FAMILY MEDICINE
"Daughter, Father Reunite at URI Lab" (Providence Journal, Feb. 24, 2009)
Annie DeGroot, MD'83, and her father, Leslie DeGroot, professor emeritus in endocrinology, join forces to develop vaccines for ‘neglected’ diseases at the University of Rhode Island's Providence Biotechnology Center.

BUSINESS SENSE
"Debriefing Don Phillips" (Forbes, Feb. 20, 2009)
"If you're not willing to criticize, your praise doesn't have a lot of value," advises Morningstar's managing director Don Phillips, AM'86, in a new Q&A.

THE "LONG TAIL" of CO₂
"Carbon Dioxide Emissions Could Last Millenniums" (McClatchy Newspapers, Feb. 24, 2009)
"Global warming from carbon-dioxide emissions will last for thousands of years into the future," says climate researcher and professor David Archer in a new interview.

• Archer speaks about global warming in geologic time at Fermi National Laboratory (Feb. 27, 2008)


• The Magazine examines why conversation about global warming is part science, part spin (Aug. 2005)


• Archer's book Global Warming: Understanding the Forecast discusses greenhouse gases

THIRTY LAUGHS
"Retreat to Move Forward" (30 Rock, Jan. 22, 2009)
Jack Donaghy convinces Liz Lemon to accompany him to a corporate retreat in this recent episode of the sitcom 30 Rock, cowritten by Tami Sagher, AB’95, and Tina Fey. (Free video stream expires Mar. 13, 2009)

• The Magazine profiles Off-Off Campus (Oct. 2005)

MIDWAY MURDER MYSTERY
"Our Fair Lady" (Chicago Sun-Times, Feb. 8, 2009)
University of Chicago librarian Frances McNamara's novel Death at the Fair follows Emily Cabot, a fictional University of Chicago graduate student studying crime in the city during the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893.

"DON'T LET NATURE TAKE ITS COURSE."
"10 Questions" (La Jolla Light, Feb. 25, 2009)
Kenneth Haygood, AM'54, PhD'67, shares stories about being a "pioneer surfer," growing up in the Depression, and chronicling his life through photographs in a new Q&A.

DEEP SPACE DISCOVERIES
"Seeing Clearly into Space" (Eight Forty-Eight, Chicago Public Radio, Feb. 26, 2009 )
Chicago astrophysicist Evalyn Gates uses gravitational lensing to search for dark matter.

• "Eyeing the Universe through Einstein's Telescope" (University of Chicago News Office, Feb. 2009)


• Gates's new book, Einstein's Telescope


• "Observing Yerkes" (UChiBLOGo, May 2, 2005)

NATURAL SHE-LECTION
"Studies of Childbirth Bring New Focus on Women in Evolution" (e! Science News, Feb. 17, 2009)
"With childbirth, as well as many of the other things that happen to women—pregnancy, nursing, menopause—it's really easy to see how natural selection works," says Karen Rosenberg, AB'76.

REPLACING RAHM?
"Mike Quigley Running on a Reform Platform" (Chicago Tribune, Feb. 25, 2009)
Chicago politician and Cook County Commissioner Michael Quigley, AM'85, is looking to succeed Rahm Emanuel in Illinois's 5th congressional district special election.

• "Commissioner Mike Quigley, AM'85, on Causes Worth Fighting For" (Alumni Profiles, Harris School)


• "Public Affairs with Jeff Berkowitz" (Guest: Mike Quigley, Nov. 28, 2008)

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
"Statistician Talks about Election Polls and Baseball" (North by Northwestern, Feb. 23, 2009)
"You don’t have to have, frankly, a political science degree to talk about politics; you don’t have to be a pundit. You just have to look at the world intelligently and fairly and work hard and be creative about it," says Nate Silver, AB'00, in a new interview.

• "Number Cruncher" (University of Chicago Magazine, Jul.-Aug. 2008)


• "Truthiness in Numbers" (UChiBLOGo, Oct. 13, 2008)


• "What Will Nate Silver Do Next?" (University News Office, Jan. 26, 2009)

FAIR JUDGEMENT
"Judge's 'Respect for the Law and Integrity Are Unquestioned'" (Chicago Sun-Times, Feb. 27, 2009)
The success of Milton Shadur, SB'43, JD'49, as a judge is due in part to his fairness, according to attorneys part of the Chicago Council of Lawyers.

ISLAM AND THE WEST
"Taliban's Tentacles Reach the U.S." (Georgetown/On Faith blog, Washington Post, Feb. 23, 2009)
"Small, individualized 9/11's intrude into our lives, giving the lie to any notion that we are safe," writes Daniel Brumberg, AM'82, PhD'91.

HE GOT GAME
"Hail to the Coach" (The Register-Guard, Mar. 1, 2009)
Craig Robinson, MBA' 91, former head basketball coach at U-High and 2006-07 Ivy League coach of the year, hopes to put Oregon State University basketball back on the map.

• "Craig Robinson, First Coach" (CBS News, Mar. 1, 2009)


• "OSU Needs to Sell Itself to Robinson... Again" (OregonLive.com, Feb. 28, 2009)

LEADING THE WAY
"U of C Medical School Official Mentors Minority Students'" (Chicago Tribune, Feb. 23, 2009)
"There are too few physicians for minority patients. Who takes care of minority patients? It's minority physicians," says associate dean of multicultural affairs William McDade, PhD'88, MD'90.

• Pritzker School of Medicine, Office of Multicultural Affairs

TOP JUMPER
"Solus Shines for U of C" (Southtown Star, Mar. 1, 2009)
Men's indoor track & field triple-jumper Jacob Solus, '11, was named University Athletic Association Athlete of the Week.

LEADING CHICAGO INTO THE NEXT CENTURY
"Chicago Matters: Beyond Burnham Visionaries" (Chicago Public Radio, Mar. 2, 2009)
The University of Chicago's Nichole Pinkard, Olufunmilayo (Funmi) Olopade, and Richard Thaler make up one-fifth of Chicago Public Radio's distinguished list of global visionaries.

• "Nichole Pinkard on Digital Media and Learning" video (MacArthur Foundation, Dec. 13, 2006)


• "Olopade Joins Other Cancer Specialists in Institute of Medicine" (Chicago Chronicle, Nov. 10, 2008)


• "Can Behavioral Economics Save Us from Ourselves?" (University of Chicago Magazine, Feb. 2005)

MR. MOVIES
"Asner, In and Out of Character" (Washington Post, Feb. 20, 2009)
Actor Ed Asner, X'48, may have two films hitting the big screen this spring, but he's currently getting his kicks performing live theater across the country. Asner paraphrases playwright Bertolt Brecht: "Art is not a mirror held up to reality, but a hammer with which to shape it."

• Gigantic (First Independent Pictures: in theaters Apr. 3, 2009)


• Up (Disney/Pixar: in theaters May 29, 2009)

SNEAK PREVIEW: HELPING VETS
"Back from the War" (SSA Magazine, Spring 2009)
SSA alumni Robert Anderson, AM'71, Peter Chapman, AB'82, AM'86, Daniel Ibarra-Fitzgerald, AM'94, and Allison Murdach, AM'66, contribute to a special feature that looks at returning vets who have been affected by their military experiences.

WHO WILL WRITE THE ESSAY QUESTIONS?
"'Uncommon' Admissions Dean to Step Down" (The Chronicle of Higher Education, Mar. 4, 2009)
"I still believe everyone's better served if we give students something to think about that enables them to make distinctions," says Theodore A. O'Neill, AM'70.

• "Longtime Dean of Admissions Ted O'Neill Announces Plans to Teach Full-time" (News Office, Mar. 3, 2009)


• "Turning the Tables on Ted O'Neill: Chicago Admissions Dean Answers One of His Questions" (The Chronicle of Higher Education, Mar. 4, 2009)


• "Still Flying High" (UChiBLOGo, Aug. 20, 2007)


• "Hey, Mr. Postman, Is There a Letter for Me?" (UChiBLOGo, Mar. 24, 2004)

SEEDS AND THE CITY
"Online Magazine Explores the Intersection of Nature and the City" (Chicago Weekly, Feb. 19, 2009)
Sociology PhD student David Schalliol, AM'04, describes his new Web site metroblossom.com as a place to use photos, paintings, and stories to examine "the relationship that humans have with the non-human world and formal world."

CAT'S MEOW
"Hyde Park Cat Lovers Trap, Neuter, and Release" (Chicago Weekly, Feb. 19, 2009)
Terren Ilana Wein, the Divinity School's director of communications, helps homeless and lost neighborhood felines through her work with Hyde Park Cats.

ON THE MAP
First-year economics PhD student Evan Miller maps out common Hyde Park necessities in real-time, including the locations of open WiFi Internet connections, local buses, criminal activity, and mail boxes.

RETAILING IN THE RECESSION
"Chicago Solar Bag Company Basks in Green Craze Glow" (Medill Reports Chicago, Mar. 3, 2009)
Noon Solar business manager Byron Crawford, MBA'05, finds being that small is an advantage during the recession.

• "Taste of Chicago" (University of Chicago Magazine, Nov–Dec/08)

RETAILING IN THE RECESSION REDUX
"Transparent, Community-Oriented Hyde Park Grocer Sustains Sales Growth" (Medill Reports Chicago, Mar. 4, 2009)
Steven Lucy, AB'06, and Andrew Cone, SB'06, envision their five-month-old grocery store Open Produce, located on 55th Street, as "a way to directly involve in the community and provide the service that people would value and respect," says Cone.

• "Open Market" (UChiBLOGo, Oct. 24, 2008)


• Sustainability at the University of Chicago

MODERATION IN ALL THINGS
"A Moderate Manifesto" (New York Times, Mar. 2, 2009)
In a new op-ed David Brooks, AB'83, writes about being a moderate in a "war of the extremes."

• "Elemental Obama" (University of Chicago Magazine, Sept-Oct/08)


• "Everybody's a Critic" (University of Chicago Magazine, Feb/04)


• "When Hyde Park Rules America" video lecture (Myron Scholes Global Markets Forum)


• "The Final Countdown" video lecture (UnCommon Core, Alumni Weekend 2008)

APARTMENT THERAPY
"Alum Anticipates South Campus Growth, Rehabs Old Apartment Buildings" (Chicago Maroon, Mar. 3, 2009)
"Over the next five to ten years, the market is going to appreciate quite a bit, especially since a huge number of students will exist on that 61st Street block," says Craig Huffman, AM'94, MBA'03.

HIJABI MONOLOGUES
"The Women under the Head Scarves" (Los Angeles Times, Mar. 6, 2009)
A play by Dan Morrison, AM'06, Zeenat Rahman, AM'06, and Sahar Ullah, AM'07—performed recently in Los Angeles—examines the Muslim head scarf through a series of ten monologues.

• "‘The Hijabi Monologues’ Speaks to Muslims and Others Too" (Chicago Tribune, Jan. 9, 2009)


• "The Hijabi Monologues Resonates through the Power of Storytelling" (Common Grounds News Service, Jan. 6, 2009)


• Hijabi Monologues' group on Facebook

FEAR FACTOR
"Shull Redefines Human Reaction to Market Volatility" (MSNBC, Mar. 6, 2009)
Denise Shull, AM'95, advises traders to use their emotions to take advantage of the scary marketplace.

• Trader Psyches


• Transcript: "The Government Gets A Bigger Chunk of Citigroup" (PBS, Nightly Business Report, Feb. 27, 2009)

FOSTERING WELLNESS ON CAMPUS
"UnCommon Interview with Meredith Haggerty" (Chicago Maroon, Mar. 3, 2009)
At her new Hyde Park-based private practice, former Student Care Center (SCC) movement specialist Meredith Haggerty, MFA'07, uses her knowledge of yoga and dance to help students manage stress.

BAD-LOAN FIX?
"The Better, Cheaper Mortgage Fix" (Slate, Mar. 2, 2009)
Law School professor Eric Posner and Chicago Booth professor Luigi Zingales propose a solution to the inevitable government intervention to solve the homeowner debt-relief problem.

EBONY EXPERIMENT
"Oak Park Couple Travels Far and Wide to Buy Only from Black-Owned Businesses" (Chicago Tribune, Mar. 9, 2009)
Maggie Anderson, JD'98, MBA'01, and her husband, John, are attempting to buy only from black-owned businesses for one year. "More than anything, this is a learning thing," says Maggie Anderson.

• Ebony Experiment Web site


• Ebony Experiment blog

FILM'S UNFORGOTTEN FRIEND
"Remembering Gene" (Roger Ebert's Journal, Feb. 17, 2009)
Film critic Roger Ebert, X'70, shares memories of his At the Movies cohost Gene Siskel on the tenth anniversary of his passing.

FOSSIL WATCH
"Anthropologist Donald Johanson on 'Lucy's Legacy'" (Talk of the Nation, NPR, Mar. 6, 2009)
Paleoanthropologist Donald Johanson, AM'70, PhD'74, describes how “Lucy”—a fossil link between primates and humans that Johanson discovered in Ethiopia in 1974—helps us understand the human family tree.

POETIC COMPLICATIONS
"Beers Celebrates the Publication of Her Brutally Honest Poetry" (Chicago Weekly, Mar. 5, 2009)
In her new book A Brief History of Time poet Shaindel Beers, AM'00, explores what it is to grow up in rural America.

• "All That's Write" (UChiBLOGo, Feb. 18)

BROOKS... BEFORE
"Perchance to Dream" (Chicago Maroon, Mar. 10, 2009)
When the Maroon staff contacted its former editor (and current New York Times columnist) David Brooks, AB'83, about his April 6, 1982, column reprinted in the latest issue, he drew a blank: “Weird. I have no memory of that piece."

FOOTSTEPS WORTH FOLLOWING
"A Tough Flower Girl: On Norman Maclean" (Nation, Mar. 11, 2009)
Writer Philip Connors reflects on the effect Norman Maclean, PhD'40—and his writing—has had on his life.

