Olivia DrakeEducation reform, conflict resolution and confronting racial segregation are among the topics to be discussed at the fourth annual Social Justice Leadership Conference (SJLC) on April 21. SJLC is a collaborative effort which provides a space for students, student groups, community members, alumni, faculty, and staff to discuss social justice and to learn and refine leadership skills. SJLC seeks to empower its participants to create change by applying the skills and knowledge acquired during the conference. Students, student groups, alumni, community members, faculty and staff facilitate sessions in their area of interest or expertise. Sessions focus on leadership skills that…
In celebration of its 50th anniversary, the Friends of the Davison Art Center present "The Big Draw: Middletown," a community celebration of drawing with workshops for people of all skill levels, from beginners to accomplished artists. The event is free and open to the public: adults, students, and children ages 5 and up. The Big Draw's activities break down the "I can't draw" syndrome and celebrate the visual arts. The event takes place from 1 to 5 p.m., Sunday April 22 on campus. "The Big Draw: Middletown" will feature 10 to 12 drawing workshops throughout the Wesleyan University campus. Wesleyan…
Six Wesleyan staff members received a Cardinal Achievement Award for demonstrating extraordinary initiative or providing outstanding service with regard to specific tasks or events in their departments. This special honor comes with a $150 award and reflects the university’s gratitude for those extra efforts. The March recipients are: Caryn Canalia, administrative assistant for the Mathematics and Computer Science Department; Gina Driscoll, associate director of development events for University Relations; Claudia Foerstel, financial coordinator/registrar for the Green Street Arts Center; Marcy Herlihy, director of stewardship for University Relations; Susan Passman, slide librarian for the Art and Art History Department; And Edgardo Quinones,…
Q&As with outstanding students is an occasional feature of The Wesleyan Connection. This issue we speak with Corey Guilmette from the Class of 2013. Q: Corey, you're the 2012 recipient of the Peter Morgenstern-Clarren Social Justice Award for being chair of the Wesleyan Committee for Investor Responsibility. Tell us about that committee. A: It has become increasingly evident in the wake of the financial crisis that the current investment system favors blind short-term gains and not long-term results that more often help people and the planet. The Committee for Investor Responsibility seeks to encourage investments that benefit society as opposed to…
Brian KattenPeter Solomon has been appointed faculty head coach of men's and women's swimming and diving at Wesleyan University as well as aquatics director, it was announced April 16 by Wesleyan Athletics Director John Biddiscombe. Solomon is an 18-year veteran head coach of men's and women's swimming and diving at NESCAC colleges Middlebury (1997-2011) and Amherst (1993-97). "Wesleyan is very excited to welcome Peter Solomon as our swimming and diving coach," Biddiscombe says. "He brings to the position a wealth of experience and a winning tradition." "I’m proud to represent Wesleyan and I look forward to getting to know the team…
Cynthia RockwellWalter J. Pories ’52, MD, professor in the department of surgery at Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University was selected as a 2012–13 recipient of the annual East Carolina University Lifetime Achievement for Excellence in Research and Creative Activity Award. He joined ECU in 1977 as chair of the department of surgery at the university’s medical school, which had just begun its four-year program. While here, he modified a type of weight-loss surgery into the “Greenville Gastric Bypass” and showed conclusively that not only does it result in durable weight loss but also causes a long-term remission of…
David LowDar Williams ’89 will release her ninth studio album In the Time of Gods (Razor and Tie) on April 17. She recently sat down with Glide Magazine to talk about the album, her time spent on tour with Joan Osborne, her dedication to environmental awareness, and the comeback of vinyl recordings. She has survived the music industry for more than 20 years, which has “allowed her the chance to work with some amazing artists, record songs that she wanted to hear (instead of what fit on radio), and most of all build a career in the grassroots aesthetic, all based…
New York County District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr., announced the appointment of Polly Greenberg ’90 as chief of the Major Economic Crimes Bureau. She first joined the office in 1993, starting in the Appeals Bureau and later in the Investigations Division. After leaving the office in late 2000 for private practice, Greenberg returned in 2005, and prosecuted primarily organized crime cases. She was appointed deputy bureau chief of the Major Economic Crimes Bureau shortly after its creation two years ago, and has been instrumental in setting bureau priorities and in collaborating with outside agencies to broaden the reach of…
An article by Krista Giovacco at Bloomberg.com recently featured Timothy Clew ’93 and Brian Mota as founders of The Wine Trust, the only private-equity-structured wine-investment fund in the United States with a targeted amount of more than $20 million. Their firm TWT Investment Partners LP, located in Ridgefield, Connecticut, is in the process of raising some $50 million for the trust, which is “more like a private-equity fund. The money invested is basically locked up for as long as eight years, which helps managers ride out a decline.” Clew and Mota are former investment bankers. Clew told Bloomberg: “This was…
A fascinating study by theater critic and scholar Jonathan Kalb '81, Great Lengths: Seven Works of Marathon Theater (University of Michigan Press), considers large-scale theater productions that often run five hours or more and present special challenges to the artists involved as well as the audience. He takes a close look at seven internationally prominent theater productions, including Tony Kushner's Angels in America, Robert Wilson's Einstein on the Beach, the Royal Shakespeare Company's Nicholas Nickleby, Peter Brooks’s The Mahabharata, and the "durational works" of the British experimental company Forced Entertainment. Diverse and savvy viewers who may otherwise be distracted by film,…
Thomas Tucker ’77 joined The Hartford as chief underwriting officer for Commercial Markets and head of Specialty Casualty. In this role, Tucker will oversee underwriting across Commercial Markets and lead The Hartford’s Specialty Casualty segment, which includes National Accounts, Captive & Specialty Programs and Hartford Financial Products. Tucker will focus on the continued delivery of risk solutions for the Specialty segment, as well as risk controls across the Commercial Markets organization. A 35-year property and casualty industry veteran, Tucker joins The Hartford from AIG’s Chartis U.S., where he most recently served as chief underwriter and chief risk officer for its…
Cati Coe ’92 is a co-editor (with Rachel Reynolds, Deborah Boehm, Julia Meredith Hess, and Heather Rae-Espinosa) of Everyday Ruptures: Children, Youth, and Migration in Global Perspective (Vanderbilt University Press), which illuminates the wide-ranging continuities and disruptions in the experiences of children around the world, those who participate in and those who are affected by migration. When children, youth, and adults migrate, that migration is often perceived as a rupture, with people separated by great distances and for extended periods of time. But for migrants and those affected by migration, the everyday persists, and migration itself may be critical to…