CAMPUS TALK AT ISSUE SCRAPBOOK August Wilson African-American February’s rich revisited | 3 politics today | 5 tapestry| 8 VOL. 32, NO. 9 NEWS AND IDEAS FOR THE COLUMBIA COMMUNITY FEBRUARY 26, 2007 SYMPOSIUM Changing CELEBRATING U.S. Media BLACK Landscape HERITAGE By Mary-Lea Cox MONTH roadcasting—just another business? Not according to Michael J. Copps, a com- missioner of the Federal BCommunications Commission. Applying a purely business model to the industry means less serious political coverage, fewer jobs, and less of a voice for con- stituencies that should be covered, he said, adding that “every American is a stakeholder in how Clockwise beginning with our broadcast media develop.” Columbia T-shirt: Akilah Banister Copps delivered these remarks (CC’08), Kenneth Morgan at the Graduate School of (MPH’08), Alexandra Dole Journalism’s Feb. 8 symposium on (CC’10), Chikodi Chima (CC’08), Maysill Pascal (visitor), Junior M. Benjamin (Government and Community Affairs staff) and Francis Kusi-Appiah (MPH’08). EILEEN BARROSO By Record Staff the United States. student body, say the student organizers of this “I had no organization, no one to commiser- year’s Black Heritage Month. That’s up Ushered in with a traditional mix of jazz, ate with or reminisce about the food back dramatically from what was less than 1 percent poetry, food, music and dance, this year’s Black home,” he said. for most of last century. Heritage Month celebrated the richness of the But while these statistics are encouraging, African diaspora, and Columbia reconnected more could be done to promote ties across the with its soul. This year’s theme: uniting various cultures in the African diaspora, the Delivering the keynote speech at the Jan. 31 the African diaspora organizers say—hence their idea to devote this kick-off event, U.S. District Court Judge Joseph year’s program to “Out of One, Many.” A. Greenaway Jr., CC’78, recalled what it was like “We recognize that there are many different to be at Columbia in the mid-1970s as a native Greenaway’s isolation is one of many dynam- cultures represented by black students,” Courtney of the Caribbean island of Montserrat. Back ics that have changed in recent years for Wilkins, chair of the Black Heritage Month then, he said, there were only a handful of blacks Columbia students of African descent. This year, Planning Committee, said. “We have many differ- JOHN SMOCK at Columbia, and even fewer who weren’t from black students make up about 8 percent of the ent experiences, but we all have roots in Africa.” Cronkite headlined J-School’s media reform conference RESEARCH media reform, which attracted about 200 journalism faculty and students and industry profession- Asserting Your Leadership Style als, including keynote speaker and By Adam Piore prevalent weakness in managers is problems former anchorman Walter with assertiveness.” Cronkite, who has often been Researchers have spent years studying the Ames’ research grew out of a business school called “the most trusted person in characteristics of great leaders—those rare men class on leadership and development. Former America.” and women who can inspire others to persevere employers who rated Columbia’s M.B.A. students The symposium was Copps’ in war, win a big one for the Gipper, or lead a on leadership effectiveness listed assertiveness idea. As one of the few FCC officials company to the top of the heap. more than any other factor as a weakness— pushing for a regulatory tightening But what makes a truly bad leader is a question about half complained of too much assertive- of the limits on ownership of that researchers have largely overlooked—that is, ness and the other half of too little. When Ames media organizations—an agenda until Daniel R. Ames, Sanford C. Bernstein associate went to the academic literature on leadership, contrary to Bush administration professor of leadership and ethics at Columbia he found scant mention of the trait. policies—he wanted to hear from Business School, decided it deserved a closer look. In Ames’ view, part of the reason may be that others in the media business, who In a series of studies Ames, working with Francis when people get assertiveness right, “it kind of are often left out of the conversa- Flynn of the Stanford Graduate School of Business, disappears, you don’t notice it, and no one talks tion, on what reforms might be asked workers for their views of colleagues’ leader- about it.” Conversely, when people get assertive- possible. ship strengths and weaknesses. ness wrong, everyone notices but no one wants Introducing the conference, The pair’s initial findings may help you in the to confront the person. University President Lee C. Bollinger, workplace. “One reason is because people typically don’t JAMES STEINBERG a leading First Amendment scholar, “The answer is not a mirror image of what get candid feedback on things like assertive- said that one of the greatest chal- makes a good