Alumni in the News

Crain’s New York Business profiled Julie Menin ’89, commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, in a June 13 article, “City’s Media Czar Encourages More Filming in Outer Boroughs.” The Q&A covers the growth of and diversity in the city’s film and TV industry. Menin became commissioner on February 22 after two years as Manhattan’s consumer affairs commissioner.

George Whipple III ’77, LAW’80 was featured on the July 8 episode of the 9/11 Memorial and Museum’s podcast series “Our City. Our Story.” From the show’s press release: “Whipple takes listeners from the morning of 9/11, when he watched the attacks from his office in Midtown, to his first visit to the Memorial and Museum … As a born and bred New Yorker, he speaks to the resilience and resolve of his city and the American people.”

Joya Powell ’01

CANDACE TABBS

Joya Powell ’01, founder of the Movement of the People Dance Company, received the 2016 New York Dance and Performance Award for Outstanding Emerging Choreographer. The press release states: “For her passionate choreographic engagement with issues of justice and race states: “For her passionate choreographic engagement with issues of justice and race in our communities and our country, for connecting with the audience in ways that make it clear that these concerns belong to all of us — and action is required, the 2016 NY Dance and Performance Award for Outstanding Emerging Choreographer goes to Joya Powell.”

Dick Hyman ’48

BOB HAGGART JR.

Keyboardist, composer and arranger Dick Hyman ’48 is one of five 2017 National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Fellows. The fellowship recognizes lifetime achievements and exceptional contributions to the advancement of jazz; recipients receive a $25,000 award and will be honored at a tribute concert at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., on Monday, April 3, 2017.

Jon Cuneo ’74 received the 2016 American Antitrust Institute’s Alfred Kahn Award for Antitrust Achievement during the June 16 AAI Annual Conference. The award honors those who have made outstanding contributions to the field; Cuneo has a long history in antitrust legislation and helped found AAI in 1998.

Gabriel Lefkowitz ’08 was named concertmaster (lead violin) of the Louisville Orchestra for the 2016–17 season. Lefkowitz performed as a guest concertmaster in Louisville in January; previously he played with the Knoxville Orchestra.

Fashion designer Jane Mayle ’95 was featured in The New York Times July 14 article, “Three’s a Trend: The Return of NoLIta’s Cool Kids” to mark her return to fashion design after closing her label/store in 2008. The fall 2016 collection for her relaunched label, Maison Mayle, became available in July at Barney’s.

The John Mitchell Mason Professor Emeritus, Provost Emeritus and Special Service Professor Wm. Theodore de Bary ’41, GSAS’53 was the sole recipient of the 2016 Tang Prize in Sinology for his “pioneering contributions in Confucian studies.” Founded in 2012 by Samuel Yin, the award includes a prize of $1.24 million as well as a separate grant of $311,000. The award ceremony took place in Taipei on September 25.

Greg Burke ’82, JRN’83 is the first American appointed to the role of director of the Holy See Press Office. Burke joined the Vatican’s press team four years ago as senior communications adviser; he moved into his new role on August 1.

Meera Menon ’06’s film Equity was released on July 29 to solid reviews, receiving an 83 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The film (which stars Breaking Bad’s Anna Gunn), about a female-driven Wall Street firm who gets caught up in a scandal, is produced by Broad Street Pictures, which aims to produce movies about women.

Harrison Shih ’16

MIKE McLAUGHLIN / COLUMBIA ATHLETICS

Harrison Shih ’16 competed in the U.S. Amateur at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., August 15–21. Shih was the 2015 Ivy League Golfer of the Year and earned his spot in the U.S. Amateur after performing well at the Worthington Manor Golf Club qualifiers in Urbana, Md., July 25–26. He made it to the round of 64 in the U.S. Amateur competition.