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NOVEMBER 20, 1998 VOLUME 9, NUMBER 9 THE ROCKEFELLER UNIVERSITY
Hey. . . Stella! New professorship to honor President Wiesel MICHAEL DAMES orsten N. Wiesel’s presidency will be honored with the creation of Tthe Torsten N. Wiesel Professorship. The professorship, which recognizes Wiesel’s leadership through- out a period of growth and revitaliza- tion, was announced last night (Nov. 19) by Board Chairman Emeritus Richard Furlaud at a dinner held in Wiesel’s honor at the Rainbow Room in Rockefeller Center. Members of the Board of Trustees and other leading benefactors of the university con- tributed gifts totalling $5.4 million to endow the chair. Retiring President Torsten Weisel will have a new pro- “The usual grant required to endow fessorship named in his honor. The announcement a university professorship is $3 million, was made last night at a party at the Rainbow Room. but the Board wanted this to be a special chair,” said Furlaud. “We set our sights The Torsten N. Wiesel Professorship on $5 million and exceeded it.” Three will be reserved for an outstanding million dollars will be designated as senior scientist recruited from outside endowment, and $2.4 million will be the university. A search for a senior sci- used to construct and equip a modern entist to fill the chair will commence Passersby did a double-take when they saw Frank Stella posing with his sculpture The Tail laboratory facility. shortly. last week in the Weiss Building. “Who is that man touching our art?” people wondered before realizing that it was the artist himself. Stella was on campus for a panel discussion on museum expansion (see article below) and strolled over to Weiss to see his sculpture. The Tail, part of a Cohn forum series inspired by Melville’s Moby Dick, was donated to the university by David Rockefeller. It is not Stella’s only connection to the RU campus, however; his son, Michael Stella, was a summer RU alumnus Barry Bloom ’63 to helper in the Hanafusa lab in 1989. discuss ethics of an AIDS vaccine At RU, art world mulls museum aesthetics arry Bloom, a Rockefeller University alumnus, will discuss Bethical issues in AIDS vaccines on at the next Cohn Forum on Mon., Nov.
MICHAEL DAMES 30. Although combinatorial drug thera-
pies have had promising results combat- BLOOM OF BARRY COURTESY ting HIV (the virus that causes AIDS), they are not widely available outside of the industrialized world (see “The Road to Remission and the Challenges Ahead,” News&Notes, Oct. 30). A vaccine sounds like the answer to the epidemic, but how should it be tested? Bloom notes that Barry Bloom will discuss ethics of an AIDS vaccine any patient in a vaccine trial who on Mon., Nov. 30. He has recently been named becomes infected with HIV must, ethi- Dean of Harvard’s Faculty of Public Health. Architect Philip Johnson’s witticisms drew appreciative laughter from his fellow panelists. From left to right: cally, be offered combination therapy if it artist Frank Stella; Johnson; moderator Suzanne Stephens; Bernard Tschumi, dean of Columbia School of is available; thus researchers won’t be Distinguished Research in Infectious Architecture; Maxwell Anderson, director of the Whitney Museum ; and author Victoria Newhouse. able to know whether the vaccine or the Diseases. Last June, Harvard University therapy was responsible for protection President Neil Rudenstine announced that Architect Wallace K. Harrison, who Suzanne Stephens, included such art against the disease. The developing Bloom had been chosen the next dean of designed several buildings on the RU world stars as Frank Stella; architect nations, where combination therapy is Harvard’s Faculty of Public Health. He campus, once said that “without the Philip Johnson; the dean of the not readily available, may be a better will start this new job on Jan. 1, 1999. other arts, architecture is like a bald Columbia School of Architecture, clinical testing ground, but trials in the The Cohn Forum is a series of collo- baby or a bald old man.” Fittingly, Bernard Tschumi; and the director of developing world, if they are not done quia on issues in health and biomedi- Harrison’s Caspary Auditorium was the the Whitney Museum, Maxwell well, inevitably raise ethical issues. cine. Bloom’s lecture will take place in setting for a recent panel discussion Anderson. The panelists came at the Bloom will try to present these issues the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Dining about the relationship between a muse- problem from different backgrounds, and will take questions from the floor Room at 5:30 p.m. and will be preceded um’s architecture and the art it displays. trying to find a way to balance aesthet- afterward. by a sherry reception at 5:00 p.m. All Victoria Newhouse (who wrote a book ic ideals with the messy realities of Bloom is currently an investigator at are welcome. The Cohn Forum’s website about Harrison) was on the RU campus budgets and staff limitations. They did the Howard Hughes Medical Institute is http://www.rockefeller.edu.pubinfo. to discuss her new book, Wings that not agree on how museums should and the Weinstock Professor of cohn.html. Don’t Fly. solve their space crunch, but the Microbiology and Immunology at the By “wings,” Newhouse means the evening did highlight the close inter- Albert Einstein College of Medicine in additions to museums that, in her view, play between art and its setting. New York. His laboratory at Albert Around campus often destroy the integrity of their origi- Johnson quipped that Stella is an Einstein has played a key role in recent 2 nal structures. (She dismissed I.M. Pei’s artist who wants to be an architect, breakthroughs in tuberculosis research. famous pyramid, for example, saying while he is “an architect who wants to Bloom has also served on a number of Parting parties that it made the Louvre look like a shop- be a painter.” Then with masterful national committees relating to public 3 ping mall.) comic timing, the 92-year-old dead- health, and in 1991 he received the first The discussion panel, moderated by panned, “I don’t think I’ll make it.” Bristol-Myers Squibb Award for 4 Calendar 2 news¬es NOVEMBER 20, 1998 Music news at RU RU tennis court lighting is upgraded With “Dr. Ruth” Westheimer he U.S. Open makes night tennis seem so glamorous, so quintessen- narrating, a children’s story Ttially New York. Now RU tennis aficionados can have that Center Court gets a grown-up twist experience right here on campus. As part of a broader effort to improve the quality of life at the university, new, brighter
lights have been installed to make after- LEIF CARLSSON dark play easier on the eyes. The lights are pinpointed to illuminate only the court, so residents of nearby buildings The campus put up with a temporary eyesore to won’t have to feel as though they too are get new lights that are easier on sore eyes. at the stadium.
