On April 9, more than 200 students gathered at Olin Library for a vigil to remember the 147 people—most of them students—killed in the massacre at Garissa University College in Kenya earlier this month. Speakers at the vigil included Arnelle Williams ’17, Giselle Torres ’16, Claudia Kahindi ’18, Geofrey Yatich ’17, Ismael Coleman ’15, Nyanen Deng ’17, Alexandria Williams ’15, and Irvine Peck’s-Agaya ’18.

The vigil was organized to remember those who lost their lives, to raise awareness on campus about issues that happen internationally, to challenge the idea that some news is considered more worthy than others, and to engage the idea that Black Lives Matter–and all lives matter–not only in the U.S., but around the world. Arnelle Williams ’17 speaks to the vigil crowd.

Geofrey Yatich ’17 addresses the crowd from a podium showing just a handful of the many people killed at Garissa University College in Kenya.

More than 200 members of the Wesleyan community gathered at Olin Library for the vigil.

Claudia Kahindi ’18 speaks to those who gathered to mourn and to remember those who lost their lives in the massacre.

Vigil organizers hope the event serves as a reminder that each person killed was more than just a number. Nyanen Deng ’17 and Alexandria Williams ’15 speak to the crowd.

The vigil provided a place for students to share their grief and show their support.

On April 10, the Career Center hosted its second annual Connect@WES: Creating Connections, an on-campus event bringing together alumni, parents and recruiters as expert advisors for brief one-on-one networking sessions with students. More than 100 students and 32 advisors—including 25 Wesleyan alumni and parents—attended the event in Beckham Hall. Speakers at the event included Ed Heffernan ’84, president and CEO of Alliance Data, who spoke to students about big data and the usefulness of a liberal arts education in business; Evan Shapiro P’17, executive vice president of digital enterprises at NBCUniversal, who held two breakout sessions for students interested in careers in digital media and the business side of the entertainment industry; and Zack Potter-Vose ’06, academic dean of Achievement First in Hartford, who held a session for students interested in careers in education. (Photos by Dat Vu.)

Samara Prywes ’17 (right) receives advice from Kiley Robbins ’14 of Epsilon.

Twenty-five Wesleyan alumni and parents, including Matthew Donahue ’14 of Kantar Retail, were among the 32 advisors who attended the event in Beckham Hall.

Glen Cantave ’16 was one of approximately 100 students who participated in this year’s Connect@WES event.

The Career Center’s second annual Connect@WES event brought together alumni, parents and recruiters as expert advisors for brief one-on-one networking sessions with students.

Achiaa Prempeh ’15 receives career advice from one of the Connect@WES expert advisors.

Evan Shapiro P’17, executive vice president of digital enterprises at NBCUniversal, held two breakout sessions for students interested in careers in digital media and the business side of the entertainment industry.

#THISISWHY

On April 15, faculty and staff met to share their service- and project-based learning stories during an Academic (Technology) Roundtable lunch at the Allbritton Center for the Study of Public Life. A(T)R lunches are designed to promote conversation, cooperation and the sharing of information, ideas and resources among faculty members, librarians, graduate students and staff.

Barbara Juhasz, director of service-learning, associate professor of psychology, associate professor of neuroscience and behavior, led the session, providing an overview of service-learning at Wesleyan as well as the variety of ways that service can be used as a pedagogical tool. Other speakers included Rob Rosenthal, director of the Allbritton Center for the Study of Public Life, John E. Andrus Professor of Sociology; Peggy Carey-Best, Health Professions Partnership Initiative advisor; Cathy Lechowicz, director of the Center for Community Partnerships; Sara MacSorley, director of the Green Street Teaching and Learning Center; Janet Burge, associate professor of computer science; Jim Donady, professor of biology, director of Health Professions Partnership Initiative; Anna Shusterman, associate professor of psychology; and Katja Kolcio, associate professor of dance.

Jim Donady discusses his ongoing service-learning work at Connecticut Valley Hospital. Left to right: Donady; Sara MacSorley, who shared how service-learning courses can interface with programs at Green Street; Janet Burge, who spoke about how project-based activities are incorporated into her service-learning course, Software Engineering; and Director of Service Learning Barbara Juhasz.

#THISISWHY

On April 17,  more than 30 alumni, parents and community members and 80 student-athletes participated in an Alumni Athletics Mentoring Workshop in Beckham Hall. As part of the program, mentors met with female student-athletes to speak about career options.

Student-athlete Melissa Leung ’16 has first-hand knowledge of the workshop’s value. “At last year’s event, I met my mentor, Clare Colton ’12,” says Leung, who attended the event for the second year in a row. “Clare provided resume and email etiquette advice and connected me with Jim Citrin (P’12 P’14), senior director of Spencer Stuart, who created an internship position for me with Spencer Stuart in Shanghai last semester, during my semester abroad.”

(Photos by Dat Vu ’15.)

Former Wesleyan field hockey and lacrosse player Suzi Byers ’94 shares her experience with Rosemary Martin ’16 at the mentoring event.

Former Wes lacrosse and field hockey player Jenny Honen ’86 (with back to the camera) and former Wes field hockey, squash, crew and tennis player Dr. Adrienne Bentman ‘74 engage with current student-athletes.

Former Wesleyan soccer and lacrosse player Lexi Turner ’83 P’18 was one the more than 30 mentors who met with student-athletes, including Lauren Yue ‘17.

Former Wesleyan ice hockey, field hockey and track star Fran Rivkin ’78 listens while former Wes soccer and lacrosse player Meg Dempsey ’85 P’18 answers a student question. Alicia White ’15 looks on.

Dan Lynch ’80 P’11 P’14 and former Wes soccer and rugby player Mike McKenna ’73 share their experience with student-athlete participants.

Wesleyan Athletic Director Mike Whalen ’83 speaks to workshop participants.

Workshop participants included Liza Barrett ’86 P’17, middle school English teacher, Williamstown, Massachusetts; Julie Bennett ’00, director, Citigroup, Equity Derivatives, New York; Dr. Adrienne Bentman ’74, director, General Psychiatry Residency Training Program, Hartford Hospital; Suzi Byers ’94, Spanish teacher at Lexington (Massachusetts) Montessori School; Sibyll Catalan ’87, UCLA Academy Initiative; Clare Colton ’12, analyst, CEO Practice and Technology, Media and Telecommunications Practice, Spencer Stuart; Meg Dempsey ’85 P’18 business and education professional; Caitlyn Grudzinski ’13, analyst, Goldman Sachs; Jen Heppel ’90, associate commissioner, Big Ten Conference; Jenny Honen ’86, psychotherapist; Dr. Chris Kincaid ’83 P’18, professor of oceanography, University of Rhode Island; Dan Lynch ’80 P’11 P’14, CEO and CFO in biotech industries; Liz Lynch ’80 P’11 P’14, senior advisor for Evercore, NYC; Mike McKenna ’73, managing partner, McKenna & Partners; Jody Menard ’84, software client leader, IBM; Abbe Chatinover Miller ’79, director of Graduate Art Therapy Program, professor of psychology, Albertus Magnus College; Dr. Alison Patricelli ’90, vice president for innovation at Women’s Health USA, manager, Folly Farm Inc., founder, Breckenridge Montesorri; Jana Penders ’87; Fran Rivkin ’78, freelance business consultant and math tutor; Jane Smith ’84, senior vice president, Lubert-Adler Partners, L.P. Real Estate Funds; Lexi Turner ’83 P’18, non-profit management, community development and affordable housing proessional; Susan Webster ’77 P’18, attorney, Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP; Dr. Patricia Wetherill P’15, P’18, doctor of internal medicine and infectious diseases, Norwalk Hospital; Kate Windsor P’17, head, Miss Porter’s School; and Christina Zimmerman ’86, architect, systems analyst and mainframe manager at Cigna.

