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Equipped with 3-D printers, water-jet and laser cutters, computer-operated milling machines, and high-tech drills, saws, and workstations, Wesleyan's new IDEAS Lab is on the "cutting edge" of digital fabrication. This fall, the College of Integrative Sciences opened the adjoined classroom and makerspace in Room 40 of Exley Science Center. While it is currently used by students in the IDEAS (Integrated Design, Engineering & Applied Science) program, by spring 2020 the space should be open to the entire Wesleyan community. "The space is the heart of our efforts to provide students with a facility to explore their ideas and create new…

In this recurring feature in The Wesleyan Connection, we highlight some of the latest news stories about Wesleyan and our alumni. Wesleyan in the News The Washington Post: "How the NRA Highjacked History" In this op-ed, Associate Professor of History Jennifer Tucker writes about the history of the legal debate over the Second Amendment, and explains how the court's understanding of that history may shape the nation's response to the current gun violence epidemic. Her op-ed was reported on in The Trace. 2. The Hill: "A Tragic Misperception About Climate Change" Gary Yohe, the Huffington Foundation Professor of Economics and Environmental…

Every day, 100 Americans are shot and killed and hundreds more are wounded as a result of gun violence. Through an organization called Everytown for Gun Safety, four Wesleyan alumni are working with lawmakers to pass common-sense laws and policies that build safer communities and save lives while still respecting the Second Amendment. Everytown members research a range of vital issues surrounding gun violence and develop data-driven solutions. To date, Everytown has supported nearly six million mayors, mothers, police, teachers, survivors, gun owners, students, and everyday Americans to make their own communities safer. (more…)

This fall, Wesleyan welcomes 48 new faculty to campus. Of those, there are 16 tenure-track, 10 professors of the practice, one artist-in-residence, one adjunct, and 20 new visiting faculty members. The new faculty bring a diverse skill set to campus. Among them are experts in international political economy; Indian cinema and film; environmental archaeology and ancient DNA; German poetry and aesthetic theory of the 18th century; music and expressive culture in Kazakhstan; politics in the African diaspora; Russian and Anglo-American literature; physiological and psychological effects of alcohol; and digital video production. In addition, three are Wesleyan alumni. Bios of the…

Representatives from 100 student-run groups participated in the annual Student Groups Fair Sept. 6 on Andrus Field. The fair is sponsored by the Wesleyan Student Assembly. Wesleyan has more than 300 student-run groups, focusing on activism, identity, sports, publications, performance and visual arts, community service, religious affiliations, cultural interests, and more. Among them are the Wesleyan Film Board, Wesleyan Bellydance, the Math Club, Women in Business, Fusion Dance Crew, Men's Water Polo, TEDxWesleyan U, WesClimb, Wes Cheerleaders, Climate Action Group, Wesleyan Beekeepers, Interfaith Council, Middle School Tutoring Partnership, and the United Student Labor Action Coalition. View all student groups online…

Richard Grossman, professor of economics, authored a blog post on the Vox CEPR website with Gareth Campbell and John Turner (Queen’s University Belfast) titled, “New monthly indices of the British stock market, 1829-1929." Although long-run stock market data are an important indicator, obtaining them is challenging. This column constructs new long-run broad-based indices of equities traded on British securities markets for the period 1829-1929 and combines them with a more recent index to examine the timing of British business cycles and compare returns on home and foreign UK investment. One finding is that the capital gains index of blue-chip companies…

A film written, directed, and produced by Peabody Award winner Randall MacLowry '86 tells the story about the most famous family conflict in American history—the Hatfield-McCoy feud. The one-hour documentary titled "The Feud" premiered Sept. 10 on PBS and PBS.org as part of the station's American Experience programming. Watch the film's trailer online. MacLowry also is a new assistant professor of the practice in film studies. He's teaching the course Advanced Filmmaking this fall. The clashes between the Hatfields and the McCoys evolved into a mythic American tale of jealousy, rage, and revenge—a story that helped create the negative “hillbilly”…

On Sept. 3, during the first faculty meeting of the fall semester, three Wesleyan professors were honored with the Wesleyan Prize for Excellence in Research. The faculty-nominated prize is presented to members of the faculty who demonstrate the highest standards of excellence in their research, scholarship, and contributions to their field. Interim Provost and Senior Vice President for academic affairs Rob Rosenthal acknowledged the recipients during the faculty meeting. Each winner received a plaque and funding for his or her research. This year's recipients include: Natasha Korda, professor of English, plays a highly visible role in keeping scholarship on Renaissance…

The rare Guadalupe fescue once thrived in abundance atop mountains spanning the Texas-Mexico border, however, the desert-growing perennial grass is now so endangered, it only flourishes in two locations on Earth. The rapid population decline is leaving scientists puzzled. "Developing an effective recovery plan is essential for protecting Guadalupe fescue, however, the lack of basic information about this species’ ecology is a serious barrier to that goal," explained Helen Poulos, adjunct assistant professor of environmental studies. "Urgent action is needed to stabilize the two extant populations." This summer, under Poulos's leadership, Wesleyan received a National Park Service Grant to study…

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A summary of Assistant Professor of Economics Gillian Brunet’s dissertation, “Understanding the Effects of Fiscal Policy: Measurement, Mechanisms, and Lessons from History,” was published in the June issue of the Journal of Economic History. She wrote the paper while pursuing her PhD in economics at the University of California, Berkeley. The global recession of 2008 and the resulting fiscal stimulus packages in many countries have reignited academic interest in government spending multipliers. Despite a growing theoretical and empirical literature, there is little consensus on the impact of government spending on macroeconomic aggregates. Gillian Brunet’s dissertation makes significant contributions to this…

David Kuenzel, assistant professor of economics, is the co-author of a new paper published in the July–August issue of International Journal of Forecasting titled “Forecasts in Times of Crises.” In the paper, Kuenzel and his co-authors examine the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) forecast accuracy of 29 key macroeconomic variables for countries in times of economic crises. In general, forecasts of the IMF add substantial informational value as they outperform naive forecast approaches. However, the paper also documents that there is room for improvement: Two-thirds of the examined macroeconomic variables are forecast inefficiently, and six variables (growth of nominal GDP, public…

New IDEAS Lab Offers State-of-the-Art Digital Fabrication Tools

Wesleyan in the News

4 Alumni Work to End Gun Violence Through Everytown

Wesleyan Welcomes 48 New Faculty, Postdocs, Scholars

Campus Groups Showcased at Student Activities Fair

Grossman Discusses British Stock Market on Economics Blog

MacLowry ’86 Directs “The Feud” on PBS

3 Wesleyan Faculty Honored with Prizes for Excellence in Research

Poulos Studies Endangered Grass on Texas-Mexico Border

Odede ’12 Speaks to the Class of 2023

Brunet’s Dissertation Summarized in the Journal of Economic History

Kuenzel’s Paper Examines the International Monetary Fund’s Forecast Accuracy