Physician and acclaimed novelist underlines immigrants’ contributions to Harvard and the nation, urges graduates to show courage, character in the face of hardship
Bert Lester Vallee, who died on May 7, 2010, was a talented trace-metal biochemist, an innovative medical educator, a pioneer in academic-industrial relationships, and a creator of ingenious organizations that promoted biomedical research and collaborative international collegiality.
Nothing about Joseph L. Henry was ordinary. In his academic career he excelled noticeably above others — as a student, teacher, department chair, dean, board member, national policy adviser, and as a mentor to many health professionals and policy makers.
Fritz Heinz Bach, a brilliant transplant immunologist and the Lewis Thomas Distinguished Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School died of a cardiac arrest on Sunday, August 14, 2011 at his home at Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts. He was 77 years old.
Roger William Jeanloz, Professor of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology emeritus at Harvard Medical School, died shortly before his 90th birthday on September 28, 2007, in the south of France where he was on holiday with his wife, Dorothea.
At a Meeting of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences on May 7, 2013, the Minute honoring the life and service of the late Heinrich Dieter Holland, Harry C. Dudley Professor of Economic Geology, Emeritus, was placed upon the records. Professor Holland was one of the founding fathers of the geochemistry of hydrothermal ore deposits.
At a Meeting of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences on March, 5, 2013, the Minute honoring the life and service of the late William N. Lipscomb, Jr., Abbott and James Lawrence Professor of Chemistry, Emeritus, was placed upon the records. Professor Lipscomb was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1976 for his studies on the structure of boranes.
Dr. Mary Ellen Avery died on December 4, 2011 at the age of 84. She was best known to the world for her ground breaking research on the cause of hyaline membrane disease (later called Respiratory Distress Syndrome), an illness that claimed the lives of an estimated 10,000 infants in the United States each year. That discovery catapulted her to leadership positions in the United States and Canada and to the highest honors offered by national societies.
Radcliffe Day featured a celebration of the arts and the award of the Radcliffe Medal to actress and arts activist Jane Alexander, as well as a panel discussion that explored the challenges artists face.
At a Meeting of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences on April 2, 2013, the Minute honoring the life and service of the late Dorrit Cohn, Ernest Bernbaum Professor of Literature, Emeritus, was placed upon the records. Professor Cohn was internationally recognized as a major literary theorist and was one of the first women to be appointed to tenure at Harvard.
At a Meeting of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences on March, 5, 2013, the Minute honoring the life and service of the late Rolla Milton Tryon, Jr., Professor of Biology, Emeritus, was placed upon the records. Professor Tryon was curator of ferns in Gray Herbarium and an authority on the taxonomy and geography of ferns and fern allies.
Dr. Mary Ellen Wohl, known internationally for her research in pediatric pulmonary diseases, passed away at age 77 in October, 2010 at Rogerson House in Jamaica Plain. Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, she had served as Chief of the Division of Respiratory Diseases at Children’s Hospital Boston for 22 years and Director of its Cystic Fibrosis Center for 19 years, saving and touching countless lives along the way.
Oprah Winfrey, the Afternoon Program’s principal speaker at Harvard’s 362nd Commencement, addressed the Class of 2013. This is the text of her speech as delivered on May 30.
Harvard Commencement speaker Oprah Winfrey addressed the Class of 2013 under sunny skies and called for them to accept failure, and then triumph over it. During the Afternoon Program, Harvard President Drew Faust recapped the year and called for increased federal funding for research universities.
Established in late 2006, the Harvard China Fund (HCF) is Harvard’s “academic venture fund” for China. In service of the entire University, it supports teaching and research on China and promotes Harvard’s presence there.
A biomedical engineering concentrator and Quincy House resident, Scott Yim’s senior project explored using naturally derived materials such as bamboo to help reduce the cost of medical devices and biomaterials in the developing world.
Carl F. Muller ’73, J.D. ’76, M.B.A. ’76, is stepping down as president of the Harvard Alumni Association and Catherine A. Gellert ’93 will take his place.
Lillian Langford, graduating with degrees from Harvard Law School and Harvard Kennedy School, plans to use her experience working in international law and human rights and her experience at Harvard to continue fighting injustice.
2012-13 was a year of inventions and ascensions, elections and projections, digitizing and prioritizing. The University also launched HarvardX, the wildly popular web learning platform.
Founded in 1973, the Edwin O. Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies (RI) promotes research on Japan and brings together Harvard faculty, students, scholars from other institutions, and visitors to create one of the world’s leading communities for the study of Japan.
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