Wells Field Hockey Achieves New Heights in 2004 Conference Rankings

Lyn LaBar Voted Coach of the Year

The Wells field hockey team - the Express - made college history in the 2004 season earning second place in the Atlantic Women’s College Conference (AWCC).  This is the highest level the Wells team has attained since joining the conference in 1996.  The Express finished the season with a 5-2 conference record and a 5-8 record overall. 

Wells also received high honors for individual contributions to the sport:  Coach Lyn LaBar was voted 2004 AWCC Coach of the Year. Captain Kate McLaren ’04 received the AWCC Most Outstanding Player Award.  Midfielders Nicole Maryjanowski ’07 and McLaren were named to the All Conference First Team. Rookie Goalkeeper Ali Formicola ’06 was named to the All Conference Second Team along with leading scorer Samantha Schultz ’06. 

Coach LaBar said, “It is an honor to be recognized by my peers as AWCC Coach of the Year. I thank the team members and assistant coach Ace Dolan for their hard work and contributions. We enjoyed a very successful season in AWCC play, and I had a great time working with this squad. Their level of dedication, determination, and effort made my job very easy.” 

The AWCC Championship was held in early November at Trinity College in Washington, DC.  Coming in as the number one seed for the first time ever, Wells’ 3-2 overtime defeat of the Wilson College Phoenix kept them in the championship bracket and guaranteed them first or second place in the conference. 

This win pitted Wells against the Gators of the College of Notre Dame in the championship game.  The Express started the game slowly with two quick scores by the Gators in the first half but then held off the rush for the remainder of the game.  Offensively, the team came alive later in the second half making strong marches to the goal but could not get the ball in the back of the net and ultimately lost the game to the Gators 2-0. 

This is Lyn LaBar’s 16th season as the head coach of Wells’ field hockey program. She arrived at the college in 1989 as head field hockey and head lacrosse coach. In 1993, she was named athletic director and relinquished lacrosse coaching responsibilities. Prior to coaching at Wells, she was the head field hockey coach at Montclair State College from 1985-87 and assistant field hockey and lacrosse coach from 1984-85. 

LaBar is a 1984 graduate of Syracuse University where she played field hockey for four years and served as captain her senior year.  She earned her master's degree in physical education from Montclair State College in 1987, specializing in coaching and sports administration. 

LaBar has also been active outside of Wells serving the New York State Women’s Collegiate Athletic Association (NYSWCAA) as treasurer and executive council member (1994-97). Currently, she serves as President-Elect of the AWCC. She was also a regional committee member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and president of the AWCC (1997-98).

Founded in 1995, the AWCC has been recognized by the NCAA as a conference since 1999 and conducts conference championships in eight intercollegiate sports.  The eight members of the conference are: Chatham College, Chestnut Hill College, Hood College, Mary Baldwin College, College of Notre Dame of Maryland, Trinity College, Wells College, and Wilson College.

December, 2004

Holiday Book Arts Open House to be Held at Wells College

Hands-on demos, exhibits, tours, and handmade items for sale

Celebrate the holiday season with a visit to the Wells College Book Arts Center. On Friday, December 3 and Saturday, December 4, the Center will host a holiday open house from 10:00 am – 6:00 pm each day. Saturday’s festivities coincide with the annual Christmas in Aurora celebration. Seasonal music and refreshments will set the mood, and the public is warmly invited to enjoy this special free holiday treat.

Talented Wells students will exhibit their work in letterpress printing, bookbinding, and calligraphy. Unique handmade books, cards, ornaments, wrapping paper, and other gifts will be on sale at affordable prices. Guests are welcome to tour the Book Arts Center studios, watch a printing demonstration, print a keepsake to take home, and shop for unique holiday gifts. 

Inspired by Victor Hammer, an internationally renowned calligrapher, painter, printer and type designer, the Wells Book Arts Center was established in 1993 to instruct in all areas of book arts and technologies. Hammer also founded the Wells College Press. Students in book arts classes at Wells learn the history and philosophy of their craft as they develop hand skills in the fabrication of books. They gain international perspective on book arts with visits from accomplished lecturers, writers, and artists, and with field trips to the area’s remarkable collection of libraries, presses, paper mills and binderies. Current classes teach design, typography, the evolution of letterforms, letterpress printing, bookbinding, and the history of the book. Though it embraces historical arts and technologies, the Center also actively investigates and incorporates innovations of our digital age. The Wells Book Arts Center supports the mission of the college by revealing the essential role of the book in Western culture and the liberal arts.

For more information about the holiday open house and the book arts at Wells College, please contact the Wells Book Arts Center by phone at 315-364-3420 or by email at bookartscenter@wells.edu, and visit the web:  www.wells.edu/bookarts.

November, 2004

New athletic teams to be added for 2005 

The Wells College Department of Intercollegiate Athletics is pleased to announce the addition of athletic opportunities for male students beginning in Fall 2005. In response to the Board of Trustees’ October decision to begin accepting men to the traditionally all-women’s college, Wells is now developing men’s soccer and swimming teams at the club level. 

Wells plans to expand intercollegiate athletic program opportunities for women and men during the next few years. “In the very near future, Wells will conduct a national search to secure a head coach for the men’s soccer program,” says Director of Athletics Lyn LaBar. “We are in the midst of preparing for that search, and are very excited about the addition of men's teams to our department.”

New head swim coach and aquatics coordinator David Warner will handle the responsibilities of recruiting for and coaching the men’s swim program. Once a soccer coach is hired, both will recruit prospective student athletes to Wells’ new programs.

The athletics staff has been working continually since the coeducation decision was announced to develop plans that are inclusive of men. These plans are expected to enhance male student recruitment efforts, which will contribute to overall enrollment growth.

Wells is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III member and currently offers six varsity women’s sports teams: field hockey, soccer, tennis, swimming, lacrosse, and softball. All six teams are members of the New York State Women’s Collegiate Athletic Association (NYSWCAA), while field hockey, soccer, swimming, softball and lacrosse compete in the Atlantic Women’s Colleges Conference (AWCC). When the men’s programs elevate to varsity status, they will participate at the NCAA Division III level. 

Wells offers students a variety of indoor and outdoor facilities. The Schwartz Student Center houses a swimming pool, gymnasium, weight room, a cardio room, and two tennis courts. Outdoor facilities include four tennis courts, softball field, boathouse, a 9-hole golf course, and both practice and game fields for field hockey, soccer, and lacrosse. 

For additional information about new developments in athletics at Wells College, please contact director Lyn LaBar at 315/364-3410.

November, 2004

One-woman play “The Belle of Amherst” gives look at poet’s life

The Wells College Arts & Lecture Series Committee is pleased to announce that The Belle of Amherst will be presented on the Aurora campus next weekend. The one-woman show will take place on Saturday, November 20 at 7:30 p.m. in Phipps Auditorium, Macmillan Hall. Prices are $3 for students and children, $6 for senior citizens and the Wells College community, and $10 for the general public. Tickets are available at the door the night of the performance. Please call 315/364-3456 or 364-3428 to reserve seats.

Based on the life and poems of Emily Dickinson, The Belle of Amherst is an inspiring biographical portrait of a famous and eccentric spinster, who just happens to be one of America’s greatest literary figures. Ginger Grace stars as the passionate and mysterious poet in this moving theatre experience. 

Written by William Luce, directed by William Roudebush, and presented by Windwood Theatricals, The Belle of Amherst seamlessly weaves poetry and prose together in an entertaining and anecdotal revelation of Dickinson’s life and art, creating a portrait of the poet as a woman of deep sensitivity and lively intelligence with a wicked sense of humor. The audience will enjoy getting to know Emily, who remained secluded within the house and gardens of her father’s Massachusetts estate “The Homestead” for the last 30 years of her life while she wrote more than 1,700 unpublished poems.

Ginger Grace was most recently seen performing opposite Rich Little in the tour of The Presidents, playing all of the first ladies from Jackie Kennedy to Hillary Clinton. Her off-Broadway credits include Gretchen in Faust, Anitra in Peer Gynt, and Ophelia in Hamlet.

The Wells College Arts & Lecture Series features professional guest artists and performers who are brought to campus to enrich the cultural and academic components of Wells as a learning community. The acts are selected annually by a committee comprised of Wells faculty, staff, administrators, and students.

For more information about The Belle of Amherst and the Wells Arts & Lecture Series, please contact Meagen Mulherin, assistant dean for campus involvement, at 315/364-3428. Additional information about Belle may be found at www.windwoodtheatricals.com.

November, 2004

Wells College students, Islamic scholar present panel discussion on women in Islam

Wells College Vice President for Academic Affairs Ellen Hall announces that visiting Islamic Professor Nadia Al-Bagdadi and several Wells students will present a roundtable discussion on Monday, November 15. This special event, entitled “Bearing the Symbol: Women In The Muslim World,” will start with refreshments at 3:30 p.m. outside Cleveland auditorium. The discussion will begin promptly at 4:15 p.m., followed by a question and answer period. The public is warmly invited to attend this free event.

As part of her class “Islam in the Modern World,” Professor Nadia Al-Bagdadi has worked closely with her students to plan and execute the panel discussion “Baring the Symbol: Women In The Muslim World.” Topics will focus on several different contemporary issues affecting Islamic women today. 

