One million dollar renovation project leads to re-dedication of Weld Residence Hall

The building is named in honor William Ernest Weld - the college's eighth president who served from 1936-46. Before coming to Wells, he was a professor of economics and dean of the arts college at the University of Rochester and also taught overseas. He received his bachelor's degree from Wooster, his M.A. from Princeton, and his Ph.D. from Columbia.

Members of the Weld family will be present for the celebration including his daughters Helen Weld Nesbitt of Clinton, New York, and Frances Weld Shaffer of Potomac, Maryland - both are Wells College graduates. Speakers from the college will be President Lisa Marsh Ryerson, Professor of Religion Arthur J. Bellinzoni, and Board of Trustees Chair Shirley Schou Bacot.

The renovation project began in 1996 when the college received a gift of $250,000 from an anonymous donor. In order to receive the donation, the college had to raise an additional $750,000. "Within six months, alumnae and friends helped us reach this goal," said Ryerson.

Weld is the first residence hall on campus to have computer network connections in every room. The first floor now has two, state-of-the-art computer labs. The entire building is cabled for access to information technology including e-mail and the Internet.

The building is completely handicap accessible. The facilities have been remodeled, and heating, ventilation, plumbing, and electrical services have been refurbished. The living spaces have been updated, and public spaces have been renovated and decorated. Three student rooms have been named in honor of Dr. Weld and his family.

May, 1998

Wells names faculty and staff award recipients

The recipient of the 1998 student Life Award is Assistant Dean of Students Edith Patterson Brown. She began working at Wells in the fall of 1997. Brown is a native of Port Byron. She received her master's degree in counseling from New York University in 1996. She graduated from St. Lawrence University in 1994.

This award is given to the member of the Wells staff, faculty, or administration who through her or his enthusiasm and campus involvement has had an encouraging and positive influence on student life.

The recipient of the 1998 Excellence in Teaching Award is Assistant Professor of Psychology Victoria Munoz. Munoz joined the Wells faculty in 1994. She received her B.A. and M.Ed. from the University of Massachusetts, and her Ed.D. from Harvard University. Munoz teaches classes on the psychology of women, human sexuality, and development in adolescence, among other courses.

The Excellence in Teaching Medal is awarded to the instructor who exemplifies enthusiasm for teaching, is impartial and willing to share time outside of class, encourages students to think critically and act independently, and best embodies the spirit of a Wells education in addition to having a strong command of a given field of study.

The recipient of the 1998 Excellence in Academic Advising Award is Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science Carol Shilepsky of Aurora. She joined the Wells faculty in 1974 and earned her B.A. from Connecticut College, and her M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin. Shilepsky is coordinator of the computer science minor and teaches programming, software engineering, and database systems, among other courses.

The intention of the Excellence in Academic Advising Award is to recognize the fundamental importance of academic advising to Wells students and to support the faculty in their advising work.

May, 1998

Students present research findings at a national conference

Mansi Amin of Vestal, New York, and Jody Weinstein of Wassaic, New York, both senior biology majors, presented their collaborative work on "The Use of Macroinvertebrates to Determine the Water Quality of Two Streams Located in Cayuga County, New York." This research was performed under the direction of A. Thomas Vawter, professor of biology.

Jessica Barnes, a senior history major from Little Meadows, Pennsylvania, presented her paper, "A Comparative Analysis of the Prison Experiences of Two Russian Women in Two Eras of Russian History - Vera Figner in Tsarist Russia and Evgenia Ginzburg in Stalinist Russia." This work was performed under the direction of Beatrice Farnsworth, professor of history.

Christina Barone, a senior public affairs major from Holmes, New York, worked with Nan M. DiBello, assistant professor of political science, on the topic: "Dependence vs. Independence and Welfare Reform: The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1995."

Heather Houseman, a senior biology major from Syracuse, New York, presented her work on "Germination Ecology of Three Economically Important Species of Eupatorium." This work was done under the supervision of Margaret Flowers, professor of biology.

Dorothy Shand a senior chemistry major from salt Lake City, Utah, presented her research performed with Professor Flowers and Linda Schwab, professor of chemistry, on "Phenolic Constituents of Eupatorium maculatum, an Unexamined Member of a Medicinally Significant Genus."

