UChicago News

University to bestow five honorary degrees at Convocation

Tue, 29 May 2018 14:48 -0500

The University of Chicago will present honorary degrees to five distinguished scholars during the 531st Convocation on June 9.

The honorary degree recipients are Fabiola Gianotti, the director-general of CERN; Charles M. Lieber, chair of the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology and the Joshua and Beth Friedman University Professor at Harvard University; Michael C.A. Macdonald, research associate in the faculty of Oriental Studies and the Khalili Research Centre at the University of Oxford; Robert E. Ricklefs, the Curator’s Distinguished Professor of Biology at the University of Missouri-St. Louis; and William S-Y. Wang, chair professor of Language and Cognitive Sciences at Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

Fabiola Gianotti, an experimental particle physicist who led the search and characterization of the Higgs boson, will receive the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science.

Gianotti led the 3,000-member ATLAS collaboration since its inception at CERN Laboratory to search for the Higgs boson, one of the most sought-after objects in scientific history. Her early career was devoted to the search for supersymmetric particles, which could provide stability to nature’s two very different fundamental energy scales—gravity and weak interaction.

Gianotti is a member of the Italian Academy of Sciences, a foreign associate of the United States National Academy of Sciences and the French Academy of Sciences, and an honorary member of the Royal Irish Academy. She is the author or co-author of more than 500 publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals. Her scientific and societal contributions have been recognized by prestigious honors, including the Special Fundamental Physics Prize of the Milner Foundation, the Enrico Fermi Prize of the Italian Physical Society, the Medal of Honor of the Niels Bohr Institute of Copenhagen, and the honor of “Cavaliere di Gran Croce dell’ordine al merito della Repubblica” by Italian President Giorgio Napolitano.

Charles M. Lieber, a groundbreaking scholar of nanoscience and nanomaterials, will receive the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science.

Lieber has defined directions and demonstrated applications of nanomaterials in areas like electronics, computing and photonics, and has pioneered the interface of nanoelectronics with biology and medicine, including his current focus on brain science. He has originated new paradigms that have defined the rational growth, characterization and original applications of functional nanometer diameter wires and heterostructures, and provided seminal concepts central to the bottom-up paradigm of nanoscience.

Lieber’s work has been recognized by a number of awards, including two National Institutes of Health Director’s Pioneer Awards, the MRS Von Hippel Award, the Willard Gibbs Medal and the Wolf Prize in Chemistry. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine. He is also a fellow of the Materials Research Society and American Chemical Society, and honorary fellow of the Chinese Chemical Society. In addition, Lieber is co-editor of the journal Nano Letters, and serves on the editorial and advisory boards of a number of other journals. He has published over 395 papers in peer-reviewed journals, and is the principal inventor on more than 40 patents.

Michael C.A. Macdonald, a leading expert in early language and civilization in the Arabian Peninsula, will receive the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Humane Letters.

Macdonald has improved knowledge of the languages, religions, cultures and history of ancient Arabia and neighboring areas, including the Hellenistic and Roman Near East, through his scholarship on the vast number of inscriptions on the Arabian peninsula that predate the language of the Quran. Macdonald created the Online Corpus of the Inscriptions of Ancient North Arabia, a database that collects more than 70,000 inscriptions, many of which were unearthed, edited and translated by Macdonald himself. He was instrumental in establishing the field of Ancient North Arabian studies as an academic field in its own right, and has been its foremost scholar for the past three decades. He has fundamentally enabled the work of scholars of Ancient North Arabia, and has contributed research and writing that has shaped and guided this field.

In addition to his many articles, Macdonald also wrote the book Literacy and Identity in Pre-Islamic Arabia (2009). Macdonald was elected to the Fellowship of the British Academy in 2016.

Robert E. Ricklefs, a leading figure in evolutionary ecology, will receive the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science.

Ricklefs has contributed fundamental research linking disease dynamics to macro-ecology, linking life-history evolution with macro-evolutionary patterns, and searching for commonalities in patterns of ecological communities across types of organisms and geographic areas. His research focused on history’s role in determining population densities and distributions on islands, at a time when other leading ecological researchers were emphasizing the importance of species interactions at local scales for shaping species distributions. Because of this, his work represents the modern foundation for the recent synthesis of local conditions and historical processes in shaping the composition of communities of organisms.

Ricklefs is the recipient of the 2015 Ramon Margalef Prize from the government of Catalonia, the 2011 Alfred Russel Wallace award from the International Biogeography Society and the 1999 President’s Award from the American Society of Naturalists, among other honors. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and an elected fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

William S-Y. Wang, a pioneer in the study of language evolution and the emergence of new languages, will receive the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Humane Letters.

Wang is an internationally renowned linguist whose scholarship and academic impact have spanned two continents across the Pacific Ocean. He has performed multidisciplinary research on the biological and evolutionary basis of language, as well as computational linguistics with a focus on the production and processing of language, the brain and computer interface, machine translation, and speech synthesis and recognition. He was one of the first to apply a combination of linguistics and acoustics to the problem of machine recognition of speech.

Wang is the founder and lead editor of the Journal of Chinese Linguistics, which is the top publication in this field. He has had full professorial careers at the University of California, Berkeley; at the City University of Hong Kong; and at National Taiwan Normal University. His wide-ranging scholarship has been written in or translated into Chinese, English, French, German, Italian and Japanese.

Playwright Martyna Majok, AB’07, wins Pulitzer Prize for Drama

Tue, 17 Apr 2018 12:44 -0500

Editor’s note: Playwright Martyna Majok, AB’07, was awarded the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her play, Cost of Living. In the award, the play is described as “an honest, original work that invites audiences to examine diverse perceptions of privilege and human connection through two pairs of mismatched individuals.” The play appeared Off-Broadway in 2017 and was called ‘immensely haunting’ by The New York Times.

The Polish-born Majok spoke with UChicago News in 2014 about another of her works, a comedy entitled Ironbound that appeared at the Steppenwolf Theatre, as well as her experience as a performer and playwright while at the University. The original story appears below:

Martyna Majok’s “Ironbound” is the story of the relationship between Darja, a struggling Polish immigrant, and three very different men. The play, she says, was inspired by the work of Marxist theorist Slavoj Zizek.

It’s also a comedy.

Despite its weighty subject matter, the last thing Majok wants is “for the audience to sit there for the next hour and a half thinking this is just drama. You have to give them permission to laugh.”

“Ironbound” emerged as Majok was preparing to marry her then-fiancé and reflecting on “who has the privilege to marry for love.” Both Majok and her husband grew up poor and chose to pursue careers in the arts. Majok says they feared they would never have economic security. “We know how hard it is to get out of a cycle of poverty.”

She began to reflect on the romantic choices made by her mother—like Darja, a working-class immigrant from Poland.

“She would make what ended up being the wrong decisions for all the right reasons, trying to do the best thing that she could for her children and for herself,” Majok explains.

Around the same time, Majok was reading Zizek’s Violence during long commutes between a residency and teaching position at a theater in New Jersey and Connecticut, where her fiancé was in graduate school. “What I took away from that is that capitalism makes us treat each other as commodities,” she says. “‘What can you do for me, what can I do for you’ doesn’t exactly equal love.”

With Zizek’s writing, her mother’s experience, and her own impending marriage all simmering in her head, Majok dashed off the first draft of “Ironbound” in just a week. The play follows Darja over 22 years, depicting her at different points in her three marriages and showing her fierce struggle to survive and provide security for her son.

After two workshop productions, she submitted “Ironbound” to Steppenwolf at the suggestion of the company’s literary manager, who had mentored Majok during an internship after college.

“Part of our deal was that if I came to Chicago, I had to bring him Polish food, so I just brought him three pounds of kielbasa and some pierogi. Hopefully he liked it. I haven’t heard back from him, so maybe it was too much,” Majok jokes.

Becoming a playwright was never Majok’s plan, although she always showed a flair for writing. She didn’t see her first play until high school, when she won $45 playing pool and decided to treat herself to a production of “Cabaret” on Broadway.

As a University of Chicago undergraduate, she tried out for a play and fell in love with the strong bonds she created with her castmates. “I loved the communities that you form—these little ridiculous, inside joke-y families,” she says.

Her love of theater flourished as she studied with David Bevington and Nick Rudall at UChicago. She delved into playwriting during a quarter studying abroad in Paris.

She describes her first play as “the 22-year-old play that you write about your family. It was a super dark and ungenerous and emo play.” University Theater ultimately produced the piece, and Majok decided she wanted to make playwriting a career.

“It’s the thing that I found challenging and exciting and I felt it had worth,” she explains. “Leaving some sort of permanence was attractive.”

Supported by a fellowship from the Merage Foundation for the American Dream, Majok spent the first two years after graduating from UChicago immersing herself in the theater community by watching, studying, reading and writing as many plays as she could. She went on to study playwriting at the Yale School of Drama.

Over time, she says, she’s worked to make her plays funnier and less self-serious than her earlier efforts, and to write rich, complex female characters. “Women with strong appetites and flaws—I would like to see these women on stage, and if I were an actor, I would want to play these women who go after something hungrily,” she says.

Her next project focuses on the women and families that continued to live near Chernobyl after the nuclear disaster, despite the risks to their health and safety.

Even when tackling the weighty topic of Chernobyl, Majok’s darkly comedic sensibility still shines through. “It’s a musical,” she says.

University to bestow three honorary degrees at Convocation

Thu, 25 May 2017 15:40 -0500

The University of Chicago will present honorary degrees to three distinguished scholars during Convocation on June 10.

The honorary degree recipients are Robert MacPherson, the Herman Weyl Professor of Mathematics at the Institute for Advanced Study; Shaul Mukamel, Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Irvine; and Craig B. Thompson, president and CEO of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and professor at the Weill Cornell Medicine Graduate School of Medical Sciences.

Robert MacPherson, a mathematician whose prolific work has impacted many different areas in his field, will receive the honorary degree of doctor of science.

His early work was devoted to singularities. In his first work in topology, MacPherson defined Chern classes for singular varieties. After that he contributed to the Riemann-Roch formula for singular varieties, the definition of intersection homology, and the idea of a perversity. This work had large implications for mathematics, including algebraic geometry and representation theory.

MacPherson also developed the idea of deformation to the normal cone, and worked on its application to intersection theory. He made numerous other contributions throughout the field of mathematics, including the development of stratified Morse theory, and his work has had a great impact in pure topology. Also, as one of the leading pure mathematicians, he is working to break down barriers between pure and applied mathematics.

The University’s honorary degree is based on his later, less recognized work pertaining to locally symmetric spaces and the trace formula leading to the Fundamental lemma, stratified Morse theory and its many applications, combinatorics, and, most recently, applied topology.

MacPherson was recognized with the National Academy of Sciences Award for Mathematics and the AMS Steele Prize. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Philosophical Society.

Shaul Mukamel, a theoretician whose groundbreaking work has changed and advanced the field of spectroscopy, will receive the honorary degree of doctor of science.

