C L A R E M O N T the G R A D U A T E U N I V E R S I T Y Pedant A newsletter for CGU students that’s strong enough for a post-doc, Ph-balanced for a first year. October 2009! CGU news All the campus news that’s fit to print. Where to park, CGU on iTunes, and an unprecedented Drucker triple crown. Page 2 Volume 2, Number 1 What the health? Research and awards You should. Read how to get high-quality health care through CUC that won’t cost an arm and a leg. Page 4 What the GSC can do for you 2009 Dissertation Award winners. Also, how to pay those pesky bills, fellowship style. Page 7 Campus events A full calendar of events, including concerts, conferences, lectures, and Japanese art. Page 8 The GSC is a governing body made up of students – like you and me – who represent our collective interests. It consists of four elected officers who serve one-year terms and are aided by representatives and delegates (either elected, appointed, or who volunteer) from our schools and one department (those mavericks in Botany). The council promotes our welfare and concerns by communicating with faculty and administration. They fund student-organized clubs and administer travel awards for students attending conferences in far- or near-flung locales. They also sponsor social and cultural events throughout the year to help break the ice between first-years and tenth-years, Claremont locals and international transplants, even business school students and Marxist cultural critics over a cold beer, grilled cheeseburger, or ice-cream sundae. What aren’t you learning in graduate school? CGU professors Paul Gray and David Drew have the answer. Page 8 For this year, the council has shaped a vision and mission around the need for stronger communication and connections between the different schools that comprise CGU. Much of what we’ve done previously serves this vision. And there are many new ideas surfacing as well. “Ultimately, however, we have chosen one key focus this year: making students and student work more visible. We believe this is a critical focus, and will bring great value and service to students. For example, we are in the process of building a webpage that collates information for each school about key conferences for that school or discipline, call-for-paper dates, and links to more information. A webpage that features students who are presenting at conferences, winning research grants, or publishing papers is also being developed. The GSC is in the house! at 127 12th street. When in the course of student affairs, it (sometimes) becomes necessary to rely on a dedicated confederacy of democratically elected representatives to secure certain – if not unalienable, at least valuable – rights and services. For us, those representatives constitute the Graduate Student Council (GSC). And like any representative democracy, the more informed the citizenry, the better the governmental outcomes. Inform yourself, read on . . . This year’s council – President Shamini Dias, Vice President Rachel Tie, Secretary Shanna Livermore, and Treasurer Natalie Dymchenko – will continue this tradition, with a few added goals. Here’s a recently drafted manifesto by the new council: “This year’s council is setting clear, achievable goals in order to maintain our focus and thus have the best chance of delivering concrete results within our term. We are just like everyone else here: students with a degree to pursue in the midst of our already busy lives. Therefore, we are very mindful of finding a way to deliver real and valuable results that will benefit the student body. (Continued on page 6) CGU Factoid Clarmont Graduate School alum Jerry Voorhis was a fiveterm congressman representing California’s 12th district. He lost in his sixth bid to a future US President. Guess who? Leisure with dignity 1 C L A R E M O N T G R A D U A T E U N I V E R S I T Y editor’s note: cgu news: To new students, welcome! To returning students, welcome back! A walk in the parking lot The d.l. on the CCDL Since we’re a lively commuter school, parking can sometimes be a challenge. So you’re not late to class, here’s a quick update on parking policy. Want the “down low” on the Claremont Colleges Digital Library (CCDL)? It’s an online resource that provides instant access to a wealth of digital materials from all the Claremont Colleges for all its students. We all know graduate school is a huge investment of time, energy, and money. (Actually, new students may only be truly aware of the last one.) But the truth is, the more effort you put into your graduate studies, the more you get out of the experience. Going to school at CGU offers plenty of opportunities, both on-campus and off, but figuring out all the angles can be a little daunting. The Pedant newsletter is here to help unravel some of the mysteries of graduate