Archives: Alumni

October 29, 2009

CNN profiles Paul Rieckhoff '98

On CNN.com today, Ed Hornick profiles Paul Rieckhoff ‘98, executive director of IAVA, the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Association, in light of the passage for the Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act.

Standing behind the president during a bill signing is a shining moment for any policy activist. For Paul Rieckhoff, it came last week when President Obama signed the Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act into law.

Having served in the Army for six years and as an infantry platoon leader in Iraq, Rieckhoff knows something about the challenges active-duty soldiers face overseas and later when they come home.

Rieckhoff’s experience inspired the 30-something executive director and founding member of the nonpartisan Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans for America to challenge the way the country supports veterans.

Brian Meacham '97 at 01:39 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

October 28, 2009

Jim Warren '74, new publisher of the Chicago Reader

Jim Warren ‘74, who formerly served as managing editor of the Chicago Tribune, was named the publisher of Chicago Reader on Tuesday.

Warren’s appointment is noted in a post on the Reader’s blog titled “The Reader’s New Publisher Is an Edit Guy”:

Warren has been a newspaperman since he graduated from Amherst in the mid-70s; he moved to the Tribune from the Sun-Times in 1984, covered labor, law, and media, and was a surprise choice to edit the old Tempo feature section, where writers told me he was the best editor they’d ever had. In 1993 editor Howard Tyner sent him to Washington to work the same magic there. Warren quickly made a name for himself in the capital by writing a Sunday column in which he mocked the city’s media stars by name for their preoccupation with self-promotion and fat personal-appearance fees.

Brian Meacham '97 at 11:38 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

October 26, 2009

Jeffrey Wright '87 on Obama, race, and his arrest

Actor Jeffrey Wright ‘87 is the author of a new opinion piece on CNN.com entitled “Obama, race and my arrest.” In it, he discusses his arrest in Shreveport, Louisiana last year, as well as larger issues related to race and the police.

These are messy, even bloody issues, but the cost of not addressing them is too draining of our societal health. Among other things it fosters a society in which too many young Americans internalize the aura of criminality that’s projected onto them and handcuff themselves to self-imposed limitations that stifle us all.

Brian Meacham '97 at 10:21 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

October 23, 2009

John Burt '40, eighth Bishop of Ohio

John Harris Burt ‘40, the retired Bishop of Ohio, died October 20 at the age of 91.

Episcopal Life Online has a detailed obituary that tells the story of his life, from his early days in Michigan to Amherst and beyond, including his work in the Navy during World War II and with civil rights rallies in Southern California in the early 1960s.

Burt was born in Marquette, Michigan, the older son of the Rev. Bates Burt, first rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Marquette, Michigan and then rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Pontiac, Michigan. He attended Amherst College where he was the managing editor of the college newspaper, president of his fraternity and vice president of his senior class. He graduated cum laude in 1940. After a post-graduate year in New York City where he studied at Columbia University and worked as a social worker at Christadora House on the Lower East Side, Burt entered the Episcopal Theological Seminary in Alexandria, Virginia, graduating cum laude in 1943. Following ordination, he moved to St. Louis, Missouri to serve on the staff of Christ Church Cathedral in downtown St. Louis and as director of St. Paul’s Parrish. It was in that year that he met his future wife, Martha May Miller.

Burt served as a chaplain in the United States Navy during World War II in the Pacific theater. After the war, he became the Episcopal chaplain of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, followed by a seven-year tenure at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Youngstown, Ohio, where he received the Arvona Lynch Human Relations Award and became the founding president of the ACLU, playing a leadership role in the racial integration of community housing and swimming pools.

Brian Meacham '97 at 12:28 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

October 03, 2009

College days with Wallace '85 and Brown '86

This has been all over the web lately, with the first anniversary of the death of David Foster Wallace ‘85 and the latest book from Dan Brown ‘86: Boston Magazine has published an article which mentions the writing seminar the two took together at Amherst:

WITH THE TRAIL GROWING COLD AT EXETER, Storrs wondered what he could uncover from Brown’s days at Amherst College. He reached Alan Lelchuk, who taught the creative-writing seminar that Brown later credited with helping him become a novelist. Brown’s writing from the class left little impression on Lelchuk. Of course, it would have been easy for anyone to be eclipsed by the enormous talent of fellow student David Foster Wallace, the heady prose stylist now regarded as one of the most gifted writers of his generation. “With Dan, he was not the star of the class, as David was, as were one or two others who were really quite good,” Lelchuk told Storrs.

“Dan was good,” he finally admitted, as if for the sake of politeness. “But in a much quieter way.”

Brian Meacham '97 at 02:42 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

September 24, 2009

Joseph Chow '07

Peace Corps Director Aaron S. Williams announced the death of volunteer Joseph Chow ‘07, who died as a result of a rock climbing accident near the village of Mbuji, Tanzania.

Chow began work with the Peace Corps the fall after his graduation, in Kenya. He transferred to Tanzania in 2008.

From the Peace Corps press release:

“Joseph was active, creative and charming. He was always ready to lend a helping hand, to work and play, and to contribute to his community. His sudden passing is terribly painful for the entire Peace Corps family, including Joseph’s students, whose lives were changed by Joseph’s passion for teaching,” said Director Williams. “Our thoughts go out to his family and friends around the world.”

We here at Am’erst.com join with Mr. Williams in expressing our condolences for this terrible loss.

Brian Meacham '97 at 12:13 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

September 16, 2009

Jon Landman '74 named NYT culture editor

The New York Times has named deputy managing editor Jon Landman ‘74 the new culture editor of the paper.

For the last four years, Mr. Landman has headed the effort to unite the printed Times and nytimes.com into a single, seamless operation, giving him a powerful hand in the Web site’s operation at a time when it was rapidly expanding and adding new features.

A Gawker report reprints Executive Editor Bill Keller’s memo to staff regarding the appointment:

I doubt anyone will question that Jon brings to the Culture Department a strenuous intelligence, an inspiring vision, a gift for getting the very best from people and — no small thing as our competitive landscape shifts — a keen appreciation of what culture journalism can be on the Web.

Brian Meacham '97 at 11:32 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

September 07, 2009

Pirates GM Neal Huntington '91 on the streak

The Pittsburgh Pirates have just guaranteed themselves a seventeenth consecutive losing season. The New York Times interviews general manager Neal Huntington ‘91 about the team’s long-term plans.

We feel the impact of the streak. It’s a reality of us doing business. We see it, we feel it, we hear it. But our evaluators and instructors should be insulated from the 17 years. Hopefully, we’re able to continue moving forward to put this team in a position to win for many years, and not try to break the streak one year and then figure something out after that.

Brian Meacham '97 at 10:55 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

August 25, 2009

Emanuel '79 at center of health care debate

In a front pageNew York Times article today, Jim Rutenberg takes a look at the role of Ezekiel Emanuel ‘79 in the current health care debate.

Few people hold a more uncomfortable place at the health care debate’s intersection between nuanced policy and cable-ready political rhetoric than President Obama’s special health care adviser, Dr. Ezekiel J. Emanuel.

Brian Meacham '97 at 01:22 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

August 22, 2009

Richard Poirier '49, founder of Library of America

A Washington Post obituary remembers Richard Poirier, a professor of English and founder of the Library of America, who passed away in New York on August 15. After graduating from Amherst, he received degrees from Yale and Harvard, and taught at Williams, Harvard, and Rutgers, where he taught for 40 years.

In “Learning From the Beatles,” an essay originally published in Partisan Review in 1967, Dr. Poirier was one of the first commentators to argue that the album “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” represented an intermingling of pop and “serious” cultures that deserved close critical attention.

He also wrote about the impact of Vietnam on the culture and the significance of the 1960s revolution, and he once compared Bette Midler’s command of parody to that of the writers Mailer, Ralph Ginzburg and Thomas Pynchon.

Brian Meacham '97 at 12:44 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

August 21, 2009

Kenneth Bacon '66, reporter, refugee advocate

Kenneth Bacon ‘66, whose career included work as a reporter for The Wall Street Journal, as a spokesman for the Pentagon during the Clinton White House, and as president of Refugees International, has died of cancer at the age of 64.

“Most Americans remember Ken as the unflappable civilian voice of the Department of Defense,” Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said in a statement. “But for millions of the world’s most vulnerable people - refugees and other victims of conflict - Ken was an invaluable source of hope, inspiration and support.”

Brian Meacham '97 at 10:39 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

August 07, 2009

"Julie (Powell '95) and Julia" opens today

We’ve been following the trajectory of Julie Powell ‘95 from her blog, to her book, to her Blooker Prize, and to the announcement of a new film based on her book.

Well, a year and a half later, the film is finally out in theaters, and as the first film by Nora Ephron in a few years, and the first cinematic treatment of the late culinary icon Julia Child, it’s getting quite a bit of press.

• First, a New York Times review.

• Powell’s Books interviews Powell

• Nina Metz of The Chicago Tribune interviews Powell, getting her thoughts on “Julie Powell” in the film:

She’s a Nora Ephron character who shares my name and my history and some of the details of my personality, but she’s different. She’s nicer than I am. She’s sweeter. I feel uncomfortable saying this without sounding self-aggrandizing, but with the blog I realized that I could write funny. And I don’t think the Julie Powell of the movie is a funny person. Funny things happen to her. But she’s very sweet and a little more earnest than I am.

Amy does such a lovely job and she’s such a lovely woman and a great actress. But she’s definitely softer. You know, not as much cursing. Not as much screaming and throwing things.

• Roger Moore of The Kansas City Star discusses the reaction to the film among the food blogging community:

…being that first blogger to have her online musings converted into a hit book and now a movie is earning mixed notices among her fellow foodie bloggers, who are legion.

• Powell gives her thoughts on the process in The Atlantic Monthly:

Ephron’s Julie, adorably depicted by Amy Adams, shares with me some traits, history, and relationships, but is emphatically not me. For one thing, I was never editor of the Amherst College literary magazine when I was there. I do not have friends buying up parcels of Manhattan real estate or writing Showtime-series-inspiring blogs about having sex with billionaires in private jets

• An on her blog, Julie reflects on the end of her “stint in LaLaLand.”

Brian Meacham '97 at 01:22 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

August 01, 2009

Sasha Blair-Goldensohn '98 showing signs of improvement following Central Park accident

As many readers of this blog are aware, Sasha Blair-Goldensohn ‘98 was critically injured in an accident in New York’s Central Park this past Wednesday. The New York Daily News reported:

Sasha Blair-Goldensohn was walking to work through the park when a 100-pound limb came crashing from a massive pin oak tree near W. 63rd St. The 33-year-old computer engineer and father of two was taken to New York- Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell Medical Center after the 8 a.m. accident and was in intensive care.

The Daily News reported on Thursday that Sasha - husband of Rebecca Min and father of Sophie and Theo - remained in a coma but was taken off of a ventilator, was showing reduced swelling in his brain, and “responded to commands to open his eyes and squeeze a hand.”

UPDATE from Dave: Some may have noticed that we’ve removed some information from the original post about where to send cards or flowers to the family and the ways to get updates about Sasha’s condition. We’ve removed these items because subsequent updates have changed that information and we expect additional changes to be made. We would like to keep you posted about Sasha’s condition, but we also do not want to publish any misinformation, in case we are not able to immediately update this space.

We have learned that the NY Times reporter who is covering the story is a high-school classmate of Sasha’s. He has been posting updates on the situation here.

All of us here at Am’erst (Brian, Mina, Parker and I) are keeping Sasha and his family in our thoughts and prayers.

Mina Suk '99 at 03:41 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Apologies and architecture

I’d like to apologize for the dormant state of the site over the last few months, as our hosting service embarked on a somewhat disastrous migration project that brought the site to its knees on the inside, while everything seemed fine on the outside.

We’ll get the ball rolling again with a nice piece on Amherst’s campus from Blair Kamin ‘79, a talk he delivered at his 30th reunion a few months ago: “A storybook New England campus: The essentials of its architecture.”

A video of the presentation is available on the College’s website, as well. Thanks to everyone for their patience, and here’s hoping we’re back on track.

Brian Meacham '97 at 01:19 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 10, 2009

Ezekiel Emanuel '79 in L. A. Times profile

Noting his more famous younger brothers Rahm and Ari, the Los Angeles Times today ran a short front-page profile of Ezekiel Emanuel ‘79, the brother “they think could someday win the Nobel Prize.”

Now Ezekiel Emanuel has become something of a public figure as he tries to help the Obama administration overhaul America’s healthcare system.

It’s an enormously difficult task, given the nation’s economic problems. And while Zeke, as everyone calls him, has impressive medical and policy credentials — not to mention the ear of Rahm, the president’s chief of staff, with whom he talks every day — he has never been part of a political team or toed a party line. The changes he has championed — to give all Americans insurance vouchers and get rid of the employer-based healthcare coverage — bear little resemblance to those embraced by the president.

Brian Meacham '97 at 07:57 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

March 02, 2009

Morgenthau '41 prepares to leave Manhattan DA post

Rumors had began to circulate late last week that Bob Morgenthau ‘41, the 89 year old district attorney in Manhattan would not seek a 10th term and retire on December 31. Those rumors have now been confirmed. Morgenthau was elected to the post in 1974, having already served as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York for nine years.

New York Times writers Michael Powell, William K. Rashbaum and Benjamin Weiser all contribute to a fascinating retrospective article on Morgenthau’s career. There are also multimedia features you can access through the link. Although Morgenthau is in good overall health for an 89 year old, the article reads like an obituary, traveling through all periods of his life , starting with aristocratic roots, through his World War II service and through the highs and lows of his often revolutionary tenure in office.

While the article repeats oft-noted anecdotes about Morgenthau (the son of FDR’s treasury secretary, Morgenthau served drinks to Winston Churchill at his family home. Morgenthau also served as the inspiration for the the fictional Manhattan DA, Adam Schiff, on the television series Law & Order) it also notes the many changes Morgenthau made to the office, from attracting top talent and improving diversity in the ranks of assistant DAs to forming a formidable white-collar prosecution unit in the office, after he had also built a securities unit in his prior role as a federal prosecutor.

In a speech in 1969, his last year as United States attorney, Mr. Morgenthau explained why he pursued white-collar crime with such passion. His words resonate today.

“It is a deplorable fact,” he said, “that many businessmen tend to treat more sympathetically the banker guilty of tax fraud, the broker guilty of stock fraud or the accountant who certifies a false balance sheet than the poor man guilty of auto theft or hijacking of a truck.”

We wish Morgenthau the best in his final months in office and, hope that enjoys many healthy years of retirement!

Dave Nardolillo '98 at 02:52 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

February 23, 2009

Prof. William Pritchard '53 reviews "Snark: A Polemic in Seven Fits" in Boston Globe

Yesterday’s Boston Globe included a book review by Henry Clay Folger Professor of English William H. Pritchard ‘53. New Yorker film critic David Denby’s new book Snark: A Polemic in Seven Fits is, says Pritchard, a “densely packed, thoroughly readable foray into a contemporary phenomenon” and “an aggressively humorous anatomy of current invective.”

Although snark has been around since Juvenal and has found expression in literary figures as Swift and Pope, Denby’s real interest is in snark’s proliferation (or metastasis) in contemporary political and technological culture, Pritchard writes. Pritchard reports that for Denby, the fodder of race and sex and gender, combined with the ubiquity of the internet, have resulted in a literary culture lacking nuance and taste: “Irony and satire have been replaced by a debased mode of snarkery.”

Pritchard takes particular interest in Denby’s analysis of Maureen Dowd, the New York Times columnist:

Denby shows, conclusively to these eyes, how her criteria of judgment are exclusively aesthetic, often sex-related; her own personality contains a “girlish, kittenish side … which has often soothed men even as it teased their inadequacies.” He says Dowd predicted that Gore’s concession speech in 2000 would be self-righteous and self-serving, then never qualified her remarks when the speech turned out to be a dignified and unself-serving one. Dowd mocked Hillary Clinton’s breaking into tears during the campaign, calling it “weirdly narcissistic” in its “Nixonian self-pity.” She saw Clinton’s campaign against Obama (“Obambi,” she called him) as “an imaginary sex war” rather than an authentic struggle for the nomination. What Denby’s pages on Dowd provide is a reasoned case against a gifted writer whose powers of ridicule take precedence over everything else. He also shows readers why their irritation with Dowd’s column is part of a larger cultural pattern.

Snark, Pritchard concludes, makes “necessary distinctions between [snark] and something better,” and does so “with wit and passion.”

Mina Suk '99 at 10:43 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

February 15, 2009

Ezekiel Emanuel '79 joins Obama administration as health policy advisor

Ezekiel J. Emanuel, M.D., Ph.D. ‘79, is featured in a February 14 posting on the Chicago Sun-Times’ Washington politics blog. Dr. Emanuel, a breast oncologist, has begun serving as special advisor for health policy to the director of the White House Office of Management and Budget. He will work in the Obama administration while continuing in his current post as Chair of the Department of Bioethics at The Clinical Center at NIH.

Dr. Emanuel received his M.D. from Harvard Medical School and his Ph.D. in political theory from Harvard University. He is the brother of Rahm Emanuel, White House Chief of Staff.

Mina Suk '99 at 12:41 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

February 13, 2009

Peter Klatsky '98 on octuplets, public health

My classmate, Peter Klatsky, M.D.,M.P.H., in addition to his own medical practice, has set up shop at Huffington Post with a regular column on public health issues. While Pete specializes in women’s reproductive health, his writings cover a broader scope of topics.

His latest entry at HuffPo is a different take on the Nadya Suleman octuplets story. While the media have amplified certain themes around the story, Klatsky takes a different angle:

[Suleman’s physician] has appropriately come under professional scrutiny. While I share concerns that he may not have followed the guidelines of our professional society and performed procedures that were outside of our standard practices, I have yet to hear anyone asking critical rather than judgmental or voyeuristic questions. How did this happen? Have we done anything to encourage this? And how can we prevent this from happening again? I want to examine the circumstances that could permit and even encourage this?

[emphasis in original]. Klatsky notes the structural factors of our health care system that encourage multiple embryo placement during in vitro fertilization (IVF), including pressure on clinics to report high success rates and issues surrounding insurance coverage of the procedure. Noting the tension between government regulation of public health issues and the privacy rights of patients, Klatsky offers suggestions for reform:

For starters, clinics should only be mandated to report births or pregnancies per embryo transferred. Patients should be encouraged to transfer no more than the recommended number of embryos (as determined by professional guidelines and the specific history and conditions of each patient). If patients demand to transfer more embryos, perhaps they could be asked to bear part of the economic burden of that choices. A surcharge could be added if patients transfer more than the recommended number of embryos (as the ensuing obstetric and pediatric costs to society will be higher. Such economic risk sharing might encourage patients to be more conservative about their embryo transfer strategies.

I am not sure our system can afford to universally cover IVF or that people would accept the restrictions that would likely follow, but in the absence of clear regulatory jurisdiction or mandates, an appropriate first step would be to reduce irrational incentives when healthier alternatives exist.

Dave Nardolillo '98 at 07:29 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

January 17, 2009

Outsourcing recruiting in the Athletic Department

A story about belt-tightening in athletic recruiting in Tuesday’s New York Times included a few paragraphs on the College. The new policies favoring e-mail messages over postal mail and phone calls seem hardly worth mentioning in light of the significant departmental budget-cutting we reported in November, but we’re intrigued by the suggestion that the department is “mobilizing its alumni” to help identify potential recruits.

Parker Morse '96 at 12:09 PM | Comments (3)

December 20, 2008

Varmus '61 appointed to White House advisory council

In his weekly address, President-elect Obama named Harold Varmus ‘61 as a co-chair of his Council of Advisers on Science and Technology.

Varmus, who was a co-recipient of the Nobel Prize for his research on the causes of cancer, served as National Institutes of Health director during the Clinton administration. A former medical professor at the University of California, San Francisco, he helped found the Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Care and Prevention and chairs a scientific board at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Brian Meacham '97 at 12:41 PM

December 09, 2008

The Veterans Scholarship Fund

Almost exactly one year ago today, after wrapping up the business end of business trip to NYC, I was sitting in a bar in Alphabet City chatting with Paul Rieckhoff ‘98. Paul mentioned that he had just started a conversation with the College’s development office about creating a scholarship for armed forces veterans to attend Amherst.

Today, the College announced the creation of The Veterans Scholarship Fund, which will provide enough financial aid to cover the full demonstrated need of qualified former American servicemen and servicewomen, starting in the fall of 2009.

Helping to make the fund a reality was College trustee Richard LeFrak ‘67 with a gift from from the Richard and Karen LeFrak Charitable Foundation. The College news release supplies some of the details.

Former members of the armed forces who apply to and are accepted at Amherst must still complete the college’s financial aid application process to determine their eligibility and need for federal, state and institutional funding. The hope is that those funds, combined with G.I. Bill benefits, will cover most—if not all—of the expenses for the veterans to attend the college, explained Dean of Admission Tom Parker. “We are fully committed to providing the best education possible to those who are so worthy of it,” he said.

To find the most promising applicants, Amherst will tap into its extensive recruiting networks and develop new avenues as needed. The college will extend its efforts into areas of the country with large concentrations of veterans, including California, Florida, Virginia and Washington, D.C. Well-qualified veterans who wish to transfer into Amherst from community colleges and other institutions also will receive strong consideration. And to welcome the veterans who ultimately enroll, Amherst will make an added variety of services and programs available to the students to assist them in their transition to life at college, Parker said.

Kudos to LeFrak, Rieckhoff and everyone else involved.

Dave Nardolillo '98 at 11:04 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

Fitzgerald '82 heading Blagojevich corruption investigation

United States Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald ‘82 is at the helm of the investigation into allegations that Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich “conspired to effectively sell President-elect Barack Obama’s seat in the United States Senate to the highest bidder.”

A New York Times piece on the breaking scandal covers Fitzgerald’s press conference this morning:

At a news conference, Patrick Fitzgerald, the prosecutor, said that Mr. Blagojevich had gone on a “political corruption crime spree,” and that his actions had “taken us to a truly new low.”

“The conduct would make Lincoln roll over in his grave,” Mr. Fitzgerald said.

He added that the complaint “makes no allegations about the president-elect whatsoever.” In one passage of the complaint, Mr. Blagojevich is quoted cursing Mr. Obama in apparent frustration that “they’re not willing to give me anything except appreciation.”

Brian Meacham '97 at 01:57 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

December 06, 2008

Jeffrey Wright '87: Year in review

Jeffrey Wright ‘87 has had a busy year, in movies and otherwise. Logan Hill of New York Magazine takes the occassion of yesterday’s premiere of Cadillac Records—in which Wright plays bluesman Muddy Waters—to take stock.

Aside from roles in W. and Quantum of Solace, Wright was seen all over the campaign trail supporting Barack Obama. Hill’s piece notes Wright’s early support for the President-Elect:

“I remember we threw a fund-raiser for Obama’s Senate campaign in Central Park four years ago,” Wright recalls. “We struggled to get 50 people to attend that thing. I had faith in him, but it’d be a bald-faced lie to say I thought it was going to happen in four years. It’s mind-blowing.”

Hill uses that story as a stepping stone to discuss Wright’s personal background and past roles—including the obligatory, and necessary, mention of Wright’s stage breakthrough in Tony Kushner’s Angels in America, in which he played Roy Cohn’s transsexual nurse (a role he reprised in HBO’s wonderful screen adaptation in 2004)—while attempting to capture the reasons for Wright’s frequent portrayal of historical figures.

Biopics often get a bad rap, but Wright defends his proclivity for them as part of his special talent for exposing “what we haven’t seen”—men like his grandfather who were marginalized by this country. “My grandfather, he grew up in rural Virginia,” says Wright. “He was a waterman on the Chesapeake Bay and farmed a few acres of land—was gone before the sun came up and didn’t stop working till after it’d gone down. Worked his ass off, for 88 years. But I never got the sense, from the mainstream perspective, that his was the all-American story.”

Playing a Waters or a [Jean-Michel] Basquiat [in Basquiat] is a small way of finally placing such men at the center of the culture. “They were devalued when they were living and there’s a devaluation of them now, which film and telling their stories can help begin to right.” But not, he’s quick to point out, as a way to sanctify them: Wright argued with Basquiat director Julian Schnabel over making the painter “more dangerous,” and Waters isn’t exactly a model of moral purity. “It’s sex, booze, and the blues, you know?”

After a discussion of the Muddy Waters role, the article concludes with some thoughts from Wright on the ongoing legal matter stemming from a July incident at a Shreveport, La. bar, when Wright, Josh Brolin and others were arrested after filming on W. wrapped. The details of that incident remain sketchy, but it appears that the actors and other crew members became involved in some sort of altercation with local police at closing time. Reports of excessive police force during the incident have surfaced, but it is unclear if anyone involved suffered injuries. At the time of the interview, Wright was scheduled to enter a plea on December 2, but offered some general thoughts on the situation.

“It wouldn’t be wise of me to talk about it now,” he says, “but I will say I thought of Obama after it happened, as I was trying to think about why the hell we’d been placed in that position. I recalled how he displays this talent for converting liability into asset. And my hope is that I can do the same with this incident.”

The focus of his response will not be himself, he adds, but the more systemic problems in Louisiana. “There are large numbers of people better than me, who’ve been hurt far worse in similar incidents down there,” says Wright. “So perhaps we can deflect some of the disproportionate attention that’s been shined on us positively toward them.

“I’m trying to craft it into a positive experience … with great difficulty.”

According to the latest news reports on the Shreveport fracas, the case may conclude quietly. The December 2 hearing was postponed by the Louisiana judge presiding over the case to allow prosecutors and lawyers for the actors to continue discussions regarding a resolution out of court.

Dave Nardolillo '98 at 06:13 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

November 25, 2008

Huntington '91 signs Indians, not of Cleveland variety

From the “you can’t make this stuff up” department:

Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Neal Huntington ‘91 made headlines yesterday when it was announced that the Pittsburgh Pirates signed two 20-year old pitchers from India to free agent contracts. While the story is alone remarkable for the fact that the two men are believed to be the first from India to sign a professional contract with an American baseball club, one cannot ignore how they came to the attention of Major League Baseball Scouts:

Singh and Patel [neither of whom had picked up a baseball until earlier this year] came to the United States six months ago after being the top finishers in an Indian reality TV show called the “Million Dollar Arm” that drew about 30,000 contestants. The show sought to find athletes who could throw strikes at 85 miles per hour or faster.

While neither pitcher threw hard enough to earn the $1 million prize, Singh made $100,000 from the contest and Patel made $2,500, plus his trip to the United States.

The contest was sponsored by a California sports management company that believed it could locate major league-worthy arms in a country of more than 1 billion. After working extensively with Southern California pitching coach Tom House since May, the pitchers staged a tryout in Tempe, Ariz., on Nov. 6 that was attended by 30 major league scouts.

The AP report notes that one of the pitchers hit 90mph on the radar gun during the workout, but leaves out the critical fact of whether the pitchers are left or right handed.

Huntington provided some stock comments on the new signings:

“The Pirates are committed to creatively adding talent to our organization,” Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said Monday. “By adding these two young men, the Pirates are pleased to not only add two prospects to our system but also hope to open a pathway to an untapped market. We are intrigued by Patel’s arm strength and Singh’s frame and potential.”

While Huntington’s approach is certainly novel, I don’t think the long-suffering supporters of the club, which has not had a winning season since 1992 (when Barry Bonds was in their lineup), are going to be excited that the club is taking flyers on two former javelin throwers who have less than six months experience throwing a baseball.

