<<

Columbia College Fall 2011 TODAY

Celebrating Our Students ’ll meet you for a I drink at the club...”

Meet. Dine. Play. Take a seat at the newly renovated bar & grill or fine dining room. See how membership in the Columbia Club could fit into your life. For more information or to apply, visit www.columbiaclub.org or call (212) 719-0380.

The Club of 15 West 43 St. New York, N Y 10036

Columbia’s SocialIntellectualCulturalRecreationalProfessional Resource in Midtown. Contents

FEATURES

34 Class Day and Commencement 22 Celebrating Our 48 Behind the Shell Students The Class of 2011 takes From 20 Alumni Celebrate its place in the ranks of to Hollywood, YouTube Reunion, Dean’s Day A behind-the-scenes look at College alumni. fame to a book deal, the Class of 2015, the most Alumni turned out in By Alex Sachare ’71 Jenny Slate ’04 is forging selective in Columbia record numbers to celebrate a resilient path to stardom. College history. Alumni Reunion Weekend By Mike Agresta ’04 and Dean’s Day 2011. By David McKay Wilson 38 Cairo Journal By Lisa Palladino A veteran of Spring ’68 52 Lions on the Air 30 Alumni Offer at Columbia offers a Words of Wisdom personal look at the ’98 and Arab Spring from Cairo. ’97 talk What message would By Marc Rauch ’69 sports on ESPN Radio Los alumni pass on to today’s Angeles. Plus, Dr. Robert incoming students? Klapper ’79, ’83 P&S talks By Daniella Zalcman ’09 orthopedics, health and wellness. By Phil Wallace ’04

FRONT COVER: (Left to right) Khalil Romain ‘12, Aida Conroy ‘13, Rebecca Rohrer ‘12 and Nathan Bailey ‘12. PHOTO: RANDY MONCEAUX DEPARTMENTS ALUMNI NEWS

3 College Announces 58 Dean’s Alumnae Interim Dean Leadership Task Force James J. Valentini has been A group of alumnae named interim Dean of the seeks to engage more College. women in the life of the College. 4 Letters to the Editor 59 Getting Involved: 7 Within the Family Kyra Tirana Barry ’87 Barry becomes the first woman president of the Columbia College Alumni Association Board of Directors. 60 Bookshelf Featured: Big Girl Small by Rachel DeWoskin ’94 42 Columbia Forum: Harlem 62 Obituaries Alexander Hamilton (Class of 1778) found tranquility in Harlem’s 66 Class Notes 8 Around the Quads wooded landscape. Plus, Alumni Sons and Gerry Lenfest ’58L will By Jonathan Gill ’86, Daughters. receive the Alexander ’99 GSAS Hamilton Medal. 112 Alumni Corner Neda Navad ’08 on Rwanda’s move from desolation to hope.

WEB EXTRAS 5 More Minutes with Holger A. Klein Sharene Wood ’94: Fashion Slideshow More Words of Wisdom from Alumni Thank You to Our FY’11 Donors Academic Awards and Prizes Seniors Celebrate at Annual Dinner college.columbia.edu/cct NEWS FROM THE COLLEGE Valentini Named Interim Dean

rofessor of Chemistry James J. Valentini has been many undergraduate and graduate chemistry lecture courses, named interim Dean of the College and Vice Presi- has developed and taught research seminars for first-year stu- dent for Undergraduate Education, replacing Mi- dents and seniors, and recently designed the course “Energy and chele Moody-Adams, who unexpectedly resigned Energy Conservation” to satisfy the Core science requirement. in late August. A member of Columbia’s faculty since 1991, Valen- ollinger accepted Moody-Adams’ late August resigna- Ptini led Columbia’s chemistry department as chair from 2005–08 tion effective immediately and, in a statement issued and was director of the department’s Undergraduate Studies Pro- shortly thereafter, thanked her for her service and for gram, Summer Session Chemistry Program and National Science Bher devotion to the College and its students. The former Foundation’s Research Experience for Undergraduates Program dean retains her post in the philosophy department as the Joseph from 2007 until his recent appointment. Straus Professor of Political Philosophy and Legal Theory. In announcing the appointment to In a September 2 announcement sent the College community on September 2, to College alumni about the Valentini ap- President Lee C. Bollinger lauded Valen- pointment, Bollinger affirmed the Uni- tini’s scholarship while noting that the versity’s commitment to the College as interim dean’s “two decades at Colum- the center of the University. “Whatever bia have been marked by a love of teach- has been true at certain moments in the ing undergraduates and dedication to past, I can say to you, without any quali- supporting their intellectual journey at fication, that our commitment to the Col- the College.” lege has never been stronger, and that “The College has been a central part of the College has never had a stronger role my life for the entire 20 years I have been in the University.” at Columbia,” Valentini says, “and my He also noted, “Columbia is a com- interaction with students in the College plex organization, with an expansive has been the most rewarding part of my mission, and a tradition of vigorous de- Columbia experience.” bate about its future. We are fortunate Valentini has worked extensively on to be able to work on these issues with curriculum matters, undergraduate af- not only a gifted faculty but also a board fairs, faculty governance and tenure. He of University Trustees informed by the has been chair of the Arts and Sciences strong representation of College alumni Academic Review Committee, chair of leaders, including the chair and three the College Committee on Science In- of four vice chairs, and a cohort of able struction, a member of the Committee and committed College alumni helping on the Core Curriculum and the College to move Columbia forward.” Committee on Instruction, and a faculty Valentini says he is committed to representative to the Columbia College James J. Valentini has been named interim Dean of meeting with students, faculty, staff and Alumni Association Board of Directors. the College and Vice President for Undergraduate alumni and providing transparency and He also served on the search commit- Education for the 2011–12 academic year. communication of information regard- tee for the now former dean and on a PHOTO: EILEEN BARROSO ing the decision-making process. He set Presidential­ Advisory Committee on up a special email address for feedback Diversity Initiatives. He was for many years an active member of ([email protected]) and, at the suggestion of a stu- the University Senate. dent, sent a video message to students during his first month as The interim dean’s research focuses on chemical reaction dy- interim dean. namics. He has published more than 100 academic papers and “The Dean of Columbia College has many jobs, but just one has been named a fellow in both the American Association for responsibility,” he says, “and that is to make the undergraduate the Advancement of Science and the American Physical Society. experience at Columbia the very best it can be, for the students He was the first in his family to attend college, earning aB.S. enrolled in the College and the faculty who teach them, protect- from Pittsburgh in 1972 and then an M.S. from Chicago in 1973 ing what we have that is already great, enhancing what it is that is and a Ph.D. from UC Berkeley in 1976, all in chemistry. He did now merely good and developing what it is that is less than good. post-doctoral research at Harvard. Valentini was a member of the “I thank Michele Moody-Adams for leading the College these research staff at Los Alamos National Laboratory and a professor of past two years and wish her the best in her faculty position.” chemistry at UC Irvine before coming to Columbia. He has taught Lisa Palladino

FALL 2011 3 Letters to the Editor

Volume 39 Number 1 Fall 2011

EDITOR AND PUBLISHER Alex Sachare ’71

MANAGING EDITOR Lisa Palladino

FORUM EDITOR Rose Kernochan ’82 Barnard

CONTRIBUTING WRITER Shira Boss ’93, ’97J, ’98 SIPA

EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Samantha Jean-Baptiste ’13

DESIGN CONSULTANT Jean-Claude Suarès

ART DIRECTOR Gates Sisters Studio

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Eileen Barroso Max S. Gerber Randy Monceaux Char Smullyan Daniella Zalcman ’09

Published quarterly by the Columbia College Office of Alumni Affairs and Development for Two ROTC students in dress uniform pass by the statue of Alexander Hamilton in this historical alumni, students, faculty, parents and photo, date unknown. friends of Columbia College.

SENIOR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF ALUMNI AFFAIRS AND Return of ROTC whether this content satisfies the high COMMUNICATIONS standards of honesty and openness to di- Sherri Jones Since the University Senate has decided verse viewpoints that has traditionally in- to invite the Pentagon to reassert its pres- Address all correspondence to: formed Columbia’s course content? Who Columbia College Today ence on the campus via its ROTC program, Columbia Alumni Center prevails in case of disagreement? it must believe that the relevant context 622 W. 113th St., MC 4530, 1st Fl. What assurance is there that instructors New York, NY 10025 for this decision is different today than in in those courses who wear the uniforms of 212-851-7852 1969, when it banished the program. In E-mail (editorial): [email protected]; their service, or civilians in its employ, will (advertising): [email protected]. what does this difference lie, other than the enjoy the protections of academic freedom Online: college.columbia.edu/cct. perception that the student body has been to the same extent as does Columbia’s ISSN 0572-7820 “pacified,” obviating the threat of disrup- faculty? Will ROTC students feel, and be, Opinions expressed are those of the tive activities in response to ROTC’s return? as free to argue with and contradict their authors and do not reflect official Is the foreign policy of the United States positions of Columbia College military superiors in the classroom as we or Columbia University. less militarized now than in 1969? Is the all were to question our instructors in our presence of a regimented and hierarchi- © 2011 Columbia College Today undergraduate days at the College? All rights reserved. cal uniformed presence on campus, based As for the argument that it is desirable on unquestioning obedience, more com- that the officer corps of the military be ex- patible with the skeptical and inquiring posed to the influence, presumably benign, scholarly attitude that should characterize of a Columbia education, is the Indochina a liberal, humane university now than in War so remote from contemporary sensi- 1969? Are military history and strategy not bilities or memories that we forget that it already studied and taught in several of the was conceived, implemented and man- CCT welcomes letters from readers about articles in the magazine but cannot University’s departments by scholars who aged by civilian and military authorities print or personally respond to all letters are credentialed and peer-reviewed? with impeccable credentials, the received. Letters express the views of What will be the relationship between “best and the brightest,” with consequenc- the writers and not CCT, the College or the University. Please keep letters to 250 the University and the military authori- es disastrous both for our country and for words or fewer. All letters are subject to ties as to the content of ROTC courses for the region that was “bombed back to the editing for space and clarity. Please direct which academic credit will presumably Stone Age”? Is not the situation paralleled letters for publication “to the editor.” be awarded? In other words, who decides by the catastrophe of the post-invasion

FALL 2011 4 occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan, also set in motion by well-educated officials obedient to their superiors, rather than to their university-inculcated values? Your photo caption on page 8 of the May/June issue recalls midshipmen dril­ ling on College Walk and neighboring streets. Is this the image of Columbia’s role that our newfound “Good Neighbor” policy seeks to project to our surrounding communities — soldiers or sailors carry- ing weapons parading up and down their streets — in Columbia’s name? In sum, I am not “stuck in a ’60s mind- set” or inflexibly hostile to all militaries everywhere. I am simply raising questions that seem to me to have so far been given insufficient consideration by the Senate in deciding to reverse its 42-year-old policy. David N. Stern ’66 Brooklyn, N.Y.

I deplore the vote of the University Senate to invite ROTC back to the Columbia campus. McKim, Mead & White architecture is reflected The Northwest Corner Building provides a Columbia should be encouraging its in this St. Paul’s Chapel window. modern contrast to older campus architecture. students in the ways of peace and interna- PHOTO: EILEEN BARROSO PHOTO: © 2010 BOB HANDELMAN tional amity, not in the ways of war and de- struction. Also, military training of young Kateri Residence, a nursing home on Riv- And yet, why couldn’t we simply have people will embolden our government to erside Drive at West 87th Street. Professor kept paint on the old windows? It would continue its aggressive forays in Iraq, Iran, Selig, though confronting physical infirmi- have been considerably cheaper. In fact, Latin America and elsewhere. ty, retains all of his renowned wit and liter- why not hire a good old-fashioned car- I urge the University Senate to rescind ary acuity; engaging conversation proved penter to start patching them all up im- the vote to have ROTC back on campus. the tenor of the evening. mediately, and then discuss which ones Albon Man ’40, ’50 GSAS, ’50L Professor Selig invites all his former really need replacement? Having re- Palisades, N.Y. students to visit him at 150 Riverside Dr., stored more than 40 windows in my 1906 Room 905B, New York, NY 10024 or to call house, I know that many of the windows A while back I had made Ted Graske ’59, him at 212-799-2232. slated for the dumpster could be brought chair of the Columbia Alliance for ROTC, Howard Levi ’78, ’79 GSAS, ’82L back to health with a little care and epoxy aware of the lapsed campaign to establish a and wood filler. war memorial at Columbia to honor those Carl Caravana ’78, ’84 Dental But back to the issue of a building’s soul: alumni who had been killed while serving Warren, Conn. Whether we prefer time-consuming and the United States during the wars that it has costly replacement or immediate and com- engaged in. Ted and his organization went Our Buildings’ Eyes prehensive salvage, we all care very much to work on it immediately, and the war I agree with Thomas Vinciguerra ’85, ’86J, about our buildings’ beautiful eyes. Every memorial was created (college.columbia. ’90 GSAS’ characterization of Columbia time I visit our campus, I’m entranced by edu/cct/mar_apr09/around_the_quads2). buildings erected since the 1950s as “soul- the shapes, sizes and decorations of the Now, because of the efforts of Ted, his or- less” (“Letters,” May/June). What makes windows in their casings, each subtly ganization and other people, Columbia has them soulless? And why do our McKim, matched to the character of its building. signed an agreement that officially recog- Mead & White masterpieces seem to have I imagine running my hands along the nizes a Naval ROTC program at Columbia. souls? Rather than ranting about the de- wood and stone — the ridges, curves, out- Ted Graske and the Columbia Alliance humanization of architecture since Le lines, layers, panels and accents. Far from for ROTC should be congratulated for their Corbusier, I’ll propose that the windows random, these elements are full of allusions work on the war memorial and their cam- of the original campus buildings suggest to past styles, cultures and complex aes- paign to bring ROTC back to Columbia. answers. thetic languages. The latter has not been fully accomplished, Have you noticed how many of our Does the new Northwest Corner Build- but they are vigorously working on it. windows are rotting? I complained to ing do that to you? Moneo’s machined Frederick C. Stark Jr. ’57 the administration last year and was as- patterns do not sing, do not reach out, do Abingdon, Md. sured that the Exteriors and Historic not suggest human contact. Who wants Preservation team, created in 2006, has to touch a “giant cheese-grater”? You’d Professor Selig been working on replacing some of the scrape your fingers. How could there be a We visited beloved teacher and Cervantes “beyond repair” windows with custom- soul behind all that metal? scholar Professor Karl-Ludwig Selig at the made replicas. I applaud their efforts. We might think about our own souls,

FALL 2011 5 too. How many of us walk by our sorry windows every day without noticing? Considering that buildings reflect moral outlook, we might follow the links be- tween neglect of our windows, disrespect for their buildings’ aesthetic integrity and enthusiasm for University expansion. In this world where habits of aggressive growth threaten the existence of the hu- man race, why can’t we just stop, look around and take care of what we have? Evan Johnson ’75 Edgewater, N.J. Capitalistic Medicine Dr. Ralph Freidin ’65 wrote about serving in a free medical clinic and described the plight of the uninsured and their inability to afford healthcare (“Alumni Corner,” Kyra Tirana Barry ’87, president of the Columbia College Alumni Association, handed out copies of May/June). I have been practicing a sub- the Iliad to members of the Class of 2015 at a June Summer Advising session in Alfred Lerner Hall. specialty of medicine since 1981 and have PHOTO: CHAR SMULLYAN volunteered my time in free clinics as well, though certainly not to the extent outlined Enviro-Statists change law,” commutes to the Columbia in this article; nor have I traveled to such The feature “Guru of Climate Change Law,” campus from his home in Chappaqua, N.Y., clinics. written by Shira Boss ’93, ’97J, ’98 SIPA for by public transportation “to reduce his car- I would, however, like to add some the May/June issue, is emblematic of envi- bon footprint.” However, if we ignore the context to the phenomenon of the unin- ro-statist hypocrisy. Enviro-statists, whether superficial rhetoric and examine beneath sured and underinsured in America. At under the auspices of the Environmental the surface, as Plato would have encour- least here in Ohio, many “working poor” Protection Agency, environmental law firms aged, a simple white pages.com and zillow. do have access to Medicaid. Medicaid (which make money representing both com search reveals another green-hypocrite. reimburses physicians poorly, but has a plaintiffs and defendants) or groups such as Gerrard lives in a 3,603 sq. ft. single-family nominal $2 co-pay for most medications the Sierra Club, master the manipulation of home with central air conditioning, obvi- and is accepted by many of us in practice scare tactics and language. Whether for their ously creating a carbon footprint many fold and by all hospitals. So this safety net own personal power, money or fame, they more than if he lived in an even above–aver- may not be without its rips in the fabric, use dubious science to benefit their own age-sized apartment. but it is not entirely absent, as might be needs. “Green” has become “big green,” Dr. Aaron Gleckman ’88 imagined from the experiences described in other words, dollars, for them, all at the Providence, R.I. by Freidin. expense of our personal liberty. These envi- The Iliad One also should take into account the ronmental lawyers and bureaucrats want to role of non-compliance (now called “non- dictate to us what types of toilets and light September 1947. A 16-year-old freshman adherence”) on the part of patients, wealthy bulbs we use, what type of car we drive and went to McMillan bookstore and picked up or indigent. Non-compliance is a significant what type of fuel we use. a pile of books. His first Humanities assign- contributor to poor health outcomes but it As I learned from studying Plato at Co- ment was Homer’s Iliad. is very difficult to measure by the nature of lumbia, appearances are often deceiving. How strange-sounding were those first those who do not or cannot comply. Former Vice President Albert Gore, proba- lines, “Sing, goddess, the anger of Peleus’ Private practice is under attack; it is bly the biggest “green guru” in our country, son Achilles---?” I wondered who Achil- thought that the large “clinic” models are lived in a mansion that used 20 times more les was and what he was angry about. the best hope for medicine in the United energy than the national average. President The book was about an ancient, brutal States. However, I have yet to see an Barack Obama ’83 lectures working-class and destructive war, and I was reading it American patient traveling to Canada for Americans on how they need to “cut back” while one of the most brutal and destruc- his or her health care; I have seen them on energy use for the good of the country tive wars was occurring as the Nazis ap- coming even to Cleveland from Canada by buying a hybrid vehicle (most of which proached Stalingrad. for access to U.S. medicine. There is no are too expensive for them to purchase). I recently read Caroline Alexander’s black and white, simplistic answer, such Meanwhile, Obama has a huge carbon The War That Killed Achilles: The True Story as “single payer” and so on. But we do footprint — he flies onAir Force One to Cali- of Homer’s Iliad and the Trojan War. The know that new drugs are designed in the fornia, at about one gallon of gas/second, book is a marvelous exegesis of the Iliad. U.S., I think because we remain some- for campaign fundraisers, where he lobbies Wars kill, and the Trojan war, fought over what capitalistic. The socialized medicine for his “green energy” plan (all at the ex- trivialities, killed the best of men. of Europe and Canada has not produced pense of the taxpayer). Here I am, an old man, coming full circle new medications in decades. And finally, in the previously-named from the Core Curriculum and the first great Dr. Samuel M. Salamon ’74 CCT article, we are told that attorney Mi- anti-war saga to a contemporary analysis Euclid, Ohio chael Gerrard ’72, the “guru of climate (Continued on page 111)

FALL 2011 6 WITHIN THE FAMILY Looking Back, Looking Forward

n a sunny autumn morning 10 years ago, I was switched to a magazine format in December 1960. After several having breakfast in Low Rotunda at a meeting interruptions, it was relaunched in Winter 1972 and has been of alumni relations professionals from Columbia published continually ever since. and its Ivy peers. Afterward I stopped by my of- In the 1990s, a concerted effort was begun to build alumni par- fice and found a group of colleagues gathered by ticipation and to more actively involve alumni with one another the reception counter, huddled around a black- and the College. CCT went quarterly in 1998 as the cornerstone Oand-white portable TV. It was then I discovered that this was to of the communications component of this participation plan and be no ordinary autumn morning. grew to a bimonthly in September 2001. The theory was simple: September 11, 2001, is one of those dates that is imprinted in As I wrote in that issue, “The best way to connect, or re-con- the mind, one of those dates that will live in infamy, as FDR said nect, alumni with the College and each other is through regular 70 years ago following the bombing of Pearl Harbor. For alumni communication.” my age, that list surely includes November 22, 1963, the date John Much has changed in the decade since then. Columbia magazine F. Kennedy was assassinated; alumni from different generations (which serves alumni of all 16 University schools) has been revived may have others on their personal lists. and regularly appears quarterly, so that lately, College alumni have My 9-11 experience, thankfully, was unremarkable. For several been receiving 10 magazines a year (more if you have more than hours, I watched what was happening from the Alumni Office, one degree). Electronic communication has exploded and become some eight miles north of Ground Zero. I was able to call my wife a way of life for many. Facebook, and all other social media in Westchester to let her know I was fine and would be making were merely figments of fertile imaginations way back then. my way home. I got into my car and headed north, finding the By going quarterly, we will be able to better plan each issue of streets clogged with traffic and most of the bridges leading from CCT and more fully develop and present themes as warranted. the island of Manhattan closed for security reasons. I stopped a This issue, for example, includes three articles focusing on the mounted policeman who let me know of one small bridge over Class of 2015, its makeup and ways in which it was welcomed to the that was still open, and four hours after leaving the College community, plus a feature in which alumni offer words my office I pulled into my driveway. of advice to those following in their footsteps. A future issue will Many were not so fortunate. Some 2,753 people, including be themed around the 25th anniversary of the graduation of the eight College alumni (college.columbia.edu/cct_archive/nov01/ College’s first coed class. nov01_cover_rememberinglost.html), lost their lives in the trag- Along with enhanced content, we also are working to improve edy, and many more suffered physical and emotional scars that the look of our magazine, making it cleaner and fresher. The goal is may never fully heal. Some of them were students here at the Col- to better present all the things you have come to expect from us: a lege, seeing for the first time just how horrible a place the world robust Class Notes section, features on the fascinating people who sometimes can be. make up the College family, provocative essays in “Columbia Fo- Campus reaction was remarkable. Many students headed rum,” the latest news from Morningside Heights in “Around the to Ground Zero and volunteered in the relief effort. A moving Quads,” expanded coverage of athletics in “Roar Lion Roar” and candlelight vigil grew spontaneously on Low Plaza that night, regular departments such as Bookshelf, Obituaries and more. the first of many services that would take place. While many ex- As always, we welcome your feedback and participation: tracurricular events were canceled through the weekend, classes college.columbia.edu/cct/contactus. were resumed on Wednesday in an effort to restore a sense of normalcy. Many of the class discussions centered on the tragedy fter the resignation of Dean Michele Moody-Adams in as faculty offered their perspectives. “It was very helpful to have late August, an interim dean, James J. Valentini, was some structure instead of sitting around watching TV,” one stu- Anamed (see page 3). In her two years as dean, Moody- dent noted at the time; another said that returning to class “while Adams contributed a great deal, including the formation of the difficult, was very therapeutic.” Dean’s Alumnae Leadership Task Force (see page 58), record Ten years later, it is worth pausing for a moment to remember fundraising for the Columbia College Fund, strong support for — not just the heinous act, but the heroic response by everyday financial aid, and a firm commitment to the sciences and to the people that marked the days that followed. Core Curriculum. Valentini, a professor of chemistry as well as the former direc- his issue launches a new era for Columbia College Today. tor of undergraduate studies for the department, is a distinguished After 10 years as a bimonthly, we are moving to a quar- scientist and educator who has been a faculty member since 1991 T terly publication schedule. With the start of each season, and has been in the forefront of Columbia’s resurgence in under- look for an enhanced magazine that we hope will bring you even graduate science education. CCT spent “5 Minutes with …” Val- more of the good things you have come to expect from us, in a entini in 2007 (college.columbia.edu/cct_archive/jul_aug07/ more attractive format. quads8.php) and wishes him the best in his new responsibilities. Some brief history is in order. Columbia College Today began as a newspaper serving College alumni in November 1954 and

FALL 2011 7

COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY AROUND THE QUADS Lenfest Will Receive Alexander Hamilton Medal

B y L i s a P a ll a d i n o

niversity Trustee Gerry ments to the Campbell Sports Center and Lenfest ’58L is the bene- the Columbia University Libraries promise factor who has done to have direct impact for students. more than any other to Lenfest’s long record of giving also build the faculty teach- includes support for financial aid at P&S, ing in Columbia Col- various initiatives at Nursing, Miller The- Ulege. He will be presented with the 2011 atre and more, and he chairs the Universi- Alexander Hamilton Medal on Thursday, ty’s 1754 Society, an association of all who November 17. have named Columbia in their estates. Lenfest’s 2006 pledge to match gifts for A University Trustee since 2001, Lenfest endowed faculty chairs in the Arts and was presented with the Honorary Doctor Sciences inspired other donors to create of Laws from the University in 2009. 25 new endowed professorships. The A graduate of Washington and Lee, Distinguished Columbia Faculty Awards, Lenfest practiced law at the New York established by Lenfest in 2005, also build firm of Davis Polk & Wardwell before this faculty by recognizing those who becoming corporate counsel of Walter excel not only in research but also in the Annenberg’s Triangle Publications in instruction and mentoring of under- of endeavor. It will be presented at the 1965. In 1970 he was made managing graduate and graduate students. So far 53 Alexander Hamilton Award Dinner, an director of the company’s communica- faculty members have received the honor. annual black-tie event in Low Rotunda. tions division, then consisting of Seventeen The Hamilton Medal is awarded annu- Lenfest’s giving is remarkable for magazine and Triangle’s cable television ally by the Columbia College Alumni As- both its scale and enormous range. In properties. In 1974 he started Lenfest sociation for distinguished service to the 2006, in addition to his $37.5 million Arts Communications with the purchase of College and accomplishment in any field and Sciences match, he pledged $10.5 two cable television companies from An- million to match endowed professor- nenberg. In 2000, the company, with more ships at his alma mater, the Law School. than 1.2 million subscribing homes, was He has given extensively in support of sold to COMCAST Corp. Manage Your the Lenfest Hall residence and other Law In addition, Lenfest serves or has School projects and programs. His broad served on the boards and councils of Subscription interests encompass promoting sustain- many nonprofit organizations, including f you live in the United States and able development and advanced solu- the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where prefer reading CCT online, you can tions to global climate change and acute he serves as chairman of the board of I help us go green and save money global poverty, including support for the trustees, chairman of the James Madison by opting out of the print edition. Click Lenfest Center for Sustainable Energy, Council of the Library of Congress and “Manage Your Subscription” at college. the Gary C. Comer Geochemistry Build- chairman of the board of trustees of the columbia.edu/cct and follow the do- ing at Lamont Doherty and other Earth Curtis Institute of Music. He is a past mestic instructions. We will continue to Institute initiatives. trustee of Washington and Lee and past Lenfest’s most recent commitments to president of the board of Mercersburg notify you by email when each issue is the College include establishing, together Academy. posted online. You may be reinstated to with Board of Visitors Chair and Universi- For more information on the dinner, receive the print edition at any time by ty Trustee Jonathan S. Lavine ’88, a match- contact Robin Vanderputten, associate sending a note to [email protected]. ing fund to endow five assistant professor- director, College events and programs: ships in the Core Curriculum. His commit- [email protected] or 212-851-7399.

FALL 2011 8 COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY AROUND THE QUADS Lions To Face Penn at Homecoming 2011

wo-time defending Ivy League champion Penn will provide the opposition for the Columbia T Lions at Homecoming 2011, which will be held on Saturday, October 15, at Baker Athletics Complex. Prior to the game, there will be a gourmet barbe- cue buffet lunch under the Big Tent and family fun at the Columbia Homecoming Carnival, featuring face painting, balloon making, magic, games, prizes and inter- active activities for fans of all ages. Although the Lions came up short on the football field against Dartmouth at Homecoming last The tent opens for lunch and min- year, alumni had fun under the Big Tent and at the Carnival. gling with alumni, parents, students and PHOTOS: EILEEN BARROSO friends at 12:00 p.m. Kickoff at Robert K. Kraft Field is at 3:30 p.m. This year’s kick- seats are $25; reserved bench seats are $15. 1 and A trains, as well as the M100, Bx20 off is scheduled for a later time than usual There are several options for getting and Bx7 buses, stop near the complex. For because the game is being nationally tele- to Baker Athletics Complex. Shuttle bus- those traveling by Metro-North Railroad, vised on Versus. es from the Morningside campus will be the Marble Hill station is located on the Lunch tickets are $20 for adults and $10 available beginning at 1:00 p.m. and will north shore of Spuyten Duyvil, just across for children under 12 if purchased online return immediately following the game. the Broadway Bridge from the Baker Ath- by Thursday, October 13: college.columbia. The Morningside campus pickup will be letics Complex. Please visit mta.info prior edu/alumni/homecoming. Lunch tickets from the gates at West 116th Street and to the game for up-to-date information. also are available on site: $22 for adults Broadway. Log on to gocolumbialions. On-site preferred parking at Baker and $12 for children. Each lunch ticket in- com prior to the game for up-to-date Athletics Complex is available as a benefit cludes an all-you-can-eat barbecue buffet, information. only to those individuals making quali- soft drinks and admittance to the Colum- Fans also may use mass transit. MTA fying gifts to Columbia football. Single- bia Homecoming Carnival. Beer, wine and game parking passes are not available. cocktails will be available at an additional Fans arriving by vehicle without on-site cost. There also will be limited cash-and- Tweet from Homecoming preferred parking passes will be directed carry items. The Columbia Alumni Asso- Let your classmates and friends to public parking facilities in the area. ciation will provide halftime refreshments know what is happening at For more information about Baker under the Big Tent. #ColumbiaHomecoming by tweet- Athletics Complex 2011 football game day To purchase football tickets, which ing from the Big Tent or the game! policies and procedures, including the pre- are separate from lunch tickets, call 888- Be sure to follow @Columbia_CCAA game picnic area, public parking options, LIONS-11 or purchase online: gocolum to get alumni news and more. fans code of conduct and more, visit bialions.com/tickets. Premium chairback gocolumbialions.com/footballgameday.

FALL 2011 9

AROUND THE QUADS COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY Columbia Will Reinstate Naval ROTC

he Naval Reserve Of- ROTC to campus will only serve ficers Training Corps, to enhance and strengthen our a campus fixture for institutions.” T more than 50 years but Under the agreement, there absent since 1969, is coming back. will be an NROTC office on Columbia President Lee campus where active-duty Navy C. Bollinger and Secretary of and Marine Corps officers will the Navy Ray Mabus signed meet with Columbia NROTC an agreement on May 26 to midshipmen, who will partici- reinstate NROTC programs at pate in NROTC through a unit the University after more than hosted at SUNY Maritime Col- 40 years. The agreement was lege in the Throgs Neck section signed at a ceremony on board of . the U.S.S. Iwo Jima, which was Columbia had one of the first docked in New York for the Naval ROTC detachments in Navy’s annual Fleet Week. Columbia President Lee C. Bollinger and Secretary of the Navy Ray Ma- the nation in 1916, and for more bus sign the agreement on May 26 reinstating NROTC at Columbia. “Repeal of the ‘Don’t Ask, PHOTO: MICHAEL DAMES than 50 years, ROTC students Don’t Tell’ law provided a his- took Naval Science classes, toric opportunity for our nation Under the agreement, Columbia will drilled on College Walk and to live up to its ideals of equality and also resume full and formal recognition of worked on ships and submarines in New for universities to reconsider their relation- Naval ROTC after the effective date of the York Harbor. More than 20,000 officer can- ships with the military,” Bollinger said repeal of the law that disqualified openly didates trained at Columbia during WWII, when the agreement was announced in gay men and lesbians from military ser- but following the Spring 1968 demonstra- April. “After many months of campus vice, anticipated to come later this year. tions, the University terminated its rela- discussion, open forums and a strongly “NROTC’s return to Columbia is good tionship with the NROTC program. favorable vote in the University Senate, to- for the University, good for the military “When I was president of my senior gether with consultation with the Univer- and good for our country,” said Mabus at class in 1968, Columbia students were at sity’s Council of Deans, it is clear that the the signing. “Columbia’s tremendous sup- the forefront of expressing dissent with time has come for Columbia to reengage port to our men and women in uniform the war in Vietnam,” noted Arthur B. with the military program of ROTC … returning from the recent wars is over- Spector ’68. “But the LBJ era is a long time and thereby add to the diversity of choices whelming, as are the growing numbers of ago. The decision to allow ROTC on cam- for education and public service we make veterans who are woven into the fabric of pus is long overdue. We need Columbia- available to our students.” this great institution. The return of Naval educated professionals in the military.” Mazower, Deodatis To Be Feted as Great Teachers ark Mazower, the Ira D. Wallach tion, a rarity for a senior tenured faculty contributed in developing theories and Professor of World Order Studies, member, and a senior seminar in intellectual methodologies for simulation of stochastic Mchair of the history department thought in 19th- and 20th-century Europe. processes and fields to model uncertain and director of the Center for International A prolific and gifted writer, Mazower’s earthquake/wind/wave loads and mate- History at the College, and Dr. George Deo- most recent book, Hitler’s Empire: How the rial/soil properties. He also is active in the datis, the Santiago and Robertina Calatrava Nazis Ruled Europe, received the 2009 Lio- reliability and safety analysis of structures, Family Professor of Civil Engineering, have nel Trilling Award, which is bestowed annu- stochastic mechanics and earthquake en- been selected as the 2011 recipients of the ally by Columbia College students. gineering. annual Great Teachers Award. Deodatis began his academic career at The Society of Columbia Graduates es- The award, presented by the Society of Princeton in 1988 and received the school’s tablished the Great Teachers Award in 1949 Columbia Graduates, will be presented at highest teaching honor, the President’s to honor the faculty of the College and En- the group’s annual dinner in Low Rotunda Award for Distinguished Teaching. He came gineering. Recipients have included Jacques on Thursday, November 3. to Columbia in 2002 and five years later Barzun ’27, ’32 GSAS; Mark Van Doren ’21 Mazower came to Columbia from Eng- was honored with the newly established GSAS; Moses Hadas ’30 GSAS; Lionel Trilling land in 2004 as a tenured professor of Santiago and Robertina Calatrava Family ’25, ’38 GSAS; Kathy Eden; Kenneth Jackson; history after establishing himself as a first- Professorship in the Department of Civil Alan Brinkley; Andrew Delbanco; and Robert rate teacher and scholar at Christ Church, Engineering and Engineering Mechanics. In Belknap ’57 SIPA, ’59 GSAS. Oxford, Princeton, the University of Sussex 2009, Deodatis was one of the recipients For further information, contact Andrew and Birkbeck College . He specializes of Columbia’s Presidential Awards for Out- Gaspar ’69E at 212-705-0153 or agaspar@ in modern Europe within the international standing Teaching. gasparglobal.com, or Anna Longobardo context and specifically the history of the His research interests are in the area of ’49E, ’52E at 914-779-2448 or longbard@ Balkans and of modern Greece. He teaches probabilistic methods in civil engineering optonline.net, or visit the society’s website both semesters of Contemporary Civiliza- and engineering mechanics, where he has (socg.com).

FALL 2011 10 COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY AROUND THE QUADS

Klein, Shapiro Receive Van Doren, Trilling Awards

he Columbia College Student was presented to James Shapiro ’77, the sor that best exhibits the standards of in- Council’s Academic Awards Com- Larry Miller Professor of English and tellect and scholarship found in the work T mittee awarded the 2011 Mark Van Comparative Literature, for Contested of longtime Columbia faculty member Doren and Lionel Trilling Awards on May Will: Who Wrote Shakespeare? Shapiro Lionel Trilling ’25, ’38 GSAS, an author 3 in the Faculty Room of Low Library. earned a Ph.D. from Chicago in 1982 and renowned literary critic. The 50th annual Mark Van Doren and has been teaching at Columbia since The awards are unique for Columbia Award, which honors a Columbia pro- 1985. The Trilling Award honors a book because they are the only academic hon- fessor for his/her commitment to from the past year by a Columbia profes- ors judged and presented by students. undergraduate instruction as well as for “humanity, devotion to truth and inspiring leadership,” was presented to Holger A. Klein, associate professor of art history and archaeology. Klein earned a Ph.D. from the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität in 2000 and specializes in Late Antique, Early Medieval and Byzantine art and archi- tecture. He edited the Kariye Camii Re- considered (2011) and has published ar- ticles in a variety of academic journals. (For more on Klein, see page 14.) The award is named for Mark Van Doren ’21 GSAS, a Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, novelist, literary critic and longtime Celebrating at the May 3 ceremony were (left to right) Academic Awards Committee Co-chair Erik Kogut ’12, AAC Co-chair Cathi Choi ’13, the Larry Miller Professor of English and Compara- Columbia faculty member with a reputa- tive Literature James Shapiro ’77, former Dean Michele Moody-Adams, Associate Professor of tion for pedagogical greatness. Art History and Archaeology Holger A. Klein and AAC Co-chair Anna Malkan ’11. The 36th annual Lionel Trilling Award PHOTO: DANIELLA ZALCMAN ’09

COLUMBIACOLUMBIA COLLEGECOLLEGE AALUMNILUMNI RREUNIONEUNION WWEEKENDEEKEND

Make plans now to return to New In an effort to reduce costs and be environmentally-friendly, Columbia College Alumni Affairs and your class’ Reunion Classes York City and the Columbia campus Committee will communicate with you via e-mail as much 1942 for Alumni Reunion Weekend 2012. as possible. Be sure you don’t miss out on reunion details! 1947 Update your contact information at http://reunion.college. 1952 The weekend will feature: columbia.edu/alumniupdate. BIA C 1957 Class-specific panels, cocktail receptions and dinners MBI COL LU LE Watch your mail and email OL G 1962 planned by each class’ Reunion Committee; O E C 1967 “Back on Campus” sessions featuring Core Curriculum for details. 1972 lectures, Public Intellectual lectures and more as part Questions? Please contact 1977 of Saturday’s Dean’s Day; Fatima Yudeh, [email protected] 1982 New York City entertainment options including or 212-851-7834. 1987 Broadway shows and other cultural activities; ALUMNI REUNION 1992 All-class programs including: Wine Tasting and 1997 Starlight Reception with dancing, champagne and WEEKEND 2002 sweets on Low Plaza; and Camp Columbia for little Columbians, ages 3–12. 2007 SAVESAVE THETHE DATEDATE THURSDAY,THURSDAY, MAYMAY 31–-31–- SUNDAY,SUNDAY, JUNEJUNE 33,, 20122012

AROUND THE QUADS COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT Tehreem Rehman ’13 Pursues Interest in Women’s Health Issues

B y N at h a l i e A l o n s o ’08

s a budding scientist in high ter in Hindi and Urdu. school with numerous acco- Rehman attributes her newfound lades under her belt, Tehreem causes and interests in part to “Women ARehman ’13 was so set on and Gender Politics in the Muslim pursuing a degree in environmental World,” a course taught by Lila Abu- engineering that she applied to Engineer- Lughod, the Joseph L. Buttenwieser ing as an early decision candidate. A Professor of Social Science. The course year later, her conviction that Columbia she took on a whim as a first-year was the best fit for her remained un- because it fit her schedule wound up changed; her interest in science, howev- cementing her decision to transfer to er, had given way to new passions that the College. prompted her to transfer to the College. “It’s one of those things that I did Now “much happier” as a women not foresee,” recalls Rehman. “Looking and gender studies major on a pre- back, it was the best thing ever. It was medical track, Rehman is pursuing in- such a great break from engineering tertwining interests in women’s issues classes, so much that it made me ques- and health care. tion whether I had chosen the right In 2010, Rehman conducted a study major.” on access to mental health services In high school, however, it seemed Tehreem Rehman ’13 is pursuing interests among Pakistani Muslim women in in women’s issues and health care but that Rehman’s future was in laboratory the United States. After surveying 113 keeping her career options open. research. During summer 2007, she subjects, her findings suggested that PHOTO: CAROLINE PARK KIM ’13 BARNARD completed a four-week internship at domestic violence exacerbates mental the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Phila- illness among members of this demo- Impressed by Rehman’s resolve and delphia, where she conducted research graphic, who are nonetheless hesitant demeanor, Lavinia Lorch, senior as- on the relationship between the toxin to seek mental health care due to stig- sistant dean of student affairs and di- dioxin and breast cancer in women. mas and other barriers. rector of the Scholars Program, offers That same year, she founded a group Rehman, a Queens-born Pakistani- her support. “Tehreem is an amazing called Long Island Teen Environmental American, believes her familiarity with manager, an amazing researcher and Activists. In March 2009, Glamour mag- the subjects of her study was key to in- an amazing thinker, very focused,” azine named Rehman one of 70 female terpreting her results. “There is always says Lorch. “She’s passionate about “eco heroes” in the country. a stigma on mental health services, but what she’s working on, but she’s also It was in high school that Rehman my perspective allowed me to see more capable of maintaining her cool, per- began thinking about attending Colum- cultural components that contribute to forming well and learning in areas that bia, having become enamored of the that,” she says. are peripheral.” University and Morningside Heights A John Jay Scholar, Rehman funded Rehman first pondered her study’s while driving through the neighbor- her study with a summer fellowship driving question as a first-year, when hood with her father. A visit during from the University Scholars Program. she began volunteering in the emergen- Days on Campus during her junior Her report, “Social Stigma, Cultural cy department at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt year erased any doubts. Constraints, or Poor Policies: Exam- Hospital Center as a New York State “I loved this area, walking through ining the Pakistani Muslim Female certified crisis counselor for victims of the campus and overhearing people’s Population in the United States and domestic violence and sexual assault. conversations, whether they were Unequal Access to Professional Mental In this role, Rehman connects survivors about Kant or something as simple as a Health Services,” was approved by to resources and explains their options show,” Rehman says. the International Review Board and for pressing charges. Before she could In her sophomore year, Rehman published in the fall 2010 issue of the begin volunteering, Rehman had to moved into the Community Health Columbia Undergraduate Journal of South undergo 50 hours of training. Now she House, a special interest housing group Asian Studies. Earlier this year, Rehman is on call once or twice a month for 12 in the East Campus Residence Hall presented her findings at the Ameri- consecutive hours. that organizes campus-wide events on can Medical Students Association’s “What is most rewarding is being a topics ranging from alternative medi- Annual National Convention and the companion to them, because often they cine to health-related careers. Having Harvard Medical School New England are by themselves,” says Rehman, who enjoyed her first semesters of this living Science Symposium. also is a state certified medical interpre­ (Continued on page 111)

FALL 2011 12 COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY AROUND THE QUADS

Columbia College Fund Exceeds Goal, Raises $15.6 Million

he Columbia College Fund exceed- Mehmet and Lisa Oz P’12, exceeded its Board of Directors, as well as the dedi- ed its Fiscal Year 2010–11 goal of $2.1 million goal, raising $2.2 million. cated staff of the Alumni Office, under T $14.5 million and raised a record “I am grateful to the hundreds of the leadership of Rose and Sherri Jones, $15.6 million, thanks to the 11,000 alumni, alumni and parent volunteers who led senior executive director, alumni affairs parents, friends and Class of 2011 donors. our efforts, and to each of the 11,000 and communications, also were instru- The Senior Fund also set a record, with donors who chose to support the Col- mental in the fund’s success. 951 donors contributing to the effort. This lege Fund this year,” said Laura Rose, Unrestricted annual giving is a nec- represents 95 percent participation, ex- senior executive director for develop- essary ingredient in Columbia’s success, ceeding the 93 percent goal, and in doing ment, Columbia College. “The alumni, providing current and immediately us- so securing a gift of $50,000 to the College parents and friends who support the able funds for the College’s operations. Fund from Board of Visitors Emeritus College year after year have a direct and The largest such application of unre- Member Charles Santoro ’82. In the last meaningful impact on our students’ ex- stricted annual giving is financial aid, decade, the number of donors to the periences. Their combined gift of $15.6 helping to preserve need-blind admis- Senior Fund has more than quadrupled; million is a powerful vote of support for sion and full-need financial aid. Annual it was just 187 in 2001. Led by Director the College and its students.” giving also bolsters the student services Amanda Kessler and Senior Fund Chair The hard work of fund Co-chairs Ira and activities that enhance the quality Scott Maxfield ’11, the Senior Fund raised B. Malin ’75 and Michael P. Behringer of undergraduate life and sustains the more than $21,800. ’89, Fund Development Council Co- Core Curriculum. Gifts to the Columbia The Class of 1971 raised more than chairs James P. Gerkis ’80 and Kyra College Fund count toward the $5 bil- $1.2 million in honor of its 40th reunion, Tirana Barry ’87, Class Agent Program lion goal of the Columbia Campaign, becoming the first College class to raise Co-chairs Francis Phillip ’90 and Dan- which launched in 2005. In FY11, the more than $1 million in unrestricted iel Tamkin ’81 and all of the volunteer Columbia Campaign raised $670 mil- funds in one year. members of the College’s committees lion in new gifts and pledges. Parents again raised the bar. The Par- played a vital role in exceeding the goal. To make a gift to the Columbia College ents Fund, under the leadership of former College alumni trustees, the Colum- Fund in FY12, go to college.columbia. Director Susan Rautenberg, Assistant Di- bia College Board of Visitors and the edu/giveonline or call 212-851-7488. rector Courtney Joseph and Co-chairs Dr. Columbia College Alumni Association Lisa Palladino

“A surgeon’s surgeon.” Kenneth Forde, M.D., a pioneer “Give back to in the field of colon cancer, has educated and inspired generations Columbia. of Columbia doctors. Dr. Forde likes to say, “At Columbia, Because it’s I’ve gone from applicant to student to intern to resident to professor and something we now to Trustee.” Now, he is leading by example once can do, and again—by including Columbia in his will. should do . . .” Join Dr. Forde and others in the 1754 Society, a group of alumni and friends who have made bequests and other planned gifts to the — kenneth forde ’59pS University. To learn more about Dr. Forde and planned giving, visit giving.columbia.edu/plannedgifts or call 800-338-3294.

AROUND THE QUADS COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY

Holger A. Klein is an associ- Washington, D.C., and the What is particularly mean- If you could be anywhere ate professor and director Metropolitan Museum of Art ingful to me is that it is an in the world, where would of graduate studies in the here in New York. A year later, I award granted by Columbia you be? Department of Art History went on for another fellowship College students, and I have One of my favorite cities is and Archaeology. His research at the Walters Art Museum in to say that one of the things . That’s one of the focuses on Late Antique, Early Baltimore. When I saw a job that I love about Columbia great things about being an Medieval and Byzantine art posted at Columbia for an as- and brought me back is the art historian: The world be- and architecture. He earned a sistant professor in western great undergraduate stu- comes your home. Ph.D. from Rheinische Fried- medieval and Byzantine art, I dents that we have in the rich-Wilhelms-Universität in thought I should apply. Luck- College. Being able to teach What is your favorite spot in Bonn, , in 2000. From ily, I was offered the job. Art Humanities is one of New York City? 2004–07, he was the Robert P. the things that I really enjoy. Aside from the Metropolitan Bergman Curator of Medieval How did you become a cura­ It is a very broad selection Museum? Central Park. Art at the Cleveland Museum tor at the Cleveland Museum of artists and monuments I of Art, where he oversaw of Art? teach in Art Humanities, but What’s the last good book the reinstallation of the you read for pleasure? museum’s renowned col- I am partial to Ian Mc­ lection of medieval and Five Minutes with … Holger A. Klein Ewan and W.G. Sebald. Byzantine art. I recently reread Sebald’s I was working at Columbia it is always very insightful The Rings of Saturn and still Where did you grow up? for four years when I received to look at great paintings, find it a very inspiring and In Limburg an der Lahn, a an email from the director of sculptures and architecture wonderful read. small medieval town in Ger- the Cleveland Museum, who with students who have many between Frankfurt and asked me whether I would completely fresh eyes. What on your resume are Cologne. be interested in coming out you most proud of? to see the collection, which is How do you recharge? The Mark Van Doren Award What did you want to be very strong in Byzantine art. By traveling, singing in a certainly is what I’m most growing up? The museum offered me a choir, and — too infrequently proud of. It’s wonderful to I cannot remember for sure, job that I couldn’t refuse — a — by playing the cello. I also have been recognized by the but I didn’t want to become chance to get a named cura- run and try to brush up on students in this way. a fireman… [Wanting to be- torship and become the head my Turkish in my spare time. Interview and photo: come] an art historian came of its medieval department. I Ethan Rouen ’04J, ’11 Business later in high school because had always wanted to work Are you married? Do you art history was something in a museum. When I told have kids? To see a website built by Klein that combined my interests my chair at Columbia, she Yes. My wife, whom I met and Columbia students for the in history, literature, arts, ar- asked if I wanted to be put on during my time in Cleveland, “Treasures of Heaven” exhibit, chitecture and archeology. If leave. Two years later, when is a fine arts conservator who go to college.columbia.edu/cct. I had to make a guess about that leave was over, Columbia specializes in stone objects. why I became interested in asked if I was ready to come Our first child, Eleonora So- art history, I would say it was back in a tenured position, phia, was born in January. because I sang in a cathedral and I accepted. choir for much of my teenage What is your favorite food? years. Spending time in Lim- What are you working on A good wiener schnitzel. burg’s 13th-century cathedral now? and singing Mass there and I am finishing up as the guest What’s something your being involved in the liturgy curator of a major internation- students would never guess sparked my interest in me- al loan exhibition, “Treasures about you? dieval art and architecture. of Heaven: Saints, Relics, I sing bass in a choir. Last In Limburg there also is a and Devotion in Medieval year, while on sabbatical, famous Byzantine reliquary of Europe,” organized by the I sang in the Münchner the True Cross, which eventu- Cleveland Museum of Art, Motettenchor, and we ally found its way into my the Walters Art Museum and had some wonder- Ph.D. dissertation. the British Museum. It runs ful performances until early October. of Bach’s St. How did you end up at Matthew’s Pas- Columbia? Can you talk about winning sion, Berlioz’s I came to the United States in the Mark Van Doren Award Te Deum and 1998 for pre-doctoral fellow- for teaching? Beethoven’s ships at Dumbarton Oaks in It’s a wonderful award. 9th Symphony.

FALL 2011 14 COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY AROUND THE QUADS

CAMPUS NEWS

n TRUSTEE: Jonathan S. serving as interim provost representatives from some of the world’s Lavine ’88 was elected to the since July 1 while a search for most remote island nations gathered to Board of Trustees, the Univer- a new provost is conducted. discuss the threat posed by rising sea lev- sity’s 24-member governing els to their nations’ continued existence. body, at the trustees’ June n GLOBAL: Michael Pip- Rising sea levels would pose a host of meeting. His six-year term be- penger has been named assis- unprecedented humanitarian and legal gins on September 6, the start tant v.p. for international edu- issues, as Gerrard learned firsthand on of the 2011–12 academic year. cation/dean of undergradu- a trip to the Marshall Islands last winter Lavine, who has chaired ate global programs in the (see the May/June issue). “We are the the College’s Board of Visitors, University’s Office of Global canaries in the climate change mine,” said recently teamed with Trustee H. Jonathan S. Lavine ’88 Programs. For more than five Dessima Williams of Granada, chair of F. “Gerry” Lenfest ’58L to create years, Pippenger has led the the Association of Small Island States. the $5 million Lavine-Lenfest Matching College’s Office of Fellowship Programs Fund. Its goal is to inspire and match, one- and Study Abroad; under his leader- n 1968: The University Archives has on-one, an additional $5 million in gifts to ship, Columbia students have won posted a permanent online-only exhibit, endow five positions for assistant profes- four Rhodes scholarships, six Marshall “1968: Columbia in Crisis,” at https:// sors teaching the Core Curriculum. For scholarships and more than 60 Ful- ldpd.lamp.columbia.edu/omeka/exhib more, go to magazine.columbia.edu/ bright grants. With this appointment, its/show/1968. This exhibition is based news/summer-2011/lavine-and-lenfest- the Office of Fellowship Programs and upon a physical exhibition of the same create-match. Study Abroad will merge with the Of- name that was on display in the Rare fice of Global Programs to become one Book and Manuscript Library March 17– n PROVOST: Claude Steele, who was unit focusing on international education August 1, 2008. Featuring original docu- University Provost for two years, re- opportunities for Columbia students. ments, photographs and audio from the signed in June to become the dean of University Archives, the categories are the School of Education at Stanford. n SEA CHANGES: Michael Gerrard ’72, “Causes,” “Timeline of Events,” “The Steele had worked at Stanford for 18 who heads the Law School’s Center for Protests,” “The Bust,” “Campus ‘Liberat- years before coming to Columbia. John Climate Change Law, convened a global ed’,” “Commencement,” “Consequences” Coatsworth, dean of SIPA, has been networking conference May 23–25 where and “Bibliography and Resources.”

Travel with Columbia Featured Program: machu Picchu to the galáPagos MArCh 6–20, 2012

Explore the wonders of the Galápagos and the mysteries of Machu Picchu on an exclusive small group Columbia Alumni Travel Study Program. Limited to just 18 participants, this intimate air-, land-, and cruise-inclusive travel experience promises to be an exhilarating discovery of lost worlds.

For more information about any of our trips, visit alumni.columbia.edu/travel or call 866-325-8664.

Winter–spring travel Programs: World Highlights by Private Jet Antarctica Machu Picchu to the Galápagos With Professor Mark C. Taylor With Professor Ben Orlove Mar 6–20, 2012 Nov 29–Dec 14, 2011 Feb 15–28, 2012 Coexistence of Cultures and Faiths Into Africa Mysteries of the Mekong Dean Peter Awn With Professor Gregory Mann Feb 16–29, 2012 Apr 6–15, 2012 Dec 23, 2011–Jan 4, 2012 Mystical Waterways: Holland & Belgium Guatemala: Land of Eternal Spring Feb 26–Mar 14, 2012 Apr 17–25, 2012 With Dr. Joseph Palacios Jan 17–27, 2012 Learn more. Stay connected alumni.columbia.edu

AROUND THE QUADS COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY

ALUMNI IN THE NEWS n Michael E. Leiter ’91 has resigned after also was announced that Bill Keller would chairman and president of Norton, called nearly four years as director of the Nation- be stepping down as executive editor, to Glusman someone “whose excellent judg- al Counterterrorism Center. Leiter, who be succeeded by Jill Abramson. Baquet, a ment, keen publishing instincts and experi- left the post on July 8, was one of the few former editor of the Los Angeles Times, had ence at the highest editorial levels make senior national security officials from the been the Washington bureau chief for The him the ideal person to lead Norton’s trade Bush administration that President Barack New York Times. As managing editor for department into a new era.” Obama ’83 kept on. Leiter, who said he re- news, he will supervise the daily report, signed for personal reasons, oversaw 1,000 a job he said he planned to do through n Ray Annino ’50, a watercolor artist who specialists from more than a dozen federal constant direct collaboration with editors takes inspiration from his seafaring, has agencies who form the central clearing- and reporters. “My main goal,” he told published a story in Cruising World about house and analytical hub for intelligence the staff, “is to stay as close as possible to being caught in a storm at night in the on terrorist threats. newsgathering­ — to work the room, to Atlantic Ocean. His sailboat, the Conquest, talk to editors and reporters was not designed for heavy seas and nearly n Robert Reffkin ’00, ’03 every day, to make sure that foundered in the 60-knot winds. In his early Business landed a place in we break big stories and to years on Long Island, Annino worked as a Crain’s New York Business’ have fun doing it.” clam-digger to help pay his way through annual “40 Under 40,” a list Columbia. Since retiring from his work as a of successful young business n David Lehman ’70 is ap- chemistry professor, he has been spending people. Reffkin is v.p. in the proaching the traditional more time on creating and exhibiting his Principal Investment Area of book tour in a new way. His artwork. His evocative seascape and land- Goldman Sachs. He also is 2009 book, A Fine Romance: scapes can be viewed at rayannino.com. active in philanthropic work, Jewish Songwriters, American having founded a nonprofit Songs, won the Deems Tay- n Juan Gonzalez ’68, longtime columnist that supports first-generation lor Award from the Ameri- at the New York Daily News, won the 2010 college students in New York Robert Reffkin ’00, ’03 Business can Society of Composers, George Polk Award for Commentary, one City (newyorkneedsyou.org) PHOTO: ERIK JORGENSEN Authors and Publishers in of the most prestigious awards in journal- and having raised $1 million 2010. Since May, Lehman ism. Gonzalez’s reporting exposed a mas- for educational charities by running a has taken it on the road with a traveling sive fraud of more than $720 million by marathon in every state in the country. He library exhibit that he designed and wrote consultants hired by the City of New York was a precocious student at Columbia, based on the book. The exhibit will be to eliminate waste in the city’s payroll finishing his bachelor’s and M.B.A. in featured in 55 libraries in 27 states before system. So far, prosecutors have seized $27 four years. “I guess I’ve always been in a the tour ends in April 2012. million of illegal gains, Gonzalez told the hurry,” he told Crain’s. Prior to working News. “All our judges agreed at Goldman, Reffkin was an investment n Dr. Archie Roberts ’65 that his scoops and his dog- banker for Lazard and worked at the has been named the recipi- gedness were instrumental White House as a special assistant to U.S. ent of the National Football in bringing this scandal of Treasury Secretary John W. Snow. His next Foundation & College Hall waste of taxpayers’ money to step may be public office, according to the of Fame’s 2011 Distinguished light,” John Darnton, curator profile. American Award, to be pre- of the George Polk Awards, sented at the NFF’s annual told the News. n Dean Baquet ’78 has been named man- awards dinner on Tuesday, aging editor for news, the No. 2 editorial December 6, in New York n Fernando Perez ’01 may position, at . The an- City. A prominent heart sur- have been a Major League nouncement was made in June when it geon, Roberts joins a list of Baseball playoff hero (see winners that includes Vince Dr. Archie Roberts ’65 college.columbia.edu/cct/ Lombardi, Bob Hope, Jimmy may_jun09) but he also is Stewart, Pete Rozelle, Joe Paterno, Pat using his talent and education for a dif- Tillman, T. Boone Pickens and last year’s ferent career — as a poet whose work honoree, Tom Brokaw. (See college. has appeared in Poetry Magazine, the columbia.edu/cct_archive/nov_dec07/ country’s most elite poetry journal. Perez features1.php.) studied creative writing at Columbia and Become a fan of CCT (facebook. continues to write poetry, personal essays com/columbiacollegetoday) and n John Glusman ’78, ’80 GSAS is the new and fiction in his spare time, the Chicago Columbia College (facebook. v.p. and editor-in-chief at W.W. Norton, Tribune reports. The former Tampa Bay com/columbiacollege1754). succeeding Starling Lawrence, who will Rays outfielder, now in the Chicago Cubs’ Read the latest issue of CCT, become vice chairman and editor-at-large at minor league system, names as his influ- keep in touch with fellow alumni and the publishing company. Glusman, former- ences John Ashbery ’50 GSAS and Robert ly executive editor and v.p. at Crown, has Creeley in a 2009 article he wrote for get all the latest College news. edited many well-known authors including Poetry Magazine (poetryfoundation.org/ Erik Larson and Ann Rule. Drake McFeely, poetrymagazine/article/237498).

