Our regular recap of goings on at the College and a look ahead to events on the horizon. As always, we hope to call your attention to items that captured ours and alert you to events that you won’t want to miss. If you have a news item that you think we’d be interested in, drop us a line at middmag@middlebury.edu.
-
Public Radio called late last week and Middlebury answered. Our own Professor Pundits provided insight and commentary about 2012 presidential campaign. Speaking on Marketplace, Bert Johnson explained how a campaign can have a financial advantage when it receives many small donations. He noted that Mitt Romney, unlike his rivals, has not been connecting with the less-heeled contributors. Matt Dickinson was interviewed on VPR during President Obama’s swing through Vermont; he also commented on the president’s visit in his blog Presidential Power.
-
The new film Koch Brothers Exposed is being screened April 4 in Dana Auditorium, and it is sure to leave the audience angry and frustrated. How do you channel that frustration? Stay for the discussion that follows, led by scholar in residence Bill McKibben and Professor Bert Johnson, about big money in politics.
-
The antelope in Volta Region of Ghana are disappearing, and so too is the musical heritage of the region’s people, who make their drums from the antelope skins. A lunchtime Woodin ES Colloquium on April 5 will look at this problem. Professor Steve Trombulak will be joined by associates from Kopeyia, Ghana, and from St. Michael’s College, including members of the Akoma Ensemble, to present an initiative aimed at developing a captive breeding program for antelope in West Africa.
-
On a similarily serious note, Michael T. Klare, professor of peace and world security studies, based in Hampshire College, will deliver an illustrated lecture on April 5, showing how the world’s relentless demand for oil and minerals and other raw materials is wreaking devastation in Africa. This talk is in conjunction with the exhibit Object and Environment—Recent African Art, on view through April 22 at the Middlebury College Museum of Art.
-
A tip of the hat to assistant professor of mathematics Emily Proctor, who has been awarded the 2012 Perkins Award for Excellence in Teaching in the Division of Natural Sciences. The Perkins Award is given annually to a member of the Middlebury College Natural Sciences division and honors outstanding performance as a teacher. Please join us on April 5 for a reception and ceremony to honor Professor Proctor and her accomplishments, beginning at 4:30.
-
It’s time for some serious music. The second annual Vermont Battle of the Bands is officially underway April 5-7. Thursday is the first night of the first round, when the bands Prana, Nox Periculum, and Mogani go head to head. The contest begins with the first band at 51 Main and progresses to Two Brothers Tavern and American Flatbread, where the other two bands will perform. The winner of each night, determined through a combination of judging and audience voting, advances to the final round on April 14 at Town Hall Theater.
-
Observances: Passover Seder is being held Friday, April 6, beginning at 6:00 in Atwater Dining Hall. Contact the Chaplain’s Office to reserve a place at the dinner. And on Sunday morning, Chaplain Laurie Jordan will lead an Easter sunrise service at Kirk Alumni Center. All are welcome.