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December 8, 2023

Chestertown Spy

Nonpartisan and Education-based News for Chestertown

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Tour Five Regional Museums Through WC Virtual Reality

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Center for Environment & Society (CES) and the Digital Scholarship in Museum Partnerships (DSMP) project are proud to invite local and regional visitors to virtually “tour” the collections from several regional museums, all in one place. Housed in the community space at 210 South Cross Street in downtown Chestertown, the exhibit includes interactive exhibit banners from the DSMP’s collaborations with Kent County museums over the last six years, including Betterton Heritage Museum, the Worton Point Schoolhouse, the Waterman’s Museum, the Kent Museum, and Sumner Hall.  

With the goal of preserving and providing greater access to the local histories of our community, the exhibit offers digitized looks into each museum viewable through virtual reality with 360-degree virtual tours of the museums, a look at digitized collections from each site, oral history interviews, and more. The exhibit also features a new curved projection theatre which creates an immersive environment in which to experience the virtual tours.  

 The panels were created by Washington College students participating in the DSMP project and serve as a continuation of their work which was curated under the guidance of Sara Clarke-De Reza, Associate Professor of Education and Director of the Museum, Community & Field Education Minor; Julie Markin, Professor of Anthropology and Director of Archaeology; and Raven Bishop, Assistant Director of Educational Technology and Lead of the Virtual/Augmented Reality Digital Imaging Studio at the Millier Library. After a successful one-day pop-up showcase of the project last fall, an opportunity to put the work on display for a longer period, and for a wider public audience, emerged at the Cross Street space.  

 “Working with these museums affords our students the opportunity to apply concepts and best practices learned in the classroom to a project that makes a real impact for the local community,” said Bishop. “Students and community stakeholders are immediately able to see the real-world impact of this work as it improves access to the history and culture of Kent County within and beyond our community.” 

 Bishop added that community partners often report that their organizations feel reinvigorated by the energy and enthusiasm that DSMP students bring to the project. The reciprocal relationship advances the common purpose of providing greater access to the important cultural heritage of the Eastern Shore that is held in so many small, rural community museums. 

 “It would be easy to say that the technology is the most interesting part of this project,” said Bishop. “But what is most exciting about this project is the way students are able to authentically contribute to a community-engaged digital scholarship project with real-world impact. Bringing students off of the Washington College campus and into meaningful partnership with community members is one of the most important goals of our work. Students benefit from feeling a stronger connection to place and feel-good knowing that they can contribute to Kent County in a small way.”  

 The exhibit is located at 210 South Cross Street and is open to the public through January on the First Fridays of each month from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m., as well as every Saturday from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. The collections may also be viewed by appointment. Scanning the QR codes on the exhibit’s exterior windows will allow access to digital versions of the exhibit even when the space is closed. Cultural Heritage organizations are encouraged to reserve time in the space to hold meetings. 

 More information about the Digital Scholarship in Museum Partnerships Project can be found here: 

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350,000th Bird Banded at Washington College’s Foreman’s Branch Bird Observatory

