Wednesday, December 15, 2004

Staff And Faculty Honored For Long Years Of Service To Washington College

Chestertown, MD, December 15, 2004 — In an annual holiday tradition, the President's Office of Washington College hosted a luncheon to recognize staff and faculty members for their years of service and dedication to the College. The reception was held December 10 in the Hynson Lounge. This year marks milestones for 32 outstanding Washington College employees.

Honored for 10 years of service were: Robert Janega, Baker, Dining Services; Loretta Lodge, Assistant to Senior Vice President for Finance and Management; Bryan Matthews, Director of Athletics; Toni May, Baker, Dining Services; and Kenneth Sutton, Assistant Director for Administrative Computing.

Honored for 15 years of service were: Susan Mary Brown, Turf Specialist; Dale Daigle, Associate Professor of Drama; Dawn Nordhoff, Clinical Director; Satinder Sidhu, Associate Professor of Physics; and Sara Smith, Switchboard Manager.

Honored for 20 years of service were: Phyllis Brown, Coordinator of Information Services, Admissions; Linda Cades, Director of Career Development; Judith Hymes, Director of Technical Services, Miller Library; Marcia Landskroener, Associate Director of College Relations; Juan Lin, Professor of Physics; Jerome Lindsey, Associate Supervisor of The Cove; Wendy Morrison, Programmer; Virginia Pyle, Housekeeping, Buildings & Grounds; Dorothy Robbins, Transportation Secretary, Buildings & Grounds; Terrence Scout, Professor of Business Management; Ethel Squares, Housekeeping, Buildings & Grounds; and John Wagner, Director of Waterfront Activities.

Honored for 25 years of service were: Joseph Cathers, Assistant Director of Physical Plant; Allison Miller, Senior Associate Director of Admissions; Elizabeth Parcell, Lecturer in Music; and George Spilich, Professor of Psychology.

Honored for 30 years of service were: Bonnie Fisher, Director of Counseling Center; and Doris Oakley, Benefits Administrator.

Honored for 35 years of service were: Christine Pabon, Associate Professor of French; George Shivers, Professor of Spanish; and Nancy Toy, Assistant Director of Student Aid.

Louis Saunders, Maintenance Mechanic with Buildings & Grounds, received special recognition for 40 years of service to the College.

“I applaud and sincerely appreciate their hard work and ongoing dedication on behalf of the College,” said Baird Tipson, President of the College. “All have contributed—each in his or her own unique but significant way—to making Washington College one of the nation's premier liberal arts colleges.”

Tuesday, December 14, 2004

New Book Examines Ongoing Conflict Between The Ideals Of Public Safety And Civil Liberties

Chestertown, MD, December 14, 2004 — John B. Taylor, Ph.D., Washington College's Louis L. Goldstein Professor of Public Affairs and a specialist on American constitutional law and history, has released a new book, Right to Counsel and Privilege against Self-Incrimination: Rights and Liberties under the Law, as part of the “America's Freedoms” series from ABC-CLIO publishers. Right to Counsel and Privilege against Self-Incrimination analyzes these two complementary rights of the accused in the context of their interpretation by the U.S. Supreme Court and the ongoing debate over their role in the criminal justice system.

In 1963, Ernesto Miranda, a poor Mexican immigrant, was arrested in Phoenix, Arizona, for kidnapping and rape. After a two-hour interrogation resulting in a confession, Miranda was convicted and sentenced to 60 years in prison, but the police had never informed him of his right to counsel and his right not to incriminate himself. Miranda argued that his conviction should be overturned because his confession should not have been admitted as evidence—and the Supreme Court agreed. That decision aroused a storm of controversy and forged a new link between two basic rights. Right to Counsel and Privilege against Self-Incrimination explores the origins, historical development, current status, and future of these two rights intended to protect persons accused of crimes.

“The right to counsel and privilege against self-incrimination are linked in important ways,” writes Taylor. “These are the two rights that relate most centrally to the manner in which a criminal defendant presents himself or herself and the case to police, judge, and jury; the rights that affect most directly the defendant's ability to say effectively the things he or she wishes to say and to decline to say the things he or she does not wish to say. These rights are fundamental today, but there was a time in Anglo-American legal history when the problem was not simply that they could be violated, but that they did not exist at all.”

Two case studies presented by Taylor—Powell v. Alabama and Brown v. Mississippi—reveal the brutal injustices suffered by Southern blacks in the 1930s and explain how the Supreme Court made landmark decisions that began to expand the coverage of the right to counsel and the privilege against self-incrimination. After a brief review of the English and colonial origins of these rights, Taylor canvasses all of the major cases in their evolution, with particular focus given to the revolutionary cases of the 20th century that produced a convergence of these rights in the famous case of Miranda v. Arizona (1966). The work also examines subsequent cases and discusses issues that lie ahead, including those related to the war on terror, the availability and cost of effective counsel—especially for defendants in capital cases—and the continuing controversy over whether the Miranda decision has helped suspects or hindered police.

For students of the Constitution and civil liberties, Right to Counsel and Privilege against Self-Incrimination features a chronology of cases, a glossary of entries on key individuals and cases, excerpts from seminal Supreme Court decisions, and an extensive annotated bibliography.

Taylor is the chair of the Department of Political Science at Washington College, where he teaches courses on American government, political thought, constitutional law, civil liberties, and criminal justice, and advises pre-law students. He received his doctorate from Princeton University and has taught at the college since 1972.

Friday, December 3, 2004

Vietnamese And Algerian Francophone Literature Topic Of Washington College Professor's New Book

Chestertown, MD, December 3, 2004 — Pamela Pears, assistant professor of French at Washington College, has just released her new work, Remnants of Empire in Algeria and Vietnam: Women, Words, and War, published by Lexington Books this November. InRemnants of Empire, Pears proposes a new approach to francophone studies that employs postcolonial theory, along with gender and feminist inquiries, to emphasize the connections between two geographically and culturally-separated postcolonial francophone literatures.

“The purpose of this book is to introduce those who may not be aware of it to francophone literature from Algeria and Vietnam, especially that written by women,” Pears said. “I also wanted to demonstrate the links between the two former French colonies to show how, ultimately, they are powerful reminders of a shared colonial heritage. Based on my research, I've found that we can gain a much greater understanding of the feminine postcolonial subject through a comparative approach such as this.”

Pears studied four novels—Yamina Mechakra's La Grotte éclatée, Ly Thu Ho's Le Mirage de la paix, Malika Mokeddem's L'Interdite, and Kim Lefèvre's Retour la saison des pluies—that illustrate the profound transformation of women's roles in Algeria and Vietnam during and following the presence of French colonialism. These four authors never attempt to unfold a clear and single definition of the postcolonial female subject, but, instead, explore the various subjective possibilities, expand on them, and ultimately place them in question. Although the differences between Algeria and Vietnam are striking, it is through their connections to one another that we can foreground postcolonial gender issues, according to Pears. Whereas geographical boundaries and official nationalities serve as divisive classifications, the links between the works lead us to a much more engaging dialogue and understanding of postcolonial Francophone literature.

“Pamela Pears has written a compelling study,” said Mildred Mortimer, professor of French and Francophone Studies at the University of Colorado, Boulder. “She argues convincingly that the experience of French colonialism, the changing role of women in society, and the narrative technique of fragmentation link the writings of Algerian novelists, Yamina Mechakra and Malika Mokeddem to Vietnamese writers Ly Thu Ho and Kim Lefèvre. As Pears aptly notes, women, words, and war are the vestiges of the colonial empire that France secured in the nineteenth century and lost in the twentieth. Cultural influences survive political and military struggles.”

A graduate of Millersville University of Pennsylvania, Pears holds a Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh and has taught French language and literature at Washington College since 2001.

Lexington Books, a division of Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, publishes specialized scholarship that contributes to the most current debates in the humanities and social sciences. From political theory, history, international studies, and philosophy to innovative journals and book series in fields such as comparative political theory, practical philosophy, and Japanese studies, Lexington provides a forum for important new work by emerging and established scholars.

Washington College Announces Spring 2005 Graduate Courses In English, History And Psychology

Chestertown, MD, December 3, 2004 — Students, educators and mental healthcare professionals are invited to register for Spring 2005 graduate courses at Washington College. The College offers master's degree programs in English, history and psychology, as well as graduate courses in education that can help to meet requirements for advanced professional certifications. The regular graduate term begins January 24-27 and ends the week of May 2-5. HIS 598-12 has been specially scheduled to run over the course of six Saturdays—January 8 and 29, February 26, March 12, April 9 and 23, and May 7.

Education courses are scheduled on an ongoing basis at a number of Maryland locations. Information is available at www.RegionalTrainingCenter.org.

