http://www2.sbc.edu/newsletter/index.php/site/index/ en newsletter@sbc.edu Copyright 2009 2009-11-02T13:23:00-05:00 http://www2.sbc.edu/newsletter/index.php/site/news_briefs1/ http://www2.sbc.edu/newsletter/index.php/site/news_briefs1/#When:13:23:00Z Bum Chum Bazaar is Dec. 1 The Bum Chums, one of Sweet Briar’s tap clubs, will host its annual bazaar from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 1 in Prothro Atrium and Josey Dining Room. The event will benefit the Bum Chum Scholarship. This year’s event will have a “Winter Wonderland” theme and is being billed as a one-stop shop for all of your holiday purchases. There will be holiday music, including Christmas carols sung by the Sweet Tones, and candy canes and other festive accoutrements. Vendors include, among others, Stella and Dot (jewelry), Carol Schofield (jewelry), Preppy Palooza (dog collars, leashes, key chains, headbands, etc.), Chocolates R Us, Pillow Mint (home accents), Class of 2012 (key chains, etc.), and Shay’s Unique Gifts (painted wine glasses and cups, flip flops, jewelry, handbags and accessories). Admission is free and it is open to the public. Parking is available behind Protho Hall. The $1,000 scholarship will be awarded to a deserving student by the Student Government Association. For more information, contact Alexis Hart at hart11@sbc.edu or (860) 967-2635. Johnston’s Team Wins Briar Bowl A team led by Sweet Briar College librarian Lisa Johnston won the Briar Bowl on Wednesday, Oct. 28 at Le Bistro. At the semi-annual trivia contest, which is hosted by the Academic Resource Center, 15 teams representing a wide range of academic disciplines, including athletics, battled it out. The first place team included Johnston and Sarah Strapp ’10, Courtney Hurt ’10, Kate Rose ’10 and Abby Johnston ’12. The second place team was led by visiting assistant professor of history John Ashbrook and assistant professor of English Tony Lilly’s team placed third. Dean Jonathan Green emceed the competition. SBC Harpists Play in ‘Harps of Gold’ Benefit Concert Four members of the Sweet Briar Community performed Sunday, Nov. 1 in “Harps of Gold,” a benefit concert for the Wednesday Music Club, a Charlottesville group that funds scholarships for young musicians. The concert featured Virginia Schweninger, harp instructor at SBC, and her ensemble, Harp Songs of the Blue Ridge, playing golden harps made in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. The ensemble also includes Sweet Briar senior Caroline Rainey and Becky Edmondson, who works in the dean’s office. Claire Wittman, the 15-year-old daughter of associate professor of theater Loretta Wittman, also performed. She sang “Ave Maria,” accompanied by a harpist. According to Lynn Buck, wife of SBC Dean Jonathan Green, who attended the concert, it was a “full house.” Art History Web Site Celebrates Birthday Christopher Witcombe’s Art History Resources on the Web, the oldest and most visited art history Web site in the world, celebrated its 14th birthday on Saturday, Oct. 24. According to Witcombe, a Google search for “art history” has ranked the Web site in first place for more than 10 years. The Web site receives more than 20,000 page views per day and more than seven million per year. Art History Resources was praised as one of the “Best of the Web” by Forbes magazine and has been the recipient of numerous awards. Most recently, it was selected by the National Endowment for the Humanities for inclusion on the NEH Web site, EDSITEment, as “one of the best online resources for education in the humanities.” It is listed on thousands of Web sites around the world and included in many published Internet and World Wide Web research and teaching reference guides and directories. Announcements 2009-11-02T13:23:00-05:00 http://www2.sbc.edu/newsletter/index.php/site/sbc_biology_receives_federal_funding_for_environmental_outreach/ http://www2.sbc.edu/newsletter/index.php/site/sbc_biology_receives_federal_funding_for_environmental_outreach/#When:13:00:00Z Sweet Briar College’s biology department has received a $15,000 grant from the Environmental Protection Agency to support an outreach program called “Schools for Pools.”Sweet Briar College’s biology department has received a $15,000 grant from the Environmental Protection Agency to support an outreach program called “Schools for Pools.” The program’s overarching goal is to increase awareness of the need for wetlands protection, particularly vernal pools, by connecting with kindergarten