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In the second year of the David Rockefeller International Experience Grants Program, more than 400 Harvard College students accepted funding for international internships, volunteer projects, study abroad programs, and research opportunities in 53 countries across the world. With the generosity of David Rockefeller ’36, LL.D. ’69, this grant program was developed to give students the opportunity to gain a broader understanding of the world and to learn about other countries and peoples by spending at least eight weeks immersed in a culture other than their own.

This year’s recipients will conduct independent research on diverse topics, such as the experience of aging and dementia in France, the Tomb Shrines of Sayyidah Zaynab in Egypt, and forest succession in tropical forests in Panama. Recipients participating in internships and service activities will support both corporate and nonprofit organizations, such as Gucci Worldwide in Italy, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Switzerland, the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, and the New Hope Orphanage in Uganda. Students will participate in 23 Harvard Summer School study abroad programs, as well as summer study programs supported by 40 other academic institutions.

The David Rockefeller International Experience Grants Program is administered through the Office of Career Services. For more information about the program.

Marie-Ange Bunga, a graduating M.P.A./M.C. student at the Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), has started the Congo Initiative at Harvard, a student organization aiming to increase awareness about the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

“The scramble for minerals in eastern Congo is the crux of this tragedy,” she says. “These minerals, used to produce cell phones and computers in the U.S. and elsewhere, is fueling the conflict.”

Bunga and advocates are pressing for passage of the bipartisan Congo Conflict Minerals Act and the Congo Relief, Security and Democracy Promotion Act of 2006. They’re also urging the appointment of a U.S. special envoy for Congo.

“We urgently need help from people with interest in the Congo, its politics and economy, and the issues related to its mineral resources,” says Bunga, who collaborated with the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Harvard Defense Against Genocide, and the Human Rights Center at HKS, and sought connections with other universities.

Though graduating, Bunga is hopeful her legacy will live on in the capable hands of more concerned students. To express your interest or learn more about issues in the Congo, contact [email protected].

The Center for European Studies (CES) recently announced its 2010-11 student grant winners, continuing its long tradition of promoting and funding student research on political, historical, economic, social, cultural, and intellectual trends in modern or contemporary Europe. Thirty-four undergraduates will pursue thesis research and internships in Europe this summer, while 18 graduate students have been awarded support for their dissertations over the coming year.

CES undergraduate senior thesis travel grants fund summer research in Europe for juniors in the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences preparing senior theses. Graduate summer travel grants and graduate dissertation research fellowships fund students who plan to spend either a summer or up to a year in Europe conducting dissertation research, while graduate dissertation writing fellowships are intended to support doctoral candidates as they complete their dissertations. These grants and fellowships are funded by the Krupp Foundation and by the Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies.

Fernando M. Reimers, Ford Foundation Professor of International Education and director of the International Education Policy Program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, has been appointed by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to serve on the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization).

The commission is a federal advisory committee to the Department of State that supports worldwide humanitarian development and values by coordinating efforts and delivering expert advice from federal, state, and local governments, as well as non-governmental organizations on issues of education, science, communications, and culture.

The following faculty members have been named full professors with tenure in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences:

David Charbonneau, professor of astronomy, is an international leader in the search for planets orbiting stars other than our sun. He has been a member of the Harvard faculty since 2004.

Matthew Nock, professor of psychology, is a clinical psychologist renowned for his research on self-injury and suicidal behavior in adolescents and adults. He has been on the Harvard faculty since 2003.

James M. Snyder Jr., professor of government, has examined how well Congress represents the economic, political, and social values of the American electorate. He was previously the Arthur and Ruth Sloan Professor of Political Science and Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he has been a member of the faculty since 1992.

Malika Zeghal, Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Professor in Contemporary Islamic Thought and Life, has examined the changing relationship between Islam and governments across the Middle East. She was previously associate professor of the anthropology and sociology of religion at the University of Chicago’s Divinity School, where she has been a member of the faculty since 2005.

For complete announcements.

John D. Black Professor Forest L. Reinhardt and Assistant Professor Michael W. Toffel, both of Harvard Business School, have won the 2009 D. Alfred N. and Lynn Manos Page Prize for sustainability issues in business curricula.

Reinhardt and Toffel were recognized for their second-year M.B.A. elective “Business and the Environment,” which focuses on identifying and following through on opportunities to create business value from environmental and sustainability issues.

As promised, LG’s mid-range, QWERTY, Android-powered slider (phew), the Ally, is now available from Verizon.

Just think: somewhere out there, keen LG/Iron Man 2/Android fans are braving the harsh Spring conditions, waiting for their favourite Verizon stores to open. The less adventurous of the devout would have just pre-ordered it, but where’s the honour in that?

You can grab the Ally for $99.99 after a not-at-all-annoying $100 mail-in rebate on a two-year contract from Verizon. Rocket boots not included.

Diana L. Eck, Fredric Wertham Professor of Law and Psychiatry in Society and professor of comparative religion and Indian studies in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS), was the speaker for Berea College’s 138th Commencement on May 23, and will be awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree.

Eck, who has taught at Harvard for more than 30 years, is also a Harvard Divinity School faculty member and an award-winning author and researcher on religious pluralism in America.

The Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) has named Michael Hooper, Rahul Mehrotra, and Joyce Klein Rosenthal to the GSD faculty, effective July 2010.

Hooper, who has been appointed assistant professor of urban planning, will receive his Ph.D. from the Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources at Stanford University this month (May). His research interests focus on the politics of land use and urbanization, participatory planning and governance, and civil society mobilization.

Mehrotra, a practicing architect, urban designer, and professor of architectural design at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Architecture and Urban Planning, has been named professor of urban design and planning and chair of the Department of Urban Planning and Design. He has written and lectured extensively on architecture, conservation, and urban planning in Mumbai.

Rosenthal, a lecturer at Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health, has been named assistant professor of urban planning at the GSD. Rosenthal’s research interests are in environmental planning, sustainable development, and the public health impacts of urbanization, with a particular present focus on spatial and social determinants of heat islands and heat-related health outcomes.

Three accomplished leaders have been named recipients of 2010 Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) alumni awards. The awards were presented during ceremonies at the School on May 14-15.

Mehmet Daimaguler, M.P.A. ’05, was named winner of the 2010 Rising Star Award, which recognizes HKS alumni who, within six years of beginning their careers, have “hit the ground running” as leaders, catalysts for change, or people who are making a meaningful difference to individuals, organizations, or governments.

Susan Ople, M.P.A. ’99, is recipient of the Alumni Achievement Award, designed to recognize HKS alumni who, after more than six years in their careers, have made a significant contribution to improving the human condition on a local, state/provincial, national, or international stage, in any sector.

Robert Min Xie, M.P.A./M.C. ’94, was named winner of the Julius E. Babbitt Memorial Alumni Volunteer Award, named in honor of Julius Babbitt, M.P.A. ’01, and given each year to a graduate of the Kennedy School who has demonstrated uncommon commitment to his or her fellow alumni to advance the spirit of volunteerism and service to the School and the alumni community. To read more about the winners.

The Faculty of Arts and Sciences has recently awarded the Thomas T. Hoopes Prize to 89 Harvard College seniors, in recognition of outstanding research or scholarly work. The prize is funded by the estate of Thomas T. Hoopes ’19. To view the list of recipients, including their research and advisers.

The American Philosophical Society, the oldest learned society in the United States, recently elected eight new members from Harvard into this year’s class of scholars.

The society, founded in 1743 by Benjamin Franklin for the purpose of “promoting useful knowledge,” honors and engages distinguished scientists, humanists, social scientists, and leaders in civic and cultural affairs through elected membership and opportunities for interdisciplinary, intellectual fellowship, particularly in the semiannual meetings in Philadelphia. Since 1900, more than 240 members have received the Nobel Prize.

This year’s elected members from Harvard follow:

Mathematical and Physical Sciences (Class 1): Lisa Randall, Frank B. Baird Jr. Professor of Science in the Department of Physics, and Shlomo Zvi Sternberg, George Putnam Professor of Pure and Applied Mathematics in the Mathematics Department.

Biological Sciences (Class 2): Gregory A. Petsko, lecturer on neurology at Harvard Medical School.

Social Sciences (Class 3): Cass R. Sunstein, administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs; Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law (on leave) at Harvard Law School, and Laurence H. Tribe, Carl M. Loeb University Professor, Harvard Law School.

Humanities (Class 4): Janet Browne, Aramont Professor of the History of Science in the Department of the History of Science; and Jeffrey F. Hamburger, Kuno Francke Professor of German Art and Culture in the Department of History of Art and Architecture.

The Arts, Professions, and Leaders in Public & Private Affairs (Class 5): Martha Minow, dean of the Faculty of Law and Jeremiah Smith Jr. Professor of Law at Harvard Law School.

