Olivia Drake – Page 33

Haiti’s “Roots” band RAM came to campus for a one-day artists’ residency and led drumming and dance workshops for Wesleyan students. They met with students in two classes on Oct. 8. The group, led by Richard Morse, has produced music for more than 25 years. They recently released their seventh album, August 1791. In the morning, RAM led a dance workshop for two combined classes: Afro-Brazilian Dance taught by Joya Powell, visiting assistant professor of dance, and Contemporary Dance Technique II/III taught by Katja Kolcio, chair and associate professor of dance. And in the afternoon, they led a workshop for…

Melanie Khamis, associate professor of economics, recently presented two talks. On Sept. 2, Khamis discussed “Migration and the Labor Market: New Evidence from Mexico" at the Council on Latin American and Iberian Studies at Yale University's MacMillan Center. On Sept. 20, she presented a paper titled “Personality, Gender, and the Labor Market” at the European Association of Labor Economists in Uppsala, Sweden. The paper addresses the topic of the effects of personality traits, both controlling for gender and interacting with gender, on labor market-related choices and outcomes. Coauthors of the paper include Giovanni Hutchinson '19 and Joyce Jacobsen, former Wesleyan…

Eight Wesleyan undergraduates presented results of their summer research to the annual Undergraduate Research Symposium sponsored by the Keck Northeast Astronomy Consortium (KNAC) on Oct. 5. This year’s symposium was held at Vassar College and attended by 125 astronomy students and faculty, primarily from the consortium colleges (Bryn Mawr, Colgate, Haverford, Middlebury, Swarthmore, Vassar, Wellesley, Wesleyan, and Williams). Astronomy majors Mason Tea '21 and Rachel Marino '20 and sophomores Alex Henton '22 and Ava Nederlander '22 gave oral presentations of their projects conducted on campus this summer. In addition, astronomy majors Fallon Konow '20, Hunter Vannier '20, Gil Garcia '20,…

On Oct. 5, hundreds of Wesleyan and local community members celebrated the early fall season at the 16th annual Pumpkin Fest at Long Lane Farm. Participants were treated to farm tours, crafts, a pie-eating contest, free veggie burgers and cider, prizes, and a baked goods sale benefiting New Horizons Domestic Violence Shelter. Lopii, Iris Olympia, Barry Chernoff, Emcee Elvee, Rebecca Roff, and Skye Hawthorne provided live music throughout the event. Representatives from Wesleyan's Office of Sustainability, WesDivest, Bread Salvage, Wesleyan Climate Action Group, the Wesleyan Resource Center, WildWes, Natural History Museum, Sunrise, Outing Club, Wesleyan Refugee Project, Uslac, Veg Out,…

Three of the 26 "extraordinarily talented and creative individuals" to receive 2019 MacArthur Fellowships are Wesleyan alumni. Mary Halvorson '02, Saidiya Hartman '84, Hon. '19, and Cameron Rowland '11 each received a $625,000, no-strings-attached award by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Recipients of a MacArthur Fellowship, commonly known as the “genius” grant, are selected based on “exceptional creativity,” “promise for important future advances based on a track record of significant accomplishments,” and “potential for the Fellowship to facilitate subsequent creative work," according to the foundation. They join 17 other Wesleyan alumni and university affiliates named MacArthur Fellow…

On Sept. 26, the Molecular Biophysics Program hosted its 20th Annual Molecular Biophysics Retreat at Wadsworth Mansion in Middletown. Several Wesleyan faculty, students, and guests attended the all-day event, which included five talks, two poster sessions, and a reception. Lila Gierasch, Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Chemistry at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, delivered the keynote address, titled "Hsp70s: Allosteric Machines that Perform a Multitude of Cellular Functions." Gierasch, a leader in the field of protein folding, is a newly elected member of the National Academy of Sciences. Her work focuses particularly on folding in the cell…

