Olivia DrakeDana Royer, assistant professor of earth and environmental science, presented his research on leaf economics at the Geological Society of America in October. Posted 1./1./6/font> Many scientists have long believed a major clue to rapid global warming is locked in leaf fossils that are millions of years old. Dana Royer, assistant professor of earth and environmental science, has just found a key. Royer and colleagues have generated a reliable method to ascertain from fossils from the Eocene period, 34 million to 56 million years ago, the leaf mass per unit of leaf area, an important trait that is related to…
Posted 11/01/06 Walter Grockowski, a former Wesleyan trainer and trainer for the 1972 Winter Olympics, has died at the age of 86. Grockowski died Oct. 25 at High View Health Care Center in Middletown. He began his 39-year tenure in the Athletic Department in 1947. He became the school's head athletic trainer in 1973, a position he held until retirement in 1986. His involvement in athletics went beyond the university. For many years, Grockowski helped with athletic events around Middletown, where he made his home, especially events organized by the city parks department and the American Legion. A native of…
Gil Skillman, professor of economics and Joyce Jacobsen, the Andrews Professor of Economics are the co-editors of the Eastern Economics Journal. Posted 11/01/06 Two Wesleyan professors are devoted to making one of the countrys leading economic journals even better. Joyce Jacobsen, the Andrews Professor of Economics and Gil Skillman, professor of economics, are the co-editors of the Eastern Economics Journal. Jacobsen and Skillman volunteered to assume editorship of thee publication in July 2005. They will complete their term in 2010. This is a rewarding opportunity as well as an important service to the profession, Skillman says. Helping authors turn a…
A SPECIAL COLLECTION: Kendall Hobbs, reference librarian, and Suzy Taraba, university archivist and head of Special Collections, flip through the pages of Secret City of Broken Scams. This book, written by Fred Rinne and illustrated by Scott Williams, was one of 30 artists books on display during the Artists' Books Open House hosted by Special Collections and Archives Oct. 12. The open house display featured a pop-out three-dimensional book titled The Veil, written by Julie Chen and published by Flying Fish Press of Berkley, Calif. Books owned by Special Collections & Archives cannot be checked out, but they are all…
Gale Lackey, head women's volleyball coach, has coached at Wesleyan 29 years. Posted 10/16/06 Q: How many years have you worked here, and how many years here have you coached volleyball?A: I think I have outlasted most of the coaches in NESCAC. This is my 29th year at Wesleyan, and my 22nd term coaching the volleyball team. Q: In your opinion, why is Volleyball so exciting to play and watch?A: Volleyball is one of the most popular team sports in the world. It requires efficient movement because, unlike many other popular team sports in our country, it is a…
Shengqing Wu, assistant professor of East Asian languages and literatures, is an expert on modern Chinese literature and culture. Posted 10/16/06 Shengqing Wu has joined the Asian Languages and Literatures Department and East Asian Studies Program as an assistant professor. Wu, a native of Hangzhou, China specializes in modern Chinese literature and intellectual history. Wesleyans commitment to the excellence of liberal arts education, its top-notch faculty, the Mansfield Freeman Center for East Asian Studies, and its convenient geographical location were all big attractions for me, she says. She earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in Chinese literature at Fudan…
Posted 10/05/06 Q: Evelyn, when did you come to Wesleyan and what were you hired in as? A: I was hired June 2003 as a payroll coordinator.Q: What is the purpose of the Payroll Office and where are you located?A: We direct the timely and accurate payment and labor distribution for faculty, staff and students. The Payroll Office is located in the Office of Human Resources on College Street. Q: Who do you work with in the Payroll Services Office?A: Katy Wichlac is the payroll manager and Gladys Fountain is the other payroll administrator. The Payroll Department is now…
Posted 10/05/06 Wesleyan's Presidential Search Committee is fully constituted. The search committee is composed of alumni, trustees, faculty, staff and students and is undertaking a comprehensive search to identify and successfully recruit President Douglas Bennet's successor. The charge of the search committee is to review candidates and recommend a slate of finalists to the Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees will select Wesleyan Universitys 16th president. The search committee is staffed by Joan Adams, special assistant, and search firm consultants Jennifer Bol, Michele Haertel and Kristine Johnson from Spencer Stuart. The full description of the search committee can also…
Posted 10/05/06 Wesleyan is pushing for its payroll to go paperless. All faculty, staff and students who receive a Wesleyan payroll check now have the option of receiving their pay stub online. This will eliminate all paper-processing. By going all-electronic, this is going to save more than the 25 cents it costs to pay for the paper, says John Meerts, vice president for Finance and Administration. Were going to save on distribution costs we well. And if youre like me, I end up just tossing it aside, losing it or disposing of it. It will be more convenient not to…
Neely Bruce, professor of music, plays the new, seven-foot August Foerster piano inside the Memorial Chapel Sept. 29. Posted 10/05/06 The secret is in the strings. Thats how Professor of Music Neely Bruce defends the exceptionally clear sounds of Wesleyans new chapel piano. This piano is extraordinarily beautiful, and quite different from the Steinway sound you may associate with a grand piano, Bruce explains. It is clearer, more agile, more evenly balanced and is the perfect size for the chapel. It is the best piano of its size on campus.The new August Foerster is a brand thats legendary in Europe,…
Barbara Jones, the Caleb T. Winchester University Librarian, is the author of two books on intellectual freedom. Posted 10/05/06 If a Wesleyan professor wanted to know what books students have read in the past, the staff at Olin Library would not be allowed or able to give him an answer. By law, we cannot report to anyone what anyone else has been reading, asking or viewing on the Internet, explains Barbara Jones, the Caleb T. Winchester University Librarian. We have the right to provide people with information, but we do not have the right to share what information they…
Elijah Huge, assistant professor of art, works from his office in the Art Studios. This fall, Elijah Huge joins the Art and Art History Department as an assistant professor of art. Huge comes to Wesleyan after four-years working for a large architectural office in New Haven, Conn. At Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, Huge worked on the design team for the Minneapolis Public Library, which opened to the public in May 2006. While working there, he also pursued a series of academic and speculative projects. As the library neared completion, it was increasingly clear to me that rather than move…