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Dr. Joseph J. Fins ’82, honored at Wesleyan’s 190th Commencement as an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, has devoted his distinguished career to fostering a productive dialogue between the sciences and the humanities. As he explained in his speech to the Class of 2022, that dialogue began during his tenure at Wesleyan. “We favor the separation of church and state. But the separation of the sciences and the humanities: not so good. What’s the point of developing an mRNA vaccine for COVID-19 if we don’t understand the history and sociology of vaccine hesitancy? What better describes the power of illness…

President Michael S. Roth ’78 urged the Class of 2022 in his Commencement Address to combat the nation’s culture wars with “culture peace” of the sort cultivated through a Wesleyan University education. “I believe to be true to our academic and civic purposes, Wesleyan’s mission reminds us that we must become practical idealists, making peace where we can by promoting open inquiry and free expression. We must defend those who want to participate in this endeavor from threats of violence or marginalization while cultivating respect for intellectual diversity. By practicing culture peace, we will be more open to discovery, including…

After 36 years teaching chemistry at Wesleyan and becoming an internationally-recognized expert on photoelectron spectroscopy, Joseph Knee, Beach Professor of Chemistry, is ready to retire. Knee, along with faculty colleagues Anne Greene, University Professor of English; Ann Campbell Burke, professor of biology, and Ronald Schatz, professor of history; received emeritus status during Wesleyan's 190th Commencement Ceremony on May 22. Joe Knee dedicated his career to developing time-resolved laser spectroscopy techniques that help determine the structure and dynamics of gas-phase molecules, molecular clusters, and ions. These methods provide insight into molecular behavior and influence the strength and structure of intermolecular hydrogen…

Every spring, Wesleyan recognizes three outstanding faculty with Binswanger Prizes for Excellence in Teaching. This year's recipients, who were acknowledged during the 190th Commencement ceremony on May 22, include Frederick M. Cohan, professor of biology; María Ospina, associate professor of Spanish; and Victoria Smolkin, associate professor of history. Made possible by gifts from the family of the late Frank G. Binswanger Sr., Hon. ’85, these prizes underscore Wesleyan’s commitment to its scholar-teachers, who are responsible for the University’s distinctive approach to liberal arts education. Recommendations are solicited from alumni of the last 10 graduating classes, as well as current juniors,…

Photos from throughout the Reunion weekend can be found here. The Wesleyan University community gathered together May 19–22 for Reunion and Commencement Weekend 2022. As is Wesleyan’s tradition, the classes ending in 2 and 7 returned to campus to celebrate their reunions with a weekend of lectures, performances, dinners, and ceremonies. With generations of Wesleyans assembled together, the weekend was a celebration of the University’s past and its future. ** Alumni started returning to campus in earnest Friday morning, gathering under a tent outside Russell House for lunch and to look for familiar faces. David Lakein ’92, Juan Luque ’92,…

Gabby Farina ’23, an Art History and English major, was interested in how artists’ work dealt with family, identity, body, grossness, and fleshiness. What she found from her classmates inspired her. “Everything was very much tied back to this idea of the human form,” Farina said. Farina is the first Wesleyan student to curate a Senior Thesis Showcase exhibition on her own. The exhibition, “It's Mutual,” was the first such exhibition in the Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery since COVID-19 led to the cancellation of a planned showcase in May 2020. As part of her tutorial, Farina visited the working…

For 21 years, historian Jennifer Mittelstadt '92 has immersed herself in dusty bound indexes and volumes, micro-film readers, and intransigent online databases hunting for government documents. "Such documents offer neither ease of access nor instant gratification, and few yield pleasures or eureka moments," said Mittelstadt, professor of history at Rutgers University and a scholar of the state and politics in the 20th-century United States. "I've learned that satisfaction comes only from layering them in unexpected ways and moving outside the government archive entirely, forcing the documents to speak in ways their authors did not intend, and drawing into the conversation…

