Bill HolderWesleyan’s Board of Trustees voted on Feb. 26 to increase tuition and residential comprehensive fees by 3.8 percent for the 2011-12 academic year. Continuing its commitment to a strong financial aid program, Wesleyan will increase its budget for aid by 11.8 percent. Wesleyan admits first-year students without regard to their financial circumstances and meets, through grants and loans, the full demonstrated need of all students eligible for financial aid. Tuition will be $43,404 for all students in 2011-2012. For freshman and sophomores, the residential comprehensive fee will be $12,032. For juniors and seniors, (more…)
The Knight Professor of Constitutional Law and the First Amendment at Yale Law School, Jack M. Balkin, will speak on “The First Amendment is an Information Policy,” during the 20th Annual Hugo L. Black Lecture on Freedom of Expression. The event will be held at 8 p.m. March 23 in Memorial Chapel. The annual event is endowed by a gift from Leonard S. Halpert ’44, Esq. Halpert has provided the following commentary: What are Professor Balkin’s views as to the parameters of freedom of expression, legal as set by the First Amendment, and by societal pressures and norms? To understand…
From Washington, D.C., to Palo Alto, Calif., Wesleyan alumni have assumed new responsibilities as public office holders. Two had inaugurals during January: Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper ’74 and Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin ’79. Colorado Senator Michael Bennet ’87 returned to Washington for his first elected six-year term following his appointment to fill a vacancy after President Obama took office. Geographically, Wesleyan public office holders are almost as dispersed as possible within the continental United States. Sid Espinosa ’94 (more…)
On Nov. 18, Wesleyan launched Making Excellence Inclusive (MEI), an initiative created to help identify ways to further the university’s institutional diversity and inclusion. MEI <http://www.wesleyan.edu/partnerships/mei/overview.html> draws on the Making Excellence Inclusive project of the American Association of Colleges & Universities (AAC&U) that re-envisions diversity and inclusion as "a multi-layered process for achieving excellence in learning, research and teaching, student development, institutional functioning, local and global community engagement, workforce development, and more." (more…)
Wesleyan has received gifts totaling $5 million from Terry Huffington, her family and the Huffington Foundation to fund an endowed faculty chair in the College of the Environment and endowed scholarships. The Huffington Foundation Endowed Chair in the College of the Environment, created with a $3 million gift from the Foundation, will benefit the nascent College, devoted to the development of environmental knowledge and the exploration of innovative approaches to environmental problems. A separate $2 million gift establishes endowed scholarships that will support Wesleyan’s need-blind financial aid program. “Through these very generous gifts, Terry Huffington, her family and the Huffington…
Posner’s award will support Shining Hope for Communities’ Kibera School for Girls and Health Clinic
Anne Martin has been appointed Wesleyan’s Chief Investment Officer. Her appointment is the culmination of an intensive search that began in October and included many individual candidates as well as investment management firms. “We explored a variety of models for the management of Wesleyan’s portfolio before concluding that we had found the outstanding candidate in Anne Martin, of the Yale University Investments Office,” says President Michael S. Roth. “We are confident that her experience, financial acumen, and disciplined (more…)
William Ward, professor of theater and design emeritus, died June 14, 2010. He was 79 years old. Ward came to Wesleyan in 1956, as an instructor in art, and he taught at Wesleyan for 42 years, becoming professor of theater and design in 1969. He retired in 1998. Ward designed sets for more than 100 plays and concerts at Wesleyan, and he also created graphical and other design work for more than 25 exhibitions and publications. Ward was one of the principal faculty involved in proposing the Center for the Arts complex, for which he served as design consultant. In…
Honoring a professor of music emeritus who oversaw the establishment of Wesleyan University’s renowned program in world music, the university has established the Richard K. Winslow Chair in Music. The chair is made possible through a generous $2.5 million gift from the Mayer & Morris Kaplan Family Foundation. The foundation’s gift expresses the appreciation of Burt Kaplan ’62, who took an introductory course in Western classical music from Winslow that proved to be a significant influence in his life. Professor of Music Mark Slobin will be the first holder of the chair. (more…)
If you’ve enjoyed attending Wesleyan events, chances are that you have Gemma Fontanella Ebstein to thank. As associate vice president for external relations, she has had an ever-evolving set of responsibilities, but one constant has been ensuring that events for alumni, parents and the campus community are first rate. Under her direction, for example, Wesleyan merged Commencement and Reunion weekends into one event that rapidly has become a valued Wesleyan tradition. “Gemma has great management instincts and I can absolutely count on her to get things done,” says Barbara-Jan Wilson, vice president for university relations. “We can’t have successful…
The first-floor lounge of the Center for African American Studies will be renovated thanks to a $50,000 gift from Michelle ’84 and Kurt ’87 Lyn P’12 of Houston, Texas. Their gift honors the 40th anniversary of the establishment of CAAS and is intended to make the lounge a more attractive venue for the entire campus community. Ashraf Rushdy, professor and chair of the African American Studies Program, professor of English, expressed deep gratitude to the Lyn family for their generosity. “The money will be used to make the lounge even more welcoming (more…)
A generous $2 million gift to Wesleyan will greatly enhance the ability of the Career Resource Center to serve students in a planned new home at the center of campus. The anonymous gift from Wesleyan parents will endow the programs of the center, which will be located in the old Squash Building at the north end of College Row. Part of Wesleyan’s historic brownstone row, this building is scheduled for renovation beginning in the 2010-11 academic year. “The Career Resource Center has an essential role in helping students translate their intellectual interests into productive work and career aspirations,” says Wesleyan…