MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – Middlebury President Laurie Patton has been elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the country’s oldest learned societies and independent policy research centers. The academy is committed to recognizing and celebrating excellence in a wide range of disciplines and professions. As part of this effort, the organization has elected Patton to be one of 213 members of its Class of 2018. Founded in 1780, the academy honors exceptional scholars, leaders, artists, and innovators and engages them in sharing knowledge and addressing challenges facing the world.

“I’m still trying to absorb the news,” said Patton. “I’m deeply honored to be part of such a remarkable group of individuals elected to this year’s class and to join the members who have preceded us in the academy’s history. They will always be my teachers.” 

The new members of the academy were elected in 25 categories and are affiliated with 125 institutions. The 2018 Class includes author Ta-Nehisi Coates (a student at the Middlebury French Language School in 2014), artist and scholar David C. Driskell, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts Chair Katherine G. Farley, philosopher Robert Gooding-Williams, actor Tom Hanks, Netflix, Inc. CEO W. Reed Hastings, Jr., Librarian of Congress Carla D. Hayden, Lockheed Martin Corporation CEO Marillyn A. Hewson, Buddhist scholar Matthew T. Kapstein, Indigenous studies scholar K. Tsianina Lomawaima, novelist Viet Thanh Nguyen, 44th President of the United States Barack H. Obama, NASA climatologist Claire L. Parkinson, and Supreme Court Justice Sonia M. Sotomayor.

The 36 international honorary members from 20 countries include British astrophysicist Jocelyn Bell Burnell; Ethiopian Tedros A. Ghebreyesus, the Director General of the World Health Organization based in Switzerland; President and CEO of the International Rescue Committee David W. Miliband, who is a former Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom; Kazuo Miyamoto, an archaeologist in Japan; and Esther D. Mwaikambo, a maternal and child health expert leading the Tanzania Academy of Sciences.

The 238th class of new members is available at www.amacad.org/members.

“Membership in the academy is not only an honor, but also an opportunity and a responsibility,” said Jonathan Fanton, president of the American Academy. “Members can be inspired and engaged by connecting with one another and through academy projects dedicated to the common good. The intellect, creativity, and commitment of the 2018 Class will enrich the work of the academy and the world in which we live.”

The academy’s projects and publications generate ideas and offer recommendations to advance the public good in the arts, citizenship, education, energy, government, the humanities, international relations, science, and more.

“This class of 2018 is a testament to the academy’s ability to both uphold our 238-year commitment to honor exceptional individuals and to recognize new expertise,” said Nancy C. Andrews, the Chair of the Board of the American Academy. “John Adams, James Bowdoin, and other founders did not imagine climatology, econometrics, gene regulation, nanostructures, or Netflix. They did, however, have a vision that the academy would be dedicated to new knowledge–and these new members help us achieve that goal.”

The new class will be inducted at a ceremony in October 2018 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, at which the newly elected members will sign the Book of Members, and their signatures will be added to the academy members who came before them, including Benjamin Franklin (1781) and Alexander Hamilton (elected 1791) in the eighteenth century; Ralph Waldo Emerson, (1864), Maria Mitchell (1848), and Charles Darwin (1874) in the nineteenth; and Albert Einstein (1924), Robert Frost (1931), Margaret Mead (1948), Milton Friedman (1959), and Martin Luther King, Jr. (1966) in the twentieth.

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Ready for action—From left: artists Scottie Raymond, Daniel "POSE2" Hopkins, and Will Kasso Condry; student Laura Lardinois ’21, and artists Marthalicia Matarrita, and Isaias Crow.

“These artists painted around the clock the entire week,” said Jennifer Herrera Condry, associate director of the Anderson Freeman Resource Center, who spearheaded the project with her husband, artist Will Kasso Condry (Kasso). “I have so much gratitude, so much love for this team for everything they did for Middlebury and for our students.”

The intricate multi-part mural fills a previously uninviting hallway connecting Crossroads Café to the student mailroom. An accessibility ramp to the mailroom now serves the dual purpose of creating a pathway for viewing the artwork from many angles.

At the start of the week, students gathered with the artists for a day of workshops before any paint went on the walls. Artist Isaias Crow said that, with such an ambitious project in just a few days, timing was one of the big concepts they discussed as a way to hone in on the most important ideas.

“It becomes a very focused group,” Crow said. “And what we’re really doing is creating a circle of trust. What we started seeing is that we all have things in common—no matter the age, no matter the ethnic background; it doesn’t matter.”

Sabian Edouard ’21, one of the student painters, said the workshop initially felt awkward because it brought together a group of students who might normally spend time together and forced them to trust each another. After an intense amount of cooperative work on the mural, he felt differently.

“I was surprised—like these people don’t look anything like me, they don’t talk anything like me and we’re actually really different people, but I found that in reality we actually shared a lot of things in common,” said Edouard. “All of the images in this piece embody that sense of interconnectedness and I think that’s really beautiful. Hopefully that sense of belonging prevails on this campus and allows students to have the opportunity to connect in other places.”

Artist Daniel “POSE2” Hopkins wanted to make trust integral to his portion of the mural. A bright, colorful shape with gun-like qualities, which Hopkins referred to as “the provocateur” shoots the word “trust” in large colorful splashes from its barrel. Hopkins knew it would make some people squirm, but he was going for contrasts.

“In our minds it’s a weapon that causes a lot of pain, but I reconfigured it with a lot of color and different shapes, and a whole different energy about it because it’s projecting a totally oppositional idea,” said Hopkins. “So, it was taking that whole negative concept that’s firmly planted in our minds, and transforming it.”

Harlem-based artist Marthalicia Matarrita also developed students’ words into visuals.

“A lot of the inner expressions that were revealed by the students impacted me a lot,” said Matarrita, whose contributions to the mural were themed around teaching and learning among generations. One of her figures is a celestial woman reading from a book whose pages are flying off into the distance.

“To show movement, I had to convey the ‘book of knowledge,’ in some sense, be a part of the historical background. But at the same time, it flies off like a bird. The communication continues, then, and flows throughout the mural,” said Matarrita.

Kasso said the idea of growth was another recurring theme in planning discussions and that the mural has numerous representations of fertility and growth of both ideas and people throughout. His own contribution to the mural—a baby in-utero sleeping peacefully beneath a canopy of fruit-bearing vines—is one of the first things visitors see.

“Everything you see here is a culmination of your ideas,” Kasso said to the students who had participated in the project. “The challenge for us was: How do we represent your ideas and still maintain our artist’s integrity?”

The completed mural represents a months-long effort spearheaded by Herrera Condry, building on work she and Kasso initiated at Middlebury’s Anderson Freeman Resource Center. The two proposed the project in January and received an endorsement from the Committee on Art in Public Places (CAPP). At the reception, Herrera Condry thanked many people for their support, including Middlebury students, members of the mural committee, the college’s facilities crew, and the artists, including Burlington, Vermont-based Scottie Raymond, who was unable to make it to the reception.

Herrera Condry expressed her gratitude to CAPP. “They took a leap of faith. They trusted us to produce something that was going to be in alignment with student voices and student experiences.”

By Stephen Diehl; Photos by Todd Balfour; Video by Chris Spencer

MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – Vermont Public Radio (VPR) host Jane Lindholm pushed back against the idea of “fake news” and offered ways for consumers to ensure the news they are getting is accurate, and ways for news organizations to safeguard that their reporting is fair and correct.

An award-winning journalist with 15 years of public-broadcasting experience, Lindholm addressed more than 100 students, faculty, staff, and community members on April 16 for the Robert W. van de Velde Jr. Memorial Lectureship. Her talk was titled “Objectivity in the Fake News Era.”

While acknowledging that public figures “have always railed against reporting that doesn’t paint them in a good light,” the current tendency to “discredit news organizations or the entire news industry has now reached a fever pitch,” said Lindholm. “Stories are not fake news just because people don’t like them.”

Lindholm cited an example of Senator Bernie Sanders and his years-long refusal to grant an interview to the Vermont weekly newspaper Seven Days. “It is not a politician’s job to decide what is or is not worthy of news coverage,” she insisted. “I know that reporters are doing serious and important work to shine a light on issues that are not getting a lot of coverage.” For example, VPR has broadcast stories about migrant workers who don’t have documentation, how federal milk pricing affects Vermont farmers, and whether policy changes can reduce the widespread misuse of opioids.

A VPR host and producer since 2007, Lindholm advises news consumers to look to the source and ask themselves whether an article posted on the Internet is trustworthy. “Seeing one dodgy headline on Facebook is probably not the best way to stay informed, and yet it resonates with people. We have real news being called fake, and fake news being called real.”

Another issue is how “we have elevated our late-night comedy hosts to news-anchor status. These packages, like The Daily Show hosted by Trevor Noah, do purport to tell you the news even as they skewer it. But they don’t just skewer; they skew. You can hear them say ‘and this is true’ when the absurd thing they are about to say is actually 100 percent factual. [They say it] because the assumption should be that the rest of what they have to say is a joke or a half-truth.”

Lindholm analyzed how TheDaily Show covered a recent pro-gun rally and said the program on the Comedy Central channel “does not have an obligation to present the news accurately.” The rally itself was newsworthy and needed to be covered, she said, but some people only see The Daily Show’s coverage of the event, and as a result are getting a skewed version of the facts.

“The Daily Show is not a news program and it does not want to be beholden to the same ethics and practices that news organizations are, nor should it be. But if that’s how Americans are getting their news, then we have a problem.”

The guest speaker also pointed to the April 3 shooting at YouTube headquarters where, she said, journalists tweeted inaccurate information about the unfolding event. “Anything you read on Twitter in a breaking-news situation should be considered unverified,” she advised.

“Who can keep up with the facts?” Lindhom asked. “How can consumers know what’s real and what’s fake? Who has the time to sort through it all?” In her response, the 2001 Harvard graduate said: “This is a perilous and an incredibly important moment for journalism. We need good reporting and good reporters. And we need people to be reading and listening and keeping themselves informed.

“As audiences turn away from journalism and distrust of the media continues to grow, and as Americans turn more and more to the sources that validate their already-held opinions, it is more important than ever to have the facts. To have more intelligent analysis. To have reporters who are digging and picking at threads and speaking truth to power.”

Lindholm also had some advice for news organizations, especially in light of a recent study by the Poynter Institute for Media Studies showing that 44 percent of Americans think the media is making up stories about President Donald J. Trump.

News organizations need to “buckle down and do the hard work of reporting,” and they need to “do better” in terms of their ethnic, racial, geographic, political, and ideological diversity. “It is critically important for news organizations to offer different perspectives, and we can’t do that if we don’t have more points of view represented in the newsroom,” she asserted.

The Robert W. van de Velde Jr. Memorial Lecture Series is supported by the van de Velde family.  Recent speakers include Joe Klein of Time magazine, Bob Herbert and Rachel Donadio of the New York Times, David Wessel of the Wall Street Journal, and Jonathan Alter of Newsweek.

MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – It feels like an instant throwback to childhood—burying your hands in the sand, building mountains, rivers, and lakes. But while the sandbox in Middlebury’s geology lab offers the same tactile joy as a day at the beach, students are learning about topography, landforms, and geologic process with the help of Microsoft Xbox components.

The augmented-reality sandbox allows students to create and change topography in real time. As they move the sand around into different formations, the Xbox Kinect radar scans the top surface of the sand, then feeds the data to a computer, which in turn projects a topographic map onto the sand. Through colors and lines, the map shows elevations. So, for example, if you build a “mountain” the peak will appear red while the lower elevations show as cooler colors. Bulldoze the mountain and the colors immediately change to reflect the new elevations.

“Technology like this is very engaging,” said Assistant Professor of Geology Kristina Walowski. “It’s colorful, hands-on. So, even as the students are learning about topography and maps, which can be really dry, it’s a memorable experience, and it’s really fun!”

Walowski had seen augmented reality sandboxes at other universities and museums and wondered if it were something she could bring to Middlebury. She asked one of her students, Sam Kaelin ’19.5, to research the components and assembly process. With a grant from Middlebury’s Fund for Innovation, Kaelin constructed the sandbox and added the technology. It took a little fine tuning to get all the components working in harmony, said Kaelin, but the results have been wonderful.

“When you see something in three dimensions, especially something you can sink your hands into, it really opens up new avenues,” said Kaelin.

Walowski says the sandbox has been a helpful tool for discussion sections and labs. Her fellow geologist, Professor Pat Manley, has used the sandbox to discuss bathymetric maps of the ocean floor. The students have also used it as an outreach tool with local elementary schoolers who are studying earth sciences.

The sandbox has a feature that allows users to make it “rain” by holding a hand out flat at a specific height above the sand. Making it rain can help students understand how watersheds work, says Walowski, as the virtual water flows down the sides of the sand mountains through various streams and rivers on its way to the lakes below.

Walowski says students are constantly asking how it might be used for researching landscapes and landscape evolution. “Right now we’re not actively using the sandbox for research, but with the creative imaginations of the students, we’re really hoping to explore the research potential of this tool in the future,” said Walowski.

Middlebury’s augmented-reality sandbox will make its public debut at the 2018 Spring Symposium at McCardell Bicentennial Hall on Friday, April 20.

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Presenters’ nametags await at the sign-in table. More than 300 students participated in the 2018 Spring Student Symposium.

MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – Middlebury students gave oral presentations, created gallery exhibits, and explained their independent research through posters at the annual Spring Student Symposium at McCardell Bicentennial Hall on Friday, April 20. The annual festival of independent undergraduate research drew students out of their labs and classrooms to share their work with the campus community and general public.

President Laurie Patton welcomed the student presenters, faculty mentors, and friends to the Great Hall and thanked the many committee members and support staff who helped organize the event. Patton noted the remarkable growth of the symposium from its founding in 2006 with 60 participants to its current size of more than 300 student participants across all academic disciplines.

“In presentations, poster sessions, performances, panels, and readings, students are sharing their intellectual passions and discovering what inspires their classmates,” Patton said.

At 9 a.m., the crowd quickly dispersed to classrooms and lecture halls for the first session of oral presentations. Each session was moderated by a faculty member, who held the speakers to a strict 15-minute limit, including a question and answer period. A timekeeper in each room held up brightly colored numbers to let students know how many minutes remained.

Symposium organizers look for commonalities among the vast array of research projects and develop themes for each of the hour and fifteen-minute oral presentation sessions. The academic disciplines within each session can range widely.

A session moderated by Professor Will Nash, for example, was titled “Express Yourself.” One student speaker talked about her research on changing practices of texting abbreviations, while another spoke about healing and the black music tradition. A third explored the adaptation of Italian language and dialects as identity and the fourth student spoke on philosophy and ethics.

The symposium featured two poster sessions—mid-morning and mid-afternoon—when the crowds converged on the Great Hall to speak with students about their research, which were interpreted on large posters. In addition to the activities at Bicentennial Hall, more than 50 students participated in art exhibits at Johnson Memorial Building. The six exhibits included Senior Independent Study Studio Class, Oil Painting and Ceramics, Advanced Drawing, “Pictures in Space”, Photography NOW, and Intaglio Prints.

