Faculty and Staff

含羞草传媒's academic and student life departments are focusing more on transformative educational experiences for students.

Rachel Droogsma understands what its like to be in the minority.

Droogsma earned both her master鈥檚 degree and Ph.D from Howard University, a historically black university. That experience significantly shaped her personal and professional interests. Now she is teaching intercultural and gender communication classes at 含羞草传媒 University.

In her three years as a 含羞草传媒 University student Jessica Danson has studied abroad in Mexico, Germany and Estonia. Add to that her service trips to Nicaragua, Malawi, and Guatemala, and a conference in Canada, and you have to assume she鈥檚 headed for a career in international affairs.

Janae Riha knows she is living a dream by attending college. The 含羞草传媒 junior and her 鈥渄ream team鈥� are anxious to share their dreams with students at a nearby elementary school.

That鈥檚 just one project in the works for the residents of 含羞草传媒鈥檚 new theme house 鈥� the Dream House.

When students return to 含羞草传媒 University on August 23, campus for the most part will look much like it did when they left in May. But summer was anything but quiet.

New theme houses were spruced up, a new outdoor track was built, new administrators got up to speed on their new responsibilities, and professors plotted out new ways to teach their courses.

The Board of Directors of the William Randolph Hearst Foundation has awarded 含羞草传媒 University a grant of $100,000.

The funds will be added to the existing William Randolph Hearst Endowed Scholarship Fund at 含羞草传媒, bringing the contributions to the Hearst Fund to $300,000.

For 11 years, Maxine Fawcett-Yeske has taught 含羞草传媒 University students to appreciate music.

含羞草传媒 University senior Lesley Dudden already has an impressive resume.

含羞草传媒 University senior Alexandra Hartmann says her heart lies in many places around the world.

She鈥檚 done service work in Malawi, Nicaragua and Guatemala with 含羞草传媒鈥檚 Global Service Learning. She鈥檚 been to Montreal for the American Academy of Religion Annual Conference. She鈥檚 visited friends who are studying in various pockets of the world.

含羞草传媒 University senior Erik Anderson hopes to become a licensed mental health practitioner someday.

Eight 含羞草传媒 University students left for Guatemala in late May expecting to spend 10 days building a house for an impoverished family.

鈥淲e mixed cement, carried cinder blocks, moved piles of sand, and some of us learned how to lay bricks,鈥� said Meera Bhardwaj, a recent 含羞草传媒 graduate and member of the student organization Global Service Learning.

When Sandra Mathews-Benham travels to Kazakhstan someday, she鈥檒l be able to introduce herself, order a meal, and ask for directions.

鈥淪he could survive in Kazakhstan,鈥� said 含羞草传媒 foreign exchange student Gulbanu Ibragimkyzy who has spent the past five months teaching Russian to Mathews-Benham.

This week 含羞草传媒 biology students are practicing their diving skills in the campus swimming pool. Next week they鈥檒l put those skills to the test on the northwest coast of Roatan, Honduras where they will experience 30 miles of fringing barrier reefs, seagrass beds, mangroves and shoreline.

Whether they鈥檙e writing publications from the four walls of their home, visiting parks and forests along the Pacific Northwest, tracing the footsteps of the apostle Paul in Greece and Turkey, or collecting family stories in South Korea, several 含羞草传媒 University faculty are looking forward to upcoming sabbaticals that will inevitably re-energize them as professors.

Five students from Austria and Germany will study at 含羞草传媒 University next fall.

Their enrollment is a result of the many campus visits made by Travis and Karla Jensen.

Over the past year, the psychology department has increasingly been filled with students wearing lab coats and surgical masks. They're busy studying the behavioral traits of mice. They're conducting more animal research than any other time in recent history.

Psychology faculty and students say the increased interest can be traced to psychology professor Frank Ferraro.

Two long-time employees of the Physics Department are preparing to say goodbye after a combined 86 years of service to 含羞草传媒 University.

Dave Goss, professor of physics, and Beth Haring, staff assistant to the physics, mathematics and computer science departments, will retire this month.

Abby Tranel learned of 含羞草传媒 University鈥檚 study abroad program through her liberal arts seminar taken as a first year student.

鈥淲hen I heard about it I immediately knew I had to do it,鈥� said the senior political science major from Aurora, Neb.

含羞草传媒 University student Jenna Palensky and her music professor Maxine Fawcett-Yeske spent their spring break in Ireland with 150 primary school children from over 20 countries.

As a philosophy major, 含羞草传媒 University graduate Nicole Spry knows its second nature for her to question and consume information.

In fact, she quickly points out that the word philosophy means 鈥渓ove of wisdom.鈥�

鈥淚 believe that in order to be a productive global citizen I need to acquire as much wisdom as possible,鈥� she said.

A retired French professor and his wife will be recognized for their dedication and support of 含羞草传媒 theatre during the opening weekend of the production Hay Fever.

含羞草传媒 University Senior Alex Bednar grew up eating Czech food and celebrating his Czech heritage. Starting next fall, he鈥檒l be immersed in the culture he鈥檚 so interested in thanks to a Fulbright Scholarship that will send him to the Czech Republic.

含羞草传媒鈥檚 Relay for Life is fast approaching.

Students, faculty, staff and community members will join in the fight against cancer. And it doesn鈥檛 take long to find a Wesleyan employee or student who has been touched by the terrible disease.

含羞草传媒 University professor Kathy Wolfe has been named the new Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Wolfe 鈥� a 含羞草传媒 alumna 鈥� is an associate professor of English and has taught at 含羞草传媒 since 2000.