T U E S D A Y APRIL 6, 2004
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Volume CXXXIX, No. 42
An independent newspaper serving the Brown community since 1891
www.browndailyherald.com
Dean for Campus Life Jablonski finalist for UNC position
Administrators announce increased support for medical school, biological sciences
BY JONATHAN ELLIS
BY JUSTIN ELLIOTT
Dean for Campus Life Margaret Jablonski is one of four finalists for the position of vice chancellor for student affairs at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, according to the chair of the UNC search committee. “We think Dean Jablonski is an outstanding candidate for the position, and we’re delighted that she applied,” said Steven Matson, professor and chairman of the UNC Department of Biology. Jablonski told The Herald a search firm hired by UNC initially contacted her about the job. “I wasn’t looking to leave Brown University,” she said. “But I should explore this opportunity at an elite public university.” The search committee brought in the firm, Highbridge Associates, to directly contact qualified individuals after an initial advertising-based search failed, Matson said. The UNC chancellor and provost — the final decisionmakers — “weren’t willing to offer the position to any of the candidates identified in the first search,” Matson said. The second search culled four finalists from a field of over 90 applicants, the Daily Tar Heel, UNC’s student newspaper, reported Thursday. The finalists will all visit the Chapel Hill campus later this month, Matson said. Jablonski said she is still scheduling her trip. According to the job posting on its Web site, UNC “encourages … applications from women, minorities, and persons with disabilities.” Jablonski is the only woman among the finalists. The posting also seeks applicants with a
The University will spend $475 million over the next 10 years to improve and expand the Division of Biology and Medicine, in particular the Medical School’s relationship with local hospitals, which will contribute $7.5 million over five years, administrators announced Monday. The hospitals’ contributions will be combined with $5 million from the University in a new discretionary fund for academic purposes for the newly created position of dean of medical and biological sciences, according to Provost Robert Zimmer. President Ruth Simmons said she expected a new agreement with Brownaffiliated hospitals, which include the V.A. Medical Center and Memorial Hospital, to create more formalized relationships. “We can’t rely on a loosely constructed arrangement,” she said. Part of the $475 million allocated to the Division of Biology and Medicine will be spent on 40 academic appointments and new construction projects, including the Life Sciences building and the Ship Street research facility.
Paul Levande / Herald
Daniel Brody ‘04, a WBRU DJ, will no longer have to worry about competing with FNX.
WBRU triumphs over alt-rock competitor FNX BY JUSTIN ELLIOTT
About three years ago, WBRU-FM staff members found cause for concern when they learned their station would have some new competition. With rival 103.7 FNX playing a mix of alternative music similar to WBRU’s lineup, “there were definitely times when we were unsure where we were going to be at the end of the day,” said WBRU General Manager Brandon Gordon ’05. But when staff members at WBRU-FM learned last month that FNX would soon become a sports station, a celebration was in order. Beginning May 1, when FNX goes off the air, WBRU, the University’s independent, student-run radio station, will be the only alternative rock station in Providence. The frequency’s new owners will shut down FNX, which mounted a three-year head-on challenge to WBRU, and simulcast WEEI Boston Sports Radio. Bradley Mindich, executive vice presi-
see JABLONSKI, page 5
dent of FNX’s parent company, downplayed the significance of competition in Providence. “Obviously any competitors need to be looked at,” he said, but he placed blame for FNX’s failure primarily on a bad economy. But WBRU Program Director Seth Resler ’99 had a different view, citing ratings data from last summer. In a survey of male listeners between 18 and 34 years old, 56 percent of those who said FNX was their favorite station named WBRU as their second favorite. This indicates that FNX and WBRU were in competition for both listeners and advertising revenues, Resler said. Resler said that FNX was a well-funded, well-oiled competitor with a strong signal and a media conglomerate behind it. But now, both Gordon and Resler said see WBRU, page 4
When Mikhail Shapiro ’04 arrived at Brown as a first-year in 1999, he planned to major in philosophy, telling himself he would never take another math or science class. Five years later, he is graduating with a Sc.B. in neuroscience; next year, he plans to pursue a Ph.D. in bioengineering at Brown, Northwestern University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology or the California Institute of Technology. Shapiro said he has not yet decided which school he will attend, but one thing is certain: Tuition will not be an issue. Shapiro has been named a 2004 Paul and Daisy Soros Fellow. The award, available to students who are immigrants or children of immigrants and are working towards a Ph.D. in any field, covers half of the cost of graduate school and
provides a $20,000 stipend. Shapiro also received a Hertz fellowship, awarded to students who have made significant contributions to science and technology. That award provides tuition, is renewable and pays a yearly $25,000 stipend. Shapiro said he is currently working on the development of tools to more precisely record the activity of neurons in the brain. His main field of study is human consciousness, an interest he developed when he took a leave of absence after his freshman year to run an Internet startup company with a friend. Although the business failed, Shapiro used the year off to gain a better perspective on his academic interests. It was at that point, Shapiro said, that he decided he wanted to study the science of consciousness. “People have been philosophizing
Vanessa Lipschitz ’04 and Katy Love ’04 take issue with the Career Development Center column, page 7
BY STEPHANIE CLARK
about consciousness for hundreds of years, but it’s difficult to study scientifically because the patterns of consciousness in the brain are so subtle,” Shapiro said. After returning to school and using his business savvy to help found Cyberkinetics Inc., a company devoted to brain research created by scientists at Brown, Shapiro said he found himself becoming “more and more sucked into science.” When Cyberkinetics hired a chief executive officer in 2002, Shapiro left the company to work with Engineering Professor Arto Nurmikko. At that point, he began developing new technologies to investigate neural systems. According to Shapiro, no tools cursee SHAPIRO, page 4
see PERDOMO, page 5
W E AT H E R F O R E C A S T
I N S I D E T U E S D AY, A P R I L 6 , 2 0 0 4 Fox Point communityservice opportunity draws too many volunteers metro, page 3
Puerto Rican Heritage Week speakers say open communities are strongest The theme of this year’s Puerto Rican Heritage Week, “Siempre Pa’lante,” or “Moving Forward,” accurately characterizes the way author and poet Willie Perdomo feels about his poetry, he said. Perdomo, the keynote speaker at Puerto Rican Heritage Week’s Monday evening convocation, read poems that related to some of the other themes mentioned throughout the evening. “When I write ... it’s always moving forward. There’s perpetual movement,” Perdomo said. Two of the poems read mirrored this theme in a more physical way. The first poem of the evening was set on a commuter train out of New York City and was quick-paced, energetic and frenzied. The last poem he read took place on the same train, seven years later, and was much more slowly paced and reflective, although still moving. Perdomo said of the poem, “Sometimes you have to take one step back to move a couple steps forward.” Perdomo also talked about issues of identity and discrimination. One poem discussed the common misconception
Shapiro ’04 wins fellowships, excels at science and entrepreneurship BY SARAH LABRIE
see MED SCHOOL, page 4
A gay state rep made a courageous move and came out, according to Peter Ian Asen ’04 column, page 7
W. crew pulls through challenging conditions to defeat Radcliffe, the national champs. sports, page 8
After beating Loyola, m. lacrosse falls to Syracuse, drops down in rankings sports, page 8
TUESDAY
windy high 50 low 34
WEDNESDAY
cloudy high 52 low 34