Olivia DrakeAugust 17, 20055min
At left, Hughes Associate, Mellon Fellow and Earth and Environmental Sciences Major Maya Gomes '06 discusses her research with interested onlookers during the 17th annual Hughes Summer Research Program Poster Session Aug. 5. Gomes' poster was titled "Understanding the Genesis of Jarosite in Qualibou Caldera, Saint Lucia as an Analogue for Mars."   Posted 08/17/05 Chimpanzee studies, eating behaviors, mice brains and even sperm banks were topics of research presented at the 17th annual Hughes Summer Research Program Poster Session Aug. 5 at the Exley Science Center. After 10 weeks of intense research, 49 Hughes Fellows presented their projects. Hughes…

Olivia DrakeAugust 17, 20054min
Steven Stemler, a new assistant professor of psychology, will teach Psychological Statistics this fall.   Posted 08/17/05 Steve Stemler has joined the Psychology Department as an assistant professor. In an era of increasing specialization, Stemler says he admires Wesleyan for recognizing the importance of training undergraduate students to value the diversity of knowledge accumulated across different fields of study. “There is a tremendous value to studying such topics as classical languages, hard sciences, social sciences and the arts simultaneously,” he says. “I believe that a liberal arts education results in a well-rounded person who will be capable of seeing broad…

Olivia DrakeAugust 17, 200510min
  At top, Ricardo Morris, director of the Green Street Arts Center, is developing classes for the center’s fall semester. At right, Morris enjoys a snack with participants of the Free Lunch Program inside the center in Middletown’s North End.   Posted 08/17/05 When Ricardo Morris taught English in public schools, he refused to let his students simply read “Beowolf.” The class would feast, dance and listen to 10th century music – all before opening the epic narrative. His unconventional teaching methods, however, weren’t appreciated beyond the classroom. “I was sent to the principal’s office far more than any of…

Olivia DrakeAugust 17, 20059min
Olga Bookas, procurement specialist, negotiates prices and purchases mailing equipment, furniture, paint, light bulbs, and even window shades for the university.   Posted 08/17/05 Q: When were you hired in Financial Services as a procurement specialist? A: I started working at Wesleyan in January 2005.Q: Please explain what a procurement specialist means.A: I am responsible for negotiating and developing contracts with vendors. Some of my purchasing duties include processing purchase orders for furniture, lease copiers, cell phones. I also meet with Wesleyan colleagues to determine their purchasing requirements and then I meet with vendors to ensure that they are reliable…

Olivia DrakeAugust 17, 20054min
Members of the Committee on Planetary and Lunar Exploration (COMPLEX) met at Woodhead Lounge July 20-22. Martha Gilmore, assistant professor of earth and environmental sciences, (pictured second from left in the first row) coordinated the meeting.  Posted 08/17/05 Martian oceans, solar system exploration and telescopic studies of Neptune were all topics of discussion during a planetary committee meeting at Wesleyan.The Committee on Planetary and Lunar Exploration (COMPLEX) met at Wesleyan’s Woodhead Lounge July 20-22. COMPLEX advises the National Academies’ Space Studies Board on the entire range of planetary system studies that can be conducted from space as well as on…

Olivia DrakeAugust 17, 20053min
Posted 08/17/05 A picture may be a worth a thousands words, but what is its value in the college classroom, especially if the picture is digital? This will be among the issues considered by a new digital image study spearheaded by Wesleyan University and the Center for Educational Technology. The six-month study will examine how digitized images of all sorts are used by faculty at 34 elite teaching and research institutions. The hope is that by assessing current practices in the classrooms, methods for more effective use of these images can be identified and implemented. "There is also an opportunity…

Olivia DrakeAugust 17, 20053min
Michael Singer, assistant professor of biology, discovered that the wolly bear caterpillar, Grammia geneura, ingests medicinal plants when sick.   Posted 08/17/05 When tiger moth caterpillars get a bug, they do what a lot of us do - ingest some medicine and hope it provides a cure. These findings by co-investigators Michael Singer, assistant professor of biology, and Elizabeth Bernays, regents professor emerita of entomology at the University of Arizona, appear in the July 27 issue of Nature. During a study of the caterpillars of two types of tiger moths, known as Grammia geneura and Estigmene acrea, Singer and Bernays…

Olivia DrakeJuly 28, 20053min
THE CAGE, CAGED: An 8-foot chain link fence surrounds the old Alumni Athletic Building, also known as the 'Cage,' to mark the construction zone for the new Suzanne Lemberg Usdan University Center, which is expected to be completed in August 2007. Parts of the gym are being renovated and incorporated into the new facility. Only construction personnel are allowed into the fenced-off construction zone surrounding the old Alumni Athletic Building and Fayerweather Gymnasium. A new gravel access road will line this fence for foot traffic, handicap, emergency, service and construction vehicles only. South College is receiving an interior and belfry…

Olivia DrakeJuly 13, 20055min
Dana Royer, assistant professor of earth and environmental sciences, studies fossilized plants and plant physiology. He started at Wesleyan July 1. Posted 07/13/05 Dana Royer has joined the Earth and Environmental Sciences Department as an assistant professor on July 1.His professional interests include global change; paleoclimatology, paleoecology, carbon cycles, paleobotany; plant physiology and stable isotope geochemistry. “I study fossil plants in order to infer something about the paleoclimates in which they lived, as well as their paleoecologies,” he says. “I also study modern systems to learn more about the biological basis of these plant-environment relationships.” After spending a semester studying…

Olivia DrakeJuly 13, 20056min
Paul DiSanto, director of leadership gifts, builds strong programs for the 25th and 50th reunions.   Posted 07/13/05 During his fifth-year reunion, 1981 Wesleyan alumnus Paul DiSanto realized the importance of pledging annual gifts to the university. “I feel the type of education Wesleyan offers is important, and can only continue with support from future generations,” he says. DiSanto has pledged an annual gift every year since. As Wesleyan’s director of leadership gifts, DiSanto has also encouraged several thousand other alumni to give to their alma mater. DiSanto works with a number of top donors and helps build strong programs…

Olivia DrakeJuly 13, 200511min
Rosann Sillasen examines laminate flooring before installing it in the 200 Church Street house for students.   Posted 07/13/05 Roseann Sillasen knows how to take care of a bowing floor or sagging ceiling. She’s also pretty good at helping treat pneumonia, intestinal bleeding and other major ailments. Sillasen, the associate director and project manager of Wesleyan’s Construction Services, is also a practicing registered nurse. The full-time project manager and part-time nurse says the two occupations are a perfect match. “Both careers involve working with people and critical thinking,” she says. “They create a balance.” Not that balance equals easy. Being…

Olivia DrakeJuly 13, 20057min
Lex Leifheit, press and marketing coordinator for the Center for the Arts, stands inside the Zilka Gallery. Leifheit works to increase media coverage for the CFA.   Posted 07/13/05 Q: Your position as press and marketing coordinator is fairly new. How long have you been at Wesleyan?A: I have been here a little over a year, since March 2004. I showed up on a Saturday during one of the CFA’s annual season highlights, DanceMasters Weekend, and immediately started taking photographs. It was a great introduction to the constant activity of the CFA.Q: What were you doing before you came to…