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Philip Klinkner, the James S. Sherman Associate Professor of Government, wrote an opinion piece for Newsday about the 9/11 Commission report. He stated: "... the commission's report will do little to quell the controversy surrounding 9/11." This op-ed was reprinted in the Newark Star-Ledger and Albany Times Union.

The National Public Radio program Soundprint aired "Voices of the Dust Bowl"  about migrant farm workers from the '30s and '40s. The segment includes the work of Charles "Lafe" Todd '33, professor of speech, emeritus, who recorded "dance tunes, cowboy songs, traditional ballads, square dance and play party calls, camp council meetings, camp court proceedings, conversations, storytelling sessions and personal-experience narratives of the Dust Bowl refugees who inhabited the camps."

A study by Philip Klinkner, the James S. Sherman Associate Professor of Government, was featured in an article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Klinkner contends that pundits and journalists have needlessly hyped the idea that Americans are segregating along political lines. The article, "The truths that might be false, and how they bear false witness to Campaign 2004," by David Shribman, executive editor of the Post-Gazette, was also published in the Buffalo News.

Hamilton employees and retirees were treated to a summer picnic on the McEwen Quad on June 18. The dinner, that included clams and steak, was topped off with strawberry and blueberry shortcake.

Iowa Governor and Hamilton alumnus Tom Vilsack's name is on the short list of potential running mates for John Kerry. Hamilton College political scientist Philip Klinkner said, "In addition to helping him in the heartland, selecting Tom Vilsack would signal that John Kerry wants a running mate with whom he is personally comfortable." On the campaign trail Klinkner said one of Vilsack's assets will be his wife, Christie, Kirkland '72. Klinkner said, "She is an experienced and popular campaigner. Her endorsement of Kerry before the Iowa Caucuses helped turn his campaign around."

While a student at Hamilton College in the '70s,  Tom Vilsack lost his bid for Hamilton College class president. He reportedly decided then that he would never run for any office again. Now as a two-term governor of Iowa, Vilsack is on the short list of possible running mates for John Kerry. 

Professor of History Maurice Isserman presented a paper titled "Cold War in a Cold Place: The 1963 American Mount Everest Expedition" at a conference held at Moscow State University in Moscow, Russia. The conference featured both American and Russian historians and was organized to mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the Fulbright Program's Distinguished Chair in American History at Moscow State University. A dozen American historians who have held the chair over the past three decades, including Isserman who was the Fulbright Distinguished Chair in 1997, were in attendance at the two-day conference.

Cheng Li, the William R. Kenan Professor of Government, was interviewed by the BBC on China's foreign policy with oil producing countries. The discussion included China's oil-consumption and relations with countries in the Middle East.

Cheng Li, the William R. Kenan Professor of Government, was named to a three-year term as trustee of the Institute of Current World Affairs. The institute was founded in 1925, "to provide talented and promising individuals with an opportunity to develop a deep understanding of an issue, country or region outside the United States and to share that understanding with a wider public."  This is Li's second appointment as a trustee. He was a fellow of the institute from 1993-95 and served as secretary in 2003-2004.

As one of the Reunion Weekend events, John Adams, visiting professor of rhetoric and communication, gave the lecture "Rhetorical Designs: Stop the Rhetoric and Get to the Reality" in the Kirner-Johnson Red Pit. Adams displayed his expertise on the subject, explaining how the different assumptions people have about rhetoric shapes understanding about the subject matter and about language itself.