The 2007-2008 school year kicked off with First-Year Move-In Day on September 1, 2007. An Orientation Week full of events followed, with classes beginning on September 10. | Read more

The Emerging Artists series debuted during the 2007-08 academic year, with artists selected by visual arts and visual culture faculty in conjunction with their students. A solo exhibition of paintings by Angela Fraleigh, titled "even," opened. | Read more

Later in the month, the dance department held a panel on dance/movement therapy, the psychotherapeutic use of movement and dance. Titled SLC to Dance/Movement Therapy: Why Are We Here?, the panel provided students the opportunity to learn about dance-related professions. | Read more

In October, the community turned its attention to the inauguration of Sarah Lawrence College's tenth president, Karen R. Lawrence. A musical welcome—It's a Grand Night for singing!—kicked off the Inaugural Weekend events. The inauguration took place the following day, as delegates representing 78 colleges and universities, including several sitting presidents, joined more than 1,000 members of the College community, alumnae/i, and guests to celebrate the occasion. | Read more | Watch Video: Large Format (Flash) | Portable Format (Quicktime/iPod)

As one of several events commemorating Lawrence's inauguration, the dance department hosted an evening with dancer and author Carolyn Brown mid-month. The event featuring a dance performance by the Cunningham Repertory Understudy Group and screenings of "Merce Cunningham—A Lifetime of Dance" by Charles Atlas and "Cage/Cunningham" by Elliot Caplan. | Read more

As a tribute to alumna Jean Baker Miller (1927-2006), a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who had a profound effect on the way today's psychology views women, the 2007 Helen Merrill Lynd Colloquium presented a lecture titled "A Celebration of the Life and Work of Jean Baker Miller '48." | Read more

The second installment in the Emerging Artists series opened in October, featuring Modou Dieng's "Love Cliché," a solo exhibition of mixed media and painting. | Read more

In late November, faculty members Fredric Smoler '75, literature; Michael Davis, philosophy; Melissa Frazier, Russian; and Philip Swoboda, history, gathered to discuss Tom Stoppard's The Coast of Utopia for a panel called "Reading the World"—an event in honor of President Lawrence's inaugural year. | Watch Lecture Video: Large Format (Flash) | Portable Format (Quicktime/iPod) | Watch Q&A Video: Large Format (Flash) | Portable Format (Quicktime/iPod)

Artist Jennifer Leovnian's "Smells Like English Boxwood" solo exhibition of animation and watercolors was on view in the Barbara Walters Gallery in the Heimbold Visual Arts Center. | Read more

"Five rounds, Five poets, Five schools, Five hundred dollars." On December 7, poets from NYU, Columbia, Fordham, SUNY Purchase, and Sarah Lawrence came together to compete in a poetry slam meant to create alliances and friendship between New York City-area schools.

The semester ended with more than 80 students showing off posters of their conference work from biology, chemistry, computer science, human genetics, mathematics, physics, and psychology courses in the Fall Semester Science and Math Poster Session. | Read more in Sarah Lawrence magazine

Furthering Sarah Lawrence's commitment to emerging artists, Analia Segal's installation "CARL," composed of artificial topographies such as carpet, was on display beginning in late January and running through the middle of February. | Read more

Sarah Lawrence closed the month of January by participating in the nationwide event Focus the Nation along with over 1,000 colleges and universities around the country in an unprecedented national teach-in on solutions to global warming. The student environmental group Sustainable SLC hosted events in support of increased education, including a bike ride to promote freedom from fossil fuels, a dance, an art show, and a spiritual earth ritual. | Read more | Watch video: Large Format (Flash) | Portable Format (Quicktime/iPod)

In February, the Dance Program shared the artistry of the legendary Trisha Brown with students and local residents in Yonkers.  SLC students taught aspects of the dance "Line Up" in a two-week residency at the Enrico Fermi School for the Performing Arts. | Read more

"Meadowlands," an exhibition of photography by Joshua Lutz, was on view as part of the on-going emerging artists series. | Read more

In honor of V-Day, a global movement to stop violence against women and girls, the Women's History graduate program sponsored performances of Eve Ensler's The Vagina Monologues. Proceeds from ticket sales and other V-Week events benefitted Victims Assistance Services.

Confirming the College's commitment to sustainability, SLC hosted a lecture by Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone, one of the nation's leading experts on climate change and president of the National Academy of Sciences.  His lecture, titled "Climate Change: Human Causes and Responses," outlined ways to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and other mitigation strategies, such as geoengineering. The lecture was part of the Inaugural Year events series. | Read more

The College commemorated the 60th anniversary of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights. Two distinguished experts on international law, Professor Tai-Heng Cheng and Dr. Angelia Means, discussed the way the discourse of human rights has evolved since it was adopted 60 years ago. | Read more

The tenth annual Women's History Month Conference, Black Power, Black Feminism: Black Women's Activism and Development of Womanist/Feminist Consciousness in the Era of Black Power, was held March 7-8. This year's keynote speaker was Chana Kai Lee, author of For Freedom's Sake: The Life of Fannie Lou Hamer. | Read more

