Eastern Shore Society of Baltimore City to Fund New WC Scholarship Focused on Environment

CHESTERTOWN—Thanks to a gift of $85,000 from the Eastern Shore Society of Baltimore City, Washington College will create a new scholarship for students with strong Eastern Shore ties and a strong interest in the environment. The new Eastern Shore Society Scholarship Fund will provide an annual scholarship to an entering freshman from the Eastern Shore, or of Eastern Shore heritage, who plans to focus his or her studies largely on the environment.

College president Mitchell Reiss says the school is proud and grateful to have this new tie to the tradition of stewardship the Society has established over the decades. “We appreciate this investment in educating the sons and daughters of the Eastern Shore about the fragility of the Bay and its ecosystems. The society’s constitution states its purpose as ‘to preserve and foster an appreciation of the history, traditions, and pleasant memories of the Eastern Shore of Maryland,’ ” he adds. “As a college community that benefits so much from our setting in beautiful Chestertown by the Chester River, we share that mission. And we know it can be accomplished only with an educated citizenry and a healthy Chesapeake Bay.”

The scholarships will be administered by the College’s Center for Environment & Society (CES). The CES supports a variety of programs focused on the environment and has created a special Chesapeake Semester that provides students with hands-on experience in several key study areas in the Chesapeake Bay region. Chesapeake Semester students learn the history of the region, with stops at significant sites such as the James River plantations and the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michael’s. They study the biology and ecology of the Bay, getting onto the water to run tests and study the health of the ecosystem. And they explore the sociology of the people who inhabit the region, meeting with a variety of constituencies with important stakes in the future of the Bay and its watershed, including farmers, watermen, environmentalists, and legislators.

“We're fortunate to have the world's third largest estuary in our backyard,” says John Seidel, director of the CES. “This support will help students from the region fully explore the Chesapeake Bay and develop the skills to help save it."

The Eastern Shore Society of Baltimore City traces its origin to 1911 when a group of Caroline County natives began meeting in the City to maintain their ties to their home communities. Two years later, that Caroline County Society expanded to include members from all the counties of the Shore. The first meeting of the Eastern Shore Society on December 13, 1913 drew 113 charter members to the Belvedere Hotel in Baltimore. Over the decades, membership has expanded further, to also include descendants and spouses of Eastern Shore natives.

“We are pleased to be able to provide tangible help to students from the Eastern Shore who wish to study issues that directly affect the Eastern Shore,” says Society president John Woodall. “And we’re happy to partner with Washington College to help the region flourish.”

The first Eastern Shore Society scholarship will be offered to a member of the Class of 2015. For more information, contact Kevin Coveney, Vice President for Admissions and Enrollment Management at 410-778-7700 or kcoveney2@washcoll.edu.

PHOTO CAPTION: From left, John Seidel, director of the Center for Environment & Society, Carroll J. Collins, secretary/treasurer of the Eastern Shore Society of Baltimore City, John R. Woodall, president of the Society, and Mitchell Reiss, president of Washington College, pose in front of the school's portrait of its founding patron George Washington.

Talk to Explore the Economics of Happiness

CHESTERTOWN—Dr. Carol Graham, author of Happiness Around the World: The Paradox of Happy Peasants and Miserable Millionaires, will talk about “The Economics of Happiness,” on Thursday, November 11 at Washington College. The lecture will take place in the Casey Academic Center Forum on campus, 300 Washington Avenue, at 4 p.m.

Graham, a professor of public policy at the University of Maryland, will discuss what effect a person’s economic status has on his or her happiness and how that influence differs from country to country. The book explores examples from around the world, from Afghanistan to Peru to the United States.

Graham’s research focuses on poverty, inequality, public health, and different measures of well-being. She is a Senior Fellow in Economic Studies at the Brookings Institution and served as Vice President of Brookings from 2002 to 2004. She co-authored Happiness and Hardship: Opportunity and Insecurity in New Market Economies (Brookings Institute Press, 2002) and has published numerous articles in the Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, the Journal of Latin American Studies, and Foreign Affairs, among others.

The “Economics of Happiness” talk is sponsored by Omicron Delta Epsilon, the economics honors society at Washington College, and is free and open to the public.

Community Thanksgiving Service Set for Nov. 18 on Washington College Campus

CHESTERTOWN—The Chester Valley Ministers’ Association (CVMA) will hold its annual interfaith Community Thanksgiving Service on Thursday, November 18, at 5:30 p.m. at Washington College’s Hynson Lounge, in Hodson Hall, 300 Washington Avenue. The music and worship service is free and open to the public. Immediately following the program, there will be a Thanksgiving Dinner in the College’s Dining Hall, pay as you go, at $8.50 per person.

The hour-long program will feature different faith perspectives, including West African prayers and readings by the Asian Culture Club, Campus Christian Fellowship, and Hillel (Jewish Student Organization) at Washington College. Pastor Sarah Holben, Presbyterian Church of Chestertown, will give the Invocation; The Rev. Allen LaMontagne, St. Paul’s Parish, Kent, will offer reflections on Thanksgiving; representatives of CVMA member churches and organizations will lead the Prayers of the People; and Cantor Gary Schiff, Chestertown Havurah, will deliver the Benediction in English and in Hebrew.

