Bonnie Snortum's office door above the Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum is cracked open. E-mail has been down for two days because of hacker problems on the server, and Snortum is fielding phone calls. She is in the process of booking guests for the Ath's fall speaker series but unfortunately, the majority of her contact information is tied up in Outlook Express. Above her desk, a pair of wall calendars for the 2001-2002 school year is filling up. Snortum's phone rings again and she holds up a hand apologetically.

The caller is psychology Professor Harvey Wichman. She describes later how the two of them are trying to coordinate a series that could land a trio of astronauts on campus, including millionaire Dennis Tito and the legendary Buzz Aldrin. In other simmering developments, Snortum is negotiating with the director of Amnesty International's capital punishment division, based in London, and is working to bring to campus Charles Ogletree Jr., the Jesse Climenko Professor of Law at Harvard University's School of Law and director of the Criminal Justice Institute. This effort is part of a collaboration with director of forensics, Professor John Meany, to host a series of debates and discussions on reparations—the debate topic of the year.

When Snortum smells a good series brewing, she instantly gets to work, sometimes starting with the 4-1-1 buttons on her phone, and working her way to the right contacts and phone numbers. Overnighting proposals to prospective guests usually follows. She and Professor Mark Costanzo are cooking up a follow-up to last year's psychology and law series in conjunction with courses offered by Costanzo and Professor Dan Krauss. This year's guests will address psychopathic behavior, jury decision-making and the death penalty.

Programming is Snortum's primary responsibility as Ath director, and with it comes the Fortnightly newsletter, a compilation of biographical sketches and photos. "Our target audience is students," Snortum says. "So (the Fortnightly) has to be appealing. You have to tell students why they should want to take an evening to come to a program, even if it's not required for class."

Invaluable help comes by way of two student fellows who are selected each year to assist with Ath functions. Collectively they contribute one-third to half of the newsletter's content, plus monitor the campus pulse to find out who and what interests their peers. Student fellows also help facilitate Ath events, introducing speakers at evening programs and ensuring good conversation at the dinner table. Says Snortum,"The students help host an evening. It's not just the experience of contacting people. It's seeing what you have to do to make something work."

Last year, former Ath fellow Tom Meyer '03 introduced such notables as Nobel prize-winning economist Douglas North; poet laureate of the U.S., Robert Pinsky; Steven Pinker; and former Nixon advisor and presidential candidate, Pat Buchanan. "It was amazing to be rubbing shoulders with people as famous as some of the Ath speakers," Meyer said. With the Buchanan event, Meyer was able to get his name flashed on C-SPAN.

Meyer said Snortum really "trusts the fellows a lot. Our words had a lot of say with her." He also was impressed that the College entrusts those types of responsibilities to sophomores.

Named for the trustee who gave more than $1 million toward its construction in 1982, the Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum has maintained its rank as an intimate home for intellectual and social exchange. Its definitive speaker series has welcomed renowned scholars, poets, authors, journalists, politicians and others on a broad range of topics. But "the Ath is more than a speaker (venue)," Snortum clarifies. "There are so many other things that go on here all the time," including—but not limited to—the College's annual Madrigal feast, afternoon teas in Parents Library, and official College functions and receptions.

Athanaeum director Bonnie Snortum outside the Athenaeum.