UPCOMING Events
GET YOUR QUESTIONS READY for Dave and Mokhtar. Have you been reading Dave Eggers’ The Monk of Mokha with the Purple Prose Book Club? Register now and join us for a live Q&A with Dave and Mokhtar on Sept. 27 at 2 p.m. ET.
OWN YOUR CAREER BREAK and learn the latest return-to-work strategies at the iRelaunch Return to Work Conference, Oct. 3-5. Use the FREE4WILLIAMSALUM coupon code before Sept. 30 to join the conference at no cost.
APPRECIATE THE POWER OF INTROVERTS at the next Williams@Work Webinar on Oct. 10 at 3 p.m. ET, featuring TEDx speaker and clinical psychologist Michael Alcee ’99.
SAVE THE DATE! Join us for Homecoming on Nov. 4 at Weston Field for a fun-filled day of food, football and friends. Additionally, join us Saturday at 9 a.m. for a lecture at the Williams Inn by visiting lecturer in English Michael Sardo ’81, who has been a showrunner for both television comedy and drama series. He has worked on hundreds of episodes of television, including The Tracey Ullman Show, Grace Under Fire, Wings, Picket Fences, Caroline in the City, American Embassy and Rizzoli & Isles.
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Photograph by Roman Iwasiwka
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The Present AND Future of Educational Opportunity
At this year’s Convocation ceremony, in addition to honoring the senior class and its many accomplishments, Williams introduced six exceptional alumni who received Bicentennial Medals: Robbi Behr ’97 and Matthew Swanson ’97, the Hon. Anita Earls ’81 (Convocation speaker), Rebecca Haile ’86, Bob Kim ’92 and Phil Geier ’70.
Watch this moving discussion with the 2023 Alumni Bicentennial Medalists, moderated by President Maud S. Mandel, about the roles of schools and governments in addressing educational inequities, how to stimulate learning across differences in both college and K-12 classrooms, and the implications of the landmark recent U.S. Supreme Court decision to end race-conscious admissions for the country and its educational institutions.
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Showcase Your wares for the Holidays
We ’re still seeking makers and purveyors for our second annual Alumni Holiday Gift Guide. Submit your own wares or help us spread the word to talented Ephs in your circle before the Oct. 31 submission deadline. Last year’s inaugural edition welcomed nearly 5,000 unique visitors during the holiday shopping season!
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Photograph by Akinyemi Blackshear
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Career fairThe ’68 Center for Career Exploration hosted its first in-person career and networking fair since 2019, and it was a smashing success! We had more than 525 students attend the Recruiting for Equity and Inclusion Meetup and Job and Internship Fair, where they met with over 80 recruiters representing 50 companies, organizations, and state and federal government agencies. A special thank you to our 35 Williams alumni who participated as employer representatives! Check out photos from this record-breaking event.
Want to share job opportunities with current students and alumni? Join EphLink to tap into a global network of skilled Ephs and transform your workplace!
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Alumni in the NewsCassity Bromley ’96 has been named superintendent of Utah’s Capitol Reef National Park, the ancestral homeland of the Hopi, Navajo, Zuni, Ute and Paiute Tribes. “She has a track record of building strong collaborative partnerships to effectively protect park resources and manage growing recreational demand, making her a great choice to lead the Capitol Reef team,” says Acting Deputy Regional Director Jim Ireland in The Richfield Reaper.
Longtime class co-secretaries Palmer Q. “Joe” Bessey ’66 and John Gould ’66 are committed to keeping classmates connected to each other and to Williams. Earlier this summer, they sent their 1,000th class update—and they’re still going strong. Now, says Bessey, “If we get a couple of slow days, which is not often, we skip a day or two. If we go four or five days without anything to send out, the class gets worried.”
Catch up with fellow alumni in the most recent edition of Williams People available online.
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CORRECTIONApologies to Gina Coleman ’90 for adding “former” before her title of women’s rugby coach in last month’s EphNotes. Gina has been enthusiastically coaching since 1996 and is continuing this year. Thank you, Gina, for your past and future commitment to WWRFC!
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New and returning students receive a warm welcome at the start of the 2023-24 academic year. Photograph by Bradley Wakoff
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News from the college Welcome Home!
Williams welcomed 546 new students to campus this fall, including 13 transfer students from community colleges and one new addition to our cohort of student-veterans. Seventeen percent are “firsts,” and almost half of those attending from within the U.S. and its territories are people of color. Altogether, this diverse entering class hails from 39 states plus Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and 59 countries. In a letter to the Williams community at the start of the fall semester, President Maud S. Mandel also welcomed a number of new staff and faculty members and offered a preview of some of the many programs, initiatives and offerings planned. New InitiativesDuring the 2023-24 year, a working group of trustees, administrative leaders and faculty will be reviewing the college’s admissions policies and practices to ensure that Williams’ admission program continues to bolster commitments to access and diversity in legally compliant ways. And progress is underway on plans for a new multipurpose recreation facility to accommodate activities from Towne Field House while the college works on a permanent replacement. The WEM Foundation and Jim Hield ’77 have given $15 million to support a comprehensive program and site planning study, the construction of the new multipurpose recreation facility and the eventual construction of an athletics and wellness complex. Career ExplorersTwenty Williams students and recent graduates were awarded Class of 1968 Career Explorer grants supporting a range of short-term learning experiences over the summer. “By shadowing doctors in clinical practice and participating in both in- and outpatient grand rounds and case conferences, I learned a lot about the various options available in the medical field,” writes Cinthya Maldonado ’23, a grant recipient who spent three weeks at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Carbone Cancer Clinic. Faculty in Focus - Congratulations to this year’s recipients of the Nelson Bushnell ’20 Prize, the college’s major award for faculty excellence in teaching and writing:
-Steven J. Kuster, assistant professor of physical education and head swim coach
-Tiku Majumder, Barclay Jermain Professor of Natural Philosophy, chair of astronomy
-Karen R. Merrill, professor of history
-Kashia Pieprzak, Massachusetts Professor of Francophone Literature, French Language, and Comparative Literature
- “We have no idea how many species of marine life have disappeared from the world’s oceans in the past 300 years—the period of time over which the heavy footprints of humans began to sink deeper and deeper into the sea,” writes James Carlton, director emeritus of Williams-Mystic, in the catalog for a new exhibition at the Mystic Seaport Museum. The exhibit, highlighted in The Boston Globe, features a massive mural and 10 large watercolors that explore humanity’s relationship with the ocean.
- Brahim El Guabli, chair and associate professor of Arabic studies, spoke with NPR about the recent earthquake in Morocco and its impacts on the country’s rural indigenous communities. “It seems like Moroccan citizens do not have the same access to state services,” El Guabli says. “Some live in the 20th century with all its benefits and infrastructure and access, whereas those who were hit by the earthquake really live in a different time.”
- Ronald Feldman, Williams Artist in Residence in Orchestral and Instrumental Activities/Lecturer in Music, Director of the Berkshire Symphony, has played an important role in bringing the premiere recording of Leonard Bernstein’s “Music for String Quartet” to the general public for the first time. The recording was released on Sept. 8, 2023.
For more news about the Williams Community, visit Williams Today
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|  See photos from the Career Fair on Ephalum | |  See photos from the first day of classes on Facebook | |  |
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