Watch Paul Volcker's discussion at Vassar

Last week, Vassar hosted two of the world's most important economists—Paul Volcker and Paul Krugman. Above, watch the special event with Paul Volcker. Volcker is Chairman of President Obama's Economic Recovery Advisory Board and was Chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1979 to 1987. The event was hosted by Vassar alumnus Jeffrey Goldstein (Vassar class of 1977), current Under Secretary of the Treasury, as well as Vassar Economics professor Robert Rebelein, who served for the last two years on the Council of Economic Advisers.

Want to learn more about economics at Vassar (and careers in finance after Vassar)? Check out the Economics Department site and the Office of Career Development site.

Paul Krugman, Nobel Prize-winning economist, speaks at Vassar

Last week was an incredible week for economics at Vassar! On Tuesday, the College hosted Paul Volcker, Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers and former Chairman of the Federal Reserve. And on Thursday, Nobel laureate Paul Krugman spoke at the Vassar Bookstore.

Krugman, famed economist at Princeton and New York Times columnist, discussed his book The Return of Depression Economics. In addition to economics students and professors, Vassar invited local high school and middle school students studying economics.

Read more about the event in this article in The Miscellany News, Vassar’s student newspaper.

Paul Volcker, former Chairman of the Federal Reserve, will speak at Vassar

Paul Volcker, internationally acclaimed economist and Chairman of the Federal Reserve under presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan, will speak at Vassar on September 28. Since February 2009, Volcker has served as Chairman of the Economic Recovery Advisory Board under President Barack Obama.

Volcker served as Fed Chair during one of the most turbulent periods in American history. Known as the "inflation fighter," he helped lower double-digit inflation rates in the early 1980s and is widely credited with ushering in an era of economic prosperity. He graduated summa cum laude from Princeton in 1949, and then earned a graduate degree in political economy from Harvard. In 1952, he joined the staff of the Federal Reserve Bank in New York.

I took many courses in Vassar's Economics Department, and I'm so jealous that current students will have the opportunity to speak with this leader in American macroeconomic policy. Hope they'll record the event for the Vassar YouTube Channel!

Volcker's discussion will take place on September 28 at 5 p.m. on the second floor of the Students' Building. Vassar Economics professor Robert Rebelein, who served for the last two years on the Council of Economic Advisors, will moderate. Jeffrey Goldstein (Vassar class of 1977) and current Under Secretary of the Treasury for Domestic Finance, will introduce the speakers. Read more about Volcker in a fascinating recent profile in The New Yorker.

Watch the Attorney General's lecture at Vassar

Attorney General Eric Holder lectures at Vassar

Vassar attracts countless big-name speakers. From Hillary Clinton to Salman Rushdie and from Gail Collins to Frank Rich, we've hosted some of the nation's most important politicians, writers, and intellectuals. But for a pre-law student like myself, there is perhaps no speaker more relevant or exciting than the United States Attorney General—the country's single most powerful lawyer.

Eric Holder, an old friend of Judge Richard Roberts (Vassar class of 1974), spent the day at Vassar last Thursday. The day concluded with a community-wide lecture in the sold-out Chapel.

Here is just the introduction to his speech, which described the incredible impact of Vassar graduates in bringing about social and political change. You can read the entire speech on the Department of Justice's Web site:

Good afternoon. It’s a pleasure to be here and a privilege to join so many members and leaders of the Vassar community. I want to thank you all – especially President [Cappy] Hill – for inviting me to participate in this week of reflection and discussion about the power and importance of public service.

Let me also thank my good friend, Judge Richard Roberts, for welcoming me to his alma mater. This campus and this historic chapel are as beautiful as he described. As I look around at the hundreds of very young students gathered here, I realize that Ricky and I have been friends for more years than most of you have been alive. And I’ve always known him to be a proud Vassar alum. From him, I’ve had the chance to learn quite a bit about the traditions, achievements and contributions that are, and always have been, such a vital part of life on this campus.

