Olivia DrakeA NEW OCTAVE: Bruce Harkness of the Verdin Bell Co. prepares to install a new bell into the South College belfry Oct. 3. Eight new bronze bells were hoisted to the top by a crane, adding a full octave to the instrument. Harkness and Bill Burkhart, university photographer, discuss cable rack hardware for the new bells. Metal "tracker squares" connect the bells in the tower via the cable to the clavier -- or keyboard -- on a floor beneath the belfry. Bell installer Don Swem performs the balancing act inside and outside the belfry dome. Wesleyan Connection editor Olivia Bartlett…
Janice Watson, administrative assistant in the President's Office, enjoys meeting and greeting alumni and other visitors who have questions about the university. Posted 10/18/05 Q: Janice, when were you hired as the administrative assistant in the President's Office? A: I came to Wesleyan in May 2001.Q: What were you doing before you came to Wesleyan?A: I was a Medicare Durable Medical Equipment Regional Carrier (DMERC) fraud investigator.Q: What are some of your job duties as administrative assistant? A: I handle and direct telephone calls, greet visitors, type correspondences, order office supplies, maintain office equipment, schedule meetings and handle meeting…
Nina Felshin, curator of exhibitions and adjunct lecturer in art history, is curator of The Disasters of War: From Goya to Golub, which is on view now in the Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery. From left to right, Melanie Baker's charcoal and pastel drawing, Writing a Memo (in Blood); Francisco de Goya's etching from The Disasters of War (Los Desastres de la Guerra) and Leon Golub's acrylic on canvas, Interrogation III, on loan from The Broad Art Foundation, Santa Monica. Posted 10/18/05 War, torture and inhumane behavior in the international arena are themes of an exhibit in the Ezra…
Rick Culliton, dean of Campus Programs, and the director of the University Center Director, watches the Suzanne Lemberg Usdan University Center's progress from his office in North College. Once the facility is complete in 2007, Culliton will move into the University Center to oversee students' co-curricular activity. Posted 10/18/05 From the view of his North College office, Rick Culliton, Dean of Campus Programs, can watch the Suzanne Lemberg Usdan University Center emerge from a hole in the ground to the centerpiece of campus life. Cullitons interest is more than just a situation of his location. Hes also the center's…
Brian Katten, sports information director, is responsible for photographing Wesleyan athletic teams, maintaining the athletic Web site, preparing game programs, writing press releases and promoting student athletes. Posted 10/18/05 Q: When were you hired at Wesleyan, and what was your job title then? A: I started as the first, and fortunately to date, only full-time sports information director at Wesleyan in July, 1982. I had been an intern in that position for the 1979-80 year. I also served as intramural sports director from 1982-2002 but turned that title over to Mark Woodworth in 2002-03.Q: When did you graduate from…
Habitat for Humanity recipient Titeana McNeil, 11, plays with a caulk gun while Habitat volunteers Ted Paquette and Manny Cunard, site supervisor and director of Auxiliary Operations and Campus Services work on the family's new kitchen. Below, mother Jennifer McNeil and her children, Jamarea, 3; Tyquan, 14; Titeana, 11; and Taquana, 15 stop by their future home to check the progress on Oct. 13. (Photos by Olivia Drake) Posted 10/18/05 Jennifer McNeil had no idea that watching television would one day help her own a home. But, thanks to that and a partnership between Wesleyan University and Northern Middlesex Habitat for…
Long Lane Farming Club member Rachel Ostlund 08 will welcome the community to the clubs annual Pumpkin Fest Oct. 29. At left, a flower garden still blooms at the farm, located south of Physical Plant and Wesleyan University Press. Posted 10/18/05 Wesleyans Long Lane Farming Club will hold its second annual Pumpkin Fest from 2 to 7 p.m. Saturday Oct. 29 and people from the campus and the local community are welcome to attend. But while the freshly-grown pumpkins available the fest will be locally-grown, they wont be a product of the students land. We had some problems this year…
Professor Dianna Wall of Colorado State University speaks with Lori Gruen, associate professor of philosophy and co-chair and associate professor of feminism, gender and sexuality studies during the 2005 Robert Schumann Environmental Studies Symposium held Oct. 8.Below, Professor Barry Chernoff, the Robert Schumann Professor of Environmental Studies, professor of biology, professor of earth and environmental sciences, and director of the Environmental Studies Certificate program speaks with the symposium's attendees. Chernoff organized the day-long symposium. Posted 10/18/05 Where on Earth are We Going? II was the topic of the 2005 Robert Schumann Environmental Studies Symposium held Oct. 8. in Exley Science…
Hilary Barth, assistant professor of psychology, studies cognitive development. Posted 10/18/05 Hilary Barth has joined the Psychology Department as an assistant professor. Barth received her bachelors degree from Bryn Mawr College in psychology, concentrating in neural and behavioral sciences in 1996. She received her Ph.D from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in cognitive neuroscience in 2002. Her research involved behavioral and brain imaging studies of numerical cognition - the study of how humans think about numbers and quantities. She currently studies cognitive development, specifically the development of number and quantity understanding. Even before they receive formal math training in…
Bill Johnston, professor of East Asian Studies, professor of history, professor of science in society and tutor of the College of Social Studies, studies the avian flu. Posted 10/18/05 Q: Bill, your areas of study include the history of disease. What do you think about the speculation about avian influenza or bird flu thats making recent headlines?A: I find it fascinating that people are sitting up and taking a hard look at the flu again. Maybe it is because recent natural disasters have brought peoples attention in that direction. On the other hand, it is hardly something…
The staff at Wesleyan University Press will hold an open house from 4 to 6 p.m. Nov. 11 at its new location, 215 Long Lane, across from the new Physical Plant. Pictured in back, left to right are Eric Levy 97, acquisitions editor; Stephanie Elliott, publicity associate; and Leslie Starr, marketing manager. Pictured in front is Suzanna Tamminen 90, MALS 04, director and editor-in-chief. Posted 10/01/05 It's one of only 110 academic publishers in the nation, and has produced more than 1,000 books by authors around the world. But the Wesleyan University Press staff believes their publishing house remains…
Maria Cruz-Saco, dean of the college, is impressed by Wesleyan students involvement outside of the classroom. Posted 10/01/05 It didnt take long to settle in. In just two months, Maria Cruz-Saco has begun spearheading residential life and student programming initiatives. Shes also creating a new position to oversee diversity and multicultural learning environments on campus and seeking ways to improve current student services. As the new dean of the college, Cruz-Saco oversees the Class Deans, Student Academic Resources, Student Services and Campus Programs. The latter includes Residential Life, Student Activities and Leadership Development, International Student Services, the Office of…