Feb. 4, 2020: Decker ’03’s Film Debuts at Sundance; Jordan ’81 Plays Jimi

Director Josephine Decker ’03, second from right, poses with, from left, actors Michael Stuhlbarg and Logan Lerman and actress/producer Elisabeth Moss at the Sundance Film Festival premiere of Shirley, Decker’s latest release. A biography of the author Shirley Jackson, the film focuses on themes of codependency and womanhood. Read more in the Los Angeles Times.

A new show by renowned guitarist Stanley Jordan ’81 is a tribute to Jimi Hendrix, infused with Jordan’s signature jazz style. — The Mercury News
 
Washington State Supreme Court Justice Charles Wiggins ’69 is retiring after a decade on the court. — The Seattle Times
 
A new book by Lydia Denworth ’88 explores the science and meaningfulness of friendship, not only for humans but for other animals. — The New York Times
 
Lance Collins ’81, Cornell’s dean of engineering, will become executive director of Virginia Tech’s new Innovation Campus in Alexandria, Va. — The Washington Post   

Trump impeachment-team lawyer Robert Ray ’82 appeared on Fox News to express confidence in the defense’s case after the close of opening arguments. — Fox News

“There’s more and more evidence that having health insurance really does improve people’s health, and medications are one of the key parts of that ...”

— Ben Sommers ’00, a Harvard health economist and primary-care physician, on the importance of affordable prescription-drug plans. Listen to the full story from NPR’s Morning Edition.

An op-ed co-authored by Georgetown law professor Joshua Geltzer ’05 during the opening days of Trump’s impeachment trial argued that Chief Justice John Roberts could and should call witnesses. — The New York Times
 
Epidemiologist Celine Gounder ’97, a clinical assistant professor at New York University, discussed China’s response to the new coronavirus in a recent TV interview. — Bloomberg
 
Yusuf Dahl *17 is leading development of the Real Estate Lab, a cooperative program in Allentown, Pa., that will to train local residents to invest in and manage real estate.  — The Morning Call
 
Sophie Glenn Lau ’92 will be the next head of Lincoln School, an independent all-girls school in Providence, R.I., which she attended as a student. — Providence Journal
 
Former NFL running back Hank Bjorklund ’72 says creating poetry and music has helped him “deal with the uncertainties” of a life-threatening auto-immune disease. — News 12 Long Island