President participates in Washington, DC press conference on pay equity for women

Wells President Lisa Marsh Ryerson was among the political figures and educational leaders who were part of the press conference held in the Capitol Building. The group sought to call national attention to the role of higher education in improving pay equity and the idea that pay equity is not only a women's issue but a family issue.

In addition to Senator Daschle, Ryerson was joined by Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) and Susan Bianchi-Sand, executive director of the National Committee on Pay Equity. Leaders from the field of higher education were Sister Diana Stano, president of Ursuline College; Lea Williams, executive director of the Leadership Institute at Bennett College; and Jadwiga Sebrechts, president of the Women's College Coalition.

The women's college representatives announced their institutions will provide leadership in discussing the issue of pay equity for women as well as the sister issue of gender-based job segregation. Women's colleges are already leading a public service advertising campaign that encourages adolescent girls to broaden their horizons and set their occupational sights higher.

The educators concurred that women's college campuses will host fora on these important issues. They will invite their communities to discuss how to expand opportunities for women and vaporize the barriers that still sex-segregate many of the nation's jobs.

Senator Mikulski, a graduate of Mount Saint Agnes College when it was a women's college, reminded attendees how important pay equity is throughout a woman's lifetime and what a direct impact it has on her retirement. After describing the benefits of women's education, she encouraged women to stand up and have their voices heard and refuse to accept anything less than equality.

October, 1997

Are you thinking about applying to graduate school? 
Placement expert will present strategies at Wells College

The program consists of strategies for gaining admission to the most competitive programs in the nation, both graduate and professional. Anyone thinking about attending graduate school as well as professional advisors and counselors will find both the presentation and the question and answer period valuable.

Asher will talk about questions you should ask yourself before applying, how the admissions decision is made, writing tricks that make great essays and what to do during the summer before you apply.

Based in San Francisco, Asher is a contributor to the National Business Employment Weekly and Managing Your Career magazines. He is also the author of From College to Career, The Foolproof Job-Search Workbook; The Overnight Resume; The Overnight Job Change Strategy; The Overnight Job Change Letter and Asher's Bible of Executive Resumes.

His visit is sponsored by Wells' Career Development Services, the dean of the college and leadership programs.

October, 1997

Fulbright Scholar discusses feminism in India at Wells College

• Tuesday, October 14 at 7:00 p.m. in the Sommer Student Center the film Ghandi will be shown. On display will be an exhibit of materials from the 50th anniversary of the Indian independence celebration.
• Wednesday, October 15 at 4:30 p.m. in Macmillan Hall's Art Exhibit Room, Arya will discuss "Contemporary Feminism in India."
• Thurssday, October 16 at 7:00 p.m. in the Sommer Student Center the film Arth will be shown. (Arth is an Indian word for meaning.)

Published widely in India, she is the author of the book, Hawaii: An Ethnic Synthesis, and her articles appear regularly in The Hindustan Times newspaper. Her reviews, commentaries and poems have been printed in National Herald, Choice India, Women's Era and The Humanities Review. She is also the author of a volume of poetry entitled Initiations.

Arya received her Ph.D. in American history from Jawaharlal Nehru University. She earned her M. Phil. and M.A. from Delhi University, both degrees in American history, and her B.A. from Lady Shri Ram College with a major in history. She has traveled extensively in Europe, Africa, Canada and the United States presenting papers at international conferences.

Currently, Dr. Arya is conducting research in American women's history. "Being a woman from a Third World country and one who has been involved both at the personal and organizational level in women's development in India, I have always been deeply interested in comparative studies of women in different parts of the world," she explains.

As a visiting scholar at Wells, she will visit classes as a guest lecturer, meet individually with students and work with faculty members to bring her perspective into the college's liberal arts curriculum.

October, 1997

Open house offers views of college life

Sponsored by Wells' Admissions Office, the open house will offer a variety of presentations and panels throughout the day for students seeking information about majors in the arts, humanities and social sciences within the context of a women's college. Wells faculty members, students, alumnae and administrators will participate in the program. Academic areas represented will include psychology, sociology, education, dance, political science and visual arts, among others. Current students will offer their perspective on studying the liberal arts and college life.

