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Every week, a group of Wesleyan students in the Wesleyan Alliance for Generational Exchange (WesAGE), visit local senior centers to play card games and bingo and interact with the residents. “Our residents can’t get out into the community because of mobility and safety issues,” David Frankel, activities coordinator at One MacDonough House, told The Middletown Press in a feature story about the program. “So Wesleyan students through a program called WesAGE come to MacDonough Friday afternoons rather than party with their friends. These are special young men and women. They let us know that we’re a value to the community.” “Wesleyan University has worked very hard…

The Hartford Courant featured the 100th anniversary of Wesleyan's Van Vleck Observatory, which will be celebrated with an exhibit and a series of events this month and next. The "Under Connecticut Skies" exhibit, located in the observatory library, will open May 6 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and will remain open indefinitely during the observatory's public hours. Amrys Williams, visiting assistant professor of history, who has been working on the exhibit since last year, said the Van Vleck Observatory and the astronomy department building are part of the exhibit, telling the story of how astronomers did their work 100 years ago.…

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On May 4, President Michael Roth announced that Sally Bachner, associate professor of English, Demetrius Eudell, professor of history, and James Lipton, professor of computer science, will be awarded Binswanger Prizes for Excellence in Teaching at Commencement on May 22. These prizes, made possible by gifts from the family of the late Frank G. Binswanger Sr., Hon. ’85, underscore Wesleyan’s commitment to its scholar-teachers, who are responsible for the university’s distinctive approach to liberal arts education. Recommendations are solicited from alumni of the last 10 graduating classes, as well as current juniors, seniors, and graduate students. Recipients are chosen by a…

This spring, Allison Orr, the Menakka and Essel Bailey '66 Distinguished Visiting Scholar in the College of the Environment, is leading a group of Wesleyan students in partnering with the city of Middletown's Water and Sewer Department to develop a unique performance that will debut at the Feet to the Fire: Riverfront Encounter on May 7. The performance starts at noon at Harbor Park. According to this story in The Middletown Press, Orr has long used "her choreography talent to expose the work of those who would otherwise go unnoticed." She is the artistic director of Forklift Danceworks, and is known for "Trash Dance,"…

On April 28, the Wesleyan Athletics Department honored more than 175 scholar student-athletes that excelled both on and off the field throughout the course of the 2015-16 season. Coaches, faculty and staff from the department also attended the event, which included dinner, speeches and awards in Beckham Hall. To be recognized, a student-athlete must be at least a sophomore with a grade-point average of 3.25 or above, and be a key contributor to his or her team’s success. In addition, scholar athletes Joe Edmonds '16 of the men’s basketball team and Rachel Hobert '16 of the women’s soccer team presented inspirational speeches to…

On April 30, the Wesleyan University Sailing Team hosted their first ever inter-collegiate regatta on Lake Pocotopaug in East Hampton, Conn. After a morning of little to no wind, the afternoon picked up and the students were able to sail eight races. Wesleyan seniors and co-captains Katie Walker '16, Kevin Winnie '16 and Rachel Kurlander '16 sailed their last college regatta at the event, which was sponsored by the New England Intercollegiate Sailing Association. Bates College, Sacred Heart, and Fairfield University also participated, with Bates taking first place in the regatta. Wesleyan took third. (Photos courtesy of Wesleyan Sailing Team) (more…)

The Equity Task Force established in January to explore the establishment of a resource center, and other means of improving equity and inclusion on campus, has issued its final report. The nine-person task force is made up of faculty, students and staff, and tri-chaired by Gina Ulysse, professor of anthropology, professor of feminist gender and sexuality studies; Antonio Farias, vice president for equity and inclusion and Title IX officer; and Shardonay Pagett ’18. Over the course of the spring semester, it dedicated a considerable amount of time to studying Wesleyan’s historical attempts to address equity and inclusion, and meeting with various groups of…

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Bulelani Jili '16 has been named a Yenching Scholar for 2016. This fully funded and prestigious postgraduate program is run by Peking University in Beijing, China. Initiated in 2014, the Yenching Academy program invites exceptional postgraduates from around the globe to engage in interdisciplinary study on ancient, modern and contemporary China in the humanities and the social sciences. Yenching Scholars are granted the flexibility to create their own study paths by choosing from six academic concentrations and a variety of extracurricular activities. Studying at the Academy represents a unique opportunity not only for intercultural and academic exchange, but also for…

Students, faculty and staff who exercised cultural sensitivity, helped promote diversity and inclusion, and improved the campus climate were recognized at the annual Edgar Beckham Social Justice Awards ceremony held April 23. The event brought together generations of alumni, students, faculty and staff to celebrate the tenets that make Wesleyan diverse. Originally called the Edgar Beckham Helping Hand Awards when it was founded in 2013, the awards were created in honor of Edgar Beckham, the first African-American Dean of the College at Wesleyan University and a tireless advocate for social justice. (more…)

Cecilia Miller, associate professor of history and tutor at the College of Social Studies, is the author of Enlightenment and Political Fiction: The Everyday Intellectual, published by Routledge, 2016. The book argues that much of the important political and economic theory of the era emerged first in works of fiction rather than in theory. “Unlike studies of the Enlightenment which focus only on theory and nonfiction,” Miller states in her abstract, “this study of fiction makes evident that there was a vibrant concern for the constructive as well as destructive aspects of emotion during the Enlightenment, rather than an exclusive…

Wesleyan Students, Local Seniors Become ‘Fast Friends’

Wesleyan Observatory Opening for 100th Anniversary Events

Refugees’ Art Featured at Student-Run “Art in Crisis” Exhibit

Bachner, Eudell, Lipton to Receive Binswanger Prizes for Excellence in Teaching

Wesleyan Students Partner with City Water, Sewer Workers for Unique Show

Scholar Student Athletes Honored at Banquet

Wes Sailing Team Hosts First Inter-Collegiate Regatta

Equity Task Force Issues Final Report

Students Meet Astronaut Jemison at Sturm Lecture

Jili ’16 to Study Public Policy, International Relations as Yenching Scholar in China

Students, Faculty, Alumna Honored at Beckham Social Justice Awards

Miller’s New Book on the Enlightenment and Political Fiction