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John Douglas has joined the athletic department as Sports Information Director. Formerly Assistant Director of Athletics at Widener University, John also worked for the Centennial Conference and served as Widener Sports Information Director for eight years. As the Haverford SID, John will publicize individual and team accomplishment through area media and their local newspapers, update the daily email sports update, and maintain the Haverford athletics website. |
Dear Editor,
I was a bit surprised by Elizabeth Bishay's letter to the editor in response to my article describing my experience as counsel for Illinois death-row inmate James P. Free, Jr. In that letter, Ms. Bishay comments that she found it "extremely disturbing" that "the tone of the article lacks evidence of any meaningful contemplation of what the victims underwent emotionally and physically at the time of the event, as well as the life-long suffering the surviving victim and women's families face."
Ms. Bishay's comments are quite obviously correct. My article omits to discuss the issues she so poignantly raises. it does so intentionally. As Mr. Free's defense attorney (and an attorney who has represented numerous capital defendants), I lack the unique perspective necessary to comment meaningfully (let alone intelligently) on the suffering of the victims of violent crimes. It goes without saying that the plight and suffering of the victims of any crime should not and cannot be ignored. Mr. Free's horrible offenses left an indelible mark on his victims, their families, and the community as a whole. My omission of these issues was nothing more (or less) than a tacit recognition that these stories need to be told by those who have experienced them, or by volunteers such as Ms. Bishay who have helped those individuals attempt to repair their shattered lives.
Finally, I was saddened to see that Ms. Bishay concluded her valuable comments with the gratuitous and mean-hearted suggestion that Mr. Free's widow "needs a therapist" and is better off with her husband dead. Writing about my experiences with the machinery of capital punishment was necessary therapy for me to survive in that work. Perhaps Ms. Bishay should do the same.
Bruce R. Braun '85
Dave Berque '85 Named Professor of the Year
On October 23, 1997, Dave A. Berque
'85 was named 1997 U.S. Professor of the Year for baccalaureate colleges.
Berque earned the esteem of administrators, students, and other faculty
members at DePauw University when he applied creative ideas about the
potential role of technology in education to his own classroom. Associate
Professor of Computer Science since 1992, Berque fosters an interactive
teaching-learning environment which attracted the notice of the Council
for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). The annual teaching recognition
event is sponsored by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
Along with the distinction of being named among highly-respected teachers
of 1997, recipients of the award are granted $5000 cash. CASE annually
selects an outstanding professor in each of four divisions: community
colleges, baccalaureate colleges, master's institutions and doctoral universities.
Berque's interest in manipulating technology to create a vibrant classroom environment has led to his most recent innovation. Frustrated with a lecture format where he saw only the tops of his students' heads as they bent over their notes, constantly writing to keep up, Berque presented the challenge to his students. Their collaborative effort to develop a better system resulted in the software for an "electronic blackboard" which transfers the professor's written blackboard notes to PCs at the students' desks. Students can then mark the notes with light pens on their computer screens and save the notes for review. Berque and his students find that the tool eliminates the distraction of note-taking, thereby making class time more productive. The electronic blackboard project was inspired by the philosophy that an effective classroom set-up allows students and teachers to engage actively with the material being learned. By including the students in the actual design of a teaching tool, Berque exemplified this commitment to active learning.
Curt Cacioppo, Professor of Music, was featured in a recital on November 17 by the Goucher College Department of Music titled "ARS Viva II, The Music of Curt Cacioppo." On November 19, the Rutgers University (Camden Campus) Department of Music and the Alumni Office presented "Music of Curt Cacioppo." Both recitals featured pianist Kenneth Fearn, with remarks by the composer.
Professor of Philosophy Ashok Gangadean appeared in a December 6th two-part series entitled "Awakening the Global Mind," on WYBE, Channel 35 Television. Hosted by Dr. Jeffrey Mishlove, a psychotherapist and head of the Intuition Network, the program explored themes from three of Gangadean's books.
On November 7, Provost and Professor of English Elaine Hansen gave the keynote address "Enthusiasm and Liberal Knowledge," at a conference on "Preparation for the Professoriate," sponsored by the Graduate School of the Ohio State University.
