BOWDOINBOWDOINWinter 2006 Volume 77, Number 2 MeetingMeeting ofof thethe MindsMinds Bowdoin’s Neuroscience Network in Action winter2006 contents Meeting of the Minds 14 Bowdoin’s Neuroscientists Network in Washington By Selby Frame Photographs by Barry Myers Since its inception in the 1990’s, Bowdoin’s neuroscience department has grown into one of the best known programs for developing undergraduate neuroscience researchers in the country. Selby Frame travels to a national conference with the group and describes the power of the network in action. The (Invisible) Greening of Bowdoin 22 By Edgar Allen Beem Underneath the surface of a quad that looks remarkably as it did a generation ago is an infrastructure designed to serve a complex web of needs and customers. Increasingly, it is also creatively and intelligently serving a larger aim – the Common Good – through environmental strategies and initiatives. Ed Beem takes a trip below the surface to show us what’s happening in the greening of Bowdoin. “From the Top” 28 By David Treadwell ’64 Photographs by Justin Knight Gerald Slavet ’61 came to Bowdoin with little experience or interest in classical music, and he left that way, too. He was, though, inspired by theater and performance while he was a student — when that love was combined with his talented daughter’s musical world, an idea for From the Top was born. David Treadwell introduces us to Jerry and tells us how the program came to be one of the stars in the NPR line-up. DEPARTMENTS College & Maine 2 Weddings 32 Class News 40 Obituaries 66 BOWDOINeditor’s note staff Most of us have strong memories associated with radio. Maybe we remember a certain song Volume 77, Number 2 Winter, 2006 that was playing as we drove across the country on that road trip with friends, the tune now indelibly linked with some picture in our minds of Kansas, or of crossing the Golden Gate MAGAZINE STAFF Bridge. Or we might think fondly of hearing the Red Sox, or some other favorite team, play Editor on summer evenings, willing them to win as we listened in the dark. The memories aren’t Alison M. Bennie always happy ones, of course — shocked accounts of the attacks of September 11th are fresh Associate Editor in many of our minds, and some still remember hearing that Kennedy had been shot, or Matthew J. O’Donnell Lennon, or even recall gathering around radio broadcasts during World War II. The experi- Design ences of listening to the programs, the reports, and the songs are powerful, and they join us Pennisi & Lamare, Falmouth, Maine with other listeners through our collective response to what we hear. Charles Pollock James Lucas Beyond shared experiences, the power of radio to persuade is also clear — whether the Obituary Editor John R. Cross ’76 point of view is that of a government, as with Voice of Democracy or Radio Free Afghanistan, or that of an individual listener on a call-in show, the idea that words can Contributors James Caton sink in and change the thinking of those within their reach is one that draws programmers Susan Danforth and advertisers to the broadcast booth. Selby Frame Scott W. Hood Pavlina Borisova ’07 The idea that Jerry Slavet ’61 had of creating a program that highlighted talented young Travis Dagenais ’08 Alix Roy ’07 classical musicians connects with both the “shared experience” aspect of radio and with its power to persuade. As entertaining as “From the Top” is, it is also designed to convey an Photographs by Dean Abramson, Brian Beard, Dennis Griggs, Justin Knight, important message — that these young musicians aren’t oddball prodigies, they are person- James Marshall, Barry Myers, Michele able and interesting kids who happen to be very talented. In a world of adolescence where Stapleton, Holger Thoss, and Bowdoin College Archives. status is more often associated with the superficial than the substantial, this is a lesson to be spread as widely as possible. BOWDOIN (ISSN, 0895-2604) is pub- lished four times a year by Bowdoin College, 4104 College Station, Brunswick, But this is a new broadcast world, as we all know, and so radio is just one of many com- Maine 04011. Printed by Dartmouth Printing, Hanover, New Hampshire. munication options. The “From the Top” website extends the program masterfully, not Third-class postage paid at Hanover, New only with audio clips, but with postings from performers and lots of fun information (for Hampshire. Sent free of charge to all Bowdoin alumni/ae, parents of current instance, two of the show’s performers were cast in the Jack Black movie, “School of Rock” and recent undergraduates, faculty and — read all about it at fromthetop.org. staff, seniors, and selected members of the Association of Bowdoin Friends. And, we’re guessing that they will soon add podcasts to the mix of options you can find there, Opinions expressed in this magazine are as Bowdoin has done in the last few months. (www.bowdoin.edu/podcasts) Podcasts, for the those of the authors. uninitiated, are audio files that can be loaded onto an MP3 player (such as an iPod) and lis- Send class news to tened to on the subway or car during your commute, or in your beach chair on vacation. You [email protected] or mail to the address above. Advertising inquiries? can avail yourself of the opportunity to relive a great game, learn about a Japanese scrolls proj- Please e-mail [email protected] ect, or enjoy a virtual tour of an Arctic museum exhibit. Think of it as the shared experience or fax 207-725-3003. Please send address changes to the mailing address above. of radio in a portable format. Send ideas or letters to the editor to that address or by e-mail to [email protected]. Happy listening. Inside cover photo: Mere Point Bay by Hannah Dawes AMB BOWDOIN WINTER 2006 1 college&maine news Literally Renewed ith the completion last fall of the second phase of and soft seating clus- WHawthorne-Longfellow Library renovations, students and ters. Additional wire- staff have begun to enjoy the fruits of what has been a lengthy less coverage was also process: ten years of planning followed by a five-year building proj- installed throughout ect. After the 2001 improvements to the first floor and basement the second and third areas, the second and third floors still suffered from dim lighting, floors, responding to impractical work spaces, and worn furniture. Under the direction the significant increase of architects Dan in Web-based assign- Cecil and Mark Lee of ments and class Harriman Associates, resources that require the second floor has Internet access. While been rearranged to Hawthorne- accommodate stu- Longfellow now dents and faculty boasts the latest tech- equally and more nological resources effectively. Six former and caters to current faculty studies have teaching trends, the been converted into ’60s appeal of the small rooms for stu- building’s decor has dent groups, and the not been lost. The Pierce Reading Room original high-quality has been divided to soft seating has been include a faculty reupholstered with research room as well materials reminiscent as a newly renovated of that modernist student area. style, and Head Librarian Sherrie Bergman attests to the efforts of In designing the the planning committee to achieve a “contemporary and classic feel, seating arrangements both at the same time.” As comfortable and attractive as the read- for the remodeled ings areas are, the librarians won’t have much time to sit still – they areas, planners grant- are preparing this year to cap 40 years of service to the Bowdoin and ed students’ requests Brunswick communities with the accession of the library’s millionth for more group tables volume, expected sometime in the spring semester. Achievements ynthia McFadden ’78, overseer emerita, has been named co- received the IES Professional Development Award at the 55th Canchor of the ABC News program “Nightline.”… Geoffrey Institute for the International Education of Students (IES) Annual Canada ’74, President and CEO of the Harlem Children’s Zone Conference in Chicago. IES awards the Professional Development (HCZ) and a Bowdoin Trustee, was listed among the 25 individuals Award to the most dynamic professional in the field, based upon named “America’s Best Leaders” by U.S. News & World Report in the nominations and voting of study abroad professionals… Senior the October 31, 2005, issue…Joel Presti ‘06 and Matt Thomson Daniel Schuberth was elected vice chairman of the Maine ’06 were presented with the Margit Cook Award at the Tedford Republican Party in November. Schuberth is the youngest state Shelter’s annual meeting, held November 1. The award is given Republican Party officer in the United States… In late November, annually to one or more persons who have demonstrated exempla- Bowdoin received a $100,000 grant from the Hannaford ry volunteer service to Tedford Shelter, a Brunswick nonprofit Charitable Foundation toward the construction of a new recital organization dedicated to ending homelessness in midcoast hall on campus. Construction began in September 2005 and is Maine…. Stephen Hall, Bowdoin’s Director of Off-Campus Study, expected to be completed in the spring of 2007. 2 BOWDOIN WINTER 2006 college&maine news Cristle Collins Judd Named Dean of Academic Affairs. resident Barry Mills announced in December, 2005, that with the Eyes (Cambridge PCristle Collins Judd will become Bowdoin's Dean for University Press, 2000), Academic Affairs, effective July 1, 2006. She succeeds Craig received the Wallace Berry McEwen, who has led Bowdoin's academic program for the past Award from the Society for seven years. Judd will join the Bowdoin faculty as a professor in Music Theory.