Month / June 2017

by Robert Gerst

Wetlands Science & Policy: Professor Jennifer Cole Shares What Students Learn

Photos: Gary Parzych. Music: Ludwig van Beethoven, 6th Symphony (“The Pastoral”). Video: Gerst.

Gary Parzych (2019) writes:

I am doing an amazing stone carving internship in Vermont. And I have found an unexpected connection to wetlands….about which I learned in Wetlands Science  & Policy.

The three quarries that are on our property were first excavated in the early 1800’s and are near the base of a large hill. Until 1970, quarry operators pumped the quarries to keep the marble dry and the workers safe. Pumping massive amounts of water out of the quarries and down the hill,  the operators created a huge marsh in what was a valley/ dry flat land. Now the downhill site has saturated soils and marsh vegetation. It is clearly a wetland! Super interesting side effect of marble quarrying.

by Robert Gerst

Spring 2017 Freshman Seminar: Dogs & Their Humans

Dog drawings by Monica Souza, Tomomi Yoshida, Sam Elwood, and Nicholas Leonce. Excerpts from texts by Sam Elwood and Finn Duffy. Song is “Old Blue.” Singer is Dave Van Ronk. Video by Gerst.

Writes Professor Norrie Epstein:

The dog is a product of intelligent design, only the intelligence is human rather than divine. Today’s breeds are cultural artifacts, products of aesthetic choices. For a final project, students designed their own ideal dog breed. There was one caveat: it had be grounded in reality. Thus, no flying or talking dogs!

by Robert Gerst

“Luise Greger, who was about to disappear into utter obscurity…”

“An Elegant Interior Scene,” oil on canvas, Trevor Haddon (1880). Lieder by Luise Greger

Writes Professor Paul Bempechat:

“Luise Greger, the wonderful composer of German art song, was about to disappear into utter obscurity until her descendants asked me to write an introductory piece. The Journal of the International Society for Women in Music published my piece a few days ago. You can read the journal here.”