Monthly Archives: November 2014

Features

Science Faculty Weigh in on “Why Liberal Arts?”

By Marcus Hughes ’18 

When I told my friends at home that I was going to Williams College to study science, some of them asked me why I was choosing not to go to a STEM-oriented college. Their curiosity got me thinking.

Why study science at a liberal arts institution? Why teach science at a liberal arts institution?  What are the benefits of a liberal arts education for science students?

To explore these questions, we decided to survey the Williams science faculty to find out why they teach at Williams and what they think about liberal arts.  Many of the responses confirmed what we already know, while others highlighted the pros and cons of a Williams education specifically for science students.

Click on the word clouds below to find out more!

Astronomy, Features

Williams Students Shine at Astronomy Symposium

By Marcus Hughes ’18

Don’t underestimate college students, especially if they study astronomy at the top northeastern liberal arts colleges, because they might just be re-defining what we know about the universe.

Last weekend, Williams professors Karen Kwitter and Steven Souza traveled with seven students to Swarthmore College to participate in the Keck Northeast Astronomy Consortium’s 2014 Undergraduate Symposium on Research in Astronomy. There they learned about the cutting-edge summer research conducted by students from Williams, Wesleyan, Wellesley, Vassar, Swarthmore, Middlebury, Haverford, and Colgate, which together form the Keck Northeast Astronomy Consortium. Members of the consortium send students to partner schools every summer to conduct paid research, which is later presented at the annual symposium.

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