Posted 10/05/06 Poetry, slavery, monks and dialects are among several topics of this year’s Voices of Liberal Learning seminars. Voices of Liberal Learning is a series of stimulating educational programs and presentations available to the Wesleyan community. “The Voices of Liberal Learning programs enrich the intellectual exchange among members of the community and offer the kind of substantive, outside-the-classroom learning experience treasured by all of us,” says Linda Secord, director of alumni education and university lectures. “We have a remarkable selection of educational programs throughout the year which will foster the evolution of knowledge and understanding at Wesleyan and challenge…

Barbara Spalding, associate director of Campus Fire Safety, teaches housemates Sally Smyth '07 and Kara Brodgesell '07 how to plunge a toilet and shut off a water valve at their student residence as part of the WesHome Program. Posted 10/05/06 Home sweet home. Or is it? If a student’s residence is too hot, has a broken toilet, a burned-out entrance light, sticky windows or drafty doors, his or her home may not be more sour than sweet. WesHome, a new program spearheaded by Physical Plant and the Campus Fire Safety Office, teaches students how to use, maintain and be safe…

Neely Bruce, professor of music, plays the new, seven-foot August Foerster piano inside the Memorial Chapel Sept. 29. Posted 10/05/06 The secret is in the strings. That’s how Professor of Music Neely Bruce defends the exceptionally clear sounds of Wesleyan’s new chapel piano. “This piano is extraordinarily beautiful, and quite different from the Steinway sound you may associate with a grand piano,” Bruce explains. “It is clearer, more agile, more evenly balanced and is the perfect size for the chapel. It is the best piano of its size on campus.”The new August Foerster is a brand that’s legendary in Europe,…

Posted 10/05/06 Wesleyan is pushing for its payroll to go paperless. All faculty, staff and students who receive a Wesleyan payroll check now have the option of receiving their pay stub online. This will eliminate all paper-processing. “By going all-electronic, this is going to save more than the 25 cents it costs to pay for the paper,” says John Meerts, vice president for Finance and Administration. “We’re going to save on distribution costs we well. And if you’re like me, I end up just tossing it aside, losing it or disposing of it. It will be more convenient not to…

Posted 10/05/06 Wesleyan's Presidential Search Committee is fully constituted. The search committee is composed of alumni, trustees, faculty, staff and students and is undertaking a comprehensive search to identify and successfully recruit President Douglas Bennet's successor. The charge of the search committee is to review candidates and recommend a slate of finalists to the Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees will select Wesleyan University’s 16th president. The search committee is staffed by Joan Adams, special assistant, and search firm consultants Jennifer Bol, Michele Haertel and Kristine Johnson from Spencer Stuart. The full description of the search committee can also…

President Doug Bennet and Midge Bennet accept a proclamation honoring Wesleyan's 175th anniversary from City of Middletown Majority Leader Tom Serra. Posted 10/05/06 The City of Middletown honored Wesleyan University with a proclamation honoring its 175th anniversary. The designation was made during the City of Middletown’s Common Council meeting Oct. 2. President Doug Bennet and Midge Bennet accepted the proclamation in front of the council members and the public. The proclamation is mounted on a wall plaque. Following the ceremony, President Bennet presented a brief history of Wesleyan, noting that it was founded in 1831 through collaboration among Middletown's civic…

Posted 09/15/06 Wesleyan celebrated the 10th anniversary of Constitution Day. According to Federal law, Wesleyan and other federally-funded institutions are required to offer programs commemorating the Constitution. “We want to take something that is required by law, and turn it into something meaningful for the Wesleyan community,” says the Caleb T. Winchester University Librarian Barbara Jones. Jones, whose primary professional interests include intellectual freedom, presented a talk titled “Libraries and the Constitution After 9/11” in recognition of Constitution Day 2006 Sept. 19 in the Smith Reading Room in Olin Library. R Jones has served one term as chair of the…

Ron Jenkins, professor of theater, reads a Sanskrit prayer during a Sept. 11 Memorial Service in the Memorial Chapel while Jason Harris '09, left, listens. Posted 09/15/06 On Sept. 11, 2001, Marc Arena ’07 was in class when his high school principal announced over the P.A. that the World Trade Center towers were struck by two planes. He and his classmates at Pelham Memorial High School in Pelham, N.Y. gathered around a radio, listening in awe. With an ear on the broadcast, and a pencil at hand, Arena wrote a poem. “Bodies leaping from 61 floors. Like roaches in the…

Posted 09/15/06 The Center for African American Studies is hosting a fall lecture series titled "Revisiting Slavery." The schedule includes:“Slavery and the United States Constitution” 4:15 Sept. 27 in the CAAS lounge by Lawrence Goldstone. Goldstone holds a Ph.D in American constitutional studies. He is the author of Dark Bargain: Slavery, Profits, and the Struggle for the U.S. Constitution.“Complicity: How the North Promoted, Prolonged, and Profited from Slavery” 4:15 p.m. Oct. 19 in the CAAS lounge by Anne Farrow, Joel Lang and Jenifer Frank. Farrow, Wesleyan alumnus Joel Lang and Frank are veteran journalists for The Hartford Courant. Farrow and…

Posted 09/15/06 Each year, the Office of University Communications collects objective and comparative measures of Wesleyan's strengths from data compiled by outside sources. Following is a brief list of recent findings:No. 1 in National Science Foundation (NSF) Funding among Liberal Arts Peers This is an objective ranking based on available NSF funding data. Between 2001 and 2003 Wesleyan received $14.49 million in NSF funding (this reflects the most recent data available – Wesleyan was also No. 1 in the previous survey that ran up to 2001). Next closest was Mt. Holyoke at $5.31 million. Carleton was 3rd, Barnard 4th and…

Science teachers in Connecticut teachers take classes at Wesleyan through the Project to Increase Mastery of Mathematics and Science Program (PIMMS). PIMMS is teaming up with the Connecticut Science Center to provide science and math education techniques to K-12 teachers. Posted 09/15/06 A new partnership between Wesleyan University and The Connecticut Science Center in Hartford will be designed to engage more students across the state to the sciences than ever before. Specifically, The Connecticut Science Center will be partnering with Wesleyan's Project to Increase Mastery of Mathematics and Sciences (PIMMS). Together they will train Connecticut middle school science teachers how…

Posted 09/15/06 On May 4, 2006, Doug Bennet '59, P'87, P'94, Wesleyan's 15th president, announced his decision that the 2006-07 academic year will be the 12th and final year of his presidency. The Wesleyan Board of Trustees is in the process of convening an 18-person search committee composed of alumni, trustees, faculty, staff and students to undertake a comprehensive search to identify and successfully recruit Bennet's successor. The alumni and trustee members of the search committee are Kofi Appenteng '81 and chair, Stephen Daniel '82, Jim Dresser '63, Joe Fins '82, Ellen Jewett '81, Michael McPherson P'98, Megan Norris '83,…