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Bill Smith '80 has been named general manager of the Minnesota Twins. An article in the St. Paul Pioneer Press (9/13/07), titled "Smith steps out from Ryan's shadow," notes that "Smith got his first glimpse into baseball management in 1979, when he was a student at Hamilton College in upstate New York. That year Major League Baseball's winter meetings were held in Toronto, so Smith bought a bus ticket and traveled there."  Smith joined the Twins in 1986 as assistant director of minor leagues and scouting and, in 1994, he was named assistant general manager.

"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.

Last year, Stephen Orlando’s ’08 interest in the graphic anthology genré led to the publication of his original short story, “All that it takes,” in a graphic anthology collection about the city of New Orleans and the Mississippi Delta, post-Hurricane Katrina. The anthology, Hope: New Orleans, is now available in stores nationwide.

Josh Simpson '72 will participate in meet the artist events at the Steuben Glass flagship New York City store on Wednesday and Thursday, September 19 and 20, from noon to 4 p.m., in conjunction with an exhibit of his work there.  Simpson's Steuben Selection Exhibition will be on view at the store, 667 Madison Ave. at 61st Street, through December 31.

Duller fall leaf colors could be another effect of global warming, according to Hamilton College Professor of Biology Ernest H. Williams, Jr. "Our warming global climate threatens the full development of the colors we enjoy. The process of color change starts later than usual and doesn't develop as fully when summery warm weather pushes into the shorter days of fall," Williams explains.

Nicole L. Snyder, assistant professor of chemistry, recently received an award for her contributions as co-author of one of the "Top 50 Most-Cited Articles” published in Carbohydrate Research between the years of 2004 and 2007. The article, titled “Synthesis, Crystal Structure, and Reactivity of a D-Xylose Based Oxepine,” appeared in April 28, 2004 edition of Carbohydrate Research and has been cited in several peer reviewed articles and books since its publication. The authors and co-authors of all 50 papers were honored at a reception in celebration of their paper's achievement at the 2007 EuroCarb Meeting in Lubeck, Germany, in September.

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.

Senior Julianne Jaquith, a native of Briarcliff Manor, N.Y., is interested in law school and public interest issues. This summer she decided to do some investigation work, and secured a position with Legal Services of the Hudson Valley (LSHV) to research the current system of providing counsel for low income individuals in civil matters.  

Professor of Chinese De Bao Xu joined the ACC (Associated Colleges in China) Internship Program during the summer of 2007. It is supported by the Department of Education of the U.S. and administered by the East Asian Languages and Literatures Department at Hamilton Colleges. During his trip to China, he was invited to give plenary talks at three conferences on Chinese education organized by the Education and Science Society, a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C., and several Chinese normal universities. Xu's talk was titled The Relationship between Classical Chinese Learning and One’s Ability in Modern Chinese Reading and Writing.

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."