Washington College Unveils New Home Page, October 1

Chestertown, MD — A new home page slated to launch October 1 aligns current navigation menus in a structure consistent with the rest of the site. The introduction of new channels for dynamic content enables us to showcase more features about students, faculty, and alumni.

The site was designed by the Office of College Relations with the guidance of the Web Advisory Council. The continuous input of students, faculty, and staff remains critical to the ongoing evolution of the site. Please send feedback about the new home design to Web Editor Shane Brill at sbrill2@washcoll.edu.

Key Features of the Site

• Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)
  Streamlined coding that loads quickly and provides nuanced customization within a common layout. For examples of how CSS works within the site template, compare the stylized appearances of Center for Environment & Society, Zeta Tau Alpha, and theOffice of Information Technologies.
• Dynamic Content
  Randomly loading content is placed on relevant pages to provide unique visitor experiences. New site mastheads, event photo teasers, and home page feature storiesare being regularly introduced.
• Standards-compliance
  The Washington College site meets standards for valid coding by the World Wide Web Consortium, better known as W3C. This is important for cross-browser compatibility and development of Web applications. The site also meets Section 508 guidelines for accessibility.
• Web Applications
  Keywords embedded throughout the site are continuously refined for more effective external and internal search queries in conjunction with lighter coding. Visitors can also subscribe to the calendar of events, get personalized driving directions, scan condensed content quickly, and explore local destinations through embedded map links.

September 27, 2007

National Endowment for the Humanities Awards Major Federal Grant to Washington College

It's the largest federal grant that Washington College has received in its 225-year history—and that includes the 50 guineas that George Washington gave to help found the school in 1782.

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has announced that it has awarded a $625,000 "We the People" Challenge Grant to Washington College—one of only five recipients of the grant from nearly 30 applicants nationwide. "We the People" is an NEH initiative designed to "strengthen the teaching, study and understanding of American history and culture."

The unprecedented and prestigious federal gift to Washington College will support the C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience's historian-in-residence program (co-sponsored by the Rose O'Neill Literary House), endow scholarships for outstanding students who plan to major or minor in History or American Studies, and strengthen Clifton M. Miller Library's electronic resources in American history and related fields.

"This is a very exciting moment for Miller Library," said Library Director Ruth Shoge. "The grant allows us to offer the most comprehensive collection of American historical documents in an electronic environment where time and physical space or objects no longer hinder access to researchers."

The historic liberal arts college—the 10th oldest institution of higher learning in America and the first one founded after the victory at Yorktown—is in good company: the other four recipients of "We the People" Challenge Grants this year are Harvard University, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Kenyon College and the National Society of Colonial Dames of America/Stenton.

"This is a high honor," said Dr. Bruce Cole, Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities. "NEH challenge grants are awarded only after a demanding peer review process. Washington College's proposal was reviewed by scholars and administrators with experience in leading programs and centers devoted to the study of American democracy. These reviewers expressed special praise for the quality of the application, finding it clearly and engagingly written. They deemed the plans for the fellowships to study the legacy of the founding era to capture perfectly the intent of the 'We the People' Challenge Grant initiative."

One of the NEH peer reviewers predicted: "The C.V. Starr Center is going to become a major player in the study and interpretation of the American democratic experience."

The grant requires a 3-to-1 match over the next four years, so that Washington College's eventual gain should total $2.5 million. More than half the matching funds already has been raised, thanks to a recent $1.05 million gift from the Barksdale-Dabney-Patrick Henry Family Foundation, which is being used to turn a 1730s house in Chestertown's historic district into a residence for nationally eminent historians, who will spend an entire academic year working on books and teaching at the College.

"The Endowment is very pleased to join in strengthening humanities activities at the C.V. Starr Center and Washington College," said NEH Chairman Cole. "We are delighted to be a funding partner for this exciting endeavor, and I hope others will join us in supporting this enrichment of the humanities in America."

