Ridiculous Alum of the Day: Timur Galen

Timur Galen (Skyscraper Museum)

 
Timur Galen... cool name right? Coincidentally, Timur, Class of 1978, is also a really cool guy!

(Shout-out to Dylan Lazovik who gave me the idea for this post.)

After graduating from Haverford with a degree in physics (and spending a year undertaking a very prestigious Luce fellowship), Timur recieved a Masters in Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania.

Yet, Timur didn't just become any sort of run of the mill architect. Instead, he worked at such firms as Venturi & Scott Brown and Maki and Associates!!!! (For the non-Cities majors out there.... THIS IS A BIG DEAL :D). Then, he changed gears and worked as the chief Imagineer for Disney! Specifically, while Timur was at Disney, he spearheaded the renovation and expansion of the classic Disneyland theme park.

Timur when he worked at Disney (Laughingplace.com)

Of course, bringing joy to the hearts of children and designing fantastically innovative buildings did not sate Timur's thirst for a really cool career.

Timur then started to work for Goldman Sachs and is now the Global Head of Corporate Services and Real Estate! Additionally, Timur continues to give back, not only by serving on various arts and philanthropic councils in New York City, but also by giving back to Haverford through service on the Board of Managers. He also is on the Ryan Gym Renovation Committee.... so perhaps a Disneyland-like Ryan Gym is in our future?

So... in summary.... Timur Galen: Architect, Disney Imagineer, Goldman Sachs Executive... all-around badass.


For more information about Timur:
http://www.design.upenn.edu/calendar/timur-galen

Double Win!!!

Founders: The Center of the Friendly/Generous Haverford Campus (Haverford)

What an exciting week! Haverford has been named as one of the nation's "FRIENDLIEST" Colleges! It has also been recognized as having one of the top 12 financial aid policies in the country!

Also... we are the only college on both lists!!! :D :D :D :D

So in summary: if you want a friendly and generous college experience you should come to Haverford.

For more information:

Friendliest College List (Thanks to Matt da Silva for referring me to this link): http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/13/the-friendliest-colleges_n_896867.html#s307251&title=Haverford_College

Best Financial Aid List: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/college-inc/post/the-12-best-college-financial-aid-policies/2011/07/11/gIQA8RvF9H_blog.html

An era ends...

The Goodmans (NY Times)

An era ends... Oscar Goodman, Haverford Class of 1961, (as profiled in an earlier post) is retiring due to term limits, from mayor of Las Vegas. However, his wife (Carolyn Goodman, Bryn Mawr class of 1961 and ex-college consultant and private school founder) is "taking over" from Oscar at the sprightly age of 72. The dynamic between the two members of the power couple is hilarious, as evidenced by this New York Times article.

Additionally, there looks to be the possibility for future Oscar Goodman entertainment:

"He [Oscar Goodman] mentioned several possibilities for his next chapter, including a book and/or a documentary about his life, a reality show focusing on the transition from his administration to his wife's, and providing national representation for a law firm.
Goodman has long talked about opening a speakeasy bar, perhaps next to or near the Mob Museum, and on Thursday he said a downtown hotel wants to talk to him about partnering in a steakhouse.
"I understand that there's a CSI part that's being written for me which will be filmed in August," the mayor added, referring to the television show 'CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.'" -Alan Choate


Personally, I can't wait for this next chapter in Oscar Goodman's life to begin!

For more information: http://www.lvrj.com/news/oscar-goodman-readies-for-life-after-the-mayor-s-office-124462114.html

Keeping up with the Koshlands: A Saga of Epicness

The INSC (Pre-landscaping apparently)

Koshland. The name alone sounds cool, yet vaguely mysterious, like a deep-sea coral or an alien planet. Haverford students mainly know it from the Koshland Integrated Natural Sciences Center (KINSC or INSC or the "Big Science Building" depending on who you ask). Yet, what exactly  is a Koshland and how did it get its name on Haverford's largest building?

Well, the direct answer is that Koshland is the last name of the dynamic husband and wife team of Catherine P. Koshland and James M. Koshland. Both are prime representatives of our wildly successful and interesting alum base.