On Saturday, I understand that many of you will come together to mark one of Vassar’s oldest traditions – Founder’s Day – when you’ll celebrate the extraordinary foresight, generosity and optimism that Matthew Vassar showed in establishing this college. As you all know, this institution welcomed its first class of students in 1861, during a time of unprecedented instability, impending war and deep, national division. Despite the challenges of the day, Matthew Vassar believed he could leverage his great fortune for the common good and the cause of equality. And he saw education as the country’s most powerful tool to ensure peace, prosperity and justice. What was true then remains true today. In creating this place of learning, Matthew Vassar believed that its students would, as he put it, “mold the character of [America’s] citizens, determine its institutions, and shape its destiny.” M any other students and professors who’ve worked to improve life on, and far beyond, this campus have proven that he was right. And the spirit of service he continues to inspire is, indeed, cause for celebration. It is my fervent hope that you will continue this great tradition.

But the truth is that the celebration of your founder’s legacy and vision has already begun. During the events and activities that you’ve participated in throughout this week – and, today, in commemorating Earth Day – all of you have honored and extended the commitment to public service that Matthew Vassar first established on this campus. For many of you, public service is not only a top priority but also a central part of your daily lives. You serve as mentors at nearby high schools; you teach elementary students about the environment at the Vassar Farm; you clean up the Hudson River; and, as part of the Green Haven Program, you tutor inmates at the maximum-security prison in Stormville. Your commitment to public service also goes far beyond this campus and the Poughkeepsie community. In fact, four of you here today were on the ground in Haiti a few months ago when the earthquake struck. In the wake of that disaster, you were among the first responders who worked to save and to protect lives.

In these and many other ways, all of you have strengthened Vassar’s tradition of service – a legacy that is remarkable... [Read more]...

Quite the Weekend

Last weekend was an odd mixture of panic and fun.

My history thesis was due on Monday afternoon. The History Department, like many departments, requires a lengthy senior thesis as the culminating project for majors. My topic is on the arguments against sanitary reform in Victorian London. (The topic is way more interesting than it sounds, I promise!). The thesis is quite the project, involving more than a year of writing and research under the close supervision of a member of the Department. But after much stress, and many rewrites, it's finally complete! Definitely a weight off my shoulders.

Now for the fun part. Vassar hosted The Flaming Lips, the world-renowned band! The place was packed with about 3500 people—students, faculty, administrators, and Poughkeepsie residents. There was even a group of prospective students!

I went to the concert with the VSA Executive Board, stopping first at one of our favorite Chinese places downtown. After spending a year with these five incredible student leaders, I realize how much I'm going to miss them. As we ordered every spicy chicken dish on the menu, we looked around and realized how close graduation really was... More on my nostalgia in future posts!

Anyway, when we got to the concert, we met up with Ruby Cramer, the Editor in Chief of The Miscellany News (Vassar's student newspaper since 1866). Ruby and I have been close friends for nearly two years; she was Features Editor while I was Editor in Chief last year. She's absolutely brilliant—one of the most articulate writers, strategic thinkers, and accomplished people you can imagine. She knows how to get from Point A to Point Z. She's the quintessential New Yorker, and exactly the type of personality Vassar strives to graduate. It's a weird feeling, but I know deep down that the two of us will remain close for the rest of our lives.

And so, a typical Vassar weekend. A mix of hardcore academics, Library emersion, famous performers, and lifelong friends. For seniors, all of those events are mixed with a twist of nostalgia, a hint of loss, and a healthy dose of excitement for what's to come.

Faculty-Student Basketball Game!

Check out these highlights from the Faculty-Student Basketball Game! The Vassar Student Association (Vassar's student government) organized the game in conjunction with Chris Roellke, Dean of the College. It was an amazing night that brought more than 1,200 students, faculty, alumni, trustees, and staff to the Athletics and Fitness Center. This event served as a fundraiser for the Senior Class Gift, of which I'm Co-Chair. (Our Gift is the 2010 Endowed Scholarship Fund -- the first student-generated endowment in Vassar's history!).

Read more about this incredible event in the Miscellany News, Vassar's student newspaper.

Albrecht Dürer: Impressions of the Renaissance

Throughout my career as a student, I have been head-over-heals in love with history. I am a History major at Vassar, and basically live in Swift Hall, the Department's colonial-style home. But I have also had a secret affair, a clandestine crush, and secondary academic mistress. Her name? Art History. In high school, I took an amazing AP Art History course, and absolutely fell in love. As soon as my teacher turned on the projector and the slide image of the caves of Lascaux popped up, I was hooked.

