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Mike MavredakisOctober 8, 202419min
Lin-Manuel Miranda ’05, actor, librettist, and creator of the 2015 musical Hamilton, appeared on comedian Mike Birbiglia’s podcast “Working it Out.” Miranda and Birbiglia discussed the release of Miranda’s new album “Warriors” and the creative process that informed it. The Washington Post mentioned the work of college students from the northeast canvassing in Pennsylvania for political campaigns. Several of the students received Political Engagement Grants from the Allbritton Center for the Study of Public Life. Erika Franklin Fowler, professor of government and co-director of the Wesleyan Media Project, joined ABC News’ “FiveThirtyEight Politics” podcast to break down the political ads flooding…

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Mike MavredakisSeptember 10, 202418min
President Michael S. Roth ’78 joined WAMC’s “The Roundtable” on Sept. 13 to discuss his book “The Student: A Short History,” which maps out the way learning has changed over time. The Wesleyan Media Project (WMP) reported estimated that former President Donald Trump’s campaign has spent nearly nothing on ads that promote him in a positive light in research released on Sept. 12. New York Times Opinion contributor Kristen Soltis Anderson cited the Wesleyan Media Project’s research in a piece for The Times on Sept. 24.  The Washington Post mentioned the Wesleyan Media Project’s research into the tone of the…

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Mike MavredakisAugust 7, 20248min
Tony Award-winning playwright and composer Lin-Manuel Miranda ’02, Hon. ’15 collaborated with playwright and actress Eisa Davis to release a concept album inspired by the cult-hero movie “The Warriors,” according to the Los Angeles Times. The 26-song album, executive produced by the rapper Nas, will be released on Oct. 18 by Atlantic Records. “We’ve spent the past three years musicalizing the Warriors’ journey home, from the South Bronx to Coney Island,” Miranda and Davis said in a joint statement, according to the Los Angeles Times. “Along the way we’ve gotten to work with a lot of our favorite artists, and…

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Editorial StaffMay 2, 202417min
By Rose Chen ’26 Fellowships, Research, and Grants Jennifer Tucker, professor of technology, law, and visual culture and founding director of the Center for the Study of Guns and Society, and Stephen Hargarten, professor of Emergency Medicine at Medical College of Wisconsin, received a grant from The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) for their research into the ways manufacturers have improved firearm and ammunition safety since the 1750s. Tucker published “Gundamentalism” in Modern American History in May of 2023, an essay on the role of guns in American society through history. She also published “Home on the (Firing) Range:…

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Mike MavredakisApril 17, 202418min
President Michael S. Roth ’78 urged for the defense of academic freedom and democracy in a piece for TIME: “If we are to strengthen our democracy and the educational institutions that depend on it, we must learn to practice freedom, better. We must learn to be better students. Our future depends on it.”  As many colleges across the country have seen protesting on their campuses, Roth appeared on CNN’s “The Assignment with Audie Cornish” to talk about free speech and the campus climate at Wesleyan. “It’s so much better that [Wesleyan students] are worried about Gaza, than just getting an A on…

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Mike MavredakisDecember 20, 202321min
It has been a consequential year at Wesleyan. The University announced the end of legacy admissions and loans, policy changes aimed at improving the access and affordability of its liberal arts education. It also launched the largest fundraising initiative in school history.   While Wesleyan was focused on its mission to provide a diverse group of students with an expansive and broad education, its students continued to learn and create and faculty continued to make significant contributions in their fields of study. Throughout the year, the Wesleyan Connection has documented this creative and compassionate community hungry to have an impact on…

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Mike MavredakisNovember 29, 202316min
In a piece for Time Magazine, Wesleyan President Michael S. Roth ’78 and Yale School of Management Professor Jeffrey Sonnenfeld argue university leadership has an obligation to speak out to ensure safety for students and employees. "It’s not an infringement on free expression to take a stand as an institutional leader, whether it’s to condemn perpetual military occupation, to denounce scientific falsehoods during a pandemic, to defend the importance of telling the truth about the legacies of Black slavery, or to point out that progressive pieties often make use of ancient anti-Semitic tropes to promote sick silos of solidarity," they…

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Mike MavredakisSeptember 13, 202315min
Two Wesleyan alumni were hired in key roles at the White House by the Biden-Harris Administration in September. Ed Siskel ’94 started his new role as White House Counsel and Rob Wilcox ’01 joined the administration as a Deputy Director of the new Office of Gun Violence Prevention. Siskel, the nation’s top attorney, was called a seasoned lawyer who could “hit the ground running as a key leader on my team,” by President Joseph R. Biden in a statement, according to The New York Times. Siskel will be tasked with guiding Biden through an impeachment inquiry spearheaded by Speaker of the…

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Editorial StaffSeptember 6, 2023102min
Wesleyan welcomes 56 new faculty members for the 2023-24 academic year. The group contains 19 new visiting faculty members, 16 assistant professors, three Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral fellows, three associate professors of the practice, three postdoctoral fellows, two university professors, two Distinguished Writers in Residence, two coaches and adjunct professors, one assistant professor of the practice, one distinguished professor, one professor, one associate professor, one Artist-in-Residence, and one teaching fellow. This group is comprised of experts in African American studies, American studies, biology, computer science, dance, Design & Engineering Studies, Earth and Environmental Studies, East Asian studies, economics, education, English, film,…

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Mike MavredakisAugust 8, 202319min
While the majority of students are away from campus during the summer months, many members of Wesleyan’s faculty, staff, and alumni are hard at work and making headlines. President Joseph R. Biden announced that attorney Ed Siskel ’94 will serve as White House counsel on August 22. Siskel spent four years working in the White House Counsel’s Office during President Barack Obama’s administration, including time as the Deputy Counsel. Siskel will lead a team to provide the president with legal counsel, help to craft policies and executive actions, and defend and advance Biden’s agenda. “Ed Siskel’s many years of experience…