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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!

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.

Fall Breezes, Turning to the Future

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There is a cool breeze today and the weatherman tells me it’s a harbinger of fall.  I can see the excitement of students checking out new classes, and faculty are being re-energized by the thoughtful questions posed in seminars or in sessions with advisees. This week also marks the beginning of the fall sports schedule, and we start off by hosting Williams in men’s and women’s soccer and field hockey on Saturday. Come out and cheer the Cardinals!

But the air is also filled with mixed messages. On the faculty list-serve this week Wesleyan’s Muslim Chaplain, Marwa Aly, sent a thoughtful, heartfelt message deploring the hate speech being directed at Muslims in many parts of the country. She asks for something as basic as it is important: that we act with care and understanding toward members of our community, and that we stand up to hate when it is expressed around us. At Rosh Hashanah services yesterday Wesleyan’s Jewish Chaplain, David Teva, reminded us of some of the many intersections of Jewish and Islamic rituals. He spoke of the importance of taking care of one another, and of taking a stance against injustice. As we turned ourselves toward the gates of the new year, we also remembered the work for peace and understanding that must continue as we enter 5771.

The ideals of peace and understanding aren’t just large abstractions to which we pay lip service. They can be part of our everyday lives, part of our community. Want an example? Check out the celebration of Wesleyan’s Green Street Art Center’s new North End Mural this evening at 5:30.  For new students, this will be an opportunity to get to know the great programs at GSAC. For old timers, it will be an occasion to celebrate the arts and education (and delicious food!) with friends and neighbors.

Cool fall breezes, to be sure, and they carry lots of hope for a great year.

[tags]soccer, field hockey, Marwa Aly, David Teva, Green Street Arts Center, North End Mural[/tags]

Making Wesleyan Their Own

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This morning Kari and I will greet first-year students and help them move into residence halls around the campus. The class of 2014 was culled from over 10,600 applications (a 29% increase over just two years ago), and it promises to be a talented, caring, creative and hard-working group. We’ve already been meeting some of the international students who are part of the frosh class. Most Internationals arrived Sunday, and at our dinner the following night we talked with folks from India, Turkey, Japan, China, France and Thailand (to name only a few of the countries from which our new students hail).

Fall athletes are also back, and from the look of some of the folks I’ve been running into on campus, many spent at least some of the summer getting in shape for an intense season. I’ve met with the families of the football team, along with the new coaching staff, and they seemed poised for an exciting fall. Over the summer I learned that volleyball and swimming garnered national team academic honors. I take great pride in the scholarly accomplishments of so many of our athletes.

Faculty are also back on campus, and they will soon be meeting with advisees to talk about schedules, choices of major and generally how to get the most out of one’s time at Wes. Professors have been working during the summer on research, much of which will inform their thinking as they begin the semester. The virtuous circle of intellectual work that connects teaching and scholarship will be in evidence throughout the term, as the classroom becomes a place of inspiration for student and teacher alike.

Today I will be greeting many parents who will be filled with mixed emotions as they drop off their students. I look forward to checking in with them again with shared pride as their sons and daughters make Wesleyan their own.

[tags]class of 2014, international students, athletes, volleyball, swimming[/tags]

Softball Champs!!

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The Courageous Cardinal softball team recovered from losing the opening game on title day and came back to trounce Bowdoin 10-1 to claim the NESCAC conference championship. Meaghan Dendy ’10 and Dana Levy ’12 combined to hold Bowdoin to a single run, and Taylor Zavadsky ’10 had four RBIs.

Congratulations to coach Jen Lane and all the Wes Women!!

[tags]NESCAC, softball, championship, Meaghan Dendy ’10, Dana Levy ’12, Bowdoin, Taylor Zavadsky ’10[/tags]

Playoffs Bound

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This weekend Wesleyan has three great teams moving into the NESCAC playoffs.

Women’s softball had a decisive series up in Middlebury last weekend. Having been shutout in Friday night’s contest, they needed to sweep a double-header to keep their season going, which they did with great efforts from several key players including Meaghan Dendy ’10 and Dana Levy ’12. This weekend they travel up to Williamstown where their first opponent will be Tufts.

