faculty achievements

This fall, Wesleyan welcomes nine postdoctoral fellows to campus. They include: Sierra Eisen, postdoctoral fellow in psychology, joins the Psychology Department for two years. She received her PhD from the Department of Psychology at the University of Virginia, where she was a researcher in the Early Development Lab. Eisen studies how children interact with and learn from different forms of media. Her research mainly focuses on how children think about and learn from touchscreen devices and educational apps. At Wesleyan, she will conduct collaborative research with students and faculty in the Cognitive Development Laboratories, directed by Anna Shusterman and Hilary…

For her exemplary contributions to research in the geological sciences and for being an instrumental mentor to young people of color, Professor Marty Gilmore received the 2020 Randolph W. “Bill” and Cecile T. Bromery Award from the Geological Society of America. Gilmore, George I. Seney Professor of Geology, professor of earth and environmental sciences, and co-coordinator of Wesleyan's Planetary Sciences program, was nominated for the award by Jim Head, the Louis and Elizabeth Scherck Distinguished Professor of Geological Sciences at Brown University. "Few individuals have done more for expanding diversity in the geosciences than Dr. Gilmore," Head said. She "leads…

Ellen Thomas, Harold T. Stearns Professor of Integrative Sciences, Smith Curator of Paleontology of the Joe Webb Peoples Museum of Natural History, and University Professor in the College of Integrative Sciences, is the recipient of the 2020 Joseph A. Cushman Award for Excellence in Foraminiferal Research. At Wesleyan, Thomas investigates oceanic benthic foraminifera (eukaryotic unicellular organisms) as proxies for the impact of changes in environment and climate on living organisms on various time scales. This fall, she's teaching the courses Research Frontiers in the Sciences and Mass Extinctions in the Oceans. Brian Huber, president of the Cushman Foundation for Foraminiferal…

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…

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…

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 first 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 Naho Maruta from the College of East Asian Studies; Alison O’Neil from the Chemistry Department; and Ron Jenkins from the Theater Department. Naho Maruta, associate professor of the practice in East Asian studies, chose to teach her…

Martha Gilmore, George I. Seney Professor of Geology and professor of earth and environmental sciences, is prominently featured in a recently released suite of five documentary films about the history, science, exploration, and possible settlement of the planet Venus. In the films, Gilmore, who is co-coordinator of planetary science at Wesleyan, along with other experts in a range of fields, help to illuminate and elucidate the fascinating history and possible future of the second planet from the sun, commonly known as Earth's "sister planet." The suite of films was produced by filmmaker and space exploration advocate Dave Brody P '24.…

Nadya Potemkina, adjunct associate professor of music, placed third in The American Prize competition, in the category of orchestral programming. The American Prize—Vytautas Marijosius Memorial Award in Orchestral Programming—honors the memory of the great Lithuanian conductor Maestro Vytautas Marijosius, who served as the music director of the Lithuanian State Opera and the director of orchestral activities at the Hartt School of Music. The prize recognizes and rewards "the best achievement in the unique field of orchestral programming, where the selection of repertoire by knowledgeable, creative and courageous music directors builds orchestras and audiences, educates young people and adults, and enriches…

Ellen Thomas, Harold T. Stearns Professor of Integrative Sciences, University Professor in the College of Integrative Sciences, is the co-author of: "Miocene evolution of North Atlantic Sea Surface Temperature," published in Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology, 35, in April 2020. "Extensive morphological variability in asexually produced planktic foraminifera," published in Science Advances, 6, in July 2020. "Origin of a global carbonate layer deposited in the aftermath of the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary impact," published in Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 548, in October 2020.

Several faculty have recently authored or co-authored books, book chapters, and articles that appear in prestigious academic journals. BOOKS AND BOOK CHAPTERS Joslyn Barnhart, assistant professor of government, is the author of The Consequences of Humiliation: Anger and Status in World Politics (Cornell University Press, 2020). Susanne Fusso, Marcus L. Taft Professor of Modern Languages, is the translator of The Nose and Other Stories by Nikolai Gogol (Columbia University Press, 2020). Ruth Johnson, associate professor of biology, is the author of a book chapter titled "Adhesion and the Cytoskeleton in the Drosophila Pupal Eye," published in the book Molecular Genetics…

This month, four Wesleyan faculty received the honorary degree of Master of Arts ad eundem gradum. This degree has been awarded by Wesleyan since 1894 to those members of the faculty who are not graduates of Wesleyan at the bachelor’s level and who have attained the rank of full professor. The award makes each full professor an alumnus/a of the University. Recipients include Hilary Barth, professor of psychology; Robert Conn, professor of Spanish; Sanford Shieh, professor of philosophy, and Nicole Stanton, professor of dance.

Every spring, Wesleyan recognizes outstanding faculty with three Binswanger Prizes for Excellence in Teaching. This year's recipients include Gloster Aaron, associate professor of biology, Robyn Autry, associate professor and chair of sociology, and Keiji Shinohara, artist-in-residence. Made possible by gifts from the family of the late Frank G. Binswanger Sr., Hon. ’85, these prizes underscore Wesleyan’s commitment to its scholar-teachers, who are responsible for the University’s distinctive approach to liberal arts education. (more…)

9 Postdoctoral Fellows Join Wesleyan in 2020-21

Gilmore Receives Bromery Award from the Geological Society of America

Thomas Honored for Excellence in Foraminiferal Research

Peter Rutland on Teaching during the Pandemic

OFCD Collects, Publishes Remote Teaching ‘Success Stories’

Faculty Share Insights on Teaching during a Pandemic

Gilmore Featured in Venus Documentary

Potemkina Wins Orchestral Programming Award

Hot off the Press: Ellen Thomas Co-Authors 3 New Papers

Faculty Publish Books, Journal Articles

4 Faculty Receive Honorary MA ad Eundem Gradum Degrees

Aaron, Autry, Shinohara Honored with the Binswanger Prize for Excellence in Teaching