David LowAlex Kudera ’91 has published a new satiric novel, Fight for Your Long Day (Atticus Books), which takes the reader into the secret life of an adjunct college professor, Cyrus “Duffy” Duffleman who has to travel to four universities a day in Philadephia to teach. Duffy can barely afford his two-room apartment and would be thrilled to have health insurance. Then one day, Duffy’s teaching routine changes when his first class is interrupted by the cryptic mumblings of a possibly psychotic student. Next he encounters a bow-and-arrow assassination. His long day continues downhill from there as he attempts to maintain…
Dennis Waring Ph.D ’82 has created a new video titled From Trash to Tunes, designed to teach children, families and educators the craft of making simple musical instruments from items around the house. The video introduces children to the science of sound and the history of musical instruments. Detailed demonstrations show how to construct more than a dozen instruments from recycled materials. Families can organize their own band at home as they “go green.” Waring is an ethnomusicologist, educator, author, instrument maker, collector, performer, and arts consultant. He teaches world music, American music and music education courses on the university…
Frank Wood ’84 is currently starring in the acclaimed off-Broadway revival of Tony Kushner’s Pulitzer Prize- winning play Angels in America, which has been playing to sold-out houses at the Signature Theatre in Manhattan since opening this fall and runs through March 27. Set in New York City during the mid-’80s, this epic work follows the interconnected lives of several people affected by the AIDS crisis, intense spiritual experiences, and the Reagan Administration. Wood plays the demanding role of the closeted gay lawyer, Roy Cohn. Tony Award-winner Wood (more…)
David PesciJohn Bonin, the Chester D. Hubbard Professor of Economics, authored this year’s President’s Address for the Association of Comparative Economic Studies, "From Reputation amidst Uncertainty to Commitment under Stress: More than a Decade of Foreign-Owned Banking in Transition Economies." The address appears in Comparative Economic Studies, Vol. 52, No. 4 pp. 465- 494, December 2010.
Olivia DrakeJeanine Basinger, the Corwin-Fuller Professor of Film Studies and chair of the Film Studies Department, was a member of the American Film Institute motion picture jury for 2010. Basinger and the other 11 jury members released their annual list of the 10 best movies of the year on Dec. 12. The 10 films are: Black Swan, The Fighter, Inception, The Kids Are All Right, 127 Hours, The Social Network, The Town, Toy Story 3, True Grit and Winter's Bone. The AFI will honor the creative ensembles for each of the films and TV shows at a luncheon sponsored by Hewlett-Packard on…
A book by Laurie Nussdorfer, professor of history and letters, will be discussed Dec. 16 in Rome. Her book, Brokers of Public Trust: Notaries in Early Modern Rome (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2009), examines the emergence of the modern notarial profession -- free market scribes responsible for producing original legal documents and their copies. Nussdorfer chronicles the training of professional notaries and the construction of public archives, explaining why notarial documents exist, who made them, and how they came to be regarded as authoritative evidence. In doing so, she describes a profession of crucial importance to the people and government of the time,…
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Wesleyan's Music Department held a Student Steelband Concert Dec. 9 in Usdan University Center. Eric Charry, associate professor of music, directs the Trinidadian steelband and class. [youtube width="640" height="420"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ei05GzyB5iw[/youtube] (more…)
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Victoria Smolkin-Rothrock, comes to Wesleyan this spring as an assistant professor of history, an assistant professor of Russian and Eastern European Studies. She’ll also be a core member of the College of Social Studies. Her research investigates state efforts to manage spiritual life, as well as the significance and functions of private rituals in modern society. “There were many things that attracted me to Wesleyan, but the students, and the intellectual community more broadly, are at the top of the list,” she says. “When I visited Wesleyan, the students made a profound impression: they struck me as deeply engaged in…
Cynthia RockwellDavid M. Gruppo ’79 has joined the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. (BTMU) as head of Latin America Corporate and Investment Banking, a newly created position. He reports to Randall Chafetz, head of corporate and investment banking for the Americas. Gruppo has spent a significant portion of his career involved in Latin American corporate and investment banking, including positions with Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Santander. During the past eight years, he has been focused on the technology sector, working in various capacities with IBM, including T J Watson Research. An economics major at Wesleyan, he earned his JD from…