Other participants sharing their time and advice included Kate Antonucci, school social worker at Woodrow Wilson Middle School in Middletown; Justin Carbonella, youth services coordinator for the City of Middletown; Alison Monarca, school guidance counselor and former elementary school teacher in the Middletown Public Schools; Teresa Opalacz; and Quentin “Q” Phipps, community relations manager, Stamford Charter School for Excellence.

Click here to read about last year’s event.

Wesleyan’s Institute for Curatorial Practice in Performance (ICPP) has received a $100K grant from the Doris Duke Foundation.

Wesleyan’s Institute for Curatorial Practice in Performance (ICPP) has been awarded a four-year, $100,000 grant from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation to support the participation of low-income students and students of color in ICPP’s master’s and certificate programs through the ICPP Scholarship Fund.

Founded in 2010 and housed at Wesleyan’s Center for the Arts, ICPP is a center for the academic study of the presentation and contextualization of contemporary performance, and offers an interdisciplinary, graduate-level education in innovative and relevant curatorial approaches to developing and presenting time-based art. Starting in July 2015, the institute will offer a master’s degree in performance curation. ICPP’s ten-month, post-graduate certificate program is now in its fourth year.

“We are extremely grateful for the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation’s critical support for the Institute for Curatorial Practice in Performance’s expanded offerings,” said ICPP Director Samuel A. Miller ’75. “These funds will allow us to significantly enhance access to both our master’s and certificate programs.”

Claudia Kahindi ’18, left, and Olayinka Lawal ’15 will use a Davis Projects for Peace grant to launch an English education project in Kenya this summer. (Photo by Cynthia Rockwell.)

#THISISWHY

Claudia Kahindi ’18 and Olayinka Lawal ’15 have received a $10,000 Davis Projects for Peace grant to launch KIU, an English education project, in Kahindi’s home area of coastal Kenya this summer. Named for the Swahili word for “thirst,” KIU will serve more than 100 fourth-grade students at Kahindi’s alma mater, Kilimo Public Primary School, in Kenya’s Kilifi County.

Kahindi and Lawal’s project includes three components: an eight-week-long program in Kenya taught by ten to fifteen local students; ongoing classroom exposure and interaction with the English language; and a transnational language exchange with students from the Commodore Macdonough Elementary School in Middletown to promote cultural understanding and to provide Kenyan students with an ongoing opportunity to practice their English skills with native speakers.

“The Kenya we know today is no longer the one I grew up in as a child, because it is increasingly becoming a battleground,” says Kahindi, who will enter the College of Social Studies in the fall and who is the incoming vice president of the Wesleyan African Students Association. “Growing up in the community, I observed firsthand how bright futures go to waste because of people’s inability to speak English.”

“I understand all too well the importance of the English language and the leverage this international language brings to success in the global market,” says Nigeria native Lawal, a sociology major, certificate in international relations, and the outgoing president of the Wesleyan African Student Association. “As a global citizen, I believe I am responsible to foster peace in whatever capacity, in whichever area of the world demands it. Kenya is demanding peace.” Lawal is also senior co-chair for the Women of Color Collective and a dancer in Suya: The African Dance Troupe.

Now in its ninth year, Davis Projects for Peace invites undergraduates at colleges and universities in the Davis United World College Scholars Program to design grassroots projects with the objective of building peace. The Davis Projects for Peace grant has been awarded to one or more Wesleyan students each year since 2007.

Read about past Davis Projects for Peace recipients in these Wesleyan Connection articles:

Jennifer Roach ’14
Mfundi Makama ’14 and Greg Shaheen ’13
Kennedy Odede ’12 and Jessica Posner ’09
Tasmiha Khan ’12
Robert McCourt ’’08 and Nyambura Gichohi ‘’08
Jessica French Smith ’’09 and Kudakwashe Ngogodo ’’08

Click here to learn about all grants administered by the Patricelli Center for Social Entrepreneurship.

On April 21, Dione Longley ’82 spoke about her new book, Heroes for All Time: Connecticut Civil War Soldiers Tell Their Stories, co-authored by Buck Zaidel (Wesleyan University Press), in the Davison Rare Book Room at Olin Memorial Library as part of the 2015 Friends of the Wesleyan Library Annual Meeting Talk. The book uses soldiers’ letters and diaries, and written accounts by nurses, doctors, soldiers’ families, and volunteers on the home front to vividly portray the war. Hundreds of period photographs (most, previously unpublished) add to the narrative.

Longley was director of the Middlesex County Historical Society in Middletown for 20 years.  Now a public historian and writer, she lives in Higganum.

Dione Longley ’82 spoke about “Heroes for All Time: Connecticut Civil War Soldiers Tell Their Stories,” co-authored by Buck Zaidel, on April 21. (Photo by Dat Vu ’15.)

Spring weather arrived at Wesleyan this week, and both students and faculty took advantage of the warm temperatures to spend some quality time outdoors. (Photos by Laurie Kenney)

Sophie Massey ’15

Kafilah Muhammad ’18

Foss Hill

Nadya Potemkina, adjunct assistant professor of music, and grad student/fiddler Cleek Schrey

Tulip magnolia

Sarah Greizer ’16 and other members of visiting artist Adele Myers’s Modern Dance II/III class dance in front of College Row.

Harebell

Claudia Kahindi ’18 and Olayinka Lawal ’15, recipients of a Davis Projects for Peace grant, on Denison Terrace at Olin Memorial Library.

Nicky Antonellis ’17

On April 25, the Friends of the Davison Art Center presented The Big Draw: Middletown, a community celebration of drawing and workshops for all skill levels, from beginning drawers to accomplished artists, at locations across Wesleyan. Facilitated by Wesleyan art professors and students, and sponsored by the Middletown Commission on the Arts and nine local businesses, the fourth annual free event attracted more than 300 participants from almost 40 towns. (Photos by Mariah Reisner ’04 MA ’07 and Tessa Houstoun ’17)

Face painting was one of many activities offered at The Big Draw.

A sunny day meant time for both indoor and outdoor painting.

Japanese Sumi-e ink drawing, taught by Wesleyan artist-in-residence Keiji Shinohara (center), was one of several classes held during the event.

