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The Emily Dickinson Museum Receives $600,000 Commitment for Reconstruction of the Evergreens Carriage House

Challenge gift from John and Elizabeth Armstrong kicks off major $3.5M 20th Anniversary fundraising effort, Twice as Bold, in support of Museum’s long range plan

(AMHERST, Mass., February 17, 2022) – The Emily Dickinson Museum today announced a major pledge of $600,000 from former Board members and long-time friends John and Elizabeth Armstrong for the design and reconstruction of the Carriage House that once stood to the east of The Evergreens, the home of Emily Dickinson’s brother Austin and his wife Susan. The project flows from a recently-completed long range plan, which maps programmatic and capital enhancements over the next decade at the Museum’s historic downtown Amherst location. By significantly expanding access to the Museum and its programs for both onsite and online visitors, the changes firmly establish the Museum as the premier center for the study and celebration of Dickinson’s life and work, and as a source and site of inspiration for new generations of poets, artists, writers, and thinkers.

The Armstrongs’ commitment is the largest received to date in the effort to raise $3.5 million in operating, program, and capital support by the end of the Museum’s 20th Anniversary festivities, which kick off next year and run through the summer of 2024. The initiative, called Twice as Bold after one of Dickinson’s poems, aims to raise awareness and support for the Museum at a pivotal time in its history. Gifts from other Museum stakeholders will be sought to meet and amplify the Armstrongs’ generous start. “Elizabeth and I are delighted to be able to pledge our support to this important project,” states John Armstrong, “Emily Dickinson’s poetry and the place she called home have proven themselves to be enduring gifts to the world. It is both our pleasure and responsibility to give back, and to invite others at every level to join us.”

The reconstructed Evergreens Carriage House–scheduled for completion in early 2024–will initially serve as a much-needed site for visitor welcome, orientation, and services while a third and final phase of Dickinson Homestead restoration concludes. In the longer term, the Carriage House will be dedicated to student and visitor learning and engagement. Initial design plans call for reconstructing the historic appearance of the exterior of the Carriage House as faithfully as possible while optimizing interior functions and flow. In addition to this and the Homestead projects, the Museum’s plans include restoration of The Evergreens and the surrounding landscape and gardens, as well as significant enhancements to the Museum’s public and educational program offerings, in which tens of thousands of virtual visitors from around the world have participated during the pandemic.

“It is fitting that John and Elizabeth Armstrong have started us off with this truly inspiring challenge gift,” stated the Museum’s Executive Director, Jane Wald, “Their unwavering dedication before the Museum’s formal beginning twenty years ago has been a catalyst for the exponential impact the Emily Dickinson Museum can have as the true and generative center of the life and work of one of this country’s greatest poets. They are ever and always willing to lead by example.”

Added Wald, “In addition to providing innovatively designed program space, the Carriage House will serve as a clear signal that the Museum is pivoting in important ways toward the public, is expanding Emily Dickinson’s outreach to the world from her home ground, and is committed to welcoming new Dickinson enthusiasts and tourists to Amherst.”

The Armstrongs chose Amherst as their new home in 1995 after John’s retirement from IBM, where he served for 30 years and was a vice president for science and technology and director of research. Their involvement with the Museum began when Elizabeth (Lise to family and friends) volunteered her time and talent as a seasonal guide at The Evergreens. Both John and Elizabeth served as founding members of the Board of Governors when the Homestead and Evergreens properties merged to form the Museum in 2003. They have continued to be involved in the Museum’s leadership, with John serving as Board Chair from 2013 to 2015, and Elizabeth a long-time and valued member of the Development Committee.

“We’ve always been proud of our association with the Museum, recognizing its importance to our regional community and now–through the wonders of technology–to the world.” stated Elizabeth, adding “We’ve been drawn over the years to supporting singular projects that open multiple possibilities for the Museum. The Carriage House is just such a project…clearing the way for other campus improvements and for enriching the visitor experience.”

The Museum is currently closed to the public while it completes the second phase of a three-part restoration project at the Homestead. Its much-anticipated reopening later this year will mark the start of the Museum’s 20th Anniversary celebration.

For more information about the Museum’s plans and fundraising effort, visit https://www.emilydickinsonmuseum.org/twiceasbold/

ABOUT THE EMILY DICKINSON MUSEUM

The Emily Dickinson Museum is dedicated to sparking the imagination by amplifying Emily Dickinson’s revolutionary poetic voice from the place she called home.

The Museum comprises two historic houses—the Dickinson Homestead and The Evergreens—in the center of Amherst, Massachusetts, that were home to the poet (1830-1886) and members of her immediate family during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The Museum was created in 2003 when the two houses merged under the ownership and 501(c)(3) status of the Trustees of Amherst College. The Museum is overseen by a separate Board of Governors and is responsible for raising its own operating, program, and capital funds.

The Emily Dickinson Museum is a member of Museums10, a collaboration of ten museums linked to the Five Colleges in the Pioneer Valley—Amherst, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke, and Smith Colleges, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Acclaimed Authors and Poets to Headline Amherst College’s Seventh Annual Litfest

Pulitzer Prize Winners Natalie Diaz and Viet Thanh Nguyen Among Acclaimed Authors and Poets to Headline Amherst College’s Seventh Annual Litfest, Feb. 24-27

(AMHERST, Mass., Jan. 13, 2022)—From Feb. 24-27, Amherst College will host the seventh annual LitFest, a literary festival celebrating fiction, nonfiction, poetry and spoken-word performance, along with the College’s extraordinary literary life. This year’s lineup includes Katie Kitamura and Elizabeth McCracken, both 2021 National Book Award (NBA) nominees; Pulitzer Prize winners Natalie Diaz and Viet Thanh Nguyen; and journalists Vann Newkirk and David Graham, among others. After last year’s pandemic-induced decision to hold the event virtually, the 2022 festival will largely be in-person, with virtual options for many of the sessions.

Since its inception in 2016, more than 30 renowned writers—including Anne Applebaum, Michael Chabon, Susan Choi, Masha Gessen, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Zadie Smith and Jesmyn Ward—have participated in LitFest, many as a result of a partnership between Amherst College; its award-winning literary magazine, The Common; and the National Book Foundation (NBF) Presents program. More information about the events, the writers and the livestreams is available at amherst.edu/go/litfest. The 2022 schedule is as follows (all times are Eastern Standard):

Friday, Feb. 25, 7-8 p.m.: A conversation with 2021 National Book Award in fiction (NBA) nominees Katie Kitamura and Elizabeth McCracken, authors of Intimacies and The Souvenir Museum, respectively. The discussion will be moderated by Kirun Kapur ’97, director of Amherst’s Creative Writing Program, and is hosted in partnership with the National Book Foundation. An audience Q&A will follow.
Saturday, Feb. 26, 11 a.m.-noon: A conversation with 2020 Pulitzer Prize in poetry winner Natalie Diaz, author of Postcolonial Love Poem, a finalist for the National Book Award. The event will be hosted by Alicia Mireles Christoff, associate professor of English at Amherst, in partnership with the National Book Foundation. An audience Q&A will follow.
Saturday, Feb. 26, 7 p.m.: A conversation with Pulitzer Prize winner Viet Thanh Nguyen, hosted by Jennifer Acker ’00, founder and editor-in-chief of The Common, in partnership with the College’s Presidential Scholars Program. (Ngyuen will also participate in that program’s other activities during LitFest.)
Sunday, Feb. 27, 1-2 p.m.: “Voting Rights and the Future of our Democracy,” a conversation with Vann Newkirk, senior editor at The Atlantic and the host of the podcast Floodlines, and David Graham, staff writer at The Atlantic. Moderated by Cullen Murphy ’74, H’19, The Atlantic editor-at-large and former chair of the Amherst College board of trustees. An audience Q&A will follow.
Sunday, Feb. 27, 3-4 p.m.: (Im)migration Writing, a conversation with winners of the Restless Books Immigrant Writing Prize, Deepak Unnikrishnan, Grace Talusan, and Ani Gjika, presented by Restless Books and The Common, moderated by Ilan Stavans, Restless publisher and Lewis-Sebring Professor of Humanities and Latin American and Latino Culture.

