@SimsJames

Associate Vice President, Communications @Wesleyan_U | Prior @CTGLA @LincolnCenter @AMNH | @ColumbiaJourn Alum | Air Force Vet | "Suspected hipster" per @Gawker

 Middletown, CT
simsjames.com
Joined September 2008
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2.4KMedia
We're trying something new at @nytimes: "The Backstory," a newsletter digging into Times journalism and decision-making. We also talk to critics and skeptics of The Times in a segment called "Sound Off." You can read our first edition here: nytimes.com/2026/10/15/insid…

How We Reported on the Cornell Case

In our first edition of The Backstory, a new newsletter about Times journalism, we’re diving into coverage of a rape allegation and talking to a critic who says we’re not tough enough on Trump.

nytimes.com
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James Sims retweeted
Connecticut Post@connpostOct 20
A new Wesleyan University survey of Connecticut voters shows the one-word phrases that residents associate the state with. ctpost.com/news/article/wesl…

37% of Connecticut voters have seriously considered moving. Here's why.

A new Wesleyan University survey of Connecticut voters shows the one-word phrases that residents associate the state with.

ctpost.com
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Michael S Roth@mroth78Oct 16
"where all-male fraternities play an important role..there are just too many horror stories waiting to happen. Forcing these organizations to admit women, as well as trans &nonbinary students, can make campuses safer for all...whatever their gender" nytimes.com/2026/10/16/opini…

Opinion | Want to Address Sexual Assault? Make Fraternities Admit Women. (Gift Article)

A fellow college president warned that the blowback from my decision would end my presidency. Instead, it produced some extraordinary conversations.

nytimes.com
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James Sims retweeted
ّ@suchagoodtrickOct 16
in the end, vin scully’s words come to me. see y’all next season 💙🤍
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James Sims retweeted
CONSEQUENCE
@consequenceSep 25
U2 also debuted their new single "Silencio" during a performance at their old schoolyard at Mount Temple.
CONSEQUENCE
@consequenceSep 25
Earlier today, U2 returned to Mount Temple Comprehensive School to mark the 50th anniversary of their formation, staging a special schoolyard concert for 1,000 students and staff on the same spot where the band first performed together more than five decades ago. The seven-song setlist included their first-ever single "Out of Control."
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Michael S Roth@mroth78Sep 20
I enjoyed talking with @wesleyan_u alum @ianbassin ’98, Ho... of @protctdemocracy about the responsibility of #HigherEd to defend #AcademicFreedom and #FreeSpeech @ACEducation @aacu @TheFIREorg @AAUP youtu.be/rPKqYFEeo24?si=8J8F… via @YouTube

A Conversation with President Michael S. Roth ’78 and Ian Bassin ’98,...

At The Pearl in San Francisco, President Michael S. Roth ’78 talks ...

youtube.com
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Advertisers have spent more on pro-Rep ads than pro-Dem ads in 9 of the top 10 Senate races. Ad spending continues to accelerate, with $4B spent to date & $1B in the last month. Report by: @mmfranz, @efranklinfowler, @tnridout1 @wesleyan_u mediaproject.wesleyan.edu/re…

Republicans Outspend Democrats in Most Top Senate Races; Ohio Leads Senate and Governor Ad Spending...

Banner Year for Broadcast Ad Volume in Spite of Increased Digital Ad Spend (MIDDLETOWN, CT) September 17, 2026 – Over the past month, advertisers have spent more on pro-Republican ads than pro-Demo...

