3 Percent of All Executions Since 1900 Were Botched, Amherst College Study Finds

Submitted on Wednesday, 6/6/2012, at 4:39 PM

May 25, 2012

AMHERST, Mass.—Since the beginning of the 20th century, an estimated 3 percent of all executions in the United States were “botched,” according to Amherst College Professor Austin Sarat and a team of undergraduate researchers. The group found that, of approximately 9,000 capital punishments that took place in the country from 1900 to 2011, 270 of them involved some problem in carrying out the death penalty.

An Amherst Q&A on Paying for College

Submitted on Tuesday, 5/22/2012, at 3:34 PM

Interview by Peter Rooney

Throughout their decades-long careers, Thomas H. Parker and Joe Paul Case have engaged in hundreds of conversations about the cost of higher education.

Recently, Parker, Amherst College’s dean of admission, and Case, the college’s dean of financial aid, chatted about college costs once more. Their conversation came against the backdrop of a recent New York Times analysis that used the U.S. Department of Education’s College Navigator website to assess the net price of a college education by subtracting an institution’s average financial aid package of grants and scholarships from its total price. The analysis included charts of the nation’s lowest- and highest-net-price private and public colleges and universities, and revealed that Amherst’s net price of  $13,805 is the lowest of all highly selective colleges and universities.

“Embrace Reality in All of its Wonder and Horror,” Amherst College President Biddy Martin Tells Class of 2012

Submitted on Tuesday, 8/4/2015, at 4:00 PM

May 20, 2011

AMHERST, Mass. — In her first graduation address as Amherst College’s new leader, President Biddy Martin this morning exhorted the members of the Class of 2012 to “embrace reality in all of its wonder and its horror, without giving in to cynicism or despair on the one hand or sheer fantasy on the other.”

Seven Things to Look Forward to During Commencement 2012

May 18, 2012

On Sunday, May 20, Amherst College will celebrate its 191st Commencement at 10 a.m. on the school’s Main Quadrangle. The day’s exercises will feature addresses from College President Biddy Martin and senior Elias Johansson-Miller, as well as the awarding of bachelor of arts degrees to 441 graduates and honorary doctorates to seven distinguished guests.

Amherst College to Honor Three Former Teachers of Graduating Seniors with Swift Moore Teaching Awards May 20

Submitted on Monday, 5/21/2012, at 1:08 PM

May 7, 2012

AMHERST, Mass. — Three secondary school instructors who challenged, inspired and moved members of Amherst College’s Class of 2012 will be honored with the Phebe and Zephaniah Swift Moore Teaching Awards during the school’s 191st Commencement exercises at 10 a.m. on Sunday, May 20.

Amherst Treasurer Tapped for Roxbury Latin Director of Finance Position; Shea Will Step Down in June

Submitted on Wednesday, 5/16/2012, at 4:44 PM

May 15, 2012

AMHERST, Mass. — Peter Shea, Amherst College’s treasurer, has accepted the position of director of finance at The Roxbury Latin School  in West Roxbury, Massachusetts, the college has announced. In his new position, Shea will have responsibility for finance and planning, the endowment, accounting, facilities and human resources. He will leave Amherst at the end of June and begin work at Roxbury Latin in July.

Dwell in Possibility: Big Ideas on Little Houses

Submitted on Wednesday, 5/9/2012, at 9:33 AM

At first glance, it looks like a tiny housing development has cropped up in the environs of the Emily Dickinson Museum. The 40 little white houses are like the words of the poet herself: carefully prepared, diligently arranged and deceptively spare. There aren’t any tiny people living here, though—just big ideas.