February 2008 Stories

Willamette University Musician Takes Home Grammy

Willamette Music Instructor Molly Barth won a Grammy Award at this year’s ceremony, along with members of the sextet she co-founded, eighth blackbird. The group won the award for Best Chamber Music Performance for its album “Strange Imaginary Animals.”

The group has been the subject of profiles in The New York Times and on NPR’s All Things Considered; it has also been featured on Bloomberg TV’s Muse, CBS’s Sunday Morning, St. Paul Sunday, Weekend America and The Next Big Thing, among others. Members of the group have been praised for virtuosic flair and for their efforts to make the new music genre more accessible.

“Strange Imaginary Animals” was recorded before Barth moved here in 2007. Based in Chicago, eighth blackbird tours internationally up to eight months of the year, and Barth performed with the group for a decade before moving to Oregon for a life off the road. She now teaches at Willamette, plays with the Oregon Symphony and the Eugene Symphony, and serves as principal flutist with the Salem Chamber Orchestra.

Barth also performs with Fear No Music and Beta Collide, which she started. She is described as “ferociously talented” by The Oregonian. “Barth gave an electric performance ... effortlessly leaping across registers and conveying a sense of intense dialogue,” The Oregonian wrote of one of her performances.

“I feel like this award is the punctuation of my career with eighth blackbird,” Barth says. “There’s a definition to that part of my life.”

Her new ensemble, Beta Collide, continues to explore the new music genre, but takes a different approach. “We’re not approaching artists from a classical genre, but are experimenting with free jazz and incorporating elements from the art world,” she says.

You can hear Barth Saturday, April 5, in Hudson Hall. The free performance will feature a new work by sound installation artist Stephen Vitiello, who manipulated an original photo into a graphic score, which the group will play. The concert, part of the New Music at Willamette Series, is funded by the W. M. Keck Foundation.

Beta Collide will also perform at the University of Oregon April 14. “Sound-Bytes” will feature physicist Amit Goswami, who is best known as one of the scientists interviewed in the 2004 film What the Bleep Do We Know!? Goswami will also be featured in an upcoming documentary about the Dalai Lama, narrated by Harrison Ford. The scientist will talk about quantum physics, consciousness and spirituality while Beta Collide accompanies with an improvised sound stream.

Barth has been playing flute since fourth grade. “I wanted to play in the school band and my orthodontist gave me a choice, flute or percussion,” Barth says. “He said any other instrument would damage my orthodontic treatment. So it was flute.”

Radicalism in America: Been There, Done That

Willamette Professor Seth Cotlar became a historian as a child. Sitting in his grandfather’s black leather chair, he spent hours poring over old photos in shoeboxes.

Unfortunately, in the Allegheny Mountain mining town where he grew up, college-bound kids were discouraged from taking “soft” subjects like history, and were instead pushed toward the sciences so they could get into “above ground” jobs — running the mines as engineers rather than working them.

Cotlar shifted through five majors in college before settling on history; it took him that long to realize people can get paid to do what they love.

The fledging historian soon discovered that he had been born in a remarkable year. In 1968 America seemed poised on the edge of rethinking and recreating society. Against the backdrop of what seemed like a senseless war, draft-age students marched for peace. Thousands of African-Americans boycotted for equal rights, the women’s movement was born, and spiritual enlightenment seemed possible if only one meditated long enough.

“I was 12 during the election of 1980, and when my parents turned on the TV, Ronald Reagan was spewing invective against the long-haired hippies with their deviant lifestyles,” Cotlar says. “He was explicitly running against the legacy of the ’60s, saying that ‘ordinary’ Americans should take the country back, that these ideas are dangerous. He pointed to the extremist fringe of the movement and said, ‘All you have to do is look at the Weather Underground to know what kind of people these are.’”

Cotlar was fascinated by the cultural and political tumult of the ’60s and ’70s, and his upcoming book, Making America Safe for Democracy: The Rise and Fall of Trans-Atlantic Radicalism in the Early American Republic, focuses on a parallel time in American history. During the 1790s, he says, the trans-Atlantic world was in foment over ideas put forward by Thomas Paine, whose celebrated treatise, The Rights of Man, was the most widely read pamphlet in America and Europe.

