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Generous Gift Furthers Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Efforts on Campus

Class of 2000 alum Andrew Roth’s contribution will fund diversity, equity and inclusion programming on campus over the next five years. Franklin & Marshall graduate Andrew Roth ’00 has fond memories from his four years on campus. Time spent with Phi Kappa Tau fraternity brothers. Cheering on roommate Jerome Maiatico ’00 and other close friends when the Diplomats basketball squad advanced to the Division III Final Four in 2000. One memory, however, feels a bit absent. Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programming, he recalls, was not the campuswide initiative found at F&M today. Events recognizing and supporting students of varying cultural backgrounds felt confined to a small handful of campus spaces. “It was a separation that didn’t have to exist,” said Roth, head of data and martech strategy for Publicis Groupe, a French multinational advertising and public relations company. Reflecting on a 20-year career in law and marketing, Roth realized the need for an understanding and support of underrepresented individuals.A government major at F&M, Roth started his career in private equity first as an attorney, and then in business development and corporate strategy at Blackstone. Prior to Publicis Groupe, Roth served as executive vice president and head of innovation strategy and corporate development at IPG DXTRA. He recalled a recent conversation with Gretchel Hathaway, F&M vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). “There was no overt racism that I saw on campus,” he said. “But here’s something I mentioned to Gretchel: I’ve learned a lot by speaking with a very good friend of mine, working with his minority-owned business. And I’ve realized, I don’t know anything. There’s a lot to learn. You have no idea what people are going through and the only way to begin to realize that is to educate.” Roth’s contribution will do just that, funding DEI programs on campus over the next five years. This includes a first-year student orientation curriculum with diversity education, bias awareness, enhancing cultural intelligence, and training on how to host conversations around challenging issues as well as continuing IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility) programs and training for all members of the campus community.

Father-Daughter Grads Reward Faculty with Readership

Father and daughter Robert and Sarah Glidden both graduated from Franklin & Marshall. Along with Bob’s wife and Sarah’s mother, Eileen, the two alums recently celebrated their alma mater and the professors that make it so special. The family has established the Robert Glidden ’69, P’99, Eileen Glidden P’99 and Sarah Glidden Kempson ’99 Endowed Readership. It is being used on a two- to three-year rotating basis to support one or more tenured associate professors in recognition of their impressive pedagogical and scholarly accomplishments and future potential. The College’s provost awards these funds in support of scholarly activities aligning with the professor’s teaching, including scholarship, research, professional development, and compensation. Associate professors in economics or business, organizations & society receive special consideration for the funding. “We agreed on this gift because it's the right thing to do,” Robert Glidden, an economics major, said. “F&M was a seminal experience. It began my career trajectory. I have created, and operate, two substantial businesses. My F&M education, with a major in economics, set me up and gave me the initial business acumen to be successful.”This academic year, the Glidden Endowed Readership recipients are Nicole Jones Young, associate professor of organizational behavior, and Leanne Roncolato, associate professor of economics. Young, who came to F&M in 2016, researches criminal history and employment. She has done fieldwork in correctional institutions and explored work-release programs through the lens of gender. She also has analyzed the impact of training programs on equitable employment access among incarcerated women. Roncolato, who has taught at the College since 2014, is a labor economist who studies questions of power and identity among marginalized populations. Her research has focused on international trade, gender, the economics of the household, job quality and informal employment.In 1972, Robert Glidden and his business partner, James Bokor Sr., founded Robert-James Sales, a nationwide distributor specializing in stainless steel pipes, valves and fittings. Glidden also co-founded Trebor, Inc., an international distributor of tissue paper, pulp and containerboard. Sarah Glidden Kempson majored in accounting at F&M. As an undergraduate, Sarah was active in Alpha Phi and the Student Managed Investment Portfolio. Like her father, she went on to earn an MBA from SUNY Buffalo, which launched her career in finance. She was a hedge fund analyst at Goldman Sachs, as well as the business manager of a private school in Princeton, N.J. Today, she is the director of concierge services at Roundview Capital. “F&M shaped who I am,” Sarah said. “I value the liberal arts education I received because it taught me to think broadly. It prepared me to have a well-rounded career.” F&M President Barbara K. Altmann extended her thanks to the Gliddens for their commitment to supporting the high-level teaching and research taking place at their alma mater. “The world needs Diplomats, and no one is better positioned to accomplish that goal than Franklin & Marshall’s faculty,” Altmann said. “Our students are launched into successful careers and lives of meaning in large part due to our faculty’s teaching and mentoring. We are grateful for this gift from the Glidden family. Their foresight in supporting faculty scholarship, research and professional development helps us attract and retain outstanding professors.” Both Glidden graduates cherish their F&M education, remarkably similar experiences despite being 30 years apart. “F&M is a great school,” Bob said. “Students should enjoy their education and think about what they want to do for the rest of their life. They’re going to have false starts, but that’s OK. That's why you go to a liberal arts institution. You learn what you want to do and what you're good at, and you learn how to grow and keep learning.” “I agree,” Sarah said. “I took music and oceanography, but I majored in accounting. I feel like I got to experience it all!”

