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Article Tags: ClimateGate, John O'Sullivan

John O’Sullivan is a legal advocate and writer who for several years has litigated in government corruption and conspiracy cases in both the US and Britain. He has made an important announcement at Climategate.com.

We are turning up the heat in pursuit of prosecutions against scientists involved in the recent Climategate scandal. Our dedicated group of volunteers working with Climategate.com are behind a plan to entice co-workers of discredited Penn State University climatologist Michael Mann to turn whistleblowers in return for millions of dollars in federal reward money. Mann is famous for his emails obtained from the East Anglia University server hacking, and for creating the widely disputed ‘hockey stick’ graph that is depicted in Al Gore’s film, “An Inconvenient Truth.”

An “inconvenient truth” for Mann is that an ally of ours, former CIA agent Kent Clizbe, has this weekend emailed the proxy professor’s co-workers with details of the tempting offer that could turn 2010 into quite a prosperous New Year. We hope someone at this premiere world research institution will come forward and substantiate the facts from evidence already uncovered from the government emails leaked on November 19, 2009. The emails, among other things, show correspondence between Michael Mann and British Professor Phil Jones of the University of East Anglia’s Climate Research, which discuss methods to “hide the decline” in global temperatures.

Source: mensnewsdaily.com

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Renault’s budget-minded brand Dacia has just rolled out a new limited edition version of Logan, Sandero and Logan MCV that is exclusively available to French buyers. Marketed as Black Line, the new range is based on the Laureate equipment level but also adds a bunch of new features.

Getting straight to details, the Laureate comprises equipment such as electric front windows, central locking and power steering but the Black Line designation now adds metallic paint, black headlamp m… (read more)

Article Tags: You could not make it up

Global warming means prolonged periods of snowy weather are becoming less frequent

The last time we had a similar spell of cold weather was the winter of 1996/97, when it lasted three and a half weeks; it was a lot colder but there wasn’t anywhere near as much snow.

Source: channel4.com

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American manufacturer GM is at it again (rebadging and all) and announced that the European Opel Insignia OPC got rebadged, equipped with a new engine (a less powerful one than on the Opel, as we will see) and unveiled today as the "21st century successor to Buick’s Gran Sport heritage": the Buick GS.

The Buick GS packs, as said, a 2.0l turbocharged four-cylinder engine, smaller than the 2.8l V6 turbo powerplant found on the OPC. As a consequence, the unit on the GS dev… (read more)

Another popular service has made its way from the Apple App Store to the Android Market.

GOGII’s textPlus allows for unlimited and multiplayer chat and SMS features. TextPlus allows for ad-supported free and unlimited messaging for Android users. Users can hold instant group text conversations with friends on almost all U.S. carriers, even without a text messaging plan.

Sponsor

From casual SMS texters to folks who use text messaging as their preferred medium – and even distributed work groups – textPlus provides an excellent solution for a wide range of user types. It allows both old-school, one-on-one texting as well as what the company calls “next-generation texting – rich, engaging environments and instant group text conversations.”

textPlus’ reply-all feature functions like the homonymous email function, making SMS texting into a chat environment for users to carry on party line-esque conversations, make plans with several other users at once, or make text-based intros.

Here’s a quick demo of how textPlus’ group text features work on Apple devices (and now for Android devices, too):

Android users can choose to make textPlus their preferred SMS client for U.S. and international SMS messaging. Users can also text with the app even when the text recipient isn’t a textPlus user.

As of today, the textPlus iPhone and iPod Touch app has been downloaded around 3.5 million times. The app’s parent company, GOGII, moreover just announced an $8.2 million Series B round last month. The company’s currently looking for beta testers for a BlackBerry version of the service, too.

Discuss

Hyundai will sell the electric i10 initially to governments, Saxena said without elaborating. The company doesn’t plan to sell the car India because of the lack of necessary infrastructure, according to Saxena.

Hyundai Motor India aims to maintain its growth rate this year after boosting sales 14 percent to 559,880 vehicles in 2009, he said. Exports may be little changed this year as incentives on new car purchases from European governments disappear, he said.
Apart from Hyundai i10 electric, the company has also showcased three other models at Auto Expo 2010. Hyundai displayed i-mate, H1 Wagon and Genesis Coupe.

The Bollywood stars paid visit to Auto Expo on the second day. After Shah Rukh Khan, Bollywood actor Ajay Devgan launched his favourite SUV Mahindra Scorpio.

M&M launched Mahindra Scorpio and Mahindra Navistar Trucks on Wednesday.

Bike crazy actor John Abraham was also present at the Auto Expo and he launched Yamaha’s 2010 version of the YZF-R1 bike and YZF-R15 bike at the Auto Expo.
Previously, in 2007, Hyundai had launched the Hyundai i10 with internal combustion engine in 2007.At present; HMIL is the country’s largest car exporter and the second largest car manufacturer with a line up of alternate fuel technology in vehicles like the CNG and LPG versions of its small car Hyundai Santro. This would be followed with its sedan Accent and small car Hyundai i10.

Currently, only Reva produces electric cars for the Indian market but recently Tata Motors also announced its plans to bring in the Tata Indica Vista electric in collaboration with a Norwegian company to ply it here in India after studying the feasibility.

Hyundai Motor India’s pavilion displayed its futuristic technology in the form of concept vehicles to highlight the superior and advanced technology that the company has pioneered. The company also showcased the sports variant of its luxury sedan Genesis at the auto show.

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Mayo researchers collaborating with investigators at the University of Iowa, University of Connecticut and New York University (NYU) have discovered a molecular mechanism that controls energy expenditure in muscles and helps determine body weight. Researchers say this could lead to a new medical approach in treating obesity. The findings appear in the journal Cell Metabolism…

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Mayo Clinic,
Medical,
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Hyundai will sell the electric i10 initially to governments, Saxena said without elaborating. The company doesn’t plan to sell the car India because of the lack of necessary infrastructure, according to Saxena.

Hyundai Motor India aims to maintain its growth rate this year after boosting sales 14 percent to 559,880 vehicles in 2009, he said. Exports may be little changed this year as incentives on new car purchases from European governments disappear, he said.
Apart from Hyundai i10 electric, the company has also showcased three other models at Auto Expo 2010. Hyundai displayed i-mate, H1 Wagon and Genesis Coupe.

The Bollywood stars paid visit to Auto Expo on the second day. After Shah Rukh Khan, Bollywood actor Ajay Devgan launched his favourite SUV Mahindra Scorpio.

M&M launched Mahindra Scorpio and Mahindra Navistar Trucks on Wednesday.

Bike crazy actor John Abraham was also present at the Auto Expo and he launched Yamaha’s 2010 version of the YZF-R1 bike and YZF-R15 bike at the Auto Expo.
Previously, in 2007, Hyundai had launched the Hyundai i10 with internal combustion engine in 2007.At present; HMIL is the country’s largest car exporter and the second largest car manufacturer with a line up of alternate fuel technology in vehicles like the CNG and LPG versions of its small car Hyundai Santro. This would be followed with its sedan Accent and small car Hyundai i10.

Currently, only Reva produces electric cars for the Indian market but recently Tata Motors also announced its plans to bring in the Tata Indica Vista electric in collaboration with a Norwegian company to ply it here in India after studying the feasibility.

Hyundai Motor India’s pavilion displayed its futuristic technology in the form of concept vehicles to highlight the superior and advanced technology that the company has pioneered. The company also showcased the sports variant of its luxury sedan Genesis at the auto show.

Related posts:

1. Hyundai i10 Electric Car Price 2010 Apart from Hyundai i10 electric, the company has also showcased…
2. I10 Electri, I10 Electri Car Hyundai i10 Electric Car Hyundai will sell the electric i10 initially to governments, Saxena…
3. Auto Expo 2010, Auto Expo 2010 Ticket Price TVS Motor Company will also have on display the TVS…

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Unnecessary fire alarm pulls bring a hefty fine, and a few Row houses have felt the effects this year: During fall quarter, several houses, including Sigma Nu and Mars, had alarms pulled, each of which produced a $500 fine from Stanford.

While some alarms are caused by late-night pranksters, the majority of the problems are caused by intoxicated partygoers who activate the alarms. Not only does this cause a fine, but it also breaks up the party as students are forced to evacuate.

“It tends to happen at frat parties or parties at general,” said Natasha Chu ‘10, a kitchen manager at Kairos House.

Fire crews always respond to these alarms, but the fines are not handed out through the office of the University fire marshal. “This is not a policy of the fire marshal; this is a policy of the housing department,” said Marshal Joseph Leung.

Nate Boswell, associate dean of residential education and dean of the Row houses, independent living and Greek life, said the fines are on par with those given for tampering with fire extinguishers and sprinkler systems. He said he was aware of the occurrence of false fire alarm pulls.

“I do not have hard statistics and would hesitate to speculate,” Boswell wrote in an e-mail to The Daily. “Anecdotally, alarms go off unnecessarily periodically throughout a given academic year and more often than not are the result of human rather than systems error.”

In order to avoid further problems, houses are taking steps to protect their fire alarms.  While some smaller houses do not have to worry about as many guests, fraternities in particular have had to increase their vigilance of the alarms.

Sigma Nu has instituted a policy of guarding its fire alarms during every party. Each resident chooses a shift, and every alarm is guarded for the duration of the event.

“For the entire night . . . we all have shifts, and we have to leave the party to sit there and guard it for 45 minutes,” said Eric Knudson ’12, a Sigma Nu resident.

The policy has been effective, and Sigma Nu has not had an alarm activation during any of its parties this year, The one alarm the fraternity had to deal with was caused instead by a late-night prank. Early in the morning, someone broke into their house and pulled the alarm.

“Personally I think it’s great when Stanford gets into its school spirit with these healthy rivalries — I love that,” Knudson said. “But breaking into a house and pulling an alarm and making fire fighters come here at two o’clock in the morning and making us pay all this money — it’s not in anybody’s interests.”

The story at Mars is similar, with its first fine related to a third-floor alarm that was pulled during an all-campus party in the early morning hours. Its second alarm activation was a break-in through the rear kitchen door.

“A resident in Columbae saw what happened,” said Matt Sprague ’10, financial manager for Mars. “He saw possibly two people dressed in black walk up to the back door, throw it open, pull it and sprint away.”

The resident reported seeing a similar event the night of the Sigma Nu fire alarm activation. Staff members at Mars have taken steps to permanently lock the rear door, as well as enforce stricter policies on the locking of exterior doors and windows.

Particularly at Mars, some were disappointed that there was not a further investigation into the pranks in order to find the person responsible. Some had hoped that fingerprints could be taken to find the culprit and to discover the reason why the alarms were being activated.

“I don’t know what really possesses people to pull it — it’s just really shallow, short reasons . . . [It’s] a brief amount of fun and screws people over in the long run,” said David Geeter II ’11, a Mars resident.

Although the total of $1,000 in fines only accounts for roughly two percent of the Mars budget, the alarm incidents mean the house is spending money that was originally budgeted for other purposes.

Boswell said a review process is in place to help houses whose alarms are pulled, despite those houses’ own prevention efforts.

“The University takes all alarms, legitimate or not, very seriously,” Boswell said. “By default, houses such as Sigma Nu are responsible for regulating access to their building, and if an alarm is pulled, regardless of who pulls it, the house is generally fined.

“If alarms are repeatedly pulled and a culprit cannot be identified or the house has been doing what it is supposed to — keeping doors and windows locked, monitoring guests, etc. — and someone broke in, then the house has an opportunity to file a police report and refute the fine through Student Housing.”

Approved unanimously by the GSC, Farah Abuzeid ‘10 was not confirmed by the Undergraduate Senate as ASSU co-joint chief of staff, launching the graduate council into a discussion on Wednesday of the appointment process. (DYLAN PLOFKER/The Stanford Daily)

The first Graduate Student Council (GSC) meeting of the new year kicked off Wednesday night with discussion of the Undergraduate Senate’s failure to confirm Farah Abuzeid ’10 as ASSU co-joint chief of staff. Abuzeid was approved unanimously by the GSC in November, and last night’s announcement led to a critique of the lack of appointment process literature in the constitution.

Continuing with ASSU updates, Vice President Andy Parker ’11 reported that Old Union room reservations, previously completed via scheduling on door calendars outside rooms, and the ASSU book exchange will now be available online (at assu.stanford.edu/oldunion.) ASSU President David Gobaud ’08, M.S. ’10 said 450 students have used it so far to make 600 reservations.