Mukamel has played a seminal role in research on molecule-light interactions and their consequences, with contributions to understanding complex electron and nuclear dynamics in molecules. His research has a great impact on the field of ultrafast nonlinear spectroscopy, with applications in physics, chemistry and biology.

His work has additionally created new subfields of ultrafast nonlinear spectroscopy, and provided ways to interpret essentially all experimental research in this field. Over a 40-year career, he has led the introduction of new concepts that illuminate the complexities associated with molecular electronic processes.

His research provided, for the first time, a framework and predictive theory that allowed for the unified description of many nonlinear experiments. His theory was also the first step in developing multidimensional optical and infrared spectroscopy, which revolutionized the way in which molecular spectroscopy has been performed in the 21st century.

Mukamel has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and is fellow of the American Physical Society and the Optical Society of America. He has received the Hamburg Prize for Theoretical Physics, the Zewail Award of the American Society, the Meggers Award of the Optical Society of America and the University of Chicago’s Mullikan Prize Medal.

Craig B. Thompson, a leader in the field of cancer metabolism, will receive the honorary degree of doctor of science.

Thompson’s discoveries relating to the mechanism of cell metabolism have led to advances in the understanding of tumor growth and metabolic pathways. He served as director of the Gwen Knapp Center for Lupus and Immunology Research at the University of Chicago from 1993-99. Since then, he has focused on human cell epigenetics and, most recently, the identification of mutations that can be targeted in drug development.

In 2003, Thompson began studying the role of protein kinase B in cell growth and transformation. His research resulted in a detailed understanding of the mechanisms and consequences of metabolic reprogramming in cancer cells.

This groundbreaking work revealed that the major function of most cancer genes is to control cellular metabolism, and has led to new therapeutic approaches for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. His most recent work has investigated oncogenic mutations in metabolic enzymes.

Thompson has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences and is a recipient of the American College of Physicians Award for Medical Science. He has published, or has in press, more than 250 original articles, with over 60,000 citations for his work since 1999.

Musician and educator Steve Coleman to receive Jesse L. Rosenberger Medal

Mon, 22 May 2017 16:15 -0500

The University of Chicago will award the 2017 Jesse L. Rosenberger Medal to Steve Coleman, a composer, saxophonist, educator and native of the city’s South Side.

Coleman, who will receive the award at Convocation on June 10, is an artist known for his original, challenging compositions that draw inspiration not only from musical traditions around the globe, but from nature and scientific concepts. He has spent several decades conducting lengthy interviews with older jazz musicians in order to develop a deeper understanding of race relations and musical history and forms, among other topics.

Coleman is a leader in education and community building, providing instruction and opportunities for musicians to participate in workshops and collaborations across the country. He is founder of the M-Base Concepts, Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to using music as a tool to aid in the expansion of consciousness.

Over the last two years, Coleman and M-Base Concepts, Inc. have partnered with UChicago’s Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts and Arts + Public Life, along with the Rebuild Foundation, the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events and the Jazz Institute of Chicago to develop multi-week residencies focused on the importance of musical mentorship. His ensemble, Steve Coleman and Five Elements, focused on workshops, outreach on Chicago’s South Side and performances—the majority of which were free. They also led workshops with young musicians in the Chicago Public Schools and partnered with Free Write Arts and Literacy to visit a juvenile detention center, where the band talked about their lives and gave youth the opportunity to play various instruments.

Coleman has received a Doris Duke Impact Award and a Doris Duke Artist Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship and a MacArthur Fellowship.

Coleman is the 53rd recipient of the Rosenberger Medal, established in 1917 by Mr. and Mrs. Jesse L. Rosenberger in recognition of achievement through research, in authorship, in invention, for discovery, for unusual public service or for anything “deemed of great benefit to humanity.”

Members of the UChicago faculty nominate candidates for the Rosenberger Medal. The faculty Committee on Awards and Prizes then evaluates the nominations, which are voted upon by the Council of the University Senate.

Rosenberger Medalists are invited to give a public lecture or workshop during the following academic year.

Five UChicago faculty members elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Thu, 13 Apr 2017 08:48 -0500

Five members of the UChicago faculty are among the 228 members elected to the 2017 class of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences: Profs. Lenore Grenoble, Young-Kee Kim, Jonathan Lear, W. J. T. Mitchell and Tara Zahra.

Founded in 1780, the American Academy is one of the oldest and most prestigious honorary societies in country. It brings together leaders from academia, business and government to respond to some of the most pressing challenges facing the nation and the world.

Lenore Grenoble is the John Matthews Manly Distinguished Service Professor and chair of the Department of Linguistics. Grenoble specializes in Slavic and Arctic Indigenous languages, and conducts fieldwork in Siberia and Greenland. Her research focuses on contact linguistics, language shift and vitality, and on the study of language in its social and cultural contexts. An area of special focus is the status of minority and indigenous languages. She joined the UChicago faculty in 2007.

Grenoble is currently engaged in the documentation and description of the intersection of spatial orientation systems, landscape linguistics and place names in the Arctic. She is also one of four editors of a new digital series, Minority Languages in Europe, that is forthcoming.

Young-Kee Kim is the Louis Block Distinguished Service Professor in Physics and the College. She is also chair of the Department of Physics. An experimental physicist who focuses on particle physics to understand how the universe works, Kim has studied two of the most massive particles—the W boson and the top quark—at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, where she was deputy director. Her current research includes studying the Higgs boson and developing new approaches to future accelerators.

Kim is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Physical Society and Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and a recipient of the Ho-Am Prize. She is currently a member of the DESY Science Council in Germany, chair of the Circular Electron Positron Collider's International Advisory Committee in China, chair of the Rare Isotope Science Project’s International Advisory Committee in Korea, and a member of the American Physical Science’s board of directors and council. She joined the UChicago faculty in 2003.

Jonathan Lear is the John U. Nef Distinguished Service Professor in the Committee on Social Thought and the Department of Philosophy. He works primarily on philosophical conceptions of the human psyche, specifically the ethical significance of human imagination. He has written extensively on a broad range of philosophical topics, ranging from Aristotle (Aristotle: The Desire to Understand) to Native American culture (Radical Hope: Ethics in the Face of Cultural Devastation). A trained psychoanalyst, Lear has written extensively on the philosophical significance of talking cures. Lear’s most recent book is Wisdom Won From Illness (Harvard University Press, 2017). Lear received the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Distinguished Achievement Award in 2009.

Lear currently serves as the Roman Family Director of the Neubauer Collegium for Culture and Society, a research institute that brings together researchers from the University of Chicago and around the world to explore problems of serious human concern.

W. J. T. Mitchell is the Gaylord Donnelley Distinguished Service Professor of English and Art History. Mitchell’s research focuses on the history and theories of media, visual art and literature from antiquity to the present, with a particular focus on the relations of visual and verbal representations in the culture and iconology. A UChicago faculty member since 1978, he served as chair of the Department of English from 1988 to 1991. He has also been the editor for the interdisciplinary journal, Critical Inquiry, since 1978.

Mitchell has received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the American Philosophical Society. With Mitchell as its editor, Critical Inquiry was recognized three times for outstanding achievement by the Conference of Editors of Learned Journals. His book, Picture Theory (1997) received the Gordon E. Laing Prize from the University of Chicago Press. His book What Do Pictures Want? (2004) won the James Russell Lowell Prize in 2005.

Tara Zahra is a professor in the Department of History and the College. Her field of interest is in transnational and comparative approaches to the history of modern Europe, particularly Central and Eastern Europe. Zahra is also co-chair for the executive committee of the Pozen Family Center for Human Rights. Her first book, Kidnapped Souls: National Indifference and the Battle of Children in the Bohemian Lands, 1900-1948 (Cornell, 2008), won several awards for European history. Her most recent book is The Great Departure: Mass Migration from Eastern Europe and the Making of the Free World (Norton, 2016).

Zahra received a MacArthur Fellowship in 2014 for “painting a more integrative picture of 20th-century European history.” Zahra joined the UChicago faculty in 2007.

Members of the 2017 class of the American Academy include Pulitzer Prize winners, MacArthur Fellows, Fields Medalists, Presidential Medal of Freedom and National Medal of Arts recipients, and winners of the Academy Awards, Emmy, Grammy and Tony awards.

“It is an honor to welcome this new class of exceptional women and men as part of our distinguished membership,” said Don Randel, chair of the American Academy’s board of directors. “Their talents and expertise will enrich the life of the Academy and strengthen our capacity to spread knowledge and understanding in service to the nation.”

The new class will be inducted at an Oct. 7 ceremony in Cambridge, Mass.

Tyehimba Jess, AB’91, wins Pulitzer Prize in Poetry

Tue, 11 Apr 2017 13:30 -0500

Tyehimba Jess, AB’91, has won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry for Olio, his collection of original verse.

Jess’ poems examine the lives of African-American performers from the Civil War up to World War I, revealing the history of America’s blues, work songs and church hymns. Jess was praised by the Pulitzer committee “for a distinctive work that melds performance art with the deeper art of poetry to explore collective memory and challenge contemporary notions of race and identity.”

A native of Detroit, Jess studied public policy while at UChicago and received his MFA from New York University. Jess is currently the poetry and fiction editor of African American Review and is an associate professor of English at the College of Staten Island.

This is Jess’ second book of poetry. His first, leadbelly, received the 2004 National Poetry Series award. Jess read from Olio this past December at the Seminary Co-op Bookstore.

Five UChicago scholars awarded Sloan Research Fellowships

Tue, 21 Feb 2017 09:05 -0600

Five UChicago faculty members have earned 2017 Sloan Research Fellowships: Bryan Dickinson, assistant professor of chemistry; Suriyanarayanan Vaikuntanathan, assistant professor of chemistry; Joseph Vavra, associate professor of economics at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business; Abigail Vieregg, assistant professor of physics; and Alessandra Voena, associate professor of economics.

The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation on Feb. 21 announced that it awarded fellowships to 126 early-career scholars in the United States and Canada, whose achievements and potential mark them as the next scientific leaders. Winners receive a $60,000 grant to further their research.

Fellowships, given annually since 1955, are awarded in close coordination with the scientific community. Candidates must be nominated by their fellow scientists, and fellows are selected by an independent panel of senior scholars on the basis of a candidate’s independent research accomplishments, creativity and potential.

Bryan Dickinson focuses his research on creating technologies to measure and control biological systems. His laboratory employs synthetic organic chemistry, molecular evolution and synthetic biology approaches. His research program is motivated by the idea that innovative molecular technologies can spawn biological discovery.

Currently, his group is focused on three primary areas: small molecule approaches to interrogate how lipid modifications on proteins regulate metabolic signaling and disease; developing new evolutionary tools for the rapid creation of therapeutics; and creating new synthetic biology approaches to study and control cell signaling by RNAs and proteins. His team recently developed small molecule imaging reagents to discover a new type of dynamic lipid signaling with possible ramification in cancer and metabolic disease. His team also unveiled a completely new platform for creating biosensors for broad applications in biotechnology and molecular evolution.

Dickinson joined the UChicago faculty in 2014.

