Landmark gift

A $100 million gift from The Thomas L. Pearson and The Pearson Family Members Foundation will establish a research institute and annual global forum devoted to the study and resolution of global conflicts. Housed at Chicago Harris, The Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts and The Pearson Global Forum will use data-driven, analytical approaches to inform better policy solutions around the world.

Legal leader

Thomas J. Miles, AM’96, PhD’00, has been appointed dean of the Law School, effective November 1. A widely published scholar of criminal justice, judicial behavior, and other contemporary legal issues, he has been on the Law School faculty since 2005 and is a recipient of the Graduating Students Award for Teaching Excellence. “The Law School is my intellectual home,” said Miles. “My scholarship is steeped in ideas that were developed here. The continuation and extension of the Law School’s leadership in legal thought and education therefore have a particular personal importance to me.”

Engineering change

Starting in Autumn Quarter 2015, the College is offering a major in molecular engineering, the first undergraduate engineering degree program in the University’s 125-year history. The major, designed and administered by the Institute for Molecular Engineering, has two tracks, one for biological, chemical, and soft materials engineering, and one for applied physics. A three-credit design course gives students the opportunity to work with a faculty member to tackle a real-world engineering challenge. The University began offering a PhD and an undergraduate minor in molecular engineering in Autumn Quarter 2014.

New trustee elected

In May Emmanuel Roman, MBA’87, CEO of London-based investment managers Man Group, began a five-year term as a University of Chicago trustee. A longtime UChicago supporter, he has served on the Chicago Booth Global Advisory Board since 2006, and a major gift from him in 2013 endowed the directorship of the Neubauer Collegium for Culture and Society. “Manny’s leadership transcends global boundaries, and we are excited to welcome him as a trustee,” said board chairman Joseph Neubauer, MBA’65.

Reappointed

Two professional school deans have been reappointed to second five-year terms: Sunil Kumar at Chicago Booth and Neil Guterman at the School of Social Service Administration. During his first term at Booth, Kumar expanded scholarship opportunities, established the Social Enterprise Initiative, moved the Executive MBA Program Asia to Hong Kong, and strengthened alumni engagement. Guterman, the Mose and Sylvia Firestone Professor at SSA, developed new social welfare and urban research initiatives, recruited new faculty, and established three international educational exchange programs.

New vice presidents

John Longbrake has been appointed vice president for communications, and Katie Callow-Wright has been named vice president and chief of staff in the Office of the President. Longbrake is responsible for developing strategic communications for academic programs, University initiatives, and institutional priorities. Callow-Wright’s responsibilities include strategic planning, analysis, and policy development, as well as management of day-to-day operations for the president.

Governing principals

University trustee Liz Thompson is the new governing board chair of the University of Chicago Charter School, effective August 20. A veteran of several nonprofit and educational organizations, Thompson will head the 21-member governing board that oversees the school’s four South Side campuses. “I’m honored to have this opportunity to help guide the progress of a school that is delivering such impressive results for its students and is so committed to ensuring that every one of them not only earns a college degree but becomes a critical thinker and leader in the process,” said Thompson.

Guiding thought

The Stevanovich Institute on the Formation of Knowledge, founded in April 2015 to support interdisciplinary inquiry into how human knowledge emerges, evolves, and affects the modern world, has named an executive director. Macol Stewart Cerda will draw on her experience from previous positions with USAID and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to help foster scholarly collaboration at the institute. “Her work will be essential to our success, and we look forward to an extremely productive partnership,” said inaugural faculty director Shadi Bartsch-Zimmer.

Pediatrics chief

Donald N. Pritzker Professor John M. Cunningham has been appointed chair of the Department of Pediatrics, effective August 1. Cunningham, who had served as interim chair since 2014, is an expert in childhood cancers and blood disorders. After joining UChicago in 2006, “he rapidly built up our pediatric cancer program,” said Biological Sciences Division dean Kenneth Polonsky, by expanding research efforts and clinical trials, recruiting new faculty, and improving community relationships.