Faculty members celebrate an Academic Festival of their own

On a perfect May afternoon early in Senior Week, the Skidmore faculty celebrated achievements of its own with a gathering and exhibition in the Galant Reading Room at Scribner Library.

From 3:30 to 5 p.m., faculty from all corners of the curriculum stopped by to browse the room?s bookshelves, stocked for the occasion with the past two years? worth of newly published books, articles photocopied from scholarly journals, performance programs and reviews, and a CD or two. Designed as a parallel to the Academic Festival that showcases outstanding student work, the faculty presentation offered pleasingly solid evidence of the avalanche of ongoing faculty research?research that, due to its range and variety, is rarely so solidly in evidence in any one space.

Browsing a section of publications from the English department Tim Harper (management and business) was ?checking every other department but mine? while MALS director and professor of French John Anzalone zeroed in on ?stuff I know?foreign languages and art.? Dean of Special Programs Jeff Segrave simply circled the room, methodically checking out publications that spanned arts and sciences, visual and performing arts, education, management and business.

Present to inaugurate what will likely become a biennial celebration were President Philip A. Glotzbach and the event?s two organizers: Susan Kress, vice president of academic affairs, and Pushkala Prasad, the Zankel Professor of Management for Liberal Arts Students. ?This event reminds us of what we?re all about? The research the faculty does, and the passion it brings to the classroom,? noted Glotzbach. ?It?s important that we take time to celebrate it.?

Among the offerings being celebrated: Volumes II, II, and IV of the Encyclopedia of American Indian History? co-edited by Barry Pritzker, director of foundation and corporate relations, displayed near mathematician David Vella?s article in the journal Integers. A chapter by Dan Nathan (American studies) appeared in a book called Baseball in America and America in Baseball, musician Pola Baytelman?s CD titled From Chile to Cuba: Latin American Piano Music features her performances of works by five composers; among the hardcover books were FYE director Beau Breslin?s recently released From Words to Worlds: Exploring Constitutional Functionality, displayed near his government colleague Katherine Graney?s Of Khans and Kremlins. On adjacent shelves were art historian Penny Jolly?s article in Studies in Iconography and her spouse Jay Rogoff?s 2008 volume of poetry, The Long Fault.

After half an hour of interdisciplinary mixing and mingling over refreshments, faculty members were invited next door to the library?s computer studio for a presentation on new academic resources. The fast-paced session allowed eight presenters literally only five minutes each (concluded with a loud gong) to introduce the following: ARTstor (an online archive of image collections useful for humanities courses) and new movie-rental options from Netflix and Facets; the library?s own soon-to-be-unveiled Web site; hand-held ?clickers? that allow instant class-wide responses to multiple-choice questions; demos of Google Docs and Google Earth; and glimpses of the April ?virtual field trip? to the United Nations that enabled environmental studies director Karen Kellogg and her class to discuss global sustainable development?in real time?with three UN ambassadors.

The presentation closed with a final resounding note from the gong, but the exhibition itself will remain on view through Commencement Day. ~ By Barbara Melville