Editorial Staff

By Anya Kisicki '22 When President Michael S. Roth ’78 and a dozen of his peers gathered at Princeton University last August, they revived higher education’s civic mission: to serve the public good by preparing students for a life of active citizenship. These 13 college presidents signed onto the Campus Call, a coordinated commitment to foster free expression on college campuses. “The Campus Call for presidents to promote civics literacy and political participation is a great step forward in helping our higher education institutions make a deeper contribution to public life,” Roth said in an article. Convened by the Institute…

By Rose Chen '26 Renowned designer Stuart Weitzman visited Wesleyan on Thursday, Oct. 12 to share the inspiration behind his highly successful high fashion and luxury shoe company and give students advice from his 45-year career on entrepreneurship, risk-taking, creativity, and imagination. His talk was part of the Gordon Career Center’s Career Conversations and was hosted in Ring Family Performing Arts Hall. “The chief goal of events like this is to show students the myriad opportunities that are available to them with a liberal arts education,” Gordon Career Center Executive Director Sharon Belden Castonguay said. “Students are going to come…

Pumpkin season is upon us. The lines at your favorite coffeeshops have gotten longer while people flock to the counter for their favorite orange gourd-flavored beverages. Wesleyan had its own leaf-changing season festival on Oct. 14, with live music, free food, crafts, and a mechanical pumpkin that bucked like their bull counterparts. Here is a visual taste of the pumpkin and fall fun. (Photos taken by Meka Wilson)

By Rose Chen '26 Wesleyan hosted its first Community Campus Day on Saturday, Oct. 7, an event which invited students grades 7 to 12 to campus for hands-on art workshops in honor of National Arts & Humanities Month. The Jewett Center for Community Participation (JCCP) collaborated with the Dance Department, Olin Memorial Library, Art Farm, Oddfellows Playhouse, and WESU 88.1 FM to offer a range of workshops to students from 14 schools, including those who are homeschooled. Community Campus Day was organized and led by Briana Bellinger-Dawson, the JCCP’s Coordinator of Community Participation, who focuses on youth and education facing…

In the wake of the horrific attack on Israel and the subsequent war in the region, members of the Wesleyan University community are gathering to denounce the attacks on civilians and to support those unmoored by these events. “When last Saturday I denounced the Hamas attacks on Israel, I was not fully aware of their horrific brutality. And the news has only grown darker…We learn from one another while we share this beautiful campus. University climates can, of course, change, but I am proud that so far our students, faculty and staff have offered one another support," said President Michael S.…

Continuing its efforts to improve the affordability and accessibility of higher education, starting in the fall of 2024, Wesleyan University will no longer include loans as part of its financial aid packages. The University will meet all students' demonstrated financial need without the burden of borrowing. Having already eliminated loans for highly aided students, this should help middle-income families eligible for financial aid find Wesleyan more affordable. “We are improving the University’s financial aid offerings to be able to build and maintain a dynamically diverse community, including socioeconomic diversity,” President Michael S. Roth ’78 said. Over the past several years the…

President Michael S. Roth ’78 and Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Nicole Stanton recently announced the faculty members who, in recognition of their career accomplishments, have been appointed to endowed professorships, effective July 1, 2023: Merve Gul Emre, former distinguished writer-in-residence, received the Shapiro-Silverberg University Professorship of Creative Writing and Criticism, established in 2008. James W. McGuire, professor of government, received a John E. Andrus Professorship of Government, established in 1981. Brian Hale Northrop, professor of chemistry, received the E. B. Nye Professorship of Chemistry, established in 1908. Dana Royer, professor of Earth and environmental sciences, received the…

Wesleyan University has been selected to host a Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence from India to teach new courses and to help incorporate more international perspectives into the chemistry curriculum during the 2023-2024 academic year. Prof. Pawan K. Sharma, an expert in organic synthesis and medicinal chemistry at Central University of Haryana, Mahendergarh and earlier Dean of Research and Development at Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra, was selected for the Fulbright award by the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. The Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence Program brings visiting scholars from abroad to U.S. colleges and universities, helping the institutions internationalize their curricula, campuses and surrounding communities, and diversify the…

Wesleyan’s fire arts and performance group, Prometheus, performed on Andrus Field on Sept. 3. Prometheus, a student group established in 1997, safely shares the art of fire performance through practice and teaching.

Wesleyan welcomes 56 new faculty members for the 2023-24 academic year. The group contains 19 new visiting faculty members, 16 assistant professors, three Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral fellows, three associate professors of the practice, three postdoctoral fellows, two university professors, two Distinguished Writers in Residence, two coaches and adjunct professors, one assistant professor of the practice, one distinguished professor, one professor, one associate professor, one Artist-in-Residence, and one teaching fellow. This group is comprised of experts in African American studies, American studies, biology, computer science, dance, Design & Engineering Studies, Earth and Environmental Studies, East Asian studies, economics, education, English, film,…

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has awarded a Dangers and Opportunities of Technology: Perspectives from the Humanities grant to Jennifer Tucker, Professor of History at Wesleyan University, and Stephen Hargarten, Professor of Emergency Medicine at Medical College of Wisconsin, (MCW) and the senior policy and injury science advisor for the Comprehensive Injury Center at MCW. The NEH grant supports their collaborative study Engineering Safety into U.S. Firearms, 1750-2010: Inventions, Manufacturers, Outcomes, & Implications. The two-year scholarly investigation is hosted at Wesleyan University within the Center for the Study of Guns and Society, which was established in 2022 with…

From completing life-saving surgeries, to performing heart-gripping music, to fearlessly swimming the English Channel, the possession of paired appendages (arms and legs) is critical to human achievement. However, paired appendages are not unique to humans. Scientists have long known that human limbs evolved from the paired fins found in fishes, but where the first paired fins came from remains one of the great mysteries in evolutionary biology. Visiting Assistant Professor of Biology Amanda Cass was a co-author of a large, multi-institutional study published in the journal Nature investigating how paired appendages evolved in early vertebrate animals. The study, spearheaded by…

Citizens and Scholars

Designer Stuart Weitzman Spotlighted in Career Conversation at Wesleyan

Gallery: Fall Festival

Jewett Center Hosts Workshops for First Community Campus Day

“Sickening Violence”

No Loans: Wesleyan University Removes Barriers to Affording Higher Education

University Announces Endowed Professorships, New Faculty Leadership

Wesleyan Selected to Host Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence

Wesleyan Moments: Prometheus

Wesleyan Welcomes 56 New Faculty Members for 2023-24 Academic Year

NEH Awards Grant For Collaborative Study “Engineering Safety into U.S. Firearms: 1750-2010”

New Study Offers Insight Into How Paired Appendages Evolved