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A happy, though unexpected, pregnancy Saucey, a quarter horse who arrived at the Equestrian Center last April from Cabool, Missouri, will deliver the first foal known to born at the barn, says Joanne Bonano, director of the Equestrian Center. Saucey, shown above, may not look pregnant to you, but Bonano says Saucey's condition is clear to anyone who knows horses. Still, the pregnancy was a bit of a surprise, as Saucey's owner sold her to the College without knowing that she was in foal. Prior to the sale, Saucey and twenty-three other mares spent some time in a pasture with a stallion, and the owner had just "hoped for the best." Normal gestation time for horses is eleven months, making Saucey's probable due date in January. According to Saucey's former owner, the father of the anticipated foal is also a quarter horse. Named "Bert's Dale Hombre," Dad was the 1981 and 1982 Ohio State Reining Champion. Given the parents' qualifications, Bonano said, "we're expecting quite a nice little foal." After the birth, Saucey and her baby will be sent off campus to a pasture, so that the foal can run and play and the mother can relax.

Deep in the heart of Iowa Katherine Axt '01 was deep into her native state of Iowa this summer. She landed an internship with Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, where her duties included speech writing. She also organized the governor's booth at the Iowa State Fair, at which she coincidentally competed for the title of Iowa State Fair Queen. She'd won the Jasper County Fair Queen competition, and walked away from the statewide event with the Outstanding Leadership Award. Axt plans to join the Peace Corps after graduation, then attend graduate school in the field of communications.

Marathon woman Some people just run, but junior Rebecca Hester's miles will soon make a difference in the life of a twelve-year-old girl with leukemia. Hester is gathering sponsors for a marathon she'll run in Dublin, Ireland, October 26. All the money she raises will be used by the Leukemia Society of America to help a particular leukemia patient, whom she hopes to meet at the Dublin event.

Hester say she's been running "forever," and has been training since May for the marathon by adding one mile each week to her workout. She's up to thirty-five to forty miles each week now, and that's on top of the work she puts in as part of the crew team.

To make a donation to her marathon effort, call Hester at x5594 or email her at rjhester.

Grants granted Margaret Switten (French) was awarded a grant of $185,000 by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Teach with Technology Program to carry out her project titled "Teaching Medieval Lyric with Modern Technology: New Windows on the Medieval World."

Stan Rachootin (biological sciences) is the principal investigator of the successful NSF: Institution-Wide Reform on Science, Math, Engineering and Technology grant totaling $200,000 for four years. This grant will allow us to reexamine and revamp ten introductory-level laboratory experiences in the sciences.

Sean Decatur (chemistry) was awarded $59,605 from the National Science Foundation Major Research Instrumentation Program (NSF-MRI) to support his project titled "Acquisition of Instrumentation for Peptide Synthesis and Purification." He was also awarded an NIH Minority Supplement for Undergraduates of $10,831 to support his work with a research student.

Darby Dyar (geology) was awarded an NSF-POWRE (Professional Opportunities for Women in Research and Education) grant of $60,000 to support her project titled "Synchrotron Micro-XANES Study of Iron Redox in Mantle Phases."

Sheila Browne (chemistry) was awarded an individual Presidential Award for Mentoring by the National Science Foundation. The award carries a grant of $10,000 to continue the mentoring activity for which she is recognized.

Aaron Ellison (biological sciences) was awarded $149,751 by the National Science Foundation to support a collaborative research project titled "Inquiline Communities in Changeable Pitchers: Do Nutrients Link Community Assembly to Dynamic Habitats?"

Deborah Strahman (computer science) was awarded a Microsoft Instructional Lab Grant for software licenses valued at $48,700.

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