David Potts ’60 Describes a Period of Change at Wes in New Book

David Potts '60 has published a long-awaited second volume of Wesleyan history, Wesleyan University, 1910-1970: Academic Ambition and Middle-Class America (Wesleyan University Press, 2015). In an interview in the new issue of the Wesleyan magazine, he describes a time of great change at Wesleyan, culminating in the arrival of women students on campus. Potts tells the Wesleyan magazine about his motivations for writing the book; the different challenges posed by the second volume compared to the first; Wesleyan's record of setting trends in higher education; and major institutional changes and figures in the university's history.

Watch highlights from Reunion & Commencement Weekend 2015 in this video: View additional R&C weekend videos, including several Commencement speeches, the Board of Trustees Welcome, the recognition of retiring faculty, the Senior Class Welcome and more on the Video @ Wesleyan website.

Lin-Manuel Miranda '02 made the following remarks at the 183rd Commencement ceremony May 24: Thank you, President Roth, Provost, Board of Trustees, faculty, students, families. Wes Wings, Thai Gardens and Neon Deli. As I look across the sea of proud, sleepy graduates, who just hours ago were turnt all the way up in the tent where your families now sit—seriously, your grandmother is sitting where YOU KNOW WHAT YOU DID—I can’t help but wish I had been asked to be your freshman orientation speaker instead. Over the course of your time here, you have learned innumerable lessons, large and small, but I…

Beverly Daniel Tatum '75, president of Spelman College, was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree on May 24. She delivered the following remarks: Thank you, President Roth and the Board of Trustees, the faculty, for this wonderful honor. I can’t tell you how delighted I am to be here – especially on the occasion of the 40th reunion of the Class of 1975! The years I spent at Wesleyan were transformative for me, and when I left Wesleyan, I was a confident young woman with a clear career plan. I planned to go off to graduate school, earn…

During the 183rd Commencement ceremony, President Michael Roth awarded the Binswanger Prize for Excellence in Teaching to three faculty, and the Raymond E. Baldwin Medal to an alumnus. Three outstanding teachers are recognized annually with the Binswanger Prize for Excellence in Teaching. This year, President Michael Roth honored Michael Calter, David Schorr and Gina Athena Ulysse for their excellence in teaching. The prizes are made possible by gifts from the family of the late Frank G. Binswanger Sr., Hon. ’85, and underscore Wesleyan’s commitment to its scholar-teachers, who are responsible for the university’s distinctive approach to liberal arts education. (more…)

During Reunion & Commencement Weekend May 21-24, all classes ending "5" or "0" held reunion dinners and receptions. View all reunion photos in the Wesleyan Flickr gallery. (more…)

Wesleyan University’s Board of Trustees has elected Donna Morea ’76, P’06 as Chair of the Board for a two-year term beginning July 1, 2016. The election took place at the Board’s meeting on campus May 22. Morea will succeed Joshua Boger ’73, P’06, P’09, who will step down in June 2016 after 7 years as Chair. “The Board asked Joshua to continue his leadership through the conclusion of the capital campaign and he has graciously agreed,” said Shonni Silverberg ’76, chair of the Board’s Governance Committee. “He and his fellow Board members felt it would be advantageous to elect his…

#THISISWHY On April 17, more than 30 alumni, parents and community members and 80 student-athletes participated in an Alumni Athletics Mentoring Workshop in Beckham Hall. As part of the program, mentors met with female student-athletes to speak about career options. Student-athlete Melissa Leung '16 has first-hand knowledge of the workshop's value. "At last year's event, I met my mentor, Clare Colton '12," says Leung, who attended the event for the second year in a row. "Clare provided resume and email etiquette advice and connected me with Jim Citrin (P'12 P'14), senior director of Spencer Stuart, who created an internship position for me with…

On April 10, the Career Center hosted its second annual Connect@WES: Creating Connections, an on-campus event bringing together alumni, parents and recruiters as expert advisors for brief one-on-one networking sessions with students. More than 100 students and 32 advisors—including 25 Wesleyan alumni and parents—attended the event in Beckham Hall. Speakers at the event included Ed Heffernan '84, president and CEO of Alliance Data, who spoke to students about big data and the usefulness of a liberal arts education in business; Evan Shapiro P’17, executive vice president of digital enterprises at NBCUniversal, who held two breakout sessions for students interested in careers in digital…

Iranian-American Muslim feminist writer, attorney and activist Melody Moezzi ’01 will deliver the Noah Langholz ’14 Memorial Lecture at 7 p.m. April 7 in Daniel Family Commons. Moezzi, who earned a BA in philosophy, will speak about living with mental illness and the broader impact of stigma. Moezzi will share her experiences living with bipolar disorder from her unique perspective as an Iranian-American Muslim feminist writer, attorney and activist thriving despite, and because of, a serious mental illness. Moezzi also will speak on seeking help and cultural barriers to care, among other issues. She will also sign copies of her memoir, Haldol and Hyacinths: A Bipolar Life (2014), which will be available for purchase…

Pedro Alejandro, associate professor of dance, Brittany Delany ’09 and Sarah Ashkin ’11 are collaborating on a new choreography project in New Mexico. The project titled “Chancy Dancing” will premier at 8 p.m. April 11 at the Railyard Performance Center in Santa Fe. Marcela Oteiza, assistant professor of theater, is developing the visual design of the work. The first half of the performance features Ashkin and other local choreographers’ most recent works spanning a spectrum of modern dance, dance theater and improvisational systems. (more…)

Students, faculty and alumni involved in planetary science attended the 46th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference March 16-20 in Houston, Texas. Jim Greenwood, assistant professor earth and environmental sciences, gave a talk titled "urCl-KREEP? Cl-rich glasses in KREEP basalts 15382 and 15386 and their implications for lunar geochemistry." Martha Gilmore, chair and professor of earth and environmental sciences and the George I. Seney Professor of Geology, met with the Venus Exploration Analysis Group as a member of its Executive Committee. Jack Singer '15 and Lisa Korn MA '15 presented posters. Several Wesleyan alumni also made presentations at the conference including James Dottin ’13 (E&ES), now a PhD…

David Potts ’60 Describes a Period of Change at Wes in New Book

Watch Highlights from Reunion & Commencement Weekend

Lin-Manuel Miranda ’02 Delivers Commencement Address

Remarks for Honorary Degree Recipient Beverly Daniel Tatum ’75

Calter, Schorr, Ulysse Honored with Binswanger Prizes; Dachs ’70 Receives Baldwin Medal

Alumni Reunite for Receptions, Dinners During R&C Weekend

Donna Morea is Chair-elect of the Board of Trustees

Mentors Share Experience with Female Student-Athletes

Career Center Hosts Second Annual Connect@WES

Moezzi ’01 to Speak on Living with Mental Illness April 7

Alejandro, Alumnae Collaborate on Choreography Project

Students, Faculty, Alumni Attend Planetary Science Conference in Texas