• "The Norman Maclean Reader" (Los Angeles Times, Nov. 30, 2008)


• Maclean's A River Runs Through It, excerpt (University of Chicago Press, 1976)


• Maclean's Young Men and Fire, excerpt (University of Chicago Press, 1992)

JARRETT'S NEW JOB
"Obamas and Clinton Honor Women" (The Caucus blog, New York Times, Mar. 11, 2009)
Former U of C trustee Valerie Jarrett was chosen to lead the White House Council on Women and Girls.

• "Behind Every President..." (University of Chicago Magazine, Jan–Feb/09)


• "Elemental Obama" (University of Chicago Magazine, Sept–Oct/08)

OUR GIRL
"'My Girl' Has a Pilot!" (PopWatch blog, Entertainment Weekly, Mar. 13, 2009)
Anna Chlumsky, AB'02, debuts this fall in a CBS pilot about an aide to the Speaker of the House.

CHICAGO'S LEXICOGRAPHER
"New Online Dictionary Redefines 'Look It Up'" (Christian Science Monitor, Mar. 16, 2009)
Erin McKean, AB’93, AM’93, hopes to revolutionize dictionary-making with the launch of Wordnik.

• "Words and Enthusiasm" (UChiBLOGo, Apr. 16, 2007)


• "Caution: Words at Work" (University of Chicago Magazine, Oct/06)


• "Search for Meanings" (University of Chicago Magazine, Feb/01)

BEHIND THE SOCIAL NETWORK SCENE
"A Web Beast with a Rough Back Story" (New York Times, Mar. 15, 2009)
Wall Street Journal media reporter Julia Angwin, AB'92, digs into the history of social networking in her new book, Stealing MySpace: The Battle to Control the Most Popular Website in America.

• "Q&A: Stealing MySpace Author Julia Angwin" (Epicenter, Wired blog, Mar. 3, 2009)


• Deep Links, Julia Angwin's blog

DRUGSTORE DIRECTOR
"Walgreens Adds Bob Evans' CEO to Board" (Crain's Chicago Business, Mar. 16, 2009)
Steven Davis, MBA'83, was elected to Walgreen's board of directors.

• "Betting the Farm" (Smart Business, Feb. 2008)


• "Home-Style Hero" (Chain Leader, May 1, 2007)

SAVING THE STATIONER
"Stationer Fights Recession with Civility, Wit, and Beauty" (Medill Reports Chicago, Mar. 12, 2009)
Chandra Greer, MBA'90, focuses on creativity and flexibility to keep her stationery store profitable during this economically challenging period.

• "Taste of Chicago" (University of Chicago Magazine, Nov–Dec/08)


• "A Small Store with a Big Mission" (Chicago Business, Nov. 15, 2007)


• "From Marketing Executive to Stationery Store Owner" (O, Oprah Magazine, Sept. 2007)


• Greer Chicago

FIGHTING MENINGITIS B
"Grad Works to Develop Vaccine for Meningitis B" (Advocate Tribune, Mar. 16, 2009)
Greg Moe, PhD'85, and his colleagues achieve a breakthrough in developing a vaccine for meningococcal meningitis, MenB.

THE RIGHT TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS
"Professor Speaks about Second Amendment" (Daily Illini, Mar. 16, 2009)
"The text and history provide restraints on interpretations. It provides room for disagreements about what the amendment means," says Nelson Lund, JD'85, at an event Monday at the University of Illinois.

"WHY DO YOU STILL HAVE A JOB, MR. CRAMER?"
"Financial Journalists Fail Upward" (Wall Street Journal, Mar. 18, 2009)
Thomas Frank, AM'89, PhD'94, dissects the failures of financial-entertainment journalists.

• "Everybody's a Critic" (University of Chicago Magazine, Feb/07)


• Frank's The Conquest of Cool, excerpt (University of Chicago Press, 1997)


• Frank's Web site

THOUGHTS ABOUT TERKEL
"So Long, Studs" (AGNI Magazine, Nov. 20, 2008)
English professor emeritus Richard Stern shares his memories of Studs Terkel, PhB’32, JD’34: "It’s clear from the tributes to him that much of the reading country realizes it has lost a great man."

• "Studs: A Lifetime of Learning" (University of Chicago Magazine, Jan-Feb/09)


• Photo album: "Studs Terkel Turns the Page" (Chicago Tribune Magazine, Oct. 31, 2008)

HOW PREPARED ARE OUR STUDENTS?
"Graduate School in a New Ice Age" (The Daily Princetonian, Mar. 2, 2009)
In a recent editorial, historian Anthony Grafton, AB'71, AM'72, PhD'75, asks, "Can we be frank about the professional situation students face without inspiring despair?"

• Audio/Visuals: Codex in Crisis (UChiBLOGo, Mar. 17, 2009)


• The Crumpled Press

FICTIONALIZING POLYGAMY: PAST AND PRESENT
"David Ebershoff's Novel The 19th Wife" (Weekend Edition, NPR, Nov. 12, 2008)
Novelist David Ebershoff, MBA'96, discusses his latest book and his experience being Norman Mailer's last editor.

• "Plural Views" (University of Chicago Magazine, Nov-Dec/08)

"GLASS BOX" SUCCESS
"Do You Have Philip Glass in a Box?" (The New York Times, Mar. 13, 2009)
While other musicians struggle to sell albums, Philip Glass, AB'56, is enjoying the success of his limited edition, ten-CD retrospective set.

• "On Screen: Magnifying Glass" (University of Chicago Magazine, Jul-Aug/08)


• "Art of Glass at Court Theatre" (University of Chicago Magazine, Feb/01)

PACKED FULL OF NOSTALGIA
"Alumni Enjoy 'Reunion' of Fan Fest" (Official Web site of the Green Bay Packers, Mar. 2, 2009)
Former NFL player and U of C trustee Willie Davis, MBA'68, had fun reminiscing with Packers fans: "I was back here a couple years ago to an event and they said, 'Hey, we like you old guys because it's almost like you make us feel special.' Well, I can tell you, they make us feel special when they relate back to when we played."

ARTISTIC SPACE
"Studio Visit: Wolf Kahn" (New Art TV, Jan. 06, 2008)
Artist Wolf Kahn, AB’50, tells how his vision impairment from macular degeneration helped him become "a much better painter." A profile of Kahn will appear in the May-June Core.

• "Phoenix Pix: Mar. 16-20, 2009" (UChiBLOGo, Mar. 18, 2009)


• "On Exhibit" (University of Chicago Magazine, Oct/02)

PROVIDING EARLY-CHILDHOOD EDUCATION FOR IMMIGRANTS
"Latino Children Shortchanged on Preschool for All" (City Room, Chicago Public Radio, Aug. 14, 2008)
Erie House director Ricardo Estrada, AM'93, explains that we should "invest in these children or else we're going to pay for it down the road."

• "Glimpses: Ricardo Estrada" (University of Chicago Magazine, Mar-Apr/09)


• Video: Erie Neighborhood House in Little Village (Hosted by Bill Kurtis)


• Web site: Erie Neighborhood House

MEDAL OF HONOR
"Former Ambassador to Vatican to Be Honored" (Associated Press, Mar. 22, 2009)
Mary Ann Glendon, AB'59, JD'61, MCL'63, will receive the most prestigious honor for American Catholics—the University of Notre Dame's Laetare Medal—during its May 17 commencement ceremony.

MARKETING PLAN
"Now Is No Time to Give Up on Markets" (Wall Street Journal, Mar. 21, 2009)
In a new interview, Gary S. Becker, AM’53, PhD’55, worries that "the basic theory of interest-group politics says that they will have more influence and their influence will be to try to maintain this, and it will be hard to go back."

MAKING THE CASE
"Storied Lawyer Represents Apache" (Yale Daily News, Feb. 24, 2009)
Ramsey Clark, AM'50, JD'51, is representing 20 descendants of Geronimo in their case against Skull & Bones and the federal government with the goal of recovering the remains of the Apache chieftain.

THE JAZZ SINGER
"A Tribute Supreme" (Washington Post, Feb. 27, 2009)
Kurt Elling, X’92, reinterprets the beloved songs of John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman.

• "Vocal Ease" (University of Chicago Magazine, June/97)


• Video: "You Are Too Beautiful," performed by Kurt Elling

GARDEN STATE GOV
"In a Tough Sell, Corzine Works to Connect " (New York Times, Mar. 9, 2009)
As governor of New Jersey, Jon Corzine, MBA'73, tries to engage the community: “You’ve got to somehow break through on all these things, and the only time that people saw me break through was actually at the town hall meetings, and we ended up having a less-than-an-overwhelmingly-positive reaction because it was co-opted by the people who were opposed.”

FINANCE ADVISER
"Mary Holm Joins Capital Market Taskforce" (New Zealand Herald, Mar. 24, 2009)
Investment columnist Mary Holm, MBA'82, joined the New Zealand government's capital-market development taskforce.

"A WORLD" ARTIST
"Art Professor's Print Acquired by the National Gallery" (UDaily, Mar. 24, 2009)
The National Gallery has purchased Hilton Brown's A World for its American prints collection. Brown, who attended the U of C during the 1959 summer quarter, teaches art history, art, and women's studies at the University of Delaware.

NEW LANGUAGE FOR UNDERSTANDING RACE AND POVERTY
"How to Understand the Culture of Poverty" (Slate.com, Mar. 16, 2009)
In his review of U of C sociologist William Julius Wilson's new book More than Just Race, Sudhir Venkatesh, AM’92, PhD’97, reflects: "Change might not occur overnight, and it may not be wholesale, but it will take place."

ROCKET MAN
"Spacewalking Astronaut Practices Contingency EVA Procedures" (NASA.com, Feb. 12, 2009)
John M. Grunsfeld, SM’84, PhD’88, and other NASA engineers prepare for the final Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission in early May.

"PUBLIC OFFERING" PRO
"Trustworthy Financial Pundits" (AskMen.com, Mar. 24, 2009)
Nightly Business Report's Scott Gurvey, MBA'82, is one of five financial commentators considered reliable by the editors of AskMen.com.

HIGHER STANDARDS
"What Arne Learned" (Chicago magazine, April 2009)
Arne Duncan, U-High’82, uses what he figured out as CEO of Chicago Public Schools to bring change to the nation: "The idea of having 50 states doing their own thing has actually led to a race to the bottom, the dumbing down of standards. I want to flip that; I want to reverse that."

TRUE PUBLIC SERVANT
"Paving the Way" (OpEdNews.com, Mar. 25, 2009)
Filmmaker Kimberlee Bassford talks about the achievements of Patsy Takemoto Mink, JD’51, the first woman of color in Congress. Mink is the subject of Bassford's new PBS documentary Ahead of the Majority, airing in May.

STUNNING DEVELOPMENT
"Taser May Gain Year's Worth of Sales from Stimulus" (Bloomberg.com, Mar. 18, 2009)
Taser International, Inc.'s CEO Rick Smith, MBA'93, estimates that $2.7 billion of the $4 billion in the stimulus package allotted to law enforcement could be used for purchases including Taser products. “It could equal one year’s revenue for us, we think, if we perform well,” says Smith.

CRITIC'S CHOICE
"Magnolia at the Goodman" (Blogcritics Magazine, Mar. 21, 2009)
Chicago-based reviewer Marissa Flaxbart, AB'05, raves about the premiere of Goodman Theatre's new play Magnolia, based on Anton Chekov's The Cherry Orchard.

BY THE NUMBERS
"FREAK-Quently Asked Questions" (Freakonomics blog, New York Times, Mar. 12, 2009)
In an interview with Stephen Dubner, Nate Silver, AB'00, opens up about needing to play more Grand Theft Auto 4, wanting to write a book that "sells 40 percent as many copies as Freakonomics," and how learning to play Texas Hold 'Em got him to where he is today.

COME TOGETHER
"On Your Side Report: Spending Time" (ABC 7 Chicago, Mar. 24, 2009)
David Abuaf, AB'02, MBA'08, and his wife, Amanda, cut back on spending during the recession by finding new ways to hang out together.

VACANT-LOT FARMER
"Slices of Heaven: Illinois" (MNN: Mother Nature Network, Mar. 24, 2009)
In his book Sweet Earth, photographer Joel Sternfeld profiles City Farm, a sustainable organic farm built by Ken Dunn, AM'70, on a vacant lot in Chicago.

BETTING ON VOLATILITY
"Ex-Citadel Trader Sethi Said to Start Volatility Hedge Fund" (Bloomberg.com, Mar. 24, 2009)
Pavandeep Sethi, SM'99, is readying his own hedge fund. Named after a type of Roman sword, Gladius Investment Group is projected to start trading by June.

CREATING A CANCER SCREEN
"A Deadly Puzzle: Colorectal Cancer in African Americans" (SBSun.com, Mar. 24, 2009)
Gastroenterologist Christian S. Jackson, MD'99, developed a colorectal cancer screening program for uninsured in Chicago.

GOLDEN GLOVED COMEBACK KID
"A Chicago Boxer's Path to Redemption" (Chicago Tribune, Mar. 29, 2009)
"The boxing and the fighting—it's kind of a substitute for all the drugs and alcohol, and kind of not," says Mark Allen, AB'01. "It's obviously better. Some people will argue whether it's physically healthy because you're still doing some sort of harm to your body. But it's a healthier outlet for me."

LEARNING FROM WHAT SIMON SAYS
"Management Guru: Herbert Simon" (Economist, Mar. 20, 2009)
Nobel laureate and economist Herbert Simon, AB'36, PhD'43, gave a name—satisficing—to the real-world behavior of finding what is "good enough."

STRAIGHT TO THE TOP
"Sandell Named Simon Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery" (Economist, Mar. 20, 2009)
Scientist Linda Sandell, who did postdoctoral work in molecular biology at the University of Chicago, studies gene regulation of extracellular matrix proteins and its influence on cell phenotype at Washington University in St. Louis.

