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Twenty eight percent – that’s the amount of  landfill waste Hamilton College’s annual Cram & Scram program reduces each May. Entering its fifth year, Cram & Scram is a non-profit, student-run recycling program aimed at reducing the inevitable landfill contribution that comes every summer as students move out of their residence halls.

Singer Joe Williams H’88, a major participant in the establishment of the Hamilton College Jazz Archive, is the subject of a documentary that will be screened on Wednesday, May 23, at 7:30 p.m. at The Other Side in Utica. Monk Rowe, The Joe Williams Director of the Hamilton College Jazz Archive, will present the film.

Among members of the Class of 2012 who graduated on Sunday, May 20, was Josephine (Josie) Jones, who learned in January that she is a direct descendant of  George Albion Calhoun, the College's first graduate in 1814.  Jones' mother, Jody Clark Jones, made the discovery while researching her husband's family genealogy. The story of the two century connection, which is especially meaningful in Hamilton's bicentennial year, is featured in the Spring 2012 Hamilton Alumni Review. Josie Jones was also interviewed for a story on local Fox affiliate WUTR.

In his address at Hamilton College’s Bicentennial commencement, A.G. Lafley ’69, former chairman and CEO of the Procter & Gamble Co., urged the Class of 2012 to embrace the choices life hands them because they will learn something from each one they make. “While you can’t control the twists and turns that will push and pull your life in unanticipated directions, you can control the person you choose to become,” Lafley said. He shared a few things he’s learned since he graduated from Hamilton in 1969.

In recognition of Hamilton’s 200th anniversary, U.S. Rep. Richard L. Hanna (R-NY) sponsored a statement in the Congressional Record this week. The New York Board of Regents granted Hamilton’s Charter on May 26, 1812. 

The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit news organization focused on producing in-depth education journalism, published an interview with Daniel Chambliss, the Eugene M. Tobin Distinguished Professor of Sociology, on May 17.  “Q&A with Dan Chambliss: A successful college education can come down to a single conversation” focused on the Mellon Foundation-funded longitudinal study initiated by Chambliss in 2001. The article reviewed some of the study results, which will be included in a forthcoming book titled How College Works, and what implications the results might have for U.S. higher education.

As is the custom at Hamilton, the Dean of Faculty recognizes retiring faculty and hosts a reception in their honor at the last faculty meeting of the academic year. On May 16, Dean of Faculty Patrick Reynolds honored four professors retiring this year: Professor of  Anthropology Charlotte Beck; Jim Bradfield, the Elias W. Leavenworth Professor of Economics; Professor of Government Ted Eismeier; and  Jay Williams ’54, the Walcott-Bartlett Professor of Religious Studies. Following are the tributes Reynolds read.

Hamilton College men's lacrosse NESCAC conference player of the year Jon Leanos '12 (Long Valley, N.J./Delbarton School) and All-America women's swimmer Megan Gibbons '12 (Clarks Summit, Pa./Abington Heights HS) received the 2012 Jack B. Riffle Awards at the College's senior varsity athlete awards dinner on May 16.

A Reuters article about the Federal Reserve’s recent efforts to provide greater transparency included comments by Henry Platt Bristol Professor of Economics Ann Owen. A former Federal Reserve Board of Governors economist, Owen said, "Often, opinions about the future course of the economy change quickly when it is at a turning point. Managing expectations about the future state of the economy can help it achieve its goals of full employment and price stability because expectations about the economy can be self-fulfilling.” The article, titled “Officials urge fuller Fed policy reports,” appeared on May 16 and appeared in many additional media outlets.

Publius Virgilius Rogers Professor of American History Maurice Isserman has been elected to the Society of American Historians (SAH) in recognition of the literary and scholarly distinction of his historical writing.