The meeting concluded with new goals for this year on the GSC agenda in various aspects of student life, such as housing and health care, and listing the necessary accomplishments for each.

Appointments in the Constitution

Discussion arose as Andy Parker ’11 announced that Farah Abuzeid ’10 had not been confirmed as ASSU co-joint chief of staff in the Undergraduate Senate. The Senate voted 8-5 in favor of Abuzeid; however, because she failed to receive two-thirds of the votes, she was not confirmed.

GSC members were surprised at the news as Parker went on to explain that he will retain his duties as co-chief of staff while in his new position.

“I’m sorry, but that sucks,” said Chief Financial Officer Ryan Peacock, fourth-year graduate student in chemical engineering. “For the record.

“We don’t want to discourage participation in the ASSU,” Peacock added. “We want to make it open.”

Concerns were raised about the ambiguity of the constitution regarding cabinet appointments. According to Robert Hennessy, a fifth-year student in electrical engineering, it takes two-thirds of the Undergraduate Senate to remove a person from the cabinet, but there are no details regarding the appointment process.

GSC members considered the possibility of asking the constitutional council to rule on whether an appointee needs two-thirds vote for confirmation or a simple majority. Others just wanted the rule set firmly in preparation for possible future occasions.

“We should either put it in the joint bylaws or propose a constitutional amendment so that appointment laws are clear,” Hennessy said.

The GSC previously confirmed Abuzeid unanimously at its Nov. 18 meeting.

“I think the whole thing is absurd,” said GSC Co-Chair Eric Osborne. “Those who voted no in the Undergraduate Senate didn’t have a reason to do so. A qualified person like Farah [Abuzeid] should at least get the reasons for why they were voted against.”

New Confirmations

The GSC confirmed three people as new Undergraduate Senate chairs. Jen Hawkins’11 was confirmed as co-chair of Undergraduate Health and Wellness.

“The workload was getting a little heavy for the chair,” Parker explained. “We wanted to put a little more emphasis on mental health.”

Gobaud said that Alisha Tolani ‘10, the current chair of health and wellness, will now be focusing on the executive’s ongoing campaign to reduce sexual assault and relationship abuse, while Hawkins will be focusing on mental health.

“We wanted to make sure both issues would receive the attention they deserve,” Gobaud said.

Cisco Riordan ‘10 and Vincent Chen ‘12 were confirmed as co-chairs of marketing and HCI.

“They will be working on online marketing, especially in Web site design, e-fliers and social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter,” Gobaud said. “They will work with every member of the team to create electronic marketing material.”

GSC Resolutions for the New Year

The GSC also recommitted themselves to previously proposed goals heading into the new year.

Nanna Notthoff, a second-year graduate student in psychology, said the GSC has compiled all possible goals to pursue and steps needed in order to accomplish them. “We will be figuring out what is most important to accomplish before winter quarter ends and elections come again,” she said.

Committees will be formed to follow the steps proposed to accomplish the goals.

Items on the GSC winter quarter agenda include GSC operations awareness, health care, housing, dining and related issues, parking and transportation, “academics and beyond” and social/programming.

Pertaining to operations, the GSC will seek a humanities representative, present a clear breakdown of GSC funding to the public and clean up the funding Web site.

For health care, the GSC plans to educate students about various Vaden resources. “Grad students don’t know much about health promotion services,” Notthoff said.

In housing and dining, the GSC will be working to improve housing options, lower housing rates and provide cheaper options in places like the Market at Munger.

As for parking and transportation, the GSC will pursue more parking options for off-campus students.

“We want to survey to see if there can be more room for off-campus students to park so that they would be more encouraged to come to this building,” Notthoff said of the Graduate Community Center.

Notthoff also said there will be more social programming for the off-campus community and professional development workshops to advertise jobs for life after Stanford.

Notthoff was optimistic about accomplishing the goals she named. “We used to make a long list of goals,” she said. “But that was really abstract. That’s why we’ve decided to make small steps to accomplish them. That way, we would really make some progress.”

