THE
BROWN DAILY HERALD vol. cxlix, no. 53
Forest ecologist Nalini Nadkarni ’76 tapped to deliver Baccalaureate address next month By JILLIAN LANNEY SENIOR STAFF WRITER
inside
In honor of Brown’s 250th anniversary celebration, all nine honorary degree recipients at the May 25 Commencement ceremony will be alums, the University announced Thursday. The honorees come from a diverse range of fields and include authors, scientists and educators. Nalini Nadkarni ’76, a forest ecologist who has advocated for increased accessibility of science to the general public, will deliver the Baccalaureate address, according to a University press release. “Oh my gosh, they’ve addressed this letter to the wrong person,” Nadkarni recalled thinking upon receiving a letter from the University about four months ago informing her that she had been selected to receive an honorary doctorate of science. Later, when she was selected to give the Baccalaureate address, she was “shocked” and considered it a “big responsibility,” she said. Her talk will emphasize that graduating seniors can take a wide variety of unexpected paths. “Life isn’t a straight pathway,” she said. “Although we do have dreams and we think that we know where we want to go, it is important to be open to all the possibilities that our lives provide.” Nadkarni also serves as a professor of biology and the director of the Center for Science and Mathematics Education at the University of Utah. Lee Berk ’64, Arthur Horwich ’72 MD’65, Lois Lowry, a former member of the class of 1958, Debra Lee ’76, Mary Lou Jepsen ’87 PhD’97 and Jeffrey Eugenides ’83 will also receive honorary degrees and speak at Commencement forums May 24. U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez ’83, who has worked as a civil rights lawyer and headed the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, will receive a doctorate of laws. Perez came to College Hill last month to deliver an address focusing on issues like the minimum wage and workforce development during the opening weekend of the University’s 250th anniversary. Beatrice Coleman ’25 will be posthumously awarded a doctorate of humane letters. Coleman was one of only three black women in the class of » See HONOREES, page 3
M. HOCKEY
Former Bears take NHL ice Robertson ’14, Hathaway ’15 set to join minor league teams in pursuit of NHL careers By ANDREW FLAX
Three men’s hockey alums, Ryan Garbutt ’09, Aaron Volpatti ’10 and Harry Zolnierczyk ’11, have broken into the highest level of hockey thanks to a combination of hard work, natural talent and guidance from their Brunonian coaches. This year, defenseman Dennis Robertson ’14 will attempt to follow in their footsteps. Though Brown hockey hasn’t claimed a winning season in nearly a decade, its best and brightest have drawn on their strengths and attitudes to carve out careers playing hockey against the world’s premier competition. Whether the players reached the NHL through alternate pro leagues or entered directly, all four have drawn on similar qualities to achieve success.
FEATURE
By WING SZE HO SENIOR STAFF WRITER
COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Garbutt Garbutt, a native of Winnipeg, Manitoba, was a relatively sought-after recruit in 2005, choosing Brown over other notable programs at the University of Alaska at Anchorage, Rensselaer, Princeton and St. Lawrence. “I really enjoyed the city of Providence and the campus of Brown, and all the players on the team seemed like
Student evaluations seen as beneficial Departments use varied methods to ensure fair assessment of teaching quality and tenure review
SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Aaron Volpatti ’10 stands on the ice before the start of a Washington Capitals game. He is one of three recent alums skating in NHL rinks. great guys,” Garbutt said. “I was really impressed with the quality of people in the Brown hockey program.” Garbutt was never a prolific scorer during his time with the Bears, posting a career-high 23 points in his junior year and scoring just six goals as a senior. His tenure came at a dark time during the
program’s history, as Bruno went just 27-79-22 during his four years, a .211 winning percentage. After Garbutt’s senior year, Head Coach Roger Grillo resigned and was replaced by Brendan Whittet ’94. Garbutt has since been impressed by Whittet’s success during » See NHL, page S3
Amid the rising tide of grade inflation, some faculty members have voiced concerns that student course evaluations may incentivize professors in the tenure and promotion process to award higher grades. But others dispute that the grade a student receives affects his or her evaluation of a faculty member and cite the variety of other ways teaching quality is assessed as barriers against biases in performance evaluation. Student course evaluations partly factor into determining faculty members’ salary and their credentials for tenure and promotion, said Dean of the Faculty Kevin McLaughlin P’12. A junior faculty member may “be an easy grader, shorten class meetings and give easier coursework” to earn favorable student course evaluations and better the odds of receiving tenure, said Stephen Nelson, a higher education expert and senior scholar in the » See EVALUATIONS, page 2
Wes Anderson Q&A draws fans, cinephiles Director of ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’ skypes into IFF screening from dinner party By EMMAJEAN HOLLEY SENIOR STAFF WRITER
The tinny ring of an outgoing Skype call was just about the only noticeable sound Wednesday evening in a silent but densely packed Metcalf Auditorium. But when the face of famed film director Wes Anderson materialized on screen, the audience suddenly burst into thunderous applause. The interview, hosted by the Ivy Film Festival, followed a free screening of Anderson’s most recent film, “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” at Avon Cinema. There were a few hiccups — audio glitches made Anderson’s responses difficult to understand at times, and the interview length, initially scheduled for one hour, was cut in half because
ARTS & CULTURE
CAMILLA BRANDFIELD-HARVEY / HERALD
Film director Wes Anderson participates in a Skype Q&A with students as part of the Ivy Film Festival following a screening of his new film “The Grand Budapest Hotel.” Anderson was at a dinner party. Still, the crowd loved him. Before answering each question, Anderson paused and cocked his head to the side, gathering his thoughts while the audience waited with bated breath for his
Sports
response. Various remarks sent the audience into peals of laughter, applause or snaps. “All of us were so starstruck,” said Pia Brar ’15, an IFF programming staff member who attended the event. “He’d
Commentary
Cohan ’17: As revenue generators, student athletes deserve to be paid in college
Blasberg ’16: Boston Bruins are Stanley Cup-bound given strong goalie play and weak conference
Mills ’15: Students should use UCS to amplify their voices on University issues
Sundlee ’16: The conflict between the Baloch people and Pakistan deserves international attention
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Nine alums to receive honorary degrees
since 1891
FRIDAY, APRIL 18, 2014
say the simplest thing, and everyone would just start giggling like silly schoolgirls.” Oakley Friedberg ’17, an IFF industry staff member, reached out to » See ANDERSON, page 4 t o d ay
tomorrow
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