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Decision paves way for Sycamores project A decision June 7 by the real estate subcommittee of the MHC board of trustees to subdivide a nearly four-acre lot associated with the historic Sycamores house has paved the way for finalization of plans by the College to transfer that property to the South Hadley Historical Society.

Under the plan, the lot will be subdivided into three parcels. The first parcel, running along Woodbridge Street, will contain the house and associated structures and the property's historic Hollingsworth Gardens. The remaining parcels, each more than 40,000 square feet in size, will represent buildable lots behind the Historical Society's parcel. The subdivision plan, which must by approved by the South Hadley Planning Board, will both ensure protection of wetlands on the site and solidify the Society's efforts to gain $100,000 in funding from the state's Historical Commission.

The Historical Society is working to restore the 211-year-old house and maintain it as a period museum and home for offices for various nonprofit organizations.

According to Dean of Admini-stration Wayne Gass, "The subcommittee's decision represents a win for the Sycamores project and a win for the College. It enables the historical Society to move ahead with its plans for the site and allows the college to realize some revenue from this property."

Kenneth Williamson, chairman of the Sycamores Committee, which is spearheading the Historical Society's efforts to restore the house, noted that the Society will probably support the subdivision plan. Williamson is also a professor of chemistry at the College.

Last September, the College presented the Historical Society with a letter of intent stating that MHC would transfer the house and a portion of the surrounding land to the society for $1, if the society could gain sufficient outside financial support for the renovation project.

They count Mathematics professors from across the country will converge at MHC June 14&endash;20 to look at several of Mount Holyoke's innovative courses that can lead a student into the mathematics major. Led by Bob Weaver, Don O'Shea, and Giuliana Davidoff, the National Science Foundation Undergraduate Faculty Enhancement Workshop participants will discuss the seminars in number theory, geometry, and algebra as well as the mathematics component of Pasts and Presences in the West. The primary focus of the workshop is MHC's laboratory course in mathematical experimentation. The "Lab," as it is called, serves as a bridge between first-year courses and more sophisticated upper-level mathematics courses. Participants in the workshop will model the learning experience of students in the Lab, and workshop instructors will model the role of the teacher as coach. This workshop course is required of all Mount Holyoke mathematics majors and is credited with improving the performance of students who subsequently take real analysis or abstract algebra.

Up close and personnel New Arrivals: Sandra L. Broshears, Health Center; Kimberly Kedziorek, Annual Giving; Nancy F. Mayberry, Office of the President; Gregg C. McCarthy-Wang, Major Gifts; Angel L. Suarez, LITS. Departures: Emile B. Chretien, Telephone Business Office; Andrea K. Filipkowski, Office of the President; Denise M. Kresock, Office of the Comptroller; James A. Lashway, Willits-Hallowell Center; Anne K. Novosel, Development; Sean P. Tarpey, Art Museum; Patricia G. Weaver, Biology and Geology Departments.