Wednesday, February 28, 2007

 
Coles *66, Sarbanes ’54 honored at Alumni Day

“I feel like I’m really back home with a family,” Africare president Julius Coles *66, pictured at the Richardson Auditorium podium, said in the preface to his lecture on Alumni Day. “Princeton is truly a family to me.”

Coles, a Woodrow Wilson School graduate who went on to work in international development and in academia, was on hand to receive the James Madison Medal, the University’s highest honor for graduate alumni. The gathering had the feel of a family reunion, with both honorees – Coles and former Sen. Paul Sarbanes ’54, the Woodrow Wilson Award winner – supported by members of their extended families and classmates from Princeton.

After receiving his award from President Tilghman at the Alumni Day luncheon, Sarbanes recounted a story about his father, Spyros, a Greek immigrant who with Sarbanes’ mother, Matina, operated a restaurant on Maryland’s eastern shore. For his first visit to campus, Spyros Sarbanes baked a ham for then-President Harold Dodds *14 as a token of thanks. He delivered it to Prospect House, Dodds’ residence, and a member of the kitchen staff, after receiving the ham, located Dodds and mentioned that a parent of one of the students had come to visit. Dodds invited the elder Sarbanes inside, and the two discussed Greek philosophers over tea. On subsequent visits, Spyros Sarbanes would often stop by to check in with his friend, Mr. Dodds.

“I can’t tell you how grateful I am to President Dodds for that enormous courtesy to my father,” Sarbanes said. “I think it reflects Princeton.”

At Baker Rink, a baker’s dozen

With wins against Clarkson and St. Lawrence Feb. 23 and 24, Princeton men’s hockey completed the regular season with 13 wins and entered the postseason playing some of its best hockey, according to head coach Guy Gadowsky. “But you certainly can’t rest on that,” he added. “We want to get better this week.”

For the first time since 1999, the Tigers will have home ice in the quarterfinal round of the ECAC Hockey League playoffs. They will face Brown March 2, 3, and 4 (if necessary) in a best-of-three set. Both of this year’s meetings between the Tigers and Bears went into overtime, with Princeton winning 3-2 Jan. 12 and settling for a 1-1 tie Feb. 2.

Sounds of Princeton

Reginald Jackson, a graduate student in East Asian studies, performs Feb. 23 at Richardson Auditorium as part of the annual “This Is Princeton” talent showcase. The event features students, faculty, staff, and alumni, with proceeds benefiting youth arts programs in the Princeton area.

Photo by Frank Wojciechowski


Princeton blog watch

Feb. 24 – The Ivy League’s swimming blog chronicled Princeton’s winning performance at the Eastern Intercollegiate Swimming League men’s championship meet. … Feb. 21 – Lee Silver, professor of molecular biology and public affairs, issued a challenge to readers of his scientific blog: identify five chemicals commonly used to enhance mental performance, based on illustrations of their structure and a few hints about their properties (answers are in the comments section of his blog). … Feb. 12 – The E-Quad News blog chronicles the adventures of Andrew Appel ’81, the latest Princeton professor to investigate the security of electronic voting machines.

Posted by Brett Tomlinson, Princeton Alumni Weekly.

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Wednesday, February 21, 2007

 
North Korea expert expresses cautious optimism

Speaking just a week after six-party talks yielded a new agreement to shut down North Korea’s nuclear program, former State Department official Evans Revere ’76 said in a Feb. 20 campus lecture that the United States would be well advised to “keep expectations low.” Revere, who visited North Korea seven times while posted in South Korea and Japan and talked informally with North Korean counterparts on numerous other occasions, noted that U.S. diplomats have been down the same path before. “There have been lots of ups and downs in this process, and there may be lots more,” he said. “But there are some very good signs that have come out of this dialogue and the recent agreement.”

Revere is the president of the Korea Society, a New York-based group that studies Korean politics and business affairs. He said that with an agreement in place, this is a good time for officials on both sides to reflect on the process that led to this point and ask questions about the future. Is the United States working to prevent policy gaps that the North Koreans could use to drive wedges between the United States and its allies? Has North Korea’s pursuit of nuclear weapons enhanced its security? Is the six-party process up to the task of addressing all of the issues on the table? On the latter question, Revere said that the United States must consider direct, one-on-one engagement at the highest levels of leadership, because that interaction “might be the clincher” for a long-term diplomatic solution.

On track

Bryan Sharkey ’09 is in the lead on his way to victory in the mile with a time of 4:14.42 in the Princeton Invitational Feb. 17 at Jadwin Gym. The Tigers placed seven runners in the top 10 in the race.

