Month: February 2017

Why Foreign-Language Study is a Good Idea for Every Student

We assume if you have reasons to learn a particular language (to study, work, travel, or live abroad or for resources not fully available in English translation), you already know why it is important. Here are reasons to study any language besides English or whatever you regard as your native language:

1. Many employers, professional schools, and graduate schools see serious study of a second language (potentially, a double-major) as evidence that you can (a) put yourself more easily in others’ (colleagues’, clients’) shoes and (b) communicate more effectively even in English.

2. You will never know your own language and culture more deeply than by studying another–by looking at it from the outside. Learning to thrive with the unfamiliar is often linked to creativity in many intellectual and professional contexts.

3. Language learning teaches you to think more clearly and sharpens your brain’s ability to make sense of the world.

4. Deep study of another culture through its language brings home how much of value will never be made available in English.

5. Puzzling out another language and culture will help you understand (and empathize with) the difficulties of non-anglophone immigrants, colleagues, clients, and travelers in the U.S., even if you never leave American shores.

6. Learning another language well makes it easier to learn any language in the future. Even if you never need this, the experience–especially if you study abroad–will make you far more confident in your ability to face any intellectual or professional challenge.

7. Foreign-language courses fit easily into study plans: offered on highly varied schedules, they provide a stimulating (and fun!) break from problem-set driven, heavy-reading or arts courses.

Wesleyan offers:
Arabic language and culture: http://www.wesleyan.edu/academics/faculty/aaissa/profile.html
American Sign Language: http://www.wesleyan.edu/lctls/courses.html
Classics (Greek and Latin): http://wesleyan.edu/classics/
East Asian Studies (Chinese, Japanese, Korean): http://wesleyan.edu/ceas/
German studies: http://wesleyan.edu/german/
Hebrew language and culture: http://www.wesleyan.edu/academics/faculty/dkatz01/profile.html
Romance Languages & Literatures (French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish): http://wesleyan.edu/romance/
Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies program: http://wesleyan.edu/russian/
Any other language: http://www.wesleyan.edu/lctls/silp.html

Do not hesitate to contact any faculty teaching these above language(s).

The Gordon Career Center has launched a new student funding initiative called the Career Development Grant. This serves as an expansion (and replacement) of the old SuitUp fund. Students can still ask for money to cover interview attire as before, but may now also request funds for things like graduate exam fees, career-related travel expenses, and professional conferences. They may request up to $500 over their time at Wesleyan. In general, students must be on need-based aid to qualify, though exceptions will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
You can read more here. Interested students are asked to contact Jacquie Fought (jfought01@wesleyan.edu) for an application, or Anne Santaniello (asantaniello@wesleyan.edu) if they have questions about what the fund covers, etc.

Student Judicial Board Due February 24

As a member of the SJB, you play a major role in caring for not only the student beside you but the Wesleyan community as a whole. This role will provide you with an opportunity to engage in inspiring and critical conversations, where you will develop skills applicable to both your time at Wesleyan and the larger world.

The Student Judicial Board is seeking to fill vacant positions with students from the Class of 2019. The position is a two-year appointment beginning in the Fall 2017 semester and continuing through the Spring 2019 semester. Please complete and submit the google application form by Friday, February 24, 2017 at 5:00 p.m. A description of the duties of the Student Judicial Board can be found in the Student Handbook at http://www.wesleyan.edu/studenthandbook/.

The Allbritton Center is delighted to present Peter Shumlin, Wesleyan class of 1979, Governor of Vermont from 2011-2017, and arguably the most progressive governor on issues of the environment in the history of the United States.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 7PM, SHANKLIN 107

From his support for dramatic expansion of wind and solar energy to the creation of a statewide Comprehensive Energy Plan with a goal of achieving 90% renewable energy in Vermont by 2050, Governor Shumlin has pioneered the development of public policy at the state level.

Governor Shumlin’s talk is entitled:

Climate Change and Public Policy: Saving the Earth at the State and Local Level.

The Friends of the Wesleyan Library are happy to announce the launch of an Undergraduate Research Prize. The research project, widely conceived, can be from any undergraduate course taken in Spring 2016, Summer 2016, Fall 2016, or Winter 2017 from currently enrolled Wesleyan students. Honors theses are not eligible.