HOW DO YOU MEASURE FAITH?
"Americans Reject Labels, Not Faith" (On Faith blog, Washington Post, Mar. 18, 2009)
Brad Hirschfield, AB'86—named one of the nation’s 50 most influential rabbis in Newsweek and one of the top 30 “Preachers and Teachers” by Beliefnet.com—writes that saying 'no' to your parents' religion "does not necessarily mean saying 'no' to faith and/or to God."

FREE PRESS SUPPORT
"Klobuchar Calls for National Reporter Shield Law" (Country Messenger, Apr. 1, 2009)
Amy Klobuchar, JD'85—the first woman elected to represent Minnesota in the U.S. Senate—supports the bipartisan Free Flow of Information Act: "Democracy depends on an informed public and free flow of information, and that in turn depends on journalists being able to gather information without fear."

JUDO CHAMP'S NEW MOVE
"Three Named to Combative Sports Commission" (Saint Paul Legal Ledger, Mar. 19, 2009)
Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty appointed Michelle Gravenish, AM'94, to the Combative Sports Commission. The nine-member group supervises and regulates all boxing and "tough-person" contests in the state. Gravenish has won two silver medals in state judo tournaments and took first place two years in a row in the Minnesota State Jujitsu and Submission Grappling tournaments.

CORPORATE CHANGE
"Give CEO Pay the Pink Slip" (In These Times, Mar. 23, 2009)
"The economic crisis, and the furor over executive pay and behavior, provides us with an opportunity not just to rein in ridiculous CEO compensation but also to remake the corporate system," writes senior editor David Moberg, AM'71, PhD'78, who recently received fellowships to study the new global economy.

PEACE TALKS
"Syria Calling" (New Yorker, Apr. 6, 2009)
Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Seymour Hersh, AB’58, warns the Obama administration to grab his opportunity to talk with Syrian President Bashar Assad.

CHECK MATE
"Wall Street Brings Chess to Main Street" (United States Chess Foundation, Mar. 31, 2009)
Retired businessman Rex Sinquefield, MBA’72, is sponsoring his lifelong passion, chess, in his native St. Louis.

WORKING WITH THE FDA
"Moving Up: Rendón, Broadbent Join Non-Profit C-Path (Arizona Daily Star, Mar. 22, 2009)
Beatriz Rendón, MPP’96, joined the Critical Path Institute, a nonprofit partnership of the University of Arizona and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

WEIGHT-LOSS EXPERT
"Dr. Ian Smith to Speak at IUN" (NWI.com, Mar. 31, 2009)
Ian Smith, MD’97—author of The 4 Day Diet—designed a modular eating style in which dieters change foods every four days.

EDUCATING RESEARCH
"Another Chicagoan, John Q. Easton, Tapped for Obama Administration" (The Scoop from Washington blog, Chicago Sun-Times, Apr. 3, 2009)
President Obama nominated John Q. Easton, PhD'81, executive director of the Consortium on Chicago School Research, to direct the Institute of Education Sciences, the nation's engine for evaluating and improving education.

HUMAN SIDE OF THE FINANCIAL CRISIS
"Professor Examines Stocks, Emotion, Philosophy" (Daily Star, Mar. 31, 2009)
"We're still in the panic stage. Human beings are emotionally driven. This is true in the stock market," says Michael Green, AM'75, PhD'79.

GREAT DEBATER
"Debate Coach, 88, Instills Pride, Purpose for 60 Years" (Houston Chronicle, Mar. 14, 2009)
Philosophy professor Thomas Freeman, PhD'48, has led the Texas Southern University debate team for the past 60 years: “Many times I say, ‘This is a waste of effort.’ And then another student comes along.”

ON-THE-FLY CRITICISM
"David Suzuki Shares His Thoughts on Shen Yun" (Epoch Times, Apr. 4, 2009)
Zoologist David Suzuki, AM'93, offers his critique of Shen Yun after watching the Chinese classical dance group perform at Vancouver’s Queen Elizabeth Theatre.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY WATCH
"It’s Not Just Microsoft That’s Balking at Google’s Book Plans" (Bits technology blog, New York Times, Apr. 4, 2009)
Law School professor Randy Picker, JD’85, identifies potential antitrust problems with the Google Book Search settlement.

NO CHANCE FOR THE CUBS?
"An Inferiority Complex 101 Years in the Making" (USA Today, Apr. 3, 2009)
"For the Cubs to have gone this long without winning everything, in a statistical sense, is highly unlikely to have happened by chance," economist Allen Sanderson, AM'70, says. "So if it's not bad luck, what is it?"

CHOREOGRAPHING THE PAST
"Black America Dances U.S. History" (Radio France Internationale, Mar. 17, 2009)
A new exhibition at the National Dance Centre (CND) in Paris traces black and white dance forms in America and reflects on the legacy of choreographer Katherine Dunham, PhB’36.

SIZING UP CHICAGO BASEBALL
Opinionated: 2009 Sizzlers and Fizzlers" (Chicago, Apr. 2009)
Pundit and statistician Nate Silver, AB’00, predicts a big season for the Cubs and Indians, but he expects trouble for the Sox and Pirates.

EDITORIAL LEGACY
“Chris Newman” (News Bites blog, Chicago Reader, Apr. 7, 2009)
Andrew Patner, X’81, and Ron Dorfman, AB’62, reveal how Chicago’s senior editor Christine [“Chris”] Newman, AB’73, AM’74, helped find and shape the magazine’s most memorable—and award-winning—stories.

PROLIFERATING NONPROLIFERATION
"Axelrod: Obama Will Create Nuke-Free World" (Politico Live blog, Apr. 5, 2009)
During an interview last Sunday, White House senior adviser David Axelrod, AB'76, discussed President Obama's disarmament plans: "We live in a dangerous world, and we can't unilaterally disarm, but we can lead the movement to corral nuclear weapons and begin the process of reduction."

NEW WHITE HOUSE ROLE
“President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts” (White House, Office of the Press Secretary, Apr. 8, 2009)
Yesterday President Obama nominated Mary L. Smith, JD’91, for assistant attorney general, tax division.

REPLACING RAHM, UPDATE
“Mike Quigley Wins Election to Congress” (Chicago Tribune, Apr. 8, 2009)
After winning Illinois's 5th Congressional District special election earlier this week, Democrat Mike Quigley, AM’85, heads to Washington to replace Rahm Emanuel, President Obama’s chief of staff, in Congress.

POWER MAKER
“Peter Tallian Named CFO at BTU” (Journal of New England Technology, Apr. 9, 2009)
Peter Tallian, MBA’82, is the new CFO for the solar-cell, nuclear-fuel and fuel-cell maker BTU International Inc.

CAMPUS LEADER
“Holy Cross Announces New Director of Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture” (Holy Cross News Office, Apr. 6, 2009)
In his new position at Holy Cross, Thomas M. Landy, AM’86, a religious scholar, plans to develop mission-related programming for students.

FILMMAKER’S INSPIRATION
“The Secrets Behind Let the Right One In” (Time Out London, Apr. 2-8, 2009)
When listing his influences, Swedish director Tomas Alfredson includes The Graduate by filmmaker Mike Nichols, X’53, at the top of his list. “It’s very funny, but it’s also very serious at the same time.”

BASEBALL SPEAK
“Yannigans of Summer” (Washington Post, Apr. 9, 2009)
David Broder, AB’47, AM’51, recommends The Dickson Baseball Dictionary to lovers of the language of America’s favorite pastime.

CONNECTIVITY, NOT COMMUNITY
“Twittering in Silence” (kulturCritic blog, Apr. 10, 2009)
“We share our daily goings-on, our clumsy missteps and our secret intimacies with those who would be watching us—our friends and followers.” says Sandy Krolick, AM’76. “We are all voyeurs and exhibitionists seeking the thrill of connectivity without the weighty consequences of real life community.”

HAPPINESS HOW-TO
“The How of Happiness” (Good Housekeeping, Apr. 2009)
If you’re in a bad mood, psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, AB’60, PhD’65, suggests that you try to find your “flow.”

AN HONOR FOR ASHCROFT
“Truman Selects Three for Honorary Degrees” (Heartland Connection, KTVO3, Apr. 10, 2009)
John Ashcroft, JD’67, will deliver the commencement address and receive an honorary degree at Truman State University’s May 9 graduation ceremonies.

ASTRONOMER-ATHLETE
“Before Revolutionizing Astronomy, Hubble Helped Rewrite Record Books”(Chicago Maroon, Apr. 10, 2009)
Edwin Hubble, SB’10, PhD’17, impressed not only his U of C teachers in the classroom but also his fellow student-athletes and coaches on the basketball court and around the track.

CONCIERGE CARE PRACTICES
“Concierge Doctors: The Future of Primary Care?” (In Denver Times, Apr. 13, 2009)
Medical ethics and health policy assistant professor G. Caleb Alexander, SM’03, worries that concierge care raises ethical questions: “Concerns have been raised about retainer-fee practices leading to patient abandonment as they convert, possible decrease in charity care and exacerbation of health-care inequities.”

LIVING IN A REVOLUTIONARY AGE
“Why Things May Never Return to Normal” (Flow Chart blog, U.S. News & World Report, Apr. 10, 2009)
In an interview with business correspondent Rick Newman, Joshua Cooper Ramo, AB’92, describes how on 9/11, “19 guys on four airplanes realigned our entire security structure.”

MEMORIES OF HIROSHIMA
“Hideko Tamura Snider Calls for the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons” (Wooster News Office, Apr. 6, 2009)
Haunted by the bombing of Hiroshima, survivor Hideko Tamura Snider, AM’60, speaks out against nuclear weapons: “My mother never came home, and it has left a hole in my heart to this day. I lived a miserable existence for many years and tried to take my own life on several occasions.”

MOVIE RETROSPECTIVE
“Shorts, Fests, Etc, 4/11” (The Daily blog, IFC.com, Apr. 11, 2009)
Starting this week through May, the films of Mike Nichols, X’53, make up the latest retrospective at MoMA in New York. Rajendra Roy, the chief curator of film at MoMA, says, “Here is a guy who is in some ways quintessentially Hollywood, and yet you can see in his movies a consistent through-line. He’s an example of how popular cinema can be vision based.”

BALANCING TRUE LOVE & HAPPINESS
“Is Lasting Love Altruistic Love?” (BlissTree.com, Apr. 11, 2009)
Director of the National Opinion Research Center’s General Social Survey since 1980, Tom Smith, PhD’80, found that “having feelings of altruistic love toward a significant other not only leads to greater marital happiness but general increase in general happiness in one’s life.”

TECHNOLOGY TAKEOVER
“Oracle in $7.4bn Swoop on Sun” (Financial Times, Apr. 20, 2009)
Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, who studied physics at Chicago before leaving to start the software company in 1977, has closed a deal to purchase Sun Microsystems.

SETTLING THE SCORE
“From Urinetown to Ancient Greece” (Los Angeles Times, Apr. 22, 2009)
Tony Award winner Mark Hollmann, AB’85, created the music and lyrics and Edward Jack Helbig, AB'80, wrote the book for The Girl, the Grouch, and the Goat—a musical loosely based on the ancient Greek comedy Dyskolos that debuted at the Chance Theater in Anaheim Hills.

FIRM DEAL
“Sutton and Ratcliffe Launch New Firm with Ashcroft” (Tex Parte blog, Texas Lawyer, Apr. 21, 2009)
John Ashcroft, JD’67, former U.S. attorney general, is starting a new law firm in Texas—Ashcroft Sutton & Ratcliffe—with two former Texas U.S. attorneys.

DEATH ROW RECORDS-HOLDER
“New Life for Death Row” (Macleans, Apr. 23, 2009)
WIDEawake Entertainment Group founder Lara Lavi, X’82, made her first connection to the music world while waiting tables at the blues bar Kingston Mines to pay her U of C tuition.

IN BLUME
“Girlfriends’ Cyber Circuit Author Interview: Jennifer O’Connell” (Reading, Writing, and Chocolate blog, Apr. 22, 2009)
Jennifer O’Connell, MBA’96, editor of the young-adult anthology Everything I Needed to Know About Being a Girl I Learned From Judy Blume, answers questions about her dream job, upcoming projects, and chocolate preferences.

ORBITING B-BALL
“Hubble’s U of C Basketball Shooting into Space” (Chicago Sun-Times, Apr. 22, 2009)
When astronaut John M. Grunsfeld, SM’84, PhD’88, shuttles into space mid-May, he’ll bring with him a 100-year-old basketball that belonged to another alum: Edwin Hubble, SB’10, PhD’17.

GLASS ON GLASS
“Q&A: Ira Glass” (Hypertext blog, Chicago Tribune, Apr. 17, 2009)
This American Life host Ira Glass talks about getting to know his cousin, Philip Glass, AB’56, and planning their upcoming collaboration: “He’s going to sit onstage with a piano and play stuff, and I’m going to play some of the symphonic stuff on a machine for him to talk about.”

DANGEROUS WEB
“The Internet Is Absolute Democracy—Be Very Afraid!” (Tom Alderman's blog, Huffington Post, Apr. 22, 2009)
Robert Thompson, AB’81, worries about the Internet’s “precarious nature of authority. It’s potentially dangerous. It’s a complete democratization of information where unverified knowledge is often the result of our own emotional state.”

PUZZLE MASTER
“Pick Nine: Forming Words from a Jumble of Toothpicks” (Wired, Apr. 20, 2009)
Martin Gardner, AB’36, challenges readers to spell out Obama’s name by adjusting the placement of nine toothpicks from his original arrangement.

RHYTHM REUNITES
“Blues Reunion: Lay, Rockin’ Johnny Together for the First Time in a Decade” (South Bend Tribune, Apr. 23, 2009)
Guitarist Johnny Burgin, AB’92, rejoins drummer Sam Lay’s band for a Saturday gig in Mishawaka, Indiana: “It’s good to be back. It’s really wonderful.”

ME, MYSELF, AND I
“Generation Me” (Newsweek, Apr. 18, 2009)
In their new book The Narcissism Epidemic, Jean Twenge, AB’93, AM’93, and W. Keith Campbell reveal that nearly 10 percent of 20-somethings have experienced symptoms of narcissistic personality disorder, compared with 3 percent of the 65-and-over set.