The following graduate courses will be offered during the Spring 2005 semester:

ENG 501-10 17th Century British Literature, Tuesday, 6:30-9:00 p.m.
ENG 597-10 Special Topic: The Irish Novel, Monday, 7:00-9:30 p.m.
HIS 521-10 Ancient Rome, Wednesday, 7:00-9:30 p.m.
HIS 598-10 Special Topic: U.S. Diplomatic History 1776-1823, Thursday, 7:00-9:30 p.m.
HIS 598-11 Special Topic: Tolerance and Persecution in the Middle Ages, Monday, 6:00-8:30 p.m.
HIS 598-12 Special Topic: Teaching and Learning U.S. History, Saturday, 9:00 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
(Please note special scheduling arrangement above.)
PSY 508-10 Research Methods and Advanced Statistics, Thursday, 7:00-9:30 p.m.
PSY 540-10 Social Psychology, Tuesday, 7:00-9:30 p.m.
PSY 570-10 Introduction to Counseling, Monday, 6:00-8:30 p.m.
PSY 598-10 Special Topic: Health Psychology, Tuesday, 4:00-6:30 p.m.

All Spring graduate classes are held on Washington College's Chestertown campus unless otherwise noted. Students must pre-register prior to December 22 to guarantee texts. The Washington College Bookstore will be open for students to purchase texts on Monday, January 24, 5:30-7:00 p.m., and Tuesday, January 25 through Thursday, January 27, 6-7 p.m. Graduate tuition is $770 per course, plus a non-refundable course registration fee of $55. A late registration fee of $150 per course will be assessed for students who register after the first week of classes. Pre-registration forms are accepted at the Registrar's Office in person, by mail, by phone at 410-778-7299, or by fax at 410-810-7159.

For complete information on Washington College's graduate course offerings, including detailed course descriptions and registration forms, visit http://grad.washcoll.edu.

The College's graduate education course schedule and registration materials are available online at www.RegionalTrainingCenter.org, or by calling the Regional Training Center at 800-433-4740 between the hours 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Thursday, December 2, 2004

Faces Of Homelessness: A Panel Discussion, Thursday, Dec. 2

Chestertown, MD, December 2, 2004 — The Washington College Student Service Council along with the Center for Service Learning, Amnesty International, and the Washington College Student Government Association (SGA) hosts the panel discussion, "Faces of Homelessness," Thursday, December 2 at 6 p.m. in the Casey Academic Forum. The panel will feature former homeless people describing their experiences of street life and poverty, as well as the social and economic issues that foster homelessness.

This event is part of a year-long program on Hunger and Homelessness focusing on local and tangible issues that affect our community. All are encouraged to attend.

Tuesday, November 30, 2004

Hodson Trust Awards $1.625 Million To Washington College

Baltimore, MD, November 30, 2004 — Washington College has been awarded $1.625 million from The Hodson Trust, officials of the College announced November 23. Since 1920, The Hodson Trust has given more than $155 million to fund academic merit scholarships as well as research grants, technology improvements, building construction, library expansion, athletic programs, faculty salaries and endowment funds at Johns Hopkins University, Hood, St. John's and Washington colleges. The charity was established by the family of Colonel Clarence Hodson, founder of the Beneficial Corporation financial services firm.

“The Hodson Trust has remained a loyal partner of Washington College for many years and has played a special role in our rapid growth and development during the past decade,” said Baird Tipson, President of the College.

The Hodson Trust recently boosted the efforts of the Campaign for Washington's College—the College's five-year capital fundraising campaign launched in September 1999—by designing a challenge program that matched gifts to endowments of $100,000 or more, doubling the value of the contributions. With the help of the Trust, the Campaign was able to top $103 million by its completion on January 1, 2004.

“The Trust's generosity has leveraged our success in academics, finances and student recruitment,” added Tipson. “We are very grateful for its special commitment to private independent higher education in Maryland.”

For information of The Hodson Trust, visit www.hodsontrust.com.

"Joy To The World, A Journey Of Wise Men": WC Gospel Choir To Hold Annual Holiday Concert

Chestertown, MD, November 30, 2004 — The Washington College Gospel Choir, under the direction of Reverend Eric Scott, will hold their annual holiday concert on Sunday, December 5, 2004. The concert will be held on campus in Tawes Theatre. The concert begins at 4:00 p.m. Admission for this concert is $3 per person; $1 for college students and anyone under 18.

This year's concert is themed with songs to celebrate the season of Christmas and is titled "A Journey of Wise Men." According to Gospel Choir Advisor, Sara Smith, this concert promises to be a very exciting one. This concert will feature traditional Christmas songs as well as the choir's usual repertoire of joyous Gospel songs. The concert will also include music and song provided by "Tapestry," a local Christian group whose members are Mrs. Jan Whalen, Mrs. Karen Clough and Mrs. Laurie Clark. This group is well known in the area for their heartwarming music. The college's own WC Campus Christian Church Praise Team will also provide music and song.

The choir, now in its seventh year at the college is made up of staff members, students from many states, as well as students from other countries.

"This is a marvelous way for families to begin the celebration of the holidays," says Smith. "If you have not had an opportunity to come out and hear this choir, please mark your calendar, and come join us for a wonderful time of praise and celebration. Be sure to bring your entire family. You will be very glad you came!"

If you would like more information about the Washington College Gospel Choir, please contact Sara Ann Smith at 410-778-7290, or e-mail: ssmith5@washcoll.edu.

Tuesday, November 23, 2004

Author Demitri Kornegay On The Challenges Of Being Black At A Predominately White College, December 2

Chestertown, MD, November 23, 2004 — Washington College's Black Student Union and W.E.B. Dubois Society welcome author and motivational speaker Demitri Kornegay, addressing the topic “Being Black at a Predominately White College Institution: Overcoming Challenges,” Thursday, December 2, at 7:30 p.m. in the College's Sophie Kerr Room, Miller Library. The event is free and the public is invited to attend.

A gifted motivational speaker well known for his work with youth in the Washington, DC area, Kornegay has spent more than two decades in law enforcement and currently serves as a lieutenant in the Montgomery County Police Department. Kornegay attended the University of Richmond on a football scholarship and graduated in 1979 with majors in speech communications, theater arts and sociology. Nominated as one of the “Outstanding Teenagers of America” in 1974 and as one of the “Outstanding Young Men of America” in 1984, Kornegay has made it his vocation to motivate and inspire young people to take greater control over their lives and realize their true potential.

As a deacon at Galilee Baptist Church in Suitland, Maryland, Kornegay spearheaded the “Let's Celebrate Our Men Project” which established a “Proud Fathers Roll Call of Honor” in 1991, and in 1992 he developed an award-winning 12-week program for called “Men Under Construction.” The program, which has now been running for 12 years, teaches life skills for personal and professional success such as manners, public speaking, setting a personal budget and choosing right relationships.

Kornegay is also the author of Dear Rhonda: Life Lessons From a Father To His Daughterpublished by Random House. Realizing that his police work put his life on the line everyday, he began writing letters to his daughter so that if he were to die in the line of duty, he would leave a legacy of fatherly advice and life wisdom.

Monday, November 22, 2004

Oxford University Press To Publish WC Historian's Book On Lincoln's Moral Strategy

Chestertown, MD, November 22, 2004 — Oxford University Press—the world's leader in scholarly publishing—has announced the selection of Prof. Richard Striner's work, Father Abraham: Lincoln the Moral Strategist, for publication. In Father Abraham, Striner—a professor of American history at Washington College—examines what he calls the “stunning duality” and genius of President Lincoln's leadership: his ability to harmonize morality and cunning as he saved the nation by changing it. Release is set for early 2006.

According to Striner, Father Abraham challenges the conventional views of Lincoln in a number of ways. It challenges the notion of Lincoln as a “moderate” by demonstrating the strategic dynamism of his program. It puts the “unionism” of Lincoln in better perspective by showing how his fight to save the Union was always contingent on the ultimate phase-out of slavery—indeed, it was Lincoln's commitment to stop the spread of slavery that drove the South into secession. It also challenges the claim that Lincoln was a racist. To the contrary, Striner suggests, Lincoln's goal was to hold white supremacy at bay while he reduced the power of the slave states.

“Lincoln was driven by an ethical sense, but he was also driven by a Machiavellian understanding of politics,” Striner observes. “He was a genius at orchestrating power. Importantly, his strategic sense could lead him to some compromises with the truth. But these compromises were always ethical in intent. Lincoln was never a shortsighted idealist. Quite to the contrary. He would readily juxtapose truth and calculated deception if it served a higher good.”

In fact, Striner asks readers to use the case of Lincoln to reflect upon the problems of democratic leadership. By perfectionist standards, Lincoln's leadership was problematical. But Striner argues that Lincoln's willingness to balance lesser evils with greater led to a moral success of great magnitude.

Tuesday, November 16, 2004

WC English Professor's New Book Examines Scapegoating In Modernist Fiction

Chestertown, MD, November 16, 2004 — Thomas Cousineau, professor of English at Washington College, has just released his third book of literary criticism, Ritual Unbound: Reading Sacrifice in Modernist Fiction. Published by the University of Delaware Press, it discusses the echoes of primitive scapegoating rituals that emerge in such canonical modernist novels as Henry James's The Turn of the Screw, Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, Ford Madox Ford's The Good Soldier, F. Scott Fitzgerald'sThe Great Gatsby, and Virginia Woolf's To the Lighthouse.