Additional events will include readings by alumni authors and The Common student interns; a Spoken Word Slam for Amherst College students; a discussion of Keeping the Difficult Balance, a biographical documentary about late poet and Amherst faculty member Richard Wilbur ‘42 by Ralph Hammann; and writing workshops for Amherst College students. The full schedule is now available.

“We are thrilled to return to an in-person celebration in 2022,” said Acker of The Common, who also directs LitFest. “This year we bring a stunning suite of globally-minded writers, including two Pulitzer Prize winners who have so much to share with our community about the topics they address in their books—from colonialism to romantic and platonic love—and the artful ways their writing lights up the page. I’m counting down the days to these moments of exchange and inspiration.”

Books featured at LitFest can be purchased in advance from independent retailers Amherst Books or Bookshop.org, which will be well stocked. All registrants will be invited to enter a raffle for a chance to win a book from one of the guest authors.

This year’s festival is sponsored by the Center for Humanistic Inquiry at Amherst College, The Common magazine and The Emily Dickinson Museum and is made possible by the generous support of the Croxton Lecture Fund, established in 1988 by William M. Croxton ’36 in memory of his parents, Ruth L. and Hugh W. Croxton. Income from this fund is to be used to educate Amherst students and to bring attention to the College by virtue of the renown of speakers underwritten by the fund.

About LitFest

In addition to welcoming prestigious writers to campus, LitFest aims to illuminate Amherst’s distinguished literary history and the tradition of creative writing at “the writing college,” as well as the extraordinary resources and opportunities available for current and prospective students, scholars and others. These opportunities include chances to study with renowned faculty and alumni authors; the College’s award-winning literary magazine, The Common, and its Literary Publishing Internship that teaches participating students editorial skills and the ins and outs of publishing; extensive holdings of manuscripts related to Emily Dickinson, Richard Wilbur ’42 and other authors and poets in the College’s archives; and the College-owned Emily Dickinson Museum in downtown Amherst and Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C. Read more at amherst.edu/go/writingcollege.

About Amherst College

Amherst College prepares students to use ideas to make a difference in the world. Since its founding, in 1821, in Western Massachusetts, Amherst has demonstrated steadfast confidence in the value of the liberal arts and the importance of critical thinking. Today, its financial aid program is among the most substantial in the nation, and its student body is among the most diverse. Small classes, an open curriculum and a singular focus on undergraduate education ensure that leading scholars engage daily with talented, curious students, equipping them for leadership in an increasingly global and complex world. The College is marking its bicentennial in 2021.

Amherst College and Rashad Devoe Resolve Lawsuit

(Amherst, Mass., Jan. 12, 2022) — Amherst College and Rashad Devoe have resolved the legal claims recently brought by Coach Devoe, the former head coach of Amherst’s men’s lacrosse team.

Amherst College and Coach Devoe are both committed to increasing diversity across collegiate sports, and particularly in men’s lacrosse. They move forward with mutual respect for the work each has done to achieve this goal.

College Makes Bicentennial Donations to Town Library, Arts Venue

Funds to be Split Evenly Between the Jones Library and The Drake, A New Arts and Cultural Hub Being Developed in Downtown Amherst

(AMHERST, Mass., Jan. 5, 2022) — Amherst College will make a special $200,000 donation–to mark the occasion of its Bicentennial–to two of the town of Amherst’s important institutions, one historic and another one new. The funds will be split evenly between the 93-year-old Jones Library, which is slated to undergo a major restoration and renovation that was overwhelmingly approved by voters last month, and The Drake, a new arts and cultural performance venue for the downtown district.

“Amherst College and the Town of Amherst have had a 200-plus-year relationship, beginning with the establishment of a charity fund in 1818 by the citizens of the town to give free instruction to ‘indigent young men of promising talents and hopeful piety,’” said Biddy Martin, president of the College. “As we mark the College’s Bicentennial, our ties to the town remain strong. We are especially pleased to be providing support for two projects that will benefit the town and are also aligned with our mission.”

The donation, made to the Friends of the Jones Library, will support a $36.3 million restoration, renovation and expansion funded by a combination of public and private resources, of both the original 1928 structure and 1993 addition, adding 15,000 square feet of space. The project is designed to modernize the interior, repair building systems, increase the facility’s accessibility, add space for children’s and teen rooms, create a climate-controlled area for special collections, and improve space for the library’s English as a Second Language program. The project will also significantly reduce the town’s overall use of fossil fuels, increase energy efficiencies and allow the library to reach net-zero in terms of energy usage. The work is slated to begin sometime in 2022 and to be completed by fall 2023.

“Amherst College has been important to the Jones Library from the Library’s inception,” said Sharon Sharry, director of the Library, “recognizing both its centrality in the life of the Town, of which the College is an integral part, and the many ideals they share. We are excited—and grateful—for the College’s help in providing a facility that will allow us to preserve that role.”

The Drake will be the Town of Amherst’s first purpose-designed and dedicated live performance and music venue and a transformative and revitalizing hub for its downtown. In addition to hosting live music of all genres, comedy and improv, spoken word, and other types of performances, The Drake will provide a welcoming off-campus space for area students, a vital resource for cultural community groups, and an attractive destination for visitors. Funding for the project will also come from public and private sources, and its operation will be overseen by the Downtown Amherst Foundation.

“The Downtown Amherst Foundation is blown away by the generous support to both The Drake, our new arts and culture venue, and the Jones Library capital campaign,” said Gabrielle Gould, executive director of the Amherst Business Improvement District. “We see these two ventures as the most remarkable economic development opportunities, community and diversity builders, and destination creators for the Amherst area. We are so very excited to work with the Amherst College music department on the many opportunities to collaborate with its students, faculty, visitors, and alumni. Together we will create experiences through music and performances for generations to come.”

“The Drake will provide opportunities to students to present their work outside their campuses with higher stakes and more diverse audiences than they can experience with on-campus performances,” said Darryl Harper, Amherst College associate professor of music, chair of the music department and director of the College’s Center for Humanistic Inquiry. “This kind of engagement fits squarely with our mission at the College. It will bring more artists to the area and will deepen the College’s collaboration with the local community.”

New Collaborative Solar Facility Goes Online

Facility is a first-of-its-kind collaboration among Amherst and four other leading New England liberal arts colleges

EDITORS’ NOTE: Presidents and other senior leaders from the partnership colleges may be available for interviews. Contact the media relations director at each institution: Amherst (Caroline Hanna, 413/542-8417), Bowdoin (Doug Cook, 207/725-3964), Hampshire (Jennifer Chrisler, 202-276-4311), Smith (Stacey Schmeidel, 704/682-2629), Williams (Greg Shook, 202/329-9075).

Drone footage and high-res images available upon request

(Amherst, Mass.; Brunswick, Maine; Northampton, Mass.; Williamstown, Mass., Nov. 15, 2021)—An innovative collaborative energy project has started delivering electricity to five New England colleges—and to tens of thousands of students, staff and faculty—as a new solar energy facility has gone online in Farmington, Maine.

Launched in 2018, the New England College Renewable Partnership is a first-of-its-kind collaboration among five leading New England liberal arts institutions: Amherst, Bowdoin, Hampshire, Smith and Williams.

Over the past three years, the colleges have contracted with a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources, a leading clean energy company, to construct a utility-scale solar power facility that annually will create enough electricity to power about 17,000 New England homes. Competitive Energy Services acted as an adviser on the project.

Each of the colleges is purchasing zero-carbon electricity from the Farmington facility to reduce carbon emissions from campus electricity use.

The New England College Renewable Partnership is important both for what it does, and for what it represents.

On a practical level:

The Farmington facility is creating new solar electricity in New England—not an easy accomplishment, given the area’s geography and terrain.
The partnership helps each school manage costs by “locking in” the price of electricity for the next 20 years.
The new solar energy generated by the facility will have a significant impact on sustainability, moving each of the five campuses closer to their climate action goals.
The Farmington project has already had a significant economic impact, as well:
- The project created approximately 500 temporary construction jobs.
- It has generated capital expenditures of approximately $150 million.
- It will generate tax revenue of nearly $17 million over its 30-year lifespan.

