ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ Professor of Politics ﾃ《laug ﾃ《geirsdﾃｳttir always wanted to return to her homeland of Iceland 窶� but only if she could contribute in a meaningful way. ﾃ《geirsdﾃｳttir got her wish this spring when she was offered the rectorship of the University of Akureyri, a role in Iceland equivalent to president. Her rectorship begins July 1, 2024.

窶弋his is the right opportunity at the right time. I was never going to move back just because I wanted to,窶� ﾃ《geirsdﾃｳttir said. 窶廬t always had to be because there was also an interesting opportunity to contribute to higher education in Iceland.窶� 

As ﾃ《geirsdﾃｳttir did a Zoom interview last week, a group of students showed up at her office with a huge bouquet of flowers. She returned to the interview clearly touched by her students窶� gesture. That’s a big part of why she will miss the ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ community: her work guiding students, and her close interactions with ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ students.

窶廬’ve gotten to do a lot of different things at ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ. You have a lot of freedom at ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ with what we call the educational journey with students. And I’ve just always loved that about ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ,” she said.

ﾃ《geirsdﾃｳttir, who joined the ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ faculty in 2001, is a widely published expert on ocean governance, including the settling of maritime boundaries. She taught courses at ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ that included 窶廬nternational Political Economy,窶� 窶廾cean Governance,窶� and 窶弋he Arctic,窶� and advised senior thesis students.

In addition to her teaching and research, ﾃ《geirsdﾃｳttir has made significant contributions to faculty governance at ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ, including a term as associate dean of the college, said Malcolm Hill, vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty.

窶弩e are all very excited to see ﾃ《laug take on this important leadership opportunity,窶� said Hill in his announcement to the ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ faculty. 窶廬 am deeply indebted to ﾃ《laug, having benefited from her strong and unflappable leadership and wise counsel as associate dean. She tackled several important initiatives including introducing improvements to the ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ Faculty Development Fund, revamping the departmental review guidelines, and guiding a successful proposal to strengthen principles of faculty governance and committee work.窶�

The University of Akureyri, located in the town of Akureyri in the north of Iceland, offers undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs in the health sciences, business, natural sciences, social sciences, and humanitiesﾂ�for about 2,800 students.

窶廬 think what I bring to the table is an outside perspective, a different view,窶� said ﾃ《geirsdﾃｳttir, 窶彙ut also a great deal of experience and deep experience in managing people, overseeing projects as well as years of experience teaching and publishing.窶�

ﾃ《geirsdﾃｳttir plans to get to work ensuring continued educational access on the Nordic island 窶� which means something different in Iceland than it means in the U.S. In Iceland, public education is free, but that still doesn窶冲 always translate into easy access to education as towns are far away and people often work while taking classes, ﾃ《geirsdﾃｳttir said. 

The University of Akureyri, which is a pioneer in blended learning in Iceland and has a reputation for educating teachers and nurses, among other professionals, also faces some of the same challenges as U.S. universities, such as the complexities presented by artificial intelligence and the role on-line learning will play in the future.ﾂ�

ﾃ《geirsdﾃｳttir is eager to work with faculty and staff to help the university navigate its way through the uncertain times in the world and in Iceland, which is a country roughly the size of Ohio with a population of nearly 400,000 people.

窶廩ow do you continue to provide great educational offerings and ensure that the quality of what you窶决e doing is great? There’s a lot up in the air, but it窶冱 a great institution with a great reputation and I would like to carry that forward,窶� she said.

Funded by a $3 million gift, a new ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ College professorship dedicated to STEM equity and inclusion will be held by Professor of Biology April Hill, announced President Clayton Spencer.

Hill, the college窶冱 inaugural Wagener Family Professor of Equity and Inclusion in STEM, is an evolutionary developmental geneticist with a distinguished record of scholarship.

