Bill HolderEvery year Wesleyan recognizes outstanding teaching with three prizes awarded at Commencement. These prizes, made possible by gifts from the family of the late Frank G. Binswanger Sr., Hon. '85, underscore Wesleyan's commitment to its scholar-teachers, who are responsible for the university's distinctive approach to liberal arts education. Recommendations are solicited from alumni of the last 10 graduating classes, current juniors and seniors, and current graduate students. Recipients are chosen by a selection committee of emeriti and current faculty members, as well as members of the Alumni Association Executive Committee. This year, Wesleyan honored Wai Kiu Chan, associate professor of…
Paul Farmer received a Doctor of Science during the 2011 Commencement. Farmer is an inspirational scholar, doctor, teacher, and leader. As a physician-anthropologist, he has dedicated his life to serving the world’s poor and to raising the standard of health care around the world. In 1983 he co-founded Partners In Health, an international nonprofit organization that provides direct health care services and undertakes research and advocacy activities on behalf of those who are sick and living in poverty. His work focuses on community-based treatment strategies for infectious diseases, health and human rights, and the role of social inequalities in determining…
David PesciBy Margot Boyer-Dry Early in our time at Wesleyan, we witnessed a student-led campaign to ‘Keep Wesleyan Weird’. At that time, the movement’s language struck me: What does it mean to ‘keep Wesleyan weird’? Surely, there is no shortage of unusual happenings here. You’d be hard-pressed to find another place where people are so excited about raw milk coops, acro-yoga, and entrepreneurial peer haircutting. Still, I don’t think the campaign’s philosophy was so simple. As I have experienced Wesleyan’s bounty of oddities, I have carried with me the words of that early campaign, ‘Keep Wesleyan Weird’; and now, years later,…
Mary Jane Rubenstein, assistant professor of religion, assistant professor of feminist, gender and sexuality studies, presented the "Senior Voices" baccalaureate address: Dawn points, and another day Prepares for heat and silence Out at sea the dawn wind Wrinkles and slides. I am here Or there, or elsewhere. In my beginning. T. S. Eliot’s Four Quartets all cycle around the theme of beginning with a kind of solemnity that’s both attentive and introspective. He looks out as the dawn points—out to the almost-day to feel the wind wrinkle and slide. He looks in and finds himself here, or there, or elsewhere.…
Robert 61, P’88, P’90 and Margaret Patricelli are among the Hartford area’s leading citizens and friends of Wesleyan. Their philanthropic and service activities have ranged from the arts to a science museum; from hospitals and educational institutions to programs that assist low-income neighborhoods. For their efforts, President Michael Roth awarded them with the Baldwin Medal during commencement ceremonies May 22. The Baldwin Medal pays tribute to the late Judge Raymond E. Baldwin ’16. Baldwin was the only man to have held the offices of Connecticut governor, U.S. senator and chief justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court. First awarded September 20, 1981,…
Eric GershonBelow are several photos taken at Wesleyan's 179th Commencement Ceremony: View additional photos of Reunion & Commencement Weekend on Wesleyan's Flickr site.
Olivia DrakeCelebrate graduating seniors and reminisce with former classmates during the 2011 Reunion & Commencement Weekend May 19-22. This year, classes ending in “1” and “6” will celebrate their reunions, and the Class of 2011 will become Wesleyan’s 179th graduating class. "As always, I’m looking forward to R&C – it’s such a fun and celebratory time for the entire Wesleyan community, with over 150 events during three days," says Gemma Ebstein, associate vice president for external relations in University Relations. "In addition to another incredible array of WESeminars, we’ll enjoy great live music from Grammy-nominated Jazz singer Tierney Sutton ‘86, performances…
Dr. Paul Farmer, known worldwide for co-founding Partners In Health to serve the world’s poor, will receive an honorary degree and deliver the commencement address at Wesleyan University’s 179th Commencement in May. Wesleyan's other honorary degree recipients at Commencement include a legendary singer of the American Songbook, an alumnus envisioning the future of online journalism, and two local friends of the institution long dedicated to serving the Middletown community. (more…)