September 2010 Marshall Alumni Newsletter Reid Hoffman Updating the old boy network Editor’s Letter The Marshall alumni are an illustrious and diverse group. We’ve got lawyers, doctors, professors, writers and artists galore. Big thinkers and artful tinkerers. I’m not always familiar with the people suggested for our profiles, but internet searches quickly reveal the depth behind the names. I’m always impressed when a person has a Wikipedia entry dedicated to them alone. This time, Reid Hoffman, our cover model, is at the root of a website we’ve all heard of: LinkedIn. Ushma Savla Neill,Neill Managing Editor We’ve recently had cause to search LinkedIn and Wikipedia and Google for the rest of you – we’re looking for a professional writer to fill the role of Deputy Editor. (Northwestern, BS 1996, MS 1996, Ph.D. 1999; Our current Deputy-without-a-badge (but with his own Wikipedia entry), Lane Sherfield Postdoctoral Fellow, Imperial College Greene needs to depart the masthead to devote more time to his books and a new 1999) As a Marshall Sherfield Fellow, she studied the beat at The Economist. After quickly scanning the Marshall database for those mechanics of the vascular system at Imperial College, who listed themselves as professional writers and editors, I started looking on the London. She returned to the US in 2001, and after 2 internet for writing samples- and found so many dedicated Wikipedia pages and years as an editor at the biomedical research journal writing awards and honors that I had no idea where to start; I’m happily paralyzed Nature Medicine, she joined the Journal of Clinical by choice. So, I leave it to you – would any of you writers and editors out there be interested in joining our team? Let us know at [email protected]. Investigation as Executive Editor in March 2003. She is currently mentioned in Wikipedia, but does Ushma S. Neill, Managing Editor not have her own page. Nicholas Hartman,Hartman Contributors Special Features Editor (Pennsylvania State, BS 2003; Ph.D. Dar- win College, Cambridge) Nicholas received Robert Lane Greene,Greene Deputy Editor a PhD in Biochemistry from Cambridge. (Tulane, BA 1997; M. Phil. St. Antony’s Col- He is a Consultant with the New York City lege, Oxford 1997) After studying European office of OC&C Strategy Consultants and politics at Oxford, Lane joined The Econo- lives in Westchester. mist magazine in 2000, where he today is an international correspondent based in New York. He is also an adjunct assistant profes- P.G. Sittenfeld,Sittenfeld Class Notes Editor sor in the Center for Global Affairs at NYU. (Princeton, 2007; M. Phil. Magdalen Col- His book on the politics of language will be lege, Oxford, 2009) is the Class Notes Edi- published in Fall 2010. tor. He is the founding Assistant Director of the Community Learning Center Institute in Bryan Leach,Leach Cincinnati, Ohio. In England P.G. pursued AMS News and Events Editor one masters in American Studies and a sec- (Harvard, BA 2000; M. Phil Magdalen ond masters in creative writing. He is work- College, Oxford 2002; Yale, JD 2005) He ing to develop his creative nonfiction thesis now practices law at Bartlit Beck Herman about happiness in America to publish as a Palenchar and Scott LLP in Denver, Colo- book titled “The Happiest Person You Know.” rado. Bryan is the Director of Communica- tions of the Association of Marshall Schol- Andrew Klaber,Klaber ars, serves on the AMS Board, and chairs the Editor-at-large Communications Committee. (Yale, BA 2004; Oxford, M.Sc 2005 & MSc 2006; Harvard, JD/MBA 2010) is Editor- Suzette Brooks Masters,Masters at-large. He is in his last year of the JD/ Profiles Editor MBA program at Harvard Law School and (Amherst College, BA 1981; MA Kings Col- Harvard Business School. lege, Cambridge 1983; Harvard, JD 1986) She is a grant-maker focusing on immigra- tion issues at a foundation in NYC. Previ- Timothy Krysiek,Krysiek ously, Suzette practiced law for many years Online News Editor and worked with immigrants’ rights advo- (Mercyhurst College, BA 2005; St. An- cates in the United States. drews, MLitt 2006; St. Antony’s College, Oxford, MSc 2007) Tim is currently living in London and working as Senior Strategy Newsletter design: Lara McCarron Advisor in the International Exploration Cover photo: Dave Getzschman and Production division of Statoil. 2 News from the AMS By Bryan Leach he last few months have been eventful ones for of Managers of CERF (Cambridge Endowment for Re- the AMS. On May 10, 2010, AMS President Bill search in Finance), Chair of the Board of Trustees Cam- T Coquillette braved volcanic ash in order to attend bridge in America, Co-Chair of Cambridge 800th Anni- the farewell dinner for current Marshall Scholars, which versary capital campaign was hosted in London. Prior to the dinner, Bill sat on a Nannerl Keohane (Oxford ‘61) Rockefeller Profes- panel with John Rankin, who has responsibility for the sor of Public Affairs at Princeton, member of the Har- Americas within the FCO, on the subject of “How Mar- vard Corporation, Chair of the Overseer’s Committee shalls can contribute after they return to the US.” to Visit the Kennedy School, former President of Duke On June 5, 2010, Class Representatives Ben Carmichael University and Wellesley College (Oxford ‘08) and Emma Wu (University College London Douglas Melton (Cambridge ‘75) Cabot Professor of ‘09) organized the annual outing to Shakespeare’s Globe the Natural Sciences at Harvard, Co-Director of the Har- Theatre, where 45 Scholars enjoyed a performance of vard Stem Cell Institute Macbeth and attended a dinner sponsored by the AMS. Harrell Smith (Oxford ‘60) Retired from private law Later in the summer, the AMS formed an Advisory practice in Washington DC, Chair of the AMS 2007-2009 Board of distinguished alumni. The AMS Advisory Board has the following members: Edward Stolper (Edinburgh ‘74) Professor of Geology at Caltech and Chairman of the Division of Planetary and Graham Allison (Oxford ‘62) Dillon Professor of Geological Sciences, Provost of Caltech 2004-present Government at Harvard University, Director Belfer Cen- ter for Science and International Affairs, former Dean of Kathleen Sullivan (Oxford ‘76) Professor of Constitu- the Kennedy School of Government 1977-1989 tional Law at Stanford Law School and in private practice, former Dean of Stanford Law School 1999-2004, Profes- Anne Applebaum (Oxford ‘86) Pulitzer Prize-win- sor at Harvard Law School and former President of AMS ning author, reporter and editor, former member of the Editorial Board of the Washington Post Roger Tsien (Cambridge ‘72) Professor of Pharma- cology and Chemistry, UC San Diego, Nobel Prize for Bruce Babbitt (Durham ’60) Environmentalist, former Chemistry 2008, former Research Fellow at Gonville Governor of Arizona, Secretary of the Interior 1992-2001 and Caius College, Cambridge Stephen Breyer (Oxford ‘59) Associate Justice of the Daniel Yergin (Cambridge ‘68) Chairman of Cam- Supreme Court of the United States 1994-present, for- bridge Energy Research Associates (CERA), Pulitzer mer Professor at the Harvard Law School and the Ken- Prize – winning author, member of the Secretary of En- nedy School of Government ergy’s Advisory Board Thomas Everhart (Cambridge ‘55) Board of Trust- ees for Caltech, former President of Caltech, Chancel- Among its first orders of business, the AMS Advisory lor of the University of Illinois, pro Vice-Chancellor of Board sent a letter on July 26, 2010 to the British For- Cambridge University, former Chairman of the Secretary eign Secretary William Hague, commenting on the new of Energy’s Advisory Board and Vice Chairman of the British Government’s proposed budget cuts for all de- Council on Competitiveness partments in the range of 25-40 percent over the next four years and steep cuts for scholarship programs ad- Keith Griffin (Oxford ‘60) Emeritus professor of de- ministered by the FCO in 2010-2011. Fortunately, there velopment economics, former President of Magdalen were no cuts to the Marshall Program budget for 2010- College in Oxford, 1979-1988, Director of Queen Eliza- 2011. The letter acknowledged the gratitude all Marshall beth House Institute of Commonwealth Studies, Found- alumni felt for the past and current funding of the schol- ing Trustee of the Oxford Islamic Centre arships, underscored the many ongoing benefits of the William Janeway (Cambridge ‘65) Managing Direc- Marshall Program, and encouraged the new UK Govern- tor and Senior Adviser at Warburg Pincus in New York ment to maintain funding levels despite the harsh bud- and London, benefactor of Cambridge, member Board getary environment. 3 Reid Hoffman (Oxford ,90) 4 Scaling the Internet with Consummate Networker By Suzette Brooks Masters Silicon Valley is in Reid Hoffman’s DNA. Hoffman was While he enjoyed studying how to model content in born there, studied there (at Stanford), and migrated non-symbolic ways with Christopher Peacocke, it took back there after studying at Oxford. And in his profes- Hoffman only four months to conclude that the ivory sional business capacity, Hoffman epitomizes the Val- tower was not for him. Fortunately, he realized that ley’s energy and entrepreneurial spirit. public intellectuals could use a variety of media as their Hoffman was not one of those people who knew what jumping-off platforms. While most achieve influence by he wanted to do at an early age. What he did know is writing books and articles, why wouldn’t it be possible that he loved games, especially those that involved role- to do so by writing software or creating products? playing. They afforded him a chance to act out a life of “significance,” something young people usually don’t get Upon returning to the Bay Area in 1993, Hoffman a chance to do until much later in life.