The fellowship, which provides financial support for one year of undergraduate education and one year of graduate school, recognizes undergraduates with the desire and potential to serve in the United States diplomatic corps.

Nieves, a double major in Hispanic Studies and international relations, views the prospect of joining the nation's diplomatic service as a "dream job."

"I want to continue serving and working with diverse groups in an effort to change social structures so that people from different cultural backgrounds are able to build trust and develop mutual understanding for one another so that all may prosper," he said.

A Wheaton Posse Scholar from Brooklyn, N.Y., Nieves has been involved in community service since high school, when he helped to organize community events sponsored by New York State Assemblyman Felix Ortiz.

"This ignited a passion for helping those less fortunate than myself," he said.

With support from the Katharine Conroy Whalen '70 Endowed Fund for the Filene Center, Nieves spent last summer interning with a non-profit law firm called Brooklyn Legal Services Corporation A, where he participated in a campaign to defend the rights and dignity of tenants against unlawful and demeaning conditions.

"My public service has exposed me to people from all different walks of life, taught me to adapt to new environments, and appreciate cultural difference," he said.

This year, the rising college senior received a grant from Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship that enabled him to spend the 2013 spring semester in Spain at the Programa de Estudios Hispanicos en Córdoba, known as PRESHCO.

Nieves' Pickering fellowship will allow him to participate in one domestic and one overseas internship during the remainder of his undergraduate and graduate studies. Upon the completion of a master’s degree, he will be committed to spend at least three years as a Foreign Service Officer for the U.S. Department of State. 

The Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship is named in honor of Ambassador Thomas R. Pickering, who served as ambassador to Nigeria, El Salvador, Israel, India, and the Russian Federation, finishing his career in the Foreign Service as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs.

“It is my passion, my mission, to ease the tensions between immigrants and citizens of their adoptive homes and increase understanding,” states Van Akin.

And she just may succeed. Van Akin has been awarded a Rotary Global Grant to pursue a Master’s Degree in Human Rights and Humanitarian Action.

"It is truly the program of my dreams, combining theoretical and practical courses on human rights law, conflict resolution and management of humanitarian projects," she says.

The Wheaton senior will graduate later this month with a double major in Anthropology and International Relations. She didn’t expect to study anthropology but was drawn to the field after taking an intro course with Professor M. Gabriela Torres.

“Understanding that cultural practices which seem bizarre to me might be natural to someone else was challenging to accept," recalls Van Akin, "but it sparked a desire within me to continue learning more.”

This won’t be Van Akin’s first experience abroad. She spent the fall semester of her junior year in Paris, then went to South Africa the following spring. During that time, she completed an independent research project on Somali refugees living in Cape Town. Van Akin refers to the project as "life-changing."

"I was able to interview several Somalis, and hearing their stories had a huge impact on me," she explains. "Realizing the extreme discrimination and violence that Somali refugees, and refugees in general, face was disheartening. South Africa is a beautiful country, but it still has many battles to deal with."

This summer, the Rotary scholar will return to Paris and begin classes at the prestigious Institut d'Etudes Politiques (Sciences Po) – thought to be one of the world's most reputable schools for the study of the social sciences.

After earning her master’s degree, Van Akin hopes to work for an international Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) as an advocate for refugee rights.

“Immigrants are not aliens or non-humans,” she says. “They are people, families that, in an unfamiliar and forbidding environment, need the helping hands of those who understand their plight.”

That background, she said, prepared her to take intellectual risks in college.

Abdul-Musawwir plans to continue her educational journey next year in Bangladesh, where she will be teaching English as a Fulbright Scholar in the English Teaching Assistantship program.

"Teaching English in Bangladesh will allow me the chance to do two things I long for: teach young people English and become part of a community of people I want to learn more about," she said.

A native of Boston, Abdul-Musawwir identifies her decision to major in women's studies as a turning point.

"Prior to Wheaton, I found myself often questioning gender stereotypes, however, I was too shy to be expressive about my opinions," she said. "Women's studies challenged me to step out of my comfort zone and learn to be an active feminist."

Having taken courses in education, she finds welcome challenge in teaching. She has built up a resume of teaching experience with volunteer opportunities on campus and having spent several summers as a teacher with the non-profit Breakthrough Collaborative program in Cambridge, Mass.

"Teaching provides you with constant feedback, which is determined by how receptive students are to your performance," she said. "This requires a teacher to constantly look back on his or her work and reevaluate."

When Abdul-Musawwir heads to Bangladesh, it will not be her first trip abroad. She won an award from the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program, which enabled her to spend the spring semester of her junior year in Morocco.

"During my time in Morocco I studied transnational identity and migration and  modern standard Arabic. In addition, I wrote a thesis on migration and the feminization of poverty in rural Morocco," she said. "Aside from doing research, I spent a majority of my time traveling throughout the country, practicing Arabic and trying to explore new areas every time I got the chance."

In some ways, Abdul-Musawwir's Fulbright year in Bangladesh will be a return home. Although the women's studies major has never visited the country before, her parents hosted a Bangla family in their Boston home for three years.

"Everyday life was hectic. However, we found beauty within the miscommunication and language and cultural differences," she said. "Through nightly gatherings in our living room sharing stories, our love for genuine connections and family was not lost in translation."

Julie Bogen ’14 and Laurie Millener ’13, along with Alexis Barca ’16 and Victoria “Tory” Stosse ’15, are organizing efforts on campus to contribute money to The One Fund Boston, established by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino to help those most affected by the tragic events. Three people were killed and more than 200 were injured in the bombing at the finish line of the marathon on April 15.

Students will be collecting charitable donations and will sell baked goods, buttons, pins, bags and ribbons in Balfour Hood from noon to 2 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday; on Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the farmers market, courtesy of Aftertaste; and again during the race on Sunday. Bogen or Millener can be contacted directly for additional opportunities to donate.

In addition, students plan to participate in the John Mitchell Memorial 5K Race/Walk and wear the colors of the Boston Marathon—blue and yellow. Students also have volunteered to help with registration. The entire campus community and local residents are also invited to participate.

“Even though we have a limited time frame and resources, we have the chance to make an impact and support a city that so many of us know,” said Millener, a religion major.