FALL 2011 16 COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY AROUND THE QUADS

IN MEMORIAM

anning Marable, the M. studies, since 1993. Dur- to integrationist or separat- Moran Weston/Black ing his 35-year academic ist, because he urged black Alumni Council Professor career, he wrote and edited Americans to transform Mof African American Stud- numerous books about social structures and bring ies, founding director of Columbia’s In- African-American politics about a more egalitarian stitute for Research in African-American and history and remained society by making common Studies (iraas.com) and director of the one of the nation’s leading cause with other minori- Center for Contemporary Black History Marxist historians. He was ties and change-minded (columbia.edu/cu/ccbh), died on April a prolific writer, authoring groups. He lectured widely 1. He had battled the inflammatory lung or editing nearly 20 books throughout the country disease sarcoidosis for a quarter-century and scholarly anthologies and was co-founder of the and had undergone a double lung trans- and 275 academic articles, Black Radical Congress, plant in July 2010 but contracted pneu- and an impassioned po- PHOTO: ROBERT FOX, IMPACT VISUALS an organization of African- monia in late March. lemicist, addressing issues American activists. Marable, who was 60 and lived in New of race and economic injustice in works Survivors include his second wife, York City, died just days before the publica- such as How Capitalism Underdeveloped Leith Mullings; children, Joshua Manning tion of the culmination of his life’s work, the Black America (1983), Black Liberation in Marable, Malaika Marable Serrano and So- long-awaited, nearly 600-page biography, Conservative America (1997), The Great journer Marable Grimmett; stepchildren, Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention. The book Wells of Democracy: The Meaning of Race in Alia Tyner and Michael Tyner; sister, Ma- was called by The New York Times “a hefty American Life (2003) and a political column, donna Marable; and three grandchildren. counterweight to the well-known account “Along the Color Line,” syndicated in Mullings said of her husband in The Root, The Autobiography of Malcolm X, long con- more than 100 newspapers. Marable was an online magazine, “He would want to sidered a classic of the 1960s civil rights the general editor of Freedom on My Mind: be remembered for being both a scholar struggle.” That book, an “as told to” book The Columbia Documentary History of the and an activist and as someone who saw written with Alex Haley and published African American Experience (2003) and in the two as not being separated.” in 1965, differs from Malcolm X: A Life of 1992 published On Malcolm X: His Message For a fuller look at Marable and his Reinvention in that Marable drew upon & Meaning, a work that prefigured Beyond career, see Columbia magazine’s Sum- new sources, archival material and govern- Boundaries: The Manning Marable Reader, mer 2011 cover story, “A Message for ment documents unavailable to Haley and a selection of Marable’s writings that was the World”: magazine.columbia.edu/ developed a fuller account of Malcolm X’s published in 2010. features/summer-2011/manning- politics, religious beliefs and personal life as Marable’s political philosophy often was marables-living-legacy. well as his role in the civil rights movement described as transformationist, as opposed Lisa Palladino and the circumstances surrounding his as- sassination. Marable, as the Times noted, “also offers a revisionist portrait of Malcolm X at odds with Mr. Haley’s presentation of him as an evolving integrationist.” “We need to look at the organic evolu- tion of his mind and how he struggled to find different ways to empower people of African descent by any means necessary,” Marable said in a 2007 interview with Amy Goodman on the radio program We’ve got you covered. “Democracy Now.” William Manning Marable was born on May 13, 1950, in Dayton, Ohio. He earned a bachelor’s from Earlham College in Through Columbia Alumni Association, Richmond, Ind., in 1971, a master’s from life insurance is available in amounts up to Wisconsin in 1972 and a doctorate from $1,000,000, underwritten by New York Life Maryland in 1976. Marable directed ethnic Insurance Company (NY, NY 10010). studies programs at a number of colleges, notably the Race Relations Institute at Fisk and the Africana and Latin American For details about eligibility, coverage amounts, Studies program at Colgate. He was the rates, exclusions and renewal provisions, please chairman of the black studies department at Ohio State in the late 1980s and also visit alumni.columbia.edu/insurance or call taught ethnic studies at Colorado. the plan administrator at 800-223-1147 Marable had been at Columbia, as a professor of public affairs, political sci- ence, history and African-American

AROUND THE QUADS COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY

R o a r , L i o n , R o a r All-Ivy QB Brackett Leads Lions Football

B y A l e x S a c h a r e ’71

olumbia’s football team 2,072 yards, throwing for 19 touchdowns Shaefer ’12 finished fourth. Harrington outscored its opponents last with eight interceptions for a quarterback and Chai both were named All-Americans, season but lost more than it efficiency rating of 136.1. Brackett also the third consecutive season Chai has been won. With All-Ivy First Team was Columbia’s top ground-gainer with so honored and the first for Harrington. quarterback Sean Brackett ’13 516 rushing yards. Cback at the helm and a veteran offensive With the graduation of All-Ivy First n NEW COACHES: Columbia entered line led by All-Ivy First Team tackle Jeff Team wide receiver Andrew Kennedy ’11, 2011–12 with new head coaches for its Adams ’12, the Lions will begin quest of one of Brackett’s primary targets figures fencing, wrestling and women’s rowing their first winning season since 1996 on to be fifth-year senior Mike Stephens ’12, programs. Saturday, September 17, at Fordham in who suffered a season-ending injury in Michael N. Aufrichtig, chairman of the the 10th annual Liberty Cup game. the first game last year and is returning New York Athletic Club fencing program This will be Columbia’s fifth season for his second season as one of the team’s for the past five years, is the new head under Coach Norries Wilson, whose team captains. The 6-foot-7, 305-lb. Adams men’s and women’s fencing coach. The was 4–6 overall and 3–4 in Ivy play last anchors an offensive line that includes six NYAC program had unprecedented suc- season despite outscoring its opponents players who had significant playing time cess under Aufrichtig, qualifying seven 225–220 overall and 151–146 in Ivy com- last season. members to the 2010 World Champion- petition. After posting a 5–5 record in Columbia’s defense lost a pair of All- ships and winning five national champi- Wilson’s first season, Columbia has had Ivy First Team players, linebacker Alex onships in 2011. three losing campaigns to drop Wilson’s Gross ’11 and defensive back Calvin Otis Aufrichtig, who fenced at NYU, suc- coaching record to 12–28 overall and 7–21 ’11. The Lions will rebuild around All-Ivy ceeds co-head coaches Aladar Kogler in the Ivy League. Second Team linebacker Josh Martin ’13E and George Kolombotavich, who retired Columbia’s hopes for success this sea- and several other experienced players, following last season. With Kogler and son revolve around Brackett, its leading including linebacker Ryan Murphy ’13, Kolombatovich at the helm since 1983, passer and rusher last season. Brackett defensive backs Ross Morand ’12 and Columbia has had a long run as one of completed 166 of 287 passes (.578) for Kalasi Huggins ’12, and defensive line- the nation’s premier college fencing pro- man Seyi Adebayo ’13. grams. Their Columbia teams won 17 Ivy After opening on the road against Ford- League men’s fencing titles and eight Ivy ham, Columbia will play its home opener League women’s fencing titles during the against Albany on September 24 and then past 28 years. The men’s fencing program begin Ivy competition at Princeton on won the national title in three consecu- October 1. The Lions wrap up their non- tive years from 1987–89, and after the league schedule at home against Sacred NCAA changed to a combined men’s and Heart on October 8 before hosting defend- women’s format, they coached the Lions ing Ivy League champion Penn in the an- to championships in 1992 and 1993. nual Homecoming game on October 15. Seventeen Columbia fencers won indi- Last season, Columbia got off to a vidual NCAA fencing titles under Kogler 3–1 start before losing at Penn and then and Kolombatovich, including Columbia dropping a 24–21 Homecoming heart- University Athletics Hall of Fame induct- breaker to Dartmouth, part of a four- ees Katy Bilodeau ’87; Bob Cottingham ’88; game losing streak. The Lions bounced Jon Normile ’89E; Tzu Moy ’91, ’02 P&S back with a 24–21 win over Cornell in and Ben Atkins ’93, ’98L as well as Jeffrey their final home game, but were beaten Spear ’10, who was named the recipient at Brown 38–16 to finish below .500. of the NCAA Top VIII award in January 2011, and current assistant coach Daria n ON TARGET: Sarah Chai ’12, Anna Schneider ’10. Many of their fencers also Harrington ’12 Barnard and Marilyn He competed in the Olympics, most recently ’14 teamed up to defeat Texas A&M 10–9 2008 Games silver medalists Erinn and win the recurve event at the 2011 U.S. Smartt ’01 Barnard and James Williams Intercollegiate Archery Championships ’07, ’09 GSAS (college.columbia.edu/cct/ on May 21. The next day, Chai finished nov_dec08). second to two-time Olympian Jennifer Carl Fronhofer, an assistant coach with Sean Brackett ’13 hopes to lead Columbia to Nichols of Texas A&M in the individual the wrestling program the last three years, its first winning season since 1996. competition, with Harrington finishing has been named the Andrew F. Barth [’83, PHOTO: GENE BOYARS fourth. In the compound division, Sydney ’85 Business] Head Coach of Wrestling.

FALL 2011 18 COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY AROUND THE QUADS

Fronhofer is a former All-American at n ON THE RUN: Caroline LeFrak (née and Lisa Stublic ’05 all were scheduled to Pittsburgh who compiled a 123–39 record Bierbaum) ’06 (columbia.edu/cct_archive/ compete in the 2011 IAAF World Cham- while wrestling for Pitt and qualified for sep05/track.php), one of the most deco- pionships August 27–September 4. the NCAA Championships each of his rated cross country runners in Columbia DiCrescenzo qualified for the U.S. four years. He came to Columbia after two history, is continuing her racing career as team by finishing third in the women’s seasons as the top assistant at Bloomsburg a member of the elite New York Athletic 3,000-meter steeplechase at the USA University and three seasons as an assis- Club, where she finished first in the five- Outdoor Track & Field Championships tant at Pitt. mile run at the New York Road Runners in July. Hurtault qualified to represent Scott Ramsey has been named Colum- team championship on August 6. A lawyer his native country, , by finish- bia’s head women’s rowing coach. He was and founder of a sports management ing third in the 400 meters at the Central an assistant in the Lions’ rowing program agency, she qualified for January’s U.S. American and Caribbean Games. Stublic, from 2007–09 before spending two years Olympic Trials for the marathon. meanwhile, assured herself of a spot in as an assistant women’s rowing coach and Meanwhile, Delilah DiCrescenzo ’05 the 2012 London Olympics representing head novice coach at Iowa. He is a gradu- (college.columbia.edu/cct_archive/sep_ Croatia, her country of residence, when ate of Penn, where he rowed for three oct07/quads7.php), Erison Hurtault ’07 she won the OMV Linz Marathon in April, years on the heavyweight team. (college.columbia.edu/cct/nov_dec08) setting a national record of 2:30.46.

IN LUMINE TUO n PULITZERS: Eric Foner ’63, ’69 GSAS, to help explain the complex subject to lay GSAS, professor in the School of the Arts the Dewitt Clinton Professor of History, readers,” the citation read. Writing Program; and Shou-Wu Zhang and Jesse Eisinger ’92, a senior reporter at ’91 GSAS, professor. the investigative website ProPublica, won n ARTS AND SCIENCES: Seven Co- 2011 Pulitzer Prizes for their writing and lumbia professors with expertise in fields n SHAW PRIZES: The Davies Professor research. ranging from computer science to genet- of Mathematics Richard S. Hamilton was Foner’s newest book, The Fiery Trial: ics to literature were elected in May to the one of seven scientists at universities and Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, research centers who will share the 2011 already had been lauded by critics and one of the nation’s oldest and most presti- Shaw Prizes, three $1-million awards that showered with awards when it won gious honorary societies. were announced on June 7 by the Hong the prestigious $10,000 Pulitzer Prize The fellows from Columbia in the Kong-based Foundation. for History, given by the Journalism 2011 class are James S. Shapiro ’77, the The awards, to be presented in Septem- School. The citation described the book Larry Miller Professor of English and ber, also went to of Italy’s as “a well orchestrated examination of Comparative Literature; Maxwell E. Got- National Institute of Astrophysics and Lincoln’s changing views of slavery, tesman, the Charles H. Revson Professor Gerald J. Fishman of NASA’s Marshall bringing unforeseeable twists and a of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophys- Space Flight Center, in astronomy; Jules fresh sense of improbability to a famil- ics and Microbiology and the director of A. Hoffmann of France’s University of iar story.” the Institute of Cancer Research; Mark A. Strasbourg; Ruslan M. Medzhitov of Yale Eisinger, who also writes a column Mazower, the Ira D. Wallach Professor of University; and Bruce A. Beutler of the for The New York Times’ Dealbook blog, World Order Studies, chair of the history Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, shared the National Reporting prize with department and director of the Center Calif., in life science and medicine; and his colleague Jake Bernstein “for their ex- for International History; Shree K. Nayar, Demetrios Christodoulou of the Swiss posure of questionable practices on Wall chair of the computer science department; Federal Institute of Technology (along Street that contributed to the nation’s Rodney J. Rothstein, professor of genetics with Hamilton) in mathematical sciences. economic meltdown, using digital tools and development; Michael Scammell ’85

Have You Moved? DATE SMART! To ensure that you receive CCT and other College infor- Join the singles’ mation, let us know if you network exclusively have a new postal or email for graduates, faculty address, a new phone num- and students of the ber or even a new name. Ivy League Click “Contact Us” at MIT, Stanford and few others. college.columbia.edu/cct or call 212-851-7852. www.rightstu dating.com 1-800-988-5288

FALL 2011 19 COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY Reunion, Dean’s Day Set Records

ore than 2,400 alumni and guests en- joyed Alumni Reunion Weekend and Dean’s Day 2011 on June 2–5, renewing Mfriendships at class-specific events, re- visiting their classroom days by attending mini-Core courses and thought-provoking panels, checking out campus changes via guided tours, and enjoying good food and company on campus and at venues around New York City. Celebrating reunion this year were classes ending in 1 or 6, from 1946–2006. Young alumni from the Classes of 2001–11 had a rousing celebration on the evening of June 3, setting a record at the Young Alumni Party with more than 1,200 attendees joining the fun aboard the U.S.S. Intrepid. On Saturday, at the Dean’s Continental Break- fast, Bob Berne ’60 was presented with the Presi- dent’s Cup in recognition of his service to and From top: Bob Berne ’60 support of his 50th reunion. speaks after being pre- Dean’s Day, open to alumni of all classes as sented with the Presi- well as parents, was held on June 4, and for the dent’s Cup, the Columbia first time, the deans from the College, Engineering, Alumni Singers raise General Studies and the Arts and Sciences spoke their voices in song, on their fields of expertise. Other leading profes- alumni and guests dance sors also shared their expertise through CC, Lit Hum, Frontiers of Science, Art Hum and Engineer- at the Starlight Recep- ing lectures. An Alumni Representative Committee tion and little Colum- reception, a Center for Career Education presenta- bians enjoy a full day tion and affinity group receptions — for varsity of activities at Camp athletics, Spectator, Columbia Alumni Singers and Columbia for Kids. Facing the Asian Columbia Alumni Association — as well page: Low Library shines as the chance to converse with others in Italian at as attendees mingle on Casa Italiana or enjoy string music composed by Low Plaza, and young Columbians, sponsored by Columbia Engineering alumni live it up at the Young Alumni, rounded out the day’s offerings. U.S.S. Intrepid party. There were plenty of family activities during PHOTOS: EILEEN BARROSO the weekend as well, including the Decades BBQs and Camp Columbia for Kids, which featured playtime, plenty of fun food and snacks, and even milk and cookies to nosh on during a movie. On Saturday, attendees enjoyed elegant class- specific dinners and the all-class Wine Tasting. Alumni of all ages capped the weekend at that night’s gala Starlight Reception on Low Plaza, enjoying music, champagne, sweets and a dance floor that was filled to capacity. Alumni Reunion Weekend 2012 is scheduled for Thursday, May 31–Sunday, June 3, for classes ending in 2 or 7, from 1942–2007. Dean’s Day, open to all alumni and parents, is scheduled for Saturday, June 2. Lisa Palladino

FALL 2011 20 COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY REUNION AND DEAN’S DAY 2011

View More Photos Online

isit the CCT website to view reunion class photos and to see lists of class- V mates who registered to attend as well as a list of those honored with Dean’s Pins, given to the members of each class’ Reunion Committee who have demonstrat- ed particular dedication to and involvement in their reunion: college.columbia.edu/cct/ fall11/reunion. To view a complete gallery of photos from the weekend, go to the College’s Facebook page, facebook.com/columbiacollege1754, or go directly to events of interest: Decades BBQs and Camp Columbia: college.columbia.edu/reunionphotos/bbqs Lectures and Receptions: college.columbia. edu/reunionphotos/lectures Young Alumni Party: college.columbia.edu/ reunionphotos/youngalumni Starlight Reception: college.columbia.edu/ reunionphotos/starlight

FALL 2011 21 COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY Welcome Class of 2015 A behind-the-scenes look at the College’s newest students, and how they got here

B y D av i d M c K ay W i l s o n

one are the days of waiting for the mail carrier asleep by the time she learned of her decision. Students on the to deliver the thick or the thin envelope. Today’s west coast were still in school when their decisions went live, newest Columbians logged into an online portal including Ami Kumar ’15E (Palo Alto, Calif.), who checked her to get their admissions decisions. Admitted stu- decision in her school’s computer lab. Diarra White ’15 (West Or- dents were instantly taken to a video featuring ange, N.J.) was at the mall shopping for her prom dress when her the Columbia fight song and an aerial view of mother suggested she check for her decision at the Apple store. Gthe Morningside campus before seeing their admit letter. Some had greater challenges obtaining their decisions. Lucy Adrian Alea ’15 (Fort Myers, Fla.) received his admissions de- Gill ’15 (Oak Park, Ill.) was on a spring break trip to a rainforest in cision on his iPhone while he was sitting in traffic. Allie DeCan- Costa Rica without Internet access, so she had to drive 20 minutes dia ’15 (Princeton, N.J.) played the “Welcome” video 12 times and to a café to log in. Andrea Viejo ’15 (Monterey, ) had to go immediately memorized the fight song. While the decisions were to the nearest Starbucks for Internet access due to a power outage released at 5 p.m. Eastern time, many international applicants in her neighborhood. woke up in the middle of the night to check their decisions. The And how did the College hear these stories? One posting in father of Cynthia Hajal ’15 (Beirut, Lebanon) had already fallen the “Columbia Class of 2015” Facebook group elicited more than

The colorful parade of flags, representing every home state and country of the College and Engineering student body, is part of the pageantry of Convocation. PHOTO: CHAR SMULLYAN

FALL 2011 22 COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY WELCOME CLASS OF 2015

50 comments in less than 24 hours, a true indi- Class of 2015 by the Numbers dents and guidance counselors, running a cation of the online nature of the Class of 2015. college essay writing workshop at a commu- “This is a very exciting time for Columbia Number of applications 29,393 nity-based organization that works with col- and its newest students,” says Kevin Shol- Size of class 1,074 lege access for underserved populations and lenberger, dean of student affairs and associ- Acceptance rate 6.4% holding an evening off-campus information ate v.p. for undergraduate student life. “We States represented 49 session for students and parents. In addition, received a record number of applications for Countries represented 55 officers often meet with members of regional this year’s incoming class, which marks Co- Alumni Representative Committees (ARC), lumbia’s most accomplished and selective the volunteer organization whose members group ever. We also are extremely proud of the diversity of this interview prospective students (studentaffairs.columbia.edu/ class, including a strong international voice. The varied interests, admissions/alumni/volunteers.php). abilities and life experiences these students represent are quite re- While officers annually visit major cities such as Los Angeles, markable — each one has a story to tell.” San Francisco, Chicago, and Houston, they also reach out The Class of 2015 arrived with noteworthy credentials and to regions where students might not be as familiar with Colum- shared several common themes. Many students were engaged in bia. Through joint recruitment trips with peer schools, Columbia community service before coming to Columbia; others were in- visits 50 cities annually, including places such as Lexington, Ky.; volved in research, served as the editor of their school newspaper, Jackson, Miss.; Boise, Idaho; and Sioux Falls, S.D. These trips in- were president of their class or held other leadership roles. The clude evening information sessions where students and families students speak multiple languages and are aspiring musicians, learn about all of the colleges on tour, about the benefits of a liber- artists, athletes, entrepreneurs and scholars. There is a modern al arts university, and general information about highly selective dancer who has performed with the Paul Taylor Dance Compa- admissions and need-based financial aid. Columbia also is part of ny; a prize-winning Norwegian philosophy essayist; a classical a second joint travel group that visits 15 cities each summer and cellist who made his Carnegie Hall debut at 12; the U.S. national focuses on science and engineering recruitment. high school chess champion; Junior Olympians in freestyle ski- Columbia’s recruitment efforts also stretch across the ocean to ing, karate, figure skating and kayaking; several Intel Science Tal- reach students around the world. At the same time Columbia has ent Search finalists; and several artists who have already made a expanded its reach in the United States, international outreach name for themselves in the performing arts world. has grown as well. In the past year, staff has made presentations for the first time at high schools in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel, Dubai and Lebanon, part of a global effort that sent admissions GLOBAL RECRUITMENT officers to 32 nations on six continents (sorry, Antarctica!). olumbia’s 23 admissions officers spend three to Students also are encouraged to visit Columbia’s campus to see four weeks each year traveling across the country for themselves if Columbia might be a good fit for them. In addi- and around the world on recruitment trips, where tion to daily information sessions and campus tours, Columbia of- they meet with prospective students, parents and fers a number of other on-campus visit opportunities. High school guidance counselors. A typical day on the road seniors can come for an overnight visit in the fall, where they are Ccould include visiting high schools to meet with groups of stu- matched with a Columbia student and attend classes, eat in John

Families help their sons and daughters (top left) into the residence halls and orientation leaders in brightly colored T-shirts help make move-in day run remarkably smoothly. Here, they greeted some of last year’s early arrivals on College Walk (bottom left). After the move, they enjoyed a midday respite (bottom right) on Van Am Quad and the adjacent lawns. Dean of Student Affairs Kevin Shollenberger met with incoming students and their families (top right) at a Summer Advising session in Beijing on June 25 that was hosted by Conrad Lung ’72 and his wife, Yin Lung ’74 Barnard. PHOTOS: CHAR SMULLYAN, KATHRYN WITTNER (TOP RIGHT)

FALL 2011 23 Members of the Class of 2014 and Orientation leaders fill Low Steps for last year’s Community Forum, an event that introduces first-years to their new Columbia family and to the school’s rich history. PHOTO: CHAR SMULLYAN WELCOME CLASS OF 2015

Jay Dining Hall and stay overnight in a residence hall. Columbia also offers a lunch visit program for juniors and seniors, allowing prospective students to have lunch on campus with a current stu- dent in a more intimate setting. Students interested in studying the natural and life sciences might attend a Summer Science Invita- tional or a Fall Research Symposium, designed to share informa- tion about Columbia’s renowned science programs and extensive undergraduate research opportunities. All of Columbia’s recruit- ment efforts have the same goal in mind: to arm students with as much information as possible to help them make the decision whether to apply to Columbia and, if admitted, whether to attend. The outreach has paid huge dividends, with applications more than doubling across the last 10 years. Columbia’s decision to allow candidates to apply with the Common Application — now used by more than 400 colleges and universities — was partially responsible for the remarkable growth. Columbia was the last Ivy League col- lege to participate in the system, which allows prospective students to file the same application and student essay with any college that is part of the Common App system; however, Columbia also requires an extensive supplemental application. “From a recruitment per- spective, Columbia remains focused on attracting the best students, but our decision to move to the Common Application has allowed us to reach pockets of talented students who may not have had ac- cess to our admissions process before,” says Jessica Marinaccio, dean of undergraduate admissions/associate dean of student affairs. Shollenberger notes that prospective students are increasingly aware of the multitude of opportunities associated with attend- ing an academic institution in New York City. “Moving to the Common Application is not the only reason we have attracted record numbers of top caliber applicants in recent years,” he says. “We can’t overstate the continued positive influence of our- lo cation in a city that presents limitless opportunities for cultural exploration and professional, intellectual and personal growth.” College and Engineering students also get involved. More than 200 undergraduates support the Admissions Office as members of the Undergraduate Recruitment Committee, Multi- cultural Recruitment Committee or Global Recruitment Commit- tee, groups of volunteers who give campus tours, host overnight visits, participate in online chats and phone campaigns and share their Columbia experiences with prospective students. Members of these committees speak at a variety of events during the ad- missions process, including Summer Advising sessions, which a majority of incoming students attend before arriving on campus. In one of those sessions, before an audience that included parents who may have been a bit nervous about their children’s impending four years away, Marcella Lusardi ’12 recounted that she enjoyed getting surprised by a care package filled with goodies from home. She also warned parents not to expect a call or text message as often, or as promptly, as they’ve grown accustomed to receiving. “Don’t worry if your child doesn’t contact you every day,” she said. “Eventually they’ll get in touch.”

ALUMNI MAKE AN IMPACT lumni also play a major role in the outreach efforts, with more than 5,000 members of ARC attending recruitment events, interviewing prospective stu- dents and hosting gatherings for admitted students during the summer. AFor the past 30 years, Alan Preis ’64 has headed ARC in north- ern , where about 100 alumni from the College and En- gineering conduct interviews with as many as 800 high school stu- WELCOME CLASS OF 2015 COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY

Summer Advising Prepares Students for Arrival on Campus

hen members of the Class of 2015 arrived on Columbia as a university with a rich and rigorous academic life campus in late August, they were no strang- but with a commitment to the broader community. She also let ers to the Columbia family and the support apprehensive parents know that there are dedicated profession- that their new community provides. Many als at Columbia, a number of whom were in the room, who are had visited campus, chatted online with their eager to help their children make the most of their undergraduate Wclassmates, spoken with alumni, read through the Academic years. “These are gracious, smart, kind people who care about the Planning Guide and attended Summer Advising sessions. students,” she said. “We’re here to welcome you to our family.” “We prepare students as much as we can, so they hit the Rinere then split up the audience, with students heading off ground running,” says Dean of Advising Monique Rinere, who in small groups to other rooms in Alfred Lerner Hall and parents also is associate dean of student affairs. “We want students to staying in Roone Arledge Auditorium to learn about what to make the most of their college ex- expect and how they could best perience, so even before they have support their children. taken their first class we introduce Advising Dean Michael Dunn them to all the advising resources spoke to a group of students about and support services that are avail- the transition from high school to able to them here at Columbia.” college. No one would wake them Summer programs, which up for class, he emphasized, and Columbia began hosting about there would be huge swathes of 10 years ago, provide a unique time to manage — and laundry opportunity for staff to meet to attend to. He spoke about the with incoming students and their Core Curriculum, the advising families, share information that will partnership between student and help ease the transition ahead and adviser, and encouraged students introduce them to other members to explore Columbia’s vast aca- of the Columbia family, including demic offerings. “Entering first-year alumni, who will be an important students will discover a new level part of their Columbia experi- of personal responsibility and in- ence. This past summer, between Patricia Woods, assistant director at the Center for Career dependence as they transition into May 22 and June 29, the Division Education, addresses a Summer Advising session in Boston the Columbia community,” explains of Student Affairs, together with on June 13. Dunn. “As advisers, we’re here to colleagues in the Center for Career PHOTO: CHAR SMULLYAN help prepare them for this and Education and the Alumni Offices, serve as their first point of contact hosted 22 advising programs in 17 cities. The 2011 itinerary for all the resources the University provides.” included Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago, Houston, Boston, Wash- In the auditorium with the parents, Rinere moderated a panel ington, D.C., San Juan Capistrano and San Francisco as well as of students, alumni and current parents who took questions London, Shanghai, Beijing, Seoul, Hong Kong, Singapore, from the audience. One parent asked about the incidence of and Mumbai. And, of course, New York City. depression in college students, while others raised questions Beulah Agbabiaka ‘15, one of 51 students who attended the about access to student grades and how best to keep in contact June 21 session in San Francisco, wondered about how to design with their child while at Columbia. Through these discussions, her schedule in such a way that would allow her to study abroad parents received an introduction to the many resources and and still finish her major on time. “I realized I was overloading my support services available to help students manage their lives schedule before I even got my feet wet in New York,” she said. and adjust to life as college students. “Thankfully, I got some awesome advice from my advising dean on New to the Summer Advising program this year was the a realistic plan for a first-year student. The summer program was addition of a Resource Fair in New York, which provided an op- a great opportunity for me to figure out how to make life work in a portunity for students and parents to speak directly with many totally new environment and meet some future friends.” of the University’s service providers, including Financial Aid and In early June, 344 College students and 104 Engineering stu- Educational Financing, Columbia Health, Housing and Dining, dents and their parents came to Alfred Lerner Hall for advising ses- Residential Life and the Center for Career Education, among sions that were held in New York. As they snacked on sandwiches others. and iced tea outside Roone Arledge Auditorium, some students The event culminated in what has become a Columbia rite huddled with their parents while others got to know future class- of passage, as students came forward to receive a copy of mates or mingled with students they had met at Columbia during Homer’s The Iliad, the first text they will study in Literature Hu- the April “Days on Campus” program. In one of those five sessions, manities, from an alumni volunteer. Among the alumni helping Kareem Carryl ’15 of Brooklyn was chatting with Scott Aronin ’15 out this summer was Elliot Sloane ’83, CEO of the Manhattan and Matthew Kim ’15, classmates at Commack (N.Y.) H.S., and public relations firm Sloane & Co. Sahir Raoof ’15, of Jericho, N.Y., who had competed against Kim in “As I grow older and see more distance from my graduation day, the 2011 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. I feel like I should be doing more,” says Sloane. “I want to stay con- During the welcome and introduction, Rinere spoke about nected to Columbia College, and this is one good way to do it.”

FALL 2011 26 COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY WELCOME CLASS OF 2015 dents who have applied to Columbia. Interviews for early decision the Columbia community. Columbia seeks a diversity of person- candidates are held in October and November, and interviews for alities, achievements and talents, and of economic, social, ethnic, the remaining applicants continue through mid-February. cultural, religious, racial and geographic backgrounds, striving to “We try to get a picture of the student that doesn’t appear admit the most interesting and vibrant class possible. elsewhere in their overall package,” says Preis, a CPA in Florham “We like to create a class that will have students who, when Park, N.J. “We try to elicit something they are passionate about, sitting around a table, will look at the world through a different something intangible, that gives them heightened appeal.” lens,” says Marinaccio. “It’s not just the professor that students ARC member and federal appellate judge Joseph Greenaway learn from. There’s also the person sitting next to them.” Jr. ’78, who was chairman of the Black Alumni Council from 1996– Admissions officers look at students in a holistic manner, go- 2006 and currently is on the College’s Board of Visitors, conducts ing beyond basic yardsticks such as grade point averages in high his ARC interviews at his chambers in the federal courthouse in school and scores on college entrance exams. They look at stu- downtown Newark, N.J. “We need more kids to see people who dents’ levels of independent intellectual curiosity, personal initia- look like them who went to Columbia,” says Greenaway. “It’s tive in their communities and any special talents — be it in athlet- important for students to hear from an alumnus who may share ics, the performing arts, science or literature. a common experience with them and can let them know that Co- Katie Barclay ’15, of Chappaqua, N.Y., is a competitive skier lumbia is a place where they could go, enjoy and achieve.” who participated in the U.S. Freestyle Junior Olympics from 2008– Oriana Isaacson ’09 conducted 25 interviews last spring in Se- 10. Barclay considered colleges in mountainous settings but it came attle. She also has assisted with Columbia’s Summer Advising pro- down to a choice between two urban schools, Columbia and Penn. gram. Isaacson, who was a volunteer tour guide on campus, enjoys She twice stayed overnight at Columbia — once with a friend and talking about her Columbia experience, which includes participa- a second time through the Days on Campus program for accepted tion on the College’s fencing team, and her exploration of foreign students — and liked the feel of the campus and the caliber of the languages as a double major in French and Hispanic studies. conversation. “I’m interested in being part of the intellectual com- “Students have questions about the Core and how it fits with munity here,” she says. other things they want to study,” says Isaacson, who occasionally Barclay’s decision to matriculate came during April, after she re- wears her Ivy League championship fencing ring on interview ceived acceptances from Columbia and several other schools. This days. “I tell them I was able to double-major while also taking a final recruitment period includes Days on Campus, frequent con- year of Italian and semesters of Arabic and Portuguese. It’s pos- tact from the Admissions Office by email, mail and telephone, and sible to find the balance among your studies, a sport and things letters from alumni, including high-profile graduates such as Dan you want to study outside your major.” Futterman ’89, an actor and screenwriter; Claire Shipman ’86, ’94 SIPA, ABC senior national correspondent; and Julius Genachowski ’85, chair of the Federal Communications Commission. HEARD AT THE COMMITTEE TABLE Futterman, who came to Columbia intent on studying the sci- inner’s here!” The call goes out across 212 ences and becoming a physician, tells the admitted students that Hamilton Hall each night in March to alert he discovered the humanities through the Core Curriculum and admissions officers there for evening -admis turned to writing through his work at Spectator and an internship sions committees that food has arrived. After at Newsweek. He recalls the Columbia campus as a “peaceful oasis” months of reading nearly 35,000 applications and says he can’t help but smile when he reads the newspaper and “Dfor the College and Engineering, admissions officers spend four discovers another Columbia College success story. weeks meeting in small committees to discuss each applicant being “If I had to do it all over again, would I pick Columbia Col- considered for admission to Columbia. More than 150 meetings are lege?” asks Futterman. “That’s as easy a question as I can get: held, with the committees gathering each weekday from 9:30 a.m.– Definitely yes.” 9:30 p.m. and on Saturdays as well. Each committee is chaired by a senior member of the admissions staff. The regional admissions David McKay Wilson, a freelance journalist, writes regularly for officer presents the students who have applied from his or her terri- magazines at Columbia University, with articles published in Colum- tory (often students met during fall recruitment trips), and a vibrant bia College Today, TC Today and Columbia Engineering. discussion ensues. “What is the curriculum like at this school?” “How many advanced courses has she taken?” “What was his essay about?” “What do the teachers write about her?” “What are his rea- Legacy Couples sons for wanting to attend Columbia?” “What does the ARC report say?” All are common questions heard around the committee table. or three Columbia families, Orientation and Move-in 2011 The crucial question, though, is always, “What will the student had special meaning. In each case, both parents graduated add to the Columbia community?” With thousands of academically Ffrom the College. All three mothers were members of the Class of 1987, the qualified applicants, admissions officers must make fine distinctions first fully coeducational class at the College, which will be between students based not only on their curriculum, grades and celebrating the 25th anniversary of its graduation next spring. standardized testing but also on their extracurricular activities, lead- Diane Hilal-Campo ’87 and Richard Campo ’84 are the parents ership experiences, academic passions, and voice and perspective. of Cynthia Campo ’15; Nicole Belson Goluboff ’87 and Erik Gol- “Building a class is not an easy process. It requires a lot of thoughtful uboff ’86 are the parents of Justin Goluboff ’15; and Nancy Basri planning,” says Marinaccio. “You just can’t do it in a formulaic way. ’87 and William Basri ’84 are the parents of Ross Basri ’15E. It’s like putting a puzzle together, and it can take time to get a sense They are not the first CC legacy couples, however. That dis- if an applicant is a good fit for our type of education.” tinction belongs to Maria Hernandez Montalvo ’88 and Daniel Each student is examined within the context from which they Montalvo ’86, the parents of Veronica Montalvo ’09. came and how they might take advantage of, and contribute to,

FALL 2011 27 WELCOME CLASS OF 2015 COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY NSOP Not your average orientation program

B y S h i r a B o s s ’93, ’97J, ’98 SIPA

rriving at Columbia as a first-year student used embarked for a new home he had only seen in photographs. “You to involve a sometimes frustrating move-in ex- have this idea that it’s this bustling place that might swallow you perience followed by several days of relatively up,” he says, recalling move-in day. “But you walk onto campus standard welcome-to-campus social events. Not the first day and see hundreds of helpful student leaders and get anymore. The New Student Orientation Program the sense that the school really cares. This first week is very memo- A(NSOP) has flourished in recent years, largely due to the efforts rable and assures you that you have made the right choice.” of increasingly enthusiastic student planners and the dedicated For many, orientation actually begins before move-in day. For support and guidance from the Division of Student Affairs. It has nearly 30 years, some first-year students have chosen to partici- become a week-long, city-wide, jam-packed program that em- pate in themed, pre-orientation programs organized by students. braces and energizes incoming students from the very first day, The first and still the largest, Columbia Outdoor Orientation Pro- and leaves many eager to work on the event for the next round gram, started in 1984 as a hiking and camping trip in the Catskill of new students. Mountains. It has since expanded to three programs: hiking, bik- “Orientation at Columbia is really great. Columbia goes above ing or river canoeing, all of which are combined with camping. and beyond,” says Courtney Wilkins ’07, who worked on orien- The 215 spots available this year filled more quickly than ever, tation after her sophomore year. according to the coordinator. Orientation is more organized, more comprehensive and has Another program, Columbia Urban Experience, for 84 incom- more “school spirit” than the Columbia community has ever ing first-years, involves volunteering in small groups at organiza- seen. It took a 14-member student committee all summer, work- tions around the city, such as God’s Love We Deliver (free meals ing full-time, to plan the events of the 2011 NSOP, which is for delivered to homebound patients) and Youth Action Programs incoming students at all four undergraduate schools: the College, and Homes (activities and training for youth in East Harlem). The Engineering, General Studies and Barnard. “Students have an in- students also have dinner discussions, hear from speakers who credible introduction to campus and city life,” says Cynthia Jen- work at nonprofits and enjoy evening events around town, such nings, director of NSOP and Class Year Programs in the Division as baseball at and visits to Magnolia Bakery or of Student Affairs. “We truly consider our city an educational Bryant Park. resource and encourage the students to use it to their benefit.” A new pre-orientation program, developed after a limited pi- lot last year, is the International Students Orientation Program. uan Esteban Estrada ’13 had never been to New York before What used to be simply a Q&A session about the logistics of liv- Jarriving for his orientation program two years ago. After his ing in New York is now a specialized, four-day program intended flight from Miami, he loaded his two suitcases into a taxi and to address the particular concerns of international students. Be- fore NSOP begins, international students participate in information sessions, discussions and excursions around the city. They meet one another, are introduced to the campus and the richly textured but potentially intimidating city that is New York and are mentored by student leaders, with each component designed to ease that initial adjustment. Describing its growth in recent years, current NSOP coordinator Simon Jerome ’13 says, “NSOP is constant- ly changing and evolving, something that’s crucial to the success of the program. To achieve this, our advis- ers do a stupendous job of accommodating student voices through participation on the planning commit- tee and using surveys to collect feedback.” Orientation week for all new students officially starts with move-in and is followed by Convocation, an event that was canceled this year due to Hurricane Irene. “Families are surprised. They think, ‘It’s New York City and it’s going to be such a hassle,’ but it’s real- ly very efficient,” says Kimberly Lynch ’13E, a member of this year’s planning committee. “Orientation leaders Cyclists enter College Walk through the Broadway gates during the Columbia Out- and crew chiefs with smiling faces meet families and door Orientation Program. unload vehicles starting at 7 a.m.” The campus is heav-

FALL 2011 28 COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY WELCOME CLASS OF 2015

ily dotted with the brightly-colored shirts worn by the student ori- an impressive video presentation, prepared by the NSOP com- entation crew, and help is readily available at every step during the mittee, outlining the history of the University and celebrating move-in process. the commonalities and uniqueness of each of the undergraduate Along with moving carts and picnic lunches, the first day of schools. It is a way for students to understand the community orientation now has pomp and ceremony. Parents and students they are entering and the responsibility of being a member of this gather on South Field for Convocation and are addressed by Pres- community. ident Lee C. Bollinger and the deans of the College, Engineering A highlight of the week is the New York City Event, a party at and Student Affairs as well as an NSOP student leader. Alumni a venue that is kept secret until orientation. Past locations have participate, too, offering a welcome to the class and marching in included The U.S.S. Intrepid, Ellis Island, The Metropolitan Mu- the Alumni Procession, both of which send the message that stu- seum of Art, Madison Square Garden, the American Museum of dents are beginning a lifelong relationship with Columbia. Con- Natural History and Madame Tussaud’s. On another evening, vocation begins with the parade of flags representing the states students provide their own entertainment at Open Mic night in and countries of every member of the College and Engineering Roone Arledge Auditorium. “It might seem nerve-wracking to undergraduate student body, including the new class, and it ends perform in front of a completely new set of friends, but the expe- with a rousing rendition of “Roar, Lion, Roar.” rience is very relaxed and enjoyable,” Estrada says. “The lights Immediately following Convocation, parents depart and stu- are dimmed, giving the auditorium a coffee-house atmosphere, dents attend their first group session with their Orientation Lead- and the event serves as a perfect way to meet others with similar er. Later that evening, Class Act, an event designed by students interests right off the bat.” in 2000 (see college.columbia.edu/cct_archive/may01/may01_ The weekend before classes begin, students can participate in forum2.html) and held in Roone Arledge Auditorium, features an ever-expanding array of walking tours — from Harlem, the Varsity Show skits and a boisterous recessional of the first-years, Bronx Zoo and the Cloisters uptown, to the High Line Park, the who are led through a tunnel of cheering students along Broad- Brooklyn Bridge and the Financial District downtown. Closer to way and onto campus through the gates at West 116th Street. home are a vertical tour of St. John the Divine, a tour of Central That kind of school spirit was distinctly lacking in the decades Park and a tour of eco-friendly spaces on campus and the local preceding the millennium. farmer’s market. Today’s students agree that bonding occurs over a kind of One thing missing from orientation that many alumni will shared uniqueness. “It’s a community based on acceptance and remember is the Facebook, a type of yearbook for incoming stu- being who you are,” Estrada says. “The students are free to show dents that featured a photo and some personal information, from their own colors and the community is very welcoming. Colum- a survey, about each student that was used as a reference guide bia allows you to be who you want to be, and to pick and choose to who’s who in the class. With its last publication in 2008, it has what you want to take away from your college experience.” been unofficially replaced by the more interactive, worldwide “The purpose of NSOP,” says Dean of Student Affairs Kevin Facebook online, where many students met each other on the Co- Shollenberger, “is to assist students with the transition from high lumbia Class of 2015 page before they even arrived on campus. school to college and to introduce new students to one another, “NSOP is the University at its best — its friendliest, its most to Columbia’s campus, community and expectations, and to the outgoing, its most energetic, its most inclusive,” says Jerome, City of New York.” the NSOP coordinator. “It’s the week that never fails to remind me why I chose Columbia.” rientation week still includes information sessions about campus services — libraries, safety, health, jobs — as Shira Boss ’93, ’97J, ’98 SIPA is contributing writer to CCT. Owell as advising sessions, placement tests, academic meetings, the first Literature Humanities class and diversity training. An academic resource fair, where entering students meet with faculty and gather more information about subjects they are in- terested in studying, is a newer addition. “Prior to course registration, the auditorium is buzzing with faculty members engaging with students and an- swering questions about their departments, course requirements and placement. This is a very popular event and it’s wonderful to see the interest from both faculty and students grow every year,” says Terry Martinez, dean of community development and multicultural affairs. Community Forum is another relatively new addi- tion to NSOP. Filling the steps in front of Low Library, new students and staff from all four undergraduate schools gather to learn more about the makeup of the Class of 2015. Then, to get a little more specific, -ex cerpts from a number of application essays (with prior permission from the authors) are read anonymously, An enthusiastic audience of first-years participate in last year’s Class Act in Alfred providing a more personal and poignant glimpse of Lerner Hall. who these students are. The evening concludes with PHOTOS: CHAR SMULLYAN

FALL 2011 29 COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY Words of Wisdom Karen McCally ’91 “Careful how you talk Have you ever wanted to share to your professors over the benefit of your experience email. Be polite. Don’t with members of a younger generation, those following call them ‘yo’ or ‘dude.’ in your footsteps? CCT gave We didn’t have the attendees of Alumni Reunion opportunities to make Weekend and Dean’s Day 2011 those kinds of faux Ed Chin ’71 a chance to offer words of advice pas when we were in “This is a tremendous to members of the Class of college — we had to opportunity for you to 2015. Here are some of their show up in person.” make your own choices. responses; more can be found at college.columbia.edu/cct. College will be an Allen Breslow ’61, ’64L I n t e r v i e w s a n d p h oto s : epiphany.” D a n i e ll a Z a l c m a n ’09 “College is the best time of your life whether you Chris Tahbaz ’86, ’90L ”Don’t miss the midnight know it or not. bike ride with Professor ”The most important Ken Jackson. thing to remember is ”Enjoy it; college is that this should be a a great four years that time of intellectual you’ll never have again exploration.” and different from any- Natalie Kimmelman ’06 thing you’ll ever do.” “Learn how to use the stacks in Butler Library early on.” COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY WORDS OF WISDOM

Evans Kissi ’91, ’08 PH Kimberly Fisher ’00 “Pace yourself. ”Get involved Do your in club sports, homework because you can’t just study. and then take Doing a sport time to explore the world helps you around you.” balance life.” WORDS OF WISDOM COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY

John Leonardo ’61 “Embrace the Core. When I got to Columbia I knew Henry Sackler ’06 Julie Waxgiser ’91 what it was, but I didn’t ”Try to live in “Go to office Carman your hours and get grasp how much of an freshman year to know your — you’ll meet professors. influence it would more people and They get a better become more understanding of have on my life.” popular.” you, and then you have an important relationship that you’ll need later on.”

James Ammeen ’61, ’62 Business ”Get involved with the Scott Smith ’86 College and “Being in NYC is a with your trip, but make sure classmates.” that Columbia is always your nucleus: Always come back to Columbia.”

FALL 2011 32 COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY WORDS OF WISDOM

Arnold Chase ’61, ’64L “Enjoy your education because you’ll come away with the greatest Emily Tang ’06 thing you could possibly ”Make as much money as you can in high school; New York is expensive! learn, and that’s how ”Make sure to try the pear cider at the farmer’s market. to think.” ”Study abroad — if you’re going to the most diverse campus in the country, you should have a diverse education.”

Justin Ifill ’06 “Take everything in stride and keep a level head.”

FALL 2011 33 COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY Rain Can’t Dampen Spirits at Class Day 2011

B y A l e x S a c h a r e ’71

elebrating an extraordinary rite of passage, members of the Class of 2011 began the transition from students to alumni on Class Day, May 17, a day that was marked by torrential morning rain and Cblustery wind but calmer weather by the time Sans Souci and Roar, Lion, Roar were sung by the Clefhangers to close the ceremony. The seniors’ transition continued the next day under overcast skies when they took their place among the more than 12,000 graduates of the University’s 18 schools and affiliates at Commencement, the official graduation cere- mony, which this year drew a crowd of more than 30,000 to Low Plaza. Alexandra Wallace Creed ’88, s.v.p. of NBC News, delivered a Class Day keynote speech marked by levity and brevity, to the delight of the graduates, families and guests who gathered (This page, from top) under tents on South Field. She joked that when Class Day speaker Alex- the seniors heard their speaker was from NBC andra Wallace Creed ’88, News, they might have expected Brian Williams, s.v.p. of NBC News, urges Matt Lauer, Ann Curry or Tom Brokaw, not “Alex graduates to “follow your passion”; Class of Wallace — who is he?” She urged the graduates to 1961 alumni (left to right) “follow your passion. Work can be an avocation as Frank Lorenzo, Burtt Eh- well as a vocation … It is more satisfying to find rlich and James Ammeen, a place where you fit than to contort yourself to as members of the 50th fit somewhere you don’t. Is there something you anniversary graduating class, hand out pins to love doing, besides sleeping, that could become a the graduating seniors; career? You will work a lot in your life. You should and Class of 1986 alumni love what you do.” Renan Pierre (left) and Then-Dean Michele Moody-Adams spoke Rick Wolf proudly carry their class banner in the of the remarkable space on which Class Day and Alumni Parade of Classes. Commencement were held, “one of the most glori- (Facing page, from top) ous public spaces in the world,” and told the grad- Salutatorian Elizabeth uating seniors that whatever they went on to do in Lucia Lyon ’11 addresses life, she hoped they always would “protect social her classmates, and President Lee C. Bollinger and political spaces in which robust but reasoned offers his congratulations debate is possible.” She added, “You have had the to the graduating seniors. opportunity to test out your ideas and your argu- ments in one of the most diverse settings in hu- man history,” noting that members of the Class of 2011 represented all 50 states and 70 countries. Conceding that such diversity can be chal- lenging, Moody-Adams reminded the gradu- ates, “You are Columbians. You are not afraid of challenge, and you are not afraid to respond

FALL 2011 34 COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY CLASS DAY 2011

FALL 2011 35 CLASS DAY 2011

to challenge in a context where not every- body thinks exactly the way you do. Winston Churchill once wrote that courage is what it takes to stand up and speak, but courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen. When you leave Columbia to start your life as a college graduate, be sure to have the courage of your convictions but be courageous enough to also sit down and listen to people who don’t think like you. When you do, you will demonstrate the power of your Columbia College education and you will affirm the value of an experience that consistently connected you to something larger than yourself.” For the eighth consecutive year, the Class Day procession included the Alumni Parade of Classes, with more than 100 alumni from as far back as 1936 proudly march- The newest ing through the rain with their College alumni class banners to welcome the show their seniors into the alumni com- school pride munity. As usual, the gradu- with lions and apples. ates rose and gave a standing PHOTOS: EI- ovation as the alumni passed LEEN BARROSO down the aisle. Scott Maxfield ’11, chair of the Senior Fund, announced that a record 95 percent of the class had donated $21,349, and that surpassing the participation goal of 93 per- cent had triggered a gift of $50,000 to the Colum- bia College Fund from Board of Visitors Emeritus Member Charles Santoro ’82. Maxfield, accom- panied by the 11 vice chairs of the Senior Fund, presented Moody-Adams with a scroll bearing the names of the 951 contributors. Also speaking at Class Day was President Lee C. Bollinger, who kept his remarks brief, telling the graduates, “This is really your century … an incredible time for you to be graduating from this institution, with this education, and to be going out into the world. We will watch you with pride and interest.” Other speakers included salutato- rian Elizabeth Lucia Lyon ’11 and class president Sean Manning Udell ’11, who drew a roar when he said, “Allow me to quote Legally Blonde for just one minute: ‘We made it!’ ” Mark Momjian ’83, ’86L, a leader of the Co- lumbia University Club of Philadelphia and chair of the Alumni Representative Committee of Philadelphia for the past two decades, and Neil L. Selinger ’75, a writer and retired attorney who was a leader of the CC Alumni Association for nearly two decades, were among 11 recipients of the Alumni Medal for their distinguished service of 10 years or more to the University, presented at Commencement.

COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY

Marc Rauch ’69 stands atop the fifth story roof of the AUC Science Building, which fronts directly on Tahrir Square, where a crowd estimated at more than one million gathered on “Victory Friday,” February 18. PHOTO: SEAN GRAHAM

FALL 2011 38 COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY Cairo Journal A veteran of Spring ’68 at Columbia reflects on the Egyptian revolution

B y M a r c R au c h ’69

I moved to Egypt a week before January 25, 2011, the start of a youth- led, pro-democracy uprising that toppled the regime of Hosni Mubarak after 30 years of authoritarian rule. Some call these events, which are far from concluded, a mere popular revolt. Others insist they are the beginning of a full-blown Egyptian revolution. Whatever future historians may conclude about the events that began on January 25, for me this truly has been a second revolution. The first, which seemed equally earthshaking at the time, took place at Columbia in April 1968. Then a junior, I joined numerous classmates in the occupation of Fayerweather Hall, was arrested in the campus- wide bust on April 30 and spent a night in the Tombs. This time an observer, as I watched events unfold in Egypt I often recalled the mix of euphoria and anxiety that I felt at Columbia more than 40 years ago. This article is based on a series of emailed dispatches to family, friends and former colleagues that began at the height of the crisis — as soon as the Mubarak regime ended its unprecedented five-day shutdown of email, cell phone and text messaging services — and continued through the Arab Spring.

OUR WEEK OF LIVING DANGEROUSLY came to Egypt to be with my wife, Lisa Anderson [’76 SIPA, ’81 GSAS], who had been appointed president of the Ameri- can University in Cairo (AUC) effective January 1, 2011. From 1997–2007 Lisa had been dean of the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia. She had served as provost at IAUC since 2008 and also studied there briefly in the 1970s. The Tuesday following my arrival, January 25, was Police Day, a national holiday. Word spread that a demonstration had been planned in Tahrir (Liberation) Square, in the heart of downtown Cairo, to protest the torture and killing of a young dissident by the police in Alexandria. Although political protests, labor strikes and football riots had occurred in Egypt in recent years despite brutal government crackdowns, the massive turnout in Tahrir Square on Police Day was completely unexpected. Many of the demonstrators refused CAIRO JOURNAL COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY to leave Tahrir Square, and in the ensuing days, reports filtered several hours each day when the armed forces lifted its curfew, my back of skirmishes between police and protesters. Though ten- wife convened AUC’s emergency management team in the dining sion clearly was building in Cairo, our leafy, upper-middle-class room of our villa (often to the sound of distant gunfire, and on one neighborhood of Ma’adi, where the AUC president’s villa is occasion with boisterous pro-Mubarak demonstrators marching located a 25-minute drive from downtown, remained serene. through the streets of Ma’adi), making plans to reopen the univer- Friday, January 28, was declared a “Day of Rage” by the anti- sity as quickly as possible and attending to the safety and security of government protestors. Any illusion that Ma’adi was a safe haven faculty, students, staff and the university’s campuses. from the troubles downtown was quickly shattered after an af- Each long February night, as the fate of the Mubarak regime ternoon of pitched battles between protestors and Mubarak’s riot and the Egyptian people seemed to hang in the balance, neigh- police in Cairo, broadcast live by Al-Jazeera. As darkness fell, au- bors helping neighbors lit bonfires, bundled up against the chill tomatic weapons fire began reverberating through Ma’adi as well. and manned barricades from dusk to dawn to secure our neigh- AUC provides good security at the president’s villa and it was borhood of Ma’adi, just as they did to secure neighborhoods reinforced almost as soon as the shooting started, but the guards throughout Cairo. Egypt does not have a deep tradition of volun- are not armed. My wife is famous in our family for being able to teerism and civic association as in the United States, yet from the sleep through anything and she proved that night that she can chaos and panic of the early days of the revolution had emerged even sleep through nearby gun battles. As for me, I lay awake all a remarkable display of citizenship and solidarity. night trying to determine exactly where the gunfire was coming from and whether it was getting any closer. Thankfully it was not. “VICTORY FRIDAY,” FEBRUARY 18, 2011, Shortly before dawn on Saturday, five teeth-rattling concus- sion grenades exploded — Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! IN TAHRIR SQUARE Then the gunfire stopped. Dawn broke with a brief rain shower he young activists who toppled the Mubarak regime (infrequent in Cairo), birds singing and the acrid smell of spent called for a mass victory celebration a week later in gunpowder in the air. It turned out that during the night, dem- Tahrir Square. An AUC presidential intern who had onstrators had attacked the Ma’adi police station mere blocks spent time in Tahrir proposed that we “check out the from our villa. Numerous police stations throughout Egypt were Square,” and, escorted by a trusted AUC driver, we attacked and burned that night, leaving nothing but burned-out Tarrived in the center of Cairo shortly before noon. shells, but in Ma’adi the police fought off the demonstrators — The streets were crowded with men, women and children this being the source of much of the gunfire. streaming toward the Square and carrying banners, sacks of food That morning I decided to introduce myself to the neighbors and even folding chairs. Our driver managed to find a place to on our block of Road 19 in Ma’adi. I had been meaning to do so stop only a block from the square, near an entrance to AUC’s Tah- in any event, and a night of gunfire seemed as good an excuse as rir Square campus. Putting aside my qualms, I passed through a any. We exchanged landline numbers (the Mubarak regime had military checkpoint with the intern, and almost immediately we disabled all email, cell phones and text messaging services the were surrounded by excited, jostling Egyptians anxious to make day before) and agreed to coordinate if things got worse and we their way into the Square proper, a nearly impossible objective had to leave our homes in a hurry. given the crush of people. The sensation was not unlike being By mid-morning it became apparent that the police (much-hated caught in a riptide; we soon gave up and left the throng, much to in Egypt) had disappeared from Ma’adi, and for that matter, from my secret relief, though the mood of the crowd seemed celebra- most of Egypt. Rumors circulated that the despised Minister of the tory, even jubilant, rather than threatening. Interior, Habib al-Adly (now serving a 12-year jail term for corrup- Once back through the checkpoint, we proceeded to the fifth- tion and being tried on capital charges for shootings of peaceful pro- story roof of the AUC Science Building, which fronts directly on testors), had pulled the police and opened the jail doors in a desper- Tahrir Square and often had served as a backdrop for television ate move to frighten ordinary people into supporting the Mubarak coverage of the revolution. Tahrir Square is a vast and somewhat regime. As the day wore on, fears mounted that the “thugs” (in Ara- irregularly shaped public space, once the military encampment bic, baltagia) loosed from prisons by al-Adly were now roaming the and parade ground of Ottoman and British rulers of Egypt. streets of Cairo, breaking and entering, looting and burning. Spread out before us as we reached the edge of the roof of the By late afternoon, makeshift barricades began appearing at Science Building, and filling every nook and cranny of the Square intersections throughout Ma’adi (and throughout Cairo) in an as far as the eye could see, was an almost unimaginable sea of effort to prevent thugs in stolen vehicles from entering the neigh- people, many thrusting aloft banners and waving red, white and borhood. By nightfall, groups of civilians, many of whom had black Egyptian flags. According to the next day’s report in The never met, took up positions at the barricades, armed with base- New York Times, at that moment more than one million people ball bats, golf clubs, improvised spears and antique swords. were gathered in Tahrir Square. Shortly before midnight, the armed forces — unlike the police, For me, the awe-inspiring effect of this multitude was similar a respected institution in Egypt — emerged from their barracks to my first view of the Grand Canyon: It was hard to believe that to restore order in Cairo. Sand-colored tanks took up positions on such a thing could exist on this earth. Periodically, chanted slogans major thoroughfares in and around Ma’adi and soldiers in cam- (“Our house must be cleaned totally!” i.e. “All cabinet ministers ouflage set up checkpoints at strategic intersections, much to the must be replaced now!”) rose from the Square in thunderous relief of Egyptians and foreigners alike. waves of sound. Though billed as a joyous celebration, this dem- Thus began a delicate, 10-day dance of confrontation and nego- onstration was also plainly intended as a display of raw political tiation among the Mubarak regime, opposition groups, the armed power, a potent reminder to the Supreme Council of the Armed forces, protestors occupying Tahrir Square and the U.S. government Forces (which had taken control of the Egyptian government a (whose pronouncements seemed to change almost daily), culminat- week earlier) that the popular movement that toppled Mubarak ing in Mubarak’s resignation on February 11. Meanwhile, during the was not to be trifled with.

