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Magical movie music--Even though it takes place in Boston, there's a little piece of Mount Holyoke in the new film Good Will Hunting. Viewers will find the names of music faculty Gary Steigerwalt and his wife, pianist Dana Muller, in the motion picture's music credits. Excerpts from their CD recordings of Schubert four-hand piano music are heard as background to the scene in which Professor Lambeau (Stellan Skarsgard) first discusses Will Hunting's extraordinary mathematical gifts with therapist Sean McGuire (Robin Williams). The film, about a remarkably bright but impossibly angry young man played by Matt Damon, has been mentioned as a possible Oscar nominee. Keep your eyes on those credits at the end of the flick to see Steigerwalt and Muller's names roll by.

New trustees--Richard Seamans and Robin Neustein '75 have recently joined the board of trustees. Seamans is the founder and managing director of Seamans Capital Management, an investment advisory firm which specializes in the managing of global bond and global income accounts. As an MHC trustee, he will complete the term held by Bernard Fox, who resigned in October 1997. His daughter Katherine is a junior at MHC. Neustein joined the board in January. She is a managing director and firmwide chief of staff for Goldman, Sachs & Co., based in New York City. Neustein attended MHC 1971&endash;73 before graduating from Brown University, and is affiliated with the MHC class of 1975.

How do you write "Biochemistry" in Korean?--This Korean version of Biochemistry (at left) is just the latest in a series of foreign language translations of Mary Campbell's introductory college textbook. The English version first appeared in 1991, and its third edition is in progress. Also published by Saunders College Publishing or in the works are editions in Chinese, Japanese, and Italian, according to Campbell, who is Apgar Professor of Chemistry. The cover of each shows a stylized representation of a protein's backbone, with an E. coli bacterium beneath, surrounded by its DNA.

Although the text is in each edition's target language, Campbell notes that many diagrams and illustrations are labeled in English because scientific terms are frequently written in the Latin alphabet even in countries that speak other languages. And of course, mathematics is a universal language. The text is intended for science students who won't necessarily major in biochemistry but need to know something about the subject.

New faculty--The following professors are joining the MHC faculty for the spring semester: Brenda Allen, Five College associate professor of psychology/ education; Courtney Jean Bickel, visiting assistant professor of religion; Katherine Binder, visiting assistant professor of psychology/education; Bill Bonnichsen, visiting lecturer in geology; Annie Coleman, visiting assistant professor of history; Helen Cruz, visiting assistant professor of theatre arts; Susan DiGiacomo, visiting assistant professor of anthropology; Maureen Fleming, visiting artist in dance; John Fox, visiting lecturer in complex organizations; Adrienne Hawkins, visiting artist in dance; Nele Hempel, visiting assistant professor of German studies; Charles Johnson, visiting lecturer in economics; Elizabeth Kieschnick, visiting assistant professor of psychology/education; Claire MacDonald, visiting lecturer in theatre arts; Liliana Ramirez, visiting instructor in Spanish; Joel Saxe, visiting lecturer in Jewish studies; Betsy Shally-Jensen, visiting assistant professor of anthropology; Maria Simpson, visiting artist in dance; and Felice Wolfzahn, visiting artist in dance.

They're just my type--A session on communication in the Five College Supervisory Leadership Development Program proved particularly helpful to participants from LITS and public safety in understanding their own and others' styles of communication. So helpful, in fact, that they asked human resources director Lauren Turner to bring the DISC Personal Profile System to their departments. The DISC system reveals whether an employee's preferred work communication style is marked most by dominance, influence, conscientiousness, or steadiness. Turner administers the questionnaire and helps department members interpret the results to enhance communication within the workplace. "This is what is supposed to come out of the development seminars, taking the information learned and applying it to your own department situation," says Turner. "The program's not just listening and then going back to work as you've always done it." She also discussed the DISC system with dining services staff at a retreat last week.

Asbestos out, money in--Sometimes when they say "The check's in the mail," it really is. Buildings and Grounds recently received a check for $9,382 from the Manville Property Damage Settlement Trust, in the latest of several partial repayments for the cost of removing asbestos from College buildings over the last few years. The trust, set up by the Manville Company, which manufactured much of the country's asbestos, has reimbursed the College for more than $138,000 since 1989, according to director of physical facilities Dave Collette. But all that cash didn't just fall into our laps; chief engineer and supervisor of the central heating plant Rick Bigelow filled out "unbelievably complicated" paperwork for each claim. Sometimes the claim forms run as many as twenty pages, Bigelow says. He also handles the inevitable phone calls for additional information or clarification. "The rules change, and they put you through the wringer a bit, but it's worth it," Bigelow says.

Up close and personnel--Departures: Harold R. Albertson, equestrian center; Jennifer Mullins, human resources; Amy A. James, admission; William E. Menard, buildings and grounds; Melinda S. Partridge, Alumnae Association.

In Memoriam--Raymond J. Laverdiere died on December 24 at the age of 66. Laverdiere was a general laborer in the buildings and grounds department from 1971 until his retirement in 1995. A veteran of the Korean War, he was born in Holyoke, attended local schools, and was a communicant of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Granby. Laverdiere is survived by his wife, three sons, and a daughter.