Olivia DrakeStriking clocks gongs per day from Hartford to Middletown. Silver wedding anniversary years from Laos to Chad. Squares on a chess board from Warsaw to Kinshasa. Can you solve this puzzle? If so, you've started a treasure hunt, right on Wesleyan's campus. The Wesleyan Treasure Hunt, a permanent campus installation, begins at a plaque located in the southeast corner of Usdan University Center near the Huss Courtyard. It encourages students to explore the nooks and crannies of campus, and interact with the buildings as they look for new clues. "The hunt encapsulates everything I like about Wesleyan," says its creator Jack…
Three Wesleyan faculty received The Binswanger Prize for Excellence in Teaching during the 2012 Commencement on May 27. The Binswanger Prize was inaugurated in 1993 as an institutional recognition of outstanding faculty members. The award is made possible by gifts from the family of the late Frank G. Binswanger Sr., HON '85 The standards and criteria for the annual prizes shall be excellence in teaching, as exemplified by commitment to the classroom and student accomplishment, intellectual demands placed on students, lucidity, and passion. Recommendations may be based on any of the types of teaching that are done at the university…
To help members of the Wesleyan community be more aware of their environmental impact, the College of the Environment is developing practical and accessible Eco-Tools. The Eco-Tools prototype, launched in April, provides links and information to Wesleyan's current projects, the Wesleyan Eco-Map and the Wesleyan Eco-Purchasing site. "Wesleyan is the first university in the country to create these tools," explains project coordinator Mary Alice Haddad, associate professor of government, East Asian studies and environmental studies. "The project is just starting to bloom, but once we get it up and operating, it can act as a model for other universities." The…
Bill HolderSenator Michael F. Bennet '87 presented the Commencement Address on May 27: Thank you, Board of Trustees… President Roth… proud parents and families…the entire Wesleyan community, and of course, once again, the brilliant graduates of 2012. Brilliant, yes—but, as Kennedy said, no matter how brilliant, not one of you got here by yourself. So, in the most important moment of this day, let’s hear you say thank you. A round of applause for everybody who got you here. A quarter of a century ago (and by the way, it was about 20 degrees hotter), I looked up at this podium…
David PesciPresident Michael S. Roth’s remarks: Members of the board of trustees, members of the faculty and staff, distinguished guests, new recipients of graduate degrees and the mighty Class of 2012, I am honored to present some brief remarks on the occasion of this commencement. When most of you began your Wesleyan education in the fall of 2008, the world was in a precarious state. It was an odd time to be investing in the future. But that’s what education is, as Kennedy said: a hopeful investment in the future. When you began here, America was waging two distant wars, the…
During the 2012 Commencement Ceremony on May 27, Wesleyan President Michael Roth awarded U.S. Senator Michael Bennet ’87, Glenn Ligon ’82, and Cecile Richards P’13 with honorary degrees. Michael F. Bennet ’87 Michael F. Bennet was elected to his first full term as U.S. Senator for Colorado in November 2010. He is a pragmatic and independent thinker who embodies the values of the western state he represents, and whose work has contributed to good in the world, in the best of the Wesleyan tradition. As the father of three little girls, he is driven by a deep-seated obligation to create more opportunity…
Cynthia RockwellTwo Baldwin Medals, which honor the late Judge Raymond E. Baldwin ’16, were bestowed on Bruce Corwin ’62 and William Wasch ’52, P'84 on May 27. The Baldwin Medal is the highest honor that Wesleyan’s alumni body presents for extraordinary service to Wesleyan or for significant contributions to the public good. Bruce Corwin is chairman and CEO of Metropolitan Theatres Corporation, a motion picture theater circuit of 125 viewing screens in California and Colorado. He has served on the executive committee of the National Association of Theatre Owners, as well as with other professional organizations. He is a founding member of…
Students who received academic prizes, fellowships and scholarships, were honored at a reception May 9 in Daniel Family Commons. The awards and the recipients are: George H. Acheson and Grass Foundation Prize in Neuroscience Neuroscience and Behavior: Jad Donato '12, Cassidy Mellin '12 Alumni Prize in the History of Art Senior who has demonstrated special aptitude in the history of art and who has made a substantive contribution to the major: Sarah La Rue '12, Alyssa Lanz '12, Katherine Wolf '12 American Chemical Society Analytical Award Excellence in analytical chemistry: Chinh Duong '13 American Chemical Society Connecticut Valley Section Award…
Matthew Kurtz, associate professor of psychology, associate professor of neuroscience and behavior, presented the “Senior Voices” baccalaureate address on May 26. I want to start by thanking the class of 2012 for inviting me to speak at this baccalaureate celebration and permitting me to be part of these festivities. I am so happy for all of you! It’s been an honor for me to see you all mature over the past 4 years, see you become more confident in your ideas and thinking, more poised and subtle in the expression of your ideas, and more skilled in interacting with those…
Ali Chaudhry '12 presented a "Senior Voices" speech in Memorial Chapel on May 26. When I came to Wesleyan from Pakistan, I came with my fair share of prejudices about the United States and Americans. Don’t hate me for that. It was natural. I hadn’t interacted with Americans before, so my understanding of the U.S. and Americans was limited to the media, hear-say and the odd American I came across. As my economist friends would say, my sample size was really small, which wasn’t good. Some people told me that Americans are very self-interested and will actively work to take…
Ben Shiling '12 delivered a "Senior Voices" Address May 26. Hi, my name is Ben and I am an English major. To many, my parents included, this was a deliberate choice to either a) bank on grad school for a “good job,” or b) become an English teacher. Period. English major did not say to them “this is a man with a diversified future.” I was asked recently “what were you planning on doing with that” at a job interview. Ah! The life of a liberal arts graduate! We are a disreputable bunch, misfits, iconoclasts, destined, as Whitman proudly boasts,…
Max Bevilacqua '12 presented a "Senior Voices" speech in Memorial Chapel on May 26. There aren’t many places that I have felt comfortable wearing a dress in public. If you had told me, before I transferred from Georgetown, that in a few short months I would be sporting a cute little pink number with a deep v-neck in Beckham Hall, my Jesuit professors would have cried, and I would have laughed in disbelief. And if you had told me, that in a few short months at Wesleyan, I would be welcomed so warmly, challenged so fiercely, or inspired so deeply…I’m…