FALL 2011 40 COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY CAIRO JOURNAL

We left the Science Building roof in stunned silence and made were routinely discussed at the Mubarak dinner table, even Mrs. our way home from Tahrir Square. But the image of the vast Mubarak has since conceded that millions of dollars not properly flag-waving, banner-wielding, slogan-chanting multitude stayed belonging to her were found in her personal bank accounts. with me, an image alternately inspirational and terrifying. Wildly AUC is a private institution that makes its own decisions optimistic and wildly pessimistic precedents — Gandhi’s India, about such matters. Almost as soon as the university reopened, a Mao’s — coursed through my mind, but surely it was the list-serve was formed by students, faculty, alumni and interested first time that I had begun to comprehend the magnitude of the outsiders for the sole purpose of bringing about the removal of forces unleashed by the recent events in Egypt. Mrs. Mubarak’s name from the conference center. One possible solution to the naming dilemma may be found WHAT’S IN A NAME, IF IT’S H.E. at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. There, a prominent statue of Cecil Rhodes, the great explorer and statesman and noto- SUZANNE MUBARAK? rious white supremacist, frames (some would say ruins) the view hrough a combination of foresight, courage and luck, of the beautiful city of Cape Town and its picturesque harbor from my wife and her senior managers managed to reopen the university’s mountainside campus. Attached to the base of the the university a mere 36 hours after the collapse of the statue is a plaque that reads something like this: We know that this Mubarak regime. The next weeks were full of uncer- statue will offend many people. Cecil Rhodes was a champion of tainty — AUC was the only university open in Egypt the now-discredited system of apartheid. Yet Rhodes donated the Tfor nearly a month. Almost immediately, however, a controversy land for this university — without him it would not exist — and he erupted at AUC that is still not definitively resolved. is part of our history. We have decided to leave the statue here in Tucked away in a corner of AUC’s stunning New Cairo cam- the hope that it will provoke continuing discussion. pus is a ground-floor lecture hall that seats about 70 people and is Rashid Khalidi, the Edward Said Professor of Modern Arab Stud- typically used for guest lectures. It was named the “H.E. Suzanne ies and Literature at Columbia, visited AUC a few weeks after the Mubarak Conference Center” after the wife of the deposed Egyp- Mubarak regime fell to give a talk on the new Egypt. He suggested tian president. The “H.E.” stands for “Her Excellency.” still another approach. The first question following his prepared re- Mrs. Mubarak is a proud alumna of AUC. The naming of this marks came from a young woman, visibly shaking with anger, who modest facility in her honor by her friends and admirers was in demanded to know if it was proper for the university to continue to recognition not of a specific benefaction but of her loyalty to the name a conference center after the wife of a deposed dictator. After university through the years. acknowledging that he was indeed grateful for not having been as- Soon after the university reopened, an open forum was held in signed to speak at the “Suzanne Mubarak” center, Khalidi opined the largest auditorium on the New Cairo campus. Hundreds of stu- that it could make sense to rename the facility, but install a plaque dents, faculty and staff attended in a scene uncannily reminiscent of reading “Formerly the Suzanne Mubarak Conference Center.” the plenary strike meetings at Columbia in May 1968. Emotions in Not long after Khalidi spoke at AUC, a recent graduate of the the AUC auditorium ran high, and speaker after speaker demanded university, now a well-known political activist, pulled the gray the immediate removal of Mrs. Mubarak’s name from the confer- stone plaque bearing Suzanne Mubarak’s name off next ence center, to general applause, loud cheering and stamping of feet. to the entrance of the conference center. As a veteran of Colum- Toward the end of the forum, however, one young woman suggest- bia ’68, where students and their sympathizers thought nothing ed that the university not act in haste and that at the very least the of occupying entire buildings and (in some instances) barricad- removal of Mrs. Mubarak’s name be given further reflection. ing entrances against the police, I had continued to be amazed at In the weeks that followed, the Mubarak name was removed the civility on the AUC campus, where until that moment, and from hundreds of public buildings in Egypt. I visited one of those despite the continuing strong feelings about the Mubarak nam- buildings, an enormous state-of-the-art public library in a mixed- ing issue, students and activists had resisted crossing the line be- income area bordering our neighborhood of Ma’adi. Mrs. Mubarak tween peaceful, if lively, protest and damaging property. was known for causing libraries to be built all over Egypt, a coun- Plaque or no plaque, the conference center still remained offi- try where 30 percent of the population is still illiterate. I confess cially named for Suzanne Mubarak. In late April, however, the uni- to having felt a twinge of doubt upon seeing that her name, once versity administration announced that use of the Mubarak name for in huge block letters, had been wiped unceremoniously from the the conference center would be suspended until the fall, when an façade of this magnificent facility, open to rich and poor alike. international conference will be held at AUC on “Public Names, His- Certainly the motives of those who want to remove the tory and Memory in Political Transitions.” Invited to the conference Mubarak name must be respected. The most frequently heard ob- will be scholars and activists from post-apartheid South Africa, post- jection to name-changing is that it smacks of Stalinist rewriting of Communist Eastern Europe and post-dictatorship Latin America. history, but these are not people attempting to erase the collective The international conference, the university’s announcement memories of their own ghastly deeds; they are pro-democracy noted, will honor both the sentiment of the AUC community and the activists affronted by reminders of 30 years of brutal dictatorship. university’s mission as an institution of reflection, debate and learn- Nor should those who favor retaining some version of the ing. Only following the conference, the announcement added, will a Mubarak name for historical transparency be overly rigid in their final decision be made as to the name of the conference center. stance: Even those who feel most hesitant about removing Mrs. Mubarak’s name — I count myself among them — would likely Marc Rauch ’69 graduated from Harvard Law School in 1975. Prior to agree that the H.E. (Her Excellency) should go because it is a bla- moving to Egypt in January, he practiced law in New York City for 35 tant provocation. years, first as a labor and entertainment lawyer, then in commercial real Admittedly, it is not easy to make an “innocent spouse” de- estate. From 2003–10 he also served in various positions in New York fense on Mrs. Mubarak’s behalf. While it is doubtful that blatant City government relating to affordable housing, the United Nations and election-rigging, pervasive corruption and condoning of torture sustainability.

FALL 2011 41 COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY

[ COLUMBIA FORUM] Harlem Alexander Hamilton (Class of 1778) found tranquility in Harlem’s wooded landscape

Jonathan Gill ’86, ’99 GSAS, a professor of American his- he beginning of the end of the American tory and music, currently is on the faculty of the Manhattan War of Independence came in October 1781, School of Music. He has taught at Columbia, City College with the British surrender at Yorktown, and Fordham, and written for The New York Times. Virginia, but it took years for Harlemites to Gill’s new history, Harlem: come home. It wasn’t until November 21, The Four Hundred Year His- 1783, four days before the British left down- town, that George Washington crossed over tory from Dutch Village to from the Bronx to Manhattan to meet with Capital of Black America, is officers and politicians at Day’s tavern, at the first book to show the whole what is now Eighth Avenue and West 126th panorama of Harlem’s story from Street. Reoccupying the island was first on the early days of the Lenni Le- the agenda, and Washington ordered the napes, through the arrival of the army to capture any “offenders” who remained. Peace could be as compli- Dutch, to the turbulent struggle cated as war, Washington knew, so he spent a few nights at Harlem, first at for American independence and the newly opened Blue Bell tavern and then at Leggett’s Halfway House, Jonathan Gill ’86, Tlocated in the old McGown’s tavern, before heading south to New York ’99 GSAS up to the present. During the PHOTO: LORI TRAIKOS Revolutionary War, the action City. Even then, it took time for the new political realities to sink in uptown. spilled over the land we know After Washington and his company left, a group of twenty-five loyalists as Columbia’s campus: In the Battle of Harlem Heights, tried to tear down the American flag flying at Leggett’s. The War of Independence had been good for New York. The city, which George Washington’s men were forced to retreat through served as the base of operations for the British, doubled in population, to a buckwheat field where Barnard now sits. Another some thirty thousand people, between 1775 and 1780. Retreating soldiers Columbia footnote: Washington’s highly competent and fleeing loyalists reduced its size to about twelve thousand inhabitants aide-de-camp during much of the war was Alexander in 1781, but it soon began growing again, especially when the business of Hamilton (Class of 1778). So influential was the future government began in what was then the capital of the new state and the new Treasury secretary that Dr. Benjamin Rush, an educator nation. Trade with the West Indies — importing sugar, rum, and slaves and and Founding Father, commented that Washington was exporting tobacco and grain — also started up again. By 1790 there were in fact “governed by one of his aides.” more than thirty-three thousand people below the city’s new northern bor- Hamilton’s and Harlem’s der of , and that number more than doubled by the time of fates seem to have been linked. the War of 1812. Overcrowding was hardly the only problem. Many of the Long after the Revolutionary buildings that didn’t burn down in 1776 were still vulnerable because there War, he moved back to its wood- wasn’t enough water available to put out fires. Moreover, poor water qual- ed landscape in order to find a ity and deplorable sanitary conditions meant that epidemics continued to ravage New York City. One outbreak of yellow tranquility that had eluded him fever claimed the lives of more than 5 percent Alexander Hamilton’s further downtown. In the fol- beloved Grange, shown of the city, with casket makers roaming the lowing excerpt, Gill follows the before 1889 and in modern streets shouting “Coffins of all sizes!” No won- times. The building was twists and turns of Hamilton’s der not just aristocrats but prosperous down- moved to Saint Nicholas — and Harlem’s — intertwined town businessmen who were supplanting the Park in 2008 and is due to fortunes. reopen in September. old hereditary order with a new mercantile PHOTOS: NATIONAL PARK Rose Kernochan ’82 Barnard upper class wanted to get away, and northern SERVICE

FALL 2011 42 COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY HARLEM

FALL 2011 43 HARLEM COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY

Aaron Burr (left) and Hamilton fought their fateful duel in Weehawken, N.J., on the morning of July 11, 1804. Hamilton died the following day. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES/KEAN COLLECTION

Manhattan was just the place. According to the very first federal of 1778]. Ensconced in a six-horse yellow carriage decorated with census, taken less than a decade after the end of the war, there mermaids and cupids, they toured the Revolutionary War forti- were only 803 people living in the entire Harlem Division, 189 of fications at Harlem and imbibed at Marriner’s before visiting the whom were slaves. While these may seem like substantial num- old headquarters at the Morris Mansion. bers, many of these people lived outside the village proper, and Washington wasn’t the only downtowner riding uptown for the total number was not even 3 percent of the island’s popula- pleasure. Improved roads meant that Harlem was finally within tion. The census also characterized 41 people in northern Manhat- reach of commuters as well as day trippers. In the years after the tan as “other,” which may have referred to people about whom Revolutionary War, charges for pleasure excursions were high: not enough was known, or to free blacks, persons of mixed race, one pound, twelve shillings for a full day’s excursion in a coach Indians, or even Jews — among the prominent New Yorkers who and one pound, eight shillings for a half day, which didn’t include owned property uptown was the well-known businessman and a fiddler, food and drink, care of the horses, or the prostitutes proto-Zionist Benjamin Judah. who often came along. Trips uptown were not only expensive Matters of both war and government had brought Washington but hazardous. A 1795 article in the New York Journal recounted back to Harlem in the fall of 1783, but in the years that followed how passengers were killed when they tried to get out on the it was pleasure that the new president was after. Local lore has it steep stretch of road that would later be known as “Breakneck that Washington fancied one of the female slaves who worked at Hill,” along what is now St. Nicholas Avenue. the old Stone House Inn, at what is now St. Nicholas Avenue and In the years after the war, visitors had a broad choice when it West 152nd Street. Easier to document is the trip he took in Oc- came to lodgings. In addition to Marriner’s, Day’s tavern, Leggett’s tober 1789 with his vice president, John Adams, and their wives Halfway House, and the Blue Bell there were the Crossed Keys and through Long Island and the Bronx before ending up with a din- the Black Horse. Many new inns opened in the years after the war, ner at Marriner’s tavern, at what is now First Avenue and East including the Kimmel tavern, the Post Inn, Halsey’s tavern, and 126th Street. Washington returned to Harlem the following sum- the Harlem Coffee House. Washington no doubt chose Marriner’s mer with Vice President Adams and his wife, Abigail, as well as because of the patriotic associations of its owner, William Marriner, their son, the future president John Quincy Adams, in addition to who had served as a captain during the war, twice venturing into Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, the Secretary of War Henry British territory to kidnap high-ranking officers. After the fight- Knox, and Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton [Class ing was over he went back into the hospitality business, running

FALL 2011 44 COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY HARLEM a number of taverns, including one at the Morris Mansion, which in 1799. Hamilton’s complicated and contradictory position on was renamed the Calumet Inn and described as a “genteel house of slavery derived from his curious belief that slavery was morally entertainment,” in the words of the New York Packet. excusable but economically unnecessary, since America’s future The grandeur of the Morris Mansion, even in its less distin- depended not on forced labor and agriculture but on immigration, guished phase, still inspired architects and their uptown patrons, banking, and manufacturing. Such ideas were deeply repugnant to more than one of them ex-loyalists who obviously felt at home in many Americans, but Hamilton never set much store by popular Harlem, despite their politics. Cadwallader D. Colden, who was opinion, and he often found himself a party of one. born into a prominent loyalist family and spent the Revolution in England, returned to New York in 1785 and built a country retreat fter the war, Hamilton remained close to Washing- at what would become Seventh Avenue near West 139th Street. ton, ghostwriting the general’s farewell to the troops Valentine Nutter, a loyalist sympathizer who ran a book and statio- at Fraunces Tavern and President Washington’s sev- nery shop downtown, sat out most of the war in Nova Scotia with enth and eighth annual addresses to Congress. But as his two slaves, but after the war he returned to New York and built time went on Hamilton became estranged from the Nutter Farm, at what is now Lenox Avenue and West 110th Street Aother founding fathers, who considered him a vain social climber. — he had inherited part of the old de la Montagne property. Per- They detested the sight of him strutting about New York like a dan- haps the best-known example of this new generation of uptown dy, dressed in the white and tan color scheme of his native tropics. mansions was the home of the businessman and chemist John Many also questioned his commitment to representative democ- Bradhurst, after whom Harlem’s Bradhurst Avenue is named. The racy. No less an authority than Thomas Jefferson warned Wash- property, near what is now West 152nd Street and St. Nicholas Av- ington that Hamilton was “a man whose history, from the moment enue, had belonged to the ex-loyalist officer John Maunsell, whose at which history can stop to notice him, is a tissue of machinations niece Mary married Bradhurst, bought the land and the house in against the liberty of the country which has not only received and 1796, and turned it into a grand country estate called Pinehurst. given him bread, but heaped honors on his head.” Even his Feder- The most prominent of these new Harlemites was George alist ally John Adams tried to convince Washington that Hamilton Washington’s former aide-de-camp Alexander Hamilton, who had was “the most restless, impatient, artful, indefatigable and unprin- gone from strength to strength since he fought by the general’s cipled intriguer in the United States, if not the world.” Hamilton side. After becoming a lawyer in 1782, he set up his home and prac- lost even more friends in the deadlocked presidential election of tice on Wall Street. The tireless Hamilton founded the Bank of New 1800, which pitted a Federalist ticket of John Adams and Charles York and the New York Evening Post, and he invented the modern Cotesworth Pinckney against the Republicans Thomas Jefferson The most prominent of these new Harlemites was George Washington’s former aide-de camp Alexander Hamilton, who had gone from strength to strength since he fought by the general’s side.

American corporation in the form of the Society for Establishing and Aaron Burr. Hamilton had no great love for Jefferson but he Useful Manufacturing, at Paterson Falls, New Jersey. Of course, it was terrified at the idea of his old rival Burr in power. is as a public servant that he is best remembered. He published In terms of blood and background, there could be no greater dozens of anonymous Federalist Papers in 1787 and 1788 on the contrast between these two founding fathers. Hamilton was a importance of a strong central government, articles that helped en- poor bastard of dubious racial origin, and Burr, born in Newark, sure the ratification of the U.S. Constitution. As the nation’s first New Jersey, in 1756, was the moneyed scion of the finest of colo- secretary of the treasury — at the age of thirty-three — Hamilton nial stock. This sickly, spoiled boy was also an expert fencer and dreamed up America’s first federal budget, central bank, and tax marksman who excelled in his studies. The times drew many system and he founded United States Coast Guard and Customs young men into revolutionary activities but Burr, who was short services. As active as he was in politics and business, Hamilton still but good-looking and apparently very charming, preferred wom- found time to do pro bono work for St. Mark’s Church in the Bow- en to politics. It wasn’t until the summer of 1775 that he joined ery and for Sailors’ Snug Harbor for aged seamen, both of which Colonel Benedict Arnold’s hopeless expedition to take Canada. still exist. Hamilton also helped found New York’s oldest high Burr distinguished himself by impersonating a priest and deliv- school, Erasmus Hall, and even though his own wife was a slave ering a message through 120 miles of savage winter wilderness, owner, he was active in publicly confronting America’s already and later saving the life of his wounded general by carrying him disastrous racial situation. During the Revolutionary War, Ham- through the snowdrifts out of the range of British gunfire. In June ilton had unsuccessfully urged the use of black soldiers, though of 1776 Burr became Washington’s secretary but, like Hamilton, this was less a moral position than a pragmatic one, since Wash- he chafed at his subordinate position, quitting after two weeks ington’s army had been decimated by desertions and resignations, and returning to the battlefield. By 1779 he felt he had done his and Hamilton did balk at the idea of Negro officers. After the war duty and resigned his commission, marrying and starting a law he founded the Society for Promoting the Manumission of Slaves, practice on Wall Street, just a few doors down from Hamilton. started a chain of African Free Schools, and gave free legal repre- With the end of the war, business was booming, and they set sentation to runaway or kidnapped slaves. When in 1786 he was aside differences to do business. Indeed, Burr was equivocal elected to the New York State Assembly, among his first acts was a when it came to party allegiance. Though he founded the Tam- petition to end the slave trade in New York State, and it was partly many Society, an anti-Federalist club that came to dominate local due to his influence that abolition, albeit gradual, began in the state politics, he was known as the “Eel” because he wouldn’t commit

FALL 2011 45 HARLEM COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY to party or position. Burr’s election to the United States Senate in Gracie Mansion and New York City Hall and the inventor of Fed- 1791 — his opponent was Hamilton’s father-in-law — put an end eralist architecture in the years after the Revolution. The Grange to the pretension of courtesy between the two men. was the home of a man with something to prove. The two-and- a-half-story, fifty-by-fifty clapboard house, with front and back homas Jefferson called the contest to become the third porches and piazzas on each side, was at once practical and fanci- president the “Revolution of 1800,” because it marked ful. Before it was altered in the late nineteenth century, a broad the rise of the Republican Party as a permanent force staircase at street level led to two octagonal drawing rooms for in American politics. Even Hamilton defied his Feder- entertaining, trumping the Morris Mansion’s single octagonal alist principles, crossing party lines to support Jeffer- drawing room. Massive bay windows and mirrored walls made Tson, a decision that helped relegate him to the margins of Ameri- the rooms look bigger than they were. Illusion was also at work can political life. Something much more personal was also in play. in the eight fireplaces, which fed four chimneys, two of which Hamilton was devoted to his wife and family, but he was notorious were ornamental. On the second floor were six bedrooms for the among the founding fathers for his philandering. In 1797 Hamil- family’s seven children, while servants and slaves had their quar- ton was humiliated by a blackmail attempt — he was convinced it ters in the attic and did much of their work in the basement. was Burr out to revenge one too many political squabbles — that The Grange became Hamilton’s obsession, and he became involved one of his extramarital affairs. Rather than back down, involved in every detail of its construction. He supervised the Hamilton came clean and began looking for an exit strategy from caulking on the porches, corrected the property’s overly loamy public life. He had always loved urban life and New York City in soil, and obsessed over an eighteen-foot bed of flowers, instruct- particular, which he had helped turn into a maelstrom of trade, in- ing workers to arrange three sections of tulips, hyacinths, and lil- dustry, and commerce. Now he began to look elsewhere for refuge. ies into three larger sections, all surrounded by a laurel hedge and Hamilton had long regretted his inability to live and entertain climbing wild roses. If nothing else, it was a diversion from the in a grand fashion, like Jefferson at Monticello or Burr at Rich- sordid affairs of business and politics. Hamilton wrote to a friend, mond Hill. “If I cannot live in splendour in Town,” he wrote, “I “A disappointed politician you know, is very apt to take refuge can at least live in comfort in the country.” Also at work in Ham- in a Garden.” The Grange became Hamilton’s obsession, and he became involved in every detail of its construction. If nothing else, it was a diversion from the sordid affairs of business and politics. ilton’s desire to move to the country was his sense that conditions uch of what we know about Hamilton’s obses- downtown were worsening. In 1793 Hamilton and his wife had sion with the Grange comes from letters he both come down with yellow fever. His sudden embrace of na- wrote on a portable mahogany desk, traveling ture and family surely pleased his enemies, especially Jefferson, on business in coaches bumping along remote who had never been able to convince Hamilton, the quintessen- upstate New York lanes or in small inns or mod- tial New Yorker, of the superiority of rural life. Now, Hamilton Mest boardinghouses. For all of his dreams about a peaceful retire- began to enjoy fishing and hunting with his sons on visits up- ment Hamilton, who not only suffered from gout but had frequent town. It was on one of these jaunts that they came to know the pain in his side from an old war wound, had to take to the road and businessman Jacob Schieffelin, whose house in Harlem had a work harder than ever to satisfy what his grandson called his “syl- pier where the Hamiltons sometimes docked. Hamilton was im- van longings.” He had to be resourceful when it came to raising pressed by what he saw, and in the summer of 1798 he took a half money to build the Grange, getting a good deal from the general interest in a farmhouse in Harlem. The weekends that he began contractor because he had successfully represented his brother in spending there with his family inspired him to put down roots. a murder trial. No such economies were available with McComb, Later that year he hinted in a letter to his wife that he was think- who charged Hamilton $2,495.20, an impossible sum even for one ing of buying land in Harlem and building a home for them all. In of the guiding spirits of the American Revolution. Hamilton more 1800 he bought from Schieffelin and Samuel Bradhurst thirty-two than once failed to qualify for a construction loan, and he had to acres of wooded land, from what is now West 139th to West 146th mortgage the property for $5,000 in order to keep construction streets, and from St. Nicholas Terrace to Hamilton Place. Close to moving forward. The completion of the Grange in 1802 demanded the Bloomingdale Road, the property made for easy commutes a housewarming party, complete with speeches, prayers, and the downtown. It also had the second-best views on the island, next exhibition of Hamilton’s special pride and joy: a grove of thirteen to the nearby Morris Mansion. Just as important, it was close to sweet gum trees, raised from seedlings by George Washington at the scene of Hamilton’s first great victory back in 1776. Mount Vernon and representing the thirteen colonies. Eventually, The passion — he called it “executive energy” — that Hamil- the Grange also became a gathering spot for the best company ton had once put into building a nation now went into building in New York, though not the political kind. Like his rival Aaron his house, on the south side of what is now West 143rd Street, Burr, Hamilton had switched sides too many times and made too just east of Amsterdam Avenue. Named after the Hamilton an- many enemies. That still left prominent families like the Bayards, cestral home in Scotland, the Grange was designed by John Mc- the Birds, the Fishes, the Hosacks, the Kents, the Morrisses, and Comb Jr., whom Treasury Secretary Hamilton had paid to build the Pickerings, who arrived in the evening and were instructed to lighthouses a decade earlier. Since then, McComb had become come down for breakfast at 9 a.m. Hamilton’s sister-in-law joked: the most celebrated architect in the nation, the designer of both “The company must wear their nightcaps to arrive in time.” They

FALL 2011 46 COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY HARLEM would then eat and socialize until the next evening’s formal ball rowed back across the river. When word of the events reached up- for up to seventy people. But Hamilton didn’t move to Harlem to town, Hamilton’s seventeen-year-old daughter Angelica lost her relax. If Mount Vernon and Monticello could be working farms, mind, never to recover. Meanwhile, Elizabeth rushed downtown so could the Grange, though Hamilton admitted that he was as and watched helplessly as her husband suffered. He died the next ill prepared to play the role of gentleman farmer “as Jefferson to day. Hamilton was forty-seven years old when he was buried in guide the helm of the United States.” Still, Hamilton tried to make the graveyard of Trinity Church. the house pay for itself by selling cabbage, strawberries, and as- Letters Hamilton had written to his wife, to be opened in case paragus. In the end, the grounds weren’t large enough to make of his death, explained his decision and bid her farewell, regretting money and Hamilton cleared only $18 in two years. that he “too far sacrificed the interests of my family to public avo- When Hamilton wasn’t on the road, he made the two-hour cations,” and explaining that moving to Harlem had been an effort trip to his downtown office five days per week in order to be with to rectify his error. At the time of Hamilton’s death, the Grange was his family in the mornings and evenings. The least religious of the worth $25,000, but its builders were owed money, and he had paid founding fathers now recited the Lord’s Prayer on family walks, only $2,000 of the $5,000 principal on the 1801 mortgage. Hamil- and on Sundays he led a private worship service in the Episco- ton’s political flip-flop during the election of 1800 hadn’t left the pal manner. Hamilton also now began to spend more time with family totally friendless. In 1805 Archibald Gracie and twenty- his children, playing on the Grange’s lawn or singing songs with eight others bought the house and property for $30,500 and sold it them. In the evening he took to lying on the grass with them until back to Elizabeth for only $15,000. The family remained there until the stars came out. He then put them to sleep and got in bed be- 1813, when they sold it and moved downtown, no longer able to side them, often remaining there all night. Few founding fathers afford the upkeep on such an extensive property. The Hamiltons did as much founding — or as much fathering. didn’t leave Harlem altogether, though. The Hamilton Free School, “Mine is an odd destiny,” Hamilton once mused to an old the first public school uptown, was chartered just a few years later, friend. “Tragic” is perhaps a better word. In Harlem, he tried to on land given by Elizabeth, at what is now Broadway near West escape the physical and ideological dangers of downtown, but 187th Street, and the family owned property uptown as late as the old troubles haunted him. In late 1801, before the Grange was 1890s. Of course, the very names of Hamilton Heights and Hamil- complete, his son Philip drunkenly insulted one of Aaron Burr’s ton Place keep Alexander Hamilton’s memory alive. henchmen, Captain George Eacker, in the lobby of a downtown hotel. Eacker returned the insult and upped the ante, claiming Harlem © 2011 by Jonathan Gill; reprinted with the permission of that Philip was a “damned rascal,” a charge that led to a duel ear- the publisher, Grove/Atlantic, Inc. ly the next year in New Jersey. Hamilton, who had almost single- handedly shepherded into law a bill outlawing dueling in New York, advised Philip to exercise a gentlemanly maneuver called the delope, which involved purposely firing into the air and miss- ing the opponent. Philip shot to kill but was mortally wounded in the encounter. Hamilton went wild with grief on seeing his dying son back in Manhattan and lay next to him in bed for the several days of intense suffering it took before Philip died. The family never recovered, though they were determined to make the Grange a place where, as Hamilton wrote to his wife, “I am always sure to find a sweet asylum from care and pain.”

he election of 1800 had also marked the beginning of the end of Aaron Burr’s political career. The office of vice president would have been enough for most men, but it wasn’t for Burr, and as his term drew to a close he turned his sights to the governorship of New TYork. Again Hamilton refused to lend the support of the Federal- ists to a man “of irregular and insatiable ambition” who “ought not be trusted with the reins of government.” It was the last straw for Burr, who embarked on a scheme of character assassination that could only end in a duel. Hamilton was aware that Burr had been an expert marksman since he was a boy, but he accepted the chal- lenge and began to prepare for the possibility of his demise. At dawn on Wednesday, July 11, 1804, Hamilton rowed across the Hudson River and met Burr in Weehawken, New Jersey. It was the same spot where Philip had dueled some two years earlier. Burr had even chosen the very set of guns used in the Eacker duel. When the order to “Present!” came, Hamilton raised his weapon and intentionally shot over Burr’s head. Burr, who considered the delope cowardly, returned fire directly and shot Hamilton in Hamilton in a portrait by John Trumbull. the gut. The bullet severed his liver and lodged in his PHOTO: © FRANCIS G. spine, but Hamilton remained conscious and was MAYER/CORBIS COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY Behind the Shell From Saturday Night Live to Hollywood and Marcel the Shell of YouTube fame, Jenny Slate ’04 is forging a resilient path to stardom

B y M i k e A g r e s ta ’04

ike many aspiring comedians, Jenny Slate ’04 grew Slate’s one season on SNL was exciting and tumultuous. She up dreaming of one day landing a role on Saturday created a popular recurring character, Tina-Tina Chaneuse, an Night Live. In 2009–10, after five years of paying her outer-borough fashion plate and purveyor of bizarre personal- dues and winning accolades in the New York alter- ized alarm clocks, car horns and doorbells. (For animal lovers: native comedy scene, her dream suddenly came true. “Ding dong. Woof. Bears.”) Her spot-on impersonations of celeb- A successful one-woman show, Jenny Slate: Dead Mil- rities included , and Senator Olym- Llionaire, at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre helped attract a pia Snowe (R-Maine). But SNL is famously tough on new cast top-notch agent. Soon after, Slate was auditioning for executive members, who compete with one another for airtime and atten- producer Lorne Michaels and landing the job. tion. When in the middle of a sketch peppered with halfway-cuss It was the start of a year of highs and lows that would cul- words like “friggin’ ” she accidentally let fly a bona fide “f-bomb” minate in the most successful comedic creation of Slate’s young on live television, critics instantly speculated that the slip-up career — a triumph that came, surprisingly, despite SNL, rather might cost Slate her job. than through it. “I could describe it as a series of dates with some- Indeed, the next spring, as calls went out about contract re- one whom you’ve always wanted to go out with,” she says of her newals, Slate waited by the phone in her Brooklyn apartment. year at 30 Rockefeller Plaza. “Every single second you’re think- As a way of lightening the mood, she started practicing a new ing, ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe this is happening.’ ” comedic voice — childish and naïve, with a stuffed-up nose and

Above: Jenny Slate ’04 cracks up her friend and stand-up comedy partner, Gabe Liedman ’04. Opposite: Slate onstage with Max Silvestri (left) and Liedman at Big Terrific in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn.

FALL 2011 48 “She is hands-down the bravest performer I’ve ever seen. Jenny is full-throttle and incredibly smart.” JENNY SLATE ’04 COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY

Slate takes advantage of a chance to relax while on vacation in Thailand. a disarming eagerness to be heard. At first, she tried it out around views. That’s more than the average viewership of an entire SNL the house with her boyfriend, Dean Fleischer-Camp, and on the episode last season. phone with her best friend and stand-up partner, Gabe Lied- The viral success of the video has taken Slate’s career in sever- man ’04. They laughed; the trick worked. “I kept doing the voice al new and exciting directions. She and Fleischer-Camp recently because I just felt that small,” Slate says. “I don’t do well sitting signed a two-book deal with Penguin, with the first title, picture around. I need to be creative and to work. I was doing this little book Marcel the Shell with Shoes On: Things About Me, due out No- voice and feeling kind of stuck and wanting to do something.” vember 1. They won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2011 New York The call she wanted from SNL never came; her contract was International Children’s Film Festival, and they’re in talks about not renewed. The voice, however, blossomed into something ex- a Marcel TV show. The video made the rounds in Hollywood as citing and new. A character slowly developed — an ingeniously well. Recently, Slate has landed three roles in major-studio mo- self-sufficient, 1-inch-tall gastropod shell named Marcel. Slate tion pictures: a voice role for an animated Dr. Seuss adaptation, and Fleischer-Camp sat on the couch in their underwear, and he a live-action part in an sequel and a sup- recorded as she improvised one-liners. (“Guess what I use to tie porting role in a Reese Witherspoon romantic comedy. my skis to my car? A hair.” “Guess what I use for skis? Toenails from a man.”) Fleischer-Camp, a filmmaker, then animated a espite her outstanding high school academic record stop-motion video with a pitch-perfect fidgeting protagonist. (class valedictorian of the prestigious Milton Acad- The result, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, debuted at an alterna- emy outside Boston), Slate’s Columbia years were de- tive comedy show in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Fleischer-Camp was Dfined more by acting and comedy than by classroom urged to put it on YouTube, but at first Slate demurred. “I’m always pursuits. “Part of the reason I chose Columbia was because it hesitant to put things online,” she says. “I’d rather have things be was in New York,” she says. “That was where all the comedy seen by people who will be respectful instead of people who go was happening.” She also acknowledges being drawn in by the online to make mean comments. Basically, I was afraid. But you campus — “a snow globe in the middle of the city,” she calls it. can’t live like that. That was one of the main reasons I made Marcel She quickly joined the cast of the Varsity Show and participated in the first place, because I was tired of just sitting around and wait- in three improv and sketch comedy groups: Two Left Feet, Fruit ing for something to happen. Then, it just kind of exploded.” As of Paunch and the Weiner Philharmonic. August 9, the video had registered more than 11.1 million YouTube In 2001, at her firstVarsity Show rehearsal, Slate met her future

FALL 2011 50 COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY JENNY SLATE ’04

stand-up and writing partner, Liedman. “It was the first time in Sarah Silverman and Janeane Garofolo. In season two of Bored to my life that I had a real best friend,” Slate says. “We always un- Death, her character dumped Schwartzman’s character, and she derstood each other’s brains, got each other’s ambitions. Gabe is hasn’t appeared since. For the next few months at least, the best the one person who really understands the kinds of things that way for comedy fans outside of New York to follow her is on upset me and the kinds of things that make me happy.” Twitter (@jennyslate25), where she maintains an active presence. “She is hands-down the bravest performer I’ve ever seen,” Within the next year, however, Slate will be popping up all over Liedman says of Slate. “Part of it is being a little nuts, maybe, but again, this time on the silver screen. She’ll play Witherspoon’s friend the rest of it, the vast majority of it, is genuine bravery. Comedi- in the upcoming rom-com This Means War. “That’s the part comedi- ans are not usually very confident people; Jenny is full-throttle ans always start with,” she says, “the sassy friend or assistant, where and incredibly smart.” they let you improvise.” She’ll also appear in Danny DeVito’s ani- Liedman and Slate have performed together continually since mated adaptation of Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax and as a surfer girl in the that first Varsity Show. These days, they co-host a live comedy partially animated Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked. show, Big Terrific, in Brooklyn, produce various web shorts with The latter two roles demonstrate Slate’s appeal to younger au- Fleischer-Camp and are working on a screenplay. Liedman also diences. It’s rare for a comedian, particularly one as provocative has a booming solo career; in the past year, he’s opened for Patton as Slate can be in her stand-up act, to have that kind of range. Oswalt at Caroline’s; shot pilots for E!, VH1 and Comedy Central; She attributes it partially to a discovery she made while shooting and performed stand-up at Miller Theatre, his first return to the Marcel the Shell. “The situation around it, waiting to hear back stage at Columbia since 2004. from SNL, was pretty dark,” she says. “My feelings about that “When we graduated,” Liedman says, “there were a bunch of were just, I reject that, I don’t want to live in the dark. I like life, people from our group who lived in NYC and still wanted to do and I think I was bound to make something that had real heart. comedy together, so we created a little sketch group. Over time, You can still be sweet and be really funny. It doesn’t have to make everyone kind of went his or her own way” — to graduate school, you really uncomfortable in order to make you laugh.” conservatory and high-profile comedy writing gigs — “but Jenny Liedman thinks Slate may succeed in Hollywood because she and I just kept on truckin’.” Liedman points to a number of re- is an actress whose full complement of skills is only now begin- cent alums who have been invaluable as friends and contacts in ning to be discovered. “It’s been amazing to watch her acting ca- the comedy world, including Chelsea Peretti ’00 Barnard, who reer really take off after doing straight-up comedy together for so recently taped a Comedy Central special; Lang Fisher ’02 of the long,” he says. “She has a real range. She’s so talented. But then Onion News Network; and Michelle Collins ’03 Barnard of VH1’s she gets back on stage to do comedy and it’s just as sharp and Best Week Ever. For Liedman and Slate, however, their most im- funny and weird as ever.” portant resource has always been each other. Lately, Slate has a new challenge to face: the lifestyle changes In 2009, just before landing her SNL role, Slate got a break brought on by celebrity. So far, she continues to lead a relatively from another Columbia alumnus, albeit one she’d never met. normal life in her beloved Brooklyn surrounded by her tight-knit Jonathan Ames ’95 Arts was looking for an actress to cast as a circle of friends, many from Columbia. Every once in a while, girlfriend for his fictional alter ego, however, she’s reminded of her in- portrayed by Jason Schwartzman, on creasingly public profile. She recalls the HBO comedy . Ames being surprised to read a comment initially intended the role to be limited about herself on Twitter recently to a single episode, but soon changed where she was referred to as “Jenny course. “There was such a nice chem- Slate of Marcel the Shell.” istry between Jenny and Jason in their “It’s weird to see someone say first scene that it came up that she your name of your art,” Slate says. should return for the next episode, the “Like, she created this, so now she’s last of the season,” Ames says. “So I worth mentioning or worth noticing, rewrote that script to accommodate as opposed to because of who she the change in direction. And once that is. That’s how I’d always thought happened, it made perfect sense for it would be, but instead it’s always them to be dating in season two. Jen- your work that defines you. ” ny brought to the character a sweet- Working with close friends like ness and a dreaminess and a certain Liedman and Fleischer-Camp, forg- zaniness. She was perfect!” Suddenly, ing connections with auteurs like in early 2010, Slate was appearing on DeVito and Ames, and developing two highly rated shows at the same popular characters like Marcel the time. Shell and Tina-Tina Chaneuse, Slate is in good company these days. ecent months have involved less public exposure for Check out Marcel the Shell at youtube. Slate as she commutes from com/watch?v=VF9-sEbqDvU and a R Brooklyn to the west coast to video short starring Slate and Liedman shoot feature films. The SNL gig is in at .com/15034189. her rear view mirror; she has joined a pantheon of single-season female cast Slate at home in Brooklyn with her dog Reggie. Mike Agresta ’04 is a Los Angeles-based members that includes Joan Cusack, PHOTOS: COURTESY JENNY SLATE ’04 writer and editor.

FALL 2011 51 COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY Max & Marcellus Alumni co-host midday show for ESPN Radio Los Angeles

B y P h i l W a ll a c e ’04

When Marcellus Wiley t’s 1 p.m. on a Thursday and NBA basketball is the topic of the day at the ’97 (standing) was CARMAX Studios for ESPN Radio 710 AM. Across the street is STAPLES starring in football at Co- lumbia, Max Kellerman Center, which is getting set to host the NBA All-Star Game. Just outside, ’98 already had begun his broadcasting career workers are setting up corporate tents that will offer a slew of experiences by hosting a talk show about on public for those who come to L.A. Live — a major sports, entertainment and retail access television. Now complex in Downtown Los Angeles — for the weekend. But on the second floor of they co-host the midday I show on ESPN Radio 710 the main L.A. Live building, debate and banter are in full force. AM Los Angeles. PHOTO: MAX S. GERBER “Jay in Whittier, you’re on the air,” says Max Kellerman ’98. “Hey, what’s up guys?” asks Jay. Kellerman looks upset. “Come on, man!” Marcellus Wiley ’97 retorts. “You know better than that.” “Guys, we’ve been through this before,” Kellerman says. “We’re doing a radio show. We’re doing great. Now, do you have something to say?” Jay in Whittier has just broken one of the cardinal rules of Max & Marcellus, the midday show on ESPN Radio Los Angeles: wasting time by engaging the hosts in meaningless small talk.

FALL 2011 52

MAX & MARCELLUS COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY

Weekend Warrior Dr. Robert Klapper ’79, ’83 P&S hosts an early-morning radio show in L.A.

uch of Los Angeles is still asleep at 7 a.m. on Sat- Using his love of art, as well as some skills taught by his fa- urday, but Dr. Robert Klapper ’79,’83 P&S has been ther, who was a carpenter, Klapper developed several tools and up for hours. The orthopedic surgeon at prestigious instruments to help orthopedists with hip, knee and shoulder Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is co-hosting the radio surgeries. He holds numerous patents in medical technology, program Weekend Warrior with former NBA and including nine on an angled telescope and other specially de- Mcollege basketball assistant coach Dave Miller on 710 ESPN Radio signed instruments used in hip arthroscopy procedures. Los Angeles, the same station that airs Max & Marcellus. As for his love of art, Klapper regularly lectures at museums “It’s very clear that sports should be renamed orthopedics,” around the world on Michelangelo and other artists, often ex- Klapper says on air one morning. He then ploring the unique relationship between turns to the various injury concerns that art and medicine. He also has his own art faced Los Angeles Lakers players such as studio in Manhattan Beach, Calif., where Andrew Bynum, Ron Artest and Matt Barnes he sculpts, and he visits Italy once a year during the 2010–11 season. “Orthopedics is to sculpt with Carrara marble. He used to going to determine who wins the NBA title own an art gallery, which he sold in 2007. this year. I love it.” Klapper moved to Los Angeles in Weekend Warrior began airing Satur- part because of his passion for surfing. days from 7–9 a.m. in March. The show is There he developed a relationship with geared toward men and covers subjects Holly­wood celebrities. After ER executive such as health and wellness, particu- producer John Well fractured his leg in a larly as they relate to sports. Klapper has skiing accident, Klapper saw him as a pa- numerous celebrity patients and he has tient and wound up becoming a consul- brought several of them onto the program, tant on the hit NBC show from 2001–09. including Dustin Hoffman, William Shatner His celebrity connections occasionally and Tony Danza, to talk about their own earn him a courtside seat next to his health and to offer wellness advice. He patient Jack Nicholson at Lakers games. also brings on colleagues who are experts “The most valuable piece of real estate in everything from sports psychology to in Los Angeles is that seat next to Jack physical therapy to nutrition. Nicholson at STAPLES Center,” Klapper “This is a great listening audience,” says. “It’s a thrill to sit there.” Klapper says. “Think about who is awake In 2009, Klapper was waiting outside early on a Saturday morning. It’s people STAPLES Center to meet a mentee before Jack Nicholson makes a point to Dr. Robert who are doers, like me. There’s a selec- taking him to a Lakers-Rockets playoff Klapper ’79, ’83 P&S during a break in a Lakers tion bias and I love that.” game. game. Also outside the arena were for- Klapper is a man with diverse skills PHOTO: COURTESY DR. ROBERT KLAPPER ’79, ’83 P&S mer 710 ESPN Radio broadcasters Dave and interests. Growing up in working- Denholm and Brian Long, and they were class Far Rockaway, N.Y., he says he was discussing Bynum’s knee injury on a pre- told by those around him that an Ivy League education wasn’t game show. During a commercial break, Klapper approached for people from his neighborhood. He decided to prove them the duo and explained the implications of the injury from an or- wrong and applied to Columbia, in part so he could row crew. thopedist’s point of view. Denholm and Long put Klapper on the Klapper’s mother was a nurse, and he aspired to become a air and he soon became a regular contributor, discussing player doctor. He took the requisite pre-med courses, but an Art Hu- injuries. That eventually led to his show with Miller, who is a for- manities class with David Rosand ’59, ’65 GSAS, now the Meyer mer assistant coach with the New Orleans Hornets, University of Schapiro Professor Emeritus of Art History and special lecturer Texas, USC, Arizona State and Army basketball teams. in art history and archaeology, changed his life. Klapper says Klapper lives with his wife, Ellen, in Encino, Calif., but he also Rosand started the first class by saying that no one would get has homes in Ventura, Calif., and Diamond Head, Hawaii. His an A. But Klapper fell in love with the material, worked hard and daughter, Michele ’08, graduated magna cum laude, won the top indeed got an A. He became an art history major, which made French department award in her senior year and is pursuing a him a unique candidate for medical school. master’s at Sciences Po in Paris. Klapper has been CCT’s class Klapper did his residency at the Hospital for Special Surgery correspondent for the Class of 1979 since 2004. in New York and his fellowship at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Despite his success, Klapper isn’t resting on his laurels and Clinic in L.A. He currently is a board-certified orthopedic sur- has ambitions for an even larger role in medicine and media. geon specializing in hips, knees and shoulders at Cedars-Sinai. “I want to do for orthopedics what Dr. Mehmet Oz has done He has written several books on his specialty, most notably Heal for nutrition, health and medicine,” Klapper says. “I want to Your Hips and Heal Your Knees, both of which advise patients on make it easier for people to understand.” how to avoid surgery and what do if it surgery is needed. Klap- —P.W. per also is co-director of the Joint Replacement Program at the Cedars-Sinai Orthopaedic Center and has a private practice with To listen to podcasts of Weekend Warrior, go to .go.com/ an office across the street from Cedars. los-angeles/radio/archive?id=6182844.

FALL 2011 54 COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY MAX & MARCELLUS

Wiley (No. 5) came to Columbia as a running back but earned his ticket to the NFL as a pass-rushing defensive end. After a 10-year pro career, he joined ESPN as an analyst on NFL and other TV shows before being paired with Kellerman.

Later on in the show, which began in January and airs week- on Fox Sports Net from 2004–05. days 10 a.m.–2 p.m. Pacific time, the pair will make references to In 2006, Kellerman started hosting The Max Kellerman Show Bill Cosby and Humphrey Bogart. They will debate who’s on the on 1050 ESPN Radio in New York. He also joined HBO as a lead list of the 10 best players in the NBA and how they should be analyst for its boxing coverage and contributed to news pro- ranked. Kellerman will offer an explanation of basketball saber- grams on MSNBC and later CNN. metrics, advanced statistical analysis that goes beyond the basic In 2009, Kellerman left the radio station, as he was negotiating to boxscore in an effort to better measure performance. And a caller become Mike Francesa’s co-host on WFAN 660 AM. But the deal fell will be awarded $107.10 to Langer’s Deli for making a strong through and Kellerman was without a radio show until early this point about Carmelo Anthony — whom Kellerman and Wiley year when Thompson, who had worked with Kellerman in New were hoping the Lakers would obtain from Denver by trade, but York, took over as the program director at the L.A. ESPN affiliate and who instead was dealt to New York. chose to hire the Columbia grad. Kellerman, 36, has since moved to a Los Angeles, meet Max and Marcellus. home in Beverly Hills with his wife, Erin, and their young daughter. Kellerman says his style has not changed since he’s come to t’s pretty unlikely for two Columbia alumni to host a lo- Los Angeles. cal sports talk show on any station that’s not campus radio “It’s actually a better radio market than New York because every- IWKCR 89.9 FM. And it’s even more unlikely for that show one here is in a car,” Kellerman notes. “It’s the same type of audience, to be in a city outside New York. But Kellerman and Wiley have but instead of the Yankees, it’s the Lakers that are the main focus.” taken on L.A. with a winning combination of wit, humor and Kellerman was a history major at Columbia; he transferred knowledge about seemingly everything. after one semester at Connecticut College. He says that his Co- “In talk radio, there’s no substitute for intelligence and person- lumbia education has helped him with his sports commentaries ality,” says 710 AM ESPN Radio Program Director Mike Thomp- and political riffs. son, the man who brought the pair together. “It’s ultimately about “In one of my first political science classes, we read Tragedy of the having smart people who can stir things up. The trick is to be witty Commons by Garrett Hardin. That theory (first published in Science and entertaining and informative when nothing is going on. Max in 1968) explains the problem with boxing today. Everyone acts with and Marcellus can talk about music, or current events, or other their own self-interests,” Kellerman says. “It’s also the problem with things that can appeal to the hardcore or the casual sports fan.” our energy policy. You have a limited resource shared by a common “I’ve never had so much fun in my radio career,” says producer group of individuals, and the lack of a centralized authority.” Amanda Brown, who has more than a decade of radio experience and relocated from ESPN headquarters in hen Thompson was looking Bristol, Conn., to work on this show. “I look for a co-host for Kellerman, forward to coming to work every single “In talk radio, there’s no W he found the perfect person in day and working with these guys.” Wiley, a former NFL defensive It’s been an interesting road to Los An- substitute for intelligence lineman who had joined ESPN following geles sports talk radio for both hosts. his retirement in 2006. The pair had the Kellerman’s broadcasting career started and personality. It’s same agent, Nick Kahn of ICM, and had before he entered Columbia — a huge worked together on a pilot that was filmed boxing fan, he hosted a public access tele- ultimately about having for ESPN’s Sports Nation. And they were at vision show in New York called Max on Columbia at the same time, although they Boxing when he was a teenager. He started did not know each other while there. at ESPN television at 24, serving as a com- smart people who can “I certainly knew of Marcellus when I mentator on Friday Night Fights. He became was on campus, since he was a football the first host of ESPN’s in stir things up.” star, but I never crossed paths with him. 2002 before hosting his own show, I, Max, I was out partying with the football play-

FALL 2011 55 MAX & MARCELLUS COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY

Kellerman (center) was 24 when he became co-host with Brian Kenny (right) of ESPN’s boxing series, Friday Night Fights, in October 1998, just five months after graduation. They are joined on set by Roy Jones Jr. (left), a champion in three weight classes. PHOTO: RICH ARDEN ers, and he was too focused on his career to do that,” says Keller- tor Jackie Blackett convinced him to stay. man. “Jackie helped me get my priorities straight,” Wiley says. “She Kellerman was intrigued by the opportunity to host a show told me to work smarter and work harder.” with Wiley. Wiley took Blackett’s advice, and the two remain close friends. “I knew of him as an interesting guy who had turned down schol- Wiley’s football career quickly blossomed on the defensive line, arship money to go to Columbia and who always had a drive to do as the position best suited his skill set and his large physique. In well,” Kellerman says. “I noticed how seriously he was taking his his senior year, he was the star co-captain on a Lions team that broadcast career and thought it would be great to work with him.” finished 8–2, still the school’s best record in its 56-year Ivy League A native of Compton, Calif., Wiley originally came to Columbia history. He was taken in the second round of the 1997 NFL Draft as a running back, turning down athletics scholarship offers from by the and enjoyed a 10-year career that included numerous Pac-10 schools. Wiley says he chose Columbia because stops with the San Diego Chargers, and Jackson- he felt it would afford him more opportunities later in life. A mem- ville Jaguars. Wiley made the Pro Bowl in 2001, but his career was ber of the National Honor Society, he even won the National Type- ultimately slowed by back and knee injuries. writing Championship as a teenager (with 82 words per minute). After his playing career ended, Wiley became involved with “When I asked people from back in the neighborhood where I several business ventures and joined ESPN, where he is an ana- should go, they all said I should play football at UCLA or some- lyst on various NFL programs and other shows and the co-host of where in the Pac-10,” Wiley says. “But my counselors [at St. Winners Bracket with . The unmarried 36-year-old Monica High] all said if I could go to Columbia, then I should also mentors numerous top-rated high school football recruits in take it. They said it would help me after football and there was a Southern , and his radio gig allows him to stay in his networking component. They were right.” hometown. So far, the chemistry between Wiley and his co-host Wiley was a sociology major and says that his Columbia edu- has been strong. cation has prepared him well for life away from the gridiron. “Working with Marcellus is different from working with many “The first thing I learned [at Columbia] was how to decipher in- others in this business,” Kellerman says. “He’s a Columbia guy formation. I remember in my first ‘Logic & Rhetoric’ class being told and he can see the world in a different way. He can make enough I had to read three books in a week. I had no idea how I would do it,” sense of our culture so that we can do a show on anything — Wiley said. “But it’s an environment where you want to learn and sports, music, world events, you name it.” find ways to be successful.” “Max is a little over the top and he needs Still, Wiley was not a great fit for the someone to burst his balloon every now Lions initially. By the end of his sophomore “Max is a little over and then. Marcellus has the personality to season, he had outgrown the running back throw a dart at it,” Thompson says. “We’ve position, bulking up to 245 pounds and the top and he needs got a guy from New York and a guy from standing 6-foot-4. Columbia had just re- Compton, but they like bantering and mak- cruited a talented running back in Jeff Byrd someone to burst his ing jokes, and lo and behold they were both (who later transferred to Stanford) and once on 116th Street at the same time.” then-head coach felt that Wiley balloon. Marcellus was best suited to play defensive end. For more on Max & Marcellus and to listen Having never played on the line before, in, go to espn.go.com/los-angeles/radio/show Wiley seriously considered transferring to has the personality to ?showId=max. UC Berkeley, whose coach wanted him to play safety, a position he had played in throw a dart at it.” Phil Wallace ’04 lives in Los Angeles and is high school. But Associate Athletics Direc- the founder and president of Picktainment.com.

FALL 2011 56 COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY THE HIDDEN REALITY

58 Dean’s Alumnae Leadership Task Force 59 Getting Involved: Kyra Tirana Barry ’87 Alumni 60 Bookshelf 62 Obituaries 66 Class Notes News 112 Alumni Corner

PHOTO: EILEEN BARROSO

JULY/AUGUSTMAY/JUNE 2011 2008 57

COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY Dean’s Alumnae Leadership Task Force College seeks to engage more women in leadership roles and fundraising

B y K i mb e r ly R o g e r s ’11 CE a n d A l e x S a c h a r e ’71

rawing on the talents and accomplishments of Col- alumni body continues to grow each year, this finding is signifi- lege alumnae, the Dean’s Alumnae Leadership Task cant as the College shapes its alumni engagement and fundrais- Force, a global group of 23 alumnae from the Classes ing efforts. The College will aim to involve more alumnae as fun- of 1986–2011, convened in April 2010. The task force, draising volunteers and leaders to increase alumnae awareness a collaborative endeavor between former Dean Mi- of the opportunities to support students and the satisfying feeling Dchele Moody-Adams, the Columbia College Office of Alumni Af- of becoming involved in the life of the College. fairs and Development and the University’s Office of Alumni and Both female and male respondents spoke highly of their Co- Development, established a mission of shaping the future of alum- lumbia education, with 94.5 percent of women and 77.1 percent nae leadership and broadening philanthropy at the College. of men listing the quality of their education as excellent and only The task force is chaired by University Trustee Lisa Landau 2.5 percent or fewer, regardless of gender, describing it as fair or Carnoy ’89 and has four subcommittees: mentoring (Carnoy and poor. When asked about their overall undergraduate experience Virginia Wood Cornish ’91, co-chairs), fundraising (Kyra Tirana and current feeling toward the College, approximately 90 per- Barry ’87, chair), regional outreach (Anne-Marie Wright ’89, chair) cent, regardless of gender, called it excellent or good. and survey and communications (Julie Jacobs Menin ’89, chair). Upward of 80 percent of respondents said they receive an ap- Carnoy notes, “During the past few years, several women felt a propriate amount of communication from Columbia and catego- group of successful Columbia College alumnae from many fields rize this communication as worthwhile. Interestingly, consider- and areas of interest should be formed in order to engage more ing that the respondents graduated within the last 25 years, near- women in the life of the College. The arrival of Moody-Adams and ly 80 percent said they read Columbia College Today frequently or the 25th anniversary of coeducation were further catalysts to start sometimes but only 51.3 percent offered the same response when the task force. asked how often they visit a Columbia website. “This is a remarkable group of women, and it has been won- More than 600 female respondents listed the mentoring pro- derful to get to know them — both reconnecting with old friends gram run by Columbia College Women (CCW, college.columbia. and making new ones. I was amazed at the level of engagement, edu/alumni/committees/ccw) as a potential volunteer interest. and we raised a significant amount of money for the College.” Each year, more than 100 students are matched with alumnae To better understand how alumni view the College and their mentors, and there is strong interest for more alumnae to partici- relationship with it, the survey and communications committee pate in the program. During the application process this summer, worked with Brian Chap- more than 360 students — a record — expressed an interest in man, executive director the mentoring program. In addition to mentoring, CCW also has for analytics and business scholarship and membership committees. Last year, CCW fund- strategy, to design an on- raising enabled the awarding of a current-use scholarship. CCW line survey for alumni in was founded by College alumnae in 1989 to create networks the Classes of 1987–2010. within the alumni and student communities while building the The survey was sent to legacy of women at Columbia College. For more information both male and female on CCW and the mentoring program, contact Sarah Seredych alumni in order to identi- Trimmer, assistant director of alumni relations: 212-851-7977 or fy any statistically signifi- [email protected]. cant gender differences The task force’s Regional Outreach subcommittee also sought related to their responses. to engage Columbia alumnae by hosting a series of focus group While male and female lunches, receptions and dinners nationally and internationally. respondents answered Events were hosted in San Francisco by Wanda Holland Greene most questions in remark- ’89, ’92 TC; in Los Angeles by Donna Herlinsky MacPhee ’89; in ably similar percentages, Boston by Sherri Pancer Wolf ’90; in New York City by Michelle one key gender difference Oh Sing ’06 (for young alumni), Kyra Tirana Barry ’87 and Sandra emerged from the find- H. Kim Hoffen ’87; in Westchester (N.Y.) County by Teresa Sapu- ings: female respondents to-Crerend ’87, ’92 Business; and in London by Heather O’Brien showed a broader range Kerzner ’91. and longer list of philan- The task force has helped the College make extraordinary thropic interests, whereas strides in its fundraising efforts. Alumnae giving to the Colum- Columbia was a clear fo- bia College Fund rose approximately 53 percent from Fiscal Year University Trustee Lisa Landau Carnoy cus for many men. 2010 to FY’11, and gift commitments were made to the Scholar- ’89 chairs the task force. Since the percentage ships 101 Challenge, funded by the late John W. Kluge ’37, by sev- PHOTO: EILEEN BARROSO of women in the overall eral task force members, including Barry; Carnoy; Hoffen; Ker-

FALL 2011 58

COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY zner; Wolf; Michelle Kaiser ’87, ’92 PH, ’97 P&S; and the late Beth focus on how the success of these women, particularly the Class Dwyer ’92, whose family is honoring her legacy of College lead- of 1987, paved the way for women at Columbia College today. ership. The fundraising subcommittee hosted a solicitation work- Following are the members of the Dean’s Alumnae Task Force: shop in Manhattan led by Susan Feagin ’74 GS, special adviser to Kyra Tirana Barry ’87, Francesca Allen Bodini ’06, Lisa Landau President Lee C. Bollinger and former e.v.p. of university devel- Carnoy ’89, Joyce Chang ’86, Virginia Wood Cornish ’91, Allie opment and alumni relations. A priority of the College Fund is Feldberg ’08, Leslie Gittess ’88, Ellen Gustafson ’02, Sandra H. to grow the number of alumnae who serve as Class Agents, vol- Kim Hoffen ’87, Michelle Kaiser ’87, Heather O’Brien Kerzner unteer leaders who solicit their peers. For more information on ’91, Mojdeh Khaghan ’88, Elizabeth Melcher Luckett ’90, Donna fundraising or becoming a Class Agent, contact Kimberly Rogers Herlinsky MacPhee ’89, Julie Jacobs Menin ’89, Neda Navab ’08, ’11 CE, major gifts officer: [email protected]. Teresa Saputo-Crerend ’87, Michelle Oh Sing ’06, Siheun Song The good work of the task force will help to increase oppor- ’07, Sherri Pancer Wolf ’90, Karen Woodin-Rodriguez ’11, Anne- tunities for alumnae to get engaged in the life of the College and Marie Wright ’89 and Sue Yang ’10.