Suriyanarayanan Vaikuntanathan specializes in theoretical chemistry and biophysics. He and his group develop and use tools of statistical mechanics to study the behavior of complex systems in physical chemistry, soft condensed matter physics and biophysics.

His research seeks to uncover the fundamental principles that allow microscopic biophysical and chemical systems—such as collections of molecular motors—to robustly self-assemble and perform functions even in noisy conditions. For instance, Vaikuntanathan’s current work has demonstrated how non-equilibrium growth dynamics can be harnessed for novel material self-assembly as well as how information processing mechanisms in biophysical circuits can be protected against rogue fluctuations.

Vaikuntanathan joined the UChicago faculty in 2014.

Joseph S. Vavra is a macroeconomist who studies monetary economics, labor and computational economics, as well as the ways durable consumption responds to stimulus, and how prices respond to exchange rate movements. His current research argues that monetary policy is less effective during volatile recessions. His recent papers include “Regional Heterogeneity and Monetary Policy,” co-authored with Erik Hurst, Martin Beraja and Andreas Fuster, which finds that the Federal Reserve’s move to pump money into the economy provided the least amount of stimulus to the areas hit hardest by the recession.

Vavra also is a faculty research fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research. He joined the Chicago Booth faculty in 2012.

Abigail Vieregg is interested in answering questions about the nature of the universe at its highest energies through experimental work in particle astrophysics and cosmology. In particle astrophysics, she focuses on searching for the highest energy neutrinos that come from the most energetic sources in the universe. In cosmology, Vieregg works with a suite of telescopes at the South Pole to help determine what happened during the first moments after the Big Bang by measuring the polarization of the cosmic microwave background.

Vieregg was a NASA Earth and Space Sciences Graduate Fellow at UCLA and a National Science Foundation Office of Polar Programs Postdoctoral Fellow at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

Vieregg joined the UChicago faculty in 2014.

Alessandra Voena is a labor and development economist whose research focuses primarily on the economics of the family. Her recent work includes examining the effects of the 1996 United States welfare reform on marriage and divorce, household decision-making around fertility and education in Zambia, and the economic consequences of the cultural norms around marriage in sub-Saharan Africa, India and Asia.

Voena has published research in The American Economics Review including on the important role German-Jewish emigrants played on innovation in the United States. She is currently a faculty research fellow at National Bureau of Economic Research and served as a Ruffolo Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard University’s Kennedy School.

Voena joined the UChicago faculty in 2012.

Prof. Neil Shubin honored for research on limbs, organ evolution

Wed, 02 Nov 2016 14:30 -0500

Neil Shubin, the Robert Bensley Distinguished Service Professor in Organismal Biology and Anatomy, has been selected to receive the Addison Emery Verrill Medal from the Yale Peabody Museum at a Nov. 4 ceremony.

The Verrill Medal, created in 1959 to honor “signal practitioners in the arts of natural history and natural sciences,” is named for the late Addison Emery Verrill, Yale’s first professor of zoology and one of the Peabody Museum’s first curators. He described more than 1,000 species across virtually every major taxonomic group.

Shubin was selected for his research on the evolution of new organs, especially limbs. He has discovered some of the earliest mammals, crocodiles, dinosaurs, frogs and salamanders in the fossil record. He uses their anatomy to explore hypotheses about the genetic and developmental processes that led to anatomical transformations. One of his most significant discoveries, the 375-million-year-old Tiktaalik roseae fossil, is an important transitional form between fish and land animals.

Elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2011, Shubin has written two popular science books: the best-selling Your Inner Fish (2008), named best book of the year by the National Academy of Sciences and made into a celebrated PBS series, and The Universe Within: The Deep History of the Human Body (2013). He has conducted fieldwork in much of North America, including Greenland, as well as China and Africa, and is preparing to hunt fossils in Antarctica this December.

Also receiving Verrill Medals will be May Berenbaum from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Naomi Pierce of Harvard University and Geerat Vermeij from the University of California at Davis. Since the award’s inception, there have been 18 recipients.

University to celebrate Spring Convocation on June 11

Mon, 06 Jun 2016 16:30 -0500

The University of Chicago is preparing for its 527th Convocation on Saturday, June 11.

The daylong celebration will begin with the University-wide Convocation ceremony starting at 9:15 a.m. in the Main Quadrangle. An estimated 15,000 family, friends and colleagues are anticipated.

The morning ceremony will include President Robert J. Zimmer conferring degrees to groups of students by academic program and degree type. Later in the day, the College and graduate divisions and schools will hold individual ceremonies in which diplomas will be presented. The University is scheduled to award a total of 3,467 degrees.

For those unable to attend, the morning Convocation and College diploma ceremonies will webcast live at news.uchicago.edu/webcast. Follow the day’s events on social media using #uchicago2016.

This year’s Convocation speaker is David Nirenberg, dean of Division of the Social Sciences and the Deborah R. and Edgar D. Jannotta Professor of Medieval History and Social Thought. Nirenberg, whose field specialties include the Christians, Jews and Muslims of medieval Europe and medieval ideas about communication and social relations, has entitled his address “A Time of Mind.”

The University will award three honorary degrees: The recipients are Frances H. Arnold, a founding figure in the field of molecular engineering in biological systems; J. Patrick Olivelle, a scholar of Sanskrit and Pali literature and South Asian religions; and Andrew M. Alper, chairman of UChicago’s Board of Trustees from 2009 to 2015.

Additional honors include the Benton Medal for Distinguished Public Service, which will be awarded to Harvard University Professor James Anderson; and the Jesse L. Rosenberger Medal for Outstanding Achievement in the Creative and Performing Arts, which will be awarded to local artist Kerry James Marshall.

During the ceremonies held by the divisions and schools, the University will recognize faculty members and graduate students for excellence in teaching with presentations of the Llewellyn John and Harriet Manchester Quantrell Awards for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, Wayne C. Booth Graduate Student Prizes for Excellence in Teaching, and Faculty Awards for Excellence in Graduate Teaching and Mentoring.

At the College diploma ceremony, the tradition of student speakers will continue with this year’s selection of Hannah Gitlin, Konje Machini and Kristopher Pittard.

The celebration continues UChicago’s long tradition of holding convocations to bring together the community to mark individual achievement and institutional continuity. A full schedule of events and details on transportation and parking can be found at convocation.uchicago.edu. Convocation shuttles can be tracked at uchicago.transloc.com.

Certain streets will be closed for parts of Convocation weekend. Ellis Avenue from 57th Street to 59th Street will be closed from 5 p.m. Friday to 8 p.m. Saturday. In addition, 57th Street from Ellis Avenue to University Avenue will be closed from 4 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, along with University Avenue from 57th Street to 59th Street.

Please note that all bags are subject to inspection before entering the Main Quadrangle. Items that may disrupt other guests from seeing or hearing the ceremony are not permitted inside the Quadrangle.

University to bestow three honorary degrees at 527th Convocation

Fri, 03 Jun 2016 13:25 -0500

The University of Chicago will present honorary degrees to two distinguished scholars and one University of Chicago Trustee during the 527th Convocation on Saturday, June 11.

The honorary degree recipients are Andrew M. Alper, AB’80, MBA’81, former chairman of the University of Chicago Board of Trustees; Frances H. Arnold, the Dick and Barbara Dickinson Professor of Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering and Biochemistry at the California Institute of Technology; and J. Patrick Olivelle, the Jacob and Frances Sanger Mossiker Professor Emeritus at the University of Texas at Austin.

Andrew M. Alper, who served as chairman of UChicago’s Board of Trustees from 2009-2015, will receive a doctor of laws honorary degree in recognition of his service to the University.

Alper started his career on Wall Street at Goldman Sachs, where he spent 21 years as an investment banker, co-head of the Financial Institutions Group, and chief operating officer of the Investment Banking Division. In early 2002, he was appointed president of the New York City Economic Development Corporation and chairman of the New York City Industrial Development Agency. Alper was responsible for developing strategies to bring jobs and economic growth back to the city in the aftermath of 9/11. Currently he manages his family office, Alper Investments, Inc.

Alper’s involvement with the University is characterized by many years of distinguished service and philanthropic commitment. He was awarded the Young Alumni Service Citation in 1993 and the Distinguished Public Service/Public Sector Award in 2004. Alper was elected a member of the University’s Board of Trustees in 1999. In 2005 he became campaign chairman for the University’s most ambitious capital campaign at the time, the Chicago Initiative, leading to a record-breaking completion with a total of $2.38 billion. After serving for six years as vice chair, he was elected chair in 2009.

Alper helped the University launch the public phase of its current $4.5 billion campaign, The University of Chicago Campaign: Inquiry and Impact, which already has achieved half of its goal. He continues to serve the University as a member of the Board of Trustees and is a life member of the Chicago Booth Council and a trustee of the University of Chicago Medical Center.

Frances H. Arnold, a highly influential founding figure in the field of molecular engineering in biological systems, will receive a doctor of science honorary degree.

Arnold has developed a number of fundamental insights and approaches that have been translated to application and societal impact in green chemistry and biofuels.

Arnold pioneered the novel concept of directed evolution starting in the late 1990s. She undertook extensive work to develop the field of directed evolution, in which molecular biological methods are employed to put selective pressure on a biomolecule to iteratively move from its starting function to a potentially entirely new function. Through this work, Arnold developed a new approach for biomolecular discovery.

The concept of directed evolution has been adopted widely by academia and industry alike, the latter especially for the development of new biocatalysts for synthesis of biofuels and the environmentally friendly production of chemicals.Arnold has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences. She also has been inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame, and earned awards such as the ENI Prize in Renewable and Non-Conventional Energy, the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, and the Charles Stark Draper Prize.

J. Patrick Olivelle, a prolific scholar of Sanskrit and Pali literature and South Asian religions, will receive a doctor of humane letters honorary degree.

Olivelle’s work has come to define the field of Indology as it is currently understood, transforming the scholarly world’s understanding of fundamental concepts in India and helping reorient contemporary perceptions of its past.

Over the course of the past 40 years, Olivelle has produced a major synthesis of the overlapping and often contending religious and learned cultures of classical Indian civilization. Much of his work has concentrated on one particular and especially significant area of this wider field, what might be termed “classical Brahmanism.”

He has translated works of the Buddhist poet Aśvaghoṣa—the earliest classical Sanskrit poet whose works survive—and several works on the animal fables of the Pañcatantra. Most recently, he has directed his attention to one of the major historical figures of early India, the philo-Buddhist Maurya king Aśoka.

Olivelle has won several prestigious fellowships, including a Guggenheim Fellowship, a National Endowment for the Humanities Senior Fellowship and an American Council of Learned Societies Fellowship. He served as president of the American Oriental Society from 2005 to 2006.

Scientist James Anderson, artist Kerry James Marshall to receive Benton, Rosenberger medals

Fri, 03 Jun 2016 13:25 -0500

The University will award the Benton Medal for Distinguished Public Service to James Anderson, the Phillip S. Weld Professor of Atmospheric Chemistry at Harvard University, and the Jesse L. Rosenberger Medal for Outstanding Achievement in the Creative and Performing Arts to local artist Kerry James Marshall. The recipients will receive their honors at the University of Chicago’s 527th Convocation on Saturday, June 11.

