Campus News & Events

As campus was winding down for spring break last semester, Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences Suzanne O’Connell was packing her bags for a two-month expedition in the Scotia Sea, just north of the Antarctic Peninsula, to drill for marine sediment miles below the ocean waves. On her ninth expedition since 1980, O’Connell was one of 30 international scientists working 12 hours a day, seven days a week, navigating “Iceberg Alley” aboard the JOIDES Resolution research vessel. It is the only ship in the world with coring tools powerful enough to extract both soft sediment and hard rock from the…

Wesleyan's fundraising arm, the Office of University Relations, now has a new name—and a new home. Effective Aug. 1, University Relations was renamed the Office of Advancement, which reflects the evolution of the team’s work as they refine their focus and prepare for the next campaign, and aligns with industry standards. "Of course, the staff’s commitment to the Wesleyan community and to engaging alumni, parents, and students in the life of the University remains unchanged," said Frantz Williams ’99, vice president for advancement. "We’re all excited for this new chapter!" During the summer the advancement staff relocated to 291 Main…

Equipped with 3-D printers, water-jet and laser cutters, computer-operated milling machines, and high-tech drills, saws, and workstations, Wesleyan's new IDEAS Lab is on the "cutting edge" of digital fabrication. This fall, the College of Integrative Sciences opened the adjoined classroom and makerspace in Room 40 of Exley Science Center. While it is currently used by students in the IDEAS (Integrated Design, Engineering & Applied Science) program, by spring 2020 the space should be open to the entire Wesleyan community. "The space is the heart of our efforts to provide students with a facility to explore their ideas and create new…

This fall, Wesleyan welcomes 48 new faculty to campus. Of those, there are 16 tenure-track, 10 professors of the practice, one artist-in-residence, one adjunct, and 20 new visiting faculty members. The new faculty bring a diverse skill set to campus. Among them are experts in international political economy; Indian cinema and film; environmental archaeology and ancient DNA; German poetry and aesthetic theory of the 18th century; music and expressive culture in Kazakhstan; politics in the African diaspora; Russian and Anglo-American literature; physiological and psychological effects of alcohol; and digital video production. In addition, three are Wesleyan alumni. Bios of the…

A film written, directed, and produced by Peabody Award winner Randall MacLowry '86 tells the story about the most famous family conflict in American history—the Hatfield-McCoy feud. The one-hour documentary titled "The Feud" premiered Sept. 10 on PBS and PBS.org as part of the station's American Experience programming. Watch the film's trailer online. MacLowry also is a new assistant professor of the practice in film studies. He's teaching the course Advanced Filmmaking this fall. The clashes between the Hatfields and the McCoys evolved into a mythic American tale of jealousy, rage, and revenge—a story that helped create the negative “hillbilly”…

On Sept. 3, during the first faculty meeting of the fall semester, three Wesleyan professors were honored with the Wesleyan Prize for Excellence in Research. The faculty-nominated prize is presented to members of the faculty who demonstrate the highest standards of excellence in their research, scholarship, and contributions to their field. Interim Provost and Senior Vice President for academic affairs Rob Rosenthal acknowledged the recipients during the faculty meeting. Each winner received a plaque and funding for his or her research. This year's recipients include: Natasha Korda, professor of English, plays a highly visible role in keeping scholarship on Renaissance…

The rare Guadalupe fescue once thrived in abundance atop mountains spanning the Texas-Mexico border, however, the desert-growing perennial grass is now so endangered, it only flourishes in two locations on Earth. The rapid population decline is leaving scientists puzzled. "Developing an effective recovery plan is essential for protecting Guadalupe fescue, however, the lack of basic information about this species’ ecology is a serious barrier to that goal," explained Helen Poulos, adjunct assistant professor of environmental studies. "Urgent action is needed to stabilize the two extant populations." This summer, under Poulos's leadership, Wesleyan received a National Park Service Grant to study…

A summary of Assistant Professor of Economics Gillian Brunet’s dissertation, “Understanding the Effects of Fiscal Policy: Measurement, Mechanisms, and Lessons from History,” was published in the June issue of the Journal of Economic History. She wrote the paper while pursuing her PhD in economics at the University of California, Berkeley. The global recession of 2008 and the resulting fiscal stimulus packages in many countries have reignited academic interest in government spending multipliers. Despite a growing theoretical and empirical literature, there is little consensus on the impact of government spending on macroeconomic aggregates. Gillian Brunet’s dissertation makes significant contributions to this…

David Kuenzel, assistant professor of economics, is the co-author of a new paper published in the July–August issue of International Journal of Forecasting titled “Forecasts in Times of Crises.” In the paper, Kuenzel and his co-authors examine the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) forecast accuracy of 29 key macroeconomic variables for countries in times of economic crises. In general, forecasts of the IMF add substantial informational value as they outperform naive forecast approaches. However, the paper also documents that there is room for improvement: Two-thirds of the examined macroeconomic variables are forecast inefficiently, and six variables (growth of nominal GDP, public…

A paper written by Kaitlyn Thomas-Franz ’20 was the recipient of the 2018–19 Lebergott-Lovell Prize for the best paper written for a course that uses empirical techniques to analyze an economic problem. Thomas-Franz wrote the paper “The 1918 Influenza Epidemic and U.S. Female Labor Force Participation" while she was taking Macroeconomic Analysis during the spring 2019 semester. The class was taught by Gillian Brunet, assistant professor of economics. Honorable mentions included Qiyuan Zheng ’20 for a paper titled “FPI in Emerging Markets: Does the Equity Home Bias Theory Extend?” and Dominic Oliver ’19 for a paper titled “The Determinants of…

On Aug. 28, 781 members of the Class of 2023—along with their families—flocked to campus for Arrival Day. Hauling armfuls of personal belongings and comforts from home, students settled into their new home-away-from-home amid fond (and a few teary) farewells. President Michael Roth '78 provided a personal welcome, helping carry students' belongings into residence halls and offering warm greetings to the new members of the Wesleyan family. Athletic teams also helped carry the load, hoisting plastic tubs of cold-weather clothing and draped bedding over their shoulders. Clark Hall volunteers had organized their sidewalk space, chalking it into squares labeled with…

In this recurring feature in The Wesleyan Connection, we highlight some of the latest news stories about Wesleyan and our alumni. Wesleyan in the News 1. Where We Live: "The Life and Legacy of American Composer Charles Ives" Neely Bruce, the John Spencer Camp Professor of Music, is a guest on this show about the legacy of composer Charles Ives. Bruce is the only pianist who has ever played all of the Ives music for solo voice, in a project called the Ives Vocal Marathon, which took place at Wesleyan in 2009. He is also the co-editor of a new collection…

O’Connell Works with International Scientists to Collect Sediment Cores from Scotia Sea

University Relations Debuts New Name, Moves Offices to Main Street with Financial Services

New IDEAS Lab Offers State-of-the-Art Digital Fabrication Tools

Wesleyan Welcomes 48 New Faculty, Postdocs, Scholars

MacLowry ’86 Directs “The Feud” on PBS

3 Wesleyan Faculty Honored with Prizes for Excellence in Research

Poulos Studies Endangered Grass on Texas-Mexico Border

Brunet’s Dissertation Summarized in the Journal of Economic History

Kuenzel’s Paper Examines the International Monetary Fund’s Forecast Accuracy

Paper by Thomas-Franz ’20 Wins Economics Department Prize

Wesleyan Welcomes 781 Students on Arrival Day (with video and photo gallery)

Wesleyan in the News