News & Events Amherst in the News

Yamhill County’s News-Register – In an article for a local newspaper in Oregon, illustrated with a clipping from a 1992 issue of The Amherst Student, Bader argues that participation in sports—particularly rugby—has physical, psychological and social benefits for adolescent girls. A former college rugby player herself, she now coaches a girls’ team.

Bader, who also teaches in Linfield University’s master of science in business program, begins by citing statistics about the current mental health crisis among teen girls—with 57 percent feeling “persistently sad or hopeless” as of 2021—and then points out more positive findings: “Girls who play sports are more likely than non-athletes to eat healthy foods, get ample exercise and sleep, and refrain from smoking cigarettes. Female athletes are also more likely to report high self-esteem and plan to graduate from a four-year college.”

Emphasizing the camaraderie fostered in rugby, Bader recalls “beer and singing” with teammates at Amherst. She notes some deterrents to girls’ equal participation in athletics, especially the relative lack of coaches who are women. She also quotes several current and former athletes’ testimonies to the positive impact of sports on their lives.  

Ben Franklin’s World – Manion, a professor of history and sexuality, women’s and gender studies at Amherst, joins historian and podcast host Liz Covart for an extensive discussion of the cases and ideas in Manion’s 2020 book, Female Husbands: A Trans History. “Female husbands” was a term used in the 18th- and 19th-century U.S. and Britain for people assigned female at birth who later lived and worked as men and who married women. 

The conversation delves into numerous questions, such as: How has Americans’ understanding of gender and sexuality changed since colonial times? What are the difficulties in finding historical sources of information about people we might today recognize as LGBTQ+? Why did early American and British trans people often work as soldiers or sailors?

Manion explains how the idea for Female Husbands grew out of research for their 2015 book, Liberty’s Prisoners: Carceral Culture in Early America. The professor notes their current research interest in “the medicalization of gender and sexuality, which occurred roughly in the 1880s into the early decades of the 1900s” and the role of medical stigma “in the shaping and limiting of queer and trans identity in the 20th and 21st century.”

MassLive – Amherst’s President Michael A. Elliott is among the college presidents in the region who have united to write about recent findings that the “11 private colleges and universities of western Mass contribute $3.3 billion annually to the regional economy and are responsible for 19,400 jobs.”

These findings come from Econsult Solutions, Inc.’s “exhaustive independent study of the economic impact of the 59 private colleges and universities that comprise the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities in Massachusetts,” they write. The economic activities of these colleges can be broken down into day-to-day campus operations, “student and visitor spending in the community,” and spending on construction of campus facilities.   

“Private colleges and universities in Massachusetts serve the majority of low-income students, first-generation college attendees and Pell Grant students,” the column notes in addition. “At Amherst College, need-blind admission and no-loan financial aid allow the College to enroll talented students from Massachusetts and around the world regardless of economic status.” 

Texas Appellate Law Podcast – In an extensive interview, Vladeck, the Charles Alan Wright Chair in Federal Courts at the University of Texas School of Law, describes his career path through studying, clerking, practicing and teaching law. He also discusses his new book, The Shadow Docket: How the Supreme Court Uses Stealth Rulings to Amass Power and Undermine the Republic.

“I had a professor who was jointly appointed in the history and law jurisprudence and social thought departments at Amherst College,” Vladeck says, possibly alluding to Professor Lawrence Douglas. “He opened my eyes to the interaction and the inner relationship between law and history, law and politics, and the relevance of how the law responds to historical trauma and tries to react to historical trauma, things like war crimes trials and truth commissions.”

Vladeck went on from Amherst to earn a J.D. at Yale, where he “focused on the United States post-9/11 policy landscape and legal landscape.” He has held two clerkships, argued in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, taught at the University of Miami and American University before moving to Texas, and hosted law-related podcasts of his own. 

The Conversation – “Whenever the Scripps National Spelling Bee takes place, parents and children may wonder: What does it take to become a champion?” writes Dhingra. “[A]s I state in my book Hyper Education: Why Good Schools, Good Grades, and Good Behavior Are Not Enough, there are certain practices that can greatly boost a child’s chances of becoming an excellent speller.”

Dhingra, who is Amherst’s associate provost and associate dean of the faculty as well as the Aliki Perroti and Seth Frank ’55 Professor of U.S. Immigration Studies in American Studies, elaborates upon five general pieces of advice for succeeding at the Scripps bee, which takes place on May 31 and June 1 this year: “1. Invest in study materials,” “2. Practice independently,” “3. Make studying a family affair,” “4. Form study groups” and “5. Read a lot.”

“With all this being said, it’s important for families—and the contestants themselves—to pay attention to how they are feeling about the preparation,” he concludes. “Burning out on a single competition isn’t worth it if it undermines a student’s passion for learning.”

