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In speaking to the Class of 2023, Larry McHugh, who was named an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters at Wesleyan’s 191st Commencement Ceremony, celebrated the longstanding connections—educational, economic, and social—between the University and the greater Middletown community. “Wesleyan is not only an outstanding educational institution but also an economic powerhouse, not only in generating jobs, but by using many of our businesses for products and services in our region which really creates more jobs and taxes for our city,” McHugh told the audience. McHugh was president of the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce for 39 years before retiring in 2022,…

Annette Gordon-Reed, who was named an Honorary Doctor of Letters at Wesleyan’s 191st Commencement Ceremony, lauded the University’s Class of 2023 as part of a generation of young people who are realizing their political potential—and in this fragile moment in history, she challenged them to go further. "Your activities have provoked responses. Lean into that," Gordon-Reed said. "And I don't just mean by voting, which I definitely think you should do, of course. But think about the other ways citizens participate. Maybe even run for office." Gordon-Reed is a writer, speaker, and the Carl M. Loeb University Professor at Harvard,…

Donna S. Morea ’76, P’06, who was named an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters at Wesleyan’s 191st Commencement Ceremony, found her calling in the tech industry. But, as she told the Class of 2023, it’s okay if the path to the right career isn’t clear at first. “Don’t despair if you don’t know what you're going to do with your life this very moment. And don't ever be afraid to explore and discover. So often, our failures lead to our successes.” Morea is an internationally recognized executive in the IT services and software communities. She is currently the CEO of…

Benjamin D. Levin ’23, the Class of 2023 Commencement Speaker at Wesleyan’s 191st Commencement Ceremony, shared the lessons from his University experience: in an environment where people are free to be themselves without fear of judgment, they are empowered to shed their insecurities and embrace their interests. “This sort of open, honest, kind, passionate student body is what allows each of us to actually figure out who we are,” Levin said. “Because when you’re constantly worrying about what other people think, you can’t take risks and actually leave your comfort zone. It’s the passion and openness of the other students…

Jennifer Finney Boylan ’80, who was named an Honorary Doctor of Letters at Wesleyan’s 191st Commencement Ceremony, implored the Class of 2023 to face a world constantly in flux with a spirit of compassion. “What I learned is that greeting the world with love doesn’t mean sitting around with a dopey smile on your face while the world burns around you,” Boylan said. “For love to prevail it is necessary to greet the world with fierceness, to push back against injustice with both relentlessness and joy, wisdom, and ferocity.” Boylan is a writer, teacher, and activist, who has fused her…

Wesleyan’s past, present, and future came together on campus for a weekend of parties, seminars, and performances during the University’s annual Reunion and Commencement weekend, taking place May 25 through 28. Over 2,300 alumni from the Classes of the ’3s and ’8s mingled with families and seniors about to complete their Wesleyan experience, sharing stories of their undergraduate exploits and recalling treasured Wesleyan memories. “I’m here to see my friends and revisit campus. It’s nice to be back here,” said Alana Rodriguez ’13 as she lined up for the annual Parade of Classes. Her classmate, Genelle Faulkner ’13 saw it…

With an eye towards a bright future, the graduates of Wesleyan University’s Class of 2023 took their first steps out into the world on Sunday. At its 191st Commencement, held on Sunday, May 28, Wesleyan University conferred 756 Bachelor of Arts degrees, 11 Doctor of Philosophy degrees, 39 Masters of Arts, one Master of Philosophy in Liberal Arts, 13 Masters of Arts in Liberal Studies, and four Bachelors of Liberal Studies. The University also recognized four inspiring leaders with honorary degrees—Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Annette Gordon-Reed, who delivered the Commencement address; Jennifer Finney Boylan ’80, award-winning author, professor, and transgender activist; Larry McHugh,…

Wesleyan’s Embodying Antiracism Initiative Fellows shared stories about their work this academic year during the program’s Think Tank at their third and final salon this spring, held in the Library’s Smith Reading Room on April 20. Two previous salons–intimate, informal gatherings looking at works-in-progress and building community–were held in February. The initiative’s Summer Leadership Institute, “The Power of We,” takes place on campus from June 5 through June 11. The April salon was facilitated by two Summer Leadership Institute faculty members who have worked with partnering organization Urban Bush Women: choreographer and artist Marjani Forté-Saunders, and movement coach and community practitioner…

Students gathered behind Exley Science Center on May 10 to watch The Big Drop—the end of semester dropping of fruit and various items from the roof of the building. The Wesleyan Mathematics and Science Scholars (WesMaSS) and the Free Radicals have hosted The Big Drop since Spring 2016 to mark the last day of classes with a bang. They recreated Galileo's famous experiment where he dropped balls of different sizes from the Leaning Tower of Pisa in 1589. The Free Radicals also demonstrated a series of experiments and pyrotechnical displays.

For Matthew Garrett, associate professor of English, Meredith Hughes, associate professor of astronomy, and Tushar Irani, associate professor of philosophy and Letters—recipients of the 2023 Binswanger Prizes for Excellence in Teaching—the voters make the award. Recipients are chosen each spring by a committee composed of faculty and members of the Alumni Association Executive Committee based upon strong recommendations from a mix of alumni of the last 10 graduating classes, current upperclassmen, and graduate students. “It's meaningful to me because the recognition comes from the students and people who have been in my classes over the last 10 years, those are…

It started with Akansha Singh’s ’23 babysitter in India, Rashmi, who struggled to find a job after completing school. Rashmi married at 17 and had a child, a daughter she does not plan on educating because of the lack of job opportunities available, Singh said. After working at a non-profit that educated women in rural areas of India for a year after high school, Singh, an Applied Data Science major, realized this experience was more pervasive than she initially thought. Around 67 percent of educated women in rural India are not employed, according to a 2015 United Nations report. Because…

Before Ben Levin ’23 was a Wesleyan student, he visited a friend on campus. They ventured into a classroom together to find a student working through a math problem on a chalkboard while blasting punk rock through his headphones. The student then took off his headphones and passionately explained what he was working on. “It felt like I was in a movie scene,” Levin, chosen to speak at Commencement on May 28, said. “I was excited because it was really the first time where I thought ‘this is the kind of person I really want to surround myself with,’ even…

Larry McHugh: “Wesleyan Makes Middletown a Better Place to Live and Work”

Annette Gordon-Reed: “Navigating the Road Ahead”

Donna S. Morea ’76, P’06: “Your career is a journey, not a destination”

Ben Levin ’23: “Pushed and challenged by passionate people”

Jennifer Finney Boylan ’80: “A Day of Change”

Alumni Gather for Reunion and Commencement Weekend 2023

Wesleyan University Celebrates 191st Commencement May 28

Embodying Antiracism Fellows Share Their Stories During Salon

Gallery: The Big Drop

Binswanger Prize Winners Talk About the Honor

Student, Two Staff Members Receive 2023 Peter Morgenstern-Clarren ’03 Awards

Student Speaker Levin ’23 Will Miss People at Wesleyan