Campus News & Events

The shows must go on. Rather than allowing the COVID-19 pandemic to force a final curtain call on theatrical productions, Wesleyan's Theater Department pivoted to an online format. On May 1, and again on May 2, the department offered livestreamed performances of The Method Gun, featuring 10 student-actors. A replay of the Saturday performance is available for viewing on The Method Gun @ Wes website. After countless hours of line rehearsals, overcoming technical frustrations, and learning how to act and teach theater in a virtual world, show director and Assistant Professor of Theater Katie Pearl breathed a sigh of relief…

On April 13, Wesleyan’s Special Collections & Archives launched a new project asking the Wesleyan community for personal reflections on the COVID-19 pandemic. University Archivist Amanda Nelson introduced the project by saying, “It’s clear that we are all living and making history right now. As an archivist, I am always interested in recording these efforts so that . . . later, with the benefit of hindsight, [they can] give us and future generations of Wesleyan the ability to reflect on and learn from them.” Here, Nelson provides more insight into how the project came about and how the Wesleyan community…

Shortly after returning home to New York City this spring amid the coronavirus pandemic, Walker Brandt ’22 was out for a walk near the Hudson River when he caught a glimpse of yellow tape in front of Brookdale, the senior living facility that had previously been his grandmother’s home. A sign on the sliding doors read, “No in-person visits are allowed at this time.” Brandt immediately appreciated the precautions the facility was taking to keep its residents safe, but also wondered what the seniors’ social lives would look like without visitors. With the suspension of in-person visitors also came a…

This spring, Graduate Liberal Studies student Kristen Cardona enrolled in her first-ever photography course, ARTS 613: Studies in Portraiture and Self-Portraiture. While learning how to better use a camera, she practiced taking images of herself, family, friends, and neighbors. Heading into early March, the assignment was to photograph strangers. And then the coronavirus pandemic struck the nation. All Wesleyan courses moved to an online format. "This threw a huge curve ball! Obviously we couldn’t finish photographing strangers," said Cardona, who is the program coordinator for continuing studies at Wesleyan. "People are scared. Simple requests to take a photo seem to…

When President Michael Roth announced in mid-March that Wesleyan would suspend in-person classes for the remainder of the spring semester because of the increasing threat of the COVID-19 pandemic, faculty had less than two weeks to prepare their courses for distance learning before classes resumed after spring break. Trying to recreate the immersive Wesleyan classroom experience in a digital format presented a variety of challenges, particularly for faculty who had never taught online previously. It’s become clear over the last month that faculty have been able to rise to those challenges, and the Wesleyan Student Assembly (WSA) formally recognized their…

Wesleyan in the News 1. Washington Post: "Biden Makes End Run Around Trump as the President Dominates the National Stage" Erika Franklin Fowler, associate professor of government and co-director of the Wesleyan Media Project, comments on Biden's unusual strategy during an unprecedented time for the 2020 presidential campaign. “There is not a ready off-the-shelf playbook for how you campaign in this environment if you are a nonincumbent, so that’s part of what you’re seeing,” she said. “We’re all being thrown into this new environment, where campaigns are going to need to reinvent, to some extent, how they go about things,…

Wesleyan received 12,752 applications for its Class of 2024, offering admission to 2,531 students (19.8%) from a competitive, diverse applicant pool. “In one of Wesleyan’s most competitive years, we selected students as much for their character and personal promise as their outstanding achievements and talents,” said Vice President and Dean of Admission and Financial Aid Amin Abdul-Malik Gonzalez ’96. “I am proud of the fact that, statistically, the Class of 2024 is among the most distinguished group of students ever admitted who will undoubtedly contribute to our educational community in dynamic ways. They are bright, motivated individuals who love learning…

Assistant Professor of Government Alyx Mark studies the American separation of powers system, access to justice, and Supreme Court decision-making. She was recently awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) Rapid Response Research (RAPID) grant to study the response of state courts to the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic. Congratulations on receiving the NSF RAPID grant! Can you please explain how this opportunity came about? Near the beginning of the pandemic, NSF sent out a Dear Colleague letter soliciting project proposals related to COVID-19. When I read that letter, my first thought was that this was relegated to epidemiologists and…

Assistant Professor of Government Lindsay Dolan specializes in international political economy and comparative politics in developing countries. Her research and teaching interests include international organizations, foreign aid, and development. Together with her co-author Quynh Nguyen of Australian National University, she has been studying how COVID-19 is affecting public attitudes toward globalization. President Trump recently announced that he is suspending U.S. funding for the World Health Organization (WHO). Can you briefly explain the role of the WHO, particularly during a global health crisis, and what will be the implications of the U.S. cutting funding? Which countries or populations will be most…

Wesleyan announced that it will now offer a part-time, non-residential undergraduate degree, the Bachelor of Liberal Studies (BLS). This provides a flexible, affordable path to earning a bachelor’s degree for students who meet Wesleyan’s admission standards but are unable to commit to living on campus for a variety of reasons. The Office of Continuing Studies and the BLS Faculty Governing Board announced the BLS degree in an email to faculty and staff on April 9. Staff, as well as spouses and domestic partners of faculty and staff, who are interested in earning a bachelor’s degree, are encouraged to apply. The…

For demonstrating exceptional achievement in academics, undergraduate research, and science outreach, the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology inducted Tenzin Ngodup '20, Meera Joshi '20, and Charya Khun '20 into the ASBMB Honor Society, ΧΩΛ. ΧΩΛ recognizes exceptional undergraduate juniors and seniors pursuing degrees in the molecular life sciences at colleges or universities. To be eligible, undergraduate nominees must be members of an ASBMB student chapter, and maintain a minimum of a 3.4 GPA on a 4.0 scale. Nominations may be submitted by either a faculty ASBMB member or by the student member. Ngodup, Joshi, and Khun are among only…

The student-run Wesleyan Investment Group (WIG) is celebrating a first-place victory in a six-month-long collegiate investment contest that concluded April 9. Despite the COVID-19 epidemic's detrimental impact to the stock market, WIG managed to garner a 27.04% return in the 2019–20 Adirondack Cup, a stock-picking contest sponsored by the advisor to The Adirondack Small Cap Fund (ADKSX). Wesleyan competed against 22 other institutions in New England and New York. Each student team managed a hypothetical $1 million portfolio consisting of five small cap equities. Team members studied the performance of more than 100 businesses and predicted which ones would perform…

Theater Department Produces, Livestreams The Method Gun

SC&A Launches New Collection of Pandemic-Related Reflections

Students Form Connections with Senior Citizens Isolated by Pandemic

Portraiture Photography Class Shifts Focus During COVID-19 Pandemic

Wesleyan Student Assembly Commends Faculty on Distance Learning Efforts

Wesleyan in the News

Wesleyan, Notable Alumni Welcome the Class of 2024

NSF Funds Mark’s Research Into Impact of Pandemic on Courts

Dolan Studies Impact of COVID-19 on Public Attitudes Toward Globalization

Wesleyan Establishes New Bachelor of Liberal Studies Degree

Ngodup ’20, Joshi ’20, Khun ’20 Inducted Into ASBMB Honor Society

Wesleyan Investment Group Takes 1st Place in Adirondack Cup