Learn to Research Your Family Tree

Chestertown, MD, June 26, 2001 — Have you ever wanted to research your family tree but didn't know where to begin? The Friends of the Miller Library want to help. On Tuesday, July 17, 2001, at 9:30 a.m., Washington College will host "Genealogical Resources: How to Begin, What to Use, and Where to Go," a talk by Judith Hymes, who will teach the fundamentals of doing your own genealogical research.

Judith Hymes is the Technical Services Librarian at Washington College and Vice-President of the Upper Shore Genealogical Society of Maryland. She has over 30 years experience in academic libraries and in family genealogy with degrees and a certificate of advanced study from Mansfield State University, Drexel University and University of Pittsburgh. Hymes is a member of National Genealogical Society, the New England Historic Genealogical Society, the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania, and other county, regional and family societies and associations.

This free program will be held in the Miller Library and is open to the public, but only a limited number of spaces are available. Please RSVP by July 13, 2001 to Nancy Nunn, Associate Director of Development for Annual Giving, at 410-810-7139. Individuals attending will be invited to stay and use the genealogical resources of the Miller Library after the presentation.

Dr. Wayne Bell to Co-Chair International Conference on Enclosed Coastal Seas

Chestertown, MD, June 5, 2001 — Dr. Wayne H. Bell, director of Washington College'sCenter for Environment and Society, will participate as program planning co-chair for EMECS 2001, the Fifth International Conference on the Environmental Management of Enclosed Coastal Seas, to be held November 19-23, 2001 in Kobe, Japan. The conference is organized by the International EMECS Center in Kobe, established to promote the preservation of Japan's Seto Inland Sea and the world's enclosed coastal seas through international cooperation and information exchange.

The EMECS concept developed in the mid-1980s when environmentalists, researchers and policymakers involved with the Chesapeake Bay realized the Bay restoration program was being implemented with little knowledge of the information, methods and results gained by other estuarine and enclosed coastal sea programs. Concurrently, Governor Toshitami Kaihara of Japan's Hyogo Prefecture had similar concerns while concluding a successful agreement among 17 Japanese jurisdictions for the environmental restoration of the nation's Seto Inland Sea. Kaihara sought to maintain the health of his region's principal coastal sea while networking with other researchers, educators and policy makers involved in the management of enclosed coastal sea environments.

"EMECS grew out of a common desire to learn from the experience of others and share what we learned for the benefit of environmental restoration programs throughout the world," said Bell.

Led by the late Dr. Ian Morris, former director of the University of Maryland's Center for Environmental and Estuarine Studies (now the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science), an international group was assembled to examine the strengths and weaknesses of similar estuarine and coastal sea projects. Dr. Morris and Governor Kaihara met for the first time in 1987, and from their initial conversations, the EMECS concept was born and ultimately institutionalized by the creation of the International EMECS Center founded by Governor Kaihara in Kobe. EMECS now supports a worldwide network concerned with preserving the health and environmental quality of the planet's enclosed coastal seas.

Bell hopes to make undergraduate education in the environmental sciences an important part of the conference's discussions.

"We have discovered that studying the environment is a great way to teach science to undergraduates," said Bell. "In order to prepare a new generation to tackle the nation's and the world's environmental problems, we have to emphasize education, not only for the public, but for undergraduates interested in becoming environmental scientists, educators and leaders."

College Names Academic Resources Center in Honor of Jessie Ball duPont

Chestertown, MD, May 31, 2001 — Washington College has named the Academic Resource Center in Goldstein Hall in honor of the late Jessie Ball duPont. Consisting of the math center, the writing center and the study skills office, the Jessie Ball duPont Academic Resources Center recognizes Mrs. duPont's philanthropic spirit and support of the College through the generosity of the Jessie Ball duPont Fund.

The Jessie Ball duPont Fund makes grants to 323 eligible institutions identified by Mrs. duPont in her will. The Fund has assets of $320 million and has awarded $188 million in grants since 1977.

Since 1983, the Jessie Ball duPont Fund has awarded 18 grants totaling $1.8 million to Washington College for a wide variety of purposes. Among the key initiatives supported by the Fund are the environmental studies program and the new Center for the Environment and Society, internships with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, scholarships for non-traditional students, the development of a behavioral neuroscience concentration, and a joint program with Western Maryland and Goucher colleges to bring visiting African-American scholars to campus. Other grants from the Fund have included support for student/faculty collaborative research in the sciences and planning for the Campaign for Washington's College. The plaque recognizing Mrs. duPont will be on display in Goldstein Hall.