Projects will be evaluated based on the use of Wesleyan’s library collections and resources as well as on the quality of writing and research. We are particularly interested in receiving applications that show evidence of learning about research techniques and the information-gathering process itself.

There will be two cash awards: a 1st-place prize worth $500 and a 2nd-place prize worth $250.

Instructors and librarians are encouraged to nominate students’ work; students may also self-nominate.

Please send nominations to: libfriends@wesleyan.edu.

All materials must be submitted electronically, preferably as PDF files. Applications will include:

1) Application form: https://tinyurl.com/WesLibFriendsPrize
2) Statement on the use of the Wesleyan libraries (maximum 600 words)
3) Paper/Project
4) Bibliography

The jury will be comprised of members of the Friends of Wesleyan Library board, Wesleyan librarians, and Wesleyan faculty from Arts & Humanities, Social & Behavioral Sciences, and Natural Sciences & Mathematics.

Deadline: 5pm, March 10, 2017.

You are invited to apply for a Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship.

The objective of MMUF is to address, over time, the problem of underrepresentation in the academy at the level of college and university faculties. This goal can be achieved both by increasing the number of students from underrepresented minority groups (URM) who pursue PhDs and by supporting the pursuit of PhDs by students who may not come from traditional minority groups but have otherwise demonstrated a commitment to the goals of MMUF. The MMUF program is designed to encourage fellows to enter PhD programs that prepare students for professorial careers; it is not intended to support students who intend to go on to medical school, law school, or other professional schools. For more information, visit our website at http://www.wesleyan.edu/mellon_program/ .

The application and reference form are available here; the deadline is February 22nd, 2017.

Academic Peer Advisors
The Deans’ Office is looking for talented and motivated students to become Academic Peer Advisors for the 2017-20178 academic year. Academic Peer Advisors are juniors and seniors who work during New Student Orientation (NSO) and throughout the academic year to support Wesleyan’s faculty advising program and enhance student access to academic resources. Academic Peer Advisors will receive training, give individualized peer advice and facilitate workshops for groups of students regarding metacognitive learning strategies, time management, public speaking, study, and exam preparation strategies. The Academic Peer Advisor position description and application can be found at: http://www.wesleyan.edu/studentaffairs/resources/peeradvisors/peeradvjobdesc.html

NSO Peer Advisors
The Deans’ Office is looking for talented and motivated students to become NSO Peer Advisors for the 2017-2018 academic year. NSO Peer Advisors are sophomores, juniors and seniors who work during New Student Orientation to support Wesleyan’s faculty advising program and enhance student access to academic resources. The comprehensive position description and application can be found at: http://www.wesleyan.edu/studentaffairs/resources/peeradvisors/NSOPeerAdvisorJobDesc.html

STUDENT JUDICIAL BOARD & HONOR BOARD
LEADERSHIP POSITIONS for the CLASS of 2019
Applications now available

Honor Board Due February 20

The Honor Code is integral to a vibrant and thriving community of learning, research and creativity. It is affirmed by every Wesleyan student each semester. Alleged violations of this Code are adjudicated by the Honor Board, a group of juniors and seniors serving a two-year term. The tenure of applicants selected this spring runs from the Fall 2017 through the Spring 2019 semesters.

If you are interested in helping to uphold the “intellectual honesty and academic integrity”* of the Wesleyan community, please complete and submit the application for this leadership position by Monday, February 20 at 5 p.m. Interviews for the three open positions will be held prior to Spring Break. Check out the Honor Board process and responsibilities at http://www.wesleyan.edu/studenthandbook/.

*Student Handbook 2016-2017,The Honor Code, Introduction, p. 4.

Student Judicial Board Due February 24

As a member of the SJB, you play a major role in caring for not only the student beside you but the Wesleyan community as a whole. This role will provide you with an opportunity to engage in inspiring and critical conversations, where you will develop skills applicable to both your time at Wesleyan and the larger world.

The Student Judicial Board is seeking to fill vacant positions with students from the Class of 2019. The position is a two-year appointment beginning in the Fall 2017 semester and continuing through the Spring 2019 semester. Please complete and submit the google application form by Friday, February 24, 2017 at 5 p.m. A description of the duties of the Student Judicial Board can be found in the Student Handbook at http://www.wesleyan.edu/studenthandbook/.