Students Catalog Roman Gems during Museum Internship

During the Roman Empire, the art of gem carving or intaglio provided a way to characterize one's self, family or acquaintances. This summer, three Wesleyan students with an interest in classical studies worked with a Roman intaglio collection previously owned by J. Pierpont Morgan (father of J.P. Morgan) at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in Hartford. As interns, Maria Ma '17, Margot Metz '18, and Emma Graham '19 collaborated on documenting and cataloging about 200 intaglio gems, which made the collection accessible to a wider audience of scholars and museum visitors. The gems were hidden from public view for decades. "It's so exciting that our students had the opportunity…

During Wesleyan's Summer Session, students complete semester-long courses in only five weeks. This summer, classes are being offered in drawing, biology, chemistry, computer programming, legal thinking, writing creative nonfiction, foreign policy, the art of the personal essay, the narrative, techniques of fiction, and international politics. All courses have limited enrollment, preserving the small seminar style and opportunity for close relationships with faculty and fellow students. Summer Session I runs May 25 to June 23, and Session II takes place June 28 to July 28. Pictured below is ARST131, Drawing I, taught by Kate TenEyck, assistant professor of art: (more…)

Eight earth and environmental science E&ES 344 Advanced GIS students presented posters at the Northeast Arc Users Group Spring Spatial Technologies Conference, May 9 at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. The posters highlighted the students’ semester-long research and service-learning projects incorporating applications of advanced geographic information systems skills. The project-based course E&ES 344 is taught by Kim Diver, assistant professor of the practice of earth and environmental sciences, and is part of the Academy for Project-Based Teaching and Learning hosted by the Center for Pedagogical Innovation. "The 14 students in the course conducted independent research projects, worked with faculty on their research…

The 2016 Memorial Day Weekend was a historic one for Wesleyan athletics as women’s tennis player Eudice Chong ’18 defended her crown as the NCAA Division III Individual Singles Champion, and the women’s crew team captured a bronze medal in the Varsity 8 Grand Final at the NCAA Division III Rowing Championships.

Tahreem Kahlied '16 delivered the following Senior Class Welcome during the 184th Commencement Ceremony May 22: Five years ago, when I was still living in Karachi, Pakistan, and studying for an accounting certification, I logged on to my Facebook and realized that my wall was flooded with graduation pictures. I wrote the following status in a fit of passive-aggressive jealousy (and I quote): “I just realized that I will never have a regular graduation with a convocation where I get to wear a gown and that flat hat thingy.” I wasn’t just jealous…I was extremely sad. I believed wholeheartedly that I would…

Abigail Gruppuso '16, Austin Tamaddon '16, and Cyrus Nury '16 delivered "Senior Voices" Addresses on May 21 in Memorial Chapel. Andrea Roberts, associate professor of the practice, chemistry, delivered the faculty reflection. Below are the text of their speeches: Abigail Gruppuso '16 The lunch table in Usdan is where my friends and I split into two camps and argue whether Cherry Berry or Froyo World is better. It’s where Mike and I exchange stories about our study abroad experiences in Nepal and Beijing. It’s where I was urged to Feel the Bern and taught how to eliminate food waste. At the…

Members of the Class of 2016 were inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa Society, the oldest national scholastic honor society, in a ceremony May 21 at Memorial Chapel. The Wesleyan Gamma Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa was organized in 1845 and is the ninth-oldest chapter in the country. Membership is conferred for high scholastic achievement. Fall election eligibility is based on a student's grades at the end of junior year; spring election is based on four-year achievement. Seventy-three students were inducted at the ceremony. They join fifteen other seniors inducted in December 2015. PHI BETA KAPPA SPRING 2016 Holt Akers-Campbell Elizabeth Marie…

The Hartford Courant has featured the work of T.R.A.P House, a nonprofit business incubator that targets high-crime, high-poverty areas and has recently started working in the north end of Hartford. T.R.A.P. House is the creation of a team from Wesleyan: Irvine Peck’s-Agaya ’18, Gabe Weinreb ’18, Sara Eismont ’18, and Bashaun Brown, a former student in Wesleyan's Center for Prison Education, where he earned 16 credits while serving six years at the Cheshire Correctional Institution for bank robbery. Brown will be a member of Wesleyan's Class of 2018, starting in the fall. T.R.A.P. stands for "transforming, reinventing and prospering," and is a play…

The Hartford Courant reported on a study of the Wangunks, the indigenous people of Middletown and Portland, Conn., by members of a Wesleyan course taught by J. Kēhaulani Kauanui, associate professor of anthropology, associate professor of environmental studies. Eleven students spent a semester in the archives of the Middlesex County Historical Society studying the Wangunks as part of a course on local Native Americans: "Decolonizing Indigenous Middletown: Native Histories of the Wangunk Indian People." Four of those students presented their research at a March seminar at Russell Library. According to the story: The Wesleyan students made use of a number of sources to piece together a…

The Wesleyan women’s tennis and women’s crew teams both qualified for the NCAA Championships this week. Women’s tennis, ranked No. 8 in the ITA national rankings, returns to the postseason tournament for the first time since the 2000-01 season, and only the second time in program history. The Cardinals earned a first round bye after posting an 11-5 overall record, and will face the winner of No. 14 Mary Washington and Simmons on May 14 at 11 a.m. on the campus of Amherst College, the regional host. If Wesleyan wins, it would advance to play either No. 7 Amherst, SUNY Geneseo…

Anna Fox '19 wrote an essay in The Forward about Wesleyan's Jewish community and the campus political climate surrounding the Israel Palestinian conflict. Though, as a Zionist, she was anxious about coming to a campus with a pro-Palestine reputation, she was met with a pluralistic community, "diverse opinions" and "students exchanging ideas thoughtfully—though rarely in agreement—and leaving the conversations with respect, compassion and nuanced approaches to their ideas." She writes: The passion I see in my peers who engage with Israeli-Palestinian politics, regardless of their political affiliations, gives me so much hope about the future of the Holy Land. My voice is not…

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Students Catalog Roman Gems during Museum Internship

Classes in Drawing, Biology, Programming, Writing Currently Offered during Wesleyan’s Summer Session

8 Students Present Posters at Spatial Technologies Conference

Wesleyan Celebrates Historic Memorial Day Weekend for Women’s Tennis, Crew

Khalied ’16 Delivers Senior Class Welcome (with video)

Gruppuso, Tamaddon, Nury Deliver “Senior Voices” Addresses

73 Seniors Inducted into Phi Beta Kappa Society

Wesleyan’s T.R.A.P. House Business Incubator Working in Hartford’s North End

Wesleyan Class Studies ‘Lost Tribe’ of Lower Connecticut River

Women’s Tennis, Crew Teams Qualify for NCAA Championships

Fox ’19 Writes on Wesleyan’s Jewish Community, Campus Political Climate

Students Toss Objects from Exley’s Roof during Big Drop