F&M Picks: Top Movies and Podcasts

How to Have Hard Conversations: Sarah Pharaon '00

Franklin & Marshall College alum Sarah Pharaon has built a career in some of the nation’s most renowned museums – but her fondest campus memory takes place in an unexpected venue. “I loved the Other Room Theatre. It was a little grimy, a little forgotten,” said Pharaon ’00, founder and principal at Dialogic Consulting Inc. “It had this beat-up metal sign, and you walked up these stairs feeling like you maybe weren't supposed to be there. And then, if you were lucky, you got to see or be in work that you maybe weren't supposed to do,” she added. Diving into discomfort is Pharaon’s specialty. After 20 years of museum work, she launched Dialogic to help nonprofit institutions have better conversations around difficult histories. Pharaon has since led internal focus groups for organizations such as Smithsonian American Women's History Museum. Pharaon will lead a March 9 Common Hour titled, “Having Hard Conversations in Even Harder Times.” The lecture, open to the public, takes place in F&M’s Mayser Gymnasium at 11:30 a.m. A recording will be available after the event. Below, follow Pharaon’s path from F&M to Dialogic.What path led to your current role as founder and principal of Dialogic Consulting? In my senior year, the late David Schuyler [Arthur and Katherine Shadek Professor of Humanities and American Studies] called me into his office and asked me if I knew what I was going to do with my American studies degree. I wasn't sure. And then he said: "I do. You are going to get your master’s degree in museum studies. And then you are going to change museums." And so, I did. Dialogic is the result of years spent in the museum and cultural space working as a curator, an educator, a director. It's my way of using my training as a facilitator to help our nation's storykeepers, our storytellers, do so more effectively – with the hope that we can use historic and cultural spaces to enable the conversations we keep avoiding. How did your liberal arts education prepare you for this career? My liberal arts education has meant that I have a working knowledge of many fields and many subjects which, as a facilitator, is an asset. People always ask if I have to have in-depth knowledge about each museum I work with, about the history or art that it presents. The short answer is no. But people build trust with me easier if they know I understand what they are talking about. I learned critical thinking and compassionate response on this campus. Why did you choose F&M? Honestly? I had a great tour guide. I was set on a liberal arts education, liked the campus, and was impressed with the passion they showed toward F&M and the experiences it afforded them. In a sea of college visitations, that tour stood out. What activities were you involved with on campus? I performed on both Green Room and Other Room stages and with F&M Players. I was a house adviser, a tour guide, and was in Chi Omega. And my now-husband (Amer Pharaon '00) and I wrote a "he said/she said" column in The College Reporter. Most importantly, I was a part of Students for Students, a group of activists and allies dedicated to opening spaces for dialogue on some of the most challenging issues affecting students at F&M.

Award-Winning Student Artist Finds Inspiration in Work from her Childhood

-Franklin & Marshall College’s monthlong student art exhibition came to a close Feb. 28 with a celebration of the student artists during which the exhibition benefactors presented an F&M senior with the best-in-show prize. The inaugural Winter72 Student Art Show, sponsored by F&M’s Department of Art, Art History and Film and made possible with financial support from Doug Winter '72 and his wife, Bonnie, was held in the Susan and Benjamin Winter Visual Arts Center. The top prize was awarded to Therese Watkins ’23 for her work “Tigers II.” She credits the inspiration for the piece to Associate Professor of Art John Holmgren and his “Intro to Printmaking” class. Holmgren assigned Watkins and her fellow students to create etchings that featured a self-portrait and a landscape. “As someone who doesn't particularly enjoy making self-portraits, I started by choosing a very comforting picture of myself napping with my cat, Ellie — she is the real star of the piece,” Watkins said. The studio art and classics major added to the landscape a tracing of a drawing of tigers she created as a child. “I’m grateful and surprised,” Watkins said. “It was an honor to be awarded this prize at the first Winter72 show among such talented artists, and I was amazed at the impression my little etching made and how people had a real curiosity and connection to it in a show full of beautiful work.” Salina Mayloni Almanzar-Oree '13, a visual artist, educator and writer based in Lancaster, served as exhibition judge. Almanzar-Oree teaches art and design at Drexel University, is a teaching artist with Lancaster Public Art’s Culliton Park project, and is co-facilitator of the Latino Empowerment Project in Lancaster. Almanzar-Oree said she was drawn to Watkins' adept handling of the media in which she chose to work. "Drypoint etching is difficult, and to create nuanced layers and depth like Therese did is phenomenal," they said. "I really loved the use of her childhood drawings over the sleeping self-portrait, the way the blanket mimics the hills in the background, and the small, intimate scale."

