alumni – Page 10

In this recurring feature in The Wesleyan Connection, we highlight some of the latest news stories about Wesleyan and our alumni. Recent Wesleyan News Hartford Courant: "Connecticut Natives at Wesleyan Organize TEDx Conference" Wesleyan hosted its inaugural TEDx conference on April 7, featuring talks by many distinguished alumni, local officials, and others. Two of the student organizers, Eunes Harun '20 and Leo Marturi '20, are interviewed about the event. 2. The Hill: "Trump, Pelosi Appear Most in Early Ads—for the Other Side" A new analysis from the Wesleyan Media Project finds that Donald Trump has been the top target of political attack ads this…

Isabella Banks ’15 was awarded a 2018–19 Fulbright Study/Research Grant for the master's program in International Crimes, Conflict, and Criminology at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Combining perspectives and methodologies from the fields of criminology, law, psychology, sociology, and political science, the program also draws on resources available through its location near The Hague—home to the UN’s International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court. “I hope to focus my research on transitional justice, which applies restorative principles to systematic, conflict-related human rights violations,” says Banks, who majored in the College of Social Studies with a certificate in international relations while at Wesleyan. Her…

Empire on Blood, a new seven-part serialized podcast from Panoply, is produced by Mia Lobel ’97. The series investigates a 1992 double homicide in the Bronx, exploring the judicial process that led to a conviction. That conviction has now been overturned after Calvin Buari spent more than two decades in prison for these murders, which he did not commit. The show, says Lobel, is the result of veteran journalist Steve Fishman’s six-year quest to determine the facts of the case. “Steve brought us this incredibly complicated story he’d been working on,” recalls Lobel. “He had courtroom papers and 80 hours of…

Nationally known leaders and distinguished Wesleyan alumni and faculty presented short, powerful talks during the inaugural TEDxWesleyanU event April 7 in the Ring Family Performing Arts Hall. Launched in 2009, TEDx is a program of locally organized events that bring the community together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TED Talks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection. Some of the best talks from TEDx events have gone on to be featured on TED.com and garnered millions of views from audiences across the globe. Speakers included Maria Santana ’98, a correspondent for CNN…

For a four-week period in January and February, the Office of University Relations surveyed BA alumni to understand attitudes and preferences around key areas, including communications, Wesleyan events, and philanthropy. Of the 27,000 alumni contacted via email, more than 5,400 participated. This 20-percent response rate far exceeded expectations. The average U.S. college survey response rate is closer to 5–10 percent. “We are thrilled with the level of engagement shown by our alumni in responding to our most recent survey,” reports Thomas Diascro ’89, director of alumni and parent relations, “and I cannot thank them enough for taking the time to participate.”…

Rapture, a new eight-part docu-series on hip-hop that premiered on Netflix March 30, features Ben Selkow ’96 as executive producer, showrunner, and one of the directors. It is art with an overarching purpose: "We hope to bring audiences and fans closer to the artists' experience by sharing their biography and showing the perseverance, talent, and luck that helped each transform and transcend their situation," says Selkow, a film studies and African American studies major while at Wesleyan, who previously directed Reza Aslan’s CNN series Believer. After returning from the SXSW film and music festival in Austin, Texas, where the team showcased several episodes…

Dan Greenberger ’81 attended the Writers Guild Award as a nominee in the category of On-Air Promotion ("the TV equivalent of movie trailers," he explains) on Feb. 11, 2018. As an award veteran (he'd already won twice previously), Greenberger had done his homework: checked who was presenting his category and prepared an acceptance speech in case he won. Just before the ceremony, as people milled around the dinner tables, he ran into his Wesleyan senior-year housemate, Bradley Whitford ’81, who had news: the scheduled presenter in the on-air promotion category had canceled. Instead, "I'm presenting in your category," Whitford told…

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According to the recently published 2017 Long Lane Farm annual report, almost 100 Wesleyan alumni are working in agricultural production industries. Many of these alumni got their start working at Long Lane Farm, Wesleyan’s student-run organic farm devoted to allowing students a place to experiment and learn about sustainable agriculture. The following alumni shared their farming experiences post-graduation: Daniel Mays '06 Mays studied math and physics at Wesleyan where he helped out in the early days of Long Lane. Since then, he has taught at a boarding high school, bicycled through Mexico, earned a graduate degree in environmental engineering, and…

On March 8, Wesleyan's Facebook post read: ”In honor of International Women's Day, we're celebrating some of the most talented musicians we know with our ‘Women of Wes’ Spotify playlist. There's something for everyone in this eclectic mix of Wesleyan alumnae, including Amanda Palmer ’98, Santigold '97, J.R. Rhodes ’90, and Dar Williams ’89. Listen here, or go to #NowPlaying #IWD18." Also included on this list of 43 songs were pieces by Flo Anito ’01, Jess Best ’14, Amy Crawford ’05, Beanie Feldstein ’15, Mary Halvorson ’02, The Overcoats (JJ Mitchell ’15 and Hana Elion ’15), Chris Pureka ’01, Anna Roberts-Gevalt…

Casey Herrick ’16, a Houston-based artist and designer, was named a Henry Luce Scholar for 2018. One of 18 scholars selected from among 162 candidates, Herrick will begin with an orientation in New York starting in June, before the cohort embarks for Asia. The Henry Luce Foundation was established in 1936 by Henry R. Luce, the co-founder and editor-in-chief of Time Inc., to honor his parents, who were missionary educators in China. The Luce Scholars Program was launched in 1974 to “enhance the understanding of Asia among potential leaders in American society.” Upon his graduation from Wesleyan, Herrick, who majored in studio art…

Connecticut Public Radio tapped Joshua Boger ’73, P’06, ’09, chair emeritus of the Wesleyan Board of Trustees, for his recollections of a historic flight he had taken back in 2007 with noted physicist Stephen Hawking, who died March 14 at the age of 76. The flight had been sponsored by Zero Gravity Corporation and provided, for those on board, eight zero-G opportunities—or "eight brief windows of weightlessness," as WNPR correspondent Patrick Skahill described them in his story, “Remembering The Flight Where Stephen Hawking Went Weightless.” Boger had written in detail about the experience of this zero-G flight with Hawking in "Weightless But Weighty" in Wesleyan magazine, 2007…

Wesleyan in the News

Banks ’15 Receives Fulbright to Study International Crimes, Conflict, Criminology

Lobel ’97 Produces Empire on Blood Podcast

Students Organize TEDxWesleyanU, Host Distinguished Speakers

All-Alumni Survey: Thank You, Participants!

Executive Producer Selkow ’96 Directs Hip-Hop Docu-Series Rapture

Sharing the Stage: Greenberger ’81 Wins Award, Whitford ’81 Presents

Bùi ’07 Shares Photos, Paintings, Video at CEAS Gallery

Alumni Attribute Long Lane Farm for Jumpstarting Interests, Careers in Agriculture

International Women’s Day Celebrated with Alumnae Spotify Playlist

Houston-Based Artist Herrick ’16 Is Named Luce Scholar

Boger ’73 Recalls “Weightless Flight” With Hawking for WNPR