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September 1, 2006|Volume 35, Number 1|Two-Week Issue


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A Yale scientist was part of the international team that identified a new genus of living monkey, Rungwecebus kipunji, which lives in Tanzania. It is the first new genus of monkey to be identified in 83 years.



While You Were Away:

Largest single gift to SOM

The School of Management (SOM) has created the Yale Center for Corporate Governance and Performance with $20 million in gifts from individuals and corporations, including the largest single donation in the school's history -- a $10 million gift from David Nierenberg '75 B.A., '78 J.D., and his wife, Patricia. The new center will explore the role of corporate governance to better enable corporations both to be competitive in their markets and to contribute to society. It will be directed by Ira M. Millstein, a senior partner at the international law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges, and the senior associate dean for corporate governance at SOM.


New genus of monkey

A new genus of living monkey -- the first to be characterized in 83 years -- was reported by an international team of researchers that included Yale scientist Eric Sargis, assistant professor of anthropology.

The monkeys, Rungwecebus kipunji, are tree-dwelling omnivores that are known to live in only two high-altitude locations: the Rungwe-Livingstone Forest and Ndundulu Forest Reserve in Tanzania. Although photographs of the animals suggested they were related to mangabeys, DNA studies showed their closest relatives are savanna baboons. (Science Express)


Reappointment of Divinity dean

Harold W. Attridge began a second five-year term as dean of the Divinity School on July 1. In a letter announcing the reappointment, President Richard C. Levin noted that Attridge, who is also the Lillian Claus Professor of New Testament, was praised by members of the Divinity School community as a "good listener ... who has clearly demonstrated a commitment to excellence for the school."


Endowed professorships

Two faculty members received one of Yale's most prestigious honors with appointment to a Sterling chair: David Bromwich, as Sterling Professor of English; and David Louis Quint, as Sterling Professor of Comparative Literature.

James Gustave Speth, dean of the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies and a renowned environmentalist, was named as the Sara Shallenberger Brown Professor in the Practice of Environmental Policy.

James N. Baron, formerly of Stanford Business School, comes to the School of Management this fall as the William S. Beinecke Professor of Management. (See "New faculty" item.)

Khalilah Brown-Dean was named the Peter Strauss Family Assistant Professor of Political Science and African American Studies.


Masters' second term

Three residential college masters have been reappointed to second five-year terms: Frank Keil, professor of psychology and linguistics, at Morse College; John Rogers, professor of English, at Berkeley College; and Dr. Richard Schottenfeld, professor of psychiatry, at Davenport College. In conjunction with the news of Rogers' reappointment, President Richard C. Levin announced that Norma Thompson, associate director of the Whitney Humanities Center, will serve as interim Berkeley master while Rogers is on "a well-deserved sabbatical."


Library renovations

Renovations began this summer on Cross Campus Library (CCL) and on the public areas in the basement of Sterling Memorial Library, specifically "Machine City" and its adjacent restrooms. In addition to addressing the infrastructure issues at CCL, the renovation will offer an opportunity to improve the library's collections and facilities to make them more useful for Yale scholars. CCL will remain closed through the fall of 2007. (See related story.)

In addition, the Arts & Architecture Library has taken up temporary headquarters at 270 Crown St., where it will remain through September 2008 while renovations are underway at the Art & Architecture Building at 180 York St.


Welcoming faculty

Three experts on organizational behavior and one on marketing are joining the faculty of the School of Management (SOM) this fall: James N. Baron (see "Endowed Professorships" item); organizational behavior scholars Deborah H. Gruenfeld and James A. Phills Jr. of Stanford University, who will be visiting professors in 2006-2007; and Joseph P. Simmons, formerly of Princeton University, who will be assistant professor of marketing.

The School of Music has also announced the appointment of soloist, recitalist and chamber musician Ani Kavafian as professor (adjunct) of violin, and of Hyo Kang of the Juilliard School, as visiting professor of violin.


Newest alumni trustee

Margaret Warner, a senior correspondent on PBS's "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer," was elected as the new alumni fellow to the Yale Corporation. A journalist with over three decades of experience, Warner has covered important national and international issues for some of the country's leading news organizations. In addition to serving as a backup anchor for Jim Lehrer, she is co-anchor of the "America Abroad" radio program.


Benefits of green tea

Yale scientists believe the high consumption of green tea may be the key to the "Asian paradox," i.e., the very low incidence of both heart disease and cancer in Asia, even though consumption of cigarettes there is greater than in most other countries. Dr. Bauer Sumpio, professor and chief of vascular surgery at the School of Medicine, and his colleagues theorize that the average 1.2 liters of green tea consumed daily by many people in Asia provide antioxidants that may help reduce cardiovascular disease and prevent tumor growth. (Journal of the American College of Surgeons, May)


Students from Evarts C. Stevens School in Wallingford study the interactive four-foot-tall globe -- described as the most accurate depiction of the planet ever made -- in the Peabody Museum's new permanent exhibit: The Hall of Minerals, Earth and Space.


High-tech Peabody exhibit

Yale's Peabody Museum of Natural History opened the first phase of a new permanent exhibition this summer: the Hall of Minerals, Earth and Space (HoMES). The display uses state-of-the-art technology to teach visitors about how closely human survival is linked to the interaction of the Earth's oceans, atmosphere and land masses. One of the highlights is a four-foot-tall globe, which has been described as the most accurate depiction of the Earth ever made.


