Randi Alexandra PlakeThe National Endowment for the Humanities awarded the Prison University Project the National Humanities Medal for transforming the lives of incarcerated people through higher education. The Prison University Project is run by founder and executive director, Jody Lewen ’86. Lewen accepted the medal at a ceremony Sept. 22 at the White House, along with former students, Pat Mims and David Cowan. The medal honors individuals or groups whose work has deepened the nation's understanding of the humanities and broadened our citizens' engagement with history, literature, languages, philosophy and other humanities subjects. At Wesleyan, Lewen earned a BA in history. She…
Olivia DrakeWesleyan alumnus Lin-Manuel Miranda '02, Hon. '15, hosted the Oct. 8 Saturday Night Live and opened with a remixed version of Hamilton's "My Shot."
A book titled Organism and Environment (Oxford University Press, 2015) by evolutionary ecologist Sonia Sultan, professor of biology, professor of environmental studies, has been shortlisted for the Royal Society of Biology Award for Best Post-graduate Textbook.The winner will be announced later this month. In addition, Organism and Environment was named a "landmark volume" in Trends in Ecology and Evolution, and reviews are forthcoming in BioScience, Ecology, Evolution and Biology and Philosophy. In November, Sultan will speak about her research on developmental plasticity at the New Trends in Evolutionary Biology: Philosophical and Social Science Implications symposium held jointly by the Royal Society and the British Academy. Sultan is…
The Molecular Biophysics Program, the Department of Chemistry and the Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry hosted the 17th Annual Molecular Biophysics and Biological Chemistry Retreat on Sept. 29 at Wadsworth Mansion in Middletown. The event included several talks by Wesleyan faculty and two student research poster presentations. Professor Anna Pyle delivered the keynote address titled "Structural and Mechanistic Insights into RNA Splicing." Pyle is the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and the William Edward Gilbert Professor in the Departments of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology and Chemistry at Yale University. Pyle studies the structure and function of large RNA molecules…
Six Wesleyan alumni were nominated or received an Emmy Award on Sept. 18. Emmy Awards recognize excellence within various areas of television and emerging media. Game of Thrones executive producer D.B. Weiss '93 took home awards for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series and Outstanding Drama Series, carrying on last year's winning streak in these categories. With 38 wins since 2011, Game of Thrones has become the most decorated show in Emmy's history. Thomas Kail ’99 received an Emmy for Outstanding Directing of a Variety Special for Grease: Live! Also collecting an award for Grease: Live! was producer Adam Siegel ’00.…
Frederic Wills '19The National Archives Foundation presented its 2016 Records of Achievement Awards to Wesleyan alumni, Tony and Emmy Award-winning film and theater director, Thomas Kail '99, and Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, lyricist, and performer, Lin-Manuel Miranda '02, at its annual Gala on Sept. 25. According to the National Archives Foundation, “The Records of Achievement Award is an annual award given to individuals whose work has cultivated a broader national awareness of the history and identity of the United States through the use of original records.” Kail and Miranda were honored for their collective work on the Tony, Grammy, and Pulitzer…
Richard Locke ’81, Brown University provost and professor of political science and international and public affairs, was recently awarded one of only five inaugural Progress Medals from the Society for Progress. The Society, a group of scholars and leaders both independent and academically diverse, selected an international cohort to receive the four medals in scholarship and one in leadership with the "hope and hypothesis...that these medals will help attract and accelerate intellectual and practical attention to the moral dilemmas emergent in our modern economy." Locke, a scholar and authority on international labor relations and worker rights, and comparative political economy, was recognized…
The Philosophy of Science Association (PSA) Women's Caucus awarded Professor Victoria Pitts-Taylor with the Women's Caucus Prize in Feminist Philosophy of Science for her recent book, The Brain's Body: Neuroscience and Corporeal Politics. This prize is awarded biennially for the best book, article, or chapter published in English in the area of feminist philosophy of science within the five years prior to each PSA meeting. The winner receives an award of $500, which is presented at the PSA meeting. The Brain's Body: Neuroscience and Corporeal Politics (2016, Duke University Press) draws on feminist philosophy, feminist science studies, queer theory, and…
Bill HolderThe following is the text of an email sent to campus today by Michael Whaley, vice president for student affairs. Dear faculty, staff, and students, I’m writing to update you on a personnel matter. In June, we were contacted by a reporter from The Boston Globe, who informed us that an investigation had revealed that former Associate Dean of Students Scott Backer had been terminated from his previous job at Vermont Academy for inappropriate conduct that had not been previously disclosed to us. We immediately investigated the allegations, and he was terminated within 24 hours for having concealed the matter.…
The College of the Environment is hosting its annual Pumpkin Festival from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 8. Enjoy free veggie burgers, apple cider, farm tours, live music, vendors, activities and crafts, face painting, tie-dying, letterboxing, paper making, up-cycling t-shirts and more. Pumpkins, apples and baked goods will be for sale. The event is co-hosted by Long Lane Farm and Bon Appetit. The event is free and open to the public. Long Lane Farm is located at the corner of Long Lane and Wadsworth Street near campus. In the event of rain, the event will be rescheduled on Oct.…
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Wesleyan will host two discussions related to the Dakota Access Pipeline Project on Oct. 7. The Dakota Access Pipeline Project is a 1,172-mile pipeline that will connect the Bakken oil field in North Dakota to Illinois. The pipeline would run through federal land less than half a mile away from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's reservation and the tribe’s opposition has inspired protests across the country. Although the pipeline construction has already begun, the project was halted in September after a federal intervention. At 2 p.m. in Usdan 108, Wesleyan faculty will hold a rapid teach-in addressing key issues about the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL), its…