Members of the UChicago faculty nominate candidates for the Benton and Rosenberger medals. The Committee on Awards and Prizes then evaluates the nominations, which are finally voted upon by the Council of the University Senate.

The University president extends an invitation to the Benton and Rosenberger nominees to receive their medals during Spring Convocation. The nominees also are invited to give a public lecture or workshop the following academic year.

James Anderson, 2016 Benton Medal

Anderson is described as a pioneer of in situ measurements of ozone chemistry and a scientific leader who helped forge broad international consensus on potential risks to Earth's ozone layer.

Anderson’s work on the ozone hole prompted the development of the Montreal Protocol, an international treaty designed to protect the ozone layer and phase out the production of numerous substances that deplete it. More recently, Anderson has linked ozone chemistry to climate change.

For three decades, Anderson has led an eminent research program, exploring the chemical, global and societal impacts of catalytic ozone loss in the upper atmosphere. He pioneered in situ detection of catalytically active radicals in the atmosphere and conducted the first airborne measurements of free radicals in the stratosphere. He followed that work with the first measurements of halogen radicals, injected into the stratosphere from the breakdown of CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons).

Combining these measurements, Anderson then conducted pivotal field experiments that conclusively demonstrated that chlorine radicals were responsible for catalytic ozone depletion in the polar stratosphere, colloquially known as “the ozone hole.” Such a suite of precise and complete measurements had never before been conducted in the harsh environment of the winter polar stratosphere.

Turning his attention to climate change in 2000, Anderson began a decade-long effort to elucidate mechanisms of water vapor transport through the tropical tropopause transition layer and into the stratosphere. Through that research, he unexpectedly found that strong convective systems in the tropics inject water high into the stratosphere. He further demonstrated that this water vapor is responsible for mid-latitude ozone loss.

Anderson was able to link ozone loss and climate change in an incontrovertible way. His finding explained the microscopic origin of the thinning of the ozone layer over the most heavily populated portions of the planet and showed that climate change has immediate implications for human health.

Throughout his career, Anderson has championed environmental stewardship by creating data sets that clearly prove how human activities effect change in the atmosphere surrounding our planet. His work spans precise laboratory measurements, airborne field campaigns, and policy initiatives on the national and international stage.

Kerry James Marshall, 2016 Jesse L. Rosenberger Medal

Marshall is recognized as an artist who has shifted how the contemporary art world looks at questions of representation and identity.

Marshall addresses representation in at least two different ways: He attends to the quality of visual representation within painting, as his work focuses on the figure and landscape, and he also focuses on the kinds of images that are represented in museums and galleries. His stated mission is to populate museums and galleries with representations of people of color throughout the United States and around the world.

Marshall was born in Alabama in 1955, and grew up in Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles. A 1978 graduate of the Otis College of Art and Design, he currently lives and works in Chicago.

Marshall is considered to be an inspired and imaginative chronicler of the African American experience, who uses painting, sculptural installations, collage, video and photography to comment on the history of black identity both in the United States and in Western art. He is well known for paintings that focus on black subjects historically excluded from the artistic canon, and he has explored issues of race and history through imagery ranging from abstraction to comics.

A recipient of a 1997 MacArthur Fellowship, Marshall currently serves on the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities. He has been featured on the PBS Art 21 series, which profiles the most important artists of the 21st century.

In 2007, the art magazine Artforum noted that Marshall was the “star” of Documenta 12, the renowned international survey of contemporary art, which takes place every five years. His work has been profiled in many international art magazines and journals, and numerous monographic publications have been dedicated to his work. In addition to exhibiting in the United States, Marshall’s work has been shown in Vienna, Belgium, Denmark and Spain.

A mainstay of the Chicago art scene for more than 30 years, Marshall is currently the subject of a major survey exhibition at Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art. The exhibition, which opened April 23, is on view through Sept. 25. The exhibition will then travel to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, and then to the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles.

Marshall’s work is also represented in UChicago’s Smart Museum of Art along with numerous major public collections, including those of the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York; the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Birmingham Museum of Art; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Art Institute of Chicago; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

UChicago celebrates the promise of Chicago youth

Fri, 22 May 2015 15:10 -0500

Though Daweed Abdiel always has been intellectually curious and a good student, college wasn’t always on his radar. Most of his older family members had started college but never finished. In his first two years of high school, “I wasn’t thinking about college too much,” he said. “I was a good student, but I had no direction.”

That changed after Abdiel joined the Upward Bound program offered through the Office of Special Programs-College Prep. Staff members who lead the program encouraged him to apply to colleges. “This program helped me determine I wanted a small liberal arts college.” With Upward Bound showing the way, he got what he wanted. In August, Abdiel will attend Denison University with the support of two prestigious awards: a Gates-Millennium Scholarship and a Posse Scholarship.

“We have young people who develop a real sense of confidence and self-awareness about who they are and their ability to meet challenges and be successful,” said Dovetta McKee, director of the Office of Special Programs-College Prep. “It changes their mindset about the leadership role they can play in their communities, and makes them models for young people who follow behind them,” she said.

Abdiel was one of about 60 Chicago high school seniors honored at the 2015 Student Recognition Night, sponsored by the Office of Civic Engagement. The seniors took part in one of two programs: Upward Bound or the Collegiate Scholars Program, which prepares talented Chicago Public Schools students to succeed in the nation’s top colleges and universities.

In addition, University students who have served with the Neighborhood Schools Program received recognition for their work in local public schools and community programs. All three efforts are part of UChicago Promise, the University’s multi-pronged effort to increase college access and success for Chicago youth.

Increasing college access and success starts young. The Neighborhood Schools Program connects 375 UChicago students with 3,000 students in the surrounding neighborhoods. Many are still grade-schoolers, and tutoring can make a real impact on their future prospects.

“We leaned on NSP quite a lot and they came through,” said Ed Kajor in a video shown at the event. Kajor, a learning behavior specialist at Burke Elementary in Washington Park, credits tutoring from volunteers like Amanda Weisler, a third-year sociology major, for boosting the school’s scores on standardized tests.

“Our program is one of a few that is truly receptive to local school needs, said Shaz Rasul, director of community programs in the Office of Civic Engagement. “If a principal tells us she needs help with third grade, we will find tutors for the third grade who can be available during the school day. This is important because schools are often judged by what happens in the classroom, not enrichment time after school.”

University students benefit, too. Real-world experience has led more than one NSP volunteer into a career in education, including Sara Stoelinga, clinical professor of the Committee on Education, who was honored at the event with the Don York Faculty Initiative Award, and keynote speaker Geoffrey Aladro AB’06, who is currently Miami-Dade’s Teacher of the Year. Stoelinga also received a 2015 Llewellyn John and Harriet Manchester Quantrell Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching.

When Aladro discovered his long-held dream of corporate work wasn’t all he thought it would be, he changed gears and chose teaching because of his NSP experiences. “I haven’t really worked since I became a teacher,” he told the crowd, “because I love my work.”

Fourth-year Jonathan Fifer, who volunteered with NSP throughout his College career, intends to follow in their footsteps. His next goal will be to earn a master’s degree from Teachers College, Columbia University, where he’ll study early childhood education. “I’ve always been interested in the little kids,” he said. “Even when they’re crying or being bad, you can see their thought process. I can’t be mad at them.”

While teaching high school students about the college application process gets them started on their higher education journey, the Upward Bound and Collegiate Scholars programs also support young people’s intellectual growth. Ivelise Colon, a Collegiate Scholar, has chosen Whittier College’s alternative liberal arts program, where she will design her own major, incorporating elements of psychology, sociology and early childhood education. “I want to do my own thing,” she said.

“The hallmark of Collegiate Scholars is the interaction with faculty. We are one of very few institutions in the country where there is intentional engagement between University faculty and public school students from across the city,” said Abel Ochoa, interim director of the Collegiate Scholars Program. “It really elevates a student’s frame of thinking to be taught by a professor who has written a textbook, done concrete research, or is considered a world-renowned expert in his field.”

Like Colon, Abdiel has seen his intellectual interests shift over time, from physics to chemistry with a generous side helping of economics and African-American Studies. He credits his Upward Bound mentors for exposing him to the Kavli Institute of Cosmological Physics and for staying the course with him as his interests evolved. “They won’t tell you what to do, but they’ll ask you questions,” he said. “They’ll help you find your passions.”

Nizar Ibrahim named 2015 TED Fellow

Mon, 22 Dec 2014 15:49 -0600

Paleontologist and National Geographic Emerging Explorer Nizar Ibrahim has been named a 2015 TED Fellow—the first paleontologist in the history of the program.

Ibrahim, a postdoctoral scholar in organismal biology & anatomy, searches through ancient riverbeds in the deserts of Northern Africa for insights about life in the time of the dinosaurs. He has contributed to numerous major discoveries, including Spinosaurus, a semi-aquatic predatory dinosaur that was larger than the T. rex, and a 95 million-year-old flying reptile with an 18-foot wingspan.

As one of 21 newly appointed 2015 TED Fellows, Ibrahim joins a network of more than 300 international thought leaders who have demonstrated remarkable achievement and impact in their fields. Fellows are drawn from all disciplines, from music to astrophysics to cancer research.

“It’s a wonderful award,” Ibrahim said. “It’s a real privilege and I am very excited to be part of this group of mavericks, frontier pushers and innovators.”

TED fellows will participate in either the 2015 TED or TEDGlobal conferences, where they will present their own TED talk. Short, powerful and thought-provoking, TED talks have been viewed online more than one billion times worldwide. Previous TED speakers have included luminaries such as Steve Jobs, Malcolm Gladwell and Stephen Hawking.

This won’t be Ibrahim’s first experience with TED. This past November, he gave a talk for TED Youth at the Brooklyn Museum in New York City.

“I really believe in putting your research out there and sharing it with as many people as possible, especially young people and budding scientists,” he said. “I don’t think scientists should work in a bubble. I hope that the fellowship will allow me to share my love for science, adventure and exploration with as many people as possible.”

The fellowship also offers networking opportunities with other TED fellows, unique skills-building workshops, mentorship from world-renowned experts and the myriad resources of the TED community. Many past TED fellows have been awarded prestigious prizes.

“This large-scale exposure is great news for paleontology, as well as Africa, where I carry out most of my fieldwork,” Ibrahim said. “I also hope that my work with TED is going to inspire future explorers and scientists.”

Ibrahim is still planning the subject of his TED talk, but he already has some ideas.

“It’s going to include a journey into the deep past of our planet—that much I can tell you,” he said.

Diversity Leadership Council adds faculty category to Diversity Leadership Awards

Tue, 21 Oct 2014 17:17 -0500

The University of Chicago’s Diversity Leadership Council is seeking nominations for the Diversity Leadership Awards it presents during the annual Martin Luther King Jr. celebration in January. Since 2009 a member of the UChicago alumni community and the UChicago staff have received the award. This year, the DLC is adding a new Diversity Leadership Award to honor a member of the faculty.

