Laurie KenneyOn Friday, October 21, at 9 p.m., PBS will debut Hamilton's America, a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the smash musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda '02. The documentary is directed by Miranda's Wesleyan roommate, Alex Horwitz '02, and features footage from the Broadway show along with interviews with Miranda, Hamilton director Thomas Kail '99, and an array of others, including President Barack Obama, President George W. Bush, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Questlove, Black Thought, Jimmy Fallon, Stephen Sondheim, and more.
Olivia Drake
Bill HolderChristopher Graves ’81 is the global chairman of Ogilvy Public Relations and formerly held senior positions with CNBC Asia and CNBC Europe. This summer the Rockefeller Foundation and ideas42 selected him for a prestigious Bellagio Residency, where he has continued his work to turn findings from cognitive neuroscience and behavioral economics into practical applications in communications. In this election season, Graves has co-authored several online posts for Harvard Business Review, analyzing communications from the Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump campaigns. Below are highlights with links to the full posts: The Art and Science Behind the Negative TV Ads of Trump and…
Frederic Wills '19LaNell Williams ’15, currently enrolled in the Fisk-Vanderbilt Master’s to PhD Bridge Program, was named a National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellow for 2016. This fellowship program not only recognizes but also supports outstanding students in NSF-supported STEM disciplines who are pursuing research-based master's and doctoral degrees at accredited U.S. institutions. With more than 17,000 applicants, Williams was one of 2,000 selected for the three-year stipend, with its professional development and international research opportunities. At the Fisk-Vanderbilt program, which aims to increase the number of underrepresented minority students engaged in PhD-level STEM research, Williams is focusing her research on the…
Randi Alexandra PlakeThe National Endowment for the Humanities awarded the Prison University Project the National Humanities Medal for transforming the lives of incarcerated people through higher education. The Prison University Project is run by founder and executive director, Jody Lewen ’86. Lewen accepted the medal at a ceremony Sept. 22 at the White House, along with former students, Pat Mims and David Cowan. The medal honors individuals or groups whose work has deepened the nation's understanding of the humanities and broadened our citizens' engagement with history, literature, languages, philosophy and other humanities subjects. At Wesleyan, Lewen earned a BA in history. She…
Wesleyan alumnus Lin-Manuel Miranda '02, Hon. '15, hosted the Oct. 8 Saturday Night Live and opened with a remixed version of Hamilton's "My Shot."
Six Wesleyan alumni were nominated or received an Emmy Award on Sept. 18. Emmy Awards recognize excellence within various areas of television and emerging media. Game of Thrones executive producer D.B. Weiss '93 took home awards for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series and Outstanding Drama Series, carrying on last year's winning streak in these categories. With 38 wins since 2011, Game of Thrones has become the most decorated show in Emmy's history. Thomas Kail ’99 received an Emmy for Outstanding Directing of a Variety Special for Grease: Live! Also collecting an award for Grease: Live! was producer Adam Siegel ’00.…
The National Archives Foundation presented its 2016 Records of Achievement Awards to Wesleyan alumni, Tony and Emmy Award-winning film and theater director, Thomas Kail '99, and Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, lyricist, and performer, Lin-Manuel Miranda '02, at its annual Gala on Sept. 25. According to the National Archives Foundation, “The Records of Achievement Award is an annual award given to individuals whose work has cultivated a broader national awareness of the history and identity of the United States through the use of original records.” Kail and Miranda were honored for their collective work on the Tony, Grammy, and Pulitzer…
Richard Locke ’81, Brown University provost and professor of political science and international and public affairs, was recently awarded one of only five inaugural Progress Medals from the Society for Progress. The Society, a group of scholars and leaders both independent and academically diverse, selected an international cohort to receive the four medals in scholarship and one in leadership with the "hope and hypothesis...that these medals will help attract and accelerate intellectual and practical attention to the moral dilemmas emergent in our modern economy." Locke, a scholar and authority on international labor relations and worker rights, and comparative political economy, was recognized…
Two Wesleyan alumni are recipients of the 2016 MacArthur Foundation Fellowships, commonly known as the “genius grants."
Vincent Fecteau '91 and Maggie Nelson '94 received a no-strings-attached $625,000 grant for their exceptional creativity and potential for future contributions to their fields.
They're among 23 fellows in the country to receive the honor.
“While our communities, our nation, and our world face both historic and emerging challenges, these 23 extraordinary individuals give us ample reason for hope” said MacArthur Foundation President Julia Stasch. “They are breaking new ground in areas of public concern, in the arts, and in the sciences, often in unexpected ways. Their creativity, dedication, and impact inspire us all.”
Cynthia RockwellJan Hasselman ’91, a staff attorney with Earthjustice’s Northwest office in Seattle, serves as counsel for the Standing Rock Sioux tribe in their efforts to stop the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline. An article in The Atlantic "The Legal Case for Blocking the Dakota Access Pipeline," asks "Did the U.S. government help destroy a major Sioux archeological site? The article is one of several in the media that highlight the work of the legal team and the questions they raise. At this time, the issue ongoing. Atlantic Associate Editor Robinson Meyer writes in his Sept. 9 article: "As part…
Dream On, the newest documentary by Roger Weisberg ’75, will air on PBS at 10 p.m. Friday, Oct. 7. (check local listing). The film is the 32nd documentary written, produced and directed by Weisberg, who heads Public Policy Productions. Dream On has already appeared in 19 international film festivals, garnering four top awards. Weisberg's earlier works have won more than 150 awards, including Emmy and Peabody awards, as well as two Academy Award nominations. Dream On asks the question: “Is the American Dream still alive and well?” Are we still optimistic that hard work will raise our standard of living—for…