Coordinates: 42°42′43.70″N, 73°12′10.94″W Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...

Williams College
Motto:	E liberalitate E. Williams, armigeri ("Through the Generosity of E. Williams, Esquire (or Soldier)")
Established:	1793
Type:	Private
Endowment:	~$1.9 Billion
President:	Morton Owen Schapiro
Faculty:	315
Undergraduates:	1,997
Postgraduates:	49
Location:	Williamstown, MA, USA
Campus:	Rural
Athletics:	Ephs
Mascot:	Purple cow
Website:	www.williams.edu

Williams College is a highly selective ^[1] private liberal arts college located in Williamstown, Massachusetts. According to current U.S. News and World Report rankings, Williams is the #1 liberal arts college in the United States.^[2] As of 2008, the school has an enrollment of 1,997 undergraduate students and 49 graduate students.^[3] Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... For other uses, see Motto (disambiguation). ... The date of establishment or date of founding of an institution is the date on which that institution chooses to claim as its starting point. ... Year 1793 (MDCCXCIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 11-day slower Julian calendar). ... For the film of this title, see Private School (film). ... A financial endowment is a transfer of money or property donated to an institution, with the stipulation that it be invested, and the principal remain intact. ... University President is the title of the highest ranking officer within a university, within university systems that prefer that appellation over other variations such as Chancellor or rector. ... A faculty is a division within a university. ... In some educational systems, undergraduate education is post-secondary education up to the level of a Bachelors degree. ... Degree ceremony at Cambridge. ... Williamstown is a town located in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. ... This article is about the U.S. state. ... Sign in a rural area in Dalarna, Sweden Qichun, a rural town in Hubei province, China Rural areas (also referred to as the country, countryside) are settled places outside towns and cities. ... Millie, once mascot of the City of Brampton, is now the Brampton Arts Councils representative. ... A website (alternatively, Web site or web site) is a collection of Web pages, images, videos or other digital assets that is hosted on one or several Web server(s), usually accessible via the Internet, cell phone or a LAN. A Web page is a document, typically written in HTML... Liberal arts colleges in the United States are institutions of higher education in the United States which are primarily liberal arts colleges. ... Williamstown is a town located in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. ... This article is about the U.S. state. ... U.S. News & World Report is a weekly newsmagazine. ...

Williams was established in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams as a men's college, located in the Berkshires in northwestern Massachusetts, at the foot of Mount Greylock. In 1834, the first non-secret fraternity in the United States, Delta Upsilon, was founded on its campus. Fraternities were phased out beginning in 1962.^[4] The college became coeducational in 1970. Year 1793 (MDCCXCIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 11-day slower Julian calendar). ... Ephraim Williams Jr. ... A men’s college is a college or university whose students are exclusively men. ... Berkshire region of Massachusetts The Berkshires (pronounced as or ) is a region located in Western Massachusetts (with portions located in the adjacent states of Vermont, New York, and Connecticut). ... Mount Greylock is a mountain of 3,491 feet (1,064 m) in northwestern Massachusetts, on the Appalachian Trail just south of Vermont and not too far east of New York. ... Year 1834 (MDCCCXXXIV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Delta Upsilon (ΔY) is one of the oldest international, all-male, college, Greek-letter social fraternities and is the first non-secret fraternity ever founded. ... Year 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

There are three academic curricular divisions (humanities, sciences, and social sciences), 24 departments, 33 majors, and two small master's degree programs in art history and development economics. There are 315 voting faculty members, with a student-to-faculty ratio of 7:1. The college also sponsors the Williams-Mystic program at Mystic Seaport; the Williams-Exeter Programme at Exeter College of Oxford University; and Williams in New York (also known as WINY or Williams@NY). For other uses, see Humanities (disambiguation). ... The term natural science as the way in which different fields of study are defined is determined as much by historical convention as by the present day meaning of the words. ... The social sciences are a group of academic disciplines that study human aspects of the world. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article is about the academic discipline of art history. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Williams-Mystic is the name most commonly used for The Maritime Studies Program of Williams College and Mystic Seaport, an interdisciplinary semester of study for college sophomores, juniors and seniors. ... Mystic Seaport is a maritime museum situated along the banks of the Mystic River in Mystic, Connecticut, USA. It is notable both for its collection of sailing ships and boats, and for the re-creation of an entire 19th century seaport, consisting of over 60 original buildings, most of them... and of the Exeter College College name Exeter College Latin name Collegium Exoniense Named after Walter de Stapledon, Bishop of Exeter Established 1314 Sister college Emmanuel College, Cambridge Rector Ms Frances Cairncross JCR president Edward Moores Undergraduates 299 MCR president Sara Adams Graduates 150 Location of Exeter College within central... The University of Oxford, located in the city of Oxford in England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. ...

The academic year follows a 4-1-4 schedule of two four-course semesters plus a one-course "winter study" term in January. An intensive summer research schedule involves about 200 students on campus doing projects with professors. An academic term is the time during which a school, college or university holds classes. ... An academic term is the time during which a school, college or university holds classes. ...