Dave Nardolillo '98 at 09:04 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

October 17, 2008

Rolling Stone on Wallace's time at Amherst

As newspapers and magazines far and wide comment on the passing of David Foster Wallace last month, Rolling Stone has released part of its upcoming piece on Wallace, entitled “The Lost Years & Last Days of David Foster Wallace.” The profile will run in the October 30 issue of the magazine, and the section available online begins as Wallace heads to Amherst.

Writer David Lipsky interviews Wallace’s roommate Mark Costello, and describes Wallace’s outlook at Amherst, his dress code (“The look of parking-lot kids who in Illinois were called Dirt Bombs. ‘A slightly tough, slightly waste-product-y, tennis-playing persona,’ Costello says”), and his return to school after dropping out in his sophomore year.

He routinized his life. He’d be the first tray at the dining hall for supper, he’d eat, drink coffee dipped with tea bags, library study till 11, head back to the room, turn on Hawaii Five-O, then a midnight gulp from a scotch bottle.

We’ll post the complete story when it becomes available.

UPDATE, 10/31/08: The entire Rolling Stone article is now available.

Brian Meacham '97 at 11:51 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

October 07, 2008

Rob Brown '08 is The Express

As the opening date for the new film The Express approaches, its star, Rob Brown ‘08, is getting quite a lot of press. The film tells the story of Syracuse University running back Ernie Davis, nicknamed the “Elmira Express” for his hometown of Elmira, New York, who in 1961 became the first African-American to win the Heisman Trophy.

Brown, whose acting career began in 2000 with a starring role in Gus Van Sant’s Finding Forrester after he sought work on the film as an extra, has been working steadily while attending Amherst, appearing in six films since 2005 (we made note of his roles in Take the Lead and The Express while he was still Rob Brown ‘06 and ‘07; he graduated in May of this year).

Brown’s role as a wide receiver for the Amherst football team gave him an insight into playing Davis in the new film; for more on the way Brown juggled school and acting, take a look at this 2005 Sports Illustrated profile.

We’ll start with a nice profile and interview with Brown in the Seattle Times, in which he describes the process of winning the role:

“I tested and tested again. I had a football tryout, even though everyone knew I played football in high school and college,” says Brown, who turned 24 in March. “I took it with a grain of salt, all the hoops I had to jump through. Ernie earned a lot, and I thought it was fine if I had to earn this role.”

Brown is also interviewed in a piece in the San Francisco Chronicle, as well as a training regimen-heavy interview in Men’s Fitness.

In a New York Daily News interview, Brown reveals one of the reasons he wears his Yankees hats: “The only hats I own are Yankees hats. Part of that was an indirect reaction to people at my college - they’re a bunch of Red Sox fans.”

In an interview with the Edmonton Sun, Brown discusses getting advice voicemails from Sean Connery (his co-star in Finding Forrester) and what it was like to play the role of Davis while attending a school that “isn’t the most diverse place to get your college education.”

More interviews will surely be appearing as the week goes on, followed by reviews as the film opens this weekend, and we’ll gather them here as we find them.

Brian Meacham '97 at 10:34 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

October 05, 2008

"Tom Davis Gives Up"

is the headline of a piece in this week’s New York Times Magazine on Tom Davis ‘71, a seven term Republican congressman from Virginia. Davis has decided not to seek re-election, citing the growing partisan malfunctioning in Congress and a “hijacking” of his party by social conservatives.

The fascinating piece by Peter Baker, who has covered Davis for over two decades, is a mini-biography of the Congressman, dipping all the way back to a childhood move from North Dakota to Washington D.C. as the catalyst for a life spent in politics.

While the article touches on several points of adversity in Davis’ life and career—from dealing with an alcoholic father, to his unwilling role in the Terry Schiavo affair and his ouster from the current U.S. Senate race in Virginia … by his own party—the overall tone is one of respect and admiration; the central theme of the piece recalls Davis’ ability to work in a bi-partisan fashion, now a lost art in Congress. Even potential rivals conveyed their respect for Davis when quoted in the article:

“Tom has taken some arrows for being willing to work across party lines,” Mark Warner, the former Democratic governor who would have been Davis’s opponent had he run for Senate, told me recently. “He was always a hard-core fighter for increasing the Republican majority. But he also thought you could have professional differences without making it personal.”

Although Davis’ fatigue and frustration are made evident throughout the article, Baker concludes by noting a rejuvenation of Davis’ spirit in the classrooms at George Mason University, where the congressman now lectures on politics. Could Davis run again for the Virginia’s other U.S. Senate seat in 2012?

“I can step back in it if I want — if they’re looking for a problem solver,” he said. “But right now, neither party is looking for that.”

Thanks to James Dubick ‘99 for the pointer.

Photo credit: Jeff Mermelstein for The New York Times

Dave Nardolillo '98 at 04:08 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

October 02, 2008

Endowment avoids landmines

In this week’s Student, Managing Editor Jonathan Thrope ‘10 brings us news that many have been waiting to hear.

Amherst’s endowment grew 4.6% in its latest fiscal year, which concluded in June. The endowment total now stands at $1.7 billion.

Given the recent turmoil in the financial markets, this is a very good (and comforting) return. The article notes how things have changed for college endowments from just a year ago. Many schools took a hit.

Amherst’s rate of return dropped dramatically from last year, when it pulled in a 27.8-percent return, the second highest rate of any college or university in the nation. Yet Amherst is not alone. Across the board, colleges and universities saw significant drops in their returns (see graph) as the economy took its initial turn towards the worse at the end of the fiscal year. Last year, Yale topped the charts with a 28 percent return, but this year its rate dropped to 4.5 percent. Similarly, Harvard’s fell from 23 to 8.6 percent, although it has stolen Yale’s place as the year’s top grower. Some schools even lost money this past year, as rival Williams College’s endowment dropped five percent and the University of Pennsylvania’s 3.9.

Time will tell whether or not these results will silence calls in corners of Congress for a 5% endowment spending floor.

The article credits the diversification of the school’s investments for the strong performance compared to the broader market, but the quotes from CIO Mauricia Geissler discussing diversification are not contemporaneous with the release of the Treasurer’s report. The article apparently featured a chart that was not reproduced in the online version of the paper.

A quick internet search did not yield the actual report. If anyone could paste a link in the comments, we would appreciate it.

Dave Nardolillo '98 at 09:25 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

September 16, 2008

Win Smith '71 on the Merrill Lynch sale

Monday was a remarkable day in what is turning out to be a remarkable week (and year) on Wall Street. Lehman Brothers, which started as a dry goods store in Alabama in 1850 and eventually evolved into a globally recognized investment bank, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Our friends over at EphBlog reflected on the Williams connection to Lehman Brothers

Perhaps more stunning was the news that Merrill Lynch, one of the worlds preeminent investment banks (and my first employer after Amherst!), was sold to Bank of America.

Merrill is a company with deep Amherst ties. It’s founder, Charles E. Merrill ‘08, attended Amherst for two years before enrolling in the law school at the University of Michigan (Incidentally, Charles Merrill was the father of the noted poet James Merrill ‘47).

While even people distant from the financial world have heard of Merrill Lynch, few know that the full name of the company is Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc. The “Smith” in that list is Winthrop H. Smith ‘16, who eventually served as the managing partner at the firm from 1940 until his death in 1961.

His son, Winthrop H. (Win) Smith, Jr. ‘71, was also a high level executive at Merrill Lynch, serving as the Chairman of Merrill Lynch’s international businesses. He retired in 2001 after E. Stanley O’Neal was elevated to chairman and CEO of the Company (O’Neal was replaced by John Thain in 2007 after Merrill’s tremendous losses in the sub-prime mortgage market were revealed). I had the pleasure of meeting Win Smith once, when I first arrived at Merrill as a summer intern, as he regularly carved out time to meet individually with Amherst students and alumni who were new to the company. It was easy to see why Win Smith was genuinely respected and liked throughout Merrill Lynch by those who came in contact with him. I recall several managers in my end of the company privately expressing disappointment when Smith was not chosen to succeed David Komansky as chairman and CEO.

Smith appeared on CNBC just hours after the sale was announced. In an interview with Maria Bartiromo, he pulled no punches:

SMITH: … and, frankly, I feel a lot of anger. I feel a lot of anger for the former CEO Stan O’Neal, and for the board of directors, who really acted incredibly irresponsibly and got us into this position and dealt John [Thain] the hand that he was dealt today.

BARTIROMO: … Where did Stan O’Neal go wrong and the board of directors at Merrill Lynch?

SMITH: Well, I think it started really day one …

Watch the whole thing. Smith goes through a laundry list of things that went wrong, including the failure of the company’s management to act back in 2006, when it became evident Merrill Lynch was overexposed to certain markets.

Smith also mentioned that it was a sad day. While most people probably feel little sympathy for the plight of banks in the current market (and understandably so), there is something sad about seeing a company such as Merrill, which was really built from the ground up by people like Charles Merrill and Winthrop Smith, Sr., succumb due to the poor stewardship of those entrusted with running the operations. I feel a little bummed too: While Merrill was never perfect, it was a great place for a young trader to work and learn. Merrill also took great pride in its independence as its rivals, such as Salomon Brothers and JP Morgan, combined with commercial banks in the wake of the Gramm Leach Bliley Act.

It’s also a surprise. Merrill, while taking its lumps, had always been good in navigating through rough waters. While Merrill had suffered severe losses recently, most expected the company to make it through after John Thain purged most, if not all, of the company’s bad exposure. In the end, the Stan O’Neal management’s appetite for risk was not tempered with any modicum of prudence and John Thain was probably wise to entertain a well-capitalized buyer. Bank of America, for years longing to be a player in the global capital markets, was the clear winner on the day.

Hat tip: Bess Levin ‘06 at Dealbreaker

UPDATE 9/22: Josh Glasser ‘10 also noted the sale of Merrill Lynch in the Student with a nice biographical piece on Charles E. Merrill.

Dave Nardolillo '98 at 02:34 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

September 13, 2008

David Foster Wallace '85 dead

Some very sad news is breaking tonight, that the phenomenally talented writer David Foster Wallace ‘85, author of Infinite Jest, Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, and Oblivion, among other works, was found dead in his home yesterday, having apparently hanged himself. More on this as it develops, but our sympathy goes out to his friends and family.

Update 9/14/08: The College has posted an In Memoriam page on amherst.edu, with comments from Prof. Peterson, Wallace’s roommate Mark Costello ‘84, and President Marx. Members of the community are encouraged to post their own thoughts on Wallace, his work, and his passing.

UPDATE 9/22: Professor Peterson also shared some personal memories of David Foster Wallace in a piece for the Amherst Student.

Brian Meacham '97 at 10:44 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

July 11, 2008

Historic alumni keep turning up

Three men who graduated from Amherst College in the 1880s and 1890s were the subject of some writing in recent weeks.

The Springfield Republican, for example, yesterday reviewed a biography of Charles Swan Walker (Class of 1885, according to the Biographical Record). According to the article, Walker was “the only person ever to earn a doctorate of philosophy from Amherst College.”

But perhaps the strangest twist in Walker’s life occurred while he was a professor of mental science and chaplain at the Massachusetts Agriculture College, which was commonly known as Mass Aggie and later became the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. One day while giving a sermon at the school’s chapel, a student named Harlan Fisk Stone led a rush out of the chapel, Fatherley said during a recent interview. Walker tried to stop the students, but Stone hit Walker and successfully led the students out of the chapel.

Walker succeeded in having Stone expelled from the college, Fatherley said. Stone then went on to Amherst College, where he befriended Calvin Coolidge. The connection eventually led to Stone becoming chief justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.

This is the first I’d read of Stone 1894 having spent time at Mass Aggie, but clearly meeting Coolidge 1895 was an important point in Stone’s life—and apparently it was Walker who precipitated that meeting, however indirectly.

Coolidge himself was the subject of a retrospective in the Rutland Herald last week written by Cyndy Bittinger, executive director of the Calvin Coolidge Memorial Foundation. On the occasion of Coolidge’s 136th birthday (he was born July 4, 1872), Bittinger writes,

His mother gave birth to him in a simple dwelling attached to the store his father ran for the local farmers. Not many U.S. presidents come from such humble dwellings. …in this top-heavy, powerful, executive-run government, we expect only those who have come from well-connected, wealthy parents to run the gauntlet and succeed. You need a leg up, an advantage, a genealogy that places you among the elite. That is why the Coolidge story should resonate just as Obama’s now has become a best-seller on the New York Times book list.

Parker Morse '96 at 01:46 PM

July 10, 2008

Alice Swanson '07

Sad news today as we learned of the death of Alice Swanson of the Class of 2007, killed when she was hit by a garbage truck while riding her bicycle to work in Washington, D.C. yesterday.

Swanson, of Northborough, Massachusetts, was working at the International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX), a nonprofit organization that promotes educational programs around the world.

In an article in The Boston Globe, John M. Guilfoil writes that “[Swanson’s] co-workers and résumé paint a picture of a bright, young woman who loved international affairs and travel.”

The Washington Post covered the story as well, with this to say about Swanson’s work after Amherst:

Swanson had an internship in Washington last year at the Middle East Institute, a nonpartisan think tank. She graduated from Amherst College with a degree in Middle East history, according to the institute’s Web site. The site says she studied Arabic at the institute.

She remained in the city after that and began work in January as a program associate at the International Research and Exchanges Board […]

The organization released a statement saying: “The loss comes as a terrible shock to all of us here. She was a well loved employee and friend to all who knew her.”

Swanson is remembered on the websites of IREX and The Middle East Institute.

We offer our heartfelt condolences to her family and friends, and would appreciate hearing any memories or thoughts from those who knew her.

Update 11 July: The Washington Area Bicyclist Association placed a ghost bike for Swanson near the site of her death. Catherine Pfaffenroth ‘01 shared some photos of the memorial.

Brian Meacham '97 at 01:50 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

June 25, 2008

ESPN interviews Ken Catanella '97, "NBA Stat Geek"

ESPN.com’s Henry Abbott interviews Ken Catanella ‘97 for the TrueHoop blog as the NBA draft approaches. Catanella, a described “stat geek,” is the Coordinator of Statistical Analysis for the New Jersey Nets, and has some unique qualifications:

Catanella has two things that a lot of similar experts do not: the knowledge of basketball that comes with having played as a professional, and hands-on experience doing rigorous multivariate analysis on Wall Street. Following graduation from Amherst College in 1997, Catanella analyzed arena finance for professional teams, and valued publicly traded companies.

At Amherst he was both a player and later an assistant coach, and then played professionally for the German Bundesliga’s Cologne 99ers, where he also later served as the German team’s Assistant GM.

While earning his MBA at Duke in 2004 and 2005, Catanella assisted the men’s basketball teams, developing analytical tools and systems for Coach Krzyzewski’s staff. At the same time, Catanella interned for the 76ers’ front office.

The interview gives a sense of the mind-boggling array of statistics Catanella keeps track of and analyzes as the team sorts out potential draft picks:

[Q:] Do I sense that you are not even looking at the same sets of numbers for every prospect?

[A:]It depends on the position. And it can get very detailed.

We chart, essentially, every game that every draft prospect has played on video, and we track just about every category you can imagine.

Brian Meacham '97 at 01:52 AM | TrackBack

June 17, 2008

Connecting a Florida school's Amherst heritage

A recent article in Florida’s The Walton Sun described the placing of a historical marker for Knox Hill Academy, in DeFuniak Springs. Knox Hill Academy, which educated students from primary school through the first year of college, opened in 1848 and operated through at least the 1950s (a closing date is not given in the article.

According to the school district,

Knox Hill Academy was founded in 1849 by John Newton (1814 - 1893). Newton was born near Pittsburgh, Pa., and educated at Amherst College.

However, a quick look at the Biographical Record reveals no John Newton, and indeed, no Newtons at all early enough to have founded a school in 1849. The story is more than plausible—the country is liberally seeded with schools founded by early College graduates irradienting the terra—but seems to be missing a link. Can anyone shed some light on Mr. Newton and his educational history?

Parker Morse '96 at 10:34 AM | Comments (3)

June 08, 2008

Ken Heebner '62, "America's Hottest Investor"

The current issue of Fortune magazine features mutual fund manager Ken Heebner ‘62, whom they call, simply, “the best mutual fund manager around.”

In the article, titled “America’s hottest investor,” Jon Birger lays out the reasons Heebner and his company have enjoyed unparalleled success in recent years.

Spend some time with Heebner, and it becomes clear why. His brain is wired differently. His ideas come faster, his focus is more intense, and his ability to sift through massive quantities of information and zero in on what matters is downright spooky. Pity the Salieris of the investing world who have to compete with this guy.

Heebner was featured in Fortune in 2006, as well, in an article we noted here at the time.

Thanks to Matt again for the tip.

Brian Meacham '97 at 01:53 PM | TrackBack

May 25, 2008

Congratulations to the Class of 2008!

… and best wishes for the future!

Oh, and think about blogging for us! It is a fun way to stay connected to the College and help keep other alumni and memebers of our community informed of all the various happenings surrounding the Fairest College and its alumni.

Drop us a line at amerst@gmail.com to get involved.

Dave Nardolillo '98 at 07:21 PM | TrackBack

May 21, 2008

Sabrina watch: New York City

Parker has covered the recent heist of Sabrina by a daring group of ’08s here and here.

Some of my classmates now living in New York City reported a Sabrina appearance in that city on Tuesday evening. Could someone send us a report and some photos? Leave a comment or contact us at amerst@gmail.com or dnardo@gmail.com … no questions asked!

Dave Nardolillo '98 at 02:32 PM | TrackBack

May 10, 2008

2007-2008 admissions cycle breaks records

Taking a quick break from the excitement over Sabrina’s liberation from the Bunker, I wanted to post a quick item on this year’s record breaking admissions cycle.

The alternative title to this post could be “Why Brian, Parker and Dave are lucky to have been born in the ’70s” since it is clear we would have faced an even tougher challenge getting into Amherst had we been competing with the ever improving quality of recent applicant pools.

Katie Guthrie ‘11 of the Amherst Student filed a report that covered the key angles.

The headline statistics? The overall acceptance rate for the class of 2012 is a paltry 14.2%, while the regular decision acceptance rate was even lower: 12.5%. The average SAT is now over 1440. This year’s incoming class also contains more students of color and more international students.

While the growing population of 18yr old college applicants is certainly a factor in the increase in applications (many colleges are enjoying record applications), certainly credit must be given to the initiatives at the College and the leading position it has taken to regarding access to a top-quality college education.

The article also notes some other important factors. Namely, the College deliberately cut back on the number of students accepted this year, after last year’s surprisingly high yield.

It will be interesting to see how the pool fluctuates during the summer. College officials have anticipated that the lack early decision application options at Harvard and Princeton mean that the College has likely accepted students who will also be admitted to those institutions. That’s encouraging news for anxious waitlist members. Congratulations to all the new members of the Class of 2012!

Dave Nardolillo '98 at 02:21 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

May 06, 2008

Douglas C. Wilson '62, 1940-2008

Doug Wilson ‘62 passed away on May 5. For those of us lucky enough to have met Doug during our time at the College, this is particularly sad news. A wonderful person, an ardent supporter of Amherst and invaluable College historian: Doug was each of these things and much more. The College news release is here.

Parker reports that the Daily Hampshire Gazette has also posted a long obituary. Unfortunately, even online access to the obits there requires a paid subscription.

Certainly, there will be an outpouring of remembrances of Doug over the next few weeks. We welcome our readers to share their reflections here in the comments. All of us here offer our condolences to Doug’s family and friends.

UPDATE 5/7: The College has set up a website (password required) where members of the Amherst community can share memories about Doug. For those who are unable to view the page, here are two quick excerpts which convey the impact Doug had on our community:

“Doug was the kind of person we too often take for granted, and one whose absence will be sorely felt.” —Steve Vladeck ‘01

“He was a gentle, very smart, and loyal man. Our world is less rich with his passing.” —Professor Ron Rosbottom

UPDATE 5/9: The Globe’s obituary for Wilson is up, highlighting his time with the College, as well as the oft-mentioned fact that he was the first reporter to break the story of Nixon’s resignation in 1974, while reporting for the Providence Journal.

UPDATE 5/15: Wednesday’s Providence Journal, the paper Wilson worked for when he broke the Nixon story, published a laudatory column about Wilson’s newspaper days, “Almost famous for a day”.

Dave Nardolillo '98 at 12:54 PM | Comments (4)

April 10, 2008

Powell '95 is back (not that she ever left)

We’ll start with the note in Variety (from last October) that Nora Ephron would direct and Meryl Streep play Julia Child in Julie & Julia, a film based on the book by Julie Powell ‘95, which won the first “Blooker Prize” back in 2006.

From there, progress to the article by Michael Cieply in yesterday’s New York Times noting Julie & Julia’s production as part of the “next generation of chick flicks.” The article, “Wary Hollywood Plans More Chick Flicks (Hoping to Lure the Guys)”, calls the film:

…a complex exercise, … based on both the life of the cooking enthusiast Julia Child and the 2005 book of the same title by Julie Powell, who, stuck in place as an office temp as she approached 30, spent a year whipping up every recipe in Ms. Child’s “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.”

In fact, [the film is] rooted in a phenomenon — widely styled “chick lit” — that has swept the publishing world in the last decade. The books are written for, and mostly by, professional women in their 20s. The covers are often bright and fluffy, with amusing illustrations. And narrative is often rooted in the first person singular.

And, to top off the tour, Julie’s own reaction to the NYT piece, which, along with some pointed criticisms of both the label “chick lit” and the accompanying condescending tone, takes issue with the Times’ characterization of Child:

COOKING ENTHUSIAST?!!! Pardon my french, but what the F——?!

Parker Morse '96 at 08:51 PM

February 14, 2008

$100 million was a little high

Not long ago, we passed along a story that the College had captured $100 million from the sale of oceanfront property in California.

The Boston Globe has done its own reporting and found that the sale generated only $58 million.

But that’s not bad considering the property was listed on the College’s books at a paltry $1.5 million!

Read the whole story, and learn the identity of the donor of the property, here.

Dave Nardolillo '98 at 03:27 AM | TrackBack

February 07, 2008

Parrish '99 asks, Donald Judd or Cheap Furniture?

In an online quiz highlighted in today’s issue of the Very Short List, painter Graydon Parrish ‘99 and Mikhail Simkin ask the age-old question, does a particular photo depict “exquisite furniture, created by the famous minimalist sculptor Donald Judd,” or “ordinary cheap furniture”? Not knowing anything about Donald Judd but knowing a lot about cheap furniture, I somehow managed to ace the quiz; take it yourself and see how you do.

Brian Meacham '97 at 02:08 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

January 23, 2008

Lt. Joshua W. Gross '98, 1977-2008

Lt. Joshua Gross ‘98 was killed in a helicopter crash during a Navy training exercise a week ago today.

An article from the Binghamton (NY) Press & Sun Bulletin appears here. An excerpt:

Navy Lt. Joshua Walter “Max” Gross, a 30-year-old native of Johnson City and graduate of its high school, who was one of three crew members who died Wednesday evening in a fog-shrouded crash of an MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopter, was described Sunday by his brother as a person who was always smiling and definitely knew how to have fun.

Ironically, Gross had never expressed a desire to be a helicopter pilot before entering the service, said Benjamin Gross.

“He did love to take risks by doing things others might think risky, like sky diving,” said Benjamin Gross, also a JC [Johnson City (NY) High School] graduate. “He just got the most out of life.”

Josh also spent several years after graduation as a ski instructor in Colorado before joining the Navy.

The funeral service is at 6:00 p.m. EST this evening near Binghamton, NY. The address is below the fold.

Josh was energetic, good natured and easily one of the nicest people that I got to know at Amherst. All of us here offer our condolences to Josh’s family and friends.

UPDATE (1/24): Sue McWilliams ‘98 and Juli Sciaraffa ‘98 e-mailed the class today to inform us that Josh’s family has asked that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to Amherst in Josh’s memory. Here is the link where you can do that.

The funeral service will take place at the Barber Memorial Home Inc. 428 Main Street Johnson City, NY 607.797.5722

Dave Nardolillo '98 at 04:05 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

January 13, 2008

Palevsky '07 would rather be fishing

The Pittsburgh Tribune Review today profiled the post-Amherst track of Hilary Palevsky ‘07, a geology major currently in the United Kingdom. Palevsky, studying the Atlantic cod fishery on a Watson fellowship, has done research in Iceland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland since the summer. The Tribune Review quotes Palevsky:

“Even if all I do is go out on boats and get cold and wet and covered in jellyfish slime,” she wrote on her blog, “it will be a good year.”

Palevsky’s fellowship blog is at codfishery.blogspot.com.

Parker Morse '96 at 01:23 PM

December 12, 2007

Thomas P. Whitney '37, 1917-2007

The New York Times today ran an obituary for Thomas P. Whitney ‘37, who died on December 2. He was 90.

Whitney was best known in America as a translator of Solzhenitsyn, having translated smuggled copies of the dissident writer’s The First Circle and The Gulag Archipelago into English for Harper & Row. He was a history major at the College, then got a Masters in Russian history from Columbia in 1940. After a stint in the Office of Strategic Services, the wartime OSS which launched so many interesting post-war careers, Whitney was a diplomat at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, and then worked for the A.P. in Moscow until 1953, covering the final years of Stalin’s regime in the Soviet Union.

Whitney’s continuing connection with the College merits an entire paragraph in the NYT obituary:

In 1991, Mr. Whitney endowed the Amherst Center for Russian Culture, to which he donated his vast library of Russian books, periodicals and other printed matter. (His collection includes manuscripts and correspondence by some of the most eminent literary figures to emerge from the Soviet Union, among them Ilya Ehrenburg, Vladimir Nabokov and Marina Tsvetayeva.) In 2001, he gave the college more than 400 pieces of late-19th- and 20th-century Russian art, including works by Alexander Rodchenko, Natalia Goncharova, Léon Bakst and Marc Chagall.

Today, the Center enjoys a space on the second floor of Webster Hall, at the east end of that building, in a spacious room overlooking the Holyoke Range (the same view as from the War Memorial.) Among many other holdings, it includes the original manuscripts of The First Circle which Whitney used in his translation. It’s a striking example of one alumnus of the College who saw his connection with Amherst as extending beyond four years of schooling, and brought back his own experiences and findings to add to what Amherst has to share.

The Times obit also offers an anecdote of Whitney’s association with Solzhenitsyn which references one of Whitney’s retirement pastimes, raising thoroughbred horses in Connecticut.

During the years Mr. Whitney was translating Mr. Solzhenitsyn, the two were never able to meet. They finally had the opportunity during the 18 years Mr. Solzhenitsyn lived in Vermont before he returned to Russia in 1994. On one occasion, Mr. Whitney took Mr. Solzhenitsyn to Saratoga Racetrack.

“He likes to be a very private person, and he was afraid he might be recognized,” Mr. Whitney told Thoroughbred Times in 1991.

Fortunately, Mr. Whitney added, “The only person who recognized him was a Skidmore professor.”

(I should add, in the interest of full disclosure, that the ACRC was one of the many things that motivated me to choose Amherst, shortly after its donation, and I created its original website in 1995. Another one of my reasons was the same view of the Holyoke range now visible from Webster.)

Parker Morse '96 at 10:06 PM

December 10, 2007

Happy Birthday Dickinson and Dewey

Two figures with Amherst connections share a birthday today, the poet Emily Dickinson, born December 10, 1830, and Melvil Dewey, the creator of the first book classification system, born December 10, 1851.

Dickinson, whose grandfather helped found the College and whose father and brother served as its treasurer, was born in Amherst and spent the majority of her life there, at the Dickinson Homestead, now overseen by the College as the Emily Dickinson Museum.

