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February Thoughts of Spring and Summer

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Our expected snow turned out to be mostly rain, and the fact that this is a cause for a great burst of optimism tells you what kind of winter we’ve been having. Sophie said to me as we drove to school (she doesn’t want any more snow days!): “Does this mean it’s going to get warmer and warmer?” I didn’t have the heart to tell her “no.”

But it does certainly mean we can start thinking of warmer times. For example, I just noticed that the winter silent auction to raise money for the Green Street Art Center has been postponed until April 8. It’s just been too hard to get around, and the staff thought we’d be safer planning our celebration of the great work of the GSAC in the spring. But the online auction is still on for another week to raise money for Wesleyan’s wonderful civic engagement initiative in Middletown.  The online auction officially closes Sunday, February 13th! Please encourage anyone you know to check it out and help us raise money for our students! Visit our online auction.

Kari and I are auctioning off a dinner at the President’s House (she’s a great cook and a better dinner partner; I’m a pretty good dishwasher), and if people don’t bid soon my mother is likely to get it! PLEASE HELP!!!

This is also the time that students can register for Wesleyan’s Summer Session. Between now and March 31, students can sign up for these intensive classes in the first part of the summer. You can take Foreign Policy at the Movies with Douglas Foyle, or travel to the Gulf Coast with Barry Chernoff to investigate the Deepwater Horizon tragedy. You can also make progress on general education expectations or try playing Gamelan. Check out the offerings.

It’s still winter, but it helps to think of some of the good things to come in spring and summer!

Colleagues, Books and Good Cheer

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On Friday afternoon last week a group of faculty members gathered at Olin Library to celebrate the publication of books by humanities and arts professors over the last couple of years. Dean Krishna Winston (who herself has published five translations of major German writers in recent years) compiled the list of books and authors, and we raised our glasses together to salute the achievements of our colleagues. What variety! From Jonathan Best’s history of the early Korean kingdom of Paekche to Elizabeth Willis’s contemporary poetry, from Joel Pfister’s study of the education of the “Yale Indian” Henry Roe Cloud, to Jane Alden’s history of the Chansonniers of the Loire Valley, our scholar teachers are shaping the future of the fields in which they teach. I enjoyed the chance to talk with Uli Plass, one of our great young teachers of critical theory whose books on the philosopher Theodor Adorno and on Frantz Kafka were nicely displayed. Uli is already working on a study of Adorno in Los Angeles. And what a delight to see the new (and huge!) manuscript from historian of architecture Joe Siry, whose latest study of Frank Lloyd Wright will be published by the University of Chicago Press in the coming year. Soon you’ll be able to see these – and the dozens of others – on the Wesleyan website: a new “virtual bookshelf” will help make the work of all the faculty at the university visible to students, parents and alumni.

Dean Winston has been a strong advocate for the vitality of the arts and humanities programs at Wesleyan, and Friday afternoon we had another reminder that this sector of the university continues to do such strong work. I was proud to be at Olin surrounded by colleagues, books and good cheer.

Liberal Learning and the University of the Future

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I’m just back from the annual meeting of the American Association of Colleges and Universities. The AAC&U is dedicated to “making the aims of liberal learning a vigorous and constant influence on institutional purpose and educational practice in higher education.” — That’s the mission statement, and today the organization works with a wide variety of schools to develop learning outcomes, democratic and inclusive practices, and coherent curricula consistent with the evolution of the liberal arts.

My first task there was to respond to a talk by Mark C. Taylor, whose book Crisis on Campus I’d reviewed in the Los Angeles Times. Mark is a Wesleyan graduate, who taught at Williams for decades and is now Chair of the Religion Department at Columbia University. Mark calls for the creation of a postmodern university, which for him means moving from silos to networks, abolishing departments and tenure, and organizing problems-oriented teaching teams. If we don’t act now, he foresees a deepening crisis in higher education akin to the housing bubble of recent years.

I emphasized some of the key areas about which Mark and I agree. He is right on the money in attacking the powerful, long-term trends toward specialization in university culture, trends which have a decidedly negative impact on undergraduate education. At many schools this has led to a fragmentation of intellectual life, with powerful departments defending their own interests without regard to the welfare of the institution as a whole. Who is going to articulate a holistic vision for undergraduate education when only specialized success is awarded professional prestige?

I have written elsewhere on the importance of giving our students the capacity for translation, or intellectual cross-training, that will allow them to tap into multiple networks of inquiry. Unlike Mark Taylor, I do not think that abolishing tenure will help in this regard. Most schools in America have most of their classes taught by untenured faculty (often graduate students), and the result is not more freedom and breadth. Instead, the poor job conditions for these instructors seem to encourage the replication of the status quo — little innovation, much conformity to disciplinary convention. In our current political context, one in which state, federal and foundation officials are often seized with the desire to regulate public culture, the protection of academic freedom that tenure affords is crucial.

