Olivia DrakeApril 2, 20072min
Posted 04/02/07 Jacob Dorman, the Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow, has been awarded a research fellowship by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. Dorman will conduct research at the Columbia University Rare Book & Manuscript Library. His project title is “Everyday Life and the Harlem Renaissance.” Dorman received a bachelor’s of art from Stanford University and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles in African American history. At Wesleyan, he teaches Black Urban Religious History. He will use his Gilder Lehrman Fellowship to research the social history of black life during the Harlem Renaissance. To support outstanding…

Olivia DrakeApril 2, 20077min
Members of the class of 1918, the last class to hold a "Cannon Scrap" on campus, serenade the Douglas Cannon at their 55th reunion in 1973. Rumors have it that the cannon may return this year during Reunion & Commencement Weekend. Below, the cannon makes an appearance in Paris, France in the mid 1980s. Posted 04/02/07 There are no promises, but rumors have been heard that the 139-year-old Douglas Cannon – a revered Wesleyan artifact – may make an appearance during the 175th Commencement this May. John Driscoll, director of alumni relations, says he's heard vague rumblings that the cannon…

Olivia DrakeMarch 28, 20072min
ETCHED IN TIME: Annalisa Kelly ’08 and Evan Barton ’08 discuss artist Jim Dine’s The Pine in a Storm of Aquatint (1978) displayed at Davison Art Center’s gallery March 8. The piece was part of the DAC’s exhibit “Etching Since 1950.” Kelly looks over a seven-plate etching from artist Mimmo Paladino titled Among the Olive Trees (1984). The print was acquired by the Friends of Davison Art Center in 1985. A print titled Incubus (1998) by David Schorr, professor of art, was on display in a glass case inside the gallery. This sequence of proof states record Schorr’s process as…

Olivia DrakeMarch 16, 20076min
Michael Kishimoto, investigative captain for Public Safety, joined the department in 1985.   Posted 03/16/07 Police and public safety officers investigate crimes, direct traffic, attend public events to maintain order, patrols specified areas and ensures the safety of people in their community. But when it comes to helping victims of a crime, the Public Safety officers take this aspect of their job up a notch. “Sometimes, a student just wants to talk about a crime they were a part of, and its part of our jobs to listen and be concerned about their health and welfare,” explains Michael Kishimoto, Public…

Olivia DrakeMarch 16, 20074min
  Posted 03/16/07 A research grant from the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation will allow a Wesleyan faculty member to pursue her research on Jews and Christians in pre-modern Poland. Magdalena Teter, assistant professor of history, received the Guggenheim award in March. The foundation makes grants in the natural and social sciences and the humanities that promise to increase understanding of the causes, manifestations, and control of violence, aggression, and dominance. Awards range between $15,000 and $30,000. Teter, pictured at right, was one of eight recipients of the award. She will research the close social interaction between Jews and Christians; the…

Olivia DrakeMarch 16, 20074min
Posted 03/16/07 Bill Herbst, John Monroe Van Vleck Professor of Astronomy and chair of the Astronomy Department, has received a $330,990 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) that will benefit Wesleyan and the seven other elite liberal arts member institutions in the Keck Northeast Astronomy Consortium (KNAC). Along with Wesleyan, the other KNAC institutions covered by the funding are Colgate University, Haverford College, Middlebury College, Swarthmore College Vassar College, Wellesley College and Williams College. The funding allows the schools in the consortium to continue their summer research program for undergraduates, which has been in existence for 17 years. "Since…

Olivia DrakeMarch 16, 20073min
Posted 03/16/07 Competing in the 5,000M event in the NCAA Division III Indoor Track Championships for the third year in a row, Ellen Davis '07 completed her rise from eighth in 2005, to fourth in 2006, and finally national champion in 2007 at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Ind. March 10. Her winning time of 16:43.73 eclipsed the team record she set a year ago (16:46.61) when she entered the NCAAs with the fastest qualifying time in the country. This race is equivalent to 3.1 miles. Davis, pictured at far left, came into the event as the number…

Olivia DrakeMarch 16, 20077min
Posted 03/16/07 A $2.5 million pledge from Board of Trustee member Joshua Boger ' 73, and Amy Boger will support planning for a new molecular and life sciences building at Wesleyan. Joshua Boger, pictured at left, who founded and currently serves as president and CEO of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Cambridge, leads Wesleyan's Science Advisory Council, which works to strengthen the sciences at Wesleyan and to raise their visibility on and off campus. He also has served as a charter trustee of Wesleyan since 1999. Payette Associates of Cambridge, Mass., is working with faculty in the molecular and life sciences…

Olivia DrakeMarch 16, 200715min
Ryan Lee, Web designer, was instrumental in designing the "175 Years" logo, posted on the glass doors of Zelnick Pavilion, as well as numerous Wesleyan department Web sites.   Posted 03/16/07 Q: Ryan, when did you come to Wesleyan?A: My first day here was Nov. 29, 2004—a day I remember vividly, as I had previously been unemployed with a new mortgage for four months. I was hired as a one-year temporary contract position, Web designer, which has since, thankfully, turned onto a permanent position. Q: Prior to Wesleyan, what was your Web experience?A: My first job out of college was sort…

Olivia DrakeMarch 16, 20076min
University Relations created WesLink for faculty, staff, students and alumni to post events. Posted 03/16/07 On a single site, Wesleyan alumni can market their businesses, faculty can promote their newly-released books, students can seek volunteers for their community service projects, and much more. WesLink, a Web site launched Feb. 16 by the Office of University Relations, enables all alumni, faculty, staff and students to post non-Wesleyan sponsored events, announcements, activities, and services to the greater Wesleyan community. “We are always looking for opportunities to engage alumni with the university and with each other, and WesLink helps to bridge that engagement,…

Olivia DrakeMarch 16, 20077min
 Posted 03/16/07 This summer, Gaël Hagen ’09 will be doing something a little different than he’s used to. Specifically, he’ll have the opportunity to meet with such high-level government officials including Supreme Court Justices, the Secretary of State, U.S. Senators, U.S. Congressmen, as well as business leaders. Hagen, pictured at right, is a newly-selected scholar to the Institute for Responsible Citizenship, a leadership program centered at Georgetown University. Each year, 24 minority male students are selected to participate in the two-summer program in Washington, D.C. During the first summer, students take courses on campus while interning in the D.C. Metro…

Olivia DrakeMarch 16, 20073min
Wesleyan will keep its Internet services private. Posted 03/16/07 Wesleyan will adjust its computer network access protocols in order to remain exempt from an order by the Federal Communications Commission that requires facilities-based Internet service providers to engineer their networks to assist law enforcement agencies in executing wiretap orders. The changes, intended to ensure that the university's network is viewed as "private" and thus exempt, include requiring log-ins for access to the campus wireless network, kiosks and library computers. To facilitate guest use, each Wesleyan user will be able to request as many as five guest accounts through the electronic…