Getting Involved Kyra Tirana Barry ’87 becomes first woman to lead Columbia College Alumni Association

member of the College’s first fully co- and after that I became reengaged.” educational class, Kyra Tirana Barry ’87 Barry credits her predecessors as presidents of the continues to break ground as the first CCAA board, Colvin and Brian Krisberg ’81, ’84L, A woman president of the Columbia Col- with paving the way for her to assume a leadership lege Alumni Association. Barry succeeded Geof- position. “They accomplished a lot in terms of really frey J. Colvin ’74, ’77L, ’78 Business at the start of growing the CCAA board to be more reflective of the 2011–12 academic year. the entire alumni body,” she says. “Women can have “This is a very exciting time to become president, a different approach to their educational institution as we mark 25 years of coed graduating classes,” than men, which is why we have Columbia College Barry says. “When I joined the Alumni Association Women [college.columbia.edu/alumni/committees/ board in 2004, and saw the board members from the ccw] and the Dean’s Alumnae Task Force.” classes before me, I suddenly got a real sense that While serving on the CCAA board, Barry headed the College before my time had been all-male. As an a committee that focused on increasing involvement 18-year-old student, I had not focused much on this among alumni who have been out of college 10–25 change to the College and the significance of being years. She considers that an important time to reen- admitted to the first coed class. Now that I have the perspective of gage them, much the way she became reengaged. an alumna, I am grateful for the opportunity to break more ground “The College is an amazing place, and the education you re- in this regard as the first woman president of the CCAA.” ceive here lays such a singular foundation, I’m motivated to en- Barry and her classmates in the pioneering Class of 1987 im- sure that current students have the same opportunity that I had,” pacted the women who followed at the College and contributed says Barry, a 2010 recipient of the Alumni Medal for service and to their success, something she hopes to continue as president commitment to the University. “College alumni are terrific to work of the CCAA. “The time is right to look at the alumni body in a with. There’s really strong leadership on the CCAA board. It’s in- new way, because there has been so much change in the past 25 credibly rewarding to help ensure that the College stays as strong years,” she says. as it is and gets even stronger.” Barry, who majored in urban studies and worked for 10 years How will she measure the success of her two-year term as in public transportation policy at the federal, state and local lev- president? els, considers herself to be a “reengaged alum.” “My biggest priority as president is to increase the level of en- “I stayed close with my classmates and threw a brunch be- gagement with alumni and to provide more meaningful ways for fore Homecoming every year, but for a while that was the extent alumni to be connected, whether it’s for two hours a year or 100 of my connection to Columbia,” she says. But Barry’s husband, hours a year,” Barry says. “There’s a lot more capacity for us to David Barry ’87, stayed involved with the Columbia wrestling capitalize upon. program, in which he had participated as a student, and when “If I can make it easier for more alumni to be involved, to give College fundraisers spoke with him and described shifting their back to Columbia and to help strengthen the Columbia experi- fundraising strategy to focus more on peer-to-peer solicitation, he ence for students and alumni, if I can act as that bridge between suggested that they speak with his wife. alumni, students and the administration, I feel I’d be successful.” “My involvement started as a Class Agent,” says Barry, refer- ring to the College’s peer-to-peer solicitation program involving Looking for ways to get involved? Log on to college.columbia.edu/ volunteer leaders in each class. “I worked on my 15th reunion, alumni/getinvolved.

FALL 2011 59

COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY Bookshelf

The Home Run Heard Round the Court handles major cases but also Redeemable Air Mileage: A Collec­ Everyone Loves You When You’re World by Ray Robinson ’41. Robin- the impact these cases have on tion of Poems about Travel and Dead: Journeys into Fame and son’s book about the dramatic 1951 society and in American culture Other Journeys by Fernando D. Mad­ness by Neil Strauss ’91. With Giants-Dodgers pennant race that (Oxford University Press, $49.95). Castro ’75. Castro offers political more than 3,000 celebrity interviews was decided by Bobby Thomp- and social commentary through under his belt, Strauss brings to son’s home run has been reissued The Instant : An Illustra­ the world’s everyday scene light mostly unpublished and per- in paperback for the event’s 60th ted Guide by Richard A. Muller ’64, (TA’YER Books, $17.95). sonal moments of famous people anniversary, with a new preface illustrated by Joey Manfre. Taking (It Books, $16.99). by sportscaster Bob Costas (Dover information from his 2008 book Deformed and Destructive Be­ Publications, $12.95). for Future Presidents: The Sci- ings: The Purpose of Horror Films Witches of East End: A Novel ence Behind the Headlines as well as by George Ochoa ’81. In this critical by Melissa de la Cruz ’93. A fam- Causal Explanation for Social from the physics course he teaches, work, Ochoa argues that the pur- ily of witches is forced to live as Scientists: A Reader edited by Muller answers questions with pose of horror films is to satisfy au- “regulars” in the town of North Andrew P. Vayda ’52 and Bradley B. the help of color cartoons (W.W. dience members’ desire for things Hampton, N.Y., until dark powers Walters. Written for and by social Norton & Co., $16.95). that are inaccessible as well as their make it impossible for the family to scientists, this book of essays taste for unreal and dangerous be- hide its magic (Hyperion, $23). includes text from various areas Dealing with an Angry Public: ings (McFarland, $40). that show how scientists approach The Mutual Gains Approach To One Nation Under Sex: How the beliefs and events to answer ques- Resolving Disputes by Lawrence New Traditional Architecture: Fer­ Private Lives of Presidents, First tions about the world (AltaMira Susskind ’68 and Patrick Field. By guson and Shamamian Architects Ladies and their Lovers Changed Press, $39.95). showing business and government City and Country Residences by the Course of American History by leaders how to work with critics Mark Ferguson and Oscar Shamamian Larry Flynt and Professor of Ameri- Using Your Mouth With Your Head and the public, the authors identify ’81. This book features detailed pho- can History David Eisenbach ’94. The by Jack H. Bloom ’54. This book is who the public is and how the me- tographs of 19 homes that have been authors explore the role the sex lives designed to help people with their dia shapes public perception and designed for those who enjoy historic of politicians has played in shaping communication skills in order to understanding (Free Press, $18.99). and traditional styles (Rizzoli, $75). our nation’s political history, culture achieve exceptional outcomes (jack and international standing (Palgrave hbloom.com, $13.95). The Bauhaus Group: Six Masters Twice a Spy: A Novel by Keith Macmillan, $25). of Modernism by Nicholas Fox Thomson­ ’87. In this sequel, an Mhòr and More: Hill Walks in Weber ’69. Weber offers insight into Alzheimer’s-suffering­ ex-spy and Incommunicado by Keith O’Shaugh­ Usist by Martin Margulies ’61. Af- the Bauhaus art school in Germany his son are hiding out in Swit- nessy ’94. In his first collection of ter more than 20 years of climbing during the early 1930s as he tells zerland when they are forced to poems, O’Shaughnessy explores many of the hills in South Usist, the story of Anni and Josef Albers sell a disguised nuclear bomb to communication problems (Grolier Scotland, Margulies is able to offer and other Bauhaus artists such as terrorists to save an NSA operative Poetry Books, $17.95). pointers on their paths and notes Paul Klee and Wassily Kandinsky (Doubleday, $29.95). about their beauty (The Islands (Yale University Press, $27.50). Christian Materiality: An Essay Book Trust, $16.95). The Politics of Equality by Jason on Religion in Late Medieval The Serpent’s Skin: Creation, Meyers ’89. Based on ideas and val- Europe by Caroline Walker Bynum, A March of Liberty: A Constitu­ Knowledge, and Intimacy in the ues rather than on the rise and fall University Professor emerita. tional History of the United States, Book of Genesis by Marc Klein of movements, Meyers explores Bynum describes some Christian Volume I: From the Founding to ’70. By using the literary conven- contemporary egalitarian political miracles and explores the problems 1900 by Melvin Urofsky ’61 and Paul tions of the original Hebrew text philosophy to answer questions that they present for church au- Finkelman. This comprehensive over- of Genesis, this book offers a new about current debates such as those thorities and followers due to basic view of the U.S. Constitution ad- literary study of the Bible’s first on healthcare and education (Zed scientific and religious assump- dresses not only how the Supreme book (Urim Publications, $24.95). Books, $26.95). tions (The MIT Press, $32.95).

FALL 2011 60 COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY BOOKSHELF

Rachel DeWoskin ’94 Defies Genre in Newest Novel

B y Y e l e n a S h u s t e r ’09

achel DeWoskin ’94’s teenage years Babes in Beijing, a low-budget Chinese version of Sex were fairly comfortable. She excelled in and the City that was viewed by 600 million people. an alternative arts high school in Ann DeWoskin fell into the part after graduating from Arbor, Mich., where students created Columbia and moving to Beijing. A friend recom- Rindependent study projects and called their mended her because she looked like an American teachers by first names. Her boyfriends were lov- (acting experience was not required). ing, her girlfriends artistic. “I had a very sheltered After five years in China, DeWoskin returned to life,” DeWoskin admits. the States to get a master’s in poetry from Boston Judy Lohden, the protagonist of her latest novel, University and later write Foreign Babes. Since Big Girl Small (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $25), is then, the book has been optioned for a series on not as lucky. Brilliant, snarky and talented to boot, HBO and published in six countries. But even after Judy also is 3-foot-9. But thanks to DeWoskin’s bit- restarting her life in America, DeWoskin wasn’t ing language, she’s not asking for your pity. Judy’s done telling stories about China. After Foreign sharp world view and even sharper wit emerge in Babes, she published a novel, Repeat After Me, the first few pages: “My mother’s idea has always that chronicled a tragic love story between an been to try to make me feel close to perfect, but ESL teacher and her Chinese student. The novel how close can that be, considering I look like she won a Foreward Magazine Book of the Year snatched me from some dollhouse.” award in 2009. As the precocious narrator, Judy recounts life as It was DeWoskin’s father, Kenneth DeWoskin ’65, a little person at a competitive performing arts high ’74 GSAS, a noted sinologist, who set his daughter school. Just when everything seems like a teenage on a bicontintental path from a young age. Fam- dream, Judy’s happiness is upended by a dark plot ily vacations involved excavating ancient Chinese twist that tests her ideas of love and justice. De- instruments and sleeping in military guesthouses that Woskin’s powerful coming of age story reexamines once housed revolutionary heroes. what it means to be small in all its manifestations. DeWoskin credits Columbia for laying the ground- PHOTO: ANNE LI Judy’s unconventional voice marries young adult work for her success. As an English major, she fiction with thriller narrative, resulting in a thought- studied British lit with the late University Profes- provoking novel that refuses to conform to either genre. sor Edward Said; poetry with the late Kenneth Koch; Eliot, Joyce The sordid tale had a most innocent inspiration: DeWoskin’s and Pound with the late Wallace Gray; and Shakespeare with daughter, Dalin (6), who was 4 at the time and obsessed with Ted Tayler. “All my professors made me feel that books mattered The Wizard of Oz. DeWoskin had watched the classic film about enormously — it was an ongoing celebration of analytical think- “4,000 times” and the more she watched, the more outraged ing,” she says. she felt about the Munchkins’ portrayal. “They’re all profession- She even wrote Big Girl Small’s first draft where she spent ally trained, yet they’re made to lick lollipops,” DeWoskin says. many undergraduate nights: in Butler Library. DeWoskin’s hus- Dressed in a gingham dress and red heels, her toddler had band, playwright Zayd Dohrn ’06 GSAS, had a Ph.D. cubicle on no problem imagining herself to be Judy Garland’s Dorothy. the eighth floor, where DeWoskin wrote for a year while their “What if it wasn’t that effortless?” DeWoskin wondered. “What younger daughter, Light (3), had a babysitter. if she was a dwarf?” Once DeWoskin started researching little In fact, she had her daughters in mind when writing Judy’s people, she became even more upset. “We have not managed strong, persevering character. “Most of the heroes in teenage in America to be sensitive about this issue,” she says. “The more books are boys,” she says. “I wanted to write a book for my two I read, the edgier Judy got.” daughters about how brave and resilient teenage girls can be.” The novel is a topical departure for DeWoskin, who burst onto the literary scene in 2005 with her acclaimed memoir, Foreign Yelena Shuster ’09 is a freelance writer whose work has been Babes in Beijing: Behind the Scenes of a New China. The book featured on Cosmpolitan.com, NYMag.com and The Huffington chronicled her unlikely fame as the television star of Foreign Post. She blogs at IvyLeaguedandUnemployed.com.

Shi’ism: A Religion of Protest by Foreign and Security Policy and es, this book shows how Havana Order and Chivalry: Knighthood Hamid Dabashi, the Hagop Kevork- professor of law and political and greater have influenced and Citizenship in Late Medieval ian Professor of Iranian Studies and science. Doyle attempts to address U.S. cultural history (Yale University Castile by Jesus D. Rodriguez- Comparative Literature. Dabashi whether the United States has the Press, $25). Velasco, professor of Latin Ameri- examines Shi’ism in terms of its cur- right to defend itself by striking can and Iberian cultures, translated rent political influence in countries first by examining the Iraq war, Religion and International by Eunice Rodriguez Ferguson. such as Iraq, Iran and Lebanon the Cuban Missile Crisis and other Relations Theory edited by Jack Rodriguez-Velasco considers how (Belknap Press of Harvard Univer- conflicts ( Snyder, the Robert and Renee Belfer urban knighthood came to be as sity Press, $29.95). Press, $17.25). Professor of International Relations. well as the cultural and legal pro- This collection of essays written cess that knighthood created (Uni- Striking First: Preemption and The Havana Habit by Gustavo Perez by prominent scholars attempts to versity of Pennsylvania Press, $65). Prevention in International Firmat, the David Feinson Professor fill the gap between religion and Samantha Jean-Baptiste ’13 Conflict by Michael W. Doyle, the of Humanities. Through advertise- international relations (Columbia Harold Brown Professor of U.S. ments, films, books and other sourc- University Press, $27.50).

FALL 2011 61

COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY Obituaries

1928 Island, N.Y., on July 11, 1911, and plished painter. He was preceded Abe R. Druss, retired military of- served in the Navy during WWII. in death in 1983 by his wife of 37 ficer, builder, Roslyn Heights, N.Y., He had a varied career as an years, Annabel Kreider Wolfson. on June 18, 2010. Born in Brooklyn, executive in several international He is survived by his sister, Flor- N.Y., on August 14, 1906, Druss shipping businesses in New York ence Howitt; children, Richard graduated from Erasmus Hall H.S. City, Tokyo and Seattle. He and and his wife, Artley, Helen and when he was 15. At Columbia, he his wife, the former Ruth Joline, her husband, Eric Thomas, and made the Dean’s List, was on the retired to Francestown, N.H., and Charles; six grandchildren; and wrestling team and competed in the later lived in Woodstock, Conn., one great-grandchild. Memorial cane-spree. He was one of the first and Brooklyn, Conn. As a young contributions may be made to Am- residents of John Jay Hall, moving man, Cole was an avid and accom- nesty International USA, 5 Penn into his 13th floor room prior to el- plished sailor in the waters around Plaza, New York, NY 10001 or to evator service. Druss was a member New York City. In retirement, he the Unitarian Church of Worces- of Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity. He studied watercolor painting, and ter, 90 Holden St., Worcester, MA worked on Wall Street and was on his work was shown in several gal- 01606-3411. the floor when the market crashed leries. Cole was predeceased by his wife and by his son, Christopher. 1940 Hector G. Dowd ’40 pitched for in 1929. In 1933, he took a solo trip Columbia against Princeton at around the world, including climb- He is survived by a granddaughter Robert J. Alexander, professor and a daughter-in-law. emeritus of economics and political Baker Field on May 17, 1939, in ing Half Dome in Yosemite. Druss the first televised sports event. was a combat intelligence officer in science, Piscataway, N.J., on April 1935 Here, in 1989, he threw out a Europe during WWII. He invented 27, 2010. Born in Canton, Ohio, and William C. Oberkirk, retired en- raised in Leonia, N.J., Alexander ceremonial first pitch to mark the an analytical tool for compiling data 50th anniversary of that landmark from multiple sources, dubbed the gineer, Old Lyme, Conn., on June was an Army Air Force veteran, 6, 2010. Oberkirk was born on No- serving in WWII. He joined the game. “Druss Matrix” by his colleagues. PHOTO: PAUL HUEGEL, PRINCETON Druss continued his Intelligence vember 8, 1913, and raised in the Rutgers economics department in UNIVERSITY Corps career after the war and was Bronx. He graduated from Brooklyn 1947 and retired in 1989. Alexan- a retired lieutenant colonel in the Technical H.S., then earned a B.A. der earned a Ph.D. in economics Army Reserves. He built residential from the College followed by a in 1950 from GSAS. Although a televised sporting event. Dowd’s developments in Bethlehem, Pa., B.S. in 1936 from the Engineer- member of the economics faculty studies at Harvard Law were and on Long Island, N.Y., in Smith- ing School. As chief engineer, he at Rutgers, he also taught history, interrupted by WWII, in which he town, Hauppauge and Riverhead. managed the electrical power political science and labor studies. served as an Army lieutenant in Druss is survived by his wife of 60 distribution systems in multiple Following his retirement, Alex- the Pacific. After completing law years, Mildred; children, Mark ’66, manufacturing facilities of United ander continued his research and school in 1946, he and Richard Net- ’78 GSAS, Sarah and David; and Merchants. He was a senior lifetime writing and taught two courses ter became lifetime law partners, many grandchildren. member of the Institute of Electrical in the history department each ultimately at Singer Netter Dowd & and Electronics Engineers. Oberkirk year until 2002. He received the Berman in White Plains, N.Y. Dowd 1934 was predeceased by his wife, the 1984 Outstanding Teacher Award served on the boards of founda- Chester A. Cole Jr., retired shipping former Olga Remien, in 2005, and from the Parents Association of tions that contributed hundreds of executive, Dayville, Conn., on June is survived by her brother, Arthur Rutgers College. A renowned and thousands of dollars to Columbia, 4, 2010. Cole was born on Staten Remien, and cousins, Joyce Manke, prolific scholar, Alexander was the including the Louis Armstrong Irma Naumann, David Remien, author or editor of 49 books. In Educational Foundation and the Janet Remien and Otti Messner. 1961, he was named by President- Arnold D. Frese Foundation. He Obituary Submission elect Kennedy to the Task Force was an active alumnus and sup- 1938 Guidelines on Latin America, which recom- porter of Columbia and its sports Irving N. Wolfson, physician, mended the establishment of the teams, serving in the Varsity ‘C’ Columbia College Today Worcester, Mass., on July 8, 2010. Alliance for Progress. Alexander Club, including as president from welcomes obituaries for Born on July 20, 1919, in New York was predeceased by his wife of 54 1960–63. In 1963, he was awarded College alumni. Deaths are City, Wolfson earned his M.D. from years, the former Joan O. Powell, the Alumni Athletic Award. Dowd noted in the next available Yale in 1943 and was an Army and a sister, Margaret LeSourd. is survived by his wife of 61 years, issue in the “Other Deaths medical officer in India and China Surviving are a son, Anthony R.; a Isabel (“Chabela”); daughter and Reported” box. Complete during WWII. Following an intern- daughter, Margaret (Meg) Bradley; son-in-law, Isabel and Neil Christie; obituaries will be published in ship at Mt. Sinai Hospital and three grandchildren; and a niece. son, Hector; and five grandchildren. an upcoming issue, pending several residencies, he relocated Memorial contributions may be receipt of information. Due to Worcester, where he practiced made to the Special Collections Julius J. Fillips, retired school to the volume of obituaries internal medicine and later cardiol- and University Archives, Rutgers head of guidance and counseling, that CCT receives, it may ogy. Wolfson held many leadership University Libraries. Whitesboro, N.Y., on June 20, 2010. take several issues for the positions in the Worcester medical Fillips was born on November 9, complete obituary to appear. community and was a member Hector G. Dowd, attorney, 1916, in Highland, N.Y., and be- Word limit is 200; text may be of multiple medical associations. Scarsdale, N.Y., on June 23, 2010. came the first in his family to com- edited for length, clarity and Throughout his life, Wolfson was a Dowd was born on July 19, 1919, plete high school. After completing style at the editors’ discretion. champion of progressive political and attended St. Augustine in the his undergraduate degree, he Click “Contact Us” at college. causes and was a longtime sup- Bronx and Fordham Prep, where he continued his studies at Teachers columbia.edu/cct, or mail porter of Amnesty International, pitched for the team that won the College. He began his long career materials to Obituaries Editor, UNICEF and the ACLU. He was city baseball title in 1936. At Colum- in education in 1941 at Whitesboro Columbia College Today, active in the Unitarian Universal- bia, Dowd was a star pitcher during H.S. and in 1943 married fellow Columbia Alumni Center, ist Church of Worcester and had the 1938, 1939 and 1940 seasons; he teacher Ruth Goldsmith. As the 622 W. 113th St., MC 4530, served as a member of its board. In was the Lions’ pitcher on May 17, head of guidance and counseling, 1st Fl., New York, NY 10025. his later years, Wolfson became an 1939, when the Princeton-Columbia Fillips helped individual students amateur musician and accom- game at Baker Field became the first and also refined policies through-

FALL 2011 62 COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY OBITUARIES

out the district. Upon retirement served as a lieutenant in the Navy, in the arts and sciences, drawing, cal Center, College of Medicine, in 1977, he and his wife traveled, attending officer’s training at Notre woodworking, gardening and and received his training in general visiting their children overseas Dame and serving in the Pacific rowing. Gabrielson was an elected surgery at St. Vincent’s Hospital in and participating in Elder Hostel Theater in WWII. He had a 36-year member of the Williamsburg Board New York City, where he met the programs. Fillips also enjoyed career with Exxon Oil Co. and of Health and volunteered with nurse who would become his wife, tending to his garden and yard moved to Houston with his family many community organizations. Gloria Locker. Walker joined the and was a Master Gardener. He in 1961. Thompson is survived by He is survived by his wife of 61 staff at St. John’s Riverside Hospital was predeceased by his wife and is his wife of 67 years, Doris; daughter years; children, Debby, David, in 1956 and during his 42-year survived by his daughters, Barbara Claire; sons, Justin Jr. and his wife, Hugh and Carl; sister, Carol Fine; career held a number of executive Goldsmith Fillips and Carol Fillips Sue, and John and his wife, Chris- six grandchildren; and two nieces. positions in the hospital arena as McCreary; two granddaughters; tina; brother, Andrew; six grandchil- Memorial contributions may be well as in professional associations. three nieces; a nephew; and several dren; and two great-grandchildren. made to Doctors Without Borders. Walker is survived by his wife of great-nieces and great-nephews. 56 years; daughters, Susan and her 1943 husband, Michael Shepherd, and 1941 Charles C. Cole Jr., retired Patricia; sons, William and John; John M. “Jack” McDonald, retired professor and college president, daughter-in-law, Ellen; and three attorney, Allentown, Pa., on June Columbus, Ohio, on June 18, 2010. grandchildren. Memorial contribu- 27, 2010. McDonald was born on Cole was born on September 12, tions may be made to Pathfinder June 23, 1919, in New York City. 1922, in Altoona, Pa., and grew up Village, 3 Chenango Rd., Edmeston, He graduated from Fordham in Gettysburg, New York City and NY 13335-2314. Law in 1944 and was employed Yonkers. He served in the Army by Associated Industries of New Air Corps as a 1st Lieutenant and 1946 York State as legislative counsel fighter pilot in the 8th Air Force Nolan D. Lewis, retired airline em- prior to joining Bethlehem Steel in from 1943–45. He married Mary E. ployee, banker, South Salem, N.Y., 1958. He retired from Bethlehem Ewald in 1944. Cole dedicated his on June 20, 2010. Born on June 11, Steel in 1982 as the manager of the career to advancing higher educa- 1923, in Washington, D.C., Lewis State Government Affairs Division tion and promoting the humani- was a graduate of New Rochelle in the Public Affairs Department. ties. He earned a Ph.D. in history in H.S. He spent most of his career McDonald was later employed as 1951 from GSAS and from 1946–58 in airline transportation. He was a an attorney at Killian & Gephardt was Columbia’s associate dean John T. Lorick Jr. ’44 ticket office manager for Colonial Law Firm in Harrisburg, Pa. He of students and taught American Airlines and also a terminal man- was predeceased by his wife, Lois, history. Cole was then professor of John T. Lorick Jr., marketing and ager for Eastern Airlines. Lewis in 2004, and is survived by his sister, history, dean and provost at Lafay­ advertising executive, Los Angeles, worked in Eastern’s home office as Muriel Cook; sisters-in-law, Hilda ette College from 1958–70 and on June 19, 2010. Lorick was born a customer service representative McDonald and Barbara Miller; and president of Wilson College from on March 4, 1923, in Astoria, N.Y. and then worked for a number of many nieces, nephews, great-nieces, 1970–75. He was executive director He received a Pulitzer scholarship, years for the Eastern’s terminal great-nephews and cousins. Memo- of the Ohio Humanities Council which provided for his education corporation as one of its manag- rial contributions may be made to from 1976–90. Upon retiring, Cole at Columbia, where in addition to ers. When the New York terminals Franciscan Oaks Benevolence Fund, focused his research and writing excelling academically he played closed, he began a second career 19 Pocono Rd., Denville, NJ 07834. on Ohio history. He received many both varsity basketball and base- in banking with The Bank of awards for his work and research ball. As an undergraduate, Lorick New York. Lewis is survived by 1942 and was an active volunteer. Cole enlisted in the Marine Corps. He his sister, Mary Ann, and a large Frank P. Gherardi, accountant, is survived by his sister, Patricia completed his undergraduate work extended family. Wethersfield, Conn., on June Ewald; brother, Dan; daughters, in 1944 at Yale, where he attended 28, 2010. Born in 1920 in Mount Phyllis Stanley, Dot Briscoe, Officers Training School. He served 1947 Vernon, N.Y., Gherardi was the Barb Sweigard and Beth; eight in the 1945 invasion and occupa- first in his family to attend college. grandchildren; and three great- tion of Japan, returning home in He enrolled in the Class of 1942 as grandsons. Memorial contribu- 1946 to attend Harvard Business a French major. WWII intervened tions may be made to the Ohioana School. Lorick married Genevieve and he was drafted into the Army, Library Association, 274 E. 1st Ave., Grill in 1950; she predeceased him where he served as an interpreter Columbus, OH 43201-3692 or to in 2006. He is survived by seven in an Intelligence Unit in France. the Sierra Club, 85 Second St., 2nd children, eight grandchildren and Post-war, Gherardi returned to Fl., San Francisco, CA 94105. two great-grandchildren. Memorial Columbia and graduated in 1947 contributions may be made to the from the Business School with a B.S. 1944 John Douglas French Alzheimer’s in accounting. He was an auditor Ira W. Gabrielson, retired Association, The American Heart for Arthur Young & Co and moved physician and professor, Wil- Association or Our Lady of Malibu to Hartford in 1955. He also was an liamsburg, Mass., on January 18, Catholic Church. accountant for Catawba Corp. and 2010. Gabrielson was born in the a partner in the accounting firm Bronx and was a graduate of the 1945 Gherardi­ & O’Donnell. In 1956, Horace Mann School. He met his Justin C. Walker, retired physician, Gherardi married Mary (“Bella”) wife, Mary Oliver ’50 P&S, when Yonkers, N.Y., on May 31, 2010. Born Robert H. Young ’47 Markstein, who survives him, as they were both medical students and raised in the Bronx, Walker do his sister, Tina; brother, Jack; at Columbia; Gabrielson earned attended Regis H.S. and served in Robert H. Young, retired televi- daughter, Mary Elizabeth and her a degree in 1949 from P&S. After the Infantry during WWII, active in sion broadcaster, Ridgewood, husband, Tom Wood; a grand- completing his residency in pedi- campaigns with the 42nd Rain- N.J., on January 19, 2011. Born on daughter; and many nieces and atrics at Yale, Gabrielson earned a bow Division in both France and November 7, 1923, in Covington, nephews. Memorial contributions master’s in public health at Johns Germany. He participated in the Ky., Young served in the Armed may be made to F.N. Good News Hopkins and spent the better part liberation of the concentration camp Air Forces in WWII as a co-pilot; Fund, 48 Cottage St., East , of his career teaching at Yale, UC at Dachau on April 29, 1945. Walker he survived being shot down and CT 06023. Berkeley and the Medical College was awarded the Bronze Star Medal captured in the European theatre. of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. for Heroism, the Bronze Star Medal Young’s career in television broad- Justin B. “Jud” Thompson, retired Gabrielson retired in 1989 as chair- with Oak Leaf Cluster and the New casting began in 1960, when he business executive, Houston, on man of the Department of Preven- York Conspicuous Service Medal. took his initial job as news director May 30, 2010. Thompson was born tive Medicine at MCP. He was a Following military service, he grad- for NBC affiliate WNDU-TV in in East Hampton, N.Y., in 1920 and Renaissance man, accomplished uated from SUNY Downstate Medi- South Bend, Ind. Returning to

FALL 2011 63

OBITUARIES COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY

9, 2010. A native of Astoria, N.Y., rial contributions may be made to Ilchert was a resident of Novato Houston Hospice, 1905 Holcombe, Neil L. Selinger ’75, since 1963. A veteran of WWII, hav- Houston, TX 77030. ing served in the Navy, he earned Longtime CCAA Board Member a law degree from NYU and had a George Dickstein, teacher, River- successful career in the INS, rising dale, N.Y., on February 3, 2010. Neil L. Selinger ’75, a writer to San Francisco District Director. While he spent most of his career and retired attorney and for- He held that position until he re- in public relations and advertising, mer v.p. of student affairs for tired in 1994. Ilchert was a member Dickstein found his true passion the Columbia College Alumni of such organizations as the Lions at 69 when he began teaching at Association (CCAA), died Club and the Knights of Columbus. Westchester Community College. on July 9, 2011. He was 57 He was president of the Novato He worked at the college for about and lived in Larchmont, N.Y. Lions Club numerous times. Ilchert four years, first as a tutor in the is survived by his wife of 58 years, Academic Support Center and Selinger earned a J.D. from Wanda; sister, Dorothea; daughter, in the Writing Tutorial, and later NYU and practiced law as a Joan Christensen and her husband, as a teacher of basic writing and partner with Lowey, Dannen- Tim; son, David and his wife, Juli; composition, and literature. berg, Bemporad, and Selinger four grandchildren; and one great- from 1976 until his retirement grandchild. 1958 in 2007. After retiring, Selinger Edward A. “Bud” Spraker, retired 1950 published a memoir about his athletics director and physical experiences growing up in an William J. Hill, quality control education teacher, Teaneck, N.J., immigrant family in central expert, Weston, Conn., on Septem- on July 3, 2010. Spraker gradu- ber 20, 2010. Born in Manhattan ated from Farragut H.S., where New Jersey, A Sloan Product: to acknowledge distinguished on October 16, 1928, Hill, and his he lettered in football, basketball A Memoir of a Lost Boy (2011). service to the University of 10 family, moved to Rockville Centre, and baseball all four years. Before He recently had completed or more years. N.Y., where he attended Southside retiring in 1995 after a 32-year a collection of essays about His daughter, Hannah ’02, H.S. He earned a degree in 1951 career, he was an athletics director living with ALS (“’s wrote an essay on him, “Living from GSAS. After graduating with and physical education teacher for Disease”), yet unpublished. the Life Unexpected,” in the distinction, Hill held positions of 26 years at Benjamin Franklin Jr. Selinger was tirelessly pas- March/April issue (college. increasing responsibility and gained H.S. in Teaneck, where he founded sionate about Bruce Spring- columbia.edu/cct/mar_apr11/ expertise in quality control. Before the Leaders Club. He also had ­steen and the New York Yank- alumni_corner). forming his own consulting firm, taught at Thomas Jefferson Jr. H.S. Hill was a consultant for Con Ed, in Teaneck for six years. Spraker ees and counted travel among Selinger is survived by his where he developed and imple- played football in the Navy and his favorite indulgences. He mother, Helen; wife, Rima Grad; mented the Indian Point nuclear was a Korean War veteran. After was a two-decade member of and daughters, Hannah ’02, Em- audit program. In recognition of the Navy, he continued playing the CCAA and was the v.p. of ily ’12 and Julia ’15. Memorial his work in quality control, he was football, for Columbia. Spraker student affairs for a decade. In contributions may be made to named a fellow of the American was a longtime member of Christ May, at Commencement, the the ALS division of the Muscu- Society of Quality Control, the Episcopal Church in Teaneck, sang University recognized Selinger lar Dystrophy Association. highest honor that can be bestowed in the choir and was Sunday School with an Alumni Medal, given Lisa Palladino on a member. Aside from serving superintendent for many years. He on the ASQC for 15 years, Hill was is survived by his sons, John and a senior member of the Institute of Gary; sisters, Edna Shewbrooks, Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Shirley Moehring and Bobbie; New York, he reported for and served in the Army during WWII. He was a crossword puzzle enthusi- brother, The Rev. James; and one anchored the WCBS nightly news Serocke enjoyed collecting coins ast and lifelong dog lover. Hill is granddaughter. He was prede- broadcast, including coverage of and stamps and was an avid reader. survived by his wife of 56 years, ceased by his wife, Nancy. Memo- the assassination of President Ken- He is survived by his sons, Christo- Frances; sons, Denis, Paul and rial contributions may be made to nedy. At ABC News, he was one of pher and his wife, Joyce, and Jeffrey Ronald; daughter, Andrea; and six the Alzheimer’s Association. the first correspondents dispatched and his wife, Adele; daughters, grandchildren. Memorial contribu- to cover the Vietnam War, in 1965. Kathleen Lisi and her husband, tions may be made to Vitas Hospice Asher Rubin, retired deputy attor- Young became the network’s chief Stephen, and Patricia Cabuling and Services (vitas.com). ney general, San Francisco, on Sep- European news correspondent; her husband, Manny; and 10 grand- tember 29, 2010. Rubin was born based in London, he traveled the children. Memorial contributions 1957 in Atlantic City, N.J., on November continent reporting on the major may be made to Ware Presbyterian Ronald H. Boorse, retired business 9, 1936. When he was 11, the fam- stories for two years. Back in the Village, Employee Fund, 7 E. Locust owner, Houston, on July 6, 2010. ily moved to Liberty, N.Y. Rubin States, he filled the anchor seat for St., Oxford, PA 19363. Boorse was born on May 17, 1935, graduated from Harvard Law in the ABC World News Broadcast, in New York City. In 1960 he started 1961 and moved to California to completing his news career in 1975. Mortimer J. Shaff, retired publish- a career in the business forms in- clerk for Justice Thomas P. White of Young is survived by his children, ing executive, New York City, on dustry, working for Standard Reg- the California Supreme Court. He Robert, Michael, and Amy Brown; May 18, 2010. Shaff was valedicto- ister in New York. Eventually he joined the office of Attorney Gen- and six grandchildren. He was rian of the Class in 1948 and was moved to Houston, where he start- eral Stanley Mosk in 1963, where predeceased by his second wife, Phi Beta Kappa. He studied foreign ed his own business, United Busi- he remained until his retirement in Shelly, in 2006, and his first wife languages at Cornell by direction of ness Forms, in 1979; he continued 2001, except for a brief interlude in and the mother of his children, the Army. Shaff served five years in it until his 2005 retirement. Boorse the Office of the General Counsel Shirley “Penny” Young, in 2009. the Army as a captain in the Intelli- was active in industry associations of the Peace Corps and on the pub- gence Corps in Korea (1949–53) and as well as the South End Optimist lic relations staff of The Weizmann 1948 then worked for Club. He was predeceased by his Institute in Israel. As a deputy at- Albert F. Serocke, retired salesman, Publishing until his retirement. He son, John, and is survived by his torney general, Rubin represented Kennett Square, Pa., on June 26, is survived by a nephew and two daughter and son-in-law, Linda and various officials and agencies in 2010. Born in Chicago, Serocke was great-nephews. Mark Powers; son, Henry II; daugh- appellate and trial litigation involv- a salesman for Fieldcrest Mills in ter, Alexis R. Marly; four grand- ing important political and social New York City for 25 years, retiring 1949 children; sister and brother-in-law, issues. He appeared before the in 1981. He was a graduate of Poly David N. Ilchert, retired INS Suzanne and Claude Remond; and United States Supreme Court in Prep High in Brooklyn, N.Y., and executive, Novato, Calif., on August ex-wife, Peggy J. Boorse. Memo- two cases, Honig v. Doe and Cali-

FALL 2011 64 COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY OBITUARIES

fornia Human Resources Dept. v. Java, and represented President S.I. Hay- OTHER DEATHS REPORTED akawa during the 1968–69 student strike at San Francisco State Uni- Columbia College Today also has learned of the following deaths. Complete obituaries will be versity. Rubin also was involved in published in an upcoming issue, pending receipt of information. Due to the volume of obituaries a number of community groups. that CCT receives, it may take several issues for the complete obituary to appear. He is survived by his wife, Diane; children, Jacob ’06 and Shaina ’09; 1932 Alexander J. Harsanyi, retired writer, editor and translator, Wallingford, Conn., on May 27, 2011. and brothers, Emanuel, Mordecai, Julius Wolfram, physician, Dallas, on March 16, 2011. Joseph ’60 and Abba ’63. 1933 Leo Rangell, psychoanalyst and emeritus professor, Los Angeles, on May 28, 2011. 1976 1935 Edwin K. Large Jr., retired attorney, Evans, Ga., on April 3, 2011. Dana A. Brand, Mets blogger and 1938 Paul F. Angiolillo, retired professor, Weston, Mass., on June 5, 2011. English department chair, Sandy Hook, Conn., on May 25, 2011. 1939 Richard C. Fremon, retired, Hackettstown, N.J., on April 25, 2011. Brand was born in New York City David B. Hertz, professor emeritus, Miami, on June 13, 2011. on September 23, 1954, to Brooklyn Dodgers fans. He grew up in Engle- John H. Woodruff, retired radiologist, medical consultant, Bloomfield, Conn., on June 12, 2011. wood Cliffs, N.J., and earned two 1940 Hermon W. “Hy” Farwell Jr., retired speech professor, Pueblo, Colo., on April 6, 2011. master’s degrees and a doctorate Philip M. Greenberg, retired psychiatrist, Jupiter, Fla., on June 16, 2011. from Yale, specializing in American literature from the Civil War to the Alfred P. Minervini, retired construction industry executive, Scarsdale, N.Y., on March 24, 2011. mid-20th century. He had been 1943 Alvin Lukashok, New York City, on June 20, 2011. on the Hofstra faculty since 1989. Theodore E. Plucinski, physician, Brooklyn, N.Y., on April 1, 2011. Brand was a former chair of the English Department and taught all Sidney Warschausky, teacher, Ann Arbor, Mich., on April 9, 2011. genres and periods of American 1944 William W. Baines Jr., retired sales representative, Owings Mills, Md., on May 26, 2011. literature, with a main focus on fiction written between 1850–1950. Richard D. Hunter, retired minister, Arlington, Mass., on February 25, 2011. When Brand was a child, his 1946 Charles H. Arnoldi Jr., retired surgeon, University Park, Fla., on April 26, 2011. parents dissuaded him from rooting Atherton “Toni” Bristol, retired coach, Lakeville, Minn., on May 21, 2011. for the hated Yankees. “I’ve been full of simple hope on the first day R. Glen Keyes, small-business owner, Asheboro, N.C., on June 26, 2011. of every baseball season I can re- 1948 Richard van Frank, retired editor, Montclair, N.J., on July 4, 2011. member,” he wrote on his popular, 1949 Thomas A. Kimmons, Rockville Centre, N.Y., on February 16, 2011. almost-daily blog (danabrand.com/ blog) on April 1. He also wrote Jesse S. Siegel, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on May 10, 2011. two books on being a Mets fan, 1950 Edwin H. Arnaudin Jr., Richmond, Va., on April 3, 2011. Mets Fan and The Last Days of Shea: Delight and Despair in the Life of a Everett L. Dodrill Jr., Cleveland Heights, Ohio, on March 1, 2011. Mets Fan. Brand is survived by his Walter P. Luikart, physician, Thetford, Vt., on January 28, 2011. wife, Sheila Fisher; daughter, Sonia John D. Suomi, retired dentist, New Wilmington, Pa., on May 8, 2011. Brand-Fisher; and sisters, Jennifer and Stefanie. William Thordarson, Mount Pleasant, S.C., on December 8, 2010. 1981 1952 Nicholas Csonka Jr., retired anesthesiologist, Essexville, Mich., on May 27, 2011. Michael W. Stevenson, commer- 1954 John L. Garrison, retired Air Force officer, Longwood, Fla., on March 26, 2011. cial banking v.p., New York City, Ellsworth M. Shafto III, Wall Street trader, Basking Ridge, N.J., on May 24, 2011. on July 19, 2010. Stevenson worked 1956 James S. Williams, retired executive, Fallbrook, Calif., on May 22, 2011. at J.P. Morgan Chase in New York. 1957 Survivors include his partner, Rich- Robert I. Brockman, architect, Haverford, Pa., on June 12, 2011. ard Berhalter; mother, Lois; sister, Frederick W. Korz, retired educator, horologist, Middletown, Conn., on April 4, 2011. Leigh Stevenson Cobb; and nieces 1958 Anthony T. Layng, emeritus professor of anthropology, Winston-Salem, N.C., on June 12, 2011. and nephews. Memorial contribu- tions may be made to The Town of Joachim Neugroschel, literary translator, Brooklyn, N.Y., on May 23, 2011. Chester Public Library, PO Box 451, George A. Omura, professor emeritus of gynecologic oncology, Mountain Brook, Ala., on April 4, 2011. Chestertown, NY 12817 or Room to Read, 111 Sutter St., 16th Fl., San Albert Z. Soletsky, retired associate professor of languages, Hackensack, N.J. on April 24, 2011. Francisco, CA 94104. 1959 Richard A. Donelli, dentist, Pound Ridge, N.Y., on July 24, 2011. 1986 1960 Robert J. Capone, retired cardiologist and professor, Clifton Park, N.Y. on June 29, 2011. Joshua A. Moreinis, senior planner Ronald S. Kane, appraiser, New York City, on May 30, 2011. and landscape painter, Croton-on- 1962 Robert W. Maddox, retired Marine Corps officer, Princess Anne, Md., on April 2, 2011. Hudson, N.Y., on July 16, 2010. C. Brian O’Gorman, retired attorney, San Diego, on May 24, 2011. Moreinis earned an M.S. in urban planning in 1988 from the Archi- 1966 Richard W. Thompson, retired psychoanalyst and program manager, New York City, on April 19, 2011. tecture School. He was a Fulbright 1967 Donald B. Krim, film distributor, New York City, on May 20, 2011. Scholar in , a senior planner at STV and a landscape 1969 Joseph J. Okon, physician and medical educator, Norwalk, Conn., on May 6, 2011. painter. Moreinis is survived by his Joel J. Ouellet, retired Wall Street and real estate executive, San Diego, on February 22, 2011. wife, Pamela Ivinski; mother and 1971 Joseph Grisanzio, physician, Lakeville, Mass., on May 25, 2011. stepfather, Pat Moreinis Dodge and Peter Dodge; and brother, Bram. Brian C. Hesse, anthropological archaeologist, State College, Pa., on April 2, 2011. Lisa Palladino 1976 Josiah T. Greenberg, attorney, Montclair, N.J., on January 5, 2011.

FALL 2011 65

COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY Class Notes

Columbia College Today Columbia was Tom Merton ’38. that wanted to do business in Japan sachusetts to be near relatives. We Columbia Alumni Center “My military career began by after the war. Some of our class- settled in a town where two paper 25 622 W. 113th St., MC 4530 being drafted in May 1945. At the mates were Japanese-Americans in mills had formerly been located. 40 New York, NY 10025 time, I was on the final inspection U.S. uniforms, while their parents Both closed but left operating hydro- [email protected] team of P-47s before they rolled resided in a stockade in Colorado. plants. We now live in a comfortable out the door. After basic training at “My business career was varied: home in the foothills of the Berkshire Class President Arnold Saltzman Fort McClellan, I was transferred Twice I operated my own business Mountains, enjoying New England ’36 represented his class during the to the ASTP at Penn. This was an and twice I was affiliated with large life. Alumni Parade of Classes at Class intensive study of Japanese history, corporations. Finally I enjoyed a 16- “I enjoy reading letters from Day on May 17. language and culture. Some of the year experience in the public sector. classmates and encourage them to Carl M. Relyea ’35 has led a graduates of this program went “When I retired in 1983, my wife, write.” full and fulfilling life following his into the diplomatic service, while Jean Walther, and I moved from interests in music, meteorology some went to work in companies western New York to western Mas- and hydrology. Robert Zucker Carl’s interest in music started 29 The Birches in childhood with piano and organ 41 Roslyn, NY 11576 lessons, which led to positions as 41 [email protected] glee club pianist and organist both in high school and in college, and Ray Robinson wrote an article for church organist at various church- the May 28 issue of The New York es through high school and college. Times commemorating the death of Music was his life until WWII, Lou Gehrig ’23 on June 2, 1941, one when the military sent him to MIT day before our graduation (titled to study meteorology. At some of “For Columbia Class of ’41, It Is Carl’s subsequent assignments, he Always the Day After,” you can managed to find a church organ find it on nytimes.com). Gehrig’s on which to practice. As a weather demise was the result of ALS, now officer in the Army Air Corps, he commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s was theatre meteorological officer disease. Ray is the acknowledged Lou Gehrig ’23 swings for the fences, or maybe Journalism, as fans in the secret Central Canadian expert on Gehrig and has written fill the bleachers on what now is Van Am Quad. Theatre. Then he went to Nome, many articles and books about Alaska, as sector weather officer, him. In preparation for this article, with the rank of captain. Class of 1941 Remembers Gehrig Ray interviewed several of our Upon demobilization, Carl started classmates who recall the June a career with the Weather Bureau, ix members of the Class of 1941 got a head start on their 2–3 happenings. Among those first forecasting in Bermuda, then 70th reunion when they gathered on Thursday morning, June sharing their memories were Ted setting up forecasting facilities for S2, on South Field for a ceremony marking the 70th anniver- de Bary, Mario Bellardi, Sherwin international flights at what is now sary of the death of Baseball Hall of Famer Lou Gehrig ’23. The Kaufman, Berndt Lindgren and known as JFK Airport on Long Is- ceremony was held where home plate would have been, as best Gene Sosin. land. His interest in hydrology took as anyone could figure, when Gehrig was slugging home runs in his Six classmates gathered on June him from Long Island to Cincin- 2 this year on South Field for a one season playing for Columbia before he left school to join the nati as hydrologist at the Weather ceremony marking Gehrig’s death. Bureau. . Athletics Director M. Dianne Murphy, who de- The ceremony was held where Once established in Cincinnati, scribed herself as “a Yankees fan from Tennessee,” welcomed the home plate would have been, as Carl added the role of organist at alumni and their guests and thanked them for their longstanding best as anyone could figure, when Highland Methodist Church, Ft. devotion to Columbia. Author and Gehrig biographer Ray Robinson Gehrig played for Columbia. Ray Thomas, Ky., where he stayed for ’41 called it “a day of remembrance,” noting that the event had called it “a day of remembrance,” 37 years. special meaning for his class since the day after Gehrig’s death noting that the event had special Carl was made hydrologist-in- was the day they graduated from Columbia. meaning for our class. [See photo.] charge of the River Forecast Center, Columbia’s athletics director, M. and he retired in 1977. In 1979, he Dianne Murphy, and baseball was appointed deputy director of coach, Brett Boretti, participated in the Hamilton County Emergency the ceremony, along with former Management Agency, writing Yankees PR director Marty Appel. operations plans for the cities, David Richman ’53 sent a copy villages and townships. He retired of an obituary in The Washington again in 2000. Post of Bill Goldwater in February. Since his last retirement, Carl has He also attached a news article de- written his autobiography for his tailing the work that Bill had done children and now is pursuing family as a research director at the Na- genealogy with great fervor. He has tional Institutes of Health. Bill was three children, Richard, Deborah and an active participant and leader of Cornelia, and two granddaughters. many activities in Bethesda, Md./ His wife, Harriet, died in 1982. Montgomery County. Tom Armstrong ’39 writes: Members of the Class of 1941 who attended the ceremony honoring On April 28, a memorial service “While at Columbia I was a mem- Gehrig were (from left) Gene Sosin, Sherwin Kaufman, Wm. Theodore was held in St. Paul’s Chapel for Joe ber of Alpha Delta Phi, NACOMS (Ted) de Bary, Ray Robinson, Arthur Friedman and Bob Zucker. Coffee. Ted de Bary gave a moving and co-manager of the football PHOTO: NEW YORK YANKEES remembrance. Other classmates team. One of my best friends at attending were Art Friedman, Ray

FALL 2011 66 COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY CLASS NOTES

Robinson and I. MIT in 1948. He then joined the house, along with a simultaneous We congratulate Donald on his I recently returned from Israel, faculty at Michigan State University celebration of his wife Ruth’s 85th extraordinary career and wish him where I witnessed the awarding of in East Lansing as an instructor in birthday. Art thus joined the grow­- well in the years ahead. an honorary Ph.D. from Hebrew mathematics with subsequent pro- ing number of classmates who are In my mail of May 25, I received University to my companion, motions to assistant professor and members of the Nonagenarian a communication from Chief Judge Fran Katz. The other American associate professor during his career Club. Art and Ruth then embarked Theodore A. McKee of the United receiving this honor was Sir James there from 1951–62. In 1962, John on a three-week cruise around States Court of Appeals for the Third Wolfensohn, the former head of the joined the faculty at Arizona State South America aboard the Celeb- Circuit, inviting me to attend a spe- World Bank. I also was feted at a University in Tempe as associate rity Infinity, spending a week in cial session of the court, dedicating 90th birthday party. The surprise professor of mathematics and was with a side trip to the Atrium in the Federal Building location, with 50 guests, was the promoted to full professor in l966. Igazu Falls, and around Cape Horn & United States Courthouse in N.Y.S. Merchant Marine Academy. He continued to be a full professor to Valparaiso, Chile. Art replicated Newark, N.J., to our distinguished I had worked on the training ship and then was professor emeritus the voyages of Sir Francis Drake classmate, the Honorable Leonard I. Empire State 1 in the summers of until his retirement to Scottsdale in and Charles Darwin on the list of Garth. This ceremony was held on 1939 and 1940. We left Cherbourg the 1990s. At the time of this writ- sailors who made the trip around June 24. on September 1, 1939, the day the ing, there is no further information the Horn. Art, a retired engineer- Len, a longtime revered judge war started. available about John’s activities ing executive, remains active in on this court, last contacted me in during WWII, or any details about Columbia alumni affairs. He sends November 2009 with a warm letter, his family. We send condolences to warm wishes to all classmates reporting that he and his wife, Sarah, REUNION MAY 31–JUNE 3 surviving members of John’s family and, says “We are doing great!” had left their home in New Jersey for ALUMNI OFFICE CONTACTS and to classmates who knew John As Shakespeare said, “Ripeness is residence in an assisted-living com- ALUMNI AFFAIRS Nick Mider during his years at Columbia. all”(King Lear). munity in North Branford, Conn. [email protected] I also was notified by our Alum- On April 26, New York Times Len had been dealing with mobility 212-851-7846 ni Office of the death of Harold D. reporter Corey Kilgannon wrote a problems related to spinal surgeries, DEVELOPMENT Paul Staller Chase at 91 in Concord, N.H. on long essay about the retirement of and while no longer able to navigate [email protected] May 5. Harold served in the Army our distinguished classmate, Profes- as before, he was functioning well 212-851-7494 from 1943–46, after which he grad- sor Donald Keene, who taught with a motorized scooter and cane. Melvin Hershkowitz uated from the Episcopal Divinity his last class on that date, and said The federal government, recogniz- 42 22 Northern Ave. School in 1949, with an additional farewell to his students and to his ing that Len’s intellectual and legal Northampton, MA 01060 degree from Boston University in long career at Columbia. Donald, abilities remained intact, refused to 42 1969. Harold served as an assistant an emeritus professor of East Asian allow him to retire as a senior judge [email protected] at Christ Church in Cincinnati Languages and Culture, was born in on the Third Circuit and created an Arthur “Wizzer” Wellington and from 1949–51 and was rector of the Brooklyn, N.Y., where he graduated office and chambers from which he Don Mankiewicz were both on Church of the Transfiguration in from James Madison H.S. before continued to work. At that time, Len the road in March and April. Art Buffalo, N.Y., from 1951–56. From coming to Columbia in 1938. He had served on the federal court for (90) had a holiday from his home 1956–87, Harold was rector of began studying Japanese as an un- 40 years. As I wrote in a previous in chilly Elmira, N.Y., with a week Christ Church in Needham, Mass., dergraduate, and after Pearl Harbor note about Len, his legendary ac- in Jekyll Island, Ga. Don (89) took where he also served as chaplain continued at the Navy’s language complishments within the judiciary an automobile trip from his home of the Fire Department. He was a school, eventually becoming a Naval were accompanied by his extraordi- in Monrovia, Calif., near the Santa 32nd Degree Mason and served as Intelligence officer. He translated nary modesty and skill as a mentor Anita Race Track, to northern Cali- chaplain of various Masonic bod- information from Japanese prisoners to many young lawyers who served fornia, near Eureka. Don’s devoted ies. Harold was predeceased by his and their diaries, and after his dis- clerkships in his office, including wife, Carol, served as designated son, Peter, in 2004 and by his wife, charge, returned to Columbia, where current sitting Supreme Court Justice driver, navigating their new Chevy Betty, in 2005. He is survived by he earned a master’s in the late 1940s Samuel Alito. We send congratula- van with her usual skill. Art and his son, Andrew, of Narragansett, and a Ph.D. from Graduate Faculties tions to Len and his wife and good Don and this writer, all charter R.I.; daughter, Celinda Chambers, (now GSAS) in East Asian languages wishes for the years ahead. members of the Columbia chapter of of Millis, Mass.; a granddaugh- and cultures in 1950. Immanuel Lichtenstein sent a the Certified Degenerate Horseplay- ter, Melanie Steeves; and two Donald began teaching at Colum-­ warm note to me on June 4, com- ers Club, had several pre-Kentucky great-grandchildren. We honor bia in 1955, rising to become the menting on the Class Note entry Derby handicapping discussions via Harold’s service to his constituents Shincho Professor of Japanese Lit- about our mutual friend, the late phone and email in which we dis- for so many years, and we send erature in 1986. He wrote, edited Franklin Gerald Bishop, in the cussed the main contenders for that condolences and good wishes to and translated many books on May/June issue of CCT. Manny, a historic race, including Uncle Mo his family. Japanese culture and literature, in leading expert in engineering metal- and Dialed In. Art risked a few dol- Aside from having to report so both English and Japanese, and lurgy, reviewed his role in helping lars in a future book wager on Uncle many classmate deaths in recent was widely recognized as one of write Gerry’s obituary, with the Mo. By the time this issue of CCT is issues of CCT, I have been thinking the world’s leading authorities co-operation of Engineering officials published, the Derby, Preakness and about the impressive presence of so on Japanese literature and culture and the publisher of The New York Belmont Stakes Triple Crown races many Columbia alumni at the core (“the eminent Japanologist Donald Times. A loyal and devoted alumnus, will have been run, and the results of our federal government in Wash- Keene,” by John Updike, Hugging Manny has attended many of our entered in the annals of racing ington, D.C. Among those present The Shore, page 732, Alfred Knopf, reunions and has also represented history. As Don said to me in 1941, are President Barack Obama ’83; 1983). Donald announced that he providing philosophic solace as we Eric H. Holder Jr. ’73, ’76L (attorney plans to move to Japan to establish walked along Amsterdam Avenue general); Julius Genachowski ’85 permanent residence there and Class Notes are submitted by to the campus after a losing day of (chairman of the FCC); Michael seek Japanese citizenship, because alumni and edited by volunteer bad bets, “Mel, there is always the Leiter ’91 (former director of the he has received many honors and next race.” This comment by Don, 70 U.S. National Counterterrorism has many friends there and wishes class correspondents and the years ago, was helpful to me as the Center); and Donald B. Verrilli Jr. to be among these friends in their staff of CCT prior to publication. years passed after we left Columbia. ’83L (solicitor general of the United time of their recent national tsu- Our Alumni Office notified me States). Also, as far as I can discern, nami and nuclear disasters. Opinions expressed are those of about the December 27 death of Columbia is the only school to Donald certainly is one of the individual alumni and do not John B. Kelly in Scottsdale, Ariz. have one of its presidents serve most distinguished scholars in our John came to Columbia in 1938 as a POTUS (General Dwight D. great Class of 1942, which produced reflect the opinions ofCCT, its from Kew Gardens, N.Y. He was Eisenhower). many gifted lawyers, physicians, class correspondents, the College a member of the Chess Club and Arthur Graham celebrated his novelists and multiple academic or the University. team and Pi Mu Epsilon. John 90th birthday on March 29 with a luminaries across the nation’s uni- earned a Ph.D. in mathematics at family gathering at his daughter’s versities during the past 70 years.