History

Chapin Hall

Colonel Ephraim Williams was an officer in the Massachusetts militia and a member of a prominent landowning family. His will included a bequest to support and maintain a free school to be established in the town of West Hoosac, Massachusetts, provided that the town change its name to Williamstown. Williams was killed at the Battle of Lake George on September 8, 1755.^[5] Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1006x966, 312 KB) Photo taken in Williamstown, MA I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1006x966, 312 KB) Photo taken in Williamstown, MA I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Ephraim Williams Jr. ... In the common law, a will or testament is a document by which a person (the testator) regulates the rights of others over his property or family after death. ... Combatants Britain France Commanders William Johnson, 1st Baronet Johnson, King Hendrick † Jean Erdman, Baron Dieskau Strength 1,500 militia, 200 Mohawks 3,500 regulars, militia, and natives Casualties 331 killed, wounded or missing [1] 339 killed, wounded or missing [2] Seven Years War in North America: The French and Indian... is the 251st day of the year (252nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1755 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

After Shays' Rebellion, the Williamstown Free School opened with 15 students on October 26, 1791. Not long afterward, the trustees of the school petitioned the Massachusetts legislature to convert the free school to a tuition-based college. The legislature agreed and on June 22, 1793, Williams College was chartered. Shays rebellion was an armed uprising in Western Massachusetts from 1786 to 1787. ... is the 299th day of the year (300th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1791 (MDCCXCI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 11-day-slower Julian calendar). ... is the 173rd day of the year (174th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1793 (MDCCXCIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 11-day slower Julian calendar). ...

In 1806, a student prayer meeting gave rise to the American Foreign Mission Movement. In August of that year, five students met in the maple grove of Sloan's Meadow to pray. A thunderstorm drove them to the shelter of a haystack, and the fervor of the ensuing meeting inspired them to take the Gospel abroad. The students went on to build the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, the first American organization to send missionaries overseas. The Haystack Monument near Mission Park on the Williams Campus commemorates the historic "Haystack Prayer Meeting." 1806 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Gospel, from the Old English good tidings is a calque of Greek () used in the New Testament (see Etymology below). ... Proposed in 1810 by recent graduates of Williams College and officially chartered in 1812, the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) was the first American Christian foreign mission agency. ... For other uses, see Missionary (disambiguation). ...

By 1815, Williams had only two buildings and 58 students, and was in serious financial trouble. In 1821, the president of the college, Zephaniah Swift Moore, who had accepted his position believing that the college would move east, abandoned Williams. He took 15 students with him, and became the first president of Amherst College. According to legend, Moore also took portions of the Williams College library. Though plausible, the transfer of books is unsubstantiated. Moore died just two years later after founding Amherst, and was succeeded by Heman Humphrey, a trustee of Williams College.^[6] April 5-12: Mount Tambora explodes, changing climate. ... Year 1821 (MDCCCXXI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Zephaniah Swift Moore (1770 - 1823) was a U.S. Congregational clergyman and educator. ... Amherst College is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts, USA. It is the third oldest college in Massachusetts. ...

Williams was the first American college or university to feature caps and gowns at commencement ceremonies, in order to eliminate the differences in apparel between rich and poor students.^[7] Academic dress or academical dress (also known in the United States as academic regalia) is traditional clothing worn specifically in academic settings. ... Academic procession during the University of Canterbury graduation ceremony. ...

Academics

Reputation

Williams has produced the most Rhodes Scholars of any liberal arts college in the country, with 37. Rhodes House in Oxford Rhodes Scholarships were created by Cecil John Rhodes. ...

Williams has tied for first in the "academic reputation" category each year that U.S. News & World Report has produced a survey, sharing that honor with rival Amherst College.

Williams is ranked #1 overall according to the fifth annual report by the National Collegiate Scouting Association which ranks colleges based on student-athlete graduation rates, academic strength, and athletic prowess. Rounding out the top five are Amherst College, Duke University, the University of California, San Diego, and the University of Notre Dame.^[8] Amherst College is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts, USA. It is the third oldest college in Massachusetts. ... Duke University is a private coeducational research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. ... The University of California, San Diego (popularly known as UCSD, or sometimes UC San Diego) is a highly selective, research-oriented[1] public university located in La Jolla, a seaside resort community of San Diego, California. ... For other universities and colleges named Notre Dame, see Notre Dame. ...

Williams currently holds first place in U.S. News and World Report's most recent ranking of the top liberal arts colleges in America,^[9] maintaining a streak of five consecutive years in the top spot. Williams has been first seven times since 1989, and has been first nine times since US News started the rankings. Williams is ranked eighth in the Washington Monthly rankings^[10], which focus more on research, number of B.A. graduates earning PhDs and certain types of public service. Williams ranked fifth, after Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Stanford, in a 2004 Wall Street Journal survey of the "feeder schools" to the top fifteen business, law, and medical schools in the country.^[11] The Washington Monthly is a magazine based in Washington DC which covers American politics and government. ... Harvard redirects here. ... Yale redirects here. ... Princeton University is a private coeducational research university located in Princeton, New Jersey. ... Stanford redirects here. ... The Wall Street Journal is an influential international daily newspaper published in New York City, New York with an average daily circulation of 1,800,607 (2002). ...

