April 17, 2018: Cryptocurrency Investor Novogratz ’87; Johnson *72 on Narrowing the Unemployment Gap; and More

Thirty years after it was stolen from the home of Ernest “Pick” Heller ’22 and his wife, Rose, “Othello & Desdemona,” a painting by Marc Chagall, was recovered by the FBI and returned to the Hellers’ estate. Read more about the case in The Washington Post.

Michael Novogratz ’87, a former Goldman Sachs executive and the self-described “Forrest Gump of bitcoin,” is leading a group of major cryptocurrency investors, according to a recent profile. — The New Yorker

BET founder Robert Johnson *72 praised President Donald Trump’s administration for driving economic growth that has narrowed the unemployment gap between African American and white workers. — CNBC 

UCLA researchers led by Leonid Kruglyak ’87 have developed a way to speed up the analysis of changes made by the gene-editing tool CRISPR. — UPI

Law professor Janet K. Levit ’90 was named provost at the University of Tulsa. She is the first woman to hold the post. — Tulsa World

Author Todd Purdum ’82 notes that Rodgers and Hammerstein’s method of writing songs did not fit the “cinematic ideal” of sitting around a piano — the pair collaborated long distance. — Fresh Air

Former NCAA hammer-throwing champion Julia Ratcliffe ’17 earned gold in the Commonwealth Games in Queensland, Australia, representing her native New Zealand. — Stuff Sport

In a recent column, Elizabeth Hofreuter ’89, the head of school at Wheeling (W.Va.) Country Day School, wrote about the anxieties of parenting. — Wheeling News-Register 

On Variety’s “Remote Controlled” podcast, Stacy Rukeyser ’91, co-creator of the Lifetime series UnReal, discusses the reality TV storylines that inspire her show’s scripts. — Variety

The lack of regulation in the data economy is “not unlike any early stage of any industry,” says Nuala O’Connor ’89, president and CEO of the Center for Democracy and Technology. — Marketplace

Purdue University president Mitch Daniels ’71 describes how a mobile application from the college “nudges” students with tips to improve their chances of academic success. — The Washington Post