With students on campus, Purdue University made it through the fall with a relatively low infection rate, extensive testing, and a barrage of messaging about personal responsibility. Purdue President Mitch Daniels ’71 “is taking the semester as a win.” — The Chronicle of Higher Education
Juanita James ’74, president of Fairfield County’s Community Foundation in Connecticut, said a new schools-focused partnership with six prominent regional businesses “can make a meaningful and measurable difference in helping to close some of the opportunity gaps that exist in our region.” — Westchester & Fairfield County Business Journals
NYU law professor Rick Pildes ’79 said an obscure facet of federal election law is still lying around “like a loaded weapon”: the ability of legislatures to appoint a state’s electors and override the will of the people. — The New York Times
In the race for mayor of Boston, not one but two candidates would be the first woman of color to hold the office: Andrea Campbell ’04 and Harvard alum Michelle Wu. — WGBH
On his 100th birthday, George P. Shultz ’42 published a list of the 10 most important things he’s learned about trust. — The Washington Post
Richard Stengel ’77, recently picked to become President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team leader for for the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which includes Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, wrote an op-ed last year calling for a hate-speech law. — The New York Post
Writer Laura Vanderkam ’01 says the key to creating a good habit is committing to it daily — asking “when” the activity will happen rather than “whether.” — Forge
Brookings Institute senior researcher Michael O’Hanlon ’82 *91 said China’s capabilities are growing in emerging technologies and other fields. — Christian Broadcasting Network
“A false dichotomy is often perpetuated that we must either stop COVID or reopen the economy. But we know a lot now about how this disease spreads and the answer is not an either/or proposition.”
— Peko Hosoi ’92, associate dean of engineering at MIT, who co-developed a free online tool that computes the effects of testing, masks, and other factors on COVID spread, providing schools and businesses with guidance to help them stay open safely. — National Institutes of Health
Marc Knapper ’91, deputy assistant secretary of state for Korea and Japan, said the South Korea-U.S. relationship is strong, with widespread support in both countries that transcends political parties and presidential administrations. — Yohhap News Agency
Georgetown sociology professor Michael Eric Dyson *93 said corporate America’s response after the police killing of George Floyd didn’t go far enough, and diversity initiatives are insufficient if they don’t “restructure” companies to put Black and brown employees in positions of power. — Yahoo! Finance
Dan Morehead ’87, CEO of Pantera Capital, said the coronavirus pandemic has had an unprecedented global macro impact, with central banks printing money at rates never seen before, driving up prices on assets like bitcoin and gold. — Cryptonews.com
Ariel Investments co-CEO Mellody Hobson ’91 was named the first Black woman to chair the Starbucks board. — CNN