“The symposium reflects Middlebury’s commitment to providing all students with hands-on undergraduate research and experiential learning opportunities,” said Lisa Gates, associate dean of research and fellowships and co-chair of the symposium committee.

A full list of presenters with short descriptions of their projects is available here

Reporting by Stephen Diehl; Photos by Robert Keren

MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – A team of Middlebury College students has won the Department of Energy’s (DOE) international Race to Zero Student Design Competition for its energy efficient re-envisioning of Mary Hogan Elementary School in Middlebury.

The event took place April 20–22 at the DOE’s National Renewable Energy Lab in Golden, Colo., where the Middlebury team and other finalists in the category of school design presented their projects to a panel of judges. The winning plan for a 100 percent renewably powered school was the work of all the students in the January term class Zero-Energy School Design, led by Zach Berzolla ’18. This year’s competition was the first to feature a contest for elementary school design, in addition to four residential building categories.

“Our project’s focus on visible engineering, design details, and collaborative learning helped set us apart from the other teams,” said Berzolla. “The jury really appreciated that we exposed all of our mechanical systems so students can see them every day and understand how their school building works. The jury also liked how our building was designed with corrugated steel cladding to fit in with the barns and grain silos commonly found around Vermont. 

“This win is a testament to the hard work, perseverance, and interdisciplinary collaboration of our team,” added Berzolla. “We have spent many long hours meeting with industry advisors and striving to create the most engaging and affordable zero-energy school possible, and I am immensely proud of what we were able to accomplish.” 

“Because the project was entirely student-designed and driven, they were deeply invested in the outcome, not in pursuit of a grade, but in pursuit of producing something unique and creative,” said Will Amidon, assistant professor of geology and the team’s faculty advisor.

According to Amidon, “Zach is a truly remarkable leader who envisioned the project, assembled the team, and helped to guide their efforts across the finish line. It is rare to see this mixture of vision, leadership, and execution in an undergraduate, especially given the complex array of factors that needed to come together to win this competition.” 

The Middlebury students competed against a number of teams, including Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Georgia Institute of Technology, and other graduate institutions with dedicated engineering and architecture programs. Some schools had spent more than a year on their designs.

Middlebury’s team members represented a variety of majors across the liberal arts, from architecture, physics, and English to studio art, computer science, and environmental studies. Berzolla noted that each student was able to contribute individual expertise to help shape the plan. “This really paid off as we were able to elaborate on details such as a fun interior design and kid-engaging energy displays that made a strong case for our project,” he said. 

The team’s extracurricular experiences contributed to the design as well. One student serves as a Middlebury volunteer firefighter, and he helped ensure that the design met the relevant fire and other building codes. Another student who had worked for a solar design firm one summer created the photovoltaic array that would power the building.

“Meeting and befriending other teams from across the world was inspiring,” said team member Alex Browne ’18. “It is uplifting to see so many young professionals passionate about redesigning our world’s buildings for a sustainable future. If we are to achieve this goal, it will have to begin with a radical revamping of all modern building construction.”  

Back in Vermont, the team has engaged with the local and state community. A presentation of the design took place at Middlebury Town Meeting last month and will be part of an upcoming Addison Central School District (ACSD) school board report on the future of Middlebury Union Middle School. 

For Jack Byrne, Middlebury’s director of sustainability integration, the team’s win has been gratifying. When he heard about the DOE’s Race to Zero competition, Byrne encouraged Berzolla to think about applying. “If the present is created by the stories we are telling about the future, this motivated and inspired group of Middlebury students have given us a very proud moment—and a very hopeful future,” said Byrne.

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Testimonials about the meaning and purpose of public service leadership lined one wall at the event.

MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – Middlebury President Laurie L. Patton, speaking at the 25th Annual Public Service Leadership Awards dinner on April 19, said, “The thing that makes community engagement magical is the ongoing discovery of common purpose. It is the most joyful thing we can do as human beings.”

Standing before a gathering of students, staff, and community leaders committed to public service, the president continued, “One of my intellectual and spiritual mentors, the civil-rights writer and theologian Howard Thurman, spoke about leadership as standing at the growing edge. And the growing edge today is inequality, it’s climate change, and it’s not knowing how we are going to live in such polarized times. All of you are standing and leading at the growing edge today.”

The annual presentation of awards honoring undergraduates for their generous and inspiring community service was preceded by remarks from President Patton and from Patrick Durkin ’79, one of the founders of the Public Service Leadership Awards and its principal benefactor; Heidi Sulis, executive director of Middlebury’s Open Door Clinic; and Cinda Scott ’99, director of the Center for Tropical Island Biodiversity Studies.

Durkin, a managing director at Barclays for government relations and public policy, spoke after Patton and said, “Laurie, I am your biggest fan out there! Thank you for grasping the importance of public service leadership and making it part of the current and future Middlebury.”

“When I was a student at Middlebury,” he added, “there was a big hole and the hole was student engagement with the community. Back then, it was really hard to find something to do and only about 15 percent of the students engaged in service. The Middlebury River [i.e., Otter Creek] was a moat between the Town and the College, and it felt that way.”

Together with former President John M. McCardell Jr. and his wife Bonnie McCardell (who was a special guest at the 25th anniversary dinner), Durkin recalled: “We saw that the College was recognizing students for academics, athletics, and performing arts, but not for extraordinary service. So we started to celebrate student service to the community, and that’s how this event got started 25 years ago.”

He concluded: “There is nothing better in life than the joy of helping another person… All of the work you do is not only a statement about your own purpose here; it is also a statement about the character of this college” where three-quarters of the student body is engaged in community service.

The annual event also serves as an opportunity to salute the College’s dedicated community partners, from the Charter House Coalition (which provides basic food and housing to families in need) to Porter Medical Center to the public schools and child-care centers. Representing the Center for Community Engagement’s partners, Heidi Sulis of the Open Door Clinic said, “Volunteers are the cornerstone of our operation, and Middlebury College students serve our clients as medical interpreters or as bilingual administrative support staff. You play an integral role in serving our Spanish-speaking patients by allowing us to deliver care with cultural and linguistic competence. 

Alumna Cinda Scott offered heartfelt remarks about her own experiences as a volunteer with the Community Friends program 20 years ago. “I connected with my six-year-old friend on so many levels. And though I was not adopted as she was, my hometown in Lexington, Massachusetts, was a tough place to be a black kid and at times it was even tougher to understand my blackness. By being a role model and showing my community friend that she too could embrace her blackness and be proud of it, I hoped to show her that it could be okay.”

To the Middlebury students in the audience who are considering a variety of career paths, Scott added: “I encourage you to use community engagement to find your passion. When you engage with others, when you truly listen to the people you serve, amazing connections are made. Teach. Learn. Understand that you are no different than anyone else… Connections with people are paramount; they are what shapes our humanity.”

Award Recipients

The John M. McCardell Jr. Public Service Leadership Award was presented by Bonnie McCardell to Dan Adamek ’18 for his service to John Graham Housing and Services in Vergennes. As a member of the board of directors and finance committee, Adamek helped raise $40,000 through the organization’s annual sleep-outside fundraiser.

The Bonnie McCardell Public Service Leadership Award was presented by its namesake to Elissa Denunzio ’18 for engaging youth through her volunteerism with Community Friends and with elementary schools in Middlebury and Weybridge.

The Dana Morosini Reeve ’84 Memorial Public Service Award was presented by Will Reeve ’14 to Marie Vasitas ’18 for her service to the Open Door Clinic and as an EMT with Middlebury Regional Emergency Medical Services. She also translated stories told by Vermont migrant-workers, published them in comic-book form, and shared them among the migrant community.

