Undergraduate research project leads to scholarly publication

Associate Professor of Chemistry Christopher T. Bailey co-authored the study with a group of his former students: Cheryl Byrne '96, Kristi Chrispell Forbes '93, Catherine Molkenbur-Newman '93, Marcy Sackett '92, Katherine Reid-Birch '90, Kärin McCollum 91, Denise Vibbard 90, and Rose Catelli West '89. Entitled "Effect of a Covalently Attached Synergistic Anion on Chelator-Mediated Iron-Release from Ovotransferrin: Additional Evidence for Two Concurrent Pathways," the publication is the result of students from different class years sharing their knowledge.

Bailey's research group has been studying transferrin, a protein which is responsible for shuttling iron around the human body. He explains, "Transferrin is also implicated in the treatment of iron-overload disorders. The condition is treated by injecting the patient with a small, iron-binding molecule called a chelator. The chelator removes the iron from transferrin and allows it to be excreted by the body. Our research has focused on determining the mechanism by which the chelators remove the iron from the protein."

The chelator currently used clinically is toxic and slow acting. "When patients require chelation therapy they have to go into the hospital where the chelator is administered by continuous, intravenous infusion over many hours, usually overnight," says Bailey. "Because this treatment may be required several times a week, the biggest obstacle to its success is patient non-compliance. By helping to decipher the mechanism by which the chelator works with the protein to remove iron, we hope our research will allow others to design and develop more effective chelators."

This research, which has been a part of the education of Wells science students for nearly a decade, is an extension of work Bailey did while he was in graduate school at the University of Vermont. He brought the project to Wells when he began teaching, and a grant from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation in 1989 enabled the first wave of Wells students to join him during the summer.

Rose Catelli West '89 was the first student to work on the project. She is now a project scientist at Triangle Laboratories, Inc., in North Carolina, which is a leader in the field of testing environmental samples for highly toxic dioxins and related compounds. Her contribution to the research was getting basic procedures to work properly in the Wells lab. Looking back she recalls, "I was a junior when Dr. Bailey arrived at Wells fresh from graduate school. At the time, I hoped it would not become the long-term project that it has; however, I left Wells secure in the knowledge that the natural gumption of the Wells woman would win out over the initial difficulties and the sheer amount of work involved."

Marcy Sackett '92 is in her sixth year of graduate school at Indiana University and plans to finish her Ph.D. in biochemistry this May. She takes great satisfaction in viewing the research as the cumulative effort of several different "generations" of Wells students. "The generations aspect of the project is exemplified by the fact that we were each trained by the generation before us. Then, before we graduated, we passed our experience and protocol on to the next generation. This gave each of us an opportunity to learn and then give our knowledge - like the college motto 'To have and to share,'" she says.

Kristi Chrispell Forbes '93 is working on her Ph.D. in the department of genetics at the Harvard Medical School in Boston. She views the use of generations of students as a way to overcome natural time constraints facing undergraduate researchers. Forbes says, "I didn't realize it at the time, but now that I have worked full-time on projects, I can see Dr. Bailey is doing a great job integrating the limited amount of work each student has time to do during a couple of semesters at Wells into a full-scale, scientific investigation. At the time, I also didn't realize how many of us would be involved in the project as it progressed."

Currently a first-year graduate student at Cornell University in the field of animal science, department of reproductive physiology, Cheryl Byrne '96 joined the project in its latter phase and used her work as a senior thesis project. The right balance of challenge and support in Chris's approach to teaching made the experience meaningful for her. Byrne says, "Once I was familiar with equipment and procedures, Dr. Bailey only came into the lab if I asked him. He let me have all the autonomy I felt I needed. The confidence and appreciation for accountability I developed have already been important factors in the current phase of my life."

Nearly all the co-authors have pursued careers in science or attend graduate programs in the sciences. While they have come away with different perspectives, they are in agreement that involvement in the project gave them a competitive edge. Sackett says, "My undergraduate research with Dr. Bailey prepared me for graduate school because I had the opportunity to learn about research and to gain confidence in the laboratory. Wells is a wonderful setting for a woman to develop into a scientist."

November, 1997

Alumna named annual giving officer

Her primary responsibility in this position is to work with an extensive network of alumna, student, and parent volunteers that generates financial support for the college. She coordinates direct mail campaigns, phonathons, and makes personal visits and solicitations to raise funds for the college.

