Elizabethtown College News 
Back to top 1/31/2008 Nobel Peace Prize-winning glaciologist to discuss climate change A Pennsylvania State University glaciologist who was a member of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which shared the  2007 Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore, will discuss climate change at Elizabethtown College.Richard Alley will present “Greenland’s Ice Cores, Abrupt Climate Change and Our Future” at 11 a.m., Feb. 13, in Leffler Chapel and Performance Center. Alley’s talk, part of the part of the College’s Mellon International Faculty Seminar Symposium, is open to the public free of charge. Alley is Evan Pugh Professor of Geosciences and associate of the Earth System Science Center at Pennsylvania State University. He teaches, and conducts research on the climatic records, flow behavior and sedimentary deposits of large ice sheets to aid in prediction of future changes in climate and sea level. His experience includes three field seasons in Antarctica, eight in Greenland and three in Alaska. Alley’s popular book, “The Two-Mile Time Machine,” was chosen science book of the year by Phi Beta Kappa in 2001. In it, he tells the fascinating history of global climate changes as revealed by reading the annual rings of ice from cores drilled in Greenland. In the 1990s, he and his colleagues made headlines with the discovery that the last ice age came to an abrupt end over a period of only three years. Alley’s book offers the first popular account of the wildly fluctuating climate that characterized most of prehistory -- long deep freezes alternating briefly with mild conditions -- and explains that humans have experienced an unusually temperate climate. Back to top 1/28/2008 Campus group works on hurricane recovery in Mississippi For the second year, Elizabethtown College’s Center for Global Citizenship sent campus community members to D’Iberville, Mississippi, over  winter break to contribute to Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts. Work performed included painting, installing floors and windows, insulating, cleaning up yards and cutting down trees, and providing assistance in the camp that lodged volunteers.The 43-member group logged 1935 hours and accumulated $34,830 in service hours that the city’s citizens will not have to repay the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Director of Service Learning and Civic Programs Nancy Valkenburg '71, who led the group, received certificates of appreciation from the mayor of the city and from the D’Iberville Volunteers Foundation. The trip was again coordinated by Lend a Hand (www.lendahandmissions.com), a Camp Hill-based organization that provides reliable transportation, labor, housing and meals for volunteers who want to help. Back to top 1/28/2008 Young Center earns NEH challenge grant Elizabethtown College’s Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies has surpassed a $2-million fundraising goal to receive a National  Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) challenge grant of $500,000. The NEH challenge grant - one of only 17 grants awarded nationwide in 2004 - was designed to strengthen the Young Center’s program and scholarship and solidify its standing as the nation’s only research institute for Anabaptist and Pietist groups. As the NEH grant required a 4:1 match, the Young Center needed to raise $2 million by Jan. 31, 2008. The Center recently surpassed that goal by more than $100,000. The resulting $2.5-million endowment will create a faculty chair in Anabaptist and Pietist Studies, enhance the Young Center’s Visiting Fellows Program, support research and teaching, and expand its collection of books and archival materials. “The NEH challenge grant recognized the Young Center for its outstanding scholarship and programming on Anabaptist and Pietist groups,” said College President Theodore Long. “By meeting that challenge, friends of the Young Center have expressed strong confidence in its work and have underwritten its expanding excellence. We are deeply grateful to have been honored with their support.” Donors who contributed to the success of the fundraising effort will be recognized at a gala in April, which will also celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Young Center. The event will include a concert of hymnody of the Amish and Mennonite, Brethren, and Lutheran traditions, scheduled for 7 p.m., April 5, in the Leffler Chapel and Performance Center. The concert, which is open to the public free of charge, will feature members of the Elizabethtown College Concert Choir, members of the College-Community Chorus and invited musicians from the local community singing hymns central in the development of these faith traditions’ use of congregational singing throughout their respective histories. The ensemble will be directed by Matthew P. Fritz, associate professor of music and director of choral activities at the College. The concert is held in conjunction with a hymnody exhibit that will open on March 26 at the Young Center. The exhibit, which is open to the public free of charge, interprets some of the significant changes over time in the Anabaptist, Pietist and Lutheran hymn traditions, and illustrates how each tradition borrowed hymns from other traditions. Back to top 1/23/2008 Long's book on Jackie Robinson receives national attention Michael Long’s “First Class Citizenship: The Civil Rights Letters of Jackie Robinson,” (www.firstclasscitizenship.com) a collection of previously unpublished letters from the 1950s  through the 1970s, continues to receive national media attention. Long was recently interviewed by National Public Radio and the Arts and Entertainment Television Network for biography.com. C-SPAN interviewed him after his Jan. 30 lecture at the National Archives in Washington, DC. The program will air on C-SPAN2, Book TV on Saturday, Feb. 9, at 9 p.m.; Sunday, Feb. 10, at 6 and 9 