Starr Center Donates 50+ New Washington-Era History Books to Miller Library

Chestertown, MD, December 21, 2006 — It was a veritable book bonanza on a recent wintry afternoon at Clifton M. Miller Library, as Washington College's C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience made its yearly donation-delivery of a mountain of new volumes on early America.

The books are all entrants in the annual George Washington Prize, now in its third year. One of the nation's largest literary awards, the George Washington Prize honors outstanding books that contribute to a greater public understanding of the life and career of George Washington and/or America's founding era. Conceived and administered at the Starr Center (in partnership with the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History and George Washington's Mount Vernon), the $50,000 annual prize is awarded by a panel of nationally distinguished historians.

One of the prerequisites for entering the George Washington Prize competition is that the publisher must supply one extra copy of the book for donation to Miller Library. The result? Virtually every major book regarding the founding period published each year is now ending up in the Miller Library collection. And such will be the case, year by year, from here on in, thanks to the George Washington Prize. It amounts to a true book-acquisition coup for WC's library. "One of the things that excites me most about the program," remarked Adam Goodheart, Hodson Trust-Griswold Director of the Starr Center, "is that it serves as a conduit for all of these volumes straight into Miller Library."

The number of George Washington Prize entrants continues to grow. "This year we got in more titles than ever before," said Goodheart.

The donation to the library amounts to some 52 books, with a total retail value of approximately $1,800.

"It certainly strengthens our collection on George Washington, the Founders, and the whole founding era," said an appreciative Dr. Ruth Shoge, Director of Miller Library. "I'm impressed with the wide variety of subjects on the era ... the financial aspects, slavery, gender ... I think the scholarship is really opening up on that period, beyond the Founders to other issues we still grapple with."

Goodheart likewise noted the great diversification that is the concomitant result of the current proliferation of Colonial/Revolutionary historiography. In addition to a healthy number of new titles about Washington and other household-name heroes of early America, "We're now seeing a flood of books on lesser known aspects ... advancing our knowledge of the period in many ways."

Meanwhile, the prestigious George Washington Prize judging panel is perusing industriously, narrowing down the field. (And as the number of books vying for the prize continues to grow, so too does the amount of reading for the judges.) The ultimate winner will be announced in May.

The exhaustive roundup of entrants from literally dozens of publishing houses was handled by the hardworking duo of Interim Book Prize Coordinator Charles Hohman '05 and Starr Center Program Manager Kees deMooy '01.