Catherine Koshland, Class of '72 (Haverford)

Catherine, one of the first female students at Haverford, graduated with a B.A. in Fine Arts from Haverford's Class of 1972. She then studied painting at the New York School of Drawing, Painting and Sculpture, and received her M.S. in 1978 and then... get this... got her PhD in Mechnical Engineering from Stanford University in 1985. Seriously, from fine arts to mechanical engineering! I understand the connection, but let's sit back and just reflect on how much of a badass Catherine really is for a moment.

Now that that moment has passed, let's also note that Catherine then became an acclaimed professor at UC Berkeley and is now the Vice Provost for Teaching, Learning, Academic Planning & Facilities. Finally, she is the Chairman of the Board of Managers of Haverford. Wow.

James Koshland, Class of '73 (DLA Piper)

 Her husband did pretty well too. A history major, James is a member of the Class of  1973. He then got a J.D. from Stanford Law School. He is now a partner at DLA Piper, a prestigious law firm, where he works mainly with Venture Capital. 


Finally, it is important to note that both of Daniel's parents were, like his wife, eminent scientists. Marion E. Koshland (for whom the KINSC is named after) was a prominent immunologist and Daniel Koshland was a noted biochemist.

Yet, the question still remains... how did the Koshlands, a family of academics and attorneys, make enough money to get their family name all over Haverford's campus? The answer is simple... jeans.

Personally, I'm a huge fan of the "Ex-Girlfriend Jeans" (Levi Strauss)

For you see, Daniel Koshland (and now Catherine and James) was one of the heirs to the vast Levi Strauss fortune. So essentially denim paid for the INSC.


Since the family still controls the company, this is truly something to think about the next time one buys jeans.


For more information about the RIDICULOUSLY AMAZING Koshland Family:

http://www.haverford.edu/kinsc/about/sdarticle.pdf
http://www.haverford.edu/kinsc/about/marian_koshland_bio.phphttp://www.dlapiper.com/jim_koshland/
http://erg.berkeley.edu/people/faculty/Cathy_Koshland/koshland.shtml

Ridiculous Alum of the Day: Joel Selanikio

The Face of a Winner: Joel Selanikio

Today's ridiculous alum of the day is Dr. Joel Selanikio, practicing pediatrician and CEO and co-founder of DataDyne (Shout out to Claire Perry for suggesting Joel as a topic! :D) 

After graduating from the Haverford class of 1986, Joel went to work in finance on Wall Street. Yet, making a great deal of money was apparently not fulfilling for Joel, so after a year he went to Brown Medical School and became a practicing pediatrician. Yet, saving the lives of children was still not enough for him, so he went on a 2-year fellowship with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

While at the CDC, he noticed that epidemic detection services in the developing world were horribly ineffective. He also noticed that cellphones were increasingly becoming prevalent. Logically, he created a cellphone app that helped aid workers track epidemics. This app, Episurveyor, soon became wildly successful and was soon declared to be the official software for tracking diseases by the World Health Organization (WHO). Clearly no slacker, Joel, through his non-profit Datadyne, made the app relevant beyond disease. For instance, it is now used to track election results and other governmental services prone to corruption across the world.

Joel's work has been amply recognized by the global community, as he has been named as one of the most powerful innovators by Forbes and Internet Evolution and he has won a 2009 $100,000 Lemelson-MIT Award for Sustainability and the 2009 Wall Street Journal Technology Innovation Award for Healthcare IT.

To put it simply... he is ridiculously awesome!!! :D

For more information about Joel and his organization:
 http://www.datadyne.org/
http://web.mit.edu/invent/a-winners/a-selanikio.html

Fun Fact of the Day: Room Draw Predates Consensus

Hey everyone,

Sorry, for being delinquent in posting another entry , its been a busy couple of weeks.

In honor of room draw ending this week (Housing Committee shoutout!), I just wanted to relate a quick fun fact:

Contrary to popular belief: Consensus, although always part of Quaker procedures, only appeared on Haverford's campus after a long process of evaulating the "Quaker Business Method" as it was then known.

