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The work of Associate Professor of Art Ella Gant is being exhibited by the Bruno David Gallery in St. Louis in a one-person show titled "mother choo choo" through Jan. 12, 2008. Featured in the gallery's New Media Room, Gant's series of short videos are centered on the principle that, in her words, "awareness of our own experience can inspire social consciousness, political responsibility, cultural interaction and changed behavior."

The Alumni Relations Office is updating its presence on the Hamilton Web site. "We've been reviewing our site and expect to offer new services, greater ease of navigation and more information of value to alumni when the new site is launched this spring," said Executive Director of Annual Giving and Alumni Relations Bill Brower '84. "Our objectives are to make it easier for members of the Hamilton family to stay connected with each other and with the College."

Jeff Smith '82, DVM, was installed as president of the California Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA) during the annual Pacific Veterinary Conference earlier this year.  The CVMA is a membership organization that represents more than 5,600 veterinary professionals in California. At Hamilton, Smith was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon and played rugby. He double majored in biology and English Literature before going on to Cornell University to earn his veterinary degree. His father is Dr. Warren Smith '53 and his brothers are Dr. Andrew Smith '85 and Dr. Matthew Smith '87. Jeff and his wife, Sheri, live in Middletown, Calif., with their two sons.

What is life like for a Utica high school student? The new theatrical production The Utica Spotlight Express, featuring 12 talented, driven students from Proctor High School, hopes to answer just that. The production opens December 14 at 8 p.m. in Hamilton's Minor Theatre. 

The Key Reporter, Phi Beta Kappa's magazine, recognized the legacy of Richard W. Couper '44 in its winter 2007 issue and included an article by Mariam Ballout '10, detailing the Couper Phi Beta Kappa lecture at Hamilton on Oct. 23. The lecture, titled "Sex, Celibacy and Gender Roles in Shaker Communities," was presented by Glendyne Wergland.

Associate Professor of English and Assistant Dean of Faculty for Diversity Initiatives Steven Yao presented a paper at the Globalizing Modern Chinese Literature: Sinophone and Diasporic Writings conference held at Harvard University on December 6-8. His paper, "Transplantation and Modernity: The Chinese/American Poems of Angel Island," discussed the intricate weave of diverse historical, social and cultural contexts in both China and the U.S. against which the "Island" poems gain their complex significance.

Hamilton's debate team attended the MIT Innovation Tournament where 69 teams and 64 novices competed during the weekend of Nov. 30-Dec. 1. Hamilton sent three teams: Rouvan Mahmud '11 and Andrew Harris '11; Chris Smith '11 and Phil Fraccola '08; and Kye Lippold '10 and Andrew Portuguese '11. Harris won 1st place novice speaker and Mahmud won 2nd place novice speaker. Mahmud and Harris also broke to varsity quarter finals and ended up winning 1st place novice team and 7th place varsity team, despite being novices.

"Using China as a target may provoke a backlash, so politicians need to be careful," said Cheng Li, William R. Kenan Professor of Government, in a Dec. 11 Bloomberg News article. Li, who is also a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, was commenting on a recent poll that found that the U.S. public has a more favorable impression of China than do congressional staff members and is more positive about trade with China than those staffers and business executives believe they are.

The exclusive advance showing of The Great Debaters for friends of Hamilton, held on Monday, Dec. 10 in New York City, proved to be an entertaining evening for attendees as well as a resounding fundraising success for the College's oral communication program. Generating just slightly less than $30,000 for the program, the event was attended by a capacity crowd of Hamilton alumni and friends. The event was underwritten by Sara Weinstein '02 and The Weinstein Company.

The photography of Sylvia de Swaan, visiting instructor of art, has been selected by SHOTS Magazine for inclusion in its annual portfolio issue (winter 2007). The magazine selected and showcased the work of nine photographers, publishing a four-page spread for each that included images as well as an interview. De Swaan's work was also selected for the magazine's back cover.