Pianist Kate Bennett will invite the community to sing along on “Come Ye Thankful People Come,” “We Gather Together,” and a resounding rendition of “All Good Gifts” from the musical Godspell. All are invited to attend this community event. For information contact jfairchild2@washcoll.edu or Ruth Briscoe at 410-348-5267.

Ensemble Schumann Performs Friday in Hotchkiss

CHESTERTOWN—The Ensemble Schumann trio will take the stage at Washington College Friday evening, November 12, with pianist Sally Pinkas, violist Steve Larson and oboist Thomas Gallant performing works by W.A. Mozart, Robert Schumann, August Klughardt and Robert Kahn. Part of the Washington College Concert Series, the performance will begin at 8 p.m. in Hotchkiss Recital Hall, which is part of the Gibson Center for the Arts on the College campus, 300 Washington Avenue.

Tickets, priced at $15 for general admission and $5 for youth ages 18 and under, will be available at the door. Washington College students are admitted free with a valid ID.

A colorful combination of artists and instruments, the Schumann Ensemble members have performed at prestigious venues that include Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall in New York City and Wigmore Hall in London, as well as at the Tanglewood, Ravinia, Lucerne, Spoleto and Mostly Mozart music festivals.

The evening’s program will begin with “Serenade in F-minor, Op. 73” by Kahn (1865-1951). In the program notes, Pinkas describes Kahn’s style as “intimate and lyrical.” His “Serenade” is a through-composed work, with no breaks between movements. “Not a sonata, nor a fantasy, the Serenade invents its own organic coherence,” writes Pinkas.

What follows is Klughardt’s “Schilflieder, 5 Fantasy Pieces on Lenau’s Poems, Op. 28.” Schilflieder translates as “Reed Poems.” These “tone poems” by Klughardt (1847-1902) are based on Nikolaus Lenau’s written poems, which tell of the sadness of lost love as the poet wanders at the edge of a reed-filled pond.

The program will continue with Schumann’s “Marchenerzählunger (“Fairy Tales,) Op. 132.” Schumann (1810-1856) suffered from bouts of deep depression and hallucinations. His “Fairy Tales” were written in 1853, during his last creative burst before the final mental breakdown that sent him to an asylum.

The concert closes with “Trio in E-flat Major, K. 498.” The composition is nicknamed Kegelstaat, or “Skittle Alley,” and it was rumored that Mozart (1756-1791) composed it during a game of skittles. Pinkas writes that the Trio is “one of the most delightful and beloved chamber music works in the literature.”

About the performers:

Sally Pinkas has appeared with the Boston Pops and Aspen Philharmonia and collaborated with a wide variety of artists including the Adaskin String Trio and the Lydian String Quartet. She also performs with her husband, Evan Hirsch, as the Hirsch-Pinkas Piano Duo. The couple has toured in Russia, China and Nigeria and recently released a compilation of George Rochberg’s piano works on the Naxos label. Pinkas teaches at Dartmouth, where she is pianist-in-residence of the Hopkins Center.

As a member of the acclaimed Adaskin String Trio since 1994, Steve Larson has performed extensively in the U.S. and Canada and recorded the complete String Trios of Beethoven for the Musica Omnia label. The Adaskin String Trio’s release of Fauré piano quartets with Sally Pinkas for the MSR Classics label has been praised as “ferociously gorgeous” and “worth celebrating.” Larson also performs as part of the Avery Ensemble and has collaborated with many other artists, including the Emerson and Miami String Quartets. He teaches viola and chamber music at the Hartt School, University of Hartford.

Thomas Gallant is one of the world’s few virtuoso solo and chamber music performers on the oboe. He has performed as both soloist and chamber musician in prestigious halls around the world and with such artists as Jean-Pierre Rampal, the Kronos Quartet, the Adaskin String Trio and the Prague-based Martinu Chamber Orchestra. New Yorker magazine described him as “a player who unites technical mastery with intentness, charm and wit.” His unique performance style combines the American and European traditions of oboe playing.

For more information on this concert, please call 410-778-7839 or email kbennett2@washcoll.edu. For updates and news of future concerts, please visit the Concert Series web page: http://news.washcoll.edu/concertandfilmseries.php.

Religious Philosopher to Discuss Divine Friendship November 18 at Washington College

CHESTERTOWN—World-renowned philosopher of religion Marilyn McCord Adams will speak about friendship from a religious viewpoint when she visits Washington College on Thursday, November 18. Her talk, “Friendliness: Human & Divine,” will begin at 7 p.m. in the Litrenta Lecture Hall on the College campus, 300 Washington Avenue.

Adams will approach her topic from a philosophical and historical perspective, first developing the concept of friendship between man and God, and then discussing how this “divine friendship” affects the formation and maintenance of human friendships.

