Olivia DrakeHilary Barth, assistant professor of psychology, studies cognitive development. Posted 10/18/05 Hilary Barth has joined the Psychology Department as an assistant professor. Barth received her bachelors degree from Bryn Mawr College in psychology, concentrating in neural and behavioral sciences in 1996. She received her Ph.D from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in cognitive neuroscience in 2002. Her research involved behavioral and brain imaging studies of numerical cognition - the study of how humans think about numbers and quantities. She currently studies cognitive development, specifically the development of number and quantity understanding. Even before they receive formal math training in…
Professor Dianna Wall of Colorado State University speaks with Lori Gruen, associate professor of philosophy and co-chair and associate professor of feminism, gender and sexuality studies during the 2005 Robert Schumann Environmental Studies Symposium held Oct. 8.Below, Professor Barry Chernoff, the Robert Schumann Professor of Environmental Studies, professor of biology, professor of earth and environmental sciences, and director of the Environmental Studies Certificate program speaks with the symposium's attendees. Chernoff organized the day-long symposium. Posted 10/18/05 Where on Earth are We Going? II was the topic of the 2005 Robert Schumann Environmental Studies Symposium held Oct. 8. in Exley Science…
Long Lane Farming Club member Rachel Ostlund 08 will welcome the community to the clubs annual Pumpkin Fest Oct. 29. At left, a flower garden still blooms at the farm, located south of Physical Plant and Wesleyan University Press. Posted 10/18/05 Wesleyans Long Lane Farming Club will hold its second annual Pumpkin Fest from 2 to 7 p.m. Saturday Oct. 29 and people from the campus and the local community are welcome to attend. But while the freshly-grown pumpkins available the fest will be locally-grown, they wont be a product of the students land. We had some problems this year…
Habitat for Humanity recipient Titeana McNeil, 11, plays with a caulk gun while Habitat volunteers Ted Paquette and Manny Cunard, site supervisor and director of Auxiliary Operations and Campus Services work on the family's new kitchen. Below, mother Jennifer McNeil and her children, Jamarea, 3; Tyquan, 14; Titeana, 11; and Taquana, 15 stop by their future home to check the progress on Oct. 13. (Photos by Olivia Drake) Posted 10/18/05 Jennifer McNeil had no idea that watching television would one day help her own a home. But, thanks to that and a partnership between Wesleyan University and Northern Middlesex Habitat for…
Francisco Rodriguez, assistant professor of economics and Latin American Studies is still getting settled into his new office. (Photo by Bill Burkhart) Posted 10/01/05 Francisco Rodriguez has joined the Economics Department and Latin American Studies Department as an assistant professor. He accepted the position because of the intellectual freedom and environment of a liberal arts institution, as well as the high quality and openness of both the Economics and Latin American Studies departments, he says. Rodriguezs research examines economic growth in developing countries and the interaction between inequality, distributive conflict and economic performance. Hell be teaching classes on international…
Cliff Ashton, director of Physical Plant, oversees 75 full-time employees and 50 contract employees from the department's new home on Long Lane. Posted 10/01/05 Q: Cliff, when did you become the new director of Physical Plant and what do you think of it so far?A: I came to Wesleyan in the middle of June 2005. The people here have been so nice and helpful getting me acclimated to the place. I look forward to a long career here.Q: What are your responsibilities?A: I'm responsible for overall operations and maintenance of the "physical plant" in other words most of the…
Posted 10/01/05 First-year chemistry students will have the opportunity to spend some time with a Nobel Laureate at Wesleyan. Sir Harry Kroto, professor of chemistry at Florida State University, will lecture to chemistry classes at 9 a.m. Oct. 31 in room 84 of Hall-Atwater. Kroto shared the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1996 for discovering C60, a new form of carbon. In addition, Kroto will present a chemistry symposium titled Architecture in Nanospace, at 4 p.m. Oct. 31, also in HA 84, or Exley Science Center 150 if attendance requires it. This symposium will be open to the public. Formerly…
Posted 10/01/05 The September, 2005 issue of Perspectives, the monthly publication of the American Historical Association, included a study of history Ph.D.s earned between 1989 and 2002 and showed that the leader in the field was in fact Wesleyan University - even though Wesleyan doesnt have a Ph.D. program in history. Though the results may sound incongruous at first, the data is actually quite solid. The studys author, Robert Townsend, found that a higher percentage of Wesleyan students who earned bachelors degrees during the surveyed period went on to earn Ph.D.s in history than undergraduates from any other institution in…
Olin Library's new Information Commons features a library reference desk, an Information Technology Services desk and a SARN information and referral desk. Posted 10/01/05 A new information lab in Olin Memorial Library has merged three services into one. Information Commons provides library reference, information technology and access to the Student Academic Resources Network (SARN). The facility is located in the Campbell Reference Center on the first floor of the library. Students are relying on the Internet more and more to get information, but theres still a demand for the librarys material, reference services and workspace, says Dale Lee, information service…
At top, Mark Flory, assistant professor of molecular biology and biochemistry, lectures to a group during the Sixth Annual Biophysics Retreat for the Molecular Biophysics Program Sept. 15. At left, Maggie Chen, a Ph.D candidate in the Department of Chemistry explains her research titled Site-Resolved Dynamics and Energetics of a Ribosomal RNA during the Fall Retreat Poster Session, part of the biophysics program. Posted 10/01/05 The Sixth Annual Biophysics Retreat was held at the Wadsworth Mansion in Middletown on Sept. 15. Organized by David Beveridge, professor of chemistry, Manju Hingorami, assistant professor of molecular biology and Ishita Mikerji, associate professor…
Imam Mahan Mirza, University Muslim Chaplain leads Quran Study Circles, and Islam Hour and sermons with Wesleyan's Muslim community. Posted 10/01/05 Q: Mahan, when were you hired to be the new Muslim chaplain at Wesleyan?A: I was officially hired as of August 29, 2005.Q: Where did you grow up and when did you move to America?A: I grew up as the son of a fighter pilot in the Pakistan Air Force. My parents came from India into Pakistan when the country was divided in 1947. My grandparents are from various different parts of India. My first spoken language was…
Fran Koerting, director of Residential Life, enjoys working with students. Posted 10/01/05 After working in a variety of roles in higher-education, Fran Koerting has found her niche. I love working directly with the students, says Koerting, director of Residential Life. I want to help make their Wesleyan experience a positive one. Koerting spent the past eight years working as the director of Residential Life at Fairfield University. She came to Wesleyan in July. Koerting holds bachelors degrees in psychology and biology from the University of Rhode Island and a masters in college student personnel from Bowling Green State University.…