A number of sessions will address the relationship between college study and careers. Representatives from Career Development Services will discuss internship opportunities. The benefits of study abroad will also be explored. A number of alumnae are scheduled to return to campus for the event to talk about how their majors have translated into careers. Members of the admissions staff will offer presentations about the college application process and financial aid.

"This open house will serve the needs of a wide variety of students," says Wells' Associate Director of Admissions Meredith B. Cook. "If you know you want to attend law school or if you're interested in a number of different majors, you'll be able to get the appropriate academic information. The day will also provide numerous opportunities to learn firsthand about clubs and activities, campus safety and what Wells women do after graduation." 

October, 1997

New CD gives life to the work of neglected women composers

The compositions found on The Medieval Lady were gathered from reference books and original manuscripts by Elizabethan Conversation instrumentalist Susan Sandman. A professor of music at Wells who received her Ph.D. in musicology from Stanford University, Sandman became interested in early music by women composers in 1975. "I traveled to Harvard to find some of the pieces and made my own edition of all the music Elizabethan Conversation performs," she explains. "I think our real contribution has been performing the music."

The women composers on the CD span from the 12th through 17th centuries in Europe. Included are compositions by the German visionary Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1170) who is also known for her writings on natural science, theology and medicine. Anne Boleyn's (1507-1536) "O Deathe, rock me asleepe," is part of the collection; she was the second wife of the notorious King Henry VIII and mother of Elizabeth I. The song is said to have been written while she was in the Tower of London awaiting her execution.

The music of medieval women offers a different perspective on an era that has been mythologized and, unfortunately, too often stereotyped based upon male models. "Medieval women wrote very personal tales of love and love lost," says Sandman. "Songs by males are more formal and more likely to be filled with intellectual tricks and games because that was part of the medieval style; they're not as personal. The actual melodies and music are the same as far as I can tell." These fragments of experience and emotion are all the more valuable because they are so rare: Sandman reports that nearly all the music that has survived by women of that era is found on The Medieval Lady.

Sandman has come to know the work of these distant composers intimately. Where the historical record or musical notation is unclear, she has reconstructed their music. When asked about her personal favorites on the new CD, she immediately names the first track, "A Chantar" by the 12th century composer the Countess of Dia. "I find it very moving. The melody is haunting and beautiful. I like the text because it seems so much like a love song that could have been written today." Thinking a little longer she names the pieces by Hildegard of Bingen.

Elizabethan Conversation was formed in 1982 by Sandman and musician and instrument craftsman Derwood Crocker. They began playing as a lute duet specializing in the music of Shakespeare's time. The addition of soprano Andrea Folan broadened their performance range, and the group has given many concerts and received much positive acclaim.

The trio's move to a national label began in 1988 when Sandman met a producer from Leonarda, Marnie Hall, at the International Congress on Women in Music at Brooklyn College. "Most of Marnie's recordings were works by 19th and 20th century women composers, and she really liked the early music. She played our tape for people and received positive feedback. She thought it would provide a really nice balance to her line," says Sandman.

Elizabethan Conversation members had a particular vision for the recording which has been realized. "We didn't want it to sound like it had been done in a recording studio where each instrument was monitored and processed; we wanted a natural, acoustic sound with the instruments balanced the way they really are. That was very important to us," says Sandman.

The Medieval Lady also features several instrumental pieces including "Greensleeves" (17th century, anonymous) and "Tower Hill" by Giles Farnaby (1563-1640), which briefly moves the album out of the exclusive domain of women composers. "We did one piece by a male, Giles Farnaby, because we wanted to record the lute duet 'Tower Hill'; it adds a connection to the Anne Boleyn song. Also we have no surviving instrumental pieces by women - except if Anonymous was a woman - and we wanted to include some instrumental music."

Elizabethan Conversation will appear in Little Bear's Magic Playhouse Orchestra, an original production with music, puppets and dance on Friday, December 5 at 8:00 p.m. in Alice Barler Recital Hall on the Wells campus. Also appearing in this free event will be the Wells Consort.

For information on The Medieval Lady, contact Leonarda Productions, Inc., P.O. Box 1736, New York, NY 10025-1559, phone 212/666-7697 or visit the website: http://music.acu.edu/www/iawm/leonarda/ The CD can also be purchased at the Wells College Bookstore.

October, 1997