Admissions

In 2007, Williams College received 6,448 applications and admitted 1,194, an acceptance rate of 19 percent.^[12] The middle 50 percent of admitted students received 670–760 on the SAT Critical Reading section, 670–760 on the SAT Math section, and 29–33 (composite) on the ACT.^[13] As of 2008, the school has an enrollment of 1,997 undergraduate students and 49 graduate students.^[14] For other uses, see SAT (disambiguation). ... The ACT® test is a standardized achievement examination for college admissions in the United States produced by ACT, Inc. ...

Oxford-style tutorials

One of the distinctive features of a Williams education is modeled after Oxford's tutorial system, which is common in British universities but rare in American higher education. Although tutorials at Williams were originally aimed at sophomores, the faculty voted in 2001 to expand the signature tutorial program, ^[15] and now there is a diverse offering of tutorials, ranging from freshmen-level to upperclassmen tutorials, and spanning many disciplines, including math and the sciences.

Enrollment for tutorials is capped at 10 students, who are then divided into five pairs that meet separately with the professor once a week. Each week, one of the students writes and presents a 5-7 page paper while the other student critiques it. The same pair reverses roles for the next week. The professor takes a more limited role than in a traditional lecture class, and usually allows students to steer and guide the direction of the conversation.

Student course evaluations for tutorials are typically very high. In a survey of alumni who had taken tutorials, more than 80% found their tutorials to be "the most valuable of my courses" at Williams.^[16]

Faculty

Williams has 315 voting faculty, 96% of whom possess a doctorate or the terminal degree in their field.^[17] Students fill out course surveys at the end of each semester, which play a large role in determining faculty tenure decisions. Recently, there has been controversy over popular teachers being denied tenure based on other factors, including publication rates.^[18] Williams offers Olmsted awards to four secondary teachers nominated by the graduating class.

Notable former and present faculty include:

• Gene H. Bell-Villada, fiction writer, critic of Latin American literature, and historian of aesthetics
• Raymond Chang, who has written high school and college textbooks in chemistry.^[19]
• Joan Edwards of the biology department, who has a Guinness World Record for discovering the fastest blooming plant, the bunchberry.^[20]
• Kermit Gordon of the economics department, who became Director of the United States Bureau of the Budget (now the Office of Management and Budget) during the administrations of Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson.^[21]
• Jay Pasachoff in the astrophysics department.^[22]
• Mark Taylor, who has studied with Jacques Derrida and teaches religion classes.^[23]

Raymond Chang is a professor at Williams College in the Department of Chemistry. ... For other uses, see Chemistry (disambiguation). ... For the song by Girls Aloud see Biology (song) Biology studies the variety of life (clockwise from top-left) E. coli, tree fern, gazelle, Goliath beetle Biology (from Greek: βίος, bio, life; and λόγος, logos, speech lit. ... The Guinness Book of Records (or in recent editions Guinness World Records, and in previous US editions Guinness Book of World Records) is a book published annually, containing an internationally recognized collection of superlatives: both in terms of human achievement and the extrema of the natural world. ... Bunchberry is a common name for two species of dwarf dogwoods: Cornus canadensis - Canadian or Eastern Bunchberry Cornus suecica - Eurasian or Northern Bunchberry Category: ... Kermit Gordon (1916, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-1976, Washington, D.C) was Director of the United States Bureau of the Budget(now the Office of Management and Budget) (December 28, 1962 - June 1, 1965) during the administrations of Presidents John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson and President of the Brookings Institution. ... Face-to-face trading interactions on the New York Stock Exchange trading floor. ... The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is a body within the Executive Office of the President of the United States which is tasked with coordinating United States Federal agencies. ... Federal courts Supreme Court Circuit Courts of Appeal District Courts Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Local Government Other countries Atlas  US Government Portal      For other uses, see President of the United States (disambiguation). ... John Kennedy and JFK redirect here. ... LBJ redirects here. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Spiral Galaxy ESO 269-57 Astrophysics is the branch of astronomy that deals with the physics of the universe, including the physical properties (luminosity, density, temperature, and chemical composition) of celestial objects such as stars, galaxies, and the interstellar medium, as well as their interactions. ... Mark C. Taylor (born 13 December 1945) is a philosopher or religion and cultural critic who has published more than twenty books on theology, philosophy, art and architecture, media, technology, economics, and the natural sciences. ... Jacques Derrida (IPA: in French [1], in English ) (July 15, 1930 – October 8, 2004) was an Algerian-born French philosopher, known as the founder of deconstruction. ...

Distinguishing features

School colors and mascot

The college sign

Williams's school colors are purple and gold, with purple as the primary school color.^[24] A story explaining the origin of purple as a school color says that at the Williams-Harvard baseball game in 1869, spectators watching from carriages had trouble telling the teams apart because there were no uniforms. One of the onlookers bought ribbons from a nearby millinery store to pin on Williams' players, and the only color available was purple. The buyer was Jennie Jerome (later Winston Churchill's mother) whose family summered in Williamstown.^[25] Image File history File linksMetadata WilliamsCollegeSign. ... Image File history File linksMetadata WilliamsCollegeSign. ... Harvard University is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, and a member of the Ivy League. ... This article is about the sport. ... 1869 (MDCCCLXIX) is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... Jennie Jerome in 1874 Jeanette (Jennie) Jerome [1] CI DStJ, known also as Lady Randolph Churchill (January 9, 1854 – June 9, 1921) was an American society beauty, best known to history as the mother of British prime minister Winston Churchill. ... Churchill redirects here. ...

