Wesleyan in the News

In this recurring feature in The Wesleyan Connection, we highlight some of the latest news stories about Wesleyan and our alumni.

Recent Wesleyan News

1. The Forward: Jewish Student is Youngest Woman Ever to Finish ‘American Ninja Warrior’ Course

Casey Rothschild ’20 is interviewed about her path to become, at 20, the youngest woman ever to complete the course in the popular sports competition TV show. Rothschild is also a track star, pole vaulter, circus artist, and dedicated student.

2. TIME: The 25 Moments From American History That Matter Right Now

In this compendium of important moments in American history, Courtney Fullilove, associate professor of history, associate professor of science in society, contributed an entry about July 8, 1853, when Commodore Matthew Perry sailed his steam-powered ships into Tokyo Bay. She writes, “His insistence that the Japanese trade with the United States hinged on a belief that international commerce was a marker of civilization. He had no sense that military enforcement of this norm diminished its value, or that of the numerous American manufactures he brought as gifts.”

3. Hartford Courant: Wesleyan Janitor Facing Deportation Honored by University for Service to Students

Francisco Acosta, an employee of Sun Services, was awarded the Peter Morgenstern-Clarren scholarship for his service and impact on students.

4. The Times Literary Supplement: Don’t Listen to the Critics

In this essay, Hirsh Sawhney, assistant professor of English, writes about the author Michael Ondaatje, whose poetry and prose have made him a bestselling author, “while also earning him the ire of literary critics.”

5. Charleston Gazette-Mail: Appalachian Scholar Project helps Charleston teens prepare for college

Students from Wesleyan have been helping African-American teenage girls get into colleges — especially prestigious, out-of-state institutions.

Recent Alumni News

1. ESPN: Michele Roberts [’77] Elected to Another Four-Year Term as NBPA Executive Director“The National Basketball Players Association unanimously elected Michele Roberts to serve another four-year term as executive director, union president Chris Paul announced Tuesday,” wrote ESPN staff writer Tim McMahon, and quoted Roberts on “’creat[ing] a system that allowed them [the players] to really believe that I and the team we assembled were going to be interested in one … priority only, and that is the best interest of the players.'”

2. New York Times Book Review: A White House Memoir That’s Equal Parts C-Span and ‘Sex and the City’

Paul Begala, political consultant, commentator, and former adviser to President Bill Clinton, reviews From the Corner of the Oval (Spiegel & Grau, 2018) by Beck Dorey-Stein ’08. He calls it an “addictively readable memoir … that is improbable even by White House standards.”

3. The Boston Globe: This CEO Doesn’t Like to Be Cornered

A profile of Dr. David Schenkein ’79, P’08, “CEO of Agios Pharmaceuticals Inc. in Cambridge, [who] runs a biotech startup that won approval last August for its first drug, Idhifa, to treat a rare and devastating form of leukemia caused by a genetic mutation.”

4. Forbes: The Three Tactics This Radio Personality Used to Make Her Mark in Media

Angela Yee ’97, “one-third of the popular The Breakfast Club, Power 105.1’s syndicated morning radio show based in New York,” profiled by Pauleanna Reid, features mentoring advice from Yee, including ”reach back to educate.”

5. Forbes: The Founder Of Tala On Her Leap From Finance To Fundraising For Her Mission-Driven Startup

Shivani Siroya ’04, founder and CEO of Tala, talks with Forbes staff writer Tanya Klich at Forbes Women’s Summit, delineating her fundraising process in a Q&A, as well as in a backstage video.

6. New York Times: ‘Emojiland’ and a Graceful Elegy at the New York Musical Festival

The “graceful elegy” is If Sand Were Stone, reviewed by Laura Collins-Hughes, who considered it a “strong offering” of that week. (Now closed, it was at the Acorn Theater.) It also featured the talents of recent alumni. Collins-Hughes writes: “With book and lyrics by Carly Brooke Feinman [’16] and music by Cassie Willson [’17], it’s a show whose subject—a middle-aged woman’s fast unraveling from early-onset Alzheimer’s disease—risks turning off potential audience members. But as staged by Tyler Thomas, with spare yet essential choreography by Nora Thompson [’15], part of this musical’s triumph is its sensitivity and grace.”