“I examine the ways in which the narrators of these novels, although coming to the defense of certain unjustly persecuted victims, tend to replace them with scapegoats of their own making,” says Professor Cousineau. He cites as an example The Great Gatsby, in which Nick Carraway, its narrator, protests against the unjust treatment to which Gatsby has been subjected but then unleashes his judgmental wrath on Tom and Daisy Buchanan, to whom he wrongly attributes sole responsibility for the tragedy that befalls Gatsby.

“These modernist works reveal a familiar pattern, whereby primitive rituals are abandoned only to be subsequently restored,” he says. “In this way, they reflect a modern world in which we can neither believe convincingly in the guilt of our scapegoats nor imagine a society that has dispensed with them entirely.”

In addition to his research into English and American modernist literature, Professor Cousineau is currently completing a new book on the novels of Austrian writer Thomas Bernhard. His general introduction to Bernhard's work, originally written for The Review of Contemporary Fiction, is available online at www.thomasbernhard.org.

Ritual Unbound is available from the Washington College Bookstore by calling 410-778-7749, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, or online via the websitehttp://bookstore.washcoll.edu.

Reviews of Ritual Unbound:

"Cousineau's easy command of all the nuances of the major texts and a thorough, varied sense of the way those texts enact ritual sacrifice give Ritual Unbound the special magnitude of literary criticism at its best."
—Jesse Matz, Kenyon College

"This short and dense book has managed to dispel a prejudice I had harbored for a long time against Girardian readings of ritual and sacrifice in literature. . . . Cousineau has updated his earlier Lacanian approach (deployed in a book on Beckett's novels) and blends here precise, vivid, and informed close readings with a new mode of ethical criticism."
—Jean-Michel Rabaté, Princeton University

"Cousineau is a fine reader of texts, and from his discussion of The Turn of the Screw as a persecution narrative to his insightful comments on the two endings of To the Lighthouse, he has given us a series of strong revisionist readings that should intrigue modernist scholars and provoke further debate."
—Patrick McCarthy, Professor of English, University of Miami

"His research is solid. His discussion of the motif of the latecomer in James’s The Turn of the Screw is original. His presentation of the blurring of the frontier between living and dead inHeart of Darkness shows real distinction. Both his thoughts on Nick Carraway’s reference to Gatsby’s death as a ‘holocaust’ and his repudiation of Nick as a moral guide in Fitzgerald’s 1925 classic provide rare intellectual excitement."
—Peter Wolfe, Professor of English, University of Missouri-St. Louis

Friday, November 12, 2004

Countdown Update: College Meets Kresge Foundation Challenge

Chestertown, MD, December 23, 2004 — With eight days remaining to meet its fundraising goal, Washington College has raised 100 percent of the $2.8 million required to secure a $750,000 challenge grant from The Kresge Foundation of Troy, MI, announced last April. The gifts and pledges received will go toward the new 45,000-square-foot John S. Toll Science Center—to be completed by January 1—or for the renovations to the Dunning/Decker Science Complex beginning in early 2005.

“In my first six months as president, it has been my distinct pleasure to witness the generous outpouring of support for this institution, and the dedication of its leadership," said President Baird Tipson. "I look forward to continuing our work together in making Washington College a premier liberal arts college.”

Graduates who have made careers in the field of medicine were asked by trustee Ralph Snyderman '61, M.D., Emeritus Chancellor for Health Affairs at Duke University and President and CEO of Duke University Health System, to support the project. Alumni and friends of the late Joseph H. McLain—Washington College alumnus, chemistry professor and president—have already raised nearly $750,000 to name the atrium linking Dunning/Decker Hall to the new Science Center in his honor. In addition, friends of the late Ted Kurze '43, an eminent neurosurgeon credited with pioneering microscopy in surgery, are working to raise funds to name the psychology department's new neuroscience lab in his honor.

“The College is not only receiving major leadership commitments from those who are able to make sizeable gifts, but also contributions from many alumni, parents and friends at whatever level they can afford,” Dr. Tipson added. “This support has been gratifying, and we are very appreciative to all who have given. We thank everyone who has contributed to the effort with a gift, no matter the size, to help us meet this worthy—and urgent—goal.”

Designed to provide a lab-rich environment for supporting new and evolving models for teaching the sciences to undergraduates, the new John S. Toll Science Center and renovated Dunning/Decker Complex will double the size of the College's existing science teaching and research facilities and will be outfitted with state-of-the-art teaching and research laboratories for biology, chemistry, environmental studies, physics, psychology, and math and computer science, as well as a vivarium to support psychological research and a greenhouse.

The Kresge Foundation—an independent, private foundation unaffiliated with any corporation or organization—was created in 1924 by Sebastian S. Kresge “to promote the well-being of mankind.” In 2003, the Foundation awarded grants totaling more than $105 million to 145 charitable and nonprofit organizations operating in the areas of higher education, health and long-term care, arts and humanities, human services, science and the environment, and public affairs.

Thursday, November 11, 2004

International Week: November 15 - 19, 2004

Sponsored by the Office of International Programs

Sunday, Nov. 14

International students chalk the Martha Washington Square with the flag of their country

Monday, Nov. 15

11 a.m. - 3 p.m., CAC Gallery. Face painting, international music. Enjoy posters made by the East Hall students about their home countries. Meet international and exchange students and learn about the different countries and cultures around the world.

7:30 p.m., Norman James Theatre. The Washington College Film Series presents “Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself.” From the director of ‘Italian for Beginners' this bittersweet, marvelously macabre and darkly witty romantic comedy set in Glasgow, is a story of family, love and redemption. A preschool teacher, intent upon doing away with himself, finds a reason to live in his new sister-in-law and her young daughter. In English, 109 minutes.

8 p.m. - 9 p.m. Hynson Study Lounge. Cleopatra's Daughters and International Relations Club in a panel discussion on “Cultural Diversity in America.” Refreshments will be provided.

Tuesday, Nov. 16

7 p.m. - 9 p.m., Hynson Lounge. The Department of Anthropology presents a talk held by Bruno Frohlich, physical anthropologist and statistician: “Mummies, Mass Graves, Burial Mounds, digging Mongolia's Secret History.” A reception will follow the talk.

Wednesday, Nov. 17

5 p.m. - 7 p.m., Sophie Kerr room, Miller Library. Dr. Pamela Pears, Assistant Professor, Department of Foreign Languages, will present a talk entitled “Women in Algeria.”

8 p.m. - 10 p.m., Goldstein 100 Korean movie shown by Je Suk Lee, exchange student from Korea. Discussion to follow.

Thursday, Nov. 18

7 p.m. - 9 p.m., Hynson Lounge. The Department of Anthropology presents a talk held by archaeologist Bill Fitzhugh, chairman of the Department of Anthropology at the Smithsonian: “Mongolia and the Arctic, Exploring an Old Frontier Anew.” A reception will follow the talk.

9 p.m. - 10 p.m., International House Basement. The Spanish club will present a Spanish Dance session for experienced and beginning dancers.

Friday, Nov. 19

4 p.m. - 6 p.m., the CAC Commons Room. Traditional tea ceremony sponsored by the Japanese Club.

7:30 p.m., Norman James Theatre. The Washington College Film Series presents “The Door in the Floor,” adapted from John Irving's novel ‘A Widow for One Year,' this is an alternately tragic and comic film. Famous children's book author Ted Cole (Jeff Bridges) and his beautiful wife Marion (Kim Basinger), live in the idyllic East Hampton area but their lives are plagued by the death of their two sons and Ted's inexplicable infidelity. Love in all its forms is explored in this intense drama. In English, 111 minutes.

Wednesday, November 10, 2004

Winning In Bad Times: How Did George Bush Do It? Wsj's John Harwood On The Election Fallout, November 22

Chestertown, MD, November 10, 2004 — Washington College's Harwood Lecture Series in American Journalism presents John Harwood, National Political Editor of The Wall Street Journal, on “Winning in Bad Times: How Did George Bush Do It?”—a political journalist's analysis of the 2004 presidential election results—Monday, November 22, at 7:30 p.m. in the College's Hynson Lounge. The event is free and the public is invited to attend.

John Harwood, son of the late Richard Harwood of The Washington Post for whom this lecture series is named, has served as The Wall Street Journal's National Political Editor since 1997. An astute political observer whose perspectives and analysis appear in the WSJ's column “Capital Journal,” Harwood also contributes regularly to the PBS television's political roundtable, Washington Week, and appears frequently on CNN, Fox, NBC and other television news outlets for expert political and election analysis.

Harwood began his journalism career in high school as a copy boy at the Washington Star. He studied history and economics at Duke University, graduating magna cum laude in 1978. After college, Harwood joined the St. Petersburg Times, reporting on police, investigative projects, local government and politics. Later he became state capital correspondent, Washington correspondent and political editor, covering assignments ranging from presidential campaigns to the struggle against apartheid in South Africa, which he visited three times during the 1980s. In 1989, Harwood was named a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University, where he spent the 1989-90 academic year. He joined The Wall Street Journal in 1991 as White House correspondent. He subsequently covered Congress and national politics, and was appointed National Political Editor in 1997.

He has reported on each of the last five American presidential elections. Harwood lives in Silver Spring, MD, with his wife, Frankie Blackburn, and their three daughters.

