Columbia College Spring 2015 TODAY Congratulations, Class of 2015! Contents FEATURES ? 24 King of His Castle 30 Building a Lifeline Class Day Speakers From blockbuster movies to top-rated After the tragic loss of their son Jed, television, Andrew Marlowe ’88 has Phillip M. Satow ’63 and Donna Satow How well do you know the distinguished speakers built a career telling stories that channel GS’65 went on a mission to develop a from recent Class Day ceremonies? pop culture as well as the classics. comprehensive program to prevent young BY PHIL WALLACE ’04 people from suicide and self-harm. BY SHIRA BOss ’93, JRN’97, SIPA’98 1. This U.S. Senator and Columbia parent was the most recent keynote speaker (2006) who was not a College alumnus/a. 2. Name the 2005 speaker who owns four Super Bowl championship rings. 3. He twice won Tony Awards for Best Lead Actor in a Play, in 1999 for Death of a Salesman and in 2003 for Long Day’s Journey Into Night, and was the speaker in 2000. 4. Name the former NAACP president who spoke in 2010. 5. The 2009 speaker served as U.S. attorney general from 2009 to 2015. 6. This playwright won a Pulitzer Prize and two Tony Awards for Angels in America and spoke in 2004. 16 Class Day and 48 Alumni Reunion 7. A book author as well as a senior contributor for ABC News’ Good Morning America, Commencement 2015 this alumna was White House correspondent for rival network NBC when she spoke in 1999. Weekend and Dean’s Day The Class of 2015 graduates; plus 2015 8. Name the four-time Tony Award-winning playwright who was inducted into the Academic Awards and Prizes. American Theatre Hall of Fame in 1996 and spoke in 2013. Alumni get back in the New York City 19 Senior Snapshots and Columbia groove. 9. A Law School alumnus, this 2002 speaker was the National Basketball Association commissioner from 1984 to 2014. Seven members of the Class of 2015 talk about their paths to graduation and 10. This Clinton administration Secretary of the Treasury spoke in 1996. what’s next. BONUS: This actor and screenwriter spoke one year ago (above). ANSWERS ON PAGE 95. PHOTO: LIFETOUCH PHOTOGRAPHY 12 34 40 MESSAGE FROM DEAN JAMES J. VALENTINI Success Can Come in Unpredictable Ways hen Andrew Marlowe ’88, a recipient of a plishment can happen even in the face of obstacles. The alumni 2015 John Jay Award for distinguished pro- featured in CCT this month, including Marlowe, represent this. fessional achievement, spoke at the John Jay They show how the same Core Curriculum, the same educa- Lions win Ivy title Poems by Mark Strand Andy Bean ’01 and Fuller Condon ’00 Awards Dinner in March, he told the audi- tion, can lead to many different careers — to being a bariatric ence that while his friends at the College had surgeon who helps former pro athletes, to being a member Wbeen pre-law and pre-med, he was “pre-unemployment” — an of a vintage folk revival group or to being the executive pro- English literature major who wanted to tell stories. He didn’t ducer of PBS’ NewsHour. They also show how one can achieve DEPARTMENTS know what that would mean for his bank account. He moved to success following tragedy, as in the case of Phil Satow ’63, a WEB EXTRAS Hollywood and took a chance. successful entrepreneur and corporate executive who, with 3 Message from Dean James J. Valentini Marlowe went on to write the screenplays for Air Force One, his wife, Donna Satow GS’65, founded a leading charity com- Success can come in unpredictable ways. Andy Bean ’01 and Fuller Hollow Man and End of Days, and to be the longtime executive mitted to promoting emotional well-being and preventing sub- Condon ’00 in concert producer and a writer on the hit ABC series Castle, which has stance abuse and suicide among college students. The Satows’ 4 Letters to the Editor won a People’s Choice Award, a PRISM Award, a Shorty Award, remarkable story is one that can inspire all of us. Sara Just ’88’s an Emmy Award and a Golden Reel Award. Marlowe was one One of the College’s goals is for each of you to be involved 7 Around the Quads award-winning work of five alumni to receive a 2015 John Jay Award, along with Kyra in the Columbia College Alumni Association, and one way to The Class of 2015 toasts the year at the Senior Dinner. Tirana Barry ’87; Abigail Black Elbaum ’92, BUS’94; Ira Katznel- do so is to share your stories and experiences with students. Alumni Reunion Weekend son ’66; and Nicholas P. Leone ’88. All found success in unique You can interview prospective students through the Alumni and class photos 12 