The new Wesleyan University Museum will provide a single secure, environmentally-controlled space to house valuable collections of art and materials. Pictured below is a cross section model of how the building will appear. The third-floor spaces will contain three gallery spaces and glass enclosed seating and study areas. Posted 12/19/05 Rick Segal '75 and Monica Mayer Segal ’78 have donated $500,000 toward the new Wesleyan University Museum, which will be built on College Row through an extensive remodeling of the historic former squash building. The new museum building, now in its final planning stages, will make an important architectural impact…

Posted 12/19/05 Professor Robert Brown, one of the founders of the Wesleyan World Music Program, died recently.   Brown was one of the first students to receive a Ph.D. in ethnomusicology from University of California Los Angeles. He was appointed assistant professor in Wesleyan’s Music Department in 1961 and joined the tenured ranks of the faculty in 1966.    Brown helped the department to grow rapidly to national and international prominence. He brought with him from UCLA a concept called "performance study group," a musical pedagogy that emphasizes the importance of direct contact between students and master musicians from around…

Posted 12/02/05 Wesleyan will reduce its budgetary reliance on endowment over the next five years as part of a strategic effort to increase the size of the endowment. At the same time, it will spend more on fund-raising activities with the expectation of substantially increasing revenues, and it will invest a higher proportion of new gifts in the endowment. According to "Engaged with the World," the strategic plan adopted by the trustees last spring: "One of our highest priorities will be to support a growing proportion of essential and predictable costs (faculty salaries, financial aid) through the endowment. Over the…

Ruth Striegel-Moore, professor and chair of psychology, is leading a binge-eating study. Posted 12/02/05 The largest, most comprehensive binge-eating study ever undertaken has been initiated in Portland, Oregon, and the primary investigator is Ruth Striegel-Moore, professor and chair of psychology. Striegel-Moore, an internationally-recognized expert on eating disorders, says the study will last four years and include male and female subjects between 18 and 50 years of age. People participating in the study who present with eating disorders will be offered treatment options. The study is being funded by National Institute of Mental Health, the National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and…

Posted 12/02/05 Spencer Berry, professor of biology Emeritus, died Nov. 19 at his home in Middlefield, Conn. at the age of 72. His career at Wesleyan spanned 35 years. Berry joined the Wesleyan faculty in 1964 and retired in 1999. He earned a bachelor’s of art in biology from Williams College with a minor in art history; a master’s of arts in biology from Wesleyan; and a Ph.D at Western Reserve University. An expert in the mechanisms of insect development, he held a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Career Development Award from 1971 to 1976 and received several research grants…

At top, fifth grader Taylor Spencer learns about the hydrogen make-up of vinegar, club soda and ammonia with Manju Hingorani, assistant professor of molecular biology and biochemistry at Spencer Elementary School Nov. 10. (Photo by Olivia Drake) Posted 11/16/05 When 18 fifth graders from the Spencer School in Middletown came home on Nov. 10 and were asked, ‘What did you do in school today?’ they had a few ready answers: “We extracted DNA from wheat germ, checked hydrogen levels in household products and stripped-away pigments from M&M candies.” Probably a little different from the responses parents had heard the day…

Dan Michaud has been appointed as the interim associate vice president for Human Resources to manage a new department including Payroll, Benefits and Human Resources. Posted 11/16/05 A recent reorganization of services has combined the Human Resources Department with the Payroll and Benefits Offices. The reorganization became effective on Wednesday, Nov. 9 and was announced by John C. Meerts, interim vice president for finance and treasurer and vice president for Information Technology Services. The intent is to create a single, one-stop office that handles compensation, benefits, personnel information, transactions and recruitment. "By merging the two areas we've created a more…