At a strategic level, the New England College Renewable Partnership—the first such collaboration among New England schools—is consistent with collaborations occurring in the corporate sphere. The colleges collaborating around the Farmington effort hope that their partnership will inspire other institutions to work together on similar projects, allowing them to take advantage of shared efficiencies and economies of scale.

The Impact at Amherst College

Amherst College’s participation in the NEC Renewable Partnership brings the College one step closer to fulfilling several key actions laid out in its Climate Action Plan, specifically the goal to procure zero-emission renewable electricity to meet all heating, cooling and electrical needs. With the Farmington facility now online, Amherst will purchase 10,000 megawatt hours (MWh) of renewable energy, or about half of the College’s annual electricity use and nearly all of its purchased electricity. (The other half is derived from a combined heat and power plant on campus.) This will reduce Amherst’s CO2 emissions by more than 3,200 metric tons and greenhouse gas emissions by 17.5 percent. The College had already decreased emissions by more than one-third in the past 15 years.

“Deriving such a significant amount of Amherst’s electrical needs from this renewable source represents a major step in the College’s Climate Action Plan,” said James Brassord, chief of campus operations. “This electricity will be used to power the infrastructure that will allow us to decarbonize the campus. That it was achieved through the collaboration of like-minded peers and demonstrates how scale economies can be achieved makes this initiative a model to inspire climate action beyond our campuses.”

“The need to address climate change is urgent and it requires that all of us do our part,” said Amherst President Biddy Martin. “Now that this partnership can produce tangible results, we hope the NEC Partnership will prove to other colleges and universities that working together to address climate change can be beneficial environmentally and financially, and have a multiplying effect. We hope the collaboration will also serve as a model for other institutions who hope to do the same in the future.”

The Impact at Bowdoin College

The NEC Renewable Partnership enables Bowdoin College to deepen its long-standing commitment to renewable energy solutions. As part of the Farmington solar project, Bowdoin will purchase five percent of all energy and the environmental benefits (renewable energy credits) generated by the 76.5 MW project—enough to power roughly 1,000 homes in the Northeast and equivalent to 40% of Bowdoin's current annual electric usage.

“Bowdoin celebrates this important milestone with our partner colleges from Massachusetts,” said Bowdoin College President Clayton Rose. “We're proud to be part of a project that stands as an important example of how collective actions at institutions like ours can make a meaningful difference in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It’s an especially exciting time for Bowdoin, as our involvement in this solar project is part of a larger effort to source 100% of Bowdoin’s electricity purchases from Maine-based renewable energy.”

While the Farmington project launched this effort in 2018, the same year Bowdoin achieved carbon neutrality two years ahead of schedule, the college has since signed agreements with numerous other Maine solar photovoltaic (PV) facilities scheduled to come online between 2021 and 2023, including a second large solar array on college-owned property at Brunswick Landing, the former Naval Air Station in Brunswick. The first, developed in 2014 with Solar City, was at the time the state’s largest solar array and includes rooftop PV systems on Bowdoin's major athletic facilities.

By the end of 2023, all projects contracted by Bowdoin are expected to be online and producing power, covering 100% of current electric usage with Maine-based renewable energy. These efforts are laying the foundation for the college's longer-term goal of electrifying the campus heating load and thus significantly reducing, if not eliminating, the use of fossil fuels on campus.

The Impact at Hampshire College

At Hampshire College the NEC Renewable Partnership expands an ambitious sustainable energy program outside of the boundaries of the campus. The partnership adds to an already aggressive commitment to sustainability and combating climate change. The campus has long hosted solar installations, including at the president’s house, campus farm barn, R.W Kern Center and the Charles and Polly Longsworth solar canopy, which connects the arts buildings on campus. In 2017, the college completed construction of two solar fields on campus, with a design generation capacity of 4.7 megawatts DC. 15,000 photovoltaic-panels became operational in late 2017, and now offset most of the total electricity consumed by campus.

“This partnership is another important way Hampshire continues to lead around sustainability and combating climate change,” said President Ed Wingenbach. “Our curriculum is organized around the urgent challenges of our time. An animating question for our college is ‘How should we act on our responsibilities in the face of the changing climate?’ By joining this consortium, we are modeling for our students how institutions can live their commitments and take action on their responsibilities in the face of the changing climate.”

Hampshire College divested from fossil fuels in December of 2011 and is pursuing the goal of carbon neutrality by 2022. Concrete actions in pursuit of sustainability include conserving campus land, installing electric vehicle charging stations, utilizing the campus farm to provide organic produce at no cost to the vast majority of students who live in campus apartments, and constructing the R.W. Kern Center, a self-sufficient “living building” that harvests its own energy from the sun, water from the rain, and treats its own waste, and is net positive for the environment.

The Impact at Smith College

The NEC Renewable Partnership significantly advances Smith’s long-term commitment to sustainability while also providing immediate benefits to the college.

“Collaborations like these are rare, but hold great promise for innovation in higher education,” said Smith College President Kathleen McCartney. “This groundbreaking partnership reflects Smith’s strong commitment to leadership and action regarding environmental sustainability, and moves us significantly closer to reaching our goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2030. Given the devastating effects that climate change is having across the world, I am proud that Smith is collaborating with peer colleges to move us toward solutions.”

Now that the Farmington facility is online, all of Smith’s purchased electricity is coming from New England. (The rest of Smith’s electricity—some 70%—is generated on campus.)

In addition, the project allows Smith to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 10%, bringing Smith significantly closer to its goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2030.

Dano Weisbord, Smith’s associate vice president for campus planning and sustainability, noted that the NEC Partnership also provided valuable educational opportunities for students. Weisbord cited, in particular, a summer research team of Smith, Amherst and Williams students who created an informational website about the Farmington project. “At Smith, the entire campus is a classroom,” Weisbrod said, “and this project has allowed us to create a collaborative classroom that extends all the way to Farmington, Maine.”

The Impact at Williams College

The NEC Renewable Partnership enables Williams College to further its commitment to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions as well as advance toward meeting many of its latest sustainability goals:

An 80% or greater reduction in the college’s scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2035, compared to 1990-91
Sourcing 100% of the college’s purchased electricity from renewables
Maintaining carbon neutrality, while working toward net-zero emissions
Partnering with local communities on off-campus greenhouse gas emission reduction projects

Williams’ share of solar power generated by the Farmington NEC Renewable Partnership amounts to approximately 90% of the college’s annual purchased electricity needs. The remainder is already “greened” through the purchase of Renewable Energy Credits.

“The Farmington project is not only an essential part of Williams’ commitment to shifting toward renewable energy,” said Williams Provost and Class of 1969 Professor of Economics Dukes Love. “It also demonstrates the power of partnerships in finding collective solutions to one of the major challenges of our times. These are exactly the kinds of approaches that we need at a global scale in order to address climate change.”

“The NEC Renewable Partnership parallels our development of a deep decarbonization plan for the campus,” said Tanja Srebotnjak, director of the college’s Zilkha Center for Environmental Initiatives. “It’s a terrific complement to our efforts to achieve an approximately 80% reduction by 2035 and to address our scope 3 emissions, notably college-sponsored air travel. By shifting to renewables and building lasting partnerships, the project shows a brighter and more sustainable future for campuses like ours.”

President Maud S. Mandel agrees. “Farmington is a model for cross-institutional collaboration around the urgent problem of climate change. We are more powerful when we work together, and Williams is proud to participate with other leading educational institutions to reach our collective sustainability goals.”

Amherst College Launches Bicentennial Podcast Celebrating the Amherst Experience and the Liberal Arts

Narrated by Award-Winning Actor Jeffrey Wright ’87, “Amherst at 200: Celebrating Mind, Heart, and Community” Features Conversations With Accomplished Alumni and Past and Current Presidents

(AMHERST, Mass., Nov. 12, 2021) — As part of a host of activities and initiatives marking its Bicentennial year, Amherst College has launched a compelling new podcast showcasing the Amherst experience and the liberal arts. Titled “Amherst at 200: Celebrating Mind, Heart, and Community” and narrated by award-winning actor Jeffrey Wright ’87, the series kicks off with a moderated conversation between College President Biddy Martin and two of her predecessors, Anthony Marx, now president and chief executive officer of the New York Public Library, and Tom Gerety, former New York University Law School professor and executive director of NYU’s Brennan Center for Justice who has since retired. Ten remaining episodes—plus three special encore episodes of conversations between Martin and other alumni—are devoted to the individual stories of extraordinary Amherst graduates. The first two episodes will be available for download on Nov. 12, with new episodes released now through December.

