- Amelia Rastley ’25: Out to SEA in FijiAmelia Rastley ’25: Out to SEA in Fiji Contributing Writer Amelia Rastley ’25 spent her summer along the coast of Fiji conducting research on coral reefs with the Sea Education Association (SEA). Read more. Academics Research Student Department of Earth & Environmental Geosciences
- Madison County EMS Celebrates AnniversaryMadison County EMS Celebrates Anniversary tokeeffe1@colg… At an open house marking the one-year anniversary of the switch from the Southern-Madison Ambulance Corps (SOMAC) to Madison County EMS, county officials spoke about the smooth transition and expanded training opportunities for Colgate University student volunteers. The Nov. 11 event also allowed community members to meet first responders and see the physical improvements made to the ambulance headquarters in the village of Hamilton. “Our main goal was to make sure it was a good transition,” said Jenna Illingworth, director of Madison County Emergency Medical Services. “From what I’ve been hearing from the public, it has been pretty seamless.” Hamilton Mayor RuthAnn Loveless and Town Supervisor Eve Ann Shwartz echoed that sentiment, with the mayor saying the switchover went “remarkably well” while Schwartz pointed out how the county team “seamlessly followed in the footsteps of the SOMAC volunteers who served our community so well for 37 years.” Since SOMAC ended operations on Nov. 11, 2023, the county EMS has received roughly 1,000 emergency calls, a slight uptick from previous years. “The crew stays here the whole time. So they're out the door within two minutes. If they’re not, they get a phone call from me,” Illingworth said. The Hamilton EMTs also transport about 40 patients each month who require specialized care, traveling to hospitals as far away as Binghamton and Albany. The first responders include 32 Colgate student volunteers, who Illingworth said bring an impressive level of commitment and energy. “They’re doing an awesome job, and it’s really been a lot of fun to watch them grow and turn into the providers they are today.” Two major changes since the county has taken over are the addition of a dedicated classroom space for students and staff and a new room, with two bunk beds and a computer station, that allows student EMTs to rest or do coursework while they wait for calls. Michelle Ovchinsky ’26 is a neuroscience major from Millburn, N.J., who has been an EMT volunteer at the station for three years. She said having a dedicated training coordinator from the county — Morgan Pedersen — has been a game-changer. “With SOMAC, we really didn’t have a specific person who would work with the student training coordinators,” explained Ovchinsky. “But Morgan has been extremely hands-on and so helpful. She’s brought in a lot of training tools we didn't have before.” Logan Zamzam ’26 said his EMT skills and those of the other volunteers have definitely been boosted by the more formalized training. “We can do more interactive training rather than just lectures because we have the resources now,” he said. The molecular biology major from Grand Rapids, Mich., said he’s been on about 20 ambulance runs this semester, several that involved people suffering physical trauma after being in vehicle accidents. Ovchinsky said she’s learned about different types of care after responding to calls from rural areas outside the village. “Some people don't have proper access to health care so they wait until the last possible moment to call. So, you’re working with patients who are in a very serious health position,” Ovchinsky said. It’s not just the medical training that proves valuable. While both students are on pre-med tracks, Ovchinsky said there are other students with unrelated majors such as political science who benefit from volunteering. “You're working with lots of people from different backgrounds who are at very different places in their lives. You really have to learn how to be personable and how to work well with them and work well as a team,” Ovchinsky said. Illingworth said that, early next year, she will open the new classroom to the public for courses on CPR, first-aid, and ways to help people who are bleeding badly. The Stop the Bleed class is especially important in the agricultural areas around Hamilton, she said, and participants will learn how to use tourniquets and other methods to stop any kind of bleeding prior to EMTs getting there. Another overall benefit to the transition is increased flexibility. The Hamilton station has three ambulances, and, along with the 12 full-time employees and the student volunteers, there are a multitude of part-time and per-diem workers. Illingworth said that resources can be shared between the Hamilton station and the second county ambulance station in the Town of Sullivan. “It’s like a load share,” she said. “During very busy times we can share ambulances and crews from one station to the other if they are needed and are available.” Joe Hernon, who leads Colgate’s emergency management operations, said that from the University’s perspective, the transition has gone extremely well. “The county has been an outstanding partner in this entire process,” Hernon said. “We’re genuinely excited to see their great work and to continue collaborating as they expand their programs to support our community and students.” Campus Life Community Service News and Updates Student From left, Madison County EMTs Arianna Stolowitz ’26, Michelle Ovchinsky ’26, and Logan Zamzam ’26 attend the Madison County EMS open house.
