Lafayette Attracts National Media Attention

Twistedsifter.com called Kirby Library one of the 15 most beautiful libraries in the world.

Lafayette made national news for its decision to hire new faculty when other schools are holding the line, its stunning libraries, and the country’s first for-credit study-abroad program to North Korea.

Since July, the College has been featured three times in The Chronicle of Higher Education, as well as in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, MSNBC, Forbes, The Economist, and other national and regional media outlets.

Charles A. Dana Professor of Government and Law Ilan Peleg’s new book, Israel’s Palestinians: The Conflict Within, was reviewed in The Economist, and he was interviewed on Chicago Public Radio. An op-ed by Peleg, asserting the need for recognition of minority rights in Israel, appeared in the country’s popular Haaretz newspaper.

A study by Nicole Crain, visiting professor of economics, and W. Mark Crain, Simon Professor of Political Economy and chair of policy studies, showing that small businesses continue to bear a disproportionate share of the federal regulatory burden was featured in the Wall Street Journal and Huffington Post.

Jennifer Talarico, assistant professor of psychology, was interviewed in Science on MSNBC about her research on 9/11 memories, and research by Jamila Bookwala, associate professor of psychology, on the health benefits of marriage was cited in the United Kingdom’s Daily Express. A blogger for Ms. Magazine, Emily Musil Church, assistant professor of history, had the distinction of interviewing Leymah Gbowee days before the Liberian activist was awarded the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize.

The research of Andrea Smith, associate professor of anthropology and sociology, and two of her students involving a lost Lebanese town in Easton was featured in The Morning Call.

Professor Emily Musil Church’s interview with 2011 Nobel Peace Prize winner Leymah Gbowee was featured in Ms. Magazine.

The gridiron prowess of Fred Kirby ’42 was recalled by the Express-Times in an article about Lafayette’s decision to retire 53, Kirby’s jersey number and a first for the College. The story lauded the late Kirby’s business acumen and his fondness for the Leopards.
Lafayette’s website got a nod from the Fearless Flyer web design blog as one of the 25 most awesome college websites, and Kirby Library is considered the second most beautiful library on the planet, according to the blog Twisted Sifter.

Skillman Library’s innovative use of QR codes was noted in The Chronicle of Higher Education’s Wired Campus blog. As a way to familiarize students with its services, Rebecca Metzger and the library staff organized a scavenger hunt, which led students to the actual sword of the College’s namesake, the swashbuckling Marquis de Lafayette. Challenges were confined to the cerebral.

Chuck Holliday, professor of biology and unofficial bug man, was featured in a New York Times blog on cicada killer wasps and John Meier, associate provost and professor of mathematics, argued in an Inside Higher Ed article that writing is a useful tool in teaching calculus.

Melissa Drennan ’12, Margaret Abelkop ’14, Ha Nguyen ’13, Lorre-Ann Fisher ’12 near Kumsusan Memorial Palace in North Korea. The College’s trip North Korea was featured in the The Chronicle of Higher Education.

On the arts front, “the long, ominous tones” of a score written by Kirk O’Riordan, assistant professor of music and director of Concert Band, for the Ben Munisteri Dance Project was noted in the New York Times and New Yorker magazine. Ellis Finger, director of the Williams Center for the Arts, was credited in The Morning Call for initiating a fruitful partnership between the college and Orpheus, one of the world’s greatest chamber orchestras.

Engineering studies major Margaret Abelkop ’14 (Moorestown, N.J.) made headlines in the Sept. 9 issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education with her assessment of the North Korea trip. In the chronicle’s next issue, Mary Armstrong, associate professor of English, appeared as an example of how one scholar was able to make a job leap in a tough economy. Fortunately, her move was to Lafayette as head of the College’s women’s and gender studies program.

And finally Gwen Turner ’12 (Danville, Va.), an economics major, rendered sage advice to college freshman in Student Advisor, a Washington Post publication mailed to several million college-bound high school students. Gwen is also an editor of My Easton: For Students, By Students, a new guide to familiarize students with the community beyond campus.

Leading the feature, titled “Words of Wisdom,” Gwen tells incoming students to make friends with people outside their academic major and activities. “It offers some new perspectives, expands your world, and adds new possibilities and ideas to your knowledge base.”

Well said, Gwen.

Isn’t that what college is all about?