Books Donated

• Moral Minority: Our Skeptical Founding Fathers by Brooke Allen (Ivan R. Dee)
• A Perfect Union: Dolley Madison and the Creation of the American Nation by Catherine Allgor (Henry Holt)
• The Declaration of Independence: A Global History by David Armitage (Harvard University Press)
• A Nation Among Nations: America's Place in World History by Thomas Bender (Hill and Wang)
• Rape & Sexual Power in Early America by Sharon Block (University of North Carolina Press)
• George Mason, Forgotten Founder by Jeff Broadwater (University of North Carolina Press)
• What Would The Founders Do?: Our Questions, Their Answers by Richard Brookhiser (Basic Books)
• Infamous Scribblers: The Founding Fathers and the Rowdy Beginnings of American Journalism by Eric Burns (PublicAffairs)
• The Scratch of a Pen: 1763 and the Transformation of North America by Colin G. Calloway (Oxford University Press)
• Founding Fighters: The Battlefield Leaders That Made American Independence by Alan C. Cate (Praeger Security International)
• The General and Mrs. Washington by Bruce Chadwick (Sourcebooks)
• Thomas Jefferson: Reputation and Legacy by Francis D. Cogliano (University of Virginia Press)
• Frederick Douglass and the Fourth of July by James A. Colaiaco (Palgrave Macmillan)
• A Well Regulated Militia: The Founding Fathers and the Origins of Gun Control in America by Saul Cornell (Oxford University Press)
• A Most Amazing Scene of Wonders: Electricity and Enlightenment in Early Americaby James Delbourgo (Harvard University Press)
• The Many Faces of Alexander Hamilton: The Life and Legacy of America's Most Elusive Founding Father by Douglas Ambrose and Robert W. T. Martin, eds. (New York University Press)
• In the Name of the Father: Washington's Legacy, Slavery, and the Making of a Nationby François Furstenberg (Penguin Group USA)
• Emancipating New York: The Politics of Slavery and Freedom 1777-1827 by David N. Gellman (Louisiana State University Press)
• Interpreting the Founding: Guide to the Enduring Debates Over the Origins and Foundations of the American Republic by Alan Gibson (University of Kansas Press)
• Forgotten Allies: The Oneida Indians and the American Revolution by Joseph T. Glatthaar & James Kirby Martin (Hill and Wang)
• "I Tremble For My Country": Thomas Jefferson and the Virginia Gentry by Ronald L. Hatzenbuehler (University Press of Florida)
• Realistic Visionary: A Portrait of George Washington by Peter R. Henriques (University of Virginia Press)
• The Whiskey Rebellion: George Washington, Alexander Hamilton and the Frontier Rebels Who Challenged America's Newfound Sovereignty by William Hogeland (Simon and Schuster)
• The Faiths of the Founding Fathers by David L. Holmes (Oxford University Press)
• Dr. Kimball and Mr. Jefferson: Rediscovering the Founding Fathers of American Architecture by Hugh Howard (Bloomsbury USA)
• John Paul Jones: America's First Sea Warrior by Joseph F. Callo (Naval Institute Press)
• M'Cullough v. Maryland: Securing a Nation by Mark R. Killenbeck (University of Kansas Press)
• Jefferson and the Press: Crucible of Liberty by Jerry W. Knudson (University of South Carolina Press)
• James Madison and the Struggle for the Bill of Rights by Richard Labunski (Oxford University Press)
• Experiencing Mount Vernon: Eyewitness Accounts, 1784-1865 by Jean B. Lee, ed. (University of Virginia Press)
• Sex Among the Rabble: An Intimate History of Gender & Power in the Age of Revolution, Philadelphia, 1730-1830 by Clare A. Lyons (University of North Carolina Press)
• American Gospel: God, the Founding Fathers and the Making of a Nation by Jon Meacham (Random House)
• Native America, Discovered and Conquered: Thomas Jefferson, Lewis & Clark and Manifest Destiny by Robert J. Miller (Praeger Publishers)
• Not Your Usual Founding Father: Selected Readings from Benjamin Franklin by Edmund S. Morgan, ed. (Yale University Press)
• The Forgotten Fifth: African Americans in the Age of Revolution by Gary B. Nash (Harvard University Press)
• Patriot Sons, Patriot Brothers by Hugh O. Nash, Jr. (Westview Publishing)
• Thomas Paine: Enlightenment, Revolution and the Birth of Modern Nations by Craig Nelson (Viking Adult Books)
• Washington's God: Religion, Liberty and the Father of Our Country by Michael & Jana Novak (Basic Books)
• George Washington and Benedict Arnold: A Tale of Two Patriots by Dave R. Palmer (Regnery Publishing)
• Samuel Adams: Father of the American Revolution by Mark Puls (Palgrave Macmillan)
• Epic Journeys of Freedom: Runaway Slaves of the American Revolution and their Global Quest for Liberty by Cassandra Pybus (Beacon Press)
• Sons of Providence: The Brown Brothers, The Slave Trade and the American Revolution by Charles Rappeleye (Simon and Schuster)
• Washington's Spies: The Story of America's First Spy Ring by Alexander Rose (Bantam Dell)
• Republicanism, Religion and the Soul of America by Ellis Sandoz (University of Missouri Press)
• Rough Crossings: Britain, The Slaves and the American Revolution by Simon Schama (Ecco Publishing)
• The Divided Ground: Indians, Settlers and the Northern Borderland of the American Revolution by Alan Taylor (Knopf)
• Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U.S. Navy by Ian W. Toll (Norton)
• The Unexpected George Washington: His Private Life by Harlow Giles Unger (Wiley)
• George Washington's Enforcers: Policing the Continental Army by Harry M. Ward (Southern Illinois University Press)
• Re-creating the American Past: Essays on the Colonial Revival by Richard Guy Wilson, Shaun Eyring and Kenny Marotta, eds. (University of Virginia Press)
• Race and Liberty in the New Nation: Emancipation in Virginia from the Revolution to Nat Turner's Rebellion by Eva Sheppard Wolf (Louisiana State University Press)
• Revolutionary Characters: What Made the Founders Different by Gordon S. Wood (Penguin Group USA)
• Financial Founding Fathers: The Men Who Made America Rich by Robert E. Wright & David J. Cowen (University of Chicago Press)
• Liberty Tree: Ordinary People and the American Revolution by Alfred F. Young (New York University Press)