She brings to ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ a national reputation for leading significant programs to dismantle barriers that prevent underrepresented groups from thriving in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

Professor of Biology April Hill is the inaugural Wagener Family Professor of Equity and Inclusion in STEM. (Theophil Syslo/ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ College)

窶弩e are thrilled with the appointment of April Hill,窶� Spencer said. 窶廣pril is a distinguished scientist, outstanding teacher, and successful academic leader who believes that creating diverse, inclusive, and equitable STEM communities is a prerequisite to redefining excellence in the sciences.窶�

A member of the faculty at the University of Richmond since 2004, Hill joined ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ in 2018.

窶廩elping to build communities of students who thrive in STEM is my vocational cornerstone, so it is a great honor to be the inaugural holder of the Wagener Professorship,窶� said Hill. 窶廬n words and actions, ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ cares deeply about finding answers to STEM inequities. I hope to learn from the ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ community how I can contribute to fostering inclusive excellence in the context of a ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ education.窶�

The Wagener Professorship has been endowed by a $3 million gift to The ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ Campaign from Deborah Heitz P窶�17 and Shaw Wagener P窶�17. 窶弋he idea for our gift came through our family窶冱 experience at ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ,窶� said Shaw Wagener. 窶弩e are so pleased to see the convergence between our goals for this professorship and the college窶冱 plans to create a more inspiring and effective experience for all students who wish to pursue studies in STEM fields.窶�

“She will be a worthy inaugural recipient of the Wagener Professorship 窶� an exemplar of the important charge of this new endowed chair.”

Hill窶冱 appointment follows a national search begun in fall 2017 by a seven-member ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ faculty search committee chaired by Professor of Politics and Associate Dean of the Faculty ﾃ《laug ﾃ《geirsdﾃｳttir.

窶弋he committee members are looking forward to April Hill窶冱 leadership as we take on the questions of equity and inclusion in STEM fields,窶� said ﾃ《geirsdﾃｳttir. 窶廣ll evidence of her ability to foster institutional change, in addition to being an excellent scientist and a teacher, tells us that she will be a worthy inaugural recipient of the Wagener Professorship 窶� an exemplar of the important charge of this new endowed chair.窶�

The founding of the Wagener Professorship comes in the same year as ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ窶� selection, in July, for a $1 million grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute as part of the national HHMI Inclusive Excellence initiative, which aims to catalyze national efforts to broaden participation of students from all backgrounds in the study of science.

As a researcher, teacher, and academic leader, Hill has led numerous efforts that yielded improvements in STEM education.

A first-generation-to-college student, Hill earned a bachelor of science degree in biochemistry from the University of North Texas and a doctorate in human genetics from the University of Houston. A postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Medical School, she served on the faculties of Fairfield and Yale universities before joining the University of Richmond.

During her 14 years on the University of Richmond faculty, Hill was honored as the Clarence E. Denoon Jr. Professor of Science (2009窶�15) in recognition of her excellence in research and teaching. Promoted to full professor in 2013, she chaired the Department of Biology from 2016 to 2018.

As a researcher, teacher, and academic leader, Hill has led numerous efforts that yielded improvements in STEM education, making major contributions to the work of three consecutive HHMI grants of more than $3.7 million at UR, the last of which made significant advances in supporting underrepresented populations in STEM.

In 2012窶�13, Hill served as a Vision & Change Founding Leadership Fellow for the Partnership for Undergraduate Life Sciences Education. Known as PULSE, the program seeks to stimulate systemic changes within biology departments at all types of post-secondary educational institutions. She is a past recipient of the Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching from the Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges and the Outstanding Faculty Award from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia.

Her research and leadership to improve STEM education has received significant grant support from the National Science Foundation and the Thomas F. and Kate Miller Jeffress Memorial Trust, as well as the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and other sources.

A major goal of her UR research laboratory was to create an inclusive community of support that would persist beyond her students窶� college years.

