For the record
Crown to step down
James S. Crown, president of investment firm Henry Crown and Company, steps down this spring as chair of the University’s Board of Trustees. Crown, who will remain a trustee, became chair in 2003. During his tenure the University completed its largest-ever capital campaign, reorganized the Medical Center governance, and renovated and expanded many campus facilities. The next chair will be elected at the March board meeting.
Quigley wins nomination
Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley, AM’95, won the Democratic nomination in the race to fill Illinois’s Fifth District congressional seat vacated by Barack Obama’s chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel. Quigley received 22 percent of the vote in a field of 12 candidates, which included Harris School of Public Policy Studies senior lecturer Charles Wheelan, PhD’98. Wheelan, a political newcomer who campaigned on his economic expertise, finished sixth with 7 percent of the vote. Quigley will face Republican nominee Rosanna Pulido in an April 7 special election.
Levmore heads back to class
In a February 16 e-mail to the Law School community, Saul Levmore announced he will resign as dean at the end of the 2009–10 academic year. A faculty member since 1998, Levmore plans to return to full-time teaching in the Law School.
Models of diversity
President Robert J. Zimmer honored gay-rights advocate James Hormel, JD’58; women’s-rights activist Hedy Ratner, AM’74; and University Director of Special Programs and College Preparation Larry Hawkins with the inaugural Diversity Leadership Awards in January. The awards recognize University staff and alumni whose work reflects the values of Martin Luther King Jr. Hormel was the first openly gay man to serve as a U.S. ambassador. Ratner cofounded the Women’s Business Development Center, the country’s largest organization for female entrepreneurs. Hawkins spearheaded outreach for low-income minority students.
Chicago gifts make the Slate
Two U of C charitable gifts made the Slate 60, an annual listing of the country’s largest philanthropic contributions. David G., MBA’71, and Suzanne D. Booth’s $300 million naming gift to Chicago’s business school ranked No. 6, while Joe, AB’78, MBA’80, and Rika, AB’91, Mansueto’s $25 million gift funding a new library came in at No. 56.
Who’ll write the essay questions?
College Dean of Admissions Ted O’Neill, AM’70, will leave his post in June after 22 years. He told the Maroon that the retirement of Vice President and Dean of College Enrollment Michael Behnke influenced his decision. O’Neill will remain at the University in a full-time teaching, researching, and writing position.
Literary alumni make the cut
Two Chicago alums were finalists for the 2008 National Book Critics Circle awards, announced March 12. Seth Lerer, PhD’81, the dean of arts and humanities at the University of California, San Diego, was a criticism nominee for Children’s Literature: A Reader’s History from Aesop to Harry Potter (University of Chicago Press). In poetry, St. Louis University English professor Devin Johnston, AM’94, PhD’99, was selected for his collection Sources (Turtle Point Press). (Update 3/17/09: Lerer won.—Ed.)
Public-safety expert takes lead
In February Marlon Lynch joined the University as associate vice president for safety and security. President-elect of the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators, he heads a department coordinating the University Police and Campus Transportation and Parking Services. Lynch had been chief of police and assistant vice chancellor at Vanderbilt.
Bush appointee back to Booth
Randall S. Kroszner resigned from the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors in January and has returned to Chicago Booth as the Norman R. Bobins professor of economics. Kroszner chaired the board’s Supervisory and Regulatory Affairs and the Consumer and Community Affairs committees. At Chicago since 1990, he served on the president’s Council of Economic Advisers from 2001 to 2003.
New cultural influence for NORC
The Cultural Policy Center, created in 1999 by the Harris School of Public Policy Studies and the Humanities Division to inform policies affecting the arts, humanities, and cultural heritage, is now a joint program of the Harris School and the University’s National Opinion Research Center. Designed to support large-scale empirical research, the partnership kicks off with a nationwide study of the economic effects of major building projects by American museums and other cultural organizations.
University loses senior resource
After 30 years on the Alumni Relations and Development staff, Randy L. Holgate is leaving the University. Holgate, who began her career with the annual fund, served four presidents, and in her 11 years as vice president, she led the Campaign for the Next Century and launched the Chicago Initiative. Most recently senior vice president of University resources, in 2003 she helped launch Chicago’s Alumni House.
On record as Grammy winners
Pacifica Quartet, an ensemble-in-residence in the music department, received a Grammy Award for best chamber music performance for its recording of the Elliott Carter String Quartets Nos. 1 and 5. Pacifica consists of violinists Simin Ganatra and Sibbi Bernhardsson, cellist Brandon Vamos, and Masumi Per Rostad on viola. The professional performing arts organization Musical America, meanwhile, named Pacifica its Ensemble of the Year in November.
Argonne ranking rises
The University-managed Argonne National Laboratory ranked 13th in the Scientist magazine’s survey of best places for postdocs to work, up seven spots from 2008. The survey cited top-ranked institutions for creative improvements to benefits and thriving work environments.
Investment head departs
Vice President and Chief Investment Officer Peter Stein will leave the University at the end of the fiscal year in June, citing personal reasons. Since Stein joined Chicago in 2005, the endowment portfolio has consistently outperformed U.S. colleges and universities as a whole.
Lindheimer as humanitarian
Professor Emeritus of Obstetrics and Gynecology Marshall D. Lindheimer has been honored with the 2009 Joseph Bolivar DeLee Humanitarian Award. Lindheimer is an expert on kidney disease and hypertension during pregnancy. The DeLee Award, presented annually by the Chicago Lying-in Hospital Board of Directors, recognizes extraordinary achievements in the health care of women and infants.
Baumann has marshal plan
Catherine Baumann, a senior lecturer in Germanic studies, has been named the University marshal, beginning her three-year term July 1. In the honorary position, she will serve as master of ceremonies for convocations and other events. Baumann, who directs the College’s German-language program, succeeds Lorna P. Straus, SM’60, PhD’62, the University marshal since 2001.
Faculty shapes year in ideas
Three Chicago professors were noted in the New York Times Magazine’s eighth annual Year in Ideas issue for concepts that defined 2008. Chicago Booth’s Anil Kashyap and Raghuram Rajan made the list for their proposal that banks use optional capital insurance to prevent future taxpayer-financed bailouts. Also included was Law School professor Lior Strahilevitz, who argues that tight privacy guidelines may actually undermine antidiscrimination policies by leading people to make decisions based on observable characteristics such as race, gender, and age.
Where to meet
Chicago Booth’s downtown Gleacher Center has been named the state’s best conference center by Illinois Meetings and Events magazine. Located at 450 North Cityfront Plaza Drive between the Tribune Tower and the Chicago River, it offers 50,000 square feet of meeting space, reception and dining lounges, amphitheaters with built-in LCD projectors, and onsite catering.