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Wei-Jen Chang, assistant professor of biology, published work in the open-access journal Biology Direct. His article, titled "Intron Evolution and Information processing in the DNA polymerase alpha gene in spirotrichous ciliates: A hypothesis for interconversion between DNA and RNA deletion," is co-authored by scholars from Sweden and from Princeton University. Two former Princeton undergraduate students were also involved in this project, which used computer programs to help analyze empirical data.

Hamilton College defeated the University of Virginia in a debate about the merits of Alexander Hamilton vs. Thomas Jefferson held at UVA's Charlottesville campus on April 14. Hamilton's team of Joshua Agins '07, Michael Blasie '07 and Scott Iseman '07 won two rounds, lost one and tied one against UVA. Blasie reported a solid turnout with a number of Hamilton alumni in the audience.

Hamilton will host several film experts and directors in April, participants in the Forum for Images and Languages in Motion (F.I.L.M.). All events are scheduled in the Kirner-Johnson Auditorium and are free and open to the public. Series programs will be introduced and contextualized by program organizer and Visiting Professor of Art History Scott MacDonald.

Nancy Sorkin Rabinowitz, the Margaret Bundy Scott Professor of Comparative Literature, presented a paper at the Classics Association meetings held April 12-15 in Birmingham, England. Rabinowitz’s paper, titled “Looking at Women Looking in Tragedy,” asks what women actually saw in ancient Athens—specifically, whether they watched tragedy and what they are represented as seeing in tragedy. Rabinowitz addressed the question of whether women’s point of view can be said to offer a different focalization, or whether since it was constructed by a male author, it merely corroborates hegemonic thinking.

Alan Cafruny, Henry Platt Bristol Professor of International Affairs, presented a paper on the transatlantic dimensions of European integration at the University of Bath at the British Political Science Association on Friday, April 13. The paper was co-authored with Magnus Ryner.

The Hamilton chapter of Democracy Matters will host a program featuring Joan Mandle, the organization's national executive director, on Wednesday, April 18, at 7 p.m. Mandle will present "Dirty Air & Clean Elections: Challenging Corporate Control of Environmental Policy." The event, which is free and open to the public, will be held in the Red Pit in the Kirner Johnson Building.

On Tuesday, April 10, the Hamilton students currently participating in the college’s Washington D.C. program attended a debate between Senator John Kerry and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich on “Global Climate Change and the Environment.” The New York University Brademas Center for the Study of Congress sponsored the event. After the debate, which was covered live by C-Span, Hamilton students were able to speak with Gingrich and Kerry, asking questions and taking pictures.

The Nominations Committee of the Alumni Council invites recommendations for the 2008 Distinguished Service Award. Presented by the Council on behalf of the Alumni Association, the award recognizes an employee who has substantially contributed to Hamilton through distinguished job performance and through involvement in student, alumni, or other activities in the College community. At the time of selection, the recipient must be an active member of Hamilton's faculty, administration, staff, or maintenance and operations.

Ross Ufberg, a candidate for May graduation from Hamilton College, has been awarded a Fulbright Teaching Assistantship to Russia. While there Ufberg plans to conduct research on the Russia poet Joseph Brodsky. Ufberg is spending this semester working at the Beinecke Rare Books and Manuscript Library at Yale as a visiting fellow doing research on Brodsky under the direction of Ann Kjellberg, the executor of Brodsky’s estate.

Vivyan Adair, the Elihu Root Peace Fund Associate Professor of Women's Studies, was interviewed about welfare reform and higher education, and the development of The ACCESS Project at Hamilton College, for QNN's America Back On Track. The program, which aired on March 30, was hosted by award-winning broadcast journalist Tony Seton.