Missy Manzer, Director of Cox Library
Missy Manzer, Director of Cox Library Member of the Faculty, 1998–2014 As a librarian, Missy is an ace researcher. A horticulturist at home, Missy enjoys weeding in the library, and (unlike some softies) is able to discard books without weeping over each one. Perhaps that is because she is a master of collection development, and she can always find the ideal choices to broaden or rejuvenate our holdings. As director of Cox Library, one of Missy’s cardinal accomplishments has been to oversee the incorporation of digital resources. During Missy’s tenure, we have moved from presenting...
Read MoreMessages: Naomi Shihab Nye
Award-winning poet Naomi Shihab Nye read a selection of poems and spoke about the writing process to students as last spring’s Bingham Visiting Writer. Ms. Nye’s books of poetry include 19 Varieties of Gazelle: Poems of the Middle East, a finalist for the National Book Award; A Maze Me: Poems for Girls; and You & Yours, a bestselling poetry book of 2006. She has written several prize-winning poetry anthologies for young readers, as well. Ms. Nye has held several fellowships, including Guggenheim, Lannan, and Witter Bynner. She has received several major awards, including four Pushcart...
Read MoreGordon Chase, Visual Arts Department
Gordon Chase, Visual Arts Department Member of the Faculty, 1978–2013 In 1978, Gordon Chase brought to Milton his energy and passion for students making art. Milton’s walls have highlighted student self-expressions for more than three decades — witness to Gordon’s idea that art is about “identity” — where students have tested their assumptions and declared their beliefs. With long hair and cowboy boots, supported in his creative quest by Head of School Jerry Pieh, Gordon’s energy for new ideas was colorful and constant. Gordon chaired the visual arts department for...
Read MoreGordon Sewall, Assistant Head for Development and Alumni Relations, 1996–2014
Gordon Sewall, Assistant Head for Development and Alumni Relations, 1996–2014 For 18 years, Gordon has been an institutional leader who helped Milton come alive for donors. He has been a teammate who put his shoulder to the common wheel, a problem solver, a can-do person. With donors, Gordon was as passionate as he was honest about Milton. That’s a perfect combination if your job is to build authentic relationships and keep them lively. Perhaps that is why he was such a successful fund raiser. He led Milton’s first comprehensive capital campaign. The goal was $50 million — a major...
Read MoreMessages: Dr. Eric Jay Dolin
Dr. Eric Jay Dolin is an environmental scientist, a researcher and a writer. Dr. Dolin, presenter of the 2014 Hong Kong Lecture, told students the story of how America’s trade relationship with China began. His most recent book, When America First Met China: An Exotic History of Tea, Drugs, and Money in the Age of Sail, chronicles the period following the American Revolution through the mid-19th century with tales of the tea, fur and opium trade, clipper ship travels and life in the seaport of Canton. “During this period, trading between the United States and China was significant, but...
Read MoreDuck & Goose Go to the Beach, by Tad Hills ’81
Duck & Goose Go to the Beach by Tad Hills ’81 Schwartz & Wade Books, April 2014 Duck and Goose have shared, explored, learned and quarreled in a long series of picture books, every time returning to the importance of their friendship. Duck & Goose Go to the Beach is the tenth book in the New York Times bestselling Duck & Goose series. Duck wants to go on an adventure. Goose doesn’t. He doesn’t see the point. After all, why would they go anywhere when they’re happy right where they are? But then Goose sees the ocean and loves it. Who doesn’t? Well, Duck, for...
Read MoreDrop It, Rocket!, by Tad Hills ’81
Drop It, Rocket! by Tad Hills ’81 Random House Children’s Books, July 2014 Rocket, the beloved dog from the New York Times bestselling picture books How Rocket Learned to Read and Rocket Writes a Story, is back in a Step 1 leveled reader. Rocket is ready to find new words for his word tree with his teacher, the little yellow bird. He finds a leaf, a hat, and a star . . . but when he finds a red boot, he doesn’t want to let go. What will make Rocket drop it? With predictable patterns, simple words, lots of repetition, and bright, colorful illustrations, this Step into Reading...
Read MoreAddiction on Trial: Tragedy in Downeast Maine, by Steven Kassels ’68
Addiction on Trial: Tragedy in Downeast Maine by Steven Kassels ’68 AuthorHouse, October 2013 When Downeast local Annette Fiorno is found at the bottom of a ravine, outsider and relapsed drug addict Jimmy Sedgwick is accused of murder. Unassuming Maine lawyer Rob Hanston and big-shot attorney Shawn Marks form an unlikely legal team as they attempt to discredit the overwhelming evidence. Addiction on Trial, the first in a series of Shawn Marks thrillers, sends a powerful message of societal discrimination toward drug addicts and explores common misperceptions about what drug addiction really...
Read More“When It Comes to Movies, Everyone Has an Opinion.”
By Ty Burr ’76 Being a movie critic can be a strange way to make a living. For one thing, everyone wants to talk about my job, but no one quite respects it. This occasionally includes me. I’ll meet someone at a party, ask what they do, and he or she will say “cardiac surgeon” or “third-world food bank coordinator,” and then I have to admit I spend my days watching movies about heavily digitized superheroes while taking illegible notes in the dark. And then someone else will walk up and want to talk about the new Hunger Games movie when we should really be asking the doctor...
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