Dewey, a member of the class of 1874, devised his classification scheme while working in the College’s library as an undergraduate. He developed the system further while serving as Acting Librarian at Amherst after graduating, and went on to help found Library Journal and the American Library Association. More information on Dewey and Amherst can be found in a back issue of the College’s library newsletter.

Brian Meacham '97 at 06:45 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

November 19, 2007

Macharia '01 campaigns for Kenyan parliament

We’ve mentioned alumni campaigning for national office here in the USA, and also Uhuru Kenyatta ‘85’s Kenyan presidential run (since called off), but we’ve been remiss in not noting that Edwin Macharia ‘01 is running for Parliament in Kenya. Macharia, a director for the Clinton Foundation, is running for the Kieni Constituency seat against incumbent Chris Murungaru, a major figure in a scandal which embroiled Kenya’s ruling party in early 2006.

Macharia was interviewed on the BBC’s Network Africa program on Friday, November 16, and has been drawing international attention to his campaign, partly due to his youth, but also for his relatively impressive resume. He was featured in an article in the East Standard earlier this month, and in a French political blog.

Macharia’s campaign has focused on grass-roots change in his district, including a February soccer tournament centered on improving the unemployment problems of young men in Kieni by passing the tournament’s prize money not directly to the winning teams, but to “income generating activities” for the players. Macharia has also mobilized his own connections and the resources of his campaign to address the public health issue of jiggers, insect infestations which often plague families in Kieni.

Kenyan election law allows foreign donations to Kenyan campaigns, so Macharia has been using his Amherst and New York connections as well as fund-raising inside Kenya. Visit his campaign website to learn more.

Parker Morse '96 at 10:37 AM | Comments (1)

November 18, 2007

Three Amherst runners and a bear

This image may only make sense to alumni who have run against Williams’ cross-country and track teams, but as promised, a photo from Saturday’s Nationals in Northfield, Minnesota. From left to right, Anne McNamara ‘04, John Stanton-Geddes ‘04, and Laurel Kilgour ‘03. The bear has an Amherst “A” sewn to the back of its head, if I recall correctly.

More photos, perhaps including a trophy, to come.

Parker Morse '96 at 09:09 PM

November 13, 2007

Maynard 1838 remembered as school turns 110

The Knoxville News Sentinel ran a column today on the 110th year of Maynard Elementary School, “Knoxville’s oldest black school that still stands on its original site.” The school was named for Horace Maynard, a native of Westboro, Massachusetts and an 1838 graduate of the College.

He was a professor at the University of Tennessee from 1839-1844. He read law, was admitted to the bar in 1844 and began his practice in Knoxville. He was elected to Congress several times between 1857 and 1873.

Maynard unsuccessfully ran for governor of Tennessee in 1874. He was minister to Turkey from 1875 to 1880, and was appointed postmaster general in the cabinet of President Rutherford B. Hayes and served from 1880 to 1881. He died in Knoxville May 3, 1882, and is buried in Old Gray Cemetery.

Five years later, as the school named for Maynard was dedicated, “Mayor Samuel Heiskell praised Maynard as a devoted friend and advocate of the education of the people.” A school named for Mayor Heiskell had been dedicated just six days earlier.

Parker Morse '96 at 08:58 AM

November 07, 2007

Jauss '80 new Orioles bench coach

Dave Jauss ‘80, former member of the Boston Red Sox organization for 10 years and college, minor league, and Venezuelan Winter League coach, has been named the bench coach of the Baltimore Orioles. Jauss had followed former Sox manager Grady Little to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2006, but with the departure of Little and the arrival of Joe Torre, Jauss has made his move.

Jauss is one of a number of prominent alumni involved in professional baseball, and follows the illustrious Harry Dalton ‘50 in the Baltimore Orioles organization.

Brian Meacham '97 at 01:06 AM | TrackBack

October 29, 2007

Hilgartner '82 teaching mind and body in Alabama

The Montgomery (AL) Advertiser today profiles Jim Hilgartner ‘82, a professor at Huntingdon College. Hilgartner gave a presentation on self-defense on Saturday, not normally a part of most English department curricula.

[Hilgartner] demonstrated not only his narrative skills Saturday morning at Huntingdon College where he teaches English and creative writing, he also showed a group of women how to disarm an assailant with a quick body twist and a flick of the wrist.

Hilgartner got started in his martial arts pursuit watching the “Kung Fu” TV series with David Carradine, but followed his interest into the same careful and thorough study he applied to literature. He sees them as parts of the same whole, and appreciates Huntingdon’s support of its athletic program:

“Our administrators understand there is a body attached to a mind,” he said. “Students learn that the skills they use in athletics can also apply to their academic pursuits.”

One assumes he would have found some areas of agreement with “Doc” Hitchcock.

Parker Morse '96 at 10:08 AM | Comments (1)

October 18, 2007

Lane '85 on digital privacy

Frederick Lane ‘85, writer and internet privacy expert, is the subject of a Lancaster Intelligencer Journal article after he delivered a lecture at Elizabethtown College titled “Lost in MySpace: Personal Privacy and Safety in a Wired World.”

Lane has written numerous books on the subject, including The Naked Employee: How Technology Is Compromising Workplace Privacy, and has appeared on “The Daily Show,” “Good Morning America,” and “The Today Show.”

Lane warned students to “have no reasonable expectations of privacy” when posting personal thoughts or information on the Internet.

Lane told the audience to be careful when creating Web pages on social networking sites such as MySpace or Facebook because information posted there eventually will be found on somebody else’s computer.

“If you put it out there it will spread,” Lane said. “In many cases, courts will be less likely to defend your rights because you give (information) away so easily.”

Lane ended with this aphorism: “Google thyself. Be brand aware.” Wise words, indeed.

Brian Meacham '97 at 12:24 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

October 09, 2007

What's in a name?

University of California, Berkeley School of Law, one of the top-ranked law schools in the country, is also commonly known as “Boalt Hall,” or “Boalt.” (The gift that made the law building possible in 1911 mandated that it be named “The Boalt Memorial Hall of Law.”)

Unfortunately, these multiple names have created an apparent identity crisis for the powers that be at Boalt. The school has hired a San Francisco consulting firm to advise it on the selection of a new name to give it better “brand recognition.”

Although I always thought of Boalt as a solid brand name akin to Tuck and Wharton— the common names of the business schools at Dartmouth and Penn—the law school alumni seem to be eager to ditch Boalt to have a formal name that incorporates the “UC Berkeley” brand.

By now you must be wondering, “What on earth does this have to do with Amherst?” Well, the law school’s namesake is none other than John Henry Boalt, Amherst Class of 1857.

(Hat Tip to Brian Leiter’s Law School Reports)

Dave Nardolillo '98 at 09:52 PM | TrackBack

September 25, 2007

Another Amherst GM

The Nashua, NH Telegraph is reporting that Neal Huntington ‘91 “could be named general manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates” today. The Telegraph cites “printed reports out of Pittsburgh,” (perhaps like this MLB.com report) and hedges some in light of some mixed messages from the Pirates, so naturally the news will not be confirmed until a press conference later today (Tuesday). Update: Dave tells us the news is now official.

According to the Telegraph,

The Pirates fired Dave Littlefield earlier this month with the team suffering through its 15th straight losing season and sixth since Littlefield was hired in July 2001.

The 37-year-old Huntington, who has worked in the front office of the Montreal Expos and currently the Cleveland Indians, surfaced as the front runner for the job late last week.

Huntington, like Boston Red Sox director of player development Ben Cherington ‘96, got his start in baseball management working for former Red Sox GM Dan Duquette ‘80, in Huntington’s case while Duquette was GM of the Montreal Expos in the mid-90s.

Parker Morse '96 at 09:04 AM | Comments (2)

September 24, 2007

Rieckhoff '98 and Obama Girl

Paul Rieckhoff ‘98, in his capacity as director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, has joined forces with “Obama Girl” Amber Lee Ettinger to produce another internet video, this one called “I Like a Boy,” about being in love with a soldier stationed in Iraq. In a piece about the film on ABC News, Rieckhoff describes the distribution of the video:

“Some of first responses were from Iraq,” said Paul Rieckhoff, executive director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. “It’s become viral. Everyone’s passing it on, forwarding through MySpace, through e-mail.”

Watch the video on CNN.com. Thanks to Tim for the tip.

Brian Meacham '97 at 11:54 AM | TrackBack

September 09, 2007

Sabrina lands on Roosevelt Island?

Sabrina (or a compelling replica of the sculpture) has apparently found a home on Roosevelt Island, that tiny sliver of land smack in the middle of New York City’s East River.

The sculpture is located on the grounds of The Octagon, a landmark refurbished and converted into a condominium complex. The inquisitive Roosevelt Island resident that happened upon Sabrina has done the research on the sculpture’s history and connected all the Amherst dots back to Bruce Becker ‘80, the condominium developer, (and even linked to Brian’s post on Sabrina’s 2005 reunion appearance here) and notes the coincidence with Amherst’s own Octagon.

I am assuming that this Sabrina is indeed a replica, but please leave us a note in the comments if you can add to the story of Sabrina’s new home.

Dave Nardolillo '98 at 12:45 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

September 03, 2007

Writer Nalini Jones '93 receives praise for "What You Call Winter"

The September 2 edition of the Ridgefield Press includes an interesting and well-written profile of writer Nalini Jones ‘93. Jones wrote What You Call Winter, a collection of short stories just published by Knopf on August 17. According to the article, “each story in the collection is linked to Santa Clara, a fictional Catholic suburb of Mumbai, India, loosely based on Ms. Jones’s treks to visit family in India.”

The article notes that the collection has been warmly received:

Publisher’s Weekly described it as an “auspicious debut” and says Ms. Jones “displays impressive scope and depth of sympathy.” Elle says, “Jones turns phrases with a lyrical lilt that taps into our deepest feelings about family.” The San Francisco Chronicle wrote last week, “There is no doubt that Jones is a skilled writer, which is reflected in her handling of character as well as her prose.” John Casey, winner of the National Book Award, said, “I love this book.”

The article also provides a snapshot of Jones’ development as a writer, from working at a local newspaper in high school through her graduate studies at Columbia, her fellowship at the MacDowell Colony and her experiences teaching high school and college students.

There is also a brief mention of former Amherst writer-in-residence Caryl Phillips, for whom Jones worked as a research assistant while at Amherst.

Still, every time she chases an idea with words, Ms. Jones feels an aftershock of fiction author Caryl Phillips’ words: “Don’t bother writing unless you have something to say — writing is too hard to do well unless it’s born of great passion and urgency.”

Dave Nardolillo '98 at 04:24 PM | TrackBack

July 31, 2007

Ingolv Helland '96 in BP Portrait Award

“Winter Portrait,” by Ingolv Helland ‘96, is one of 60 portraits selected as finalists in the 2007 BP Portrait Award 2007. Thanks to Jessica for giving us the tip that Ingolv’s portrait was was selected as the image representing the competition on all promotional material. From the official site of Norway in the UK:

The painting selected for the BP Award Show at the National Portrait Gallery, was painted between November 2006 and February this year. The artist says the focus of the painting lies in the deconstruction of form and the attributes of the painterly expression. The tactile quality of the paint handling combined with strong sense of coloration reaches for the emotional core of visual phenomena. The directness in Ingolv’s approach to form is handsomely mirrored in the disarming gaze in the painting.

The painting has been chosen as the cover image for the exhibition’s promotional material. Sandy Nairne, director of the National Portrait Gallery, says: ‘It’s not an easy task, choosing one image that will represent the diversity of styles seen in the BP Portrait Award exhibition. We chose Inglov [sic] Helland’s ‘Winter portrait’ for our promotional materials – for the cover of our quarterly brochure and for the posters that will be seen across the city of London – as it really engages the viewer. The fixed, outward gaze of the sitter immediately captures your attention, while the painterly style suggests the high standard of work that will be included in the exhibition.’

Winter Portrait © Ingolv Helland

Brian Meacham '97 at 08:41 PM | TrackBack

Richard Wilbur '42 on memories of World War II

The Springfield Republican tells the story of an interview with Pulitzer Prize-winning Richard Wilbur ‘42. In the interview, conducted by a local Springfield public TV affiliate for a World War II documentary, Wilbur talks about his time serving as a cryptographer with the Army’s 36th Infantry Division in Africa and Europe.

In those days he wrote about his service with a unit that endured heavy losses as it made its way through World War II. Death was a frequent topic then - whether directly as in “Tywater,” about a lariat-roping Texan killed in Italy on the beachhead at Anzio - or indirectly as in “First Snow in Alsace,” describing a moment of calm in a European village, the snow blanketing a shattered town while also a mile or two away filling the eyes “of soldiers dead a little while.”

“Once you find words for something, you don’t fear it as much as you had,” Wilbur said.

He would send his wartime poems to his wife, to an old friend from college or to one of his teachers at Amherst College, from which he had graduated in 1942. Wilbur enlisted in the Army that same year and served until 1945. Two years later he published “The Beautiful Changes,” his first volume of poetry, which included poems written in Europe.

The documentary will run in western Massachusetts in September, as a tie-in with Ken Burns’ upcoming seven-part documentary series, “The War.”

Brian Meacham '97 at 07:39 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

July 02, 2007

Fitzgerald '82 comments on commutation of Libby jail sentence

As you are all likely aware, I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby had his jail sentence of 30 months commuted by President Bush today after the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals denied Libby’s appeal for bail. Libby will not serve jail time, but he must still pay a $250,000 fine. Also, Libby’s recent disbarment remains untouched.

Patrick Fitzgerald ‘82, the special prosecutor in the case, issued this response:

“We fully recognize that the Constitution provides that commutation decisions are a matter of presidential prerogative and we do not comment on the exercise of that prerogative.

“We comment only on the statement in which the President termed the sentence imposed by the judge as “excessive.” The sentence in this case was imposed pursuant to the laws governing sentencings which occur every day throughout this country. In this case, an experienced federal judge considered extensive argument from the parties and then imposed a sentence consistent with the applicable laws. It is fundamental to the rule of law that all citizens stand before the bar of justice as equals. That principle guided the judge during both the trial and the sentencing.

“Although the President’s decision eliminates Mr. Libby’s sentence of imprisonment, Mr. Libby remains convicted by a jury of serious felonies, and we will continue to seek to preserve those convictions through the appeals process.”

While critics and supporters of the President’s decision to commute the sentence will surely continue to debate Fitzgerald’s investigation in the next few days—not surprisingly he has been criticized from the beginning by Libby supporters—Fitzgerald’s professionalism when speaking publicly about the case has been beyond reproach. This statement is another fine example of the standard of professionalism that the public should expect from a prosecutor.

Dave Nardolillo '98 at 09:59 PM | TrackBack

June 23, 2007

Cullen Murphy '74: Are We Rome?

The Atlantic Monthly this week features an interview with former managing editor Cullen Murphy ‘74, author of a new book titled Are We Rome?, which “talks about the American empire’s parallels with the ancient republic and how we can learn from the caesars’ mistakes.”

America has come to occupy the same role that Rome occupied in its own world two millennia ago. Since the fall of communism, Americans have been trying to come to terms with this new role and haven’t really figured out how to do it. I’m not sure that any of our foreign policy elite, or Americans more generally, really has a firm idea of what we should be doing in the world. This question naturally takes you back to looking at former big dogs in the world and how they behaved.

Brian Meacham '97 at 02:08 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

May 25, 2007

Rob Brown '07 as Ernie Davis, Syracuse football star

A Syracuse Post-Standard article this week focuses on Rob Brown and his film role as running back Ernie Davis, the Syracuse University star who became the first African-American player to win the Heisman Trophy and led the Orangemen to the national championship in 1959, before dying of leukemia in 1963. The film, titled The Express, is due out in 2008.

“I feel like he’s an icon like Jackie Robinson,” said Brown. “It’s so sad people don’t know about him. Obviously, Jackie Robinson lived for a lot more years. There was more exposure. Ernie opened up a lot of the same doors for black athletes as Jackie did. It’s mind-boggling that people don’t know, but that’s why we’re doing a film.”

Thanks to Dave for the tip.

Brian Meacham '97 at 11:51 AM | TrackBack

April 27, 2007

Turow '70 on attorney firings

As the controversy over the firings of U.S. attorneys continues to grow, lawyer, author, and former U.S. attorney Scott Turow ‘70 offers his thoughts on the matter in an interview with the Madison Capital Times.

Because the course of events indicates that these U.S. attorneys were being replaced because of the way they handled particular cases without contravening established policy, is an extremely troubling thing for those of us who have been federal prosecutors. The thought that they would take people’s jobs because of whom they prosecute is deeply troubling.

Brian Meacham '97 at 12:30 PM | TrackBack

Profile of President Pfeiffer '69

The Asheville Citizen-Times offers a profile of Warren Wilson College president Sandy Pfeiffer ‘69. Pfeiffer was named to the post last July, which we noted at the time.

Brian Meacham '97 at 12:25 PM | TrackBack

Applegate '89 wins Pulitzer for Beecher bio

We missed this when it was announced a few weeks ago, but Debby Applegate ‘89 was awarded the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for her biography of Henry Ward Beecher, The Most Famous Man in America, which we covered when it was published last year. Our congratulations to Debby on her achievement.

Brian Meacham '97 at 12:13 PM | TrackBack

February 07, 2007

Johnson '93, New York State Senator

Craig Johnson ‘93, whose candidacy we noted last month, has won the special election held Tuesday for the New York State 7th District Senate seat vacated by Michael A. L. Balboni, who left to join the Spitzer administration. Johnson, who is a Democrat, won the traditionally Republican district by winning 53 percent of the vote, over Maureen O’Connell, who tallied 46 percent.

From Johnson’s victory speech:

“For 100 years, this seat has been held by Republicans. Today we bid those years farewell and begin a new century. As Democrats, we are on our way to a new majority in the State Senate — a cause that was advanced tonight but that continues starting now. As Long Islanders, we are heading toward property tax reform; that will help our seniors and overburdened middle class. And as New Yorkers, we will help Eliot Spitzer finish the job of changing state government so it works for all of us, not just the well-connected few.”

Brian Meacham '97 at 02:18 PM | TrackBack

February 01, 2007

President Plimpton and Professor Greene, in memoriam

Two Amherst graduates who returned to the school and had a major influence on the Amherst community have passed away. Former President Calvin Plimpton ‘39 passed away yesterday at his home in Westwood, Massachusetts, and history professor Theodore Greene ‘43 died earlier this month in Amherst.

Both men were at Amherst during times of great change, and both played roles in Amherst’s transition to coeducation. Their obituaries in the Boston Globe describe Plimpton as being credited with “starting the process that led to the admission of women to the prestigious liberal arts school,” while Professor Greene was a “leading faculty advocate of transforming historically all-male Amherst into a coeducational institution. “

Plimpton graduated from Amherst in 1939, and returned in 1960 to lead Amherst as president for eleven years. Professor Greene, after graduating from the College in 1943, taught history from 1952 to 1989. Greene is quoted as coming to an understanding of Amherst by “spending twenty-seven years of my life at Amherst and by familiarity with the experience of two grandfathers, a father, a brother, four uncles, and four cousins, who together have known Amherst from 1878.”

Brian Meacham '97 at 12:33 AM | TrackBack

January 25, 2007

New movie from Grant '84 Released this weekend

Susannah Grant ‘84, the Oscar-nominated screenwriter behind Erin Brockovich, In Her Shoes, Ever After, and numerous other films, makes her directorial debut with Catch and Release, opening this Friday. We first mentioned the film back in May of 2005.

We caught a preview of the film at an Amherst Alumni event in Santa Monica last night, and enjoyed both the film and Grant’s Q & A afterward. When asked about Amherst English classes, she mentioned professors Pritchard and Sofield, and lamented the fact that she named a character in In Her Shoes “Professor Sofield,” but his name was never mentioned in the film.

A random assortment of the reviews, many of them kind, that are popping up all over:

• Entertainment Weekly

• New City Chicago

• MovieWeb

• ScrippsNews

Brian Meacham '97 at 01:10 AM | TrackBack

January 16, 2007

Richard Wilbur '46, "happy poet"

A Canada.com interview with Richard Wilbur ‘46 describes the varied and fruitful life of “one of today’s most celebrated poets and translators.” Wilbur lives on an 80-acre plot in Cummington, Mass, and has been busy recently, with new poems published, a translation of Pierre Corneille’s “The Theater of Illusion” coming out this year, and a contribution to an Iraq and Afghanistan war anthology.

[Wilbur] was interested in music and painting early on and, as a teenager, managed to get his first verse, about a nightingale, published in John Martin’s Magazine, which paid him $1. At Amherst College, he worked on the campus humour magazine and spent enough time around student leftists to get him kicked out of the Signal Corps at the start of the Second World War - he was classified as “Suspected of Disloyalty” - and transferred to front-line duty in the 36th Infantry.

Brian Meacham '97 at 10:27 PM | TrackBack

January 12, 2007

Johnson '93 in special election

Craig Johnson ‘93, currently in his third term as Nassau County Legislator representing Port Jefferson, New York, has been nominated by Democrats to run for state Senate.

Johnson will be running in a special election February 6 to fill a state Senate seat vacated by Michael Balboni, who has left to become Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s chief of homeland security. Johnson’s opponent, Maureen O’Connell, is a former state assemblywoman and current clerk of Nassau County.

Jay Jacobs, chairman of the Nassau County Democrats, said Johnson comes to the table with a solid record and base of supporters.

“He knows how to campaign, voters are used to voting for him and he has an excellent record in the Legislature,” Jacobs said.

Thanks to Tim for the links.

Brian Meacham '97 at 01:43 AM

December 31, 2006

Shelton '81 vs. State of Maine

Daniel Shelton ‘81 is, despite his Ware, Massachusetts address, making news in Maine. Shelton, who is a Yale Law grad and a specialty beer importer, is suing the state, which has banned three beers he imports, due to their labels.

The Lewiston Sun Journal bills Shelton as a “beer afficionado [sic]” and First Amendment “crusader,” for his argument that the state has no authority to regulate art, even when it’s on a beer label. Shelton and his company have fought similar rules in “about seven” states, and he hasn’t lost yet. According to Shelton, “It’s not really fighting, in most cases. Call it frank discussion. For example, when we approached the state of Washington with a problem, they said, ‘So glad you showed up! We know these regulations are daft but we couldn’t make any changes until someone complained.’”

The Shelton Brothers’ own blog offers a fuller explanation of their side of the story.

The full Sun Journal profile of Shelton includes several Sheltonian gems, such as his description of how he became an importer:

I was looking for some authentic lambic beers from the Cantillon brewery in Brussels after one of my brothers returned from there with beer for all of us to try. A woman in a shop said that she couldn’t get any; I told her that my brother knew the brewers and could possibly get some for her, and she replied that I would have to become a beer importer to do that. I literally said, “How hard could that be?!” The rest is long and ugly history.

Parker Morse '96 at 04:53 PM

December 28, 2006

Stiglitz '64 on intellectual Scrooging

In an article in the British Medical Journal titled “Scrooge and intellectual property rights,” Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz ‘64 argues against restrictive intellectual property laws that he says reduce access to generic medicines. Instead, Stiglitz argues for opening up intellectual property to generic drug manufacturers and creating a “medical prize fund” to help promote innovation in the hunt for cures to diseases.

Intellectual property differs from other property—restricting its use is inefficient as it costs nothing for another person to use it. Thomas Jefferson, America’s third president, put it more poetically than modern economists (who refer to “zero marginal costs” and “non-rivalrous consumption”) when he said that knowledge is like a candle, when one candle lights another it does not diminish from the light of the first. Using knowledge to help someone does not prevent that knowledge from helping others. Intellectual property rights, however, enable one person or company to have exclusive control of the use of a particular piece of knowledge, thereby creating monopoly power. Monopolies distort the economy. Restricting the use of medical knowledge not only affects economic efficiency, but also life itself.

Thanks to Rick for the link.

Brian Meacham '97 at 02:06 PM | TrackBack

December 05, 2006

Julia Cho '96, a "playwright of clear promise"

In a November 21, 2006 review of the play “Durango,” New York Times theater critic Christopher Isherwood praises the work of the author, Julia Cho ‘96.

Ms. Cho, a young playwright of clear promise, develops even the potentially hackneyed themes with a laconic, natural ease that earns respect and admiration. Nothing in “Durango” feels particularly new, but nothing in it feels contrived or dishonest, either.

The article features an audio slide show with narration by Cho, speaking about “Durango” and her previous work. The play, “about a Korean immigrant and his two sons squabbling, soul-baring and eventually healing, just a little, as they tool around the Southwest,” runs through December 10 at the Public Theater. Thanks to Min for the tip.

Brian Meacham '97 at 11:29 AM | TrackBack

December 02, 2006

Russell '81E and Lamia '98 are All About Her

A multi-generational Amherst duo are teaming up for a new comedy according to a Variety report. Director David O. Russell ‘81E and screenwriter and actress Jenna Lamia ‘98, along with producer Jason Blum, are working on the project for New Line.

According to the report, the film, called All About Me, “revolves around a high school student in the drama department who wants to be famous — and will do just about anything to get there.” We look forward to seeing how these two generations of Amherst creatives work together. Thanks to Josh for the tip.

Brian Meacham '97 at 01:56 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

November 20, 2006

Mid-November news update

A round-up of recent (and not-so-recent) news about Amherst alumni, this week:

• First, in movie news, Jeffrey Wright ‘87 stars in Casino Royale, which opened this weekend, and Larry Miller ‘75 and John Michael Higgins ‘85 star in For Your Consideration, the latest film from director Christopher Guest, which opened in select theaters.

• In a Springfield Republican article on Emily Dickinson, the lock of the poet’s hair held by the College’s Archives and Special Collections is at the center of the discussion.

• In science news, Jeffrey L. Osborn ‘74, professor of biological sciences and science outreach at the University of Kentucky, is principal investigator on a $2 million National Science Foundation grant just received by the University.

• Nancy Pick ‘83 and the College’s photographer Frank Ward have collaborated on a book published by the College this summer titled “Curious Footprints: Professor Hitchcock’s Dinosaur Tracks and Other Natural History Treasures at Amherst College.” Thanks to Jan for these two tips.

• Novelist Harlan Coben ‘84, in a recent New York Times editorial titled “Will Play for Food,” in which he urges parents and coaches around the country to help end what he calls “American Snack Tyranny.”

• In Wall Street Journal article that is behind their paywall, Wei Christianson ‘83 is named #30 of the Journal’s “50 Women to Watch: 2006.” According to the article, Wei was the first student from China to graduate from Amherst and is currently the CEO of Morgan Stanley’s China operations.

• Ken Heebner ‘62 is the subject of CNN profile titled “The mad genius of mutual funds.” The article calls Heebner “one of the all-time greats,” and describes the more than $6.6 billion he manages. Heebner ends the interview by saying, “The last full week I took off was probably in the 1980s, although I do take a Friday off here or there to go sailing. I don’t need a vacation to relax. The stock market relaxes me.” Thanks to Matt for these two tips.

• And finally, a nice little letter to the editor of the Los Angeles Times; I never saw the photo that is the subject of the letter, but it’s sort of charming on its own.

Brian Meacham '97 at 12:10 PM | TrackBack

November 08, 2006

Freudenthal '73 wins re-election

Governor Dave Freudenthal ‘73 of Wyoming, whom we’ve mentioned previously, handily won re-election last night, capturing 70% of the votes and defeating challenger Ray Hunkins.

Freudenthal says he campaigned on reinvesting revenues from the state’s energy boom. And he says he’s governed by putting Wyoming first and not worrying about who gets the credit.

