Alumni News

Michael Pollan ’76 seems to have stirred the political pot with his much-read column in The New York Times asking the next U.S. president to rethink the nation’s food policy. President Barack Obama cited Pollan’s piece at length in a pre-election interview with Time Magazine:

The entire Bennington community mourns the death of alumna, long-time administrator, and Trustee Rebecca B. Stickney, who died on August 21, 2008, after a brief illness.

The Guggenheim Memorial Foundation has announced that five members of Bennington's community have been honored with this year's 2008 Guggenheim Fellowships for their "distinguished achievement in the past and exceptional promise for future accomplishment." Guggenheim Fellowships, one of the nation's most prestigious honors, were given to current MFA in Writing faculty member Michael Paul Burkard; acclaimed poet Reginald Shepherd '88; innovative choreographer Myrna Packer '74; New Yorker magazine editor and translator Ann Goldstein '71; and professor of organism biology and ecology at the University of Massachusetts, Laurie R. Godfrey '67.

 Joan Tower '61,  one of America’s preeminent composers won three Grammy Awards for her orchestral composition "Made in America."

The next issue of the Bennington magazine will be authored by alumni submissions that respond to the question: What did you once think impossible that you now believe is possible? We invite you to submit responses by Monday, August 30. We expect a range of submissions—from first person narratives to scientific discoveries that you have helped to reveal to reflections on achievements you hardly imagined to essays or work that tackles the idea of the impossible in one way or another. 

To be considered for inclusion in the summer issue, submissions must be emailed to magazine@bennington.edu no later than Monday, August 30. We will review submissions with an interest in building a magazine that can seam and represent many voices as possible. I look forward to your responses to the question, but before submitting please take a moment to review the guidelines.