Campus News & Events

On Dec. 11, Foss Professor of Physics Tom Morgan invited his class, Introduction to Contemporary Physics, to join him in Exley Science Center for a virtual visit to the Large Hadron Collider, the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator, located in Geneva. With Senior Instructional Media Specialist Heric Flores-Rueda projecting images on a classroom screen through video conferencing, Morgan's students enjoyed a real-time view of the CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) laboratory and an on-screen peek inside the collider. Physicist Steven Goldfarb—a member of the team that discovered the Higgs Boson Particle—led the tour, explaining the experiments underway, as…

For a second consecutive year, Wesleyan will offer a four-year, full-tuition scholarship worth as much as $200,000 to the incoming student who submits a creative written work judged to best reflect the originality, artistry and dynamism embodied by the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical Hamilton. Submissions are due Jan. 1, 2018, the regular decision application deadline for Wesleyan’s Class of 2022. Learn more on this website. The prize was established to honor alumni Lin-Manuel Miranda '02, Hon. '15 and Thomas Kail '99, who created and directed the hit broadway musical Hamilton. In 2016-17, the inaugural year of the Hamilton Prize, Wesleyan received over…

This semester, Wesleyan's Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program, which assists students from underrepresented groups in preparing for, entering and progressing successfully through post-graduate education, received a five-year renewal grant from the U.S Department of Education. Wesleyan's program will receive $232,265 annually, for a total award of $1,161,325. The federal money is supplemented with an additional $50,000 per year from the President. Since 2007, the program has supported 135 students all of whom were first-generation college and low-income and/or from groups underrepresented in graduate school. The program provides research opportunities and funding, mentoring, graduate school admissions assistance and academic support…

In this recurring feature in The Wesleyan Connection, we highlight some of the latest news stories about Wesleyan and our alumni. Recent Wesleyan News WNPR's Where We Live: "A Life with Food Allergies and Intolerances" Associate Dean for Student Academic Resources Laura Patey is a guest on the show to talk about how Wesleyan works with and supports students and other community members with food allergies. Patey comes in around 40 minutes. 2. The Middletown Press: "Colleague Picks Up Mantle of Late Wesleyan Professor's 20-Year Book Project on South African Hometown Under Apartheid" Professor of History, Emeritus Richard Elphick completed an unfinished book by his late colleague,…

In recognition of their career achievements, faculty members Karen Collins and Ellen Thomas were appointed to endowed professorships. Karen Collins, professor of mathematics, received an Edward Burr Van Vleck Professor of Mathematics, established in 1982. Collins joined Wesleyan’s department of mathematics in 1986 after receiving her BA from Smith College and her PhD from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her research focuses on graph theory, enumerative combinatorics, and algebraic combinatorics. Her most recent publication was “Split graphs and Nordhaus-Gaddum graphs” (Discrete Mathematics, 2016). She has served on several prize committees, most recently the committee for the 2016 George Polya Prize in…

On Nov. 28, Wesleyan's Patricelli Center for Social Entrepreneurship received a $10,000 grant from the Newman's Own Foundation to support student internships. "The gift from the Newman Foundation will be used to offer stipends to students doing social impact and entrepreneurship work during the summer," explained Makaela Kingsley '98, director of the Patricelli Center for Social Entrepreneurship. "We are grateful for the support of Newman’s Own and our other donors who make this work possible." Trustee Emeritus Bob Patricelli '61 P'88 P'90 is a board member for Newman's Own and has generously encouraged the foundation to support Patricelli Center programs over…

In this Q&A, Assistant Professor of Government Justin Peck speaks about his research interests, teaching at Wesleyan and road-tripping across the United States. (Brandon Sides ’18 contributed to this article.) Q: Professor Peck, what are your primary areas of research? A: My dissertation attempts to explain when and why post-WWII Congresses enacted legal constraints on executive authority. And that's now my primary area of research; the second area of my research concerns when and how the Republican Party’s position on civil rights issues has changed since the Civil War. Q: What are your current projects? A: I'm working on a book…

During an initiation ceremony on Dec. 6, 17 Wesleyan seniors were elected to the Connecticut Gamma Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa honor society. To be elected, a student must first have been nominated by the department of his or her major. He or she also must have demonstrated curricular breadth by having met the General Education Expectations and must have achieved a GPA of 93 and above. During the ceremony, Gamma Chapter PBK President Steven Horst, professor of philosophy, professor of science in society, said this class has a 94.4 GPA and above. "For students elected this fall, it is…

Robert Rosenbaum, University Professor of Mathematics and the Sciences, Emeritus, died on Dec. 3 at the age of 102. Rosenbaum received his AB from Yale in 1936, and his PhD in mathematics from Yale in 1947. He joined the Wesleyan faculty in 1953 and taught mathematics here for 42 years until he retired in 1995. He was a member of the “Mystic Nine” — a group of faculty in the early 1960s who were instrumental in developing Wesleyan’s graduate programs. He became dean of sciences in 1963, provost in 1965, the first-ever vice president of academic affairs and provost in 1967, and chancellor…

In the past few years, alumni, parents, and others have rallied in support of Wesleyan's participation in the national Giving Tuesday campaign, and they have unlocked millions of dollars for financial aid for Wesleyan students. On this year's Giving Tuesday, Nov. 28, members of the Wesleyan community showed an outpouring of support for financial aid yet again. Trustee Marc Casper ‘90 thanked everyone who gave as part of the #GivingTuesday challenge and said he is committed to supporting financial aid at Wesleyan now more than ever. "We received just over 3,300 gifts by the end of Giving Tuesday,” he said.…

In this issue of The Wesleyan Connection, we introduce a new feature highlighting some of the latest stories in the media about Wesleyan and our many illustrious alumni. Recent Wesleyan News The Hartford Courant: "Chelsea Manning Draws Crowd at Wesleyan, Talks of Community, Resistance" On Nov. 15, the former intelligence analyst convicted of leaking hundreds of thousands of military documents to WikiLeaks, who is now an activist for gay and transgender rights, spoke to a packed room at Wesleyan in a conversation moderated by Associate Professor Margot Weiss. 2. Boston Review: "An Autobiography of Captivity" In the Language of My Captor by Shane McCrae, published by Wesleyan…

On Nov. 15, Gary Yohe, the Huffington Foundation Professor of Economics and Environmental Studies, delivered a talk on climate change at the Glastonbury (Conn.) Riverfront Community Center. It was sponsored by the Land Heritage Coalition of Glastonbury, Inc.— a non-profit corporation whose mission is to support farming, open space preservation, and water and wetlands protection—as its annual educational initiative. “As part of our mission, we feel it important to help folks in Connecticut understand the issue of climate change, what the local impacts are, and what we can do in this state,” explained David Ahlgren, LHC co-president. “There’s a lot…

Contemporary Physics Class Takes Virtual Tour of World’s Largest Particle Accelerator

Wesleyan to Offer Second Annual ‘Hamilton Prize for Creativity’ to Recognize Outstanding Written Work by an Incoming Student

McNair Program Receives Refunding, Will Continue to Support Underrepresented Students

Wesleyan in the News

Collins, Thomas Honored with Endowed Professorships

Newman’s Own Foundation Awards Grant to Support Internships

American Political Development Expert Justin Peck Joins Government Department

17 Seniors Elected to Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society

PIMMS Founder Rosenbaum Dies at the Age of 102

Wesleyan Community Makes More than 3,300 Gifts on Giving Tuesday

Wesleyan in the News

Yohe Speaks on Climate Change at Local Community Center