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The Newman Council hosted its annual Trust Treat on Halloween for children from Thea Bowman House in Utica. Trust Treat is a Halloween celebration that brings youth from the Utica area, as well as the children of Hamilton employees, to the campus for a safe and fun evening of trick-or treating.  Students in residence halls, academic departments and campus organizations dress in costume, decorate their spaces and hand out candy to the visitors.

Brian Levin-Stankevich ’72  was inaugurated the 17th president of Westminster College (Salt Lake City, Utah) on Oct. 20.  The Buffalo, N.Y., native served as chancellor of the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire from 2006 to 2012, before becoming president of Westminster.  He has also held positions at the University at Buffalo (SUNY), Florida Atlantic University and Eastern Washington University.

Assistant Professor of Chemistry Adam W. Van Wynsberghe presented a seminar titled “Hitting the Target: Simulations of the ligand binding pathways of influenza neuraminidase” on Oct. 16 at Colgate University. The seminar was co-sponsored by Colgate’s chemistry and biology departments and primarily described the work of three undergraduate researchers in the Van Wynsberghe lab: Erica Losito ’12 and Carmen Montagnon ’13, as well as Jeffrey Sung of the University of California-San Diego.

The evening of Sept. 19 was a fine one for students on the Program in New York.  The group was treated to dinner at Gabriel’s, followed by a performance at the New York Philharmonic, all sponsored by alumnus Kevin Kennedy ’7o and his wife Karen.

The DownBeat Keys, a Brooklyn-based hip-hop band featuring five Hamilton College alumni, will open for Jon Bon Jovi and The Kings of Suburbia on Wednesday, Dec. 5, at the Best Buy Theater in New York.

Jazz musician Paul Kogut ’88 was recently featured in Jazz Times after the release of his third album Turn of Phrase. Kogut grew up and studied in Utica with Carmen Caramanica.  He was taught later by Mick Goodrick, and a Hamilton course allowed him to travel for lessons with Pat Marino in Philadelphia.  He later attended the Manhattan School of Music, and then served as a lecturer in jazz guitar at Hamilton. He currently tours nationally in support of his music.

George Baker Jr. ’74 and Frank Vlossak ’89 have returned to Hamilton to share their real-world experience with 12 students through a unique Lobbying and Government Relations course. Baker and Vlossak, who hold the positions of distinguished lecturers of American Public Policy and Practice, previously co-taught the course in 2008.

Hamilton students are now pursuing their studies on all seven continents. On Oct. 10, Chief Scientist Eugene Domack, the J. W. Johnson Family Professorship of Environmental Studies, began an 18-day cruise to Antarctica along with two Hamilton students and two alumni. Students are writing blog updates about their trip each day.

Bipartisanship is generally in short supply in Washington.  However, Hamilton’s Program in Washington students got a glimpse of it at a briefing at the American Enterprise Institute on September 19.  Senators Ron Wyden (D, Oregon) and Marco Rubio (R, Florida) discussed a bill they had introduced, the Student Right to Know Before You Go Act.

“The art world” is an abstract concept, consisting of careers in everything from law to painting to history. To an undergraduate, the concept of entering this fickle, fast-paced arena may be overwhelming or intimidating. During Fallcoming Weekend, Associate Professor of Art History Deborah Pokinski led an alumni panel discussion on “Careers in Art,” attracting dozens of students seeking advice. The discussion was held in the newly opened Wellin Museum of Art.