Artists of all ages connected with the natural world, drawing an array of objects, including skulls, shells, and taxidermied animals, in an elaborate still life.

More than 300 people from 40 towns took part in the event.

A young artist tries his hand at Japanese Sumi-e ink drawing.

On May 2, The Female Voice in Politics Conference brought notable and accomplished female politicians and leaders together at Daniel Family Commons in Usdan University Center to discuss the underrepresentation of women in U.S. politics and other issues facing women in the political arena today. Speakers included Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut; Connecticut State Sen. Toni Boucher; Dominique Thornton, former mayor of Middletown; Susan Bysiewicz, former Connecticut Secretary of State; Sidney Powell, attorney and author of Licensed to Lie; and Sarah Wiliarty, director of the Public Affairs Center, associate professor of government, tutor in the College of Social Sciences. The event was organized by Darcie Binder ’15 and Kevin Winnie ’16 and supported by the Government Department, Allbritton Center for the Study of Public Life, Public Affairs Center, American Studies Department, History Department, and Feminism, Gender and Sexuality Studies. (Photos by Hannah Norman ’16.)

Rosa DeLauro, U.S. Representative of Connecticut’s 3rd Congressional District, speaks to attendees at The Female Voice in Politics Conference.

Sarah Wiliarty, associate professor of government and director of the Public Affairs Center, shares her experience with conference attendees.

Former Connecticut Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz.

The conference brought notable and accomplished female politicians and leaders together to talk about the underrepresentation of women in U.S. politics.

On May 4, students from the Improvisational Forms dance class performed at various locations around campus, including inside and outside Schonberg Dance Studio, Exley Science Center and Olin Memorial Library.

Students in the movement-based class study improvisation from a number of perspectives. Improvising in so many different environments challenges the dancers’ ability to focus while exploring the “score” (prompts/rules) they have pre-set for each specific site, continuously relating to each other and to the unique architecture and nature of each space. The class is taught by Susan Lourie, adjunct professor of dance. (Photos by Laurie Kenney)

Professor John Kirn recently received a three-year $225,000 grant from the Whitehall Foundation to look at the activity patterns of vocal control neurons formed in adult zebra finches. (Photo by Olivia Drake)

#THISISWHY

It may not be the most beautiful, or the most complex, or the most well known, but the simple song of the zebra finch is helping Professor John Kirn learn more about how new information is acquired and old information preserved during adult neurogenesis.

Kirn, chair and professor of biology, recently received a three-year $225,000 grant from the Whitehall Foundation to look at the activity patterns of vocal control neurons formed in adult zebra finches. “We’re trying to get a better idea of what these new cells might be contributing,” Kirn said. “One thought is that new neurons are being added if they contribute to what a bird is trying to produce vocally. The question is, why?  What can a new neuron do better than an older one?”

The zebra finch, like other birds, experiences neurogenesis throughout its life. But while some songbirds learn many songs over the course of a lifetime, the zebra finch learns just one simple song as a juvenile, and it sings only that song for its entire life. “While the rate of neuron addition is highest when the bird is actively engaged in song learning as a juvenile, new neurons are still added when song learning is complete—and yet that one song remains consistent over the bird’s lifetime,” Kirn said. “In fact, even when we interrupt the song structure, the same song gradually comes back as new cells are added.”

While the evidence is only correlational at this point, Kirn’s most recent findings support the idea that neurogenesis may play a role in knowledge retention, as well as in new learning. “People tend to think of neurogenesis as a key to learning new things,” he said. “But it may be that new neurons not only contribute to learning, but also help to preserve memories.”

As he begins his next phase of study, Kirn is the first to admit that his avian research only indirectly relates to humans. Still, he doesn’t rule out the possibility of it someday helping to open the door to a better understanding of our own cognitive function. “Adult neurogenesis was first proven in birds, and I believe those studies helped launch the entire field of stem cell research,” Kirn said. “If we find new neurons do, in fact, help preserve information, researchers might be able to use that information to determine whether memory loss due to brain damage or neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s can be counteracted in the future.”

The Whitehall Foundation is a not-for-profit corporation focused exclusively on assisting basic research in vertebrate (excluding clinical) and invertebrate neurobiology in the United States, particularly neural mechanisms involved in sensory, motor and other complex functions of the whole organism as these relate to behavior.

Wesleyan students celebrated the end of the 2014-15 academic year during the annual Spring Fling, held May 7 on Foss Hill. Musicians included Djemba Djemba, The Julie Ruin and Jeremih. Read more about the bands in this Wesleyan Argus article.(All photos by Laurie Kenney.)

On May 8, members of the Wesleyan community gathered in the CFA Courtyard for an invigorating performance filled with the rhythms of West Africa. Performing were choreographer Iddi Saaka, artist in residence in the dance department, and master drummer Abraham Adzenyah, adjunct professor of music, together with their students in three levels of West African dance courses, plus guest artists. After almost five decades at Wesleyan, Adzenyah will retire in May 2016. To honor his cultural contributions and to recognize his rich professorial and performing legacy, alumni, students, colleagues, and friends are hoping to “drum up” enough support to raise $300,000 for an endowed scholarship in his name. (Photos by Laurie Kenney.)

Master drummer Abraham Adzenyah (center, with hat) and choreographer Iddi Saaka (directly behind Adzenyah) led their students in a West African drumming and dance performance in the CFA Courtyard on May 8.

Erika Taylor

Erika Taylor, assistant professor of chemistry, assistant professor of environmental studies, has co-authored a paper published in FEBS Letters, an international journal established for the rapid publication of final short reports in the fields of molecular biosciences.

The paper, which is an expansion of her lab’s work on the enzyme Heptosyltransferase I, is titled “Cloning and Characterization of the Escherichia coli Heptosyltransferase III: Exploring Substrate Specificity in Lipopolysaccharide Core Biosynthesis,” The paper is co-authored by her former graduate student Jagadesh Mudapaka. FEBS Letters is published by Elsevier on behalf of the Federation of European Biochemical Societies.

Through hands-on fieldwork at East New York Farms!, Kate Weiner ’15 examined urban agriculture as a political project for her thesis, “Reciprocity: Cultivating Community in Urban Agriculture.” (Photo by Laurie Kenney)

#THISISWHY
In this News @ Wesleyan story, we speak with Kate Weiner from the Class of 2015. Weiner is an anthropology and environmental studies major.

Q: Can you describe your thesis, “Reciprocity: Cultivating Community in Urban Agriculture”?

A: My thesis is an exploration of how community, identity and belonging interact in urban agricultural spaces, with my hands-on fieldwork with East New York Farms! serving as a case study for examining urban agriculture as a political project. Through melding creative non-fiction, feminist theory, community politics and environmental studies, the intention of my thesis is to provide a framework for understanding the various social, natural, socioeconomic and political factors that shape community-making within urban agriculture.

Q: How did you choose your thesis topic?

