Notes from Dean Brown

Note from Dean Brown–9/2/12

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Hey 2013’ers,

Welcome back to your senior year!  That “time flies” has never been truer:  I can’t believe you’re in your last year, can you?  It’s amazing—and wonderful.   You all have traveled far over the last three years and have a great year left to go.  Make the most of it! 

I hope you have had the weekend to get settled into your houses and apartments, and are ready for the start of classes tomorrow.  Many of you will start in on your capstone experience this semester—whether that be a thesis, essay, project, research, or performance—while  others look forward  to it in the spring.  Whenever you do it, it’s a great opportunity to dive headlong into focused intellectual and creative exploration and synthesis.  Go for it! 

 Drop/Add also begins tomorrow, and ends on Sept. 14.  No grading mode changes or course deletions after that.  The ten-week withdrawal period  begins on Sept. 15.   Make sure you know where you are with your credits and with any oversubscription.  Check your credit analysis, check your major certification form.  NOW is the time to identify and take care of any  problems.  You do not want to jeopardize your graduation because you are short of credits/major requirements. 

The Watson, Fulbright, Rhodes and several other scholarships/fellowships for next year have early fall deadlines.  Check out Scholarships/Fellowships, if interested, and talk with the campus liaison.  Speaking of life post-Wes, it is never too late to get into the WCC to explore your options—job? starting your own non-profit/for profit? grad school? professional school? internship? travel?  In the U.S.?  Abroad?   The possibilities are endless, which also can be overwhelming if you’re not sure what you want to do.  Contact Persephone Hall (phall@wesleyan.edu) or any other WCC staff member to set up a time to meet to start sorting things out or just wander into the WCC resource library. 

The class blog will be up and running as of Monday.  Keep an  eye out for Celebrating Students columns this week (and write about your great summer experience!!) as well as for info about the Senior Welcome Back event.

I hope you had a great summer, and are looking forward to a great senior year.  Make it count!   And don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns.  Best, Dean Brown

Note from Dean Brown: J-transfers, Major Declaration, Oversubscription, Study Abroad & Musical Madness

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Hey Class of 2013–Welcome back!  I hope that you all are looking forward to a great spring semester!  With the snow and sleet today, I’m sure you’re looking forward to sunny warm weather as well!

  J-TRANSFERS:  There are 14 January transfers joining the Wes community, 11 of whom are in the Class of 2013.  They are coming from places as diverse as Bowdoin, USC, the University of Iowa, Bunker Hill Community College, and Washington University.  Please WELCOME THEM and make them feel at home as part of your incredible, smart, talented and capable class (really, truly).

DROP/ADD:  This period begins with the start of classes on Thursday, January 20 and concludes on Wednesday, February 2.  Make sure your grading mode selection is correct!

 MAJOR DECLARATION:   As you look at your course schedule for the spring, make sure that you have the courses and pre-requisites needed to declare your major between Thursday, February 3 and Friday, March 4.  Departments and programs will sponsor Open Houses between February 7 -25.  I will send you the schedule once that has been confirmed.  The Open Houses are a great opportunity to check out a major, meet the faculty, and ask questions.   Also, Jim Kubat of the Career Resource Center will be doing another workshop on “Choosing Your Major” on February 2 at 7 p.m . in Usdan 108.  Check out as well http://www.wesleyan.edu/deans/major_declaration/ .

OVERSUBSCRIPTION:   One thing to keep in mind is the University’s regulation about oversubscription.  In order to promote a liberal arts education, the faculty put into place a regulation that limits the number of credits in each department that can be counted towards graduation.  The maximum number of credits is 16.00.  If you have over 16.00 credits in any one department, you will be “oversubscribed” in that department and those additional credits (not necessarily those particular courses) will not count towards graduation.  If courses are cross-listed, i.e., listed in more than one department or program, they will count towards oversubscription in all departments in which they are listed.  This means that if you enroll in an AMST course that is also cross-listed as a HIST course, it will count in the HIST department as a credit for purposes of oversubscription.  See the academic regulations at http://www.wesleyan.edu/registrar/AR.html .  As long as you have as many credits over 32.00 as you are oversubscribed in a department, you are okay.  However, you need to remain alert to where you are vis a vis the 16.00 credit limit in a department.   Any questions?  Come see me, and you will be hearing more about this from me as time goes on.