I came away from these meetings realizing how fortunate we are here at Wesleyan to have a faculty that consistently works to improve the education we offer students even as our scholar-teachers continue to help shape the professional fields in which they work. Wes has its challenges, too, including overcoming the intellectual fragmentation that often attends specialization. But we have many professors committed to this task, and that is the most important factor for building the university of the future — a university in which faculty members make student learning the priority in ways that enhance our capacity for research.

Education and the Work of Social Justice

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Education can be an important vehicle of social mobility, for giving people the capacity to change their lives for the better. Education should allow students to expand their horizons and to choose (and work for) the kind of life they want to lead — rather than merely accept the lot in life that seemed to have been assigned to them.

Education can also be an important vehicle for protecting social privilege, for giving people the capacity to protect their own and their children’s social standing. Education can be an exclusive good, allowing the sons and daughters of the elite to remain on top.

At Wesleyan we have long believed in opening the university’s doors to talented, creative and ambitious students from all walks of life. We have worked hard to recruit students from groups previously excluded by elite institutions and to provide them with the tools for success here on campus and beyond. We know that everyone in the university benefits from having a diverse campus in which students, faculty and staff educate one another to think critically and creatively while valuing independence of mind and generosity of spirit. That’s our mission.

All around us, however, we see the effects of an educational system that functions to re-empower those with resources while undermining the chances for success of those who do not have that good fortune. There are, however, extraordinary men and women working to change that dynamic, and one of them is here today. Geoffrey Canada, president of the Harlem Children’s Zone, will be our Martin Luther King Jr. speaker this afternoon, and he will share his “simple yet radical idea: to change the lives of inner city kids we must simultaneously change their schools, their families, and their neighborhoods.” He does the work of social justice through education.

Mr. Canada’s talk helps kick-off the year’s Social Justice Leadership Conference. Students, faculty, staff and alumni are coming together to discuss a wide range of issues linking education to other efforts to enhance freedom and fairness. A schedule is here.

From beaches to snow drifts

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Over the last week I’d been traveling out West, and many Wes parents (and some of their sons and daughters) wondered how they would cope with the return to colder climes. Walking on the beach on Santa Monica, Sophie asked me more than a few times “Why did we ever leave this place?!” (Sophie was born in Santa Monica when I was at the Getty Center and Kari at UCLA.) Watching the sun come up was a treat:

Sunrise in Santa Monica

I met with more than 200 alumni, students and parents who attended a great event at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and I then went on to Arizona to meet with a smaller but no less energetic group. The beauty of the beaches and then the desert was striking, but returning to Middletown’s snowy landscape has been invigorating.

As I make some final edits to my syllabus for the Past on Film, I wonder how our returning students will react when they see their campus filled with snow drifts from what journalists here are calling one of the “storms of the century.” Wes looks like a winter wonderland, and Foss Hill has been filled with young folks racing down into the snowpack of Andrus Field. And some of the sledders aren’t so young! Kari got me out there yesterday (even though I told her I’d grown allergic to velocity), and it was fun careening down the hill. Here’s the proof:

Roth on Foss Hill
Kari Weil on Foss Hill

I remember well the last “storm of the century” when I was a student at Wesleyan struggling with my senior thesis in 1978. Having the snow to fall into, Foss Hill for sledding, and plenty of camaraderie from professors and friends made the winter warm and welcoming, as well as quite spectacular. It still does!

Looking Ahead, Getting Ready

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With the holidays now behind us and the students not yet back from winter break, this is a time some of us use for planning our projects for the next semester. Which is not to say there isn’t plenty of activity on campus. The Admissions Office hasn’t had much of a break at all, as the staff there has been busy preparing the thousands of applications we’ve just received for the thorough evaluation they will get in the coming weeks. The library is open again, and I see professors (and more than a few seniors) moving through the stacks getting their materials for research projects and senior theses. And in the science labs — staffed by graduate and undergraduate students along with faculty — the work continues on subjects ranging from Hedgehog signaling to the surprising capacities of songbirds, from self-medicating insects to self-regulating ecosystems.

I see athletes in the fitness center whenever I get over there and some of the coaches sweating off the extra holiday inches. Men’s and women’s basketball are already in the thick of tough competition, and the track team is competing at the US Military Invitational this weekend. We anticipate a great start to the new semester. Geoffrey Canada, who runs the Harlem Children’s Zone of Waiting for Superman fame, gives the MLK lecture on January 21, and on January 28 the great saxophonist Charles Lloyd brings his quartet to campus.

I’m looking forward to teaching my Past on Film class again, and have recently spent some time thinking about big-picture philosophy. Here’s a review I wrote about a book by two philosophers that was published in the New York Times this week.

Admiration and Gratitude at Year’s End

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Looking back on the year, I am filled with gratitude and admiration for Wesleyan’s capacity to create conditions for individual excellence and for intense commonality  — the all night work that tests one’s intellectual endurance, and the joyful dancing, cheering and singing that expands our horizons. I think back to the senior theses writers being toasted for their accomplishments, to cheering on the softball team’s first NESCAC conference championship, and to the accolades for the extraordinary student performances in Richard III. I remember with sadness and respect our times of mourning, and I recollect with wonder the social entrepreneurship of our students building schools in Kenya, raising money for flood and earthquake relief around the world or working with elementary school students right here in Middletown.

