Modern Merchants of Light

Jay Hosler

By equating undergraduate student researchers with Sir Francis Bacon’s seventeenth-century merchants of light—emissaries who gathered new scientific knowledge and communicated it to citizens—biologist Jay Hosler urges these budding scientists to explain their work to an expectant public with passion and elegance.

The Least Dangerous Assumption

Kathleen Biddle

In her Opening Convocation address to the Class of 2014 Biddle, a professor of education, encourages students to avoid the most dangerous assumptions about others and to make the least dangerous assumptions about themselves, in order to open up the broadest world of possibilities.

On al-Sayyab’s "Rain Song"

Sinan Antoon

The Arab-Islamic scholar gives a succinct account of Iraqi history as context for understanding the great twentieth-century Iraqi poet Badr Shakir al-Sayyab and his most famous piece, "Rain Song."

An Interview with Muhammed Al Shammarey and Sinan Antoon

Sinan Antoon and Muhammed Al Shammerey talk about the poet al-Sayyab and about Shammarey’s art.

The Challenges of Tradition in Democratic South Africa

J. Michael Williams

A scholar at the University of San Diego, Williams explains how evolving cultural practices such as traditional chiefs, traditional medicine, and customary marriage are shaping the process of democratization in South Africa.

The Reagan Legacy in the Age of Obama

Steven F. Hayward

While President Ronald Reagan started his administration with a clear central idea, a specific policy agenda, and a skillful handling of the political circumstances he faced, President Barack Obama has been less successful. Reagan restored the people’s trust in the presidency, but the current president threatens his overarching goal of limited government.

Two Poems

Shara McCallum

The author of three volumes of poetry, McCallum presented "A Grammar For War" and "Penelope" from her book This Strange Land (2011).

Confessions from an Economist Trying to be Relevant (And Why It Matters to You)

Jeremy Weber

Juniata alumnus Jeremy Weber recounts his search for relevance in the field of economics and his personal goal to share his research with both academic and general audiences. In this address offered to Juniata senior honor society inductees, Weber encourages students to engage periodically in their own critical assessment of vocation to ensure that they lead relevant and meaningful lives. 

Fit, Fat or Failing? The Financial Health of Private Higher Education

Dominick F. Peruso, Jr.

Using data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System of the U.S. Department of Education, Peruso examines nearly 390 private nonprofit baccalaureate colleges in the U.S. from 1998 through 2007 to examine the relationship of institutional prestige to financial health. He focuses on the colleges’ annual operating results; liquidity and flexibility; leverage; asset performance; and market position.

What a Long, Strange Trip It's Been: My Life in Film and TV

Mike Trim

The Emmy Award-winning cinematographer of the television show Weeds describes his journey from Juniata College, where he first took film courses, to Los Angeles, where he has worked on a wide range of acclaimed (and panned) movies, music videos, and television shows. He describes how personal connections took him from one job to the next, and how passion for one’s work outweighs ambition as the key to success.

Wonder Drug or Bad Medicine? A Short History of Healthcare Reform and a Prognosis for Its Future

Robert Saldin

The Affordable Care Act of 2010, according to the political scientist Robert Saldin, is a milestone in the legislative history of American healthcare policy. Strong feelings about the law, partially rooted in notions of liberty and equality, will shape the 2012 election and demonstrate once again the fragility of party control in the United States.

The American Chestnut as a Service Learning Project at Juniata College

Uma Ramakrishnan

Since 2008, Ramakrishnan and her environmental science students have worked with the Pennsylvania chapter of The American Chestnut Foundation to increase the overwintering success of chestnut seeds, to develop a chestnut orchard on the Juniata College campus, and to create an educational and outreach module for the general public and school students.

The Idea of the Year

Jewel Daniels

Juniata College’s annual Bailey Oratorical Contest asked contestants to address the question: "Who would be your choice for person of the year in 2010 and why?" Daniels, a sophomore from Bloomfield, NJ, studying communication, won first place by arguing that global communication, rather than a single person, was the "idea of the year" for 2010.

The Politics of Sex

Lindsay Briggs

Briggs, a Juniata alumna who earned her Ph.D. in Health Education at Indiana University-Bloomington, emphasizes the importance of comprehensive sexuality education, explains why political conservatives push abstinence-only programs, and shows how politicians use sex (gay marriage, Planned Parenthood, "family values") in election campaigns and budget debates.

Unveiling the Heaviness: Contemporary Polish Art Confronting the Iron Curtain

Anna Theiss

Curator Anna Theiss examines the influence of the Iron Curtain on contemporary Polish art. She discusses works that oppose communism as well as works that are inspired by art from the Communist era.

Making a Difference: The Role of a Small State at the United Nations

Jim McLay

The New Zealand Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations examines the crucial role that small states have played in the United Nations since its inception. He makes the case in his commentary for reform of the Security Council and for the election of New Zealand to a two-year term on the Security Council for the 2015-2016 term.

Puzzles

Michael Boyle
Addressing Juniata College’s graduating Class of 2011, biologist Michael Boyle reminds students of the many puzzles they have already faced and solved, and suggests a source for help as they now negotiate the tricky puzzle of their future lives.

Letters To Young Scholars

Maryanne Wolf

Taking inspiration from Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet, the John DiBiaggio Professor of Citizenship and Public Service and director of the Eliot-Pearson Center for Child Development at Tufts University offers letters to four graduating scholars. She invites them to consider how they have changed through their education and to go forward committed to thinking for themselves and serving others.