Wells Hosts Visit by Noted New York Times Reporter

Linda Greenhouse has covered U.S. Supreme Court since 1978

Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times reporter Linda Greenhouse, who has covered the Supreme Court of the United States for nearly three decades, will present the 2006 Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholar Lecture on Thursday, April 6, at Wells College. The lecture will take place at 4:45 p.m. in the Art Exhibit Room, Macmillan Hall.  The event is free and the public is invited to attend.

Greenhouse’s lecture, entitled “Court, Country & Culture,” will look at the relationship between the Supreme Court and the rest of the country. Decisions on gay rights, affirmative action, federalism, and civil liberties will be discussed in detail in order to understand how a “conservative” Court could produce notably non-conservative decisions. Questions that will be considered include: How do the justices, in their ivory tower, learn about the world and how does that knowledge shape their opinions? What is their relationship to the “constitutional culture” in which they function?

The public is also welcome to hear her speak the following day (April 7) at 9:30 a.m. in 321 Macmillan Hall, where she will discuss “Civil Liberties & National Security.” The events are part of a two-day residency sponsored by the Wells College chapter of the Phi Beta Kappa Society. During her time on campus, Greenhouse will also make several classroom appearances and meet informally with Wells faculty and students. 

“What could be more timely at this juncture in American political history, when the makeup of the Supreme Court and its decisions are so critical, than to have an astute  observer of the court, Linda Greenhouse, sharing her insights with us?” said Professor of History Beatrice Farnsworth, a member of the Wells College chapter of Phi Beta Kappa who helped organize Greenhouse’s campus visit.

Greenhouse has covered the U.S. Supreme Court for the Times since 1978, except for two years in the mid-1980s when she reported on Congress. In the last year, Greenhouse has written about Supreme Court decisions regarding military recruiting on college campuses; using racketeering laws against abortion protestors; and the use of eminent domain to seize private property for economic development projects.

She won the Pulitzer Prize for Beat Reporting in 1998 for her “consistently illuminating coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court.” In 2004, she received the Goldsmith Career Award for Excellence in Journalism from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, and the John Chancellor Award for Excellence in Journalism from the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania. 

Greenhouse is also the author of Becoming Justice Blackmun: Harry Blackmun’s Supreme Court Journey, published last year by Times Books. Blackmun is perhaps most remembered for authoring the majority opinion in the 1973 landmark Roe v. Wade decision.  Booklist praised Greenhouse’s book as “an absorbing look at the personal and official concerns of a man who helped to shape American law and society.”

Since 1980, she has also been a regular guest on “Washington Week,” the longest-running public affairs show on PBS. She received a B.A. degree from Radcliffe College and a Master of Studies in Law from Yale Law School.

Linda Greenhouse’s visit is part of the Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholar Program. Each year, the program makes available 12 or more distinguished scholars who visit 100 colleges and universities with chapters of Phi Beta Kappa. They spend two days on each campus, meeting informally with students and faculty members, taking part in classroom discussions, and giving a public lecture open to the entire academic community. Now entering its 50th year, the Visiting Scholar Program has sent 518 scholars on some 4,500 two-day visits. Founded in 1776, Phi Beta Kappa is the nation’s oldest academic honor society, with chapters at 270 colleges and universities and over 600,000 members. The Wells College chapter was formed in 1932.

Greenhouse’s residency is sponsored by the Wells Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa and the Office of the Dean of the College. For more information, please contact Professor of History Beatrice Farnsworth at 315/364-3239 or bfarnsworth@wells.edu, or visit the college’s web site at www.wells.edu. For more information on the Phi Beta Kappa Society, visit www.pbk.org.

March, 2006

Bakithi Kumalo brings fusion of jazz, Latin, African beat to Aurora

The Wells College Arts & Lecture Series Committee is pleased to host musician Bakithi Kumalo on the Aurora campus for a special concert on Friday, April 14. Kumalo will perform at 7:30 p.m. in Phipps Auditorium, Macmillan Hall. Prices are $6 for students, senior citizens and the Wells College community, and $10 for the general public; free for Wells College students. Tickets are available at the door the night of the performance or from the box office the week preceding the show. Please call 315/364-3456 to reserve seats. 

South African composer, vocalist, and bassist Bakithi Kumalo is renowned for his indelible bass licks on Paul Simon’s 1986 “Graceland” album. Kumalo’s musical style reflects world influences, including South African traditional folk, jazz, salsa, and electronica. 

“Bakithi Kumalo is one of the finest bass players I’ve worked with in all my years as a musician,” said Paul Simon in an interview with SC Entertainment. “The first time I heard his fretless bass, it sounded more like the soulful horn of Africa than a stringed instrument. Bakithi and his musicians complement each other beautifully.”

Kumalo grew up in the notorious Soweto township of Johannesburg, surrounded by relatives who loved music and actively performed. By the time he was 7 years old, he had learned enough to fill in for his uncle’s bass player when that gentleman had had too much to drink. Soon he was performing regularly, and went on an 18-month tour in Zululand when he was ten. 