Two first-generation college students are working to help the planet, one garment at a time. As cofounders of the sustainable fashion startup, Infinitely, Nimra Karamat ’23 and Ashley Cardenas '23 are creating high-quality, affordable clothing that is "ready to take down the world of fast fashion." "Brands that greenwash and benefit off of the backs of underpaid workers in underdeveloped countries are the top sellers in fashion," Cardenas said. "This shouldn’t be our reality. Through Infinitely, we want to inspire people of all backgrounds and identities to lead sustainable lives and help people understand how fast fashion is damaging for…

Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellow Elena Brennan '24 is as equally passionate about her American studies major as she is of helping fellow underrepresented and first-generation low-income (FGLI) students succeed. As chair of the Wesleyan Student Assembly's Equity and Inclusion Committee (EIC), she coordinated First Cardinals, an FGLI mentorship program that fosters connections between 40 first-years with juniors, and seniors. As a member of the BIPOC Mental Health Collective, she spurred a collaboration with the EIC, Wesleyan Student Assembly and Resource Center to host an event that addresses systemic issues on campus for marginalized students. And, in reaction to a post…

A new residency will bring a trio of noteworthy writers to Wesleyan for the 2022-23 academic year as the University looks to augment its already robust writing programs. Mahogany L. Browne, poet, curator and author of “Black Girl Magic”; Merve Emre, Oxford professor and New Yorker critic; and Yuri Herrera, an acclaimed Mexican novelist and Tulane professor, will be the first to join the newly established Shapiro-Silverberg Distinguished Writers in Residence program. “The Shapiro-Silverberg program will bring to campus writers whose work is already having an impact on a variety of audiences around the world. The initiative builds on a…

Jeremy Zwelling, associate professor of religion, emeritus, passed away on May 8 at the age of 81. Zwelling received bachelor’s degrees from Columbia University and the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, and his MA and PhD from Brandeis University. He arrived at Wesleyan in 1967, where he taught for 43 years until his retirement in 2010. He was instrumental in the creation of Jewish Studies at Wesleyan, and he created and directed an Israel Studies program in Jerusalem. Zwelling was named the inaugural Silverberg-Shapiro Professor of Jewish Studies in 2003, and when he retired in 2010 this chair was renamed the…

On April 30, Wesleyan's Archaeology and Anthropology Collections hosted an open house at Exley Science Center. In addition to viewing artifacts excavated from around the world and Middletown, guests were able to tour the museums, watch demonstrations of stone tool-making and 3D scanning, and participate in a hands-on animal bone and scat identification exercise. The event was co-hosted by the Wesleyan Archaeology Program, Environmental Archaeology Laboratory, Joe Webb Peoples Museum of Natural History, and the George Brown Goode Biological Collections. (Photos by Willow Saxon '24)

Fins ’82: “The Humanities and Sciences are Better Together”

President Roth ’78 Urges Class of 2022 to Combat Culture Wars with “Culture Peace”

Wesleyan Honors, Celebrates Retiring Faculty Burke, Knee, Greene, Schatz

Cohan, Ospina, Smolkin Honored with 2022 Binswanger Teaching Awards

Wesleyan Community Comes Together To Celebrate Reunion and Commencement 2022

“A Very Intimate Process:” Farina ’23 and Chaffee ’00 on curating the Senior Thesis Showcase

Mittelstadt ’92 to Explore Historic Right-Wing Grassroots Organizations as 2022 Guggenheim Fellow

Karamat ’23, Cardenas ’23, Ostfeld ’10, MA ’12, Winners of CT Entrepreneur Awards

Students Honored with 2022 Academic Scholarships, Fellowships, Prizes

Shapiro-Silverberg Distinguished Writers in Residence Program Launches in 2022-23

Zwelling Remembered for Teaching Jewish Studies at Wesleyan for 43 Years

Wesleyan’s Archaeology, Anthropology, Biological Collections Showcased at Public Open House