Student Speaker Ruby Clarke ’24 to Call for Love Through Curiosity

In an act of curiosity, when Ruby Clarke ’24 was a first-year, they committed themselves to learning about one sport in each of their four years at Wesleyan. They wanted to understand why people have so much fun playing or caring about sports. Four years later, they are set to complete a feat known to hockey lovers, a hat trick—speaking at three of their graduations. Clarke, who spoke at their middle school and high school graduations in California, will deliver the student address at Wesleyan’s 192nd Commencement Ceremony on May 26. They said they will call for students to love…

By Maxx McNall The spring season brings many things—blooming flowers, temperatures fit for a Frisbee toss with a friend on Andrus Field, and, more recently, final exams. For five of Wesleyan’s athletic programs, it’s brought something else. Championships. And lots of them. Two programs—Women’s Tennis and Men’s Crew—have gone undefeated and are amid deep postseason runs. Three won NESCAC championships and five took home the Little Three Championship. 2024 was truly title time for Wesleyan’s spring programs. Women’s Tennis The University’s Women’s Tennis is undefeated for the second time in three seasons and on the way to its fifth consecutive…

As the 2023-2024 academic year wound down to a close, there were a bevy of on-campus student and faculty events that were quintessential Wesleyan. Here is a selection of photos from some of them. Psychology Department Poster Session Students and faculty gathered in Beckham Hall on April 25 for the annual Psychology Poster Session. The event, which was in-person for the first time in three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, featured 28 posters, with 54 presenters across 10 advisors. “We have a lot of students who are working in labs with faculty, and sometimes students present work that they…

Students contribute to the Wesleyan community in their own unique ways. Some lead through work in student government or engage in local community service; some make break-through films, eye-catching art, or captivating theater productions, and others focus their contributions in the classroom. Some do all the above. Whatever they do, each student has some impact on the day-to-day life of Wesleyan. Every year, the University and its more than 40 academic departments recognize students for their in-and out-of-classroom work by awarding student prizes. The following students are just a select few of the many recognized. Read the complete list of…

When John Bonin first joined Wesleyan’s Department of Economics in 1970, he discovered a down-to-earth leader in President Colin Campbell, and an academic culture that was comparatively unusual. “I learned quickly that faculty at Wesleyan were encouraged to speak out and assert agency unlike what my contemporaries at other institutions were experiencing,” Bonin said. On May 26, Wesleyan’s retiring faculty members—Bonin, Chester D. Hubbard Professor of Economics and Social Science; Bernardo Antonio Gonzalez, professor of Spanish; and Jeffrey Schiff, professor of art—will receive emeritus status at the University’s 192nd Commencement Ceremony. Ahead of the occasion, Bonin, Gonzalez, and Schiff reflected…

Like many universities, when classes end students are given a handful of days to prepare for their final examinations each semester. At Wesleyan, they’re also given the chance to take some time to enjoy their months of effort with a day of live music, little treats, delicious food, carnival games, and fair rides at the annual Spring Fling on May 9. This year, the Office of Student Involvement and Concert Committee brought a bundle of artists to campus to perform for Wesleyan’s hard-working student body. The day was headlined by shows from rapper Ferg, formerly known as A$AP Ferg, and…

Three impactful student organizations—the Mudanza Dance Project, Pyari, and Nailepu Foundation—each received $6,000 New Venture Awards from the Patricelli Center for Social Entrepreneurship on April 22. “The 2024 Patricelli Center New Venture Awards were the most competitive in the Center’s 13-year history," said Ahmed Badr, director of the Patricelli Center for Social Entrepreneurship. "We’re proud to have provided funding for all the applicants, for a total of $44,000. For the first time, all applicants received [at least] a $1,000 grant towards their ventures.” Diana Kimojino ’26 founded the Nailepu Foundation with one goal in mind—to elevate the women and girls…

New York Times reporter Hannah Dreier ’08 was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in Investigative Reporting for her work on a series of stories revealing the widespread reach of migrant child labor across the United States. Dreier also previously won a Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing in 2019 for a ProPublica series that followed Salvadoran immigrants on Long Island whose lives were affected by federal investigations in the MS-13 criminal gang. “This reporting was possible only because of the bravery of migrant children who took huge risks to share their experiences,” Dreier said after receiving the prize on May 6. “There are hundreds of…

Each year at Commencement, Wesleyan University recognizes three outstanding faculty members with the awarding of the Binswanger Prizes for Excellence in Teaching. The University is delighted to announce that this year’s recipients are Abigail S. Hornstein, Woodhouse/Sysco Professor of Economics; Michelle Aaron Murolo, professor of the practice in molecular biology and biochemistry; and Rashida Z. Shaw McMahon, associate professor of English. Underscoring Wesleyan’s commitment to its scholar-teachers, these annual prizes are made possible by gifts from the family of the late Frank G. Binswanger Sr., Hon ’85. Recipients are chosen each spring by a committee composed of faculty and members…

Thinking of a bank run—when a mass sector of a bank’s depositors withdraw money in a short period of time—an image springs to mind. Seemingly unending lines of worried civilians encircling a bank teller in the 1930’s clamoring to recoup their entrusted funds as financial panic grips the nation. But modern bank runs look different, happen much faster and are largely unpredictable, according to Jennie Ebihara ’24, who analyzed new problems created by digital bank runs in her senior thesis paper. Ebihara maintains that current models theorizing the growth and speed of bank runs do not really address the problems…

Journalists have always played a vital role in defending democracy, educating the public while holding those in power accountable for their actions. Few journalists have challenged Americans to reimagine who we are as a nation as much as Nikole Hannah-Jones. On April 25, the Allbritton Center for the Study of Public Life co-sponsored an event with Wesleyan’s Democracy 2024 initiative to host Hannah-Jones, a New York Times correspondent, Knight Chair in Race and Journalism at Howard University, and the Pulitzer Prize–winning creator of the 1619 Project. Corwin-Fuller Professor of Film Studies Tracy Heather Strain sat down with Hannah-Jones to discuss…

By Rose Chen ’26 Fellowships, Research, and Grants Jennifer Tucker, professor of technology, law, and visual culture and founding director of the Center for the Study of Guns and Society, and Stephen Hargarten, professor of Emergency Medicine at Medical College of Wisconsin, received a grant from The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) for their research into the ways manufacturers have improved firearm and ammunition safety since the 1750s. Tucker published “Gundamentalism” in Modern American History in May of 2023, an essay on the role of guns in American society through history. She also published “Home on the (Firing) Range:…

Student Speaker Ruby Clarke ’24 to Call for Love Through Curiosity

Cardinals Soar in Spring Conference Competitions

Gallery: Semester Event Wrap-Up

Wesleyan Announces 2024 Student Prize Winners

For Wesleyan’s Retiring Faculty, a Moment to Look Back

Gallery: Students Enjoy Spring Fling 2024 Festivities

Patricelli Center Awards Funding to Three New Student Ventures

Wesleyan in the News: May 2024

2024 Binswanger Prizes for Excellence in Teaching Announced

Wesleyan Senior Creates Economic Model to Analyze Digital Bank Runs

No Democracy Without Slavery: A Revolutionary Conversation with Nikole Hannah-Jones

Faculty Achievements in Academic Year 2023-24