education, and offer tips to make the whole experience a little more enjoyable. We publish twice a semester (four times a year), and are happy to take questions, comments, or story requests. If you’re confused about something, other people probably are as well. If you’ve learned about new opportunities other students might be interested in, we would be happy to help disseminate the information. Also, to access the Pedant archives, which contain helpful information on publishing your work, presenting at conferences, and becoming a professor, and much, much more, visit www.cgu.edu/thepedant. Brendan Babish Managing Editor brendan.babish@cgu.edu Don’t worry about sullying your classic ride, parking stickers are small and discreet. Parking permits are required for on-campus lots, though this isn’t draconianly enforced. Either way, they’re free and only take a few minutes to secure. Visit campus security at 251 East Eleventh Street with your driver’s license, CGU ID card, and vehicle registration in tow. Permits aren’t required for street parking on campus. However, be aware that the city of Claremont doesn’t allow overnight parking (which is draconianly enforced with a $40 dollar ticket – d’oh!), although you can request an overnight exemption by calling (909) 399-5411. Use those exemptions sparingly, you only get three a month. Also, CGU has an agreement with its neighbors to not allow students to park west of College Avenue. This isn’t enforceable, the only penalty is karmic. To see a map with available lots, go to www.cgu.edu/ pages/5066.asp. the Pedant October 2009 Volume 2, Number 1 Special thanks to everyone at CUC and the GSC, Nusha Shisheger, Jay Prag, Charles Young, and anyone else who generously gave their time to our humble publication; and Gingerberry Kombucha. 2 Leisure with dignity! You can find collections of rare documents, manuscripts, maps, artwork, and photos (including some amazing aerial shots of Claremont throughout the twentieth century). There are also dozens of videos of lectures, events, and interviews with people like Peter Drucker. Even a casual peruse can lead you to finds like Francisco Goya prints owned by Pomona College or what used to pass for haute couture in Scripps College’s nineteenth century Fashion Plate Collection. All you have to do is visit the Libraries of the Claremont Colleges website (http:// libraries.claremont.edu) and click on the “CCDL” tab. PFF the return Back by popular demand, the Preparing Future Faculty (PFF) office has reopened for the fall semester. Make PFF your new b.f.f. This is a great resource for students planning on a career in academia. They offer workshops, learning communities, and forcredit courses all geared towards coaching you for a successful future. Visit their website (www.cgu.edu/pff) or send an email to mmp@cgu.edu for more information. Would-be professors might like to check out our article “Professorial Preparedness 101” in last year’s Pedant Number 3 on our online archive at www.cgu.edu/thepedant. C L A R E M O N Prag, second from the left, about to get schooled. T G R A D U A T E U N I V E R S I T Y SimCity: the transdisciplinary student body. Since you still can’t get the Beatles on iTunes, download a track from one of our rock-star professors instead. It’s in the Prag Staying the T-course I want iTunes U (She’s so heavy) Clinical Associate Professor Jay Prag recently won the Drucker School triple crown, which surprisingly has nothing to do with sports. For those PhDs not eager to fulfill their TCourse requirement, transdisciplinarity may seem like just another 19-letter word: garishly poly-syllabic jargon that’s definitionally drab and simple. Is it really different from the inter-, multi-, or polydisciplinary approaches other schools trumpet? Will it really benefit me in any way? Actually, yes. Maybe a little translating will help us transvalue this complicated term. CGU is now active and live on iTunes University. For the first time at the Drucker School, Prag was voted “Favorite Professor” by students in the MBA, EMBA, and Financial Engineering programs for 2009. Prag, who hails from the University of Florida, is a big Gators fan. Just like his footballing alma mater in preseason rankings, he is regularly considered a favorite to win. Why? Prag says much of his success is due to his close working relationship with students. He wants to make sure they can apply finance by the end of the semester, so he’s regularly seen crunching numbers with students on the sidelines. In the classroom, Prag brings it. “Because many of the executive students come to Claremont after a long day of work, I need to bring a lot of energy to class,” he says. “Also, a lot of these executives haven’t had much of a financial background, and it really means a lot when they tell me that they go back to their jobs