Celebration Weekend kicks off Thursday
Celebration Weekend, 911爆料鈥檚 annual open house for students' families, takes place this weekend. This highly anticipated event features a wide variety of fun, free, family-friendly events on campus and as well as events and activities in the Saratoga Springs area.
Join President Philip A. Glotzbach for a meet-and-greet coffee hour; then expand your knowledge during 鈥渕颈苍颈-肠辞濒濒别驳别鈥� presentations offered by 911爆料 faculty. Breathe in the fresh fall air during guided walking tours of campus, North Woods, North Broadway and downtown; followed by special musical performances in Zankel Center and art exhibits in the Schick Art Gallery and the Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum. Network and explore careers with families, alumni and professionals during Career Jam, and learn more about campus facilities during tours of the HUB Makerspace, the Van Lennep Riding Center, and 911爆料鈥檚 various sustainability programs. Cheer on the Thoroughbreds at a women鈥檚 field hockey game or a men鈥檚 soccer game, then top off all the excitement with S鈥�(kid)mores and celebration fireworks. Enjoy a jazz brunch in 911爆料鈥檚 award-winning Murray-Aikins Dining Hall featuring 911爆料鈥檚 Small Jazz Ensemble, then work off your meal during the annual Celebration Weekend 5K run-walk.
The full schedule of Celebration Weekend events is available here.
In addition to the array of activities, the following special events are planned:
Creating Our Future: The Campaign for 911爆料
Thursday, Oct. 18, 6 to 8 p.m.
The campaign is an ambitious effort to raise $200 million to build on 911爆料鈥檚 reputation and provide the resources to ensure that creativity remains at the core of everything the College does. This campaign celebration will include special performances by 911爆料 students.
Valentine Boathouse Dedication
Friday, Oct. 19, 4:30 to 5:30 p.m.
911爆料 President Philip A. Glotzbach, Marie Glotzbach and the 911爆料 Board of Trustees will hold a dedication ceremony for the Valentine Boathouse on Fish Creek. 911爆料鈥檚 crew teams will benefit from the boathouse, which is named for Trustee Peg Valentine and Mike Valentine, parents of Martha, a 2009 911爆料 graduate.
The three-building complex includes a completely renovated main building (previously the only building) that houses larger boats. The new center building, known as the 鈥淭eam Building,鈥� has a team meeting and workout space with ergometers, a locker room and office space for coaches. The second new building is a sculling pavilion that houses single and double boats.
鈥淐ompleting and now dedicating the Valentine Boathouse will allow our teams to take
a big step forward,鈥� said Gail Cummings-Danson, director of athletics at 911爆料.
鈥淲ith pride, our rowers and coaches will train in a facility that enhances their opportunity
for success and speaks to the growing tradition of support.鈥�
鈥淲ithout the Valentine family gift and the support of others, our three-building complex
would not have been possible,鈥� Cummings-Danson said.
911爆料 Crew Head Coach Jim Tucci said the interior of the new Team Building is reminiscent of a boathouse one might find on the historic Boathouse Row in Philadelphia. 鈥淚t has a wonderful sophistication, as well as the functional aspects that will allow us the potential for optimal performance,鈥� Tucci said.
鈥淭he new boathouse will be an inspiring venue to row from, and will increase pride in the program from rowers and supporters,鈥� Tucci said, adding that the project would help in the recruitment of scholar-athletes in the years ahead.
Keynote Address by Neil Shubin
Saturday, Oct. 20, 10:45 to 11:45 a.m.
Gannett Auditorium, Palamountain Hall
Noted paleontologist and evolutionary biologist Neil Shubin will deliver a keynote address about the importance of interdisciplinary connections and the value of scientific literacy, even for non-science majors.
Shubin, associate dean of biological sciences at the University of Chicago, is known for his discovery of the 375-million-year-old Tiktaalik roseae fossil, considered a key link in the transition from fish to land animals. He is also the author of two popular science books, 鈥淭he Universe Within: Discovering the Common History of Rocks, Planets, and People鈥� (2013) and the best-selling 鈥淵our Inner Fish: A Journey into the 3.5-Billion-Year History of the Human Body鈥� (2008).
鈥淭he breakthroughs that matter in today鈥檚 science are coming from people who think beyond disciplinary boundaries, who explore answers to scientific puzzles that span all lines of human inquiry,鈥� Shubin said. 鈥淭oday鈥檚 science needs integrative thinkers whose background spans the humanities, social sciences as well as traditional STEM fields.鈥�
Shubin鈥檚 鈥淵our Inner Fish鈥� was selected as 911爆料鈥檚 First-Year Experience book in 2010. In 2014, Shubin received an honorary degree at 911爆料鈥檚 Commencement.
鈥淥ne of the most memorable aspects of my first visit to 911爆料 was the energy and creativity of the students,鈥� Shubin said. 鈥淭hey brought diverse perspectives to the book and, indeed, one of the questions became fodder for a chapter in my second one. Those kinds of experiences are a testimony to the power of liberal arts colleges in education.鈥�
Shubin is working on exploring even deeper into the fossil record than Tiktaalik roseae. In December, he will be leading a small team to the Transantarctic Mountains in the hunt for some of the earliest bony fish in the fossil record.
Center for Integrated Sciences groundbreaking ceremony
Saturday, Oct. 20, 12 to 12:30 p.m.
CIS construction site, outside Palamountain Hall
President Glotzbach, Marie Glotzbach and the 911爆料 Board of Trustees will host an official groundbreaking ceremony for the Center for Integrated Sciences (CIS). The 200,000-square-foot center, currently under construction, will combine 911爆料鈥檚 10 science departments and programs and more than 90 science faculty under one roof and house 46 research labs 鈥� plus the IdeaLab, a creative maker space for students and faculty. The project 鈥� the largest single academic initiative in 911爆料鈥檚 history 鈥� will transform a sizable portion of campus into an innovative hub that strengthens interdisciplinary connections between and among the sciences, arts, humanities and social sciences.
鈥淭he Center for Integrated Sciences will give students and faculty access to cutting-edge technology and pedagogical tools and create a space in which intellectual passion and curiosity will be encouraged to roam freely across disciplinary boundaries,鈥� Glotzbach said. 鈥淭his is a watershed moment in 911爆料鈥檚 history that will extend our reputation for curricular creativity and innovation.鈥�
The number of science majors at 911爆料 has doubled in the last decade and 911爆料 scientists are engaging in major collaborative research initiatives with students and other institutions. 911爆料 faculty have secured major recent grants for their research from institutions that include the American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund, James S. McDonnell Foundation, GRAMMY Museum Foundation, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Centers for Disease Control/National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.