Therefore, room draw in its current form actually predates the introduction of consensus in Haverford decision making.

More information about the introduction of consensus: http://triceratops.brynmawr.edu/dspace/handle/10066/2643

Not sure what you want to do after graduation? Become a College President!!!

Hello everyone! Today, I'm blogging from the nation's capitol... Washington D.C., where I am visiting some friends at The George Washington University.

(GWU)

In honor of my current residence in the same city as the President of the United States, I will quickly describe three of my favorite Haverford alums whose days jobs were college presidents (besides of course, Steve Emerson, who has already been profiled).

The first one is Hunter Rawlings III, Class of 1966, and President of Cornell University from 1995 to 2003.

Hunter Rawlings III (Cornell)

There are two primary reasons why I love Hunter. One, he has a badass name. Two, because under his tenure, Cornell adopted a superb program of supporting undergraduates by building more on-campus housing, centralizing the dormitories of freshmen, and otherwise making the undergraduate experience at Cornell more like a liberal arts college (such as.... Haverford ;). He also began other intelligent initiatives such as building programs in areas such as bioinformatics, materials science, and genomics. Finally, he was, and continues to be, a noted classics scholar (PhD from Princeton) and also was the President of the University of Iowa for some time.

The next exciting profile in  higher education leadership is Christoph M. Kimmich, who has a PhD in History from Oxford, is a member of Haverford's Class of 1961, and was President of Brooklyn College from 2000-2009.

Christophe M. Kimmich (Brooklyn College)

I really like Christoph for three major reasons. First, like Hunter, he has a cool name (Christoph? not Christopher... how chic). Second, he was president of the college that my dad and my uncles went to, so at a personal level I feel connected to him in two ways. Third, he has dramatically increased the quality of the education of Brooklyn College, which is great because it still represents an important pillar of college access in America. 


My final favorite president is David W. Fraser, Haverford Class of 1965, graduate of Harvard Medical School, and President of Swarthmore from 1982-1991. 

David W. Fraser (Swarthmore)

Although, I'm sure he did a lot of great things for Swat and I'm all for Tri-Co love, I really don't find helping our rival to be that cool. What I do find awesome is the fact that an expert on Toxic Shock Syndrome and Legionnaire's disease also happens to be a fabric basket designer. What a renaissance man! (Also, let's collectively note that while Swat needed a Ford to lead it, Haverford has interestingly enough never felt that a Swattie in its highest office was truly necessary ;). 


Finally, I'm going to be honest, I really just chose this topic so I could post a video of GW's current president dancing to Shots.

Enjoy!

Also, if you want more information about Hunter, Christoph, or David:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunter_R._Rawlings_III
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christoph_M._Kimmich
http://www.plan.gs/Article.do;jsessionid=802DFF6AF4D6372FA17F60369EF037AC?orgId=1045&articleId=16670

Woodside Cottage Ghost Story...

Woodside Cottage (ArtStor)

Gather around the metaphorical fireplace young ones. For tonight I have a scary story for you, first relayed to me by my wonderful HCO, Anastasia Nikolis!!!! John Whitney Pettit will do the explaining (Warning: it's a pretty tragic story)...

http://www.wirenot.net/X/Stories/Ghost/Ghost_H-I/Haverford_College.shtml 


Have fun with your 2nd floor classes English majors ;).....

Uplifting image time... WOOOOOOO!!!!! (PRWeb.com)

 For more information about Woodside Cottage: http://hcap.artstor.org/cgi-bin/library?a=d&d=p782

Ridiculous Alum of the Day: William H. Harris

For today's ridiculous alum of the day, I've decided (on the advice of a certain Claire Perry) to focus away from finance and instead look towards life-saving alums. After some quick research (aided greatly by Rilka Spieler and Josh Thorn), I found someone incredible: William H. Harris.

Harris thinking about ways to be an even bigger badass (ORS)

William (Bill) H. Harris, Haverford Class of 1949, received his MD from the University of Pennsylvania and subsequently ended up completing his residency in orthopedic surgery at the famed Massachusetts General Hospital. After this robust education, his career really took off. 

