Why Robert Carter Freed His Slaves: Talk to Address Misunderstood American Revolutionary

Chestertown, MD, October 22, 2001 — The C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience at Washington College presents "Forgetting Robert Carter: A Secret History of the American Revolution," a talk by Professor Andrew Levy of Butler University, at 4 p.m., Friday, October 26, 2001, at the College's Custom House on the corner of High and Water Streets, Chestertown. The event is free and the public is invited to attend. A reception will follow the talk.

Robert Carter III was one of the wealthiest and most powerful Virginians at the dawn of the American Revolution and distinguished himself by organizing the largest manumission of slaves in antebellum America. But Carter's motives have been ignored by historians and the place he holds among his fellow revolutionary Virginians has been largely a mystery. According to Professor Levy's recent article in the Spring 2001 issue of The American Scholar: "In the long history of antebellum America, no one else, while living, freed that many slaves; no one even came close. No one walked away from slaveholding and slavery with as much to lose." So why does Carter remain relatively unknown to students and experts of American history? Professor Levy's talk will address this question.

Andrew Levy is the Cooper Professor of English at Butler University in Indianapolis, IN, where he teaches American literature and creative writing and directs the Butler University Writer's Studio. Professor Levy is the author of "The Culture and Commerce of the American Short Story" (Cambridge University Press, 1993), co-author of the creative writing textbook "Creating Fiction" (Harcourt Brace, 1997), and co-editor of "Postmodern American Fiction: A Norton Anthology" (Norton, 1997). His articles have appeared in The American Scholar, Harper's, Dissent, and the Chicago Tribune.

Bohemian Rhapsody: Alumni to Discuss Careers in the Arts during Fall Family Day

Chestertown, MD, October 18, 2001 — Washington College's Alumni Council will host a Life After Liberal Arts Symposium to coincide with Fall Family Day on Saturday, October 27 from 1:30 to 3:00 p.m. in the Norman James Theatre, William Smith Hall. Students, parents, alumni and the community are invited to this event to interact with and learn from alumni who have put their degrees to good and sometimes unusual use in the working world. This symposium will focus on "The Performance of a Lifetime: Careers in the Arts" and will feature alumni John Harris '94, Vicco Von Voss '91 and Michele Volansky '90 discussing the challenges, lessons, opportunities, and successes that they have encountered through careers in the arts. Drama Department Chairman Dale Daigle will moderate the event.

John Harris, a 1994 graduate in music, is a trombonist who decided to pursue a career in business, joining an Annapolis-based company manufacturing and marketing small wooden boat kits. He eventually bought the firm, Chesapeake Light Craft Company, and has made it one of the largest wooden boat kit companies in the nation, but he has not given up his love of music. John pursues a second career as a jazz musician and has created a small jazz ensemble that plays at music festivals, including Chestertown's Saturday Evening Concert series. John credits Washington College with fostering his love of the arts while helping him develop writing skills and business acumen.

Vicco Von Voss is a 1991 graduate who majored in art. During college, Vicco worked with a local furniture restorer and discovered his love of wood, bringing natural forms into functional existence. After college, Vicco began a three-year carpentry and furniture-making apprenticeship in Germany and returned to the Eastern Shore to pursue his dream as a master furnituremaker. Vicco credits the art department with encouraging his love of the visual arts and natural forms, an appreciation that inspires the function and unique aesthetics of his handmade furniture.

Michele Volansky is a 1990 graduate who currently works for the Philadelphia Theatre Company and lectures in drama at Washington College. An English major with a devotion to theatre, Michele pursued a masters in theatre and dramaturgy from Villanova University. She has been a guest dramaturg at the Atlantic Theatre Company, Victory Gardens and Next Theatre, in addition to serving on the staff of Actors Theatre of Louisville and as dramaturg/literary manager at the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago. Her play "Whispering City" was produced as part of the Steppenwolf Arts Exchange Program in 1999, and she is currently at work on a musical adaptation of Thulani Davis' novel "1959". Michelle serves on the advisory board of" Theatre Forum" magazine and is an artistic consultant for the Chicago-based Serendipity Theatre Company.

Life After Liberal Arts is sponsored by the Washington College Alumni Council.