“For many years, a number of University of Chicago faculty members have worked hard to promote the ideals of diversity, inclusion and equality on our campus, whether it came in the form of service to disadvantaged communities, building the pipeline of potential students or working to diversify our faculty ranks,” said William McDade, deputy provost for research and minority issues, and co-chair of the Diversity Leadership Council.

“Adding a faculty category to our Diversity Leadership Awards provides an opportunity to recognize those longstanding faculty champions who are committed to diversity issues,” said McDade.

McDade noted that the faculty award will recognize those who foster a diverse and inclusive environment both on and off the UChicago campus. “The award will honor those who believe in these values and see them as an important goal worthy of considerable time and effort.”

Past Diversity Leadership Award recipients

The accomplishments of the past award recipients vary in many ways, but all of the Diversity Leadership Award winners have enriched others’ lives and empowered people to envision success and reach their potential.

Last year, President Robert J. Zimmer bestowed awards on alumna Aida Giachello and two staff members, Kathleen Forde and Theaster Gates, who were selected in a tie for the staff honor. Each of the 2014 recipients credited the power of community building for helping them achieve their goals.

Giachello, AM’71, PhD’88, contributes to the field of public health research and has been instrumental in leading the formation of numerous local, regional and national health and human services organizations. Forde created a groundbreaking mentoring program to help students overcome career obstacles related to sexual orientation. Gates, professor in Visual Arts and the College and director of Arts and Public Life, continues to foster collaboration between the University and its neighbors on the South Side through cultural and artistic endeavors.

Nominate your diversity heroes

McDade, associate professor of anesthesiology and critical care, and associate dean for multicultural affairs at the Pritzker School of Medicine, and co-chair Sonya Malunda, senior associate vice president for community engagement, encourage students, faculty, staff and alumni to nominate someone who has shown devotion to the principles of diversity, inclusion, equality and justice.

“The University’s Diversity Leadership Council created these awards to thank the people of our community who challenge the status quo, and who think critically and creatively about how to bring about change where it’s needed and opportunity for everyone.

“With each new year that we honor the top diversity leaders from within our community, we hope that their dedication to lifting up others will be emulated by a younger generation, who in turn will pass on those same principles to the next generation.”

The Diversity Leadership Council is a group of senior administrators from a broad cross-section of the University. Formed by President Robert J. Zimmer in 2007, the council gives the awards annually.

All UChicago community members may submit nominations for the University's 2015 Diversity Leadership Awards. A nomination form may be completed through the Nov. 14 deadline.

President Zimmer and the DLC will present the 2015 Diversity Leadership Awards to the recipients on Jan. 15, 2015, in conjunction with the annual Martin Luther King Jr. celebration. Descriptions of the award and the nomination process are provided on the Diversity and Inclusion website.

Crime Lab receives $1 million MacArthur Foundation award in recognition of creativity, impact

Thu, 20 Feb 2014 09:43 -0600

The University of Chicago Crime Lab is one of seven nonprofit organizations around the world to receive a $1 million award from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation in support of nonprofit organizations that have demonstrated creativity and impact in their work.

The award, called the MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions, will help the Crime Lab advance its mission of studying interventions to prevent violence. Founded in 2008, the Crime Lab is being recognized in part because it already has produced benefits disproportionate to the organization’s small size. Using “gold standard” research techniques, Crime Lab researchers have found that targeted tutoring and mentoring programs can help improve school outcomes and reduce violence among high school students.

“Our scholars continue to show that new ideas and outstanding research can make a positive impact in the world,” said University of Chicago President Robert J. Zimmer. “I congratulate the Crime Lab for this recognition of its important efforts in building knowledge about violence prevention.”

Crime Lab leaders said they plan to use the award for new projects in Chicago and beyond.

“Our work is motivated by the idea that it is not a lack of innovation, good ideas or hard work that has hindered long-term progress on urban crime and violence and the related problem of school dropout, but rather it is a lack of rigorous scientific evidence about what works, for whom and why,” said Crime Lab Director Jens Ludwig, the McCormick Foundation Professor of Social Service Administration, Law and Public Policy. “We launched the Crime Lab in 2008 to work in close partnership with nonprofits and municipal agencies on the front lines of these issues in order to begin to co-produce the scientific evidence necessary to help guide policy and practice.”

“This generous support from MacArthur will allow us to be more nimble in seizing project opportunities that require a rapid response,” Ludwig said. “It will allow us to explore innovative research projects and gather evidence about their effectiveness.”

The Crime Lab partners with government agencies in Chicago and around the country to provide rigorous scientific evidence about the effectiveness of strategies to reduce crime and violence. One of Crime Lab’s main activities is the design and coordination of randomized trials of the sort that are standard in medicine but remain rare in the public policy area. The Crime Lab is a leader in using this approach, together with benefit-cost analysis and behavioral science, to help reduce the social harms that crime imposes on society. The ultimate goal is to inform policymakers about which strategies do the most social good for the cost.

Researchers at the Crime Lab have extended this empirical approach to a range of social challenges in Chicago, including gun crime, school dropout rates, and social programs to reduce violence involvement.

Crime Lab conducted an evaluation of Chicago’s “Becoming a Man” counseling/mentoring program (developed by Youth Guidance and World Sport Chicago), finding that it decreased violent crime arrests of participants by 44 percent.
Crime Lab is collaborating with criminal justice agencies, including the Chicago Police Department to identify and interrupt sources of crime guns, and the U.S. Department of Justice to study the effects of placing more police on city streets.
Working with Chicago’s Department of Family and Support Services, the Crime Lab has evaluated One Summer Plus, an employment program for at-risk youth, finding that violent crime arrests among participants dropped by 51 percent.
Crime Lab is partnering with ideas42 to carry out several randomized trials in New York City that apply insights from behavioral science to improve probation outcomes and enhance the effectiveness of policing strategies.

According to the MacArthur foundation, the MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions is not only recognition for past leadership and success but also an investment in the future. Crime Lab will use its $1 million MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions funding to establish an “innovation fund” to allow the organization to engage in new projects and explore innovative ways of conducting its research. A small portion of the funding will be allocated to forming an operating reserve.

Organizations that receive the award “share in common their demonstrated impact in improving the lives of people and communities,” said MacArthur President Robert Gallucci. “MacArthur hopes these investments will sustain and expand the reach of that impact.”

Seminary Co-op Bookstore's new location wins interior design award

Tue, 29 Oct 2013 14:40 -0500

The Seminary Co-op Bookstore’s new location has earned a design award for Tigerman McCurry Architects, recognizing an interior space that accommodates the bookstore’s new activities while preserving a sense of immersion in books.

The Illinois chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers gave Tigerman McCurry the Best of Show Design Excellence Award for Contract for the Co-op’s new home at 5751 S. Woodlawn Ave.

“This was a stunning, beautiful project, well-selected materials, very well done space-planning, architecturally interesting, amazing lighting,” said Joan M. Kaufman, Interior Design Director with Interior Planning & Design, Inc., and one of the judges of the competition. “A significant contributing factor is that the bookstore is appealing to many who visit, and is well-integrated into the community and nearby architecture that surrounds it.”

“The Co-op is an important place at the intellectual heart of the University and our community, and we are delighted that the new space is such a success,” said Steve Wiesenthal, Senior Associate Vice President and University Architect. “Tigerman McCurry pulled off a difficult feat of paying homage to the past while designing thoughtfully for future needs. We are all deeply grateful and congratulate them on this honor.”

The new design was meant to preserve the spirit of the Co-op’s former location in the basement of the building that housed the Chicago Theological Seminary. The space maintains the cherished feeling of being lost in books, in a space that is open to daylight and provides room for book reading events and other community gatherings.

“I wanted to convey the ambience of the old store without replicating it,” said Stanley Tigerman, of Tigerman McCurry, who himself has been a member of the Co-op for 35 years. “I wanted it to be as confusing as the basement space was.”

Some of the bookshelves in the new store are arranged at odd angles to give the browser a sense of the unknown around the corner. After emerging from the maze, one can enjoy flipping though books in a light-drenched, open space. The front table, a hallmark of the Co-op, still greets patrons with the latest must-read titles.

“I’m very, very pleased that [Tigerman McCurry] won the award. They were an absolute pleasure to work with on this project,” said Jack Cella, who recently retired as general manager of the Co-op. “It’s open, inviting, easy to browse, but you still can get lost in and feel surrounded by books. The reactions have been very positive from customers.”

Court’s Newell receives Fichandler Award from fellow directors, choreographers

Fri, 25 Oct 2013 14:56 -0500

The Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation has honored Court Theatre’s artistic director Charles Newell with the 2013 Zelda Fichandler Award, which recognizes an outstanding director or choreographer who is transforming the regional arts landscape through singular creativity and artistry in theatre.

The award heralds accomplishment to date and promise for the future, artistic vision, and deep commitment to a region outside of New York. It carries an unrestricted grant of $5,000 to the individual recipient. Newell will receive the award on Monday, Nov. 4, at a reception at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park.

"To receive the Zelda Fichandler Award from SDCF means the world to me,” said Newell. “My very first theatre-going memories are of my mother taking me to Zelda's Arena Stage. The daring theatre she created and produced, the singular artists she championed, the impact her art made on her community: these all have been a beacon of inspiration to me. For 20 years, I have been fortunate to build a life in the theatre here in Chicago, seeking to follow Zelda's example. I am very proud to be a member of this most vibrant theatre community, and am constantly inspired by our artists and patrons.

“I am thankful for the unwavering support and platform that the University of Chicago provides us at Court Theatre, and for the fabulous community in which I work and have raised a family, Chicago's South Side," said Newell.

A peer review committee selected Newell from nominees from the Central region of the United States. Selection committee chairperson Chay Yew states, “It’s an honor to give this year’s Zelda Fichandler Award to Charlie Newell. His work in this region has been extraordinary and influential. Through his remarkable leadership, his brilliant direction, and his genuine dedication and desire to make a difference, he is continually changing the Chicago theatrical landscape. Always giving fresh interpretations to the classics and committing to cultural inclusion, he has opened our eyes of how to view the classics in context with contemporary America. His work has inspired us all, audience and artists alike.”

Newell has been artistic director of Court Theatre since 1994, where he has directed more than 40 productions. He made his Chicago directorial debut in 1993 with The Triumph of Love, which won the Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Production. Newell’s productions of Man of La Mancha and Caroline, or Change also have won Best Production Jeff Awards.

Other directorial highlights staged at Court Theatre include The Moliere Festival (Moliere & Tartuffe), Proof, Angels in America, An Iliad, Porgy & Bess, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, The Invention of Love, and Hamlet. Newell also has directed at the Goodman Theatre, Guthrie Theater, Arena Stage, John Houseman’s The Acting Company, the California and Alabama Shakespeare Festivals, Juilliard, and New York University.

He has served on the Board of Theatre Communications Group, as well as on several panels for the National Endowment for the Arts. His opera directing credits include Marc Blitzstein’s Regina, Rigoletto, Don Giovanni, The Jewel Box, and Carousel. Newell received the 1992 TCG Alan Schneider Director Award and the 2012 League of Chicago Theatres’ Artistic Achievement Award. Newell also has earned 16 Joseph Jefferson best director nominations, having won four of those awards.