BACK AT THE MOVIES
“Ebert Provides Tiny Sneak Preview of New Movies Show” (Chicago Tribune, Apr. 24, 2009)
Film critic Roger Ebert, X’70, announced his plans to debut a movie-review program involving critics Richard Roeper (Chicago Sun-Times), Michael Philips (Chicago Tribune), and Christy Lemire (Associated Press).

COLLEGE PREP TRANSITION
“Chicago’s Top Students Could Be Attending Tougher Colleges” (Eight Forty-Eight, Chicago Public Radio, Apr. 23, 2009)
“Even smart students are not born knowing how you make a good college choice or where you should go to college or how you should fill out a college application,” says Jenny Nagaoka, AM’99, the project director of the Chicago Postsecondary Transition Project based at the SSA.

CHICAGO CONNECTION CONTINUES
“Stony Brook Names New President" (Long Island Business News, Apr. 24, 2009)
Stony Brook University officials announced that Samuel L. Stanley Jr., AB’76, will serve as the school’s fifth president, replacing Shirley Strum Kenny, PhD’64—the institution’s first female president—who retires in June.

FAUX BUT FUNNY
“Seymour Hersh Uncovers New Thing Too Sad to Think About” (Onion, Apr. 22, 2009)
The comedy team behind the fake stories at the Onion take a jab at investigative journalist Seymour Hersh, AB’58.

PHOTOGRAPHY PIONEER
“Stubbornly Practicing His Principles of Photography” (New York Times, Apr. 26, 2009)
Self-taught photographer Danny Lyon, AB’63, shares self-assigned—and largely unpublished—photos from the past four decades in his newest book Memories of Myself.

SINGING HER PRAISES
“Not Your Typical Nun” (Southtown Star, Apr. 12, 2009)
Sue Sanders, PhD’91, was awarded the Unsung Heroine Award from the Cook County Commission on Women’s Issues in March for her work “highlighting the powerful effect women have on the development of social, cultural, economic, and political institutions.”

TOP DOC
“Beutler Shares America’s Largest Prize in Medicine” (La Jolla Light, Apr. 24, 2009)
Bruce Beutler, MD’81, was honored last week for his discoveries that transformed the field of immunology with the $500,000 Albany Medical Center Prize, the largest award in medicine or science in the United States.

UNCOMMON MAN
“Uncommon Questions in Review” (New York Times, Apr. 14, 2009)
Dean of Admissions Theodore A. O’Neill, AM’70, shares his favorite uncommon application questions.

INTELLECTUAL PROVOCATEUR
“In It for the Duration” (Miller-McCune, Apr. 23, 2009)
Bard College president Leon Botstein, AB’67, discusses the state of education—from how No Child Left Behind testing encourages “outdated social science” to why mathematicians should be teaching math.

GREAT BROOKS SEMINAR
“Axelrod on Brooks: ‘True Public Thinker’” (Michael Calderone’s blog, Politico, Apr. 28, 2009)
“Most of you don’t know this, but David (Brooks, AB’83) and I have lived parallel lives,” David Axelrod, AB’76, revealed earlier this week at The Week’s Sixth Annual Opinion Awards, where Brooks was honored as columnist of the year.

GLENDON DECLINES ND HONOR
“An Open Letter to Notre Dame” (Newsweek, Apr. 27, 2009)
In a letter to the Notre Dame president sent earlier this week, Mary Ann Glendon, AB’59, JD’61, MCL’63, declined its Laetare Medal because of the university conferring an honorary degree on President Obama.

YOU SAY TOMATO, I SAY TOMAHTO
“Of Loos and Language” (New York Times, Apr. 29, 2009)
Columnist Roger Cohen considers the differences between British and American English after his friend Vincent Katz, AB’82, casually used the word “knackered” during dinner conversation.

100 DAYS IN ~200 WORDS
“God Loves Obama” (The Daily Beast blog, Apr. 29, 2009)
Ana Marie Cox, AB’94, recaps the first 100 days of the Obama administration.

EVIDENCE EVALUATION
“Guggenheims Awarded to Profs” (UC Davis News Office, Apr. 21, 2009)
With the Guggenheim Fellowship that Frances Dolan, PhD’88, won earlier this month, she plans to spend a year writing a book about the nature of historical evidence and how it should be evaluated.

RELOCATE STAGE RIGHT
“Ray Cullom Named New Director at Long Wharf” (Hartford Courant, Apr. 27, 2009)
As the new managing director of New Haven’s (CT) Long Wharf Theatre, Ray Cullom, AB’88, plans to work with local officials and developers to oversee the theater’s move downtown.

COMMUNICATIONS REGULATOR
“Verveer May Fill State Dept Telecom Slot” (Lost in Transition blog, National Journal, Apr. 23, 2009)
Philip Verveer, JD’69, is expected to become the State Department’s next U.S. coordinator for international communications and information policy.

ECOLOGIST’S COMMUNITY CALLING
“Chase Makes Tyson Research Center a Regional Hub” (Record, Washington University in St. Louis News Office, Apr. 23, 2009)
“We try to understand what the processes are that create variation,” says Jonathan M. Chase, PhD’88. “In Missouri, we’re right in the middle of an ecological zone where prairies, forests, savannas, streams, natural wetlands and ponds come together.”

MOSCOW NEWS MATRIARCH
“A Paper of Pioneers and Purges” (Moscow News, Apr. 23, 2009)
In honor of its upcoming anniversary, editors at the Moscow News are taking a three-part look at the origins of their newspaper, founded in 1919 by Anna Louise Strong, PhD 1908, in Seattle.

ON BOARD
“O-I Appoints Geldmacher to Board” (PRNewsWise.com, Apr. 23, 2009)
Jay L. Geldmacher, MBA’91, has been appointed to serve on the board of directors of glass-container manufacturer Owens-Illinois, Inc.

HERSH WORDS
“Ace Investigative Journalist Seymour Hersh to Deliver Keynote Speech at Arab Media Forum” (AME Info, Apr. 29, 2009)
Seymour Hersh, AB’58, is scheduled to talk about his journalism experiences in the Middle East at the Arab Media Forum in early May.

PROVOST PROMOTION
“Anderson Becomes Associate Provost” (Wesleyan Connection, Wesleyan University News Office, Apr. 29, 2009)
In her new position as associate provost of Wesleyan University, Karen Anderson, AM’89, PhD’01, will develop curriculum, recruit faculty, manage student services, and incorporate new technologies on campus.

NEW FLIGHT PLAN
“That Big Hole You See at American Airlines Is Where Henry Joyner Used to Be” (Dallas Morning News, Apr. 27, 2009)
Henry Joyner, MBA’80, is retiring from American Airlines in June. Since coming on board as planning veep in 1980, Joyner held several positions with the company and created many lasting programs, including AAdvantage.

BREAKBEAT CONNECTIONS
“In Harlem, Reaching Out to Muslims Through Hip-Hop” (World Hip-Hop Market, Apr. 27, 2009)
“Hip-hop has become a space where young Muslims can express themselves and not feel like an alien, but feel respected,” says Intercity Muslim Action Network founder Rami Nashashibi, AM’98.

SMART MONEY’S ON SMAGHI
“Smaghi Makes the Case Against EU Quantitative Easing” (Market Watch, Wall Street Journal, May 4, 2009)
Columnist David Marsh explains why economist Lorenzo Bini-Smaghi, PhD’88, is a familiar name to people who follow the European Central Bank.

A WALK TO REMEMBER
“The Meaning of ‘Philanthropy’” (The Phoenix, Apr. 27, 2009)
Christopher Lawrence shares a story about his last walk with his father, G. E. “Skip” Lawrence, AM’75, who recently died.

(UN)COMMON LAW
“Smorgas-Bork” (City Journal, May 1, 2009)
University of Mississippi law professor Jack Wade Nowlin reviews A Time to Speak, a new book of selected writings and arguments by Robert Bork, AB’48, JD’53.

CREATURE KEEPER
“A Travel Coordinator for Lizards and the Like” (New York Times, May 4, 2009)
Replacing broken dinosaur bones and hunting down bats to buy is all in a day’s work for the American Museum of Natural History’s Adrianna Gyorfi, AB’08.

TIMELESS TOME
“Jersey Boy” (Paper Cuts blog, New York Times, May 4, 2009)
Fifty years ago Philip Roth, AM’55, published Goodbye, Columbus. Here he discusses his first book’s 50th-anniversary edition.

KEYS TO SUCCESS
“Philip Glass’s Other Career as a Pianist” (Sunday Times, May 3, 2009)
“The older I get, the better I get,” says Philip Glass, AB’56. “I love performing, and without sounding arrogant, I’ve [gotten] better.”

EARNED INHERITANCE
“Key to a Legacy of Learning” (Mennonite Weekly Review, May 4, 2009)
For her academic achievements, USC student Sam Bishop, the great-great niece of C. Henry Smith, AB 1903, PhD 1907, was given the same Phi Beta Kappa key her ancestor earned while at the University of Chicago.

AURAL HISTORY
“Mad about Music” (New York Public Radio, May 3, 2009)
Mike Nichols, X’53, names his favorite composers (Beethoven, Mozart, Schubert, and Strauss) and describes how his poet grandmother translated Oscar Wilde’s Salome from the French into German so it could serve as a libretto for Strauss.

MILESTONES

• “Calderon Names Sanchez to Mexico Central Bank Board” (Bloomberg, Apr. 23, 2009)
  Mexican President Felipe Calderon nominated economist Manuel Sanchez Gonzalez, AM’83, PhD’85, as the central bank’s deputy governor.
• “Retired Kroger Executive Pichler to Receive Honorary Doctorate” (University of Cincinnati News Office, May 4, 2009)
  Joseph A. Pichler, MBA’63, PhD’66, will receive an honorary degree from the University of Cincinnati at its commencement ceremony June 13.
• “Mount Carmel Honors Robinson” (Chicago Sun-Times, May 2, 2009)
  Revisiting his high school last week, Craig Robinson, MBA’91, reminisced: “This place is terrific. It played a big role in my Ivy League education. The work ethic, discipline, and structure they have here helped shape the person I am.”
• “Event for Juvenile Diabetes” (Breaking Schmooze blog, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Apr. 14, 2009)
  In early May Arnold W. Donald, MBA’80, will receive the Living and Giving Award for his philanthropy and efforts to help find a cure for juvenile diabetes.

FRIEDMAN’S REMEDY
“WWMFD” (Free Exchange blog, Economist, May 1, 2009)
Recalling the ideas of economist Milton Friedman, AM’33, and his former students and colleagues—including Chicago Booth’s Gary Becker, AM’53, PhD’55, and Sam Peltzman, PhD’65—may shed light on how Friedman would remake America’s financial regulatory system.

DESIGNER GENES
“Analysis Finds Strong Match Between Molecular, Fossil Data in Evolutionary Studies” (BiologyNews.net, Apr. 28, 2009)
University of Chicago paleontologist David Jablonski’s research with John A. Finarelli, PhD’07, finds that genetics more accurately determine evolutionary relationships than a comparison of discrepancies in the physical characteristics preserved in fossils.

MACROECONOMIST FOR GOVERNOR
“Inflation Concern for State Candidate” (Ventury County Star, May 1, 2009)
“It is worth the two years of pain to get what I consider permanent, realistic reform,” says California’s Republican candidate for governor Tom Campbell, AB’73, AM’73, PhD’80. “I recognize it’s a long-term benefit and a short-term pain, but that’s the kind of trade-off I would make.”

MILESTONES

• “Two Commanding Officers of Obama’s New Volunteering Era” (Vita Europe, Apr. 30, 2009)
  Sonal Shah, AB’90, is the head of the new White House Office of Social Innovation.
• “Durbin Announces Bipartisan Screening Committees” (Senator Durbin’s Web site, Apr. 27, 2009)
  Abner Mikva, AM’51, Diana White, PhD’78, JD’81, and Michele Ruiz, JD’94, were appointed to Senator Dick Durbin’s screening committee to assist in selecting federal district court judges, U.S. attorneys, and U.S. marshals for the state of Illinois.
• “Focus: Holly Humphrey” (Crain’s Chicago Business, May 4, 2009)
  Crain’s Chicago Business labeled Pritzker School of Medicine’s dean for medical education Holly Humphrey, MD’83, one of this year’s “Women to Watch.”
• “Circuit Court Judge and Constitutional Law Scholar McConnell Joins Stanford Law School Faculty” (Business Wire, May 5, 2009)
  Former Law School professor and scholar Michael W. McConnell, JD’79, was chosen to direct the Stanford Constitutional Law Center.
• “Profiles in Power” (National Law Journal, Apr. 1. 2009)
  James G. Potter, JD’78; Rick Palmore, JD’77; and William von Hoene, JD’80, were named to the National Law Journal’s “Top 20 Most Influential General Counsel” list.

YOUR BRAIN ON FAT
“Former FDA Commissioner Reveals Why Americans Overeat” (Chicago Tribune, May 5, 2009)
Former FDA commissioner David A. Kessler, JD’78, answers questions about how fatty dishes loaded with salt and sugar “hijack our brain circuitry.”

GO-EASY ECONOMICS
“Bailout Justice” (New York Times, May 4, 2009)
In an op-ed for the New York Times, John Ashcroft, JD’67, writes: “Justice is a value, the adherence to which includes seeking the best outcome for the American people.”

WIRELESS WORDS
“Princeton to Launch Kindle Pilot Program” (Daily Princetonian, May 8, 2009)
“[The selection of books] actually available on the Kindle is not very impressive,” says Princeton history professor Anthony Grafton, AB’71, AM’72, PhD’75, a user of the Kindle 2. “They will need to do some work on what’s available before it’s totally satisfactory.”

‘HOMEWARD’ BOUND FOR BROADWAY
"Lithgow, Jones, Sadoski and Dano Set for Reading" (Playbill, May 7, 2009)
Pulitzer-winning playwright David Auburn, AB’91, penned a new adaptation of the 1957 play Look Homeward, Angel, which is aiming for a fall 2009 Broadway revival.

