Olivia DrakePosted 05/15/08 Associate Professor of History Magda Teter has received a $14,000 grant from the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University to help with the operating costs of the sixth annual Early Modern Workshop (EWM) in summer 2009. The workshop will explore the topic of History of Reading across Cultures: The Jewish Book and Its Readers in Early Modern Europe. The workshop seeks to form collaborative interaction between scholars of Jewish history, early modern history and literature and to facilitate cross-fertilization of ideas between them. Workshop participants will be examining how Jewish readers coped with the advent of…
Wesleyan's softball team hosted the NESCAC Tournament May 3-5. Posted 05/15/08 Coming off a team-record 21-15 season in 2007, one that featured a first-ever trip to the NESCAC tournament, Wesleyan's softball team came into the 2008 campaign with realistic hopes of repeating last year's success. Our goal this season was to get better every day, said seventh-year head coach Jen Shea. We knew we had a lot of talent but we needed to see how it would come together. Come together was just what the team did, equaling the team record for wins, three of those coming during…
Posted 05/15/08 Students who received academic prizes, fellowships and scholarships were honored at a reception May 6 in Beckham Hall. The awards and the student recipients are: George H. Acheson and Grass Foundation Prize in Neuroscience Established in 1992 by a gift from the Grass Foundation, this prize is awarded to an outstanding undergraduate in the Neuroscience and Behavior Program who demonstrates excellence in the program and who also shows promise for future contributions in the field of neuroscience. Jacob Mirsky '08 Alumni Prize in the History of Art Established by Wesleyan alumni and awarded to a senior who has…
Andrea Ray's Désire is on exhibit in the Center for the Arts' Zilkha Gallery. The dinner table is embedded with speakers, playing a dinner conversation. Posted 05/15/08 May 2 marks the 40th anniversary of a student strike in France that led to a shift to the eventual the end of the De Gaullle government in France. This historic event is the topic of a new exhibition in Wesleyans Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery. Titled Désire by Andrea Ray, the three-part installation revisits May 1968 to pose a question about the present: Could the Paris model of social and political agency…
Sally Grucan, head of cataloging at Olin Library, lends her expertise to campus projects such as the Media Database, Departmental Collections Catalog and a new digital repository. Posted 05/01/08 Q: Sally, when did you start at Wesleyan?A: December 5, 1983. I have always worked for the library but my first office was a makeshift space in the Science Tower now the Exley Science Center while Olin was being renovated and expanded.Q: As the head of cataloging, what is your main objective?A: Its all about access to information. Whatever the library can do to connect students, faculty, and…
Nietzsch Factor co-captain Philip Benjamin 09, left, watches teammate Karl Nagy '09, right, reach for a flying disc during an Ultimate game. Wesleyan has had Ultimate teams since 1975. Posted 05/01/08 They play seven to a team, run continuously across a turf field, intercept passes and block their opponents and score in an end zone. Although their game could be considered a hybrid match of soccer, football and lacrosse, all it really takes to play is one piece of equipment a flying disc. The club sport, known as Ultimate, dates back to 1975 at Wesleyan and has grown more…
Posted 05/01/08 Wesleyan is the recipient of a new $1.4 million grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). The four-year grant will help Wesleyan fund and enhance its undergraduate science education. The Wesleyan Hughes Program, directed by Professor of Biology Michael Weir, will support curricular development, student and faculty research, and outreach to local middle and high schools. Support of undergraduate summer research and introductory courses in the life sciences will be major components of the program. "We wish to incorporate into our curriculum new ways of thinking from neighboring disciplines such as mathematics and computer science to add…
Jeffrey Butler, professor of history emeritus, died on April 22 in Middletown. He was 85 years old. Professor Butler was born and raised in Cradock, South Africa. He saw active duty in World War II and was wounded outside of Florence in 1944 resulting in the loss of his left arm. After the War, Professor Butler completed doctoral studies at Oxford University and came to the United States in the late 1950s. Professor Butler joined the Wesleyan faculty in 1965 and served with distinction until his retirement in 1991. He was twice chair of the History Department and was a…
Pedro Alejandro, chair of the Dance Department, associate professor of dance, works with students for the production No Eggshells/ Outside, which premiers at 8 p.m. May 5 and 6 on the CFA Terrace. Alejandro is choreographing the performance. Posted 05/01/08 For two days, Pedro Alejandro will convert the Center for the Arts concrete- and limestone-walled terrace into a green, grassy soft space. Alejandro explores the theme of eco-aesthetics in an upcoming performance titled No Eggshells/ Outside. The performance begins at 8 p.m. May 5 and 6 on the Center for the Arts Terrace (Rain date May 8). All participants…
Dining Services employee Vicky Ambro discovered a Wesleyan University Bulletin from 1893 at a flea market in Middletown. The issue announces the opening of the new gymnasium, later named the Fayerweather Gymnasium. Posted 05/01/08 While browsing through a flea market recently, Vicki Ambro came across a tanned paper publication with the words Wesleyan University across the top in an archaic gothic font. It turned out to be a Nov. 1893 issue of The Wesleyan University Bulletin, issue no. 13. I couldnt believe it. It was one of Wesleyans old newsletters and it was in such good condition, says Ambro, who…
Posted 05/01/08 Richard l. Berke, assistant managing editor for news at The New York Times, will be the keynote speaker at a conference titled Make Democracy Work, on Saturday, May 3. The conference will run from 11:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. and is being presented by the Wesleyan University Chapter of the Roosevelt Institution. The conference also features panel discussions and workshops designed to highlight important components of democracy that are often overlooked or taken for granted and give them both local and national perspectives. We wanted to raise awareness about what democracy means and how it functions and fails…
Eighty Wesleyan University students were elected into the Gamma chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, the nation's oldest academic honor society. They will be honored at a reception during Reunion & Commencement Weekend on May 24, 2008. Election to the society is based on the fulfillment of eligibility requirements, including a grade point average of 90 or above and the satisfactory completion of general education requirements prior to commencement. Phi Beta Kappa was founded in 1776, during the American Revolution. The organizations Greek initials signify the motto, "Love of learning is the guide of life." The students join the ninth oldest…