through 12th-grade students and their teachers from four regional school districts. Using teacher workshops, classroom instruction and directed field trips, experts will guide students and teachers in projects to find and study vernal pools in their local areas. The field activities and classroom lessons will be age-appropriate and are designed to meet Virginia’s Standards of Learning. But “Schools for Pools” creator, Sweet Briar naturalist-in-residence Michael Hayslett, said the program is also about encouraging the participants to “adopt” the vernal pools and become ambassadors for them in their home communities. The plan calls for the groups to present their findings to their local governments and to seek media coverage. Vernal pools are seasonal wetlands that a variety of animal and plant species — some of them rare — depend on to survive. The ponds typically fill up in fall and winter, creating vital amphibian breeding grounds in spring, before drying out in summer. Frogs and salamanders that live in the surrounding woods trek a half-mile or more every year to the same pool where they were born to lay eggs and raise tadpoles. Migratory waterfowl, deer and other local fauna also rely on the ponds. Although these wetlands’ ecological importance to the species they support is well understood by biologists, the average Central Virginian may be unaware that they exist, much less that they should be valued and preserved, Hayslett said. Despite statewide legal protection, many are destroyed, often unwittingly, by filling, logging or pollution. “The surprising thing is how many there are in this area,” Hayslett said. “They’re really quite common when you know where to look, and when to look and how to look.” Hayslett and Sweet Briar will work with several partners on the “Schools for Pools” project, including Boxley Materials Co., Bedford County Economic Development Authority, Lynchburg College’s Claytor Nature Study Center, the Central Virginia Chapter of the Virginia Master Naturalist Program and Appomattox Court House National Historical Park. Most are providing access to property where vernal pools are found. Others, such as the Central Virginia Master Naturalists, are volunteering time and expertise on the field trips. Participants, whose schools were selected for their proximity to wetland sites, will be students and teachers from Temperance Elementary in Amherst County, Buckingham Middle, Appomattox Middle and Staunton River High School in Bedford County. Hayslett will provide in-class instruction at the schools, and will be assisted in the field by VMN volunteers — including four Sweet Briar students who are completing the organization’s 40-hour training program. Each class will take three field trips. One in late fall will follow the classroom visit. Students will return to the same site in the spring to observe the seasonal changes, and they will make a final excursion to a new site to compare how one wetland differs from another. The program’s third component, the teacher training workshops, will be held at Sweet Briar. One will be held in December and another in early spring. Teachers may choose to attend either one. Hayslett is scheduling the fall field trips, a process that was postponed due to a delay in the EPA funding disbursement. But he’s been coordinating with the schools in the meantime and is confident that that all four trips will be scheduled before the Thanksgiving break. Feature Stories 2009-11-02T13:00:00-05:00 http://www2.sbc.edu/newsletter/index.php/site/ancient_japans_colorful_tale_of_genji_subject_of_gallery_talk/ http://www2.sbc.edu/newsletter/index.php/site/ancient_japans_colorful_tale_of_genji_subject_of_gallery_talk/#When:13:00:00Z John Goulde, professor of religion and director of Asian studies, will lead an informal gallery talk at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 19 in Pannell Gallery. He will discuss an image on display in the current exhibition, “Language Arts: Images, Words, and Stories Selected From the Permanent Collection.” Admission is free and open to the public. The work is a circa 1775-1790 woodblock print by Suzuki Harunobu depicting a scene from the third chapter of the ancient Japanese classic, “The Tale of Genji.” The novel was written in the 11th century by a noblewoman and tells of the romances and adventures of its colorful hero Genji, a prince in the emperor’s court. Goulde’s presentation is the third in a series of talks held in conjunction with exhibitions of works from the College’s permanent art collection and the final one related to “Language Arts.” Faculty or staff members lead the talks, bringing to the discussion a perspective of the works from their own areas of interest and expertise. “The focus is on the interesting story behind the images,” said SBC galleries director Karol Lawson, who organized the series with the aim of bringing visitors from both on and off campus into Pannell who are not regular patrons. “Sometimes people are intimidated by art history,” she said. “With these informal gallery talks, I hope visitors will realize that they can learn about art while they’re also enjoying thrilling stories of derring-do, drama, romance, skullduggery.” For more information, please contact Lawson at or Ext. 6248. Announcements 2009-11-02T13:00:00-05:00 http://www2.sbc.edu/newsletter/index.php/site/media_update19/ http://www2.sbc.edu/newsletter/index.php/site/media_update19/#When:12:01:00Z Here are some of the stories that have appeared in local media as a result of the work college relations is doing to promote the College, its people and programs: Higher Education Lynchburg News & Advance Sept. 21, 2009 Re: Endowed faculty chairs announced. Julie Andrews the subject of SBC student’s senior directorial project Nelson County Times Sept. 24, 2009 Re: “Julie Andrews Musical Tribute,” directed by Sandi Prentice ‘10 Sweet Briar College’s 10th President Inaugurated Amherst New Era-Progress Sept. 30, 2009 Sweet Briar dancers to take the stage Waynesboro News Virginian Oct. 5, 2009 Musical Tribute Lynchburg News & Advance Oct. 7, 2009 Re: “Julie Andrews Musical Tribute,” directed by Sandi Prentice ‘10 Creating Craniums: Sweet Briar to host VCCA artist Waynesboro News Virginian Oct. 7, 2009 Calendar Events Lynchburg News & Advance Oct. 9, 2009 Re: “Julie Andrews Musical Tribute,” directed by Sandi Prentice ‘10 College Event Waynesboro News Virginians Oct. 12, 2009 Re: Writers Series and “The Bacchae” Sweet Briar schedules Senior Dance Concert Lynchburg News & Advance Oct. 15, 2009 Seniors prepare for dance concert Amherst New Era-Progress Oct. 15, 2009 Re: Senior Dance Concert College Profiles Richmond Times-Dispatch Oct. 19, 2009 Re: 2009 Media General College Insert Get organized to find the funds Richmond Times-Dispatch Oct. 19, 2009 Re: 2009 Media General College Insert Taking time for fun Richmond Times-Dispatch Oct. 19, 2009 Re: 2009 Media General College Insert Fairfax teen may have died in Korean exorcism, police say Washington Post Oct. 21, 2009 Re: John Goulde, religion faculty, quoted. Will President Obama’s support help Deeds? WSET/ABC-13 Oct. 22, 2009 Re: Steve Bragaw interviewed. Va. police probe Korean exorcism in teen’s death Arizona Republic Oct. 22, 2009 Re: John Goulde, religion faculty, quoted. Police: Va. Teen may have died in Korean exorcism Annison (Ala.) Star Oct. 24, 2009 Re: John Goulde, religion faculty, quoted. Writers Series to host Tinti Waynesboro News Virginian Oct. 26, 2009 Obama rallies for Deeds. But will it help? WSET/ABC-13 Oct. 27, 2009 Re: Steve Bragaw interviewed. They’re Baaaaack: Ghost Tours Explore Sweet Haunts Appomattox News Oct. 27, 2009 Biologist, Best-selling Author’s View has Evolved Since Darwin Appomattox News Oct. 27, 2009 Rockin’ for the Smile Benefit Concert for Operation Smile Appomattox News Oct. 27, 2009 SBC Writers Series Welcomes Hannah Tinti Nov. 5 Appomattox News Oct. 27, 2009 Classics Professor Discusses Homer, Plato Depictions in Art Appomattox News Oct. 27, 2009 SBC Museum Ghost Tours return Thursday, Sunday Amherst New Era-Progress Oct. 29, 2009 Biologist to talk evolution at SBC Lynchburg News & Advance Oct. 30, 2009 Department News 2009-11-02T12:01:00-05:00 http://www2.sbc.edu/newsletter/index.php/site/casteen_named_distinguished_judge_for_uva_writing_contest/ http://www2.sbc.edu/newsletter/index.php/site/casteen_named_distinguished_judge_for_uva_writing_contest/#When:12:00:01Z John Casteen IV, poet and visiting assistant professor of English at Sweet Briar College, was named one of two distinguished judges for the 23rd annual Writer’s Eye competition, sponsored by the University of Virginia Art Museum. Casteen is the author of the poetry collection, “Free Union.” He lives in Earlysville, Va., and has taught at Sweet Briar since 2007. He will judge poetry entries in the contest’s high school and university/adult divisions. Novelist Sarah Collins Honenberger, author of “Waltzing Cowboys” and “White Lies,” was selected to judge the high school and university/adult prose entries. Honenberger was a 2002 fellow at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. The Writer’s Eye competition runs from Sept. 21 through Nov. 20 and challenges writers from third grade to adult to create an original piece of poetry or prose using artwork from the university’s art gallery as inspiration. Winning entries will appear in the 2009 Writer’s Eye anthology. This year’s contest focuses on three exhibitions currently on display at the museum: “Thomas Jefferson’s Academical Village: The Creation of an Architectural Masterpiece,” “The Expanding Eye: Art Inspired by Edgar Allan Poe,” and “Abstract Photography: Selections from Glenstone.” Writers also are free to draw insight from items in the museum’s permanent collection. For more information, visit the University of Virginia Art Museum’s Web site. Department News 2009-11-02T12:00:01-05:00 http://www2.sbc.edu/newsletter/index.php/site/bragaws_online_musings_about_google_wave_help_spark_discussion/ http://www2.sbc.edu/newsletter/index.php/site/bragaws_online_musings_about_google_wave_help_spark_discussion/#When:12:00:00Z Anyone noticed there’s a whole lot of blogging going on these days at Sweet Briar? Well, the Chronicle of Higher Education’s Jeff Young noticed one titled “Google Wave in the classroom.” “I’m keeping my fingers crossed about getting a chance to try out google wave as a course management software,” wrote government professor Steve Bragaw in his brief post. Young posted his own story on the Chronicle’s Wired Campus blog quoting Bragaw and linking to his SBC post. From there it caught the attention of several other bloggers with the headline “Could Google Wave Replace Course-Management Systems?” Comments ensued. So did Bragaw’s wishful thinking about Google Wave set off a brouhaha? Maybe just a small one. You can check out Bragaw’s blog and reaction to it at http://bragaw.blog.sbc.edu/?p=1458. Department News 2009-11-02T12:00:00-05:00 http://www2.sbc.edu/newsletter/index.php/site/biologist_bestselling_authors_view_of_planet_has_evolved_since_darwin/ http://www2.sbc.edu/newsletter/index.php/site/biologist_bestselling_authors_view_of_planet_has_evolved_since_darwin/#When:12:00:00Z Evolutionary biologist Olivia Judson is working on her second book but she won’t be reprising the alter ego she created for her first, the bestselling “Dr. Tatiana’s Sex Advice to All Creation.”Evolutionary biologist Olivia Judson is working on her second book but she won’t be reprising the alter ego she created for her first, the bestselling “Dr. Tatiana’s Sex Advice to All Creation.” Judson, a research fellow at the Imperial College London and author of the weekly online New York Times column “The Wild Side,” will present a sneak peek of the book at Sweet Briar College in her lecture, “Glad to Have Evolved.” She will speak at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 3 in Murchison Lane Auditorium at Babcock Fine Arts Center. Admission is free and open to the public. “Dr. Tatiana” tackles the evolutionary biology of animal sex in the guise of an advice column. She answers questions like one from I Like ’Em Headless in Lisbon, who begins, “I’m a European praying mantis, and I’ve noticed I enjoy sex more if I bite my lovers’ heads off first.” As Dr. Tatiana, Judson parlayed the serious and often strange science of evolution’s most fundamental process into a popular book and three-part television series. But she turned down her publisher’s request for a sequel. Speaking by phone from her home in London, she said she wasn’t interested in writing the same book over and over. Her lecture will cover some aspects of the new book which, put simply, is about the planet we live on and how 4.5 billion years of life evolving on its surface transformed it from boring to awe-inspiring. Earth today, she said, has largely been built by living organisms. The notion that biology accounts for much of Earth’s present-day geology is relatively new science. And it’s a reversal of our understanding of the primary patterns of evolution — where the geology comes first and burgeoning life adapts to survive on it. Species do evolve, of course, but it works both ways. Judson cited studies showing more than half the minerals on Earth exist as a consequence of living beings. And that’s good, because if you think about it, she said, “A planet that never had life would be much less interesting than this one.” Judson will touch on three of Charles Darwin’s insights — common ancestry, natural selection and sexual selection — and comment on how we understand them today. But don’t expect Darwin to dominate the conversation, despite this year being the sesquicentennial of his “On the Origin of the Species.” Not to diminish him or the work, she said, but, “I’m interested in the current field and too much Darwin worship is a mistake. ‘Origin’ did change everything but it is also a historical document.” The study of evolution didn’t start or end with Darwin, she notes, and if it did all rest on one man, that would be dull, too. “I think it would be quite nice to write a book about evolution without talking about Darwin,” Judson said. She hopes people will come away with a different perspective of the planet, and a sense of wonder. There is an implicit message that if life on Earth — from the tiniest bacterium to humans — fundamentally alters the rock under our feet, there are implications for the way we live. But she isn’t interested in spelling them out. “It’s more powerful when you come to them yourself rather than being told,” she said. “Evolutionists can be terribly bullying. I would much rather explore the wonder of the planet. It sounds a little bit mystical, but I don’t mean to be mystical. It’s just that the more I learn about the planet, the more I am amazed by it.” Judson will sign copies of “Dr. Tatiana’s Sex Advice to All Creation” following the lecture. For more information, contact jsteven@sbc.edu or call Ext. 6365.  Feature Stories 2009-11-02T12:00:00-05:00 http://www2.sbc.edu/newsletter/index.php/site/bonnies_big_yam/ http://www2.sbc.edu/newsletter/index.php/site/bonnies_big_yam/#When:12:00:00Z Associate professor of physical education Bonnie Kestner holds a sweet potato she dug up from her plot at the Sweet Briar Community Garden. The big yam weighed 5 pounds, 8 ounces and was 10 inches long and 6 inches in diameter. Kestner said the football-sized spud started off as a shoot that alumnae director Louise Zingaro gave her in May. Feature Photos 2009-11-02T12:00:00-05:00 http://www2.sbc.edu/newsletter/index.php/site/lucy_lou/ http://www2.sbc.edu/newsletter/index.php/site/lucy_lou/#When:12:00:00Z Lucy Lou is a light honey golden retriever who belongs to adjunct instructor of government Larry Janow. She sometimes accompanies Janow to work on the second floor of Gray Hall. According to Janow, the students love Lucy and she’s very friendly, easy going and curious. She is teething, too, and with all of her youthful energy she can be a “pain in the neck” to his older retriever, Hannah. SBC Pets 2009-11-02T12:00:00-05:00 http://www2.sbc.edu/newsletter/index.php/site/new_faces24/ http://www2.sbc.edu/newsletter/index.php/site/new_faces24/#When:12:00:00Z Danielle Delude Athletics Danielle Delude is the new softball coach and recruiting facilitator. She came to Sweet Briar after coaching at Stonehill College for the past six years and serving as assistant coach for four years prior to taking the head coaching position. While at Stonehill, Delude guided her teams to the highest win totals in the softball program’s history. Through her guidance, her teams excelled both on the field and in the classroom. She coached a number of all-conference teams and all-conference academic teams. In her past three seasons her teams combined for more than 60 wins. Delude was a four-year varsity athlete for Stonehill, and she batted .260 during her 1998 senior season and led the team in RBIs. She is a member of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association. Her first day was Oct. 5. Jean Hazelwood Athletics Jean Hazelwood started on Oct. 1 as Sweet Briar’s new director of athletic facilities. She is in charge of the new 53,000-square-foot Fitness and Athletics Center, along with the Daisy Williams Gymnasium and all outdoor facilities. Prior to coming to Sweet Briar, she was director of athletic facilities at Randolph College for four years. Hazelwood is a graduate of Randolph-Macon Woman’s College, where she was a member of the varsity soccer team. After graduating from R-MWC, she earned a master’s in health and physical education from East Stroudsburg University. She interned at Brown University, where she served as an event manager for the university’s varsity athletic department. She also served as the facility and equipment manager at Vassar College, assisting in the daily operation of the athletic facilities and managing game-day operations for Vassar’s 25 varsity sports. New Faces 2009-11-02T12:00:00-05:00