Williams College to Celebrate 150th Phi Beta Kappa Anniversary

Media contact: Noelle Lemoine, communications assistant; tele: (413) 597-4277; email: [email protected]

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., March 16, 2015—On Wednesday, March 18, Williams College will celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Phi Beta Kappa (PBK) honor society with a day of talks and discussions related to the role of liberal arts in learning and the directions education is moving. William Arms, PBK visiting scholar, will present a lecture titled “The Early Years of Academic Computing” at 10 a.m. in Lawrence Hall, room 231. The main celebration event will take place at 4 p.m. in Griffin Hall, room 4, and will include multiple speakers and a talk by Arms titled “Academic Libraries in the Digital Age.” All of the day’s events are free and open to the public.

The past 50 years have seen computing move from a fringe activity in universities to a central part of academic life. Today’s college students never knew a world without personal computers, networks, email, and the web. The networks and web that everybody uses today are direct descendants of systems that universities and scientific researchers built for themselves.  In his first talk, Arms will discuss these early years of computers and how they have transformed technology today. In his second talk, he will discuss the transition of the academic library from the physical to the digital, as well as the issues that go along with it and where this trend might be leading.

Arms is professor emeritus in the faculty of computing and information science at Cornell University. His career has involved the application of computing to academics. He was vice president for computing at Carnegie Mellon University from 1985 to 1994 and was in charge of computing at Dartmouth College from 1978 to 1985. At Carnegie Mellon, he led the development of the Mercury Electronic Library and later established a program in information science at Cornell. He holds a B.A. from Oxford University, a M.Sc. from the London School of Economics, and a Ph.D. from the University of Sussex.

During the main event, beginning at 4 p.m., there will be a variety of talks and discussions. At 4:15 p.m., Kate Soule, PBK president, will provide introductory remarks. This will be followed by a discussion on PBK’s National Arts and Sciences Initiatives, moderated by PBK secretary John Churchill. At 5:40 p.m., Jacques Ohayon, president of PBK New York, will present “Learning after college: programs at the N.Y. PBK Association.” At 5:50 p.m., Steven Miller, Williams’ PBK president, will discuss “YouTube University: The Benefits of Recording Lectures.” A free pizza dinner will take place from 6 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., at which time Arms will give his lecture. Dessert and discussion will follow.

Phi Beta Kappa is a national honor society. Membership signifies top academic success at institutions of higher learning across the country.

For a full schedule of events, visit web.williams.edu/Mathematics/sjmiller/public_html/pbk/.

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For building locations on the Williams campus, please consult the map outside the driveway entrance to the Security Office located in Hopkins Hall on Main Street (Rte. 2), next to the Thompson Memorial Chapel, or call the Office of Communications (413) 597-4277. The map can also be found on the web at www.williams.edu/map

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Published March 16, 2015