Olivia DrakeThree members of Wesleyan’s Campus Community Emergency Response Team (C-CERT) assisted the City of Middletown in manning a temporary cooling station June 9. Stacy Baldwin, construction project coordinator in Physical Plant – Facilities; Cheryl-Ann Hagner, director of the University Events and Scheduling Office; and Brian Nangle, area coordinator in Residential Life, volunteered four hours each at the public station at Middletown High School. Their task was to register, monitor and assist personnel, ensuring their comfort during the heat wave. Formed in September 2009, Wesleyan’s C-CERT was trained to assist first responders, provide immediate assistance to victims, and organize volunteers at…
Olivia DrakeThe student-run group, Wesleyan Clinic Escorts, is the recipient of the annual Catherine Roraback Award, given by NARAL Pro-Choice Connecticut. The Catherine Roraback Awards is presented to individuals or organizations that have demonstrated leadership, courage and activism in the struggle to protect privacy rights, the legal right to obtain an abortion and access to reproductive health for all women. Students involved in the clinic escort travel to the Summit Women’s Center in Bridgeport, Conn. on Tuesday and Friday mornings during the academic year. The center performs abortions on these days. According to the Wesleyan Clinic Escorts Facebook site, the group…
Composer Nicholas Stoia has written three songs based on poems by Elizabeth Willis, the Shapiro-Silverberg Associate Professor of Creative Writing, associate professor of English. Stoia performed the songs at the Monadnock Music Festival July 15, 16 and 18 in New Hampshire.
The Connecticut Clean Energy Fund sponsored a two-day workshop on solar energy generation and wind energy generation for Connecticut teachers July 15-16 in Usdan University Center. Wesleyan’s Project to Increase the Mastery of Mathematics and Science (PIMMS) taught the workshops. The teachers participated in a number of activities appropriate for use with middle and high school-level students. The solar energy workshop included lessons on measuring solar angles, solar radiation, convection heating, building a solar house and solar cooker and photovoltaics. The wind energy workshop included lessons on hurricane winds, measuring wind speeds, wind and windmill generation, blade design, generator and…
David LowJessica Posner ’09 was declared the top world-changer among all Americans under 25 in the 'Do Something Awards,' at a live broadcast on July 19 from the Hollywood Palladium on VH1. She received $100,000 for Shining Hope for Communities, an organization she co-founded that last August with Kennedy Odede '12 and that created the first free school for girls in Kibera, Africa’s largest slum. A Denver resident, Posner was selected among five finalists by voting on the Internet. She also has started a gardening program, a library, an Internet-ready computer center and introduced ecologically friendly latrines. In August, Shining Hope…
Cinema Blend writer Katey Rich ’06 recently interviewed director Jon Turteltaub ’85 about his latest film The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, which stars actor Nicholas Cage, who has worked with the director on several other projects. The movie—which opened nationwide last weekend—deals with Balthazar Blake, a master sorcerer (Cage) in modern-day Manhattan who has to defend the city from his arch-nemesis, Maxim Horvath (Alfred Molina). Balthazar needs help, so he recruits a reluctant protege (Jay Baruchel). Both Rich and Turteltaub were Wesleyan film majors. Here is an excerpt from the interview: Katey Rich: What’s the working relationship like between you and Nic…
Somerville, Mass. resident Sasha Chanoff ’94, founder of Mapendo International, will receive this year’s Charles Bronfman Prize for his work rescuing thousands of African refugees overlooked by other organizations. This humanitarian prize annually recognizes and awards $100,000 to an individual under the age of 50 who has contributed to the betterment of the world and has been influenced by Jewish values. Read more in the Somerville Journal.
Jason Jacobs ’98 is the founder and CEO of the iPhone application RunKeeper. RunKeeper "makes tracking your workouts fun, social, and easy to understand so that you can improve the quality of your fitness." Jacobs works with a staff of eight people and has more than 20,000 followers on Facebook. Jacobs sold about 5,200 copies of his app in the first two months. He now has more than 2 million users. Time Magazine named RunKeeper as a "Top 10 iPhone App" in 2009.
Benjamin Lyons ’81, who runs the independent label Valid Records, was recently interviewed by Dan Godston at Examiner.com. Lyons talks about his early musical influences while growing up in Pennsylvania, his thoughts on the music scene in New Orleans, and running the record label. Valid Records is dedicated to presenting the creative possibilities of the New Orleans music scene and has released recordings by artists such as Rob Wagner, Jonathan Freilich, and Hamid Drake. The following is an excerpt from the interview: Dan Godston: How did you get the idea to start Valid Records? Benjamin Lyons: By the late ’90s,…
Cynthia RockwellTwo Wesleyan graduates, Michael Jacobs ’85 and Arthur Haubenstock ’84, joined five other experts in the field of renewable energy in Washington, D.C., on April 26, on a Capitol Hill panel. The seven offered a presentation to Congressional staff on advances needed to integrate renewable resources—including wind and solar energy—into the electric grid. The panel was organized by the EESI (Environmental and Energy Study Institute) and WIRES (the Working Group for Investment in Reliable and Economic Electric Systems). Jacobs, a senior engineer with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) focuses on wind power, and Haubenstock is chief counsel and director…
Q: Debbie, you’re the administrative assistant for the Archaeology Program, Medieval Studies Program and the Classical Studies Department. Anything else?! A: In October 2010, I was given a promotion and added the responsibility of also working for the English Department and Writing Workshop in the new Downey House operations support system. At times it is a bit challenging, but I am good at managing my time and priorities so the work gets done in a timely fashion. I wear many different hats and wear them well. Q: How many years have you worked for Wesleyan, and in what departments? A: I have…
More than 45 golfers from Wesleyan participated in the Wesleyan Open Golf Tournament July 10. Participants paid an entry fee which includes an 18-hole round, prizes and dinner. A portion of the fees is collected for a different charity in Middletown. This year, the tournament raised $2,000 for the Bielefield School’s “Support Our Troops project.” Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell proclaimed July 10, 2010 as Wesleyan Open Day and the city council proclaimed the date Beifield School Day.