Today at Conn
An internal newsletter for the Connecticut College community
Senior Thesis Art Majors Exhibition and Awards
Showcasing the artworks of graduating millennials as they search for their authentic voices through varied subject matter and material. Free. Awards presentation at 6 p.m. May 4.
Arts & CultureConnecticut College's 100th Commencement
The Class of 2018 will graduate during Connecticut College's 100th Commencement at 11 a.m. on Tempel Green. Jazmine Hughes '12, associate editor for The New York Times Magazine, will deliver the keynote address.
Campus EventsMusic in the Meadow VII
Bring lawn chairs and blankets for an enjoyable, family-friendly outdoor afternoon concert in the Arboretum Outdoor Theater. Tickets at the entrance, cash only.
Arts & Culture
"Wetland management using microbial indicators"
Areview article published in the journal Ecological Engineering, which Anne Bernhard co-authored with Hidetoshi Urakawa. The article is aimed at ecological engineers and wetland resource managers who are interested in learning more about the use of microbes as indicators of the ecological health of wetland ecosystems, with an emphasis how new sequence technology can advance our understanding of these critical ecosystems.
PublicationModern Arabic Poetry: Revolution and Conflict
The Classics Department is pleased to announce that Modern Arabic Poetry: Revolution and Conflict, by Waed Athamneh, Assistant Professor of Arabic Studies, was published in March, 2017, by the University of Notre Dame Press.
PublicationProfessor of Psychology Ann Sloan Devlin's research methods book published.
"The Research Experience: Planning, Conducting, and Reporting Research" has been published by Sage. Devlin is The May Buckley Sadowski '19 Professor of Psychology.
PublicationScientific paper describes changes in bird populations in the Arboretum during past 60 years
Birds and plants have been studied intensively in the Bolleswood Natural Area of the Arboretum since 1952. This is one of the few places in the world where both plants and birds have been monitored using standardized methods for such a long period, providing an opportunity to analyze how changes in vegetation affect the abundance of particular species of birds.In a recent article in Wilson Journal of Ornithology, Mary Buchanan (’14), Robert Askins (Katharine Blunt Professor of Biology) and Chad Jones (Associate Professor of Botany) analyzed the long-term patterns of change in the Bolleswood forest, describing how changes in bird populations may be driven by a complex interplay of plant species composition, the vertical structure of the forest, and the amount of forest cover in the region around the study area. The article can be downloaded from BioOne on the Connecticut College web site. Here is the citation:Buchanan, M.L., R.A. Askins, and C.C. Jones. 2016. Response of bird populations to long-term changes in local vegetation and regional forest cover. Wilson Journal of Ornithology 128: 704-718.
PublicationDeborah MacDonnell named to Rotary board
Deborah MacDonnell, director of public relations, has been named to the board of directors of the Rotary Club of New London.
AppointmentNoel Nieves Named to Leadership Program
Noel Nieves, supervisor of custodial services, has been selected to represent Connecticut College as a participant in the Eastern Connecticut Chamber Leadership Program.
AppointmentDavid Canton Named Director of Africana Studies
David Canton, associate professor of history, has been named director of the Africana Studies program.
AppointmentAndrea Baldwin Named Assistant Director of Africana Studies
Andrea Baldwin, visiting assistant professor in gender and women's studies, has been named assistant director of the Africana Studies program.
AppointmentProfessor of Anthropology Catherine Benoit at 72nd session of UN General Assembly
Catherine Benoît, Professor of Anthropology, was invited to present a talk at the 72nd session of the United Nations General Assembly 18-22 September 2017. Based on her consultation work over the summer for the United Nations, her talk addressed access to reproductive health by the indigenous Baka women of the Republic of Congo. The panel included Natalia Kanem, the Executive Director of UNFPA and Hanneke Knussen, the Chief of Sexual and Reproductive Health Branch at the UN headquarters.
LectureProfessor Athamneh delivers invited talk at the Library of Congress
Professor Waed Athamneh delivered an invited talk at The Library of Congress titled "Never Tell an Arab Poet Not to Write" on Thursday, May 4. The talk delved into the impact and role of modern Arabic poetry under authoritarian regimes. Athamneh read poetry by four major modern Arab poets: Nizar Qabbani, Ahmad abd al-Muti Hijazi, Muzaffar al-Nawwab and Fatma Kandil. Followed by a book signing, the talk was videotaped and will be available on The Library of Congress website.
