When Washington and Lee engineering professor Jon Erickson introduced a new bioengineering course last fall, he said he wanted to show the students how many "beautiful problems at the intersection of biology, physics and engineering can be tackled using a synergy of ideas and techniques." His students started out studying the structure and function of […]
The liner notes on David Klabo's CD, Life of an Oyster, describe the music as "a kaleidoscope of a journey through different moments when we are falling in and then falling out of love." David, a 1989 alumnus of Washington and Lee, goes on to list some of his favorite musicians, writers and songwriters, who […]
On the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania, members of the Washington and Lee community will once again gather in front of Lee Chapel on Sunday morning for a prayer vigil. On this coming Tuesday, Sept. 13, a panel of faculty will examine the attacks 10 years […]
Paul Arpaia, a 1985 Washington and Lee graduate, represented the September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows earlier this month as part of an Italian-American delegation that traveled to Kabul, Afghanistan, to meet Afghan families of the victims of terrorism and war and the representatives of Afghan civil and international organizations working in the country. Paul […]
Two popular destinations on the Washington and Lee website have undergone facelifts in recent weeks through the work of W&L's web communications team. WLUR-FM unveiled its new site in the summer. In addition to links to the weekly schedule and to a list of WLUR's Top 30 Albums, the site offers listeners several different ways […]
Congratulations to Isaac N. "Ike" Smith Jr., of the Classes of 1957 undergraduate and 1960 law, who was one of six West Virginia business leaders inducted into the inaugural class of the new West Virginia Chamber of Commerce Hall of Fame. Announcement of the induction, part of the West Virginia Chamber's 75th anniversary, was made […]
Art Goldsmith, the Jackson T. Stephens Professor of Economics at Washington and Lee, appeared on NPR affiliate WMRA’s Virginia Insight show Thursday, Sept. 15. He was part of a panel that discussed President Obama’s latest job creation proposals. Other panelists were Robert North Roberts, professor of political science and public administration at James Madison University, […]
Rev. John Talley, minister of the Reformed University Fellowship (RUF), told those gathered at a prayer vigil in memory of the 9/11 terror attacks on Sunday morning in front of Lee Chapel that the events 10 years ago represent an opportunity to change as individuals. The prayer vigil was sponsored by W&L's College Democrats and […]
Charlie Sweet, of the Class of 1965, has just co-authored the seventh book in the “It Works for Me” series that he has written with Hal Blythe, a colleague at Eastern Kentucky University. This latest edition is titled It Works for Me Creatively. The books all offer shared tips for teaching. Some of the other […]
Washington and Lee University's Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning (GLBTQ) Resource Center is throwing a housewarming for its new headquarters on the second floor of Hill House on Friday, Sept. 9, from 4 to 6 p.m. The center is a project of the student organization GLBT Equality Initiative (G.E.I), itself a recent evolution from […]
Addressing the Fall Convocation to open Washington and Lee University's 263rd year, Pamela Hemenway Simpson, the Ernest Williams II Professor of Art History at the University, told the Warner Center audience that development of the W&L campus over several hundred years resulted in not just a collection of buildings, but a symbol. "What we so […]
When the Class of 2015 arrived at Washington and Lee University on Saturday, members of the University's Information Technology Services offered them a quick way to find popular websites and add contact information to address books with their smartphones and the new QR code technology. QR codes, short for Quick Response code, is a two-dimensional […]
Washington and Lee University welcomed the largest entering class in its history on Saturday, Sept. 3, when 497 members of the Class of 2015 arrived for a five-day orientation. The entering students and their families unloaded their cars and, with the help of upper-division student "movers," hauled their possessions into the residence halls on an […]
Readers of Stacy Morrison, former editor of Redbook and author of the 2010 memoir Falling Apart in One Piece, will be pleased to know that this member of Washington and Lee’s Class of 1990 has a new platform. This time it’s online rather than print — she is heading BlogHerMoms.com, an offshoot of BlogHer.com. Stacy will have […]
Washington and Lee University's Staniar Gallery will open the academic year with "Abandon," a two-person exhibition featuring prints by Barbara Duval and a film installation by Meredith Root. The exhibit will be on view from Sept. 6 through Oct. 6. Barbara Duval will present a public lecture in Wilson Hall's Concert Hall on Wednesday, Sept. […]
The Washington Post had a fascinating interview with Washington and Lee alumnus Alex Castelli not long ago. Alex, a member of the Class of 1986, currently heads the 50-person growth-markets practice in the Tysons Corner, Va., office of the Reznick Group, a top 20 national accounting, tax and business advisory firm. He also is a visiting assistant […]
Washington and Lee University's Art Department will present an exhibition of prints by recent graduate Michael O'Brien which will be on view from Sept. 6 – Oct. 6 in Wilson Hall's Lykes Atrium. O'Brien will give a brown bag lunch artist's talk on Tuesday, Sept. 27, at 12:30 p.m. in Wilson Hall, room 2017. O'Brien […]
On Sept. 1, the Fall 2011 issue of Shenandoah: The Washington and Lee University Review hits the newsstand — the virtual newsstand, that is. The 61-year-old literary journal is now entirely online and free. While its physical form is different, its spirit is the same. "Different can be just as good," said R.T. Smith, Shenandoah […]
When blues guitarist and singer Scott Ainslie, of the Class of 1974, saw the normally eight-inch-deep Whetstone Brook in his hometown of Brattleboro, Vt., transformed into a raging torrent as Hurricane Irene passed through on Sunday, he got out his video camera and recorded some remarkable images. Then Scott added his own recording of Stephen […]
In June we blogged about Rebecca Makkai, of the Class of 1999, whose first novel, The Borrower, has been widely praised. But it was one of Rebecca's short stories that landed her a spot on a recent edition of NPR's "This American Life." As part of the program's show on Gossip, Rebecca reads a portion of one […]
This year a record number of more than 200 first-year students at Washington and Lee University are spending five days in one of two "Leading Edge" pre-orientation programs. Appalachian Adventures takes students backpacking on the Appalachian Trail. Volunteer Ventures is a service-learning program that educates students about the realities of poverty by living, learning and […]
University's Staniar Gallery will present eight exhibitions ranging from W&L Professor Emeritus I-Hsiung Ju to legendary pop artist Andy Warhol. The gallery, which opened in 2006, is dedicated to the exhibition of contemporary and art historical works in all media by regionally, nationally and internationally recognized artists. The season kicks off with a two-person exhibition […]
Bill Buice, of Washington and Lee’s Class of 1961, and his wife, Stuart, were the subject of a nice recent profile in their local paper, the Shelter Island (N.Y.) Reporter, this summer. The focus is their mutual love of books. The Buices, who live in Shelter Island Heights, N.Y., are both natives of North Carolina. They […]
Washington and Lee University will observe the 10th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks with two different events — a prayer vigil and a panel presentation and discussion. The prayer vigil will be held at 8:30 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 11, in front of Lee Chapel on campus. The Rev. John Talley, minister of […]
Barbara Jeanne Brown, University librarian at Washington and Lee University from 1985 to 2003, died on Aug. 27, 2011, in Lexington, Va. She was 69. Brown was named University librarian in 1985 and served in that position until retiring in 2003. She had previously spent five years, from 1971 to 1976, as head of reference […]
Suzanne LaFleur, of the Class of 2005, has just published her second novel, Eight Keys, with Wendy Lamb Books, a division of Random House. It tells the story of best friends Elise, who’s lost her parents, and Franklin. As the publisher describes it, “There’s always been a barn behind the house with eight locked doors […]
Local community organizations throughout Lexington and Rockbridge County received a helpful boost when students from Washington and Lee University's School of Law took part in the Student Bar Association's (SBA) Service Day during orientation this year. "The last time we did this was in 2005 or 2006," said SBA President Negin Farahmand. "It used to […]
Mike Neer’s retirement lasted 16 months. The former Washington and Lee basketball Hall of Famer, a member of the Class of 1970, is headed back to the hardwood this winter as the new head coach at Hobart College in Geneva, N.Y. In April 2010, Mike stepped down after 34 years as the coach at the […]
