The Miscellany News Since 1866 | miscellanynews.com
May 23, 2010
Vassar College Poughkeepsie, NY
Volume CXLIV | Special Issue
13 members of 2010 receive fellowships Angela Aiuto
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Juliana Halpert/The Miscellany News
President of the College Catharine Bond Hill addresses students and community members during the Spring Convocation in the Chapel on Wednesday, April 28. Convocation marks the end of the academic year as well as seniors’ transition into the alumnae/i community.
Hill, seniors finish four years at Vassar Molly Turpin
Editor in Chief
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he Class of 2010 entered Main Gate for the first time in August 2006 at a significant moment in Vassar history. President of the College Catharine Bond Hill was about to officially take her place as the College’s 10th president, filling the position of former President Frances Daly Fergusson, who served the College as president from 1986 to 2006. Hill’s inauguration in
October that year was a turning point for the College, but, as the class would see, Vassar would continue to transform over the next four years. Much like the Class of 2010, Hill, more casually known as “Cappy,” might call this her senior year at Vassar. The admissions process was different for the two of them—the Class of 2010 was chosen out of an applicant pool of 6,075, and Hill was chosen out of 200 candidates in a nation-wide
search. Still, both came with diverse experiences prior to setting foot on Vassar’s campus. The class was and is filled with champion athletes, star performers and budding scholars, and Hill brought her own expertise in the economics of higher education and economic development in Africa, as well as degrees from Williams College and Oxford and Yale Universities. “I do feel a special relationship to the Class of 2010,”
wrote Hill in an e-mailed statement. “We were learning about living at Vassar at the same time!” In this four-year period, the members of the Class of 2010 have seen improvements to campus facilities, such as the complete renovation of Davison House; attended notable speakers, such as writers Tony Kushner and Gail Collins; and participated in the Vassar Student Association’s (VSA) 128 See 2010 on page 3
Senior Editor
s members of the Class of 2010 officially complete their undergraduate education, the 13 fellowship recipients of the senior class have already made plans to continue their studies. Nicole Weindling was awarded a fellowship by the Fulbright Program, an “international exchange program offering opportunities for students, scholars and professionals to undertake international graduate study, advanced research, university teaching and [nonuniversity] teaching,” according to the official website. The Compton Mentor Fellowship, which requires its fellows to “design a project of social merit that focuses on the environment, peace and conflict resolution, reproductive health, and/or equal opportunity,” was awarded to Dorien Ediger-Seto and Jackson Kroopf. Seniors Ece Dogrucu, Elizabeth Husson, Kwang Yeon Lee, Sarah Matherly and Maria Ribadeneira have received the Vassar Maguire Fellowship for study abroad, and Maria Men-
dez, David Mungo, Anh Ngo, Silvana Rueda and Jamie Stevenson were awarded the Ann Cornelisen Fellowship for Language Study Abroad. According to Director of the Office for Fellowships and PreHealth Advising Lisa Kooperman, the number of seniors applying for and getting fellowships is not so different in 2010 as it has been in recent years. “The applicant pool has been pretty consistent, and the results are pretty similar, too. Vassar seniors tend to seek out opportunities and are successful,” said Kooperman. As an indicator of this success, Kooperman noted that Vassar is ranked no. 4 this year among undergraduate institutions whose recent graduates have been awarded Fulbright fellowships, and has been ranked in the top 10 for the past four years. Kooperman encourages rising seniors to think about fellowships early given the level of involvement required by the application processes and the extremely competitive nature of the programs. Weindling agreed, writing in an e-mailed See FELLOWS on page 4
Fund to Seniors become alumnae/i be active in 2010-11 T Aashim Usgaonkar News Editor
Lila Teeters
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Contributing Editor
Several examples from the Vassar College Costume Collection are on display in the Palmer Gallery exhibit from May 21 through June 6.
Juliana Halpert/The Miscellany News
he senior class gift reached over $22,000 in total fundraising on Wednesday, April 19, according to its website. While the Senior Class Gift Committee already surpassed their goal of raising $15,000 for their gift, their fundraising efforts continued through Senior Week in hopes of meeting their class participation goal of 75 percent. The gift, an endowed scholarship fund in the class’s name, will go into effect as early as next semester when it will begin contributing to Vassar’s financial aid budget. To date, the 2010 Endowed Scholarship Fund has the largest rate of student givings among the College’s 21 peer institutions with comparable senior gifts, reported co-Chair of the Senior Gift Committee and See CLASS GIFT on page 3
Seniors listen to Convocation addresses in the Chapel on Wednesday, April 28. Speakers included President of the College Catharine Bond Hill and Professor of Psychology Kenneth Livingston.
Inside this issue
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sional to “Prelude in F Major” by College Organist Gail Archer, preceded by the “Song of the Open Road” sung by The Convocation Choir. Hill commenced the speeches by commenting that she arrived at Vassar along with the graduating class. “Together, we’ve shared an exciting, if challenging, four years. They were a unique four years for you, and de See REMARKS on page 2
Molly Turpin/The Miscellany News
Class aims for 75% participation
he Class of 2010 officially became Vassar alumnae/i after the College’s Spring Convocation, held in the Chapel on Wednesday, April 28. A semiannual tradition at the College, Convocation was well-attended by members of the Vassar community and was an opportunity to hear remarks made by
the President of the College Catharine Bond Hill; cookbook author Lee Zalben ’95, who founded Peanut Butter & Co., a gourmet sandwich shop in New York; outgoing and incoming Presidents of the Vassar Student Association (VSA) Mathew Leonard ’11 and Caitlin Ly ’10 and Professor of Psychology Kenneth Livingston. The event began at 3:30 p.m. with a standing proces-
A preview of the Powerhouse Theater season
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Senior athletes honored at Athletics Banquet
A ‘Glimpse’ at little- known collection Angela Aiuto Senior Editor
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ucked away in the basement of the Vogelstein Center for Drama and Film, in the Lower Costume Shop, is a little-known piece of history: the Vassar College Costume Collection (VCCC). The collection is composed of over 500 original historic costumes,
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the oldest of which date back to the 1850s. From May 21 to June 6, several examples from the collection will be on display in the aptly titled Palmer Gallery exhibit, “A Glimpse into Vassar’s (Secret) Closet.” Costume Designer and Senior Drama Lecturer Holly Hummel rescued the VCCC See COSTUME on page 4
Seniors reflect, reminisce on time at Vassar