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WAMC/Northeast Public Radio’s Academic Minute will feature William R. Kenan Professor of Biology Ernest Williams on Wednesday, July 17. The broadcast can be heard locally at 7:34 a.m. or 3:56 p.m. at 90.3 FM and on InsideHigherEd.com.

William R. Kenan Professor of Biology Ernest Williams presented a talk at the 62nd Annual Meeting of the Lepidopterists’ Society. The talk was presented as part of a symposium on conservation.

Six Hamilton faculty members were recognized for their research and creative successes with the Dean’s Scholarly Achievement Awards, presented by Dean of Faculty Patrick Reynolds during Class & Charter Day on May 13. The awards recognize individual accomplishment but reflect a richness and depth of scholarship and creative activity across the entire faculty.

New Scientist magazine quoted Ernest Williams, the William R. Kenan Professor of Biology,  in “The chilly secret to monarch migration,” an article that examined possible trigger prompting these butterflies to leave the warmth of Mexico to travel to the United States in the spring. In the Feb. 17 article, Williams commented on how warming temperatures might change migration patterns.

Ernest Williams, the William R. Kenan Professor of Biology, led his Adirondack class -  Environmental Studies 220, Forever Wild: The Cultural and Natural Histories of the Adirondack Park - on a snowshoe hike into the wilderness near Old Forge on Feb. 10. The group hiked to a frozen-over beaver pond and identified tree species growing in the Adirondacks. It was a beautiful day for exploring the northern forest, with fresh snow and blue skies.

In a new study, Hamilton College Biology Professor Ernest Williams and Boston University researchers have found that butterflies show signs of being affected by climate change in a way similar to plants and bees, but not birds, in the Northeast United States. Their findings indicate that butterflies are flying earlier in warmer years.

Several Hamilton faculty members contributed to a new book, Pathways to Excellence in Teaching, edited by Ernest H. Williams, the Christian A. Johnson Professor of Biology, and published by The Couper Press.

“Microclimates and the Survival of Overwintering Monarchs” by William R. Kenan Professor of Biology Ernest Williams was published in the summer issue of American Butterflies magazine.

Ernest Williams, the William R. Kenan Professor of Biology, published an article titled “Population Loss and Gain in the Rare Butterfly Euphydryas gillettii (Nymphalidae)” in Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society (66:147-155).  This study revealed some of the effects of climate change on living organisms.

For the 29th year in a row, the ecology class (Bio. 237) went up Whiteface Mountain to look at how and why the composition and structure of the forest changes with elevation. The 23 students on the Oct. 7 trip were led by Associate Professor of Biology Bill Pfitsch and Ernest Williams, the William R. Kenan Professor of Biology.