Kate CarlisleJuly 1, 20133min
Admissions reports that the class of 2017 is nearly fully formed, the final offers have been made and Wesleyan will welcome a class of around 750 frosh in September. The class is more international than in previous years, with 101, or 13 percent of its students coming from outside the United States. These students are extremely well prepared academically for college and an open curriculum: more of its members took calculus, at least four years of a foreign language and biology, chemistry and physics in high school than the previous admitted class. “We’re pretty excited about this, and have a…

Kate CarlisleJuly 1, 20133min
With the U.S. Capitol glowing to the east, the White House 10 blocks west and Pennsylvania Avenue buzzing eight stories below, a crowd of more than 160 Wesleyan alumni, parents and friends gathered June 19 to “Talk Politics” with three high-profile Wes alums. The event, a fundraiser for financial aid and the annual Brown Lecture, featured a lively discussion among Colo. Gov. John Hickenlooper ’74, Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin ’79 and U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet ’87, who all credited Wesleyan’s interdisciplinary programs and spirit of inquiry for their political success. “If you were to ask any of the people I…

Kate CarlisleMay 26, 20133min
If you’ve ever spent an evening looking up old flames on Facebook, shopping online and watching questionable YouTube videos, you may have wished there were a way to preserve your anonymity on the World Wide Web. It turns out there is a way; and a Wesleyan senior’s capstone work explored how to make that way faster and better. Julian Applebaum ’13, a computer science major, spent the year working on a simulation of Tor, a global network run by volunteers, that allows internet users to remain anonymous. There is one problem: Tor is painfully slow. His work attempts to simulate…

Kate CarlisleMay 26, 20133min
Record-busting gifts from the classes of 1973 and 1963 pushed the combined reunion gift total to more than $47 million, as alumni refused to let cold rain and umbrella-threatening winds dampen their generosity. The class of 1973 with more than $15 million and the 50th Reunion class with more than $10 million led the way as gifts and pledges from all increased the total raised in Wesleyan’s campaign to more than $298 million, according to Vice President for University Relations Barbara-Jan Wilson. The campaign has so far raised $107 million in endowment for financial aid, which is the university’s main…

Kate CarlisleMay 26, 20133min
She doesn’t always develop scholarly work inspired by concrete and rebar, but when she does, Zöe Mueller ’13 credits her Wesleyan experience with making it happen. A University Honors recipient and author of a 300-plus page thesis that marries urban design, anthropology, sociology and architectural history, Mueller studied abroad in Brazil and worked in Detroit and Cleveland on a Paoletti Travel Research Grant. These experiences framed her work, which explores American communities riven apart by the interstate highway system in the 1950s. “It got started when I was studying abroad. My host family in Brazil lived above an elevated highway,…

Kate CarlisleMay 13, 20133min
Sharon Belden Castonguay will become director of the Wesleyan Career Center in late May. An expert in career development and strategic planning, Castonguay comes to Wesleyan from Baruch College where she was director of the Graduate Career Management Center for the Zicklin School of Business. Previously, she was an independent career consultant and worked at Harvard University’s Office of Career Services. A 1993 graduate of Smith College, Castonguay  earned her MA in education from the University of Michigan and her Ed.D. in human development and psychology from Harvard.   Q: What’s the biggest priority for the Career Center, in terms of strategy…

Kate CarlisleMay 13, 20132min
Henry Howell ’03 is bicycling to his 10th Reunion. He lives in London. So, a long trip. Luckily the transatlantic portion of the roughly 3,300 mile journey will last only about eight hours, via airplane. Howell, an investment banker who has taken up bicycling in a big way, will finish the trip – about 75 miles – on two wheels, from his family home in Pound Ridge,  N.Y. “Reunion will be even more memorable heading up to Wes by bike,” Howell said. “I’m already looking forward to it.” He won’t be the first alumnus to bike to Wes for Reunion.…

Kate CarlisleApril 2, 20133min
At a March 1 Board of Trustees dinner kicking off the public phase of Wesleyan’s campaign, President Michael S. Roth celebrated the substantial success of the effort so far: more than $285 million raised toward the goal of $400 million, with support of financial aid as the top campaign goal. The funds raised will also go to the endowment to support teaching, research and student engagement. Roth said the generous early support of the campaign reflected alumni commitment to ensuring access to Wesleyan for generations of students. A video of Roth’s remarks is available on the new campaign website, http://thisiswhy.wesleyan.edu, a…

Kate CarlisleApril 1, 20131min
David Nelson, artist in residence at Wesleyan and accomplished musician specializing in Indian music, has been honored with the title of Kala Seva Mani by a prestigious music festival. The Cleveland Aradhana, said to be the largest annual Carnatic music festival outside India, bestowed the title on Nelson during the festival March 27-April 7. The Aradhana describes the title on its web site: "The title of Kala Seva Mani is bestowed upon individuals who have made a lasting contribution to the Carnatic arts through their propagation and demonstration in the United States and Canada." Nelson, who has performed internationally and…

Kate CarlisleApril 1, 20132min
“Being called a salesperson is not a perjorative term,” said Stephen McCarthy ’75. McCarthy, senior vice president of KCG Capital Advisors and co-founder of Wesleyan Alumni in Philanthropy and Public Service, led 10 students in a “Social Entrepreneurship Boot Camp” March 28 at the Patricelli Center. The session on “business plan essentials” covered what it takes to sell an idea, get funding and launch a project. McCarthy stressed the importance of knowing your audience when pitching ideas, leveraging funding to attract new investors, lining up advisors and measuring success. He also sampled and critiqued proposals he is currently reviewing for…