All News – Page 209

Wesleyan University has announced the distinguished members of its inaugural Hamilton Prize Selection Committee. The all-star committee, made up of Wesleyan alumni, will choose the first-ever recipient of the university’s newly established Wesleyan University Hamilton Prize for Creativity—a four-year full-tuition scholarship that will be awarded to the incoming Wesleyan student of the Class of 2021 whose creative written work is judged to best reflect the originality, artistry and dynamism embodied in Hamilton: An American Musical. (more…)

Christina Othon, assistant professor of physics, assistant professor of integrative sciences, met with students enrolled in the Green Street Teaching and Learning Center's Discovery AfterSchool Program on Dec. 1. Othon and Wesleyan students Danielle Levinson '19, Alexis Braunrot '18 and and graduate student Stefan Kramel taught the AfterSchool attendees about physics through hands-on activities. GSTLC s a community-based studio that develops, applies, and disseminates best practices in experiential teaching and learning which enhance Wesleyan and the greater community. The Discovery AfterSchool Programs offers a range of classes in the arts, sciences and math for children in Grades 1- 5. The objective for the day…

The Worlds of Dance Concert, held Dec. 4 at Crowell Concert Hall, featured the works of five different dance courses in their semester-end culminating performance. Beginning and intermediate dance students performed works in various styles including Bharata Natyam (South Indian classical dance). The classes were taught by Pedro Alejandro, associate professor of dance; Susan Lourie, adjunct professor of dance; Hari Krishnan, associate professor of dance; and Katja Kolcio, associate professor of dance. (Photos by Rebecca Goldfarb Terry '19) (more…)

The Center for the Arts hosted a West African Drumming and Dance Concert Dec. 2 at Crowell Concert Hall. The performance featured master drummer Emmanuel Attah Poku; choreographer and artist-in-residence Iddi Saaka; and more than 90 Wesleyan students. In addition, the Kiniwe African Dance Ensemble from Tufts University also performed at the concert. The event showcased the vibrancy of West African cultures through their music and dance forms. (Photos by Will Barr '18) (more…)

On Dec. 8, Wesleyan will hold Wesleyan Thinks Big, a biannual TED-talk style event featuring Wesleyan faculty and administrators giving 10-minute speeches on an experience, a personal passion, an existential question or another topic of their choosing. The event will take place at 5 p.m. in Memorial Chapel. This year’s event is being coordinated by Catherine Wulff ’18, with help from Rachel Godfrey ’19 and Kaiyana Cervera ’19. “Wesleyan Thinks Big is a way to bring the community together outside of the classroom, by shedding light on the strength of personal testimony and human connection,” said Wulff. “Our main goal is…

Former Wesleyan volleyball standout Lisa Drennan '09 was recently inducted into the Connecticut Women's Volleyball Hall of Fame for her decorated collegiate career. The dinner ceremony took place Nov. 24 at the Aqua Turf in Southington, Conn. Drennan was a four-year member of the Cardinals from 2005-to-2008, and helped guide Wesleyan to a 73-36 (.670) overall record and 24-16 (.600) NESCAC mark during that period, which included four straight conference tournament appearances. Former Wesleyan head coach Gale Lackey said, "When your best player is also the hardest worker on the team, the team is lifted and good things happen. That…

Return to the Tea-Horse Road, an exhibition by acclaimed National Geographic Magazine photographer Michael Yamashita '71, will be featured in the Sony U Space in Beijing, from Dec. 6, 2016, to Jan. 8, 2017. Drawn from a series of photographs created for a 2010 National Geographic article, "Tea Horse Road," Yamashita traces the legendary trail of grand vistas, where both Chinese tea and Tibetan horses were traded. His photographs offer cultural highlights rendered with intimacy—equestrian festivals revealing pageantry and brightly-colored flags, travelers sipping tea by yak-butter candlelight, men squatting to gather worms for herbal healers—as well vast landscapes of distant mountains…

A new university bookstore will open in late spring on Main Street in Middletown and will be operated by RJ Julia Booksellers, the nationally known independent bookstore in Madison, Conn. The new bookstore will be located at 413 Main Street, near the intersection of Washington Street, and is expected to contribute significantly to Middletown’s thriving downtown. Popular restaurants, Kidcity Children’s Museum, and retail outlets are nearby. The 12,000-square-foot space will be renovated with an open concourse design. Work will begin in December and the opening is planned for late spring of 2017. “We’re committed to strengthening the ties between campus…

On Giving Tuesday, Nov. 29, members of the Wesleyan community joined together to support Wesleyan students. This was Wesleyan’s fourth year participating in the global campaign, which encourages people to support their favorite organizations during the holiday season. This year, Wesleyan’s Giving Tuesday goal was 3,000 gifts received between Nov.1 and Nov. 29. By the end of the day on Giving Tuesday, Wesleyan had received a total of 3,674 gifts. “Our sincere thanks to everyone who gave in support of students this year, including the Frank-Kim Family—John Frank '78, P'12, Diann Kim P'12, and Peter Frank '12—who generously inspired others to…

In its most recent meeting, the Board of Trustees conferred tenure on four faculty members including Tiphanie Yanique, associate professor of English; Jay Hoggard, professor of music; Ron Kuivila, professor of music; and Sumarsam, professor of music. Sumarsam also was appointed to the Winslow-Kaplan Professorship of Music. The appointments will be effective on Jan. 1, 2017. "Please join us in congratulating them on their impressive records of accomplishment," said Joyce Jacobsen, provost and vice president for academic affairs. Tiphanie Yanique is a widely published and highly regarded fiction writer, essayist and poet. She is the author of two novels, one children’s…

William Wistar "Wis" Comfort II, the Edward Burr Van Vleck Professor of Mathematics, Emeritus, died Nov. 28 at the age of 83. Comfort received his BA from Haverford College, and an MSc and PhD from the University of Washington (Seattle) and was an expert on point-set topology, ultrafilters, set theory and topological groups. He joined the Wesleyan faculty in 1967 after teaching at Harvard, University of Rochester and University of Massachusetts (Amherst). Comfort taught in the mathematics department for 40 years until his retirement in 2007, where he supervised 17 PhD theses and three MA theses. He was a key…

In May 2010, the Board of Trustees adopted Wesleyan 2020 as a tool for strategic decision making at Wesleyan. Reflecting the input of faculty, trustees, staff, alumni and students, and designed to be flexible, this framework for planning has assisted the University in making decisions about the allocation of resources since that time. Wesleyan President Michael S. Roth has provided an update, Beyond 2020: Strategies for Wesleyan, organized under the rubric of Wesleyan’s three overarching goals: to energize Wesleyan’s distinctive educational experience; to enhance recognition of Wesleyan as an extraordinary institution; and to work within a sustainable economic model while…

Wesleyan Announces All-Star Hamilton Prize Selection Committee

Local Children Learn about Physics from Wesleyan Faculty, Students

5 Classes Perform at Worlds of Dance Concert

More than 90 Students Perform in West African Drumming and Dance Concert

Wesleyan Thinks Big Dec. 8

Drennan ’09 Inducted into Connecticut Volleyball Hall of Fame

Photographs by National Geographic Photographer Yamashita ’71 on Exhibit in Beijing

Wesleyan to Open Bookstore on Middletown’s Main Street

Wesleyan Exceeds Giving Tuesday Goal

Board of Trustees Confers Tenure on 4 Faculty

Comfort Remembered for Teaching Mathematics 40 Years at Wesleyan

President Roth Presents Beyond 2020: Strategies for Wesleyan