Athletics

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]

A Wealth of Opportunities

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I spent much of Saturday at the Freeman Athletic Center watching our athletes compete. The women’s basketball team carried the day against Middlebury, and the men’s team along with swimming, women’s hockey and track put up strong efforts. The focus and discipline of the athletes is always impressive to me, especially when I recall that they have books to crack and problem sets to complete.

With the new semester just underway, we are now in the period when students check out different classes as they put together their final schedules. It’s a time of excitement and sometimes of frustration. Some of the required classes in the most popular majors fill up quickly. Academic Affairs can add sections when appropriate. Some popular classes work well because they are small, and happily almost all students report that they are pleased with their final schedules. Advisors and Deans are on hand to help students navigate this process.

Those of you far away from campus don’t have to feel left out of the wealth of academic opportunities. Go to the iTunes store and look up Wesleyan University. There you will find video recordings of great Wes faculty, visiting writers and scholars, and even some strength and conditioning tips. Check out the Wes YouTube channel for an even greater variety of uploaded video from campus.

Of course there’s nothing like being on campus to experience the diversity of offerings here. If you are looking at lectures online and want to remember the feel of the place, you can always check out a great book of campus photos, Welcome to Wesleyan: Campus Buildings.

[tags]Freeman Athletic Center, athletes, opportunities[/tags]

A New Semester!

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I’ve been on the road for Wesleyan most of the time since New Year’s, and I am delighted to return to campus for the start of the new semester. My first class in “The Past on Film” (a course on philosophy, history and the movies) is today.

While I’ve been traveling, people have been busy here on campus preparing for the new semester. Many of our athletes have been involved in regular competition since the beginning of 2010. The men’s hockey team recently recorded its first win over Williams at home in many years. It was a convincing victory! Our men’s water polo team was recently named “Team of the Decade” by the Collegiate Water Polo Association. Congratulations to Coach of the Year Mac Clonan ’05.

Our faculty have been busy preparing new courses for the spring, many of which are part of the Small Class Initiative that has added dozens of seminars to our offerings. Manju Hingorani and Katja Kolcio are offering a class called “Body Language: Choreographing Biology,” while inaugural Koeppel Fellow, alumna and editor of the Forward Jane Eisner ’77 is teaching one of our first journalism classes “The Journalist as Citizen.” Sonali Chakravarti is teaching a government class on political theory and transitional justice, while the great vibraphonist Jay Hoggard offers “Language of the Jazz Orchestra.” As I look through the catalogue, I wonder if I can find the time to audit even as I work on my own class.

I was in in Washington the last few days visiting with alumni there and in Baltimore. Kari and Sophie joined me for the weekend, and now we are all trying to catch up on our homework! A highlight of the trip was a tour of the White House on Saturday. It brought us back to the hopeful energy of a year ago, and it also reminded us of the challenges now facing the whole country. This morning, as I post this blog, I confess to a few doubts as to whether we will be able to pull together to meet those challenges, but then as I see the picture of Kari, Sophie and myself, optimism revives.  How happy we were to be there at the White House!

photo

[tags]men’s water polo, Manju, Hingorani, Katja Kolcio, Jane Eisner, Sonali Chakravarti, Jay Hoggard[/tags]

Sweet 16 for Men’s Soccer!

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Yesterday I saw one of the the most exciting athletic contests I’ve ever witnessed. Our soccer team was in the second round of the NCAA tournament, having dispatched Saint Joseph’s on Saturday. We had come from behind against WNEC and the score was tied at 1 a piece at the end of a very even match. Each overtime period was tense with end-to-end action, and Wes had a few very close chances. But it was still tied after two overtimes, and so we went into the penalty kick round. Our first-year all NESCAC goalie, Adam Purdy, made a great stop on the sixth WNEC player, which sealed the deal for Wesleyan. We were moving on!

For the first time, Wesleyan’s Men’s Soccer Team will participate in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA tourney. We play Rochester at Messiah College in PA on Saturday.

This has been a great year for the team. Seniors Nick Whipple and Woody Redpath were named to the All-NESCAC first team, along with Adam Purdy, who was also named Rookie of the Year. Wes had another three players named to All-NESCAC second team: seniors Asante Brooks and Keisuke Yamashita, and junior Jacob Mergendoller.

Coach Geoff Wheeler deserves high praise for putting together this great team, and he was just recognized with the NESCAC Coach of the Year award. GO WES!!

[tags]men’s soccer, NESCAC, Adam Purdy, Nick Whipple, Woody Redpath, Asante Brooks, Keisuke Yamashita, Jacob Mergendoller, Geoff Wheeler[/tags]

They’re coming home!

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Just a quick note to say how wonderful it is to see the campus beginning to fill up with the smiling faces of Wesleyan parents and alumni. This morning I met with the Athletic Advisory Council, a group of dedicated alumni who have helped us to raise the profile of our sports programs at the university and to strengthen the quality of the students’ experience on all our teams. This afternoon I met with a group of parents and alumni who talked with me about Wesleyan 2020. It was most interesting to hear from this group about the distinctiveness of the Wes experience, and how to make its lifelong learning aspects more visible and compelling. One of the key ingredients emphasized by all the participants is the extraordinary quality of the faculty-student interaction. Our Scholar-Teacher model inspires new ways of thinking that permanently and positively affect our community.

The link on the Wesleyan homepage shows the full range of alumni programs this weekend. Of course, there is big game in football against Williams tomorrow, and we are hosting the NESCAC Conference Championship in men’s soccer. There are great seminars, screenings and exhibitions. I am particularly excited about Majora Carter’s talk tomorrow at 4 pm in Memorial Chapel. Majora has been a force for good things since graduating from Wesleyan in 1988, and her work on sustainable community development has been widely celebrated. Given our plans for the College of the Environment and for Civic Engagement, she is the perfect speaker for the Dwight Greene Symposium.

The College of Letters and the College of Social Studies are celebrating their 50th anniversaries this weekend. These great, innovative programs have introduced students to literature, philosophy, and history, economics, political science and social theory. The demanding comprehensives, the expectation of independent thinking, and the forging of close personal ties have been hallmarks of these programs that helped to define the very meaning of interdisciplinarity. HAPPY 50TH to COL and CSS!

If you are not able to get back to Middletown for Homecoming, I hope that our webcasts, videos and blogs give you a taste of what its like to be here on this beautiful Fall weekend.

[tags]Athletic Advisory Council, NESCAC, Majora Carter, College of Letters, College of Social Studies[/tags]