faculty emerti

During Wesleyan's 189th Commencement ceremony, seven faculty were recognized for retiring from active service on the faculty and have attained emeritus status: William Herbst, a member of the Wesleyan faculty since 1978 and John Monroe Van Vleck Professor of Astronomy since 2000. Joyce Jacobsen, a member of the Wesleyan faculty since 1993 and Andrews Professor of Economics since 2003. J. Donald Moon, a member of the Wesleyan faculty since 1970 and Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Professor in the College of Social Studies since 2008. Thomas Morgan, a member of the Wesleyan faculty since 1973 and Foss Professor of Physics since…

William B. Coley, Professor of English, Emeritus, passed away on Jan. 7, at the age of 96. Coley served in the US Army from 1942 through 1946, and then received his BA, MA, and PhD from Yale University. Arriving at Wesleyan in 1952, he taught English here for almost 40 years until he retired in 1991. Coley was a lifelong scholar, awarded fellowships by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation, and the American Council of Learned Societies. He published numerous books and articles, including Hogarth on High Life (with A.S. Wensinger, Wesleyan University Press, 1970),…

An audiobook featuring Gayle Pemberton's memoir/essays, The Hottest Water in Chicago: Notes of a Native Daughter and other essays has been released on iTunes and Audible. Pemberton is professor of English and African American studies, emerita. The Hottest Water in Chicago was published in 1998 by Wesleyan University Press. In the book, Pemberton interweaves her own history with reflections on American literature, art, music, and film through 16 autobiographical essays.

Sherman Hawkins, professor of English, emeritus, died on Dec. 3 at the age of 90. Sherman received BA degrees from both Harvard University and the University of Oxford and his PhD from Princeton University. He served in the US military at the conclusion of the Korean War. Arriving at Wesleyan in 1971 after teaching at Princeton, Bryn Mawr, and University of Rochester, he taught English here for 20 years until he retired in 1991. For decades, his essay on college as a green world experience was given to every freshman entering Wesleyan. “Sherman was an unforgettable colleague and presence at…

William "Bill" Francisco, professor of theater, emeritus, died on Friday, Nov. 22, at the age of 86. Francisco received his BA from Amherst College in 1955, and his MFA in directing from the Yale School of Drama in 1958. He joined the Wesleyan faculty as an artist-in-residence in 1974 and as an associate professor in 1975. He taught theater here for 28 years until he retired in 2002. Francisco was an active director throughout his career, working in theater, opera, television, and film. He directed productions off-Broadway, at Hartford Stage, Long Wharf Theatre, San Francisco Opera, and many other prominent…

John Finn, professor emeritus of government, is the author of Fracturing the Founding: How the Alt-Right Corrupts the Constitution, published by Rowman & Littlefield in 2019. Finn is an internationally recognized expert on constitutional theory, the rule of law and political violence, and the First Amendment. His public lectures include testimony before the House Judiciary Committee, as well as lectures in Bolivia, Canada, Chile, England, France, Italy, and Spain. Many in the radical right, including the Tea Party, the militia movement, the alt-right, Christian nationalists, the Oath Keepers, neo-Nazis, and a host of others, brand themselves as constitutional patriots. In Fracturing…

(Information provided by the Office of Academic Affairs) Joseph W. Reed, professor of English and American studies, emeritus, died on Feb. 11 at the age of 86. Reed arrived at Wesleyan in 1960 after receiving his BA, MA, and PhD from Yale University, and having served on active duty in the Navy. During his time here, he served as the chair of the English Department and of the Sesquicentennial Committee, and was one of the founding architects of both American Studies and Film Studies at Wesleyan. He played an important role in cultivating numerous interdisciplinary initiatives on campus and was…

Peter Frenzel, Marcus L. Taft Professor of German Studies, Emeritus, passed away on Sunday, May 20, 2018, at the age of 82. Frenzel arrived at Wesleyan in 1966 after receiving his BA from Yale, MA from Middlebury, and PhD from the University of Michigan. He retired in 2003. During his 37 years at Wesleyan, Frenzel served on virtually every major committee, including advisory and educational policy, and he served in a number of administrative roles, including associate provost, dean of arts and humanities, chair of German studies, director of the Wesleyan Program in Germany, and as the Commencement Marshal. In his retirement,…

Ruth Striegel Weissman, the Walter A. Crowell University Professor of the Social Sciences, Emerita, was presented with the Academy for Eating Disorders (AED) Lifetime Achievement Award during a ceremony in Chicago on April 21. The award honors senior AED members for their lifetime of contributions to the field of eating disorders. In presenting the award, Marsha Marcus, professor of psychiatry and psychology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, spoke of Weissman's "impressive history of NIH-supported research, [which] has led to findings that have elucidated eating disorders risk, epidemiology, classification, psychopathology, treatment, health care policy, and cost-effectiveness." This scholarship "has had…

Professor of Psychology Emeritus Karl Scheibe recently published two new books, The Storied Nature of Human Life: The Life and Works of Theodore R. Sarbin (co-written with Frank J. Barret), which, he says, “sets the tone” for the second, Deep Drama: Exploring Life as Theater, a collection of recent essays. The latter book's final piece, “The Wisdom of Hamilton,” recalls Scheibe’s first meeting with Lin-Manuel Miranda ’02, his advisee in the autumn of 1998, and then explores the psychological depth and truth within Miranda’s award-winning Broadway musical. Miranda had been a member of Scheibe’s course, A Dramaturgical Approach to Psychology, in the…

Paula Paige, adjunct professor of romance languages and literatures, emerita, is the author of five short stories published in literary magazines in 2016-18. These include: “Flu Story” published in Newfound, Vol, 8, Issue 2, 2018. "Daddy," published in The Umbrella Factory, Issue 29, September 2017. "Roman Ruins: an Update on a Once Great Beauty," published in Artes Magazine, May 26, 2017. "The Baby Sitter," published by the Diverse Arts Project, August 2016. “Gluten and Other Abominations,” published by Sundress Publications, June 2016. Paula Paige taught at Wesleyan for 30 years. She is the recipient of the 2010 Our Stories Gordon Award for her flash…

Robert Rosenbaum, University Professor of Mathematics and the Sciences, Emeritus, died on Dec. 3 at the age of 102. Rosenbaum received his AB from Yale in 1936, and his PhD in mathematics from Yale in 1947. He joined the Wesleyan faculty in 1953 and taught mathematics here for 42 years until he retired in 1995. He was a member of the “Mystic Nine” — a group of faculty in the early 1960s who were instrumental in developing Wesleyan’s graduate programs. He became dean of sciences in 1963, provost in 1965, the first-ever vice president of academic affairs and provost in 1967, and chancellor…

7 Faculty Retire from Wesleyan

Professor of English, Emeritus Coley Dies at the Age of 96

Pemberton’s Essays Released as Audiobook

Hawkins Remembered for Teaching English at Wesleyan for 20 Years

Theater’s Francisco Directed International Productions, Interdisciplinary Workshops

In New Book, Finn Explains How the Alt-Right Corrupts the Constitution

Joe Reed Remembered for Teaching at Wesleyan 44 Years

Frenzel Remembered for Scholarship on Medieval Music, German Culture

Weissman Receives Lifetime Achievement Award

Scheibe Explores “Wisdom of Hamilton,” Psychological Depth, in Talk, New Books

Paige’s Short Stories Published in Literary Magazines

PIMMS Founder Rosenbaum Dies at the Age of 102