Olivia DrakeNovember 20, 20075min
Nicole Stanton, associate professor of dance, taught dance for 10 years at the Ohio State University before coming to Wesleyan this fall.   Posted 11/20/07 Nicole Stanton has joined the Department of Dance this fall as an associate professor. Stanton brings professional training in modern dance techniques, African techniques, improvisation, choreography, somatics, history and theory of dance to Wesleyan. She studied contemporary dance at the Center for New Dance Development in Arnhem, Holland; African dance and drum at the Leopold Sedor Senghor Cultural Center in Dakar, Senegal; and received two bachelor of arts in dance and foreign civilizations and languages…

Olivia DrakeNovember 20, 20074min
Posted 11/20/07 Two Wesleyan alumni each have made substantial gifts to create need-based scholarships for former servicemen and women for four years of full-time baccalaureate study. These new gifts will fund as many as 10 scholarships at any given time. One of the donors, Frank Sica '73, hopes he can enable young men and women who have performed a service for the U.S. to attend a premier liberal arts university. "The government-provided college aid and pay scales for enlisted personnel are such that, unless these people received substantial aid, they could not pay the expenses associated with attending a place…

Olivia DrakeNovember 20, 200710min
Mark Davis '96, development officer for Planned Giving, oversees donor accounts that require a degree of financial or legal planning, such as gift annuities, charitable unitrusts, real estate, insurance policies and bequests.   Posted 11/20/07 Q: Mark, when did you graduate from Wesleyan and when did you begin working for University Relations?A: I graduated in 1996, and returned to Wesleyan in the fall of 2005 - just in time for my 10th reunion! Q: What did you major in, and what led you towards working in Planned Giving?A: I was a history major, and went on to spend seven years…

Olivia DrakeNovember 20, 20076min
President Michael Roth, center, signed a document Nov. 16 stating that he and Wesleyan will support measures to fight global climate change. Pictured left to right are Bill Nelligan, director of Environmental Health, Safety and Sustainability; Jacob Mirsky '08, representative of EON; Roth; Jim Dresser, chair of the Wesleyan Board of Trustees; Matthew Ball '08, member of the Wesleyan Student Assembly. Posted 11/20/07 President Michael Roth signed the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment before an applauding crowd of several dozen Wesleyan students, staff, faculty and trustees on Nov. 16. The commitment can be seen in full text here.…

Olivia DrakeNovember 20, 20076min
Posted 11/20/07 The university has been awarded a TRIO Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The McNair program will provide financial support, mentoring, research opportunities, and academic guidance to eligible students who want pursue Ph.D. study. Laurel F. Appel, visiting associate professor of biology, is the McNair program's director. She's excited that Wesleyan is part of the federal program. It is presently the only Connecticut institution that is part of the program. "This program fits in with the goals of Wesleyan by broadening access to research to all students," Appel says. “The focus…

Olivia DrakeNovember 20, 200711min
Posted 11/20/07 Peter Gottschalk, associate professor of religion, and Gabriel Greenberg ’04 have written a new book Islamophobia: Making Muslims the Enemy, published by Rowman & Littlefield, 2007. In the 1990s, Gottschalk heard a lecture as a graduate student at the University of Chicago by Professor John Woods about negative images of Muslims and Islam in political cartoons. He used some cartoons when he first began to teach. Following the 9/11 tragedies, Gottschalk started following certain cartoonists daily because of his concern regarding the rising anti-Muslim and anti-Islamic sentiment in the country. Greenberg, a student in one of Gottschalk's classes, got…

Olivia DrakeNovember 20, 20075min
Posted 11/20/07 A new series of films will shine a spotlight on how literary works are translated onto screen. The newly-created Adaptation Series, sponsored by the Center for Film Studies and Olin Library, will begin Nov. 29 with a talk by screenwriter and alumnus Stephen Schiff. Schiff will speak about his screen adaptation of Nabokov’s Lolita, filmed in 1997 by director Adrian Lyne. The talk will be preceded by a screening of the film, starring Jeremy Irons, Melanie Griffith and Dominique Swain. This is the inaugural event of the Adaptation Series, which has been designed by Jeanine Basinger, Corwin-Fuller Professor…

Olivia DrakeNovember 20, 20078min
Lori Gruen displays her collection of primate portraits at the Who's Looking exhibit inside Zilkha Gallery. This month, Who's Looking will provide the Wesleyan community with opportunities to explore human's complex relations to chimps through photographs, film, theater and words. Posted 11/20/07 One cannot help but be stirred with emotions upon viewing Who's Looking?Who's Looking? A collaborative, multi-disciplinary investigation of human relations to chimpanzees,” an exhibit at the Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery that runs until Dec. 2, explores what chimpanzees see when they look at humans and what humans see when they look at chimpanzees. The exhibit, directed by…

Olivia DrakeNovember 5, 20076min
Skye LoGuidice '09 is on the ballot for three Grammy awards. She write songs on life, tackling love, life and loss. Posted 11/05/07 Skye LoGuidice ’09 is working toward graduating with a degree from the College of Letters, but first she may receive a Grammy Award – or two, or even three. LoGuidice, who musically goes by Skye Claire, is listed on the 50th Annual Grammy Awards official ballot in three categories. The singer-songwriter was chosen among thousands of artists and bands nation-wide. “I haven’t told that many people yet, because I don’t know how to react to this, or…

Olivia DrakeNovember 5, 20076min
Nadeem Modan ‘10 and Adina Teibloom ‘10 attended interactive workshops, panel conversations with leading think tanks and foundations at the Interfaith Youth Conference Oct. 28-30 in Chicago, Ill. They are sharing what they have learned with their Wesleyan peers. Posted 11/05/07 Two Wesleyan sophomores met with renowned religious scholars, interfaith activists and peers from around the world recently to promote peaceful relations between different religious groups. Nadeem Modan ‘10, who is Muslim, and Adina Teibloom ‘10, who is Jewish, attended interactive workshops, panel conversations with leading think tanks and foundations, and an interfaith concert at the Interfaith Youth Conference Oct.…

Olivia DrakeNovember 5, 20075min
Janice Astor del Valle, left, director of the Green Street Arts Center, listens to Sonia BasSheva Manjon, director of the Center for Art and Public Life at the California College of the Arts in Oakland, speak on "Building Bridges between University and Community" during a Inauguration  Event Nov. 2 in Memorial Chapel. Manjon and del Valle each spoke on how their arts center has helped their local communities. Posted 11/05/07 One of Michael Roth’s predominant themes during his inauguration, as well as his professional life, has been “Liberal Education and Public Life.” This theme was reflected in several special Inaugural…