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Wesleyan received 12,752 applications for its Class of 2024, offering admission to 2,531 students (19.8%) from a competitive, diverse applicant pool. “In one of Wesleyan’s most competitive years, we selected students as much for their character and personal promise as their outstanding achievements and talents,” said Vice President and Dean of Admission and Financial Aid Amin Abdul-Malik Gonzalez ’96. “I am proud of the fact that, statistically, the Class of 2024 is among the most distinguished group of students ever admitted who will undoubtedly contribute to our educational community in dynamic ways. They are bright, motivated individuals who love learning…

Several Wes alumni went on to pursue jobs in sports and athletics. While some became professional athletes on nationally-recognized teams, others delved into coaching, refereeing, sports reporting, and team management. In this "Best of Wes" article, read about Wes alumni who turned their love of the game into a lifelong passion and career. (Interested in other Wesleyan-themed lists? Check out our previous “Best of Wes” pieces, including Alumni in Sports I.) Field Yates ’09 is a National Football League (NFL) Insider for ESPN and co-host of ESPN Audio’s Fantasy Focus Football podcast. He joined ESPN in 2012 and is a…

Assistant Professor of Government Alyx Mark studies the American separation of powers system, access to justice, and Supreme Court decision-making. She was recently awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) Rapid Response Research (RAPID) grant to study the response of state courts to the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic. Congratulations on receiving the NSF RAPID grant! Can you please explain how this opportunity came about? Near the beginning of the pandemic, NSF sent out a Dear Colleague letter soliciting project proposals related to COVID-19. When I read that letter, my first thought was that this was relegated to epidemiologists and…

Assistant Professor of Government Lindsay Dolan specializes in international political economy and comparative politics in developing countries. Her research and teaching interests include international organizations, foreign aid, and development. Together with her co-author Quynh Nguyen of Australian National University, she has been studying how COVID-19 is affecting public attitudes toward globalization. President Trump recently announced that he is suspending U.S. funding for the World Health Organization (WHO). Can you briefly explain the role of the WHO, particularly during a global health crisis, and what will be the implications of the U.S. cutting funding? Which countries or populations will be most…

Wesleyan announced that it will now offer a part-time, non-residential undergraduate degree, the Bachelor of Liberal Studies (BLS). This provides a flexible, affordable path to earning a bachelor’s degree for students who meet Wesleyan’s admission standards but are unable to commit to living on campus for a variety of reasons. The Office of Continuing Studies and the BLS Faculty Governing Board announced the BLS degree in an email to faculty and staff on April 9. Staff, as well as spouses and domestic partners of faculty and staff, who are interested in earning a bachelor’s degree, are encouraged to apply. The…

For demonstrating exceptional achievement in academics, undergraduate research, and science outreach, the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology inducted Tenzin Ngodup '20, Meera Joshi '20, and Charya Khun '20 into the ASBMB Honor Society, ΧΩΛ. ΧΩΛ recognizes exceptional undergraduate juniors and seniors pursuing degrees in the molecular life sciences at colleges or universities. To be eligible, undergraduate nominees must be members of an ASBMB student chapter, and maintain a minimum of a 3.4 GPA on a 4.0 scale. Nominations may be submitted by either a faculty ASBMB member or by the student member. Ngodup, Joshi, and Khun are among only…

The student-run Wesleyan Investment Group (WIG) is celebrating a first-place victory in a six-month-long collegiate investment contest that concluded April 9. Despite the COVID-19 epidemic's detrimental impact to the stock market, WIG managed to garner a 27.04% return in the 2019–20 Adirondack Cup, a stock-picking contest sponsored by the advisor to The Adirondack Small Cap Fund (ADKSX). Wesleyan competed against 22 other institutions in New England and New York. Each student team managed a hypothetical $1 million portfolio consisting of five small cap equities. Team members studied the performance of more than 100 businesses and predicted which ones would perform…

On April 22, Professor of Physics Brian Stewart held his annual Earth Day Rant. This year's topic was "Bending the Curves: Coping with Crises from Car Crashes to Coronavirus to Climate Change." During his talk, Stewart discussed and compared how a car crash, storm, epidemic, and climate change vary in terms of mitigation, adaptation, perception, agency, cost to the United States, and deaths per 100,000 people. The current epidemic has cost the U.S. more than $2.5 trillion, whereas vehicle accidents amount to $277 billion per year (excluding indirect costs), and storms cause $30 billion per year in damages. All contribute…

Associate Professor of Government Logan Dancey foresees many important opportunities for students to get involved and make a difference with upcoming local elections this fall—and the Engage 2020 (E2020 initiative) will be a prime vehicle for that work. Dancey recently gave a presentation via Zoom video webinar to Wesleyan faculty and staff about his research on American electoral politics and his work with students on this topic. Featured as part of the regular staff luncheon series, Dancey’s talk was titled “Student-Centered Elections Research: From the Middletown Mayoral Race to E2020." (more…)

In an April 16 campus email, Wesleyan President Michael Roth '78 outlined the cost of the current COVID-19 pandemic to the University to be between $11-12 million for the current fiscal year. On April 21, Roth and Senior Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer, and Treasurer Andy Tanaka '00 held a virtual All-Staff Community Forum to further discuss the pandemic’s impact on Wesleyan’s finances and take questions from the community. In his initial message, Roth wrote that the estimated loss is driven by "the cost of important measures like reimbursing students for prorated portions of their residential and comprehensive fees, emergency…

Astronomy and Physics major David Vizgan '21 has expanded his interest of astrophysics to the far corners of the universe. By using emissions of a "forbidden" line of ionized carbon [CII] in simulated galaxies, he's trying to measure mass and other physical properties of young galaxies over 12.7 billion light years away which populated the universe shortly after the universe's "dark ages". For his outstanding research poster presentation on the subject at the most recent American Astronomical Society meeting, David Vizgan '21 received a Chambliss Astronomy Achievement Student Award. Vizgan is one of 15 undergraduates students (out of 355 total…

Scores of commencement ceremonies around the United States have been canceled or postponed this spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That means scores of graduation gowns could sit unused in closets. Instead, Taran Catania ’13, an MBA student at the University of Vermont, wants students past and present to put those gowns to a different use. Together with her classmate Nathaniel “Than” Moore, who works as an emergency medicine physician assistant in the UVM Medical Center, Catania earlier this month launched Gowns4Good, which coordinates the donation of gowns to health care providers on the front lines of the pandemic. The…

Wesleyan, Notable Alumni Welcome the Class of 2024

Best of Wes: Alumni in Sports II

NSF Funds Mark’s Research Into Impact of Pandemic on Courts

Dolan Studies Impact of COVID-19 on Public Attitudes Toward Globalization

Wesleyan Establishes New Bachelor of Liberal Studies Degree

Ngodup ’20, Joshi ’20, Khun ’20 Inducted Into ASBMB Honor Society

Wesleyan Investment Group Takes 1st Place in Adirondack Cup

Stewart Holds Annual Earth Day Rant on “Bending the Curves”

Dancey Engages Students in Elections Research, E2020 Initiative

Roth ’78, Tanaka ’00 Outline Pandemic’s Financial Impact on Wesleyan

Vizgan ’21 Honored with Chambliss Medal by American Astronomical Society

Gowns4Good, Co-Founded by Catania ’13, Connects Health Care Workers with Alternative PPE