Washington College Announces Spring 2007 Graduate Courses in English, History, and Psychology

Chestertown, MD, December 15, 2006 — Students, educators and mental healthcare professionals are invited to register for Spring 2007 graduate courses at Washington College. The College offers Master's Degree programs in English, History and Psychology, as well as graduate courses in Education, which can help to meet requirements for advanced professional certifications. The Spring 2007 graduate term begins the week of January 29 and ends the week of April 30. Final Exams are scheduled for May 7-10.

The following graduate courses will be offered during the Spring 2007 semester:

• ENG 599-10 Special Topic: Culture of the Old/Cultures of the Young
  Tuesday, 7:00-9:30 p.m.
• ENG 599-11 Special Topic: The Prose of Paris
  Monday, 7:00-9:30 p.m.
• HIS 598-10 Special Topic: Prosperity, Depression and World War II: 1919-1945
  Wednesday, 7:00-9:30 p.m.
• HIS 599-10 Special Topic: The Classical Historians of Ancient Greece
  Monday, 7:00-9:30 p.m.
• HIS 599-11 Special Topic: Man on Horseback: A History of Modern Authoritarian Regimes
  Tuesday, 7:00-9:30 p.m.
• PSY 508-10 Research Methods & Advanced Statistics
  Wednesday, 7:00-9:30 p.m.
• PSY 511-10 The Exceptional Child
  Tuesday, 6:00-8:30 p.m.
• PSY 570-10 Introduction to Counseling
  Monday, 6:00-8:30 p.m.
• PSY 598-10 Special Topic: Positive Psychology
  Thursday, 7:00-9:30 p.m.

All graduate classes are held on Washington College's Chestertown campus unless otherwise noted. Students are urged to register prior to January 5, 2007, to guarantee texts.

Graduate tuition is $850 per course, plus a non-refundable course registration fee of $70. A late payment fee of $150 will be added to any account with an outstanding balance beyond the second 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.

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

The College's graduate education course schedule and registration materials are available online at www.thertc.net 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.

Mills Named New Media Relations Director For Washington College

Chestertown, MD, December 14, 2006 — Maryland-based author/editor Eric Mills has been appointed Director of Media Relations for Washington College.

Mills comes to the College after serving on the editorial staff of the United States Naval Institute, where he held the position of Acquisitions Editor for the Naval Institute Press.

"Eric's love of history combined with his media savvy made him an ideal fit for us," said Meredith Davies Hadaway, Washington College's Vice President for College Relations and Marketing. "As we're gearing up to celebrate the College's 225th anniversary in 2007, it's fortuitous to have him coming aboard."

Mills brings a multi-media background to his new role. On the print-media front, he is the author of Chesapeake Bay in the Civil War (Tidewater Publishers, 1996), Chesapeake Rumrunners of the Roaring Twenties(Tidewater, 2000), and, forthcoming from the Naval Institute Press, The Spectral Tide: Great True Ghost Stories of the U.S. Navy. His byline has appeared in Naval History, Proceedings, Chesapeake Bay Magazine, Baltimore Magazine, and numerous other publications.

On the broadcast-media front, Mills wrote the screenplay for "The Bay at War," a short documentary film, narrated by Roger Mudd, produced as a tie-in with the exhibit currently on view at Virginia's Steamboat Era Museum. Mills also served as chief consultant to the exhibit, which was largely inspired by his Civil War book.

On the cyberspace-media front, Mills was Internet correspondent for the Naval Institute's nationwide conference series, providing on-site coverage for the Institute's Web site with constant Web-updates from New York City, Washington, D.C., and other locations around the country.

