Looks pretty good. Although a version of my site (build back in the day with tables) had a header very similar to that. How funny.
Anyway, I think it's OK. Text may be a tad small as it seems the head/nav is overpowering it a bit. Also, why is the "news" wider than the "brief introduction" - doesn't make sense to me...
Maybe a different effect on rollover for the nav - maybe make the text contrast more...something. It's too bland right now.
Overall it's pretty good. Could use some fancy touches here and there.