Campus & Community

Extending what’s become a banner year for Harvard’s athletics, the men’s and women’s track and field teams have been breaking University records left and right.

The Lowell House Speeches, initiated last year by resident tutor Sandy Alexander, are an opportunity for students to practice public discourse, while at the same time giving housemates a more personal glimpse into the lives of people they may recognize only in passing.

At a Meeting of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences on December 6, 2011, the Minute honoring the life and service of the late Ronold W. P. King, Gordon McKay Professor of Applied Physics, Emeritus, was placed upon the records. Professor King, a dedicated teacher and scholar, was an expert on linear antennas.

At a Meeting of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences on December 6, 2011, the Minute honoring the life and service of the late Allan R. Robinson, Gordon McKay Professor of Geophysical Fluid Dynamics, Emeritus, was placed upon the records. Professor Robinson’s insights into the Gulf Stream, the evolution of ocean eddies, and the dynamics of circulation in the Mediterranean Sea earned him renown in the world of oceanography.

A second-year Harvard Medical School student, Eva Mihalis ’09, recounts how having a caring mentor to help her navigate personal problems taught her how to help nurture others.

An informational note regarding Harvard’s 361st Commencement, to be held May 24, 2012.

At a Meeting of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences on December 6, 2011, the Minute honoring the life and service of the late Michael Tinkham, Rumford Professor of Physics and Gordon McKay Professor of Applied Physics in the Physics Department and the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Emeritus, was placed upon the records. Professor Tinkham was internationally known for his contributions to condensed matter physics, in particular superconductivity.

The Colonies’ first printing press, in operation by 1638, was the instrument behind New England’s first literary flowering.

Henry A. Kissinger, who served as National Security adviser and secretary of state during the Nixon and Ford administrations after 15 years as a member of the Harvard faculty, will be the featured speaker on a panel discussion in Sanders Theatre on April 11.

The Harvard men’s basketball team won the Ivy League championship outright this year — the first time in program history — and secured the Crimson’s first trip to the NCAA Men’s Division 1 Basketball Championship since 1946.

College officials are analyzing students’ Wintersession 2012 evaluations and say that the response to January’s programming was strongly positive. They credit the success of the optional period of student- and faculty-led activities to a focus on real-world knowledge and a greatly expanded schedule of offerings.

Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino and Harvard Drew President Faust celebrate the fourth round of Harvard Allston Partnership Fund grants that have infused $400,000 into 19 nonprofits.

Faculty of Arts and Sciences Dean Michael D. Smith honored the 44 recipients of the third annual Dean’s Distinction awards in a ceremony and reception March 1 in the Faculty Room of University Hall.

Two Harvard Ph.D. candidates, Itay Budin and Nicolas Chevrier, were among 13 students awarded the 2012 Harold M. Weintraub Graduate Student Award.

Gov. Deval Patrick announced the appointments of Harvard professors David J. Barron and Fernando M. Reimers to the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education.

The Harvard Medical School (HMS) Center for Primary Care announced the formation of an Academic Innovations Collaborative that will provide more than $10 million in resources over two years to nine HMS-affiliated hospital-based primary care teaching practices and eight affiliated community health practice partners.

Families of third-year undergraduates flocked to campus March 2-3 for the College’s Junior Parents Weekend. The annual program, which features tours, lectures, student performances, and advice on life after Harvard, drew nearly 600 students and more than 1,500 of their guests to Cambridge this year.

Today marked the opening of Women’s Week, a campuswide event that recognizes and celebrates the diverse organizations for women at Harvard.

Middlebury College will award Professor Christoph Wolff an honorary degree at their commencement on May 27.

Oliver McNally made four free throws in the final seconds and scored 14 of his 17 points in the second half, while Brandyn Curry drained four 3-pointers, finishing with 12 points, as the Harvard men’s basketball team clinched at least a share of its second straight Ivy League title with a 67-63 win at Cornell Saturday evening.

Keith Wright scored 16 points on 8-of-11 shooting and had eight rebounds, while Kyle Casey had 19 points, as the Harvard men’s basketball team earned a 77-70 win in overtime on the road at Columbia Friday.

Two Harvard pediatric cancer researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) and a scientist at Columbia University Medical Center have each received $100,000 Bridge Grants from a private foundation seeking to help make up for declining federal biomedical research funding.

At the Feb. 29 meeting of the Faculty Council, its members approved proposals for a Ph.D. program in education and to change the schedule of regular meetings of the Faculty in the Rules of Faculty Procedure.

Lady Gaga and her mother Cynthia Germanotta launched the Born This Way Foundation, a youth empowerment initiative, at Harvard’s Sanders Theatre on Feb. 29.

The third John Harvard Book Celebration Lecture featured Harvard doctors and best-selling authors Jerome Groopman and Pamela Hartzband, who tackled the topic “Your Medical Mind: How to Decide When Experts Disagree.” The next lecture is March 1 at the Parker Hill Branch of the Boston Public Library in Roxbury.

Nine-time Grammy winner John Legend was serenaded by Harvard singers and had a front-row seat to the student dance performances at the 27th Cultural Rhythms, an annual festival hosted by the Harvard Foundation, on Feb. 25.

Henry Ford II Professor of the Social Sciences Emeritus Ezra F. Vogel has won the 2012 Lionel Gelber Prize for his book “Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China.”

Alan Rusbridger, editor of the British-based Guardian newspaper, will address an audience of students, faculty, journalists, and members of the public on March 6 at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Five professors have been named Sloan Fellows by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

A memorial service has been set for longtime A.R.T. resident director David Wheeler, who died Jan. 4.