and apply what they’ve learned from me.” Prag was drafted by former Drucker Dean Jim Harris while an adjunct at Pomona College back in 1986. Outside of CGU, he volunteers on the Board at Mt. San Antonio Gardens, a retirement home in Pomona. He can also be seen at nearby colleges playing pick-up basketball games with students, garnering him the slightly less flattering title: “Professor Most Likely To Get Dunked On.” Transdiciplinarity is an idea that can be traced back to academic journals in the 1960s, and has gained broader appeal in recent years. Transdisciplinary research institutes have popped up around the world. There’s even a grandiloquent-sounding Charter of Transdisciplinarity that was adopted at the First World Congress of Transdisciplinarity in Portugal in 1994. While living down the street from all other forms of cross-disciplinary strategy, transdisciplinarity is different because it begins with the tacit assumption that many of the twenty-first century’s problems are too complex to be resolved using just one discipline’s approaches. Consider an issue like global food shortages, or Swine Flu. Imagine how many different fields could be used to encounter each challenge, and how much more penetrating such a legion effort would be. Getting out of your disciplinary comfort zone may seem a bit scary, maybe even unnecessary. But learning how to be a part of a collaborative team, which is the cultural environment the T-courses stress, could enable you to not only transcend the conventional disciplinary boundaries of your research, but by doing so, transmogrify the world into a better place. You can find CGU under the “university” section of iTunes. The site can also be accessed by clicking on “Podcasts” at the bottom of the CGU homepage. Our iTunes page is already stocked with over 100 audio and video files, with representation from each of our nine schools and one department. This includes scores of our learned professors discussing their research, but also intriguing general information, such as the video “A Continuing Vision of Greatness,” a Cold War-era film on the Claremont Colleges, narrated by our 40th President, Ronald Reagan (though this was nearer Bedtime for Bonzo than “Tear down this wall!”). The Office of University Communications is planning on uploading new content regularly, so check back often. Or, if you subscribe, new content will automatically synch with your iTunes library. “CGU’s presence on iTunes University expands our connection to hundreds of millions of iTunes users,” says Gregory Pierre Cox, vice president of the Office of Advancement. “It will help us promote the work of our faculty, the quality of their research and publishing, showcase our students, and reaffirm the importance of CGU to society.” This additional communications platform adds another level to the university’s leading-edge communications plans featuring our YouTube channel, website, Twitter, and Facebook platforms. University Communications will be working with each of the schools to build their presences as we move forward to share our CGU stories with our friends, alumni and alumnae, donors and prospective donors, and the general public. Leisure with dignity 3 C L A R E M O N T G R A D U A T E U N I V E R S I T Y Who the health cares? With soaring health-care and insurance costs much in the news, you might be inclined to put off this year’s checkup, or getting immunized from next winter’s pack of wild viruses, or seeking help for the dissertation blues that are prematurely turning your hair gray. Don’t. Under the Claremont University Consortium (CUC), there are several health services, programs, and educational materials to help you enjoy a clean bill of health, sans the costly bill. CUC directs three health and counseling departments for students of the Claremont Colleges: Monsour Counseling and Psychological Services, Student Health Services (SHS), and Health Education Outreach (which CGU doesn’t fund, so we don’t get the benefit of using). All departments practice a “heath and wellness” approach that, according to them, “focuses on balancing the social, mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual aspects of a student’s life.” 4 Leisure with dignity! As you well know, a student’s life is usually anything but balanced. Just one class can spark enough anxious energy in a graduate student’s brain to light a city block. While this may sound like a promising alternativeenergy research topic, the emotional suffering of stress, anxiety, and depression is very real. And help is confidential, free, and right around the corner. Monsour Counseling and Psychological Services offers a range of programs and treatment options for whatever may shake us off the balance beam of mental stability. Individual short-term therapy or psychiatric consultations and