KERA’s (Dallas)  Krys Boyd recently interviewed tropical field biologist Meg Lowman ’76 on Boyd’s always fascinating “Think” program.

http://podcastdownload.npr.org/anon.npr-podcasts/podcast/77/510036/91173599/KERA_91173599.mp3

The interview ranges over a variety of topics, from Lowman’s creation of the first tree canopy walks (she was the force behind the one in Hopkins Memorial Forest), being an international field biologist, teaching (she is a professor at New College of Florida, where she teaches undergraduates), life as the single mother of two boys while working in the field, and women in science. More than anything, I was struck by how much her identity as a parent shapes her worldview and values. She and her sons (who are now in their early twenties, and destined for scientific careers of their own) have collaborated in writing about life growing up in a field scientist’s family.

Those of you who are at Williams for reunions can try out a canopy walk for yourselves tomorrow (assuming the rain stops):

Sat., 1:30 - 5 p.m.  Hopkins Forest: Visit the Treetops on the Canopy Walkway

The walkway is a pair of tree platforms set 70 ft. above the ground and originally used for research. Platforms are linked by a cable bridge and accessed via a wooden ladder. Participants are harnessed to safety cables, and aided by guides. Space limited; long waits possible; first come, first served; no children under 12.

(It’s safe, but a challenge if you have height anxieties. Even if you don’t ascend, it’s worth walking over to HMF just to look at the structure. There will be an open house in the forest at the same time, so you could stop in at HMF headquarters and see the museum of farm implements, buy some homemade maple syrup, and view some of the other exhibits. And if you are outdoorsy, don’t miss the bird walk and the hike, both of which are also on the main reunion schedule.)

Listening to the interview or seeing the canopy walk might interest you in reading Meg’s books for the layperson:

Life in the Treetops: Adventures of a Woman in Field Biology by Margaret D. Lowman (2000)

and

It’s a Jungle Up There: More Tales from the Treetops by Margaret D. Lowman, James Burgess, Edward Burgess, and Ghillean T. Prance (2006) (written with her sons)

Lowman has a website, canopymeg.com. Officialy, her title is Margaret D. Lowman, Ph.D., Professor of Biology and Environmental Studies and Director of Environmental Initiatives, New College of Florida, but, if one just adds “Mom,” the subtitle of her website encapsulates it rather nicely: “Author, Adventurer, Tropical Rain Forest Canopy Biologist.”  She is very much a proud product of  the  Williams Center for Environmental Studies, and the College has celebrated her accomplishments by honoring her with a Bicentennial Medal.

The goal of this post is to catalog all the graduates of Williams who have won a Pulitzer Prize. It is a follow up to this post. (Thanks to readers for various pointers.)

John Toland ‘36
James McGregor Burns ‘39
Bernard Bailyn ‘45
Hedrick Smith ‘55
John Kifner ‘63
Edward Larson ‘74
Sonia Nazario ‘82
Stacy Schiff ‘82
Eric Schmitt ‘82
Dan Keating ‘84
Greg Jaffe ‘91

Are there any others? All of these Ephs have won Bicentennial Medals except for Jaffe, Keating, Schmidt, Larson and Smith. Surely they should be near the top of the list for next year. For those who care about such things, both of the female winners have been awarded Bicentennial Medals. Four of the nine male winners have been so honored. That’s just a coincidence, of course. Nothing to see hear. Please move along.

Don’t care about who is and who is not a Peabody winner? Don’t read this post! (But if you know any Ephs who have won a Peabody, please tell us in the comments. As far as I can tell, there is not a single Eph who can honestly claim to be a “Peabody winner.” Correct me if I am wrong!)

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My friend Jeff claims that I have been “soundly trounced” on the issue of whether or not the same standards apply for male and female Ephs in the awarding of Bicentennial Medals at Williams.

[Previous discussion here. Strictly speaking there are two separate issues. First, are the standards lower for female Ephs and for male Ephs in general? Second, does any particular Eph, male or female, deserve to win? The second questions is much more difficult and contentious than the first. Here, let me focus on the former. Only those naive to the ways of places like Williams and to the unyielding reality of the underlying demographics believe that standards for men and women are the same.]

Jeff provides a handy “proof” of his claim, illustrating, in his view, that there are female Ephs with credentials more distinguished than Earl Potter ‘68 who have not won Bicentennial Medals.

By the way, Catherine Hill has better than “the same” achievements (President of a more prestigious institution, Vassar, as well as years of service to Williams) … she has not (yet) been awarded a medal. QED.

