From the President's Desk

I am looking forward to tomorrow’s Tuesday Talk on prevention of cognitive loss after surgery by Eric Heyer (Emeritus Professor of Anesthesiology and Neurology and Special Research Scientist and still actively engaged in research) for several reasons. First, in discussing the presentation, I reminded him that our participants were likely to include many non-physicians, to which Eric responded by shooting me a little smile and pulling out a rubber model of a carotid artery, which he just happened to have in his pocket. I took that as a good sign of his ability to explain technical issues! Second, I will be hosting the meeting online from Florida, where I have some family business to attend to, while our stalwart Administrator, Kay Achar, will be running the computer and camera from Faculty House.  I think that’s neat. If you want to try out Adobe Connect, click here. You need to learn how to use the few buttons involved prior to the meeting. Isn’t technology amazing?

I picked up a free hotel copy of USA Today yesterday and read a short article on the euthanizing of a 46-year old chimp, Debbie, in the Knoxville, Tennessee zoo. The story has stuck with me for many reasons, including its demonstration of how much we know and don’t know about animal behavior, and also about the inevitabilities of aging and death, and humane ways of dealing with them. Debbie’s interesting life started out by wearing a dress as a family pet, until she was returned to a more “wild” life in the zoo ape colony. She eventually became a dominant and important colony member, whom the caretakers relied on for assistance in dealing with younger, sometimes unruly animals. Gave me a lot to think about how humans interact with each other and the other species on our planet. Would be great if more humans had access to the same dignified existence as the late Debbie, the chimpanzee.

Have a good day! 

Jeanne Mager Stellman, President, EPIC
Professor Emerita & Special Lecturer
Mailman School of Public Health

March 7: Richard N. Pierson, M.D., Professor Emeritus of Clinical Medicine, and guest panel: "Staying Connected: Opportunities to Participate in the Life of the University in the Retirement Years"

March 21: Eli Noam, Paul Garrett Professor of Public Policy and Business Responsibility and Director, Columbia Institute for Tele-Information, Columbia Business School

April 25: Julia Doe, Assistant Professor of Historical Musicology: "The Pastoral Patronage of Marie Antoinette.”

April 6: Maeve Sterbenz, Ph.D. candidate, Department of Music: "The Effect of Music-Movement Interactions on the Perception of Ballet--The Case of the "Rose Adagio" in Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty.