Wesleyan in the News: March 2023

Former Miami Herald publisher Alberto Ibarguen ’66, Hon. ’11, P ’97 announced he is stepping down as the president and CEO of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation—a philanthropic organization that has invested in media, arts, and culture.

President Joseph R. Biden nominated Lt. Gen. Michael Cederholm ’88 to be the new commander of I Marine Expeditionary Force, one of the three main Marine forces, according to Marine Corps Times. An aviator by training, Cederholm has served as deputy commandant for aviation since July 2022, according to his official bio.

Neuroscientist Michael Greenberg ’76 was one of three winners of the Lundbeck Foundation’s The Brain Prize 2023, one of the most prestigious neuroscience awards, for his research into brain plasticity.

Times Higher Education interviewed President Michael S. Roth ’78 for a piece on handling conflict and protest on a college campus in its “Talking Leadership” series. Roth touched on past protests on campus and the importance of free discussion and multiple viewpoints in a college setting.

Professor and planetary geologist Martha Gilmore spoke with NPR’s Short Wave podcast after scientists announced that there was evidence on ongoing volcanic activity on Venus. Gilmore called the development “a big deal” since we have not found active volcanism on any other planets.

Andrews Professor of Economics Richard Grossman, who researches banking history, told Marketplace that bank runs always begin with rumors for a piece on the Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse.

Kerwin Kaye, professor of sociology, told The Seattle Times that drug court programs—a way for people arrested for drug possession to wipe their criminal records by going through state-funded drug treatment circuits—are just a way to help “liberals get on board with the idea that everyone needs to get arrested for there to be a benefit.”

Joseph Slaughter, Assistant Professor of the Practice in Religion and Associate Director of the Center for the Study of Guns and Society, spoke with Current’s The Arena on his research into the intersection of Christianity and guns in the United States. Slaughter is set to release a book about Christian businesses in the early 19^th century in November.

Assistant Professor of English Rachel Heng wrote a beautiful essay for Esquire chronicling her childhood growing up in Singapore and her lifelong pursuit of home. Heng’s newest novel “The Great Reclamation” was released in stores on March 28. The New York Times said Heng’s novel carries the reader “to a larger purpose, one that will ask us to change, to sacrifice, and yes, to want to be great.”

Author Andrew Meier ’85, P ’26 wrote a New York Times op-ed on the relationship between former Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau and former President Donald Trump in light of a possible indictment of the 45^thPresident from the office Morgenthau once held.

Basketball coach Tobin Anderson ’95 made headlines after his former team, No. 16 Fairleigh-Dickinson, beat No. 1 Purdue in the first round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. Forbes, and many other outlets, profiled his historic win. Anderson has since taken the head coaching job at Iona.

Assistant Professor of Romance Languages Catherine Poisson wrote an op-ed for CNN on the protests in France in response to moves by the government to increase the retirement age from 62 to 64 years old.

The International Documentary Association did a Q&A with Tracy Heather Strain, Corwin-Fuller Professor of Film Studies and Associate Director, College of Film and the Moving Image, and Randall MacLowry, Assistant Professor of the Practice in Film Studies—the Co-Directors of the Wesleyan Documentary Project. Strain and MacLowry talked about Wesleyan’s documentary programs and what students are learning.

Nadine Finigan-Carr ’92 spoke with the Baltimore Sun ahead of her start as the new executive director of the University of Maryland’s Center for Violence Prevention.

Wesleyan President Michael S. Roth ’78 wrote an op-ed on academic freedom for Times Higher Education after the restrictive laws passed recently in Florida, which control what content is appropriate to learn in schools. Roth wrote “DeSantis is a menace to American higher education. His call to ‘reform’ colleges and universities may be an effective political strategy for marshalling the forces of resentment, but his plan to shift the locus of decision-making about what is taught on campus to state legislators and governors would be a disaster. If he is successful, even the hiring of professors will be controlled by politicians.”

Bozoma Saint John ’99, a member of Wesleyan’s Board of Trustees, joined Washington Post Live to discuss her memoir “The Urgent Life,” which was published on Feb. 23. The book outlines her relationship with grief after the loss of her husband, Peter, to cancer.

Jennifer Finney Boylan Hon. ’23, award-winning author, transgender activist, and professor at Barnard College, said the last President Jimmy Carter helped her “better understand my country and myself” in an essay for the New York Times. Boylan is one of four honorary degree recipients that will be featured in this year’s Reunion and Commencement ceremonies.

Michael Franz, co-director of the Wesleyan Media Project, joined Marketplace to discuss President Joe Biden’s budget proposal.

Fairleigh Dickinson Men’s Basketball Head Coach Tobin Anderson ’95 has led his team to the NCAA Tournament as No. 16 seed. The team will face Texas Southern for a chance to play No. 1 Purdue in the first round of the tournament.

Jennifer Tucker, Director of the Center for the Study of Guns and Society, spoke to the New York Times for a story on how historical precedent is being applied to gun control laws. Tucker said that lawyers have reached out to her seeking experts on topics ranging from weapons restrictions on stage coaches to 18th-century attempts at extended capacity firearms.

Wesleyan alumnus Timothy Lee ’12, Student Art Instructor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was quoted in an MIT News piece about a class he teaches where students learn to use electronics to create kinetic artworks.

Carl Goodman ’88 stepped down as the executive director of the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens, New York, according to the New York Times, to begin a new role as the president and chief executive of the Florida Holocaust Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Anand Kini ’92 was named the Executive Vice President of Corporate Strategy at Comcast Corporation, where he will work to drive the company’s global growth strategy. Kini is also the Chief Financial Officer at NBCUniversal.

Former National Regulatory Services Senior Director Mederic Daigneault ’98 ‘has joined Hartford-based law firm Carlton-Fields as a shareholder in the Financial Services Regulatory Practice.

Admiral James Loy MALS ’70 spoke with Homeland Security Today to reflect on his service in the Department of Homeland Security. Loy had a 45-year career in the military and in public service. He retired in 2005 as the Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security.