Olivia DrakeNovember 30, 20092min
Ronald Ebrecht, university organist, created a festival featuring modern works for organ and percussion. He was joined by Wesleyan organ students and faculty in four concerts, "Hearts Pounding and Skins Taut" Oct. 25 to 31.  He then performed his solo and ensemble pieces during a third concert trip to Minsk, Belarus. A guest of the Belarus National Philharmonic Society and the Belarusian State Academy of Music, Ebrecht gave a lecture/demonstation of modern composition at the conservatory Nov. 4. In concert on Nov. 5 at Philharmonic Hall, he performed as soloist in the Poulenc Concerto in addition to the modern works, including…

Olivia DrakeNovember 30, 20092min
The American Literary Translators Association (ALTA) has presented the 2009 National Translation Award to Norman Shapiro, professor of romance languages and literatures,  for French Women Poets of Nine Centuries: The Distaff and the Pen (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008). The prize was announced on Nov. 12 at the organization's annual conference in Pasadena, Calif. Shapiro has been one of the foremost translators of French literature for almost four decades. Also a writer-in-residence at Adams House, Harvard University, he has translated numerous works of fiction, theater, and poetry, including Four Farces by Georges Feydeau, which was nominated for the National Book Award for…

Olivia DrakeNovember 30, 20095min
Q: Dena, you recently celebrated your first-year anniversary working as a publication production manager in the Office of University Communications. Do you oversee all publications produced for campus-use? A: Not all, but I manage hundreds of projects- booklets, posters, direct mail pieces, banners, postcards and more- that are intended for Wesleyan communities on-campus and off. Q: Please cite a few examples of publications that you have helped manage recently. A: The Wesleyan Annual Fund’s compelling direct mailer, the freshly redesigned packet mailed to newly admitted students, and the simply elegant Homecoming and Family Weekend booklet are terrific examples. Each uniquely…

Olivia DrakeNovember 30, 20096min
Q: Sandy, you are a 2006 alumna and now an assistant director of alumni relations. What did you major in, and why did you decide to stay at Wes after you finished your degree? A: I majored in psychology and loved it. I took as many psych courses as I could and 'overenrolled,' which I didn’t even know was possible. I had a particular interest in cognitive and developmental psych. I loved my four years at Wesleyan and spent two summers working on campus as an undergrad. When it came time to look for a job my senior year, it…

Olivia DrakeNovember 30, 20091min
John Bonin, the Chester D. Hubbard Professor of Economics and Social Science, tutor in the College of Social Studies, delivered the keynote address titled "From Reputation Amidst Uncertainty to Commitment Under Stress: A Decade of Foreign-Owned Banking in Transitioning Economies" at the conference 20 Years of Transition in Central and Eastern Europe: Money, Banking and Financial Markets at London Metropolitan University sponsored by the Center for International Capital Markets at London Metropolitan Business School on Sept. 18.

Olivia DrakeNovember 30, 20091min
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.  The first review is of Malcolm Cook's  “ Banking  in Southeast Asia: The Region’s Decisive Decade,” Pacific Affairs, Vol. 83, No. 3 (Fall) 2009, pp. 555 – 557. The other review is of Janos Kornai's “From Socialism to Capitalism: Eight Essays,” Journal of Economic Literature, Vol. XLVII, No. 3 (September) 2009, pp. 853 – 856. The journal is published by the American Economics Association.

Olivia DrakeNovember 30, 20092min
Ernest Heau P’12 and his son, Noah Heau ’12, are the authors of a  novel-length fantasy adventure for young teens called The Lost Rubies of Fennwann. Ernest and Noah wrote the book together while Noah was in middle and high school. The father and son self-published the 268-page book through iUniverse, Inc. in 2009. According to the website, "Co-authors Ernest and Noah Heau are father and son. Their story-telling career began when Noah was 4, when they made up stories on the spot. Over the years they created many hand-written and hand-illustrated stories. The Lost Rubies of Fennwann is their…

Olivia DrakeNovember 30, 20091min
Norm Shapiro, professor of romance languages and literatures, is the author and translator of the book Labiche & Co: Fourteen One-Acts by a French Comic Master, published by Performing Books. The book will be released in December 2009. Among the plays included are Bosom Friends, The Brat, A Bee or Not a Bee, It's All Relative, The Unshakeable Suitor, A Nest-Egg Well Scrambled, and A Slap in the Farce, which is currently being performed at Harvard University. In addition, Yale University Press has accepted Shapiro's recent collection of translations from the poetry of French Romantic poet Théophile Gautier to appear in…

Olivia DrakeNovember 30, 20091min
Wesleyan University Press received a $50,000 grant from the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, to support publication of five books in 2010, as part of a new series. The grant includes fuding for four distinct types of poetry book, including second books and translations, and for a book in any genre by a Connecticut author. Together the books will be known as the “The Driftless Series.” Driftless books for 2010 will include: Exposition Park by Roberto Tejada, Rococo and Other Worlds by Afzal Ahmed Syed, translated by Musharraf Farooqi, Elegguas by Kamau Brathwaite, A Spicing of Birds: Poems by Emily Dickinson,…