STUDY ABROAD:   Check NOW for programs and deadlines that you have the slightest interest in.  Due dates for apps are sooner than you think and it takes TIME to investigate all your options for the fall and/or spring of next year.  Think about how where you go and how the courses offered may play into your potential major.

MUSICAL MADNESS:  Yes, 2013 rocks and will prevail over all others at the third annual musical competition between the classes on Thursday, February 24 at 7 p.m.  The entry forms are on the class blog–https://classof2013.blogs.wesleyan.edu/.   Enter solo or as an ensemble for an acoustic, electric or a capella set with an original or cover of any musical genre—from jazz to opera, from rock to hip hop.  A faculty/staff/student panel of judges will award prizes for Best in Class and Best in Show.  Get your act together and feel the love!  Entry deadline is February 17.

COME SEE ME!:  As always, don’t hesitate to come see me with any questions or concerns you may have—or just to chat—as you move forward into your fourth semester—or  fifth semester for those of you who are December Completions 2012.  I’d love to hear what you’ve been up to and what you have been thinking about.

Glad you are back!  Best, Dean Brown

Note from Dean Brown: Withdrawal Deadline, Semester Calendar, Study Break, & Some Spring Events

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Hey 2013’ers,

Glad you’re back!  Whether you went home, to a friend’s or relative’s, or stayed on campus, I hope you had a great Thanksgiving break and are ready to dive into the last two weeks of classes.  I know it’s hard to believe that fall semester courses will end on Friday, December 10.  While certain parts of the semester may seem to go slowly, the entire period seems, in retrospect, to have zoomed by.  These last two to three weeks will telescope.  NOW is the time to get super-organized work-wise, if you haven’t already. 

The calendar for the rest of the semester is: 

  • Reading Week:  Saturday, December 11 – Tuesday, December 14 at 5 p.m. 
  • 2013 Study Break:  Monday, December 13 from  9-11 p.m., 3rd floor Allbritton
  • Finals:  Tuesday, December 14 at 7 p.m. – Saturday, December 18
  • Housing Closes:  Sunday, December 19 at noon

THE LAST DAY TO WITHDRAW FROM FULL SEMESTER AND SECOND QUARTER CLASSES IS THIS FRIDAY, DECEMBER 3 AT 5 P.M.  Talk with your professors to get a realistic sense of where you stand in your classes.  If you decide to withdraw, get the form from the Registrar’s Office or mine.  You will need to get the signature of the instructor and your faculty advisor before getting mine.  That should not be a problem since you will be consulting with both of them prior to your decision to withdraw.  I’d be more than happy to talk with you about it as well.

In addition to the great STUDY BREAK brought to you by the 2013 class council in two weeks, STAY TUNED for the 2013 DODGEBALL TOURNAMENT on Sunday, February 13 (with a new consolation round this year, so get your teams ready!) and MUSICAL MADNESS on Thursday, February 24.  (For some reason, the class of 2014 thinks they have the chops to challenge the awesome and amazing talent in the class of 2013.  What is that all about???) 

As always, check the class blog (really) and if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me either by e-mail (lsbrown@wesleyan.edu), by phone (x2758), drop-in (hours below), or appointment (x2758). 

Best, Dean Brown

Note from Dean Brown: Adjustment, MM Videos, 2013 Mural Painting, Housing

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Hey Class of 2013—

 Can you believe it?  Counting today—April 23, there are only nine more days of classes left in the spring semester!   Amazing….   

Adjustment & Ranked Enrollments:  And speaking of classes, today is the last day of adjustment.  Make sure you have four courses and have submitted all of your ranked enrollment requests.

