Faculty – Page 63

For her distinguished contributions to the geosciences, Suzanne O’Connell, professor of earth and environmental sciences, recently became a Fellow of the Geological Society of America. Society Fellowship is an honor bestowed on leading professional geoscientists. New fellows are nominated by existing GSA fellows in recognition of their contributions to the geosciences through such avenues as publications, applied research, teaching, administration of geological programs, contributing to the public awareness of geology, leadership of professional organizations, and taking on editorial, bibliographic and library responsibilities. “Suzanne O’Connell is an accomplished geoscientist who highly honors the traditions of research and scholarship in the geosciences,…

Two Wesleyan massive open online courses (MOOCs) are now available on-demand through Coursera. They are “The Modern and the Postmodern,” taught by President Michael Roth, which was recently broken into Parts 1 and 2, and “The Ancient Greeks,” taught by Andrew Szegedy-Maszak, the Jane A. Seney Professor of Greek, chair and professor of classical studies. A third Wesleyan MOOC, “Property and Liability: An Introduction to Law and Economics,” taught by Richard Adelstein, the Woodhouse/Sysco Professor of Economics, has been on-demand since earlier this year.

On July 1, Associate Professor of Psychology Steven Stemler presented the results of a two-year study measuring creativity and citizenship in Connecticut's Higher Order Thinking (HOT) schools to an audience of faculty, staff and students in Judd Hall. The HOT schools are a collaborative of about 14 public schools in Connecticut that voluntarily commit to a philosophy of education, which emphasizes "teaching and learning in, about, and through the arts in a democratic setting," according to the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development Office of Culture and Tourism's website. About two years ago, the HOTs leadership team approached Wesleyan's Quantitative Analysis Center about conducting a study to assess…

Two Wesleyan faculty members presented talks at the 14th International Conference on the History of Science in East Asia, held in Paris, July 6-10. On July 7, Miri Nakamura, associate professor of East Asian studies, read from a paper titled "Atomic Maids," which focused on the role of Japanese housekeepers in mystery novels that were indirect criticisms of nuclear issues. On July 9, Bill Johnston, professor of history, professor of East Asian studies, professor of Science in Society, professor of environmental studies, spoke about the changing role of the environment in ideas about disease causation in 19th century Japan. The conference is held every four…

A 21-member all-star band will come together to perform the Beatles' White Album in its entirety at Blackbird: A Benefit Concert for the Stephanie Nelson Memorial Scholarship Fund, at 8 p.m. Saturday, July 25 at Crowell Concert Hall. The concert is being held in memory of former Center for the Arts intern Stephanie Nelson, of Middletown, who passed away earlier this year at the age of 25. All proceeds from ticket sales will go toward creating a scholarship fund for Middlesex Community College students in support of internships at Wesleyan. The concert is the brainchild of drummer Andy Chatfield, press and marketing director of the Center for the Arts. "Stephanie…

Jeanine Basinger, the Corwin-Fuller Professor of Film Studies, curator of the Cinema Archives, spoke with The Huffington Post about why today's television is so good. TV has come a long way since 1961 when Federal Communications Commission Chairman Newton Minow proclaimed television "a vast wasteland" in an address to the National Association of Broadcasters. The article explores how advances in technology and television production have vastly improved the experience for viewers. One of the biggest changes was the introduction of DVR and streaming services, which mean we're no longer slaves to the television schedule, required to sit on the couch for an hour when…

This summer, almost 30 K-8 teachers from Middletown and Meriden are participating in the Intel Math Summer Course at the Green Street Teaching and Learning Center. The intensive 80-hour math content course is being co-taught by a mathematician and a math education specialist: Wesleyan's Cameron Hill, assistant professor of mathematics, and Shelley Jones from Central Connecticut State University. The course is part of Green Street's Math Institute, a program designed to get teachers excited about math, prepared for Common Core, equipped with a toolkit of activities to bring key math concepts into their classrooms through the arts, and more. “With…

Marion Belanger, an instructor in Graduate Liberal Studies, is currently displaying her photography series "Rift/Fault" at Haverford College. The series is two dozen photography pairings of the North American continental plate, which stretches from California to Iceland. In an intersection of geology and art, the display walks a viewer through images of plate tectonics and the stories that they tell. More information about the gallery, including dates and hours of operation, can be found here. Samples of her photography are below:

For their efforts enhancing undergraduate science education and supporting teaching innovations, two Wesleyan faculty members were named National Academies Education Fellows in the Sciences for 2015-2016. Francis Starr, professor of physics and director of the College of Integrative Sciences, and Ishita Mukerji, the Fisk Professor of Natural Science, professor of molecular biology and biochemistry, received the fellowships while participating in the 2015 National Academies Summer Institute on Undergraduate Education, held June 14-19 at Princeton University. The Summer Institute, a five-day program of discussions, demonstrations and workshops, brought college and university faculty together to develop teaching skills. Co-sponsored by the National Academies and the Howard…

Gary Yohe, the Huffington Foundation Professor of Economics and Environmental Studies, was reappointed by Mayor Bill DeBlasio to the third New York City Panel on Climate Change on June 30. Yohe and 18 other experts are tasked with ensuring that the best available climate science continues to inform the city's resiliency planning. The panel will build on reports by previous panels, and will "look at climate risks through the lens of inequality at a neighborhood scale, as well as focus on ways to enhance coordination of mitigation and resiliency across the entire New York metropolitan region," according to a press release from the…

WNPR's "Where We Live" explored college prison programs, a dwindling resource that has been shown to be one of the most effective ways to prevent recidivism, in a conversation featuring Dara Young, program manager for Wesleyan's Center for Prison Education, and Michael McAlear, associate professor of molecular biology and biochemistry, who teaches in the program. Young was asked why teaching the liberal arts is effective in prison programs. "The type of thinking that we hope to encourage through a liberal arts education is particularly important when we're talking about people who are incarcerated," said Young. "We regularly hear from our…

On June 28, Norman Shapiro, professor of French, provided light verse readings, including a passage from his recently translated Fables in a Modern Key, as part of the Find Your Park summer festival event series. The reading took place at Longfellow House–Washington's Headquarters in Cambridge, Mass. Shapiro is a member of the Academy of American Poets and an Officier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres de la République Française. Fables was written by by Pierre Coran (whose real name is Eugene Delaisse), a poet and novelist of the Belgian French-language. One of Begium’s most renowned poets with some 45 poetry books…

O’Connell Named Society Fellow of the Geological Society of America

3 Wesleyan MOOCs Now On-Demand

Stemler Presents Findings on Creativity, Citizenship in HOT Schools

Johnston, Nakamura Present Papers at History of Science in East Asia Conference

Beatles Benefit Concert Created in Memory of CFA Intern

Basinger Comments on Why Today’s TV is So Good

GSTLC Math Course Provides Tools for Teachers

Haverford Hosts Belanger’s “Rift/Fault” Photography Series

Starr, Mukerji Explore Ways to Better Engage Students, Faculty in the Sciences

Yohe Reappointed to NYC Climate Change Panel

Wesleyan’s Center for Prison Education Featured on ‘Where We Live’

Shapiro Reads from Fables in a Modern Key