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Upcoming highlights

REFLECT with academics, artists and activists in the final session of the roundtable series “Entwined: Indigenous, Afro-Indigenous, African American,” scheduled for Tuesday, May 10.

CELEBRATE the power of mentorship as Williams’ communities of color, friends and allies gather virtually for Bolin Legacy Weekend, May 13-14.

OWN your career break and learn the latest return-to-work strategies at the iRelaunch Return to Work Conference, May 17-19. Use the FREE4WILLIAMSALUM code at checkout.

JOIN the conversation about The Henna Artist, our current Purple Prose Book Club selection, and register now for a special May 18 author talk featuring Alka Joshi.

REGISTER for Admission 101, a program for alumni families with high school sophomores and juniors, held virtually this year on Monday, May 23.

Making Headlines

President Mandel's announcement last week about Williams' transition to an all-grant financial aid initiative was covered across the country. Forbes covered the story along with WBUR, The Boston Globe and The Chronicle of Higher Education, among others.

President Mandel also announced the Board's decision on investment practices and climate change, which was greeted with enthusiasm.

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The Results are in

Sending deep gratitude to all the alumni who made their annual gift by March 15, and a big shout-out to the agents who gently reminded classmates of the deadline. Our annual trophies recognize classes for both participation and total dollars. Find the results here.

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WE THE PURPLE

In July 2021, intrepid Ephs Juan Baena ’06 and Michael Rodriguez ’17 jumped into an RV plastered with banners celebrating the Society of Alumni’s Bicentennial and crisscrossed the country interviewing alumni in their hometowns. One of their stops was the Denver home of Tamaan '99 and Camille '00 Osbourne-Roberts. Tamaan talked with them about providing underserved communities with health care, capoeira, Carnival and kindness. Find the whole series here.

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GOING CLUBBING?

The Williams Club’s new NYC home is The Penn Club, located at 30 W. 44th Street. Learn more about its many Eph membership benefits, including a free gym, expansive reciprocity, lovely accommodations, and interesting programs and social events.

Alumni in the News

For theater lovers, Greg Pliska ’84, composer and puzzle maker, will offer a Broadway-themed crossword each month for Playbill print subscribers.

Eliza Nemser ’98, co-founder and executive director of Climate Changemakers, was named one of The Grist 50—a list of emerging “fixers” in climate, equity and sustainability—for her work inspiring people to take political action for climate advocacy.

Will Hardy ’10 explains to The Boston Globe how his connections with former coaches Mike Maker and the late Curt Tong led him to coaching basketball for the San Antonio Spurs and now the Boston Celtics.

Claire Schwartz ’10 received a 2022 Whiting Award, a $50,000 prize for emerging writers in fiction, nonfiction, poetry and drama. The Whiting Foundation calls the poetry in her forthcoming book Civil Service “probing, lucid, aphoristic and also poignantly humane.” (NPR)

In an excerpt from The Tears of a Man Flow Inward, Pacifique Irankunda ’13—also a Whiting Award winner in 2017—talks about his love for his family’s cows in his native Burundi. (Literary Hub)

News from the college

Gold STARS

The Zilkha Center for Environmental Initiatives earned a gold-level designation from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. The center and many campus partners have been working toward the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS) level since 2011 and achieved the gold based on changes from emissions to academic courses. Read more about the STARS rating here.

Faculty Leadership

Earlier this month, the Dean of the Faculty’s office announced new appointments to key leadership positions within the college: Jacqueline Hidalgo as director of the Oakley Center for Humanities and Social Sciences, succeeding Gage McWeeney; James Manigault-Bryant as W. Ford Schumann Faculty Fellow in Democratic Studies, succeeding Neil Roberts; Matt Carter as the inaugural faculty director of the Teaching Center; and Susan Engel as the inaugural senior faculty fellow at the Teaching Center. Read more about their roles here. And Christopher Goh succeeds Jacqueline Hidalgo as associate dean for institutional diversity, equity and inclusion; find out more here.

Faculty Voices

Thomas T. Read Professor of Mathematics Colin Adams explains the significance of knots in math and science on The Joy of Why. (Quanta Magazine)
Pamela Jakiela, economics professor, discusses the influence of credit constraints on occupational choices in low-income areas. (Novafrica)
On the podcast This Is Revolution, Ebenezer Fitch Professor of Humanities Joy James talks about how racism in the U.S. influences and depends on the Black bourgeoisie to sustain it. (The Real News Network)
Sara LaLumia, economics professor, answers the question, “What do a full moon, the Super Bowl and Tax Day have in common?” (Freakonomics)

Faculty Writing

“Until I read McAllister’s book, I had no idea that the Williamstown Institute of Politics (IOP) ever existed,” says Daniel Drezner ’90 in a recommendation in The Washington Post for political science professor James McAllister’s Wilsonian Visions.

Students in the News

“It just feels very strange when we’re going to class when people in Ukraine are in bomb shelters,” says Diana Sobolieva ’25. She and fellow Ukrainian Alina Luchyshyn ’23 spoke to The Berkshire Eagle about their fears for friends and relatives back home.

For more stories and news about the Williams community, visit Williams Today.

Photos by Bradley Wakoff/Berkshirian Images

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