Wesleyan Students Hospitalized

It is Feb. 24, 10:20 a.m., and Mike Whaley, vice president for student affairs, steps out of a meeting in the President’s Office to take a phone call. He returns two minutes later, takes his seat, and in an emotion-laden voice tells the group that a student whose life was endangered by poisoning from a variant of the drug Molly (MDMA) was improving. It was a moment so many had been waiting for. As of Tuesday evening, eight of the 10 Wesleyan students hospitalized Sunday had been discharged. Two, however, remained hospitalized. There was more news Tuesday night: four Wesleyan students…

President Michael S. Roth writes in The Wall Street Journal about the importance of exploring religious feelings and experiences in humanities education, and why these topics make students so uncomfortable.

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#THISISWHY On Feb. 3, President Michael Roth gave a talk on “How to Destroy Liberal Education” in Memorial Chapel. Since the publication of his book, Beyond the University: Why Liberal Education Matters (Yale University Press, 2014), Roth has been speaking about liberal education to Wesleyan alumni and many others at various venues around the country. At this event, he spoke to students, staff and faculty about the relevance of the kind of education offered so compellingly at Wesleyan. A video and more photos of the event are below: (more…)

Writing in The Chronicle of Higher Education, Dan Berrett traces the ongoing tension in American between visions of higher education "as a vehicle for intellectual development" and as a simple tool to prepare students for jobs. Citing Wesleyan President Michael S. Roth's book, Beyond the University: Why Liberal Education Matters, Berrett shows how the debate over the value of a liberal education has evolved from the days of the Founding Fathers to W.E.B. Du bois and Booker T. Washington to today. "A farmer reading the classics or an industrial worker quoting Shakespeare was at one time an honorable character. Today’s news stories lament bartenders with…

Wesleyan seeks to strengthen sexual assault prevention and response programs by developing partnerships with local community resources. On Dec. 19, President Michael Roth formalized a partnership with the Women and Families Center of Middletown (WFC) and Connecticut Sexual Assault Crisis Services, Inc (CONNSACS) through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). This MOU formalizes the commitment of all three agencies to work together to provide trauma-informed services to student and employee victims of sexual assault and to improve the overall response to sexual assault at Wesleyan and within the greater Middletown community. (more…)

Roth engages in public debates about the future of higher education

This month, Wesleyan signed a memorandum of understanding with the Social Sciences in China Press (SSCP), the publishing arm of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), which formalizes an ongoing partnership between the two institutions. The agreement calls for a biennial scholarly forum involving representatives from Wesleyan and SSCP; mutual advertising to help each gain recognition in the other’s home country; exchange visitors; and cross-publishing of content between Wesleyan’s international journal History and Theory and SSCP’s Historical Research. The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences is by far the most important center in China for studies in philosophy and the…

President Roth advises students that college is about more than getting that first job

The Washington Post selected President Michael Roth's book, Beyond the University: Why Liberal Education Matters, on its list of top 50 notable works of nonfiction in 2014. A brief summary of the review states: The president of Wesleyan University describes two distinct traditions of a liberal education--one philosophical and "skeptical," the other rhetorical and "reverential"--and argues that both are necessary for educating autonomous individuals who can also participate with others. Beyond the University was originally reviewed in the Post on May 23 by Christopher Nelson, president of St. John's College in Annapolis, Md. In that review, Nelson calls the book "a substantial and lively discussion" as well…

President Michael S. Roth and Professor Kari Weil have made a new six-figure gift to Wesleyan in support of endowment for financial aid, including a provision that royalties from President Roth’s latest book, Beyond the University, go to financial aid. In announcing the gift, Joshua Boger ’73, chair of Wesleyan’s board of trustees, said: “This is the second major gift that Michael and Kari have made to Wesleyan’s campaign, and I am so grateful for their leadership and generosity. Their support of financial aid is particularly welcome because it underscores the University’s commitment to increasing access – the highest priority…

The Ivory Tower documentary, featuring Roth, looks at the cost, and importance, of higher ed

Wesleyan Students Hospitalized

Roth Writes in WSJ on Religion’s Role in the History of Ideas

President Roth Fields Questions from WesMaSS Scholars

President Roth Speaks about Liberal Education (with video)

President Roth’s Book Cited in Exploration of Views of Liberal Education Over Time

Wesleyan Strengthens Sexual Assault Prevention Efforts by Partnering with Community Services

Michael Roth is “An Unusual President”

Wesleyan, Chinese Social Science Group Enter Into Scholarly Partnership

Roth: College Should Prepare You for Life

Books by Roth, Bloom, Waldman ’86 Honored by Washington Post

President Roth and Professor Weil Make Second Major Campaign Gift

Roth Discusses the Value of a College Education