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Hamilton's annual Convocation took place on August 28th in Wellin Hall, bringing together members of the administration, faculty and students for the opening of the college’s 194th year. After being introduced by John H. O’Neill, Edmund A. LeFevre Professor of English, President Joan Hinde Stewart welcomed new and returning students alike to the new academic year.

Meghan Moulton ’07 brought a glimpse of Africa to the Hamilton campus on August 25 when she presented a slideshow of photos and a discussion of her student-led service trip to Uganda earlier this summer. Moulton led seven other Hamilton students on the trip in collaboration with Soft Power Education to refurbish local schools in Jinja, teach lessons to the children and organize recreational activities.

Benjamin Critton ’06 will be exhibiting three pieces of artwork in the “Uber Urban” exhibit at Company Gallery in downtown Syracuse. The exhibition, curated by Visiting Assistant Professor of Art Rebecca Murtaugh, features artwork by Central New York artists whose work is influenced by urban culture. The exhibition runs through Sept. 10, and the reception is Friday, Sept. 2, from 8 to 11 p.m. Company Gallery is located in One Lincoln Center at 110 W. Fayette Street in Syracuse.

The first of the sheets of glass for the front atrium of the new Science Center have been installed. The atrium will be the front entryway and focal point for the building, and is being constructed off the old 1925 science building entrance. The new atrium will be a gathering place for students and will include a coffee bar run by Café Opus. The installation of the glass is a visible sign that the almost decade-long project is in its final weeks and on schedule for a September 6 completion.

Ernest Williams, the Leonard C. Ferguson Professor of Biology, was featured in an article in his hometown newspaper, The Cody Enterprise (Cody, Wyoming) about his recently published The Nature Handbook: A Guide to Observing the Great Outdoors. “Clues to solving some environmental mysteries are offered in a new book by a Cody-educated man,” says the article, published on August 1. Williams grew up in Cody and attended local schools until the early 1960s. The article quotes Williams as saying, “I’m in the East and the West, so there’s a focus on New England and Wyoming in the book.”

Julia Brandt '07 (Kingston, Jamaica) knows she wants to pursue a career in public health. This summer she focused on deepening her knowledge and her interest in the field. Brandt, a neuroscience major, applied for and won an Emerson grant to pursue research about pharmaceutical companies’ advertisements. Advised by Professor of Biology Jinnie Garrett, Brandt analyzed the way pharmaceutical companies advertise products to physicians. "[My project] is trying to present the pharmaceutical industry as intrusive into lives of the medical public," she said.

Associate Professor of Economics Ann Owen was quoted in an article in CBS Marketwatch. The article, titled “Greenspan had a deft touch, can it last?,” chronicles Alan Greenspan’s success as chairman of the Federal Reserve and addresses the question of whether the economy can perform as well without him. It discusses the legacies he will leave, the second one being “a confidence the Fed can handle crises.” Owen confirms this assertion. “I think the Fed in the last decade has been a real model on how to deal with crises,” she says.

Meghan Dunn '06 and Associate Professor of Chemistry Tim Elgren, who is president of the Council on Undergraduate Research, were interviewed for an article in the Kaplan-Newsweek 2006 edition of "America's Hottest Colleges." The article "Under the Microscope" discusses undergraduate science research opportunities at small schools. Elgren noted in the article "Many of the small colleges are focusing more on research because it resonates so well with the personalized education that is central to their missions." Dunn, who transferred from George Washington University, said there "even graduate students 'were too busy doing their own thing' to show her the ropes in the lab." At Hamilton she and another student have published two papers on computational chemistry under Professor George Shields.

The 502 members of Hamilton's Class of 2009 arrive for orientation on Tuesday, Aug. 23. The Class of 2009 is one of -- if not the -- most academically competitive class Hamilton has ever enrolled. The average SAT score for the incoming students is 1347. Seventy percent of the class ranked in the top 10% of their high school class; 87% ranked in the top 20%. This class is also the most diverse on record. Eighteen percent of the incoming first-year students are multi-cultural students from the United States; an additional 5% are international students. This year's incoming class comes from 36 states and 18 countries and 34% come from New York State.

U.S. News & World Report, in the August 19 release of its 2006 ranking of liberal arts colleges, has ranked Hamilton College #15 in the nation, tied with Colgate University and Grinnell College. Hamilton, Vassar College and Colgate University are the only three New York institutions ranked among the top 25 liberal arts colleges. This is the highest ranking Hamilton has ever achieved in U.S. News; a year ago the College was tied at 19th.