Despite financial hardship and the oppression of apartheid, Kumalo achieved a reputation in South Africa as a fine musician. About the same time, a music producer in Kumalo’s neighborhood was conferring with Paul Simon about musicians for his upcoming album, and recommended Kumalo for the job. 

As Kumalo tells it, “[The producer] told me ‘Do you know Paul Simon? [He’s] looking for a bass player, and I think you’re the guy for the music.’ I thought ‘This is great! Paul Simon from America!’ ”

The two collaborated in the studio, and the rest is history. “Paul liked my playing and that made me so comfortable. He really loved the music and we started working with some other musicians and Paul told me that we were going to New York and finish the rest of the record. This had been my dream – to go to New York!”

Often referred to as “world music,” Kumalo’s compositions are evocative of his South African heritage and the various genres he has encountered working professionally in the United States. He has recorded and/or toured with such artists as Gloria Estefan, Herbie Hancock, Chaka Khan, Jon Secada, Harry Belafonte, and Cyndi Lauper.

He has also produced two solo albums, “San' Bonan” (1998) and “In Front of My Eyes” (2000). 

The Wells College Arts & Lecture Series features professional guest artists and performers who are brought to campus to enrich the cultural and academic components of Wells as a learning community. The acts are selected annually by a committee comprised of Wells faculty, staff, administrators, and students.

For more information about Bakithi Kumalo’s concert and the Wells Arts & Lecture Series, please contact Siouxsie Grady, chair of the Arts & Lecture Series Committee, at 315/364-3232

March, 2006

Christina Pugh will read from her work; meet with students

The Wells College Visiting Writer Series is pleased to welcome award-winning poet and educator Christine Pugh back to the Aurora campus. Pugh will read from her work at 7:00 pm on Wednesday, April 5 in the Art Exhibit Room, Macmillan Hall. All are invited to hear this inspiring author. The free reading will be followed by a reception with an opportunity to meet the speaker; refreshments will be served.

Christina Pugh (B.A. Wesleyan University, Ph.D. Harvard, M.F.A Emerson College) is the author of Rotary, a book of poems which received the Word Press First Book Prize in 2003. The Wells College Press published a chapbook of her poems, Gardening at Dusk, in 2002. She has received Poetry magazine's Ruth Lilly Poetry Fellowship, the Grolier Poetry Prize, a Whiting Fellowship for the Humanities, and three nominations for a Pushcart Prize. 

Ms. Pugh’s poems have recently appeared or are forthcoming in The Atlantic Monthly, Poetry, Ploughshares, and in the anthology Poetry 180.  She has taught literature and creative writing at Harvard University, Emerson College, and CUNY-College of Staten Island, and is currently an assistant professor of English at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Ms. Pugh’s reading and the Wells College Visiting Writer Series are made possible in part by a grant from the New York State Council on the Arts, the Virginia Kent Cummins Writers-in-Residence Fund, and the Mildred Walker Fiction-Writer-in-Residence Fund. Poets and writers are invited to campus throughout the academic year to meet with students, present writing workshops, and read from their respective works.

For more information about Christina Pugh and the Visiting Writers Series at Wells College, please contact English professor Bruce Bennett at 315/364-3228.

March, 2006

Wells College is sending 17 students on an alternative spring break trip to work with Habitat for Humanity in Augusta, Georgia, from March 18 through 25.  Associate Dean of Students Kelly Moselle and Director of Campus Involvement Melissa Hutson will lead the trip.

Since its founding in 1976, Habit for Humanity has built and rehabilitated more than 200,000 houses with families in need, becoming a true world leader in addressing the issues of poverty housing. Wells students will work with the future homeowner to complete the house’s framework.

The trip is the result of a “Collegiate Challenge” that offered students the opportunity to help people in need, improve their carpentry skills, and put their faith into action by making a real difference in helping Habitat’s mission of eliminating substandard housing. 

Students will also learn about the area by visiting sites such as the Lucy Craft Laney Museum of Black History, the Woodrow Wilson home, the Augusta Museum of History, and Artists’ Row.

For more information about alternative spring break at Wells, please contact Kelly Moselle at 315/364-3312

March, 2006

Paintings, silk-screened prints on display through April 21

The Wells College Art Department is pleased to announce the next art exhibition of the 2005-2006 academic year. A selection of paintings and silk-screened prints by Buffalo artist James Pappas will be on display in the String Room Gallery from March 15 through April 21, 2006. The exhibit is free and the public is cordially invited. An opening reception to be held on Wednesday, March 15 from 7:00-9:00 pm offers an opportunity to meet the artist; refreshments will be served.

James Pappas is an associate professor in the African-American Studies Department at the University at Buffalo, where he is a specialist in Applied Media Aesthetics. He has an M.F.A. in painting from the University of Buffalo, where he served as chair of the Black Studies department for 13 years. He was also co-founder and director of the Langston Hughes Center for the Visual and Performing Arts in Buffalo's Inner City. Pappas' work has been featured in over 50 exhibitions and he has lectured widely in the field of applied media aesthetics.