- All NewsNew Study Reveals Possible Origins of Dark Matter in “Dark Big Bang” ScenarioNew Study Reveals Possible Origins of Dark Matter in “Dark Big Bang” Scenario Contributing Writer Recent research by a student-faculty team at Colgate University unlocks new clues that could radically change the world’s understanding of the origin of dark matter. Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy Cosmin Ilie and Richard Casey ’24 have explored an idea put forth by two scientists at the University of Texas at Austin, Katherine Freese and Martin Winkler, suggesting that dark matter may have originated from a separate “Dark Big Bang,” occurring shortly after the birth of the universe. It is widely accepted that all the matter filling our universe (including dark matter) originated from one major event — the Big Bang. This corresponds to the end of the cosmic inflation period, when the vacuum energy that drove the very brief extreme expansion initial phase of our universe was converted into a hot plasma of radiation and particles. One of the most pressing mysteries is the origin and the nature of dark matter, which accounts for about 25% of the energy budget of the Universe today. While not yet directly detected in underground experiments, or observed in accelerators, the gravitational effects of dark matter have been firmly established on galactic and extragalactic scales. Moreover, dark matter leaves observable imprints on the electromagnetic afterglow of the Big Bang, the so-called cosmic microwave background radiation. In 2023, Freese and Winkler proposed that dark matter, unlike ordinary matter, may have arisen from a distinct Big Bang event, which could have taken place months after the conventional Big Bang [1]. In this model, dark matter particles are produced via the decay of a quantum field that only couples to the Dark Sector and is initially trapped in a false metastable vacuum state. In their recent study [2], Ilie and Casey explore and refine this Dark Big Bang model by determining all the possible scenarios for its realization that remain consistent with current experimental data. Most notably, their work uncovers a previously unexplored range of possible parameters that could explain dark matter’s origin. The study also determines the potential observable consequences of these new scenarios, particularly the generation of gravitational waves that could be detectable by future experiments. “Detecting gravitational waves generated by the Dark Big Bang could provide crucial evidence for this new theory of dark matter,” said Ilie “With current experiments like the International Pulsar Timing Array (IPTA) and the Square Kilometer Array (SKA) on the horizon, we may soon have the tools to test this model in unprecedented ways.” The 2023 detection of background gravitational waves by the NANOGrav collaboration, part of IPTA, could be linked to a realization of the Dark Big Bang. As future experiments provide more precise measurements, the study’s findings could help refine our understanding of the parameters governing the Dark Big Bang and potentially confirm it as the true origin of dark matter. The implications of these discoveries could extend beyond dark matter, as they offer a new perspective on the early history of the universe and the forces that shaped its evolution. The search for answers to the mysteries of dark matter and its origins continues to drive research at the forefront of modern cosmology. [1] Katherine Freese and Martin Winkler, Phys.Rev.D 107 (2023) 8, 083522 [2] Richard Casey and Cosmin Ilie, Phys.Rev.D (2024) 110, 103522 Academics Natural Sciences and Mathematics Research Alumni News and Updates Alumni Faculty & Staff Student Department of Physics and Astronomy The Summer 2023 research group. L to R: Jared Diks ’25, Lance Chen ’25, Shafaat Mahmud ’26, Jillian Paulin ’23, Richard Casey ’24, Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy Cosmin Ilie
- All NewsJalabil Residency Brings Maya Weaving Culture to ColgateJalabil Residency Brings Maya Weaving Culture to Colgate tmfonda@colgate.edu Oct. 17–31, the Department of History and Longyear Museum of Anthropology welcomed artists from Jalabil, a women’s weaving collective in Chiapas, Mexico, for a two-week residency. During this time, the visiting artists — Teresa Gómez Sántiz, Analí Gómez Sántiz, and Consuela Sántiz Gómez — shared their textiles, language, and culture with the Colgate community. In the Tseltal language, “Jalabil” means “weaving,” an art form that the women of Jalabil practice using traditional Maya designs and techniques. At a roundtable discussion held in the Center for Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Teresa explained the origins of the collective, which was founded in 2014. “When we were girls, weaving was sort of like playing,” she said, adding that it was also a way to clothe themselves. But when the women first coalesced into a collective to sell their textiles, they encountered obstacles. “If we really wanted to sell our products, we needed to be willing to travel,” she realized, since the collective could not command fair prices at local tourist sites. It wasn’t until Teresa began traveling to other parts of Mexico, such as Expo events and markets in Mexico City, that the women of Jalabil began to find a better market. Professor of History Rachel Newman first met Teresa in 2007, when Newman was an undergraduate at Yale. During a summer research project in Chiapas, she was connected with Teresa to coordinate a language exchange — but the two soon became friends, desiring to continue their interactions in Spanish, instead. “When we met, I hoped that one day I could be a professor, and perhaps if I could achieve that dream, that it would be possible to invite Teresa and other artists to whatever campus I ended up at as guests,” says Newman. In 2022, when she was hired at Colgate, Newman connected with Rebecca Mendelsohn, curator of the Longyear Museum, to begin a collaboration for Jalabil’s residency. The team had support from many co-sponsors, including the Colgate Arts Council, the ALANA Cultural Center, the W. M. Keck Center for Language Study, and the Department of Africana and Latin American Studies. Several of the artists’ works have since become part of the Longyear Museum’s permanent collection, including a special donation made during a weaving demonstration: one of their looms. The loom is large, “several yards long, composed of a long collection of parallel threads which form the weft,” explains Darwin Rodriguez, museum operations manager. Using the apparatus, the artists align and design their textiles by hand, using wooden tools to pull them taut. At the conclusion of the residency, Newman is grateful for the friendship she formed in Chiapas and its impact. “On a personal level, this is the thing I’ve been involved with professionally that means the most to me,” she says. “And bringing artists like the members of Jalabil to our campus is absolutely essential to making Colgate a globalized place.” Arts People News and Updates Faculty & Staff Longyear Museum Department of History Africana And Latin American Studies Program The Department of History and Longyear Museum of Anthropology welcome artists from weaving collective Jalabil (Photo by Mark DiOrio)
