Campus & Community

A Harvard Business School class, a 12-year-old competition, and the collaboration of some of the University’s sharpest scientific and business minds have yielded a company that could save countless lives. A six-member team recently won both the Harvard Business School (HBS) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) business plan contests for their work on Diagnostics-For-All (DFA), a nonprofit that seeks to change the landscape of health care in the developing world with accurate, affordable, and easy-to-administer diagnostic devices.

Sept. 7, 1775 — The “New-England Chronicle or Essex Gazette” advertises that the Harvard Corporation and Overseers have chosen the Town of Concord as “a proper place for convening the Members of the said public Seminary of Learning” as the Revolution rages in Cambridge. Students are due in Concord by Oct. 4; probably less than 100 of the expected 125 show up. The College stays in Concord for eight months.

Longtime writer for the Harvard News Office Ken Gewertz died on Sept. 7 at his home in Watertown, Mass. He was 63.

At its first meeting of the year on Sept. 10, the Faculty Council welcomed new members, elected subcommittees for 2008-2009, and discussed the work of the council in the new academic year.

The Edmond J. Safra Foundation Center for Ethics welcomed its new fellows and senior scholars for the 2008-09 academic year. The faculty fellows were chosen from a pool of applicants from colleges, universities, and professional institutions throughout the United States and several other countries.

Given the convenience and widespread acceptance of text messaging, the University is offering this form of correspondence as another technological solution for communicating with students, faculty, and staff in the event of an extreme emergency on campus. As part of the University Emergency Management Plan, the Harvard community can now sign up to receive text message alerts in addition to traditional methods of notification.

Maude and Lillian Presley Professor of Psychiatry Emeritus Leon Eisenberg will receive the first Ibor Award from the World Psychiatric Association on Sept. 23 in Prague. Named after pioneerning Spanish psychiatrist Juan José López Ibor, the award aims to recognize individuals or institutions whose professional efforts have improved the condition of those affected by mental illnesses.

The Semitic Museum is currently seeking volunteer docents for the coming year. Docents will provide guided tours to school groups and the general public on the museum’s collection of archaeology of the ancient Near East.

Harvard University announced today (Sept. 11) that gift receipts totaled nearly $651 million last year — a $37 million increase over fiscal year 2007. Fiscal year 2008 fundraising results were the second-best in Harvard’s history, ranking only behind fiscal year 2001, when the University raised $658 million.

The Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies has announced its fellowship, prize, research travel grant, and internship recipients for the 2008-09 academic year.

CIO Magazine has named the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute a 2008 CIO 100 Award winner. The magazine presents the award to 100 organizations around the world that exemplify the highest level of operational and strategic excellence in information technology. The winners were announced in the magazine’s Aug. 15 issue.

Laurence Tribe, the Carl M. Loeb University Professor of Law, will present a talk on the U.S. Constitution at the Harvard Club of Washington, D.C. on Wednesday (Sept. 17) at 7 p.m. at the National Archives Building in Washington, D.C., where the original document is housed. The Harvard Club of Washington is hosting the event.

The second annual Conference in Quantitative Genomics will be held Sept. 23-25 at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH). Hosted by the Program in Quantitative Genomics at the School, “Emerging Quantitative Issues in Parallel Sequencing” is supported with a grant from the National Cancer Institute and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.

R. Nicholas Burns, the highest-ranking career diplomat at the U.S. Department of State until his retirement in April, has been appointed professor of the practice of diplomacy and international politics at the Harvard Kennedy School (HKS). Burns officially joined the faculty on Sept. 1. He will also serve on the board of directors at the School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.

Los Angeles-based philanthropists Eli and Edythe Broad on Sept. 4 declared the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT an unprecedented success as an experiment in science and philanthropy and announced that they have increased their total gift to the Broad by $400 million to $600 million. The $400 million will be an endowment to convert the institute — which was originally launched as a 10-year “venture” experiment — into a permanent biomedical research organization aimed at transforming medicine.

Researchers at the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT have been chosen to receive a six-year, $86 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to identify and develop molecular tools known as “small molecules,” which can probe proteins, signaling pathways, and cellular processes that are crucial to human health and disease.

The Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation and Asia Programs at Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) will announce a new partnership. Under the leadership of new institute director Tony Saich, Asia Programs became part of the Ash Institute on July 1. The new collaboration promises to leverage and expand the collective strength of both organizations.

The Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) recently announced the winners of the 2008 Innovations in American Government Awards. These six government initiatives — consisting of one city, three state, and two federal programs — were recently honored at an awards gala and reception at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C. Innovations Award winners will receive $100,000 toward replication of their initiative.

Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor of Government Michael J. Sandel was honored by the American Political Science Association Aug. 30 at the group’s annual meeting in Boston.

This fall, the Bureau of Study Counsel (BSC) will present the Harvard Course in Reading and Study Strategies. Harvard’s longest continuously running course uses readings, films, and classroom exercises to aid students in reading more purposefully and selectively, while gaining greater speed and comprehension.

On Sunday (Aug. 24), anyone near Harvard Square will hear the new bells in Lowell House ring out in concert for the first time.

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) recently announced funding in the amount of $12 million for three, new public television documentary series in which Henry Louis “Skip” Gates Jr. will explore the meaning of race, culture, and identity in America.

Following are some of the incidents reported to the Harvard University Police Department (HUPD) for the week ending Aug. 18. The official log is located at 1033 Massachusetts Ave., sixth floor, and is available online at www.hupd.harvard.edu.

Harvard-affiliated study runs in Journal of Community Psychology; Docents sought for Semitic Museum; Habitat for Humanity sale begins Aug. 23; HMS to host second ‘Freecycle’ event, donations sought; HMS to host quantitative genomics conference, poster component; Deadline for first print issue

A memorial service honoring Henry C. Moses, the former dean of freshmen, will take place Sept. 19 at 2:30 p.m. at the Memorial Church.

Harvard University Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) Dean Michael D. Smith has announced the appointment of Brett C. Sweet as FAS dean for administration and finance, effective Sept. 2.

Sharyn Bahn was appointed the associate dean for advancement at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University, effective Aug. 4.

Scholar, author, and activist Rory Stewart has been named director of the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School (HKS). Stewart will assume his new position on Jan. 1.

Harvard’s 33rd annual Senior Picnic went off without a hitch on a sun-filled Wednesday (July 30) whose warm temperatures were cooled by a gentle breeze.

Susan Carey, a Harvard psychologist whose work has explored fundamental issues surrounding the nature of the human mind, has been awarded the 2009 David E. Rumelhart Prize, given annually since 2001 for significant contributions to the theoretical foundation of human cognition.