A: Arriving at my thesis subject was several years in the making. Throughout the summer of 2013, I photographed female urban farmers along the Eastern Seaboard through the support of the College of the Environment’s “Visualizing the Environment” grant. As complicated as the experience was, I left the farms deeply hopeful about the potential of urban agriculture to serve as a tool for social, economic and environmental change.

Reciprocity was at the heart of my “Visualizing the Environment” fieldwork. I was immensely grateful for the opportunity to work with these farmers and wanted a way to give back what these women had graciously given to me in time and energy. What it meant to “give back,” however, varied across farms. For the Brooklyn Grange, I wrote a grant to fund its beekeeping education program; for New Haven Farms, I helped with publicity. Deborah, the farm manager of East New York Farms! (ENYF) said that what ENYF really needed was more volunteers. Deborah and I spent the following year working together to design the Urban Farms Collaborative (UFC). With the support of the College of the Environment, we were able to fund paid internships for two Wesleyan students to assist with farming, marketing, and community outreach initiatives. Wanting to return to the farm as well, I reached out to the Anthropology Department about writing my thesis on community in urban agriculture. The Anthropology Department was able to fund fieldwork for my thesis research, and because of that I was fortunate enough to spend a richly rewarding, complicated and thought-provoking summer digging deep into the alternative food movement.

Q: How did you become interested in urban agriculture?

A: In high school, my father and I built several raised garden beds in our suburban backyard. The garden was both something that connected members of my family to one another, and gave me a sense of agency in an industrialized food system marked by environmental devastation and exploitative labor practices. Having a garden felt like a (very) small act of revolt against Big Food. And, on a basic level, I loved doing something with the people I loved. My family grew red-violet dragon carrots to share with neighbors and relished the sweetness of a ripe pear tomato during summer nights. Even though I don’t consider myself much of a farmer, I came to enjoy gardening as a personal and political endeavor.

These experiences drove me to study urban agriculture once I reached college. I was fascinated by the ways in which diverse communities were working within limited space constraints to develop nourishing sites of production. In most instances of urban agriculture, food production is only a sliver of the farm’s broader goal. The multiple functions of urban agriculture—as a means of environmental education and community engagement, as a source of food security and as a challenge to the capitalist framework—offers individuals varied entry points into cultivating a relationship with our environment, food and one another.

Q: What lessons did you learn during the course of your fieldwork?

A: We’re fed this narrative that the alternative food movement is fundamentally elitist. Without question, there are aspects of this notion that hold true. Environmental injustice is a devastating force at work in the U.S. and the world: Many of the most economically disadvantaged communities in the U.S. are also those that are experiencing the highest rates of food insecurity.

What my fieldwork taught me to challenge, however, is the idea that the bourgeoisie alternative food movement is the only food movement at work. In reality, the food movement is a pluriverse that encompasses many different kinds of perspectives. The limited perception of urban agriculture as either a bourgeois enterprise in upper-class enclaves or a charitable endeavor serving low-income persons of color in food deserts doesn’t do justice to the diversity of environmental initiatives in this country.

And we need to be vigilant about recognizing the multiplicity of the food movement because assuming it is elitist only exacerbates the problem. I have had friends and family members refuse to shop at farmers’ markets because they think that these sites of exchange are “for rich people only.” When we start to think that every farmers’ market is like the Greenmarket in Union Square (a fairly pricey farmers’ markets) we invisibilize the thousand other farmers’ markets that are serving good food at fair prices that benefit both the producer and the consumer. Maybe some of these communities don’t identify their work as “food justice.” Maybe some urban agriculturalists don’t relate to the term “farmer.” But that doesn’t mean that these individuals and initiatives aren’t active, essential participants in growing the food movement.

Q: Are there any particular moments that stand out for you as the most memorable?

A: For me, the most memorable moments during my research were almost always when watching my farm managers, Shella and Deborah, at work on the farm. Both women were so gracious and generous to passersby. Observing their compassionate approach to farming—and their willingness to engage with strangers—strengthened my understanding of urban agriculture as a site for social change. The porous boundaries of a city farm put many different people into contact with one another. I was always amazed at how my mentors navigated working at the intersection of such diverse worlds.

Q: How did your research change or broaden the meaning of community for you?

A: My experience at East New York Farms! affirmed for me just how fluid community is. We are always coming into a sense of community as our surroundings—and the people within these places—shift. I didn’t always feel like I “belonged” on the farm. In spite of this, I continually felt grateful that I got to work in this place and with these people. Communities aren’t static. There’s a potent beauty in realizing that the community you are integrated in or are seeking to integrate into is perpetually in flux. You’re always finding your footing as you are losing your ground and that is what gives us the momentum to keep growing, learning and connecting with one another.

Working on the farm taught me a lot about the necessity of compassionate critique, both in how I handled my own personal shortcomings and in how I considered urban agriculture in the context of the alternative food movement. Exercising compassion in your interactions is essential: My experience at East New York Farms! truly drove that point home.

Aletta Brady ’15 conducted firsthand interviews with leaders in three Nile basin countries for her thesis, “Freshwater Negotiation in the Nile River Basin: What Explains the Patterns of Conflict and Cooperation?” (Photo courtesy of Aletta Brady)

#THISISWHY
In this News @ Wesleyan story, we speak with C. Aletta Brady from the Class of 2015. Brady is a government major with a concentration in international politics. She is a research assistant in the Department of Government, president of the Wesleyan Chapter of Active Minds and co-chair of the Government Majors Committee.

Q: How did you choose your thesis subject?

A: Last summer when I was swimming in the Red Sea in Egypt, someone asked me why I was investigating water scarcity and transnational water cooperation. The water was turquoise and completely clear; I could see my toes. I told them that water is vital for life, and that the number of people without access to sufficient and clean freshwater is only growing. They pushed me to go deeper. I looked down at my red toenail polish surrounded by vibrant coral reefs and schools of fish. It hit me in that moment that the root of it all was that I love water. I grew up in water. I’m from Minnesota, where we have more than 10,000 lakes, and I grew up swimming, waterskiing, tubing, canoeing, skinny-dipping, fishing and floating in water. I can’t imagine my life without it. It’s my favorite drink, and it’s where I’m most alive and most at peace. So, while I have an intellectual interest in how to preserve scarce freshwater resources, at the root of it, my interest is personal.

Q: How did you become interested in the patterns of conflict and cooperation in the Nile basin?

A: My interest in the Nile basin stems from a lifelong fascination with puzzles. The Nile River is the river with the steepest uphill battle in obtaining transboundary cooperation. It runs through eleven countries (more than any other river) on its way to the Mediterranean Sea. While long, its volume is relatively small—ninety-two-times smaller than the Amazon River. Thus, the amount of water that the Nile can supply to its numerous countries is scarce. Additionally, as a shared resource, the river is prone to the Tragedy of the Commons, and all of the Nile basin states experience either physical or economic water scarcity. I wanted to understand the factors that aided and detracted from multilateral cooperation in such a religiously, politically, linguistically and ethnically diverse region.

Q: What is the “Tragedy of the Commons”?