- All NewsCelebrating Languages and Cakes from Around the GlobeCelebrating Languages and Cakes from Around the Globe sliddell@colgate.edu On Oct. 28, Colgate University’s W. M. Keck Center for Language Study was standing room only as students and faculty gathered for the “Double Your World” and “Cake Night” mixer, an event designed to encourage students to explore the connections between language studies and other academic fields. Co-hosted with Colgate’s Division of Arts and Humanities, the event attracted students from all majors and class years. Hovering around the cake table, students had the opportunity to share their academic passions while also sampling cakes from around the world — each baked and presented by one of Colgate’s eight international language interns. The mixer showcased how students at Colgate are “doubling their world” by embracing double majors that combine language studies with disciplines like natural sciences, math, and social sciences. In addition to helping students consider the range of language courses offered for the spring semester, faculty members spoke about the transformative role of language in broadening perspectives and professional opportunities. Senior Lecturer in University Studies Aleksandr Sklyar ’10 shared how a simple calendar problem during his sophomore year at Colgate sparked his lifelong passion for language. “As a student here, I was dead set on studying Hebrew but settled on Japanese due to a scheduling conflict with a history course I wanted to take,” Sklyar explained. “That choice, by chance, changed my path, and now I teach courses in both Japanese and Russian here at Colgate. Serendipitous moments like these can lead to new paths, and I hope you meet others tonight who inspire and open up new worlds for you as they did for me.” Similarly, Ben Horner ’25 and Anneliese Coleman ’27 shared how Japanese and Russian, respectively, have enriched their studies in physics, allowing them to approach scientific ideas through a cross-cultural lens. Horner reflected on the impact language has on collaboration in STEM. “In the sciences,” he said, “you can be a great researcher, but in the end, it’s all about effectively communicating with others and understanding what they want to communicate back to you.” Since beginning Japanese during his sophomore year, Horner credits the language with helping him to connect with other researchers on a deeper level. The annual “Cake Center” event, held for the first time alongside the mixer, added an extra layer of excitement — and sweetness — to the evening. International language interns prepared cakes from their home countries, each one a distinctive culinary introduction to a different culture. Laughter and conversation filled the room as attendees tried treats from Venezuela, Japan, Egypt, and more. Interns took turns introducing their cakes, sharing stories of family recipes and favorite cultural flavors, and, in some cases, acknowledging their culinary mishaps. “It seems making a traditional Chinese cake is just as difficult as learning Chinese,” joked Chinese language intern Joanna Qiao. Whether it was Kotomi Shimizu’s traditional Japanese daifuku or Alessandro Muzzi’s Italian apple cake that “didn’t turn out as planned,” the event offered a taste of international language, cuisine, and camaraderie to all. Academics Arts and Humanities Alumni News and Updates Faculty & Staff Student Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures Romance Languages and Literatures Russian and Eurasian Studies Program Department of the Classics Department of German Jewish Studies Program Program in Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies
- All NewsLevine Concludes Road to the White House SeriesLevine Concludes Road to the White House Series omiller1@colgate.edu On Monday, Nov. 4 — the night before the U.S. Presidential Election — Colgate welcomed Peter Levine to close the 2024 Road to the White House Series, which featured various political voices to encourage civic engagement and civil discussion among Colgate community members during the 2024 presidential campaign. Levine is associate dean of academic affairs and Lincoln Filene Professor of citizenship and public affairs at Tufts University’s Jonathan Tisch College of Civic Life. Despite the timeliness of his visit, Levine took a step back from the gravity of the current election. Instead, he chose to focus on a new framework for understanding political motivations and identities based on what he calls “idea networks.” His model of political beliefs is a more comprehensive alternative to the most common mechanism, the left-right spectrum. Rather than fitting an individual onto a political map, every individual personifies their own unique and complex political map — that is to say, an elaborate web of ideas, in which beliefs are connected and backed by explanation. Levine claimed that complexity of ideas, independent of content, is generally a positive sign; individuals with less developed idea networks may be more difficult to engage with in productive conversation. “Structures indicate how interesting or easy it is to talk to and connect with someone about issues, regardless of whether or not you agree with them,” Levine said. Levine drew five key conclusions from his proposed framework: “People are more capable of democracy than standard models suggest.” Mapping our idea networks may lead to much-needed introspection. We can evaluate and improve discussions by modeling them as networks. Large groups may be able to develop shared models. We can use idea network models to improve understanding of public and moral opinions. As a professor, Levine is particularly interested in applying these improvements to education systems. He believes that this more comprehensive framework will open doors to improve discussion and discourse in the classroom. Students at Colgate might consider how to navigate the recent election results through Levine’s spectrum-rejecting, idea-centric approach to political identity and discourse. As polarization contributes to national disarray, Levine believes, it may be time to adopt a new attitude: one that embraces disagreement, understanding, and empathy. Levine argued that the spectrum model leads to polarization and enmity. “When we understand people as being a point in space, it leads to disappointing results.” The current political climate — in which polarization prevails — promotes disunity and prevents productive conversation. Yet the political mapping metaphor persists because it is easy, according to Levine. It allows people to say that, since their political adversaries have different views, then “they must be coming from a different place.” Although the metaphor is not completely false, it has custom validity and is reductive. As an example, Levine pointed out that Kamala Harris and J.D. Vance “actually agree about a lot of things,” yet they sit on opposite sides of the left-right spectrum. Levine considers the polarized perspective to be borderline offensive because it implies that “people are stupid and they hate each other.” Levine’s alternative suggests that political opinions are based on dialogues, communication, and relationships. Individuals have sincere reasons for their beliefs, not just rationalizations. This lecture was co-sponsored by the Department of Political Science Kella Lecture Fund. Campus Life News and Updates Faculty & Staff Student Debate and Discourse
