Olivia DrakePosted 04/04/08 An award-winning writer, a college president known for his expertise in the economics of higher education, and a critically acclaimed photographer will be honored at Wesleyan University's 176th commencement ceremonies this year. Jamaica Kincaid, Morton Schapiro and Philip Trager of Wesleyan's Class of 1956 will receive honorary doctorate degrees from Wesleyan on May 25, 2008. "We are delighted that these talented and accomplished individuals have agreed to honor us by participating in our commencement," said Wesleyan President Michael S. Roth. "Each exemplifies the qualities of courage and engagement, discernment and discipline that are essential to innovation and to…
Posted 04/04/08 Tough, entrepreneurial, family-oriented and successful. This is how Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Assistant Professor of African American Studies and Associate Professor of Feminist, Gender and Sexuality Studies Gina Ulysse describes the Jamaican women who work as informal commercial importers (ICIs), who she has spent 15 years studying. Her unique, groundbreaking research has lead her to publish the book Downtown Ladies: Informal Commercial Importers, A Haitian Anthropologist, and Self-Making in Jamaica, which is the first broad analytic work to examine ICIs.The study was inspired by a talk given by well-known Jamaican businesswoman Mabel Tenn at the University of…
As Thomas J. Watson Foundation Travel Grant for Research Fellows, Bien, pictured at left, and Littman, pictured below, will have the opportunity to independently research these topics for 12 months in 2008-09. Each year, more than 1,000 college seniors apply to the Watson program, but only 50 fellowships are awarded. Bien's project, titled "Documenting the Chinese Diaspora: A Photographic Ethnography of Chinatowns" will take him to Chinese populations in Peru, Paraguay, Brazil, Italy, Ethiopia, Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia. He will explore the similarities and differences of these communities primarily through interactions with community members, photography and audio recordings.…
Posted 04/04/08 Wesleyan raised $136,098.32 this year to support the Middlesex United Way, topping last years campaign total. The campaign supports critical human care services and county-wide projects that address the top concerns of local residents: housing, mental health and substance abuse. Funds were raised through the annual Wesleyan Employee Campaign. This year, 498 employees and 24 vendors participated. Of these, 99 were new givers and 125 individuals increased their gift from the previous year. Although we are short of our stated goal this year, our campaign garnered terrific results, says Karen Collins, 2007-08 campaign chair and chair of the…
Joshua Boger 73, P06 P09 speaks about Building a 21st Century Pharmaceutical Company during the student-organized Graduate Student Career Retreat March 29. Posted 04/04/08 Students pursuing degrees in biology, molecular biology and biochemistry fields had the opportunity to discuss their future careers with Wesleyan alumni during the Graduate Student Career Retreat March 29. The first-ever event, held at the Wadsworth Mansion in Middletown, allowed alumni to deliver a series of brief talks on their own careers and participate in panel discussions. In addition, graduate students held a poster session to share their own research with the invited guests. I consider…
Posted 04/04/08 The Wesleyan University Board of Trustees awarded tenure to five members of the faculty in March. These appointments do not conclude tenure announcements for the 2007-2008 academic year, and more will be forthcoming. The faculty members who were awarded tenure in March by the Board are: Christiaan Hogendorn, associate professor of economics. Hogendorn's scholarship concentrates on applied microeconomic theory in the field of industrial organization. His course offerings include Microeconomics, Introduction to Economic Theory, Economics of Technology, Regulation and Anti-trust and Industrial Technology. Allan Isaac, associate professor of English. Isaac's area of specialization is Asian American literature and…
Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Gina McCarthy will present Meeting the Environmental Challenges of the 21st Century" at 8 p.m. April 22 as part of Wesleyan's Earth Day observance. Posted 04/04/08 Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Gina McCarthy will present the 2008 Earth Day Keynote Address at Wesleyan titled Meeting the Environmental Challenges of the 21st Century. This free event will be held at 8 p.m., Tuesday, April 22 in the Memorial Chapel. A reception will immediately follow in the Zelnick Pavilion. Appointed by Governor M. Jodi Rell on Dec. 10, 2004, Commissioner McCarthy came to the Connecticut…
Amanda Shapiro '08 was named a New England Small College Athletic Conference All-Conference winner for Swimming and Diving. Posted 04/04/08 The New England Small College Athletic Conference announced the Winter and Fall All-Conference winners for each sport.All-Conference is an honor given to athletes who are voted by the NESCAC coaches in their team sport as the best players in the conference or, for individual sports, who finish high enough in the conference championship.The 2008 Wesleyan NESCAC Winter All-Conference winners are: Women's Basketball - Ali Fourney '09, first team and Lucy Sprung '08, second team; Men's Swimming and Diving - David…
Above, Liz Demakos '09 of Amherst, N.Y. was named a New England Small College Athletic Conference All-Academic selection for Women's Squash. Below, Sean Watson '08, was named an All-Academic for Men's Indoor Track and Field. Posted 04/04/08 The New England Small College Athletic Conference announced its 2007-08 Winter All-Academic selections March 19 with 407 student-athletes that participated in a winter sport earning All-Academic recognition. To be honored, a student-athlete must have reached junior academic standing and be a varsity letter winner with a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.35. A transfer student must have completed one year of…
Christine Pina '91 travels 100 times a year visiting Wesleyan alumni, friends and parents to secure gifts for the university. Posted 04/03/08 Christine Pina loves donors to give, and give big. As the director of major gifts in University Relations, Pina oversees solicitations of financial gifts of $50,000 and higher, and has responsibility for both the major gifts and development research teams. "Our teams work to raise large gifts for Wesleyans endowment and other capital needs such as buildings and programs," Pina explains. "We work with alumni, friends and parents to secure gifts that will be used to strengthen…
Fotini Xenidis '11 has already qualified provisionally for the NCAA Division III Championships. Posted 04/03/08 Q: Fotini, you just broke a 23-year-old outdoor track record at Wesleyan in the javelin by more than 13 feet in your first collegiate meet. Did you have any idea what Wesleyan's team record was before you began competing and if so, did you think you'd be able to break it so soon?A: I knew that the record was 130 because it was in the field house and we always practiced there so I would see it every day. My best throw in high…
Josh Hamilton, evening manager for the Usdan University Center, builds relationships with Wesleyan students through the Usdan Center Activities Board. Posted 04/03/08 Q: Josh, when does the evening begin at the Usdan University Center? What is your typical shift?A: Generally around 6 p.m. is when I begin. The evening continues until 2 a.m. when we do our final walk through before going home.Q: What are your primary duties as a manager?A: I am here to support the student staff that operates the building.Q: What typically goes on during your job?A: I do a fair amount of work on my…