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Edward Aubry ’89 is the author of a new young adult science fiction book, Prelude to Mayhem, published by Curiosity Quills Press in November 2016. Prelude to Mayhem is the first book out of five in the Mayhem Wave series. The next installment is slated for release in mid-2017, according to Lisa Gus, managing partner at Curiosity Quills Press. In this apocalyptic novel, Harrison Cody’s world is in ruins. He follows a mysterious voice on the radio as he and his pixie sidekick travel on foot across a terrifyingly random landscape. They discover Dorothy O’Neill, who has had to survive…

Bill Herbst, the John Monroe Van Vleck Professor of Astronomy; Martha Gilmore, the George I. Seney Professor of Geology; Wilson Cauley, a post-doctoral fellow; and Nicole Arulanantham MA ’15 are the co-authors of a paper forthcoming in The Astrophysical Journal. The paper is based on Arulanantham's thesis research at Wesleyan. The paper also was featured in the December newsletter of the Gemini Observatory, an international observatory based in Hawaii and Chile. “The subject of the paper, a star known as KH 15D, was recognized as an important and interesting object in the 1990s through observations made on the Wesleyan campus by undergraduate and graduate students,” Herbst explained.…

The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration planning committee invites all members of the Wesleyan community to take part in a MLK Commemoration from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m. Feb. 3 in Memorial Chapel. A reception will follow in Zelnick Pavilion. Theodore Shaw ‘76, Hon. '14 will deliver the keynote address titled "Freedom is a Constant Struggle." Shaw is the Julius L. Chambers Distinguished Professor of Law and Director of the Center for Civil Rights at the University of North Carolina School of Law at Chapel Hill. Professor Shaw was the fifth Director-Counsel and President of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund,…

The 2016 Wesleyan University fall athletic season featured several strong performances and achievements, both on the field and off it. Sixty-eight Cardinals earned New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) All-Academic and 16 were named NESCAC All-Conference. In team sports, football, volleyball and women's crew highlighted the fall for the Cardinals. The Wesleyan football team finished with a 6-2 overall record and claimed the Little Three title for the second time in the past four seasons, and 14th time in program history, with a 20-0 win over Amherst College and a 59-14 rout of Williams College. The 45-point margin of…

From Dec. 17-24, 2016, University Professor of Music Sumarsam and other 40 diasporic Indonesian scholars were invited by the Indonesian Minister of Research, Technology, and Higher Education (Ristekdikti) to participate in a program called “Visiting World Class Professor.” The program aims at enhancing human resources of higher education in Indonesia through various scholarly activities. After the opening of the program by the Vice President Yusuf Kalla, the Minister of Ristekdikti and its Director General of Resources, the first day of the program consisted of seminars and workshops in Jakarta, attended by university rectors and academics. Each of the scholars were…

In human beings, the cerebellum occupies only 10 percent of the brain volume, yet has approximately 69 billion neurons; that is 80 percent of the nerve cells in the brain. In the book Evolution of the Cerebellar Sense of Self, published by Oxford University Press in January, co-authors David Bodznick and John Montgomery use an evolutionary perspective to explain cerebellar research to a wide audience. Bodznick is professor of biology, professor of neuroscience and behavior at Wesleyan, and Montgomery is professor of biology and marine science at the University of Auckland in New Zealand. The cerebellum first arose in jawed…

The following employees received Cardinal Achievement Awards for their efforts in demonstrating extraordinary initiative in performing a specific task associated with their work at Wesleyan University. This special honor comes with a $250 award and reflects the university’s gratitude for their extra efforts: Deana Hutson, director of special events, University Relations Meghan Sullivan, associate director of alumni and parent relations, University Relations Marianne Calnen, associate director of gift planning, University Relations Elizabeth Watrous, administrative assistant, University Relations

A Wesleyan alumnus from Chicago. A faculty film aficionado. A martial arts teacher and that teacher’s teacher, a tenth-degree black belt visiting from Germany. Four elementary school students, here as a reward for good deeds, along with their principal and school nurse. This is breakfast at O’Rourke’s, and the scene this morning is a lot like owner Brian O’Rourke’s namesake everything-and-the-kitchen-sink breakfast: an eclectic mix of ingredients combined in ways you would never expect. You never know what you’re going to get, but it always works, and it’s always delicious. (more…)

Four Wesleyan undergraduate students have received grants from NASA's Connecticut Space Grant Consortium. Astronomy major Hannah Fritze '18 was awarded $5,000 for an Undergraduate Research Fellowship Grant titled, “Searching for Intermediate Mass Black Holes in Ultraluminous X-ray Binaries.” This grant will support her research this coming semester on black holes with Roy Kilgard, support astronomer and research associate professor of astronomy. Avi Stein '17, who is majoring in astronomy, was awarded $1,000 for a Student Travel Grant. He will be presenting his research on Venus—conducted with Martha Gilmore, the George I. Seney Professor of Geology, professor of earth and environmental sciences—at…

This fall, the College of East Asian Studies welcomes Joan Cho to Wesleyan. Cho is an assistant professor of East Asian studies, a tenure-track position partially funded by the Korea Foundation. She also is an affiliate member of the Government Department. Her research and teaching interests include authoritarian regimes, democratization, and social movements, with a regional focus on Korea and East Asia. During the fall semester, Cho taught Social and Political Changes in Korea and Democracy and Social Movements in East Asia. In spring, she will teach Korean Politics through Film and Legacies of Authoritarian Politics. "Although this is only my…

Sarah Curran, who is currently associate director of the Stanford Arts Institute, has been selected to lead Wesleyan’s Center for the Arts beginning on Feb. 20, 2017. Curran succeeds Pamela Tatge, who left the university after 16 years to serve as executive director of Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. Laura Paul has served as Interim Director of the Center for the Arts since February. “We are excited to welcome Sarah Curran to Wesleyan,” said President Michael Roth. “Sarah is a collaborative leader, and I know that our faculty and students look forward to working with her to curate programming that elevates and integrates the arts…

Bozoma Saint John ’99, head of global consumer marketing for iTunes and Apple Music, was named Women in Music executive of the year. In an article for Billboard.com, writer Shirley Halperin interviewed Saint John, describing the recent months that catapulted the music executive into the industry's spotlight and beyond. "A year ago, she was the streaming service's secret weapon," Halperin wrote. "Now, after a headline-making onstage appearance and a series of high-profile, star-studded ads, she's the (glamorous) new face of Apple Music." Previously at Beats, Saint John had been only three months at that the job when Apple music acquired…

Aubry ’89 Pens Science Fiction Book for Young Adults

Thesis Research by Arulanantham MA ’15 to Appear in Astronomy Journal

Celebrate the Life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Feb. 3

Football, Volleyball, Women’s Crew Victories Highlight the Fall Cardinal Sports Season

Sumarsam Attends World Class Professors Program in Indonesia

Bodznick Co-Authors Book on Cerebellar Sense of Self

Hutson, Sullivan, Calnen, Watrous Honored with Cardinal Achievement Awards

Breakfast with Brian

4 Students Awarded NASA Connecticut Space Grants

East Asian Studies Welcomes Korean Politics Expert Joan Cho

Center for the Arts Announces New Director

Saint John ’99 Named Women in Music Executive of the Year