Olivia Drake(more…)
Victoria Smolkin-Rothrock, comes to Wesleyan this spring as an assistant professor of history, an assistant professor of Russian and Eastern European Studies. She’ll also be a core member of the College of Social Studies. Her research investigates state efforts to manage spiritual life, as well as the significance and functions of private rituals in modern society. “There were many things that attracted me to Wesleyan, but the students, and the intellectual community more broadly, are at the top of the list,” she says. “When I visited Wesleyan, the students made a profound impression: they struck me as deeply engaged in…
This story has been reposted at: https://newsletter.blogs.wesleyan.edu/2010/12/16/scholastic-honor-society-welcomes-15-seniors-2/
In the remote village of Gitwe, Rwanda, 6-year-old children ascend mountains, or make the journey by foot along dusty roads – more than 3.5 miles each way – to fetch water for their families. They fill plastic motor oil jugs or any other container they can find. Barefoot and often in intense heat, they lug the 40-pound containers of water back home. “The bins that the children carry are just as big as they are,” says Carina Kurban ’14, who witnessed the daily procession of thirsty children during a fact-finding missionary trip in August 2010. “And many of the children…
Jane Alden raises her hands and cues members of her Collegium Musicum performance ensemble to intone the music. The sopranos and basses situated in Memorial Chapel’s choir loft allow their voices to resonate throughout the space. Alden cuts them off at measure 17. "Measure 17 is the apex because the cantus firmus is in the top voice. You need to sound like angels floating on the top with the chant,” Alden says during a Nov. 23 rehersal . “Let’s try this once more." The MUSC438 course, which explores vocal and instrumental repertories of the Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque periods of European music history, is taught…
Rob Rosenthal, the John E. Andrus Professor of Sociology, has been appointed provost and vice president for academic affairs. It is a position Rosenthal held on an interim basis since the summer. Rosenthal has responsibility for matters relating to the recruitment and promotion of the faculty, the content of the curriculum, continuing studies, athletics and the library. He also is responsible for meeting budget targets for faculty compensation and for academic departments and programs. In the few months that he has held this position on an interim basis, Rosenthal, says Wesleyan President Michael Roth, "has quickly assumed a leadership role…
The newly-established Wesleyan Green Fund Committee is supporting initiatives that move the university forward in sustainability and environmental stewardship. On Dec. 3, the student-managed committee will finance projects that will decrease the carbon footprint of the university, decrease waste, increase Wesleyan's use of energy from renewable resources, or increase visibility of environmentally responsible practices on campus. The committee will select projects proposed by Wesleyan students, faculty and staff. Through a $15 fee, collected voluntarily from students during the Fall 2010 semester, the committee raised about $40,000. These “green funds” will be applied to several sustainability-focused projects at Wesleyan that otherwise would not…
This issue, we ask “5 Questions” of Bill Trousdale, professor of physics, emeritus. He recently lectured on “Global Warming and Energy Options" and "The Pros and Cons of Nuclear Energy." Q: Professor Trousdale, you researched solid state physics at Wesleyan for 30 years, retiring in 1989. Did you always have a side interest in energy creation, consumption and global warming? A: Yes for almost as long as I can remember, in the early 1950s when I learned about the second law of thermodynamics. I was appalled by burning oil at 2,000 degrees to maintain a house at 72 degrees. That…
Wesleyan's non-commercial college and community radio station, 88.1FM WESU, is holding its sixth annual WESU Holiday Pledge Drive. This year’s drive continues through the end of live programming at 3 a.m. on Sunday Dec. 12. The goal for this year’s two-week drive is to raise $15,000 in listener support to sustain operating expenses throughout the coming year. Meeting this goal will keep WESU on track to raise $30,000 in community support before the end of the fiscal year in July. During its 71st anniversary year, WESU completed the 3-year project of quadrupling its broadcasting power from 1,500 to 6,000 watts (ERP). This upgrade…
Wesleyan’s Safety Committee is looking for volunteers willing to help make campus a safer place to work and learn. In the past few years, the committee has conducted a walk-through of 23 buildings on campus; provided personal protective equipment (safety glasses, gloves, ear protection and other equipment) to Physical Plant –Facilities staff; and helped deliver heavy tools and supplies to sites by installing mechanical lifts. They’ve also discussed ways to prevent accidents involving Wesleyan-owned vehicles and staff. “The committee really does care about safety on campus, and we want to make a difference,” says Safety Committee co-chair Chris Cruz, safety…
Cultural Anthropologist Attiya Ahmad joined the Religion Department and Feminism, Gender and Sexuality Studies program as an assistant professor. In the Religion Department, she is teaching a course titled Islam and Muslim Cultures, which familiarizes students with the basic teachings and practices of Islam and examines commonalties and diversity in how Islam has been and continues to be practiced by Muslims. In FGSS, she is teaching a class on Feminist Theories. “Wes is a wonderfully collegial and dynamic intellectual milieu, one that emphasizes both scholarship and teaching,” she says. “This is my first teaching appointment, (more…)
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