Washington College Campaign Reaches $70.5 Million

Chestertown, MD, October 18, 2001 — Three bequests combined with many fiscal year-end gifts have pushed the Campaign for Washington's College to $70.5 million just three years into a five-year, $72 million drive, according to Campaign Chair Jack S. Griswold. The estate of the late Eleanor Gross of Baltimore is expected to provide more than $400,000. The estate of Nancy Gordon Nicewarner '51 of Fort Wayne, Indiana, is expected to generate $100,000. The late Mary Louise Moore '35 of Cheswold, Delaware bequeathed $100,000 to the College.

The renovated Custom House, home of the C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience and the Center for Environment and Society, will be formally dedicated on October 30. An important part of the Campaign and the future of the College, the two centers have attracted more than $10.2 million for faculty chairs, endowment, and program support. To date, the C.V. Starr Center has drawn $7 million; the Center for Environment and Society has attracted $4.2 million.

In September, the Baltimore Cabinet, co-chaired by Craig Lewis and Doug Hoffberger '94, celebrated the success of its regional effort with a party at the home of Robert C. "Bo" Lewis '79, Craig's son, on September 15. The Baltimore effort raised more than $7.6 million against a $6.5 million goal. A similar effort in the Greater Washington Region has also exceeded its $5 million goal and a celebration is in the planning stages.

The Development Office fully expects to meet and exceed the Campaign's $72 million goal by the end of this calendar year. The Board of Visitors and Governors will meet on November 1 and 3 to discuss future goals. The Development Office wishes to extend its gratitude to all who have contributed to the impressive success to date.

College Hosts Symposium on National Missile Defense and Security in the 21st Century

Chestertown, MD, October 15, 2001 — Washington College's Goldstein Program in Public Affairs presents a "Symposium on National Missile Defense: Seeking Security in the 21st Century" on Wednesday, October 24, 2001 at 7 p.m. in the College's Hynson Lounge. The event is free and the public is invited to attend.

The symposium features panelists James Lindsey of the Brookings Institution and Jack Spencer of the Heritage Foundation, moderated by Colonel Andrew Fallon, U.S. Army (Ret.). James Lindsay is a Senior Fellow in the Foreign Policy Studies Program at Brookings, where he is conducting research on national missile defense and the shaping of American foreign policy over the next quarter century. Before joining Brookings, Lindsay was a professor of political science at the University of Iowa and served as Director for Global Issues and Multilateral Affairs on the staff of the National Security Council in 1996-1997. His areas of responsibility included peacekeeping, UN affairs, State Department reorganization, and funding for international affairs. Lindsay is the author of "Dynamics of Democracy" (1997), "Congress and the Politics of U.S. Foreign Policy" (1994), and "Congress and Nuclear Weapons" (1991).

Jack Spencer is a Policy Analyst for Defense and National Security at the Washington-based public policy research institute, the Heritage Foundation, and works primarily on issues involving military readiness, force structure, roles and missions, information warfare, homeland defense and missile defense. In 1999, Spencer authored "The Ballistic Missile Threat Handbook", a reference that describes the ballistic missile arsenals of nine nations whose strategic and commercial interests in ballistic missiles threaten U.S. security. Spencer has published numerous papers and articles on missile defense, modernization, readiness and other national security related issues, and has appeared on CNN, Fox News, MSNBC and BBC.

The panel's moderator, Colonel Andrew J. Fallon, is Director of System Engineering for the Washington Group of SRS Technologies and has been involved in system design for the National Missile Defense System for the past three years. Prior to joining SRS, Fallon spent 26 years in the military, specializing in air defense command, testing, research and development, as well as acquisition of electronic warfare and missile defense systems.

The symposium is sponsored by Washington College's Goldstein Program in Public Affairs, established in honor of the late Louis L. Goldstein, a 1935 alumnus and Maryland's longest-serving elected official. The Goldstein Program sponsors lectures, symposia, visiting fellows, travel and other projects that bring students and faculty together with leaders in public policy.

Great Pumpkin Party to Launch Riverkeeper Initiative October 20

Chestertown, MD, October 9, 2001 — The Washington College Center for the Environment and Society and the Chester River Association invite all to join in A CELEBRATION OF THE CHESTER: THE GREAT PUMPKIN PARTY on Saturday, October 20, 2001, at the Washington College Custom House garden and High Street landing, Chestertown, beginning at 1:30 p.m. The public is invited to enjoy educational events, fun and games for all ages, plus food and refreshments and to learn about the Chester Riverkeeper Initiative.

