Newsmakers

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

Indian Honor Martha Chen received the Woodstock School Distinguished Alumni Award in 2006 for her continued work on behalf of poor rural women in South Asia. The school
is located in India, where Chen was born and raised. Her brother, Tom Alter, a famous Bollywood film star in India, served as the master of ceremonies.

Second Annual In May, the 2006 Neustadt Award and 2006 Schelling Award, intended to honor people who epitomize the excellence and impact that outstanding scholars and practitioners can bring to public policy, were announced. The $25,000 prizes were awarded to Daniel Kahneman, professor of psychology at Princeton University, and Muhammad Yunus, founder of the international Grameen Movement, which provides microloans to Bangladesh’s poorest.

Move to Center Professor Merilee Grindle was appointed director of Harvard’s David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies, starting in July. She will continue to teach at the Kennedy School.

Reporting Recognized In March, the Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy awarded its annual $25,000 Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting to James Risen and Eric Lichtblau of The New York Times for their report “Domestic Spying.” The work revealed that the U.S. government, in the name of national security, was systematically tapping into telephone calls and e-mails without court warrants.

Stellar Citizens The Gleitsman Citizen Activist Award, which honors those who have challenged social injustice in the United States, and is hosted by the Center for Public leadership, was given this year to Ron Grzywinski and Mary Houghton, cofounders of ShoreBank Corporation of Chicago, and Julie Stewart, founder of Families Against Mandatory Minimums. Gloria Steinem was also honored with the Citizen Activist Extraordinaire Award. Founder Allan Gleitsman died in May.

Hogan Hero The International Association for Energy Economics honored Professor William Hogan with its 2005 Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Field of Energy Economics and Its Literature. Hogan was a founding member of the group and served as its president in 1985.

STUDENT NEWS

Team Harvard Team Harvard Aurora, made up of Michael Handelman MPP 2007 and Jeff Roth MPP 2007, along with three teammates from Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, reached the finals in a student urban design competition, to develop land on Saint Louis University’s campus, sponsored by the Urban Land Institute.

Two Decades Strong The Harvard Journal of Hispanic Policy celebrated its 20th anniversary this year. For more information, contact Christine Connare at 617-496-9987 or christine_connare@ksg.harvard.edu.

ALUMNI TO WATCH

Chile Reception Sergio Espejo Yaksic MPP 1999 was named minister of transportation and telecommunications in the new cabinet of Michele Bachelet, president of Chile. He joins Professor Andres Valasco, who is serving as minister of finance.

MISCELLANEOUS

Enacted Sarah Sewall NISM 1995, director of the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, helped draft legislation requiring the U.S. Department of Defense to report civilian casualties in Afghanistan and Iraq. The legislation (H.R. 1815, Sec. 1223) was enacted in December 2005.

UN Bound Prolific writer and lecturer Pippa Norris has taken a two-year leave from Harvard to serve as the new director of the Democratic Governance Group at the United Nations Development Program in New York.

Web Solution Working closely with Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm, the school’s
E-Government Executive Education (3E) Project posted a Web-based case study of a
real Michigan economic development challenge and asked students and professionals for advice. Winning solutions were given prizes — cash or a free executive education program.