- All NewsResidential Commons Host Trivia ChampionshipResidential Commons Host Trivia Championship sliddell@colgate.edu On Nov. 1, Colgate University held the inaugural Commons Cup Trivia Championship in the Edge Cafe, bringing together students from all four Residential Commons for a lively evening of intellectual rivalry and friendly competition. The event was part of the larger Commons Cup series, an annual commons-vs.-commons competition in which students earn points through attending events and academic challenges, aiming to secure the coveted Commons Cup by the end of the academic year. This new trivia challenge, packed with music, food, prizes, and questions curated specifically for students, provided yet another opportunity for attendees to earn points and showcase their Commons pride. Nine teams vied for prizes like pajama pants, blankets, and mugs from the Colgate Bookstore, and most importantly, year-long bragging rights as the smartest commons on campus. Notable organizers included Residential Fellow and organizer Meg D’Souza and Richard J. and Joan Head Chair in Philosophy David McCabe, who served as the event’s charismatic announcer. The trivia format featured three rounds of general questions followed by a high-stakes bonus round. In each round, participants answered four questions posed by McCabe — followed by a visual challenge requiring quick recall, wit, and teamwork. Participants encountered questions in diverse categories, including sports, Colgate history, science, literature, lingo, and pop culture. Questions spanned from the academic to the quirky: contestants had to calculate the exact middle date of a non-leap year (July 2) and rank culinary measurements like pinch, dash, and smidgen in ascending order (hint: smidgen is the smallest). No phones were allowed, only pen, paper, and teamwork. As each round ended and McCabe revealed the scores, cheers and groans filled the Edge Cafe, amping up the competitive spirit. The competition came to a thrilling conclusion with the bonus round, which allowed teams to wager up to 10 points on a single question: “Which city hosts twelve of the top twenty largest hotels in the world?” The correct answer — Las Vegas — led to significant shake-ups in the rankings as teams either soared or plummeted depending on their gambles. In the end, three teams emerged to claim their bookstore prizes and, of course, those all-important Commons Cup points. Team Six Pack of Ciccone Commons took first place, followed by Dart Colegrove Commons’ Order 66 (named for the infamous military command in Star Wars, playing in full stormtrooper and Jedi knight regalia) in second. Hancock Commons’ Terrific Trivia Team and the mixed-commons team Quizzly Bears tied for third. As the night ended, students departed with full stomachs (courtesy of snacks like chicken potstickers, mozzarella sticks, chips, and guacamole) and several prizes in tow. With the competition now an annual tradition, the countdown begins for next year’s teams to start studying and strategizing, ready to claim their spot as the champions of Colgate trivia. Residential Life Student
- All NewsSparking Meaningful Dialogue Among Colgate Community MembersSparking Meaningful Dialogue Among Colgate Community Members nhendrickson@c… On Oct. 29, the Dean of College Division (DoC) hosted its inaugural DoC Connects event. The event brought together Colgate students, faculty members, and staffers to engage in civil discourse and dialogue aimed at bridging generational, cultural, and societal divides — all while sharing a meal together. Dean of Students Dorsey Spencer, a main organizer, said that the event came out of efforts among higher education institutions to provide more spaces and opportunities for students to engage in dialogue. “People are afraid to engage in conversations where they might disagree, but that’s part of why you’re supposed to go to college — to be exposed to different ideas, whether you agree with them or not, and to be able to understand different perspectives,” Spencer said. Organizers assigned participants to tables at random, and then everyone enjoyed three rounds of conversation based on questions that covered a variety of topics, such as, “What are you most proud of as a person?” and “What do you think are the biggest challenges facing our campus community, and how can we work together to address them?” Organizers anticipated that students might not feel comfortable opening up to older community members — particularly those in positions of authority. So they tried to keep the environment casual. “Putting it out there at the very beginning that we’re all equal, regardless of our status at the institution, hopefully eased some of the issues,” Spencer said. The timing of the event was intentional. Spencer and his colleagues hope that the positive experience will help to maintain community as debate continues in the leadup to the election. “You might not agree on how to address certain things,” Spencer said. “But just because we disagree on different issues within society, that doesn’t mean we can’t be cordial or get to know each other and have relationships. I’m hoping that, by having the event a week before the election, people will get to a place where they’re okay with whatever the results are and act accordingly while still remembering that we’re all human. We’re all people in this Colgate community together.” Sophomore Jenna Galla appreciated the effort and noted the importance of such events, “Being able to understand each other and having a mutual understanding is what helps Colgate to thrive,” Galla said. Organizers will use feedback from participants to improve the event in the future. “Hopefully the word will get out and people will say, ‘Next time this happens, you’ve got to go,’” Spencer said.Campus Life News and Updates Faculty & Staff Student Debate and Discourse