A: The Tragedy of the Commons is an economic phenomenon where parties (states, in the case of the Nile) overutilize a shared resource until it is fully exhausted. In the absence of agreements between the states, it is rational for each state to utilize that shared resource before others do—expediting the depletion of the resource. Thus, the ability to manage transnational waters, and avoid a Tragedy of the Commons scenario, is vital to stopping freshwater systems from falling victim to overuse and exploitation. Multilateral negotiation, management and cooperation among states that share a freshwater source, are imperative to sustaining natural freshwater systems.

Q: Why did you choose to focus on the significance of individual state action and the actions of international financial institutions rather than the “usual” focus on structures of power, economic linkages and levels of water stress?

A: Throughout my research process, I examined the impact of a range of variables on transnational cooperation, including domestic policy, financial assistance from International Financial Institutions (IFIs), power relations, economic linkages and water scarcity. Using the empirical method of process tracing—understanding a causal relationship through the examination of smaller causal linkages—my research pointed to the importance of domestic policy and the role of IFIs. This is something that surprised me—because the role of individual state policy to impact the outcome of a multilateral process was largely lacking in the literature on transnational freshwater cooperation—but I ran with it.

Q: Were there times during your research when you gained new insight from a particular interview, or when a finding contradicted or strengthened your beliefs in some way?

A: There was a professor in Ethiopia who scolded me for not understanding the customs of communication. We had arranged to meet at 2 p.m. on a Tuesday, and I had sent him a couple of messages to confirm the meeting beforehand. When I didn’t hear from him, I called him an hour before our scheduled meeting just to make sure that it was still happening. When I showed up at his office, he told me to relax and to trust that plans will happen as they are arranged. He explained that my level of persistence came across as distrustful and disrespectful of the other things going on in his life. When I started to ask my prepared questions, he told me to put them away and to just talk with him. His advice to me was to not forget the colonial legacy in Nile basin countries, and to consider that cooperation means something different to the government than to the people. He told me to avoid trying to do it all, to focus in on a few key things this time around and to not be afraid to leave some of my thoughts out of my research to delve into later. I appreciated his honesty, and I was able to adjust accordingly for other interviews. My conversation with him changed the way that I conducted my research from that moment on: I allowed for more flexibility in my interviews and revisited his wisdom on cooperation many times.

My first “ah-ha” moment occurred at the beginning of my research, when I was escorted out of my first two interviews in Egypt—at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and at the Ministry of Water Resources. I hadn’t asked any questions; I had only told them that I was an American student doing thesis research on the Nile River. I didn’t even sit down with someone before security asked me to leave and walked me to the entrance of the building. Before that, I hadn’t realized just how deeply water scarcity was felt in Egypt, and just how important the issue of water management was.

Q: How did your research change or broaden your understanding of the challenges faced in the Nile basin?

A: Monumentally. When I began I just had a vague idea what it meant to attempt to allocate or jointly-manage something as vital to life as water.

My project would not have been the same without the ability to conduct firsthand interviews in three Nile basin countries. For example, an interviewee in Egypt mentioned offhand that I should focus on the role of Sudan. As I delved into this, it became clear to me that the role of mid-river states (as opposed to an upriver or downriver state) like Sudan is crucial to understanding challenges in basin cooperation. The role of mid-river states is often overlooked in literature on transboundary relations, and those states are often misclassified as either upriver or downriver states. Mid-river states feel the effects of both upriver and downriver states, and they can serve as mediators in a negotiation setting. Cooperation in the Nile basin cannot be understood without understanding the important role of Uganda and Sudan as mid-river states.

Additionally, seeing the Nile and understanding its different uses in each country was incredibly useful. For example, I didn’t understand exactly what the basin was up against until I drove along the Nile in Egypt and saw the stark line between the lush green Nile-fed land and the desert. Egypt has no stable or dependable source of water other than the Nile.

Q: Why is this research important? What does it teach us?

A: This research is important because freshwater is a finite natural resource that is only becoming scarcer. The reality is that most of the time people with the least resources are those that lose access to clean, safe freshwater first. Freshwater suffers from poor management and overallocation worldwide. Climate change will lead to inconsistent precipitation and rain levels, reduced snowpack and increased extreme weather such as floods and droughts. The combination of these things will result in insufficient quantities of water for human livelihood and development across the globe. That is why this research matters.

Ironically, the vast majority of the earth’s water is not suitable for drinking. Freshwater constitutes less than three percent of the Earth’s total water supply, and the majority of that freshwater is not available for human use. It is estimated that only .007 percent of the planet’s water is available for human usage. Understanding how states can reach cooperation around limited freshwater resources is vital to preserving them, as well as allocating them in an equitable way.

This research teaches us that specific actions taken by individual states and IFIs can impact the outcome of a basin as a whole. It also highlights the important role of mid-river states as mediators and the fact that that states should not be classified solely as upriver or downriver. This research is hopeful in that it suggests that the power structure of a basin does not have to necessarily shift in order for meaningful strides to be made towards equitable utilization of a shared water resource.

Hyo Jeong (Tina) Jung ’15 interviewed more than 40 Korean and Japanese elders for her thesis, “Conversation of Empathy: Understanding Children’s Lives During World War II in Korea and Japan through Oral History.” (Photo by Laurie Kenney)

#THISISWHY

In this News @ Wesleyan story, we speak with Hyo Jeong (Tina) Jung from the Class of 2015. She is a history major with concentrations in social movements and contemporary history, and an East Asian studies minor.

Q: How did you choose your thesis subject?

A: As a child, I grew up listening to my grandmother’s childhood stories. Koreans of her generation went through a lot—from the last phase of Japanese colonialism to the Korean War. The Japanese were the villains in her stories about the colonial period, and the general social atmosphere of the current South Korean society towards Japan and the news of the Japanese government’s irresponsible attitude toward its behavior during World War II only confirmed my negative perception of Japan.

Looking back, thinking like this was dangerous, because I generalized and accused the entire Japanese population, not just those who oppressed the Koreans and other East Asian populations during World War II.

In the spring semester of my junior year, Professor Yoshiko Samuel came to my Post-War Japan course and spoke about her childhood experience during World War II. Listening to her stories was an eye-opening experience: She spoke about the wartime governmental censorship, hunger, bombings and the lonely months of evacuation. According to Professor Samuel’s stories, many Japanese civilians were also victims of the war. Hearing her stories helped me to distinguish between the actions of the Japanese military government and the civilians during the war.

After listening to Professor Samuel’s stories, I thought juxtaposing personal narratives of Korean and Japanese experiences during World War II could create a powerful and interesting historical narrative, because of the similarities and differences in those stories. As I began this project, I imagined a conversation between my grandmother and Professor Samuel, talking about their childhoods over a cup of tea. Through the conversation, I wished both participants to discover things they did not know about each other, in order to form some kind of understanding of each other. I hoped this project would help people, especially those with a Korean and/or Japanese background, to view the Korean and Japanese histories more clearly and critically, eventually leading to more amiable diplomatic relationship between South Korea and Japan.

