All News – Page 166

(By Karl Ortegon '18) Gretchen Millspaugh Cooney '83, who played field hockey and swam at Wesleyan in the late '70s and early '80s, recently returned home to Philadelphia after competing at the Ironman World Championships in Hawai'i. The race is synonymous with a super triathlon: swim 2.4 miles, hop on your bike and cycle through 112 miles of terrain, and finish it off with a 26.2-mile marathon. No breaks. For the World Championships, one can only compete by first racing in a qualifying Ironman prior, and going fast enough at the qualifier to secure one of a few slots designated…

This fall, singer-musician-writer Amanda Palmer ’98 and award-winning independent filmmaker Michael Pope teamed up to teach The Art of Doing: Creative Project Production and Making It Happen. On Saturday, Dec. 9, at 8 p.m., Palmer, Pope and their students will screen the class’s final project—a music video for an original song by Palmer, inspired by a free-writing exercise with the students—at the Goldsmith Family Cinema at Wesleyan, followed by a short performance by Palmer. Seating for the free event is limited. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. In this Q&A, Palmer and Pope reflect on their experience this semester. (more…)

In this issue of The Wesleyan Connection, we introduce a new feature highlighting some of the latest stories in the media about Wesleyan and our many illustrious alumni. Recent Wesleyan News The Hartford Courant: "Chelsea Manning Draws Crowd at Wesleyan, Talks of Community, Resistance" On Nov. 15, the former intelligence analyst convicted of leaking hundreds of thousands of military documents to WikiLeaks, who is now an activist for gay and transgender rights, spoke to a packed room at Wesleyan in a conversation moderated by Associate Professor Margot Weiss. 2. Boston Review: "An Autobiography of Captivity" In the Language of My Captor by Shane McCrae, published by Wesleyan…

On Nov. 15, Gary Yohe, the Huffington Foundation Professor of Economics and Environmental Studies, delivered a talk on climate change at the Glastonbury (Conn.) Riverfront Community Center. It was sponsored by the Land Heritage Coalition of Glastonbury, Inc.— a non-profit corporation whose mission is to support farming, open space preservation, and water and wetlands protection—as its annual educational initiative. “As part of our mission, we feel it important to help folks in Connecticut understand the issue of climate change, what the local impacts are, and what we can do in this state,” explained David Ahlgren, LHC co-president. “There’s a lot…

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Molecular Biology and Biochemistry PhD candidate Brandon Case and Emily Kessler '18 recently won poster awards at the North Eastern Structural Symposium (NESS) at the University of Connecticut on Oct. 28. Both students research the mechanisms of action of DNA replication and repair proteins with Manju Hingorani, chair and professor of molecular biology and biochemistry, professor of integrative sciences. Hingorani's DNA Lab investigates proteins responsible for DNA replication and repair. These proteins maintain genome and cell integrity, and their malfunction leads to cancer and other diseases. Case received an Outstanding Poster Award for his work, "Coordinated Actions of Four ATPase…

The late Jeffrey Butler, professor of history, emeritus, is the author of Cradock: How Segregation and Apartheid came to a South African Town, published by the University of Virginia Press, December 2017. Richard "Rick" Elphick, professor of history, emeritus, co-edited the book with the late Jeannette Hopkins, a former director of Wesleyan University Press. According to the book's abstract, Cradock, the product of more than 20 years of research by Butler, is a vivid history of a middle-sized South African town in the years when segregation gradually emerged, preceding the rapid and rigorous implementation of apartheid. Although Butler was born and raised in Cradock,…

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Several students and recent alumni attended and presented at the 62nd Annual Meeting for the Society for Ethnomusicology, Oct. 26-29, 2017, in Denver, Colo. Founded in 1955, the Society for Ethnomusicology is a global, interdisciplinary network of individuals and institutions engaged in the study of music across all cultural contexts and historical periods. Ellen Lueck, MA '12, PhD '17, presented her paper, "Proposing a Theory for a New Space, the Affinity Interzone." PhD candidate Gene Lai presented his paper, "Uniquely Singapore: Revitalizing a Tamil Folk Music Tradition in the Lion City." PhD candidate Sean Sonderegger MA '14 presented "None of…

From Nov. 13-17, Wesleyan students, faculty and staff participated in a rich agenda of on-campus events celebrating International Education Week. International Education Week, a joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education, promotes programs that prepare Americans for a global environment and attract future leaders from abroad to study, learn and exchange experiences. At Wesleyan, events included a Study Abroad for the Sciences Fair, a discussion on exploring international opportunities, a Fries Center for Global Studies open house, an international student and faculty dinner, a Wes in the World Photo Contest, a "Food Around…

On Nov. 13, the Fries Center for Global Studies announced the winners of the 2017-18 Wes in the World Photo Contest. More than 200 Wesleyan students, staff, faculty and alumni voted on 56 images in five different categories, including landscape, people, contemporary issues, daily life and sports. Photographs were submitted by international students and U.S. students who studied abroad. View the winners below. View the honorable mentions online here. (more…)

In this Q&A, and in honor of Veterans Day on Nov. 11, Retired Military Officer Teaching Fellow Robert “Bob” Cassidy speaks about his military career, thoughts on the Iraq invasion and teaching at Wesleyan. (Brandon Sides ’18 contributed to this article.) Q: How did you acquire your teaching fellowship at Wesleyan? A: I received a Retired Officer Teaching Fellowship (ROTF) through the Chamberlain Project, which supports fellowships at some of the nation’s top liberal arts institutions. Fellows are required to work on building relationships and understanding between the U.S. Armed Services and civilian institutions and to contribute to the richness and diversity of students’ educational experiences. We…

Six Ironmans In, Cooney ’83 Is Still Devoted to Supporting the Wes Experience

Palmer ’98, Pope to Showcase Semester’s Work on Dec. 9

Wesleyan in the News

Yohe Speaks on Climate Change at Local Community Center

Political Anthropologist Vine ’97 Speaks to Campus Community about Military Overseas under Trump

Case, Kessler ’18 Honored for Outstanding Poster Presentations

Elphick Edits Late Professor’s Book on the History of South Africa’s Racial Segregation

Wesleyan Celebrates 23rd Year of Freeman Asian Scholars Program

Students, Alumni Present Papers, Attend Roundtables at Society for Ethnomusicology Annual Meeting

Cultural Exchange Celebrated during International Education Week

Winners of the Wes in the World Photo Contest Announced

Col. Cassidy Is Wesleyan’s First Retired Military Officer Teaching Fellow