UChicago News

UChicago names recipients of Diversity Leadership Awards

Tue, 09 Jan 2018 10:55 -0600

Advocating for the concerns of those whose voices aren't heard is a hallmark of diversity leadership. The University of Chicago’s 2018 Diversity Leadership Award recipients have dedicated their lives to helping support underrepresented communities: Faculty member Randolph N. Stone, alumna Sunny Fischer and staff member Scott Cook have their own areas of public service interests, but are united in their passion for equality and justice.

Regina Dixon-Reeves, assistant vice provost for diversity and inclusion, praised the commitment of this year’s awardees, who will be honored Jan. 16 during the University’s annual MLK commemoration. “We are extremely proud of this year’s recipients as their collective years of work and sustained engagement in support of marginalized populations demonstrates the inclusive excellence valued by the University of Chicago.”

Defending all communities

A lifelong advocate for the underrepresented, Clinical Professor of Law Randolph N. Stone is dedicated to supporting and representing disadvantaged individuals and groups in the Chicago area. As founder of the Criminal Juvenile Justice Project, he works with law and social work students to defend children and young adults who have been charged with criminal behavior, reform juvenile and criminal law policies, and improve the criminal justice system. He continues his child advocacy as a board member of the Youth Advocate Programs, Inc. and the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice.

“We started the CJP because we wanted to help stop the movement to criminalize African-American children,” Stone said. “Illinois was a leader in transferring children out of juvenile court to the adult criminal court by curtailing judicial discretion, lowering the age of transfer, and increasing the number and types of crimes for transfer. Moving forward, we want to continue to help children and young adults be treated with compassion and fairness.”

In addition to working on programs devoted to fair child sentencing policies, Stone also serves on the advisory board of the Federal Defender Program and served on Chicago’s Police Accountability Task Force. Throughout his career Stone has mentored hundreds of minority students, chaired the American Bar Association’s criminal justice section and served as the public defender of Cook County, where he helped increase the number of minority and women lawyers hired to the office while improving the quality of representation.

Confronting stereotypes

Sunny Fischer, AM’82, has worked as a teacher, social worker and executive in philanthropy. After earning her master’s degree at the University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration, she went on to work with abused women in the community. Learning how women-focused organizations were under-resourced, she helped start the women’s funding movement, serving as executive director of The Sophia Fund, the first private women’s foundation solely devoted to women’s issues. She also co-founded the Chicago Foundation for Women, and had leadership roles in the Women’s Funding Network and Chicago Women in Philanthropy.

Later in her career, Fischer served as executive director of the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, where she focused on historic preservation, the arts, and architecture and design, especially in low-income neighborhoods. While at the foundation, Fischer helped start a public housing museum in Chicago. Fischer was enthusiastic about this opportunity, as it combines her commitment to social justice and the arts, and it challenges stereotypes of public housing residents and the role of public housing.

After 10 years of exhibits and programs as a “museum in the streets,” the National Public Housing Museum is expected to open in 2019 in its own building in Chicago. A former resident of public housing, Fischer knows how damaging stereotypes can be, and she hopes that the museum will raise important questions about race and poverty, and the true meaning of “home.”

Fischer reflects on her perseverance: “These years of labor have been worth it,” she said. “If you believe in social justice and that art and culture can bring deeper understanding and can be a call to action, then the belief is motivation enough.”

Bridging political and social gaps

A clinical psychologist who spent much of his life working to improve health care services for minority populations, Scott Cook works at the University of Chicago Medical Center and Biological Sciences Division to help achieve culturally competent health care and reducing health care disparities across all communities.

“Health care disparities are immediate for me because the physical and emotional suffering that they create harm the people that I love the most in this world—my family, community and friends,” said Cook, who is a quality improvement and clinical transformation strategist. “I try to use the power afforded to me by my privileged identities to address these problems and the problems of others in groups that I may not belong to.”

Cook also serves as the deputy director of Finding Answers: Solving Disparities Through Payment and Delivery System Reform, a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation geared toward identifying and reducing health care inequities. Throughout his career, Cook has worked with underrepresented communities in rural Missouri, as an intern at Chicago Cook County Stroger Hospital and at the Howard Brown Health Center. At Howard Brown, Cook worked directly with the LGBTQ community to create health care programs and interventions, including a smoking cessation public health campaign.

At these organizations Cook said he “learned so much about how bias, discrimination and oppression play out in people’s lives and damage their health and well-being.” Cook uses this knowledge along with personal experiences to continue working toward health care equality.

University communicators receive Circle of Excellence awards for collaborative projects

Thu, 04 Jun 2015 13:20 -0500

Communications efforts across the University of Chicago earned top awards this year from CASE, the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education. The organization gave honors in its Circle of Excellence annual competition to UChicago Arts, University Communications and Tableau, the magazine of the Division of the Humanities.

The awards are for the following collaborative projects:

Envisioning China, produced by UChicago Arts, honored with a gold award in the category of multi-institution, collaborative programs
“A Lifetime of Championing Civil Rights,” produced by University Communications, honored with a gold award for web writing, about 96-year-old alumnus Timuel Black
Tableau, the magazine of the Division of the Humanities, produced by Alumni Relations and Development Communications, honored with a silver award in the category of external audience newsletters

Envisioning China featured more than 40 events and exhibitions at the University of Chicago. It magnified the work of UChicago faculty, students and professional arts organizations and fostered collaboration with more than 20 Chicago- and China-based organizations. CASE judges wrote it was “a magnificent citywide partnership that involved dozens of organizations, schools, government entities and companies,” adding the festival “highlighted the academic strength and diversity of the University.”

Submitting the winning entry were Nora Semel; director of communications for Visitor Experience and the Arts; Mitch Marr, assistant director of Arts Communications; and Alida Miranda-Wolff, Communications intern. Other collaborators included Leigh Fagin and Josh Babcock, UChicago Arts; C.J. Lind, Smart Museum; Laurie Davis, News Office; Liz Fischer, Kristin Gecan, Rachel Julkowski, Vernon McCombs, Bob Reddy, Anthony Ruth and Jackie Todd, UChicago Creative.

“A Lifetime of Championing Civil Rights” was a UChicago homepage feature story about historian and civil rights activist Timuel Black, AM’54. The multimedia-rich feature traced Black’s activism in Chicago, triggered by the atrocities he confronted as a soldier during World War II. The CASE judges called it “a powerful story about a powerful alumnus. There was an abundance of information packed into a well-written, moving piece.”

The winning entry was submitted and written by Mike Drapa, web editor in the News Office. Contributing to the multimedia package were Jack Auses, Web Services; Jeremy Manier, News Office; and Rachel Julkowski, Robert Kozloff, Jackie Todd and Gerald Waddell, UChicago Creative.

Of Tableau, the Humanities’ biannual publication, the CASE judges wrote they “could hardly put down this stunning publication with its visually arresting presentation. The cover photos were nearly works of art themselves … Each issue delivers a wonderful portrait of the value of the humanities—and of the University of Chicago. This is a publication worth emulating in every aspect.”

