Olivia DrakeOctober 20, 20081min
Seiji Naito, adjunct associate professor of Asian languages and literatures emeritus, died in Zama City, Japan. He was 66 years old. Naito was trained as a linguist. He earned a bachelor of arts in education from Yokohama National University and a Ph.D in linguistics from Harvard University. He held positions at the University of Hawaii, Boston University, and Tokyo Junshin Women's College before joining the Wesleyan faculty as adjunct assistant professor in 1993. In 1999 he was promoted to adjunct associate professor, and he left Wesleyan in 2003. (more…)

Olivia DrakeOctober 20, 20081min
Q: Donna, how long have you worked at Wesleyan as the department assistant/customer service assistant for Physical Plant? A: It's been eight years. Q: The extension X3400 is one most people on campus are familiar with. A: This is my number, the direct number for all customer service needs. Q: Have you had any odd-ball calls? A: I have to say the funniest call I received was a request asking that we send someone to clean a refrigerator out because she had rotten chicken that was smelling. (more…)

Olivia DrakeOctober 20, 20082min
Matt Connolly '09 is the author of several film reviews , published in Reverse Shot, a quarterly, independently published film journal. Last winter, Connolly sent writing samples to the Reverse Shot editors and he was offered a contributing writer position. Since, he has written reviews on the films Boy A, The Chronicles of Narnia: Price Caspian, Felon, The Incredible Hulk, Frozen River, and others online here. Connolly also had the opportunity to attend press screenings for select films and have his reviews published the day a film is released. "As film criticism is ultimately a field I want to pursue,…

Olivia DrakeOctober 20, 20081min
A service project undertaken by Wesleyan students for the Helen Carlson Wildlife Sanctuary in Portland, Conn. has drawn the attention of journalists. A piece title "Bird-Watching Deck Built with Respect for Environment appeard in the Oct. 19 Sunday Hartford Courant: http://www.courant.com/features/hc-fancybirders.art0oct18,0,3286282.story . Another piece titled "Eye Candy: Bird-Watching in High Design" ran in the Oct Chronicle of Higher Education: Chronicle of Higher Education blog . The design and building of the structure, which was part of the Feet to the Fire project was detailed in the Connection: https://newsletter.blogs.wesleyan.edu/2008/09/23/students-create-innovative-structure-for-audubon-society/ .

Olivia DrakeOctober 20, 20081min
Wesleyan was mentioned in an Oct. 15 issue of The Middletown Press for making "enormous strides in sustainability." Wesleyan has established a climate action plan with a pledge for the campus to become carbon neutral by 2050. In the article, Bill Nelligan, the director of environmental health, safety and sustainability, stated that "Wesleyan has a strong commitment and the mechanisms in place to live up to those commitments." The campus has implemented numerous initiatives, including a rideshare program, kitchen waste donation to the city composting program, and a solar panel donation to city schools.

Olivia DrakeOctober 20, 20081min
The following people joined Wesleyan University in September and October 2008. Rebecca McCallum was hired by Olin Library as a cataloging librarian. Kathy Tedone was hired by the Center for the Humanities as an administrative assistant. Lisa LaPlant was hired by the President's Office as an assistant to the secretary of the university. Brian Nangle was hired by Residential Life as an area coordinator. Denise Skura was hired by Human Resources as a payroll and human resources assistant. Karen Nichols was hired by the Usdan University Center as an administrative assistant. Lashawn Springer was hired by the Office of Admission…