Newsmakers

John Jay College awards Poussaint honorary degree

Alvin Poussaint, professor of psychiatry and faculty associate dean for student affairs at Harvard Medical School, received an honorary doctorate of humane letters from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City this past May. Director of the Media Center at Judge Baker Children’s Center, Poussaint received the honor for his exemplary commitment to social justice and psychology.

Pluralism Project wins Webby Award

The Web site for Harvard’s Pluralism Project was named “Best of the Web” at the Seventh Annual Webby Awards last month. Known as “the Oscars of the Internet,” the Webbies are presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences in order to recognize, honor, and promote excellence in the digital medium. The Pluralism Project Web site won in the spirituality category.

Two awarded Lehrman Fellowship

Ph.D. candidates Yonatan Eyal and Justin Florence joined 27 other recipients of the Gilder Lehrman Fellowship for 2003-04. Sponsored by the Gilder Lehrman Institute, the fellowships promote the study of American history through short-term research to scholars from across the nation and internationally. Eyal will research his dissertation “Young America and the New Democracy, 1828-1861,” focusing on the papers of August Belmont and Samuel J. Tilden. Florence will examine “The Siege of Boston and the Origins of American Independence,” focusing on the papers of Samuel Adams and the Boston Committee of Correspondence.

Both Eyal and Florence will conduct their research at the New York Public Library.

Bowles named executive director of MassINC

Ian Bowles, research fellow at the Kennedy School of Government, has been named executive director of the Massachusetts Institute for a New Commonwealth (MassINC). The Boston-based, nonpartisan think tank advocates policies promoting the growth and vitality of the middle class in Massachusetts. Bowles will also serve as publisher of the institute’s quarterly magazine Commonwealth, which covers the state’s politics, ideas, and civic life. He began his new position on July 14.

Sophomore makes Gift of Discovery trip to Italy

The National Italian American Foundation selected sophomore Lisa Puskarcik to participate in an all-expenses-paid exchange program to Calabria, Italy, earlier this summer. Eighty Italian American students were chosen to partake in the 10-day Gift of Discovery trip, which included meetings with teachers and students at the University of Cosenza, receptions with local officials, and museum visits.

Crew coach O’Leary named coach of the year

After directing the Radcliffe women’s heavyweight crew to the 2003 NCAA Championship, head coach Liz O’Leary was selected College Rowing Coaches’ Association (CRCA) Division I Coach of the Year. O’Leary led the Black and White to its most successful season in its 31-year history, winning both the varsity and team titles at the NCAA champs in Indianapolis on June 1. She owns a 108-52 (.675) overall dual record and is 40-13 (.755) over the past five seasons. This season marks O’Leary’s 17th at the helm.

Crimson athletes crack top 50 nationally

Harvard athletics matched its highest finish ever by placing 35th in the country in the 2002-03 National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics Cup standings. The annual competition recognizes broad-based athletic achievement by awarding points to schools qualifying for NCAA championships.

The Crimson – first among New England schools – scored in 11 of the 20 eligible sports, including 100 for winning the NCAA Women’s Rowing Championship, and finished with 509.5 points.

As for Ivy League schools, Harvard finished 4.5 points behind Princeton. The Crimson and the Tigers were the only two non-scholarship programs in the top 50.

– Compiled by Andrew Brooks