Spotlight on Faculty: Professor of Biology Jennifer Armstrong Begins Appointment as Associate Dean of Faculty

Professor of Biology Jennifer Armstrong commenced her new role as associate dean of faculty this summer.

Awards and Honors: Associate Professor of Music Anne Harley Receives NEA Grant to Commission New Music by Alumna Marjorie Merryman ’72

Funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Associate Professor of Music Anne Harley will serve as the artistic director for the commission of a musical composition that sets texts from the Acts of Paul and Thecla, a second-century apocryphal writing, to an original score for a vocal and instrumental ensemble.

First-Year Students Build Community through IMPaCT, Mellon-Funded Pilot Program to Launch in August

In May 2017, Scripps was awarded a three-year New President’s Grant to support an initiative of the president’s choosing to further a project or area of importance to her. Scripps President Lara Tiedens has allocated the funds to a new pilot program for incoming students called IMPaCT (Impacting, Partnering, and Changing Together).

Awards and Honors: Associate Professor of Politics Vanessa Tyson Awarded Stanford University CASBS Fellowship

Associate Professor of Politics Vanessa Tyson has been awarded a fellowship to attend the Center for the Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS) at Stanford University.

Research and Internships: The Art and Science of Art Conservation

In 2004, inspired by the Scripps Landscape and Architectural Blueprint Committee’s recommendation to preserve the historic character of the campus, Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery Director Mary MacNaughton ’70 spearheaded a massive restoration of the eight relief sculptures that adorn the exterior walls of Sycamore Court and Balch Hall, each depicting a seminal scene from eight of William Shakespeare’s plays. Created in 1932 by British-born American sculptor John Gregory, these plaster reliefs were models for marble sculptures that grace the exterior of the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C. To undertake this massive project, MacNaughton hired expert Donna Williams, head of Williamson Conservation, in Los Angeles.

Spotlight on Students: Kyla Smith ’20 Receives Critical Language Scholarship

Born in China and raised in Hawaii by her adoptive parents, Kyla Smith ’20 has sought ways to connect with her birth country. As a Scripps student, she has lately been exploring her identity and heritage through her coursework, double majoring in Asian American studies and Asian studies and enrolling in Mandarin language classes. This summer, Smith plans to fully immerse herself in Chinese language and culture, having received a Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) to study Mandarin in Xi’an, China, for two months, beginning in late June.

Lynne Thompson ’72 Begins Term as Chair of the Board of Trustees

Scripps College is pleased to announce that Lynne Thompson ’72 will step into her new role as chair of the Board of Trustees on July 1, 2018. She was unanimously elected to the position by the Board in March 2017.

Awards and Honors: Mellon Foundation Awards $800,000 to Scripps College Interdisciplinary Humanities Initiatives

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has awarded $800,000 to Scripps College in Claremont, Calif., for support of the College’s Interdisciplinary Humanities Initiative. The three-part initiative provides funding for summer undergraduate research fellowships, professional development for faculty, and new clinic courses that will pair faculty and students with community organizations throughout greater Los Angeles to address complex community issues using a humanistic approach.

Spotlight on Students: Perrin York ’19 Wins Outstanding Soloist Award at the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella

Standing on stage in front of an audience of 3,000 at the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA), Perrin York ’19 “didn’t know if I was crying or wanted to cry.” She had just been awarded Outstanding Soloist for her rendition of “Greedy” by Ariana Grande.  “At that moment, I felt so humbled and couldn’t understand the magnitude of the award,” she recalls.

Spotlight on Alumnae: Rachel Odessey ’17, Awarded National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship

Rachel Odessey ’17, a first-year PhD student in the electrical and computer engineering group in the School of Engineering at Brown University, has won a three-year National Defense Science and Engineering (NDSEG) Graduate Fellowship. Odessey earned her bachelor of arts in physics at Scripps.