Mills was educated at St. Paul's School in Brooklandville, Md., and earned a B.A. in English from Towson State University. Prior to his years of involvement in book publishing, he worked as a features reporter and editor for the Easton Star-Democrat and other newspapers within Chesapeake Publishing's Mid-Shore division. He was twice the recipient of the Suburban Newspapers of America (SNA) Award, once for Best Entertainment Section and once for Best Layout and Design. He later worked as an exhibits researcher/developer for the Historical Society of Talbot County, and as Editor of Publications and Publicity Director for the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum.

"I have worked on both the sending and receiving ends of the media-relations process," Mills said, "and I'm glad to be able to bring that sort of dual insight to the position. Washington College is steeped in history, and I am thrilled at the prospect of helping get the word out, on all media fronts, about this wonderful school. It's one of the oldest colleges in America and one of the region's brightest gems."

New Hampshire Writer Appointed Associate Director Of O'Neill Literary House

Chestertown, MD, December 11, 2006 — Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland, is pleased to announce that Priscilla Hodgkins, a writer and the former Associate Director of the Bennington Writing Seminars at Bennington College, has been appointed Associate Director of the Rose O'Neill Literary House at Washington College. Hodgkins succeeds Katherine Wagner, who has served as Associate Director of the Rose O'Neill Literary House since its founding in 1985. A poet and assistant professor, Wagner will continue to teach her popular classes in the English Department.

Hodgkins' appointment marks a milestone for the Rose O'Neill Literary House—an anchor of the venerable literary tradition at Washington College—where she will hold the first full-time administrative position.

"Priscilla is the perfect person for a great opportunity ahead," said Joshua Wolf Shenk, the Director of the Rose O'Neill Literary House. "For two decades, the house has been run, nobly, and indefatigably, by scholars who have been given a break on their teaching for part-time administrative duties. But champions of the Lit House—including Kathy Wagner, and directors emeritus Robert Day and Robert Mooney—have for years seen the need for a full-time Associate Director. I'm grateful for the boost in resources in this time of transition—and to have such a qualified and creative associate."

Shenk also noted the momentousness of Professor Wagner's departure from day-to-day life at the Rose O'Neill Literary House. "It's a sad moment for the Lit House," he said, "Kathy has been here from the very beginning, and knows this place down to the bones. I'm grateful to her for her great work—and for showing me the ropes."

Shenk was appointed the third full-time Director of the Rose O'Neill Literary House on July 1, 2006. An acclaimed essayist, for magazines like Harper's and The Atlantic Monthly, he is the author of the New York Times notable book Lincoln's Melancholy, published in 2005 by Houghton Mifflin.

Hodgkins, a native of New Castle, New Hampshire, received her bachelor's at the University of New Hampshire and her M.F.A at Bennington Writing Seminars, a program she helped build from scratch starting in 1993. In 1996, she became Associate Director of the program. Now considered among the top graduate writing programs in the country, the M.F.A. program is notable for its emphasis on rigorous reading as the foundation for writing. Over four semesters, students are required to read about a book a week and write critical papers in addition to their original creative work. "Our adage," Hodgkins says, "has been 'Read a hundred books. Write one.'"

With a background that includes systems analysis, media production, and hospital administration, Hodgkins says she is eager for a new challenge. "I'm glad to be part of something so special as the Rose O'Neill Literary House," Hodgkins says. "I fell in love with the place when I visited, and with the idea of a center for the literary arts."

She continued, "I began to read literature rather late in life. I found a profound truth in a well known saying, 'We read to know we are not alone.' A few years later, I began to write short stories and found that we also write to know we are not alone. The Rose O'Neill Literary House provides a place for the literary community to share work and to collaborate on events and projects. It's a splendid opportunity."

Hodgkins, who grew up in a small town near the Piscataqua River, says she is also glad to be living near the Chester River—and in a town that reminds her of home.

Hodgkins has published short stories, book reviews, and essays. Her fiction and nonfiction have appeared in Agni, Creative Nonfiction, The Milwaukee Sentinel, and Confrontation. Her essay "Einstein Didn't Dream of My Mother" was recognized in Best American Essays, and her story "Bread and War" was nominated for a Pushcart Prize.

Washington College is a private, independent liberal arts and sciences college located in historic Chestertown on Maryland's Eastern Shore. Founded in 1782 under the patronage of George Washington, it is the first college chartered in the new nation.

