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Assistant Professor of Government Sharon Werning Rivera chaired a panel titled “Political Elites, Hybrid Regimes, and Democratization” at the 2007 annual meeting of the American Political Science Association in Chicago from August 30 to September 2. She also presented a paper titled “Structure versus Agency in the Postcommunist Transitions: Quantifying the Impact of Leadership,” which she co-authored with David W. Rivera, Hamilton government department lecturer.

Associate Professor of Art Stephen J. Goldberg presented two lectures in the People’s Republic of China in conjunction with the second Chinese Calligraphy Workshop organized by the Calligraphy Education Group of the Chinese Language Teachers Association.

Associate Professor of Economics Ann Owen was interviewed by The Christian Science Monitor for an article titled "Fed Expected to Cut Interest Rates Tuesday." The article pointed out that many economists have expected the Fed to reduce the federal funds rate, the rate that banks loan one another their excess reserves at the Fed, by a quarter of a percentage point. "It's already priced into the market, and if they don't do it, there will be a negative reaction," said Owen, a former economist at the Fed.

"We the people - The Constitution in the 21st Century," a panel discussion conducted by members of the Hamilton College faculty, will be held on Monday, Sept. 17, in celebration of national Constitution Day. Government professors Theodore Eismeier, Philip Klinkner, Nicholas Tampio and Edward S. Walker, Jr. '62 will present respectively "The Arnold Amendment," "Toward a New Constitution," "Deliberation Day," "D.C. Statehood" and "War Powers and the Constitution." Economics professor James Bradfield will talk about "The Fifth Amendment and Eminent Domain," and communication professor Catherine Phelan will discuss "The First Amendment in the Information Age." The event, which is free and open to the public, will be held at 7:30 p.m. in the college's Chapel.

Professor of Government Stephen Orvis spoke on the current situation in Kenya at the Conference on East Africa, co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and the National Intelligence Council, on Thursday, Sept. 13. The conference, which was unclassified and off the record, was held in honor of the new State Department Director of the East Africa Bureau, James Knight. Orvis also spoke at a similar conference, the Conference on Conflict in the Horn of Africa hosted by the U.S. Bureau of Intelligence and Research of the U.S. Department of State, last September.

Visiting Assistant Professor of Government Shelley McConnell attended the Latin American Studies Association conference in Montreal, Canada, where she presented a paper on Sept. 6. As a member of a panel titled “Multilateralism and the ‘New’ Challenges to Democracy in Latin America,” McConnell presented "Can the Inter-American Democratic Charter Work? The 2004-2005 Constitutional Crisis in Nicaragua." 

Hamilton is presenting a conversation about the 2006 and 2008 elections with Hamilton alumni Alicia Davis '97, and Marc Elias '90. Davis was regional political director at the Republican National Committee before joining Targetpoint Consulting, and Elias is a partner in the Perkins Coie law firm who served as general counsel for the Kerry-Edwards campaign and counsel for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. The event, which is free and open to the public, will be held in the Chapel on Sunday, Sept. 9, at 7:30 p.m.

In an article titled “Grade inflation traced to Vietnam War” in Boulder, Colorado’s Daily Camera, Maurice Isserman, James L. Ferguson Professor of History, was quoted on what he views as a possible “tenuous connection” between grade inflation to the Vietnam War.

Hamilton staff and faculty from a number of offices met with Adeleri Onisegun, director of the psychology program at Paine College, for a workshop titled "Overcoming Barriers to Inclusiveness: From Theory to Practice" on June 20. Onisegun led 20 participants from the dean's office, the admission office, several additional administrative offices and a dozen academic departments in a discussion of ways in which Hamilton can most effectively attract and retain faculty and students from underrepresented groups.

Associate Professors of Economics Ann Owen and Steve Wu published "Is trade good for your health?" in the Review of International Economics. The article investigates the link between increased openness to international trade and health outcomes such as life expectancy and infant mortality.