Harvard Monthly

An electronic newsletter for Harvard alumni and alumnae
Volume 6, Number 3, March 2004
(© 2004 President and Fellows of Harvard College)

Dear Mr. Thomas F. Giordano,

We hope you enjoy this edition of Harvard Monthly, an online newsletter from the Harvard Alumni Association. This newsletter provides current news and information about the University, alumni activities, and Web-based resources.

A Conversation with Mira Nair
In a candid conversation with actor John Lithgow '67 on the stage of Sanders Theatre, acclaimed film director Mira Nair '79, winner of the ninth annual Harvard Arts Medal, recounts her creative journey. From her early days in political theater and directing award-winning documentaries, through her remarkable feature debut with Salaam Bombay! and her first forays in Hollywood, to the celebrated Monsoon Wedding, the epic Vanity Fair, and her plans to establish an international program for young filmmakers, Nair reveals the ideas and the experiences that have fueled her work and her search to capture "the extraordinariness of everyday life."

http://athome.harvard.edu/dh/cmn.html

Gender and Race: Together at Last?
Marking the 60th anniversary of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study's Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America, this all-day conference focuses on the conjunction of gender and race and how it has shaped our understandings of slavery, class stratifications, and America itself. Noted black women historians describe their endeavors to "bridge the chasm" between African American studies and women's studies and to overcome their own "marginalization" in academia.

http://athome.harvard.edu/dh/gar.html

Hasty Pudding Awards
This year's Hasty Pudding Awards go to actress Sandra Bullock and actor Robert Downey Jr. This program features video highlights from the raucous parade, roast, Pudding Pot presentation ceremony, and interviews afterward where the recipients reflect on joining the ranks of those who have made a "lasting and impressive contribution to the world of entertainment." http://athome.harvard.edu/dh/gar.html

Harvard Alumni Can Take Advantage of Savings on IBM Computers
Harvard alumni can save up to 32 percent on select ThinkCentre desktop or wireless ThinkPad notebook computers, thanks to an agreement between Harvard University and IBM. For each purchase of select IBM PCs, the Harvard Alumni Association will also make a contribution in the purchaser's honor to the University Fund for Graduate Student Aid.
Check out www.post.harvard.edu/ibm for full details about this exclusive offer for Harvard alumni.

Scott Abell is Named Associate VP, Dean for FAS Development
Scott A. Abell '72, a successful entrepreneur, philanthropist, and Harvard alumni leader, has accepted an invitation from William C. Kirby, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS), and Donella M. Rapier, Vice President for Alumni Affairs and Development, to become Associate Vice President and Dean for Development for the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.
http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2004/03.18/03-dean.html

Radcliffe Conference Explores Cultural Citizenship
Who is a citizen? Is citizenship guaranteed by a passport? Can we create citizenship with our own narratives? What is citizenship to a refugee, an immigrant, a slave, an exile, a president, a Jew in the Middle East, or an Arab in Israel?
http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2004/02.26/15-culturalcitizen.html

WIDE World Announces New Courses
WIDE World is excited to announce that it will be adding three new math courses to its list of course offerings. The three math courses, which will address the needs of elementary, middle school and high school math teachers, will be offered beginning in fall 2004. In addition to its new Math courses, WIDE will also be offering a new mini-course entitled "Differentiating Instruction" as well as a new Technology Integration Program of Study during the fall semester. The WIDE World project is a collaboration of Project Zero (PZ) and the Educational Technology Center (ETC) at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE).
http://wideworld.pz.harvard.edu

Are You a Marrow Donor?
Did you join the National Marrow Donor Program at a drive run through various student organizations at Harvard College? If so, have you updated your contact information?
Please take a moment to update your information at www.marrow.org or by calling 1-800-MARROW2.

Battit Appointed Executive Director of College Fund
Suzanne J. Battit, M.B.A. '92, has been appointed executive director of the Harvard College Fund (HCF).
As HCF executive director, Battit will be responsible for all management and strategy related to Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) reunion and annual giving. She will report to Scott Abell, the new associate vice president and dean for Development for FAS.
http://www.hno.harvard.edu/gazette/2004/03.18/04-battit.html

New Research on Challenges in a Globallized World
New research reported at an HGSE conference on globalization and education determined that U.S. elementary and secondary education must be significantly transformed to meet the challenges of an increasingly globalized world.
http://www.gse.harvard.edu/news/features/mso02262004.html

McGuinness: Northern Ireland shows the way forward through peace
On a night Martin McGuinness may have been scheduled to die in Belfast, he was instead at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, answering a student's question about what he'll do when he reaches heaven's pearly gates.
http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2004/03.18/03-sinnfein.html

Human rights Award Winner Speaks at School of Public Health
Nigerian AIDS activist Yinka Jegede-Ekpe receives 2004 Reebok Human Rights Award.
http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2004/03.18/04-reebok.html

Internet Law 2004
The Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School is pleased to offer the Internet Law Program on May 13-15, 2004. This dynamic, innovative three-day seminar will bring together the leading experts in the field with participants from all over the world to explore today's most pressing Internet issues and foster new ways of thinking about the future of the Internet. Please contact Robyn Mintz at mintz@cyber.law.harvard.edu with any questions.
http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/ilaw

Pill to Calm Traumatic Memories
Putting the mind's storehouse in order.
http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2004/03.18/01-ptsd.html

HMS, HSPH Look for Coherent, Comprehensive Line on Obesity
Amid shifting scientific data on nutrition and obesity, experts from government, industry, and academia converged on Harvard Medical School last week to discuss obesity's causes and how to craft a coherent public nutritional message.
http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2004/03.18/09-eat.html

Gene Responsible for Blood Supply Found
Researchers at Harvard-affiliated Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have pinpointed a crucial gene on which the normal development of the body's entire blood system depends.
http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2004/03.18/10-blood.html

Hormone Ties Diet to Heart Health
Harvard researchers have identified a hormone produced by fat cells as a possible link between the foods and drinks we consume and the health of our hearts.
http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2004/03.18/01-adipo.html

Travel Study: Antarctica Expedition
Join the HAA on an expedition to Antarctica, January 7-20, 2005, with Dr. Warren Zapol. A very popular lecturer, Warren is a professor at the Harvard Medical School and has traveled to Antarctica nine times with his NSF-sponsored multi-disciplinary research group to explore the diving physiology of the Weddell seal. In 2003, he was appointed to the Polar Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. We will travel aboard the luxurious "Orion", a state-of-the art 106-passenger vessel that combines the latest advances in ship design and communication technology with all the style and comfort of a fine cruise ship.
http://www.haa.harvard.edu/alumni/html/jantarctica.html