The Williams college mascot is a purple cow.^[25] The mascot's name, Ephelia, was submitted in a radio contest in October 1952 by Theodore W. Friend, a senior at Williams.^[26] The origins of the cow mascot are unknown, but one possibility is that it was inspired by the Purple Cow humor magazine, a student publication begun in 1907, which used the college color along with a cow.^[26] The title of the humor magazine was in reference to Gelett Burgess's nonsense poem: Year 1952 (MCMLII) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1907 (MCMVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Frank Gelett Burgess (January 30, 1866 - September 18, 1951) was an artist, art critic, poet, author, and humorist. ...

I never saw a purple cow
I never hope to see one;
But I can tell you, anyhow,
I'd rather see than be one!

Alma mater

Williams claims the first alma mater song written by an undergraduate, "The Mountains," was written by Washington Gladden of the class of 1859.^[27] Washington Gladden was a pastor in Ohio during the Social Gospel movement. ...

Campus landmarks

The Old Hopkins Observatory

Old Hopkins Observatory

Williams College is the site of the Hopkins Observatory, the oldest extant astronomical observatory in the United States.^[28] Erected in 1836–1838, it now contains the Mehlin Museum of Astronomy, including Alvan Clark's first telescope (from 1852),^[28] as well as the Milham Planetarium, which uses a Zeiss Skymaster ZKP3/B optomechanical projector and an Ansible digital projector, both installed in 2005. The Hopkins Observatory's 0.6-m DFM reflecting telescope (1991) is installed elsewhere on the campus.^[29] Williams joins with Wellesley, Wesleyan, Middlebury, Colgate, Vassar, Swarthmore, and Haverford/Bryn Mawr to form the Keck Northeast Astronomy Consortium, sponsored for over a decade by the Keck Foundation and now with its student research programs sponsored by the National Science Foundation.^[30] Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2048x1536, 1102 KB) Photo take in Williamstown, MA. I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2048x1536, 1102 KB) Photo take in Williamstown, MA. I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Hopkins Observatory is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by Williams College. ... Year 1836 (MDCCCXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a leap year starting on Wednesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... | Jöns Jakob Berzelius, discoverer of protein 1838 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 8 Alvan Clark & Sons telescope at Chabot Space and Science Center. ... 1852 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the 1991 Gregorian calendar). ... For other uses, see Wellesley College (disambiguation). ... Wesleyan College is a private, liberal arts womens college located in Macon, Georgia. ... Middlebury College is a small, private liberal arts college located in the rural town of Middlebury, Vermont, United States. ... Colgate University is a highly selective, private liberal arts college located in the Village of Hamilton in Madison County, New York, USA. It was founded in 1819 as a Baptist seminary, but has since become non-denominational. ... Vassar College is a private, coeducational, liberal arts college situated in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, USA. Founded as a womens college in 1861, it was the first member of the Seven Sisters to become coeducational. ... Swarthmore College is a private, independent, liberal arts college in the United States with an enrollment of about 1,450 students. ... Haverford College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college located in Haverford, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia. ... Bryn Mawr College (pronounced ) is a highly selective womens liberal arts college located in Bryn Mawr, a community in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, ten miles northwest of Philadelphia. ... The logo of the National Science Foundation The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. ...

Chapin Library

Chapin Library

The Chapin Library is a collection that supports the liberal arts curriculum of the college by allowing students close access to a number of rare books and documents of interest. The library opened on June 18, 1923, with an initial collection of 9,000 volumes contributed by alumnus Alfred Clark Chapin, Class of 1869. Over the years, Chapin Library has grown to include over 50,000 volumes (including 3,000 more given by Chapin) as well as 100,000 other artifacts such as prints, photographs, maps, and bookplates.^[31] is the 169th day of the year (170th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1869 (MDCCCLXIX) is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ...

The most famous items in the library's collection include first printings of the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, United States Constitution, and Bill of Rights, as well as George Washington's personal copy of the Federalist Papers. Other notable objects include a range of books, letters, and miscellaneous items relating to Theodore Roosevelt, who was a friend and, at one point, colleague of Chapin in the New York State Assembly.^[32] U.S. Declaration of Independence The Declaration of Independence is the document in which the Thirteen Colonies declared themselves independent of the Kingdom of Great Britain and explained their justifications for doing so. ... The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, commonly known as the Articles of Confederation, was the first governing document, or constitution, of the United States of America. ... Wikisource has original text related to this article: The United States Constitution The United States Constitution is the supreme law of the United States of America. ... The United States Bill of Rights consists of the first 10 amendments to the United States Constitution. ... George Washington (February 22, 1732 – December 14, 1799)[1] led Americas Continental Army to victory over Britain in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), and in 1789 was elected the first President of the United States of America. ... An advertisement for The Federalist The Federalist Papers are a series of 85 articles arguing for the ratification of the United States Constitution. ... The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of New York. ...

