April 12, 2002

Volume 30, Number 25

Former Yale chaplain to deliver 2002 Litowitz Lecture

William Sloane Coffin '49 B.A., '56 B.D., former chaplain of Yale, will deliver the 2002 Robert M. Litowitz Lecture in Ethics and Public Policy on Monday, April 15.

In his lecture, titled "God and the World's Disorders," Coffin will reflect on the ethical and political dimensions of religion in a world of increased global conflict and economic integration. It will take place at 4 p.m. in Rm. 119 of William L. Harkness Hall, corner of Wall and College streets. A reception will follow in Rm. 115.

From 1957 to 1975 Coffin served as chaplain of Yale, where he was active in the civil rights and anti-Vietnam War movements. He was one of seven "Freedom Riders" arrested and convicted in Montgomery, Alabama, for protesting local segregation laws; the Supreme Court later overturned the convictions. Coffin was also one of the first to accept draft cards from men protesting the United States' military involvement in Southeast Asia.

After leaving Yale, Coffin became senior minister of New York's Riverside Church. He is the author of "The Courage to Love," "Living the Truth in a World of Illusions," "A Passion for the Possible," "The Heart is a Little to the Left" and the autobiography "Once to Every Man."

Sponsored by the Program on Ethics, Politics and Economics and the Litowitz Fund, the Robert M. Litowitz Lecture promotes exploration of the ethical and religious dimensions of social policy. For more information, call (203) 436-3699 or e-mail nancy.brune@yale.edu.

Leading economic theorist to present Okun Lecture Series

Alan Blinder, professor of economics at Princeton University, will present the 2002 Arthur M. Okun Lecture Series Monday-Wednesday, April 15-17.

He will discuss his views on monetary policy from his perspective as a leading economic theorist and as former vice chair of the Federal Reserve Board under Alan Greenspan. The series of three lectures will be held 4-6 p.m. in Rm. 114 in Sheffield-Sterling-Strathcona Hall, corner of Grove and Prospect streets. A reception will follow each lecture in the Economics Common Room, 28 Hillhouse Ave.

Blinder is the Gordon S. Rentschler Memorial Professor of Economics and co-director of the Center for Economic Policy Studies at Princeton, where he has taught since 1971. He is also vice chair of the G7 Group, a political and economic advisory firm.

Before serving on the Federal Reserve Board 1994-1996, Blinder was a member of President Clinton's original Council of Economic Advisers 1993-1994. He was in charge of the administration's macroeconomic forecasting and worked on budget, international trade and health care issues.

Blinder is the author or co-author of 12 books, including the textbook "Economics: Principles and Policy," now in its seventh edition. He has also written scores of scholarly articles on such topics as fiscal policy, monetary policy and the distribution of incomes, and was a monthly columnist for Business Week magazine.

The Arthur M. Okun Lectures recognize and encourage professional economists to search for policies that will contribute to the betterment of life for all peoples.

PONPO talk to explore accountability of NGOs

L. David Brown, lecturer in public policy at Harvard University, will discuss "Accountability and International NGOs: Grappling with Multiple Shifting Responsibilities" on Tuesday, April 16, noon-1:30 p.m. in the basement seminar room of the Institution for Social and Policy Studies (ISPS), 77 Prospect St.

The talk, sponsored by the Program on Non-Profit Organizations (PONPO) and ISPS, will examine some of the problems of defining and implementing accountability for international NGOs (non-governmental organizations) involved in different forms of development work.

Brown is also director of international programs at the Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations at Harvard. Previously, he was president of the Institute for Development Research, a not-for-profit center for research and consultation on institution building for development, and professor of organizational behavior at the Boston University School of Management. His research focuses on strategies for handling change and conflict in organizations concerned with social change and development.

Recently Brown has worked with NGOs to foster social transformation in national and international contexts, and with cross-sectoral coalitions to solve problems of sustainable development. He has authored or edited "The Struggle for Accountability: NGOs, Social Movements and the World Bank," "Managing Conflict at Organizational Interfaces" and "Learning from Changing: Organizational Diagnosis and Development."

For more information about the event or PONPO, visit www.yale.edu/ponpo.

Superintendent of San Diego schools is Harper Lecturer

Alan Bersin '74 LAW, superintendent of public education for the San Diego Unified School District, will present the Harper Fellow Lecture, "Urban Public Education: Separate Again, Still Unequal," on Tuesday, April 16.

