Alums on the leading edge of the news business

Independent alum and former Wall Street Journal Assistant Publisher Dick Tofel ‘79 has become the General Manager of an Internet-based news organization dedicated to investigative journalism, which it believes, not without reason, has suffered mightily from the cutbacks arising out of the supposedly adverse financial condition of traditional paper-based media. It’s called
Pro Publica.
In addition to Dick, it’s run by other distinguished journalists, such as former Wall Street Journal Managing Editor Paul Steiger. However, he’s not an alum so we’re not really interested in him.
We’re not surprised by Dick’s move to electronic media as he’s helped the Grad Board and student editors with advice on how the Independent can make the change from paper to Internet.

Pro Publica General Manager Dick Tofel

- S.A.

You can help your firm and the Indy

This year, thanks to alumni support, the Independent has a summer advertising sales manager, Jenn Chang ‘11. In formulating the Indy’s ad sales strategy, the Grad and Executive Boards agreed that national advertisers present the most appealing opportunities and that’s whom Jenn is reaching out to.

This is where you come in. If your investment bank, consulting firm, graduate school, retail colossus, great metropolitan newspaper, or other enterprise is interested in reaching Harvard undergraduates (and many are), why not put your recruiting and marketing colleagues in touch with Jenn? The Independent offers both print- and Web-based advertising options that reach all undergraduates much more cost-effectively than the alternative.

Jenn can most easily be reached by email. Her mailbox is jychang; the undergraduate domain is fas.harvard.edu. You’ll be helping both your firm and the Indy.

- S.A.

Alums in print

Former Independent Editor-in-Chief and influential blogger Matt Yglesias ‘03 has written a book entitled Heads in the Sand: How the Republicans Screw Up Foreign Policy and Foreign Policy Screws Up the Democrats.
Judging by the title, he seems to take a somewhat dim view of responding to terror attacks by invading countries that had nothing to do with them. More specifically, according to the jacket copy,

In Heads in the Sand, fast-rising political observer and commentator Matthew Yglesias reveals the wrong-headed foreign policy stance of conservatives, neocons, and the Republican Party for what it is—aggressive nationalism, or, to be impolite, a new version of old-fashioned imperialism. He then examines how Democrats and progressives have responded to the conservative agenda, from mistakenly labeling it isolationism to repeated calls for big, bold, new ideas and the failure to actually produce any.

Writing with wit, passion, and keen insight, Yglesias reminds us of the rich tradition of liberal internationalism that, developed by Democrats, was used with great success by both Democratic and Republican administrations for more than fifty years. It was, in fact, the foreign policy strategy that revived Europe after World War II, established the United Nations, and won the Cold War.

Based on the principle of promoting global order through international law and stable institutions, liberal internationalism is far from perfect and not nearly sexy enough to appeal to chest-thumping hawks. But, as Yglesias demonstrates, exercised with patience, flexibility, and restraint by nine American presidents, it has produced more peace, prosperity, and international harmony than any other approach.

Sounds like the kind of guy who would give away the Sudetenland.

Here’s Matt (on the right) with his former colleagues at an Independent event in NYC:



We’re more than happy to put in a good word for any literary (or other) work produced by an alum. Just let us know.

– S.A.

Alums in the news, presidential campaign edition

Independent alum Trevor Potter ‘78 is, according to the usually reliable New York Times, the lawyer for the McCain campaign. He was quoted in a May 9 Times article on the latest developments in the endless controversy over the composition of the Federal Election Commission:

President Bush also decided on Tuesday to pull a pending renomination of the current chairman of the commission, David M. Mason, a Republican. Mr. Mason raised questions this year about Mr. McCain’s right to withdraw from the public financing system for the primary.

Advocacy groups that work to counter the influence of money in politics immediately assailed the White House action, arguing it could be construed only as a blatantly political act, meant to benefit the McCain campaign.

“President Bush’s dumping of Mason can only be viewed as a bald-faced and brazen attempt to wrongly manipulate an important enforcement decision by the nation’s campaign finance enforcement agency,” said Fred Wertheimer, president of Democracy 21, an advocacy group, in a statement.

In response, the Times cited a post by “the campaign’s lawyer and a former FEC Chairman himself, Trevor Potter.”

Not surprisingly, he doesn’t care much for the inference that Sen. McCain had anything to do with Mason’s failure to be renominated. You can read his entire post here and decide for yourself whether the whole contretemps is just another remarkable election-year coincidence.

– S.A.

Report from Grad Board

Twice a year, the Independent’s editors meet with interested alumni (that’s the Grad Board) to review the state of the Indy. Based on discussions at last week’s Grad Board, the Indy’s in good shape. The editorial product retains its distinctive voice (viz. the cover of the sex survey issue) and trends on the business side are pointing in the right direction. In particular, the paper edition is reliably dropped to each undergraduate door every week, the Web site has been redesigned and is now hosted by a commercial service, Web-based advertising revenue is up and the editors are maintaining a tight rein on expenses. We’ll have a staffer in Cambridge this summer to sell advertising working closely with Grad Board Chair David Smith ‘75 (more about that in another post).

The student editors also agreed, no doubt enthusiastically, to pose for this photo in the Indy’s Hilles digs (which are more pleasant than this photo would suggest) so alums could associate faces with bylines:

Left to right, Marissa Babin ‘11, News Editor, Sam Jack ‘11, Forum Editor, Caroline Corbitt ‘09, Editor-in-Chief, David Smith ‘75, Grad Board Chair, Amy Yoshitsu ‘10, Production Manager, Edward Chen ‘09, Co-President, Sally Rinehart ‘09, Co-President, Andrew Rist ‘09, Sports Editor

– S.A.