Before beginning her current position at Wells, Thomas spent three years working in the Annual Giving Office at St. Bonaventure University where she held positions of steadily increasing responsibility, first as assistant and then as associate director of annual giving. As the manager of St. Bonaventure's telephone outreach program, she trained and supervised a large staff of student workers.

Thomas also gained valuable fund-raising skills working for Telecomp Inc., a Rochester, New York-area telemarketing company that provides support for colleges, hospitals, and other non-profit organizations. She began her career at the Chase Manhattan Bank in Rochester and held a number of positions during her six-year tenure.

She studied in the graduate program in literature at the State University of New York College at Brockport and received her bachelor of arts degree in English from Wells.

"It is an exciting time to be working in the development area at Wells," said Thomas. "As the direct result of fund-raising efforts, the use of technology in the liberal arts curriculum has been greatly enhanced since I was a student. Generous donors keep Wells current by providing key academic resources for students today. I am pleased to be a part of this effort."

November, 1997

New vice president for external relations will lead college's $50 million comprehensive campaign

Olsen will lead the college's comprehensive campaign to raise $50,000,000 by the year 2000. The campaign entered its public phase in 1995 and has raised $37,000,000 toward the goal. "Jan brings to Wells a wealth of fund-raising and management experience," says Ryerson. "She is well-suited to lead our campaign through its final and most challenging phase."

For the last 15 years, Olsen has served as director of the Albert R. Mann Library at Cornell. During that time Mann has become a premier institution receiving international recognition for its remarkable collections and technological innovations. Under her leadership, the library won the first ALA/Meckler Library of the Future Award and the John Cotton Dana Award; it is the only library to have had a complete issue of Library Hi-Tech devoted to its achievements.

Olsen has been extremely successful at generating the considerable resources needed to support Mann Library. She quadrupled the library's endowment, initiated a five million dollar endowment campaign and successfully persuaded the State of New York to provide $17 million for an addition that will double available space. A government and corporate grants writing program she created generates $750,000 annually.

"Jan is coming to Wells at a time when the college is establishing new initiatives to increase the use of computers and information technology in the liberal arts curriculum. I am sure her knowledge and enthusiasm in this area will help us raise the funds we need to become an innovator in the application of technology in the women's college setting," said Ryerson.

While Olsen has played a central role opening the gateway to the Information Age at Cornell, she remains dedicated to the human factor. Her exceptional skills as a manager have been recognized through numerous honors. She has received the State University of New York Chancellor's Award For Excellence in Professional Service and the National Honor Society for Agricultural Science Award for Innovative Administration, among others.

In addition to her years of service to Cornell, she has worked as a Planning and Analysis Librarian in the Office of Information Resources Management at the U.S. Department of the Interior; Chief of Public Services at the National Agricultural Library, U.S. Department of Agriculture; and Director and Associate Professor of Steenbock Memorial Library at the University of Wisconsin.

Olsen has a strong commitment to agricultural development and works extensively in the Third World. She has represented abroad the United States government and institutions of higher education and carried out consultancies in Brazil, Peru, the Philippines, Spain and Africa. One of her major projects at Mann Library, supported through a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation, has been the identification of the world's most significant literature on food and agriculture so it can be shared with developing nations.

She has conducted a number of research projects exploring the application of electronic technology to the use and storage of scholarly information. As a librarian, she is concerned that scholars and scholarship will be effectively served by the emerging electronic library. One of her most recent accomplishments is a book published by the Meckler Press on electronic journal literature and its implications for scholars.

Another aspect of her professional experience makes her particularly suited to her new position at Wells: She served as director of the library and chairperson of the department of library science at Alverno College in Wisconsin - a four-year liberal arts college for women. At Alverno, she taught, chaired the Faculty Senate and participated in extensive reform of the liberal arts curriculum. As a result, she is acquainted with and has developed an appreciation for single-sex education for women.

Born in Australia, Jan Kennedy Olsen completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Adelaide with a concentration in library science. She completed a master's degree in library science at the University of Wisconsin. At Cornell, she earned a master's degree in education and a Ph.D. in administration in higher education.

November, 1997