Olivia DrakeLaura Grabel, the Lauren B. Dachs Professor of Science in Society, was one of three guests featured on PBS's "Where We Live" on March 23. Grabel joined scientists and ethicists from all over the country for StemCONN 2009—an international stem cell research symposium held in New Haven, Conn. The symposium organizers and experts spoke on what new federal policy means for a state like Connecticut, which has already heavily invested in stem cell research. Connecticut is home to leading academic institutions for human stem cell research, including Wesleyan, Yale University, the University of Connecticut. It is a place where national and international stem cell research partnerships develop,…
David PesciThe Wesleyan University Board of Trustees affirmed the promotion with tenure, effective July 1, 2009, of the following members of the faculty. These appointments do not conclude tenure announcements for the 2008-2009 academic year, and more may be forthcoming. Norman Danner, associate professor of computer science, was appointed assistant professor of computer Science in August 2002. Before coming to Wesleyan he was the VIGRE assistant professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is the recipient of a National Science Foundation (NSF) CPATH CB Collaborative Grant, a Mellon Foundation Grant and a Wesleyan University Ethical Reasoning Course Grant. Danner's teaching…
Ishita Mukerji, professor of molecular biology and biochemistry, received a $798,368 grant from the National Science Foundation for her project "Structure and Function of Holliday Junctions complexed With Proteins Probed by Fluorescence and UV Raman Spectroscopic Methods." The grant is a continuing grant which has been approved on scientific / technical merit for approximately four years. The grant will be awarded April 1.
Corrina KerrThirty years ago, the United States opened its first embassy in the People’s Republic of China as our nation began reestablishing its relations with the country. Vera Schwarcz, professor of history and East Asian studies and director of the Freeman Center, remembers the events well. After all, she was part of them. Schwarcz, an expert on Chinese culture, politics and literature, was one of only seven official exchange scholars invited to visit China in February 1979 when the embassy opened. Her recollections of this time, and her subsequent 30 years of experiences studying in and about China, served as the…
In the sparsely populated, mountainous region of Ladakh, India, elderly Buddhist nuns are suffering from isolation, illiteracy and lack of respect from their communities. These women, who spent their lives serving their family or working as laborers, have rarely had the opportunity to become ordained or to worship in a monastery like the highly regarded male monks. "These women have been devalued from the beginning," says Jan Willis, professor of religion, professor of East Asian studies. "All they've ever wanted to do is serve the dharma and study, but instead, they've become servants of their community, or helpers for the…
Rob Rosenthal, professor of sociology, spoke at a conference titled "Celebrating Seattle's Striking History," sponsored by the University of Washington Department of History. The conference was held Feb. 6 at the Seattle Labor Temple to commemorating the 90th anniversary of the Seattle General Strike of 1919. Rosenthal spoke about the strike, and also about a rock opera he wrote and recorded in 1986 with his band, The Fuse, about the strike. The Seattle Labor Chorus sung two songs from the album. In addition, Rosenthal was interviewed about his song on the NPR station in Portland, KBOO, and the NPR station in Seattle, KUOW.
The Chicago Tribune reviewed Look, What I Don't Understand, a solo-performance by Anthony Nikolchev ’08, co-directed by the Assistant Professor of Theater Yuriy Kordonskiy, lighting design by Anna Martin ’09. The production was originally developed as a student show at Wesleyan and moved to its four-week professional run at the Chicago Athenaeum Theatre in January 2009. This one-man drama draws upon historical narratives experienced by Nikolchev's family during their 1960s escape from the totalitarian hostility of communist Bulgaria to detainment in America, challenging himself and audiences to comprehend the experience of past generations through the perspective of present generations. Other…
For 37 years, John Paoletti has explored the ideas and histories that produced both well-known and not so well-known works of Renaissance and modern art with thousands of Wesleyan students. This May, Paoletti will retire from Wesleyan's Art and Art History Department, ending a longtime career of teaching artists such as Jackson Pollock, Andy Warhol, Donatello, and Michelangelo as well as the patronage of the Medici family. "I will really miss working with the Wesleyan students and faculty colleagues across the curriculum," Paoletti says from his office in the Davison Art Center. "Both have always been keenly critical of the…
Joyce Jacobsen, the Andrews Professor of Economics, tutor in the College of Social Studies, was an invited participant on a roundtable on workplace flexibility held by the Workplace Flexibility 2010 Initiative, Georgetown Law School, Dec. 19, 2008.
Gloster Aaron, assistant professor of biology, assistant professor of neuroscience and behavior, is the co-author of "Statistical Significance of Precisely Repeated Intracellular Synaptic Patterns," published in PLoS ONE 3(12): e3983, Dec. 19, 2008.
The Wesleyan University Board of Trustees affirmed the promotion with tenure, effective July 1, 2009, of the following members of the faculty: Jane Alden, associate professor of music, was appointed assistant professor of music at Wesleyan in 2001. Prior, she was an acting assistant professor at Stanford University, and an instructor at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Alden was awarded a Wesleyan Center for the Humanities Fellowship and was a visiting research associate at Harvard University. She has been the recipient of a Mellon Center Mini-Grant, a Wesleyan University seed grant, and Wesleyan University Snowdon funding for a symposium.…
Scott Plous, professor of psychology, was quoted in a Dec. 14 issue of The Washington Post in a story titled "Choosing Not To Choose: Ever feel lost in a maze of too many options?" The article, which focused on the overwhelming abundance of life-changing decisions such as finances, health care and career moves, mentions Plous's book, The Psychology of Judgment and Decision Making. "There's no question that we have more choices than ever before," Plous agreed. "And decisions are generally harder and more time-consuming when there are lots of alternatives."