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Three members of Hamilton’s economics department were invited to contribute chapters to the International Handbook on Teaching and Learning Economics, edited by Gail M. Hoyt and KimMarie McGoldrick.  Ann L. Owen, Stephen Wu and Elizabeth J. Jensen authored chapters.

The homepage of New Deal 2.0, a project of the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute, featured “FDR Wants You to Combat Misinformation About Progressive Policies,” a blog post by James S. Sherman Professor of Government Philip Klinkner, on Jan. 12. In his essay, Klinkner recounted FDR’s efforts to inform and engage the public to fight back against anti-New Deal attacks and compared these efforts to the strategies that will be essential to President Obama’s reelection campaign.

The national news media focused its attention on Hamilton on many occasions in 2011, perhaps most intensely upon the release of a senior thesis written by five graduates. “Are Talking Heads Blowing Hot Air? An Analysis of the Accuracy of Forecasts in the Political Media” was presented on May 2. The New York Times, The Huffington Post, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, The Nation, The Financial Times and dozens of other national and international outlets reported the results almost immediately. Reference to the study continues in various publications.

Dissent Magazine published an article titled 50 Years Later: Poverty and The Other America by Publius Virgilius Rogers Professor of History Maurice Isserman in its winter 2012 issue. The article is an adaptation of the prologue of The Other American: The Life of Michael Harrington, the biography Isserman wrote in 2000. The article included updated statistics and observations.

An article titled “Study: Does enduring extreme weather make you vote liberal?,” appearing on the USA Today website on Dec. 30, reported on a study written by four Hamilton economists. Henry Platt Bristol Professor of Economics Ann Owen, Assistant Professor of Economics Emily Conover and Associate Professors of Economics Julio Videras and Stephen Wu co-authored the study, “Heat Waves, Droughts, and Preferences for Environmental Policy.” The Weather Channel also reported on the study on Jan. 2. 

The New York Times published a letter to the editor written by Professor of Government P. Gary Wyckoff as the leadoff response to “Class Matters. Why Won’t We Admit It?” in its Dec. 22 editorial section titled “Reducing Inequality in Our Schools.” He compared our current educational policies as being “like a requirement that all children clear the same height in the high jump, regardless of their stature.”

“These are the people who aren't waiting to reinvent the world,” began Forbes’ introduction to the publication’s newly released industry lists of “30 under 30.” Eric Kuhn ’09 has been named one of those 30 under 30 in the entertainment industry by the magazine.

American young people say that the top two causes of poverty are a lack of jobs (83.7 percent) followed by a lack of health insurance (64.3 percent) according to a new national survey of young Americans’ attitudes on poverty, released on Dec. 12 and conducted by Hamilton. More than two thirds (67.7 percent) also cited the growing incomes of the wealthiest people as negatively affecting the quality of life of those with lower incomes. The full results of this survey are available online and were presented by webcast at www.hamilton.edu/poverty.

Heather Buchman, associate professor of music and director of the Hamilton College Orchestra, conducted Symphony Syracuse on Friday, Nov. 18, at the Syracuse Civic Center. A review that appeared in the Post-Standard the following day described her performance. “Buchman’s every gesture, every breath, was purposeful, and the Symphony Syracuse artists responded in kind, turning in a performance marked by precision as well as passion.”

Graduates of residential liberal arts colleges give their college experience higher marks than do graduates of private or public universities, according to a new national study. Released on Nov. 15, the study was commissioned by the Annapolis Group, a consortium of leading liberal arts colleges of which Hamilton is a member.