---

Alternative mediation Stephen Jones, professor of Russian and Eurasian studies, has just returned from a four-day conference in Switzerland devoted to discussing possible alternatives to traditional conflict resolution in five areas of current United Nations concern: East Timor, Kosovo, Burundi, Sudan, and Georgia. Funded by UNITAR (United Nations Institute for Teaching and Research) and the Swiss government, the conference brought together twenty-five or so academics and senior UN and diplomatic personnel, as well as a number of ex-ambassadors who had served as special envoys in various mediation attempts by the UN. According to Jones, an authority on Georgia and other former Soviet republics, "It was an extremely fruitful seminar where we got down to nitty-gritty issues of how enemies could be brought to the table and how we could entice them to stay there."

Staff Council election results A new Staff Council has been elected to serve throughout the 1998&endash;99 academic year. The new members are: Janet Crosby, psychology/education; Bill Farrington, LITS; Andrea Filipkowski, president's office; Rita Starzyk, chemistry; Russ Boudreau, buildings and grounds; Jackie Deane, purchasing; Nilka Ortiz, human resources; Senga Densmore, financial services; Jan Dragon, financial services; Carolyn Dietel, Frances Perkins Program; and Dina Bevivino, development.

That's the spirit Susan Higinbotham Holcombe '62 received the second annual Mary Lyon Spirit Award from the Mount Holyoke Club of Boston. The honor was established to honor Boston-area women who exhibit qualities that Lyon believed to be important: leadership, a pioneering spirit, and the belief in advancement through education. Holcombe is the director of Global Programs for Oxfam America in Boston, and has contributed significantly to issues of poverty alleviation, health care, rural development, nutrition, and reproductive health of women in Asia and Africa. She is also the author of the 1995 book Managing to Empower, the Grameen Bank's Experience of Poverty Alleviation.

Up close and personnel New arrivals: Tara Fitzpatrick, director, corporation and foundations, development office; Andrea J. Barouxis, benefits specialist; Katharine G. Bryda, staff nurse, Health Center. Departures: Kristin Pepe, psychology and education; Carleen Kudla, Health Center ; Donald P. Calvanese, Dining Services.

Students on their toes Assistant Professor of Dance Rose Flachs is teaching a course on how to teach classical ballet and bring dance to communities that previously have not had exposure to the art form. Assisted by a community-based-learning grant from the College, Flachs's students have been teaching classes to eight-to-ten year olds at the Holyoke YMCA (see photo at left). Their next project was teaching dance workshops for sixth to eighth graders at the Holyoke Magnet School, which previously had no dance programs. "The Mount Holyoke students are learning how to teach and to implement the skills learned in class with hands-on experience," says Flachs. "Many of our students observed that it's one thing to learn about teaching and quite another to actually conduct a class or organize and run a workshop."

Up for the count Twelve MHC women served as tallying staff at the Massachusetts GOP convention on April 18 in Worcester. They were officially asked by Jean Inman, chair of the Massachusetts Republican Party. "I wanted people who were calm, collected, and responsible to handle the important task of ballot counting," said Inman, "and these women understood the importance very well." The students were given full credential passes at the convention, which allowed them access to all speakers and events on the floor. "Over the past three years, our club has grown in both numbers and respect. We've worked hard on campaigns and for the Republican Party, and being honored with such an important role at the convention is a testament to our hard work and dedication," Rachel Kerestes '99, chair of the Mount Holyoke College Republicans, said. The group had an active year volunteering and participating in events, most notably the Five College Conservative Awareness Week they organized in April. Last November, the club also heard Pat Buchanan speak at Boston College, where he personally talked with the MHC group afterwards.

Speech, speech The texts of speeches given as the Latin American Studies Program's annual Schomburg-Moreno lecture are now on the World Wide Web. At http://www.mtholyoke/acad/latam/schomburgmoreno.smlsmain.html you'll find talks by distinguished speakers in Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino(a) studies. The series is named in honor of two Latin Americans whose lives developed at the intersections of all three communities and whose contributions to these communities, and to the larger U.S. society, are far too often ignored.

Here are the talks now online: Sonia Alvarez, associate professor of politics, University of California at Santa Cruz, on "Advocating Feminism: The Latin American Feminist NGO 'Boom'"; Jonathan Fox, associate professor of Latin American and Latino studies, University of California at Santa Cruz, on "How Does Civil Society Thicken? Lessons from Rural Mexico"; Arturo Madrid, Murchison Distinguished Professor of the Humanities, Trinity University, San Antonio, Texas, on "Juntos y Revueltos: The U.S. Latino Population at the End of the Twentieth Century"; and Edna Acosta-Belén, distinguished service professor of Latin American and Caribbean studies and women's studies, SUNY Albany, on "Revisiting the Concept of Nuestra América in Latino(a) and Latin American Studies."

What's new with you? Send news for "New & Notable" to Emily Weir, Office of Communications, or email eweir@mtholyoke.edu.