Wheaton College Norton, Massachusetts
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News anchor becomes the news

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Ann Curry in the newsIt would be easier to name the media outlets that didn’t make note of NBC “Today” show anchor Ann Curry’s Commencement gaffe.

The fact that she named graduates from the “other” Wheaton College during our big day went viral just hours after the fact, starting with Twitter and Facebook.

And it was covered by just about everyone, including the Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, Huffington Post, and U.S. News & World Report.

By the end of the week of merriment at her expense, Curry (who sent a letter of apology to the Wheaton community) recovered and poked fun at her own mistake on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.”

She redeemed herself by giving us a national shout-out and naming some of our own famous graduates. Her words of advice for avoiding such mishaps? “Never Google drunk,” she jokingly told the audience.

The good news is that everyone now knows exactly where we are located.

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Baltimore Sun publishes student/faculty essay

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Technology and communications experts heralded the arrival of the iPad with predictions that it would change Americans’ mobile computing and media habits.

One of the first things that Dana Payes ’10 noticed was its embrace of children’s literature. (Every iPad comes pre-installed with a copy of A.A. Milne’s kiddie classic Winnie the Pooh.)

Payes, an English major, sees Apple’s embrace of children as a clever marketing ploy, but she also believes that no e-reader, whatever its strengths, can replace a paper book.

She wrote a short essay on the subject with the help of her advisor, Professor of English Paula Krebs. The Baltimore Sun published it in April. The pair lauded the iPad’s promise as a means for encouraging reading activities between child and parent, but they wrote:

“We can share technology with our kids. But let’s not mistake reading a book on an iPad for reading a book. Reading an electronic version of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People on a train is not the same thing as reading an iPad bedtime story with your kids.”

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Goodman, dog in spotlight

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Jay Goodman and MaxMeet Jay Goodman and Max Berson-Goodman.

Jay is a professor of political science now celebrating his 45th year of teaching at the college. Enrollment in his courses fills one of the college’s largest lecture halls; alums recall his classes with delight.

Max has achieved his own measure of fame as a canine ambassador for Wheaton. (His name has been invoked by applicants for admission.)

Now the pair has received some welldeserved attention in their home city. Providence Journal columnist Mark Patinkin penned a wry piece about the similarities between Max and Jay.

Similarities? “They shared the same slow gait, relaxed air, and then there was the similarity in styling,” Patinkin wrote. “Each had great clouds of white hair. When the wind blew, their manes ruffled the same way. I have long felt that many dog owners look like their dogs, but I have seldom seen a better example than Jay and Max.”

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Green guide lists Wheaton for sustainability efforts

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Guide to Green CollegesWheaton is one of 286 U.S. colleges and universities highlighted in the Princeton Review’s Guide to 286 Green Colleges. The guidebook, which was created in partnership with the U.S. Green Building Council, lists colleges that have “demonstrated an exemplary commitment to sustainability.”

Schools are selected for inclusion in the guide based on how well they perform in three major areas, including: whether the students have a healthy and sustainable campus life; how well a school is preparing its students for green jobs and for citizenship in a world defined by environmental concerns and opportunities; and how environmentally responsible a school’s policies are.

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