- All NewsColgate Students Experience Novel Production of NosferatuColgate Students Experience Novel Production of Nosferatu omiller1@colgate.edu When asked to imagine a theater stage, most people would conjure images of a playhouse, a music hall, or perhaps a black box. Joshua William Gelb imagines the 8 sq.-foot closet in his East Village apartment. Since March 2020, “this modest space, with all its physical limitations, has transformed from a mere storage unit into the digital performance laboratory we call Theater in Quarantine (TiQ),” Gelb says. For a Halloween treat, Colgate students became the first in-person audience for TiQ’s production of Nosferatu: A 3D Symphony of Horrors, a silent vampire film starring Gavin Price, Nicole Baker, and Gelb himself as the titular vampire. The performance migrated from New York City to Brehmer Theater and capped off a visit that was programmed by the Department of Theater and co-sponsored by the Film and Media Studies Program and the Department of Art. In Nosferatu, TiQ bridges classic and innovative theater approaches with a unique closet stage and iconic, old-school 3D glasses. Students arrived at Brehmer Theater on Halloween night and geared up in silent disco headphones and 3D specs to view the livestream on an 8x14-foot screen, just as if they were watching on YouTube from home. TiQ’s recipe for a spooky Halloween show: a bone-chilling monologue whispered into each audience member’s ear, campy costumes, and jump scares of nightmarish vampire attacks. But students were in for an even bigger surprise at the conclusion of the live stream. Gelb stepped from behind the curtain, still in his gothic vampire makeup, and invited the audience backstage, where the performance had taken place. They watched Nosferatu again, this time from a never-before-seen perspective: straight across from the closet. From this vantage point, the creativity behind each mind-boggling illusion was brought to light. For example, Gelb clipped himself via harness to small handles drilled into the closet walls, where he perched creepily above the other actors. The TiQ team changed “sets” in mere seconds during brief moments of text-filled screens. TiQ is a testament to Gelb’s creativity and resilience. When COVID-19 put the theater industry on pause, he was undeterred and decided to improvise. From his closet, he played with all sorts of ideas — gravity-defying illusions, environmentally reactive choreography, reimagined classics, and original pieces. He engaged in more than 100 remote collaborations and performed for audiences all over the world. Gelb imposed four rules on himself to, “maintain the impression of theatricality,” and he shared them with Colgate students during a pre-event lecture. Liveness: Performances must be given in real-time to maintain “immediacy.” One Take Only: “No tricks, no editing,” and no director yelling “Cut!” Whole-body Visibility: TiQ embraces the “perpetual wide shot.” No close-ups that might disrupt the illusion of being part of a live audience. Frame Preservation: Contain the body within the closet — that’s your stage. The rules and creativity paid off. Gelb earned recognition from the New Yorker, NPR, and All Things Considered, as well as a feature in The New York Times. Despite its birth in the pandemic era, TiQ is just getting started, Gelb says. “Almost five years later, long after theaters have reopened and pandemic precautions have diminished, TiQ remains active, albeit in a period of reinvention. We still produce digital work, but we’ve branched out also into hybrid productions, experiences for both in-person and remote audiences.” The result is a unique, game-changing take on performance that explains and expands what it means to be theatrical. Arts News and Updates Student Department of Theater Department of Art
- All NewsHamilton-area Gardeners Learn More About Peter’s GlenHamilton-area Gardeners Learn More About Peter’s Glen tokeeffe1@colg… How do you remove nasty, invasive weeds that have an intricate root system that can stretch up to 70 feet? Very patiently and deliberately, Landscape Project Manager Katy Jacobs told 30 community members who gathered at the Hamilton Public Library for an update about the Peter’s Glen project on Colgate University’s campus. Jacobs, a landscape architect at Colgate who is leading the project, said her team had to dig 6-feet deep to remove the Japanese knotweed plaguing the hillside from Frank Dining Hall to the Dana Arts Center — as part of the work that began in February. The project, made possible by a gift from Peter L. Kellner ’65, will provide an important new linkage between Upper and Middle campus and significant infrastructure improvements to better handle stormwater. It also includes heated stairs along a series of stone cascades, new plazas where students can gather, and more open views of the beautiful Chenango Valley. Jacobs said she is excited for campus and community members to see pathways formed and plantings begin over the next several weeks. About 130 trees will be planted this fall, she said, in just the first phase of additions that will eventually include 500 trees, 593 shrubs, 4,562 groundcover plantings, and 1,000 bulbs. Ninety-five percent of everything planted is native to the Northeast, with a couple of exceptions for trees — the Norway spruce and London planetree — that already are on campus and thriving. “Everyone will soon be able to get a real sense of the layout and vision for this,” Jacobs said. What visitors won’t see is the major underground work that is such an integral component of the project. Improvements include new, larger pipes installed down the slope and subsurface chambers installed under Whitnall Field as part of the Bernstein Hall project to manage stormwater. The work will result in improved stormwater treatment and prevent overflows that at times plagued the current system. Jacobs’ talk was organized by the Hamilton Area Gardeners’ Club and its president, Michelle Coluzzi, who said she is excited by the idea of a new place for campus and community members to walk and enjoy nature. Susan Bauman, another club member, said she learned a lot about the intricacies of the project from Jacobs, who spelled out how her team has to be extremely careful as they dig into the hillside and handle not only the existing stormwater flows but also sanitary and telecommunications infrastructure, some of which extend into the Village of Hamilton. The construction team also had to install straw wattles and build soil terraces to prevent erosion after the existing trees, shrubs, and overgrowth were removed as part of the prep work. Seeing the hillside undergo such a dramatic change can be a shock, but Jacobs shared recent site photos that already show expanded views of the Chenango Valley. “We’re turning a stormwater nightmare into a beautiful landscape feature,” she said. Landscape architects at Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates designed the project, which is scheduled for completion in late 2025. Third Century News and Updates Faculty & Staff A concept rendering of what the bottom of the new campus glen will look like once complete. This view is of the area in between Ryan Studio and Dana Arts Center.
