Olivia DrakeDana Royer, assistant professor of earth and environmental sciences, was quoted in a Dec. 30, 2009 issue of Nature News in an article titled "Soils give clean look at past carbon dioxide." According to the article, scientists believe atmospheric carbon dioxide levels may have been lower in warm eras of the Earth's distant past than once believed. The finding raises concern that carbon dioxide levels from fossil fuel burning may, in the near future, be closer to those associated with ancient hothouse climates. More immediately, the work brings one line of palaeoclimate evidence — that deduced from ancient soils —…
The Institute for Human Centered Design in Boston, Mass. included Wesleyan's Memorial Chapel, Zelnick Pavilion, Patricelli '92 Theater complex in their Universal Design Case Studies collection. The Institute for Human Centered Design (IHCD) is an international educational non-profit organization committed to advancing the role of design in expanding opportunity and enhancing experience for people of all ages and abilities. The institute recognized how Wesleyan rejuvenated its historic core campus by providing new centers for community and student life. The total cost of the project was $23 million and it was completed in 2006. Wesleyan's design contractor, Robert Olson + Associates,…
Oil paintings by Tula Telfair, professor of art, will be on display at the Florence Griswold Museum April 24 through June 27. Telfair's exhibit is titled "Landscapes in Counterpoint." The Griswold Museum is located at 96 Lyme Street in Old Lyme, Conn. The exhibition pairs nine new monumental paintings by the artist with her selection of 19th and early 20th-century paintings from the museum's collection. Telfair's choices, which include works by Thomas Cole and Frederic E. Church, establish the visual foundation for, as well as a counterpoint to, her own large-scale landscapes-paintings that are informed by both tradition and imagination.…
The Green Street Arts Center celebrates its fifth-year anniversary with an auction, entertainment and world cuisine. During Green Street's "A Feast for the Senses," participants will enjoy live performances, international foods, scrumptious desserts and a silent auction and raffle on 6 to 9 p.m. Feb. 18. An online auction runs from Jan. 15 to Feb. 15. "'A Feast for the Senses' promises to showcase Green Street's unique kaleidoscope of offerings with live performances and interactive salsa workshops (bring your dancing shoes), while enjoying a delicious meal," says Jessica Carso, GSAC managing director. "Wonderful items and experiences are arriving for our silent…
The Green Street Arts Center received an award for $5,000 from Bank of America on Jan. 4. The one-year grant will fund Green Street's Afterschool Program.
John Bonin, the Chester D. Hubbard Professor of Economics and Social Science, tutor in the College of Social Studies, is the author of two book reviews: Malcolm Cook's Banking in Southeast Asia: The Region’s Decisive Decade, published in Pacific Affairs, Vol. 83, No. 3 in fall 2009, pp. 555 – 557; and Janos Kornai's From Socialism to Capitalism: Eight Essays, published in The Journal of Economic Literature, Vol. XLVII, No. 3 in September 2009, pp. 853 – 856. The latter is the main journal for such reviews in the profession and is published by the American Economic Association.
When college students Chris and Robby woke up outside after their 21st birthday bash, they assumed their night included dancing, girls and a fist fight. But a friend later confirms the intoxicated duo spent the entire party outside lying on top of their cars. "What were we even doing out there, man," Chris asks a hung-over Robby. The characters "Chris" and "Robby," played by Christopher Correa '10 and Robby Hardesty '11 are two of four main characters in the new FutureHouse Pictures Enrolled web series. To date, the FutureHouse Pictures staff has created two episodes, screened exclusively through YouTube. Correa…
In some models of origins of life, hot springs are considered to be one of the first environments inhabited by life. During the 2010-11 academic year, biology BA/MA student Jane Wiedenbeck '10 will use a NASA-funded Graduate Fellowship to study the evolution of certain microorganisms to discern how life may have originated and evolved under extreme conditions. Wiedenbeck, who applied for the fellowship during the fall 2009 semester, received a $20,000 award from the Connecticut Space Grant College Consortium. The Consortium is a member of the NASA-funded national Space Grant College and Fellowship Program, and serves to promote and support…
Lydia Tomkiw ’11 began studying la langue française in kindergarten, and as a College of Letters major, she was required to study abroad for one semester. Little did she know that that her first week in Paris would result in a discussion on the American political landscape in French. "During my first week, when I was still adjusting to everything, my camera battery broke. I had never been taught the vocabulary for battery and charger. I looked those words up and found a store. I walked in and felt a little nervous. But I was able to tell the shop…
Wesleyan's non-commercial college and community radio station, 88.1FM WESU, calls on listeners to give the gift of WESU this holiday season during The Fifth Annual WESU Holiday Pledge Drive. The goal for this year’s drive is to raise $25,000 in listener support to sustain operating expenses throughout the coming year. As Wesleyan struggles to close a budget gap this fiscal year, WESU faces more pressure than ever to become a self- sustaining community service. To date, the station has raised $13,000. “To be able to keep pace with the revenue we in raised past years pledge drives in this tough…
Q: Alec, when were you hired as Wesleyan's music librarian? A: I came in the summer of 1998 to interview for the position, and started work that Fall semester. Q: Do most universities have a music librarian? Like other librarians, are you involved in cataloging, organizing, acquisitions and assisting patrons? A: Large universities with separate schools of music often have a branch music library with one or more librarians staffing it. Institutions of Wesleyan’s size vary somewhat, usually according to the relative importance of the music department within the school. In our case, with graduate programs in composition and ethnomusicology,…