Olivia DrakeAugust 7, 200710min
Mark Bailey, director of Development Communications for University Relations, helps set the stage for fundraisers, senior staff and the president to conduct important conversations with donors.   Posted 08/07/07 Q: Mark, when did you come to Wesleyan, and why was there a need for a Development Communications director, and later a staff?A: I came to Wesleyan in March 2005 fresh from more than 20 years based in sunny Southern California. My mission as director of Development Communications is to lead development communications strategies and projects for University Relations, based on Wesleyan’s new strategic plan and increased fundraising efforts. This includes…

Olivia DrakeAugust 7, 20074min
Participants from the 14th Annual Wesleyan Open Golf Tournament donated $1,200 to the North End Action Team July 25. Pictured, from left, are Frank Kuan, Lou Onofrio, David Meyer, Lydia Brewster of NEAT and Sean Higgins. Posted 08/07/07 Eighty-three Wesleyan staff, faculty and friends took a swing at the game of golf recently, while helping out their local community. Participants in the 14th Annual Wesleyan Open raised $1,200 at the event and donated their earnings to the North End Action Team (NEAT). NEAT is a neighborhood organization created to develop grassroots leadership in the north end of Middletown and provide…

Olivia DrakeAugust 7, 20075min
Pin-Fang Chen '09 examines an eukaryote at a magnification of 12,000 times using Wesleyan's new Transmission Electron Microscope. Wesleyan acquired two new high-tech microscopes. Wesleyan’s Advanced Instrumentation Center has scoped out better way to conduct infinitesimal scientific research. In the past six months, the center has acquired a new, state-of-the art scanning electron microscope (SEM) for 3-D imaging, and a transmission electron microscope for 2-D sample images. These microscopes are used by faculty, graduate and undergraduate students. “These microscopes are allowing Wesleyan scientists to conduct research at levels never done before,” says Joe Bruno, vice president for Academic Affairs and…

Olivia DrakeAugust 7, 20076min
Cynthia Matthew, visiting scholar in psychology, and Steven Stemler, assistant professor of psychology, are developing tools which may identify creative and effective leaders. Posted 08/07/07 The U.S. Army is looking for a few creative leaders, and two Wesleyan researches are helping in the search. Steven Stemler, assistant professor of psychology, and Cynthia Matthew, visiting scholar in psychology, are creating a basic psychological research tool that will help the Army Research Institute (ARI) to identify individuals who possess “mental flexibility,” a trait which Army officials believe is important to more creative and effective leadership. “It might seem odd that an organization…

Olivia DrakeAugust 7, 200713min
Stephanie Elliott, Wesleyan University Press publicist, is an avid Wesleyan Adult Fitness Program participant. She is currently training to run a half-marathon Oct. 13 in Hartford to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.   Posted 08/07/07 Q: Stephanie, when did you start working at Wesleyan University Press? A: December of 2003. Q: What is the mission of WesPress? A: To have a vigorous publishing program in the fields of poetry, dance criticism, ethnomusicology, scholarly science fiction, film studies, and Connecticut history. Our books are grounded in good scholarship, and have a variety of audiences, including scholars, undergraduates, and the interested…

Olivia DrakeAugust 1, 20076min
Posted 08/07/ 07 Last year, Suzanne O’Connell, associate professor of earth and environmental sciences, attended a meeting with scientists from around the world. Out of the 40 participants, she was the only female. “This was 2006, not 1973, and with an organization that had had a pretty good track record for involving women,” she recalls. “It’s amazing to me that I was the only woman.” It is this type of disparity that inspired O’Connell, pictured at left, to undertake an initiative designed to retain more women in the geosciences. With support from a recent National Science Foundation award, O’Connell co-created…

Olivia DrakeJuly 28, 20073min
SNEAK PEEK: Rick Culliton, university center director and dean of campus programs, and Tim Shiner, director of student activities and leadership development, lead a private tour of the new Suzanne Lemberg Usdan University Center June 22. Pictured is one of the new dining areas. The newly-carpeted dining area on the third floor also has a lounge with a fireplace and a plasma television. Wesleyan Station's new student mail box center. Staircase between the ground and second floor. New student dining services. Main student lounge area. A student help-desk will be placed in the center of this room. A view from…

Olivia DrakeJuly 11, 20079min
Posted 07/11/07 Q: Jeff, when did you come to Wesleyan’s Center for the Arts?A: I started my work as the CFA’s events coordinator in the fall of 2005. Q: What is your role as an events coordinator? A: As events coordinator, my primary job is to help the Center for the Arts in planning the logistics and details of bringing high-caliber visiting artists and performing ensembles to Wesleyan, after they have been contracted. In this role, I help to make sure that our visiting performers have everything they need, so they can focus fully on their performances and residency activities…

Olivia DrakeJuly 11, 20076min
Kim Savinelli, manager of restricted funds, oversees the accounting aspects of about 1,200 grants and monetary gifts given to Wesleyan for a specific - or restricted - purpose.   Posted 07/11/07 When a donor specifies how his or her money should be spent at Wesleyan, Kim Savinelli makes sure the donor’s wishes are met. Savinelli, manager of restricted funds in the Office of Finance and Administration, insures that all special-case gifts, grants and endowments are spent properly. Restricted funds range from grants awarded by federal agencies to monetary gifts made by alumni for a specific purpose. “Every gift needs to…

Olivia DrakeJuly 11, 20075min
Posted 07/11/ 07 All-American track and cross country runner Ellen Davis graduated in May, but more honors just caught up to her. Davis, pictured in the lead at right, was honored by the College Sports Information Directors Association of America (CoSIDA) in June as she was named a CoSIDA/ESPN the Magazine third-team Academic All-American after gaining first-team District I laurels in cross-country/track. The 10 first-team picks from each of the eight districts (80 total athletes voted upon by all the Sports Information Directors (SIDs) in their respective district) appeared on the national ballot with three squads of 15 named Academic…

Olivia DrakeJuly 11, 20077min
Marcello Simonetta, assistant professor of medieval studies, romance languages and literatures, is the curator of a recent exhibit “Federico da Montefeltro and His Library,” in New York through September. Pictured in Simonetta's hand, and below, are portraits of the Italian Duke da Montefeltro. Posted 07/11/ 07 In 1475, the fully-armored Italian Duke of Urbino posed for a self-portrait in the ductal library with his son at his side. This famous oil painting, pictured at right, containing a 500-year-old mystery, is the centerpiece of a current exhibit, curated by Marcello Simonetta, assistant professor of medieval studies, romance languages and literatures. Titled,…

Olivia DrakeJuly 11, 20079min
Todd Houle, Macintosh Specialist for Information Technology Services, says e-mail-related questions are the ones he gets asked most frequently.   Posted 07/11/07 Q: Todd, when did you come to Wesleyan?A: I came to Wesleyan in the summer of 1997 as the Macintosh Specialist for the Information Technology Service’s Desktop Support Team. While different responsibilities have come and gone, I’ve always been in our Desktop Support group. I also manage a couple of Mac servers such as our license server and file servers for a few departments.Q: Each academic and administrative department is assigned a Desktop Support Specialist. What departments do…