Kate CarlisleMay 13, 20143min
The process of removing about 60,000 volumes from Olin Library (to make room for others, including Art Library holdings) is nearly complete, according to University Librarian Pat Tully. Olin started the work in 2012, guided by faculty and other experts in selecting duplicate, out of date, rarely circulated, and other books for removal as the library anticipated greater demand on the stacks starting in 2014. Olin holds about one million volumes and will continue to acquire books and other material every year. “Weeding will be on hold through the summer,” Tully said. “Sometime next fall we will begin an ongoing…

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Olivia DrakeMay 13, 20144min
All Wesleyan alumni, students, parents, faculty, families and friends of the university are welcome to attend Reunion & Commencement Weekend May 22-25 on campus. The weekend is chocked-full of events including class reunions, WESeminars, academic department open houses, campus tours, an all-college picnic and festival, an All-Campus Party featuring mamarazzi and Illegalize, and the 182nd Commencement Ceremony led by commencement speaker Theodore Shaw '76. The full schedule is online here.

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Olivia DrakeMay 9, 20147min
Wesleyan hosted the Academic Scholarships, Fellowships and Prizes Reception for students May 7 in Daniel family Commons. "We gather today to honor students who represent the highest ideals of Wesleyan University―intellectual curiosity, academic excellence, creative expression, leadership, and service. While celebrating these recipients of awards, prizes, and scholarships, we also honor and thank alumni and friends whose generous contributions make these prizes possible," said Ruth Striegel Weissman, provost and vice president for academic affairs. The prizes and recipients are listed below: Butterfield Prize  Established by the Class of 1967 and awarded to the graduating senior who has exemplified those qualities…

Olivia DrakeMay 8, 20141min
The Office of Human Resources reported the following new hires, advancements and transitions, and departures for April 2014: Newly hired Ryan Launder was hired as an administrative assistant for the Green Street Arts Center on April 14. Doug Gilchrist was hired as a boiler tender in the Central Power Plant - Physical Plant on April 15. Geralyn Ternullo was hired as an administrative assistant for the annual fund on April 21. Meg O’Brien was hired as an associate director of financial planning on April 28. Promotions Jennifer Curran was appointed Director of Continuing Studies. She served as Interim Director of…

Kate CarlisleMay 7, 20142min
Both the SAT and the ACT tests will be optional for high school applicants to Wesleyan University starting next fall, President Michael S. Roth announced this week. The tests, given annually to about three million students in 170 countries, have been part of the Wesleyan admissions process for many years. Wesleyan has required either the SAT with two subject tests, or the ACT. Now the university joins several hundred institutions, including many of its peer colleges, in making the tests optional. While students’ academic records will continue to be most important in Wesleyan’s admissions decisions, as they always have, applicants…

Bill HolderMay 1, 20143min
The broad contextual education that Wesleyan and peer institutions offer is frequently critiqued, sometimes excoriated, by those who accuse it of not preparing graduates for success in today’s world. But that accusation, says President Michael S. Roth in his sixth and latest book, Beyond the University: Why Liberal Education Matters (Yale University Press, 2014), is as old as liberal education itself – and never less convincing than now. A historian whose previous scholarship has focused on making sense of the past, Roth charts the development of pragmatic liberal education through a succession of important American thinkers. Liberal education has deep…

Olivia DrakeApril 30, 20142min
The Campus Activities Committee sponsored the 3rd Annual Taste of Middletown, an event offering samples from 15 local restaurants and hotels including Typhoon Asian Cuisine, Sweet Harmony Bakery, Lyman Orchards and more. The event took place on April 30 in Beckham Hall and included a raffle prizes. More than 225 Wesleyan faculty and staff attended. Employees were encouraged to donate non-perishable food items to Amazing Grace, a food pantry located in Middletown. "Amazing Grace is grateful to all of our employees who donated a whopping 227 pounds of food and an additional $80 in cash," said event organizer Olga Bookas, director…