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…

Olivia DrakeMarch 16, 20071min
Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal will speak April 18 on campus. Posted 03/16/07 Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal will deliver a keynote address on Connecticut’s Role in the Fight Against Global Warming at Wesleyan University’s Earth Day celebration at 8 p.m. April 18 in Wesleyan’s Memorial Chapel. The event is free and open to the public. A reception will be held afterward in the adjoining Zelnick Pavilion. The presentation is being sponsored by The Robert Schumann Lecture Series in the Environmental Studies Certificate Program. For more information, contact Valerie Marinelli at 860-685-3733 or vmarinelli@wesleyan.edu.

Olivia DrakeMarch 2, 200710min
  Steve Formica, construction project coordinator for facilities, provides support for multiple projects.   Posted 03/02/07 Q: Steve, when did you come to Wesleyan?A: I started in April of 2004 and was hired as a project coordinator in Construction Services. Q: What does it mean to be a construction project coordinator? A: The primary role of a project coordinator is to assist with the coordination efforts of project managers. Some of my responsibilities include project cost accounting, inspecting field conditions, preparing bid drawings and specifications, contract administration and preparing monthly and annual reports based on project volume, progress and cost.…

Olivia DrakeMarch 2, 20077min
  Deana Hutson, director of events, plans Reunion & Commencement Weekend year-round.   Posted 03/02/07 When it comes to hosting a successful Wesleyan event, it’s all in the details. And no one knows better about the minutiae than Deana Hutson. From printing invitations and brochures to suggesting the appropriate venue to creating the ideal menu, Hutson is a master in perfection-planning. Take Wesleyan’s Reunion and Commencement Weekend for example. “We may have 150 different events happening over the weekend, and it can be a real challenge to make sure each event has a space, is staffed, has proper audio or…

Olivia DrakeMarch 2, 200712min
  Jennifer Thom Hadley ’84, MA ‘86, library assistant for Scores & Recordings/World Music Archives, studied Javanese gamelan at Wesleyan.   Posted 03/02/07 Q: Jennifer, explain your role with Olin Library as the library assistant for Scores & Recordings/World Music Archives.A: Currently my duties include helping to oversee access services for the department such as circulation, reserves, dubbing requests and stack maintenance; the processing and cataloging of new commercial scores and recordings for Scores & Recordings, original cataloging of World Music Archives materials; helping students, faculty and community members with research inquiries; and helping train and supervise about two dozen…

Olivia DrakeMarch 2, 20073min
Posted 03/02/07 Wesleyan will increase tuition for the 2007-2008 academic year and simplify its fee structure. The new comprehensive fee structure will combine charges that are now billed separately as room and board. Tuition will increase by 5.5 percent to $36,536 for all students in 2007-2008. For freshman and sophomores, the residential comprehensive fee will be $10,130. For juniors and seniors, the fee will be $11,512. The residential comprehensive fees are based on the current room and board charges experienced by students at these class levels, plus a fee increase of $590 and $550, respectively. The increases in student charges…

Olivia DrakeMarch 2, 20078min
Posted 03/02/07 A new WESU 88.1 FM radio program is gaining a nation-wide audience with its emphasis on indigenous politics. The show, titled ''Indigenous Politics: From Native New England and Beyond,'' was launched Feb. 5 from the Wesleyan-based radio station. J. Kehaulani Kauanui, assistant professor of anthropology and American Studies, is the producer and host of the program. The multi-media program airs shortly after 5p.m., right after the “Jive at Five” community calendar, and runs until 6 p.m. each Monday with a live streaming Web cast on www.wesufm.org. ''Indigenous Politics'' features interviews with political leaders, community activists, filmmakers and artists,…

Olivia DrakeMarch 2, 20077min
Posted 03/02/07 Wesleyan’s 175th Commencement Ceremonies will be held on Sunday, May 27, and will complete the 2007 Reunion-Commencement Celebration that will run from May 24-27. During that ceremony, the following people will receive honorary degrees: Jim Lehrer, P ’85, who will also give the principal address at commencement, will be awarded an honorary doctor of letters degree during the ceremony. Lehrer has anchored The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer on the Public Broadcasting Service since 1995. Lehrer joined PBS in 1972, teaming with Robert MacNeil in 1973 to cover the Senate Watergate hearings. They began in 1975 what became The…