The lecture will be held 4:30-6:30 p.m. in Rm. 127 of the Law School, 127 Wall St. The public is welcome to attend.

Bersin became the 18th superintendent of San Diego City Schools in 1998. Prior to becoming the leader of the nation's eighth largest urban school district, he served as the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of California for nearly five years. From 1995 to 1998 he also served as the attorney general's southwest border representative, responsible for coordinating federal law enforcement activities on the U.S./Mexico border.

Upon assuming his duties as superintendent, Bersin launched a major reorganization of the district to focus its resources on instruction. This led to the formation of the Institute for Learning, which is charged with implementing the district's mission of improving student achievement. In a related capacity statewide, Bersin was appointed to serve as a member of the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing by Governor Gray Davis in 2000. He was selected chair of the commission by his colleagues later that year.

Bersin previously was a senior partner in the Los Angeles law firm of Munger, Tolles & Olson. He has also served as special counsel to the Los Angeles Police Commission, visiting professor of law at the University of San Diego School of Law and adjunct professor of law at the University of Southern California Law Center.

Conceptual artist to offer talk and multimedia installation

Noted Canadian conceptual artist Robert Vaughn Clifton will present a lecture and multimedia installation on Tuesday, April 16, at 7 p.m. in the Great Hall of the Institute of Sacred Music, 409 Prospect St.

Titled "No Exit: Constructions of the Inferno," the lecture will be accompanied by an installation of 15 paintings in mixed media, etched aluminum and screen-printed Plexiglas, constituting a sequenced reply to Dante. The event, free and open to the public, will be followed by a reception for the artist. For more information, call (203) 432-5180.

Clifton has exhibited throughout Europe and North America. He is an artist in residence and printmaking instructor at the Arts Project in London, Ontario. His works are currently on exhibition at the Forest City Gallery in London, Ontario.

Theological ethicist is next speaker in ISPS bioethics series

Karen Lebacqz, the Robert Gordon Sproul Professor of Theological Ethics at the Pacific School of Religion/Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California, will speak at two events on Wednesday, April 17, as part of the Institution for Social and Policy Studies (ISPS) Bioethics Seminar.

She will first lead a seminar on the topic "Choosing Our Children: Rights and Responsibilities" at noon in the lower level conference room of ISPS, 77 Prospect St. Lunch will be provided at this meeting for those who contact Carol Pollard in advance at (203) 432-6188 or carol.pollard@yale.edu. Lebacqz will also present a more formal lecture at 7:30 p.m. in the Joseph Slifka Center, 80 Wall St. Both of these events are free and open to the public.

A former member of the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Research, Lebacqz has written extensively on issues in bioethics. She serves on the ethics advisory board of Geron Corporation, which pioneered stem cell research. She is also an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ and has recently served on the justice and witness ministries board of that denomination. The author of a number of books and essays, Lebacqz is particularly interested in genetics and ethics, feminist theory and social justice.

Arabic literature expert to read from Islamic poetry and Qur'an

Michael Sells, the Emily Judson Baugh and John Marshall Gest Professor of Comparative Religions at Haverford College, will read from Islamic poetry, the Qur'an and the mystical poems of Ibn 'Arabi of Murcia on Wednesday, April 17, at 4 p.m. in the Calhoun College master's house, 434 College St.

Titled "An Afternoon's Reading of Translations From the Arabic," the event is sponsored by the Whitney Humanities Center. The public is invited to attend.

Sells is a prize-winning translator and leading expert on Arabic literature and Islam. He has written seven books and more than 60 scholarly articles on the Qur'an, religion and violence, religion and genocide, Bosnia, and mystical literature.

Counsel for Doctors Without Borders to speak at Law School

Françoise Boucher-Saulnier, legal counsel of Doctors Without Borders, will discuss "Is Humanitarian Law Relevant to Modern Conflicts? The U.S. in Guantanamo, Israel in the Occupied Territories and Russia in Chechnya" 4:30-6 p.m. on Wednesday, April 17, in Rm. 128 of the Law School, 127 Wall St.

Sponsored by the Orville H. Schell Jr. Center for International Human Rights, the event is free and open to the public.