- All NewsOn Bias and Belonging: Suchi Reddy, Artist-in-ResidenceOn Bias and Belonging: Suchi Reddy, Artist-in-Residence rtaurisano@col… Throughout this academic year, Suchi Reddy, Colgate University’s 2024–25 Christian A. Johnson Artist in Residence, is hosting a series of community conversations on bias and belonging in artificial intelligence (AI), centered on ways bias impacts our lived experience. A New York City-based architect, designer, and artist, Reddy plans to use the information from these conversations to create a textile that will represent what people think and feel about the ideas of bias and belonging, both in their personal and communal experiences. She will use the new TC2 digital loom in Colgate’s recently opened Fabulation Lab, located in Bernstein Hall on the new Middle Campus, to create the woven artifact. The final product will be exhibited in the Clifford Gallery this spring. At the first event on Oct. 23, attendees discussed their earliest life experiences with bias and belonging. Margaretha Haughwout, associate professor of art, introduced Reddy to the students, faculty, and staff in attendance, as a “down-to-earth artist.” Reddy’s work “engages material innovation and interactive technologies in the service of expressing ideas around the power of community,” Haughwout said. Thanks to her architectural training, Reddy has a spatial and experience-oriented approach to art. “I relate primarily through space,” she said. “I'm always thinking in terms of how our environments are not just these passive containers for us.” According to Reddy, our physical environments have a greater impact on our human experience than we may realize, being intertwined with our emotional, psychological, and cultural experiences. With this project, she endeavors to collect information about this dynamic human experience and transform it into art. Reddy is collecting more than words to inspire this project. “Even if you don’t say anything, I can see that you’re thinking about your experience,” she told the audience. “This energy will be part of the work too. What you're sending to me now will be the colors and the patterns that create this textile. So when you see it, just know that you're a part of it, even if you don't recognize yourself in it.” Reddy also hopes to understand how artificial intelligence (AI) is already integrated into our lives and what sort of biases shape our interaction with it currently. She believes our influence on AI will be either good or bad — not neutral — and we should be thoughtful about the ways we are moving forward with the technology. She hopes that AI will reflect our human-ness, eventually. “I can imagine when we don’t exist anymore and all that’s left is what we made, I would hope that it reflects us in the most complete way possible.” The series is presented by the art department and the Christian A. Johnson Foundation. The Christian A. Johnson Endeavor Foundation Artist-in-Residence was established in 1986 as a challenge grant to support the arts at Colgate University. The residency program permits one or more artists to become part of the Colgate community every academic year. The conversation series continues on Nov. 14 in 207 Little Hall, from noon to1 p.m. For more information, visit cliffordgallery.org/events.Arts and Humanities Third Century Arts News and Updates Faculty & Staff Department of Art 2024-25 Christian A. Johnson Artist-in-Residence Suchi Reddy leads a conversation on the bias and belonging project she is creating at Colgate (Photo by Mark DiOrio)
- All NewsColgate Expands Relationship With Adirondack Research ConsortiumColgate Expands Relationship With Adirondack Research Consortium omiller1@colgate.edu Colgate University is expanding its long history of involvement with research in the Adirondacks in a new collaboration with the Adirondack Research Consortium (ARC). Colgate Professor of Geography and Environmental Studies Emerita Ellen Percy Kraly and Joseph Henderson ’03, an associate professor of social sciences in the environment and society department at Paul Smith’s College, are the new co-editors of the Adirondack Journal of Environmental Studies (AJES). Colgate’s Office of Information Technology Services will host the online platform for the journal, and the Environmental Studies Program will serve as the journal’s academic partner. The AJES is an interdisciplinary journal that expands understanding of Adirondacks ecology and environmental issues and informs policy — it is a project of the ARC, a network of scholars involved with research in the Adirondacks. Both AJES and ARC are 30 years old and have previously been hosted by Union College and editor Doug Klein, Kenneth B. Sharpe Professor of economics emeritus at Union. The late Bruce Selleck ’71, professor of geology at Colgate, co-edited one edition of the AJES and was a member of the ARC. When Selleck passed away in 2017, Kraly stepped in as a representative of Colgate on the ARC board. After Klein stepped down, Kraly assumed that role as well and approached Henderson — who counted Selleck among his mentors — with the opportunity to serve as co-editor. “Paul Smith’s has been a very generous host of the consortium,” Kraly says. “It’s an important institution within the Adirondacks in terms of scholarship, creativity, and education. And it’s great that Joe is a Colgate alumnus.” The decision was easy for Henderson. “Because Bruce was my adviser, and because we shared these connections to the Adirondacks, I’ve always seen some of this work as carrying on his legacy and making sure that there’s a capacity for environmental and social research in and on the Adirondacks.” Kraly is no stranger to running a journal — from 2011 to 2014, she served as editor-in-chief of the International Migration Review, one of the world’s leading and longest-running migration journals, and she continues to serve on the editorial board. Similarly, Henderson is an editor of many publications, including Environmental Education Research, a top environmental education journal with more than a half-million annual reads and articles cited over 1,000 times each year. The AJES is special, though. Because the Adirondacks are so unique, both ecologically and politically, the area is of heightened interest, and the AJES addresses that interest in its pages. “Ecologically speaking, the Adirondacks are a huge carbon sink,” Henderson says. “They have a ton of fresh water. They have a lot of really rare species. It’s an amazing vacation area and tourist area, and it’s going to be one of the most stable areas going forward in terms of climate change.” According to Kraly, Adirondack-region environmental policy is a model with global significance, given its attempts to simultaneously preserve local communities and