., Chapel * Association of Smith Pagans meeting. Organization for those who practice nature-based religions. Seekers welcome. 4 p.m., Lamont basement Roman Catholic Eucharistic Liturgy Fr. Stephen Ross, OCD, celebrant, priest/scholar-in-residence; Elizabeth Carr, Catholic chaplain. All welcome. 4:30 p.m., Chapel* Exhibitions "Where the World Meets the Sky: Photographs of Ladakh and Tibet." Photographs by Ellen Kaplowitz. Sponsors: East Asian Studies Program, Department of Art. Through February 27. Hillyer Gallery* "Abstract Impressions" A show of recent prints by Molly Gayley '58. Through March 30. Alumnae House gallery "Excavating the Museum II: H.H. Wilder and Early 20th-Century Anthropology at Smith College" is the second collaborative exhibition installed by students in Patricia Erikson's fall anthropology seminar, Objects, Selves and Others: The Anthropology of Material Culture. By looking at the career of Harris Hawthorne Wilder, professor of zoology, this exhibit examines early 20th-century anthropometry studies and their relation to eugenics debates, the education of women in science and the excavation of Native American burials in New England. Through February 2000. Smith College Archives, Alumnae Gymnasium, Neilson Library.* |
