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 Sid Dalby, associate director
of admission, was recently awarded the 2009 Distinguished
Service Award from the New England Transfer Association.
The award is given annually in recognition of outstanding
service to transfer students. “Over
the years, Sid has become widely known as someone with a
special expertise about transfer students,” reads the
award supporting statement. “Her special strength rests
in her ability to be professional and articulate and at the
same time warm and approachable. Sid always has the best
interest of the students at heart.” Dalby, who co-authored The
Transfer Student’s Guide to Changing Colleges, has
developed broad understanding of the special needs of students
who enter Smith with advanced standing through her work in
admission and the Ada Comstock Scholars Program. “It
was a very special honor—and surprise—to receive
this award,” Dalby said.
 John Shenette,
executive director of facilities management, was recently
given the Exemplary End User Award for the Facilities Person
of the Year by the International Facilities Management Association
(IFMA), Boston chapter. The award is presented annually
to a member of the Boston chapter who has provided sustained,
outstanding leadership to the chapter by keeping current
on changes in facility management and educating other IFMA
members and peers. Shenette, who serves as Academic Network
Chair for IFMA Boston, joined Smith in December 2007 and
has shepherded a strategy for the college’s facilities
that emphasizes sustainability and energy efficiency. IFMA
is a nonprofit association dedicated to serving the facility
management profession. IFMA Boston was founded in 1984 to
serve those who support the built environment.
 L’Tanya Richmond,
Smith’s director of multicultural affairs and a former
administrator at Elon University, her alma mater, was awarded
the Elon Medallion, given for outstanding service to the
school. After graduating from Elon in 1987, Richmond became
an admissions counselor and placement officer there. She
subsequently served as assistant and then associate director
of admissions, director of Minority Affairs and director
of Elon’s Multicultural Center.
 Black Behind the Ears: Dominican Racial Identity from
Museums to Beauty Shops, by Ginetta
Candelario, associate
professor of sociology and of Latin American studies, has
been selected to receive the Latina/o Studies Section (LSS)
Book Award from the Latin American Studies Association
(LASA). The LSS Book Award is presented annually to the
author of a book that reflects original research in Latino
studies, and contributes knowledge of the lives and conditions
of distinct Latino groups. Candelario’s book is an
historical and ethnographic examination of Dominican identity.
It draws on the author’s extensive observation in
a Dominican beauty shop in Washington Heights, a New York
City neighborhood with the oldest and largest Dominican
community outside the Republic, as well as from interviews
with Dominicans in New York City, Washington, D.C., and
Santo Domingo. Black Behind the Ears also won
the 2008 Best Book Prize from the New England Council of
Latin American Studies.
Alice Reznickova ’10 has
received the Gladys Anderson Emerson Scholarship from Iota
Sigma Pi, the national honor society for women in chemistry.
The award is given each year to a student in her junior or
senior year for excellence in chemistry or biochemistry.
Reznickova received a $2,000 stipend and a certificate. In
2004, Lesley-Ann Giddings ’05 received the scholarship;
she is a graduate student in chemistry at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology.
 Rachel
Dorset ’10 received two awards from the
American Chemical Society (ACS), the world’s largest
scientific society. Dorset was one of 16 students nationwide
to be awarded a Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship,
from the ACS Division of Organic Chemistry, to conduct
research at Smith on the “scope and limitations of
cationic Diels-Alder dienophiles stabilized by cobalt-complexed
alkynes.” She will present her findings at a poster
session in the fall at Pfizer Central Research in Groton,
Conn. Dorset also won an Undergraduate Student Travel Award
from the Division of Organic Chemistry to attend the 41st
National Organic Chemistry Symposium in Boulder, Colo.
