Notables

U.S. Secretary of Education Rodney Paige has approved the nomination of Richard V. Burkhauser to serve as a member of the National Advisory Group for the National Technical Institute of the Deaf (NTID) at Rochester Institute of Technology for a four-year term beginning April 2003. RIT is one of only two universities that is funded by line item in the federal budget to provide a college education to deaf and hard-of-hearing students. Burkhauser, professor and chair of the department of policy analysis and management, is an expert on how public policies affect the economic behavior and well-being of vulnerable populations, such as older people and persons with disabilities. He is also the co-principal investigator of the Center for Economic Research on Employment Policy for Persons with Disabilities and, as such, has carried out an extensive program of technical assistance and presentations to government agencies, policy-makers and consumers on the employment and economic well-being of people with disabilities. NTID is the world's first and largest technical college for students who are deaf and hard of hearing.

Thomas Coleman, director of the Cornell Theory Center, has been named one of the "top people to watch" by HPC Wire, an online news service devoted to high-performance computing. He shares the honor with an assortment of government officials, corporate CEOs and other academic supercomputing workers. The listing calls attention to the fact that Cornell operates the world's largest Windows computer cluster complex as well as CTC-Manhattan, the first and only center devoted to the application of high-performance computing to Wall Street financial problems. HPC Wire whimsically suggests that Coleman might be a good person to call for stock tips.

Each year Literacy Volunteers of Tompkins County (LVTC) honors one outstanding tutor who exemplifies the spirit of the agency by helping people enrich their lives through literacy. This year, LVTC has chosen Sue Watkins, professor emeritus of textiles and apparel, as the recipient of LVTC's Henry Cowan Outstanding Tutor Award. Watkins has been a tutor with LVTC since 1999. "Her kindness, patience and professionalism continue to inspire students, tutors and LVTC staff alike. We are very grateful and proud to have Sue as a friend and volunteer," the LVTC staff wrote. LVTC named the award after another long-term, outstanding tutor and friend of LVTC, Henry Cowan, who will present the award to Watkins at LVTC's Annual Student and Tutor Recognition Dinner today, April 24, at the Women's Community Building in Ithaca, 5:30-8 p.m.