Another March event honored legendary faculty member and author Rudolf Arnheim, who founded the academic field of Psychology of Art, and who passed away in 2007.  The panel "Rudolf Arnheim: His Life and Legacy at Sarah Lawrence College" included faculty speakers Charlotte Doyle (Psychology), Joseph Forte (Art History), Elizabeth Johnston (Psychology) and Malcolm Turvey (Film History). The panel was part of the Inaugural Year events series. | Watch Video (Part 1): Large Format (Flash) | Portable Format (Quicktime/iPod) | Watch video (Part 2): Large Format (Flash) | Portable Format (Quicktime/iPod)

Later in the month, the College's Friends of the Library program presented a panel discussion and viewing of Starting Out in the Evening, a film based on the eponymous book by SLC Writing faculty member and alumnus Brian Morton '78. Joining Morton was the film's director, Andrew Wagner, his co-screenwriter, Fred Parnes, and actress Lili Taylor. | Read more

As the keynote speaker for the 2008 Longfellow Lecture, Bruce. D. Perry, M.D., Ph.D. delivered a lecture titled "The Impact of Abuse and Neglect on the Developing Child: Relationships, Resilience, and Vulnerability." The lecture series honors the life of Cynthia Longfellow '72.

The College community enjoyed An Evening of Gospel Music on April 4. The event consisted of traditional gospel choir sounds, including spirituals, contemporary gospel jazz/ensembles, powerful soloists, and hip hop rap artists, all accompanied by notable gospel musicians.

The 2008 Bozeman Lecture featured Lt. Col. Steve Russell (ret. U.S. Army), the commander of the 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry, based in Tikrit during Operation Iraqi Freedom. His speech was titled "Tracking and Capturing Saddam Hussein: A Report from the Field." The annual lecture is sponsored by The Adda Bozeman Lecture Fund. | Watch Presentation Video: Large Format (Flash) | Portable Format (Quicktime/iPod) | Watch Q&A Video: Large Format (Flash) | Portable Format (Quicktime/iPod)

Bringing together students, alumnae/i, faculty, and staff, the Students for Students Scholarship Fund (SSSF) hosted its 50th Annual Auction, raising money for student scholarships. The evening following the auction provided another night of camaraderie for the SLC community, as students gathered on the South Lawn for the Spring Formal.

The largest free poetry festival in the East, the fifth annual Sarah Lawrence College Poetry Festival was held April 25-27, 2008. Organized entirely by students, the festival featured readings by more than 40 poets. In addition to the readings, craft talks, panel discussions, and receptions, the festival also included book signings and an open mic. | Read more

Closing the month, columnist Gary Younge delivered a lecture on politics and civil rights titled "Talking 'Bout our Generations: Barack Obama, the 2008 Presidential Race and the Legacy of Civil Rights." | Watch Video: Large Format (Flash) | Portable Format (Quicktime/iPod)

May kicked off with more than 90 students showing off posters of their conference work from biology, chemistry, computer science, human genetics, mathematics, physics, and psychology courses at the Spring Semester Science and Math Poster Session, held in the Campbell Sports Center. | Read more in Sarah Lawrence magazine

As the school year came to a close, the year's final Theatre Forum featured special guest Phylicia Rashad, the Tony Award-winning and Emmy Award-nominated actress who was then starring on Broadway in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.

As part of the Spring 2008 Concert Series, the Sarah Lawrence College Chamber Choir and Women’s Vocal Ensemble performed works by Handel, Fauré, Copland, as well as spirituals and folk songs, conducted by Patrick Romano. The concert was in honor of the memory of Bronxville resident Margaret Hopping, whose generous bequest earlier in the year established the Margaret Hopping Music Fund at the College. | Read more

Sarah Lawrence College held its 79th Commencement ceremony on Friday, May 23 under a tent on Westlands Lawn. The 310 graduating seniors, 125 graduating masters candidates, and their families were enthralled by this year's commencement speaker—actress Jessica Lange—whose stirring remarks made headlines throughout the world. | Read more | Watch Video: Large Format (Flash) | Portable Format (Quicktime/iPod)  

The 2007-2008 school year closed on a high note when, on May 29, four-time Tony Award nominee and alumna Tovah Feldshuh began a four day, six show run of her acclaimed one woman show Golda's Balcony in Reisinger Auditorium. This was Tovah's second visit to campus this year—in March she led a panel titled "An Evening with Tovah Feldshuh: Questions and Answers on a Life in Theatre, Television, and Film from a Jewish Perspective." | Read more

Summer at Sarah Lawrence started with alumnae/i returning to campus for Reunion 2008, from June 6-8. The weekend saw alumnae/i from many different class years reconnecting with each other and with SLC. Highlights included faculty-led seminars, the Annual Meeting and Luncheon, the Service of Rememberance, and dinner and cocktails at the United Nations. | View photo galleries

The summer also saw high school students and adult learners from around the country attending residential and non-residential programs in writing, film, science, and the visual arts, as well as professional development programs in child development and public health. And, for the first time, the White Mountain Summer Dance Festival took place on the Sarah Lawrence campus.

For more Sarah Lawrence College news and events from 2007-2008,
visit our archives of press releases or SLC in the News items.