Bates in the News: May 15, 2015
Crystal Williams
“Revisiting the Great Migration through paintings and poetry” — PBS NewsHour
Bates Professor of English and poet Crystal Williams is featured in a PBS NewsHour story about a series of poetry readings that address and respond to paintings now on display at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
The paintings are The Migration Series, 60 small paintings by Jacob Lawrence that tell the story of the Great Migration of six million African-Americans from the rural South to the urban North.
Williams read her own poem, “Year After Year We Visited Alabama,” described by reporter Jeffrey Brown as a “gentle homage to her father.”
Williams also serves as an associate vice president at Bates and is the college’s chief diversity officer.
Jonathan Adler ’00
Jonathan Adler ’00
“It’s Healthy to Put a Good Spin on Your Life” — The Wall Street Journal
Jonathan Adler ’00, assistant professor of psychology at Olin College of Engineering, continues to get media attention for his research that suggests that the way we tell our own stories — our narratives — affects our mental health.
“[Y]ou have a choice in how the narrative plays out,” he tells reporter Elizabeth Bernstein of The Wall Street Journal. “You tell the story and the story really matters.”
As Bernstein writes, “[P]eople who frame events in their lives — even negative ones — in positive ways have better mental health, and those who frame events in negative ways have poorer mental well-being.”
Adler also speaks about his work for a WBUR and Slate podcast, The Checkup (at the 17:23 mark).
Ahmed Abdel Khalek ’16
Ahmed Abdel Khalek ’16
“Faces in the Crowd” — Sports Illustrated
Bates squash champion Ahmed Abdel Khalek ’16 appeared in the popular Sports Illustrated feature “Faces in the Crowd,” in the magazine’s April 6 issue.
Abdel Khalek, of Cairo, Egypt, won the College Squash Association men’s individual championship on March 1.
Bates Theater
From left, Colette Girardin ’16 of East Moriches, N.Y., Ciaran Walsh ’15 of Washington, D.C., and Hanna Allerton ’15 of New York City perform in the play “The Summer in Gossensass” in Gannett Theater. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College)
“10 Most Underrated Theater Colleges in New England” — On Stage
The theater website On Stage says that Bates has one of the most underrated theater departments in New England.
“Aside from being one of the best liberal arts and science colleges in the country, Bates offers a wonderful theatre program as well.”
Shirl Penney ’99
“Penney Wise: Q&A With Dynasty Financial Partners CEO Shirl Penney” — Forbes
In a Forbes Q&A with Shirl Penney ’99, CEO and founder of Dynasty Financial Partners, reporter Dan Simon notes that Penney has developed “a game-changing integrated platform of technology and services for top independent financial advisors.”
Penney, whose personal story was told in Bates Magazine in 2005, left a major brokerage house five years ago to create Dynasty.
Describing the intensity of building a company, Penney tells Simon that “when you go out on your own, your business card has just your name on it. Period. And to a certain extent what you did in the past does not matter.”
“Raising capital, attracting people to make your vision theirs, convincing clients to come on board early, managing expectations at home, and not wavering on your belief in yourself can be difficult….Then, when you launch, it gets harder.”
Kristen Kelliher ’16
Kristen Kelliher ’16 of Norwich, Vt., is the youngest female to climb the highest peaks in all 50 U.S. states. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College)
“Highpointer Kristen Kelliher” — WCSH-TV
Kristen Kelliher ’16 of Norwich, Vt., has climbed all the highest peaks in the U.S., the last being Alaska’s Denali at age 18, making her the youngest female to “highpoint” all 50 states.
WCSH-TV’s 207 news magazine interviewed Kelliher earlier in May.
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