June 01, 2000

Faculty of Arts and Sciences -- Memorial Minute -- W. Jackson Bate
W. Jackson Bate, A. Kingsley Porter University Professor Emeritus, stands as one of the leading biographers and humanists of the twentieth century. His John Keats (1963) and Samuel Johnson (1977) remain authoritative and popular. Still in print in 2000, both attracted the highest accolades, a Pulitzer Prize for each, an award until then given exclusively for biographies of American subjects. The Johnson study earned the National Book Award and the National Book Critics' Circle Award. Securing a scholarly hat trick still unequaled, Bate won the Christian Gauss Award of Phi Beta Kappa three times, for the Keats biography, for The Achievement of Samuel Johnson (1955), a penetrating study of Johnson's moral and critical thought (what Bate once characterized as "Johnson-without-Boswell"), and for The Burden of the Past and the English Poet (1970), originally given as the Alexander Lectures at the University of Toronto. The germ of this last study, the intimidating pressures of past great achievements, he first published in 1964.

Bells carry historical appeal
A peal of bells will ring throughout Cambridge on Thursday, June 8, 2000. For the twelfth consecutive year a number of neighboring churches and institutions will ring their bells in celebration of the City of Cambridge and of Harvard's 349th Commencement Exercises.

Harvard Law brothers shoot for political careers in Texas
Deep in the heart of Texas, Joaquin and Julian Castro are plotting their political future together, and, like the searing midday sun in the Red River Valley, their plans could spell double-trouble for any cowboy who crosses their path.

Volunteers needed at art museums
The Harvard University Art Museums are seeking volunteers interested in public art education for its Museum Docent Program. The Museum Docents are a group of approximately 34 volunteer guides who give tours of Harvard’s three art museums: the Fogg Art Museum, the Busch-Reisinger Museum, and the Arthur M. Sackler Museum.

Fabulous fakes: Kids imitate artists
For centuries aspiring artists have learned their craft by painstakingly copying the great works of the masters. One of the latest examples of this reverent and practical activity took place over the past few months at the University Art Museums when 45 fifth-graders from the Samuel Brown School in Peabody, Mass., chose a work each to copy. The project is part of an ongoing objective of the Department of Public Education at the Harvard University Art Museums to involve school age students with the resources in the museums in meaningful ways. Its results can be viewed on the 3rd floor of Fogg Art Museum in an exhibition called "Fabulous Fakes and Poignant Poetry."

Endowment established at the Kennedy School for state of Maine
The U.S. political system rarely provides enough time for newly elected officials to plan for their new responsibilities – time to gather together the information and resources they need to make effective policy early in their tenure. And because many state departments are decentralized, senior public managers often can't consider overall strategic planning to coordinate activities and make government operate at its maximum effectiveness.

Harvard happenings
House leadership : Tyger! Tyger! : Snaggle puss : Seems like old times : Practice makes perfect

University-wide initiative gives peace a chance
Suppose you wanted to start a company. You would probably have little trouble finding advisers, consultants, workshops, and textbooks to guide you each step of the way and warn you of possible pitfalls.

Kheirallah memorial set
Law School adds six to faculty
The Law School has appointed six persons to the faculty, the largest addition of new faculty members during Robert C. Clark's deanship, which began in 1989. Two received lateral appointments to professorships; the other four are new appointments to assistant professorships. The appointments will take effect on July 1, 2000, and will increase the size of the permanent faculty to 80.

Education School's Gardner receives Ledlie Prize
A renowned Graduate School of Education (GSE) psychologist, whose landmark work in multiple intelligences theory has received international acclaim, has been awarded the George Ledlie Prize for 1999-2000 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College.

Henry Luce Foundation renews support for Divinity School's urban ministry program
Harvard Divinity School has announced that the Henry Luce Foundation has approved a three-year grant of $240,000 to continue support for the School’s program in urban ministry. "This splendid renewal grant from the Luce Foundation will greatly help the School to give better preparation to students who want to be effective ministers in inner-city communities," said J. Bryan Hehir, Chair of the School’s Executive Committee.

Wahba new Meyer fellow
The Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University has named Sameh Naguib Wahba as the John R. Meyer Dissertation Fellow for 2000-01. The fellowship carries a stipend of $10,000 in support of a dissertation on a housing-related topic.

Newsmakers

Night vision

Police Log
Following are some of the incidents reported to the Harvard University Police Department for the week ending May 27. The official log is located at Police Headquarters, 29 Garden St.

