Campus News & Events

Continuing its long-standing tradition of expanding access to higher education, Wesleyan recently announced a new partnership with Say Yes to Education. Say Yes works with students from low-income and other background historically underrepresented in the nation’s colleges and universities from partner locations including Buffalo and Syracuse, N.Y., Harlem, Hartford, Conn. and, most recently, Guilford County, N.C. Students have access to full-tuition scholarships as well as a wide array of supports and services—academic, social, emotional, medical and legal—to help them successfully navigate the path to college readiness. (more…)

For her outstanding contributions to Milky Way research by observational methods, Meredith Hughes, assistant professor of astronomy, received the 2015 Bok Prize in Astronomy from Harvard University. The prize, named in honor of Astronomer Bart Bok (1906–1983), is awarded to a recent holder of a PhD degree in the physical sciences from Harvard or Radcliffe who is under 35 years of age. Hughes received her PhD from Harvard in 2010, and a MA in astronomy from Harvard in 2007. Hughes is an expert on planet formation, circumstellar disk structure and dynamics, gas and dust disk evolution and radio astronomy. She studies planet formation by observing…

This fall, the German Studies Department and German Embassy in Washington, D.C. are sponsoring a three-part commemoration of "25 Years of German Unity" at Wesleyan. The series, which features discussions with a German filmmaker, a scholar from Connecticut College, and four Wesleyan faculty is made possible by a $3,000 grant from the German Embassy. The first talk, “Gorbachev, Bush, and the Unification of Germany” on Sept. 22 featured Peter Rutland, the Colin and Nancy Campbell Professor in Global Issues and Democratic Thought, professor of government, and Douglas Foyle, associate professor of government, who spoke on the important role that Russia, Mikhail Gorbachev,…

On Sept. 11, the Center for the Arts celebrated the student music scene at The MASH. Inspired by Fete de la Musique, also known as World Music Day, this fourth annual festival highlights Wesleyan's student musicians. The event took place inside Usdan University Center, Patricelli '92 Theater and Crowell Concert Hall. More than 15 bands performed including Locus, described as “one man with psychedelic textures and experimental beats;” Mom, a funky band full of post-pubescent mystery rock; Quasimodal, Wesleyan's oldest co-ed A cappella group; Veeblefetzer, Wesleyan's finest Klezmer ensemble; Lo-Qi, a rap duo “here to denounce corporate oppression;” Sleep Kid,…

Bethany Berger '90, professor at the University of Connecticut Law School, will lead Wesleyan's annual Constitution Day Lecture on Sept. 17. The topic is "Birthright Citizenship on Trial — Immigration and Indigeneity." Egged on by Donald Trump, the majority of Republican candidates have supported ending birthright citizenship. This talk looks at this 14th amendment right, its constitutional origins, and the different things it meant for American Indians and immigrants. Berger is the Thomas F. Gallivan, Jr. Professor at the University of Connecticut School of Law. She graduated from Wesleyan in 1990 with a major in government, and from Yale Law…

President Michael Roth spoke to families in Memorial Chapel on Arrival Day, Sept. 2. He urged students to explore parts of the curriculum beyond their comfort zone and to discover what they love to do, get better at it, and share it with others. "It’s an extraordinarily exciting time to be starting at Wesleyan,” he said. “There are tremendous resources across this place; there are people with extraordinary ideas.… Students should find the people from whom they can learn most deeply." Watch his remarks, which appeared on The Huffington Post homepage, below:

For the third year in a row, Wesleyan will welcome members of the community and Wesleyan faculty, staff, students, alumni and families to Middletown Day—a day of family fun and athletic events on campus. The theme of this year’s event, taking place Sept. 26, is “Salute to Service, Honoring Our Veterans.” "We are excited to once again welcome Middletown families to campus, and honored to partner in saluting veterans from campus and the community," said Cathy Lechowicz, director of the Center for Community Partnerships. "It will be a celebratory day that highlights the assets of our campus and the community." The…

The campus planning project begun last January has resulted in a report. The planning team from Sasaki Associates, Inc. and Eastley & Partners, who worked with Wesleyan’s Facilities Committee and others during the spring semester, has recommended a set of five principles to guide campus development over the coming years. These principles have been developed through an online survey and discussions with faculty, staff and students about how they use the physical spaces on campus. Many of the conclusions were presented to the Board of Trustees and later to senior administrative staff in late May. The principles are designed to align the physical…

Three experts and a Wesleyan student will lead a panel discussion on “After Charleston: Next Steps for the Movement for Social Justice” at 8 p.m. Sept. 17 in Memorial Chapel. The event is sponsored by the Allbritton Center for Public Life. The talk will feature Clemmie Harris, visiting assistant professor of African American studies; Tedra James ’18; activist and filmmaker Bree Newsome and Connecticut Bishop John Selders. "The idea is to spur conversation with the audience about the killings in Charleston, reactions to killings, debate over the Confederate flag, and protests in Ferguson,” said Rob Rosenthal, director of the Allbritton Center for…

This month, Wesleyan will launch a new specialization on Coursera in the rapidly growing field of data science. The four-MOOC (massive open online course) sequence, together with a final capstone project, will offer learners a verified certificate of completion that they may share with prospective or current employers. Wesleyan’s specialization, Data Analysis and Interpretation, is one of more than 30 new business, computer science, and data science specializations starting on Coursera on Sept. 15. (Learn more on Coursera's blog.) Wesleyan is continually expanding its offerings on Coursera, and in January 2016, plans to introduce a new Creative Writing specialization. (more…)

Students in the Class of 2019 were selected from some of the toughest competition the Office of Admission has ever seen. “Our new students are superbly prepared—by traditional academic measures as good as it gets. And, particularly well prepared to work across the entire curriculum of arts and sciences,” said Nancy Hargrave Meislahn, dean of admission and financial aid. “The range of talents, cultures, family backgrounds in this group is remarkable. In many ways, this may be the most diverse class ever enrolled at Wes—and that’s saying something!” The Class of 2019’s top projected majors are economics, biology, psychology, film studies and English while 13 percent are undecided.

Registration is now open for Fall courses through the Wesleyan Institute for Lifelong Learning (WILL) in topics including art, literature, poetry and meditation. A special one-day program will take place at the Florence Griswold Museum, the internationally-known home of the Connecticut impressionists, on Nov. 14. It will coincide with the museum's exhibition, The Artist in the Connecticut Landscape, drawing from its Hartford Steam Boiler Collection and that of ten partner institutions from around the state. This marks the 10th semester of courses offered by WILL, an initiative that began in 2009. The program features short, intellectually stimulating and lively courses taught by current and retired members of…

Wesleyan Partners with Say Yes to Expand Educational Access

Hughes Recipient of 2015 Bok Prize for Astronomy

“25 Years of German Unity” Discussed at Talks, Film Screening

Student Music Scene Celebrated at the 4th Annual MASH

Immigration and Indigeneity Topic of Constitution Day Lecture Sept. 17

President Roth Speaks to Families, Students on Arrival Day

Wesleyan to Host Middletown Day, Honoring Veterans, Sept. 26

Campus Planning Exercise Yields 5 Principles for Future Development

“After Charleston: Next Steps for the Movement for Social Justice” Topic of Sept. 17 Panel

Wesleyan Announces New Data Science Specialization on Coursera

Diversity and Talents of the Class of 2019

WILL Announces New Fall Courses on the Mystery Novel, Picasso, Japanese Poetry and More