Posted 02/23/05 Are traditional teaching methods keeping pace with the increasingly diverse population of college students nationwide? Or worse are college faculty shying away from balanced teaching or research on race and ethnicity issues altogether because of the incendiary nature of the topics?  These are just some of the issues that were discussed at a seminar titled “Effective Teaching in Racially Diverse Classrooms,” February 28 in the Admission Office’s McKelvey Room. The presenter, Franklin A. Tuitt, Ph.D., has done many seminars on the subject of race in the college classroom, as well as extensive research in the subject. This includes…

The Fauver Field Residence Complex, due to open in September, will house up to 269 students.   Posted 02/23/05 This September, when Wesleyan begins its new academic year, students will move into a new living facility: The Fauver Field Residence Complex. The residences will mark a new step in Wesleyan's recent history; specifically, the university will be able to accommodate close to 100 percent of its students in university-owned housing. The Fauver Field Residence Complex consists of two buildings that together will house up to 269 students including 165 frosh, which will allow virtually all frosh to live in proximity…

Chimemaster Peter Frenzel, professor emeritus of German studies, plays the keys of the bells, located at the top of South College. In August, the university will acquire eight additional bells. The new bells, Frenzel said, will enable him to play more complicated songs. (Photo by Bill Burkhart) Posted 01/31/05 Wesleyan has signed a contract with the Verdin Bell Company of Cincinnati, Ohio, for the casting and installation in the South College belfry of eight additional bells. This new addition will upgrade the Wesleyan bells from the status of a chime (10-22 bells) to that of a carillon (23 or more).…

Posted 01/31/05 A ribbon cutting on Jan. 5 marked the formal opening of the Green Street Arts Center (GSAC) L. to R. are: Middletown Mayor Domenique Thornton, GSAC Director Ricardo Morris, North End Action Team President Peggy Busari, GSAC Assistant Director Manny Rivera, Wesleyan University President Doug Bennet. The center is housed at the former St. Sebastian School at 51 Green Street in Middletown's North End. More than 250 people attended the grand opening. (Photo by Lex Leifheit)   Children draw in one of the two visual art centers at GSAS. The facility also has a dance studio and a…

Posted 01/31/05 A forum on January 25 engaged more than 300 students, faculty and staff in a discussion of the administrative response to issues raised at a student-organized forum in December. The forum followed by a week the distribution of a report detailing student participation in University governance, itself a response to complaints from some students that they felt excluded from decisions that affect their lives on campus. At the forum, held in the Chapel, senior administrators were joined onstage by leaders of the faculty and the Wesleyan Student Assembly. Professor of Philosophy Brian Fay moderated the session, during which…

Erhard Konerding, documents librarian, works inside the Olin Memorial Library, which was built in 1928.   Posted 01/31/05 When Wesleyan's Olin Memorial Library opened in 1928, the classically symmetrical structure fronted with six marble columns stood out as a bold yet elegant structure. Nearly 80 years later, the building is still turning heads. On January 13, The Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) of Greater Hartford awarded the library with The Office Building of the Year (TOBY) award in the historic building category. The TOBY award recognizes excellence in building management, operational efficiency, tenant retention, emergency planning and community impact.…

Robert Lane, assistant professor of molecular biology and biochemistry, co-authored a study that indicates scientists may have overestimated the use of the vomeronasal organ in pheromone perception by animals. Posted 01/31/05 A new study co-authored by Robert Lane, assistant professor of molecular biology and biochemistry, suggests that human pheromone detection may occur right under our own noses - literally. In an article due out in the February issue of "Genome Research," Lane provided new evidence that scientists may have overestimated the use of the vomeronasal organ, or VNO, in pheromone perception in animals. The VNO has been described as the…

Ganesan “Ravi” Ravishanker, director of Technology Support Services and adjunct associate professor of chemistry, explains where his home countries were struck by the December 26 tsunami.   Posted 01/31/05 Millions of Americans watched as the Dec. 26 tsunami obliterated south Asia's coastal belts. But for Ganesan "Ravi" Ravishanker, the event was far more personal. Ravishanker, director of Technology Support Services and adjunct associate professor of chemistry, is a Sri Lanka native and attended college in southern India where the tidal waves battered both shorelines for a half-mile inland. “Those are both places where I have spent a lot of my…

Eric Williams, systems and facilities manager of the Astronomy Department and Van Vleck Observatory, stands outside the observatory's 24-inch Perkin research reflector, where he often hosts weekly open houses and star gazings. "What's beautiful about astronomy is that there are always unanswered questions, and when you answer one, that will open up five more questions," said Eric Williams, the systems and facility manager for the Astronomy Department and Van Vleck Observatory. "I'm always curious." An interest in astronomy, physics and computers led Williams to Wesleyan in 1996. "I've always wanted a job like this," Williams said, "I get to experiment…