Celebrating 100 years of Botany at Connecticut College
In 1917, botanist Caroline Black joined the faculty at Connecticut College, accepting the position on the condition that a Department of Botany be created. She became the newly formed department's first chair in 1918.
Now, 100 years later, a we celebrate the Botany Department's centennial, the study of botany continues to play a critical role in addressing many sustainability issues facing our planet.
For more information on these events, consult the College Calendar.
Monday, February 5
Lecture: "The Importance of Botany in the 21st Century"
Exhibition: "100 Plant Specimens for 100 Years"
The centennial celebration began with a lecture by Chad Jones, Chair of the Botany Department at Connecticut College, and the opening of an exhibition created by recent botany graduate Georgia Hann (pictured above.)
April 2 to July 31, Shain Library
Exhibition: "Deep Roots: Botany at Connecticut College, 1918-2018"
Items from the College Archives on display in the Chu Asian Art Reading Room in Charles E. Shain Library. Free and open to the public.
Wednesday, April 11, 4:30 p.m., Shain Library
Lecture by Susan Froshauer '74
The library exhibition opens with a talk by botany alumna Susan Froshauer '74. In addition to working with a multitude of statewide research and development initiatives, Dr. Froshauer has served as president and CEO of Rib-X Pharmaceuticals (now Melinta) and CURE, Connecticut United for Research Excellence. She is currently Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the Yale Office of Cooperative Research. Free and open to the public.
Saturday, June 2
Reunion
9 a.m. Interactive Arbo Walk: Engage your five senses
Join faculty from the Botany Department on a walk through the Arboretum. Learn about the diversity of plants and other organisms using all five of your senses. Pick up a pastry and a hot cup of coffee at the Arbo entrance before setting out on your adventure.
3 - 4 p.m. The Art and Science of Pressing Plants
In this interactive workshop, learn how to press and mount plant specimens. Learn how these specimens are used in the science of botany. Take home your creation.
5 p.m. 100th Anniversary of Botany at Connecticut College Reception
We invite alumni of the Botany Department to join faculty for a reception celebrating the 100-year anniversary of the department at Connecticut College.
Saturday, September 29
Fall Weekend
11 a.m. - noon. The Art and Science of Pressing Plants
In this interactive workshop, learn how to press and mount plant specimens. Learn how these specimens are used in the science of botany. Take home your creation.
4 - 5 p.m. Botany Centennial Lecture - Returning the Gift: What Does the Earth Ask of Us?
We live in a world of gifts, showered upon us by the plant world and yet we find ourselves in a worldview which relentlessly asks, 'what more can we take from the Earth?' Indigenous concepts of sustainability rest in the practice of reciprocity. Together with Robin K. Kimmerer, distinguished teaching professor and director of the Center of Native Peoples and the Environment, we will celebrate botanical gifts and explore how humans can participate in the Honorable Harvest and honor the covenant of reciprocity by offering gifts in return. Reception to follow in Elizabeth Gilbert Fortune '40 Recital Hall.