Letters
Cambridge 02138
Communications from our readers
January-February 2009
Features
The War and the Writ
In the fight against terrorists, habeas corpus has played a key role in efforts to balance civil liberties against national security.
Frances Perkins
How the first female Cabinet member helped shape the New Deal
Life Sciences, Applied
Bioengineering--at the intersection of biology, medical science, and engineering--is where scientists Joseph Vacanti, Pamela Silver, Kit Parker, David Mooney, Joanna Aizenberg, and Radhika Nagpal are defining a new field.
From Daguerreotype to Photoshop
Art historian Robin Kelsey examines photographs of all kinds to reveal what they say about human history, society, and culture.
RIGHT NOW Harvard research and ideas
The Fit Fat
Harvard Medical School’s Bruce Spiegelman studies brown fat, a little-known type of tissue with health-promoting potential.
Retirement Engine Rebuilt
Skeptical of both defined-benefit and defined-contribution retirement plans, Harvard Business School professor Robert Merton proposes a hybrid, SmartNest, to overcome the shortcomings of each.
Does Thinking Make It So?
In The Cure Within, historian of science Anne Harrington explores the medical history of the mind-body connection.
Rx for the Books
McKay professor of applied biology Ralph Mitchell and postdoctoral fellow Nick Konkol work with preservation librarians to develop a test that can detect damaging mold in books before it becomes visible.
John Harvard's Journal University news
Gore Boosts a Greener Harvard
With a public appearance and speech in Tercentenary Theatre, Nobel Prize-winning environmental activist Al Gore ’69, LL.D. ’94, helped launch Harvard’s commitment to sustainability.
Harder Times
An update on the University’s initial responses to the worsening economic climate
The Endowment: Each School’s Stake
(Sidebar) The shrinking Harvard endowment affects the University's different schools differently.
Chiara String Quartet
The Chiara String Quartet are Harvard's current Blodgett Artists-in-Residence.
Educating Students for Life
Harvard College rolls out the new general education curriculum for undergraduates.
Advancing Art
Art historian and former museum curator Emily Rauh Pulitzer gives the Harvard Art Museum 31 important works of modern and contemporary art and $45 million, enhancing a tradition she shared with her late husband, Joseph Pulitzer Jr
Yesterday's News
Happenings at Harvard in Januarys and Februarys past
Edward M. Kennedy '54, LL.D. '08
In a special Harvard convocation, Senator Edward M. Kennedy receives an honorary degree.
Educating Professionals
In speeches at Harvard Business School and Harvard Law School, President Drew Faust outlines her vision of professional education, service, and responsibility.
Crimson in Congress
Harvardians in the 111th Congress
For Santiago's Poor, Housing with Dignity
An innovative housing initiative with deep Harvard ties lets families in Chile who once lived illegally become homeowners.
Studying Schooling
Two new education centers, run by Roland Fryer and Thomas Kane, and an existing center, run by Paul Peterson, bring Harvard’s analytic resources to bear on public education issues: student achievement, teacher recruitment, and school choice.
Brevia
News of the University and the Harvard community
Making Mingling Manageable
Undergraduate columnist Christian Flow ponders the strange social science of mingling.
Buzzing In
Quiz Bowl’s quirky intellectualism and hard-driving competitiveness energize a strong Harvard team.
Big D
Defensive prowess helps the football team to a share of the Ivy crown.
Sports Roundup
Soccer and basketball updates
Montage Books, creative arts, performance and more
Up in the Air
Aerial photographer Alex MacLean documents the effects of the American lifestyle on the American landscape.
Before the Cocktail Napkin
In this excerpt from her new book, Michelangelo, Drawing, and the Invention of Architecture, Cammy Brothers discusses how the artist demonstrated the possibility for architecture to be a vehicle for the imagination equal to painting or sculpture.
Imagining the Past
Sara Houghteling’s first novel, Pictures at an Exhibition, tells the story of a young man who searches post-war Paris for both his lost love and his father’s stolen art collection.
Off the Shelf
An editorial sampling of recent books with Harvard connections
“Working Sisters”
Pan Tianshu reviews Leslie Chang's new book Factory Girls: From Village to City in a Changing China
Chapter & Verse
A correspondence corner for not-so-famous lost words
Almuni Harvardians far and wide
Taking It to the Streets
Through his work at the Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence, Teny Gross is keeping kids alive.
Anthony Woods: Taking a Stand
Anthony C. Woods has initiated his own dismissal from the U.S. Army under the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.
Educational Activist
Teresa Clarke helps talented but low-income South African children through the Student Sponsorship Programme.
Natural Baker
With her Naturally Nora cake and frosting mixes, Nora Schultz aims to provide quick and wholesome desserts.
The SIGnboard
News from Shared Interest Groups
Storytelling Scholar
Marie Rutkoski blends sixteenth-century history with fantasy in The Cabinet of Wonders, a new novel for young adults.
A Record-Breaker Passes
Farewell to Walter Seward, Harvard's longest-lived alumnus
Comings and Goings
A sampling of forthcoming Harvard Club events around the country