She was a member of the university窶冱 Terms of Racial Justice Faculty Knowledge Community, an effort to advance public understanding of racial justice. She served on the university窶冱 Pathways Advising Program, which places first-generation students with faculty who have received training and support to serve as effective mentors.

As a researcher, Hill uses marine and freshwater sponges as model systems to look at the evolution of genetic regulatory pathways that govern the development of animal form and function. Conducted with undergraduates, Hill窶冱 research has been presented and published widely at research conferences and gatherings worldwide and in leading peer-reviewed journals.

A major goal of her UR research laboratory was to create an inclusive community of support that would persist beyond her students窶� college years. Forty-six percent of her research students were from backgrounds traditionally underrepresented in the sciences. Thirty-six of her students have been co-authors on 20 of her publications.

窶廬 consider this form of pedagogical engagement to be my best teaching,窶� she said.

ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ has announced faculty promotions, including tenure awards and full professorships, effective for the 2017窶�18 academic year.

“Our newly tenured and promoted faculty are exemplars of the scholar-teacher-mentor ideal,” said Matthew Auer, vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty. “They areﾂ�leaders in their disciplines, deeply engaged in our community, and focused on the success of their students with sincerity and purpose.”

Recommended by the faculty’s Committee on Personnel and approved by the ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ College Board of Trustees, the promotions have been awarded to faculty members in the fields of education, French and francophone studies, history, neuroscience, politics, and psychology.

Meet the seven newly promoted professors, learn their research fields, and discover why they teach:

Promotions to associate professor with tenure

+Jason Castro

Jason Castro has been promoted to associate professor of neuroscience at ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ College)

+Caroline Shaw

Caroline Shaw has been promoted to associate professor of history at ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ College)

+Mara Tieken

Mara Tieken has been promoted to associate professor of education at ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ College)

Promotions to full professor

+ﾃ《laug ﾃ《geirsdﾃｳttir

ﾃ《laug ﾃ《geirsdﾃｳttir has been promoted to professor of politics at ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ. (Josh Kuckens/ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ College)

+Helen Boucher

Helen Boucher has been promoted to professor of psychology at ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ. (Josh Kuckens/ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ College)

+Alex Dauge-Roth

Alex Dauge-Roth has been promoted to professor of French and francophone studies at ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ College)

+Karen Melvin

Karen Melvin has been promoted to professor of history at ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ. (Ryan Donnell for ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ College)

Stephen Engel, associate professor of politics. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ College)

Presenting a diverse group of scholars from Yale, Northwestern, the University of Maine and other institutions, ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ College hosts the daylong conference Property: Claims to Ownership and Responsibilities of Stewardship in Multidisciplinary Perspective at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 17, in the Benjamin Mays Center, 95 Russell St.

Sponsored by ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ and the American Bar Foundation, the conference is open to the public at no cost, but seating is first-come, first-served. For more information, please contact co-organizers Stephen Engel, associate professor and chair of politics at ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ, or Michael Sargent, associate professor of psychology, at sengel@bates.edu or msargent@bates.edu.

The conference comprises two morning panel discussions followed at midday by a plenary address exploring the potential of undergraduate legal studies in the liberal arts context. The plenary speaker is Laura Beth Nielsen, professor of sociology and director of the Center for Legal Studies at Northwestern University and research professor at the American Bar Foundation.

See a complete schedule, presentation abstracts and a compilation of conference presenters at .

Michael Sargent, associate professor of psychology. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ College)

The nine research presenters represent the American Bar Foundation, ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ, Bowdoin College, Chicago窶適ent College of Law, the University of Maine, the University of Miami School of Law, the University of Wisconsin, the University of Virginia, and Yale Law School. Faculty from ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ and Bowdoin will serve as discussants, facilitating fruitful exchanges between presenters and audience.

“The conference brings to ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ original research that assesses the many meanings of property as a material, cultural and intellectual object,” says co-organizer Engel.

“The presentations will evaluate how our ideas about ownership influence, and are influenced by, our racial, ethnic and sexual identities, notions of environmental stewardship, and our sense of responsibilities for historical preservation.