This is a collaborative effort with the Office of Student Activities, Involvement and Leadership; the Office of Service, Spirituality and Social Responsibility; Kristen Turcotte, Conference and Event Services director, and others, Millener pointed out. “It is representative of the way our campus works together.”

This is the second year the college has hosted the race/walk in memory of a long-time staff member who died in 2011. A well-respected member of the college staff, Mitchell, a South Easton resident, worked at Wheaton for 18 years, serving as a custodian and a truck driver before being promoted to the post of materials management supervisor. He was responsible for the set up and break down of all college events, furniture moving, office relocation; purchasing, receiving and delivering supplies. He also oversaw the pick up and delivery of campus mail and packages on campus.

“This is important to all of us,” said Bogen, a film and new media major, who is helping to organize from afar while she is studying abroad in Spain. “Wheaton is so close to Boston. I have family members who run marathons all the time, friends whose cross country teams participate, loved ones who live in Boston and attend the surrounding schools. There's nothing like the fear of knowing the safety of your loved ones has been threatened and feeling completely helpless. Boston is an incredible city with unmatched resilience that was shaken by an unpredictable tragedy. I think it's our responsibility as students, citizens and friends to help out however we can.”

On Sunday, participants will observe a moment of silence and recognize Wheaton staff member Dave Macedo, who ran the marathon and completed it. He was not injured and was a few blocks away by the time the bombing took place in Copley Square. He will run the 5K on Sunday.

Registration will be available during the donation collection hours this week, or online. View details about the race and register here.

Lucy Cayard, Lindsay Cieslik, Rasheeda Abdul-Musawwir and Lindsay Powell, all members of the Class of 2013, have been named Fulbright Scholars for 2013.

Fulbright Scholarships for undergraduates are awarded throughout the spring semester and into early summer. Finalists for Fulbright awards to a number of countries are still awaiting word on their candidacy.

Wheaton consistently ranks among the top 10 liberal arts colleges in the nation when it comes to preparing students to win Fulbright Scholarships for advanced study and work abroad, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education and the Institute for International Education, which administers the Fulbright program. The college's students have won 71 Fulbright awards since 2000.

In 2012, Wheaton tied for sixth place with six other institutions (Claremont McKenna, Connecticut, Hamilton, Kenyon, Saint Olaf and Vassar colleges). Nine Wheaton students won Fulbright Scholarships in the past year. They are conducting research, studying and teaching English in Turkey, Taiwan, Mexico, Indonesia, Bulgaria, Thailand, Poland, the Czech Republic and Estonia.

Overall, Wheaton students won 18 national scholarships, including two Watson Fellowships, two French Government Teaching Assistantships, a Rotary International Scholarship, a Beinecke Scholarship, a 100 Projects for Peace Award and a Boren Undergraduate Scholarship.

The success of Wheaton's students in winning the Fulbright reflects the college's broader achievements in preparing young women and men to excel in earning a wide variety of international scholarships. Since 2000, more than 161 Wheaton graduates have won awards such as the Rhodes, Marshall and Truman scholarships.

“I remember reading every Spanish-language advertisement on the New York City subway, and listening to every conversation in Spanish that I overheard,” Powell said. “I began to learn about Latino culture, food, music and dance.

Next year, Powell hopes to share the transforming power of language by teaching English to Malaysian schoolchildren as a Fulbright Scholar to Malaysia.

“I want to be able to work with young people especially and share with them the transformative experience I had when I began to learn Spanish,” Powell said. “I also believe learning English is a vital skill to have in our globalized world.”

A sociology major who is also pursuing minors in political science and development studies, Powell says that she looks forward to learning about Malaysia’s multi-ethnic and culturally diverse society by living there for a year. .

“After studying abroad in Vietnam I became fascinated with Southeast Asia and was particularly interested in doing more travel in the diverse region,” she said. “I chose Malaysia because I was intrigued by the mixing of cultures and ethnicities and how these realities increasingly play a role in the politics of the nation.”

A Wheaton Posse Scholar, Powell is a campus leader, currently serving as president of the Student Government Association. She also has been active in a number of other campus organizations, from the Roosevelt Institute and Best Buds to the Trybe dance group.

Powell is an experienced world traveler, too. In addition to her semester abroad in Vietnam, she also has spent a summer volunteering as a tutor in Rivas, Nicaragua, and she worked with youth in Cape Town South Africa last summer as one of Wheaton’s International Davis Fellows.

Through those experiences, she said, “I have seen the devastating effects that inequality and poverty have on children and young adults. I understand now how it damages one’s self esteem and self worth.”

Powell grew up in Brooklyn, NY, and she says that she first became aware of inequality as a child whose parents advocated for her and her brother to be reassigned to a better school from the low-performing public school closest to their home.

“My parents fought hard to get me and my brother out of that district and told us that our new school would give us ‘a fighting chance’,” she said. “For me the difference an education makes in one’s life is obvious.”

Issues of social justice and equality have formed the core of Powell’s studies at Wheaton, she said, noting that inequality can serve as a spark to achieving real and substantive change.

"Understanding and experiencing inequality can serve as a spark for positive social change because this shared awareness can motivate people to make a difference," she said. "It makes the injustices of the world seem less far away or removed from your own agency and has the ability to empower people to become an advocate and ally to those that may be facing equality globally."

Now, she will be putting her learning and experiences to work in Germany, having won a 2013 Fulbright Award, living and teaching there for a year.

Cayard traces her interest in the German language to her grandmother, Leonora Balla, who was born and raised in Marburg, Germany. After World War II, Balla emigrated to America to go to school. Ironically, she actually won a Fulbright to the U.S. herself. Unfortunately, she passed away in December before she could learn of her granddaughter’s similar success.

“I think my grandma really wanted me to carry on the family relations with the German family after she died because I am the only person in my family who speaks German somewhat fluently,” says Cayard. “I wish she could have known that I won the Fulbright. I miss her. We had a really special relationship.”

After graduating as valedictorian of her high school class, Cayard signed up to take German in order to fulfill the language requirement at Wheaton. Having visited Germany a couple of times, she ended up completing a semester there during her sophomore year – a year earlier than most college students pursue study abroad.

“Living in Germany was easily one of the best times of my life thus far,” Cayard recalls. “I enjoyed the independence and excitement of living on my own in the university city of Regensburg. I got to visit my family there regularly and to know them better.”