The String Room Gallery is located in Main Building. Hours are Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm; Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm; and Saturday and Sunday from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. For more information about the exhibit, please contact art professor and String Room Gallery director William Roberts at 315/364-3237.

March, 2006

Former Wells faculty member Bird Stasz returns for literary visit

The Wells College Visiting Writer Series welcomes back former faculty member Bird Stasz for a book reading and signing. The reading will take place at 7:30 pm on Monday, March 13 in the Art Exhibit Room, Macmillan Hall. The free event will be followed by a reception and book signing with an opportunity to meet the author; refreshments will be served.

Professor Bird Stasz returns to Wells to read from her new book And That’s The Way Of It: A Maine Village Life. The volume is a creative non-fiction documentary that grew out of Stasz’s work as an ethnographer. Published in November 2005, it is an oral history of Dorothy Carney Chase, a lifelong resident of the village of Sheepscot, Maine.

When Bird Stasz met 94-year-old Dorothy Carney Chase in the summer of 2001, she embarked on a remarkable journey:  one that took her back in time in a very special place, the picturesque village of Sheepscot, at the confluence of two rivers in mid-coast Maine.  The journey begins in the 17th century, when Sheepscot was one of the first settlements in Maine; takes us into the 19th century, when Chase’s great-grandparents moved from Boston to the thriving village; and through the 20th century, when Dorothy was born and raised in an environment that offered the challenges of farm life, a tolerance for the curious characters who made the village home, the security for children to explore their own unique spirits, and encouragement to grab life and live it to the fullest.

“Chase talks about a world of rural Maine that no longer exists except in the remembered and imagined cultural landscape of her stories,” writes Tom Rankin of Duke University's Center for Documentary Studies. “Through this book, the places exist again, in the minds of us, the readers and listeners. That magical process -- from her memory, through her playful stories grounded in history, and then on to us -- reconstructs what once seemed gone, invisible, forgotten.”

Stasz is currently teaching documentary courses as an associate professor of education at Elon University in North Carolina. She taught at Wells College for nine years, and earned a B.A. in anthropology/sociology from Middlebury College, an M.Ed. from the University of Vermont, and an Ed.D. in Adult Education from Syracuse University.

This reading and the Wells College Visiting Writer Series are made possible in part by a grant from the New York State Council on the Arts.  Poets and writers are invited to campus throughout the academic year to meet with students, present writing workshops, and read from their respective works.

For more information, please contact English professor Bruce Bennett at 315/364-3228.

March, 2006

Stage performance in recognition of Women’s History Month

One-woman play “Mrs. Stanton and Susan” will be performed at Wells College this Sunday, March 12 at 7:00 pm in Barler Recital Hall as part of the school’s Women’s History Month observances. The play is free and the public is cordially invited to attend. 

Miriam Reed Productions brings “Mrs. Stanton and Susan” to the stage. Miriam Reed, a highly trained actor from California, portrays both Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony in a 90-minute play that depicts the beginnings of the women’s suffrage movement and the committed women behind it. 

Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony have long been criticized, even labeled racists, because they were white, middle class women who believed that women deserved the same rights and liberties as men. They chose to dedicate their lives, their money, talents, and energies to a cause in which they passionately believed. 

The difficulties faced by Elizabeth Cady Stanton as the mother of seven children in isolated Seneca Falls, New York galvanized her to action in 1848. With the blessing of fellow activist Lucretia Mott, Cady Stanton organized the first Woman's Rights Convention, where she shocked most of those present by demanding that women be given the right to vote.

Three years later, she was introduced at an anti-slavery meeting to Susan B. Anthony, who became her “friend and co-adjutant;” together they pursued a lifetime of courageous work for women’s rights.

Reed has a Ph.D. in English, German, and French 19th Century Dramatic 
Literature, a Master of Arts in 20th Century English and German Literature, and a Bachelor of Arts in Language in the Performing Arts from UCLA. She has also studied at the Yale University/British American Drama Academy Midsummer in Oxford Program, England and with UCLA’s Graduate Abroad Program in Goettingen, West Germany.

For more information about “Mrs. Stanton and Susan,” please contact Melissa Hutson, Director of Campus Involvement, at 315/364-3428.

March, 2006

Aurora Foundation’s work in Aurora nearly complete

Wells College President Lisa Marsh Ryerson announced today that effective June 1, 2006, management of the College’s commercial properties in the Village of Aurora will be transferred from the Aurora Foundation to Aurora Inn, Inc., a subsidiary of the College. The properties include the Aurora Inn, E.B. Morgan House, Village Market, Pizzaurora, Fargo Bar & Grill, and Posies. The current operating team will remain in place under the direction of Sue Edinger. Ms Edinger has served as the General Manager for the past three years.

