In the Media

Two Wesleyan alumni were hired in key roles at the White House by the Biden-Harris Administration in September. Ed Siskel ’94 started his new role as White House Counsel and Rob Wilcox ’01 joined the administration as a Deputy Director of the new Office of Gun Violence Prevention. Siskel, the nation’s top attorney, was called a seasoned lawyer who could “hit the ground running as a key leader on my team,” by President Joseph R. Biden in a statement, according to The New York Times. Siskel will be tasked with guiding Biden through an impeachment inquiry spearheaded by Speaker of the…

While the majority of students are away from campus during the summer months, many members of Wesleyan’s faculty, staff, and alumni are hard at work and making headlines. President Joseph R. Biden announced that attorney Ed Siskel ’94 will serve as White House counsel on August 22. Siskel spent four years working in the White House Counsel’s Office during President Barack Obama’s administration, including time as the Deputy Counsel. Siskel will lead a team to provide the president with legal counsel, help to craft policies and executive actions, and defend and advance Biden’s agenda. “Ed Siskel’s many years of experience…

Wesleyan President Michael S. Roth ’78 announced that Wesleyan University was formally ending admission preference for children of alumni, following the recent Supreme Court decision to end affirmative action, in a message to the University community on July 19. “We still value the ongoing relationships that come from multi-generational Wesleyan attendance, but there will be no ‘bump’ in the selection process,” Roth wrote in his message. “As has been almost always the case for a long time, family members of alumni will be admitted on their own merits.” The University’s decision garnered national and international media attention from many outlets,…

Wesleyan's esteemed faculty, staff, and alumni often appear within media coverage to provide their expertise and experience. This was the case in July as Wesleyan voices were included in the coverage of the Supreme Court of the United State's decision on Affirmative Action by several outlets. Media Coverage on the Supreme Court's Decision on Affirmative Action The Supreme Court of the United States voted to strike down 45 years of court precedent allowing for race-informed admissions—often referred to as affirmative action—on June 29 in the case of a 6 to 3 vote along ideological lines. Following the decision, Wesleyan President…

President Michael S. Roth ’78 wrote a review of an anthology of the late Hayden White’s works titled The Ethics of Narrative: Essays on History, Literature, and Theory, 1998-2007 for the Los Angeles Review of Books. Roth said White “was a consistently intelligent and engaging postmodern advocate for thinking about history as a form of imaginative reconstruction that could either constrain people or inspire their liberation.” Roth also penned an op-ed in The Boston Globe drawing parallels between education and democracy. “We must be on our guard against those who are afraid of that exploration; we must stand up against…

President Michael S. Roth ’78 spoke about “Safe Enough Spaces” and their place in the debate around free speech at a symposium on Speech and Expression on College Campuses at Skidmore College on April 15. President Roth wrote a book review of “The Age of Guilt: The Super Ego in the Online World” by Mark Edmundson for The Washington Post. The book examines online judgementalism through a Freudian lens, Roth writes. He called Edmundson’s writing “engaging” with a “friendly yet incisive” tone. The Chronicle of Higher Education’s The Review newsletter quoted a tweet from Roth in a piece about scholars…

President Michael S. Roth ’78 authored a review of “Unearthed: A Lost Actress, a Forbidden Book, and a Search for Life in the Shadow of the Holocaust” by Meryl Frank for The Wall Street Journal. The memoir details her research into her family’s history and a book inherited from her aunt, Mollie, which depicts the brutal murder of Jewish performers by Nazis—including one of her cousins. Roth told The New Yorker that reading storied texts with specific lens’ geared toward re-affirming your own beliefs is like “shooting fish in a barrel.” He spoke on the topic for a piece on Hillsdale College’s…

Former Miami Herald publisher Alberto Ibarguen ’66, Hon. ’11, P ’97 announced he is stepping down as the president and CEO of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation—a philanthropic organization that has invested in media, arts, and culture. President Joseph R. Biden nominated Lt. Gen. Michael Cederholm ’88 to be the new commander of I Marine Expeditionary Force, one of the three main Marine forces, according to Marine Corps Times. An aviator by training, Cederholm has served as deputy commandant for aviation since July 2022, according to his official bio. Neuroscientist Michael Greenberg ’76 was one of three winners of the Lundbeck…

(Updated March 1, 2023) Philosopher Kohei Saito ’09 spoke with The Guardian on his work in Marx in the Anthropocene which builds on Karl Marx’s writings on the economic and ecological crises to propose degrowth communism as a “new way of living.” Erika Franklin Fowler, Co-Director of the Wesleyan Media Project, spoke with Campaigns and Elections on the digital advertising spending of candidates in major state and federal races. Gary Yohe, Huffington Foundation Professor of Economics and Environmental Studies, Emeritus, was quoted in a story by The Poynter Institute's PolitiFact on an advertising campaign promoting natural gas’ role in transitioning…

Bozoma Saint John '99's new memoir "The Urgent Life" has been named one of Oprah Daily's most anticipated books of 2023. "Marketing maven Saint John has experienced tragedies and triumph: From the death by suicide of her college boyfriend to her husband’s terminal cancer, Saint John gathers the strength to continue life with their daughter," according to Oprah Daily. Saint John is a member of Wesleyan's Board of Trustees. Wesleyan University was featured in a New York Times article about the possible ramifications if the Supreme Court overturns affirmative action in college admissions. Ellen Thomas, Harold T Stearns Professor of…

(Updated January 4, 2022) Assistant Professor of Theatre Maria-Christina Oliveras joined the cast of "Between Riverside and Crazy" by Stephen Adly Giuirgis as Church Lady. (Broadwayworld) President Michael S. Roth '78 reviews "In Praise of Failure: Four Lessons in Humility," by philosopher Costica Bradatan in the December 28 Washington Post. "(Bradatan) looks at how various thinkers — Seneca, Mohandas Gandhi, Simone Weil, Emil Cioran, Yukio Mishima — detached themselves from an obsessive drive for worldly success by reckoning with failure and death. Bradatan wants us to grasp how striving to succeed prevents us from dealing with our mortality and hence…

Updated November 28, 2022 Lin-Manuel Miranda '02 is the top Hot 100 Songwriter of 2022. Eight of the songs he wrote for the Disney film Encanto landed on the Billboard charts. Assistant Professor of the Practice in African American Studies Jesse Nasta '07 participated in a Veteran’s Day ceremony recognizing the service of Jesse Sips Caples of Middletown, an African American Revolutionary War veteran. Wesleyan University is cited by the New York Times as one of the reasons Middletown is a desirable place to live in a tight job market. Gary Yohe, the Huffington Foundation professor of Economics and Environmental…

Wesleyan in the News: September 2023

Wesleyan in the News: August 2023

Media Roundup: Wesleyan Ends Legacy Admissions

Wesleyan in the News: July 2023

Wesleyan in the News: June 2023

Wesleyan in the News: May 2023

Wesleyan in the News: April 2023

Wesleyan in the News: March 2023

Wesleyan in the News: February 2023

Wesleyan in the News: January 2023

Wesleyan in the News: December 2022

Wesleyan in the News, November 2022