The Chapin Library's science collection includes a first edition of Nicolaus Copernicus's De revolutionibus orbium coelestium, as well as first editions of books by Tycho Brahe, Johannes Kepler, Galileo, Isaac Newton, and other major figures.^[32] Copernicus redirects here. ... Nicolai Copernici Torinensis De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium, Libri VI - On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres, by Nicolaus Copernicus of Torin, Six Books (title page of 2nd edition, ex officina Henricpetrina Basel, 1566) Heliocentric model of the solar system De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (English: ), first printed in 1543 in Nuremberg... This article is about the astronomer. ... Kepler redirects here. ... Galileo can refer to: Galileo Galilei, astronomer, philosopher, and physicist (1564 - 1642) the Galileo spacecraft, a NASA space probe that visited Jupiter and its moons the Galileo positioning system Life of Galileo, a play by Bertolt Brecht Galileo (1975) - screen adaptation of the play Life of Galileo by Bertolt Brecht... Sir Isaac Newton FRS (4 January 1643 – 31 March 1727) [ OS: 25 December 1642 – 20 March 1727][1] was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, and alchemist. ...

Williams College Museum of Art

The Ironic Columns, Williams College Museum of Art

The Williams College Museum of Art (WCMA), with over 12,000 works (only a fraction of which are displayed at any one time) in its permanent collection, serves as an educational resource for both undergraduates and students in the graduate art history program.^[33] Image File history File linksMetadata Ironic_columns. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Ironic_columns. ... This article or section reads like an advertisement. ...

Notable works include Morning in a City by Edward Hopper,^[34] a commissioned wall painting by Sol LeWitt,^[35] and a commissioned outdoor sculpture and landscape work by Louise Bourgeois entitled Eyes.^[36] Nighthawks. ... Four-Sided Pyramid, created by LeWitt in 1997, stands in the scupture garden of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Sol LeWitt (born 1928 in Hartford, Connecticut) is a conceptual artist and painter. ... Louise Bourgeois (born December 25, 1911, Paris) is an artist and sculptor, whose work has been strongly influenced by the surrealists, abstract expressionism and minimalism. ...

Though often overshadowed by the neighboring and much larger Clark Art Institute and Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, WCMA remains one of the premier attractions of the Berkshires. Because the museum is intended primarily for educational purposes, admission is free for all.^[33] The Sterling & Francine Clark Art Institute, usually referred to simply as The Clark, is an art museum with a large and varied collection located in Williamstown, Massachusetts. ... The Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, commonly referred to as MASS MoCA, is a museum located in North Adams, Massachusetts. ...

Hopkins Gate

Located in front of the West College dormitory, the Hopkins gate serves as a memorial to brothers, Mark and Albert Hopkins. Both have made lasting contributions to the Williams College community. Mark was appointed as president of the college in 1836 ^[37] , while Albert was elected a professor in 1829. ^[38] The Hopkins gate is inscribed with an inspirational motto that is familiar to all in the Williams College community.

Climb High, Climb Far
Your Goal the Sky, Your Aim the Star.

Student activities

Student Government

College Council

College Council (CC) is the student government of Williams College. Its members are elected to represent each neighborhood, each class, the first-year dorms, and the student body at large. CC allocates funds from the Student Activities Fee, appoints students to the faculty-student committees that oversee most aspects of college life, and debates issues of concern to the entire campus community. College Council is the forum through which students address concerns and make changes around campus. CC is led by two co-Presidents.

Student media

Williams Record

The longest running independent newspaper at Williams is the Williams Record, a weekly broadsheet paper published on Wednesdays. The newspaper was founded in 1885, and now has a weekly circulation of 3,000 copies distributed in Williamstown, in addition to more than 600 subscribers across the country. Newspaper sizes in August 2005. ... 1885 (MDCCCLXXXV) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... A newspapers circulation is the number of copies it distributes on an average day, although circulation rates are decreasing. ...

The newspaper does not receive financial support from the college or from the student government, allowing it considerable leeway in criticizing both on its editorial pages. To maintain its independent status, the Record relies on revenue generated by local and national ad sales, subscriptions, and voluntary contributions for use of its website.

Both Sawyer Library and the College Archives maintain more than a century's worth of publicly accessible, bound volumes of the Record. The newspaper provides access free of charge to a searchable database of articles stretching back to 1998 on its website. Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ...

The Gulielmensian

The student yearbook is called The Gulielmensian, which supposedly means "Williams Thing" in Greek.^[39] It was published irregularly in the 1990s, but has been annual for the past several years and dates back to the mid-19th century.^[39]

91.9 WCFM

WCFM is a college-owned, student-run, non-commercial radio station broadcasting from the basement of Prospect House at 91.9 MHz.^[40] Featuring 85 hours per week of original programming, the station features a wide variety of musical genres, in addition to sports and talk radio.^[41] The station is also available to listen through the Internet via Shoutcast.com. Members of the surrounding communities above the age of 18 are allowed to DJ on the station, which, as part of its mission, seeks to serve the surrounding community with news and announcements of public interest.^[42] The board of the radio station holds a concert every semester.^[43] For other meanings of DJ, see DJ (disambiguation). ...

