May 4: Surgeon Cato T. Laurencin ’80 Trailblazes to Academies

Dr. Cato T. Laurencin ’80 became the first surgeon elected to the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Medicine, the National Academy of Sciences, and the National Academy of Inventors. — UConn Health
 
Pianist and music producer Donna Weng Friedman ’80 is releasing an album in response to recent violence against Asian Americans, with proceeds donated to the Korean American Community Foundation. — Broadway World
 
University of Chicago economist James J. Heckman *71 says the Danish social programs American progressives hope to emulate haven’t fixed inequality in child outcomes in Denmark. — Promarket
 
Chinese American activist and author Helen Zia ’73 said schools don’t teach enough Asian-American history, and detailed the 1982 killing of Vincent Chin as one example. — Time
 
Lolita Buckner Inniss ’83 is leaving the Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law to become the first African American dean of the University of Colorado Law School. — CU Boulder Today

“Children of the ’60s and ’70s, my friends and I consider ourselves open-minded and in tune with the times but, interacting with our offspring, we wonder how true this is.”

— Ann Tashi Slater ’84, who just finished a memoir about reconnecting with her Tibetan roots, wrote about spending time with her college-age son while he was home during the pandemic. — The Washington Post

U.S. investigators searched Rudy Giuliani’s phones and computers partly for communications relating to Marie Yovanovitch ’80, who was removed as ambassador to Ukraine by the Trump administration in 2019. — Reuters

UNESCO is awarding its prestigious UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize to journalist Maria Ressa ’86, who has come under attack by Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte for her work at Rappler. — Asian Journal
 
The Restore biodegradable cutlery and straws made by Mark Herrema ’04’s Newlight Technologies Inc. are now available at Target. — EcoWatch
 
Lachlan Murdoch ’94, who “reluctantly” left Australia for America in 2015 to help his father, Rupert, run Fox, is now back in Sydney. — The Sydney Morning Herald

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