p.m.; and Monday, Feb. 11 at midnight. Long is an associate professor of religious studies and peace and conflict studies and is the author of several books on religion and politics in mid-century America, including “Against Us, but for Us: Martin Luther King, Jr. and the State” and “Billy Graham and the Beloved Community: America’s Evangelist and the Dream of Martin Luther King, Jr.” “First Class Citizenship” was funded in part through a grant from The Foundation for Enhancing Communities in Harrisburg. Back to top 1/21/2008 Ernest Hemingway's grandson to speak on famous literary family The grandson of Ernest Hemingway will present “Papa’s Grandson: Times and Turbulence in a Famous Literary Family”  at 7:30 p.m., Feb. 6, in Elizabethtown College’s Leffler Chapel and Performance Center.The talk by respected author and translator John Hemingway is the 2008 John F. Chubb Lecture on Business, Public Policy and World Affairs. It is open to the public free of charge and will be followed by a book signing. Tickets are required and are available by calling 717-361-1410. In his recent book “Strange Tribe: A Family Memoir,” Hemingway paints a compelling and heartbreaking story about the relationship between his famous grandfather and father, Gregory. Despite his attempts to live up to Ernest’s macho reputation, Gregory -- a cross-dresser and eventually a transsexual -- was obsessed with androgyny and his female half. John Hemingway’s book reveals how Ernest and Gregory, who both suffered from bipolar illness and were both fascinated by androgyny, were “two sides of the same coin.” This lecture honors the exemplary legacy of Elizabethtown College alumnus and former trustee John F. Chubb ’61. It was established with the generous support of the Chubb family, Elizabethtown alumni, his friends and members of the business community. Back to top 1/21/2008 Lyet Gallery show to feature ceramic work of three artists Three ceramic artists will exhibit their works at Elizabethtown College’s Lyet Gallery from Feb. 22 through March 20. “Collaboration Through  Fire: Kenton Baker, Beverly Fisher and Willi Singleton” will open with a reception from 5 to 7 p.m. on Feb. 22. The artists will also offer a talk at 11 a.m., March 19, in Leffler Chapel and Performance Center. The exhibit, opening reception and talk are open to the public free of charge.Hours for Lyet Gallery, which is located in Leffler Chapel and Performance Center, are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends. A resident of Strasburg, Kenton Baker is a woodfiring artist – one who fires pottery or sculpture exclusively using wood kilns – and a wood kiln designer. He is currently a woodfiring instructor at Chester Springs Studio in Chester Springs, Pa., and at The Perkins Center for the Arts in Moorestown, N.J. His  recent exhibitions include “History in the Making – 2007” at the Genese Center for Art in Rochester, N.Y.; the National Cup Exhibition at Isadore Gallery in Lancaster; and the International Woodfire Conference in Flagstaff, Ariz.Beverly Fisher of East Earl is an adjunct professor at Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia, at Pennsylvania College of Art and Design in Lancaster, and at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. She is also a kiln designer. Her works have been featured recently at National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts exhibits at the Ellis School and the Spinning Plate Gallery, both located in Pittsburgh, as well as at “Down to Earth Pottery” at the Art Space Gallery in West Chester, Pa., and “Strictly Functional Clay National” in Lancaster, Pa. Fisher earned a bachelor’s degree from Millersville University and a master’s of fine arts from Tyler School of Art.  Willi Singleton was introduced to high-temperature woodfiring during an apprenticeship in Tamba, Japan, in 1982. Following that experience, he traveled extensively within Japan to further study woodfired ceramics and eventually spent two years in Mashiko learning to throw on the Japanese kickwheel and participating in kiln-building projects. He is currently an independent potter at Pine Creek Pottery in Kempton, Pa., where he builds woodfired kilns, produces woodfired stoneware and offers lectures and workshops. His work has recently been exhibited at the Margaretenhoehe Ceramic Workshop in Essen, Germany, and at Higuchi Bunko Gallery in Tokyo, Japan. He has also offered recent talks at Halle University in Germany and at the “Down to Earth” show in West Chester, Pa. Back to top 1/14/2008 Downs, Fisher named MASCAC Scholar-Athletes Elizabethtown College volleyball standout Kelly Downs '08 and women's cross country All-American Erin Fisher '08  have been recognized by the Middle Atlantic States Collegiate Athletic Corporation (MASCAC) as Scholar-Athletes for the 2007 fall sports season, the conference office announced Friday.Both Downs and Fisher were recognized as conference Player of the Year as they led their respective squads to conference titles and qualification in the NCAA Division III championships. Read more. Back to top 1/10/2008 Former NATO commander to speak Former NATO commander Jack Sheehan will discuss changing international relations in the North Atlantic at 11 a.m., Jan. 30, in  Elizabethtown College’s Leffler Chapel and Performance Center. His talk, part of the College’s Mellon International Faculty Seminar Symposium, is open to the public free of charge.During his presentation, Sheehan will focus on changes brought about by the fall of the Soviet Union and recent resurgence of Russia. He is senior vice president and partner at Bechtel Corporation, an international engineering, construction and project management company, where he serves as manager of global operations for the Petroleum and Chemical Global Business Unit. Prior to his current assignment in Houston, he was responsible for Bechtel projects in Europe, Russia, Asia and the Middle East. Sheehan joined Bechtel