Olivia DrakeBetween Vine Street, Cross Street and Knowles Avenue near Wesleyan, an innocuous looking triangle of land forms the “Leverett Beman Historic District,” listed on the State Register of Historic Places and part of the Connecticut Freedom Trail. This area is the site of one of the earliest planned African American communities in the United States. During the spring of 2012, Sarah Croucher, assistant professor of anthropology, assistant professor of archaeology, led an archeological excavation at the "Beman Triangle" site. Several Wesleyan students and community members participated in the dig and unearthed dozens of materials relating to healthcare and everyday practices,…
Lauren RubensteinIn Kilkenny, Ireland, a man spins wool from freshly shorn sheep into rich fibers. A furniture maker in South Pomfret, Vt. studies the natural geometry of wood he turns into tables, chairs and consoles. And in London, England, a silversmith wielding a hammer transforms smooth metal into beautifully shaped and textured bowls, vases and pieces of art. These and other craftspeople are featured in a series of nine short documentary films produced and directed by Piers Gelly ’13 and Daniel Nass ’13. Each film in the series, titled, “The Minds of Makers,” shows the creative process of a craftsperson working…
Ellen Alexander '14, Professor Joop Varekamp and graduate student Lauren Camfield recently returned from Argentina where they studied the eruptive products of the Copahue volcano March 7-March 19. Varekamp, the Harold T. Stearns Professor of Earth Science, professor of environmental studies, has studied the volcano since 1997. It erupted in 2000 and again in December 2012. "Many Wesleyan students have done their senior theses and grad theses on Copahue. It's exciting stuff for us volcanology types," Varekamp said. Camfield sampled the products of the most recent eruption of Copahue, which included ash, pumice and volcanic bombs. She will analyze her samples…
The Wesleyan Board of Trustees reviews tenure cases three times each year during its meetings on campus, scheduled as the cases arise. At the most recent meeting in March, the Board awarded tenure — effective July 1, 2013 — to these faculty members: Elijah Huge, associate professor of art, has taught at Wesleyan since 2006. A licensed architect, his work includes private commissions and award-winning competition entries for the High Line (New York, N.Y.), the Bourne Bridge|Park (Bourne, Mass.), and the Tangshan Earthquake Memorial (Tangshan, China). His writing and design work have been featured in Praxis, Thresholds, Perspecta, Architectural Record, Landscape Architecture, Dwell, Journal of Architectural Education, and Competitions. His current scholarly…
Plant trees, create recycled art, tour a chestnut orchard, work on an organic garden and much more during Earth Month at Wesleyan! During the month of April, Wesleyan's Sustainability Office is hosting several earth-friendly opportunities. Events begin April 4 with a luncheon discussion on "Waste: Uncertainty, Futurity, and Democratic Engagement" at Woodhead Lounge. The Wesleyan community also is invited to the 6th Annual Global Environmental Sustainability Symposium on Transportation, Human Mobility and Sustainability at Central Connecticut State University the same day. On April 6, join student organization WILD Wes to plant the berry bushes and herbaceous plantings for the Edible…
Gabe Rosenberg '16For its 2013 Americas Forum, Wesleyan’s Center for the Americas is commemorating the centenary of Aimé Césaire, éminence grise of the Francophone Caribbean. Taking place on April 5-6 at Russell House, the annual symposium brings scholars and artists from "north" and "south" into dialogue about Césaire, who was not only a regional figure but also a global presence as an intellectual, poet, artist and politician. Celebrating his influential life, spanning from the movements of Surrealism and Negritude to his ideas on decolonization and spiritual and cultural pan-Africanism, the Americas Forum is also an intellectual consideration of Césaire’s contributions to our…
View the talents of the seniors in the Art Studio Program of Wesleyan’s Department of Art and Art History. “Senior Thesis Exhibitions 2013” runs March 26-April 21 in the Zilkha Gallery. The show, features drawing, painting, printmaking, photography, sculpture, mixed media and architecture. “We’re all so proud of our senior majors. The four weeks of rotating Senior Thesis Exhibitions are a wonderful opportunity for the broader Wesleyan community to experience their remarkable work,” said Tula Telfair, professor of art. Allison Kalt, Tiffany Unno, Ilyana Schwartz, Anna Shimshak and Christina You will display their artwork from March 26-31. Piers Gelly, Zoe Albert,…
Bill HolderFriday, 7 p.m. March 1. A tide of trustees, faculty, students and staff flowed into Beckham Hall for the Board of Trustees' dinner to a background refrain from the Black Eyed Peas – “Tonight's gonna be a good night.” And a good night it turned out to be, with stirring speeches and rousing dance moves. President Michael Roth officially launched the public phase of Wesleyan’s fundraising campaign by celebrating a number of recent gifts, including $3 million from John Shapiro ’74 and Shonni Silverberg ’76 in support of Wesleyan’s writing programs, building on their 2009 gift which established the Shapiro…
A $3 million gift to support writing programs at Wesleyan was announced March 1 at the Board of Trustees dinner on campus. The gift from John Shapiro ’74 and Shonni Silverberg ’76, a Wesleyan trustee, builds on their 2009 gift establishing the Shapiro Creative Writing Center. Shapiro said he was delighted with the speed with which the center was developed. “We were gratified that the university moved quickly and got this program launched and established,” Shapiro said. “I’ve had good feedback from people both at Wesleyan and elsewhere. It has generated’ a bit of a buzz.” This new gift will…
Associate Professor Jennifer Tucker has been selected for a Fulbright-U.S. Scholar Award, through which she will spend eight months at the University of York in England. Tucker is a historian of British science, technology and medicine, specializing in the study of the connections among British science, photography and the visual arts from 1850 to 1920. At the University of York, she will complete work on her second book, tentatively titled, Facing Facts: The Tichborne Cause Célèbre and the Rise of Modern Visual Evidence. She also plans to begin preliminary research toward her next book project, which will trace the social…
What do you get when you cross Wesleyan student-athletes with four racket sports? The answer: the first American team to represent the U.S. in racketlon! In racketlon, a player challenges his/her opponent in each of the four biggest racket sports: table tennis, badminton, squash and tennis. The sport is a cousin of the triathlon and decathlon. Each team plays their opponents in all four sports. Shona Kerr, head squash coach teaches racketlon at Wesleyan and coaches the Wesleyan team. Last summer, Wesleyan team represented America in the Racketlon World Championship in Sofia, Bulgaria. They placed 11th overall. Team members included Ethan Moritz '14;…
At its March meeting, Wesleyan’s Board of Trustees voted to increase tuition and residential comprehensive fees by 2.9 percent for the 2013-14 academic year, a rise equal to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rate of inflation. This increase is significantly less than those for recent years, which have ranged from 3.8 percent to 5.0 percent. “We are committed to reining in over time the price of a Wesleyan education and to meeting the full financial need of students who enroll,” said Wesleyan President Michael Roth. “By tying tuition increases to the rate of inflation, we are seeking to moderate the…