The Hamilton College Performing Arts Series presents the fully staged opera Eleanor Roosevelt on Sunday, Feb. 12, at 3 p.m., in Wellin Hall. For tickets or information call the box office at 859-4331 or visit www.hamiltonpa.org.

A lack of snow isn’t enough to put a halt to FebFest 2012. “Winter Candy Land” will take place on Feb. 11-18 with a chocolate tasting, Chili cook-off, ice skating party and more planned. Many events are free and others require a $5 button that can be purchased in Beinecke or at each event. Some FebFest highlights follow.

• View the entire schedule

Max Kenner, founder and executive director of the Bard Prison Initiative (BPI), spoke in the Red Pit on Thursday evening. His talk, titled “Values of a Liberal Education: Reflections on Ten Years of the Bard Prison Initiative,” addressed not only BPI but also treatment toward incarcerated people on a national level.

Sixteen members of the Class of 2012 were elected to the Epsilon chapter of Phi Beta Kappa at a meeting on Feb. 8.

Ten Hamilton students traveled to Montreal to participate in the McGill University Model United Nations Assembly (McMUN), which convened January 26-29.  The conference drew more than 1,300 delegates to fill 25 different committees that focused on international relations in the Information Age.

Starting next week, Hamilton will compete regionally in the Campus Conservation Nationals (CCN) 2012, a competition in electricity and water use reduction among colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. The competition was created by the Students Program at the Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council and in partnership with Lucid, Alliance to Save Energy, and the National Wildlife Federation.

Students in Hamilton’s Program in Washington, D.C., visited the American Enterprise Institute this week and met with Steven Hayward, the F. K. Weyerhaeuser Fellow.  Hayward writes on a wide range of public policy issues and is the author of the Almanac of Environmental Trends, and many books on environmental topics.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Hollywood has named Visiting Professor of Art History Scott MacDonald an Academy Scholar for 2012. Each year the Academy chooses two scholars nationwide, awarding each a grant to pursue a research project.

Most pro football teams and coaches would consider it a thrill to win the Super Bowl once in their lifetime. But to compete and win it twice in four years is a feat that makes some fans start talking “dynasty.”  With the New York Giants’ 21-17 win over the New England Patriots on Feb. 5 the Giants are among the elite 10 teams that have played in the Super Bowl five or more times. One person helping contribute to the team’s two most recent Super Bowl victories is Sean Ryan ’94, the Giants wide receivers coach.

Executive Director of Major Gifts William Brower ’84 discussed ways to increase the effectiveness of development programs in a webinar titled “Improving ROI and Performance in Fundraising” on Feb. 2.