Lauren Rubenstein

On Nov. 13-14 Wesleyan will host the inaugural Social Impact Summit, a gathering of alumni and parents who are passionately working for social change on a local, national and global scale. The summit is underwritten by James Shasha ’50, P’82, and organized by the Patricelli Center for Social Entrepreneurship, the Allbritton Center for the Study of Public Life, and the Office of Alumni and Parent Relations. Many alumni joke about the “Wesleyan Film Mafia” but less well-known is the “Wesleyan Social Impact Mafia,” a large web of alumni engaged in social impact work. (more…)

Breaking news: You may be a pizza-holic. Mike Robinson, professor of psychology, professor of neuroscience and behavior, was called on by CNN to comment on a new study examining which foods can be the most addictive. Topping the list: pizza, French fries, chocolate, chips, cookies, ice cream, cake, soda, bacon and cheese. Although not all foods have the potential to be addictive, "it is critical to understand which ones do," said Robinson, who was not involved in the study, told CNN. "We are all pressed for time, and food is becoming more and more available," but we need to think about…

President Michael Roth is the author of an op-ed in The Hartford Courant about the debate raging at Wesleyan over questions of race, oppression and free speech. The controversy was sparked by an op-ed written by a sophomore and published in The Wesleyan Argus in September, which raised questions critical of the Black Lives Matter movement. Many students were upset by the op-ed and called for boycotting the Argus. Roth writes: They made the important point that opinion pieces like these facilitate the ongoing marginalization of a sector of our student population; and they angrily accused the Argus of contributing to that marginalization. I'm very glad these important…

Richard Grossman, professor of economics, and Masami Imai, professor and chair of economics, professor of East Asian studies, are the authors of an op-ed published in The Guardian about House Speaker John Boehner's likely next move when he retires from Congress. The op-ed is titled "Whoever hires John Boehner post-Congress will make a terrible investment." They anticipate that, like most former members of Congress and high ranking members of the executive branch, Boehner is likely to have his pick of lucrative job offers—to become an investment banker, lobbyist or corporate adviser. "But for any of these companies, John Boehner would be…

This election cycle, those presidential candidates who use the simplest language are performing best in the polls, an analysis by The Boston Globe found. "There's no time to explain in modern politics," Elvin Lim, associate professor of government, told the Globe. On the Republican side, front-runner Donald Trump's speeches, with short, simple words and sentence, could be understood by a fourth grader, according to the Flesch-Kincaid readability test. In comparison, Mike Huckabee and Jim Gilmore, who are struggling in the polls, communicate with voters at a 10th grade level. On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton's speeches are "just right for eighth graders," while Bernie Sanders…

Wesleyan employees are once again being encouraged to participate in the annual Middlesex United Way campaign. The university's goal this year is to raise $120,000 in donations and 50 percent participation. For the first time this year, all donations can be made online through employees' portfolios. The campaign is being co-chaired by Gloster Aaron, associate professor of biology, associate professor of neuroscience and behavior, and Joyce Jacobsen, provost and vice president for Academic Affairs, Andrews Professor of Economics. (more…)

NPR's "Hidden Brain" program took a look at the science of compassion in a program featuring Professor of Psychology Scott Plous and the "Day of Compassion" exercise that he leads in his social psychology courses at Wesleyan and in his Social Psychology MOOC on Coursera. "Scott radiates kindness," said host and science correspondent Shankar Vedantam in introducing Plous. More than 250,000 students from around the world signed up for the first run of Plous' MOOC. The course capstone was the Day of Compassion exercise in which "students had to spend one day being deliberately kind and generous toward others. Scott asked them to notice how these actions…

Feminist, Gender and Sexuality Studies will host its annual symposium on Nov. 6. This year’s topic is “Mass Incarceration: Feminists Respond.” The event is free and open to the public. "As Angela Davis has written, state punishment is not marginal, but central, to feminist concerns," said Victoria Pitts-Taylor, professor and chair of Feminist, Gender and Sexuality Studies, of the program's theme. "To begin with, the number of incarcerated women has been growing rapidly, with over one million women in the U.S. in jail, prison, on probation or on parole, and with black women the fastest growing group of those imprisoned.…

Associate Professor of Economics Abigail Hornstein presented a paper at the 2015 American Financial Management Association Meeting, held in Orlando, Fla. Oct. 14–17. Hornstein's research paper, titled "Board Overlaps in Mutual Fund Families," is co-authored with Elif Sisli Ciamarra of Brandeis University. Hornstein also was a discussant on a paper titled "Mutual fund home bias and market uncertainty" by Nicole Choi of the University of Wyoming and Hilla Skiba of Colorado State University.

Professor of Economics Richard Grossman provided an "expert view" on the question "Will Japan's economy rebound under Abenomics and resume its growth?" in an issue of SAGE Business Researcher on "Doing Business With Japan." Japan's economy has performed poorly during the past two decades, and many wonder if it will ever "recover its former glory." Grossman took the affirmative view, arguing "there is good reason to believe that Japan will emerge from its funk and achieve growth rates similar to those of its counterparts in the developed world." He writes that the prospects for success depend on the effectiveness of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's…

On Oct. 3, Joseph Siry, the Kenan Professor of the Humanities, professor of art history, received the Wright Spirit Award in the Professional category from the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy at its annual conference this year in Milwaukee, Wis. A prolific scholar of the venerable architect, Siry has written several books and scholarly articles about Wright. He also has contributed to the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy in many ways over the years, as a lecturer, panelist and contributor to the group's magazine. A citation read at the ceremony by Scott Perkins, a conservancy board member and director of preservation for…

In this issue of News @ Wesleyan, we speak to Joan Ecklund, registered nurse and nursing coordinator in Health Services. Q: Joan, how long have you worked in Wesleyan’s Health Services? How has your role here changed over the years? A: I am celebrating 30 years at Wesleyan this month. I started out in a temporary position and slowly started to work more hours through the years. I am currently the Nursing Clinical Coordinator in Health Services. I work to keep the daily operations flowing smoothly as well as working with students to assist with their health care needs. Q: Did you…

Patricelli Center to Host Social Impact Summit, Nov. 13-14

Robinson Tells CNN About Addictive Foods

Michael Roth Writes About Argus Controversy in Hartford Courant

Grossman, Imai Write About Boehner’s Next Move

Elvin Lim Talks to Globe About Presidential Candidate Rhetoric

Wesleyan Seeks to Raise $120K for Middlesex United Way

Plous and the Science of Compassion Featured on NPR

“Mass Incarceration: Feminists Respond” Focus of FGSS Symposium Nov. 6

Hornstein Presents at American Financial Management Association Meeting

Grossman Has Optimistic Outlook for “Abenomics”

Siry Honored by Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy

Registered Nurse Joan Ecklund Wins Louise Gazzara Award