James R. Killian, Jr., Sputnik, and Eisenhower: White House Science Advice and the Reformation of American Science Education, 1955-1958

This paper chronicles the often-overlooked relationship between President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Dr. James R. Killian, Jr., the first-ever appointed Presidential Science Advisor. Emphasis is placed on the role of Dr. Killian and the President’s Science Advisory Committee (PSAC) in advocating curricular reform in the fields of science and mathematics, a reformation which became doubly important following the successful launch of the Soviet satellite Sputnik I in 1957. This essay examines the efforts of Eisenhower and Killian to keep pace with the Russian scientific advances by improving American education in the scientific and technical fields. It concludes with a discussion of the National Defense Education Act of 1958 and Killian’s efforts to see the piece of legislation enacted

Failure and Success: Paul R. Sieber, Nelson F. Fisher, and the Fifty-Year Struggle for the Gettysburg College Health Center

In the winter of 1954, four men and one woman set out to accomplish a goal that Gettysburg College had been pursuing for more than forty years. All five of them were trustees of the college, and together they formed a special committee within the Board of Trustees. They were the Infirmary Committee, a small body composed of Paul R. Sieber, Nelson F. Fisher, Mrs. Charles W. Baker, John H. Beerits, and Arthur Hendley. In 1954, following one of the most violent outbreaks of influenza ever to strike the college campus, Chairman Hiram H. Keller authorized Paul Sieber, a prominent alumnus, surgeon, and five-year member of the Board of Trustees, to chair a committee whose goal was to “bring in a report at the Annual Meeting in June as to the manner of raising money for the „Infirmary‟ Fund.” The establishment of this committee would prove to be the first step towards the erection of a new infirmary, a modern medical center that the college desperately needed. For years, the Infirmary Committee‟s predecessors on the Board of Trustees had attempted to raise funds for the purpose of establishing a permanent medical facility. However, the influx of funds proved inadequate, and the board was forced to put aside its plans for a new infirmary. Finally, in 1954, Dr. Paul R. Sieber was appointed chairman of the Infirmary Committee. He and Dr. Nelson F. Fisher, the vice chairman of the committee, would charge forth with renewed zeal, determined to lay the foundation of a new infirmary. Their efforts would result in the establishment of the Sieber-Fisher Infirmary, more commonly known as the Health Center. Today, their efforts are recognized on the eastern wall of the center‟s waiting room, on a prominent brown and gold plaque that bears their names. [excerpt] Course Information: Course Title: HIST 300: Historical Method Academic Term: Fall 2009 Course Instructor: Dr. Michael J. Birkner \u2772 Hidden in Plain Sight is a collection of student papers on objects that are hidden in plain sight around the Gettysburg College campus. Topics range from the Glatfelter Hall gargoyles to the statue of Eisenhower and from historical markers to athletic accomplishments. You can download the paper in pdf format and click View Photo to see the image in greater detail.https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/hiddenpapers/1012/thumbnail.jp

She Shall Be Saved in Childbearing: Submission, Contemplation of Conception, and Annunciation Imagery in the Books of Hours of Two Late Medieval Noblewomen

The role of the Book of Hours in female lay devotional life during the late Middle Ages has been investigated and analyzed by many scholars and art historians over the course of the past century. The general consensus has been that semi-literate medieval women valued these books greatly as instructional manuals on how to attain salvation, using the images contained within as spiritual aids meant to encourage individual contemplation and pious recitation. Prayers for mediation, protection, and guidance featured prominently within these books and many historians of both genders have come to the conclusion that Books of Hours were a source of comfort and spiritual nourishment for women living in a male-dominated and male-oriented world. [excerpt