University People

One for the Books

Justin Ide / Harvard News Office

Robert C. Darnton

Justin Ide / Harvard News Office

Sidney Verba

Robert C. Darnton ’60, JF ’68, Davis professor of European history at Princeton, became Pforzheimer University Professor and director of the Harvard University Library, effective July 1, succeeding Sidney Verba in both capacities. Darnton, a former Rhodes Scholar, MacArthur Fellow, and chevalier of France’s Lgion d’honneur, has published widely on the literary world of Enlightenment France. He has also directed Princeton’s Center for the Study of Books and Media—he is a founder of the study of books as a distinct historical subject—and is a trustee of the New York Public Library. In his new capacity, he will be responsible for coordinating policy among the University’s many libraries, and for central library functions such as extensive digital initiatives, preservation, and off-site storage at the Harvard Depository. Separately, friends of the libraries established a $2.5-million endowment in Verba’s honor, to be used flexibly to support high-priority projects throughout the library system.



Economics Acclaim

Kris Snibbe / Harvard News Office

Susan C. Athey

Professor of economics Susan C. Athey, who came to Harvard from Stanford in 2006, has become the first woman awarded the American Economic Association’s John Bates Clark Medal. The award, conferred every two years, recognizes the nation’s most promising economist under the age of 40; of the 29 previous winners, 11 have been named Nobel laureates. Harvard’s roster of medalists also includes the late Warburg professor of economics Zvi Griliches, Eliot University Professor and past Harvard president Lawrence H. Summers, and professor of economics Andrei Shleifer. Athey has conducted research that ranges from theoretical inquiries to studies of the conduct of auctions and the career paths of academic economists.



Guggenheim Grantees

Jon Chase / Harvard News Office

Daniel Carpenter

Jon Chase / Harvard News Office

Kay Kaufman Shelemay

Faculty members who have won 2007 Guggenheim Memorial Foundation fellowships include professor of gov- ernment Daniel Carpenter, who also directs the Center for American Political Studies; professor of urban design and planning theory Margaret Crawford; Watts professor of music and professor of African and African American studies Kay Kaufman Shelemay; Ditson professor of music Anne C. Shreffler; and McKay professor of computer science and applied mathematics Salil P. Vadhan.

Courtesy Of Harvard Music Department

Anne C. Shreffler



National Academy Notables

Jon Chase / Harvard News Office

Gerald Gabrielse

Five faculty members have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences: Michael B. Brenner, Bayles professor of medicine; Gerald Gabrielse, Leverett professor of physics; Curtis T. McMullen, Cabot professor of the natural sciences; Jonathan G. Seidman, Bugher foundation professor of genetics; and Clifford J. Tabin, professor of genetics.



Ethics Emissary

Courtesy Of The Kennedy School Of Government

Frederick Schauer

Stanton professor of the First Amendment Frederick Schauer, of the Kennedy School of Government, will be the new director of the Safra Foundation Center for Ethics, President Derek Bok announced in April. Schauer succeeds Whitehead professor of political philosophy Dennis F. Thompson, the University-wide center’s founding director, who is completing 20 years of service; he, too, was appointed by Bok (see “Ethics in Practice,” May-June, page 58). While Schauer is at Oxford during the coming academic year, professor of ethics and public policy Arthur Applbaum will serve as interim director.



Honored Instructors

Stephanie Mitchell / Harvard News Office

Luis Fernndez-Cifuentes

Ruby Arguilla / Harvard News Office

David Haig

Five Faculty of Arts and Sciences members have been named Harvard College Professors, an annual honor conferred for outstanding teaching: Luis Fernndez- Cifuentes, Friend professor of Romance languages and literatures (and chair of the de-partment); David Haig, Putnam professor of organismic and evolutionary biology; Jennifer L. Hochschild, Jayne professor of government and professor of African and African American studies; David R. Liu, professor of chemistry and chemical biology; and Peter V. Marsden, professor of sociology. Hochschild, professor of health policy and management Robert Blendon, and associate professor of medicine Raghu Kalluri were also recognized for excellence in mentoring graduate students. Glenda Carpio, assistant professor of African and African American studies and English and American literature and language, and assistant professor of history Alison Frank were the junior faculty members cited for their outstanding undergraduate teaching. Finally, a new category of awards, established by Stranahan distinguished professor of pediatrics David G. Nathan ’51, M.D. ’55, and his wife, Jean Nathan, in honor of President Derek Bok, recognized five doctor-al students for their outstanding performances as undergraduate teaching fellows or teaching assistants: Rachel Eaton, Paul Edlefsen, Jennifer Ferriss, Kelly Heffner, and Brandon Tilley.

Kris Snibbe / Harvard News Office

Jennifer L. Hochschild

Jon Chase / Harvard News Office

David R. Liu

Rose Lincoln / Harvard News Office

Peter V. Marsden

Stephanie Mitchell / Harvard News Office

Glenda Carpio

Dominick Reuter / Harvard News Office

Alison Frank

A Baker’s Dozen Fellows

Jon Chase / Harvard News Office

James H. Sidanius

Thirteen faculty members were elected fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences: Nancy C. Andrews, Minot professor of pediatrics; David Blackbourn, Coolidge professor of history; David Cutler, Eckstein professor of applied economics; Leo Damrosch, Bernbaum professor of literature; Lars Hernquist, professor of astronomy; Thomas W. Lentz, Cabot director of the Harvard University Art Museums; N. Gregory Mankiw, Beren professor of economics; Venkatesh Narayanamurti, dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences; Richard J. O’Connell, professor of geophysics; E. Roger Owen, Meyer professor of Middle East history; Joshua R. Sanes, professor of molecular and cellular biology; James H. Sidanius, professor of psychology and of African and African American studies; and Junying Yuan, professor of cell biology. A foreign honorary membership was conferred on Rem Koolhaas, professor in practice of architecture and urban design.



Stellar Social Scientists

Jon Chase / Harvard News Office

Theda Skocpol

Thomas professor of government and sociology Theda Skocpol, who concluded her service as dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences on June 30, has been awarded the Skytte Prize in Political Science, the highest international prize in the field. She was cited for her work on the influence of the state on political life. Malkin professor of public policy Robert D. Putnam and Pforzheimer University Professor Sidney Verba have also won the prize, which includes a $72,000 cash award, in recent years. Separately, Hariri professor of international political economy Dani Rodrik, of the Kennedy School, has been awarded the first Albert O. Hirschman [LL.D. ’02] Prize by the Social Science Research Council, recognizing his work on development economics.

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