Photo by Frank Wojciechowski


Ice action on Alumni Day

The Princeton men’s and women’s ice hockey teams will host key games at Baker Rink on Feb. 24 as the University celebrates Alumni Day. At 3:30 p.m., the Tiger men, who are aiming for their first home playoff series in eight years, play ECAC Hockey League powerhouse St. Lawrence in the regular season finale for both teams. And at 7 p.m., the Tiger women face Colgate in the second game of a best-of-three ECAC Hockey League quarterfinal playoff series. Princeton reached the eight-team women’s NCAA tournament last season.

Alumni in the news

On Feb. 15, The Boston Globe ran a story about a Princeton connection that helped the Boston Red Sox land Japanese star pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka. Stanford professor Dan Okimoto ’65 and Red Sox CEO Larry Lucchino ’67 were friends as undergraduates, and Okimoto served as a valued adviser during Boston’s recruitment of Matsuzaka. … Charles Zukoski *85, vice chancellor for research at the University of Illinois, was named to the National Academy of Engineering, according to the Feb. 12 issue of Chemical & Engineering News. … “Labyrinth,” a painting by Frank Stella ’58 that measures about 12 inches by 12 inches, sold for £288,000, or about $563,000, at a London auction Feb. 8, the International Herald Tribune reported. … “A Year on Earth,” a Discovery Kids documentary produced by Katie Carpenter ’79 and John Heminway ’66, earned an Emmy nomination in the children/youth/family special category, Broadcasting & Cable reported.

Posted by Brett Tomlinson, Princeton Alumni Weekly.

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Wednesday, February 14, 2007

 
The religion gap

Are Democrats really “anti-religious”? Harvard economist Richard Parker, the son of an Episcopal minister and a co-founder of Mother Jones, examined the question in this semester’s first installment of the Crossroads of Religion and Politics Lecture Series at Robertson Hall Feb. 13. The idea that Democrats have a “God problem” is widely acknowledged, Parker said. But he raised doubts about the significance of the issue, partly by using data from same paper often used to back claim, the Pew Research Center publication “Do the Democrats Have a ‘God Problem’?: How Public Perceptions May Spell Trouble for the Party.” Three quarters of voters in the last presidential election were not regular church goers, Parker said, and while Democrats have less homogenous viewpoints on religion than Republicans, members of both parties overwhelmingly say they believe in God (about 80 percent of Democrats and about 90 percent of Republicans).

“While there is some kind of a God gap between the two parties, it’s just one of many gaps between the two parties today,” said Parker, who added that other issues, including the war in Iraq, proved more significant in the 2006 midterm elections.

The Crossroads series, sponsored by the Center for the Study of Religion, will include two more installments in March: former Sen. Gary Hart will speak about “God and Caesar in America” March 6 at 4:30 p.m., and former U.S. Ambassador to Israel and to Egypt Daniel Kurtzer, the S. Daniel Abraham Professor in Middle Eastern Policy Studies, will address “Ethical Issues and Dilemmas in the Formulation of National Security Policy” March 27 at 4:30 p.m. Both lectures will be held in Bowl 016 at Robertson Hall.

Ice hockey, lake style

The ice on Lake Carnegie swelled the ranks of hockey players at Princeton on the sunny afternoon of Feb. 10. At center, with his eye on the puck, is Scott Mildrum, a data research analyst in the economics department.

Photo by Frank Wojciechowski


February’s finest

This week’s PAW online columns highlight Princeton’s take on two February holidays. On the Campus writer Bridget Reilly Durkin ’07 looks at the joys of Valentine’s Day, from the simple romance of sledding with a special someone to students sharing a “Crush” for a cause. In his Under the Ivy column, Gregg Lange ’70 marks the 275th anniversary of Washington’s birthday with a look back at the first president’s connections to Old Nassau.

Making a splash

Princeton women’s swimming will try for its second straight championship and its seventh title in eight years at the Ivy League Swimming and Diving Championships Feb. 15-17 at DeNunzio Pool. The Tigers return several talented swimmers from the team that edged out Harvard last year, but their most important contributor may be a newcomer to the Ivy meet, Alicia Aemisegger ’10, who won three individual events in the annual H-Y-P meet earlier this month and has been piling up school records all season. The Ivy League will provide a live blog of the women’s swimming championships at psychesheet.blogspot.com.

