David PesciEric Mangini '94 was introduced as the new head coach of the NFL's Cleveland Browns. Mangini, who had finished the season as coach of the New York Jets was scooped up by the Browns just nine days after he left the Jets. Michael Arce of the Columbus Dispatch lauds Mangini's roots here at Wesleyan and in Connecticut. More coverage, including clips from Mangini's press conference and Mangini talking about his start in professional football can be found here.
In dramatic fashion, the Wesleyan Men's Basketball Team gave NESCAC rival and nationally-ranked #5 Amherst its first loss of the season with a buzzer-beating, last-second shot from 30 feet away by Jeremy Kaminer '10. Channel 30 reported the news and offers a video highlight provided by Wesleyan's Athletic Department. The January 6th win was the Men's first against Amherst's basketball team since 2001.
Michael Bennet '87 has been nominated by Colorado Governor Bill Ritter to replace Ken Salazar in The United States Senate. Currently the Public School Superintendent in Denver, Bennet has also served as deputy U.S. Attorney General under former President Bill Clinton. Salazar has been nominated by President-elect Obama to be Secretary of the Interior and Bennet would become Colorado's junior senator once Salazar's nomination is confirmed. More about Michael Bennett can be found in his official biography. Additional news coverage on Bennet's nomination includes The Washington Post and The New York Times, among others.
Wesleyan University President Michael S. Roth comments in The Los Angeles Times on David Maisel's new book, Library of Dust. The book, which The Times calls a 'haunting memorial,' contains series of photographic images that 'depict canisters containing the cremated remains of the unclaimed dead from an Oregon psychiatric hospital.' Some of the canisters date from the 19th Century and their exteriors have undergone tremendous change through chemical interactions and aging throughout the decades. President Roth also contributed an essay to the book.
Ron Kuivila, chair of music, and Barry Chernoff, professor of biology and Robert Schumann Professor of Environmental Studies, were featured on WNPR recently regarding a musical installation called "The Weather at Six" which is part of the Feet to the Fire project. The Weather at Six uses the Wesleyan carillon for' a sonic interpretation of the weather of the last 130 years and is designed to get people to think about global warming.'
Ann duCille, chair of English, professor of African American studies, tells The Hartford Courant that she has long been inspired by Elizabeth Alexander, who was selected by President-elect Barack Obama to present a poem at his inauguration.
Wesleyan President Michael S. Roth reviews Annie Leibovitz's new book "Annie Leibovitz at Work" in the Los Angeles Times.
A piece by Andrew C. Rivken in The New York Times discusses the risk-management approach toward climate change that has been done by Gary Yohe, Woodhouse/Sysco Professor of Economics. Rivken wonders if this approach is something politicians will rally behind.
Thanks to NASA, two Earth and Environmental Science faculty are going to spend the better part of their next three summers on Venus looking at volcanoes and mountain ranges. Specifically, Martha Gilmore, associate professor of earth and environment science, and Phillip Resor, assistant professor of earth and environmental science, will be using a three-year NASA grant to examine an area of Venus called the Tellus Regio, which is contains some of the oldest rocks on the planet’s surface. “It’s an area of interest for two reasons, primarily,” says Gilmore, who has done work on Mars and Venus missions, among others…
The Wesleyan University Board of Trustees affirmed the promotion with tenure, effective July 1, 2009, of the following members of the faculty: Jane Alden, associate professor of music, was appointed assistant professor of music at Wesleyan in 2001. Prior, she was an acting assistant professor at Stanford University, and an instructor at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Alden was awarded a Wesleyan Center for the Humanities Fellowship and was a visiting research associate at Harvard University. She has been the recipient of a Mellon Center Mini-Grant, a Wesleyan University seed grant, and Wesleyan University Snowdon funding for a symposium.…
Jeanine Basinger, Chair and Corwin-Fuller Professor of film studies reviews, Michael Sragow's Victor Fleming: An American Movie Master. Fleming directed such Hollywood classics as The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind and yet remains curiously "forgotten" by most in the business according to Sragow.
Scott Plous, professor of psychology, is quoted in this Washington Post piece that has the writer wondering if there is a way to make a "friend" of indecision.