treatment are free for students (referrals can be made for longerterm care). Appointments should be available within a week (though urgent cases can be scheduled sooner) and are made by calling (909) 621-8202. Additionally, self-exploration, support, and theme-focused groups and outreach programs are offered each semester on a variety of topics – everything from stress reduction to whirlwind relationships have been addressed. Last year there was even a thesis and dissertation group that helped with time management, dealing with a difficult committee, and – yes – the dreaded writer’s block. Located on the first floor of the Tranquada Student Services Center (757 College Way), Monsour Counseling and Psychological Services is open 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, with extended hours on Tuesday. An on-call psychologist is available at all times for emergencies by calling campus security at (909) 607-2000. Also situated in the Tranquada Student Services Center, SHS similarly provides a wealth of resources and health options for students. There are too many to list in detail (visit their website at http:// www.cuc.claremont.edu/shacs/shs/ services.asp for a full list), but to give you an idea, here’s a not-so-brief rundown: C L A R E M O N urgent care for minor injuries and sicknesses, screenings for various diseases or health tests, prescription and over-thecounter medications, physical exams, x-ray and lab services, minor surgeries, medical supplies, women’s health care, dermatological treatments, allergy injections, and immunizations. Best of all, whatever isn’t free at SHS is generally much cheaper from what you would pay off-campus. So too are appointments with an SHS primary care provider, which are free (if made by appointment; walk-ins are $10) and highly recommended. According to the SHS website: “Health is the result of a relationship between the practitioner and patient, with the goal of more healthful living through improved relationships, nutritional habits, constructive exercise, and stress management . . . enhancing practices that will remain with you throughout your life.” Primary care providers are nurse practitioners or medical doctors who are responsible for the majority of a patient’s health care needs. They know your personal health history and provide more individualized plans for present ailments, or propose regimens of preventative care for the future. SHS has a cadre of primary care providers who can even coordinate with your home doctor, or refer you to an area specialist if need be. Appointments – made by calling (909) 621-8222 – are advised. However, walk-ins are accepted and seen from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. If you walk-in, depending on how busy they are, you may have to wait a significant amount of time. Often, you can get an appointment for the same day if you call early. SHS’s funding does not cover laboratory tests, x-rays, or physicals. If these services are necessary, students are responsible for the charges. Costs for these services are kept as low as possible and are a fraction of what a community medical office would charge. Plus, your insurance may cover them, though SHS is not able to bill your insurance company directly. You are responsible for the charges and submitting the bill to your insurance company for reimbursement. T G R A D U A T E U If you don’t have health insurance – suffering from an invincibility or penurious grad-student complex? – consider our CGU Student Accident and Sickness Insurance Plan. I V E R S I T Y (ipoffice@cmc.edu) can assist international students in finding additional carriers if required. In most cases you may be asked to pay your health care bill up front: don’t fret. All you have to do is fill out a claim form (downloaded at: http://tinyurl.com/luvtp5), make a copy of it and all receipts for your records, then submit the original form and receipts to the insurance company, which will issue your refund. (If your bill is outside what can be considered a “reasonable cost,” you can submit your invoice to the insurance company for remittance.) Says CUC Chief Administrative Officer John Beckman: “I would encourage all CGU students to provide health care coverage for themselves and their families, whether through the school’s student insurance plan or via private coverage. The cost of care without insurance can be prohibitive, especially for graduate students who are already carrying a heavy tuition burden.” Underwritten by the Delos Insurance Company, CGU’s plan can be billed directly onto your tuition statement (at the rates listed below). While international students are automatically enrolled, domestic students must request to be added to the plan by contacting admiss@cgu.edu. Brochures with more information are available in the Student Affairs Lobby (160 E. Tenth Street) and in the SHS office, or by visiting www.renaissance-inc.com or www.cgu.edu/HealthInsurance. The CGU plan provides insurance for all standard health care needs, except eye and dental coverage (additional coverage is available if you need it). International Place N CGU’s plan may also be purchased for dependents and spouses (though only if you’re also insured through the plan). For international students, dependents must be insured within 30 days of their arrival date or they become ineligible to be covered by you. Dependent rates are paid directly to the insurance company. Whatever your circumstances, the vicissitudes of graduate life need not be made more arduous by waning health (or waning finances). Affordable help is available. Consider worry-free health care a vital part of the prescription for a successful school year. Annual Fall Spring/ Summer Summer* Students Under 26** $1,224 $442 $812 $314 Spouses Under 26** $2,907 $994 $1,923 $734 Student 26 and Over $1,624 $558 $1,076 $414 Spouses 26 and Over $3,858 $1,317 $2,551 $972 Children $2,017 $692 $1,336 $512 *Only available for newly enrolled students. ** Age is considered at time of initial enrollment for the policy year. Students who enroll in the fall semester at the "Under 26" rate will carry this rate through the spring semester regardless of their birthdate. Leisure with dignity 5 C L A R E M O N (Continued from page 1) “The council feels that because we are a research university, the visibility of our work and research is important. In other words, there is plenty of good stuff going on – but outside of a given department (if that), no one knows about it! Making our work visible within and across schools is great for all of us: it gives students visibility and could lead to research and publishing collaborations among students. At the same time, it raises the academic profile of the university (think recruitment tool). This is definitely a value-laden direction for all parties to move in, so we are quite excited about it.” T G R A D U A T E bulletin board: Charles Young’s Guide to Eating: Miscellaneous Another big yearly GSC event (put on with help from the Office of the Chaplains) is the Thanksgiving Potluck. Held at the McAlister Center the Thursday before Thanksgiving proper, the event is either a great way for international students to experience what may be their first Thanksgiving or for others to stretch their stomach muscles for the following week. The GSC provides traditional fare: turkey (including a veggie alternative), stuffing, mashed potatoes, and gravy; everyone else brings the rest. Apart from the larger events, the GSC organizes small social events throughout the year. Last year they put together a Halloween party, an ice cream social, a movie night, and study break pizza parties. Keep checking their website for details. All of this takes a lot of work to arrange, and this year’s council still has spots open for delegates (and always has room for people who just want to help). The GSC wants you! This is an invaluable opportunity to not only get a star on your resume and c.v., but to get involved in your school, make the experience richer for yourself and the rest of us. Ask not what the GSC can do for you, ask what . . . you know the rest. 6 Leisure with dignity N I V E R S I T Y Steak at Pinnacle Peak (269 W. Foothill Boulevard, San Dimas). As the Prog recently said, everybody should go here once a year. You have to pay the big bucks if you want it rare or even medium rare; they'll overcook anything else, because they size 'em by thickness. Emphasis is on mesquite and size. Don't wear a tie. Steak at The Tenderloin (2080 Foothill Boulevard, La Verne) Working class steak place. Get the Specialty Steak or its big brother, the Stockyard. Anything at Saca's Mediterranean Cuisine (248 Second Street, Claremont). Jim Bogen is right: the best food in Claremont, though I myself steer clear of all the vegetarian stuff, unless you count chicken as a vegetable. In addition to these new developments, the GSC is acquiring a new base of operations: the GSC House. The house is located at 127 12th Street, and will be open to all students very soon. The house has a living room with a TV and board games, a kitchen, a meeting room, and a backyard full of hangout possibilities. The space will be used for quiet reading and study, group meetings and workshops, and small social events. Speaking of social events, the annual “Welcome Back BBQ” (organized by the GSC) will be held September 18 at 4 p.m. Check in with the GSC website (www.cgu.edu/pages/1665.asp) for more details. This largest of school get-togethers comes replete with burgers, hot dogs, salads, sides, desserts, and frosty beer – and is a great opportunity to converse with your fellow Pedant. U Liquorama (901 