Hodson Trust Awards $4.5 Million to Washington College for Scholarships, American History Center

Chestertown, MD, November 30, 2006 — Washington College has been awarded $4.5 million in grants from The Hodson Trust to augment merit scholarship funds and to support the College's C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience, officials of the College have announced.

"We know the importance of understanding our history to build our future," Washington College President Baird Tipson said. "The Hodson Trust support will enable us to keep those lessons alive on our campus and in our nation as we educate tomorrow's leaders."

In its current grant to Washington College, The Trust has designated $1 million to augment the Hodson Trust Merit Scholarship Endowment, which provides four-year awards to full-time students who have demonstrated outstanding academic achievement, character, and citizenship. An additional $3.5 million will endow the Hodson Trust-Griswold Directorship and programming for the C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience, which opened in 2000. Drawing on the special historical strengths of Washington College and Chestertown, the C.V. Starr Center is dedicated to scholarship and programming that explore the nation's founding era, the early republic, the rise of democracy, and the manifold ways in which the founding era continues to shape American culture.

"The Hodson Trust's generosity will make possible a host of new initiatives to benefit the students and faculty of Washington College, and to advance the Center's programs to a new level of excellence," said Adam Goodheart, the Hodson Trust-Griswold Director of the C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience. "It is exceptionally fitting that this gift also honors Jay Griswold, who has been a valued friend, benefactor, and counselor to the Starr Center since its inception. He can truly be called one of our chief 'Founding Fathers,' and I am honored that the directorship now bears his name and that of the Hodson Trust."

Jack S. "Jay" Griswold is Director and Senior Advisor of Brown Investment Advisory Trust Company, a money management firm. A 1964 graduate of Princeton who earned an MBA from The Wharton School of Finance in 1969, Mr. Griswold is a Director of Alex. Brown Realty and of Chevy Chase Bank, a trustee of Living Classrooms and the Maryland Historical Society and the Chairman of Washington College's Board of Visitors and Governors.

Adam Goodheart, who assumes the title of Hodson-Trust Griswold Director, was appointed director of the C.V. Starr Center in July 2006. A prolific essayist, critic, and historian, he publishes frequent articles in the New York Times, National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, and other publications. A graduate of Harvard University, he was a founding editor of Civilization Magazine and a member of the editorial board of The American Scholar.

One of the Starr Center's new initiatives made possible by the Hodson gift will be a program of faculty enhancement grants for research in American history, culture, politics, and related areas. "The Center's support of research conducted by Washington College faculty is important to its mission of strengthening the intellectual climate of the College and building bridges between the campus and the external community," said Christopher Ames, Provost and Dean of the Faculty. "These funds will supplement existing funds for faculty research and move us closer toward the goal in our strategic plan of doubling the funds available for faculty enhancement and travel." Goodheart added that the Starr Center is also working with faculty and admissions staff to create a special merit-scholarship program for outstanding students of American history and related fields.

The Hodson Trust was established by the family of Colonel Clarence Hodson to support excellence in education. Since 1920, The Hodson Trust has given more than $184 million to fund academic merit scholarships as well as research grants, technology improvements, facilities, library expansion, athletic programs, faculty salaries, and endowment funds at Johns Hopkins University, Hood, St. John's and Washington Colleges.

In addition to its latest Washington College gift, the Trust this week also awarded $4.5 million each to St. John's, Hood, and Johns Hopkins. Hodson Trust Chairman Finn M. W. Caspersen pointed out that these grants are the largest in the Trust's 86-year history. "The impact of the Hodson Trust's support is exponential—reflected not only in the accomplishments of the generations of students the Trust has supported, but also in the ever growing contributions of these students to society."

Colonel Clarence Hodson, who grew up in Maryland, believed that credit should be available to the average American, a revolutionary idea in 1914 when he founded the Beneficial Loan Society. Beneficial, which became one of the nation's most successful corporations, was headed by Caspersen from 1976 to 1998 and is now part of HSBC. During Caspersen's tenure, the market capitalization of Beneficial Corporation grew from $480 million to $8.8 billion, an 18-fold increase.

For information about The Hodson Trust, visit www.hodsontrust.org. Washington College is a private, independent college of liberal arts and sciences located in historic Chestertown on Maryland's Eastern Shore. Founded in 1782 under the patronage of George Washington, it was the first college chartered in the new nation.