LiMing Tseng, a senior biochemistry and molecular biology major from Plattsburgh, New York, also worked with Professors Flowers and Schwab on "Quantitation of Active Ingredients in Commercial and Wild-crafted Extracts of Plantago Major."

Laura Wawrousek, a senior sociology major from Ft. Drum, New York, presented her paper, "Families in Fatigues: An Analysis on the Effects of Frequent Relocations and Separations on Military Families." This paper was written under the direction of Spencer Hildahl, professor of sociology.

Also attending this year was Christopher T. Bailey, associate professor of chemistry. Professor Bailey, a member of the Council on Undergraduate Research, also participated in the Undergraduate Research Network Symposia, a forum for faculty discussions.

Funds for Wells' participation in this year's conference were provided through a grant to the college's Presidential Discretionary Fund by the Hewlett-Mellon Foundation.

More than 2,000 undergraduate students and faculty members from 270 colleges and Universities across the United States gathered for the conference.

Undergraduate research has a long and distinguished history at Wells. The research experience allows each student to apply what she has learned in the classroom to an original problem in collaboration with faculty. This experience gives students an edge in graduate school and professional involvement.

May, 1998

Wells continues partnership with Walter Reed research institute

For several years, Professor of Biology Margaret G. Flowers and Professor of Chemistry Linda S. Schwab have included research components in their college science classes that allow students to test various medicinal plants for their ability to fight tropical diseases. Their current work involves dogwood and the roadside plant, Joe Pye Weed.

"Parasitic diseases are endemic in about 80% of the world," explains Schwab. "We're lucky in North America not to be hounded lifelong by the debilitating diseases that plague the Third World. There are not many places in this country that specialize in the study of tropical diseases - Walter Reed is one of them. It's a very select group of institutions in the First World studying Third World diseases."

During their visit to Walter Reed, Flowers and Schwab met with Colonel John Scovill who directs Walter Reed's division of experimental therapeutics and Dr. Nancy Roth who works in the division as well as other scientists. They discussed internships for Wells students, research, and other possibilities for collaboration.

Schwab said, "I was very impressed with both Colonel Scovill and Dr. Roth. They are interested in education and understand what makes meaningful experiences for undergraduates. People who are actively in an important area of tropical medicine research shared with us very important, new developments that have a place in our undergraduate teaching. Some of the ideas we talked about with them we put immediately into play in a biochemistry course."

Flowers said, "My interest in the visit was more generally as a biologist. The research we're doing at Wells involves looking for potential therapeutics in local plants. It was interesting for me to see what plants they were finding useful at Walter Reed as potential anti-malarials and also how you can bring this work into the lab in a way that can be safe for students to actually make a useful contribution."

During the last two years, Schwab and Flowers have worked to establish formal and informal relationships with Walter Reed. One important outcome is a testing agreement: "We can send them compounds and micro-organisms for testing and they can send us their compounds," said Schwab. An increasing number of Wells students are looking at Walter Reed for its internship possibilities, and both Wells students and faculty members are able to keep abreast of cutting edge developments in science through the connection.

Margaret Flowers believes this partnership between Wells and Walter Reed shows students how the scientific process of discovery really works: "They see collaboration, which is the norm in the scientific world. They don't see science being done alone in some cold, dark laboratory; they do see a lot of collaboration and sharing of ideas."

May, 1998

Wells College drives affordability of private education

President Lisa Marsh Ryerson said, "Along with this tuition reduction, we have made a decision to increase our investment in academic program enrichment in the months and years ahead. We know these decisions will make a Wells liberal arts education more valuable and affordable to students and their families."

This innovative action places Wells in a leadership position with Princeton, Yale, and Stanford: top universities that have also recently addressed the problem of educational access through new financial policies. Wells is the first liberal arts college for women to join this current effort.

Ryerson said, "The college is in a unique position to set the standards for affordable pricing. We are able to take these actions due to the success of our ongoing comprehensive campaign through which generous alumnae and friends of the college have demonstrated their commitment to educating women.

"Women's colleges continue to serve a critical role in the landscape of higher education. Wells intends to accelerate its commitment to academic programs that will prepare women for leadership in the new century."

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