Eric GershonAt first blush, it’s all about the cheese. But Zachary Malter ’13 says the new Wesleyan Cheese Co-op can be more than a source of variations on Gouda, Cheddar and Provolone – it’s a social and political experience in the making. “Food is not just a source of nourishment,” says Malter, chair of the Wesleyan Student Association’s dining committee and an organizer of the cheese co-op, which made its first distribution on Feb. 16. “It’s also a source of community building.” Malter envisions wine-and-cheese socials where Wesleyan’s cheese lovers, other foodies and friends-of-foodies mingle. The co-op has already established a…
Bill HolderWesleyan’s Board of Trustees voted on Feb. 26 to increase tuition and residential comprehensive fees by 3.8 percent for the 2011-12 academic year. Continuing its commitment to a strong financial aid program, Wesleyan will increase its budget for aid by 11.8 percent. Wesleyan admits first-year students without regard to their financial circumstances and meets, through grants and loans, the full demonstrated need of all students eligible for financial aid. Tuition will be $43,404 for all students in 2011-2012. For freshman and sophomores, the residential comprehensive fee will be $12,032. For juniors and seniors, (more…)
Olivia DrakeThis spring, students of all ages will have the opportunity to see dinosaur tracks in Connecticut, discuss emerging infections, explore retirement planning options, or examine emotions, traits and institutions that promote healthy psychological functioning. These course topics, among others, will be taught through The Wesleyan Institute for Lifelong Learning (WILL) this spring. The course offerings cover the arts, social sciences, literature, science and mathematics. The spring courses include: Legacies in Words: An Introduction to Memoir Writing, Life's Great Transitions and Four Essential Dialogues, Exploring the Mysteries of Finance, Positive Psychology, Life Is But a Dream, Germs Are Us, Brownstone Stories:…
The Knight Professor of Constitutional Law and the First Amendment at Yale Law School, Jack M. Balkin, will speak on “The First Amendment is an Information Policy,” during the 20th Annual Hugo L. Black Lecture on Freedom of Expression. The event will be held at 8 p.m. March 23 in Memorial Chapel. The annual event is endowed by a gift from Leonard S. Halpert ’44, Esq. Halpert has provided the following commentary: What are Professor Balkin’s views as to the parameters of freedom of expression, legal as set by the First Amendment, and by societal pressures and norms? To understand…
David PesciDr. Paul Farmer, known worldwide for co-founding Partners In Health to serve the world’s poor, will receive an honorary degree and deliver the commencement address at Wesleyan University’s 179th Commencement in May. Wesleyan's other honorary degree recipients at Commencement include a legendary singer of the American Songbook, an alumnus envisioning the future of online journalism, and two local friends of the institution long dedicated to serving the Middletown community. (more…)
Marshall Johnson’s research is out of this world. For the past two years, the senior astronomy major used the Van Vleck Observatory’s 24-inch Perkin Telescope to study the transits of “exoplanets,” or planets outside our solar system, that orbit another star. His study, titled “First Results from the Wesleyan Transiting Exoplanet Program,” explains a refined orbital period of a newly-discovered planet named WASP-33b (Wide Angle Search for Planets). Ultimately, Johnson may prove that he’s discovered another planet, WASP-33c. “Here in Connecticut, with clouds and haze, we don’t have the best observing conditions, but I was still able to obtain high-quality…
Sarah Kopac, a Ph.D student in Professor of Biology Fred Cohan’s lab, has won a $20,000 NASA grant for research on ecological aspects of bacterial evolution in Death Valley National Park. The grant, announced Jan. 11 by the Connecticut Space Grant College Consortium, will support Kopac’s study of Bacillus subtilis, a bacterium commonly found in soils that can endure extreme conditions, such as high heat levels. Kopac, a third-year Ph.D candidate, is focused on identifying bacterial species that evolved within a gradient of salty soils – part of a broader effort to understand how ecological factors influence the spawning of…
Sex, Gender, Species is the title of an international conference being hosted by Wesleyan Animal Studies and The Center for the Study of Public Life on Feb. 25-26. The conference will explore the intersections between feminist and animal studies and the practical and theoretical problems central to both fields. Speakers from a range of disciplines in the sciences, social sciences, humanities and the arts will focus on a variety of topics addressing human-animal relations and their representations. “The growing field of animal studies has turned critical attention to the real conditions and stakes of human relationships with other animals,” says…
Charlotte Cottier ’12, at right, bikes through rice paddies in Mai Chau, Vietnam during the Cities in the 21st Century Program in December. Cottier spent 17 weeks studying the development of the world’s cities. During the fall semester, Charlotte Cottier ’12 set a lofty goal: “I wanted to pop the Wesleyan bubble and become a citizen of the world,” she says. “I wasn’t quite sure what this meant, but I knew that growth, challenge, and change would be necessary.” Cottier applied for the Cities in the 21st Century Program, coordinated through the International Honors Program (IHP). For 17 weeks, she…
Student-run organizations have the opportunity to win cash prizes through the Dell Social Innovation Competition. The University of Texas at Austin and Dell are looking for university students who are working to combat social problems worldwide. They’re giving away more than$100,000 in cash prizes to at least five winning teams. Shining Hope for Communities, directed by Jessica Posner ’09 and Kennedy Odede ’12, received the $50,000 Dell Social Innovation Competition grand prize award in 2010. This year, three other student-groups at Wesleyan are competing for the awards. Vote tallies, along with the competition judges, determines the $50,000 grand prize winner (more…)
Ray Hardman from WNPR’s “Morning Edition” will serve as emcee and master of ceremonies to Green Street Art Center's second annual fund-raising event and auction, A Feast for the Senses. This Caribbean themed event will feature music of The Fresh Men-toes with Bill Carbone (drums), Gabe Gordon (piano), Zac Rosen (bass) and Andrew Fogliano (sax/flute) performing songs from Jamaica, Trinidad and elsewhere in a calypso and mento style, and a steel pan duo featuring Deborah Fischer Teason and Sarah Sedgwick Heath. A Feast for the Senses will be held April 8 at the Green Street Arts Center at 51 Green Street in Middletown,…
Cultural critic Wayne Koestenbaum, journalist Jane Eisner, poet Yusef Komunyakaa and novelist Amy Bloom are among the speakers featured in the Writing at Wesleyan 2011 Spring Russell House Series. Author James Kaplan ’73, the Writing Programs’ 2011 Joan Jakobson Visiting Writer, kicked-off the series Feb. 9, followed by MacArthur award winner Sarah Ruhl on Feb. 10. All events are free and open to the public. The full list of speakers is below, or online at http://www.wesleyan.edu/writing/distinguished_writers/. Wednesday, Feb. 16, Memorial Chapel 8 p.m. The Writing Programs’ 2011 Annie Sonnenblick Lecturer Michael Cunningham is the author of the novels A Home at…