Driven By Passion: Classic Car Specialist Greg Duckloe '13

One clear strength of Franklin & Marshall College throughout its 235-year history is its outstanding alumni. Today, its living graduates number more than 29,000 and stretch around the world. They are leaders at every level, committed to successful careers and meaningful lives. They also are determined to support F&M and one another, continuing their quest for knowledge as they create the way forward together. While graduates of any age are Diplomats Forever, many of those making a difference in their communities are under 40. Several are featured in banners across the Franklin & Marshall campus and on the Diplomats Forever website. In this series, we’ll introduce you to a few of our many alumni making a difference. - - - Like the classic cars he works with, Franklin & Marshall College grad Greg Duckloe’s career has been anything but ordinary. “I found my own way to the collector car industry, but F&M gave me the tools to succeed once there,” said Duckloe '13, director of research & operations for private sales at RM Sotheby’s, the world’s leading classic car auction house. Students and alumni have a chance to hear from Duckloe in a March 9 virtual alumni master class titled, “Collector Cars 101: Demystifying a Continuously Evolving Industry” (noon; register here).An art history major at F&M, Duckloe didn’t discover a passion for art until his senior year of high school in Bethlehem, Pa. That same year, he and his father purchased a replica Shelby Cobra to build together. They finished building the classic sports car just after Duckloe’s college graduation – and just in time to launch his career. “There’s a tremendous amount of overlap between the classic car world and the fine art world,” Duckloe said. “As an art history major at F&M, I was often tasked with looking at an object, assessing it, thinking critically about it and writing about it. In my job, I do much of the same – but with rolling sculpture instead of paintings,” he said. Duckloe entered the industry as a copy editor at RM Sotheby’s in Ontario, Canada shortly after graduation. Three years later, he moved to London to manage research and catalog production for RM Sotheby’s European auctions. Following a brief stint at a specialist dealer in the U.K., Duckloe returned to Sotheby’s for his current position. Does Duckloe have a favorite ride? “I’ve been very lucky to have experienced so many amazing cars so it's almost impossible to pick a favorite,” he said. But, if he had to choose… A 1964 Shelby 289 Cobra (“There’s no car more fun to drive.”) and a 2005 Porsche Carrera GT (“Porsche at its very best.”) top the list. Learn more about Duckloe’s road to London.What's a day on the job like for you? Most days I’m working at our office in London, but my role means I collaborate with almost everyone in the company globally from marketing and sales to administration, logistics and the executive team, to make sure the private sales division is firing on all cylinders. I do spend a lot of time traveling to auctions and events where RM Sotheby’s has a presence, as well as inspecting cars and overseeing photo shoots. Tell me about your F&M experience. What path led you from F&M to your current job? My F&M experience was fantastic both inside and outside of the classroom. I was involved in numerous extracurriculars including cross country, track and field, Phi Kappa Psi, and Ware House Parliament. I think those activities helped to provide experience in working together with different types of people to solve a variety of different tasks and problems. I found my own way to the collector car industry, but F&M gave me the tools to succeed once there. Why did you choose F&M? I chose F&M based on its combination of liberal arts curriculum, Division III athletics and size of student body. I received some interest from Division I schools for cross country and track and field, but didn’t want athletics to own my life for four years, nor did I want to be at a DI-sized school. An F&M education allowed me to have an impact on campus in a variety of ways and to figure out what I wanted to do through taking a variety of interesting courses. That, and my dad is an alum (Frederick Duckloe ’72), so that definitely played a part! Any advice for students interested in your career field? Be passionate and do whatever you can do to get involved! It never hurts to approach someone at an event or send an email to a company to see if they have any roles available. It’s a great industry to be a part of and full of enthusiastic people, so a bit of enthusiasm and willingness to take part never goes unnoticed.

Filmmaker Documents Artists With Disability

In his campus office, documentary filmmaker James Hollenbaugh, last fall’s artist-in-residence at Franklin & Marshall College, discusses his artists with disability project that exhibits in March. “They’re all untrained artists; we call them ‘outsider artists,’" he said. "They’re doing some incredible work and have great stories—about overcoming a lot of disabilities through creating art. It’s an inspiring story, but also showcases their work.” Hollenbaugh, a filmmaker based in south central Pennsylvania, the region where he grew up, produced "A Life Like This." The film features four people from the Lancaster area, three who have mental disabilities and one who has a physical disability.The artist-in-residence program, designed to connect the College with the local community, is funded through F&M’s Center for the Sustained Engagement with Lancaster, which itself is supported by a grant from the Endeavor Foundation. The Center's three areas of focus are poverty and social inequality, environmental sustainability, and social practice and community-based art. Hollenbaugh wrote in his application to the program, "Artists with disability, both mentally and physically, have been discriminated against and overlooked since the beginning of time. There is a great amount of social inequality among artists with those artists, especially when it comes to limited opportunities in exhibiting their art both locally and on a national level." Hollenbaugh worked with Associate Professor of Film Jeremy Moss and Marco Di Giulio, associate professor of Hebrew languages and literature, whose research includes people with disability. “A Life Like This” focuses on four individuals: Malcolm Corley, Adam Musser, Sybil Roe Thompson, and David Nolt, who paints with a brush between his teeth. "It’s pretty incredible," the filmmaker said. "He’s never had the use of his hands.” At his editing desk, Hollenbaugh shows a segment of Malcolm singing with piano accompaniment in the chapel in Old Main. “He’s very nonverbal, but the second this music came on, it was like a switch flipped," Hollenbaugh said. "I thought, ‘This is going to take forever to get him to do this.’ In 20 minutes, they did four takes perfectly and they were out of there.” Also a painter, Malcolm recently showed in Art of the State in Harrisburg. “He’s incredible," Hollenbaugh said. "He does these self-portraits." A Lancaster-based filmmaker since the late 1990s, Hollenbaugh works in small-gauge film formats, focusing mostly in documentary and experimental genres. Exhibited domestically and internationally, he’s had screenings at the National Gallery of Art, Slamdance Film Festival and the American Documentary and Animation Film Festival in Palm Springs. Hollenbaugh’s day job, as he says, is working in the lighting and camera departments on commercials for television and videos for corporations while he pursues his films. The F&M residency provides many benefits to artists. “The residency was great," he said. "I had access to all the video equipment and the support of F&M’s film program and faculty.” And it allowed him to explore a subject that captivates him. "I guess I’ve done five other short films previous to this about ‘outsider artists,’" he said. “I’m not talented in painting or anything else. I think that’s why I’m drawn to a lot of these artists because I’m just blown away by what they can do.”

