Posted in Uncategorized on Jul 6th, 2008
Middletown’s Independence Day festivities were held down by the Connecticut River, but the Wesleyan campus offered great views. In the early evening the sky was threatening, and we weren’t sure if there would be thunder or firecrackers. As darkness fell a small crowd gathered on the lawn in front of College Row, and other groups [...]
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Posted in Uncategorized on Jun 22nd, 2008
We just returned this weekend from a week visiting Kari’s family in Norway. Here’s a glimpse of what we saw as dusk settled in around midnight. It grew lighter by 1 AM.
It feels good to be back home on campus. The fields at Long Lane are busy with football and lacrosse practices from the high [...]
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Posted in Uncategorized on Jun 16th, 2008
Although I am far from Middletown on a family vacation, I had to share the news of last night’s Wesleyan successes at the Tony awards. Jeffrey Richards ‘69 was a producer of “August: Osage County,” a family drama. The play already received a Pulitzer prize and won five Tonys, including “Best Play.”
“In the [...]
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Posted in Uncategorized on Jun 12th, 2008
Last night in Washington, D.C., more than 150 Wesleyan alumni and parents gathered together to catch up with old friends, reminisce about college days, and hear from this not-so-new president about what’s been happening on campus. Although hopes for a cool June evening had given way to the reality of a scorching heat wave stretching [...]
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Posted in Uncategorized on Jun 4th, 2008
After the frenzy of activity over the last month, the campus is oddly quiet. As I stroll across Andrus Field I expect to greet students heading to class, or going for coffee and conversation at the Usdan Center. Instead, I am more likely to run into a lone jogger or a dog walker taking in [...]
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Posted in Uncategorized on May 27th, 2008
Sunday’s Commencement Ceremony was a wonderful conclusion to my first year as Wesleyan’s 16th president. The graduate students and the class of 2008 received more than their diplomas on Andrus Field. They were able to listen to one of America’s most eloquent speakers reflect on the call to service that characterizes the Kennedy legacy, and [...]
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Posted in Uncategorized on May 23rd, 2008
It has been a very moving and intense few days. We were delighted to be hosting Senator Edward Kennedy as this year’s Commencement speaker, and then deeply disturbed about his hospitalization and cancer diagnosis. Our hearts go out to the Kennedy family. Senator Kennedy, a Wesleyan honorary degree recipient, has great family ties to our [...]
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Posted in Uncategorized on May 20th, 2008
This is an email that was sent to the Wesleyan community this morning.
I have now reviewed police and public safety accounts and dozens of student eyewitness reports of what occurred when Middletown police, supported by other local and state law enforcement, broke up a student gathering in the early morning hours of Friday, May 16. [...]
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Posted in Uncategorized on May 17th, 2008
I had anticipated writing a happy “Finals Are Over!” blog entry at the end of the week. Instead, we are dealing with the aftermath of the disturbing events that happened as law enforcement officers broke up a student gathering very early Friday morning.
I was called to the scene by some frightened students at about 2:30 [...]
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Posted in Uncategorized on May 10th, 2008
Thursday night the brothers of the DKE fraternity invited my family and me to a barbeque, just across the street from the President’s House. It was a thoroughly enjoyable evening, and the brothers (many of whom are athletes from football, hockey and baseball squads) made us feel very welcome. Kari saw some of her students, [...]
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