"Sex, Celibacy, and Gender Roles among the Shakers," will be presented on Tuesday, Oct. 23, at 4 p.m. in Hamilton's Kennedy Science Auditorium in the Science Center by Glendyne Wergland, this year's Couper Phi Beta Kappa Lecture speaker. The event is free and open to the public. Wergland's most recent book, Visiting the Shakers: 1778-1849, was recently published by Hamilton's Couper Press.
Wergland grew up in the southwest United States and, as an adult, settled in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, where she became interested in the Shakers through volunteer work at Hancock Shaker Village. Returning to school at age 40, she pursued her interest in the Shakers at Mount Holyoke College where she graduated with honors before going to University of Massachusetts Amherst for her Ph.D. Her book, One Shaker Life: Isaac Newton Youngs, 1793-1865, won the Communal Studies Association's Outstanding Publication Award in 2006. Wergland's current work on Shaker sisters examines the difficulties and rewards of 19th century communal life.
The Couper Phi Beta Kappa Lecture was established in 2005 to honor Hamilton alumnus Richard "Dick" Couper '44. Couper died in January 2006. This yearly lecture recognizes Couper's commitment and contributions to the college and the Phi Beta Kappa Society. Each fall a distinguished speaker is invited to present topics related to the college's special library collections or to present an issue related to libraries in general.
Couper was a staunch advocate for and supporter of Phi Beta Kappa on campus and nationally. In 2000 he and his wife, Patsy, established the Couper Phi Beta Kappa Book Prize, which Hamilton awards annually to the top 10 rising sophomores. Nationally, Couper served as president of The Fellows of the Phi Beta Kappa Society, a select group of distinguished supporters whose efforts have made possible much of the success of the organization and whose tangible support has contributed greatly to its stability, according to The Phi Beta Kappa Society secretary John Churchill. Couper also was instrumental in securing a Mellon Foundation grant to enable the society to send scholars to present lectures at colleges that do not have Phi Beta Kappa chapters. In recognition of his service, the Fellows of Phi Beta Kappa created the Richard W. Couper Lecture. Couper and eight family members were Hamilton Phi Beta Kappa graduates.
Having served 46 years as a trustee of Hamilton, Dick Couper was second only to Elihu Root in length of tenure in that role. He showed his support in many ways, including his contributions to Burke Library for special purchases and his establishment of an endowment for the Couper Librarian. Couper, his wife and his parents also established the Williams-Watrous-Couper Fund, an endowment that supports faculty research and teaching improvement. He contributed his time as well as his financial support to the College and was recognized for his efforts with the 2004 Volunteer of the Year Award.
Phi Beta Kappa is the oldest academic honorary society in America. Membership in it provides wide recognition of academic achievement. The Hamilton College chapter of Phi Beta Kappa was established in 1869, making it the fifth oldest chapter in the state and giving it the designation as the Epsilon Chapter of New York.
Wergland grew up in the southwest United States and, as an adult, settled in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, where she became interested in the Shakers through volunteer work at Hancock Shaker Village. Returning to school at age 40, she pursued her interest in the Shakers at Mount Holyoke College where she graduated with honors before going to University of Massachusetts Amherst for her Ph.D. Her book, One Shaker Life: Isaac Newton Youngs, 1793-1865, won the Communal Studies Association's Outstanding Publication Award in 2006. Wergland's current work on Shaker sisters examines the difficulties and rewards of 19th century communal life.
The Couper Phi Beta Kappa Lecture was established in 2005 to honor Hamilton alumnus Richard "Dick" Couper '44. Couper died in January 2006. This yearly lecture recognizes Couper's commitment and contributions to the college and the Phi Beta Kappa Society. Each fall a distinguished speaker is invited to present topics related to the college's special library collections or to present an issue related to libraries in general.
Couper was a staunch advocate for and supporter of Phi Beta Kappa on campus and nationally. In 2000 he and his wife, Patsy, established the Couper Phi Beta Kappa Book Prize, which Hamilton awards annually to the top 10 rising sophomores. Nationally, Couper served as president of The Fellows of the Phi Beta Kappa Society, a select group of distinguished supporters whose efforts have made possible much of the success of the organization and whose tangible support has contributed greatly to its stability, according to The Phi Beta Kappa Society secretary John Churchill. Couper also was instrumental in securing a Mellon Foundation grant to enable the society to send scholars to present lectures at colleges that do not have Phi Beta Kappa chapters. In recognition of his service, the Fellows of Phi Beta Kappa created the Richard W. Couper Lecture. Couper and eight family members were Hamilton Phi Beta Kappa graduates.
Having served 46 years as a trustee of Hamilton, Dick Couper was second only to Elihu Root in length of tenure in that role. He showed his support in many ways, including his contributions to Burke Library for special purchases and his establishment of an endowment for the Couper Librarian. Couper, his wife and his parents also established the Williams-Watrous-Couper Fund, an endowment that supports faculty research and teaching improvement. He contributed his time as well as his financial support to the College and was recognized for his efforts with the 2004 Volunteer of the Year Award.
Phi Beta Kappa is the oldest academic honorary society in America. Membership in it provides wide recognition of academic achievement. The Hamilton College chapter of Phi Beta Kappa was established in 1869, making it the fifth oldest chapter in the state and giving it the designation as the Epsilon Chapter of New York.
