All News – Page 206

Last fall, the College of Letters (COL) welcomed Gabrielle Ponce-Hegenauer to the department as an assistant professor of letters. Ponce-Hegenauer is an expert on the biography and works of Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616), author of Don Quixote. She's also interested in 16th-century translation theory and poetics; pre-Cartesian Renaissance philosophy; cultural and intellectual history in the Spanish Golden Age; early modern metaphysics; medicine and philosophy in 16th-century Spain; the history of the book and manuscript culture; Spanish theater; Renaissance and Baroque Spanish poetry; Spanish and Italian literary exchanges; the 19th-century imagination of the Golden Age; and 19th-century Spanish novelist Benito Pérez Galdós. "I like locating…

Ellis Neufeld, M.D., PhD., was appointed clinical director, physician-in-chief and executive vice president of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, an internationally renowned center that pioneers research for and offers treatment to children with catastrophic illnesses. He will begin his new position at the Memphis medical center in March. Neufeld, a pediatric oncologist with a global profile, is a longtime Harvard Medical School faculty member, serving most recently as associate chief of the Division of Hematology/Oncology at Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center. He was also medical director at the Boston Hemophilia Center and held the Egan Family Foundation Chair in…

Singer-songwriter Jess Best ’14 returns to campus on Jan. 29 to perform her original soul and jazz influences at the Russell House, the first performance of the spring Music at The Russell House series. Best, who was a music major, says she is influenced by Erykah Badu, Joni Mitchell, and Esperanza Spalding, and believes her time at Wesleyan has prepared her for a career in music. She explained, “Although I still constantly feel like I need to work extremely hard to feel at all prepared for being a musician, I'm so grateful I took visual arts classes and writing classes,…

Gari Mayberry ’97 was featured in the January issue of EARTH Magazine for her work with the Volcano Disaster Assistance Program (VDAP). In the article, “Life-saving Diplomacy: The Volcano Disaster Assistance Program at Thirty,” VDAP’s growth and evolution over 30 years are chronicled, highlighting the team’s past successes and goals for the future. Mayberry, who studied geology at Wesleyan, is part of the world’s only volcano crisis response team, which is made up of what EARTH writer Bethany Augliere described as “a small group of U.S. volcanologists that works around the world to prevent eruptions from becoming disaster.” Since its…

The Ancient Romans relied on a curious object to tell time: a sundial in the shape of an Italian ham. National Geographic has featured the work of Wesleyan's Christopher Parslow to re-create this ancient "pork clock" through 3-D printing, which is helping researchers to better understand how it was used and what information it conveyed. "It does represent a knowledge of how the sun works, and it can be used to tell time,” said Parslow, professor and chair of Classical studies, professor of archaeology, professor of art history. The small, portable prosciutto sundial —the "pocket watch of its day," according to the article—was…

William Bissell ’88, managing director of Fabindia, a retail enterprise begun by Bissell's father, John, in 1960, is featured on the cover of Forbes India on Jan. 20, a special issue on social impact. "A Fab New World: Not Only is Ethnic Goods Retailer Fabinidia Spreading its Wings, It Continues to Shape the Lives of Thousands of Rural Artisans," the cover line reads. The article, by Forbes India staff writer Anshul Dhamija, details the beginnings of the company, as an exporter of hand-loomed fabrics and furnishings with only one initial retail store, which opened in New Delhi in 1976. The second opened in the…

On Feb. 2, the Wesleyan community will be treated to a performance of “The Rap Guide to Climate Chaos,” a one-man show written and performed by Baba Brinkman on the politics, economics and science of global warming. The performance will begin at 7 p.m. in the Ring Family Performing Arts Hall. The event is free of charge. Gary Yohe, the Huffington Foundation Professor of Economics and Environmental Studies, has worked with Brinkman in the past and was responsible for bringing his performance to Wesleyan. In May 2016, Brinkman invited Yohe to serve as the climate expert during an off-Broadway performance…

The Binswanger Prize for Excellence in Teaching recognizes Wesleyan faculty who have had a lasting impact on the academic and personal development of their students. Juniors, seniors, graduate students and Graduates of the Last Decade (GOLD) are able to nominate up to three professors for 2017 Binswanger Prizes, which will be awarded during Wesleyan's Commencement Ceremony on May 28. The deadline for nominations is February 9, 2017. NOMINATE NOW. The Binswanger Prize is made possible by gifts from the family of the late Frank Binswanger Sr. Hon. ’85, and underscore Wesleyan’s commitment to its scholar-teachers who are responsible for the university’s distinctive approach…

For her outstanding efforts in pioneering studies in micropalaeontology and natural history, The Micropalaeontological Society (TMS) awarded Wesleyan's Ellen Thomas with the 2016 Brady Medal. The Brady Medal is TMS's most prestigious honor and is awarded to scientists who have had a major influence on micropalaeontology by means of a substantial body of research. Thomas was honored for "communicating to an extremely broad audience fascinating, impactful and often thought-provoking research" and "academic encouragement of students and peers over the years with [her] generosity of time in a very busy and successful career," noted TMS President F. John Gregory. Thomas, research professor…

Ellen Thomas, research professor of earth and environmental sciences, is the co-author of "Pteropoda (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Thecosomata) from the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum of the United States Atlantic Coastal Plain," published in Palaeontologia Electronica, Article 19 (3) in October 2016. The Paleocene Epoch lasted 65 to 54.8 million years ago and the Eocene Epoch lasted from 56 to 33.9 million years ago, and was a period of rapid global warming. The response of many organisms to the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) has been documented, but marine mollusks are not known from any deposits of that age. For the first time, Thomas and her…

Following a visit to China Peking University–Shenzhen, which has decided to start an undergraduate liberal arts college, President Michael Roth reflects in an op-ed in The Washington Post on why commitment to a liberal education is more important today than ever. He contends, "This is a fragile time for liberal education, making commitment to it all the more urgent." Keeping in mind John Dewey, the pragmatist philosopher who visited China in 1919 to talk about education, Roth focuses on "two dangers and two possibilities." He warns of the "danger of narrowing specialization" at a time when "we need more academics who can…

Associate Professor of Dance Hari Krishnan has been named one of "10 Toronto Stage Artists to Watch This Winter" by NOW Toronto magazine, which highlights his upcoming spring production, "Holy Cow(s)!" exploring cultural appropriation. It will run March 23-25 at Harbourfront Centre Theatre. The profile of Krishnan states: "A few years ago, Krishnan heated up the local dance scene with a sizzling, eyebrow-raising piece about queerness called SKIN. Now, just in time to melt winter's last snow comes a white-hot mixed program sending up ideas about gender, sexuality and cultural taboos. The night of solos and ensemble pieces includes works…

Cervantes Expert Ponce-Hegenauer Joins College of Letters

Neufeld ’79 Named St. Jude Physician-In-Chief, Clinical Director

Best ’14 Returns to Campus for Soul and Jazz Performance

Mayberry ’97 Works with Volcano Disaster Assistance Program

Faculty Re-Create Ancient Roman “Pork Clock” at Wesleyan

Bissell ’88 Balances Social Impact, Scale in Ethnic Goods Retailer Fabindia

Yohe Brings “Rap Guide to Climate Chaos” to Campus

Nominate Wesleyan Professors for Binswanger Prize for Excellence in Teaching

Thomas Honored by Micropalaeontology Society

Thomas’s Research on Marine Biota during a Period of Rapid Global Warming Published

President Roth Defends Liberal Education in Op-Ed, Radio Interview

Krishnan Named One of “10 Toronto Stage Artists to Watch”