We’d love to hear about any other Amherst alums in local or national races last night; drop a line in the comments to let us know.

Brian Meacham '97 at 08:50 PM | TrackBack

November 06, 2006

Fitzgerald '82 grills first witness

Patrick Fitzgerald ‘82, special prosecutor in the “Scooter” Libby case, cross-examined his first witness last week, and, as the Washington Post reports, he “sliced up” the witness with a “Ginsu-like legal performance.” The witness, criminology and psychology professor Elizabeth F. Loftus, was defending her findings in regard to human memory and witness testimony.

There were several moments when Loftus was completely caught off guard by Fitzgerald, creating some very awkward silences in the courtroom.

We’ve been covering Fitzgerald and the case for the last year here, and we’re likely to see more stories coming up in the near future. Thanks to Dave for the tip.

Brian Meacham '97 at 03:38 PM | TrackBack

October 27, 2006

Hollywood update

In entertainment news, Jordan McDeere, the character played by Amanda Peet on NBC’s somewhat acclaimed and seemingly doomed high-gloss series Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, apparently attended Amherst, and is seen going incognito in an Amherst sweatshirt in the season’s fifth episode. Thanks to Amy for the tip.

The Coen brothers’ new project, starring George Clooney, was announced this week as Burn After Reading, a somewhat less interesting version of the original title of the book, Burn Before Reading: Presidents, CIA Directors, and Secret Intelligence, by former CIA director Stansfield Turner, ex 1945.

And finally, Catch and Release, the directorial debut by Susannah Grant ‘84, played to audiences at the recent Austin Film Festival. The film, which we reported on here back in March of 2005, is due out in January of 2007 and garnered a mostly positive review from The Hollywood Reporter.

Brian Meacham '97 at 10:37 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

October 09, 2006

Phelps '55 is Nobel laureate

This morning in Stockholm, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the 2006 Nobel Prize in Economics to Edmund Phelps ‘55.

An event of this magnitude has plenty of “real media” coverage, so we’re not going to try to distill everything here. Here are the sources we’ve been using to learn more about this honor for Phelps:

• The Amherst College press release includes quotes from Geoffrey R. Woglom, the Richard S. Volpert ‘56 Professor of Economics.
• The Columbia University press release notes that Phelps is Columbia’s fourth Nobel laureate in Economics. The third, of course, was also an Amherst alum: Joseph Stiglitz ‘64.
• Phelps’ Wikipedia entry is likely to be seeing some updates.
• The Nobel profile page carries only the bare words, “for his analysis of intertemporal tradeoffs in macroeconomic policy”.
• The Bloomberg story notes that Phelps was “ranked 45th in a list of the most published authors of papers in the most important U.S. economic journals of the past half-century.”

Parker Morse '96 at 04:22 PM

September 27, 2006

Teller '69 (speaks) on creativity in magic

In a New York Times article on the similarities between two magicians’ acts, Teller ‘69, the non-speaking half of Penn & Teller, gives his take on the work of magicians Ricky Jay and Eric Walton, and the recent contention by some that Walton has copied some elements of Jay’s act, elements that themselves have been around for hundreds of years.

If an act hasn’t been prominently performed for a long time, and someone takes the trouble to bring it back from absolute death and put it into his act with fine touches, and which at least hasn’t been seen by a current generation, the gentlemanly thing to do is say, ‘That’s his for now.’

Brian Meacham '97 at 02:11 PM | TrackBack

September 25, 2006

Rieckhoff '98 on the Geneva Conventions

In an Op-Ed piece in today’s New York Times, Paul Rieckhoff ‘98, executive director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, takes on the current administration’s stance on the treatment of prisoners of war.

If America continues to erode the meaning of the Geneva Conventions, we will cede the ground upon which to prosecute dictators and warlords. We will also become unable to protect our troops if they are perceived as being no more bound by the rule of law than dictators and warlords themselves.

Thanks to George for the link.

Brian Meacham '97 at 01:11 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

September 19, 2006

David Suzuki '58 on world tour

After this summer’s movie, An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore may be the face of opposition to global climate change in the U.S., but in Canada, that movement has been led for years by David Suzuki ‘58. After turning 70 in March of this year, this summer Suzuki published the second volume of his autobiography, David Suzuki: The Autobiography. (The first volume, covering his first fifty years, was titled Metamorphosis: States in a Life.) Suzuki is now on a world tour—Charles Darwin University in Australia, one of this week’s stops, calls it a “national farewell tour”—to promote the book.

Though he started as a geneticist, since 1971 Suzuki has been a fixture on Canadian television, and around the world in syndication. Half Bill Nye the Science Guy and half Mister Rodgers, Suzuki has been promoting environmental awareness, renewable energy sources, and similar causes for three decades. In 1991 he founded the David Suzuki Foundation, a non-profit organization working “to find ways for society to live in balance with the natural world that sustains us.” The foundation’s website advocates causes like keeping Canada in the Kyoto climate-change treaty and “The Nature Challenge,” a sort of top-ten list of steps individuals can take to make a difference for the environment.

Parker Morse '96 at 10:00 PM | Comments (0)

September 18, 2006

Diver '65 on the SAT

Reed College President Colin Diver ‘65 is the author of an opinion piece in today’s New York Times titled “Skip the Test, Betray the Cause.” Diver, who wrote last year in The Atlantic Monthly about the ten years since Reed College has stopped participating in the U.S. News & World Report College Rankings, defends the use of SATs as tools that, “for all their recognized imperfections, are carefully designed and tested to measure…basic intellectual skills.”

Those who advocate making test scores optional sometimes argue that individual applicants know best whether their test scores are good measures of their academic abilities. But how can a high school senior know this? We all believe that we are better than our test scores and, for that matter, our grade point averages, our writing samples and our interview performances. But wishing doesn’t make it so.

Diver closes by arguing that by dropping SAT requirements, colleges and universities are heading in a dangerous (and slippery) direction.

Making SAT scores optional is the latest instance of a disheartening trend in college admissions. In the rush to climb the pecking order, educational institutions are adopting practices, and rationalizations for those practices, unworthy of the intellectual rigor they seek to instill in their students.

Thanks to Dave for the tip.

Brian Meacham '97 at 11:14 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

September 11, 2006

Parrish '99 delivers painted memorial

Last month we linked, in the News Briefs section, a story from the New Britain Herald about a September 11, 2001 memorial painting delivered by Graydon Parrish ‘99 to the New Britain Museum of American Art.

Today’s Hartford Courant takes a deeper look at the painting. The article, subtitled “Monumental Painting A Multilayered Remembrance Of 9/11”, says,

Graydon Parrish’s new painting, “The Cycle of Terror and Tragedy: September 11, 2001,” is the sort of work that rewards detailed inspection.

Figurative, allegorical and emotional, the painting was created to commemorate one of the darkest days in American history.

The Courant also calls Parrish’s work, measuring 8’ high by 18’ wide, “arresting.” A (necessarily smaller) image of the painting runs with the article.

The NBMAA commissioned the work after displaying Parrish’s senior honors project, the allegorical painting “Remorse, Despondence and the Acceptance of an Early Death,” which currently hangs in Frost Library, as part of their 2002 show, “200 Years of the American Nude.” Parrish still lives in Amherst.

Parker Morse '96 at 02:06 PM | Comments (0)

September 08, 2006

Kenyatta '85 tries again for Kenyan Presidency

With a presidential election coming in 2007, Kenya’s Daily Nation previewed the nomination candidates from the Orange Democratic Movement of Kenya (ODM-K), including Uhuru Kenyatta ‘85.

Kenyatta, the son of Kenya’s founding president Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, has run before, in 2002, as the candidate for his father’s KANU party, which had ruled Kenya from its independence, but lost to Mwai Kibaki.

In 2005, Kenyatta became the chairman of KANU, and led the party into ODM-K, a coalition with Kenya’s Liberal Democratic Party. The ODM-K mounted a successful campaign in 2005 against the proposed new constitution for Kenya, and is expected to mount a significant challenge to Kibaki as he runs for a second five-year term.

The Nation and Wikipedia agree that Kenyatta studied Political Science at the College, but the Nation suggests he also studied Economics. As a member of the class of ‘85, Kenyatta just missed rubbing shoulders with future heads of state like Prince Albert of Monaco (class of ‘81) and former Salvadoran president Francisco Flores (also ‘81.)

Parker Morse '96 at 08:23 PM | Comments (0)

August 21, 2006

Shirin Adhami '01 featured in Brookline

Friday’s MetroWest Daily News features the photography of Shirin Adhami ‘01. Adhami’s portraits of dolls and their owners, a project she started with customers of her mother’s doll store in Milford, MA, are featured through mid-September at the Brookline Arts Center.

“It’s just a documentary, I’m not doing any comments on the subjects,” Adhami said. “I’m looking for as much variation as I can. I’m mostly interested in the dolls as a form of art, a different representation of a person. In a way, I’m a doll maker—we both take life and render it motionless. My models are my dolls.”

Parker Morse '96 at 11:28 AM | Comments (0)

August 11, 2006

Michael de Beer '96, 1973-2006

Our regular searches for College news turned up word of the death of Mike de Beer ‘96.

While I’ve noted a few alumni deaths here, until now it hasn’t been anyone I knew, had classes with, shared meals in Valentine with. Mike, who entered with the class of ‘95, was in my English 6 class in my very first semester at Amherst, and we both worked as supervisors in the Academic Computer Center in SMudd. From his bio at the Direct Action and Research Training Center (where Mike attended the Organizers Institute in 2003):

[After graduating with an] interdisciplinary degree in History, Philosophy, and Sociology … he spent several years working with Non-Governmental Organizations in South Africa and England, and directed staff for a non-profit technology organization in San Francisco, California. While working at his last position, Michael became union steward and chief contract negotiator. Through his union activities, he was introduced to the concept of organizing for power and began looking for a career in the field. This led him to seek positions within both union and community organizing. …

“I get very angry at systems of racism, sexism, and vilification of the poor. This comes out of my growing up in a family that worked against apartheid; my uncles were either imprisoned or expelled from South Africa, and my parents left before such could befall them and their children. I can see my values and anger in the choices I have made in my life—what I have done, what I have not done. They are how I chose my college major, why I travel and work in ‘dangerous’ places, why I devote many hours each week to political action and service, and my very identity as a person who is about working for social justice.”

Mike was working most recently as an organizer for Richmonders Involved in Strengthening Communities (RISC) in Richmond, Virginia.

Parker Morse '96 at 09:24 PM | Comments (2)

August 10, 2006

Rettig '05 to Rwanda on Fulbright

According to the Rockville Register Star, Max Rettig ‘05 is on his way to Rwanda on a Fulbright scholarship.

[T]hrough face-to-face interaction and interviews with Rwandan genocide survivors as well as prisoners, Rettig … will study how the country copes with genocide, he said. A major part of his study will focus on the role of community-based trials, called “gacaca,” in the healing process.

Even though Rettig doesn’t actually have a place to stay yet—“That’s a hurdle he’ll have to jump when he arrives in Rwanda”—the Register Star reports that his parents are “surprisingly calm” about the trip.

Parker Morse '96 at 02:59 PM | Comments (0)

August 07, 2006

Not so silent Cal

Last week, the Library of Congress’s American Memory site remembered the anniversary of Calvin Coolidge 1895’s inauguration as President of the USA. The LOC has a significant exhibit on the Coolidge era, notably including a number of audio clips of the famously laconic Coolidge speaking.

Parker Morse '96 at 03:30 PM | Comments (0)

August 02, 2006

Gupta '01's new venture makes WSJ

Laurel draws our attention to buzz for Amit Gupta ‘01 (or is that ‘04?) and his latest venture, Photojojo. Gupta’s first creation was the Daily Jolt (for which Brian once worked.) Photojojo appeared in the Wall Street Journal’s “Blog Watch” page on Monday, July 24. Says Gupta, “If you like photography, you will like Photojojo.”

According to Gupta’s bio on his weblog, “He also helped create a non-profit called ChangeThis with Seth Godin and brought the technology un-conference BarCamp to NYC. He’s consulted for companies such as Pearson, Apple, and Creative Good. He’s co-author of The Big Moo, a WSJ best-seller, with Seth Godin, Malcolm Gladwell, Guy Kawasaki, Tom Peters, and others.”

Parker Morse '96 at 10:28 AM

Extraterrestrial art from Keats '94

Jonathon Keats ‘94 is at it again.

Keats, who in 2002 led a petition drive to pass a logical law, A=A (“every entity shall be identical to itself,”) into a statutory law in Berkeley, CA, is now exhibiting “the first collection of extraterrestrial art”.

From the press release:

“This is the ultimate outsider art,” notes Keats. “Historically our culture has ignored extraterrestrial artistic expression. Exhibited at the Magnes, the art becomes accessible to everyone … It’s a familiar story. Researchers expect intelligent life elsewhere in the universe to behave just like them. Since scientists are mathematical, they expect extraterrestrials to broadcast the digits of pi or the Pythagorean theorem.”

Keats began seriously to question the wisdom of these assumptions while conducting independent research early last year. “If I were an extraterrestrial trying to communicate with beings elsewhere in the universe, I certainly wouldn’t transmit something they already knew,” he argues. “I’d try to express something about myself, as profound as possible, in the most universal language I could imagine: I’d send art.”

Technology reporter Clive Thompson notes on his weblog, Collision Detection, that Keats raises an interesting point:

Why do we expect that an extraterrestrial race would broadcast mathematical concepts—such as a sequence of prime numbers—as a transmission? Obviously we suppose that math is universal, and thus transcends whatever weird tentacle-based language the aliens speak. But the fact is that we humans broadcast our first official message to aliens—a series of recordings sent aboard the Voyager interstellar mission—we included, yep, art: The first movement of the Brandenburg Concerto and Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode”, among other things.

Update: The East Bay Express profiles Keats. “Jonathon Keats may not be a ‘real’ artist, but he’s a provocateur without question.”

Parker Morse '96 at 09:49 AM

July 21, 2006

Kaminer '81 goes from Medea to media

There are plenty of successful College alumni working in marketing and communications, but there aren’t many who can point to staging Euripides’ “Medea” on the portico of the President’s House as their start in the field. In fact, there’s only one: Nina Kaminer ‘81, who founded Nike Communications, Inc. (named, like another successful marketing company, for the Greek goddess of victory,) in 1984.

In a profile in today’s New York Sun, Kaminer explains that she was living in the house at the time, “as part of an experimental college project.”

Not only did Ms. Kaminer transform the theatrical event into a campus cultural celebration, she also helped raise funds for Amherst’s $43 million capital program by inviting donors.

Her enterprise prompted a prestigious college official to suggest that she might wish to consider public relations as a career. …

As life milestones go, the staging of “Medea” was seminal.

“I showed how one could take the DNA of a brand—in this case, the classics—-and make it relevant to a contemporary audience,” Ms. Kaminer said. “And while I did not know it at the time, that methodology would prove critical in branding luxury goods. Marketing is all about understanding the core value of a brand.”

Kaminer’s business is largely centered on the public relations and brand marketing of luxury goods, and much of the Sun article gushes over her client list, but readers willing to skim through to the closing paragraphs can read about a classics major who successfully applied a liberal-arts education. Admittedly, timing may have had something to do with it:

…Ms. Kaminer was also canny enough to recognize when she started that, globally, the luxury goods business was just taking off in 1984.

“I saw that there would be a need for strategic public relations and sophisticated marketing,” Ms. Kaminer said. “The world was changing. The brands were just starting to blend family business cultures with corporate cultures. Luxury-goods companies needed guidance in strategizing for an expanding market. And I was there.”

Parker Morse '96 at 10:42 AM

"Howdy" Groskloss '30, 1906-2006

In April we celebrated the 100th birthday of Dr. Howard “Howdy” Groskloss ‘30, then the oldest living major leaguer. Groskloss passed away last Saturday, the 15th. Retrospectives in the Treasure Coast Palm and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette cover both Groskloss’s brief post-College career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, but also his medical career; Groskloss taught medicine at universities in Pittsburgh, Southern California, Minnesota, and Miami.

While Groskloss’s statistics with the Pirates aren’t particularly impressive, the Palm notes that Groskloss “is believed to have been the first ‘bonus baby’ in major league history. Bonus babies were amateurs who were given a bonus to sign with a team. Groskloss used the $10,000 signing bonus to pay off his mother’s house.”

Parker Morse '96 at 07:46 AM

July 16, 2006

MacLeod '74 takes over Glimmerglass

Michael MacLeod ‘74 has been general director of Cooperstown, New York’s Glimmerglass Opera Festival for less than a year, but the Albany Times Union has already run a feature article singing his praises.

Given the man’s personal history, a broad world view comes naturally. …

“I was asked once in college, ‘What would be the ideal job?’ recalls MacLeod. “My answer was to sweep the stage at La Scala … nice place to work, meet the stars, hear the music.”

Among other things, MacLeod has announced next year’s schedule much earlier than usual and opened ticket sales earlier, hoping to draw patrons to make plans to attend well in advance. But he’s also working on the financial stability of the festival:

“I would say maybe 85 percent of my job is begging,” says MacLeod, “(but) it all ultimately comes down to the artistic product.”

Parker Morse '96 at 08:47 AM

July 06, 2006

'46 to '96

At Alumni Weekend, back in June, my class, 1996, hosted a joint panel with the class of 1946, back for their 60-year reunion.

In preparation for the panel, members from both classes answered a survey asking three questions:

1. What have been the most valuable Amherst influences on your career(s) and personal life?
2. Did you view the social atmosphere as adequate while at Amherst? Explain.
3. What was the reason you went to Amherst? List as many reasons as you can.

The anonymous answers to those questions are available as PDFs: 1946 and 1996. Two trends are clear: my class, which largely answered the survey online, submitted much shorter answers, largely one- or two-sentence answers. The class of ‘46 sent entire stories. Also, my class viewed the last question differently; we answered with reasons why we chose the College over other places we might have applied to or been accepted at. The class of ‘46 tended to talk about how they got in, and the application process was clearly very different then!

Discussion at the panel was varied. One point often mentioned was “the War.” Nearly everyone from the class of ‘46 spent some time in the armed services during World War II before returning to Amherst, and in every case this colored their approach to their remaining college years. Fraternities were often mentioned in the older class’s answers, but not always positively; some noted their tendency to isolate members from the rest of the campus. There was quite a bit of discussion of the fraternity system, particularly when one of the ‘96 panelists admitted having belonged to an “underground” fraternity during his days in Amherst.

Another topic raised (but not discussed at length due to time restrictions) was the different experience of students of color at Amherst between 1946 (when the College was not only all-male, but almost entirely white,) and 1996.

I could’ve listened to further discussion for quite a while, but I was encouraged to see that both classes shared a desire to find out more about where the College has been and where it is going, and active concern about its relevance in today’s world.

Parker Morse '96 at 02:27 PM | Comments (1)

June 19, 2006

Applegate '89 and Beecher 1839

Today’s Hartford Courant has an article in the “Lifestyle” section about Debby Applegate ‘89 and her new book, The Most Famous Man in America: The Biography of Henry Ward Beecher. Beecher, of course, was a member of the class of 1834.

Applegate’s relationship with the complicated, charismatic man started with her sophomore seminar paper at Amherst College, a senior thesis and her subsequent Yale doctoral dissertation.

The Courant’s review is largely positive:

It was also tough to resist turning the story of his family—known as the fabulous Beechers—into, as Applegate, 38, says, “a big Russian novel.” … Given the topic, the book reads not so much like a history book but a dense novel peopled with interesting characters.

This is particularly true when you read the thumbnail outline of Beecher’s life, which includes both a career as a preacher in the abolitionist movement and an adultery trial.

Parker Morse '96 at 09:34 AM | Comments (4)

June 11, 2006

Class websites

We’ve been linking such alumni with weblogs who are willing to be linked under their real names, but we were recently informed of an innovation of Ryan Roman ‘03, class secretary for the class of 2003: the class weblog.

Since the Class Notes operate under a 3-month delay (which may be acceptable to our grandparents but is an entirely foreign concept to the rest of us), I figure’d that a Class of 2003 blog would be a nice addition to keep us all in touch leading up to our 5th reunion in 2008 and beyond.

As the newly elected Web Editor of the class of 1996 (I suspect one person wrote in my name, and everyone else left it blank,) I’m taking a new interest in the ways alumni classes use the web. While the same contractors which maintain our alumni email also offer several tools for classes to maintain access-controlled websites, classes often wind up splitting their reunion content between that which fits the easy tools offered and that which is constructed and hosted by the classes on their own initiative, generally using free services like Blogger and Blogspot (and the Amherst Alumni Frappr Map), or services like hosting space which are included with internet access packages.

In the vein of the Class of ‘03 Blog, what are other classes doing on the Web?

Parker Morse '96 at 11:59 PM | Comments (1)

June 07, 2006

Earle Williams Newton II '38, author and benefactor

Earle WIlliams Newton II ‘38, founder of American Heritage magazine, accomplished printer, and donor of the core collection to the Savannah College of Art and Design, died May 24 at the age of 89. Newton’s list of accomplishments and milestones is so impressive, we’ll reprint it in its entirety here:

Newton founded two magazines, Vermont Life and American Heritage, in the late 1940s. Over his long and distinguished career, he was director of historical research for Webster Publishing Company in St. Louis; director of the Vermont Historical Society; director of Old Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts; director of the Institute on Historical and Archival Management at Radcliffe-Harvard Universities; director of the Pennsylvania Bureau of Museums and Historic Properties; director of the Museum of Art, Science and Industry in Bridgeport, Conn.; executive director of the Historic St. Augustine Preservation Board; director general of the National Quadricentennial Commission; president of St. Augustine Restoration Inc.; acting director of libraries at Flagler College, St. Augustine; executive director of the Pensacola Historical Restoration and Preservation Commission; acting chancellor of Mark Hopkins College, Brattleboro, Vt.; Executive Director of the Richmondtown Restoration, Long Island; adjunct professor of humanities and honorary fellow at Norwich University, Vt.; director of the Museum of the Americas, Vt.; and donor of and consultant to the Earle W. Newton Center for British and American Studies at the Savannah College of Art and Design.

Read the article for a complete list of his honors, awards, published works.

Brian Meacham '97 at 07:32 AM | TrackBack

June 06, 2006

Moses '55 and his royal limo

Today’s Springfield Republican has an article about Abraham Moses ‘55 and his unique car: a late-50s Mercedes previously owned by King Idrus of Libya.

Moses became acquainted with the King’s family when he served in Libya as a local government liason for the U.S. Air Force after graduating from Amherst, and renewed his acquaintance with them while working in North Africa for Occidental Petroleum, Northrop Corp, and Chase Manhattan Bank. When the King and Queen decided, after a bloodless coup sent them into exile in Egypt, that the car was a liability, Moses offered to buy it. Instead, the King gave it to him as a gift.

Although it is a car fit for royalty, Moses didn’t drive it much. Every year or so, [he] might put some gas in the black four-door sedan and drive it to the Amherst-Williams football game.

Whether or not Amherst won, the car gave the Williams alumni something to chew on. Those who could read Arabic surely did a double-take at the license plate: “Special for the King.”

Last year, Moses offered the car back to the Libyan government, and this week the Mercedes began its trip back to Libya, where Moses will be on hand to see it put on display in the National Museum.

Parker Morse '96 at 09:28 AM

May 08, 2006

Fitzgerald '82 in the Regis High Owl

Patrick Fitzgerald ‘82, the notoriously tight-lipped federal prosecutor in the CIA leak case, granted an interview to the weekly paper of his alma mater - no, not the Student, but the Regis High School Owl, and senior Joseph R. Santo.

The brief and breezy interview has some revealing moments, as well as some attempts to dispel the common perceptions about Fitzgerald:

“Every day is new and every day is interesting,” remarked Fitzgerald. “I love being a prosecutor; it is a great job, and it is very engaging.”

Although the media portrays Fitzgerald having a “mainframe-computer brain,” these qualities of his character have been exaggerated. “Work hard, but have fun,” Fitzgerald advises Regians. “As much as you take school seriously, you should not take yourself too seriously.”

The February 13 interview, “obtained through the good graces of Patrick Fitzgerald and the intercession of the Regis Alumni Office,” is archived on the school’s site.

Brian Meacham '97 at 05:18 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Manheim '82 Centre College professor

In a notice posted this week, Centre College in Danville, Kentucky announced the tenure of Daniel Manheim ‘82 as professor of English. Manheim has “a scholarly background in American literature, and he has taught Centre courses on major American writers, African-American literature, American autobiography, and the modern short story.” After receiving his B.A. from Amherst, Manheim got his M.A. and Ph.D. at Columbia.

Thanks to Jan for the links.

Brian Meacham '97 at 05:05 PM | TrackBack

May 04, 2006

Rieckhoff '98 on Colbert Report

Paul Rieckhoff ‘98 was the featured guest on The Colbert Report last night, talking about his book Chasing Ghosts, published on May 1.

Rieckhoff and Colbert exchanged good-natured banter about the direction of the war in Iraq and those who are and aren’t allowed to criticize it; Colbert also made a pinball-related joke about Rieckhoff’s shaved head. In this exchange and in all others, Rieckhoff was easygoing, affable, and extremely well-spoken. Colbert can be tough to deal with seriously, but Rieckhoff did a great job, in this blogger’s humble opinion.

Thanks to Dave for the tip, and for the world of Bit Torrent for nearly instant gratification.

Brian Meacham '97 at 11:07 PM | TrackBack

April 23, 2006

Cary '43 remembered

Today’s L.A. Times included a fascinating obituary for Otis Cary ‘43, who died on April 14. Cary, who was born to American missionary parents on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, attended Deerfield Academy before coming to Amherst. From there he went into the Navy, where at first he hated to say he came from Massachusetts—but “to tell a fellow officer ‘I came from Japan’ was to start a quarrel,” he noted. His fluent Japanese allowed him to become a missionary of sorts himself, convincing prisoners to help the U.S. end the war and bring about democratic reform in Japan.

Cary’s deep understanding of the Japanese enabled him to help the POWs overcome their shame at having been captured and their fears of returning home in disgrace. He encouraged them to see themselves as patriots, who had given their all to their country and who now had a duty to support its reconstruction.

He counted among his “converts” POWs who went on to become leaders in the new Japan, including the publisher of a major newspaper and a prominent physician. He also drummed ideas of democracy into members of the imperial family, whom he met on several occasions after Japan’s surrender in August 1945.

Starting in 1947, with Japan still under American occupation, Cary was the director of Doshisha University’s “Amherst House,”

…a dormitory where he encouraged Japanese students to dispense with customs that he considered obstacles to modernization.

One of his targets was honorific speech, which mandates different degrees of politeness depending on a person’s social rank. To put students on an equal footing, Cary just gave them nicknames.

Parker Morse '96 at 02:45 PM | Comments (1)

Nathan Johnson '99 on catering

In an “Urban Diary” column in today’s Boston Sunday Globe, Nathan Johnson ‘99 writes of his second job, working for a caterer in the Boston area.

From $10,000 bar mitzvahs in the backyards of Brookline to beach parties complete with a lobster bake and pig roast for Boston-area advertising agencies, I get to glide through worlds that are not my own.

I mimic Nick Carraway’s passive observer role in Fitzgerald’s ”The Great Gatsby.” While I graduated from Amherst College in 1999, and possess the equivalent of Nick’s Ivy League education, I am more like Gatsby in his constant outsider status; however, unlike Gatsby, I enjoy being the outsider.

