Newsmakers

Cross honored for achievement in Jewish Studies

In June, the National Foundation for Jewish Culture presented the 11th Annual Jewish Cultural Achievement Award in Scholarship to Frank Moore Cross, the Hancock Professor of Hebrew and Other Oriental Languages Emeritus. The award presentation, made by Jon Levenson, Albert A. List Professor of Jewish Studies, was held at the Center for Jewish History in New York.

The foundation selected Cross for his scholarly contributions to the field of textual studies. According to the foundation, Cross has played a decisive role in the studies of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the bearing of the scrolls on the recensional development of the Hebrew and Greek texts of the Hebrew Bible.

McCartney named academic dean

Professor of Education Kathleen McCartney began serving as academic dean

of the Graduate School of Education on July 1. An early-childhood education expert, McCartney has conducted research on issues including child care, poverty, parenting, behavior genetics theory, and social policy. For the past 13 years she has served as a principal investigator of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development’s (NICHD’s) Study of Child Care and Youth Development.

By tracking more than 1,300 children from birth through sixth grade, the study aims to examine the effects of early child care on such areas as parent-child relationships, a child’s development, and a child’s later success in transitioning to school. The data gathered from this research are the most comprehensive on child care to date.

McCartney previously served as director of the University of New Hampshire Child Study and Development Center. She holds a Ph.D. from Yale University.

CHA elects new chair, vice chair

Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA) recently announced that Francis H. Duehay, community leader, educator, and former elected official, has been elected to chair the board of trustees. CHA also announced the election of Mary Cassesso, associate dean of administration and finance at the School of Dental Medicine (HSDM) to the position of vice chair. Both appointments became effective July 1.

A nonprofit health-care system with strong ties to Harvard and Tufts Medical Schools, and with Boston’s tertiary hospitals, CHA will compete during the next several years for the Malcolm Baldrige Quality Award in its efforts to take the quality of its patient-centered care to the highest level.

Duehay previously served as an assistant dean and lecturer at the Graduate School of Education, as director of the Lincoln Filene Center at Tufts University, and as a fellow of the Institute of Politics at the Kennedy School of Government. He holds a bachelor’s, a master’s, and a doctorate degree from Harvard.

Cassesso has spent the past 10 years at HSDM. She is the recent recipient of Harvard Medical School’s Dean’s Diversity Award, and has served as the chair and co-chair of the HMS/HSDM Joint Council on the Status of Women.

EMA names Mealy award winner

Early Music America (EMA), the national service organization for the field of early music, recently named Robert Mealy, director of the Harvard Baroque Chamber Orchestra and the Yale Collegium Players, the Thomas Binkley Award winner for outstanding achievement in performance and scholarship by the director of a university or college Collegium Musicum. The award was presented last month at EMA’s annual meeting at the Berkeley City Club in Berkeley, Calif.

One of America’s few undergraduate baroque orchestras, the Harvard Baroque Chamber Orchestra was founded by Mealy and former University Organist Murray Somerville in 1995. With the Harvard Early Music Society, the orchestra has performed a baroque opera every year for nearly a decade.

Dana-Farber president elected to AAAS

Edward J. Benz Jr., president of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS). The Richard and Susan Smith Professor of Medicine, Benz joins 201 other newly elected leaders in scholarship, business, the arts, and public affairs who will be formally inducted into the society this October.

“I am honored to welcome these outstanding and influential individuals to the nation’s oldest and most illustrious learned society,” said AAAS President Patricia Meyer Spacks. “These new members have made extraordinary contributions to their fields and disciplines through their commitment to the advancement of scholarly and creative work in every field and profession.”

A professor of pathology and pediatrics at Harvard, Benz is an internationally recognized hematologist whose work has helped to unravel the genetic mechanisms of blood cell differentiation and diversity. As a medical student working collaboratively with Bernard Forget, professor of medicine and genetics at Yale, Benz was the first to show that analysis of gene DNA and its messenger RNA products could be used to study a human disease, beta-thalassemia. More recently, Benz and his laboratory colleagues have shown that a key red cell membrane protein, protein 4.1, has novel and unexpected roles in cell division and control of cell growth in other tissues, and may be involved in tumor suppression.

