Olivia DrakeBarbara Juhasz, assistant professor of psychology, studies readers' eye movement. Posted 07/28/06 Barbara Juhasz has joined the Department of Psychology as an assistant professor. Juhasz studies the psychology of reading. Her main task in investigating word recognition is to measure readers' eye movements as they read sentences on a computer screen. The duration of readers' eye fixations on words provides detailed information on how easy or difficult words are to understand, she explains. While her research is usually conducted on literate adults, it has applications to the teaching of reading and the understanding of reading disorders. In my opinion,…
At top, Anda Greeney 07 and Suzanne OConnell, associate professor of earth and environmental sciences, prepare to deploy a bathyphotometer, an instrument that measures bioluminescence, into a bay in Vieques, an island off Puerto Rico.At right, Tim Ku, assistant professor of earth and environmental sciences, shows students how to drill a core sample in a bay they are studying. Posted 07/28/06 Ten miles off the east coast of Puerto Rico, on the island of Vieques, three mangrove-lined bays are illuminated with unicellular marine life known as dinoflagellates. One of the bays has an unusually high abundance of these microscopic creatures…
A new Iberian Studies major will enable students to focus primarily on Iberia, mainly Spain, but includes Portugal and former colonies. Posted 07/28/06 Iberian studies will be introduced as a new major by the Spanish section of the Romance Languages and Literatures Department this fall. The major is designed for students interested in studying the literature, history, culture and society of the Iberian peninsula. The new major will complement the current Spanish major, which provides students with a broad knowledge of the Spanish-language literatures of Spain and Latin America. "Over the years students have repeatedly expressed an interest in a…
Max Schenkein '08 chats with an alumnus during a Wesleyan Fund fund-raising drive. Below, Sean Collins '08 and Ana Lombera '09 request gifts for Wesleyan. The student callers, along with staff in University Relations, helped raise more than $35 million this past year. Posted 07/28/06 Wesleyan enters its 175th anniversary year celebration with a tremendous gift from its alumni, friends, and other supporters: a record-breaking $35,054,196 in cash gifts, surpassing the 2005 record by $3.7 million. These funds will support financial aid, faculty, facilities, and programs. Fifty-four percent of alumni participated in giving to Wesleyan in 2006, equaling 2005's participation…
Friends and family celebrated Kay Butterfields 100th birthday July 27 in the Office of the President. Kay Butterfield is the wife of the late Victor Butterfield, who served as Wesleyans president 1943-1967. Pictured above is Middletown Mayor Sebastian Giuliano declaring July 27 Kay Butterfield Day in the City of Middletown. Posted 07/28/06 Kay Butterfield, wife of former Wesleyan President Victor Butterfield, turned 100 July 27. She celebrated the day with friends and family during a celebration at the Presidents House. Kay has lived a life of idealism and service. She was born July 27, 1906 in Brooklyn, N.Y., the daughter…
Posted 07/07/06 Q: Chris, youre the head mens ice hockey coach and the head golf coach. How do you manage doing both? A: I have a strong passion for both sports and I enjoy coaching both teams. It does get a little crazy, but being organized helps. Also, I have great support for both programs. Lastly, I am very fortunate to coach great student-athletes. They are very motivated and they know what it takes to balance their academics with athletics, which is not always easy.Q: Who are your assistant coaches? A: Jim Langlois and Matt Plante are assistant coaches in…
Ganesan "Ravi" Ravishanker has worked at Wesleyan 20 years. He was recently promoted to associate vice president of Information Technology Services. Posted 07/07/06 When theres nothing broken, dont try to fix it. Thats how Ganesan "Ravi" Ravishanker feels about Information Technology Services. The newly-promoted associate vice president of ITS says the university can feel comfortable that its technology needs are in good hands. I inherited a very hard working organization and Im not intending to change anything drastically within the department, Ravishanker says from his fifth floor office in Exley Science Center. Technology problems can arise and hit us…
Lauren Caldwell, assistant professor of classical studies, will teach Latin and a course on Vergil's Aeneid next fall. Posted 07/06/06 Lauren Caldwell was hired as an assistant professor of classical studies on July 1. Caldwell has an A.B. in Classics from Princeton University and received her M.A. and Ph.D from the University of Michigan. Her research interests are Roman social history, Latin literature, Roman law and ancient medicine. Strong support for the faculty's scholarly and pedagogical goals attracted Caldwell to Wesleyan. "I am strongly committed to my research and to my teaching, and Wesleyan does a remarkable job of…
Harry Saranchak, a Wesleyan Writers Conference participant, reviews his writing outside the Davenport Campus Center June 19. The conference is one of 31 campus programs occurring this summer at Wesleyan. Posted 07/06/06 Learning never ceases at Wesleyan, even in the summer. The Cardinal Hoop Clinic. The Russian Intensive Program. The Health Professions Partnership Initiative. These are just a few of 31 on campus programs running during the summer months. The programs are not just for college-aged students, either. Many are specifically designed for younger children and adults. The programs actually began this year before the class of…
SUMMER LECTURE: Dana Royer, assistant professor of earth and environmental science, pictured in center in blue, speaks to an audience as part of The Hughes Program in the Life Sciences Summer Lecture Series June 14 in Shanklin 107. Royer's talk was titled "What Fossils Can Tell Us about the Climate and Ecology of Earth Millions of Years Ago." The Wesleyan University Hughes Grant was awarded to encourage participation and interest in the life sciences by undergraduates. The Lecture Series is ongoing throughout the summer and open to the public. (Photo by Olivia Bartlett)
Pictured at left, Stewart Gillmor, professor of history and science and professor of science in society, performs during The Bang on a Can Marathon June 4 in New York City. Below, Anthony Braxton, professor of music, directs the band. Braxton wrote the band's composition. Posted 06/16/06 Strutting outside the World Financial Center in New York City, Stewart Gillmor bellowed his five valve double-belled euphonium for thousands of spectators. He was one of 75 tuba players to march in the annual The Bang on a Can Marathon June 4 in New York City. Gillmor, professor of history and science and professor…
Posted 06/16/06 The Association of American Colleges and Universities invited Wesleyan President Doug Bennet to attend a forum June 22-23 in Strasbourg, France. The forum, titled "The Responsibility of Higher Education for a Democratic Culture: Citizenship, Human Rights, and Civic Responsibility," was held at the Council of Europe headquarters. The council co-sponsored the forum. Bennet was one of 300 higher education leaders, policy makers and public authorities from North America and Europe to attend. "For this select group, we chose President Bennet because we thought he would be especially effective representing United States higher education and he would likely use…