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Three of the 26 "extraordinarily talented and creative individuals" to receive 2019 MacArthur Fellowships are Wesleyan alumni. Mary Halvorson '02, Saidiya Hartman '84, Hon. '19, and Cameron Rowland '11 each received a $625,000, no-strings-attached award by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Recipients of a MacArthur Fellowship, commonly known as the “genius” grant, are selected based on “exceptional creativity,” “promise for important future advances based on a track record of significant accomplishments,” and “potential for the Fellowship to facilitate subsequent creative work," according to the foundation. They join 17 other Wesleyan alumni and university affiliates named MacArthur Fellow…

On Sept. 26, the Molecular Biophysics Program hosted its 20th Annual Molecular Biophysics Retreat at Wadsworth Mansion in Middletown. Several Wesleyan faculty, students, and guests attended the all-day event, which included five talks, two poster sessions, and a reception. Lila Gierasch, Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Chemistry at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, delivered the keynote address, titled "Hsp70s: Allosteric Machines that Perform a Multitude of Cellular Functions." Gierasch, a leader in the field of protein folding, is a newly elected member of the National Academy of Sciences. Her work focuses particularly on folding in the cell…

With support from a $2 million John Templeton Foundation National Sciences grant, Professor of Biology Sonia Sultan will spearhead a multi-institution evolutionary biology research project over the next three years. The project, titled "Agency in Living Systems: How Organisms Actively Generate Adaptation, Resilience and Innovation at Multiple Levels of Organization," developed from Sultan's research on how individual organisms respond to their environments. Sultan and her Wesleyan research group study this question through experiments with the common plant Polygonum. Sultan's previous findings have shown that genetically identical Polygonum plants can develop very differently depending on their growth conditions, allowing adaptive adjustments…

Students in a Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems class recently stepped out of the classroom ... and into beekeeping suits. The buzzworthy hands-on experience was part of a field trip to an apiary in Norwich, Conn. "The course explores strategies to create a sustainable agriculture and food system," said Rosemary Ostfeld '10, visiting assistant professor of environmental studies, who teaches the class. Her students have already been gaining an understanding of some of the key environmental impacts associated with our agricultural system, and read Rachel Carson's seminal Silent Spring. The purpose of the field trip on Sept. 18 "was to…

On Sept. 26, the Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore hosted a public discussion between Wesleyan President Michael Roth ’78 and Roxanne Coady, founder of RJ Julia Booksellers, on Roth’s new book and the crises facing higher education today. Roth's new book, Safe Enough Spaces: A Pragmatist's Approach to Inclusion, Free Speech, and Political Correctness on College Campuses, was published Aug. 20 by Yale University Press. In the book, Roth takes a pragmatic and empathetic approach to the challenges facing higher education. He offers important historical, sociological, and economic context, as well as firsthand observations from his decades as a higher ed…

Renell Wynn has been hired as Wesleyan's new vice president for communications, President Michael Roth '78 announced in a campus email on Sept. 27. She will start on Oct. 21. Roth shared Wynn's "deep experience in higher education communications and marketing," with leadership positions at the University of Denver, George Mason University, and The College of William & Mary, among others. "In these positions, she has led efforts to elevate institutional reputation, played a critical role in successful fundraising campaigns, and served as a trusted senior advisor. Renell is skilled at developing productive working relationships with diverse populations and using…

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On Sept. 19, Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore hosted a Q&A with College of Letters (COL) alumna Sarah C. Townsend ’90, P’21, author of Setting the Wire: A Memoir of Postpartum Psychosis, (Lettered Streets Press, 2019) in conversation with current COL major Sara McCrea ’21. McCrea, who reviews alumni books for the Wesleyan Connection, had selected Townsend’s book for inclusion in the second of her recent-publications series last spring. Encouraging others to read Townsend’s work, she had written: “Bursts of sharp and vulnerable detail presented in lyrical prose display Townsend’s fearlessness as she evaluates the ways in which her own body…

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 Hill: "Analysis: 2020 Digital Spending Vastly Outpaces TV Ads" The Hill reports on a new analysis by the Wesleyan Media Project, which finds that 2020 presidential hopefuls have spent nearly six times more money on Facebook and Google advertising than on TV ads. President Donald Trump and the Republican National Committee lead the way in digital advertising, having spent nearly $16 million so far. All told, Facebook and Google have raked in over $60 million…

On Sept. 25, Jennifer Blaine '92 performed The Vicissitudes of Travel in Usdan 108. Hosted by the neuroscience and pre-med students of the MINDS Foundation and the Basal Gang, The Vicissitudes bridges the gap between medical science, mental health, and performance art. In the solo show performed by Blaine and co-written with Karen Getz, Blaine's portrayals of each member of a family comes to life against the sparse set that invites the audience's imagination to fill in the gaps. Terrified by the idea of losing her brother, "Sister" goes on a journey through her brother's brain surgery that blends visual…

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On Sept. 24, Wesleyan's dining service Bon Appétit challenged itself by creating a meal using ingredients sourced within a 150-mile radius of campus. The result was the 14th annual Eat Local Challenge. This year's menu included steamed lobster, mussels, corn, potatoes, haddock tacos with curtido slaw, clam fritters, wood-fired rotisserie chicken, smoked pork sandwiches, blueberry crisp, pork belly, turkey, cucumber and tomato salad, barbecue seitan, fresh greens, butternut squash stew, and fresh fruit. Food was sourced from Horse Listener's Orchard in Ashford, Conn.; Maine Sea Salt Company in Marshfield, Maine; Mi Terra Tortilla Company in Hadley, Mass.; Lakeside Farms in…

3 Alumni Receive MacArthur “Genius” Awards

Molecular Biophysics Program Hosts 20th Annual Retreat

Sultan to Lead $2M Evolutionary-Developmental Biology Project

What’s the Buzz About Pollinators? Class Visits Local Apiary to Find Out

President Roth Discusses New Book, Higher Education

Wynn Named Vice President for Communications

Aleshkovsky Discusses Novels With Translator White, Editor Fusso

Townsend ’90 Discusses New Memoir at Bookstore with McCrea ’21

Wesleyan in the News

Blaine ’92 Brings One-Woman Show and Brain Surgery/Art Tour to Campus

Buchanan ’92 and Gordon ’89 Talk Effective Philanthropy at Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore

Bon Appétit Creates Meal Harvested from within 150-Miles of Campus