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Six prizes were awarded across three categories in the annual Public Speaking Competition on Saturday, March 5, in the Chapel. The 17 finalists were chosen after an open preliminary round held in February. Speakers' presentations were either persuasive or informative in nature, and in one category, speakers were asked to address an assigned topic.

The Doris M. and Ralph E. Hansmann Lecture by Anthony Kronman scheduled for Monday, March 7, has been cancelled because the College is closed for the day. Organizers hope to reschedule for the fall.

Assistant Professor of Psychology Jeremy Skipper has been awarded a $907,350 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for his research project "Neurobiology of Speech Perception in Real-World Contexts." The long-term objective of this research “is to understand the neural mechanisms of language comprehension in real-world settings, in which the brain can use context to aid in communication.”

Al Gore, the 45th vice president of the U.S., Nobel Laureate and author of An Inconvenient Truth, will deliver the Commencement address at Hamilton College on Sunday, May 22, at 10:30 a.m., in the Margaret Bundy Scott Field House. The ceremony will be webcast live beginning at 10:15 a.m.

Dr. Les Roberts will present "Three African Wars: Three Divergent Takes of Mortality Tallies" on Thursday, March 3, at 7:30 p.m. in the Red Pit at KJ. Roberts is an epidemiologist at Columbia University's Mailman School of Health.

Cuban filmmaker Miguel Coyula will present his film Memories of Development on Friday, March 4, from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. in the Science Center’s Kennedy Auditorium. A discussion will be led by Coyula following the film screening. The screening and discussion are free and open to the public.  

Some visitors to Burke Library on Feb. 27 were sidetracked by a group of readers in the browsing area who were participating in the second Milton Marathon. Organized by Margaret Thickstun, the Elizabeth J. McCormack Professor of English, the event featured a day-long reading of Milton’s epic poem Paradise Lost.

Andrew Skurka, an adventurer, speaker, guide, and writer, will give two presentations at Hamilton on Monday, Feb. 28. The first, a lightweight backpacking skills clinic, will take place at noon in the Glen House. The second, a lecture on Skurka’s Alaska-Yukon expedition, will begin at 7 p.m. in the Red Pit, KJ.  Both events are sponsored by the Hamilton Outing Club and are free and open to the public.

As a student in Hamilton's Program in New York City, Hayden Kiessling '12 is interning at The Martha Stewart Show. This semester's NYC program theme is Mediascapes: Globalization and Culture and is directed by Professor of English Patricia O'Neill. Read Kiessling's blog about a typical day at The Martha Stewart Show here.  

A panel discussion, “Somali Diaspora: Refugees, States and the Politics of Belonging,” will take place on Thursday, Feb. 24, at 4:15 p.m., in the Red Pit, KJ Building. The panel will include Giovanna Zaldini, a Somalian immigrant advocate; Hamilton College Professor of Government Stephen Orvis; and Rima Berns McGown of the Center for Diaspora and Transnational Studies at the University of Toronto. The discussion is free and open to the public.