A new physical sciences dean, reviewing the response to hospital protests, global leadership, and using data to solve social problems.
Kolb’s appointment in the stars
Astrophysicist Edward “Rocky” Kolb has been appointed dean of the Physical Sciences Division, effective July 1. Kolb, the Arthur Holly Compton distinguished service professor of astronomy and astrophysics and the College, serves on the boards of the Giant Magellan Telescope and the Adler Planetarium. An elected advisory committee of division faculty recommended Kolb. He succeeds Robert A. Fefferman, the Max Mason distinguished service professor of mathematics, who will return to the faculty full time.
Two University police employees were placed on administrative leave after an on-duty detective posed as a protester during a February 23 rally calling for an adult trauma unit at the medical center. In an e-mail to the campus community, President Robert J. Zimmer and Provost Thomas F. Rosenbaum called the action “totally antithetical to our values” and “deeply problematic for discourse and mutual respect on campus.” The University retained Patricia Brown Holmes, a partner in the Chicago law firm Schiff Hardin LLP, to conduct an independent review of the campus police and administrative responses to the February 23 protest, as well as to a January 27 demonstration at the Center for Care and Discovery, where four protesters were arrested.
Ian H. Solomon, the United States executive director of the World Bank Group, joins the University June 1 as vice president for global engagement. Solomon will oversee international programs and partnerships, overseas centers and campuses, research collaborations, and global education opportunities for students. A senior adviser to Treasury secretary Timothy Geithner and a legislative counsel to then senator Barack Obama before going to the World Bank in 2010, Solomon also will help coordinate international student applications and financial aid, support for scholars abroad, and international alumni relations.
A collaboration of five US universities and the Marshall Space Flight Center, led by UChicago astrophysicist Angela Olinto, has received $4.4 million from NASA to build a telescope for the International Space Station. Called the Extreme Universe Space Observatory, the 2.5-meter ultraviolet telescope is to be completed in 2017. Thirteen countries will help build the telescope, which will search for the unknown source of ultra high-energy cosmic rays, the universe’s most energetic particles.
The University announced a 4 percent increase in the cost of undergraduate education for 2013–14 and a 5.1 percent increase in the financial aid budget. Total cost for the next academic year will be $60,039, with about 60 percent of students receiving need- or merit-based aid from a budget of $104 million—more than double the figure of a decade ago.
On March 15 John W. Boyer, AM’69, PhD’75, dean of the College, pushed “send” on the final notices to applicants in a record year. The acceptance rate fell to an all-time low of 8.8 percent after the College drew a record 30,369 applications. About 1,400 students are expected to enroll from among 2,676 who received offers of admission. The admitted class includes 117 students from Chicago, who could benefit from the new UChicago Promise initiative, which replaces loans with grants for admitted students from the city.
Modeled after the College’s Uncommon Fund, the new Graduate Student Innovation Grant has chosen seven projects for up to $5,000 in funding. Recipients include the Chicago Art Journal, a student-run art history publication; forums on US-China relations and issues affecting students with disabilities; a retreat on work-life balance; and a graphic design workshop.
Rayid Ghani, chief scientist for the Obama presidential campaign’s data analytics team, has joined the University to apply his expertise to the task of solving complex social problems. As chief data scientist for the Computation Institute’s Urban Center for Computation and Data, Ghani’s role includes building models to simulate the impact of policy decisions and urban development. He will also work with the Harris School of Public Policy to launch a master’s degree program in data-driven policy making and to establish a conference on urban technology innovation.
Michele A. Rasmussen has been appointed dean of students in the University, effective July 8. Rasmussen, dean of the undergraduate college at Bryn Mawr, will oversee a dozen programs and services and a staff of about 90, reporting to Karen Warren Coleman, vice president for campus life and student services. A biological anthropologist, Rasmussen previously served as director of Duke University’s academic advising and as dean of its undergraduate liberal arts college.
A social and professional network
A new alumni directory launched April 1, incorporating the functions of the former Alumni Careers Network to combine professional and social networking in one place. Part of the UChicago Community Online, the directory will also be available to current students, allowing them to connect with alumni.