Alas, a few too many people in the "real world" discouraged my passion. On the blogs, Art History routinely tops the list of the world's most "useless" and "worthless" majors. Sigh.

Fortunately, Vassar inspires students like myself to cultivate my passions. Although I am a major in History (and double in Political Science), I can also maintain my quirky, fun, and fascinating minor in Art History.

And Vassar's Art History Department is one of the best in the world. We have world-class art historians, famous in their areas of expertise. We also have one of the world's finest college art museums in the United States — The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center. Our collections include more than 18,000 works of painting, drawing, sculpture and tapestry. It includes Picasso, Rembrandt, O'Keeffe, and Matisse.

And now, with the opening of Albrect Durer: Impressions of the Renaissance, we can see Vassar's incredible collection of Durer and his incomparable Northern Renaissance work.

Pete Seeger!

Vassar attracts incredible performers, speakers and intellectuals. This weekend was no exception. Legendary singer Pete Seeger—leader of the American folk music revival and key player of the Civil Rights Movement—performed yesterday at Vassar. The concert was indescribable. The entire Vassar community sat around our beautiful College Chapel and sang along. Seeger has written some of the most well-known songs of the 1950s and 60s, including "If I Had a Hammer" and "Turn Turn Turn." He's also famous for his children's music, which he performed with his usual joyful energy.

Seeger, who has lived his life in the Hudson Valley, was here to celebrate our art museum's newest exhibit, Drawn By New York from the New York Historical Society. The weekend was incredible, and I am about to download some Pete Seeger on iTunes.

Fall Convocation, take four

(image courtesy of The Miscellany News)

The sense of community at Vassar is rarely stronger than Fall and Spring Convocation. Twice each year, the community gathers to mark the official beginning and end of the academic year. Faculty, alumni, and students come together to listen to beautiful choral music, see long academic processionals, and hear from the President of the College and the President of the Student Association.

Usually, the event is geared toward seniors and freshmen—two classes at opposite ends of their Vassar experience. But I'll admit it; I'm a dork. I've gone to every Convocation since my first year. I usually am successful in dragging my friends along, but truth be told, I'd be there anyway. I just love the sense of tradition and community.

This year, though, was unique. For the first time, my own class marched through the Chapel in our academic dress. Hard to believe. I've seen three other classes do it, and somehow never quite imagined that black gown on myself. But alongside my friends, we processed around campus in anticipation of Commencement.

The Miscellany News, our student newspaper since 1866, produced a wonderful video slideshow of Fall Convocation. If you're curious to see some images and hear segments of the speeches, check this out:

Audio slideshow!

Green Haven Prison Reunion brings together past and present participants from Vassar, prisons

Green Haven Reunion from The Miscellany News on Vimeo.

One of Vassar's many unique academic programs involves the Green Haven Prison. For three decades, the College's Africana Studies and Sociology programs have allowed students to study the prison system from all angles. Students are able to travel to local prisons, and talk to incarcerated individuals about their experiences. Check out this video about the program!

Augusten Burroughs is coming to lecture tonight! He's the author of the New York Times bestseller Running with Scissors. All the English majors—and many others—are abuzz, waiting for him to arrive. He has a strong following among college-aged readers.

Hopefully, I'll be able to sneak out of production night for the Miscellany News long enough to catch a glimpse of his speech. I've heard that he's even funnier in person.

This event is part of one of the best Vassar lecture series—the Alex Krieger ‘95 Memorial Lecture, which has previously featured humorists like John Irving, Tom Wolfe, Sarah Vowell, and David Sedaris. I saw David Sedaris when I was visiting Vassar as a high school senior. Last year, Gail Collins (former Editorial Page editor and current columnist for the New York Times) was the speaker. She was incredibly witty, and I got to meet her afterwards in person!

If you're on campus tonight, Burroughs will be in UpCDC at 8:00 pm. Check it out!

A visit to Vassar's Art Center

Last Thursday, I stopped by one of Vassar's greatest resources: the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center. Founded in 1864, the museum includes more than 17,000 works of art—enormous compared to many other colleges' museums. The endless collection includes countless treasures: ancient Chinese manuscripts, an Egyptian sarcophagus, and the paintings of notables like Pablo Picasso, Edvard Munch and Jackson Pollack, to name just a few recognizable names. 