Jeanie Chung prepared the entry. Other contributors were editor Elizabeth Station; designers Guido Mendez and Tom Tian; proofreader Laura Adamczyk; editorial director Amy Braverman Puma; executive editor Mary Ruth Yoe; advisory board Sarah Farrell, Carl Nash, and Adrianne Renberg; and writers Susie Allen, Jeanie Chung, Lydia Gibson, Carrie Golus, Courtney Guerra, and Tom Popelka.

This year, 629 higher education institutions, independent schools and nonprofits from around the world submitted more than 3,000 entries in 100 categories for consideration in the Circle of Excellence awards program.

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.

Diversity Leadership Council selects three recipients of 2014 diversity awards

Thu, 19 Dec 2013 11:43 -0600

Aida Giachello, AM’71, PhD’88, obtained skills at the University of Chicago that she uses to contribute to the field of public health research and ensure its relevance to populations studied. UChicago staff member Kathleen Forde created a groundbreaking mentoring program to help students overcome career obstacles related to sexual orientation, while staff member Theaster Gates utilized his dual talents as an internationally acclaimed artist and urban planner to build avenues of creative exchange between the University community and its surrounding South Side neighbors.

Giachello, Forde and Gates are recipients of the University of Chicago 2014 Diversity Leadership Awards, which recognize alumni and staff leadership in fostering diversity and advancing justice and equality on campus, within the surrounding community and beyond those boundaries. Each of this year’s recipients credits the power of community building for their accomplishments.

Bringing social justice to Latino community

Giachello, who will receive the Diversity Leadership Alumni Award, enrolled in the master’s program at the School of Social Service Administration after moving to Chicago from Puerto Rico in the 1960s. She said a “critical cadre” of mentors and fellow students in the school’s community organizing program—set against the backdrop of the blossoming civil rights movements in the United States—cemented her commitment to social justice issues.

Currently a professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, Giachello has been named “One of 25 of the Most Influential Latinos in America” by Time magazine in 2005 and received an Inspire Award from the AARP (American Association of Retired Persons) in 2010 for her career-long quest for social justice.

She played leading roles in the formation of numerous health and human services organizations locally, regionally and nationally. These include the Hispanic Health Alliance, the Midwest Hispanic AIDS Coalition, the National Latino Council on Alcohol and Tobacco Prevention and Control, and the National Latino Institute for Reproductive Health, among others.

“It was at the University of Chicago where I began to understand the importance of really working with the community in terms of reshaping and addressing the kinds of issues that affect residents,” Giachello said. “I trained at the University of Chicago as an organizer and engaged in mobilizing communities and understanding social policy and community structure.” That engagement, said Giachello, was instrumental in the pursuit of her non-traditional research track of engaging in community partnerships and community capacity-building, so residents and leaders could be equal partners in the collection and use of data for social action.

These experiences, combined with research methodologies and theoretical frameworks she studied while pursuing her PhD in sociology at UChicago, would later inform her development of a new research approach now known as Community-Based Participatory Action Research, after she founded the University of Illinois-Chicago’s Midwest Latino Health Research, Training and Policy Center. CPAR transformed the health and human services research field with its emphasis on engaging the community in assessing the social determinants of health, participating in data collection, analysis and dissemination, with the end goal of solving community problems and engaging in policy work as the result of research findings.

Efforts bring mentors, health insurance to LGBTQ community

Forde, an assistant dean of students, used her wide community network of LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer) faculty, staff and alumni to help create a nation-leading mentoring program that matches students with someone to turn to for advice as they make the transition through college to adulthood and, often, a new identity. She first began building these connections on campus as a newly hired academic adviser in the early 1990s after joining a committee that successfully lobbied for domestic partnership benefits for the lesbian and gay community at UChicago.

The policy change, adopted in 1992, is often credited for contributing to the same-sex marriage rights movement undergoing watershed moments today. “Other institutions were giving domestic partnership benefits, but in a very limited way, such as allowing people to sign up their partner for gym memberships or library privileges. We had been looking for something much more comprehensive—namely, health insurance,” Forde said. “I like to say that the University of Chicago may not always do things first, but when we do things we do them right. So, we were actually the first institution to grant same-sex partner benefits, including health insurance.”

But Forde’s true legacy at UChicago lies in the mentoring program, which she co-founded with Jim Howley, a graduate career counselor at the University, and Anne Pizzi, former president of the student organization Queers & Associates. While the program started in 2001 with more than a dozen students and mentors, the program quickly grew to include as many as 100 participants annually.

Forde is a natural mentor and “a friendly, welcoming presence for everyone she encounters,” said Dena van der Wal, AB’96, one of Forde’s nominators. “Kathy connected me with my first job after graduation, a great position with a lesbian-owned software company that helped me develop as a designer,” said van der Wal, now a senior site developer at the University of Chicago.

Another one of the Forde’s nominators, Michael Yarbrough, AB’01, an assistant professor of law and society at John Jay College, said Forde’s mentoring strongly influenced his life. After coming out while enrolled at UChicago, Yarbrough’s father cut off financial support for his education and he was forced to withdraw. (They have since reconciled.) Forde connected Yarbrough with an LGBTQ activist program that paid him to work on Congressional campaigns, after which he spent another three years working on Capitol Hill before returning to UChicago to finish his degree, then able to access financial aid to replace his father’s support.

“Kathy saw me through a successful completion of my bachelor's degree, and I have since gone on to complete a JD and a PhD at Yale, where I did research on LGBTQ people’s and rural women’s rights in South Africa," Yarbrough said. At John Jay College, Yarbrough teaches a heavily working-class, black, Latino and immigrant student body. “Without Kathy, I might not now have any career at all, much less one so focused, like Kathy’s, on issues of inclusion and social justice,” Yarbrough said.

In addition to the mentoring program, Forde also has helped establish the 5710 diversity center, which houses the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs and LGBTQ Student Life. She also has served on the Point Foundation National LGBTQ Scholarship Fund’s Mentoring Subcommittee and as a mentor to University of Chicago Point Scholars. She credits relationships formed as a result of reaching out to the community not only as an activist, but as a volunteer, for having readily available connections to help guide students as they navigate what they might view as uncertain futures. She volunteers regularly in the community, having served on the board of her local YMCA, for example, and includes a volunteer requirement in the mentoring program.

Yarbrough said UChicago’s five-star ”premier” rating in the LGBT-Friendly Campus Climate Index, run by the national organization Campus Pride, is largely is a result of Forde’s efforts. “The strength of diversity is its capacity to bind and enrich communities, and community is the value that drives all of Kathy's efforts both at UChicago and in her non-professional life,” he said.

