New & Notable

Preserving a Piece of the Past--Assistant director of archives and special collections Peter Carini will head off to the country of Georgia next summer to increase access to the historical records of this former Soviet republic. Funded by a grant from the International Research Exchanges Board (IREX) for $14,850, the project may also send a computer expert and, as translator, Professor Stephen Jones of the Russian and Eurasian studies department. The group receiving the grant, The American Friends of the Georgian National Archive, has already received a letter of support from President Shevardnadze. Carini and others plan to travel Tbilisi, capital of Georgia, to begin transferring the Central Historical Archive guide into electronic format, which can then be used on computer disk or the World Wide Web.

Sponge research soaks up an award--Kristin Hudock '97 conducted research this past summer at the Marine Biological Laboratory, along with Jane Townsend, Christianna Smith Professor Emeritus of Biological Sciences. Their work, which is part of a long-range project on the biochemistry and physiology of the sea sponge, earned Hudock a Five College Coastal and Marine Science Summer Research/Internship Award.

First-year learns through listening--Caitlin Callahan '00 won the Learning through Listening Award from the organization Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic. Callahan, who has a learning disability, excelled academically in high school, plays the tuba, and participated in digs at prehistoric Native American sites as part of her aspiration to an archaeological career. She reads and listens to recorded books simultaneously to improve her comprehension and recall of information.

New golf coach arrives--This month, Sherri McDonald replaces retiring head coach Bob Bontempo, who had led the golf team for the past twenty-five years. McDonald spent last year as the assistant coach at her alma mater, Penn State University. As a player, she won the Yale Invitational and was named to the All-Big Ten Conference Team. She had been teaching at national camps, including the 1996 NCAA Yes Clinic, for the past five years.

Along with McDonald's arrival as coach, the golf team will enjoy the return of three outstanding players: Elizabeth Cunningham '99 and Kirtana Biddapa '99, who qualified for and competed at the 1996 NCAA Division II and III Golf Championship; and Megan Guffey '97, who is the number one player back this season. She missed last year's season due to a broken foot. The team opens its season with Amherst and Smith on September 13 at the College's home course, the Orchards.

<<< Darcey Paquette '98 removes water-damaged drywall from the ceiling of a house being renovated by Habitat for Humanity volunteers. Two van-loads of students spent a day in Hartford on the community service project.

New students start changing the world, right away--Interest in community service is high in the class of 2000, according to Jewish chaplain Devorah Jacobson. When she asked for first-year volunteers for a Habitat for Humanity rehabilitation project in Hartford, sixty students expressed interest--twice as many as the project could accept! She and Rick Horlick of LITS drove two vans of students to the one-day project, on which students used tools donated by Buildings and Grounds. The same day, about ten students did volunteer garden work at the Food Bank Farm in Hadley.

And the most eager first-years were active in community service even earlier. The second annual preorientation program drew ten new students to Heifer Project International's Overlook Farm in Rutland, Massachusetts. From August 27 to 31, they and Catholic Chaplain Mary Sue Callan-Farley did organic gardening, fed and cared for livestock, made butter, built a "sugar shack," and learned about the advantages of sustainable agriculture in developing countries and the United States. Despite the hard work, there was also time for the newcomers to relax and get to know one another before classes began.

All the Overlook Farm participants also went on the Habitat project, showing "the strong interest in community service among this year's new students," Jacobson said.

What's new with you?--Please send news for "New & Notable" to Emily Weir, Office of Communications, Mary Woolley Hall, or email eweir@mtholyoke.edu.

All About Us

This begins an occasional series of statistical "snapshots" of MHC. Information was provided by Institutional Research.

65%--The percentage of MHC students responding to the 1996 Cycles Survey by saying that they "rented or owned a personal computer last term."

384%--The percentage increase in survey respondents renting or owning personal computers since the 1987 Cycles Survey.