The Great Pumpkin Party will bring the communities along the Chester River together in recognition of the many ways in which the Chester enriches our lives and to introduce the Chester River Association's Riverkeeper Initiative as way to preserve the quality, environmental health and unique character of the river.

In tandem with the Chestertown Wildlife Exhibition and Sale, the Great Pumpkin Party will begin with informal gatherings at many of the public landings along the Chester and its 43 tributaries. Up and down the Chester, pumpkins, fall produce and fall flowers donated by local farmers and gardeners will be delivered to the docks and loaded onto boats to be brought to Chestertown. Look for posters and signs telling where and when to gather to see the beginning of the pumpkin boat parade.

The boats are scheduled to converge at Chestertown's High Street landing at 1:30 p.m. to unload their harvest bounty. The Town Dock and the last riverfront block of High Street will be closed to traffic from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. to accommodate the public for the Great Pumpkin Party.

As part of the Great Pumpkin Party, prizes will be awarded for the gourd with the largest girth and the heaviest homegrown pumpkin. Winners of the Kent and Queen Anne's County Arts Councils' "Bounty of the Chester" contest will be announced. Contest entries include poems, paintings, essays and photographs that illustrate how the Chester River enriches our lives. In addition, Great Pumpkin Party door-prize entry forms will be available throughout Kent and Queen Anne's counties and all who attend may enter their names for the prize of a 16-foot Old Town Loon Kayak.

Since its founding in 1986, the Chester River Association has served as an advocate for the Chester River and the resources it provides. Yet, despite the best efforts to address an array of complex river issues, the health of the Chester has continued to decline and the river is currently on the State of Maryland's list of impaired waterways.

As explained by Andrew McCown, president of the Chester River Association: "It was becoming clear that our volunteer board could not adequately respond to the Chester's growing needs. We had to commit to a more aggressive program in defense of the Chester and its water quality. That is the origin of our Riverkeeper Initiative."

As part of this new program, the Chester River Association petitioned for admittance and was unanimously accepted as a new member of the International Waterkeeper Alliance. The Waterkeeper Alliance directed by Robert Kennedy, Jr., will guide and support the Chester River Association in its Riverkeeper Initiative to hire a full-time professional riverkeeper by Fall 2002. To be employed by the Chester River Association, the Chester Riverkeeper will be based in Washington College's Custom House, headquartered with the College's Center for the Study of the Environment and Society, the C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience, and Center for the Study of Black Culture.

The Waterkeeper Alliance also promises an important partnership for the Chester by assigning the Hudson Riverkeeper, Alex Matthiessen, as mentor to the new Chester Riverkeeper. Matthiesen will be a guest at the Great Pumpkin Party to help explain the responsibilities of a riverkeeper and the importance of the Riverkeeper Initiative.

Later the same night, the Chester River Association will present "Chesapeake Scenes," words and music of the Bay in concert, at 8 p.m. in the Prince Theater, High Street, Chestertown. Join Washington College alumni Andrew McCown '77, Sue Matthews ' 75, Bill Matthews '71 and the gang in a celebration of the Chesapeake and Chester. Tickets are $25. For more information and reservations call the Kerns Collection at 410-778-4044.

For more information about the Great Pumpkin Party, call Andrew Stein at the Washington College Center for the Environment and Society, 410-810-7151.

College Hosts Christopher Tilghman, Author of Mason's Retreat, October 18

Chestertown, MD, October 8, 2001 — The Washington College Center for the Environment and Society and "Journeys Home: An Eastern Shore Lecture Series" present a reading with commentary by Christopher Tilghman, author of In a Father's Place and Mason's Retreat, on Thursday, October 18, 2001, at 5 p.m. in the College's Hynson Lounge. The event is free and the public is invited to attend.

Tilghman is the author of two collections of short stories, "In a Father's Place" and "The Way People Run," and the novel Mason's Retreat, which tells the story of an expatriate Eastern Shore family that returns to its old Chesapeake Bay estate on the eve of World War II. Noted for his ability to set scene after scene with remarkable sensitivity to both sense of place and characterization, Tilghman has had stories anthologized in "Best American Short Stories" and other collections, and has been translated into ten foreign languages.

