All News

John Mavrogenis, a member of the Class of 1964 and former Director of Alumni Affairs, and a devoted contributor to the Hamilton College community for more than a quarter century, died on December 29.

Jay Williams, the Walcott-Bartlett Professor of Religious Studies, co-authored Volume 252 of the Dictionary of Literary Biography, which was published in December 2001. Williams provided three entries for this volume on British philosophers from 1550-1799. His articles were biographies of Benjamin Whichcote, John Smith, and Nathaniel Culverwell. Williams also published two book reviews: Aurobindo Ghose, A Greater Psychology: An Introduction to Sri Aurobindo's Psychological Thought (The Quest, Nov/Dec. 2001), and Sarangerel, Riding Windhorses: A Journey into the Heart of Mongolian Shamanism (The Quest, Jan/Feb 2002).

The men's basketball team was defeated 93-84 by the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh, in the final round of the Adidas Desert Shoot-Out in Las Vegas on Wednesday. The loss at the tournament leaves the Continentals with a 5-1 record for the season.

Religious Studies Professor Heidi Ravven gave an invited paper, "The Garden of Eden: Maimonides' Account of the Imaginative Origins of Morals and Society," for the Society for Medieval and Renaissance Philosophy at the annual meeting of the American Philosophical Association in Atlanta, GA, in December.

The men's basketball team defeated Wartburg College (Iowa), 84-73, in a first-round game at the Adidas Desert Shoot-Out in Las Vegas on Dec. 18. Joe Finley led scorers with 22 points. The Continentals will face the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh in the next round on Wednesday, Dec. 19 at 5:45 p.m. (Pacific time)

Jeff James, a 1975 graduate of Hamilton and the new director of the Cunningham Dance Foundation in New York, was interviewed in the December 13 issue of the Chronicle of Philanthropy. He was formerly vice president for advancement and external affairs at the California Institute of the Arts.

The Santa Claus made famous by wood block engraver Thomas Nast came alive for a group of 6th graders from Clinton's St. Mary's School and residents of Alterra Village on December 14. The two groups were treated to a lecture by Hamilton College Professor Jay Williams, who collects wood block engravings by Nast and is curator of an exhibition of Nast's Santas at the Emerson Gallery.

Scott Barrett, a 1990 graduate of Hamilton, was appointed vice president of institutional advancement at LeMoyne College. Barrett will oversee development, alumni and parent programs, and communications and public affairs for the College. Prior to joining LeMoyne, Barrett's advancement career included nearly six years as director of annual giving and associate director of major gifts at Hamilton.

The 4th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr., Service Day will be held on Saturday, January 26, 10:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. Volunteers will paint, clean, and perform other community service tasks in Utica, Rome and Clinton. Contact Senior Associate Dean of Students Nancy Thompson to sign up.

Taking the family to see The Nutcracker has become a holiday ritual for thousands of people in the United States, but this wasn't always the case. Associate Professor of English Catherine Gunther Kodat, a former dance critic, says that The Nutcracker emerged as a national holiday "tradition" only in the 1950s, largely thanks to the efforts of George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein of the New York City Ballet