Campus & Community

Ken Gewertz, teacher, editor, and longtime staff writer for the Harvard University Gazette, died of cancer on Sept. 7 at his home in Watertown, Mass. He was 63. Gewertz gave 22 years of service to the University. As a reporter for the Gazette, he covered almost every aspect of life at Harvard, concentrating on the arts and the humanities.

October 1784 — Harvard awards an honorary Doctor of Laws degree to Maj. Gen. Marie-Joseph-Paul-Yves-Roch-Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette.

The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) has announced the 15th funding cycle for the Kuwait Program Research Fund, which is supported by the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS). An HKS faculty committee will consider applications for one-year grants (up to $30,000) and larger grants for more extensive proposals to support advanced research by Harvard faculty members on issues of critical importance to Kuwait and the Persian Gulf. Grants can be applied toward research assistance, travel, summer salary, and course buyout.

The Cornell Big Red, the last unbeaten team in the Ivy League, fell at the hands of a stronger, more talented Harvard Crimson team on Saturday (Oct. 11) by a score of 38-17. The Crimson (3-1; 1-1) got out to a quick 14-0 lead in the first quarter and went into the half up 28-7.

Harvard University Health Services (HUHS) will conduct free high-risk flu vaccination clinics throughout the month of October. The clinics will be held for all high-risk individuals every Monday and Tuesday (noon-3 p.m.) at HUHS on the second floor of the Holyoke Center (Monks Library). Students must have their Harvard ID to receive the vaccination.

Crimson field hockey stayed on an upswing, crushing the St. Louis Billikens (4-8) on Monday (Oct. 13) by a score of 6-0. Harvard (6-5; 1-1) jumped out of the gate early, scoring their first goal less than four minutes into the game.

Former Georgia Sen. Sam Nunn will deliver the inaugural Robert S. McNamara Lecture on War and Peace, titled “A Race Between Cooperation and Catastrophe,” at the Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) on Friday (Oct. 17).

Robert Blendon, a professor of health policy and political analysis in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), has received the Warren J. Mitofsky Award for Excellence in Public Opinion Research for 2008. Blendon, who is also a professor in the Harvard Kennedy School and director of the Harvard Program on Public Opinion and Health and Social Policy, will receive the award on Nov. 13 at a “Newseum” dinner in Washington, D.C.

The Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) has announced the following new 2008-09 research fellows. These fellows will conduct research within the Belfer Center’s Energy Technology Innovation Policy (ETIP) research project and Dubai Initiative.

Twenty Harvard University faculty members were inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS) at a ceremony at the academy on Oct. 11. The AAAS is one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious honorary societies and independent policy research centers.

A memorial service honoring the life of Julius B. Richmond will be held Oct. 27 at 10 a.m. at the Harvard Club of Boston, 347 Commonwealth Ave. A reception will follow.

Twenty-six doctoral candidates will be supported by the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs for the 2008-09 year. The associates come from a multidisciplinary group of advanced-degree candidates in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences’ departments of Anthropology, Economics, Government, History, Health Policy, Middle East Studies, Social Policy, and Sociology. All of the students are working on dissertations related to international affairs.

Women’s soccer grabs first Ivy win behind freshman’s play The Crimson held nothing back on Saturday (Oct. 4), as Harvard defeated Yale 3-1 at Ohiri Field.

If current levels of smoking and of burning biomass and coal fuel in homes continues in China, researchers estimate that between 2003 and 2033, 65 million deaths will be attributed to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and 18 million deaths to lung cancer, accounting for 19 percent and 5 percent of all deaths in that country during this period, respectively.

Following are some of the incidents reported to the Harvard University Police Department (HUPD) for the week ending Oct. 6. The official log is located at 1033 Massachusetts Ave., sixth floor, and is available online at http://www.hupd.harvard.edu.