Kristi Closser ’07 was
given a Graduate Research Fellowship from the National Science
Foundation (NSF). The fellowships are given in recognition
of outstanding graduate students in science, technology,
engineering and mathematics, and who are pursuing mastere’s
or doctoral degrees. The NSF fellowships, in the amount of
several thousand dollars, support three years of graduate
study. Closser is currently studying chemistry as a graduate
student at the University of California, Berkeley. Closser
is the co-author of a paper recently published in the Journal
of Organic Chemistry. Other authors are Kevin Shea,
associate professor of chemistry, and Miriam Quintal ’04,
Mirzayan Science and Technology Policy Fellow, National Academy
of Sciences.
Leandra Zarnow ’01,
a doctoral candidate in history and feminist studies at the
University of California, Santa Barbara, is the recent recipient
of two academic awards. She is one of only seven students
nationwide awarded the 2009 Woodrow Wilson Dissertation Fellowship
in Women’s Studies. The $2,100 award, given annually
by the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, is
the only fellowship for doctoral students writing on women’s
issues, and supports the final year of doctoral dissertation
work. Zarnow also received a Charlotte W. Newcomble Doctoral
Dissertation Fellowship from the Woodrow Wilson Foundation.
Her dissertation is titled Bella Abzug and the Promise
of Progressive Change in Cold War United States.
 Robey
Champine ’07 has been selected to participate
in the 2009 FBI Honors Internship program. For ten weeks
during the summer, she will work in the Counterintelligence
Division at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. To qualify
for the internship and earn a top-secret security clearance,
Champine successfully completed oral and written interviews,
drug testing, a polygraph exam, and an extensive background
investigation. Champine graduated magna cum laude with
a bachelor’s degree in psychology and Spanish. In
2008, she received a master of science degree in criminology
from the University of Pennsylvania. She is currently working
toward her graduate degree in public health and on several
youth violence-related projects.
 Elan
McCollum ’08 is the recent recipient of
the prestigious National Science Foundation graduate research
fellowship. McCollum is in her first year of a doctoral
program in psychology and education at the University of
Michigan. McCollum will deliver the keynote address for
Discovery Weekend, an Office of Admission event in which
hundreds of newly admitted students and their families
visit campus, beginning today, Friday, April 17.
 Janine
Olthuis ’08 recently received a highly competitive
graduate research award from the Nova Scotia Health Research
Fund (NSHRF). Olthuis is currently pursuing a doctorate
in clinical psychology at Dalhousie University in Halifax,
Nova Scotia. Last year, she won an Honorary Undergraduate
Scholars Award from the New England Psychological Association
(NEPA). Olthuis, who was a standout soccer team member
and captain of the team last year, won a postgraduate scholarship
from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
The NSHRF aims to improve the health of Nova Scotians through
the development and support of a vibrant health research
community, including funding health researchers early in
their careers.
McCollum and Olthuis both worked
with Byron Zamboanga, assistant professor of psychology at
Smith, on the publication of several articles and research
presentations.
"Summer Day" |
"Cloudy Day" |
Artist Elizabeth Meyersohn,
a lecturer in the art department, was recently awarded a
$5,000 grant from the Pollock-Krasner Foundation for her
paintings and drawings, including “Summer Day” (pictured)
and “Cloudy Day.” Meyersohn plans to use the
grant to develop new, larger paintings and drawings and help
defray expenses of an exhibition of her works at the Oxbow
Gallery, Pleasant Street, Northampton.
 Adrienne
Klein ’11, of Shrewsbury, Mass., while spending
a year studying in Argentina, won a Gold Cup for first
place finish in the women’s division of a 3K open
water race on March 15. Klein, an anthropology major, is
studying at FLACSO, University of Buenos Aires and Pontificata
College. Klein, who is fluent in Spanish, recently completed
an internship with Las Madres de la Plaza de Mayo, a national
support group of family members of the political victims
of the Dirty War, which lasted from 1976 to 1983. In addition
to her studies, Klein, who competes on the Smith Pioneers
varsity swim team, competed for the Club Splash Tornados
of Buenos Aires.
