Olivia DrakeIn September 2012, Wesleyan announced a new partnership with Coursera, a company offering the public access to free online courses from top colleges and universities. Wesleyan was the first liberal arts institution focused on the undergraduate experience to join the company. Seven Wesleyan faculty, including Wesleyan President Michael Roth, are teaching courses through the new platform in 2013. Thanks to a recent report by the Office of Institutional Research, the university is now aware of background information about its Coursera students. In early 2013, Institutional Research administered a survey to more than 200,000 students enrolled in Wesleyan’s Coursera course offerings.…
On Nov. 2, members of the Wesleyan community gathered at the Eclectic House to celebrate the building being named to the National Register of Historic Places and State of Connecticut Historic Registries. The Eclectic House, located at 200 High Street, was built in 1906 and formally dedicated in 1907. It was designed by Henry Bacon, who also designed the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., as well as Olin Library and several other prominent buildings and spaces at Wesleyan. The National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the nation's historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by…
Kate CarlisleWesleyan University apologized this week to Native Americans and other indigenous peoples, and said it is launching an effort to repatriate human remains and cultural objects, collected mostly in the 19th century, which are part of its anthropology and archaeology collections. The university has adopted a repatriation policy in compliance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. “Wesleyan University is dedicated to working in partnership with Native Nations and indigenous peoples,” the apology reads. “We welcome Native Nations to campus for tribal consultations and commit to having an ongoing dialogue with indigenous peoples about repatriation.” Here is the…
Lauren RubensteinThis January, Winter at Wesleyan will offer students an opportunity to get a jump-start on the new year by taking a short, intensive course for credit or participating in programs at the Career Center. The Winter Session courses may be of particular interest to students seeking a lighter course load in a future term, or those working to graduate in three years. The faculty has approved four immersion-style courses, to begin Jan. 8: "Introduction to Computer Programming" (taught by Associate Professor of Computer Science James Lipton); "Sex, Drugs and Shopping: Decadence and Desire in Post-War American Fiction" (by Associate Professor…
Humanity is called to imagine an ethic that not only acknowledges but emulates the ways by which life thrives on Earth. How do we act, when we truly understand that we live in complete dependence on an Earth that is interconnected, interdependent, finite, and resilient? – The Blue River Declaration Every year, the College of the Environment gathers a group of Wesleyan faculty, scholars of prominence from outside Wesleyan and undergraduate students into a year-long academic think tank on a critical environmental issue. This year's theme is "Re-Envisioning the Commons." On Oct. 10, the group began engaging with the “Commons”…
For first-year students, leaving home and starting a new life at Wesleyan can be exhilarating—but it’s also a major adjustment. Students who find themselves in need of a little extra support now have the option to be matched with faculty or staff mentors to help ease the transition, thanks to a new program from the Office of Student Affairs and the Office of Diversity and Institutional Partnerships. The Connections Mentoring Program, which started as a small pilot in the 2011-12 school year, recently was expanded to any first-year student who wants mentoring. There are currently 49 mentors and 70 mentees,…
Fulbright Fellow Janette Suherli could attend graduate school anywhere in the world, but the Indonesian resident decided to persue her master's degree in astronomy here at Wesleyan. "I learned about Wesleyan when I was in high school, and now I'm here because the Astronomy Department offers a great research program with well-known faculty members. The research and learning environment encourages me to be better everyday," she said. Suherli, who came to Wesleyan this fall, is one of three international Fulbright recipients who chose to complete their graduate studies at Wesleyan. Christine May Yong of Malaysia, plans to be at Wesleyan…
For demonstrating sustainability commitments and sustainable leadership, Wesleyan received a silver rating by STARS (Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System), a program of The Association of the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). Wesleyan received the honor on Oct. 14 after successfully completing the institution's STARS Report, which includes all of the data submitted during the reporting process. See the full report online here. In November 2012, Wesleyan became a member of AASHE to recognize the importance of sustainability and commitments set forth in the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment. AASHE is a national organization that enables higher education institutions to meet…
This month, Wesleyan employees have the opportunity to help their local community by participating in the university's annual Middlesex United Way fundraising campaign. Wesleyan staff and faculty members already received informational packets and department representatives are collecting funds for the organization. "Although all of us have many organizations we support, our gifts to United Way raise Wesleyan’s collective voice in support of programs that help our Middlesex County neighbors in need," said Wesleyan President Michael Roth in an all-campus e-mail. "Wesleyan faculty and staff have long been known as contributors to this community endeavor – a tradition worthy of renewed…
Thanks a million, WesScholar! The open-access repository of scholarly work at Wesleyan had its one millionth download sometime in the wee hours between Oct. 1 and 2, and the number of downloads now stands at 1,000,082, according to WesScholar’s keepers at Olin Library and ITS. The title or nature of the millionth download, however, remains obscure. “We’ve been wondering about that ourselves,” said University Archivist Leith Johnson. Perhaps it was one of the all-time top-10 downloads of faculty work, say, “A Sorcerer’s Bottle: The Visual Art of Magic in Haiti,” by Professor of Religion Elizabeth McAlister, or one of the…
Brian KattenWesleyan’s scholar-athletes continue to achieve in the classroom and on the field. Thirteen athletic teams have been honored for academic achievement by their national coaches associations for the 2012-13 year. Men's and women's cross country, field hockey and volleyball all were recognized academically during the fall. Men's and women's swimming and diving earned academic distinction for both the fall and spring semesters individually while the wrestling team was a winter achiever. Over the spring, women's lacrosse, softball, men's and women's track and field, and men's and women's tennis received honors. Among the 11 teams cited for scholastic accomplishment, the field hockey…
It may be difficult for today’s sophomores (roughly 54 percent female and 46 percent male) to imagine a Wesleyan without women. Harder still to wrap their minds around the idea that coeducation is relatively young at the 182-year-old university. (A pre-modern coed experiment lasted from 1872 to 1912.) Yet this year, Wes celebrates 40 years of women at Wesleyan, from the early female varsity athletes (some of whom competed on men’s squads until enough women could be found to join) to the influx of women who integrated the largely male professoriat (and now make up about 46 percent of the…