MIDDBRIEFS

Author: SCOTT GREENE AND KATHRYN FLAGG

Campus heats up for 83rd Winter Carnival

This weekend's expected snowfall comes at a perfect time, coinciding with Middlebury's 83rd annual Winter Carnival. The weekend's festivities, themed "Iced Out," form both the largest and oldest student-run carnival in the country.

The long weekend begins on Thursday, Feb. 23 at 7:30 p.m. in Kenyon Arena for the winter ice show, called "Warning: Keep Frozen." The show features the Middlebury Skating Club, a local group with members of all ages, as well as numerous Middlebury College faculty, staff and students.

The Carnival heats up on Friday afternoon, as the Japanese Club hosts the snow festival at Coffrin Hall. Calligraphy, origami and several student performances comprise the event, which begins at 1 p.m. The day's activities will conclude from 4:30-7:00 p.m. at the College's Center for the Arts, with a cultural gala entitled "Frozen Fantasy." Those in attendance will have the opportunity to learn about dance from around the world, as well as enjoy performances by the Middlebury College Flying Fists Juggling Brigade and the Generation Today/Vermont Breakers.

However, the first two days of festivities are only a prelude to the main event. On both Friday and Saturday, some of the nation's finest nordic and alpine skiers will showcase their talent at the Middlebury Snow Bowl and the Rikert Ski Touring Center in Ripton. The competition serves as regional qualifying for the NCAA Championships.

"Despite the cold in the distance," Adam Clayton '08.5 said, "The Snow Bowl provides events that generate such an electricity on campus that the temperature is soon forgotten."

Winter Carnival concludes on Sunday with a performance by the Bread and Puppet Theater for Vermont entitled "National Circus of the Correct Moment." Bread and Puppet is one of the oldest nonprofit, self-supporting theatrical companies in the country, and the Winter Carnival performance will feature its signature masked characters and giant papier-mâché puppets.



Faculty rakes in awards, funding and fellowships

In a recent slew of faculty awards and grants, several members of the Middlebury College faculty have been honored with funding and fellowships for scholastic achievements and scholarly endeavors.

Geology professor Thomas Manley has, for the second year, received funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for his project, "Hydrodynamic Investigation of the Inland Sea of Lake Champlain." The undertaking is a cooperative program involving fellow geology professor Pat Manley and colleagues from LODYC in Paris, SeaScan in Falmouth, Mass. and the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University.

Also in the sciences, Biology Professor Grace Spatafora has received funding from the National Institutes of Health in order to purchase additional equipment for use in her NIH-funded research with College students.

The American Institute for Sri Lankan Studies is supporting the research of History and International Studies Professor Ian Barrow, who is investigating the Assassination Museums in South Asia. The funding will go towards a trip to Sri Lanka next year and Barrow's research at a Sri Lankan museum dedicated to the assassinated former Prime Minister.

Religion Professor James Davis has been honored by the National Endowment for the Humanities for his project, "On Religious Liberty: Roger Williams and the Birth of an American Ideal." Davis is currently working on this project during his academic leave this year. The project assembles passages from Williams's defense of freedom of conscience for scholarly and classroom use and offers a critical interpretation of Williams's thought and its importance for discussions of religious freedom today. The NEH has granted Davis a fellowship for his work.

History of Art and Architecture professor Pieter Broucke has been awarded a similar NEH fellowship in support of his book project, "Reconstructing the Pantheon of Agrippa: Architecture, Sculpture, and Meaning." Broucke currently plans to finish this book during his leave next year.