Campus News & Events

Jesse Lieman-Sifry '15 received a $5,000 Undergraduate Directed Campus Scholarship from the Connecticut Space Grant Consortium, funded by NASA. The award will be applied to his financial aid package and support his ongoing research in the Astronomy Department.

Eighteen Wesleyan students, research assistants, alumni and one professor attended the Society for Neuroscience's annual meeting, held Nov. 15-19 in Washington D.C. The student group included Wesleyan lab technicians/research assistants Felicia Harrsch and Adam Lombroso and biology graduate students Kemal Asik, Jyoti Gupta, Swechhya Shrestha, Chris Chen, Nickesha Anderson, Meghan van Zandt, Chelsea Lassiter, Samantha Maisel, Julian Gal and Chris Suriano. The alumni group included XiaoTing Zheng '14, Eniola Yeates '10, Efrain Ribiero '10, Michaela Tolman '13 and lab tech/research assistant Katharine Henderson. Most of these alumni are enrolled in Ph.D. or MD/Ph.D neuroscience programs at other universities. Jan Naegele, professor of biology, professor of neuroscience…

During the 2014 Society for Ethnomusicology's 59th Annual Meeting, held Nov. 13-16 in Pittsburgh, Pa., Wesleyan graduate students collaborated to present the first panel dedicated to Taiwanese identity and music. The panel, titled "How Taiwanese Should I Be? Contesting Taiwanese Identities in Local, Regional and Global Contexts," comprised of Ph.D. candidates Joy Lu and Po-wei Weng, and graduate student Ender Terwilliger. Su Zheng, associate professor of music, chaired the panel. Covering Taiwanese opera, Pili Budaixi, and fusion performances, the panel explored the process of identity formation when promoting Taiwanese identity in politically delicate situations domestically and overseas. In addition, Ph.D. candidates…

It turns out that teaching language arts, math and science to fourth graders is not the same as manufacturing cars on an assembly line. That is, the microeconomics principle of economies of scale—or the cost advantages that businesses get by increasing the scale of production—do not always apply to educational interventions. Put another way, an intervention that works great in one specific educational setting cannot necessarily be “scaled up” to work in many other settings. This is the finding of a major new study funded by the National Science Foundation, on which Associate Professor of Psychology Steven Stemler collaborated with…

On Nov. 9, a group of Wesleyan staff and students visited the Veterans' Home in Rocky Hill, Conn. They participated in an interfaith service and the singing of patriotic songs in honor of Veterans Day. They also distributed certificates of appreciation to the veterans. "The engaged and caring students showed the veterans, the oldest of which was 100 years old, such incredible compassion and respect," said Tracy Mehr-Muska, the university Protestant chaplain. "I was so proud of our students and was incredibly glad that they took advantage of this opportunity to thank the veterans for their service during this special…

The Office of Human Resources reported the following new hires, transitions and departures for October 2014: Newly hired Samantha O’Neill was hired as marketing and outreach coordinator in the Graduate Liberal Studies Program Office on Oct. 1. Scott Rohde was hired as director of public safety in the Office of Public Safety on Oct. 1. Anya Backlund was hired as exhibitions coordinator/institute for curatorial practice in performance coordinator in the Center for the Arts on Oct. 6. Jonathan Farrar was hired as senior investment associate in the Investment Office on Oct.14. Roney Thomas was hired as post doctoral research associate in the Physics Department…

Imagine a place where Wesleyan students with a panoply of interests – art, photography, architecture, graphic design, and theatrical design, to name but a few – can work together in a dedicated digital space. Where faculty and students can bridge the divide between traditional arts and humanities courses and the tremendous shifts taking place in the technological world. That place is no longer imaginary. A $150,000 grant from the George I. Alden Trust will support a Digital Design Studio in the repurposed carriage house section of the Davison Art Center. Beginning with about eight classes taught by three or four faculty…

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This fall, in the lead-up to Thanksgiving, Wesleyan employees are encouraged to participate in the university’s annual fundraising campaign to support the Middlesex United Way. The university’s goal this year is $130,000 in donations and 50 percent participation. Department representatives have already distributed informational packets and pledge forms to faculty and staff. Forms must be returned by Nov. 20. In an email to the campus community, President Michael Roth wrote, “When you give to Middlesex United Way, your dollars stay local. United Way’s local volunteers distribute your dollars to help neighbors in need—neighbors such as 60 Middletown families at risk…

As part of National Cyber Security Awareness Month in October, Information Technology Services launched a new security awareness campaign titled “Protecting You, Securing Wesleyan”. The campaign consists of security awareness training videos; tips and tricks provided on the ITS Facebook and Twitter pages; posters distributed around campus; and a new website about cyber security initiatives on campus. The information will help Wesleyan faculty, staff and students be safer online, at work, home or on the road. (more…)

Ruth Striegel Weissman, provost and vice president for Academic Affairs, and Dr. Thomas McLarney, medical director of the Health Services Department, have issued an Ebola Travel Advisory. It reads: The devastating outbreak of the Ebola virus in West Africa has caused pain and suffering on an almost unimaginable scale. It also has raised concerns about safe travel to and from that region. Even though this topic has receded from the headlines, Ebola remains a serious concern for travelers, and we would like you to be aware of the following update to Wesleyan policy. We are asking members of the Wesleyan community…

George Creeger, professor of English, emeritus, died Nov. 1 at the age of 89. Creeger joined the Wesleyan faculty in 1951 after receiving his BA at DePauw University, and his MA and Ph.D. at Yale. He taught American literature in the English Department for nearly 50 years. He was an expert on romantic poetry — particularly Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, John Keats, Percy Shelley and Lord Byron, and on the works of Herman Melville. Creeger also brought some of his other passions into the classroom through courses on Early Connecticut Houses and Opera as Myth and Literature. He served as dean of…

Scholarship Helps Lieman-Sifry ’15 Study Gas Planet Formation

Students, Alumni Attend Neuroscience Meeting, Reunion Dinner

Graduate Students Speak on Taiwanese Music at Ethnomusicology Meeting

Stemler’s New Study Finds Educational Interventions Cannot Be “Scaled Up”

Staff, Students, Posse Fellows Thank Local Veterans for their Service

Staff on the Move, October 2014

New Digital Design Studio to Bridge Divide between Arts, Technology

Youth, Business, Healthcare Discussed at Africa Innovation Summit

Wesleyan Encourages Faculty, Staff to Give During Middlesex United Way Campaign

ITS Launches Security Awareness Campaign

Wesleyan Issues Ebola Travel Advisory

Professor Emeritus Creeger Remembered for Teaching Romantic Poetry