In addition, six Middlebury College Public Service Leadership Awards were conferred at the 25th anniversary dinner to:

- Jin Sohn ’18 in recognition of her four years of involvement with the Student Government Association, and her service to HOPE and the Service Cluster Board;

- Sarah Karerat ’18 as one of the founders of JusTalks, as director of a new version of the play The Vagina Monolgues by Eve Ensler ’75, and as a volunteer with WomenSafe;

- Zach Berolla ’18 for his leadership in developing a zero-energy design for Mary Hogan Elementary School that won first place in the Department of Energy’s “Race to Zero” energy-efficiency design competition; 

- Thi Hoang ’20 for her work with the Language in Motion program at Middlebury and her commitment to spending time with public school students across Addison County; 

- Steve Bissainthe ’18, a cadet in the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps at the University of Vermont, for his service to the Mary Johnson Children’s Center in Middlebury and in elementary schools across the county; and

- Margaret Weber ’18 as president and co-founder of Middlebury First Responders, as a volunteer with Middlebury Regional Emergency Medical Services, with Community Friends, and with the Open Door Clinic.

The nine honorees receive $300 each to donate to a nonprofit of their choice. The director of the Center for Community Engagement, Tiffany Nourse Sargent ’79, called it both “humbling and renewing” to be among such inspiring students, alumni, community partners, and staff colleagues who exemplify the ethos of volunteerism at Middlebury College.

– With photos by Todd Balfour; reporting by Robert Keren

MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – At the Parker Merrill Speech Competition championship on April 19, winner Paige Guarino ’18.5 recalled a middle school teacher who advised her to “be the person who calls in a month.” Skeptical at first, Guarino later found that “sometimes the wisest words are the simplest.” The realization came two years later when she followed her former teacher’s advice and contacted a friend a month after the friend’s father had died. Guarino, who titled her speech “Simple Wisdom,” told the audience in Robison Concert Hall that the experience made her understand how important it was to connect and show you care in difficult times. 

Originally begun in 1825, the competition is now in its third year after a 50-year break. The hiatus ended when student public-speaking club Oratory Now and its director, Dana Yeaton ’79, assistant professor of theatre, revived what has become a Middlebury tradition once again.

For this year’s speech topic, “Words of the Wise,” each student chose a quotation that could originate from any tradition or culture, and then told a story that made it relevant to a contemporary audience.

A panel of three judges, Dean of Spiritual and Religious Life Mark Orten, Associate Professor of Economics Caitlin Myers, and Instructor in Computer Science Jason Grant, assessed the students’ six-minute speeches. Yeaton encouraged the judges to ask themselves if each speaker offered a compelling idea, a persuasive argument, and engaging delivery.

Paige Guarino ’18.5 gave the winning speech, titled “Simple Wisdom,” at the Parker Merrill Speech Competition on April 19 in Robison Concert Hall.

Guarino, who won $500, was one of six finalists who competed for the top spot. The two runners-up, who each received $250 in prize money, were Qian Li ’19 and David Anderson ’19.5. The other finalists were Akhil Koppisetti ’21, Logan Warshaw ’20.5, and Charlotte (Shark) Gray ’21.

“What those speakers did tonight wasn’t just public speaking,” said Yeaton. “It was persuasive storytelling, scholarship, and self-expression used to bring an audience together. That’s the kind of rhetoric we don’t hear about much—the good kind.”

The evening had begun with a display of words on an overhead screen that urged the enthusiastic audience to “self-emcee” the event. The exercise immediately drew audience members in as they recited a humorous welcome message and then the judging criteria before two real-life students took over to emcee the rest of the competition. At the intermission, volunteers from the audience were given the title of a Spring Student Symposium presentation, and challenged to improvise a short impromptu lecture on the topic.

The championship was the third round of the Parker Merrill Competition. It followed a preliminary round on April 8 and the semifinals on April 10. 

Oratory Now
Oratory Now is a student-driven, faculty-directed center for training and research in oral expression, including public speaking. It provides peer tutoring and professional development services, teaches a credit-bearing PE course, and collaborates with organizations across the institution to produce workshops, podcasts, curricula, and community speaking events. Founded in 2015, Oratory Now grew out of student, faculty, and alumni calls for a return to the teaching of speech, and has been amplified by concerns about the quality of our civic dialogue. These twin goals, speaking well and speaking civilly, once the centerpiece of liberal education, continue to guide the development of Oratory Now. The animating force behind Oratory Now is the peer coach–a fellow student who has completed at least nine hours of training. New coaches are trained by more experienced head coaches, who lead them through an oratory boot camp designed to teach listening, speaking, and coaching. Returning coaches take a six-hour recertification course each semester.

History of the Parker Merrill Speech Competition
The competition was founded, and partly funded, by Middlebury’s first professor of mathematics and natural philosophy, Frederick Hall. When hired in 1806, he was immediately granted a two-year leave to study in Europe. While there, he was befriended by Daniel Parker, a wealthy American living in Paris. When Hall fell ill, Parker lent him $180 to tide him over. Parker refused to accept repayment, so Hall gave the sum (along with $120 of his own money) to Middlebury College as a prize for undergraduates who excelled in public speaking. In 1855, local pastor Thomas A. Merrill added his name to the prize, seeking to recognize “the student who has excelled his competitors in the care and gracefulness of his manner, in the intonations and modulations of his voice and in the propriety and elegance of his manners.” The last record of the annual Parker Merrill Competition, before it was revived in 2016, is in the May 27, 1965, edition of the Campus.

MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – A 2017 graduate of Middlebury College, Mohamed Hussein, has been named a Knight-Hennessy scholar – one of 49 individuals selected to receive full funding to pursue a graduate degree from Stanford University.

Hussein was chosen to join the first cohort of Knight-Hennessy scholars, a new program that seeks to “develop a community of future global leaders to address complex challenges through collaboration and innovation.” The Middlebury alumnus will pursue a PhD at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business with a focus on marketing and consumer behavior.

At Middlebury, Hussein was appointed to Phi Beta Kappa, graduated magna cum laude, and earned highest honors from the Department of Economics, his major field of study. He was a fellow at the Center for Social Entrepreneurship; president of Dolci, the student-run restaurant; and president of Arabesque, the Arabic cultural student association. 

During the 2017 Spring Symposium, Hussein presented his research on “Do Bilinguals Behave Differently Depending on Language? Investigating the Foreign-Language Effect among Balanced Bilinguals.”

Mohamed Ayman Hassan Hussein was born in Cairo, Egypt, and attended the Lester B. Pearson United World College of the Pacific in British Columbia prior to his enrollment at Middlebury. At Stanford, he will reside at Denning House with the other Knight-Hennessy scholars and be part of the university’s graduate community of about 9,000 students.

Announced in 2016, the Knight-Hennessy Scholars program has a $750-million endowment and it honors Phil Knight, cofounder of Nike Inc. and a 1962 MBA graduate of Stanford, and John L. Hennessy, the 10th president of Stanford University (2000–2016) and chairman of Alphabet, the parent company of Google.

The program received 3,601 applications for its inaugural cohort of scholars, from which 103 finalists were invited to Stanford's campus in January for interviews. Women comprise 57 percent of the selected scholars. Sixty-three percent of the scholars hold non-U.S. passports from 19 different countries including Syria, Colombia, Afghanistan, Myanmar, New Zealand, Romania, Nigeria, and Germany.

MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – Associate Professor of Sociology and Anthropology Svea Closser has been awarded a Fulbright-Nehru Scholar Program Flexible Grant that will fund four months of research in India over the next two years, beginning this summer. Her research project, titled “The ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) in Social Context” will explore the social relationships of female Community Health Workers in two rural Indian communities.

