Media bytes

Media bytes President Lee Higdon was the subject of an essay, “Back to College After All,” in The New York Times’ “The Boss” feature on Aug. 27. In it, he spoke about his childhood, saving his son from a snake and his career in business and academia. Higdon said, “In the mission-oriented environment of academia, you’re dealing with people who feel passionate about teaching and learning, and who are educating the next generation of leaders.”

The Aug. 23 issue of The Hartford Courant included a story on Bradley Gann ’83 who wrote the sports movie “Invincible” currently in theaters. “I think in these times when things are so uncertain people like these kinds of movies because they want to feel good about something,” he said.

Lee Eisenberg ’99, a writer for the NBC sitcom, “The Office,” which won an Emmy for outstanding comedy series this year, was profiled in The Needham(Mass.) Times on Sept. 7. “You take every single job experience you’ve ever had, any time someone tried to make something funny at work that wasn’t meant to be, every uncomfortable moment, and put it in the script,” said Eisenberg, a Needham native.

An article on college rankings in the Aug. 28 issue of The Day included comments by Martha Merrill ’84, dean of admission and financial aid. She said, “It’s one measure that some people do hang their hat on, although less so for the students than the parents, I think, who seemed more concerned with prestige.”

Elise Allen ’93 was interviewed on the Comcast Sports Network in Philadelphia on Aug. 7 about her new book “The Traveling Marathoner: A Complete Guide to Top U.S. Races and Sightseeing on the Run.” She said, “You burn about 2,620 calories in a marathon. You deserve to eat whatever you want afterwards, and I want to eat really, really good stuff. So I want to know what the best thing is, and where to go after the race.”

A Web site created by Marc Zimmer, Barbara Zaccheo Kohn ’72 Professor of Chemistry, is featured in “NetWatch” section of the Aug. 18 issue of Science. “To learn why biologists are all aglow about a luminous jellyfish molecule called green fluorescent protein (GFP), check out this brief primer,” the article read. It gave Zimmer’s URL.

Deac Etherington ’79 was featured in the Aug. 31 issue of the Arizona Daily Star for becoming the new head of school at Green Fields Country Day School in Tucson, Ariz. Recalling a teacher who made a difference in his high school education, Etherington said, “I never thought I had a gift. He gave me a seed of confidence.”

Frank DePino ’95 was profiled Aug. 20 by the New Haven Register in a weekly series on young professionals. He launched his own graphic design business, mediaBOOM, in 2003. “I decided it was time for me to go off on my own,” he said. “I’ve always had the entrepreneurial spirit.”

Charles Chu, professor emeritus of Chinese, and his wife, Bettie, were featured in a story headlined, “City Living: New condo owners find a lot to like about downtown New London,” which appeared in The Day on Aug. 20. The Chus live at Shaw’s Landing on Bank Street. “I don’t miss much about the old house [on Williams Street],” said Bettie Chu. “Charles misses the yard, but otherwise, we’re very happy here.”

Stuart Vyse, professor of psychology, was quoted in an Aug. 15 column in The Wall Street Journal, “Crazy Morning Rites Help Some Get Primed for a Day in the Office.” “Coaches often create a pregame ritual to create a mantra-like sense of focus and keep out competing thoughts,” Vyse said. “If you felt like everything was smooth, chances are there’d be much less motivation to do it.”

The Edina (Minn.) Sun Current reported that Leah Bower ’04 is the first female firefighter to join the department in Edina, Minn. on Aug. 2. “I’m learning slowly and I’m getting more comfortable. The people have been great and they take a lot of time to teach you things.”

Author Olga Karman ’66 was featured in The Buffalo News on Aug. 2 for her book “Scatter My Ashes Over Havana,” a memoir. “This is a story for the heart, it is a lived story,” said Karman. “It’s not about ideas — it’s about what I saw.”

The July 16 issue of the Boston Globe featured a story on “The Bombay Project,” a film by David Kahn ’06. “Writing the script long distance wasn’t too hard,” Kahn said. There was “lots of e-mailing back and forth with different revisions and frequent phone calls.” For more on the movie, go to www.bombayprojectmovie.com.