STAR TREK
“Grunsfeld Will Ride to Rescue of Hubble” (Chicago Tribune, May 8, 2009)
John Grunsfeld, SM’84, PhD’88, who heads back into space next week on a mission to rescue the Hubble Space Telescope, was “a very hard worker” as a student, according to University physicist Dietrich Mueller.

EXAMPLES OF THE UNTHINKABLE
“Future Shock” (Economist, May 7, 2009)
In a review of The Age of the Unthinkable by Joshua Cooper Ramo, AB’92, Economist editors praise his use of case studies: “Ramo uses his anecdotes to make some sharp observations.”

MILESTONES

• “Marsalis, Bienen to Receive Honorary Degrees” (Daily Northwestern, May 7, 2009)
  Before Northwestern president Henry S. Bienen, AM’62, PhD’66, steps down in August he will receive an honorary degree at the university’s 151st annual commencement.
• “Pennsylvania NanoMaterials Commercialization Center Approves Technical Advisory Chair” (NanoWerk, Apr. 28, 2009)
  Research scientist Paul Share, SB’80, was chosen to chair the technical advisory committee of the Pennsylvania NanoMaterials Commercialization Center.

LOVE AND MARRIAGE...AND POLITICS
"Could the GOP Win Converts with a New, Pro-Family, Anti-Divorce Agenda?" (My TPM blog, Talking Points Memo, May 8, 2009)
Writer Joe Perez, AM'69, looks at the politics of same-sex marriage: "It's quite possible that youth raised in an age where Britney Spears and other celebrities have trivialized marriage could be attraced to a pro-family policy agenda that isn't just a mask for homophobia."

OF GOATS & GROUCHY FARMERS
"Steel Beam to Bring Local Writer's Musical to Life" (Daily Herald, May 10, 2009)
Wild Goat, a new musical collaboration between Mark Hollmann, AB’85, and Edward Jack Helbig, AB'80, opens this Friday at Steel Beam Theatre in suburban Chicago and runs through June 28.

AGAINST ALL ODDS
"Know When to Walk Away" (AntiWar.com, May 11, 2009)
"It is too late to capture bin Laden. It is time to fold and walk away. The longer we stay, the more occupying soldiers will die," writes Thomas Gale Moore, AM'59, PhD'61.

MILESTONES

• "Law Professor Resigns from Federal Appeals Court" (Salt Lake Tribune, May 5, 2009)
  Michael W. McConnell, JD'79, is leaving the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to go back to his first love: teaching.
• "Rogers Named President of Institutional Capital LLC" (PRNewsWire.com, May 2009)
  Paula L. Rogers, MBA'88, was promoted to president of Institutional Capital LLC, a large-cap value investment management company.
• "Teaching Awards Presented at Annual Class and Charter Day" (Hamilton College News Office, May 8, 2009)
  Bonnie Urciuoli, AM'76, PhD'84, was awarded the Sidney Wertimer Award in recognition for her work as a "mentor and active participant within the Hamilton community."

CARLOS, DON'T GO CHANGIN'
"Lay Off Big Z" (ESPN Chicago, Apr. 30, 2009)
"If you strike out, break a bat over your knee. If anyone gives you lip, feel free to pop them one. And if the mood strikes you, feel free to point out to the bleachers and swing as hard as you can, because what the hell, right? It's just baseball," writes sports columnist Jon Greenberg, AM'07, about Carlos Zambrano of the Cubs.

LIBERTAD Y LA LEY
"'It's Not a Place, It's a Pathology'" (American Spectator, Apr. 30, 2009)
Juan Javier del Granado, U-High'84, AB'89, dreams of transforming Latin America into a place where "foundations of law can foster prosperity and ordered liberty."

FOOD POLITICS
"The Gourmet Q+A: David Kessler" (Gourmet, May 11, 2009)
"If I give you a package of sugar and say, 'Go have a good time,' you’re going to look at me and go, 'What are you talking about?' But if I add fat, then I add color, and then I add texture and temperature, then I add the emotional appeal of advertising, and what do you expect to happen? You end up with a highly addictive product," says former FDA commissioner David A. Kessler, JD'78.

THE EGGHEAD VOTE
"The Decline of the Conservative Intellectual" (FiveThirtyEight blog, May 12, 2009)
"Having attended the University of Chicago, where there are plenty of booksmart people that you wouldn't consider particularly bright, I can tell you that the correlation between intelligence and educational attainment is considerably less than one-to-one," writes Nate Silver, AB'00, in a blog post about Law School lecturer Richard Posner's recent column about the conservative movement.

MILESTONES

• "Davies Named College Dean" (Beloit Daily News, May 9, 2009)
  Beloit College professor Ann Davies, AM'91, PhD'96, was promoted to vice president for academic affairs and dean of the college.


• "Miriam Elson, 1909-2009; Wrote Textbook on Psychology in Social Work" (Chicago Tribune, May 12, 2009)
  Psychiatric social worker and SSA lecturer Miriam A. Elson, AM'42, died May 6 in her Hyde Park home at age 99.

NAMING NARCISSISM
"Why Your Baby's Name Will Sound Like Everyone Else's" (Wired Science blog, Wired, May 8, 2009)
Psychiatrists Jean Twenge, AB'93, AM'93, and W. Keith Campbell assert in their book, The Narcissism Epidemic, that “naming rituals are central to cultures around the world and always have been. We now wish so fervently that our children will stand out from the crowd that we equip them with unique labels from birth.”

OUTSMARTING FATE
"Don't Underestimate the Art of Chance" (View by the Bay, ABC San Francisco News, May 12, 2009)
"When you can't predict, accept the fact you can't predict and act accordingly," argues Robin Hogarth, PhD'72, who wrote Dance with Chance, a book about luck.

WILL TWEET FOR WORK
"Using Twitter for the Job Search" (Laid Off and Looking blog, Wall Street Journal, May 12, 2009)
Rachel Levy, MBA'98, has made job-search connections more meaningful through Twitter: "I registered for an event at Harvard Business School to listen to a panel about the future of marketing. The day after I registered, one of the panelists started following me on Twitter. When I met her in person, our introduction was much more meaningful, and I could stand out from the other people she was meeting. Fast forward three months later, and she just referred two potential consulting clients to me."

MILESTONES

• "Leon Despres, R.I.P." (Brainstorm: Lives of the mind blog, Chronicle of Higher Education, May 7, 2009)
  Columnist Stan Katz remembers Leon Despres, AB'27, JD'29: "Chicago is a better city for having been home to Leon Despres, and I hope his career will inspire others to aspire to the old fashioned liberal values of this great urban citizen."

SUPREME CHOICE
"Who's on the Way to the Court: Chart the Course" (Legalities blog, ABC News, May 12, 2009)
"We don’t know how President Obama—who is uniquely qualified among past presidents to understand this process—will factor the prospect of a second nomination in his decision-making," writes legal news correspondent Jan Crawford Greenburg, JD'93.

SOUND OPINIONS
"Conversations from St. Norbert College" (St. Norbert College, May 6, 2009)
Sonic Solutions CEO David Habiger, MBA'98, talks about the importance for businesses to having a global footprint: "Most companies are doing what seems rational, and that is trying to find markets outside of the U.S. to grow and build accordingly."

TOO MUCH OF A BAD THING
"Mind Over (Food) Matter: Combating 'Overeating'" (Fresh Air, NPR, May 13, 2009)
Former FDA commissioner David A. Kessler, JD'78, describes how the food industry creates cravings that are so hard to resist.

HOTEL CHECK-IN
"Checking in with the Chief: Hyatt CEO Blogs Next Week" (USA Today, May 13, 2009)
Hyatt CEO Mark Hoplamazian, MBA'89, is looking for questions to answer about the hotel industry when he guest blogs next week for USA Today's Hotel Check-In.

ALL THE (GOOD) NEWS THAT'S FIT TO PRINT
"Media Sector Has Its Bright Spots" (FindingDulcinea, May 13, 2009)
Anne Szustek, AB'03, AM'04, reports that print-media investors see promise in the industry.

FUTURE OF MARKETS
"Eavesdrop on Milton Friedman’s Heirs" (Real Time Economics blog, Wall Street Journal, May 14, 2009)
Save the date: Chicago Booth is webcasting its annual management conference May 29 featuring experts Gary Becker, AM'53, PhD'55, Raghuram Rajan, Anil Kashyap, Kevin Murphy, PhD'86, Marianne Betrand, and Steven Kaplan.

GLASS NOTES
"Philip Glass Is Reflecting on Tradition" (Metro, May 14, 2009)
Composer Philip Glass, AB'56, describes how music evolves different from technology: "Music doesn't always go forward–it goes sideways, and sometimes backwards."

TO HELL AND BACK
"Grad Student Gives One 'Hell' of a Tour" (Chi-Town Daily News, May 14, 2009)
My tours were originally intended to be guerrilla walking tours, that is, un-sanctioned and un-publicized, but I like how they've evolved into participatory experiences in which my authority is continually being challenged,” says English PhD candidate Paul Durica, AM’06, who runs the Chicago-based Pocket Guide to Hell Tours.

MILESTONES

• "University to Award Honorary Degrees" (News Center blog, Case Western Reserve University News Office, May 14, 2009)
  Paleoanthropologist Donald Johanson, AM'70, PhD'74, will receive an honorary doctorate of science from Case Western Reserve University at commencement this month.


• "Abad Wins Italy's Top Literary Prize" (Good News Pilipinas, May 14, 2009)
  Poet and literary critic Gémino H. Abad, PhD'70, will be awarded Italy’s most coveted literary achievement in the Foreign Author category for his 2004 collection In Ordinary Time: Poems, Parables, Poetics.

LOVING KURT
"God Bless You, Mr. Vonnegut" (Boston Globe, May 17, 2009)
Steve Almond reviews the new memoir by Loree Rackstraw, a former student of novelist Kurt Vonnegut, AM'71: "Rackstraw remains loyal to the end, tracking [Vonnegut's] triumphs and disappointments with a tone of tender worship."

BREAKING AWAY—AND APART
"Monstrous Midway 2009" (Butler's Beers and Bikes blog, May 17, 2009)
Kevin Butler, AB'74—who's ridden in the U of C cycling team's annual "Monsters of the Midway" race for the past 15 years—recaps how this year's ended with him on the pavement, heading to the ER.

SCOTUS PICKS
"The Pitfalls of Politics" (Legalities blog, ABC News, May 18, 2009)
"This first Supreme Court pick for the new president has to be a home run—with impeccable credentials and experience and a squeaky clean record. And under the bright lights of a Supreme Court confirmation, politics—even if they’re not dirty—don’t always look squeaky clean," writes Jan Crawford Greenburg, JD'93.

ONLINE & LEGAL
"The University of Chicago Class of 2001: A Post by Eugene Kontorovich" (PrawfsBlawg, May 17, 2009)
A quarter of the bloggers writing for PrawfsBlawg graduated the Law School in 2001. "Smart, dynamic people with a lot to say will wind up looking for additional avenues in which to do so," writes Eugene Kontorovich, AB'96, JD'01. "Their cups run over."

HUBBLE BABBLE
"This Week in Science" (Daily Kos, May 16, 2009)
Daily Kos bloggers look at the life of Edwin Hubble, SB 1910, PhD 1917.

MILESTONES

• "Court’s Professionalism Award for the Ninth Circuit" (Business Wire, May 15, 2009)
  Harry H. Schneider Jr., JD'79, received the American Inns of Court’s Professionalism Award for the Ninth Circuit. The group cited Schneider for "a life and practice displaying sterling character and unquestioned integrity, coupled with ongoing dedication to the highest standards of the legal profession." (via UChicagoLaw)


• "100 Geeks You Should Be Following on Twitter" (Geek Dad blog, Wired, May 13, 2009)
  John Scalzi, AB'91, made Wired's list for must-follow tweets by "awesomely geeky geeks."


• "Tenure and Fulbright" (Empirical Legal Studies blog, May 18, 2009)
  Jason Czarnezki, JD'03, received tenure at University of Vermont Law and was named a Fulbright Scholar for 2009-10. Czarnezki and his family will travel to China, where he will teach environmental and natural-resources law. (via UChicagoLaw)

RRRRREV LIFE EXPERIENCE
“Heidegger and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance” (Slate, May 19, 2009)
Matthew Crawford, AM’92, PhD’00, shows all freedom takes is a little willingness to get your hands greasy in his book Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work.

SURROUNDED BY GREATNESS
“CEO Values Complementary Skills—for Himself and His Employees” (Chicago Tribune, May 18, 2009)
The secret to success is to “hire people smarter than you, with complementary skill sets from different industries,” says Suzlon Wind Energy CEO Andy Cukurs, MBA’94.

WRITER OF WORLD RELIGIONS
“Huston Smith: Rock Star of Religions Turns 90” (San Francisco Chronicle, May 21, 2009)
May is a busy month for Huston Smith, PhD’45. He’s celebrating his 90th birthday, the release of his autobiography Tales of Wonder, and the 50th anniversary of his best-selling book The World’s Religions.

MILESTONES

• “John G. Morris Awarded Légion d’Honneur In Paris” (National Press Photographers Association, May 19, 2009)
  Earlier this week photojournalist John Morris, AB’37, was awarded Légion d’Honneur—France’s most prestigious award.

MAN UP
"‘Up’ and Away" (Wall Street Journal, May 22, 2009)
Ed Asner, X'48, shares stories about bringing cranky balloon salesman Carl Fredericksen to life in the Pixar animated movie Up.

AUSTERE COMPOSER
"Classical Features: Philip Glass" (Independent, May 22, 2009)
Philip Glass, AB'56, reveals how his fastidious life informs his music.

CAMPUS FREE SPEECH
"Kalven Calling" (UChiBLOGo, University of Chicago Magazine, May 21, 2009)
Geoffrey Stone, JD’71; Margaret M. Mitchell, AM’82, PhD’89; and other Chicago faculty and administrators discuss “uncomfortable” issues for universities navigating the murky waters of academic freedom.

