July-August 2007 | Harvard Magazine

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Editor’s Highlights Sign up to be notified of new issues. See a sample newsletter	Skip to primary navigation July-August 2007 Volume 109, Number 6 Jump to Section: Letters, Right Now, Montage, New England Regional, Features, John Harvard's Journal, The Alumni, The College Pump, Treasure Letters Cambridge 02138 THE NEW IMMIGRANTS The images of today’s poor, hardworking illegal immigrants (Ashley Pettus, “End of the Melting Pot?&rdquo… Right Now Muscles and Medicine Harvard scientists have created a mighty mouse, a rodent endowed with a rare type of muscle that combines unusual power and speed, like that of… Fantastic! The recent announcement that Lene Vestergaard Hau had successfully changed light to matter, and then back into light, evokes the magic of… Faculty Faith In their early years, many American universities had openly religious agendas. Harvard’s own mission, according to a 1643 pamphlet, was… Back to top Montage Strings Prodigy Musical debuts rarely create front-page news anymore. But when violinist Stefan Jackiw ’07 made his first appearance in London… Chapter & Verse Steve Plank hopes to learn who said (as he puts it), “We should each conduct our lives in such a way that if everyone were to do the same… Off the Shelf Down the Nile: Alone in a Fisherman’s Skiff, by Rosemary Mahoney ’83 (Little, Brown, $23.99). “I am not afraid to die; I… Image Blogger Nowadays it’s common for people to e-mail pictures to friends and family, but few of these photographers are as well-traveled as Steve… Entrepreneurs' Evangelist Thomas McCraw, Straus professor of business history emeritus at Harvard Business School, has written a large book about a Harvard professor of… Better than the Bard Scott Miller ’86, the founder and artistic director of New Line Theatre in St. Louis, celebrates the innovation and adventurousness of… Voicings: John Adams The celebrated Nixon in China (1987) by composer John Adams ’69, A.M. ’72, was the first of four operas that, along with many… Back to top New England Regional Extracurriculars Life should be as free as a summer’s breeze in New England. Take some time this season to get out and try something utterly new: discover… Changes at the Tap If “fresh hot dog” sounds like an oxymoron, taste the one at Green Street. It’s as close to the tender pig as you’ll… Parenting Passages “No matter how old you get, you’re still my baby.” How many of us have heard just such a line from a doting parent, or said it… Back to top Features A Scholar in the House Tradition and the twenty-first century were tangled together in Barker Center’s Thompson Room on the afternoon of February 11, when Drew… "A Tutorial" Two years ago, Drew Gilpin Faust began looking for a date when women presidents of Ivy League universities could convene for a panel discussion… A "Better Answer" The search for Harvard’s twenty-eighth president began under difficult circumstances. Lawrence H. Summers’s resignation on February… Le Professeur In Vichy France, there were few diversions; among them were Hollywood musicals and comedies, such as those starring Fred Astaire and Bing… Frederick Law Olmsted Between 1857 and 1950, Frederick Law Olmsted, A.M. 1864, LL.D. ’93, and the firm he founded shaped many of our nation’s notable open… Debtor Nation1 Consumerism is as American as cherry pie. Plasma TVs, iPods, granite countertops: you name it, we’ll buy it. To finance the national… Not Your Daddy's Deficit In the Reagan era, the federal government ran budget deficits almost as big as the current account deficit is today—at their peak, on the… Back to top John Harvard's Journal Attend to the Cursed Few who stood at a Harvard podium during Commencement week mentioned the war in Iraq. Joshua Patashnik ’07, of Adams House and San Diego, did do… Honoris Causa Three women and six men received honorary degrees at Harvard’s 356th Commencement. Provost Steven E. Hyman introduced them to the… Commencement Confetti EDUCATED MEN AND WOMEN On Commencement day, Thursday, June 7, Harvard conferred 6,871 degrees and 138 certificates. The College granted 1,694 of… "I see you" Excerpts from the Class Day address, on June 6, by Bill Clinton, forty-second president of the United States. Clinton discussed the comedians… "Listening will be the hardest part" Let me introduce you to a couple of my ghosts. As I stand here, I think of my two grandfathers—Lawrence Crowder and Robert Styles… "The public is growing restive" President Derek Bok used his “last occasion to report to the alumni” to “share some parting reflections on the challenges for… "For what purpose?" Excerpts from the Commencement address by William H. Gates III, co-founder and chairman of Microsoft Corporation and co-founder and co-chair of… "An experiment in faith" The second president of Radcliffe, Le Baron Briggs, described Radcliffe as “an experiment in faith.”