“With the aim of uncovering how a foundational idea in law 窶� property 窶� can be newly understood when studied from distinct disciplines, this conference showcases the work of historians, sociologists, political scientists, philosophers, legal scholars, economists, art historians, and literary scholars. In so doing, the conference illustrates how law and legal concepts can be fruitfully engaged within the robust interdisciplinary inquiry that is the hallmark of the liberal arts.”

The eight presentations will explore topics as disparate as:

• the impact on ocean stewardship of Marine Spatial Planning, a process for relating human activity to ocean waters (presented by ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ professor Aslaug Asgeirsdottir);
• Black Americans窶� struggle for landownership in the context of racial apartheid and capitalism in America (Andrew Kahrl, University of Virginia);
• exotic animal ownership laws (Douglas Kysar and Matt Ampleman, Yale Law School);
• and issues surrounding Penobscot Indian rights to islands in their namesake river (Micah Pawling, University of Maine).

In addition to the American Bar Foundation, sponsoring the event are these ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ offices and academic programs:

• the Office of the President;
• the divisions of social sciences, humanities and interdisciplinary programs;
• the departments and programs of art and visual culture, economics, history, classical and medieval studies, environmental studies, African American studies, philosophy, politics, psychology, sociology, and women and gender studies;
• and the Office of Intercultural Education.

In Kongsfjorden on the west side of Svalbard, Will Ambrose (facing) and Kelton McMahon 窶�05 haul a dredge to collect Serripes groenlandicus and other clam species for McMahon窶冱 thesis in 2004. Photograph by Glenn Lopez, SUNY窶鉄tony Brook.

Professor Will Ambrose, a bearded biologist specializing in Arctic sea-floor ecology, is a pioneer in the science of deciphering the past 窶� including past climates 窶� by studying the annual hard-tissue accretions of organisms such as mollusks.

As an expert in sclerochronology, Ambrose has discovered a link between Arctic clam growth and regular shifts in the region窶冱 climate. In short, Arctic clams grow more rapidly during regimes of warm and wet weather and less during cold and dry regimes. This sensitivity to climate change, says Ambrose, makes the humble bivalve a 窶徭entinel of climate change.窶�

While Ambrose is collaborating on no fewer than five clamshell research projects at the moment, the scientific paper that detailed the initial findings of a correlation between climate change and Arctic clamshells appeared in Global Change Biology in September 2006.

Seen here is the cross section of a small portion of aSerripes groenlandicus shell, near the umbo, or hinge. The lines indicate annual growth: dark lines for slow winter growth; light areas indicate fast summer growth. For an image showing the complete shell, click the image above. Will Ambrose has discovered a correlation between growth and climate shifts. This image is a composite of 18 images produced by the College窶冱 new Imaging and Computing Center using a Nikon SMZ 1500 stereo microscope. Collected in 1926, the shell窶冱 actual length is 2.5 inches.

The paper emerged from work done three years earlier, when Ambrose dispatched divers to the bottom of a high Arctic fjord in the Svalbard archipelago, a popular Arctic research site about halfway between the Norwegian mainland and the North Pole. From the ocean bottom, the divers returned with four Greenland cockles (Serripes groenlandicus).

After encasing the shells in epoxy and slicing them apart, Ambrose and a team of scientists, including Kelton McMahon 窶�05, analyzed the growth bands. First, the team found that growth bands were indeed deposited annually. Then the team was able to correlate annual differences in shell growth with a measurement of Arctic weather oscillations known as the Arctic Climate Regime Index.

窶弩hat makes the work exciting,窶� says Ambrose, interviewed in his cluttered office on Carnegie窶冱 third floor, 窶彿s that this is the first time in the Arctic that we窶况e been able to track a large-scale climatic oscillation and see that large-scale regional event reflected in animals living on the bottom.窶�

While scientists have for decades analyzed growth lines in shells (Ambrose and others call them 窶徼rees of the sea窶�) in order to reconstruct past environments, the intensity around climate-change research has 窶徨eally made the field of sclerochronology take off,窶� he says.

