Campus News & Events

Peter Frenzel, Marcus L. Taft Professor of German Studies, Emeritus, passed away on Sunday, May 20, 2018, at the age of 82. Frenzel arrived at Wesleyan in 1966 after receiving his BA from Yale, MA from Middlebury, and PhD from the University of Michigan. He retired in 2003. During his 37 years at Wesleyan, Frenzel served on virtually every major committee, including advisory and educational policy, and he served in a number of administrative roles, including associate provost, dean of arts and humanities, chair of German studies, director of the Wesleyan Program in Germany, and as the Commencement Marshal. In his retirement,…

In response to an exhibit focusing on the Haitian Revolution of 1791, Gina Athena Ulysse, professor of anthropology, presented a commissioned work on March 16 at the British Museum. The exhibit, titled "A revolutionary legacy: Haiti and Toussaint Louverture," featured a selection of objects, artworks, and poetry from the 18th century to the present. Objects explored the legacy of the Haitian Revolution and its leader Toussaint Louverture. Louverture was one of the leading figures in the Haitian Revolution, which began in 1791 as an uprising of enslaved men and women in what was then a French sugar colony. It culminated with the outlawing…

The 2018 spring season will go down as the greatest in Wesleyan University Athletics history. On May 26, Eudice Chong '18 of the No. 5-ranked Wesleyan University women's tennis team made history at the NCAA Division III Individual Championships in Claremont, Calif., as she became the first person to win four NCAA Singles Championships in any division of college tennis. She competed against her teammate, Victoria Yu ’19, in the finals while the duo also finished as runner-up in the doubles bracket. As a team, Wesleyan women’s tennis reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championships for the first-time ever. Read a…

In its most recent meeting, the Board of Trustees conferred tenure to three faculty members, effective July 1: Roger Grant, associate professor of music; Clara Wilkins, associate professor of psychology; and Marcela Oteíza, associate professor of theater. They join eight other faculty members who were awarded tenure earlier this spring. In addition, eight faculty members are being promoted: Kim Diver, associate professor of the practice in earth and environmental sciences; Erik Grimmer-Solem, professor of history; Katherine Kuenzli, professor of art history; Joyce Ann Powzyk, associate professor of the practice in biology; Patricia Rodriguez Mosquera, professor of psychology; Charles Sanislow, professor of…

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, Charles Barber, visiting writer at Wesleyan, and Michael Rowe, professor of psychiatry at Yale University, write about a citizenship intervention program they developed over the past 20 years in New Haven to help homeless individuals reintegrate into society. Not just a place to live: From homelessness to citizenship Twenty years ago, Jim lived under a highway bridge in New Haven, Connecticut. He was in his 50s and had once been in the Army. After…

Professor Emeritus of History Donald Meyer passed away on May 27 at the age of 94. Meyer received his BA from the University of Chicago in 1947 after taking a three-year hiatus to serve in the United States Army (1943–1946), and then went on to complete his MA and PhD from Harvard University. He taught at Harvard for two years and UCLA for twelve years before arriving at Wesleyan in 1967. Meyer was a social and intellectual historian who published three books and numerous articles over a long and productive career. According to colleague Nat Greene, “He was an expert in offering a vigorous…

Five Wesleyan students determined to make life better for girls in rural African areas have received a prestigious $10,000 Davis Projects for Peace grant. Their start-up nonprofit, Rural Access, seeks to expand access to health and education in impoverished areas, while also raising awareness of pressing health issues. Among those is the need to address lack of menstrual hygiene products, which frequently keeps girls out of school and leads to high dropout rates, poverty, and other harmful outcomes. This summer, Rural Access will be working in Ethiopia and Guyana to make menstrual hygiene kits and distribute them to girls. The…

On June 23, President Michael Roth '78 will participate in a debate titled, "Trigger Warning: Safe Spaces Are Dangerous," presented by Intelligence Squared U.S. in partnership with the John Templeton Foundation. The debate will take place before a live audience in Banff in Alberta, Canada, from 7:30 to 9:00 p.m. (9:30–11:00 p.m. EST). It will be livestreamed here, and will air soon after as part of the syndicated public radio show and podcast "Intelligence Squared U.S." According to the Intelligence Squared website: "Universities and students have come under attack in recent years for promoting the concept of 'safe spaces.' Proponents of the…

The Wesleyan University spring athletic teams put a total of 125 student-athletes on the 2018 NESCAC Spring All-Academic Team on May 18, while 11 Cardinals earned All-Sportsmanship Team honors as announced by the conference office May 17. To be named to the All-Academic Team a student-athlete must have reached sophomore academic standing and be a varsity letter winner with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.40. Transfer students are eligible as long as they have completed at least one year of coursework at the institution. Tufts ranked first in the conference with 157 athletes on the All-Academic list, while Middlebury checked in…

Two Wesleyan faculty were honored for their artistic excellence by the 2018 Artist Fellowship Program. Nicole Stanton, associate professor of dance, African American studies, and environmental studies, and Noah Baerman, director of the Wesleyan Jazz Ensemble, each received a $3,000 grant in the program's Performing Arts category. The Artist Fellowship Program recognizes individual Connecticut artists in a variety of disciplines and allows these artists the opportunity to pursue new works of art and to achieve specific creative and career goals. The program is highly competitive: for the 2018 round, more than 235 applications were received and reviewed by 48 professional panelists…

"16 Shades of Red," a full-length choreography created by Hari Krishnan, associate professor of dance, premiered at the Mondavi Center at the University of California, Davis, on May 12 and 13. Krishnan is a member of inDANCE, one of Canada's most progressive dance companies. "16 Shades of Red," presented in two chapters, integrates original courtesan dance from South India, complex choreography, and live music. Watch a video of his performance below: [youtube width="700" height="450"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajR3keGPns8[/youtube] At Wesleyan, Krishnan teaches Bharata Natyam, or South Indian classical dance. "BN1 and BN3 students had performed material this semester at Wesleyan so incredibly well, and it was…

This spring, Sonia Sultan, professor of biology, professor of environmental studies, has delivered several notable invited talks in different parts of the world. In February, she presented the annual Darwin Day talk at the University of Glasgow in Scotland. Sultan was the first woman scientist to present this prestigious lecture, in which a prominent evolutionary biologist shares their research and its broader implications. Sultan spoke on “Eco-Devo Insights to Evolutionary Questions,” using results from her Wesleyan lab’s plant research to address basic questions about individual development, inheritance, and adaptation. She was also interviewed about her contributions to current evolutionary biology for…

Frenzel Remembered for Scholarship on Medieval Music, German Culture

Ulysse Commissioned to Create Work for British Museum

2017–18 Athletic Season Concludes with 2 National Championships

11 Faculty Promoted, 3 Receive Tenure

Barber in The Conversation: From Homelessness to Citizenship

Meyer Remembered for Shaping Curriculum in History Department

Students in Rural Access Group Receive Davis Peace Grant

President Roth to Debate Safe Spaces, Free Speech on June 23

125 Student-Athletes Make NESCAC All-Academic Team

Baerman, Stanton Receive Artist Fellowship Awards

Krishnan Debuts Choreography at UC Davis, Jacob’s Pillow

Sultan Delivers Lectures around the World