JOHN HARVARD'S JOURNAL Deploying it in Myanmar took exacting design to effect gravity-fed distribution of the water, given the pervasive absence of power. Getting it adopted is in some ways even more challenging: in many farmers’ eyes, the costly system ($36 per quarter- acre) seemingly cannot deliver enough water to work, especially compared to twice-daily soakings from a sprinkling can or hose. As U Myat Thein talks, U Win Hlaing picks up one of the connector tubes from a bucket, turns it over in his hand, eyes the tiny opening, and then puts it up to his mouth. He blows through the tube, feels the air come out into his open palm, gives it another thorough looking-over, and then gently places it back in the bucket. Thus does technology transfer proceed: come next season, Proximity can likely log another sale, and another farm family’s in- come increased, in Kungyangon township. U Myat Thein, an entrepreneurial early village sales agent for Proximity products, vjohn s. rosenberg adopter of new agricultural technologies, says the corn crop brings in more income raises corn using Proximity Designs’ low-cost, gravity-fed drip-irrigation lines. than 10 acres of rice. For more information, see www.proximi- The returns have justified, and been en- tydesigns.org. The Ash Center’s Myanmar opted the technique are enthusiastic. A abled by, Proximity’s newest product, drip program is described at www.ash.harvard. walk through the modest village passes irrigation: hoses that run down each crop edu/Home/Programs/Institute-for-Asia/ carts full of peanuts awaiting hand-pick- row, delivering water through tiny tubes Myanmar-Program. The “research” link ing from the attached plants. If the rain- to the roots of each plant. Unlike the foot- there provides access to all of the papers fall is plentiful and well-timed, says one powered pumps and water baskets, this is published by the scholars who have exam- farmer, U Pawka, he can harvest 50 large the state-of-the-art technology for hot-cli- ined the country’s economy, agriculture, baskets of peanuts in the shell from an mate agriculture in the developed world. governance, and policy matters. enriched acre—twice the yield from tra- ditional cultivation. Sold for 700 kyats per basket in the market town, 10 miles dis- Fiscal Portrait sources increased 17 percent. tant, a successful crop brings in about $35 Harvard’s spending in fiscal 2013 was per acre. Landowning The university’s annual financial report driven by costs other than salaries, wages, families’ parcels average for fiscal year 2013 (ended last June 30), and employee benefits—in contrast to the Visit www.harvardmag. eight to 10 acres; per- published in November, reveals a nearly 5 prior year (see “Sober Finances,” January- com/extras to see haps 10 households till percent growth in operating revenue, to February 2013, page 47). Compensation additional photographs larger plots. But most just more than $4.21 billion; a greater in- costs, which continue to account for about from Myanmar. households are land- crease in expenses—up 6 percent, to $4.25 half of operating expense, rose 4 percent, less—explaining the migration of many billion; and, therefore, a wider deficit of $34 with salaries and wages up 4 percent. Em- families to more promising parts of the million (compared to a negligible deficit in ployee benefits rose 6 percent—in line country, and to Thailand and Malaysia. fiscal 2012). with the growth in fiscal 2012 after ac- And far to the south, where Ayeyar- The nearly $200-million gain in revenue counting for a one-time adjustment. waddy delta rice paddies suddenly seem to principally reflects a larger distribution But non-compensation expense in- provide a lush life compared to the harsh from the endowment ($77 million), in- creased 7 percent, including costs for a constraints of the Dry Zone, Proxim- creased giving for current use ($49 mil- number of “strategic initiatives” listed in ity Designs’ business of boosting incomes, lion, presumably reflecting the gathering the report: the edX online collaboration, farmer by farmer, also continues apace. U force of The Harvard Campaign), and development of Allston properties, and Win Hlaing accompanies visitors as they higher tuition income ($29 million, pri- the capital campaign itself. Some one-time walk from his precise rows of eggplants marily from graduate- and profession- items apparently increased these expens- and greens to U Myat Thein’s one-acre al-degree programs). Total funding for es, which were, however, also decreased by cornfield. As he shows his tube well and sponsored research rose 1 percent, to $845 $19 million compared to fiscal 2012, reflect- generator (and as ears of corn cook inside million, as federal monies (77 percent ing lower interest expense as Harvard’s his home for his guests), U Myat Thein, a of the total) shrank 