Wesleyan in the News: July 2025

President Michael S. Roth ’78 was quoted in a Wall Street Journal story on the White House seeking payments from universities who it claims have failed to stop antisemitism on campus. “We’re in a world now where the government can say to all these schools, ‘Hey, we’re serious, you’re going to have to pay the piper to get along with the most powerful organization in the world,’” Roth said. “Which is the federal government.” 

Roth joined PBS NewsHour to discuss the ramifications of a recent settlement between Columbia University and the Trump administration. “It sends a chilling message across America, that if you have a late-night comedy show, a law firm, if you’re working at an educational institution…if you don’t please the President, you are at risk.” 

Roth also spoke with The Washington Post on Columbia University’s settlement with the Trump administration. “I’m filled with dismay that the federal government would be so intrusive,” Roth said. “I don’t blame Columbia for paying the ransom, but this kind of pay to play is really a threat to American colleges and universities and the freedoms that make the sector so strong.” 

Roth said he doesn’t like “government meddling in higher education with this level of specificity and potential control” in continuing coverage of the settlement by The Washington Post.  

For POLITICO Magazine, Roth wrote about institutional pressure placed on Harvard University by the current administration, and the threats to higher education in the United States.  

Roth joined the MeidasTouch Podcast to discuss his defense of higher education in the face of mounting demands from the current administration following the forced resignation of former University of Virginia President Jim Ryan. Roth also wrote a piece for the MeidasTouch newsletter on Ryan’s resignation.  

“I see this as less about UVA or about Harvard or about Wesleyan. I see it as a war on civil society. The Trump administration wants to ensure that law firms, that journalists, the entertainment industry is coming soon, that all of these groups, technology companies, all of them will express loyalty to the president and his minions,” Roth said on the MeidasTouch Podcast. “And if they don't, they will be attacked. And attacks are very costly. And I think those of us who can speak up, we may be attacked, but those of us who can speak up about this have to, because it's our freedom that's at stake.”  

Vox’s “The Gray Area” podcast interviewed Roth about the federal government’s efforts to reshape higher education in its image and its impact on the future of American colleges and universities.  

Roth’s appearance at Heterodox Academy, an annual intellectual diversity conference, was discussed in a piece from The New Yorker on institutional neutrality in higher education. 

Joseph Slaughter, assistant professor of history and of religion, wrote about capitalist enterprises tied to virtue and religion throughout American history for TIME Made by History following a recent decline in diversity, equity, and inclusion-related policies at companies in the United States. 

Forbes highlighted the work done by the Gordon Career Center to advise students on starting careers after graduation. Forbes asked for advice for future job seekers from Gordon Career Center Executive Director Sharon Belden Castonguay and Law and Social Impact Career Advisor Camille McGadney. Two themes emerged: Reframe your goals and consider a constructive delay to searching for employment like pursuing graduate education or further job training. 

The Chicago Cubs signed President of Baseball Operations Jed Hoyer ’96 to a multi-year contract extension, the team announced on July 28. Hoyer has been with the organization since 2011 and was integral in assembling the Cubs’ 2016 World Series team. Hoyer is a Wesleyan Hall of Famer, holding the single-season (7) and all-time (11) records for saves in baseball. 

The Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY announced the appointment of Jean Friedman-Rudovsky ’02 as the new executive director of its Center for Community Media. She is an award-winning investigative reporter who co-founded Resolve Philly, a collaborative, community-rooted journalism enterprise that has become a highly regarded new media outlet, in 2018. 

Associate Professor of Theater Edwin Sanchez won the Arizona Theatre Company’s 2025 National Latine Playwrights Award for his new work Lottery Boy. This is the second time Sanchez has received this award, previously winning it in 2011 for his play La Bella Familia. Sanchez’ Unmerciful Good Fortune is currently being adapted for film. 

John Spencer Camp Professor of Music, Emeritus, Anthony Braxton was named to the DownBeat Magazine Hall of Fame. The award-winning composer and musician continues to release critically acclaimed music at a rapid pace, including approximately 14 hours of published music this year alone. 

A portrait of painter David Hockney titled “Two Dogs” by artist Brenda Zlamany ’81 was featured in a piece from The Times on England’s National Portrait Gallery’s annual award. 

Andrews Professor of Economics Richard Grossman discussed the factors driving inflation with WalletHub. “Right now, inflation is not particularly high, slightly more than 2 percent vs. slightly more than 3 percent a year ago,” Grossman said. “President Trump’s threatened tariffs, however, have economists worried about the prospect of inflation increasing in the coming months.” 

Andrews Professor of Economics, Emerita, Joyce Jacobsen also appeared in WalletHub to discuss the current state of unemployment and the future job market. “It’s hard to imagine consumer and employer confidence rising any time soon,” Jacobsen said. “The best-case scenario for the year is low but positive growth rather than a turn towards recession, but 2025 may well manage to do this as the full effects of the tariffs and other administrative policies may not become clear until after the holiday season, boding less well for 2026.” 

The Week interviewed Assistant Professor of the Practice in the Bailey College of the Environment Christine Caruso for a story on New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s policy proposal to create a network of city-owned grocery stores. Caruso pointed out that the Department of Defense “one of the largest food vendors in the country.”