October, 2009 -- Mark Hofmann attended the 42nd Triennial Council meeting in Austin, Texas

Prof. Mark Hofmann of the Department of Mathematics & Computer Science attendd the 42nd Triennial Council of the PBK Society as the Skidmore Chapter's official delegate. Prof. Kate Berheide also attended the meeting as a member of the PBK Senate. The Triennial Council is the legislative body of the Society; one of its main functions is the election of new PBK chapters.

April, 2009 -- Mary Stange appointed to the Ralph Waldo Emerson Book award committee

Mary Zeiss Stange, professor of women’s studies and religion, has been named to a three-year term on the seven-member panel that judges entries for Phi Beta Kappa’s Ralph Waldo Emerson Book Award. The award is presented annually for a scholarly study that contributes significantly to interpretations of the intellectual and cultural condition of humanity.

SEPTEMBER 22-23, 2008, BETTY SMOCOVITIS TO BE 2008 VISITING SCHOLAR

Betty Smocovitis, recipient of six teaching awards during her twenty years at Florida, currently holds joint appointments as professor in the departments of history and zoology. Her research focuses on the history, philosophy, and sociology of the 20th-century biological sciences, especially evolutionary biology, systematics, ecology, and genetics; and the history of American botany. She is the author of Unifying Biology: The Evolutionary Synthesis and Evolutionary Biology (Choice, Outstanding Academic Title, 1997); and of two works in progress, One Hundred Years of the Botanical Society of America and G. Ledyard Stebbins and the Evolutionary Synthesis.

A fellow of the AAAS and recent chair of its history and philosophy of science section, she is the recipient of a Mellon Fellowship in the Humanities as well as grants from the Botanical Society of America, the National Science Foundation, the American Philosophical Society, and the NEH. She has been a visiting professor at the University of Athens, Cornell, Emory, and Stanford, and a visiting research associate at the National Museum and Art Gallery, Papua New Guinea.

Dr. Smocovitis will deliver a Public Lecture on the evening of Monday, 22 September, and meet with faculty and students in classes and informal settings during her two-day sojourn at Skidmore.

May 8, 2008, Regina Janes named to christian gauss committee

Regina Janes, professor of English, has been named to a three-year term on the selection committee for the Christian Gauss Award. The committee chooses the winning book for the award, given annually by Phi Beta Kappa.

The Christian Gauss award is offered for books in the field of literary scholarship or criticism. The prize was established by the Phi Beta Kappa Senate in 1950 to honor the late Christian Gauss, the distinguished Princeton University scholar, teacher and dean who also served as President of the Phi Beta Kappa Society.

October 24-29, 2006, PBK Triennial Council meets in Atlanta

Mark Huibregtse, chapter secretary-treasurer, attended the meeting as the official chapter delegate. Kate Berheide attended in her role as PBK Senator and Chair of the Committee on Qualifications, which exhaustively reviews applications for new chapters of PBK, and presents the most worthy applicants to the Council for final approval.

October 3-4, 2006: Gary Nash to be 2006-2007 PBK Visiting Scholar

Gary Nash, professor emeritus of history, has been director of UCLA’s National Center for History in the Schools since 1994. From 1992 to 1996, he co-chaired the National History Standards Task Force, resulting in the publication of a series on national standards for world and United States history. At UCLA he received both the Distinguished Teaching Award and the Distinguished Emeriti Award. He is past president of the Organization of American Historians, and an elected member of the American Philosophical Society, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Society of American Historians, and the American Antiquarian Society.

He has authored, co-authored, and edited more than twenty books, among them Red, White, and Black: The Peoples of Early North America; The Urban Crucible; Forging Freedom: The Formation of Philadelphia’s Black Community; History on Trial: Culture Wars and the Teaching of the Past; Forbidden Love: The Secret History of Mixed-Race America; First City: Philadelphia and the Forging of Historical Memory; The Unknown American Revolution; and The Forgotten Fifth: African Americans in the Age of Revolution.

February 15-17, 2005: Linda Greenhouse visits Skidmore

Linda Greenhouse, the Pulitzer Prize-winning U.S. Supreme Court correspondent for the New York Times, delivered her public lecture Court, Country, and Culture on the evening of 16 February 2005. This event was co-sponsored with the Department of Government as the 2005 Ronald J. Fiscus Lecture. Ms. Greenhouse also visited classes and met informally with students and faculty during her sojourn at the College.

November 4, 2004: George Saliba return engagement

In connection with the Tang Exhibit A Very Liquid Heaven, Dr. Saliba addressed the
interplay between Greek and Arabic interpretations of the stars, with an emphasis on the tenth century Sufi Atlas. George Saliba is Professor of Arabic and Islamic Science in the Department of Middle East and Asian Languages and Cultures at Columbia University. The title of his presentation: Reaching for the Skies: Between Greek and Arabic Celestial Iconography. Cosponsors of the event: The Department of Physics, the Department of Philosophy & Religion, and the Office of the Dean of the Faculty.