A $2,000 funding request for Graduate Family Events to take place winter quarter was approved, and $400 was also requested to provide incentives for students to take a survey on the graduate budget. The Black Graduate Student Association also received funding allocations for an event.

It was announced that $2,205 was left in general discretionary funds.

Stephen Colbert, host of Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report, has become one of the most famous and influential figures in America since his show first aired in October 2005. His show parodies the style of conservative TV talk show hosts, and his egomaniacal bluster has gained him a significant following, known as “Colbert Nation.”

Since his meteoric rise, Colbert has come to wield an influence far beyond his late-night TV show. He has appeared at the White House, been called the “Voice of a Generation,” and even has a treadmill named after him at the International Space Station. However, until now, Colbert has mostly stayed out of the sports world, mainly confining himself to political satire and fake punditry.

However, when the U.S. Speedskating team lost its chief sponsor, the defunct Dutch bank DSB, Colbert stepped in. Though now the team’s principal sponsor, Colbert himself didn’t forward the $300,000 needed for the team to attend the Vancouver Olympic Games in February; the team will be financed by donations from Colbert Nation, and the money has already been raised. The team’s uniforms will feature the Colbert Nation logo.

Colbert’s decision to sponsor the team has generated a significant reaction. U.S. Speedskating has been enthusiastic about the initiative. Its executive director appeared on The Report to encourage Colbert Nation to donate to the team, and short-track star Apolo Anton Ohno has also sounded his approval about the idea. Announcing the initiative, Colbert said, “On their enormous, billboard thighs, it will say, ‘Colbert Nation’… Be looking for that logo as it comes around the final turn. It will be easy to see because it will be in first place.”

While most of the skaters seem amenable to the Colbert Nation sponsorship, Shani Davis, one of the U.S.’s top stars, called Colbert a “jerk” in an interview with a Canadian newspaper. Davis’ comments came in response to a question about Colbert’s criticism of Canadians on his show, which included an attack on Vancouver officials for denying international athletes access to Olympic venues. Colbert has called Canadians “syrup-suckers” and “iceholes” on his show.    Colbert’s sponsorship has also drawn a great deal of attention to speedskating, historically America’s best sport in the Winter Olympics. Colbert recently appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated and discussed in the magazine how his TV persona views the Olympics. He said, “It’s a way to prove who’s got the best country. Only nobody gets hurt.”

Clearly, this sponsorship deal benefits both Colbert and U.S. Speedskating, and I don’t think it was a bad idea for Colbert to get his Nation involved in the Olympics. American interest in the Games is in decline, especially concerning the Winter Olympics. Endorsement and attention from a popular figure can only be beneficial to the entire U.S. effort to bring home gold from Vancouver. The success of Colbert’s partnership might also entice other prominent figures to lend their support to the U.S. Olympic program in 2010 and beyond.

The sponsorship deal is also revolutionary in that it relies on fans, rather than corporate sponsors, for the team’s funding. Of course, the fundraising success is partially due to the fact that Colbert’s followers are passionate and close to cult-like. Starting with these games, however, the U.S. Olympic Committee has the chance to try and get more fan involvement with American teams, as a way to both provide funding and further boost interest.

The benefits the sponsorship will bring to Colbert and his show are not quite as clear. Certainly, he will get a bump from the free publicity generated by his move (such as the aforementioned Sports Illustrated cover). The initiative also fits Colbert’s TV personality: ardent patriotism is a critical part of his persona and sponsoring a struggling U.S. team is a great way to promote his red, white and blue attitude. Indeed, Colbert has constantly referenced the speedskating team on his show recently, providing the Colbert Nation with regular updates on the skaters’ progress and busting out the SI cover in his typical self-aggrandizing manner.

For now, we should stop thinking about the long-term effects of this new kind of partnership and just enjoy watching our team bring home gold in February. Olympic teams have given America some of its most uplifting moments and I look forward to seeing the Colbert Nation logo on top of the medal podium next month.

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) recently named eight Stanford scientists as members of their newest group of fellows. Stanford’s diverse cohort has contributed to spheres of science ranging from immunology to physics to gender studies.