Washington College's Harwood Lecture Series in American Journalism was established to honor the distinguished career of the late Washington Post columnist and ombudsman Richard Harwood, who served as a trustee and a lecturer in journalism at the College. Recent speakers in the series have included such political and media figures as Howard Dean, Robert Novak, John McCain, James Carville, Judy Woodruff, Al Hunt, Mark Shields and Paul Gigot.

Thursday, November 4, 2004

Compute This! WC's Collegiate Programmers Take On Region's Best In The 29th "Tech Olympics," November 13

Chestertown, MD, November 4, 2004 — For the third year in a row, Washington College's Department of Mathematics and Computer Science will host a Mid-Atlantic regional of the “Tech Olympics,” the 2004-2005 Association for Computing Machinery's International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC), sponsored by IBM. Under the direction of professors Louise Amick and Austin Lobo, student programmers from Washington College, Drexel University, Rowan University, Temple University, United States Naval Academy and the University of Delaware will go head-to-head, laptop-to-laptop on Saturday, November 13, from 1-6 p.m. in the College's Goldstein Hall.

Washington College's two teams, the Wolves and the Wildcats—coached by professors Michael McLendon and Shaun Ramsey—will be pitted against some of the Mid-Atlantic's best in a grueling six-hour competition that tests the limits of their logic, problem-solving ability and command of today's most advanced computer architecture. Entering its 29th year, the ACM competition has grown into the largest and most prestigious contest of its kind, bringing the world's brightest collegiate programmers together to tackle a semester's worth of real world programming tasks in one afternoon, while vying for a spot at the contest's World Finals. The entire competition is conducted electronically with submissions made to a central site for independent judging.

“The teams are given seven problems to solve is six hours, and one-quarter of the teams don't solve even one problem, let alone all seven—it's just that challenging,” said Austin Lobo, associate professor of computer science. “Solving one makes you pretty darn good, but over the last few years our Washington College teams have averaged three, which put us among the top 20 teams last year from the Mid-Atlantic, the largest region in the ACM competition.”

There are as many teams in the Mid-Atlantic regional as there are in all of Europe.

“It's clear that our best students are as good as the best from neighboring universities,” he added, “and our computing infrastructure is top-notch.”

What Archaeology Teaches Us About Christian History, Lecture November 10

Chestertown, MD, November 4, 2004 — Washington College's Conrad Wingate Memorial Lecture Series presents “History, Archaeology and Christianity,” a talk by Paul Maier, Professor of History, Western Michigan University, on Wednesday, November 10, at 4:30 p.m. in the Casey Academic Center Forum. The event is free and the public is invited to attend.

Dr. Maier currently serves as the Russell H. Seibert Professor of Ancient History at Western Michigan University. He received a master of arts degree from Harvard University and a master of divinity from Concordia Seminary, and pursued post-graduate studies as a Fulbright scholar at the Universities of Heidelberg, Germany, and Basel, Switzerland. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Basel. Dr. Maier's historical research utilizes a variety of methodologies involved in manuscript and text analysis, archaeology and comparison of sacred and secular sources from the first century A.D.

He has published numerous articles and books on Christian history—both fiction and non-fiction—with several million in print in a dozen languages, and is frequently interviewed for national radio, television and newspapers. His first documentary novel, Pontius Pilate, received wide acclaim and has gone through numerous printings, editions and translations. His recent documentary novels concerning archaeology and the origins of Christianity include A Skeleton in God's Closet and More Than a Skeleton. In 1984, he was named “Professor of the Year,” recognized by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education as one of America's top 25 finest educators.

The Conrad M. Wingate Memorial Lecture in History is held in honor of the late Conrad Meade Wingate '23, brother of late Washington College Visitor Emeritus Phillip J. Wingate '33 and the late Carolyn Wingate Todd. He was principal of Henderson (MD) High School at the time of his death from cerebrospinal meningitis at age 27. At Washington College, he was president of the Dramatic Association, president of the Adelphia Literary Society and vice president of the Student Council in 1922-23.

Masters Of Early English Song, The Baltimore Consort, To Perform At Washington College, November 20

Chestertown, MD, November 4, 2004 — The Washington College Concert Series—now in its 53rd season—welcomes the Baltimore Consort to the College's Tawes Theatre, Saturday, November 20. Concert begins at 8 p.m. Single tickets can be purchased at the door, $15.00 for adults and $8.00 for youth 18 and under. Season tickets are available for $50.00 per person in advance or at the box office on performance nights.

Founded in 1980, the Baltimore Consort explores popular and traditional music from the 16th century onward, delighting audiences with songs both earnest and bawdy, folksy and artistic. Honored by Billboard Magazine as Top Classical Crossover Artists, the Baltimore Consort treads the line between folk and art while employing improvisation and arrangement to awaken the spirit of centuries past. The Consort's unique sound is derived from a variety of instruments—the lute, viol, flute, cittern, early guitar, rebec, recorder, crumhorn and bandora—accompanied by the unique singing of Custer La Rue.

The Consort's arrangements of early music from England, Scotland and France speak to the heart as well as to the mind, and their love for the early music of English and Scottish heritage has led them to delve into the rich trove of traditional balladry and dance tunes preserved in America, from Appalachia to Nova Scotia.

For ticket information and a 2004-2005 season brochure, call 800-422-1782, ext. 7839. Individual tax-deductible patron memberships begin at $75.00. Contributing patron memberships begin at $150.00, supporting at $250.00 and sustaining at $500.00. All membership packages include two tickets, and all donations over the price of the tickets are tax-deductible.

Season tickets and memberships can be purchased by check or money order through the mail from the Washington College Concert Series, 300 Washington Avenue, Chestertown, MD 21620-1197.

Monday, November 1, 2004

Columnist Scott Reeves Of Forbes.Com On Scandals, Scoundrels And Business Bubbles, November 10

Talk Celebrates 20th Anniversary of WC's Business Management Program

Chestertown, MD, November 1, 2004 — In celebration of the 20th anniversary of the College'sBusiness Management program, Washington College presents “Scandals, Scoundrels and Tales from the Bubble,” a conversation with veteran business journalist Scott Reeves of Forbes.com, Wednesday, November 10, at 7:30 p.m. in the College's Hynson Lounge. The event is free and open to the public.

Reeves is a veteran business journalist whose career has taken him from following the Iditarod across the frozen tundra of Alaska to getting himself committed to a mental hospital as part of his coverage of a mass murderer's trial. A graduate of University of California-Berkley, Reeves has written for the Dow Jones Newswires, Barron's and Bridge News, and is now the personal finance columnist for Forbes.com. In his talk he will address the role and responsibilities of a business journalist while sharing war stories from the business beat.

“Scandals, Scoundrels, and Tales from the Bubble” is presented as part of the Washington College Business Management Department's 20th Anniversary Series and is co-sponsored by the English Department.

Thursday, October 28, 2004

America The Impoverished? Author David Shipler On The Plight Of The Working Poor, November 11

Chestertown, MD, October 28, 2004 — Washington College's Goldstein Program in Public Affairs welcomes Pulitzer Prize-winning author and former New York Times correspondent David Shipler to campus Thursday, November 11, to discuss “Poverty in America: The Working Poor.” The talk will be held at 7:30 p.m. in the College's Hynson Lounge. The event is free and the public is invited to attend.

In a nation awash in media that convey images of material and personal success, poverty in America has become almost invisible to the public eye. “Poverty is an unsatisfying term, for poverty is not a category that can be delineated by the government's dollar limits on annual income,” writes Shipler in his book, The Working Poor: Invisible in America (Alfred A. Knopf, 2004). “In real life, it is an unmarked area along a continuum, a broader region of hardship than the society usually recognizes.”

While poverty might be difficult to define, Shipler's study reveals that millions of Americans work hard in low-paying jobs simply to survive, living on the edge where what are minor obstacles for most—a car breakdown, illness, or family problem—often lead to irreversible downward financial spirals. “Most of the people I write about in this book do not have the luxury of rage,” he writes. “They are caught in exhausting struggles. Their wages do not lift them far enough from poverty to improve their lives, and their lives, in turn, hold them back. The term by which they are usually described, ‘working poor,' should be an oxymoron. Nobody who works hard should be poor in America.” In the end, Schipler is not only content to dissect the diverse personal and social problems that lead to and perpetuate poverty, he makes pointed, informed recommendations for change and for public and private sector cooperation to loosen poverty's grip on the lives of millions.

Shipler worked for the New York Times from 1966 to 1988, reporting from New York, Saigon, Moscow, and Jerusalem before serving as chief diplomatic correspondent in Washington, DC. He has also written for The New Yorker, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times. He is the author of three other books—Russia: Broken Idols, Solemn Dreams, Arab and Jew: Wounded Spirits in a Promised Land—winner of a 1987 Pulitzer Prize—and A Country of Strangers: Blacks and Whites in America. Shipler has been a guest scholar at the Brookings Institution and a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and has taught at Princeton University, American University, and Dartmouth College. He lives in Chevy Chase, MD.

The talk 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 and the media.