India’s ASHAs—part of the National Rural Health Mission—are expected to be service providers in the community, and advocates for the right to health. Understanding ASHAs’ desire and ability to fulfill the “health activist” portion of their role necessitates understanding their social relationships.

Closser has been invited to be based at the Indian Institute of Health Management Research (IIHMR) in Jaipur.

“I am very excited about building relationships with faculty at IIHMR, who have deep knowledge of the history and current trajectory of the ASHA program,” Closser wrote in her Fulbright proposal. “Researchers at IIHMR also have great experience conducting health systems research across India, and they have generously offered to use their contacts and experience to assist me in my work.”

Closser, who speaks Hindi, will conduct interviews with people who were involved in the policymaking process and in the current administration of the program. She plans to write several academic articles about the ASHA program upon her return to the US, on completion of her fieldwork. She also plans to feature India in a book about Community Health Worker programs.

Previously Closser spent about four years in total in South Asia on research and study projects. In 2011-12, she was the principal investigator on a seven-country study that included two Indian field sites—one in East Champaran, Bihar, and the other in Nizamabad, Andhra Pradesh.

“My goal in this research is to prepare rich description of ASHAs’ social worlds that can be used to inform policy,” said Closser. “A deeper understanding of the ASHA program can further global understandings of how CHWs’ ability to be community activists is shaped by their social context.”

MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – Middlebury has announced that Jennifer Herrera Condry, associate director of the Anderson Freeman Resource Center, and Jonathan Miller-Lane, associate professor of education studies and commons head for Wonnacott Commons, are this year’s recipients of the Virtue Family Exceptional Service Awards.

Herrera Condry has worked for Middlebury in various roles since joining the College in 2002, with a particular focus over the last decade on multicultural student affairs. In her most recent role as associate director of the Anderson Freeman Resource Center (AFC), she manages the Posse program, helps to develop and staff cocurricular programs that serve underrepresented students, and supports a multitude of student cultural organizations. A fellow staff member shared that “Jennifer’s presence and guidance are integral to the continued success and flourishing of the center and its operations.”

Among many achievements over her Middlebury career, Herrera Condry spearheaded and managed the implementation of gender neutral bathrooms in public buildings and the preferred name and gender pronoun procedures. She developed Middlebury’s first comprehensive program to support the academic and social success of first-generation students, which includes First@Midd, peer mentoring, monthly academic and community-building activities, and an annual graduation celebration. She also led public art initiatives at the AFC and more recently at McCullough Student Center.

Nominators described Herrera Condry as a role model for supporting and connecting with students, going beyond her job responsibilities to make “tremendous efforts to enhance and transform our community to become a more engaged and inclusive Middlebury.”

Miller-Lane, who has taught at Middlebury since 2003, has worked to encourage fundamental changes in campus discourse about race. In September 2017, he gave the first talk of the Carol Rifelj Faculty Lecture Series for the academic year, titled “Discourse and Discord at Middlebury: A Way Forward,” in which he asked the campus community for meaningful engagement with issues related to “whiteness.”

Miller-Lane has held several institutional service roles at Middlebury, including serving as director of education studies, faculty head of Wonnacott Commons, lead professor for the Mellon Foundation grant that supports the Sophomore Seminar in the Liberal Arts, and lead professor of the JusTalks initiative.

One of his nominators wrote, “I’ve had the pleasure of sitting in on various classes, workshops, Commons dinners, and informal gatherings that Jonathan has facilitated. His inclusive practices have strongly informed my own approach to pedagogy and community building. The high regard in which Jonathan is held—by colleagues and students—reflects our appreciation for his sustained intentional commitment cultivating a deeply inclusive Middlebury community.”

Established in 2017 by Ted ’82 and Dani Shaw Virtue ’82, the $25,000 cash awards recognize faculty and staff who have gone above and beyond their normal professional responsibilities to support and connect with students in ways that build a more engaged and inclusive Middlebury community. Herrera Condry and Miller-Lane were selected for the 2018 awards from a group of nominees forwarded to a selection committee by faculty, staff, and students at the College, Middlebury’s Language Schools, the Bread Loaf School of English, the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, and the Middlebury Institute of International Studies.

Slide Show

Students in Febe Armanios’s class, “Food in the Middle East: History, Culture, and Identity,” gather around the large island in the kitchen at Brainerd Commons as they make several Turkish dishes. (Armanios is seen in the center at the back.)

MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – It’s about 5:30 p.m. on a Wednesday evening and Associate Professor of History Febe Armanios is darting around the busy Brainerd Commons Kitchen responding to students’ questions as they make several dishes from the new cookbook “Istanbul & Beyond.” Robyn Eckhardt, the book’s author, and David Hagerman, the book’s photographer, are also in the kitchen, chatting with the students and offering suggestions. One student is mixing a blend of orange ingredients in a bowl by hand, two others are stirring onions and peppers in a sauce pan, and some are photographing the food in various stages before it’s ready. All 15 of the students are in Armanios’ class “Food in the Middle East: History, Culture, and Identity.”

“Food can be a very relatable and intimate way to study the unfamiliar,” said Armanios. “And, in our class, we examine the history of Middle Eastern food—from ancient times to the present—with an eye for getting a better understanding of the place, its agricultural heritage, its gastronomic sophistication, and its plentiful contributions to global food traditions.

“The conversations around these topics are often inspired by students’ own personal experiences with food, be they from their families or travels, and this organic atmosphere constantly changes how we might interpret the texts, memoirs, cookbooks, or films that we’re engaging," added Armanios.

“In the classroom, we might occasionally try some foods from the region such as dried apricots from Turkey,” she said. “An important highlight though is the opportunity to make a dish from a medieval Arab cookbook, something I’ve done with students in past classes, or to recreate a modern recipe from “Istanbul & Beyond” as we are doing this year. It can be likened to a ‘food laboratory.’"

Eckhardt and Hagerman were on campus for several days to participate in the cooking demonstration, visit Armanios’ class, and give a public lecture and presentation on their book. Armanios had invited them to Middlebury as part of the College’s Professors of the Practice Program, an initiative that brings professionals to campus to share their expertise with students as part the academic curriculum.

The dishes the class made included Spicy Bulgur Köfte–a mixture of bulgur, tomato, pepper pastes, and pomegranate molasses–“The Imam Fainted” Baked Eggplant, Tomato and Pomegranate Relish, and Strained Yogurt with Cucumber and Herbs. Once the cooking was done, the class sat down to sample the different recipes. 

“Getting to make something from the cookbook was valuable because as much as we talk about food, it's nice to get to taste it,” said Celia Ripple ’20, a student in Armanios’ class. “Robyn said that there is a flavor that is distinctly Turkish to her, and it was nice to get to try her recipes and understand what that tastes like.

“I like the class because using food to study history is different,” added Ripple. “It's not like any history class I have taken before. Food is an integral part of life, and I didn't realize until this class how much historical events can influence cuisine. Understanding food history adds a dimension to studying history that is both really interesting and creates a more complete understanding of culture and how it changes.”

“What I love about the cooking element of this course is that it reflects this applied, experimental quality where collaboration, teamwork, and sometimes a little kitchen chaos can produce something delicious,” said Armanios. “Most importantly, the cooking and tasting can allow students to become immersed, if partly, within a culinary tradition that they may not have otherwise encountered.”

Reporting by Sarah Ray; Photos by David Hagerman and Febe Armanios

MIDDLEBURY, Vt. — Middlebury College has selected eight students to receive Kellogg fellowships for the 2018–19 summer and academic year. The Kellogg program is designed to support seniors engaged in research in the humanities.

Recipients of Kellogg fellowships receive up to $5,000 to support their travel and research, which can be conducted during the summer and/or during the academic year.

