Reminder: Last Day to Withdraw from Individual Classes – Wednesday, April 29th

Good evening!

I hope this post finds you and your family doing well. I also want to take this opportunity to remind you that the last day to withdraw from full semester and 4th quarter courses is this Wednesday, April 29th. Withdrawals will post as “Ws” on academic transcripts; I encourage you to consult Wesleyan’s academic regulations for more information. Additionally, withdrawing from a course may impact your academic standing and progress to degree completion. You should also consult the Financial Aid Office if you receive financial aid and need to withdraw from any courses. Our financial aid class contact is Alyssa Corvi.

You may request to withdraw from a course by completing and submitting the withdrawal form to me via email, copying your instructor and faculty advisor(s) to officially request their assent. I will process withdrawal requests once I have a completed form from the student and confirmation of assent from the instructor and faculty advisor(s).

Do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns in the meantime.

Wishing you and your family good health,
Dean Leathers

Shu Tokita Prize for Students of Color Studying Literature – Apps Due by 6/1

Shu Tokita Prize

For Students of Color Studying Literature

The Shu Tokita Prize, established by friends and relatives of Shu Tokita, ’84, will be awarded to a student of color majoring in literature, in area studies, or a language major with a focus on literature, who demonstrates need for substantial financial assistance. If you have any questions about whether or not you are eligible, please contact us.  Recipients will be selected on the basis of commitment to the study of literature as evidenced in the content and quality of their essays, and financial need. Awarded to one or two sophomores and/or juniors for the remainder of their time at Wesleyan, the Prize is usually $1,500 per year. The recipient(s) of the Shu Tokita Prize will receive the annual award at the start of the following fall semester, that is, for their junior and/or senior year(s).

The Prize was established in memory of Shu Tokita, Class of 1984, who passed away in January of 1989 from leukemia. He had received a B. A. in English Literature from Wesleyan University and an M. A. in Japanese Literature from Tsukuba University. He studied literature as a pursuit that spoke to his life, and from which he gained insights and, ultimately, strength. The Prize seeks to reflect Shu’s interest in literature and his belief that it should be accessible to people of all backgrounds; thus, the Prize is focused on supporting students of color, for whom the study of literature, Shu’s family and friends felt, is often considered a “luxury.” Through the Prize, we hope to encourage and assist Shu Tokita recipients in their decision to pursue literature as an academic endeavor. We hope that they will likewise share their insights and wisdom with their communities. Current Wesleyan student winners of the Shu Tokita Prize are Brynn Assignon ’20, Irmina Benson ’21, and Ericka Ekhator ’21.

ELIGIBILITY:

  1. Any domestic student of color (U.S. citizen, permanent resident, or undocumented student) who is a full-time Wesleyan sophomore or junior and is African American, Asian/Pacific American, Latino/a American, or Native American, is eligible to apply. The applicant must be in need of substantial financial aid.
  2. The applicant’s major or focus of study must be in literature. Applicants may be affiliated with the following departments: English, College of Letters, other language/literature departments, or area studies, e. g., East Asian Studies concentrating on Chinese or Japanese literature.

SELECTION CRITERIA:

The selection is based on the submitted 750-word essay on one of the two topics below, and on financial need, and not on academic standing.

Essay topics:

  1. How do you plan to use your major, or focus of study, to make literature more

accessible to people of all backgrounds?  Please offer a specific example from either your own experience or perhaps a literary text that can illustrate your views.

  1. What does literature have to offer us in this time of global pandemic?

SELECTION: Selection is based on review of applicant’s written essay and financial need.

DEADLINE for submission of applications: 5 p.m., Wednesday, June 1.

Please note:  Due to the disruptions of the pandemic, we have delayed the deadline. If you are planning to submit an application, and need more time beyond June 1st, please contact Prof Hadler.

ANNOUNCEMENT OF PRIZE WINNER:  By mid-June

TO APPLY: Prize application form is attached. For further information, please contact the campus coordinator of the Shu Tokita Prize committee, Alice Hadler, ahadler@wesleyan.edu (Downey House 209, x 2832).  Please submit your application and essay as an email attachment to Prof. Hadler by the June 1 deadline.

 

CAPS Webinar: Crisis Survival Skills for Social Distancing – 4/27

Flyer for Crisis Survival Skills for Social Distancing Webinar

 

Are you having difficulty coping with social distancing? This webinar was designed to provide you with skills to navigate the current pandemic. The information provided in this presentation was selected based on its effectiveness in helping people to manage crises . You will learn how to identify when you are in a crisis and what you can do about it. You will gain tools to help you cope with distressing thoughts, change your body chemistry, and deal with intense emotions . To guide you in creating a life worth living, these activities will also focus on helping you to tolerate distress , to change what is in your control, and to accept what you cannot change . If you are interested, please join CAPS advanced clinical psychology extern and community mental health provider Katie Burns.

Topic: Crisis Survival Skills for Social Distancing
Time: Apr 27, 2020 12:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 970 7591 6950
Password: WesCAPS

ORSL Pastoral Counseling for the Wesleyan Community

Hello Everyone,

I’m sending this message on behalf of the university chaplains. We know that this is a stressful time, and that in addition to the uncertainty of these times, many of us are dealing with the illness and loss of loved ones. The Office of Religious and Spiritual Life writes:

‘All of the chaplains at ORSL offer pastoral counseling to those who would like to connect with a confidential, nonjudgmental, listening presence. We are all comfortable working with people of any, all, or no faith backgrounds.

We have been doing this via phone and some of us via zoom for the past few weeks, and hope that people will continue to reach out to us individually.

