All News – Page 241

Christina Crosby, professor of English, professor of feminist, gender and sexuality studies, was honored at an event March 10 at Barnard College. Several Wesleyan faculty and alumnae participated in the discussion. The event, titled "Body Undone: A Salon Honoring Christina Crosby," was hosted by the Barnard Center for Research on Women and NYU's Center for Gender and Sexuality Studies. It focused on Crosby's forthcoming memoir of living with disability, Body Undone: Living on After Great Pain. The memoir will be published by NYU Press in the "Sexual Cultures" series. In 2003, Professor Crosby broke her neck in a bicycle accident. "Spinal cord injury…

The Office of Human Resources reported the following new hires and departure for February 2015. Newly hired Michele Matera was hired as office assistant in the President’s Office on Feb. 16. Joseph Buchino was hired as an athletic facility maintenance person on Feb. 23. Departure Dashaun Outlaw, public safety officer

Mike Robinson, assistant professor of psychology, assistant professor of neuroscience and behavior, and his students are interested in what makes individuals react differently when they catch a whiff of freshly-baked brownies or another sugary treat. These Pavlovian cues associated with junk food can trigger cravings to eat and increase the amount of food consumed. People who are more susceptible to the motivational effects of these cues may have a higher risk for over consuming readily available junk food and becoming obese. Furthermore, the overconsumption of junk food may itself heighten attraction to food cues. But what causes some people to…

When the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) announced the names this month of 939 athletes among its conference member schools who earned the distinction of academic all-NESCAC during the winter 2014-15 season, Wesleyan celebrated its largest pool ever in winter with 89 student-athletes. These student-athletes, sophomores and above, meet the criteria of being significant contributors to their teams while achieving a cumulative GPA of 3.35 or higher. The student-athletes play in the following winter sports: men's and women's basketball, men's and women's ice hockey, men's and women's swimming and diving, men's and women's squash, men's and women's indoor track and wrestling. Some highlights from this season's group…

#THISISWHY Jennifer Opalacz, assistant director of alumni and parent relations, was recently presented with a Cardinal Achievement Award for her efforts in taking on greater responsibility for several high-profile, time sensitive projects that were critical to the success of the University Relations team. Opalacz also stepped up to take on additional project ownership for a team member who was out on leave. “Jen is among the most conscientious, organized, and upbeat individuals with whom I’ve worked. She is well deserving of a Cardinal Achievement Award,” said Thomas Diascro, director of alumni and parent relations. Lisa LaPlant, assistant to the president, was recently presented with a…

The Jewish Daily Forward has published an in-depth interview with Assistant Professor of Art Sasha Rudensky '01. The conversation ranges from her immigration to the U.S. from Moscow at age 9 to her start as an artist to her latest photography project, Eastern Eve. Hannah Rubin '13, a former student of Rudensky, wrote the story as part of a larger series she's working on that spotlights Jewish female artists. Rubin describes Rudensky's work: "She uses her photography as a means of personally investigating the contradictions and continuities of contemporary Russian culture. Though her work defies being labeled as 'feminine,' it culls from a sensibility that is distinctly gentle and yet…

The NESCAC has announced the 2014-15 winter recipients of the All-Sportsmanship awards for each of the 11 member colleges. In total, eight Wesleyan athletes have been recognized with one in each of the eight winter sports (men's and women's basketball, men's and women's ice hockey, men's and women's swimming and diving, and men's and women's squash). They are James Albrecht '15 (men's ice hockey), Liz Baumgartner '15 (women's swimming and diving), Mike DeLalio '15 (men's squash), Bridget Doherty '16 (women's squash), Bryan Galvin '15 (men's basketball), Cara Jankowsi '15 (women's ice hockey), Cherkira Lashley '15 (women's basketball), Travis Williams '15…

Wesleyan's vegan fare continues to impress voters and critics: collegemagazine.org has named the school the ninth best vegan campus nationwide, and Wesleyan is looking to reach the final round in the People's Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) "March Madness"-style voting contest. According to collegemagazine.org: Wesleyan not only boasts its history of social justice activism, but also a wide range of mouth-watering vegan foods. Veggie chicken red curry is just one of these fine meals. Let your senses run wild with Bon Appétit, the campus’ food supplier. Their navy bean soup, garden burger and steamed parsnips will have you running back for more. Even…

Jeanine Basinger, the Corwin-Fuller Professor of Film Studies, and Jeremy Arnold ’91 will hold a public talk on "Films and Facts: Whose Responsibility?" at 12:30 p.m. March 27 at the Turner Classic Movies (TCM) Classic Film Festival. The schedule of the film festival can be found here. Hollywood's alleged disregard for the facts of history is year after year the subject of heated media debate. From the early days of the silent era to this year's Oscar race, charges of historical inaccuracy have fueled great conversations about factual reproduction, creative license, propaganda and audience responsibility. Jeanine Basinger and Jeremy Arnold will continue the tradition by discussing the fascinating question…

Stephen Devoto, professor of neuroscience and behavior; Rosemary Doris, visiting assistant professor of biology; Ph.D. candidate Steffie Windner; and neuroscience and behavior major Chantal Ferguson ’13 are the co-authors of a paper that is the culmination of three years of research. The paper, titled "Tbx6, Mesp-b and Ripply1 Regulate the Onset of Skeletal Myogenesis in Zebrafish" is published in the March 2015 edition of Development, Vol. 142, No. 6, pages 1,159-1,168. The paper is a collaboration between Wesleyan, Kings College London and the National Institute for Medical Research (MRC). Devoto highlights the importance of the paper: The paper identifies three new regulators of muscle development,…

Johan "Joop" Varekamp, the Harold T. Stearns Professor of Earth Science, professor of earth and environmental sciences, was elected to be chair of the Geology and Public Policy Committee (GPPC) of the Geological Society of America (GSA). The group prepares position statements for GSA (e.g., on fracking, climate change). Varekamp has already made six congressional visits in March, visiting the offices of Senators Richard Blumenthal, Elizabeth Warren, Ed Markey and Representative Rosa DeLauro. He does similar work as chairman of the board of the Connecticut Fund for the Environment / Save the Sound. Varekamp also was elected to be the chair of the LimnoGeology (‘lakes’) division…

Johan "Joop" Varekamp, the Harold T. Stearns Professor of Earth Science, professor of earth and environmental sciences, is the author of two chapters in Volcanic Lakes, published by Springer Science+Business Media, 2015. He worked on the chapters during his sabbatical in Bristol, U.K., in 2013. Varekamp's chapters are titled "The Chemical Composition and Evolution of Volcanic Lakes" and "Volcanic Lakes." Five other authors also contributed to the "Volcanic Lakes" chapter. Volcanic lakes are natural features on the planet. The changing water compositions and colors of these lakes over time provide insights into the volcanic, hydrothermal and degassing processes of the underlying…

Crosby Honored at Barnard College Event

Staff on the Move February 2015

Robinson Studies Individual Differences in Reactions to Junk Food

89 Cardinals Named Academic All-NESCAC

Opalacz, LaPlant Honored with Cardinal Achievement Awards

Rudensky Discusses Her Latest Project with Jewish Daily Forward, Rubin ’13

8 Student-Athletes Recognized with NESCAC All-Sportsmanship Awards

Wesleyan’s Vegan Cuisine Continues to Impress

Basinger, Arnold ’91 Talk About Classic Movies on TCM

Faculty, Students, Alumna Co-Author Paper on Skeletal Myogenesis in Zebrafish

Varekamp Elected Chair of Geology, Public Policy Committee

Varekamp Authors 2 Chapters in Volcanic Lakes Book