“Students who have received this fellowship found it to be a tremendous gift, providing the time, space, and financial resources to pursue aspects of their research that they would not have been able to otherwise,” said Lisa Gates, associate dean for fellowships and research.

The Kellogg fellowship recognizes student excellence in the humanities and areas of humanistic inquiry, and provides them with financial support to pursue in-depth research for their senior work. The funding allows students to travel, attend conferences and workshops relevant to their areas of focus, visit archives, and spend time in the summer reading, creating, or thinking.

Joseph "Hal" Juster is one of eight Kellogg fellows for 2018-19.

“It’s an important affirmation of the humanities in particular,” said Gates, “and the importance of studying questions related to how we see our world and ourselves, how we create and understand meaning.”

This year’s recipients and their projects are as follows:

Katherine Claman’19, an art history and Italian major, plans to work on a thesis exploring “representations of the African-American body in the museum in contemporary art, and how these representations work with or against notions of post-blackness.” She plans to visit museums in New York, Washington, D.C., New Orleans, and San Francisco to conduct her research. Claman’s faculty advisor is Associate Professor Edward Vazquez.

Will DiGravio’19, a film and media culture major, will study the work of film director Alfred Hitchcock through his project titled “The Auteur as Adaptor: Examining the Production of Hitchcock’s Rebecca and Dial M for Murder.” DiGravio’s research will take him to Los Angeles and Austin, Texas, including five days at the Alfred Hitchcock Archive at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Margaret Herrick Library. DiGravio’s faculty advisor is Professor Christian Keathley.

Kyle Freiler’19, a philosophy major, is working on a project titled “Virtue, Happiness, and the Good: A Revision of Modern Stoicism.” He will spend five days at the Summer Stoic School in Rome, followed by a Stoic Week program at Oxford University’s Department of Continuing Education. Freiler’s faculty advisor is Professor Kareem Khalifa.

Joseph Juster’19, a religion major, will be working on a project titled “Black Theodicy in Modern American Religion: From Martin Luther King to Trayvon Martin.” Juster will travel to Memphis, Boston, and New York to conduct his research. His faculty advisor is Professor James Davis.

Qian Li’19, a film and media culture and English and American literatures double major, will pursue a project titled “Sunset Song: A Documentary Discovering the Past of My Grandfather.” Her filmmaking project will take her to Shanghai, Shenyang, Dalian, and Beijing, China, and Taiwan. Her faculty advisor is Professor Christian Keathley.

Katherine Monroe’19 is a Chinese major working on a project titled “Voices of the Spring City: Traditional Ethnic Beats of Kunming’s Modern Music Landscape” in which she will research the diverse musical traditions of Yunnan Province in southwestern China. Monroe will spend most of the summer in Kunming conducting her research. Her faculty advisor is Professor Tom Moran.

Weiru Ye’19, who is double majoring in religion and anthropology, will travel to Wenzhou China this summer and winter to conduct her field work on a project titled “Uncovering Women's Voices: Gender and ‘Underground’ House Churches in China’s Christian Heartland.” Her faculty advisor is Assistant Professor Jennifer Ortegren.

Shan Zeng ’19, a double major in art history (museum studies) and religion, is working on a project titled “Shimenawa: Weaving Traditions with Modernity—An Interdisciplinary Research on the Cultural History of Japanese Sacred Rope.” She will travel to several locations in Japan in August and September to conduct her research. Zeng’s faculty advisor is Assistant Professor Sarah Laursen.

MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – When Yuliana López was a first-year, she and her cohort of Posse scholars decided to host one of the free community suppers at the local Congregational Church in Middlebury—meals that typically feed 200–250 people. López was eager to share her heritage with the community, and the group decided on a traditional Mexican meal.

“She took the lead, and we drove to Costco to buy all the tortillas and beans,” recalled math professor and mentor Steve Abbott, “but there was no recipe. I said ‘What do you mean, there’s no recipe? We have to feed hundreds of people!’ She said, ‘Well there’s not. This is just how my mom does it.’”

That Friday afternoon making the meal, Abbott continued, “They’re making flautas, which means there’s five steps. And there’s still no recipe. They’re making rice in these enormous, industrial-sized pots. And you can see Yuli sitting there and she’s on the phone again with her mom. And then Yuli says, ‘OK, do this, do this.”

Abbott said he finally left for an appointment, but admits that “I also needed to leave because it was fantastically unlikely that anything good was going to happen. I came back an hour and a half later and there was a Mexican meal for everybody, and it was great.”

Abbott added, “Yuli lights up the minute you start talking about community service.”

Now a premed senior majoring in molecular biology and biochemistry with a minor in global health, López has brought this same fearlessness and generosity of spirit to her volunteer service as a medical interpreter at Addison County’s Open Door Clinic.

“The Open Door Clinic means so much to me,” said López. “It provided me with a family that allowed me to feel comfortable in a space where my bilingual tongue was appreciated. The clinic was my ‘escape’ from the Middlebury bubble, and it served as a constant reminder of why I do what I do—study and challenge myself—and who I do it for—the Latinx community. Just stepping out of Middlebury College and going to the Open Door Clinic, that’s been my heaven. It’s given me fresh air and really motivated me to recharge.”

Middlebury's Open Door Clinic is a free health clinic for uninsured and under-insured adults in Addison County, Vermont.

Based in the town of Middlebury, the Open Door Clinic provides free health care to community members who are uninsured or underinsured. The clinic sees over 800 patients a year, and in 2017 alone tallied 1,365 patient visits to health care providers. Around 60 percent of those seen at Open Door Clinic are migrant farmworkers—a bedrock part of the state’s $2.2 billion dairy industry. Most come from Mexico; most speak only Spanish.

The vast majority of student volunteers serve as medical interpreters, said Open Door Executive Director Heidi Sulis.

“The students are really integral and critical to providing linguistic and culturally competent care,” said Sulis. “Our job would be much, much harder, and how we deliver care would look very different without them. In fact, when we look at our colleagues in the northern tier of the state and what they’re grappling with, they don’t have a Middlebury College in their backyard. They have many more barriers around language access. We’re in a unique position.

“The student interpreters are literally giving voice to a patient who is facing these language barriers in this setting, in this community. I think it’s impressive and powerful. I think it’s really powerful.”

Around 15 to 30 Middlebury students volunteer each year, said Sulis. And since 2013, the College has sponsored a 10-week paid internship at the clinic through its Privilege & Poverty program.

López began volunteering with the Open Door Clinic the first semester of her first year at Middlebury.

“I remember seeing a flyer that said ‘the Open Door Clinic’: there’s an interpreter opportunity; you have to come to this training; it’s all day on Saturday; Spanish speakers are welcome. I’m like, whoa! Spanish speakers! That was it!”

López grew up in a largely Spanish-speaking neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side, and she credits much of her success to that supportive community. Much of her schooling was bilingual, and at home the family spoke mostly Spanish. From an early age, López acted as interpreter for family members at medical appointments. And seeing the ways in which her community was medically underserved lit a fire in her. By elementary school, she’d set her sights on becoming a doctor.

López brought that dream to Middlebury.

“I always wanted to go into the health field,” said López. “I said I wanted to go to college, get my education, and return to serve the community back home that really needed it. That’s always been my dream.”

The oldest daughter of Mexican immigrants, López says one of the aspects of working as an Open Door volunteer interpreter that’s been most moving for her has been the patients’ pride in her accomplishments. Patients she had just met would tell her she was an “orgullo Mexicano,” or source of Mexican pride.

“There’s this connection,” she said. “A lot of the patients ask, What do you want to do? Some assume that I’m a doctor or that I’m going to be a doctor soon. And they’re like, ‘We can’t wait until you serve us. We can’t wait until we call you Dr. López.’ That’s a motivation that I have carried throughout my four years at Middlebury.”