Attending a Brown Bag Lunch at Washington and Lee's Howe Hall in the summer is akin to earning a mini college degree. During these sessions, held weekly in June and July, Washington and Lee undergraduates share highlights from their summer research projects. The quick-moving presentations zip between disciplines, offering an up-to-the-minute glimpse into experiments and […]
Jack Vardaman, of the Class of 1962, is going to have to postpone his induction into Washington and Lee’s Athletic Hall of Fame. But he has a perfectly good excuse. Jack was scheduled to be among the four inductees during the Hall of Fame weekend Sept. 9-10. He was to be honored for his four-year […]
Pamela Hemenway Simpson, the Ernest Williams II Professor of Art and Art History at Washington and Lee University, will present the 2011 Fall Convocation address on Wednesday, Sept. 7, at 5:30 p.m., in Warner Center. The title of Simpson's address is "Reflections on White Columns." The event will be streamed live on the University's website. […]
Dating to its founders' first amateur performance of Antony and Cleopatra in 1985, the American Shakespeare Center (ASC), now one of the country's leading performers of Shakespeare, has kept a careful record of everything associated with the plays it staged. The center's archives include directors' notes, prompt books, set designs, posters, fliers, still and candid […]
Two Washington and Lee classmates from the Class of 2010, both double majors in English and theater, are working together on the off-off-Broadway stage in New York City this month. Jenna Worsham is directing “What the Sparrow Said” at Teatro LATEA. Included in the cast is her classmate Kevin Mannering, who plays the role of […]
A new book of stories by R.T. Smith, editor of "Shenandoah: The Washington and Lee University Review," will be published next month by Stephen F. Austin University Press in Texas. "Sherburne" is about members of the same family spanning over a century with all but one story set primarily in Rockbridge County. According to Smith, […]
Members of the Washington and Lee community, along with Lexington residents, experienced the Virginia-based 5.8 earthquake on Tuesday. W&L has received no reports of any injuries or damage from the event. The quake, which was centered 82 miles from the W&L campus in Mineral, Va., struck at 1:51 p.m. with a low rumble and a […]
Roy T. Matthews, emeritus professor of history at Michigan State University and a member of the Class of 1954, is the author of a new book, Gittin’ Through. Published by Trafford Publishing, Gittin’ Through is subtitled A Southern Town During World War II. The book follows three generations whose lives were changed by the war: […]
As the world waits to see what might transpire in Libya over the days ahead, a Washington and Lee University politics professor believes there is a huge risk for chaos and infighting and points to the Congolese wars as a comparable situation. Ayşe Zarakol, who studies political transformations and is the author of "After Defeat: […]
Earlier this month at Saratoga Springs, N.Y., Richard L. Duchossois, of the Class of 1944, received the The Ellen & Herbert Moelis Equine Savior Award for Philanthropy from Equine Advocates, a national non-profit dedicated to saving horses from slaughter. The award is just the latest in a long list of honors recognizing Dick's impact on Thoroughbred […]
Ted DeLaney, the Harry E. and Mary Jayne W. Redenbaugh Term Professor of History and head of the history department at Washington and Lee, has been elected to a two-year term as president of the St. George Tucker Society, an interdisciplinary organization of southern specialists at was founded in 1992 by the most important living historian […]
Following the success of this summer's Virginia Governor's French Academy at Washington and Lee University, Dick Kuettner, coordinator of the program, has announced that W&L has been selected to host three such "full-immersion" language academies in French, German and Spanish simultaneously for the next five years. "We are all very excited at the prospect of […]
When an alumnus first asked him to spend part of his summer immersed in Civil War maps, Washington and Lee University senior Jenks Wilson wasn't sure what to expect. A senior with a double major in history and philosophy from Charleston, S.C., Wilson said his historical interests initially lay in the antebellum period. He did […]
Robert Stanley Johnson, the Cincinnati Professor of Mathematics, Emeritus, at Washington and Lee University, died on Saturday, Aug. 13, 2011, at Augusta Medical Center. He was 73. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Patrick's Church in Lexington at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, August 17, 2011, with burial to follow in the […]
