Olivia DrakeSeptember 19, 20075min
Posted 09/19/07 For the past three years, Ron Jenkins has shared his office with a 10-foot-long Balinese dragon. But recently, his fire-breathing friend has found a temporary home inside the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. The professor of theater, who uses the dragon as a teaching tool on Balinese theater, lent his mythological model, pictured at right, to the museum last May. The dragon is part of an exhibit titled “Mythic Creatures: Dragons, Unicorns & Mermaids,” which is on exhibit in New York through January 6, 2008. “The dragon is a mythical creature that embodies the…

Olivia DrakeSeptember 19, 20074min
President Michael Roth '78 greets Betty Tishler, wife of the late Max Tishler, for whom Wesleyan dedicated a science lecture hall in his name. Pictured in back is Max and Betty's son, Peter Tishler. Posted 09/19/07 Science Center Room 150 was recently dedicated in the name of a Chemistry Department icon. Members of the Wesleyan community gathered outside the Exley Science Center classroom Sept. 6 to remember the work, mentorship and memory of Max Tishler. The classroom is now named “Tishler Lecture Hall.” Max Tishler touched countless numbers of chemistry students at Wesleyan. He was the president of Merck, Sharpe…

Olivia DrakeSeptember 17, 20075min
Posted 09/17/07 Though music by singer-songwriter Woody Guthrie still influences American songwriters to this day, a Wesleyan Ph.D candidate in ethnomusicology is hoping to draw attention to the influence of Guthrie’s tunes and ideas world-wide. On Sept. 28, Jorge Arévalo Mateus, left, will present "Global Woody," a public program that focuses on Woody Guthrie's enduring musical and cultural legacy as it spreads internationally. Arévalo Mateus is curator of the Woody Guthrie Archives in New York, N.Y. “Guthrie’s American folk songs have long had the capacity to resonate with audiences beyond the U.S., however his international re-emergence seems to have taken…

Olivia DrakeSeptember 17, 20077min
Antoinette Zosherafatain ’10, pictured in the front row, second from the right, and Katie Boyce-Jacino ’10, pictured in the back row, second from the right, proposed a "Malaria Awareness Week" campaign for the United Nations Foundation. As national finalists, they had the opportunity to attend a retreat at the United Nations Foundation offices July 16 and 17. Posted 09/17/07 Every 30 seconds, a child living in sub-Sahara Africa dies from malaria, a virus caused by mosquitoes. Two Wesleyan sophomores want to bring awareness of the preventable disease to campus, and save lives through various activities and fundraising. Antoinette Zosherafatain ’10…

Olivia DrakeSeptember 17, 20076min
With a snip of red and black Wesleyan ribbons, the Suzanne Lemberg Usdan University Center officially opened Sept. 7 following a dedication ceremony. The three-story, triangular brick building houses airy dining facilities for students, faculty and staff, Wesleyan Station post office, ample meeting spaces, the box office, student organization offices, retail space, and café. A rear terrace provides a high-up view of Andrus Field, Olin Library, Foss Hill and College Row. "Today, after several years of planning and over two years of construction we have the opportunity to share our appreciation to the entire Usdan family and many of the…

Olivia DrakeSeptember 17, 20074min
Posted 09/17/07 Stephen D. Crites, the Hedding Professor of Moral Science and professor of philosophy, emeritus, died Sept. 13 of prostate cancer. He was 76 years old. Crites was born in Elida, Ohio and graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University, where he majored in philosophy and concentrated in music. He earned a Bachelor of Divinity degree from Yale and a Ph.D. in philosophical theology also from Yale University. He was ordained to the Methodist ministry. Prior to joining the Wesleyan faculty, Crites was pastor of Grace Methodist Church in Stonington, Conn. and taught at Yale Divinity School and at Colgate University.…

Olivia DrakeSeptember 17, 20073min
Posted 09/17/07 Deciphering codes and genomes, DNA replication and biological catalysis are among topics to be discussed during the 8th Annual Molecular Biophysics Program on Sept. 20 at Wadsworth Mansion in Middletown beginning at 10 a.m. The event is open to the public. This year’s keynote speaker is Stephen J. Benkovic, the Evan Pugh Professor and Eberly Chair in Chemistry at Penn State University. Benkovic will speak on DNA replication. Benkovic is one of the leading mechanistic enzymologists in the world, noted for the versatility of his research. His work on the chemistry of biological systems has made important contributions…

Olivia DrakeSeptember 6, 20074min
Posted 09/06/07 Adriana Cohen Rostoker ’08 always had a curiosity about how the body works. This summer, she had the opportunity to get a closer look as she worked with physicians and researchers on a rare type of cancer syndrome. As a 2007 Alvan T. and Viola D. Fuller American Cancer Society Junior Research Fellow, Cohen Rostoker was awarded a $4,000 grant from the American Cancer Society’s New England Division to complete a 10-week fellowship. She applied for the fellowship last year, seeking an opportunity to learn more about the molecular basis and function of cells. “I have always been…

Olivia DrakeSeptember 6, 20077min
Posted 09/06/07 Nine Connecticut mathematics teachers were named “PIMMS Fellows” on July 11 following 15 months of study directed through the PIMMS (Project to Increase Mastery of Mathematics and Science) Mathematics Leadership Academy (MLA) and a summer intensive program in 2007. This group – the first to earn the distinction since 2001 – will join more than 650 others awarded the title since the inaugural Vanguard Mathematics and Science Fellows of 1984. The MLA project, directed by PIMMS in partnership with the Hamden and Ansonia Public schools, was initiated in Spring 2006, with training provided during the summer and throughout…

Olivia DrakeSeptember 6, 20072min
President Michael Roth has begun an online weblog, or blog, for the Wesleyan community. Posted 09/06/07 Wesleyan’s new president has barely settled into his office and home, but has already started something will further engage him with the Wesleyan community. President Michael Roth has begun a blog. Titled “Roth on Wesleyan,” the blog will be updated periodically with Roth’s views on Wesleyan and related topics. He also welcomes comments from readers. The blog can be found at: http://www.roth.blogs.wesleyan.edu.

Olivia DrakeAugust 7, 20074min
As part of the new Quantitative Analysis Center (QAC)-sponsored apprenticeship program, Max Wu ’08 worked with Steve Stemler, assistant professor of psychology and Cynthia Matthew, visiting assistant professor of psychology, on a project titled “The Concept of Responsibility Within Organizational Structures." Posted 08/07/07 Students had the opportunity to attend daily classes, workshops and conduct research with Wesleyan faculty this summer as part of the new Quantitative Analysis Center (QAC) apprenticeship program. The 10 undergraduate students enrolled in the program took classes in the morning, usually taught by Manolis Kaparakis, director of the QAC, or by another Wesleyan faculty member. In…

Olivia DrakeAugust 7, 20074min
A formal dedication of the Suzanne Lemberg Usdan University Center will take place in the courtyard at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 7. Posted 08/07/07 For those of us on campus, there is no mistaking that construction is nearing completion on the Suzanne Lemberg Usdan University Center. As is the nature of a project of this scope, the building is continuing at a rapid pace in this final month in order to complete the building for new students’ arrival on August 28. Leading up to arrival day, quite a bit of detail work is being completed. Over the next two weeks, several…