With support from a $2 million John Templeton Foundation National Sciences grant, Professor of Biology Sonia Sultan will spearhead a multi-institution evolutionary biology research project over the next three years. The project, titled "Agency in Living Systems: How Organisms Actively Generate Adaptation, Resilience and Innovation at Multiple Levels of Organization," developed from Sultan's research on how individual organisms respond to their environments. Sultan and her Wesleyan research group study this question through experiments with the common plant Polygonum. Sultan's previous findings have shown that genetically identical Polygonum plants can develop very differently depending on their growth conditions, allowing adaptive adjustments…

On Sept. 26, the Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore hosted a public discussion between Wesleyan President Michael Roth ’78 and Roxanne Coady, founder of RJ Julia Booksellers, on Roth’s new book and the crises facing higher education today. Roth's new book, Safe Enough Spaces: A Pragmatist's Approach to Inclusion, Free Speech, and Political Correctness on College Campuses, was published Aug. 20 by Yale University Press. In the book, Roth takes a pragmatic and empathetic approach to the challenges facing higher education. He offers important historical, sociological, and economic context, as well as firsthand observations from his decades as a higher ed…

On Sept. 24, Wesleyan's dining service Bon Appétit challenged itself by creating a meal using ingredients sourced within a 150-mile radius of campus. The result was the 14th annual Eat Local Challenge. This year's menu included steamed lobster, mussels, corn, potatoes, haddock tacos with curtido slaw, clam fritters, wood-fired rotisserie chicken, smoked pork sandwiches, blueberry crisp, pork belly, turkey, cucumber and tomato salad, barbecue seitan, fresh greens, butternut squash stew, and fresh fruit. Food was sourced from Horse Listener's Orchard in Ashford, Conn.; Maine Sea Salt Company in Marshfield, Maine; Mi Terra Tortilla Company in Hadley, Mass.; Lakeside Farms in…

On Sept. 20, members of the Wesleyan community—including students, faculty, staff, and Middletown community leaders—joined millions of young people around the world by participating in the Global Climate Strike. Taking place in more than 150 countries, the Global Climate Strike (held Sept. 20-27) amplifies a chorus of concern about the catastrophic dangers of climate change. The on-campus strike included speeches by students, faculty, and a community member, and concluded with a march around campus. Boldly displaying handcrafted signs, students paraded around campus chanting, "No coal, no oil, keep the carbon in the soil," and "Hey, hey, ho, ho, fossil fuels…

Wesleyan's fundraising arm, the Office of University Relations, now has a new name—and a new home. Effective Aug. 1, University Relations was renamed the Office of Advancement, which reflects the evolution of the team’s work as they refine their focus and prepare for the next campaign, and aligns with industry standards. "Of course, the staff’s commitment to the Wesleyan community and to engaging alumni, parents, and students in the life of the University remains unchanged," said Frantz Williams ’99, vice president for advancement. "We’re all excited for this new chapter!" During the summer the advancement staff relocated to 291 Main…

In honor of Constitution Day, Special Collections and Archives hosted a pop-up exhibit inside the Davison Rare Book Room in Olin Library on Sept. 19. The exhibit featured early versions of the US Constitution, Federalist papers, the Connecticut State Constitution, and original letters by Founding Fathers George Washington and Alexander Hamilton. Photos of the exhibit are below: (Photos by Nick Sng '23) (more…)

Haitian Band Performs, Teaches Dance and African Drumming Students

Khamis Speaks on Labor Markets

8 Students Present Research at Northeast Astronomy Consortium

Pie-Eating Contest, Benefit Bake Sale, Live Music at 2019 Pumpkin Fest

3 Alumni Receive MacArthur “Genius” Awards

Molecular Biophysics Program Hosts 20th Annual Retreat

Sultan to Lead $2M Evolutionary-Developmental Biology Project

President Roth Discusses New Book, Higher Education

Bon Appétit Creates Meal Harvested from within 150-Miles of Campus

Wesleyan Community Participates in Global Climate Strikes (with Photo Gallery)

University Relations Debuts New Name, Moves Offices to Main Street with Financial Services

Special Collections and Archives Celebrates Constitution Day with Pop-Up Exhibit