The recipient of numerous grants and awards, including the Guggenheim Fellowship and Whiting Writer's Award, Tilghman was previously Writer-in-Residence at Emerson College in Boston, MA, and now teaches creative writing at the University of Virginia. He and his wife, the writer Caroline Preston, live near Charlottesville, VA, with their three sons.

Tilghman also will lecture Wednesday, October 17, 2001, at the Historic Avalon Theatre in Easton, MD, speaking on "The Pull of the Land: Place and Imagination." Starting at 7:30 p.m., the lecture is part of the 2001 Eastern Shore Lecture Series "Journeys Home: People, Nature and Sense of Place," a subscription series co-sponsored by the Washington College Center for the Environment and Society, the Adkins Arboretum, the Eastern Shore Land Conservancy, the Horsehead Wetlands Center and the Maryland Center for Agroecology.

For subscription information on the Journey's Home Lecture Series or for information about other programs sponsored by the Washington College Center for the Environment and Society, please visit ces.washcoll.edu or call 410-810-7151.

Sigma XI Hosts Panel Discussion on Women in Science October 17

Chestertown, MD, October 3, 2001 — The Washington College Chapter of Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Society, presents the panel discussion, "Barriers to and Opportunities for Women in Science," on Wednesday, October 17, 2001, at 4:30 p.m. in the College's Tawes Theater, Gibson Performing Arts Center. The event is free and the public is invited to attend.

The panel–representing women in science from government, academia and industry–will feature Rita Colwell, Director of the National Science Foundation, as lead speaker and moderator, accompanied by Dr. Mary Lou Soffa, Professor of Computer Science at University of Pittsburgh and Co-Chair of the Committee on the Status of Women in Computing Research, and Deborah Grubbe, P.E., Corporate Director for Safety and Health at DuPont and past director of DuPont Engineering's 700 person engineering technology organization. The panel will discuss the issues, obstacles and opportunities unique to women developing careers in science, medicine, technology and engineering.

Washington College currently offers bachelor degrees in the scientific fields of biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics and computer science, environmental studies, anthropology and sociology, economics, and psychology, as well as a master of arts degree in psychology. More than 70 percent of the science degrees at Washington College have been granted to women in recent years.

"Traditionally there have been obstacles to women pursuing careers in science related professions," said Leslie Sherman, Clare Boothe Luce professor of chemistry at the College. "This forum will allow our students to ask women with highly successful careers in the sciences how they have been able to overcome these obstacles, what barriers to women still need to be addressed, and what opportunities are available today."

The Women in Science event is sponsored by the Washington College chapter of Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Society, a non-profit membership society of more than 80,000 scientists and engineers supporting excellence in scientific research, education, science policy, and the public understanding of science.

Additional Link:

Read Dr. Rita Colwell's Remarks From Her Visit to Washington College

Washington College Welcomes Pamela Chamberlain, New Director of Alumni and Parent Relations

Chestertown, MD, October 1, 2001 — Washington College is pleased to announce the appointment of Pamela Chamberlain as the new Director of Alumni and Parent Relations. Previously, Chamberlain was a consultant to the College's Alumni Office and has served full-time in similar positions at Drexel University and at the University of Texas Southwest Medical Center. Her appointment became effective August 15, 2001.

During 10 years as Coordinator of Alumni Affairs at the University of Texas Southwest Medical Center, Chamberlain was responsible for programming, fund raising, board liaison and data management for an alumni constituency of 12,000. Chamberlain also served as Assistant Vice President for Alumni Relations at Drexel University and the MCP Hahneman Medical Center in Philadelphia and as Exhibition Coordinator and Coordinator of Museum Events for the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts.

Originally from Austin, TX, Chamberlain is a cum laude graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and has substantial professional and volunteer experience in institutional advancement and fund raising. She has worked as a successful freelance writer and, in her early career, gained broad experience in events planning and management, public relations and promotion of the arts. She and her husband, Dick, reside in Rock Hall, MD.

"It is gratifying to be at a school where so many alumni still feel a closeness and loyalty to the institution," she said of Washington College. "The challenge to our office now is to use the strength of the alumni who are involved to reach out to those who can and should be involved and to bring parents of our current students into a closer relationship with the College."

"Pam brings a strong background to the College," said Dr. John S. Toll, President of Washington College. "I have the highest confidence in her abilities and look forward to the new energy and ideas she will bring to the Office of Alumni and Parent Relations."