Dec. 11, 2018: Milley ’80 Nominated to Lead Joint Chiefs; Ressa ’86 Honored by Time

On Saturday, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Milley ’80 was nominated to be the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff by President Donald Trump. Read coverage: NPR | CNN | Fox News
Milley, an ROTC cadet and varsity hockey player during his Princeton days, has returned to campus in recent years for Tiger Battalion’s ROTC Commissioning at Commencement. He also received the Woodrow Wilson Award on Alumni Day in 2016 and spoke with PAW about the future of the U.S. military during that visit.

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Time Magazine

“I’ve been a war zone correspondent, I’ve planned coverage when one side is shooting against the other side. ... That is easy compared to what we’re dealing with now.”

— Journalist Maria Ressa ’86, who has been targeted by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and turned herself in to authorities to face tax-evasion charges last week. Ressa is one of the “guardians” of the press highlighted in Time magazine’s 2018 Person of the Year feature. Read more at Time.com.

Additional stories:
• PAW profiled Ressa in May 2018
• A Dec. 9 New York Times editorial highlighted Ressa’s work
• In November, Ressa accepted a press-freedom award from the Committee to Protect Journalists

As the newly elected chair of the centrist New Democrat Coalition, Rep. Derek Kilmer ’96 says his group’s goals include “empowering people to navigate economic change, not be victims of it.” — Roll Call
 
The Rev. Phoebe Roaf *89, the next bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of West Tennessee, is the first woman and first African American to serve Memphis in that capacity. — Richmond Free Press
 
Microsoft President Brad Smith ’81 says his company’s Airband program will provide internet access to 2 million rural Americans within the next year. — Geekwire
 
In a tribute to George H.W. Bush, former New Jersey Gov. Thomas Kean ’57writes that Bush was “the best-prepared president in the nation’s history,” and that his legacy of compromise should be celebrated. — The Record
 
Former Congressman Jim Leach ’64 also reflects on President Bush’s death, saying his friend was “a natural gentleman” and “the truth was his fountain.” — KWQC
 
Former Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker ’49’s memoir describes his “practical monetarism” as a necessary response to a complex economy. — Reuters
 
Virgin Galactic CEO George Whitesides ’96 says the space-tourism firm is moving forward with ambitious flight tests despite a tragic death during a test in 2014. — CNN
 
Reports of alleged fraud by a private prep school in Louisiana come at a time when America’s “obsession with elite education is out of control,” Christine Emba ’10 writes in a recent opinion column.  — The Washington Post
 
Three of the five Musical America Awards for 2019 will go to alumni: Julia Wolfe *12, composer of the year; Carlos Miguel Prieto ’87, conductor of the year; and Anthony Roth Costanzo ’04, vocalist of the year. — Musical America
 
Dancer and choreographer Silas Riener ’06 is among five artists selected to receive a Cage-Cunningham fellowship from the Baryshnikov Arts Center in New York. — The New York Times
 
Maggie Betts ’99 will direct actress-producer Viola Davis in an upcoming biopic of Shirley Chisholm, the first black woman elected to Congress. — The Washington Post
 
Sean Gregory ’98 of Time catches up with professor and author John McPhee ’53, whose new essay collection, The Patch, spans topics from lacrosse to circus bears. — Time