Nov. 19, 2019: Yovanovitch ’80 Speaks at Public Impeachment Hearing

Photo: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images

In a public impeachment hearing last week, Marie Yovanovitch ’80, who was recalled from her post as ambassador to Ukraine in May, told members of the House of Representatives that she was “shocked, appalled, [and] devastated” by President Donald Trump’s comments about her. “As Foreign Service professionals are being denigrated and undermined, the institution is also being degraded,” she said. “This will soon cause real harm, if it hasn’t already.” Read coverage of Yovanovitch’s testimony from The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, and the Associated Press

Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan ’81, the youngest of the court’s liberal camp and recognized for her skill for compromise, “is emerging as one of the most influential Justices on the Court,” according to a recent profile. — The New Yorker
 
After serving as the interim president since August, S. Georgia Nugent ’73 has been named the 20th president of Illinois Wesleyan University. This is the third time that Nugent has been the first woman to be named president of a college or university. — The Bloomington Pantagraph

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 Dean Michelle A. Williams ’84 is helping to oversee a study by Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health that uses iPhones and a new research app to track the health of about 400,000 people. — The New York Times
 
Yusuf Dahl *17 went from prison to a master’s in public affairs at the Woodrow Wilson School. In an address at Princeton, he said education is “the most effective tool at our disposal to help people behind bars and to break this vicious cycle.” — Good Morning America
 
Andrew Napolitano ’72, a former New Jersey Superior Court judge, has emerged as one of President Donald Trump’s most ardent critics on Fox News, where Napolitano has been a commentator for 21 years. — Associated Press
 
Since the death of his grandniece in an Ethiopian Airlines flight, Ralph Nader ’55 has helped family members in their efforts to hold Boeing accountable for safety lapses in the development of its 737 Max airplane. — The New Yorker

Saudia Arabia’s national oil company is going public, and in an opinion column, energy-industry consultant Ellen R. Wald ’04 cautions potential investors, saying that the company’s decisions are guided by Saudi Arabia’s political interests, not necessarily the interests of shareholders.  — The New York Times

“The thought definitely crossed my mind, like, ‘Look how far I’ve come.’ Not that I shouldn’t be here, but that I’m good enough to be starting in the NFL ... .”

— Stephen Carlson ’19, a rookie tight end for the Cleveland Browns, on his NFL debut against the Denver Broncos earlier this month. Carlson caught his first touchdown pass in the Browns’ win over Pittsburgh Thursday night (a game marred by an on-field brawl in the closing seconds). Read more about Carlson’s path to the pros in the Jamestown, N.Y., Post-Journal.

Some of Us Are Hungry Now, Andre Perry ’00’s new collection of essays, “follows a young black man standing at the intersection of race, art, masculinity, education, and the desire for growth and new experiences,” according to a recent review. — NPR
 
Selwyn Seyfu Hinds ’93 wrote the script for Spike Lee’s upcoming production, Prince of Cats, which reimagines the Romeo and Juliet story, told from the perspective of Juliet’s cousin, Tybalt, and set in a 1980s hip-hop-inspired kingdom. — The Hollywood Reporter
 
Carla Vernón ’92, president of the natural-and-organic-food unit at General Mills, says the company is continuing to research uses of Kernza, a perennial grain that has several environmental benefits. — PBS NewsHour
 
Nobel laureate Frances Arnold ’79 and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos ’86 are among the notable Americans whose portraits were added to the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., last weekend. — The Washington Post