MM Videos:  Up on the class blog (scroll below) are the videos (in order of performance) from Musical Madness 2010.  Check them out !  The Class of 2013 rocks! 

Mural Painting:  Stay tuned for info this weekend or next regarding the creation of the 2013 mural.  You bring the imagination; the 2013 Class Council supplies the paints, brushes and ice pops. 

Housing:  As you know, room selection will take place over two different nights next week.  Groups 319-450 will select on Monday (4/26) and groups 451-548 on Wednesday (4/28).  Students should report to Exeley Science Center 150 at 6 p.m.  You may only select a room that fits your group size.  So if you are a group of two, and you would like to select single rooms, you will need to split your group before you can be placed.  There will be plenty of opportunity to do splits that night, once you know whether or not single rooms are available.  Should you want to select a double room, and you are currently in a group by yourself, you will need to merge with another individual.  The new group is assigned the “worst” rank number of the two.  Rising sophomores may only form groups of one or two.  You will have the opportunity to merge groups that night as well.

Please be sure to bookmark all rooms in which you have an interest, as you will not be able to select a room that you have not bookmarked.  Know your preference of your bookmarked rooms, so that you can quickly choose from among those that are still available when it is your turn to select. 

If no one from your group is able to attend room selection night, please contact the Office of Residential Life about assigning an agent to select for you.  Feel free to contact ResLife with any additional questions at 860-685-3550. 

In Closing:  Be organized for GRS, for your end-of-semester papers, projects, and exams, and for some healthy down-time.  Don’t hesitate to come see me with questions or concerns or to strategize about workload.  You will soon have one year of college under the proverbial belt!

Best, Dean Brown

Note from Dean Brown: Withdrawal and Pre-reg Deadlines; WesFest

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Class of 2013:

Thursday, April 15 at 5 p.m. is the deadline for two important procedures—course withdrawal and pre-registration! 

1.  Withdrawal from full semester and fourth quarter courses :  You need to discuss withdrawing from a class with your instructor and faculty advisor as well as get their signatures on a withdrawal form, available from my office or the Registrar’s.  My signature is the last one you need before submitting the form to the Registrar’s Office.  I would be happy to talk with you as well if you’re deciding what to do.   

2. Pre-registration for the Fall 2010:  You need to meet with your faculty advisor—MAKE AN APPOINTMENT NOW IF YOU HAVEN’T DONE SO ALREADY—to review your course selection and finalize your schedule.  Check out the websites of majors you might be interested in and know what gateway courses you need in order to keep the doors open as you better identify your interests.  Those wanting to do pre-med and/or study abroad also need to keep an eye on course scheduling over the next few semesters.

3. WesFest:   Can you believe that last year at this time, it was YOU coming to WesFest?  Now YOU are in the position to welcome these newly-admitted students to the Wes community.  Check out the schedule at http://www.wesleyan.edu/admission/admit/wesfest/index.html and bring on the Wes spirit!     

As always, don’t hesitate to come to drop-in, if you have questions or concerns. 

Best, Dean Brown       202 North College, 860-685-2758 (office)

Drop-in Hours:  M–2-3 p.m.   T–3-4 p.m.   W–5-7 p.m.   Th–11 a.m.-noon   F–2-4 p.m.

Note from Dean Brown: Housing & Pre-registration

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Hey Class of 2013,

From meeting with so many of you recently, I know that you are back in the full swing of school after spring break.  There is much to be done as we look toward the end of the semester and next fall (already!).

HOUSING:

The housing lottery can generate a good deal of excitement as well as anxiety as you decide where you would like to live and with whom.  Just remember that whether you will be moving solo or with others, this is a small campus and everybody is close by.  Wherever you end up, be open to the opportunity to meet new people and make new friendships.  Since this is your first-time participating in the housing lottery, you may have a ton of questions.  As part of First-Year Focus, Melissa Powers, the associate director of residential life, will be available to answer them all this Thursday, April 1 in Usdan 108 from 7-8 p.m.  Stop by, get an answer, grab a snack!