Employee Recognition Program 1998 List of Honorees
The Employee Recognition Program will take place at 3:00 p.m., Mon., Nov. 30, in the Weiss Cafe. The following employees will be honored for their service to RU. The Goldilocks cast and composer took a curtain call after their Tri-institutional Noon Recital last Friday. From left to right: Frank Almond (violin), Bruce Adolphe (composer), Richard Brice (viola), Ruth Westheimer 20 Years Roman Burzynski Ian Huggins (narrator), Constance Emmerich (piano), Daniel Rothmuller (cello) and Ronald Roseman (oboe). Adelaide Acquaviva James Carozza Ann Jackson Michael Chen Kathleen Cassidy Jacqueline Mulero oldilocks and the Three Bears may Perhaps this is an update (with a nod to Carmine Denisi Margaret Conde Sonoko Ogawa sound like an odd choice to fol- Yogi Bear?), or perhaps it’s just a vehicle George Drummond Marta Delgado Jane Otto Glow a program of Haydn and for Adolphe’s classical arrangement of Armand Gazes Ismael Diaz Maggi Pack Mozart, but the casting of “Dr. Ruth” 99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall, which the Arquelio Negron Anthony Drummond Ruben Peraza Westheimer as the narrator made last Goldilocks family “sings” on the way to Michael Perrino Chandra Edwards Ecie Prince Friday’s recital by An die Musik ( a wind, the park. Either way, the music was Elauterio Robles Sonia Espejon-Reynes Dennis Rivera string and piano quintet) even more strong enough to avoid being upstaged Cecilia Unson-O’Brien Lanie Fleischer Romualda Rodriguez intriguing. Composer Bruce Adolphe by the recital’s celebrity narrator. Rosemary Williams Victoria Freedman Magdalena Rondiak was on hand to introduce his new work, Anyone who has ever heard Andrew Gallina Ismael Ramon Serra which is in the tradition of Prokofiev’s Westheimer’s radio programs knows that 10 Years Celia Gonzalez Eileen Silver Peter and the Wolf, with different instru- the famous sex therapist has a distincitve Anthony Agosto Sara Gonzalez Monica Sweeney ments playing different roles (for exam- voice, but not the kind usually associat- Andres Asencio Robert Gualtieri Clifton Watt ple, the cello, viola, and violin portray ed with the concert stage. Her rendition Milton Brown Michael Hayre Csaba Laszlo Zemlenyi Papa Bear, Mama Bear and Baby Bear, offered what Adolphe called “subtext,” Alex Buenaventura Angela Howell respectively). allowing the composition to work on What kind of composer tries to several levels. express musically a cold bowl of por- The audience laughed nervously ridge? Obviously one with a great sense when she got to the “somebody’s been Potpourri of humor, and Adolphe’s wit permeates sleeping in my bed” line, as though they the piece. In a departure from the tradi- half expected Westheimer to make her tional story, his Goldilocks wanders trademark pitch for contraceptives. She Hurricane relief Show is now open in the Cornell away from a family camping trip at a played it straight, though, and left the Today (Nov. 20) is the last day of Medical Library, 1300 York Ave (at national park to encounter the bears. subtext in the minds of the listeners. the food drive in the Weiss lobby for 69th Street). The work of RU artists is victims of Hurricane Mitch. Donations on display, along with paintings, pho- of canned goods and non-perishable tographs, sculptures and decorative Violin prodigy to perform at today’s Noon Recital foods such as rice, beans and pasta, arts by other members of the tri-insti- are especially needed. tutional community. hat were you doing 16 years TIST ago? Violinist Karen Gomyo Anniversary-Retirement RU events hotline hadn’t yet mastered the preci- W TESY OF THE AR Dinner Trying to find information about an sion grip, and today (Nov. 20) she’s per- The Anniversary-Retirement Dinner upcoming event at RU? The university forming with pianist Rohan de Silva at COUR will be held on Mon., Nov. 23 at 6:30 has a new phone number with infor- the Tri-institutional Noon Recitals. In an p.m. in the Abby Aldrich Lounge. mation about RU events, including the astonishingly short time, the teenage vir- Peggy Rockefeller Concerts, Tri-institu- tuoso has established herself in the clas- Friday lecture canceled tional Noon Recitals, public lectures sical music world. She began violin The Nov. 20 Friday lecture has and symposia, along with directions to lessons at 5, made her concert debut at been canceled. The next lecture in the the campus. Call 327-7007. 