Editorial Staff(By Bill Holder '75) In this Q&A we speak with Janine Cory '91, MPH, about COVID-19 myths, vaccinations and vaccine hesitancy, pediatric transmission, health literacy, and more. Cory is the Associate Director of Communications for the CDC COVID-19 Response, Vaccine Task Force. For more information on Wesleyan's efforts dealing with COVID-19, visit the Keep Wes Safe website. Q: How did you first become interested in public health? Was there a particular experience, issue, or Wesleyan course that influenced you? What led you to focus on risk communication? A: I was actually lucky enough to be accepted into a pilot program…
Peter “Kosty” Kostacopoulos, adjunct professor of physical education, emeritus, and former head baseball coach and assistant football coach, passed away on March 25 at the age of 86. Kosty earned his BS from the University of Maine, where he lettered in football, basketball, and baseball, and made the All-Maine Conference in football and basketball. After coaching at Bowdoin for nine years, he arrived at Wesleyan in 1968. He served as head baseball coach for 28 years and assistant football coach for 19 years. He also served as a head squash coach during this time. Kosty led the Cardinals to 11…
Wesleyan’s 189th Commencement will take place in person on Wednesday, May 26. "This year’s Commencement was previously planned for May 30; however, due to a number of factors, including current pandemic conditions and cancellation of an in-person reunion weekend, we have decided to move up the date," Wesleyan President Michael Roth '78 said in a campus-wide email. The University is hoping that conditions will allow for two guests per graduate to attend the ceremony. Wesleyan is pursuing plans to accommodate the seniors and other graduates who have been studying remotely to return to campus for Commencement exercises. As with all…
Ann Wightman, professor of history, emerita, died on March 11 at the age of 70. Wightman was born in South Euclid, Ohio. She earned her BA from Duke University and her MPhil and PhD from Yale. First arriving at Wesleyan as a visiting instructor in 1979, she remained here for 36 years until her retirement in 2015. Wightman was an accomplished scholar with a focus on Latin America. She felt that she found a “second home” doing research in the Andes, and she sought to capture the history of that region in her first book, Indigenous Migration and Social Change:…
On March 5, the Connecticut Supreme Court reversed the 2017 trial court’s judgement in Kent Literary Club v Wesleyan. This judgment had imposed damages on the university, requiring Wesleyan to contract with the owners of the Delta Kappa Epsilon (DKE) residence to house students. Wesleyan officials said they are pleased by the Connecticut Supreme Court’s decision and hoped that it would put an end to the matter, though they noted that the fraternity may choose to continue its litigation. In fall of 2014, after receiving much input from the campus community and consulting with the Board of Trustees, Wesleyan announced that…
The following faculty were conferred tenure, effective July 1, 2021 by the Board of Trustees at its most recent meeting: David Kuenzel, associate professor of economics; Michelle Personick, associate professor of chemistry; and Olga Sendra Ferrer, associate professor of Spanish. In addition, one faculty member was promoted, effective July 1, 2020: Valerie Nazzaro, associate professor of the practice in quantitative analysis. Brief descriptions of their areas of research and teaching appear below: David Kuenzel’s scholarship focuses on international trade and economic growth. In his research, he analyzes nations’ trade policies, trade flows, and economic growth in connection with the policies…
Wesleyan has announced the speaker and honorary degree recipients for its 189th Commencement. The date of Commencement was previously announced as May 30th; however, given current pandemic conditions, the University is reviewing other options for the last week of May. The University is currently planning to hold the ceremony in-person on Wesleyan’s Middletown campus, though off-campus guests will be restricted to virtual attendance given the ongoing threat posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. More details about the ceremony and a definitive date for Commencement will be announced by the end of March. Reginald Dwayne Betts, an award-winning poet, memoirist, and teacher,…
Donald Russell, professor of physical education, emeritus, and former director of athletics and head football coach, passed away on Feb. 2 at the age of 93. Russell earned his BA from Bates College, where he played offensive and defensive tackle for the football team. Arriving at Wesleyan in 1960, he served as an assistant football coach under Norm Daniels, then became head football coach from 1964 through 1970, after which point he stepped down from that position, though he remained as the head of athletics until his retirement in 1991. Russell led the Cardinals to three Little Three championships…
This month, the Wesleyan Student-Athlete of Color Leadership Council (SACLC) released its "The Battle is Worth It" video with the Wesleyan community. The video, which was produced by Wesleyan's Video Services team, features athletes from SACLC who aim to bring awareness to their work and support other athletes of color. SACLC aims to build a safe, more diverse environment, which will enhance the athletic experiences of student-athletes of color throughout all Wesleyan sports teams. Programs and services are developed with the intention of implementing a system that establishes a social network amongst athletes of color, promotes solidarity, and encourages discourse…
Given the current public health situation, the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC), which is made up of 11 institutions including Wesleyan, is postponing intercollegiate competition for the 2021 spring semester. After much discussion, the presidents of NESCAC schools released an announcement on Jan. 27 stating: "As member institutions prepare for the spring semester, the health and safety of our students, faculty, staff, and communities remain our foremost concerns. Although COVID case numbers have started to decline, nationally and in our region, the numbers remain far higher than they were at the start of the fall semester. After a…
Wesleyan's 2021 spring semester is scheduled to begin Tuesday, Feb. 9, with university housing opening Friday, Feb. 5. All incoming students will be required to quarantine for two weeks upon arrival and be tested for COVID-19 on campus. Classes will take place online only for the first two weeks. "Starting a few weeks later than usual, combined with careful testing and quarantine protocols around arrival, should allow us to start off on the right foot, despite the high positivity rates around the country," wrote Wesleyan President Michael Roth '78 in a Jan. 20 post. "Of course, we will have to…
Christina Crosby, professor of English, passed away Jan. 5 at the age of 67. She also was professor of feminist, gender, and sexuality studies. Crosby arrived at Wesleyan in 1982 after receiving her AB from Swarthmore College and PhD from Brown University. She was a respected Victorianist, feminist, and theorist who was widely published, including two books, The Ends of History: Victorians and “The Woman Question” (Routledge, 1990) and A Body, Undone: Living on After Great Pain (NYU Press, 2016). She received Wesleyan’s Binswanger Prize for Excellence in Teaching in 1994. "Christina was a brilliant scholar-teacher," recalled Natasha Korda, professor…