Renowned biographer dies

Long-time Stanford professor and acclaimed biographer Diana Middlebrook died on Dec. 15 at the age of 68 in San Francisco. Middlebrook, an emeritus prof. of English, was an eminent feminist scholar who helped found feminist studies at Stanford. She was best known for her biographies, including the 1998 best-seller “Suits Me: The Double Life of Billy Tipton,” which documented the life of a cross-dressing female jazz player who lived as a man from age 19 on.

GSB Prof. dies at 85

Graduate School of Business Prof. Harold J. Leavitt, who played a pivotal role in the creation of organizational behavior, died on Dec. 8 in Pasadena, CA at the age of 85 due to pulmonary fibrosis. Leavitt’s research on behavior in organizations was groundbreaking, as he started in a time when others studied rats to understand human behavior and drew conclusions via statistical analysis. Leavitt broke from tradition and argued that organizational success should be judged in humans instead.

Prof. wins $200K award

Psychology Prof. Albert Bandura was recently awarded the 2008 Louisville Grawemeyer Award for Psychology, receiving a $200,000 prize. Bandura was recognized for his work in helping other psychologists understand human behavior. Bandura, who was selected from a group of 31 nominations for the award, was ranked the fourth most eminent psychologist of the twentieth century in 2002 by a survey in the Review of General Psychology. The Grawemeyer Foundation is based at the University of Louisville.