May 25, 2004: Linda Greenhouse to be the 2004-2005 PBK Visiting Scholar

The Skidmore Chapter will host Linda Greenhouse, the Pulitzer Prize-winning U.S. Supreme Court correspondent for the New York Times, on 15-17 February 2005, under the auspices of the PBK Visiting Scholars Program. Stay tuned for further details, including the date and time of Ms. Greenhouse's public lecture.

April 1, 2004: The Skidmore Chapter sponsors a PBK Fellows' lecture by Prof. George Saliba of Columbia University

Professor Saliba, of the Department of Middle East and Asian Languages and Cultures at Columbia University, works in the general area of history of Arabic science, with a special interest in the history of Arabic astronomy and the development of planetary theories in medieval Islamic times. The title of his lecture: How much of our science comes from Arabic?

August 2003: Recently elected PBK member Rachel Allen '03 profiled in Skidmore Scope

Rachel Allen, Skidmore Class of 2003 and new member of the Skidmore Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, was profiled in an essay titled Outward Bound: Skidmore grads take their talents into the real world, in the Summer 2003 issue of Skidmore's magazine Skidmore Scope. As a winner of the prestigious National Institute of Health scholarship for her last two years at Skidmore, Rachel is committed to work for NIH for at least two years after graduation. Her extensive research experience in the laboratory of Skidmore biologist Marc Tetel has prepared her well for a career in the health sciences. For the full article, click here and scroll down to the profile titled Brain Power, or better yet, read the entire article.

August 2003: Kate Berheide and Mark Huibregtse attend the 40th Triennial Council of Phi Beta Kappa

The 40th Triennial Council of Phi Beta Kappa, comprising delegates from chapters and associations, members of the PBK Senate, PBK Fellows, national office staff, etc., met in Seattle, Washington from 6 to 10 August 2003. Mark Huibregtse headed the Skidmore delegation. Kate Berheide attended the conference in her role as PBK Senator and member of the Committee on Qualifications, which vets and nominates institutions seeking to shelter a PBK chapter; she also served as a Skidmore chapter delegate. Among the most important actions of the Council was the granting of PBK charters to eight institutions: Alfred University, Eckerd College, State University of New York College at Geneseo, Roanoke College, Saint Michael's College, University of San Diego, Texas A&M University at College Station, and Valparaiso University.

May 2003: Skidmore Visit recalled by Richard Lanham in the Key Reporter

Richard Lanham visited Skidmore College in the fall of 2001, one of several stops on his Visiting Scholar tour. In his essay titled Memories of a Former Visiting Scholar, he recalls that "at Skidmore one of the librarians, Ruth Copans, is also a professional bookbinder, and she was kind enough to show us around her bindery. I took bookbinding lessons for three years but pro is pro, and it was a thrill to admire her work. Also at Skidmore, we were given a splendid tour of Saratoga Springs architecture by James Kettlewell, a master of its local history." (For the full article, click here and view page 4 of the pdf file.)

May 2003: Skidmore Library mentioned in the American Scholar

In the Spring 2003 issue of The American Scholar, there is an essay by Noel Perrin regarding literary serendipity. He recalls one anecdote that occurred in the Scribner library at Skidmore College [p. 110]:

"I think it important that the search not be systematic. It should be capricious. I won't go mystical and claim that if you're hunting in the right zen-ish frame of mind you'll start receiving emanations from some of the once-loved books. But I will say that it sometimes feels that way. It did when a book in the Skidmore College library titled Yankee Surveyors in the Shogun's Seas dropped to the floor as I was pulling out a book next to it. Naturally I took a look before putting it back on the shelf. In about one minute I realized that it had a story to tell, and that story would give me the long-sought lead for the best book I have ever written..."

August 2002: Alex So '02 in The Key Reporter

Alex Steven So, initiated into the Skidmore Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa in May 2002, was one of eight new PBK members featured in the Summer 2002 (Vol. 67, No. 4) issue of The Key Reporter, the society's newsletter, in an article titled New PBK Members Overcome Challenges In Their Academic and Personal Lives. Alex's saga began "in an impoverished Chinese village, where his parents grew rice. When a flood destroyed their home and caused a food shortage, they were almost forced to give away one of their five children to ensure that the others had enough to eat..." So "dreamed of becoming a research scientist... when his family immigrated to the United States, this suddenly seemed possible. But the transition was traumatic... In 1997 so submitted an essay on black holes to NASA's Space Science Student Involvement Program. Among 8,000 entries, his won second place. He enrolled at Skidmore and received an award as the top freshman chemist... This fall So will become a doctoral candidate in chemistry and chemical biology at the University of California at San Francisco. He wants his life to demonstrate to the people in his Chinese village that some dreams can come true." Congratulations, Alex! (For the full article, click here and view page 5 of the pdf file.)