Corrina KerrThe debut of Unexpected: Voices of Incarcerated Women, a new play directed by Professor of Theater Ron Jenkins, was shown to full crowds in the Center for the Arts Hall on Feb. 25 and 26. In Unexpected, stories written by women formerly and presently incarcerated at the York Correctional Institute in Niantic, Conn., were performed by the former prisoners and Wesleyan students who have collaborated with them in Jenkins' service learning course. Jenkins has been leading a theater outreach class at York since 2008, which predates the Center for Prison Education at Wesleyan, founded in 2009. However, through the Center…
This issue, we ask 5 Questions to . . . Katja Kolcio, associate professor of dance, and author of the new Wesleyan University Press book Movable Pillars Organizing Dance, 1956–1978. Q: How did you become involved with the “Branching Out, Oral Histories of the Founders of Six National Dance Organizations" assignment, which led to your book? A: In 2001, I was invited by the American Dance Guild to conduct interviews with founders of six major American dance organizations. Marilynn Danitz and Margot Lehman, past presidents of the Guild, conceived of the project. These organizations were founded in the '50s and '60s,…
Olivia DrakeOn Feb. 7, the nearly-completed Kleen Energy power plant in Middletown exploded during a natural-gas purging procedure. It was a tragedy for the community that shook the earth in Middletown and beyond. The explosion caused the death of six people and injured more than 12 others. Soon after the explosion was felt, Wesleyan’s administration offered to support rescue efforts in any way possible. Middletown officials quickly requested that Wesleyan activate its Campus Community Emergency Response Team (C-CERT) and have them assist at the explosion site. Over the next few hours, C-CERT team members Cliff Ashton, director of Physical Plant; Stacy…
Wesleyan celebrates its 11th annual DanceMasters Weekend March 6-7, an exciting event for choreographers, students, and dance enthusiasts alike. "The mission of DanceMasters is to introduce dance students to contemporary techniques with the hope that they gain an understanding of the breadth and depth of what is out there in the dance world," says Pamela Tatge, director of the Center for the Arts. "We are also providing regional dance teachers an important professional development opportunity through contact with world-class master teachers.” Dancemasters offers a unique combination of outstanding performances and master classes. This year’s showcase performance features the Taylor 2…
Students applying for financial aid for Summer Session courses must have their course registrations and applications in by Friday, March 5. Classes begin June 7 and last five weeks. "With Wesleyan's Summer Session, students can experience the excitement and challenge of intensive, accelerated study, register for popular courses with lower student to faculty ratios, and discover interesting new upper-level courses," says Summer Session coordinator Sheryl Culotta, director of Continuing Studies and the Graduate Liberal Studies Program. "This also allows students to have more options during the school year, and more time to get involved in performances, sports, or other activities."…
Between now and Earth Day in April, Wesleyan employees who seek greener ways to commute to campus will have the opportunity to earn rewards through the Earth Day Commuter Challenge 2010: "Race to the Finish." The event encourages all forms of green commuting including carpooling, vanpooling, telecommuting, biking, walking and taking the bus, and is projected to eliminating more than 140,000 vehicle trips state-wide. This level of participation would result in 5,000,000 fewer miles of driving and the elimination of 2,000 tons of emissions. "Our hope is that the Earth Day Commuter Challenge will encourage employees to get out of…
In the 1970s, veterans, activists and psychiatrists were hard at work getting the disorder that came to be called post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) included in the upcoming edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders III. During the same period, feminists were building a successful anti-rape movement that crucially insisted that rape is a form of violence. On Feb. 15, Sally Bachner, assistant professor of English, spoke on “Rape Trauma, Combat Trauma, and the Making of PTSD: Feminist Fiction in the 1970s" during the Center for the John E. Sawyer Spring Lecture Series on War. Bachner proposed that…
Janette Boothby, 89, formerly of Middletown, died Feb. 16 at the Seabury Retirement Community in Bloomfield, Conn. where she had been a resident for 17 years. She was employed for more than 30 years by the Art Department and the Davison Art Center at Wesleyan as librarian and registrar of the Davison Art Center Print Collection. She pursued other forms of artistic expression in her life, including drawing, painting, graphic design and calligraphy. She won many prizes for her watercolor paintings and was a member of several area arts organizations. After her retirement from Wesleyan, she volunteered with The Middlesex…
This year, 10,645 seniors from around the world applied to Wesleyan University, an increase of 6 percent from 2009, which was a record year for applications, despite the sour economy. "Last year we reached an all-time high for applications, up by 22 percent, and this year is 6 percent over that," says Greg Pyke, senior associate dean of admission. Of these students, 41 percent are male and 59 percent are female. The applicant pool contains 362 candidates for the Freeman Asian Scholars program, 860 for early decision admission and 9,423 applications in the regular review process. Two-hundred-and-twenty-nine of these students…
This summer, Jourdan Khalid Hussein ’11 will be given the skills and experiences necessary to create, analyze, implement, evaluate, and affect policy in a multicultural, multiethnic society. As a Public Policy & International Affairs Junior Summer Institute Fellow, Hussein will spend seven weeks at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. The program’s mission is to increase leadership opportunities for future global policy leaders in both the public and nonprofit sectors by preparing students for graduate study in related fields. "The Junior Summer Institute is a highly focused and rigorous academic program that will help you…
David PesciUnexpected invitations come with the holidays every year, but one in particular received by Jan Willis, professor of religion, caught her attention. It was from the U.S. State Department, and was inspired by President Barack Obama. The invitation asked Willis to serve as just one of 20 American religious scholars and nonprofit leaders selected by the U.S. State Department to participate in the inaugural Indonesia-U.S. Interfaith Cooperation Forum that was being held in Jakarta, Indonesia, Jan. 25-27 under the auspices of Religions for Peace. “As soon as I read it, I knew I had to attend this,” Willis says. “It…
This issue we ask 5 Questions of...Assistant Professor of Psychology and Assistant Professor of Neuroscience and Behavior Barbara Juhasz. Q. How did you first become interested in psychology? A. I’ve always been fascinated by how the mind works and why people behave the way they do. Since early in high school, I had the idea that I wanted to be a research psychologist. At that time, I really did not know what the field of psychology actually consisted of. Like most people, I believe, I thought psychology meant psychopathology. Once I started studying psychology at the college level, I realized…