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Himeka CurielJuly 5, 20202min
As the Black Lives Matter movement continues to shine a light on the Black experience in America, one Wesleyan student is doing his part to foster better understanding for students of color in STEM fields. On July 2, Fitzroy "Pablo" Wickham '21 participated in a panel discussion on "Black Lives Matter and Neuroscience: Why This Moment Matters." The event, hosted by the Society for Neuroscience and moderated by Trinity College President Joanne Berger-Sweeney, provided a forum to discuss hurdles faced by Black students and faculty in STEM and ways to enhance recruitment, mentoring, and retention in STEM fields. Wickham, a…

Himeka CurielMay 4, 20202min
On April 13, Wesleyan’s Special Collections & Archives launched a new project asking the Wesleyan community for personal reflections on the COVID-19 pandemic. University Archivist Amanda Nelson introduced the project by saying, “It’s clear that we are all living and making history right now. As an archivist, I am always interested in recording these efforts so that . . . later, with the benefit of hindsight, [they can] give us and future generations of Wesleyan the ability to reflect on and learn from them.” Here, Nelson provides more insight into how the project came about and how the Wesleyan community…

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Himeka CurielApril 20, 20202min
J.R. Mannetta ’13 is not a super genius. Nor is he the kind of guy who goes around flaunting his broad grasp of esoteric facts. In fact, he’s pretty much a regular guy. A regular guy with impressive knowledge of wide-ranging arts, sports, and pop culture, who, with a healthy dose of perseverance, patience, and practice, made it to the big stage to compete on that bastion of television trivia, Jeopardy! The Boston native’s interest in trivia—and Jeopardy! in particular—began when he was in high school and continued through his college years at Wesleyan, where he competed in trivia contests…

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Himeka CurielMay 26, 201913min
Saidiya Hartman ’84, professor of English and comparative literature and women’s and gender studies at Columbia University, delivered the 2019 Commencement address on May 26. A prize-winning author and 2018 Guggenheim Fellow, Hartman is renowned for her creative combinations of historical research, critical theory, and fictional narrative in exploring “the afterlife of slavery” and its negative effects on the life chances of black Americans. Her essays on film, photography, and feminism have been widely anthologized. During the ceremony, Hartman was named an Honorary Doctor of Letters for “shining a light on those whose histories have been erased and for .…

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Himeka CurielMay 26, 20191min
As part of the 2019 Commencement weekend festivities, graduating seniors reflected on their unique and transformative Wesleyan experiences during the "Senior Voices" event held May 25 in Memorial Chapel. In addition to the speeches, this year's event also included a farewell song, "Irish Friendship Wish," performed by Maria Rodriguez-Castro ’19, Joy Adedokun ’19, and Olivia Backal-Balik ’20. Seniors Vanessa Tostado, Kati Young, and Matthew Erodici spoke of the changes they had undergone during their years at Wesleyan and the community and support that they found while here. Associate Professor of American Studies and Anthropology Margot Weiss provided the faculty address, encouraging…

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Himeka CurielMay 26, 20195min
Hazel V. Carby, who taught English at Wesleyan from 1982 to 1989, was named an Honorary Doctor of Letters during Wesleyan's 187th Commencement Ceremony on May 26. The Charles C. and Dorothea S. Dilley Professor of African American Studies and director of the Initiative on Race, Gender and Globalization at Yale University, Carby was lauded for her decades of insightful scholarship, her activism, and her commitment to advancing African American Studies. More about Hazel Carby Carby's remarks as prepared are below: As a member of the faculty during the 1980s I found students at Wesleyan to be exceptionally creative, imaginative,…

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Himeka CurielMay 26, 20195min
Samuel Morreale ’19, a Science in Society and theater double major, delivered the Senior Class Welcome during Wesleyan’s 187th Commencement ceremony on May 26. The text of his remarks as prepared are below: For me, and many others, Wesleyan has been a space of refuge and respite; it has been a place of escape. My experience here has allowed movement from a place of confinement to a place of “freedom.” I’m not naive; I know I am not truly free and probably won’t ever be. Truth is that I escaped one type of confinement only to enter another. But the space…

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Himeka CurielNovember 12, 20181min
Jeffrey Stein ’08 had only one thing on his mind when he registered for the 43rd Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C.—redemption. After a wrong turn off-course a quarter mile into the race in 2017 landed him an 8th place finish and a trip to the hospital for heat stroke, Stein registered for the 2018 race with one overriding goal: “to reclaim a little bit of dignity.” He achieved his goal and more, surging ahead in the last 2 miles to finish first with an official time of 2 hours 22 minutes 49 seconds. (more…)

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Himeka CurielOctober 15, 20182min
There’s a certain sense of effortlessness that Alex Levi ’90 remembers from his rowing days at Wesleyan—that feeling of being perfectly in sync and in so doing achieving something better and greater than any individual effort could reach alone. That feeling came back to inspire Levi in a recent project, designing a collective office space that serves as the administrative hub for four sports-based youth development (SBYD) nonprofits in New York City. The 10,000-square-foot open workspace in the middle of Manhattan’s Garment District is home to the offices of VitaSports Partners, the collective umbrella under which Row New York (rowing),…

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Himeka CurielSeptember 26, 20182min
More than 2,000 parents, families, friends, and alumni are attending Family Weekend, a three-day celebration of the Wesleyan experience, Sept. 28-30 Highlights include: WESeminar lectures, panel discussions, workshops, and performances Gordon Career Center Open House and Wesleyan Summer Grants Showcase Tailgating Friends of the Wesleyan Library Book Sale Campus tours Football, soccer, and field hockey vs. Hamilton College Lunches and brunches with families and friends The 26th Annual Dwight L. Greene Symposium presenting Black Phoenix Rising Alumni and Student of Color Celebration The 8th Annual Stone A Cappella Concert For a full schedule of events, visit www.wesleyan.edu/fw2018. View the photo gallery…

Himeka CurielAugust 8, 20183min
Right at the edge of campus, tucked away via a nondescript parking lot side entrance in the basement of Russell House, you’ll find the on-campus home of Israela Adah Brill-Cass, Wesleyan's first ombudsperson. Walking through the unmarked screen door can feel a bit unnerving, like trespassing unannounced or entering through a secret back entrance, but Brill-Cass soon welcomes you into the comfort of her office. It’s a small and simply decorated space with bright textile prints on the wall and soft music offsetting the quiet that comes with being the only inhabitant on the entire floor. The remote location and…

Himeka CurielJune 5, 20182min
Professor Emeritus of History Donald Meyer passed away on May 27 at the age of 94. Meyer received his BA from the University of Chicago in 1947 after taking a three-year hiatus to serve in the United States Army (1943–1946), and then went on to complete his MA and PhD from Harvard University. He taught at Harvard for two years and UCLA for twelve years before arriving at Wesleyan in 1967. Meyer was a social and intellectual historian who published three books and numerous articles over a long and productive career. According to colleague Nat Greene, “He was an expert in offering a vigorous…