Established in 2000 with a grant from the New York-based Starr Foundation, the C.V. Starr Center draws on the special historical strengths of Washington College and colonial Chestertown to explore the early republic, the rise of democracy, and the manifold ways in which the founding era continues to shape American culture, through innovative educational programs, scholarship, and public outreach, and especially by supporting and fostering the art of written history. In cooperation with the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History and George Washington's Mount Vernon, the Center administers the George Washington Book Prize, a $50,000 annual prize recognizing outstanding published works that contribute to a greater understanding of the life and career of George Washington and/or the Founding era.

"This generous gift will benefit Washington College students and faculty in a multitude of ways, as well as supporting important work on American history that will reach the wider public," said Adam Goodheart, the Hodson Trust-Griswold Director of the Starr Center. "And beyond the monetary aspect of the award, it means a great deal to know that the National Endowment for the Humanities has invested itself in the future of the Starr Center and Washington College."

For Washington College, the grant announcement is very aptly timed, as the school is celebrating its 225th anniversary this year.

"This is a wonderful, and somehow very fitting, birthday present for us," said Washington College President Baird Tipson. "As it was for us in the beginning, so it is again for us now, the grateful recipient of largesse ... from Washington. Somewhere up there you're smiling down on us, General—many thanks again."

September 21, 2007

Cardboard Boats Highlight the 225 Anniversary Waterfront Festival

Chestertown, MD — The Center for Environment & Society team led by Capt. John Seidel and the crew of Greenpeas was first around the course, garnering the top prize—the Cape Horn Award—at the Cardboard Boat Regatta on Saturday, September 22. The second best circumnavigator was Capt. Nancy Cross and the OIT crew of I-Float who took home the Capt. Cook Award, followed by Capt. D'Andre Phillips and the Athletics Department team, Kicking Some Grass, who won the Robert Peary Award.

The Horatio Nelson Award for best overall design, name and costumes went to Capt. Adam Goodheart and the C.V. Starr crew of R.M.S.Titanic. Capt. Maureen Sentman and the crew of Mighty Duck took home the Cutty Sark Award for best design and construction (way to go WC Ducks Unlimited). Capt. Teresa Fewlass and Elizabeth Clay from the Public Archaeology Lab garnered the Kon-Tiki Award for Leaky the mastodon. Capt. Spencer Case and the Psi Chi crew of Freudian Slip won the Linda Greenlaw award for most team spirit, while Capt. Jamie Beaber and the Slow & Steady crew swam away with the Titanic Award for the most spectacular sinking. Other notable entries included Capt. Brittany Dunbar and the crew of Moldy Minta, Capt. Annie Koch and the S.O.S. crew, and Capt. Heather Holiday and Dusty Mears of Two Peas in a Pod.

Washington College would like to thank and acknowledge all who joined the greater Chestertown community in celebrating our 225th Anniversary at the Waterfront Festival on Saturday. Special thanks to John Wasserman and Frank Gerber for teaching cardboard boatbuilding workshops, and to Taylor Buckley, Chesapeake Light Craft, The Finishing Touch, The Imperial Hotel, Roy Kirby, Old Mill Café, Play It Again Sam and Riley's for contributing to the Cardboard Boat Regatta. Tom Cousineau, Loretta Lodge, and Vicco Von Voss did a marvelous job of judging the competition.

We also extend our gratitude to Chester River Runoff for playing great bluegrass; Student Affairs for sponsoring the popular Kayak Competition and Caribbean steel drum band; Chesapeake Fields, Rose Green funnel cake, the Chestertown Optimist Club, and WC Dining Services for providing great food and service; Birds of Prey, Ducks Unlimited, Eastern Shore Land Conservancy, LaMotte Company, the Public Archaeology Lab and the Student Environmental Alliance (SEA) for interesting and educational exhibits; Admissions, College Relations, The Elm, Kent County News and WCTR for publicity and promotion; the GIS Lab for banners; Liz Anger, Jenifer Endicott and Carla Martin for handling registration; Tessa Miskell, Laura Wilson and the WC Special Events office for decorations; WC Buildings & Grounds and Kappa Alpha fraternity for clean-up; Jared Halter, Darnell Parker and Beth Anne Roy for coordinating recreational activities on land; Mike Duquette, JoAnn Fairchild, Bryan Matthews and John Wagner for coordinating activities on the Waterfront; Tom Briggs, Bill Cameron, Dave Dudek, Jim Flanagan, Mitch Grieb, Dyer Harris, George Lewis, Joe Manley, Chuck and Linda Parry, Rock Hall Yacht Club, Matt Tobriner and Fred Welsh for teaching people how to sail, giving boat tours of the Chester River, and showing their enthusiasm for messing about in boats.

Of course the real hero was the Chester River, and we're grateful for all who appreciate her beauty, mystery and magic. We hope that you'll all join us again next year!

September 21, 2007

You Don't Say So! Fact, Fiction and Environmental Futures on September 26

Chestertown, MD, September 21, 2007 — Wallace Kaufman will lecture on "You Don't Say So! Fact, Fiction and Environmental Futures," at Washington College's Hodson Hall on Wednesday, September 26, at 7:30 p.m.

The media mediates our understanding of nature and ultimately the actions we take, either personally or through our public agencies. Wallace Kaufman challenges accepted practices whether he is creating a housing program in Kazakhstan, writing about environmental planning, consulting with a new business in Russia, or teaching in an American university. "I want my subject to be something I've put my hands on, something I know from doing," he says.

Kaufman's consulting, writing, and personal pursuits demonstrate his unusually broad hands-on experience. He has put his environmental principles to work in rural planning, urban renewal, and land development. He created several American businesses and consulted with new businesses in Russia and Central Asia.

His writing includes literary essays, economic surveys in the former USSR, translations from German and Spanish, prize-winning newspaper columns, business and science writing and fiction in magazines like Redbook and Mademoiselle. He has been a Marshall Scholar at Oxford and a Science Writing Fellow at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woodshole.

The lecture is free and open to the public. It is sponsored by the Center for Environment & Society, the McLain Program in Environmental Studies, and Adkins Arboretum.

Novelist Frank Bergon Presents 'Toughest Kid We Knew' at Washington College

Chestertown, MD, September 21, 2007 — Novelist Frank Bergon, renowned writer on the American West, will present "The Toughest Kid We Knew: An All-American Story" at Washington College's Casey Academic Center Forum on Wednesday, October 3, at 4:30 p.m.

"The Toughest Kid We Knew" is about a California descendant of Dust Bowl migrants. He is among those whose stories have not been told, the sons and daughters of John Steinbeck's characters inThe Grapes of Wrath, second-generation "Okies" who came of age when toughness, hard work, girlfriends, and loyalty to other men defined what it meant to be a man in America.

In addition to being a novelist, Frank Bergon is a professor at Vassar College. He was born in Ely, Nevada, received his B.A. at Boston College, attended Stanford University as a Wallace Stegner Fellow, and completed his Ph.D. at Harvard University.

Bergon's work on the American West includes several novels and anthologies, as well as both the London Folio edition and the Penguin Nature Classics edition of The Journals of Lewis and Clark.

At Vassar, Bergon teaches courses in the English Department, including Senior Composition and Native American Literature, along with courses in the American Culture Program and Environmental Studies.

In 1998 Bergon was inducted into the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame. He is currently working on a novel set in Chiapas, Mexico.

"The Toughest Kid We Knew: An All-American Story" is being presented by the Friends of Miller Library and the C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience. Admission is free and open to the public; a reception will follow.