Roar, Lion, Roar and sometimes unpredictable ways. Representative Committee, conduct mock interviews through Lions win titles in baseball, men’s tennis, archery. I thought about the John Jay Award recipients in May as I the Center for Career Education, or serve as a mentor, adviser or More Letters to the Editor watched alumni carrying their class banners in the annual Alum- career advocate in so many other ways. You can read about how 34 Columbia Forum: Collected Poems Thank you to ARC ni Parade of Classes at Class Day, ushering members of the Class to get involved on the new Columbia College Alumni Associa- of 2015 as they transition to former students. Many of these 1,162 tion website: college.columbia.edu/alumni/serve/students. A selection from the work of Pulitzer Prize winner and members graduates already have jobs lined up, or plan to go on to graduate I hope you will consider returning to campus for the Alumni Columbia faculty member Mark Strand (1934–2014). college.columbia. or professional school in the fall. Others, like Marlowe, don’t have Procession at Convocation in late August, or the Alumni Parade edu/cct a clear idea where they’re headed. I told them in my Class Day of Classes at Class Day next May, to help our incoming students speech that, as our 47,500-plus alumni can show them, the path or graduating seniors move to the next phase of their lives. ALUMNI NEWS beyond College Walk may be straightforward or circuitous or surprising, but I have no doubt that it will lead to success. As I’ve written in this magazine, alumni are models for our 39 Message from CCAA President Douglas R. Wolf ’88 current students, helping them to envision their futures, to Building a vibrant CCAA community. recognize that life is not linear and to understand that accom- 40 Lions Andy Bean ’01 and Fuller Condon ’00; Henry Buchwald ’54, PS’57 and Archie Roberts ’65; Sara Just ’88 Like Columbia College 45 Alumni in the News Alumni on Facebook: facebook.com/alumnicc 46 Bookshelf Featured: Get in Trouble: Stories by Kelly Link ’91 52 Class Notes Follow @Columbia_CCAA on Twitter 92 Obituaries 96 Alumni Corner Join the Columbia College Thoughts for the Class of 2015 from keynote speeches by four alumni network on College alumni. LinkedIn: college.columbia. edu/alumni/linkedin President Lee C. Bollinger and Dean James J. Valentini offer congratulations to members of the Class of 2015. PHOTO: EILEEN BARROSO SUMMER 2015 COVER: EILEEN BARROSO 3 goulash, stuffed cabbage and (if I remember Those are among my fondest memories to get one’s check, as the entire staff often Letters to the Editor right) brains with eggs. My friend Jamie of Columbia at the time, when cooking gathered in the back for prolonged chant- Katz ’72, BUS’80 and I got a chuckle out of time at home was brief and commuting ing and meditation. I believe it opened in the fact that a menu choice was “two eggs consumed more time than one liked. And 1969, spread its yin and yang hither and to speed things up: A veal cutlet was, and style,” which we ordered thinking that I needn’t remind you about the price of yon, and closed within a year. Volume 42 Number 4 naturally, a VC. Veggies were numbers: “style” was some little-known Hungarian a glass of beer or a cup of coffee in those Second was the Ideal, an excellent Cuban Summer 2015 1=mashed; 2=French fries, on through 3, specialty. We quickly learned that, corrected days. They were wonderful days indeed; diner which opened on Broadway at West 4 and 5 which were (unsure of the order) for the typo, the line would have read “two thanks for stirring the memories! 109th Street in 1970, offering hearty and EDITOR IN CHIEF peas, string beans and corn. Bread was eggs any style.” Joe Russell ’49, LAW’52 tasty Cuban homestyle cooking and was a Alex Sachare ’71 lettered: A=white, B=wheat and C=rye. On another note, I was lucky enough NEW YORK CITY beachhead on the UWS as Cuban restau- EXECUTIVE EDITOR Having it toasted was “down.” So if you to take Art Humanities with the late rants started spreading north from Lisa Palladino shouted upon entering, “Gimme a VC, 2, David Rosand ’59, GSAS’65 — great Midtown. 5, C down,” it would appear in a few min- course, superb teacher [“Obituaries,” But third was probably my all-time MANAGING EDITOR utes! Some desserts were cryptic, too. A Alexis Tonti SOA’11 Winter 2014–15 issue]. favorite, Oro de Pavo Real (the Gold- “Torpedo” was strawberry ice cream with David Lehman ’70, GSAS’78 en Peacock), which opened on Broad- EDITORIAL ASSISTANT chocolate sauce.