“In the current political atmosphere, it is important to enter an engaged academic and public debate on Islamic matters, not only about but also with people from various parts of the Muslim world,” says Professor Al-Bagdadi. “The students in my class chose to research contemporary women in Muslim societies, a topic that is spotlighted perhaps too often in the media. Their goal, however, is to present another perspective by examining oversimplified stereotypes and exploring similarities and differences from their own experiences as young women in a modern world.”

Featured panel discussion presenters and topics are:

Nicole A Riley ’08 will be presenting “Unveiled: A Glance At Religious Symbols - The Cross And The Veil.” This portion of the program will take an in-depth look at the recent ban on the veil in France, and compares and contrasts the meaning of the veil to a Muslim to the significance of the cross to a Christian.

Joanna deSupinski ’08 will cover “Searching for an Islamic Identity in Turkey: Navigating the Labyrinth.” She will also speak on the formation of a woman’s identity through Islam, and the many false assumptions which currently exist surrounding Muslim tradition, women and the Islamic religion.

Seynabou Ndiaye ’05, Karima Bungudu ’06, and Amina Bungudu ’06 are foreign students from Senegal and Nigeria. They have teamed together to discuss “Understanding Western Conceptions of Muslim Women.” Their presentation will analyze the factors leading to Western misconceptions of Muslim women and how the media plays a role in creating this stigmatization. They will also touch on how existing Islamic customs and traditions have impacted the lives of Muslim women.

Brittany Campese ’06 will conclude the event with a multimedia presentation entitled,  “Iranian Feminist Film: Portrait of the Invisible.” She will be discussing transnational feminism, cross-cultural perspectives, and the social movements of the post-Islamic Revolution in Iran, comparing the correlation between filmmaking and feminist activism in Iran.

Professor Al-Bagdadi will serve as moderator for the panel discussion. Assistant Professor of Biology Christina Wahl will assist in facilitating this event. 

"Wells is so fortunate to host Dr. Nadia Al-Bagdadi as our visiting scholar of Islamic Studies for the fall semester," says Hall. "Dr. Al-Bagdadi has engaged her class fully in the study of modern Islam, and this panel discussion will be the culminating event in their collaborative work.”

Dr. Al-Bagdadi is a specialist in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies of the modern period. She earned her D. Phil. in Islamic Studies at the Free University Berlin. Her main field of research focuses on modern socio-cultural history, including literature, religion and print culture, in the Arab world, as well as on vision and visuality in classical Arab civilization. She is presently a long-term visiting professor at Central European University in Budapest, Hungary, where she teaches in the History and Sociology/Social Anthropology Departments.

Professor Al-Bagdadi’s fellowship is sponsored through the “Understanding Contemporary Islam” program of the American University of Beirut in partnership with the Council for International Exchange of Scholars. The AUB has served as a bridge between East and West for more than 125 years. The University recently implemented the new “Understanding Contemporary Islam” program to expand the University’s existing emphasis on cross-cultural dialog. The program aims to increase the level of knowledge and understanding between Muslims and the West by sending scholars from the Islamic world to universities and colleges in the United States as visiting fellows who will serve as resources on Islam and life in contemporary Muslim societies.

The panel discussion is presented in honor of Dr. Abdul Hamid Hallab, director of the Understanding Contemporary Islam program and special advisor to the president of the American University of Beirut.  Dr. Hallab is touring the East Coast, visiting the scholars, including Al-Bagdadi, who are conducting residencies this semester through the CIES. He will be present at the panel discussion and may address the audience. Dr. Hallab also serves as special advisor for higher education to the ruler of Sharjah. 

For more information about the panel discussion “Baring the Symbol: Women In The Muslim World” and Professor Al-Bagdadi’s residency at Wells College, please call her directly at 315/364-3247.

November, 2004

Earlier Articles in Wells College News:
 

		Dec., 2002	March,1998
		Nov., 2002	Feb.,1998
		Oct., 2002	Jan.,1998
	Nov.-Dec., 2004	Sept., 2002	Dec.,1997
	Oct., 2004	Aug., 2002	Nov.,1997
	Sept., 2004	Sept.,2001.-May.,2002	Oct.,1997
	May-Aug., 2004	Sept.,2000.-May.,2001	Sept.,1997
	April., 2004	Sept. 1999-Aug.,2000	July - Aug., 1997
	March, 2004	August,1999	May - June,1997
	Jan.-Feb., 2004	May,1999	March - April,1997
	Nov., 2003	April,1999	Feb.,1997
	Oct., 2003	Feb.-March, 1999	Nov. - Dec.,1996
	Sept., 2003	Jan.,1999	Oct.r,1996
	Summer, 2003	Fall,1998	Sept.,1996
	May, 2003	Aug.,1998	June - Aug.,1996
	April, 2003	June -July, 1998	May,1996
	March, 2003	May,1998	April,1996
	Jan.-Feb., 2003	April,1998	Feb - March, 1996

Last updated 02/23/2005