Overseers Elevated
The Board of Overseers, the University’s junior governing board, has elected Merrick B. Garland ’74, J.D. ’77, as president and Ann M. Fudge, M.B.A. ’77, as vice chair of the executive committee for 2009-2010. Garland is a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Fudge is former chair and CEO of Young & Rubicam Brands.
Michael Lutch
Federico Cortese
HRO’s Maestro
Federico Cortese has been appointed conductor of the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra, succeeding James Yannatos, whose 45-year tenure concluded at the end of the academic year (see “Two Centuries of Sound,” May-June 2008, page 23). Cortese, who will also serve as a senior lecturer on music, has been music director of the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras since 1999 and of the New England String Ensemble since 2005. From 1998 to 2002, he was assistant conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
Top Teachers
The Faculty of Arts and Sciences has recognized several members for outstanding teaching and advising. Named Harvard College Professors (a five-year designation honoring distinguished teaching and mentoring) were Lea professor of history Ann Blair; Aramont professor of the history of science Janet Browne; professor of physics and of astronomy Christopher Stubbs; and professor of Greek and Latin Richard Thomas. The Abramson Award for outstanding undergraduate teaching was conferred on assistant professor of English Matthew Kaiser and assistant professor of history of art and architecture and of visual and environmental studies Carrie Lambert-Beatty. The Undergraduate Council’s Levenson Memorial Teaching Prizes went to professor of mathematics Dennis Gaitsgory; preceptor in Chinese Qiuyu Wang; and teaching fellow Julia Hildreth. And the Mendelsohn Excellence in Mentoring Award, for supporting graduate students, was conferred on professor of anthropology Daniel Lieberman; assistant professor of sociology and of social studies Jocelyn Viterna; and MacArthur professor of health policy and management Joseph Newhouse.
Ingrid Monson
Rose Lincoln/HNO
Alexander Rehding
Fellowships Aplenty
Five faculty members and one Radcliffe Institute Fellow have been awarded Guggenheim fellowships: Pellegrino University Professor Peter Galison; Jones professor of African-American music Ingrid Monson; professor of music Alexander Rehding; lecturer on law Jessica Eve Stern; assistant professor of law Jeannie Suk; and Radcliffe fellow Priyamvada Natarajan. Separately, 17 faculty members and one Radcliffe Institute fellow were elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; for the complete list, see www.amacad.org/news/new2009.aspx.
Jon Chase/HNO
Thomas E. Vautin
Retirement Roster
Among the more prominent staff members to take the University’s early-retirement offer are Georgene Herschbach, who has been the College’s dean for administration; Judith Kidd, the College’s associate dean for student life and activities; and Thomas E. Vautin, associate vice president for facilities and environmental services, who oversees the huge University Operations Services, responsible for buildings, grounds, transportation, and more. [06/11/09 UPDATE: Thomas Vautin is postponing retirement; see "Vautin Named Acting VP for Administration"]