Zelda Fichandler dedicated her early career to the establishment of America’s regional theatre movement. In 1950 she founded Washington D.C.’s Arena Stage, and in 1968 she produced The Great White Hope, which became the first production to transfer from a regional theatre to Broadway, winning a Tony Award and a Pulitzer Prize, launching the careers of James Earl Jones and Jane Alexander.

When Fichandler retired as producing artistic director of Arena Stage in 1990, she had achieved the longest tenure of any non-commercial producer in the annals of the American theater. Fichandler is chair emeritus of New York University’s acclaimed graduate acting program, where she taught, guided and inspired more than 500 acting students, including Marcia Gay Harden, Rainn Wilson, Billy Crudup, Debra Messing, Peter Krause, and Michael C. Hall. A recipient of the National Medal of Arts, Fichandler became the first artistic leader outside of New York to be inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame.

Economics Nobel awarded to Eugene F. Fama and Lars Peter Hansen

Mon, 14 Oct 2013 10:42 -0500

University of Chicago professors Eugene F. Fama and Lars Peter Hansen have been awarded the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2013.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences honored Fama and Hansen, along with Robert J. Shiller of Yale University, “for their empirical analysis of asset prices.” This research helps to explain how and why the prices of stocks and bonds change over time. Fama’s work demonstrated that new information is very quickly incorporated into the market, making it difficult to predict short-term changes in asset prices. Hansen developed a statistical method for testing rational theories of asset pricing like those advanced by Fama and Shiller.

"In their work, Gene Fama and Lars Hansen have demonstrated the University's mission to address the complex challenges facing society with innovative scholarship. In doing so, they have helped shape the study of economics and the nature of today's financial markets. We are very gratified to see those accomplishments recognized internationally, and proud to count them among the Nobel laureates at the University of Chicago,” said Robert J. Zimmer, president of the University of Chicago.

Fama is the Robert R. McCormick Distinguished Service Professor of Finance at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business; Hansen is the David Rockefeller Distinguished Service Professor in Economics, Statistics, and the College, and is research director of the Becker Friedman Institute for Research in Economics. They are among the 89 scholars associated with the University to receive Nobels, and among the 28 who have received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics. In addition to Fama and Hansen, four current faculty members are Nobel laureates in economics: Profs. Roger Myerson (who won in 2007), James Heckman (2000), Robert E. Lucas Jr. (1995), and Gary Becker (1992).

At a news conference on Monday morning, Fama credited much of his success to the intellectual culture of the University of Chicago.

“Whatever I am owes two-thirds—maybe three-quarters, maybe 90 percent—to the University of Chicago,” Fama said. “Over the years, the school [and] the economics department has only gotten stronger. The interaction that you get from your colleagues is so influential in building your work that you cannot underestimate its impact.”

Hansen, too, said his colleagues were essential in guiding his approach to research. “This environment here really is something special,” Hansen said. From his mentors and colleagues in the University’s Department of Economics, he learned that “economics is supposed to do something—it’s supposed to explain the world.”

'A great day for Chicago economics'

Members of the University community crowded into the soaring Rothman Winter Garden of the Charles M. Harper Center on Monday morning to hear from the two winners and their colleagues.

“Today is a great day for Chicago economics,” Prof. John List told the cheering crowd.

At the event, Fama and Hansen’s colleagues praised the far-reaching impact of the two laureates’ research.

Hansen’s “powerful, pioneering” methods for assessing economic models have been adopted by social scientists in many fields, said List, the Homer J. Livingston Professor and chair of Economics. “Whether it is to explore how public policies effect unemployment rates, how networks form, or how environmental regulations influence productivity growth, Lars’ work plays a key role.”

Fama’s early work on efficient markets, which gave rise to the index funds many investors participate in today, not only revolutionized academic finance, but also made “a phenomenal impact on the practical world, and really on people’s lives,” said John Heaton, the Joseph L. Gidwitz Professor of Finance and Deputy Dean for Faculty at Chicago Booth.

Heaton also praised Fama’s commitment to his students, noting that Fama spent his first morning as a Nobel laureate teaching a course on portfolio theory and asset pricing.

When he received the call from the Nobel committee, “I was preparing my class, actually,” Fama said.

For his part, Hansen said he was looking forward to meeting with several graduate students later in the afternoon.

“I’ve been very lucky to have a long list of very good graduate students. I’m very proud of this,” he said. “Most of my best students are happy to tell me where I’m wrong and more than happy to expose the gaps in my understanding. My graduate students over the years—current and former ones—have been some of my best colleagues.”

"I can’t distinguish between students and colleagues,” agreed Fama. Former students become colleagues who “contribute to your work through their work, or through commenting on your work. There’s a continuous interchange.”

Understanding trends in asset markets

The work the Nobel honors had roots in the 1960s, when Fama and his collaborators made pivotal contributions concerning the difficulty of predicting stock prices in the short run.

“These findings not only had a profound impact on subsequent research but also changed market practice,” notes the Nobel announcement for the 2013 prize.

“As a pioneering researcher and teacher, Gene embodies the highest aspirations of Chicago Booth, to create knowledge with enduring impact, and to influence and educate current and future leaders,” said Sunil Kumar, dean of Chicago Booth and the George Pratt Shultz Professor of Operations Management. “We are honored to have him as a member of the Booth community, now in his 50th year with us, and we congratulate him on this well-deserved achievement.”

Hansen’s research examines the connection between the macroeconomy and financial markets. His statistical assessments of economic models “go a long way toward explaining asset prices,” the Nobel announcement stated.

Mario Small, dean of the Social Sciences Division and professor in Sociology, said that Hansen “has proven himself year after year to be a creative econometrician, sophisticated empirical researcher, and broad-minded intellectual. He developed important methods to estimate economic models in conditions where previous models were inadequate to meet the complexity of the real world. His work has furthered our understanding of consumption and asset pricing.”

“This award is recognition that he long-ago joined the ranks of the most important economists in the illustrious history of University of Chicago economics,” Small added.

Eugene F. Fama

Fama joined the University of Chicago faculty in 1963 as he was completing his PhD in economics and finance at what was then called the Graduate School of Business.

His research includes theoretical and empirical work on investments, price formation in capital markets, and corporate finance.

Fama teaches “Theory of Financial Decisions,” a PhD course that many MBA students also take. Some former students, including David Booth, an investment fund manager, have called Fama’s course a life-changing experience. Booth cited Fama as his primary influence and credited Fama with his success in 2008, when Booth gave a $300 million gift to the University.

Fama coined the term “efficient market” and the term gained widespread use following publication of “Efficient Capital Markets: A Review of Theory and Empirical Work” in the Journal of Finance in 1970. The efficient markets hypothesis holds that, as a result of competition, equilibrium prices in financial markets incorporate all relevant information. A famous implication of this hypothesis is that simple strategies cannot beat stock markets, bond markets, and international currency markets.

Fama subsequently developed and tested many propositions about prices in efficient markets, the effect of inflation and other macroeconomic factors on bond prices, and how the structure of corporations affects investment and other decisions. His recent work has shown that prospective stock and bond returns vary through time, and has redefined our understanding of which stocks pay greater returns than others.

In addition to publishing nearly 100 academic research papers on finance, Fama has written two widely used textbooks, The Theory of Finance (with Merton Miller) in 1972, and Foundations of Finance in 1976. His work is among the most cited in all of economics and finance.

Fama received the inaugural Onassis Prize in Finance sponsored by the Onassis Public Benefit Foundation of Greece in April 2009 in recognition of a lifetime contribution to the study of finance by a leading academic, the inaugural Morgan Stanley American Finance Association Award for Excellence in Finance in 2007, and the 2006 Nicholas Molodovsky Award from the CFA Institute, presented for “outstanding contributions to the investment profession of such significance as to change the direction of the profession and raise it to higher standards of accomplishment.”

He was awarded the inaugural Deutsche Bank Prize in Financial Economics in April 2005. The award honors an internationally renowned researcher who has excelled through influential contributions to research in the fields of finance and macroeconomics, and whose work has led to practice and policy-relevant results.

In 2001, Fama became the first person to be elected a fellow of the American Finance Association. He also is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Since 1982, Fama has been a board member of Dimensional Fund Advisers, a fund management company started by David Booth and Rex Sinquefield, two MBA graduates of Chicago Booth. Fama’s research is the basis of most of DFA’s bond products, and his stock market research with Kenneth French is the foundation of the firm’s approach to stock investments.

Included among his honorary degrees is a Doctor of Science Honoris Causa in 2002 from Tufts University where he received his bachelor of arts degree in 1960 before he earned his MBA and PhD at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Fama was born in Boston on Feb. 14, 1939. He and his wife Sally have four children and 10 grandchildren.

Lars Peter Hansen

Hansen is one of the world’s leading experts in economic dynamics. He is internationally recognized for making fundamental advances in the use of statistical methods to assess dynamic economic models and to enhance our understanding of how economic agents cope with changing and risky environments.

Hansen’s research looks at ways to bridge the gap between economic models and economic and financial data. His work has led to improved methods for formulating, analyzing and testing dynamic economic models in environments with uncertainty. He has applied these methods to study the determinants of consumption, savings and security market prices.

In the 1980s, Hansen became the leading contributor to the development and application of rigorous estimation and testing methods for financial data. His 1982 Econometrica paper, “Large Sample Properties of Generalized-Methods of Moments Estimators,” fundamentally altered the way that empirical research is done in finance and macroeconomics.

This new methodology led him, with Ken Singleton, to make one of the pioneering contributions to what became known as the “equity premium puzzle.”

Hansen continues to be a prolific researcher. His recent work focuses on models that incorporate ambiguities, beliefs and skepticism of consumers and investors; specifically, he is exploring how these models can explain economic and financial data to understand the consequences of policy options. He is also principal investigator on a research project that has assembled a group of elite economists to develop macroeconomic models with enhanced linkages to the financial sector. These models will provide more powerful policy tools for measuring and monitoring systemic risks to the economy arising from financial markets.

Since 1981 Hansen has served on the faculty of the University of Chicago’s Department of Economics, where he was the former director of graduate studies and chairman. He serves as research director for UChicago’s Becker Friedman Institute for Research in Economics.

He is the recipient of the 2006 Erwin Plein Nemmers Prize in Economics from Northwestern University. In making the announcement, the selection committee said it was giving recognition “for rigorously relating economic theory to observed macroeconomic and asset market behavior and for innovations in modeling optimal policy under uncertainty.” Hansen also won the 2008 CME Group MSRI Prize and the 2010 BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Economics, Finance, and Management.

He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a fellow of the National Academy of Sciences and a former president of the Econometric Society. He is a former John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellow and Sloan Foundation Fellow.

Along with fellow Nobel Laureate Thomas Sargent and others, Hansen has recently developed methods for modeling economic decision-making in environments in which uncertainty is hard to quantify. They explore the consequences for models with financial markets and characterize environments in which the beliefs of economic actors are “fragile.”