Washington and Lee signed an agreement with Secure Futures L.L.C., a solar-energy developer based in Staunton, Va., today to install two solar photovoltaic arrays, totaling approximately 450 kilowatts, at two separate locations on the University's campus. The first solar array, with a capacity of 120 kilowatts, will be installed on a canopy to be constructed […]
When a driver in a Corvette stole his mother-in-law's parking space outside a restaurant, Richard Rosser, of the Class of 1984, knew he had to do something in response. So he created his own nation — Piggy Nation— where there would be no more drivers parking in two spaces, no more dogs pooping on neighbors’ […]
While researching internships online last spring, then junior Lev Raslin zeroed in on a program offered by Densebrain Inc. in Manhattan. "The company name stuck out," said Raslin, "and when I read about it I saw that they made one of the apps that I use, NYCMate, which is basically a collection of all New […]
It was a classic case of role reversal for Christina Douglas, a member of Washington and Lee's Class of 2013 and a varsity tennis player for the Generals. Christina had been taught the game by her mother, Christine, a former University of Virginia tennis player. But last week at the USTA Eastern Adult League Championships […]
Washington and Lee alumnus Jay Hight, of the Class of 1967, spent 36 years as librarian and English teacher at Virginia Episcopal School in Lynchburg. Earlier this summer, the school honored Jay at its reunion dinner, announcing a commitment to dedicate the renovated school library as The James Aldwin Hight Jr. Library in Jay's honor. […]
Washington and Lee biology professor Bill Hamilton is a member of the advisory board for W&L's Howard Hughes Medical Institute Grant, which includes service-learning courses in which W&L students develop science modules and teach them in local K-5 classrooms. In addition, the University has held a Summer Science Institute for local Rockbridge County teachers. Bill Hamilton, […]
In its review of Richard Strauss’s 1940 opera, “Die Liebe der Danae,” as staged at the Bard Summerscape Festival at Bard College earlier this summer, the New York Times had this to say about soprano Meagan Miller, a member of Washington and Lee's Class of 1996: "As Danae, the soprano Meagan Miller had a coolly […]
After winning a major victory in the Oakcliff Invitational regatta in Oyster Bay, N.Y., last month, Washington and Lee senior Thomas Meric and his four teammates for New Orleans-based Rigamaroo Racing will be in action in Chicago today, competing in the Chicago Match Cup Grade 2 at the Navy Pier. The event is the first […]
More than 200 faculty and staff at Washington and Lee University converged on Evans Dining Hall on Thursday, August 11, to judge the efforts of the university's dining service staff in a competition titled "Battle Royale." Divided into two competing teams, the staff had created two "pop-up" restaurants at either end of the large hall. […]
The Washington Post's Lifestyle sectionis the latest publication to take notice of what is happening in Hanover, Pa., where Washington and Lee alumni Kathryn Sheppard Hoar, of the Class of 1997, her sister, Heather Sheppard Lunn, of the Class of 2000, and Kathy's husband, Oliver, of the Class of 1997, have turned Kathy and Heather's […]
Washington and Lee senior Matt Simpson has already had an exciting summer, and it's only going to continue on Aug. 18, when Matt competes in Vilnius, Lithuania, with the United States National Goalball team in the Great Lions Cup featuring the world's national teams. Goalball is a sport designed for athletes who, like Matt, are visually impaired. Invented in […]
Charles Alcorn is the managing editor of the American Book Review, a professor of English at the University of Houston and the possessor of a 2006 Ph.D. in English literature and fiction from the University of Houston’s creative writing program. He’s also a former ad copywriter and used to own a cigar company. Now he can […]
Dawn A. Watkins, who stepped down in May as vice president for student affairs and dean of students at Washington and Lee, was honored last month with the Order of Fraternal Excellence Award from the Fraternity Executives Association, Inc., the professional association of men’s and women’s fraternity executives. Dawn is only the 15th recipient of […]
Congratulations to Bob Scott, a 1965 graduate of Washington and Lee, who won three prizes last month in the Marblehead-to-Halifax Ocean Race at the helm of his 75-year-old New York 32 Class yacht, the Falcon. Bob, who lives in Castine, Maine, and his crew took the Over the Hill Gang trophy, first in fleet in […]
