David PesciIn this issue of The Wesleyan Connection, we ask “5 Questions” of William "Vijay" Pinch, professor of history. Pinch spent five weeks this summer interacting with maritime scholars and working in the archives and library at Mystic Seaport. Q: What were you studying at Mystic Seaport this summer? A: From June 25 to to July 27, I was privileged to be a student in a "summer institute" at Mystic Seaport, focused on "The American Maritime People." The institute is usually pitched to graduate students, but every few years it is offered to college and university faculty with support from the National…
Lauren Rubenstein"Common Ground 2012," the 4th annual Middletown International Film Festival, kicks off Oct. 11 with a screening of My Voice (Nha Fala), a 2002 film in Portuguese directed by Flora Gomes. The film will be shown at 7 p.m. at Wesleyan's Film Studies Department. Five more films from around the world will be aired as part of the festival. They are: Thursday, Oct. 18 at Russell Library Seraphine (French, 2008) Directed by Martin Provost Thursday, Oct. 25 at Russell Library The Concert (Russian, 2009) Directed by Radu Mihaileanu Thursday, Nov. 1 at Wesleyan Film Studies Poetry (Korean, 2010) Directed by Chang-dong Lee Thursday,…
Olivia DrakeThirsty for money? Build a Wesleyan water station and win a $1,000 cash prize! As a part of its commitment to becoming a bottled water-free campus, Wesleyan is seeking alternatives to hydrate the campus community at outdoor events. The Sustainability Office, Center for the Arts, The Patricelli Center for Social Entrepreneurship, and the College of the Environment are co-sponsoring a student competition to design a mobile water station, which will be used at Reunion & Commencement, Homecoming/Family Weekend, and other outdoor events. (more…)
Wesleyan will host the 13th annual Molecular Biophysics and Biological Chemistry Retreat Sept. 27. The public is invited. Bertrand García-Moreno, professor and chair of the Department of Biophysics at John Hopkins University will deliver the keynote lecture at 4:15 p.m. He will speak on "Molecular Determinants of Electrostatic Effects in Proteins." García-Moreno investigates the relationships between protein structure, function, energetics, and dynamics with an emphasis on electrostatic properties that govern the actions of proteins in all biological processes. His research on ionizable groups buried in the hydrophobic interior of proteins provides fundamental insights into their special chemical properties and critical…
(NEW! Arrival Day video!) [youtube width="640" height="420"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxAC03h8bg4[/youtube] At 8:30 a.m. on Aug. 29, Lorin Ferris '16 of Bellevue, Wash. arrived on Wesleyan's campus in a rented Jeep, packed with her West Coast belongings. "I brought my entire closet," she says, standing among disheveled heaps of half-unpacked suitcases and boxes in her Butterfield Residence room. "Most of this stuff is clothes and jackets … also bedding, sheets and towels. I did some shopping here (in Connecticut), but I brought a lot with me, too." "You couldn't have brought anything more," says her father, Frank. Lorin, who plans to major in mathematics,…
Professor of Psychology Scott Plous is working to spread the word about a model of teaching that enhances learning while directly contributing to a more just, compassionate, and peaceful world. Back in 2000, Plous coined the term "action teaching" to describe this model. He was inspired by the work of psychologist Kurt Lewin, who in the wake of World War II, developed the concept of "action research," or research aimed at solving social problems. Lewin's action research primarily focused on addressing prejudice due to race or religion. The first action teaching lesson Plous developed, which he published in the journal…
Got milk? All-natural dairy products, farmed and distributed by two Wesleyan alumni, are MOOving into the university's Dining Services this semester. Rick Osofsky ’66 and his daughter Kate ’94 are owners and operators of Ronnybrook Farm Dairy in Ancramdale, N.Y. As second and third generation dairy farmers, the Osofskys pride themselves on their natural farming methods using a small herd of Holstein cows. "Our dairy products are bottled on site in the morning, and since we're located less than two hours from Wesleyan, they arrive fresh," Rick explains. "We're both so pleased to bring a bit of our farm back…
David LowIn this issue of The Wesleyan Connection, we ask “5 Questions” of Lisa Cohen, assistant professor of English and faculty fellow in the Center for the Humanities. Cohen is the author of All We Know: Three Lives, an engrossing biographical triptych about three complicated, glamorous, independent, and influential women of the last century (published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux in July 2012). In a review of her new book in Businessweek, Craig Seligman writes: “ ‘All We Know’ is really much more about reflecting on lives … than about chronicling them. Experimental biography, if such a genre can be said to exist,…
Brian KattenWesleyan's Athletics Hall of Fame will induct its sixth class Friday, Oct. 19 as part of the university’s Homecoming/Family Weekend. This year’s inductions will include an outstanding coach, administrator and leader and the championship wrestling team he coached in 1983–84. The coach and team will join the 30 individuals and five teams currently in the Hall. Being honored and inducted is recently retired and long-time athletics director John Biddiscombe and the New England Championship Wrestling Team he coached in 1983–84, Wesleyan’s last New England wrestling champion until this year’s 2011-12 title squad. (more…)
Bill HolderWesleyan submitted its final version of a self-study to the university's accrediting agency on Aug. 15. The agency, The Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), accredits approximately 240 institutions in the six-state New England area, and universities are accredited every 10 years. A team representing NEASC will visit campus Sept. 30-Oct. 3 and conduct a comprehensive evaluation. In an all-campus e-mail on Aug. 22, Provost Rob Rosenthal wrote, "We look forward to their constructive criticism and to showing them what an extraordinary institution we are! The self-study is the product…
By looking at high-resolution images captured by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, scientists are able to see gullies, which are argued to be geologically recent. Because they are most likely formed by water, it is believed that they can answer the question of whether or not there is still "active" water on Mars. As a summer Wesleyan McNair scholar, astronomy major Lavontria Aaron '14 used a hyperspectral instrument to determine if the gullies contained minerals (salts) which would be left behind by water brines. "By examining the spectrum of the brines, we'll be able to learn more about Mars' history and…
This fall, Wesleyan's Institute for Lifelong Learning will offer courses on 20th-Century Photography, the paintings of Paul Cezanne, ethical eating practices, Shakespeare's tragedy King Lear, promoting healthy psychology, Scandinavian culture and more. The third year of courses begins Sept. 6 and most take place at the Susan B. and William Wasch Center for Retired Faculty at 51 Lawn Ave. in Middletown. "Our objective is to use the talents of retired faculty members and current members of the Wesleyan faculty, plus others in our community who are similarly qualified, to present a set of short, intellectually stimulating and lively courses to area residents,"…