David LowNovember 8, 20133min
In her new poetry collection Grains of the Voice (Triquarterly Books/Northwestern University Press), Christina Pugh ’88 reveals a fascination with sound in all its manifestations, including the human voice, musical instruments, and the sounds produced by the natural and man-made worlds. All of these serve as both the framework of poems and the occa¬sion for their changes of direction, of tone, of point of reference. The poems contain echoes—and sometimes the words themselves—of other poets, but just as often of popular and obscure songs, of the noise of pop culture, and of philosophers’ writings. Beneath the surface of her work,…

Cynthia RockwellNovember 8, 20133min
Matt  Lichtash ’13 was co-author of an op-ed published in U.S. News and World Report titled “Five Steps America Must Take Now to Combat Climate Change.” Lichtash is working with Evan Weber ’13 and Michael Dorsey, who served as visiting scholar for Wesleyan’s College of the Environment for the 2012–13 academic year. The three, concerned that the United States adopt an effective national energy strategy, have developed “The Plan,” which they propose can “set our nation on a promising path towards ensuring a safer, more prosperous, and more just future for ourselves and our posterity.” The Plan is available for download…

David LowNovember 8, 20134min
Best-selling author Sam Wasson ’03 has published Fosse (Eamon Dolan/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), an authoritative and fascinating biography of the renowned dancer, choreographer, screenwriter, and director Bob Fosse. The only person ever to win Oscar, Emmy, and Tony awards in the same year, Fosse was a masterful artist in every entertainment medium he touched, and forever marked Broadway and Hollywood with his iconic style that would influence generations of performing artists. Wasson reveals the man behind the swaggering sex appeal by exploring Fosse’s reinventions of himself over a career that would result in his work on The Pajama Game, Pippin, Sweet…

Cynthia RockwellNovember 8, 20132min
Josh Goldin ’00, co-founder of Alliance Consumer Growth, a New York-based private equity fund, was chosen by Forbes as one of the 25 “CircleUp Kingmakers” for his work as an investor in emerging consumer and retail companies. Forbes contributor Ryan Caldbeck described the 25 Kingmakers as “men and women whose names repeatedly arise in conversations with industry experts and consumer companies large and small… connectors, brilliant thinkers, visionaries and retailers and investors-extraordinaire.” Others on the list include Mickey Drexler, CEO of J. Crew; John Foraker, CEO of Annie’s Natural Foods; and Betsy Foster, Global VP of Whole Foods. In describing Goldin, Caldbeck…

Brian KattenOctober 23, 20133min
Mike Callaghan '13 seized an opportunity to play professional basketball abroad, and it has paid off. A two-time second-team all-NESCAC selection, Callaghan is now playing for SSE Renewables Moycullen in Galway, a member of the Irish Premier League. He's the only American on a team of 11 players and three games into the 18-game regular season, Callaghan leads his squad in both scoring and rebounding while playing 34 of 40 minutes per game. "The competition is tough," Callaghan said. "The one American for the other team is often a former Division I player and the Irishmen who play are good…

David LowOctober 23, 20133min
In her recently published scholarly work, Pygmalion's Chisel: For Women Who Are Never Good Enough (Cambridge Scholars Publishing), Tracy Hallstead MALS ’91 examines the enduring critical presence in contemporary Western culture that scrutinizes, critiques, and sizes women down in their daily lives, despite rights gained through the centuries. The book takes its title from Pygmalion, the ancient mythical sculptor who believed that all women were essentially flawed and endeavored to chisel a statue of the perfect woman, Galatea, for himself. Like the perpetually carved and refined Galatea, women labor under Western culture's a priori assumption that they are flawed, yet…

Cynthia RockwellOctober 23, 20132min
Katherine Bergeron ’80, currently dean of the college at Brown University, was elected to be the 11th president of Connecticut College, to take office on Jan. 1, 2014. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Wesleyan, Bergeron majored in music and earned both master’s and doctoral degrees in musicology at Cornell. At Brown since 2004, when she joined the faculty as professor of music, she served since 2006 as the university’s chief academic office for undergraduate education. In that capacity, she was noted for strengthening academic and career advising, as well as implementing programs in community service, science education and internationalization. She…

David LowOctober 23, 20133min
From reviewing hundreds of published research studies and years of treating children with autism and ADHD, Dr. Debby Hamilton '87 has developed a comprehensive prevention plan to help women control risk factors before, during and after pregnancy, which she shares in her new book, Preventing Autism and ADHD (Hedwin Press). This guide helps women reduce their risk factors in the areas of nutrition, digestion, immune function, inflammation, hormones, and detoxification. Hamilton stresses that women have the best chance of having a strong, healthy child by improving their health starting before pregnancy. The Boulder Daily Camera recently interviewed Hamilton and comments…

David LowOctober 23, 20133min
In Designing Together: The Collaboration and Conflict Management Handbook for Creative Professionals (New Riders), Dan Brown ’94 offers practicing designers a guide to working with other people. The increasing complexity of design projects, the greater reliance on remote team members, and the evolution of design techniques demands professionals who can cooperate effectively. This book encourages cultivating collaborative behaviors and dealing with the inevitable difficult conversations. Brown covers 28 collaboration techniques, 46 conflict management techniques, 31 difficult situation diagnoses, and 17 designer personality traits. The volume should prove helpful for designers on large or small teams and those working in remote…

Cynthia RockwellOctober 23, 20132min
New York based sculptor Meredith Gang Bergmann ’76, creator of the lifesized statues of historical Bostonians, will attend the 10th anniversary celebration of the unveiling of her “largest sculpture project to date,” the Boston Women’s Memorial. The celebration will be held on Oct. 27 on Commonwealth Avenue Mall in Boston. The subjects were chosen for their progressive ideas, commitment to social change, and writings that had significant historic impact. Bergmann’s statues, also, break with convention: Instead of standing above the street on a pedestal, Bergmann places Abigail Adams, Lucy Stone, and Phillis Wheatley level with pedestrians, using their pedestal as…

David LowOctober 23, 20133min
Scott R. Lowden ’62 has just published Import Transactions and Customs Compliance (FTA Publications, LLC), a comprehensive, 472-page guide to U.S. customs law and import practices for importers and trade practitioners. The book is the result of the writer’s 10 years’ experience practicing import and export law with Braumiller Schulz and nearly two years devoted heavily to writing the book. Importers must deal with foreign suppliers, freight forwarders, brokers, carriers, banks and other service providers just to make a purchase. They also have to make these purchases in a way that satisfies an astonishing array of regulations enforced by U.S.…