[Chronicle]

Nov. 2, 2000
Vol. 20 No. 4

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    In the News

    President Randel wrote an op-ed that appeared in the Monday, Oct. 16 Chicago Sun-Times. Randel wrote about the value of research institutions and their contributions to modern-day life, as he anticipated a dialogue at the University with presidents of 50 other American research universities who were participating in a meeting of the Association of American Universities. Members of the AAU, which was founded at the University 100 years ago, were meeting to discuss the role of universities in the 21st century. “The new ideas and technologies created by our faculty and students are translated into products, processes and techniques that improve our lives and add significantly to the nation’s economic vitality.”

    The life and work of Robert Fogel, the Charles R. Walgreen Distinguished Service Professor of American Institutions in the Graduate School of Business, was featured in a story Sunday, Oct. 15, in the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong. The story reported on Fogel’s academic background as both a student and teacher, his opinions on winning a Nobel Prize and his controversial work throughout the years of his research.

    Following the announcement of his Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, James Heckman, the Henry Schultz Distinguished Service Professor in Economics, was interviewed extensively about the research for which he won the prize. Heckman was interviewed by David Greising for his Chicago Tribune column, and Heckman was lauded for his accomplishments by The Wall Street Journal in an op-ed. He discussed his work on 8:48, a news program on WBEZ radio and on Chicago Tonight on WTTW-Channel 11. In a related story published by the Chicago Tribune, economics graduate students at the University were interviewed about their coursework and their experiences learning from Nobel Laureates, such as Heckman and Gary Becker, Professor in Economics and Sociology, who won a Nobel in Economic Sciences in 1992.

    Tracey Meares, Professor in the Law School, was quoted in a story about an alleged prostitution ring in south suburban Palos Park, in the current issue of Chicago Magazine “Escort services are legal, so they need to show intent to engage in criminal activity,” said Meares, concerning the Cook County state’s attorney’s case.

    Research by Ross Stolzenberg, Professor in Sociology, which shows men practice poor health habits when their wives work overtime at their jobs, was the subject of an article published Thursday, Oct. 5, in Indiana’s The Times. “From early ages, girls tend to be socialized and trained to perform the traditional wife’s tasks, including health, emotional management and the organization of social contacts,” said Stolzenberg. Michael Roizen, Professor and Chairman of Anesthesiology & Critical Care and author of the best-selling book RealAge: Are You as Young as You Can Be?, also was interviewed for the story.

    Steven Kaplan, the Neubauer Family Professor of Entrepreneurship and Finance in the Graduate School of Business, was one of four professors featured in a Chronicle of Higher Education story about scholarship in the new technology driven world. The story described Kaplan’s entrepreneurship courses, and he discussed teaching his students how to decide when a business plan has valuable merit as a start-up company, in which venture capitalists would invest.

    “The Royal Tombs of Ur” exhibition at the Oriental Institute Museum received local press coverage with stories published Thursday, Oct. 19, by the Chicago Tribune, Friday, Oct. 20 by the Daily Southtown and Monday, Oct. 23 by the Chicago Sun-Times. The stories quoted Karen Wilson, Director of the Oriental Institute Museum and Gene Gragg, Director of the Oriental Institute. Oriental Institute archaeologist Clemens Reichel was interviewed about the exhibition for several segments airing on WMAQ-TV, Friday, Oct. 20.

    Research conducted by Linda Waite, Professor in Sociology, and her subsequent book, The Case for Marriage, have been the subject of several recent magazine and newspaper articles, including stories published in Time, The Plain Dealer (Cleveland, Ohio) and The Washington Post. Also, Waite wrote an op-ed that appeared in The New York Times Thursday, Oct. 12, which criticized the critics of Hillary Rodham Clinton’s marriage to President Bill Clinton. “The questioning of Mrs. Clinton for staying with Bill Clinton comes from people of all political persuasions, but it is especially odd coming from the right, where the conventional rhetoric so often touts the sanctity of marriage” wrote Waite. In his Chicago Sun-Times column on Sunday, Oct. 22, the Rev. Andrew Greeley, Research Associate at the National Opinion Research Center, defended Waite’s findings that conclude marriage is beneficial for both men and women and criticized critics of her new book, which she co-wrote with Maggie Gallagher.

    David Jablonski, Professor in Geophysical Sciences, was quoted in a Tuesday, Oct. 24 New York Times story reporting on endangered species and the process of extinction.

    F. Todd Wetzel, Associate Professor in Surgery, was interviewed for a story about a technique being used to offer relief to those who suffer from deteriorating disks that cause lower back pain. The story, published by The New York Times, Tuesday, Oct. 24, reported on a study Wetzel is conducting on the treatment that is producing positive results for patientsóintradiskal electrothermal therapy.

    Robert Clayton, Director of the Enrico Fermi Institute, was interviewed by the Chicago Sun-Times for an article about a recent meteorite find. Clayton has studied the meteorite, taking its oxygen isotopic measurement to reveal an unusual composition. “It has a better-preserved record of organic chemistry than any meteorite ever,” he said.

    William Schweiker, Professor in the Divinity School, was quoted in a Friday, Oct. 27 column written by Chicago Tribune columnist Steve Kloehn. The column covered a conference organized by Schweiker called “Having: A Conference on Property and Possession in Religious and Public Life.” “How is it that the value and logic of one systemóeconomicsóhas started to permeate all the other systems?” said Schweiker.

    Daniel Margoliash, Associate Professor in Organismal Biology & Anatomy and Psychology, and the research he has conducted on Zebra finches, was the subject of several stories published Thursday, Oct. 26 and Friday, Oct. 27, by Reuters English News Service, The Independent–London, The Globe and Mail and The Daily Telegraph. Margoliash and his research team concluded from their data that song birds dream of singing. “The field is learning a tremendous amount. Zebra finches are one of the premier model systems for representing how the brain manages complex information.”

    Tom Smith, Director of the General Social Survey at the National Opinion Research Center, was interviewed for stories published by USA Today, the Associated Press news service and the Chicago Sun-Times about the study “Changes in the Generation Gap, 1972-1998.” The study, based on the NORC General Social Survey, showed that the generation gap is closing, but that people in the 18-24 age range are less trustful of people in general, less likely to vote or affiliate with a religion or belong to a union.

    Alumna Kim Ng (A.B.,’90) was featured in a Chicago Tribune article published Friday, Oct. 27. Ng, who spent the beginning of her baseball management career in Chicago with the White Sox, is assistant general manager of the New York Yankees, who won this year’s World Series title.