 Laura-Louise
Campbell ’09 was among 10 winners of a recent
video contest sponsored by the Association of American
Medical Colleges (AAMC), which represents accredited medical
schools that grant the M.D., as well as more than 400 teaching
hospitals in the United States. The Video
Contest, coordinated by the AAMC to raise awareness about
the need for more diversity in medicine, asked students
across the country to submit a two-minute video explaining
why they wanted to become a doctor. In 110 seconds, Campbell,
a neuroscience major from Springfield, Mass., outlined
her plans to become a doctor so she can help people in
underserved communities and act as a role model for other
young women. Each winner will receive $1,000
toward medical school costs.
 Valerie
Driscoll ’10 won first place at the sixth
annual Arches Student Print Show, a juried exhibition of
printmaking students from 20 New England colleges and universities.
Smith student artists were well represented at the show,
with nine students invited to display their works. In addition
to the recognition that Driscoll’s reduction linocut “Marseille” received, Adriana
Malliaros ’08 won a Jurors Commendation
Award with her lithograph “Grebes.” Other exhibiting
students were Rachel Rock-Blake ’09, Syretha
Brooks ’08, Kate Conlon ’11, Andrea Dreskin ’08,
Arielle Marks ’08, Taja Randick ’09 and Yang
Li ’11. The exhibition, which is on display
at Boston University’s 808 Gallery (first floor of
the Peter Fuller Building, 808 Commonwealth Ave., Boston)
through March 29, is sponsored by the Arches Paper Company
and the Boston Printmakers.
 Pam
Cote AC ’10 recently won an award from the
American Society for Microbiology (ASM) for research she
presented at the Annual Biomedical Research Conference
for Minority Students in Orlando, Fla. The conference,
the largest of its kind for biomedical students, with more
than 2,800 attendees, aims to encourage underrepresented
minority students to pursue training in biomedical and
behavioral sciences. More than 1,200 students participated
in poster and oral presentations on ten topics. Cote was
one of 126 presenters to receive an award of $250.
 Paula
Giddings’ book Ida: A Sword Among Lions:
Ida B. Wells and the Campaign Against Lynching, has
been named a finalist for the 2008 Biography Prize of the
National Book Critics Circle (NBCC), an organization of
more than 900 book reviewers. The prestigious NBCC awards
are given each year in the categories of fiction, poetry,
criticism, biography, autobiography and nonfiction. Giddings,
the E.A. Woodson 1922 Professor of Afro-American Studies,
is joined as a finalist by Steve Coll, who authored The Bin
Ladens: An Arabian Family in An American Century; and
Annette Gordon-Reed, who wrote The Hemingses of Monticello:
An American Family. NBCC award winners will be announced
at a ceremony on March 12 at the New School University
in New York City.
Leah Thompson ’10 recently
won a Praxis Scholarship to spend the coming summer in Lima,
Peru, working as a volunteer at , an organization that supports and assists
domestic servants. In particular, La Casa de Panchita advocates
for domestic workers, mostly women and girls, who often live
and serve in discriminatory, abusive and illegal conditions.
While in Peru, Thompson also plans to volunteer with a mentoring
program in Pamplona, a shantytown in Lima. Thompson, a Spanish
major, is spending this year studying at Pontifica Universidad
Católica del Peru through the Institute for Study
Abroad at Butler University. She is already familiar with
La Casa de Panchita, having volunteered there as part of
her study-abroad program.
Two Smith alumnae, Ann
Anderson Stranahan ’57 and M. Ann
Sanford ’75, were recently named recipients
of the Milestones: A Tribute to Women Award, given by the (Ohio). The Milestones Award
recognizes women from northwest Ohio for outstanding accomplishments
and contributions in arts, business, education, government,
sciences, social services and volunteerism.
 Ann
Sanford, who will become a Smith College Trustee this year,
is receiving the award in the category of volunteerism. As
one of Merrill Lynch’s most successful wealth managers,
Sanford designed a seminar for female financial advisors
that has been adopted nationally. While with Merrill Lynch
for 31 years, Sanford has also served as a volunteer for
many causes in the Toledo region, including the boards for
WGTE radio, Toledo Opera, Read for Literacy, and the YWCA
of Greater Toledo. Through her volunteer efforts, Sanford
has raised more than $500,000 for Toledo area charities.