To summarize, Harris pioneered pretty much everything having to do with hip surgery. Also, by everything... I really mean EVERYTHING. 

According to the Orthopedic Research Society (which gives out an award in Harris' honor):

"The contributions of William H. Harris, MD, to hip replacement are vast and range from the identification of the nature of osteolysis to the development of surgical techniques and implants. He invented the cement gun which replaced finger packing and improved cementing technique. He designed the first modular metal-backed acetabular component, which gave surgeons the ability to replace the polyethylene liner without having to remove the entire component."

Sounds impressive right? Well, that is just the first of four paragraphs detailing Harris' amazingness. In addition to his lengthy list of surgical accomplishments, Harris has published over 400 scientific publications and three textbooks relating to orthopedic surgery and arthritis and won the most prestigious awards in his field multiple times... each. Seriously... wow. 

Finally, Harris' accomplishments were so profound that Haverford actually named the Harris Wing in the INSC after him, in addition to having him as a longtime member of our Board of Managers. Cool!  

Harris and his wife (in the center) celebrating the opening of the Koshland Integrated Natural Sciences Center with their family (Haverford)

Also, on a personal note, I actually met Dr. Harris at a Board of Managers student lunch! It was exciting!

For more information about William H. Harris:

http://www.ors.org/awards_harris.html

http://www.haverford.edu/news/stories/23281/51

The Story of the New Dorms...

A model of one of the new dorms (Haverford)

Gather around for I will be telling a fun tale! The story of the NEW DORMS!!! (well, specifically how they are being funded)

Most of us know the basics: wealthy alum donates money... Haverford constructs shiny new buildings... shiny new buildings are emphasized on campus tours... etc.

Yet, what is the real story? Where did these millions come from? Arms Deals? Blood Diamonds? Drug Trafficking?

Well, that last one is actually half-right. This is because the major gift for the construction of the Tritton dorm (named for Tom Tritton the president preceding Emerson) came from the family foundation of Steve Jaharis, Class of '82.
Jaharis is a family medical practitioner in Illinois. "Wait!" you might say, "How did a simple general practitioner get $10 million?" Well, the foundation is mainly funded by Michael Jaharis, Steve's dad and founder of several successful pharmaceutical companies, who is currently worth $1.9 billion. So, essentially yes drugs=Tritton.

Michael Kim's $7.5 million for his dorm, which will be named Kim, came from a common source for many large grants of money from Haverford alums, namely the exciting world of finance! Kim, Class of '85, Harvard Business School graduate, and Fulbright scholar, founded one of the largest private equity groups in South Korea, MBK Partners. Pretty cool. So, Kim=Private Equity.

To summarize: Rich Haverford alums... like all of our alumni... ROCK!!!

Ca$h Money (Bankaholic.com)

For more information about Michael Kim or the Kim dorm:
http://www.mbkpartnerslp.com/test/team.asp?tar=sub_michael
http://www.haverford.edu/news/stories/43081/51

For more information about the Jaharis family or the Tritton dorm:
http://www.haverford.edu/news/stories/30861/51
http://www.forbes.com/lists/2010/10/billionaires-2010_Michael-Jaharis_5YGH.html

Ridiculous Alum of the Day: John C. Whitehead

We all know the Whitehead Campus Center... however have you ever wondered about the life story of the guy who it was named after? Well, John C. Whitehead has had a pretty awesome life so far.

The Ever Suave John C. Whitehead

To briefly summarize:

• Haverford Class of 1943, Harvard Business School Class of 1947 (Fun fact: he was first appointed as a professor at Harvard... and then he got his MBA... badass)
• Served in the US Navy where commanded 54 men ... at 21 years of age (liberal arts education?)
• Rose up the ranks at Goldman Sachs to become the Co-Chairman and Co-Senior Partner
• Served as the United States Deputy Secretary of State during the Ronald Reagan administration.
• Former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, United Nations Association, and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation 
• Head of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation after 9/11
• Won a massive amount of awards for serving his country     including the Presidential Citizens Medal and many honorary doctorates 

So... in short: He ran the biggest and most important investment bank in the world, played a key role in 80s foreign policy, and led Ground Zero reconstruction efforts among other things. Wow.

