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The cover of the winter 2020 issue of Amherst Magazine, with a smiling woman on the cover

Winter 2020

The Path Outside the Pulpit

Rabbi Hara Person ’86 chose not to lead a congregation but instead became chief executive of one of the most important organizations in Judaism.

By Naomi Shulman

An illustration of Emily Dickinson surrounded by household objects

View it Sidewise

Where we bring together a professor, a museum director, an alumna and two students to watch the new Emily Dickinson TV show.

by Bill Sweet

A woman in a colorful dress standing in front of a river with buildings and houses in the distance.

The Maine Chance

Jeanne Lambrew ’89 came home from D.C. to take the top health job in New England’s poorest state, and the country’s most rural.

by Katharine Whittemore

A rabbi reading a scroll of Torah from a pulpit with two rabbis beside her
The Path Outside the Pulpit
A woman leaning against a desk in a brightly lit office
The Maine Chance
A woman in a red dress and a man in a large top hat
View It Sidewise
A group of students in Amherst College apparel in the crowd of a football game
Homecoming 2019

Table of Contents

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News

Natalie Braun

Natalie Braun ’19 and Ludia Ock ’19 each won a $10,000 Davis Projects for Peace grant. They worked with the College’s Center for Community Engagement to design projects related to memories of war.

Identify It day at the Beneski Museum

During this year’s annual “Identify It” Day at the Beneski Museum of Natural History, staff and faculty helped community members ID the fossils and meteorites (or “meteor-wrongs”) they’d found.

Jesmyn Ward Jesmyn Ward, Susan Choi, Laila Lalami, Ben Rhodes and other acclaimed authors will speak and sign books on campus as part of LitFest 2020. Join in from Feb. 27 to March 1.

Videos

John Michael Higgens In the latest installment of the Alumni in the Field series, actor John Michael Higgins ’85, an English major at Amherst, talks about what he learned in college and how those lessons have helped him succeed.


David Sofeld November’s interdisciplinary Alumni Colloquium delved into “Amherst College History: Post-World War II to the Present.” Enjoy five videos of talks and choral performances from the weekend


Biddy Martin If you couldn’t make it to campus for the conversations with Biddy Martin at Homecoming and Family Weekend this past fall, watch them on video or read transcripts.

Amherst Magazine Accolades



Cover of Winter 2019 Amherst magazine Amherst magazine won a 2019 gold award from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education and was a finalist for the prestigious 2019 Sibley Award. Senior Writer Katharine Whittemore's article His Black History won a 2019 CASE bronze award.  

CASE Awards

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