Corrina KerrDecember 17, 20092min
Professor of History Philip Pomper is making history of his own as he plans to retire from Wesleyan after 46 years in May 2010. Pomper came to Wesleyan after graduating from the University of Chicago with a doctoral degree. He had enjoyed the seminar style classes at Chicago and looked forward to teaching seminars at Wesleyan. "I always dreamed of joining the faculty of a small liberal arts institution," Pomper says. Not only did Pomper have an idea for the type of institution he was drawn to, he was compelled to be a professor even in high school. "After the…

Olivia DrakeDecember 17, 20094min
In some models of origins of life, hot springs are considered to be one of the first environments inhabited by life. During the 2010-11 academic year, biology BA/MA student Jane Wiedenbeck '10 will use a NASA-funded Graduate Fellowship to study the evolution of certain microorganisms to discern how life may have originated and evolved under extreme conditions. Wiedenbeck, who applied for the fellowship during the fall 2009 semester, received a $20,000 award from the Connecticut Space Grant College Consortium. The Consortium is a member of the NASA-funded national Space Grant College and Fellowship Program, and serves to promote and support…

Olivia DrakeDecember 17, 20093min
Lydia Tomkiw ’11 began studying la langue française in kindergarten, and as a College of Letters major, she was required to study abroad for one semester. Little did she know that that her first week in Paris would result in a discussion on the American political landscape in French. "During my first week, when I was still adjusting to everything, my camera battery broke. I had never been taught the vocabulary for battery and charger. I looked those words up and found a store. I walked in and felt a little nervous. But I was able to tell the shop…

David PesciDecember 17, 20092min
This issue we ask 5 Questions of…David Pollack, associate professor of mathematics and computer science. Q: How did you become interested in mathematics in general, and as an academic career specifically? DP: Mathematics was my favorite subject in school as far back as I can remember. At that time I had no idea that one could be a mathematician, so I imagined I would be a scientist or engineer. After my sophomore year in high school I was fortunate enough to attend the summer mathematics program at Hampshire College, where I was first exposed to professional mathematicians. I realized more…

David PesciDecember 17, 20093min
Imagine being a college-bound high school student and getting the chance to sit down for a 90-minute question and answer session with a chief admission officer from one of the best colleges in the nation. Now multiply the opportunities of that session times seven and you have a sense of what a recent webcast hosted by Wesleyan offered to students across the nation. The Dec. 2 webcast from the Daniels Family Commons in the Usdan Center was produced by Unigo and The Wall Street Journal through their new partnership, "WSJ on Campus," and featured candid, live conversations with seven chief…

Olivia DrakeDecember 17, 20092min
Wesleyan's non-commercial college and community radio station, 88.1FM WESU, calls on listeners to give the gift of WESU this holiday season during The Fifth Annual WESU Holiday Pledge Drive. The goal for this year’s drive is to raise $25,000 in listener support to sustain operating expenses throughout the coming year. As Wesleyan struggles to close a budget gap this fiscal year, WESU faces more pressure than ever to become a self- sustaining community service. To date, the station has raised $13,000. “To be able to keep pace with the revenue we in raised past years pledge drives in this tough…

Corrina KerrDecember 17, 20093min
Courtney Fullilove has joined the History Department as assistant professor. She specializes in research related to the study the development of technical knowledge in the fields of agriculture, medicine, and manufacturing in the 18th and 19th century United States. A graduate of Columbia University's Ph.D program in history, Fullilove was attracted to Wesleyan for many reasons, among them its historical significance and liberal arts idealism. She says that being a part of a place where "everyone is creative and engaged" is satisfying to her. "I'm a historian, so I like to think about the fact that Wesleyan was founded as…

Olivia DrakeDecember 17, 20092min
Q: Alec, when were you hired as Wesleyan's music librarian? A: I came in the summer of 1998 to interview for the position, and started work that Fall semester. Q: Do most universities have a music librarian? Like other librarians, are you involved in cataloging, organizing, acquisitions and assisting patrons? A: Large universities with separate schools of music often have a branch music library with one or more librarians staffing it. Institutions of Wesleyan’s size vary somewhat, usually according to the relative importance of the music department within the school. In our case, with graduate programs in composition and ethnomusicology,…

Olivia DrakeDecember 17, 20092min
Shirley Lawrence celebrated her 34 years at Wesleyan with a retirement party Dec. 14 in the Mansfield Freeman Center for East Asian Studies. Lawrence began her Wesleyan career in a part-time position the Mathematics Department where she remained until 1977. Lawrence moved to the Center of Humanities where she worked until 1985, and she worked in Alumni Programs until 1987 when the Mansfield Freeman Center for East Asian Studies officially opened on Washington Terrace. She is retiring as a program coordinator. Over the years Lawrence has coordinated such events as tours of the Freeman Family Japanese Garden, lectures on U.S.-Japan…