Lyonization George W. Bush has only been in office for three months and already he's talking about Mary Lyon. The new president mentioned MHC's founder in his March 2 proclamation for Women's History Month, noting: “Women have played a vital role in educating our Nation: Mary Lyon, Dorothea Dix, Elizabeth Blackwell, and Mary McLeod Bethune all fought history and stereotypes to become scholars in their own right and pass their knowledge to subsequent generations.” Read the statement at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/03/20010302-2.html.

Dancing with Soul Mount Holyoke dancers Erica Forrence '01 and Kristin Hall '03 were honored when the dance in which they performed, Pathways to the Soul (choreographed by MHC guest choreographer Er Dong Hu), was selected for the gala concert at the New England regional American College Dance Festival held March 8–10 at the University of Maine, Orono.
Hashmi Honor At its March meeting MHC's board of trustees voted to name Sohail Hashmi Associate Professor of International Relations on the Alumnae Foundation effective July 1. Sally Montgomery, dean of the College emeritus and professor emeritus of economics, last held this title.

Molten Research Research by five geoscientists from MHC on the history of volcanic ashfall in the Anchorage, Alaska, area was recently presented at the annual meeting of the northeastern section of the American Geological Society of America. Participating were Juliette R. Hancock '02, Jill E. Richard '01, Alison E. Feinberg '00, associate professor of geology Alan Werner, and Michelle J. Markley, Clare Booth Luce Assistant Professor of Geology. Hancock presented the research that she, Werner, and two colleagues conducted. Focusing on a core sample taken from Little Campbell Lake, the research indicates that the lake's sediment may provide a reliable history of volcanic eruptions in the area, where some of the most active volcanoes in North America are located. The geoscientists will retrieve cores from other lakes in the Anchorage area this summer, intending to gain a fuller picture of the timing of volcanic eruptions in the Holocene era, a period that began 11,000 years ago. Richard presented work she and Markley conducted on the formation of a type of metamorphic rock known as blueschist on the Greek island of Syros in the Aegean Sea. Syros is one of only two islands in the Cyclades archipelago where geological records from the late Cretaceous and Eocene eras, which ended 5 million years ago, remain intact. Their data may help scientists determine whether the rocks were formed from sediment, heaved up by movement of Earth's plates, or formed by solidification from a molten state. Werner presented research he and Feinberg conducted on evidence of glacier activity in the valley above Sunday Lake in southwestern Alaska. Examinations of sediment cores from the lake may indicate whether glaciers visited the area during the late Holocene era, revealing information about the climate history.

What's new with you? Send news for “New & Notable” to Janet Tobin, Office of Communications, or email jtobin@mtholyoke.edu.