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Your independent source for Harvard news since 1898

November-December 2015

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Letters

A letter from the editor

Readers respond to articles on impact investing, “Cowboy” doctors, Gen Ed, and more.

A letter from President Faust

The College Pump

Henry D. Rogers performing as Grandfather with Annie Gaybis in 2009

Photograph by Mike Erdelyi Photography

Nutcracker notes, and a memorable blackout

Treasure

Cuban expatriate volunteers shown wading ashore during the U.S. assault. Those in their own clothes are unretouched—but peers wearing U.S. calvary tops have been rendered as whites.

Photograph courtesy of the Houghton Library, Harvard University

When Americans occupied Cuba, 1898-1902

In this Issue

Photo of Harvard football players heading onto the field

Photograph by Jon Chase/Harvard Public Affairs and Communications

Harvard’s greatest football coach—and one of the best anywhere

Max Beckmann, Self-Portrait in Tuxedo

Max Beckmann, Self-Portrait in Tuxedo, 1927. Oil on canvas. Harvard Art Museums/Busch-Reisinger Museum, Association Fund, BR41.37. © Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn. Photo: © President and Fellows of Harvard College
Click image for uncropped version

Max Beckmann’s Self-Portrait in Tuxedo

Forensic pioneer Joseph T. Walker (at left) collects blood and scraps of flesh from the bathtub drain of a 1936 murder victim.

Forensic pioneer Joseph T. Walker (at left) collects blood and scraps of flesh from the bathtub drain of a 1936 murder victim.

Photograph by Leslie Jones/Courtesy of the Boston Public Library

Brief life of a scientific sleuth: 1908-1952

Daniel Aaron

Daniel Aaron
Photograph by Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Public Affairs and Communications

Now in his second century, the uncommon Daniel Aaron remains at work.

Letters

A letter from the editor

Readers respond to articles on impact investing, “Cowboy” doctors, Gen Ed, and more.

A letter from President Faust

Right Now

In vibrant Times Square, Broadway plays and musicals compete to become the next megahit.

In vibrant Times Square, Broadway plays and musicals compete to become the next megahit.

Photograph by Christian Baitg Schreiweis/iStock

Derek Miller hopes data will shake up the field of theater history.

Thermal maps superimposed on this termite mound show contrasting temperature profiles for night (left half) and day (right half).

Thermal maps (right) superimposed on this termite mound show contrasting temperature profiles for night (left half) and day (right half).

Photographs courtesy of Hunter King and Sam Ocko

Physicists look into the function of towering termite mounds.

A chart showing how the United States ranks on the Social Progress Index

Click on image to see full chart

Measuring the economic growth of nations is not enough, says Harvard Business School’s Michael Porter.

Harvard Squared

Brad Shur performing in his new show, Cardboard Explosion!

Brad Shur performing in his new show, Cardboard Explosion!
Photograph courtesy of the Puppet Showplace Theater

Contemporary takes on puppetry in Brookline, Massachusetts

Portrait of Lorraine Grady

Lorraine O’Grady
Photograph by Elia Alba

Lorraine O'Grady: Where Margins Become Centers at the Carpenter Center

Photograph courtesy of the Arnold Arboretum

Things to do and see when it's cold out

Scene from Beacon Hill Bistro

In search of Greater Boston's quieter restaurants

Stan Munro’s "toothpicked" version of St. Basil’s Cathedral, in Moscow

Stan Munro’s "toothpicked" version of St. Basil’s Cathedral, in Moscow
Photograph by Toni M. Horrace

Stan Munro’s toothpick designs are on display at the Fuller Craft Museum.

John Harvard's Journal

Photograph of Smith Campus Center exterior renovation

Photograph by Stu Rosner

Josep Lluís Sert’s International Style icon gets a half-century exterior toning and face lift.

For Harvard, the results point in particular to a problem in the College.

Jon Hanson
Photograph by Stu Rosner

A law professor plumbs social problems.

An update on the Harvard Campaign

Illustration by Mark Steele

From the pages of the Harvard Alumni Bulletin and Harvard Magazine

As a 5.8 percent return boosts the endowment to $37.6 billion, changes aim to address persistent underperformance.

Scene at Freshman Convocation

Freshman Convocation

Photograph by Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Public Affairs and Communications

Morning Prayers and Freshman Convocation themes, economists’ exodus, health benefits round two, and reengineering admissions

Rendering of planned science and engineering complex in Allston

Rendering by Behnisch Architekten

University news briefs: retaining recruits, online learning, appointments, awards, and more

Illustration by David Wheeler

The Undergraduate contemplates books in a digital age.

Having picked off a Brown pass, defensive back Asante Gibson—wearing his team’s new, Nike-designed home uniform—heads goalward during the Crimson’s second-quarter onslaught.

Harvard Athletic Communications

Formidable early-season football

Photo of Harvard women’s basketball player Shilpa Tummala

Shilpa Tummala

Photograph by Jim Harrison

Post-surgery, a top athlete reestablishes herself.

Montage

Hulsey in her studio, with letterpress machines behind her

Hulsey in her studio, with book presses behind her
Portrait by Stu Rosner

A printmaker plays with the systems and structures of language.

John Milton
Image by iStock

The poetry of John Milton

Benjamin Scheuer playing one of the six instruments he uses in the course of his one-man musical, The Lion

Benjamin Scheuer playing one of the six instruments he uses in the course of his one-man musical, The Lion
Photograph by Matthew Murphy/Courtesy of Benjamin Scheuer

In his poignant one-man musical, Benjamin Scheuer finds his roar.

Illustration by Robert Neubecker

American higher education and its discontents

1870s Japan: a hand-tinted albumen print by Raimund von Stillfried showing two women posing

1870s Japan: a hand-tinted albumen print by Raimund von Stillfried showing two women posing

Photograph from the book

Recent books with Harvard connections

Correspondence on not-so-famous lost words

Alumni

Adam Freudenheim

Adam Freudenheim
Photograph courtesy of Pushkin Publishing

A publisher brings world literature to young Anglophones.

Jordan Weiers ’16 and Gabriela D.M. "Gaby" Ruiz-Colón ’16

Jordan Weiers ’16 and Gabriela D.M. "Gaby" Ruiz-Colón ’16

Photograph by Juliette Lynch

Harvard seniors honored for improving House life

Top from left: Thomas E. Blamey, Peter A. Carfagna, and Robert P. Fox Jr. Bottom row from left: Joan Keenan, Robert M. Kraft, and Nancy Sinsabaugh

The 2015 Harvard Alumni Association Award winners

Top row from left: William L. Eisenhart, Tanya Ryk Friedman, and Anita Warren Fritze. Bottom row from left: Marsha Hirano-Nakanishi, Meg Streeter Lauck, Garrett Scott Olmsted, and David F. Pinto

Harvard alumni honored for volunteer admissions interviewing

The College Pump

Henry D. Rogers performing as Grandfather with Annie Gaybis in 2009

Photograph by Mike Erdelyi Photography

Nutcracker notes, and a memorable blackout

Treasure

Cuban expatriate volunteers shown wading ashore during the U.S. assault. Those in their own clothes are unretouched—but peers wearing U.S. calvary tops have been rendered as whites.

Photograph courtesy of the Houghton Library, Harvard University

When Americans occupied Cuba, 1898-1902