Web Exclusives:Features


News from other Ivy League institutions, and Stanford

Posted February 18, 2002

Brown: Brown researchers find a third photoreceptor and a parallel visual system in the eye, the discovered cells convert light energy directly into brain signals. These signals control the body's circadian clock.

Robert J. Zimmer, a mathematician and research administrator at the University of Chicago, has been named Brown's ninth provost, he will take up the position on July 15, 2002.

Columbia: Columbia alumnus Edet Belzburg has been nominated for an Academy Award for his film Children Underground, a documentary on the lives of five Romanian orphans. It is his first film, and debuted last year at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival.

On February 9-10, Columbia students spent 28 hours participating in the second annual Columbia University Dance Marathon to raise money for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS foundation. All the dancers were expected to stay on their feet the entire 28 hours.

Cornell: Michael P. Hoffman, a prof. of Entomolgy at Cornell University has, with coworkers, been testing a "nonwoven system of fiber barriers" (of a consistency close to that of cotton candy) as a bug-prevention device. Hoffman says, "The best way to envision these barriers is to think of cotton candy just like you buy at the circus, except remove 99 percent of the givers and what remains is a nonwoven multidimensional barrier that can be strategically placed to ingerfere with insect behavior."

Maureen O'Hara, a Professor of Finance at Cornell's Graduate School of Management, was named president of the American Finance Association in January. She is the first woman to lead the AFA.

Dartmouth: The Reverend Al Sharpton will speak at Dartmouth on February 17, as part of the school's Social Justice Lectureship series. He is reported to be speaking on issues pertaining to public service and social justice.

Harvard: Hasty Pudding Man of 2002 is Bruce Willis, and Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year is Sarah Jessica Parker

Jeremy R. Knowles, dean of the faculty of arts and sciences since 1991 has decided to end his term as dean and return to the faculty at the end of the academic year.

Harvard Business School: The 11th annual Women Student Association Conference, titled "Dynamic Women in Business," sells out; more than 800 woman participated.

Pennsylvania: A survey conducted in 2000 by the University of Pennsylvania reveals that 86 percent of Americans ages 11-18 believe religion to be a crucial part of their lives. The survey also revealed that parents' educational level played a role in religious belief; the more educated parents were, the more likely they were to want to provide a good influence in children's lives. Dr. Matthew Hartley, a lecturer in the Graduate School of Education at Penn has cowritten a study on the increasing level of grade inflation. His reported is titled "Evaluation and the Academy: Are We Doing the Right Thing?"

Stanford: National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice will speak at the 2002 Commencemnt. Rice is Stanford's former provost. Stanford trustees raise tuition, room and board by a 4.9 percent for the 2002-03 school year.

Yale: Yale's faculty of engineering is marking 150 years of teaching and innovation this year.

Yale president Richard C. Levin urges end to early application process in admissions. For stories, click below.

http://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/13/education/13YALE.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/16/opinion/16SUN1.html?searchpv=past7days