Olivia DrakeAssistant post office manager Jerry Winzer hand sorts mail inside Wesleyan Station. Posted 02/23/05 After working 28 years at Middletown's U.S. Postal Service, Gerard "Jerry" Winzer decided to it was time to retire. Winter, he learned, is not the ideal time to call it quits. "November was a bad time to retire," the 62-year-old says. "I wasn't too crazy about just hanging around. I needed to keep busy." To beat the winter blues, Winzer took up a part-time position at Wesleyan Station delivering mail. Part-time evolved into full-time work, and, this year, the assistant post office manager will celebrate…
Chimemaster Peter Frenzel, professor emeritus of German studies, plays the keys of the bells, located at the top of South College. In August, the university will acquire eight additional bells. The new bells, Frenzel said, will enable him to play more complicated songs. (Photo by Bill Burkhart) Posted 01/31/05 Wesleyan has signed a contract with the Verdin Bell Company of Cincinnati, Ohio, for the casting and installation in the South College belfry of eight additional bells. This new addition will upgrade the Wesleyan bells from the status of a chime (10-22 bells) to that of a carillon (23 or more).…
Posted 01/31/05 A ribbon cutting on Jan. 5 marked the formal opening of the Green Street Arts Center (GSAC) L. to R. are: Middletown Mayor Domenique Thornton, GSAC Director Ricardo Morris, North End Action Team President Peggy Busari, GSAC Assistant Director Manny Rivera, Wesleyan University President Doug Bennet. The center is housed at the former St. Sebastian School at 51 Green Street in Middletown's North End. More than 250 people attended the grand opening. (Photo by Lex Leifheit) Children draw in one of the two visual art centers at GSAS. The facility also has a dance studio and a…
Erhard Konerding, documents librarian, works inside the Olin Memorial Library, which was built in 1928. Posted 01/31/05 When Wesleyan's Olin Memorial Library opened in 1928, the classically symmetrical structure fronted with six marble columns stood out as a bold yet elegant structure. Nearly 80 years later, the building is still turning heads. On January 13, The Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) of Greater Hartford awarded the library with The Office Building of the Year (TOBY) award in the historic building category. The TOBY award recognizes excellence in building management, operational efficiency, tenant retention, emergency planning and community impact.…
Ganesan Ravi Ravishanker, director of Technology Support Services and adjunct associate professor of chemistry, explains where his home countries were struck by the December 26 tsunami. Posted 01/31/05 Millions of Americans watched as the Dec. 26 tsunami obliterated south Asia's coastal belts. But for Ganesan "Ravi" Ravishanker, the event was far more personal. Ravishanker, director of Technology Support Services and adjunct associate professor of chemistry, is a Sri Lanka native and attended college in southern India where the tidal waves battered both shorelines for a half-mile inland. Those are both places where I have spent a lot of my…
Noreen Baris, administrative assistant for the Womens Studies Program, stands outside her office on High Street. Baris serves as a liaison between the programs chair, faculty and students. Posted 01/31/05 Q: When did you become the administrative assistant in the Women's Studies Program? Were you working at Wesleyan before then? A: Yes. I first came to Wesleyan in November 1986 and worked in the Romance Languages and Literatures Department until 1992. I've been at Women's Studies since then. Q: How would you describe a typical day? Are you mostly working at your desk, talking on the phone or meeting with people?…
Carol Wright is a visiting instructor in the African American Studies Program. Posted 01/31/05 Q: You started working at Wesleyan in 2003. What has impressed you most about the university? A: I am impressed with the incredible depth, intelligence and humanity of many Wesleyan students and my colleagues in the African American Studies Program. Q: What does 'visiting' instructor refer to? Where are you visiting from and how did you end up at Wes? A: Visiting instructor refers to the fact that my position is non-tenure track and temporary. As a practical matter, I am visiting from Bowdoin…
Posted 01/31/05 A forum on January 25 engaged more than 300 students, faculty and staff in a discussion of the administrative response to issues raised at a student-organized forum in December. The forum followed by a week the distribution of a report detailing student participation in University governance, itself a response to complaints from some students that they felt excluded from decisions that affect their lives on campus. At the forum, held in the Chapel, senior administrators were joined onstage by leaders of the faculty and the Wesleyan Student Assembly. Professor of Philosophy Brian Fay moderated the session, during which…
Robert Lane, assistant professor of molecular biology and biochemistry, co-authored a study that indicates scientists may have overestimated the use of the vomeronasal organ in pheromone perception by animals. Posted 01/31/05 A new study co-authored by Robert Lane, assistant professor of molecular biology and biochemistry, suggests that human pheromone detection may occur right under our own noses - literally. In an article due out in the February issue of "Genome Research," Lane provided new evidence that scientists may have overestimated the use of the vomeronasal organ, or VNO, in pheromone perception in animals. The VNO has been described as the…
Vera Schwarcz, professor of History and East Asian studies, collaborated with artist Chava Pressburger for the book, "In the Garden of Memory," published by March Street Press. The publication features 18 poems with accompanying paper-art images. Posted 01/31/05 How does memory speak? Not with words in this small country of silenced song. Winter is the native tongue of children without food. -words from Vera Schwarczs "In the Garden of Memory" When visiting Jerusalem in 1991, a striking oil painting caught Vera Schwarczs attention. The Romanian-born daughter of Holocaust survivors instantly felt a connection with the artwork titled Memories. I…
Mike Sciola, Career Resource Center director, helps Talya Marshall, '07, find photography career opportunities. Posted 01/31/05 Q: The Career Resource Center (CRC) aims to establish relationships with students and help them find jobs. If a student approaches you, how would you go about helping him or her? A: We take a three step approach: self assessment, career exploration, and job search. Most people, and not just students, think the first step to finding a meaningful career is to write a resume and start sending it out to job sites on the Internet. The problem with this approach is that…
Eric Williams, systems and facilities manager of the Astronomy Department and Van Vleck Observatory, stands outside the observatory's 24-inch Perkin research reflector, where he often hosts weekly open houses and star gazings. "What's beautiful about astronomy is that there are always unanswered questions, and when you answer one, that will open up five more questions," said Eric Williams, the systems and facility manager for the Astronomy Department and Van Vleck Observatory. "I'm always curious." An interest in astronomy, physics and computers led Williams to Wesleyan in 1996. "I've always wanted a job like this," Williams said, "I get to experiment…