Williams Students Online

Williams Students Online provides internet publishing and communications tools to the rest of the college community. It includes a page entitled Willipedia which uses the Wikipedia format and focuses on student groups, buildings, people, and events that relate to the college. Originally founded in 1994, it is one of the oldest college or university student-run online services. Wikipedia (IPA: , or ( ) is a multilingual, web-based, free content encyclopedia project, operated by the Wikimedia Foundation, a non-profit organization. ... Year 1994 (MCMXCIV) The year 1994 was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by the United Nations. ...

Other publications

Numerous smaller campus publications are also produced each year, including The Mad Cow, a humor magazine, and the Literary Review, a literary magazine.

Williams Trivia Contest

At the end of every semester but one since 1966, WCFM has hosted an all-night, eight-hour trivia contest. Teams of students, alumni, professors, friends, and others compete to answer questions on a variety of subjects, while simultaneously identifying songs and performing designated tasks. The winning team's only prize is the obligation to create and host the following semester's contest.^[44] Year 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the 1966 Gregorian calendar. ... Look up trivia in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

The precise date of the debut contest is uncertain. Most spring contests occur in early May, but during its first decade, Williams Trivia was sometimes held in March or February. Assuming a May date, Lawrence University's 50-hour-long Great Midwest Trivia Contest, first held on April 29, 1966, would be the oldest continuous competition of its sort in the United States, but if the first Williams contest was held earlier, it would be the oldest. The distinction is appropriately trivial.^[45] Lawrence University, located in Appleton, Wisconsin, is a private undergraduate college founded in 1847. ... The Great Midwest Trivia Contest, sometimes known simply as the Midwest Trivia Contest, is broadcast over Lawrence Universitys radio station, WLFM (91. ... is the 119th day of the year (120th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the 1966 Gregorian calendar. ...

While other college-based trivia contests in the United States emphasize marathon endurance and revel in the obscurity of their arcana, the aim of the Williams contest is to cram as much evocative and entertaining material into as concentrated a space as possible. Lasting just eight hours, a typical Williams Trivia contest will demand between 900 and 1,200 separate "bits" of trivial information^[44], delivering twice as much content as its "competitors" in a fraction of the time. No discernable rivalry exists between any of the various contests. The contest has occasionally received outside media coverage, including in the Sunday New York Times. Further history and details are available at an archival website. The New York Times is an internationally known daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed in the United States and many other nations worldwide. ...

Athletics

The school's athletic teams are called the Ephmen, or the Ephs, a shortening of the first name of founder Ephraim Williams. They participate in the NCAA's Division III and the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC). Williams also has two Division I sports, skiing and squash. NCAA redirects here. ... Division III (or DIII) is a division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association of the United States. ... The New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) is an athletic conference consisting of eleven highly selective liberal arts colleges located in New England and New York. ... Division I (or DI) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association in the United States. ...

According to data published by the United States Department of Education,^[46] Williams (as of 2004–2005) spends more money on its athletic programs than any other Division III school, with the exception of Christopher Newport University, which spends 2% more. Williams is ranked first among Division III schools for athletic spending per student. The Lyndon Baines Johnson Department of Education Building[1]) , ED headquarters in Washington, DC A construction project to repair and update the building facade at the Department of Education Headquarters building in 2002 resulted in the installation of structures at all of the entrances to protect employees and visitors from... Christopher Newport University, locally abbreviated as CNU, is a small liberal arts university located in Newport News, Virginia. ...

Williams has a traditional rivalry with Amherst College and Wesleyan University. The "Little Three," a subset of NESCAC, comprises the three schools. Williams and Amherst participate in notably intense competition, dating back more than a century.^[47] The Little Three is an unofficial athletic conference of three liberal arts colleges in New England. ... The New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) is an athletic conference consisting of highly selective liberal arts colleges located in New England and New York. ...

Until 1994, Williams was not permitted, by NESCAC rules, to compete in team NCAA competition. By virtue of strong individual competitors, the Williams women's swimming and diving team won the school's first national title in 1981, and claimed the title in 1982 as well. Williams played in the 2003 and 2004 men's basketball Division III national championship games, winning the title in March 2003. Men's basketball also played in the 1997 and 1998 Final Fours. Williams was the first New England basketball team to have won a Division III championship. Year 1994 (MCMXCIV) The year 1994 was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by the United Nations. ... AUGUST 25 1981 US Marine Sean Vance is Born on the 25th of August {ear nav|1981}} Year 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Williams teams to win national titles since Williams began participating in NCAA tournaments in 1994 include men's tennis (three titles), women's crew (three), women's tennis (two), men's cross country (two), women's cross country (two), men's basketball, women's indoor track and field, and men's soccer. Other perennial contenders in NCAA tournaments include women's lacrosse, women's volleyball, women's soccer, women's field hockey, men's golf, men's and women's swimming and diving and men's track and field.