Paine’s definition of democracy would have broadly expanded the rights of individuals, in accordance with the ideals of the French Revolution. America’s experiment with democracy was still a work in progress, with different political factions arguing over how democracy should be defined.

“But just as America’s 1960s antiwar movement became associated with drugs, loose lifestyles and violence, the political ideas behind the French Revolution were eventually thought to be dangerous and their promoters discredited,” Cotlar says.

The man whose ideas had been embraced on both sides of the Atlantic took a hard fall. During Paine’s 15-year sojourn in Europe, American leaders constructed a more moderate, non-revolutionary vision of democracy, one more limited in scope.

They discredited Paine’s ideas by discrediting Paine, Cotlar says, branding him an atheist anarchist on the radical fringe. Attacks were ratcheted up in intensity to counter the broad appeal and influence of his ideas. By the time Paine returned to America, he was hard-pressed to find a single tavern owner who would take him in, and when he died, only six people attended his funeral.

Cotlar’s book will be on bookshelves next year, and he’s already begun work on his next book, about nostalgia in pre–Civil War America. “During the aggressive modernization of the past 150 years, Americans have consistently expressed nostalgia about a disappearing past,” Cotlar says. “The idea of something being ‘old fashioned’ can only exist when the world is changing rapidly, losing its past. It’s not just a psychological phenomenon, but also a historical phenomenon. People still have trouble talking about the costs of change.”

Cotlar recently received a Millicent C. MacIntosh Fellowship, one of five awarded in the nation, to further his research. He’ll also co-organize a 2009 conference on “Antiquities and Ruins in the Nineteenth Century,” to be held at the Huntington Library in California. In addition, Cotlar serves on Willamette’s Council on Diversity and Social Justice. “A vibrant intellectual community requires a wide range of perspectives,” he says. “But diverse communities do not just emerge spontaneously. They must be built with some degree of intentionality.”

Of course, none of these activities will interfere with Cotlar’s other life — political media junkie, father to a five-year-old son who drums to Beatles songs, and gardener of “things I can eat.” History moves on, repeats itself, and doubles back, but some things never change.

Not Just Jocks: Swimmers Are Role Models Outside the Pool

The Willamette University men’s and women’s swimming teams include seven seniors who are providing leadership not only in the pool, but also in the classroom. As squad members prepared for individual events and relay races this season, they were inspired by the seniors, whose guidance extended beyond fast-paced heats, rapid flip-turns and personal-best times to include academic success.

“Because there are so many seniors, they are a huge part of our team,” says Willamette Head Coach Al Stephenson. “The different roles and capabilities they have shown — mentoring, handling their homework, leadership qualities — exemplify the whole team.”

In the pool, the team has three senior captains — Greg Henselman ’08, Shannon Gima ’08 and Brittany Thiemens ’08 — who provided the motivation and teamwork that helped nearly every swimmer achieve career bests this season. “The seniors have set the bar as far as what the expectations are,” Stephenson says. “They understand my thinking process better than the freshmen or sophomores.”

What makes the teams’ seniors even more special is their commitment to success beyond their sport. The senior swimmers include three student-athletes who have studied abroad, plus three others who plan to attend graduate school. “They have shown the capacity to understand time management, realizing they may not reach their full potential as athletes, but understanding the importance of an education to the rest of their lives,” Stephenson says.

As juniors, Lindsay Mumm ’08, Bridget Sutherland ’08 and Chelsea Hollingsworth ’08 each spent one semester studying abroad. Mumm went to Nicaragua through a program with the School for International Training. She studied Spanish and Nicaraguan history and culture in the classroom and conducted interviews with youngsters to learn about their political and community awareness. “It was incredible,” Mumm says. “I’m much more self-confident now. I was able to connect with people, even though I came from a different mindset.”