David Millon, the J. B. Stombock Professor of Law and Law Alumni Faculty Fellow at Washington and Lee University School of Law, was named president-elect of the Southeastern Association of Law Schools (SEALS) at its recent annual meeting. Millon will serve in this position during 2011-12 and will become president of the organization for the […]
Doug Cumming, associate professor of journalism and mass communications at Washington and Lee, acquired some continental habits this summer. He learned to dry his clothes on an indoor clothesline, display potted geraniums in his window, and don what he calls a “Fellini” jacket and a Panama hat. He chalks up this transformation to a four-week teaching […]
Novelist and Jazz-Age chronicler F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife, Zelda, are sparkling figures in the current Woody Allen movie "Midnight in Paris." They also star in an Alabama museum that's headed by a Washington and Lee alum, Will Thompson. In the early 1930s, the Fitzgeralds and their daughter, Scottie, spent just six months living in Montgomery, […]
On her website, Ashley Mayer, a 2006 Washington and Lee graduate, lists her jobs: movie-store clerk, trade-show-booth slinger, receptionist, executive assistant, travel-magazine journalist, public-relations writer and marketing consultant. Missing from that list is author. But now Ashley can add that item, having recently published Temp: An Accidental Fairytale, which is described as an urban fantasy. The book features […]
In a ceremony at Fort Campbell, Ky., earlier this month, Army Col. Arthur Kandarian, of Washington and Lee's Class of 1986, turned over command of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, which led the surge in Afghanistan during the past year. During the ceremony, Art received the Legion of Merit; his wife, Faye, was […]
For the second year in a row, Washington and Lee University has been recognized as one of the nation's best colleges for which to work by the Chronicle of Higher Education. The Chronicle released its fourth annual “The Academic Workplace” report on Monday. It is based on a survey of almost 44,000 employees at 310 […]
Washington and Lee University has named Paul F. Renzi as director of auxiliary services, effective July 15. Sidney S. Evans, vice president for student affairs and dean of students, announced Renzi’s appointment. He succeeds Alex da Silva, who left to become director of auxiliary and parking at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y. "Paul brings […]
Six Civil War diaries written by a Confederate soldier and providing a first-hand account of the war in Virginia are now part of Special Collections at Washington and Lee University's Leyburn Library, the result of a multi-donor gift to the University. Archivists and researchers would be delighted enough over this newly discovered set of diaries. […]
For children across Rockbridge County, school is still out for the summer. For their teachers, however, it’s back to the classroom. During July, eight Rockbridge County teachers were the pupils as they worked with Washington and Lee University faculty to strengthen how they teach science. As part of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Grant (HHMI), […]
For 19 of the Washington and Lee undergraduates who are spending their summer in the University's science laboratories, the road trip that the Career Services Office organized last week was an opportunity to peer into their future. At 6:30 a.m., the students left in vans for Bethesda, Md., where they joined students from Washington-area colleges at the National Institutes […]
Former Washington and Lee women's basketball captain Bethany Dannelly, of the Class of 2005, has just been named an assistant coach at Colby College, in Maine. Bethany still holds the career records for assists (459) and steals (197) as the Generals' point guard. She never had fewer than 84 assists and 42 steals in a […]
When a contributor to the Miller-McCune magazine needed an expert, he knew who to call: Suzanne Keen, the Thomas H. Broadus Professor of English and chair of the Department of English at Washington and Lee University. Suzanne is quoted at length in an article titled “Teaching Empathy to the ‘Me’ Generation,” by Eric Leake, a […]
Washington and Lee University has named Brett M. Schwartz as director of its Hillel, effective July 15. As only the second person to hold the post, he succeeds Joan Robins, who retired this past June. Brett Schwartz, Director of Hillel at Washington and Lee University "We are delighted to have Brett join Washington and Lee," […]
