David LowAcclaimed author Amy Bloom ’75 has published a new story collection, Where the Love of God Hangs Out (Random House), which has already received several fine reviews. The book contains two sets of four related stories and four unrelated works in which the author explores love, loss, mortality, and other human predicaments with compassion and humor. The first quartet of stories concerns the love affair between middle-aged friends William and Clare who are married to others. The other set of interlocking tales explores the relationship over 30 years between Julia and her stepson Lionel who are introduced in the story…
Olivia DrakeIn 70 C.E., Roman Emperor Vespasian and his son, Titus, sacked the city of Jerusalem, destroying the Jewish temple. To commemorate the success of quelling the Jewish Revolt, the Romans minted a series of nearly 50 "Judea Capta" (Captured Judaea) coins in gold, bronze and silver to remind the Roman Empire of its victory. Most of these coins depict a Roman soldier or leader, outfitted in military attire, and a mourning female Jewish woman, seated under a palm tree or trophy. On Jan. 14, Jewish Chaplain Rabbi David Teva Leipziger Teva, director of religious and spiritual life, donated a silver…
Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell and the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) recently commended Elijah Huge, assistant professor of art, on his efforts with the Mattabeseck Audubon Society. Rell presented the Audubon Society with GreenCircle Award. The Society was experiencing problems at their Helen Carlson Wildlife Sanctuary in Portland, Conn. with beavers who had changed the site so that access was a serious challenge. The Audubon Society welcomed Huge and his Wesleyan students to solve the problem. They designed and constructed a sustainable project under adverse conditions. They created a split frame viewing station consisting of a lower floating…
Gina Ulysse, associate professor of feminist, gender and sexuality studies, associate professor of anthropology, associate professor of African American studies, writes about "Avatar, Voodoo and White Spiritual Redemption" in a Jan. 11 Huffington Post article. In the article, she writes, "New age spirituality with its purported openness may incorporate some African based religious practices especially from Latin America, but (Haitian) Voodoo remains stigmatized therein especially in interfaith circles. Although a growing number of initiates are whites, few multi-denominational churches dare to acknowledge it. Cultural specificities aside, Vodou shares core features spirits, nature, ceremonies and offerings -- with other mystical religions. Avatar…
Cynthia RockwellBeginning this month, Daniel R. Ballon ’01 will serve as a California legislature advisor, one of 10 fellows taking part in a first-of-its kind statewide program designed to provide legislators with access to experts in science and technology to help them evaluate the proposals before them. Ballon, a Phi Beta Kappa Wesleyan graduate with a double major in molecular biology and biochemistry and Russian language and literature, earned his Ph.D in molecular and cell biology from the University of California, Berkeley. He was previously a senior policy fellow in technology studies at the Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy in…
John Paoletti, the Kenan Professor of the Humanities, professor of art history, emeritus will be the MacGeorge Fellow at the University of Melbourne in November and December 2010, a position that involves lecturing and teaching at the university, located in Victoria, Australia. Paoletti recently lectured on Michelangelo's David at Notre Dame and Rutgers and on Medici patronage at the Metropolitan Museum. He was the guest of the Medieval and Early Modern Seminar at Stanford in January, and in mid-February, he will be a speaker in a three-day international symposium at the Victoria and Albert Museum celebrating the reinstallation of their…
Jodi McKenna, head coach of women's hockey, is taking a leave from Wesleyan to coach the U.S. Olympic women's ice hockey team at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada. The games open Feb. 14. In a Jan. 10 Hartford Courant article titled "Career Path Continues to be Covered with Ice," McKenna says, "It's not something, when I got into coaching, that I would even conceive of, being in this situation. It became more of a possibility the more I became involved in the national program." McKenna was named an assistant coach in May, right before her Wesleyan players went home…
John Bonin, the Chester D. Hubbard Professor of Economics and Social Science, tutor in the College of Social Studies, gave the invited keynote address titled "From Reputation Amidst Uncertainty to Commitment Under Stress: A Decade of Foreign-Owned Banking in Transitioning Economies" at the London Metropolitan Business School Center for International Capital Markets Conference in September 2009. The conference's topic was "20 Years of Transition in Central and Eastern Europe: Money, Banking and Financial Markets."
Nine students were named Johnston Trust Scholars for the 2009-10 academic year by the The James M. Johnston Trust for Charitable and Educational Purposes of Chevy Chase, MD. Harvey Gram ’27 was a friend and colleague of Mr. Johnston and was a longtime trustee (of the Trust). Harvey Gram, a devoted donor to Wesleyan (lobby of Olin is dedicated to Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Gram), was instrumental in steering scholarship funds to Wesleyan, initially to help Wesleyan become co-educational. After Harvey Gram died, his son, Colonel W. Dunbar Gram P ’83, took his seat on the board and currently serves…
B. "Balu" Balasubrahmaniyan, adjunct instructor of music, spoke on Carnatic music during a lecture demonstration Dec. 23 at the Madras Music Academy in Chennai, India. Balasubramanian discussed the musical piece, Gopalakrishna Bharati's Nandanar Charithiram - its tunes, story and the compositions. It was first published in 1861 by a French collector. In 1932, M.S. Ramaswamy brought it out with tunes. There are a number of notations found for the songs. A.M. Chinnasamy Mudaliar published it with notations for 42 songs. Of them, 17 are original. Balasubramanian was featured in the Jan. 8 edition of The Hindu in an article titled "On the…
Dana Royer, assistant professor of earth and environmental sciences, was quoted in a Dec. 30, 2009 issue of Nature News in an article titled "Soils give clean look at past carbon dioxide." According to the article, scientists believe atmospheric carbon dioxide levels may have been lower in warm eras of the Earth's distant past than once believed. The finding raises concern that carbon dioxide levels from fossil fuel burning may, in the near future, be closer to those associated with ancient hothouse climates. More immediately, the work brings one line of palaeoclimate evidence — that deduced from ancient soils —…
The Institute for Human Centered Design in Boston, Mass. included Wesleyan's Memorial Chapel, Zelnick Pavilion, Patricelli '92 Theater complex in their Universal Design Case Studies collection. The Institute for Human Centered Design (IHCD) is an international educational non-profit organization committed to advancing the role of design in expanding opportunity and enhancing experience for people of all ages and abilities. The institute recognized how Wesleyan rejuvenated its historic core campus by providing new centers for community and student life. The total cost of the project was $23 million and it was completed in 2006. Wesleyan's design contractor, Robert Olson + Associates,…