Olivia DrakeDuring the 2015 blizzard on Jan. 26-27, Wesleyan received between 16 and 20 inches of snow. Several students and staff members submitted photos of the snow-covered campus, and ways they enjoyed the snow day. (more…)
Lauren RubensteinTotal enrollment in Wesleyan’s massive open online courses (MOOCs) recently surpassed 1 million students, as Wesleyan professors prepare to offer a new run of two film courses through Coursera in the coming months. According to Jennifer Curran, director of continuing studies and Graduate Liberal Studies, enrollment is poised to continue growing in the lead-up to The Language of Hollywood: Storytelling, Sound, and Color, taught by Scott Higgins, associate professor and chair of film studies, beginning Feb. 2, and Marriage and the Movies: A History, taught by Jeanine Basinger, the Corwin-Fuller Professor of Film Studies, curator of the Cinema Archives, beginning…
#THISISWHY In this Q&A meet Alicia Gansley from the Class of 2015. (Story by Rosy Capron '14, civic engagement fellow at Wesleyan’s Allbritton Center.) Q: Alicia, what are you majoring in? A: I'm majoring in computer science and I'm also completing the economics minor and Civic Engagement Certificate. Q: Last fall, you brought your programming knowledge to COMP 342: Software Engineering, a service-learning course where groups of computer science majors develop special projects for local organizations. Tell us more about your project. A: My group made a web application for Green Street Teaching and Learning Center to use to sign students up for one of…
Lutz Huwel, professor of physics, and Thomas Morgan, the Foss Professor of Physics, are the co-authors of an article titled "Investigating the dynamics of laser induced sparks in atmospheric helium using Rayleigh and Thomson scattering," published in the Journal of Applied Physics, Volume 117 in January 2015. The paper describes the use of two laser systems to prepare and study a helium plasma, and draws on an extensive international collaboration. The electron density and temperature of the plasma are measure as a function of time and space with high precision. The work has important impact in the area of laser induced…
Phillip K. Howard, a leader of government and legal reform in America and author of The Rule of Nobody and The Death of Common Sense, will speak at Wesleyan on Feb. 4. His talk, titled, "Can American Government Be Fixed?" will be at 4:30 p.m. in PAC002. Howard will argue that looking for new leaders is a fool's errand until we restore their ability to lead. Modern government is structurally paralyzed by the accretion of dense bureaucracy. From the school house to the White House, people with responsibility find themselves mired in legal quicksand. An aging democracy is part of the problem — obsolete programs are defended by…
Writing in The Chronicle of Higher Education, Dan Berrett traces the ongoing tension in American between visions of higher education "as a vehicle for intellectual development" and as a simple tool to prepare students for jobs. Citing Wesleyan President Michael S. Roth's book, Beyond the University: Why Liberal Education Matters, Berrett shows how the debate over the value of a liberal education has evolved from the days of the Founding Fathers to W.E.B. Du bois and Booker T. Washington to today. "A farmer reading the classics or an industrial worker quoting Shakespeare was at one time an honorable character. Today’s news stories lament bartenders with…
Update, Jan. 27 at 4 p.m.: The University will re-open Wednesday, Jan. 28 at 7 a.m., and scheduled classes and events are expected to resume. It will be cold and windy, and members of the Wesleyan community are asked to exercise extreme caution when outside on campus. Although the grounds crew is working to clear parking lots, snowy walkways may be difficult, so please wear appropriate shoes. A Middletown street parking ban may still be in effect; extra parking (and shuttle service) will be available at Long Lane. Report slippery conditions requiring immediate attention by calling work order control at 860-685-3400. Original…
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Brian KattenHe loves “chick-flicks” and played alto-sax in high school. But he also wants to earn a spot in the Special Forces after graduation. In short, the Cardinals' No. 80 in football has many layers. They all start and end with respect, and comfort in being himself, on and off the field. He’s no prima donna, even though he has only played one position since he was 9 — wide receiver. Being a distraction to the team is not in his DNA. “I’ve never been that way,” said Jay Fabien '15. “I love all aspects of being a wide receiver.” (more…)
Two Wesleyan students and two alumni participated in the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights Ripple of Hope Gala and Awards Dinner in New York City in December. During the event, Ripple Awards were presented to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, entertainers/ philanthropists Robert De Niro and Tony Bennett, and Physicians Interactive Chairman Donato Tramuto. Ella Israeli '17, a government major minoring in film studies film studies, was chosen to introduce New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who presented the Ripple of Hope Award to De Niro. Israeli also spoke about her involvement in the center's film contest. Her speech is online here.…
Norman Shapiro, professor of French, is the translator of Fables in a Modern Key (Fables dan l'air du Temps), published by Black Widow Press in 2015. 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 published to date, he also is the author of 25 published novels, 24 books of fables, hundreds of comic book stories, and several albums which have been translated into more than a dozen languages. His children's stories and fables are published around…
Beginning Feb. 4, Wesleyan’s Van Vleck Observatory will open to the public every Wednesday night, rain or shine, for presentations by faculty and students on the latest space-related discoveries, as well as a chance for everyone to view the sky through a telescope, weather permitting. The program will start at 8 p.m. on Wednesdays. Presentations are intended to be accessible to visitors of all ages, although aimed primarily at high school level and above. (more…)