THIS IS YOUR BRAIN ON FOOD
“Hijacked Brains Conditioned to Overeat, Author Says” (CTV.ca, May 25, 2009)
“If you take these fat-sugar and fat-salt foods and put them on every street corner, it’s not a matter of willpower; your brain has been activated,” says former FDA commissioner David A. Kessler, JD’78.

THE PRESTIGE OF “DIRTY JOBS”
“The Case for Working with Your Hands” (New York Times, May 21, 2009)
Matthew Crawford, AM’92, PhD’00, excerpts his new Shop Class as Soulcraft and explains how “many of us do work that feels more surreal than real.”

SHAKESPEARE IN CHICAGO
“Tempest at Steppenwolf” (Blogcritics, May 24, 2009)
“There is something truly satisfying about the flexibility of Shakespeare’s work, and familiarity with the traditional staging makes a new, modern version that much more astonishing,” writes reviewer Marissa Flaxbart, AB’05.

NEWS ABOUT THE NEWS
“The Fat Lady Sings for Newspapers” (Marketplace, American Public Media, May 21, 2009)
While delivering the keynote speech at the New England Center for Investigative Reporting at Boston University last week, investigative journalist Seymour Hersh, AB’58, claimed the future of newspapers depends on the collaboration between “university and local media to train independent reporters.”

MILESTONES

• “NCAFP 35th Anniversary Gala & Award Dinner” (PR Leap, May 23, 2009)
  The National Committee on American Foreign Policy honored Joshua Cooper Ramo, AB’92, one of three recipients of the first Young Leaders in Advancing American Foreign Policy Award.


• “Historian Was Expert on English Revolution” (Washington Post, May 25, 2009)
  Scholar and historian Perez Zagorin, AB’44, died April 26.

POLITICAL PARTY
“Community Leader Launches Grassroots Campaign for City Council” (YouTube, May 25, 2009)
At a Memorial Day gathering of supporters, John Choe, MPP’95, announced his candidacy for the New York City Council’s 20th district seat.

HIGHER AND HIGHER EDUCATION
“Increasing High School Graduation Rates, College Going, and College Completion” (Cheyney University President’s Blog, May 26, 2009)
Cheyney University president Michelle Howard-Vital, AB’74, MAT’74, writes about her experience in higher education and explains how she has seen that “exposure to a broad base of knowledge and experiences is necessary for many individuals to develop problem-solving skills, compassion, tolerance, judgment, and empathy that will enable them to live as productive and contributing citizens in our nation.”

MEASURING UP
“Multidimensional” (New York, May 24, 2009)
Pixar’s new animated movie Up and its protagonist Carl Fredricksen, voiced by Ed Asner, X’48, charms another reviewer for being as “dark and complex and lovely as Wall-E was—with the extra charm of 3-D glasses.”

CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATOR
“Jeff Fort Founds the Black P. Stone Nation” (Chicago Crime Scenes Project, May 26, 2009)
Todd Kendall, SB’98, AM’00, PhD’03, tells the history of Jeff Fort and his Blackstone Rangers, once Chicago’s largest street gang.

FLYBOY
“This Is Why We Fly” (Houston Chronicle, May 25, 2009)
For those who question the need for people in space exploration, astronaut John M. Grunsfeld, SM’84, PhD’88, and his shuttle Atlantis team prove why “human hands and minds in orbit remain indispensable.”

FOUR DECADES ON THE FRINGE
“Urban Legend” (Time Out Chicago, May 21-27, 2009)
Gary Houston’s 1968 arrival at the University of Chicago for graduate school marked the beginning of his presence on the Chicago theater scene.

HIGH-TECH HEALTH CARE
"Working His Way Up: Success the Norm in Nguyen's Immigrant Family" (Pensacola News Journal, May 10, 2009)
Former emergency-room doctor Huy Nguyen, AB'90, MD'96, started a new career as the head of a cutting-edge software company that enables the sharing of protected health information between military and civilian doctors: "We're pretty well-positioned to facilitate the further digitalization and operability of American medicine."

MERRICK MELODRAMA
"The Elephant Man Comes to New Place Studio Theatre" (BroadwayWorld.com, May 8, 2009)
The Tony-award winning play The Elephant Man by Bernard Pomerance, AB'52, runs through June 21 at North Hollywood's New Place Studio Theatre.

CONSTRUCTION GALLERY
"South Side Artist Breaks Down Walls to Build Neighborhood Sociability, Inspires Conversation" (Medill Reports Chicago, May 27, 2009)
“I’m attracted to places where the boundary between outside and inside is really thin, and you can pass back and forth really easily without much trouble," says artist John Preus, MFA'05.

LAND OF THE FREE... AND THE FAT
"America's Reverse-Famine Crisis" (Full Comment blog, National Post, May 27, 2009)
Columnist Barbara Kay reviews The End of Overeating, the new book by David A. Kessler, JD'78: "Kessler offers no magic bullets," she writes. "Resisting hyper-palatibility still comes down to exercise and will power, which works temporarily, but rarely long term."

MILESTONES

• “WWII Nurse Gets Her Medals” (Register Citizen, May 25, 2009)
  After a 60-year delay Mary Lefebre, SB’49, was awarded the American Defense Medal, American Campaign Medal, and World War II medal for her service as an operating nurse: “I was sort of embarrassed at first about the idea, but now I’m kind of excited about it,” she says. “My uniform doesn’t fit anymore, but I have all my medals.”


• “Three Great Oregon Books for the Summer” (Powells Books blog, May 27, 2009)
  A Brief History of Time by poet Shaindel Beers, AM’00, was picked as one of three must-read books for the summer.


• “White, 1913-2009: Official with Forerunner of U.S. Energy Department” (Chicago Tribune, May 28, 2009)
  Scientist Philip Cleaver White, AB’35, PhD’38, died May 1.

ENERGETIC BUILD-UP
“A Bolt of Urban Energy for State Street” (Cityscapes blog, Chicago Tribune, May 28, 2009)
Architect Jackie Koo, AB’86, finished her first major building—the Wit hotel, located in downtown Chicago’s theater district.

TEACHER’S LESSON PLAN
“So You Want My Job: High School Teacher” (Art of Manliness blog, May 28, 2009)
Inner-city teacher Aaron Kurtz, AB’05, talks about running an after-school Chess club, relishing genuine thanks from students’ parents, and finding a classroom job in a tight economy.

PROSECUTOR-TO-BE?
“Two Current, Three Former Federal Prosecutors Are Finalists for Job” (Washington Post, May 29, 2009)
Roy L. Austin, JD’95, is one of five finalists being considered for U.S. attorney for Washington, DC.

HOW TO AVOID NORTH KOREAN BLOWBACK
“Intimidation Won’t Further Non-Proliferation” (Anti-War.com, May 29, 2009)
“It is vitally important to convince the ‘Dear Leader’ that nuclear weapons must be scrapped, but the carrot is much more likely to succeed than the stick, however emotionally satisfying the latter may seem,” writes Thomas Gale Moore, AM’59, PhD’61.

LIMITED GOVERNMENT’S LOST VOICE
“Missing Milton: Who Will Speak For Free Markets?” (Wall Street Journal, May 29, 2009)
“I would rank Milton Friedman (AM’33), next to Ronald Reagan, as the greatest apostle for freedom and free markets in the second half of the 20th century,” writes columnist Stephen Moore. “No one could slice and dice the sophistry of government market interventions better.”

PALEO-LIT
“Scientists’ Nightstand: Donald Johanson” (American Scientist, May 2009)
Paleoanthropologist Donald Johanson’s (AM’70, PhD’74) recommended reading list includes quite a bit of Darwin (The Origin of Species, The Descent of Man, and The Voyage of the Beagle), a little suspense (Erik Larson’s The Devil in the White City), and a touch of the classics (Homer’s Odyssey).

PUCKISH POLITICIAN
“Icy Tirade Hawk Squawk” (Chicago Sun-Times, May 29, 2009)
“I don’t want anyone to think I’m a tough guy,” says diehard Blackhawks fan—and Congressman—Mike Quigley, AM’85, in reference to his squabble with a Red Wings fan last Friday. “I just like hockey.”

SCHOOL TURNAROUNDS
“U.S. Effort to Reshape Schools Faces Challenges” (New York Times, Jun. 1, 2009)
Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, U-High’82, says his education initiative seeks to correct a troubling legacy of the No Child Left Behind law.

LEAVING ‘CUBICLE ALLEY’
“Save Our Souls” (American Spectator, May 27, 2009)
“Nothing against motorcycle mechanics, but most simply don’t have the language and knowledge base to compare a leaky oil cylinder on a 1983 Honda Magna V45 with Heidegger’s question of being,” writes critic Christopher Orlet in his review of Shop Class as Soulcraft by Matthew Crawford, AM’92, PhD’00.

FILM FAVORITE
“Classic Movie of the Week, by Request: The Graduate” (Examiner, May 31, 2009)
The Graduate—the second film by director Mike Nichols, X’53—earns another accolade from the reviewers at the Examiner. They ignore their usual review labels “See It” and “Skip It.” Instead, the movie merits a custom label: “You Should Have Seen It Already.”

KLINGON, JABBERWOCKY, ESPERANTO…OH MY!
“Trying to Dismantle Our Tower of Babble” (Boston Globe, May 31, 2009)
Linguistics expert Arika Okrent, PhD’04, investigates the world of artificial languages.

MEANT-TO-BE POETRY
“Interview: Shaindel Beers” (Being and Writing blog, Jun. 3, 2009)
“Some people fall into alcohol, some people fall into drugs; I fell into poetry,” says Shaindel Beers, AM’00, on the final stop of her virtual book tour.

MILESTONES

• “Sewanee School of Theology Announces New Faculty Appointments” (Episcopal Life, Jun. 1, 2009)
  Paul Holloway, PhD’98, is now associate professor of New Testament at Sewanee’s school of theology.


• “WiMAX Forum Adds Cisco to Board of Directors” (OSS News Review, Jun. 1, 2009)
  Sai Subramanian, MBA’00, joined the board of directors of WiMAX Forum, an industry-led, nonprofit organization focused on standardizing broadband wireless technologies, as a representative of Cisco.

FALL PORK OUT
“Baconfest Date and Venue Announced” (Food Chain blog, Chicago Reader, Jun. 3, 2009)
Chicagoans Andre Pluess, AB’96, Seth Zurer, AB’99, and friend Michael Griggs set the date for their first citywide celebration of all things bacon: October 25. “Every time I have a conversation with someone about Baconfest they come up with something that ought to be a part of it," says Zurer. “And I say yes to everything.”

DELIVERY BOYS
“Present at the Creation” (Wall Street Journal, Jun. 4, 2009)
Judith Walzer Leavitt, MAT’65, AM’66, PhD’75, describes the evolution of a father’s role in the birth process in Make Room for Daddy.

VETERAN VETERINARY VOICE
“Laboratory Animal Advocate Still a Force 72 Years After Graduation” (JAVMA News, Jun. 15, 2009)
Nathan Brewer, PhD’36, promotes humane care for animals used in biomedical research.

ELDER SPOKESMAN
“Asner Bears Banner for Seniors in Up” (Providence Journal, Jun. 3, 2009)
“I love carrying the banner for the old folks,” says Ed Asner, X’48. “Thank God I’m here, and I can lift it.”

MILESTONES

• “Banc of America Securities-Merrill Lynch Research Adds Strategists” (International News, Jun. 2, 2009)
  Tanapoom Damraks, AM’06, is the new commodities strategist for Banc of America Securities-Merrill Lynch Research.


• “Warne Tapped as New O’Charley’s CEO” (Nashville Business Journal, Jun. 4, 2009)
  Jeffrey Warne, MBA’94, is the new president and CEO of O’Charley’s restaurant division.


• “U46 Names Chief of Student Services” (Courier News, Jun. 4, 2009)
  Jim O’Connor, SM’00, is the new executive director of student services for School District U46 in Chicago.

TRANSFORMATIVE THINKING
“Innovation in an Age of Change” (Minnesota Public Radio, Jun. 3, 2009)
The Age of the Unthinkable author Joshua Cooper Ramo, AB’92, argues that in during this unparalleled change, those who don’t transform their thinking will be left behind.

CULTURE CRITIC
“In Conversation: Eleanor Heartney with Phong Bui” (Brooklyn Rail, June 2009)
Eleanor Heartney, AB’76, AM’80, talks about living in Hyde Park for eight years, her perpetual fascination with Catholicism, and covering the Magiciens de la Terre—the first global art fair, held in 1989.

HYDE PARK DRAMA
“World Premiere of Dr. Banner’s Garden” (South Coast Today, May 28, 2009)
The world premiere of Dr. Banner’s Garden—a play written by Hugh Aaron, AB’51, that takes place at the University of Chicago in 1947—opens June 17 at Your Theatre in New Bedford, Massachusetts.

TEACH YOUR CHILDREN WELL
“U.S. Secretary of Education Likes Basketball and Schools” (Wenatchee World, Washington Post, Jun. 4, 2009)
“My job is to help make schools better and make sure that we have great teachers and principals in every school,” says Arne Duncan, U-High’82. “I am convinced children will do extraordinarily well if given the chance.”

MEDICINE MAN
“75 Years on Front Lines of Medicine” (Chicago Tribune, Jun. 5, 2009)
Almost 100 years old, Joseph B. Kirsner, PhD’42, is mentally sharp and on top of a medical specialty he helped shape over a 75-year career.

POTTY TRAINING
“Toilet Humor Set for Toyko Theater” (Japan Times, Jun. 5, 2009)
Japanese actors prepare to bring their interpretation of Tony award-winning musical Urinetown—written by Greg Kotis, AB’88, and Mark Hollmann, AB’85—to audiences in Tokyo.

MILESTONES

• “Teacher Wins Klingenstein Fellowship” (Laboratory Schools News, Spring 2009)
  Ruthie Hansen, AB’06, won a fully funded fellowship to the 2009 Summer Institute for Early Career Teachers, offered by Columbia University.