2 percent and other debt has been reduced from $6.3 billion to 28 January - February 2014 Reprinted from Harvard Magazine. For more information, contact Harvard Magazine, Inc. at 617-495-5746 Nobelists up to $120,000); it reduced that zero-cost In October, Richards professor of ceiling to $60,000 this academic year (and chemistry emeritus Martin Karplus Brevia raised the loan amount to $5,000 for fami- ’51 shared the Nobel Prize in chemis- lies with incomes from $75,000 to $120,000). try for developing models of large mol- The University of Virginia has trimmed ecules, like proteins; for a report on the its Access UVa program, begun science involved, see in 2004, which provided full http://harvardmagazine. scholarships for students from com/2013/10/karplus. families with incomes up to And alumnus James E. $47,000. The cost has risen from Rothman, Ph.D. ’76, now $11.5 million to $40.2 million Wallace professor of bio- through 2012, so the university medical sciences at Yale, has now phased in a loan com- where he chairs the de- ponent: up to $28,000 during a partment of cell biology student’s four years. and is founding director of a nanobiology insti- Nine-figure Fundraising tute, shared the Nobel Even as Harvard sets a record Prize in Physiology or campaign goal, other schools Medicine. His research continue to pursue and receive is described at http://harvard- large gifts. The University of magazine.com/2013/10/roth- Michigan announced a $4-bil- man. THE lion fund drive, the largest by a CORPORAtiON public institution. Real-estate developer Rhodes Sextet, Solo Marshall RecONfiguRED: Stephen M. Ross, who owns the Miami Five seniors and a recent gradu- The two longest- Dolphins, gave Michigan, his alma mater, serving members of ate have won Rhodes Schol- the Harvard $200 million for the business school and arships for study at Oxford Corporation, the athletics, raising his total gifts to $313 mil- University this fall. The under- University’s senior lion; he chairs the campaign.…New York governing board, graduates are Elizabeth H. By- have announced University launched an effort to raise $1 rne, a concentrator in human that they will billion for financial aid.…Phil Knight, co- developmental and regenerative biology; conclude their service at the end of the founder and chairman of Nike, Inc.—an UBIN R . academic year. Both Robert D. E Alexander J. Diaz (psychology); Aurora alumnus of the University of Oregon and Reischauer ’63 (top left), senior fellow C. Griffin (classics); Andrew S. Lea (his- since mid 2010, and Robert E. Rubin Stanford Graduate School of Business OBERT R tory and science); and Paolo P. Singer ’60, LL.D. ’01 (bottom left), were (whose new campus was funded with (economics). Katherine E. Warren ’13 elected in 2002. Their departures his naming gift)—and Penny Knight of- represent the final step in implement- concentrated in anthropology. Harvard’s ing the governance reforms initiated in fered a $500-million challenge to Oregon newest Marshall Scholar, Brandon Liu 2009, as term limits—the presumption Health and Science University, to stimu- ’14 (computer science), will attend the that fellows would serve one or two late cancer-research funding, bringing School of Oriental and African Studies in six-year terms—were adopted. their support for OHSU to $725 million.… Attorney William F. Lee ’72 succeeds London and Cambridge University. Reischauer as senior fellow. For a full Weill Cornell Medical College received report, see http://harvardmagazine. a campaign-kickoff gift of $100 million Duke Derivative? com/2013/10/step-down. from Sanford I. Weill and Joan Weill; Organized efforts to market the Harvard their gifts to the college and university men’s basketball team to student fans queue for games, named after Coach K.), total more than $600 million.…Former (preseason participatory “Crimson mad- is a knock-off Amaker’s Army next? Boston developer and owner of the Los ness” events at Lavietes, for example) Angeles Dodgers Frank McCourt gave Financial-aid Fallout ELL/HARVARD PUBLIC AFFAIRS AND COMMUNICATIONS COURTESY (2); OF have now spawned “Crimson Crazies” Georgetown, his alma mater, $100 million H T shirts—derivative, surely, of Duke’s As The Harvard Campaign pursues $1 bil- to create a public-policy school.…Credit- celebrated “Cameron Crazies,” named lion or more to undergird financial aid, card executive T. Denny Sanford gave the ANIE MITC H for that team’s storied arena. Harvard budget pressures are forcing other insti- University of California at San Diego coach Tommy Amaker played for and tutions to cut back on pre-recession aid $100 million for stem-cell research, atop was assistant and associate head coach commitments. Cornell from 2009 through an earlier $30-million gift. of the Blue Devils, so he knows his cra- 2012 charged parents nothing where family zies.