Neurology Today – “I’ve spent my life in between the arts and the sciences, and I don't think you have to pick one,” says Christy, a pediatric neurologist and neuroimmunologist who features her colorful embroidered images of neurons on her Instagram account.

“I went to Amherst College, a liberal arts school, and majored in neuroscience,” she says in this Q&A, which also touches upon her earlier education in Alabama and her later enrollment in medical school, where she discovered joy in working with children. Today she is clinical director of pediatric neurology for Providence Health and Services Northern Oregon and director of the Providence Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis and Neuroimmunology Center.

Christy talks about her recent embroidery hobby, saying, “I think the brain is really beautiful.” One of her pieces has been added to the art collection of the Jane and John Justin Neurosciences Center at Cook Children’s Hospital in Fort Worth, Texas. Christy also writes essays and short fiction, and has co-created “a card game called Endowed Chairs, featuring 12 prominent women from the history of neurology.”

The Commons – “We aim to play old music in such a way that it doesn’t sound old, and new music that sounds a bit timeless,” says Arbo in a Q&A with arts reporter Victoria Chertok. Arbo has been playing the fiddle and guitar, and also singing, in daisy mayhem for more than 20 years.

“I played classical cello for nine years, through the end of high school. I needed a break from the pressure of the classical world that I was in and took up fiddle while I studied at Amherst College,” she says. “Being in the Pioneer Valley meant I was exposed to fiddle music, Cajun, Québécois, and contradance music. I really loved those sounds, the way the fiddle can harmonize with itself and the way it can dance.”

The interview advertises an April 15 performance by the quartet at Next Stage Arts Project in Putney, Vt. It traces Arbo’s path as a musician and also in other jobs: she worked for years as a magazine writer and is now the campus and community engagement manager at Wesleyan University’s Center for the Arts. 

The Pitt News – “In the minds of her students and colleagues, Liann Tsoukas’ kindness is what sets her apart,” begins a profile in the university’s daily student newspaper. The Amherst alumna is in her 22nd year of designing and teaching American history courses at Pitt.

“Before becoming a teacher, Tsoukas earned her bachelor’s in American Studies at Amherst College,” writes reporter Livia Daggett. “She recalls loving the small classes and the interdisciplinary liberal arts mentality—a philosophy she consciously brings to Pitt, a large STEM school, by emphasizing ‘that liberal arts ethic … which is close attention to students,’ Tsoukas said.”

Tsoukas, who also holds a Ph.D. from Indiana University, received Pitt's School of Arts and Sciences Student Choice Award in 2004 and the Bellet Award in 2013. In recent years, she has become an assistant dean for the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences and “played an integral role in helping colleagues and students adapt to online learning during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.” Colleagues and students are quoted in the article praising the professor for her willingness to help and support others, her emphasis on civic duty, and her concern for students’ mental health.  

The Commons – Blistein talks with reporter Annie Landenberger about his work as a writer and co-producer of the interview-based PBS series Hiding in Plain Sight. He is also the author of the 2013 memoir David’s Inferno: My Journey through the Dark Wood of Depression.

Blistein, a “novelist, screenwriter, essayist, and former ad man” based in Brattleboro, Vt., works on the docuseries with “filmmaker Ken Burns, whom he first met when they were undergrads: Blistein at Amherst College and Burns at Hampshire College,” writes Landenberger. The first two episodes, released in June 2022, feature interviews with young people about such issues as mood disorders, bullying, addiction and gender identity.

Of his own memoir, which recounts his personal path through mental illness, Blistein says, “I hope the book made some contribution to ongoing efforts to de-stigmatize these experiences—to treat brain disorders with the same compassion (and insurance coverage) as we do physical disorders.”

Literary Hub – In a Q&A with Julia Kovalenko, Lee, the acclaimed author of Pachinko and Free Food for Millionaires, talks about her next novel, American Hagwon. She also discusses her role as a writing teacher, the importance of advocacy and encouragement to writers, and the global privileges that come with being fluent in English.

“I didn’t think that I would love my students as much as I do,” says Lee, who taught introductory fiction- and nonfiction-writing courses at Amherst last semester. “Your inner writer needs an advocate. And a teacher can be the advocate for that inner writer who is anxious, worried, or has doubts.”

Lee, a Korean immigrant who grew up in New York City, and Kovalenko, an American-born daughter of Ukrainian immigrants, talk about multilingualism, the English-teaching industry in South Korea, translation during wartime and writing as a way to address issues of social justice. “[A] part of me believes that somehow what I do, my little story, my little essay, my little book, could be my testament against the things that I think are unfair,” Lee says. “That keeps me going.”