Alumni Spotlight: Every Stitch Tells a Story

It’s not every day you wear hoops skirts, bustles and bonnets to work – let alone hand-stitch them. But for Franklin & Marshall College alum Rachel Sheffield, it’s just another day on the job. Sheffield, a 2020 graduate, is the lead interpreter and historic clothing coordinator at First State Heritage Park in Dover, Del. A Natchitoches, La., native, Sheffield “wanted to give the north a try” when she applied to F&M. She quickly found herself immersed in colonial America's Northeast history during the “Intro to American Studies” class with Alison Kibler, professor of American studies and women's, gender & sexuality studies. An American studies major and Italian minor, Sheffield’s sewing talents helped her land a Marshall Fellow grant. The scholarship enabled Sheffield to investigate her hometown’s history at Northwestern State University’s Cammie G. Henry Research Center and create traditional Southern gowns. “Giovanna Lerner (professor of Italian) helped me figure out how to frame clothing as an investigation into 1860s classism, colorism, feminism – all of these things that clothing is going to represent on a human body,” Sheffield said. Below, see what advice Sheffield has for fellow history students.What's a day on the job like for you? Most days are behind-the-scenes at our office building, rather than out in the field at our historic building or capitol building. While there, I’m doing research for upcoming events, helping other interpreters or partners try on and check out historic clothing, or helping the rest of our staff prep for events that could be as small as a pop-up exhibit to as big as recreating a multi-day, 18th-century market that usually draws in about 3,500 people! Once or twice a week, I am stationed at our historic building, the John Bell House, to lead historic tours of the Dover Green. Any advice for students interested in your career field? Start creating things for fun. Watch the YouTube videos, get involved in local theater or in your local historical society, and just start. There are amazing resources online for folks wanting to learn, and you don't have to spend a ton of money on materials, especially if you start with hand-sewing. Find an internship or summer job that's at least tangentially related and see if your bosses will let you expand. I was lucky enough that I started in a historic textiles position, but since then, my bosses have encouraged me to follow my passions and continue getting better. Their philosophy is that if I get better, it will make the park as a whole better, so they've let me propose whole new projects just so I could make bustle dresses or swing dance. Those events were so successful that we get to keep doing them!

The Most Cozy Campus Spots

In the depths of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer. - Albert Camus, “Return to Tipasa” With spring break and warmer days just around the corner, it’s important to stop and take pause. We asked students to share their favorite cozy campus spaces. From local cafes to academic lounge areas, see where students find respite from the cold days and long nights of winter.1. Blue Line Cafe Centrally located in F&M’s historic Distler House, Blue Line is the top campus spot for coffee and conversation. Students enjoy beverages from Square One Roasters, a local coffee supplier committed to responsibly farmed, sustainably sourced coffee.2. College House fireplaces Did you know every F&M College House has a great room and fireplace? While not quite as enchanted as Hogwarts, these College House hearths are nothing short of magical. “I wind down almost all of my days just chilling with other students and house advisers by the fireplace and talking to people that come and go,” says junior Darij Kulchyckyj, Weis house adviser.3. Joseph International Center (JIC) The colorful cushions, global decor and light-filled lobby of the JIC invite visitors to sit and linger. Home to weekly coffee hours, this space offers a “home away from home” for international students. All are welcome.4. Phillips Museum of Art Cozy isn’t always about couches. Enjoy a change of scenery at The Phillips with jazz nights, artist talks, meditation sessions and other immersive experiences available to students and visitors. View full calendar of events.5. The Writers House Curl up with your favorite novel at the Philadelphia Alumni Writers House. The space’s surplus of books and signature sage-green cushions invite students to stop, read and reflect. Look closely, and you’ll spot the names of famous authors adorning the ceiling trim.6. Chem Lounge Every scientist needs a break from beakers and microscopes. The chemistry lounge in Hackman Physical Sciences Laboratories offers respite from the rigors of lab work. After all, you can’t spell “cozy” without cobalt (Co), Z boson (Z), and yttrium (Y)… right?7. Mean Cup Just a quarter-mile from campus, Mean Cup is a perennial favorite among students, professors and Lancaster locals. The cafe’s modern, industrial vibe provides the perfect spot for both studying and socializing. Enjoy distinctive house-blend coffee flavors that vary daily.8. Prince Street Cafe This brick-walled, rustic coffee shop is a favorite downtown spot for students. Order house-blend coffee, soup and sandwiches and take in decor from local artists. Located a mile from campus, Prince Street Cafe is a stone’s throw from two historic landmarks, the Fulton Theatre and Central Market.

Ranking Human Rights: F&M Global Barometers

How do you measure human rights? Two Franklin & Marshall College professors will make sense of broad global trends in an upcoming Common Hour lecture. “LGBTQI+ people are the proverbial canaries in the coal mine. Their human rights are a litmus test of the state of human rights,” said Susan Dicklitch-Nelson, F&M Global Barometers founder and professor of government. Dicklitch-Nelson and Stefanie Kasparek, visiting instructor of government, will present their findings in a Feb. 23 Common Hour titled, “Canaries in the Coal Mine: Global LGBTQI+ Rights in the 21st Century.” The lecture, open to the public, takes place in F&M’s Mayser Gymnasium at 11:30 a.m. A recording will be available after the event. The F&M Global Barometer of Gay Rights (GBGR), Global Barometer of Transgender Rights (GBTR), and the Global Barometers' LGBTQI+ Perception Index (GBPI) provide a global measure of LGBTQI+ human rights in 204 countries and regions. “We’re looking specifically at what countries are doing either to protect, not protect or persecute their sexual minorities, gender-identity minorities and intersex individuals,” Dicktlitch-Nelson said in a recent interview. “The report card gives us something tangible.” The 171,000 global survey results highlight the divide between legislation and lived reality. In some countries, a sense of safety and acceptance is low despite legal protections for LGBTQI+ people. Using the data from both Barometers and the Perception Index, the F&M Global Barometers team will probe the reasons for this divide and the factors that contribute to progress and backsliding while also demonstrating how data can be used to help activists, policy professionals and researchers.