• “Meier Joins Wake Internal Medicine Consultants” (Daily Business News, Jun. 1, 2009)
  Pediatrician John J. Meier, MBA’91, MD’04, joined the practice of Wake Internal Medicine Consultants, Inc. in North Raleigh, North Carolina.

CORE BELIEFS
"The Chicago View" (New York Times, Jun. 5, 2009)
David Brooks, AB'83, looked at the question "How U of C is Barack Obama?" at his lecture during Alumni Weekend 2008. One year later via his column at the New York Times, Brooks revisits the new president's City of Chicago roots.

RED PLANET PIX
“Phonecams Could Boost Hunt for Mars Life” (New Scientist, Jun. 2, 2009)
Patrick McGuire, AB'89, and his team of researchers perfect the art of using cellphone cameras to look for life on Mars.

EVERYBODY'S CRAZY 'BOUT A SHARP DRESSED MAN
"Meet the Semifinalists" (Esquire, Jun. 2009)
We're fans of Matthew Fan, JD'08—a semifinalist in Esquire's "Best Dressed Real Man" contest.

POETIC ASIDES
"Interview with Poet Shaindel Beers" (Writer's Digest, Jun. 08, 2009)
"I really like sestinas," says Shaindel Beers, AM'00. "There's something comforting and scary at the same time about setting up a Word document or a page in a notebook with those six end words all down the page."

MATHEMATICS AND PHYSICAL REALITY
"The Magical Marriage of Math and Science" (News & Observer, Jun. 7, 2009)
Science writer Martin Gardner, AB'36, believes mathematics would exist even if humans did not: "If two dinosaurs joined two other dinosaurs in a clearing, there would be four there, even though no humans were around to observe it, and the beasts were too stupid to know it."

GEEKED OUT
"Nerdiness Is in the Eye of the Beyholder" (Washington Post, Jun. 7, 2009)
Anthony Harris, JD'79, finishes the sentence, "You know you're a nerd when..." in his essay for the Washington Post.

THE INDEPENDENT
"Chicago Inspector General David Hoffman Is Not Afraid to Bite Mayoral Hand that Feeds Him" (Chicago Tribune, Jun. 7, 2009)
"People need to believe that you're independent of every other part of city government. Especially the mayor," says City of Chicago Inspector General David Hoffman, JD'95.

GREED IS BAD
"Wall Street Bonuses Bred 'Ungrateful Schmucks'" (Bloomberg, Jun. 5, 2009)
Peter G. Peterson, MBA'51, writes in his new book The Education of an American Dreamer, released yesterday, about his frustrations after he distributed bonuses to Lehman employees in 1974: "I was quietly furious. To myself I was thinking, ‘What a bunch of spoiled and ungrateful schmucks!’"

WHITE COLLAR BLUES
"Making Things Work" (New York Times, Jun. 5, 2009)
Johns Hopkins professor Francis Fukuyama reviews Shop Class as Soulcraft by Matthew Crawford, AM'92, PhD'00.

MILESTONES

• “PhRMA Honors Gardasil Researchers with Discoverers Award” (PhRMA News Office, Apr. 4, 2009)
  Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America awarded Eliav Barr (who completed his postdoctoral work in gene therapy at the University of Chicago and was on faculty from 1992 to 1995) with its 2009 Discoverers Award for his work in developing the breakthrough HPV vaccine, Gardasil.


• "Hollywood Icon Gives Graduation Speech at UCI" (Orange County Register, Jun. 5, 2009)
  Sherry Lansing, U-High'62, was the keynote speaker at the University of California, Irvine, graduate-level degrees ceremony.


• "Choate Graduates 229" (Record-Journal, Jun. 7, 2009)
  As commencement speaker at Choate Rosemary Hall's graduation ceremony, David Broder, AB'47, AM'51, gave the advice: "Much will depend on our ability to tap the energy and altruism of you and your generation. You and your contemporaries can sustain the hope of this nation; we need you to do it."


• "Hanne Maria Sonquist, 1931-2009" (Noozhawk, Jun. 6, 2009)
  Child educator Hanne Sonquist, AB'54, AB'59, died May 31, 2009. She is survived by her husband of 58 years, John Sonquist, AB'51, PhD'69.

BATTLE OF THE BREWS
“Starbucks Beats Peet’s?” (FiveThirtyEight, Jun. 9, 2009)
Nate Silver, AB’00, breaks down Zagat’s annual survey about the best coffee and concludes that it’s wrong about Starbucks earning the title: “What seems like a too-close-to-call verdict is actually a relatively clear one for Peet’s.”

PLAY BY PLAY
“An Interview with Vince Gennaro” (Hardball Times, Jun. 8, 2009)
Baseball analyst and MLB team consultant Vince Gennaro, MBA’77, answers questions about how the economic crisis influences free agent salaries, new stadium openings, and attendance.

MARX & MOTORCYCLES
“Make Yourself Useful” (The Tech, MIT News Office, Jun. 5, 2009)
Rosa Cao, AB’03, reviews Shop Class as Soulcraft by Matthew Crawford, AM’92, PhD’00.

MOUNTAIN MEDICINE
“The Story of Payson, Arizona: Payson Gets a Full-Time Doctor” (Payson Roundup, Jun. 9, 2009)
In 1917 Christian Risser, who graduated from the University of Chicago Medical School, was the first doctor to set up a local practice to treat patients—ailing from the flu, smallpox, scarlet fever—in the frontier town of Payson, Arizona.

ANGWIN’S ‘BARBARIANS’
“A ‘Place for Friends’ Brings Out the Enemies and Frenemies” (Huntington News, Jun. 8, 2009)
In his recommendation of Stealing MySpace by Julia Angwin, AB’92, book critic David M. Kinchen writes: “If you enjoyed Byran Burrough’s Barbarians at the Gate and Michael Lewis’s The New New Thing, [Angwin’s] Stealing MySpace is the book for you. Given the ongoing meltdown of the print news industry, it might be the book for all of us.”

MILESTONES

• “Wall Street Journal Deputy Managing Editor Hertzberg to Depart” (Editor & Publisher, Jun. 2, 2009)
  Daniel Hertzberg, AB’68, is leaving the staff of the Wall Street Journal after 32 years, during which he won the 1988 Pulitzer Prize for investigative journalism.


• “Behringer Harvard Appoints New Marketing Leader, Promotes Five Executives” (PR Newswire, Jun. 8, 2009)
  Andrew J. Bruce, MBA’02, was promoted to senior vice president of capital markets at Behringer Harvard.

CONSERVATIVE ADVICE
"The Six Top Republicans Obama Listens To" (Washington blog, Atlantic, Jun. 10, 2009)
Blogger Marc Ambinder identifies David Brooks, AB'83, as one of the six Republicans whose concerns and criticisms President Obama and his White House team heed because "Brooks's voice, even when not embraced by conservatives, influences how centrists and many intellectually honest liberal Democrats look at the world."

LANGUAGE ARTS
"Excuse Me, Do You Speak Klingon?" (Salon, Jun. 3, 2009)
The first sentence that author Arika Okrent, PhD'04, could understand in Klingon was "Ha'DIbaH vISopbe" ("I am a vegetarian.") Her new book In the Land of Invented Languages explores the history of Klingon—the second most popular invented language after Esperanto—and others.

SCIENCE CHICAGO'S UCHICAGOAN
"Driving Force Behind a Scientist’s Passion" (Medill Reports Chicago, Jun. 10. 2009)
Biochemist Rabiah Mayas, SM'02, PhD'07, puts her scientific background to good use as Science Chicago's director of outreach. “Rabiah reminds us every day how important science, math, engineering, and technology are to our lives,” says Cheryl Hughes, Science Chicago's executive director.

MONEY TALK FROM MICHIGAN
"Professor Emeritus Weighs in on the Economy" (Western Herald, Jun. 11, 2009)
"To improve the current economic situation, I do not believe that more government spending is the answer,” says Raymond Zelder, AM'51, PhD'55. “Policy makers should focus on reforms that remove impediments to work, saving, investment, and production.”

FRENCH-FRIED TEMPTATION
"Lead Us into Temptation" (Atlantic, Jun. 9, 2009)
Edward Tenner, AM'67, PhD'72, looks at the results of new research about healthy menu items at fast food restaurants that examines "if, in giving people a choice, these dishes really push diners toward the unhealthiest alternatives."

MILESTONES

• "Gleacher Partners Merges" (Chicago Tribune, Jun. 9, 2009)
  Eric Gleacher, MBA'67, "completed the sale of his namesake New York-based mergers and acquisition advisory business to publicly traded Broadpoint Securities Group."

SMOKE SCREEN
"Senate Passes FDA Tobacco Bill" (Wall Street Journal, Jun. 12, 2009)
The Senate passed legislation Thursday that brings the tobacco industry under FDA regulation: "With $600 [million] to $700 million from industry to support it, I think the administration can set it up," says former FDA commissioner David A. Kessler, JD'78, who led the original effort to treat nicotine as a drug.

CREATIVE FLUENCY
"Speaking Klingon" (Time, May 18, 2009)
In her book In the Land of Invented Languages, linguistics expert Arika Okrent, PhD'04, "chronicles the scientists, idealists and eccentrics who tried — and failed — to create the perfect parlance from scratch."

SUMMER READING LIST
"Best Beach Reads" (Examiner, Jun. 11, 2009)
I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell by Tucker Max, AB'98, made the Examiner's summer must-read list: "Max is like a male version of Chelsea Handler, only raunchier (if that is even possible) and a giant (but funny) a-hole."

MILESTONES

• "Taylor Capital Group Annual Meeting Elects Daniels to Board of Directors" (PR Newswire, Jun. 11, 2009)
  Prairie Captial's cofounder and principal C. Bryan Daniels, MBA'85, was elected to its board of directors.


• "Former Federal Judge to Chair Commission" (Daily Illini, Jun. 10, 2009)
  "People are very proud to live in this state, and anything that blemishes it is pretty dismaying," says Abner Mikva, AM'51, appointed chair of the committee investigating claims that the University of Illinois granted admittance to some applicants because of their political connections.


• "Bucyrus Elects New Director" (Business Journal, Jun. 12, 2009)
  Michelle Collins, U-High'78, has been elected to the board of directors of Bucyrus, a South Milwaukee-based mining-equipment manufacturer.


• The Future of Scholarly Publishing (Chronicle of Higher Education, Jun. 12, 2009)
  Lindsay Waters, AM'70, PhD'76, from Harvard University Press and Alan G. Thomas from the University of Chicago Press discusses changes in academic publishing.

IN MEMORIAM
"Newton Doctor Dies in Fall from Mountain" (Boston Globe, Jun. 13, 2009)
The two friends John Mislow, MD’04, PhD’02, and Andrew Swanson, MD’00, fell during a climb along Alaska’s Mount McKinley and died.

RELATED LINKS

• Web site: John Mislow Memorial


• Web site: Andrew Swanson Memorial


• Facebook: University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine Alumni group

SOUL CRAFTSMEN
"Out of the Office" (New Yorker, Jun. 22, 2009)
Thirty-five years after the release of former University of Chicago grad student Robert Pirsig's Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Matthew Crawford, AM'92, PhD'00, spurs discussions about the value of work with the release of his book Shop Class as Soulcraft.

INVENTIVE WORDS
"Dreaming of a Perfect Language" (On Point with Tom Ashbrook, Boston Public Radio, Jun. 1, 2009)
Arika Okrent, PhD'04—author of In the Land of Invented Languages—talks about the history of artificial languages and why it never ends.

SMOKE BREAK
"Former FDA Chief on Tobacco Reform" (Evening News with Katie Couric, CBS News, Jun. 11, 2009)
Former head of the Food and Drug Administration David A. Kessler, JD'78, discusses the new anti-smoking bill: "For the first time, we have the opportunity to regulate this deadly, addictive product."

PRESIDENT'S PAL
"FOB (Friend of Barack)" (Columbus Dispatch, Jun. 12, 2009)
"Hoops came before the friendship," says Martin Nesbitt, MBA'89, about being a confidant of President Obama. "It's just like any other male-to-male relationship. Sometimes it's about my job, sometimes about his job. Families. Careers. All kinds of stuff."

TIRED OF ACTING HIS AGE
"Asner Is Tired of Stereotypes, Eager for Work" (Miami Herald, Jun. 15, 2009)
"I can do lovers," says Ed Asner, X'48, who does not receive the variety of opportunities he wants. "I can do Sir Galahad types. I'm not going to limit myself in voice-overs to irascible old men."

CHANGE BY DESIGN
"CeaseFire Campaign Against Violence" (Design Ignites Change, June 2009)
CeaseFire's Amanda Geppert, AB'95, and James D. Barton, AB'04, worked with a team at the IIT Institute of Design to change the thinking about the social norms and behaviors that perpetuate the transmission of violence at the individual and community level.

MILESTONES

• "Former Oriental Institute Director and Anthropology Professor Honored with Alumni Medal" (Chicago Chronicle, Jun. 11, 2009)
  The University of Chicago Alumni Association has bestowed its highest honor—the Alumni Medal—on Robert McCormick Adams, PhB'47, PhD'56, a former Chicago faculty member and administrator who is retired from the anthropology department of the University of California, San Diego.


• "Top Obama Aide Addresses Graduates in Chicago" (Chicago Sun-Times, Jun. 14, 2009)
  David Axelrod, AB'76, gave a commencement address to DePaul University graduates last weekend: "You are as noble and unfettered and as free as you will ever be to pursue your passions and chase your dreams.”


• "Write-On Writers of Coshocton" (Coshocton Tribune, Jun. 15, 2009)
  Doug Rutledge, AM'79, PhD'87, was chosen to be the featured poet at Ohio's Write-On Writers of Coshocton evening of poetry and music.


• "CED Announces Summit to Address Sustainability of America's Economic Policies" (PR Newswire, Jun. 12, 2009)
  Former U.S. Secretary of Commerce Peter G. Peterson, MBA'51, will deliver the welcoming address at the first Committee for Economic Development Summit.