In this hot field, Ambrose窶冱 research is distinctive for its location, on the Arctic continental shelf. 窶廣 lot of the work has been done at lower latitudes, mostly because it窶冱 harder to get clams in the Arctic and there are simply fewer people available to help,窶� he says. 窶弋hat窶冱 why we窶决e ahead of the ball.窶�

If it窶冱 true that Arctic clams grow faster in warmer weather (and grow faster when there窶冱 less of a seasonal ice pack, another signal that Ambrose saw hints of), a simplistic response might be, 窶廨reat 窶� fatter clams for walruses to munch on.窶� But, explains Ambrose, fat clams won窶冲 offset the problems walruses are having due to less pack ice to rest on. And less ice will also affect tiny creatures inside the ice that are the first link in a food chain for polar cod, seabirds, and seals. And so on, throughout the Arctic food web.

These Serripes groenlandicus clams were collected in Storfjord at a site last visited by 19th-century Russian explorers. Photograph by Greg Henkes '08.

In the end, changes in water temperature and salinity (due to runoff from melting glaciers) and increased sea levels, leading to erosion and turbidity, will all take their toll on the Arctic ecology. 窶廢cosystems operate at the interface of physics, chemistry, and biology, with both complementary and contradictory interactions,窶� Ambrose writes in a forthcoming article predicting that 窶徨egional, and perhaps global, biodiversity will suffer.窶�

Until recently, Ambrose researched other organisms of the benthic community, such as bloodworms along Maine窶冱 coast. A simple matter of funding helped bring bivalves into focus, as a ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ grant (from the Philip J. Otis Endowment) and an external one (from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute) helped purchase a pricey Isomet low-speed saw for preparing shell cross-sections. 窶弖ery expensive,窶� Ambrose says.

In researching the biological response of Arctic bivalves to climate change, Ambrose has depended on the interests and expertise of colleagues and students at ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ and abroad.

Geology professor Beverly Johnson, for example, has been invaluable in co-advising biology students so they can learn to use the College窶冱 stable isotope ratio mass spectrometer, a tool to help identify the age and origins of molecules in various materials. Johnson herself has used the instrument to look at amino acids in dinosaur eggs, and it can likewise be used to tease out the chemical components of clamshells.

窶廬 work with Will to understand how modern systems work,窶� says Johnson, 窶彗nd then go back to old shells, using the geochemistry of shells from 125,000 years ago to reconstruct the environment.窶�

Ambrose also depends on Matt Duvall, who directs ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ窶� new Imaging Center, to create elegant microscopic images of his clamshell sections that Ambrose calls 窶徊ust incredible.窶�

Geology professor Mike Retelle, another Svalbard regular who specializes in reconstructing climates from lake sediments, has collaborated with Ambrose on researching climate-change information from fossilized Ice Age clams.

Beyond the sciences, Ambrose, Johnson, and Retelle belong to an informal North Atlantic Study Group on campus that also includes archeologists Gerald Bigelow and Bruce Bourque, historian Michael Jones, and political scientist ﾃ《laug ﾃ《geirsdﾃｳttir. What started informal 窶� an interdisciplinary coffee klatsch 窶� has given rise to 窶廸orth Atlantic Studies,窶� a thematic grouping of ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ courses, known as a concentration, under the College窶冱 new general education requirements. 窶弩e represent an area of study, rather than just a bunch of us sitting around having coffee,窶� Ambrose says.