Student Finds Humor, Homer in Ancient Poem

After a three-year odyssey in academic research, Franklin & Marshall College senior Therese Watkins' achievement is nearly homeric, worthy of seasoned scholars. Professor of Classics Zachary Biles, her co-author on work that an international journal will publish later this year, initially opened the assignment to every student in his class, but everyone declined. Except Watkins, a studio art major and, now, a classics major as well. “This all began in the spring of Therese's first year when she was enrolled in Latin 202,” Biles said.It actually began well before Watkins started studying Latin in middle school, and, in fact, centuries ago, when Homer, the Greek poet, wrote the "Iliad," and Catullus, the Roman poet, alluded to Homer's work in the poem that Watkins and Biles analyzed. Watkins embraced Biles' challenge to write a paper on Catullus' poem "37" (his poems are numbered, never named). “I do like the ‘Iliad’ as a story," she said, chuckling. "An easier answer would be that it is difficult to come up with paper ideas and topics sometimes, so having a paper offered to me was like ‘Why not? I’ll look into this.’" However, something happened along her research journey, which COVID-19 interrupted to some degree, that many liberal arts students experience at F&M. “I came here completely art-focused, but knew I would do other things, which is why I didn’t go to design school," Watkins said. "I really just wanted to continue Latin, but I didn’t think I’d be a classics major or even a minor." In Biles' Goethean Hall office, she relates how in Catullus's rather salacious poem 37 the poet-narrator uses military terms to berate a group of men in a tavern who are hanging out with his ex-girlfriend. "He addressed them as tent mates almost," she said. "He goes on later and talks about how he’s fought great wars for this girl, which could be seen as an allusion to the Trojan War in the ‘Iliad.’ He converts his imagined face-off with his love rivals as an actual battle.” She read a brief excerpt from the poem in which Watkins and Biles are the first scholars to recognize the allusion to a passage in Homer's work. Or, because 100 (or 200?) of you stupids sit in a line, you think that I would not dare to force you 200 sitters together to perform oral sex on me? “There are other numbers Catullus uses in other poems that he just throws out … but he never uses 100 or 200 in combination like this. That same kind of combination exists in the passage of the ‘Iliad’ that we are looking at in Book 8," Watkins said. Moreover, she said, "In the ‘Iliad’ passage, the Greeks offer a similarly framed threat of vengeance against the Trojans for their theft of Helen, which is how the Trojan War began. This larger set of parallels allows Catullus to play off the Homeric background in an amusing way."

‘Everything is Impermanent’: Lessons from an Ancient Spiritual Art Form

An integral component of the F&M student experience is the opportunity to learn about new cultures and forms of art directly from expert practitioners around the globe. From Feb. 13 to 17, the Department of Religious Studies invited the college community to celebrate the weeklong creation of a Tibetan sand mandala by renowned artist and Buddhist monk Losang Samten. The mandala, crafted in the Gipson Grand Forum of the Susan and Benjamin Winter Visual Arts Center, is a spiritual symbol in Asian cultures. Sand mandalas are painstakingly created by hand using millions of grains of colored sand. Once the mandala is completed, it is dismantled during a ceremonial ritual that exemplifies the Buddhist tenet that all things in life are transitory. Samten studied at the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts and holds the equivalent of a doctoral degree from Namgyal Monastery, the monastery of the 14th Dalai Lama. In this video, he reflects on the “constantly changing and moving” nature of life and the liberating power of embracing impermanence. (Video by Andrew Bilindabagabo)The Creation of a Sand Mandala: A Slideshow (Photos by Deb Grove)

‘I Have Such a Reverence for the Cinematic Experience’: Meet Simon Taylor ’23

At a young age, Franklin & Marshall College senior Simon Taylor already had a comprehensive knowledge of movies from the 1980s. “I have memories of my dad introducing me to movies like The Last Starfighter and Enemy Mine, films he had experienced at a similar age,” said Taylor, a resident of New Holland, Pa. This simple act of a father sharing his favorite movies with his son ignited in Taylor a passion for film and sharing it with others. It led to him pursuing a major in film and media studies at F&M, where he was awarded the Minter Family Endowed Scholarship. “I have such a reverence for the cinematic experience and the sense of immersion it offers,” Taylor said. “I appreciate film as a medium for expression and its capacity to connect individuals. While everyone in a theater may have their own individual relationship with a film, they all share a collective experience of that film.” Taylor said the highlight of being a film and media studies major at F&M is having classes in and attending events at the Winter Visual Arts Center. He’s particularly taken with the Colleen Ross Weis ’85 and Martin Laiks Cinema, where he’s sat time and time again to enjoy screenings of significant and influential films and visits from notable filmmakers. “My best experience at F&M has been getting to meet and interact with the filmmaker Su Friedrich, who visited for an event in the Winter Visual Arts Center and sat in on our class,” Taylor said.Taylor is also gaining valuable insight into career opportunities within the film industry. Working alongside Associate Professor of Film Jeremy Moss, Taylor spent his summer getting hands-on experience learning what it takes to launch a film festival. Gleaners Film Festival, a new local film festival, exhibited non-normative and marginal works. Taylor’s responsibilities included coordinating print traffic, or the transit of the films (whether they’re physical prints or digital files) to the festival. “It’s exciting because I have an interest in film preservation, distribution, and exhibition — the process of getting film, past and present, to the people,” he said. “The Gleaners Film Festival directly relates to that.” After graduating from F&M in May, Taylor plans to move to New York City to begin a career in film, a venture he feels prepared for thanks to his robust F&M education. “Financial aid — and the Minter Family Endowed Scholarship — have enabled me to pursue this education at F&M,” he said. “I am deeply grateful for all of the unique opportunities donor generosity has enabled me to have.”