In addition to learning the importance of heritage, growing up in the rural woods of central Maine inspired Cayard to develop an interest in all things green. She remembers playing in the dirt daily in the summer and in snow in the winter. Her family kept an enormous garden each year and raised chickens for eggs. As a result, she believes, “it was ingrained in me from the beginning to waste nothing and provide for myself as much as possible.”

With a minor in anthropology, she was a member of the Outdoors Club, AfterTaste (a “slow food” organization”), and SEEDs (Sustainable Education for Environmental Development). Off campus, she completed an internship at the Upper Valley Food Cooperative in Woodstock, Vt. Cayard credits Wheaton as “a driving force behind my curiosity for the world.”

As a freshman in 2010, Cayard was presented the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany Award. This prize is awarded to students who demonstrate excellence in their work in German classes. As a German tutor to her fellow Wheaton students, Cayard prides herself on her patience with students trying to learn another language. In Germany, the Fulbrighter will use her skills as a teaching assistant for students in English.

Upon her return to the U.S., Cayard will consider whether to apply to graduate school or to the Peace Corps where she can support the mission of international aid and education. “I don't know what my future has in store for me,” says Cayard, “but I am always up for an adventure.”

At the age of 21, Cieslik has already gained teaching experience in Tanzania, in South Africa, and here in Norton, where she is currently a student teacher in a fourth-grade classroom at the Henri A. Yelle Elementary School. Later this year, she will broaden that experience as she heads to Malaysia as an English Language Teaching Assistant under the Fulbright program.

She realizes that public education in the U.S. is far from equitable. “I think that, so far, many education reforms have been band-aid fixes, meaning they are just covering up the problem instead of finding the root of it,” she says. “We need to find the root of the problem and fix it. One way I believe that can happen is by putting the right teachers in the right classrooms.”

Cieslik, who wants to work with low-income urban students, has long drawn inspiration from the teachers in her own life—first in her early years, then at Wheaton, and then in a township outside of Grahamstown, South Africa, where she studied abroad during her junior year.

She had her first international teaching experience in Tanzania, East Africa, during the Wheaton summer course, “Tanzania: Education and Development,” taught by Anthropology Professor Donna Kerner. Then, during her semester in South Africa, Cieslik volunteered at the Little Flower Preschool, which had been started by four local women on their own initiative.

“They saw the need for early education in their township and banded together to form the school in an old house,” says Cieslik. “I was completely humbled by these women. They were bettering the lives of children and doing so for no pay and with sparse resources.”

Cieslik, who is a Community Scholar, came to Wheaton with a budding interest in teaching and soon “fell in love with the ‘community feel’ in the Education Department. I felt very supported by my professors and classmates.” She decided on a psychology major and a minor in elementary education.

She began “thinking globally” as early as grade school, attending the Madison (Wisconsin) Country Day School. The school drew its curriculum from around the world, depending on where student achievement was highest. That meant a math program from Singapore, a science program from Japan and a music theory curriculum from Great Britain.

In applying for a Fulbright teaching assistantship, Cieslik chose Malaysia because she had never visited an Asian country and wanted to broaden her global experience. “I wanted to challenge myself by teaching and living in a culture that’s totally different from my own,” she says. “I am excited to learn more about how the Malaysian education system works and to learn new approaches and ways of thinking about education.”

After her year in Malaysia, Cieslik wants to return to the States and teach in an urban school for a few years, then pursue a master’s degree in education. It’s all part of her quest to be the best teacher she can for the students with the greatest needs.

“The public education system can be used to make a huge difference in students’ lives,” she says. “As teachers, we must be advocates for our students’ needs and rights, and I fear that sometimes students in low-income schools are not fought for to the extent they should be. I want to make a difference, and I have chosen education as the path that will help me make our world a better and happier place to live.”

Franklin-Hodge is a founding partner and the chief technology officer at Blue State Digital, an online communications and marketing agency that is best known for its work on President Barack Obama’s 2008 and 2012 campaigns. In addition to working on the Obama presidential campaigns, Blue State Digital has worked for clients ranging from the USA Bid Committee, an organization lobbying for the World Cup to be held in the U.S. in 2018 or 2022, to Dilma Rousseff, the first female president of Brazil.

Through presentations by high-profile speakers, TechPaths aims to explore the relationship between a career in technology and a liberal arts education. Additionally, the speakers will share information about how liberal arts students can broaden their skill set and learn about technology outside the classroom.

With his impressive résumé, Franklin-Hodge was the perfect choice to be the inaugural TechPaths speaker last Monday, April 1, says Peter Coco, LIS’s Humanities liaison. “Here's a guy making digital tools that spur social action. His work is innovative, but more importantly, it's impactful, and it manifests a lot of the values that resonate with the liberal arts. This is about democracy; citizenship; the role and responsibilities of both the individual and the many. It's in dialog with some of the big questions we ask in the liberal arts.”

During his lecture, Franklin-Hodge focused on the importance of data optimization and authenticity in digital communications. Optimization was Franklin-Hodge’s mantra during the Obama campaign, and he explained to students how every digital step taken during the campaign was continually evaluated and adjusted to increase effectiveness. For example, an online donation page was modified to allow donors to save their payment information, making later donations more convenient and more likely in the future.

He also stressed that great content is what makes digital interaction effective, and that without it, all the data in the world won’t help a business or political candidate.

After the presentation, students asked Franklin-Hodge questions that covered a wide range of topics—from the ethics of digital information gathering to the specific Internet platforms used to build the Obama digital campaign.

The TechPaths lecture series will continue next semester with speaker Daniel Albanese, the mastermind behind a growing digital archive of New York City’s street art. Coco hopes to partner with student groups in planning future speakers.

The TechPath series advisory group includes professors Tom Armstrong, Lisa Lebduska, Josh Stenger and M. Gabriela Torres. Faculty are invited to consider linking TechPath lectures to courses related to technology or the speaker’s larger field, notes Coco.

—Brian Jencunas ’14

Formed in 1980, the trio has performed widely in the U.S. and Europe, with a repertoire spanning musical styles from classical to contemporary. With Klemperer and Back based in Europe and Crutcher living and working in Massachusetts, the three musicians juggle a challenging transatlantic schedule of rehearsals and performances.

For their Wheaton performance, to take place at 8 p.m. in Cole Memorial Chapel, the trio will play Trio No. 1 in c minor, op. 8, by Dimitri Shostakovich, Beethoven’s Trio in D Major, op. 70, No. 1 (“Ghost”), and Trio in d minor, op. 32, by the 19th century composer Anton Arensky. The concert is free and open to the public.

Erika Klemperer received her master’s degree from Sarah Lawrence College where, as a teaching fellow, she studied with Dorothy Delay. She was awarded a full scholarship to Aspen Music Festival and was also invited to partici­pate in the Teton Music Festival. At the invitation of Yehudi Menuhin, Klemperer continued her post-graduate studies in London, also studying with Yfrah Neaman. She became a faculty member at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and a principal member of the City of London Sinfonia and the London Mozart Players. She later developed an in­terest in psychodynamic psychotherapy and now leads a busy schedule that combines teach­ing, performing and counseling.

A national leader in higher education, Ronald Crutcher has been president of Wheaton College since 2004. Under his leadership, the college has undertaken the most ambitious capital campaign in its 178-year history, scheduled to conclude in 2014. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Miami University in Ohio and pursued graduate studies at Yale University as a Woodrow Wilson and Ford Foundation Fellow. In 1979, he was the first cellist to receive the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Yale. The recipient of a Fulbright Award, he is fluent in German and studied at the University of Bonn and the Frankfurt State Academy of Music.

Gordon Back’s distin­guished career as a pianist has taken him all over the world, performing and recording with artists such as Menuhin, Milstein, Vengerov, Rosand, Suk, Kavakos and the Cleveland Quartet. He was one of the youngest professors ever to join the faculty of the Guildhall School of Music, in 1974. He gives regular master classes as a guest professor and in the summer teaches in France and Norway. Back also serves as artistic director of the Menuhin International Violin Competition, held in Cardiff (2008), Oslo (2010) and Beijing (2012) and scheduled for Austin, Texas, in 2014.

Professor Alireza Shomali

Middle East Awareness Week was founded by newly tenured Professor of Political Science Alireza Shomali. Shomali and the Middle East Awareness Club, headed by Eric Stone ’14, chose the events for this year’s celebration, which will aim to educate the Wheaton community about the Middle East and erase misconceptions toward the region.

“We feel that the Middle East is both a vitally important and terribly understood region today,” Stone said. “It plays a huge role in many of our lives, and yet most people know little more than what they see on TV about the wars and terrorism that stems from the region. What we hope to do is to shed a little light on the people and the politics of the region and hopefully encourage some people to learn even more.”

On April 2, professor, author and lecturer Nathan Brown will deliver a presentation titled "The Arab Spring: The Future of the Egyptian Revolution." The keynote event of Middle East Awareness Week, Brown’s lecture (7 p.m. in the Woolley Room, Mary Lyon Hall) will explore the importance of understanding the changing sociopolitical landscape in Egypt and, broadly, the Middle East.

“The U.S. has found itself fighting several wars in the Middle East; it has also a host of security and economic interests in the region,” said Brown, "but the Middle East the United States is used to dealing with has begun to change in some fundamental ways. We cannot really dictate the course of that change, but we will find ourselves forced to react to it.”

Nathan Brown is a professor of political science and international affairs at George Washington University, where he has earned the reputation as one of the world’s leading scholars on Middle East politics. He has published eight books, with a ninth, Constitutionalism, The Rule of Law and The Politics of Administration in Egypt and Iran, scheduled for release this year. A two-time Fulbright grant winner, he received his Ph.D. from Princeton University.

Brown has visited Wheaton before and says he is looking forward to coming again.

“George Washington University offers many wonderful things to its students, but a strong sense of community is not one of them,” Brown said. “Wheaton seemed cozy and quite warm by comparison.”

The awareness week will also feature a Middle Eastern dinner followed by a lecture on the Syrian conflict by Tufts University professor Ethan Corbin (April 1), a belly dancing and live music showcase (April 5), a showing of the independent film “Amreeka” co-sponsored by BACCHUS (April 6), and more. For details, visit Wheaton's online calendar.

--Alex Cilley '14

After graduation, the Wheaton senior will be joining a nonprofit organization working with the community of Cuispes to develop the trails and other amenities needed for tourists to trek to the Yumbilla waterfall in northern Peru.

Skaltsis has been awarded a $10,000 Davis Projects for Peace grant to purchase materials and skilled labor needed to complete the trail, a native plant nursery and a lodge to enable two-day treks through the region's pristine cloud forest environment.

"Not only will my project positively affect the Cuispans who directly benefit from the trail, the entrance fee and part of the lodge revenue will be considered communal money to be used for a variety of purposes," Skaltsis said.

Now in its sixth year, Davis Projects for Peace is an invitation to undergraduates at the American colleges and universities in the Davis United World College Scholars Program to design grassroots projects that promote peace. It is made possible by Kathryn Wasserman Davis, an accomplished internationalist and philanthropist who received an honorary degree from Wheaton in 2008. She is the mother of Diana Davis Spencer '60, a writer, activist and a trustee emerita of the college.

A dozen Wheaton students have won Projects for Peace awards since the program was launched in 2008. Past projects have included establishing a tutoring program in Namibia, founding a micro-finance initiative in Cambodia and help Ugandan residents build fuel-efficient stoves.

For Skaltsis, the project represents an opportunity to return to Cuispes, where she spent two months last summer, working on the trail and teaching in the village school as a volunteer with the Amazon Waterfalls Association (AWA).

"I have been deeply touched by the passion and conviction of the Cuispian people," she said. "It was clear to me that the whole town believed in this project; individuals with skills in gardening offered time in the nursery, carpenters offered to help design the tambos (rest stops), women brought us lunch on hot days."

Her dedication to the project led the founders of the AWA to offer her a position as the volunteer coordinator for the work, and she has been organizing the next phase of efforts while back on the Wheaton campus.

A Massachusetts native, Skaltsis said she came to college with the desire to see more of the world, particularly South America, influencing her decision to major in International Relations and Hispanic Studies as well as minor in Environmental Studies.

The Cuispes project culminates her undergraduate career, she said. For an independent study, she focused on the ideology of development in emerging areas, particularly in South America. "I have done some serious soul-searching about the difference between standing for people and standing with people," she said. Her aspiration is to facilitate development that people desire, rather than impose projects on a community.

"I want to stand with these people to harness all of the talents they possess and achieve a dream we share: the completion of an amazing eco-trek spanning seven waterfalls."

Ray Jackendoff, an internationally renowned scholar of linguistics and researcher of cognitive science, will provide some answers during his lecture “Language, Meaning and Rational Thought” on Thursday, April 4, at 5 p.m. in Hindle Auditorium. This lecture is part of Wheaton's Norman W. Johnson series.

Jackendoff, a professor of philosophy at Tuffs University, studies the connections between language and consciousness. The lecture, based on his recent book, A User’s Guide to Thought and Meaning (Oxford University Press, 2012), will explore the experience of human thought as inner speech.

“Language transcends departmental and divisional boundaries,” says Assistant Professor of Computer Science Tom Armstrong, who assisted in selecting Jackendoff as a speaker for the series. “This lecture will resonate with a diverse audience. From Psychology and Anthropology to Russian and Film and New Media Studies, all majors will have an opportunity to engage with new thinking about language from an expert whose scholarship is necessarily interdisciplinary.”

A student of Noam Chomsky, the cognitive scientist who is often called “the father of modern linguistics,” Jackendoff received his Ph.D. in linguistics from M.I.T. in 1969. Jackendoff developed the theory of Conceptual Semantics, a framework semantic analysis. Semantics is the study of meaning: the relationship between signifiers like words or symbols, and the meaning that they represent.

Currently co-director of the Center for Cognitive Studies at Tufts University, the scholar has been president of both the Linguistic Society of America and the Society for Philosophy and Psychology. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, of the Linguistic Society of America, and of the Cognitive Science Society.

The Norman W. Johnson lecture series is supported by the Norman W. Johnson Endowed Fund in Mathematics and Computer Science. Johnson, Professor Emeritus of Mathematics, discovered a family of geometric figures now known as the Johnson solids, and helped to develop Wheaton College’s first courses in computer science. Since 2000, the fund has supported nine lectures in appreciation of mathematics and computing. Most recently, in 2008, the series included a lecture on symmetry by Professor Johnson himself.

—Elizabeth Meyer '14

Ricardo Romo, the president of the University of Texas at San Antonio, will receive the college's award for promoting social justice through education and public service. The award will be presented at 7:30 p.m. in the Holman Room, Mary Lyon Hall, and will be followed with a lecture by Romo. The award and lecture, titled "The Latino Bridge to the Civil Rights Movement," will be free and open to the public.

Romo began his tenure as president of the University of Texas at San Antonio in 1999, and he has led a dramatic expansion of the school's programs and its capacity to serve students. Student enrollment has risen by 68 percent. The university has added numerous programs and facilities to enhance student life and expand its research capacity. The institution was named one of the state's emerging research universities by the Texas Legislature.

Romo has received numerous awards and recognitions for his service to the university and the community. In 2011, Romo was presented the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) Chief Executive Leadership Award for transforming UTSA from a regional campus into an emerging Tier One research university. In February 2012, Romo received the Colonel W.T. Bondurant Sr. Distinguished Humanitarian Award from the San Antonio Academy of Texas Alumni Council.

A nationally respected urban historian, Romo's scholarship has helped to uncover the history of Mexican-Americans and their role in the development of the U.S. His area of interest reflects his background as the grandson of Mexicans who emigrated to Texas in search of a better life.

“I became a history teacher because in college I discovered the history that I was going to learn had nothing to do with the unofficial history that I had learned as a child,” said Romo in a public television interview about his work. “I was learning history with very little connection to my community and my family."

East Los Angeles: History of a Barrio, Romo’s best-known book, tells the story of the settlement of Mexican immigrants in Los Angeles early in the 20th century and their contributions to southern California's cultural and economic development. He also is the author of numerous journal articles and reviews, and he is the co-editor of the book, New Directions in Chicano Studies.

Romo began his academic career teaching social studies in Los Angeles. He went on to teach at the University of California at San Diego and the University of Texas at Austin. He was a visiting professor at University of California, Berkeley in 1985 and visiting scholar with the Stanford University Center for Advanced Studies in Behavioral Sciences.

A San Antonio native who grew up on the city's West Side, Romo graduated from Fox Tech High School before attending the University of Texas at Austin on a track scholarship. At UT Austin, he was the first Texan to run the mile in less than four minutes, a record that lasted 41 years. He earned a bachelor’s degree in education from UT Austin, a master’s degree in history from Loyola Marymount University and a Ph.D. in history from the University of California, Los Angeles.

The Otis Social Justice lecture series was established in 1959 through the generosity of Henry Witte Otis, whose children included two Wheaton graduates. Eleanor Roosevelt was among the earliest Otis lecturers (1962). Today, the purpose of the Otis Fund has broadened to support a colloquium in social justice--a forum through which the Wheaton community may address key contemporary social issues. The first Otis Social Justice Award was presented in 1990 to former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop.

But after attending an hour-long panel at Wheaton in which four medical doctors talked about their work, Hall said he was struck by the similarities between talents required of both doctors and lawyers.

“The ability to conduct an interview, ask questions, listen closely and build a relationship of trust with a patient or client applies to being an attorney, too,” he said. “There’s a real cross-application of skills.”

Hall arrived at his observation at the conclusion of Practicing Medicine and Practicing the Humanities, the inaugural event sponsored by the Wheaton Institute for Interdisciplinary Humanities (WIIH).

The purpose of the institute’s debut programs is to shed light on the ways in which the study of the arts and humanities builds skills and habits of mind that contribute to professional success in many fields.

Professor Touba Ghadessi, a co-founder of the institute, described the mission of the event as an exploration into how the arts and humanities come together in facilitating a successful professional life.

The physicians who participated in the panel described a number of ways in which their humanities study helps them every day.

“There is an art involved in eliciting a patient’s narrative,” said general internist Melissa DiPetrillo, M.D., an assistant professor of medicine at Boston University’s School of Medicine.

Angela Leung, M.D., who specializes in research at BU’s medical school and practices medicine at a clinic in Quincy, noted that part of the challenge in understanding patients lies in “trying to figure out where people are culturally.” In some cases, she says, the root cause of a complaint may be emotional rather than physiological. “I try to get to the heart of what’s really going on with the person. Some of the stories are amazing.”

The doctors’ comments not only demonstrated the ways in which humanities and the arts inform disparate professional fields, but also illustrated that art happens in everyday life, said Adrianne Madden ‘14, a double major in art history and studio art. “Creating art does not necessarily mean that you are producing a painting, drawing or sculpture.”

A painter and photographer in his spare time, Cheng-Chieh Chuang, M.D. described the similarities between the artistic process and the practice of medicine.

“As a painter you need to investigate your subject before you start the creative process,” said Chuang, a family practitioner who practices medicine in Raynham, Mass. “As physicians, if we conduct a good examination and we are creative in using the tools of medicine, we create a masterpiece in healthy lives.”

Launched in 2007, the program has grown each year. The popular event offers second-year students the opportunity to explore various career fields, from business to science to arts administration, and to pick up tips for effective job searching. By investigating their career options early, students are better positioned to make smart choices as they progress through the second half of their Wheaton education and plan for their futures.

This year's plenary speakers were Trish Clark Ryan '91, lawyer-turned-author (A Maze of Grace), and Patrick B. Summers '94, executive director of the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference. The speakers talked about the preparation they gained from their Wheaton education and shared their personal career insights with the captivated crowd. Roundtable discussions and Q&A sessions with other alums, faculty and staff members informed students of the many campus resources available to them as they explore career options.

The trustees voted on Saturday, Feb. 23 after receiving positive recommendations from the Tenure Committee, chaired by Professor of Political Science Darlene Boroviak.

"The distinctive value of a Wheaton education begins with outstanding faculty," Board Chair Thomas Hollister said after the trustees' unanimous vote. "I speak for the entire Board in saying that these eight professors exemplify the power of exceptional teaching, scholarship and collaboration.

"We are very appreciative for all that they have done for our students so far, and we are looking forward to all that they will do in the years ahead. They represent Wheaton's future."

The eight professors granted tenure are:

M. Thandi Buthelezi, assistant professor of chemistry, studies host/guest molecule interactions that shed light on structure and function which are ubiquitous in biological systems. Her current research is supported by National Science Foundation grants that include funds for student research assistants. She studied at Williams College as an undergraduate and completed doctoral studies at the University of Florida, Gainesville.

Dolita Cathcart, assistant professor of history, specializes in late 19th and early 20th century African American Women's political and social participation. She teaches U.S. history with special attention to issues of race, class, gender and identity. Cathcart attended Harvard-Radcliffe Colleges as an undergraduate, earned an M.A. from the University of Massachusetts, Boston; and completed doctoral studies at Boston College.

M. Teresa Celada, assistant professor of philosophy, teaches ethics, medical ethics and the philosophy of science. She is a scholar on the ethics of international collaborative research with human participants and she guest lectures to research groups around the world. She earned her undergraduate degree at Mt. Holyoke College and earned her master's and doctoral degrees from Brown University. 

Phoebe Chan, assistant professor of economics, examines the industrial organization of and intellectual property rights issues in the agricultural  biotechnology industry. She also teaches health economics, a cornerstone in the college's public health minor. She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and her master's and doctoral degrees from Stanford University.

Matthew Evans, assistant professor of chemistry and geology, is a geochemist interested in understanding the interaction between water and rocks at the surface and near-surface of the Earth. His research is funded by National Science Foundation and NASA grants that include funds for student research assistants. Evans earned his undergraduate degree from Middlebury College and his master's and doctoral degrees from Cornell University. 

Touba Ghadessi, assistant professor of art history, is a scholar of Renaissance art with specialties in visual depictions of marginal figures, Renaissance court culture and the history of anatomy. She co-organized the 2011 New England Renaissance Conference and is co-founder of the Wheaton Institute for Interdisciplinary Humanities. She earned her undergraduate degree at Trinity University  and her master's and doctoral degrees from Northwestern University.

Alireza Shomali, assistant professor of political science, studies comparative political theory (Western and Islamic) and the interplay of Middle Eastern politics and religion. He earned his undergraduate degree at the Polytechnic University of Tehran; a master's degree in Sharif University of Technology and his doctoral degree from the Maxwell School of Citizenship, Syracuse University.

M. Gabriela Torres, assistant professor of anthropology and coordinator of the Latin American and Latino/a Studies Program, is a specialist in the anthropology of violence and the state, with research experience in the study of gender, memory and migration. Her current research focuses on the role that Guatemalan print media played in the promotion of gendered state violence. She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of British Columbia, a master's degree from the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences, Quito, Ecuador; and her doctoral degree from York University.

On Feb. 27, Wheaton will launch an art exhibition that reflects on the boundaries of drawing. The 2013 Wheaton Biennial, titled “Drawing Out of Bounds,” features 54 works by 54 artists from across the U.S. and France. The works represent a diverse range of experimental work by today's artists.

A biennial is a major exhibition of contemporary art that takes place every other year. The tradition began with the Biennale di Venezia, which was launched in Venice in 1895 and is still being held.

For Wheaton’s inaugural biennial, the work was selected by juror Judith Tannebaum, the Richard Brown Baker Curator of Contemporary Art at the RISD Museum of Art. Tannenbaum has organized numerous exhibitions focusing on painting, sculpture, video and interdisciplinary work. She will deliver a public talk in the galleries on March 20 at 6 p.m.

The exhibition showcases sculpture, photography, video, painting, fiber arts, printmaking, collage and traditional drawing using nontraditional tools or processes. The work also varies in content, from the sublime to the serious to the purely aesthetic.

Resa Blatman’s (Boston) wall sculpture “Tangled,” constructed from laser-cut PVC, evokes an overgrown habitat whose fauna have been forced to the outskirts. Michael Ryan (Brooklyn) sources a class photograph for his wall-sized, mixed-media work “Bedford Hills School GR-8F.” Angie Zeilinski (Tuscon) uses thread in black and red as her drawing tool, stitching the tiny, semi-abstract “Up and Over.” And Rachelle Beaudoin (Peterborough, N.H.) offers the humorous video “5-Hour Energy Drawing,” in which she films herself drinking an energy elixir that launches a creative frenzy of drawing.

The show runs Feb. 27 through April 13 in Wheaton’s Beard and Weil Galleries. For a list of participating artists, visit the exhibition website.

Gertner was appointed to the federal bench of the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts by President Bill Clinton in 1994. She retired from the bench in 2011 and now is a professor of practice at Harvard Law School, a position given to outstanding individuals whose teaching is informed by extensive expertise in law practice, the judiciary, policy and governance. She also taught at the Yale Law School while a judge.

Named one of “The Most Influential Lawyers of the Past 25 Years” by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, Judge Gertner has written and spoken throughout the U.S., Europe and Asia. She has published widely on sentencing, discrimination, and forensic evidence; women’s rights; and the jury system. Her autobiography, In Defense of Women: Memoirs of an Unrepentant Advocate, was published in 2011.

She is a graduate of Barnard College, Columbia University, and holds an M.A. and J.D. from Yale University. She has received numerous awards, including the Massachusetts Bar Association’s Hennessey Award for judicial excellence in 2011; the Morton A. Brody Distinguished Judicial Service Award from Colby College in 2010; the National Association of Women Lawyers’ highest honor, the Arabella Babb Mansfield Award, in 2011, and, in 2008, the Thurgood Marshall Award from the American Bar Association, Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities, which recognized her contributions to advancing human rights and civil liberties.

Her other awards include: the Judicial Excellence Award, Federal Bar Association, 2008; Charles P. Kindregan Award, Suffolk University Law School, 2007; a Judicial Excellence citation from the Boston Bar Association, 2006; and the Judge Toomey Judicial Excellence Award, 2005.

Adding to the list, Gertner will receive an honorary degree at Commencement, as will two of Wheaton’s distinguished alumnae, Patricia Flaherty ’83, senior project manager for Mission Hill Neighborhood Housing Services, a community-based nonprofit housing and economic development organization, and Diane Leshefsky Troderman ’63, a noted philanthropist in education and Jewish culture.

Flaherty is a community activist and organizer, who personally advocates for community development that benefits low-income families in the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston. She also serves on the community advisory board of Boston Children’s Hospital. In 2012, she received the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women Unsung Heroine Award.And, in 2010, she received the Boston Neighborhood Fellows Award from the Philanthropic Initiative.

Troderman, who has an M.B.A. from American International College, served on the President’s Commission at Wheaton from 1990–2002 and was a class fund agent in 2012. She has held numerous leadership roles in the Jewish community on local, national and international levels. In addition to her passionate interest in Jewish education, she has worked actively on women’s issues and in the renaissance and renewal of Jewish life throughout the world, especially in the former Soviet Union.

Among her local philanthropic interests is the development of the Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts, an organization that helps women meet their educational and business goals. Additionally, she was the first chair of the International Research Institute on Jewish Women (now known as the Hadassah-Brandeis Institute), whose mission it is to develop fresh ways of thinking about Jews and gender worldwide. She also is on the leadership council of Harvard Divinity School’s Women’s Studies in Religion program.

He is a philosopher who manages to keep his feet planted in both worlds and often brings the two disciplines together as he makes connections between scientific evidence and philosophical examination.

On Wednesday, February 20, at 5:30 p.m., he will bring his creative sense of inquiry to Wheaton during his lecture in the Holman Room in Mary Lyon Hall.

Gimbel, chair of the philosophy department at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania, is the author of Einstein’s Jewish Science: Physics at the Intersection of Politics and Religion (Johns Hopkins University Press, April 10, 2012). The book not only provides an analysis of Albert Einstein’s philosophy of science but also inquires about whether the influence of politics and religion alters the construction of scientific questions and the dissemination of scientific answers.

The scholar’s lecture on the multifaceted book fits perfectly with Wheaton’s focus on interdisciplinary study, noted Associate Professor of Philosophy John Partridge, who invited Gimbel to speak. The two became acquainted when they were both students at John Hopkins University.

“Professor Gimbel's book is fascinating,” said Partridge. “From the standpoint of our curriculum, his talk is all about ‘Connections.’ The fact that it also examines Einstein's Jewish identity and the Nazi dismissal of his work as ‘Jewish science’ also taps into the infusion part of our curriculum.”

The book was a finalist for two awards, the Gerrard and Ella Berman Memorial Award and 2012 National Jewish Book Award. It also recently received favorable reviews in the New York Times and other publications. According to New York Times reviewer George Johnson, “Gimbel is an engaging writer. In demonstrating the obvious, he takes readers on enlightening excursions through the nature of Judaism, Hegelian philosophy, wherever his curiosity leads.”

Gimbel’s non-academic interests illustrate just how many different places his curiosity has taken him. For example, he edited The Grateful Dead and Philosophy: Getting High Minded about Love and Haight (Popular Culture and Philosophy). He also has written about the philosophy of humor in light of his experiences as an amateur stand-up comedian.

He double majored in physics and philosophy as an undergraduate at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. He later went on to receive a master’s degree and Ph.D. in philosophy at John Hopkins University.

A recipient of the best professor award, he holds the position of Edwin T. Johnson and Cynthia Shearer Johnson Chair for Distinguished Teaching in the Humanities. His courses list includes “Einstein in Wonderland: Physics, Philosophy and Other Nonsense, “Bad Science, Wrong Science and Pseudo-science,” and “From Aristotle to Einstein: Philosophical Revolutions in the History of Space.”

Partridge invited him to Wheaton after learning Gimbel was looking for opportunities to give talks about his book. As vice president of Phi Beta Kappa, Partridge helps coordinate visiting speakers and other events. Phil Beta Kappa is sponsoring Gimbel’s lecture, in partnership with the Physics Club, Philosophy Club, Hillel, and the Office of Service, Spirituality, and Social Responsibility.

Winter Storm Nemo passes the Wheaton College campus on the weekend of Feb. 8-10. This video shows a time-lapse view of the Dimple throughout the storm.

The series—Thought Leaders: An Ongoing Conversation on the Future of the Liberal Arts—begins on Friday, March 22, with a workshop for a group of Wheaton faculty conducted by Jose Bowen, dean of Meadows College at Southern Methodist University.

The events planned for this spring explore national issues with particular relevance for the college. Additional lectures and discussions will be planned for the 2013-2014 school year.

