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Gary Yohe, the Huffington Foundation Professor of Economics and Environmental Studies, was reappointed by Mayor Bill DeBlasio to the third New York City Panel on Climate Change on June 30. Yohe and 18 other experts are tasked with ensuring that the best available climate science continues to inform the city's resiliency planning. The panel will build on reports by previous panels, and will "look at climate risks through the lens of inequality at a neighborhood scale, as well as focus on ways to enhance coordination of mitigation and resiliency across the entire New York metropolitan region," according to a press release from the…

Suzanne O’Connell, professor of earth and environmental sciences, is the co-editor and co-author of the book, Women in the Geosciences: Practical, Positive Practices Toward Parity, published in May 2015 by Wiley and the American Geophysical Union. The geoscience workforce has a lower proportion of women compared to the general population of the United States and compared to many other STEM fields. This volume explores issues pertaining to gender parity in the geosciences, and sheds light on some of the best practices that increase participation by women and promote parity. Highlights include lessons from the National Science Foundation-ADVANCE; data on gender composition of…

WNPR's "Where We Live" explored college prison programs, a dwindling resource that has been shown to be one of the most effective ways to prevent recidivism, in a conversation featuring Dara Young, program manager for Wesleyan's Center for Prison Education, and Michael McAlear, associate professor of molecular biology and biochemistry, who teaches in the program. Young was asked why teaching the liberal arts is effective in prison programs. "The type of thinking that we hope to encourage through a liberal arts education is particularly important when we're talking about people who are incarcerated," said Young. "We regularly hear from our…

On June 28, Norman Shapiro, professor of French, provided light verse readings, including a passage from his recently translated Fables in a Modern Key, as part of the Find Your Park summer festival event series. The reading took place at Longfellow House–Washington's Headquarters in Cambridge, Mass. Shapiro is a member of the Academy of American Poets and an Officier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres de la République Française. Fables was written by by Pierre Coran (whose real name is Eugene Delaisse), a poet and novelist of the Belgian French-language. One of Begium’s most renowned poets with some 45 poetry books…

In this issue of News @ Wesleyan, we speak with Krystal-Gayle O’Neill, an area coordinator in Residential Life. In addition to her role with Res Life, O'Neil leads Dynamic Women at Wesleyan, a group that was created as a way for women or persons who identify as women to come together, talk about various topics, and gather under a common purpose Q: Krystal-Gayle, when did you join the staff at the Office of Residential Life and where were you working prior to Wesleyan? A: I joined the Res Life staff in the Summer of 2011. Prior to Wes, I worked in Res Life…

The Wesleyan Upward Bound Math-Science Program is in full swing here on the Wesleyan campus. The year-round program, which serves low-income, first-generation and under-represented rising freshman through high school seniors, serves 90 to 100 students during the academic year and approximately 70 students during its six-week summer session. The program's director, Teshia Levy-Grant '00 was a first-generation student at Wesleyan. "I recognize the need,” she said. “I know what it’s like to try to navigate the education system, and I want to help these students succeed.” The grant-funded program relies on the support of volunteer tutors, many of whom are Wesleyan students.…

Christine "Cj" Mathew '18 is taking two intensive science classes this summer that equate to an entire year's worth of credits. (Photos by Olivia Drake)

University Protestant Chaplain Tracy Mehr-Muska and Lydia Ottaviano '17 were interviewed on the WESU 88.1 FM show "Reasonably Catholic" about a new interfaith organization on campus that is working to build ties between the various faith traditions. Ottaviano is a member of the new interfaith council, which planned the first Faith Shadowing Week this spring. During the week of April 19, students attended regularly scheduled meetings of various religious and spiritual groups other than their own, including several Christian fellowship group meetings and bible studies, Shabbat services, Buddhist Faith Fellowship, Wesleyan Mindfulness Group, Quaker Meeting, Catholic Mass, Muslim Jumma Prayers and Vespers. The week concluded…

Wesleyan sponsored three Posse Veteran scholars to attend the Veteran’s Gala for Specialist Sean Pesce, an Army Ranger who was shot 13 times and paralyzed from the waist down during a mission in Afghanistan in fall 2012. Michael Smith ’18, Andrew Po ’18, and Bryan Stascavage ’18 attended the June 19 benefit to show support for a fellow veteran, and to learn more about a smaller non-profit organization that is helping those who served in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The charity that is helping Pesce, Homes For Our Troops, modifies or builds homes that allow wounded veterans to live independently.…

More than 185 Wesleyan students are employed in various campus departments over the summer. Of those, about 78 are work-study eligible. Students earn money that can be contributed to the cost of their education, while learning skills that will benefit them in the classroom and beyond. Employers benefit from students' skills, insight and enthusiasm. (more…)

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Norman Shapiro, professor of romance languages and literatures and the Distinguished Professor of Literary Translation, translated the book Poetry of Haitian Independence, published by Yale University Press in May 2015. At the turn of the 19th century, Haiti became the first and only modern country born from a slave revolt. During the first decades of Haitian independence, a wealth of original poetry was created by the inhabitants of the former French Caribbean island colony and published in Haitian newspapers. These deeply felt poems celebrated the legitimacy of the new nation and the value of the authors’ African origins while revealing a common mission…

Yohe Reappointed to NYC Climate Change Panel

O’Connell Edits Book that Focuses on Women in the Geosciences

Wesleyan’s Center for Prison Education Featured on ‘Where We Live’

Shapiro Reads from Fables in a Modern Key

Res Life’s O’Neill Oversees 26 RAs, Creates Dynamic Women of Wesleyan Group

High School Students are Upward Bound at Wesleyan

Mathew ’18 Participates in Summer Session’s Biology Institute

Mehr-Muska, Ottaviano ’17 Discuss Interfaith Relations at Wesleyan

Wesleyan Posse Veterans Attend Benefit for Wounded Ranger

Students Gain Skills, Help Departments While Working on Campus this Summer

Weaver MALS ’75, CAS ’76 Discusses Ways Science, Entertainment, Education Overlap

Shapiro Translates Haitian Poetry Collection