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Brendan McGrath, whom many faculty members remember as the man who found them a place to live, died Oct. 7 while scuba diving near Gloucester. The cause of death was a heart attack. McGrath was 40. McGrath was hired in 1996 as faculty real estate services manager in Harvard Planning and Real Estate. In this…

The eighth annual Ebert Community Service Day will take place Thursday, Oct. 19, at 1:30 p.m. in the atrium of the Medical Education Center at Harvard Medical School. An informative afternoon of food and fun, this event is an opportunity for dental and medical students to learn how they can become involved in the community…

Law School alumni Rita E. and Gustave M. Hauser have given Harvard University two gifts that significantly strengthen the University’s capacity in the field of human rights studies. They pledged a new Chair in Human Rights and Humanitarian Law at the Law School (HLS). The first formal program in human rights at the University was…

The Radcliffe Institute, celebrating its inaugural year as an institute for advanced study, will host an interdisciplinary symposium on “Gender and Inquiry” on Thursday and Friday, Oct. 12 and 13, at the Agassiz Theatre in Radcliffe Yard. The event begins with a keynote lecture on Thursday at 4 p.m. by primatologist Sarah Hrdy ’68, Ph.D.…

When Arkansas Senator David Pryor packed his bags, sold his home, and departed Washington in 1996 after more than 30 years in public service, he didn’t think twice about leaving. “I enjoyed my time in the Senate,” he says. “I loved my colleagues, but it was time for me to move out and have another…

In her autobiography, “The Dyer’s Hand,” astronomer Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin, one of the first female tenured professors at Harvard, summed up the rewards of a career in science: “Do not undertake a scientific career in quest of fame or money. There are easier and better ways to reach them. Undertake it only if nothing else will…

The John Harvard statue, which has been sheltered during the reconstruction of University Hall, was apparently not safe from vandals. A “milk” mustache was painted on the revered statue. Staff photo by Jane Reed

For someone who was once sure she wanted to be a clinical psychologist, Jennifer Hochschild hasn’t done too badly as a political scientist. Hochschild, recently named a professor with a joint appointment in the Departments of Government and of Afro-American Studies, is one of the nation’s experts on race and education in American society. “She…

Cornell’s Adam Skumawitz took a pass from teammate Colin Nevison and fired it past Harvard keeper, junior Dan Mejias, with just under six minutes remaining in the second overtime to propel the Big Red to a tough 2-1 victory over host Harvard on Oct. 7. The Crimson falls to 4-3-1 and 0-2 in the Ivy…

“When you hear that there is a disparity between minorities and the rest of the population, believe it,” says John Ruffin, the first associate director of research on minority health, of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). In his address to the Leadership Forum of the Commonwealth Fund/Harvard University Fellows (CFHUF) in minority health policy…

At its third meeting of the year, the Faculty Council reviewed with Administrative Dean of the Faculty Nancy L. Maull all of the faculty’s current building projects and plans. Associate Dean for Physical Resources and Planning David A. Zewinski was also present. The first faculty meeting of the year will be on Tuesday, Oct.17. Due…

The Biology Prize, awarded for a report “On the Palatability of Some Dry-Season Tadpoles From Costa Rica.” Winner Richard Wassersug of Dalhousie University clarified that while the tadpoles were eaten to gauge palatability, they were neither dried nor seasoned. The Chemistry Prize, awarded for a discovery that romantic love may be indistinguishable from severe obsessive-compulsive…

While more informed minds awaited this week’s Nobel Prize awards, the Sanders Theatre crowd cheered the Tenth 1st Annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony, honoring “achievements that cannot, or should not, be reproduced.” The two-hour ceremony was conducted in comedic overdrive, with an over-the-top wink and nudge to the audience, from the traditional “Welcome, Welcome” speech…

Listening to Mozart won’t raise a child’s IQ, but music classes could help her or him to understand directions and diagrams. For enhancing a student’s ability to speak, read, and write, drama is a better choice. Beyond that, the arts don’t offer much boost to academic achievement in math or other non-arts courses. That’s the…

A memorial service will be held this coming Saturday (Oct. 14) for a Harvard graduate student who found an opportunity to serve others under the most challenging of personal circumstances. Julie Goldman, a graduate student in anthropology, died Sept. 8 after a five-year struggle with cancer. She was 37. From 1998 until her death, Goldman…

It was labeled “the greatest, most pathetic, and most arbitrary tragedy in history” in a statement published in the New York Times on Nov. 1, 1915. The American Committee on Armenian Atrocities cited “authentic reports” of a “war of extermination being waged by the Turks against the Armenians.” As many as a million people had…

The Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at the Kennedy School of Government (KSG) announced the 2000-01 Carr Center visiting faculty and fellows. The Carr Center for Human Rights Policy is a research, teaching, and training center that examines the effects of governmental policies and actions, international organizations, and independent actors on human rights around…

Celebrating the acquisition of a stately 1920’s-era apartment building using funds from Harvard’s 20/20/2000 initiative, Cambridge City officials hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday at the site of its latest affordable housing development. The handsome 65-unit four-story brick building, featuring mostly studio and one-bedroom apartments, is located in the prestigious Avon Hill neighborhood near Porter…

James Cuno, the Elizabeth and John Moors Cabot Director of the Harvard University Art Museums, and Susan Flannery, director of the Cambridge Public Library (CPL), recently agreed to forge “a partnership in cultural literacy” between their respective institutions. Under this new agreement, the Art Museums are extending free admission to all Cambridge Public Library cardholders…

Michael Armini has been appointed director of communications at Harvard Law School, a newly created position designed to support the Law School’s current strategic planning initiative. Armini served most recently as director of public affairs at Harvard’s Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. Prior to his experience at Harvard, Armini worked primarily in the political arena…

The Harvard Alumni Association (HAA) Awards were established in 1990 to recognize alumni who provide outstanding volunteer service to Harvard through alumni activities. This year’s recipients will be honored on Nov. 2 during the opening dinner of the HAA Board of Directors. The 2000-01 HAA Awards recipients are as follows: Rozlyn L. Anderson ’77, JD…

Rising to 265 feet, the church has the honor of being the tallest in New England. Its height includes the metal spire, culminating in a weather vane in the form of a medieval battle pennant topped by a large crown in which two openings form Greek crosses. Its position atop the lofty spire as well…

Eight visting Wasserstein Fellows and one fellow-in-residence have been named at Harvard Law School. The program brings outstanding public interest attorneys from across the country to campus for one or two days to counsel and advise law students about public service. Wasserstein Fellows are selected based on the breadth and diversity of their public interest…

More than 300 students and community members attended a big-screen showing of the presidential debate Tuesday night at the ARCO Forum at the John F. Kennedy School of Government. Although the audience was predominantly pro-Gore, both candidates received applause and guffaws at times throughout the evening. The Gazette surveyed viewers on their thoughts after the…

The Rockefeller Center exhibit “Of Reflections and Ceremonies: Meeting With a Mazatec Shaman” features a collection of photographs by Montreal-based artist Dominique Pepin that is the result of three years of collaboration between Pepin and Mexican Mazatec shaman Apolonia Martínez. The photographs were taken between the shaman’s home and the sacred mountain of El Cerro…

Following are some of the incidents reported to the Harvard University Police Department (HUPD) for the week ending Sept. 30. The official log is located at Police Headquarters, 29 Garden St. Sept. 24: A caller reported a stolen bicycle from Gallatin Hall. Sept. 25: Baseball equipment was reported stolen from a shed at the Harvard…