MIDDBRIEFS

Author: BEN SALKOWE, KATHRYN FLAGG AND JASON F. SIEGEL

Senior honored with Marshall Scholarship

In a press release issued Monday, Nov. 28, the Office of the British Consulate-General announced that 43 young Americans had been selected for the prestigious British Marshall Scholarship next year, including Middlebury's own William Motley '06. The announcement marked the second Middlebury student in as many years to be honored with the scholarship, which provides for study at a British university of the student's choice. The scholarships are worth about $60,000 each and provide for two to three years of study.

Motley, who is a Biochemistry major, has spent the past five summers at the Mount Desert Island Biological Lab in Maine researching chloride transport through the protein that is defective in Cystic Fibrosis patients. "At the lab on the coast of Maine, scientists gather to study marine biology and human physiology with marine models," Motley explained in a public affairs profile. "Our lab studies the protein defective in patients with cystic fibrosis using an extra-renal salt gland in spiny dogfish sharks."

In his senior thesis at Middlebury, Motley has recognized a gene that controls meiosis in mice and causes sterility if it is mutant. In addition to his research, Motley has also worked as an emergency medical technician for the Middlebury Volunteer Ambulance Association (MVAA). "The MVAA has been a great way for me to learn more about the town, help the greater Middlebury community and learn about emergency medicine, while doing work I really enjoy," Motley said.

As a Marshall Scholar, Motley plans to attend Oxford to pursue a doctorate in molecular biology, producing animal models for human diseases and using them to test potential therapies.

Motley's scholarship made Middlebury the only college among its peers in the New England Small College Athletic Conference to have a student receive a 2006 Marshall Scholarship.

A Middlebury student was also among those selected for Marshall Scholarships last year, when Aliza Watters '04.5 was chosen for the award. Watters is now pursuing a master's degree in 20th century English literature at Oxford.

The Marshall Scholarships were established in 1953 as a British gesture of thanks to the people of the United States for the assistance received after the Second World War under the Marshall plan. The scholarships are financed by the British government, and are awarded to individuals expected to become leaders in their fields and great contributors to society.



Alvarez presentation promotes non-violence

Middlebury College writer in residence Julia Alvarez '71 will lend a hand today in kicking off the campus's observance of "16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence," an international effort to promote awareness of violence against women. Alvarez's presentation, "Chasing the Butterflies," is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. in Warner Hemicycle lecture hall. The presentation will include a slide show about Alvarez's research for her novel, "In the Time of the Butterflies." The novel follows the lives of the Mirabal sisters who, in 1960, were executed for partaking in a secret plot to defeat the Trujillo dictatorship in the Dominican Republic.

The anniversary of the death of the Mirabal sisters - Nov. 25 - has been designated the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women by the United Nations General Assembly. This day also begins the "16 Days of Activism" event, which will run until Dec. 10, International Human Rights Day.

Alvarez's presentation is sponsored by Chellis House and the Women's and Gender Studies Program.

Also dedicated to generating awareness of gender violence, the African American Alliance is promoting the White Ribbon Campaign this week, in which men vow never to be violent against women and display a white ribbon as a symbol of this promise.