W. Foothill Boulevard, Upland). A retail liquor store, not a restaurant. But it's a privilege to live within five miles of this place. Pull yourself up by your climbing shoes The author at work. Charles Young, professor of philosophy in the School of Arts & Humanities, has put together a list of local good eats for those new to the Inland Empire. We’ve serialized it and have been publishing extracts over the last couple issues. Here’s his latest installment, and it’s got a bit of everything. The lamb kabob and the Greek salad it comes with at Theo's (9171 Central Avenue, Suite J, hidden behind the Macdonald's just north of the 10) is worth knowing about. I'm not big on Chinese, but Tasty Goody (1630 W. Foothill Boulevard, Upland, a couple of doors away from Popeye's) offers remarkable value: the two-entrée combo plate with the 40-cent (last time I was there) upgrade to the big Styrofoam container runs about $5, and you'll get close to a week's worth of food. Some of it's pretty good, too. Try the pork ribs in black bean sauce. I’m even less big on vegetarian, but if you’ve got to do it, do it at the Veggie & Tea House(639 W. Arrow Highway, San Dimas). This student scaled his fears and his self esteem climbed (perhaps too high) at the Lindseth Climbing Wall. Interested in bolstering your courage for the next public speaking gig? Instead of building confidence by assembling your pets to listen to you recite next week’s presentation, fortify your nerves at Pitzer College’s Lindseth Climbing Wall. Conquer the climbing wall’s new bouldering routes, set for advanced to beginning climbers. The facility is open to all Claremont College students for no charge. Open Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 5 to 7 p.m., the wall is monitored at all times and features a thickly cushioned landing zone to protect your body. The Lindseth Climbing Wall is located in the Gold Student Center work-out room. C L A R E M O N T G R A D U A T E U N I V E R S I T Y research and awards: Gettin’ paid: fellowships Dissertations granted 2010 Soros Fellowships The competition for the 2010 Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships For New Americans is open for submissions. These fellowships offer half tuition plus $20,000 per year for up to two years. Applicants must be immigrants or the children of immigrants, and can be either entering graduate school or in their second year of graduate studies. Applications are due by November 1. More information is available at www.pdsoros.org. 2010 Ford Foundation Diversity Fellowships Applications are now being accepted for the 2010 Ford Foundation Diversity Fellowships Program for Achieving Excellence in College and University Teaching. The application deadline for predoctoral students is November 2, and November 9 for dissertation and postdoctoral students. Full eligibility information and on-line applications are available on the National Academies website at: www.nationalacademies.org/fellowships or email infofell@nas.edu. For more fellowship opportunities visit: www.cgu.edu/pages/1919.asp www.fastweb.com www.educationplanner.org Good luck to all who apply! *Robert Blagg: “Religiousness, Community, Altruism, & Health: Exploring a Reciprocal Process” The 12 students to the right have recently had their dissertations chosen by the Office of the Provost, the Transdisciplinary Studies Program, and the Office of Financial Aid for a 2009-2010 CGU General Dissertation Grant, or (for students who “stayed the T-course” all the way to the end) a CGU Transdisciplinary Studies Dissertation Grant (indicated by an asterisk). Justine Buller: “The Reception of The Education of Henry Adams: Culture, Authority and the Literary Canon” These grants, ranging from $8,000-$10,000, are awarded annually on a competitive basis to advanced (all but dissertation) doctoral students in order to facilitate more rapid completion of highly promising and distinctive dissertation projects. Stacy Ann Hawkins: “Family Relationships and Adolescent Behavior in Families Headed by Heterosexual, Gay, and Lesbian Parents” The grantees were selected from large pools of applicants by Vice Provosts Wendy Martin and Dean Gerstein based on the following criteria: the evident academic merit and significance of the dissertation project; clarity in contextualizing the dissertation within previous scholarship; the clarity, validity, and feasibility of the proposed methodology; feasibility of the projected timeline; specific need for the award; and overall academic record. In addition, transdisciplinary grants required the work to cross disciplines and draw committee members from a range of CGU schools and disciplines. Congratulations to all grantees. *Thomas Crawford: “Re-Presenting Gnosticism: Contested Scriptures, Canons and Meanings” *Justin Hackett: “The Link Between