Q: What sparked your interest in oral history?

A: I chose oral history as my main historiographical method in this project because I like listening to stories. I feel like history becomes more personally relatable if you hear from someone who has lived through the period. Oral history became even more interesting as I began to see its historiographical significance throughout the project. The personal narratives I collected for this project revealed certain trends in national historical narratives, as there were some discrepancies between the narratives from the two countries. These discrepancies gave me a chance to further study the close relationship between memory and history, and also allowed me to reevaluate the Korean, Japanese and U.S. national historical narratives on World War II.

Q: How did you choose your interviewees?

A: The method that I used is called “snowball sampling.” In South Korea, I began by interviewing my grandparents, who then introduced me to their friends and other elders in their communities. In Japan, I used my interpreter’s personal connections: I interviewed her grandmother, great-uncle, and her family’s friends and acquaintances. During four weeks last summer, I interviewed a total of 40 elders from South Korea and Japan. The interviews kept me very busy, but interviewing was a fun and valuable experience overall. This project could not have come to fruition without the interviewees’ contributions and support.

Q: Could you share one or two particularly memorable moments from your research?

A: When I was in Japan, I had back-to-back interviews with two male Japanese elders. I interviewed them separately, but I later learned that they were at the same high school when the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. I was really shocked by this fact, because the way they described their wartime experiences at school was very different. One of the interviewees was very reserved; He didn’t say much, and he barely made any eye contact. The other interviewee was very descriptive and outspoken. He told me about the terrifying scene at the Hiroshima train station right after the atomic bomb was dropped. These interviews demonstrated that memories and personal narratives could be influenced by various personal factors, including a narrator’s personality, hometown and socioeconomic status.

Another memorable moment was when I tried to interview several Korean female elders who were hesitant to tell their stories because they considered their stories to be insignificant. They kept telling me that their stories had nothing to contribute to historical research. It took me a few minutes to convince them that their stories were important both to me and to history. After that, they were open about their stories and were eager to tell me more.

Q: Did you find discrepancies between childhood memories of the Korean and Japanese elders and the official government versions of specific events?

A: As I studied my sources, it was very interesting to find discrepancies between personal narratives (personal memory) and national historical narratives (official memory) on the events during World War II in Korea and Japan. For example, air raids toward the end of the war were extremely devastating to the Japanese economy and society at the time, and many Japanese interviewees shared their painful memories regarding the raids. It seemed like for their generation, the air raids were more of a commonly shared wartime experience than the atomic bombing because of the sheer scale and impact of those raids. However in both Japanese and the U.S. historical narratives, atomic bombings are emphasized more than the air raids. I assume that the emphasis is closely related to how the current American and Japanese governments wish to portray themselves in World War II history. I’m not saying that the atomic bombings should be less emphasized, but I think the air raids that preceded the atomic bombing should be given more attention to create a balanced historical narrative about the end of World War II in Japan.

Another example of the discrepancy between childhood memories and official government versions of events is how the end of World War II is portrayed in Korean national history. There were many Japanese residents in the Korean peninsula by the end of the war. When Japan surrendered, the Japanese residents were chased out of Korea—and many were subject to vengeful violence and material confiscation by the Koreans. Although almost all Korean interviewees mentioned this fact in their stories, the vengeful violence of the Koreans toward the former oppressor is barely mentioned in Korean history. I believe this is because this fact undermines Korea’s position as an innocent victim of colonization. While the few weeks of violence toward the Japanese in Korea at the end of the war certainly doesn’t compare to what the Japanese military did to Koreans during the colonization, the acts of violence by the Koreans toward the Japanese does not fit nicely into the historical framework that the South Korean government and society wish to establish.

Q: Do you attribute these discrepancies to the untrustworthiness of memory or to the official version as truth as shaped by those in charge—or a combination of the two?

A: I guess both personal and official memories play roles in creating the discrepancies. The discrepancies are inevitable because the two memories are from different perspectives. This inevitability makes the discrepancies crucial, as they prove that neither memory should be disregarded or dismissed as a historical source. But before we place blame on either memory for creating discrepancies, we must note that both personal and official memories are biased in their own ways. Personal memories are biased because they can be influenced by the narrator’s background. Official memories (national historical narratives) also are not objective, as they cater to a current society/community/government’s will. National historical narratives are often written in favor of the country government’s political position, both domestic and international. Using personal and official memories together in this project allowed me to see flaws and validities of both types of memories. By doing so I also learned that one could not rely on only one type of historical source when studying history, and that one needs to critically analyze historical sources when using them.

Q: What did your research teach you and why is it important?

A: This research is important because of its contribution to oral history and memory in searching for historical truth. Through personal narratives and the memories of the interviewees, I had an opportunity to explore children’s lives in Korea during the last phase of Japan’s colonization and in Japan during World War II. The project’s experimental integration of personal memories and national historical narratives demonstrates how personal memories and official memories challenge each other, and how certain aspects of history are illuminated by the challenges. This process also urges one to reconsider the role of memory in both creating and studying a historical narrative. As a historian I always try to face in the direction of historical truth. Exploring the historical challenges that I faced throughout this thesis project allowed me to step closer toward that historical truth.

The project also contributes to the current international community by suggesting an innovative way to reach a historical rapprochement between South Korea and Japan. The two countries have been engaged in historical disputes for decades, and I believe that an appropriate and critical comparison of the two nations’ histories could lead to a conversation of reconciliation.

Q: How has this experience changed you?

A: All of the interviewees were very supportive of my project, and I truly appreciated their encouragement. They asked me to tell their stories to the world so that there will be no more wars and violence. Some of them even thanked me for doing this project. My shoulders got heavier as I did more interviews, and I honestly do not think I did enough justice to the stories that I have collected, but I really hope that the interviewees know that I respect and appreciate them tremendously for sharing their memories with me.

Writing this thesis has been one of the best academic experiences I’ve had at Wesleyan; I wrote it purely out of my passion for this topic. One night I stayed up until 6:30a.m., still excited about writing my next paragraph. My thesis has been quite a journey, with many hardships and dilemmas along the way, but I grew so much as a person and a scholar through this project. I also received a lot of help from my peers and professors at Wesleyan, and I cannot thank them enough for that. I am extremely excited to take this project to the next level as I deepen my knowledge and thoughts at graduate school.

Siri Carr ’15 explored the concept of “little” in children’s literature in her thesis, “Little Do We Know: Conceptualizing the ‘Little’ in Children’s Literature.”

#THISISWHY

In this issue of News @ Wesleyan, we speak with Siri Carr ’15, who double majored in the College of Letters and Hispanic Literatures and Cultures. Carr’s thesis, Little Do We Know: Conceptualizing the “Little” in Children’s Literature, explores the concept of the “little” in children’s literature. The thesis was submitted for honors in the College of Letters.

Q: How did you choose your thesis subject?

