Campus & Community

At the closing ceremonies of last weeks swimming and diving Ivy League championship (Feb. 23-25 at Blodgett Pool), the Harvard women took to the podium to collect their trophy. Thing is, it wasnt exactly the prize they had set out to win. That prize – the 2006 Ivy League Womens Swimming and Diving Championship – went to Princeton, who bettered the defending champion hosts by 135 points after three days of aquatics.

The Fromm Foundation and the Harvard University Department of Music are proud to present this years Fromm Festival, a free concert series running March 10-12 in the John Knowles Paine Concert Hall. Curated by composer Hans Tutschku, the concerts are part of an impetus to program work that would otherwise not be seen in the Boston area. The theme of this years festival is e l e c t r o n I c s.

The Harvard Foundation of Harvard University has selected acclaimed fashion designer and philanthropist Tommy Hilfiger as its 2006 Harvard Foundation Humanitarian Award winner. Hilfiger will receive the award and deliver the Peter J. Gomes Humanitarian Lecture at the Memorial Church on March 7 at 7:30 p.m.

Robert Blackwill, former U.S. ambassador to India, called for further strengthening the ties between the two countries during a discussion at the Kennedy School Forum Monday night (Feb. 27). Blackwills forum appearance comes as President Bush prepared to travel to India this week for meetings with top Indian leaders.

A top Pakistani official gave voice to the frustration the South Asian nation feels in its relations with the United States Friday (Feb. 24), saying that though Pakistan has been a staunch U.S. ally, the United States ignores Pakistan until its interests force its attention there.

Provost Steven E. Hyman of Harvard University and Charles W. Grim, assistant surgeon general and director of the Indian Health Service (IHS), have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to identify areas of collaboration to improve the health and wellness of American Indian and Alaska Native people and communities. The signing took place Feb. 21 in historic Massachusetts Hall, near the site of the Harvard Indian College, which was built in 1655.

With the success of TVs Dancing with the Stars, ballroom dance has become something of a national craze. That craze will soon sweep over Cambridge, courtesy of the Harvard University Ballroom Dance Team. Longtime devotees to this graceful dance style, the team will celebrate its 15th annual invitational – one of the largest and most prestigious competitions in the nation – on March 11-12 at the Malkin Athletic Center (MAC).

The Boston Ballet came to Harvard last week (Feb. 23) to present a preview of the ambitious program its presenting later this month (March 16-26) at the Wang Center: an extravaganza the company is unabashedly calling Grand Slam: Four Powerful Works, Four Intriguing Choreographers.

William H. Sweet, Professor of Surgery, Emeritus, Harvard Medical School and former Chief of the Neurosurgical Service, Massachusetts General Hospital, died on January 22, 2001. He was 90 and had had a career matched by few others in his chosen specialty. He was one of the great figures in world neurosurgery, that specialty of surgery that deals with diseases of the brain and its coverings, the spine and spinal cord, and the blood vessels to these structures. His life was characterized by an unswerving dedication to truth and scientific progress, intense intellectual activity, and an unwavering belief that we can understand and cure human disease. He made particular contributions to the study of brain tumors, pain, cerebrospinal fluid physiology and brain imaging.

The profession of medicine and the Department of Otology and Laryngology at the Harvard Medical School lost a major figure upon the passing of William Wayne Montgomery, M.D., on November 7, 2003.

Biological engineering, which once excited the medical community, has been fraught with the difficulties of keeping transplanted cells alive and getting them to integrate with a host’s body. Researchers at…

A longitudinal study of 410,272 elderly American couples indicates that the “widowhood effect” – the increased probability of death among new widows and widowers – is large and enduring among…

Is the problem with evolution A) people don’t believe in it; B) people believe in it but don’t understand it; or C) evolution comes packaged with troubling implications that we…

Gold compounds have been used for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases for more than 75 years, but, until now, how the metals work has been a…

Horng-Tzer Yau’s affinity for mathematics was obvious in high school, where, in his native Taiwan, he began studying advanced calculus and college algebra. He developed an interest in physics at…

The Office of the Provost makes funds available to faculty for University projects that promise to alter and improve teaching and learning through the use of technology. The Provosts Instructional Technology Fund is made up of two funds: the Innovation Fund and the Content Fund. The Innovation Fund is for large-scale projects that propose to introduce a novel approach to teaching and learning using information technology. The Content Fund is aimed toward creating online content for educational purposes.

Conservation-minded citizens, corporations, nonprofits, and governments are developing new ways to finance their efforts at a time of tight budgets and waning government enthusiasm for traditional conservation programs, Harvard Program on Conservation Innovation Director James Levitt said Monday (Feb. 27).

Playwright Christopher Durang ’71 has recently been named the recipient of the 12th annual Harvard Arts Medal. Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers will present the medal to Durang on May 5 as part of Harvards 14th annual Arts First 2006 celebration (May 4-7). A discussion with Durang on his career and creative process will follow with actor John Lithgow 67, who appeared in the playwrights Beyond Therapy on Broadway in 1982.

Peterkin receives AASA humanitarian award Francis Keppel Professor of Educational Policy and Administration Robert Peterkin recently received the Dr. Effie H. Jones Humanitarian Award at the American Association of School…

Friday (March 3) marks the last day to order a vivid bouquet of daffodils through Harvard’s annual Daffodil Days fundraiser. To place an order – just $7 a pop with…

Men earn hockey playoff bye, women stun Clarkson The No. 8 Harvard men’s hockey team ousted the Clarkson Knights, 2-1, at Bright Hockey Center on Feb. 25 to secure the…

Sponsored in part by the Office for the Arts (OfA) at Harvard grant program, more than 2,400 students will participate in 47 projects in dance, music, theater, and multidisciplinary genres at the University this spring. Grants are designed to foster creative and innovative artistic initiatives among Harvard undergraduates.

Professor of Chinese literature James Robert Hightower died Jan. 8, at the house of his daughter, Josie, in Germany. He was 90.

Actor, producer, and international beauty Salma Hayek has been named Artist of the Year by the Harvard Foundation for Intercultural and Race Relation. Hayek received the honor at the 21st annual Cultural Rhythms concert on Feb. 25.

Donald A. Malt died on October 5, 2002, after a protracted illness, thus ending a brilliant academic surgical career in his 71st year of life. Professor, prolific writer, editor, productive investigator, courageous clinician of undaunted spirit, he came to be regarded by the scores of young surgeons he mentored as the prototypical academic surgeon.

Harvard is moving forward to create the new Allston portion of its 21st century campus with the selection of a site and an architectural firm for a state-of-the-art science complex in Allston, University President Lawrence H. Summers announced Feb. 17.

The American Repertory Theatre (A.R.T.) is launching a new initiative – Breakfast at the A.R.T. – commencing Feb. 28 at 9 a.m. in the west lobby of the Loeb Drama Center, 64 Brattle St. The new initiative includes a light breakfast followed by a theatrical performance of Romeo and Juliet.

At its 12th meeting of the year on Feb. 22, the Faculty Council held an in-camera discussion about the agenda for the Feb. 28 regular meeting. The Council next meets…

February 1952 – Outgoing Student Council President Richard M. Sandler ’52 sounds a radical note in his final report by “asking that Council members be allowed to sit on Faculty…

Upcoming memorial to celebrate Soltan A “memorial celebration for the life” of Jerzy Soltan, the Nelson Robinson Jr. Professor of Architecture and Urban Design Emeritus, will be held March 3…