From print to film and back to print

Richard Powell ’30’s novel The Philadelphian, touted as an exposé and indictment of blue-blooded Philadelphia society, was immortalized on the screen in the 1959 film The Young Philadelphians, starring Paul Newman and Robert Vaughn. Now, 50 years after the book’s release, Powell’s daughter has worked with Plexus Publishing to republish the novel, originally printed by Charles Scribner’s Sons. The saga of a family of humble origins climbing the Philadelphia social ladder spans four generations, starting with the immigration of a poor Irish girl in 1857 and ending with her great grandson, a young defense lawyer, in a climactic courtroom scene. Powell, who died in 1999, was a prolific writer, and several of his novels were made into feature films. For information about other books by alumni and faculty, visit New Books at PAW online.

Posted by Brett Tomlinson, with reporting by Katherine Federici Greenwood.
Princeton Alumni Weekly

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Wednesday, February 07, 2007

 
Mat action

Princeton wrestler Jesse Palermo ’07, left, grapples with Harvard's J.P. O’Connor during their 149-pound bout Feb. 2 in Dillon Gym. Harvard beat the Tigers, 36-7, in the Ivy League opener for both teams.

Photo by Frank Wojciechowski


Women’s basketball, men’s and women’s squash face key weekend

On Feb. 3, women’s basketball star Meagan Cowher ’08 scored her 1,000th career point in the Tigers’ 69-51 win over Brown (video available at goprincetontigers.com). Cowher has averaged a league-best 27.2 points per game in Princeton’s five Ivy contests, and the Tigers are 4-1, tied for first place, as they leave for what historically has been the league’s toughest pair of road games. Princeton plays at 4-1 Harvard Feb. 9 and at 3-2 Dartmouth Feb. 10. Last season, the Tigers swept their road games against Harvard and Dartmouth for the first time in 24 tries.

Men’s and women’s squash also face Harvard and Dartmouth this weekend, hosting the Big Green first (Feb. 10, men at noon, women at 2 p.m.) and the Crimson the following day (Feb. 11, men at noon, women at 2 p.m.) in the final matches of the Ivy season. Both Princeton teams are undefeated, but both Harvard squads are unbeaten as well, so Sunday’s results likely will determine this year’s Ivy titles. After the Princeton matches, the Crimson complete their Ivy slate against Yale Feb. 14.

Markowitz ’74 pens second murder mystery

In A Minor Case of Murder: A Cassie O’Malley Mystery (Five Star), Jeff Markowitz ’74 adds a new adventure to the career of rag sheet journalist and amateur sleuth Cassie O’Malley. When Andy MacTavish brings minor league baseball to White Sands Beach, near the New Jersey Pine Barrens, not everyone welcomes the club. Birders are upset that the ballpark will upset nesting areas. So after a woman dies at the ballpark during the final game of the season, MacTavish asks O’Malley for help in solving the murder. A Minor Case of Murder was nominated for a Readers’ Choice Award in the Best Traditional Mystery/Amateur Sleuth category at Love is Murder, a mystery writers conference held in Chicago in January. For information about other books by alumni and faculty, visit New Books at PAW online.

Alumni headline theater projects

Dana Wieluns ’91 is performing in Kabara Sol, a production of Ziggurat Theatre Ensemble at the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre in Los Angeles, through Feb. 11. Wieluns performs the roles of a male drug lord, a voluptuous torch singer, and a mysterious disabled girl without a past. Wieluns wrote in an e-mail, “Set in the seedy underworld of a fantastical oriental port in the ’30s, Kabara Sol explores the theme of identity through the hallucinatory weaving of three lives: those of an opium kingpin, a drug-addled chanteuse, and the deformed amnesiac with powerful attachments to both. … Kabara Sol is a spellbinding fable of murder and redemption.” For information and tickets go to www.fordamphitheatre.org . Wieluns is a founding member of the Ziggurat Theatre Ensemble.

The latest musical by Prospect Theater Company, Tock Tick, opened Feb. 5 and runs through March 4, at the West End Theatre in New York City. Recommended for ages 10 and up, Tock Tick is about a 12-year-old girl, Chelsea Tickerman, whose mother has cancer. “As the clock in the front hall steadily marks each passing moment,” a release about the production said, “Chelsea can see the dragon of her mother’s death, hovering. In a bold move, she embarks on a fantastical quest to slay this dragon and save her mother.” Prospect was founded by five Princeton alumni, including Cara Reichel ’96 and her now-husband Peter Mills ’95. For more information go to www.ProspectTheater.org.

Posted by Brett Tomlinson, with reporting by Katherine Federici Greenwood.
Princeton Alumni Weekly

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