Job loss and heart attacks

Being fired near retirement more than doubles the risk of heart attack and stroke, according to School of Medicine researchers, who drew their conclusions based on 10 years of observation of over 4,000 individuals. Because of the stress associated with job loss, physicians who treat individuals who lose their jobs as they approach retirement should consider it a credible risk factor for adverse health changes, says William T. Gallo, associate research scientist in the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at the School of Medicine. (Occupational and Environmental Medicine, June 21)


Boosting biodiversity

The School of Forestry & Environmental Studies has established an environmental leadership and training program designed to promote biodiversity conservation in tropical forests in Asia and Central and South America. The program -- established with a $4.8 million gift from the Lisbet Rausing Charitable Fund -- will offer courses and workshops to build the environmental conservation and management capacity of individuals, communities and institutions in regions of high biological diversity in tropical forests.


Nursing School Ph.D. program

This fall, the School of Nursing will begin accepting its first class of Ph.D. students. The program, which replaces the school's previous D.N.Sc. program, will provide students with mentored teaching and research opportunities, enhanced through collaborative work with other Yale graduate and professional schools. "Our graduates will be prepared to assume academic positions and leadership roles in schools of nursing nationally and around the world," said Dean Margaret Grey.


Placenta as aid in diagnosing autism

School of Medicine researchers have discovered in the placenta what may be the earliest marker for autism, possibly helping physicians diagnose the condition at birth, rather than at age two or older. The investigators -- led by Dr. Harvey J. Kliman, research scientist in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences -- found that the placentas of children with autism were three times as likely to have abnormal folding of the layers of the placenta, a condition known as trophoblast inclusions. (Biological Psychiatry online, June 26)


Renamed sailing center

The facility formerly known as the Yale Sailing Center was officially renamed as the McNay Family Sailing Center. At a ceremony held at the Branford-based facility in June, Tom Beckett, director of Yale Athletics, noted that the renaming honored the "exceptional generosity of the Joseph McNay family," which has provided operational support for the program, endowed the head coaching position and helped restore the sailing center.


Marketing Yale discoveries

Yale's Office of Cooperative Research has granted an exclusive license agreement with the Chinese company SurExam Life Science & Technology (Shenzhen) Co. for the commercialization of the University's blood-testing technology for epithelial ovarian cancer. Research at the heart of the technology was led by Dr. Gil Mor, associate professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences. Yale has also granted Oncolys BioPharma Inc. of Tokyo the global exclusive right for clinical and business development of a novel compound for the treatment of HIV. The compound -- 2',3'-Didehydro-3'-Deoxy-4'-Ethynylthymidine, or Ed4T -- was discovered and developed jointly by Yung-Chi Cheng, the Henry Bronson Professor of Pharmacology at the School of Medicine; and Professor Masanori Baba of Kagoshima University and Professor Hiromichi Tanaka of Showa University, both in Japan.


Attitudes about obesity

Two Yale studies have shed light on people's ingrained attitudes about obesity. The first, co-authored by School of Nursing student Maryanne Davidson, reveals that culture plays a significant role in how American women perceive obesity -- with black women often viewing it more positively and as less of a health threat than do white women. (Journal of Advanced Nursing) The second, by the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale, revealed that nearly half the people surveyed said they would rather give up a year of life than be fat. The study, which also showed that 5% of the participants said they would rather lose a limb than be overweight, was headed by Marlene Schwartz, associate director of the Rudd Center. (Obesity)


The Rose Center on Ashmun Street, which was formally dedicated this summer, is both Yale Police headquarters and a community center for the Dixwell neighborhood.


Police-community center

The Rose Center, a new facility at 101 Ashmun St. that serves as both the headquarters for the Yale Police Department and a community center for the Dixwell neighborhood, was formally dedicated on May 30. The center -- which includes a computer-learning facility and space for public meetings and children's programs -- is named for its cornerstone donor, Deborah Rose '72 B.A., '77 M.P.H., '89 Ph.D., a Washington, D.C.-area scientist who has been a longtime supporter of Yale's initiatives to revitalize the City of New Haven.


In memoriam

It was with sadness that the Yale community learned of the following deaths this summer:

Jaroslav Pelikan, Sterling Professor Emeritus of History, one of the world's foremost scholars of the history of Christianity.

Albert J. Reiss Jr., the William Graham Sumner Professor Emeritus of Sociology, whose research on violence between police and citizens sparked a revolution in police practices internationally.

Lloyd Richards, former artistic director of the Yale Repertory Theatre and former dean and professor emeritus of the School of Drama.

Dr. Norman Siegel, professor of pediatrics and internal medicine, founding director of the Section of Pediatric Nephrology and physician-in-chief at Yale-New Haven Children's Hospital, a world-renowned specialist on kidney disease and kidney injury in children.


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

Yale cited in Newsweek look at 'Most Global Universities'

Newly created deanship to oversee international affairs at Yale College

Nearly 800 students spend summer overseas

Center of Excellence in Genomic Science gets $18 million . . .

University takes steps to improve administration of federal grants, contracts

In new post, Andrew Rudczynski to oversee sponsored research

Terry Lectures mark centennial year with a discussion . . .

Galleries celebrate with open house block party

Ancient arctic water cycles may be a red flag for future global warming

MEDICAL SCHOOL NEWS


School of Architecture exhibit pays homage to 'Team 10'

Noted poet Peter Cole is the inaugural Franke Visiting Fellow

Concert will benefit Women's Health Research at Yale

Map created in Mexico's early colonial period is highlighted . . .

Library exhibits trace the history of Croatia . . .

Sterling Library's hours extended during Cross Campus Library renovation

While You Were Away

Starting with a smile

IN MEMORIAM

Yale Books in Brief

Campus Notes


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