We can be reached at: https://www.wesleyan.edu/orsl/meetchaplains.html

Rabbi David Leipziger Teva
Director, Religious and Spiritual Life
University Jewish Chaplain
Wesleyan University
860-227-5644

You may schedule a conversation with me via zoom or phone by going to calendly.com/dleipziger

Senior Interviewer Application Extension until 5/11

Dear Class of 2021,

Greetings from the New Normal.

I hope that everyone is safe, healthy, and relatively sane.  In light of the challenges of learning and working remotely, and the ever-changing circumstances both broadly and on campus, I’m writing with some updates about the hiring process and beyond.  Please bear with me, there’s a lot to cover.

You may have heard that the University has just determined there will be no campus programming or housing this summer, which effectively means no on campus summer jobs.  While campus may reopen at some point, given the nature of our work it would be irresponsible to hold information sessions numbering in the hundreds, and to hold interviews in offices with students visiting from around the country and the world.  This decision by the University, announced yesterday, was the confirmation we needed to alter and update our plans.

We are extending the deadline to accommodate anyone who was unable to file an application as a result of Covid complications, and moving the interview process to the last two weeks of May, after finals.  We will do some online training (paid) during the first week of June.  Because there will be no on-campus programming and no housing, we are not hiring summer SI’s, and are pivoting to a new model to engage with students.  Rather than hire 6 SI’s to live and work on campus, we hope to have a cohort of summer SIs, which can be much larger, to co-host virtual information sessions with deans and conduct informational conversations (as opposed to evaluative interviews) with prospective students via Skype/Zoom/Slate (our multi-faceted database).  This would obviously be remote, virtual, and paid at the SI rate, and will allow all interested SIs to participate.

When we return to campus in the fall (frankly I’m not emotionally ready to consider an alternative, and I’m working remotely from the beach…) we will complete our training, focusing on the actual on-campus interview and office responsibilities, and hopefully be in a position to welcome visitors at that point.  If not, you will continue to co-host virtual info sessions and do evaluative interviews by Skype et al.

The new deadline for the Senior Interviewer application is Monday, May 11, at 8am. I hope the extended deadline and better understanding of how we plan to utilize the Senior Interviewer corps during the crisis provides the opportunity and information you need to apply.  Here is the link once again:  https://forms.gle/MZPN2rXNE7mMDSza8

I appreciate your flexibility, patience and interest (and peace, love and understanding) as we adapt on the fly.  Please feel free to reach out directly if you have any questions or concerns, and be well.

Chris

CHRISTIAN LANSER
ASSOCIATE DEAN OF ADMISSION
Wesleyan University | Office of Admission
70 Wyllys Avenue | Middletown, CT 06459
P. 860 685-2983
facebook | website

“What a lucky man, to see the earth before it touched his hand.” – Neil Young

 

Preparing for Your Thesis Virtual Info Session Recording Now Available! 4/16

Flyer for Preparing for Your Thesis Virtual Info Session

Preparing for Your Thesis Virtual Info Session Recording

Honors-Thesis Info Session Handout

Many thanks to our panelists:

  • Tanesha Leathers, Dean for the Class of 2021, Office of Academic Advancement
  • Susan Krajewski, Senior Associate Registrar, Registrar’s Office
  • Jennifer Rose, Professor of the Practice in the Center for Pedagogical Innovation and the Quantitative Analysis Center, Director of the Center for Pedagogical Innovation , Director of the Institutional Review Board (IRB)
  • Lori Gruen, William Griffin Professor of Philosophy, Professor in Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Professor in Science in Society, Coordinator for Animal Studies
  • Andrew White, Caleb T. Winchester University Librarian, Olin Library
  • Kendall Hobbs, Research Librarian and Coordinator of Research Services, Olin Library
  • Bonnie Solivan, Academic Technologist, Information Technology Services (ITS)

Student Employment Update

Dear Members of the Wesleyan Community:

I would like to share some important information concerning the student employment program at Wesleyan.

All student employees should speak with their supervisors to determine whether remote work is possible for the positions they held prior to the transition to a remote campus. Students who can continue to work remotely should do so and, in accordance with the University’s student weekly payroll schedule, submit their hours for approval on a weekly basis.

Students who had been working to fulfill their semester’s work-study expectation, but are unable to continue to work remotely for the remainder of the semester will receive the income they were receiving prior to the move to remote learning, up to their maximum work-study allocation for the semester. Their payment will be based upon an average of the total amount of pay they already received for the spring semester (i.e., earnings received from December 16 through March 22), divided by the number of paychecks the student received, up to the student’s work-study allocation.

Supervisors who have positions for remote work available are encouraged to post these positions on the Student Employment Office website: https://www.wesleyan.edu/finaid/employment/availablepositions/index.html.

Supervisors unfamiliar with posting positions through the Student Employment Office website are encouraged to visit the supervisor FAQs: https://www.wesleyan.edu/finaid/employment/employers/studentsupervisorfaq.html. These positions will be open to any student based upon the eligibility criteria set by the supervisor.

Additional details regarding Student Employment are available in the FAQ section for students on the COVID-19 website: https://www.wesleyan.edu/healthservices/coronavirus/faq/student.html. I encourage you to review the FAQ’s for important updates on this topic.

We know the disruptions of the COVID-19 outbreak have been significant. We hope that knowing that students who were working to fulfill their need-based work obligations will continue to have income for their campus jobs will be one less source of anxiety.

Should you have questions regarding remote student employment, please direct them to Covid-19Info@wesleyan.edu or call us at 1-888-675-2011 and we will respond as quickly and thoroughly as possible.

Please stay safe and let’s continue to take care of one another.

With appreciation and best wishes,

Amin Abdul-Malik Gonzalez ‘96
Vice President & Dean of Admission and Financial Aid