Campus News & Events

Senior Katherine Paterson's passion for theater and environmental studies has grown over the past two months while she constructed a greenhouse for an honors thesis that explores and links together urban farming, communal activity, and theater. On Earth Day, April 22, Paterson presented (at)tend, a durational performance of song, poetry, and spoken word, which unfolded over the course of the spring semester. The project involved the collective construction, seeding, and tending of a greenhouse by students and community members, and culminated with a spring harvest. "The goal of the project was to serve as an experiment in creative place-making—in creating a space that the larger…

Ruth Striegel Weissman, the Walter A. Crowell University Professor of the Social Sciences, Emerita, was presented with the Academy for Eating Disorders (AED) Lifetime Achievement Award during a ceremony in Chicago on April 21. The award honors senior AED members for their lifetime of contributions to the field of eating disorders. In presenting the award, Marsha Marcus, professor of psychiatry and psychology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, spoke of Weissman's "impressive history of NIH-supported research, [which] has led to findings that have elucidated eating disorders risk, epidemiology, classification, psychopathology, treatment, health care policy, and cost-effectiveness." This scholarship "has had…

Imagine you are advising a company that is a leading producer of a certain type of fruit product in the United States. The Chinese market has recently opened for export of this fruit product. How should the company best respond to this new market opportunity in China? What is the competition likely to do? This was the scenario facing 30 teams of students from across 16 schools in the Roland Berger Case for a Cause 2018 competition, which simulates the work of a strategy consultant. Wesleyan’s team of four students, sponsored by The Gordon Career Center, tied for first place…

semiautomatic, a book of poetry by poet and literary scholar Evie Shockley, published by Wesleyan University Press, has been named a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry. "Evie Shockley’s semiautomatic is an urgent, energized poetry giving voice to the pain at the intersection of racism and gender-based violence. These vibrant and musical poems turn rhetoric to poetry while questioning our 'semiautomatic' performance of daily life," said Wesleyan University Press Director Suzanna Tamminen. "We are thrilled to see her work receive such a prestigious recognition." According to the Press's website, semiautomatic "responds primarily to the twenty-first century’s inescapable evidence of the terms…

According to the National Cancer Institute, approximately 1 in 8 American women will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of their lifetime, and every day new cases of invasive breast cancer are diagnosed. On April 15, more than 40 teams from Wesleyan and the Middletown community participated in the inaugural Cardinal Community Classic, a 3v3 basketball fundraising tournament. All proceeds, totaling nearly $3,400, were donated to Middlesex Hospital's Comprehensive Breast Center to support local individuals affected by breast cancer. The event was spearheaded by men's basketball team member Jordan Bonner '19, whose aunt is a breast cancer survivor. Bonner recruited Lina Marzouk…

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In this recurring feature in The Wesleyan Connection, we highlight some of the latest news stories about Wesleyan and our alumni. Recent Wesleyan News Hartford Courant: "Connecticut Natives at Wesleyan Organize TEDx Conference" Wesleyan hosted its inaugural TEDx conference on April 7, featuring talks by many distinguished alumni, local officials, and others. Two of the student organizers, Eunes Harun '20 and Leo Marturi '20, are interviewed about the event. 2. The Hill: "Trump, Pelosi Appear Most in Early Ads—for the Other Side" A new analysis from the Wesleyan Media Project finds that Donald Trump has been the top target of political attack ads this…

On April 12, Wesleyan launched a new bikeshare pilot program for the campus community. Spin, Wesleyan's partnering company, has placed 100 orange dockless bikes at multiple locations throughout campus. Anyone with a wesleyan.edu email can borrow a bike for 50 cents for 30 minutes or receive unlimited rides for $14 per month. All new users get two hours of free riding. Anyone without a wesleyan.edu email address can rent a bike for $1 for 30 minutes or $29 per month. To get started, riders can download the app by searching “Spin Bikes” in the app store and signing up with an @wesleyan.edu email.…

Seventy students from six universities participated in the annual DataFest April 6-8 at Wesleyan. Under the auspices of the American Statistical Association, the event is organized by Wesleyan's Quantitative Analysis Center. During the event, teams from Wesleyan, Trinity College, Connecticut College, the University of Connecticut, Yale University, and Bentley University were presented with a large, complex data set and worked over the weekend—and around the clock—to explore, analyze, and present their findings to a panel of judges. Judges included Agbon Edomwonyi '16, data scientist for the City of Newark, N.J.; Rich Anziano, global head of statistics for Pfizer; Melissa Mischell '17,…

Melanie Khamis, assistant professor of economics and of Latin American studies, was named a fellow of the Women and Public Policy Program (WAPPP) at Harvard Kennedy School for the 2018–2019 academic year. In this fellowship, she hopes to continue and expand her research on “Gender in the Labor Market,” with a particular focus on the gender wage gap and occupational choices of women. “I am excited to have this opportunity to join and work with a community of leading researchers in this field,” said Khamis. According to its website, WAPPP is dedicated to closing "gender gaps in economic opportunity, political participation,…

On April 3, the Center for Jewish Studies honored Talia Cohen '19 with the Best Student Paper in Jewish Studies award. Cohen’s paper, which she wrote for her Romantic Poetry class during the fall semester, examines a work by Jewish composer Isaac Nathan as a powerful response to anti-Semitism. Specifically, she considers his decision to set Byron's “She Walks in Beauty” to a Sephardic Portuguese tune for Solomon ha-Levi Alkabez’s 16th-century mystical Sabbath poem, “Lecha Dodi.” According to the abstract, "While Hebrew Melodies (1815), the songbook to which the musicalized version of Lord Byron’s 'She Walks in Beauty' belongs, was widely…

Nationally known leaders and distinguished Wesleyan alumni and faculty presented short, powerful talks during the inaugural TEDxWesleyanU event April 7 in the Ring Family Performing Arts Hall. Launched in 2009, TEDx is a program of locally organized events that bring the community together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TED Talks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection. Some of the best talks from TEDx events have gone on to be featured on TED.com and garnered millions of views from audiences across the globe. Speakers included Maria Santana ’98, a correspondent for CNN…

Paterson’s Senior Thesis Explores Urban Farming, Communal Activity, Performance

Weissman Receives Lifetime Achievement Award

Wesleyan Students Win Prestigious Consulting Competition

Wesleyan University Press Book Is a Pulitzer Prize Finalist

Cardinal Community Classic Raises Funds for Local Cancer Center

Class of 2022 Students and Families Attend 3-Day WesFest

Wesleyan in the News

Wesleyan Introduces Spin Bikeshare Program

Wesleyan Team Wins Prize for “Best User Insight” at DataFest

Khamis Named a Harvard Kennedy School WAPPP Fellow

Paper by Cohen ’19 Honored by Center for Jewish Studies

Students Organize TEDxWesleyanU, Host Distinguished Speakers