Leading a College as a Liberal Arts Practice

A common and rather prevalent model for leading and planning in higher education is a contest of wills optimizing local, current matters. In contrast, at Colby-Sawyer College, we are explicit, careful, and collaborative about working together respectfully on qualitative and institutional and long-term matters. We hope that the model for leadership that we have provided below, one that demonstrates how we make our decisions and conduct our business in a style that differs from academic political business as usual, will serve as a model for other institutions

Integrated metagenomic assessment of multiple pre-harvest control points on lettuce resistomes at field-scale

An integrated understanding of factors influencing the occurrence, distribution, and fate of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in vegetable production systems is needed to inform the design and development of strategies for mitigating the potential for antibiotic resistance propagation in the food chain. The goal of the present study was to holistically track antibiotic resistance and associated microbiomes at three distinct pre-harvest control points in an agroecosystem in order to identify the potential impacts of key agricultural management strategies. Samples were collected over the course of a single growing season (67 d) from field-scale plots amended with various organic and inorganic amendments at agronomic rates. Dairy-derived manure and compost amendment samples (n= 14), soil samples (n= 27), and lettuce samples (n= 12) were analyzed via shotgun metagenomics to assess multiple pre-harvest factors as hypothetical control points that shape lettuce resistomes. Pre-harvest factors of interest included manure collection during/post antibiotic use, manure composting, and soil amendment soil with organic (stockpiled manure/compost) versus chemical fertilizer. Microbial community resistome and taxonomic compositions were unique from amendment to soil to lettuce surface according to dissimilarity analysis. The highest resistome alpha diversity (i.e., unique ARGs, n=642) was detected in amendment samples prior to soil application, while the composted manure had the lowest total ARG relative abundance (i.e., 16S rRNA gene-normalized). Regardless of amendment type, soils acted as an apparent ecological buffer, i.e., soil resistome and taxonomic profiles returned to background conditions 120 d-post amendment application. Effects of amendment conditions surprisingly re-emerged in lettuce phyllosphere resistomes, with the highest total ARG relative abundances recovered on the surface of lettuce plants grown in organically-fertilized soils (i.e. compost- and manure-amended soils). Co-occurrence analysis identified 55 unique ARGs found both in the soil amendments and on lettuce surfaces. Among these, arnA and pmrF were the most abundant ARGs co-occurring with mobile genetic elements (MGE). Other prominent ARG-MGE co-occurrences throughout this pre-harvest lettuce production chain included: TetM to transposon (Clostridiodies difficile) in the manure amendment and TriC to plasmid (Ralstonia solanacearum) on the lettuce surfaces. This suggests that, even with imposing manure management and post-amendment wait periods in agricultural systems, ARGs originating from manure can still be found on crop surfaces. This study demonstrates a comprehensive approach to identifying key control points for the propagation of ARGs in vegetable production systems, identifying potential ARG-MGE combinations that could inform future surveillance. The findings suggest that additional pre-harvest and potentially post-harvest interventions may be warranted to minimize risk of propagating antibiotic resistance in the food chain

Comparative risk judgements for oral health hazards among Norwegian adults: a cross sectional study

BACKGROUND: This study identified optimistic biases in health and oral health hazards, and explored whether comparative risk judgements for oral health hazards vary systematically with socio-economic characteristics and self-reported risk experience. METHODS: A simple random sample of 1,190 residents born in 1972 was drawn from the population resident in three counties of Norway. A total of 735 adults (51% women) completed postal questionnaires at home. RESULTS: Mean ratings of comparative risk judgements differed significantly (p < 0.001) from the mid point of the scales. T-values ranged from -13.1 and -12.1 for the perceived risk of being divorced and loosing all teeth to -8.2 and -7.8 (p < 0.001) for having gum disease and toothdecay. Multivariate analyses using General Linear Models, GLM, revealed gender differences in comparative risk judgements for gum disease, whereas social position varied systematically with risk judgements for tooth decay, gum disease and air pollution. The odds ratios for being comparatively optimistic with respect to having gum disease were 2.9, 1.9, 1.8 and 1.5 if being satisfied with dentition, having a favourable view of health situation, and having high and low involvement with health enhancing and health detrimental behaviour, respectively. CONCLUSION: Optimism in comparative judgements for health and oral health hazards was evident in young Norwegian adults. When judging their comparative susceptibility for oral health hazards, they consider personal health situation and risk behaviour experience