7, and was invited by Dorothy DeLay to series will take place on Fri., Dec. 4. study at the Juilliard School at age 10. Sixteen-year-old Karen Goymo will perform today She has performed on three continents (Nov. 20) at the Tri-institutional Noon Recitals. Child and Family Center AwardsCorner and appeared locally at Lincoln Center applications and at the 50th Anniversary of the news¬es is published each Friday The RU Child and Family Center is Bruce McEwen, RU professor and United Nations; later this month, she throughout the academic year by now accepting applications for the head of lab, has been elected to mem- will open the 38th Young Concert Artists The Rockefeller University, 1999-2000 school year. The center bership in the Institute of Medicine. Series at the 92nd Street Y, one of the 1230 York Avenue, New York, NY 10021-6399 serves children from 3 months to 4 Established in 1970 as a unit of the youngest artists ever presented in this Phone: 212-327-8967 years old. Please call the educational National Academy of Sciences, the series. http://www.rockefeller.edu/pubinfo/news_notes.html director, Marjorie Goldsmith, x8580, institute is concerned with the protec- Pianist Rohan de Silva has been on for more information. tion and advancement of the health the Juilliard School faculty since 1991 Torsten N. Wiesel, President Mariellen Gallagher, Vice President professions and sciences, the promo- and has collaborated with such violin for Communications and Public Affairs Pennies for the pantry tion of research and development per- virtuosos as Itzak Perlman, Nadja Joseph Bonner, Acting Director of Communications The new coin collection boxes in tinent to healthcare and the improve- Salerno-Sonnenberg, Cho-Liang Lin, the cafeteria are to benefit the pro- ment of healthcare. Midori and others. He has been featured Lisa Stillman, Editor Paul Focazio, Communications Associate and grams of the Yorkville Common on national television and radio and has Calendar Editor Pantry. By contributing your spare Ralph Steinman, RU professor and performed at many of the world’s most Robert Reichert, Photography change, you will help support this senior physician, was made a fellow of prestigious concert halls, including Media Resource Service Center, Pre-press and Offset local non-profit organization that has the American Association for the Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, La Scala, Ideas and submissions can be sent interoffice (Box 68), long been providing food to needy Advancement of Science, the world’s and the Kennedy Center. by electronic mail (newsno), or by fax (212-327-7876). New Yorkers. largest federation of scientific and The recital begins at noon in engineering societies. Each year the Caspary Auditorium. Admission is free Copyright, 1998. The Rockefeller University. For Art Opening AAAS votes to bestow the rank of fel- for the tri-institutional community and permission to quote or reprint material from this newsletter, please contact the editor. The Rockefeller University is an The Eighth Medical Complex Art low on a select group of its members. guests. equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. NOVEMBER 20, 1998 news¬es 3 University bids a festive farewell to Wiesel’s presidency
s Torsten N. Wiesel’s presidential term comes to a close, the uni- Aversity community took the opportunity to celebrate with him dur- ing three receptions earlier this week. Wiesel joined RU in 1983 as head of the Laboratory of Neurobiology and took office as president of the university in January 1992. Under his leadership 30 new laboratories conducting vanguard research in key areas of biology, chem- istry and physics have been added, and the renowned Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center joined with Rockefeller in 1996. In addition, the operating bud- get has been balanced, and $190 million in private gifts and grants has been raised. Wiesel is one of 19 Nobel Prize win- ners affiliated with The Rockefeller University. He received the prize in 1981 for studies of how visual information collected by the retina is transmitted to and processed in the visual cortex of the brain. The campus was grouped geographi- cally for the three receptions. Faculty and laboratory research staff met in Weiss Café on Tues., Nov. 17. People who work at the South Campus assem- bled in the Welch Hall Library on Mon., Nov. 16, and those who work in the North Campus met in Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Lounge on Wed., Nov. 18. Invitations were mailed to every person on campus. The size of the gatherings gave President Wiesel a chance to talk person- ally to the party attendees, as can be seen in these pictures.
These three parties gave President Wiesel an opportunity to thank everyone at the university for contributing to the success of his administration. MONTH 10 1 MONTH calendarofevents http://www.rockefeller.edu/rucal THE ROCKEFELLER UNIVERSITY — Please Post
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