PRE-REGISTRATION:

thumbnailCA66YGAZThe planning period begins on April 1 (no kidding) and closes on April 15; scheduling runs on April 16; and the adjustment period goes from April 19-23.  Make an appointment with your faculty advisor NOW, if you haven’t done so already, and be prepared for your meeting with at least eight different course preferences to discuss.

 Besides keeping in mind the balance between kind of work, days and time across the week, and course diversity, it is a good idea to include a course from a discipline in which you might want to major.  Explore these possible majors-of-interest online by going to http://www.wesleyan.edu/acaf/dept.html and clicking on the appropriate departments to get a better understanding of the major itself and a handle on major requirements.  You do not want the door closed next spring because you did not, for example, get the pre-requisite grades on two courses in PSYC or FILM, fulfill Stage 1 for GOVT, take Drawing I or another gateway course.  In your course planning, keep an eye on these kinds of things.  You also may want to consider taking some of the intro or gateway courses over the summer at Wes’ summer session.

 If you are thinking about studying abroad in your junior year and have an ambitious course agenda or are interested in a more structured major, tentatively sketch out what courses you would need to take over the next six semesters, including while abroad, to complete a potential major.  This should give you a better idea of what is feasible and also what is important to you.  However, just as the opportunity to experience living in another culture is compelling to some, the opportunity to do research on campus, work more closely with Wes faculty, take on campus leadership roles or play varsity sports is as compelling to others.   The point is to begin to think about these things now.  While it may seem a bit early to do so–it’s only your second semester!–you need to take yourselves seriously as student-scholars and plan accordingly.  Thinking ahead can enable you to formulate and realize your goals.

At the same time, keep exploring the curriculum!  You never know when you are going to discover your intellectual passion–or another one.  There is so much to learn at Wes!

IN CLOSING:

As always, check the class blog out at http://www.classof2013.blogs.wesleyan.edu for information about academics, events, announcements, and other information, and come see me if you have any questions or concerns.  My drop-in hours and other contact info are below.

Best, Dean Brown

202 North College   860-685-2758 (office)

Drop-in Hours:  M–2-3 p.m.   T–3-4 p.m.   W–5-7 p.m.   Th–11 a.m.-noon   F–2-4 p.m.

Note from Dean Brown: Important Deadlines and Events

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Hello to the Class of 2013,

A.  Wed., Feb. 3:  Drop/Add Deadline, Academic Skills Workshop, and First-Year Focus

deadline_clock1.  Yes, the 3rd is the last day to drop or add classes, so review your course schedule for accuracy and make sure you have selected the correct grading mode option.  After the 3rd, you may withdraw from courses with a “W” through April 15, but you may not change your grading mode.

2.  “How to Be a Star Student II”—Check it out at Usdan 114 from 5:30-6:15 p.m. and then move onto….

3.  The First-Year Focus program is offering an info session on “Applying for Program Housing” at 6:30 p.m. with ResLife Staff in Usdan 108.  Snacks provided.

B.  Wed., Feb. 3- Sat., Feb. 6

There are tons of events going on campus already!  Some of these are a reading by Hilton Als, our distinguished visiting writer, a performance piece by Prof. Gina Ulysse, First-Year Plays at the ’92 Theater, Black History Month’s student and faculty of color mixer, and a panel discussion about the U.N. Human Development Report on internal and international migration.  Check the class blog at www.classof2013.blogs.wesleyan.edu for more info on each.

C.  Wed., Feb. 10:  Dodgeball Tournament Entry Deadline

thumbnailCA83Z62OHave fun and fundraise at the same time!  Get a six-person team together for the “Have a Heart for Haiti” Dodgeball Tournament and fundraiser on Sun., Feb. 14 at the Bacon Field House.  Enter at www.wesleyan.edu/deans/2013council/dodgeball.html by Feb. 10.  Sponsored by the 2013 Class Council and open to all classes.  Valentine Prize for the Most Creative Team Attire.  The winning team splits the proceeds 1/3 to 2/3  with Partners in Health Haiti Relief. 

