Campus News & Events

More than 100 alumni and other members of the Wesleyan community attended the Social Impact Summit, Nov. 13-14, on campus. The summit was sponsored by the Shasha Seminar for Human Concerns. Endowed by James Shasha ’50, P’82, the seminar supports lifelong learning and encourages participants to expand their knowledge and perspectives on significant issues. The event included keynote speakers with TED-style talks on the theme "The Change I Want to See," panel discussions, and workshops, as well as networking opportunities. “Social impact and entrepreneurship are deeply embedded in Wesleyan culture, and our students and alumni are known for creating significant…

Graduate Liberal Studies will present a special concert and open session of the course Monk and Mingus: The Cutting Edge of Jazz with Jazz Ensemble Coach Noah Baerman, Nov. 30 in Russell House. Baerman will perform on piano, accompanied by bassist Henry Lugo, and Visiting Assistant Professor of Music and Private Lessons Teacher Pheeroan akLaff on percussion. The first hour of the class (6:30-7:30 p.m.) will be a discussion, demonstration and Q&A session, followed by a performance of music composed by and associated with Thelonious Monk and Charles Mingus. Attendees interested in learning more about Graduate Liberal Studies are encouraged…

On Nov. 9, more than 200 people gathered to celebrate the launch of The World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Research and Capacity Building in Mental Health at Columbia University, Department of Psychiatry. The event, Global Mental Health Priorities and Opportunities, provided a platform for discourse around the challenges humans are tackling in mental health. Ruth Weissman, the Walter A. Crowell University Professor of the Social Sciences, professor of psychology, joined a panel discussion on "Global Mental Health Priorities and Opportunities," which was moderated by Pulitzer Prize winning author Sheryl WuDunn. Weissman and other leaders in the field discussed stigma…

In the 1920s, a team of scientists working in the Zhoukoudian cave system in Beijing, China unearthed Peking Man, a roughly 700,000 year-old sample of Homo erectus. After the communist revolution of 1949, Peking Man became a prominent figure in bringing science and the story of human evolution to the masses. As part of the required reading for the HIST 368 class, History of Science and Technology in Modern China, Ying Jia Tan, assistant professor of history, is having his students read The People's Peking Man, written by Wesleyan alumna Sigrid Schmalzer '94. The People’s Peking Man offers a skilled…

From Nov. 4-7, Gabriel Lipton Galbraith '16 participated in the 67th annual Student Conference on United States Affairs (SCUSA) at the United States Military Academy at West Point. The conference, titled "Confronting Inequality: Wealth, Rights and Power" brought together students, scholars and members of the military to talk about pressing challenges currently facing U.S. policy makers. Student delegates were split into roundtables to discuss specific topics touching on this broader theme. Lipton Galbraith's roundtable focused on international trade and inequality. Over the four day conference they authored a position paper focusing on the possible consequences of the recently signed Transpacific Partnership (TPP) on inequality.…

Suzanne O'Connell, professor of earth and environmental sciences, received the Exchange Award from the Association for Women Geoscientists at its annual awards breakfast on Nov. 2. The Exchange Award recognizes the contribution of those who exchange technical, education, and professional information in the field. The award ceremony took place at the Baltimore Convention Center in Maryland in conjunction with the Geological Society of America's annual meeting. O'Connell is also faculty director of the McNair Program. According to Blair Schneider, president of the Association for Women Geoscientists, O'Connell won the organization's Outstanding Educator Award in 2000. Since then, she has been an active…

During Homecoming/Family Weekend Nov. 6-8, more than 2,000 family members, alumni and friends visited Wesleyan for a flurry of festivities. Football fans packed Corwin Stadium on Nov. 7 to cheer on the Cardinals as they defeated rival Williams College 27-7 in the annual Homecoming game. While on campus, alumni and families participated in an array of WESeminars, the annual Homecoming/Family Weekend Dinner, campus and department tours, the 12th annual Schumann Symposium “Where on Earth Are We Going?,” a Friends of the Wesleyan Library book sale, a leadership donor reception, art exhibits, a student a cappella concert, a West African Drumming and Dance workshop and much more. The campus community also celebrated and honored…

