Frederic Wills '19Recent Film Studies graduate Atlas Acopian ’16 has been nominated for the “Snapchatter of the Year” award, presented on behalf of The Shorty Awards. Created to honor the best of social media by recognizing those with an influential and significant presence, The Shorty Awards draws nominees from sites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Tumblr, Instagram, Snapchat and more. Acopian gained significant Snapchat clout with his colorful snaps, specializing in narrative pieces, branded content, and music videos. Some of his work featured in his Shorty Award profile include turning the famous Angkor Wat into a real life Temple Run, and creating…
Laurie KenneyBill Belichick ’75, head coach of the New England Patriots, led his team to the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history on Feb. 5, beating the Atlanta Falcons by a score of 34-28 in OT—the first time an overtime period was ever needed in the 51-year history of the NFL’s annual championship game. The win made Belichick the winningest coach in Super Bowl history. All five of Belichick's wins have come as head coach of the Patriots, a team he has coached since 2000. Beginning his NFL career as an assistant coach with the Baltimore Colts in 1975, Belichick moved…
Olivia DrakeOn Jan. 21, three Wesleyan alumni who own the Manchester Monarchs ECHL team, welcomed more than 50 alumni, family and friends to "Wesleyan Night" at the Verizon Wireless Arena in New Hampshire. Among the attendees was men's former hockey coach Dave "Duke" Snyder. Wesleyan Trustee Marc Casper '90, Brian Cheek '92 and Tas Pinther '91 purchased the team in August 2016 and spoke to the attendees about acquiring the team and the importance of giving back to Wesleyan. The Monarchs' parent team is the Los Angeles Kings.
Cynthia RockwellPatti Cake$, the debut film from writer-director Geremy Jasper ’98, has earned the second-highest deal of Sundance so far this year, with a bid of $9.5 million for distribution rights from Fox Searchlight. Producers are Dan Janvey ’06 and Michael Gottwald ’06; Matthew Greenfield ’90 is senior vice-president of production at Fox Searchlight—all Wesleyan film majors. Jasper's film tells the story of Patricia Dombrowski, (played by Danielle Macdonald)—also known as Killa P and Patti Cake$—an aspiring rapper in New Jersey. In his review, IndieWire’s Eric Kohn called the film the “best hip-hop movie since Hustle & Flow.” The film premiered…
Bill Belichick ’75, head coach of the New England Patriots, will lead his team to the Super Bowl on Feb. 5 against the Atlanta Falcons. The Super Bowl is the National Football League’s annual championship game. Belichick’s team has never lost to the Falcons, in fact, in his four games against Atlanta since 2000, he’s 4-0. Beginning his NFL career as an assistant coach with the Baltimore Colts in 1975, Belichick moved to the Detroit Lions in 1976, remaining there for two seasons before spending a year in the Denver Broncos organization before moving on the the New York Giants…
Randi Alexandra PlakeAfter retiring from 46 years of teaching at Rutgers Law School, Paul Tractenberg ’60 has established a new nonprofit, the Center for Diversity and Equality in Education (CDEE), to continue pursuing major education reform projects. Tractenberg, who studied history at Wesleyan and earned a JD from the University of Michigan, has devoted his professional life to improving the educational opportunities of low-income urban students and others with educational challenges. The biggest reform project that CDEE is focusing on is the court-ordered integration effort of the Morris School District in New Jersey, which was the subject of a recent New York…
Ellis Neufeld, M.D., PhD., was appointed clinical director, physician-in-chief and executive vice president of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, an internationally renowned center that pioneers research for and offers treatment to children with catastrophic illnesses. He will begin his new position at the Memphis medical center in March. Neufeld, a pediatric oncologist with a global profile, is a longtime Harvard Medical School faculty member, serving most recently as associate chief of the Division of Hematology/Oncology at Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center. He was also medical director at the Boston Hemophilia Center and held the Egan Family Foundation Chair in…
Gari Mayberry ’97 was featured in the January issue of EARTH Magazine for her work with the Volcano Disaster Assistance Program (VDAP). In the article, “Life-saving Diplomacy: The Volcano Disaster Assistance Program at Thirty,” VDAP’s growth and evolution over 30 years are chronicled, highlighting the team’s past successes and goals for the future. Mayberry, who studied geology at Wesleyan, is part of the world’s only volcano crisis response team, which is made up of what EARTH writer Bethany Augliere described as “a small group of U.S. volcanologists that works around the world to prevent eruptions from becoming disaster.” Since its…
William Bissell ’88, managing director of Fabindia, a retail enterprise begun by Bissell's father, John, in 1960, is featured on the cover of Forbes India on Jan. 20, a special issue on social impact. "A Fab New World: Not Only is Ethnic Goods Retailer Fabinidia Spreading its Wings, It Continues to Shape the Lives of Thousands of Rural Artisans," the cover line reads. The article, by Forbes India staff writer Anshul Dhamija, details the beginnings of the company, as an exporter of hand-loomed fabrics and furnishings with only one initial retail store, which opened in New Delhi in 1976. The second opened in the…
In The Right’s Road to Serfdom: The Danger of Conservatism Unbound: From Hayek to Trump (Bulkington Press, 2016), Christopher F. Arndt ‘92 argues that conservatism is not what it pretends to be and that the American Right created Donald Trump.
Alexander Robey Shepherd: The Man Who Built the Nation’s Capital, by John P. Richardson ’60 (Ohio University Press, 2016), tells the story of urban development pioneer and public works leader Alexander Robey Shepherd, who was instrumental in building the infrastructure of the nation’s capital when it was knee-deep in mud and disrepair after the Civil War. In fact it was Shepherd’s leadership, says Richardson, that made it possible for the city to finally realize the vision of French architect Pierre Charles L’Enfant, some 80-plus years after George Washington appointed L’Enfant to plan what was then known as the new “Federal…
In The Ones, Daniel Sweren-Becker ’06 creates a vision of a not-so-distant future world in which a random group of babies is chosen each year to be the smartest, best looking, most athletic members of society. “The Ones,” as they are called, short for the chosen ones, enjoy the privilege of membership in this exclusive group during the genetic engineering program’s 20-year history until a society-wide backlash marginalizes their status and threatens to even outlaw their existence. Sweren-Becker’s fast-paced YA novel follows two of The Ones (or are they?): 17-year-old Cody and her boyfriend, James, who are forced to decide…