On the Hill

Fulbright Grant Funds Graduate Work in South Korea

Adam Auerbach '05 has received a prestigious Fulbright grant to study abroad. Auerbach was awarded a Fulbright grant to teach English in South Korea from July 2005 to August 2006. A political science and Asian studies double major, Auerbach is staying with a Korean host family during the thirteen-month program.

The grant will also allow Auerbach to continue his research on decentralization and participatory development in Asia, a topic he explored for his Senior Project.

Auerbach studied abroad in India during the fall of 2003 and later received a grant to support his continued research there. He obtained another grant for study in Thailand. Auerbach also completed two internships in Washington, D.C., including one with the National Coalition for the Homeless. He was a member of the national political science honor society Pi Sigma Alpha, as well as the Association for Asian and Asian American Awareness and the fraternity Sigma Alpha Epsilon.

Established in 1946 under legislation introduced by the late senator J. William Fulbright, the Fulbright Program's purpose is to build mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the rest of the world.

The Fulbright Program, America's flagship international education exchange program, is sponsored by the United States Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

Goldstein Receives Fulbright Scholar Award

Professor of Economics Don Goldstein has been awarded a Fulbright Scholar grant to do research at the National University of Ireland in Galway during the fall of the 2005-2006 academic year.

In conjunction with the Fulbright award, Goldstein has been named a Senior Research Fellow under a major grant from the Irish Environmental Protection Agency. Goldstein will be working with a team studying the determinants of environmental and economic performance in Irish industry.

"Researchers asking whether companies can clean up their acts environmentally without hurting themselves economically find mixed results," says Goldstein. "We're asking a slightly different question: For the ones who are able to excel at both, what are the keys to success? The answers should be valuable to managers, regulators and researchers alike."

Also a Fulbright Scholar during 1997-98 in Costa Rica, Goldstein is one of approximately eight hundred U.S. faculty and professionals to travel abroad this year through the program.

Two Students Named Goldwater Scholars

Two Allegheny students were named Goldwater Scholars for the 2005-2006 academic year. Katherine Mickley '06 and Nathan Shively '07 were among 320 students chosen from across the nation to receive Goldwater scholarships.

Goldwater Scholars, who are selected based on academic merit, receive a maximum of $7,500 yearly to cover the cost of tuition, fees, books, and room and board.

Mickley, a double major in neuroscience and psychology, studied in Kenya in the spring. She conducted summer research at MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland and Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine in Ravenna, Ohio.

A writing tutor, she has volunteered with America Reads, Reach Out and Read, and Head Start. An Alden Scholar and Doane Scholar, Mickley also plays French horn and piano and is a member of the Lambda Sigma Honor Society.

Shively, a biochemistry major, is a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, the Honor Committee and the Chemii Club, and is a participant in intramural bowling and club volleyball. A Distinguished Alden Scholar and a Doane Scholar, he was awarded the Chemical Rubber Company Freshman Achievement Award.

He is also a member of the Lambda Sigma Honor Society. This summer he completed a ten-week research internship at the University of Pittsburgh.

The Goldwater scholarship program, which honors the late senator Barry M. Goldwater, was designed to encourage outstanding students to pursue careers in the fields of mathematics, the natural sciences, and engineering.

Adams, Hellwarth Receive Teaching Awards

Two members of the faculty received honors for their dedication to teaching and higher education at the College's honors convocation on May 3. Earl Adams, Andrew Wells Robertson Professor of Economics, was awarded the 2005 Julian Ross Award for Excellence in Teaching, and Jennifer Hellwarth, assistant professor of English, received the 2005 Thoburn Foundation's Award for Innovative Teaching.

Adams received his bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan in 1959 and a doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1971. He joined the Allegheny faculty in 1972 and retired in May 2005.

One student described Adams as "lively, unpretentious, and refreshing" and remarked that he has a "contagious" passion for learning that inspires students. Adams had received the Thoburn Award for Innovative Teaching in 1994.

"His work in the larger college community, including many terms on faculty council and as moderator of the faculty, also reflects his strong commitment to maintaining and strengthening the liberal arts tradition," said colleague Steve Casler, economics professor.

Hellwarth received her bachelor's degree from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1989. She received a master's from Stanford University in 1991 and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1999. She joined the Allegheny faculty in 2000.

"Professor Hellwarth took the topic of medieval literature and made it interesting," notes a former student, Ò"whether it was because of her singing, her enthusiastic pronunciation, or because she enabled us to really get into the text. There was never a dull moment in her class."

Campus Community Works for Katrina Relief

It was only a few days before the start of fall classes when Hurricane Katrina tore through the Gulf Coast, causing mass devastation. But even with students barely moved in and ready for the year, the Allegheny community acted quickly to provide support and to pool resources for relief.

