June 2016 – Page 2

Wesleyan's campus is home to 89 acres of natural areas. These meadow areas are only mowed once a year and are home to wildflowers, native grasses and provide food and homes for wildlife. As part of the Wesleyan Sustainability Grounds Initiatives, the university is in the process of expanding no-mow areas across campus. (more…)

Tom Morgan, Foss Professor of Physics, recently attended the 43rd Institute of Physics U.K. Plasma Physics Conference in Isle of Skye, Scotland. He presented a flash verbal presentation and a poster contribution dealing with the properties of water following focused laser induced breakdown. After a plasma (a gas of ions and free electrons) is formed in water by laser breakdown, the energy is dissipated through light emission, shockwaves and cavitation bubbles. When the breakdown is close to the surface of the water, surface waves and water ejection from the surface up to heights of 60 cm also occur. All of these…

Kate Cullen ’16, an earth and environmental science and history major from Bethesda, Md., was selected for MSNBC's Women in Politics: College Edition series. The president of the Wesleyan Student Assembly, Cullen received the University's nomination "as a leader making a difference not only through key issues on campus, but in bridging the gender gap in politics." MSNBC plans to use the series to highlight women candidates and as a springboard for national conversations on women's issues. Cullen, who has "been fortunate to have a lot of strong female role models," says she was motivated to work in student government…

On June 18, a 23-piece all-star band performed the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album in its entirety at Chapman Hall at Middlesex Community College at a benefit concert in memory former Wesleyan Center for the Arts intern Stephanie Nelson, of Middletown, who passed away last year at the age of 25. This was the second annual benefit concert held in Nelson’s name. The first, held last summer, featured the Beatles’ White Album and raised almost $5,000 to establish the Stephanie Nelson Scholarship at Middlesex Community College (MCC), Nelson’s alma mater. This year’s concert was organized by Andy Chatfield, press and marketing…

On June 15, Wesleyan announced the establishment of the Wesleyan University Hamilton Prize for Creativity, a four-year full-tuition scholarship that honors Lin-Manuel Miranda ‘02, Hon. '15 and Thomas Kail ‘99, who created and directed the hit Broadway musical for which the prize is named.

The Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) recently honored Wesleyan University with a Circle of Excellence Gold Award in the Single-Day Special Events category. The Office of University Relations and the Office of University Communications collaborated on the prize-winning event, “Wesleyan Hamilton Evening on Broadway," which included a benefit performance and after-party. On Oct. 2, 2015, more than 1,300 members of the Wesleyan community descended on the Richard Rodgers Theatre in New York City as Wesleyan hosted a sold-out performance of Hamilton, written by and starring Lin-Manuel Miranda ’02, Hon. '15 and directed by Thomas Kail ‘99. The evening…

Hamilton, written by and starring Lin-Manuel Miranda ’02, Hon. '15 and directed by Thomas Kail ’99, won 11 Tony Awards, including the award for Best Musical, Best Direction of a Musical (Kail), Best Actor in a Musical, Best Book (Miranda), Best Original Score (Miranda), Best Featured Actor in a Musical, Best Featured Actress in a Musical, Best Costume Design of a Musical, Best Choreography, Best Lighting Design of a Musical, and Best Orchestrations, at the 70th Annual Tony Awards ceremony held at the Beacon Theater in New York on June 12. The award-winning musical, which tells the story of the life of…

During Wesleyan's Summer Session, students complete semester-long courses in only five weeks. This summer, classes are being offered in drawing, biology, chemistry, computer programming, legal thinking, writing creative nonfiction, foreign policy, the art of the personal essay, the narrative, techniques of fiction, and international politics. All courses have limited enrollment, preserving the small seminar style and opportunity for close relationships with faculty and fellow students. Summer Session I runs May 25 to June 23, and Session II takes place June 28 to July 28. Pictured below is ARST131, Drawing I, taught by Kate TenEyck, assistant professor of art: (more…)

Janice Naegele, professor of biology, professor of neuroscience and development, is the co-author of a new paper titled, "Convulsive seizures from experimental focal cortical dysplasia occur independently of cell misplacement." It was published in Nature Communications on June 1. Brain malformations called focal cortical dysplasia are typically formed during human embryonic cortical development and are a common cause of drug-resistant epilepsy and cognitive impairments. One of the causes of cortical dysplasia is improper migration of developing cortical neurons. Failure to reach their correct destinations in the cerebral cortex and dysregulated growth leads to the formation of growths or tubers in regions of…

"Is gentrification next?" asks the New York Times in a May 31, 2016 article by Jeff Gordinier. Majora Carter ’88, who is from the South Bronx, and her husband and business partner, James Chase, teamed up with Jeremy Lyman and Paul Schlader, entrepreneurs who created Birch Coffee. The result: they have brought "exposed brick, reclaimed wood and $2.75 macchiatos" to "a stretch of Hunts Point Avenue dominated by dime stores, bodegas and auto shops." To those who say they feel as though they are in Manhattan by the vibe in the shop, Carter responds, “'You know what? You are in the Bronx,…

Mosah Fernandez Goodman ’04 was named one of 10 in the TOYO! group—Ten Outstanding Young Omahans—by the Omaha Jaycees. The honor goes to those "who have exemplified the ideals of their communiites and exhibited extraordinary leadership qualities," improving their community through both acts of selflessness and professional excellence. Fernandez Goodman, who earned his Wesleyan bachelor's degree in theater and his MALS with a concentration in the social sciences, received his JD/MBA at the University of Iowa, where he served as vice president of the graduate student body. Upon graduating from Iowa, he joined Gavilon, a commodity management firm, where he…

"There is an entire neighborhood full of funny people in Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising," wrote Kevin Polowy, senior editor at Yahoo! Movies. "But some of the film’s biggest laughs belong to newcomer Beanie Feldstein, who makes her major-studio movie debut as the party-hearty sorority pledge Nora." Feldstein '15, a Los Angeles, Calif. native and sociology major at Wesleyan has been acting on stage since she was 5, with "three to six musicals a year every singer year from 5 to 22," ending last year with graduation. She tells Yahoo that Neighbors 2 was not a typecasting situation: “My college experience was nothing…

Wesleyan’s Campus Boasts Natural Landscapes, Meadows, Wildflowers

Morgan Speaks on Laser-Induced Breakdowns at Plasma Physics Conference

MSNBC’s Women in Politics, College Edition, Highlights Kate Cullen ’16

Wesleyan Staff Perform in Beatles Benefit Concert

Wesleyan Establishes Hamilton Prize for Creativity

CASE Honors Wesleyan’s Hamilton Fundraising Event with Gold Award

Hamilton Wins 11 Tony Awards

Classes in Drawing, Biology, Programming, Writing Currently Offered during Wesleyan’s Summer Session

Naegele Co-Authors New Paper in Nature Communications

NYT: Carter ’88 Opens High-End Coffee Shop in South Bronx

Fernandez Goodman ’04 Named an Outstanding Young Omahan

Feldstein ’15 Dubbed ‘Breakout’ for Neighbors 2