James Sims

Imani Perry, a 2023 MacArthur Fellow and distinguished Harvard University professor, will deliver the commencement address at Wesleyan University’s 192nd Commencement ceremony on May 26, 2024. Perry will also receive an honorary degree alongside fellow recipients Raj Chetty, renowned for his studies of higher education and social mobility, and Michael Greenberg ’76, P’14, one of the world’s most distinguished neuroscientists. "At a time when the Academy is under fire, the inspiring achievements of these honorees shows just how powerful and beneficial academic work at the highest level can be," said President Michael S. Roth ’78. "Award-winning author and professor of…

Universities and colleges across the country are asking what the role of higher education is in supporting our democracy in the run-up to the 2024 election. This question will take center stage at Wesleyan University in February at the Democracy in Action convening, a two-day seminar seeking to make clear how students, faculty, staff, and alumni must all commit to defending democracy. Taking place Feb. 16 to 17, the Democracy in Action convening will feature a keynote address by author, academic, reverend, and activist Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, sessions led by faculty, students, and outside experts exploring topics that lie…

As a historian, author, and lifelong teacher, Michael S. Roth ’78, President of Wesleyan University, has dedicated much of his career to understanding how people make sense of the past, so when he was approached by his editor at Yale University Press to consider what it meant to be a student, he decided to start at the beginning—the very beginning. Beginning with the followers of Confucius, Socrates, and Jesus and moving to medieval apprentices, students at Enlightenment centers of learning, and learners enrolled in twenty-first-century universities, in his newest book, The Student: A Short History, President Roth explores how students…

Each year at Commencement, Wesleyan University recognizes three outstanding faculty members with the awarding of the Binswanger Prizes for Excellence in Teaching. The University announces that this year’s recipients are Matthew Garrett, associate professor of English; A. Meredith Hughes, associate professor of astronomy; and Tushar Irani, associate professor of philosophy and Letters. Underscoring Wesleyan’s commitment to its scholar-teachers, these annual prizes are made possible by gifts from the family of the late Frank G. Binswanger Sr., Hon’85. Recipients are chosen each spring by a committee composed of faculty and members of the Alumni Association Executive Committee based upon strong recommendations…

President Michael S. Roth ’78 has announced that Wesleyan University will recognize four inspiring leaders during the 191st Commencement on Sunday, May 28, 2023. The honorary degree recipients will be Annette Gordon-Reed, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and Carl M. Loeb University Professor at Harvard, who will also deliver the Commencement address; Jennifer Finney Boylan ’80, award-winning author, transgender activist, and professor at Barnard College; Larry McHugh, recently retired president of the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce and longstanding community leader; and Donna S. Morea ’76, P’06, an internationally recognized technology executive and Wesleyan University Board Chair Emerita. “At a time when…

Wesleyan University’s picturesque campus takes on a new glow when the first snow falls. Students are busy wrapping up the semester and now there is just enough snow on Foss Hill to allow for a sled run – a rite of passage for Wesleyan students across the generations. Photos by James Sims.

Announcing 192nd Commencement Honorary Degree Recipients and Speaker

Anand Giridharadas to Close Democracy in Action Convening

Finding Freedom Through Learning, President Roth Explores the History of Being a Student

2023 Binswanger Prizes for Excellence in Teaching Announced

Wesleyan to Honor Annette Gordon-Reed, Jennifer Finney Boylan, Larry McHugh, and Donna S. Morea at 191st Commencement

A Welcoming Wesleyan Sight: The First Snow of 2022