Campus News & Events

MindScope Health, an organization led by Siri McGuire ’17 and Taiga Araki ’17 has won the $10,000 Connecticut College Aetna Foundation seed stage grant—a branch of InnovateHealth Yale and the Aetna Foundation. MindScope works to improve the quality of life for patients with brain diseases and mental illnesses. Founded by patients of brain diseases and mental illnesses, MindScope Health aims to transform the way that invisible diseases and symptoms are communicated and treated. By allowing patients to alternatively communicate their symptoms to their doctors through the use of an app, symptoms can be recorded overtime, as patients rate the severity…

The 2016 presidential campaign broke the mold when it comes to patterns of political advertising. But, in a new publication, the Wesleyan Media Project (co-directed by Associate Professor of Government Erika Franklin Fowler) says, "Not so fast" to those who argue that advertising no longer matters in elections. The article published in The Forum: A Journal of Applied Research in Contemporary Politics (open access through mid-April 2017) shows that the presidential race featured far less advertising than the previous cycle, a huge imbalance in the number of ads across candidates, and one candidate who almost ignored discussions of policy. Yet, at the…

Wesleyan will present three honorary doctorates at the University’s 185th Commencement on May 28. The distinguished writer Claudia Rankine will deliver the Commencement address. Wesleyan will also honor Jo Handelsman, former associate director for science at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and Cristina Jiménez, executive director and co-founder of United We Dream, the largest immigrant youth-led organization in the country. The Baldwin Medal, the highest award of the Alumni Association, will be presented to John ’62 and Gina Driscoll. Claudia Rankine Poet, essayist and playwright, Claudia Rankine is the recipient of numerous awards for work described…

At its meeting March 4, the Board of Trustees voted to increase tuition and residential comprehensive fees by 3.7 percent for the 2017-18 year. Tuition and fees for the 2017–18 year will be $52,474. The residential comprehensive fee for first-year and sophomore students will be $14,466, for juniors and seniors, $16,446. As always, Wesleyan will meet the full demonstrated financial need of all admitted students. Recent initiatives have eliminated loans for our neediest students and lowered overall student debt to levels far below the national average. Over the next four years, Wesleyan will phase in additional changes to financial aid…

Eiko Otake stands on the top of a breakwater in a dark gray kimono. To her right, the ocean crashes into piles of concrete cubes–their shapes, stacked together, seem almost too clean, like abstractions of stone. She clutches a large but frayed scarlet cloth that catches the wind and encircles her, hovering just inches from her skin. Following the breakwater into the distance, a large cubic structure is visible along the water’s edge. It is the Fukushima Daini Nuclear Plant, 12 miles from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant. She is standing at the midpoint between the infamous two, in the…

At its most recent meeting, the Board of Trustees conferred tenure on Courtney Fullilove, associate professor of history, and Tushar Irani, associate professor of letters and philosophy. Additional tenure announcements may be made after the May meeting of the Board of Trustees. Brief descriptions of their areas of research and teaching appear below. Courtney Fullilove is a historian of 19th century U.S. social history. Her research interests in state building, agriculture, medicine and law are united by an engagement with the politics of development, particularly in the areas of sustainable development, biodiversity, intellectual property law and cultural heritage. Her book, The Profit…

Donna Morea ’76, P’06, chair of Wesleyan’s Board of Trustees, sent the following message to the campus community on Saturday, March 4: I’m pleased to announce that today, the University recognized the extraordinary leadership of President Michael S. Roth and offered him an extension of his contract. I’m delighted to report that he has committed to lead Wesleyan through 2023. This is truly an exciting time for Wesleyan. With the support of our community and Michael’s outstanding leadership, our reputation for being at the forefront of pragmatic liberal education continues to grow. Michael led our highly successful THIS IS WHY…

A new teaching and learning space can be found on campus: STEM Zone 42. STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Zone 42, located in the Science Library, is a collaborative project by the Office of Equity and Inclusion, the WesMaSS program and Academic Affairs. Operating as a pilot program this semester, STEM Zone 42 is a space where students currently taking introductory biology and chemistry courses can receive academic support. Students can get help from course teaching assistants, course instructors, peer mentors and fellow students. “We are hoping to reduce barriers students experience in seeking academic help and create and…

Professor of Religion Peter Gottschalk recently authored an article, "Who are the Sufis and why does ISIS see them as threatening," which appeared on Raw Story and The Conversation. The Sufis, who have been the target of violent attacks in Pakistan in recent years, practice austerity "stemming from a sincere religious devotion that compelled the Sufi into a close, personal relationship with God, modeled on aspects of the Prophet Muhammad's life. This often involved a more inward, contemplative focus than many other forms of Islamic practice." And, according to Gottschalk, though "many Muslims and non-Muslims around the globe celebrate Sufi saints…

The pseudoscientific myths about love and sexuality that abounded in the Victorian era, many of which seem "cruel and oppressive" by today's standards, could also offer women relief from the era's "rigid gender politics," according to Associate Professor of History Jennifer Tucker, who comments on the topic for a Broadly article. For much of the 19th century, the Western world was fascinated with a variety of pseudosciences, or theories that lack a basis in the scientific method. "Definitions of science were malleable and hotly contested in the 19th century," said Tucker, who is also associate professor of science in society, associate professor…

For the first time in the history of Wesleyan athletics, the football, men's basketball and most recently, men's ice hockey team, won the Little Three title in the same academic year. The "Little Three" schools — Wesleyan, Amherst and Williams — first formally banded together in 1899 as the Triangular League. Since 1910, the teams have annually competed in the Little Three intercollegiate athletic conference. Although men's hockey lost to Trinity 7-2 during its Feb. 17 game, Amherst defeated Williams 1-0 on the same day, giving the Cardinals their first outright Little Three title in 30 years. The Cardinals are led by head coach Chris Potter. Football won…

Frederick Cohan, professor of biology, professor of environmental studies, has recently been elected to the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering (CASE). Set to be inducted during the 42nd Annual Meeting and Dinner on May 22, 2017, Cohan will join 23 others as “Connecticut’s leading experts in science, technology, and engineering,” and the academy’s newest members during their ceremony at the University of Connecticut. In line with CASE’s mission to honor those “on the basis of scientific and engineering distinction, achieved through significant contributions in theory or application,” Cohan’s work has led to the “development of a comprehensive new theory…

McGuire ’17, Araki ’17 Receive Seed Grant to Spearhead MindScope Health

Wesleyan Media Project Releases Analysis on 2016 Election

Commencement Speaker, Honorary Degree Recipients Announced

Tuition, Residential Comprehensive Fees Increase by 3.7 Percent

Otake, Johnston ‘Fukushima’ Project Culminating Events in NYC on March 11

Board of Trustees Confers Tenure on Fullilove, Irani

President Roth to Lead Wesleyan through 2023

STEM Zone 42 Learning Hub Opens in Science Library

Gottschalk Writes on the Sufis and Why They Threaten ISIS

Tucker Comments on Victorian Pseudoscience, Romance

Cardinals Win Historic Little Three Titles in Men’s Ice Hockey, Basketball, Football

Cohan Elected to Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering