Campus & Community

An old joke asks the question, “What do you call a 200-pound black man with a gun?” The answer, of course, is “Sir,” the subtext being that it is only…

With her characteristic candor and wit, the popular former first lady Barbara Bush provided glimpses of her famous family and offered up a few of Lifes Lessons to an admiring crowd at the ARCO Forum Thursday (Sept. 19) night.

When the federal 9th Circuit Court of Appeals declared the phrase under God in the Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional last June because it violated the separation of church and state, the ruling touched off angry protests across the nation, including a spontaneous pledge-in by members of Congress on the steps of the Capitol building.

As the 2002-03 academic year begins, returning students and faculty are finding that a new, Web-based version of the HOLLIS catalog is now in use. Users can connect to the new HOLLIS through the Harvard Libraries site at http://lib.harvard.edu.

Walter H. Annenberg, businessman, statesman, philanthropist, and Harvard benefactor whose donations helped finance undergraduate scholarships and the renovation of Annenberg Hall, died Tuesday (Oct. 1) at his home near Philadelphia from complications due to pneumonia. He was 94.

An odd, previously unknown sphere, some 360 miles in diameter, has been found at the bottom of the Earth. It was detected by a Harvard professor and a graduate student who patiently examined records of hundreds of thousands of earthquake waves that passed through the center of the planet in the past 30 years.

Former U.N. weapons inspector Scott Ritter said he would be willing to fight and die in a war against Iraq, as long as the United States played by international rules and attacked only after a fair inspection process revealed Baghdad had resumed production of biological, chemical, or nuclear weapons.

The town of Watertown and Harvard University announced that after a year and a half of extensive negotiations, an agreement has been reached that will provide the town with a guaranteed revenue stream from the Arsenal on the Charles Property.

With substantial raises in place for its lowest-paid workers, Harvard is implementing other important initiatives recommended by the Harvard Committee on Employment and Contracting Policies (HCECP) and approved by President Lawrence H. Summers last December. These include creation of a University-wide values statement, introduction of new training for supervisors, and production of multilingual brochures for non-English speaking employees.

At its first meeting of the year the Faculty Council met with Professor Jennifer Leaning (HSPH) to discuss the work of the Committee to Review Sexual Assault Programs, Education, and Services in Harvard College, which Professor Leaning chairs. The staff of this committee, Julia Fox of the Office of the Dean of Harvard College and Associate Provost Marshal Semuels, were present for this discussion.

Sept. 17, 1701 – Increase Mather steps down as President.

Stephen Jay Gould

To celebrate the beginning of the new academic year, President Lawrence H. Summers has announced Its Movie Time at Harvard, a free outdoor film screening to be held at 6:45 p.m. on Sunday (Sept. 22) in Tercentenary Theatre. The event is open to members of the University community and their families, and will feature complimentary sodas and popcorn.

Check out the new Harvard University Home Page as it makes its digital debut today (Sept. 19). In addition to an elegant new design, the refurbished home page is easier to navigate and includes new multimedia links. It also offers the visitor immediate access to the home pages of all the schools of the University. The look has changed, but the address is the same: http://www.harvard.edu/.

Following are some of the incidents reported to the Harvard University Police Department (HUPD) for the weeks beginning Aug. 18 and ending Sept. 14. The official log is located at 1033 Massachusetts Ave., sixth floor.

The oohs and ahs could be heard echoing through the attractive, sunlight-filled rooms as a group of community, civic, and business leaders joined local residents in a tour of the newly renovated facilities of the West End House Boys & Girls Club of Allston-Brighton.

The University is celebrating the 150th anniversary of intercollegiate athletics (1852-2002) with a series of panel discussions open to the public. The first one – titled History of the Ivy League and the Influence of the Media – will take place on Friday (Sept. 20) at the Murr Centers Hall of History (3:30-5:15 p.m.). Participants will include John R. Thelin, a 1969 Brown graduate and research professor at the University of Kentucky Michael Oriard, a 1970 Notre Dame graduate and former professional football player who is the distinguished professor of American literature and culture at Oregon State Jeff Orleans, executive director of the Council of Ivy Group Presidents and John Powers 72, an author, historian, and writer for The Boston Globe. Admission is free of charge.

The Harvard Alumni Association (HAA) Awards were established in 1990 to recognize and honor alumni who contribute outstanding volunteer service to Harvard through alumni activities. The six recipients listed below will be honored on Oct. 10 at the opening dinner of the HAA board of directors.

Deborah Kuhn has joined Harvard Medical School (HMS) as the new associate dean for Planning and Facilities. Kuhn, who will direct the HMS Planning Office with overall responsibility for facilities planning for HMS and the School of Dental Medicine, began her new duties on Sept. 9.

Psychiatrist Felton Earls has been selected to head the Harvard South Africa Fellowship Program, replacing Anthony Appiah, who left the University at the end of the spring term.

For Sigmund Freud there was considerable doubt. Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, didnt just question religious belief, he attacked it as childish, escapist, and unworthy of a mature, rational mind.

Harvard Law School (HLS) has announced the creation of a new research program, the Labor and Worklife Program at Harvard Law School. The new program will bring the number of research centers at the School to 18 – with areas of focus ranging from Internet law to Islamic legal studies to international taxation. The Labor and Worklife Program will examine changes in labor markets and employment law, and analyze the effects of unions, business, and governments on the workplace.

Reflecting a significant reversal from recent trends, new figures indicate that more than eight in 10 public policy students who graduated this spring from the Kennedy School of Government are heeding the call for public service. That is more than a 35 percent increase from one year ago and the highest percentage in more than 20 years.

A good life: Aristotle defined it. Jesus Christ lived it. And for the past decade or so, college students have sought it out, says the Rev. Professor Peter J. Gomes, the Plummer Professor of Christian Morals and Pusey Minister in the Memorial Church. Contrary to the prevailing stereotypes of college students as spoiled and self-indulgent, Gomes has witnessed among students a growing desire both to be good and to do good.

KSG junior named foreign affairs fellow The U.S. Department of State has selected Kennedy School student Jane Rhee as a Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellow. Rhee, a junior majoring…

To ensure that the rights of permit holders who park at the University are protected, a number of changes will occur throughout University parking facilities including new access controls and increased enforcement as well as improved safety and security features.

Bruce A. Beal and Robert L. Beal, longstanding friends of the School of Public Health (SPH), have endowed the Bruce A. Beal, Robert L. Beal, and Alexander S. Beal Associate Professorship at the School. The professorship is named to honor their father, Alexander S. Beal.

Robert Mitchell has been named the director of communications for the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) by FAS Dean William C. Kirby.

Meeting two bears was scary, but the zillions of mosquitoes was worse. The mountains were difficult to get over on a bicycle and the cornfields were drudgingly monotonous. Then there were the headwinds, heat, and flat tires.

Symposium honors Herschbach