Mumm will travel to Chile in March 2009 to participate in a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship program. She will learn in a university setting and will coordinate community service projects involving Rotary Clubs in Chile. (To read more about her scholarship, go to http://blog.willamette.edu/stories/archives/2007/09/expanding_world.php.)

Hollingsworth also lauded the advantages of meeting new people from different cultures. She was a resident student at the University of Western Australia, where she immersed herself in the local culture and traveled to various scenic and historical locations. She didn’t meet only Australians at the university — the school also included students from Africa and the Far East. “We had large classes, so we had to find our own motivation, which was different from what I was accustomed to in my smaller classes at Willamette,” Hollingsworth says.

Henselman, Thiemens and Pete Kahn ’08 all plan to attend graduate school after they leave Willamette. Henselman is majoring in classical studies and mathematics, Thiemens is completing a major in exercise science, and Kahn is majoring in physics and Spanish.

Kahn interned last summer at Oregon Graduate Institute in Portland and hopes to head there to work on a doctorate in environmental science and engineering. With his physics major, he faced tough challenges balancing his frequent science labs with his swimming practices. Even so, he’s managed to maintain his academic standing while competing. “I have to create a schedule and stick to it,” he says. “I try to get all of my homework done right after practice so I don’t have to stay up late and I can be ready to practice the next day.”

Thiemens also acknowledged the importance of time management. “Our coach told all of us since our freshman year that we’re here for academics. It just takes enough willpower to make sacrifices in order to do well in your classes. We have someone in almost every major on the swim team. So, if you’re having trouble, it’s like having your own private tutor.”

Henselman was one of just two Willamette students selected as a Willamette Presidential Scholar last spring. He received a $2,500 academic scholarship to assist with a summer research project: “Extending the Diagnostic Applications of Graph Representations.” He also received an additional scholarship to cover tuition for one semester or to help with graduate school expenses.

Henselman’s research involved the study of polygons, figures that can range from a simple square to a complicated shape with hundreds of sides. Henselman sought appropriate mathematical approaches to determine the characteristics of shapes created by connecting the sides of polygons with even-numbered sides (2, 4, 6, etc.). Although his research was complicated and time-consuming, Henselman says the experience was valuable and left him with an even greater interest in mathematics.

“When you do first-hand research, you encounter all of the problems that undergraduates typically don’t deal with,” he says. “A big part of the project was coming up with the right language to convey what I was talking about.”

Thiemens says she plans to work toward an advanced degree in physical therapy. She has already advanced to the interview stage with one graduate program and is waiting to hear back from another. “I hope to be starting this fall,” she says. “My only regret is that we can’t have our athlete eligibility start over. I would love to swim again.”

Chemistry in the Real World

It’s nearly impossible to talk with a Willamette chemistry student without hearing the name Sarah Kirk.

In her five years as an assistant professor, Kirk has mentored six students through the Science Collaborative Research Program in the summer, plus two Presidential Scholars (a prestigious Willamette award that provides one semester’s tuition and money for research expenses). She could be found last summer in the lab with her own students and a local high school teacher, whom she and fellow chemistry assistant professor Andrew Duncan are mentoring after receiving a grant from the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust.

While Kirk shares her research with students and helps them create their own projects, she also is mindful of showing them how to pass their work on to the next generation of researchers — essential when students graduate each year and new batches of chemists must take their place in the lab.

“I invest myself largely in the training of students,” Kirk says. “If I were working on my own in a lab, I could probably accomplish far more, far faster. But as a professor, I can work with students and train them so that they go on and accomplish far more as a group than I ever could by myself. A lot of my job is about seeing potential in students and helping them recognize it.”

In Kirk’s Chemical Concepts and Applications class, known informally as chemistry for non-science majors, she relates chemistry to an array of current events, including changes in the ozone layer and global warming. “The whole idea is to show relevance and teach students how important chemistry is in their daily lives,” she says.