'[sic],' a Comedic Look at Modern Manhattanites, Staged at Washington College

Chestertown, MD, September 21, 2007 — The Washington College Department of Drama will present a faculty-directed production of "[sic]," a comedy by Melissa James Gibson, at Norman James Theatre on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, September 27 to 29, at 8 p.m.

Co-directed by Professors Polly Sommerfeld and Jason Rubin, "[sic]" is a contemporary comedy of manners about three young adults who are neighbors in a Manhattan apartment building. The two men and a woman have reached an impasse in their careers. The play investigates the vicissitudes of their relationships with one another as they navigate through the limbo of lives not fulfilled.

Playing the three friends are students Mary Lide and Jaques de Silva and Washington College graduate Harry Wright. Playing multiple other roles are students Mike Golze and Maggie Kobik.

Filled with fanciful, humorous, brittle and brutal exchanges, "[sic]" premiered off-Broadway in 2001; before then, Washington College Assistant Professor of Drama Michele Volansky worked on the play at the Steppenwolf Theater in Chicago.

Admission to "[sic]" is $3 for students and $5 for adults. For reservations and more information, call 410-778-7835, or e-mail drama_tickets@washcoll.edu.

Hardboiled Hero: Author James M. Cain's Legacy Celebrated at Washington College

Chestertown, MD, September 20, 2007 — Perhaps the most famous scribe to emerge from Washington College was pioneering hardboiled author James M. Cain, who along with Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler rewrote the rule book on crime fiction, creating a uniquely terse, tough American style that influenced literature, cinema and pop culture in general.

As part of its year-long 225th-anniversary celebration, Washington College commemorates Cain's legacy with lectures and movie screenings from Thursday, October 4, through Monday, October 8.

Born in Annapolis in 1892, James M. Cain grew up in Chestertown where his father, James W. Cain, was president of Washington College from 1903 to 1918. The younger Cain graduated from the College in 1910, made a name for himself in journalism, and became an overnight sensation with the publication of his first novel, The Postman Always Rings Twice, in 1934. A lurid, hard-hitting tale of adultery and murder, Postman was a runaway bestseller and a huge influence on both the crime-fiction genre and Hollywood. It was adapted for film multiple times, as were other Cain novels that poured forth in the ensuing years.

Cain's style continues to inspire new generations of writers and filmmakers. This theme will be explored when the Sophie Kerr Committee presents "The Influence of James Cain's Fiction on the Coen Brothers," a talk by leading film-noir authority R. Barton Palmer, in the Sophie Kerr Room in Miller Library on Thursday, October 4, at 4:30 p.m. Palmer is the author ofHollywood's Dark Cinema: The American Film Noir, a standard in the field. He also is the author of a recent book on the Coen brothers' films and, interestingly, several books about medieval literature.

The filmmaking duo of Joel and Ethan Coen burst onto the scene with their surprise-hit 1984 movie Blood Simple. Audiences were wowed by the film's very James-Cainesque stew of infidelity, crime, duplicity, suspense and plot twists. As a tie-in with Palmer's lecture, the Washington College Film Series will present screenings of Blood Simple at Litrenta Lecture Hall in the John S. Toll Science Center on Friday and Sunday, October 5 and 7, at 7:30 p.m.

The most enduring of all James M. Cain movie adaptations is the 1944 classic Double Indemnity, starring Fred MacMurray, Edward G. Robinson and Barbara Stanwyck as the silver screen's ultimate femme fatale. Directed by Billy Wilder, Double Indemnity is considered by some aficionados to be the purest example of film noir. The Washington College Film Series will present a special screening of this hardboiled masterpiece at Litrenta Lecture Hall on Monday, October 8, at 7:30 p.m. Washington College Dean and Provost Christopher Ames, author of Movies About the Movies: Hollywood Reflected, will provide a brief introductory talk, "James M. Cain: From Washington College to Hollywood." Dean Ames will explore some intriguing connections said to exist between Cain's formative years in Chestertown and his later prose style.

All events in the James M. Cain celebration are free and open to the public.