Posted 04/01/06 Wesleyan will commemorate its 175th anniversary of its institutional charter during the 174th Commencement Ceremonies May 25-28. Wesleyan’s charter was granted on May 26, 1831. John Hope Franklin, professor of history, emeritus at Duke University will give the principal address at commencement and will be awarded an honorary doctor of letters degree during the ceremony. In addition, Wesleyan will award honorary doctors of letters to Mary O. McWilliams '71, president of Regence BlueShield, pioneering alumna and trustee emerita. Franklin is an internationally-renowned historian, intellectual leader and lifelong civil rights activist. He has served on the National Council on…

Dana Royer, assistant professor of earth and environmental sciences, researched why pointy-leafed plants are more common in colder climates. Posted 04/01/06 Smooth or pointy – is there a reason? If that question refers to a leaf, a study by a Wesleyan researcher may have an answer that includes some cold facts about sap flow and the weather. The study by Assistant Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences Dana Royer and featured in a recent issue of the International Journal of Plant Sciences looks at the characteristics of plants with pointy leaves versus smooth-leafed plants and finds the difference is more…

At right, Jessica French Smith ’09, paints a mural with students from Nagarote, Nicaragua. She was one of more than 100 Wesleyan students who volunteered their spring break time to help others around the nation and world. Posted 04/01/06 Jane Maxson ’06 spent her spring break on the gulf coast; however she wasn’t sporting a sun hat and flip-flops on the beach. Equipped with a hammer, nails and tool belt, Maxson spent her time-off school volunteering for hurricane relief efforts. Maxon was one of over 100 Wesleyan students and faculty volunteering world-wide during break.Helping the Hurricane Victims Maxon and 50…

Wesleyan's Fauver Field Residences received a First Place Award in the 2006 Connecticut Building Congress (CBC) Project Team Awards competition. It placed in the New Construction category and competed against other buildings, of which construction costs exceeded $10 million. Fauver's construction began in August 2004 and the student residences were completed in September 2005. The CBC requests that projects submitted in the competition be located in Connecticut and substantially completed during 2005. "We're honored Fauver is setting a positive example for other new constructions in the state," said Joyce Topshe, associate vice president of facilities. "A great deal of time…

Pictured at top, Alex Gorelick '09 performs during a WesGuitars meeting March 9. Pictured in back, from left, are Bolivian guitarist, Marcos Puña and Cem Duruoz, private lessons teacher of classical guitar and WesGuitar coordinator. Pictured below is WesGuitars member Sylvia Ryerson ’09. (Click the speaker button to hear Gorelick playing Prelude No. 1 by Heitor Villa-Lobos) Posted 03/16/06 Sylvia Ryerson ’09 came to Wesleyan with an interest in classic guitar, but no real ability to play the instrument. But after joining a new club called WesGuitars, she’s already memorized pieces by Brazillian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos and Cuban conductor Leo…

Posted 03/15/06 Five Wesleyan faculty members received Mellon Career Enhancement Grants for the 2006-07 academic year.Wesleyan, along with Amherst College, Grinnell College, Oberlin College, Pomona College, Reed College, Smith College and Williams College, are in the third year of a major collaborative grant from the Mellon Foundation to enhance faculty career development. Faculty members from each of the institutions compete for semester research leaves, summer stipend grants, and workshop grants designed to encourage and promote increased scholarly activity for the faculty of the eight institutions. Hilary Barth, assistant professor of psychology, and Abigail Hornstein, assistant professor of economics, received Mellon…

Passers-by walk across Cross Street at a pedestrian walkway. Brightly-colored signs have been installed in the center of the street in an effort to improve campus safety. Posted 03/15/06 In its on-going efforts to continually improve campus safety, Wesleyan has been taking various measures to upgrade services and capabilities appropriately. These include:Pedestrian SafetyBrightly-colored signs have been installed in the middle of crosswalks on Church Street and Cross Street reminding motorists that they must stop for pedestrians in the crosswalk. Lighting has been improved at several crosswalks and a new crosswalk signal will be installed on Washington Street. Public Safety's on-going…

Posted 03/01/06 Wesleyan University is one of 93 colleges and universities nationwide competing in a recycling program through April 8.   As part of RecycleMania 2006, Wesleyan aims to collect the largest amount of recyclables, the least amount of trash, and have the highest recycling rate over a 10 week period. A RecycleMania trophy will be presented to the winning school.   Schools participating in RecycleMania 2006 represent 33 states, 880,000 students and more than 275,000 faculty and staff. Eight of 11 campuses in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC), including Wesleyan, are RecycleManiacs.   Bill Nelligan, associate…

Pictured at top, right, Yashan Zhou '09 and Mo Sarakun '07 teach seventh graders from Woodrow Wilson Junior High School how to make their own sushi rolls. Pictured at left, Ada Fung '06 teaches the students how to paint cherry blossoms on rice paper.Pictured below, Alex Weber '06 teaches martial arts and the history of the shaolin. Posted 03/01/06 Seventh-grader Liam Wolfram had tried sushi at Japanese restaurants, but he’s never attempted to make his own. Last month, Liam did just that as he and 25 of his classmates from Woodrow Wilson Middle School in Middletown experienced a taste of…

Phil Cotharin, temperature controls mechanic/energy management specialist, is helping Wesleyan significantly reduce energy waste and save money. A new initiative, Project $AVE, will work with the campus community to implement energy-saving ideas. Posted 03/01/06 During the past two years:The Purchasing Office negotiated purchasing contracts, competitive bidding and individual purchasing negotiations, saving $800,000.Wesleyan Station contracted with a new vendor for handling first-class university mail services to save $4,000 annually.The Freeman Athletic Center added energy-efficient fixtures, automated light sensors and high efficiency pumps to provide a rebate of $18,300.Waste management efficiencies consolidated four dumpsters into one trash compactor at a central location,…

Ellen Thomas, research professor of earth and environmental sciences, examines the fossils of sea creatures from her office in Exley Science Center. Thomas extracted her samples from the ocean's floor. She says they are more than 65 million years old. Posted 03/01/06 The largest habitat on Earth lies hundreds to thousands of feet beneath sea level, in a dark, near-freezing, high-pressure environment with little food. About 65 million years ago, the life forms living on the ocean-floor in this habitat survived the an asteroid impact, which probably wiped out the dinosaurs and many other forms of life on land and…