López’s cultural and linguistic expertise has been invaluable, said Sulis.

“We all defer to Yuli,” said Sulis. “When there are a bunch of 28-to-58-year-olds saying, ‘Yuli, how would you frame this? What do you think is the right approach?’—we do that because we want to get it right culturally and linguistically.”

Good medical interpreters need much more than solid language abilities, noted Open Door Patient Services Coordinator Josh Lanney. For example, it’s important to keep the patient and doctor focused on each other, rather than on the interpreter. And if the interpreter notices that a patient is just nodding and saying yes but not really understanding or agreeing with something, then it’s the interpreter’s job to step into the role of “cultural broker.”

“Yuli communicates very effectively what is being said, communicates completely, doesn’t omit or change anything. And when it’s appropriate, she will serve as a clarifier,” said Lanney.

Different patients might need different reassurances, López observed. To a male patient who’s feeling awkward about using a female interpreter, she might say, “Don't think about me, I am just here to help you. Just say what you have to say, and I’ll just simply interpret.” Or if a female patient holds back in answering questions on the mental health screening, “I just kind of give her a moment to think about it, I repeat the sentence twice; I repeat it in a different way for her to think about it. She might be going through a depression, and then she sort of opens up to the provider and says, ‘Well, I have been recently feeling sad,’ and then we figure it out.”

In addition to her four years as a volunteer interpreter, last summer López deepened her understanding of public health as a Privilege & Poverty intern at the clinic.

“What I really appreciate about Yuliana as a student of public health and global health, is that she does not treat it like a spectator sport,” said Pam Berenbaum, global health professor and coordinator of the College’s global health program.

“She has a true public health heart, where she’s committed to being in solidarity with the community as a member of it. And I think that the fact that she got involved with Open Door Clinic really speaks to that.”

To be an effective interpreter, Berenbaum observed, “You have to be open to fully experiencing someone else’s life and wanting to represent their life, and that requires true humility and true compassion, and that is really who she is. One thing that I really like about her style of leadership is that she’s so humble and compassionate. Yuli is someone who leads through integrity and through being such an open and humble and loving and welcoming person that it makes you want to be a part of whatever it is that she's doing.”

Abbott concurs: “Yuli has a very, very kind spirit. She has a very gentle nature when you meet her. And that overlays this really strong and driven and determined spirit that has produced one of Middlebury’s outstanding seniors.”

López’s profound influence as a student leader is exemplified through her cofounding of UR-STEM, a student organization dedicated to mentoring students underrepresented in STEM fields. Additionally, she was selected as a member of Middlebury’s first cohort in the BOLD Women’s Leadership Network. And López came to Middlebury as both a Posse Foundation and a Gates Millennium scholar.

After graduation, López will be immersing herself more deeply in public health by working for Chicago’s Health and Medicine Policy Research Group, an organization devoted to promoting social justice and challenging inequities in health and health care. Beyond that, she plans to pursue a joint degree in medicine and public health.

Said UR-STEM faculty sponsor Susan DeSimone, “It gives me a great deal of hope to know people like Yuli. Young people that are, I'll say with certainty, going to change the world.”

Story by Gaen Murphree; Photo by Todd Balfour

MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – Middlebury College has awarded the 2018 Perkins Award for Excellence in Teaching to Priscilla Bremser, the Nathan Beman Professor of Mathematics and chair of the Math Department. The Perkins Award is given annually to a member of the Middlebury College Natural Sciences division, alternating each year between mathematics and other departments in the sciences, and honors outstanding performance as a teacher.

At a ceremony and reception at McCardell Bicentennial Hall on May 7, faculty members, students, and members of the Perkins family gathered to honor Bremser.

“She consistently is the best at helping students actually learn, not just memorize,” said Director of Sciences Pat Manley, quoting from a student nominator. “Focus in her class centers around understanding and effort. She routinely understands every student’s confusion, helps correct it, and facilitates discussion. I feel that after one of her classes, I have a deeper understanding and appreciation of the material than after any other teacher’s class.”

Earlier in the year, all mathematics majors and minors were asked to submit a nomination for a faculty member who they felt should be honored for their excellence as a teacher, with the idea that they should think broadly about the role of teachers at Middlebury beyond the classroom, such as lab work, mentoring, and advising.

Senior mathematics and biochemistry major Sabina Haque took a linear algebra class with Bremser in the spring of her freshman year. “Taking that class simply revolutionized the way I thought about mathematics,” said Haque, who spoke at the reception. “I was struck not only by stepping into a vastly different field of mathematics, but also a vastly different way of learning it. Professor Bremser, equipped with her unique flavor of flipped classroom, enables students to teach themselves complex and mathematical ideas.”

Haque continued, “Professor Bremser, through her endless dedication, generosity, kindness, and the steadfast belief that any student can achieve high levels of mathematical understanding, exemplifies the meaning of ‘exceptional.’”

Jack Petrillo, a senior mathematics and computer science major, said that when he first took a class with Bremser, he had not planned on being a math major. “After experiencing her hands-on and collaborative approach to learning mathematics, I realized it was a process of discovery and not just memorizing formulas and theorems,” said Petrillo. “In each of her classes, Professor Bremser teaches perseverance and curiosity when approaching a problem. I’m entirely thankful for her consistent encouragement in pursuing an academic interest of mine, and I think I can speak for all of our peers that we’ve been very lucky to have Professor Bremser during our time at Middlebury.”

Bremser, who earned her PhD in mathematics from Johns Hopkins University, arrived at Middlebury in the fall of 1984. She received tenure in 1991—the first woman to be tenured in the Mathematics Department. She has taught and published papers in number theory and in the theory of finite fields.

More recently, she has devoted time to researching mathematics education at all levels. For more than 10 years, she has been an instructor with the Vermont Mathematics Initiative (VMI), a three-year master’s program for practicing elementary and secondary school teachers. She is also a founding editor of On Teaching and Learning Mathematics, a blog of the American Mathematical Society.

In 2017, Bremser and four colleagues from other institutions wrote the article “What Does Active Learning Mean for Mathematicians?” for the American Mathematical Society. That article will appear in the 2018 edition of The Best Writing in Mathematics (Princeton University Press).

Bremser expressed gratitude for her colleagues, who she said have helped her on her journey at Middlebury. In brief remarks, she described two events during her career that had a particularly strong impact on her teaching.

In 1992, she attended a mathematics education reform conference at Bowdoin College. A presenter gave her the idea of teaching abstract algebra by having students work only in small groups in the classroom. She says she tried it the next fall and has been teaching the course that way ever since. Bremser thanked all of her students, but said she was especially grateful to the ones in 1992 who were willing to try a new approach.

Bremser also noted that the Vermont Mathematics Initiative, through which she has taught—and learned from—practicing schoolteachers, has been a major influence on her teaching.

The Perkins Award was presented by Catherine Harris, the granddaughter of Professor Llewellyn Perkins and Dr. Ruth Perkins ’32, for whom the honor is named. Llewellyn Perkins taught mathematics at Middlebury from 1914 until his retirement in 1941. Harris was joined in the audience by her mother and sister. The honor includes a citation on two plaques, which are located in Warner Hall and McCardell Bicentennial Hall, as well as an allocation of enrichment funds to further the recipient’s professional development.

The Perkins Award is provided by the Professor Llewellyn R. Perkins and Dr. Ruth M.H. Perkins Memorial Research Fund, and it was made possible by a gift from Ruth Perkins, Middlebury Class of 1932, in memory of her husband, Llewellyn, who taught at Middlebury from 1914 through 1941. Professor Perkins founded and chaired the mathematics department.