Opening dialogue between University scholars and South Side artists

This year’s other recipient of a Diversity Leadership Staff Award, Theaster Gates, credits community building for enabling his groundbreaking work as the University of Chicago’s Director of the Arts and Public Life Initiative, a multifaceted effort to foster collaboration and conversation between the University and the civic, cultural and artistic communities of Chicago, with a focus on the South Side.

As part of the initiative, Gates spearheaded the opening of the Washington Park Arts Incubator in March 2013. The facility, located on what was long considered a “dead” corner at 55th and Prairie Street, provides 10,000 square feet of dedicated studio space for artists to grow professionally and build creative connections with the surrounding community.

Prof. Larry Norman, former deputy provost for the arts, said he nominated Gates for a Diversity Leadership Staff Award because of contributions from his current post, in his previous appointment as a community arts liaison in the Humanities Division, and in his many community enrichment projects outside of academia, such as the non-profit Rebuild Foundation that Gates established.

“Through his uncanny ability to connect with an astonishing array of people, Theaster has created wide and reciprocal avenues of exchange between the campus and its neighbors,” Norman said. “On one side, he has worked with a gamut of faculty members from the Humanities and Social Sciences, connecting their research concerns (in art history, studio arts, music, literature, cinema and media, social and cultural history, and political science) to organizations and individuals on the South Side with shared interests.

“Indeed, his ability to create open and productive dialogues between scholars and South Side artists and cultural leaders has helped the University considerably in its efforts aimed at diversifying faculty in these domains,” Norman said.

“On the other side, he has been an untiring advocate for these South Side communities and has been remarkably effective in providing them access to the University in order to further their creative work. He has notably worked closely with the Executive Director of the Logan Center of the Arts, Bill Michel, in leading the efforts to make the new center a powerful resource for the diverse artistic and performing organizations active in the neighborhoods just beyond campus.”

Norman said Gates, who has exhibited at the Whitney Biennial, London's White Cube, the Venice Bieannale and other prestigious venues, could easily devote himself entirely to his highly successful career as an artist of international fame. But Gates said the work he does in the community he lives in, and that he does through the University, helps to inform his artistic work—and visa versa.

“I’d suggest that art and culture have a way of fostering sincere cross-class, cross-racial, intergenerational moments,” Gates said. “Without having to make it my principal agenda, but just by celebrating people’s lives, diversity has been a byproduct of a deeply engaged commitment to culture.”

The 2014 Diversity Leadership Awards will be presented during a special presidential reception on campus on Jan. 15, 2014, in conjunction with the University’s celebration of Martin Luther King Jr.’s life.

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.

Biological Sciences Division, Pritzker School of Medicine honor exceptional faculty and staff

Thu, 25 Jul 2013 16:04 -0500

As spring commencement ceremonies honor the intellectual growth and accomplishments of UChicago students, the annual faculty and teaching awards recognize the important role the University’s educators play in that success.

The Biological Sciences Division and Pritzker School of Medicine recently announced a number of awards honoring faculty and staff. The BSD announced its annual faculty awards at a reception in June.

In the Distinguished Educator/Mentor category, the Faculty Advisory Committee recognized five honorees:

Junior: Lianne Kurina, assistant professor of Health Studies, was honored for excellence in graduate teaching. She frequently taught Principles of Epidemiology, an introductory course in Health Studies required of PhD students, and one of two alternate core courses for MS students. It’s also a popular course with undergraduates, social science graduate students, students in the Harris School and SSA, and clinical fellows. Despite such diverse groups of students, Kurina consistently receives course evaluations in the 4.7–4.9 range and is lauded by students as “fantastic,” “excellent,” and “one of the best teachers” her students have ever had.
Senior: Peggy Mason, professor of neurobiology, was honored for teaching excellence in basic science (undergraduate, graduate and medical). Mason teaches undergraduate courses, including the first course in a new “Neurobiology in Paris” sequence. She also mentors graduate students, postdocs and junior faculty, and she also teaches every lecture and lab of the Medical Neurobiology course for second-year medical students. Students praise her as a “remarkable human being” whose classes are the “most well-structured” students have taken.
Senior: Vineet Arora, associate professor of medicine, was honored for excellence in medical school education. As a co-founder of MERITS (Medical Education Research, Innovation, Teaching, and Scholarship) Fellowship, Arora helped establish this forum to support medical education scholarship and teaching across departments and levels of training. In her position as Associate Dean for Scholarship and Discovery, she plays an active role in the scholarly development of each Pritzker student.
Senior: Marshall Chin, professor of medicine, was honored for excellence in mentorship in general medicine and public health. He is a talented researcher in general medicine, who has shown great dedication to junior faculty and has guided more than 40 mentees and advisees over the past 19 years, many of whom are now pioneering leaders in their fields.
Lifetime Achievement Award: Javad Hekmat-panah, professor of surgery and neurology, was recognized for his many years of excellence as an educator and mentor. He has devoted almost a half a century to clinical teaching at the University. Students praise Hekmat-panah as “a constant source of inspiration, encouragement and motivation” and as “an intellectual, through and through, with a heart of gold.” He has developed an interactive web-based teaching program that is extensively utilized by UChicago medical students and residents.

Pritzker School of medicine

The Pritzker School had several ceremonies over the past few weeks to honor its faculty and residents.

“We at Pritzker are always very proud of the faculty and residents who help educate and inspire the next generation of doctors and scientists,” said Holly Humphrey, dean for medical education at Pritzker. “There is no higher honor than this recognition, which comes directly from our students, and reminds all of us of the daily contributions that our faculty and residents make in teaching and mentoring future physicians.”

The 2013 recipient of the Faculty Physician Peer Role Model Award was Anne Hong, assistant professor of medicine. As a measure of the prestige associated with this award, nearly 150 faculty members from 12 clinical departments were nominated.

The Hilger Perry Jenkins Award, honoring excellence in the performance of academic and patient-oriented service by a resident, went to Adam Mikolajczyk.

The Doroghazi Clinical Teaching Award was presented to Michael Marcangelo, assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral neuroscience.

The Outstanding Basic Science Teaching Award was won by Husain Sattar, associate professor of pathology.

A total of seven Arnold P. Gold Foundation Humanism and Excellence in Teaching awards were given out to residents who demonstrated compassion and empathy in caring for patients, but who also served as a role model for students and colleagues, exhibited enthusiasm and skill in professional and personal interactions with students, and welcomed one-on-one mentorship.

They were:

Benjamin Brown, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology
Monica Fudala, Department of Family Medicine, NorthShore University HealthSystem
Michael Garland, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Neuroscience
Andrew Levy, Department of Medicine
Tania Rebeiz, Department of Neurology
Baddr Shakhsheer, Department of Surgery
Sima Thakkar, Department of Pediatrics

The L.D.H. Wood Pre-Clinical Teaching Awards were presented to faculty teachers from each of the pre-clinical years who was “selfless, tireless and an excellent teacher of medical students.”