the environment. “This 6-million-acre region is protected by the New York State Constitution to be maintained ‘forever wild’ for the people of New York State,” Kraly said. “That's radical.” According to Kraly, the AJES is also noteworthy because it is “transdisciplinary, which involves understanding that we need to ground our knowledge production within communities involved in whatever issue we’re studying,” she says. “The Adirondack Research Consortium wants to make the knowledge available to — and grounded in — the region.” Along the way, the AJES and its interdisciplinary approach to environmental analysis aligns with the values of Colgate’s liberal arts education, its commitment to student research, and its Third-Century intention to deepen the rigor of its academic programs. “I would love to involve environmental studies students, creative writing students, writing and rhetoric students who might be interested in the preparation of manuscripts,” Kraly said. The Environmental Studies Program is equally excited about the collaboration. “Faculty and students in the Environmental Studies Program have a long history of engaging with Adirondack communities and landscapes,” says Mike Loranty, program director and professor of geography. “This partnership provides new opportunities for us to further engage and share our scholarship with the Adirondack research community. We are especially grateful to Professor Kraly for working to make this happen.”Academics University Studies Faculty News Research Alumni News and Updates Alumni Environmental Studies Program
- All NewsProfessor Sinhaeng Lee Earns Top Honors in U.S. and International Choral CompetitionsProfessor Sinhaeng Lee Earns Top Honors in U.S. and International Choral Competitions sliddell@colgate.edu Colgate Assistant Professor of Music Sinhaeng Lee has quickly established himself as a rising star in the world of choral conducting. In 2024, Lee was named Distinguished First Runner-up at Carnegie Hall’s conducting competition and secured first prize at the Korean Federation for Choral Music Conducting Competition. These achievements build upon earlier successes — placing third at the Korean Choral Directors Association & National Chorus of Korea Conducting Competition in November 2023, where he was also the youngest prize recipient of the year. Reflecting on these milestones, Lee is pleased to have had the opportunity to compete in Korea’s rich choral music scene, where nearly every city has its own professional choir supported by local government funding. One of the highlights was rehearsing and conducting Gioachino Rossini’s music with the National Chorus of Korea. “This competition provided me with valuable practical experience, and I was thrilled with the outcome.” Lee’s competitive successes in Korea represent only a small part of his broader mission as a conductor and educator. His work is characterized by a research-through-conducting approach, in which he uses the practical challenges of rehearsals to inform his academic inquiries. “Every gesture has meaning and is connected to the music and the musicians,” Lee says. “I’m constantly asking myself: What is the right gesture that fits my body? Experiencing and sharing music, especially in a choral setting, is about expressing your vulnerability through both music and emotion. How can I communicate this most effectively with my musicians?”Lee while passionately conducting one of his ensembles One of the most distinctive elements of Lee’s work is his cross-cultural approach to choral performance. Leading ensembles at Colgate, he brings together singers from diverse linguistic backgrounds, with non-native English speakers performing classical Western choral music and native English speakers taking on Korean choral pieces. Lee focuses his conducting on refining vowel sounds, which he views as essential to achieving a unified and high-quality performance, regardless of the language. For instance, in Korean, vowel pronunciation varies depending on region and speaker. As for consonants, the ‘f’ sound doesn’t exist. To address these nuances, he has developed guidelines for choirs to navigate the inconsistencies that arise when Romanizing Korean into English. Even modifying an ‘r’ sound in American English can significantly enhance a performance. Lee’s insights into cross-linguistic performance come from his experiences in both Korea and the United States. He contrasts the two countries’ choral traditions, noting that Korean choirs prioritize technical precision, while American ensembles focus more on emotional expression. “I used to be an extremely demanding conductor, with little tolerance for mistakes in pitch or rhythm,” he admits. However, a turning point in his philosophy occurred when one of his mentors at Westminster Choir College advised him to trust the choir to correct minor mistakes. “My mentor told me, ‘Choral music, being so deeply tied to the human voice, is close to the heart. Have faith in the choir and be gentle with them.’” Lee recalls. This advice transformed his approach, leading him to adopt a more balanced leadership style that values both high standards and empathy. At Colgate, Lee’s work goes beyond conducting performances. He is deeply invested in mentoring his students and guiding them in developing their artistic identities. “Above all, my goal is to help students recognize and appreciate good music,” Lee explains. Lee regularly invites professional conductors and singers, often fellow liberal arts graduates, to speak with his students about their future career paths. He also leads collaborative projects where students can connect with other musicians, such as upholding the longstanding partnership between the Colgate and Hamilton College choirs.Lee with his Colgate University choir Looking forward, Lee hopes to take his students on international tours, with Korea as a primary destination. “My goal is to give students the opportunity to perform abroad while immersing them in diverse cultural experiences that will expand their artistic and personal perspectives,” he says. Lee is also preparing for a 2026 performance at Carnegie Hall, where he has been invited to conduct after his recent win. Ultimately, whether Lee is competing abroad or conducting in the Colgate classroom, his passion for choral music and dedication to his students remain the core of his work. As Lee sees it, choral music offers valuable lessons not only for musicians but for society as a whole. “Choral music teaches us something essential for society — how to truly listen to one another,” says Lee. “This mutual listening creates harmony not just in music, but in life.”Faculty Profiles News and Updates Faculty & Staff Department of MusicProfessor Sinhaeng Lee conducting his choir in Colgate Memorial Chapel
