Olivia DrakeFebruary 13, 20127min
In this issue of The Wesleyan Connection, we ask 5 Questions of Catherine Poisson, associate professor of romance languages and literatures. Q: Professor Poisson, you were recently named a Chevalier L'Ordre des Palmes Académiques (a Knight of the Order of Academic Palms) by the Minister of Education for your contribution to the promotion of French language and culture. What was your reaction to receiving this award, and why do you think you were nominated for the honor? A: I was puzzled and somewhat apprehensive on receiving the notice of Certified Mail, so when I opened the envelope at the post…

Olivia DrakeFebruary 13, 20121min
Wesleyan University Press received a $5,000 grant from the Figure Foundation on Jan. 5. The award will support the publication of the book The Time Ship: A Chrononautical Journey by Enrique Gaspar; Yolanda Molina-Gavilán, trans.; Andrea L. Bell, trans. Wesleyan University Press will publish the 240 page science fiction book in 2012. More information on the book is online here.

Olivia DrakeJanuary 23, 20125min
"Her name is Sally. She's bleeding. She's stuck under a concrete slab and she can't move her leg," says Krystal-Gayle O'Neill, area coordinator in Residential Life as she examines a woman trapped under explosion debris. "Let's get some cribbing material," suggests Doug Allen, assistant to the facilities manager in the Department of Chemistry. Noel Garrett, dean for the Class of 2015, inserts wood blocks, one at a time, underneath a concrete slab, hoping to stabilize the heavy obstruction. "Sally, if it hurts let me know," he says. "We're going to get you out of here." For 15 minutes, the Wesleyan…

Olivia DrakeJanuary 23, 20123min
MacArthur Fellow and award-winning author Edwidge Danticat will deliver a reading at 8 p.m. Feb. 8 in Memorial Chapel. Danticat, a Haitian-American writer, is the 2012 Fred B. Millett Visiting Writer. Danticat, a 2011 recipient of the Langston Hughes medal, is the author of Breath, Eyes, Memory (an Oprah Book Club selection), the story collection Krik? Krak! (a National Book Award finalist), The Farming of Bones (an American Book Award winner), and the novel-in-stories, The Dew Breaker. Her memoir, Brother, I'm Dying, was a 2007 finalist for the National Book Award and a 2008 winner of the National Book Critics Circle…

Olivia DrakeJanuary 23, 20124min
This issue, we ask 5 Questions of Joseph Siry, chair and professor of art and art history. Professor Siry teaches classes about modern and American architectural and urban history. His book, Beth Sholom Synagogue: Frank Lloyd Wright and Modern Religious Architecture, was published by the University of Chicago Press in December 2011. Q: In your newly-published book, you provide an in-depth look at architect/designer Frank Lloyd Wright's Beth Sholom Synagogue in Elkins Park, Penn., which was constructed in 1959 and is considered one of his greatest masterpieces. What prompted you to write a book about this structure in particular? A:…

Olivia DrakeJanuary 23, 20122min
In the 19th century, the guardian hills of New Haven known as East and West Rock, attracted much attention from poets, painters and scientists. More than two dozen painters sought to capture the magic of the Rocks and the views they allowed of the city. Jelle de Boer, the Harold T. Stearns Professor of Earth Science, emeritus, has combined these artists' works for a current exhibit at the New Haven Museum. De Boer is the author of Stories in Stone: How Geology Influenced Connecticut History and Culture. "New Haven’s Sentinels: The Art and Science of East and West Rock" opened Jan.…

Olivia DrakeJanuary 23, 20126min
Wesleyan contractors put the finishing touches on the remodeled squash building and faculty are moving in. The new building will re-open as the Career Center, Art History Department and College of Letters. A grand opening ceremony will be held Feb. 24. Read more about the squash renovation in this October 2011 Wesleyan Connection story. (Photos by Olivia Drake and Bill Tyner '13)

Olivia DrakeJanuary 23, 20126min
Q:  Parker, when did you join the staff at Wesleyan University Press, and what attracted you to Wesleyan? A: I came to work at Wes Press in Fall 2007. As an aspiring poet, some of my favorite poets have been published by Wesleyan over the years. As an editor in academic publishing, it was a great chance to work for one of the best presses in the country. Q: Please explain your role as an acquisitions editor? Do you select manuscripts that may be of interest to the Press, or do you help edit books? What do you look for? A:  Both…

Olivia DrakeJanuary 23, 20123min
A review of Laura Stark's new book, Behind Closed Doors: IRBs and the Making of Ethical Research, appears in the January 2012 issue of Science, Vol. 335, no. 6065 p. 170. Stark is an assistant professor of science in society, assistant professor of sociology, assistant professor of environmental studies. The review states: "How did we get here? Seeking to answer that question for institutional review boards (IRBs), Laura Stark's Behind Closed Doors challenges the historical mythology of bioethics. ... The most important contribution of this interesting, slim book is Stark's demonstration that the conventional version of the origin of IRBs is a very partial…