Personal Bio:

Faculty Bio: Ransom Griffin worked 40 years at Moses Brown, teaching history in the middle school and english in both upper and middle school. He has served as department head and has coached freshman football, boys’ and girls’ basketball and varsity golf (winning four state championships and one SENEISA championship). Ransom also has been the faculty advisor for MB’s student literary and visual arts publication, Omnia, since 1987.  As the co-creator and administrator of the visiting poet series, Ransom has brought to MB renowned poets, such as Jimmy Santiago Baca, Billy Collins, Mark Doty, Philip Levine, C.D. Wright, Coleman Barks and Tracy K. Smith.  Ransom also has participated on and clerked many search committees, and he chaired the 1993 committee to write MB’s mission statement. 

Kousa Dogwood:

Scientific Name

Cornus kousa

Family

Cornaceae

Description

Kousa dogwood is a handsome, small to medium-sized tree with a vase-shaped, conical form in youth, developing horizontal branching and a wide-spreading, rounded canopy as it matures.

Leaves are opposite, simple, 2.5–4 inches long, oval to elliptical, shiny and dark green above and paler beneath, edges entire; tip pointed, base with a short petiole and featuring distinct tufts of golden-brown hairs on the underside at the veins, turning reddish-purple to scarlet in the fall.

Bark is smooth and light brown on young trees, becoming highly attractive with age as it develops exfoliating patches of tan and brown that create a mottled appearance.

Twigs are thin, initially purple to green in color, later turning light brown and smooth as they mature.

Flowers late spring, stalk nestled among the fresh green leaves, appearing after the foliage emerges; flowers inconspicuous, small and yellowish-green, tightly clustered in a central head and surrounded by four showy, large, creamy-white or pink, pointed bracts.

Fruits late summer to early fall, borne on 1.5–2 inch long stalks; fruit 1–1.5 inches long, a round drupe resembling a raspberry, light red to pink with a fleshy, yellowish-orange interior containing a solitary stone.

Other Common Names

Kousa Dogwood

Size

Height: 20 ft. 0 in. - 30 ft. 0 in.

Source: North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox