Sarah Parke

Wesleyan’s chapter of the Phi Beta Kappa Society inducted 87 members — 15 from the Fall 2023 semester and 72 from Spring 2024 — into the organization in recognition of their academic excellence and good moral character during Reunion and Commencement Weekend 2024.The inductees join the ranks of more than 50,000 living members of the prestigious organization. Founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, Phi Beta Kappa is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. To earn induction, students must be nominated by the department of their major, have completed their general…

United States Senator John Hickenlooper ’74, MA ’80, Hon. ’10 didn’t set out to become a politician when he graduated from Wesleyan half a century ago. He wanted to be a geologist, but when that didn’t pan out, he found success as an entrepreneur and brewery owner in Denver at the height of the craft brewing craze. When he ran for mayor of Denver at the age of 49, Hickenlooper never anticipated that national politics would play such a huge role in his second act. But after serving as mayor for two terms, he became governor of Colorado for another…

Each year at Commencement, Wesleyan University recognizes three outstanding faculty members with the awarding of the Binswanger Prizes for Excellence in Teaching. The University is delighted to announce that this year’s recipients are Abigail S. Hornstein, Woodhouse/Sysco Professor of Economics; Michelle Aaron Murolo, professor of the practice in molecular biology and biochemistry; and Rashida Z. Shaw McMahon, associate professor of English. Underscoring Wesleyan’s commitment to its scholar-teachers, these annual prizes are made possible by gifts from the family of the late Frank G. Binswanger Sr., Hon ’85. Recipients are chosen each spring by a committee composed of faculty and members…

Journalists have always played a vital role in defending democracy, educating the public while holding those in power accountable for their actions. Few journalists have challenged Americans to reimagine who we are as a nation as much as Nikole Hannah-Jones. On April 25, the Allbritton Center for the Study of Public Life co-sponsored an event with Wesleyan’s Democracy 2024 initiative to host Hannah-Jones, a New York Times correspondent, Knight Chair in Race and Journalism at Howard University, and the Pulitzer Prize–winning creator of the 1619 Project. Corwin-Fuller Professor of Film Studies Tracy Heather Strain sat down with Hannah-Jones to discuss…

In this continuing series, we review alumni books and offer a selection for those in search of knowledge, insight, and inspiration. The volumes, sent to us by alumni, are forwarded to Olin Memorial Library as donations to the University’s collection and made available to the Wesleyan community. In honor of Earth Month, this edition of YJHTRT highlights stories and subjects of climate change, nature conservation, environmentalism. Chris Coggins ’85, P’15, ’22 (with Bixia Chen), Sacred Forests of Asia: Spiritual Ecology and the Politics of Nature Conservation (Routledge) Explore the history and cultural relevance of the sacred forests of Asia by…

In this continuing series, we review alumni books and offer a selection for those in search of knowledge, insight, and inspiration. The volumes, sent to us by alumni, are forwarded to Olin Memorial Library as donations to the University’s collection and made available to the Wesleyan community. Tyler Anbinder ’84, Plentiful Country: The Great Potato Famine and the Making of Irish New York (Little, Brown and Company) In 1845, a fungus began to destroy Ireland’s potato crop, triggering a famine that would kill one million Irish men, women, and children—and drive over one million more to flee for America. By…

On Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024, the Forum of the Frank Center for Public Affairs buzzed with discourse on higher education, civic engagement, and art as students, alumni, parents, and community members gathered for the second day of the Democracy in Action convening, sponsored by the Shasha Seminar for Human Concerns. Corwin-Fuller Professor of Film Studies Tracy Heather Strain led a session titled “Art and Activism” where she discussed the impact of Black mentorship on her journey as a filmmaker, the importance of mentors for all artists, and activism through art. “Sometimes activism for Black artists is just practicing one’s art…

The U.S. Department of State has released its list of Fulbright Program Top Producing Institutions for the 2023-2024 academic year and Wesleyan University has earned a spot for the fifth consecutive year. The Fulbright Program is the U.S. government's flagship international academic exchange program. Since 1946, the Fulbright Program has provided over 400,000 talented and accomplished students, scholars, teachers, artists, and professionals of all backgrounds with the opportunity to study, teach, and conduct research abroad. Fulbrighters exchange ideas, build people-to-people connections, and work to address complex global challenges. Six Wesleyan University students were selected for Fulbright awards for academic year 2023-24,…

Exams have been graded and final projects evaluated. Perhaps you’re enjoying some much-needed rest and relaxation after a busy semester, or you want to bring a little bit of Wesleyan home to share. We’ve compiled a list of entertainment offerings from Wesleyan alumni for you to enjoy until we return to campus in January. Television and Movies The seventh season of Big Mouth premiered on Netflix in June. Jennifer Flackett ’86 is writer and co-creator of the raunchy, animated adult sitcom about teenagers struggling through the turbulent, traumatic changes of adolescence. Big Mouth was renewed for its eighth and final…

The Supreme Court ruling on SFFA v. Harvard and SFFA v. UNC may have ended affirmative action in college admissions this past June, but Wesleyan will continue to recruit a racially and economically diverse applicant pool. This year’s 31st Annual Dwight L. Greene Symposium on Oct. 28 invited several distinguished alumni in the fields of law, civil rights, and admissions, to discuss access and opportunity in higher education, a topic that has been at the forefront of the higher education conversation for the past several months. The panel featured Tanya Greene ’91, director of US Programs, Human Rights Watch; Shereem…

In this continuing series, we review alumni books and offer a selection for those in search of knowledge, insight, and inspiration. The volumes, sent to us by alumni, are forwarded to Olin Memorial Library as donations to the University’s collection and made available to the Wesleyan community. This edition of YJHTRT highlights true crime, spooky stories, and thrillers for October. Daniel Sweren-Becker ’06, Kill Show: A True Crime Novel (HarperCollins) In this genre-bending novel, Daniel Sweren-Becker fashions an oral history around the seemingly familiar crime of a teenage girl gone missing. Yet Kill Show is no standard mystery. Sara Parcell disappeared…

After a four-year hiatus due to construction and COVID-19 restrictions, Wesleyan’s Summer Film Series returned this past July with a trio of films showcasing international settings as part of the “Big Screen Vacations” theme. The Summer Film Series was launched by the film department in 2007 with the goals of offering free-of-charge programming to local audiences, welcoming new people to campus, and making use of the state-of-the-art Goldsmith Family Cinema at the Jeanine Basinger Center for Film Studies during summer breaks. Today, audience members are an eclectic mix of Middletown community members, Wesleyan faculty, and students doing summer work or…

New Phi Beta Kappa Inductees Reflect on Their Accomplishments

Democracy 2024: Hickenlooper, Roth talk Political Optimism and Opportunity

2024 Binswanger Prizes for Excellence in Teaching Announced

No Democracy Without Slavery: A Revolutionary Conversation with Nikole Hannah-Jones

“You Just Have to Read This…”: Books by Wesleyan Authors Coggins ’85, P’15, ’22, Gumbiner ’11, and LaBennett ’94

“You Just Have to Read This…”: Books by Wesleyan Authors Anbinder ’84, Hill ’93, and Olson ’97

Strain Praises Mentorship at Art and Activism Panel

Wesleyan Named Fulbright Program Top Producing Institution for Fifth Year in a Row

Winter Break Recommendations from Wes Creatives

31st Annual Dwight L. Greene Symposium

“You Just Have to Read This…” Books by Wesleyan Authors Sweren-Becker ’06, Turkewitz ’10, and Vidich ’72, P’00, ’03

Wesleyan Summer Film Series Returns