All News – Page 45

Despite a tumultuous year intertwined with pandemic up-and-downs, the Wesleyan community persevered. After returning to full, in-person learning for the Spring 2021 semester, students resumed their research, community service, social justice and entrepreneurial projects, extracurriculars, and athletic contests. The Class of 2021 celebrated with an in-person, mask-optional graduation ceremony. Members of the faculty won numerous grants and prizes and an alumnus even brought home an Oscar. Wesleyan continues to help people become more engaged citizens while offering a robust liberal education. In this timeline, we look back and explore some of Wesleyan's highlights in 2021: Feb. 9: Students Return to Campus for…

Gertrude Hughes, professor of English, emerita, died on Jan. 5 at the age of 85. Hughes received her BA from Mount Holyoke College, her MAT from Wesleyan University, and her Ph.D from Yale University. She returned to Wesleyan as an assistant professor of English in 1976 and remained until her retirement in 2006. “Gertrude was a remarkable woman, a valued colleague, and a treasured friend,” recalled Bill Stowe, Benjamin Waite Professor of the English Language, Emeritus. “She began her academic career later than most, completing her Yale PhD under the formidable Harold Bloom while raising four children. Her book on…

Wesleyan’s intellectually dynamic faculty, students, alumni, staff, and parents frequently serve as expert sources for national media. Others are noted for recent achievements and accolades. A sampling of recent media hits is below: In The Los Angeles Review of Books, Wesleyan President Michael Roth '78 reviews Samantha Rose Hill's intellectual biography of Hannah Arendt. "Hill’s Arendt is a thinker who moves easily from poetry to philosophy, from reflections on politics to an analysis of thinking itself." (Dec. 26, 2021) President Roth also speaks about his book, Safe Enough Spaces: A pragmatist's approach to Inclusion, Free Speech, and Political Correctness, in…

When not teaching classes on agriculture, sustainability, and the environment, visiting assistant professor of environmental studies Rosemary Ostfeld ’10, MA ’12 can be found working on her sustainable food and farming startup Healthy PlanEat. Healthy PlanEat, based in Lyme, Conn., allows farmers who grow food in sustainable ways to sell their crops directly to both individuals and wholesale customers using an app and aims to increase access to healthy, local, and sustainably grown food. In November, Healthy PlanEat received a $52,000 grant through the Local Food Promotion Program (LFPP) run by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). According to…

A recent Wesleyan study showed that seeking out social media for emotional succor during COVID-19 did not improve emotional well-being among emerging adult college students. The study, conducted by Royette Dubar, assistant professor of psychology; Nicole Watkins, postdoctoral fellow in psychology; and psychology major Grant Hill '20, MA '21 asked more than 600 emerging adults in college (18-to-29-year-olds) across the U.S. to complete two online surveys over a five-month period at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. “COVID has had significant implications for how we interact with other people and how we think about our well-being. What we are trying to understand…

September Johnson, Wesleyan’s alcohol and other drug specialist, acknowledges that Wesleyan's move to becoming a tobacco and vape free campus will be a big change for the community. The policy went into effect on Jan. 1, 2022. And Johnson said that there will be plenty of support measures in place to help. “We, as a community, are here to support each other through this change,” Johnson said in a campus all-staff meeting on Nov. 29 where the policy change was announced. No tobacco products will be allowed anywhere on campus. “Tobacco use continues to be a leading cause of preventable…

By Maia Dawson '23 In the Lunar lab on the third floor of the Exley Science Center, Thomas Davoren MA ’22, thumbed through scientist David Walker’s handwritten notes from 1970, and inspected samples retrieved from the moon in 1969. Found in Davoren’s work are clues to the origins of Earth’s glowing satellite. Davoren was among the students awarded a Fall 2021 NASA Connecticut Space Consortium Fellowship. In a paper written for a conference in 2020 in Houston, Davoren detailed his discovery of Chromite-Ulvöspinel-Pyroxene (CUSP) inclusions. These unique, microscopic crystalline structures appeared first to Davoren in basaltic rocks retrieved from the…

(By Maia Dawson '23) From defining their core values to marketing a final product, Wesleyan’s Startup Incubator class unveiled their final projects to Middletown’s city commissioners this week. Throughout the evening of student presentations, a trend emerged – these students were not only ready to enter their respective markets, they had blended their values of ethics, sustainability, and creative growth with business models that aimed to challenge some of the core mechanisms of our economy. Rosemary Ostfeld, visiting assistant professor of environmental studies and instructor of the CSPL 239 course Startup Incubator: The Art and Science of Launching Your Idea…

There are moments in the careers of many great athletes where they take control of the game – victory is within their grasp and they will not be denied. Michael Jordan dunking in the NBA Finals, Derek Jeter diving into the stands to catch a fly ball at Yankee Stadium, Simone Biles defying gravity at the Olympics – just to name a few. Grace Devanny ’23, a forward on the women’s soccer team, had her moment against eighth-ranked MIT in the NCAA Division III Quarterfinals. She had opened the scoring early in the game with a goal. MIT tied and…

During their three-and-a-half-years at Wesleyan, Charlotte Babbin '22 worked as a research assistant for a plant epigenetic lab, directed the pit orchestra for a Second Stage production, taught sex education workshops for area adolescents, served as a social programming and social justice co-chair for Wesleyan's Jewish community, worked on a research project with a local domestic violence service center, and served as an eco facilitator for the Sustainability Office—all while pursuing a double-major in biology and science in society. And, they managed to do it all while maintaining a 96.8 Wesleyan grade point value. For these reasons, Babbin, who hails…

For his efforts in creating a public understanding of complex ethical issues in health, health care, science, and technology, Anthony Ryan Hatch has been awarded a Hastings Center Fellowship. He's among only 24 new fellows elected this year from six countries and a range of disciplines, including medicine, nursing, philosophy, law, American studies, and theater. The Hastings Center is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization created from multiple disciplines, including philosophy, law, political science, and education. It's the oldest, independent, nonpartisan, interdisciplinary research institute in the world. Hatch, associate professor and chair of the science and society program, teaches, conducts research, and lectures…

A Look Back at Wesleyan, 2021

Hughes Remembered for Teaching English, Women’s Studies Courses for 30 Years

Wesleyan in the News

USDA Awards Ostfeld ’10, MA ’12 Grant for Healthy PlanEat Startup

Wesleyan Researchers Explore Social Media’s Effects on Emotional Well-Being during the Pandemic

Wesleyan Becomes Tobacco, Vape Free Campus

Graduate Students Awarded NASA Connecticut Space Grants

Student Entrepreneurs Share Startup Business Ventures with the Public

Soccer Forward Devanny ’23 Named NCAA D3 All-American

Near or Far, Wesleyan Sends Holiday Cheer to the Cardinal Community

15 Seniors Honored for Academic Excellence

Hatch Named Hastings Center Fellow for His Efforts with Health Inequality