Contents for October 12, 2000

News and Features

Student's legacy is tool from which others learn
A memorial service will be held this coming Saturday (Oct. 14) for a Harvard graduate student who found an opportunity to serve others under the most challenging of personal circumstances.

Ig Nobels flush out the world's top brains : Bad science gets good reputation at 10th annual prize ceremony
Amphibians would have been horrified at the goings-on at Sanders Theatre last Thursday night, as 1,200 raucous fans of bad science applauded scientific achievements that included a tadpole taste-test to see if palatability impacts predation on the infant froggies.

Ig Nobel winners

Arts-to-smarts link overblown: Researchers sing a new tune for the Mozart effect
Listening to Mozart won't raise a child's IQ, but music classes could help her or him to understand directions and diagrams. For enhancing a student's ability to speak, read, and write, drama is a better choice. Beyond that, the arts don't offer much boost to academic achievement in math or other non-arts courses.

Radcliffe to host symposium on gender
The Radcliffe Institute, celebrating its inaugural year as an institute for advanced study, will host an interdisciplinary symposium on "Gender and Inquiry" on Thursday and Friday, Oct. 12 and 13, at the Agassiz Theatre in Radcliffe Yard. The event begins with a keynote lecture on Thursday at 4 p.m. by primatologist Sarah Hrdy '68, Ph.D. '75, the acclaimed author of "Mother Nature: A History of Mothers, Infants, and Natural Selection."

'Evening of Champs' to support cancer research
Top Olympic and world-class ice skaters will continue their battle against cancer this fall as they gather to participate in "An Evening With Champions," America's premier figure skating exhibition. Hosted by 1992 Olympic silver medalist Paul Wylie, this year's performances will feature a star-studded cast including 1994 Olympic gold medalist Alexei Urmanov, 1998 Olympic silver medalists Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze, two-time U.S. national champion Scott Davis, and many more.

Brendan McGrath, 40, dies
Brendan McGrath, whom many faculty members remember as the man who found them a place to live, died Oct. 7 while scuba diving near Gloucester. The cause of death was a heart attack. McGrath was 40.

Rockefeller Center's program bridges Americas
The Robert F. Kennedy (RFK) Visiting Professor of Latin American Studies Program provides an opportunity for distinguished Latin Americans to teach at Harvard for one semester in any field.

Universities release manufacturing report
Harvard University, the University of Notre Dame, Ohio State University, the University of California, and the University of Michigan today are releasing the report of a team of independent consultants commissioned by the universities last year to gather and analyze information on apparel manufacturing.

Leadership Forum examines health disparities
"When you hear that there is a disparity between minorities and the rest of the population, believe it," says John Ruffin, the first associate director of research on minority health, of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). In his address to the Leadership Forum of the Commonwealth Fund/Harvard University Fellows (CFHUF) in minority health policy on Oct. 3, Ruffin explained that, despite voluminous data, it was a challenge to convince people who can make a difference that disparities in health and training are real.

Memorial service for Charny
A memorial service will be held for David Charny, the David Berg Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, on Thursday, Oct. 26, at 2 p.m. in the Ames Courtroom, Austin Hall, Harvard Law School, 1515 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, Mass. Charny died unexpectedly, after a brief illness, on Thursday, Aug. 31. He was a resident of Cambridge.

'Horizon' widens at Schlesinger
In her autobiography, "The Dyer's Hand," astronomer Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin, one of the first female tenured professors at Harvard, summed up the rewards of a career in science: "Do not undertake a scientific career in quest of fame or money. There are easier and better ways to reach them. Undertake it only if nothing else will satisfy you ... Your reward will be the widening of the horizon as you climb." The Schlesinger Library, which contains a wide array of resources for the study of American women in the 19th and 20th centuries, has aptly titled its current exhibition, "The Widening of the Horizon," on display through Oct. 27.

Community Service Day at HMS
The eighth annual Ebert Community Service Day will take place Thursday, Oct. 19, at 1:30 p.m. in the atrium of the Medical Education Center at Harvard Medical School. An informative afternoon of food and fun, this event is an opportunity for dental and medical students to learn how they can become involved in the community organizations and neighborhoods that surround the Harvard medical complex. Historically, students have volunteered at sites in Mission Hill, Roxbury, Dorchester, and Jamaica Plain.

Hausers' gifts boost human rights studies
Law School alumni Rita E. and Gustave M. Hauser have given Harvard University two gifts that significantly strengthen the University's capacity in the field of human rights studies. They pledged a new Chair in Human Rights and Humanitarian Law at the Law School (HLS). The first formal program in human rights at the University was launched at the Law School in 1984, which has since become a cornerstone of the University's expanding effort in this field.

Faculty

Analyst of the American Dream: Hochschild tries to untangle issues of race and education
For someone who was once sure she wanted to be a clinical psychologist, Jennifer Hochschild hasn't done too badly as a political scientist.

TV viewers a loyal group
What makes a television viewer more inclined to watch 20/20 than 60 Minutes? Do network identities play a role in the decision? And what about network promos -- do they really attract people to certain programs?

Faculty Council Notice for Oct. 11
At its third meeting of the year, the Faculty Council reviewed with Administrative Dean of the Faculty Nancy L. Maull all of the faculty's current building projects and plans. Associate Dean for Physical Resources and Planning David A. Zewinski was also present.

Sports

Crimson tennis blanks Colgate
On Oct. 6, Harvard shone against Colgate in the ECAC tennis championships.

Notes

Police Log

---

Copyright 2000 President and Fellows of Harvard College