Brian Meacham '97 at 10:52 AM | TrackBack

April 20, 2006

Wilbur '46 wins $100,000 poetry prize

Whoever said poetry wasn’t profitable? Richard Wilbur ‘46, former national poet laureate and Pulitzer Prize winner, has been awarded the $100,000 Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, an award that was “established in 1986 by the Indianapolis heiress and honours lifetime achievement by an American poet.” Congratulations, Mr. Wilbur!

Brian Meacham '97 at 10:15 PM | TrackBack

April 10, 2006

Oldest living major leaguer, Groskloss '30 turns 100

Today is the 100th birthday of Dr. Howard Hoffman “Howdy” Groskloss ‘30, the oldest living person to have played in baseball’s Major Leagues. Groskloss was featured in a Sunday article in Pittsburgh’s Post-Gazette, recapping the Pittsburgh native’s three years with the Pirates, as well as his medical career; the story has also been picked up by the Austin American Statesman.

Groskloss played 72 games for the Pirates, largely at second base, after a successful athletic career at the College.

Mr. [Barney] Dreyfuss, who owned the Pirates from 1900 until his death in 1932, thought so much of Howdy’s baseball aptitude that he offered to pay him not to play football and risk injury in college. Howdy declined that offer, which was great news to the athletic department at Amherst College, his first stop in a lifetime of groundbreaking academic and medical accomplishment.

Mary goes to a shelf and takes down the hardware, a large silver double-handled trophy known as the Mossman Cup, given annually to the top student-athlete at Amherst. It was presented to Howdy by Amherst alum and, even then, former president Calvin Coolidge.

Howdy played baseball, football (tailback), basketball (point guard), tennis, joined the swim team and ran track at Amherst, and Mr. Dreyfuss still signed him to a $10,000 bonus in 1930. This was decades before he took up golf and starting winning tournaments all over South Florida and the Bahamas.

The Statesman expands on Groskloss’s student-athlete honors, suggesting that the cup was for being “the most outstanding Amherst athlete of the half-century” and that Coolidge’s son was Groskloss’s roommate. The Mossman Cup, however, is still given annually to “the senior who brought the greatest honor to the college through athletics.”

Less mentioned is Groskloss’s medical career, where he taught gynecology, obstetrics, and endocrinology for over 50 years, and is credited with introducing ultrasound technology to those and other medical disciplines.

Parker Morse '96 at 09:26 AM | Comments (1)

April 03, 2006

Julie Powell '95 wins first Blooker Prize

Julie Powell, author of Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Kitchen Apartment about her year cooking all 424 recipes in Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking was today awarded the first Blooker Prize

While its better known near-namesake has on occasion been accused of elitism, the Blooker Prize claims to be based on more democratic principles. All the books, or “blooks”, entered for the award started life as blogs.

Brian Meacham '97 at 08:24 PM | TrackBack

"Take the Lead" with Rob Brown '06 opens Friday

Rob Brown ‘06, who previously starred in Finding Forrester and Coach Carter, plays opposite Antonio Banderas, Ray Liotta, and Alfre Woodard in the new film Take the Lead, which opens in theaters this Friday, April 7. Based on the story of dancer Pierre Dulaine, the film tells the story of what happens when Dulaine volunteers to teach ballroom dancing to “a diverse group of New York inner-city high school students serving detention,” according to the movie’s official site.

Brian Meacham '97 at 07:59 AM | TrackBack

March 28, 2006

Amy Fox '97 on Stuyvesant Town

Amy Fox ‘97, author of Heights, wrote a lengthy piece in this Sunday’s New York Times called “Battle in Black and White” about the story of her grandparents and the battle for racial equality in New York’s Stuyvesant Town.

In the cavernous reading room at the New York Public Library, I began slowly filling in the gaps. I learned that my grandparents had been members of the Tenants Committee to End Discrimination in Stuyvesant Town, a grass-roots organization formed in 1948. Stuyvesant Town and the adjacent Peter Cooper Village had been built as part of an ambitious slum-clearance project in which bulldozers tore through 18 blocks south of East 23rd Street to create a solution to the city’s postwar housing shortage. But MetLife refused to consider the applications of three black veterans who sought apartments. When these veterans sued the company, a group of Stuyvesant Town residents, including my grandparents, united to support their cause.

The article notes that Fox is currently writing a screenplay about the integration of Stuyvesant Town.

Brian Meacham '97 at 08:20 AM | TrackBack

Paul Rieckhoff '98 writes Chasing Ghosts

Paul Rieckhoff ‘98, Iraq war veteran and founder of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, has written his first book, Chasing Ghosts : A Soldier’s Fight for America from Baghdad to Washington. The book, which will be published May 2, has already garnered praise from a diverse group of people, among them Senator Max Cleland, former national security advisor Richard Clarke, Chuck D, and Chuck Palahniuk. Thanks to Dave for the tip.

Brian Meacham '97 at 08:15 AM | TrackBack

March 13, 2006

Dan Brown '86 takes the stand

Of all of the Google Alerts I receive for Dan Brown ‘86, 99.99% are not really about the man himself, but center on one or more of his books and their position on the best seller list or on their general ubiquity. Today, in London, Brown took the stand in the case brought against him by Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh, authors of a book called Holy Blood, Holy Grail, from which Brown is accused of borrowing a little too much.

The so-called “reclusive millionaire” called the authors’ claims of theft “completely fanciful” according to the Guardian article, which also informs us that The Da Vinci Code is the world’s best-selling adult fiction book, apparently in the history of the world. And the certainly the film adaptation arriving in theaters in two months won’t hurt those numbers, nor will the paperback edition, which, amazingly, hasn’t even come out yet. I’m not sure who’s buying it in paperback if 36 million copies have been sold in hardcover, but that’s another story.

UPDATE 3/14/06: Read a transcript of Brown’s testimony, with numerous mentions of the College.

Brian Meacham '97 at 09:10 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

March 04, 2006

Pfeiffer '69 named president of Warren Wilson College

Warren Wilson College in Asheville, North Carolina has named Dr. William Sanborn “Sandy” Pfeiffer ‘69 as their sixth president, effective in July.

Pfeiffer assumes the presidency of a liberal arts college that is singular in American higher education. One of only six work colleges nationwide, Warren Wilson is further distinguished by a pioneering service-learning program that calls upon students to do 100 hours of service as a graduation requirement. The college “triad” of academics, work and service is enhanced by strong international and environmental emphases.

Pfeiffer told the Asheville Citizen-Times,

…he’s committed to the college’s “triad” program of academics, [on-campus] work and community service.

“It’s what I did in college even though my school didn’t have these requirements, and I believe it provides the best education,” he said.

Parker Morse '96 at 10:11 AM

February 23, 2006

The Independent gets taken to task

Thanks in part to a post we published a few days ago, Dave Nardolillo ‘98 wrote a letter to the editor of the Independent that was published today, making note of the paper’s misspelling of “Amherst” as “Amhurst.” We’re happy to help protect the good name (and good spelling) of the Fairest College, and thanks to Dave for alerting us to his new claim to fame.

Brian Meacham '97 at 10:47 PM | TrackBack

February 20, 2006

Stiglitz '64 in the UK

The Independent interviews economist and Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz ‘64, the “unlikely looking scourge of neo-liberal capitalism,” as he begins work at the University of Manchester as “chair of the new Brooks World Poverty Institute, which he says focuses on the interface between academia and policy on poverty.”

The interview, which focuses on subjects from global poverty to debt forgiveness to climate change, also features a CV for Stiglitz, listing MIT and Cambridge Univeristy alongside “Amhurst College.” Funny, that the name comes from an Englishman, and the English press manage to misspell it.

Brian Meacham '97 at 09:17 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

February 14, 2006

Fitzgerald '82 in the Guardian

It’s been awhile since we’ve mentioned Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald ‘82, but thanks to Jan, we’ve got an article from the Observer this week titled “Saint Patrick’s day.” The profile focuses on Fitzgerald’s past accomplishments, as well as the upcoming trial of Canadian media magnate Conrad Black, former owner of the Telegraph, on federal racketeering laws. Halfway through the article, Amherst is mentioned, the school where Fitzgerald “studied maths and economics.”

Brian Meacham '97 at 08:56 PM | TrackBack

January 31, 2006

Goldman '71 remembers Wasserstein

In a Bloomberg.com article published yesterday, Henry Goldman ‘71 recalls his memories of the late Wendy Wasserstein.

We met 35 years ago when she volunteered to take a year’s leave from Mount Holyoke as one of 20 from all-women colleges to place a female foot in the door of all-male Amherst College. Expecting parties galore, she found herself in a more harrowing situation — as one of that band of sisters among 1,200 men — than she or any of her women colleagues had bargained for.

Wasserstein, a Pulitzer and Tony award-winning playwright, died yesterday at 55.

Brian Meacham '97 at 09:08 PM

January 25, 2006

Bobby Mason '96 on Survivor

Bobby Mason ‘96 is a cast member of the latest season of the CBS television show “Survivor,” taking place this year in Panama.

Mason can be seen wearing an Amherst shirt in the group photo on the front page of the “Survivor” site, which we’ve reproduced here. Mason’s bio on the site mentions Amherst a few times:

He honed his dream of being a scholar/athlete at the highest levels and was able to realize this when he was admitted to Amherst College in Massachusetts. In 1996, Mason received his Bachelor of Arts degree cum laude in political science from Amherst, where he had also played baseball.

From his Favorites page, we also learn that Bobby’s favorite snack foods are beef jerky and string cheese, and his favorite candy bars are 100 Grand and Baby Ruth. Bobby is now an attorney in Los Angeles. The show begins airing on February 2. We wish him the best of luck. Thanks to Dave for the tip.

Brian Meacham '97 at 05:40 PM

January 22, 2006

Kargman '04 on college essays

Bess Kargman ‘04 has written an editorial titled “Writing Wrongs” published in The Washington Post (and The Sacramento Bee, among other papers) on the subject of the sale of college application essays. She writes

College admissions officers around the country will be reading my application essays this month, essays in which I describe personal aspirations, academic goals — even, in one case, a budding passion for the sitar. What they won’t know is that I actually graduated from college more than a year ago, and that the names attached to these essays are those of my duplicitous clients.

Her piece details the pervasiveness of internet essay-writing sites, representing companies that offer to write so-called “authentic” essays from scratch for their clients’ use.

Brian Meacham '97 at 01:09 AM

January 03, 2006

Happy New Year

It’s been a year and a day since our first post here, and we’ve got some some end-of-the-year news to go along with a resolution to do more with the site in 2006:

Patrick Fitzgerald ‘82, lead prosecutor in the ‘Plamegate’ leak case, was named National Law Journal’s “Lawyer of the Year” for 2005.

The Boston Globe ran a Baltimore Sun profile of actor Jeffrey Wright ‘87, who garnered attention this year with his work in the films Broken Flowers and Syriana. The article with mention of his time at Amherst:

But on the first day of a drama class in his junior year, [Wright said] ”I knew that acting was something I would be doing for some time.”

Thanks to all of those who have read and contributed to the site in the past year. We need to hear more stories about more interesting people, topics, and ideas in addition to the same familiar faces mentioned here, so please keep your suggestions and links coming. And remember, please get in touch if you’re interested in helping as a regular contributor. Happy new year to all our readers!

Brian Meacham '97 at 11:07 PM

December 27, 2005

Jeffs on ice at Pond Hockey Championships

Among the 90 teams entered (so far) in the U.S. Pond Hockey Championships, an event being held in January on the frozen surface of Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis, is an Amherst alumni team, from the classes of 2000 and 2001. Chris Orszulak ‘01, the team captain of the “Mass Holes,” was interviewed by the Boston Globe about his team, and the story was picked up by the Minneapolis Star Tribune:

“We were all roommates at Amherst, and every year we try to get together,” Orszulak said. “A couple of the guys are from Minnesota, and I think it was Darce who spotted it. Just seemed like the perfect thing for us to do.”

Both articles were impressed with the grand prize of the tournament:

The teams will vie for the Golden Shovel, 12 feet top to bottom with a scoop 3 feet wide. Why play for a shovel? If you’re asking, you just don’t get it.

The event has a 96-team cap, and in addition to the Jeffs, a team from NESCAC rivals Middlebury is entered.

Parker Morse '96 at 09:41 PM

December 18, 2005

MacMillan '96 on Syria

Scott MacMillan ‘96, currently calling Cairo home, has a piece published in today’s Chicago Tribune titled “The next shove into democracy?” about the changing prospects for democracy in Syria.

We last heard from Scott when he left Prague in September.

Brian Meacham '97 at 07:45 PM

Fred Pfeil '71, Trinity professor, dies at 56

Fred Pfeil ‘71, writer, teacher, and activist, died last month at the age of 56. Pfeil, who was a professor at Trinity College, began the college’s film studies program, was a published novelist and poet, and a dedicated activist for peace. rememberance of Pfeil this weekend, as well as an obituary a few weeks ago.

From this week’s piece by Anne M. Hamilton, a passage about Pfeil and Amherst:

Pfeil learned to read before entering school, and he excelled in every subject, graduating as valedictorian at his high school. He entered Amherst College in Amherst, Mass., as a National Merit Scholar after reading about the college in Reader’s Digest and graduated in 1971. It was a big change for someone from a small, conservative town. “It was the height of the Vietnam protests,” said his sister, Dawn Keiper. “Amherst really transformed him.”

Read one of Pfeil’s poems from the Minnesota Review.

Brian Meacham '97 at 09:34 AM | Comments (2)

December 16, 2005

New art from Amherst

On the one hand, a great deal of the news coming from the College this week is about men’s basketball coach Dave Hixon ‘75 approaching his 500th career win for the Jeffs. On the other, there’s a lot of activity in the arts.

At the movies, The Family Stone (which has already won a Golden Globe nomination) is the work of Amherst native Thomas Bezucha, a name which may be familiar to those who took a History course from his father, Robert. The younger Bezucha says the movie, starring Sarah Jessica Parker and Dermot Mulroney, isn’t deliberately autobiographical, but “…some people in Amherst might recognize themselves.”

A long way from Hollywood, the Lewiston, Maine Morning Sentinel tells us about a new short story from a local author about teaching orphaned sparrows to fly. The illustrations came from Emily Cornell du Houx, of Solon, Maine and a Fine Arts major at the College. The book will be published by Polar Bear & Company, a publishing company run by du Houx’s parents; she is a regular illustrator for their books.

Springing directly from his 1970 travels to the Balkans as a student at the College, Washington photographer Steve Horn’s new book, Pictures Without Borders, documents Bosnia both then and now, but also, according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, “Horn’s obvious empathy for his subjects turns his pictures into a remarkable testament to the power of photography to reach across time and across national boundaries.” Horn returned to Bosnia in 2003 to document the changes since his 1970 trip, and to use photographs from his first trip to “help people there reconnect with their own pasts.”

Parker Morse '96 at 08:58 AM

December 13, 2005

Cherington '96 named Red Sox co-General Manager

In a unique move, the Boston Red Sox announced today that Ben Cherington ‘96 and Jed Hoyer will be co-general managers of the Red Sox, The Boston Globe reports. Cherington, who began as an intern at the club and most recently held the post of Director of Player Development, becomes the second Amherst graduate to become GM of the team, after former GM Dan Duquette ‘80, who hired Cherington in 1998.

Cherington and Hoyer (Wesleyan ‘96) become the 12th and 13th GMs in the club’s 105 year history, replacing wunderkind Theo Epstein, who left this fall after a promising but surprisingly short stay with the team.

The Globe article fails to mention that Cherington graduated from Amherst, but a New York Times article makes note of his alma mater, yet misses the Duquette connection. I’m sure there are some other current Jeff/Sox connections out there; let us know if you know of any.

Brian Meacham '97 at 09:58 PM

November 28, 2005

Coben '84 on the Boss and politics

Novelist Harlan Coben ‘84, whom we’ve mentioned here before, is the author of a recent opinion piece in the New York Times titled “Rock and a Hard Place,” about a recent failed Senate resolution to honor Bruce Springsteen on the 30th anniversary of his landmark album, “Born to Run.”

The resolution failed, Coben notes, while others, honoring an “American Idol” winner and Siegfried and Roy, among others, passed. Coben writes about Springsteen:

So why was he denied this honor?

That’s a rhetorical question, of course. Does anybody on either side of the political aisle really believe that the Springsteen resolution was turned down for any reason other than political payback for backing John Kerry?

Coben goes on to discuss Springsteen’s popularity among Republican friends and the general distaste felt for musicians and actors using their place to discuss politics. Nonetheless, Coben concludes,

What happened to embracing diversity of opinion in this country? What happened to the idea that a healthy opposition is good for us, that it helps clarify our own views, that only when one idea is shown better than another does it truly strengthen? And when did we stop listening to the other side, if for no other reason than it’s polite, humane and hey, it helps us hone our own viewpoint?

Thanks to Jan for the link to this story.

Brian Meacham '97 at 07:48 PM

November 27, 2005

Sunday news round-up

We’ve gathered together a number of stories about Amherst alumni, professors, and others in the news of the past few weeks:

The Chicago Sun-Times spends Sunday lunch with Scott Turow ‘70, to discuss his life and his latest book.

Harvard University Assistant Professor of Education Vanessa Fong ‘96 delivered a lecture at Amherst a few weeks ago, the The Daily Collegian reports.

Professor Austin Sarat is quoted in a San Francisco Chronicle story about California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and death row inmate Tookie WIlliams, co-founder of the Crips and now anti-gang crusader.

Amherst gets a passing mention in the first paragraph of a Baltimore Sun story on “McDonaldization.”

In a Boston Magazine interview , Boston University Chancellor Emeritus John Silber reflects on a conversation he had with the Boston Globe about the kind of places he wanted BU to imitate.

I think Williams College, Amherst College, Haverford College, Bryn Mawr College, Yale in directed studies - these are examples of really first-rate undergraduate teaching. And if I were going to emulate another institution, I would be looking for an emphasis on teaching like that.

Brian Meacham '97 at 12:32 PM

November 22, 2005

Paul Ward '33, former Sarah Lawrence president

This week saw the passing of Paul L. Ward ‘33, former president of Sarah Lawrence College. Ward, who was 94, was the fifth president of Sarah Lawrence, taking the helm in 1960. After five years as president, Ward left to head the American Historical Association, a post he held until he retired in 1974.

Ward was born in Turkey, served as a researcher for the OSS during World War II, was a missionary in China, and taught at Colby College, among other notable achievements.

A memorial service will be held on December 10, 2005, at the Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields in Philadelphia.

Brian Meacham '97 at 03:07 PM

Rieckhoff '98 on NPR

Paul Rieckhoff ‘98, executive director of Operation Truth and the subject of a number of previous posts here, was interviewed by NPR’s Debbie Elliott on the November 19 edition of All Things Considered. Readers can listen to the report, though no transcript seems to be available.

Thanks to Jan for the tip.

Brian Meacham '97 at 02:13 PM

November 18, 2005

Conley '94 and Lobel settle 'Fuzzy' suit

The lawsuit brought by Bob Lobel against Darby Conley ‘94, reported here a few months ago, has been settled, according to a statement described in the Boston Herald.

“The parties have settled the matter to their mutual satisfaction,” the litigants said in a joint statement. “The defendants did not intend to suggest that Bob Lobel has ever been intoxicated while on the air and apologize for any harm caused him by the publication of the ‘Get Fuzzy’ cartoon. The terms of the settlement are confidential.”

We’re glad to hear it’s been settled, and Conley and Lobel can get back to doing what each does best.

Brian Meacham '97 at 07:25 PM

November 17, 2005

"Looney" Frane '94 boosts successful game company

Sometimes you’d think that Amherst alumni really are all, as a recent class speaker quipped, “CEOs and the federal prosecutors who indict them.” And then, there’s Alison Frane ‘94, who has found a fun way to apply her art major.

Frane is a partner in Looney Labs, a College Park, MD based company producing inventive card games like Fluxx from Wunderland, home of Frane (also known as Alison Looney) and her partners, Kristin and Andrew Looney. A recent article in the Maryland Gazette describes the “Wunderland Toast Society,” the Thursday-evening game nights the Looneys have hosted for the last sixteen years with their “Mad Lab Rabbits” (whose mission, says Andy, is “to multiply.”)

Unfortunately, the success of Looney Labs is leading them north. Fluxx has sold over a quarter-million copies, and consequently Looney Labs has outgrown their home in College Park. “We need a big building with a coffee shop and a gaming parlor,” says Kristin. Looney Labs will head to Hamilton, Ontario in 2006.

Frane is responsible for the visual appearance of many of the games. Just for a taste, visit her animelds, like the one shown to the right.

Parker Morse '96 at 10:36 PM

November 16, 2005

Turow '70 on Saul Bellow

Novelist and lawyer Scott Turow ‘70 has written an article in the December issue of The Atlantic Monthly titled Missing Bellow, about his relationship with the late Saul Bellow.

Bellow had a tremendous impact on the young Turow. He writes

When I first began reading Bellow’s work, in 1966, as a freshman at Amherst College, it was as if a hand had reached up and dragged me into the pages. My ambition was to be a novelist, and I read all contemporary fiction intently, a detective looking for clues. But Bellow overpowered me in a way no other writer had.

The article, the first installment of a three-part piece, is available online only to Atlantic subscribers.

Brian Meacham '97 at 09:33 PM

October 29, 2005

Fitzgerald '82 the center of attention

Patrick J. Fitzgerald ‘82, the special prosecutor in the Valeria Plame leak case, was at the center of attention in Washington yesterday as he announced his findings in an hour-long news conference. “We didn’t get the straight story,” the Times quotes Fitzgerald as saying, “and we had to - had to - take action.” The resulting indictment of I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, Vice-President Cheney’s Chief of Staff, does not, however, signal the end of the investigation, which Fitzgerald has indicated will continue.

Many of the articles profiling Fitzgerald mention his time at Amherst; one, from the Houston Chronicle, includes an interview with his classmate, Tony Bouza ‘82, who has been interviewed about Fitzgerald before.

See our previous coverage of Fitzgerald as the investigation proceeded.

Brian Meacham '97 at 10:11 AM

October 24, 2005

Harry Dalton '50, led Brewers and O's to World Series

Harry Dalton ‘50, the general manager who led the Milwaukee Brewers to their only World Series appearance, died yesterday at his daughter’s home in Arizona.

Dalton was remembered for a few keys trades he helped engineer, including one that brought future Hall of Famer and current Washington Nationals manager Frank Robinson to the Orioles. Considered over the hill at the time, Robinson came to Baltimore, won the Triple Crown, and led the O’s to their first World Series championship. Dalton is featured in Daniel Okrent’s Nine Innings, covering one game of the 1982 season between the Brewers and the Orioles.

The farm system Dalton engineered relied on scouts known as the “Dalton Gang,” including former Red Sox GM Dan Duquette ‘80.

More coverage from the Associated Press.

Brian Meacham '97 at 08:04 AM

October 18, 2005

A President/CEO, a CFO, and a General Counsel to boot

News of Amherst alumni in the corporate and educational boardrooms today: Blair Taylor ‘85, former executive with Pepsi and IBM, has been appointed President and CEO of the Los Angeles Urban League.

Philip Shapiro ‘72 has been appointed CFO of Babson College, after working at Standard and Poor’s as a Managing Director in the Public Finance Department.

And finally, Laurence J. De Respino ‘82 has been appointed General Counsel of AMERCO, the parent company of U-Haul.

Brian Meacham '97 at 07:01 PM

Patterson '58 returns Columbia diplomas

From a recent press release, we find the news that Charles Patterson ‘58, a New York-based writer, has returned his diploma to Columbia University in protest.

This week Charles Patterson, author of ‘Eternal Treblinka: Our Treatment of Animals and the Holocaust,’ is returning his M.A. in English to Columbia University to protest his alma mater’s ongoing mistreatment of animals in its labs. It’s the second graduate degree he has returned in 2005. Last spring on the day before the Columbia Commencement Patterson returned his Ph.D. in Religion to the Office of University President Lee Bollinger for the same reason.

Patterson is quoted in the release as saying “Had my B.A. been from Columbia College instead of Amherst College, I would return that degree too.” High praise, indeed.

Brian Meacham '97 at 05:56 PM

October 12, 2005

Add Powell '95 to the new book stack

In addition to the already-renowned authors we recently mentioned, there’s a new title on the shelves from Julie Powell ‘95. Powell’s book, Julie & Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen, chronicles her year-long project to cook every recipe in Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking (1961). The book sprung from Powell’s blog, and has drawn plenty of attention: reviews appeared today in Salon, the New York Times, the Indianapolis Star, the Delaware News Journal, and USA Today.

Thanks to Emily Reich ‘97 for the tip.

Parker Morse '96 at 09:17 PM

Fitzgerald '82 in USA Today

[The] official biography [of Patrick Fitzgerald ‘82] says he was named special counsel in December 2003 to investigate “the alleged disclosure of the identity of a purported employee of the Central Intelligence Agency.”

That bland description understates the drama and stakes of the investigation.

That’s how USA Today characterizes the current work of Fitzgerald, though apparently there’s little enough hard news from the investigation to fill their pages that they need to run a profile of Fitzgerald. We’ve linked some of his previous appearances, on NPR, PBS, and in the pages of the Baltimore Sun.

(Thanks to Laurel Kilgour ‘03 for the, er, leak…)

Parker Morse '96 at 09:41 AM

October 07, 2005

Shaw University "brings home" wife of founder

Henry Tupper graduated from the College so long ago we can’t find a class year for him, in the first forty years when the College was still a sectarian institution influenced by the Abolitionist movement and recent graduate Henry Ward Beecher 1834.

Tupper is not listed among the “College founders and presidents” in the College’s Wikipedia entry, but he founded the institution now known as Shaw University in 1865. As a Baptist chaplain during the Civil War, Tupper carried the College’s ideal with him; a recent article in the Raleigh News & Observer explains:

“In his writings [Tupper] talked about crawling around on his belly to minister to fallen soldiers,” said Martel Perry, the university’s executive vice president. “He was very moved by the bravery of the black soldiers and the cause for civil rights. After the war, he looked for a place to start a school for free Negroes.”

That school became Shaw, the oldest of what are known known as “HBCUs,” or Historically Black Colleges and Universities, named after Elijah Shaw, who gave the largest contribution towards the purchase of its present site, in 1870. (Anyone know if Shaw was also an Amherst alumnus?)

Just before the war ended, Tupper married Sarah Baker Leonard. The future Mrs. Tupper was described in Sunday’s program as a college-educated woman of exceptional beauty, grace and musical talent.

This weekend is Shaw’s 140th Homecoming, and as the News & Observer article explains, they have another homecoming to celebrate: Sarah’s remains are being brought back to Raleigh to be re-interred next to Tupper’s on the Shaw campus.

“After [Tupper] died, there wasn’t a very close connection between her and the university,” Perry said.

Nonetheless, university officials placed an empty tomb and gravestone beside her husband’s on the school grounds and would honor both of them each year during a graveside service.

(Can anyone fill in more details about Tupper, so we can add his name to the Wikipedia entry?)

Parker Morse '96 at 09:14 PM | Comments (3)

October 04, 2005

New books from Turow '70 and Wallace '85

This week’s Hartford Courant fall book preview highlights eagerly awaited new books by two of Amherst’s best-known alumni in the literary world.

Scott Turow ‘70, best known for his courtroom dramas, tells a story of family secrets and lies in Ordinary Heroes, his new novel due out November 1. The story, based loosely on the experience of Turow’s father, a surgeon, during World War II, is a bit of a departure for the layer and writer. Kirkus Reviews, in a review quoted in the article, says that in this new work, “[w]ithout diminishing his page-turning narrative momentum, Turow extends his literary range.”

David Foster Wallace ‘85, author of Infinite Jest and A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again, collects recent non-fiction works in a new book entitled Consider the Lobster: And Other Essays, due out December 13. The title essay, published in Gourmet Magazine in August 2004, created a fair amount of controversy. After visiting a Maine lobster festival, Wallace considers whether lobsters feel pain while being boiled. LobsterLib.com, a website run by PETA, features commentary and a PDF of the article. Wallace’s collection also features his essays on topics including Franz Kafka, the presidential race, talk show hosts, and John Updike.

Brian Meacham '97 at 09:34 PM

October 01, 2005

Belitsky '97 on undergraduate research

An article in the Oberlin Review last week highlighted the research of Professor Jason Belitsky ‘97, a new addition to Oberlin’s chemistry department. A central theme of the article was one of Amherst’s long-standing claims in the sciences: that undergraduates can, and should, undertake serious research.

With a B.A. from Amherst College, Belitsky felt drawn to work at a liberal arts school himself. With a Ph.D. from Caltech as well, he knows the benefits of a large research facility, but finds that the emphasis on one-on-one work matches well with what he finds important.

Parker Morse '96 at 08:00 PM

September 26, 2005

Romer '52's work leads to memorial in Deerfield

In February we noted a lecture by Professor Emeritus of physics Bob Romer ‘52 about his work researching the lives of slaves in the pre-Abolition Pioneer Valley. According to a recent article in the Springfield Republican, Romer’s talks on the subject early in the year inspired “the Deerfield-based Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association and […] its director, Timothy C. Neumann, who took the idea and ran with it.”

Romer [told] about the Rev. John Ashley, who was minister in Deerfield 1732-1780 and owned a slave named Jenny. Romer noticed that Jenny died within a month of Ashley’s widow Dorothy, but in the burial grounds there is a big stone to mark where Dorothy was laid to rest and nothing for Jenny.

Neumann said he was looking for something special to mark the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association’s 135th year of existence and 125th anniversary of its museum that now stands at the center of Historic Deerfield. When he heard of Romer’s remarks, he and his staff decided it was time to memorialize the African Americans who lived in Deerfield.

Parker Morse '96 at 08:52 PM

September 25, 2005

While we're talking about football

Not long after Jean Fugett ‘72 “resurfaced”, we heard of another Jeff in the NFL, Fugett’s teammate Freddy Scott ‘74. Scott, who is in the College Football Hall of Fame, is featured (improbably enough) in a story in Michigan’s Oakland Press about advances in prostate cancer treatment.

Parker Morse '96 at 08:58 PM

September 21, 2005

Fugett '72 "re-emerges" in Baltimore

When we mentioned Jeffs in the NFL back in January, we had no idea it would turn out to be a footnote to another story months later. An article on the Black Athlete Sports Network recaps the recent history of Jean Fugett ‘72, once the NFL’s youngest player, at the opening of a museum named for his half-brother:

Not the least of the buzz at the gala June opening of the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture came from the reappearance of Jean S. Fugett Jr., former NFL tight end, former CEO of TLC Beatrice, half-brother of Reg Lewis and once one of Baltimore’s most prominent sons.

“Where have you been?” everybody asked, as Fugett cruised through the atrium in a tux. “Yeah, Jean, I thought you were in Paris. I didn’t know you were back in Baltimore. … What HAVE you been doing?”

…But mainly Fugett wants to talk about launching a product that might be even more unorthodox than sports-highlights voice mail: non-sleazy money advice for professional athletes that will have them invest responsibly and plan for the future instead of letting them blow paychecks on Porsches and hookers.

(Full text.)

Parker Morse '96 at 08:58 PM

September 09, 2005

Weekly news wrap-up

As we near the end of the week, some items of note about Amherst alums, professors, and the campus:

Associate Professor of Law, Jurisprudence, and Social Thought Lawrence Douglas is interviewed regarding the upcoming trial of Saddam Hussein.

History Professor Kevin Sweeney is interviewed about Col. Ephraim Williams as Williams College marks the 250th anniversary of his death.

Noble & Greenough School in Dedham, MA, has hired Roger Boulay ‘03 as assistant boys’ soccer coach.

“Punishment, Politics, and Culture” is listed as one of a number of “Seminars and institutes for teachers in schools, colleges, and universities” that were awarded Humanities Endowment grants announced last week. No details were given regarding the seminar, but it undoubtedly will be connected in some way to the political science course and scholarly volume of the same name taught by and edited by Professor Austin Sarat.

Professor Ronald Tiersky is interviewed by Xinhua on his perspective regarding relations between China and America, in light of recent disagreements over Chinese military and economic matters.

The College is profiled in a wire story on sustainability, describing the College’s practice of recycling everything from paper to old building materials. New hybrid vehicles in the College’s fleet and a more efficient air-conditioning system all help reduce Amherst’s nearly $4 million annual energy bill and lessen the impact the College has on the environment.

Roy S. Chaleff ‘68 was appointed Senior Vice President of Regional Technology Initiatives at Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania, the company announced this week. Chaleff, who was Acting Vice President for Research at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, took on the new role this week at the company, described in the press release as “an innovative economic development organization that grows the region’s economy through science, technology and entrepreneurship.”

And finally, the Springfield Republican reports that the Five Colleges received approval from the Northampton City Council to run fiber-optic cables across the Connecticut River on existing power lines to connect the colleges in a 29-mile long fiber-optic network. The network, which could be running by next year, will allow the schools to reduce their dependence for high speed connection on outside companies, and will “give them the capacity to absorb innovations in technology as the Internet becomes more sophisticated.”

Brian Meacham '97 at 07:54 AM

September 01, 2005

MacMillan '96 leaves Prague

Wendesday’s Prague Post ran an article memorializing the imminent departure of Scott MacMillan ‘96. “It seems fair to say this event will noticeably lessen the aura of decadence—or at least the appearance of an aura—that made Prague such a magnet for the truly weird and hopefully gifted throughout the ’90s,” says the Post, pointing out the splash MacMillan made at the Prague Business Journal as a new expat in the late ’90s, his time as publisher of the “hip” monthly Prague Insider, and ultimately his role launching the Café Ebel (“which, incredibly, succeeded,”) and the Tulip Café.

“MacMillan now pledges he’s finally getting on to a real career out in the real, wide world beyond Prague,” the article closes. To follow the next chapter, keep an eye on MacMillan’s blog.

Parker Morse '96 at 09:44 PM | Comments (1)

Calling for help for victims of Katrina

John Porciau ‘05, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, has written a letter to the editor of the New York Times published in today’s edition:

Though born and raised in Louisiana, I recently graduated from Amherst College. I know firsthand the warmth and compassion of the people in the New England and mid-Atlantic regions.

Your fellow citizens need your help badly. Thousand upon thousands of people have seen their homes buried under water. Some are able to see the terrible images of the destruction only from miles away. Others are still trapped in their flooded homes.

What is needed is aid, in whatever form it can be given.

We encourage alumni to heed Porciau’s call and give what they can to help those affected by the hurricane and its aftermath:

American Red Cross, Feed The Children, FEMA’s Charity Tips.

Thanks to Paul Statt for the update.

Brian Meacham '97 at 12:20 PM

August 21, 2005

The Mississippi Teacher Corps

Two Amherst alums are mentioned in an article in the Jackson, Mississippi Clarion Ledger about the Mississippi Teacher Corps, billed by the University of Mississippi as “the most competitive alternate route teaching program in the country.” The MTC recruits college graduates to teach in the Mississippi Delta in return for teacher training and certification and a full scholarship for a Masters degree in Education.

Sarah DeGraaff ‘05 and David Molina ‘04 are both quoted, and Molina is pictured; Amherst alums are, therefore, fully half of the program participants quoted in the article.

Parker Morse '96 at 09:21 PM | Comments (1)

August 11, 2005

Movie news

Some of Amherst’s illustrious alums in the film world have been making news lately. First, Jeffery Wright ‘87 (whom we’ve noted on numerous occasions before) is getting a lot of good press (here and here) for his turn as Bill Murray’s neighbor in Jim Jarmusch’s latest film, Broken Flowers, out nationwide this week. A Los Angeles Times profile of Wright takes a look at the role in more depth. Wright has also recently joined the cast of M. Night Shyamalan’s next film, The Lady in the Water, due out next year.

David O. Russell ‘81E, director of Three Kings, I Heart Huckabees, and Spanking the Monkey, among other films, was recently announced as the recipient of the Vision Award from the Filmmakers Alliance, to be handed out August 17th.

Add this news to Amy Fox ‘97’s Heights, playing around the country (and opening in my local art house tomorrow), Hamish Linklater ‘98 in the summer blockbuster The Fantastic Four, and Susannah Grant ‘84 making her directorial debut this fall with Catch and Release, and it all adds up to a busy summer. I’m sure more alumni are making news out there; please let us know if there’s someone we’ve missed.

Brian Meacham '97 at 11:23 PM

Fitzgerald '82 on PBS

Special Patrick Fitzgerald ‘82, whose profile on NPR we noted earlier, was the subject of a NewsHour profile titled “Tough Prosecutor” this week. Fitzgerald, who is garnering praise for his work on the Plame CIA leak case as well as an ongoing corruption investigation in Chicago, is up for reappointment in October. For his part, he says “I’m just going to do my job until someone tells me otherwise. I love my job.”

Thanks to Jan Ostendarp ‘83 for the tip.

Brian Meacham '97 at 06:47 PM

August 05, 2005

William S. Clark 1848: "Boys, be ambitious!"

Traveling north on East Pleasant Street in Amherst, after passing Professor Rabinowitz’s house and just after Strong Street on the right, a curious installation can be seen at the crest of the knoll on the left. Between the road and the older dorms of UMass is a circular installation of stones and black-painted silhouettes.

This afternoon, my curiosity got the better of me, and I stopped to figure out what it was and snap a few pictures. I discovered the installation was a memorial to William S. Clark, Amherst College class of 1848 and, among many other things, a former president of the Massachusetts Agricultural College (an institution better known, these days, as the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.)

I was in a hurry and took fairly few photos; the best are posted here. I may add more to that set later. For more on Clark, see his Wikipedia entry, which clearly just skims the surface of a colorful life (and several connections to the College.) The quote in the title stems from a more traditional memorial to him in Japan. If you’re passing through Amherst and headed up to Puffer’s Pond, you might stop by here to see the unique installation created in his memory.

The text of the main plaque is as follows:

WILLIAM S. CLARK (1826-1886): Educator, scientist, politician and outstanding citizen. Dr. Clark was a major presence in Amherst in the 19th century, and remains a larger-than-life figure throughout Japan to this day. The collaboration between faculty and students in landscape architecture at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and the University of Hokkaido in Sapporo, Japan, which led to this memorial to Dr. Clark, is a fitting tribute to the man who helped found and became the first functioning president of both institutions. This central stone symbolizes his enduring influence on his students. Important aspects of his life are described on plaques at vectors emanating from this focal point.

Parker Morse '96 at 10:10 PM

August 02, 2005

Amy Speace '90 on tour

We’ve noted alumni musicians here before, but now we’ve found another through our regular combing of the College news. Amy Speace ‘90 appears in a recent Washington Post article about the Bluemont summer concerts in suburban Virgina.

Speace, whose second album, “Songs for Bright Street,” is due in November 2005, turned up in our search due to an unlikely alumni encounter at the Bluemont concert, where she was singing with a quartet called Howard Levy, Paul Reisler & A Thousand Questions:

[Speace] said she recognized a former classmate from Amherst College in the crowd. It was the man, she said, who was yelling “Speacemonster!” from the back. That was Daniel Banyas, the AOL engineer from Ashburn, who spent part of the evening standing on the adjacent football field with one eye on his children and the other on his old college friend clutching the microphone.

Parker Morse '96 at 05:03 PM

July 29, 2005

Appreciate where you are now

It’s been a few weeks since we last posted one of these stories, but we’re not done. The overachievers you read about in Amherst magazine (and in your class notes) are not the only alumni; there are plenty of us who have wandered and/or floundered after leaving Amherst. We’ve told two such stories before, here is a third: Joy Hui Lin ‘00.

Like many entering freshmen, I started out set on the idea of becoming a doctor. Despite my voracious reading and the fact that I’d been published in the LA Times as a 15 year old (for a piece about driving school), I had no interest in majoring in English.

The pivotal things that threw me into poetry seem not so pivotal when taken separately: Roald Dahl’s sing-songy pages of text, a book of silly children’s poetry in my book collection, a friend’s offhand admission of scribbling poetry during our AP physics class. Even my office job in the Theater and Dance department helped develop my interest, since I ended up spending my down time there learning calligraphy—by practicing with poems from my favorite book of translated Asian poetry (Colored Stars, translated by E.P. Mathers). I didn’t expect that my new hobby would lead me to learn poetry at the same time.

Meanwhile I continued with my pre-med studies. I never excelled at much at Amherst, and though I was crushed that I didn’t make it into the humanities/pre-med program at Mt. Sinai that I had set my heart on, I went on to finish my pre-med requirements with a summer school course at UCI.

By a stroke of luck, I had registered for a short-story writing class. I was pretty bad at that class too: I had no ear for genuine dialogue, and was dissatisfied with my storylines. But in my writing sample I would always end with a line of poetry which somehow summed up what had happened, and because of that the teacher came up to me at the end of the year and advised me to take a class with Glyn Maxwell, the resident poet.

The next semester I took an intro to poetry class with Glyn, and our affable office hour chats led me to sit in on a poetry writing class the following semester. It was a fantastic class: I was prolific, and I was in love with writing poetry.

Then I was turned down to do a thesis. The English department thought my proposal was unfocused and vague, so I ended up doing a special topics class instead (which every thesis drop-out will agree is a much better experience).

After senior year, my post-graduation plans fell through: I was supposed to move out to where my then boyfriend was studying for med school, where I would get a job and then get into med school the next year so that he and I could both do medical missions in the 3rd world.

That all changed when we broke up that summer. To shake myself out of my heartbreak I went to Thailand. Traveling alone made me stay strong, and keeping a journal of my travels helped too.

But when I came back I fell into a depression. I couldn’t get any job, and at one point found myself trying out for an awful job where you were supposed to try to sell credit cards to K-mart customers as your job interview. Finally, I secured an unpaid internship with AIDS Project Los Angeles that combined my interests in nonprofits (I had started Shoes That Fit at Amherst) and medicine.

Things turned worse again when I was rejected from medical school without even getting a single interview.

Looking at other friends applying to medical school who were so gung-ho they would apply 7 times, I realized that they wanted to be a doctor no matter what, while for the most part I wanted to become a doctor so that I’d be able to afford to live while pursuing my writing.

When AIDS Project Los Angeles didn’t hire me, I went to Sweden to join up with my Swedish boyfriend (whom I had met during my time in Thailand).

People often ask me what I did in Sweden. Not very much, I thought at the time, but it has turned out to have been more than enough. I read a ton of poetry and literature (in English) at the library, picked up Swedish, and found a job as a pre-school teacher (thanks to my experience working in the Little Red School House at Amherst).

It was horrendous living as an immigrant who couldn’t speak the language, and having to work a minimum wage job changing diapers, but the experience turned out to be helpful in getting a really good job teaching English at a college in Tokyo. My boyfriend and I moved there after we were both rejected from the schools we had applied to (poetry grad programs for me, RISD undergrad for him). Until I was hired for the English-teaching position, I made barely enough from freelance teaching hours to pay the rent. I remember staring at apparently well-fed foreigners and despising them because they weren’t poor and desperate, like I felt. I learned that the college hired me in part because the name “Mother Goose Elementary School” had caught their attention.

Next I moved to New York, applied to poetry grad programs again… and got into the one program which I didn’t want to go to.

I found myself unemployed in the midst of a string of excruciatingly boring temp jobs. Temping was so miserable it made me realize something had to change. But something had already changed: I had become an American citizen. Suddenly, I was eligible for the Fulbright and/or Peace Corps.

At the same time this happened, I took an organizing class which made me realize that most of the people I had always been so jealous of, the ones who seemed so secure in their paths, usually have lots of back up plans. What regularly happened to me was that I would become disappointed when my one ball fell out of the air.

So I set myself some concrete goals: to find an MFA with full funding, to apply for a Fulbright, and to become a skilled essayist on women’s rights.

Because a woman who taught at NYU told me that the older you get the harder it is to secure full funding for an MFA, I applied to 20 programs. I also applied for the Fulbright with a lot of help and encouragement from friends and teachers/advisors.

As a result of all this work, I got admitted to exactly 1 MFA program with full funding, and I got named an alternate for the Fulbright to Sweden (I’m still working on the third goal).

Even though at the time, all my traveling seemed like mere detours, looking back they were all part and parcel of building experience. In Sweden, I learned Swedish, discovered an interest in Swedish children’s literature and culture, and developed a specialization in translation work which I can pursue as an adjunct to my writing career. In Tokyo, I fell into a community of English speaking writers, which helped bolster my flagging confidence in my writing in a low-pressure environment (I even published my first article for money through living in Japan). I also reaffirmed my plans for teaching at University, since I taught over 100 18-year-old students, and learned the rudiments of lesson planning, grading etc.

And though I could have done without the temp work, the humiliation of it is what made me withstand the even more excruciating process of applying for grad school—even when professors started to refuse to recommend me. (It also allowed me to stay in New York City, a fantastic city with amazing people where so many of my friends live).

I still don’t know where I’ll be, whether in Sweden for the Fulbright or graduate school for my writing MFA, but whatever happens, I know it will be exciting.

Lessons to remember:

1. Appreciate where you are, and find friends in every new place you’re at.

2. Keep many balls rolling; that way if one doesn’t work out, another one will come through.

3. When you fail, shorten your lag time about getting up again. Your only alternative is depression, so don’t go down that path!

4. Sometimes even things thing you thought would have no use at all come in handy. Perpendicular turns in your life often lead you in surprising directions and teach you more about yourself.

5. If you’re not in your ideal place in your career… remember that hardly anyone is in exactly the right place in their career. Careers are processes— remember that the stupid, boring, low-paying parts are only temporary. The difficult parts will at least help you eliminate choices that you thought you wanted, but aren’t actually the right fit.

6. Talk to people about failing! Show people your imperfections— you’d be surprised how much more understanding you’ll get even from people you think are “perfect”. Seek advice from people who are wise and more experienced than you. It can only help.

7. Figure out what you want and then throw your energy into it. If it doesn’t work out, you’ll still have strengthened yourself in innumerable ways.

8. There is no race. When you stop being paranoid about where you need to be in what measurements, then you can start enjoying the process. Remember that the only person you’re competing against is yourself.

9. Lastly, remember the take home advice from the book Quarter-Life Crisis: If you’ve finished school, are living at home and feel caught in the catch-22 of wanting a challenging job but don’t have the experience for it, don’t know if you’re in the right job, are envious of friends who seem to be better off than you: remember that everyone feels like this at some point, even the financially secure ones in “stable” jobs. There is no automatic “happiness securer” in life: not a job, not money, not a fiancee, nor marriage, a house or a baby.

The hardest challenge I’ve learned is to appreciate where you are now.

Parker Morse '96 at 09:31 AM

Fitzgerald '82 by NPR

Last week we noted a Baltimore Sun article about Justice Department prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald ‘82, who is leading the investigation into the leaking of an undercover CIA agent’s name to the press. On Thursday (July 28,) NPR’s All Things Considered aired another story about Fitzgerald from reporter David Schaper.

Parker Morse '96 at 08:39 AM

July 25, 2005

Monday roundup: Obituaries, newspapers, and post offices

The July 23rd New York Times carried an obituary for Rev. George E. Calvert ‘50. Calvert, a founder of Hope Community, Inc., is credited with helping to revitalize East Harlem as pastor of Church of the Living Hope on East 104th Street. “Hope Community relied on private contributions to buy buildings to turn into housing for low-income families.”

…[Calvert] saw that one of the biggest problems facing his parishioners was lack of adequate, safe housing. Motivated by the belief that solving this problem would help overcome the poverty, rampant crime and dilapidation that plagued the community at the time, he and other leaders founded Hope Community, a nonprofit community development organization, in 1968.

---

The Times announced last Friday that Jonathan Landman ‘74, currently an assistant managing editor, has been named deputy managing editor, responsible for digital journalism.

In making the announcement, [Executive Editor Bill] Keller said, “Jon is one of our most creative editors and a journalist of the utmost integrity. He will be open to the immense potential of the young digital medium, but he will be anchored in the values that give us our credibility and authority. He is, moreover, adept at assembling great talent and making ambitious things happen. There is nothing quite as infectious as Jon Landman when he’s excited about something—and about our ability to make waves on the Web, he is very excited indeed.”

In his new role, Mr. Landman will have oversight of the digital newsroom as well as newsroom responsibility for Times television journalism.

---

While we’re discussing newspapers, The Durham Herald Sun printed the following comment as part of Thursday’s “Peeling the Orange” column:

And now, for a change, a Peeling at our own expense.

We recently received the following e-mail message:

“Customer Services: Please be advised that [name] graduated from Amherst College in 2001. Weekly since then, copies of The Chapel Hill Herald/Herald-Sun have arrived at this Campus Post Office.

“As we do not forward newpapers to graduates, we have been recycling these papers ever since. Please stop the subscription … as soon as possible. Thank you for your cooperation.”

You mean the folks at the Amherst College post office don’t care to read about the Wal-Mart in Chatham County, who’s going to succeed Mike Nelson as Carrboro mayor or how many residential units Chapel Hill wants to build on parking lot 5?

We just feel bad for that newspaper carrier who had to drive to up Massachusetts every week at 5 a.m.

Parker Morse '96 at 08:28 AM

July 18, 2005

Fitzgerald '82 investigates leak

While Washington DC bubbles about the ongoing investigation surrounding the leak of a CIA agent’s name, the Baltimore Sun printed an extensive profile of the “tough and relentless” prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald ‘82, who is leading the investigation. The Sun traces Fitzgerald’s career back to his Amherst years, where

…he had a gift for distilling huge amounts of complex information into a simple, understandable narrative that his classmates could understand. Friends would turn to him after economics class for a translation of the day’s lesson, Tony Bouza [also ‘82] said.

“He was born with an amazing brain,” Bouza said. And Fitzgerald always took pains to be “unassuming and nonintimidating,” aware that his intellect might put people off.

Still, there were early signs of his inner grit. Fitzgerald took up rugby—a bruising sport he would continue through college, law school and his early days as a young lawyer in Manhattan—and allowed his friends glimpses of what Bouza called a “clever, sarcastic wit.”

Parker Morse '96 at 10:27 AM

Fitzsimmons '02 maps the T

Last month’s release of the Google Maps API (and the competing Yahoo Maps API) caused a great deal of buzz in the web community, since Google’s “exposing” of its map data in an Application Program Interface allowed web developers around the world to associate their location-related data with Google’s user-friendly mapping application. Applications included the housing maps using Craig’s List apartment listings and a route mapper which produces mileage for traced routes.

Still, developers using the Firefox Greasemonkey extension were hacking Google Maps even before the API came out. One of them was Seth Fitzsimmons ‘02, who started linking the stops on Boston’s MBTA (the fabled “T”) to Google Maps in mid-April. Fitzsimmons’ ongoing work, which was profiled in the “Ideas” section of Sunday’s Boston Globe, would allow users to put in any street address and determine the closest T station. You can read more on Fitzsimmons’ blog; make sure to read the comments on each post.

Parker Morse '96 at 08:29 AM | Comments (1)

July 12, 2005

Albert assumes throne, acknowledges child

And now for some actual news (thanks for the nice note, Parker), Albert Grimaldi ‘81, better known as Prince Albert of Monaco, has acceded to the throne as His Serene Highness, leader of Monaco. Prince Albert assumed royal powers in April, when his father became ill.

In related news, Prince Albert also took the opportunity to confirm rumors that he is the father of “Little Alexandre,” a child he fathered with Nicole Coste, a flight attendant from Togo. The Boston Herald interviewed Albert’s Amherst classmate Senator Warren Tolman ‘82, who said “I am pleased and not surprised that Albert will do the right thing by his son.”

Brian Meacham '97 at 06:01 PM

July 11, 2005

Meacham '97 married

Posting has been more infrequent than usual lately because Brian just got married.

Parker Morse '96 at 11:49 AM

July 03, 2005

Keiser '67 on greeting cards and golf courses

The Tuscaloosa Times features an A.P. article on Mike Keiser ‘67, who founded Recycled Paper Greetings in 1971 with his roommate, Phil Friedmann ‘67. Keiser is now designing award-winning golf courses in Oregon. Keiser describes his latest, Bandon Trails, as “[w]ild and natural. It is a good walk spoiled. But it is a good walk, first and foremost.”

Brian Meacham '97 at 07:12 PM

June 29, 2005

Wallace '85 addresses Kenyon

While the season of commencement addresses might seem to be over, they are still popping up on the web. David Foster Wallace ‘85 addressed the Kenyon College commencement, and a transcription has now appeared online. (Thanks to Laurel Kilgour ‘03 for the link.)

Of course the main requirement of speeches like this is that I’m supposed to talk about your liberal arts education’s meaning, to try to explain why the degree you are about to receive has actual human value instead of just a material payoff. So let’s talk about the single most pervasive cliché in the commencement speech genre, which is that a liberal arts education is not so much about filling you up with knowledge as it is about quote teaching you how to think. If you’re like me as a student, you’ve never liked hearing this, and you tend to feel a bit insulted by the claim that you needed anybody to teach you how to think, since the fact that you even got admitted to a college this good seems like proof that you already know how to think.

Parker Morse '96 at 11:59 AM

June 28, 2005

Chesebro '26, Hun School headmaster dies

The Trenton Times reports that Paul Chesebro ‘26, longtime headmaster of The Hun School of Princeton, died this week at the age of 99.

Chesebro, born in Mystic, Connecticut, July 13, 1905, received his bachelor’s degree from Amherst in 1926, and began studying chemistry at Princeton. In 1927, while continuing his studies, Chesebro began serving as dormitory proctor at the Hun School, beginning an association that would last until his death. Chesebro taught physics, served as assistant to the Headmaster, served on the Board of Trustees, and became Headmaster of the school in 1950, a position he would hold for the next 25 years. Read the school’s obituary of Chesebro for more information on Chesebro’s life and career.

Brian Meacham '97 at 12:47 PM

June 27, 2005

Monday shorts: Campo, Meiklejohn, Stiglitz

Three people with Amherst connections were in the news this weekend: first, poet and doctor Rafael Campo ‘87, featured in a Boston Globe story on writers writing about themselves as subjects. In an article dealing with “the ranks of writers who seek to connect with their readers by offering up their own personal experience,” Campo says, “I try to push myself as a writer in terms of openness, to make myself more visible.”

Alexander Meiklejohn, eighth president of the College, served from 1912-1924. In an opinion piece titled “Failing the political litmus test at Hayward State,” Sacramento Bee columnist Peter Schrag brings up Meiklejohn while discussing the recent controversy at the school over essayist Richard Rodriguez, who was due to speak at the school’s commencement. The speech was to take place in Meiklejohn Hall,

named for the late Alexander Meiklejohn (the protesters consistently misspelled the name), a philosopher who, until his death in Berkeley in 1964, was a prolific defender of academic freedom and free speech.

Meiklejohn, a sweet and gentle man, who was the president of Amherst College from 1913 to 1923, was run off from his presidency in part because his academic ideas leaned too far toward what in those days was regarded as excessively left-wing and experimental.

I’m not sure why the Bee seems to have the dates wrong, but Meiklejohn doesn’t come up in the news too often.

Joseph Stiglitz ‘64, 2001 Nobel Prize laureate and former Chief Economist and Senior Vice President of the World Bank, was awarded a Doctor of Business Adminstration, honoris causa from the LeBow College of Business at Drexel University.

