Olivia DrakeQ: Ariel, when were you hired at Wesleyan? A: I started at Wesleyan in October 2006. Q: As the manager of University Relations Information Services, what information do you oversee? A: I manage our data services staff to ensure data integrity throughout our database. We have a database of over 150,000 constituents consisting of alumni, parents, corporations and foundations and friends of Wesleyan. My area is responsible for processing all the gifts we receive as well as all the biographical data we maintain on people. Q: What type of information do you keep track of? A: Each constituent has their…
David PesciElizabeth McAlister, associate professor of religion, associate professor of African American studies, is part of a roundtable discussion on Haitian Music in The New Yorker magazine. McAlistar, an expert on the Vodou religion has written a book titled Rara! Vodou, Power, and Performance in Haiti and Its Diaspora about this musical celebration that is a vital part of Haitian culture.
Laura Grabel, the Lauren B. Dachs Professor of Science and Society, professor of biology, was one of three guests on WNPR's "Where We Live" discussing the international scientific stem cell conference in New Haven known as StemCONN. She and Lori Gruen, associate professor of philosophy, associate professor of feminest, gender and sexuality studies, both presented at the conference.
Kirk Swinehart, assistant professor of history, reviews the historic novel Blindspot in The Chicago Tribune. Set in 18th Century Boston, Swinehart says Blindspot "succeeds as raw entertainment; better, it soars as cunning academic revisionism."
In an opinion piece in The Hartford Courant, Jonathan Cutler, associate professor of sociology, associate professor American studies, comments on the proposal by the Obama Administration to eliminate secret ballot union elections. While Cutler admits this may expose some employees to possible intimidation, he believes it can work if workers are also given the right to throw out ineffective unions.
In a piece for The Moscow Times, Peter Rutland, Colin and Nancy Campbell Professor in Global Issues and Democratic Thought, professor of government, points out that the initial treatment of Russia by the Obama Administration has begun with clumsy missteps and a perspective toward U.S.-Russian relations that offers nothing new compared to what Russia has seen from previous U.S. administrations.
Michael Singer, assistant professor of biology, recently published a study of caterpillars in PLoS 1 that details the possible self-medication by Wooly Bear caterpillars that have been infected with parasites. The study, cited in Discover gives evidence to the theory that some animals are able to self-medicating without being taught to do so.
Laura Grabel, the Lauren B. Dachs Professor of Science and Society, professor of biology, discussed the implications as President Barack Obama is poised to lift the ban on research using human embryonic stem cells. Grabel is a renowned stem cell researcher and co-director of of the University of Connecticut Human Embryonic Stem Cell Core Facility, part of a $100 million human stem cell research initiative created by the State of Connecticut in 2006.
Norman Danner, mathematics and computer science, Fernando Degiovanni, romance languages and literatures, and Greg Voth, physics, were the lastest faculty members awarded tenure at the most recent Board of Trustees meeting. These appointments do not conclude tenure announcements for the 2008-2009 academic year, and more may be forthcoming.
Richard Grossman, chair and professor of economics, commented on the economy and the moves of the Obama Administration to counter the country's sliding economic prospects since the inauguration.
David LowFilm director and screenwriter Mike White ’92 (Chuck & Buck, School of Rock, Year of the Dog) has teamed up with his 60-year-old father Mel as a team on the popular Emmy-winning reality competition, The Amazing Race. Mel White is a prize-winning documentary producer, a gay-rights Christian activist, and a best-selling author who ghostwrote books for Billy Graham and Pat Robertson. White and his father have been interviewed for their appearance on the show in such publications as Newsweek, The Los Angeles Times, and Mel White’s hometown newspaper, The Lynchburg News and Advance in Virginia. In various interviews, Mike White…
Tom Kannam, vice president and chief investment officer, was a guest speaker at the Middlesex Country Chamber of Commerce's Young Professionals Alliance Economy and Finance Seminar on Feb. 24. Jeff Pugliese, staff liaison to the Young Professionals Alliance, said Kannam "provided great insight at a time when the economy is on every one's mind."