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Editorial StaffFebruary 28, 20245min
By Rose Chen ’26 A long running campus tradition during Black History Month, students, faculty, and other community members came out for Jubilee, Wesleyan University’s celebration of Black art and talent. “I knew that Jubilee was an event I wanted to plan because the legacy of Black expression through music is really important to me,” Race, Ethnicity, and Nationality Intern for the Resource Center Alise Mackey ’24, who was the student liaison for the Black History Month planning committee, said. “Through playing music on campus I’ve been able to experience amazing community and meet great friends. Music has also had…

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Editorial StaffFebruary 28, 20247min
By Rose Chen ’26 “The Cry Is Always the Same: We Want To Be Free,” held in the Daniel Family Commons was this year’s Black History Month event organized to honor the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. Featuring protest songs and discussions about the civil rights issues that affect Black people today—and other groups across time—the Feb. 21 gathering was a participatory workshop that brought students and faculty together. The Resource Center, the Office for Equity and Inclusion, the Department of African American Studies, the Center for African American Studies, and Olin Memorial Library sponsored “The Cry is Always…

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Editorial StaffFebruary 21, 20247min
By Rose Chen ’26 Wesleyan University’s Democracy in Action convening kicked off Feb. 16 in the John B. Frank Public Affairs Center with a media literacy workshop.  Led by Associate Professor of Government Logan Dancey, the session was designed to teach participants to laterally read and ask questions when consuming content. Dancey’s tutorial of government students helped attendees—students, other professors, and community members—fact-check claims across a variety of sources, determine the credibility of claims, and critically engage with political media. During the session, Dancey and those students, Julia Armeli ‘25, Sophie Fetter ‘25, and Rory McClenahan ‘24 discussed a selection…

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Editorial StaffJanuary 17, 20243min
President Michael S. Roth ’78 has announced the newly expanded Public Affairs Center will be named in honor of John Frank ’78, P’12 and Diann Kim P’12 and will reopen for classes this semester. The Frank Center for Public Affairs will house offices and classrooms for the economics, government, and history departments, as well as the College of Social Studies. It will boast a more energy efficient layout—including radiant panels for heating and cooling, displacement ventilation, and a green space on the roof—and expanded areas for serendipitous conversation and spontaneous collaboration, establishing the Frank Center as a hub for interdisciplinary…

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Editorial StaffJanuary 11, 20244min
Herbert A. Arnold, Professor of German and Letters, Emeritus, passed away on January 7 at the age of 88. Herb completed his studies in Germany and the US, receiving his PhD from the University of Würzburg. He arrived at Wesleyan in 1962, and taught in the German studies department and the College of Letters for 41 years until his retirement in 2003. “Trained as a historian, Herb also had a spectacularly broad and deep knowledge of European literature and Western philosophy,” recalled Krishna Winston, Marcus L. Taft Professor of German Language and Literature, Emerita, “which made him a perfect fit for both…

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Editorial StaffJanuary 9, 20241min
Snow touched down on Wesleyan University's vast greenery and stately buildings for the first time this season on Jan. 6. A few brave residents slowly ventured out through the cold to the top of Foss Hill with plastic sleds in tow and slipped down its slopes—a must do for all snow-going Wesleyan folk. Photos by Meka Wilson.  

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Editorial StaffDecember 20, 20236min
The New York Times recently highlighted research reporting that five people with moderate to severe brain injuries scored higher on cognitive tests following a brain implant that stimulated their brains. Joseph Fins ’82, Hon. ’22, medical ethicist at Weill Cornell Medicine, was mentioned with the piece after he published a series of interviews with the subjects and their families in a separate paper for Cambridge University Press.  Author and LGBTQIA+ rights activist Jennifer Finney Boylan ’80, Hon.’23 was elected President of PEN America, a key organization in the defense of free speech in the United States, on Dec. 11, according…

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Editorial StaffDecember 6, 20233min
President Michael S. Roth made the following announcement on December 5:  Dear Friends, I am sorry to report the death of Midge Bowen Bennet, Wesleyan’s former first lady, on December 3 at her home in Essex, CT. Midge’s contributions to the University were wide ranging and impactful. She and the late President Emeritus Douglas J. Bennet ’59, Hon. ’94, P’87, ’94, GP’27, ’27 worked steadily to improve relations with the City of Middletown, frequently opening their campus home to local officials and residents for receptions. She took a keen interest in a variety of arts initiatives, served the Board of…

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Editorial StaffDecember 6, 20232min
Author and academic Michael Eric Dyson will offer the keynote address at Wesleyan University’s Democracy in Action Convening, a weekend exploration of the convergence of higher education and democracy. The event will be held February 16-17, 2024, and is free for Wesleyan students and $25 for all other attendees. Registration is now open. Across two days of thought leadership and engaging activities, participants will hear from a collection of scholars, community leaders, experts, and peers. Following a Friday afternoon filled with student-centered engagement opportunities, the Convening opens to all with Dyson’s keynote address that evening. Saturday will be filled with…

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Editorial StaffDecember 1, 20233min
Richard (“Dick”) Van Wyck Buel Jr, Professor of History, Emeritus, passed away on November 22 at the age of 90. Dick received his AB from Amherst College and his AM and PhD from Harvard University. He arrived at Wesleyan in 1962, where he taught American history until his retirement in 2002. During those years he published six books, including In Irons (Yale University Press, 1998), a macroeconomic history of the American Revolution, and for 22 years he served as associate editor of History and Theory. After his retirement, Dick remained involved at Wesleyan in the Wasch Center for Retired Faculty, and he taught a course on American intellectual history for students in Wesleyan’s Center for Prison Education. “I…

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Editorial StaffNovember 29, 20237min
By Rose Chen '26 On Thursday, Nov. 16, students gathered at the Jeanine Basinger Center for Film Studies for a conversation between film director Daniel Kwan and Professor of Religion, Philosophy, Science in Society, and Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, and Dean of the Social Sciences Mary-Jane Rubenstein. Kwan, having previously directed music video “Turn Down for What” and Swiss Army Man (2016), is most renowned for Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022), which won seven Oscar awards out of eleven nominations and is estimated to be one of the most awarded films of all time. The event was organized…

Editorial StaffNovember 27, 20232min
President Michael S. Roth ' 78 and Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Nicole Stanton announce the promotions of two faculty members, effective July 1, 2024. In its most recent meeting, the Board of Trustees conferred tenure to Douglas Martin, associate professor of English, and Roman Utkin, associate professor of Russian, East European, and Eurasian studies. Douglas Arthur Martin, Associate Professor of English Professor Martin is the author of four novels, including their most recent, Wolf (Nightboat Books, 2020), “an anti–true-crime novel about abuse, patricide, and Southern working-class life.” Their first novel, Outline of My Lover (Soft Skull, 2000), was an…