“In my years as president, I have had the privilege of seeing and hearing firsthand what many of our graduates have gone on to do and to contribute to the world after leaving Amherst,” said Martin. “I am delighted to give over a dozen of them the platform to share their stories. I hope our listeners will enjoy learning from and about them as we celebrate the enduring benefits of an Amherst education.”

In addition to Martin, Gerety and Marx, individuals interviewed for “Amherst at 200” include Anthony Jack ’07, sociologist and Harvard University professor, who explores how race and class impact the academic experience; Kathy Chia ’88, co-founding principal of the Desai Chia Architecture firm, who discusses how the liberal arts can inform the architectural design process; and longtime Amherst professor William Pritchard ’53, who describes how the College can change and grow without sacrificing what makes it special. Other podcast participants are musician e ’17, attorney Patrick Fitzgerald ’82, physician Meron Hirpa ’11, paleontologist and museum aFreddie Bryant ’87, law and master of business administration student Christine Croasdaile’17, Kirk Johnson ’82, political consultant Chris Lehane ’90 and global health and social justice advocate Becky Rwakabukoza ’14.

What follows are just three excerpts from a few of the episodes:

“Biden, without missing a beat, turns to me and says, ‘Great, let’s go get some pizza, and we’ll hang out.’”
—Chris Lehane ’90, in Episode 6 of Amherst’s new Bicentennial podcast series, on meeting Joe Biden, who was then a U.S. senator, after Biden spoke at Amherst in the late 1980s
“I know that people say math and music are connected, but for me, it’s music and prose. It’s music and words, it’s music and stories, it’s music and history, it’s music and struggle.”
—Freddie Bryant ’87, in Episode 2 of Amherst's new Bicentennial podcast series, narrated by Jeffrey Wright ’87
“Like the museum I run, Amherst is a product of the 19th century, and it is living in the 21st century, with its eyes on the 22nd century.”
—Kirk Johnson ’82, Sant Director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, in Episode 10 of Amherst's new Bicentennial podcast series

Produced by Cadence13, in collaboration with Amherst College. All of the episodes will be available on all major podcast platforms.

Amherst College to End Legacy Preference and Expand Financial Aid Investment to $71 Million

Changes in Admissions Policies and Financial Aid to Assure An Amherst College Education Is Within Reach

With the New Program, 80 Percent of U.S. Households Would Typically Pay No Tuition and Half Would Pay No Tuition, Housing or Meals

(AMHERST, Mass., Oct. 20, 2021) Amherst College today announced that it is ending the longstanding practice of a legacy admission preference. Paired with a new, expanded financial aid program focused on improving financial and programmatic support for both lower- and middle-income families, Amherst is sending a clear signal to prospective students that its education is within reach for all.

Legacy students—children of alumni who are academically well-qualified—have represented approximately 11 percent of each class. Going forward, legacy status will no longer factor into the College’s holistic admission process, creating greater opportunity for more applicants.

“Now is the time to end this historic program that inadvertently limits educational opportunity by granting a preference to those whose parents are graduates of the College,” said Biddy Martin, president of Amherst College. “We want to create as much opportunity for as many academically talented young people as possible, regardless of financial background or legacy status. There should be no doubt that a world-class education is within reach for students from all income groups. At Amherst, that includes a need-blind admission process that offers substantial loan-free scholarship support for the vast majority of families and a financial aid program that will expand the number of students and families who can afford an Amherst education. It will also help them, once admitted, take full advantage of their educational experience without financial pressure.”

Amherst is the only liberal arts college in the country with a need-blind admission policy for both international and domestic students, as well as a financial aid program that meets full need and does not use loans in financial aid packaging. By increasing its commitment to student financial aid to $71 million per year, the College will provide support for 60 percent of its students, among the highest proportion of any need-blind liberal arts college. The additional investment will save low- and middle-income families thousands of dollars every year and support the launch of more creative initiatives to enhance the Amherst experience for its aided students.

This increased investment in Amherst’s financial aid program will make a debt-free liberal arts education more accessible to middle-income families, as well as to families most in need. The College’s enhanced financial aid program is transparent, easy to understand and even more comprehensive, providing meaningful support beyond tuition, housing and meals, to include expenses such as books and travel.

With this enhancement, which is effective for the 2022-23 academic year for all enrolled students, those students from 80 percent of U.S. households would typically receive a scholarship that covers full tuition, if enrolled at Amherst. Further, students from families earning less than the median U.S. household income will typically receive a scholarship that covers not only full tuition, but also housing and meals. This corresponds to annual household incomes of $141,000 and $67,500, respectively. The average aid package is expected to increase to $63,570. One in six members of the student body will see their grant jump by more than $5,000 when the new policies go into effect next year.

In addition, the College announced enhanced grant programs that:

Better support high-need students by providing them annual access grants. The additional funds can be used to help purchase items like laptops and winter coats, or to cover job search expenses and other items to support their Amherst experience.
Reduce the work-study expectation to four hours per week from six hours, providing more time for students to enjoy their college experience, study or, if they choose, earn money for themselves.
Formalize the availability of a Student Emergency Fund to cover unexpected needs such as unforeseen medical costs, financial stress around housing, and emergency travel.

“The most significant change in policy reflects how the College determines financial need as we calculate the amount of income families have available to contribute toward education,” said Matthew L. McGann, dean of admission and financial aid. “Our new data show families have less available income for education than we previously understood. The change we have made benefits those students who come from low-income households, as well as those from middle-income families earning between $100,000 and $200,000.”

The policy changes announced today continue Amherst’s longstanding position among the nation’s leading financial aid programs and its commitment to attracting the most talented students from all backgrounds. For more than a decade, the College’s admission process and need-blind financial aid support for all students, regardless of citizenship, has meant that a family’s ability to pay for college cannot be a consideration in admission decisions. Additionally, in 1999, the College introduced an aid program that replaced loans with grants for its lowest income students and, in 2008, extended that no-loan policy to all students, meaning that all Amherst students can graduate with little or no debt.

“Our admission team is confident that by both ending legacy preference and clearly showing that most students can experience an Amherst education with significant scholarship support, we will see a further increase in both the diversity and excellence of our extraordinary applicant pool and, ultimately, in the enrolled student community on campus,” added McGann. “There are so many talented students in the country and on this planet. We hope that any student who wants to use ideas to make a difference in the world will consider applying to Amherst.”

FAQ: Expanded Financial Aid and Elimination of Legacy Preference

President Biddy Martin's “Statement to the Community About Financial Aid, Legacy Announcement”

Weston Dripps Named Director of Sustainability at Amherst College

1992 Alumnus Will Also Serve as Director of College’s New Center for Sustainability

(AMHERST, Mass., Sept. 27, 2021) — Weston Dripps ’92, executive director of the Shi Institute for Sustainable Communities at Furman University, has been named Amherst College’s director of sustainability and inaugural director of Amherst’s new Center for Sustainability, announced Provost and Dean of the Faculty Catherine Epstein. Dripps will begin his new position on Jan. 1, 2022.

“The search committee was deeply impressed with Wes’s expertise, experience, accomplishments, enthusiasm and ambitious vision for what is possible for a center for sustainability in a liberal arts environment,” said Epstein. “Sustainability is at the heart of the College’s mission, and I know Wes will do a tremendous job of growing and implementing sustainability initiatives across the College.”

Dripps will report to Epstein, the College’s chief academic officer, in recognition of Amherst’s commitment to sustainability as a core part of its academic mission and practices. His agenda is ambitious. He has been charged with creating and supporting opportunities for students to engage in scholarship focused on a just and sustainable future; building collaborative relationships that enhance teaching and experiential learning; engaging the community in sustainability initiatives to inform strategic planning, management of resources, and operations and facilities planning and design; and helping Amherst move toward carbon neutrality. (The College’s Climate Action Plan calls for climate neutrality by 2030.)