Alum Has Hand in Super Bowl Halftime Show

As the nation tuned into Super Bowl LVII, Franklin & Marshall College alum Kristin Schlossman ’13 and her colleagues were more concerned with what hovered above the stadium’s 50-yard line. Schlossman is senior manager of inclusive culture at TAIT, the Lancaster-based production company behind Rihanna’s gravity-defying halftime performance. “There is no typical day on the job for me, or probably for any role at TAIT. The environment is so dynamic, there are always new opportunities to explore,” Schlossman said. TAIT fabricated the flying platforms and camera systems for Rihanna’s widely acclaimed performance. The company also created the intricate cityscape in The Weeknd’s 2021 Super Bowl performance. TAIT is headquartered at Rock Lititz, a rehearsal studio space used by the likes of Beyonce, Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift. The facility’s location just north of Lancaster makes it a popular internship option for F&M students. While Schlossman didn’t have direct involvement with the big game’s production, she carries an important presence at TAIT. “I work to foster an inclusive, safe environment for the incredibly talented professionals around me,” Schlossman said. Below, learn more about Schlossman’s path to the entertainment industry.What path led you from F&M to TAIT? I double majored in English literature and theatre at F&M. I was very active in the Green Room Theatre Club, the Writers House and Alpha Delta Pi. I learned so much about engaging different ways of thinking and doing at F&M that I think really set me up for success in navigating a fast-paced, high-stakes industry like live entertainment. I was offered a temporary gig at TAIT after completing my master's degree at Villanova. I had never been to TAIT before, but had heard amazing things about their capabilities from Rob Marenick [resident technical director] in the F&M Theatre Scene Shop (where I did my best to build decks, but it was obviously not my strong suit! Rob supported me anyway). When the temporary gig was nearly over, I asked if there were more opportunities to learn, and TAIT generously invited me to learn human resources from the ground up. The skills I gained from F&M in critical analysis helped me learn quickly about a field I never expected to go into. My background in storytelling and the complexity of the human experience also has given me the lens to keep the experience and perspective of the team at the forefront of everything I do. Why did you choose to attend F&M? I chose F&M because I wanted a rigorous academic environment that made space for personal interests and creativity. I also wanted to have a real relationship with my professors and students across all years – to really be able to dig into complicated subject matter that would give me a holistic understanding of the world. My professors in both English and theatre gave so much of their time and energy to help me grow as a human and a scholar – but I also got that same investment from professors in courses that were way outside my comfort zone. Any advice for students interested in your career field or industry? My advice is to embrace the unexpected and seize opportunities to learn from people who experience the world differently than you.

F&M Ranks High Among Fulbright Top Producers

Franklin & Marshall College has again been recognized by Fulbright, the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program. For the sixth consecutive year, the Fulbright U.S. Student Program named F&M as a top-producing institution. The College has received this honor for eight of the past nine years: 2014-15, 2015-16, 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22, and now 2022-23. Of the nine Fulbrights awarded last year, eight were chosen for English Teaching Assistantships and one for a study/research partnership. F&M is tied for 7th place among baccalaureate institutions with a total of nine awards offered. The College was just one of two undergraduate institutions in Pennsylvania named to the list. The top-producer designation is based on Fulbright awards that F&M students and alumni received the previous academic year. Over the past decade, Fulbright success has blossomed at F&M. A dedicated Office of Fellowships helps students and alumni navigate the complex application process. The cohort of Fulbright students for the 2022-23 academic year will be announced in late spring.Meet some of the College’s current Fulbright scholars. Global Grad Earns Pickering Fellowship Paolo Caglioti '21 currently resides in Cameroon’s capital city of Yaounde as a Fulbright English Teaching fellow. Caglioti’s globe-trotting path has helped earn him a prestigious selection to The Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Graduate Fellowship Program. The competitive award prepares outstanding young people for foreign service careers in the U.S. Department of State.‘A Dream Come True’: Fulbright Awards Nine F&M Alumni Gabi Girton '22 was awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to Spain’s Canary Islands, where she currently teaches science classes and leads a marine biology club. Cesar Cortorreal '20 was awarded an academic Fulbright to complete a master’s degree at University College London/Institute of Education in social justice and education.

Darwin Originals On Loan at F&M

There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved. - Charles Darwin, “On the Origin of Species” For the past 20 years, Franklin & Marshall College has celebrated Charles Darwin’s contributions to evolutionary biology with an annual “Darwin Day” lecture. This month, an extraordinary loan gives the campus community a chance to see a selection of the famed naturalist’s original monographs. Former F&M board chair Dr. Lawrence Bonchek, P’91, and Dr. Rita Bonchek, P’91, are lending several of their first-edition Darwin monographs to the College through Feb. 24. Works are featured in the Martin Library of the Science’s first floor and Archives & Special Collections reading room. The Bonchek’s connection to F&M began when their daughter, the late Lisa Bonchek Adams ’91, attended the College. The exhibit will complement a Feb. 16 Common Hour titled, “On the Origin of Species: Historical and Biological Reflections on a Paradigm-Changing Text,” presented by Daniel Ardia, Charles A. Dana Professor of Biology and associate dean of the faculty, and James Strick, professor and program chair of science, technology and society. The lecture, which is open to the public, will take place in F&M’s Mayser Gymnasium at 11:30 a.m. A recording will be made available after the event.“We felt that having a Common Hour to celebrate the loan of these important monographs and the anniversary of Darwin Day was imperative. And given the pandemic, we both felt reminding people of the important role that evolution plays in our lives was critical, even if it isn't obvious to all,” Ardia said. Ardia will discuss the influence of Darwin’s “Origin of Species” for biology, climate change, and medicine, while Strick will examine how historians view the book, its place in culture and its historical impact. "This is an incredibly important book – one of those books that everyone wants to have an opinion about, but almost nobody has actually read,” Strick said. The monograph exhibit will be accessible during weekdays. In addition, related collections and loans by Roger Thomas, John W. Nevin Memorial Professor of Geosciences, Emeritus, will be on display.