"In so many instances, the Jessie Ball duPont Fund has been a pioneering partner as we have developed new programs at Washington College," said Dr. John S. Toll, president of the College. "Mrs. duPont's vision, as carried out by the trustees of the Jessie Ball duPont Fund, has enabled the College to move in bold new directions to enrich our academic program. We are honored that the Fund President Sherry Magill agreed that the College should recognize Mrs. duPont's great contributions with the naming of the Academic Resources Center in Goldstein Hall."

Jessie Dew Ball was born in 1884 into a genteel Virginia family impoverished by the Civil War. Educated in a one-room country school and later at what is now Longwood College in Farmville, Virginia, she helped her father in his law practice. She later taught school in her home county until 1908, when she moved with her parents to San Diego, California. There she became assistant principal in the largest elementary school in the city and contributed to the support of her elderly mother and father.

In 1920, she reestablished an earlier friendship with Alfred I. duPont, whom she had met as a teenager when he came to Virginia on hunting expeditions at the turn of the century. They were married in 1921. Mrs. duPont was not only a devoted wife but also a constant companion and close advisor to her husband in both his business and charitable activities. When he died in 1935, she assumed control of his vast business enterprises in Florida and became the principal trustee of his estate. In his memory she created three foundations: one to build a children's hospital in Delaware; a second to assist needy persons in Florida, Delaware, and Virginia; and a third to recognize outstanding contributions in the field of broadcast journalism.

From the time of her marriage, Mrs. duPont focused her life on charitable and philanthropic work. For four decades she funded hundreds of scholarships for college students, mostly in the southeastern states. Her gifts to colleges and universities augmented faculty salaries and built libraries. Hundreds of churches of all denominations, major charities, children's homes, historic buildings, and art museums benefited from her gifts.

When she died in 1970, her will established the Jessie Ball duPont Religious, Charitable and Educational Fund to continue her philanthropic work. The principles and interests that she pursued during her life still guide the Fund today.

The Jessie Ball duPont Academic Resources Center is housed in Goldstein Hall, the College's newest academic building, named in honor of the late Louis L. Goldstein, Maryland's legendary comptroller and the nation's longest serving elected official. Goldstein Hall was built to meet the needs of the College's growing student population and houses three classrooms, five seminar rooms, two teaching laboratories, a 75-seat lecture hall, and 24 faculty offices, in addition to the Jessie Ball duPont Academic Resources Center

Lammot duPont Copeland Professorship, Goldstein Hall Push College Campaign Beyond $66 Million

Chestertown, MD, May 16, 2001 — Washington College has received a bequest from Pamela Cunningham Copeland, coupled with a gift from her daughter, Louisa Copeland Duemling, to provide $500,000 for the establishment of the Lammot duPont Copeland Professorship at theCenter for the Environment and Society, pushing the Campaign for Washington's Collegebeyond $66 million. The gift was matched by The Hodson Trust Challenge that doubles all endowments of $100,000 or more. Dr. Wayne Bell, director of the new Center, will be named the first Lammot duPont Copeland Professor at the College.

Private support for Louis L. Goldstein Hall topped $2 million in April 2001, completing a public/private partnership that included $2 million in matching funds from the State of Maryland. Maryland Governor Parris Glendening delivered the keynote address before a dinner of donors of $1,000 or more to the project on April 20, 2001 at the College. Recent major gifts pushing fundraising for Goldstein Hall past the $2 million mark included $125,000 from Washington College parents, $150,000 from the Booth Ferris Foundation, and $500,000, allocated from an earlier $1 million grant from the Grayce B. Kerr Fund.

"We owe a special thanks for these tremendous gifts to the College," said Jack Griswold, chair of the Campaign for Washington's College. "In addition, the Campaign acknowledges the annual gifts from alumni, parents, and friends which have increased by $500,000. To date this fiscal year, more than $1.4 million has come from these sources in support of the Washington College Fund, and we are grateful to all who are participating."

University Names Building in Honor of Dr. John Toll

Chestertown, MD, May 10, 2001 — In a practice hearkening to grand, old university traditions, the University of Maryland, College Park renamed its physics building in honor of Washington College President John Toll during a ceremony held Thursday, May 3, 2001. The renaming acknowledges Dr. Toll's important contributions as the former physics department chair at Maryland and former president and chancellor of the University of Maryland System (now the University System of Maryland).

"In baseball, Yankee Stadium is rightly known as 'The house that Ruth built'. In the same way, our department should be known as the 'The department that Toll built'," said physics department chair Jordan A. Goodman during the naming ceremony. "Professor Toll is, in large part, responsible for building this department, which is now one of the largest and best-known physics departments in the world."

