Lauren RubensteinReview: "...her prose is carefully shaped, with the clarity of diamonds. Often dark, but always worth reading"
Olivia DrakeJen Jurgen from University Relations, and Ali McFadzen, Margaret Neale and Shannon Sarver from the Financial Aid Office, received Cardinal Achievement Awards in January. The staff members were honored for demonstrating extraordinary initiative or providing outstanding service with regard to specific tasks in their department. This special honor comes with a $150 award and reflects the university’s gratitude for those extra efforts. Jen Jurgen, associate director of University Relations operations, was nominated for being a "a cheerful and responsive problem solver who provided invaluable help to administrative support of University Relations during a period of significant short staffing, and she hasn't hesitated…
Site tracks the retirement of research chimps to sanctuary, following NIH announcement
Basinger "brilliantly demonstrates Hollywood's abiding ambivalence" about marriage
Lim: Obama looks to be following FDR's bold example, not Clinton's cautious one, for his second term
For alumni seeking to relive their days in the classroom, parents interested to see first-hand what their Wesleyan students are learning, and prospective students—or anyone else—curious about the Wesleyan experience, here’s your chance. Beginning Feb. 4, two Wesleyan professors—President Michael Roth and Associate Professor of Film Studies Scott Higgins—will open their virtual classrooms on Coursera. In September 2012, Wesleyan announced a new partnership with Coursera, a company offering the public access to free MOOCs (massive open online courses) taught by professors from top colleges and universities. Wesleyan is the first liberal arts institution focused on the undergraduate experience to offer…
As their “Money and Social Change” class drew to a close in mid-December, 15 Wesleyan students and their professor presented four local non-profit organizations with a surprise gift for the holidays: $10,000 in unsolicited grants. The funds were provided to the class by the Learning by Giving Foundation, established in 2011 by Doris Buffett, Warren Buffett's oldest sister. The foundation aims to promote the study of the nonprofit sector and philanthropy by undergraduate students, giving them first-hand experience in “the art, science and business of philanthropy.” This year for the first time, Wesleyan partnered with the foundation through the service learning…
On Jan. 11, a small explosion in Usdan University Center's mechanical room left several staff and students trapped inside with possible injuries. "We've got a situation," says Bill Nelligan, director of environmental health, safety and sustainability. "Please gather your gear and head to the basement." A group of six Wesleyan staff members, trained in light search and rescue techniques, quickly prepare for the task. They sport reflective vests, safety helmets, goggles and gloves, and carry a backpack equipped with flashlights, duct tape, first-aid kits, tools and blankets. Team leader Allen Alonzo, associate director of information technology auxiliary services, breaks the…
Bill HolderRuth Striegel, professor of psychology and the Walter A. Crowell University Professor of the Social Sciences, will assume the position of Wesleyan’s next provost and vice president for academic affairs. She will start in this position on July 1, succeeding Rob Rosenthal, who will be returning to the faculty as John E. Andrus Professor of Sociology. Striegel holds a doctoral degree in clinical psychology from the University of South Carolina. She is a distinguished scholar-teacher whose research has focused on understanding the causes and effects of eating and weight disorders, and particularly on using insights gained from large-scale studies to…
Kate CarlisleDynamic filmmaker and educator Shakti Butler will be the keynote speaker at Wesleyan’s Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration on Friday, Feb. 1. “Diversity University: From Theory to Practice,” is the theme of this year’s daylong commemoration. Butler, a prominent speaker on racial equity, is the producer of documentaries including The Way Home; Mirrors of Privilege: Making Whiteness Visible, and Light in the Shadows. She is frequently hired by companies seeking a catalyst for change and uses audience participation and often, clips from her films, in her public appearances. A multiracial African-American woman (African, Arawak Indian and Russian-Jewish), Butler has worked…
(Story contributed by Jim H. Smith) In this issue of The Wesleyan Connection, we ask “5 Questions” of Ashraf Rushdy, professor of English, professor of African American Studies and chair of the African American Studies Program. Rushdy is the author of American Lynching, a meticulously researched interpretive history of how lynching became a uniquely American phenomenon and how it has endured, evolved and changed over the course of three centuries. The book was published by Yale University Press in October 2012. Q: Scholars have been writing about lynching for more than a century now. There is a significant body of extant…
Wesleyan will honor three extraordinary alumni at the University’s 181st Commencement on May 26. Joss Whedon ’87, film and television director, writer and producer, will deliver the commencement address. Honorary degrees also will be presented to environmental and social justice leader Majora Carter ’88 and Jim Dresser ’63, whose many years of service to Wesleyan include having chaired the Board of Trustees. Joss Whedon ’87 is an award-winning writer, director and producer. He is the force behind such popular television shows as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, and the 2012 superhero blockbuster film, The Avengers. The son and grandson of successful television writers,…