I do not think that QED means what you think it means.

First, Catherine Hill was awarded an Honorary Degree in 2006. An Honorary Degree is much more prestigious than a Bicentennial Medal. As a rule (counter-examples welcome), the College does not award both to the same person. Consider Nobel Prize winner Robert Engle ‘64, awarded an Honorary Degree in 2007. We all agree that he has displayed “distinguished achievement.” Why no Bicentennial Medal for Engle? Because the College awards honorary degrees to the real stars.

Second, even if you want to compare Cappy Hill to someone, the natural comparison is to Steve Lewis ‘60. Both are Williams graduates, Williams economics professors and Williams provosts. Both became presidents of elite liberal arts colleges. Why does Lewis only get a Bicentennial Medal after a decade of being a college president while Hill gets an Honorary Degree just as her college presidency begins?

But these are quibbles. The Lewis/Hill outcomes might have nothing to do with gender. Morty might just like Cappy and not like Steve. Instead, of looking at this difficult case, let’s take a simple test. Here are neutral descriptions of three alums in the same field.

1) Successful in business and owner of a minor league baseball team.
2) Successful in business and owner of a major league baseball team.
3) Successful in business and commissioner of Major League Baseball.

Which one of these three alums has most displayed “distinguished achievement” in his/her field? Now, it would be reasonable to say that none of them have, that baseball is such a trivial part of human endeavor that none of these Ephs deserve a medal. It would also be reasonable to think that baseball is so wonderful that all three Ephs should win.

But there is no possible objective criteria by which you can prefer Eph #1 over #2 and #3. What if I told you that, in fact, #1 had been awarded a Bicentennial Medal in 1994 while Ephs #2 (George Steinbrenner ‘52) and #3 (Fay Vincent ‘60) had never been so honored? What would your first guess be about the gender of Eph #1? That’s right! Eph #1 is female.

Tracy P. Lewis
Class of 1983
Awarded the Bicentennial Medal in 1994.

Business woman and entrepreneur - first woman to own a minor league baseball team.

I am happy to grant that Tracy Lewis is a wonderful person (more wonderful than me) who has achieved a great deal (more than me). But if she had not been a woman, she would not have been awarded a Bicentennial Medal.

One example not enough? Fine. Let’s play again! Which of these four Ephs deserves a Bicentennial Medal?

1) Elected District Attorney in Middlesex County, Massachusetts.
2) Elected Congressman from 2nd District of Hawaii.
3) Elected Congressman from 2nd District of Colorado.
4) Elected Governor of Minnesota.

Again, maybe all of these Ephs deserve medals because elected office is so important. Many none of them do because politicians are venal. But there is no objective criteria imaginable by which a fair committee would choose #1 over any of #2, #3, or #4.

Who won? Surprise! It was Eph #1 in 1999.

Martha M. Coakley
Class of 1975
Awarded the Bicentennial Medal in 1999.

Middlesex County District Attorney

Neither Eph #2 (Ed Case ‘75) nor #3 (Mark Udall ‘72) nor #4 (Arne Carlson ‘57) have won Bicentennial Medals. If any were female, they would have.

I am happy to play this game all day long, but, please, just think about the demographic reality. Women have only been at Williams for the last 30 years. Bicentennial Medal winners tend to be older because it often takes a lifetime to demonstrate “distinguished achievement.” Many/most female Ephs take substantial time off from their careers for family reasons while very few male Ephs do the same. Given all these facts (and without even entering the wonderful world of Larry Summers), there is no way that objective criteria would produce a 50/50 split between male/female medal winners.

What would the split be if the committee were gender-blind? Excellent question! I don’t know. There is already more male than female winners. A rough guess would be that 25% of the winners are female. If there were not a concern to make the winners look like Williams, the percentage would be much lower.

And, as always, this discussion should take nothing away from the female winners who would have won even if they were male. For example, it seems (counter-examples welcome) that every Eph Pulitzer Prize-winner has won a Bicentennial Medal. Sonia Nazario ‘82 and Stacy Schiff ‘82 fully deserved their medals. The same can not be said for some other female Eph winners. They were chosen, not for “distinguished achievement” among all Ephs, but for success in comparison to other female graduates of Williams.

It is an empirical fact that the standards for awarding Bicentennial Medals for women are lower than those for men. That may be a good thing. (I don’t really object much, if at all.) That may be a bad thing. But people like Jeff who would prefer that reality were other than it is should try to do that pretending elsewhere. They will have better luck.