After earning a B.S. degree with highest honors in physics from Yale in 1944, Toll served in the Navy during WWII. In 1952 he completed his Ph.D. in physics at Princeton, where he helped establish what is now the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. In 1953 he became chair of Maryland's physics department, which was broadened to create the astronomy program. Thirteen years later he left to take over the presidency of the State University of New York at Stony Brook. In 1978 he returned, first as President and later as Chancellor of the expanded University of Maryland system.

Toll was a Guggenheim Fellow, has held leadership roles in dozens of organizations, and has received national and international honors and honorary degrees. He pioneered the establishment of relations between the State of Maryland and China as one of the first university presidents to visit China in the 1970's.

In physics he is recognized as a leader in developing the modern approach to dispersion theory and its application to problems on elementary particle physics. Upon Toll's leaving the Chancellor's Office in 1989 and returning to the Department of Physics, the Board of Regents conferred upon him the status of Chancellor Emeritus. He currently serves as President of Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland, and as a part-time physics faculty member in the University of Maryland's College of Computer, Mathematical and Physical Sciences.

Toll was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science for his "distinguished achievements in advancing quantum field theory and for unparalleled leadership in strengthening academia and science education in the U.S." Since 1874, the Council has elected members whose "efforts on behalf of the advancement of science or its applications are scientifically or socially distinguished." Members will be recognized during the Association's Annual Meeting in February.

Last year Toll also was chosen as the distinguished Marylander for the Year 2000 by the University of Maryland chapter of the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi. The award is given each year to a "distinguished Marylander who has made significant contributions to the University of Maryland."

"This honor is unexpected and humbling," said Toll. "I am proud to be part of the history and great traditions of the University of Maryland."

Sophomore Catharine Clarke Wins Prestigious St. Andrew's Scholarship

Chestertown, MD, May 10, 2001 — Washington College sophomore Catharine Clarke '03 has been awarded a prestigious St. Andrew's Society Scholarship to study in Scotland next year. The St. Andrew's Society Scholarships support the study of Scottish culture, arts, history and heritage. Clarke will study at the University of St. Andrew's in St. Andrews, Scotland.

A Chestertown native, Clarke is a music major with an art minor. The St. Andrew's Society of Philadelphia invites students from only eighteen colleges in the region to apply for the scholarships, with schools such as Swarthmore College, Haverford College, and Pennsylvania State University participating. The selection committee selected Clarke first out of 17 scholarships, giving her the opportunity to attend the Scottish university of her choice. Applicants for the scholarship were judged on academic performance, extracurricular activities, defined course of study and strength of character. The final candidates were determined through written applications and personal interviews.

Clarke will begin her studies abroad in late September. "I am very honored to have received this scholarship and am very excited about the upcoming year in Scotland," she said.

Donald McColl, assistant professor of art history, served as Washington College's liaison and coordinator of the St. Andrew's Scholarship program, and guided Clarke through the application and interview process.

"Washington College is very proud of Catharine, as both a music major and art minor," said Dr. McColl. "She competed against some of the very best students from the Mid-Atlantic region and proved that our students and academic departments truly compete with the best."

Washington College Establishes Equestrian Club

Chestertown, MD, May 3, 2001 — As of Spring 2001, Washington College has established an Equestrian Club open to all students. Students Christine Solle '03, Morgan Baker '04, and Lauren Marini '02 will serve as co-presidents for 2001, assisted by Barbara Heck, associate vice president for development, who will act as administrative advisor, and Dr. Kathryn Moncrief, assistant professor of English, who will act as faculty advisor to the club.

"The Equestrian Club allows Washington College students of any level of riding ability, even beginners, to participate in educational field trips, monthly trail rides, riding lessons, and competitions sponsored by the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association," said Heck. "Many students have wanted to establish this club for years. We are proud of how quickly the club has taken root this semester and attracted a large number of interested students."

The Washington College Equestrian Club will function as both a club and as a team. Interested students will be able to compete and represent Washington College in Intercollegiate Horse Show Association competitions. The Intercollegiate Horse Show Association has competitive opportunities for all levels, from beginning to advanced, and students do not have to own a horse to participate, explained Moncrief.

Along with Moncrief and the student leaders, Heck will help the club to gain funding as well. "The program is driven by member fees," Heck said. "Students must pay for their lessons, but the club will also be working to raise money for students who cannot afford to pay for lessons and to fund other club activities."