The university continues to thrive because of the dedication of those who work and study here. Current and former students, I thank you for your exuberance and devotion to alma mater. Faculty who inspire us, and staff who make it possible for all of us to work at our best, I thank you. The ‘independence of mind and generosity of spirit’ of the Wesleyan community is apparent each and every day, and I am so grateful to you for continually creating this extraordinary place.

Best wishes for a restful break, a joyful holiday, and a very happy new year!

Musical Contagion at Wesleyan

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This week Sophie and I had dinner in Middletown and ran into a group of Wesleyan students and parents who were celebrating the end of the semester concert by the Mixolydians at the Memorial Chapel. Their laughter was contagious, and they greeted the two of us with verve. I was reminded of the joyful, adventurous singing that sweeps across our campus on a regular basis.

Speaking of joyful, adventurous music…on Tuesday I had lunch with Mark Slobin and Anthony Braxton, longtime professors of music at Wes. I’ve gotten to know Prof. Slobin over the last few years, and I wonder at his endless curiosity about the viral intersections of music with other forms of cultural production and with local traditions. He has written on music in northern Afghanistan and on klezmer, on Hollywood and on folk music, and lately authored Music at Wesleyan: From Glee Club to Gamelan. Mark is tireless in his efforts to strengthen both study and performance at Wes (and was recently appointed as the Richard K. Winslow Professor of Music).

I hadn’t met Prof. Braxton before, but I have heard him play. His pathbreaking work as a soloist, composer and teacher has been attracting audiences and students for decades. He is devoted to Wesleyan, and we spoke about the special “radiance” of the creative students who come to school here. Prof. Braxton’s energy and dedication to his craft are legendary, and I find deeply admirable his willingness to go beyond conventional musical borders. If you haven’t heard him play, you might just check out these two Youtube videos for a taste of what Anthony Braxton has to offer.

One of the joys of my job is getting together with faculty who are enlivened by the work they do. It is contagious for students…and for presidents, too!

Honoring Athletes

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This weekend the Athletics Department held a banquet to celebrate the men and women who competed this fall, and although I didn’t get to attend, I did hear about the outstanding honorees. Here are some of the stand-out achievements recognized by our conference and beyond:

Golf  – Pete Taylor ‘12 earned first-team all-NESCAC honors by tying for 3rd among 50 players in the NESCAC qualifier.

Men’s Cross Country  – Julian Applebaum ‘13 earned all-ECAC Division III honors by placing 20th of 300 runners at the ECAC Division III meet.  Matt Katz ‘11 (10th), Bryan Marsh ‘13 (14th) and Skyler Cummins ‘13 (33rd) all earned all-New England Division III honors for their top-35 finishes (out of 333) at the regional meet.

Volleyball  – Ruby Hernandez ‘11 received much recognition.  She was an honorable-mention All-American as named by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA).  AVCA also selected her as all-New England.  She was the NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year and a second-team all-NESCAC choice.  Finally, the New England Women’s Volleyball Association named her a senior all-star.

Men’s Soccer  – Walter Rodriguez ‘13 was chosen second-team all-NESCAC.  Geoff Zartarian ‘11 was selected to play in the annual New England Intercollegiate Soccer League senior all-star game.

Women’s Soccer  – Laura Kurash ‘13 was chosen first-team all-NESCAC and Dasha Battelle ‘11 made second-team all-NESCAC.

Field Hockey  –  Tori Redding ‘13 was named first-team all-NESCAC, first-team all-New England West by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) and a second-team NFHCA All-American.  Hilary Nabhan ‘11 was selected for first-team all-NESCAC and first-team NFHCA all-New England West.  Morgan McCauley ‘12 and Liz Chabot ‘12 both earned second-team NFHCA all-New England West honors while McCauley also got second-team all-NESCAC laurels.

Football  – Most decorated, of course, was Shea Dwyer ‘10.  He was a finalist (top-10) for the Gagliardi Trophy as the top player in NCAA Division III.  He was first-team all-NESCAC and a New England Football Writers Association Division II/III all-star.  Cyprian Oyomba ‘12 and Nick Seara ‘11 were both named first-team all-NESCAC and Nick also got first-team District I academic All-America honors through the College Sports Information Directors Association (CoSIDA) as sponsored by ESPN the Magazine.  Justin Freres ‘11, Zach Sadler ‘11 and Kyle Weiss ‘12 all earned second-team all-NESCAC honors.

Gale Lackey was inducted in to the Connecticut Volleyball Hall of Fame for her outstanding coaching career.

Thanks to Brian Katten for sharing this information. You can see a list of the 65 Wesleyan athletes who were acknowledged with All-Academic or Sportsmanship honors on our website.