AitN: December 18, 2017

Rujeko Hockley ’05 was chosen to co-curate the Whitney Biennial, opening spring 2019. Inaugurated in 1932, the Biennial is the longest-running continual survey of contemporary American art. In a press release announcing the event, Scott Rothkopf, the Whitney’s deputy director for programs and the Nancy and Steve Crown Family Chief Curator, said: “Jane [Panetta, the co-curator] and Ru are two of the most compelling and engaged curatorial voices of our moment, with broad and sensitive instincts for artistic and cultural relevance.”

Rujeko Hockley

Rujeko Hockley ’05 (left) and Jane Panetta.

Scott Rudd

Victor Cha ’83, SIPA’93, GSAS’94 was nominated as ambassador to South Korea by President Trump. Currently the director of Asian studies at Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service, Cha’s appointment is expected to be finalized by February.

A clip from the December 13 episode of The View, featuring Meghan McCain ’07 and former Vice-President Joe Biden, has gone viral. The two bonded over their shared family experiences with glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer which killed Biden’s son in 2015 and for which McCain’s father is currently in treatment.

Lions roared at the Golden Globe nominations. Maggie Gyllenhaal ’99 was nominated in the “Best Actress in a TV Series, Drama” category for The Deuce, while Eli Bush ’09, a producer of Lady Bird, was included when the movie was nominated in the “Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy” category.

Andrea Young

Andrea Young '06, GSAS'12

Sonia Fernandez

Andrea F. Young ’06, GSAS’12, assistant professor of physics at the University of Santa Barbara, received the Milner Foundation’s 2018 New Horizons Prize in Fundamental Physics, which is “awarded to promising junior researchers who have already produced important work” and includes a cash award of $100,000.

Michael J. Schmidtberger ’82, LAW’85 has been elected chair of Sidley Austin’s Executive Committee, the governing body responsible for exercising general authority over the law firm’s policies and affairs. His new role begins January 1, 2018.

Don Steinberg ’83 was published in the December 11 issue of The New Yorker. In “Help Me, Obi-Wan: Carrie Fisher’s Private Philosophy Coach,” Steinberg recounts the Columbia/Star Wars philosophy connection.

On December 20, House Democrats chose New York Rep. Jerry Nadler ’69 (D-N.Y.) as the next leader of the House Judiciary Committee. Nadler won the vote against challenger Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) 118-72.