Olivia DrakeJune 28, 20051min
WHAT WORKS, WHAT DOESN'T: Wesleyan’s Center for Community Partnerships hosted a Conference for Service-Learning titled “What Works and What Doesn’t” May 25-26. Staff members from Amherst, Bowdoin, Byrn Mawr, Connecticut College, Smith, Swarthmore, Trinity, University of Pennsylvania, Williams and Wesleyan convened to assess service-learning’s impact on students, administration and community partners. The event was arranged by Professor of Sociology and Director of the Service-Learning Center Rob Rosenthal, pictured back left. Also pictured are Scott Laidlaw, director of the Community Outreach Program at Amherst College; Sharon Friedler, professor of dance at Swarthmore College; and Sarah Barr, associate director of the Holleran…

Olivia DrakeJune 15, 20059min
Marina Melendez, ’83, MALS ’88, is the director of Graduate Student Services and the program's biggest advocate.   Posted 06/15/05 Marina Melendez ‘83 was raised by a German-speaking mother and Spanish-speaking father in Five Towns, Long Island, N.Y. She didn’t speak a word of English until the age of 7. “After my first day of school, my mother said I came home and refused to speak any more German,” she says. “And from that day on, English would be the language in our home.” Melendez, however, never let go of her German and Puerto Rican roots. During her undergraduate years…

Olivia DrakeJune 15, 20057min
  Summer Hughes Fellows Maiko Kondo '07 (top) and Brandon Stein '07 (left) work on their research projects in Wesleyan labs. Hughes Fellows have 10 weeks to finish a research project of their choice. Faculty members provide guidance and instruction. Posted 06/15/05 In Wesleyan’s Mukerji Lab, Maiko Kondo ’07 studies peptides modeled after those found in Alzheimer’s plaques. Nearby in the Flory Lab, Brandon Stein ’07 examines nuclear functions of telomere-associated proteins. As Wesleyan University Summer Hughes Fellows, Kondo and Stein have 10 weeks to complete their research, work one-on-one with a faculty advisor and participate in a variety of…

Olivia DrakeJune 15, 20054min
In July, South College will receive eight new bells. Scaffolding will surround parts of the building, as crews install the bells and remodel the belfry. Sections of the white panels will be removed, however the copper-top will stay in tact.    Posted 06/15/05 The South College belfry will receive eight new bells and a facelift during the next several months. This renovation will add eight new bells to the current 16-bell array. This will upgrade the status of the Wesleyan bells from a chime (10-22 bells) to that of a carillon (23 or more). “Now we’ll have more notes, so…

Olivia DrakeJune 15, 20055min
This photograph of a West Bengal wedding altar by Ákos Östör, professor of anthropology and film studies, and Lina Fruzzetti of Brown University, is on display in The Museum of Cultures in Helsinki, Finland. It is part of an exhibit titled “Divine Gifts: Marriage and ritual in rural West Bengal.”   Posted 06/15/05 In India, marriage carries great social and cultural meanings. It ensures the continuity of the male line and it is vital to the maintenance of caste status. Ákos Östör, professor of anthropology and professor of film studies, has spent the past three years traveling to Bishnupur, West…

Olivia DrakeJune 15, 200513min
Michael Roy, director of Academic Computing Services and Digital Projects, works on a project inside the Science Tower Lab.   Posted 06/15/05 Q: Mike, you’re director of Academic Computing Services and director of Digital Projects. What is your personal interest with technology? A: My personal interest in technology comes from being curious about how technology can solve problems, about how it can improve our ability to understand the world, and how it can allow us to communicate that understanding in new and effective ways. Q: When did you come to Wesleyan? A: I came here in 1996 as the Humanities…

Olivia DrakeJune 15, 200510min
Leith Johnson, co-curator of Cinema Archives, stands inside the Elia Kazan's "America America" exhibit in the Rick Nicita Gallery. The exhibit closes June 21 and is available for viewing by appointment.   Posted 06/15/05 Q: Leith, you’re co-curator of Cinema Archives. When did you come to Wesleyan and were you hired in as co-curator? A: I came to Wesleyan in 1990 as the associate curator. I was promoted to co-curator in 1999. Q: Where do you have degrees from, and in what? A: I received my B.A. and M.A. in history, both from UConn. Q: Before coming to Wesleyan, what…

Olivia DrakeJune 15, 200510min
Marcia Bromberg, vice president of Finance and Administration, holds out a student housing map inside her office in North College. Bromberg, who spearheaded the new Fauver Field Residence Complex planning, is retiring from Wesleyan in July.   Posted 06/15/05 Marcia Bromberg will retire from her position as vice president for Finance and Administration in July, but she’ll always have her footprint here on the campus. Bromberg came to Wesleyan in 2001 to oversee all financial and administrative areas of the university including accounting, budget, financial planning, investments, Human Resources and benefits, legal affairs and risk management. She’s also the watchdog…

Olivia DrakeJune 15, 20057min
  Wesleyan has launched a new virtual tour for the campus community and prospective students. Above, an interactive Wesleyan campus map highlights 50 campus buildings. At right, a part of a guided tour by a Wesleyan student. Posted 06/15/05 Take a trip from Freeman Athletic Center to the Center for Fine Arts, locate all the wi-fi sites in between, find a place to eat, learn a little Wesleyan trivia and even see what’s happening on campus – all without ever leaving your computer. A new Web site called “The Wesleyan Experience” http://www.wesleyan.edu/virtualtour/ gives users a chance to do all this…

Olivia DrakeJune 15, 20055min
Posted 06/15/05 Wesleyan's trustees formally adopted a new strategic plan for the university at their meeting on May 20. "Engaged with the World: A Strategic Plan for Wesleyan University, 2005-2010" (www.wesleyan.edu/wesleyanplanning/) sets ambitious goals for academic and student life programming and for campus renewal, according to President Doug Bennet. The new plan is the product of almost two years' dialogue among faculty, students, staff, alumni and trustees. It notes institutional advances that resulted from the implementation of its 1998 precursor, "Strategy for Wesleyan," and the success of the $281 million Wesleyan Campaign, including the addition of 20 faculty across the…

Olivia DrakeJune 15, 20054min
Posted 06/15/05 In the year ending March 31, 2005, Wesleyan's endowment has performed in the top quartile of schools with similar-sized portfolios, according to data collected by the Office of Finance and Administration. Wesleyan’s return of 11.7 percent was not only 2.2 percentage points above the 25th percentile for peer schools, it was almost twice the S&P 500 return for the same period. These results reflect a series of improvements in Wesleyan's portfolio management, according to Vice President for Finance and Administration Marcia Bromberg. In 1997 the university developed new endowment guidelines that divided the activities of the Wesleyan Board of…

Olivia DrakeJune 7, 20054min
It's hammer time. Starting this month, construction for the new Suzanne Lemberg Usdan University Center begins. Alan Rubacha, project manager, is setting up an 8-foot chain-link fence that will surround the old Alumni Athletic Building and Fayerweather Gymnasium. The driveway and cement walkway that currently provide access from Wyllys Avenue to the lot behind South and North College will be closed to vehicles and pedestrians as of Monday, June 13. The lot itself will be closed except for handicap access and service. Parking has been reassigned to the lot adjacent to the Office of Admission and to the lot behind…