Campus News & Events

On May 25, Wesleyan conferred 733 bachelor of arts degrees; 26 master of arts degrees; 44 master of arts in liberal studies degrees; 3 master of philosophy in liberal arts degrees; and 14 doctor of philosophy degrees. The entire Reunion & Commencement photo gallery is online here. Read the story here. (more…)

Manon Lefèvre '14 delivered the Senior Class Welcome at Commencement on May 25: I want to talk about what it means to question. We are taught here at Wesleyan that we have a responsibility to challenge structures of power, to stand up for what we believe is right, to envision a better world for ourselves and for others. Brilliant ideas, challenging theories, and profound, radical ways of thinking thrive on this campus. I have learned more in my four years here than I could have ever imagined possible. And today, I am truly saddened to be saying goodbye to my community…

On May 23-25 hundreds of Wesleyan alumni flocked to campus to celebrate Reunion & Commencement Weekend. In addition to class reunions, alumni attended WESeminars, academic department open houses, a parade of classes, campus tours, an all-college picnic and festival, and an all-campus party featuring mamarazzi and Illegalize. The weekend culminated with the 182nd Commencement Ceremony featuring commencement speaker Theodore Shaw ’76. View the full schedule online here. Classes ending in “4” and “9” celebrated their reunions. For psychology major Sheryl Sturges '79 and theater major Jonathan Duell '79 of Cornwall, N.Y., being together on campus is all too familiar. "I…

Since 2006, the Wesleyan Freecycle program has facilitated the opportunity for one person’s trash to become another person’s treasure. Through its own electronic mailing listserv, Freecycle encourages students, staff and faculty to exchange unwanted items, rather than throwing them away. Wesleyan’s program is part of the national Freecycle movement, where people give away things that they don’t need, or ask for items they do need. These items are free and recycled, hence the name Freecycle. Jen Kleindienst, sustainability coordinator, has given and received dozens of items on Freecycle. “Freecycle has definitely helped to build a culture of waste reduction on…

“Sporting its conspicuous red crest, the eponymous Northern Cardinal can be found year round on sweatshirts and coffee mugs across campus. In addition to the homecoming football game, the species is also commonly attracted to suburban feeders where it uses its powerful, conical bill specialized to crush seeds. The Northern Cardinal is arguably one of the most recognizable birds in North America.” So begins an entry on the Northern Cardinal, or cardinalis caridnalis, in A Field Guide to the Birds of Wesleyan, a book written and illustrated by Oliver James ’14 for the capstone project of his College of the…

Fifty years after Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., gave the baccalaureate address at Wesleyan, the university will welcome Ted Shaw ’76, one of the nation’s leading proponents for civil rights, as its 2014 Commencement speaker. Shaw has been named the Julius L. Chambers Distinguished Professor of Law, and the Director of the University of North Carolina Center for Civil Rights after having served as professor of professional practice at Columbia University School of Law. He served for 23 years with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, concluding as director-counsel and president. He received his law degree from Columbia and started…

Joseph Eusebio ’17 was selected to take part in the brand new Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program at the University of Washington this summer. According to the program website, this eight-week, all-expenses-paid program will take students on a journey from the “urban jungle” to the old growth forest and back, allowing them to explore how conservation can make a difference, and how they can make a difference in conservation. Eusebio is one of only 26 students on the team, chosen from a pool of nearly 400 applicants. He said he came across the scholarship by chance while thinking about opportunities…

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The Administrators and Faculty of Color Alliance (AFCA) hosted a lunch for seniors of color May 19 at Daniel Family Commons. Students received stoles, which they may wear during the Commencement ceremony May 25. AFCA members Joanne Rafferty, associate director of Usdan University Center, and Antonio Farias, vice president for equity and inclusion, spoke to students during the luncheon. Photos of the event are below: (Photos by Olivia Drake) (more…)

Two current state governors who proudly call Wes their alma mater will be back on campus during Reunion & Commencement Weekend, May 22-25. Both Gov. Peter Shumlin ‘79 of Vermont and Gov. John Hickenlooper ’74, MA ’80, Hon ’10 of Colorado will be celebrating their reunion years, and giving talks during the weekend. On May 24, Hickenlooper will give a WESeminar from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m., titled “An Inside Look Into the Legalization of Marijuana.” He will address how the decision by voters to legalize small amounts of marijuana for adult use is affecting his state of Colorado, and potentially…

On Friday, May 9, the Center for Humanities held its last theory salon for the 2013-2014 academic year. The intimate faculty-student presentation revealed ground-breaking research on the Stanley Milgram "shock" obedience experiment, led by Jill Morawski, the Wilbur Fisk Osborne Professor of Psychology, professor of science in society, professor of feminist, gender and sexuality studies, and assistants Ethan Hoffman ’14 and Nick Myerberg ’14. Stanley Milgram, a psychologist from Yale University, is known for his experiment on obedience to authority figures. In the 1960s, Milgram measured the willingness of participants to obey an authority figure who instructed them to perform…

The process of removing about 60,000 volumes from Olin Library (to make room for others, including Art Library holdings) is nearly complete, according to University Librarian Pat Tully. Olin started the work in 2012, guided by faculty and other experts in selecting duplicate, out of date, rarely circulated, and other books for removal as the library anticipated greater demand on the stacks starting in 2014. Olin holds about one million volumes and will continue to acquire books and other material every year. “Weeding will be on hold through the summer,” Tully said. “Sometime next fall we will begin an ongoing…

733 BA Degrees Awarded during 2014 Commencement

Lefevre ’14 Delivers Senior Class Welcome

Alumni Return to Campus for Class Reunions, Festivities

Exchange, Reuse Unwanted Items through Wesleyan’s Freecycle Listserv

James ’14 Publishes Field Guide to the Birds of Wesleyan

50 Years After MLK Baccalaureate Speech, Shaw to Address Graduates

Eusebio ’17 to Study Washington’s Natural Environment as Doris Duke Conservation Scholar

Spring Blooms at the 2/3 Acre WestCo Garden

Class of 2014 Students of Color Celebrated at AFCA Luncheon

Governors Shumlin, Hickenlooper to Speak on Campus during Reunion

Faculty, Students Discuss Milgram’s “Shock” Experiment Research at Humanities Theory Salon

“Weeding Out” a Success as Olin Makes Room for More