(Updated: Wesleyan won 27-7) If you're unable to attend the 2015 Homecoming game Nov. 7, cheer on the Cardinals to victory from the comfort of your own home! The Wesleyan vs. Williams College Homecoming football game will be webcast live at 1 p.m. EST by Northeast Sports Network accessible through WesCast. To view a live streaming video of the game, see http://www.wesleyan.edu/wescast/. The Cardinals current record is 4-2, 4-2 NESCAC. View the team's roster online here. Also, at 11 a.m. Oct. 7, men's soccer (7-7-1, 3-6-1 NESCAC) will move on to the second-round of the NESCAC Tournament when they take on No. 2 seed Middlebury.…

#THISISWHY This year, four Wesleyan faculty are coordinating a year-long interdisciplinary project that enables students from an array of majors and academic disciplines to collaborate, create and work together as a learning community under the theme "Renaissance Projects: Reclaiming Memory, Movement and Migration." The Collaborative Clusters Initiative of the Allbritton Center enables faculty from a variety of departments and programs to develop a shared research project with a unifying theme. Cluster courses in 2015-16 provide perspectives from dance, music, English, and African American studies on the ways performance practices have engaged the past and present in the face of great…

The American Studies Department is hosting a panel discussion on "American Studies Takes On the World: American Studies Alumni in the Media" from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Nov. 5 in Downey 113. American Studies Department majors Claire Weinraub ’93, Laura Clawson ’98 and Grace Ross ’12 will discuss ways they are putting American studies into action, thinking about what they are involved in, and what they can do about it. A Q&A and reception will follow the discussion. ABC’s Emmy-winning producer and documentary creator Claire Weinraub ’93 has worked closely with Diane Sawyer on the "Hidden America" series. In February 2015 Weinraub produced a special about…

Professor of Anthropology Gina Athena Ulysse received the Haitian Studies Association's Excellence in Scholarship award during the organizations' 27th annual conference Oct. 24. The conference centered around the theme "Haiti in the Global Environment: Presence, Representations, Performances" and took place at the Université de Montréal in Québec, Canada. Previous anthropologists awarded this honor include Paul Farmer (2001) and Michel-Rolph Trouillot (2003). While in Québec, Ulysse presented a talk on "Successfully Individuating Within Academia: Thoughts on Rebel Mentoring and Your Voice” at the Emerging Scholars pre-conference. Ulysse also will be recognized by her peers at the American Anthropological Association meeting next month for…

On Nov. 13-14 Wesleyan will host the inaugural Social Impact Summit, a gathering of alumni and parents who are passionately working for social change on a local, national and global scale. The summit is underwritten by James Shasha ’50, P’82, and organized by the Patricelli Center for Social Entrepreneurship, the Allbritton Center for the Study of Public Life, and the Office of Alumni and Parent Relations. Many alumni joke about the “Wesleyan Film Mafia” but less well-known is the “Wesleyan Social Impact Mafia,” a large web of alumni engaged in social impact work. (more…)

Changemakers Convene at Wesleyan Social Impact Summit

GLS Presents Jazz Concert, Open Course Session, Nov. 30

Weissman Discusses Mental Health Care as Panelist

Anthropology, Archaeology Collections Offer Hands-On Learning

Lipton Galbraith ’16 Attends Confronting Inequality Conference at U.S. Military Academy

O’Connell Honored by Association for Women Geoscientists

Football Victory, Family Activities during Homecoming/Family Weekend

Homecoming Football Game Webcast Live at 1 p.m. Nov. 7

Collaborative Cluster Provides Perspectives in Dance, Music, English, African American Studies

American Studies Alumni Speak about Careers in the Media Nov. 5

Ulysse Honored with Excellence in Scholarship Award

Patricelli Center to Host Social Impact Summit, Nov. 13-14