From 2004-2009, Adams was the first female to hold the position of Regius Professor of Divinity at the University of Oxford, a prestigious professorship that was created in 1535 by King Henry VIII. She is currently a distinguished research professor in the Philosophy Department at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Adams’ work focuses on the history of philosophy and theology and the debates they raise in the modern world. She has written nine books, including The Problem of Evil (1990), Horrendous Evils and the Goodness of God (1999), and Christ and Horrors: The Coherence of Christology (2006). She has published more than 80 articles in journals such as Philosophical Review, Franciscan Studies, and Notre Dame Journal of Formal Logic.

Sponsored by the Institute for Religion, Politics and Culture at Washington College, the talk is free and open to the public.

Panel to Tackle Topic of Religion in the Classroom

CHESTERTOWN—A panel of five distinguished scholars will explore the role of religion in America’s public schools Tuesday evening, November 16, in Chestertown. Entitled “Religious Literacy and Education: The Political Battle Over the Bible in Public Schools,” the event will take place at 7:30 p.m. in Hynson Lounge, Hodson Hall, on the Washington College campus, 300 Washington Avenue.

The panel was organized by the new Institute for Religion, Politics and Culture at Washington College, which provides a forum for the objective study of the role religion plays in public life. Its director, political science professor Joseph Prud’homme, will participate on the panel.

The chair of the College’s political science department, Melissa Deckman, will serve as moderator. An expert on religion and politics in America, Deckman is author of School Board Battles: The Christian Right in Local Politics (Georgetown University Press, 2004).

Special guest panelists are the Rev. Barry Lynn (pictured above) of the Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Dr. Diane Moore of Harvard University’s Divinity School, and Dr. Daniel Dreisbach of American University’s School of Public Affairs.

Rev. Lynn has been executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State for the past 18 years. A long-time civil-rights activist and lawyer, he also is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ. He often provides analysis of First Amendment issues on nationally broadcast television and radio news shows.

Lynn holds a law degree from Georgetown and a theology degree from Boston University. He has published two books: Piety & Politics: The Right-Wing Assault On Religious Freedom (Harmony Books, 2006) and First Freedom First: A Citizen's Guide to Protecting Religious Liberty and the Separation of Church and State (with C. Welton Gaddy, Beacon Press, 2008).

As director of the Program in Religious Studies and Education at Harvard Divinity School, Diane L. Moore focuses her studies and teaching on how religion relates to culture, ecology and human rights. An ordained Disciples of Christ minister, she serves on the editorial boards of the journals Religion and Education and the British Journal of Religious Education. She also chairs the American Academy of Religion's Task Force on Religion in the Schools, which recently completed a three-year initiative to establish guidelines for teaching about religion in K-12 public schools.

She holds degrees from Harvard Divinity School, Episcopal Divinity School and Union Theological Seminary and taught at Phillips Andover Academy before joining the Harvard faculty. She is author of Overcoming Religious Illiteracy: A Cultural Studies Approach to the Study of Religion in Secondary Education (Palgrave, 2007).

Daniel L. Dreisbach is Professor of Justice, Law and Society in the School of Public Affairs at American University, where he researches and teaches in the areas of constitutional history, First Amendment law and church-state relations. He earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree from Oxford University and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Virginia. Author or editor of numerous articles for scholarly journals and books, he wrote Thomas Jefferson and the Wall of Separation between Church and State (New York University Press, 2002) and co-edited The Sacred Rights of Conscience (Liberty Fund, 2009).

Washington College will publish the panel’s proceedings as part of a peer-reviewed book series—Washington College Studies in Religion, Politics, and Culture—that is a major component of the new Institute.

Expert on Diversity and Racism Explores How Cultural Stereotypes Divide Us

CHESTERTOWN—Dr. David Pilgrim, Chief Diversity Officer at Ferris State University in Michigan and a national expert on race relations, will use cultural memorabilia to explore discrimination and stereotyping when he lectures at Washington College Tuesday, November 16. “Them: Images of Separation,” begins at 4:30 p.m. in the Casey Academic Center Forum.

Pilgrim is the founder and curator of the Jim Crow Museum, which houses 5,000 artifacts related to racial segregation and civil rights at Ferris State. The goal of the museum is to promote the examination of historical and contemporary expressions of racism and, in Pilgrim’s words, “to use items of intolerance to teach tolerance.” His lecture will draw heavily from a traveling exhibit he co-created in 2005 to carry the Jim Crow Museum’s message to a national audience. It focuses not only on prejudices against African-Americans, but also the damaging stereotypes of women, poor whites, gays, Jewish-Americans, Mexican-Americans, and those who fall into an “other” category regarding body type or sexual orientation.

Pilgrim worked with Ferris State colleague Clayton Rye to produce the documentary film Jim Crow’s Museum, in which he explains his approach to battling racism. His short stories on the topics of multiculturalism and race relations have been published in Obsidian, Aim, and African American Review.

The November 18 event is free and open to the public. It is sponsored by the College’s Black Studies program, Sophie Kerr Committee, Office of Multicultural Affairs, and Department of Art and Art History.