Friday, October 22, 2004

Inauguration Address By Baird Tipson, October 22

Address by Baird Tipson

There are many people who had a hand in my standing before you today, and I do not want to forget their kindness. The entire Board of Visitors and Governors bears responsibility for my selection, but I would like to single out Tuck Maddux, who chaired the search committee, and Jay Griswold, the Board Chair, for particular thanks. Jay and Tuck were my primary contact with Washington College during the search process, and my respect for them made me very much want to come here. Nor do I want to neglect the other members of the search committee, Board members, faculty members, members of the staff, and students, who contributed a great deal of their time and who represented this College honestly and effectively.

It is a particular pleasure for me to see so many members of my family here, even including the parents of my son-in-law, and while I cannot single out them all, I would especially like to acknowledge my father, Lynn Baird Tipson, whose name I bear and who represents his alma mater this afternoon.

As a singer myself, I am delighted that the Gospel Choir and the College Vocal Consort could perform, especially since the Director of the Vocal Consort, Professor Clarke, himself once served honorably as Acting President of this College.

Although he could not remain for this ceremony, I am honored that Professor David Holmes of the College of William and Mary, with whom I taught early in my career at the University of Virginia, and who has been to me a model of the teacher/scholar, came to Chestertown to offer two inaugural lectures. And I am deeply grateful that Pastor Karl Mattson, the model of a man of commitment, who has ministered to inner city congregations in various American cities, helped liberal arts college students face issues of social justice in Nicaragua, in Geneva, and the most desperate sections of our own cities, and who formed and continues to inspire the Center for Public Service at Gettysburg College, could offer the invocation and benediction.

One last expression of thanks: to my friends from Central Michigan, from Gettysburg, and from Wittenberg – which bestowed on me this red Luther cap – who traveled to be with me today. And now to my address —

Washington College likes to boast that it was the first college chartered in the new United States of America. That is true, but like many things people later brag about, it was largely unintentional. Our founder, the Reverend William Smith, was a loser, or at least one could say that he was on the losing side of a political struggle. His most famous opponent was Benjamin Franklin, who had originally brought him to Philadelphia from New York to head what later became the University of Pennsylvania. But he fell out with Franklin, who afterwards called him “a common scribbler of libels and false abusive papers.” He had other enemies, too. When he told the largely pacifist Pennsylvania Assembly that they were derelict in not sending militia to defend frontier settlers from Indian attacks, they arranged to have him thrown in jail, where he remained for some months. So we might boast that we are the first college founded by a man who did time, since he went to prison only after he founded the University of Pennsylvania.

But Washington College would never have come to exist if Smith had not lost yet again. This time it was Revolutionary War politics, and as a clergyman in the Church of England, Smith was labeled as a Tory, a supporter of the king. It's unlikely that he was. But Smith had taken vows, as had all Anglican priests, to support the King as Supreme Governor of the Church of England. So the charge had plausibility; it stuck; and he had to get out of town. He left Philadelphia and came to Chestertown, which in the late eighteenth century was not some charming little place that time forgot but a major Chesapeake Bay port. Its parish church had had a priest who really was a Tory and who had hightailed it back to England. The parish needed a replacement, and they were happy to get William Smith. Right away he was on the road, determined to get back at those meatheads in Pennsylvania by founding a college in Maryland that would rival the one they had forced him out of. Two years later he succeeded – he wasn't really a loser – and Washington College is the result. Two years after that he founded St. John's College in Annapolis. His vision, which the Maryland Assembly never quite bought into, was to combine the two into a “University of Maryland.” In the meantime, the United States won its independence; Smith's enemies softened, and he went back to Philadelphia. I should add that the church he served, Emmanuel Church, continues to flourish right here in the center of Chestertown, and that Emmanuel will hold a special service Sunday morning using William Smith's 18th c. revisions to the Book of Common Prayer.

What kind of college did William Smith found, or better put, what kind of graduates did he want to let loose onto the Eastern Shore and the new nation? It should be the purpose of higher education, he thought, to build “better men and better citizens,” “better” meaning “virtuous.” And then Smith began to think like a marketer. If he were a college president today, he might create a logo, just right for his new college. But Smith's vision stretched way beyond logos. He wanted to associate his fledgling college with the one man who — in the period just after the Revolution —epitomized the virtuous citizen. That man was George Washington. If he could name his little college “Washington College,” he wouldn't need a logo. He wouldn't need a mission statement. He would have a brand. Everyone would know precisely what his college was about: producing graduates like George Washington. And remarkably, because like many losers he refused to give up until he became a winner, he got Washington to agree. Not only that, but like a good college president he got Washington to make a contribution. And he got him to serve on the Board of Visitors and Governors. The rest, as they say, is history.

As brilliant a marketing stroke as this seems to us today – and a whole lot of colleges have stolen Smith's idea and named themselves “Washington” over the years – it was a gutsy – Jay Griswold would say a “feisty” — stroke. Almost everyone revered George Washington, but a lot of people also knew that he had never gone to college. In fact he'd never gone past elementary school. It would be like finding out that the author of All I Really Need to Know, I Learned in Kindergarten was giving the commencement address at your college graduation. [Which, by the way, Robert Fulgum did at Wittenberg, and he was terrific. That's another story.] But if you didn't need to go to college to become a virtuous citizen, why have a college? This thought actually bothered me as I was writing this address, and I didn't feel a lot better when I realized that my favorite Maryland author, Anne Tyler, loves to build her novels around non-college-going characters. Her readers learn what virtue is about from Rebecca Davitch in Back When We Were Grownups, Muriel Pritchett (the Geena Davis character) in Accidental Tourist, Ezra Tull in Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant, Barnaby Gaitlin in a Patchwork Planet, and of course Ian Bedloe in Saint Maybe. All of whom either never went to college or else dropped out. That's another story, too. We do know that late in George Washington's life some of his critics, including Thomas Jefferson — who incidentally often liked to let people know that he was more well read than they were — referred condescendingly to Washington's lack of formal education.

To get back to my story, Washington's lack of a college education didn't seem to bother William Smith. Smith was convinced that the very qualities that George Washington had come by naturally, the rest of us could achieve through hard work. Smith had already laid out a model college curriculum that is a significant document in American intellectual history. What was that curriculum? He wanted to expose Washington College students to literature that would model virtuous action, to poetry that would nurture virtuous feelings in their hearts and noble thoughts in their minds, to mathematics and natural science and ethics and history. In other words, he designed his own version of a small, residential liberal arts college. And for nearly two and a quarter centuries, despite repeated challenges, Washington College has remained remarkably true to Smith's vision.

We talk about the liberal arts here the way Muslims talk about the Qur'an, and yet recent research tells us that the average parent of a prospective college student, let alone the average citizen, has absolutely no idea what the liberal arts are. I dare say that very few even of those of us on this podium could name all of the classical liberal arts. So indulge me while I tell you a little about them and why we've been passionately committed to them for over two hundred years. Why, in other words, they remain the best way of preparing young people to lead productive, fulfilling lives.

There are seven classical liberal arts, divided into two groups. The quadrivium – astronomy, music, arithmetic, and geometry – and the trivium – grammar, logic, and rhetoric. Laid out this way, they don't sound very exciting, do they. But they are. Think of the quadrivium as the disciplines, the things you major in, all the areas of human knowledge with their own vocabularies, sets of facts, and methods of analysis. Music, for example, has a different vocabulary than astronomy; you need to learn about rhythm, tempo, dynamics, harmonic consonances and dissonances, and you analyze these in a different manner than you do the movement of the planets. Of course liberal arts colleges today don't limit themselves to the traditional disciplines; we've added biology and psychology and economics and all the other areas of study you'll find in the Washington College Catalog. When most people think of the content of a college curriculum, they're probably thinking of the courses offered by the various academic departments, the contemporary version of the quadrivium.

But the actual heart of a liberal arts college, what distinguishes it most clearly from a large research university, is the trivium. Think of the trivium as the habits of mind, the intellectual tools that enable a student to thrive in any discipline. Washington College, and liberal arts colleges like it, never forget the trivium when they're offering courses in the quadrivium. Remember that the trivium is grammar, logic, and rhetoric. Think of grammar as the art of combining words into elegant, meaningful sentences and paragraphs. Think of logic as the art of constructing a tight argument, based on careful analysis of hard evidence. Think of rhetoric as the art of persuasion, figuring out who needs to hear that argument and presenting it to her as compellingly as possible. We are committed to infusing grammar, logic, and rhetoric into everything we teach.

Doesn't everybody do this? Actually you'd be amazed, and a little depressed, over how often achievement in higher education is measured by how much “content” a course covers, and how students just add up courses until they reach the magic number required for graduation. This happens more often at large institutions than at small ones, but the clear trend over the past decades has been toward what I'll call an “internet” culture, in which students access a vast array of possibilities, choose one from here and one from there, and end up with an education that they believe meets their needs. Those institutions that are serious about grammar, logic, and rhetoric across the curriculum are definitely in the minority, and that minority is getting smaller. How can you know when you've found a “liberal arts” culture rather than an “internet” culture? You'll find a faculty concerned less with how much content a student has memorized and more with how that student thinks, writes, and argues. You'll find a faculty that spends time, a lot of time, with individual students. In my experience, the best test of whether the trivium is infused throughout the curriculum is how students are evaluated. If you require students to write serious papers and give exams that include significant essays, you can judge the quality of their thinking, writing, and arguing. If you give multiple choice tests and feed the test papers into a computer, students will quickly learn that you don't care about how they think, write, and argue.

