Wes in the News

A grant-funded prison education program created by two Wesleyan graduate students, Molly Birnbaum ‘09 and Russell Perkins ‘09, while they were undergraduates, was profiled in The New York Times. Administered in Connecticut’s Cheshire Correctional Facility, the program provides Wesleyan-level courses for selected members of the prison’s population. The inmate-participants must meet rigorous entrance requirements.

Angus McCullough ‘10, is one of seven finalists in a design competition that re-imagines the Grand Concourse in Bronx, N.Y. The competition, sponsored by the Bronx Museum of Arts and the Design Trust for Public Space, asked participants to envision a revitalization to the Concourse, which is more than 100 years old. McCullough’s design was noted in The New York Times as a concept that “touches on a critical urban subject: the intensifying battle between transparency and privacy in the public realm.” The finalists will be on exhibit in the Bronx Museum of the Arts until Jan. 3. A more extensive feature in the Wesleyan Connection on McCullough’s design can be found here.

WNPR News featured a story on Jessica Posner ‘09, Wesleyan Writing Fellow, and Kennedy Odede ‘11 and the school for girls they built over the summer in Kibera, Kenya. The school, which the two students built using a Projects for Peace Grant, is up and running.

Wesleyan students involved in The Humanitarian Free and Open Source Software (HFOSS) project have teamed with students from other institutions to create disaster management software for several volunteer agencies, including The American Red Cross, The Salvation Army and Catholic Charities USA. The free software provides a virtual emergency response center that these organizations can use immediately after a disaster to help manage aid and logistics. The Wesleyan HFOSS group, along with analogous groups from Trinity College and Connecticut College, also received part of an $1.3 million grant to create more software of this type. Wesleyan’s HFOSS group is supervised by Norman Danner, associate professor of computer science, and Daniel Krizanc, professor of computer science.

The Wesleyan Sukkah, a structure created by the 15 students enrolled in Architecture II and working in the Wesleyan research-design-build studio, has won a 2009 “Faith and Form Award” from the American Institute of Architects (AIA). The students are supervised by Elijah Huge, assistant professor of art.

Jared Radin ‘12 is among those interviewed in a Newsweek story about kids who grew up in the wake of the attacks on September 11, 2001.

Kennedy Odede ‘12 and Jessica Posner ‘09 are making progress on the school they are building in Kibera, Kenya. The students received a grant earlier this year to build the school. The school was officially dedicated on Tuesday, August 18.

Marie Mencher ‘12 and Lindsay Keys were both featured in the lastest Education Life issue of The New York Times. Mencher contributed to the “Your Story” section, which features short first person essays on elements of college life. Mencher’s essay is titled “Romance Crushed.” Keys was featured in a photo essay titled “College Life.”

Drew Dominguez ‘09 is featured in an article in The Boston Globe that details how the government major and two sport star is fulfilling a childhood dream by being signed by The Boston Red Sox. He has reported to the short season low A-level minor league Lowell Spinners.

The Boston Red Sox have signed Drew Dominguez ‘09.Dominguez is the first Wesleyan baseball player signed by a major league team in 44 years. Dominguez was an All NESCAC Player this year and broke the Wesleyan single season hits record this year – a record Dominguez set last year. He will report to the A-level minor league Lowell Spinners after signing.