Williams also has had success winning the NACDA Director's Cup, presented to the institution within each NCAA division that has the greatest overall success in NCAA sanctioned-championships. Williams has won the NACDA Director's Cup 11 of the 12 years since its inception. The NACDA Directors Cup is an award given annually by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics to the colleges and universities with the most success in collegiate athletics. ... The NACDA Directors Cup is an award given annually by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics to the colleges and universities with the most success in collegiate athletics. ...

In 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007, the college achieved #1 rankings in both academics and athletics within its peer groups (liberal arts colleges as ranked by U.S. News and World Report and NCAA Division III institutions as ranked by the Director's Cup calculations, respectively). Dual #1 rankings in any single year was an unprecedented achievement among the 1,053 NCAA member institutions.^[48] U.S. News & World Report is a weekly newsmagazine. ...

Club sports

Williams has an active club and intramural sports program, offering 13 club sports including ultimate, rugby, horseback riding, cycling, fencing, volleyball, and water polo. Approximately 50% of Williams' students compete on at least one varsity, junior varsity, or formal club team. Ultimate (sometimes called ultimate Frisbee in reference to the trademarked brand name) is a non-contact competitive team game played with a 175 gram flying disc. ... The Williams Womens Rugby Football Club (WWRFC) and the Williams Rugby Football Club (WRFC) are intercollegeiate club sports teams at Williams College in Williamstown, MA. The mens club was founded in 1958 by H. Peter Pearson. ...

Student music

Music ensembles at Williams include Berkshire Symphony, Symphonic Winds, Student Symphony, Brass Ensemble, Clarinet Choir, Concert and Chamber Choirs, Handbell Choir, Jazz Ensemble, Kusika and the Zambezi Marimba Band, Percussion Ensemble, and Marching Band. Both music majors and non-majors are welcome to participate in all groups. This article includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... The marimba ( ) is a musical instrument in the percussion family. ...

The Berkshire Symphony is conducted by Ronald Feldman, a former Boston Symphony Orchestra cellist. Half of the orchestra consists of students, while the principal players and many section players are area professionals.

Williams Symphonic Winds, led by Steven Dennis Bodner, is a leading proponent of new music on campus. In recent years, the group has evolved to include strings and premieres and performs works by prominent contemporary composers, including members of the faculty.

Student Symphony is an entirely student-run, student-conducted group. Student Symphony rehearses weekly and performs several times per year.

Under the direction of Bradley Wells, the Concert and Chamber Choirs perform a wide range of repertoire at a variety of concerts. A choral highlight is always the Festival of Lessons and Carols held just prior to the holidays in the Thompson Memorial Chapel.

The Williams Jazz program includes academic courses, ensembles (both traditional big band, by audition, and several small ensembles), and applied lessons on primary jazz instruments.

In the Shona language of Zimbabwe, Kusika means "to create." Founded in 1989 at Williams College, Kusika performs traditional African music, dance, and storytelling from Ghana, Zimbabwe, and Senegal. The Zambezi marimba band, founded in 1992, plays marimba music from Zambia and Zimbabwe. Shona is the principle language of Zimbabwe, in southern Africa. ...

The Williams Percussion Ensemble, led by Matthew Gold, explores the masterworks of twentieth century percussion music, experimental music, music of many of the world's traditions, and the most up-to-date works by contemporary composers for percussion instruments.

The Marching Band, named "The Moocho Macho Moocow Military Marching Band", serves as a cheering section at the football games, as well as an entertainment show for halftime.

Williams also hosts seven student-organized a cappella singing groups. There are two all-female groups, the Accidentals and Ephoria. The two all-male groups are Octet and the Springstreeters, and the two co-ed pop groups are Ephlats and Good Question. The seventh group, the Elizabethans, are a mixed-voice Renaissance ensemble.

Recent events

Thompson Chapel, Lasell Bell Tower

In 2003, Williams began the first of three massive construction projects. The $60 million '62 Center for Theatre and Dance was the first project to be successfully completed in the spring of 2005. The $44 million student center, called Paresky Center, opened in February of 2007. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1080x1263, 767 KB) Photo taken in Williamstown, MA. I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1080x1263, 767 KB) Photo taken in Williamstown, MA. I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... The Paresky Center is the student center at Williams College. ...

Construction has already begun on the third project, called the Stetson-Sawyer project, with completion scheduled somewhere by the end of the decade. The entire project calls for two new academic buildings, the removal of the Sawyer Library from its current location, and the construction of a new library at the rear of a renovated Stetson Hall. College trustees initially balked at the cost of the Stetson-Sawyer project and asked to revisit the idea of renovating Sawyer in its current location, an idea which proved not to be cost-effective.^[49]

A recent addition to the campus set the tone for style and comprehensiveness for renovations and significant additions to campus buildings in the 21st century. The $38 million Unified Science Center was erected in 2001. This building unifies the formerly separate lab spaces of the physics, chemistry, and biology departments. In addition, it houses Schow Science Library, notable for its unified science materials holdings and architecture. It features vaulted ceilings and an atrium with windows into laboratories on the second through fourth floors of the science center.

