Olivia DrakeWesleyan hosted the 10th Annual Shasha Seminar for Human Concerns on April 19-20. The Shasha Seminar is an educational forum for Wesleyan alumni, parents, faculty and friends that provides an opportunity to explore issues of global concern in a small seminar environment. Endowed by James J. Shasha ’50 P’82, the seminar supports lifelong learning and encourages participants to expand their knowledge and perspectives on significant issues. The 2012 theme was The Political Economy of Oil. Photos of the two-day event are below: (Photos by Olivia Drake and Bill Tyner '13) (more…)
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Wesleyan students and staff participated in an Earth Day Celebration April 22 at the West College Courtyard and planted an American Chestnut seed. The student organization WILD Wes spearheaded the event. Photos are below: (Photos by Nam Anh Ta '12)
Q&As with outstanding students is an occasional feature of The Wesleyan Connection. This issue we speak with Grace Ross from the Class of 2012. Q: Grace, you'll be graduating this May with a double major in English and American Studies. Why did you choose to major in those areas? A: It was the American Literature survey course I took with Joel Pfister my freshman fall that drew me to English and American Studies. We read Mary Rowlandson’s Indian captivity narrative. Professor Pfister essentially summarized what I had been attempting to argue in A.P. U.S. History and offered analysis far beyond…
Five Wesleyan staff members received a Cardinal Achievement Award for demonstrating extraordinary initiative or providing outstanding service with regard to specific tasks or events in their departments. This special honor comes with a $150 award and reflects the university’s gratitude for those extra efforts. The April recipients are: Karen Karpa, administrative assistant in the Office of Student Affairs; Marina Melendez, dean for the Class of 2014 in the Office of Student Affairs; Tanya Purdy, director of health education in Health Services; Lisa Sacks, coordinator in the Office of Academic Affairs; Alysha Warren, therapist/sexual assault coordinator in Counseling and Psychological Services. The…
Leith Johnson was hired as Olin Library's new university archivist and he will begin the new position on May 14. Johnson is returning to Wesleyan from the Knights of Columbus in New Haven, Conn. where he holds the position of multimedia archivist. From 2007 to 2009, he was the project archivist for the William Manchester Papers in Wesleyan's Special Collections and Archives, and he was the associate curator (later co-curator) of Wesleyan’s Cinema Archives from 1990 to 2007. Johnson holds a M.L.S. from Southern Connecticut State University and a M.A. in history, Certificate in Public History and Archival Management, and…
To help the victims of the March 11, 2011 earthquake in Japan, Wesleyan graduate students Maho Ishiguro, Akiko Hakateyama, Ellen Loeck and Shoko Yamamoto arranged a benefit concert titled "Voices United." Students and faculty from Wesleyan's music department, and resident performers from the Middletown area, assembled at Crowell Concert Hall for an afternoon of music and dance performances. The concert was filmed and will be available on DVD this month. Eleven performances, which included different genres of music from 10 countries, were featured. Participating ensembles and musicians included Chinese Ensemble, Balinese Gender Ensemble, Carnatic Music Ensemble (Indian vocals), The Mixolydians (vocal ensemble singing Rennaisance madrigals), Slavei…
Sasha Rudensky, assistant professor of art, will be showing new photographs as part of the "Generation One and Half" exhibit at the Soto Velez Cultural Center in New York, New York. The exhibit features works by several Russian-American artists. The show opens at 6 p.m. May 11 and runs through May 23.
Lana Lana ’12 and Jessica Spates ’12 received a Baden-Württemberg–Connecticut Exchange Grant for a one-year study in Germany. The Baden-Württemberg Exchange Program offers students an opportunity to earn college credits in one of Germany’s top nine universities. Students spend the academic year at the university they choose. The Baden-Württemberg Exchange originated from a legislative partnership formed between the State of Connecticut and the German state of Baden-Württemberg in 1989. The agreement invites all students enrolled in four-year colleges and universities in Connecticut to study at any institution of higher learning in Baden-Württemberg. With nine universities from which to choose and…
The Center for the Arts received a $10,000 grant from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation on April 23. The award will support "Continuing Innovation" for the CFA's Feet to the Fire project. The mission of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation is to improve the quality of people's lives through grants supporting the performing arts, environmental conservation, medical research and the prevention of child abuse, and through preservation of the cultural and environmental legacy of Dorks Duke's properties.
The J. Walter Bissell Foundation awarded the Green Street Arts Center with a $10,000 grant on April 10. The award will support Green Street's After School Program.