Collections : [Wesleyan University -Special Collections and Archives]

Emilio Q. Daddario was a Connecticut congressman in the United States House of Representatives from 1959 to 1970 who was active in committees on scientific research and aerospace. He was a 1939 graduate of Wesleyan University and practiced law in Connecticut prior to running for office. He served as mayor of Middletown, Conn. from 1946 to 1948.

The Honors College, housed in Russell House, was a program for distinguished students in the Wesleyan community. In addition to informal lectures by young men and women, the Honors College hosted a series of music concerts and poetry readings by distinguished, young American poets. The poetry series at the Honors College also came to include an opportunity for Wesleyan students to share their own work for an audience. The Connecticut Poetry Circuit is a non-profit organization that provides three poetry reading programs for colleges and some preparatory schools. The intention of the circuit was to bring established yet unpublished poets to colleges and universities, as well as a competition among students throughout Connecticut to travel the circuit as student poets. The winners of the competition are chosen by a selection committee to tour the state reading their poetry. The connection between the Connecticut Poetry Circuit and Wesleyan University is that Jean Maynard, the assistant director of the Honors College, was the director of the Connecticut Poetry Circuit.

During the Vietnam War, especially in the late 1960s and early 1970s, some Wesleyan University students and faculty protested military recruiters visiting the school. In response to the controversy, Wesleyan developed a policy about military recruitment. This issue subsided with the end of the Vietnam War and the draft.

Wesleyan University restarted its dormant chapter in the American Association of University Professors with a new constitution on October 9, 1974. Over the following two decades, the chapter took part in negotiations with the administration, including University President Colin Campbell. Beginning in 1977, Nathanael Greene, Vice President for Academic Affairs, would serve as Campbell’s liaison to the AAUP. The activities of the group appear to have dropped off around 1990.

The Center for the Arts (CFA) gallery was renamed the Ezra [Wesleyan class of 1947] and Cecile Zilkha Gallery in the fall of 1982 in honor of a gift from The Zilkha Foundation, Inc. The Gallery features contemporary art installations as well as faculty and student work.

In the spring of 1974, Professor Stephen Dyson of the Wesleyan University Classics Department took his Introduction to Archaeology Class on a preliminary excavation in Middlefield, Connecticut. This was a test to see if there was potential for an archaeology class based on fieldwork. Since the success at the first excavation, Wesleyan has continued to take its students on excavations within Middlesex County, Connecticut.

The Wesleyan Student Assembly (WSA) was formed in 1978. It is the legislative and deliberative student body at Wesleyan University.

Der Deutsche Verein, or The German Club, was a student organization at Wesleyan whose purpose was to promote the learning and application of the German language.

Wesleyan University was founded in 1831 in Middletown, Conn.

William Butler Davis (1871-1937) was a graduate of the Wesleyan University class of 1894 and a musician. He served as a choirmaster, organist, and music teacher in Connecticut during his career.