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Dozens of economists, psychologists and other wellbeing and happiness scholars hit the Hill this week as Hamilton College hosted the second annual International Wellbeing and Public Policy Conference, sponsored by the International Journal of Wellbeing. The conference, from June 10-12, drew many of the world’s leading experts on happiness and wellbeing studies, including Hamilton alumnus  Arthur Stone ’74, Ph.D., who delivered one of the keynote speeches.

Although the “Midwest” is a generally understood term, a definitive list of Midwestern states does not exist, which calls into question exactly where this region lies. Kevin Welsh ’15, who’s pursuing an Emerson Project with the supervision of Professor Peter Rabinowitz, was faced with this dilemma when he started his research. His project, “Uncovering the 'Quality of Distortion': Investigating the Cultural Divide Between the Midwest and the East Using Midwestern Literature from the 1920’s and 30’s,” requires an understanding of what “the Midwest” means.

Jessica Moulite ’14 has always been interested in journalism. She’s drawn to the concept of using media as a platform to contact and connect a group of people. In the fall, Moulite is one step closer to her dream as she enrolls in the University of Southern California’s prestigious Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.

The Hamilton College men’s and women’s basketball teams recently donated more than $5,000 to Hoops 4 Hope, a non-profit charity that uses basketball to benefit children in Zimbabwe.

Blasé, concierge, and faux pas, among many other words, have become so integrated into the English lexicon that we often forget their French origin. The process of adopting words from other languages has been common practice for centuries, and, in fact, English has more borrowed words than any other language. This stands in stark contrast with French, which prides itself on being a “pure” language. Brendon Kaufman ‘15 was awarded an Emerson Grant to research the use of Anglicisms in everyday French in Paris this summer.

Janet Thomas Simons, co-director of the Digital Humanities Initiative, gave the evening keynote address on May 30 at the Great Lakes Colleges Association's Expanding Collaboration Through the Digital Liberal Arts in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Isabella Schoning ’16 has been chosen as a recipient of the Gilman International Scholarship Program award. The award will fund Schoning’s fall 2014 semester abroad in St. Petersburg, Russia, through the Bard-Smolny Program.

Alumni returned to the Hill and were greeted by sunny skies and seasonal temperatures for Reunions 2014 on June 5-8. 

Although the school year has ended, the campus is still bustling with activity. In particular, it’s hard to miss the some 120 people working on the new Kevin and Karen Kennedy Center for Theatre and the Studio Arts, which will be opening its doors this fall. The building is in its final stages of construction, representing over 13 years of planning and millions of dollars in donations and serving as a beacon for the arts on the Hill. The Kennedy Center, positioned directly  across College Hill Road from the Wellin Art Museum, will offer students and faculty incredible spaces in which to create, teach and  perform.

Hamilton played host to a group of senior high school students from the Vernon-Verona-Sherrill (VVS) Central School District on May 19. Students from the AP English and AP Biology classes spent the day working on information literacy skills to better prepare them for college.