Lennie Sweeny, top, and Maureen Tosto, left, have worked for Wesleyan's Campus Dining Services for more than 35 years combined. Sweeny works as a cook in Summerfields and Tosto is a cashier at the Davenport Campus Center.   Posted 11/16/05 Q: What is your job title?Lennie Sweeny (LS): Second cook. I do the prep work for the first cooks. They’re the ones who are in charge of everything. You could call me the soup lady, because I make all the soups and chili.Maureen Tosto (MT): I’m a cashier.Q: How many years have you worked in food services?LS: I’ve been…

Brandon Buehring, area coordinator for Residential Life, helped develop a campus-wide anti-racism discussion board. He also works with the student residents of West College, Clark Hall and Fauver Apartments.   Posted 11/16/05 Growing up in southern Texas, Brandon Buehring was taught by his elders, teachers and textbooks that he was living in a post-Civil-Rights-movement racial utopia. Meanwhile, all of his Mexican-American classmates, whose family trees stretched down at least three centuries in to America’s soil, were struggling with the state’s educational system and government. They were treated, he explains, like invaders. At the time, Buehring chose to believe that these…

Donna Wright, women's ice hockey head coach, learned to play hockey on a pond.   Posted 11/02/05 Q: How many years have you been the women’s ice hockey head coach? A: I began my coaching career at Wesleyan in September 1995. I was hired as the head women’s hockey coach and assistant lacrosse coach. Because the position was not an adjunct faculty position at that time, I also took a part-time position in the Physical Plant as a network desktop support person. It enabled me to be at Wesleyan full-time.Q: When does the season begin and end? A: Our season…

Posted 11/02/05 Kelly Greenhill joined the Government Department as an assistant professor in July. Greenhill’s current research focuses on non-traditional coercion, counterinsurgency operations and barriers to conflict resolution. Such research has appeared in a variety of books and journals, including Security Studies, International Migration, and Polity. This semester, Greenhill is teaching a course on civil wars and international conflict management and another on geography and international conflict. In the spring, she will teach an introductory international relations course, as well as another that offers a more in-depth exploration of international relations theory. “I was attracted to Wesleyan for myriad reasons,…

Lisa Gates, dean of the class of 2007, holds a photograph of her class inside her office in North College. Gates monitors the academic performance of 760 students.   Posted 11/02/05 Steering students toward success is Lisa Gates’ top priority. As dean of the class of 2007, she’s constantly helping students meet or exceed their academic goals on the way to graduation. Gates meets with many of her 760 students during the academic year. As a class dean, she is responsible for monitoring the academic performance of her class and ensuring students are making appropriate progress toward earning their degrees.…

Lucy Diaz, administrative assistant to the academic deans, is co-chair to the Administrators and Faculty of Color Alliance (AFCA).   Posted 11/02/05 Q: When were you hired as the administrative assistant to the academic deans?A: I started at Wesleyan in October 2001.Q: What are some of your duties?A: The majority of my day is spent on the phone responding to inquiries from faculty and staff, reconciling accounts, gathering financial data, and maintaining various files and databases.Q: What goes on during a day in the Office of Academic Affairs? A: My job is a little different each day and I really…