Lauren RubensteinIn this recurring feature in The Wesleyan Connection, we highlight some of the latest news stories about Wesleyan and our alumni. Recent Wesleyan News Forbes: "Three Questions to Ask Yourself at the Beginning of Your Career" Sharon Belden Castonguay, director of the Gordon Career Center, offers career advice for young people just starting out. 2. The Times Literary Supplement: "Multiple Lives" Hirsh Sawhney, assistant professor of English, coordinator of South Asian studies, explores the "complicated existence" of Mahatma Gandhi. 3. The Washington Post: "The Delight of Being Inconspicuous in a World That's Always Watching Us" President Michael Roth reviews a new book, How to Disappear:…
Natural disasters are becoming more common all over the world. While the focus is often on restoring physical damage, these disasters also impact residents of the affected region psychologically in ways that are less well understood. In a paper published in the journal Traumatology on Feb. 7, Assistant Professor of Psychology Royette Tavernier, along with five student coauthors, examined the psychological impact of tropical storm Erika, which hit the Caribbean island of Dominica in August 2015. The data analyzed was based on a sample of 174 college-aged individuals who completed survey-based assessments of several psychosocial variables six months after the storm.…
Olivia DrakeAn invited perspective article written by Michelle Personick, assistant professor of chemistry, and Danny Robertson ’18 is featured on the cover of the Feb. 26, 2019, issue 4 of Chemistry of Materials. Personick was invited to contribute the perspective article as part of Chemistry of Materials’ “Up-and-Coming” series of Perspectives. The series provides a place for emerging, early career scientists to discuss and provide insights into new areas of materials science, and to showcase their research accomplishments. The perspective, titled "Growing Nanoscale Model Surfaces to Enable Correlation of Catalytic Behavior Across Dissimilar Reaction Environments," highlights recent advances and potential future directions in the…
This spring, nine student ventures received grants from the Jewett Center for Community Partnerships (JCCP) Student Innovation Fund. These student efforts are representative of the JCCP’s commitment to cocreate mutually respectful partnerships in pursuit of a just, equitable, and sustainable future for communities beyond the campus—nearby and around the world. The Student Innovation Fund provides up to $750 for spring or summer projects that prioritize: Collaboration between student groups, faculty/staff, and/or community partners. Investigation of the impact of our civic engagement efforts. Sharing of ideas and learnings in civic engagement on campus and beyond. The recipients are: Jessica Brandon ’20 and Rebecca Goldfarb Terry…
Wesleyan University was named the No. 1 "Impact School" for 2019 by The Princeton Review. Wesleyan and the other 24 schools that made the list "were selected based on student ratings and responses to survey questions covering community service opportunities at their school, student government, sustainability efforts, and on-campus student engagement." The Princeton Review also took into account PayScale.com’s percentage of alumni from each school that reported having high job meaning. Since the Princeton Review created this category in 2015, Wesleyan has remained at the top of the list. "According to our Civic Action Plan, we wish to be an…
John Finn, professor emeritus of government, is the author of Fracturing the Founding: How the Alt-Right Corrupts the Constitution, published by Rowman & Littlefield in 2019. Finn is an internationally recognized expert on constitutional theory, the rule of law and political violence, and the First Amendment. His public lectures include testimony before the House Judiciary Committee, as well as lectures in Bolivia, Canada, Chile, England, France, Italy, and Spain. Many in the radical right, including the Tea Party, the militia movement, the alt-right, Christian nationalists, the Oath Keepers, neo-Nazis, and a host of others, brand themselves as constitutional patriots. In Fracturing…
Wesleyan faculty frequently publish articles based on their scholarship in The Conversation US, a nonprofit news organization with the tagline, “Academic rigor, journalistic flair.” In a new article, Associate Professor of History Victoria Smolkin explains the historical context and significance today of a centuries-old religious dispute over Ukraine's Orthodox Church. Smolkin is also associate professor, Russian, Eastern European, and Eurasian Studies, and a tutor in the College of Social Studies. Why a centuries-old religious dispute over Ukraine's Orthodox Church matters today A new Orthodox Church was recently established in Ukraine. Shortly after, Bartholomew I, the Patriarch of Constantinople and the spiritual head…
Martha "Marty" Gilmore, the George I. Seney Professor of Geology and professor of earth and environmental sciences, presented a talk at the American Museum of Natural History on Feb. 4 titled "Venus: One Fate of a Habitable Planet." Gilmore's presentation was part of the museum's Frontiers Lecture Series, which highlights the latest advances in our knowledge of the universe by presenting the work of scientists at the cutting edge of astrophysics. Gilmore, a planetary geologist, uses surface mapping and orbital spectroscopy to study Venus's terrain. During her talk, she spoke about the planet's oldest rocks and what they can tell us about the…
(Information provided by the Office of Academic Affairs) Joseph W. Reed, professor of English and American studies, emeritus, died on Feb. 11 at the age of 86. Reed arrived at Wesleyan in 1960 after receiving his BA, MA, and PhD from Yale University, and having served on active duty in the Navy. During his time here, he served as the chair of the English Department and of the Sesquicentennial Committee, and was one of the founding architects of both American Studies and Film Studies at Wesleyan. He played an important role in cultivating numerous interdisciplinary initiatives on campus and was…
Six Wesleyan students were recently honored by Creative Writing at Wesleyan and the English Department. Caridad Cruz '21 is the recipient of the Sophie and Anne Reed Prize. Established by Leon Reed; his sons, S. Chadwick ’41 and Dr. Victor Reed; and his grandson Ted Reed ’70, the prize is named in memory of Sophie Reed and Anne Reed, for the best poem or group of poems. (more…)
Christian CamerotaAt the University’s 187th Commencement on May 26, 2019, which coincides with the 50th anniversary of the historic Vanguard Class of 1969 and the founding of the African American Studies program at Wesleyan, Wesleyan will present three honorary degrees. Saidiya Hartman ’84, a groundbreaking scholar and cultural historian, will deliver this year’s Commencement address. Hazel Carby and Edwin Sanders II ’69 also will be honored. (more…)
"Pau," a feature-length film by Alexandre Leter ’21 will be premiering at the Cinéma Saint-André Des Arts in Paris on March 13. "It's a very engaged art-house and cinema that’s very supportive of young filmmakers," Leter said. “I sent them a DVD of the film last summer, and they agreed to show it." Leter, who is majoring in religion and minoring in film studies, started making "Pau" during his senior year of high school in Paris and finished the film during his freshman year at Wesleyan. The film follows "Pau," a young girl who begins to experience hallucinatory visions as…