Their children, Marion Perkins Harris ’57, a science teacher, and David Perkins, a physician, augmented the fund and expanded the scope of the award to honor their mother, Ruth, as well as their father. The award supports the recipient’s faculty development. It is presented in even-numbered years to a member of the mathematics or computer science department, and in odd-numbered years to a faculty member who teaches in the natural sciences.

Reporting by Stephen Diehl; Photo by Todd Balfour

MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – Three Middlebury seniors and eight recent alumni have been awarded Fulbright fellowships for the 2018-2019 academic year. Later this year, the 11 Middlebury recipients will be spread across five continents either teaching or conducting research through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program.

The fellows were selected on the basis of their academic and professional achievements, as well as their service and leadership in their respective fields. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, they will join the more than 1,900 Fulbright recipients in 2018-2019 worldwide.

Middlebury’s Fulbright recipients are: 

Raouf Belkhir ’17.5

Emma Cameron ’15.5

Brennan Delattre ’16

Georgia Grace Edwards ’18

Michael Fournier ’17.5

Mandy Kwan ’15

Ariana Lippi

Marykate Melanson ’18

Jessica Parker ’15.5

Julia Shumlin ’17.5

Phoebe Wiener ’18

Raouf Belkhir ’17.5 from Victor, N.Y., will conduct the research project “Neurolinguistic mechanisms of co-speech gesticulation” in the Department of Psychology at the University of Padova, Italy. The neuroscience major who played rugby at Middlebury and was awarded a Public Service Leadership Award in 2017 will observe “the cascading of neural activity in co-speech gesticulation (i.e., gestures) through behavioral analysis response time and localization of event-related potentials through the use of EEG.” Said Belkhir in his Fulbright application, “With their exaggerated gestures, Italians are an ideal population to study the neuromechanisms of gesticulation.”

Emma Cameron’15.5, who is currently serving in the Peace Corps in Rwanda, will be an English teaching assistant in South Africa to help teens attain the fluency they need for successful careers and leadership positions. South Africa needs to address its “challenges facing equal access to quality education,” Cameron said. She also envisions bonding with South Africans over a mutual love of soccer. The sociology/anthropology major from Washington D.C., is a TEFL-certified secondary English teacher who was active with Middlebury Geographic, the college radio station WRMC, literacy programs, and intramural soccer while she was an undergraduate.

Brennan Delattre’16, from Orono, Minn., will travel to Niterói, Brazil, to research, evaluate, and quantify the psychological benefits of capoeira and dance-movement sessions for the purpose of developing interventions that can be used across cultures. Currently a lab manager and research assistant at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute, the neuroscience major and summa cum laude graduate of Middlebury hopes to make a major contribution to the development of creative-art therapies as a supplement to traditional clinical and counseling approaches to mental health.  She previously studied abroad in Niterói, a suburb of Rio de Janeiro, with Middlebury’s School in Brazil.

Georgia Grace Edwards’18, an international politics and economics major, will be an English teaching assistant in the Czech Republic where she plans to link Czech culture with the cultures of English-speaking peoples through civic engagement, community sports, business consulting, dance, film, and wilderness trips. “I am confident that I can give as much as I receive from any Czech community through my dedication to extracurriculars,” she wrote in her Fulbright application. The senior from Frostburg, Md., has been active at Middlebury College with Oratory Now, MiddCORE, Language in Motion, and the Center for Social Entrepreneurship.

Michael Fournier’17.5 from Shelburne, Vt., has received an English teaching assistantship to Germany where he recently completed the requirements for his major in international politics and economics. Fournier, who traveled extensively throughout Germany and speaks the language at the advanced level, said in his Fulbright application: “As a fellow I look forward to starting or joining a football team in my host community and reaching out to surrounding schools to encourage participation. I have personally experienced how sports can foster cultural exchange, promote physical education, and build camaraderie.” He completed two, six-month internships while in Germany, and was active with the Rugby Club and MiddVentures during his years on the Middlebury campus.

Mandy Kwan’15 from Seattle, Wash., will apply her passions for women’s leadership, social welfare, photography, and psychology as a Fulbright English teaching assistant in Argentina. The country’s “history of multinational immigration makes it an ideal place to deepen my understanding of social justice and cultural diversity,” Kwan said in her application. She also hopes to teach photography to young Argentinians in disenfranchised communities whereby empowering them to use art as a means of self-expression and communication. A Spanish major at Middlebury, Kwan studied during the 2013-2014 academic year in Madrid where she explored life in immigrant neighborhoods and volunteered with Serve the City Madrid. Kwan was a cofounder of Middlebury’s Language in Motion program.

Ariana Lippi, who attended the Middlebury Spanish School last summer after graduating from the SUNY College at Geneseo, will be an English teaching assistant in Colombia. A former Gilman Scholar in Uganda, Lippi plans to use her “background in teaching and international development to provide lessons for Colombia students to engage in cross-cultural dialogue” with students from the United States. She also expects to share her interests in Afro-Latin musical traditions and volunteer with a local nonprofit focusing on the role of education in the country’s development. Lippi, who majored in international relations and studied abroad in Mexico, is from Brewster, N.Y.

Marykate Melanson’18 said she applied for a Fulbright English teaching assistantship in Brazil to expand upon her “interest and passion for language, culture, community, and education.” The international and global studies major attended Middlebury’s School in Brazil in 2016 and is an advanced speaker of Portuguese. In her application, she wrote: “I am motivated to return to Brazil to continue my cultural and linguistic education through art and dance, and establish connections with community and development organizations.” The Wentworth, N.H., resident also hopes to partner with a Brazilian cultural center to host intercultural arts events where her students can share their work with community members.

Jessica Parker’15.5 from Vienna, Va., was an environmental studies and geography joint major at Middlebury. She received an English teaching assistantship in Brazil where she hopes to gain valuable training and resources toward developing her own teaching abilities. As a Fulbright fellow with dual American and Brazilian citizenship, Parker says she is “uniquely situated to serve as a bridge between the two cultures.” She was a research assistant in the Department of Geography at Middlebury and active with the varsity lacrosse team, Admissions Office, Dolci, and Mountain Club. She also attended the first session of the Middlebury School of the Environment in the summer of 2014.

Julia Shumlin’17.5 completed a double major in Spanish and sociology/anthropology, and applied for a Fulbright English teaching assistantship in Mexico because, she said, “I care deeply about Mexican-American border and immigration issues.” While teaching in Mexico next year, the podcasting enthusiast from Putney, Vt., plans to start two groups, one for youth and the other for adults, to offer instruction in audio production to members of her new community. She looks forward to collectively workshopping ideas to help others produce their own audio stories. While at Middlebury, Shumlin attended the Spanish School, studied abroad in Chile for six months, and was active with the Student Government Association, Juntos, Hepburn Zoo, and the college radio station WRMC.

Phoebe Wiener ’18 from Highland Beach, Fla., was awarded a Fulbright research grant to study “Female Representation in Japanese Politics.” Wiener, who majored in political science and minored in Japanese studies, plans to study “why female leadership has long been discouraged in Japanese culture, and how grassroots movements and politicians are working to close the gender gap in government.” She plans to join a local chorus in Japan because “music can surpass any language or cultural barrier.” An aspiring journalist, Wiener interned with her local ABC affiliate in West Palm Beach in 2015 and with CBS News in New York during the 2016 election. At Middlebury, she was active with the Academic Judicial Board, the College Choir, and as a peer writing tutor.

The Fulbright Students and Scholars Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. The program was first established in 1946 under legislation introduced by U.S. Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas. Since that time, it has given more than 360,000 students, scholars, teachers, artists, and scientists the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas, and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns.