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When the COVID-19 outbreak disrupted in-person classes last spring, several faculty found innovative and creative ways to adapt to online teaching and learning. In the third of a fall-semester series, we’ll be highlighting ways faculty from various departments are coping with teaching during a pandemic, and showcase individual ways courses are thriving in an in-person, online, or hybridized environment. In this issue, we spotlight Katja Kolcio, associate professor of dance and director of the Allbritton Center. Kolcio also is a core faculty member of the College of the Environment, Environmental Studies, and Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies Programs at…

Hannah Docter-Loeb '22, a features editor at The Wesleyan Argus, participated in a public discussion about the intersection of D.C. statehood and racial justice Sept. 18. The "Panel on D.C. Statehood and Racial Justice" was hosted by Georgetown Students for D.C. Statehood and featured Docter-Loeb; Anthony Cook, professor of law at Georgetown University; Jamil Scott, assistant professor of government at Georgetown University; and Cosby Hunt, adjunct professor at the University of the District of Columbia and senior manager of social studies education at the Center for Inspired Learning. Docter-Loeb, a D.C. native, was invited to be a panelist after writing…

On Sept. 16, the Literary Arts Emergency Fund awarded Wesleyan University Press with a $25,000 grant to help with its financial losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Literary Arts Emergency Fund is administered by the Academy of American Poets, the Community of Literary Magazine and Presses, and the National Book Foundation. Wesleyan is among 282 nonprofit literary arts organizations, magazines, and presses across the nation that are receiving part of the $3,530,000 million in emergency funding. “We are delighted and grateful to receive this support from the Literary Arts Emergency Fund. So much in the world is difficult right…

Although many amendments have been ratified since the first election in this country more than 230 years ago, the simple fact remains: Voting is a right and a privilege. With just 46 days (upon the publishing of this article on Sept. 18), remaining until Election Day 2020, Audrey McMahon ’22 of the Wesleyan women’s ice hockey team has set an ambitious goal: to get 100% of eligible student-athletes registered and pledged to vote. McMahon has taken on the role of Wesleyan’s resident ambassador for Voice in Sport (VIS), a nonprofit advocacy group dedicated to supporting women student-athletes. In an initiative…

Three weeks into the fall semester, Wesleyan students are adapting to the "new normal" during the COVID-19 pandemic. Face coverings or masks are required in all public spaces to help reduce the spread of the virus. Some students find the masks also can serve as a fashion accessory or statement piece. (Photos by Olivia Drake MALS '08) (more…)

This fall, Wesleyan is holding in-person classes on campus in both indoor and outdoor classroom settings. More than 180 classrooms have been revised in order to achieve a minimum six-foot distance between occupants. Updated floor plans and maximum room capacity are clearly posted in each classroom. Faculty and students are required to wear face coverings in classrooms at all times. In addition, break times have been expanded to 30 minutes or more to allow for custodians to disinfect all touchable surfaces in each classroom between classes. (Photos by Olivia Drake) (more…)

In this continuing series, Annie Roach ’22, an English and Italian studies major from Middletown, Del., 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. Makenna Goodman ’06, The Shame (Milkweed, 2020) In a letter to her children that she writes in case of an untimely death, Makenna Goodman’s protagonist Alma muses, “My great fear, which has kept me up nights for years, is that you will have…

Following a carefully coordinated return to campus and an initial period of remote learning during Connecticut's mandated two-week quarantine, just two students and three employees at Wesleyan have tested positive for COVID-19 to date this fall. The low positivity rate, well under 0.1% of the entire campus population and tracked regularly on Wesleyan's COVID-19 dashboard, reflects the care and planning that have gone into preparing the campus for the fall semester, as well as commendable adherence to safety protocols by the Wesleyan campus community. More than 15,000 tests have already been conducted. "Our positivity rate on campus is lower than…

In this video, Wrestling Head Coach and Strength and Conditioning Coach Drew Black suggests exercises for the lower body, upper body, and core. "Whether we're inside our dorm room or outside on campus, here are some opportunities to take care of your mind and take care of your body and get some exercise in," he said.

When the COVID-19 outbreak disrupted in-person classes last spring, several faculty found innovative and creative ways to adapt to online teaching and learning. In the second of a fall-semester series, we'll be highlighting ways faculty from various departments are coping with teaching during a pandemic, and showcase individual ways courses are thriving in an online or hybridized environment. In this issue, we spotlight Peter Rutland from the Government Department. Peter Rutland, the Colin and Nancy Campbell Professor in Global Issues and Democratic Thought, professor of government, is teaching GOVT 157: Democracy & Dictatorship and GOVT 278: Nationalism this fall. He's…

On Sept. 11, members of the Wesleyan community remembered the 19th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center. In 2002, a September 11 Memorial Garden was planted in front of North College and honors those who "gathered at this place to console one another, to remember those lost, to share and learn, to pray for peace." Wesleyan's grounds crew annually decorates the garden with fresh flowers and flags during the annual commemoration. (Photos by Simon Duan '23)

Several remote teaching and learning "success stories" are now published on the Office for Faculty Career Development's (OFCD) Teaching Matters website. "We hope the stories inspire others to make changes and make it clear to everyone that it was possible to make the transition well," said Mary Alice Haddad, the John E. Andrus Professor of Government and director of the OFCD. The stories are based on surveys administered by Academic Affairs last spring. Although there were many courses that went well in spring 2020, Haddad selected to present a diversity of courses drawn from different class sizes, pedagogy styles, synchronous/asynchronous…

Students Explore New Reality through Dance

Docter-Loeb ’22 Serves as Panelist on D.C. Statehood, Racial Justice Discussion

Wesleyan University Press Receives Grant from the Literary Arts Emergency Fund

A Call to Action: McMahon ‘22 Pushes for Student-Athlete Voter Registration

Face Coverings become a Form of Student Expression

Classes Held in Socially-Distanced Indoor and Outdoor Classrooms

“You Just Have to Read This…” Books by Wesleyan Authors Goodman ’06, Thoms MAT’62, and Blake ’78

Cooperation, Careful Planning Drive Successful Reactivation Efforts

Coach Black Offers Tips on Caring for Your Body during the Pandemic

Peter Rutland on Teaching during the Pandemic

Sept. 11 Memorial Garden Decorated with Flowers, Flags for 19th Commemoration of World Trade Center Attacks

OFCD Collects, Publishes Remote Teaching ‘Success Stories’