窶廬t窶冱 a truly special group,窶� Retelle adds. 窶弋he richness of discussion is such that the boundaries between disciplines disappear. The walls of the box dissolve. Will is a big part of that. As a model for an undergraduate institution, Will has really raised the bar.窶�

Ambrose himself is quick to point out that 窶徭tudents here are the ones driving the bus in terms of getting the work done.窶� As he speaks, Greg Henkes 窶�08 of Chapel Hill, N.C., is downstairs in the environmental geochemistry lab cutting shells and extracting organic material. Henkes窶� senior thesis involves a study of 130 years of climate change in the Barents Sea and Svalbard using a historic Russian collection of Serripes groenlandicus. He will present his findings to an American Geophysical Union conference in San Francisco.

Greg Henkes 窶�08, one of Will Ambrose窶冱 thesis students, took this photograph at 3 a.m. on June 3, 2007, as the research shipLance heads through sea ice in Storfjord in the Svalbard archipelago, about halfway between the North Pole and Norway.

窶廬t窶冱 pretty incredible to be able to do this at ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ,窶� says Henkes. 窶廬t窶冱 the way science is going,窶� says Ambrose of the collaborative nature of scientific enquiry, noting his international partnerships with colleagues at the Norwegian Polar Institute and the research firm Akvaplan-niva. 窶弃eople aren窶冲 doing their own little thing anymore.窶�

窶弋hat窶冱 the way science should be done,窶� emphasizes Kelton McMahon, co-author of the Serripes groenlandicus paper. 窶廬n certain circles, it is. But a lot of people come from departments that don窶冲 share data because they feel funding is in direct competition. ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ takes a very progressive approach to interdisciplinary research.窶�

McMahon is now working on his Ph.D. in a program co-sponsored by MIT and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. His contribution to the clamshell research has been to use two gizmos 窶� a New Wave Research UP213 laser ablation system coupled to a Thermo Finnigan Element 2 single collector field inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer 窶� to measure the chemical components of shell samples. Ambrose et al. used changes in the ratio of strontium to calcium to establish that the external lines of the Greenland cockleshells were, in fact, annual growth lines. 窶廬f it wasn窶冲 for Kelton getting us access to those machines,窶� says Ambrose, 窶徼he paper wouldn窶冲 have been anywhere near as good.窶�

As he sits in his Carnegie office discussing his work 窶� Ambrose also hopes to extend his sclerochronology research to coral in part because 窶徼hey live much longer than clams窶� 窶� he is eagerly awaiting a new shipment of Svalbard shells that he hopes will solve a quirk in his findings. Until recent years, Ambrose found that annual clam growth was high in years when the extent of Arctic ice pack, as measured each March, was low. But over the last several years, 窶徃rowth didn窶冲 track ice cover the way it did before. Something happened, but we窶决e not sure what,窶� he says. 窶廣re the last four years unnatural? That窶冱 why I want those new clams. It窶冱 another four years of data that will help establish some baselines.窶� And baselines will help provide more answers, which will probably just beget more questions. It窶冱 the wayscientific inquiry works. 窶弃eople like simple answers,窶� Ambrose says. 窶廸ature doesn窶冲.窶�

By Edgar Allen Beem

Freelance writer Edgar Allen Beem wrote about the in the Fall 2007 issue of ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ Magazine.

Four members of the ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ College faculty will lead a forum exploring the U.S. war with Iraq and relations between the two countries at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 7, in Skelton Lounge, Chase Hall, 56 Campus Avenue.

The event is open to the public at no charge.

The United States and Iraq: A Forum for the ﾀﾖｲ･ｴｫﾃｽ College Community will be hosted by Professor James Richter and assistant professors ﾃ《laug ﾃ《geirsdﾃｳttir and Matthew Nelson, all of the political science department, and Thomas Tracy, Phillips Professor of Religion.

Each of the four will speak briefly and then the discussion will be opened to comments and questions from the floor. Themes to be discussed include how the war on Iraq fits with “just war” theory, why intelligence failures are so common, how Iraq fits into the larger U.S. policy of preventive war and what steps lie ahead for the United States.

The forum is sponsored by the Office of the Dean of Faculty. For more information call 207-786-6195.