Stanford of the East
“The Harvard 100,” begins the cover of 02138, the unofficial alumni magazine of a certain university in the East. “Our annual status-anxiety-provoking list of Harvard’s most influential alumni. Once again, you’re probably not on it.” Except that five undergraduate alumni of—ahem—Stanford are on the list. There’s Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, ’58, coming in second after a man named Barack Obama. (Kennedy got his law degree at Harvard. Ditto Justice Stephen Breyer, ’59, the list’s No. 23.) Tim Draper, ’80, a managing director of Sand Hill Road venture capital firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson, appears 43rd. Checking in at No. 62: Nancy Barry, ’71, whose firm encourages investing in entrepreneurs in developing countries. Writer/physician Atul Gawande, ’87, earned the 79th spot. They may have all gotten graduate degrees on the banks of the Charles, but they got their start on the Farm.
Classroom Kudos
The Council for Advancement and Support of Education selected Jerusha Detweiler-Bedell, ’95, MA ’95, an associate professor of psychology at Lewis & Clark College in Oregon, as Outstanding Baccalaureate Colleges Professor of the Year. “Detweiler-Bedell pushes students to learn beyond the mere repetition of lessons, believing that psychology, like a foreign language, is best learned by immersion,” the council says. Adds her husband, Brian Detweiler-Bedell, ’94, MA ’95, “She credits much of her passion for teaching to [Stanford psychology professor] Phil Zimbardo.” Her award, he says, “speaks to the passion for teaching at Stanford that is passed on to Stanford undergrads, who in turn go on to share this passion with their own students.” The Detweiler-Bedells run the Behavioral Health and Social Psychology Lab at Lewis & Clark.
Moose Cuts Himself Loose
After 18 seasons in professional baseball, Yankees ace Mike Mussina, ’91, has hung up his pinstripes (“Extra Innings,” September/October 2008). “I didn’t want to go out with somebody telling me it was time to go, that I’m trying to find a job and I can’t find a job,” he told reporters in November. “I never wanted to bounce around from one team to another, to keep playing at 41 or 42, trying to scratch out eight wins this year and 10 wins the next year.” Sports writers immediately started churning out stories about whether Mussina, with a 270-153 record and 3.37 lifetime ERA, will make the Hall of Fame. In his final game September 28, at age 39, he gave them one more thing to chew on: at Boston’s Fenway Park, he completed his first 20-win season.
Medal Worthy
Dana Gioia, ’73, MBA ’77, retiring as chair of the National Endowment for the Arts, was one of four surprise recipients of the Presidential Citizens Medal in mid-November. After awarding almost 20 medals for arts and humanities achievements in a White House ceremony, President George W. Bush awarded the citizens medals to four government leaders in the field.
“As president, I rarely have the opportunity to surprise anybody,” Bush said. “It is tough to be stealthy with a security detail that comprises a 20-car motorcade. That makes me especially pleased to present the President’s Citizens Medal to four outstanding—and unsuspecting—leaders in the arts: Bruce Cole, Dana Gioia, Adair Margo and Bob Martin.
“Please do not rush the stage,” he added. “Remember the big security detail?”
Cats in the Hat on the Quad
The sun did shine. It was not too wet to play. Some frosh wearing hats came across a wedding day. Can we pose, asked the frosh? Take a picture with you? Of course, said the groom and the bride, Crystal Lu. And the shutter did click, and they said, that is that. And then they were gone, with a tip of their hats.
