Olivia DrakeRandall Pinkston '72, P'05, a national correspondent for CBS News in New York City, credits Wesleyan's WESU 88.1 FM radio for launching his life-long career. "When I was a student, I heard about WESU installing a new transmitter and I wondered, how can I be on a radio station," Pinkston says. "I took the training required by the FCC at the time, passed a test, and was given a one-hour show, five days a week. I called it 'Soul Session.'" Pinkston recruited four other students, and replicated shows broadcasted in their hometowns including R&B and jazz. On the 55th minute…
David PesciIn November, 2008, when all the first round early decision applications were in, the Wesleyan admissions’ staff knew the initial numbers were not a fluke. Applications from high school students seeking admission during the first early decision period at Wesleyan were up 34 percent from the previous year, 2007. Still, the admissions staff maintained cautious enthusiasm. “We were elated, but we also remained a bit guarded because, quite frankly, we didn’t know if the early decision increase would be followed by a decrease in overall applications, especially with the economy taking such a dramatic downturn,” says Nancy Hargrave Meislahn, dean…
Sitting in front of the Senate panel, Laura Grabel was ready for the “when” and “why” questions. But she knew one of these questions held a lot more potential danger to her future than the other. Grabel, the Lauren B. Dachs Professor of Science and Society, professor of biology, is a renowned stem cell researcher. She is also the co-director 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. The stem cell initiative was the state’s response to a veto…
David LowThomas Kail ’99 who received a Tony Award nomination for his direction for the musical hit "In the Heights" (2008 Tony Award for best musical) on Broadway will stage the Encores! Summer Stars production of "The Wiz" this summer at City Center in New York City for a three-week run, June 12 to July 3. Kail will re-team with choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler who won a Tony for his work on "In the Heights." "The Wiz," a retelling of L. Frank Baum’s Wonderful Wizard of Oz with an African-American cast, won seven Tony Awards, including best musical, in 1975. The show…
In his recent article in the Christian Science Monitor, Matthew Shaer talked to two graduates working at small presses, Johnny Temple ’88, publisher of Akashic Books in Brooklyn, N.Y., and Matvei Yankelvich ’95, a founding editor at Ugly Duckling Presse. Shaer reported that while conventional books sales are sinking in the current economy, e-book sales have been soaring. He pointed out, however, that it’s not the larger publishing houses who are moving quickly toward mass digitization but the small presses of the independent publishing world. Temple plans to have e-book content from his company available soon and recognizes both its…
Christopher McKnight Nichols ’00 has co-edited and co-authored (with Charles Mathewes) a challenging essay collection, Prophesies of Godlessness: Predictions of America’s Imminent Secularization from the Puritans to the Present (Oxford University Press, 2008). The book considers the similar expectations of religious and moral change voiced by major American thinkers from the time of the Puritans to today. Generations of Americans, from colonial times to the post-modern present, have witnessed or predicted the coming of “godlessness” of American society. The essay collection examines the history of these prophesies, and each chapter explores a certain era, a particular individual, a community of…
In her new biography, My Happiness Bears No Relation to Happiness: A Poet’s Life in the Palestinian Century (Yale University Press, 2009) Adina Hoffman ’89 tells the story of an exceptional man, Palestinian poet Taha Muhammad Ali, and the culture from which he emerged. Born in 1931 in the Galilee village of Saffuriyya, he had to flee his homeland during the war in 1948. He traveled on foot to Lebanon and returned a year later to find his village destroyed. An autodidact, he has since run a souvenir shop in Nazareth, but his written work is highly respected by many…
Corrina KerrThree Wesleyan alumni took trophies at the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament hosted by New York Times crossword editor Will Shortz in February. A total of 684 competitors from all over the world vied for victory in several categories. Along with the Wesleyan award-winners, three additional alums participated in the tournament. Brian Cimmet '95 placed first in Division E, and 278th overall. Brian is also half of a team writing the blog Brian and Ryan do Crosswords. Brian also participated in a panel on blogging crosswords. Jesse Lansner '96 placed second in the Rookies category (first time competitors), 90th overall, 4th in…
Q: Jenny, in November 2008, you became Wesleyan's first digital asset and project manager for University Communications. How would you describe this role? A: I am in the process of setting up and maintaining a digital repository of photos, logos, and other digital collateral that is used in the University Communications Office, and other offices on campus. I’m also a photo editor, meaning that I respond to photo requests, do color correction, handle stock photography, and schedule photographers for events. Q: If someone, say from the Office of Admission, needs a photograph of student activity for the department's website, how…