“I am truly honored to be a member of this distinguished and accomplished organization,” said Benz. “This recognition is a reflection of my good fortune to have worked with some of the best and brightest scientists and clinicians.”

Notman recognized for contributions to women’s health

Clinical Professor of Psychiatry Malkah Notman, a longtime member of the Cambridge Hospital medical staff, will receive the 2004 Alexandra Symonds Award from the American Psychiatric Association. The award will be presented at the association’s 56th Institute on Psychiatric Services in October.

“Dr. Notman has assisted many psychiatrists over the years, both informally and as our director of faculty development,” noted Jay Burke, chairman and chief of psychiatry at Cambridge Health Alliance. “She is passionate about helping others achieve their career goals and has been a tireless advocate for women’s health issues. I know of no one more deserving of this honor.”

The Symonds Award is given annually to a woman psychiatrist who has made outstanding contributions to women’s health and the advancement of women. It was established in memory of Alexandra Symonds, a leader in promoting gender equity, who founded the Association of Women Psychiatrists.

Bilbao-Bastida selected for congressional internship

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI), the nation’s leading Hispanic nonprofit and nonpartisan educational organization, selected Vasco S. Bilbao-Bastida ’06 to participate in its prestigious internship program.

The CHCI summer internship selects 30 outstanding Latino undergraduates from across the country to spend eight weeks (beginning in early June) in Washington, D.C., for a “behind-the- scenes” look at the U.S. government.

A native of Los Angeles and a government major at Harvard, Bilbao-Bastida is working in the office of California Congresswoman Hilda Solis, where he helps with constituent communication, monitors hearings, conducts legislative research, and assists with general office operations.

HFMA honors Herzlinger

Regina E. Herzlinger, the Nancy R. McPherson Professor of Business Administration, recently received the Board of Directors’ Award from the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA), the nation’s leading membership organization for health-care financial management professionals. The award lauds the “impressive insight and foresight” of Herzlinger’s extensive research and analysis regarding “the precarious state of managed care and the move toward consumer-driven health care” in this country.

Among other works, Herzlinger is the editor of “Consumer-Driven Health Care: Implications for Providers, Payers, and Policymakers” (Jossey-Bass, 2004) and the author of “Market-Driven Health Care: Who Wins, Who Loses in the Transformation of America’s Largest Service Industry” (Addison Wesley, 1997).

Endocrine Society honors Donahoe

The Endocrine Society recently awarded Marshall K. Bartlett Professor of Surgery Patricia K. Donahoe the 2004 Fred Conrad Koch Award. This award, the society’s highest, is presented annually to recognize exceptional contributions to endocrinology and includes a $25,000 honorarium. Donahoe accepted the award at the 86th annual meeting of the Endocrine Society this past June 16-19 in New Orleans, La.

According to the society, Donahoe was selected for her important contributions to endocrinology in her pursuit of the biology of müllerian inhibiting substance. She first developed and has focused her scientific career on using natural biologic regressors of müllerian development to inhibit the growth of malignancies of müllerian origin.

Donahoe is the director of the Pediatric Surgical Research Laboratories and chief of Pediatric Surgical Services at Massachusetts General Hospital. In 1986, she became the first female professor of surgery in the history of Harvard Medical School.

Undergrad selected as 2004 Gilder Lehrman History Scholar

History and literature concentrator Josiah Pertz ’05 has been selected as one of 15 Gilder Lehrman History Scholars from more than 300 candidates nationwide. Pertz was flown to New York in June for a six-week program that combines research training, seminars with eminent historians, and behind-the-scenes tours of rare archives.

In addition to transportation, room and board, and a $2,400 stipend, Pertz will have a chance to produce original research resulting from his summer work.

Ella Hoffman ’06 was named a Gilder Lehrman History Scholar Finalist. She joined 39 other finalists for a one-week version of the program in June.