The American Story Project, a theater company comprised of Wesleyan students and alumni, will perform We Can't Reach You, Hartford at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival held in Edinburgh, Scotland Aug. 7-19. Posted 07/28/06 In 1944, the Hartford Circus Fire caused more than 150 deaths during an afternoon circus performance. Although the cause of the fire remains officially undetermined, five employees of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus were charged with involuntary manslaughter, and the circus was forced to accept full financial responsibility for the fire that occurred during their show. This tragic, yet compelling story, will be retold…

Max Schenkein '08 chats with an alumnus during a Wesleyan Fund fund-raising drive. Below, Sean Collins '08 and Ana Lombera '09 request gifts for Wesleyan. The student callers, along with staff in University Relations, helped raise more than $35 million this past year. Posted 07/28/06 Wesleyan enters its 175th anniversary year celebration with a tremendous gift from its alumni, friends, and other supporters: a record-breaking $35,054,196 in cash gifts, surpassing the 2005 record by $3.7 million. These funds will support financial aid, faculty, facilities, and programs. Fifty-four percent of alumni participated in giving to Wesleyan in 2006, equaling 2005's participation…

Posted 07/28/06 Immigration, race and the history of U.S. citizenship are just a few of the topics that will be discussed during a summer institute presented by the Center for African American Studies for secondary school teachers from Aug. 7-10. “Race and Membership: A History of United States Citizenship,” has pre-registered more than 20 social studies teachers, most hailing from Connecticut. The four-day institute is open to all secondary school educators (grades six through 12), support staff, curriculum specialists and school librarians. The institute aims to foster a sustained and in-depth discussion among the participants about how to teach United…

Harry Saranchak, a Wesleyan Writers Conference participant, reviews his writing outside the Davenport Campus Center June 19. The conference is one of 31 campus programs occurring this summer at Wesleyan. Posted 07/06/06 Learning never ceases at Wesleyan, even in the summer.   The Cardinal Hoop Clinic. The Russian Intensive Program. The Health Professions Partnership Initiative. These are just a few of 31 on campus programs running during the summer months.   The programs are not just for college-aged students, either. Many are specifically designed for younger children and adults.   The programs actually began this year before the class of…

President Doug Bennet congratulates five Wesleyan seniors on their new endeavor, beyondpartisan.org. The students, who graduated in May, are, from left, Adam Jack Gomolin, Bill Ferrell, David Tutor, Robert Weinstock and Nathaniel Byer. Posted 06/16/06 Last August, four Wesleyan seniors got together for a friendly chat on political issues, each disenchanted with the nature of Internet politics and the few venues available for American citizens to express their viewpoints in a neutral environment. True, there are hundreds of political-action Web sites, such as MoveOn.org and CitizenJoe.com, online periodicals, and single-view blogs, but the students felt the World Wide Web lacked…

Installation of fire protection systems in student housing and wiring are ongoing projects this summer. Posted 06/16/06 Wesleyan’s summer to-do list is 98 lines long. And each must get checked off before the students return for fall semester. Judd Hall’s fifth floor needs a renovation, student housing needs life safety improvements and the Center for the Arts needs its lighting replaced with energy-efficient bulbs. High Rise needs a security card access system installed, campus roofs need a maintenance plan and the Butterfields need two fire escape landings rebuilt.“We have close to 100 projects we plan to complete this summer. Our…

Posted 06/16/06 The Association of American Colleges and Universities invited Wesleyan President Doug Bennet to attend a forum June 22-23 in Strasbourg, France. The forum, titled "The Responsibility of Higher Education for a Democratic Culture: Citizenship, Human Rights, and Civic Responsibility," was held at the Council of Europe headquarters. The council co-sponsored the forum. Bennet was one of 300 higher education leaders, policy makers and public authorities from North America and Europe to attend. "For this select group, we chose President Bennet because we thought he would be especially effective representing United States higher education and he would likely use…

Pictured at left, Stewart Gillmor, professor of history and science and professor of science in society, performs during “The Bang on a Can Marathon” June 4 in New York City. Below, Anthony Braxton, professor of music, directs the band. Braxton wrote the band's composition. Posted 06/16/06 Strutting outside the World Financial Center in New York City, Stewart Gillmor bellowed his five valve double-belled euphonium for thousands of spectators. He was one of 75 tuba players to march in the annual “The Bang on a Can Marathon” June 4 in New York City. Gillmor, professor of history and science and professor…

Posted 05/28/06 The following iare John Hope Franklin's commencement remarks presented during Wesleyan 174th Commencement Ceremonies on May 28. Franklin is professor of history, emeritus at Duke University.A video clip of Franklin's speech can be found at: http://condor.wesleyan.edu/openmedia/ur-media/video/comm_06/FranklinSansIntro.mov. Mr. President, Members of the Board of Trustees, the administration and faculty, members of the graduating classes, parents, friends, members of the Middletown community, ladies and gentleman. Mr. President, I will be brief. This is a glorious, memorable, exciting occasion and each time that I have the opportunity to participate in this ritual, even after my 50th anniversary of receiving my own…

Beth Redington, project coordinator, teaches Connecticut teachers how to implement Microsoft PowerPoint presentations into their classroom instruction during the Leadership Academy in Mathematics Program May 19 in Exley Science Center. Posted 05/28/06 Jennifer DaPonte, a mathematics teacher from Flood Middle School in Stratford, Conn. went back to college May 19 to learn advanced geometry and ‘story problems.’ “I’m here to learn more about specific topics that relate to my school’s curriculum,” DaPonte says. “It would be helpful to learn how to better teach geometry, statistics, data analysis and general problem solving skills.” DaPonte is one of 50 middle and high…

Glenn Adams ’06, at top, is Wesleyan's leading lacrosse player, scoring 90 goals and 117 assists for 207 points. Charlie Congleton ’07, at bottom, is the team’s goalie. Both were named All-Americans this year. Posted 05/28/06 A year ago, the Wesleyan University men’s lacrosse team posted a 13-6 record and made its first trip to the NCAA Division III tournament, winning its first game before falling in the quarter-finals to eventual tournament runner-up Middlebury College. This year’s team went one step further, reaching the NCAA Division III semi-finals, and came within an overtime goal of a trip to the national…

Dave Pompei, Central Power Plant foreperson, checks one of three chillers the university owns. Wesleyan is being aggressive in its energy conservation efforts. Pictured at right is a view inside one of Wesleyan's three boilers. Wesleyan will be installing a new cogeneration system that will replace the use of one boiler in the summer. Posted 05/28/06 Wesleyan is pulling the plug on high energy usage. Something as simple as unplugging the office coffee machines for the weekend can save Wesleyan thousands of dollars a year, says Peter Staye, associate director of utilities management in Physical Plant. Although the burners are…