Olivia Drake – Page 24

In July, three faculty will begin new appointments at Wesleyan. Katja Kolcio will succeed Peter Rutland as director of the Allbritton Center for the Study of Public Life; Stephanie Weiner will succeed Sean McCann as director of the Shapiro Center for Writing; and Krishna Winston will succeed David Beveridge and Alex Dupuy as director of the Wasch Center for Retired Faculty. Katja Kolcio, associate professor of dance, received certificates from Free Ukrainian University and from Kyiv Institute of Art and Culture; and her PhD from The Ohio State University. Her work specializes in the role of creative physical engagement in…

Eighty-one seniors have been elected into Wesleyan University’s Gamma Chapter of the Phi Beta Kappa Society during the 2020 spring semester. They join 15 other seniors elected during the 2019 fall semester. To be elected, a student must first have been nominated by the department of his or her major. The student also must have demonstrated curricular breadth by having met the General Education Expectations and must have achieved a GPA of 93 or above. The emblem contains the three Greek letters “Phi,” “Beta,” and “Kappa,” which are the initials of the Greek motto, Philosophia Biou Kybernetes, or “the love…

Abigail Chabitnoy’s debut poetry collection How to Dress a Fish, published by Wesleyan University Press in December 2018, has been shortlisted for the 2020 International Griffin Poetry Prize. The prize is given by The Griffin Trust for Excellence in Poetry. In addition to the Griffin Poetry Prize, the Griffin Trust initiates and supports projects and ventures consistent with the mandate of the prize to further promote appreciation of Canadian and international poetry. The judges read 572 books of poetry from 14 countries prior to narrowing their selection down to seven shortlisted finalists. The two winners will each be awarded $65,000,…

To help medical personnel safeguard themselves during the coronavirus outbreak, two makerspace labs on campus are manufacturing much-needed protective masks using 3D printers. On April 1, Wesleyan donated its first set of 100 face shields to medical personnel at Middlesex Hospital in Middletown, and others to Wesleyan staff who must work on campus to support the remaining students. The mask, which offers a barrier from the spray of liquids, can be used with or without additional medical masks that cover the nose and mouth. "Our 3D printers have been running at full speed," said Francis Starr, professor of physics and…

Katerina Ramos-Jordán '21 is the recipient of a Beinecke Scholarship, which will support her graduate career and her academic goal of becoming a cultural studies scholar. She's among 18 college undergraduates nationwide to receive the honor, and she's the first Wesleyan student to receive the award in 13 years. Ramos-Jordán will use her Beinecke Scholarship to explore the connection of nature, literature, art, and community in the Caribbean. "Today, in a moment of ecological, racial, and political crisis, I envision my artistic, scholarly, and community projects to cultivate understandings and be a part of Caribbean creolité ways of reading," she said.…

Now that many students, faculty, staff, and alumni are working, teaching, or taking classes from home, several have opted to use the software Zoom for online video conferencing and virtual group meetings. The Office of University Communications is offering an array of cropped-to-size, virtual backgrounds featuring campus images and Wesleyan graphics, all available for download. Missing Wesleyan? The images also can be used for computer desktop backgrounds. To save an image: Double-click an image on the page to open it, then right-click on the image. Select "Save As" to save the file to your computer. Insert background into Zoom: Open…

Joy Cote PhD ’18, Cody Hecht '18, MA'19, and Erika Taylor, associate professor of chemistry, are the co-authors of a study that explores how opposite charges on our substrate and enzyme cause a protein to change shape when the substrate binds. The study, titled "Opposites Attract: Escherichia coli Heptosyltransferase I Conformational Changes Induced by Interactions between the Substrate and Positively Charged Residues," appears in the February 2020 issue of Biochemistry. "If you can imagine how the opposite charges of magnets are attracted toward each other, then you understand the results of this paper," Taylor explained. "The enzyme uses positively-charged amino…

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A number of Wesleyan alumni act in, write, direct, and produce popular TV programs. We've compiled a list of those alumni and their shows below, as part of our "Best of Wes" series. (Do you have a favorite that's not listed? Email your idea to newsletter@wesleyan.edu, and we'll add it in! You can also view previous "Best of Wes" pieces.) The alumni and their roles on various TV shows are listed below: Phillip Abraham '82, P'20 has directed, produced, or directed the photography of episodes of Most Dangerous Game, Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan, Glow, Orange Is the New Black, Daredevil, Ozark,…

Erika Taylor, associate professor of chemistry, is honored for being among the "Top 35 Women in Higher Education" in the March 20 issue of Diverse. Taylor joined the Wesleyan faculty in 2007 and teaches courses in the areas of organic chemistry, biochemistry, environmental chemistry, and bio-medicinal chemistry, among others. She's also associate professor, environmental studies, and associate professor, integrative sciences, and takes a multidisciplinary approach to investigating problems at the biological chemistry interface. Diverse acknowledged Taylor for "striv(ing) to find ways to exploit enzymes found in nature to perform reactions that can help advance the fields of chemistry and medicine."…

Katja Kolcio, chair and associate professor of dance, recently joined other scholars and Ukrainian officials to speak on topics concerning veterans issues and the democratization of civil society in Ukraine during the current war on the border between Ukraine and Russia. The event, titled “Heroes of Liberty: Enhancing Well-Being, Resilience, and Civic Engagement of Ukrainian Veterans,” took place at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center on March 11. (The center closed on March 12 due to the COVID-19 pandemic). Kolcio, who also is an associate professor of Russian, East European, and Eurasian studies, presented her research on “Recurrent Inter-Generational Trauma in…

Although Mitchell Motlagh '20 doesn't agree with every proposal pitched by former presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren, he respects her for expressing topics in a clear, intelligent manner and offering solutions to problems. "Between her ability to articulate thoughtful policy changes and my desire to learn more about rural communities and how they have been affected by contemporary policy changes, I decided that I had to volunteer for Warren in a rural area," Motlagh said. Motlagh, a College of Social Studies major, was one of 16 Wesleyan students who devoted their winter break to support voter registration, participate in political campaigns,…

Kolcio, Weiner, Winston to Serve as New Directors

81 Students from the Class of 2020 Elected to Phi Beta Kappa

Wesleyan University Press Book by Chabitnoy Shortlisted for Griffin Poetry Prize

Wesleyan Labs Create, Donate Face Shields to Local Hospital

Ramos-Jordán ’21 Named Beinecke Scholar

Download Wesleyan Virtual Backgrounds to Use with Zoom

Cote PhD ’18, Hecht MA ’19, Taylor Co-Author New Paper in Biochemistry

Wesleyan’s Campus Remains Quiet During COVID-19 Pandemic

Best of Wes: Alumni Act In, Produce Popular TV Shows

Taylor Named a “Top 35 Woman in Higher Education” by Diverse

Kolcio Shares Healing from Trauma Research with Ukrainian Veterans

Motlagh ’20 Volunteers for Campaign in Rural N.H. as Part of E2020 Project