Simple screening test could detect cancer lesions in gay men
Just as use of Pap smears has led to a dramatic drop in cervical cancer, so screening for anal cancer among gay and bisexual men would save many lives at a reasonable cost, according to a study conducted at the School of Public Health and University of California at San Francisco (USCF). Anal squamous cell cancer and cervical cancer are similar diseases, both caused by a sexually transmitted virus called human papillomavirus (HPV).

Laser lights up treatment of skin disease
Nancy Stuart hated her body. Scaly, red plaques of psoriasis disfigured her arms, legs, trunk, and scalp. Summer was the worst time. She had to cover her entire body. Otherwise people looked at her in disgust or pity. No one would sit next to her on a bus.

Rockefeller Center awards travel grants
Kimberly Collins, a sophomore from California, speaks Spanish and–like many Californians–has ventured to places in Mexico like Tijuana and San Miguel de Allende. But, she admits, she never quite expected to teach management skills and English this summer to staff members of a grassroots environmental organization in Bolivia with a grant from the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies (DRCLAS).

HBS lecturer, environmentalist, Sawhill, dies at 63
John C. Sawhill, a senior lecturer at the Business School (HBS) and, during his distinguished career, a government official and leader of several major nonprofit institutions, including New York University (NYU), died of complications from diabetes on May 18 at the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond. He was 63. At the time of his death, Sawhill was also president and chief executive officer of The Nature Conservancy, which he joined in January 1990. Under Sawhill’s guidance, that organization became the world’s largest private conservation group and the nation’s 14th largest nonprofit organization.

NBC’s Tim Russert will give HLS Class Day address, Shine is named HST graduation speaker
Tim Russert, NBC political analyst and Meet the Press moderator, will deliver Harvard Law School’s 2000 Class Day address on Wednesday, June 7, at 2:30 p.m. on the steps of Langdell Hall, 1545 Massachusetts Ave.

New funding helps University reach out
The technological revolution has spurred an array of educational changes that are modifying how students and instructors interact in a traditional classroom setting and creating new stay-at-home students for whom education is an Internet connection and a mouse-click away.

Technology focuses spotlight on legal, ethical issues
Distance learning may represent a bright future for education, but the road to the shining City on the Hill leads through a mist of legal issues.

Technology changes pace of learning
Electronic mail and the Internet have become integral parts of our daily lives. These and other digital tools already have profoundly affected scholarship and learning at Harvard.

Technology at Work on Campus
Distance learning and instructional technology are already all around us at Harvard – and they have been for a while. Following are several examples of current programs involving the use of technology on campus.

Kinescopes, submarines marked early distance efforts
Harvard’s Extension School began experiments with distance learning as early as the 1950s, offering courses via educational television.

There’s no place like home page: FAS course tools
After teaching Microeconomic Theory for 14 years, Jeffrey Wolcowitz, senior lecturer on economics and the Faculty of Arts and Sciences’ associate dean for undergraduate education, decided in 1998 to rethink his presentation and explore use of the Internet.

Internet class is HBS's business
When the CEO of Click ’n Pick needs someone to clarify the company’s murky financial picture, who does he come to?

In the news
As technology advances, educational entrepreneurs are taking advantage of new ways to reach potential students. Following are some recent examples of Internet-based learning venures:

Tech talk
We’ve all learned the language of computers, with their bits and bytes and RAM and ROM, not to mention hard drives and software, printers and ports, and most importantly: tech support. Below is a primer to the latest talk of technology called distance learning:

Tennis everyone? Camps offer variety of classes
One of Harvard’s – and Boston’s – most popular summer activities, the Tennis Camps at Harvard, will be opening its 10^th season on June 12 at the new Robert M. Beren Tennis Center at Soldier’s Field. The Beren Tennis Center, dedicated on April 16,2000, has 18 outdoor courts with seating for over 500. The complex is anchored by a casino-style air-conditioned pavilion with balcony views of the Charles River.

Trautman memorial set
A memorial service for Susanah Bailie Trautman will be held on June 2 at 10 a.m. in the Memorial Church, Harvard University. She was the wife of the late Donald T. Trautman, Shattuck Professor of Law.

Temporary relocation at University Hall
In preparation for the upcoming renovations of University Hall, all departments in the building will be temporarily relocated. University Hall will close for business at the end of the day, Thursday, June 15. Offices will be relocated and will open for business on Monday, June 19, in the following temporary locations:

Volunteers sought for art Voyage
Do you have a passion for art? Do you enjoy working with young people? Do you want to make a contribution to your community?