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Cheng Li, the William R. Kenan Professor of Government, has been reappointed to the Research Institute Council of the Hopkins-Nanjing Institute for International Research for a two-year term. “It is in the best interest of the center to have leadership stability and the support of distinguished scholars such as [Professor Li],” said Kathryn Mohrman, executive director.  The Hopkins-Nanjing Center for Chinese and American Studies is jointly administered by Nanjing University and The Johns Hopkins University. The center offers a one-year graduate-level program in Chinese and American studies, which many Hamilton graduates have attended. The Research Institute Council mainly recruits senior faculty members in the U.S. who would like to conduct field research in China. “Both programs greatly contribute to the mutual understanding across the Pacific,” said Li.

Studying South African apartheid literature as an Emerson-sponsored summer research project was more than an intellectual endeavor for Ntokozo Xaba ’08; it was about understanding something his family experienced first hand. Xaba, now of Dethewini, South Africa, was born into a state of emergency during apartheid, the social and political policy of racial segregation and discrimination enforced by white minority governments in South Africa from 1948 to 1994. His name means “happiness,” a way of brightening up bad times, and is a common one for his generation.

While most 2005 Hamilton graduates said good-bye to the college in May, Aletha Asay ’05 will be returning to the Hill for the 2005-2006 academic year to work as the new Hamilton College SHINE Coordinator. Project SHINE (Students Helping In the Naturalization of Elders) links college students with older immigrants and refugees seeking to learn English and achieve U.S. citizenship. Students tutor elders in English, helping them become more actively engaged in their communities and teaching the U.S. history and civics needed to pass the citizenship exam. Project SHINE in central New York began with a partnership between Hamilton and Utica College and is supported by a three-year grant from Temple University’s Center for Intergenerational Learning and Learn and Serve America.

U.S. News & World Report, in today’s 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.

Josh Simpson '72 has been named to the Board of Fellows at the Corning Museum of Glass. The Fellows of the Corning Museum are among the world’s leading glass collectors, scholars, dealers, and glassmakers. The more than 45 members of the organization help to disseminate knowledge about the history and art of glassmaking and to support the acquisitions program of the Museum's Rakow Research Library. Admission to the fellowship is intended to recognize accomplishment in the field, and is by invitation only. "We are really pleased to have Josh join our board of Fellows. He's been a long-time supporter of the Museum and is so highly regarded in the world of glass," said a Corning representative. Simpson is a contemporary glass artist with a studio in Shelburne, Mass.He is known for his Planets, orbs of clear glass ranging from a few inches to more than a foot in diameter, their interiors filled with elements that resemble mountains, glaciers, oceans, continents and reefs of coral.

Cheng Li,  the William R. Kenan Professor of Government, was quoted in an article published in Bloomberg News and the International Herald Tribune about the life and recent success of Zhou Xiaochuan, China’s Central Bank governor. The article, “China’s ‘Visionary’ Central Banker Zhou Leads Yuan Float Push,” was published on August 17. Li is quoted as saying, “As a ‘princeling,’ or child of a high-ranking party cadre, Zhou has benefited from political connections,” and “Zhou's age and narrow focus on the finance industry mean he's unlikely to rise past the position of vice premier. He has deliberately shunned factional politics to stake out a career as a technocrat.” Li is author of China's Leaders: The New Generation (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Inc., 2001).

Hamilton College Alumni Association today announced the results of its Alumni Trustee election. Deborah Forte K'75, Gregory T. Hoogkamp '82 and Susan C. Bacot '88 received the greatest number of votes, as certified by Elections USA, an independent firm contracted to manage the election, and will join the College's Board of Trustees, effective immediately. A total of 3,731 or 21.4 percent of alumni ballots were cast by the August 15, 2005 deadline.

Associate Professor of English Naomi Guttman is participating in a six-day summer session on contemplative curriculum development at Smith College in Massachusetts. Sponsored by The Center for Contemplative Mind in Society, the session allows teachers in higher education to develop curricula that integrate contemplative practice into courses in any discipline. Professor Guttman's course, "Lyric Yoga: Meditative Introspection and Poetic Creation," will be offered as an elective in the English department and will use yoga as a form of contemplative practice to complement the study and creation of contemplative literature.

Bryden Considine and Kateri Whitebean, both '08, are no strangers to summer research. Whitebean (Fabius, N.Y.) is spending her fourth summer doing research at Hamilton. As a participant in the Oneida Indian Nation Program for high school students, she gained experience in several different labs in the summers following her sophomore and junior years. Last summer, both Whitebean and Considine (Cabot, Vt.) participated in the STEP/Dreyfus program for incoming freshmen, where they spent six weeks working with Associate Professor of Biology Herman Lehman in a neuroscience lab. "The experience I gained then only furthered my interests in doing research again," said Whitebean.

A record number of 213 incoming first-year Hamilton students are participating in Adirondack Adventure, an outdoor orientation program for new students. The students arrived on August 15, a week before regular orientation, for eight days of games, hiking, canoeing and service projects. Coordinated by Andrew Jillings, director of adventure programs, Adirondack Adventure (AA) offers 25 different expeditions. Trips range from standard Adirondack explorations -- hiking, canoeing, kayaking, and rock climbing -- to more unusual trips, such as a service trip and a geological exploration. Jillings reports that the sea kayaking and rock climbing trips are the most popular. He said that in 2004 AA added two "hard core triple combo trips of sea kayaking, canoeing and hiking." Participant numbers are up by 24 from 2004.