Olivia DrakeCharles Lemert, University Professor and Andrus Professor of Social Theory, emeritus, is the author of Why Niebuhr Matters, published by Yale University Press, November 2011. Reinhold Niebuhr (1892–1971) was a Protestant preacher, an influential religious thinker, and an important moral guide in mid-20th-century America. His work has informed the thinking of political leaders and commentators from Barack Obama and Madeleine Albright to David Brooks and Walter Russell Mead. In this lively overview of Niebuhr's career, Lemert analyzes why interest in Niebuhr is rising and how Niebuhr provides the answers we ache for in the face of seismic shifts in the…
A paper titled "Corporate Capital Budgeting Decisions and Information Sharing" by Abigail Hornstein, assistant professor of economics, was published in the Journal of Economics and Management Strategy on Oct. 24. In the paper, Hornstein explains how firms must overcome agency and information asymmetry problems to make efficient corporate capital budgeting decisions; this is particularly true for firms with multiple units dispersed across geographic locations. Internal communication and coordination may therefore be crucial in reducing information asymmetry and achieving efficient resource allocation. We examine the relationship between corporate capital budgeting decisions and the degree of internal information sharing using a data set…
Ed Moran, associate professor of astronomy, received a grant worth $62,804 from NASA for a project titled "Black Holes at the Center of Nearby Dwarf Galaxies." The project involves observations of six dwarf galaxies with the Chandra X-ray Observatory, also known as the "Hubble Space Telescope of X-ray Astronomy." "We have identified 'active nuclei' in these objects, which are powered by the accretion of gas onto massive black holes," Moran says. "The X-ray emission associated with the accretion will give us direct information about the black holes and their surroundings in their host galaxies." The black holes in these galaxies…
Wesleyan's Center for the Arts received a grant worth $20,000 from the National Endowment for the Arts. The funds will support the 2012-13 Breaking Ground Dance Series. The NEA is supporting 863 organizations and individual writers across the country with grant funds. The CFA is the only dance presenter in Connecticut to receive support. The Breaking Ground Dance Series at the Center for the Arts, now in its 12th season, features cutting-edge choreography, world-renowned companies, and companies pushing the boundaries of the art form. Upcoming performances this season include the Connecticut premiere of Connected (2011) by the Australian dance company…
Stewart Novick, professor of chemistry, received a grant worth $43,260 from the National Science Foundation. The award is shared with Professor Stephen Cooke of SUNY-Purchase and represents a new collaboration between Professors Cooke and Novick who now co-mentor graduate students and share sophisticated equipment (Fourier transform microwave spectrometers housed in Novick's lab at Wesleyan). The collaboration, which goes beyond this one grant, involves investigating the structures and dynamics of a whole range of systems including large halogenated compounds and molecules involving actinide valence electrons in their chemical bonding.
An unprecedented October snow storm wreaked havoc on Wesleyan's campus and throughout Connecticut Oct. 30. The university was among the more than 800,000 electrical utility customers who lost power. Electricity was restored to the central campus area on Nov. 1, but many program and wood-framed student houses that are supplied by electrical grids in Middletown remained without power. With the restoration of power to the core of the Wesleyan campus, the university re-opened and resumed classes on Nov. 2. "By resuming classes we aim to return to the normal rhythms of our educational mission," said Wesleyan President Michael Roth in an…
All Wesleyan students, alumni, parents, families, faculty and staff are invited to Homecoming/Family Weekend Nov. 4-6. This year, campus guests can participate in an array of academic, cultural and athletic events. Students’ families gain a sense of the undergraduate experience by sitting in on regularly scheduled classes, attending WESeminars, and by meeting faculty and administrators in both academic and social settings. Alumni can reconnect with Wesleyan and with each other at a host of special seminars and social gatherings. “We welcome all members of the Wesleyan community to take advantage of the rich schedule," says Makaela Kingsley '98, associate director…
On Nov. 5, two energy experts will speak during the annual "Where On Earth Are We Going?" symposium. The event is sponsored by the Robert Schumann Lecture Series in the Environmental Studies Program. At 9 a.m., Lisa Margonelli, director of the Energy Policy Initiative at the New America Foundation in Washington D.C., will speak on "The Energy Revolution Will not be Tweetable: the Energy Puzzle in More than 140 Characters." Margonelli is the publisher of The Energy Trap and blogs frequently at The Atlantic web site. Her book Oil On the Brain: Petroleum’s Long, Strange Trip to Your Tank follows the oil supply chain…
The Wesleyan Freeman Asian Scholars Program welcomed 11 new students to the program during a Freeman Scholars Dinner Oct. 6. The program enables qualified young men and women from each of 11 countries or regions – The People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam to come to Wesleyan on full tuition scholarships. "I am fortunate to work with the Freeman Asian Scholars Association; so many are friends. I love their energy, good spirit and their wonderful creativity and culture they inject into the community," says Gina Driscoll, associate director…
The campus community can browse university information through their smart phones and tablets through a new mobile web site developed by Information Technology Services. The Wesleyan mobile web site, launched Oct. 25, provides quick links to university news, events, academics, map locations and directory. Mobile device auto detection is built into the Wesleyan home page, so smartphone users (iOS, Android or Blackberry Torch) can view either the full web site or the mobile version on their handheld device. "A mobile web site is really designed for a broad audience," says Melissa Datre, director of ITS's New Media Lab. "Students, staff and faculty…
Since January, Middlesex United Way has helped keep more than 170 families from becoming homeless, and its support of area food pantries and soup kitchens has helped them provide more than 780,000 meals to hungry Middlesex County residents. And since 1935, Wesleyan employees have responded to the needs of the community by participating in the annual United Way Employee Campaign. This year's goal is to top $135,000. "It is more important than ever for us at Wesleyan to show support for the larger community of which we are a part," said President Roth in an all-campus e-mail. "In today’s economy,…
The Campus Activities Committee hosted "Taste of Middletown" on Oct. 20 as a way to celebrate Wesleyan's faculty and staff. More than a dozen Middletown eateries attended, including Famous Pizza, First & Last, Haveli Indian Restaurant, Sweet Harmony Bakery, Esca and more. WB Mason provided hot and cold beverages, and representatives at the Inn at Middletown and three other local hotels hosted information booths. Photos of the event are below. (more…)