Campus News & Events

With the symbolic – and celebratory – tossing of their graduation caps, Wesleyan University’s Class of 2024 cemented the closing of one chapter of their lives and the opening of another during the University’s 192nd Commencement ceremony Sunday. It was the perfect punctuation to a day steeped in history and uniquely Wesleyan customs. As so many Wesleyans had done before them, the graduates and recipients of advanced degrees assembled on the University’s iconic Foss Hill for the procession to Andrus Field, where the main order of the day, the conferral degrees, would take place. Under sunny skies, they gathered in…

Michael Greenberg ’76, P’14, who was named an Honorary Doctor of Science at Wesleyan's 192nd Commencement ceremony, recalled how his journey toward unraveling the scientific mysteries of human memory illustrates the possibilities available to the graduating Class of 2024. "What can a Wesleyan graduate of almost 50 years ago who studies memory offer to you as you set forth in the world? There are countless paths that you might take in your lives that will offer you fulfillment," Greenberg said. "In my own life the following has proved to be important: choosing a career that was challenging intellectually, where new…

Renowned economist Raj Chetty was named an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters at Wesleyan’s 192nd Commencement ceremony. In his speech to the Class of 2024, he cited his research into opportunity disparity’s effect on social mobility, praising Wesleyan for being a leader in expanding access to higher education. “When a child moves to a neighborhood with better schools or gets a chance to attend a high-quality college, we see their lives transformed relative to other comparable kids who didn’t get the same chances,” Chetty said. "Opportunity matters. And education is one of the keys that opens the doors of opportunity.”…

Ruby Clarke '24, the Class of 2024 Commencement Speaker at Wesleyan's 192nd Commencement ceremony, reflected on student protests at Wesleyan throughout the University's history to demonstrate how student activism can be a radical act of love through resistance. Clarke also called for students to express love through learning, being curious, and listening to others."We fight because we care, because Wesleyan matters to us. Wesleyan is not perfect, but that is what love and collective action is for: it bridges the gap between the imperfect nature of institutions and our current needs." Clarke, a College of Social Studies and American studies…

Imani Perry, a 2023 MacArthur Fellow and distinguished Harvard University professor, delivered the Commencement address at Wesleyan University’s 192nd Commencement ceremony on May 26. "You have a great deal to contribute, and I want you to make that contribution at the highest level. Do not be overly concerned about the size of your impact, whether it’s splashy or widely recognized. Rather focus on the depth of your integrity and the sincerity of your efforts,” she said. Perry is the Henry A. Morss, Jr. and Elisabeth W. Morss Professor of Studies of Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies and African American Studies…

Journalists have always played a vital role in defending democracy, educating the public while holding those in power accountable for their actions. Few journalists have challenged Americans to reimagine who we are as a nation as much as Nikole Hannah-Jones. On April 25, the Allbritton Center for the Study of Public Life co-sponsored an event with Wesleyan’s Democracy 2024 initiative to host Hannah-Jones, a New York Times correspondent, Knight Chair in Race and Journalism at Howard University, and the Pulitzer Prize–winning creator of the 1619 Project. Corwin-Fuller Professor of Film Studies Tracy Heather Strain sat down with Hannah-Jones to discuss…

At Wesleyan, there’s celebration in difference. And during his WesFest welcome address, President Michael S. Roth ’78 encouraged students to listen to other perspectives to learn as much as possible so they can benefit from those differences. “You're not going to learn much from other people—faculty or other students—who share all your views or your experiences,” Roth said. “When we talk about the value of diversity, we don't just mean demographics—that's part of it, of course, life experience, that's part of it—we want you to encounter people whose views are different from your own.” At WesFest, admitted, and some committed,…

Wesleyan’s seniors gathered on the steps of Olin Memorial Library on April 17 for a champagne toast to celebrate the submission of their theses—a culmination of hundreds of hours of research and effort. Here are a selection of images from the event:

The Wesleyan Board of Trustees voted to increase tuition by 4.4 percent for the 2024-25 academic year, to $69,652. The Residential Comprehensive Fee (RCF) will be $19,872. The Student Activity Fee will be $390 following a resolution passed by the Wesleyan Student Association, (WSA) and approved through an all-campus referendum. The total cost of attendance will be $89,914. Wesleyan recognizes that increases in cost of attendance can create financial difficulties for families and remains committed to increasing access its education. The University announced in September 2023 that it would meet all demonstrated financial need and no longer include loans as…

The word “liberalism” is a tricky thing. As The New Yorker magazine staff writer Adam Gopnik discovered while promoting his 2019 book A Thousand Small Sanities: The Moral Adventure of Liberalism, its variants carry different political baggage from one Western country to the next. Its breadth renders it ideologically elusive, encompassing societies with social democracies, free markets, and shades of grey. Lately, its survival has come into question even in places where its future once seemed assured. But last Thursday in front of a near-capacity audience at the Frank Center for Public Affairs, Gopnik spoke passionately of liberalism’s origins, what…

When Gad Nkurunziza ’27 excelled in sixth grade in the Burera district of Rwanda, his school’s headmaster gave him a chicken for his academic achievements. That single chicken introduced Nkurunziza’s family to poultry farming and transformed their lives, he said. Soon, Nkurunziza will bestow the same gift onto other families in his village, with the hopes it will help bring prosperity to his home community. “We as youths are able to not only impact our own lives, but also impact others,” Nkurunziza said. “I believe that society can change for the better. This [can] be done if we put creativity…

Foss Hill is the place for gatherings. Commencement, Spring Fling, baseball games, the first snow fall. They are all occasions for people to grace the grass. Some do it in the spirit of achievement and others in the name of pure, good ‘ole fashioned fun. On April 8, hundreds of Wesleyan students, faculty, staff, and local community members came together on the University green for a different reason—wonder—as a partial solar eclipse passed above them. The Astronomy Department hosted an eclipse viewing on Foss Hill and in the Van Vleck Observatory in partnership with the Russell Library. Organizers passed out…

Wesleyan University Celebrated its 192nd Commencement, Sunday

Michael Greenberg ’76, P’14: There Are Countless Paths Toward Fulfillment

Raj Chetty: “Education is the Surest Pathway to a Better Life”

Ruby Clarke ’24: “We Fight Because We Care, Because Wesleyan Matters to Us”

Imani Perry: Graduates Have “A Great Deal to Contribute”

No Democracy Without Slavery: A Revolutionary Conversation with Nikole Hannah-Jones

At WesFest, Admitted Students Share Opinions on Diversity of Thought, Open Curriculum

Gallery: Wesleyan Senior Celebrate Theses Submissions

Tuition to Increase For 2024-25 Academic Year

Democracy Demands Passionate Defense, Says Adam Gopnik of The New Yorker

Student’s Agricultural Project in Rwanda Wins Davis Projects for Peace Grant

Gallery: Wesleyan, Local Communities Flock to Foss Hill for Eclipse