2014 – Page 29

“Don’t wait to change the world,” Theodore Shaw ’76, one of the nation’s leading proponents for civil rights, told the Class of 2014 in his Commencement address May 25. Shaw’s speech recalled a Wesleyan commencement 50 years earlier, when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was awarded an honorary degree and delivered the baccalaureate sermon to the Wesleyan Class of 1964. “Martin Luther King, Jr. was twenty-six when he led the Montgomery bus boycott. In 1963, children, some as young as five years old, filled the jails of Birmingham, Alabama protesting against segregation. School children marched against apartheid in Soweto in…

Theodore Shaw '76, one of the nation's leading proponents for civil rights, delivered Wesleyan's 182nd Commencement Address on May 25. Watch the video, or read the full text below: [youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IO4Ac-lehhA[/youtube] "President Roth, Fellow Honorary Degree Recipients, Dr. Helena Chmura Kraemer and Hayden White, Members of the Board of Trustees, Faculty, Administrators, Staff, Members of the Wesleyan Community, Family, Friends and all who are gathered here, but above all else, to you, the Class of 2014. And if you give me a moment of forbearance, I have to go home and shout out to the Patrick-Shaw clan. Fifty years…

Wesleyan President Michael Roth '78 made the following remarks at the 182nd Commencement Ceremony on May 25: Members of the board of trustees, members of the faculty and staff, distinguished guests, new recipients of graduate degrees and the class of 2014, I am honored to present some brief remarks on the occasion of this commencement. Although American military involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan has been winding down ever since you arrived on campus, the scars of those conflicts will continue to be painful for years to come. On this Memorial Day Weekend, I begin by asking us all to take…

Every year at Commencement, Wesleyan recognizes outstanding teaching with three Binswanger Prizes for Excellence in Teaching. These prizes, made possible by gifts from the family of the late Frank G. Binswanger Sr., Hon. ’85, underscore Wesleyan’s commitment to its scholar-teachers, who are responsible for the university’s distinctive approach to liberal arts education. Recommendations are solicited from alumni of the last 10 graduating classes, as well as current juniors, seniors, and graduate students. Recipients are chosen by a selection committee of faculty and members of the Alumni Association Executive Committee. This year, Wesleyan President Michael Roth honored Robert Steele, Petra Bonfert-Taylor…

On May 25, Wesleyan conferred 733 bachelor of arts degrees; 26 master of arts degrees; 44 master of arts in liberal studies degrees; 3 master of philosophy in liberal arts degrees; and 14 doctor of philosophy degrees. The entire Reunion & Commencement photo gallery is online here. Read the story here. (more…)

Manon Lefèvre '14 delivered the Senior Class Welcome at Commencement on May 25: I want to talk about what it means to question. We are taught here at Wesleyan that we have a responsibility to challenge structures of power, to stand up for what we believe is right, to envision a better world for ourselves and for others. Brilliant ideas, challenging theories, and profound, radical ways of thinking thrive on this campus. I have learned more in my four years here than I could have ever imagined possible. And today, I am truly saddened to be saying goodbye to my community…

During Wesleyan's Commencement Ceremony on May 25, Wesleyan President Michael Roth awarded honorary degrees to Hayden White, Theodore Shaw '76 and Helena Chmura Kraemer. Theodore Shaw '76 For decades, Theodore (“Ted”) Shaw has been one of the nation’s strongest advocates for equity and inclusion in our society. In courts throughout the nation, including the U.S. Supreme Court, he has argued cases involving voting rights, education, housing discrimination, capital punishment, and civil rights. He played a key role in initiating and drafting the admissions policy that was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in Grutter v. Bollinger, and he has often…

A violent sex offender walked away from the Connecticut Valley State Hospital

On May 23-25 hundreds of Wesleyan alumni flocked to campus to celebrate Reunion & Commencement Weekend. In addition to class reunions, alumni attended WESeminars, academic department open houses, a parade of classes, campus tours, an all-college picnic and festival, and an all-campus party featuring mamarazzi and Illegalize. The weekend culminated with the 182nd Commencement Ceremony featuring commencement speaker Theodore Shaw ’76. View the full schedule online here. Classes ending in “4” and “9” celebrated their reunions. For psychology major Sheryl Sturges '79 and theater major Jonathan Duell '79 of Cornwall, N.Y., being together on campus is all too familiar. "I…

Since 2006, the Wesleyan Freecycle program has facilitated the opportunity for one person’s trash to become another person’s treasure. Through its own electronic mailing listserv, Freecycle encourages students, staff and faculty to exchange unwanted items, rather than throwing them away. Wesleyan’s program is part of the national Freecycle movement, where people give away things that they don’t need, or ask for items they do need. These items are free and recycled, hence the name Freecycle. Jen Kleindienst, sustainability coordinator, has given and received dozens of items on Freecycle. “Freecycle has definitely helped to build a culture of waste reduction on…

On May 19, Wesleyan Adult Fitness finished its "Couch to 5K" fitness class. During the challenge, all participants successfully completed a 5K event at the Freeman Athletic Center outdoor track. "Eleven hard working, committed staff took on this personal challenge with the goal of building the endurance and strength necessary to safely complete a 5K event," said Heather Minetti, adult fitness coordinator. "Congratulations to this very dedicated group of staff." Participants included Tracey Stanley, Roseann Sillasen, Jennifer Enxuto, Nate Peters, Lisa LaPlant, Sherri Condon, Janice Watson, Mary Kelly, Renee Rasmussen, Beverly Hunter-Daniel, Michele Myers-Brown and Christine Daniels. The group began training in March.

This summer, Elaine Tsui ’15 will work on her undergraduate research in the Chemistry Department as an American Chemical Society Fellow. Tsui, who is double majoring in English and chemistry, received the fellowship from the Society's Connecticut Valley Section. Funding opportunities are available for those with interests in physics, biology, materials science, engineering and medicine. As a fellow, Tsui will conduct self-directed research under the supervision of Albert J. Fry, the E.B. Nye Professor of Chemistry. In 2013, Tsui worked with Fry as a Hughes Fellow and studied “Andodic Oxidation of 1,1-Diphenylacetone in Various Alcohols." She will continue this research for 10 weeks…

733 BA Degrees Conferred at Wesleyan’s 182nd Commencement

Shaw ’76 Delivers 182nd Commencement Address

President Roth Addresses Graduates at Commencement

Steele, Bonfert-Taylor, Zhu Honored with Binswanger Teaching Prizes

733 BA Degrees Awarded during 2014 Commencement

Lefevre ’14 Delivers Senior Class Welcome

Wesleyan Confers Honorary Degrees on White, Shaw ’76, Kraemer

Police Alert Community to At-Large Sex Offender

Alumni Return to Campus for Class Reunions, Festivities

Exchange, Reuse Unwanted Items through Wesleyan’s Freecycle Listserv

Wesleyan Staff Complete “Couch to 5K” Fitness Class

Tsui ’15 to Study with Professor Fry as American Chemical Society Fellow