Olivia DrakeLydia Tomkiw ’11 began studying la langue française in kindergarten, and as a College of Letters major, she was required to study abroad for one semester. Little did she know that that her first week in Paris would result in a discussion on the American political landscape in French. "During my first week, when I was still adjusting to everything, my camera battery broke. I had never been taught the vocabulary for battery and charger. I looked those words up and found a store. I walked in and felt a little nervous. But I was able to tell the shop…
David PesciThis issue we ask 5 Questions of…David Pollack, associate professor of mathematics and computer science. Q: How did you become interested in mathematics in general, and as an academic career specifically? DP: Mathematics was my favorite subject in school as far back as I can remember. At that time I had no idea that one could be a mathematician, so I imagined I would be a scientist or engineer. After my sophomore year in high school I was fortunate enough to attend the summer mathematics program at Hampshire College, where I was first exposed to professional mathematicians. I realized more…
Imagine being a college-bound high school student and getting the chance to sit down for a 90-minute question and answer session with a chief admission officer from one of the best colleges in the nation. Now multiply the opportunities of that session times seven and you have a sense of what a recent webcast hosted by Wesleyan offered to students across the nation. The Dec. 2 webcast from the Daniels Family Commons in the Usdan Center was produced by Unigo and The Wall Street Journal through their new partnership, "WSJ on Campus," and featured candid, live conversations with seven chief…
Wesleyan's non-commercial college and community radio station, 88.1FM WESU, calls on listeners to give the gift of WESU this holiday season during The Fifth Annual WESU Holiday Pledge Drive. The goal for this year’s drive is to raise $25,000 in listener support to sustain operating expenses throughout the coming year. As Wesleyan struggles to close a budget gap this fiscal year, WESU faces more pressure than ever to become a self- sustaining community service. To date, the station has raised $13,000. “To be able to keep pace with the revenue we in raised past years pledge drives in this tough…
Russell Perkins ’09 was awarded a 2010 Rhodes Scholarship. Perkins, from Evanston, Ill., graduated with high honors from Wesleyan University in May. He majored in the College of Letters (COL) with a senior thesis titled “Violence in Adornian Aesthetics and the Art of Anselm Kiefer;” his advisor was Khachig Tölölyan, professor of English, professor of letters. Perkins co-founded Wesleyan’s Center for Prison Education which offers Wesleyan courses at Connecticut’s Cheshire Correctional Institution. In addition to offering education for selected inmates, the program provides research and volunteer opportunities for Wesleyan students and faculty. Perkins entered his name into the Rhodes competition,…
Wesleyan University will be hosting an interactive panel on admissions that will be webcast live and co-produced by Unigo and The Wall Street Journal through their partnership WSJ on Campus at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 2, in the Usdan University Center’s Daniel Family Commons. The panel will feature the chief admissions officers from Wesleyan University, Princeton University, the University of Pennsylvania, Williams College, Bryn Mawr College, Marquette University, Grinnell College, and the University of Vermont. They will discuss trends and current issues in admissions. The event will also feature interactive participation from viewers on the web, as well as…
Nineteen students are enrolled in a new grant-funded pilot program that provides classes taught by faculty volunteers and is administered by two graduate students. What makes this program different from any other outreach initiative by Wesleyan is that the students are incarcerated. "The mission of Wesleyan's Center for Prison Education" program is to practice Wesleyan's civic engagement by offering college courses to incarcerated individuals, in order both to enrich the lives of those who are systematically denied access to educational opportunities and to enhance Wesleyan’s academic community," explains program manager Cathy Crimmins Lechowicz, director of community service and volunteerism. The…
This summer, students will have the opportunity to complete semester-long courses in a period of five weeks. Twenty-five courses, taught by Wesleyan faculty, will be offered during the 2010 Summer Session. Classes begin June. 7. "These courses include some highly popular courses that always have more interested students than space during the regular academic year, as well as some new and advanced courses, and some new thematic institutes," explains Joe Bruno, vice president for Academic Affairs and provost. Highlights include three two-course institutes on different themes: neuroscience and psychology, computer programming and computer music, and visualizing (more…)
Corrina KerrThis issue we feature 5 Questions with... J. Kēhaulani Kauanui, associate professor of American studies, associate professor of anthropology. Q. How did you become interested in your area of study? JKK: My area of study is related to researching the history of U.S. imperialism in the Pacific Islands. Researching indigenous issues in Hawai`i, I found it necessary to study how the U.S. government has treated Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiians) in light of its U.S. federal policy on American Indians and Alaska Natives. The policy is convoluted. The U.S. government has alternately classified Kanaka Maoli, as well as other Native Pacific…
As an undergrad, John Shapiro '74 dreamed of writing the great American novel. But two things kept him from doing so. "Talent, and discipline," Shapiro says. "So recognizing that eventually, I decided that if you can't do, you can enable." In 2008, Shapiro and his wife, Shonni Silverberg, M.D.'76 made a $3.5M gift to fund a writing center at Wesleyan. And on Nov. 20, the Shapiro Creative Writing Center, located on the top floor of the Allbritton Center for the Study of Public Life, was dedicated with a ribbon cutting ceremony. "It's my feeling that by catalyzing this effort, and…
American history has almost completely edited out Henry Roe Cloud from its story, even though this full-blood Winnebago was one of the most accomplished and celebrated American Indians in the first half of the twentieth century. Joel Pfister's The Yale Indian: The Education of Henry Roe Cloud corrects this omission. Pfister, chair of the English Department and the Kenan Professor of the Humanities, and former chair of the American Studies Program, began exploring American Indian archives when he was a Yale doctoral student in the 1980s and started his research on Yale’s Roe Cloud letters in 1995. Very little has…
Three times a week, a group of Wesleyan sailors travel 21 miles to Essex, Conn. for a three-hour practice on the Connecticut River. On the weekends, the students tackle the waters in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Vermont or Maine. The Wesleyan Sailing Team, which recently completed its second year participating in the competitive New England Intercollegiate Sailing Association (NEISA), finished its season in 26th place. Forty-two collegiate teams are registered with NEISA. This fall, the student-run group competed in nine regattas and 10 last spring. They finished three ranks under Amherst College, one rank under Middlebury College and four ranks above Williams College. "We started at…