The baseball team opens its tournament on Saturday at Tufts. After the Dresser Diamond dedication last Saturday, the Cardinals split a double-header with Trinity on Sunday. Brett Yarusi ’12 tossed a six-hitter for the first shutout vs. Trinity since 1984, but the Red and Black lost a big lead in the second game late in the afternoon. It’s been a strong season for Wes baseball, and there is plenty of optimism heading into the tournament.

The men’s lacrosse season has been full of highs and lows, but rarely can one find more excitement than there was in last week’s upset victory of top-seeded Conn College. Jon Killeen ’10 scored the game winner and was named NESCAC player of the week.  This is the first time in NESCAC history that an 8th seed knocked off the #1 team. But we are the defending conference champs, and we’ll have a chance to show our mettle against a tough Tufts opponent in the semis on Saturday.

If you can’t get up to Massachusetts, you can find many of the games on webcasts (see http://www.wesleyan.edu/athletics/ for more information). Cheer for the Red and Black, from near or far!

[tags]softball, lacrosse, baseball, playoffs, Jon Killeen ’10, Meghan Dendy ’10, Dana Levy ’12, Brett Yarusi ’12[/tags]

Recognition, Acknowledgment and Celebration

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Today I attended the luncheon to acknowledge the winners of the Roger Maynard Scholar-Athlete Award. Beth Kenworthy (Soccer – Neuroscience & Behavior), Clare Smith (Lacrosse – Science in Society), Jory Kahan (Soccer – Neuroscience & Behavior), and Keisuke Yamashita (Soccer — Math/Economics) were this year’s winners. Their stellar academic work and extraordinary athletic performance were described by their coaches and academic advisors. Congratulations to these wonderful Wes students and their families!


This weekend I’m sorry to miss The Mystery of Irma Veep, directed by Professor Cláudia Tatinge Nascimento. The comedy is part of actor Mark McCloughan’s senior thesis, and I’ve heard great things about it. The show is in the Patricelli ’92 Theater. Speaking of theses, I know that many will be burning the midnight oil over the weekend. Good luck to you, as well as to those giving recitals (like Vicki Cheng, who will be singing German Lieder and Jazz Saturday afternoon in Russell House).

Staying with the theme of recognition and acknowledgment, Kari and I will join in the celebration of the wedding of my esteemed assistant, Joan Adams, to her long-time partner Mary Rustico. Joan has been part of the Wesleyan family for years, and we are delighted to join with her and Mary as they make their vows (and dance up a storm!).

[tags]Roger Maynard Scholar-Athlete Award, Clare Smith, Beth Kenworthy, Jory Kahan, Keisuke Yamashita, Mark McCloughan, Vicki Cheng, Joan Adams, Mary Rustico, senior theses, The Mystery of Irma Veep, German Lieder[/tags]

Home Games, Great Performances

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This is the first weekend in more than a month that I’ve been able to be on campus. I thought it would be pretty quiet, but it was anything but. The excitement came through the great performances of our lacrosse, baseball and softball teams, all of which turned in outstanding efforts here at home.

The baseball team looked extremely impressive in taking a double-header from Amherst. Pitchers Brett Yarusi ’12 and Derek Lukin ’13 kept a lid on the powerful team from the north, and Chris Bonti ’13 smashed a three-run homer. The game ended with a perfect double-play to snuff out an Amherst rally.

Great endings also ruled in men’s lacrosse and women’s softball. The lacrosse team had an improbable come-from-behind win over Bates, with three goals in the final minutes. When Teddy Citrin ’12 scooped in the game-winner with just over 3 seconds left, we all went wild.

We did the same on the frozen field as the Wes Women beat Bates in extra-innings in game 1 of a double-header. Each time Bates went ahead, the Cardinals came up with our own great plays. Meaghan Dendy ’10, who always comes through in the clutch, scampered home on a wild pitch. In the second game, Wes erased a 12 run deficit and Dana Levy ’12 punched in the winning run in the 7th inning.