“I am absolutely thrilled to be returning to campus as the new Director for Sustainability, and helping launch the new sustainability center,” said Dripps. “I am looking forward to working with Amherst faculty, staff, students, alumni and community partners on furthering the College’s sustainability education efforts and initiatives.”

Dripps helped build the Shi Institute for Sustainable Communities from the ground up, and it has thrived under his leadership. A scholar and teacher with an impressive publication record, Dripps is also a professor of earth, environmental and sustainability sciences at Furman, where he has been extremely successful in bringing students into all aspects of sustainability work—from campus recycling programs to efforts to integrate racial justice with environmental sustainability.

Dripps earned his bachelor of arts degree, magna cum laude, from Amherst, with a major in geology, and went on to receive an M.S. degree in earth sciences from Dartmouth College and a Ph.D. in geology and geophysics from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He has worked as an exploration geologist in the oil, gas and water sector; an environmental consultant; a hydrogeologist; a high school teacher; and an outdoor educator in the Swiss Alps. Before coming to Furman in 2005, Dripps was a researcher in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at MIT and an assistant professor of hydrogeology at the University of Massachusetts, Boston.

The mission of the Center for Sustainability will be to facilitate academic and applied experiences for students in service of developing knowledge across disciplines to inform sustainable decisions and action. The center will also support faculty in their efforts to integrate sustainability into the curriculum and research. By leveraging Amherst’s sustainable operational practices, experiential learning opportunities will be created for Amherst students. The center will promote institutional innovation and action in support of the College’s sustainability commitment, and will strive to foster a more equitable world through its initiatives and programming. It will also make use of sustainability program initiatives to create knowledge, awareness, and a commitment to life-long responsible environmental citizenry and social justice.

Amherst President Biddy Martin Announces She Will Conclude Her Presidency Next Summer

Martin’s Tenure Reflects Period of Extraordinary Growth and Accomplishment

(Amherst, Mass., September 13, 2021) — President Biddy Martin, who has served as the 19th president of Amherst College since 2011, announced today that she will conclude her tenure next summer, after 11 years leading one of the nation’s most prestigious liberal arts colleges. Her years of leadership will mark one of the longest-serving presidencies of the College─and the longest in 50 years─with remarkable achievements across the institution’s priorities.

“The end of the ’21-’22 academic year will be the right time for me to begin my next chapter,” said Martin in a message to the Amherst community. “I look forward to writing, having more time to read, lingering over coffee with friends, playing more, and contributing what I can to the causes that matter to me. It will also be a good time for a new president to assume the role: the College is in excellent financial shape, has a remarkably talented and diverse student body and an outstanding and increasingly diverse faculty and staff, exciting projects in the works, and is making progress toward its goal of inclusiveness and equity….It is an honor to be part of an intellectually curious community that aims high, values critical and independent thought, finds joy in one another’s company, and is committed to current and future generations.”

“The Board has accepted Biddy’s decision most reluctantly, with immeasurable gratitude for her inspired service to Amherst as our 19th president,” said Andrew J. Nussbaum ’85, the chair of the Amherst College Board of Trustees, in a message to the community. “Biddy’s contributions to Amherst have benefitted every aspect of the College: expanding our brilliant and dedicated faculty; attracting the most diverse and extraordinarily talented students; raising more financial support for the College than any of her predecessors; growing our endowment to secure Amherst’s financial future; implementing an ambitious, achievable Climate Action Plan; engaging with our alumni from every generation; and modernizing the administrative function of the College ─ all with her trademark humor, common sense, graceful intelligence, and unmitigated passion for Amherst’s mission and values.”

Following a year of sabbatical, Martin intends to return to Amherst as a member of the faculty to teach.

The list of the College’s accomplishments under Martin’s leadership at Amherst is lengthy and includes:

Attracting the best and brightest students, both domestic and international. The newly-admitted class of 2025 reflects, for the first time, a student body that self-identifies as majority domestic people of color, as well as nearly one quarter who qualify for Pell grants, and a significant percentage of first-generation students. The new international student body, 12% of the class, are extraordinary students, thanks to the College’s unique commitment among liberal arts colleges to need-blind admissions for all Amherst students, domestic and international. Over the past decade, applications have increased more than 60% to nearly 14,000.
Hiring 123 new tenure-line faculty members with superlative teaching skills and scholarship, and establishing other faculty support, including extensive start-up funds for research grants and the opening of the Center for Teaching and Learning. Of these hires, 35% have been domestic faculty of color, which does not include the diversity of the College’s international faculty.
Growing the endowment to approximately $3.7 billion as of June 30, 2021, a remarkable achievement during her time at Amherst that leaves the College exceptionally well-positioned financially for the future.
Spearheading, with Advancement, alumni, families and friends, the College’s most successful campaign, Promise: The Campaign for Amherst’s Third Century, that has already reached nearly 90% of its $625 million goal, well ahead of schedule.
Supporting the humanities with resources for the establishment of the Center for Humanistic Inquiry and for Amherst’s LitFest, an annual literary festival that brings award-winning writers to the College for three days of readings, interviews, and performances.
Completing the most important set of capital projects in the recent history of the College, among them the award-winning Science Center, a state-of-the-art teaching and research facility supporting the explosive growth in the College’s depth and breadth across the STEM areas; the Greenway project, including four new residence halls, recreation areas, and significant unifying landscaping that transforms the eastern part of the campus; and the renovation of the Powerhouse, a turn-of-the-century power supply building that now serves as a major student activity space.
Championing a student center and completing the design phase of what will be the first major crossroads for the student body and the entire campus, including dining, activities, clubs, performance spaces, a pub, and casual spaces for students, faculty, and staff to connect and engage.
Hiring the College’s first Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion officer and establishing the inaugural DEI office, while also developing the College’s anti-racism plan, with specific actions, metrics, and regular updates.
Supporting the excellence of the College’s athletics and other co-curricular offerings, highlighted, in part, by five Division III national championships and numerous individual champions and finalists.
Committing Amherst to responsible environmental sustainability through the College’s Climate Action Plan, which will allow the College to achieve true carbon neutrality by 2030, with the geothermal energy plan entering the construction phase this academic year.
Creating hundreds of student research and internship opportunities per year from which thousands of Amherst students have benefited, with support from many of our alumni, and establishing the Loeb Center for Career Development to provide Amherst’s students with generous resources to develop professional interests and explore career paths beginning in their first year.
Supporting the well-being and gathering of our community with now highly anticipated seasonal festivals, popular student dinners and a broader range of social and cultural opportunities for students to fully enjoy the residential college experience.

Martin was elected the 19th president of Amherst College in June 2011, and was also appointed as a full professor with tenure in the German and the then-Women’s and Gender Studies departments (now Sexuality, Women’s and Gender Studies). She had previously served as chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and as provost at Cornell University. President Martin was elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences and holds honorary degrees from the College of William & Mary, the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and Doshisha University. She also serves as a Fellow of the Harvard Corporation, the only sitting college president to serve on the governing board of the university.

The College will shortly commence the search for Amherst’s next president. The Board of Trustees will establish a search committee to be led by Nussbaum and comprising trustees, as well as faculty, staff, and students, each selected by their peers.

In Celebration of Its 200th Anniversary, Amherst College Releases Three Bicentennial-themed Books

(Amherst, Mass., March 18, 2021) — In honor and celebration of the Western Massachusetts institution’s 200th anniversary this year, Amherst College has released three new books: Eye Mind Heart: A View of Amherst College at 200, the signature book of the Bicentennial, by Nancy Pick ’83; Amherst College: The Campus Guide, by Blair Kamin ’79 (Princeton Architectural Press); and Amherst in the World by Martha Saxton, professor of history and sexuality, women’s and gender studies and Elizabeth W. Bruss Reader, emerita. All three are available for purchase on the Bicentennial website.

“Among many other things, Amherst has long been known as ‘The Writing College,’” said Amherst President Biddy Martin, “and we are celebrating the Bicentennial with the publication of these three books. They illuminate aspects of the history of the College with emphasis on its firsts, its quirks, little-known facts, thinkers, architecture and so much more. I hope they might add to a very happy 200th anniversary to every member of the Amherst community.”