The AAAS, an international non-profit dedicated to scientific advancement in all fields, will honor Arogyaswami Joseph Paulraj, Ann Arvin, Karla Kirkegaard, Peter Sarnow, David Hand Coward, Michael E. Peskin, Cecilia Ridgeway and JoAnne L. Hewett in a ceremony on February 20th in San Diego.

“I am pleased not only for myself, but also to see a number of fellowships being awarded this year in elementary particle physics,” said Peskin, a particle physics and astrophysics professor at SLAC. He attributes his award to work he completed in the 1990s, which improved understanding of weak particle interactions and codified constraints on models of physics at higher energies.

Arvin, Kirkegaard and Sarnow, all professors of microbiology and immunology, have each contributed valuable efforts towards cellular research. Arvin, currently vice Provost and dean of research, has conducted molecular research on several viruses and vaccine immunity that garnered her the attention for the fellowship. Kirkegaard’s research on polio, hepatitis C and RNA viruses enhanced the possibility of preventing these viruses from developing drug resistance. Sarnow also focused on polio and hepatitis C, examining cellular and viral translation.

Hewett, a professor at SLAC along with Peskin, focuses her work on theoretical particle physics. Coward’s help on experiments that illuminated the quark structure of the proton and neutron called him to AAAS attention, even several years after his retirement.

“Coward played an important role in many of the original SLAC experiments,” Peskin said. “His contributions were deep . . . but they did not get much public recognition. I couldn’t tell you how his name came to the top now . . . but it is very appropriate and pleasing to me that he is recognized in this way.”

Ridgeway is the only new Stanford fellow whose work steps outside of the hard science category. A social science professor in the sociology department, Ridgeway’s interests lie in gender and social hierarchies. The AAAS honored her as one of its few fellows in the Section on Social, Economic and Political Sciences for her work in gender inequality and the role of gender in social organizations.

All are new members of the AAAS with varying degrees of connection to the organization, although few truly understand how the fellowship selection process took place.

“Frankly, I don’t know how they make the decisions,” Ridgeway said.

“The process is opaque to me,” added Peskin,

The Section on Biological Sciences saw the most new fellows this year, while Dentistry and Oral Health Sciences gained only one. The AAAS, founded in 1848, lists 94 total fellows from Stanford. The AAAS will award the new Fellows with a certificate and a blue and gold rosette during next month’s ceremony.

The Stanford men’s swimming and diving team has been whizzing past competitors, earning the title as one of the top swim and dive teams in the nation.

Stanford Daily File Photo

The Cardinal has the No. 1 ranked recruiting class, including a total of 16 All-American swimmers. Stanford looks to ratchet up its training in the coming weeks in order to prepare for the more competitive spring season.

“The first part of the season is being more focused on the spring. It’s not about how fast you can swim in the fall but how fast you can swim in the spring,” said junior swimmer David Mosko. “We don’t have to do a whole lot of qualifying in the beginning of the year.”

Many of the major competitions occur in the spring, including the NCAA championship and Pac-10 championship. But while its focus lies forward, the Cardinal already has built up an extremely impressive record so far this year.

“We are right there,” said Coach Skip Kenney. “We are going to battle for the Pac-10 championship and the NCAA championship. We don’t know what kind of teams we’ll be facing.”

In the Stanford swim team’s first meet in September against the University of New Orleans, the Cardinal men swept UNO and took first place in almost every event.

In the beginning of October, the Cardinal hosted its first meet of the 09-10 season against the University of Hawaii. The men’s swim team was stacked with a total of sixteen All-American swimmers and senior Dwight Dumais was victorious at both diving events. At the Pacific Invitational in Stockton in mid-October, Stanford won eight out of the ten events against Air Force, Brigham Young University, Cal and Pacific.

In early November, senior Carmen Stellar took first in the three-meter against Florida and Michigan at the tri-meet in Gainesville, Florida.

The Cardinal dominated the rest of November as Stanford swimmers swept through the Tri-Distance Meet, hosted by Cal. Senior Eugene Godsoe won the 50-meter back (22.58), 100-meter back (48.26) and 200-meter back (1:47.00), giving him a win in each of the backstroke events. La Tourette also had a successful meet as he won the 500-meter freestyle (4:29.48) and 1000-meter freestyle (9:09.14).

