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January 2007 eNews Extra

Alumni News Highlights -- January 2007

 

Bernstein '80 Offers Investment Advice in National Newspapers

Richard Bernstein '80, chief U.S. strategist at Merrill Lynch, was interviewed in The Wall Street Journal (1/2/07), The New York Times (1/2/07) and USA Today (1/3/07) about stock performance predictions for 2007.

The Wall Street Journal noted: "Richard Bernstein, Merrill Lynch & Co.'s chief U.S. investment strategist and a longtime stock skeptic, has become downright bullish, forecasting a rise of 10.7% for the S&P 500 this year. Mr. Bernstein said he thinks the index will finish the year at about 1570, which would mark its first record since it finished at 1527.46 during the euphoria of March 2000.

"Before stocks reach those heights, Mr. Bernstein said, they could suffer some growing pains. 'I just don't think everything is going to play out according to the perfect Goldilocks scenario that so many people expect,' he said. 'People are overly optimistic. Even the average guy is putting money into emerging-market funds.'"

Werner '92 Honored as One of 10 Outstanding Leaders in Boston

John Werner '92, back row center, was honored by the Boston Jaycees.
John Werner '92, back row center, was honored by the Boston Jaycees.
John Werner '92, executive director of Citizen Schools in Boston, was honored as one of the 2006 Ten Outstanding Young Leaders (TOYL) awardees by the Boston Jaycees. Citizen Schools is a leading national education initiative that uniquely mobilizes thousands of adult volunteers to help improve student achievement by teaching skill-building apprenticeships after-school. TOYL honors 10 individuals between the ages of 21 and 40 for their exceptional professional and personal achievements coupled with their unwavering commitment to the Boston community. Nominations are solicited throughout Greater Boston and recipients are selected by a panel of distinguished independent judges, who are often past recipients of the TOYL award. Since 1952 the Jaycees have annually recognized young leaders representing a broad cross section of the Greater Boston community. The awards were presented at a black-tie gala in September at the Colonnade Hotel in Boston. Tripp Jones '88 received the award in 1999.

Vilsack '72 Appears on The Daily Show; student journalist Kuhn '09 reports

Tom Vilsack '72
Tom Vilsack '72
On Dec. 18, Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack '72 became the first 2008 presidential hopeful to appear on The Daily Show with John Stewart.  Eric Kuhn '09 was the only reporter in the audience. He wrote about the program and a subsequent reporters' conference for the Huffington Post.
 
The program began with Stewart making fun of Vilsack's name with the AFLAC duck quaking "Vilsack." When the Iowa governor came out on stage, he handed the host a stuffed AFLAC duck with a "Tom Vilsack '08" medallion pinned on the front. This set up the candidate perfectly for his first punch line when asked if he was going to continue to be associated with the quaking of his name. "I am not going to duck from that," Vilsack proclaimed.
 
Vilsack spoke about his visits to Afganistan and Iraq and said they are "mostly scripted and a little bit unscripted, kind of like this show." He believes that "America should let the Iraqis decide for themselves about their future." 
 
Moments after the show ended, Vilsack joined a conference call with reporters from outlets ranging from the Associated Press to the Huffington Post. Kuhn covered the event for both the Huffington Post and Hamilton College. He questioned the candidate about the importance of college students to the Vilsack campaign and to the election generally. Vilsack told his fellow Hamiltonian, "It is all part of a process to speak to all voters." He continued that because this election is about the future of youngsters, "it's important for candidates to get out and listen to all age groups." Vilsack told another reporter that, "The Daily Show is one of the most popular news shows for those under the age of 35…humor has been a part of politics for quite some time."

In his Huffington Post article Kuhn wrote about how Vilsack's campaign is the first to have a video blog and to fully utilize YouTube, Facebook, MySpace and other youth-oriented technologies. Kuhn will continue covering the campaign for Hamilton's student paper, The Spectator and other publications. Vilsack will also be a future guest on Kuhn and Company, a popular WHCL radio interview show.

Erickson '79, Rocky Mountain News Reporter, Wins 2006 Science in Society Award

Jim Erickson '79, science reporter for the Rocky Mountain News won a
2006 Science in Society Award (Newspaper category) presented by the National Association of Science Writers (NASW) at that organization's annual meeting in Baltimore in October. His award-winning story, "A Change in the Air," published Dec. 13, 2005, described the impact of climate change on the Colorado Rockies. The NASW's Science in Society Awards are considered to be among the highest honors in science journalism, primarily because the winners are chosen by a panel of their peers and the awards are not sponsored by any special interest group. Winners receive $1000 and a certificate.

 

Ferguson '62, Creator of Science Center Sculpture, Featured in Science

Ferguson's sculpture outside the Science Center.
Ferguson's sculpture outside the Science Center.

Sculptor Helaman Ferguson '62 was profiled in the October issue of Science in an article titled "Carving His Own Unique Niche, in Symbols and Stone." Ferguson, a former mathematics professor at Brigham Young University, crafted the sculpture in front of Hamilton's Science Center. The article notes that after learning stone carving as a teenager, Ferguson wanted to study art as well as math. "He chose Hamilton College, a liberal arts school in upstate New York near where he had spent most of his childhood, where he could do both."

The article describes Ferguson's Science Center sculpture: "The work, made of 10-centimeter-thick granite, centers on a pair of massive disks representing the planets Mars and Venus. 'Venus' is exactly 161 centimeters in diameter - the height of the average female Hamilton student, taken from the records of one of the college's psychology professors. 'Mars' is 174 centimeters in diameter- the average male student's height. The disks are inlaid with tiles in a pattern defined by the Poincare and Beltrami-Klein models of plane hyperbolic geometry." Science subcribers may view the entire article.

 

Strully '69 and New England Center for Children Featured on CBS Evening News

Vinny Strully '69, and the New England Center for Children (NECC), where he is executive director, were featured in a segment on CBS Evening News with Katie Couric on Dec. 19. The New England Center for Children, in Southborough, Mass., is a private, nonprofit autism education center dedicated to bringing out human potential and creating productive lives for children with autism. The news clip is related to the bill to finance autism research (Combating Autism Act S. 843) that was signed by President George W. Bush. News reporter Sharyn Alfonsi visited NECC to look deeper into the school designed specifically to educate children diagnosed with autism.

NECC and Hamilton have conducted a Coop Learning program for more than 10 years. More than 30 Hamilton students have spent a semester at NECC where currently 15 alumni are working.


Corning Museum of Glass Unveils Simpson '72 Megaplanet

Josh Simpson '72 with his Megaplanet.
Josh Simpson '72 with his Megaplanet.
The Corning Museum of Glass recently unveiled Josh Simpson's '72 Megaplanet, the 1000th paperweight in the museum's collection of paperweights. Simpson's Planet is the focal point of the Museum's new exhibit, Worlds Within: The Evolution of the Paperweight. The paperweight is 13 inches in diameter, weighs over 100 pounds, and contains over fifty different colors of glass. The planet is a clear orb with swirling oceans, continents, spaceships in orbit, and many objects that can be left up to the imagination.

According to The Corning Leader, making the orb was not a simple process. It took Simpson seven months just to prepare his studio to attempt a project so big. He had to upgrade his furnaces, and completely replace the electrical system in his studio, which meant digging a tunnel beneath the road leading to the barn. He had to buy a new generator, because losing power during the 12-week cooling process would have been disastrous. Simpson successfully produced three "Megaplanets" and allowed the museum to pick which one to use in the exhibit. NBC affiliates aired the story of Simpson's Megaplanet, The World's Largest Paperweight, across the continent.