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The Wesleyan Men’s Rugby Team, which recently celebrated its 50th anniversary, played Trinity College on Oct. 30 at the Long Lane field. The team, also known as the Wesleyan “Old Methodist” Rugby Football Club, now plays in a recognized New England Rugby Football Union league including the Little 3, Trinity and Connecticut College, and they can compete for both New England and National titles. In fact, Wesleyan beat both Amherst and Williams in league play this fall to win the Little Three championship! Wesleyan won 19-15 over Williams on Sept. 26 and 48-35 over Amherst on Oct. 10. Rugby is coached by Peter Velcovsky and Dennis…

Professor of Anthropology Gina Athena Ulysse received the Haitian Studies Association's Excellence in Scholarship award during the organizations' 27th annual conference Oct. 24. The conference centered around the theme "Haiti in the Global Environment: Presence, Representations, Performances" and took place at the Université de Montréal in Québec, Canada. Previous anthropologists awarded this honor include Paul Farmer (2001) and Michel-Rolph Trouillot (2003). While in Québec, Ulysse presented a talk on "Successfully Individuating Within Academia: Thoughts on Rebel Mentoring and Your Voice” at the Emerging Scholars pre-conference. Ulysse also will be recognized by her peers at the American Anthropological Association meeting next month for…

Wesleyan's campus continues to burst with fall colors.

On Oct. 30, Wesleyan’s Neighborhood Preschool participated in the annual NPS Halloween Parade. The children, accompanied by their parents, teachers and care-takers, stopped at North College to sing songs and show off their costumes. Many trick-or-treaters are the children of Wesleyan faculty and staff. (more…)

On Nov. 13-14 Wesleyan will host the inaugural Social Impact Summit, a gathering of alumni and parents who are passionately working for social change on a local, national and global scale. The summit is underwritten by James Shasha ’50, P’82, and organized by the Patricelli Center for Social Entrepreneurship, the Allbritton Center for the Study of Public Life, and the Office of Alumni and Parent Relations. Many alumni joke about the “Wesleyan Film Mafia” but less well-known is the “Wesleyan Social Impact Mafia,” a large web of alumni engaged in social impact work. (more…)

On Oct. 28, as part of its Fall Puppet Forum Series, the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry at the University of Connecticut hosted Javanase musician and scholar Sumarsam for a presentation on "Javanese Puppet Theater and the West." Sumarsam is the University Professor of Music at Wesleyan. Sumarsam's talk included discussion of the complex nature of Javanese wayang kulit shadow theater in the context of his recent research into the history of Javanese gamelan culture. Professor Sumarsam's work analyzes adaptations in gamelan art as a result of Western colonialism in 19th century Java, showing how Western musical and dramatic practices were domesticated…

The Friends of the Davison Art Center organized an Autumn Soirée fundraiser on Oct. 22 at the President's House. Attendees enjoyed a special evening of music and art hosted at the home of President Michael Roth and University Professor of Letters Kari Weil. “Kari and I are lifetime members of the Friends of the Davison, and we were happy to express our support in this way,” President Roth said. "The Center benefits the Wesleyan community, of course, but also so many in the area who care for the arts.” Professor of Music Neely Bruce performed an intimate piano concert. As…

Breaking news: You may be a pizza-holic. Mike Robinson, professor of psychology, professor of neuroscience and behavior, was called on by CNN to comment on a new study examining which foods can be the most addictive. Topping the list: pizza, French fries, chocolate, chips, cookies, ice cream, cake, soda, bacon and cheese. Although not all foods have the potential to be addictive, "it is critical to understand which ones do," said Robinson, who was not involved in the study, told CNN. "We are all pressed for time, and food is becoming more and more available," but we need to think about…

The Office of Human Resources hosted its annual Employee Service Recognition Luncheon Oct. 19 in Beckham Hall. President Michael Roth attended the lunch and commended the employees for their many years of service at Wesleyan. Employees who were celebrating their 20th, 25th, 30th, 35, and 40th year were invited to the luncheon with a guest. Employees honored included: Admissions Clifford Thornton, 30 years Sheila von Schoeler, 30 years Christian Lanser, 20 years Center for the Arts Mark Gawlak, 30 years (more…)

The Molecular Biophysics Program hosted its 16th annual retreat Oct. 22 at Wadsworth Mansion in Middletown. The day-long event included two poster sessions and talks by three Wesleyan faculty and two guests. The event also allowed students and faculty to discuss their current research. Rich Olson, assistant professor of molecular biology and biochemistry, delivered a talk on “Understanding membrane specificity in a family of bacterial pore-forming toxins.” Joseph Coolon, assistant professor of biology, spoke on “The role of gene regulatory network structure in genome evolution.” Candice Etson, assistant professor of physics, spoke on “A Single-molecule Toolkit: Using TIRF Microscopy to…

Jim Kamm, Bill Nelligan and Rose Pandolfo received Cardinal Achievement Awards in October for providing extraordinary support to their Wesleyan colleagues. Kamm is a desktop support specialist with Information Technology Services; Nelligan is director of environmental services for Physical Plant - Facilities; and Pandolfo is a staff accountant with the Office of Finance. All three staff members extended themselves above and beyond the expectations of their position to provide support in their respective areas of expertise with good will, good humor and limitless patience. This special honor comes with a $250 award and reflects the university’s gratitude for those extra efforts. Award recipients…

Joop Varekamp, the Harold T. Stearns Professor of Earth Science, professor of earth and environmental sciences, and Marty Gilmore, the George I. Seney Professor of Geology, professor and chair of professor of earth and environmental sciences, are the co-authors of two book chapters published in Copahue Volcano (Springer Publishers, September 2015) Copahue Volcano is part of Springer Publishers' "Active Volcanos of the World" series. Varekamp is the lead author on a chapter with Jim Zareski MA‘14 and Lauren Camfield MA’15. Gilmore and Tristan Kading MA’11 are co-authors with Varekamp on another chapter dealing with terrestrial environments as analogs for Mars. A third chapter,…

Rugby Team Wins 2015 Little Three Championship

Ulysse Honored with Excellence in Scholarship Award

Wesleyan Bursts with Fall Colors

Preschool Children Trick-or-Treat on College Row

Patricelli Center to Host Social Impact Summit, Nov. 13-14

Sumarsam Speaks on Javanese Puppet Theater at Museum of Puppetry

Friends of Davison Art Center Holds Autumn Soirée Fundraiser

Robinson Tells CNN About Addictive Foods

Employees Honored for Service to Wesleyan

Faculty Talks, Poster Sessions During Molecular Biophysics Retreat

Kamm, Nelligan, Pandolfo Honored with Cardinal Achievement Awards

Varekamp, Gilmore Co-Author Articles on Argentina’s Copahue Volcano