First and second graders from Cornwall Elementary School take a ride in the oxen cart at the College Farm last Thursday. 170th Commencement Saturday, May 12 Green Mountain College will celebrate its 170th Commencement on Saturday, May 12 at 10 a.m. on the Griswold Library green. This year’s commencement speaker and honorary degree recipient will be Representative Marty Meehan (D-Massachusetts). Meehan has served in Congress since 1993 and, this summer, will assume the chancellorship at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell. Dr. William H. Bloom, class of 1943, a retired neurosurgeon, will also receive an honorary doctorate. As is the custom, the procession will begin at the Poultney United Methodist Church and be led by bagpiper Francis Pell Dechame to the commencement grounds on campus. Immediately following commencement, there will be a luncheon in Withey Hall for graduates and their families. For more information, contact Jeanne Root in the president’s office at ext. 8201. Choir Concert Friday Evening The annual commencement choir concert will take place on Friday evening, April 11 at 7:30 p.m. in Ackley Auditorium. Under the direction of Prof. Jim Cassarino, the choir and Cantorion will perform highlights from various concerts during the academic year, featuring Welsh favorites, spirituals, music from the shape note tradition, and the music of Handel and Buxtehude. Admission is free. For more information, contact Jim Cassarino at 802-287-8249. Student Callers Net 582 Donors for Campaign After 8 weeks and hundreds of phone calls to alumni, GMC sophomore Jessica Arnold knows her script. In fact she knows it so well she doesn’t have to follow it. “I had the opportunity to speak to hundreds of alums,” she says. “The best part of the job was getting to hear their favorite memories. They all had just as much fun as we do, and it’s really made me think about my education here and my role in the community.” Jessica was one of several student phone callers, recruited each year to help the College reach out to alumni for the Annual Fund. This year, the phonathon also represents a sprint to the finish for the New Century Campaign. Over the course of the fundraising effort, the students got commitments from 582 donors, raising nearly $40,000. “Our students have a wonderful ability to convey their love for GMC to alumni,” says Alumni and Annual Fund Director, Jennifer Schriber. “When they describe what they’re studying and the kinds of activities they’re doing, it brings back a flood of memories for the alums.” One alumna, Jean Roeder Reese, from the class of 1949, said that talking to a student helped her make up her mind to increase her support for the College. “If she is an example of the kind of student at GMC today, it is pleasing to support the college. It had been a while since I thought about making a gift of stock before, but after talking to Jessica, I thought about it some more and decided to act and participate in the New Century Campaign.” The campaign has passed the 90% mark and will conclude on June 30, 2007. For more information, contact Jennifer Schriber at 802-287-8300. Students Examine Lake George Water Quality Prof. Meriel Brooks and 6 students from her Limnology course (Lindsay Swinger, Justin Valliere, Jen Herzer and daughter Avery, Sheri Knowles, Christine Kenny, and Shannon Bonney) spent the weekend at the Darrin Fresh Water Research Institute on Lake George. This facility is a part of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; its faculty and staff carry out water quality research and education on Lake George and in the Adirondacks. The students sampled on Lake George using a pontoon boat, then came back to the labs to analyze their samples on state of the art water quality instrumentation. In addition, faculty at the Institute gave lectures on their own research. John Wimbush discussed his work controlling zebra mussels in Lake George and Director Sandra Nierzwicki-Bauer presented her research on the use of genetic probes to identify bacterial species. The probes enable her to monitor bacterial species changes in Adirondack lakes as they move from acidified back to more normal pH. The group also saw some of the Institute's innovative remote monitoring efforts using tethered and independent roving solar powered samplers that can be directed to sample parts of the lake during the night and charge their solar batteries in a safe place during the day. Other high points include the pool and card games after dinner and the loon that landed next to the dock in the morning. Students Make Supreme Court Trip The spring law seminar course braved a Noreaster