A: The summer before junior year, I was thinking about what I could possibly write my thesis on. I really took to heart the advice that you should write about something you’ll be able to care about for an entire academic year. I had done a lot of babysitting that summer, so “children” was the first thing that came to mind. I’ve also always been an avid reader and I love literature, so I simply combined my two passions to come to the conclusion that I should study children’s literature.

Later that summer, I heard an interview with Maria Tatar, a leading scholar in the field of children’s literature who specializes in the study of fairytales. That interview confirmed the academic validity of studying children’s literature for my thesis, so I decided to enroll in Associate Professor of American Studies Indira Karamcheti’s children’s literature class, Childhood in America. While the class is quite popular and there was a huge waitlist, I persevered and received the professor’s permission to enroll.

Through that class, I was able to explore some of my ideas regarding the analysis of children’s literature, and I was inspired by an essay prompt that asked us to explain the significance of the “little” in Little House on the Prairie, Little Women, and A Little Princess. I was fascinated by how such a seemingly insignificant, extraneous word is so pervasive throughout the genre. I’ve always believed in the power of children and wanted to explore how and why we seek to define children as “little,” particularly in their literature. At the end of the semester, I shared the idea with several College of Letters professors, as well as with Professor Karamcheti, who supported the concept as a thesis subject and graciously agreed to be my thesis advisor.

Q: What did you find?

A: I found that the fact that we define children as “little” in their literature says much more about us as adults than it does about children. The “child” of children’s literature is truly an adult construction rather than a reality; we define who children are in their literature, hoping they will become the people we adults want them to be, and we pretend to know what children want or need in their literature based on our own ideas of who they are. Calling children “little” puts them always in relation to the adult: always small and young, always non-adult, and always “other.” This “little” label encapsulates children’s otherness in society by implying that children are weak, ignorant and powerless, but also exceptionally creative, curious and imaginative. As these connotations are based on adult nostalgia or didactic pressures to pass on social, moral and religious values, children’s literature serves as a social and cultural mirror, revealing to us the aspects of our society that we intentionally and unintentionally preserve in our children.

Q: Can you share an “ah-ha” moment from your research?

A: The most memorable moment actually occurred while I was talking with my advisor about my work. I had been writing too timidly and she told me, “You don’t have to think like a man, but you have to write like one.” Her words were particularly harsh to my feminist ears, but I know she meant them to be empowering. She wanted me to assert myself and to stop writing “maybe” or “perhaps”—to simply say what I needed to say without trying to accommodate my imagined future critics before I had even made any argument at all. My advisor rephrased her advice to say that I was used to being the student, but now I had to sound like the professor, and she acknowledged that it can be difficult for women in academia to assert themselves in that way. I am forever grateful to her for her advice, because it startled me into finding my voice as a writer and as a woman in academia.

Q: Do you have a favorite children’s book/author?

A: Yes, I’ve always loved Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time series, with A Wind in the Door being my true favorite of the set. I did not choose to write about any of L’Engle’s books in my thesis, probably because they are so close to my heart that I needed to keep them away from my brain. However L’Engle’s assertion that she does not write children’s literature for children but rather for herself is a notion that stuck with me throughout my writing process.

Q: In your conclusion, you talk about how while children and the elderly share this littleness trait, our societal approach to each group differs dramatically. Can you explain?

A: Studying children’s literature reflects back to who we are and what we value. Studying the concept of littleness in particular is important because being “little” is a universal state of humanity: We enter the world as young, small, weak vulnerable beings and we return to that smaller, weaker state of being in our old age. In my conclusion, I discuss how adults fear this littleness. We describe the child in terms so different and separate from ourselves in order to emphasize that we are not little and are not the many powerless connotations that it entails. But if this littleness is a state that we all universally come from, it is inevitably a part of us and always will be.

As adults, we are scared of old age and the similar type of littleness that it entails. Our bodies will shrink, we will begin to forget what we once knew and we will become ignorant again—returning to the littleness. In the final paragraphs of my thesis, I ask us to look at how we treat children versus how we treat the elderly. Children and the elderly possess a shared littleness and thus a shared otherness in society due to their age difference and their varied physical, and even mental, capabilities. But in American society we embrace and accommodate children despite their littleness, while we send the elderly away to nursing homes where others are paid to deal with their littleness. I hope that by thinking about our conceptions of the “little” and our reasons for distancing ourselves as adults from that identity, we can acknowledge both our fear of it and its universal, important role in our life experience, so that we might approach the elderly with the same love with which we approach the “little” child.

Q: What other activities were you involved in during your time at Wesleyan?

At Wesleyan, I was the student coordinator for WesInterpreters, a student group that provides free Spanish-English/English-Spanish translation and interpretation services to the Middletown community, and for the Wesleyan-Gilead Alliance, a student group that pairs Wesleyan students with members of the Middletown community who have mental illness. As a violinist, I participated in various music theses, projects, musicals and bands on campus, and I taught elementary students in Middletown’s afterschool music program. I was also one of the founding leaders of the F Holes, a student-run chamber orchestra. In past years, I volunteered at Green Street Teaching and Learning Center’s and MacDonough Elementary School’s musical mentoring programs, and I was a caller for Red & Black for a period of time.

Q: Now that you’ve graduated, what are your post-Wesleyan plans?

This summer I’ll be moving to New York City to work for Columbia University’s Summer Programs for High School Students. In August, I’ll be moving to Boston to work as a tutor and teaching resident for Match Education at Match Middle School, and to pursue a master’s in teaching through the program’s grad school.

  Students walk past them and through them during their years on campus. So how well do you know these iconic Wesleyan building entryways? Quiz yourself. The answers are below. For more information on the buildings, download the Wesleyan University Walking Tour (on which this text is based) or type m.wesleyan.edu/walkingtour into your mobile device’s browser to take a virtual walking tour!

Fayerweather

1. Fayerweather/Beckham Hall – 55 Wyllys Avenue
Built in 1894, Fayerweather originally served as the university’s gymnasium. The building, with its distinctive Romanesque towers, was designed by architect J. C. Cady, who also designed the south wing of New York City’s American Museum of Natural History, as well as buildings at Williams College and Yale University.

Allbritton Center

2. Allbritton Center – 222 Church Street
The Allbritton Center is housed in a classic Beaux Arts building designed by Charles Alonzo Rich. Completed in 1904, the building was originally a physics facility dedicated to John Scott Bell, Class of 1881. Scott Lab, as it was known, was remodeled and opened in 1984 as the Davenport Student Center, dedicated to Edith Jefferson Andrus Davenport, Class of 1897. The building was renovated again in 2007, and named for Robert Allbritton ’92.

Olin Library

3. Olin Library – 252 Church Street
The grand Georgian-style Olin Library was dedicated in 1928 to memorialize Wesleyan’s second president, Stephen Olin, and his son, Stephen H. Olin, Class of 1866, a university trustee, who was born in the President’s House on campus. Henry Bacon sketched the design of the building, and the architects were McKim, Mead & White. A 1939 addition almost doubled the size of the book stacks. In 1986, 46,000 square feet were added, allowing for the incorporation of floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Andrus Field.

