Olivia DrakeApril 1, 200610min
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 men’s and women’s 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 part–time…

Olivia DrakeMarch 28, 20061min
FEMINIST POLITICS: Carolle Charles, associate professor of sociology from Baruch College, City College of New York, presents "From Confrontation to Negotiation: CONAP and a New Form of Doing Feminist Politics in Haiti" in the Center for African American Studies Lounge Feb. 27. Charles is the mother of Jane Charles-Voltaire '07. The well-attended event was sponsored by the the Center for African American Studies.  (Photo by Olivia Bartlett)

Olivia DrakeMarch 16, 20067min
Pictured at top, Alex Gorelick '09 performs during a WesGuitars meeting March 9. Pictured in back, from left, are Bolivian guitarist, Marcos Puña and Cem Duruoz, private lessons teacher of classical guitar and WesGuitar coordinator. Pictured below is WesGuitars member Sylvia Ryerson ’09. (Click the speaker button to hear Gorelick playing Prelude No. 1 by Heitor Villa-Lobos) Posted 03/16/06 Sylvia Ryerson ’09 came to Wesleyan with an interest in classic guitar, but no real ability to play the instrument. But after joining a new club called WesGuitars, she’s already memorized pieces by Brazillian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos and Cuban conductor Leo…

Olivia DrakeMarch 15, 20065min
Passers-by walk across Cross Street at a pedestrian walkway. Brightly-colored signs have been installed in the center of the street in an effort to improve campus safety. Posted 03/15/06 In its on-going efforts to continually improve campus safety, Wesleyan has been taking various measures to upgrade services and capabilities appropriately. These include:Pedestrian SafetyBrightly-colored signs have been installed in the middle of crosswalks on Church Street and Cross Street reminding motorists that they must stop for pedestrians in the crosswalk. Lighting has been improved at several crosswalks and a new crosswalk signal will be installed on Washington Street. Public Safety's on-going…

Olivia DrakeMarch 15, 200616min
Drew Black, wrestling coach, stresses intelligence, power, quickness, superb conditioning, flexibility and a high degree of self-confidence with his Wesleyan athletes.   Posted 03/15/06 Q: You’ve been coaching wrestling at Wesleyan since 1998. What spurred your interest in the sport initially?A: It all started my freshman year of high school in Mahwah, N.J. My brother was a sophomore wrestler on the team. My intention was to go and play basketball at the vertically challenged height of 4-foot-9 and 75 lbs. The wrestling coach spoke to me in the locker room just before the wrestling season was about to begin and…

Olivia DrakeMarch 15, 20068min
Posted 03/15/06 Five Wesleyan faculty members received Mellon Career Enhancement Grants for the 2006-07 academic year.Wesleyan, along with Amherst College, Grinnell College, Oberlin College, Pomona College, Reed College, Smith College and Williams College, are in the third year of a major collaborative grant from the Mellon Foundation to enhance faculty career development. Faculty members from each of the institutions compete for semester research leaves, summer stipend grants, and workshop grants designed to encourage and promote increased scholarly activity for the faculty of the eight institutions. Hilary Barth, assistant professor of psychology, and Abigail Hornstein, assistant professor of economics, received Mellon…

Olivia DrakeMarch 15, 200611min
Nancy Healy, manager of Broad Street Books, says the shop's new cosmetic changes, like the new bookshelf behind her, are meant to create the ambiance of a small independent bookstore.   Posted 03/15/06 Q: When were you hired to manage Broad Street Books and how is it going so far?A: I was brought on board in the last week of January. It has been an interesting and eventful month! I have spent this first month learning about the history of the store and getting to know my staff, as well as getting acquainted with Wesleyan. Things are going very well…

Olivia DrakeMarch 15, 20068min
David Phillips, senior class dean, talks to seniors about their personal challenges, academic records, postgraduate options, and academic goals.   Posted 03/15/06 Sometimes a student’s academic problems are caused by something not-so-academic. As a class dean, David Phillips spends much of his time advising students - discussing academic, social, and personal challenges and achieving personal goals. He’ll work with individual students, professors and even parents, to support students in their pursuit of a positive learning experience. "What I like about my job is that I get to deal with the whole student rather than just a particular aspect of a…

Olivia DrakeMarch 1, 20063min
In 2006-07, room rates for students will increase. Posted 03/01/06 On Feb. 25, the Wesleyan Board of Trustees set tuition, room and board rates for the 2006-2007 academic year. Tuition and fees will increase 5 percent to $34,844. Room rates will increase 8 percent, bringing the base double room rate to $5,808, and the base 12-meal dining plan rate will increase 5 percent to $3,732. The increase in the room rate reflects the escalating cost of utilities in the residence facilities. Wesleyan is also continuing a program to renovate residence halls to improve safety and security. This summer will see…

Olivia DrakeMarch 1, 20067min
Pictured at top, right, Yashan Zhou '09 and Mo Sarakun '07 teach seventh graders from Woodrow Wilson Junior High School how to make their own sushi rolls. Pictured at left, Ada Fung '06 teaches the students how to paint cherry blossoms on rice paper.Pictured below, Alex Weber '06 teaches martial arts and the history of the shaolin. Posted 03/01/06 Seventh-grader Liam Wolfram had tried sushi at Japanese restaurants, but he’s never attempted to make his own. Last month, Liam did just that as he and 25 of his classmates from Woodrow Wilson Middle School in Middletown experienced a taste of…

Olivia DrakeMarch 1, 20065min
Phil Cotharin, temperature controls mechanic/energy management specialist, is helping Wesleyan significantly reduce energy waste and save money. A new initiative, Project $AVE, will work with the campus community to implement energy-saving ideas. Posted 03/01/06 During the past two years:The Purchasing Office negotiated purchasing contracts, competitive bidding and individual purchasing negotiations, saving $800,000.Wesleyan Station contracted with a new vendor for handling first-class university mail services to save $4,000 annually.The Freeman Athletic Center added energy-efficient fixtures, automated light sensors and high efficiency pumps to provide a rebate of $18,300.Waste management efficiencies consolidated four dumpsters into one trash compactor at a central location,…

Olivia DrakeMarch 1, 20067min
Ellen Thomas, research professor of earth and environmental sciences, examines the fossils of sea creatures from her office in Exley Science Center. Thomas extracted her samples from the ocean's floor. She says they are more than 65 million years old. Posted 03/01/06 The largest habitat on Earth lies hundreds to thousands of feet beneath sea level, in a dark, near-freezing, high-pressure environment with little food. About 65 million years ago, the life forms living on the ocean-floor in this habitat survived the an asteroid impact, which probably wiped out the dinosaurs and many other forms of life on land and…