Eye Mind Heart: A View of Amherst College at 200

In her quest to write the College’s history, author Nancy Pick ’83 wondered what it was actually like to be at Amherst at different times in the past. What classes did students take in 1821? What were admissions requirements in 1921? What did students protest about in 1971? The result is Eye Mind Heart: A View of Amherst College at 200, a beautifully designed and lavishly illustrated book that aims to be as entertaining as it is illuminating. Based on years of research, the book shares the familiar as well as untold stories of the people of the College—the poets, Nobel Prize winners and groundbreakers, to name a few. She also delves into the controversies. “When I took on this project in 2015, my assignment from the College was to write the book I’d want to read,” said Pick, a former newspaper journalist and the author of three previous books about history.

Pick, a former reporter for the Baltimore Evening Sun, is the author of several books. Her first, The Rarest of the Rare (HarperCollins/Scala Arts), about the treasures of Harvard’s natural history collections, was named one of the best science books of the year by Discover magazine. In 2018, her book Les Ombres de Stig Dagerman (The Writer and the Refugee), written together with Lo Dagerman, was published in France by Maurice Nadeau.

Amherst College: The Campus Guide

The beautifully photographed guide tells the stories of nearly 100 campus buildings, landscapes, sculptures and interiors. Organized as a series of six walks, it takes the reader on a richly engaging tour through time and space, history and culture. The last chapter covers three notable off-campus buildings: the Five College Library Depository, better known as The Bunker; Amherst House at Doshisha University in Kyoto, Japan, built in 1932 to resemble an Amherst fraternity house; and the architecturally distinguished Folger Shakespeare Library, in the shadow of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., that illuminates the life, work and times of the great playwright. Throughout Amherst College: The Campus Guide, Kamin ’79 interweaves in-depth analyses of the College’s building and landscape architecture with campus lore. Readers will learn, for example, of the townspeople who gathered to construct Amherst’s first building, South College, in 1820, and how the poet Emily Dickinson’s grandfather secured a donation from a farmer in nearby Pelham to fund the iconic Johnson Chapel. A specially commissioned hand-drawn map locates buildings and highlights historic and contemporary architecture elements throughout the Amherst campus.

Blair Kamin ’79 is the Pulitzer Prize-winning former architecture critic of the Chicago Tribune.

Amherst in the World

A group of scholars and alumni explores the College’s considerable past in Amherst in the World. The book’s contributors trace the story of how an institution that was founded to train Protestant ministers began educating new generations of industrialists, bankers and political leaders with the decline in missionary ambitions after the Civil War. The writers also explore how what was a largely white school from its founding began to diversify its student demographics after World War II and the war in Vietnam. The pieces illuminate how Amherst has contended with slavery, wars, religion, coeducation, science, curriculum, town and gown relations, governance and funding during its two centuries. Through Amherst’s engagement with educational improvement in light of these historical changes, it continually affirms both the vitality and the utility of a liberal arts education.

In addition to serving as editor of Amherst in the World, Saxton has written biographies of actress Jayne Mansfield and author Louisa May Alcott, and is also the author of Being Good: Women's Moral Values in Early America. Her most recent book, The Widow Washington: The Life of Mary Washington, was a finalist for the 2020 George Washington Book Prize.

Further Bicentennial Reading

Amherst College Bicentennial Website

Hidden Drives: The Scene and the Unseen of Home

Amherst College’s CHI Fellows and Mead Art Museum Collaborate on a Virtual Exhibition that Explores our Ideas of Home

(Amherst, Mass., May 3, 2021) — Hidden Drives: The Scene and Unseen of Home is a collaboration between the Mead Art Museum and five fellows in residence at Amherst College’s Center for Humanistic Inquiry (CHI). Over the past year, the CHI Fellows focused on different aspects of how artwork in the Mead’s extensive collection related to the CHI’s theme of home—how our perceptions and experiences of home are controlled by forces that might be invisible to some while intensely felt by others.

The Hidden Drives exhibit launched in March, and CHI Fellows will be in residence at Amherst through June 2021. Each year the CHI welcomes a cohort of fellows to Amherst to teach and conduct research relevant to a timely theme.

“Hidden Drives is wonderfully ambitious in several ways and is the most public-facing final project any group of CHI Fellows has ever done,” said Darryl Harper, director of the Center for Humanistic Inquiry and associate professor of music. “The CHI Fellows challenged themselves to extend their scholarly expertise into the arena of exhibit curation, a context that was brand-new to them and one that required their humility, courage and lots of hard work to learn about its professional practices. And the themes within the research questions—belonging, identity, refuge, exclusion—are, of course, timeless.”

Connecting the work of five scholars across disciplines was not an easy task. “Every exhibit needs to have a big idea,” said Emily Potter-Ndiaye, the Dwight and Kirsten Poler and Andrew W. Mellon Head of Education and Curator of Academic Programs at the Mead Art Museum, who worked with CHI Fellows to bring the exhibit to life.

The CHI Fellows were able to find that big idea through the theme of home. “What surfaces in all of our work is the dichotomy of home as comfort, safety and family and also migration and disenfranchisement. Home becomes somewhat aspirational,” said Samantha Presnal, CHI Fellow and visiting lecturer in French at Amherst.

Marion Post Wolcott (American, 1910–1990), “Making Biscuits, Cornhusking Day, Tallyho, North Carolina,” 1939, gelatin silver print. Bequest of Richard Templeton (Class of 1931). Mead Art Museum, Amherst College.

In Secret Ingredients, Presnal looks to home cooks and their recipes to find the story of home. Presnal shares the recipes and, importantly, the stories behind the recipes of six students from a Fall 2020 French seminar at Amherst College, “Food Fights: Exploring France’s Cultural Tensions Through Its Cuisine.” The recipes convey far more than instructions—they are personal stories, vehicles for memory and emotion, and records of the strength of family relationships. “Students started naturally telling these stories when they sent recipes,” said Presnal. “It became very timely in terms of the yearning for community and belonging.”

Stephen Dillon is a CHI Fellow; a visiting lecturer in sexuality, women’s and gender studies at Amherst College; and an associate professor of critical race and queer studies at Hampshire College. His project Uprisings looks at the photographs of Danny Lyon. The Mead Art Museum holds several of Lyon’s photographs from the 1960s that chart the arc of his professional work. In the early part of the decade, Lyon documented the civil rights movement, and as the decade wore on, his focus shifted to the lives of imprisoned Black Americans.

Lili M. Kim is a CHI Fellow, a visiting lecturer in history at Amherst College, and an associate professor of history and global migrations at Hampshire College. In When Church and Politics Mix to Provide “Home,” Kim follows the struggles of Korean Americans, from early Korean immigrants to Hawaii at the beginning of the 20th century, through the struggle for belonging during the World War II years.

Jonathan Jackson (American, born 1996), “The House Servant’s Directory | Interruptions,” 2019, cover image of artist’s book. Purchase with Richard Templeton (Class of 1931) Photography Fund. Mead Art Museum, Amherst College.

CHI Fellow and Visiting Lecturer in American Studies Ashlie Sandoval, in Out of 19,000, starts with a cursory review of the Mead’s online database and then focuses on the photography of Jonathan Jackson, a 2019 graduate of Amherst College. Inspired by the life of his fifth great-grandfather, Jackson’s work is a photography series of contemplative self-portraits in a historic home. Sandoval notes, “The photographs mark history not only in the spectacular but in the mundane. When you show something, you display a way of seeing. Jackson uses white gloves as a medium between past and present. The gloves can evoke the butler, but also look like a magician or curator.”

Indigenous Homelands, Maps and Erasure, by Ashley Elizabeth Smith, examines maps, artwork and artifacts that tell a false narrative about the early history of New England. These items, particularly an 18th-century map, push propaganda of English settlement and Indigenous absence. Smith’s reading of museum artifacts prompts us to look beyond the surface and see the full, complicated history. Smith is a CHI Fellow and visiting lecturer in American studies at Amherst College, and an assistant professor of Native American studies and environmental justice at Hampshire College.

