Roth to Speak During Middlesex Chamber of Commerce Luncheon

Wesleyan President Michael Roth '78 will be the featured speaker during the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce's annual Business and Education Partnership and Hal Kaplan Middletown Mentor Program Recognition Luncheon. President Roth will speak from noon to 1 p.m. on Tuesday, April 27 via Zoom. The talk, which will focus on Wesleyan's pandemic response, is open to the public. To join the meeting, log into: https://zoom.us/j/99052690757 (Webinar ID: 990 5269 0757)

On April 9, Wesleyan hosted its 41st Annual Philip B. Brown ’44 Memorial Lecture. President Michael Roth ’78 led a conversation with featured speakers Colorado Senators Michael Bennet ’87 and John Hickenlooper ’74, MA ’80, Hon. ’10. Maria Santana-Guadalupe ’98, anchor and correspondent for CNN en Español, provided the introduction and moderated an audience Q&A. The speakers discussed leadership, civic engagement, immigration, gun safety, the COVID-19 pandemic, equity and anti-racism, coalition building, filibusters, and the paths both the senators have traveled from Wesleyan to Washington, D.C. (Watch the entire program online here.) (more…)

Several Wesleyan faculty and alumni have been featured in national media outlets recently. They include: The New York Times—Christina Crosby, 67, Dies; Feminist Scholar Wrote of Becoming Disabled NBC News—Biden Picks Jessica Rosenworcel [’93] as Acting FCC Chief NBC Think—Trump’s ‘1776 Commission’ Tried to Rewrite U.S. History. Biden Had Other Ideas.; by Robyn Autry Inside Higher Ed—Everything Won’t Be Different; by Michael Roth ’78 NPR’s Short Wave—Let’s Go Back to Venus!; features Martha Gilmore MyRecordJournal.com—WRESTLING: Paint It, Black! Wesleyan Coach Drew Black of Cheshire Tabbed for National Hall of Fame The New York Times Magazine—Poem: Variation on a Theme by Elizabeth Bishop; poem by John…

Wesleyan's 2021 spring semester is scheduled to begin Tuesday, Feb. 9, with university housing opening Friday, Feb. 5. All incoming students will be required to quarantine for two weeks upon arrival and be tested for COVID-19 on campus. Classes will take place online only for the first two weeks. "Starting a few weeks later than usual, combined with careful testing and quarantine protocols around arrival, should allow us to start off on the right foot, despite the high positivity rates around the country," wrote Wesleyan President Michael Roth '78 in a Jan. 20 post. "Of course, we will have to…

Wesleyan University recently joined with 58 of our peer colleges and universities in filing an amicus brief to halt the implementation of the July 6 directive by the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) regarding international student enrollment for the fall of 2020. The brief is in support of the petition filed by Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology last week that seeks to enjoin DHS/ICE from implementing a rule that would deny visas and deport international students whose campuses are unable to resume in-person courses in the fall due…

Following a March move to remote learning because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Wesleyan has released a detailed set of plans and launched a new Reactivating Campus website, which will serve as a key information hub for the campus community, as the University prepares to reopen to in-person instruction for the 2020 fall semester. Wesleyan announced in mid-June that it intended to resume in-person classes on Aug. 31, pending the ongoing recommendations of University, state, and federal health and safety experts. With a promising current public health trajectory in Connecticut and in Middletown, the University’s pandemic planning group is continuing to…

President Michael S. Roth and Vice President for Equity & Inclusion Alison Williams sent the following messages to the campus community on June 24, 2020: To the Wesleyan community: The virulent and deeply entrenched racism in American society is antithetical to the mission of Wesleyan University, and we pledge to redouble our efforts to combat that racism – on campus and beyond. In thinking about how best to do this, we recently conducted a public conversation that included a panel of distinguished alumni with important experience in this area. The panel challenged the University to examine the barriers that prevent…

Wesleyan President Michael Roth '78 announced in an all-campus message on Monday, June 15, that the University plans to resume in-person classes in the fall, pending the ongoing recommendations of University, state, and federal health and safety experts. "Given the current public health trajectory for Connecticut, we are hoping to welcome most students, faculty, and staff back to Middletown in safe conditions in late August," President Roth wrote. "One thing we are certain about: it will be good to be together again—safely—on campus." Roth noted that the coming semester will look different than those of the past because of the…

The recent death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man killed while being forcibly detained by police, has ignited the United States and brought issues of inequality and violence against black people to the forefront of the national consciousness. Alison Williams ’81, vice president for equity and inclusion/Title IX officer, and Wesleyan President Michael Roth '78 hosted a panel discussion on Thursday, June 11, titled “Toward an Anti-Racist Community,” featuring six alumni of color who discussed how to move beyond the pain and trauma of the current cultural moment toward constructive action. “What I hope is that this will be…

After George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was killed during his arrest on May 25 in Minneapolis, sparking nationwide demonstrations, members of Wesleyan’s administration and alumni are speaking out against racial injustice and offering resources for community members. On May 30, Wesleyan President Michael Roth '78 shared a Roth on Wesleyan post titled "Build an Anti-Racist Community in Which Hatred and Intolerance Have No Place." Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd. We speak their names with sorrow and with anger. In recent weeks, we confront once again the fact that in America some people so radically devalue African Americans that…

Wesleyan in the News 1. The Chronicle of Higher Education: "Beware the Doyens of Disruption" In this op-ed, President Michael Roth '78 responds to predictions that COVID-19 is going to "change everything" in higher education with a reminder that "the desire of bright young people from all over the world for an on-campus education remains strong." He writes, "It’s because the connectivity among people and practices that takes place in person intensifies the learning experience." 2. HxA Podcast: "Michael Roth, Safe Enough Spaces" President Michael Roth '78 is interviewed on the Heterodox Academy's podcast about his book, Safe Enough Spaces:…

Wesleyan President Michael Roth ’78 made the following remarks (as prepared) during the 188th Commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 24. President Roth's remarks were delivered live on campus to a virtual audience: Members of the Board of Trustees, members of the faculty and staff, distinguished guests, new recipients of graduate degrees, and the mighty Class of 2020—I welcome you to the 188th annual Commencement of Wesleyan University! I am honored to present some remarks on this joyous occasion. First, let us pause to recollect those members of our community who have passed away over the last year. We hold them…

Roth to Speak During Middlesex Chamber of Commerce Luncheon

Senators Bennet ’87, Hickenlooper ’74 Discuss Leadership during Brown Memorial Lecture

Wesleyan in the News

President Roth on the New Year, New Semester

Wesleyan Joins Amicus Brief in Support of International Students with F-1 Visas

Wesleyan Releases Detailed Plans for Campus Reactivation

Building an Antiracist Community

Wesleyan Announces Initial Plans to Reactivate Campus in the Fall

Alumni of Color Help Wesleyan Plot a Path ‘Toward an Anti-Racist Community’

Wesleyan Community Reacts to George Floyd’s Death

Wesleyan in the News

President Roth Delivers Welcome Address at 2020 Commencement