D. Thurs., Feb. 11:  Musical Madness:  Competition Between the Classes Entry Deadline

Show which class really rocks!  From opera to rock, from blues to rap, from folk to ska, perform your piece on CrowellthumbnailCAI5NB36 stage on Thurs., Feb. 18!  Prizes for Best in Class and Best in Show awarded by a distinguished panel of faculty.  So grab a couple of classmates or go on your own and enter Musical Madness by Feb. 11 at www.wesleyan.edu/deans/musicalmadness/entry.html .   Hey, if I can do it, you all can do it! 

E.  CHECK THE CLASS BLOG DAILY.   Make it easy and get it as favorite on your portfolio.  There is a variety of information posted, but you are responsible for knowing the academic and administrative info.

I hope you’re getting settled into the semester and enjoying your classes.  Please drop-in (hours below) to say hi or get your questions answered or give Susan a call to make an appointment.

Best, Dean Brown

202 North College  860-685-2758 (office)  Drop-in Hours:  M–2-3 p.m.   T–3-4 p.m.   W–5-7 p.m.   Th–11 a.m.-noon   F–2-4 p.m.

Reflections

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With the end of exams at the close of the day tomorrow, you will have one semester of college under your proverbial belt.  I hope that it was a good one for you—that you were intellectually stimulated, co-curricularly engaged and personally thumbnailCA3NHQXVchallenged in a positive way.  I also hope that the trials and tribulations of a “first” semester were balanced out by your accomplishments and joy of discovery.  And I hope that all of it made you think more critically, question more wisely, and evaluate more compassionately. 

I hope too that you will take some time over January to reflect on your semester—what you learned, where you were successful, what you could do better.  Decide to try one new activity that will get you involved in campus life in a different way. (There are so many opportunities to do so!)  Your contributions, both inside and outside the classroom, help to make Wesleyan a better place.

Note from Dean Brown

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Hello 2013’ers!

thumbnailCAETRXFRAh, the last day of classes.  Amazing how time flies.  I remember when all the cars were lined up on Andrus Field and families were trekking up loads of stuff to get you moved in on arrival day.  Soon most of you will be packing backpacks and suitcases and scattering all across the country and the globe for winter break.  In a week’s time, you will have completed one semester of college!

 But of course, between now and then, are finals and the preparatory reading days.  I hope you have planned out your work in manageable chunks, and are hitting the books, libraries, labs and studios with focused energy and confidence.  There is still time to avail yourself of the myriad academic support services, should any of those be helpful to you (www.wesleyan.edu/sarn/).  Please do not hesitate to contact me, if I can be of assistance.

 2. Class Blog:

Check out your class blog a couple of times a week.  While some of the material posted is advertising for events, other material is official information that you need to know.  So “I didn’t know” won’t fly.  Besides, you gotta check out “Celebrating Students.”  If you or a friend has had the opportunity to do something cool, achieved a goal, or accomplished a project in any field or area, let me know.  We’ll get you posted at https://classof2013.blogs.wesleyan.edu.

 3. Academic Regulations: 

Speaking of needing to know, it is your responsibility to know the academic regulations, so check them out, especially the information about Academic Standing and Academic Review at:  http://www.wesleyan.edu/deans/acregindex.html . 

4. Take a Study Break and Join in for Carols and Snacks…:thumbnailCARMVCCZ

Join members of the first-year class for some caroling on Wednesday, December 16 at 7 p.m. followed by a Study Break at 8 p.m.!  Meet at 7 p.m. on the steps of Olin to go around campus spreading some holiday cheer (lyrics provided).  The study break follows from 8-9 p.m. in Albritton 311, the new café area, with hot chocolate, coffee and cookies and is sponsored by Bon Appetit.  Whether for the singing,  a bite to eat, or both, we look forward to seeing you Wednesday evening. 

Study hard and good luck with finals!  Best, Dean Brown