Created in 2015, the Center for Humanistic Inquiry (CHI) provides space and resources for Amherst College faculty and departments to engage in a broad vision of the role humanistic thinking can play in scholarly and public life. The CHI also hosts a salon every Wednesday, as well as other events (readings, film screenings, performances and concerts) throughout the academic year that are open to the campus community.

Amherst College Professor Receives Prestigious New Directions Award From the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation

(Amherst, Mass., April 20, 2021) —Kiara Vigil, associate professor of American studies at Amherst College and co-founder of the College’s Native American and Indigenous studies (NAIS) program, has been awarded a $300,000 grant as part of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation’s prestigious New Directions Fellowship. The funding will enable Vigil to learn, practice and preserve the endangered language of her ancestors, Dakota, and translate a number of Dakota-language papers and publications in Amherst’s extensive Kim-Wait/Eisenberg Native American Literature Collection (KWE Collection).

“I feel extremely fortunate and honored to be able to not only gain access to a language lost to me because of colonization, but to collaborate with Indigenous language teachers on creating new materials that will benefit Dakota people for generations to come,” said Vigil. “In addition, I am eager to include Amherst students as partners in this project as I build a website that will be a resource for both historians and the general public interested in learning more about Dakota contributions to United States history and culture.”

“We are delighted by the news of Professor Vigil’s award,” said Amherst Provost and Dean of the Faculty Catherine Epstein. “She was hired by the College’s Department of American Studies to co-create a rigorous NAIS curriculum and help to reimagine the American Studies major, and she has done just that during her time at Amherst while becoming an innovative and much-loved teacher and one of the foremost experts in her field active today. Her project will undoubtedly help her make an important contribution to ongoing efforts to preserve Dakota language, culture and history for future generations.”

Through the fellowship, Vigil will take intensive Dakota language lessons and courses in linguistic anthropology through the University of Minnesota. She will use her newfound skills and knowledge to translate items in the KWE Collection, including a Bible, dictionaries and issues of a rare American Indian newspaper, Iapi Oaye: The Word Carrier. (Published in the Santee dialect of Dakota—now a critically endangered language—Iapi Oaye ran from 1871 to 1939, far longer than any other native-language newspaper in the U.S., and covered significant historical events, such as the 1890 massacre at Wounded Knee.)

“In college I studied three romance languages, becoming fluent in two and acquiring translation skills in the third. But I was unable to access my people’s language,” said Vigil, who has ancestors from both the Dakota and Apache Tribes. “I want to approach my own history anew by looking for nuance and complexity encoded in the Dakota language. The New Directions award will make that endeavor possible.”

Vigil also plans to practice speaking Dakota with elders and other members of the Oyate (which translates as “Nation and the People” in Dakota) via the online language group: Dakhóta iápi Okhódakičhiye (DIO). She will then create an interactive storytelling website on the open-source platform Twine, which is popular among Indigenous video game developers and artists, “to ameliorate the ever-present threat to language loss.” The site will provide new translations of Amherst’s materials concerning Dakota history, culture and thought while also offering historical reflections informed by new training in linguistic anthropology.

“A website can function as a gathering site to renew kinship connections,” Vigil said. “For reasons of cost and safety at this moment, it is also the best way to practice a language that may be familiar or learn one that is still unknown.”

A group of college professors, librarians and graduate student taking a deep dive into the Kim-Wait/Eisenberg Native American Literature Collection in Amherst’s Archives and Special Collections.

She said that when she returns to teaching at Amherst, she will do so with a new set of perspectives on Native American studies that will help her create innovative courses for Amherst undergraduates and unlock new areas of research for students and scholars.

“Although this is a ‘new direction’ in terms of language learning and training in linguistic anthropology, it is ultimately a chance for me to reconnect and return to people, events, and ideas that were integral to my ancestors’ experiences of life in the United States,” Vigil explained. “Though my ancestors and I have remained at a distance, separated because of time and space and also language and culture, my work at Amherst has brought me into the same orbit as a unique set of Dakota-only texts that have a new home in the College’s archives. Now, more than ever, I am compelled to interpret and understand these materials for what they can teach me and others about Dakota life, past, present, and future.”

The New Directions program, which has awarded fellowships since 2002, supports faculty members in the humanities and humanistic social sciences in acquiring training and skills outside their own areas of special interest to work on problems that interest them most. Recent Amherst recipients of the award include Laure Katsaros, professor of French, in 2014, and Edward Melillo, professor of history and environmental studies, in 2017.

Amherst College Launches “Black Women of Amherst” Multimedia Project

Recorded Stories of Black Alumnae Will Culminate in Podcast Series and Live Online Conversations This Fall

(Amherst, Mass., April 7, 2021) President Biddy Martin announced today an exciting project that will feature Amherst’s Black alumnae, illuminating their distinctive and influential contributions to the College and the wider world, while also bringing their varied experiences and perspectives to light.

Black alumnae of the College are invited to record recollections of their experiences at Amherst. Then, this fall, they will join together for a series of live online conversations open to all alumni; current students, faculty and staff; and potential students to talk, share, learn and enjoy the stories and achievements of these remarkable women.

The inspiration for the project is the 1999 book Black Women of Amherst College, by the late Mavis C. Campbell, professor emerita of history at the College. The new project will draw on Professor Campbell’s work, as well as ongoing research into the College’s history and information gathered directly from Amherst alumnae.

The vision for the project came from a team of producers led by two Amherst alumni: Nichelle S. Carr ’98, a producer, former film studio executive, international lawyer and chief content officer at AudPop, and Jason Gill ‘97, co-founder and chief operating officer at the live-streaming company Zeldavision. Both specialize in bringing stories to life using emerging technologies and a mix of media platforms. Their plan for this particular project is ambitious. It invites—and it also depends on—the participation and openness of our Black alumnae.

In describing the idea for the project, Carr talked about her own journey to Amherst, which began on an East Coast college tour with her West Coast high-school classmates. “Of all the colleges we visited, the only college that had a Black tour guide was Amherst College.”

She then recalled moving into her first-year dorm and encountering the parent of a classmate who “froze" upon realizing that her daughter would be “sharing a room with a Black person.” Carr said she learned in that moment to wear a “mask” to protect and defend herself.

“But what was it protecting me from? What was it defending against? How was it helping me cope? What was I coping with? And how was I coping? Those are the stories we want to tell with ‘Black Women of Amherst College.’”

The work will be guided by an on-campus steering committee that includes: Rhonda Cobham-Sander, the Emily C. Jordan Folger Professor of Black Studies and English; Martin Garnar, library director; Sandy Genelius, chief communications officer; Khary Polk, associate professor of Black studies and sexuality, women's and gender studies; Bett Schumacher, chief of staff and secretary of the Board of Trustees; and Victoria Wilson, associate director for internship programs.

To learn more about this project and, most importantly, how you can be a part of it, please visit the Black Women of Amherst webpage on the Amherst College website.

Amherst College to Mark its Bicentennial In a Year of Events and Activities Celebrating its Past and Looking to its Future

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Highlights Include Three New Books, Podcasts, a Public Art and Activism Project, An Outdoor Trails Revitalization, Original Music Compositions and More

(Amherst, Mass., Feb. 24, 2021) — In 1821, a group of residents from the town of Amherst, Mass., and surrounding communities founded the Amherst Collegiate Institution for the “education of indigent young men of piety and talents for the Christian ministry.” Two centuries, millions of courses, tens of thousands of degrees and contributions to the world by alumni later, the school that became Amherst College will celebrate its Bicentennial through a series of creative and engaging events and initiatives throughout 2021.

“Amherst has been providing an outstanding liberal arts education on a beautiful campus for 200 years,” said President Biddy Martin. “Marking the Bicentennial gives us an occasion to celebrate the critical thinking, intellectual agility, freedom of thought and intense engagement of faculty with students for which Amherst is best known. During this challenging time, we hope the celebration of the Bicentennial will bring us together, in virtual spaces and, eventually, in person.”

Since its humble beginnings, Amherst has become a world-class liberal arts institution known for its academic rigor, talented and diverse students and faculty, and singular commitment to educational access. Embodying the College’s motto, Terras Irradient (“let them enlighten the lands”), graduates include Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, astronauts, scientists, humanitarians, activists, teachers, novelists, artists, inventors, pioneers in their fields and one president of the United States, Calvin Coolidge, class of 1895.

