Harvard in the News - June 30, 2004

Howard Frank; helped develop pacemaker
The Boston Globe
June 30, 2004

Dr. Howard A. Frank, codeveloper of the cardiac pacemaker and a retired clinical professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School, died Sunday at his Brookline home from complications of a stroke. He was 89.

As an internationally known surgeon and researcher, perhaps the most celebrated event of Dr. Frank's career was a groundbreaking 1960 operation in which he implanted a cardiac pacemaker in a human being at what was then known as Beth Israel Hospital
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Harvard Sues Surgutneftegaz Over Dividends
The Wall Street Journal
June 30, 2004

Harvard University filed an international arbitration case against OAO Surgutneftegaz, Russia's fourth-largest oil producer.

The U.S. university's suit, seeking class-action status, alleges Surgutneftegaz intentionally denied holders of its preferred shares up to 80% of the dividends due to them. Harvard estimates its own loss at "millions of dollars..."

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Harvard files class action vs. Russian oil, gas co.
Boston Business Journal
June 29, 2004

Harvard University announced that it will bring an international class-action arbitration against Russian oil and gas company JSC Surgutneftegaz (Surgut) for withholding as much as 80 percent of cash distributions from shareholders

In a statement, Harvard Management Co's senior vice president and international equity portfolio manager Jeff Larson said Harvard was disappointed by its previous attempts to negotiate with Surgut. The Harvard Management Co. is the principal investment adviser to Harvard's endowment fund, which totals more than $18 billion...
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A 'third way' to cut healthcare costs
Christian Science Monitor
June 30, 2004

With another presidential campaign in full swing, polls show that the ever-rising cost of healthcare is near the top of voters' worries. Yet the candidates will almost certainly trot out the two timeworn choices: cut benefits or raise taxes. It is time to try a new approach. Alternative medicine promises an innovative, inclusive, and fiscally responsible solution

Mary Ruggie teaches at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. She is author of 'Marginal to Mainstream: Alternative Medicine in America.'
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Harvard Files Surgut ADRs Test Case
The Moscow Times (Russia)
June 30, 2004

For Harvard University, Russian studies and Russian cash are entirely different subjects.

A day after suffering an embarrassing legal defeat over its role in Russian privatizations during the 1990s, the celebrated institution of higher learning went on the offensive Tuesday, filing a class-action lawsuit against oil major Surgutneftegaz for depriving Harvard's pension fund of millions of dollars in dividends.

The pioneering claim against Surgut, in which Harvard owns an estimated $130 million worth of preferred shares of stock via American Depositary Receipts, could end up costing the closely held oil company hundreds of millions of dollars

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