August 19, 1947 – May 29, 2024

Alice Berliner Hadler arrived at Wesleyan in 1995, where she spent the following 25 years collaborating and cultivating international, multicultural, and transnational communities on Wesleyan’s campus and beyond. As a professor of English, she inspired clear written expression of ideas, and celebrated stories and their tellers across geographies and lived experiences.

Alice collaborated with Wesleyan’s international students, providing them with support beyond academic and administrative expectations, and building lifelong connections on the way. She was involved in a great number of initiatives on campus, from teaching courses on writing and supervising theses, to recruiting students for the Freeman Scholars program and serving on fellowships committees. Alice’s influence on Wesleyan’s students, staff, faculty, and wider community is still palpable four years even after her retirement. Her impact on the lives of her students and colleagues is beyond measure. 

Alice is survived by her husband, Jim, her three children, three grandchildren, and thousands of former students from around the world, especially from Asia and Africa. 

“Towards the end of her career at Wesleyan, Alice joined the Fries Center as senior associate director,” recalled Steve Angle, professor of philosophy and former director of the Fries Center for Global Studies. “Her whole life was an embodiment of the Fries Center’s core values of intercultural learning and multilingualism, and she became a mentor to everyone with whom she worked.”

Upon Alice’s retirement, Wesleyan established the Alice Hadler Summer Experience Grant Fund, a summer fund that is specifically dedicated for international students or students whose goal is to work, study, or live abroad. For more information on the Alice Hadler Summer Experience Grant and how you can help build on Alice’s legacy, see our FAQs.