FALL 2011 67

CLASS NOTES COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY our Class of 1942 by marching with strongly what is to me and others efforts to self-publish his compre- he continues to ski. older graduates at Columbia’s Com- abominable usage. He pointed out hensive biography of President Tough life, but I guess somebody’s mencement ceremonies. that Shakespeare did so as did and John Adams have yielded “zilch” got to do it. Your comments, corrections and do many reputable authors. In short, financially. Bert Wise has been taking courses news reports are always welcome. it has been and is in widespread use. But Joe is pushing ahead un- from The Fromm Institute for Life­ Kind regards and good wishes to all. He cited one authority who termed deterred with new projects. He is long Learning (which he highly those who object to such construc- finishing abridging and simplify- recommends) and now is working tions as, “particularly puristic pusil- ing Crime and Punishment for a on a script for a “film noir.” A Pilates G.J. D’Angio lanimous pontificators.” I acknowl- Japanese publisher, hopefully the teacher comes to his home to keep Department of Radiation edge to being among them; in turn, I first in a series of classics designed him in shape, as he doesn’t take part 43 Oncology would designate those who defend for Japanese readers in English- in outdoor sports. Bert has three 43 Hospital of the University of that solecism — for such it is — to as-a-second-language programs. daughters and four grandchildren. Pennsylvania, Donner 2 be among the numerous nuncios of While initial financial returns may His best news is that he and his wife 3400 Spruce St. nonsensical non-sequiturs. Invoking be “pitifully low,” Joe notes, “I’m of 51 years are still in reasonably Philadelphia, PA 19104 the shades of The Bard and adding enjoying the work tremendously.” good shape. [email protected] pedantry and fast talk thereto do We must bid farewell to the not offset one simple arithmetic fact: Rev. Richard Hunter, who left us Those who struggle to follow the Adding none to one does not yield in February. On graduating from Bernard Sunshine healthcare debate are directed to the two or more, inherent in the word the College, Dick moved across 20 W. 86th St. comments of Dr. Richard Frieden- “their.” Q.E.D. Moreover, wide- Broadway to Union Seminary and 46 New York, NY 10024 berg ’46. They are available in the spread usage does not legitimize then started his ministry as a Naval 46 [email protected] ’46 Class Notes of the March/April loose or even indecent language. chaplain on the USS Mann. Back issue of CCT (page 33, or college.co The reality that presidents and in civilian life, he served some We have email addresses for only lumbia.edu/cct/mar_apr11/class_ other VIPs, male and female, and churches in Manchester, England. one-half of the men on the CC ’46 notes). Pellucidly clear, his succinct innumerable hoi polloi have invited Returning to the States, he then Class List, and some that we have review is better than any number of adversaries to self-procreate does not served for 27 years as minister may no longer be correct. In the textbooks or op-ed pages. ipso facto make coarse language of of the Congregational Christian interest of being able to communi- My wife and I visited her sister that kind acceptable. Church of Ravenna, N.Y. After re- cate class news and information to (92) and other members of her fam- everyone, please send your current ily in England in April. We started email address to my email as in the northwest, then southeast, shown above. and finally southwest before end- Herbert Hendin ’46 is CEO and director of special The 65th anniversary reunion ing our trip in London. We were projects for Suicide Prevention International, which was a rousing success. Twenty-four lucky to have sunny, clear weather classmates and guests gathered and could thus enjoy the vibrant he founded. atop Butler Library (aka South Hall) greens of spring. with a magnificent view of the cam- I attended two graduations in pus and Low Memorial Library. To mid-May. The first was that of my Ralph Gladstone ’47, ’51 GSAS tiring from Ravenna in 1987, Dick the sounds of a live music ensemble granddaughter Sara’s husband, from wrote to me after reading one of kept busy as an interim pastor for we greeted and caught up with the Virginia Theological Seminary, these Class Notes. As we are both various upstate New York and each other over cocktails. Dean of where Sara also is enrolled and is in Philadelphia, we arranged to western Massachusetts congrega- Academic Affairs Kathryn Yatrakis, in her second year. The other was have a pleasant lunch in early May. tions until fully retiring in 2007. a longtime friend of CC ’46, joined in Clinton, N.Y., where my second We traded stories of Columbia as Richard Fuhrman ’71 reports us for the reception and lunch, after granddaughter, Rachel, finished it was more than 60 years ago, and Dick “was my childhood minister which she spoke about the College her four years at Hamilton College. I learned he was a classics major. and mentor, and was instrumental and awarded the Dean’s Pin to These events went smoothly and Ralph provided the definitive in my attending the College.” He Richard Heffner and Bernard were great opportunities for family translation of The Heracleidae of adds, “Dick Hunter was an inspir- Sunshine for their leadership of the reunions. Euripides for the Greek Tragedies ing preacher, a caring minister and reunion. We later went to Boston for my Series edited by David Grene and a great leader.” A special feature was a preview 66th medical school class reunion. Richard Lattimore. Ralph also of Dick Heffner’s interview of I reunited with myself: There were taught English in schools and uni- Dean of the College and Vice Presi- no other Class of ’45ers there. versities both here and abroad. Dr. Enoch Callaway dent for Undergraduate Education No further travel is scheduled Sad news: Warren C. Meeker, 1 Mt. Tiburon Rd. Michele Moody-Adams, for his until the fall, when we go to Amster- retired business executive, Naples, 45 Tiburon, CA 94920 award-winning TV program Open dam. I canceled a planned Septem- Fla., passed away on January 18. 45 Mind. Dick created and has hosted [email protected] ber journey to New Zealand, where John G. Pappas, retired physi- the program for 55 years, bring- The International Society of Pediatric cist and chemist, New York City, Dan Robbins has been retired for ing to his table notables in politics, Oncology will hold its 43rd meeting. passed away on March 4. 10 years from Hi-Tech Engineering literature, philosophy, academia It will be the first of these I have but is reasonably active and was and current thought. Dean Moody- missed through all the years bar one. raking leaves when I called. His Adams came for the viewing and Much as we enjoy that attractive Henry Rolf Hecht wife of 48 years reports that he then engaged in a spirited Q&A, country and its citizens, it’s just too 44 11 Evergreen Pl. doesn’t like to talk on the phone moderated by Dick. The 30-minute costly in time, effort and money to Demarest, NJ 07627 and abhors new things like email, conversation was seen on New make a quick turnaround trip of a 44 so she was my source of informa- York’s public television station, [email protected] few days. Lengthening the visit by a tion. Channel 13, on June 18, and other week of touring only adds to those Prolific writer Joseph Cowley Sr., Frank Russo retired from the stations around the country. You costs, of course. who turned 87 last October, notes, practice of surgery on December can also see it at your convenience My letter to the editor of Colum- “No one in my family has lived 31, 1993. Since then, he has devoted by logging on to the website bia magazine was published in the past that age, so this is the year of himself to staying healthy, which has thirteen.org/openmind. You will be Spring 2011 issue (magazine.colum the showdown with my genes.” involved working out, tennis, golf mightily impressed with the leader- bia.edu/letters/spring-2011). In it, He is coping with an assortment and skiing. An injury some years ship of the College. This interview I deplored the appearance in those of ailments that come with age, as ago ended tennis, even though it has is a must-see. pages of sentences containing num- well as some financial problems. healed since then. However, Frank This was truly an informative ber disagreement; e.g., “Everyone As of his mid-March communiqué continues to play golf, his wife being and fun-filled afternoon, thorough- has their … .” Professor Carl Voss to CCT, Joe expected to file for a championship player. Also, he has ly enjoyed by all. ’04 GSAS promptly wrote to defend bankruptcy, largely because his a condominium in Vail, Colo., where Visit the CCT website to view

FALL 2011 68 COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY CLASS NOTES

our class photo and to see a list of Life” on May 7 along New York’s quarterly Class Notes column John Weaver classmates who registered to attend: Hudson River in Riverside Park. for Columbia College Today. If you 49 2639 E. 11th St. college.columbia.edu/cct/fall11/ Richard Friedenberg’s view on want a chance to reconnect with Brooklyn, NY 11235 reunion. healthcare (see March/April, page classmates and to help share their 49 [email protected] Alan Berman in Crown Point, 33, or college.columbia.edu/cct/ news with the class, please contact Ind., sent a letter citing his grand- mar_april/class_notes) receives Managing Editor Lisa Palladino at Well now! Seems as though others daughter’s college graduation in kudos from CCT class correspon- [email protected] or 212-851- have recollections of that 1948 conflict with our reunion luncheon. dent G.J. (Giulio) D’Angio ’43 in 7976. winter storm of which I wrote in He wrote, “Clearly I would have this issue. Dick tells me he received Until then, please send notes March/April (college.columbia. liked to attend the class anniversary, other fan mail as well. about your life, travel, family and edu/cct/mar_apr11/class_notes). but family commitments precluded With regret, I report the death of experiences at Columbia to the A letter from Gene Rossides land- my making it to New York on that Marvin L. Aronson on February email or postal address at the top ed in my mail slot in Sheepshead day.” We certainly understand. 27. Marvin was a psychologist who of the column, or use CCT’s online Bay. Gene was meant to fly to San Irwin Nydick and Bernie Sun­ distinguished himself in group and submission form: college.columbia. Francisco for the East-West Shri- shine proudly carried our 1946 class family therapy. His comments about edu/cct/submit_class_note. ners game and was anticipating his banner in the Alumni Parade of the special value of a well-function- first plane ride. The storm delayed Classes on Class Day, May 17. Class ing older psychotherapist appeared his departure, and in fact he had Day is the more intimate College in the September/October 2010 Eric P. Schellin to take a bus to Philadelphia for a event the day before Commence- Class Notes (page 37, or college. 2506 N. Harrison St. flight to the West Coast. ment exercises for all University columbia.edu/cct/sep_oct10/ 48 Arlington, VA 22207 Gene also wrote about his con­ schools. As we marched in, seated class_notes). 48 tinued involvement with matters [email protected] graduates rose and burst into cheers I also regret reporting that Dr. regarding his ancestral land of and applause. One graduating se- Charles H. Arnoldi Jr. died on Durham Caldwell received a Life- Greece. He has recently edited a nior reached out to exchange a high April 26. Charles was a retired sur- time Achievement Award from the book on the subject of the island five with Irwin. The only earlier geon who had practiced in Orange Ludlow (Mass.) Democratic Com- of Cyprus, where his father was alumnus marching was Arnold and South Orange, N.J., for more mittee for his column in the weekly born. Cyprus 35 Years Later: What Saltzman ’36. Now there is a goal than 50 years. He passed away in Ludlow Register interviewing local is Needed for a Solution? deals with for all of us. Palmetto, Fla., after a short illness. people, especially WWII veterans. the ongoing problems regarding My Columbia files turned up this Charles was born in West Hobo- notice when we were seniors, from ken, N.J. He was very proud of his our dean, Harry J. Carman. “Your College degree, and he was in the attention is drawn to a number of V12 program. In 1949, he gradu- Durham Caldwell ’48 received a Lifetime Achieve­ details concerning the graduation ated from Georgetown’s College of ment Award from the Ludlow (Mass.) Democratic ceremonies to be held in Harkness Medicine. He was a member of the Theater, South Hall at 4:00 p.m. American College of Surgeons and Town Committee. Cap and gown may be rented for the American Medical Association, $1.60 from the Columbia University and a past president of the Essex Bookstore and may be secured at County Medical Society. Charles Charles Currie recalls his fond- Turkish domination in the region. any time during the regular hours. also was a Navy veteran of the Ko- ness for Columbia College, and Published by the American Hel- Seniors will assemble before the rean War and served in the Naval his good memories of professors lenic Institute Foundation, it is exercises in the east corridor on the Reserves for many years. as well as many classmates. His available at AHIWorld.org. main floor of South Hall. Please be years spent at the College prepared Another entry in the mail came there by 3:40 p.m. If you have not him well for his life’s adventures. from as far afield as I imagine our REUNION MAY 31–JUNE 3 filed your application for the degree Charles served as an Army chap- class has stretched, from Colin ALUMNI OFFICE CONTACTS and paid the fee, you should do so.” lain until his retirement in 1974. He Hughes in Queensland, Australia. ALUMNI AFFAIRS Nick Mider A warm welcome to Barnett is active in Christian missionary I have written back to Colin, as his [email protected] Zumoff, who changed his class work and finds it fulfilling. wonderfully energetic narrative 212-851-7846 affiliation to ’46. He wrote, “I am James Griffith is a retired physi- is so filled with abbreviations and DEVELOPMENT Paul Staller a prodigal son who wants to come cian from Norwalk, Conn. Recently references to academic experiences [email protected] home, and I hope I will be received he had the pleasure of interview- for which I have no reference. I 212-851-7494 as well as the Biblical prodigal son ing seven applicants for the Class want a dumbed-down version for was.” Barney, we are delighted to Columbia College Today of 2015. James said it was a great this writer, who never got past the add you to the ranks of our distin- Columbia Alumni Center experience and would encourage B.A., which was about all I could guished class. Barney is professor 47 622 W. 113th St., MC 4530 others to do the same (studentaffairs. handle given my eagerness to pur- of medicine at Albert Einstein 47 New York, NY 10025 columbia.edu/admissions/alumni/ sue my theatrical ambitions. College of Medicine and emeritus [email protected] volunteers.php). Nevertheless, Colin’s letter com-­ chief of the Division of Endocrinol- Paul Flinn is spending his retire- municates his intense interest in ogy and Metabolism at Beth Israel Dr. Hugo J. Gruendel returned to ment years in Hawaii. His research political science. Picking up on my Medical Center in New York. Columbia May 17–18, 2010, to work in materials science has af- previous reporting of interest in The bulk of Herbert Hendin’s attend the graduation of his grand- filiated him with many prestigious the now-controversial recollections medical career in psychiatry has daughter, Catherine Anne Kaelin universities. regarding Professor Franz Neumann been devoted to suicide prevention ’10. Catherine graduated magna Merrill Brockway recalls that (January/February, college.colum and survivor counseling. In addi- cum laude and is the third genera- his military service during WWII bia.edu/cct/jan_feb11/class_notes), tion to his private practice, Herb is tion of her family to graduate from helped enable him to attend the Colin takes a differing stand on the CEO and director of special projects the College. Also in attendance was College. He is an accomplished question of Professor Neumann’s for Suicide Prevention Interna- Hugo’s son, Dr. John Gruendel ’83, piano player and had a successful position during the Cold War period. tional (SPI), which he founded. The uncle of the graduate. On May 17, career in the television industry His letter recounts his visit to Buch- incidence of suicides on college 2010, Hugo attended Catherine’s until his retirement in 1993. Merrill enwald while at a conference in Ger- campuses is surprisingly high and initiation ceremony into Columbia’s has lived in Santa Fe, N.M., since many in 1994, when his perspective is one of his organization’s targets. New York Delta chapter of Phi Beta his retirement and is content with of the events that had taken place SPI conducts research around the Kappa. life. therein was particularly enlightened world, and one of its programs is The three Columbians returned Please do not hesitate to contact by his recollection of insights learned employed by the Veterans Admin- to campus this past June 4 to attend me at 703-533-3179 or eschellin07@ from Professor Neumann. istration for returning military. A Dean’s Day. gmail.com. I tried to make the I continue to be happily reporting large turnout of supporters par- The Class of ’47 is looking for Class Notes brief, but if you have on the vitality and intellectual curios- ticipated in a successful “Walk for a class correspondent to write a suggestions, please let me know. ity of our classmates. It is a tribute to

FALL 2011 69

CLASS NOTES COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY

The Hydra Chronicle is Charles’ survived these 60 years, in varying fifth published novel. The pub- degrees of health as the years have lisher is Cosmos in Rivervale, N.J. gone by, yet hopefully able to re- (greeceinprint.com); the book can view the achievements of life again be purchased at Amazon.com. in varying shadows of satisfaction, Charles is well acquainted with each of us uniquely different from Hydra, having had a residence one another. Just possibly, part of there for many years, and has been our success in being alive and able a teacher at the National Merchant to join with our classmates might be Marine Academy on the island. from the knowledge that we discov- Two of his earlier novels, Clouds ered in Contemporary Civilization, Over Hydra and The Last Man on Humanities, art, music and any of Earth, were best-sellers in Greek. those electives we selected. And maybe not. Maybe it worked itself out in its own way. It doesn’t matter. An impromptu Villanova Class of 1981 reunion took place at the College’s George Koplinka What matters is for those of us who Class of 1951 dinner during Alumni Reunion Weekend on June 4, when 51 75 Chelsea Rd. attended the reunion to express our the sons of John Handley ’51 (second from left) and Tom Powers Sr. ’51 White Plains, NY 10603 gratitude to the Reunion Commit- 51 tee for expeditiously planning the (third from left), Rear Adm. Mark A. Handley (far left) and Tom Powers Jr. [email protected] (far right), guests at the dinner, recognized each other from across the weekend and putting together the room. Not only did the sons graduate together but they realized they The 60th anniversary reunion of many events we all enjoyed. Also, also had lived in the same residence hall during their senior year. the Class of 1951 is now history. an expression of thanks is due the PHOTO: EILEEN BARROSO Alumni Reunion Weekend, June Alumni Office, and in particular, 2–5, offered an outstanding array to Jennifer Freely, assistant director of activities and programs and of alumni affairs, who tirelessly the College that should be noted. We of Ray’s earlier creations, which lived up to the promises of the assisted our class during the past are all well past the time when striv- include landscapes, rural scenes, advertising brochure, and more! year.” ing and ambition were the engines harbors, bays and lighthouses. Who attended from our class? Here are some excerpts from driving us to be involved and dedi- Ray not only paints the sea but Here is the list: Joseph Ambrose, recent communications from class- cated to the pursuit of knowledge. also has had adventures on it, one of Marvin Berkman, David Berman, mates. Mark Kaplan practices law But we keep on feeding at the trough which he describes as a “hair-raising Herman Bieber, Ted Bihuniak, in New York City. He and his wife, with the constantly renewed energy trip” that included a “brutal” Gulf Willard Block, Robert Cowen, Helene ’52 Barnard, have resided with which we were implanted Stream storm and dense fog, while Robert Flynn, J. Mason Gentzler, in Manhattan for their entire mar- during those wonderful years on crewing on an 11-meter sailboat. John Gibbons, Alfred Gomez, ried life. A treasure is their getaway Morningside Heights. Ray’s account of his close encounter Stanley Grossman, William Grote, home upstate in Olive Branch, N.Y. Given the new quarterly schedule with disaster can be read at Cruising John Handley, Richard Houghton, They have two daughters, and four for CCT publication, the deadline World magazine’s website: cruising- Mark Kaplan, Nathan Kase, W. grandchildren ranging in age from has moved, allowing me to update world.com/people/the-almost-last- Fred Kinsey, George Koplinka, 18–25. Aside from his law practice, this column. Dean’s Day, held on voyage-of-the-conquest. Harvey Krueger, Jay Lefer, Arnold Mark has been a director of many June 4, was again an engaging and Dave Berger and his wife, Bar­ Leibowitz, Frank Lewis, Ralph public and private companies and stimulating event. Attendees: Bar- bara, welcomed their sixth and sev- Lowenstein, Archie MacGregor, has served on the audit commit- bara and Fred Berman, Ruth and enth grandchildren. Those numbers James McNallen, Warren Nadel, tees of both the City of New York Bill Lubic, Joe Levie, Art Feder in themselves are not unusual, but Robert Osnos, Philip Pakula, and the Board of Education. Peter and your correspondent. Hannah and Sophie arrived simulta- Gonzalo Pardo, Thomas Powers, H. Schiff, also one of the many Lunch in the Low Library neously as twin daughters of Debbie George Prozan, Frank Raimondo, lawyers in our class, attended Har- Faculty Room was particularly and Dan Cole. Merritt Rhoad, Allan Robbins, vard Law, served in the Army and interesting, as we were joined by Norman Dorsen has completed Stanley Schachter, Peter Schiff, Ar­ practiced with government agen- Al Man ’40, who held our attention his 50th consecutive year on the nold Schwartz, Andrew Siff, Roy cies in Washington, D.C., for many with tales of his WWII time in the faculty of NYU School of Law, the Simmons, Joseph Sirola, Robert years. Since 1981, he has been an Danbury federal detention center first in the history of that school to Snyder, Frederick Stark, Leonard appellate attorney with the New as a conscientious objector. This have reached the half-century mark Stoehr, Elliot Wales, Paul Wallace, York State Office of the Attorney was engendered by discussion of as a faculty member. Norman’s 14th Myron Winick and David Zinman. General in Albany. the return of ROTC to campus. book, Comparative Constitutional- A good number of family mem- Tom Powers resides in a retire- Opinions remain divided on this ism: Cases and Materials, a casebook bers accompanied classmates to ment community in Sidney, Ohio. subject. written with others, was published the reunion, and we are grateful to Participation with various manage- As always there is more news last summer. wives, children and friends who ac- ment and operations committees from the Lubics, as they were pre- Charles Young’s latest novel, companied their celebrating Lions. takes up much of his time. His wife, paring to fly to London, where the The Hydra Chronicle, is a mystery Visit the CCT website to view our Marlene, died in 2008. Tom keeps British Society of Midwives will rooted in the Nazi occupation of class photo: college.columbia.edu/ in close contact with his married honor Ruth for her extraordinary Greece during WWII but takes cct/fall11/reunion. [Editor’s note: daughter, Tracey Helsinki, and accomplishments in this former place in the present day on the Also see the nearby photo of an her three children, whom he “sees British colony. Greek island Hydra. The descen- impromptu reunion that took place in fast forward!” Tom’s son, Tom dants of the island’s residents dur- at the CC ’51 dinner on Saturday.] Jr., who inaugurated a successful ing the occupation have been con- In reminiscing about the reunion, club football program at Xavier Mario Palmieri tinually fascinated by rumors of a Stanley Schachter said, “I found University, teaches high school biol- 33 Lakeview Ave. W. Nazi treasure trove of incalculable myself thinking about two won- ogy. Tom admits that his running 50 Cortlandt Manor, NY value that may lie hidden on their derful things. The first was that days have morphed from jogging 50 10567 island. Is it there? Can it be found? overcast day, June 7, 1951, Com- to brisk walking to shuffling, with [email protected] An artist and a psychiatrist, both mencement, with the band playing only memories of the Hall of Fame from New York City, team up to try Stand, Columbia in the background basketball days at Columbia. Tom Ray Annino has posted on his to answer those questions and to and Dean Lawrence Chamberlain Heyman sent best wishes from Tel website­ a showing of 12 of his latest identify and thwart a mysterious calling out the 517 names of our Aviv, Israel, to all classmates and watercolor paintings of seascapes die-hard Nazi who would use the class members, from Ackiron to regretfully noted that he could not and townscapes. You can view treasure to finance postwar Nazi Zinman, all of which impressed my attend the 60th reunion because these by visiting rayannino.com. ideals and activities if he could get parents for years. And the second of back surgery. He recently had At the site, you also can look at 23 his hands on it. thing, how lucky we were to have an exhibition of his photography

FALL 2011 70 COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY CLASS NOTES

of the Yom Kippur War of 1973 classmate to become an associate tion for ‘Distinguished Service four more years in the Navy as a at the Yitzhak Rabin Center. The Class Notes correspondent. No and Valuable Counsel’ from the photographer with half that time photographs will become part of experience necessary, and not an Air Transport Association. I have in Japan, a beautiful country that the center’s perpetual collection. overly burdening opportunity. worked for The Di Palma Family I thoroughly enjoyed. After the Myron Winick is the Williams Your current author is completing Holdings since 1974, and I’ve been Navy, I continued my interests in Professor (Emeritus) of Nutrition at his 20th year on the job. Even a loaf a member of the New York Bar for photography with two years of P&S. In addition to affiliations with of bread gets stale in three days! more than 50 years. graduate work at Ohio University, numerous hospitals in the United Drop a note if you would like to “I’m executive director of The Di earning an M.F.A. I then became an States, Myron has been a visiting share even minimum expertise in Palma Position Papers, a nonprofit art director with Procter & Gamble professor at universities in Chile, reporting any kind of news. editorial think tank. We sponsored in my hometown of Cincinnati, London, Leeds, Leiden, Naples, the Nightly Business Report on PBS where I was involved in creating Bari, Edinburgh and Canada. He is for almost 10 years. We received new package designs. Since then, REUNION MAY 31–JUNE 3 the author of more than 200 scien- the Thirteen-WNET Public Spirit photography has been a serious ALUMNI OFFICE CONTACTS tific papers, 10 books and numerous Award. avocation for me. ALUMNI AFFAIRS Nick Mider chapters in multi-authored scientific “I founded The Di Palma Forum “Cincinnati has been a very liv- [email protected] volumes. Myron is a member of TV program at UNLV, a celebrity able place where my wife, Lucille, 212-851-7846 many scientific societies and organi- panel TV discussion show of nation- and I raised two children and found DEVELOPMENT Paul Staller zations and has been much honored al issues. The first TV show starred friends and a spiritual home at the [email protected] nationally for his work in nutrition. Shirley Jones, Elliott Gould, Marty First Unitarian Church. Through 212-851-7494 He has been married to Elaine for Ingels and John Dye. I received a the years I’ve been involved in 47 years; they have two sons and Sidney Prager special commendation from UNLV. community work and taught pho- two grandchildren. 20 Como Ct. “I established The Di Palma tography for several years at a local J. Mason Gentzler, after gradua- 52 Manchester, NJ 08759 Center for the Study of Jewelry and college. The Cincinnati Symphony tion from the College, had an Army 52 Precious Metals at the Cooper- Orchestra, numerous chamber [email protected] experience during the Korean War Hewitt National Design Museum, music groups and two resident that led him to an interest in the Coming in 2012 will be our 60th Smithsonian Institution in New professional theaters enrich our Soviet Union. Subsequently, he College Alumni Reunion Weekend. York. I received a letter of com- life, all within easy driving distance entered the Russian Institute at Co- It seems that time is like a swift mendation from NYC Mayor from our home. lumbia, then studied Chinese and jet plane speeding across the sky Rudolph Giuliani. I received the “Not within easy driving distance earned a Ph.D. in Chinese literature leaving behind imagination and Tiffany Smithsonian Benefactors has been a retreat in Plymouth, Vt., from what is now known as the De- memory. We turned around for Circle Award and was admitted which we built and enjoyed during partment of East Asian Languages 10 minutes to address things like to the Smithsonian Benefactors many vacations, a respite from Cin- and Culture. He has taught at a career, and when we faced front Circle. I was invited by First Lady cinnati’s often hot and humid sum- Columbia, Duke and Sarah Law- again, 60 years had passed. Some- Laura Bush to attend a reception mers. As a native New Englander, rence, publishing a few books along how, strangely, one does not neces- at the White House in connection Lucille needed such a tie. However, the way. Joseph G. Zetkulic lives sarily feel older, and our mind’s with the National Design Awards. I after 37 years there, we sold the place in Brant Beach, N.J. In a request eye sees us as the 25-year-olds we dedicated the Chapel of the Blessed last summer with mixed feelings. We for information about classmates were. When shaving, the mirror Mother at the Guardian Angel look forward to visiting the rest of who served in the military before provides a different view that is Cathedral, Las Vegas, in memory of the country and world, with perhaps entering the College, Joseph wrote difficult to accept and does not my parents. a repeat of our one-month stays in that both he and the late Dr. Emil nearly coincide with that 25-year- M. Pollak joined the Navy in 1943 old we know so well. Some say when they were 18. After complet- “Age is but a number,” and I could Joe Di Palma ’52 is executive director of The Di Palma ing their training in the United answer, “My number is unlisted,” States at P.T. bases, they served in and thus deny growing old. How- Position Papers, a nonprofit editorial think tank. the southwest Pacific until the end ever, to grow old is a blessing that of WWII. Class President Robert T. Mother Nature will grant to many Snyder retired as a federal adminis- and is to be accepted with thanks “I married the beautiful Joyce- Paris in 2000 and 2005. trative judge in 1999. He is happy to and modest appreciation. Let’s lyn Engle. We have two wonderful “Now we have adorable twin report that he remains healthy and be grateful for our 60th and look daughters. They live in Manhattan grandchildren (2) with whom we fully engaged in professional and forward to the 65th. and Las Vegas. enjoy spending time. Life goes cultural activities, proof of which Bob Adelman writes: “I was “I am executive producer of the on as busy and exciting as usual. was displayed during our 60th interested in reading the March/ feature film, Shannon’s Rainbow, Columbia was certainly a great reunion. Along with his wife, Elaine April CCT in which Jack Edwards starring, among others, Claire For- beginning!” ’69 SW, associate dean of Fordham’s expressed a desire to come to the lani, Daryl Hannah, Eric Roberts, Claudewell Thomas writes: Graduate School of Social Services, 60th reunion. I very much think Charles Durning, Louis Gossett Jr. “At the Yale School of Medicine he has found time for being both we should have one. I encourage and Julianne Michelle. The film is bicentennial celebration in early a clarinetist with chamber music anyone interested in working with not yet released. It is still in litiga- June, I was an honoree for being aficionados and world traveler. me on a 60th reunion to contact me tion. It will come out soon. the first African-American full-time As of June 30, the end of the Col- at [email protected] or call me “I underwent successful surgery faculty appointee in the history lege’s fiscal year, CC ’51 had raised at 207-422-3497 until October 18. for prostate cancer. I had a cute of the medical school (1963–73) as $102,000. You can donate to the After that date, call 904-277-8484.” little pacemaker installed at Lenox instructor to associate professor of Columbia College Fund anytime, Bob Reiss lets us know, “Recently Hill Hospital in Manhattan. You’ve psychiatry, public health and soci- however: online at college.colum heard that all is not lost at Colum- heard the song, ‘What a Difference ology. (I left Yale in 1970 to become bia.edu/giveonline, or call the bia. President Lee C. Bollinger a Stent Makes,’ or something like director, division of Mental Health Alumni Office at 212-851-7488. announced that ROTC is coming that. Well, it’s true. Thanks to Lenox Service Programs at the National There are a few copies of the back.” Hill, I turned 80. Can’t believe it. I Institute of Mental Health, resign- Class of 1951 60th Reunion Yearbook Joe Di Palma writes: “Since have to check my birth certificate. ing my Yale appointment in 1973 to and Directory available on a first leaving Columbia, a few things “For more information go to become professor and chairman of come, first served basis. If you have happened. I was drafted and josephdipalma.com and thedipal psychiatry at University of Medi- would like a copy please send a served with the Army during the maforum.blogspot.com. cine and Dentistry of New Jersey- check to me in the amount of $2.50 Korean conflict. I graduated from Dutro Blocksom writes: “I guess New Jersey Medical School, thus to cover postage. Checks should be Fordham Law and got my L.L.M. when you’re in your 80s, it’s time becoming the first minority chair- made out to the Columbia College from NYU Law. I became a tax to review your life, so here goes. man of a non-minority medical Class of 1951. attorney for CBS and v.p.-taxes After four years at Columbia and school department of psychiatry.) I An opportunity exists for a for TWA. I received a commenda- enjoying New York City, I spent also recently was acknowledged by

FALL 2011 71

CLASS NOTES COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY

UCLA’s Department of Psychiatry year at the camp. It would take an column, “Scotland Calls,” that was reen, recently moved to Rhinebeck, as the first African-American Pro- entire CCT article to describe the published in West Virginia Hillbilly. N.Y., where they still are “recov- fessor Emeritus of Psychiatry in the wonderful results of Tim’s vision. One of Donald’s unique hobbies ering” from Chelsea Clinton’s history of that medical school.” In addition to the program to help involves spending 10 years as a wedding. Fred writes that they are Your reporter thanks you for children ages 5–17, they have cre- ventriloquist. He created a 40-in. passionate “foodies” and enjoy your contributions and wishes you ated a program for children under 5 dummy named Dexter Doolittle, the abundance of local produce, good health. and for young adults (18 and older) “The College Student President of dairies, farms and bakeries. They with cancer. the Freshman Class.” Our classmate are following the advice of that Donald attended the Union became a member of the Society of French philosopher who recom- Lew Robins Theological Seminary and grad­ American Ventriloquists. Hopefully, mended that we “cultivate our own 1221 Stratfield Rd. uated in 1956. His plan was to Donald and Dexter will perform at garden.” Fred and Maureen enjoy 53 Fairfield, CT 06825 become a clergyman. However, our 60th reunion in 2013. their flower garden and pick apples, 53 after spending a year teaching To add to his outstanding resume, berries and tomatoes in season. [email protected] English at a Baptist university in a number of years ago, Donald John Timoney’s grandson John Talking by phone to Ralph Schmoll, Japan (and climbing Mount Fuji), started doing magic tricks using a Lucas Timoney will be attending the president and program director he returned to Columbia to take trunk full of historical puppets. He Columbia College this fall as a of WKCR when we were under- courses at Teachers College. While spends a considerable amount of member of the Class of 2015. His graduates, I learned that he and his at TC, he was asked to become the time performing in nursing homes father and uncle are Mark Timoney wife, Louise, recently celebrated head of university placement for the and hospitals. ’88 and Michael Timoney ’88. I am their 47th anniversary. In 1957, Ralph Business School. Several years later, There is so much more to tell reminded of the inscription above graduated from Penn’s School of Donald was asked to take a job at about this unusual, versatile class- the entrance to Low Library that Medicine. After completing a four- the Alderson-Broaddus College in mate. Since 1960, he has been an reads in part, “From Generation To year internship and medical resi- Philippi, W.Va. Actually, his assign- avid hunter and fisherman in most Generation.” dency program in internal medicine ment involved four jobs. He was of West Virginia. He has killed and Hank Buchwald and his wife, at Hartford Hospital, Ralph spent to create and become the director eaten bear, deer and rabbit, and Emilie, visited their daughter Amy the next 33 years practicing internal of a student union, to become an reports that the only animal he has in Los Angeles, where Amy and medicine, the old-fashioned way, assistant professor of psychology, killed and not eaten is fox. her husband are actors. While in Bloomfield, Conn. Yes, he made to become the director of student Good luck, Donald, and please there, they got together with Shir- house calls! placement and to become the dean plan to come to our 60th reunion. ley and Saul Turteltaub for lunch. Ralph and Louise enjoy traveling of men. In addition, he wrote his Your classmates can’t wait to hear Hank reports that a good time was and have been to Nepal, Indonesia,­ doctorial thesis, which involved more about your fantastic life in had by all. Costa Rica, Europe, East Africa, a complex study of the impact of West Virginia. While I understand that we are Egypt and Jordan. While in Indone- organizations on student life. Sad to report, Alan Macnow not exactly “kids” anymore, I also , Ralph taught English to children. When Donald arrived at passed away on December 25, understand that despite our age, He enjoys being a videographer, and Alderson-Broaddus College, there after a long battle with COPD. He we hope for years of life, love and many of his films have been shown were 425 students. By 1970, at least was the president of Tele-Press friendship. When I hear of class- on a local access TV station. Since partially as a result of Donald’s Associates, a New York-based PR mates passing on, it brings back his retirement, Ralph has spent a work, the student body had grown firm that represented Japanese good memories as well as great great deal of time helping to rewrite to 1,100. government agencies and corpora- sadness. An example of this for me a history of the town of Brookfield, In 1969, Donald participated tions. For more than 30 years, Alan was when I received word from his Conn. He and Louise’s daughter and with a group of students on a defended the Japanese whaling wife and children that Jay O’Brien grandchildren live in Michigan and Coast Guard study in the Arctic to and fishing industries. In 1984, he had passed away on March 24 at their son Tim is a theater director of determine whether the ice was ad- was given a certificate of com- Falmouth Hospital in Falmouth, an Off-Broadway theater in New vancing or receding. They found it mendation by the U.S. House of Mass. I remember seeing Jay and York. was indeed receding. Representatives, and in 2001, he his son at our last reunion, and Just listening to the enormous From 1975 until he retired in was given the prestigious Order through the years, I would see variety of Donald Smith’s activi- 1997, Donald was in charge of of Sacred Treasure by the Emperor him and his wife, Carmen, in New ties, my hunch is that Donald is public relations and development of Japan for his long meritorious York. Jay had an international our class’ renaissance man. During for the college. After retiring, he service to Japan. A good man who career in banking and distribution. the course of our conversation, he became executive secretary of the will be sorely missed! For our 50th anniversary he wrote, reported that his philosophy of life University of Hard Knocks. This “What I owe to Columbia is im- has always been, “If you can’t be unique university is designed to measurable.” rich and famous, you have to live honor people who do not have a Howard Falberg I will miss both Jay’s sense of an interesting life.” college degree. Donald told me that 54 13710 Paseo Bonita humor and his sensitivity. To say the least, Donald’s active Senator Robert Byrd is the univer- Poway, CA 92064 Another fraternity brother, along life and the lives of his children sity’s official mascot 54 with Jay, John Garrison passed [email protected] have been most interesting. Donald To keep himself busy, Donald away within days of Jay’s passing, and his wife, Barbara, have two plays the snare drums and is the These Class Notes cover our country on March 26. John was a career daughters and one son. A number chairman of the West Virginia from coast to coast and range from officer in the Air Force and flew in of years ago, their son Tim was Hilanders Bagpipe Band. His job pleasantries to sad departures. From Vietnam. working at a summer camp in West is to make sure the members are the East Coast, George Goldstein For those classmates whom we Virginia when he was approached appropriately outfitted with kilts. reports that he has retired from have not heard from recently, please by a husband and wife who had He also is the executive director of careers in both pediatrics and later drop me a note, an email or a tele- lost a child to cancer and wanted to the Barbour County Chamber of as a corporate v.p. of worldwide phone call. Hope to hear from many create a program that would make Commerce. medical and regulatory affairs for a of you soon. kids who have cancer feel better. During the course of our tele- major pharmaceutical company. He Tim helped start a one-week camp phone conversation, Donald related now does volunteer work on vari- program for kids with cancer and that when his father died in 1988, he ous boards. Among his activities Gerald Sherwin went on to become the director of left a five-page family history that are docenting at The Hudson River 181 E. 73rd St., Apt. 6A a foundation in Winchester, W.Va., indicated that Donald’s ancestors Museum. He writes, “My exposure 55 New York, NY 10021 that provides programs and ser- were from Scotland. As a result, in to CC and Humanities is still very 55 [email protected] vices for children with cancer and 1989, Donald visited Scotland for much with me.” their families. At the present time, the first time. Ever since, he returns I particularly like his philosophy The results are in! After much dis- doctors and nurses of the oncol- to Scotland once a year and has regarding staying “alive”: “A mov- cussion and debate, the University ogy unit at the NIH in Washington visited every corner of the country. ing target is hard to hit.” Senate voted 51–17 to invite ROTC volunteer to spend a week each In addition, he has written a Fred Ripin and his wife, Mau- back to campus. Shortly thereafter,

FALL 2011 72 COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY CLASS NOTES

President Lee C. Bollinger and Navy any of the monthly class dinners plies his trade in upstate New York and Roland Plottel (taking part Secretary Ray Mabus announced so far this year. He promises he’ll (working in Congers). in events at the Law School). The that Columbia and the Navy have do better in the months to come. Other news from near and far: Class of 1955 remains a leader agreed to officially reinstate the Na- Stu also revealed that Bob Teich­ Paul Frank and Don Marcus, both among all Columbia classes. val Reserve Officers Training Corps man, living in Sausalito, Calif., retired attorneys, Paul living in Some sad news to report: Herman [see “Around the Quads”]. The was the student conductor for the Connecticut, and Don in Brooklyn; Okean (Long Island) and Arnie next bit of high-profile news came College songs group in our senior Bob Pearlman waiting for the Schwartz (Connecticut) passed at the Columbia Leaders Forum in year. We wonder who followed in basketball schedule to resume in away earlier this year. Our sympa- the late spring, a day with Bollinger Bob’s footsteps. Elliot Gross let us the fall after watching a successful thies go to their families. They will in Washington, D.C. This event know that while he was a reporter season (it will be even better this be missed. included a keynote address by At- for Spectator, he broke the story coming year); George Christie Loyal members of the Class of torney General Eric H. Holder Jr. ’73, that Herman Wouk ’34 won the teaching at Duke as a professor ’55, it is never too late to stay in ’76L, and all-star panels on key is- Pulitzer Prize for The Caine Mutiny. of law; far out west, Jim Hudson touch with your “CC,” “Lit Hum” sues of the day with FCC Chairman Elliot received an inscribed copy working in San Francisco at the and “Music Hum” buddies. Re- Julius Genachowski ’85, Dean of the of the book as his reward. The rest Center for Excellence in Associa- member, your exercise regimen will College Michele Moody-Adams, is history. Elliot decided to become tion Leadership; and Tom Morton take you a long way. Let’s not for- then-Provost Claude Steele, deans of a doctor instead of continuing on in the legal business also in “the get, the 60th is less than four years other Columbia schools and national the journalism path to glory. Bob City by the Bay.” Peter Pressman, away. Love to all, everywhere! correspondent for ABC News’ Good Bernot retired from his internal who has lived on Manhattan’s Morning America Claire Shipman medicine practice but is still on the Upper East Side for lo these many ’86, ’94 SIPA, among many others. faculty of P&S and does volunteer years, still practices at the Cornell Stephen K. Easton Caught in the swirl of this activity work teaching Columbia medical Medical Center. We keep running 6 Hidden Ledge Rd. was Lew Mendelson, who gave a students. He lives on Long Island, into Berish Strauch from time to 56 Englewood, NJ 07631 standing ovation to this event. Lew away from the hustle and bustle of time at either one of the class din- 56 [email protected] stays in touch with one of our re- the big city. ners or at a Columbia event (and union speakers, Sid Sheinberg, who Mike Standard has been found there are many). Our 55th College reunion was a lives and works in Los Angeles. (not that he was ever lost) in Burling- As everyone knows by now, smashing success. As a number of Members of our “second to no ton, Vt. Don McDonough, who sent Dean’s Day now is held on the Sat- the attendees remarked, “This was one” faculty have had a chance to out the SOS, should be happy and urday of Alumni Reunion Weekend even better than the 50th.” I guess strut their stuff by winning vari- can reach Mike at [email protected] for all alumni, with terrific lectures Columbia’s alums are like good ous and sundry awards. Jacques (bringing people together). Our West by our terrific faculty. On June 4, wine; we get better as we get older. Barzun ’27, ’32 GSAS was among Coast classmate and painter extraor- several members of our class made The weekend started with a group of winners of the 2010 dinaire Jack Stuppin has another the festivities, notably Larry Balfus, theatre or show tickets on Thursday National Humanities medals fan. While displaying his “line” at Abbe Leban (still in touch with night, and then lectures on Friday for outstanding achievement in the ACA Galleries in Manhattan a Ferdie Setaro), Robert Kushner, for the reunion classes. The College history, literature, education and few months ago, a small number of Roger Asch, Bob Brown and Julius has gone all-out in showcasing the cultural policy. The medals were people ventured into the same place Brown, and I believe Don Laufer best teaching talent it has. Every presented by President Barack we had our pre-reunion event and made an appearance. lecture was as usual informative Obama ’83 at the White House fell in love with Jack’s collection. We also ran into classmates at and thought-provoking. On Friday earlier this year. The Van Doren They felt so emotionally charged a high-profile reception hosted evening we had a wine tasting, and Trilling Awards were given to by the visual presentation that they by Bollinger and the trustees — hosted by Ron Kapon, and a buffet Holger Klein, associate professor started a little savings fund in the honoring alumni volunteer leaders dinner. Before dinner, Dean Emeri- of art history and archaeology, and hopes of being able to buy one of — Chuck Solomon (who does tus Austin Quigley made a few James Shapiro ’77, the Larry Miller Jack’s paintings some day. yeoman work at the dental school), meaningful remarks as only he can Professor of English and Com- After a long hiatus, we heard Lew Mendelson (still involved do. The wine tasting included seven parative Literature, respectively from Dick Kuhn’s pal, Ken Parker, with the Washington, D.C., club) wines starting with Prosecco (every [see “Around the Quads”]. As a formerly associated with Alexander side note, Professor Shapiro was Department Stores and Oppen- an outstanding fencer during his heimer and Co. Ken lives north of undergraduate years. The DeWitt Great Barrington, Vt., and is looking Columbia School Designations Clinton Professor of History Pro- to get more involved with class ac- fessor Eric Foner ’63, ’69 GSAS was tivities. We espied our good friend In Class Notes, these designations indicate Columbia awarded the prestigious Lincoln, Harold Kushner passing through degrees from schools other than the College. Bancroft and Pulitzer Prizes for campus recently accompanied by his book The Fiery Trial: Abraham his grandson. There were a lot of Arch. School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation Lincoln and American Slavery. The good things to talk about (not the Arts School of the Arts plaudits go on and on. [See January/ Red Sox or the Celtics, mind you). Barnard Barnard College February “Columbia Forum”: col George Raitt is unofficially put- Business Graduate School of Business lege.columbia.edu/cct/jan_feb11.] ting in his non-refundable reserva- CE School of Continuing Education If anyone is out west just after tions for our 60th in 2015. He recent- Dental College of Dental Medicine New Year’s 2012 (or even celebrat- ly entertained our all-star second ing the holidays on the slopes), a baseman, Jack Freeman, sharing E The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and terrific adventure would be to meet tales of yesteryear and tomorrow. Applied Science the Columbia folks at the Sundance Too bad Ron McPhee wasn’t there GS School of General Studies Film Festival in Park City, Utah. to share the joviality. Next time, GSAS Graduate School of Arts and Sciences You might run into our own Tom Ron. It is that time of the year when J Graduate School of Journalism Chrystie, who is spending a great we receive a phone call from Beryl L School of Law deal of his time nowadays in Wilson, Nusbaum (Rochester, N.Y.) asking Nursing School of Nursing Wyo. Later this year, everyone will for a rundown of the recruiting have the opportunity of “discover- status of our sports teams. Getting P&S College of Physicians and Surgeons ing China,” including Tibet and the better and better. Watch out for the PH Mailman School of Public Health Yangtze River, on an air-, land- and Light Blue in 2011–12. Former oars- SIPA School of International and Public Affairs cruise-inclusive travel program. This man and also a native Rochesteran SW School of Social Work promises to be an exciting tour. Dan Hovey still practices medicine TC Teachers College We’ve heard from Stu Kaback, in his favorite hometown. Staying who has not been able to make on the east coast, Chuck Garrison

FALL 2011 73

CLASS NOTES COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY bit as good as French champagne) Classes, part of Class Day, which greatest number of current gradu- that where we direct our charitable and leading to a choice of dessert this year was held on May 17. ates getting into entrepreneurship gifts is important. Each gift received wines. Our class frugality must be Our class participants marched come from a combination of an is greatly appreciated. Keep up the showing, as the majority chose the with our ’56 class banner — after engineering and business school good work (college.columbia.edu/ less expensive wines as preferable. a sumptuous breakfast in John background. Glad to hear that Tay- giveonline)! Three of our class scholarship Jay Dining Hall — to the cheers of lor found the right formula. I am again asking all class mem- student beneficiaries, Peter Sterne the graduating Class of 2011 for Buzz Paaswell, past acting presi­- bers who want to keep in touch to ’14, Yinuo Wang ’12 and Abdallah these “old men.” Marching were dent of City College of New York, update their email addresses by Diagne ’12, attended our Friday Ron Kapon; Al Franco ’56E; Stan also holds an Engineering degree contacting Lou Hemmerdinger: event and shared their College ex- Soren, joined by his wife, Ruth; from Columbia and has been [email protected]. This seems to periences with our class members. and Len Wolfe. elected Distinguished Member be the best way to stay in touch Columbia still is getting some of The next day, Len, our class his- of the American Society of Civil with the majority of our class the brightest and most dedicated torian, braved the rain, and in full Engineers. Along with this honor, members. Please keep in contact students. Anyone who would like cap and gown represented our class Buzz continues his work as an with Columbia in whatever ways a bio of any of our scholarship by leading the processional for the expert in the field of transportation you feel appropriate, as I believe students, please email me. University graduation. Great work engineering, principally designing that it has been a force and power Saturday was full of Dean’s Day and true Columbia spirit for Len. transportation systems for various in our lives. Hopefully, as we grow lectures, including one given by our More info on our active Florida municipalities. His wife, Roz, is an older, the years we spent at Colum- current dean, Michele Moody-Ad- alums: On March 25, classmates officer of The National Development bia become ever-more meaningful. ams. Again, everyone who attended got together with other Columbia Council, which aids municipalities the lectures agreed that the quality Florida winter warriors to attend a in financing and development work. REUNION MAY 31–JUNE 3 and choice of subjects continue to Mets exhibition game, arranged by Theirs is a wonderfully productive ALUMNI OFFICE CONTACTS improve. At lunch, held at Casa the Columbia University Club of working family. ALUMNI AFFAIRS Nick Mider Italiana (some may remember our South Florida. The event included Don Kazimir, also a graduate [email protected] 50th reunion lunch was held there), a buffet lunch and great seats for of Engineering, was written up 212-851-7846 Dean Moody-Adams joined us for the game. In attendance with wives two years ago in the Engineering DEVELOPMENT Paul Staller cocktails and the meal and spoke and visiting family members were magazine (engineering.columbia. [email protected] about the changes taking place Danny Link, Lou Hemmerdinger, edu/donald-kazimir-research- 212-851-7494 at Columbia. She then answered Don Kazimir and Mike Spett. We submarine-captain) as the captain questions. In answer to a question welcome back snowbirds Danny of the submarine Ben Franklin, Herman Levy from Grover Wald, she emphasized and Lou, who attended the reunion. developed by Grumman Aerospace 57 7322 Rockford Dr. the diversity and acceptance of A class luncheon was held at Corp. CCT covered Kazimir and the Falls Church, VA 22043 exploring all ideas as inherent in a Faculty House on April 26. It was exploits of the Ben Franklin in 2004: 57 [email protected] Columbia education. well attended by many of our college.columbia.edu/cct_archive/ Saturday night was the highlight, Reunion Committee members, in- mar04. Don lives in Florida with his Erich Gruen writes of his new with a wonderful dinner at Faculty cluding Alan Broadwin, Al Franco wife, is an expert in solar heating book: “In Rethinking the Other in House and an interactive discus- ’56E, Danny Link, Jerry Fine, Ron and has become active in the Co- Antiquity, the author challenges sion with our guest speaker, retired Kapon, Ralph Kaslik, Bob Siroty lumbia University Club of the Palm longstanding notions that , professor and senior scholar at the and myself. At a table next to ours Beaches. We look forward to a visit Romans and Jews contrasted Heyman Center for the Humanities was Dean Emeritus Austin Quigley. from them in New York. themselves with foreigners and Peter Pazzaglini. As Bob Lauter­ I have always felt that Austin had a Ed Botwinik, another graduate aliens through hostile stereotypes, born noted, Peter is intellectually special affection for and relationship of the College and Engineering, distortions and caricature. Gruen intimidating and challenging, but with our class. After taking a group recently had back surgery and is shows instead how they found con- a gentle and inspiring teacher that picture, I invited him to join us at recovering in Florida. He writes nections rather than contrasts and we, like his students, benefit from. our 55th reunion wine tasting and that this has cut down on his flying discerned (even invented) kinship I wish to thank the Reunion dinner, which he did. and other travel plans, including relations or shared roots with di- Committee for assisting me in Another class lunch was held at our 55th reunion. We pray for his verse peoples. Princeton University doing such a good job in making Bonnie Briar Country Club, spon- complete recovery so we can see Press, $39.50.” the reunion a success. I wish to sored by Danny Link, in mid-July. him in New York and back on the Gene Wagner: “March 26 was particularly thank our out-of-town More to come in the next column. golf course soon. the sixth luncheon for our southern attendees, Phil Liebson and Stan Class news: A number of our If you have news to share, please California contingent. The location Manne from Chicago, Bob Laut­ class members continue to be ac- email me at tball8000@earthlink. was Parker’s Light House in Long erborn from North Carolina, Ed tive in business and professional net, and I will make sure its gets in a Beach Marina. Ten attended, which Villaneuva from Maryland, and matters. future Class Notes column. was the most ever, thanks to the Joel Pimsleur and Grover Wald Taylor Thompson, who holds College fundraising activity: I recruiting and perseverance of from San Francisco, in addition to degrees from the College, Engineer- thank all class members who have John Taussig. Attending were John our New York-area alums. It was ing and Business School, founded continued their financial support of Ahouse, Ken Bodenstein, Mike great seeing all of you. an international scientific equip- Columbia through their contribu- Gold, Jonathan Lubin, Bernard For those who did make it, you ment manufacturing company. tions to the Columbia College Fund Lynch, Lew Schainuck, Ken Sil­ can get part of the reunion — our He sold and then retired from that and who made our fund drive such vers, John Taussig, Gene Wagner memento, the 1951 recording of company almost 15 years ago. Not a success. I am pleased to report and Jerry Werksman. the Glee Club singing Columbia satisfied to sit at home, Taylor be- that we exceeded our $150,000 “Mike Gold once again led our classics — so you can share in some came involved in putting together commitment, so in addition to discussion on contemporary issues. of your memories of Columbia high-tech businesses and now is helping the College, this year we He diligently prepared the topics College. Contact the Alumni Office the CEO of Millrock Technology, have funded (with a matching of U.S. involvement in Libya and (212-851-7488), which will send it to another high-tech company. He grant from the estate of John W. domestic issues in Wisconsin. Our you for a tax-deductible donation holds patents on the process of Kluge ’37) a permanent Class of ’56 group has melded so well over the of $10. freeze-drying and is considered an Scholarship as the Alan N. Miller past 1½ years that controversial Visit the CCT website to view expert in the field. He has served on Memorial Scholarship to add to our issues do not stand in the way of our class photo and to see a list of a number of charitable organiza- other class scholarships. I thank our our bonding. classmates who registered: college. tions’ boards and was elected “Man Gift Committee members Al Franco “We look forward to luncheon columbia.edu/cct/fall11/reunion. of the Year” by the business school ’56E, Danny Link and Stan Soren. No. 7 in September.” All alumni, not just reunion at SUNY New Paltz. So next year when our Class Agents George Broderick of Ocala, Fla., class members, can participate in a In attending my Business School call you, please be generous in your died on December 7, 2010. College event that is both enjoyable reunion, it was pointed out to me response. I know with all the de- Herbert L. Winans, a retired and exciting: the Alumni Parade of by the dean, Glen Hubbard, that the mands from various organizations corporate benefits executive, of

FALL 2011 74 COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY CLASS NOTES

Lexington, Va., died on March 20, and Lehman Brothers, where he Colombian culture. He was known scope of executive power to detain 2011. was s.v.p. He retired in 1998 as on the Fairleigh Dickinson campus persons lawfully in the United Yours truly attended the Colum- s.v.p. at Salomon Smith Barney. for his bow ties and his allegiance to States without charge or trial, ex- bia Leaders Forum in Washington, An authority on mortgage-backed the women’s basketball team. In ad- traordinary rendition and torture, D.C., on April 2. The forum opened securities, Bill was an adviser to dition to his wife, Albert is survived civil right to counsel, voting rights, with remarks by A’Lelia Bundles Freddie Mac and wrote a highly by his stepdaughter, Terra Martin, military commissions and voter ID ’76J, trustee, and introductions by regarded monthly research pub- and two brothers. requirements. He also chaired the Al Butts ’64, ’68 Business, ’68L, and lication, the Executive Mortgage Fred Hess has retired after a NYC Bar Association’s Committee President Lee C. Bollinger. In ad- Report. He published articles on long career in the Department on Civil Rights and its Task Force dition, the forum consisted of four mortgage-backed securities in of Justice. His first 34 years were on National Security and the Rule panels and other addresses: several financial journals and spent with the department’s Crimi- of Law, and serves as a member “Insider’s View of Columbia published two editions of his book, nal Division, much of that time as of the amicus committees of the University: Today and Tomorrow,” Mortgage Backed Securities: Products, director of the Office of Enforce- Lawyers Committee for Civil Bundles, moderator, with Dean Mi- Structuring and Analytical Tech- ment Operations, dealing with, Rights and the Individual Rights chele Moody-Adams, Claude M. niques. Bill was senior instructor among other things, domestic elec- and Responsibilities Section of the Steele, then-provost and professor in mortgage-backed securities for tronic surveillance authorizations ABA. For the last three years, Sid of psychology and Fred Van Sickle, the New York Institute of Finance. to combat organized crime and also has taught an undergraduate e.v.p. for university development He was a graduate of the Salisbury illegal drug trafficking, the Wit- seminar in constitutional law at and alumni relations. School in Salisbury, Conn., and had ness Protection and International Columbia. “Protecting the Public’s Health served on its Board of Trustees and Prisoner Transfer programs, wit- Ernie Brod has changed jobs through Effective U.S. and Global been active on many of its com- ness immunity authorizations and again and now is with Alvarez & Health Policy,” Linda P. Fried, dean, mittees, for which he received the the Freedom of Information Act. Marsal, a privately-held company Mailman School of Public Health, Salisbury Medal. Bill is survived by For the last nine years, he was a that specializes in bankruptcy moderator, with Wafaa M. El-Sadr two sons, Courtney and Peter, and member of the department’s Board and restructuring (it is handling ’91 PH, professor of epidemiology three grandchildren. of Immigration Appeals, review- the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy) and medicine, Cheryl G. Healton George Omura died on April 19 ing the decisions of immigration but wants to expand into global ’91 PH, professor of clinical public of complications from esophageal judges. Fred said, “I thought this business investigations and intel- health, and Julie Piotrowski ’08 PH, cancer. A graduate of Stuyvesant, was a particularly appropriate way ligence service, Ernie’s field of speechwriter, U.S. Department of George was coxswain of the Col- to end my career at Justice. Like so expertise. As to his previous job, Health and Human Services. lege’s varsity crew and received many others in this country and Ernie says, “I just didn’t see the “Special Video Address,” by Eric the Eisenhower Watch for highest in our class, I am a first-generation career path [there.]” H. Holder Jr. ’73, ’76L, attorney academic achievement by a se- descendant of immigrants. My Maurice Katz still practices general of the United States, and nior athlete. He also was elected father was born in the Ukraine and law in Los Angeles but his great- the keynote address by Lanny A. to Phi Beta Kappa. He went on to came here with his parents at 5. I est interest is in the fine arts; he is Breuer ’80, ’84 SIPA, ’85L, assistant Cornell Medical College, spent his think I owe a lot to the history of on the Board of Overseers of the attorney general of the United residency at Bellevue and New York immigration in this country and Huntington Library, Art Collec- States. Hospital/Cornell and was awarded the opportunities it has afforded to tions and Botanical Gardens in “Student Voices: Around Cam- a fellowship in hematology/oncol- descendants of immigrants, not the San Marino, Calif., and is chair- pus,” Moody-Adams, moderator, ogy at Sloan-Kettering, followed by least of which is the chance to go to man of its Art Collectors Council with Laura Kelley ’11 PH, Sarah Khan two years of service as a Navy lieu- Columbia College. I have had an (the Huntington owns Gainsbor- ’11 and Tao Tan ’07, ’11 Business. tenant. He then joined the faculty of enjoyable and interesting career at ough’s “Blue Boy”) and has been “Strengthening America’s Journ­ al­ -­ the newly established cancer center the Justice Department and have a board member of the Smith- istic Capacity at Home and Abroad,” of the University of Alabama at found it to be most rewarding.” sonian Institution’s Archives of President Lee C. Bollinger, modera- Birmingham Medical School, where Fred plans to catch up on his Mexican Art and the University tor, with Julius Genachowski ’85, he spent the next 25 years, becom- reading at his home in Vienna, Va., Art Museum at Cal State-Long chairman, Federal Communications ing professor of medicine in the where he lives with Kay, his wife of Beach as well as a member of the Commission, Nicholas Lemann, Hematology/Oncology Division 52 years. They have three sons and Board of Councilors of the USC dean, Journalism School, and Claire and being named professor emeri- two grandsons. Roski School of Fine Arts. Maury Shipman ’86, ’94 SIPA, senior na- tus of gynecologic oncology when After warming up at ’58’s 50th and his wife, Margery, have also tional correspondent, ABC News. he retired. George then became v.p. reunion a few years ago, our class’s donated paintings to several art “Closing Remarks and Medalist for clinical development of action Harvard Law School contingent museums. Presentation,” Bundles and Donna for BioCryst Pharmaceuticals. Much played an encore at the HLS Class Please note: Effective with this H. MacPhee ’89, v.p. for alumni of his career was devoted to clinical of 1961’s 50th. Attending were issue, CCT now is on a quarterly relations. trials involving combination cancer Martha and Morris Amitay, Carol chemotherapy. Until his final illness, and Barry Dickman, Charles Gold­ he was researching the history of stein, Dotty and Don Gonson, What’s Your Story? Barry Dickman the microscope for a planned book. Nancy Kuhn and Bernie Nuss­ 25 Main St. George is survived by his wife, baum, Judy and Shelly Raab, and Letting classmates know 58 Court Plaza North, Ste 104 Dr. Emily Fowler Omura ’60 Bar- Linda and Sid Rosdeitcher. what’s going on in your 58 Hackensack, NJ 07601 nard; children, June Ellen, Susan, Morry Amitay claims he is life is easier than ever. [email protected] Ann and George ’98; and five retired from his multiple jobs. Send in your Class Notes! grandchildren. Charles Goldstein is of counsel to ONLINE by clicking We are sorry to report the deaths of Albert Soletsky died on April the NYC law firm of Herrick, Fein- three classmates. William Bartlett 24, of complications from a stroke. stein, where Harvey Feuerstein college.columbia.edu/cct/ died on March 25. Sadly, his wife, Albert had taught Latin literature and Paul Herman are partners. submit_class_note. Francoise, had died just a few and Spanish at Fairleigh Dickinson Since Sid Rosdeitcher retired EMAIL to the address at weeks earlier, on March 7. They in Teaneck, N.J., for more than 40 from his NYC law firm, Paul, the top of your column. lived in Chappaqua, N.Y., and spent years, retiring in 2009 as an as- Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Gar- summers at their family camp on sociate professor of languages. He rison, he has been affiliated with MAIL to the address at the Mount Riga in Salisbury, Conn. earned master’s and doctoral de- the Brennan Center for Justice top of your column. After the College, Bill moved grees from Columbia. He traveled at NYU School of Law. There he Class Notes received by first to the Business School and widely in Latin America and lived gives advice and is involved in Wednesday, October 5, then to a long career on Wall Street, for a while in Colombia, the native writing appellate and amicus briefs are eligible for inclusion in starting at Citibank and going on country of his wife, Fabiola, a col- in connection with lower court to Commercial Credit Corp., First league whom he married in 1995; and Supreme Court cases relating the Winter 2011–12 issue. Boston Corp., Dillon, Read & Co. in fact, Albert became an expert on to prisoners at Guantanamo, the

