Theater Director Kail ’99 Leads Alumni Career Conversation

Below are comments made by Kail during the conversation: On working with others: "I work with my best friends. What's better than that? So I get to go and spend time—10 to 12 hours a day—with the people I respect the most, admire the most. . . . I like to keep a core of people that I have a relationship with in a shorthand and then add 10 new people to the fold to keep on growing. I love meeting new designers, working with new writers, and I've done primarily new stuff. I like being in rehearsal. I like…

Two Wesleyan alumnae were elected chairs of prestigious law firms in 2021. Megan Norris ’83, P’17 was named the first woman CEO of Miller Canfield. And Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher elected Barbara Becker '85 as chair and managing partner. Norris, an accomplished litigator, is a nationally recognized expert and frequent public speaker on the topics of the Family and Medical Leave Act and the Americans With Disabilities Act. Within the Miller Candield, she has served as the leader of the Employment and Labor Group, overseeing the firm’s large and active team of dedicated employment and labor attorneys and staff. She…

A new film by Aaron Matthews '93 and Jennifer Mittelstadt ’92 will be released March 2 on Apple TV, Amazon, Google Play, and other digital streaming platforms. The film, titled The War and Peace of Tim O’Brien, follows the renowned author of The Things They Carried and Vietnam veteran Tim O’Brien, as he struggles to write one last book. The documentary dives deep into the meaning and impact of war, as well as the effect of America’s forever wars on civilians and soldiers. It also gives an in-depth look into the creative process from the perspective of one of America’s…

Erica L. Ball ’93 is a historian and the Mary Jane Hewitt Department Chair in Black Studies at Occidental College, who specializes in 19th and 20th-century African American history. Her second book, Madam C.J. Walker: The Making of an American Icon (Rowman & Littlefield, 2021), tells the life story of one of the most influential women in American history. Throughout the biography, Ball unravels Walker’s importance as a hair- and skin-care trailblazer, a philanthropist, and an activist. Annie Roach '22, editorial student assistant, recently interviewed Ball about Walker and the process of writing the book. Annie Roach '22: What first…

After graduating from Wesleyan last May, Zoe Garvey '20 had plans to conduct research at a local hospital, but the COVID-19 pandemic hindered that plan. As an aspiring physician who is taking a gap year before enrolling in medical school, Garvey began browsing the Wesleyan Alumni Directory, looking for any potential, comparable leads. "I wanted to see if any Wesleyan alumni who were physicians would be able to offer me opportunities to work with them during my year off," she said. And that's when she connected with Dr. Robert Abel Jr. from Wesleyan's Class of 1965. Abel, Garvey learned, was…

The United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey (UWGPSNJ) is honoring Wesleyan alumnus Gordon Cooney ’81 by establishing the J. Gordon Cooney, Jr. Fellowship in Criminal Justice. Cooney, a government major at Wesleyan, works as a senior partner for Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, where he oversees the firm’s litigation operations across the globe and has a long history of fighting for social justice. He served as regional board chair for UWGPSNJ from 2017–2020, and the fellowship was made in recognition of his significant leadership to United Way. The J. Gordon Cooney, Jr. Fellowship in Criminal Justice is a…

A film featuring the works of eight Wesleyan alumni was presented at the Sundance Film Festival in January. Titled Bruiser, the film focuses on a boy named Darious who begins to investigate the limitations of his own manhood after his father gets into a fight at a bowling alley. Bruiser was presented in Sundance's Short Films category. The film was directed by Miles Warren '19; assistant directed by Eliza McKenna '20; written by Warren and Ben Medina '19; produced by Gustavo René '19, Albert Tholen '15, and Lauren Goetzman '19; and designed by Emma Cantor '19. Costumes were designed by…

A four-part documentary film series directed by Tony Zosherafatain '10 will stream on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, and Topic starting Feb. 25. Titled Trans in Trumpland, the series investigates the impact of anti-trans policies on the lives of four transgender Americans during the Trump administration era. The series was featured in Variety, NBC News, Deadline, and The Daily Beast. "We're at a crucial moment in our country, and Trans in Trumpland encapsulates the past four years, not just for trans people, but for a wide variety of groups," Zosherafatain said. "There is a lot of intersectionality in the series, including race, immigration, income inequality,…

A new play written by John Long MALS '96 is available for online viewing through the Phoenix Stage Company's YouTube Channel. Titled Learning Experience, the play explores individual experiences of living in quarantine during the pandemic in the first half of 2020. Eight people, ranging in age from 18 to 70s, tell their stories in the form of monologues to be posted online. The stories reveal what their lives were like before the pandemic and how they've changed during isolation. "Some characters work from home, some go into work, some don't work at all, but all are motivated to share…

“What is the good life?” “What should I value?” “What should I believe?" These are the questions that more than 760 alumni, parents, and friends of the University are exploring this winter as part of a three-part mini-course titled Living a Good Life. Taught by Wesleyan Professors Steven Horst, Stephen Angle, and Tushar Irani, the course gives attendees the chance to participate in activities during each one-hour virtual webinar. Attendance is encouraged for all three classes, but not required. The mini-series is based on Wesleyan's Living a Good Life undergraduate course, piloted during the Fall 2020 semester. The course is…

In this continuing series, Annie Roach ’22, an English and Italian studies major from Middletown, Del., reviews alumni books and offers a selection for those in search of knowledge, insight, and inspiration. The volumes, sent to us by alumni, are forwarded to Olin Library as donations to the University’s collection and made available to the Wesleyan community. Edwin Hill ’93, Watch Her (Kensington, 2020) As the third installment in Edwin Hill’s mystery series, Watch Her is a sophisticated and gripping psychological thriller with sharp attention to character- and world-building. Protagonist Hester Thursby, a Harvard librarian and renowned researcher, is pulled…

Works by three Wesleyan alumni are published in the Winter 2020–21 issue of Ploughshares. Founded in 1971 and published at Emerson College, Ploughshares is an award-winning journal featuring the freshest voices in contemporary American literature. The issue includes: "The Man at the Top of the Stairs, On Rendering the Inner Life" by Steve Almond '88; "Private Practice" by Fay Dillof '87; and "Reading for the Plot" by Christina Pugh '88. Almond, an English major, is also the Kim-Frank Visiting Writer at Wesleyan this spring. He's the author of 11 books of fiction and nonfiction, including the New York Times bestsellers…

Theater Director Kail ’99 Leads Alumni Career Conversation

Norris ’83, P’17, Becker ’85 Elected First Woman Chairs at Law Firms

Film on Author Tim O’Brien by Matthews ’93, Mittelstadt ’92 to be Released March 2

“You Just Have to Read This…” An Interview with Madam C.J. Walker Author Erica L. Ball ’93

Garvey ’20, Abel ’65 Collaborate on Mind-Eye Connection Research

United Way Creates Fellowship Honoring Cooney ’81

Films Created by 9 Alumni Screened at 2021 Sundance Film Festival

Trans in Trumpland by Zosherafatain ’10 to Stream Feb. 25 on Major Networks

Play by Long MALS ’96 Focuses on Coping with the Pandemic

Alumni, Parents Explore “Living a Good Life” in Mini-Course

“You Just Have to Read This…” Books by Wesleyan Authors Hill ’93, Schonfeld ’13, and Woodson ’76

3 Alumni Authors Published in Ploughshares