A whisper-game perspective on the family communication of DNA-test results: a retrospective study on the communication process of BRCA1/2-test results between proband and relatives

Objective of this paper is to study how DNA-test result information was communicated and perceived within families. A retrospective descriptive study in 13 probands with a BRCA1/2 unclassified variant, 7 with a pathogenic mutation, 5 with an uninformative result, and in 44, 14, and 12 of their 1st and 2nd degree relatives respectively. We examined differences and correlations between: (a) information actually communicated (b) probands' perception, (c) relatives' perception. The perception consisted of recollections and interpretations of both their own and their relatives' cancer-risks, and heredity-likelihood (i.e. likelihood that cancer is heritable in the family). Differences and low correlations suggested few similarities between the actually communicated information, the probands' and the relatives' perception. More specifically, probands recalled the communicated information differently compared with the actually communicated information (R = .40), and reinterpreted this information differently (R = .30). The relatives' perception was best correlated with the proband's interpretation (R = .08), but this perception differed significantly from their proband's perception. Finally, relatives reinterpreted the information they received from their proband differently (R = .25), and this interpretation was only slightly related with the original message communicated by the genetic-counsellor (R = .15). Unclassified-variants were most frequently misinterpreted by probands and relatives, and had the largest differences between probands' and relatives' perceptions. Like in a children's whisper-game, many errors occur in the transmission of DNA-test result information in families. More attention is required for how probands disseminate information to relatives. Genetic-counsellors may help by supporting the probands in communicating to relatives, e.g. by providing clear summary letters for relatives

Introduction to Section Two: Styles of Learning

The National Collegiate Honors Council has redesigned its national conference periodically, and one of those metamorphoses in the 1980s introduced sessions with master teachers . The session I remember now, years later, was led by Catherine Cater. This master teacher modeled most of what the rest of us have spent our careers emulating. And so, it is fitting that this central section of this volume takes up key topics in teaching and learning. Gabelnick, Braid, and Levy were not available to attend the October, 1999 panel in Orlando; their work appears here for the fi rst ti me

Introduction to Section Three: Work and Play

Throughout our work on this volume, our own sense of unfolding possibility was buoyed by what we have learned from Catherine Cater. Her keen insights are always-always-offered with a sense of wonder and delight at what we may come to know. Sam Schuman has captured just such a moment in his peroration, but not before explicating the idea of work, especially work in an academic setting. The balance in the rigorous work we undertake ourselves and the work we require of and inspire in others is found in his title, Labors of Love. Paul Strong\u27s eloquent essay begins and ends in poetry. He guides us to conclude that serious play is essential for life, by taking us travelling to Italy. Whether at his daughter\u27s wedding or over a meal in Tuscany, his delight is obvious and persuasive. As is ours

Introduction to Section One: Collegiate Instruction

Just as Catherine Cater\u27s intellect has never been bounded by a single discipline, field, or approach, these three of her colleagues move well beyond Honors in their contributions to this volume. Wherever Honors flourishes within a college or university, the whole institution is improved by its presence

Pirating Math in a Payroll Sea

Created by Anne Cavagnaro and Ida Ponder of Columbia College, this course will help students develop critical thinking skills, differentiate between scientific and pseudoscientific data, apply statistics in real world experiences, generate more in-depth statistical analyses and produce more meaningful work. On this site, visitors will find the course objectives as well as three PDF documents detailing the course overview, course schedule, and a handout with problem-solving activities. This is an excellent resource for educators, and it incorporates critical thinking skills into the math and accounting coursework

Remembering Sam Schuman

At the start of his career in 1970 at Cornell College in Iowa, Sam Schuman taught and directed Shakespeare plays, and he also began his long and distinguished career in honors, attending his first NCHC conference in 1974. In 1977, he became Director of the University of Maine Honors Program and, during his four years there, hosted an Honors Semester on the Maine coast. In 1981, he became Academic Dean and Vice President of Academic Affairs at Guilford College in Greensboro, North Carolina, where Anne Ponder was Director of the Honors Program. He and Anne co-founded NCHC’s annual conference session called “Beginning in Honors” in 1986