Currently, Hansen is contributing his expertise on decision-making under uncertainty to a collaborative effort as part of the Center for Robust Decision Making on Climate and Energy Policy (RDCEP) headed by Ian Foster, the Arthur Holly Compton Distinguished Service Professor in Computer Science, to develop dynamic economic models in which economic activity could influence the climate. He is a senior fellow of the University of Chicago’s Computation Institute.

Hansen received a BS in mathematics in 1974 from Utah State University and a PhD in economics in 1978 from the University of Minnesota.

UChicago to honor historian Black, theater director Bogart at Convocation

Thu, 24 May 2012 11:50 -0500

The University will award the Benton Medal for Distinguished Public Service to historian and activist Timuel Black and the Jesse L. Rosenberger Medal for Outstanding Achievement in the Creative and Performing Arts to Anne Bogart, avant-garde theater director and theorist, on Saturday, June 9 at UChicago’s 511th Convocation.

In support of Timuel Black’s selection, one of his nominators wrote: “Timuel Black is one of the most influential civil rights leaders in Chicago history. He has been a community leader, political activist, thoughtful critic and national voice in the cause of American justice.”

Raised on Chicago’s South Side, Black began his life of social activism as a teenager, walking a picket line to protest discriminatory employment in his neighborhood. He served in the segregated U.S. Army in World War II, returning from the war a decorated veteran so profoundly affected by the devastation he had witnessed that he decided to dedicate his life to work for peace, equality and justice.

Working alongside political and social activists like Martin Luther King Jr., W.E.B. DuBois and A. Phillip Randolph, Black played a central role in efforts to organize unions, register citizens to vote, and eliminate segregation in the armed forces and the Chicago Public Schools. He organized Chicago’s participation in the 1963 March on Washington and helped lead the successful campaign of Harold Washington to become Chicago’s first black mayor.

A graduate of Roosevelt University and the University of Chicago, Black, AM’54, spent four decades as an educator in the Chicago Public Schools and the City College of Chicago system where he also served as a senior-level administrator.

Black brings his combination of historical training and understanding of Chicago history to his work on the Black Metropolis Oral History Project. He is the author of Bridges of Memory, a two-volume history of black Chicago, and is currently working on his memoir titled Sacred Ground: The Chicago Streets of Timuel Black.

Black is the 11th recipient of the Benton Medal, one of the University’s most prestigious awards. It was created and first awarded to Sen. William H. Benton in 1967, and it honors individuals dedicated to public service from a wide variety of backgrounds and occupations. Honorees have included American publisher Katharine Graham, Sen. Paul Simon and Ela Bhatt, international labor leader and humanitarian.

‘A tireless advocate for the theater’

In selecting Bogart for the Rosenberger Medal, one of her nominators described her as a “tireless advocate for the theater” who has brought her “unique combination of a movement and gesture-based approach to classical themes.”

Bogart is the co-founder and artistic director of the SITI Company, a theater ensemble based in New York City. She has taught master classes and workshops around the world and currently serves on the faculty of the Columbia University School of the Arts, where she runs the Graduate Directing Concentration.

Born into a Navy family that moved often, Bogart has said that theater gave her a sense of community she had never felt before. With her first successful production at age 15, Bogart decided she was going to be a director. She later trained at Bard College and the NYU Tisch School of the Arts.

Bogart’s award-winning staging of modern dramas, musicals, operas and collaborative dance pieces has included productions in her Brooklyn brownstone and on the streets of New York City. Two of her productions—Radio Macbeth and Hotel Cassiopeia—have been staged at UChicago’s Court Theatre. Her honors include two Obie awards for off-Broadway work, a Bessie Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a United States Artist Fellowship and a Doris Duke Artist Fellowship, among others.

Bogart’s theories on improvisational, ensemble-building techniques are widely used in theater instruction across the country and around the world. She presents those theories in The Viewpoints Book, co-written with Tina Landau. She has also written three other books that explore directorial technique, the transformative power of art and the role of theater in society: A Director Prepares, And Then You Act and Conversations with Anne.

Bogart is the 48th recipient of the Rosenberger Medal. Established by Mr. and Mrs. Jesse L. Rosenberger in 1917, the award originally honored a wide variety of achievements “deemed of great benefit to humanity,” but it has come to recognize outstanding contributions in creative and performing arts.

Jazz legend Earl Von Freeman Sr. is the most recent recipient, and other recent honorees include Nobel laureate and author Toni Morrison and South African artist William Kentridge.

Nominations for both the Rosenberger and Benton Medals are submitted and reviewed by members of the faculty and approved by vote of the Council of the Senate.

Nimocks receives special award as inductee of Chicago’s Senior Citizen Hall of Fame

Wed, 25 May 2011 14:53 -0500

Rudy Nimocks has spent a lifetime blazing new trails, so it seemed only natural when the City of Chicago gave Nimocks a special award as part of his induction into the city’s prestigious Senior Citizen Hall of Fame.

This year’s Hall of Fame induction ceremony, held earlier this month, was the last for former Mayor Richard M. Daley, so the city’s Department of Family & Support Services created an award to be given in Daley’s name to an inductee with an exemplary career in public service. Officials say they knew almost immediately that the recipient should be Nimocks, the University’s longtime police chief and current director of community partnerships.

“The decision took no time at all,” agency spokeswoman Dawn Hughes said about awarding Nimocks the inaugural Richard M. Daley Government Service Award.

A resident of the Woodlawn neighborhood for more than half a century—where he was one of the original Board members of the Southside YMCA and helped lead several other community groups—Nimocks spent 32 years on the city police force. There, he was the first African American to hold several positions, including citywide commander in the homicide section, chief of the organized crime division, and deputy of administrative services. He eventually achieved the rank of deputy superintendent before retiring from the force to become chief of the University of Chicago Police Department.

During Nimocks' 20-year tenure with the UCPD, he initiated community policing and outreach efforts in neighboring communities such as Kenwood and Woodlawn that are credited with significantly reducing crime rates on campus and beyond.

In 2009, Nimocks received the United States Secret Service agency’s Director’s Honors Award for outstanding assistance and support on behalf of the investigative and protective responsibilities related to President Barack Obama, a former University law school lecturer and Kenwood homeowner. That same year, Nimocks became the University’s Director of Community Partnerships, spearheading efforts to focus University and community resources toward helping grassroots groups revitalize neighborhoods and enhance the social and educational support systems.

“I spent the first 40 years of my career putting young people in jail,” Nimocks said. “Now I’m determined to find every way possible to keep them out.“ The majority of his efforts right now focus on the education committee of the Woodlawn Children’s Promise Community, fashioned after New York’s highly successful Harlem Children’s Zone and its stated mission to end the cycle of generational poverty.

In a community where half of all high school students drop out before graduating, Nimocks said, “education is the key to giving young people a sense of self-worth and a vision of the future for themselves.” WCPC supports both students and families with wrap-around services that extend from preschool through college. The group is applying for a federal grant this fall that could reap as much as $25 million over five years.

Chicago’s 20th Ward Alderman Willie B. Cochran, who nominated Nimocks for the Hall of Fame and worked under him both for the city and the University police departments, said Nimocks' trailblazing ideas of community-centered law enforcement and education today extend beyond the campus and even beyond the city. “These ideas are now becoming the hallmark of communities across the country.”

The Hall of Fame was created in 1962 by the administration of Daley’s father, Mayor Richard J. Daley, to honor Chicago residents of age 60 and older whose outstanding professional and social contributions improved the lives of others and their communities.

Nimocks said he is gratified to have played a part in programs having such tangible effects on people’s lives, and the tireless octogenarian says each success simply inspires him to try to think of new and better ways to enhance public safety and well being. “Every time I get something accomplished,” he says, “I’m invigorated to do something else.”

Bowman and Hale to receive Diversity Leadership Awards

Wed, 22 Dec 2010 14:42 -0600

In recognition of extensive work promoting diversity, equality and community action, Professor Emeritus James Bowman and Medical Center administrative director Lynda Hale will receive the University’s 2011 Diversity Leadership Awards.

Bowman, Professor Emeritus in Pathology and Medicine, will receive the Diversity Leadership Award for Alumni, which recognizes leaders who advance social justice and equality at the University and more broadly. Hale, Administrative Director of the Primary Care Group, will receive the Diversity Leadership Award for Staff, which honors employees who are exemplary leaders in the University’s efforts to support diversity on campus and in the community.

“James and Lynda have made important contributions to the diversity that is integral to the University of Chicago’s mission,” said President Robert J. Zimmer. “Their work has had a profound impact on our community, and these awards are a reflection of the influence of their leadership.”

Bowman, who attended the University of Chicago in 1964, and is an internationally recognized expert in pathology, genetics, and sickle cell anemia, was selected to receive the award for his commitment to mentoring students and supporting the career development of young medical professionals. He has been a role model to many Pritzker School of Medicine students, including current faculty members Eric Whitaker, Executive Vice President for Strategic Affiliations and Associate Dean for Community-based Research, and Anita Blanchard, Associate Professor in Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Bowman also is being honored for placing a spotlight on health disparities and emphasizing the need for quality medical care for underserved minorities. Bowman served as Assistant Dean of Students for Minority Affairs from 1986 to 1990, and continues to serve on the Committee on Genetics and the Committee on African and African American Studies. As a researcher on sickle cell anemia—which affects an estimated 72,000 people in the United States, mostly of African ancestry, and millions worldwide—Bowman served as the Principal Investigator of the University’s Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center.

“James Bowman’s longstanding commitment to the study of sickle cell disease, both here and abroad, and his advocacy for communities and individuals affected by this mutation stand as the model for today’s discussions of insurability and discrimination on the basis of genetic predisposition,” said William McDade, Associate Professor in Anesthesiology and Critical Care and Deputy Provost for Research & Minority Issues.

McDade serves as co-chair of the University’s Diversity Leadership Council with co-chair Julie Peterson, Vice President for Communications. The Council, which has presented the Diversity Leadership Awards annually since 2009, helps advance diversity initiatives on campus, in the surrounding neighborhoods and in the University’s business partnerships.

Colleagues said both Bowman and Hale have served the University and the wider Chicago community in ways that advance the University’s academic mission while providing opportunities for minorities and people in underserved areas.

One measure of Bowman’s impact is the Pritzker School of Medicine Bowman Society, which McDade helped to found in 2005. It honors Bowman’s legacy through lectures and meetings that foster a mission-based culture of diversity and inclusion among faculty members, fellows, residents, and medical students at the graduate and undergraduate levels in the Biological Sciences Division and the medical school. The society also offers a platform for participants to share research interests and to discuss how health disparities influence their work.

“Having grown up in the community, I witnessed the personal impact that a leader and educator like Dr. Bowman can make on those who contemplate a career in medicine and medical research,” said Eric Whitaker, who has known Bowman for more than 25 years. “He has the rare ability to gain the confidence of young people, nurture and guide them toward the right career path,” he added.

Hale, the Administrative Director of the Primary Care Group for the past 14 years, is recognized as a tireless advocate for her staff’s career advancement and educational enrichment.

