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On Feb. 1, Francisco Tezén II '97 became the next president and chief executive officer of A Better Chance, a national nonprofit that places talented young people of color into the leadership pipeline through increased access to academically rigorous secondary schools. Tezén, a first-generation Peruvian-American, will lead the nonprofit when racial equity, educational opportunity, diversity, access and inclusion are at the forefront of our nation’s collective conscience. He was formerly the chief development officer at the Food Bank For New York City. “My parents, an immigrant father and a black mother from rural North Carolina, stressed the importance of education…

Gerald Baliles ’63, Hon. ’88, who had served as the 65th governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, died Oct. 29, 2019. He was 79. A government major at Wesleyan, he earned his juris doctorate degree from the University of Virginia School of Law. After a stint in the Virginia attorney general's office, he practiced law in Richmond, with a focus on energy and environmental issues. Elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 1976, he became the Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Virginia in 1981, and was, during his term, selected by his peers as Outstanding Attorney General of…

The first cohort of students participating in the Wesleyan Engage 2020 (E2020) initiative dedicated their winter breaks to working for voter registration and issues advocacy groups, as well as for a range of candidates for presidential, congressional, and local offices. The 16 students participating over winter break were stationed in states as far-flung as Georgia and Alaska, New York and Arizona. Wesleyan awarded over $20,000 to assist with participants’ living and travel expenses while they conducted this work. Many students chose to work with organizations advocating for particular issues, including criminal justice reform, housing justice, reproductive rights, and immigration. Others…

This January, The Wesleyan Connection newsletter celebrates 15 years of providing news about our students, alumni, faculty, staff, and campus happenings. The Connection, spearheaded by the Office of University Communications, debuted in January 2005 as the University's first electronic newsletter. It replaced the former Campus Report, a printed newsletter for faculty and staff. "By going electronic, we were able to share institutional messages and stories with all students, alumni, and parents as well," said Campus News Editor Olivia Drake MALS ’08, who has served as the publication's editor since its founding. "The Connection continues to be a popular vessel for…

This month, the Jewett Center for Community Partnerships announced the grantees of the JCCP Student Innovation Fund. Students from a range of majors and backgrounds—all with shared interests in utilizing resources in innovative ways to positively impact the greater Middletown community—applied to this fund. The Student Innovation Fund provides up to $750 for spring or summer projects that prioritize: Collaboration between student groups, faculty/staff, and/or community partners; Investigation of the impact of our civic engagement efforts; and Sharing of ideas and learnings in civic engagement on campus and beyond. All student efforts are representative of the JCCP’s continued commitment to…

Wesleyan wrestling head coach Drew Black was inducted into the New England Wrestling Association (NEWA) Hall of Fame Jan. 19 at the Rhode Island Convention Center in Providence, R.I. The induction ceremony was held in conjunction with the NEWA Dual Meet Championships. Black is the only coach in the 2020 NEWA Hall of Fame Induction Class. He'll was joined by former wrestlers Joseph Adam of Trinity, Brian Glatz of WPI, and John Marsh of Bridgewater State, as well as contributor Dwayne Dawson of Western New England. "To be called a coach is an honor. Coaching at Wesleyan is an honor…

In this recurring feature in The Wesleyan Connection, we highlight some of the latest news stories about Wesleyan and our alumni. Wesleyan in the News 1. The Washington Post: "How One College Is Helping Students Get Engaged in Elections—and, No, It’s Not Political" President Michael Roth writes about Wesleyan's initiative to engage students meaningfully in work in the public sphere ahead of the 2020 elections, and calls on other colleges and universities to do the same. He writes: "Now is the time for higher education leaders to commit their institutions to find their own paths for promoting student involvement in the…

On Jan. 12, several creatives gathered in Mumbai, India, to share valuable insights on liberal arts and the impact of Indian cinema on global entertainment. The event, Liberal Arts + Film and Storytelling: A Wesleyan University Forum, brought together Wesleyan faculty, distinguished alumni, aspiring students and their parents, and the wider Wesleyan community across the globe. Speakers included Wesleyan President Michael Roth '78; Scott Higgins, Charles W. Fries Professor of Film Studies and director of Wesleyan’s College of Film and the Moving Image; and acclaimed global film- and entertainment-industry personalities Matthew Weiner '87, P '18, and Navdeep Singh. Weiner is…

From Wisconsin to Massachusetts, Assistant Professor of Theater Katie Pearl has visited five small American towns named Milton and developed a series of performances, each focused on (and performed in) a particular Milton. Since 2012, Pearl and Lisa D'Amour—known collectively as PearlDamour—have led the performance and community engagement experiment. In November 2019, PearlDamour released MILTON, a book that includes the full text of PearlDamour's North Carolina performance, along with photos and excerpts from performances in Oregon and Massachusetts, and essay reflections on the process and practice of community-based art-making. For more than 20 years, Obie-Award winning PearlDamour has pushed the boundaries…

Three Wesleyan faculty recently received Academic Research Enhancement Awards (R15) from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). R15 grants stimulate research at educational institutions that provide baccalaureate training for a significant number of the nation's research scientists, but that have not been major recipients of NIH support. Awards provide funding for small-scale, new, or ongoing health-related meritorious research projects, enhancing the research environment at eligible institutions and exposing students to research opportunities. Amy MacQueen, associate professor of molecular biology and biochemistry, received a $492,900 award on Aug. 7 for her research titled "How do Synaptonemal Complex Proteins Mediate the Coordinated?" MacQueen…

Takeshi Watanabe, assistant professor of East Asian studies, is the author of Flowering Tales: Women Exorcising History in Heian Japan, published by Harvard University Press in January 2020. The book is the first extensive literary study of A Tale of Flowering Fortunes (Eiga monogatari), a historical tale that covers about 150 years of births, deaths, and happenings in late Heian society, a golden age of court literature in women’s hands. According to the publisher: Takeshi Watanabe contends that the blossoming of tales, marked by The Tale of Genji, inspired Eiga’s new affective history: an exorcism of embittered spirits whose stories needed to be…

Martha "Marty" Gilmore, George I. Seney Professor of Geology, professor of earth and environmental sciences, is the author of a research article titled "Present-day volcanism on Venus as evidenced from weathering rates of olivine," published in Science Advances Vol. 6 on Jan. 3, 2020. According to the paper's abstract: At least some of Venus’ lava flows are thought to be <2.5 million years old based on visible to near-infrared (VNIR) emissivity measured by the Venus Express spacecraft. However, the exact ages of these flows are poorly constrained because the rate at which olivine alters at Venus surface conditions, and how that…

Tezén ’97 Appointed President, CEO of A Better Chance

Former Virginia Governor Baliles ’63, Hon. ’88, Remembered

Students Volunteer with Civic Organizations Over Winter Break

Wesleyan Connection Celebrates 15 Years of News Distribution

2020 JCCP Student Innovation Fund Grantees Announced

Coach Black Inducted Into New England Wrestling Hall of Fame

Wesleyan in the News

Alumni Gather at Liberal Arts + Film and Storytelling Forum in Mumbai

Pearl Creates MILTON, a Performance, Community Engagement Experience

MacQueen, Coolon, Mukerji Receive NIH Academic Research Enhancement Awards

Watanabe Explores Japanese Historical Tale in New Book

Gilmore’s Paper on Venus’s Volcanoes Published in Science Advances