USA Lacrosse Magazine – “With a career coaching record of 321–123 (.723), Chris Paradis molded Amherst College Women’s Lacrosse into one of the most successful teams in the nation,” says an article announcing that Paradis is one of three coaches chosen to be inducted into the IWLCA Hall of Fame later this year. 

“Her 321 wins ranks her in the top ten all-time in NCAA Division III,” the article continues. “Overall, Paradis led Amherst to a 27-13 (.675) record in 14 trips to the NCAA tournament. Paradis, who competed for the United States national team in the World Cup, also coached field hockey at Amherst ….” She retired last year after nearly three decades at the College.

The IWLCA Hall of Fame was established in May 2017 and will induct its sixth annual cohort at a ceremony in St. Petersburg, Fla., in November 2023. In addition to Paradis, the inductees will include current Northwestern University head coach Kelly Amonte Hiller and former Williams College coach Chris Mason.

Daily Hampshire Gazette – “Jeff Matthews has been coaching the Amherst College women’s hockey program since 2012, and now has his team in its first NCAA tournament semifinal appearance since 2010,” writes local sports reporter Hannah Bevis. The coach’s father is C.B. “Moose” Matthews, known for his own long career of coaching high school hockey in Westfield, Mass.

“Jeff started playing [hockey] at a young age, and his dad coached him through mites until he was about 11 years old,” the article continues. “The younger Matthews played for Jim Lindsay at Deerfield Academy for four years before continuing his career in college at RPI.” Matthews played in Sweden, returned to RPI as an assistant coach, and then found years of success at Northwood School in Lake Placid, N.Y., before he and his wife and children moved to Amherst.

“Matthews has a 164-70-31 mark with the Mammoths, and has led his team to two of the last three NESCAC titles,” Bevis notes. “The Mammoths [will] tangle with Hamilton on Friday night in the Division 3 Frozen Four at Orr Rink (7 p.m.). But regardless of the outcome, Matthews & Co. know the bonds they’ve forged will last long after this historic season.”

WCVB – “Sullivan is that friendly neighbor inviting you in for a meal and a beer,” says a Boston news segment highlighting Joe’s Café in Northampton, Mass. Sullivan has been running the popular restaurant since 2011, but it has been in her family since the 1970s.

Joe’s has “been operating out of this location since 1938,” Sullivan says. In the mid-1970s, her father and his business partner bought the establishment, and she took it over from them when they retired. The restaurant specializes in pizza and spaghetti, but Sullivan has added new menu items such as “Spanish-style mussels.”

The news segment features commentary from customers and a longtime employee, all of whom praise the restaurant’s inviting atmosphere. Sullivan talks about the distinctive decor, which includes murals depicting Argentine gauchos, as well as college pennants representing the academic successes of the many young neighbors who have grown up eating at Joe’s.  

The Cornell Daily Sun – “From leading a Cornell research lab to being featured in The New York Times, Prof. Robert Howarth, ecology and evolutionary biology, has spent his career studying and educating the public on climate change,” says a profile in the student newspaper of Cornell University, where the Amherst alumnus has taught for more than 30 years.

“When I was an undergraduate, I didn’t know if I wanted to be a scientist or if I wanted to be an environmental lawyer or a policy person—someone out there making a real difference,” Howarth is quoted as saying. His B.A. in biology from Amherst was followed by a Ph.D. from MIT and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Today Howarth is Cornell’s David R. Atkinson Professor of Ecology and Environmental Biology.

Among other highlights of his career, the profile, written by Cornell student Aimée Eicher, mentions Howarth’s research, with Anthony Ingraffea, into methane emissions associated with natural gas; this research was publicized in The New York Times, and Time magazine named Howarth and Ingraffea two of their “People Who Mattered” for that year. Howarth currently serves on New York State’s Climate Action Council.

BC Law – Mitchell, professor of law and Robert F. Drinan Chair at Boston College Law School and a 2020 MacArthur Fellowship winner, answers questions from the law school’s magazine. His work includes establishing BC’s new Initiative on Land, Housing and Property Rights.

Mitchell is a co-author of the 2022 publication “Black Land Loss: 1920–1997,” “a first-of-its-kind quantitative examination of the decline of Black agricultural ownership in America,” writes Vicki Sanders. “The cost to that community during the period? $326 billion. The findings made national news.” Mitchell is also the lead co-editor and a contributing author for the 2022 book  Heirs’ Property and the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act: Challenges, Solutions, and Historic Reform.

Among other topics, the Q&A addresses how Mitchell first became interested in the legal issues surrounding land ownership and land loss among Black and brown people in the United States. He outlines what he calls the “four pillars” of the new initiative at BC (one of which includes the upcoming Land Loss, Reparations & Housing Policy Conference) and mentions further areas of research and scholarship that interest him.

(Read more about Mitchell and his work in a Summer 2021 Amherst magazine profile.)