Since 2001, the historic properties, which comprise most of the commercial district of the small village, have been restored and managed by the Aurora Foundation.  The purpose of the Foundation was to restore the College’s commercial properties, oversee the operation of businesses in them, and thereby enhance economic development in the Village of Aurora. The College has retained its ownership of the commercial properties and, as a gift to the College, Ms. Rowland, a Wells alumna, provided all of the funding for restoration of the properties and has absorbed any losses from the operations within them. Now that the projects are nearing completion and businesses are fully operational, the Foundation will turn over management to the College’s Aurora Inn, Inc., as planned. 

One project remains to be completed, namely the post office and parking lot. Ms. Rowland will continue to fund that, assuming the necessary Village approvals are received by March 31, 2006, a date agreed upon between the College, the Village, and the Foundation.  Katie Waller, Executive Director of the Aurora Foundation, will oversee completion of the post office and parking lot project.

Ms. Rowland has established a fund of $2,000,000 for use by the College to maintain the restored facilities and support their operations. “It has been my pleasure to restore these beautiful historic properties, and to put in place a first-rate management team to operate them,” said Rowland. “These funds ensure that the facilities will be well-cared for in the future, and that the fine reputation the Aurora Inn and its related properties have earned will continue.  I am proud of the work the Aurora Foundation has done and feel confident that the College and the Village will prosper as a result of our work.”

“Wells College can never adequately thank Pleasant Rowland for her extraordinary gifts of money, time, energy, expertise and vision that she has given to us and to the Village,” said President Ryerson.  “That she will continue her philanthropy in Aurora with the completion of the post office and parking lot project and the establishment of a fund for the ongoing maintenance and operation is yet another example of the remarkable generosity and sincere stewardship she has consistently exhibited in her work in Aurora.  Few colleges and fewer communities have ever received a gift of such magnitude. Because of Pleasant Rowland, Wells College and the Village of Aurora will continue to thrive for generations to come.” 

March, 2006

Elizabethan Conversation, Frogwork Consort to play at Aurora Inn

Dr. Susan Sandman, professor emerita of music at Wells College and organizing musician in two baroque-era ensembles, announces a series of chamber music concerts.  The first, “Purcell’s London,” is a program of songs for the lute and viol presented by Elizabethan Conversation with special guest tenor Gary Aubin. The concert will be held on Sunday, March 12 at 4:00 pm. 

The second in the series will present Christopher Simpson’s “The Months” performed by The Frogwork Consort on Sunday, March 26 at 4:00 pm. Both performances will take place in the Lakeside Room of the Aurora Inn, 391 Main Street, Aurora. Tickets are $10, available at the door the day of the performance.  This is the third year this successful chamber music series has been presented by Elizabethan Conversation and friends.

Elizabethan Conversation and its sister ensemble, The Frogwork Consort, achieves musically pleasing and exciting performances on period instruments by combining scholarship in historical performance with individual judgment, and mixing in the magic of the moment.  Shared music of early times brings us to a meeting of the minds surpassing that possible by words alone, and allows a communication with the past unlike any other.

The first program on March 12, “Purcell’s London,” features solo songs by Henry Purcell, the most famous English composer of the 17th century, in settings to lute and viol arranged by Dr. Sandman.  Best known for his operas and theatre music, Purcell’s music was widely performed at court and in private homes.  Also included are recorder and lute duets from The Division Flute, one of many tutors for the recorder, a favorite choice of wind instrument by highly skilled amateur musicians of Purcell’s time.  Additionally, solo lute music by Anthony Holborne and solo dances for viol played lyra-way (“with chords”) by Tobias Hume will be performed.

The instruments heard in “Purcell’s London” - lute, viol, and recorder - were common court and household instruments in the 17th century baroque period. Lutes, pear-shaped plucked instruments, typically had 7 to 10 pairs of strings.  Viols, also called viola da gamba (viola of the leg) because of how they are held, usually had 6 or 7 strings.   The recorder is an end-blown flute often made of boxwood or other fruitwoods.  Instruments of earlier times were designed to produce subtle and varied sonorities, and are heard best in intimate chamber spaces as experienced in the Lakeside Room.

“The Months,” the second concert on March 26, was written by Christopher Simpson (image attached) specifically for a viol consort, the foremost string ensemble before the 18th century string quartet. Each of the 12 movements is a fantasie named after a month of the year, starting with January and ending with December. The set takes just under an hour to perform, and contains lovely melodies organized in polyphony and decorated with flourishes, giving us a catalog of musical descriptions sure to surprise and amuse. 

Started in Aurora in 1982 as a renaissance lute duet by Dr. Susan Sandman and Derwood Crocker, Elizabethan Conversation has a national reputation through recording and performance.  It now performs diverse programs, frequently with guest artists. 

