Campus News & Events

During the 2020-21 Wesleyan Winter Session, students can complete a full-semester course in 16 days while developing close relationships with faculty and fellow students. The seventh Wesleyan Winter Session will be held exclusively online this year, with an expanded curriculum. For the first time, students can choose from a short session, Jan. 4–20, 2021, or a long session, Jan.4–Feb. 2, 2021. Students who enroll in short session may take one course; students who enroll in long session may enroll in up to two courses. More than 20 courses will be offered this winter including Introduction to Programming, Enlightenment and Science,…

Wesleyan parents, alumni, faculty, staff, and students gathered together virtually Oct. 16–17 to celebrate Wesleyan's 2020 Homecoming and Family Weekend. Participants were treated to popular WESeminars, live campus tours, a Parents' Assembly, two symposiums, and more, all from the comfort of their own homes. (Videos of the events are online from Friday and Saturday.) Screenshots of the various events are below. (more…)

Katja Kolcio, director of the Allbritton Center, associate professor of dance, received a $64,745 grant from the United Nations Recovery and Peacebuilding Programme (UN RPP) this month to evaluate the impact of somatic methods on psycho-social wellness in the context of the armed conflict in Donbas, Ukraine. "Somatic methods, which are the basis of this project, are movement-based methods that hone body-mind connection in the interest of promoting self-awareness and wellness," Kolcio explained. The Vitality Donobas Project is a collaboration between Kolcio and the Development Foundation (DF), an NGO dedicated to psycho-social relief, formed in Ukraine during the Maidan Revolution.…

A new album created by pianist and composer Noah Baerman, director of the Wesleyan University Jazz Ensemble, features more than 80 minutes of performances honoring his friend and former student, vocalist Claire Randall '12, who was murdered in December 2016. Love Right, produced by Resonant Motion, Inc. (RMI) Records, showcases songs written by Baerman alongside more than 40 Wesleyan-affiliated instrumentalists and singers who navigate a broad multitude of musical styles. It was released on Oct. 9 and is Baerman's 11th album. "Love Right is by far the most stylistically eclectic thing I've ever done," Baerman said. "I've incorporated different styles…

Assistant Professor of Computer Science Sebastian Zimmeck is leading a major initiative to help consumers gain greater control of their personal data online. On Oct. 7, Zimmeck and his collaborator, Ashkan Soltani of Georgetown Law, as well as a group of partner organizations that includes The New York Times, The Washington Post, Mozilla, and the parent company behind WordPress.com and Tumblr, among others, announced the beta launch of the Global Privacy Control (GPC), a new effort to standardize consumer privacy online. As Zimmeck explains it, privacy regulations introduced in recent years such as the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and…

Wesleyan's careful planning, creative problem-solving, and exemplary adherence to safety protocols have resulted in the campus community staying together this semester. For the third week in a row, Wesleyan has 0 reported cases of COVID-19. "This is a proud and happy moment for us all," said Wesleyan President Michael Roth '78 in a recent Public Health Update. "At the same time, it is a precarious moment. We understand that the pandemic is still with us and that the public health context can change at any time." With these considerations in mind, Wesleyan will hold Thanksgiving Recess from Wednesday, Nov. 25…

When the COVID-19 outbreak disrupted in-person classes last spring, several faculty found innovative and creative ways to adapt to online teaching and learning. In the fourth of a fall-semester series, we’ll be highlighting ways faculty from various departments are coping with teaching during a pandemic, and showcase individual ways courses are thriving in an in-person, online, or hybridized environment. In this issue, we spotlight Robert Kabacoff, professor of the practice in the Quantitative Analysis Center. This fall, he's teaching QAC 201: Applied Data Analysis; QAC 356: Advanced R: Building Open-Source Tools for Data Analysis; and QAC 385: Applications of Machine…

The COVID-19 pandemic drastically affected the way faculty teach, students learn, and staff work to help the University. In this article, we spotlight Linda Hurteau, Science Library assistant, who has helped make the library a safe environment for patrons and staff alike. The once busy and bustling Science Library, which stays open until 2 a.m. to accommodate those who study late into the night, is open for service this fall semester. However, the pandemic has drastically changed the way students interact with and use the library. And no one knows this better than Science Library Assistant Linda Hurteau, a 16-year…

Sean Higgins, Wesleyan's Lock Shop foreman, passed away suddenly on Sept. 25. He was 60 years old. Higgins worked for Wesleyan's Physical Plant for 16 years maintaining the physical security of the campus where he insured the safety of students, faculty, and staff. According to his obituary in The Middletown Press, Higgins "showed his love in the form of full-body hugs, homemade pasta sauce, big family breakfasts, and a shared Guinness, no matter the time of day. He loved to hate the New York Giants, indulged in bad action films, and never turned down helping someone in need. His quick…

As organisms evolve over time, changes in size—both miniaturization and gigantism—are a major theme. In fish, which are the specialty of Barry Chernoff, the Robert Schumann Professor of Environmental Studies, Professor of Biology and of Earth & Environmental Sciences, miniaturization happens in many lineages, though it’s not very common. Evolutionary biology has long held that this miniaturization is often accompanied by developmental simplification or paedomorphisis (becoming sexually mature while appearing juvenile-like). Last March, just before the pandemic began, Chernoff and students in his Tropical Ecology course (ENVS/Bio/E&ES 306) took a trip to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich.,…

When the COVID-19 outbreak disrupted in-person classes last spring, several faculty found innovative and creative ways to adapt to online teaching and learning. In the third of a fall-semester series, we’ll be highlighting ways faculty from various departments are coping with teaching during a pandemic, and showcase individual ways courses are thriving in an in-person, online, or hybridized environment. In this issue, we spotlight Katja Kolcio, associate professor of dance and director of the Allbritton Center. Kolcio also is a core faculty member of the College of the Environment, Environmental Studies, and Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies Programs at…

Hannah Docter-Loeb '22, a features editor at The Wesleyan Argus, participated in a public discussion about the intersection of D.C. statehood and racial justice Sept. 18. The "Panel on D.C. Statehood and Racial Justice" was hosted by Georgetown Students for D.C. Statehood and featured Docter-Loeb; Anthony Cook, professor of law at Georgetown University; Jamil Scott, assistant professor of government at Georgetown University; and Cosby Hunt, adjunct professor at the University of the District of Columbia and senior manager of social studies education at the Center for Inspired Learning. Docter-Loeb, a D.C. native, was invited to be a panelist after writing…

Wesleyan Winter Session Offers Expanded Options for Study; Registration Opens Nov. 3

Cardinals Celebrate 2020 Homecoming and Family Weekend Virtually

Kolcio Receives Grant from the United Nations Recovery and Peacebuilding Programme

Baerman, Wesleyan Community Pay Tribute to Randall ’12 with New Album, Love Right

Zimmeck Spearheads Launch of Important Online Privacy Tool

Adherence to Safety Protocols Results in Safe and Successful Fall Semester

Kabacoff: Teaching Quantitative Analysis during the Pandemic

Working at Wes during a Pandemic: Hurteau Helps Science Library Adapt to New Social Distancing Guidelines

Lock Shop’s Sean Higgins Remembered for Helping Keep Wes Safe

Discovery by Chernoff and Students Challenges a Tenet of Evolutionary Biology

Students Explore New Reality through Dance

Docter-Loeb ’22 Serves as Panelist on D.C. Statehood, Racial Justice Discussion