Brian KattenOctober 2, 20133min
Wesleyan’s scholar-athletes continue to achieve in the classroom and on the field. Thirteen athletic teams have been honored for academic achievement by their national coaches associations for the 2012-13 year. Men's and women's cross country, field hockey and volleyball all were recognized academically during the fall. Men's and women's swimming and diving earned academic distinction for both the fall and spring semesters individually while the wrestling team was a winter achiever. Over the spring, women's lacrosse, softball, men's and women's track and field, and men's and women's tennis received honors. Among the 11 teams cited for scholastic accomplishment, the field hockey…

Kate CarlisleOctober 2, 20133min
It may be difficult for today’s sophomores (roughly 54 percent female and 46 percent male) to imagine a Wesleyan without women. Harder still to wrap their minds around the idea that coeducation is relatively young at the 182-year-old university. (A pre-modern coed experiment lasted from 1872 to 1912.) Yet this year, Wes celebrates 40 years of women at Wesleyan, from the early female varsity athletes (some of whom competed on men’s squads until enough women could be found to join) to the influx of women who integrated the largely male professoriat (and now make up about 46 percent of the…

Olivia DrakeOctober 2, 20133min
Homecoming/Family Weekend celebrates some of the best and most enjoyable aspects of life at Wesleyan. It brings people together from across the university's extended community—including students and their families, faculty, and alumni—to enjoy an array of academic, cultural and athletic events. During HCFW 2013, held Nov. 1-4, students’ families gain a sense of the undergraduate experience by sitting in on regularly scheduled classes, attending WESeminars, and by meeting faculty and administrators in both academic and social settings. Alumni reconnect with Wesleyan and with each other at a host of special seminars and social gatherings. This year, attend an all-college dinner, a…

Olivia DrakeOctober 2, 20132min
Wesleyan University continues to go green. Campus is now equipped with four solar-powered waste compactors and single-stream recycling stations which may reduce collection frequency by up to 80 percent. Wesleyan’s Sustainability Office and Physical Plant have been working since last fall to bring the stations, designed by BigBelly Solar, to campus. The four new campus stations are located at Memorial Chapel, Usdan University Center, Olin Library and the Office of Admissions. Single-stream recycling reduces the number of bins necessary to collect recyclable goods and waste compactors reduce the number of times Wesleyan's custodial division needs to pick up trash. The BigBellys also are expected…

Lauren RubensteinOctober 2, 20134min
In this edition of The Wesleyan Connection, we speak to Psyche Loui, a new assistant professor of psychology, assistant professor of neuroscience and behavior. Q: Professor Loui, welcome to Wesleyan! Please tell us about your life up to now. Where did you grow up and go to school? A: I’m from Hong Kong, originally. When I was 13, I moved to Vancouver, Canada, so I’m Canadian. But I just got a Green Card, which is exciting. I went to Duke as an undergrad, where I was a psychology and music double major and earned a neuroscience certificate. Then I went…

Olivia DrakeOctober 2, 20135min
In this issue of The Wesleyan Connection, we speak with Aviv Fraiman from the Class of 2015. Q: Aviv, what are you majoring in and why? A: I’m majoring in neuroscience and behavior because I find the brain absolutely fascinating. When I think of the brain, I’m reminded of a puzzle, except instead of the pieces being cardboard shapes, they’re an interwoven tangle of yarn. All the different pathways – it’s really chaotic, but there’s such beauty in its design. Neuroscience is a field where there’s an endless amount to learn and that really excites me. Q: You're currently President…

Bill HolderOctober 2, 20132min
Scott Backer, Jonathan Connary, Rick Culliton, Maureen Isleib, Tanya Purdy, Joyce Walter and Michael Whitcomb were presented recently with Cardinal Achievement Awards for their efforts on the National College Health Improvement Project (NCHIP) Learning Collaborative on High-Risk Drinking. Over the past two years, they led Wesleyan’s participation in this project, which required a significant ongoing commitment above and beyond their usual duties. Over the course of the project, all the members of the team were constantly designing and conducting tests of different interventions, gathering data in order to assess impact, and refining tests based on what was learned. Because of…

Olivia DrakeOctober 2, 20131min
On Oct. 1, the Office of Student Affairs hosted a “First-Year Dinner with President Roth.” The event gave first-year students living in Clark Hall and Bennet Hall an opportunity to visit with President Roth, staff and their fellow residents. Students dined in the Daniel Family Commons. President Roth met with students living in the Butterfield Residences, Foss Hill, 200 Church and 156 High earlier this year. Students also met with Dean Mike Whaley, vice president for student affairs; Dean of Students Rick Culliton, and Dean of the Class of 2017 Louise Brown. (Photos by Hannah Norman '16) (more…)