FALL 2011 75

CLASS NOTES COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY schedule, which means a slightly She sent Zacarias Moussaoui away published in March in Yale Univer- a bear for detail and fact-checking. longer wait before you see your for life as a 9-11 terrorist. Brinkema sity Press’ Icons of America series Book coming slower but better notes in print. Issues now will was not amused as she rubbed her (Joe DiMaggio: The Long Vigil). Have because of her stern processing.” appear seasonally, in Winter (De- ankle and ordered me to return the a look at his website: jeromecharyn. Murray Epstein writes, “The cember), Spring (March), Summer skateboard. She did not, however, com. American Society of Hypertension (June) and Fall (September). give me a ticket for disturbing the Jay Neugeboren wants us to has notified me that I will be the The class lunch is held on the peace, though she threatened to, know that “You Are My Heart and recipient of the society’s 2011 Marvin second Wednesday of every month, but I did have to give the kid $30 to Other Stories, my 18th book and Moser Clinical Hypertension Award. in the Grill Room of the Princeton/ replace a wheel on the skateboard, fourth short story collection, was The award was to be presented at Columbia Club, 15 W. 43rd St. ($31 on her orders. She (the judge) was published in May.” the society’s annual meeting in New per person). Email Art Radin if you pissed. During the incident she For a retired university president, York City on May 23.” plan to attend, up to the day before: was not in her robes but was sitting Stephen Joel Trachtenberg has Murray had been invited to be a [email protected]. on a park bench in front of her been inordinately busy. He asks, plenary guest speaker at the eastern courthouse. I think they call it in “What are people reading? I re- chapter meeting of the American So- legalese ‘race judicada,’ meaning a cently finishedCrossing to Safety by ciety of Hypertension in New York Norman Gelfand summary judgment ruling from the Wallace Stegner. Recommended for on April 12 as well as to lecture at c/o CCT bench.” the Class of ’59. Coming up, Reflec- the annual meeting of the European 59 Columbia Alumni Center Bill Berberich has suggested tions on the Columbia Disorders of Renal Association-European Dialysis 59 622 W. 113th St., MC 4530 that I ask classmates to respond to 1968 by former College dean David and Transplant Association, which New York, NY 10025 a survey. What do you think, and B. Truman and The Great American convened in Prague on June 23–26. [email protected] any idea how we should proceed? University: Its Rise to Preeminence, John Clubbe writes, “I continue He also reports, “My wife and I Its Indispensable Role, Why It Must on my Beethoven work, a book on I must begin with some sad news. attended the 2010 Homecoming Be Protected by the John Mitchell him as a revolutionary. Two long Douglas P. Dunbar Jr., a retired game versus Dartmouth. It was Mason Professor of the University, articles recently completed, the first, Navy captain, died in Tampa, Fla., a very close and exciting game; Provost Emeritus of the University ‘The Mask of Beethoven: Brutus, on March 3. however, the Lions (disappoint- and Dean Emeritus of Faculties Revolution, and the Egyptian Let me now continue with some ingly) came up in second place by Jonathan R. Cole ’64, ’69 GSAS.” Mysteries,’ in The Beethoven Journal; of the older contributions that I three points.” Steve is working on a book to the second on Beethoven’s 1808 have been holding. Benjamin Jerry Cohen writes, be published by The Association Akademie, that extraordinary concert Clive Chajet writes, “The only “Greetings from Israel, where I of (University) Governing Boards. that included the premiers of the 5th new notes that I know anything arrived for the first of two visits Title (for now at least) is Why They and 6th symphonies, the 4th Piano about is something J. Peter Rosen­ under the auspices of the Council Failed. It’s about university presi- Concerto, parts of the Mass in C, the feld does. He frequently emails to Choral Fantasy, and other works. some of us ’59ers a bunch of jokes It’s been accepted in the Bonner and funny observations which, in Beethoven-Studien, the house publica- addition to being entertaining to Benjamin Jerry Cohen ’59 recently wrote The Future tion of the Beethoven-Haus in Bonn. read, also stimulate some of our of Global Currency: The Euro versus the Dollar, his Small beer compared to what some classmates to respond to the emails of our classmates have done, but lots with more jokes and humor. The 13th authored book. of fun for me. I’d love to meet fellow more distant 1959 becomes, the Columbians in the Santa Fe area.” more imperative it is to laugh as Luigi (Lou) Lucaccini writes, often as possible, and if in fact the for Higher Education (a unit of the dents who have gone off the rails “My wife, Margaret, and I had Class of ’59 becomes a broader Ministry of Education). I am part within a couple of years of their dinner with Alan Kahn and his source for humor, the younger we of a small committee to review having been appointed to office. wife, Linda Parnes Kahn, in San will remain and the more we will and assess the political science and Steve was in New York for a Francisco in September. Linda’s enjoy being members of the Class international relations programs at dinner celebrating Arthur Levitt’s new pied-à-terre is just down the of ’59.” all the top universities and colleges 80th birthday. (He was the longest- street from the infamous green J. Peter Rosenfeld sent the in Israel. The committee’s second serving chairman of the SEC, from room used by the NSA to tap following, “We had my wife Car- visit was to be in May. 1993–2001.) It was a roast, and all telecommunications passing men’s daughter from MIT (Ph.D. “My news is that I recently pub- Steve was a roaster. At the dinner through San Francisco after 9-11. in economics), her husband from lished The Future of Global Currency: was former Columbia president Other members of the Kahn fam- Columbia (M.B.A.), Carmen’s son The Euro versus the Dollar, my 13th George Rupp, who seemed well. ily in attendance were daughter (professor of economics at the U of authored book. (I also have edited Steve was the featured plenary Amanda Kahn Kirby ’95, husband Paris), grandson and daughter-in- or co-edited seven other volumes.)” speaker at the 2011 Executive Lead- Mason Kirby ’94 and their young- law here for Christmas. We went From Allan Gochman we learn, ership Seminar of the JCC Associa- sters, Max and Julia, and daughter to Miami in March for a confer- “As one who lives in the mountains tion in Atlantic City, N.J. On a trip Kimberly Kahn, recently minted ence and reunion with my cousin of Colorado during the winter (and to Hartford, Conn. to help a friend veterinary medicine graduate (94). We saw Lohengrin at the summer), this climate enables me to celebrate his 75th birthday, he ran (Cornell) now practicing in NYC. Lyric Opera of Chicago in March. get to the nearby ski slopes when- into Allan Gochman, who lives in A three-star Chinese take-out meal I gave a lecture at Stanford on ever I feel the need for the added San Francisco. was enjoyed along with a bottle of April 1. My son, his wife and my exercise and pleasure of the sport. Steve also was the Pat Jackson moutai, China’s national beverage grandtwins came in April.” Those who travel long distances Lecturer at the annual meeting of of honor, to celebrate the occa- Shelby Brewer had a run-in with to ski generally feel compelled to the PRSA Counselors to Higher sion. The Kahns were back in San the law. “Earlier this year, in a pro- spend every available hour on the Education, and they bestowed him Francisco again after the new year, found seizure of stupidity, I asked slopes regardless of the conditions with the 2011 Higher Education and this time homemade fettuc- a kid in the neighborhood if I could or their conditioning. At our age, Advocate of the Year Award. cine, coop garden veggies and local try his skateboard. He was reluctant being a fair-weather skier holds the Steve planned “to go to Paris and vintages marked the event. until I offered to pay for it if I broke promise of being able to pursue the Madrid in June; Paris to celebrate “Willard Zangwill, professor it. I got on the board and tried it out sport for at least another decade.” my 40th wedding anniversary, tak- of management science at the in front of the Federal Courthouse The paperback edition of Jerome ing Fran on the trip for old times’ Chicago’s Booth School of Busi- across from our condo in Alexan- Charyn’s novel The Secret Life of Em- sake; Madrid to give a talk for The ness, visited the Bay Area recently dria, Va. I lost my balance, went ily Dickinson recently was published Bankinter Foundation of Innova- for a family celebration and took down hard, and the skateboard shot by Norton. His short story “Lorelei” tion.” He also “will be on Martha’s time out to lunch with us at the out, hitting a federal judge, Leonie was published in last summer’s Vineyard, G-d willing, for part of cradle of California cuisine, Chez Brinkema, in the ankle. She is a ven- fiction issue ofThe Atlantic. Jerome’s July and August. Trying to complete Panisse, in Berkeley. Bill continues erable gray-haired lady with a bun. meditation on Joe DiMaggio was a book for fall release. My editor is to labor productively in the groves

FALL 2011 76 COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY CLASS NOTES

of academe, generating a steady Residential School Survivor Society. stream of research publications, It was a memorable event … the articles and concept papers. More chiefs are great orators and the is available about Bill on the Booth young people who spoke were faculty page (chicagobooth.edu/ wonderfully articulate. faculty/directory.aspx). “It’s a crying shame what we “Every so often, an email arrives did to those people, but they’ve with a link to the photographic proven resilient and many of the work of Bruce Schlein, retired First Nations/tribes in Canada and pathologist living in Greenville, S.C. the United States are becoming His thoughtful and handsome im- prosperous and reclaiming their ages can be viewed at shutterfinger. heritage. Justice is hard to come by, smugmug.com. An interview with but information produces caring, Bruce and more of his arresting which prompts us to help. Pitch in, images are found at studio24-7. whatever the cause. Cheers.” blogspot.com/search/label/Bruce Schlein (note the space between the last two words). Bruce is passing Robert A. Machleder on his photo expertise by teaching 69-37 Fleet St. continuing education classes at Fur- 60 Forest Hills, NY 11375 man University. 60 [email protected] “Contact was made some months back with Jim Kniskern in Chardon, In the annals of Columbia’s his- Ohio, retired after 30-plus years as tory, indelibly inscribed among its an employee of the Navy, and with most illustrious figures is Jacques Jack Kauderer, retired physician Barzun ’27, ’32 GSAS, revered for and P&S graduate, who lives in East the breadth and depth of his gifts Stroudsburg, Pa. (qdoctor2@yahoo. — exquisite intellect, impeccable com). And finally,Steve Kallis Jr., scholarship, distinction as professor retired and living with his wife, and administrator — and for his Carmen, in Tampa, Fla., after many decades of service to the University, years in public relations with Digital where he taught from 1932–75. He Equipment Corp., is the author of now is in his 103rd year. On March the recently reissued Radio’s Captain 10, published Midnight: The Wartime Biography. an op-ed piece he wrote, “Columbia Steve is a specialist in OTR (old University’s ROTC Shame.” Barzun time radio) and has written on that may not have penned that title, topic as well as science fiction and but the piece was unsparing in its Eugene Appel ’59 (left) and Donald Miller ’61 traveled with their wives cryptology. rebuke of the University for barring to Shanghai, China, in August 2009 to celebrate their 50th wedding “I teach courses in creativity ROTC from campus for 42 years. anniversaries. and family business on a part-time Invoking the funeral oration of PHOTO: SUZANNE MILLER basis at the USF School of Business Pericles in which Pericles reminded and Professional Studies, learn Athenians that public service is not about granddaughters and, in my a matter of privilege but a reward of navy,” David continued, “was the the left wing and speak in defense spare time, work on eliminating merit, and recalling how in WWII trireme manned by Athenian citi- of ROTC on campus. Jacques my more obvious poker tells.” Columbia had trained more than zens ... who often vied to be one of Barzun’s op-ed on that exact point From Bob Ratner, to whom an 23,000 naval officers (more than the thranite rowers, an oarsman in is heartwarming. apology is due to the long delay the Naval Academy had trained the uppermost of a trireme’s three “The proudest moment of my in printing this, “I should say in its entire history), Barzun urged tiers, of the 170 oarsmen attached, life was when my twin sister, something about myself, but at this Columbia’s president and trustees if not aspire to be a second-in- graduating from Barnard the same stage I’m reduced to reporting on “to restore the university’s long- command steersman, or kuber- day as I graduated from Columbia, my son’s accomplishments. Ben is estranged relationship with the netes. Each trireme was sponsored snapped my Navy Ensign shoul- an actor/director/writer/artist and armed forces.” by a trierarch, a wealthy Athenian der boards on my dress whites. We recently appeared in four films at The article was circulated by citizen who served as the sponsor are Holocaust survivors and for the Vancouver International Film David Kirk and Stew Reuter to in charge of building, outfitting, our family, serving this nation had Festival. He was interviewed by those of our classmates who were financing, supervising and often a very special meaning that day. newspapers across Canada and he their NROTC colleagues. commanding a trireme as part of “For the past 30 years, when I appeared on the cover of a local David used Barzun’s reference his civic duty.” received periodic solicitation calls magazine, The Georgia Straight. to Pericles as a springboard for all It is noteworthy that Aristotle, in from Columbia fundraisers, my Look it up for a younger version of to renew an acquaintanceship with his Politics, referred to the constitu- answer was always, ‘Call me when me (straight.com/article-350477/ the classics we had studied in the tion of Athens as “a democracy you bring NROTC back on cam- vancouver/it-all-right-reasons). Core Curriculum. He noted in his based on triremes.” pus.’ I hope I get that call soon.” I’m officially retired as a sociology communiqué to colleagues that Barzun’s op-ed piece inspired a Art Delmhorst reflected on the professor — University of British the development of democracy number of our classmates to reflect leadership values and the practical Columbia — but I still do some during Athens’ Golden Age was on the impact that the NROTC skills in mathematics and physics research and publishing. Unfortu- inextricably intertwined with the program on campus, and their that marked his NROTC experience: nately, my stuff is too academic, or development of her Navy and rec- ensuing service in the Navy, had “When I arrived on the Colum- convoluted, or radical to draw more ommended a reading of Lords of the on their lives. Several such reflec- bia campus in fall 1956, I was there than a small readership. However, Sea: The Epic Story of the Athenian tions follow. to reach certain goals in life. In those the best is yet to come and I may Navy and the Birth of Democracy, by In the WSJ’s comments to the days, there was universal military yet make C. Wright Mills proud, John R. Hale. Quoting Hale, David op-ed piece, Steve Hess published training, which meant that every wherever he is. wrote, “The Golden Age was built his remarks reflecting his profound healthy male had to serve in the “I’ve done a fair amount of work upon ‘four mighty pillars: democ- sense of pride in service: military. One of my most immediate on Aboriginal issues in Canada, so racy, naval power, the wealth of “I had never expected so distin- goals, at the time, was to stay out I recently was invited to a public empire and the rule of reason.’ guished a Columbia faculty mem- of the Army! Getting into the Navy education initiative of the Indian “The backbone of the Athenian ber, a giant in fact, to crash through ROTC program would accomplish

FALL 2011 77

CLASS NOTES COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY that goal. My fallback would be to way across the world, even though tasks that were found to be trouble- again, Bill headed up the Reunion try to get into Officer Candidate the entire civilian population of some for Naval and Merchant Committee but was unable to at- School following graduation. the country I was serving felt its Marine Academy graduates before tend this time because of an Achilles “People then, as they do today, immediate impact through the me- me. So a mix of skills, perspectives heel injury that required surgery questioned whether taking military dia.) I did my job as a disbursing and experiences probably can also shortly before the June event. courses was an appropriate use of officer on theUSS Paul Revere (APA help the services, just as the experi- Philippe de la Chapelle joined time at a liberal arts college. I even 248), visited Japan, Hong Kong, ence in the services can be helpful classmates to carry the Class of 1961 questioned it myself. Here are my Taiwan and the Philippines several for private life afterward. Columbia banner in the May 17 Alumni Pa- two answers. times, though we were stationed in students should have the opportu- rade of Classes at Class Day. He was “In our sophomore year, we San Diego, and left the service — nity to enroll in NROTC and gain pleased to note that the University took a course called ‘Gunnery.’ We without seeing combat — after I’d from these experiences and in turn has approved the return of NROTC learned how to calculate trajectories fulfilled my commitment. contribute to the military or other training on campus, something he of shells fired from rolling and yaw- “Without that military experi- services, if they choose to do so.” participated in as a student and that ing ships, taking into consideration, ence when I was a youth, my On April 1, the University Sen- he describes as a “very important among other things, the density understanding of the world would ate passed a resolution in favor of Columbia-nurtured educational of the air and the curvature of the have been a poorer one. It was not reengaging with the military. And component into our nation’s mili- earth. The course was a combina- always pleasant, indeed was often on April 21, President Lee C. Bol- tary establishment.” tion of physics and calculus. Since difficult, even in peacetime. But linger dispatched an email to stu- Ed McCreedy was selected to I never took either course in high I am glad for having had it and dents and faculty in which he said: receive the James J. McLaughlin school or college, I have to credit wonder if Americans who have “It is clear that the time has come Award, presented annually by the solely the Navy ROTC as teaching not had military experience have for Columbia to reengage with the Civil Trial Bar Section of the New me whatever I know about those a much skewed view of the world military program of ROTC, subject Jersey State Bar Association to a two subjects. in its full complexity. A few recent to certain conditions and with lawyer or judge who has demon- “In our senior year, we were Presidents might have done better ongoing review.” He added that strated civility, legal competence taught leadership and administra- had they served in the military. the University will not recognize and professionalism in the practice tion. Upon getting out of the Navy, I of civil trial law. went to the Business School, where Gene Milone wrote that two of I took a similar course in leadership his book projects now have been and administration. Let me tell you, Ed McCreedy ’61 received the James J. McLaughlin published: Exploring Ancient Skies: the course at the B-School paled in Award, presented annually by the Civil Trial Section A Survey of Ancient and Cultural As- comparison with the course I took tronomy, co-written with David H. under the NROTC program. If this of the New Jersey State Bar Association. Kelley and A.F. Aveni, the second course can be taught at a graduate edition of their 2005 work with a level, why can’t it be taught on an slightly different subtitle; and an undergraduate level? “I served in the Navy at a time ROTC until the military’s ban on edited work, Astronomical Photom- “I hope this answers the ques- when ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ was gays serving openly ends. etry: Past, Present, and Future, edited tions of some of those questioning not imaginable. One’s sexual orien- And, yet, Columbia’s decision by Gene and C. Sterken. Gene the appropriateness of ROTC tation, if not heterosexual, was not may not replicate the experience of contributed to three articles in the courses at a liberal arts college.” a matter for discussion in or out of our generation and the generations latter volume, lead-authoring two Paul Nagano wrote: “Here are the military. It was mostly ‘Don’t that preceded ours. The scope of the of them. some thoughts on my own experi- Tell.’ Now that this issue, which proposed reengagement is not likely He is privileged to continue as ence as a student who ‘hit the jack- seems in recent years to have been to bring back the full-fledged naval president of the International As- pot’ with an NROTC scholarship the primary reason or excuse for training program that flourished tronomical Union’s Commission of to Columbia in 1956. banning the military from Colum- on campus before the Vietnam War. Stellar Photometry and Polarime- “I was a Japanese-American boy bia’s campus, has been resolved, I Would-be naval officers will travel try and to chair its Working Group born in Honolulu and raised on a see no reason for not returning the to the ROTC program at the State on Infrared Astronomy. chicken farm. Had I been in Califor- military to the campus. It makes University of New York’s Maritime Gene’s second term as a faculty nia instead of Hawaii, I would cer- little sense, as long as the country College in the Throggs Neck section professor at the University of Cal- tainly have spent several childhood at large supports a military, to deny of the Bronx. Nine Columbia stu- gary terminated on July 1, so at that years in an internment camp. By the it a place in the minds and lives dents already participate in a similar point he was, academically, at least, time I graduated from high school of students who need to ‘know arrangement with a ROTC program fully retired. He expects to complete (Punahou School, whose most fa- the world,’ and who, it is hoped, based on the Fordham campus. a few outstanding research projects mous graduate now is in the White can learn something about that at The final chapter in this saga, and and enjoy travel, reading, writing House), it was more than a decade Columbia.” whether it dispels or continues the and singing as bass in the Calgary after the end of WWII, but memo- Ivan Vamos recalled an inter- controversy, is not closed. Lutheran Chorale. ries lingered. I was ever-aware that play of significant values: the sen- Gene and his wife, Helen, went I was among the fortunate in my sibilities that young officers with to Hawaii in February to attend widening world. liberal arts educations brought to Michael Hausig an astronomy meeting on the Big “What an island boy like me the military and the challenges the 61 19418 Encino Summit Island and to take another cruise wanted most of all was to know military presented its young of- San Antonio, TX 78259 around the islands (they enjoyed the world, and the Navy played a ficers by investing them with levels 61 one in 2007 and decided to celebrate [email protected] major role in fulfilling that desire, of responsibility unknown to their their 52nd anniversary by doing it first, by funding a first-class educa- civilian counterparts: The 50th class reunion was a great again). During this trip, he enjoyed tion at Columbia, and then putting “After Columbia, I can recollect success. Approximately 120 class- his first helicopter ride, around me through three years of service. important tasks assigned to me as a mates attended along with spouses, Kauai, and concluded that if one My feeling of being among the young officer and to those I super- children and significant others. The could do only one such ride in one’s fortunate was enhanced by the vised. I was fortunate in that some class Columbia College Fund drive lifetime, this should be it! Gene realization, looking back, that I had of my responsibilities were not exceeded $250,000 at last count. came away with spectacular stills been in active service for three rare equaled until I was decades older Visit the CCT website to view and videos. It was so enjoyable, years of relative peacefulness in the and well advanced in another field. our class photo and to see a list of they rented a car that afternoon to world. (Yes, there was the Cuban Those experiences helped me in pri- classmates who registered to attend: drive up to the Napali coast to see Missile Crisis in my last year of ser- vate life, as it may help others who college.columbia.edu/cct/fall11/ how it looked from the ground (not vice, but serving as a junior officer choose to serve after college. Ad- reunion. so memorable from the road). on a ship in the South China Sea at ditionally, I believe that my ‘civilian’ Special recognition and best That night however, the tsunami that moment, one was isolated and education and outlook brought a wishes for a speedy recovery is struck. Fortunately, their cruise ship oblivious to events occurring half- needed perspective to get some extended to Bill Binderman. Once followed the Coast Guard’s advice

FALL 2011 78 COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY CLASS NOTES

and put to sea. The amplitude around His superior intelligence was truly pool, and visits with his children times just for fun and other times Kauai was relatively low, in any case, evident; but he was unassuming and four grandchildren, which to document the plight of women and the port, Nawiliwili, was the and never aloof. As I recall, he was in his words, “makes life pretty with obstetric fistula for The Fistula first to reopen in the islands, where quite a raconteur, a mentor, a tutor, good.” He and Shelley often see Foundation. For a family vacation, they returned to pick up the 100 the resident fraternity guru and a Jane and Leo Swergold and Bobbi Larry visited Bali with his wife, stranded passengers and crew. A regular guy who was a lot of fun to and Steve Berkman. Judy, their son, daughter-in-law and most memorable, if somewhat tense be around. Although fully engaged Andy Jampoler’s fourth book, twin grandchildren. On a separate and sleep-depriving experience! in his studies and many campus Horrible Shipwreck!, was published trip, he and Judy visited friends in John Learned was featured in an activities, Vic always was willing to in late 2010. It’s the true story of the Vancouver, B.C. article in The Economist April 7 print lead a skull session to help his fra- wreck of the British female convict On his own, Larry loitered with edition on the subject of astrophys- ternity brothers (myself included) transport Amphitrite on the French gorillas in the Virunga Mountains of ics and alien intelligence, “Talking prepare for exams. I suppose we channel coast in 1833. All but three Rwanda and took some terrific pho- to the neighbors;” a modest pro- could be considered the first of his aboard drowned in sight of the tographs of them. They are posted posal for an interstellar communica- many students. He will be sorely port of Boulogne-sur-Mer. Andy at https://picasaweb.google.com/ tions network. missed.” plans to spend parts of August and Larry.Wm/GorillasAndGolden John and Anthony Zee of UC After 26 years on active duty in September on the Congo River to Monkeys#. From Rwanda, Larry Santa Barbara argue that powerful the Navy (Columbia ROTC) and 15 research his next book, which is went into the Democratic Republic beams of neutrinos could be used years in trade association manage- about Lt. Emory Taunt, U.S. Navy, of the Congo to visit The General to turn entire stars into flashing ment in the Washington, D.C., area, whose third time in King Leopold Referral Panzi Hospital. There, in beacons, broadcasting information Rich fully retired in 2005. He spends II’s colony ended in Taunt’s dis- his words, “I recorded horrible tales across the galaxy. Outlandish as his summers boating on Chesa- grace and miserable death in 1891. of human-inflicted tragedy and this sounds, it is an idea that can peake Bay and annually making a Andy’s email address is jampoler@ photographed both those who treat easily be checked, for astronomers warm-weather trip to Vermont for earthlink.net. the victims and the women who are already sitting on the data that a couple of weeks. Liz, his wife “for In fall 2005, Columbia magazine had been abused.” His accounts might contain these extraterres- 48 great years,” and he enjoy spend- published an article about Jack may be found at fistulafoundation. trial messages. They just need to ing time with their three grand- Eisenberg’s photography (colum org. Larry says older descriptions analyze those data from a new per- children, who live nearby. During bia.edu/cu/alumni/Magazine/ of horrors in this part of the world spective. John and Zee are there- winters they “just seem to hibernate Fall2005/eisenberg/index.html). can be found in Adam Hochschild’s fore trying to persuade someone and try to catch up on our reading Then in January 2007, Columbia King Leopold’s Ghost: A Story of Greed, who studies the data in question to — some history and the occasional underwrote an exhibition at Leica Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa, take their idea seriously and spend novel to keep the brain cells active. Gallery called “The Columbia Col- and in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. a little time having a look. When it gets too cold, we head to lection,” which featured photos by “In many ways,” he writes, “things The entire article can be read at Florida for a couple of weeks. So life Jack and New York Times photogra- have only worsened in Congo in economist.com/node/18526871. is good. I’m looking forward to our pher Edward Keating. Jack writes, the last century.” On a sad note, we learned that 50th reunion.” “The magazine article and show Larry also volunteers at his Michael Selkin passed away in You may reach Rich at hiflight66@ were emotional highpoints of my grandchildren’s schools, cooks, gar- February after a long illness. cox.net. many years as a photojournalist dens, reads and does photography. Michael Stone (michaelstone1@ and arts photographer. I’m espe- In April he visited a book group bellsouth.net) retired a little more cially grateful to Michael Shav- to discuss his recently published REUNION MAY 31–JUNE 3 than two years ago and has enjoyed elson, editor of Columbia magazine, memoir of his time in Vietnam dur- ALUMNI OFFICE CONTACTS every day of it. He and his wife, and Jay Deutsch ’66, who with ing the war, The Broken Man. ALUMNI AFFAIRS Robin Vanderputten Shelley, live in a south Florida con- his wife, Rose, manages the Leica Larry’s email is larry.wm@gmail. [email protected] dominium where the Intracoastal Gallery and learned of my work com. 212-851-7399 Waterway runs into the ocean. “No through the Columbia article. Jay From Australia, Harry Green DEVELOPMENT Paul Staller more snow for me!” says Michael. asked if I’d taken any good photos wrote that he was attending a [email protected] He continues, “What I learned while at Columbia, and I was small scientific meeting of invited 212-851-7494 most from Columbia was the love lucky enough to find an unprinted members concerning scientific John Freidin of books, and I spend a great deal negative of Susan Sontag at an issues of the deep earth. 62 1020 Town Line Rd. of time reading. I probably have anti-nuke demonstration in front of In 1993, Harry moved from UC Charlotte, VT 05445 two years’ worth of books to read Low Library in 1961. Davis to UC Riverside to become 62 piled in my den. No Kindle for “I’m also deeply indebted to the director of its Cecil H. and Ida M. [email protected] me; I need to touch and smell a excellent liberal arts curriculum at Green Institute of Geophysics and From Fairfax, Va., Rich Curtis book, and I love browsing in used the College, which has informed Planetary Physics. Two years later writes: “During the many years bookstores. When I was in London my photography throughout. I’ve he was appointed vice chancellor since graduating from Columbia, in 1984, I purchased a 21-volume been putting together a group of for research, a position he held I have occasionally read our Class set of Charles Dickens and shipped photos reflecting many of the clas- until 2000, when, he writes, “I saw Notes to see if I recognize any it home for retirement. I’m halfway sics I studied during my years on the light and returned to teaching names. However, I have never been through, lingering over incredible Morningside Heights. But mainly and research. I have been very disposed to write anything myself descriptions and rereading many publication of my work, especially active in Academic Senate activities until now. Your notification of Vic pages. It is delicious!” of Israel and Baltimore, is much on since then, serving on many com- Wolfenstein’s death brought me Michael was a Spectator cartoon- my mind these days.” mittees including the Committee up short and back almost 50 years ist. Forty-eight years ago, he put Jack may be reached at jac1841@ on Academic Personnel.” to the time we shared at Columbia. his drawing aside, but he has aol.com. As a scientist, Harry focuses on It is indeed sad to hear that he has picked it up again since retiring. At the end of last year, Stuart three major subareas of solid-earth died. My heartfelt condolences go He draws a mixture of serious Case ([email protected]) of- geophysics. He discovered the out to his wife and family. artwork and political cartoons for ficially retired as probate judge for mechanism of deep earthquakes 20 “Most of the classmates I re- his own pleasure. “What surprised the District of Hampton, Conn. “My years ago, thereby resolving a long- member were either on lightweight me,” he writes, “was how much retirement,” Stuart writes, “coincid- lived paradox in geophysics. He is crew or members of Sigma Nu better I got over the years. I assume ed with the abolition of that court as deeply involved in the new field fraternity. Vic was among the latter, this was by absorbing observations part of the (ill-advised) consolidation of ultrahigh-pressure metamor- a fraternity brother and one of of other works plus maturing.” of the Connecticut Probate Court phism, about which he will give a Sigma Nu’s stalwarts. Throughout Please join me in encouraging Mi- System at the beginning of January.” keynote speech at an international his days at Columbia, he was rec- chael to create a couple of cartoons Larry William enjoys his retire- meeting in the Czech Republic ognized for his towering intellect, for our 50th reunion next spring. ment from medicine and the op- later this year. Most recently, Larry enthusiasm, warmth, good humor Michael mixes all this with golf, portunities this presents. In 2010 he made a radical new proposal on and willingness to lend a hand. daily calisthenics in his swimming did quite a bit of traveling — some- how earthquakes in the crust of the

FALL 2011 79

CLASS NOTES COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY earth propagate. This summer he report: “I’m the father of three, great honor. And best wishes on now, I am in Australia for a meet- spent a month in Paris with French grandfather of one, happily married, the publication of your latest book, ing of the International Actuarial colleagues to pursue this idea. an epidemiologist for Johnson & American History Now, co-edited Association. It would be interesting “I now am technically retired,” Johnson, a practitioner of aikido and with Lisa McGirr and published to know if any of our classmates Harry says. “The only real change a student of Spanish. Sometimes, I by the Temple University Press. were further from Columbia at this in my activities is that I teach only even get a little time to read.” This series of essays from a new moment.” one course per year. I continue to Thanks to all of you who wrote, generation of scholars addresses Joe, you might have been the be involved in national geophys- especially those who have not the current themes and questions furthest, but not for long. At the ics organizations and was chair done so in years. Here’s hoping in interpreting American history. lunch you missed, Steve Barcan of the executive committee of the that many more will write the day Frank Sypher curated an exhibi- told us he was on his way to Ant- Consortium for Materials Proper- they read this. tion at the Grolier Club, 47 E. 60th arctica with his wife, Bettye. Don ties Research in Earth Sciences St., of books, manuscripts, prints Margolis then filled Steve in on the from 2004–07. I am president of and other materials relating to the high points of his trip to this same the Tectonophysics Section of the Paul Neshamkin literary career of Letitia Elizabeth continent. Don then rattled off an American Geophysical Union and 1015 Washington St., Landon (1802–38), a British poet impressive list of recent destina- a member of the executive commit- 63 Apt. 50 and novelist whose career has tions. He may be our most traveled tee of the Union Council.” 63 Hoboken, NJ 07030 interested him for many years. The classmate, and I am still waiting Harry’s wife, Manuela, also is a [email protected] title of the show and accompany- for him to submit a report for this professor at UC Riverside, in cellu- ing catalogue was “The World of column. In the meantime, I’d ask lar and molecular biology. Together I recently learned of the passing of Letitia Elizabeth Landon: A Liter- all of you to at least list your recent they have seven children (four Myra Kraft, wife of Robert Kraft. ary Celebrity of the 1830s.” It ran travels, and I’ll publish them here from Harry’s earlier marriage) and Bob, I join with all of Myra’s March 23–May 27. to amaze your classmates. eight grandchildren, six of whom and your friends in the Class of Steve Stollman writes, “I’ve Our regular second Thursday are under 5. “It makes for a busy 1963 in extending condolences and wondered down through the ages lunches are a great place to recon- but enormously pleasant family deepest sympathies to you and whatever happened to some of my nect. If you’re in NYC, try to make life,” Harry writes. “I hope this your family. classmates: Mike [Steve did not the next Class of ’63 lunch, sched- helps you fill a few lines. Despite I enjoyed Class Day and the supply a last name], who played uled for September 8, and then again my silence, I remain interested to Alumni Parade of Classes again this guitar and resembled Elvis, at least on October 13, and November 10 read about classmates. I hope your year. Don Margolis joined me and in his manner, and seems to have — it’s always the second Thursday. message also stirs others to write. we carried the ’63 flag. I hope next disappeared midway through; the Check cc63ers.com for details. My contact information is harry. year more of you will take part — fellows I went to high school with In the meantime, let us know [email protected].” it’s a great event and starts with a who became roommates; Spencer what you are up to, how you’re Bob Meyers (rmmeyersaia@sbc catered breakfast in John Jay, and Heine, whose dream it was to play doing and what’s next. global.net) lives in San Francisco, ends with the Class Day ceremony, JV football; and Bob Kornreich, where he is partially retired as an which is always terrific. who played varsity tennis. Another architect/urban planning consul- Dean’s Day had several class- roommate, Pravin Banker ’62E, Norman Olch tant. “I really enjoy the outdoors mates in attendance. I unfortunate- turned his engineering degree into 233 Broadway and our Mediterranean climate,” ly missed it, but Stanley Yancovitz a ticket to IBM, where he helped 64 New York, NY 10279 he says, “and I’m curious about took his children and reported them decide where to put manu- 64 [email protected] our 50th reunion. Any idea when it that the sessions he attended were facturing plants around the world, will happen?” wonderful. He chatted with Phil and is now, yes, a banker, with his I reported in the May/June issue Yes. Our 50th reunion begins Satow. I hear that John Ake, Rob­ son, in Eastern Europe. that Steve Case retired as a trustee with a cocktail party on Wednes- ert Bilenker, Peter Gollon, Alan “I’ve heard tell of Bert Kleinman, of the University after 14 years day, May 30, 2012, and concludes Jacobs, Paul Kimmel and Robert a pal all the way from grammar of service. I asked Steve for his with a brunch on Sunday, June 3. Podell also were there. school days, who was the audio thoughts on his years as trustee If you have ideas or suggestions The mailbox has been strangely engineer for my closed circuit and he wrote: “Everyone with a about activities you’d like to have empty, and I hope that you will radio broadcasts from underneath connection to Columbia should be occur, please let me know; I’ll pass correct this situation immediately Hamilton Hall. (He went on to very proud of what the institution them along to the proper person. and let this correspondent share become producer for Casey Kasem, has accomplished and be excited Finally, Dan Fife (d_fife@verizon. your adventures with the class. the country’s most popular top-40 about its vision for the future. net) sends the following succinct One bit of very good news did disk jockey, and lately was in charge “[President] Lee Bollinger made cross my desk. Eric Foner, the of our radio broadcasts, and maybe it 100 percent clear the day he DeWitt Clinton Professor of History even TV, in Iraq.) It was a dingy started that strength and excellence at Columbia, has been awarded the dungeon, soon to be made irrelevant in undergraduate education was Manage Your Pulitzer Prize for a distinguished by the state-of-the-art studios in the his first priority. Accordingly, the book on the history of the United not-even-opened-yet student center, University has poured resources Subscription States, The Fiery Trial: Abraham but where else on campus could you into the College and the Engineer- Lincoln and American Slavery. The smuggle in a co-ed without causing ing programs, all to splendid effect, f you live in the United Pulitzer committee called it “a a riot? as shown in popularity with appli- I States and prefer reading well-orchestrated examination of “My current ambition is to cants, difficulty in being admitted CCT online, you can help us Lincoln’s changing views of slavery, trigger a new World’s Fair that I’m and various publicized rankings. go green and save money bringing unforeseeable twists and a thinking of calling The World’s “The rest of ‘big’ Columbia is bet- by opting out of the print fresh sense of improbability to a fa- Unfair. It would be a bottom-up ter than ever and growing stronger miliar story.” Eric called the award affair, based on advancing the all the time. Overall, the University edition. Click “Manage Your a capstone for his career. Although creative design of human-powered is now a $3.3 billion a year in an- Subscription” at college. he has won multiple honors for and human-scale transportation, nual revenue organization, about columbia.edu/cct and follow his work focused on the Lincoln bikes and trikes primarily, beyond the same size as JetBlue on that the domestic instructions. era and Reconstruction, he said, their 19th-century limited concepts, measure. Excluding government, it We will continue to notify “The Pulitzer has a kind of broader and without the usual temporary, is the seventh largest employer in you by email when each importance and stature suggesting virtually mandatory, corporate and New York City. Fifty-two percent issue is posted online. You that your book is appreciated by government monuments to their of its 14,000 employees are women may be reinstated to receive a wider audience, a non-scholarly own notable, if highly exaggerated, and 46 percent are minorities as the print edition by sending audience.” For an excerpt, go to achievements.” defined by the government. Colum- college.columbia.edu/cct/jan_feb11 Joe Applebaum replied to my bia is a major provider of physi- a note to [email protected]. /columbia_forum. last invitation to the CC ’63 lunch, cian patient care in the New York Eric, congratulations on this “I won’t be able to make it. Right area. Physicians with CU faculty

FALL 2011 80 COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY CLASS NOTES

appointments in 2010 handled hun- school teacher, it is a privilege to Chesapeake Bay to spend the well as a number of screenplays. dreds of thousands of outpatient and a pleasure to meet with so weekend with a fourth roommate, He wrote a play based on his visits and admitted 65,000 patients many outstanding young men and Mark Rogers. father’s letters, Trumbo: Red, White to NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/ women,” Barry said. Mark became a physician, & Blacklisted, which ran for about a Columbia University Medical Cen- Carl Siracusa is back living in the trained in four medical specialties year in New York and then toured ter. The Mailman School of Public United States part-time. He majored (pediatrics, cardiology, anesthesi- the country. He also wrote the Health operates hundreds of AIDS in history at Columbia, earned a ology and critical care), and was screenplay for Trumbo, an excel- treatment centers in more than 15 Ph.D. in the history of American named full professor at Johns lent documentary that features African countries. Construction of civilization from Brandeis in 1973 Hopkins at 37. He is the author of readings by , Brian the first buildings has begun on the and taught American history for more than 150 papers and author/ Dennehy ’60, , Liam new campus at West 125th Street more than 10 years at Rutgers editor of 12 books in multiple Neeson and . and Broadway. This 17-acre site, University-Newark and at Con- languages. He was a Fulbright According to press reports, now completely owned by CU, cre- necticut College. He then worked scholar in Yugoslavia, was elected while the rest of us were in class, ates opportunities to strengthen and for nearly two decades in the New to the National Academy of Sci- Chris took a year off from the Col- expand Columbia that are nothing York financial world for Lehman ence’s Institute of Medicine and lege to work as assistant director short of mind-boggling.” Brothers and J.P. Morgan, mostly while serving as associate dean at on ’s film Exodus. Steve also recently completed writing reports and materials for Hopkins earned an M.B.A. from An interview with Chris, which two years as chairman of the board private banking clients. the Wharton School at Penn. appeared in the film magazine of directors of Motors Liquidation While on a tour in India in 1996, Mark then became C.E.O. of the Cineaste, can be found at cineaste. Co., which was formed to wind Carl met his wife, Gillian. She is Duke University Health System. com/articles/trumbo-on-trumbo- up the affairs in bankruptcy court British, and for the next 12 years From there he was recruited as an-interview-with-christopher- of the “old” General Motors Corp. they lived near London. Last year the s.v.p. of PerkinElmer, which trumbo-web-exclusive. while the “new” General Motors they started renting an apartment became Celera and sequenced the Requiescat in pace. continued to operate. This column in Philadelphia, and they now di- human genome. Mark next was is not a legal treatise, but it should vide their time between the United president of a New York-based bio- be noted that Motors Liquidation States and England. “I’m retired, tech investment bank and started Leonard B. Pack Co. addressed claims of $240 billion and still spend a good deal of time numerous biotechnology compa- 65 924 West End Ave. that were resolved for $40 billion. reading history, as well as doing nies that have gone public with a New York, NY 10025 “While it is a pity,” writes Steve, photography, which has become a cumulative market capitalization 65 [email protected] “that a once-great industrial giant real passion of mine,” Carl said. exceeding $1 billion. failed, I think the American system Steve Solomon lives in Jupiter, Mark and his wife have five This is the year of the 50th high of Chapter 11 reorganization did Fla., about 20 miles north of Palm grandchildren and two family foun- school reunion year for many in about as good a job as can be done Beach, and wants to know if any dations that direct most of their re- our class. These reunions prompt- of cleaning up the pieces, i.e., con- classmates live nearby. He spends sources to the education of minority ed reports from two classmates. tinuing the business, minimizing a lot of time with Jim Spingarn ’62. youth. They have homes in Miami Andy Fisher writes, “To my job loss and maximizing recoveries “My daughter,” Steve writes, “has and on the Chesapeake Bay, are avid absolute astonishment, my high for creditors, all in less than two given me three grandchildren. She travelers, have driven the whole Pan school alma mater, The Albany years under court supervision.” is a pediatrician in New Jersey. My Am Highway and have sailed their Academies (singular when I went Have you retired or are you son is a principal in a hedge fund boat throughout the Mediterranean. there), has or have named me this about to retire? Drop me a note so living in New York City. He has Mark writes that since Colum- year’s Distinguished Alumnus. I can share the information with two children. Both of my children bia, “It has been pretty hectic, but The alumni officer who called to the class. are married to doctors so I am well fun!” tell me about it stressed that it is I previously reported that Jack taken care of: One is a radiolo- Marty Isserlis and his wife, Judy, a ‘really big thing.’ My name will Leitner retired from his medical gist and the other practices sports were off to London, Paris and Nice be entered on a plaque outside the practice, but he writes from Fram- medicine.” in June, while Larry Kessler went Trustees’ Room that also bears the ingham, Mass., that he still is ac- Steve Singer has retired as col- to Moscow where his wife, Barbara, names of headmasters and presi- tively delivering medical services: “I lege adviser at the Horace Mann was teaching a course in interna- dents of the boards of trustees, and recently returned from my first stint School, but he will return to teach tional trial practice skills. of Andrew Aitken Rooney, another as a volunteer physician in Quito, courses in Tolstoy and Dostoevsky. My son Alexander’s filmThe journalist of some note. I mention it Ecuador. I was one of two American Jerry Oster took Duke’s “offer” Windmill Movie, which was shown because although I was involved in doctors on a Timmy Foundation of a retirement buyout made in at the New York Film Festival at publications and plays while I was medical brigade to south Quito’s response to “the fiscal unpleasant- Lincoln Center, is available on Net­ in high school, it was while I was impoverished neighborhoods. It is ness of 2009.” He recently finished a flix. Ira Jaffe sent me a rave review. at Columbia that WKCR and part- one of many volunteer organiza- play and is volunteering as a guard- I am saddened to report the time jobs at WMCA and WNEW tions that distribute simple medical ian ad litem for children in abuse deaths of two classmates: Brian started me on the career for which care and medicines to the under- and neglect cases in the Orange Safer and Christopher Trumbo. I was presumably honored on May served of Quito. The Timmy Foun- and Chatham County, N.C., court From 1973 until retiring in 2003, 20. Because they let me write my dation, out of Indianapolis, sends systems. He has been reading some Brian conducted research at the bio, I am reasonably certain of its 20 undergrads from Purdue along books “whose density had been a National Institutes of Health in accuracy.” with two nurses, two pharmacists deterrent in the past” — Pride and Bethesda, Md. His research was Andy’s biographical sketch and a nurse practitioner to Quito for Prejudice, Vanity Fair and Middle- focused on protein synthesis, the includes the following: “While an intense week of medical work. march. process by which genetic informa- attending Columbia University, he I recommend this as an avenue for Jerry’s wife, Trisha Lester, is v.p. tion in DNA is converted into worked as a summer reporter for any classmates who are thinking of the N.C. Center for Nonprofits. protein. He also was the chief of the Albany Knickerbocker News, but of volunteer work and haven’t put His daughter, Lily, is studying for the molecular hematology branch also got involved in radio, working their toes in the stream (timmy an M.Div. at Harvard Divinity of the National Heart Lung and for the college station, WKCR, and foundation.org).” School. Jerry’s novel September is for Blood Institute. Brian received a for commercial stations WMCA Barry Bley, too, is retired but sale as an Amazon Kindle edition. medical degree from Baylor Uni- and WNEW. busy. He sends greetings from Although he says he’s “totally versity in Texas and a doctorate in “After Columbia, he served as Colorado, where he is as a member ignorant” of college basketball, biophysics from Penn. a special agent in U.S. Army Intel- of the Alumni Representative Steve Rodner won his office pool Chris was the son of Dalton ligence, then returned to radio as an Committee (studentaffairs.colum on the NCAA tournament. Trumbo, the most famous of the investigative reporter, writer, editor, bia.edu/admissions/alumni/ Tony David was in New York blacklisted Hollywood writers of sportscaster and news anchor at WIP volunteers.php). He interviewed City from San Francisco to meet the 1950s. Chris wrote episodes of and WMMR in Philadelphia, and his 72 applicants for the incoming his former roommates, Nick Rudd a number of television series such old haunt, WNEW in New York. freshman class. “As a retired public and Peter Thall. The three traveled as Ironside with Raymond Burr, as “He moved to NBC in 1981,

FALL 2011 81

CLASS NOTES COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY first as a radio news anchor and ness and statistics. He is ‘finding position in this matter, I hope you every joint are now a daily thing, reporter, then as principal news himself’ and aims to take his would agree that the elimination of but thanks to a supportive family writer for The Today Show and as a search soon to the West Coast. We DADT has removed any reason to and a few pills I’m still enjoying financial journalist at CNBC, ending also have a golden retriever named keep ROTC off campus. Let’s rejoin life. My wife, Mary, is gradually his career at CNBC.com as writer Whimsy who is turning 11 and the rest of the country and send adjusting to having me around the of the site’s popular stock blog. His thinks she is still a puppy (a good some of our best and brightest into house and to having to tolerate my awards at NBC included the gold role model for me). this essential service to our nation.” opinions about home decorating medal of the International Radio “Since 1985, Nina and I have John McDougall wrote the fol- colors and styles and so on. My Festival for his work anchoring resided in Needham, a suburb of lowing note to Bollinger on March son Tim and my daughter Anna the 1988 Olympics in Calgary and Boston. We love the town and have 9: “Dear President Bollinger: Last have returned to live at home to Seoul; the National Headliner quite a few friends, but the long weekend, I read a short article in save some cash. Anna will apply to Award for network radio report- winters are starting to wear on us. I the local paper here in Berkeley nursing school next year and Tim, ing; media awards from American talk a lot about moving to a warmer that the president of Harvard had who is the volunteer coordinator Women in Radio and Television climate, but have yet to get serious signed an agreement restoring for the St. Vincent de Paul Society and from the New York State Bar about this, in part because much of students’ opportunity to take part here in San Francisco, is planning Association; and the WEBBY award my professional network is located in ROTC training on campus. The to apply to business schools to get of the International Academy of in the Boston area. We also remain reason given was the Congres- an M.B.A. Digital Arts and Sciences. At The close to several members of Nina’s sional change in policy regarding “I am trying to lose weight and Today Show, he was Katie Couric’s extended family living around homosexuality of military person- get in shape in hopes of avoiding first writer, and also wrote the first here. Recently, I have spent a lot of nel. The article went on to state another back surgery (five so far is words spoken on NBC by Brian time writing. Last September, my that other schools like Columbia enough!). I keep busy with read- Williams, Matt Lauer, Ann Curry book on research methodology was continue to study the issue. ing, gardening, swimming four and many other correspondents. published by John Wiley & Sons. “How disappointing that Colum- days a week, and getting acupunc- “One of his favorite jobs was as It’s called Bias and Causation: Models bia did not step up and take the ture and massage once a week. For ‘roadie’ for his wife, Sharon, an in- and Judgment for Valid Comparisons, lead this time! Although I didn’t the moment, I have had to forego ternationally acclaimed performer and received an award from the earn my commission in the Marine my golf game and other vigorous of Irish and Scottish traditional Association of American Publishers Corps through ROTC participation, activities until the back is better. I songs. They were married for 37 as the best mathematical book of I’m sure the presence of the cadets attend teaching conferences at the years. Since her death in 2006 and 2010. I am working on a follow-up as well as veterans on campus hospital where the residents are his retirement in 2009, he has done book aimed at a much broader contributed to my decision to serve. frequently asking, ‘Dr. Szarnicki, volunteer work as an archivist for readership.” Hopefully you’ll now give this what was it like in the old days!?!?’ the National Park Service, in the Arnie Lesser responded to my overdue step your approval.” Can you imagine? I also have bereavement ministry of his church plea for news: “My older boys are I am sure Jim’s and John’s been asked to give a few anatomy and as a guest lecturer on several grown and have careers. Mike is a voices were only two out of a host lectures at St. Ignatius College campuses. His brothers also are veterinary cardiologist with a large of alumni and other Columbia Preparatory, which has given me a Albany Academy alumni: Alan ’69 specialty practice in Los Angeles, constituents voicing their views lot of satisfaction. I hope that I can and Stephen ’73. His father, who and Robert is the art and creative on the ROTC ban, which dated stimulate a few kids to entertain died last fall, was president of the director of CFO Magazine in Bos- to the late 1960s. On April 1, the a career in surgery, because it has Fathers’ Association and a trustee ton. Having nothing better to do, I Columbia University Senate voted provided me with great joy. of the school. started a second family, remarrying overwhelmingly to support efforts “I have kept up email communi- “Andy lives in a lakefront house in 1994, and now have twins Larry to bring ROTC back to campus. cation with Larry Guido, Jay Wood­ in New Jersey but is a frequent visi- and Nina (13). I became boarded According to a report published in worth, Mike Bush, Ron Chevako, tor to Albany.” in veterinary surgery in 1982 and The New York Times on April 1, the Bob Johnson and Mike Newell. I’m Herb Weisberg wrote, “Steve traded general practice for refer- University Senate vote, 51–17, with so sorry that I was unable to travel Steinig suggested I should write you ral surgery, and eight years ago one abstention, came in support of a to NYC for our reunion. Hopefully, at least once every 40 years or so.” opened a veterinary referral multi- Senate resolution to “explore mutu- next one. Jay and his wife, Susie, I heartily endorse Steve’s sugges- specialty practice on Long Island ally beneficial relationships with were visiting the California wine tion and expect to hear from each with another veterinary surgeon. the Armed Forces of the United country to refill their wine cellar of you no less frequently than once With a young family, retirement States, including participation in the a few months ago, and we had a every 40 years! seems far away, and I keep active. I programs of the Reserve Officers wonderful dinner with them at The Herb sent a blurb he wrote for am into sailing now but still make Training Corps.” The Times piece North Beach Restaurant, one of our his recent 50th high school reunion: at least one Columbia wrestling quoted James H. Applegate, an favorite old San Francisco establish- “I attended Columbia University match each year.” astronomy professor and a member ments. and graduated with a B.A. in mathe- Two classmates have recently of the University’s Task Force on “I hope we are all still alive and matics, then received a Ph.D. in added their voices to the controversy Military Engagement, which held able to make it to our 50th reunion. statistics from Harvard. Thus over the ban from campus of ROTC. three town hall-type meetings in “I wish you all good health and began a long and winding career Jim Mummery wrote the following February on the ROTC issue, as happiness.” as a statistical consultant, most note to President Lee C. Bollinger on saying, “This is a culmination of CCT reported the sad news that recently as founder and president March 9 and sent me a copy: “As a something going back several years. George Goth died on November of a small consulting firm, Correla- Columbia Marine circa 1960s, I have Back in the ’60s, students kicked 28, 2009. George was a retired tion Research. In 1975, I met Nina long disapproved of your policy of ROTC off campus. But in 2011, professor emeritus in the chemistry Horvitz, from Providence, R.I., banning ROTC from campus. While students brought them back.” department at Skyline College. He and we have been continuously the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy was Bob Szarnicki submitted his held a Ph.D. in nuclear chemistry and happily married for the past an anachronistic disgrace, Colum- Class Note directly through the from UC Berkeley and resided in 35 years. We have two sons, Alex bia’s rejection of a military presence Columbia College Today website. Berkeley for more than 40 years. (25) and Daniel (22). Alex works has always struck me as more You too can do this easily by going He served eight years on the City in technical writing for Parametric supercilious than principled, an as- to college.columbia.edu/cct/sub of Berkeley Labor Commission. I Technology Corp., right in our sertion of our moral and intellectual mit_class_note. Here’s Bob’s contri- worked with George on the Cultur- home town of Needham, Mass. He superiority over a lesser institution. bution: “I am pleased to announce al Affairs Committee of the Board graduated three years ago from In fact, it was a ‘head-in-the-sand’ that I recently celebrated my first of Managers at Columbia. That was the University of Michigan, loves posture that served only to lessen anniversary of retirement from the committee that presented the sports, especially Ultimate Frisbee the presence of liberally educated my practice of adult and pediatric film series in Wollman Auditorium, and dodge ball, and is a big fan officers in the Corps, thus depriving cardiac surgery. My career was a and George was one of our volun- of the Wolverines. Dan recently the service of an important, moderat- blast for 40-odd years, but I now teer projectionists without whose graduated from the University of ing point of view. recognize that that kind of work technical expertise there would Maryland with a degree in busi- “Whatever your opinion of my is a young man’s sport. Aches in have been no movies to enjoy.

FALL 2011 82 COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY CLASS NOTES

I got a note from Stan Sesser, sity Archives, the Julian Clarence of Tampa). Stan lives in Dunwoody, here in Spokane. We moved here in describing himself as “a long-lost Levi Professor in the Humanities just north of Atlanta, and is in com- 2004 after spending 11 years on the Class of ’65 member. Andy Delbanco’s enlightening and mercial real estate.” Long Beach Peninsula (at the mouth “This year I’ve completed a challenging view of the University’s Paul’s email is servicmark@aol. of the Columbia River), known as big circle, from the Upper West priorities at our Havana Central at com. the graveyard of the Pacific. While Side to Berkeley to Hong Kong to The West End dinner, the Jacques In a moment of nostalgia, Joe there, we worked on the commem­ Bangkok and back to the Upper Barzun Professor in History and Steinberger recently wrote, “I have oration of the Lewis and Clark West Side. Along the way, I taught the Social Sciences Ken Jackson’s lately been wondering if any class- expedition, including the establish- journalism at UC Berkeley, wrote intriguing and revealing compari- mates remember the restaurant we ment of a new national park. investigative pieces for Consumer son of the University and the city all called ‘the Japs,’ a lunch counter “Spokane has changed a lot since Reports magazine and was a staff in 1966 and today at our Kent Hall that was on the west side of Am- Catherine left here in 1962. There is writer for The New Yorker covering luncheon and our Casa Italiana sterdam, a block or two below West a lot of musical activity as well as a Southeast Asia until Tina Brown dinner with Associate Professor of 114th Street. delicious restaurant scene. Within became editor and fired half the Music Chris Washburne with Bob “My wife is Japanese and the one day we can get to many na- foreign staff. For the last six years Gurland playing some world-class proprietor of a sushi bar here in tional parks (Yellowstone, Glacier, at The Wall Street Journal, I held mouth trumpet while sitting in with Rockland, Maine. What I have Rainier, North Cascades and Olym- what has got to be one of the best Chris’ superb trombone trio. been learning about Japanese res- pic). Within one hour, we can ski, jobs on Earth: I roamed the world, “The planning for our 50th taurant culture — it is very lively, hike or canoe. A wild park exists doing articles on travel and food. already has begun, and we are with shouting from staff to wel- within the city. Also, the city park Alas, that ended with a change of absolutely dedicated to having in come guests, to send in orders and system was designed by Olmstead. editors in the Saturday Week- attendance at that monumental so on — reminds me of ‘the Japs,’ So we are enjoying it a lot. end section, and now I’ve been “Hello to all. I hope everyone transferred to New York. I’d love had a great time at the reunion.” to renew contact with classmates at Jonathan Sunshine ’66 is a senior fellow in the Urban Regretting not having been able [email protected].” to attend the June reunion, Tod Institute’s Health Policy Center. Hawks writes, “I hope my writings and poems will serve as a hearty Stuart Berkman ‘hello’ to all my classmates.” 66 Rua Mello Franco, 580 event every classmate who has where the person taking the orders You are invited to access Tod’s Teresópolis, Rio de Janeiro not yet then reached room tem- at the counter would shout them to burgeoning blog of writings 66 25960-531 Brasil perature, so mark your calendars, the kitchen in a sort of code. ‘Tuna and poetry by visiting thhawks. [email protected] gentlemen!” down’ is the one I remember. blogspot.com. New entries will be Mike’s email address is michael “Can anyone add any informa- included in the near term, accord- Mike Garrett sent us a glowing [email protected]. tion about ‘the Japs?’ ” ing to Tod, who is retired and lives report on the 45th reunion: “It was a Visit the CCT website to view Joe’s contact is steinberger@gwi. in Boulder, Colo. He hopes that roaring success, even if the pride of our class photo and to see a list of net. you will enjoy reading his works assembled lions comprised fewer of classmates who registered to attend: Byron Michael (Mike) Noone and that you will tell your friends our classmates than we had hoped college.columbia.edu/cct/fall11/ was recognized posthumously for about them, as well. Tod’s email and our impressive $300,000 class reunion. his participation in the Vietnam address is [email protected]. gift did not achieve our ambitious Jonathan Sunshine, who also “Operation Babylift” in April 1975 $450,000 goal. The 41 or so class- is my high school classmate from by his widow, Lana Mae Noone, REUNION MAY 31–JUNE 3 mates who assembled — I apolo- Cleveland, sent information about and daughter Jennifer Nguyen ALUMNI OFFICE CONTACTS gize for no doubt leaving someone his new employment and new Noone ’99 SW, during interviews ALUMNI AFFAIRS Nick Mider off the list — included Mark contact information. that aired in mid-April on Oprah [email protected] Amsterdam, Ron Brookshire, Neill “As of April 25, I am a senior Winfrey network’s prime time 212-851-7846 Brownstein, Tom Chorba, Chuck fellow in the Urban Institute’s Searching For... TV show; these are DEVELOPMENT Heather Hunte Christensen, Ed Doernberger, John Health Policy Center. My contact in- archived at oprah.com. [email protected] Doody, Paul Ehrlich, Gene Fier­ formation is [email protected], Lana also paid tribute to her 212-851-7957 man, Ken Fox, Dan Friedlander, 202-261-5575. The Urban Institute is husband when she spoke at the Dan Gardner, Michael Garrett, in Washington, D.C.” National Vietnam War Museum, Albert Zonana Mike Gengler, Robert Gurland, Another high school classmate of Mineral Wells, Texas, in June and 67 425 Arundel Rd. Josh Gutman, Herb Hochman, mine, Paul Kastin, tells about a trio during post-broadcast interviews Goleta, CA 93117 Ed Kabak, David Kelston, Bob of Columbians in Atlanta, where he published in Vietnam magazine, 67 [email protected] Klingensmith, Peter Kristal, Har­ has been residing for many years. among others. vey Kurzweil, Bob Lautin, Marty “We are members of the Standard For further details, visit vietnam Ken Haydock writes, “I recently Lee, Gene Leff, Bob Meyerson, Club, which was founded in 1867 babylift.org and email lana@vietnam and suddenly found myself quite Frank Mirer, Leland Moglen, Larry as the Concordia Club … probably babylift.org. in the thick of things a few miles Nelson, Ken Pearson, Rick Reder, a real leap of faith on the part of the John W. Morrow (aka Dreadful from where I retired — at Capitol Jim Rosenberg, Paul Smollar, Eric early members, as Sherman had John at Midnight on WKCR) wrote: Square in Madison, Wis. I was there Sparre, David Stern, Jonathan torched the city three years before. “I could not attend the reunion but most days during the protests, Sunshine, David Tilman, Bruce Our member-guest golf tournament wanted to send in an update. After and it made it easy to gauge the Trinkley, Michael Winer, Rick is a pretty big deal at the club and graduation, I married Catherine wide discrepancies between what Wolfson and Rich Zucker. this year, there were eight final- Campbell ’67 GS at Holy Trinity was actually happening, what the “The presence of this distin- ists, three of whom are Columbia Church in Washington, D.C. We media chose to report and what a guished group was a testament to alumni — myself, Jim Boosales ’65 then moved to Seattle, where I few partisans simply invented. The both the value and validity of our and Stan Sonenshine ’69. worked at KING Radio, both AM capitol building wasn’t harmed, nor Columbia education and the sagac- “I am in the food business. ‘Boo,’ and FM. At FM, I helped develop even under credible threat of harm; ity and ability of our respective a fraternity brother, former room- the classical format. I also narrated it never smelled bad (it’s cavernous internists. The unique 1966-only mate and, coincidentally, like me, Seattle Opera Wagner broadcasts and apparently well-ventilated); events — each of which was both an alumnus of the graduate school on NPR. the only protestors evidently bused fascinating and well-attended — in- of business of the University of Chi- “We have three children: Alexan- in for rallies were 2,000 or so who cluded a sophisticated and practical cago (though, by that time, Boo was der, Sebastian and Veronica. Sebas- arrived the second Saturday in environmental research briefing at married and not nearly so much tian was murdered in Alaska in 1991. support of the governor, never to the Goddard Institute, a showing of fun!) is a retired CEO of many well- We are raising three grandchildren: return. Only half the protestors an eclectic and interesting array of known American companies and Patrick (son of Alex), and Anastasia appeared to be union members; items from the Columbia Univer- lives in Palm Harbor, Fla., just north and Jonathan (children of Veronica) hardly any were from out of state

FALL 2011 83

CLASS NOTES COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY

Jenik Radon ’67: Nation Builder

B y A t t i V i r a g h ’13 GS

hen Jenik Radon by helping write privatiza- ’67 was studying tion, foreign investment and philosophy in commercial laws for countries Professor Gold- such as and Estonia, Wing’s Contemporary Civ- and leading negotiations for ilization class, he felt torn an international pipeline in between his passion for the Georgia. He also drafted the subject and his desire to find constitution that helped bring a more tangible meaning in an end to a decade-long civil his life. “I enjoyed the Core war in Nepal in 2006. tremendously, especially the Radon seems to have been study of ethics,” Radon says. destined for a global outlook. “But I felt that I had only one Born in Berlin, he moved to the question, which philosophy United States with his family could not answer: ‘Why am I when he was 5. At Columbia, in here?’ ” addition to studying economics, Radon majored in economics, he did anthropological research eventually becoming involved in in Brazil through a National international corporate law. His Science Foundation grant, an ex- practice, Radon & Ishizumi, is perience that he says “opened based in New York. me up to the whole world.” But the age-old question Radon speaks German as well Jenik Radon ’67 speaking at the World Leaders Forum in 2009. has driven him to help young as English and is keenly aware PHOTO: KONSTANTIN TCHERGUEIKO ’10 GSAS nations around the world open of his immigrant status. “There their markets, build constitu- is the culture your parents have, gotiator for a multibillion dollar entrusted with such important tions and gain independence. and the culture that you live and international pipeline, the BTC, work, to be a part of Estonia’s Radon, an adjunct professor speak,” he says. “I realized very that would run through the transition into a modern, func- at SIPA, is organizing a major quickly that one was not right or country. tional democracy, was amaz- conference on Chinese integra- wrong; they were just different.” The work he is proudest ing,” Ahmad says. “I will forever tion into the world, to be held Radon graduated from Stan­ of involves Nepal. In 2006, be grateful.” within the next year in Estonia. ford Law School in 1971, where the country was embroiled in In recent years, Radon has He also is helping emerging he met his late wife, Heidi. They civil war and Radon arranged a worked on helping underdevel- nations such as Uganda and married that year, moved to major conference at Columbia oped nations use their natural Malawi develop their extrac- New York and had a daughter, on the situation. As a condition resources without suffering tive industry laws and is active Kaara ’95. Radon did corporate of peace, the Maoists were human rights violations from in a nation-branding project in legal work in the 1970s and demanding a new constitution, multinational corporations. Mexico, where in October he founded Radon & Ishizumi in and Radon was invited to the He has been writing articles sponsored the Mexican Bicen- 1981. After presenting a paper country to draft it. He takes outlining core abuses commit- tennial Independence Confer- on Polish joint ventures in special pride in a provision that ted by the extractive industry ence. “Image-building is a part Washington, D.C., in 1980, he effectively gave citizenship to in developing nations. of nation-building,” Radon says. was invited to lecture in Poland, everyone born in Nepal. “The Radon, who has taught at “To me, fairness is an issue where in many places he was net result was that millions SIPA part-time since 2002, all the time,” he says. His first the first Westerner officially of stateless people of Indian sees his role as a motivator, activist role was cofounding a invited to speak. On the basis heritage became citizens,” he empowering students to imple- relief committee for Afghani- of his work, Radon was asked says. The constitution played a ment their ideas in developing stan, when the Soviets invaded to write the foreign investment key role in ending the civil war. nations. “Sometimes they have in 1979. The Afghanistan Relief laws for Poland in 1986. “You’re impacting a nation, a their ideas already, but they’re Committee, which operated well As the Estonian indepen- people. It was to be a founda- in the library. You help them into the 1990s, considered its dence movement accelerated, tion law.” get off the ground and move primary work raising conscious- Radon advised the government In 1990, Radon founded them. I tell my students: ‘You ness, with the goal of helping and co-authored the privatiza- the Eesti and Eurasian Public are an ambassador of yourself, Afghanistan regain indepen- tion and foreign investment Service Fellowship at Colum- your school and your country. dence. But the group often was laws that would lead to a free- bia, which enables students Your obligation is not just to met with misunderstanding. At market economy. He officially to intern in Estonia, Georgia, do the project, but to leave a the time, Afghanis were called raised the American flag at Nepal and Kenya. Radon works legacy so that your project is “rebels,” Radon recalls. “When Estonia’s American Embassy, a closely with these students. carried on without you.’ ” they were called ‘freedom fight- daring move when Estonia was Ahmer Ahmad ’96, who worked ers,’ our work became easier.” still part of the Soviet Union. with the then-president of Atti Viragh ’13 GS is study- Radon then became In the 1990s, Radon worked Estonia as part of the program, ing English and comparative involved in Eastern Europe for Georgia, acting as lead ne- says it changed his life. “To be literature.

FALL 2011 84 COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY CLASS NOTES

(or else they quickly laid hands on those stints I taught at a number a host of summer weddings of my the column, “I always enjoy reading tens of thousands of bits of used of schools, including, briefly, UC students in Vermont and the United news about my ’68 classmates in Packers and University of Wis- Berkeley, Stanford and UCLA. Kingdom.” [Editor’s note: See the this column (I truly never recognize consin gear somewhere); and the Then in 1992 I secured a position profile of Radon in this issue.] a single name in the Class of ’70 restrictions on access to the Capitol in my own backyard, at Southern news). However, I was sad to itself were far more onerous than Connecticut State University, in find in the March/April issue of publicly stated. I can personally New Haven, where we had been Arthur Spector Columbia College Today that none of attest that basic, now-famous, Ian’s living for a while. Astonishingly, 68 271 Central Park West said classmates had given you any pizza mimics New York City pizza I was hired at first to teach Span- New York, NY 10024 news. So in hopes that you might be remarkably well but I can’t recom- ish, which I’d never studied! I’ve 68 interested, I am sending my news. [email protected] mend the mac-and-cheese version. been there ever since. I served two “Under separate email, I am The dispute in Wisconsin has now, terms as head of the Department of I hope all is well whether in Paris, sending the text and pictures from as I write this in mid-March, quietly Foreign Languages and have been Tel Aviv, Hong Kong, Tokyo and my latest article, published in the moved to the courts, competing appointed to a chair; nevertheless, some of the other places our October 2010 Celator. It is a small recall-petition campaigns and the I’m planning to retire in 2013. For classmates reside, including sunny article, although I spent several ballot box. several years now I’ve also been a Florida and Sitka, Alaska. months researching the symbols on “Apart from the protests, it was lecturer in classics at Yale, teaching Ed Weathers writes (and I am these obscure coins from ancient a quiet winter here, and apart from one advanced Latin course each glad to hear from you!): “The Sicily, only to come up dry on all but my sending to friends in New York, semester, which I’ll continue to do. utter lack of 1968 class news in the the one symbol of the myrrh tree. Minneapolis, Oakland, Britain, My most recent book is Latin Alive: March/April issue of Columbia “I have an additional article France and Australia what eventu- The Survival of Latin in English and College Today persuades me that ready to be sent to a different pub- ally became about 34 pages of email the Romance Languages; aimed at you’d welcome news even from lication, Silver Magazine. It concerns messages (updating them almost those who know no language other not-too-newsworthy quarters. I’ve a pair of tablespoons awarded daily, in my new calling as a class than English, it teaches as much retired from full-time teaching in by the Irish Horticultural Society war correspondent), I haven’t been about our language as any of the the English department at Virginia in Dublin in 1826 to the winners all that busy. I’m now back to read- others. My Argentine-born wife, Tech (though I still do some writing of the Best Double-Blue and Best ing a few biographies of Alexander Graziella, whom I married a few for the department) and I’m now Double-Yellow Hyacinth contests, Hamilton that I acquired some days before our graduation, the devoting my time to tennis, golf, two respectively. The story is just sitting years ago and a bit of Orwell. sole source of my knowledge of blogs and my bucket list. On a lark, on my computer, waiting for me to “Last I heard of Kent Hall, he Spanish, is an artist and art teacher. I played a few tennis tournaments take pictures of the spoons. was finishing an equestrian statue We lead a quiet, beyond-suburban last summer and finished the year “I’ve recently been studying 13th- of Buff Donelli he’d sculpted on life near New Haven. I’m in touch, ranked eighth in the Mid-Atlantic century English ring-brooches, a spec, for no apparent reason. If I irregularly, with Marshall Clough, in the Men’s 60 Division. With two wholly new subject area for me. learn more, I’ll let you know.” Matt Rosen, David Schiff and Ed separate partners, I also won the 55 I hope it will develop into a new Romolo Maurizi was trying to Goldstein, and would be glad to and 60 Division Virginia doubles article. reconnect with his soccer team- hear from other classmates (joseph. championships. I help coach the “I haven’t been traveling much mate Justin Malewezi and wrote, [email protected]). Blacksburg (Va.) High School tennis recently. My wife, Laurel, and I “Our Columbia soccer experience Jenik Radon writes, “My winter/ teams. Of even more substantial went to Chicago last June for a love- started freshman year with Coach spring was hectic. As my New York interest (to me, at least) are my two ly week of museums, symphonies, Pat Moran when we beat everyone commute is non-existent, I have blogs. One is a miscellaneous thing: antiquarian book stores and more. soundly. Our best season was our now taken to seeking out a compen- edweathers.blogspot.com. The other It’s hard to get up enough energy senior year, with Coach Joe Molder, satory commute with the result that is more focused: writeyourbest. to fly anywhere though, when I when the freshman team was back in a 10-week period, while teaching blogspot.com. The latter came about can be in San Francisco in less than together. Some of our teammates at SIPA, from mid-March to early when former colleagues and stu- two hours by car, where family and are in touch. John Edoga was a June, I was in Kabul, Afghanistan, dents flatteringly asked me to share friends and a world-class urban surgeon at Morristown Hospital in five times, as well as in Pakistan, my writing advice from many years environment await. Retirement is Morristown, N.J.; Mossik Haco­ India, Turkmenistan, Dubai and of teaching and magazine writing/ fun if you make it so.” bian is a partner in an architectural the Philippines. I now represent the editing. I encourage my Columbia Joe, I remember your last article. firm in Boston; andRichie Glaser Afghan Ministry of Mines in a new, classmates to visit both blogs so my I still would like to have an ancient was an emergency room doctor, multi-nation, multi-billion-dollar, page views increase. Page views are Greek collection of coins. Gold then became an anesthesiologist in 1,500-kilometer gas pipeline project worse than crack as an addiction, would be good. San Francisco. I was drafted into called TAPI, which when com- I’m afraid. I heard from Tom Seligson, star the Army after college and went pleted should be a stabilizer in that “My bucket list includes learning author, writer and parent. Pete to medical school in Rome, on the region. Gas means power, which Spanish, learning the Australian Janovsky also has young twins, G.I. Bill. I am a radiologist in Jersey brings energy, which provides light, crawl (I passed the Columbia swim Tom. Here is Tom’s note: City, N.J., and live in Summit. I’m which results (hopefully) in peace test a million years ago on my back, married to Mary O’Connor, also a and development. In addition, I frog-kicking and hating it) and radiologist specializing in mam- have joined the board, together selling a crossword puzzle to The Submit Your Photo mography. We have three children, with representatives from India and New York Times. I wrote about my Sean, who has two boys, Daniela China, of the new international GP crossword puzzle aspirations on my Submitting a photo for and Cristina.” Koirala Center for Peace, Democ- blog, thereby becoming a pet of the Class Notes is easier Joe Solodow wrote, “Afraid racy and Development, head- huge crossword subculture, which than ever! that the same pestilent wind that quartered in Kathmandu, Nepal. is still trying to shepherd me to a ONLINE by clicking recently carried off my fellow There I also lectured on the Nepali puzzle sale. Will Shortz of the Times classics majors, Jeremy Epstein constitutional process and feder- was very nice in turning down my “Contact Us” at and John Shayner, as well as my alization and in India on minority last puzzle. college.columbia.edu/cct. roommate Mike Bresler, might rights and language. More locally, “My son Alex has a beautiful MAIL by sending the blow in this direction, I figured it I gave a presentation at the Tuck family in Santa Barbara, Calif., photo and accompanying was time to submit something for School of Business at Dartmouth including my two granddaughters. caption information to our Class Notes. After receiving on energy infrastructure develop- Life is so good here in southwest my doctorate from Harvard, I was ment in Central Asia and chaired Virginia with my life partner, Gail, Class Notes Editor, an assistant professor of Latin at a panel at a major conference at that I still can’t believe my luck. Columbia College Today, Columbia, 1971–77; I returned to Columbia on Africa called ‘Energy Here’s wishing everyone else an Columbia Alumni Center, Columbia in 1984–85 to replace my and Infrastructure: Dynamic Trends equally good retirement.” 622 W. 113th St., MC 4530, old teacher, later colleague, Steele in Africa’s Development.’ Lastly, I Joe Wihnyk ’70 wrote, adding to New York, NY 10025. Commager. Around and after was looking forward to attending the sea change of enthusiasm for

FALL 2011 85

CLASS NOTES COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY

“I’ve thought many times of and four Emmy nominations. But cyberspace a few emails from you. reconnecting. And I was therefore writing you with news, gossip, eventually a kind of ‘been there, Please let me know if you have not pleased to run into Jack Schachner, insights, anything to help you fill done that’ phase kicked in, and I seen your news in these columns, who was on campus visiting one your column. I was the class secre- decided to return to my early life and if so, please resend and accept of his cousins. Jack recognized me tary for 15 years for my boarding as a writer. My latest novel, King of my apologies. And for those of and with only one clue from him I school (Andover), and I know Hearts, recently was published. It’s you who haven’t been to a football was able to identify him. how difficult it is to flesh out these a thriller dealing with some of the game in a while, Columbia prob- And now, some news received columns. You can’t make it up, al- unsolved mysteries of the Iraq War. ably does have the finest returning from classmates. though I was tempted to on many I’m pleased to report that it’s selling quarterback in the Ivies, and the Ed Hyman writes: “Last June, occasions, figuring if classmates well on Amazon, especially the season should be fun. my oldest son, Cameron, became couldn’t bother to contribute, Kindle version. an NIH Medical Scientist Training they probably weren’t reading the “After living in the city ever Program fellow at the University of column and wouldn’t notice news since graduation (the furthest Michael Oberman Minnesota Medical School, where about their going to prison, being away I moved was to 105th Street), 69 Kramer Levin Naftalis & he is pursuing his M.D. and Ph.D. dumped by their fourth wife or I moved back to my hometown, Frankel in immunology. Cam, who had any other story I could invent. Westport, Conn., after getting 69 1177 Avenue of the headed the Nadeau Laboratory “Since Columbia, I have spent married (for the second time). I Americas at Stanford School of Medicine, almost all of my career as a writer became a father rather late. Here I New York, NY 10036 recently published an article with and television producer. I wrote two am receiving Medicare, while my moberman@ his Stanford and UC colleagues books, The High School Revolutionaries daughter is in the eighth grade. I kramerlevin.com in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology describing the For me, there is hardly a sight mechanism by which ambient air more spectacular than Columbia’s pollution impairs regulatory T-cell David Borenstein ’69 is president of the American campus on a wonderfully sunny function. My youngest, Devon, is College of Rheumatology. Class Day. Fortunately, I carry that a distinguished student at the USC image in my memories, because (as School of Cinematic Arts and its reported elsewhere in this issue) Roski School of Fine Arts, and a few and To Be Young in Babylon: A Dra- now divide my time writing and Class Day 2011 was a rainy affair. months ago opened his show at the matic, Personal Account of Teen-Age doing the odd freelance television Even so, the alumni who registered USC Art Museum. D is seriously Radicals, within three years of gradu- work. I recently completed three to process in the Alumni Parade of considering an M.F.A. in film at ation. Both were nonfiction. Boy, is hours for Discovery and soon will Classes mostly all showed up. Our Columbia. I only lament that my this writing-game easy, I told myself oversee a travel adventure series for class was well represented, with beloved comrade and good friend at the time. It wasn’t until I turned to NBC. My wife, Susan Farewell, is a four of us carrying our class’ ban- Lew Cole ‘68, who initiated the film fiction that the real challenge began. travel writer, and I help her run our ner for all the graduates and guests program at the School of the Arts, Publishers weren’t exactly knocking online travel business (Farewell to see. I enjoy the event so much is no longer with us to guide him! on my door to buy the inevitable Travels.com). It’s a family affair, that I made my sixth consecutive A few months ago while visiting coming-of-age novel I, of course, felt with my wife doing all the editorial, appearance; Richard Rapaport, the College, I met Lew’s son, which obligated to turn out. It wasn’t until my daughter writing a teen column another regular for the event, was was quite a treat.” I began writing about people I actu- on travel and me proofing all the there once more as well. We were David Borenstein is president ally had to create that my agent’s copy and handling the business. joined by Irv Ruderman and Joel of the American College of Rheu- phone calls began getting returned. One of the advantages is that we all Scharfstein; Joel’s son, Jeffrey matology, having been treasurer I wrote a thriller, Stalking; a book get to travel for little if any cost. ’11, was among the graduates. As and president-elect in the past about four men coping with various “I stay in touch with a number always, the graduates/new alumni three years. He shared with me the life crises, Doubles; and a treasure of classmates. Paul Gallagher, an gave the alumni participants a press release issued when he be- hunt novel, Kidd, that was optioned Andover classmate, is a close friend. rousing welcome, and our year de- came president of the organization by Hollywood for 15 years, before We go skiing every year. I also see pendably attracts loud cheers. Our in November 2010, which retraces being bought by Disney as a source Frank Michel ’70. Dotson Rader, time in the College, as you may his career. In 1978, shortly after for the National Treasure franchise. who attended GS, has been a close know, is literally in the contempo- completing his medical education What’s nice about that is they have friend since junior year. I run into rary American history curriculum. at John Hopkins, David became an to send me a check every time they Robert Brandt at my health club. The line of march is by class year, assistant professor of medicine at make a sequel: National Treasure 3 is He looks still as he did at Colum- starting with the more senior class- The George Washington University in the works. bia. I’m a Facebook friend with es. Alas, each year we draw closer Medical Center. In 1989, he was “Despite my relative success Billy Schwartz, now Billy Cross, to the front of the parade. But this promoted to professor of medicine. as an author, I eventually found who lives in Denmark and makes year, as last, the parade was led by During this period, he was assoc­ writing fiction full-time to be kind memorable music in concerts all Arnold Saltzman ’36, joined by his iate director for education and of lonely. When you look forward to over the world. son Eric Saltzman, who helped research in the Division of Rheu- going down to get the mail, hoping “Thanks again for your hard carry the Class of 1936 banner. On matology. From 1991–95, he was you might speak to someone in the work on behalf of the class. You de- such a happy occasion, no one professor of neurological surgery, elevator, you realize it’s time to get serve a trophy, or at least a building complained that Eric jumped to the an honorary appointment in rec- out into the world. I began writing named after you.” front of the line. ognition of his position as medical more magazine stories, eventually Thanks, Tom, for your kind words. Richard and I also represented director of The George Washington becoming a contributing editor The Greek gods may have assigned our class — albeit sans banner — University Spine Center. In 1997, to Parade Magazine, the Sunday me this task, or it is a form of Camus’ at Dean’s Day. For the third year, he became a clinical professor of supplement that’s in many news- The Myth of Sisyphus. Either way, I Dean’s Day — previously an April medicine on the voluntary faculty papers. I wrote countless stories am happy to do it. And of course for event — was held on the first Sat- and joined Arthritis and Rheuma- ranging from Hollywood profiles to me, it is fascinating to see how my urday of June in conjunction with tism Associates, a five-member an expose about kids on death row. classmates are doing and what they Alumni Reunion Weekend. This rheumatology practice. He also From the magazine work, I ended are up to. I hope to see you in the city bit of scheduling does result in established the Washington, D.C., up moving into television, where one of these days. I have a Kindle high attendance at the lectures by branch of The Center for Rheu- I’ve been producing documentaries and need to download your book, members of the reunion classes but matology and Bone Research. for the last 20-odd years. I spent as everyone else should across the appears to me to reduce the turn- Today, Arthritis and Rheumatism more than a decade as an execu- universe. out from at least some non-reunion Associates spans four locations and tive producer for CBS, overseeing Well, classmates, 65 is actually years (case in point, our class). includes 13 rheumatologists. more than 300 hours of program- 45, so enjoy the many wonders of However interesting the lectures Active in the medical community ming for all the cable networks. today and tomorrow. I do have (and those I attended were interest- in Washington, D.C., David served The shows earned three Emmys a concern that I may have lost in ing), alumni events are really about on the Board of Directors of the

FALL 2011 86 COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY CLASS NOTES

Metropolitan Washington Chapter doing nothing and discovering new of the Arthritis Foundation from interests. So far, I’m finding this 1999–2007 and as its v.p. from 2006– process of transition to be rather ex- 07. He received the D.C. Arthritis citing, marked by little epiphanies Foundation chapter’s Henry Taylor and a sense of openness.” Award in 2005 and its President’s From Michael L. Brown: “I am Award for Lifetime Service in 2008. finishing my 25th year as a mathe- He was selected for the Marriott matics professor at Simmons College Lifetime Achievement Award of the in Boston. I am interested in Jungian Arthritis Foundation Mid-Atlantic psychology and positive psychol- region in 2011. David also has been ogy and also am trying my hand at involved in the civic affairs of Mary- playwriting and other fiction writing land. From 1986–1994, he was ap- for adults and for children. I have a pointed by then-Governor William daughter, Abigail Sarah (22), a senior Donald Schaeffer to the Appellate at Harvard College with a deep com- Judicial Nominating Commission. mitment to social justice, and a son, The commission selected panels of Eli Benjamin (20), a composer who individuals who were presented to has had two commissions and is tak- the governor for appointment to the ing college courses in music and pre- Appeals Court system of Maryland. medicine before formally entering a David is an author of Low Back college degree program. My son has and Neck Pain: Comprehensive Diag- ADHD, which has been a significant nosis and Management, third edition, factor in shaping our lives, and The seventh annual Furnald 7 reunion had alumni scaling the mountains a textbook on spinal disorders for about which I have learned a great of Port Townsend, Wash., last fall. Wearing hiking boots and smiles were physicians. The second edition of deal through the years. I would be (left to right) Richard Canzonetti ’73, David Canzonetti ’71, Robert Baum this book has been recognized by very happy to hear from old friends ’71, Richard Moss ’71 and Alan Kuntze ’71. the Medical Library Association of and acquaintances, and new. I can be America-Brandon/Hill list as one of contacted at brown.michael@post. the 200 essential books for a medical harvard.edu.” provided CCT with a journal of his Wascura and Frank Furillo held library. He also is author of Heal I had been soliciting Andy Bronin experiences (see “Cairo Journal,” their seventh annual March golf Your Back: Your Complete Prescription for news, but felt entitled to press this issue) — it is must reading. outing in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Jim for Preventing, Treating, and Eliminat- harder when I saw his picture one And it is comforting to see he is served up his ‘world-famous’ eggs ing Back Pain, a book written for the Saturday on the back page of The able to offer perspective on very with hot peppers for breakfast most lay population released in January. New York Times A-section, in a group challenging events, even connect- mornings. His daughter Lauren is David has been married to of Best Doctors-Dermatology. He ing them to his recollections of enrolled at SIPA, working on her Dorothy R. Fait, a family law attor- reports: “Life is good, thank God. Columbia, Spring 1968. master’s. Dick’s daughters Ashley ney who has been honored as one I’m grateful for my and my family’s I reached out by email to quite a and Arsha live and work on the of the 100 Outstanding Women of good health and good luck, always few classmates and was disap- West Coast. Ashley is working on Maryland, for 38 years. They have mindful of how transitory both can pointed at how many of my emails her singing career, while Arsha is a three daughters. Sylvia is an at- be (see Herodotus, ‘Histories’ [Book went unanswered — not only rehab counselor. Frank’s son is an torney who works in her mother’s I], Solon’s response to Croesus). My no news but also even no replies investment analyst at UBS in Stam- law practice. Elizabeth is a fashion wife, Elaine, is finishing a training to say there was no news. This ford, while his daughter graduated stylist. Rebecca ’04 is applying to program as a docent at the Metro- column has always been, and can with a master’s in library science M.B.A. programs. David has en- politan Museum of Art in New York only be, a group effort. Yes, I spend from Rutgers in May. joyed playing squash as a means of and will be specializing in introduc- the most time, but I need others “Based on performance on the relaxation for more than 36 years. ing teenagers to the works of the to be willing to share some news South Carolina links, the senior He and his family enjoy vacations Met. I continue to love the private or views (including news of other PGA tour has nothing to worry in Aspen, Colo., where they ski in practice of dermatology. I edit a classmates). As CCT goes quarterly about. Despite this, a good time the winter, hike in the summer and national bimonthly CME journal for effective with this issue, there will was had by all.” enjoy the music festival. the American Academy of Derma- be fewer opportunities to share Bernie Josefsberg has been ap- There were a flurry of news tology and am an associate clinical news, and it will be all the more pointed superintendent of Easton reports, reflecting diverse points of professor in the Yale School of Medi- important to use the space allotted Redding Region 9 School District. view, about Judd Gregg’s appoint- cine Department of Dermatology. to our class. It is your turn now. He had previously retired as super- ment as one of 18 “international Our son Luke, who had been senior intendent of the Leonia, N.J., School advisers” for The Goldman Sachs adviser to the deputy secretary of District. Bernie was too modest to Group. According to a May 27 press the Treasury before his deployment, Leo G. Kailas “brag on himself” but I got the news release, Judd — who recently retired recently returned from active duty Reitler Kailas & Rosenblatt from esteemed sports star Dennis from the Senate — will “provide in the Reserves in Afghanistan as 70 885 Third Ave, 20th Fl. Graham. strategic advice to the firm and a Navy Intelligence officer, and, 70 New York, NY 10022 its clients, and assist in business pending Senate confirmation of [email protected] development initiatives across our his superiors, will assume the role Jim Shaw global franchise.” Judd separately of deputy assistant secretary of the Our former class correspondent, 139 North 22nd St. has been posting an opinion column Treasury for terrorist financing and Peter Stevens, touched base with 71 Philadelphia, PA 19103 on Mondays for The Hill. Question to financial crimes. me just before Easter. He is doing 71 [email protected] classmates: Apart from Judd, Jerry “Elaine and I recently marked well and looking forward to next Nadler and Paul Auster, does any our 33rd wedding anniversary and year’s football season. In light of Dr. Joseph Grisanzio, born in Mola other member of our class have his our 25th year of living in Green- the possible NFL strike — which di Bari, Italy, passed away on May own Wikipedia page? wich, Conn. Luke and his wife and I predict will not occur, and we 25, after a sudden and brief illness David Hummon sent “a small two kids live in Washington, D.C., should know that by the time of while on vacation, in Bari, Italy, item for the Class Notes on a transi- in Georgetown. With two grand- publication — we may all be pay- with his family by his side. He is tion in my life: After 31 years at children in the nation’s capital, ing more attention to Lions football survived by his wife, Karen (Singe- Holy Cross College (most recently Grandma and Pop-pop are regular next season. lais) Grisanzio; mother, Pasqua, as a professor of sociology), I am commuters to D.C.” Speaking of former football play- of Mola di Bari, Italy; daughter, retiring from teaching and college Marc Rauch relocated to Egypt ers, I heard from our team captain, Daria; son, Francesco; sister, Ivana life. I look forward to more time for shortly before the recent shifts in Frank Furillo, who sent the follow- del Papa, of Costa Rica, and her family, writing, painting, kayaking, power in the Middle East He has ing report: “Dick Alexander, Jim husband, Tony. Joseph graduated in

FALL 2011 87

CLASS NOTES COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY

1978 from the Catholic University of ing energy saving retrofits of com- and leader in its development. than $1.2 million, breaking the the Sacred Heart in Rome. He was mercial properties using debt issued “Louis is obsessed with building record set by … the Class of 1971. on multiple boards including those by special municipal property tax a great business from the ground The Reunion Committee did a of the Plymouth District Medical assessment districts.” up, creating products and experi- bang-up job. Among those earn- Society and of the Massachusetts John Borek: “I explored the ences that delight, and changing ing special thanks are committee Medical Society’s Executive Com- whereabouts of my frosh room- the world without politics — and co-chairs Dick Fuhrman and mittee and the Advisory Board mate, Lawrence Auster. I think you with being the best dad he can be Richard Hsia, events co-chairs of the Vital Signs publication. He will be gobsmacked by his Wiki- to Zoe and Orson, and partner to Phil Milstein and Greg Wyatt, the had been in practice with George pedia entry. ... And then my new Jane. Not necessarily in that order.” Communications Committee and Chilazi of Southeast Cardiology Celebrity just ’dropped,’ as The New York Times interviewed all the other committee members. for 30 years, and affiliated with we say in music. It’s at TheProfes John Bidwell ’76 LS, curator of Visit the CCT website to view Morton Hospital and Medical sorOfRap.com. Free downloads of rare books at the Morgan Library our class photo and to see a list of Center in Taunton. He enjoyed the album to members of the Class and Museum, on June 22: “A Life classmates who registered: college. traveling, fishing, hunting, reading, of ’71. Just contact me by email in Libraries, Thanks to Guten- columbia.edu/cct/fall11/reunion. woodworking, cooking and being a and I will give anyone who asks a berg” (nytimes.com/2011/06/23/ I (and my wife, Julia) had an wine connoisseur. Above all, Joseph download code for the album.” nyregion/morgan-library-curator- absolutely fabulous time at reunion. cherished his time with his family Ron Bass: “I’ve had a short discusses-his-work.html). Part of it is the events, part is seeing and many close friends. Donations story accepted for publication by Columbia’s newest alumni affin- old friends and part is making new may be made in his memory to The Columbia Review. I submitted it ity group, Columbia Alumni Sing- friends and meeting the classmates either Morton Hospital and Medical at the end of November and then ers, performed at Alumni Reunion I write about in the eNews and Center Remembrance Fund, 88 forgot about it until I received an Weekend in June. Group organizer these Class Notes even if I never Washington St., Taunton, MA 02780, email from one of the co-editors Nick Rudd ’64 notes that Greg knew them at the College. To me or the American Cancer Society, MA on April 22 that began as follows: Doane, Milt Erman, Tom Kovach the most wonderful part of the Core Division, 30 Speen St., Framing- ‘Dear Mr. Bass, We’re sorry it’s tak- and John Mueser performed. Curriculum is that we got thrown in ham, MA 01701. (The preceding en so long to respond to you; our Reunion was a smashing suc- together, and made friends outside was edited from the website of the submission cycles are long, and cess. Ninety-eight members of of our various academic disciplines. O’Keefe-Wade Funeral Home.) we’ve only just began laying out the class attended. Plus we got a Reunion functions in much the Alan Kuntze sent a great photo, same way. We shared a ton of expe- which you can see in this issue: riences, and we don’t even have to “Here’s a picture from our most Ron Bass ’71 has had a short story accepted for talk about them to understand that recent (seventh annual) Furnald 7 in many ways we understand each Reunion, which took place last fall publication by The Columbia Review. other. Here is but one story of two in Port Townsend, Wash. Past re- classmates who did not previously unions have been in Big Sur, Calif.; know each other, as described by Moab, Utah; Aspen, Colo.; Stinson the first issue of 2011. After reading Barnard alum who registered as Juris Kaza: Beach, Calif.; Valley of the Gods, ‘Marcel Duchamp Inaugurates a member of our class because “When I saw that Eddie Eitches Utah; and Methow Valley, Wash. the Arts and Crap Movement,’ we she wanted to attend some of was on the list of classmates regis- We pick nice places! The picture is broke into laughter and would the Columbia events. In the style tered for reunion, I was dead sure taken at Hurricane Ridge on the love to publish it ... ’ This is my of the old Get Smart television that he was a guy who worked as Olympic Peninsula. The handsome first submission to theReview. ” show, we’ll call her Agent 99. That a typist punching tapes for Specta- lads are Richard Canzonetti ’73, For those who ingest caffeine in 98 doesn’t include the spouses, tor’s 1960s typesetting machines. David Canzonetti, Robert Baum, one form or another — who doesn’t? partners, and relatives and friends Basically anyone who I really knew Richard Moss and yours truly, — there’s Bennett and Louis. who were guests of our class- and remembered back in the day Alan Kuntze.” Bennett Weinberg: “My new mates. I have space limitations, was from Spec, where I spent most Mat Thall: “I am the senior website is WorldOfCaffeine.com. so I’ll just mention some of the of my time. Alas, the only two Spec development consultant to the Several years ago, my wife and I amazing events we had: Thursday guys I saw at reunion were Jim Fairmount Indigo Line CDC Col- published The World of Caffeine: The cocktail party at the David Ruben- Shaw and Alex Sachare. Both of laborative in Boston, a coalition of Science and Culture of the World’s stein Atrium at Lincoln Center; them, especially Alex, have dual four community development cor- Most Popular Drug, the definitive Friday tour of the American Wing roles. Alex was partly a kind of porations that have led a grassroots book on caffeine, which has been of the Metropolitan Museum of reunion official, being editor of effort during the past decade to translated into Italian, Spanish and Art; Friday dinner at the National CCT, and Jim was keeping an eye transform a moribund commuter Japanese. Our new website tells the Arts Club, followed by a tour of on events for our Class Notes. rail line into a full service rail full story of caffeine and posts new Greg Wyatt’s gallery and studio; [Among other Spectator alumni transit line … and to implement health and lifestyle information Saturday tour of the High Line, there was Mark Kingdon, who a good deal of transit-oriented about caffeine.” narrated by the legendary Jacques also serves a dual role, being a development that will accompany Louis Rossetto’s bio — he is Barzun Professor in History University trustee.] the transportation upgrades. This CEO and CCO (chief creative of- and the Social Sciences Kenneth “I knew that Eddie (as it turned is the latest ‘gig’ in my community ficer) — from the website of choco- Jackson, followed by lunch at Co- out, never a Spec typist, I must have development and nonprofit man- late company TCHO, the chocolate lumbia’s Faculty House; Saturday confused him with Ed Stickgold agement consulting practice, which maker that is also the private label afternoon “Music of Our Times” ’73) was on campus when I a saw I began about five years ago.” chocolate maker for Starbucks, and concert, with dancing, and music an African-American lady wearing Christopher Moriarty: “Have yes, they give factory tours and use by Beatles cover band Glass On- a name badge that said Rachel been at Barclays Capital nearly innovative technology (tcho.com ion; Saturday dinner at the newest Eitches. My wife, Latvian film three years. Previously was at and tcho.com/tcho-is/tcho-is) is: campus building, the Northwest director Una Celma, was shooting Lehman Brothers in public finance; “Louis is the co-founder with Corner Science Building; and Sun- one of her zero-budget films in Lat- our group was picked up in its en- Jane Metcalfe of Wired magazine, day brunch at Low Library. via at The Time and Matiss Kaza tirety by Barclays after the Lehman Wired TV, Wired Books and the That is not including any of the (my born-in--growing-up- bankruptcy, as Barclays did not Wired Digital suite of websites, Dean’s Day lectures or myriad in-Latvia son) was studying for his have a public finance group. I work including the first website with other reunion-wide events such as ninth-grade finals at school in Riga, in the housing group financing pub- original content and Fortune 500 Saturday night’s Starlight Recep- so I was alone for this one. lic purpose multifamily housing advertising HotWired, as well as tion — dancing jam-packed under “At the Friday class dinner, projects: military housing projects, the award-winning search engine a tent covering nearly all of Low I was seated at what I mentally Public Housing Authority projects HotBot. In short, he not only fore- Plaza. (The Sunday brunch was called the ‘bonus miles’ table with and low-income housing tax credit saw the major social and economic reunion-wide but as usual, CC ’71 a classmate who hailed from Hong multifamily housing projects. Lately trend of our time, the digital revo- was dominant.) Kong, Bob Meyer, not to be con- I also have been working on financ- lution, he was an active participant And the Class Gift was more fused with Bob Mayer, who also

FALL 2011 88 COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY CLASS NOTES

was at reunion. Bob Meyer and I our encounter. querque, N.M., where he moved to email me and I’ll send you the link. had come the farthest for reunion. “Oh yes, Eddie’s wife came away work in the late 1970s. He’s been And David Stern was featured in a Next to me was Eddie, baffled as with a little boost to her ego as well. working for Lockheed Martin’s New York Times review of a new ex- to why he had been seated there She borrowed a phone charger Advanced Technology Center as a hibit at the Metropolitan Museum (unless he, it seems an ardent run- wire and said I could get it back research scientist for “30 years and of Art of pages from an illuminated ner, had jogged all the way from the following day since we would counting.” His current project is the medieval Passover Haggadah Washington, D.C., where he lives probably meet at one of the events. sensor package for the James Webb owned by the Library of Congress. and works). … When I told Eddie I When that didn’t happen, and I Space Telescope, “due to launch David wrote a scholarly introduc- was at the table only because I had ran across Rachel by chance, I said in 2014 ... or 2015 or ... depend- tion to a facsimile edition of the flown in from Latvia for our 40th, ‘I was at a morning lecture, but I ing on NASA’s funding profile.” manuscript, called the Washington he said he had been there twice, didn’t see anyone who looked like For his spare time pursuits, “as is Haggadah, which was published once during the Soviet era and Halle Berry with longer hair.’ But required by the Albuquerque city by Harvard University Press. Tain- again in the late ’90s. On the latter she does, indeed, Eddie, and she’s a ordinances for all residents, I took Hamilton Records has released the visit, he had met some relatives journalist, too!” up the anachronistic sport of hot CD Opposites Reconciled, Extremes who spoke of a writer called ‘Im- So, see you at the next reunion, air ballooning in the 1980s, which Met by Dr. Louie, aka Keith Luis. merman,’ who wrote in Russian June 2016 — mark your calendars eventually evolved into gas balloon- Keith handles the vocals as well as and was Eddie’s great-uncle. We now! ing. Last October, my partner and all the guitar and mandolin parts. also cleared up the record that Ed- I won the national championship On some of the numbers he adds die had never been a Spec typist. of distance gas ballooning for the percussion (washboard, cola bottle, REUNION MAY 31–JUNE 3 “And then it clicked — I had second time (first time was in 2001). tambourines). Selections are avail- ALUMNI OFFICE CONTACTS been in the same class with a More details at balloonfiesta.com/ able at most major online stores. ALUMNI AFFAIRS Jennifer Freely crypto (hidden) Latvian, think- gas-balloons/america-s-challenge. Jerry Lynch reports on his recent [email protected] ing I was the only one with that “Not an earth-shattering ac- acting debut, “playing (to great 212-851-7438 background. As the dinner broke complishment, considering the acclaim) the role of Judge John DEVELOPMENT Heather Hunte up, I shared a cab back uptown miniscule size of the sport, but it Woolsey (the judge who found [email protected] with Howie Selinger, a classmate keeps us off the street corners. On Ulysses not obscene) in a recreation 212-851-7957 I knew vaguely by name only, and the reminiscences side, reading the of the 1933 obscenity trial as part his wife, Marilyn. Paul S. Appelbaum review of the book Endgame: Bobby of a ‘Bloomsday’ celebration by the “Living in the Spec-John-Jay- 39 Claremont Ave., #24 Fischer’s Remarkable Rise and Fall - Irish-American Bar Association of only-to-sleep bubble for most of 72 New York, NY 10027 from America’s Brightest Prodigy to the New York. As all our classmates my sojourn at the College, I didn’t 72 Edge of Madness on page 56 of the surely know, Bloomsday is June 16, [email protected] know many classmates, but many Spring 2011 issue of Columbia maga- the day in 1904 on which Leopold knew me as a Spec writer and Wayne Cypen recently finished his zine (magazine.columbia.edu/ Bloom wanders Dublin in Joyce’s editor. In front of Carman Hall on 30th year as the chairman of the reviews/spring-2011) reminded great novel. Sometimes called ‘the a lovely, warm night, I ran across Miami area Alumni Representative me that in 1972, Fischer won the thinking man’s St. Patrick’s Day,’ it Rachel, Eddie’s wife and a Jew by Committee (studentaffairs.colum chess world championship and the is the occasion for Irish- and Joyce- choice, who had attended a Hillel bia.edu/admissions/alumni/ Columbia Chess team, led by Sal themed gatherings of all sorts that event at the same time as the ’71 volunteers.php), coordinating all Matera, won the Pan American usually involve a modicum of seri- dinner to check out whether she the interviewing for Columbia ap- Intercollegiate Team Chess Cham- ous literary discussion and a great and Eddie’s daughter, a Columbia plicants from Miami-Dade County. pionship, which was and is the deal of conviviality. Let’s just say undergrad who had never been “This year we had 384 applicants, national championship of collegiate that the subject of obscenity law to Hillel, would find this aspect of the highest number ever. My wife, chess. Tempus fugit.” perfectly fits the occasion.” Jewish life at the University to be Nicole, and I recently hosted at our Charlie Gardner, who gradu- interesting. … By then I had figured home in Miami Beach our annual ated from the Columbia University out that Eddie’s relative was the reception for the admitted students Center for Psychoanalytic Training Barry Etra well-known Latvian writer Anatols from Miami-Dade County and and Research and practices psychi- 73 1256 Edmund Park Dr. NE Imermanis, who passed away in local alumni; we also invite the ad- atry and psychoanalysis in Green- Atlanta, GA 30306 1998 to considerable commemora- mitted students and alumni from wich, Conn., is an empty-nester 73 [email protected] tion in the Latvian press. I hung the Broward-Palm Beach ARC.” with his youngest off to college. around with Rachel until Eddie Wayne continues to focus on “I no longer am voluntary faculty Not much activity out there in finally showed up and we spent Noteland. These spaces be sparse, until 2 in the morning looking at summarily … websites [which Eddie says Juris Diran Sohigian has been a pro- translated] on his famous relative, Jeffrey Laurence ’72 was interviewed on Access fessor at Shih Chien University in who was born in 1914, before the Hollywood about his AIDS work with Elizabeth southern Taiwan for 10 years. He first independent Latvian state was is about an hour inland from the proclaimed in 1918, who was a Taylor and amfAR. “beautiful and dynamic” port of Communist, fought in WWII for the Kaohsiung, “beyond mile after mile Red Army … Eddie’s great-uncle’s of banana plantations, living in a Communist past was largely for- charitable work. He’s on the board at Cornell and have completed bamboo forest in the subtropics.” given once Latvia regained its in- of directors and chairs the invest- my tour as chair of the Greenwich He posits that those who knew dependence in 1991, and he was ment committee of the Miami Jewish Hospital Department of Psychiatry him back when, when he began known for, among other things, Health Systems, is a trustee and but still enjoy working hard in the studying Chinese, may not be his detective novels and an erotic chairman of the benefactor commit- office and working hard on the surprised! autobiography he could write once tee of the Ransom Everglades School family farm on weekends in the James Thomashower is in his Soviet censorship was a thing of and is former chairman of the board Berkshires. Still married to wife 13th year as executive director of the past. of Easter Seals of South Florida. “For No. 1. I also am the editor of an the American Guild of Organists, a “It was absolutely fantastic to leisure, I enjoy traveling (mostly eclectic website that gets around nonprofit serving 17,000 organists. find that there was someone with cruising) and golf. My older son, five million hits a month: maggies He also is finishing his four-year common roots in the class. I went Jeremy, a Harvard graduate, began farm.anotherdotcom.com.” stint as the volunteer president of away from reunion feeling that I medical school in August at the Uni- As for ’72ers in the news lately, the Philipstown Reform Synagogue. had opened up the past to a class- versity of Miami, and my younger Jeffrey Laurence was interviewed James found his college grades mate who only had a vague idea of son, Scott, a history major, finished on Access Hollywood about his AIDS recently in a file while cleaning what it was all about. Now Eddie his junior year at the University of work with Dame Elizabeth Taylor out his parents’ apartment and says he will tell all of his New Maryland in College Park.” and her foundation, amfAR. If wonders, “Did CC routinely send Jersey Immerman relatives about Peter Cuneo writes from Albu- you’re interested in seeing the clip, grades to students’ parents? Glad

FALL 2011 89

CLASS NOTES COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY my parents took them in stride.” thought she had nearly completed continuing his job as president of involved Crusty the Clown and his Meir Stampfer is “living well” in her documentary on prominent Jerry Fixel, Inc., and v.p. of Osterer friends! Brookline, Mass. He is a professor Chinese artist-activist Ai Weiwei. Construction (both commercial There you have it. Classmates of medicine, epidemiology and nu- It seems Ai’s “outspoken remarks builders in Jacksonville, Fla.), he excelling at their current careers, trition at Harvard. He and his wife, regarding China and its stance is preparing to launch a company, adding new careers to current ones Clare, celebrated the graduation of on human rights issues” led the Parallel Universe Theater Resourc- and replacing their old careers their youngest, Orly ’11, from the Chinese government to take him es, to market a line of “innovative with new ones. As we arrive in College; her brother Sam ’07 and into custody. Alison now is scram- scenic design components.” This our late 50s, we are striving to find sister Eliane ’09 also did thusly! bling to revise her film in hopes undoubtedly was inspired by the our own sense of fulfillment that Angelo Falcon was in Puerto that it will increase the worldwide rebirth of Michael’s third career in is as different as perfecting a great Rico in May on an ACLU panel concern of the plight of Ai and theater. He tells us, “My hallucina- legal defense, expressing ourselves investigating charges of human aid in his release. [Editor’s note: tory verse play, Salamander Stew, got through the arts or sharing our and civil rights violations. Having Weiwei was released on June 22: a staged reading at Barnard in 1973 life skills with the next generation. the ACLU come to nytimes.com/2011/06/23/world/ and then sat around germinating Send in your story so that your was no small deal; Angelo joined asia/23artist.html?ref=aiweiwei.] for a few decades. Inspired by my friends of four decades can find Oscar-nominated actress Rosie A press release came in from involvement in local theater with what direction you have chosen. Perez, baseball star Carlos Delgado the Philadelphia law firm Fox my wife, Ava, a high school theater and the new head of LatinoJustice, Rothschild announcing that Stan­ director, and my daughter Juliet, an Juan Cartagena, in a panel led by ley Goodman has been named a actress in her first year in NYC, I got Randy Nichols Anthony Romero, ACLU director. “Leader in Law” in the 2011 Cham- back to work on it. It was chosen to 734 S. Linwood Ave. Send those nuggets in, fellas. I’m bers USA Guide (the leading guide participate in the Strawberry One- 75 Baltimore, MD 21224 out here panning. to the legal profession) in the Labor Act Festival in Chelsea.” The piece 75 [email protected] and Employment Law category. was a finalist for best play, and Julie Stan, who works in the Roseland, won the award for best director. Horace Brockington is editor/cu- Fred Bremer N.J., office, is chair of its Labor and Michael received an invitation “to rator for Triannum/Journal of Visual 532 W. 111th St. Employment Department. the big party,” the prominent NYC Culture (triannum.com). 74 New York, NY 10025 Eric Krasnoff, the only classmate International Fringe Festival that World traveler, poet, playwright, 74 known to be CEO of a Standard ran August 12–28. journalist, teacher and cultural [email protected] & Poor’s 500 corporation, recently Michael says Salamander Stew’s activist (and architect and urban Like the 1950 classic filmRashomon, retired from Pall Corp. He had held “poetic and dramatic leanings were planner) Fernando Castro’s newest classmates will view the same event the positions of both CEO and shaped by studies with Professor collection of poems, Redeemable Air in different ways. To some (do you chairman of the board since July Kenneth Koch, as well as by my Mileage, recently was published even remember the “Spartacist 1994. Port Washington, N.Y.-based time with Allen Ginsberg ’48 and by TA’YER Books. As a sometimes Club”?), the University Senate resolu- Pall Corp. is a leading filtration William S. Burroughs, with whom I frequent traveler myself, I chuck- tion passed in April to “explore the equipment maker, doing $2.4 billion studied in Boulder, Colo.” He says led at the title, but the contents are mutually beneficial relationship” in annual sales. he also was inspired by his daugh- not always whimsical. Fernando of having the ROTC return to the We look forward to learning ter Leia, a teacher and co-founder is concentrating on travel in the Columbia campus is a betrayal of the what is next for Eric. (with her sister and mother) of a Americas (Guatemala, Honduras, anti-war history of the University that Some years back, Bill Meehan successful performing arts camp, Belize, Peru and Brazil) this year. has dominated at least since the 1968 retired from his long career as a BeaTPac. However, he adds that In addition, he is doing West Coast protests. To others, this resolution is managing director at the consulting the play “matured drastically due signings and readings of his works. rejecting the anomaly of the past 40 firm McKinsey & Co. in San Fran- to the insights and criticisms of its I asked Fernando if he has retired years. As The New York Times wrote in cisco. What started as teaching a director, Juliet,” and is “now at least to find so much time to travel, but its piece on the resolution, “Before the few courses at the Stanford business as much Julie’s as it is mine.” he says he is not yet ready to retire. Vietnam War, Columbia had a long school seems to have morphed into Among the more unusual Jasmin and Jim Dolan had a and mostly cordial rapport with the a busy teaching schedule: “Critical professions of a classmate is that of busy spring. On their travels to armed forces … Columbia provided Analytical Thinking,” “Strategic Roman Paska: puppeteer. Now, I Scotland in April, Jim hoped to con- more young officers during WWII Management of Nonprofits,” bet you think of puppeteers only as nect with Todd McEwen who lives, than the Naval Academy.” Where do “Evaluating Social Entrepreneurial the performers you hired for your teaches and writes in Edinburgh. you stand? Send in your opinion. Ventures” and “General Manage- kids’ birthday parties. However, Unfortunately, Todd is variously The great irony here is that ment Synthesis” (where students there is a higher level of the art that hanging out in the Orkney Islands the Senate decision found its work with a real company to has led Roman’s original produc- (searching for some combination impetus in the decision to repeal identify the issues facing the CEO tions to be presented around the of inspiration and oysters, Jim bets) the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy and how to resolve them). world, with productions based and then Chicago so they missed that banned openly gay men As if this is not enough to keep on the works of Yeats, Strindberg, him. Jim visited Gotham in Febru- and lesbians from serving in the Bill busy “in retirement,” he also Lorca and Shakespeare. Among the ary and had a great lunch with Irv military. With this discriminatory is a mentor to many students places where he has appeared in Schenkler and Tony Herrling ’74, policy ending, and the anti-mili- as well as to a range of social the past year is the National Theatre old WKCR chums. Irv has spent tary mood on campus waning, the entrepreneurs and other nonprofit of Portugal and the Stockholms time in Scotland visiting Todd and University no longer felt a justifi- leaders, and serves on the board of Stadsteater. This spring, Roman was had some great tips on food and cation for banning the relationship tech giant Juniper Networks. He in London at the Centre for Creative drink. Daughter Zoe Emër Dolan with the armed forces. The irony recently added an important new Collaboration, where he presented graduated with a degree in art his- comes from the simplistic view job: grandpa. Daughter Katie Con- his new documentary about Italian tory and will likely find herself liv- that many conservatives didn’t fa- way ’02 and her husband, Shane string puppetry and delivered ing and working in NYC one day. vor having gay men and lesbians Conway ’02E, have given Bill a a sold-out workshop to puppet Jim spent another spring weekend overtly in the military, and many grandson, Griffin Kieran Conway experts. Roman also recently was moving her into her new apartment liberals tended to (reluctantly) (1), Class of 2031. Bill says, “Grif- at the Rubin Museum of Art in the near my old stomping grounds in accept the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” fin will be a fourth-generation Chelsea district of NYC, where he Lancaster, Pa. compromise. Talk about unin- alumnus.” (No pressure there.) Bill participated in a conversation with It seems that it’s impossible to tended consequences! concluded, “If I had known retired famed neuroscientist Rodolfo Llinás skim a sports page or listen to ESPN The New York Times gave us a life would be this good, I might to “explore the boundaries of illu- News and not see, hear or read follow-up story on a recent piece have started earlier. My principle is sion and perceptions of reality” as about Jeffrey Kessler. Jeff repre- about who they called “Manhattan- simple: I don’t do anything I don’t part of the museum’s fourth annual sents the NFL and NBA players’ based filmmaker Alison Klayman.” enjoy — except by mistake.” Brainwave Series that examines the unions, and he thought he “could As you may recall, Alison (26) is the Far from having retired, Michael phenomenon of dreaming. be fighting litigation wars on two daughter of Barry Klayman and Fixel has “tripled down.” While And you thought puppetry only fronts this summer.” While it does

FALL 2011 90 COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY CLASS NOTES

Alumni Sons and Daughters

Fifty-six members of the College Class of 2015 and six members of the Engineering Class of 2015 are sons or daughters of College alumni. This list is alphabetical by the parent’s last name.