Add Earl Potter ‘68, president of St. Cloud State University, to the list of Eph college presidents. Is this news story a compliment or an insult?

But behind those achievements lie a man whose history is as complex and diverse as the list of schools he’s studied at and led.

Potter grew up in a small, waterfront town in Rhode Island along with his parents and younger brother and sister.

Potter described his past as one full of choices, of trying to fit in with the various social circles that ran rampant in his life in North Kingstown.

Church, high school and the yacht club were just some of the many directions the young Potter was pulled in.

But though it could be difficult at times to sort through those various circles, Potter said he learned to make up his own mind on what was right and wrong, and gained an independent streak which helps guide him through decisions he continues to make.

Ah, the pull of the yacht club. Beware the infernal temptations of youth!

To be fair, Potter seems like an interesting fellow. He spent many years in the Coast Guard, not dodging his military obligations like so many Ephs of his generation. Will the College be awarding Potter a Bicentennial Medal anytime soon? Maybe. A female Eph with the same accomplishments would be a shoe-in.

Convocation is today.

Thomas Payzant ‘62, professor of practice at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, will be the featured speaker at Williams College’s Convocation, Saturday, September 8. The event will be held in Chapin Hall, beginning at 11 a.m. Professor Payzant is the former superintendent for the Boston Public Schools.

Convocation is the traditional celebration of the new year at Williams, when the Class of 2008 is recognized as they begin their senior year. The public is cordially invited to attend what is considered a highlight of the college’s academic year.

The event is also the occasion to award the college’s Bicentennial Medals to alumnae/ni of distinction, as a way for students to see the important ways in which Williams graduates contribute to their world.

In addition to Professor Payzant, those receiving medals will be Margaret Kim ‘91, award-winning director of historical programming for The History Channel; Reed Zars ‘77, environmental lawyer; Steve Lewis ‘60, president emeritus of Carleton College; H. Ward Marston IV ‘73, Grammy award-winning musician and pioneer in the field of audio restoration; and Alice P. Albright ‘83, who pioneered finance mechanisms to deliver vaccines and immunizations to the world’s poorest countries.

EphBlog readers know Lewis and Marston. The merit of some of the other awardees is a bit more hidden.

Now, in keeping with the new and gentler EphBlog, I ought to tone down my comments a bit. Some might say that my past complaints on the topic have been out of line.

But let us start today with looking at both what is seen (the awardees) and what is unseen (the Ephs who could have been so honored but weren’t). For example, my classmates Mark Solan and Rich Gardella have both won Emmys. Pretty impressive! Did the College decide to award them Bicentennial Medals? No. Instead, an award goes to Margaret Kim ‘91, whose main claim to fame is that she was nominated for an Emmy.

Now, maybe Kim was selected because she is a helpful alum and has a friend on the committee. Maybe the committee wanted to find a woman. Maybe they wanted an Asian-American. Maybe the committee did not know that there were other Eph Emmy winners. But there is simply no way that the main selection criteria was achievement in the media business.

And that is OK! There is nothing particularly objectionable about the College selecting Bicentennial Medal winners with an eye toward how much, as a group, they “look like Williams.” But rather than giving awards to Emmy-nominated women instead of to Emmy-winning men, the College ought to think more broadly about what categories it honors. More on that later.

On Saturday, Williams will present Bicentennial
Medals to six alumni:

• Bernard Bailyn, Pulitzer Prize-winning
  historian
• Edgar M. Bronfman, president of the World
  Jewish Congress
• A. R. Gurney, Jr., playwright
• Glenn D. Lowry, director of New York’s
  Museum of Modern Art
• Inigo Manglano-Ovalle, artist
• Marisa E. Reddy Randazzo, threat assessment
  expert

This ceremony will be special for me, as one of the major reasons I attended Williams was because Bernard Bailyn had gone there.  I was quite a History aficionado in high school, and I figured if Williams could turn out great historians such as Bernard Bailyn and James MacGregor Burns, that was the place for me.

If you can make it, I would highly recommend
it.  I’ve attended around six presentations so far, and it’s always fascinating to see what tortuous and interesting paths Williams graduates travel.  Morty changed the venue last year — to Chapin during the day so students could attend, rather than at night in Lasell for alumni only — and the students seemed to take a lot of inspiration from what they heard and saw.

The college’s summary of the recipients’
accomplishments is
here;
following is further background on what they’ve done.

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