Campus News & Events

On Aug. 30, Wesleyan welcomed 766 students to the Class of 2021. An additional 52 transfer students also arrived. Student athletes, Wesleyan staff and faculty — and Wesleyan President Michael Roth — assisted families with unloading vehicles and hauling suitcases, boxes, lamps, microwaves, computers, bed linens, and more to the students' residence halls. The Wesleyan Cardinal made the rounds, even hitching a ride on the golf carts used to help haul carloads of belongings into new dorm rooms. Watch a video of New Student Arrival Day below: Making the trek to campus to the sound of favorite tunes—ranging from Bruce Springsteen…

On Aug. 29, the Office of Graduate Student Services hosted a new graduate student orientation and lunch at Exley Science Center. In 2017-18, Wesleyan welcomes 15 new PhDs; 12 MAs; 17 BA/MAs (all received a BA in May 2017); nine foreign language teaching assistants in romance languages, Asian languages and Arabic languages; and two new writing fellows. During the course of orientation, the new graduate students were introduced to the Graduate Student Association, Wesleyan culture and Wesleyan resources that can support their academic career and life at Wesleyan. Students were introduced to Wesleyan staff representing student accounts, public safety, sustainability initiatives, residential…

This year, Wesleyan welcomes 11 new tenure-track faculty, one professor of the practice, and 45 visiting faculty and fellows. The new junior faculty who start this year include: Scott W. Aalgaard, assistant professor of East Asian studies Aalgaard holds BA and MA degrees from the University of Victoria, and MA and PhD degrees from the University of Chicago. His dissertation, titled “‘Homesick Blues’: Crisis, Critique, and Collectivity in Modern Japanese Cultural Production,” traces critical voices in literature, music, and everyday life in modern and contemporary Japan. His areas of research include critical practice in Japan, contemporary Japanese culture, modern and contemporary Japanese literature…

This fall, Wesleyan welcomes 127 first-year international students, eight international transfer students and seven visiting international students to campus. Students come from 37 different countries including Moldova, Kazakhstan and Mauritius. Two students are from a new exchange program with York University-York. International students arrived Aug. 26-27 and participated in International Student Orientation through Aug. 29. During this time, students attended sessions that address health and medical insurance issues, programs about cultural adaptation, weather adjustment, and liberal arts education and U.S. systems. This program prepares international students and U.S. citizens living abroad to successfully transition to New Student Orientation. On Aug.…

Wesleyan's Department of Astronomy hosted a public eclipse viewing on Aug. 21, outside the Van Vleck Observatory. Hundreds of Wesleyan and local community members attended this historic event. Although Middletown wasn't in the narrow path of totality, viewers still were able to witness about 65 percent of the sun disappear. In addition to telescopes and eclipse glasses for safely viewing the Sun, participants were encouraged to tour the Department of Astronomy's historical exhibition and see images from the 1925 solar eclipse that passed directly over Wesleyan. A live streaming feed of the eclipse also was shown in a classroom. (more…)

A star-studded cast of contributors curated by Shapiro-Silverberg Professor of Creative Writing Amy Bloom ’75 fill the pages of New Haven Noir, featuring original stories from Michael Cunningham, Stephen Carter, Roxana Robinson, Assistant Professor of English Hirsh Sawhney and many others. The book is the latest addition to an award-winning series of original noir anthologies published by Akashic Books, founded by publisher and editor-in-chief Johnny Temple ’88. “I’m a big fan of noir,” says Bloom, editor of the anthology, which has garnered praise from both Publishers Weekly and Kirkus Reviews. “When Johnny called me and said, I don’t know if…

A novel written by Hirsh Sawhney, assistant professor of English, was named to the longlist for the 2017 DSC Prize for South Asian Literature. The DSC Prize, which carries an award of $25,000, celebrates the rich and varied world of literature of the South Asian region. In Sawhney’s South Haven (Akashic Books, 2016), grief, violence and history collide to offer a radical look at childhood and migration in suburban New England. South Haven is one of 13 books on the list. The shortlist will be announced on Sept. 27 in London. The prize brings South Asian writing to a new global audience through…

In the near future, the Trump Administration must decide whether to approve or reject a new scientific report on climate change. Writing in The Conversation, Gary Yohe, the Huffington Foundation Professor of Economics and Environmental Studies, asserts, "If the Trump administration chooses to reject the pending national Climate Science Special Report, it would be more damaging than pulling the United States out of the Paris Climate Agreement. Full stop." Yohe backs up this bold claim by explaining why this report is so important and describing a crucial difference between the report and the Paris Climate Agreement. Namely, "the Paris accord focuses on…

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Professor of Feminist, Gender and Sexuality Studies Victoria Pitts-Taylor, pictured at left, received the Robert K. Merton Award for her book, The Brain's Body: Neuroscience and Corporeal Politics (Duke University Press, 2016). The award was presented at a meeting of the Science, Knowledge, and Technology Section of the American Sociological Association in Montreal, Canada on Aug. 14. The Merton Award is given annually in recognition of an outstanding book on science, knowledge, and/or technology published during the preceding three years. The Brain's Body previously won the 2016 prize in Feminist Philosophy of Science given by the Women's Caucus of the Philosophy of Science Association.…

The campus and local community is invited to witness the partial eclipse of the Sun at Wesleyan's Van Vleck Observatory on Aug. 21. While Middletown isn't in the narrow path of totality, viewers should still be able to see about 65 percent of the Sun disappear. Telescopes for the family-friendly event will be set up at 1 p.m., and the eclipse will begin at approximately 1:20 p.m., with mid-eclipse falling at approximately 2:40 p.m. The event is hosted by Wesleyan's Astronomy Department and is free of charge. (more…)

Writing in the Forward, Matt Renetzky '18 and Talia Kaplan '18 share their experience with the "vibrant Wesleyan Jewish Life" scene. "Perhaps the most unique thing about our community is just how student-run it is. Jewish life evolves from year-to-year based on the desires and needs of the current student body," write Kaplan, who is affiliated with the Wesleyan Jewish Community, and Renetzky, who is affiliated with Chabad. "If you’re looking for pluralism in Jewish background and practice, Wesleyan is for you." (more…)

818 Students Welcomed on New Student Arrival Day (with video and photo gallery)

55 Graduate Students New to Wesleyan

Wesleyan Welcomes 57 New Faculty in 2017-18

New International Students Hail from 37 Countries

Wesleyan, Local Community Watch Historic Eclipse at Van Vleck Observatory

Bloom ’75, Sawhney Explore the Elm City’s Underbelly in New Haven Noir

Sawhney’s Novel Named to South Asian Literature Prize Longlist

Yohe Writes about Trump, Climate Change

First Indian Motorcycle Prototypes Built on Wesleyan’s Campus

Pitts-Taylor Wins Merton Book Award for The Brain’s Body

You’re Invited! View the Solar Eclipse at the Van Vleck Observatory, Aug. 21

Wesleyan Students Capture “Vibrant Wesleyan Jewish Life” in Forward