Know anyone in the Class of 2012?

The prospective members of the Harvard Class of 2012 are invited to sample the delights awaiting them during Harvard’s welcoming weekend April 26-27. If you are related to or otherwise acquainted with any incoming freshmen, why not suggest that they check out the Harvard Independent?

The editors are holding an Open House Saturday, April 26 at 2 p.m. at the Independent offices (Hilles 243), followed at 3 by the Extracurricular Fair (also held at Hilles, which houses most undergraduate organizations these days).

- S.A.

Still time to double your money

There’s still time to make a contribution to the Independent that will be matched dollar for dollar thanks to a generous challenge grant from Tom Stemberg ‘71.

Tom has challenged the alumni to raise $17,500, which he will match dollar-for-dollar. Thanks to the generosity of your fellow alums, we only need $4,000 to get the full benefit of his challenge. Raising the full $35,000 would make an enormous difference to the paper as it distributes its print edition to all undergraduates while expanding its web presence.

If you’d like to put us over the top of Tom’s challenge, please send your contribution to The Harvard Independent, Box 382204, Cambridge, Mass. 02238-2204. This being tax season, we’d also remind you that the Independent is a Sec. 501(c)(3) charity.

Thanks for your support and please join us at Grad Board on May 3! (see below)

– S.A.

Alums in the news

One purpose of this blog is to keep you abreast of fellow alums who have achieved fame or at least notoriety.

This week, The Boston Globe reported that MIT (those buildings on the left as you head down Mem Drive to the Kendall Square Cinema) has a little embarrassment:

Just one out of 25 faculty members granted tenure this year at MIT is female, a gender imbalance that appears to contrast with the university’s decade-old effort to boost the status of women.

Uh-oh.

Who, you may be wondering, was the one woman judged worthy of tenure at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology?

Amy Finkelstein, the lone female promoted to tenure at MIT this year, said she had no complaints about her path to tenure in the economics department.

Finkelstein, 34, who received her doctorate from MIT in 2001, said she is a beneficiary of policies created to help women en route to tenure and afterward. She is now on maternity leave. Under a new policy, MIT will pay for child care at professional conferences she attends.

“I’ve had nothing but a fabulous experience in the economics department,” Finkelstein said. “I’ve experienced and perceived no issues in regard to gender.”

That’s Independent alum Amy Finkelstein ‘95, on the left (pre-tenure) at the 35th anniversary gala with her classmates Ellie Grossman and Justin Kudler.

We’re glad that Amy got what she deserved. As for MIT’s plight, if you are interested, you can read the whole sad story here.

– S.A.

Director of Development wanted

We’re looking for a professional Director of Development and Alumni Affairs to manage alumni interaction and fundraising to create a stable, long-term financial foundation for the Independent, under direction from the Indy’s graduate board.

Activities are expected to include:

• Working with the graduate board, developing and executing a long-term fundraising strategy aimed at building the Independent’s endowment.
• Overseeing the development and rollout of an alumni-only web site (analogous to http://post.harvard.edu) that will include private message boards, updates on alumni and opportunities for alumni involvement with the Independent.
• Creation and distribution of a quarterly email update with information about the paper and alumni news.
• Management of alumni communications, including outreach and response to requests.
• Oversight of preparation and mailing of annual solicitation.
• Together with the Independent’s alumni, engagement in one-on-one and small group solicitation of major gifts.
• Planing and executing alumni events (e.g., reunion time open house).
• Management and maintenance the alumni database.

Job parameters: Anticipated to take an average of 10-15 hours a week, fluctuating based on circumstances (e.g. reunion week will be intensive). Event-related work (rare) will involve evenings and weekends. While much of the work can be done from home, candidate must live or work within commuting distance of Cambridge. Reports to the graduate board.

This position requires a command of basic fundraising principles, an ability to work creatively and independently, and when appropriate, to collaborate with both alumni and undergraduate editors.

Required and desirable credentials

• Bachelor’s degree with at least two years’ experience in fundraising and development, preferably in an academic context.
• Demonstrated ability in writing fundraising and alumni relations materials, devising and executing cultivation and solicitation strategies, and event management.
• Excellent writing ability.
• Comfortable engaging one-on-one with potential donors.
• Facility and aptitude with email, Web, and electronic communications.
• Knowledge of or relationship with Harvard community strongly preferred.

Compensation

Annual compensation: $10-$15K, depending on experience, plus possible performance-based incentive compensation.

Application

Interested candidates should send a resume to: Steven Asher, Treasurer, Graduate Board, stevena472,at,yahoo

And feel free to pass this announcement along to anyone you think might be interested.

- S.A.

And one more thing . . .

You should shortly be getting a letter from Indy Co-Presidents Edward Chen ‘09 and Sally Rinehart ‘09 inviting alums to contribute to the Indy’s annual fund drive.  This year, the alums have been challenged by Indy founder Tom Stemberg ‘71, who will match dollar for dollar the first $19,000 raised in the fund drive.   Your contributions make it possible for the Independent to transition to a web-based revenue model while maintaining the print edition you know and presumably love.  Lots of your former colleagues, including most of the coolest ones, have contributed to past annual drives and the 35th anniversary capital campaign.

I know that lots of charities are seeking your support at this season (including another institution with “Harvard” in its name): the Independent is one where your gift can make a major difference.

– S.A.