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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.

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).