Olivia DrakeDecember 16, 20102min
Victoria Smolkin-Rothrock, comes to Wesleyan this spring as an assistant professor of history, an assistant professor of Russian and Eastern European Studies. She’ll also be a core member of the College of Social Studies. Her research investigates state efforts to manage spiritual life, as well as the significance and functions of private rituals in modern society. “There were many things that attracted me to Wesleyan, but the students, and the intellectual community more broadly, are at the top of the list,” she says. “When I visited Wesleyan, the students made a profound impression: they struck me as deeply engaged in…

Cynthia RockwellDecember 16, 20102min
David M. Gruppo ’79 has joined the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. (BTMU) as head of Latin America Corporate and Investment Banking, a newly created position. He reports to Randall Chafetz, head of corporate and investment banking for the Americas. Gruppo has spent a significant portion of his career involved in Latin American corporate and investment banking, including positions with Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Santander. During the past eight years, he has been focused on the technology sector, working in various capacities with IBM, including T J Watson Research. An economics major at Wesleyan, he earned his JD from…