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The team at Foreman’s Branch Bird Observatory, a major bird banding station housed at the Center for Environment and Society (CES) at Washington College, has marked a major milestone in its 26-year history with the banding of its 350,000th bird. A Golden-crowned Kinglet was caught and banded with the historic designation mid-October.
This year alone, staff at Foreman’s Branch have caught, identified, banded, and released over 13,000 birds representing more than 125 species including herons, owls, ospreys, hawks, orioles, woodpeckers, hummingbirds, blackbirds, wrens, mockingbirds, bluebirds, and robins. A full account of birds banded by the station is updated daily during spring and fall migration seasons and logged publicly at https://www.trektellen.org/site/totals/3460/2023.
“This tiny little kinglet marks a big occasion for everyone who has worked at the Observatory and banding station over the years,” said Foreman’s Branch Associate Director Maren Gimpel. “Everyone — our staff, students, and volunteers — played a part in getting us to this point. As one of the few bird observatories affiliated with a small liberal arts college, we are able to contribute critical data to the North American bird banding database while exposing our undergrads to avian monitoring methodologies and current research, providing them with a unique opportunity to explore their passions in ornithology.”
The Observatory’s primary research focuses on monitoring the seasonal movements of migratory birds between their breeding and wintering areas. By placing uniquely numbered aluminum bands on birds, the team can monitor population trends, document migratory pathways, and track the productivity of local breeding birds. Data from the spring and fall programs has been used to chart the timing of migration of many species of songbirds moving through the Eastern Shore of Maryland and is reported to the North American Bird Banding Program. Since its initiation in 1998, Foreman’s Branch has seen over 350 of its birds subsequently encountered after their initial banding with some being tracked as far north as Newfoundland and a far south as Ecuador.
Located on the Chester River, a few miles north of Chestertown, MD, the Bird Observatory is nestled in a waterfront refuge on Washington College’s River and Field Campus. The land serves as an important stopover habitat for shorebirds and is home to thousands of migrating and wintering ducks and geese each year. Washington College’s riverfront campus also encompasses several acres of experimental grasslands and valuable scrub-shrub habitats where summer breeding research is conducted on several species native to the area.
The Observatory’s banding station also serves as a hub for research conducted in-house and with external partners. Currently, the team is using a massive “tube” to test the bird-deterring properties of new types of glass to cut down on bird deaths caused by window collisions, which total in the millions each year. External partners have utilized the banding station’s set up, access to wildlife, and the Observatory’s staff to assist in notable projects including tracking tick dispersal in the area and studying the gut biome of Blackpoll Warblers.
“The work Maren and our team at Foreman’s Branch oversee is critical to continuing avian conservation efforts throughout the Chesapeake region and nationwide,” said Valerie Imbruce, Director of the Center for Environment and Society at Washington College. “The educational and research opportunities available to our students at the Observatory are invaluable and is one of the many things that make a Washington College education so distinctive. All of CES celebrates this great milestone.”
Washington College is planning to install a new banding station out on Foreman’s Branch this coming fall. The Observatory offers Washington College students interested in ornithology and conservation many opportunities to further their studies through paid internships and volunteer opportunities, as well as fellowships with Washington College’s Center for Environment & Society. More info on Foreman’s Branch Observatory is available here:

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Robert P. Jones on Hidden Roots of White Supremacy, Upcoming Talk at Washington College

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On Thursday, November 16, at 5:00 p.m., the Louis L. Goldstein Program in Public Affairs and the Office of Diversity and Inclusion at Washington College are proud to sponsor a talk by the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) founder and president, Robert P. Jones, to discuss findings from his new book, The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy and the Path to a Shared American Future. Jones’ latest work tracks the story of white supremacy in America back to 1493 and examines contemporary communities in Mississippi, Minnesota, and Oklahoma for models of racial repair to help chart a new course toward a genuinely pluralistic democracy. 50 copies of the book will be available to the first 50 attendees, one per couple. A reception sponsored by the Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience will follow the talk.

Place: Washington College, Hotchkiss Recital Hall in the Gibson Center for the Arts  300 Washington Ave., Chestertown.
About Robert P. Jones
Robert P. Jones is the president and founder of Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI). He is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy and the Path to a Shared American Future, as well as White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity, which won a 2021 American Book Award. He is also the author of The End of White Christian America, which won the 2019 Grawemeyer Award in Religion. Jones writes regularly on politics, culture, and religion for The Atlantic, TIME, Religion News Service, and other outlets. He is frequently featured in major national media, such as CNN, MSNBC, NPR, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and others. He holds a Ph.D. in religion from Emory University, an M.Div. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and a B.S. in computing science and mathematics from Mississippi College. Jones served as CEO of PRRI from the organization’s inception in 2009 to 2022.  Before founding PRRI, he worked as a consultant and senior research fellow at several think tanks in Washington, D.C., and was an assistant professor of religious studies at Missouri State University. More info on Jones is available here. 