Originally slated to kick off last fall, most of the Bicentennial celebrations were adjusted for a later start because of the COVID-19 pandemic. A few of these initiatives include:

The Solidarity Book Project (SBP)—Launched by art and the history of art professor Sonya Clark ’89, this collaborative, community-based work of art and activism invites members of the College community and the general public to stand in solidarity with Black and Indigenous communities. Participants in the project are invited to read excerpts of books that shaped their understanding of solidarity, share their thoughts about solidarity in audio or video recordings and, finally, sculpt the iconic raised fist symbol into social- and racial justice-related books. The books will form an exhibition on campus slated for this fall. The College will honor participants’ submissions by making donations to organizations that support literacy in Black and Indigenous communities.
Three new books—Eye Mind Heart by Nancy Pick ’83; Amherst College: An Architectural Tour by Blair Kamin ’79, P’15; and Amherst in the World, edited by Martha Saxton, professor of history and sexuality, women’s and gender studies, and Elizabeth W. Bruss Reader, emerita. All three are available for purchase now.
200 Years of Indigeous History land acknowledgement—Led by Sarah Montoya ’21, the Native and Indigenous Students Association (NISA) initiated the design and installation of a formal land acknowledgment plaque on campus, slated to occur in the fall.
Presidential Podcast—This podcast series focuses on the value of liberal arts education and will feature key alumni who exemplify its importance and impact. The conversations will be available for download in the fall.
The “Mammoth Trails” project—Proposed by economics professor Kate Sims, this initiative involves the renewal of part of the Amherst College sanctuary trail system into two well-marked, named trails—the “1821 Loop” (1.03 miles, or 1,821 yards) and the “Mammoth Loop” (a two-mile running/walking trail). The aim is to enhance the accessibility of the trails and better promote the use of this local resource by the College and region, in support of sustainability and wellness.
A musical work by composer Reena Esmail—To celebrate both the Bicentennial and the centenary of the passage of the 19th Amendment, a group of women faculty from the music department, Amherst College Choral Society, Amherst College Symphony Orchestra and Amherst College Jazz Ensemble commissioned a 30-minute work by Indian-American composer Reena Esmail. (The Women of Music committee earlier asked that sunflowers, one of the emblems of the women’s suffrage movement, be planted in a section of campus near Arms Music Building; the flowers bloomed for the first time last year.)
The Homestead: An Opera (working title)—This interpretative opera about the poet Emily Dickinson is being composed by Dana Kaufman ’12 in coordination with Jane Wald, executive director of the College’s Emily Dickinson Museum. Performances, in person and/or streaming online depending on the status of the pandemic, are tentatively slated for later this year.

Amherst College today prepares students to use ideas to make a difference in the world. Since its founding, in 1821, in Western Massachusetts, Amherst has demonstrated steadfast confidence in the value of the liberal arts, the importance of critical thinking. Its financial aid program is among the most substantial in the nation, and its student body is among the most diverse. Small classes, an open curriculum and a singular focus on undergraduate education ensure that leading scholars engage daily with talented, curious students, equipping them for leadership in an increasingly global and complex world.

Further Bicentennial Reading

Amherst College Bicentennial Website

National Book Award Winner Charles Yu Among Acclaimed Authors, Poets To Participate in Amherst College’s Sixth Annual Litfest, Feb. 25-28

(AMHERST, Mass., Jan. 21, 2021) — Amherst College will host the sixth annual LitFest this year, an annual literary festival celebrating fiction, nonfiction, poetry and spoken-word performance—as well as the College’s extraordinary literary life—Feb. 25-28. Against the backdrop of the global pandemic, the event has gone virtual, but it will still feature top-notch readings and conversations with award-winning authors. This year’s lineup includes Charles Yu, winner of the 2020 National Book Award (NBA) for fiction; 2020 NBA fiction nominee Megha Majumdar; 2020 NBA poetry finalists Tommye Blount and Natalie Diaz; and Pulitzer Prize winner Anne Applebaum, among others.

Since its inception in 2016, more than 20 renowned writers—including Mark Bowden, Jamel Brinkley, Michael Chabon, Susan Choi, Jennifer Egan, Masha Gessen, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Stacy Schiff, Jesmyn Ward, and Zadie Smith—have participated in LitFest, many as a result of a partnership between Amherst College; its award-winning literary magazine, The Common magazine; and the National Book Foundation (NBF) Presents program.

All 2021 events will be livestreamed, and more information about the events and the writers is available at amherst.edu/go/litfest »

The 2021 schedule is as follows (all times are Eastern Standard):

Friday, Feb. 26, 7-8 p.m.: A reading and conversation with 2020 NBA fiction winner Charles Yu, author of Interior Chinatown, and 2020 NBA fiction nominee Megha Majumdar, author of A Burning. The event will be moderated by Amherst College visiting writer Thirii Myint. An audience Q&A will follow.
Saturday, Feb. 27, 11 a.m.-12 p.m.: A reading and conversation with 2020 NBA poetry finalists Tommye Blount, author of Fantasia for the Man in Blue, and Natalie Diaz, author of Postcolonial Love Poem. The event will be hosted by John Hennessy, poetry editor of The Common and a 2020 judge for the National Book Award in poetry. An audience Q&A will follow.
Saturday, Feb. 27, 2-3 p.m.: Emily Dickinson’s Amherst College. In partnership with the College’s Bicentennial, join the Emily Dickinson Museum staff for a talk about the impact of the College on the life of poet Emily Dickinson.
Saturday, Feb 27, 4:30-6 p.m.: Alumni Author Cocktail Hour and Student Readings. From 4:30-5 p.m., Amherst College student interns at The Common will read from their own creative work and engage in discussion. From 5-6 pm, Jennifer Acker ’00, director of LitFest, will host readings from recent books by standout alumni authors. An audience Q&A will follow.
Sunday, Feb. 28, 11 a.m.-12 p.m.: The Poet’s Prose: Rereading Joseph Brodsky’s Essays Today. Hosted by professors Catherine Ciepiela ’83 and Polina Barskova, a conversation with author/critics Christopher Benfey, Sven Birkerts and Jonathan Galassi.
Sunday, Feb. 28, 1-2 p.m.: A conversation between Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Anne Applebaum, author of Twilight of Democracy, and Cullen Murphy ’74, The Atlantic editor-at-large and former chair of the Amherst College board of trustees. An audience Q&A will follow.

“The isolation of the pandemic makes this year’s celebration of the literary arts even more a reason to unite,” says Jennifer Acker ’00, director of LitFest and editor-in-chief of The Common. “Together, from our separate spaces around the world, we can delight in words and each other’s company.”

Books can be purchased in advance from Amherst Books or Bookshop.org. All registrants will be invited to enter a raffle for a chance to win a book from one of the guest authors.

This year’s festival is sponsored by the Center for Humanistic Inquiry at Amherst College, The Common magazine and The Emily Dickinson Museum. It is made possible by the generous support of the Croxton Lecture Fund, established in 1988 by William M. Croxton ’36 in memory of his parents, Ruth L. and Hugh W. Croxton. Income from this fund is to be used to educate Amherst students and to bring publicity to the College by virtue of the renown of speakers underwritten by the fund.

About LitFest

In addition to welcoming prestigious writers to campus, LitFest aims to illuminate Amherst’s distinguished literary history and the tradition of creative writing at the College—“the writing college”—as well as the extraordinary resources and opportunities available for current and prospective students, scholars and others. These opportunities include chances to study with renowned faculty and alumni authors; the College’s award-winning literary magazine, The Common, and its Literary Publishing Internship that teaches participating students editorial skills and the ins and outs of publishing; extensive holdings of manuscripts related to Emily Dickinson, Richard Wilbur ’42 and other authors and poets in the College’s archives; and the College-owned Emily Dickinson Museum in downtown Amherst and Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C. Read more at amherst.edu/go/writingcollege.

All 2021 LitFest events will be livestreamed. Find the schedule at amherst.edu/go/litfest »

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