leader—it’s not a lack of intelli- This artwork originally accompanied an article on Ames’ ness,” said Ames. “Who wants to tell the over- lenges facing our society today is the research published by Columbia Business School’s online gence, charisma or drive,” Ames said. “The most knowledge portal, Columbia Ideas at Work. bearing boss that he or she is a jerk?” As a result, continued on page 8 continued on page 8 www.columbia.edu/news 2 FEBRUARY 26, 2007 TheRecord RECENT SIGHTINGS MILESTONES DOUGLAS ALMOND, assistant professor in the Department of Economics and at the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), received a Fulbright grant to conduct research at the China Center for Economic Research on the effect of ambient pollu- tion on infant health in China. SUZANNE CARBOTTE, a geophysicist at the Earth Institute’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, has been named the first Bruce C. Heezen Senior Research Scientist for her pioneering work on global tectonics. Geographer and senior research scientist ROBERT S. CHEN is the new director of the Earth Institute’s Center for International Earth Science Information Network, where he has played a leading role since 1998. SUSAN FUHRMAN (TC’77) was inaugurated as the 10th president of Teachers College (TC), a Columbia affiliate, at a Jan. 31 cere- mony in Low Rotunda. Speakers included New York City Public Schools Chancellor Joel Klein (CC’67); New York State Education Commissioner RINGS ON THEIR FINGERS, Richard Mills (GSAS’67, BUS’75, TC’77); and former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services under President Clinton, Donna FOR CHAMPIONSHIP TOES Shalala. (Shalala was Fuhrman’s thesis advisor at TC.) GENE BOYERS The Institute for Operations Research and the It’s been a couple of months since Aubrey Medal (CC’07) kicked her winning goal to secure a 1-0 victory over Harvard at Ohiri Field in Management Sciences awarded PAUL GLASSERMAN, Cambridge—thereby capturing the first Ivy League women’s soccer title in Columbia history. But the spirit of celebration is still going strong. Jack R. Anderson professor of business, its 2006 Lanchester Prize for his book At a ceremony during halftime of the men’s basketball game (vs. Yale) at Levien Gym on Feb. 9, each of the 25 victorious team members Monte Carlo Methods in Financial Engineering. received her Ivy League Championship ring. Co-captains Meghan Hurlbut, Shannon Munoz and Bailey Schroeder held up the Ivy League trophy to a standing ovation from the crowd of more than 2,000. Here, team members Alana Presslaff (left) and Sophie Reiser, both CC’10, SUSAN HAMSON, curator of manuscripts and the admire the blue-stoned commemorative ring, which Reiser said she will wear every day. “I am never taking it off, except maybe when I get University Archives, has been selected to attend a higher married,”she said. But enamored as she is of the ring, she does not expect to rest on such laurels, noting that the team is “currently play- education leadership development program at the Frye ing soccer and lifting weights two to three times a week to prepare for next season.” Leadership Institute, Emory University. Starting this month, CAROL HOFFMAN will occupy the Are any of the trees on campus new position of associate provost in the office of the Provost and director of Work-Life in the office of Human Resources. For the past 10 years, Hoffman ran a work-life dedicated to the memory of program at the University of California, Berkeley. USPS 090-710 ISSN 0747-4504 Vol. 32, No. 9, February 26, 2007 Columbians? Go Ask Alice!, Columbia’s health Q&A Internet service, has received the 2007 National Association of Student Dear Alma’s Owl, Personnel Administrators (NASPA) Excellence Gold Published by the I’m curious about the provenance of MELISSA KENZIG Office of Communications Medal Award. , the program director, and Public Affairs the trees on Morningside campus. Were will represent the team at the awards ceremony in April. any of them planted in memory of famous or important Columbians? CAROL LIEBMAN, clinical professor of law, received the t: 212-854-5573 — Potential Tree Hugger first-ever “Frontline Champion” award at the Mediation f: 212-678-4817 Settlement Day held Oct. 20, 2006. The annual event Dear Lorax, was established after Sept. 11 as a way for lawyers to Columbia Record Staff contribute to the healing of New York City. As an owl, I am intimately familiar Editor: Mary-Lea Cox with all the trees on campus. Right now Graphic Designer: Scott Hug The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Staff Writer: Dan Rivero I’m particularly fond of the American Science (SEAS) appointed JOHAN FREDRIK PALM to University Photographer: Eileen Barroso elms on Lewisohn Lawn, which some- ASK ALMA’S OWL serve in the new position of assistant dean for diversity how survived the sweep of Dutch elm Contact The Record: and faculty development, based at the Earth Institute.