The Frogwork Consort grew out of the viol consort of Schola Cantorum of Syracuse.  Its members include Lee R. Johnston, organist and choir director of the First English Lutheran Church in Syracuse and sheet music specialist for Hickey’s Music (Ithaca); Alexander Rakov, a prize-winning performer trained in St. Petersburg, and former collegium director at Syracuse University and St. Lawrence College; and Dr. Susan Sandman. All the violas da gamba played by the Frogwork Consort are strung with silk strings developed by Alexander Rakov which are now gaining international recognition. 

Susan Sandman, early music performer and musicologist, earned her B.A. in music summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, from Vassar College, and a Ph.D. in musicology from Stanford University.  Her publications include a column on the performance practice of early music for Continuo, and articles in professional journals. In addition, she has won several National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Fellowships and other grants for performance and recordings.  Now a professor emerita from Wells College, Dr. Sandman devotes her time to music performance.  She is the researcher and organizer of the programs by Elizabethan Conversation and The Frogwork Consort. 

Derwood Crocker’s interest in design, sculpture, and music led him to making musical instruments. He has been a full-time craftsman and musician for almost 40 years. The Crocker Workshop in Aurora has produced hundreds of instruments, some now found in private and public collections, most notably in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.  During this series, the audience will hear a treble and bass viola da gamba built by the Crocker Workshop. 

Guest artist Gary Aubin, tenor, is a native of Lake Placid, NY and earned a M.S. in voice from the College of St. Rose. He has studied opera under Renata Cariso in New York and in Florence, Italy, and has performed in numerous engagements in the U.S. and Canada.  He sings for fun as a soloist with area groups, and enjoys his work at Wells College, where for eight years he has been general manager of Sodexho Dining Services. 

CDs by Elizabethan Conversation and The Frogwork Consort will be available for sale at the concerts.

For more information about the concert series, Elizabethan Conversation, and The Frogwork Consort, please call Dr. Susan Sandman at 315/364-8406. To reserve concert tickets, contact the Aurora Inn directly at 315/364-8888.

March, 2006

“Food for Thought, Fuel for Action” is this year’s theme

Wells College continues its tradition of academic excellence and student leadership with the presentation of the fifth annual Activism in the Academy Symposium on Friday, March 10. Under the direction of Assistant Professor of Sociology Laura McClusky, students have organized the campus-wide event, entitled “Food for Thought, Fuel for Action.” The symposium is free for the Wells community; a fee of $15 for all others, payable at the door, includes a vegetarian lunch.  Interested parties are strongly encouraged to pre-register online at http://aurora.wells.edu/~symposium.

The day will begin with a keynote address, “Fat, Famine & Froot Loops: What’s Democracy Got to Do With It?” from author-activist Anna Blythe Lappé, a Food and Society Policy Fellow with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. The talk will take place at 9:00 a.m. in Phipps Audtorium, Macmillan Hall. Along with her mother, noted activist Frances Moore Lappé, she is the co-author of Hope’s Edge: The Next Diet for a Small Planet (Tarcher, 2002), which chronicles social movements on five continents addressing the root causes of hunger and poverty. The book is a follow-up to Frances Lappé’s 1971 bestseller, Diet for a Small Planet, which “challenged Western assumptions about hunger,” according to Publishers Weekly. They are also the founders of the Small Planet Institute, based in Cambridge, Mass.

The day continues with more than 20 workshops, lectures, demonstrations, and break-out sessions; individuals may attend one or all. Following Lappé’s talk, participants may choose from two morning sessions (starting at 10:00 and 11:00 a.m.) and three afternoon sessions (at 1:30, 2:30, and 4:00 p.m.). The sessions will address a wide variety of topics, including reproductive rights, the National Security Agency’s domestic spying program, prisoners’ literacy, diabetes among the indigenous, and poverty in the upstate New York area. In addition, two exhibits on display throughout the day will focus on anti-war activist art and “the human cost of war.”

This year’s lunchtime speaker, Gyude Moore, will give a talk at 12:00 noon.  Forced to flee his native Liberia at an early age, Moore completed high school in while living as a refugee in the Ivory Coast. He is now a senior political science major at Berea College in Kentucky and was one of 43 college students selected to participate in Oxfam America’s CHANGE Initiative, a leadership training program.

Started by the Collegiate Association (student government) in 2002, the purpose of the student-centered symposium is to promote civic engagement, encourage critical thinking, and find links between the academy and the world at large. One objective of the day is to empower Wells and local community members to use the college as a resource for advancing social justice and community development through interdisciplinary study. As a liberal arts institution, Wells College recognizes the value of service and activism as part of the learning process.

For more information about the Activism Symposium, please contact Assistant Professor of Sociology Laura McClusky at 315/364-3252 or symposium@wells.edu, or visit the symposium’s official web site at http://aurora.wells.edu/~symposium.

March, 2006

“No Blood for Oil” Lecture at Wells College 

Local activist, musician Nancy Gilbertson speaks out about America’s dependency

Wells College music instructor and local activist Nancy Gilbertson will speak at Wells on Thursday, March 9. Gilbertson’s talk, “No Blood For Oil: America’s Dependency and Alternative Energy Options,” will begin at 7:30 pm in the Art Exhibit Room, Macmillan Hall. The lecture is free and the public is invited to attend.

A professional musician from Moravia, Nancy Gilbertson considers herself to be a “fledgling” anti-war activist. In 2000, she joined the Green Party and worked on Ralph Nader’s presidential campaign. The following year, she ran for Cayuga County Legislature as a Green, backed by the Democrats.  She has participated in numerous anti-war demonstrations, as well as marches against the IMF and World Bank, and the World Trade Organization.  She “discovered” bio diesel fuel (an alternative fuel made from waste vegetable oil) while listening to NPR’s program “Unwelcome Guests” in 2002.

“I was propelled into making bio diesel when, in my research, I discovered that the U.S. military is the world's largest consumer of bio diesel,” said Nancy.  “I was incensed by the irony of our military using bio diesel, which seemed virtually unknown to most of us at the time, to fight wars to secure more fossil fuels.”

Nancy and her husband Kim now drive a vehicle that is powered by a combination of bio diesel, waste vegetable oil and a minimal use of petroleum diesel.  They also mix bio diesel in with their home heating oil. 

Nancy Gilbertson received her Masters in Music from Kent State University. She has been a Lecturer in Music at Wells College since 1987, has been teaching private piano lessons since 1973, and is now a frequent performer in the Finger Lakes region.

Ms. Gilbertson’s talk is sponsored by the Wells College Campus Anti-War Network. For more information, please contact Communications Director Kelly Tehan at 315/364-3260.

February, 2006

Melissa Hutson will manage student activities, many campus events

Wells College’s Dean of Students Karen Green announces that Melissa Huston has been hired as the College’s new Director of Campus Involvement. Melissa began her duties on February 6.

Melissa Hutson comes to Wells from Loyola University - Chicago, where she was resident director. Previously, she was involved in college student personnel recruitment at Western Illinois University. She earned her B.S. in Business Administration – International Management from Shippensburg University, and her Masters in Education – College Student Personnel from Western Illinois University.

“I am pleased about the addition of Melissa Hutson to the Division of Student Life,” says Dean Green. “She is an enthusiastic advocate of student development and the expertise she brings to campus involvement will afford many opportunities for students to grow their understanding of responsible leadership and civic engagement.  She has hit the ground running and has already availed herself to student groups seeking advice and guidance.”

As Director of Campus Involvement at Wells, Melissa will be responsible for leadership within the Office of Campus Involvement to coordinate, supervise, and evaluate a full range of activities and programming for the entire campus community.  She is also responsible for developing a comprehensive co-curricular program that seeks to further the educational mission of the College. 

Melissa is excited to be at Wells: “The Office of Campus Involvement has a large role in shaping the social life of the College, and I hope that we can offer programming and services that are valuable to all students and staff. The small community environment here encourages frequent interaction, and I hope that my office can contribute to the retention of students by offering great ‘out of the classroom’ leadership experiences.”

For more information about Melissa Hutson’s appointment at Wells College, please contact Communications Director Kelly Tehan at 315/364-3260.

February, 2006

The fifth annual Wells College Gospel Workshop and Concert Weekend will be held February 17 and 18, 2006. The workshop is a two-day event in which the Wells College community and the local Aurora community come together to learn about and engage in singing this uplifting genre of music. No auditions are required and the event is free and open to the general public. Everyone is warmly invited to lift their voices during this inspirational weekend event. 

The Gospel Workshop Weekend is coordinated by Wells’ Gospel choir Appointed and the Dean of Students Office. All rehearsals and the concert will be held in Barler Recital Hall. The weekend schedule is as follows:

Friday, February 17
Rehearsal 7:00-9:00 p.m.

Saturday, February 18
Rehearsal 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. 
Warm-up 6:30 p.m.
Concert 7:30 p.m.

No advance registration is necessary, but participants must attend all rehearsals. Those interested in participating in the workshop should contact Jenn Bell in the Dean of Students Office at 315/364-3311 by no later than Monday, February 13.

“I’m especially pleased that the gospel choir weekend at Wells takes place during Black History Month, given gospel’s far-reaching influence on contemporary music,” says Wells College President Lisa Marsh Ryerson. “I sing with the choir during the weekend, and it is one of the most uplifting and rewarding experiences of the academic year for me. We certainly encourage singers from the community to join us, and I can guarantee that anyone who makes the trip to Aurora for the weekend will have a wonderful time.”

Gospel Weekend and Appointed are the brainchildren of Dean of Students Karen Green, who will coordinate the weekend. L. Kirk Hatcher of Montgomery, Alabama will be choir director, and Ed Menifee of Atlanta, Georgia serves as music director.

For more information about Gospel Weekend and the concert, please contact Jenn Bell in the Dean of Students Office at 315/364-3311.

February, 2006

French and Biology teachers are tenured, promoted to associate professor

Wells College’s Vice President for Academic Affairs Ellen Hall recently announced that two faculty members were granted tenure, effective August 2007, by the College’s Board of Trustees. In addition, both were promoted to the rank of associate professor, which will take effect in August 2006.

Assistant Professor of Biology Christina Wahl received her B.S. in biology and her M.S., and Ph.D. in physiology from Cornell University. She has taught at Wells for six years, leading students through Principles of Biology, Animal Physiology, Developmental Biology, Cell Biology, and a course for non-science majors on The Biology of Women. She is an active scholar, engaged in research at both Wells and Cornell University. Her research interests lie in the physiological mechanisms of development, including embryonic regenerative processes and patterning of the retina, eye, and oculomotor system. 

“Professor Wahl is an animated and creative teacher who is also enthusiastic about teaching across disciplines; she’s currently co-teaching a new course on Sensation and Perception with Assistant Professor of Psychology Deborah Gagnon. But many of us in the sciences feel that Dr. Wahl’s greatest gift to our students is her passion for research and her commitment to making the student research experience at Wells a meaningful one,” says Candace Collmer, Chair of Biological and Chemical Sciences.  “In working side-by-side with students on independent research projects, she shares the joy and excitement of actually doing science while also preparing them for diverse opportunities beyond Wells. For many, these research experiences at Wells will stay with them for a lifetime.”

Professor Wahl also serves the broader Wells community as secretary of the faculty, coordinator of the biology minor, and a member of the President's Committee on Diversity. 

Assistant Professor of French Amy Staples’ areas of expertise are in French and francophone literature, history, and culture; literature written by women; feminist criticism; and issues in women's studies. She earned her B.A. in French from the University of Vermont, an M.A. in French Literature from The Johns Hopkins University, and a Ph.D. in Romance Studies from Cornell University with a minor in Women’s Studies.

Dr. Staples has taught a number of courses during her five years at the College, including Introduction to French Literature I & II; Conversation on French Civilization; Stylistics and Advanced Composition; The Splendid Century; Reason and Sentiment in 18th Century France; Romanticism and Realism in the 19th Century; and The Contemporary Literary Scene. She is valued for her work in the community, most notably as Director of the Program for the Arts in Paris, and as an active member of the Academic Program and Policy Committee. 

Chair of the Department of Foreign Languages, Literatures, and Cultures Diane Koester supported the decision to promote Dr. Staples: “Professor Staples is both exacting and energetic in her teaching, expecting work from students at a high and professional level while remaining good humored and available to help them.  She is an active scholar, especially in light of her commitment to teaching and the Wells community.  Her articles are informative, spirited and enjoyable to read, in their complex feminist analysis of important works of French literature. Wells College is privileged to have Professor Staples’ breadth and good work.”

For more information about these tenured faculty positions at Wells College, please contact Communications Director Kelly Tehan at 315/364-3260 

February, 2006

Artists from Fall semester display their work

An eclectic mix of student artwork will be on display in the College’s String Room Gallery from February 8 through March 10, 2006. The exhibit is free and the public is cordially invited to view the show.

On display will be artwork produced by students enrolled in studio art classes during the Fall 2005 semester – including courses in painting, ceramics, and two- and three-dimensional design.

An opening reception with refreshments on Wednesday, February 8, 
7:00-9:00 p.m., offers an opportunity to meet the student artists and view and discuss their work.

Art professor William Roberts oversees the students’ work in the studios and coordinates the installation of the show. 

Gallery hours are Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., 
Wednesday evenings from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m., 
and Saturday and Sunday from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. 

February, 2006

Program includes a tribute to New Orleans

The Music Department at Wells College is pleased to offer an evening of flute and piano music. On Saturday, February 11, music lecturers Nancy Gilbertson and Laura Campbell will present a free concert at 8:00 p.m. in Barler Recital Hall. The public is cordially invited to attend. A reception with the musicians will follow the recital.

The program includes Robert Muczynski’s Sonata for Flute and Piano; “Flying Lessons” for solo flute by Robert Dick; Brian Dykstra’s “A Rag for New Orleans, September 2005”; and César Franck’s Sonata in A major for Flute and Piano. Three out of the four composers are still living: Dykstra is the music department chair at the College of Wooster in Massachusetts; Dick has been called the “Hendrix of the flute” because of his aggressive playing style; and Muczynski, a professor emeritus at the University of Arizona, has been nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.

Nancy Gilbertson has taught music at Wells College since 1987. She received her bachelor's and master's degrees in piano performance from Kent State University in Ohio. She has been a dedicated private piano teacher since 1973, and an active soloist and accompanist in central New York since moving to Moravia in 1986. Nancy released her first recording, Mediterranean Magic, in 2000. 

