Students’ On-Campus Arrivals Staggered Over One-Week Period

Wesleyan welcomed students back to campus during the week of Aug. 24. Traditionally, students would arrive on New Student Arrival Day, and be accompanied to their new home-away-from-home by families and fellow students. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Residential Life stretched Arrival Day activities over the span of seven days, and students were assigned a formal arrival date and time to minimize crowds and allow for appropriate social distancing. Only students could enter residences during the move-in period. Classes began virtually on Aug. 31. While COVID-19 is continuing to tear through Japan, Tokyo resident and first-year-student Takumi Abe ’24 feared…

Last March, as the COVID-19 pandemic began to plague the United States, Dr. Amy Fogelman '97 became engrossed in the country's lack of understanding about the virus, and even more so in the lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare workers. "At certain hospitals in Massachusetts masks were required, but in others, physicians were told that they were not allowed to wear masks, even if they personally supplied them, because administrators were afraid that the masks would 'scare' the patients," Fogelman recalls. "I watched as my colleagues on social media shared their fears for their lives, and their patients’ lives,…

On May 22, the Office of Student Affairs announced the names of students who received academic or leadership prizes, fellowships, and scholarships in 2019–20. More than 300 students and recent alumni received one of the University's 180 prizes. (View the list below or on the Student Affairs website.) Scholarships, fellowships, and leadership prizes are granted to students and student organizations based on criteria established for each prize or award. Certain University prizes are administered by the Student Affairs/Deans’ Office, while others are administered by the Office of Student Activities and Leadership Development (SALD). (more…)

A clothing brand that promotes education and discussion of mental health and wellness is the winner of the Wesleyan COLLISION Spring 2020 pitch competition sponsored by the Patricelli Center for Social Entrepreneurship. Created by Blake Northrop '22, Be Better consists of the clothing brand itself—which highly values customer participation and artist collaboration—as well as an online community forum for followers and members to connect, discuss, and share their stories about mental health. On May 5, Northrop and more than dozen other aspiring student entrepreneurs pitched their social benefit business ideas. Watch a recording of the Pitch Night online here. (more…)

The shows must go on. Rather than allowing the COVID-19 pandemic to force a final curtain call on theatrical productions, Wesleyan's Theater Department pivoted to an online format. On May 1, and again on May 2, the department offered livestreamed performances of The Method Gun, featuring 10 student-actors. A replay of the Saturday performance is available for viewing on The Method Gun @ Wes website. After countless hours of line rehearsals, overcoming technical frustrations, and learning how to act and teach theater in a virtual world, show director and Assistant Professor of Theater Katie Pearl breathed a sigh of relief…

The student-run Wesleyan Investment Group (WIG) is celebrating a first-place victory in a six-month-long collegiate investment contest that concluded April 9. Despite the COVID-19 epidemic's detrimental impact to the stock market, WIG managed to garner a 27.04% return in the 2019–20 Adirondack Cup, a stock-picking contest sponsored by the advisor to The Adirondack Small Cap Fund (ADKSX). Wesleyan competed against 22 other institutions in New England and New York. Each student team managed a hypothetical $1 million portfolio consisting of five small cap equities. Team members studied the performance of more than 100 businesses and predicted which ones would perform…

Due to the coronavirus outbreak, Wesleyan canceled all spring semester events, and courses moved to an online format. Wesleyan's Piping Performance course, however, welcomed the Wesleyan community to "attend" their midterm performances on April 7 through the Zoom platform. "Our organ class is thriving in spite of our transition to online classes," said course instructor Alcee Chriss, artist-in-residence and university organist. "It is a particular challenge to teach organ when none of your students have access to one. Many of the students have opted to give their performances on piano for this semester." Six of the 13 students wrote original…

The Class of 2023 gathered in Memorial Chapel on Aug. 29 for a Getting Good Advice workshop presented by Wesleyan's Academic Peer Advisors and Deans Laura Patey and Jennifer Wood. Academic Peer Advisors are juniors and seniors who work during New Student Orientation and throughout the academic year to enhance student access to academic resources and academic life. They meet one-on-one with students to provide peer advice regarding topics such as time management, organization, study strategies, and other academic skills. In addition, peer advisors lead workshops in residence halls and with student groups on topics such as metacognitive learning strategies, public…

On Aug. 28, 781 members of the Class of 2023—along with their families—flocked to campus for Arrival Day. Hauling armfuls of personal belongings and comforts from home, students settled into their new home-away-from-home amid fond (and a few teary) farewells. President Michael Roth '78 provided a personal welcome, helping carry students' belongings into residence halls and offering warm greetings to the new members of the Wesleyan family. Athletic teams also helped carry the load, hoisting plastic tubs of cold-weather clothing and draped bedding over their shoulders. Clark Hall volunteers had organized their sidewalk space, chalking it into squares labeled with…

This fall, Wesleyan welcomes 140 first-year international students to campus. They hail from 37 countries including Ghana, Austria, India, Taiwan, South Korea, Azerbaijan, United Arab Emirates, Cambodia, Iran, Zimbabwe, China, and Senegal. This year, for the first time in Wesleyan's history, the University welcomes students from Burundi and Cambodia. (more…)

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 Morning Call: "Allen Student Wins 'Hamilton' Scholarship, Congrats from Lin-Manuel Miranda" Anna Tjeltveit of Allentown, Penn., winner of the 2019 Wesleyan University Hamilton Prize for Creativity, is profiled. She shares how her winning submission, a one-act play titled, "Five Steps," came together at the last minute, and discusses her early career in theater as well as her plans for her time at Wesleyan. 2. WJLA: "Arlington Teen Wins ‘Hamilton’ Prize Gets a Shout Out from Lin-Manuel Miranda" Cole…

Wesleyan has awarded its prestigious Hamilton Prize for Creativity to three students whose creative written works best reflect the originality, artistry, and dynamism of Hamilton: An American Musical, created by Lin-Manuel Miranda ’02, Hon. ’15 and directed by Thomas Kail ’99. Anna Tjeltveit of William Allen High School in Allentown, Penn., was awarded the grand prize—a four-year, full-tuition scholarship to attend Wesleyan—for her one-act play titled “Five Steps.” In addition, this year for the first time, Wesleyan awarded two honorable mentions along with $5,000 stipends. These went to Cole Goco of Arlington, Va., (H-B Woodlawn High School) for his web…

Students’ On-Campus Arrivals Staggered Over One-Week Period

Wesleyan Alumni, Students Take Action during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Students Honored with 2019–20 Prizes, Fellowships, Scholarships

Students Pitch Social Benefit Business Ideas

Theater Department Produces, Livestreams The Method Gun

Wesleyan Investment Group Takes 1st Place in Adirondack Cup

Pipe Organ Class Hosts Midterm Performances Online

Peer Advisors Offer Good Advice Workshop for Class of 2023

Wesleyan Welcomes 781 Students on Arrival Day (with video and photo gallery)

New International Students Hail from 37 Countries

Wesleyan in the News

Wesleyan Awards 2019 Hamilton Prize for Creativity