Campus News & Events

On April 2, in a relentless rain, 20 Artists for World Peace volunteers—including Wesleyan Football Coach Dan DiCenzo and staunch members of the football team—loaded a 20-foot shipping container with $648,000 worth of medical equipment, eyeglasses, and other items. “It was great to see our guys help such a fine organization,” said DiCenzo. Jewelry artist Wendy Black-Nasta P’07, founder and executive director of Artists for World Peace (AFWP), had contacted the coach when she realized her group needed help. She had arranged for the shipping container, which arrived in the parking lot of Ace Hardware in Middletown, at 10 a.m. She…

Four Wesleyan students recently participated in the Five College Korean Speech Contest, and three went home with prizes. The contest was held April 1 at the University of Massachusetts–Amherst and included students from Amherst, Mount Holyoke, Smith and Hampshire colleges, and the University of Massachusetts–Amherst. The contest is sponsored by the Five College East Asian Language Program. Students in the Five College Consortium, and others in the New England area who are currently enrolled in Korean language classes, are eligible to participate, except for native Korean speakers or heritage learners. Participating students must write their own short speeches in Korean. Visiting…

Katja Kolcio, associate professor of dance, associate professor of environmental studies, and a group of students attended the Ukraine in Washington forum at the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., on March 30, where Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko delivered the keynote address. Poroshenko was in Washington for President Barack Obama's Nuclear Summit. The trip was funded by the Dean of Social Sciences and the Dean of Arts and Humanities. According to Kolcio, the highlight of the trip occurred when Poroshenko responded to a question posed by Misha Iakovenko '18 about the president's efforts to deal with corruption, and a recent article that appeared in the Kyiv Post by gas company…

Six Wesleyan students were inducted into the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) honor society this year. Helena Awad '16, Noah Hamlish '16, Selin Kutlu '16, Melanie Parziale '16, Julianne Riggs '17, and Zarek Siegel '16 were honored with this prestigious award for exceptional work in biochemistry and molecular biology. The ASBMB Honor Society recognizes exceptional undergraduate juniors and seniors who are pursuing a degree in the molecular life sciences for their scholarly achievement, research accomplishments, and outreach activities. The mission of the society is to advance the science of biochemistry and molecular biology through organization of scientific meetings, advocacy for…

The Gordon Career Center (GCC) recently began a new collaboration with HBX—Harvard Business School's CORe (Credential of Readiness Program), an online business fundamentals primer developed and taught by Harvard Business School faculty. Wesleyan students looking to gain basic business fundamentals can complete the program over the summer—in some cases, on the side with a summer job or internship. According to Rachel Munafo, the GCC's assistant director of public relations and communications, several alumni who have completed the program raved about its usefulness. The curriculum is appropriate for students across all majors, and is open to underclassmen, graduating seniors and recent graduates. (more…)

WESU, Wesleyan’s radio station, is hosting its annual Spring Record Fair in Beckham Hall on April 10. From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., vendors from across the greater Connecticut area will be selling rare records and CDs. Those in attendance will have the opportunity to not only browse through hundreds of records, CDs, posters, and T-shirts, but also enjoy WESU DJs spinning vinyl live. WESU is one of the oldest noncommercial radio stations in the United States. It offers a diverse mix of news and public affairs from NPR, Pacifica, and independent and local media sources on weekdays; weeknights and weekends…

Author, professor and LGBT activist Jennifer Finney Boylan '80 will speak at Wesleyan from 4:15–6 p.m. on April 21. The event will be held in Beckham Hall. The talk will open with a short reading from Boylan’s bestselling memoir, She’s Not There: A Life in Two Genders, as well as the anthology It Gets Better, and then open up into a discussion of gender and society. The talk touches upon Transgender 101 (a brief overview of the wide range of gender expression), and then moves outward to address the embracing of diversity in its many forms. The event concludes with an audience Q&A. (more…)

Professor of Music Sumarsam was named as a fellow in the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) 2015-2016 fellowship competition. He was chosen as one of 69 fellows from a pool of nearly 1,100 applicants through a rigorous, multi-stage peer review process. As a fellow, Sumarsam will receive the opportunity to spend six to 12 months researching and writing full time on the project of his choosing, the support of the ACLS’s endowment. The ACLS is dedicated to supporting scholars in the humanities and related social sciences at the doctoral and postdoctoral levels. Matthew Goldfeder, director of fellowship programs at…

The Atlantic education writer Alia Wong turned to President Michael S. Roth for his perspective in a three-part series on "Where the College Admissions Process Went Wrong." One critical problem is that the intense focus on the college application process means that rather than preparing themselves for college or for life, students are preparing simply for the "moment of admission." “What we want is to have students who want to come and work hard because they can leverage their experience at the university and do something after they leave,” said Roth. “One of my predecessors used to say to students, ‘If these turn…

Three Wesleyan students, faculty and several alumni recently attended the 47th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in The Woodlands, Texas. This conference brings together international specialists in petrology, geochemistry, geophysics, geology and astronomy to present the latest results of research in planetary science. The five-day conference was organized by topical symposia and problem-oriented sessions. Earth and environmental sciences graduate students Ben McKeeby and Shaun Mahmood, and earth and environmental science major Melissa Lowe ’17 presented their ongoing planetary science research at the conference. Lowe received a NASA CT Space Grant travel award to attend the conference. McKeeby shared his research titled, "An investigation…

This fall, Wesleyan will welcome to campus its third cohort of Posse Veteran Scholars in the Class of 2020—a group of three women and seven men who have served in all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces. They come from all over the United States and have served in places such as Afghanistan, Uganda and Iraq. Their interests range from visual art and filmmaking to teaching and mathematics. One student, Marisella Andrews, is the great-granddaughter of a Wesleyan alumnus, Matias Perez, from the Class of 1917. The group's faculty mentor will be Jill Morawski, the Wilbur Fisk Osborne Professor of Psychology, professor and…

Assistant Professor of Economics Karl Boulware recently presented research at the 24th Symposium of the Society of Nonlinear Dynamics and Econometrics, held March 10-11 at the University of Alabama. Boulware presented a paper titled, "Monetary Policy Surprises and the Shadow Bank Lending Channel: Evidence from the Fed Funds Futures Market" during a session on Monetary and Government Policy. The project is a refinement of research started by Kota Uno '16 during a QAC Summer Apprenticeship with Boulware.

Wesleyan Football Team Helps Artists for World Peace Pack for Health Mission in Tanzania

Wesleyan Students Win at Korean Speech Contest

Kolcio, Students Attend Ukraine in Washington Forum

Students Inducted into American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Honor Society

Gordon Career Center Begins New Collaboration with Harvard Business School

WESU Hosts Spring Record Fair April 10

Author, LGBT Activist Boylan ’80 to Speak at Wesleyan April 21

Sumarsam Named Fellow in the American Council of Learned Societies

President Roth Comments in The Atlantic on College Admissions Process

Students, Faculty, Alumni Present Research at Planetary Science Conference

Wesleyan Welcomes Posse Veteran Scholars to the Class of 2020

Boulware Presents Research at Symposium of the Society of Nonlinear Dynamics and Econometrics