The Beloit College community today is remembering and mourning the loss of one of its own—Dan Shea, an anthropology professor at the college since 1968. Shea passed away after a fall on Tuesday night, June 19, in Chile.

The Wright Museum of Art has been awarded a $10,000 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services for the assessment of its collection of oil paintings. Two senior painting conservators, David Marquis and Joan Gorman from the Midwest Art Conservation Center in Minneapolis, Minn., will conduct the review on campus from July 16 through July 20.

Beloit College’s upcoming three-week summer program for rising high school juniors and seniors was featured in an Education Week article published Tuesday.

Vivian Mitnick of Venice, Calif., was awarded a Boren Scholarship to study Mandarin at Shandong University in China during the 2012-2013 academic year. Mitnick is a junior majoring in Chinese language and culture.

Upward Bound, Beloit College’s pre-college program, has been awarded a five-year, federally funded grant in the amount of approximately $1.7 million from the U.S. Department of Education.

Beloit, WI— Hailing from as far away as India, Serbia and Taiwan, and as close as Chicago and Beloit, the 323 members of Beloit College’s class of 2012 received their degrees today in a sunny, outdoor ceremony.  The 162^nd commencement exercises took place on the lawn between the college’s iconic administration building, Middle College, and a half-dozen ancient Indian mounds.

Beloit, Wis.—Approximately 320 graduates are expected to collect their diplomas when Beloit College hosts its 162nd commencement exercises on Sunday, May 13, at 11 a.m.  The commencement address will be delivered by University of California-Santa Barbara Vice Chancellor Michael D. Young, a Beloit alumnus.

Three students who graduated on Sunday have been awarded Fulbright U.S. Student Program scholarships for the 2012-2013 academic year. Amani Edwards and Kate Sedlacek will become English teaching assistants in Russia and Beatrice Santa-Wood will be one in Turkey.

Beloit College recently hired an Associated Colleges of the Midwest Mellon Fellow in Arabic and Islamic Studies who will join the faculty this fall.

The latest computing trend may have started at Beloit College with Professor of Chemistry and Computer Science Rama Viswanathan’s Wallputer, pictured below.

Jennifer Olson’12 has been awarded a U.S. Department of State Critical Language Scholarship to study Arabic. This summer, she will spend seven to 10 weeks in an intensive language institute in Morocco.

Alumnus and entrepreneur Christopher “Stopher” D. Bartol’88 will join the college’s board of trustees when it convenes for its fall meeting in October. Bartol will serve a three-year term expiring at the 2015 annual meeting.