In the News

John Cacioppo, the Tiffany and Margaret Blake Distinguished Service Professor in Psychology, was interviewed for a Tuesday, Aug. 8 front-page story published in the Chicago Tribune, which featured recent research results of a study Caccioppo led. The study’s results show lonely people are more likely than nonlonely people to suffer from health problems, which, in turn, can lead to death at an earlier age.

A team of University genetics researchers were the subject of an article published Sunday, Aug. 6 by the Chicago Tribune. The story described research being led by Elliot Gershon, Chairman and Foundations Fund Professor of Psychiatry, who is seeking ways to better treat and cure such mental disorders as schizophrenia and autism. Also quoted in the story, which featured photographs of Gershon and other scientists at the University, were Francis McMahon, Associate Professor in Psychiatry, and Pablo Gejman, Professor in Psychiatry.

Irving Spergel, the George Herbert Jones Professor in the School of Social Service Administration and Sociology, was quoted in an article that appeared Sunday, July 30, in Agence France-Presse. The story, which reported on gang violence and its innocent victims, referred to Spergel’s involvement in a project on Chicago’s South Side to rehabilitate members of two local gangs. Spergel described gang members as “the lost youth” and said they would benefit most from job opportunities. “For these type of kids, jobs are probably the best inducement to change their lifestyle . . . better than education, because they’ve had such miserable experiences at school.”

Jose Quintans, Professor in Pathology and Master of the Biological Sciences Collegiate Division, was quoted in a story that appeared in the Hyde Park Herald Wednesday, July 26, which featured the University’s summer educational programs for high school students. Focusing on students participating in the biological sciences program, the story described how these summer programs immerse students in college life. “I want them to begin to think like biologists and approach problems critically,” said Quintans.

Emily Teeter, Associate Curator in the Oriental Institute, Mark Lehner, a researcher, and Lanny Bell, Associate Professor Emeritus in the Oriental Institute and Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations, were interviewed extensively for a program on ancient Egypt, which aired on the History Channel Tuesday, July 25.

John Milton, Associate Professor in Neurology, who led a recent study that involved monitoring the alpha and beta waves of professional LPGA golfers, was interviewed for a story about his research that appeared Wednesday, July 26, in USA Today. Milton, who studied the golfers while they were in an altered state of deep concentration that allows actions to become automatic and a successful performance easier, is seeking to create new methods of helping stroke patients relearn tasks such as walking.

Paula Barker Duffy, who became Director of the University Press, this month, was the subject of a feature article published by the Chicago Tribune Friday, Aug. 11. Also quoted were Wendy Doniger, the Mircea Eliade Professor in the Divinity School, John Mark Hansen, Associate Provost and the William R. Kenan Jr., Professor in Political Science, and Morris Philipson, Duffy’s predecessor. “There’s a deep commitment here to reaching out beyond the scholarly community,” said Duffy. “There’s a dislike here of pretentious intellectualism–but a real excitement about ideas.”

Steven Sibener, Professor in Chemistry and Director of the Materials Research Science and Engineering Center, was a guest on WBEZ’s Odyssey program Thursday, Aug. 3. He discussed trends in nanotechnology.

Froma Walsh, Professor in the School of Social Service Administration and Psychiatry, was interviewed for a story published by the Chicago Tribune Wednesday, July 26, which reported on adult children who try to make peace with their aging parents after years of experiencing unstable relations with them. “At this stage of your life, you may feel more comfortable with who you are and more willing to have empathy for the struggles and challenges that your parents faced in their own lives–challenges that prevented them from being perfect parents,” said Walsh.

Rashid Khalidi, Professor in Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations and Director of the Center for International Studies & Council for Advanced Studies in Peace & International Cooperation, was interviewed Wednesday, July 26, on WBEZ’s program World View. He discussed the Middle East peace negotiations.

Barbara Schubert, Senior Lecturer in Music, was featured in the July 2000 issue of Today’s Chicago Woman, which published profiles of “100 women making a difference.” Schubert also is Director of the Performance Programs at the University.

Paul Sereno, Professor in Organismal Biology & Anatomy, was featured in several articles that were published at the Web site Yahoo! News, Thursday, Aug. 10, and in the Chicago Sun-Times, the Daily Herald and the Chicago Tribune, Friday, Aug. 11. The stories reported on Sereno’s past expeditions and discoveries of dinosaur fossils and his current expedition to Niger to search for the fossil remains of Nigersaurus, a 45-foot-long creature that lived 110 million years ago. The stories also reported on Sereno’s Internet project, which will make current images and information about the Nigerian dig available during the course of the expedition.

Charles Lipson, Associate Professor in Political Science, was recently interviewed for the WGN-AM radio program Extension 720 for a segment on foreign policy; was a guest on WBEZ’s Odyssey program Wednesday, Aug. 2, to discuss the presidential race; and appeared on WTTW’s Chicago Tonight program Monday, Aug. 7, as a panelist discussing the presidential race.

Allan Sanderson, Senior Lecturer in Economics, was interviewed for an article published Thursday, July 27, in the Boston Herald. Sanderson, who is an expert on the economics of sports, was quoted in the story, which reported on the $352 million debt of the Red Sox baseball team and its CEO John Harrington’s plans to maximize the club’s sale price by building a new $665 million ballpark. “Six hundred and sixty-five million is a stunning figure,” said Sanderson. “Three hundred fifty-million in debt is stunning. A team could get itself into trouble with that amount of debt.”

Pleasure Heard, Class of 2004, was featured in a Chicago Sun-Times story that reported on her recent meeting with President Bill Clinton. The President met with Heard, who, while hospitalized, continued her No. 1 ranking at Englewood Technical Preparatory Academy after more than 40 percent of her body was severely burned by a gang member. She will begin classes at the University this Fall Quarter.