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In this issue's John Harvard's Journal:
Jiang in Cambridge - Gore on the Globe - International Initiatives - Crackdown on Use, Abuse of Alcohol - Home Stretch - Harvard Portrait: The Mendelssohn Quartet - Georgia Collects Its History - Harvard Eggs? Protecting the Name - The Incredible Shrinking Reading Period - Tenure Trends for Female Faculty - Brevia - The Undergraduate: Different Voices - 1998 Marshalls - Sports

University Professors Owen (top) and Shapiro.Top: JON CHASE; Bottom: JANE REED

University Professors

Stephen Owen, who teaches in both the East Asian and comparative literature departments, has become the Conant University Professor, a title last held by philosopher John Rawls, LL.D. '97, who retired in 1991. Owen most recently edited An Anthology of Chinese Literature, translating and annotating most of the works--they span two and a half millennia--himself. Astronomer and physicist Irwin Shapiro, Ph.D. '55, has become the first Timken University Professor. An expert in measuring the size and age of the universe, Shapiro is director of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. With the founding of the Timken chair, there are now 18 University Professorships.

Leaving Lowell

Rusty, William, and Mary Lee Bossert MELISSA CROCKER
William H. Bossert '59, Ph.D. '63, and Mary Lee Bossert announced in early November that after 23 years of service, they would relinquish the co-mastership of Lowell House. The Crimson hailed them as champions of the House system--fittingly, since Lowell is named after the family of the president who envisioned and oversaw the initial construction of that system. William Bossert, Arnold professor of science, told the Crimson he deplored the degree to which students are "so darn overworked and overcommitted," and the migration of students' social and extracurricular life away from the Houses.

Professional School Women

Steiker MARTHA STEWART
Harvard Law School has promoted assistant professor Carol Steiker '82, J.D. '86, to a full professorship effective in July. Steiker, who teaches criminal law, joins seven other tenured women at the school, which currently has 64 full professors--ranking it in the middle of the University's schools as measured by senior faculty positions held by women.

The Business School, where enrollment of women has plateaued at somewhat less than 30 percent of the student body, has announced a plan to develop new cases featuring women in senior management. The initiative, backed by Marjorie Alfus, a former Kmart executive, and the Committee of 200, a group of women business executives, expects to yield 30 new cases in its first year, for use both in Allston and at the business schools worldwide where Harvard sells case materials.

If she follows through on plans to attend medical school, Irene Ng '97-'98 (above, right) shouldn't have much trouble establishing a practice, especially in pediatrics. The star of Nickelodeon's The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo, Ng appeared on the cover of the October 25 TV Guide.

Iron Law of Economics

Research deep in this magazine's archives to gather material for its centennial uncovered a news item from the October 29, 1966, issue reporting that Harvard's expenses had risen "ten-fold over the last 30 years," from $12.4 million in 1935-36 to $131.1 million in 1965-66. Allowing for the same degree of arithmetical inexactitude, it is worth recording that the 1995-96 expenses totaled $1.52 billion--or roughly the same rate of growth. Will Harvard's budget have reached, say, $16 billion for the 2025-26 academic year?

Nota Bene
John Kenneth Galbraith, 89, Warburg professor of economics emeritus, was invested an honorary officer of the Order of Canada in Ottawa last fall. Officers are recognized for "achievement and merit of a high degree" and may wear a badge in the form of a stylized snowflake. REUTERS

Longevity. The librarian of the Harvard-Yenching Library, Eugene Wu, retired at the end of December after 32 years in office. His devotion to fostering what President Rudenstine has called the finest East Asian library in this country echoes that of his predecessor, A. Kaiming Chiu, Ph.D. '33, the collection's inaugural librarian, who served from 1928 to 1965.

Renamed. Reflecting its focus on history and criticism, rather than practice, the Department of Fine Arts will become the Department of History of Art and Architecture beginning with the next academic year.

Rewarded. Following back-to-back endowment returns of 26 percent, Harvard Management Company's performance-based compensation system again produced big paychecks. Leading the parade were star equity manager Jonathon S. Jacobson, M.B.A. '87, and bond investor David Mittelman, each of whom earned more than $7 million.