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Raymond Kierstead,
Richard F. Scholz professor of history and
humanities, emeritus, was honored with the Distinguished Bowdoin Educator
award. The award, given by Bowdoin Colleges alumni council,
recognizes outstanding achievement by a Bowdoin alumnus in education.
The citation noted that Kiersteads record of scholarly
research and service to Reed College over the years was most deserving
of recognition. Kierstead, a 1956 graduate of Bowdoin, will
receive the award at the colleges convocation in June.
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The artwork of Gerri
Ondrizek, associate professor of
art, was exhibited in two Oregon galleries this fall in conjunction
with Crossing Boundaries: East-West Symposium in Print Art.
Her work from the last two years on stem cells and cellular tissues
was shown in the Fairbanks Gallery at Oregon State University in
Corvallis. Ondrizek also created a new installation, Recoding Bird
Songs, for the Littman Gallery at Portland State University. She
recorded bird songs in her garden, then made sonograms from them.
She enlarged the sonograms and carved them in to nine-foot planks
that she had milled from a fir tree, creating giant block prints.
She then printed the sonograms onto 10 x 12 pieces of
linen and rice paper (see at right). They are hanging as part of
an installation that includes the original bird song recordings
and the carved fir planks; in its use of woodblock prints it refers
to the ancient history of printmaking. Recent graduates Jeremy Wingfield
01 and Donna White 01 worked with Ondrizek on many aspects
of the installation.
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Darius Rejali,
associate professor of political science, was recently a special consultant
for The History of Punishment and Torture, a three-part television series
that aired in Britain in November, and Punishment: Cruel and Unusual,
which aired for the first time in the U.S. in November on Court TV. Rejali
has been studying the effects of violence, and torture in particular,
on modern societies and teaching a class on state violence for several
years. He also recently gave talks at the Woodrow Wilson International
Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C., the World Affairs Council, and
Reed College on Iran beyond Tehran: Afghan Refugees and Provincial
Politics.
In 2001 Rejali travelled through rural and urban Iran examining Iranian
politics. He focused on the Afghan refugee crisis and the emergence of
civic politics in provincial cities. Looking in towards Tehran from the
margins gave him a new perspective on Iranian politics, Iranian-Afghan
relations, and the electoral coalitions contributing to President Khatamis
victory.
Two Reed professors were recently guests on
National Public Radio programs
Ellen Stauder acting dean of the faculty
and professor of English and humanities, appeared on Talk of the Nation
in a discussion on December 11 on academic standards and grade inflation.
You can read about the show or listen to it here.
Ottomar Rudolf,
emeritus professor of German and humanities, was a guest on NPRs
On the Media program in November, speaking on indoctrination and reflecting
on his past in Germany. A transcript may be found on the web here.
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Genetics,
a package incorporating an extensively reworked fifth edition genetics
textbook and a new CD-ROM by professor of biology
Peter J. Russell, was published this
fall by Benjamin Cummings.
The CD-ROM includes 50 animations illustrating key and difficult concepts
of genetics, 24 iActivities (interactive exercises for students to
promote problem-solving), and 600 quizzes. Russell says, I was
involved with the development of the animations and iActivities from
start to finish to ensure that the material was correctly integrated
with the text. Usually CD-ROMs are developed after a book is complete
and with minimal involvement of the author. Russells textbook
is one of the top genetics textbooks in the nation, in use by more
than 150 colleges and universities. His active research in the field
has gained him grants and recognition from such foundations as NSF,
NIH, and the American Cancer Society. |
David Schiff s
Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra, Canti di Davide, had its world
premiere in October, performed by distinguished clarinetist David Shifrin
with the Virginia Symphony at Chrysler Hall in Norfolk, Virginia. The
concerto was dedicated to Shifrin and to the memory of renowned pianist
David Golub, who died a year ago at age 50. The three Davids were friends,
colleagues, and fellow artists for over 20 years. Schiff described the
concerto as a musical journey which begins in shock and turmoil
and . . . finds peace. Since Golub divided his life between Italy
and America, Schiff composed Canti di Davide as a journey eastward to
Italy, with the movements alluding to various aspects of Golubs
life and character. The Virginian-Pilot wrote in a review of the concert
that Schiffs music is attractive and accessible. . . . the
concluding pages are especially memorable for their quiet resignation.
Schiff is the R.P. Wollenberg professor of music.
Mark Bedau 77,
associate professor of philosophy and humanities, was cited as an expert
in the philosophy of biology in a December 18 New York Times article on
how the definitions of life have been changing. In Defining the
Undefinable: The Living Cell, written by Natalie Angier, Bedau weighed
in on the current state of life and technology: The question is
especially interesting now that science and technology are continually
pushing the boundaries of what living or lifelike systems exist, and what
they may look like in the future, he said. Bedau also discussed
supple adaptation, the ability of groups and populations to
respond to changes with new adaptations, as the key to life. Others quoted
in the article came from UC-San Diego, Case Western Reserve, Princeton,
the University of Massachusetts, Rockefeller University, and the City
University of New York.
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