Olivia DrakeOctober 1, 20059min
Persephone Hall, assistant director of Human Resources, posts job opportunities, searches through resumes and conducts interviews.   Posted 10/01/05 Q: What are some of your job duties as assistant Human Resources director?A: The thing I love most about my position is the variety. In my first six months, my primary responsibilities have revolved around working with hiring managers to recruit for and fill their job openings. I am beginning to help managers and employees with employee relations issues and in the near future, I look forward to developing training classes for managers and employees here at Wesleyan.Q: So, you’re fairly…

Olivia DrakeOctober 1, 20056min
Maria Cruz-Saco, dean of the college, is impressed by Wesleyan students’ involvement outside of the classroom.   Posted 10/01/05 It didn’t take long to settle in. In just two months, Maria Cruz-Saco has begun spearheading residential life and student programming initiatives. She’s also creating a new position to oversee diversity and multicultural learning environments on campus and seeking ways to improve current student services. As the new dean of the college, Cruz-Saco oversees the Class Deans, Student Academic Resources, Student Services and Campus Programs. The latter includes Residential Life, Student Activities and Leadership Development, International Student Services, the Office of…

Olivia DrakeOctober 1, 20058min
  The staff at Wesleyan University Press will hold an open house from 4 to 6 p.m. Nov. 11 at its new location, 215 Long Lane, across from the new Physical Plant. Pictured in back, left to right are Eric Levy ’97, acquisitions editor; Stephanie Elliott, publicity associate; and Leslie Starr, marketing manager. Pictured in front is Suzanna Tamminen ’90, MALS ’04, director and editor-in-chief. Posted 10/01/05 It's one of only 110 academic publishers in the nation, and has produced more than 1,000 books by authors around the world. But the Wesleyan University Press staff believes their publishing house remains…

Olivia DrakeOctober 1, 20055min
Posted 10/01/05 Wesleyan will again help build a stronger, healthier Middlesex County during the Middlesex United Way’s annual Community Campaign. The campaign kicked off Oct. 6 at the President’s House. This year’s goal is $140,000, which is $5,000 more than last year’s goal. For more than 60 years, the Wesleyan community has supported the local United Way. Its Core Services provides funding to 32 local programs and services offered by its 23 partner agencies. These include the American Red Cross, 2-1-1 Infoline; Middlesex Hospital Family, Advocacy Program; Middlesex Hospital Homecare; Nutmeg Big Brothers Big Sisters; Oddfellows Playhouse Youth Theater; Salvation…

Olivia DrakeOctober 1, 20056min
Liz Lerman of the Liz Lerman Dance Exchange, discusses "The Making of Ferocious Beauty: Genome,” the first in a series of lectures addressing the implications of genetic research. (Photo by Lex Leifheit) Posted 10/01/05 The year 2003 marked a major milestone in human genomics: the completion of the sequencing of the human genome. With that milestone came a seemingly endless number of possibilities, and the challenge of understanding their consequences. “Where do we as individuals and where do we as a society draw the line, and who should do the line drawing?” asked Kathy Hudson, director of the Genetics and…

Olivia DrakeOctober 1, 20056min
At top, Lori Gruen, associate professor of philosophy, explains "The Chimp Project" from her office in Russell House. She and  Hughes Fellow Shayla Silver-Balbus '06 (pictured at left) studied chimpanzees in Ohio this summer. Posted 10/01/05 Lori Gruen spent this past summer with curious students of an unsuspecting kind – chimpanzees named Emma and Harper. Gruen, an associate professor of philosophy and co-chair of the Wesleyan Feminism, Gender and Sexuality Studies Department, formally known as the Women’s Studies Department, studied the chimpanzees at the Ohio State University Chimpanzee Center where she continues to gather information for an upcoming book on…

Olivia DrakeOctober 1, 20052min
Posted 10/01/05 James van Benschoten Dresser, '63, P'93, chairman of Wesleyan's Board of Trustees, will be among the kick-off speakers of a new "First Friday" series being sponsored by the Center for Community Partnerships. The event is open to the Wesleyan community and will be held from 4 to 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 7 at 167 High Street. The series will feature presentations on the first Friday of every month and has been created by the Center for Community Partnerships for members of the Wesleyan and Middletown communities who are interested in town-gown collaborations. Dresser's talk, titled "If These Walls…

Olivia DrakeOctober 1, 20054min
Pictured are Kay and Morton Briggs. Briggs, professor emeritus of romance languages and literatures, died Sept. 25. He worked at Wesleyan for 42 years. Posted 10/01/05 Morton W. Briggs, a Wesleyan faculty member for over 40 years, died Sept. 25 at Middlesex Health Care Center at the age of 90. Born in 1915 in Millbrook, N.Y., he was graduated from Cornell University in 1937. He studied at the Sorbonne in Paris and obtained master’s (1939) and doctoral (1944) degrees from Harvard University. He joined the Wesleyan faculty in 1943 and attained the position of professor of romance languages in 1956…

Olivia DrakeSeptember 28, 20052min
In preparation of the new Suzanne Lemberg Usdan University Center, portions of the old Fayerweather Gymnasium are being removed. Demolition is more than 80 percent completed as of Sept. 6.   Associated Building Wreckers tear the building apart, beam by beam, brick by brick. Construction crew members demolish what is left of the Fayerweather pool, built in 1913. Alan Rubacha, Construction Services consultant, is the project manager. The renovated Fayerweather Gymnasium will become Fayerweather Hall. The facility will host a ballroom, catering kitchen, theater, dance studio and storage. The new university center will be built on the right side of…

Olivia DrakeSeptember 9, 20058min
Mary Schreck Glynn, application technology specialist, created the telephone directory database, media database and the student summer registration system.   Posted 09/09/05 Q: What does it mean to be an applications technology specialist?A: Basically, an applications technology specialist evaluates new technologies and creates and supports academic and administrative applications using new and proven technologies. All the applications are database related.Q: What is the purpose of these applications? A: The general purpose is to service the Wesleyan community by automating tasks and sharing information.Q: Can you give me a few examples of some of the tasks and information that have undergone…

Olivia DrakeSeptember 9, 200511min
Michaelle Biddle, head of Preservation Services, uses a special tool to preserve a book in the Preservation Services in Olin Library. Biddle and her student technicians make page mends, reback books and remove mold from pages.   Posted 09/09/05 Q: When were you hired at Wesleyan and what was your job title then?A: I was hired in 1983 as the assistant to the librarian. Initially, I was the clerk of the works for the $10 million library addition that was added in the mid-1980s. In 1988 I was asked to develop a preservation program for the library’s circulating collections. Now…

Olivia DrakeSeptember 9, 20055min
Posted 09/09/05 Accessing creativity will be the topic of discussion during the fourth annual Shasha Seminar for Human Concerns Oct. 6-8 at Wesleyan. “The Shasha Seminar is a wonderful example of Wesleyan's commitment to lifelong learning,” says Linda Secord, director of alumni education. “We expect this year's discussion of creativity to be stimulating, giving participants newly informed perspectives that they will take with them as they return to their personal and professional lives.” Through a series of seminars and hands-on workshops, alumni, parents and friends will expand their understanding of the creative process and its impact on human endeavors. Past…