… From the very beginning… Interim Accomplishments When he was summoned back to Massachusetts Hall in February 2006, interim president Derek Bok told a group of Harvard administrators last… Developing Deans, Calendar Consensus Beyond what he characterized last October as a “formidable agenda” of substantive work, Derek Bok pursued less publicized ways to… Annette Lemieux Though she’s been called a conceptual artist, “That’s just for lack of a better term,” says Annette Lemieux, professor… Managing Harvard: A New Deal? Editor’s note: President Derek Bok, who wrote annual reports on the University during his service from 1971 to 1991, did so again at the… University People One for the Books Justin Ide / Harvard News Office Robert C. Darnton Justin Ide / Harvard News Office Sidney Verba Robert C. Darnton… College Curriculum Change Completed During the second weekend in May, just before the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) met on May 15 for its final discussion of a proposed new… Yesterday's News 1922 Harvard Athletic Association members Fred W. Moore ’93 and Frank S. Knapp purchase the capital stock of Leavitt & Peirce Inc., the… Arts and Science Transitions The beginning of the end of a period of instability in the leadership of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) came on June 4, when… Advising Adventures In the course of overhauling the College curriculum, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) deferred undergraduates’ selection of a… Brevia Radcliffe Institute Interim Dean Rose Lincoln / Harvard News Office Barbara J. Grosz Higgins professor of natural sciences Barbara J. Grosz, a… Practically Perfect in Every Way In small white rooms lit by fluorescent lamps and littered with empty soda bottles or coffee cups, undergraduates often find themselves heading… Rebound & Transition Harvard has never won an Ivy League basketball championship. Changing that legacy, which dates from 1955 (the first year of play in the league)… Sports Wrap SoftballThe softballers (31-15, 15-6 Ivy) won the league championship, with Ivy Pitcher of the Year Shelly Madick ’08 (16-6) tossing a… Back to top The Alumni Seeing Red Epidemiologist Lora Fleming ’78, M.D.-M.P.H. ’84, tackles breathing, cancer, and unexpected days at the beach. At the office, she… Centennial Medalists Each June, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Centennial Medal, first awarded in 1989 on the occasion of the school’s hundredth… Harvard's Long View The oldest graduates of Harvard and Radcliffe present on Commencement day were 98-year-old Frances Pass Addelson ’30, of Brookline… New Leaders The names of the new members of the Board of Overseers and the new elected directors of the Harvard Alumni Association (HAA) were announced at… Class Marshals The elected marshals of the College class of 2007 proudly held their class banner as they led classmates to their Baccalaureate service on… Harvard Medalists Three people received the Harvard Medal for outstanding service, and were publicly thanked by President Derek Bok, during the Harvard Alumni… Cambridge Scholars Four seniors have won Harvard Cambridge scholarships to study at Cambridge University during the 2006-2007 academic year. History concentrator… Class Gifts The University had received 91,000 gifts through May 31 of the fiscal year, according to University Treasurer James F. Rothenberg ’68… Back to top The College Pump Tortes in Memory "Your wooden arm you hold outstretched to shake with passers-by." In her new book, The Window Shop: Safe Harbor for… Back to top Treasure The Family Silver One could call these ceremonial spoons the “family silver of Northwest Coast nobility,” says Bill Holm, curator emeritus at the…

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