Month: June 2016

Complete a Free Course This Summer on Responsible Conduct of Research

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As an incoming Wesleyan student, you should consider completing an online training session on responsible conduct of research at some point this summer.  Completion of this course is required of every student who participates in any kind of research on campus. Students who think they may participate in research should complete the free online training session now so that you won’t need to worry about it once you’ve started classes. The course will likely take between 45 – 90 minutes to complete.  Completion of this course satisfies the requirement for your four years at Wesleyan, and the course is free. If you have any questions, please contact Lisa Sacks at lsacks@wesleyan.edu.

Here are the instructions to complete the course on Responsible Conduct of Research:

  1. Go to:  https://www.citiprogram.org/
  2. Create your own account and select Wesleyan University as the member institution.
  3. Check the box for: Yes, I need/want to take the course on Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR).
  4. Select the subject matter that is closest to the kind research you are most likely to participate in (biomedical, social and behavioral, or physical science).

Learning and Living Seminar Program

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The Learning and Living Seminar program is designed for first-year students who want to live with seminar classmates in the same residential area.  Living in close proximity allows for intellectual discussions and collaborative learning to extend beyond the classroom, facilitating group assignments and projects, and promoting growth of community through daily interaction.  Learning and Living seminars are a subset of the first-year seminar program.  Three L&L seminars are being offered this fall:

Enthusiastic commitment is expected from students who enroll in L&L seminars since both housing and faculty advisor assignments will be based on the L&L seminar choice.  If you wish to enroll in a L&L seminar, you must submit the Learning & Living Seminar Registration Form by 5:00pm on Thursday, June 30.

First Year Seminars

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First-year seminars are writing intensive courses that introduce students to a variety of topics ranging from Greek myth to neuroscience. Some treat a specific thinker (e.g., Kafka); others provide a sweeping introduction into an interdisciplinary area of study that may be new to first-year students (e.g., animal studies). All of these seminars, however, emphasize the importance of writing at the university level. Students in first-year seminars become familiar with the methods used to collect, interpret, analyze, and present evidence as part of a scholarly argument. Faculty teaching these classes also highlight the type of writing associated with their respective disciplines, and help students develop, compose, organize, and revise their writing. All first-year seminars have assignments totaling at least 20 pages, and feature oral or written feedback on student writing; many also employ peer-mentoring and writing tutors. First-year seminars are limited to 15 students.  Click here for a complete list.

About the Academic Peer Advisors

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Over the next few weeks and months before you arrive, you’re going to be receiving a lot of emails, and all the information can become confusing. If you have questions, don’t panic. Instead, email the Academic Peer Advisors!

Wesleyan has eight Academic Peer Advisors who work one-on-one with students throughout the year to help with course registration, time management, organization, study skills, note taking, communicating with professors, and more. APAs also lead workshops for dorms and student groups.

The Academic Peer Advisors will be available to meet with you when you arrive on campus to help you finalize your schedules and introduce you to academic life at Wes.  In the meantime, check out their bios, and feel free to email them at peeradvisors@wesleyan.edu if you have any questions.

Summer Sendoffs 2016

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All members of the Wesleyan community are invited to attend Summer Sendoff gatherings.  These casual socials are hosted by alumni and parents and are the perfect opportunity to welcome our newest students and their families to Wesleyan.  Sendoffs are currently scheduled for:

  • Los Angeles, CA, July 30
  • Chicago, IL, August 1
  • West Hartford, CT, August 4
  • Bay Area, CA, August 6
  • Seattle, WA, August 7
  • Atlanta, GA, August 11
  • Mamaroneck, NY, TBD

Added locations, event details, and registration can be found on the Summer Sendoff website.

Placement Exam Information

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All new students who are interested in taking math or language courses should take the appropriate placement exams by June 30.  To access the exams, login to your student portfolio and click on “Placement Exams” in the “Orientation News & Checklist” bucket.  You will then be redirected to Moodle, where you can then choose the exams you wish to take.  

Rubye Peyser, an Academic Peer Advisor, offers some helpful advice on the placement exam process:

Meet your Class Dean

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DSCF11681Dean Phillips spends much of his time advising students – discussing academic, social, and personal challenges and achieving personal goals. He works with individual students, professors and even parents, to support students in their pursuit of a positive learning experience.

Dean Phillips provides guidance and support students to the 750 students in the Class of 2020. He’s a source of information on academic standing; major choices; graduation requirements; university policies and procedures; and services, opportunities and resources available at the university and surrounding Middletown community.

“What I like about my job is that I get to work with the whole student rather than just a particular aspect of a student’s life,” Phillips says. “That’s my mission as a class dean. I really want to get to know each student on an academic and personal level.”

Dean Phillips was born in New Haven, Connecticut, but has a special bond with the international community.  Because his father worked for the State Department as a Foreign Service Office, Dean Phillips did not grow up in the United States and considers himself an international student, having lived and attended schools in Peru, Mexico, the Philippines, New Zealand, and India before returning to the United States to attend the University of California, Santa Cruz where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Studio Art (photography and printmaking) and a master’s degree in Comparative Social History.

Dean Phillips earned his Ph.D. in American Studies from Yale University, where he wrote a dissertation entitled “Art for Industry’s Sake: Halftone Technology, Mass Photography, and the Social Transformation of American Print Culture 1880-1920.”  Prior to arriving at Wesleyan in the summer of 2000, he was an assistant professor at Bennington College, where he taught American history. With wide-ranging academic interests in social history, cultural studies, studio art, and the history of technology, Dean Phillips is well-suited to advise students across the breadth and depth of Wesleyan’s liberal arts curriculum.

When he’s not in the office, Dean Phillips enjoys cooking, working on home improvement projects, photography, duplicate bridge, playing guitar, and going for walks at the Portland reservoir.