January 10, 2023    
 
Short List
 
News for the UChicago community
 
 
 
Lights … camera … and we’re rolling on the first Short List of 2023. Start off by meeting an alumna who discovered a career in film that drew on both her creative and analytical sides, and then edited some of the most recognizable movies of the past 50 years.
 
One of those movies, The Right Stuff, might have been described as “epic” when it came out in 1983—which was also the year that word came to mean “excellent.” We hope your year will be epic in that sense; in the meantime, keep reading to the Postscript to explore the word epic’s more literary meaning.
 
 
       
  Top of mind    
 
 
1. The right stuff for an Oscar
 
As she approached graduation, Lisa Fruchtman, AB’70, was torn between pursuing science or law. To stall for time, she went to the movies. More ➞
 
Catch up with an alumna faculty member who has made her name in film—from a scholarly angle.
 
 
 
2. I knew you were trouble (Taylor’s version)
 
Taylor Swift fans learned a hard lesson about capitalism last fall. The Capitalisn’t podcast explains the Ticketmaster debacle and the creative labor market, and wonders if there’s a better way. More ➞
 
Meet the alumna who studies Swift’s music and the rest of the Humanities Division’s new faculty members.
 
 
 
3. A refuge for scholars at risk
 
When war and conflict displace scholars and their families, the Hyde Park community springs into action. More ➞
 
Learn more about UChicago’s Scholars at Risk Committee.
 
 
       
  Plus . . .    
 
 
A science research center in the works  +  Get to know the new Alumni Board president  +  The suggestion box is open  +  Art, artifice, and artificial intelligence  +  Treatment beyond the wounds  +  See more stories
 
 
       
  Things to do    
 
January 14–16
 
 
 
January 16
 
Discuss Cultures of Belonging: Building Inclusive Organizations That Last with the Virtual Book Club ➞
 
 
 
January 20
 
Toast the Year of the Rabbit in person with the Alumni Club of Los Angeles ➞
 
         
         
    See more things to do    
         
         
 
       
  On the job    
 
Job of the week
 
Chief financial officer, Cincinnati Opera ➞
 
         
         
    See more jobs    
         
         
 
 
 
Professional development
 
January 12
 
Learn how to incorporate diversity, equity, and inclusion principles into your leadership philosophy in this virtual Career Month event ➞
 
         
         
    See more job resources    
         
         
 
 
       
  In memoriam    
 
 
Albert Madansky
 
 
Albert Madansky, AB’52, SM’55, PhD’58 (1934–2022)
 
A virtuoso statistician and longtime business school professor, Madansky quantified the risk of nuclear war and the value of stock options—and helped rate the best pastrami sandwich in New York City. More ➞
 
       
  Postscript    
 
 
Truly epic
 
Does an epic have to have a hero? Does it have to have a battle? A poet and a classicist consider what makes epic literature. More ➞
 
 
 
The editors welcome letters about our content or about the life of the University. Send your comments or updates for Alumni News to uchicago-magazine@uchicago.edu.
 
 
 
The University of Chicago Alumni and Friends
 
 
 
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