Olivia DrakeSteven Jacaruso, art director, designs the look and feel for Wesleyan magazine. Posted 04/17/06 Q: When did you come to Wesleyan?A: I was hired in July 1998 as the assistant art director. Later on I became the associate director, and then the art director in 2000 for the Office of University Communications.Q: How did you become interested in graphic design?A: When I was a kid, I was always into drawing and I was intrigued by logos and full-page movie ads in the New York Times. Ive always had my eye on the visual aspect of things. Back then, graphic…
Greg Pyke, senior dean of admission, stands outside the Office of Admission. Posted 04/17/06 Every year, the Office of Admission begins with a prospective student pool of over 30,000 and mails information to another 88,000 based on PSAT and ACT scores and grades. Of these, about 7,000 apply, and after review, this number is whittled down to less than 2,000. Of this amount, ultimately, 720 of the applicants will become Wesleyans newest freshman class. As a senior associate dean of admission, Greg Pyke reviews hundreds of these applications, and he meets almost as many potential applicants each year. Hes…
Jen Shea, head softball coach, assistant field hockey coach, teaches swimming as an adjunct professor of athletics. Posted 04/17/06 Q: At what age did you first pick up a bat and ball, and where was this?A: I grew up in Hatfield, Massachusetts. Hatfield is a small town of 3,500 people with a strong athletic tradition. When I was in elementary school, the high schools varsity softball team won back-to-back state titles and that is when I really became interested in the sport. I started off playing T-ball when I was in first grade and then graduated to slow-pitch softball when…
Posted 04/01/06 Wesleyan will commemorate its 175th anniversary of its institutional charter during the 174th Commencement Ceremonies May 25-28. Wesleyans charter was granted on May 26, 1831. John Hope Franklin, professor of history, emeritus at Duke University will give the principal address at commencement and will be awarded an honorary doctor of letters degree during the ceremony. In addition, Wesleyan will award honorary doctors of letters to Mary O. McWilliams '71, president of Regence BlueShield, pioneering alumna and trustee emerita. Franklin is an internationally-renowned historian, intellectual leader and lifelong civil rights activist. He has served on the National Council on…
Roslyn Carrier-Brault, administrative assistant for the Chemistry Department, also works as a digital photography instructor at Green Street Arts Center. Posted 04/01/06 Q: What keeps you busy in the Chemistry Department?A: I never have two days that are the same and I enjoy the variety of my work. I work directly with the professors and students, and I have many skills and abilities that aid me to be flexible and detail oriented to whatever tasks comes my way. I work a lot with my computers and keep in touch with all that happens here at Wesleyan University through emails…
Cem Duruoz, private lessons teacher, just released his third CD, Desde El Alma Tango Classics." The Turkey native performs internationally. (Photo contributed by Steve Savage) Posted 04/01/06 Q: Cem, how long have you been a private lessons teacher of guitar for Wesleyans Music Department? A: I started to teach at Wesleyan in September 2003 right after finishing my advanced studies at The Juilliard School.Q: How many student guitarists do you teach at Wesleyan? A: I have about 10-12 students each semester. I am trying to increase the number of students, especially by encouraging good players to come to…
Dana Royer, assistant professor of earth and environmental sciences, researched why pointy-leafed plants are more common in colder climates. Posted 04/01/06 Smooth or pointy is there a reason? If that question refers to a leaf, a study by a Wesleyan researcher may have an answer that includes some cold facts about sap flow and the weather. The study by Assistant Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences Dana Royer and featured in a recent issue of the International Journal of Plant Sciences looks at the characteristics of plants with pointy leaves versus smooth-leafed plants and finds the difference is more…
At right, Jessica French Smith 09, paints a mural with students from Nagarote, Nicaragua. She was one of more than 100 Wesleyan students who volunteered their spring break time to help others around the nation and world. Posted 04/01/06 Jane Maxson 06 spent her spring break on the gulf coast; however she wasnt sporting a sun hat and flip-flops on the beach. Equipped with a hammer, nails and tool belt, Maxson spent her time-off school volunteering for hurricane relief efforts. Maxon was one of over 100 Wesleyan students and faculty volunteering world-wide during break.Helping the Hurricane Victims Maxon and 50…
Walter Curry, head track and field coach, says he loves to make a difference in his student-athletes' lives. Posted 04/01/06 Q: When did you become the head mens and womens track coach?A: I started coaching at Wesleyan in December of 2002.Q: You are a U.S.A. Track and Field Level II certified coach in sprints, hurdles and jumps. At Wesleyan are these what you specialize in?A: My first three seasons with the team I coached just the sprints, long, triple and high jumps. I was lucky enough to have a really good part-time hurdle coach and a very good parttime…
Beth Labriola, associate registrar, is responsible for daily office operations, the drop/add system, the grade entry system, transfer credit articulation and the diploma process. Posted 04/01/06 After 14 years working in the Office of the Registrar and Office of Graduate Student Services, Beth Labriola says every day at Wesleyan is just as exciting. Im constantly being challenged, and because of these challenges, I have really been able to grow, she says from her office in North College. Theres always something new going on here. Labriola, associate registrar, came to the university in 1992 as an administrative assistant in the…
Barb Spalding, associate director of Campus Fire Safety, teaches Annalisa Kelly '08 how to use a fire extinguisher in a set-up drill. Spalding hopes to teach all students on campus how to use the devices. Posted 04/01/06 Q: Barb, how did you work your way up to the associate director of Campus Fire Safety?A: I started in November 2003, as a consultant, hired by Joyce Topshe, the assistant vice president of facilities to do a fire/life safety study of the undergraduate residences. In April 2004 I was hired as a fulltime employee as associate director, project manager in Construction…
Wesleyan's Fauver Field Residences received a First Place Award in the 2006 Connecticut Building Congress (CBC) Project Team Awards competition. It placed in the New Construction category and competed against other buildings, of which construction costs exceeded $10 million. Fauver's construction began in August 2004 and the student residences were completed in September 2005. The CBC requests that projects submitted in the competition be located in Connecticut and substantially completed during 2005. "We're honored Fauver is setting a positive example for other new constructions in the state," said Joyce Topshe, associate vice president of facilities. "A great deal of time…