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David Backus '75, Heinz Riehl Professor of International Economics and Finance at New York University's Stern School of Business, has been actively commenting on today's federal economic program. While at Hamilton, Backus majored in economics under the guidance of economics professor Derek Jones and sang with the choir. He is the son of John K. Backus '46 and cousin to Angela North Manson '82.    

In an interview on central New York's public radio station WRVO-FM, Philip Klinkner, the James S. Sherman Professor of Government, spoke about the voting patterns that emerged in the presidential election and the role played by race. During the interview with news director Chris Ulanowski on Jan. 16, Klinkner also discussed the parallels between the presidency of Franklin Roosevelt and an Obama presidency.

The Hamilton College Arboretum Association will host the first in a series of Winter Workshops on Saturday, Jan. 17, at 10 a.m. in the Kennedy Auditorium, Science Center. The topic is Planning for Spring Renovations and Proper Pruning Techniques. All sessions are free and open to the public but pre-registration is requested; call Joan Kane at Hamilton College, 315-859-4657, to register.

The women's basketball team spent the afternoon of Jan. 13 volunteering at the Underground Café in Utica. The Café is a student-run coffee shop, art space and civic engagement center in Utica's Cornhill section. The team and coach Sean Mackin painted for three hours then spent an hour playing basketball with students who dropped by the Café after school.

Hamilton students once again grabbed their cameras, framed, zoomed and shot their surroundings as they traveled abroad in 2008. Many entered their photographic memories in the third Worldview Photo Contest, whose winners were recently announced.

President Joan Hinde Stewart has begun a semester-long sabbatical to pursue scholarly work. Dean of Faculty Joe Urgo is serving as acting president until President Stewart  resumes her duties this summer.

Ernest Williams, the Christian A. Johnson Excellence in Teaching Professor of Biology, published the lead article in the latest issue of the Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society 62(4):177-188. The article, "Monarch butterfly clusters provide microclimatic advantages during the overwintering season in Mexico," was coauthored by collaborators from Sweet Briar College and the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico and was based on field work in Mexico during February 2007 and January 2008.

Assistant Professor of Anthropology Haeng-ja Chung was invited to give a paper, "Mapping the Invisible: Ethnic Passing and Feminized Male Labor in the Nightclubs in Japan," at the 2008 RCAPS Conference: The Asia Pacific in the Emerging World System at the Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University in December 2008.

Philip Klinkner, the James S. Sherman Professor of Government, co-authored "LBJ's Revenge: The 2008 Election and the Rise of the Great Society Coalition" in the election issue (Vol. 6, Issue 4) of The Forum - A Journal of Applied Research in Contemporary Politics published by Berkeley Electronic Press. This article presents a distinctive overview of the 2008 election contest focused on its coalitional underpinnings.

The Hamilton music department is hosting the International Academy of Advanced Conducting after Ilya Musin, a conducting workshop with two renowned teachers who studied with the 20th century Russian pedagogue Ilya Musin, from Jan. 21 to Jan. 25. The Hamilton Orchestra will act as the host ensemble playing for the workshop. The final performance  will take place at noon on Sunday, Jan. 25, in Wellin Hall and is free and open to the public.