First Year: James O’Reilly, senior lecturer, Organismal Biology and Anatomy
Second Year: Scott Stern, professor of medicine

Other BSD awards

Distinguished Investigator:

Junior: David Freedman, assistant professor of neurobiology
Senior: Nancy Cox, professor of human genetics and medicine
Lifetime Achievement Award: Bernard Roizman, professor of microbiology

Distinguished Clinician:

Senior: Fuad Baroody, professor of surgery and pediatrics
Senior: Kerstin Stenson, professor of surgery

Distinguished Community Service and Advocacy:

Junior: Arshiya Baig, assistant professor of medicine
Senior: Daniel Johnson, associate professor of pediatrics

Distinguished Program Innovator:

Junior: Betty Theriault, assistant professor in surgery
Senior: Joseph Kanabrocki, associate professor in microbiology

Faculty members honored for excellence in graduate-level teaching

Thu, 25 Jul 2013 10:28 -0500

The UChicago professional schools have announced honors for graduate-level teaching for the 2012–13 school year. Click on the schools below for stories on the award winners.

University of Chicago Booth School of Business awards

European and Asian Hillel J. Einhorn Excellence in Teaching Award — Ron Burt, the Hobart W. Williams Professor of Sociology and Strategy

Global Hillel J. Einhorn Excellence in Teaching Award — Linda Ginzel, Clinical Professor of Managerial Psychology

Faculty Excellence Award, Evening MBA and Weekend MBA programs — Erik Hurst, the V. Duane Rath Professor of Economics and John E. Jeuck Faculty Fellow

Emory Williams Award for Teaching Excellence — Douglas Skinner, John P. and Lillian A. Gould Professor of Accounting

Hillel J. Einhorn Excellence in Teaching Award, Executive MBA Program North America — Kevin Rock, Clinical Professor of Finance

Harris School of Public Policy

Best Teacher in a Non-Core Course — Jens Ludwig, the McCormick Foundation Professor of Social Service Administration, Law and Public Policy

Best Teacher in a Core Course —James Sallee, assistant professor

Law School

Class of 2013 Graduate Students Teaching Award — Saul Levmore, the William B. Graham Distinguished Service Professor of Law

School of Social Service Administration

William Pollack Award for Excellence in Teaching — Alida Bouris, assistant professor

Award for Excellence in Doctoral Student Mentoring — Julia Henly, associate professor

Pritzker School of Medicine and Biological Sciences Division

Distinguished Educator and Mentor Awards — Vineet Arora, associate professor of medicine; Marshall Chin, professor of medicine; Lianne Kurina, assistant professor of Health Studies; Peggy Mason, professor of neurobiology

Lifetime Achievement Award — Javad Hekmat-panah, professor of surgery and neurology

Faculty Physician Peer Role Model Award — Anne Hong, assistant professor of medicine

Doroghazi Outstanding Clinical Teaching Award — Michael Marcangelo, assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral neuroscience

Outstanding Basic Science Teaching Award — Husain Sattar, associate professor of pathology

L.D.H. Wood Pre-Clinical Teaching Awards — James O’Reilly, senior lecturer, Organismal Biology and Anatomy; and Scott Stern, professor of medicine

Hilger Perry Jenkins Award — Adam Mikolajczyk, resident in medicine

UChicago wins two Webby Awards for homepage website redesign

Thu, 02 May 2013 16:21 -0500

The University of Chicago has won two prestigious Webby Awards for the best website in the School or University category.

The international award recognizes the mobile-friendly redesign of www.uchicago.edu that the University introduced in September 2012. One of the University’s most powerful communication and reference tools, the site contains improvements to better engage and inform visitors from around the world, conveying the University’s academic values, intellectual community and beautiful campus. The website is the virtual front door to the University, serving current UChicago community members, prospective students and faculty, and a general audience that wishes to learn more about UChicago.

Established in 1996 to recognize excellence on the Internet, the Webbys have been described as "the Internet's highest honor" by the New York Times. UChicago won both the Webby People's Voice Award, which is based on Internet voting by website visitors, and a Webby Award determined by a group of judges that includes web experts and prominent figures in business and entertainment. This year the international competition drew 11,000 entries from all 50 states and more than 60 countries worldwide.

The redesigned site, the first major overhaul since 2008, represented months of work by IT Services, University Communications and other partners around the University. It presents the UChicago community in its vibrancy as an intellectual destination, a place where powerful inquiry flourishes, a partner in innovation and impact, and the source of a distinctive and empowering education.

“Our UChicago website is important to the University as a resource for our community and as a place where people around the world can see the breadth and impact of contributions that our faculty, students, alumni and staff make constantly in the world at large,” said Julie Peterson, the University’s Vice President for Communications. “These awards are a validation of hard work by people across our institution, and a recognition of UChicago’s leadership in online communications.”

“Receiving this honor from some of the world’s leading web experts reaffirms how technology can serve and support the values of our institution,” said Klara Jelinkova, UChicago’s Associate Vice President and Chief Technology Officer. “I’m very proud of the work by our web developers and designers in IT Services, who executed a complex project in a short amount of time, and produced this beautiful, outstanding website.”

Winners of the Webby Awards are chosen by the International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences. The newest members of the global organization include Tumblr founder David Karp, co-founder of Instagram Kevin Systrom, Huffington Post Media Group President Arianna Huffington, Twitter co-founder Biz Stone, Internet co-creator Vint Cerf and musician David Bowie.

Michael Bennett and Kim Ransom to receive 2013 Diversity Leadership Awards

Fri, 11 Jan 2013 16:32 -0600

For most of his life, sociologist and UChicago alumnus Michael Bennett, AM’72, PhD’88 (SSA), has been working to remove roadblocks that thwart fair access to education and economic opportunity.

“At the level of helping individual families trying to enhance their human capital or financial capital, or trying to adjust policy, you have to remove barriers that keep people from being self-sufficient,” said Bennett, associate professor of sociology at DePaul University, and the 2013 University of Chicago alumni Diversity Leadership Award recipient. “Those are the ways that I’ve tried to help people realize their potential.”

As a young pupil at Charles H. Wacker Elementary School, Kim Ransom acquired the mindset that education is about becoming one’s best self to build the best community. There she discovered her own voice and the importance of raising it along with those of her classmates, as they recited the Pledge of Allegiance or sang “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” “Singing became a metaphor for letting your light shine, making your impact toward that common goal, which in that song was freedom,” said Ransom.

Raising her voice as a child planted the seeds for Ransom to recognize the importance of developing young, diverse leaders to be civic-minded. “There’s a bigger context and bigger purpose beyond ourselves, that’s crucial,” said Ransom, founding director of the Collegiate Scholars Program and the recipient of the University’s 2013 staff Diversity Leadership Award. “Sharpen your mind and find your purpose,” she tells the high school students she works with daily. “Go into the world and do something great, beyond yourself and for the community.”

Both Bennett and Ransom learned early on that the majority of people desire to be self-sufficient and to get a good education, but the structures of society don’t always make those aspirations possible.

“So many kids get lost in the shuffle,” said Ransom. “When we look at the statistics about leadership in America, when you look at minority students, it’s abysmal. What if I didn’t have the mentorship? That’s where the light bulb went off for me.”

The two diversity leaders will receive their awards at a private reception on Jan. 17. The University also will honor them at its Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration Celebration that evening at 6 p.m. in Rockefeller Memorial Chapel, where Dr. King gave his first major address in Chicago in 1956.

Judy Richardson, a civil rights author and documentary filmmaker, is the guest speaker for this year’s MLK Celebration. Veteran of the southern civil rights movement and an activist with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, Richardson began her film work with the Academy Award-nominated, 14-hour PBS series, Eyes on the Prize, for which she was series associate producer and education director.

Where there’s a will, there’s a way

Bennett, who was the executive director of the Monsignor John J. Egan Urban Center for over a decade and former President of the Neighborhood Institute, said he always tries to put his education to practical use. “I’ve always been an applied sociologist. The heart of my work has always been to put together programs, stimulate community development efforts on a local or national level.”

At the Egan Center, Bennett was able to help institutions leverage their resources to have major, positive impacts on their communities. By helping organizations with their planning processes, evaluating the effectiveness and efficiency of their operations, and helping them improve and enhance their abilities, they’ve addressed critical urban problems by channeling community and economic assistance directly to the people and communities that need it.

One way they did this was to found the Fathers, Families and Health Communities Collaborative. This initiative focuses on enhancing the capacities of low-income, noncustodial fathers to enrich the lives of their children. Many of these fathers are formerly incarcerated and have suffered long stretches of unemployment.

“We partnered with the Safer Foundation, who focused on 22 state regulations that prohibited ex-offenders from gaining certain kinds of licenses,” said Bennett, who chairs the board of the Chicago-based Fathers, Families and Health Communities Collaborative. “You could cut everyone’s hair in prison, but once you got out you couldn’t get a barber’s license!”

All of the obstacles that prevent self-sufficiency aren’t immovable mountains, said Bennett.

“The only thing we need is the will. That’s it. We can do anything we choose to do as a national society or as a global society. All the resources are here. The mechanism evolves from the will. There’s a disconnect between our rhetoric and our actions in society. If you ask most policymakers what their highest priorities are, they’d say education. But we don’t want to pay teachers. And basically we’ve never really focused on education as the top priority. It’s the will, that’s what we need.”

James Williams, manager of business diversity at the University of Chicago Medicine, nominated Bennett because, he wrote, “[Bennett] has always stood for the fair, equitable distribution of scarce resources, with a particular focus on assuring that under-resourced areas were not only included in economic plans, but were equipped to develop, prosper, and sustain healthy, thriving communities.”

‘From Roseland to UChicago or West Lawn to Harvard’

Ransom founded the Collegiate Scholars Program in 2003, which has since helped hundreds of Chicago Public School students gain entry into college—100 percent of them to four-year institutions. The college application process is long and complicated and, she said, needs to begin in the ninth grade—by junior year, it may already be too late, leaving students confused and panicked.

“My own college search process was not the best,” Ransom said. “The mentorship around where to go and what to choose was just not there. My parents knew, ‘you gotta go to college,’ but they didn’t know much more than that in terms of the process.”

Ransom said UChicago faculty members have played an essential role in Collegiate Scholars’ success, and their presence in the classroom is the program’s hallmark. Three of the first to participate in the program are senior lecturer Allen Sanderson, Prof. Paul Sally and the late Prof. Herman Sinaiko, who provided the foundation for the program’s humanities core.

Sitting in on one of Sinaiko’s classes, Ransom recalls the question he asked the students: “What does it mean to be human?” An answer came: “To be alive.” A deeper discussion ensued, until Sinaiko got another 40 or more answers. “I’ve had so many students come back to me and say, ‘I remember when I was in Herman Sinaiko’s class, and how much it changed the way I think about myself, about humanity and about learning.’ He taught them what it means to be involved in the life of the mind,” said Ransom.

In addition to rigorous summer courses, Collegiate Scholars provides guidance on which classes to take, how to assess the rigor of classes offered during high school, how to develop oneself outside of school hours, and how to find the right fit when it comes to school choice. To extend the work of Collegiate Scholars throughout and beyond college, Ransom, along with six program graduates, created the Collegiate Scholars Alumni Network. Through professional, social and civic opportunities, CAN hopes to develop the next generation of Chicago's civically engaged leaders.

"Wouldn’t it be powerful if alumni were able to go into the public schools and tell young people about their college access journeys through their personal stories of ‘how I went from Roseland to the University of Chicago,’ or ‘West Lawn to Harvard,'" said Ransom.

Derek R. B. Douglas, Vice President for Civic Engagement at the University of Chicago, nominated Ransom. Writing in his nomination letter, Douglas noted, “Through her extensive work with minority youth, Kim has focused on the importance of education as the pathway to successful careers and lives. She continues to apply this philosophy to her own education as well, which is evidenced by her recent participation in the Chicago Community Trust Fellowship for Emerging Leaders and as a Lead the Way Fellow, a program at New York University’s Women of Color Policy Network.”

University invites nominations for Diversity Leadership Awards

Wed, 17 Oct 2012 10:44 -0500

Members of the UChicago community can now submit nominations for the University's 2013 Diversity Leadership Awards, given each year since 2009 to alumni and staff members who have made fostering diversity and equality a priority in their everyday lives.

Nine people have received the honor for developing opportunities for diverse populations and creating a culture of inclusiveness on campus and beyond. The accomplishments of past recipients show the varying paths they have carved out in their personal and professional roles to enrich and empower others.

“Each year when we accept nominations for the Diversity Leadership Awards, we discover new sources of inspiration among our UChicago community,” said Sonya Malunda, Senior Associate Vice President for Community Engagement, who co-chairs the Diversity Leadership Council with Prof. William McDade.

“These are individuals who live out their deep, personal commitment to diversity, equality and community activism in their careers,” Malunda added. “We hope everyone on campus and within the alumni community will consider nominating eligible coworkers or alumni whose commitments to inclusion support the University’s mission by welcoming diverse perspectives.”

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.

As the council begins accepting nominations for the 2013 Diversity Leadership Awards, it continues to honor the legacies and ongoing work of the first nine recipients — the late Larry Hawkins, director of Special Programs and College Preparation; James Hormel, JD'58, Hedy Ratner, AM'74 (2009); Duel Richardson, AB'67, former director of neighborhood relations and education in the Office of Civic Engagement; Evette Cardona, AM'98 (2010); the late Dr. James E. Bowman, X'64, Professor Emeritus in Pathology and Medicine; Lynda N. Hale, administrative director of the Primary Care Group (2011); Shayne Evans, director of the University of Chicago Charter School; and Sylvia Puente, AM’90, executive director of the Latino Policy Forum (2012).

A nomination form may be completed through Nov. 16, the deadline to nominate a non-academic employee or UChicago alum for the award. Anyone may nominate an eligible candidate.

President Zimmer and the DLC will present the 2013 Diversity Leadership Awards to the recipients in January 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.

Chicago United names Nim Chinniah a 2011 Business Leader of Color

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 12:00 -0600

The business advocacy organization Chicago United has announced that Nim Chinniah, Vice President for Administration and Chief Financial Officer for the University of Chicago, is among 44 local business executives being recognized in a new publication, Business Leaders of Color.

Chicago United promotes multiracial leadership in business to advance parity in economic opportunity. It supports the business community’s need to maximize the use of corporate and entrepreneurial talent, and brings together diverse senior business leaders to break through barriers to realize the benefits of diversity and inclusion.

Chicago United selects leaders for recognition based on their demonstration of integrity, commitment, drive and concern for their communities, as well as for their global experience and perspective. Described as professionals who embrace well-considered risks as opportunities, the 2011 Business Leaders of Color were selected for their leadership in solving problems and expanding markets in an ever-changing global economy.

This year’s honorees were chosen from a pool of more than 150 nominees from a wide variety of product and service industries.

Chinniah also is a member of the Diversity Leadership Council, working to ensure that the University’s relationships with its business partners appropriately reflect the University of Chicago’s commitment to diversity as part of its core mission.

Chinniah currently oversees the Administration and Finance Division of the University, which comprises more than 950 staff in several departments. Those units are Facilities Services, Human Resource Services, Information Technology, the University of Chicago Police Department, Parking and Transportation, Risk Management and Audit, Environmental Health and Safety, Financial Services, Business Diversity, and Real Estate. Other responsibilities include fiscal and strategic planning and support of University of Chicago Trustee committees, including audit, compensation, financial planning, and campus planning and facilities.

Chinniah earned an MBA from Vanderbilt University and a BS in computer science and business (summa cum laude) from Lambuth University. He currently serves on the Board of the Chicago Children's Choir and the University of Chicago Charter Schools Governing Board.

“The 2011 Business Leaders of Color represent the kind of talent that companies seek and they, in turn, actively recruit and groom other accomplished executives as an integral part of their professional mission,” said Gloria Castillo, president of Chicago United.

“Recurring values described by these individuals include developing people and relationships as top priorities. The publication provides a talent showcase of individuals eminently qualified to serve our nation’s corporations. Through their identification, Chicago United aims to accelerate the rate of change of diverse representation in corporate governance.”

Past Business Leaders of Color members include First Lady Michelle Obama, Valerie B. Jarrett, senior advisor to President Barack Obama, Christina M. Tchen, director of the White House Office of Public Engagement, Don Thompson, president and chief operating officer of McDonald’s Corp., Luis Sierra, refinery chief financial officer of BP, and more than 200 others.

Chinniah, who joined the University in 2007, also was a recent finalist for the 2011 CFO of the Year Award given by the Chicago Chapter of Financial Executives International. He also received a “Rising Star” award in 2003 from the National Association of College and University Business Officers.

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.

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.

McCormick Foundation grant to support University of Chicago Medical Center

Fri, 29 Oct 2010 13:00 -0500

The Robert R. McCormick Foundation, a nonprofit organization committed to strengthening the nation’s civic health, has provided a $5 million grant to the University of Chicago to support the Medical Center. This contribution exemplifies the foundation’s commitment to advancing medical care within the city of Chicago.

“Over the years, we’ve continued Colonel McCormick’s tradition of supporting institutions doing important and innovative work in this city,” said David Hiller, president and CEO of the McCormick Foundation. “The new hospital project is pioneering and extraordinary in its design and use of technology. It will be recognized as one of the great research hospitals and medical centers in the world.”

In recognition of the foundation’s generosity, the primary entrance to the Medical Center’s New Hospital Pavilion, to open in 2013, will be named the McCormick Foundation Lobby.

“The New Hospital Pavilion embodies our commitment to biomedicine and to the delivery of complex clinical care informed by the research of our faculty,” said University President Robert J. Zimmer. “This facility will bring new capacities to physicians, new opportunities to clinical scientists, new levels of comfort and support to patients and their families, and educational opportunities for students. It will be the ideal setting for the delivery of modern medical care.”

“We are extremely thankful to the McCormick Foundation for this generous grant,” said Kenneth S. Polonsky, dean of the Division of the Biological Sciences and the Pritzker School of Medicine and Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs at the University of Chicago. “The McCormick Foundation Lobby will be the first physical contact for many of those coming to the hospital. A bright, pleasant, welcoming entrance, it will help set the tone for the best possible patient experience.”

Now under construction, the 10-story, 1.2 million-square-foot New Hospital Pavilion will provide the optimal setting for patient care, innovative clinical research and medical education. Designed by world-renowned architect Rafael Viñoly, it will provide a home for many of the Medical Center’s most distinguished clinical programs—those that provide complex specialty care with a focus on cancer, gastrointestinal disease, neurological disorders, advanced surgery and high-technology medical imaging.

Extending 570 feet along the south side of 57th Street from Cottage Grove Avenue, over Maryland Avenue to Drexel Avenue, it will serve as the new “core” of the Medical Center campus. Each floor will provide more than 100,000 square feet of space—more than 1.5 football fields.

It will contain 240 private inpatient and intensive care beds; 28 state-of-the-art operating rooms; 12 rooms for gastrointestinal and pulmonary procedures; seven interventional radiology suites; and advanced diagnostic tools including high-resolution, high-speed MRI and CT scanners.

The entire structure is based on an innovative grid system—a matrix of modular cubes, each 31.5 feet across and 18 feet high. The repeating modules, 102 on each floor, can be reconfigured as needed for a wide range of purposes, from inpatient beds to radiology suites to operating rooms, without changing the basic frame of the building.

This spacious, flexible design will foster collaboration and interaction among clinicians, enable the building to adapt to the rapidly evolving nature of modern medical technology, and provide a haven for patients and families dealing with complex illness. It will also be a place where students can gain hands-on experience and knowledge.

It will be easy to navigate and filled with natural light. The first-floor McCormick Foundation Lobby will open onto Maryland Avenue, which the building will span. Retail space, including a café, will enhance the streetscape.

“The city of Chicago and its surrounding region will benefit from this facility’s cutting-edge technology and great research,” said Dennis FitzSimons, chair of the foundation’s board of directors. “Not only will patients benefit, but the next generation of doctors will have an opportunity to advance medical procedures.”

Major construction began in the spring of 2009. The structural framework—more than 12,000 major pieces of steel—was completed last month. The building will open in early 2013.

University honors staff members reaching service milestones

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 12:00 -0500

It was 1969, the same year Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon, when John Borla, Yolanda Richmond and Fred Sopron started working at the University of Chicago. The three were among eight 40-year employees gathered Wednesday, June 16 at the Staff Service Recognition Reception in the Reynolds Club, where President Zimmer and other University officials congratulated them on their milestones.

Though the program traditionally has focused on staff members reaching 25 and 40 years of service, the University expanded this year’s event to honor employees who reached 10, 15 and 20 years of service in 2009. “I hope to stay another 40 years,” said Borla, a student-housing supervisor.

“Events like this are important to recognize the essential contributions of the staff members of our University, which are invaluable to the ongoing success and advancement of the University of Chicago,” President Robert J. Zimmer said at the reception.

Thomas Rosenbaum, Provost, Nim Chinniah, Vice President for Administration and CFO, and Kimberly Goff Crews, Vice President for Campus and Student Life and Dean of Students in the University, joined Zimmer in expressing their gratitude for the honorees’ years of dedicated service to the University. After a short recognition ceremony, the festivities continued in Hutchinson Courtyard.

“My ideal work home actually exists and is second to none,” said Gerard Mikols, Associate Dean for Medical Education–Administration, Pritzker School of Medicine.. Mikols celebrated 25 years with the University in 2009, and was honored at the event.

For many, the celebration brought fond memories to mind.

“There is something about being employed at a university,” said Sopron, an electronics engineer. “The enthusiasm shown by the young students keeps you energized and campus activities such as Cobb Hall exhibits enrich your experiences.”

Sopron spent his first 26 or so years working at the Laboratory for Astrophysics and Space Research in the Enrico Fermi Institute, helping build scientific instruments that measured cosmic rays on space satellites.

He later switched to physical science, taking a job at the Consortium for Advanced Radiation Sources, where he provides support for users of Argonne National Laboratory’s Advanced Photon Source.

Mikols said he loves working in a place where “people come to talk about ideas and concepts.” He said he often tries to take advantage of visits by guest lecturers. He especially enjoyed hearing talks by the late John Rawls and the late Jacques Derrida, both well-known philosophers, Mikols said.

Yolanda Richmond has had the same job for 40 years as the administrative secretary for Dr. Samuel Refetoff, director of the Endocrinology Laboratory. Richmond said she couldn’t be happier. “I won’t leave until [Refetoff] leaves,” she said. “I love my job.”

For Richmond, the University has provided more than career fulfillment. A few months after she started, a co-worker set her up with her nephew. The pair, who first met on Valentine’s Day 1969, have been married 40 years.

Borla, the student housing supervisor, said the University has provided a sense of security he didn’t have growing up in government housing at 26th Street and California Avenue. His mother had been widowed when he was only 3 years old.

“I feel honored to work here,” said Borla, a self-described “poor little kid from the projects” who went on to supervise engineering operations for all four dining halls.

His only complaint: “I couldn’t find a place to park then, and I can’t now,” he joked.

Joining Borla, Richmond and Sopron in celebrating 40 years of service are:

James H. Hamaguchi, preparations assistant, preservation, Special Collections Research Center
Keith Madderom, associate dean of administration, School of Social Service Administration
Rene Rodriguez, computer operator, Information Technology Services
Pearline Thigpen, secretary IV, SSA
Rebecca Weir, system analyst, Alumni Relations and Development

Employees celebrating 25 years of service are:

Barbara Backe, senior communications news writer, University of Chicago Booth School of Business
Michael Allen Beckett, clinical research data manager, Radiation/Oncology
Roberta B. Carden, secretary V, General Surgery
Clara Carlin, administrative assistant, Vice President for Development
Dora Davis, library supervisor II, Law Technical Services
Mary Esquivel, administrative coordinator and budget manager, Office of the Provost
William Harms, associate news director, University News and Information
Stephen Heimsath, mechanical design engineer II, Physical Sciences Division Technical Center
Gretchen Hendrie, secretary IV, Neurology
Charles Hill, housekeeping assistant, International House
Nancy Jackson, research project manager, Pulmonary & Critical Care
Gerard Jendraszkiewicz, electronics Engineer, James Franck Institute
Gweneth G. Jessen, senior director, College Development
Denise M. Jorgens, director of programs and external relations, International House
Elisabeth M. Karl, IT contract administrator, General Administration
Romella Lee, department administrator I, General Surgery
John Lukens, senior research technician, Pathology
Linda McClarnan, publications specialist II, Office of the President
Gerard Mikols, Associate Dean for Medical Education-Administration, Pritzker School of Medicine
Gail Parks, interlibrary loan-lending assistant, Joseph Regenstein Library
Elizabeth F. Pod, research engineer, PSD Technical Center
Ella M. Reed, subfill operations administrator, Press, Journals
Barbara Sellers, acquisitions assistant, Joseph Regenstein Library
James Skish, financial manager, Biological Sciences Division, Shared Research Facilities
Vujasin Srecko, housekeeping assistant, Facilities Services

Alumni Award winners span varied careers and achievements, from economics to medicine to winemaking

Fri, 14 May 2010 12:00 -0500

Nobel Prize–winning economist Gary Becker will receive the Alumni Medal, the highest honor the Alumni Association can bestow, while 16 other distinguished alumni will receive awards in a ceremony at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 5 at Rockefeller Memorial Chapel.

The University’s Alumni Board of Governors invites all alumni, faculty, students, parents and friends to attend the event, which recognizes alumni and faculty who have made exceptional contributions to society, the University and their professions.

Some of this year’s winners include Myron Scholes, MBA’64, PhD’70, Nobel laureate in economics; Bruce Beutler, MD’81, who has made significant contributions to the medical fields of infectious disease and rheumatology; Academy Award–winning film and television editor Lisa Fruchtman, AB’70; California winemaker Warren Winiarski, AM’62; and corporate governance expert Nell Minow, JD’77, editor and co–founder of The Corporate Library.

Here is a full listing of the 2010 Alumni Award winners:

Gary Becker, AM’53, PhD’55, Alumni Medal

Becker has made extraordinary contributions as University Professor in economics, sociology and the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and his research illuminates how economic decisions influence people’s lives. Becker received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1992, the National Medal of Science in 2000 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, in 2007.

Pat Rosenzweig, AB’61, Alumni Service Medal

Rosenzweig has shown dedication to students and alumni in her years of tireless volunteerism. Some of Rosenzweig’s most prominent contributions have been to Career Advising and Planning Services, while helping countless students and alumni professionally by volunteering weekly. She also played a pivotal role in founding UC2MC, the Chicago alumni club, and volunteers in support of her College reunion class.

Paul McCudden, AB’83, Alumni Service Award

McCudden has been an effective and innovative chair of one of the University’s largest Alumni Schools Committees and for his leadership in Los Angeles–area alumni club activities.

James McQuaid, SB’60, Alumni Service Award

McQuaid has shown commitment to his College reunion class by serving as gift chair and class agent, and dedication to students in establishing the James D. McQuaid Scholarship Fund. He has distinguished himself by serving as international president of Delta Upsilon, and also led alumni volunteer activities.

Coleman Seskind, AB’55, SB’56, SM’59, MD’59, Alumni Service Award

Seskind has been a leader who has made numerous contributions to the Biological Sciences Division and Medical Center, including serving on the Visiting Committee, the Alumni Senate, and the BSD Alumni Association Executive Committee. He also chaired the editorial committee for Medicine on the Midway and served as class chairman of the Pritzker School of Medicine’s Class of 1959.

Tak Lo, AB’02, Young Alumni Service Award

Lo has made creative contributions as vice president of the Washington, D.C. alumni club, helping plan and organize events. He also has served on his College reunion committee, as a CAPS Metcalf Internship application reviewer, as Alumni Schools Committee chair and as a leader in young alumni participation efforts.

Mary Tang, AB’00, Young Alumni Service Award

Tang has shown relentless support to the University through her efforts on behalf of the alumni community in Washington, D.C. This includes serving as the Alumni Schools Committee chair and showing a strong commitment to her College class by serving as class correspondent and on her reunion committee.

Bruce Beutler, MD’81, Professional Achievement Award

Beutler’s research on isolating tumor necrosis factor led to his invention of a drug that is now used to treat rheumatoid arthritis. His work also solved a basic scientific problem about how we perceive infections, which led to one of the greatest discoveries in the history of immunology. His contributions have dramatically improved the practice of medicine in the fields of infectious disease, rheumatology, ophthalmology, dermatology and gastroenterology.

Lisa Fruchtman, AB’70, Professional Achievement Award

Fruchtman is an Academy Award–winning editor who has worked in both feature film and television. Among her many film projects are Apocalypse Now, The Right Stuff, Children of a Lesser God, The Godfather Part III, The Doctor, My Best Friend’s Wedding, Dance with Me, A Love Song for Bobby Long and The Woodsman. Her awards and honors include an Oscar for The Right Stuff, Academy Award and BAFTA nominations for best editing for both The Godfather Part III and Apocalypse Now, and an Emmy nomination and a Cable ACE Award for Truman. She was also sole editor of Children of a Lesser God, which was nominated for best picture.

Cristián Larroulet, AM’80, Professional Achievement Award

Larroulet played a critical role in public policy and the economic transformation in Chile. Together with a small group of Chicago–influenced professionals, he created Libertad y Desarrollo, one of the most prestigious think tanks in Latin America, which has come to serve as a model for many others. Larroulet is also a founder of Universidad del Desarrollo, which is ranked internationally as the top institution for entrepreneurship in Latin America and is a leader among Chile’s universities. He has served as dean of the university’s School of Economics and Business since its creation. In 2010, President Sebastian Piñera named him secretary general to the president, a cabinet–level position.

Nell Minow, JD’77, Professional Achievement Award

Minow helped transformed the field of corporate governance. She has authored more than 200 articles and coauthored three books on securities law, shareholder rights and the modern corporation, including the leading business school text. She is editor and cofounder of the Corporate Library, an independent corporate governance research and analysis organization. She has testified before Congress and played a role in drafting some of the key legislation that affects American corporations. Minow was named one of the 20 most influential people in corporate governance by Directorship magazine in 2007 and was dubbed “the queen of good corporate governance” by BusinessWeek Online in 2003.

Myron Scholes, MBA’64, PhD’70, Professional Achievement Award

Scholes has made significant contributions to economics, including co–authoring the Black–Scholes equation. In 1997, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics for this model, which provides the fundamental conceptual framework for valuing options. It has become the standard in financial markets globally. During his career, Scholes also worked closely with the University of Chicago’s Center for Research in Security Prices, helping to develop and analyze the center’s important database of high frequency stock market data. His later research interests have concentrated on the economics of investment banking and tax planning in corporate finance.

Warren Winiarski, AM’62, Professional Achievement Award

Winiarski had a historic role in elevating the prestige of the fledgling American wine industry to global significance, which transformed how Californian wines are viewed worldwide. During graduate school at the University, Warren spent a year studying in Italy, and it was there that he discovered winemaking. In 1976, a bottle of Winiarski’s second vintage from his Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars was selected for competition in the historic Paris Wine Tasting, where it won first place among the ten French and California red wines. The story has been documented in the 2006 book: Judgment of Paris: California vs. France and the Historic 1976 Paris Tasting That Revolutionized Wine.

Ann Goodman, AB’72, AM’73, PhD’81, Public Service Award

Goodman is cofounder and executive director of the Women's Network for a Sustainable Future. Goodman pioneered global efforts on behalf of women in business, corporate responsibility and sustainable development. She also worked with governments and NGOs in making a wide and lasting impact in these enterprises.

Roy Prosterman, AB’54, Public Service Award

Prosterman has conducted research, teaching and field work (in 27 developing countries) on legal issues in land reform and economic development—all toward the goal of alleviating world poverty. Twice nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, Prosterman has received the Gleitsman Foundation International Activist Award at Harvard University (he was selected by a board of judges that included former United Nations Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar and Nobel Peace Prize laureates Shimon Peres, Mairead Maguire, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Adolfo Perez Esquivel).

Amy Kass, AB’62, Norman Maclean Faculty Award

Kass is a Senior Lecturer in the Humanities Collegiate Division. In support of her nomination, her former student Agnes Callard, AB’97, Neubauer Family Assistant Professor of Philosophy, wrote: “I arrived as a physics major … I was interested in physics because I was interested in truth, and I thought that the natural world was the place to find it … What Mrs. Kass showed me, as a freshman in her Common Core “Human Being and Citizen” class was that there is another kind of truth—there are truths about how shame and courage are related, what death means for life, why eating matters—not to our bodies, but to our souls … Mrs. Kass taught me this—she taught me that there was such a thing as the study of human truths, or ‘the humanities.’ She changed my intellectual orientation, and thereby, my life.”

Frank Reynolds, AM’63, PhD’71, Norman Maclean Faculty Award

Reynolds is Professor Emeritus of the History of Religions in the Divinity School and in South Asian Languages and Civilizations. A former student, John Clifford Holt, PhD’77, now the William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Religion and the Humanities at Bowdoin College, wrote: “Frank Reynolds was a veritable institution for more than a generation of graduate students in history of religion and Buddhist studies at the University of Chicago. Frank had an extraordinary career shaping the lives of scores of Divinity students. I can’t think of another individual who could be more deserving of this award than Frank.”

Howell Murray Student Medals

The Howell Murray Awards were first given in 1961 to recognize graduating students for their outstanding contributions to extracurricular programs on campus. The awards were named in honor of Murray, PhB’14, a distinguished alumnus and Trustee of the University.

This year’s winners are Ashtin Berry, Agnes Bugaj, Alicia Bushman, Antonia Clifford, Jonathan Currie, Benjamin Field, Tsion Gurmu, David Klein, Jillian Lenson, Angelina Liang, Brittany Little, Abimbola Oladokun, Aviva Rosman, Bradley Trotter, Adama Wiltshire and Race Wright.