Karl Johnson, Assistant Professor of Biology, and Jessica Shapiro '99, presented two posters at the 37th annual American Society for Cell Biology meeting in Washington, D.C., December 13-17, 1997. Entitled "The axonemal microtubules of the Chalamydomonas flagellum differ in tubulin isoform content" and "Flagellar-localized HSP70 is the product of the HSP70A gene in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii," they describe research performed at Haverford in Professor Johnson's laboratory with funding from the Provost's Office, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute for Undergraduate Research, and the National Science Foundation. The posters are currently on display on the first floor of Sharpless near the Sharpless Science Library.
Bruce Partridge, Bettye and Howard Marshall Professor of Natural Sciences, received a grant from the Space Telescope Science Insitute. This grant is for support of a project entitled "NICMOS imaging of mu Jy radio sources with R greater than or equal to 29: The birth of AGN in pregalactic objects at z greater than or equal to 6-10?"
Joseph Russo, Professor of Classics, attended the Classical Association of the Atlantic States spring meeting at the University of Pennsylvania on October 18. He was Moderator of the session titled "Theory: Performative Meaning," and discussant to Ahuvia Kahane's paper "The Odyssey's Performative Truth."
Integrated Natural Sciences Facility Update:
Haverford's efforts to maintains and upgrade facilities and equipment are an essential part of the College's commitment to the highest quality of educational experience. The most pressing need for improvement has been identified in the sciences and the College is currently considering the design and creation of an integrated natural sciences facility.
The concept of an integrated natural sciences facility developed during discussions of how best to renovate Stokes to meet the changing needs of students and faculty in the natural sciences. The facilities in Stokes Hall were designed and built when the total enrollment was 700 students, with smaller and fewer departments. The opportunity to evaluate and discuss what kind of facility would create the best environment for teaching and research led to envisioning a science center that would not just solve existing problems in Stokes, but would look to the future of education in the sciences.
A faculty steering committee has worked over the last year with the College administration and outside consultants and has made recommendations which are being discussed by the campus community and Board of Managers. Plans are ambitious and expensive and the discussions will continue over the coming months. A decision about the nature and scope of the project is hoped for this spring. "We are offering a first-rate education for all Haverford students now", said president Tom Tritton. "This facility will keep us on the forefront of the nation's leading institutions.
HAVERFORD magazine and newsletter will feature more about these plans in future issues.
Alumni Interviewers Assist Office of Admission
While the rest of the campus sleeps, the Haverford Office of Admission is busy on Saturday mornings. Apprehensive teenagers and equally anxious parents wait for their interviews, chatting with student workers, or trying to anticipate what questions they will be called upon to answer. Around nine o'clock, a small group of admissions representatives congregate at the desk, and begin calling out names like hygienists finding a patient in a dentist's waiting room. The interviewers are not regular admissions officers; they are alums, taking part in an increasingly popular alumni interview program.
Prospective students are visiting colleges on weekends more than ever, looking for tours and interviews. Many schools stay open seven days a week to accommodate them, which puts a severe strain on the full-time admissions staff. Haverford has responded to the increased demand by opening its doors to high school applicants on Saturdays, but instead of admissions workers giving the interviews, alumni are the ones asking the questions.
What began the idea of a small group of seven alumni in 1996-97 grew to over 30 participants in 1997-98, with so many responding to the call for volunteers that there was a waiting list for interviewers. Five alums and one admissions staffer interviewed four students each on Saturday mornings from October through January. The extra help was both a boost to the Office of Admission and a rewarding experience for many of the alumni participants. Assistant Director of Admission Sarah Ketchum '91 expresses that, "The help of the alumni has been invaluable. Our office is able to accommodate more requests for the very popular Saturday interviews and the visiting students and their families appreciate the perspective on Haverford life offered by alums."
If you are interested in taking part in either on-campus or off-campus alumni interviewing, contact the Office of Admission at 610-896-1350.
Collection Highlights Social Justice and the Law
On February 2, 1998, several Haverford alums involved in class action lawsuits gathered at the College for a Collection titled "Achieving Social Justice Through Law: The Use and Abuse of Class Actions." Featured were Robert Swift '68, Dan Berger '76, and Brian Koukoutchos '80. Swift brought suit against the government of Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines on behalf of the Filipino people and is currently lead counsel in the class action suit filed against Swiss banks over the assets of Holocaust victims. Berger was co-lead counsel in the discrimination suit brought against Texaco on behalf of all the company's salaried African-American employees. Koukoutchos argued in front of the U.S. Supreme Court to have a class action suit for asbestos victims dismissed, thus preserving the rights of those victims to sue. He also taught a course in constitutional law at Haverford this past fall.