“My goal for the Thought Leaders series is to begin a discussion about Wheaton’s future, preserving what we value about our institution and positioning us for long-term success,” said Wheaton College President Ronald A. Crutcher.

“Wheaton’s culture and curriculum is distinctive, but we share a great deal in common with other liberal arts colleges,” said Crutcher. “At a time when the public is questioning the value of higher education, the institutions committed to the liberal arts must become better at demonstrating the personal, practical and long-term benefits of the rigorous and flexible education we offer students.”

To start, during a two-hour workshop with a faculty working group, Jose Bowen will share his thoughts on how to engage students with mobile and web technology in a way that creates active learning environments. He is the author of the book Teaching Naked: How Moving Technology Out of Your College Classroom Will Improve Student Learning.

He has been dean of the Meadows School of the Arts, Algur H. Meadows Chair and Professor of Music at Southern Methodist University since 2006. His teaching career began at Stanford University in 1982, as the Director of Jazz Ensembles. In 1994, he became the Founding Director of the Centre for the History and Analysis of Recorded Music at the University of Southampton, England. He returned to the U.S. in 1999 as the first holder of the endowed Caestecker Chair of Music in the new Program in the Performing Arts at Georgetown University. He was then Dean of Fine Arts and Professor of Music at Miami University before moving to SMU in Dallas.

Bowen has written more than 100 scholarly articles in many journals, including the Journal of Musicology, and in books from Oxford and Princeton university presses. He is also the editor of the Cambridge Companion to Conducting (Cambridge University Press, 2003), and he received a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship.

Lecturers scheduled to visit campus this semester include:

• Skidmore President Phil Glotzbach, who will participate in a panel discussion with President Crutcher and others on the future of the liberal arts. The event will take place on Monday, April 8.
• Carol Geary Schneider, president of the Association of American Colleges and Universities, who will discuss faculty leadership in achieving an integrative learning environment for students. The lecture will take place on Thursday, April 18.
• Rebecca Chopp, president of Swarthmore College. Her lecture will be scheduled for the fall semester.
  

The textiles, paintings, historical documents, sculptures, books and other objects in the show weave a rich narrative of Wheaton’s first century as a four-year college. “100 Years, 100 Objects” investigates the stories associated with the objects, exploring their creators, donors, or the histories tied to the objects themselves. Wheaton was founded in 1834 as a female seminary, that is, a post-secondary school for young women. It was chartered as a college in 1912.

The exhibition was curated and installed by students in “Exhibition Design,” an art history course taught in fall 2012 by Assistant Professor Leah Niederstadt and College Archivist Zeph Stickney. Students researched and selected the objects for the show, authored labels and wall text for visitors, designed the exhibition layout, and physically installed the show.

These two have a romantic story to tell about Priscilla King Gray '55 and her husband Paul Gray, who served as chairman of Wheaton's Board of Trustees.

The objects they chose range from works by renowned artists such as Alexander Calder and Wassily Kandinsky to humble memorabilia such as handwritten diaries and a pair of stuffed Humpty Dumpty dolls. The students also incorporated digital media into the project—creating podcasts and an online catalogue. Gallery visitors can access the podcasts by smartphone.

“We want students to realize both the variety and the amount of planning and work required to mount a professional exhibition,” said Niederstadt. “This course enables them to do so, while gaining a deeper understanding of Wheaton’s history and of the many meanings objects hold.”

"Little Blue Oval," 1944, by Alexander Calder. Bequest of Monawee Allen Richards '34.

Senior Christina Cannon found the project invaluable. “Planning every little detail of an exhibition gives you a new perspective on museums altogether,” she said. “You can only learn so much from readings and lectures. What I really enjoyed about the class was the hands-on experience.”

“100 Years, 100 Objects” is on display in the Beard and Weil Galleries, Watson Fine Arts, through February 15, 2013. Gallery hours are 12:30-4:30 p.m., Monday through Saturday.

The latter effort has put them in the running for an award from the NCAA. Most recently, the Wheaton women worked this semester with the eighth grade girls’ basketball team from Norton Middle School, helping them grow athletically and personally.

The Lyons began their collaboration with the middle school team by hosting weekly basketball clinics throughout September. Beyond sharpening the girls’ skills on the court, the clinics were also designed as a sisterly mentoring program.

“Every week, one of our players had a buddy,” coach Melissa Hodgdon explained. “Each person had to set an athletic goal, an academic goal, and a lifestyle goal. It was neat to get insight on the commonality between the two groups, even though there’s an age gap.”

Hodgdon said that by the end of the month, many of the girls and women became close and have since kept in touch. Co-captain Gabby Barbera ’13 chronicled the clinics on her team blog and reflected, “The outcome was very rewarding—seeing the kids gradually grow into not only better basketball players, but members of society as well.”

On Nov. 17, the Norton girls returned to campus to attend the Cheryl Warren-Powers '95 Memorial Tournament and cheer on the team.

Four years ago, Hodgdon and the women’s team worked with the same group of girls, and Hodgdon has kept in touch.

"Some of the girls come to our games often," she said. "It's really special when I look up in the stands and one of them waves, or when one says hello as we run through the tunnel. We've gone to some of their games as well. We do pizza parties and things like that too. So we’ve followed them through the last four years.”

Aside from the personal connection Hodgdon shares with the Norton team, she also recognizes the importance of connecting with the town of Norton and fostering positive relations between the college and its surrounding community.

“I’ve always thought that a college isn’t the community, it’s part of the community,” Hodgdon said. “Our outreach benefits our basketball team as much as it benefits the town of Norton.”

The women’s basketball is known for its long-standing tradition of service, which Hodgdon has fostered since she became coach in 2003. This year, the team is participating in a holiday canned food drive and a fundraiser for adult special education students. Their four-year affiliation with the Special Olympics team has given rise to close friendships. They have also worked with foundations such as the DJ Dream Fund, a nonprofit organization designed to help young people through athletics and wellness programs.

Community service "has always been an integral part of our program," the coach said. “I just feel like character is a big part of your growth as a student and a student athlete. Giving back to the community is a big piece of that.”

--Alex Cilley '14

After taking an initial lead in the contest, the Lyons have fallen behind and are hoping for a boost of support. Votes may be cast through December 25 at: www.ncaa.org/D3SpecialOlympics.