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USA Today: MED lab on wheels is pioneer for other states
Based on an idea pioneered in 1994 by Carl Franzblau, a MED professor and chairman of the biochemistry department and associate dean of medical sciences, Maryland will soon launch its mobile science laboratory, MdBioLab, to enhance the bioscience curricula for high school students and teachers, reports the February 17 USA Today. Massachusetts, Connecticut, and North Carolina have similar programs. Using mobile blood banks for inspiration, MED’s CityLab MobileLab, a 40-foot, self-contained laboratory on wheels designed to provide students with hands-on experience in various research disciplines, is the pioneer mobile bioscience lab. Since it was unveiled in 1998, more than 3,500 students at 30 high schools have benefited from using the lab. Says Don DeRosa, director of CityLab, “We want students to leave that experience saying, ‘You know what? I can be a scientist if I want to.’”
Boston Globe: D’Alessandro wants more USOC data
In lieu of money, the United States Olympic Committee accepts domestic corporate sponsorship in plane flights, hotel rooms, and cars, which deprives the Olympic committee of millions of dollars in cash that could be spent on athletes, says David D’Alessandro, a member of BU’s Board of Trustees and the chairman and chief executive of John Hancock Financial Services, Inc., in the February 15 Boston Globe. John Hancock contributes roughly $10 million per quadrennium to the USOC as part of its $55 million sponsorship, and D’Alessandro wants the USOC to deliver a more detailed package of financial data than he was given -- a 90-page loose-leaf binder of financial information from the USOC on February 14. “The best I can say about it is, it’s on time,” he says. “I do appreciate what they’ve done, but it begs a thousand more questions.” The most obvious omission, he says, is a specific breakdown of “value-in-kind” contributions from domestic sponsors like United Airlines and General Motors and suppliers like Adidas and Marriott, plus individual income from the USOC’s 62 licensees, which range from Hallmark to Swatch.
Boston Herald: Middle-aged actresses primed for Oscars
Lackluster roles and films with low box office draw were once the best things most over-30 actresses could hope for. But this year’s crop of Oscar-nominated actresses features strong female leads and hit films -- Nia Vardalo (40 years old) in My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Nicole Kidman (35), Julianne Moore (CFA’83) (42), and Meryl Streep (56) in The Hours, Catherine Zeta-Jones (33) and Renee Zellweger (33) in Chicago, and Kathy Bates (54) in About Schmidt. An article in the February 11 Boston Herald says that older actresses now play vital and sexy characters and are earning recognition from such roles in popular films, which is a far cry from past Oscar nominations. “In 1994, the movie Blue Sky made about $3 million, but Jessica Lange won the Oscar for best actress,” says Charles Merzbacher, a COM associate professor in the department of film and television. “It was a very nice performance, but the interesting thing is that they had to dig that movie up. It got almost no distribution, but there was nothing else out there that merited the best actress win. Ten years ago, it was a very dark time for women in film.”
AD Week: Branding countries for investment dollars
While foreign countries have often relied upon American public relations and advertising agencies to market their locales for tourism, many PR firms are now landing government accounts for the purpose of wooing investors and enticing marquee events, such as the Olympics, to the countries, reports the February 10 Ad Week. The challenge in creating country campaigns, such as the recent “El Salvador Works” to highlight that country’s educated workforce and young population, is to dispel American perceptions of these countries as plagued by poverty or instability. “A good PR campaign introduces you to the human side of the country,” says John Verret, a COM associate professor in the department of mass communication, advertising, and public relations. This could mean raising awareness of a nation’s educational levels, natural resources, or inexpensive labor, he adds.
21
February 2003
Boston University
Office of University Relations