Campus News & Events

Wesleyan University President Michael Roth ’78 has announced a $20 million gift from outgoing Board of Trustees Chair Dr. Joshua ’73, P’06, P’09 and Dr. Amy Boger P’06, P’09 to the university’s THIS IS WHY fundraising campaign. In recognition of the Boger family’s generosity and leadership, the building located at 41 Wyllys Avenue on the university’s College Row will be named Boger Hall. The Bogers are the largest donors to the campaign. Their gifts include $11 million to establish the Joshua ’73 and Amy Boger Endowed Wesleyan Scholarship Program, which has already benefited more than a dozen Wesleyan students and will provide access to Wesleyan to many more in the coming years; $3 million to endow the Joshua Boger University Professor of the Sciences and Mathematics, currently held by Professor of Chemistry David L. Beveridge; and $2 million for the Joshua Boger ’73, P’06, P’09 Endowed Fund for Student Research, which provided lead funding for 50 faculty-mentored student research fellowships in 2015.

The Davison Art Center has been awarded two photographs by the Iranian artist Shirin Neshat, as part of a gift from the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation to 33 leading colleges and universities around the world. The prints, titled "Ghada" and "Sayed," are part of Neshat's Our House is on Fire series, an exploration of Egypt after the Arab Spring, which was supported by the Foundation. "Shirin Neshat is one of the most important photographers of our time, and these deeply moving portraits evoke our common humanity. Looking closely at the photographs, you can see a veil of calligraphy—the text in Persian…

On Feb. 18, Stanley Fish will deliver the 25th annual Hugo L. Black Lecture on Freedom of Expression. The title of his talk is, "Micro-aggressions, Trigger Warnings, Cultural 'Appropriations' and History: What's Happening on Campus?" The talk begins at 8 p.m. in Memorial Chapel. Fish is the Davidson-Kahn Distinguished University Professor and professor of law at Florida International University; Floersheimer Professor of Law at Cardozo Law School; Emeritus Professor of English and Law at Duke University; and Dean Emeritus of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and Distinguished Professor of English, Criminal Justice and Political Science at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He…

At its annual meeting on Jan. 21, the Association of American Colleges & Universities (AAC&U) presented President Michael Roth with the Frederic W. Ness Book Award for his book, Beyond the University: Why Liberal Education Matters, published in 2014 by Yale University Press. The Ness Award is given annually to a book that best illuminates the goals and practices of a contemporary liberal education. In Beyond the University, Michael S. Roth recounts the historic debates over the benefits—or drawbacks—of a liberal education. In this provocative contribution to the disputes, Roth focuses on important moments and seminal thinkers in America’s long-running argument over vocational vs. liberal…

Dan Licata, assistant professor of computer science, is one of 56 scientists in the country to receive a grant from the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) through its Young Investigator Research Program. The AFOSR is awarding approximately $20.6 million in grants. The Young Investigator Research Program is open to scientists and engineers at research institutions across the United States who received PhD or equivalent degrees in the last five years and who show exceptional ability and promise for conducting basic research. Licata, who received a PhD in computer science from Carnegie Mellon University in 2011, will use…

Dan Cherubin has been selected as the Caleb T. Winchester University Librarian at Wesleyan, starting on July 1, 2016. Cherubin has more than 20 years of experience in library and information services, most recently as the Chief Librarian and Associate Dean at Hunter College in New York. At Hunter, Cherubin was responsible for overseeing four libraries and had major roles in facility and space planning, implementation of technology, and the development of a strategic plan for the policies and practices of the library. At Wesleyan he will work with the library staff to develop a strategic plan to integrate the…

All members of the Wesleyan community are invited to attend the annual commemoration of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy. Dorceta E. Taylor, a leading voice in the environmental justice movement, will deliver the keynote address, titled "Different Shades of Green or Beyond the Farm" at 4:15 p.m. on Jan. 29 in Memorial Chapel. A desert reception will follow. Taylor is professor, James E. Crowfood Collegiate Chair, and director of diversity, equity and inclusion at the University of Michigan. She is past chair of the environment and technology section of the American Sociological Association. In addition to the Wesleyan community,…

Kevin Flaherty, a postdoctoral researcher working with Meredith Hughes, assistant professor of astronomy, will speak on "Dusty Debris as a Window into New Planetary Systems" during the American Association for the Advancement of Science's (AAAS) 2016 Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., Feb. 13. Flaherty is one of three symposium speakers who will discuss the theme "Planet Formation Seen with Radio Eyes." Scientists are now probing how, where, and when planets form and are analyzing the links between planetary system architecture and the properties of the parent circumstellar disk. Though the relationship of planetary to stellar masses remains obscure, it is clear that most…

Tom Morgan, the Foss Professor of Physics, recently attended an Atomic Molecular Optical International Workshop held in Cuernavaca, Mexico. Morgan presented two invited talks, one on highly excited unusual electronic configurations of molecular hydrogen produced by laser excitation and another on laser interactions at the interface between water and air. These topics elicit novel dynamics and provide a different perspective on H2 and H2O behavior. He also took the opportunity to reconnect with a Mexican colleague, Professor Carmen Cisneros, Institute of Physics, University of Mexico, organizer of the workshop, with whom Morgan has collaborated in the past.

"As far as relationships go, parasitism may seem particularly selfish: one partner benefits at the expense of another. Many parasites even alter the behavior of their hosts to get what they need. Parasitoids are similar, but they usually spend a significant portion of their lives living inside or on their hosts' bodies and controlling them from the inside-out, before ultimately killing and often consuming them." So begins an article in Science Daily featuring research by Melissa Bernardo, a PhD student in biology working with Michael Singer, associate professor of biology, associate professor of environmental studies. Bernardo has been studying how parasites and…

A new task force announced by President Michael Roth will explore the establishment of a multicultural/gender/first-generation resource center as part of Wesleyan's broader effort to improve equity and inclusion on campus. The task force will be tri-chaired by Gina Ulysse, professor of anthropology, professor of feminist gender and sexuality studies; Antonio Farias, vice president for equity and inclusion and Title IX officer; and Shardonay Pagett ’18. Their initial recommendations are expected to be published in February with final recommendations by May 1. "It need hardly be said that making our campus more equitable and inclusive is a communal goal and…

Recognize the Wesleyan faculty who had an enduring impact on your academic and personal development by nominating them for the 2016 Binswanger Prize for Excellence in Teaching. Nominations are now open! The Binswanger Prize for Excellence in Teaching was inaugurated in 1993 as an institutional recognition of outstanding faculty members. One to three Binswanger Prizes are presented each year and are made possible by the generosity of the family of Frank G. Binswanger Sr., Hon. ’85. Recent alumni up to 10 years out, seniors, juniors, and graduate students (including Graduate Liberal Studies) can nominate up to three professors for the award. Current faculty…

Wesleyan Recognizes Boger Family’s $20M Gift with Naming of Boger Hall

Davison Art Center Awarded 2 Photos by Iranian Artist Neshat

Stanley Fish to Deliver Hugo Black Lecture Feb. 18

Roth’s Beyond the University Wins AAC&U’s Ness Book Award

Air Force Supports Licata’s Software Verification Project

Cherubin Named New University Librarian

MLK Commemoration on Environmental Justice to be Held Jan. 29

Flaherty to Speak on New Planetary Systems during AAAS Annual Meeting

Morgan Speaks at Atomic Molecular Optical Workshop in Mexico

Biology PhD Student Bernardo Finds Parasitoids Alter Diets of Hosts

Equity Task Force Established

Nominate Faculty for the 2016 Binswanger Prize for Excellence in Teaching