2017 – Page 27

Wesleyan has joined 67 of the nation’s top colleges and universities in an alliance to substantially expand the number of talented low- and moderate-income students at America’s undergraduate institutions with the highest graduation rates. This growing alliance, called the American Talent Initiative (ATI), brings together a diverse set of public and private institutions united in this common goal. ATI members will enhance their own efforts to recruit, enroll, and support lower-income students, learn from each other, and contribute to research that will help other colleges and universities expand opportunity. “Bringing students of diverse backgrounds to campus enhances the learning experience…

Numerous Wesleyan faculty and students in the sciences attended the March for Science in different parts of the state and country on Earth Day, April 22. Laura Grabel, the Lauren B. Dachs Professor of Science and Society, professor of biology, professor of environmental studies, professor of feminist, gender and sexuality studies, spoke at the New Haven march. "I decided to march because science is being seriously threatened by the Trump administration," she explained. "Trump has not filled almost all of the science positions, has no science advisor, and is using little evidence-based thinking in his decision making. Some of his appointments are puzzling and…

Professor of Theater Ron Jenkins was a guest on the BBC program "Sunday" to discuss his new play, "Islands: The Lost History of the Treaty That Changed the World." The play, commemorating the 350th anniversary of the Treaty of Breda in which the Dutch ceded Manhattan in exchange for the tiny spice island of Rhun, premiered April 21 and 22 at Wesleyan's Center for the Arts. Jenkins' interview begins about four-and-a-half minutes in. Or, on the BBC page, scroll down and select the "Islands" chapter. "We're performing the actual text of the 1667 Treaty of Breda. In this treaty, if you look closely at the words, you'll…

President Michael Roth writes in The Washington Post about the Hungarian government's efforts to close down the Central European University (CEU), a leading private university founded by liberal Hungarian-born financier George Soros. CEU is accredited in the United States and registered in New York State, but has no U.S. campus. The Hungarian government has targeted the school by passing a law requiring universities to have campuses in the place where they are registered. The response has been mass demonstrations and even threats to suspend Hungary's European Union membership. Pointing to recent debates over free speech at American universities, Roth writes: While we in the United…

During the Edgar Beckham Social Justice Awards ceremony on March 23, seven students, one alumna and one staff member were honored for their dedication to social justice. The Edgar Beckham Social Justice Awards honor the late Dean Edgar Beckham, whose dedication to social justice continues to positively impact the Wesleyan community. The student-led planning committee aims to celebrate the students, faculty, staff and Middletown community members whose efforts align with the ideals that guided his work. The award recipients include: Foot in the Door Award, Melisa Olgun '20 Excellence in the Arts, Rachel Kaly '17 Excellence in Environmental Justice, Belén…

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Wesleyan Professor of Anthropology and Feminist, Gender and Sexuality Studies Gina Athena Ulysse's newest publication, Because When God Is Too Busy: Haiti, Me, & The World, (Wesleyan University Press, April 2017), is a collection of poems, performance texts, and photographs that explores longing for a sacred and ancestral past—now entangled by Western and postcolonial inheritances. Both a lyrical and meditative work, the publisher calls it "a poetic journey through silence, rebellious rage, love, and the sacred." In it, Ulysse blurs the lines between genre and medium, as well as the personal and geopolitical. Edwidge Danticat, a former MacArthur Fellow and National…

Wesleyan co-authors published a paper titled “The Stories Tryptophans Tell: Exploring Protein Dynamics of Heptosyltransferase I from Escherichia coli” in the January 2017 issue of Biochemistry. The co-authors include chemistry graduate student Joy Cote; alumni Zarek Siegel ’16 and Daniel Czyzyk, PhD '15; and faculty Erika Taylor, associate professor of chemistry; Ishita Mukerji, the Fisk Professor of Natural Science, professor of molecular biology and biochemistry. Their paper investigates the intrinsic properties of Tryptophan amino acids found within the protein, Heptosyltransferase I, to understand the ways this protein moves during catalysis. Understanding the movement of this protein is an important step in developing…

Tushar Irani, associate professor of philosophy, associate professor of letters, recently published an essay titled “What is good rhetoric?” for Aeon, a digital magazine for culture and ideas. Related to his current book, Plato on the Value of Philosophy, the essay calls on the public to consider the civic good that rhetoric serves in democratic politics, and the effect it may have on our ability to engage in independent thought. The essay discusses the difference between good and bad political rhetoric. By drawing on Plato’s understanding of persuasive speech, Irani draws a distinction between flattering rhetoric and “self-moving” rhetoric. The…

The Wesleyan Green Team hosted a mini-trash bin workshop and discussion for faculty and staff on March 20. Dawn Alger, Theater Department administrative assistant and Green Team member, and Jen Kleindienst, sustainability director, led the workshop. Mini-bins are small containers that are used in place of standard waste receptacles. They encourage recycling and reduce the number of trash can liners used on campus. The Green Team provided craft supplies including cleaned coffee containers, colored paper, stickers, yarn, magazines, glue and scissors. Participants also discussed campus recycling efforts while designing their mini-bin. “We’d love to see all staff and faculty members at…

You may not know it, but Office 365 is here and available to you. Office 365 is the Microsoft suite of online and locally installed applications such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, as well as many others. The online suite is available to everyone on campus through the Office 365 link in Portal under Campus Applications or by going to portal.office365.com, where you may login with your full email address. Mobile versions are available in the GooglePlay and Apple AppStore. Karen Warren, deputy chief information officer, says that ITS is working department by department to migrate faculty and staff email…

Nine Wesleyan students and one student from Yale Divinity school participated in an interfaith service trip March 19-24 in northern New Jersey. Wesleyan Chaplain Rev. Tracy Mehr-Muska coordinated the trip. The group stayed at a camp, and also worked at the camp while in New Jersey. In addition, they served meals at a soup kitchen, volunteered at a community thrift shop, and helped out at a farm sanctuary for unwanted/rescued farm animals. They also visited Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty and discussed immigration, refugee rights and religious freedom. The students visited and had in-depth discussions with members of…

Wesleyan Joins Alliance to Expand Access to Lower-Income Students

Wesleyan Faculty, Students March for Science

Jenkins Interviewed on BBC About New Play ‘Islands’

Roth Writes on Hungary’s Attempts to Shut Down a Leading University

Students, Alumna, Staff Honored with Social Justice Awards

Greenhouse Delivers the Hugo L. Black Lecture on ‘Writing the Truth in the Age of Trump’

Ulysse Authors Because When God is Too Busy

Faculty, Students, Alumnus Co-Author Paper in Biochemistry Journal

Irani Analyzes Differences in Good and Bad Rhetoric

Green Team Encourages Campus Community to Use Mini-Bin Waste Receptacles

Office 365 Offered to Campus Community, ePortfolio Replaced by WesPortal

Rev. Mehr-Muska Leads Students on Interfaith Service Trip