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Olivia DrakeOctober 23, 20141min
Wesleyan President Michael Roth recently spoke about "Why Liberal Arts Education Matters" as part of the 92nd Street Y (92Y) American Conversation series. 92Y connects people all over the world through culture, arts, entertainment and conversation. In the Oct. 15 episode, New York Times op-ed columnist Frank Bruni interviews Roth about the contentious debate over the benefits—or drawbacks—of a liberal education. In the interview, Roth, who is author of Beyond the University, Why Liberal Education Matters, makes the case for the great American tradition of humanistic education. Watch a video of the conversation below: Roth also discussed “The Future of Education” at…

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Olivia DrakeOctober 16, 20144min
On Oct. 15, Wesleyan and City of Middletown officials met at City Hall in downtown Middletown to sign a Memorandum of Understanding on dealing with sexual assault. The document details the responsibilities and procedures of the university, the city, and state law enforcement in handling assault cases. This document officially codifies long-standing campus and community cooperation around the issue of crime, sharing of training resources, and enhanced communication designed to support survivors of sexual assault. "This memorandum is an important step toward even greater cooperation between Wesleyan, the State’s Attorney’s office and the City of Middletown," said President Michael Roth."On…

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Kate CarlisleSeptember 16, 20143min
President Michael Roth discussed "The Future of Education" at the 92nd Street Y's Social Good Summit on Sept. 21. The event is the focus of his popular MOOC on the Coursera platform, which will be offered again starting in Nov., 2014. In his second appearance at the annual two-day festival of ideas, Roth discussed why education is still the best vehicle for social change, even while it has become more controversial then ever. Watch the video of his talk. "Education remains the most potent tool for changing the world, " he said. "And training teachers who can help students acquire the…

Kate CarlisleMay 29, 20142min
The Board of Trustees has asked President Michael Roth to propose a plan for the future of fraternities at Wesleyan, following a discussion at their spring meeting May 22-23. On his blog, Roth said he would deliver a plan to the board soon, ideally before the start of the next semester but at the latest before the next board meeting in November. His thinking has changed since his first year at Wesleyan, when he wrote about his support for Greek life, Roth said. “Six years of hearing about high-risk drinking at fraternities and dealing with fallout from highly publicized incidents…

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Lauren RubensteinMay 25, 20142min
Wesleyan President Michael Roth '78 made the following remarks at the 182nd Commencement Ceremony on May 25: Members of the board of trustees, members of the faculty and staff, distinguished guests, new recipients of graduate degrees and the class of 2014, I am honored to present some brief remarks on the occasion of this commencement. Although American military involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan has been winding down ever since you arrived on campus, the scars of those conflicts will continue to be painful for years to come. On this Memorial Day Weekend, I begin by asking us all to take…

Bill HolderMay 1, 20143min
The broad contextual education that Wesleyan and peer institutions offer is frequently critiqued, sometimes excoriated, by those who accuse it of not preparing graduates for success in today’s world. But that accusation, says President Michael S. Roth in his sixth and latest book, Beyond the University: Why Liberal Education Matters (Yale University Press, 2014), is as old as liberal education itself – and never less convincing than now. A historian whose previous scholarship has focused on making sense of the past, Roth charts the development of pragmatic liberal education through a succession of important American thinkers. Liberal education has deep…