Josh Lerner, the Jacob H. Schiff Professor of Investment Banking at Harvard Business School, has been named a fellow of the European Corporate Governance Institute, an international nonprofit association that provides a forum for debate and dialogue among academics, legislators, and practitioners regarding major corporate governance issues with the intention of promoting best practice.

Fellows are named in recognition of their demonstrated excellence or other outstanding achievements in the field of corporate governance. Lerner’s most recent book, “Boulevard of Broken Dreams: Why Public Efforts to Boost Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital Have Failed — and What to Do About It” (Princeton University Press, 2009), recently won the 2010 Axiom Business Book Award Gold Medal for the best book on entrepreneurship. It previously won the 2009 PROSE Award for Excellence in the business, management, and finance category.

Banks’ aversion to providing loans to small business, ie. the tightening of their lending standards, is finally coming full circle. As shown below by the light gray line, banks have loosened their stance towards small business lending back to even what appears to be pre-crisis levels.

Morgan Stanley’s Richard Berner:

Easier credit arriving: Small business credit availability is still tight, mainly because of falling home prices; real estate constitutes both wealth and collateral for small business owners. But easier credit is arriving, thanks to improved prospects for small business sales, limited downside in home prices, improved terms in ABS markets and the end to banks’ tighter lending standards.

Interestingly, Mr. Berner’s chart shows that banks’ optimism towards small business seems to have rebounded faster than small businesses’ own optimism!

(Via Morgan Stanley, Global Monetary Analyst, 26 May 2010)

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Filed under: Marketing/Advertising, Videos, Chevrolet

Sometimes an advertising tag-line is so right, people remember it for decades. In the automotive realm, BMW’s “Ultimate Driving Machine” and Cadillac’s “Standard of the World” stand out and catch on. Apparently “excellence for all” didn’t. The new ad line was developed by Publicis Worldwide which had been tapped to replace Campbell-Ewald as Chevrolet’s ad agency just over a month ago.

New General Motors VP of Marketing Joel Ewanick dropped Publicis barely a week after taking the job and the tag-line which had only been used in some print ads in recent weeks won’t be seen again. New television ads that are running now close out with “everyone deserves excellence” and the main focus is on the so-called “Red-x” quality engineers.

With Ewanick clearly taking charge at GM marketing, it will be interesting to see what new Chevrolet agency Goodby, Silverstein & Partners comes up with. Make the jump for the aforementioned Red-X engineers spot.

[Source: Automotive News – Sub. Req.]

Continue reading Chevrolet already scrapping week-old “Excellence for All” campaign?

Chevrolet already scrapping week-old “Excellence for All” campaign? originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 27 May 2010 08:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We recently had a discussion about the legalities of fan fiction, and how some authors were adamantly against the concept (even if their views were on shaky legal grounds). While it is true that certain derivative works can be stopped, that also doesn’t mean it’s a smart thing, from the perspective of cultivating fans. Reader Eilieen now points us to the news of a fan-made film that builds on Joss Whedon’s Firefly TV show and Serenity movie:

“Browncoats: Redemption was made by the fans for the fans,” director Michael Dougherty explained to Wired.com by e-mail. “But we view this as an independent film; we had Firefly fans travel from all over the U.S. to volunteer their time as extras and other supportive roles in its production. Without them, this film would not exist, and it will only be successful with their continued help and support.”

Unfortunately, the article at Wired totally leaves out the question of whether or not the copyright holders know about this particular fan film, and if they’re okay with it. Plenty of movie makers — such as George Lucas — are perfectly happy with fan flicks, even to the point of encouraging them. But, in this case, it’s not clear if this is, in any way, sanctioned. While the filmmakers say they’re doing this for charity, that still suggests they’re hoping to make some money from the film to give to charity — which often is the trigger that sets off Hollywood lawyers.

Whedon, for his part, has always been good about cultivating super-loyal fans, and at the same time, of experimenting with smart business models. But, not everyone associated with Firefly/Serentiy have always been so sharp. Back when Universal Studios tried to market Serenity via its biggest fans, the lawyers at Universal (apparently kept separate from the marketers) tried to demand licensing fees from the fans that the marketing department was urging to promote the film.

Looking over the site of the movie itself, it does suggest that they were able to secure permission from everyone necessary — including both Universal and Fox (who ran the TV show) along with Whedon himself:

So here’s how it is, we’ve reached out to FOX, Universal Studios, Joss’ agent at CAA, and even Mary Parent who is now at MGM. Everyone we’ve dealt with has been extremely helpful and completely blown away the stereotype of what the Hollywood experience is like. And much to our surprise, we even have the blessing of Joss Whedon himself. We’ve reached out to both Fox and Universal to get a greater understanding of the legal permissions we needed to make this a reality and we set out to complete it. And thanks to mighty fine Browncoats like yourself…we have.