Love, Music and F&M Will Keep Us Together

One clear strength of Franklin & Marshall College throughout its 235-year history is its outstanding alumni. Today, its living graduates number more than 29,000 and stretch around the world. They are leaders at every level, committed to successful careers and meaningful lives. They also are determined to support F&M and one another, continuing their quest for knowledge as they create the way forward together. While graduates of any age are Diplomats Forever, many of those making a difference in their communities are under 40. Several are featured in banners across the Franklin & Marshall campus and on the Diplomats Forever website. In this series, we’ll introduce you to a few of our many alumni making a difference.Leslie Lindeman ’13 and Andrew Glennan ’13 have always loved music. But in their first year at Franklin & Marshall College, when Lindeman pulled out her violin and Glennan settled behind his cello as new members of the orchestra, they had no idea this mutual love of music would lead them to each other. After forming a string quartet called “Fellowship of the Strings” with Dr. Alexandra Kerper ’13 and Sarah Patterson ’13, grabbing frequent dinners together at the dining hall, and enjoying get-togethers in College Row, Lindeman and Glennan started dating. In June 2016, the two tied the knot where it all began: at F&M, in Nevin Chapel. Since then, Lindeman and Glennan have not forgotten the College and the music program that brought them together. The two remain active in the F&M community and give back in whatever way they can, including by volunteering and making frequent gifts to the College and the Department of Music. Glennan, who now works in enterprise information technology operations, after double-majoring in music and computer science, composed music for the Fall 2020 orchestra ensembles (which, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, were divided into several on- and off-campus pods). “Whether it’s supporting the college financially, participating in recruiting fairs, or writing music for orchestra ensembles, I value the opportunity to give back,” he said. Lindeman, who found her first job after college and later moved into higher education due to F&M connections, echoed this sentiment. “It’s important to give back to F&M because so many people affiliated with the institution invested their time, energy and resources in me,” she said. “Through giving back to F&M, I feel like I honor all the people who supported me.”Lindeman’s passion for higher education and the value it provides is evident in her work as an academic adviser supporting students interested in transferring from community college to a four-year institution. She noted she could write a book about how F&M prepared her for life beyond college, but most specifically she said the College prepared her for lifelong learning. “F&M taught me that education and learning is a constant, continual process,” she said. She emphasized that she not only got to perform incredible pieces of music in the F&M orchestra, but volunteer opportunities, such as the Bonchek College House Community Outreach Dinner and the Public Service Summer Institute, helped her begin to recognize, engage with, and appreciate the larger community in which she was living and learning. She also said that, in addition to homework and class time, the Common Hour events and discussions in the College Houses helped her think more independently and critically. “These are skills that I continue to use and cultivate every day,” she said. It’s this diverse academic foundation and lifelong love of learning an F&M liberal arts education fosters that Lindeman and Glennan find so critical to support. “F&M creates so many amazing opportunities for students to expand their horizons. I gained so many valuable skills,” said Glennan. In particular, he noted that in addition to completing a music honors project under the direction of Professor of Music Emeritus John Carbon, working in the Roschel Performing Arts Center scene shop taught him project management, the ability to build and lead a team, and how to meet schedules and deadlines. “The chances to write music and gain leadership experience through the music program were so valuable,” he said. F&M’s music program, which brought them so much pleasure as undergraduates and alumni, and that introduced them to one another, has proved invaluable to Lindeman and Glennan. And through their continued support for the College, Lindeman and Glennan have proved invaluable to F&M.

F&M Joins 14 Institutions in Unique Science and Math Collaborative

Over the next six years, students taking introductory mathematics or science should expect more inclusive, dynamic experiences at Franklin & Marshall College, which is engaged in a new approach to collaborative learning. Developed under Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Inclusive Excellence 3 grant, colleges and universities have an opportunity to foster institutional change that creates a more inclusive and successful introductory experience in these fields of study. Taking an unusual approach, HHMI organized schools into Learning Community Clusters (LCCs) to develop synergies between them. As a member of LCC1, F&M's faculty work in partnership with colleagues from 14 other colleges and universities.Following two years of research and collaboration, LCC1 colleagues prepared a multifaceted approach to increasing inclusivity in the introductory science and math experience. They mapped out three pathways: faculty development, student engagement and agency, and curricular change. According to HHMI, diversity in types of institutions -- public and private, research universities and liberal arts colleges -- has already produced distinctive and unique ideas and will generate opportunities for immediate field testing of approaches among institutions. HHMI’s six-year grant of $8.625 million to LCC1, $531,600 of which goes to F&M, allows faculty to develop methods and mindsets to promote teacher engagement through workshops and learning communities. "Students engage as peer tutors and will form student-faculty partnerships to make curricular changes that will amplify student ownership, agency and voice," said Professor of Chemistry Jennifer Morford, one of F&M's faculty team leaders. "The work arising from the grant will bring more curricular change as F&M explores and implements high-impact, equity-minded practices." The faculty team will facilitate an interdepartmental collaborative effort to coordinate curricular evaluation, design, modification and integration that balances topic coverage with understanding, application and skill development. "These efforts are in direct alignment with our strategic plan’s core themes of diversity, equity, inclusion and academic excellence," said F&M President Barbara Altmann. "Curriculum redesign, a chance for faculty to explore new pedagogies, and increased agency for the students all combine to create better, quicker engagement, and better outcomes as a result.” Leading the initiative with Morford are Jorge Mena-Ali, director of faculty diversity initiatives and don of Roschel College House; Ellie Rice, director of the Quantitative and Science Center and senior teaching professor of biology; and Berwood Yost, director of F&M’s Center for Opinion Research. Also supporting the effort are Professor of Physics Amy Lytle and Dan Ardia, associate dean of the faculty and professor of biology. “HHMI’s support will be critical to help us lower barriers for our faculty and our students and to transform interdepartmental efforts for all our students," Ardia said. "Our faculty have already made significant strides in understanding the factors affecting the impact on student achievement and retention in the sciences." "HHMI funding will allow us to make transformative changes to advance this effort and intersect with the new Strategic Plan,” he said. Mary Osirim, F&M interim provost and dean of the faculty, said the partnership with "a broad range of institutions across the higher education landscape" for more inclusive introductory-level STEM courses will advance student performance. "This grant provides pathways for enhanced student success and faculty development that will have ripple effects across our curriculum,” Osirim said.