mediaproject.wesleyan.edu
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Michael S Roth@mroth78Aug 30
Local news more essential when government tries to stifle the big media outlets
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Michael S Roth@mroth78Aug 30
That’s kind of you, Joyce. Of course, I know @billmaher is a critic of #highered As a teacher and university president, that’s why I thought it important to talk with him (and his audience) about the many positive dimensions of colleges today. @wesleyan_u @aacu @ACEducation
Joyce Carol Oates
@JoyceCarolOatesAug 30
yes, I did admire Michael Roth, from Wesleyan. everything Roth said allowed the viewer to know that he actually had first-hand experience with university students & knew what he was talking about; Maher, on the other hand, has nursed a sullen resentment of undergraduates & universities generally since his "politically incorrect" humor failed to appeal to them years ago. everything about universities is filtered through the flawed scrim of his own limited experience as if that were the only criterion that matters.
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The University of Austin's syllabus for a course on freedom. What range:
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When Seth Rudetsky received an invitation to appear on Nikki Glaser’s podcast, he had no particular reason to think it wasn’t real. Not long afterward, another invitation arrived, this time supposedly from Amy Poehler’s podcast. Rudetsky actually knows Poehler, so this time he employed the most reliable authentication technology available: He asked Amy Poehler. No, she replied, she hadn’t invited him onto her podcast. Rudetsky had stumbled into an increasingly sophisticated scam in which fraudsters impersonate famous podcasters and their representatives, using flattering, highly personalized invitations — most likely composed by AI — to lure prospective guests into handing over money, login credentials or control of social media accounts. hollywoodreporter.com/news/g…
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Michael S Roth@mroth78Aug 18
Different period, similar story: "Even those who recognized that officials were not following the rule of law but instead lying to enrich themselves and attack their enemies might nevertheless have found a way to accommodate themselves to the new reality." wsj.com/arts-culture/books/h…

‘Hotel Exile’ Review: Occupiers and Survivors

The Nazis commandeered the Hotel Lutetia after capturing Paris. The hotel later became a center for those returning from the death camps.

wsj.com
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Crushed it!!!!! 👏 👏 👏 👏 👏 👸
The Daily Show
@TheDailyShowJul 28
.@KaitlanCollins on Trump's verbal attacks: "It's really not about me, and I don't want it to be about my reaction. ... In those moments it's important to put the reminder back on the work, on the question, and on the non-answers that we get."

Kaitlan Collins Responds to Trump's WHCD Jab

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Will the liberal arts degree survive the AI era? Joining “PST with Emily Dreyfuss” this week is Michael S. Roth, president of Wesleyan University since 2007, who’s seen the campus through numerous challenges, from the financial crisis to the pandemic and now to AI. Full episode: sf.news/4hma4l7
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There's a scary story going around that AI will deliver the final death blow to the college experience. Wesleyan President @mroth78 tells me why he thinks that's nonsense sfstandard.com/pacific-stand…

Will AI replace college? Wesleyan’s president says no

Wesleyan’s president on why AI threatens the lecture hall, not the college degree itself.

sfstandard.com
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James Sims retweeted
James Sims
@SimsJamesJul 16
My latest: The controversy over “Birthright” at @mcctheater has artists boycotting artists for putting difficult ideas onstage. That is not courage. It is censorship with better branding. simsjames.com/p/boycotting-a… #theatre #jewish

Boycotting a Jewish Play? Somebody Page Mel Brooks.

The uproar over "Birthright" is the latest reminder that religious offense has always followed provocative theatre—and that silencing the stage is no substitute for confronting what it has to say.

simsjames.com
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James Sims retweeted
Dileep Rao🎭@leepers500Jul 17
Replying to @SimsJames @mcctheater
You never. Never. Never Boycott a play. Protest it— by ALL MEANS. Pretending others can’t make art because you have feelings? Please. I was literally forced by the laws of our society, correctly, sadly, to watch white supremacists march in Washington DC not three weeks ago
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The Atlantic
@TheAtlanticJul 11
When Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were executed by the U.S. government, they left behind two young sons, ages 6 and 10, @AmyWeissMeyer writes. Seventy-three years later, they’re still trying to make sense of what happened. theatlantic.com/magazine/202…

The Rosenberg Boys

When Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were executed by the U.S. government, they left behind two sons, ages 6 and 10. All these years later, Robby and Michael are still trying to make sense of what...

theatlantic.com
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James Sims retweeted
Michael S Roth@mroth78Jun 27
We’ve been doing this at @wesleyan_u for some time wesleyan.edu/academics/under…

Three-Year Option

Wesleyan’s Three-Year Option offers an accelerated path to a bachelor’s degree, combining flexibility and rigorous academics.

wesleyan.edu
Richard V. Reeves
@RichardvReevesJun 27
Agreed. If students at English universities can manage it in 3 years not clear why it has to be 4 years in the U.S.
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Variety
@VarietyJun 27
When “Curb Your Enthusiasm” ended, fans worried that Larry David might be done with television. Now, he’s returned for “Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness,” a historical sketch comedy show that director Jeff Schaffer describes as “‘Curb’ in costume.” “Larry can’t sit still,” Schaffer tells Variety. “He’s like a prostitute who has sex when he’s not working.” wp.me/pc8uak-1lHrMA
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