Interim Chaplain Aaron Kerr and Director of Community Service Dave Roncolato, along with a number of Allegheny students, created a committee to help coordinate campus relief efforts. The semester-long goal is to raise $10,000 as well as provide 500 "flood buckets" filled with cleaning supplies.

A large jar for donations in the Campus Center lobby is sponsored through the efforts of many students and groups coming together. Peg Hart, executive assistant in finance and administration, led an effort to collect donations for Wal-Mart gift cards for dislocated hurricane victims living in North Carolina, where her niece teaches.

Other fund-raising efforts have been varied and numerous. According to the Campus, Residence Life and Alpha Phi Omega co-sponsored a fund-raising drive, which included working at a telethon in Erie and manning donation tables at Meadville businesses, the Campus Center, a Gator football game, and residence halls.

Among the many other groups contributing to the effort, Phi Delta Theta collected nonperishable food items outside of McKinley's, and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes collected donations in Meadville.

Allegheny Launches Podcasts

Allegheny has launched an initiative to post weekly "podcasts" on the College's Web site, allowing anyone from curious alumni and prospective students to casual internet surfers to learn more about the College's offerings and current events.

Podcasting, a relatively new but rapidly burgeoning technology, allows listeners to plug into regular broadcasts of music, news, or audio blogs, recorded and created for the public and accessible on the internet. The podcasts can be downloaded directly as MP3 files for playback on PC's or portable MP3 players. Listeners can also subscribe to receive automatic updates using programs like iPodder, which notify them whenever a new podcast is available.

Allegheny's podcasts act as a high-tech supplement to the College's other news and marketing materials, says Mike Richwalsky, the College's Web administrator and host of the weekly program.

"Allegheny is one of the first colleges to use podcasting in this way," Richwalsky says. "Other schools may use it for specific departments or programs, but Allegheny is employing it as a way to keep people connected with the College as a whole."

Updated each Thursday, Allegheny's podcast features updates on Gator athletics and campus events and also highlights various academic offerings.

To hear Allegheny's podcasts, visit http://webtools.allegheny.edu/podcast/.

Summer Abuzz with Construction

Summer is often a quiet time on campus, with classes out of session and many students away until fall. But this summer was alive and buzzing with a number of construction, renovation, and beautification projects.

Cochran Hall's renovation and restoration have created an elegant, stately space for the Patricia Bush Tippie Alumni Center. The refurbished building—which houses a restored grand dining room, a library, a board room, gathering spaces for alumni functions, and a gallery, as well as office space for the development and alumni affairs staff on the second floor—was dedicated on Homecoming weekend.

The Doane Hall of Art also underwent major changes. The first phase of the project focused on creating a better ventilation system for the building's classrooms. The current studio space was divided into four separate studio classrooms, with increased areas for display, critiques, and storage.

In addition to improved lighting and a wireless technology hub, a centralized social space was created to encourage interaction between students and faculty members.

Several buildings were spruced up with smaller cosmetic or structural changes, including Schultz Hall, which was fitted with new windows and a roof replacement. Carr Hall, Quigley Hall, and Montgomery Performing Space also received new roofs.

The showers in South Highland, Baldwin, and Crawford Halls were renovated, while Steffee Hall of Life Sciences underwent a vinyl tile flooring replacement and a resealing of the greenhouse vent units and animal colony floors. Brooks Hall's new columns are scheduled for installation this fall, and one classroom and two offices were soundproofed in the Arnold Hall of Music.

The campus will continue to transform as plans develop for a second phase in the art department renovations and as the College begins the construction of a new set of apartment-style residence halls, the North Village, and a new theatre and communication arts center.

Allegheny Noted for Wind Energy Commitment

Allegheny College was among nine institutions recognized by the Pennsylvania Consortium for Interdisciplinary Environmental Policy (PCIEP) and wind energy marketer Community Energy Inc. (CEI) for increasing their commitment to Pennsylvania-based wind energy.

The wind purchases are part of a campaign launched by CEI and PCIEP to encourage Pennsylvania colleges and universities to increase their existing wind energy purchases to match at least 10 percent of their total usage with wind energy.

"Pennsylvania's colleges and universities are at the forefront of addressing some of our most pressing environmental issues, so it only makes sense these same institutions would take a leadership role in advancing cleaner technologies," Environmental Protection Secretary Kathleen A. McGinty said.

"The combined wind-power purchases of these colleges and universities will have a tremendous impact on growing the market for renewable energy resources and increasing the demand for environmentally friendly electricity generation," McGinty added.

According to PCIEP, their combined member wind energy purchases now total 92,200 megawatt hours (MWh) or the equivalent of twenty-three wind turbines, constituting the largest non-governmental aggregated commitment to wind power in the U.S.