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Ziba KashefFebruary 12, 20256min
In 2018, author and journalist Pagan Kennedy ’84 became intrigued by news reports about rape kits and the backlog in processing them. The scandal of nearly a half million kits left untested fascinated her and was the start of a research journey that led to her most recent book, The Secret History of the Rape Kit: A True Crime Story (Penguin Random House). “The more I thought about it, the more amazing it seemed to me that this kit existed at all—that there was this nationwide, very elaborate system for collecting sexual assault evidence seemed to me kind of a…

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Ziba KashefFebruary 4, 20257min
In Professor of Physics Francis Starr’s Lab, researchers focus on studying the complexities of soft matter and materials. One target of their investigations are phase change materials, or substances that can transition from one state to another, similar to common transitions between a solid and liquid, but in this case the material can very rapidly switch between two different solid phases. In a recently published paper, Starr and his student co-authors developed a novel model to simulate a phase change that could one day have an impact on such practical matters as how quickly our smartphones process data. For their…

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Ziba KashefJanuary 28, 20256min
While Professor of Philosophy Stephen Angle was on sabbatical in Beijing, China in 2016-2017, he wanted to find a way to directly engage fellow experts on and advocates of Confucianism. He attended conferences and met with other Confucianists before coming up with the idea of organizing a series of dialogues about the meaning of Confucianism today. The dialogues—eight in all—culminated in Angle’s latest book Progressive Confucianism and its Critics: Dialogues from the Confucian Heartland. To Angle’s knowledge, the dialogues—most of which took place at Renmin University in Beijing—were the first of their kind to put Chinese Confucians, most of whom…

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Ziba KashefJanuary 28, 20255min
Assistant Professor of Mathematics Iris Yoon first became intrigued by topology—a branch of mathematics concerned with the study of shapes—as an undergraduate student.   “I took a topology class in undergrad which was fascinating to me,” said Yoon. “And I found this field by accident. I went on Google and searched ‘applications of topology’ and found that it was an actual field of research.”  That fascination led Yoon to contact a researcher at the University of Pennsylvania, who invited her to join his weekly research seminars and ultimately served as advisor for her Ph.D. in applied mathematics and computation science.  …

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Ziba KashefDecember 11, 20247min
A month after one of the most momentous national elections in recent memory, the Wesleyan Media Project hosted their 2024 Post-Election Conference at the Frank Center for Public Affairs on Dec. 6. The all-day event featured four panels, moderated by Government department faculty members: Associate Professor of Government Logan Dancey, Associate Professor of Government Alyx Mark, Professor of Government Erika Franklin Fowler, and Assistant Professor of Government Justin Peck. More than a dozen scholars from institutions across the country presented their research to the audience of faculty and students. The topics of panel presentations ranged from political advertising in 2024…

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Ziba KashefDecember 10, 20245min
On Wednesday, Dec. 4, 15 students were formally inducted into Wesleyan’s Gamma chapter of Phi Beta Kappa Society. This impressive group were early-decision inductees, meaning they met the rigorous criteria before they are expected to graduate. At the start of the event, Nadja Aksamija, associate professor of Art History and president of the Phi Beta Kappa Committee, shared that these high-achieving students joined an estimated 525,000 society members from across the country. Aksamija went on to explain that Phi Beta Kappa, founded in 1776, is the oldest surviving Greek letter society in America. To receive this honor, the latest group…

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Ziba KashefDecember 4, 20249min
For 85 years, WESU, Wesleyan’s campus radio station, has offered a mix of music and public affairs programming. This year, the station launched a new program, Engage Radio, to shine a light on the community-engaged work of its university partners and residents from across the greater Middletown community. Broadcast bimonthly on Friday afternoons, Engage Radio has featured a blend of stories that has included artist in residence Sunny Jain talking about his music and the experience of South Asians globally; Center for Prison Education (CPE) Director Tess Wheelwright sharing the history and milestones of CPE; and community partner Donna Hylton,…

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Ziba KashefNovember 20, 20247min
At the age of 27, Valentina Ramia received an urgent call from a friend in Ecuador, where she was born, to join a newly formed government. With her master’s degree in public policy analysis and management, Ramia left her work at a think tank in New York to return home and assist with governing in the new administration. The year was 2007. In her role as an under secretary, Ramia was put in charge of social policy in a newly formed department, and asked to help resolve a crisis in the prison system. Working with the prisoners’ unions and other…

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Ziba KashefNovember 4, 202410min
From across the country, thousands of Wesleyan alumni and family members came together for a weekend of community, connection, and conversation during Homecoming and Family Weekend (HCFW) from Nov. 1 to Nov. 3. HCFW activities kicked off on Friday with numerous opportunities for alumni, families, and students to attend classes, open houses, exhibits, and WESeminars—presentations that allow Cardinals to revisit the classroom and experience the pragmatic liberal arts that is the essence of Wesleyan. For many, it was first and foremost an opportunity to reconnect. Sueann M. Papertsian P’28, from New York, was looking forward to reuniting with her son,…

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Ziba KashefOctober 22, 20245min
What do Christian, Jewish, and Hindu Americans have in common? They all have someone representing their faith on the national political stage in the 2024 presidential campaign. That intersection of religion and politics was the focus of a talk, “The Fluidity of American Faith: Real Talk about Religion and the 2024 Presidential Race,” by investigative journalist and author Sarah Posner ’86 on Oct. 17 at the Frank Center for Public Affairs. In introducing Posner, Department of Religion Chair Andrew Quintman said, “religion informs our understanding of so many aspects of our human life and that's especially true of our current…

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Ziba KashefOctober 8, 20248min
For three days in mid-September, the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life (ORSL) embarked on an unusual trip. The university’s three chaplains—representing Jewish, Christian, and Muslim faith traditions—took a dozen students from Wesleyan’s Mega Interfaith Leadership Council (MILC) to Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in Stockbridge, Mass. Over the course of the long weekend, the group engaged in interfaith conversation, introspection, and community. Between moments of silence, guided hikes, and presentations on topics like spirituality, leadership, and resilience, the spiritually diverse group connected with each other across what can seem like vast, even intractable, differences. “We’re at the beginning…

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Ziba KashefSeptember 25, 20245min
Wesleyan’s holistic approach to admissions continues to support a socioeconomically diverse student body with the Class of 2028.   Among the 824 first-year students and 48 transfer students who joined the campus community this fall, there are more first-generation and Pell-grant-eligible students compared to last year. A notable 16% are the first in their families to go to college, which is higher than the percentage of children of alumni.  Of those who self-reported their race or ethnicity, the data is comparable to last year: The percentage of domestic students of color remains at 32% of the class. The number of Black/African…