Olivia Drake(more…)
Ania Loomba, Catherine Bryson Professor of English, University of Pennsylvania, spoke on "Four Lives, feminism, nationalism and communism in India," during the 23rd Annual Diane Weiss '80 Memorial Lecture in the Allbritton Center for the Study of Public Life. Photos of Loomba's talk are below: (Photos by Stefan Weinberger '10) (more…)
Q: Michelle, when did you come to Wesleyan? A: I arrived on campus in August, 2007 to work as a development officer in University Relations. Q: What department are you part of? A: Major gifts. We solicit financial gifts of $100,000 and higher. Q: How many alumni do you generally work with? A: Around 225 alumni and parents. For the most part, we do maintain relationships with the same individuals. Q: How do you encourage alumni to support Wesleyan during these economically difficult times? A: I think last year was more of a challenge than this year appears to be.…
Melanye Price, adjunct associate professor of government, coordinator of internships, is the author of the book Dreaming Blackness: Black Nationalism and African American Public Opinion, published by New York University Press in 2009. In Dreaming Blackness, Price explores the current understandings of Black Nationalism among African Americans, providing a balanced and critical view of today’s black political agenda. She argues that Black Nationalism continues to enjoy moderate levels of support by most black citizens but has a more difficult time gaining a larger stronghold because of increasing diversity among blacks and a growing emphasis on individualism over collective struggle. She…
James McGuire, professor of government, professor of Latin American studies, is the author of the book, Wealth, Health, and Democracy in East Asia and Latin America, published by Cambridge University Press, 2010. Why do some societies fare well, and others poorly, at reducing the risk of early death? Wealth, Health, and Democracy in East Asia and Latin America examines this question and finds that the public provision of basic health care and other inexpensive social services has reduced mortality rapidly even in tough economic circumstances, and that political democracy has contributed to the provision and utilization of such social services,…
Bill Herbst, the John Monroe Van Vleck Professor of Astronomy, and Seth Redfield, assistant professor astronomy, are co-authors of the article, "Gas Absorption in the KH 15D System: Further Evidence for Dust Settling in the Circumbinary Disk," published in The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 711, Issue 2, pp. 1297-1305 in March 2010. Their data supports a picture of a particular circumbinary disk as being composed of a very thin particulate grain layer composed of millimeter-sized or larger objects that are settled within whatever remaining gas may be present. Herbst also is the author of "Periodic variability in the emission spectrum of…
Articles in Newsweek and the Cleveland Plain Dealer both tackle the topic of the country’s increasing obesity rate with Newsweek calling it a “Culture of Corpulence” and the Plain Dealer worrying that “Cutting Childhood Obesity Could Involve Controversial Measures.” Both turn to William Dietz ’66, M.D., Ph.D and the director of the Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for his insight. “If you want people to make the right choices, they need to have the right choices to make," Dietz tells Newsweek, suggesting that the availability of nutritious, low-cost food choices…
David LowA streaming video of his talk is now available online here. Note, this is a 270MB video and may take a moment to load in your browser. Quicktime is required to view the video. You also may download the video to your desktop. Bruce McKenna ’84 returned to campus on March 30 to talk about his work on the new HBO mini-series The Pacific, which debuted on March 14 and continues on Sundays at 9 p.m. through May 16. The sprawling show tracks the intertwined real-life journeys of three U.S. Marines—Robert Leckie, Eugene Sledge, and John Basilone—across the vast canvas…
Pauline Frommer '88, an expert on budget travel, recently talked to Smart Planet about why smart people travel and how traveling abroad can effect diplomacy and the leaders we elect in this country. She recommends travel to China, Europe, and South America. Frommer is the author of award-winning guidebooks, the host of a radio talk show, and a columnist for MSN Travel and Weight Watchers. In the Smart Planet interview, Frommer says, "I don’t think you can consider yourself a fully rounded person if you don’t get out of your native area and see what the rest of the world…
Cynthia RockwellChef and business owner Michael Leviton ’88 of Lumiere Restaurant, in Newton, Mass., was nominated for James Beard Best Chef Northeast, which includes the New England states and New York region. The awards will be presented on May 3, in New York City’s Avery Fisher Hall, with previous award winners Alton Brown, Lidia Bastianich and Wolfgang Puck hosting. Nominations for the Beard awards, considered the Academy Awards of cooking, is open to the public. Culinary professionals and food journalists then use secret ballots to determine the winners. Leviton is not the product of any culinary school. Instead, he has trained…
David PesciWFSB-3, Hartford’s CBS affiliate, recently profiled the after school programming at Green Street Arts Center, Wesleyan’s community arts initiative that provides classes, mentoring and extensive arts instruction of all sorts to youths in the community. "Kids in Middletown can't wait to get off the bus and meet up with their friends at the Green Street Arts Center. It's not your average after school program. For the last five years, it's been one of the city's hidden gems," says the program's host. The newscast is online.
In a report on NPR’s MarketPlace, Alex Dupuy, Class of 1958 Distinguished Professor of Sociology, comments on a United Nations plan to raise and distribute $4 billion of relief funds for Haiti. Dupuy has criticized the Haitian government in the past for settling into a culture of aid instead of trying to build sustainable infrastructure and industry from within. In the report, Dupuy supports the U.N.’s plan to decentralize economic activity, but with caveats that extend to the garment industry and food production.