LectureRecent OpEd on ISIS and Poetry
An OpEd in TRT World by Waed Athamneh, assistant professor of Arabic Studies in the department of Classics, on how ISIS uses poetry as a recruitment tool, an ideological weapon.
Paper“The Wonders of the Brain: Cerebralism and Futurism”
Paper delivered at the European Network for Avant-Garde and Modernism Studies, University of Rennes 2, France, 2016.
Paper"It's Only a Paper Moon": Souvenir Photography in America, 1870-1950
Curated and installed by Professor Christopher Steiner, in collaboration with students in AHI 457: Museum Training, this exhibition at the Lyman Allyn Art Museum brings together a collection of over 400 vernacular photo portraits taken at carnivals, fairs, and arcades. The exhibit explores issues of memory, self-representation, and the construction of identity in early American photography.
ExhibitionIn Place: Contemporary Photographers Envision a Museum
In Place: Contemporary Photographers Envision a Museum brings together ten artists including Associate Professor of Art Ted Hendrickson. The site of the Florence Griswold Museum has been a place of creative inspiration to artists for over a century. This select group of photographers was asked to focus their lenses and imagination on the Museum and create work that reacts to the historic site’s landscape, collections, and story. With a wry sense of humor and playing off his interest in the intersections between time and place, Hendrickson surveys the evolution of the museum’s landscape over the course of a year for his Lawn Series. These images and his others demonstrate changes not only in the passage of the seasons, but also the way visitors, and even mice, contemplate, occupy, and modify the landscape. The exhibit runs from October 1, 2016, through January 29, 2017.
Exhibition"A Wheel out of Kilter"
Professor Ross Morin will present his Connecticut film premiere of "A Wheel out of Kilter" on September 9.
ExhibitionMoy & Selvey's Chorosynthesis Singers named finalist in The American Prize
Chorosynthesis Singers (Wendy Moy & Jeremiah Selvey, co-artistic directors) has been selected as a finalist in the professional choral division of The American Prize, a national non-profit competitions in the performing arts. The American Prize is a series of non-profit national competitions in the performing arts providing cash awards, professional adjudication and regional, national and international recognition for the best recorded performances by ensembles and individuals each year in the United States at the professional, college/university, church, community and secondary school levels. Administered by Hat City Music Theater, Inc., The American Prize was founded in 2009 and is awarded annually.
AwardMoy is 3rd-place winner in The American Prize in Choral Conducting.
Wendy Moy, is a 3rd-place winner in The American Prize in Choral Conducting (professional division.)The American Prize is a series of new, non-profit national competitions in the performing arts providing cash awards, professional adjudication and regional, national and international recognition for the best recorded performances by ensembles and individuals each year in the United States at the professional, college/university, church, community and secondary school levels. Administered by Hat City Music Theater, Inc., a nonprofit organization based in Danbury, Connecticut, The American Prize was founded in 2009 and is awarded annually.
AwardSelvey wins The American Prize in Conducting, Professional Choir Division
The American Prize is honored to announce the winners and runners-up of The American Prize in Conducting—chorus—in the professional, community and school divisions, 2016-17. Jeremiah Selvey, Visiting Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities, won first prize for conducting in the professional choir division for his work with Chorosynthesis Singers. He is honored to be considered among some of the finest conductors in the country.
AwardSiver receives Franklin Research Grant from the American Philosophical Society
Peter Siver, Charles and Sarah P. Becker '27 Professor of Botany , received a grant award to support travel to three locations, the Field Museum in Chicago, the Virgin Valley fossil locality in Nevada, and the Battle Formation in Alberta, Canada, to collect specimens related to reconstruction of ancient environments and climates.
AwardNew York Times features play choreographed by David Dorfman
"Indecent," a play choreographed by David Dorfman, professor of dance and chair of the dance department, is the topic of a New York Times feature. Two Tony-winning producers are hoping to bring the play to Broadway.
OtherSean Martin Attends NASFAA Conference
Sean Martin, director of financial aid, attended the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) in Washington, D.C., in July.
OtherCobham and Eames Present training
B. Afeni McNeely Cobham, associate dean of institutional equity and inclusion, and Liz Eames, associate director of human resources, presented Civil Treatment Training to College supervisors in June. The training will be offered again in 2016-17.
OtherDarcie Folsom Presents Green Dot Training
Darcie Folsom, director of sexual violence prevention and advocacy, was invited to present Green Dot training at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and St. Mary's College of California.
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