All News – Page 240

On March 12, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) aired an episode of The Nature of Things called "Safe Haven for Chimps" in which host David Suzuki and his crew follow the efforts of the staff at Chimp Haven in Louisiana. The compound is a place where chimps, who have been used in biomedical research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), are retired and allowed to live our their lives in a sanctuary. Lori Gruen, chair and professor of philosophy, professor of environmental studies, professor of feminist gender and sexuality studies, first appears about 10 minutes into the episode. She speaks about…

In early March, Magda Teter, the Jeremy Zwelling Professor of Jewish Studies, gave the opening talk at a symposium in Poland on the 50th anniversary of the Declaration "Nostra Aetate" issued by the Second Vatican Council, which changed the tone and relations between Jews and the Catholic Church. Teter spoke on "Continuity and Change in 'Nostra Aetate.'" Teter also is chair and professor of history, professor of medieval studies. Teter has been involved in Jewish-Catholic dialogue in Poland for the past three years. Her research into post-Reformation Europe led her to meet with a bishop in the southeastern Polish town of Sandomierz, a town long…

Wesleyan was strongly represented by faculty, undergraduates and alumni at the Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, the major conference in the field. The meeting was held in Philadelphia, Pa. March 19-21. Members of the Cognitive Development Labs, co-directed by Associate Professor of Psychology Anna Shusterman and Associate Professor of Psychology Hilary Barth, presented research at the conference. Former lab coordinator Jessica Taggart presented work done with Jillian Roberts '15, current lab coordinator Lonnie Bass, and Barth titled, "Minimal group membership and children's ideas of equality." This is Roberts' senior thesis project. Andrew Ribner '14 presented his senior thesis, "Preschool…

A paper co-authored by Lauren Feld '11 and Associate Professor of Psychology Anna Shusterman was recently published in the Journal of Adolescence. Titled, "Into the Pressure Cooker: Student Stress in College Preparatory High Schools," the paper was Feld's senior thesis at Wesleyan. The article will appear in Volume 41, June 2015 of the journal. It can be read online here. In the study, Feld and Shusterman assess stress and related behaviors in high-achieving high school students. Specifically, they explored symptoms, sleep and eating, attitudes and coping behaviors related to stress. They found that students reported high rates of physical and psychological correlates…

Judith Brown, professor of history, emerita, is the co-editor of Medici Women: The Making of a Dynasty in Grand Ducal Tuscany, published by the Centre for Reformation and Renaissance Studies, Victoria University in the University of Toronto, in 2015. Brown wrote the introduction and co-edited the book with Giovanna Benadusi. It features essays translated by Monica Chojnacka. The Medici grand ducal family and the court it created in the 16th and 17th centuries have long fascinated historians and the general public. Until recently, however, the women who married into the family or were born into it were relegated to the margins of history. Though long acknowledged…

With more than 20 vendors from throughout New England and the tri-state area selling new and used music in all formats, the 88.1 FM WESU community record fair has become a cherished tradition, attracting a diverse crowd of new and old record collectors. The WESU Spring 2015 Record Fair will take place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 28 in Beckham Hall. Browse new and used CDs, records, music-related apparel, books, WESU merchandise and more. WESU DJs will be spinning records live throughout the day to inspire your crate digging. "Each vendor will be offering their own unique mix…

The Natural Sciences and Mathematics Division is sponsoring its annual Celebration of Science Theses from 12:30 to 2 p.m. April 17 in Exley Science Center. Poster presentations will be made by NSM honors and MA students. Refreshments will be provided. The entire Wesleyan community is invited. "Come join us in appreciation of our students’ achievements," said Manju Hingorani, professor of molecular biology and biochemistry. The event is co-organized by Hingorani; Barbara Juhasz, associate professor of psychology, associate professor of neuroscience and behavior, director of the Service Learning Center; and Seth Redfield, assistant professor of astronomy.

Gina Athena Ulysse, associate professor of anthropology, wrote a tribute on the Tikkun Daily Blog to Karen McCarthy Brown, professor emerita of anthropology and sociology of religion at Drew University, who passed away earlier this month. "Reading Karen’s Mama Lola kept me in grad school. Vodou got a human face from her," Ulysses posted on Facebook after hearing news of Brown's death. She goes on to explain, "Mama Lola was published by the University of California Press in 1991. Based on extensive fieldwork conducted over a decade, Brown became an initiate of her subject, as a condition to deeper research and writing…

Manju Hingorani, professor of molecular biology and biochemistry, is serving as the rotating program director at the Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences (MCB) at the National Science Foundation in Washington, D.C. Her rotation concludes in August and she will resume teaching next fall. The MCB supports quantitative, predictive and theory-driven fundamental research and related activities designed to promote understanding of complex living systems at the molecular, subcellular and cellular levels. MCB gives high priority to research projects that use theory, methods and technologies from physical sciences, mathematics, computational sciences and engineering to address major biological questions. Typical research supported by MCB integrates…

Restorative justice practices, such as victim-offender mediation, family group conferencing, programs for juvenile offenders, and community policing, emerged to give victims and their surrounding communities greater agency than traditional criminal procedure provides to resolve conflict and address its consequences. As a 2015-16 Watson Fellow, Isabella Banks '15 will travel to countries where restorative justice has had success, acting as a participant-observer in these practices. Banks will interview individuals involved and evaluate the capacity of restorative alternatives to heal those affected by crime and reduce recidivism within each cultural context. "In doing so, I hope to come closer to envisioning a…

Cloudy sky at Wesleyan, March 18. (more…)

The Allbritton Center for the Study of Public Life welcomes "auto czar" Ron Bloom '77 to campus April 8. Bloom will speak on "We almost lost Detroit: A hopeful tale about cars, crises, cities and America," at 7:30 p.m. in PAC 001. After graduating from Wesleyan with a BA in history in 1977, Bloom received an MBA with distinction from the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration in 1985. After working as the assistant to the president for United Steelworkers, Bloom was appointed by President Obama be the senior advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury on the President’s Task Force on…

Gruen Discusses Chimpanzees Used in Research on Canadian Nature Show

Teter’s Talk Opens Symposium on 50th Anniversary of Vatican II Council’s Declaration “Nostra Aetate”

Faculty, Students, Alumni Present Research at Society for Research in Child Development Meeting

Shusterman, Feld ’11 Article Published on Student Stress in College Prep High Schools

Brown Co-Edits Medici Women

CDs, Apparel, Music at WESU Spring Record Fair March 28

Celebrate the Sciences at Poster Session April 17

Ulysse Writes Tribute to Anthropologist Karen McCarthy Brown

Hingorani Serves as NSF Program Director for the Biosciences

Watson Fellow Banks ’15 to Study Restorative Justice Practices in 4 Countries

Cloudy Sky at Wesleyan

Obama’s “Auto Czar” Rob Bloom ’77 to Speak on Campus April 8