Olivia DrakeOctober 13, 20101min
The Department of Physics welcomes Christina Othon as an assistant professor. This semester, Othon is teaching a graduate level course called Advanced Topics in Condensed Matter. It is an introductory soft condensed matter physics course that encompasses the physical, mechanical and thermodynamic properties of liquids, colloids, polymers and biological systems. She’s also teaching an upper-level undergraduate laboratory called Experimental Optics, where students learn about the propagation of light, diffraction and polarization. In her own research, Othon uses ultrafast fluorescence spectroscopy to investigate changes in protein-solvent interactions during protein structural transitions. She has also investigated the modificatio (more…)

Olivia DrakeOctober 13, 20102min
The Department of Economics welcomes William “Bill” Craighead, assistant professor. Craighead is an expert on international economics, open-economy macroeconomics and economic history. “I’m currently researching how exchange rate policy affects employment in different sectors of the economy,” he says. In addition to his research, he is teaching an upper-level elective, International Trade, and a core course called Macroeconomic Analysis. "This is a particularly exciting time to be studying macroeconomics," he says. "While the economic slump has unfortunately brought a great deal of hardship to many people, it has raised a number of issues that I can discuss with the students…

Olivia DrakeOctober 13, 20102min
Gale Lackey, in her 33rd year of coaching at Wesleyan, and her 26th season at the helm of the women's volleyball Cardinals, will be inducted into the Connecticut Women's Volleyball Hall of Fame during its 13th annual induction ceremony Tuesday, Nov. 23. The ceremony will take place at the Aqua Turf Country Club in Southington, Conn.  In total, six individuals will be enshrined this year, bringing the total in the CWVHOF up to 80. Coach Lackey will become one of only six who are inducted as college coaches.  Others this year are being added to the Hall of Fame in the…

Olivia DrakeOctober 13, 20101min
The Wesleyan Freeman Asian Scholars Program enables qualified young men and women from each of 11 countries or regions - The People's Republic of China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam to come to Wesleyan on full tuition scholarships. This program is made possible by Wesleyan University and the Freeman Foundation, which aims to improve understanding and to strengthen ties between the United States and the countries of the Pacific Rim. Entry into the Wesleyan Freeman Asian Scholars Program is highly competitive: only one student will be selected annually from each country. Below…

Olivia DrakeOctober 13, 20102min
Clara Silverstein '82 is the author of A White House Garden Cookbook published by Red Rock Press, 2010. When Michelle Obama decided to turn a chunk of White House lawn into a vegetable patch, she was cheered by parents who want their kids to eat better and Americans who want to have a hand in growing their own food. This book chronicles the first year of this famous garden, with its many dozens of vegetables and herbs, including descendants of seeds planted by Thomas Jefferson; its berries and the honey from the hives of First Family bees. Filled with ideas…

Olivia DrakeOctober 13, 20101min
Tasmiha Khan '12 made a poster presentation on her research during the Inspiring Women Scientists conference Sept. 24 at the City University of New York’s Graduate Center. She represented Wesleyan, while presenting her research "Responses to Devaluation among American-Muslims,” co-created by Patricia Rodriguez Mosquera, assistant professor of psychology. Khan focuses her research on ethnic minorities/feminine honor. Mariah Schug, visiting assistant professor of psychology, accompanied Khan at the conference. Sandy Durosier ’13, Adela Ramirez ‘13 and Mariah Schug, visiting assistant professor of psychology, also attended the conference.

Olivia DrakeOctober 13, 20102min
Sarah Wiliarty, assistant professor of government, tutor in the College of Social Studies, is the author of  The CDU and the Politics of Gender in Germany: Bringing Women to the Party, published by Cambridge University Press, September 2010. This book develops the concept of the corporatist catch-all party to explain how the German Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has responded to changing demands from women over the past 40 years. Otto Kirchheimer's classic study argues that when catch-all parties reach out to new constituencies, they are forced to decrease the involvement of membership to facilitate doctrinal flexibility. In a corporatist catch-all party,…