- All NewsPicker Mounts Exhibition of Modern Chinese Woodcuts Donated by Former Colgate ProfessorPicker Mounts Exhibition of Modern Chinese Woodcuts Donated by Former Colgate Professor nhendrickson@c… Outside of China, there are only four significant collections of Chinese woodcut prints from the wartime period between 1937 and 1948. They are located in Australia, Paris, London — and Colgate’s own Picker Art Gallery. Colgate’s entire collection, donated by geography professor emeritus and Peace and Conflict Studies Program founder Theodore Herman (1954–1981), is now on display for the first time. The exhibit opened on Sept. 19, and it displays more than 200 woodcut pieces that depict the historical conflicts and social movements leading to the founding of the People’s Republic of China. “There’s a lot of good historical context, and there’s a lot to learn about that particular moment in Chinese history,” said Nicholas West, curator of the gallery and co-director of University Museums. Woodcut printing was invented in China and served as an accessible artistic medium, “It’s usually been thought of as a medium for the masses,” West said. “The revival of woodcuts as a medium in Chinese art was specifically responding to that traditional division between ‘high art’ and ‘low art.’” Herman lived in China with his wife, Evelyn Mary Chen Shiying Herman, from 1936 to 1948. During that time, Herman befriended many woodcut artists, and they gave him pieces to show in the United States after he left China due to the difficult political climate. “[There was] a lot of anti-communist sentiment then, and it was actually quite dangerous to be associated with China or any of the communist powers,” West said. “So eventually he ended up working here as a geography professor at Colgate. When he was trying to figure out what to do with these prints, he decided to donate them to Picker.” Leslie Ann Eliet, curator of the exhibit, was working as a director’s secretary and registrar for the Picker Gallery in 1980 when she received the prints and began working on inventorying the collection. As a printmaker herself, Eliet was familiar with the medium and conducted her own research on the collection — she even traveled to China to interview a few of the surviving artists. Years later, Eliet presented the idea of an exhibition. “I knew that this had never been seen in its entirety in the United States, and I had done a lot of research and kept up with some of the artists,” Eliet said. “I had been working on this for a long time and met with Nick to present him with this idea. And, finally, it came to fruition.” Outside of the historical aspect of the collection, there’s a lot to be learned from the medium itself. “These images are really accessible,” West said. “You’re going to come into the exhibition and understand what’s going on with these images. They are expressive, they are emotive, and they are really quite narrative.”Arts Picker Art Gallery News and Updates Faculty & Staff picker art gallery museums and galleries Opening the exhibition War, Revolution, and the Heart of China on Sept. 19. (Photo by Andrew Daddio)
- All NewsColgate Women to Pursue $200 Million Fundraising GoalColgate Women to Pursue $200 Million Fundraising Goal rtaurisano@col… During Colgate’s homecoming weekend, the Women’s Leadership Council (WLC) gathered at the Hall of Presidents for their Homecoming Leadership Luncheon. At the luncheon, Liz Buchbinder ʼ77, WLC chair, announced an ambitious goal for the women of Colgate to donate a combined total of $200 million to the Campaign for the Third Century by June 2029 — the 25th anniversary of the WLC. Read more. Alumni Third Century News and Updates Alumni Keynote speaker Mandy DiMarzo ʼ02, former Colgate women's soccer player, founder of BURN by Mandy, and TEDx speaker addresses the WLC (Photo by Andrew Daddio)
- All NewsRepatriation and Reconciliation: The Carrolup Artworks Return to ColgateIn honor of Colgate’s Bicentennial year, the Picker Art Gallery is hosting a special traveling exhibition, Koolanga Boodja Neh Nidjuuk (Children Looking and Listening on Country), through June 30. The post Repatriation and Reconciliation: The Carrolup Artworks Return to Colgate first appeared on Colgate University News.
- All NewsGrafters X Change Builds Community ResiliencyGrafters X Change: Branches and Networks brought together Colgate and local community members, eco-artists, and activists to foster creative community resiliency. The post Grafters X Change Builds Community Resiliency first appeared on Colgate University News.
- All NewsNew Arts Initiative Promotes Inclusive Music SceneThe Mat transforms the flexible, open space of Parker Commons into a vibrant venue where student and professional artists come together to perform music for the community. The post New Arts Initiative Promotes Inclusive Music Scene first appeared on Colgate University News.
- All NewsCentury of Progress / Sleep: A Multi Media Adventure in the Vis LabApril 4–6 marked the campus debut of hybrid media artist Paul Catanese’s avant-garde opera Century of Progress / Sleep. The Ho Tung Visualization Laboratory was transformed for the production. The post Century of Progress / Sleep: A Multi Media Adventure in the Vis Lab first appeared on Colgate University News.
- All NewsLeading in the Arts Panel Considers Access, Opportunity, and ResponsibilityWhat does leadership in the arts mean to you? How do you consider your audience and the larger public? What are your responsibilities of what to represent? Lynn Schwarzer, professor of art and art history and film and media studies, posed these questions to a group of professionals representing a variety of fields in the panel discussion “Leading in the Arts.” The post Leading in the Arts Panel Considers Access, Opportunity, and Responsibility first appeared on Colgate University News.
- All NewsOpera Explores Untold History of Upstate New York’s Women’s Suffrage MovementA performance of the opera Pushed Aside: Reclaiming Gage, on Matilda Gage’s efforts — alongside those of Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton — for women’s right to vote, made its way to campus on March 24. The post Opera Explores Untold History of Upstate New York’s Women’s Suffrage Movement first appeared on Colgate University News.
- All NewsHybrid Media Artist Paul Catanese Prepares for Century of Progress/SleepPaul Catanese, hybrid media artist from Chicago and this year’s Christian A. Johnson Endeavor Foundation Artist-in-Residence, recently completed a slate of technical workshops, open rehearsals, video shoots, and class visits as part of his residency at Colgate. The post Hybrid Media Artist Paul Catanese Prepares for Century of Progress/Sleep first appeared on Colgate University News.