Values and Behavior” Yaeri Kim: “National Culture, Transnational Imagination: A Transnational Approach to the Contemporary Popular Culture of South Korea” Soomi Lee: “Institutional Impacts on Subjective Preference – Policy Congruence Across Countries” *Aya Nakagoshi: “The Anatomy of Gifts: The Act of Giving and Living Donor Organ Transplantation” Laurie Obal: “Vista/CPRS and the Veterans Health Administration: A Case Study on EHR Impact in Primary Care” *Julia Parnell: “Stigmata: An Ethnographic Approach to Religious Tattooing in America” Tara Prescott: “A Lyric Elixir: The Search for Identity in Myna Loy” *Chi-Shu (Nick) Yeh: “On Both Sides of a TwoWay Mirror: Two Films' Representations of Hitler and a Group of Young German Nationals' Readings of the Films” Leisure with dignity 7 C L A R E M O N T G R A D U A T E U N I V E R S I T Y cgu events calendar Sept. 17 – Christina Sue, Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Colorado, will be speaking at Pomona College at 4:15 p.m. in Hahn 108 on “Race Mixture and Multiraciality in Comparative Perspective: The Cases of the U.S. and Mexico.” Sept. 18 – Yee haw! GSC BBQ at DesCombes Quad from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Sept. 20 – Bring your friends to Celliola & Friends – new music for cello and viola – 3:00 p.m., Bridges Hall of Music. Sept. 23 – Bring your abacuses to the Claremont Math Colloquium – public lecture by Reuben Hersh of the University of New Mexico, 4:15 p.m. Beckman B126 at Harvey Mudd College. Sept. 24 – Drucker Centennial Event – CGU’s Rick Wartzman talks with Rajiv Dutta, former president of eBay, Paypal, and Skype from 7 to 8:30 p.m., Balch Auditorium. RSVP at series@druckerinstitute.com. Sept. 26 – Bring the little ones to the Drucker State of the School and Family Social, Burkle Building at 4:30 p.m. Oct. 3 – Bring your high sensibilities to hear Genevieve Feiwan Lee perform her musical talents at 8:00 p.m., Bridges Hall of Music. Oct. 10 – The Pomona College Orchestra (students from all the Claremont Colleges) will perform Rossini's Overture to L'Italiana in Algeri, Joan Tower's Made in America, and Beethoven's Symphony No. 3 in E-flat, Op. 55 “Eroica.” under the direction of Eric Lindholm. 8:00 p.m. Bridges Hall of Music. Oct. 11 – Encore, encore! Repeat performance, 3:00 p.m. Graduate tips CGU Professors Paul Gray and David E. Drew, authors of What They Didn’t Teach You in Graduate School: 199 Helpful Hints for Success in Your Academic Career, have been kind enough to allow us to publish one helpful hint from their book in each issue. This is so that one day you don’t raise your fist in the air and curse CGU for not teaching you to . . . Oct. 12 – Last day to drop classes and get 50 percent refund. For a full refund, take this to Las Vegas and play it on red. Oct. 15-17 – “Reading Scriptures, Reading America” is a three-day conference put on by the School of Religion. The keynote speaker will be award-winning journalist, essayist, and author of Brown: The Last Discovery of America (2003), Richard Rodriguez. For more, visit www.signifyingscriptures.org For more CGU events and important dates, visit: www.cgu.edu/pages/2059.asp Oct. 28 – “From Matter to Life: Chemistry?” A lecture by Jean-Marie Lehn (Noble Prize in Chemistry 1987). 8-10 p.m., 645 N. College Ave. The Pedant is . . . Brendan Babish — Managing editor Kevin Riel — Head writer Liz Nurenberg — Senior Colorist CGU Factoid Tricky Richard Nixon swiped the fighting 12th from Voorhis back in ‘46. Though Voorhis has become a historical footnote for his defeat, he was an accomplished individual in his own right. In addition to being one of our school’s first graduates (with a masters in education), he served as executive director of the National Cooperative Business Association from 1947 to 1965, where his work would earn him induction into the Cooperative Hall of Fame. 2. MOST ACADEMIC FIELDS ARE DOMINATED by fewer than 100 powerful people. These people know one another and determine the course of the field. Early in your career you should get to know as many of them as possible. More to the point, they should know who you are. You want them to see you as a bright young person at the forefront of your field. Although this tactic is important, be aware of the dangers associated with it. You should not begin the process until after you mastered the literature (particularly the papers they wrote!) and developed some ideas of your own. If they get to know you and conclude you have no ideas, you’re finished. Voorhis tests prototype “Clinton thumb.” 8 Leisure with dignity Oct. 31 – Drucker Centennial Event – Japanese Art Exhibition Opening at the Williamson Gallery (Scripps College). This all-day event celebrates management pioneer Peter Drucker who lectured on Japanese art at Pomona College from 1975 to 1985.