That’s slightly cryptic, but it sounds like all the legal permissions were granted, and perhaps this fan film will go ahead with all the official blessings. While it’s silly that such a permission-based culture is necessary, just to make a film celebrating something that people love, at the very least, it’s nice to see some Hollywood folks recognizing that fan fiction and fan films aren’t inherently bad things.

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[JURIST] Lehman Brothers Holdings [corporate website] on Wednesday filed suit [complaint, PDF] against JPMorgan Chase & Co. [corporate website] for allegedly “siphoning” off billions of dollars in “critically-needed” assets days before the investment bank filed for a record-breaking bankruptcy. JPMorgan was Lehman’s main short-term lender before its collapse and acted acted as a middleman between Lehman and its investors. In the complaint, Lehman accused JPMorgan executives of using inside knowledge to take advantage of Lehman during its financial downfall and pressured the brokerage firm to turn over $8.6 billion in collateral in September 2008. The last-minute transactions allegedly accelerated Lehman’s free fall into bankruptcy, costing the investment bank tens of billions of dollars in “lost value.” The complaint, which was filed in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York [official
website] in Manhattan, is seeking monetary relief for JPMorgan’s contribution in Lehman’s downfall as a result of its wrongful conduct:

JPMorgan’s insistence on the new agreements in August and September 2008, its unjustified demands for billions in additional collateral, and its refusal to return that collateral in the critical days before [Lehman’s] bankruptcy filing, severely constrained [Lehman’s] liquidity and impeded its ability to pursue and implement alternatives and initiatives that would have resulted in the preservation of billions in value. Instead, [Lehman’s] liquidity constraints compelled an exigent chapter 11 filing that has resulted in tens of billions of dollars in additional lost value to the [Lehman] estate and its creditors. … It is now too late to undo all the harm caused by the [Lehman] bankruptcy. It is not too late, however, to return to [Lehman’s] estate and its creditors the billions of dollars of [Lehman] assets that JPMorgan illegally converted and continues to hold, and to compensate [Lehman] for all the damages that flow directly from JPMorgan’s misconduct. This lawsuit seeks to return that value to the [Lehman] estate and to restore all of the creditors to the position they would have occupied but for JPMorgan’s wrongful conduct.

A spokesperson for JPMorgan responded to the complaint [WSJ report] calling the suit “ill-conceived and meritless.” In March, a bankruptcy judge approved an accord providing for JPMorgan to return several billion dollars of assets to Lehman’s estate but giving Lehman a right to sue
further.

The collapse of complex financial firms such as Lehman Brothers has spurred government action to increase regulation and oversight. Last week, the US Senate [official website] passed [JURIST report] the Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010 [S 3217 materials], focused on increasing regulation in the financial sector following the recent economic crisis [JURIST news archive]. The bill creates a new regulatory council to monitor financial institutions in order to prevent the companies from becoming “too big to fail.” It also gives the Federal Reserve [official website] the power to supervise the largest financial companies and report to the government any risks the firms may pose to the economy at large. Additionally, a new consumer protection division will be established within the Federal Reserve to enforce rules against certain business practices like abusive mortgage lending and some credit card practices. As a final protection against future bailouts, the government will have the ability to seize and liquidate failing financial institutions before their collapse can have an adverse affect on the entire economy. US President Barack Obama praised the bill, but opponents of the legislation expressed concern that its passage will stifle the economy. The Senate bill has to be reconciled with the bill passed last December [JURIST report] by the US House of Representatives [official website] before Obama can sign it into law.

Yesterday I spent the afternoon inside the Chick-fil-a sanctum sanctorum — i.e., the company headquarters — with AJC business reporter Jeremiah McWilliams. A large group from the product development, marketing and public relations teams met us in the test kitchen, where one wall was covered with a red tarp to shield it from our view. I assume it was shelving filled with proprietary seasonings and spices, though I suppose it could have been a voodoo altar with pins sticking from a Double Down.

After a thorough presentation of the company’s research and development methodology, we learned how the Spicy Chicken Sandwich came to be. This new product — which officially hits Chick-fil-a’s 1400-plus stores on June 7 — has been on the boards since 2004, and in active development since 2008.

Chick-fil-a is milking the huge anticipation for this product — long requested by customers — for everything it can get. As you’ve probably heard, customers who signed up online were able to …