Brian Meacham '97 at 09:10 AM

June 23, 2005

Nationwide opening for "Heights"

Amy Fox ‘97 tells us via email that Heights, the new movie for which she wrote the screenplay, has had “a great opening weekend in LA and New York. We have been receiving some great reviews, including NPR, Ebert and Roeper, and newspapers around the country.”

Also included was a schedule for other openings. It’s not clear when it will come to the Hampshire Mall (or even Tower in South Hadley, or Pleasant Street or the Academy of Music in Northampton,) but here’s when to look for Heights in your area:

• June 17 - New York and L.A.
• June 24 - Chicago, San Francisco, San Diego, Boston, Seattle, and others
• July 1 - Denver, Minneapolis, Dallas, Houston, and others
• July 8 - Miami, Washington D.C., Atlanta, Sacramento, Milwaukee, and others
• July 15 - New Orleans, Las Vegas, Austin, San Antonio
• July 22 - Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Eugene, Reno, Birmingham, Anchorage

Parker Morse '96 at 12:21 PM

June 17, 2005

Fox '97 profiled; Heights out today

Amy Fox ‘97 is profiled in this week’s issue of the Forward, and her film Heights is released today in New York and Los Angeles.

Reviews of the film are generally positive; let’s all get out and see the film to help ensure it opens around the country. Christy Lemire of MSNBC calls it “intelligently written” and showing a “rare display of confidence” by Fox and director Chris Terrio; Scott Foundas of the LA Weekly called the acting “uniformly superb”; Carina Chocano of the Los Angeles Times says Heights is “beautifully shot…and consistently well-acted.”

Brian Meacham '97 at 01:16 PM

June 13, 2005

Murphy '74 on comics in the family

Cullen Murphy ‘74, who recently resigned as editor of The Atlantic Monthly, is among a handful of cartoonists and comic strip writers, profiled in the Boston Sunday Globe, whose work has been part of the family, passed down from father to son. Murphy worked with his father John Cullen Murphy for more than 25 years on “Prince Valiant,” and says in the interview, “If you are part of a cartoonist’s family, you get caught up into that world.” Other families of cartoonists are profiled, including Mort Walker and his sons (“Hagar the Horrible,” “Beetle Bailey,” “HI and Lois”), as are cartoonists who had very different relationships with their fathers, like Art Spiegelman and Chris Ware

Brian Meacham '97 at 07:22 AM

June 07, 2005

Pinsky '80 hosting Discovery Health Channel show

Dr. Drew Pinsky ‘80, best known for hosting the radio show “Loveline” that later became an MTV talk show, will premiere a new show on the Discovery Health Channel called “Strictly Sex with Dr. Drew,” the Washington Post reports.

Described by reporter William Booth as “trim and silver-haired, bright-eyed and California casual,” Pinsky will host the one hour show, which premieres Wednesday, June 8. The show, according to its official site, will consist of a “mixture of audience feedback, discussions with ‘sexperts’ and man-on-the-street interviews.”

In addition to hosting this new show, Dr. Pinsky is currently the medical director of the department of chemical dependency services at Las Encinas Hospital, and is also a doctor in private practice.

Brian Meacham '97 at 01:16 PM

Fox '97 on adapting Heights for film

Amy Fox ‘97, the playwright behind the new film Heights, is interviewed in conversation with the director of the film, Chris Terrio, this week in a The New York Times piece by Sylviane Gold. The film, which opens June 17, is described as a “one-act play about a rooftop confrontation among three young New Yorkers.”

Read “How Her Little Play Became His Big Movie.” Also, see earlier Am’erst.com coverage of the film.

Brian Meacham '97 at 01:07 PM

May 27, 2005

Varmus '61 elected to Royal Society

Harold Varmus ‘61, former chairman of the National Institutes of Health and 1989 Nobel Laureate, has been honored with another accolade: he is now a fellow of the Royal Society, “the independent scientific academy of the UK dedicated to promoting excellence in science.”

Varmus, elected as one of six “Foreign Members” this year, was selected for his work on retroviruses and the molecular genetics of cancer. Forty-four new fellows were elected for 2005, and they join the likes of Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, and Stephen Hawking. Varmus is the President and CEO of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York.

Brian Meacham '97 at 10:47 PM

Two!

With two events remaining, Amherst’s women’s track team has already had its most successful NCAA meet ever, with two national champions.

On Thursday night, Carter Hamill ‘05 demolished the field in the 10,000m, winning by over a minute in 34:00.43, a new College record and just 0.43 seconds away from earning Hamill a spot on the line at next month’s open national championships. Hamill’s fifth national title gives her the most wins of any Amherst runner (ahead of Rob Mitchell ‘99, with four.)

Still, Hamill was expected to win, after her Penn Relays championship last month. Less expected was Shauneen Garrahan ‘07’s Friday night victory in the 3000m steeplechase, but Garrahan didn’t even need to run her best to pull out the win, finishing in 10:33.21, four seconds slower than her College record.

After Friday night, Amherst stands in fourth place in team scoring, only seven points off the lead. However, there are a lot of points to be awarded on Saturday, and the Lady Jeffs can, at best, only score 28 more. Garrahan will race finals at both 1500m and 5000m; Hamill will also contest the 5000m.

(We apologize if we appear over-focused on the performance of the track team, but writing about track is something we do professionally.)

Parker Morse '96 at 09:21 PM | Comments (1)

May 26, 2005

Hamill '05 to defend NCAA title

It is not often that we get to write about Amherst alumni contending for national championships. Due to a quirk of the calendar, Carter Hamill ‘05 will be running her last races for the College at the Division III track and field championships starting tonight, four days after Commencement.

Hamill, who was profiled by her hometown paper, the Richmond Times Dispatch, today, has had more success at the national level than any other Amherst College runner, male or female, winning four NCAA individual titles and sixteen All-American citations in eleven seasons. She has a chance to raise that total to five and seventeen tonight, at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa, when she defends the 10,000m title she won last year. Hamill’s 34-minute clocking from the Penn Relays makes her the top seed and prohibitive favorite with nearly a minute advantage over the second seed.

Hamill will be joined by teammate Margaret Davis ‘06 in the 10,000m. When Hamill doubles back to the 5000m, on Saturday, she will face Wartburg’s defending champion Missy Buttry as well as her own teammate, Shauneen Garrahan ‘07, who nicked Hamill’s school record earlier this year. Garrahan is “tripling” in Iowa, running the 5000m, 1500m, and 3000m steeplechase. Results from the meet will be posted online “as they become available.”

Parker Morse '96 at 11:44 AM | Comments (1)

May 25, 2005

Diver '65: "I feel sorry for you"

While Amherst has, in our memory, not lacked for presidents capable of delivering a good Commencement address, we’re becoming fans of Colin S. Diver ‘65, president of Reed College in Portland, Oregon, whose annual “remarks” introduce Reed’s primary speaker. Diver’s May 16, 2005 remarks include gems like these:

At Commencement exercises, college presidents and faculty look out on a sea of expectant graduates and feel that familiar mixture of emotions—pride, relief, sorrow, exhaustion, incredulity.

I do feel all of those emotions this morning. But at the moment—I have to admit—I am mostly just feeling sorry for you. Yes, truly. I am feeling sorry, because I know what you are facing. You are about to go out into a world which you will find alien and strange. It is a world that will not understand you. No one will be impressed at how many term papers you wrote last night. No one will care about your latest interpretation of some obscure Coptic text. People will walk away from you when you try to strike up a conversation at a bar about the sex life of salamanders.

Parker Morse '96 at 09:59 PM

Serial intern (a What Next Story)

A few weeks ago, we posted the first in a series of stories we’re calling the What Next Stories—the unusual routes taken by Amherst graduates without a clear path at graduation. As Amherst magazines arrive in our mailboxes and we skim the Class Notes of our remarkably talented and accomplished classmates, and a new class of well-prepared but uncertain Jeffs step out in to the “real” world, it’s timely to remember that we don’t all change the world—or even irradiate it—right away.

With that in mind, our second installment, a member of the class of 2003 who remains, by request, “Googlenonymous.” After all, there are many interviews to come, and as this story shows, indirection may be fine, but jobs are won by showing confidence.

(If you’ve got a story to share, particularly if you left Amherst unsure of where you were headed, please get in touch with Parker Morse ‘96 at amerst@parkermorse.net.)

The Post-Amherst Afterlife (And I Promise You, There is One)

Looking at my resume, it seems hard to believe I’ve been out of college for only two years. In that short time, I’ve lived in 7 different places, taken on 8 different internships and part-time jobs, and completed one massage therapy program. And spent my entire life savings (oops).

At Amherst, I was a biology major, and I thought I had my career path all figured out. It would be nice and linear: I would go on to grad school and become a research scientist. Up through junior year, this plan was going like clockwork. I was by no means brilliant, but I had a solid record, and if I had gone on to do a thesis I would have been in a good position to get into a good grad program.

First, I realized that I didn’t actually like research. I didn’t like the hassle of having to schedule my days around the timetable of the lab, and I didn’t like the stressful uncertainty of the work. It just wasn’t how I wanted to spend the rest of my life. Second, I realized that what I was most interested in were topics at the intersection of science with other disciplines, such as bioethics and research policy.

After much wrangling, I decided not to do a thesis, and not to apply to grad school. Instead I took a few more classes relating to the intersection of my interests—and felt totally at a loss as to how to how to make a career out of any of it. Thanks to that great psychological device called Complete and Utter Denial, even two weeks before graduation I had zero prospects for the future, even for the summer. I’d been rejected from the few internships and teaching positions I’d applied for.

In desperation, I asked my parents to check around during their Memorial Day weekend visit to a small vacation town in Maine to see whether any of the local restaurants needed servers for the summer season. It was a long shot considering I didn’t have any experience waiting tables, but I lucked out, and was hired after a short phone interview.

• Note 1: Take chances. Don’t be scared off by not having all the qualifications an employer is looking for. Sometimes confidence and enthusiasm is enough.

• Note 2: Do lots of internet research into potential options. Sites like craigslist, idealist.org, and monster.com are all great resources. If you read about an organization in a newspaper that sounds like it’s doing interesting work, look up the website to see whether they have any positions open.

I ended up pursuing an unpaid social justice internship in San Francisco, at an organization dedicated to preserving audio/visual resources from the civil rights movement. An interesting and rewarding experience, but not directly in line with any potential career goals.

I did not have any part-time job prospects planned out to pay the rent. It took a few weeks of wandering around submitting copies of my résumé, but ultimately I found an opening for a sales position—at the third largest GAP in the world, during Christmas season. There were many other people applying, most of whom had previous retail experience (I had none), and the process involved a group interview (something I’d never done). I did the best I could to make analogies between the skills required for the position with what I’d learned from my experience waiting tables and from being a resident counselor at Amherst, and tried to project enthusiasm. I got the position, which again showed me that having the right attitude can go a long way to make up for lack of experience.

• Note 3: Don’t worry about not having it all planned out ahead of time. It’s much easier to find employment or apartments once you’re on the spot—just be sure to have enough saved to survive while you’re looking.

I was all set to stay in San Francisco for another internship, but at the last minute found that they’d lost their funding, and would be putting off choosing interns for several months. Since I had friends in LA, and had long daydreamed of learning massage therapy, I made a quick move to SoCal and enrolled in a certification program.

Back in the fall, I had applied to a science policy organization in DC. The phone interview had gone horribly, and not surprisingly, I was rejected. But the secretary kindly offered to keep my resume on file.

Five months after the initial interview, I received an email asking whether I was still interested in an internship. In my original cover letter, I had mentioned a paper I’d written on patent rights in genetically-modified seeds for a legal theory course. It turned out the organization was starting a new project called “Science and Intellectual Property in the Public Interest”. Perfect! In fact, even better suited to my interests than the internship spot I’d been rejected for. Indeed, the phone interview turned out to be more of a “when can you start?” than a “why should we take you?” I took a leave of absence from my massage program and headed to DC for the summer.

• Note 4: Be graceful in defeat. Corollary: Be nice to secretaries. Ask people to keep your application on file. Sometimes when people say “we’re choosing from lots of qualified applicants, and it was a tough decision,” they really mean it. [And though I didn’t do it for this particular position, it’s a good idea after you’ve been rejected from somewhere to follow-up and politely ask for suggestions on how to improve your application or interview style to become the kind of candidate they would hire. It makes a good impression on people, and you might learn something helpful].

When I returned to California in the fall to finish my massage program, I had neither housing nor a part-time job settled in advance. I found the former through flyers on a local university campus, and the latter, a barista position at a nearby coffee shop, through Craigslist.

In January, I applied to a project at an international health policy organization that I had learned about through my previous science policy internship. Because the project had already filled its internship positions, my application was transferred to a different department which was engaged in related work—and as I discovered in the phone interview, this caused some interesting miscommunication. After happily establishing that their work and my background would be a good fit, I asked: “So when do I start?”, expecting to hear a date falling sometime in late spring. Instead, they asked, “What? Haven’t you made arrangements to be in Geneva already?”

If I wanted the position, I would have to somehow find and commit to housing and plane tickets in less than three weeks. All the local boarding houses were booked, so I had to scramble to contact everyone I knew, including alums I only knew as acquaintances, who might possibly have contacts in Geneva. I ultimately found the housing I needed through four degrees of separation.

• Note 5: Network creatively. You might be surprised what a small world it can be, and how willing acquaintances can be to help you out. Don’t be afraid to ask—and be sure to offer when you get the chance!

• Note 6: Find a niche. It can lead you in interesting directions, and will make you stand out when applying to prestigious places with competitive application processes. Corollary: Sometimes pursuing an interesting project at a lesser-known organization can be better in the long run than doing something generic at a prestigious organization.

Now my story hits a more prosaic turn. My plan is to head to law school in the fall. I will try to partially subsidize my way through massage therapy, and I will further wrangle about questions such as whether to do policy work for NGOs, aim for a professorship, or sell my soul to a firm.

What I do know is that I’ve learned a lot these past two years.

• Note 7: The biggest lesson is that meandering is okay. You really can pursue personal interests, and experiment with different paths, and still convince potential employers and institutions that you are focused, capable, and reliable. You have to be careful about how you package yourself: on some versions of my résumé, I leave out my massage therapy program, or the most radically political description of my San Francisco internship. But not every experience in your post-graduate life has to be accounted for on a résumé or directly targeted to what you want to do with your life.

I’m sure you’ve noticed that luck was a factor in many of my experiences (and there were a number of other opportunities I was rejected from.)

• Note 8: You can make luck happen. Not on demand, certainly, but luck isn’t a passive force. In Sync, Steven Strogatz writes, “Serendipity is not just an apparent aptitude for making fortunate discoveries accidentally, as my dictionary defines it. Serendipitous discoveries are always made by people in a particular frame of mind, people who are focused and alert because they’re searching for something. They just happen to find something else.” Putting in the effort to look actively and creatively will increase the chances that luck will find you.

Many many many people have had to wrangle with doubts, change paths and do things they never expected having to do to get by, and more of your peers are going through the same things you are than you realize. It will be okay. Really. You can do it.

Parker Morse '96 at 09:49 PM

May 21, 2005

Boston sportscaster sues Conley '94 over "Fuzzy"

Bob Lobel, dean of Boston sportscasters, has filed a libel suit against Darby Conley ‘94 for what Lobel’s lawyer calls “false and malicious libel of and concerning Lobel.” The May 13 “Get Fuzzy” comic, which has been removed from the comics.com website, featured Rob, Bucky, and Satchel watching the news on TV. Satchel asks, “Is this sportscaster … drunk?” to which Rob replies “Lobel? Who knows?” The word “Lobel” was replaced with “him” in about 100 newspapers, according the article. Conley hasn’t commented on the suit. Having watched Lobel on TV over the last five years, his inability to make sense and stay on topic has made it tough for us to watch him for long. As the Globe article concludes, Lobel’s “on-air demeanor mixes humor and news, and the occasional lapses of focus that have led to rumors that he may have been drinking before going on the air.”

Brian Meacham '97 at 05:50 PM

Commencement tomorrow, honorands announced

Amherst College will hold its 184th Commencement Exercises this weekend, with graduation and the conferring of honorary degrees to take place tomorrow on the freshman quad, weather permitting.

Honorary degree recipients this year include Kazuo Asakai ‘67, Japan’s ambassador to the European Union; architect Shigeru Ban; author and historian Natalie Zemon Davis (The Return of Martin Guerre; Paul E. Farmer, founder of Partners in Health; Senator John Glenn, biochemist and MacArthur ‘genius’ Amy Rosenzweig ‘88; novelist Robert Stone; and William Julius Wilson, sociologist of urban poverty. Each will be giving a talk or participating in a conversation after the ceremony, as tradition holds; for our money, it’s a toss-up between hearing John Glenn speak in Johnson Chapel and listening to Amy Rosenzweig ‘88 and her talk, “Here’s to You, Larry Summers” in Converse.

Anyone who attends is encouraged to send updates, accounts, and photos of the weekend’s events to us at amerst@gmail.com.

1839 Amherst Commencement program from Amherstiana.org.

Brian Meacham '97 at 09:55 AM

May 20, 2005

Amherst Magazine on Amherstiana

The Spring 2005 issue of the Amherst Magazine has just been mailed out and updated online, and, among other things, it features an article about Amherst memorabilia and eBay. The article, titled “Wild, Wild Web: The Hunt for Amherst on eBay,” was written (and photographed) by Sam Masinter ‘04, whose photos of the Mandela event we brought you earlier this week. The piece features an interview with me (plus at least one photo of me surfing the web - has that ever looked cool?) that Sam conducted back in January. The article also features some of Sam’s experiences as well as an interview with Daria D’Arienzo of the College Archives and Special Collections.

It’s always strange so see oneself referred to by one’s last name in a publication, and I can’t remember saying half the stuff I seem to have said, but Sam did a good job representing the strange and interesting world of Amherst on eBay.

Photo by Sam Masinter ‘04.

Brian Meacham '97 at 04:45 PM

May 19, 2005

New Heights for Fox '97

Heights, the new film written by Amy Fox ‘97, will open in theaters June 17. The film premiered at Sundance in January, and features Glenn Close, Elizabeth Banks, James Marsden, and Jesse Bradford. Fox was commissioned by producer Ismail Merchant to adapt the screenplay from her own play of the same name. Read all about the adaptation process on Amy’s Heights site. Also, watch the trailer for the film and visit the official (Flash) site).

Brian Meacham '97 at 10:53 AM | Comments (1)

May 13, 2005

Harris '73 fulfilling "duty" of public service

The Chatham Courier of New Jersey reports that Bruce Harris ‘73, appointed to the city council last year to fill out the term of another councillor who was elected mayor, is running for a full term. Harris told the Courier, “My parents were always involved in community activities, … I see running for public office as part of a tradition in my family that I wanted to maintain. I see it as a duty.”

Parker Morse '96 at 01:17 PM

May 12, 2005

I graduated, what next?

Via “send,” planworld reader Laurel Kilgour ‘03 notes, “It’s that time of the year again in which the plans from seniors turn into frantic freakouts about being jobless, directionless, or both.” And while it’s been a few years, we remember what it’s like.

Still, somehow here we are, with full-time employers on our résumés, maybe something we can call careers. How can we help get the class of ‘05 from there to here? We don’t (always) have jobs to offer, but maybe we can help them figure out what to expect.

We’d like to make this the first in a series of posts where alumni (hopefully young alumni, who have dealt with the current job market,) share the kinds of things they went through in their first years out of Amherst. If you’ve got a story to share, particularly if you left Amherst unsure of where you were headed, please get in touch with Parker Morse ‘96 (whose story is below) at amerst@parkermorse.net.

My first job after Amherst College was with a “service” magazine—that is, a magazine which publishes articles intended to inform the readers. My own writing tends to be more narrative, but I picked up some stylistic points in the magazine world. And since this is a “service” article, well, expect bullet points.

I majored in Russian Language and Literature, and because I tend to deal with “first things first,” I didn’t worry too much about what I was going to do after graduation until late in the fall semester of my senior year. I got job listings from the Russian department, but few, if any, of them appealed to me; in addition, my language skills were barely passable and many job openings were looking for fluency.

I attended several group interviews for private school teaching jobs, and even sent some cover letters and résumés, but I couldn’t get excited about those, either. One monumentally wrecked interview (I actually forgot the appointment) convinced me that subconsciously, I didn’t want to be a teacher.

The reed I eventually latched on to was the time I’d spent as a Computer Center Supervisor. I was not a CS major, like my roommate, so I wasn’t interviewing with big consultancies or think tanks as he was, but he convinced me to send résumés to a few tech companies. They turned me down.

• Note 1: Not everyone knows what they want to do with their Amherst degree.
• Note 2: You don’t have to follow your major.

Sometime in the fall, I sent a cold letter to Runner’s World magazine, noting that they did not (at the time) have a website, and perhaps they might employ me in building one for them. I was surprised, a few weeks later, to find a message on my machine from the editor (a Wesleyan alum, as it happens) suggesting that they did have plans for a website in 1996, but perhaps they could make some time to talk with me?

• Note 3: It can’t hurt to ask. You’ve got nothing to lose; all they can hurt is your morale.

Sometime in May, after two interviews, they offered me a summer internship working on their website. With no other offers, I took it, figuring it would be a good thing to put on my résumé even if it led nowhere. Jon Prokup ‘99, the only person in the area I knew, helped me find an apartment; this was the extent of my Amherst “networking” in the job process.

Midway through the internship, I started seriously looking for “real work” in the fall. I had an interview in early August with Cahner’s Multimedia, near Boston. When they offered me a job a few weeks later, I went to RW to see what they could do. They matched the offer and allowed me to count my internship as my “start date” of full employment (which meant benefits like vacation days kicked in sooner.) I decided to stay there, and ended up working for Rodale just over five years.

• Note 4: It can be more useful to take a temporary job in a field you like than a more solid job in a field you don’t like.
• Exception 1: It’s not the late ’90s anymore. It’s a lot harder to get a web development job without experience than it was when I graduated.
• Note 5: The “alumni network” may or may not be useful. Don’t count on it.

During those five years, I not only built experience and a network of contacts, but I discovered the wonders of night school and realized that graduate school was an option. I started at the Muhlenberg Evening College, then when I moved back to Amherst to work for a small publishing company in Sunderland, I took classes at Westfield State College. Now I’m about to start a graduate degree in computer science, nine years after graduation.

• Note 6: You can change direction, with some work.

Parker Morse '96 at 07:41 PM

May 08, 2005

Gov. Freudenthal '73

Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal ‘73 delivered the commencement address at the University of Wyoming College of Arts and Sciences graduation ceremony yesterday. Gov. Freudenthal described graduation season as a time that “restores my faith in the future. When I look at the way we are treating the present, you guys are going to have quite a mess to clean up.”

“Governor Dave” spent sixteen years as an attorney in private practice, followed by eight years as attorney for the State of Wyoming. He was elected in 2002.

Brian Meacham '97 at 07:29 PM

May 07, 2005

Conley '94 on language

“Get Fuzzy,” the nationally syndicated comic strip by Darby Conley ‘94, is featured in an article about language in comic strips by Roger Vanharan of Wisconsin’s Beaver Dam Daily Citizen this week. He talks first about a memorable “Calvin & Hobbes” strip from a few years ago in which Calvin describes “verbing,” when a noun is turned into a verb, concluding that “verbing weirds language.” Vanharan then describes a more recent “Get Fuzzy” strip in which Bucky Katt, indignant that Rob has told him a rubber band isn’t food, replies “You can food anything if you just eat it!” Bucky describes his use of the verb “to food” as “wordifying,” with a nod to Bill Watterson.

The author continues on to talk about zero derivation, making a new word class (or part of speech) without adding anything (like a suffix) to an existing word.

More of our “Get Fuzzy”-related news.

Brian Meacham '97 at 09:15 AM

May 06, 2005

Dunbar '44 dies

The College website has a brief “In Memoriam” posted for Professor Emeritus Henry Dunbar ‘44, who died yesterday (May 5th). If I’m making the right connection, this is “Hank” Dunbar, coach of the swim team through his retirement in 1993. Dunbar was also once coach of the crew, and that team has had at least one boat named in his honor.

The current sparse page on the College website indicates that it will be expanded if more information is made available to them.

Parker Morse '96 at 03:25 PM | Comments (1)

May 05, 2005

Producer Chuck Pratt '49 passes away

Charles A. Pratt ‘49, producer of such classics of ’70s American cinema as Willard (1971), Walking Tall (1973), and The Great Santini (1979), has died at the age of 81.

Pratt was born in Chicago in 1923, and after attending the Chicago Latin School and Culver Military Academy, he spent time as a cowboy in Colorado and served in the Army along the U.S.-Mexico border and in the Pacific theater during World War II.

Pratt graduated from Amherst in 1949, and moved into the entertainment industry through jobs in sales and advertising in Chicago and News York. Willard enjoyed a remake in 2003, as did Walking Tall in 2004; perhaps 2005 is the year Bull Meechum returns in a new Santini? Let’s hope not; it was Pratt’s favorite film among all that he was associated with, and it’s certainly better left alone.

Brian Meacham '97 at 11:37 PM

May 03, 2005

New book news

The Innocent, the new novel from Harlan Coben ‘84, is reviewed in the Detroit Free Press this week. In other book news, the next book from Scott Turow ‘70, a World War II-era legal thriller titled Ordinary Heroes, is eagerly anticipated by the Chicago Sun-Times’ Henry Kisor. Coben’s book was published in April; Turow’s will be out in November.

We reported in January on Columbia Pictures’ acquisition of Coben’s Myron Bolitar novels.

Brian Meacham '97 at 04:47 PM

May 02, 2005

Conover '80 on Courtroom 302

In yesterday’s New York Times Sunday Book Review, Ted Conover ‘80 honorary degree in 2001, is best known as the author of Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing (2000), a memoir of his experiences as a prison guard at Sing Sing Prison.

Brian Meacham '97 at 10:32 PM

April 28, 2005

O'Rourke '00 on Ricardo Muti

Today’s Slate Magazine features a piece by Liam O’Rourke ‘00 titled “Muti’s Bounty,” in which O’Rourke examines the work of the former musical director of La Scala in Milan, Ricardo Muti. Muti, who had been the conductor at La Scala for the past 19 years, recently resigned in the wake of a dispute with the opera’s management. O’Rourke reviews four Muti-led recordings, including performances by the the Philadelphia Orchestra and the New Philharmonia Orchestra.

Thanks to Dan Johnson ‘01 for the tip.

Brian Meacham '97 at 09:41 PM

Plück '01 on US trade deficit

Institute for International Economics researcher Katharina Plück ‘01 is the co-author of an op-ed piece in yesterday’s New York Times entitled When the Dollar Bill Comes Due. Plück and co-author Catherine L. Mann explore the reasons that the U.S. trade deficit has not shrunk despite the depreciation of the dollar in recent months. The news is not good; they end the piece with the warning, “The larger the eventual depreciation, and the longer we wait, the greater our postponed pain promises to be.”

Thanks to Dan Johnson ‘01 for the tip.

Brian Meacham '97 at 09:23 PM

April 15, 2005

Murphy '74 resigns from Atlantic Monthly

Cullen Murphy ‘74 is resigning as the editor of The Atlantic Monthly as a result of the magazine’s planned move from Boston to Washington, D.C. The magazine has been in Boston for 148 years since its founding, and is making the move to help cut costs. Murphy, stating that he has “too many personal and other commitments here” in Boston, will stay on through the magazine’s transition, but will step down at the end of 2005.

Murphy was the subject of Am’erst’s first post all of three and a half months ago.

