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Laurie KenneyJune 1, 20151min
In this issue of News @ Wesleyan, we speak with Siri Carr ’15, who double majored in the College of Letters and Hispanic Literatures and Cultures. Carr’s thesis, Little Do We Know: Conceptualizing the “Little” in Children’s Literature, explores the concept of the “little” in children’s literature. The thesis was submitted for honors in the College of Letters.

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Olivia DrakeJune 1, 20152min
John Paoletti, the Kenan Professor of the Humanities, emeritus and professor of art history, emeritus is the author of Michelangelo’s David: Florentine History and Civic Identity, published by Cambridge University Press, Feb. 2015. Paoletti was on the faculty at Wesleyan from 1972 to 2009. According to the publisher, this book takes a new look at the interpretations of, and the historical information surrounding, Michelangelo's David. New documentary materials discovered by Rolf Bagemihl add to the early history of the stone block that became the David and provide an identity for the painted terracotta colossus that stood on the cathedral buttresses for…

Lauren RubensteinJune 1, 20155min
In its most recent meeting, the Board of Trustees conferred tenure on Hari Krishnan, associate professor of dance. He joins seven other faculty members who were awarded tenure earlier this spring. In addition, seven faculty members were promoted to Full Professor: Mary Alice Haddad, professor of government; Scott Higgins, professor of film studies; Tsampikos Kottos, professor of physics; Edward Moran, professor of astronomy; Dana Royer, professor of earth and environmental sciences; Mary-Jane Rubenstein, professor of religion; and Gina Athena Ulysse, professor of anthropology. Brief descriptions of their research and teaching appear below. Associate Professor Krishnan teaches studio- and lecture-based dance courses on Mobilizing Dance: Cinema, the Body, and Culture…

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Lauren RubensteinMay 29, 20153min
Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Quiara Alegría Hudes was featured on the cover of the new Wesleyan magazine. Hudes is currently the Shapiro Distinguished Professor of Writing and Theater, and teaches playwriting to both beginning and advanced writers at Wesleyan. Her plays include 26 Miles, Yemaya’s Belly, the children’s musical Barrio Grrrl!, and the acclaimed Elliot Trilogy, named after a recurrent character who served as a Marine and is based on the author’s cousin. The first in the trilogy, Elliot, A Soldier’s Fugue, was a 2007 Pulitzer Prize finalist, while the second installment, Water by the Spoonful, was awarded the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Hudes…

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Brian KattenMay 27, 20152min
Eudice Chong '18 claimed the first-ever NCAA Division III tennis title for the Cardinals in a thrilling 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 victory in the title match of the NCAA Division III women's tennis singles championship in Mason, Ohio on May 23. Named the NESCAC Player and Rookie of the Year, as well as the ITA Division III Rookie of the Year, Chong completed the 2014-15 campaign undefeated in singles play (22-0), dropping just two sets all season, both of them 4-6 to Joulia Likhanskaia of Bowdoin, whom she played for the third time this year in the NCAA finals. Chong also earned All-America…

Lauren RubensteinMay 27, 20152min
Though movie sequels had been successful in the past, it was a huge surprise when The Empire Strikes Back turned out to be as popular as the original Star Wars film, Jeanine Basinger, the Corwin-Fuller Professor of Film Studies, told the website Boing Boing for a story reflecting on Empire 35 years after it arrived in cinemas. “When you have set a level that you set with Star Wars in terms of financial success, critical success, audience success, quality of production, greatness of storytelling, you don’t really think even if the second one is going to be good that it can hit that same level twice…

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Lauren RubensteinMay 24, 20152min
Graduates, their families, and other members of the Wesleyan community who gathered for the 183rd Commencement ceremony on May 24 were treated to some life advice in the form of rap, courtesy of Lin-Manuel Miranda '02, this year's Commencement speaker and the composer, lyricist and star of the hip-hop musical Hamilton. "I’m going to sing a little bit, so if you made a bet that I’d be rapping during the Commencement address, your friend owes you money," Miranda joked. He drew upon the stories of Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr to discuss two different approaches to life: charging forward in the…

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Lauren RubensteinMay 24, 20152min
Lin-Manuel Miranda '02 made the following remarks at the 183rd Commencement ceremony May 24: Thank you, President Roth, Provost, Board of Trustees, faculty, students, families. Wes Wings, Thai Gardens and Neon Deli. As I look across the sea of proud, sleepy graduates, who just hours ago were turnt all the way up in the tent where your families now sit—seriously, your grandmother is sitting where YOU KNOW WHAT YOU DID—I can’t help but wish I had been asked to be your freshman orientation speaker instead. Over the course of your time here, you have learned innumerable lessons, large and small, but I…

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Lauren RubensteinMay 24, 20152min
Beverly Daniel Tatum '75, president of Spelman College, was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree on May 24. She delivered the following remarks: Thank you, President Roth and the Board of Trustees, the faculty, for this wonderful honor. I can’t tell you how delighted I am to be here – especially on the occasion of the 40th reunion of the Class of 1975! The years I spent at Wesleyan were transformative for me, and when I left Wesleyan, I was a confident young woman with a clear career plan. I planned to go off to graduate school, earn…

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Lauren RubensteinMay 24, 20152min
Honorary Degree Recipient Michael Price made the following remarks during the 183rd Commencement Ceremony May 24:  My children would say this is an awesome moment.  For me, being on this platform amongst such a distinguished assemblage is somewhere between exhilaration and terror. I now know how an actor feels on opening night, excited, honored and hoping not to fall off the stage. President Roth and the Wesleyan Community, thank you for this very special honor. To the class of 2015, I am thrilled and grateful to share this day with you, and to be in the company of Beverly Daniel…

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Lauren RubensteinMay 24, 20152min
Wesleyan President Michael Roth made the following remarks during the 183rd Commencement Ceremony May 24:  Members of the board of trustees, members of the faculty and staff, distinguished guests, new recipients of graduate degrees and the mighty class of 2015, I am honored to present some brief remarks on the occasion of this commencement. On this Memorial Day Weekend, I begin by asking us all to take a moment to remember the men and women who have died while serving in the American armed forces. In recent years, military conflicts far from our own shores have cost the lives of…