Don't misunderstand me. The members of our faculty are extraordinarily well-credentialed in their fields of study, and they make their own contributions to those fields. But they have also made a choice to be at an institution which values not just learning but also the quality of learning. It isn't enough to have the correct answer; that answer has to be arrived at through the proper kind of analysis; it has to be expressed concisely and elegantly; and it has to be presented persuasively to people who can put it into action. So when I commend the Washington College faculty for their commitment to infusing the trivium into the quadrivium, I'm giving them the highest possible praise.

I know this is supposed to be a presidential inauguration, but I don't want you to forget that the faculty will always be the heart of this College. We administrators are here to give them the best possible support, remind them of their vocation as scholars and teachers, and then get out of their way.

What's my role, then? What should the president do? Well, first of all he needs to recognize, and build upon, the strengths of his predecessors. I'm not going to recognize all twenty-five of them, but I do want to single out President McLain for his commitment to science, President Cater for his tireless efforts to bring Washington College to the attention of donors and political leaders, President Trout for his sustained commitment, at some personal cost, to making this campus more diverse, and especially President Toll for his remarkable academic vision and his ability to heal financial wounds. I want to continue all these efforts. Presidents Trout and Toll are here on the podium, and I ask you to join me in showing your appreciation for their service.

Let me share some of my own goals. I want greater national visibility for this College, and I only wish I had William Smith's marketing instinct. I want to increase our endowment, especially the funds available for scholarships and faculty chairs. I want to preside over another successful capital campaign that adds more new facilities to this campus. I want to be sure we don't separate the liberal arts from the world of work. For all his commitment to the liberal arts, William Smith included agriculture and navigation in his model curriculum because he knew most of his graduates would make their livings on farms or on the water. I want to spend as much time as possible with our students, and that includes teaching a course, if I can persuade someone on the faculty to teach with me. I want to find even better ways to take advantage of our being a residential community in the unique setting that is Chestertown.

Our C. V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience has persuaded the U. S. State Department that Chestertown offers an unparalleled laboratory for the study of American democracy in action, and for the past two summers the State Department has provided funding for us to bring South Asian students here to enjoy it. We can find other ways to celebrate Chestertown. We can build on the work of the Center for the Environment and Society to celebrate the natural resources of this area, the farms and the Chester River. And we can more successfully integrate the work of the two centers into the curriculum so that they nurture and are nurtured by it. We can recapture a theme from President Cater – Washington College as the College That Writes – and build good writing explicitly into everything we do. Nothing combines grammar, logic, and rhetoric more powerfully than effective writing.

Most important, I commit myself to sustain the liberal arts tradition that began with William Smith and has persisted, often against great odds, through the twenty-four presidents who succeeded him.

A final word. Bryan Matthews, our Director of Athletics who is serving with distinction this year as Acting Vice President for Student Affairs, recently returned from a conference on the new generation of college students. “They're not like us,” he was told. “They don't read, even e-mail; they text message in a strange dialect of English. If they're not glued to the computer screen, their ear is stuck to a cell phone. They're visual, not verbal.” And we didn't even talk about body jewelry! The message of the conference was, “You're not going to change them, so you'd better adapt yourself to them.”

Well, I just disagree. Our challenge is not to become like our students; it's to give them the tools to become like us. I know that sounds arrogant. But if we can't stand behind our teaching and learning, if we lack the confidence to claim that we have something precious to offer to young people, we ought not to be here. We need to make every effort to understand our students and to recognize their strengths. Their visual literacy, their ability to make sense of rapidly changing images, their expertise in information technology are assets we should cherish. But if the dark side of the picture is difficulty focusing for a sustained period of time, an immature writing style, awkwardness in adult conversation, we can't just walk away. We need to help these marvelous young people feel at home in the world of elementary particles, biodiversity, The Wealth of Nations, and Igor Stravinsky.

We know that Washington College students are bright, energetic, multi-talented, and able. Their test scores are strong; their extra-curricular activities are impressive. They don't need to be coddled.

I've been a college president for nine years. My most satisfying experiences, bar none, have been at alumni events. Someone comes up to me after I've finished talking, and after introducing themselves, they ask about a faculty member, or a staff member, or a coach. The conversation goes something like this: “How is Professor So-and-so? It was she that helped me to see that I had abilities I never dreamed I had, who helped me to set my sights higher than I would ever have set them on my own, who comforted me when I was down and kicked me in the pants when I settled for second-best. I would not be doing what I am today, I would not be the person I am today, without her inspiration.”

When you hear something like that, it doesn't just make your day; it makes your month! My job is to keep those experiences coming, so that the 27th, and the 28th, and the 29th, and many more presidents to come can hear the same comments.

It is a tremendous honor to stand here before you this afternoon, beside William Smith Hall and in the shadow of George Washington. There is no denying the challenges that this College, and all small liberal arts colleges, face in the coming decades. Washington College is prepared for those challenges. The quality of our faculty and staff, the support of our alumni and friends, the talent and enthusiasm of our students, and our unsurpassed academic tradition give us the strength we need to prevail and to flourish. I pledge to you that I will do everything in my power to build on the successes of my predecessors and to lead this College to even greater academic heights. I thank you for your confidence.

Friday, October 15, 2004

Author Joel Achenbach Explores George Washington's Grand Idea For Westward Expansion, November 4

Chestertown, MD, October 15, 2004 — Washington College's Center for Environment and Society and C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience, in cooperation with The Nature Conservancy, present “The Grand Idea: George Washington's Potomac and the Race for the West,” a lecture by Joel Achenbach, Washington Post writer and columnist for National Geographic, Thursday, November 4, at 7:30 p.m. in the College's Hynson Lounge. The event is free and the public is invited to attend.

Recently released by Simon & Schuster, Achenbach's book, The Grand Idea: George Washington's Potomac and the Race to the West, examines an often ignored episode of Washington's post-Revolution career: his plan to make the Potomac River the major commercial thoroughfare of the new nation. As he describes Washington's 1784 trek to the West and his obsession with the Potomac project, Achenbach captures all the fears, uncertainties, class conflicts, and political passions of America in the late 18th Century. Washington hoped that a water route from the Potomac to the Ohio would cement the disparate regions and cultures of the fledgling United States. Rather than a historical footnote, the Potomac scheme, Achenbach asserts, was a major part of Washington's life, in some ways more revealing of his personality than his more famous public roles.

At the end of the War for Independence, Washington seemed to want nothing more than to become “a private citizen on the banks of the Potomac, & under the shadow of my own Vine & my own Fig-tree,” and yet a year later, in 1784, the 52-year-old former commander of the Continental Army set out on a 680-mile journey into what was popularly known as “the howling wilderness.” To be sure, Washington had a strong personal stake in the development of the Potomac, and over the course of many years had assembled an enormous backwoods empire that he had personally surveyed in 1770. But now, 14 years later, Washington also had a compelling vision of the new nation, and the Potomac was integral to it, Achenbach believes. The mountains that separated the long-settled East from the forests of the Ohio were not merely an impediment to trade, but, in Washington's view, they threatened national unity itself. In order to become a genuine nation that could fulfill its potential for greatness, America had to be knit together economically, politically, legally, and culturally, and Washington believed that the Potomac had been given by Providence as a natural passage to the continental interior, akin to the mythical Northwest Passage between Europe and the Orient. In an era of grand ideas, this was his grand idea.

Achenbach is a staff writer for The Washington Post, commentator for National Public Radio, and writes the monthly column “Who Knew?” for National Geographic. The author of five previous books, including Captured by Aliens, It Looks Like a President, Only Smaller (a humorous look at the 2000 presidential campaign), and Why Things Are, he lives in Washington, DC.

Alumni Invited To Join CNN's Peter Bergen For A Conversation About The War On Terror, Nov. 5 In Washington, DC

Chestertown, MD, October 15, 2004 — Washington College's Department of Political Science and International Studies Program are sponsoring the first in an annual series of talks to encourage professional and financial support of the College's international studies and political science majors. The inaugural event, a conversation with journalist and CNN terrorism analyst Peter Bergen, will be held Friday, November 5, at 6 p.m. at the Hay-Adams Hotel, 16th and H Streets NW, Washington, DC.

“We have incredible programs in political science and international studies and the outcomes to prove it,” said Tahir Shad, associate professor of political science and director of the College's International Studies Program. “Many of our graduates are working in the DC-area for government agencies such as the Department of State and DEA and as Presidential Management Interns. This event serves to reunite our faculty and our alumni, to give our most recent graduates and current seniors a chance to learn about the opportunities available to them, and to spread the news as to why our programs are worthy of their support.”