after 35 years in the U.S. Marine Corps, where he achieved the rank of general. From 1994 to 1997, he served as special advisor for Central Asia for two U.S. secretaries of defense and was a member of the Defense Policy Board of the Department of Defense. Sheehan served as NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic (SACLANT) and Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Atlantic Command. At SACLANT, he was also responsible for the development and support of the Central Asian Peacekeeping Battalion and NATO’s Partnership for Peace training program for all former Commonwealth of Independent States. Prior to these positions, he served as the director for operations for Colin Powell. He also served in the Gulf during Desert Shield/Desert Storm. Sheehan’s U.S. combat decorations include a Silver Star, two Bronze Stars with Combat V and two Purple Hearts. He was also awarded national decorations from France, Netherlands, Norway and other European Union countries. He earned an undergraduate degree from Boston College and a graduate degree from Georgetown University. Back to top 1/7/2008 Masters Center lab named in honor of Alden Trust Elizabethtown College has named a cell biology laboratory in its new Masters Center for Science, Mathematics and Engineering in honor of  The George I. Alden Trust, which recently awarded the college a $175,000 grant.The George I. Alden Trust Cell Biology Laboratory is home to the research and courses of the College’s Biotechnology Program. The laboratory, which is located in the Lyet Wing for Biological Science, features state-of-the-art equipment in the areas of microbiology, and molecular and cellular biological research. Students actively conduct independent research and team-oriented projects, as well as work hand-in-hand with faculty on collaborative projects. Professor of Biology and Director of the Biotechnology Program Jane Cavender, for instance, funds faculty-student research focused on tumor progression through grants from the National Institutes of Health National Cancer Institute. Designed to be a research facility, the Laboratory is equipped with four laminar flow hoods for mammalian and insect tissue culture. It also hosts two thermocycle machines that are used for the amplification of DNA or the detection of RNA and numerous electrophoresis apparati for DNA or protein separation, genetic engineering and viral transduction. A powerful Nikon UV/Vis microscope is equipped with a digital camera system to allow students to capture and publish high quality images of their research. This equipment, coupled with the extensive coursework, enables students to develop critical thinking and analytical skills that go far beyond the classroom learning. Headquartered in Worcester, Mass., the George I. Alden Trust was established in 1912 for the general purpose of “the maintenance of some charitable or philanthropic enterprises” with particular expressed interest in “the promotion of education in schools, colleges, or other educational institutions,” as well as a particular interest in several named Worcester educational organizations. About the photo: Goldwater Scholarship recipient Angela Mitchell, a senior biotechnology major from Corning, N.Y., works with Professor of Biology Jane Cavender on research focused on tumor progression in the George I. Alden Trust Cell Biology Lab. Back to top 1/3/2008 MLK Jr. Day 2008: Understanding Katrina The Elizabethtown College community will celebrate Martin Luther King Day on Jan. 21 with a series of events focused on the theme “Understanding Katrina.”  Groups of students, faculty and staff will spend the morning at community service projects at sites throughout the Lancaster and Harrisburg area. In addition, several events have been planned that are open to the public free of charge. Interdisciplinary faculty panels on Hurricane Katrina will begin at 2:15 p.m. in Leffler Chapel, following by a reflection panel from Gulf relief volunteers titled “Rebuilding the Gulf, Rebuilding Hope.” A candlelight re-enactment march will follow at 6:30 p.m., traveling from the entrance to the Student Center to Leffler Chapel and Performance Center, where a Gospel Extravaganza – featuring groups from Baltimore, Harrisburg, York, Lancaster and the Elizabethtown Church of the Brethren – will begin at 7 p.m. Back to top 1/3/2008 Exhibit to feature prof's photos of PA Photographs taken by Elizabethtown College professor and author Matt Willen will be on display in Hess Gallery from Jan. 18 – Feb. 28. The exhibit  will feature shots taken by Willen while he was writing and researching “60 Hikes in 60 Miles: Harrisburg,” a hiking guide to the lower Susquehanna River basin.Hours for Hess Gallery, which is located in Zug Hall, are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends. A resident of Hershey, Willen is an associate professor of English at Elizabethtown, where he teaches professional writing course and directs the Freshman Writing Program. He has lived in Pennsylvania for the past 15 years, during which he has explored many of the state’s hiking trails and kayaked many of its rivers. He is also author of “The Best in Tent Camping: Pennsylvania: A Guide for Car Campers Who Hate RVs, Concrete Slabs, and Loud Portable Stereos.” “The photographs included in this exhibition were all composed over the past couple of years while working on ‘6 Hikes in 60 Miles,’” Willen said. “For the most part they attempt to present some of the drama of the region as I observed it in the course of doing my work. “I have always enjoyed working in the field because doing so allows me to develop an intimate understanding of the place where I live, something that is inherently tied to my soundness of mind. The act of photographing the landscape of the region, its elements, forms, and qualities of light, has been central to developing that understanding.” |
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