Laura Campbell is instructor of chamber music at Wells College and instructor of flute at Colgate University, where she is also the principal flutist of the Colgate Symphony. She completed her B.M. in Music Performance and Education from Southern Illinois University and her M.S. in Music Education from the University of Illinois. Her recording of Margaret Fairlie-Kennedy's “Windrider/Final Ascent” is available on the CD Evocations from Capstone Records, Society of Composers, Inc. and she has recently released a CD of flute and harp music with harpist Myra Kovary entitled Morning Light.

For more information about the performance, please contact Nancy Gilbertson at 
315/364-3343.

February, 2006

Wells will open the spring 2006 semester with the traditional convocation ceremony on Monday, January 30 at 4:45 p.m. in Phipps Auditorium. The entire campus community is invited to help usher in the new semester during this special occasion. The theme, “How can Wells shape your future beyond Aurora?” offers an opportunity to focus on each individual student and address the unique learning environment found at Wells.

Anne Parker Taylor ’55, recipient of the Wells 2005 Alumnae Award, will give the keynote address. Dr. Taylor is Distinguished Professor of Architecture and Planning, and founder and director of the Institute for Environmental Education at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque. She has worked for 40 years in the combined fields of education, design, architecture and planning, and continues to be influential and innovative in the design of architectural education and learning environments for children. 

Collegiate Cabinet, with the help of the Dean of Students and the President’s Offices, organizes Spring Convocation each year by choosing a theme, selecting a speaker, planning the order and content of the program, and coordinating the many details that make a successful event..

January, 2006

Agreement between Wells College, the Aurora Foundation and the Village of Aurora paves the way for a new post office, parking, and village park

As the result of a cooperative new agreement among Wells College, the Aurora Foundation and the Village of Aurora, village residents will be able to look forward to a new lakefront park, an improved post office and more parking and green space in the center of the village.

Wells College, the Aurora Foundation and the Village of Aurora are pleased to announce an agreement that will provide land for use as a new village park; substantially improve parking and green space within the village; and, contingent upon approval of the United States Postal Service, relocate the Aurora post office to its historic location in the “Old Post Office” building, also known as the Heary Building (pictured). In the spirit of a true partnership, each party will contribute unique assets and assume specific responsibilities for the ultimate benefit of the village and its residents. 

Following a special Village of Aurora Board meeting on December 29, 2005, an agreement is expected to be signed by Wells College President Lisa Marsh Ryerson, Pleasant T. Rowland of the Aurora Foundation, and Village of Aurora Mayor Tom Gunderson later this week.  The three Aurora entities have jointly endorsed a memorandum of understanding that expresses their shared intent to proceed with the project cooperatively and expeditiously. 

The Aurora Foundation will renovate space in the Old Post Office building and relocate the post office to it. The Foundation will also remove the current building and create a new parking lot and green space in the center of the village with improved access to the existing downtown village park. The Foundation will underwrite all of the costs associated with the post office/parking lot project. For the past several years, the Village has been coordinating with the USPS regarding a potential move and is amenable to the relocation of the post office as well as the demolition of the current building. If all goes according to plan, that project will be completed in 18 months. 

In addition to improved access to the small existing park in the center of the village, residents will also gain land for a second new lakefront park at the southern edge of Aurora. Wells College has agreed to make available approximately 1,000 feet of the College's shoreline lands so that the Village can develop a new park and waterfront area for recreational use. Building the new park at the south end of the village will be the responsibility of the Village; plans and a timeline for it have not yet been developed. 

The Village will retain ownership of the land on which the current post office sits, as well as the current downtown village park just south of the Aurora Inn.  The College will retain ownership of its commercial properties in the village, including the parking lot. 

According to College President Lisa Marsh Ryerson, “While the College, the Foundation and the Village each contribute their unique assets and assume appropriate responsibility, this agreement ultimately benefits the real stakeholders – our community.  A new lakefront park will benefit our families and our children’s families for generations to come.  I am especially grateful to Pleasant Rowland for her continued and extraordinary philanthropy in the renovation of the downtown area and for her deep sense of caring for our community.”

Village of Aurora Mayor Tom Gunderson agrees.  “This is a real win-win for the village and its residents.  Thanks to the unprecedented generosity of Pleasant Rowland, the village has been and will continue to be significantly improved.  We are grateful to Wells College for making lands available for us to develop an extensive waterfront recreation area.  This is something our residents have needed and wanted for a long time.” 

Pleasant Rowland states, “I am very pleased that this agreement has been reached between the Village, the College and the Foundation.  With the relocation of the post office project and an improved parking lot with good access to the downtown village park, we will have completed our projects in the heart of the Village of Aurora.  In the focus groups held in 2001, we learned that improvements to the post office, improved parking and access to the village park were priorities for village residents, and I am glad that we will now be able to address those important aspects of village life.  It is especially fitting that all of these projects will provide greater access to one of Aurora’s most spectacular assets – Lake Cayuga.” 

For more information, please contact Kelly Tehan, Communications Director, at 315/364-3260.

January, 2006

Wells College News Archive

Last updated 06/27/2006