to make their annual trip to the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. this year. It should have been a time of cherry blossoms and warm sunshine, but the brutal late-spring storm dictated otherwise. Nonetheless, Prof. Rebecca Purdom and her 15 students had a great trip that included hearing a case in front of the court, a visit to Senator Leahy’s office, where they met and talked with Leahy’s staff, and taking in the sights of Washington, D.C. The spring law seminar is a one-credit course generally focusing on a particular environmental case before the court. The class then travels to D.C. to experience the court live in person. Outreach Coordinator Dawn Sarli to Return for Second Year The Service-Learning & Sustainability Office is pleased to announce that Dawn Sarli has elected to stay on at Green Mountain College for a second year of national service. As an AmeriCorps*VISTA placed at GMC through Vermont Campus Compact, Dawn became the College’s first K-12 Outreach Coordinator after her graduation from Green Mountain’s Progressive Program in May 2006. In addition to successfully redesigning and advising the Poultney Partners Mentoring Program, Dawn has made significant and lasting contributions to the College’s Service-Learning program by developing partnerships between Green Mountain and the Poultney schools. Dawn’s efforts have connected students, faculty, and staff for after-school language and art instruction, summer recreation programs, women’s studies class presentations, college preparation for high school students, and much more. Please congratulate Dawn on her decision to stay and thank her for a job well done. Students Assist with Local 4-H Event Nine students and staff from Green Mountain College helped with an area 4-H program over the weekend. The Visual Presentation Day was held at Castleton Village School and allowed Rutland County youth to present artwork, speeches, tabletop displays, and informative demonstrations on a variety of topics. Missy Barber organized the opportunity for the nine Green Mountain College members who served as judges and escorts, and aided with general setup and cleanup for the event. The annual competition was coordinated by Ruth Reich, owner of Jovita Farm, who works closely with Missy and other students in the College's Equestrian Club. Chemistry Students Tour Cow Power Facility About 40 GMC chemistry students recently toured the Blue Spruce Farm in Bridport, which produces electricity for Central Vermont Public Service. The tours were led by David Dunne, who heads the Cow Power program for CVPS and Marie Audet, one of the owners of the farm. "This is a really useful tour for our environmental chemistry course," said Prof. Susan Sutheimer, who organized the trip. "Both Marie and Dave do an excellent job in discussing the complexities from both waste and economic viewpoints." Sutheimer's main goal in the field trip to Blue Spruce is for students to learn about the chemistry of Cow Power, which captures the methane from cow manure and burns it to fuel a turbine for power generation. "The trip to the farm provides the students with a good overall picture of the problems encountered by Vermont's dairy industry," says Sutheimer. Green Mountain College is enrolled in the Cow Power program and gets more than half of its electricity from power produced on Vermont dairy farms. FACULTY NOTES Prof. Steven Fesmire's (Philosophy & Environmental Studies) book John Dewey and Moral Imagination: Pragmatism in Ethics (Indiana University Press, 2003) will appear soon in Chinese translation with Peking University Press, China's top university press. The book is being translated by Xu Peng, Visiting Fellow at the Institute for American Thought, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.		WEEK AT A GLANCE MONDAY, MAY 7 Final Exams All day TUESDAY, MAY 8 Final Exams All day Guided Relaxation/Meditation 12:30 - 1 p.m. Wellness Center Power Yoga 4 - 5 p.m. Bogue Movement Studio WEDNESDAY, MAY 9 Pilates 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. Bogue Movement Studio THURSDAY, MAY 10 Power Yoga 4 - 5 p.m. Bogue Movement Studio FRIDAY, MAY 11 Senior Brunch 11:30 a.m., Withey Dining Hall Choir & Cantorion Concert 7:30 p.m., Ackley Theatre SATURDAY, MAY 12 Commencement Exercises 10 a.m., Griswold Library Lawn Commencement Luncheon 12 p.m., Withey Dining Hall If you have news, announcements, or events to publicize in the GMC Journal, please e-mail materials to gmcjournal@greenmtn.edu or send through campus mail to the Communications Office, Richardson House. All materials subject to editorial approval by the College Communications Office.