Campus & Community

The second floor of Widener Library opened over the first days of May. With the grand architectural features and finishes restored and the space aligned so that busy, noisy, interactive services are separated from the quiet space of the reading room, the second floor is both elegant and functional. Both ends of the Loker Reading Room, which previously housed the reference desk and staff work areas, have been reclaimed for reading room space. All of reference services is housed in adjacent room 230. Research services staff, who provide instruction and research assistance, occupy two rooms, Research Services East, room 240, and Research Services West, room 220.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage rebutted Bush administration critics Friday (April 30), saying that President Bushs approach to international affairs has not been to go it alone, rather it has been one of cooperation and coordination with international allies.

President Lawrence H. Summers has announced that Howard H. Stevenson, Sarofim-Rock Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School (HBS), has accepted the position of senior associate provost for Planning and Resources at the University.

Herb Fuller is a second-generation railroad buff. His father, Harold Fuller, founded the National Railroad Museum in 1956 in Green Bay, Wis. Back then, the Fuller familys idea of a great summer vacation was to travel to mining country in Wyoming to watch the huge steam locomotives hauling mile-long trains loaded with ore through the mountains. Fullers dad got to ride in the cab of the Big Boy, the largest locomotive ever built, but safety regulations kept Fuller and his brother from enjoying the same experience.

The Center for Business and Government (CBG) at Harvards John F. Kennedy School of Government is taking its commitment to convening public and private sectors to the next level with its student/fellow mentoring initiative. This program combines the groundbreaking work of CBGs fellows with the enthusiasm of students eager to get hands-on experience and learn more about public and private research initiatives.

Out, but not down, could be the rallying cry of the 2004 Harvard softball team. Since falling out of Ivy-title contention with a pair of late-inning losses against a surging Brown squad on April 25, the Crimson regrouped to capture three of their final five games (all at home) to close out the season with a winning 22-20-1 record.

Crimson Power Clinic to open to high schoolers The Department of Athletics’ strength and condition staff is offering a six-week clinic to male and female high school athletes beginning July…

The Tennis Camps at Harvard (TCH) will be starting their 14th season on June 14th at the Beren Tennis Center at Soldiers Field. To check out the camps and sign up online, visit http://www.tenniscampsatharvard.com or call (617) 783-2400 to receive a free brochure.

The David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies has announced that David Kupferschmidt is the centers new executive director. Kupferschmidt brings to Harvard extensive experience in Latin America for nearly a decade, including work as a consultant for international organizations, NGOs, governments, and the private sector.

The subtitle of Mary Gordons reading, the final of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Studys Deans Lecture Series (April 28), promised Swimming Between Fiction and Nonfiction. And Gordon delivered, with a stroke so effortless that the waters of memoir, essay, and fiction flowed into a smooth confluence, their borders barely distinguishable. Gordons swimming skills served her equally well in emotional waters, as the acclaimed author and Radcliffe Fellow masterfully delivered the audience from wry hilarity to shocking sadness to tender passion, and back again.

Afro-Brazilian politician and social activist Benedita da Silva spoke at Lamont Library last week. The former governor of Rio de Janeiro discussed the postcolonial challenges facing Brazil in its efforts to create a government and society that include traditionally disenfranchised groups such as blacks, women, and the poor. When I was a kid, said da Silva, and lived in Chapeu da Mangueira hill, a slum in Rio de Janeiros south zone, very close to Copacabana Beach, no black children had even the right to dream of a life different from the ones led by their mothers and grandmothers. The event was co-sponsored by the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research.

In remarks that opened a multidisciplinary conference called Bilingual Benefits Friday (April 30), Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers stated the truism that its always preferable to know more than to know less, and most of us wish we knew more languages than we do.

There was something fishy about the farewell bash the Kennedy School of Government (KSG) threw for Joseph S. Nye Jr. last Thursday (April 29).

Researchers at Harvard University and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) have discovered that insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas that are attacked in type 1 diabetes are replenished through duplication of existing cells rather than through differentiation of adult stem cells.