In addition, La Tourette recently returned from the Dual in the Pool, a competition where athletes from Britain, Italy and Germany come together and form a team to compete against the USA, hosted in Manchester, England in mid December.

“I was really pleased with my performance. It was actually the last time we wore body suits in a competition,” La Tourette said.

While the team’s performances so far may inspire confidence, the Cardinal swimmers may be facing some unfamiliar faces when they dive back into the pool this spring. Many schools, including Cal, Auburn and USC, bring in freshmen after the fall competitions, leaving many schools like Stanford in suspense about potential spring surprises.

“You can go to some school for [just a few] weeks then go to NCAAs, ” Kenney said about the practice of racing freshmen in their first year. “That doesn’t happen here. You have to be a student athlete, which is the way it should be.”

The Cardinal still holds a few goals in mind to achieve before competition starts.

“We have to work on speed,” Kenney said. “As our speed gets better, our turns should get better.”

Many of the Stanford swimmers have already earned outstanding achievements this past year and they look toward the spring season as an opportunity to boost their records.

La Tourette has won two All-Americans in the 500-meter and 1500-meter freestyle in 2009 and was also the Pac-10 Champion in the 1650-meter freestyle in 2009. In December, La Tourette set an All-American in the 800-meter freestyle while at the Dual in the Pool in England. Mosko holds six All-Americans in the 200-meter butterfly in 2009, 800-meter freestyle relay in 2008, 500-meter freestyle in 2008 and 2009, the 1500-meter freestyle in 2009 and the 1650-meter freestyle in 2008.

This season should be one of success, starting with a meet against Pacific this Saturday, January 9 at 1:00 p.m. at the Avery Aquatic Center.

Laurel Price Jones became the associate vice president for medical development and alumni affairs for the Stanford School of Medicine on Jan. 1. Prior to coming to Stanford, Price Jones served as the vice president for development and alumni affairs at George Washington University. She has worked in the development offices at Rochester Institute of Technology, the University Hospital of Cleveland and Oberlin College.

Stanford Daily (SD): What are the differences between fundraising for general purposes versus fundraising for a medical school?

Laurel Price Jones (LPJ): You’re never really raising money just for general purposes. But medicine does have a unique appeal because there’s hardly anyone in the world who isn’t affected by health care issues . . . Pretty much, the vast majority of people think that medicine is important. Hence all the attention on health care. That makes fundraising for medicine an especially satisfying thing to do because a wide variety of people are interested in supporting it for a wide variety of reasons. It’s a straightforward appeal to people’s interests.

SD: What are the actual funding sources for the Stanford School of Medicine?

LPJ: Well, pretty much the same as they are for the rest of the University. Individuals are by far a large source for any institution, and usually we include in that foundations because foundations are usually set up by individuals . . . There are also corporations, but the vast majority of support comes from individuals.

SD: How is fundraising different now than it was five years ago, with the economic downturn?

LPJ: I think there are some signs that things are turning up. We’re certainly ahead of where we were last year. It looks like it’s going to be a good year. I think the worst — in fundraising terms — period was last spring. So, I don’t want to be too predictive because you never know what is going to happen, but I think people are more confident.

SD: What are the main challenges in raising funds for the School of Medicine and other institutions that you have been a part of in the past?

LPJ: There aren’t any. [laughs] You just have to go to work. I don’t know Stanford well enough to say whether there are particular challenges here, but in general there are always people who are philanthropic, who want to do something beyond what they can do themselves. I mean that’s the whole point of making a big gift. The main challenge is to learn from people what their interests are and whether they lend themselves to philanthropic support and then find a good match at the institution. If you can do that, then you have a robust fundraising program. You don’t have to do that with every individual you meet, just with whom it’s important.

SD: In your fund raising efforts, are individual donors able to donate to specific programs versus a multi-purpose fund?

LPJ: Of course. That’s the reason they give. Sometimes people will make loyalty gifts and say, “Use it wherever you want,” but the big gifts that transform an institution — and Stanford has had many of those over the years, which is why it is such an outstanding university — are to endow specific programs. I think if there is anything that has changed in the last 10 years or more are people are more and more interested in being more involved in their own giving. People are more directive now than they were 10 or 15 years ago.