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WC Chemistry Students Explode Pumpkins, Celebrate Halloween With Science

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This afternoon the Washington College Chemistry Club hosted its annual exploding pumpkins event on campus, to the delight of a large crowd who had gathered to revel in science-based gourd detonation. The event, which is conducted in conjunction with the American Chemical Society Student Affiliates Club and GAMMA ETA Chemistry Honor Society, draws Washington College students, students from Kent and Queen Anne’s Country public schools, and combustion-loving Eastern Shore community members each year ahead of Halloween.
Students put together several experiments to test the best way to either explode designs into pumpkins to create unique jack-o-lanterns or generate emissions of various ooze and smoke to come out of unique designs. This year, methods used to induce cool explosions and Halloween-themed demos included glow-in-the-dark luminol, color changing acid and base paired with dry ice, liquid nitrogen, and elephant toothpaste (a foamy substance caused by the rapid decomposition of hydrogen peroxide using potassium iodide or yeast and warm water as a catalyst).
“We take immense pleasure in sharing the wonders of chemistry with our students and the promising leaders of tomorrow,” said Sarah Arradondo, Washington College Assistant Professor of Chemistry. “For nearly a decade, our campus has eagerly anticipated the annual tradition of using science to infuse Halloween with excitement. The Chemistry Department at Washington College is committed to uniting the community through captivating autumn experiments and thrilling displays of chemical phenomena.”
Washington College’s Chemistry department regularly conducts events and activities to engage the local community in the wonders of using science in an effort to encourage more interest in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) related degrees and careers. In November, the department will host AP students from Queen Anne’s High School to tour and conduct experiments in their state-of-the-art lab.
To see some of the clever pumpkin explosions, go here.
For more information on Washington College’s chemistry department and degree options visit https://www.washcoll.edu/academic_departments/chemistry/index.php.

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Busload of Book Recap at Washington College Thursday, September 14

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On Thursday, September 14 at Washington College’s Decker Theatre, Chestertown children’s book creators Robbi Behr and Matthew Swanson will share “Lessons from a Year on the Road,” a recap of their summer-long trip across the U.S. visiting 53 low-income schools while traveling —with their four children in tow— to all 50 states and Washington, D.C., in a converted school bus covered in a literacy-themed mural. The idea for the “Busload of Books” tour came about after the couple realized there was a need for Title 1 schools to experience the kind of high-quality author visits they had previously provided to better-resourced schools.

The writer-illustrator couple will be joined on stage by Washington College Education and Sociology faculty members Sara Clarke-De Reza, Bridget Bunten and Nick Garcia. After approaching the professors about research on value of school visits by authors and illustrators prior to their trip and realizing none existed, the group decided to use the tour to develop a research project to collect that data. The professors ensure the Busload of Books research project would have the necessary expertise, joining their backgrounds in the research specialties of informal learning experiences and reading in education as well as experience investigating place-based inequities through large-scale surveys and data analysis.

The public, students and faculty are invited to hear more about this amazing summer and hear first hand Behr and Swanson’s accounts of the impact of bringing engaging story-telling to the nation’s underserved youth and providing pathways to encouraging a love for reading in all school-aged children.

The event will begin at 4:30 with ice cream, popsicles, and bus tours in Martha Washington Square  and 5:00 pm presentation in Decker Theater, followed by audience Q&A and a 6:15 reading of  Everywhere, Wonder

The Washington College campus map may be found here.

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Eylie Sasajima Wins Washington College’s Sophie Kerr Prize

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Eylie Sasajima ’23 earned the prestigious honor with a portfolio of poems, academic work and creative non-fiction.

The Prize caps a college career that included editing Collegian, Washington College’s student-run literary and art journal; serving as a poetry reader for the College’s national literary magazine, Cherry Tree; and conducting research as an English major on Frank Herbert’s Dune.

During the award ceremony Friday night, Sasajima, from Spring Grove, Pennsylvania, read several poems from her prize-winning portfolio, which she said she had curated with a conscious focus on assembling a manuscript, using the process of applying for the Sophie Kerr Prize as an opportunity to not only showcase her diverse writing, but also to strive to make the portfolio overall coalesce as a larger work.

“Poetry is the genre that I really speak best through. My goal for college was always to grow and mature as a poet,” Sasajima said. “I am right now looking at a career in editing and publishing. Something I’m thinking a lot about is putting together manuscripts.”

Sasajima began working as an editorial intern at Alan Squire Publishing of Bethesda during her last semester and will continue working there after graduation. Liz O’Connor, associate professor of English and acting chair of the department, said that is more of a continuation of Sasajima’s literary career than the beginning of it.

With her work for Collegian and Cherry Tree, as well as her scholarly work and writing, Sasajima has shown “substantial engagement in the literary community of Washington College,” according to O’Connor, and the broad approach to literary endeavors shows through in her poetry.