Colleagues said Hale encourages her 35-member staff’s development by allowing flexible work schedules to accommodate classes they take. She also helps them sharpen existing job skills and learn new ones. Most recently, Hale has mentored Nicole McGhee, who obtained certification as a professional coder, Archie Belton, who obtained a bachelor’s degree, Jeanine Woodall, who was promoted to a management position in Endocrinology, and Virginia Brumby, who is pursuing a bachelor’s degree.

Hale extends her mentoring role to her volunteer work with the international program Dress for Success, which provides career coaching and clothing for disadvantaged women seeking permanent employment. She also volunteers with many local programs and institutions such as After School Matters, the Bronzeville Children’s Museum and the DuSable Museum of African American History.

Under Hale’s leadership, appreciation and respect for diversity are integral to the everyday operations of the Primary Care Group, as she navigates complex interactions between the clinic staff, patients, physician trainees and faculty members.

In a nomination letter written jointly by Lisa Vinci, Assistant Professor and Medical Director of the Primary Care Group, and Monica Vela, Associate Professor in Medicine, her colleagues noted that Hale has “established a culture of collegiality and mutual respect. By expecting and modeling civility, she sets a standard for the internal medicine residents and students trained at our institution that we hope they carry with them throughout their careers as physicians.

“She has always been a model of professionalism, assertive and insightful, contributing to the success of what we do best at this institution — provide patient-centered care and top-notch education to our trainees,” Vela and Vinci’s letter read.

Bowman and Hale will be honored at a special reception on Thursday, Jan. 13, at the Quadrangle Club, where President Zimmer will confer the Diversity Leadership Awards. They also will be recognized at the University’s annual MLK celebration in Rockefeller Memorial Chapel on Friday, Jan. 14.

Collegiate Scholars director Ransom earns fellowship for work with students

Wed, 08 Dec 2010 12:00 -0600

Kim Ransom, founding director of the University of Chicago Collegiate Scholars Program, has been named a 2011 Chicago Community Trust fellow, in recognition of her work with top Chicago high school students.

Through Collegiate Scholars, Ransom helps high–achieving Chicago Public School students learn their educational options and obtain the tools to excel at the next level. More than half of all Collegiate Scholars are first–generation college students, and more than 80 percent are minorities.

“The fellowship could not have been awarded to a more deserving person,” said Sonya Malunda, Associate Vice President in the Office of Civic Engagement. “I look forward to witnessing how this leadership experience will help Kim strengthen and enhance the success she has already achieved with the Collegiate Scholars Program.”

Ransom is one of 10 fellows chosen from nearly 100 nonprofit applicants for their demonstrated leadership and commitment to their field. Founded in 1915, The Chicago Community Trust is a community foundation helping donors support local organizations working to improve metropolitan Chicago through the arts, basic human needs, community development, education and health.

“The community fellowship selection committee was very impressed with Ms. Ransom’s commitment to help public school students succeed at the top–tier universities,” says Ngoan Le, vice president of programs at the trust. “She also proves to have great potential to be a strong leader who can create greater positive impact for young people and the community.”

Ransom will receive $30,000 to fund professional development activities throughout 2011, resources she will use to explore the technical aspects of leadership — including organizational behavior, team development, strategic planning and capacity building — as well as what she calls “the spirit of leadership.”

“The spirit of leadership is what I call the ‘poetic thingamajig‘ that makes great leaders want to lead,” said Ransom. “It is the seed that lives inside them that drives them.”

As part of her leadership journey, Ransom will shadow five nonprofit leaders working on youth, education and health issues and eight Collegiate Scholars alumni; attend a series of executive leadership courses; and work with an executive coach.

Ransom, a Chicago native, will document her year through film, prose and poetry, culminating in a performance and presentation of her work to inspire other emerging leaders. She also looks forward to using the experience of her fellowship year to identify ways of enhancing education, particularly with the CPS.

“My hope is that I will be changed as a leader and that I will better know how to use my own gifts to make an even stronger impact on the work of helping Collegiate Scholars gain access to top universities but, even bigger than that, to help me understand how to build leadership in our young people,” Ransom said.

Two UChicago students awarded Marshall Scholarships

Tue, 23 Nov 2010 22:48 -0600

Two University of Chicago students have been awarded prestigious Marshall Scholarships for graduate study in the United Kingdom.

The recipients are Matthew Jones, a biological sciences and Germanic studies major from the Class of 2011, and Ben Umans, who graduated with the Class of 2010 with a degree in biological sciences and economics.

In all, five University students this year have received one of the major competitive scholarships for study in the United Kingdom – in addition to the two Marshall Scholars, three students received Rhodes Scholarships this year.

Jones, 21, refers to cancer as both a “disease and an intellectual puzzle.” After completing his Marshall Scholarship, he plans to attend medical school and hopes to work as a physician scientist. He aspires to a career that combines research in oncology with treatment of patients with cancer.

The idea is to “not only use the lab to help the clinic, but to use the clinic to help the lab,” Jones said. “I think there can be a dialogue between the two.”

Umans, 22, recalls being thrilled by the opportunity to study at UChicago. “I was looking forward to participating in seemingly disparate areas of inquiry, without sacrificing seriousness or facing a contradiction of intellectual purpose,” he said.

A native of Hyde Park, Umans currently works as a research technologist in the lab of Jerrold Turner, Professor and Associate Chair of Pathology. After studying at Oxford Umans intends to pursue a career as a biologist.

Three Rhodes Scholars reflect range of academic interests, backgrounds

Sun, 21 Nov 2010 18:53 -0600

Three University of Chicago students were named 2010-2011 Rhodes Scholars on Sunday, advancing their studies in fields ranging from linguistics to public policy and biochemistry.

The recipients are Anna Alekseyeva and John Scotti from the Class of 2011, and Prerna Nadathur, a 2010 graduate of the College.

The University of Chicago is one of only three institutions this year with as many as three Rhodes Scholars; the others are Harvard University and Stanford University.

In all, 32 American men and women received the prestigious academic scholarship for study in the United Kingdom. A total of 48 UChicago students have received Rhodes Scholarships since 1904; the number includes 19 recipients in the last 12 years alone.

Awards show “intellectual leadership”

“This brilliant achievement is a measure of intellectual leadership, creativity, and extraordinary dedication on the part of our students in the College,” said Dean John Boyer, John W. Boyer, Dean of the College and the Martin A. Ryerson Distinguished Service Professor in History. “I am also struck by the diversity of academic passions and personal backgrounds among this year's winners. We are all enormously happy for Prerna, Anna and John, who have brought our community great pride."

Alekseyeva, a history and public policy major, is a native of St. Petersburg, Russia, who moved to America as a child; her current home is Creve Coeur, Mo. She has interned at the Brookings Institution and Human Rights Watch, and is a Student Marshall. Nadathur is a mathematics major from Roseville, Minn., who also studies linguistics and philosophy, writes poetry and fiction, played violin in the University chamber orchestra, and has pursued classical Indian dance. While a student she co-founded a chapter of Students for a Democratic Society. Scotti, a biological chemistry major from San Diego, plays jazz piano, is passionate about Latin and Roman history, and loves to surf.

“These three students are tremendously talented and are poised to make truly significant contributions to their respective fields,” said Amanda Norton, Lead Adviser for Scholarships and Fellowships in the Office of the Dean of Students in the College. “They have worked very hard over the last six months and we are extremely pleased that they will continue their studies at Oxford next fall.”

Inspiration fuels students’ varied interests

Alekseyeva, 21, said her grandmother inspired her passion for refugee and migrant issues. “She always stressed the importance of understanding your past,” Alekseyeva said. One of her main academic interests is how migration affects development in the home countries of migrants.

“There’s a lot of focus on how migration is caused by underdevelopment, but migration can also contribute to development,” she said, noting that many migrants send money home and later return to work in their home countries again.

Alekseyeva hopes to use what she learns in a program on development to someday work on human rights law or to focus on the rule of law in state reconstruction.

Nadathur’s link to the Rhodes is strong. Her mother, Ameeta Kelekar, was a finalist in India in 1977, the first year women were allowed to apply for the scholarship.

“It feels great,” Kelekar said of her daughter’s award.

Nadathur, 22, attended high school in St. Paul, Minn. She is currently at the University of Minnesota, working as a teaching assistant in Mathematics.

Scotti, 21, a biochemistry major and jazz pianist, said synthetic chemistry bears similarities to jazz improvisation. Both pursuits allow him to experiment using a foundation of knowledge he has gained over many years. “Like jazz solos, the best syntheses are those that take universal chemical principles and apply them in a clever, unforeseen way to a specific molecule,” he wrote in his application.

Scotti said he aspires to become a professor at a research university so he can pursue work to develop human therapeutic agents. He described his final Rhodes interview as wide-ranging.

“I launched into a spiel about the state of science education and literacy in the United States and what we can do to improve it,” he said. “I basically talked about doing chemistry-outreach to middle school and how we need to divert from incentive-based learning to inquiry-based learning. … You are trying to make them excited about the experiment itself and not just the results of the experiment.”

Joan Archie honored for promoting business diversity at Medical Center

Fri, 29 Oct 2010 14:34 -0500

Joan Archie, Executive Director of Construction Compliance at the University of Chicago Medical Center, has been named compliance officer of the year by the Black Contractors United organization.

Archie, who also works in conjunction with the Medical Center’s Urban Health Initiative, received the award for her “dedication to marketing, promotion and sustained development of women- and minority–owned businesses,” wrote Edward T. McKinnie, BCU president. McKinnie added that through Archie’s efforts “numerous small businesses will have realized the opportunity to compete successfully in the construction economy.”

The award was presented at the BCU’s annual awards dinner, held Oct. 28 at the InterContinental Hotel Chicago. BCU is a Chicago–based association whose core mission is to assist African American contractors achieve parity in the marketplace.

“We are extremely proud of Joan’s continued leadership efforts to help the Medical Center actualize its goals as it relates to woman– and minority–owned construction firms throughout the greater Chicago area,” said Quin R. Golden, Associate Vice President for Strategic Affiliations and the Urban Health Initiative.

Recent project milestones include the Comer Specialty Care Project, suites in the hospital that provide specialty care for pediatric patients, which achieved a minority– and woman–owned business utilization goal of 70.52 percent at its completion. The New Hospital Pavilion Project, more than a third complete, has achieved a utilization goal of nearly 45 percent.

This is the second such compliance award Archie has received from BCU; in 2002, she was honored while a director for the Chicago Urban League. There, she helped to develop and implement the Medical Center’s Construction Compliance Initiative, which helped minority and woman–owned firms maximize economic benefit through Medical Center construction projects. In 2006, Archie also received the organization's Silver 25 Award, in 2006, which highlighted 25 people who were instrumental in the development and utilization of minority– and woman–owned firms.

Archie said she was honored to earn the BCU award. “I’m very excited about what we do here at the Medical Center. We work very hard to ensure that we are open and inclusive. Having a commitment toward diversity is the right thing to do and makes great business sense.”

Archie said for nearly a decade, each construction project the Medical Center has met or exceeded utilization goals with minority– and woman–owned businesses.