An Uncommon Path to Professor: Adeem Suhail

"Once my eyes were open, I couldn't just go back to a normal 9-to-5 existence." Adeem Suhail was visiting his hometown of Karachi, Pakistan, in 2007 when then-prime minister Benazir Bhutto – the first democratically elected female leader of a Muslim country – was assassinated. "Once my eyes were open, I couldn't just go back to a normal 9-to-5 existence," said Suhail, assistant professor of anthropology at Franklin & Marshall College. An undergraduate student in engineering at the time, it changed the trajectory of his career. “I decided to dedicate myself to studying exactly how and why violence perpetuates in this part of the world,” Suhail said. Suhail’s research addresses issues in the anthropology of violence, social theory and urban studies. He will expand on this research at a Common Hour lecture on Feb. 9 titled “Dreaming at the World's End: Dispatches on an Emergent Cosmopolitics from South Asia.” The lecture, which is open to the public, will take place in F&M’s Mayser Gymnasium at 11:30 a.m. A recording will be made available after the event. What else influenced Suhail’s academic path, and what advice does he have for current students? Learn more below.Your research addresses issues in the anthropology of violence, social theory and urban studies. What drew you to these topics? You move through life and you find different reasons for different things. I came to the United States – having never left Pakistan in my life – to become an engineer [at the University of Texas] in 2005. In 2007, people were sick and tired of being party to thousands of Afghan and Pakistani lives lost as the Taliban insurgency spread, and U.S. bombardment began in Pakistan. And so, the Pakistani people started a pro-democracy movement which was also a cry against the violence of empire. I was just an engineer, but I started reading up on history. Got interested in the movement. There were protests happening every day. The military dictatorship was murderously silencing democratic voices in Pakistan. I was there when Pakistan's first female prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, was murdered. Once my eyes were open, I couldn't just go back to a normal 9-to-5 existence. As if history was not being written in blood on the streets. In 2008, democracy was restored to Pakistan. It remains embattled. It’s a constant struggle. Thousands have died for it. But I decided to dedicate myself to studying exactly how and why violence perpetuates in this part of the world – these different stages, different scales. My engineer brain caught a different kind of bug and I was like, ‘Okay, I'm going to solve these things.’ And that became my research. What inspired you to become a professor? One of the great American philosophers of our times is Mr. Fred Moten. With [activist and scholar] Stefano Harney, he wrote a highly influential book in 2012 titled “The Undercommons: Fugitive Planning & Black Study.” They coined this brilliant idea of fugitivity that stuck with me. We who are cut off from the mythologies of capitalism, colonialism and imperialism, and the kinds of violence that sustain those processes – we need someplace to incubate, to just lay low, to be fugitives from capitalism. The university is something that they identified as one of those last vestiges. The college is one of those last places where people actually can think freely, right? People can still go to colleges and universities – especially liberal arts colleges – and think outside the boxes that have been cut out for us already. Liberal, conservative, Democrat, Republican: People are just stuck with these identities, and the college becomes one of those places where one can think more humanly, can think big, can think deep. Many students arrive at F&M unsure of their path (and that’s okay). What advice do you have for those students? When I came to the University of Texas, I knew that I was against all war – but I didn't know much else. When I came to college, I found community. People I'd never met before – my first allies. In them, these strangers, I found lives I could identify with as “my people.” Many of them remain my best friends today. And so, it's not about what your path is, but all the lives you walk it with. It's about learning how to learn with and learn from them. That's what college is about. Everything else, you learn on the job. What's more important to me is to have a diversity of experiences, to expose yourself to everything under the sun. And F&M does a great job of curating that, of opting students into that experience.

‘F&M Really Made My Dreams Come True’: Meet Gyana Guity ’24

Franklin & Marshall College junior Gyana Guity wants you to walk through a bookstore and spot her name on the spines lining the shelves. She wants you to notice her name appearing on the silver screen at the end of a movie she wrote. “I have big goals,” she said. “The thing about being a writer is that the possibilities are totally endless.” Despite these dreams, Guity wasn’t sure college was in the cards for her. Growing up in the Bronx, N.Y., as a low-income, first-generation student, she described having frequent conversations with her mother to determine if going to college was financially possible. “I wanted to continue my studies, but I didn’t want to put any burdens on my mother,” Guity said. Inspired by the College’s creative writing program, close-knit community, research opportunities and holistic approach to learning, a hopeful Guity applied to F&M. “It felt like the right place for me to be,” she said. “I felt like I belonged.” Guity was accepted to F&M with financial aid support from the Frank H. Granito III ’81 & Kenneth E. Pedersen ’81 Scholarship Fund. “F&M really made my dreams come true,” she said.Once on campus, Guity dove into her self-growth journey, seizing every opportunity she could to enhance her writing skills. She declared a major in creative writing; joined the editorial staff of boy-band magazine, an F&M student-run publication; and embarked on a creative marketing internship with Delta Air Lines. Guity is also considering a minor in computer science to further expand her skills and build a bridge to bringing creativity to technical writing. “I’m constantly learning and growing during my time here at F&M,” she said. “I’m a completely different person than I was before college thanks to the classes I’ve taken, the things I’ve learned, and all of the people I’ve met.” Guity said she can’t wait to discover how she’ll continue to evolve as a person and a writer, and she’s grateful to F&M’s generous donors for opening the door to these experiences. “I could never thank F&M enough for giving me this opportunity,” she said. “Every day, I work really hard to make everyone around me proud for taking a chance on me.”

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