Voting faculty from all of Harvard’s Schools and the Junior Fellows of the Society of Fellows are eligible to apply for grants from the Milton Fund, which supports original research by Harvard faculty. Milton grants have enabled hundreds of Harvard faculty, particularly assistant professors, to explore new ideas and launch innovative projects, often shaping lifelong investigative interests and scientific collaborations.

Lynn Miles will become the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) senior associate dean for Development and Alumni Relations, effective Oct. 1. As former assistant vice president for resources, director of the Leadership Gift Program, and most recently, acting vice president for resources at Wellesley College, Miles’ distinguished career in development includes playing a key role in designing and executing a highly successful campaign that raised $472.3 million — a record for liberal arts colleges.

Top world skaters will skate for a cause this weekend (Oct. 10-11) when they gather at Bright Hockey Center for the Jimmy Fund’s annual “An Evening with Champions.” Hosted by 1992 Olympic silver medalist Paul Wylie ’90, the event has raised more than $2.4 million for the Jimmy Fund, which supports adult and pediatric cancer research and care at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Oct. 14, 1763 — At the College library in Old Harvard Hall, Ephraim Briggs, Class of 1764, checks out “The Christian Warfare Against the Deuill World and Flesh” by John Downame, one of several hundred books that John Harvard had bequeathed to the College in 1638.

Stricken with scarlet fever as a young boy, David Wright grew up in a silent world. In his moving autobiography, “Deafness: A Personal Account,” the South African-born author tells that story.

At its third meeting of the year on Oct. 8, the Faculty Council discussed Dean Michael D. Smith’s upcoming letter to the Faculty and considered changes to the procedures for responding to allegations of misconduct in research. The council next meets on Oct. 29. The preliminary deadline for the Nov. 18 Faculty meeting is Nov. 3 at 9:30 a.m.

John E. Dowling, Gordon and Llura Gund Professor of Neurosciences of the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology as well as professor of Ophthalmology in Neuroscience, recently received the Paul Kayser International Award in Retina Research from the International Society for Eye Research (ISER). He received the award at the 2008 Biennial Congress held in Beijing, in addition to presenting a plenary lecture and participating in a symposium on retinal mechanisms.

Harvard University is launching a new initiative for ladder faculty designed to help professors meet their family caregiving needs while succeeding throughout their academic careers.

The Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard Kennedy School announces the following new 2008-09 research fellows. These fellows conduct research within the Belfer Center’s International Security Program (ISP).

The Harvard University Health Services (HUHS) Office of Alcohol & Other Drug Services (AODS) was named this year’s “Outstanding Leader in Prevention” by the city of Cambridge. The award recognizes the Cambridge organization/agency that has provided Cambridge with superior service in the prevention of substance abuse.

Abena Dove Osseo-Asare studies African medicinal plants, including their fate at the hands of modern science and global patent systems.

Researchers at Harvard Medical School and the University of Wisconsin, Madison, have discovered how beetles and bacteria form a symbiotic and mutualistic relationship — one that ultimately results in the destruction of pine forests. In addition, they’ve identified the specific molecule that drives this whole phenomenon.

The Harvard China Fund, under the Office of the Provost, has announced its fiscal year 2010 grants program for Harvard faculty, programs, and Schools. The purpose of the fund is to support interdisciplinary research and teaching in and about China, focus Harvard’s considerable strengths toward tackling the challenges that China faces, and improve communication and collaboration between Harvard’s faculty and Schools, and Chinese universities and research institutes.

Former Vice President Al Gore will be coming to campus on Oct. 22 for the first-ever University-wide celebration of sustainability. The event, hosted by President Drew Faust, will mark the official launch of the University’s new greenhouse gas reduction effort and will also celebrate Harvard’s broader environmental initiatives, including the critical role the University plays in teaching and research in this area.

Following are some of the incidents reported to the Harvard University Police Department (HUPD) for the week ending Sept. 29. The official log is located at 1033 Massachusetts Ave., sixth floor, and is available online at http://www.hupd.harvard.edu.