Bill HolderA $3 million gift to support writing programs at Wesleyan was announced March 1 at the Board of Trustees dinner on campus. The gift from John Shapiro ’74 and Shonni Silverberg ’76, a Wesleyan trustee, builds on their 2009 gift establishing the Shapiro Creative Writing Center. Shapiro said he was delighted with the speed with which the center was developed. “We were gratified that the university moved quickly and got this program launched and established,” Shapiro said. “I’ve had good feedback from people both at Wesleyan and elsewhere. It has generated’ a bit of a buzz.” This new gift will…
Laurel Appel, adjunct associate professor of biology and senior research associate, died on March 4. She is survived by her husband, Michael Weir, and her children, Rebecca and Nathaniel. The following announcement was made by Provost Rob Rosenthal, the John E. Andrus Professor of Sociology, in an all-campus e-mail. "Laurel Appel's passion was equality of opportunity, and she developed and ran the Ronald E. McNair Program at Wesleyan for many years. This program provides support and nurturing of first generation college students and students in underrepresented groups for entry into graduate programs. In Laurel's words, working with the program 'was…
Wesleyan will be fully open on Wednesday thanks to the hard work of many dedicated staff and ground crews.
Ruth Striegel, professor of psychology and the Walter A. Crowell University Professor of the Social Sciences, will assume the position of Wesleyan’s next provost and vice president for academic affairs. She will start in this position on July 1, succeeding Rob Rosenthal, who will be returning to the faculty as John E. Andrus Professor of Sociology. Striegel holds a doctoral degree in clinical psychology from the University of South Carolina. She is a distinguished scholar-teacher whose research has focused on understanding the causes and effects of eating and weight disorders, and particularly on using insights gained from large-scale studies to…
Wesleyan will honor three extraordinary alumni at the University’s 181st Commencement on May 26. Joss Whedon ’87, film and television director, writer and producer, will deliver the commencement address. Honorary degrees also will be presented to environmental and social justice leader Majora Carter ’88 and Jim Dresser ’63, whose many years of service to Wesleyan include having chaired the Board of Trustees. Joss Whedon ’87 is an award-winning writer, director and producer. He is the force behind such popular television shows as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, and the 2012 superhero blockbuster film, The Avengers. The son and grandson of successful television writers,…
"Do it for Alex" became a rallying cry for Obama campaign workers remembering their friend Alex Okrent '05.
In May 2010, the Board of Trustees adopted "Wesleyan 2020" as a fundamental tool for strategic decision making at Wesleyan. Designed to be flexible, this framework for planning will assist the university in making decisions about the allocation of resources in the next five to 10 years. It reflects the input of faculty, trustees, staff, alumni and students and begins with an introduction that gives a sense of some of the recent achievements that have shaped the Wesleyan of today. Each fall, Wesleyan President Michael S. Roth sends an update on the university's progress in meeting the goals set out…
Wesleyan submitted its final version of a self-study to the university's accrediting agency on Aug. 15. The agency, The Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), accredits approximately 240 institutions in the six-state New England area, and universities are accredited every 10 years. A team representing NEASC will visit campus Sept. 30-Oct. 3 and conduct a comprehensive evaluation. In an all-campus e-mail on Aug. 22, Provost Rob Rosenthal wrote, "We look forward to their constructive criticism and to showing them what an extraordinary institution we are! The self-study is the product…
Wesleyan University will undergo a comprehensive evaluation visit Sept. 30 through Oct. 3, 2012, by a team representing the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. The Commission on Institutions of Higher Education is one of seven accrediting commissions in the United States that provide institutional accreditation on a regional basis. Accreditation is voluntary and applies to the institution as a whole. The Commission, which is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, accredits approximately 240 institutions in the six-state New England region. Wesleyan has been accredited by the Commission since 1929…
Mike Fries ’85, president and chief executive officer of Liberty Global, has made a gift of $2 million in support of the Wesleyan Cinema Archives Endowment Fund. The gift establishes the Charles W. Fries Curator of the Wesleyan Cinema Archives, which Fries named in honor of his father. Chuck Fries is considered the “godfather” of the television movie for his role in producing or supervising more than 275 hours of television movies and mini-series. His films have won Emmy, Peabody, Humanitas and Christopher awards among others from film festivals. “Wesleyan’s Cinema Archives,” says President Michael S. Roth, “is a treasure…
Senator Michael F. Bennet '87 presented the Commencement Address on May 27: Thank you, Board of Trustees… President Roth… proud parents and families…the entire Wesleyan community, and of course, once again, the brilliant graduates of 2012. Brilliant, yes—but, as Kennedy said, no matter how brilliant, not one of you got here by yourself. So, in the most important moment of this day, let’s hear you say thank you. A round of applause for everybody who got you here. A quarter of a century ago (and by the way, it was about 20 degrees hotter), I looked up at this podium…
DLA Piper, one of the world’s largest law firms, has given Wesleyan $500,000 to establish the Amy Schulman Fund for Women and Gender, which will support work in this field at Wesleyan’s Center for the Humanities. Schulman ’82, P ’11, is a former partner of DLA Piper who served on the firm’s Board and Executive Policy committees. She is a member of Wesleyan’s Board of Trustees and is currently executive vice president and general counsel of Pfizer, Inc. The gift will enhance the program of Wesleyan’s Center for the Humanities, one of the oldest of the humanities institutes in the…