Olivia DrakeMarch 31, 20053min
  Yonatan Malin, assistant professor of music, came to Wesleyan in in August 2004. He learned to play piano as an undergraduate.   Posted 03/31/05 Yonatan Malin joined the faculty in the Music Department as an assistant professor in August 2004. Malin instructs classes on music theory and analysis and the history of western music, including the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic periods. Prior to coming to Wesleyan, Malin taught music at the University of Colorado. He completed his undergraduate work at Harvard University and earned his Ph.D. is from the University of Chicago. His dissertation is on "Metric Dissonance and…

Olivia DrakeMarch 31, 20054min
  Henry Goldschmidt, assistant professor of religion and society, joined the Religion Department in 2004.   Posted 03/31/05 Henry Goldschmidt joined the faculty in the Religion Department as an assistant professor of religion and society. Goldschmidt completed his undergraduate work at Wesleyan in 1991, and earned his Ph.D at the University of California Santa Cruz in 2000. His dissertation, which he is currently revising for publication, focuses on Jewish identities and Black-Jewish differences in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Crown Heights, a neighborhood known for its history of conflict between Lubavitch Hasidic Jews and their predominantly Afro-Caribbean neighbors. The manuscript is titled “Race,…

Olivia DrakeMarch 31, 200510min
  Cathy Crimmins-Lechowicz, director of Community Service and Volunteerism, stands outside a Northern Middlesex Habitat for Humanity house, where she places volunteer workers.   Posted 03/31/05 Q: The Office of Community Service and Volunteerism (OCS) fosters community building within Wesleyan and with the communities of Middletown and Middlesex County. How are some ways the department goes about this? A: We, meaning my colleagues and I here at the Center for Community Partnerships, meet with community organizations and students regularly to hear about the needs, interests and possible connections that we can facilitate. We support current programs and encourage students and community…

Olivia DrakeMarch 31, 20058min
  Clare Rogan, curator of the Davison Art Center, looks over "Self-Portrait in Profile," sketched by German artist Kathe Kollwitz in 1927. The piece is included in "A Passion for Prints" on exhibit through May 22.   Posted 03/31/.05 Q: You started here on February 14th. What attracted you to the university? A: I was attracted to the position of curator at the Davison Art Center because it is a wonderful combination of museum curatorial work and academia. I am very much looking forward to teaching in the fall. At the same time, I get to do the curatorial work I love. It is…

Olivia DrakeMarch 31, 20056min
Maria Cruz-Saco will become dean of the college.   Posted 03/31/05 Maria A. Cruz-Saco, interim dean of the college at Connecticut College, will become dean of the college at Wesleyan University on July 18. Wesleyan's dean of the college is responsible for the programs and services that support student learning and development. The office of the dean encompasses the class deans, the Office of Residential Life, student and behavioral health services, the Office of Student Activities, the Office of Community Service, the chaplains, and the new Usdan University Center. The dean serves as a member of the university's senior staff.…

Olivia DrakeMarch 31, 20059min
  Jeff Gilarde, director of Scientific Imaging, helps students and faculty members use Wesleyan’s newest confocal microscope inside the Advanced Instrumentation Center.   Posted 03/31/05 Jeff Gilarde loves to scope out new research. But to explore his big ideas, he has to look small. As the Biology Department’s director of Scientific Imaging, Gilarde spends his days looking through the lab’s five microscopes. He also assists faculty and students with their microscopic research inside the Advanced Instrumentation Center, located under the pathway between Hall-Atwater Laboratory and Shanklin. “Look, these are liver cells,” he says, pointing out a cell’s image, glowing through…

Olivia DrakeMarch 31, 200510min
  Rich DeCapua, assistant director of Residential Life, lounges in the newly-remodeled Clark Hall.   Posted 03/31/05 Q: Were you hired in as assistant director of Residential Life in 2002? A: I was originally an area coordinator for Clark Hall and Foss Hill, and I was then promoted to assistant director at the end of my first year. This is my third year at Wesleyan, and I’m enjoying every minute of it! Q: What attracted you to Wesleyan? A: Well, I was looking for a place where I knew I could be successful professionally, but would also be challenged. The…

Olivia DrakeMarch 31, 20052min
  Posted 03/31/05 The next time you grab a bite to eat or enjoy a drink at the Red & Black Café, you’ll also be helping students in need at Wesleyan. Ed Thorndike, Jr. '89 and Karen Kaffen-Polascik, owners of Wes Wings and Red & Black Cafe, will donate 1 percent of their gross sales from Red & Black Cafe to support financial aid through the Wesleyan Annual Fund (WAF). "This is something we've really been wanting to do," says Thorndike. "I contacted University Relations and we were able to set it up and make it work. It's really gratifying…

Olivia DrakeMarch 31, 20055min
  Astronomy Professor William Herbst studies the star, KH 15D. Pictured are images of KH 15D out of eclipse (left) and in eclipse (right) as taken from Wesleyan's observatory.   Posted 03/31/05 It's 3 million years old and 2,400 light years away, but a distant star discovered by Wesleyan researchers has given insight into how our solar system may have formed. NASA wants to know more, and has given William Herbst almost a quarter of a million dollars to keep looking.   This month NASA (the National Aeronautics and Space Administration) awarded Wesleyan Professor of Astronomy William Herbst a $216,000…

Olivia DrakeMarch 31, 20053min
  Assistant Professor of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry Manju Hingorani researches pathways that lead to carcinogenesis.   Posted 03/31/05 Assistant Professor of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry Manju Hingorani recently earned an award totaling more than $571,700 from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for research on pathways leading to carcinogenesis, including the development of colon, rectal, stomach, and ovarian cancers. The five-year grant will specifically fund the research of Hingorani's laboratory focuses on the workings of proteins responsible for DNA mismatch repair with the long-term goal of understanding how defects in repair are linked to many forms of cancers. "I am…

Olivia DrakeMarch 31, 200511min
Phil Cotharin, temperature controls mechanic/energy management specialist, examines a variable frequency drive that controls the neighboring air handling unit in the Exley Science Center. The system significantly reduces energy waste. Posted 03/31/05 Use less. Get more. That’s how Phil Cotharin, temperature controls mechanic/energy management specialist, is helping Wesleyan save thousands a year by slashing energy usage. In an agreement finalized February 17, Connecticut Light & Power Company has agreed to pay Wesleyan a $27,450 incentive for keeping energy usage down. “When Wesleyan uses less energy, CLPC can produce less energy, and it won’t have to build another power plant to…

Olivia DrakeMarch 28, 20052min
TAPS: Tap virtuoso Dianne Walker teaches students how to tap dance during DanceMasters Weekend at Wesleyan March 5. DanceMasters Weekend allowed dance students to experience a wide range of contemporary dance techniques by taking classes with master teachers from premiere dance companies over an intensive two-day period. (Photo by Lex Leifheit)   SWING BACK: Robert Battle, artistic director of Battleworks Dance Company, teaches students in the Bessie Schonberg Studio on March 6. (Photo by John Elmore)   TUCK AND TWIST: Pascal Rioult, founding artistic director of the Pascal Rioult Dance Theatre, teachers a graduate student a dance maneuver during a…