• "Oldham Included in Directory Hosted by New York's Oldest Non-Profit Alternative Space for Emerging Artists" (White Columns, Curated Artist Registry, June 2009)
  Julia Oldham, MFA'05, was accepted into the White Columns Curated Artist Registry.

CONSTANT CRAVINGS
"Why We Can't Eat Just One" (Salon, Jun. 17, 2009)
"We make food into entertainment. We make it into a food carnival," says former FDA commissioner David A. Kessler, JD'78. "What do we end up with? Probably one of the great public health crises of our day."

FATHER'S DAY GIFT FIND
"What Gives?" (The Moment blog, New York Times, Jun. 17, 2009)
Memories of Myself—a book of essays and images by self-taught photographer Danny Lyon, AB'63—makes the New York Times' list of recommended gifts for dad.

MOTORHEAD
"A Philosopher Turned Motor-Bike Mender Meditates on the Rewards and Joys of Manual Labor" (Christian Science Monitor, Jun. 16, 2009)
Matthew Crawford, AM'92, PhD'00, examines for his (mostly) happy switch from philosopher and think tank director to self-employed motorbike mender.

TOP OF THE POPS
"Who's Your Daddy? Rating SciFi's Movie Fathers" (SciFi Scanner blog, AMC.com, Jun. 18, 2009)
What grade should Darth Vader earn for his fathering skills? He gets a solid "F" from novelist John Scalzi, AB'91, who rates the Sith lord and other science-fiction movie pops.

REAL CONNECTIONS
"How Are You? No, How Are You Really? (Wall Street Journal, Jun. 16, 2009)
"It's not that digital small talk is deceitful (although some probably is)," writes Julia Angwin, AB'92. "Rather, it creates a cocoon of information that may not paint a full picture of the truth."

GLASS ACT
"Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts Paints a Picture of the Master at Work" (Home Cinema Choice blog, Tech Radar, Jun. 13, 2009)
Scott Hicks's 2007 documentary about composer Philip Glass, AB'56, covers 18 months of his work, from writing his eighth symphony in his New York studio to attending the world premiere of his new opera in Germany.

SAY ANYTHING
"Interview with Arika Okrent" (Words about Created Words blog, Language Creation Society, May 28, 2009)
In the Land of Invented Languages by Arika Okrent, PhD'04, "is an enjoyable read, and both conlangers and nonlangers will find it fascinating."

BEING THE CHANGE
"Law Grad Rolls over Barriers at U. of C." (Chicago Sun-Times, Jun. 13, 2009)
Last Friday Katrina Gossett, JD'09, became the first wheelchair-using student to graduate from the Law School, receiving multiple honors: "The U. of C. is such an important school academically. It would be a shame if someone thought they couldn't come here because of accessibility."

WORKIN' FOR A LIVIN'
"Let’s Get Physical: What's So Great About Working in a Cubicle?" (AlterNet, Jun. 13, 2009)
"It's nice to have written something on a topic that people care about rather than some ancient Greek crap," says Matthew Crawford, AM'92, PhD'00.

MILESTONES

• "Gregory C. Stafford Appointed GM of the Hilton Inn at Penn" (Hotel Interactive, Jun. 16, 2009)
  Gregory C. Stafford, MBA'96, has been appointed general manager of the Hilton Inn at Penn in Philadelphia.


• "Top Shelf: Recommended Reading" (San Francisco Chronicle, Jun. 14, 2009)
  The Age of the Unthinkable by Joshua Cooper Ramo, AB'92, made the Chronicle's recommended reading list for "what could be a doomsday scenario into a future of endless possibility—if we're smart and flexible enough to see it."

WORKING-CLASS GIRL
"Ventas Inc. CEO Debra Cafaro Credits Pittsburgh Roots, Sports for Her Strong Foundation" (Chicago Tribune, Jun. 22, 2009)
"Young women carry the weight of the world on their shoulders," says Debra Cafaro, JD'82. "Get rid of the guilt. You're not responsible for everything in the world."

LIVING IN A REVOLUTIONARY AGE
"Global Imperative (New York Times, Jun. 19, 2009)
The Age of the Unthinkable by Joshua Cooper Ramo, AB'92, "has one basic theme that is a little difficult for me, which is that my generation is sort of a bunch of dodos," says Henry Kissinger, in a critique of his protégé's book.

CORRUPTION BUSTER
"Chicago's City Hall Gets an Unlikely Conscience" (Telegraph Herald, Jun. 21, 2009)
From City Hall, David Hoffman, JD'95, works to mend Chicago's image, long tarnished by political scandals: "Whatever our history is, it doesn't mean we can't change."

SMOKE-FREE ZONE
"Talking Tobacco Companies into Regulation (Weekend Edition, NPR, Jun. 20, 2009)
David A. Kessler, JD'78, speaks with Steve Parrish, a former Altria executive, about FDA regulation of the tobacco industry during an interview with Weekend Edition host Alison Stewart.

PRESSURE POINT
"Acupuncturist Applies Needles—and Compassion (San Francisco Chronicle, Jun. 15, 2009)
Writer Edward Guthmann profiles acupuncturist, poet, and amateur boxer Halé Tokay, who attended the University of Chicago in the late '60s.

MILESTONES

• "Yang Selected for Fellowship" (Law School News Office, June 2009)
  Anabelle Yang, JD'09, has been selected for the Presidential Management Fellows Program, joining several other members of the Law School Class of 2009 who have received prestigious public service fellowships, including Kristin Greer Love (Skadden Fellow, Centro de los Derechos del Migrante); Dominique Nong (Southern Poverty Law Center fellowship); Kent Qian (Skadden Fellow, National Housing Law Project); and Grisel Ruiz (Sutro Fellowship, California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation).


• "NCC Professor, Leader Richard Eastman Dies" (Beacon News, Jun. 22, 2009)
  North Central College's Richard M. Eastman, AM'49, PhD'52, died at the age of 92.

LAB SCHOOL
"Peyer Brothers Have Science Lab, Will Travel" (South Bend Tribune, Jun. 17, 2009)
Brothers David and James Peyer, AB'09, teach 12- and 13-year-old students about DNA.

HOME ON LOAN
"Home Economics" (Atlantic, July-Aug 2009)
"Even in a depression, it seems, Americans won’t stop feathering their nests," writes Megan McArdle, MBA’01.

SO IT GOES
"Kurt Vonnegut, Good Kindle Books at a Glance #13" (BlogKindle, Jun. 13, 2009)
The editors at BlogKindle list the three books by Kurt Vonnegut, AM'71, that top their download list.

MANUAL LABORERS
"A Hands-On Philosopher Argues for a Fresh Vision of Manual Work" (New York Times, Jun. 20, 2009)
"The question of what a good job looks like—of what sort of work is both secure and worthy of being honored—is more open now than it has been for a long time," writes Matthew Crawford, AM’92, PhD’00, in his book Shop Class as Soulcraft.

FORTUNATE SON
"Go East, Young Man, and Make Your Fortune" (Chronicle Review, Chronicle of Higher Education, Jun. 15, 2009)
“My biggest challenge as a boy was trying to fit in,” says Peter G. Peterson, MBA'51. “All children struggle to escape their parents so they can define themselves, but mine had roots deep in another world.”

(TOO MUCH) FOOD FOR THOUGHT
"How the Food Makers Captured Our Brains" (New York Times, Jun. 22, 2009)
“Why does that chocolate chip cookie have such power over me?” asks David A. Kessler, JD'78. “Is it the cookie, the representation of the cookie in my brain? I spent seven years trying to figure out the answer.”

MILESTONES

• "Drimmer Named the New President of Western International University" (PR Web, Jun. 17, 2009)
  "I am extremely excited to be joining the staff and students at Western International University," says Alan Drimmer, AB'84, AM'86, PhD'91, who was recently named as the school's new president. "Our team is working to innovatively redefine the quality education experience expected by adult students, both domestically and internationally."


• "Historian Receives Lifetime Achievement Award" (PR NewsWire, Jun. 22, 2009)
  Gerhard L. Weinberg, AM'49, PhD'51, is the 2009 recipient of the Pritzker Military Library Literature Award for Lifetime Achievement in Military Writing. The $100,000 honorarium, citation, and medallion is sponsored by the Chicago-based Tawani Foundation.


• "Peter Homans, 1930-2009: University of Chicago Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Religious Studies" (Chicago Tribune, Jun. 17, 2009)
  Peter Homans, PhD'64, died May 30.

FRANK DISCUSSION
"Color Me Baffled! Frank's Magazine Lives Again" (New York Observer, Jun. 23, 2009)
Thomas Frank, AM'89, PhD'94, is reviving his cultural-political–criticism magazine.

MS. PRINT
"Hunting the Elusive First 'Ms.'" (Visual Thesaurus blog, Jun. 23, 2009)
Ben Zimmer, AM'98, describes how he found the first printed use of the word Ms. in the November 10, 1901, Springfield Sunday Republican.

MAKING A HOME IN TOLEDO
"96-Year-Old Symbolizes an Era of U.S. Migration" (Toledo Blade, Jun. 21, 2009)
Abdul Alkalimat, AM'66, PhD'74—a professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign—documents African American history in Northwest Ohio: "In 1936 only one [Toledo] firm employed more than 200 African-Americans."

RE-ENLISTERS' MORAL IMPERATIVE TO FIGHT
"Journey Back to the Civil War (The SUNY Press blog, Jun. 17, 2009)
Inspired by the service of his grandfather in the Civil War, D. Reid Ross, AM'51, tells the long-ignored stories of brave, dedicated soldiers in his book Lincoln's Veteran Volunteers Win the War.

HYPERPALATABLE
"Fat-Salt-Sugar Fix Impossible to Resist" (Washington Times, Jun. 10, 2009)
The food industry has successfully marketed—and created—highly addictive foods full of fat, salt, and sugar, says David A. Kessler, JD'78.

THE FRIEDMAN EFFECT
"Is Another Bear Market Around the Corner? (iStockAnalyst, Jun. 22, 2009)
Mark Skousen cites the "Friedman Effect"—named for Milton Friedman's (AM'33) 1961 paper “The Lag in Effect of Monetary Policy"—to give investment advice.

MILESTONES

• "Pollard Named President" (CUNY Newswire, Jun. 22, 2009)
  William L. Pollard, PhD'76, was appointed president of Medgar Evers College by the City University of New York's board of trustees.

U OF C, SEEN & NOTED
"Chicago, Where Fun Comes To Die" (The Book Bench blog, New Yorker, Jun. 25, 2009)
Andrea Walker, AM'99, AM'02, shares thoughts about UChicago tees, Baffler's comeback, and Twitterature.

OLD REGIME & NEW REGIME BRANDS
"Futurist and Culture Guru Grant McCracken: Optimistic on Effects of Recession?" (Thom H.C. Anderson blog, Jun. 24, 2009)
"There will always be a Martha. She speaks to and for a certain constituency," says anthropologist Grant McCracken, AM'76, PhD'81. "But I think her cultural trend and theme is being supplanted by the Rachael Rays of the world."

DISHONEST QUESTIONS
"Deception as a Way of Knowing: A Conversation with Anthony Grafton" (Cabinet magazine, Spring 2009)
"Montaigne and other anti-absolutist philosophers with the tools of ancient skepticism at their disposal found ways to resist the world-view of the witch-finder," says historian Anthony Grafton, AB'71, AM'72, PhD'75.

AT HOME IN THE CAPITAL
"The Chicago Way" (Congress Daily blog, National Journal, Jun. 22, 2009)
Rep. Mike Quigley, AM'85, leads his "rag tag team" from his Capitol Hill office where he also sleeps on an air mattress.

ECONOMIC RX
"Medical Analysis by Milton Friedman" (Forbes, Jun. 19, 2009)
After researching the health-care industry in 2001, Milton Friedman, AM'33, concluded the current U.S. health-care system creates increased medical spending and rampant dissatisfaction: "Third-party payment has required the bureaucratization of medical care," he wrote. "The interest of the patient is often in direct conflict with the interest of the caregiver's ultimate employer."

MILESTONES

• "ICFJ Set To Honor Hersh" (MediaBistro, Fishbowl NY blog, Jun. 24, 2009)
  Seymour Hersh, AB'58, will receive the Founders Award from the International Center for Journalists later this year.


• "30 Under 30" (Windy City Times, Jun. 24, 2009)
  Ryan Kaminski, AB'08, made the Windy City Times editors' list of "30 Under 30" movers and shakers in Chicago's LGBT community.


• "Another Chicagoan Joins the Obama Administration" (The Scoop from Washington blog, Chicago Sun-Times, Jun. 25, 2009)
  Bryan Samuels, AM'93, joins the Obama White House as the Commissioner of the Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Health and Human Services.

SHARED SONG
"Inspiration Rules at Songwriting Workshop" (Southtown Star, Jun. 28, 2009)
Songwriting-workshop instructor Gabriel McElwain, AB'03, says he learns more about his craft when teaching it to teens than when doing it himself.

JUST A NUMBER
"When Stats Bite Back" (Dispatches, Atlantic, Jun. 24, 2009)
Writing about using statistics to consider human worth, Edward Tenner, AM'67, PhD'72, quotes F. Scott Fitzgerald: "The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function."

MILESTONES

• "Local Geneticist, 84, to Get $500,000 Prize" (Chicago Tribune, Jul. 1, 2009)
  In October Janet Rowley, PhB'45, SB'46, MD'48, receives the 2009 Peter and Patricia Gruber Genetics Prize for her findings that establish cancer as a genetic disease.


• "Hall Named Dean" (UA News, Jul. 1, 2009)
  James A. Hall, AM'75, has been named dean of the University of Alabama's School of Social Work.


• "Hewitt Associates Appoints Green to Board" (Business Wire, Jul. 1, 2009)
  Judson Green, MBA'76, joins the board of directors for Hewitt Associates, a global human-resources consulting company.