“In Eylie Sasajima’s poetry, the Sophie Kerr Committee recognized a young writer’s promising creative talents guided by critical acumen as an editor and intellectual engagement with the issues interrogated in the writing. In explorations of climate change, identity, gender, and power, Sasajima deftly translates between the ecologies of the self and the larger communities of our natural and social environments,” O’Connor said. “Eylie Sasajima is a poet and thinker worthy of our attention.”

Sasajima’s thoughtfulness is apparent when she discusses her work as well. Across the genres represented in her portfolio, Sasajima noted that the work deals with themes of gender, apocalypse, and home, including her homeplace of south-central Pennsylvania and her Japanese American heritage. Throughout the topics she addresses, Sasajima sees complexity, danger but also beauty, conflict but also pride.

James Hall, associate professor of English and director of the Rose O’Neill Literary House, serves on the selection committee that reviews student submissions and awards the Sophie Kerr Prize. He saw that complexity, as well as a special rigor and drive in Sasajima’s work.

“Eylie Sasajima’s poems explore the self in our modern world, confronting topics like climate change and oppression that are far-ranging and deeply impressive. As impressive as her writerly vision is the craft of her work: the attention to well-deployed imagery, to meaningful and burnished sonic textures, to poetic form that highlights and develops the wise intellectual and emotional arguments—these are all characteristics of an Eylie Sasajima poem,” Hall said. “And while Sasajima questions what it means to have a self shaped by socio-political powers, she also believes that poetry can restore the world’s beauty: to take from the ruins and build something better.”

While Sasajima won the Sophie Kerr Prize, both Hall and O’Connor noted the overall excellence and versatility of this year’s entrants, especially the five finalists, who also included Queen Cornish of Wilmington, Delaware; A.J. Gerardi of Wayne, Pennsylvania; Sophia Rooks of Williamsburg, Virginia; and Amara Sorosiak of New Milford, Connecticut.

“It was very difficult to narrow down to five finalists,” Hall said. “Reading these finalists’ work is to recognize how good writers draw from every genre and manage to mix in their own imagination to make the world feel new.”

After President Mike Sosulski announced that Sasajima had won the Sophie Kerr Prize, the other finalists turned to her with smiles and encouragement as she covered her mouth then rose to speak. Her remarks accepting the prize were heartfelt expressions of gratitude that reflected the importance of community in the Sophie Kerr tradition.

“This is an honor I never really expected for myself. and I can’t really put my gratitude into words. But I will try. Thank you to the Sophie Kerr committee for the support and for considering my work. I’m just so indebted to the English faculty here and to the Lit House staff. So thank you to all of them for their guidance, for their mentorship and for their support,” Sasajima said. “Amara, A.J., Sophia, and Queen are such amazing writers who exemplify how strong our literary community here is. And I certainly wouldn’t be here without some other members of that community…who made me feel welcome here and who are pretty wonderful writers who I look up to.”

 

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2023 Goodfellow Lecture Will Address French Colonial History

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A scholar of French colonialism and the “the early modern Atlantic world” will speak at Washington College for the annual Guy F. Goodfellow Memorial Lecture.

Brett Rushforth, associate professor of history at the University of Oregon, will deliver remarks on “The Atlantic World in Renaissance France” on Tuesday, April 18 at 4:30 in Hynson Lounge. The talk is free and open to the public.

Rushforth is the author of two books on the colonial era: Colonial North America and the Atlantic World: A History in Documents and Bonds of Alliance: Indigenous and Atlantic Slaveries in New France, which won four awards. He is currently at work on a third book, expected to publish from Oxford University Press next year, titled Discovering Empire: France and the Atlantic World from the Age of Crusading to the Age of Revolutions.

Rushforth’s talk at Washington College will outline the ways that French people consumed and created meaning from Atlantic goods, information, and people during the Renaissance. It reveals the central roleplayed by women in bringing the Atlantic into France. As keepers of oral traditions, cooks, hat sellers, costume makers, and weavers of dyed threads, women performed a significant proportion of the work that transformed the goods brought from Africa and the Americas to French shores. Much of this work occurred in the intimate spaces of households, workshops, kitchens, and marketplaces.