Alpha Delta Phi

4. Alpha Delta Phi – 185 High Street
The colonial-style Alpha Delta Phi building, designed by Charles Alonzo Rich, was completed in 1906. A large addition was built onto the back of the house in 1925, and a new front entrance was constructed in 2005. Alpha Delta Phi, a self-governing coeducational literary society, has been offering open lectures, poetry readings, plays, and musical events since 1884, when the chapter’s first house was built on the current lot.

Center for the Arts

5. Center for the Arts – Washington Terrace
The Center for the Arts (CFA) opened in fall 1973, dedicated to studio arts, art history, film, music, theater, and dance. Made from Indiana limestone and designed by Kevin Roche of Kevin Roche, John Dinkeloo and Associates, the 11-building complex was situated to preserve the existing trees on the site and designed with underground spaces to minimize scale above ground. The complex includes studios, a graphics workshop, the Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery, Crowell Concert Hall, CFA Theater, CFA Hall, World Music Hall, and Rehearsal Hall. Click here to view upcoming CFA events.

Patricelli ’92 Theater

6. Patricelli ’92 Theater – 213 High Street
Completed in 1868 as Rich Hall, Patricelli ’92 Theater originally served as the university library. When Olin Library opened in 1928, the building was converted into a theater with a gift from the class of 1892. In 2003, the building reopened with a renovated interior and was dedicated to Leonard J. Patricelli ’29, with a gift from Robert Patricelli ’61. The theater houses Second Stage, one of the oldest student-run theater organizations in the United States, founded by Jan Eliasberg ’74.

President’s House

7. President’s House – 269 High Street
The President’s House is an Italianate residence built in 1834 that was once the home of the widow of Samuel Dickinson Hubbard, postmaster general from 1852–53. The structure began serving as the President’s House in 1904 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

Russell House

8. Russell House – 350 High Street
New Haven architect Ithiel Town designed Russell House, a stately Greek revival building that was completed in 1830 as a home for Samuel Russell, a China trading merchant, and his wife. Wesleyan received the building as a gift in 1937 and it served as the Honors College until 1996. The building was named a National Historical Landmark in 2001. Today Russell House serves as a venue for musical programs, literary readings, and lectures, including the Russell House Prose and Poetry series and Music at the Russell House series. It also houses the Philosophy Department.

Fisk Hall

9. Fisk Hall – 262 High Street
Fisk Hall, named in honor of Willbur Fisk, Wesleyan’s first president, was completed in 1904. Designed in the Romanesque style by Cady, Berg & See of New York City, it is made of Portland (Conn.) brownstone.

Downey House

10. Downey House – 294 High Street
Built in 1842 as the residence of Elihu W.N. Starr and housing the Misses Patten’s School for girls from 1889–1911, Downey House, named for Dr. David G. Downey, Class of 1884, was acquired by Wesleyan in 1922. The building served as a faculty club from 1923 to 1935. In 1936, it became a campus social center, with a campus store, post office, and dining room. It also housed The Cardinal Pub in the late 1970s. Today, Downey House houses the offices of the English, Classical Studies, and Romance Languages and Literature departments.

Zelnick Pavilion

11. Zelnick Pavillion – 217 High Street
The glass-and-steel Zelnick Pavilion, adjoined to Memorial Chapel, was dedicated in 2003 to honor the Zelnick family. The pavilion provides a reception space for the chapel and Patricelli ’92 Theater, as well as an indoor connection between the two spaces.

North College

12. North College – 237 High Street
South College and the original North College were constructed in 1825 by the city of Middletown to house Captain Partridge’s American Literary, Scientific, and Military Academy. Called the Dormitory until fall 1871, North College originally accommodated about 100 students. The old North College building was destroyed by fire in 1906. The new North College opened in 1907 as a reproduction of the original building. Administrative offices began moving in to the building in the 1950s.

Memorial Chapel

13. Memorial Chapel – 221 High Street
The nondenominational Memorial Chapel was built in 1871 to honor alumni and students who died in the Civil War. Classrooms were on the first floor, with the chapel on the second floor. In 1916, architect Henry Bacon remodeled the building into the two-story space it remains today. The chapel underwent a major renovation in 2003, dedicated to the memory of Edward Ernest Matthews, Class of 1889, by his stepdaughter. The building hosts religious services, large lectures and concerts, and weddings. It also has a 3,000-pipe Holtkamp organ and a meditation room.

Skull and Serpent

14. Skull and Serpent – 16 Wyllys Avenue
Affectionately known as “The Tomb,” the Skull and Serpent Society building was designed by Henry Bacon 1914. Founded in 1865, the secret society was the university’s oldest senior honorary organization.

University Relations

15. University Relations – 318 High Street
Built in the Greek Revival style and completed in 1842 on a portion of the Russell family estate as a home for Edward A. Russell, a foreign textile merchant and brother to Samuel Russell, the building was sold to Wesleyan in the early 1930s and used as a fraternity house for Sigma Nu and, later, Kappa Nu Kappa, before being remodeled for use by University Relations. While no one is certain, the architect of the house is thought to be either A. J. Davis or Ithiel Town.

Clark Hall

16. Clark Hall – 268 Church Street
Clark Hall, a 1916 brownstone building designed as a dormitory by Henry Bacon, is named for Judge John C. Clark, Class of 1886. In 2002, Clark underwent a complete renovation to accommodate 135 first-year students in one-room doubles.

Judd Hall

17. Judd Hall – 207 High Street
Judd Hall, an Empire-style brownstone building designed by Bryant and Rogers, was one of the first buildings in the country devoted exclusively to undergraduate science instruction. It first opened in 1871 and was named for Orange Judd, Class of 1847, a Wesleyan trustee and generous donor who supported coeducation. For a period of time, all of the building’s doors were painted orange, in homage to Judd. Today it is home to the Psychology Department.

South College

18. South College – 229 High Street
South College is the oldest building on campus. Originally called the Lyceum or the Chapel, it served as home to classrooms, an early library collection, and a chapel. In 1906, it was remodeled to contain offices and a raised entrance was built. A cupola and belfry, designed by Henry Bacon, were added in 1916. Today South College houses the President’s Office, the Office of University Communications, and the 24-bell Wesleyan Carillon.

Shanklin Laboratory

19. Shanklin Laboratory – 237 Church Street
Shanklin Laboratory was completed in 1928 and named for former Wesleyan University president William Arnold Shanklin. The building underwent major renovations from the mid-1960s through the mid-1970s.

Center for African American Studies

20. Center for African American Studies/Malcolm X House
– 343 High Street
The Center for African American Studies and Malcolm X House are both contained in a 1901 two-building complex built by Thomas MacDonough Russell and acquired by Wesleyan in 1934. After being damaged by fire in 1967, the building was renovated in 1969, and its residential section was renamed the Malcolm X House.

Photos by Olivia Drake and Laurie Kenney. Patricelli ’92 Theater photo by Jack Gorlin ’16.