Michael Roth

By: Mike Mavredakis and Phuc Ngo ’27 President Roth on Free Speech President Michael S. Roth ’78 has appeared in several media outlets in recent weeks calling for the defense of democracy, free speech, and academic freedom in the face of challenges from the federal government. Roth was quoted in The New York Times on March 14 for story on universities as a target following the detention of Mahmoud Khalil, a pro-Palestinian activist and former Columbia University graduate student. “We at universities have not done enough over the years to pay attention to those groups — conservative groups, religious groups…

Ian Bassin ’98, Executive Director of Protect Democracy, will deliver the commencement address during Wesleyan University’s 193rd Commencement ceremony on May 25, 2025. Bassin will receive an honorary degree alongside fellow recipients Lael Brainard ’83, P’22, who served as director of the National Economic Council under President Joe Biden, and Percival Everett, celebrated author and Distinguished Professor of English at the University of Southern California. "Wesleyan’s alumni and distinguished honorees have long exemplified the University’s founding principle of contributing to the good of the individual and the good of the world," said President Michael S. Roth. "At a time when…

By: Phuc Ngo ’26 President Michael S. Roth ’78 wrote a piece in Slate on recent decisions by other higher education institutions to take a position of neutrality on controversial issues. “We must not sacrifice academic freedom and a healthy civil society for the short-term gains of anticipatory compliance,” Roth said. Following his piece in Slate, The Washington Post ran an opinion piece highlighting Roth’s efforts to speak out against threats to higher education. “Leaders in higher educational institutions should stand up for their values. Not to pick a fight with Donald Trump or JD Vance. We should stand up…

President Michael S. Roth ’78 called for wider access to higher education in a piece for The New York Times on anti-elitism. Roth highlighted Wesleyan’s partnership with the National Education Equity Lab, a nonprofit that offers free college classes to Title I high school students to increase educational opportunities for low-income students. “Education transforms lives; we just need to make it more widely available.” Roth’s piece was mentioned in a later Boston Globe article. Roth also wrote a piece on a collection of letters by neurologist Oliver Sacks for The Atlantic. “Writing would be his way of seeking recognition, of…

By: Phuc Ngo ’27 I Updated on Nov. 20, 2024 President Michael S. Roth ’78 spoke with the New York Times for a piece on potential consequences for higher education under Donald Trump’s leadership. “President-elect Trump has threatened the largest deportation in American history, and we have students and faculty and staff who will be threatened by that,” Roth said in an interview. “I want them to know that the university will do what it can to support them.” The.Ink conducted an interview with Roth on the same subject. Roth spoke on practical idealism, the university’s response to the protests against…

Lin-Manuel Miranda ’05, actor, librettist, and creator of the 2015 musical Hamilton, appeared on comedian Mike Birbiglia’s podcast “Working it Out.” Miranda and Birbiglia discussed the release of Miranda’s new album “Warriors” and the creative process that informed it. The Washington Post mentioned the work of college students from the northeast canvassing in Pennsylvania for political campaigns. Several of the students received Political Engagement Grants from the Allbritton Center for the Study of Public Life. Erika Franklin Fowler, professor of government and co-director of the Wesleyan Media Project, joined ABC News’ “FiveThirtyEight Politics” podcast to break down the political ads flooding…

President Michael S. Roth ’78 joined WAMC’s “The Roundtable” on Sept. 13 to discuss his book “The Student: A Short History,” which maps out the way learning has changed over time. The Wesleyan Media Project (WMP) reported estimated that former President Donald Trump’s campaign has spent nearly nothing on ads that promote him in a positive light in research released on Sept. 12. New York Times Opinion contributor Kristen Soltis Anderson cited the Wesleyan Media Project’s research in a piece for The Times on Sept. 24. The Washington Post mentioned the Wesleyan Media Project’s research into the tone of the…

Arrival Day is the first step in the next stage of the lives of Wesleyan’s Class of 2028. For these students, it was the first time they were able to see inside their dorms at Clark Hall, Bennet, the Butterfields, and also the first time they could put their personal stamp on the walls of their spaces away from home — with an unsettlingly green brat poster or a vinyl from an old rock band to show their new cohort of friends. For hundreds of Wesleyan’s newest first-year and transfer students, it was also the first day of the next…

The Wall Street Journal published a piece on the pressure faced by college administrators for the upcoming academic year after widespread student protests last year. President Michael S. Roth ’78 said the situation poses an opportunity for students to be actively engaged in politics. Wesleyan offers students political engagement grants through the Jewett Center for Community Partnerships to make it easier for them to be involved in political campaigns and other civic engagement opportunities. “The real issue is, how are we going to govern ourselves in the next four years? And students can play a big role in that,” Roth…

Tony Award-winning playwright and composer Lin-Manuel Miranda ’02, Hon. ’15 collaborated with playwright and actress Eisa Davis to release a concept album inspired by the cult-hero movie “The Warriors,” according to the Los Angeles Times. The 26-song album, executive produced by the rapper Nas, will be released on Oct. 18 by Atlantic Records. “We’ve spent the past three years musicalizing the Warriors’ journey home, from the South Bronx to Coney Island,” Miranda and Davis said in a joint statement, according to the Los Angeles Times. “Along the way we’ve gotten to work with a lot of our favorite artists, and…

President Michael S. Roth ’78 was one of 503 authors, critics, and book lovers who contributed to The New York Times Book Review’s “The 100 Best Books of the 21st Century” list. Roth selected his 10 top books and wrote a passage on Jon Fosse’s Pulitzer Prize-winning “Septology,” which placed 78th on the list. “The repetitive patterns of Fosse’s prose made its emotional waves, when they came, so much more powerful,” Roth wrote. Roth discussed the history of the student, politicization of U.S. universities, the relationship between university administrators and students, and what “safe enough spaces” could look like in…

United States Senator John Hickenlooper ’74, MA ’80, Hon. ’10 didn’t set out to become a politician when he graduated from Wesleyan half a century ago. He wanted to be a geologist, but when that didn’t pan out, he found success as an entrepreneur and brewery owner in Denver at the height of the craft brewing craze. When he ran for mayor of Denver at the age of 49, Hickenlooper never anticipated that national politics would play such a huge role in his second act. But after serving as mayor for two terms, he became governor of Colorado for another…

Wesleyan in the News: March 2025

193rd Commencement Honorary Degree Recipients

Wesleyan in the News: February 2025

Wesleyan in the News: January 2025

Wesleyan in the News: November 2024

Wesleyan in the News: October 2024

Wesleyan in the News: September 2024

Welcoming the Class of 2028

Wesleyan in the News: August 2024

Wesleyan in the News: July 2024

Wesleyan in the News: June/July 2024

Democracy 2024: Hickenlooper, Roth talk Political Optimism and Opportunity