Last March, 80 of our paintings traveled for 10-months to Japan. The works were exhibited in five major Japanese museums in an acclaimed exhibition entitled Paris–New York: Modernist Painting in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries: Masterworks from the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Vassar College. James Mundy, director of Vassar's museum, helped to organize the exhibition, and felt that it represented the increasing importance of globalization in Vassar's curriculum and in the art world. "A buzzword for the new millennium has been ‘globalization’ and among America’s most important exports is higher education,” said Mundy in an interview with On Campus. The Japanese exhibit coincides with the rapid growth of the Asian Studies program at the College, as well as a new exchange program with the Ochanomizu University in Toyko.

But last week, the 80-plus works happily returned to Poughkeepsie. After my afternoon classes were over, I ducked into the museum to see the returned art first-hand (we had already written about it in The Miscellany News). Just as I remembered them! I don't think I had seen them in person since the first week of my freshmen year, when I wandered over to the museum on a campus exploration. It reminded me that the Art Center is such a unique resource—not ever small liberal arts college also hosts a world-class museum.

Meet Me in Poughkeepsie!

One of the stereotypes about Vassar is that the College has an awkward relationship with the Poughkeepsie community. Although this stereotype is not entirely accurate, there is a grain of truth to it—too many students never leave campus. Even many of my own friends often remain within Vassar's walls, rarely venturing into Poughkeepsie, except to catch the MetroNorth train to New York City. That is unfortunate, because Poughkeepsie and the Mid-Hudson Valley have so much to offer.

In an effort to get more students into the community, the Vassar Student Association (Vassar's student government) organized Meet Me in Poughkeepsie. MMIP got about 1,000 students—nearly half of the student body—off campus. Students participated in more than thirty events, which ranged from a trip to Eleanor Roosevelt's home, to apple picking, to hiking at Mohonk. Check out the Miscellany's coverage of the event: Meet Me in Poughkeepsie!

I was really proud of the VSA's efforts in organizing this event; afterwards, there was a renewed energy among the students whom I spoke with for engaging local attractions and patronizing local businesses. To learn more about the terrific resources that the community around Vassar has to offer, read the Miscellany News Guide to Poughkeepsie here: Guide. Poughkeepsie has so much to offer, and Vassar students are now taking advantage of those resources more than ever before.

Founder's Day

Today is Founder's Day! Founder's Day is one of our oldest and most exciting traditions, which began as a surprise birthday party for the College's Founder, Matthew Vassar. No blog post can quite do it justice, but I'll explain it as best as I can: On the first Saturday in May, the entire College becomes a gigantic carnival, complete with live music, dancing, rides, inflatables, free food, and prizes. People flock out of the Library, stop studying for finals, put down their unfinished theses, and just play for hours on end.

Professors and staff come too, and the entire College community gathers around to celebrate Vassar's past, present and future. Even alumni attend, often bringing their families. This afternoon, I met a man who had graduated from Vassar in the 1980s. While waiting for his wife and children to make their way through one of the bouncy castles, he told me about his own memories of Founder's Day. It's pretty cool how this one day can unite people from all different stages of the College's history.

The tradition began on April 29, 1866 (Matthew Vassar's 74th birthday), when then-President Raymond organized a day of surprise festivities. Students greeted the Founder with cheers and songs. After the excitement, Vassar, with tears of joy in his eyes, is thought to have said that "This one event has paid me for every cent I have spent for the College." Though Vassar passed away two years later, the event has lived on for nearly 150 years; by tradition, the President of the College leads a toast to the Founder to begin the day's events.

I had SUCH a great time. My friends and I went early and got free candy and balloon animals. We also went on this funky spinning ride. Then we listened to Lola Bluegrass, this crazy singer from Vermont, who kept dancing around and rolling down hills. She was a little nuts. She said she's going to the fireworks tonight (in just a couple hours!) so maybe I'll see her there. Anyway, Founder's Day 2008 was WONDERFUL!

Happy Birthday, Matt!

PS - Read about this year's Founder's Day in The Miscellany News here!
http://misc.vassar.edu/archives/2008/05/founders_day_pr.html