An older... but still suave John C. Whitehead

For more about John C. Whitehead:

Wikipedia Page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_C._Whitehead

Harvard Business School Profile: http://www.hbs.edu/entrepreneurs/pdf/johnwhitehead.pdf

Fun Fact of the Day: Haverford Rocks at Creating Physician-Scientists

 "Haverford has long been a powerhouse of physician-scientist training. Per capita, the College is tied with Harvard and Stanford for the number of MD-PhD and DVM-PhD students it trains—the highest ratio in the country." -Haverford College News Room

I don't think much commentary is really needed: statistically, Haverford is the best at creating physician-scientists out of every single college or university in America. You know... the type of physician-scientists that the country has a shortage in and are critical in curing diseases.

For more details about Haverford's awesomeness: http://www.haverford.edu/news/stories/46541/51

Steve Emerson... MD/PHD... noted stem cell biologist... and Haverford class of 1974 (Haverford)

Fun Fact of the Day: Henry S. Drinker

 Drinker House

We all know (and love?) Drinker House, the traditional home of the Haverford Baseball team, and a major social gathering spot on select Saturday nights. Drinker is also known for hosting "First Drinker," the traditional party that marks the beginning of the school year (and end of Customs dry week). Yet, have you ever wondered where the name "Drinker" came from?
 

The esteemed Henry S. Drinker

Well, it's a pretty cool story actually. Drinker was named after Henry S. Drinker, who was a member of Haverford's class of 1900 and a prominent Philadelphia attorney (the firm he founded, Drinker Biddle, is still thriving today). Drinker was also a prominent musicologist.

Here is when the story gets crazy:

"When war once again engulfed Europe in the first half of the 20th century, Henry Drinker’s love of choral music earned him a [part] in the well-known story of the Trapp family. In October 1939, family patriarch Georg von Trapp asked Henry Drinker to intervene when the family was detained at Ellis Island with visa problems. Their Philadelphia lawyer and benefactor would repeatedly come to their rescue during the war years." -Drinker Biddle 

So, Drinker essentially helped rescue the von Trapp family. Truly something intriguing to ponder the next time one is partying in Drinker (or watching The Sound of Music).

For more information about Drinker: http://www.drinkerbiddle.com/about/history/#Henry%20S.%20Drinker

Fun Fact of the Day: Oscar Goodman

  

Oscar Goodman with a few friends (LA Times)

"AS MAYOR of Las Vegas for almost 12 years, Oscar Goodman has made it his mission to personify what he calls this “adult playland” in the desert. He prances through the casinos with scantily clad showgirls draped on each arm (although he is happily married). He claims to drink a bottle of gin every night (but “never before 5pm”). In his office he sits on a carved throne and gives visitors a symbolic gambling chip that depicts him, with his trademark Martini glass, as “the happiest mayor of the greatest city in the world”." -The Economist


Oscar Goodman is clearly a BAMF (even more so than a normal mayor of the city of sin). However, Fun Fact, he is also a Haverford alum, class of 1961!  Personally, I think he deserves at least one honorary doctorate. Imagine his speech!

Read about how Goodman displays Quaker values: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_Goodman#.22They_should_break_her_legs.22

Read more about Oscar and his city: http://www.economist.com/node/17800101?story_id=17800101&CFID=155197796&CFTOKEN=40752758

  I'm not sure JSAAP would approve... (ArtBrokerage.com)

Introduction...

Hello Everyone!

People (primarily the other Ben on Gummere 1/3, the illustrious Ben Weissman) have been telling me to start a blog to record and distribute all the random information that I find about Haverford. So I have.

With my first post, I just want to make something very clear. Haverford is a truly amazing place. I'm having a stupendous freshman year and I can't speak highly enough of the Customs Program, the Honor Code, our wonderful professors and administrators, and my fellow Fords, all of which have made these past few months incredible. A special shout is due to Gummere 1/3, also known as the best hall at the best college ever! (Don't you love Quaker modesty?)

Enjoy,
Ben