The evening will begin with a light cocktail buffet at 6 p.m. to be followed by an open conversation and discussion with CNN analyst Peter Bergen, author of Holy War, Inc.: Inside the Secret World of Osama bin Laden and the first and only journalist to ever conduct a face-to-face television interview with Osama bin Laden. Mr. Bergen is considered one of the world's foremost civilian authorities on al-Qaeda and has written for a variety of publications includingThe New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The New Republic, Vanity Fair, Foreign Affairs,The Washington Post, The Washington Times, and The Washington Monthly. He is presently a fellow at the New America Foundation in Washington, DC, and serves as an adjunct professor at the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University.

This topical and exciting evening is free and open to Washington College alumni and supporters, but space is limited. Please call Patsy Will in the Office of Development, Alumni and Parent Relations at 800-422-1782, ext. 7813, to reserve a place.

Monday, October 11, 2004

Lives Of Three Legendary Latin American Women Theme Of October 18th Musical Theatre Performance

Chestertown, MD, October 11, 2004 — Washington College's Department of Foreign Languages, Literatures and Cultures presents a performance of Tres Vidas (Three Lives), a chamber music theatre work conceived and performed in English and Spanish and depicting the lives of three legendary and diverse Latin American women: Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, Salvadoran peace activist Rufina Amaya, and Argentine poet Alfonsina Storni. The free performance is open to the public and will be held Monday, October 18, at 7:30 p.m. in the College's Tawes Theatre.

Chamber music theatre, melding such performance genres as dramatic narrative, song and dance, has become an important focus of the Core Ensemble repertoire as it seeks to broaden the definition of chamber music and engage more audiences through this musical form. Tres Vidas has become one of its most popular pieces. Joined by actress Georgina Corbo portraying the lives of Kahlo, Amaya, and Storni through song and performance, the Core Ensemble's accompanying music ranges from popular and folk songs from the Mexican, Salvadoran and Argentinean cultures, to transcriptions of works by Astor Piazzolla, to new music written especially for the Core Ensemble by composers Osvaldo Golijov, Orlando Garcia, Pablo Ortiz and Michael DeMurga.

Tres Vidas was written by Marjorie Agosin, one of the leading voices of Latin American feminism in the United States. Agosin is the author of twenty books of poetry, fiction, and literary criticism, and she has won several distinguished prizes including the Letras de Oro Prize for Poetry, the Latino Literature Prize, and the Morgan Institute Prize for Achievement in Human Rights. Scholastics Magazine chose Agosin as the 1998 Latino Mentor of the Year. She is currently a Professor of Spanish at Wellesley College and was recently named a Fellow of the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies at Harvard University.

For more information on upcoming concerts and events at Washington College, visithttp://calendar.washcoll.edu.

Layin' It Down Live: Hip-Hop Pioneers, The Roots, Play Washington College, November 6

Chestertown, MD, October 11, 2004 — Philadelphia's live hip-hop pioneers, The Roots, will perform Saturday, November 6, at 8 p.m. in Washington College's Lifetime Fitness Center. Doors open at 7 p.m.Tickets for students, faculty and staff, on sale through Friday, October 22, only, are $15 per person with a five ticket maximum, and may be purchased in the Student Affairs Office on the second floor of the Casey Academic Center between the hours of 12 noon and 4:30 p.m.

An underground sensation for the past decade, The Roots have recently broken through to worldwide acclaim for their live, instrumental rap, both in concert and in the studio, and critics consider The Roots' live shows among the best in the business. The Roots' focus on live hip-hop began in the late 1980s when rapper Black Thought (Tariq Trotter) and drummer ?uestlove (Ahmir Khalib Thompson) became friends at the Philadelphia High School for Creative Performing Arts. Since the duo had little money for the DJ essentials, they recreated hip-hop tracks instrumentally with ?uestlove's drum kit backing Black Thought's rhymes. Joined by bassist Hub (Leon Hubbard) and rapper Malik B., The Roots soon became a high-demand underground act in Philadelphia and New York. In 1993, they released their first CD to sell at shows.

Major-label status came with their second CD, Do You Want More?!!!??!, released in January 1995 and breaking stride with usual hip-hop protocol by forsaking the use of sampling. Peaking just outside the Top 100, the CD was ignored by most fans of hip-hop, but took off in alternative circles. In 1996, The Roots' second major-label CD, Illadelph Halflife, made it to 21 on the album charts. Undeniable commercial success finally arrived in 1999 with the release Things Fall Apart. Now, in 2004, The Roots have their own label, Okayplayer, and their seventh CD to date, Tipping Point, just released this summer.

Visit The Roots online at www.theroots.com.

For more information on upcoming concerts and events at Washington College, visit http://calendar.washcoll.edu. The concert is sponsored by Washington College's Student Events Committee.

Inauguration Of Baird Tipson As 26th President Of Washington College Set For October 22

Chestertown, MD, October 11, 2004 — Washington College's Board of Visitors and Governors announces the Inauguration of Baird Tipson as the 26th President of the College, to be held Friday, October 22, at 3 p.m. on the College Green. Delegates from more than 90 colleges and universities across the country will be on hand for the installation ceremonies. The public is invited to attend the Inauguration and a fireworks display on Kibler Field at 6:30 p.m. that will conclude the day's celebrations.

“Baird takes the reigns at an extraordinary time in our institution's history,” said Jay Griswold, Chairman of the College's Board of Visitors and Governors. “We've made great strides during the past decade—financially and academically—and we have every trust in Baird's resourcefulness and vision to bring a keener focus on the our strengths as a historic college of liberal arts and sciences and to enhance our position in today's competitive higher education market.”

Tipson, the former president of Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio, succeeds John S. Toll, who stepped down as president of the 222-year-old college last summer. During his eight years as president of Wittenberg, Tipson is credited with ushering in new academic programs and endowed chairs, integrating information technology into the college classroom, doubling the institution's endowment, enhancing campus facilities, and building strong community relations. Prior to assuming the presidency of Wittenberg in 1995, Tipson served as Provost (1987-1995) and Acting President (1988) of Gettsyburg College and Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Central Michigan University for nine years. Throughout his career in college administration, Tipson has remained active in teaching and academic research as a professor of religion focusing on Puritanism, Pietism and Early English Protestantism.

Tipson earned his Ph.D. in religious studies at Yale University and as an undergraduate majored in religion and history at Princeton University, graduating summa cum laude as a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

Tipson and his wife, Sarah, have two grown children.

“I am honored to be entrusted with the leadership of Washington College and look forward to working with the Board, faculty, staff, students, and alumni,” Tipson said. “Here there is a historical legacy of which to be proud, a unique location on the Chesapeake Bay unmatched by any other college, and a long and distinctive liberal arts tradition on which to build. I am both awed and energized by the responsibilities and the opportunities that Washington College is giving me through this position.”

Wednesday, October 6, 2004

Inaugural Celebration Series Features Art Exhibition, Lectures

Chestertown, MD, October 6, 2004 — In anticipation of the Inauguration of Baird Tipson as 26th President of Washington College, the College will host an Inaugural Celebration Series of events to commemorate the values and history of the nation's 10th oldest college. The public is invited to attend.

On Wednesday, October 20, the Washington College Department of Art opens the exhibition “Experienced Eyes: Recent Work by Department of Art Faculty and Alumni.” Featuring a variety of work and artistic media, the exhibition will be open daily to the public, 12 noon to 4 p.m., through November 9.

Also on October 20, the C. V. Starr Center for the American Experience will present “The Religion of the Founding Fathers,” a lecture by David Holmes, Ph.D., Professor of Religious Studies at The College of William and Mary, at 7:30 p.m. in the Hynson Lounge. Dr. Holmes has authored four books, including a history of the Episcopal Church and the recently published study, The Religion of the Founding Fathers. His talk will take a deeper look at the personal religious beliefs and public religious trends that influenced the Founding Fathers and the birth of our nation.

On Thursday, October 21, Dr. Holmes will connect the historic values of liberal education to the College's contemporary mission in the lecture “Five Truths about Washington College,” at 7:30 p.m. in the Hynson Lounge. Most American colleges exhibit certain abiding themes that define them or serve as models to emulate, observes Dr. Holmes. From the history of Washington College, he has identified five central themes that define the College and its historic mission to Maryland and to the nation. The talk will include a candid assessment of the state of contemporary undergraduate education.

“These lectures offer us a wider perspective on the origins and mission of a college whose legacy began with George Washington, the founder of our republic, and William Smith, the architect of American higher education,” Tipson said. “No doubt, Washington College has a long and inspiring tradition on which to build its future.”

Monday, October 4, 2004

Journalist Seymour Hersh Discusses American Foreign Policy In The Coming Election, October 13

Chestertown, MD, October 4, 2004 — Washington College's Goldstein Program in Public Affairs and C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience present Seymour Hersh, renowned investigative journalist and correspondent for The New Yorker, discussing “American Foreign Policy in the Coming Presidential Election,” Wednesday, October 13, at 7:30 p.m. in the College's Hynson Lounge. The event is free and open to the public.

Known for breaking the story of the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal earlier this year, Hersh first gained recognition for his investigative journalism in 1969 for exposing the My Lai massacre and its cover-up during the Vietnam War, for which he received the Pulitzer Prize. Hersh began his career as a police reporter for the City News Bureau in 1959 and later became a correspondent for United Press International. In 1963 he joined the Associated Press, and in 1972 was hired as a reporter for The New York Times' Washington Bureau.

