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In this continuing series, Annie Roach ’22, an English and Italian studies major from Northampton, Mass., reviews alumni books and offers a selection for those in search of knowledge, insight, and inspiration. The volumes, sent to us by alumni, are forwarded to Olin Library as donations to the University’s collection and made available to the Wesleyan community. Daniel de Visé ’89, King of the Blues: The Rise and Reign of B.B. King, the First Guitar Hero (Atlantic Monthly Press, 2021) In what is the first comprehensive biography of the legendary blues musician B.B. King, Daniel de Visé takes readers on…

As we approach Election Day 2021 and look toward the 2022 midterm elections, Wesleyan continues its push to get students more civically involved. Wesleyan saw much success with its original Wesleyan Engage 2020 Initiative Fund and hopes to build on that momentum for next year, with enrollment for the Student Political Engagement Fund now open. Through Wesleyan’s ongoing support of student learning through engaging the electoral process, students have found a variety of ways to get involved in the political process. Working on a sheriff’s campaign in Georgia. Supporting a New York City Council race. Canvassing in small-town Connecticut elections. Registering…

Reinhold Blumel, Charlotte Augusta Ayres Professor of Physics, recently co-authored a paper in Nature called “Power-optimal, stabilized entangling gate between trapped-ion qubits.” Yunseong Nam, one of the other co-authors, worked with Blumel as a graduate student. Blumel’s contributions to this paper stem from his connections to IonQ, a technology company for quantum computing. Nam is now the company’s chief theorist.

Assistant Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences Raquel Bryant and Assistant Professor of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry Teresita Padilla-Benavides are two women in STEM whose work has recently been highlighted in national science journals. Bryant, who will join the Wesleyan faculty in July 2022, co-wrote a paper titled “Microfossil and geochemical records reveal high-productivity paleoenvironments in the Cretaceous Western Interior Seaway during Oceanic Anoxic Event 2” that will be in the December volume of Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. Her work has also been featured as a Research Highlight in Nature Reviews Earth and Environment. Padilla-Benavides recently co-wrote an article titled “The…

There was no shortage of ways to find community, enlightenment, and a deep sense of the Wesleyan experience this Homecoming/Family Weekend, which took place Oct. 29-30. Lectures were given on recent glacier-related flood events in high mountain environments and the uncertain future of the Senate filibuster. Graduates of Wesleyan’s Center for Prison Education told their personal stories. “What Happened to Baby Jane?” screened at the Jeanine Basinger Center for Film Studies. There were two sold-out dance performances in the ’92 Theater and exhibits at Olin Library. The campus was alive with activity, with parents, alumni, and students connecting over the…

Like many alumni entrepreneurs, Kenny Green's career launched from a "dorm room business" during his junior year at Wesleyan. Green '98, an economics major, teamed up with his classmate Paul Freeman '98 and started selling keychains with 'Wesleyan' stitched in black thread. "[At the time] these big long keychains came in style—the dog tag keychain. So I said, 'Hey, how can we put Wesleyan on this?'" Green asked. Green, who is the founder of Green Passion Projects, an organization that consults with professional athletes and entrepreneurs to create effective business strategies, joined five other Wesleyan alumni panelists to lead the…

The Wesleyan community is experiencing a rather warm start to fall, but a beautiful one nonetheless! (Photos by Willow Saxon '25 and Olivia Drake MALS '08)

Wesleyan’s intellectually dynamic faculty, students, alumni, staff, and parents frequently serve as expert sources for national media. Others are noted for recent achievements and accolades. A sampling of recent media hits is below: Wesleyan President Michael Roth '78 reviews Richard Rorty's Pragmatism as Anti-Authoritarianism in The Los Angles Review of Books. "Rorty was at once an iconoclast and an adherent of progress — the odd radical who believed deeply in this country’s potential. His Pragmatism as Anti–Authoritarianism, a set of 10 lectures he delivered in Spain in 1996, has just been published. While many of the arguments are by now…

Adjunct Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies Helen Poulos recently co-authored three new papers: “Wildfire and topography drive woody plant diversity in a Sky Island mountain range in the Southwest USA,” published in Ecology and Evolution on Oct. 5. “Choked out: Battling invasive giant cane along the Rio Grande/ Bravo Borderlands,” published in River Research and Applications on Sept. 20. And “Mixed-severity wildfire as a driver of vegetation change in an Arizona Madrean Sky Island System, USA,” written alongside Michael Freiburger ’21 and published in Fire on Oct. 20. Poulos’s research focuses on plant distribution patterns as a result of the…

An art form discovered more than a million years ago by hominids is being kept alive today by a Wesleyan sophomore. Elizabeth "Beth" Cooper '24, a modern-day "knapper," uses moose antlers, cobble hammerstones, and homemade copper contraptions to shape and "chip" stone into tools. This technique was historically used to craft arrowheads, knives, blades, spears, gun flints, and more. "I've always been interested in historical replicas and recreating ancient production techniques," they said. On Oct. 27, Cooper shared their handiwork and knowledge with fellow students during a practical—and traditionally seasonal—activity: pumpkin carving. Sponsored by the Archaeology Department and Archaeology &…

News media, advertising, and other messaging can be important tools in promoting a healthy and equitable society. The COVID-19 pandemic shows just how catastrophic the consequences can be when a communication crisis is added to a health crisis. Wesleyan’s Erika Franklin Fowler, Steven Moore and Laura Baum are launching the Collaborative on Media & Messaging for Health and Social Policy (COMM) to help. In summarizing their research—including more than a decade’s worth of health-related advertising and news coverage on childhood vaccinations, the Affordable Care Act, education, paid leave, and health equity—they find some broad takeaways. For example, according to COMM,…

Like many other activities on campus, Wesleyan Food Rescue went into a kind of hibernation during the height of the global pandemic last year. When Food Rescue distributed food daily, over 40 students were involved. Last year the number dwindled to seven participants. Now, student coordinators were looking to rebuild the ranks of their almost 10-year-old organization. Student coordinators Gina Gwiazda ‘22, Ari Hart ‘24, and Lucia Voges ’24 are looking for at least three or four drivers to help them bring more food to the Eddy Shelter, located on Labella Circle in Middletown. Expanding the number of available drivers…

“You Just Have to Read This…” Books by Wesleyan Authors de Visé ’89, Petre ’06, Rips ’72

Students Seek to Make Electoral Impact Through Political Engagement Fund

Blumel, Nam Write Paper on Quantum Physics

Papers by STEM Faculty Padilla-Benavides, Bryant Published

Families, Alumni, Students Gather for Homecoming/Family Weekend 2021

Alumni Discuss Black Entrepreneurship at 29th Annual Dwight L. Greene Symposium

Fall Is In the Air …

Wesleyan in the News

Poulos Authors 3 New Environmental-Themed Papers

Students Learn to Carve Pumpkins with Stone Tools (with Photos, Video)

Researchers Create New Collaborative to Guide Effective Health Communications

Wesleyan Food Rescue Looking for Volunteers