Campus News & Events

On April 22, Professor of Physics Brian Stewart held his annual Earth Day Rant. This year's topic was "Bending the Curves: Coping with Crises from Car Crashes to Coronavirus to Climate Change." During his talk, Stewart discussed and compared how a car crash, storm, epidemic, and climate change vary in terms of mitigation, adaptation, perception, agency, cost to the United States, and deaths per 100,000 people. The current epidemic has cost the U.S. more than $2.5 trillion, whereas vehicle accidents amount to $277 billion per year (excluding indirect costs), and storms cause $30 billion per year in damages. All contribute…

In an April 16 campus email, Wesleyan President Michael Roth '78 outlined the cost of the current COVID-19 pandemic to the University to be between $11-12 million for the current fiscal year. On April 21, Roth and Senior Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer, and Treasurer Andy Tanaka '00 held a virtual All-Staff Community Forum to further discuss the pandemic’s impact on Wesleyan’s finances and take questions from the community. In his initial message, Roth wrote that the estimated loss is driven by "the cost of important measures like reimbursing students for prorated portions of their residential and comprehensive fees, emergency…

Astronomy and Physics major David Vizgan '21 has expanded his interest of astrophysics to the far corners of the universe. By using emissions of a "forbidden" line of ionized carbon [CII] in simulated galaxies, he's trying to measure mass and other physical properties of young galaxies over 12.7 billion light years away which populated the universe shortly after the universe's "dark ages". For his outstanding research poster presentation on the subject at the most recent American Astronomical Society meeting, David Vizgan '21 received a Chambliss Astronomy Achievement Student Award. Vizgan is one of 15 undergraduates students (out of 355 total…

This month, the Class of 2024 admitted students and their families are learning all about Wesleyan during the 2020 WesFest. In lieu of the traditional, on-campus three-day event, the University is hosting a series of virtual information sessions, department open houses, student and parent panels, and department events through the Zoom application. "We hope to deliver the same core experience that our on-campus WesFest program strives to provide: a firsthand look at life on campus, opportunities in and out of the classroom, and, of course, a chance for admitted students and family members to pose any outstanding questions they have…

Wesleyan has announced the establishment of a College of Education Studies, along with a new linked major in Education Studies. Rooted in a liberal arts framework, the new College will foster interdisciplinary scholarship of education studies that is connected to practice and policy. It is an opportunity for Wesleyan to integrate serious scholarship with the University’s social justice mission, according to Associate Professors of Psychology Anna Shusterman and Steve Stemler, the co-chairs of the newly formed College. A proposal to establish the College was unanimously endorsed by the Educational Policy Committee (EPC) earlier this year, and was approved by a…

Steve Stemler, associate professor of psychology and co-coordinator of education studies, has spent two decades systematically studying the purposes of school. He is the co-author, together with Dr. Damian Bebell, of The School Mission Statement and maintains the web resource purposeofschool.com. He is the author of an op-ed recently published in The Hartford Courant that provides advice for parents who are now educating their children at home due to coronavirus-related school closures. You’ve done a good deal of research on the purpose of school, a topic on the minds of many parents these days as they’re getting an up-close look at…

Wesleyan in the News 1. CNN: "How Coronavirus Has Reshaped Democratic Plans for 2020" This article on how Democrats are politicizing the government's response to the coronavirus crisis features research by the Wesleyan Media Project, which found that this past month has seen a huge drop in campaign advertising overall. "The messaging and the attacks that we've seen on [coronavirus] do feel louder ... in part because there are fewer messages overall," said Erika Franklin Fowler, associate professor of government, co-director of the Wesleyan Media Project. She notes that health care was emerging as a top issue in 2020 advertising…

Steven Spinner P’15 is chairman/CEO of United Natural Foods Inc. (UNFI), the largest publicly-traded grocery distributor in the United States, with 59 locations in the U.S. and Canada. UNFI’s customers include natural product superstores, independent retailers, conventional supermarket chains, e-commerce retailers, and restaurants—meaning Spinner and his team have a comprehensive perspective on our food supply chain. Spinner recently spoke with us about how the coronavirus pandemic is impacting what we see (and don’t see) on grocery store shelves, and shared his thoughts on how the current situation might impact future consumer behavior. You gave an interview on Bloomberg TV in…

Norman Shapiro, Distinguished Professor of Literary Translation and Poet in Residence, formerly professor of romance languages and literatures, died April 3 at the age of 89. Shapiro arrived at Wesleyan in 1960 after receiving his BA and MA from Harvard University, completing a Fulbright Fellowship at Université d'Aix-Marseille in France, and returning to Harvard for his PhD. He stepped down from regular duties in 2017 but continued in his roles as Distinguished Professor of Literary Translation and Poet in Residence. In addition to his classes in Romance languages and literatures, Shapiro also taught American Sign Language and served as the…

Due to the coronavirus outbreak, Wesleyan canceled all spring semester events, and courses moved to an online format. Wesleyan's Piping Performance course, however, welcomed the Wesleyan community to "attend" their midterm performances on April 7 through the Zoom platform. "Our organ class is thriving in spite of our transition to online classes," said course instructor Alcee Chriss, artist-in-residence and university organist. "It is a particular challenge to teach organ when none of your students have access to one. Many of the students have opted to give their performances on piano for this semester." Six of the 13 students wrote original…

Professor of Psychology Scott Plous is a social psychologist whose research focuses on prejudice and discrimination, decision-making, and ethical issues relating to animals and the environment. He has a long-standing interest in web-based research and teaching, and has taught a Social Psychology massive open online course (MOOC) on the Coursera platform since July 2013. We spoke to him about what social psychology can teach us in these challenging times. What are you teaching this semester, and how have you adapted your course for distance learning? I’m teaching an advanced seminar on the Psychology of Prejudice and Discrimination. Because the class…

Throughout the month of April, the Office of Survivor Advocacy & Community Education (SACE) is hosting Survivor Solidarity Month 2020, a monthlong series of events focused on centering survivors of interpersonal violence. "The goal is to start conversations on our campus about how we support survivors in our community, and how to prevent interpersonal violence from happening in the first place," said Johanna DeBari, director of SACE. "While previously this consisted of many workshops engaging in community dialogue, we're moving to reimagine what this dialogue looks like in a world of social distancing and virtual classrooms." The month of events…

Stewart Holds Annual Earth Day Rant on “Bending the Curves”

Roth ’78, Tanaka ’00 Outline Pandemic’s Financial Impact on Wesleyan

Vizgan ’21 Honored with Chambliss Medal by American Astronomical Society

Admission Hosts Virtual WesFest Throughout April

Wesleyan Establishes College of Education Studies

Stemler: Schools’ Mission Statements Can Guide Educators, Homeschooling Parents Amid Social Distancing

Wesleyan in the News

Spinner P’15 Offers Insight on Food Supply Chain Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

Shapiro Remembered for “Magnificent Translations,” Witticisms

Pipe Organ Class Hosts Midterm Performances Online

Plous: Learning from Social Psychology at a Time of Crisis

SACE Hosts Survivor Solidarity Month Activities, Offers Resources