Olivia DrakeOn a chilly January morning in 1978, Jesse Jackson delivered a rousing keynote address to a large group of political leaders. Energized from a recent meeting with President Jimmy Carter at the White House, the civil rights activist dazzled his audience with nearly an hour of political "gospel rock." At the end of Jackson’s fiery speech, his audience launched a five-minute standing ovation. Oddly, his audience was a group of white Republicans. Why would a liberal civil rights activist – with ties to the Democratic Party – engage a political party that had a reputation for turning its back on…
Wesleyan's 41 Wyllys Avenue building is now among the most elite recognized projects in the world. On Feb. 5, the U.S. Green Building Council certified the former squash facility with a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) "Platinum" designation. LEED certification is a recognized standard for measuring building sustainability. LEED provides building owners and operators with a framework for identifying and implementing practical and measurable green building design, construction, operations and maintenance solutions. (more…)
This summer, high-achieving high school students from around the world will have the opportunity to delve into the Wesleyan experience by enrolling in online courses. Wesleyan's Office of Continuing Studies will launch a pilot project offering non-credit online courses featuring some of Wesleyan’s areas of strength such as psychology, creative writing, environmental studies, and music as part of the new Pre-College Study program. "These subject areas are in high demand, but difficult for many high school students to find," said Rob Rosenthal, provost and vice president for academic affairs. "These online courses, characterized by small class size and personal interaction between faculty…
Kate CarlisleYou’d be surprised by what people don’t know about Wesleyan’s community engagement and service programs. Or, what people think they know. “Students and others think that community service at Wesleyan is an individual, versus a university effort, or just one semester for one student, on their own,” said Cathy Lechowicz, director of the Center for Community Partnerships. A new publicity campaign launched by the CCP last month aims to fix those misimpressions. The reality is that Wesleyan has a broad community engagement plan that ranges from hiring local contractors and sourcing local food to providing volunteers to Middletown service agencies,…
Gun laws in the United States need to be changed to protect thousands of lives, but meaningful change is not a sure thing, even in the wake of the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School, three experts told a packed house at Wesleyan on Feb. 6. The seminar, “Guns and Gun Violence: Crisis, Policy and Politics” featured three specialists in the legal, social and political aspects of firearms regulation, and drew a capacity crowd at the Center for the Arts Hall. “The United States is not more violent, but more lethally violent (than other developed nations who have stricter gun…
Starting on Feb. 28, Wesleyan will bring together teams of artists and scientists to share approaches, skills and outcomes of their research at the intersection of art and science. The symposium, titled “Innovations: Intersection of Art and Science," is part of the Creative Campus Initiative at the Center for the Arts. "The goal of this experimental program is to elevate the arts as a means of teaching, learning and knowing through co-teaching opportunities for artists and non-artists, as well as commissioning new works by artists who are invited to work with faculty and students across disciplines in their creation process,"…
Lauren RubensteinFor alumni seeking to relive their days in the classroom, parents interested to see first-hand what their Wesleyan students are learning, and prospective students—or anyone else—curious about the Wesleyan experience, here’s your chance. Beginning Feb. 4, two Wesleyan professors—President Michael Roth and Associate Professor of Film Studies Scott Higgins—will open their virtual classrooms on Coursera. In September 2012, Wesleyan announced a new partnership with Coursera, a company offering the public access to free MOOCs (massive open online courses) taught by professors from top colleges and universities. Wesleyan is the first liberal arts institution focused on the undergraduate experience to offer…
As their “Money and Social Change” class drew to a close in mid-December, 15 Wesleyan students and their professor presented four local non-profit organizations with a surprise gift for the holidays: $10,000 in unsolicited grants. The funds were provided to the class by the Learning by Giving Foundation, established in 2011 by Doris Buffett, Warren Buffett's oldest sister. The foundation aims to promote the study of the nonprofit sector and philanthropy by undergraduate students, giving them first-hand experience in “the art, science and business of philanthropy.” This year for the first time, Wesleyan partnered with the foundation through the service learning…
On Jan. 11, a small explosion in Usdan University Center's mechanical room left several staff and students trapped inside with possible injuries. "We've got a situation," says Bill Nelligan, director of environmental health, safety and sustainability. "Please gather your gear and head to the basement." A group of six Wesleyan staff members, trained in light search and rescue techniques, quickly prepare for the task. They sport reflective vests, safety helmets, goggles and gloves, and carry a backpack equipped with flashlights, duct tape, first-aid kits, tools and blankets. Team leader Allen Alonzo, associate director of information technology auxiliary services, breaks the…
Bill HolderRuth Striegel, professor of psychology and the Walter A. Crowell University Professor of the Social Sciences, will assume the position of Wesleyan’s next provost and vice president for academic affairs. She will start in this position on July 1, succeeding Rob Rosenthal, who will be returning to the faculty as John E. Andrus Professor of Sociology. Striegel holds a doctoral degree in clinical psychology from the University of South Carolina. She is a distinguished scholar-teacher whose research has focused on understanding the causes and effects of eating and weight disorders, and particularly on using insights gained from large-scale studies to…
Dynamic filmmaker and educator Shakti Butler will be the keynote speaker at Wesleyan’s Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration on Friday, Feb. 1. “Diversity University: From Theory to Practice,” is the theme of this year’s daylong commemoration. Butler, a prominent speaker on racial equity, is the producer of documentaries including The Way Home; Mirrors of Privilege: Making Whiteness Visible, and Light in the Shadows. She is frequently hired by companies seeking a catalyst for change and uses audience participation and often, clips from her films, in her public appearances. A multiracial African-American woman (African, Arawak Indian and Russian-Jewish), Butler has worked…
(Story contributed by Jim H. Smith) In this issue of The Wesleyan Connection, we ask “5 Questions” of Ashraf Rushdy, professor of English, professor of African American Studies and chair of the African American Studies Program. Rushdy is the author of American Lynching, a meticulously researched interpretive history of how lynching became a uniquely American phenomenon and how it has endured, evolved and changed over the course of three centuries. The book was published by Yale University Press in October 2012. Q: Scholars have been writing about lynching for more than a century now. There is a significant body of extant…