Kate CarlisleWesleyan’s Microgrid Project – which would allow the university to keep the lights on even during a massive power outage – was one step closer to reality last week with the award of a state grant for work on a specialized engine. The grant, for $694,000, will pay to connect Wesleyan’s natural gas Combined Heat and Power (CHP) reciprocating engines to the campus electrical grid. “The new microgrid will supply power to the campus 24-7,” said Joyce Topshe, associate vice president for facilities. “In the event of a power outage, the microgrid will power the campus in 'island mode,' enhancing…
Natalie Robichaud ’14In January 2014, the Dance Department will move from its space in the Center for the Arts to a new studio and office space on Cross Street. This will allow Dance Department faculty and students to be closer to the Bessie Schönberg dance studio on Pine Street. Construction at 160 Cross Street commenced July 9 with asbestos abatement and demolition of the interior finishes and walls. Interior framing begins Aug. 5. According to Alan Rubacha, director of Physical Plant, construction will be completed this fall. Dance Department faculty and students are currently using two studios and other shared spaces. Some dance faculty are…
Olivia DrakeWesleyan's 2013 Summer Session offered students a unique opportunity to complete semester-long courses in only five weeks. Courses spanned the curriculum, including gateway courses and special two-course Thematic Institutes, which are only available during the summer. All courses followed the Wesleyan tradition of small classes, which allow for closer relationships with faculty and fellow students as well as immersive study and a concentrated focus. This summer, one session ran from May 29 – June 27 and the other from July 1 – July 30. The first session included 12 courses while the second session included eight courses, two of which…
If anyone can appreciate humankind’s connection to the Earth, it’s a farmer. Essel Bailey ’66 grew up on farms in the South and Michigan, his early years shaped by the rhythms of planting and harvesting and his father’s careful stewardship of the land. The lessons of his farming boyhood stay with Bailey, a lawyer and executive in Ann Arbor, Mich., in his work with the Nature Conservancy and other groups, and informed, in part, his gift to Wesleyan’s College of the Environment. The nearly $3 million commitment from Bailey and his wife, Menakka, will endow a visiting professorship and bring…
John Frank ’78, P '12 believes in the power of a well-written sentence. So much so, he will tell you, that knowing how to write can make the difference between success and failure in life. He will also tell you that he learned to write, and write well, at Wesleyan. To Frank, a lawyer and investor in California, and his wife Diann Kim P’12, it was critical to ensure continued success for Wesleyan’s writing instruction, especially the Writing Certificate launched and overseen by his sister, Anne Greene. Their gift of more than $2 million will fund Writing at Wesleyan's Writing…
The Wesleyan Institute for Lifelong Learning (WILL) is offering eight short courses and one, all-day program during the Fall 2013 semester. Enrollment will be open in early August. WILL uses the talents of current and retired faculty members, and local guest lecturers, to present a set of short, intellectually stimulating and lively courses to area residents. These courses are offered at minimal cost, are not part of a degree-granting program, and are designed to present topics of particular interest to members of the Wesleyan and local communities. Special one-day courses on particular topics will be offered once each semester. The…
Behind Wesleyan's historic College Row is a picture of New England college charm. But in the green expanses of lawn, where most see tradition and classic beauty, a group of Wesleyan students saw an environmental affront. For the past three years, a student group known as WILD Wes (Working for Intelligent Landscape Design), has attempted an alternative approach to landscaping. With Wesleyan’s support, WILD Wes has embarked on a bold experiment: ditch the lawn near the West College Courtyard and replace it with a sustainable landscape, based on the principles of permaculture. Permaculture design is meant to mimic natural patterns,…
Gifts big and little – and each of them important – poured in during the last week of June, building on the momentum of the public launch of Wesleyan’s THIS IS WHY campaign to bring the grand total raised to somewhere north of $304 million. The campaign – which will devote the great majority of funds raised to financial aid at Wesleyan – wrapped up fiscal 2013 with cash and pledges from nearly 14,000 alumni, parents and friends. “I’m more than thrilled,” said Vice President for University Relations Barbara-Jan Wilson. “This is the best fundraising year we’ve ever had. I think…
Lauren RubensteinWesleyan’s Cognitive Development Labs are bringing their research on how young children think and learn to local museum visitors, thanks to a new partnership with the Connecticut Science Center in Hartford. The partnership provides the public with a rare opportunity to learn about child development and psychological science—topics not often represented at science museums—at the Connecticut Science Center, while allowing the Wesleyan researchers access to a wide pool of subjects to include in their studies. “It’s basically bringing the lab research out into the public, making the science accessible to kids and families, and also collecting data in the process,”…
Three Wesleyan professors have been awarded a four-year, $1.49 million grant by the state of Connecticut’s Stem Cell Research Advisory Committee. The grant will help fund research on using human embryonic stem cell-derived GABAergic neurons for epilepsy therapy, which is being conducted by Janice Naegele, professor of biology, professor of neuroscience and behavior, Laura Grabel, Lauren B. Dachs Professor of Science and Society, Professor of Biology, and Gloster Aaron, associate professor of biology, associate professor of neuroscience and behavior. This grant was the largest single award to researchers in this year’s competition. Only 23 projects were selected to receive funds…
Composer, saxophonist, clarinetist, flutist, pianist and music educator Anthony Braxton was named a 2014 National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master for his unique approaches to jazz. The award is considered the nation's highest honor in the field. Braxton, the John Spencer Camp Professor of Music, will receive a $25,000 award along with the honor. According to the NEA, Braxton's compositions "almost defy categorization through his use of the improvised and rhythmic nature of jazz but moving it in a more avant-garde direction, such as in his Ghost Trance Music compositions." Braxton, who was born in Chicago, Ill. has redefined…
Echoes of the fight song were still bouncing off Foss Hill after Commencement when word got around about a big offseason win for Wesleyan athletics: a generous commitment by Frank Sica ’73 to endow the position of athletic director. Sica is a former trustee who wrestled and played football at Wesleyan. The gift to fund the post currently held by Michael Whalen ’83 firmly establishes the importance of athletics in co-curricular learning at Wesleyan, according to Dennis Robinson ’79, P ’13, immediate past chairman of the Athletics Advisory Council. “Nearly 25 percent of the entire student body plays a varsity…