Olivia Drake Eva Bergsten-Meredith, adjunct assistant professor of physical education, is the women soccer team's head coach and lacrosse team's assistant coach. Posted 04/15/05 Q: When did you join the Physical Education Department as an adjunct assistant professor and what are your responsibilities? A: I came here in July 2004. Im head coach of the womens soccer team, assistant coach of the Lacrosse team and I teach physical education classes. Q: What is your educational background? A: I have a bachelors degree in graphic communications from Franklin Pierce College in New Hampshire, and Im currently taking classes through Wesleyans GLSP…
Registrar Anna van der Burg stands outside the registrar's windows in North College where she helps students answer questions about class enrollment. Posted 04/15/05 Not long ago, all Wesleyan students returning to campus each semester had to participate in Enrollment Day. This meant hours of waiting in lengthy lines snaking through the lobby of the Exley Science Center. If they wanted to drop or add a class, students would have to chase down professors and their advisor to sign the drop/add slip. Students would carry this slip over to the registrars office, again waiting in long lines for…
A new grant will expand emphasis on computer science instruction and resources. Posted 04/15/05 An $800,000 Mellon Foundation grant will allow the Mathematics and Computer Sciences departments at Wesleyan University, Connecticut College and Trinity College to collaborate on a new cost and resource sharing arrangement, expand the departments curricula and provide incentives for more computer science faculty to work in a liberal arts setting. The grant will fund the hiring of four post-doctoral fellows in computer science who will develop new courses, seminars and workshops. While each fellow will be employed by a home institution, all four will provide…
Posted 04/15/05 "Vanity Fair" contributing editor Christopher Hitchens and Pulitzer Prize nominee Michael Parenti participated in a debate titled "Iraq and the Future of U.S. Foreign Policy" April 18 at Wesleyans Memorial Chapel. Hitchens is an Oxford-educated self-described liberal who has become a supporter of U.S. intervention in Iraq. A former columnist for The Nation and book critic for Newsday, he is now a contributing editor for Vanity Fair magazine. His books include "Hostage to History: Cyprus From the Ottomans to Kissinger" and his most recent, "Love, Poverty and War: Journeys and Essays." Parenti, a Yale graduate, has been a…
Astronomy Professor William Herbst studies the star, KH 15D. Pictured are images of KH 15D out of eclipse (left) and in eclipse (right) as taken from Wesleyan's observatory. Posted 03/31/05 It's 3 million years old and 2,400 light years away, but a distant star discovered by Wesleyan researchers has given insight into how our solar system may have formed. NASA wants to know more, and has given William Herbst almost a quarter of a million dollars to keep looking. This month NASA (the National Aeronautics and Space Administration) awarded Wesleyan Professor of Astronomy William Herbst a $216,000…
Posted 03/31/05 The next time you grab a bite to eat or enjoy a drink at the Red & Black Café, youll also be helping students in need at Wesleyan. Ed Thorndike, Jr. '89 and Karen Kaffen-Polascik, owners of Wes Wings and Red & Black Cafe, will donate 1 percent of their gross sales from Red & Black Cafe to support financial aid through the Wesleyan Annual Fund (WAF). "This is something we've really been wanting to do," says Thorndike. "I contacted University Relations and we were able to set it up and make it work. It's really gratifying…
Rich DeCapua, assistant director of Residential Life, lounges in the newly-remodeled Clark Hall. Posted 03/31/05 Q: Were you hired in as assistant director of Residential Life in 2002? A: I was originally an area coordinator for Clark Hall and Foss Hill, and I was then promoted to assistant director at the end of my first year. This is my third year at Wesleyan, and Im enjoying every minute of it! Q: What attracted you to Wesleyan? A: Well, I was looking for a place where I knew I could be successful professionally, but would also be challenged. The…
Jeff Gilarde, director of Scientific Imaging, helps students and faculty members use Wesleyans newest confocal microscope inside the Advanced Instrumentation Center. Posted 03/31/05 Jeff Gilarde loves to scope out new research. But to explore his big ideas, he has to look small. As the Biology Departments director of Scientific Imaging, Gilarde spends his days looking through the labs five microscopes. He also assists faculty and students with their microscopic research inside the Advanced Instrumentation Center, located under the pathway between Hall-Atwater Laboratory and Shanklin. Look, these are liver cells, he says, pointing out a cells image, glowing through…
Maria Cruz-Saco will become dean of the college. Posted 03/31/05 Maria A. Cruz-Saco, interim dean of the college at Connecticut College, will become dean of the college at Wesleyan University on July 18. Wesleyan's dean of the college is responsible for the programs and services that support student learning and development. The office of the dean encompasses the class deans, the Office of Residential Life, student and behavioral health services, the Office of Student Activities, the Office of Community Service, the chaplains, and the new Usdan University Center. The dean serves as a member of the university's senior staff.…
Clare Rogan, curator of the Davison Art Center, looks over "Self-Portrait in Profile," sketched by German artist Kathe Kollwitz in 1927. The piece is included in "A Passion for Prints" on exhibit through May 22. Posted 03/31/.05 Q: You started here on February 14th. What attracted you to the university? A: I was attracted to the position of curator at the Davison Art Center because it is a wonderful combination of museum curatorial work and academia. I am very much looking forward to teaching in the fall. At the same time, I get to do the curatorial work I love. It is…
Cathy Crimmins-Lechowicz, director of Community Service and Volunteerism, stands outside a Northern Middlesex Habitat for Humanity house, where she places volunteer workers. Posted 03/31/05 Q: The Office of Community Service and Volunteerism (OCS) fosters community building within Wesleyan and with the communities of Middletown and Middlesex County. How are some ways the department goes about this? A: We, meaning my colleagues and I here at the Center for Community Partnerships, meet with community organizations and students regularly to hear about the needs, interests and possible connections that we can facilitate. We support current programs and encourage students and community…
Henry Goldschmidt, assistant professor of religion and society, joined the Religion Department in 2004. Posted 03/31/05 Henry Goldschmidt joined the faculty in the Religion Department as an assistant professor of religion and society. Goldschmidt completed his undergraduate work at Wesleyan in 1991, and earned his Ph.D at the University of California Santa Cruz in 2000. His dissertation, which he is currently revising for publication, focuses on Jewish identities and Black-Jewish differences in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Crown Heights, a neighborhood known for its history of conflict between Lubavitch Hasidic Jews and their predominantly Afro-Caribbean neighbors. The manuscript is titled Race,…