 Stranahan
will receive the award for her contributions to the arts.
Stranahan is considered the “Mother of Toledo Public
Broadcasting” for transforming an obscure radio station
into WGTE Public Media, a station that reaches more than
700,000 listeners each week. Among her many accomplishments,
Stranahan established “The Common Thread,” a
foundation that assists Toledo’s Hmong immigrants from
Laos in adjusting to their new lives while earning an income
with their unique folk art. Stranahan, working with the Needmor
Fund, helped create the Louisiana Organizers Renewal Awards
to aid Hurricane Katrina victims.
Arturo Toscanini |
John Hellweg,
lecturer and professor emeritus of theatre, will perform
the role of composer Arturo Toscanini in a theatrical concert
at the Italian Academy for Advanced Studies at Columbia
University on Wednesday, Jan. 21, at
8 p.m. The event is part of a mini-festival celebrating the
life and works of Arturo Toscanini (1867-1957), the most
celebrated conductor in history, who was admired for his
opposition to Fascism and Nazism. The Italian Academy for
Advanced Studies at Columbia University is located at 1161
Amsterdam Avenue (just south of 118th Street), New York,
NY. General admission is $45 and $15 for students (with ID).
Pre-concert lecture at 7 p.m.
Campus Center employees
(left to right) Elizabeth Mongrello, Kai Devlin,
Damaris Patterson and Monica Wang at the ACUI conference. |
Elizabeth Mongrello ’09,
an employee in the Campus Center, recently won the Student
Employee Award from the Association of College Unions (ACUI)
Region 1, presented at the association’s annual conference
at the University of Vermont in Burlington in late November.
The award is given annually to a student who makes a significant
contribution to his/her institution through work in the college
union and helps in projecting the union’s goals and
mission. Mongrello began working at the Campus Center last
year as a facility service assistant and was quickly promoted
to Campus Center manager, wrote her supervisors in a nomination
letter for the award. “Liz is a leader among her peers,” the
letter says. “She is a dedicated team member, constantly
going above and beyond the task at hand and assisting her
fellow student employees whenever possible.”
Mongrello was among four Smith
Campus Center employees to attend the conference. Others
in attendance were Kai Devlin ’10, Damaris
Patterson ’11, and Monica Wang ’09.
Shizuka Hsieh,
associate professor of chemistry, was recently named a recipient
of the from the Camille and Henry
Dreyfus Foundation, an organization dedicated to the advancement
of the chemical sciences. The competitive award is given
based on accomplishments in scholarly research with undergraduates,
as well as a compelling commitment to teaching. The award
provides an unrestricted research grant of $60,000. Hsieh
joins chemistry faculty from California State University,
Long Beach; San Jose State University; the University of
Puerto Rico, Mayaguez Campus; and Williams College in winning
this year’s award.
 The
following Smith seniors were elected in November to become
members of Phi Beta Kappa, an academic honor society committed
to “fostering and recognizing excellence” in
undergraduate liberal arts and sciences: Jessye Rose
Schwartz Brick, Eliza K. Bryant, Emily Meghann Burkman, Yi-Ru
Anny Chen, Paola Eugenia Chinchilla Lee, Emily Samantha Cordes,
Castine Whiting Dow, Caredwen Holme Foley, Rebecca Ann Freeman,
Yi Lin, Alla Pekareva-Kochergina, Nadia Rivera-Nieves, Maya
Li Wei-Haas.
|
People News is a column for publicizing
the achievements, distinctions and notable activities of people in the Smith
community, PeopleNews welcomes your submissions. If you -- or someone you know
in the Smith community -- have recently received an award, participated in
an interesting event, or are involved in an important endeavor, please
let us know. |
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