The Williams House System

After several years of planning, the college decided to group undergraduates starting with the Class of 2010 into four geographically coherent clusters, or "Neighborhoods".^[50] Since the fall of 2006, first-years have been housed in Sage Hall, Williams Hall and Mission Park, while upperclassmen inhabit former first-year dormitories East College, Lehman Hall, Fayerweather, and Morgan, as well as the current upperclass dormitories to form the four houses. A student vote on the names of the four "neighborhoods" selected "Currier", "Wood", "Spencer" and "Dodd" by a simple majority. These were the temporary working names assigned prior to voting. Incoming freshmen are randomly assigned to clusters as an entry (a group of freshmen who live together with a male and female junior advisor). Rising sophomores have the option to be randomly assigned to a different neighborhood from the rest of their entry in groups of six or fewer. This new system is an attempt to integrate all undergraduates more successfully than was previously possible, mixing students representing a variety of interests and ethnicities, and supporting each House with its own dining and recreational facilities.

Capital campaign

Williams is currently engaged in one of the largest capital campaigns ever undertaken by a liberal arts college, with a goal of raising $400 million by September 2008. The college reached $400 million at the end of June 2007, a year and a half ahead of schedule. As of June 2007, Williams endowments were valued at approximately $1.9 billion.^[51]

No-loan financial-aid policy

On November 1, 2007, Williams College President Morton Owen Shapiro announced that the College will eliminate student loans from all financial aid packages and replace them with grants starting with the 2008-09 school year. The College is the fourth institution in the United States to do so, following Princeton University, Amherst College, and Davidson College.^[52] Princeton University is a private coeducational research university located in Princeton, New Jersey. ... Amherst College is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts, USA. It is the third oldest college in Massachusetts. ... Davidson College is a private liberal arts college for 1,700 students in Davidson, North Carolina, USA. Both the town and college were named for Brigadier General William Lee Davidson, a Revolutionary War commander. ...

Alumni society

The Society of Alumni of Williams College is the oldest existing alumni society of any academic institution in the United States.^[53] The Society of Alumni was founded during the "Amherst crisis" in 1821, when Williams College President Zephaniah Swift Moore left Williams. Graduates of Williams formed the Society to ensure that Williams would not have to close, and raised enough money to ensure the future survival of the school. Year 1821 (MDCCCXXI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Zephaniah Swift Moore (1770 - 1823) was a U.S. Congregational clergyman and educator. ...

Not affiliated with the Society of Alumni, but also serving the college's alumni is the Williams Club in New York City. Located at 24 East 39th Street in Manhattan, the club is open to the paying public as a hotel and restaurant, and operates as a meeting space for Williams alumni living in and visiting the city.^[53] It is also the headquarters for the Williams@NY program, accommodating Williams college students and the director of the program. Williams Club is a club for alumni of the Williams College. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... This article is about the borough of New York City. ...

See also

• Elimination of Fraternities at Williams College
• List of Williams College people
• List of Williams College Presidents
• List of Williams College Commencement Speakers
• List of Williams College Bicentennial Medal Winners
• Williams-Mystic

The Angevine Report On June 30, 1962, the Williams College Committee on Review of Fraternity Questions (informally known as the Angevine Committee, after its chairman Jay B. Angevine) submitted its report to the Board of Trustees, urging that the college assume responsibility for providing room and board to the entire... Because of a history dating back to 1793 and a consistent reputation as an elite institution of higher learning, there is a long List of Williams College people - students who attended the school and achieved notability in a wide variety of fields. ... Ebenezer Fitch, 1793-1815 Zephaniah Swift Moore, 1815-1821 Edward Dorr Griffin, 1821-1836 Mark Hopkins, 1836-1872 Paul Ansel Chadbourne, 1872-1881 Franklin Carter, 1881-1901 John Haskell Hewitt, 1901-1902 Henry Hopkins, 1902-1908 Harry Augustus Garfield, 1908-1934 Tyler Dennett, 1934-1937 James Phinney Baxter, 1937-1961... 2006 Chuck Davis 2005 Thomas L. Friedman 2004 David Halberstam 2003 Eric Lander 2002 Morris Dees 2001 Robert Rubin 2000 George Mitchell 1999 Christopher Reeve 1998 Yo-Yo Ma 1997 Grace Paley 1996 George H. W. Bush 1995 Bernice Johnson Reagon 1994 Kirk Varnedoe 1988 Henry Cisneros 1987 Meg Greenfield... The Williams College Bicentennial Medal, was created by Williams College in 1993, the Colleges 200th anniversary. ... Williams-Mystic is the name most commonly used for The Maritime Studies Program of Williams College and Mystic Seaport, an interdisciplinary semester of study for college sophomores, juniors and seniors. ...

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Williams College

• The Williams College website
• Williams College Wiki
• Williams College Archives and Special Collections website
• The Williams Record (college newspaper)
• WCFM Williamstown 91.9 (college radio station)
• WCFM Williamstown Concerts (college radio concert page)
• Williams Students Online (student-run web services)
• Williams College Museum of Art
• The Accidentals
• Octet
• The Springstreeters
• Ephlats
• Good Question
• The Elizabethans

Image File history File links Commons-logo. ...

References