Harvards Institute of Politics (IOP) recently announced the selection of 12 undergraduate students, chosen from a poll of 184 candidates, for prestigious paid summer political internships. These students will enjoy a unique opportunity to meet with and learn from leading academics, policymakers, and politicians at high-profile organizations to further their understanding of and interest in politics and public affairs.

James Earl Jones was a student at the University of Michigan when he first encountered racial prejudice aimed at him personally. A professor pointed out a misspelling in a paper Jones had written and said: Why are you trying to be something youre not? Youre just a dumb son of a bitch, and you dont belong at this university.

Art Libraries Society honors Stephan Wolohojian Lecturer on History of Art and Architecture Stephan Wolohojian recently received the 2003 George Wittenborn Memorial Book Award for “A Private Passion: 19th Century…

UIS to herald new product, repair center University Information Systems’ (UIS’s) Technology Services is holding an open house celebration today (May 6) and Friday (May 7) for the opening of…

Its no wonder Sir Galahad cant find the Holy Grail.

At a meeting of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences on December 16, 2003, the following Minute was placed upon the records.

Celebrating its 12th year, Arts First, Harvards annual celebration of students and faculty in the arts, lights up Harvard Square with performances, exhibits, and arts activities. Today, May 6, through Sunday, May 9, Harvard welcomes the public to over 225 music, theater, dance, film, and visual arts events (most free of charge). The festival is sponsored by the Universitys Board of Overseers.

Mortimer B. Zuckerman, LL.M. 62, is giving $10 million to establish a graduate fellowship program that will enable Harvard University to attract 25 exceptional students each year as Zuckerman Fellows. The program will be open to candidates who have earned or are pursuing a business, law, or medical graduate degree at Harvard or another U.S. university and who want to pursue an additional degree at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, John F. Kennedy School of Government, or Harvard School of Public Health.

Harvard Medical School (HMS) researchers have uncovered a missing link in our understanding of how human papillomaviruses gain their foothold in the rapidly dividing cells of the skin and mucous membranes. The discovery, reported in the April 30 Cell, could lead to new treatments for a host of human papillomavirus-related conditions, from the nuisance of plantar and genital warts to life-threatening precancerous cervical lesions.

The economics of biomedical research was at center stage at Harvard Medical School (HMS) April 28 during a conference convened to answer critics who say new treatments and devices drive up health-care costs while bringing few health benefits.

As the nation limps toward economic recovery, uneasy Americans – jobless or not – harbor understandable anxiety. Could my job be done by a computer? Will it go overseas to be done far more cheaply? Will there be enough jobs to go around?

Marking the end of the first phase of Harvard Colleges comprehensive review of undergraduate education, William C. Kirby, dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and Edith and Benjamin Geisinger Professor of History, announced the release of A Report on the Harvard College Curricular Review. The report affirms Harvards commitment to a liberal education in the arts and sciences and proposes significant changes in the structure and content of the undergraduate experience.

The textured stone of the Weeks Footbridge provides an almost-Mediterranean look to a spring day on the Charles. Framed by the stone are rowers taking part in last Saturdays crew competition, in which Harvard took every race. (Staff photo Lindsay Pierce/Harvard News Office)

Mucus is exciting to some cancer researchers. No kidding.

At its 12th meeting of the year (April 28) the Faculty Council discussed with Deans Benedict Gross, William Kirby, and Jeffrey Wolcowitz the recently released Report on the Harvard College Curricular Review. Professors Goran Ekstrom (Earth and Planetary Science), Eric Jacobsen (Chemistry and Chemical Biology), Richard Losick (Molecular and Cellular Biology), and Diana Sorensen (Romance Languages and Literatures), Co-chairs of the reviews four Working Groups, were also present for this discussion. A discussion of the review has also been scheduled for the May 4 Faculty Meeting, with the possibility that this consideration will be continued at the May 18 Faculty Meeting.

Rebecca Wexler 05 plays electric violin with fellow Recklez band members during IsraelFest (Yom HaAtzmaut) in front of the Science Center on Tuesday. (Staff photo Jon Chase/Harvard News Office)