The author of eight books, including the critically acclaimed The Price of Power: Kissinger in the Nixon White House and the recently released Chain of Command : The Road from 9/11 to Abu Ghraib (Harper Collins, 2004), Hersh currently reports for The New Yorker on military and security matters, doggedly pursuing the stories of the Iraq War—and of the steps and policies that led to the war—glossed over in press conferences and missed by America's mainstream media.

The talk is sponsored by Washington College's Goldstein Program in Public Affairs, established in honor of the late Louis L. Goldstein, 1935 alumnus and Maryland's longest serving elected official, in conjunction with the C. V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience. Drawing on the special historical strengths of Washington College, the C. V. Starr Center explores the early republic, the rise of democracy, and the manifold ways in which the founding era continues to shape American culture.

Friday, October 1, 2004

Lecture Explores "Paris, Hollywood, And France's Memories Of World War II"

Chestertown, MD, October 1, 2004 — The Goldstein Program of Public Affairs, Campus Events and Visitors, and the Department of Foreign Languages, Literatures and Cultures present “Paris, Hollywood, and France's Memories of World War II," a lecture by Philip Watts, Professor of French and Chair of the Department of French and Italian at the University of Pittsburgh. The lecture will be held on Thursday, Nov. 4 at 4:30 pm in the CAC Forum. The event is free and open to the public.

Sixty years have passed since D-Day and the liberation of Europe, but France's role during World War II remains as contentious as ever. As the nation was divided in two, split between an occupied and a non-occupied zone, the French population found itself caught in a struggle between Charles De Gaulle and the Resistance and Philippe Petain's government of collaboration. Since 1945, films about the war in France have grappled with these divisions and ambivalences, from the epic "Is Paris Burning?" whose all-star cast celebrated the struggle of the Resistance to the documentary "The Sorrow and the Pity" which revealed how ordinary Frenchmen collaborated with the Nazis.

Dr. Watts will present some of the more significant films about World War II in France, beginning with the immediate postwar years, examining differences between how French filmmakers and Hollywood directors represented the war, and ending with a look at how more recent films, such as Jean-Paul Rappeneau's "Bon Voyage," reveal a continuing equivocation about this moment in history.

A preeminent scholar in French studies, Dr. Watts received the prestigious Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Prize for French and Francophone Literary Studies in 2000 for his book Allegories of the Purge: How Literature Responded to the Postwar Trials of Writers and Intellectuals in France (Stanford University Press, 1998) and has published articles and reviews in "French Forum" "South Atlantic Quarterly" and "Esprit."

In conjunction with Dr. Watts' visit, there will be a free public screening of the film “Bon Voyage” by Jean-Paul Rappeneau (Cyrano de Bergerac, Le Hussard sur le toit) on Wednesday, Nov. 3 at 7 p.m. in the CAC Forum. The French Club will provide snacks. Contact Katherine Maynard at kmaynard2@washcoll.edu for more information.

Thursday, September 23, 2004

A Message From President Baird Tipson

In Memoriam: Townsend Hoopes

Chestertown, MD, September 23, 2004 — It is my sad duty to inform the Washington College community that Townsend Hoopes, Senior Fellow of Washington College, died on September 20, 2004 from complications of melanoma.

Tim had a long and extraordinarily distinguished career in public service and the private sector. He graduated from Yale University in 1944 where he was captain of the football team and a member of Skull and Bones. During World War Two he served as a marine officer in the Pacific and fought on Iwo Jima. Following the war, he served in a number of positions at the heart of the newly organized national security apparatus of the United States. He was assistant to the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee from 1947-1948, and assistant to three Secretaries of Defense from 1948-1953, James Forrestal, George Marshall and Robert Lovett.

Tim followed that service with eleven years in the private sector, but was never far from influence in the government, and played a major role in the preparation of the 1958 Rockefeller Report on defense policy and strategy. In 1964, he returned to government as deputy assistant secretary of defense for international affairs. In 1965 he became Principal Deputy for International Security Affairs at the Pentagon, and from 1967 to 1969 he was Undersecretary of the Air Force.

Following his distinguished career in government, Tim turned to the writing of books, and here too he found great distinction. His first book, The Limits of Intervention (1969), brilliantly probed the series of miscalculations at the highest levels that had led to the escalation in Vietnam. The Devil and John Foster Dulles (1973) received the Bancroft Prize for its richly evocative portrait of President Eisenhower's Secretary of State. Driven Patriot: The Life and Times of James Forrestal (1992), co-written with Douglas Brinkley, won the Theodore and Franklin D. Roosevelt Naval History Prize. Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Creation of the UN, also co-authored with Douglas Brinkley, appeared in 1997. In addition, Tim's novel, A Textured Web, appeared in 2002.

That same year, Tim and his wife Ann moved to Chestertown from Washington, and instantly embraced their new lives in the Washington College community. Tim found a particular home in the C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience, where visitors to the Custom House often found him chatting amiably with students and expressing his deeply informed opinions about U.S. foreign policy. Those opinions were given full expression in a series of lectures that Tim gave before the college, both in the Custom House and on the main campus. Tim also helped the Starr Center in countless other ways, from addressing the South Asian students of the American Studies Institute to organizing visits from other dignitaries, including last spring's talk by Ambassador Joseph Wilson. His clarity of vision, energy and devotion to Washington College and the C.V. Starr Center were a source of pride to all of us, and he will be greatly missed.

In Chestertown, Tim was active in a number of local causes, including the Church Hill Theatre and the Presbyterian Church. The memorial service will be held this Sunday, September 26, at 2 pm in the Presbyterian Church of Chestertown, 905 Gateway Drive, just off Route 213. Burial will be at Arlington National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions to the Church Hill Theatre (P.O. Box 91, Church Hill MD 21623) or Yale University (New Haven CT 06520).

- Baird Tipson

Tuesday, September 21, 2004

Expert Discusses Democratization And Electoral Observation In Latin America, Sept. 27

Chestertown, MD, September 21, 2004 — Washington College's Goldstein Program in Public Affairs presents “Witness to Change: Democratization and Electoral Observation in Latin America,” a lecture by Thomas W. Walker, Professor of Political Science and former Director of Latin American Studies at Ohio University, Monday, September 27, at 7 p.m. in the Hynson Lounge. The event is free and the public is invited to attend.

Professor Walker is one of the United States' leading authorities on Central American politics. His books include The Christian Democratic Movement in Nicaragua (1970); Nicaragua: The Land of Sandino (1991); Nicaragua in Revolution (1982); Nicaragua: The First Five Years (1985); Reagan Versus the Sandinistas: The Undeclared War on Nicaragua (1987); and, as co-author, Understanding Central America (1993), Revolution and Counterrevolution in Nicaragua (1991), and Nicaragua Without Illusions: Regime Transition and Structural Adjustment in the 1990s (1997).

In 1984, 1989, 1990 and 1996, Professor Walker served on international delegations that observed Nicaragua's national elections. In August 2004, he was a member of the Carter Center's electoral observation team on the presidential recall referendum in Venezuela.

Philosophy Lecture To Address Psychologism In Logic, Oct. 1

Chestertown, MD, September 21, 2004 — Washington College's Department of Philosophy and Religion and Philosophy Club will host a lecture by Dr. Sanford Shieh of Wesleyan University addressing “Psychologism in Logic,” Friday, October 1, at 4:00 p.m. in the Sophie Kerr Room, Miller Library. The event is free and open to the public.

Dr. Shieh is an assistant professor of philosophy at Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT, and holds a Ph.D. from Harvard University and bachelor's degrees from Cornell and Oxford. He is widely published in the field of logic and contemporary philosophy and is currently working on a book titled Modality and Logic in Early Analytic Philosophy. Dr. Shieh's research interests include the question of the compatibility of the notion of intuition and logicism in the epistemology of mathematics and the conceptual history of the notion of necessity in early analytic philosophy.

Tuesday, September 14, 2004

Student Organizations And Clubs Join Together With Community Groups For One-Day Event Promoting Extracurricular Activities

Chestertown, MD, September 14, 2004 — On Sunday, September 26, the Washington College Student Service Council along with the Washington College Student Government Association (SGA) will sponsor Fall Club Fair in Kent Circle from 12pm until 4pm. This event is free and open to the public. Live music from the Musicians' Union as well as interactive activities and games sponsored by each club will be provided. Participants will have the opportunity to meet representatives from over 30 Washington College Clubs and Organizations. Community organizations will also emphasize the importance of volunteering for a variety of different causes in Chestertown such as mentoring, working with the Chester River Association, and volunteering at the Community Food Pantry.

Club Fair is a great way for new students, as well as returning students, to learn about what clubs and organizations Washington College has to offer. Extracurricular activities have become an extension and application of the liberal arts philosophy. Therefore, Club Fair showcases what students are doing on campus and gives new students the opportunity to join in these endeavors. Organizations that are participating include academic clubs, language and culture organizations, art and music groups, service organizations, support groups, advocacy groups, honor societies, and athletic organizations. With these rich and eclectic perspectives, we hope that all students will benefit from this fun-filled day.

For more information, please e-mail Christianne Datu or Adrienne Nash.