Men, too, of course, consumed and displayed colonial products, as well as specialized knowledge about distant places, in ways that earned them social currency. Sailors and fishermen returned from their voyages with stories to tell, which they shared (and no doubt embellished) at wharves, taverns, marketplaces, and workshops.

Merchants and financiers flaunted their newfound Atlantic wealth with statues, friezes, wall-hangings, and other decorations featuring West African and American images. Those with more cerebral inclinations created atlases and wrote cosmographies, trying to impose order on a world made new and unfamiliar by a century of Atlantic exchanges. New foods and medicines appeared featuring Atlantic trade goods, sought for the mystique of their distant origins. References to African and American places and peoples filtered into literary culture, appearing by the mid-sixteenth century in popular travel narratives, poetry, short stories, essays, and plays.

The Guy F. Goodfellow Memorial Lecture Series was created in 1989 to honor the memory of the late history professor who taught at Washington College for 30 years. The endowed lecture series was established by his family, the department and others who “Goody” touched over his years at the College. It brings a distinguished historian to campus each year to meet with our students and deliver a public presentation.

“One of the most dramatic ways in which Guy influenced his students was through his class lectures,” alumnus Dave Wheelan wrote in the appeal to people to help create the endowment in 1989. “For those of us privileged to have had Goody as a professor, these classes became one of the great highlights of our years at Washington College. They conveyed a passionate love of history as well as a profound sense of its relevancy, Undoubtedly, his lectures expanded our personal and intellectual horizons in countless ways.”

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Arctic Scientist Will Share Insights Feb. 28

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A leading research scientist studying the Arctic will be speaking in Chestertown on Tuesday, Feb. 28, sharing stories, observations and insights from his adventurous career.

Jason Box is a climatologist and glaciologist who has made 30 separate expeditions to Greenland and camped on the ice for more than a year. In “Arctic Climate & Greenland Ice,” he will recount some of what he has learned and what it means for not just the polar region, but the world.

The melting of Greenland ice sheets is one of the largest factors driving sea level rise, and scientists study everything from soot on top of glaciers to the (relatively) warmer water helping to melt them from below. Understanding the various effects is critical to proper modeling to underpin decisions about how to address climate change.

Jason Box

A research professor in the Glaciology and Climate Department of the GeologicalSurvey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS), Box has also worked to communicate his science to the public, appearing in three documentary films, giving interviews to Rolling Stone Magazine, CNN and others, even crowdfunding some of his research.

His talk in Chestertown will be at 7 p.m. in the Garfield Center for the Arts at the Prince Theatre on High Street with a reception will follow. The talk is free and open to the public, but pre-registration is required at www.washcoll.edu/box.

The event is organized by Washington College’s Center for the Environment and Society as part of its “Polar Expedition with Washington College” series of invited speakers this winter. Box’s talk is sponsored in part by the department of environmental science and studies with generous support from the William James Forum Fund.

Founded in 1782, Washington College is the nation’s first liberal arts institution and the tenth oldest college in the nation. Enrolling approximately 1,100 undergraduates from more than 35 states and a dozen nations, Washington is known for outstanding academics with an emphasis on hands-on, experiential learning across more than 40 multidisciplinary areas of study. The College is home to nationally recognized academic centers in history, writing and the Center for the Environment and Society. In addition to its main campus in Chestertown, Maryland, Washington also features a riverfront campus and a 5,000-acre river and field campus that provides unique research opportunities for students and faculty.

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Washington College Announces New Partnership for Campus Dining Services

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Family-owned and operated AVI Foodsystems has been announced as Washington College’s new culinary and hospitality partner, taking over management of all food services on campus beginning July 1. This includes full management of all dining options on campus, plus the catering division for special events.

Their vision for a revamped Hodson Culinary Center includes a large variety of venues ranging from traditional meat and veggie options to plant-based and clean foods. Specialty concepts include Trattoria (pizzas made daily from scratch), Homestyles (comfort foods), The Carvery (wraps and sandwiches), Nutribar (fresh salad ingredients), Roots (plant-based), Clarity (clean, allergy-free foods), and the Bake Shoppe for homemade desserts. They also envision an Exhibition Kitchen that would feature guest chefs, dietitians, and others and showcase campus, cultural and holiday events and well as menu innovations.

