Alumni Reflect on Reunion Visit

New York, N.Y. resident David Davenport ’88 visited campus with his wife, Monica. David is serving on the Board of Trustees through 2018. “It’s great to be back on campus. I’m so proud of all the honorees at the Annual Meeting of the Alumni Association. Luke Wood’s talk was a great story about the marriage of old culture—records—to the current music media—digital. My wife was saying that this might apply to our son. He’s 13, and into Magic, a unique kind of counterculture. Luke’s story of how you can study the counterculture through different educational disciplines—and actually enjoy it—is inspiring." Monica…

Jeremy Arnold ’91, author, film historian and longtime contributor to Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is the author of The Essentials: 52 Must-See Movies and Why They Matter, recently published in collaboration with Running Press and Turner Classic Movies. A graduate of the Film Studies Department at Wesleyan, Arnold credits Professor Jeanine Basinger as instrumental in his work, both researching and writing the book. “I took five courses with Professor Basinger and she was the best teacher I ever had. She remains a close friend to this day,” he said. The book serves as a companion to TCM's weekly on-air “Essentials” series, hosted by…

On May 5, the Daniel Family Common was the site for the 2016 induction into the Baseball Wall of Fame. Seven alumni, ranging in class years from 1959 to 2000 were there with family and friends to reminisce about their outstanding Wesleyan baseball careers, as well as celebrate the program for what it is accomplishing currently. Both Ken Janik ’85, who played baseball for Wesleyan, and Wesleyan Baseball Coach Mark Woodworth ’94 offered introductory remarks. Athletic Director Michael Whalen ’83 noted the significance of these awards. “The Wesleyan baseball program has a tradition of excellence dating back to the 1950's. The…

On April 29, Sasha Chanoff ’94, founder and executive director of RefugePoint, joined other experts in refugee affairs, and leaders from the private sector in a symposium by the UN Foundation. Chanoff participated in two panel discussions led by Raj Kumar, the founding president and editor-in-chief of Devex, the media platform for the global development community. In “Changing the Paradigm: New Solutions for The Global Refugee Crisis,” Chanoff's discussion with Ruma Bose, who leads Tent.org, he shared his excitement for "venture philanthropy"—a private-sector role in funding pilot projects—thus stimulating the growth of start-up organizations and alternative solutions. "Venture Philanthropy...can be a key…

Hamilton, written by and starring Lin-Manuel Miranda ’02 and directed by Thomas Kail ’99, received a record-breaking 16 Tony Award nominations on May 3, including nods for Best Musical, Best Direction of a Musical (Kail) Best Actor in a Musical (Miranda and Leslie Odom Jr.), Best Book (Miranda), Best Original Score (Miranda), Best Featured Actor in a Musical (three nominations), Best Actress in a Musical, Best Featured Actress in a Musical, Best Scenic Design of a Musical, Best Costume Design of a Musical, Best Choreography, Best Lighting Design of a Musical, and Best Orchestrations. The 16 total nominations broke the previous record of 15, shared by Billy Elliot (2009) and The Producers (2001). The Producers holds the current record for most Tony Award wins for a musical, with a total of 12.

Suzanne O’Connell, professor of earth and environmental sciences, faculty director of the McNair Program, together with Ed Laine ’69 and Kerry Brenner ’94, attended a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NAS) workshop in Washington, D.C. on April 20-21. The three were involved in a report on Service Learning in the Geosciences. O’Connell presented the report at the meeting. Laine, recently retired from Bowdoin College, was on the meeting steering committee, while Brenner, a senior program officer in the Board on Science Education in the Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education (NAS) coordinated the meeting. A summary…

Pulitzer Prize winner Lin-Manuel Miranda ’02, Hon. '15, creator of Broadway's Hamilton, was recently named one of TIME's "100 Most Influential People in the World" for 2016 in the Pioneers category. In TIME, writer, producer and director J.J. Abrams writes, "So much has been said about Hamilton, I assume you know this already: the musical’s embracing of history and rhythm, race and rhyme, melody and passion is an actual stunning event. Tickets are impossible to get for good reason: even in this age of ubiquitous hyperbole, it can safely be said that Hamilton is one of the best things—not just theatrical events—you’ll ever see." "Knowing the man,…

Aetna has tapped two Wesleyan alumni for recent high-level hires. Thomas Sabatino Jr. ’80 is joining the insurance giant as executive vice president and general counsel. Sabatino worked most recently at Hertz Global Holdings as its chief lawyer, and previously in pharmaceuticals and medical products. He joins Gary Loveman ’82, who in September became Aetna’s corporate executive vice president and president of Healthagen, the company’s consumer business. Loveman, a former management professor at Harvard Business School, had been chairman and CEO of Caesars Entertainment Corp. Dan Haar ’81, business editor of the Hartford Courant, wrote that both Hertz and Caesar’s…

(By Margaret Curtis '16) Philadelphia-based Caitlin Quigley ’08 was selected as a winner of the Knight Cities Challenge for her project “20 Book Clubs, 20 Cooperative Businesses.” The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation awarded 37 winners out of a pool of more than 4,500 applicants with a share of $5 million to support one of the 26 communities in which the foundation invests. Quigley and her organization, the Philadelphia Area Cooperative Alliance (PACA), were awarded $146,000 to implement her project, which will support neighborhood businesses. Quigley's project will form 20 community-based book clubs of six to 12…

Bozoma “Boz” Saint John ’99, head of global consumer marketing for Apple Music and iTunes, wowed attendees at WesFest—admitted students and their parents— as keynote speaker. The eldest daughter of Wesleyan ethnomusicology graduate Dr. Appianda Arthur PhD ’77, Saint John spoke on Wesleyan's powerful influence on her life today. Her father, recalling his formative years at Wesleyan and the lively intellectual community, had encouraged her to attend Wesleyan. Although her desire to rebel figured in early in the decision process, she ultimately chose Wesleyan. “My father was so excited when I decided Wesleyan was the school for me, but he…

An article in the journal Sapiens highlights the current work of anthropologist Ruth Behar in "Lifting the Emotional Embargo With Cuba." Working with poet Richard Blanco, the two are "cultivating reunion and reconciliation among people and cultures that have been estranged for decades," said author Barry Yeoman. Cuba is part of both the poet's and the anthropologist's identities. While Blanco grew up hearing about Cuba from his ex-pat community in Miami, Behar was born in Havana, Cuba. Her parents were of Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jewish descent who moved the family to New York City after the Cuban revolution. As a child in…

(By Mike O'Brien, Director of Athletic Communication) On April 18, Chicago Cubs Executive Vice President and General Manager Jed Hoyer ’96 spoke to the news site MLB Trade Rumors about his career and his time at Wesleyan. When asked what led him to choose Wesleyan, Hoyer responded: “The over-arching goal of my college search was to combine three factors – great academics, the ability to continue playing baseball, and a campus environment that would broaden my limited horizons. I looked at a lot of different schools and the best combination of those factors was Wesleyan. In hindsight, I was less…

Alumni Reflect on Reunion Visit

Arnold ’91 Writes Companion to Turner Classic Movies “Essentials” Series

7 Inducted into 2016 Class of Wesleyan Baseball Wall of Fame

Chanoff ’94 Speaks at UN Foundation Symposium on Global Refugee Crisis

Hamilton Breaks Tony Award Nomination Record

O’Connell, Alumni Participate in National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Workshop

Miranda ’02 Named One of TIME’s “100 Most Influential People” in the World

Aetna Taps Sabatino ’80 and Loveman ’82 as High-Level Hires

Quigley ’08 is Knight Cities Challenge Winner

Apple Music’s Saint John ’99 Recalls Formative Wes Moments in WesFest Keynote

‘Sapien’ Highlights Behar ’77 for Anthropological, Poetic Collaborations with Cuba

Chicago Cubs Executive VP, GM Jed Hoyer ’96 Discusses His Wesleyan Experience