COA Volume 6 | Number 2 I Fall 2010 THE COLLEGE OF THE ATLANTIC MAGAZINE COA Vision: The faculty, students, trustees, staff Letter from the Editor and alumni of College of the Atlan- tic envision a world where people Some changes call attention to themselves-there's the value creativity, intellectual achieve- coming of the light in the morning and its glorious de- ment and diversity of nature and parture at night, and there's the less frequent change human cultures. With respect and of a president moving on, making a clear mark in our compassion, individuals construct collective history. Change is a birthright at College of meaningful lives for themselves, the Atlantic. It happens daily in class and conversation, gain appreciation of the relation- from the small understandings granted by new facts ships among all forms of life and to the crucial inner changes that come as we all-students, staff, and faculty safeguard the heritage of future alike-confront ourselves and cross-examine our preconceived notions. generations. I think of this issue's cover, a detail from the painting of Jacob Wrestling the Angel by Catherine Clinger, our new faculty member in art and art history. I Front Cover: can't help but feel that it is himself that Jacob is fighting, his demons, possibly his reluctance to change-after all, this contest results in Jacob's becoming a Jacob Wrestling the Angel (detail), fountainhead of a great nation. In Catherine's depiction, it's hardly even a wres- oil on linen, 10x8 in. by Catherine tling match: the man is attacking the angel, as if Jacob were desperately trying Clinger. (see page 17) to prevent change. How well I know that feeling! There's a lot between Catherine's painting on the cover and our student Alice Back Cover: Anderson's lovely watercolor on the back. Much of it reflects the transforma- Warszewiczia coccinea, wild tions that life brings. But one particular sentence keeps tugging at me. Having poinsettia, watercolor study on just been named president emeritus at convocation, our founding president, Ed paper by Alice Anderson '12. Kaelber, spoke to the assembled students saying, "No matter how well you do Created during COA's field trip to in class, not much can be done unless you find others with different points of Costa Rica in June of 2010. view and figure it out together." (see page 10) The very creation of COA can be seen as the result of a civil, but intense wres- tling with the academic establishment of that day. COA has since grown, evolv- ing through its own internal struggles, but what amazes me is its stability. Think of the single degree, the internship term, the senior project, learning by doing, small seminar classes, COA's democracy. These transformative academic ap- proaches formulated by COA's founders-surely in conversation with those who challenged their point of view, be they early trustees, faculty members, or first students-remain foundational after nearly forty years. The key to this consistency might lie in Ed Kaelber's words. COA incorporates debate into our very fabric. When important issues arise, such as the ques- tion of formalizing the college's recent growth, the discussion is an open one. Come January, we'll have a final decision as to whether COA will encourage growth by five to ten students per year for five years. The plan also calls for an additional faculty member for every ten new students, and an annual review of the impact of this growth. So that all members of the community could voice their response to the plan, months of fervent discourse resulted in a special evening All College Meet- ing lasting nearly four hours. Students, especially, spoke about community, intimacy, connection to each other and to faculty. They were SO passionate, SO thoughtful and articulate, that I know I was not alone in believing that whatever change may come, our center holds true. Damn Donna Gold, COA Editor MIX PRINTED WITH CERTIFIED Paper from responsible sources WIND FSC FSC® C021556 POWER P.S. There's one more slight change to announce. For the past five years, the annual report has been folded into the autumn magazine. This year, it will be Printed on recycled paper with vegetable-based inks on equipment using 100% wind-generated power. its own publication. COA The College of the Atlantic Magazine Letter from the President Volume 6 Number 2 Fall 2010 2 COA Beat EDITOR Donna Gold A President Moves On & Other News from Campus 3 EDITORIAL GUIDANCE Heather Albert-Knopp '99 Howler Monkeys & Cane Toads 10 Rich Borden Dianne Clendaniel A field experience in Costa Rica Julia De Santis ' 1 1 Jennifer Hughes From The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating 12 Danielle Meier '08 Jabulile Mickle Molefe '14 By Elisabeth Tova Bailey ('78) Rebecca Hope Woods Nancy Andrews' Beyond the Eyes are the Ears 16 EDITORIAL CONSULTANT Bill Carpenter An appreciation by Colin Capers '95, MPhil '09 ALUMNI CONSULTANTS Jill Barlow-Kelley Dianne Clendaniel DESIGNER Rebecca Hope Woods A Bridge Between Worlds 17 PRINTING IS McCarthy Printers Catherine Clinger, COA's Allan Stone Chair in the Visual Arts Augusta, Maine COA ADMINISTRATION Oral History 20 David Hales Andrew Griffiths President Cathy Johnson '74: First Graduate Administrative Dean Sarah Baker Kenneth Hill Dean of Admission Academic Dean Lynn Boulger Sarah Luke LEARNING BY DOING: 22 Dean of Development Associate Dean of Student Life COA'S INTERNSHIP TERM Ken Cline Associate Dean Sean Todd for Faculty Associate Dean Applying Sustainable Principles to Federal Buildings: Thomas A. Fisher '77 for Advanced Studies Internship Revelations: Sarah Cole McDaniel '93, Christie Denzel Anastasia '92 BOARD OF TRUSTEES For the Love of Lizards: Holly Furholmen Zak '94 Ronald E. Beard Suzanne Folds McCullagh Finding a Life: Jesse Kowalski '97 Secretary Sarah A. McDaniel '93 Edward McC. Blair Asking the Right Questions: Tracey Hutton Thibault '99 Life Trustee Jay McNally '84 Leslie C. Brewer Philip S. J. Moriarty A Human Ecologist in Education: Jasmine Smith '09 T. A. Cox Phyllis Anina Moriarty Dianna Emory William V. P. Newlin Life Trustee Donor Profile 30 David Hackett Fischer Trustee Emeritus Daniel Pierce Tom Cox - A beautifully functioning heart Trustee Emeritus William G. Foulke, Jr. Chairman Helen Porter Amy Yeager Geier Cathy L. Ramsdell '78 Trustee Emerita Poetry 31 James M. Gower Life Trustee John Reeves Cooking by Abigail Dunn '13 Life Trustee Hollow by Sarah Wineberg '13 George B. E. Hambleton Hamilton Robinson, Jr. Samuel M. Hamill, Jr. Life Trustee Henry L.P. Schmelzer Elizabeth D. Hodder Henry D. Sharpe, Jr. Excerpt from The Reluctant Poet 32 Vice Chair Life Trustee A work in progress by Richard Hilliard '09 Sherry F. Huber Clyde E. Shorey, Jr. Trustee Emerita Life Trustee John N. Kelly William N. Thorndike, Jr. Life Trustee Treasurer Alumni and Faculty & Community Notes 36 Philip B. Kunhardt III '77 Cody van Heerden Susan Storey Lyman John Wilmerding Life Trustee Trustee Emeritus In Memoriam 47 Casey Mallinckrodt Vice Chair Q&A with Toby Stephenson '98 48 COA is published twice each year for the College of the Atlantic community. Please send ideas, Human Ecology Essay Revisited 49 letters, and submissions (we are always looking An Encounter with the First People of Sri Lanka for short stories, poetry, and especially revisits to human ecology essays) to: By Nishanta Rajakaruna '94, faculty member in biology COA Magazine College of the Atlantic 105 Eden Street, Bar Harbor, ME 04609 dgold@coa.edu www.coa.edu