From athletics to the arts, this has been an exciting couple of days. But no rest for the weary. Kari and I are looking forward to hearing Hansel Tan ’10 and the Wesleyan Ensemble Singers tomorrow at 8 pm in Memorial Chapel. It should be a great evening of adventurous music. There are sure to be more great endings!

[tags]Meaghan Dendy ’10, Dana Levy ’12, Brett Yarusi ’12, Derek Lukin ’13, Chris Bonti ’13, Teddy Citrin ’12, Hansel Tan ’10, Wesleyan Ensemble Singers[/tags]

Quiet Campus….People Working

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I have been traveling for Wesleyan a lot recently, and it’s always good to return home to campus. During mid March, though, the place is startlingly  quiet. Many of the administrators take some vacation time before the final big push to Commencement, and faculty are busy grading papers or exams and trying to make progress on research projects. Looking out my office window toward Foss Hill, I see the physical plant staff (led by Dave Hall) getting the field ready for the baseball team, but otherwise there is  little visible activity.

But many students have been extremely busy during the March break. Let’s start with the athletes. Baseball is off to a great start, winning its first eight games against an impressive variety of opponents. Julian Sonnenfeld ’11 has been hitting up a storm, as has Talia Bernstein ’11 on the softball team. Softball also won its first eight games! The tennis teams are also starting off strong, with Genevieve Aniello ’13 for the women and Michael Piderit ’12 for the men having fine early seasons. The lacrosse teams have been hard at work, with Teddy Citrin ’12 for the men and Jess Chukwu ’11 and Erin McCarthy ’10 for the women playing like scoring machines. Crew is rowing back in CT after a very successful southern swing.

My athletic activities are just to keep the pounds off, and in the gym yesterday I ran into Greg Hurd ’10, who just finished a great wrestling career at Wesleyan. But no rest for the weary, as he’s now hard at work on his senior thesis in Earth and Environmental Science. Greg has spent a considerable amount of time doing fieldwork in the Southwest and is now writing up the results. There are many thesis writers on campus making the final push. Art projects will be going up soon, and I especially look forward to seeing Gregory James’s ’10 installation. Rebecca Krisel ’10 is writing on counter-insurgency, while Emma Van Susteren ’10 is focusing on the slow food movement. Kalen Flynn ’10 is writing about holocaust historiography and its effect on how we think about the representation of the past more generally. These are just a few of the theses that young scholars, artists, writers and scientists are busy bringing to completion. No spring break for them!

Not all senior projects take the form of theses. Some are writing stories, essays, or engaged in community service projects. Sam Hart is majoring in Chemistry and Molecular Biology, but he decided to do an art project that brings together his scientific and aesthetic interests. In addition to building the piece, he has written a computer program that will bring his sculpture to life through moving color field patterns. Check it out in the Zilkha Gallery in mid April.

Good work is its own reward, but sometimes there’s more.   Wes senior Liana Woskie has just won a Watson Fellowship ($25,000!) in support of her project entitled “Bringing Primary Healthcare Home: The Community Health Worker, Bangladesh, India, Thailand, Tanzania, Lesotho. In the words of  Cleveland Johnson, Director of the Watson Fellowship Program, “Watson Fellows are passionate learners, creative thinkers, and motivated self-starters who are encouraged to dream big but demonstrate feasible strategies for achieving their fellowship goals.”  No surprise to me that a Wes student is one of this year’s winners!

Congratulations to Liana and to all Wes students who are giving their all!

[tags]Julian Sonnenfeld ’11, Talia Bernstein ’11, Genevieve Aniello ’13, Michael Piderit ’12, Teddy Citrin ’12, Jess Chukwu ’11, Erin McCarthy ’10, Greg Hurd ’10, Gregory James ’10, Rebecca Krisel ’10, Emma Van Susteren ’10, Kalen Flynn ’10, Sam Hart ’10, Liana Woskie ’10, Watson Fellowship[/tags]

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