Olivia DrakePosted 11/20/07 A new series of films will shine a spotlight on how literary works are translated onto screen. The newly-created Adaptation Series, sponsored by the Center for Film Studies and Olin Library, will begin Nov. 29 with a talk by screenwriter and alumnus Stephen Schiff. Schiff will speak about his screen adaptation of Nabokovs Lolita, filmed in 1997 by director Adrian Lyne. The talk will be preceded by a screening of the film, starring Jeremy Irons, Melanie Griffith and Dominique Swain. This is the inaugural event of the Adaptation Series, which has been designed by Jeanine Basinger, Corwin-Fuller Professor…
Posted 11/20/07 Peter Gottschalk, associate professor of religion, and Gabriel Greenberg 04 have written a new book Islamophobia: Making Muslims the Enemy, published by Rowman & Littlefield, 2007. In the 1990s, Gottschalk heard a lecture as a graduate student at the University of Chicago by Professor John Woods about negative images of Muslims and Islam in political cartoons. He used some cartoons when he first began to teach. Following the 9/11 tragedies, Gottschalk started following certain cartoonists daily because of his concern regarding the rising anti-Muslim and anti-Islamic sentiment in the country. Greenberg, a student in one of Gottschalk's classes, got…
Posted 11/20/07 The university has been awarded a TRIO Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The McNair program will provide financial support, mentoring, research opportunities, and academic guidance to eligible students who want pursue Ph.D. study. Laurel F. Appel, visiting associate professor of biology, is the McNair program's director. She's excited that Wesleyan is part of the federal program. It is presently the only Connecticut institution that is part of the program. "This program fits in with the goals of Wesleyan by broadening access to research to all students," Appel says. The focus…
President Michael Roth, center, signed a document Nov. 16 stating that he and Wesleyan will support measures to fight global climate change. Pictured left to right are Bill Nelligan, director of Environmental Health, Safety and Sustainability; Jacob Mirsky '08, representative of EON; Roth; Jim Dresser, chair of the Wesleyan Board of Trustees; Matthew Ball '08, member of the Wesleyan Student Assembly. Posted 11/20/07 President Michael Roth signed the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment before an applauding crowd of several dozen Wesleyan students, staff, faculty and trustees on Nov. 16. The commitment can be seen in full text here.…
Alfredo Jaar is displaying three of his exhibits inside Zilhka Gallery. Posted 11/05/07 Is a media giant like Newsweek able to shape public opinion by defining what is newsworthy? This is one question internationally acclaimed artist Alfredo Jaar leaves for his audience to answer in a current exhibition in Zilkha Gallery. Jaars exhibition is on display in Zilkha Gallery through Dec. 2. He will present an art seminar at 4:15 p.m. Nov. 6 in Zilkha 106 and a music colloquium at 4:15 Nov. 7 in the Music Department. Through a straightforward photography installation that addresses the media coverage of the…
Posted 11/05/07 Wesleyan University will eliminate loans for its neediest undergraduates and replace these with additional grants, President Michael S. Roth has announced. The policy will be part of a new initiative to reduce overall student indebtedness by 35 percent to make Wesleyan even more accessible to students regardless of their financial capacity. "Access to a Wesleyan education for students from all backgrounds has long been one of the core values of this community," Roth says. "It remains one of our highest priorities. As I begin my presidency, I see this new effort as a down payment on our goal…
Jim Dresser '63 shakes hands with Michael Roth during the 16th Wesleyan President Inauguration event Nov. 2. Roth was installed as president in front of more than 1,500 people. Posted 11/05/07 "Today, Michael Roth, you are formally charged with the duties, obligations and opportunities of the office of president of Wesleyan University. Today, especially, we express our gratitude that you have so fully and enthusiastically assumed these duties in the service of our beloved University."With these words by Jim Dresser '63, Michael S. Roth '78 was formally installed as the 16th President of Wesleyan Nov. 2 in front of more…
Posted 11/05/07 In the 1930s, Hollywood unveiled a new way of watching film with the introduction of three-color Technicolor. Scott Higgins, left, associate professor of film studies, will speak on the 75-year-old color film process technique during a three-weekend retrospective of Technicolor films at the Museum of the Moving Image in New York City. His lecture, which begins at 2 p.m. Nov. 17, will be held in conjunction with the publication of his book Harnessing the Technicolor Rainbow: Color Design in the 1930s (University of Texas Press). Filmmakers had already mastered the art of monochrome, of translating stories into a…
For 40 years, Wesleyan's Upward Bound Program has prepared hundreds of underrepresented local youth for college by providing rigorous academic summer experiences, motivational "boot camps," college visits, and assistance with the challenging college application and financial application processes. On Nov. 10, Upward Bound will celebrate its 40th anniversary inside Wesleyan's newly renovated Fayerweather Building in the Edgar F. Beckham Hall. Beckham was one of the Upward Bound founders, and along with Willard McRae and others, they had a vision that local, low-income students should have the opportunity to consider the college dream. "Upward Bound has been empowering eligible youth to…
Rev. Joan Cooper Burnett leads Sunday worship services that include music, dance and other artistic talents of Wesleyan students. She encourages students of any faith to attend the 2 p.m. services. Posted 11/05/07 Q: Q: Rev. Burnett, what attracted you to Wesleyan, and when did you begin working on campus?A: My term at Wesleyan began the week of new student orientation, and Im so excited to be here! The motivating factor for my accepting the position as Chaplain was the desperate quest for some Christian students to practice Christianity at Wesleyan without trepidation. During my employment interview I was…
Erika Taylor, assistant professor of chemistry, is interested in finding antibiotics for the disease cholerae. Posted 11/05/07 Erika Taylor has joined the Department of Chemistry as an assistant professor of chemistry. Taylors research interests include the exploration of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) biosynthesis and discovering new antibiotics for gram negative bacteria. My passion is exploring new ways of fighting diseases, with everything from drug development to education, she says. My research at Wesleyan will focus on the development of new antibiotics, especially for pharmaceutically undervalued diseases like cholerae, which infects 3 to 5 million people each year with a 5 percent…
Wesleyan's men's crew team took second place at the annual Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston, Mass. Posted 11/05/07 The sport of rowing requires strength, endurance and technique. The pattern of striking the water with a perpendicular blade, pulling through a stroke, raising the blade while feathering for the next stroke, and contacting the water again is rhythmic. Perfecting this action, especially in an eight-person boat, is an art. If that is the case, then Wesleyan mens crew is right up there with Van Gogh. This year, despite having three rowers and the coxswain graduate, Wesleyan opened the season…