An expert in the field of humanitarian law, Boucher-Saulnier has been legal director of the international humanitarian relief organization Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontiers (MSF) in Paris since 1991 and has been research director of the Medecins Sans Frontiers Foundation since 1995. She has been pivotal in shaping MSF responses to conflict situations in Rwanda, Somalia and Kosovo, and in educating MSF aid workers on humanitarian law issues. She frequently travels to MSF field locations to support negotiations and international advocacy campaigns.

In addition to her work with MSF, Bouchet-Saulnier teaches law at the University of Paris and is engaged in research on international justice. She is the author of the recently published "The Practical Guide to Humanitarian Law" and coauthor of a book about the Rwandan genocide. Before joining MSF, Bouchet-Saulnier acted as a consultant for several organizations including the United Nations Disaster Relief Office and Amnesty International.

SEWA founder is this year's Gandhi Lecturer

Ela Bhatt, founder of the Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA), will present the Gandhi Lecture on Thursday, April 18.

Her talk, titled "From Independence to Freedom: A Struggle of Poor Self-Employed Women Workers in India," will be held at 4 p.m. in the auditorium of Luce Hall, 34 Hillhouse Ave. Sponsored by the South Asian Studies Council of the Yale Center for International and Area Studies, the annual Gandhi Lecture was established in 1990 to examine ideas or social actions inspired by the life and work of Mahatma Gandhi, who embodied the ideals of tolerance, non-violence, education and truth, among others.

SEWA is a trade union with 100,000 members, all of whom are women who produce and process goods on the floors of their huts, sell their wares on streets and sidewalks, and sell their labor for cheap. Through SEWA, the women engaged in such microenterprises have gained access to technology, training, education, credit, information, health insurance and legal advice.

To meet their need for credit, Bhatt led SEWA to form a cooperative bank in 1984 with shared capital of $30,000. Today the SEWA Cooperative Bank has $1.5 million in working capital and more than 30,000 depositors with a loan return rate of 94%.

Bhatt will also be the guest of a master's tea on Friday, April 19, at 4 p.m. in the Morse College master's house, 99 Tower Parkway. Both the lecture and the tea are free and open to the public.

Bush Center speaker to examine social policy research

Richard Redding, associate professor of law and director of the J.D./Ph.D. program in law and psychology at Villanova University School of Law, will speak in the Bush Center in Child Development and Social Policy lecture series on Friday, April 19.

His talk, titled "Social Policy Research in Psychology: Is the Emperor Naked?" will be held at noon in Rm. 211 of Mason Laboratory, 9 Hillhouse Ave. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, call (203) 432-9935.

Redding conducts research on juvenile justice, forensic issues in criminal law, the use of social science in law and public policy, and sociopolitical biases in public policy research. He has published over 60 articles and book chapters in leading legal and scientific journals and has co-authored a book in the area of applied cognitive psychology. He has received awards for his work from the American Psychology Law Society and the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues.

In addition to practicing law, Redding has worked as a clinician with children and families at the PATH Community Mental Health Center in Philadelphia, has directed major research and development projects for state and federal government agencies, has served on juvenile justice task forces for the state of Virginia and serves as a consultant to the U.S. Justice Department, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. He is the editor of the journal Developments in Mental Health Law.

T H I SW E E K ' SS T O R I E S

Zedillo named head of Center for Study of Globalization

Other International Initiatives at Yale University

SOM Institute to explore how corporations are regulated by world's governments

Journalists covering Latin America will discuss the region's 'global reach'

HUD secretary to visit as a Chubb Fellow

Visiting architect describes his creative process

In Focus: Yale Recycling

Exhibition features art by 'consummate storyteller'

Peabody receives grant for Machu Picchu exhibit

Difficult quest for black education explored in forum

Noted psychologist Neal E. Miller, pioneerin research on brain and behavior, dies

Study estimates the likelihood of stroke in elderly patients who have had heart attacks

Biotechnology companies are thriving in Connecticut with help from Yale science

Lecture to explore how biomaterials 'will change our lives'

Conference on 'God and the Ethics of Belief' pays tribute . . .

Event to explore latest research on mental illness

Gustav Ranis reappointed as Henry R. Luce Director of YCIAS

'Hot Flashes' explores world of womanhood after 50

Museum spearheading annual cleanup of New Haven Harbor

At the powwow

Transatlantic polo

Campus Notes