Wells students join discussion with corporate leaders

Amy Hawkins of Spencerport, New York, Christin Schaaf of Webster, New York, Marnie Reusser of Ithaca, New York, and Anne Dean of Crestline, California were among the 200 students from across the country who participated.

This year's conference was entitled, "Rising to the Modern Challenge: Corporate Public Responsibility," and provided a forum for college students to discuss pertinent issues with some of the nation's top executives. Issues addressed included how the corporate community can effect societal change and how business can be more responsive to community needs.

New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman gave the keynote address. Among the corporate executives who participated were Frank Popoff, chairman of Dow Chemical; John Ong, chairman and CEO of B.F. Goodrich Company; Dennis Strigl, CEO of Bell Atlantic NYNEX; Albert Dowden, chairman and CEO of Volvo North America; and Denise Weiner, vice president of The Prudential Corp.

The Foundation for Student Communication is a non-profit organization based in Princeton University whose mission is to create a forum for discussion between students and corporate leaders. Students are nominated to attend by an administrator at the college where they are enrolled.

December, 1997

Panel and open forum examine academic freedom

The moderator will be A. Thomas Vawter, professor of biology at Wells. The panel will consist of Wells faculty members Scott Heinekamp, professor of physics and president of the Wells chapter of AAUP; Bruce Bennett, professor of English and vice president/recruitment chair of the Wells chapter; Crawford Thoburn, professor of music; and Milene Morfei, assistant professor of psychology. A Wells student will also participate on the panel.

The discussion will deal with such issues as free speech in an academic community, rights and responsibilities of members of the community, governance structures, confidentiality and access to information, and the function of tenure. Readings (available to students beforehand) will include excerpts from the Wells College Collegiate Constitution, the American Association of University Professors' Red Book, and the magazine Academe.

The Wells College Chapter of the AAUP was formed in 1996 and has been officially recognized by the association's national office in Washington, D.C.; it was formally inaugurated at a public ceremony at the college during February 1997.

The American Association of University Professors was founded in 1915 in order to promote academic freedom for faculty members, a new idea at the time. The AAUP remains the leading organization primarily dedicated to protecting the academic freedom of professors.

December, 1997

British government program established

The first two Wells students selected for the program are Christin Schaaf '99 of Webster, New York, and Rebecca Good '99 of Bradford Woods, Penn. They were selected as the result of a rigorous interviewing process, and will spend spring semester 1998 in London. Both are public affairs majors with a concentration in government and politics.

Nan M. DiBello, assistant professor of political science at Wells, and Nancy Karpinski, the college's director of career development services, were instrumental in establishing the affiliation. One or two students from Wells will be selected for the program each semester, said Karpinski.

Through this affiliation, Wells students participate in the Hansard Scholars Programme in Parliamentary and Public Policy Studies. They spend at least three days each week working for a member of the House of Commons or House of Lords or they may select an internship with a political party or political organization. Their internship responsibilities include writing speeches, researching political issues, preparing briefs, and taking part in the member of Parliament's constituency work.

Students also take three political science courses at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Included is a substantial research project based on work done in the internship. The London School of Economics and Political Science is the only British university specializing solely in the study of the social sciences and has a worldwide reputation in the field.

The Hansard Scholars Programme is administered by The Hansard Society for Parliamentary Government, which was established in 1944. It takes its name from "Hansard," the official record of parliamentary proceedings in Britain. Winston Churchill and Clement Attlee were its first two members. The program was established to help students appreciate differences as well as similarities between the political cultures of the United Kingdom and the United States.

Wells' involvement in The Hansard Programme is the result of its membership in the Public Leadership Education Network (PLEN) in Washington, D.C. PLEN is a consortium of women's colleges dedicated to providing women with leadership opportunities in government and public policy.

December, 1997