AVI has a from-scratch culinary philosophy, preparing foods from scratch and sourcing fresh ingredients locally in order to create authentic flavor profiles. They tailor menu plans to the audience as well, factoring in dietary requirements and other preferences.

“We fully understand the critical and integral role a great campus dining program plays in building and nurturing student relationships, friendships and exposure to new cultures and cuisines,” said Vince Lombardi, Executive Vice President for AVI’s Education Division. “We will work diligently to honor your history and traditions, adopt current team members as new members of the AVI family and provide a fresh, from-scratch culinary program that delights students, faculty and staff.”

While specific hours of service are still under review, AVI is prepared to offer serving hours that reflect class times, lifestyles, and events on campus. The company has initially proposed extending hours to 8 PM each weekday and to 7 PM on Saturdays and Sundays, as well as a monthly “First Friday” event with a late-night dining experience that runs through midnight.

AVI is further committed to involving students in real-time feedback and opportunities to participate in menu development, citing a willingness to continuously adapt menus to better meet the needs of the campus. The company is also committed to sustainable food and environmental practices and intends to be an active, engaged member of the Washington College community in driving sustainable actions and practices.

All current Dining Services staff will be offered the opportunity to transition onto the AVI team, in positions that maintain or improve their current wages and honor their years of service. They will be joined by additional candidates to form an expanded management team under AVI leadership. AVI will also offer a student employment program that offers above-average wages for students.

AVI is the largest family-owned foodservice company, and the 8th largest overall, in the United States. Currently they partner with more than 50 colleges and universities under their education division.

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Washington College Invests $20 Million in Campus Improvements

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Washington College has announced a $20 million investment in campus improvements, largely focusing on enhancing the residential student experience. This long-term initiative kicks off with major renovations in numerous residence halls, but will also include energy services upgrades and a new dining services agreement.

The starting point for this important initiative is full-scale renovations to two of the campuses most iconic residence halls– Reid Hall and Minta Martin. This initial project marks just the first phase of a larger plan to overhaul housing facilities on campus. The College is also moving ahead with an energy conservation project that will reduce both costs and the overall carbon footprint.

Reid Hall

“Our students have been telling us what needed priority attention, and we have been listening carefully,” said Mike Sosulski, President of Washington College. “Safe and comfortable housing is a critical component of the residential experience and we are moving swiftly to make positive changes.”

Updates in Minta Martin include fully renovated bathrooms, new flooring and lighting throughout, interior painting, and updated HVAC systems that will significantly improve air quality. The basement lounge area will also be refreshed with new furniture.  A kitchen is being installed as well.

Reid Hall will get the same overhaul as Minta Martin, plus new windows and a new roof. Work in Reid is already underway.

Renovations in Minta Martin – primarily a first-year residence hall — will start as soon as all students have departed at the end of the term. All work is scheduled to be completed by early August, just in time to welcome the incoming Class of 2026.

Other residence halls slated for upgrades include East, Middle and West Halls. Work in those buildings is set to begin in the Fall of 2022 and will include the same general scope of work as Reid and Minta Martin.

These improvements to student living spaces are largely made possible through a new Energy-as-a-Service agreement (EaaS)with FESCO Energy.  The result of this innovative partnership is the implementation of a campus wide energy infrastructure modernization project that will yield energy, water, carbon, and cost savings. Approximately 50% of the project funds will be used to enhance the student experience by rehabilitating the energy systems in Reid and Minta Martin, significantly improving the air quality in those locations. The balance of the campus-wide planned improvements focus on energy and environmental sustainability and operational improvements, and include lighting updates, interior and exterior water fixture improvements, new windows and replacement roofs, among others.

The campus-wide energy project with FESCO is expected to begin in April 2022 and to be completed by May 2023, though the HVAC work in Minta and Reid will be completed by the fall.

The College will also soon announce changes within Dining Services, which will include increased options to satisfy the full spectrum of dietary needs and preferences, expanded service hours and facility upgrades.

Founded in 1782, Washington College is the tenth oldest college in the nation and the first chartered under the new Republic. With an emphasis on hands-on, experiential learning in the arts and sciences, and more than 40 multidisciplinary areas of study, the College is home to nationally recognized academic centers in the environment, history, and writing. Learn more at washcoll.edu. 

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