When she enters the lab, Kirk’s main research focus is modifying molecules to create more effective antibiotics. Kirk remembers one of her favorite childhood pastimes was tackling logic problems, and her love of problem-solving eventually drew her to organic chemistry. Although she respects the work of other researchers, she wanted to do more than spend years in a lab creating complicated molecules.

“I wanted to feel like what I was doing had a purpose, with some visible applications,” she says. When Kirk’s mother was 17, she lost her mother to cancer. When Kirk was a teenager, her grandfather was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. “I wanted to solve problems that meant something to me. I wanted to do something that was going to effect people in a positive way.”

Kirk started out by studying HIV-fighting drugs. But eventually she turned her attention to more general antibiotics, specifically Neomycin, the active ingredient in Neosporin.

Neomycin is a topical drug that binds to nucleic acids (DNA or RNA) in the body. Kirk is trying to modify molecules in order to strengthen that binding — creating a better drug. One of the goals is to create a form of Neomycin that could be taken orally to treat systemic illnesses. “Our research is very basic,” she says. “We’re not necessarily going to find the next drug.”

By bringing her students into the lab with her — and assisting them as they make their own discoveries — Kirk gives them a chance to take their chemistry skills to the next level, something many scientists don’t experience as undergraduates. “Once we send a student to a prestigious graduate program, they do well because of the experiences they have had here. Then the next time a student from Willamette applies to that program, they are looked at in a different way.

“Only so much learning can occur in the classroom,” she adds. “A lot of the real learning happens outside, in places like the lab where the students can discover practical applications.”

Adapting to a Global Economy

“Global” is the catch-word of Lisbeth Claus’ life, from her childhood in Belgium to her role as a top global human resources expert to her mentoring of international students.

Claus, associate professor of global human resources at the Atkinson Graduate School of Management, spends about 200 days of the year on the road. When your expertise lies in training human resources managers how to work within an international environment — and your personal goal is to help smaller countries develop in this area — it’s often necessary to hop on planes to places as far away as China, Israel or Nigeria. “Companies can no longer just be domestic. Everything is about globalization,” says Claus, who also is Atkinson’s interim associate dean.

Claus spent 15 years coordinating the development of learning materials for people seeking GPHR (Global Professional in Human Resources) certification. The certification, first available five years ago, is geared toward human resources professionals working in multiple countries. They might be recruiting employees from abroad or working for a company that has locations throughout the world. And each country has its own laws and customs regarding hiring practices. “You can’t expect someone in Salem to know the laws in Belgium for hiring,” Claus says.

Multinational companies also have unique challenges regarding performance management, an area that has been the focus of Claus’ research. When a company is headquartered in the United States, which has one acceptable set of performance review standards, but is working with employees in multiple countries, each with their own ideas about review practices, things can get a bit complicated.

“Some countries may not allow you to fire someone based on lousy performance, for example,” Claus says. “Multinational companies have problems in balancing whether they’ll have the same system everywhere. They don’t want to go against the laws or customs of other countries.”

Claus’ passion for international affairs started early in life. Born in Oostende, Belgium, she describes her family as “very international.” “I spoke Flemish to my father, I spoke French to my mother, I spoke German to my grandfather, and I spoke even another language to God, all before the age of 4.”

When Claus came to the U.S. to get her PhD at Saint Louis University, she barely knew English. “I learned English from The Beatles’ songs,” she says. “I knew all the words, but I didn’t know what they were really saying.” At first it was difficult studying in America, but she worked hard to improve her English while taking her graduate courses.

It’s her memory of these struggles that has drawn her to informally mentor international students at Atkinson. This year the business school has 30 international students from 12 countries. Claus often invites them to her home for dinner or just to talk. “They come here for a year, and sometimes they never even get to be in a person’s home. So what kind of view do they have of American society?”

Claus also acts as a “mentor” to countries that don’t yet have well-developed human resources programs, to help them join the international market. She helped develop professional HR organizations in Israel and Romania, and she often volunteers as a keynote speaker at events in those countries to further assist them in becoming established. “The world has changed so rapidly that people now realize this is something they need to do,” she says. “They are dealing with the fact that business is now global.”