Brian Meacham '97 at 08:27 AM | Comments (2)

Activist Weissman '69 profiled

A recent Springfield Republican article titled “Championing workers a lifelong commitment” profiled Jon R. Weissman ‘69, founder of Jobs with Justice, a national organization dedicated to supporting workers’ rights. The article details the development of Weissman’s activism, especially while he was at Amherst, during which time he completed a study that analyzed the nation’s education system as a tracking system that helped to “winnow out professionals such as doctors and lawyers, using Amherst College as an example.” Weissman was president of the Amherst chapter of Students for a Democratic Society, and was also active in anti-war and pro-coeducation groups at the college.

Brian Meacham '97 at 08:20 AM

Coolidge recording in Nat'l. Registry

The National Recording Preservation board has included radio coverage of 1895 Amherst graduate Calvin Coolidge greeting Charles Lindbergh as a 2004 entry into the National Recording Registry. The broadcast, made June 11, 1927, featured reporters “stationed at … three locations in Washington to provide successive, ‘live’ descriptions of the pilot’s arrival” after his historic trans-Atlantic flight.

Brian Meacham '97 at 08:08 AM

April 12, 2005

Project Survival brings Rieckhoff '98 back to campus

Monday’s Daily Hampshire Gazette ran a story (paid subscription required) about a student group which has brought Paul Rieckhoff ‘98’s nonpartisan veterans group, Operation Truth, to campus. Rieckhoff and two other veterans will speak at a meeting tonight in Johnson Chapel, introduced by Belchertown resident Kevin Lucey. Lucey’s son Jeff committed suicide after returning from serving in Iraq.

The student group founded by Chris Hofmann ‘07 and Annalise Rodli ‘07 is called “Project Survival,” and is intended to raise awareness and aid for soldiers and civilians in Iraq.

“It’s definitely been a tough battle,” said Hofmann. “When you have the message ‘support the troops,’ it’s automatically labeled as a pro-war message, which is the last thing our group is trying to say.”

Many in the group were strongly opposed to the war, Hofmann said, while others were supportive of its aims. They have tried to move beyond those differences, collecting supplies for an Army unit in Mosul and raising funds to support Iraqi civilians and the reconstruction effort.

Update, 13 April: The Student article about this meeting.

Parker Morse '96 at 08:00 PM

April 10, 2005

Foreign correspondent Roberts '33 dies

Influential diplomatic correspondent Chalmers M. Roberts ‘33 has died at age 91, the Times reports. Roberts joined the Washington Post in 1949, and began covering diplomatic circles in 1953. He covered stories such as the Pentagon Papers, the death of Stalin, and Khrushchev’s 1959 tour of the United States.

After graduating from Amherst, Roberts worked for a variety of papers, and in the mid-1930s, he and fellow class of ‘33 member Alfred Friendly (who would later become a managing editor of the Post, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, and the namesake of the Alfred Friendly ‘33 Periodicals Reading Room at Frost Library) “toured Europe and America, taking odd jobs to make ends meet.”

Brian Meacham '97 at 02:54 PM

April 09, 2005

Flores withdraws OAS candidacy

Former El Salvador President Francisco Flores ‘81 has withdrawn from the race to head the Organization of American States, it was announced today. Saying that his competition with Mexican Foreign Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez and Chilean Interior Minister Jose Miguel Insulza created a “dangerous situation,” Flores withdrew, leaving no candidate with strong support from the United States, who had backed Flores’s candidacy.

See our previous discussion of Flores and the OAS.

Brian Meacham '97 at 08:19 AM

April 01, 2005

Comic coincidence?

Cartoonists Bill Amend ‘84 and Darby Conley ‘94 are both Amherst alumni and creators of widely read comic strips with national circulation: Amend is the man behind Foxtrot and Conley is the creator of Get Fuzzy. Along with Stephan Pastis (UC Berkeley ‘89) and his “Pearls Before Swine,” the cartoonists shared something else today: all three of their comic strips centered on a ouija board theme. Conley is quoted in an Editor & Publisher article as saying

Amend, a little more forthcoming about the episode, writes on his homepage that the three of them cooked up the joke together. The comics (copyright 2005 Darby Conley and Bill Amend, respectively):

Brian Meacham '97 at 11:46 PM

Kimball '85 returns to the Valley

Tonight’s headliner at the Iron Horse in Northampton was Catie Curtis, but Curtis’s opening act (and backup singer through Curtis’s set) was Jennifer Kimball ‘85. Kimball, who made her earliest splash in the music business as half of The Story (with Jonatha Brooke ‘85) is promoting a new album, due in May (the title was mentioned, but I missed it.) More details are at Kimball’s website.

Parker Morse '96 at 09:58 PM

Prince Albert assumes royal powers

Prince Albert of Monaco, Albert Grimaldi ‘81, has assumed the royal powers of Monaco this week in the wake of his father’s worsening condition. Prince Rainier III, Europe’s longest reigning monarch, has been in power since 1949, and was hospitalized last month with a variety of health issues including kidney and heart problems.

Prince Albert has assumed royal powers while Rainier is ailing, but will cede powers back to his father if Rainier recovers.

Brian Meacham '97 at 10:53 AM

March 31, 2005

Wright '87 in "This is How It Goes"

In a review of the new Neil LaBute play “This is How It Goes,” which stars Jeffrey Wright ‘87, critic Brendan Lemon of The Financial Times says Wright “may be the greatest American actor of his generation.” He continues on to write a not-so-favorable review of the play, but lauds what he calls Wright’s “extreme watchability.”

The play, and Wright in particular, is also mentioned in Caryn James’s recent piece in the New York Times titled “When It Comes to Casting, Love Conquers Color.”

See our earlier coverage of Wright as well.

Brian Meacham '97 at 12:14 PM

March 29, 2005

Varmus '61 backs genome project

The New York Times reports that Harold E. Varmus ‘61, Nobel laureate and former director of the National Institutes of Health, is one of the drafters behind a proposal to create the Human Genome Cancer Project, a federal project that will “compile a complete catalog of the genetic abnormalities that characterize” cancer.

Varmus won the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1989, for his work with J. Michael Bishop on the discovery of the cellular origin of retroviral oncogenes.

Brian Meacham '97 at 12:54 PM

March 24, 2005

Reunion Weekend May 25-29

The 2005 Reunion Weekend brochure arrived in the mail today, two months and a day before the event is to be held. A full schedule is available online. The standard events like the Bunker Tour and the Estate Planning Seminar are again offered, along with some interesting special talks, such as Professors Douglas and George on their book Sense and Nonsensibility: Lampoons of Learning and Literature, Professor Jamal Elias on “Pakistani Truck Art,” and Professor Harms on “The Geology Behind the Indian Ocean Tsunami.”

Brian Meacham '97 at 06:09 PM | Comments (1)

March 22, 2005

Times interviews Dan Brown

The New York Times was granted a rare interview with Dan Brown ‘86, published this past Sunday. The article discusses Brown’s skyrocketing popularity, public recognition, and pressure to produce a smash sequel to The Da Vinci Code, which he’s working on now. It also reveals this tidbit: Steven Tyler offered him tickets to an Aerosmith show…which was being filmed for the movie Be Cool. So Dan Brown apparently appears in the film, cheering the band from the front row. That still doesn’t make me want to see the movie, but it’s worth a mention.

Brian Meacham '97 at 05:40 PM

Rieckhoff editorial on checkpoints

In a special editorial published in papers around the country this past Sunday, Paul Rieckhoff ‘98 described what he calls “the enormity of demands we place upon our troops every day in Iraq,” especially in light of the recent death of Nicola Calipari, the Italian intelligence officer killed by American troops.

Registration is required to read the editorial; once again, use BugMeNot if you’d like to read it and don’t have a ready membership to the Dallas-Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

See our previous coverage of Paul Rieckhoff.

Brian Meacham '97 at 09:17 AM

March 21, 2005

Linklater '98 in CBS comedy pilot

Hamish Linklater ‘98, whom we previously noted for his work on stage in New Haven earlier this winter, has been announced as a cast member in the new CBS comedy pilot “Old Christine,” starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus. The show does not appear to be based on the pilot about a sitcom star who’s always being called by her character’s name from a previous show, as Louis-Dreyfus and Larry David acted out in Season 2 of “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” Instead, Louis-Dreyfus plays “a divorced mom who tries to keep pace with everyone around her,” while Linklater plays her brother.

Brian Meacham '97 at 01:50 PM

March 20, 2005

Stiglitz '64 attacks Wolfowitz appointment

Nobel laureate and former World Bank Chief Economist Joseph Stiglitz ‘64 today criticized President Bush’s nomination of Paul Wolfowitz as head of the World Bank. In an interview, Stiglitz said that if Wolfowitz becomes president of the World Bank, it could “once again become a hate figure. This could bring street protests and violence across the developing world.” Noting Wolfowitz’s lack of experience with either “economic development or financial markets,” Stiglitz questioned Wolfowitz’s potential effectiveness in helping address issues of poverty and development around the world.

Brian Meacham '97 at 12:46 AM

March 16, 2005

The Cardinal and Dan Brown

Anyone can write a best-seller these days; heck, writing a controversial best-seller is even easier. But not everyone can say their best-seller is the target of an investigation by a Vatican-appointed Cardinal. Yesterday, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Archbishop of Genoa, was chosen to investigate The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown ‘86, saying the work reminded him of “intemperate anti-clerical pamphlets of the 19th century,” and saying about the book’s incredible sales, “We are clearly facing a formidable distribution strategy here.” On a lighter note, Cardinal Bertone was once a football commentator. What’s with the Vatican’s football connection?

Brian Meacham '97 at 04:59 PM

March 13, 2005

Henry Goddard Thomas, Civil War colonel

In this week’s “Did You Know That,” a “Sunday column that focuses on interesting people, places and events that had an impact on North Dakota, or even the country,” Henry Goddard Thomas of the Amherst class of 1858 is profiled. The column, which runs in the Forum of Fargo, North Dakota, focuses on Thomas because he was the founder of Fort Seward, near Jamestown, N.D. According to the article, Thomas was the first officer to lead an all African-American regiment in the Civil War, the 19th U.S. Black Regiment, which he led in numerous campaigns, including the notorious Battle of the Crater. Thomas wrote a book after the war called “The Colored Troops at Petersburg.” While at Fort Seward, Thomas “conducted the first exploration of burial mounds in what is now North Dakota. His findings were published in 1873.” Thomas died in 1897.

Brian Meacham '97 at 03:38 PM

Conley '94 interviewed

Darby Conley ‘94 is the subject of an interview in the Richmond Times-Dispatch this weekend, talking about the origins of his comic strip “Get Fuzzy.” Conley explains that the name derives from a slogan on a poster he designed for his brother’s college band, the Fuzzy Sprouts: “Life’s too short to be cool. Get Fuzzy.”

Brian Meacham '97 at 03:14 PM

March 10, 2005

Grant '84 to direct first film

Susannah Grant ‘84 is set to make her directorial debut directing her own script in a film called “Catch and Release,” starring Jennifer Garner alongside Timothy Olyphant of “Deadwood” (and Gone in 60 Seconds) fame. Olyphant falls for Garner, his best friend’s fiancée, when his best friend dies on the way to the wedding. Have I seen this movie before?

Grant’s current project is an adaptation of Charlotte’s Web for which she has written the script. For the movie nerds in the audience, Web will be directed by Gary Winick, whose previous film 13 Going on 30 starred Garner. Ponder that one.

Brian Meacham '97 at 09:32 PM

March 09, 2005

Rieckhoff on "NewsHour"

Paul Rieckhoff ‘98 was interviewed in a “NewsHour with Jim Lehrer” report entitled “Iraqi Checkpoint Security Reevaluated,” which aired Monday. A transcript of the interview is available (with images) online, as are audio and video versions of the interview. Margaret Warner conducted the interview, which also featured Human Rights Watch researcher Fred Abrahams and Italian newspaper columnist Maurizio Molinari.

Rieckhoff was the subject of previous post about the veterans’ group he founded, Operation Truth.

Brian Meacham '97 at 11:33 AM

March 01, 2005

Assisted Living the subject of NYT analysis

Assisted Living, the new feature film by Elliott Greenebaum ‘99, is the subject of a New York Times analysis in the most recent Sunday Magazine. Author David Grand describes the film as “…a cross between Errol Morris and Todd Solondz,” and says “[c]inematically that may be a good thing, but it’s at the root of the negative reactions” to the film. We’ve profiled the opening of the film as well as some other press coverage in recent weeks.

Brian Meacham '97 at 06:34 PM

Pediatrician Arthur Lesser '30 dies

A recent Washington Post obituary (registration required) notes the passing of pediatrician and health official Arthur J. Lesser of the Class of 1930. Lesser began working for the Department of Health, Education and Welfare in 1941, and over his career, he fought for better care for handicapped children and investigated the thalidomide problem in Europe. After 32 years in the department, Lesser resigned as the director of maternal and child health services to protest Nixon administration budget cuts in 1973.

After graduating from Amherst, Lesser graduated from Washington University Medical School in 1934, and received a Master’s degree in public health from Harvard in 1941. He died February 23 at the age of 95.

Brian Meacham '97 at 06:12 PM

February 26, 2005

Princeton economist Bradford '60 passes away

Noted economist David Bradford ‘60, professor of economics and public affairs at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University, died this week after a fire in his home. The Princeton Packet reports that the fire began when candles were lit on a Christmas tree. Bradford served on President Bush’s Council of Economic Advisers from 1991 to 1993, and served as deputy assistant secretary for tax policy in the Treasury Department under Gerald Ford from 1975 to 1976. Professor Bradford joined the Princeton faculty in 1966, after graduating from Amherst in 1960, receiving a Master’s degree in mathematics from Harvard (1962) and an economics doctorate from Stanford (1966).

Brian Meacham '97 at 09:01 PM | Comments (2)

Eagleton '50 notebooks on eBay

A group of items identified as notebooks used by former United States Senator and Vice-Presidential candidate Thomas Eagleton ‘50 have been put up for auction on eBay this week. Most Amherst material on eBay is fairly straightforward, but this sort of item really makes me wonder how it made its way from an Amherst classroom to the virtual auction block over the course of fifty years. Eagleton, currently an attorney and professor in St, Louis, was a Senator from 1968 to 1987, and was George McGovern’s running mate in 1972.

Brian Meacham '97 at 08:05 PM

February 25, 2005

Platt '89 returns

The Russian Department is announcing a talk by Kevin M. F. Platt ‘89. Platt is associate professor and chair of Slavic languages and literatures at the University of Pennsylvania and acting chair of Penn’s program in comparative literature and literary theory.

Platt’s interdisciplinary talk promises to be lively and engaging; it is entitled “Russian National Identity and the Liminal Emperor: Peter I from Official Nationalism to Pushkin.” An informal reception will follow the talk and discussion.

The talk is scheduled for Tuesday, March 8 at 4:30 P.M. in the Webster Hall Center for Russian Culture.

Parker Morse '96 at 02:50 PM

February 24, 2005

Romer '52 researches slavery in the Pioneer Valley

An article in the February 23rd Daily Hampshire Gazette (paid subscription required, unfortunately) recounted a talk given at the Amherst History Museum’s Strong House (next to the Jones Library on Amity Street) by Professor Emeritus of Physics Robert Romer ‘52.

Romer retired from the faculty and his editorship of the American Journal of Physics (where I worked as an editorial assistant in the summer of 1995) in 2001, and began studying the history of the Pioneer Valley as a volunteer house-tour guide in Old Deerfield.

Romer said he had no idea that there had been slaves in the Pioneer Valley until he discovered a minister in the area had owned three.

“It was not an original discovery, but it was news to me,” said Romer. His curiosity aroused, he began to dig into tax lists, church records, wills, letters and inventories. Romer soon discovered that any minister in the Valley who could afford it had two or three slaves.

“I began to collect slave-owning ministers in the Valley. I’ve got about 20,” he said.

More quotes from the article are found in the extended entry. Romer’s website at Amherst includes more material on slavery in the Pioneer Valley.

Most residents do not associate the Pioneer Valley with slavery, says a local historian, but they have also never heard of Jenny.

For 70 years Jenny was a slave in the household of a prominent area family.

Listed along with household furniture in a family will, Jenny was never mentioned in letters. When she died in 1808, she was buried in an unmarked grave.

If not for Robert Romer, Jenny might have remained forgotten.

…

Before a crowd of 30 at the Amherst History Museum’s Strong House on Amity Street, Romer began with the observation that the museum building may have once housed slaves. Simeon Strong, the former owner of the Strong House, was probably not a slave owner, said Romer, but the 1790 census listed a former slave or a “free person of color” living in the Strong house, he said.

…

Romer had a sheaf of handouts for his audience, including a residential map that he had compiled of the Main Street in Deerfield. Calling it his “1752 snapshot of slavery,” the map showed there had been roughly 21 slaves owned by 12 different families on Main Street alone.

Romer said every time he drives along Main Street in Deerfield, the information would run through his mind. He urged his audience to think about the implications of his survey.

“Keep it, make copies for friends, study it,” said Romer of the map. “Take it with you when you visit Deerfield. As a tourist they’re not going to give you anything like this, not yet.”

…

Over the course of his research, Romer found that area residents had several misconceptions about slavery in the Pioneer Valley, including the idea that slavery had not been an important part of the local history. The fact that ministers were among the people with the most slaves, suggested that being a slave owner was an important status symbol and was acceptable to settlers in the area, he said.

Another misconception was that Massachusetts slaves had been treated like friends of the family or as beloved servants, he said. Documents in which black people were listed as possessions along with furniture and livestock suggested otherwise.

Parker Morse '96 at 12:50 PM

February 23, 2005

Webster '45 remembered for role in "Tropic" controversy

William Webster ‘45, the one who was not Director of the FBI in the 1970s and ’80s, passed away in November of 2004, and was remembered in a recent Inside Bay Area article. Webster was the director of the Hayward, California library system for 27 years, overseeing the system’s growth as well as a notable censorship controversy involving Henry Miller’s Tropic of Cancer. As the article reads, “He also was well-known for crusading against censorship, most notably in a controversy in the 1960s that divided the city and landed him in a mental hospital with a nervous breakdown.”

Brian Meacham '97 at 04:55 PM

February 22, 2005

Profile of Hutchinson '93

The Roanoke Times published a story this week on Adam Hutchinson ‘93, now the head men’s basketball coach at Washington & Lee University. Hutchinson, who was known as Adam Findley while at Amherst, spent two years as the college’s assistant basketball coach after graduating in 1993.

Brian Meacham '97 at 03:47 PM

February 16, 2005

Odom '00 seeking Alumni Trustee nomination

An article in this week’s Student describes the campaign of Johnnie Odom ‘00 for a nomination to the Alumni Trustee ballot.

In order to earn a space on the ballot, Odom must garner a minimum of 200 nominations from College alumni by March 1. … His foremost campaigning medium: Planworld.

This raises at least two discussions I’d be interested in reading, but don’t feel informed enough to speak authoritatively about myself. First, the makeup of the Board of Trustees, how we choose the Alumni Trustees, and whether they actually matter. Since they probably do, at what level do they matter and does it makes a difference who they are? Second, the number of online spaces available for alumni to create community—or maintain communities they established at Amherst—has increased significantly since I graduated. What kind of changes are going to follow in terms of the ability of younger to organize and work autonomously—for example, by near-spontaneously selecting an Alumni Trustee candidate and pushing for his nomination?

Parker Morse '96 at 12:17 PM

February 01, 2005

Amherst filmmaker gets New Yorker illustration; fame follows

Or so we hope. Assisted Living, the debut feature from Elliot Greenebaum ‘99, opens in New York, among other places, this week, and the occasion garnered the oh-so-desirable illustration in the New Yorker “Movies Opening” section this week (thanks to Stereogum). We noted the opening of the film a few weeks ago; we’re glad others noticed, as well.

Brian Meacham '97 at 11:49 PM

January 31, 2005

An Amherst perspective on fraternities at UVa

Brian Glover ‘96, a teaching assistant in the Department of English at the University of Virginia and one of those indie-pop DJs we always looked up to at WAMH, is quoted in today’s Cavalier Daily article about the influence of fraternities and sororities on academics at the university.

Brian Meacham '97 at 08:51 AM

January 28, 2005

Jones '81 wins inaugural art history prize

Dr. Kellie Jones, member of the class of 1981 as well as former professor at Amherst, was named this week the first recipient of the David C. Driskell Prize for contributions to the field of African American art and art history by the High Museum of Art in Atlanta. Jones, an assistant professor of History of Art and African American Studies at Yale, will receive the prize, on March 7, 2005 in Atlanta.

Brian Meacham '97 at 04:52 PM

Rieckhoff '98 on Operation Truth tour

Paul Rieckhoff ‘98, who served in in the U.S. Army as a 1st Lieutenant in Iraq from April 2003 to February 2004, is the founder of an organization called Operation Truth, whose mission is to “amplify the soldiers’ voice in the American public dialogue.” Rieckhoff, whom I remember from our weekly commute in the college van to teach in Holyoke as part of Prof. Sanchez-Eppler’s “Reading, Writing, and Teaching ” course, gained national attention as a spokesman for soldiers opposed to the way the Iraq war is being conducted when he delivered the Democratic Radio Address in May of 2004. The Chicago Sun-Times reports this week on a stop in the Operation Truth tour.

Brian Meacham '97 at 04:25 PM

January 27, 2005

Flores '81 receives State Dep't. nod for OAS post

Francisco Flores ‘81, former president of El Salvador, received a key endorsement in his campaign for Secretary General of the Organization of American States: that of the U. S. State Department. Flores was El Salvador’s leader from 1999-2004, and is in the race against Chilean Interior Minister Jose Miguel Inzulsa and Mexican Foreign Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez. The OAS has until June to decide on elections for the post.

Brian Meacham '97 at 11:09 PM

January 26, 2005

Jeffrey Wright '87, the Man

More than even Dan Brown, Jeffrey Wright is an alum who could have a blog or two devoted to him, so we won’t try to follow his every move, but a few items came up in recent days that we can combine into one mega-item. First, we have the news that Wright will be joining Ben Stiller in the cast of Neil LaBute’s new play, titled “This is How It Goes.” The play, which will begin in previews on March 8, will be directed by George C. Wolfe…which brings us to the next item on the Wright docket.

Lackawanna Blues, Wolfe’s directorial debut as a filmmaker, premiered at Sundance this week. The film, starring Jimmy Smits, Louis Gossett Jr., Mos Def, and Ernie Hudson, also features Wright as Small Paul, a neighbor “rumored to have killed a man.”

Brian Meacham '97 at 06:45 PM

January 20, 2005

NPR: Novels by Brown '86 attract tourists to Rome

In a report on “Morning Edition” today, NPR’s Sylvia Poggioli (so that’s how you spell it…) discussed the latest author whose works are encouraging readers to go abroad: Dan Brown ‘86. Now, there’s enough Brown-related news out there for an entire blog of its own, so we won’t follow every best-seller list and book review, but the occasional mention like this one will be noted. Listen to the story (RealAudio).

Brian Meacham '97 at 06:29 PM

January 19, 2005

Linklater '98 in 'Singing Forest' in New Haven

Hamish Linklater ‘98 stars in “Singing Forest,” a new play by Craig Lucas that made its East Coast premiere this month at the Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut. Linklater plays dual roles in the play, which shifts among 1930s Vienna, postwar Paris, and New York City in 2000. In his Hartford Courant review, Malcolm Johnson applauds Linklater’s performance:

The play runs through February 6.

Brian Meacham '97 at 11:26 PM

Assisted Living by Greenebaum '99 to be released in February

At the South by Southwest festival in Austin, TX, in March, 2003, I enjoyed Assisted Living, a film by Elliot M. Greenebaum ‘99, and talked with Elliot a few times around the festival. His film will be released in February, and has a new trailer page on apple.com. The film will screen in Louisville, Greenebaum’s hometown, on Friday.

Brian Meacham '97 at 12:43 PM

January 18, 2005

Turow '70 among writers for tsunami relief

Publishing house Bloomsbury announced this week that they will publish a collection of first chapters from works in progress by notable writers, with all proceeds going to aid relief for areas hit by the recent tsunami. Scott Turow ‘70, author of Presumed Innocent, The Burden of Proof, and One L, as well as a practicing lawyer, is among the contributors named. Nick Hornby, Stephen King, Vikram Seth, Margaret Atwood, and others fill out the list. The book will be published March 3, 2005.

Brian Meacham '97 at 10:36 PM

Susannah Grant '84 adapts Charlotte's Web

A new live-action/CGI production of Charlotte’s Web, based on a script co-written by Academy Award-nominee Susannah Grant ‘84, is expected for a 2006 release. Today’s major voice casting announcement includes luminaries such as Oprah Winfrey, Steve Buscemi, and Andre 3000. Dakota Fanning will star alongside other humans to be named. Let’s hope young Dakota isn’t too freaked out by being kidnapped repeatedly, being generally creepy, and being in one of the worst movies of all time. She’ll make a good Fern if she can keep her head on straight.

Brian Meacham '97 at 07:49 PM

January 13, 2005

Columbia Pictures acquires Coben novels

Coming Soon! reports that the rights to the series of seven Myron Bolitar novels by Harlan Coben ‘84 have been acquired by Columbia Pictures and producer John Calley. Calley is a well-known and successful producer, but if the films have to compete with Calley’s other upcoming projects (the Ron Howard-directed adaptation of The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown ‘86, as well as something called Joan of Bark: The Dog that Saved France) who knows how they’ll fare.

Brian Meacham '97 at 07:57 AM

January 05, 2005

Anniversary of the Death of President Coolidge

Calvin Coolidge, thirtieth President of the United States and member of the class of 1895, died 72 years ago today in Northampton. A 1996 article from Yankee Magazine, an official biography, a postcard of the old Phi Gamma Delta house where Coolidge lived, and Coolidge Hall, the 1964 dormitory named for the college's most distinguished alumnus.

Brian Meacham '97 at 01:41 AM

January 04, 2005

Micciche '93 to Head Friends School of Baltimore

The Friends School of Baltimore announced yesterday that Matthew Micciche '93 will be the new head of the school, as reported in a Baltimore Sun article. Read the Friends' press release on the announcement as well.

Brian Meacham '97 at 09:38 AM

January 02, 2005

Richard Wilbur '46 in another 'Best of 2004' list

Collected Poems: 1943-2004 by Richard Wilbur ‘46 was named one of the best works of fiction or poetry published in the past year by Mary Ann Gwinn, book editor of the The Seattle Times in her “Best Books of 2004” column.

Read Best books 2004: A year enriched by gifted writers, and a Weekly Standard review of the collection.

Brian Meacham '97 at 03:08 PM

Cullen Murphy '74 on Peter Davison

Today's Boston Globe Ideas section features an article by Cullen Murphy '74 on his friend, the late Peter Davison, poetry editor at The Atlantic Monthly as well as distinguished author, lecturer, publisher, and teacher. Murphy, managing editor of the Atlantic, has one of the more interesting second jobs around: he writes the Prince Valiant comic strip. The strip was founded in 1937 by Hal Foster, who continued with the work until his retirement in 1971. Foster passed responsibility for the illustration to John Cullen Murphy, whose son Cullen began contributing writing in 1979. In the Spring of 2004, artist Gary Gianni succeeded the elder Murphy as the illustrator for the series, and it continues to be distributed to 350 newspapers worldwide.

Read The indispensable Bostonian

Brian Meacham '97 at 02:04 PM

Select --- Administration Alumni Amherstiana Athletics Campus Faculty History Publications Student Life Town --- Complete Archives