STUDENT PARENT STUDENT PARENT STUDENT PARENT Nastassia Adkins Philip Adkins ’80 Eric Jacobs Gary Jacobs ’85 Julia Selinger Neil Selinger ’75 ** Peterborough, U.K. • Deerfield Academy New York City • Dalton School Larchmont, N.Y. • Mamaroneck H.S. Kimiya Alsop Richard Alsop ’84 Julia Jarrett Mark Jarrett ’73 Rafael Seltzer Roben Seltzer ’79 Ridgewood, N.J. • Ridgewood H.S. Lafayette, Calif. • Acalanes H.S. Irvington, N.Y. • Horace Mann School Zachary Avigan David Avigan ’85 Michael Josephs Robert Josephs ’78 William Settel Kenneth Settel ’67 Sharon, Mass. • Maimonides School Chevy Chase, Md. • Bethesda-Chevy Chase H.S. Brookline, Mass. • Roxbury Latin School Sean Barron Joaquin Barron ’94 Kylie Kaufman James Kaufman ’81 Adam Sherman * David Sherman ’80 Woodcliff Lake, N.J. • Pascack Hills H.S. Russell, Ohio • St. Stephen’s Episcopal School Parkville, Md. • Loyola Blakefield H.S. Ross Basri * Nancy Basri ’87 and James Kim Hyetae Kim ’81 Matteo Singer Robert Singer ’76 William Basri ’84 Midland, Texas • Robert E. Lee H.S. Bronx, N.Y. • Stuyvesant H.S. Rumson, N.J. • Marine Academy of Science & Rohan Kirpekar Nanda Kirpekar ’73 Adam Spinosa Charles Spinosa ’76 Technology Edgewater, N.J. • Trinity School New York City • Dalton School Madeleine Bavley Alan Bavley ’74 Courtney Lee Jay Lee ’81 David Spinosa David Spinosa ’78 Prairie Village, Kan. • Shawnee Mission East H.S. Alpine, N.J. • Tenafly H.S. Charlottesville, Va. • St. Anne’s-Belfield School Rachel Bercovitz Barry Bercovitz ’74 Olivia Lopez-Balboa Francisco Samuel Stevens Peter Stevens ’83 Baltimore • Beth Tfiloh Community H.S. Lopez-Balboa ’82 Haworth, N.J. • Academy for the Advancement Elizabeth Berg Howard Berg ’76 New York City • Chapin School of Science and Technology West Orange, N.J. • Kushner Yeshiva H.S. Samuel Lutzker Stuart Lutzker ’83 Matthew Strauss Michael Strauss ’81 Joseph Betts Christopher Betts ’84 Walnut Creek, Calif. • Las Lomas H.S. Belle Terre, N.Y. • Earl L. Vandermuelen H.S. Delmar, N.Y. • Bethlehem Central H.S. James Macksoud Richard Macksoud ’84 Matthew Suozzo * Mark Suozzo ’75 Corinna Boylan Matthew Boylan ’82 Montclair, N.J. • Montclair H.S. New York City • Hunter College H.S. New York City • Brearley School Amanda Malcolm John Malcolm ’82 John Timony-Gomez * Mark Timoney ’88 Lloyd Brown Lloyd Brown II ’85 Pacific Palisades, Calif. • Marlborough School Bronxville, N.Y. • Bronxville H.S. Hollow, N.Y. • Pleasantville H.S. Elizabeth Meininger Christian Meininger ’82 Brian McGrattan * Laura Ting ’87 Cynthia Campo Diane Hilal-Campo ’87 Cincinnati • Summit Country Day School Gaithersburg, Md. • Thomas Sprigg Wootton H.S. and Richard Campo ’84 Philip Merkin Solomon Merkin ’78 Victoria Van Amson George Van Amson ’74 Ridgewood, N.J. • Ridgewood H.S. Englewood, N.J. • Ramaz Upper School New York City • Nightingale-Bamford School Monica Carty Stephen Carty ’85 Emma Merkling Christian Merkling ’82 Ellen Vitercik Greg Vitercik ’72 Short Hills, N.J. • Millburn H.S. Cape Town, South Africa • Reddam House Lincoln, Vt. • Mount Abraham Union H.S. Atlantic Seaboard Jessica Chi Dennis Chi ’86 Elena Wolner Ron Wolner ’77 Closter, N.J. • Horace Mann H.S. Hilary Mogul * Mark Mogul ’74 Menands, N.Y. • Shaker H.S. Port Washington, N.Y. • Paul D. Schreiber Noah Chodos Joel Chodos ’75 Ian Zapolsky David Zapolsky ’85 Wilmington, Del. • Tower Hill School Senior High Seattle • James A. Garfield H.S. Isaiah Muzikowski Robert Muzikowski ’78 Robert Cornacchia Louis Cornacchia ’82 Sarah Zimmerman Jonathan Zimmerman ’83 Chicago • Chicago Hope Academy Point Lookout, N.Y. • Long Beach Senior H.S. Narbeth, Pa. • Lower Merion H.S. Benjamin Drucker Peter Drucker ’85 Brendan O’Loughlin John O’Loughlin ’81 Maplewood, N.J. • Columbia H.S. Boston • Roxbury Latin School Rebecca Pottash Bruce Pottash ’80 * Member of the Engineering Class of 2015 Rebecca Friedman David Friedman ’78 ** Deceased New York City • SAR H.S. Encino, Calif. • Marlborough School Isabel Genecin Victor Genecin ’74 Dawn Queen Cary Queen ’71 Larchmont, N.Y. • Mamaroneck H.S. Cupertino, Calif. • Harker School Four incoming College transfer students are Aryeh Goldstein Eric Goldstein ’80 Morgan Romey Michael Romey ’85 sons or daughters of College alumni. New York City • Ramaz Upper School San Marino, Calif. • Polytechnic School STUDENT PARENT Eliot Sackler Michael Sackler ’76 Justin Goluboff Nicole Belson Jessica Gersony Neal Gersony ’80 Goluboff ’87 and Tenafly, N.J. • Tenafly H.S. Erik Goluboff ’86 Ari Schuman Joel Schuman ’80 Julien Hawthorne Christopher Hawthorne ’79 Scarsdale, N.Y. • Scarsdale H.S. Pittsburgh • Winchester Thurston H.S. Stephanie Hanchuk Hilary Hanchuk ’81 Brina Seidel Stephen Seidel ’74 Henrik Hector Louis Hector ’82 Peapack, N.J. • Pingry School Chevy Chase, Md. • Bethesda-Chevy Chase H.S. Max Lecar Joshua Lecar ’86

FALL 2011 91

CLASS NOTES COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY not get as much press, the rest of his of Regina started sobbing! Children of two classmates were own mind” Class of 1978 is starting. practice as partner and global litiga- After graduating as an English admitted early decision to the Class Apologies to many who didn’t make tion chair for Dewey & LeBoeuf major, Larry Tarini returned to GS of 2015: Gabriel Merkin, son of this column due to word limits. We also is busy. Jeff continues to handle and earned a B.A. in mathematics. J. Ezra Merkin, and Eliot Sackler, will get you in next time. major cases for Panasonic, Sanyo, With a fellowship for graduate study son of Michael Sackler. Adam Isler notes, “I had a show Hitachi Cable, Uralkali (a Russian at UC Berkeley, he earned an M.A. of my photographs, The Nature potash company) and the Lower and then was an actuarial associate of Cities, last December at Druids REUNION MAY 31–JUNE 3 Manhattan Development Corp. (the in San Francisco. (Larry was crossing Bar and Restaurant on Tenth ALUMNI OFFICE CONTACTS government agency responsible for the Bay Bridge on a bus when the Avenue (islerphoto.zenfolio.com/ ALUMNI AFFAIRS Jennifer Freely World Trade Center site redevelop- quake hit during the 1989 World p556621714); I’m participating in [email protected] ment). A New York Times article Series.) In 1990, he returned to the another show ongoing now at the 212-851-7438 recently said Jeff’s “argument will stable glacial till of Michigan to be Terrain Gallery, This Great, Diverse DEVELOPMENT Matt Marsallo draw on his antitrust expertise, closer to his family. Working as a City: How Should We See It? (until [email protected] which has been honed in cases pension specialist, he met his wife, September: terraingallery.org); and 212-851-7452 outside sports, most notably in Patricia Fabrizio, a benefits attorney yet another was held in June at the major cases he won involving Japa- for Sachs Waldman in Detroit. After David Gorman Jadite Galleries on West 50th Street nese electronics companies.” Jeff they married, “sweetie” Patty con- 111 Regal Dr. (jadite.com). Continuing with a also teaches a course on complex vinced him to return to academia. 77 DeKalb, IL 60115 New York theme (for a change), litigation at the Law School and Since 2005, Larry has been a grad 77 Jeffrey Moerdler writes, “I am a [email protected] is happily still married to Regina student in high energy physics at member of the Board of Com- ’76 Barnard. [Editor’s note: CCT Wayne State University studying We tend to think of ourselves as missioners of the Port Authority profiled Kessler in November 2002: the quark-gluon plasma formed in changing and of alma mater as stay- of New York and Jersey and vice college.columbia.edu/cct_archive/ heavy ion collisions at the Brookhav- ing forever the same. But that is not chair of its Audit and Security nov02/nov02_feature_sports.php.] en National Laboratory’s Relativistic always the right way to look at it, Committees, as well as recently Fr. C. John McCloskey STD has Heavy Ion Collider. (“To orient as I rediscover each time I return to becoming one of the chapter a new book, The Essential Belloc: A Manhattanites, that’s Exit 68 on the visit campus — to find, for instance, coordinators of my local volunteer Prophet of Our Times, and is working L.I.E.”) Until the Large Hadron Col- that at some point they took down ambulance service, where I take on another that will speak to the lider was commissioned at CERN the signs on the bathroom doors 150–200 emergency calls per year. value of a liberal arts education, in [European Organization for Nuclear in Butler Library. And at times, I This is all in addition to my ‘day this case with a Catholic twist. CJ Research], those at BNL were the don’t even need to visit for that job’ as a lawyer at Mintz Levin.” continues to write on John Henry only ones to be sued by parties thought to occur, as when I learned We conclude this section with Cardinal Newman and had pieces claiming they would destroy the that ROTC was coming back to the Hon. Joe Greenaway, who in and The world by creating black holes. Larry Columbia. I welcome thoughts on reports, “I have nothing earth-shat- Wall Street Journal for Newman’s asks, “If we really could create black the subject for the next column. tering to report. I enjoy serving on beatification last year. You can find holes at will, wouldn’t we have used For the moment, though, just a the appellate court and absolutely examples of CJ’s work on frmcclo that power to get steady funding?” few notes and queries. love teaching a seminar at the skey.com. He asks that “classmates He defends his thesis this year. Peter Rose has been honored for College on the Supreme Court. My in Chicago give a holler” and “pray co-founding Performance Space kids are great. Ronnie ’78 Barnard that I get transferred back to the 122. Even I knew that P.S. 122 (a and I recently celebrated 30 years East Coast, where the great majority Clyde Moneyhun once-abandoned school at First Av- of marital bliss. Looking forward to of my friends and relatives live.” Boise State University enue and East 9th Street) has long seeing everyone in 2013.” When talking about Maryland, CJ 76 Department of English been famous as a venue for perfor- Chuck Callan writes, “First reminded me that “It is a fascinat- 76 200 Liberal Arts Building mance art. What I did not know is news, Ben Caplan is well. He and ing state. Read about the divisions 1910 University Dr. that along with three others, Peter his family visited during Passover. regarding the war between the Boise, ID 83725 began to refunction it in 1979. Since His daughter Allie ’11 graduated in states. In the east and south, it was clydemoneyhun@ then, Peter has had a distinguished May. Now, here is a great update completely for the secession. As you boisestate.edu career as a performance artist and from John Prudden, a philosophy might know, it was founded as a trainer, first in New York and even- major, contender for the record of refuge for English Catholics.” Did you attend our 35th Alumni tually, more and more, in Europe. most incompletes accumulated On a road trip to visit daughter Reunion Weekend in June? If so, He has lived in Berlin since 1995. and dispatched, a champion fencer, Meg (student at Penn) and son let me know! Please share news From Philadelphia, Jim O’Toole a heavyweight crew member and James in Washington, D.C., Bob about who you saw and what you writes that, for him, “It’s just another a brother at ZBT during the chap- Schneider and his wife, Regina did — and also what’s going on in day as a civil servant. Almost time ter’s reestablishment year. John Mulahy ’75 Barnard, stopped in your life otherwise. Visit the CCT to hang it up,” he adds, asking, said he sent it to you last time, but Baltimore to visit with me and my website to view our class photo “How are the rest of our classmates it hit the cutting room floor. sister, Robin Nichols. We visited and to see a list of classmates who confronting retirement?” Another “About a year ago, I moved to Fort McHenry, where the visitor’s registered to attend: college.colum question worth pondering, mayhap. Seattle, following my wife and center had just reopened in prepara- bia.edu/cct/fall11/reunion. Michael Beck also has a ques- dogs. I had had a wonderful stretch tion for the 200th anniversary of In other news, Jonathan Margo­ tion. He is “curious if any of our in the metropolitan area of about 53 the War of 1812. Because it was lis joined the law firm of Morrison classmates are philatelists” — years. There are so few native New National Park Week, we even got in Cohen as a partner in the real stamp collectors — “something I Yorkers because they have the good for free! (CJ says, “That’s a war that estate department. did avidly pre-college, at college, sense to leave. The key to this sort maybe we all can agree on.”) Since Dan Baker has become the in law school and right through of move is to emphasize the things I can see Fort McHenry from my director of donor relations for prin- today (an interest that neither my that are excellent out here. We can roof deck, the noise of the fireworks cipal gifts in Columbia’s Office of wife, Marcia ’80 Business, nor my actually afford to go to the opera, on opening night pulled me out of Alumni and Development. In his children (25 and 22) share).” symphony, theater and concerts. my chair, outside and to the roof. new role, Dan creates and carries There are decent mountains and From there, the fireworks were out individualized donor relations lots of big water for salmon and spectacular! (Jim Dolan, who also strategies for Columbia’s top Matthew Nemerson steelhead. I’ve taken up ‘spey’ fly lives in Baltimore, couldn’t join us, donors. He will remain the contact 78 35 Huntington St. fishing, which is the old Scottish but he had attended the opening of person on the Giving to Columbia New Haven, CT 06511 way with big poles and monster the new visitor’s center, and said he website (giving.columbia.edu/ 78 casts. I’m making friends and mak- [email protected] “welled up a bit when the window giveonline), so if you find you’re ing my way. went up to reveal that ‘our flag was still able to give something in these A spring explosion of news from the “I don’t have anything particu- still there.’ ” Our eyes welled up hard times, Dan is the man to tell suddenly extroverted 55-year-olds larly exciting to report, but that is too, especially after the man in front ([email protected]). in the still “we are young in our in keeping with my personality.

FALL 2011 92 COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY CLASS NOTES

I mean, my heroes are Professor Ted Faraone: “For the past three an active alum who gives money, checks rolling in before you’re 1!” Henry Higgins and Bertie Wooster. years, in addition to my PR busi- does interviews and comes from a On a more cheerful note, Thom­ My favorite ad was that old per- ness, Faraone Communications, ‘Columbia family’ is an Admis- as H. Reuter writes, “My youngest fume commercial, ‘I don’t want to which specializes in entertainment sions Office that contacts him (and son, Tim ’11, won the history de- set the world on fire … .’ They say and media, I have been moonlight- me) after his interview and receiv- partment’s Chanler Historical Prize it takes about two years to settle ing as a film critic. I can be read in ing his transcript and advising him [your humble scribe won this back into Seattle. There is a psychoana- several outlets, but all my reviews that it probably wouldn’t be good in the day for his feisty Stephen lytic group of old New Yorkers to appear on my site, tedflicks.com.” enough. That’s at least something Douglas paper for Professor James help with the adjustments. (I don’t Always well opinioned and all of us legacies were the benefit Shenton ’49] for the best essay or attend.) very literate is Peter McAlevey, of — personal contact and honest thesis on a topic concerning Ameri- “There is a Columbia Univer- president of Thunderbird Pictures. answers. can civil government. This is one sity Club of the Pacific Northwest, He writes, “My son Sean (19) “Harry has visited Penn several of Columbia’s oldest cash prizes, whose events I keep trying to attend, returned home last spring from his times and achieved a good work- dating back to 1877. get very excited about and then freshman year at the University of ing relationship with its Admis- “He is struggling through the totally forget on the day. Best to you Toronto, where he is an A- student sions Office about what it wants rough job market, but I have been and Columbia.” with a double major in philosophy and expects — more communica- intrigued by the variety of job inter- Jeff Klein also reports on some- and political science and played tion than I or Sean ever received views. For example, a crime fighting one else, Joel Charap, who lived quarterback on the freshman foot- from the College either before or paralegal with a crusading prosecu- in Thailand. “I visited Joel, my ball team — he’s taking this year after admissions came and went. tor or attending to legal matters at Carman roommate, last summer at off to concentrate on studies before, “So, for the first time in 60 years, Sotheby’s auction house. If you were his new home in Pattaya, Thailand, presumably, rejoining the team there won’t be a McAlevey at Col­ 21 and could start all over, which and am happy to report that he next year (he’ s still working out). umbia. It saddens me, but that’s would you pick? Good question for is thriving, was newly married A few years back he did not get in how the world is turning. The same the older guys. In his case, let’s hope at the time and continuing to use to Columbia. This is relevant only institution that gave us people like he gets one, any one.” the knowledge afforded all of us in that my senior-to-be, Harry (16), Lionel Trilling [’25] and Jack Kerouac Good news, everyone! My wife, in the Core Curriculum, primarily is looking at colleges … do I advise [’44] and, when my father, a young Marian ’77 Barnard, and I celebrat- through making puns about the him to think about Columbia? law school grad, followed Jack ed our 25th last November, and Greek classics. Joel and his bride, “I went to Columbia because Greenberg [’45] south as a lawyer for Marian also received tenure at the Manee, are ensconced in a lovely my father and mother both had. the NAACP, it was because of the Yale School of Environment and seaside condo while he plots his Dad was ’50L (returning from next move (you may recall that WWII as an ‘officer and gentle- he worked in Los Angeles as a man’), and Mom was Teachers director of Jeopardy! for close to two College (but dropped out to get Dr. Richard J. Caselli ’79, a behavioral neurologist, decades before chucking it to move married at St. Paul’s and later have has been appointed to the board of directors of the to Thailand). In the meantime, he’s me and a bunch of other kids at enjoying the local cooking, though then–Columbia-Presbyterian.) Phoenix-based Flinn Foundation. somehow, bafflingly, he’s avoiding When she died, her funeral was at the spicy dishes.” the Catholic church there. Following Jeff is another WKCR “So it seemed natural when I fervor inspired by Columbia, not the Forestry, so at least I don’t have to sportster, Tom Mariam, who recalls, started looking at colleges that average GPA or SAT of its admitting worry about healthcare anymore. “It was a great thrill to be at the this is where I would go, as even class. So let’s consider all sides of One more thing to cross off the WKCR 70th Anniversary Dinner a my high school girlfriend’s father the competitive position Columbia big list. Our daughter Joy (17) has few months back. It brought back was an English professor there finds itself in and make sure legacy her driver’s license — boy, that is so many great memories being and my next-door neighbor John families are at least being talked to so shocker; now I do feel old — and together again with so many of our Walsh ’79’s father was head of the we will still be there to support and daughter Elana (21) recently spent colleagues (including a number philosophy department. Not only speak for the institution. a semester in London. from the Class of ’78) from that era, did I attend, but also my brother “I have some fun news to share. Bye for now! a time when radio really was an im- followed me (’83) and my sister-in- Just so I didn’t suffer from ‘empty portant medium. It was a lot of fun law (now head of AP Scandinavia) nest’ syndrome with one son now hearing all the old KCR war stories, did as well, in the ’90s. safely ensconced in college and Robert Klapper some of which I remembered well “Today, not only is a place such another on the way there, I decided 8737 Beverly Blvd., Ste 303 and some of which were new to me. as U of Toronto higher ranked inter- to reload (as our beloved Yankees 79 Los Angeles, CA 90048 Even though it’s been more than nationally by journals such as The would say) and last year added 79 [email protected] 30 years since we were all together, Economist (17, ahead of Columbia’s two more to the mix, twin girls it’s remarkable how seamlessly we 23) and all other North American Rowan and Bailey, born August Dr. Richard J. Caselli, a behavioral all meshed again. Can’t wait for the universities with the exception of 2, 2010, at Cedars-Sinai in Beverly neurologist with the Mayo Clinic, 75th!” Harvard and Princeton and trailing Hills. has been appointed to the board of Amittai Aviram reports, “I’m only powerhouses such as Oxford, “As happens in Hollywood, they directors of the Flinn Foundation, a working away at my second Ph.D., Cambridge and Heidelberg) but were almost immediately ‘discov- Phoenix-based, private philanthrop- in computer science, at Yale, though it also still shares real remnants of ered’ (probably having a producer ic endowment. Richard, a professor living in Harlem now, doing my ‘empire’ such that Sean’s room- for a dad didn’t hurt) and within a of neurology with the Mayo Medi- dissertation research at home and mates this year included, among month had been cast in a recurring cal School College of Medicine, commuting to New Haven once others, the son of a wealthy Egyp- role as star Nadia Bjorlin’s child on has worked at Mayo’s Scottsdale or twice a week for meetings. Our tian family caught in the middle of . Before they could campus since 1990. He also is a con- team won best paper at a confer- the turmoil. even shoot their first scene, however, sultant to and recent past chairman ence last fall, and I presented at a “But, of course, that is what one they were scooped up for guest star- of Mayo’s Department of Neurol- workshop at Berkeley this spring. I expects of a great international uni- ring roles on House M.D., CSI: Miami, ogy and a past member of the Mayo worked at Google-NYC this sum- versity. Clearly, Sean knows that Private Practice and other shows. Clinic Arizona Executive Opera- mer (yay!). I live with my partner, Columbia’s current quarterback is After they were ‘christened’ on Days tions Team. He holds an adjunct contemporary art curator and better than he would have been. (a shock to my Jewish wife!), they clinical faculty appointment at the writer Octavio Zaya, and within Nor does he begrudge the College moved on to another continuing part Biodesign Institute at Arizona State walking distance of my son, Blake, its choice to admit hundreds of on Steven Spielberg’s United States of University, is an adjunct professor who recently finished his second students with no connection to the Tara as Toni Collette’s niece. Along at ASU’s Department of Biomedi- year at Fordham Law School, where College other than better grades the way they picked up commercial cal Informatics and is a member of he is on the Law Review. OK, now than his 3.97 out of 4.0. work, including a Super Bowl spot. the advisory board of the Center back to debugging.” “Still, what I would like to see as Trust me, it’s nice having royalty for Services Leadership of the W.P.

FALL 2011 93

CLASS NOTES COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY

Carey School of Business at ASU. tremendous heart, and Coach Brett repairman). REUNION MAY 31–JUNE 3 Richard’s research focuses on Boretti should be commended on As this is written, I’ve just ALUMNI OFFICE CONTACTS aging, including Alzheimer’s the team’s effort. Football season is returned from our 30th Alumni ALUMNI AFFAIRS Robin Vanderputten disease and other forms of demen- right around the corner, and I look Reunion Weekend, held June 2–5. [email protected] tia, particularly how genetic risk forward to seeing you at Robert K. The weather was perfect for the 212-851-7399 factors may affect the brain as it Kraft Field. event, which allowed the outdoor DEVELOPMENT Matt Marsallo ages before the onset of memory John “BAP” McGuire was in activities (Decades BBQ, Starlight [email protected] loss and dementia. His research town earlier this year for the baseball Reception on Low Plaza, campus 212-851-7452 findings have appeared in all ma- homecoming with his son, a bud- tours) to go off as planned. The Andrew Weisman jor neurology journals, as well as ding soccer player. John is a success- highlight of the weekend was the 710 Lawrence Ave. other leading biomedical-research ful attorney in Maryland specializing class dinner, held in 301 Butler on 82 Westfield, NJ 07090 journals. in real estate, municipal government Saturday. The dinner was profes- 82 [email protected] Robert S. Richman updates us and zoning. His baseball stories sionally prepared and served, and with much writing news. He “wrote bring us back to those great games we were treated to a speech from Greetings Gentlemen, a film calledWoodstock Vibrations or and are a pleasure to hear. Nicholas Dirks, e.v.p. for Arts and As I put index fingers to iPad- Ben Fiction. It hasn’t been produced We caught up with Mario Bi­ Sciences and dean of the Faculty meta-keyboard, our esteemed CC yet. It takes place in the 1970s. My aggi at the football dinner. Mario is of Arts and Sciences, on recent ’83 classmate has just 86ed my agent is Gary da Silve. I also wrote an accomplished civil trial attorney developments at Columbia. The personal nemesis; my office in ’01 two stories — in addition to my in New York City. University is paying much greater was on the 79th of WTC 1. I take poetry volumes and anthology — I had a great night of laughs with attention to the College, and it is no great pleasure in any of this, called Records Secrets and Silence and David Maloof, Jack Hersch ’80E evident. Hearty congratulations just a profound sense that what Paralysis. I also wrote a third poetry and Harlan Simon ’81 at Carmine’s. to the Reunion Committee that needed to be done is done. I was volume, Liturgy n’ Kids.” Dave is a successful attorney prac- organized our class-specific events also pleased to hear that both the Dr. Horace Tsu has served in the ticing maritime law in Westchester and to the Alumni Office for the Congress and the Senate voted U.S. Air Force Medical Service since and has been a lifelong Jets fan. excellent lectures. unanimously to cancel the 2012 1985 and currently is stationed in Dave’s neighbor, Greg Finn, is Approximately 60 of our class- federal election as it would be a the Washington, D.C., area where he an e.v.p. in bond underwriting at mates signed up for the reunion rather superfluous waste of time lives with his wife and four children. Roosevelt & Cross. Hopefully we’ll activities, and I probably met about and money. On a very sad note Horace remembers his freshman see Greg at a football game. half. I apologize in advance for not we’ve also had a tragic earthquake days at John Jay when I was the Another jet fan (planes), Jack singling you out in this column. I in Japan registering 9 on the resident floor counselor and Doc runs a hedge fund that specializes note, however, the efforts made by Richter Scale, and an accompany- Deming was the Carman dorm in distress opportunities and is Steve Williams and Michael Bass ing nuclear meltdown. These are counselor! based in Los Angeles. to attend. Steve is living in London, indeed difficult times. Robert C. Klapper: “Here’s an The big H, Harlan Simon ’81, is so I believe he had the longest Checking in this quarter (CCT amazing Columbia College alumni running a quantitative equity fund “commute” of any classmate. As just switched to a quarterly sched- connection. As a senior at the Col- in New York. for Michael, I met his wife and ule) to let us know that he’s OK is lege, I felt the need to give back, Jim Gerkis and I had lunch to two children. The family traveled our fondly remembered but distant probably the same reason I’m crazy discuss the Columbia College Fund. from California to be here (degree classmate Esquire Nobu Ishizuka, enough to find time to put this Thank you all for your contributions. of difficulty somewhere between a partner at the notable law firm column together, but that’s another Your gifts enable the College to offer 9 and 10). Skadden, in Tokyo, specializing in story … Somehow, I was now lead- students need-blind admissions, As a general comment, many corporate transactions. ing tours to incoming applicants full-need financial aid and a wide of the graduates of CC ’81 appear “This has been an eventful and discussing why the College array of services, including summer to be in life transition mode. The year for us in Tokyo. I was in was so special. Fast forward 30 internship stipends. transitions ranged from having a my office on the 21st floor of our years, and I am the co-director of I look forward to hearing from job to being unemployed, from a glass-enclosed building when the the Joint Replacement Program at you and hope to see you at Robert full house with growing children earthquake hit. Several hours later Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los K. Kraft Field. Send me an update to becoming empty-nesters, from I was on the street with thousands Angeles. The word co- is not short at [email protected]. working full-time to considering of other workers in central Tokyo for Columbia, but because I share retirement, from needing a comb to making our way home on foot. this title with a talented orthopedic needing a hat (this is for the balding During the interim I was in the surgeon named Andrew Spitzer ’83. Kevin Fay members of the class — you know middle of an Irwin Allen movie, We run a busy program here in Los 81 3380 Darby Rd. who you are!) and sadly from good with mobile phones out, trains Angeles and chances are, if you or Glenmore health to some form of illness. I shut down, helicopters overhead, anyone in your family needs a hip, 81 Keswick, VA 22947 think it’s at these points of transition smoke rising in the distance, cars knee or shoulder replacement, he kfay@northridge that you reflect more upon life’s ex- passing with sirens, the citywide and I will somehow be involved. capital.com periences. As for myself, returning disaster horns wailing and very One day he said to me, “You may to Columbia brought back a flood strong (and unsettling) aftershocks not remember me, Robby, but I was It is my pleasure to assume respon- of memories, mostly positive, about continuing. Our daughters landed one of the students you led around sibility for providing Class Notes college in NYC in the late 1970s. in Tokyo two days later for spring on that campus tour 30 years ago.” to you through CCT. To begin, I One thing that has not changed is break and we promptly packed Wow! would like to acknowledge the the beds in the dormitory (small, them and ourselves on the next tremendous contribution of Jeff stiff). Two days of dorm living flight out to Singapore, where we Pundyk to these Class Notes. Jeff reminded me that I am no longer spent the next two weeks waiting Michael C. Brown has done a great job reaching out college material. out developments at the Fukushima 80 London Terrace Towers to the class, and the results speak Visit the CCT website to view nuclear plant. Happily, life has 410 W. 24th St., Apt. 18F for themselves (longer column our class photo and to see a list of pretty much returned to normal, 80 New York, NY 10011 devoted to the Class of 1981, classmates who registered to attend: although bottled water continues to [email protected] updates from class members who college.columbia.edu/cct/fall11/ be rationed and energy conserva- had never contributed and so on). reunion. tion continues. We were bracing It has been an amazing few months To be successful in this position In closing, I strongly recommend for the long, hot and humid Tokyo since I last wrote, with the royal requires the willingness of our you attend the next reunion, in 2016, summer under a government direc- wedding, NFL draft and the end of class to contact either CCT (college. to reconnect with your classmates. In tive to reduce power consumption, Osama Bin Laden. columbia.edu/cct/contactus) or the meantime, drop me a line. If any which requires air conditioning to The baseball team had a tough me with information. I previously of you ever make it to Charlottes- be set at a ‘minimum’ 85 degrees! season in which it lost nine one- was the class correspondent, and it ville, the first beer is on me. “See you guys soon, I hope.” run games. The squad displayed can be a lonely task (think Maytag Checking in this period is our

FALL 2011 94 COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY CLASS NOTES

prodigious and talented Lou Or­ “I didn’t find out about this until fanella. In Lou’s own words: the coach pulled the cover off the “Friends, exciting news! My new boat and there was my name on collection of short fiction, being the boat. It was in recognition of published by March Street Press, is the support I have given the row- on its way to the printer. It’s titled ing program through the years. I Maybe Tomorrow, and I am sure you was totally surprised — although will enjoy it. Why should you order everyone in my family knew, which a copy (or a few to share with your explained why they all were willing literate friends or those who should to go to the races that (rainy) day. I be)? Let me count the ways: almost didn’t go because I thought “1. This will be my last release it would conflict with my 92-year- for quite some time. I’m in the old uncle’s birthday party. Dave beginning stages of a long work Charlow ’85 also had a boat named. of fiction right now, so I won’t be Next to getting married and the hawking anything else for a couple birth of my kids, it was probably of years. I promise. Probably. one of the best days of my life. As “2. My son is going to a big a rowing alum it’s hard to think of expensive college in the fall and a greater honor and I can’t thank every little bit helps. Coaches [Mike] Zimmer and [Scott] “3. It’s never too early to think Alwin enough. I’m looking forward about your holiday shopping. to seeing it on the water next year.” CCT class correspondent Andrew Weisman ’82 (left) and CCAA board What better gift to show how Dave and I took a trip up to the member David Filosa ’82 proudly stand alongside a new rowing shell much you care than a personally 1929 Boathouse where we posed dedicated to Filosa at the 1929 Boathouse at the Baker Athletics Com- signed book? for photos, including the one seen plex on April 25. “4. If you request your copy or elsewhere in this section. For those others be signed, I could someday of you who might be having trouble die a tragic public death thus distinguishing, that’s Dave on the and how they’re doing it,’ Fried- and chief operating officer in 2002, greatly increasing the eBay resale right and me on the left. feld said over pastrami and eggs and chief executive officer starting value of the books. Well gents, I’d really enjoy hear- at the Friar’s Club in New York, a in January 2009. Mr. Harary has “5. It’s a good book of which I ing from the rest of you. A 30-word vaunted institution devoted to the actively managed and directed am proud. email would suffice. I’m guessing art of comedy and celebrity roasts; all aspects of the company’s busi- “6. Look at these provocative that you’re all hitting 50 about now. Caesar is a member in Los Angeles, ness, including licensing, raising story titles: Why not share how you celebrated and venerable comedian Pat Coo- private and public equity capital, “ ‘What Will Become of Augus- this event? Send photos. Tell us per held sway at a nearby table as marketing, and government tus Hunter?’ about how you partied till dawn, Friedfeld talked. ‘I’m impressed at relations. Working closely with “ ‘Oranges’ the trip home, the DUI charge, the how much research 1812 Produc- Chairman Robert L. Saxe, during “ ‘Into the Light of a Dark Black hangover ... tions has done,’ said Friedfeld. Joe Harary’s tenure the company’s Night’ Cheers. ‘They even brought in a choreog- intellectual property portfolio — “ ‘A Salesgirl Story’ rapher for a day to teach pratfalls. patents and patent applications for “ ‘Pitch Out’ Sid is intrigued about how they are SPD-Smart technology worldwide “ ‘Rooms to Let’ Roy Pomerantz taking his work and making it their — has grown to over 500, making “ ‘Not Dead Yet’ 83 Babyking/Petking own.’ … Friedfeld, a lawyer spe- Research Frontiers the industry “ ‘What Sucks’ 182-20 Liberty Ave. cializing in corporate restructuring, leader in smart glass light-control “ ‘Maybe Tomorrow’ 83 Jamaica, NY 11412 is also a writer hooked on journal- technology. He and the executive “ ‘The Blind Spot’ [email protected] ism ever since he began freelancing team are responsible for building “ ‘The Actualization of Herman as a film critic for a small North an SPD supply chain infrastructure Porter’ Eddy Friedfeld is working on a Carolina newspaper a dozen years through the licensing of pre- “ ‘Dress for Success’ revival of Neil Simon’s Laughter on ago and, after that, sold a piece on mier companies that include the “ ‘Wolfwoman’ the 23rd Floor as well as an original Caesar to several publications. In world’s largest chemical and glass “ ‘Chinese Water Torture’ production of sketch comedy with addition, he teaches the history of companies, and building global “If you would like to order any 1812 Productions in Philadelphia. American comedy at Yale and New awareness of the benefits of SPD- books, please send $10 per copy Excerpts from an April 24 article in York Universities. He’s been back SmartGlass technology. In 2007, (this includes shipping) to Lou the Philadelphia Inquirer: “Pair Neil and forth between Philadelphia Research Frontiers’ licensees began Orfanella, PO Box 35, Patterson, Simon’s Laughter on the 23rd Floor, and New York during the develop- producing and selling to their NY 12563. which is a comic, fictionalized ment of Our Show of Shows!, where customers next-generation SPD- “Be sure to include a note if you glimpse into the Writers’ Room, he is officially the dramaturg — the Smart film and end-products. Prior are requesting any signed copies and with a newly created Our Show sounding board for accuracy — for to joining Research Frontiers, Mr. to whom they should be inscribed. of Shows. Run them in repertory. both Laughter and Our Show.” Harary’s corporate law practice “Thanks so much for your Childs engaged Eddy Friedfeld, a My company’s designer, Bob Se- emphasized technology, licensing, continued support!” personable film and entertainment lame, recently was visiting relatives mergers and acquisitions, securities Last but not least, we had some writer and historian who cowrote in New York. When I called to give law, and intellectual property law wonderful news concerning our Caesar’s autobiography, Caesar’s subway directions to my home, the at three prestigious New York City generous and all-around-good-guy Hours, to consult on both plays, relative turned out to be Joseph law firms. Mr. Harary graduated classmate, Dave Filosa. On April and on the new script. Friedfeld Harary. Joe is the president at Re- summa cum laude from Columbia 25, the crew coaches surprised Dave says that when he first told Caesar search Frontiers. His publicly listed College with an A.B. degree in eco- by dedicating shells to him and to about 1812’s plan to create a Show biography is as follows: “Joseph nomics, and received a Juris Doctor Dave Charlow ’85, who were mem- of Shows script, the comedian, M. Harary: President and chief degree from Columbia Law School, bers of the varsity lightweight crew. now 88 and living in Los Angeles, executive officer, director, general where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Dave Filosa was a strong member reacted a bit skeptically. ‘I wish counsel, corporate secretary. Joe Scholar as well as an editor of of the team and really distinguished them luck,’ he told Friedfeld. But in Harary joined Research Frontiers the Columbia Law Review. Prior to himself since graduating through their weekly Friday conversations Incorporated as its vice president attending law school, Mr. Harary his ongoing support of Columbia — Friedfeld, 49, and Caesar have and general counsel in 1992 and worked as an economist with the athletics. This was certainly a happy become close — the TV pioneer has been a director of the company Federal Reserve Bank of New York. revelation for him. In his own follows the show’s progress. ‘He’s since 1993. After various promo- Joe Harary is frequently asked to words: so enamored of what they’re doing tions, Mr. Harary became president share his business experience with

FALL 2011 95

CLASS NOTES COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY other companies directly, and as a and trademark licensing agency. Its behalf of and for the NYPD. architect: speaker and published author in website lists Andrew as the (old) Lastly, my son David (6) finished Having earned a master’s in the fields of intellectual property, voice of Columbia radio! in first place at the kindergarten– architecture from Columbia in corporate law and smart glass. His My family joined me in attend- eighth grade chess tournament held 1986, James’ career has included online column, ‘Ask Joe,’ is popu- ing my 25th Harvard Law School at P.S. 6 on the Upper East Side. I architectural design, preservation lar among the growing number of reunion. Dakota Root, a freshman was floored to learn that Columbia and restoration, campus design and visitors to the company’s website at Harvard College (and daughter received 34,929 applicants this year, lecturing at universities worldwide. (SmartGlass.com). Mr. Harary has of Wayne Allyn Root) was kind only 21 fewer than Harvard (34,950). Now, as vice chancellor of campus also served as a guest lecturer at enough to babysit for my children, Columbia is statistically harder to planning and director of capital ’s Accelerated Rebecca, David and Ricky, en- get into now than Yale (27,282 ap- projects at Washington University M.B.A. Program, and he serves abling me and my wife, Debbie, to plicants) and Harvard. Hopefully, in St. Louis, James is responsible for on the boards of various charities attend the dinner. I spoke at length David’s chess prowess will continue. managing the long-term planning, including the Imagine Academy, with Bertrand Alexis, senior direc- He is going to need all the help he design and development of the which helps children with autism tor of M&A in the legal department can get if he wants any shot at being Danforth Campus and its surround- and their families.” for Qtel International. Bert told me admitted to alma mater! ing areas as well as maintaining the John Pegram ’60, a partner at about the great lifestyle he has in campus’ excellence in, and commit- Fish & Richardson, is a member of Doha, Qatar. The workday ends at ment to, design, appearance and my legal team at Fish on IP matters. 6 p.m.! Maybe it is time for me to Dennis Klainberg conservation. I attended the Senior Society of consider relocating my company Berklay Cargo Worldwide From “blue books” (remember Nacoms 113th annual initiation to the Middle East. I also caught 84 JFK Intl. Airport those?) to blueprints! dinner on April 14. It was held at up with Jack Abuhoff and his wife 84 Box 300665 In the tradition of the rugged in- the Union Theological Seminary and kids. Brittany (14), Katya (11) Jamaica, NY 11430 dividual comes Joshua Froimson, (dinner in the refectory), a magnifi- and Alexander (9) are adorable. [email protected] outdoorsman! cent setting. The dinner speaker Jack and Alexander joined me in As Scoutmaster of Troop 54 in was Avis Hinkson ’84 Barnard, visiting with Professor Karl- Ours is a great class of writers, Worcester, Mass., since 2006, Joshua Barnard’s dean. I had the honor of Ludwig Selig after we returned to educators, physicians, lawyers, was looking forward to the best sitting next to Hinkson at dinner. New York. We brought eggs with businessmen, leaders … all steeped week of the year: Boy Scout camp in According to the invitation, “Avis us and conducted an abridged in the Columbia tradition and July! He recommends that everyone Hinkson ’84 Barnard is the new Passover Seder. Both Jack and I abiding by so many other tradi- extract the game controllers from dean of Barnard College, beginning reminisced about meeting KLS at tions. their kids’ hands and send the kids February 14, 2011. She serves as an the home of a generous College In the tradition of friendship, into the woods, where they are advocate for students and oversees alumnus in Port Washington, N.Y., I must take liberty, first and fore- meant to be. the offices of the Dean of Studies, when we were high school seniors. most, to thank Dr. Douglas Mintz, If anyone can design a left-hand- Admissions and Financial Aid, Larry Momo ’73 also attended this radiologist extraordinaire. Being ed smoke sifter, it’s Josh! Registrar, Residential Life, Student recruitment event. My wife and I 1,500 miles away and not knowing In the epistolary tradition comes Life and Health Services. Dean sat with Kenny Chin at the HLS what to do during the unexpected David Terhune, scribe! Hinkson, who was inducted into reunion dinner. My wife is Kenny’s hospitalization of my father in Mi- “I recently had my 125th letter to the Senior Society of Nacoms in biggest fan. Despite his tremen- ami, I instinctively called Douglas the editor published. I’ve been writ- April 1983, holds a B.A. in psychol- dous success and accomplishments for no more than his advice, and ing since 2006 and I’ve had letters ogy from Barnard College, an M.A. (partner at a major New York law frankly, to reach out to a friend. in (too many editions to mention from Teachers College, Columbia firm), Kenny remains grounded, Despite being at another hospital all) Newsweek, Newsday and The New University, and an Ed.D. from the personable, sweet, funny, charming miles away, he appeared at my fa- York Times. They are all posted on University of Pennsylvania. Nearly and youthful. ther’s bedside, virtually moments my blog: dterhune.blogspot.com. every year of the past 26, Hinkson The Honorable Anthony M. after our phone call. Inquiring I’ve been very lucky that so many has served as fundraising chair for Kennedy and The Honorable about my father’s prospects and editors have found my style and the Barnard class of 1984.” Elena Kagan celebrated with their keeping me informed was truly a substance worthy of public dissemi- I also had the pleasure of spend­ classmates and discussed myriad blessed act, but he honored us even nation. But it also is an exercise in ing time at the dinner with the issues facing the court. In a lighter more by comforting my mother, rejection, as more letters are passed person responsible for all of us moment, Kagan spoke about being and providing much needed en- over than published. The voca- attending Columbia, Larry Momo known at HLS as the “Coffee Dean” couragement and courage during tion certainly keeps my Columbia ’73, former director of admissions. because she introduced free coffee a trying time.(My father survived English major chops active.” Larry now is the director of college to the faculty. As the junior member that episode and, despite suffering No mention of Twitter makes counseling for Trinity School in of the Supreme Court, Kagan is in from Parkinson’s, carries on.) you a star in my eyes, David! Manhattan. His son, Lucas Momo charge of cafeteria cuisine for the In the tradition of giving, we In the Abrahamic tradition of ’10, played baseball for Columbia justices. With a big smile on her merit Jim Satloff, philanthropist: making us all feel guilty, we feature and works for the New York Mets. face and a finger point, she referred “We received a very nice surprise Yossi Rabin. Zayde! He earned four letters in baseball, to herself as being known now as this year when Christine Murphy Yossi reports from Israel that he three in basketball and one in track the “Frozen Yogurt Justice.” My ’03 donated to the Columbia Col­ and his wife are happy grandpar- at Trinity H.S. Larry ran track at Co- wife’s third-grade teacher at Hunter lege Fund naming me and my ents of Daniel, born in November. lumbia from 1969–73. Larry’s wife Elementary School was Kagan’s father as her honorees. She was the Such naches! is Jane ’73 Barnard. The Nacoms mother. My wife and Kagan spoke first recipient (several years ago) of In the heroic tradition comes dinners always enable me to meet about this coincidence, and Kagan the Aaron [’56] and James Satloff Carr D’Angelo, superhero! an array of CC graduates. I spent said Hunter provided her with the Scholarship Fund, and she wanted “I recently was in Dallas at the time with Richard Friedlander single most important and forma- to return the favor. We were so annual meeting of ComicsPRO, the ’60, s.v.p. of wealth management tive academic experience of her life impressed that we matched her do- trade association for professional at Morgan Stanley. I also spoke (take that, Princeton and HLS!). nation 10–1. Dean Michele Moody- comic book retailers,” Carr shared. at length with David Maloof ’80, I was shocked that about half my Adams responded to Christine’s “I serve on the board of directors a partner at Maloof, Browne & classmates were not practicing law! gift by stating, ‘It is such a joy to be and was reelected to the position Eagan. David recently argued a My close friend and tireless Co- part of a community of donors and of recording secretary. It means I case in front of the U.S. Supreme lumbia supporter, Susan Birnbaum, recipients who can affirm the value take a lot of notes, which ironically Court. Andrew Topkins ’98 also former executive director of the Co- of generosity in this way.’ ” I was not very good at during my was present. His stepfather, Marty lumbia College Fund, left Columbia Just planted some trees in Israel time at Columbia. Our comic book Kaplan ’61, is a former president of in late April. Susan was appointed in your honor ... Be sure to water store, Earth-2 Comics in Sherman the CC Alumni Association Board president and CEO of the New York them weekly! Oaks, Calif., recently celebrated its of Directors (1994–96). Andrew is City Police Foundation, a nonprofit In the tradition of design and eighth anniversary. As of April, we a partner in Brandgenuity, a brand organization that raises funds on aesthetics, we salute James Kolker, have owned our second store in

FALL 2011 96 COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY CLASS NOTES

Kevin Rooney ’84 Reflects on Life and Death in San Diego

B y K i m M a r t i n e au ’97J

t. Kevin Rooney ’84 calls it his toughest case: a mother found strangled to death at Lhome, her infant son hanged from his crib. The double murder had no witnesses, and the obvious suspects — three men romantically linked to the young woman — professed to be somewhere else. In the course of the inves- tigation, Rooney and his team would track down a paternity test, perform computer foren- sics, analyze cell phone records and deal with a heartbroken mother whose desperation to find her daughter’s killer nearly Homicide Detective Lt. Kevin Rooney ’84 speaks at a press conference regarding a murder suspect in compromised the case. front of San Diego police headquarters in 2006. The suspect was arrested a few months later after a As head of the San Diego nationwide manhunt. In the background is San Diego Police Chief William Lansdowne. Police Department’s homicide PHOTO: COURTESY OF THE SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE unit since 2004, Rooney has overseen the investigation of City colleges. finishing his degree, Rooney Googled the words “getting out some 300 murders, suspicious Between working and living went to live and work in San of child support” and “best way deaths and police-involved at home, Rooney had little time Diego, where he had once to kill someone.” In 2009, a San shootings. Because his jurisdic- for socializing or extracurricular passed an enjoyable spring Diego judge sentenced Potts to tion includes the busy San reading. His fondest Columbia break. He put down roots life in prison without parole. Ysidro border with Mexico, his memory is James Shenton ’49’s there, marrying an emergency In March, the story aired on investigation of shootings by American history class, where room nurse, Mary, and embrac- Dateline in a gripping, six-part U.S. border agents also have he recalls that one lecture on ing the California lifestyle. In series called Complicated placed his work under scrutiny abolitionist John Brown drew the sunny climate, he grows (clicker.com/tv/dateline-nbc/ by human rights activists and a standing ovation. He also lemons, limes and avocadoes complicated-part-1-1466502/) the Mexican government. enjoyed Karl-Ludwig Selig’s in his backyard and begins that featured Rooney promi- Columbia did not directly course on the picaresque novel. each day by swimming laps in nently. Producer Susan Leibowitz prepare Rooney for a career But Rooney remembers hesitat- his pool. ’83 Barnard had heard about chasing down bad guys. But ing to speak up in class, fearful “You’d be amazed how Rooney from a colleague, and working full-time, while major- of saying something stupid. “It much thinking you can do while reached out. In her piece, Rooney ing in political science, he was hard balancing work and you’re in the water by yourself,” comes across as tenacious but learned to be organized and de- school,” he says. “When I walked he says. Still, Rooney admits to gentle. “I was impressed with tail-oriented. “I think my Colum- toward the subway, I knew that pining for Lombardi’s pizza, the how thoughtful he is — about bia years honed my analytical my classmates were headed to change in seasons and watch- the victims, and the people they skills,” he says. “I like to think Butler Library.” ing the Rangers, Mets and Jets leave behind,” she says. I’m pretty good at reviewing a Rooney focused on his dream play on their home turf. Seeing people on the worst case and identifying the missing of becoming a police officer. Rooney’s most difficult case day of their lives has made pieces that make the difference Though the Ivy League might was the 2006 killing of Tori Vien- Rooney philosophical. Don’t between an unsolved case and seem like an odd choice for neau. She had been strangled save your dreams for a rainy a prosecuted one.” someone bound for roll call and with the cord of a hair-straight- day, he recommends. Death The son of a Bronx delivery target practice, he chose Colum- ening iron; her 10-month-old can come at any moment, truck driver, Rooney was raised bia because he wanted a “good son, Dean Springstube, was and it doesn’t discriminate. “It to be self-reliant. In his senior education” and to be challenged strangled with the cord of a doesn’t care if you’re rich or year at Catholic Cardinal Hayes by “bright classmates and excel- cell-phone charger. All three sus- poor, successful or down on H.S., he landed a scholarship lent professors. pects — her roommate, Daniel your luck, a good person or for academic achievement. A “I got both,” he notes. Moen; an ex-boyfriend, Dennis bad,” he says. “You don’t have thank-you note to his benefac- During his senior year, Rooney Potts, whom she believed had much time on this earth, so tor, the son of Rite Aid’s founder, applied to the NYPD and was fathered her son; and another make the most of it.” led to a job at a Bronx pharmacy offered a spot in the academy. ex, Neal Springstube — had that would pay for Columbia. But he declined the offer after alibis. The investigation would Kim Martineau ’97J writes about All three of his siblings also put the NYPD refused to let him establish Potts as the father and science for Columbia’s Lamont- themselves through New York defer until graduation. So, after turn up evidence he had once Doherty Earth Observatory.

FALL 2011 97

CLASS NOTES COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY

Northridge for two years. We also assure them that Phil’s roommate the week, spending my vacations was an expedition. Most passengers had a recent visit from Michael Barack Obama ’83 actually was an doing linguistic fieldwork in the were seasick with the rollicking Krumper ’85 and his wife, Heather. excellent student both at CC and at Chinese countryside and also tak- motions of the ship for two days. Michael was in Los Angeles with Occidental, from where they both ing two summers for formal study Besides the ‘journey of a lifetime’ on one of the bands he represents, transferred in 1981. [Editor’s note: of German in Berlin and Taiwanese a deluxe cruise ship, I’ve been keep- Ivan & Alyosha, and we went to See college.columbia.edu/cct/jan_ in Taipei. ing busy with my mobile startup see them. Glad I went to Columbia feb09/alumni_corner.] “In 2008, I was offered full-time and teaching activities. Would love so I could understand where the “[Meanwhile], I’m hard at work work as the director of Chinese to hear from alums interested in band got its name.” editing season seven of Deadliest lexicography at a machine transla- Antarctica or even investing in tech Google THAT, Batman! Catch here in Los Angeles. My tion company here in the city and, startups.” In the tradition of the fine arts wife, Elizabeth Leicester ’87, and surprise, I decided to quit my John Casanova is a partner at and commerce, we herald Richard our daughter, Eleanor, recently academic job and switch careers. It Sidley Austin and has lived in Lon- C. Buckley, auctioneer! toured Columbia in anticipation of has been the best decision of my life don for 11 years, “having moved As e.v.p. of Sotheby’s, Richard Eleanor’s application to the Col- (or second-best after marrying my here for a yearlong stint.” has recently relocated from the lege next year. She looked up and wife). Nowadays I spend much of Aaron Gerow, who teaches company’s office in New York to down the east coast and Columbia my time doing programming and film and Japanese culture at Yale, Hong Kong. He looks forward to is still her first choice, but that 6.9 lexicography for my own publish- earned tenure and promotion to joining the local alumni group and percent acceptance rate, ouch! I in- ing company. We will bring out the full professor, as of July. perhaps gaining an Asian perspec- terviewed 15 candidates this year, definitive Manchu-English diction- Ken Cohen ’87J checks in for the tive on Contemporary Civilization which yielded a whopping three ary this fall and a less recondite dic- first time and says of his new busi- in the West. waitlists and 12 rejections.” tionary of Chinese political idiom ness venture, The Janice Center for No doubt he was “Shanghaied” If Eleanor has what it takes, next spring. Aside from that, I also Learning (janicecenter.com), “The by the allure of a growing Asian apply early! am getting a degree in computer arts is truly making a difference in art market! Shameless plug alert: In the tradition of the healing science at City College, studying upstate New York. The 2,600-sq.-ft. Don’t forget your friends at Ship arts, we honor Joe Bernstein, part-time. I publish a scholarly facility (just eight miles from Bethel MyArt.com. medicine man! article or two each year, and I have Woods) was built and designed In the tradition of travel literature “Doing well in Philly. Sad news various lingering academic obliga- to teach everything from music, comes Scott Avidon, carpetbagger! to pass on: My teacher, friend and tions — I have recently finished dance and art, to karate, gymnas- “I recently came back from mentor at Penn, Dr. Zachary Bert what I think will be a major volume tics and Zumba in rural Sullivan vacation in Charleston, S.C. They Friedenberg ’36, passed away on writing and literacy in early County.” Ken reports that hun- seem to have gotten over losing in January. Our connection was China (washington.edu/uwpress/ dreds of children and adults who the Civil War 150 years ago and are enhanced because of a shared search/books/LIWRIT.html), have would never have been exposed very welcoming, y’all,” Scott said. Columbia experience. (I did not been active on the boards of two to instrumental and voice lessons, “American military history, and the learn until his memorial service scholarly societies and teach the ballet and hip hop dance and mu- history of slavery and segregation, that Dr. Friedenberg also had a occasional course at Columbia in sic classes, Zumba and much more really come to life there. They also shared experience with Lou Gehrig classical Chinese or philology. are experiencing the enriching have the best barbecue and she-crab ’23, having played some baseball “Life is good and I feel very benefits of the arts for the first time. soup. Speaking of barbecue, the for Columbia before med school.) privileged, while many people are So if you’re visiting the area or new northern Columbia territory Our oldest son, James, is starting suffering in a flaccid economy or a have a weekend home there, check has a popular neighborhood favor- to make noises about one day miserable job market, to be doing out the center, and maybe drop in ite, Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, corner of attending Columbia, and I feel like what I love and taking rigorous on a Zumba class for yourself or a 12th Avenue and West 125th Street. Al Franken, who suddenly found math and engineering courses as I dance class for your child. My office has a lot of parties there. I himself, at 25 and newly exempt, build my second life.” Alan Goldfarb practices immi- recommend it.” in favor of the draft: Legacy admis- Wow! Imagine if you applied gration law in Minneapolis, where Old times there are not forgotten, sions, heretofore seen as affirma- yourself! he lives with his wife, Nancy, a so be friendly and keep your “North- tive action for people who don’t Stay in touch! middle school teacher. They have ern Aggression” to a minimum. need it, are starting to make sense three children — two in college In the tradition of entertainment, to me.” and a seventh-grader. we bring you Peregrine Beckman, No doubt your training revealed Jon White Sam Denmeade was promoted screenwriter! that, like gas and the occasional 16 South Ct. this year and now is professor of “My cousin Phil Boerner recently gall stone, some things just pass. 85 Port Washington, NY 11050 oncology, urology and pharmacolo- was interviewed by Anderson Cooper Finally, in the tradition of educa- 85 gy at the Johns Hopkins University [email protected] 360 to shut up Donald Trump and tion and the spirit of the Core Cur- School of Medicine. He founded riculum, we applaud David Prager Thanks to so many of you for res-­ a biotech company, GenSpera Branner, lifelong learner! ponding to my recent call for (genspera.com), whose mission is What’s Your Story? “I was last in touch through this updates. I’d love to tell you that to develop new therapies for cancer column in 2004, around the time I this venture is creative writing, based on targeted drugs developed Letting classmates know won early tenure at Maryland. My but my column only gets as good in his laboratory at Johns Hopkins. what’s going on in your wife and I then moved back to the as you all make it. And we have a He also recently got a dog. life is easier than ever. apartment building where I was wide range of stories literally from Charlie Butler’s run at Runner’s Send in your Class Notes! born and where my elderly mother around the world. Feel free to send World continues, where he now still lives, about a block from Co- pictures as well. is executive editor. Last fall, he ONLINE by clicking lumbia. I began commuting from Badrul Husain writes, “It’s been published his first book, The Long college.columbia.edu/cct/ New York to Maryland, making a while since my last update. Took Run: A New York City Firefighter’s submit_class_note. one-day round-trips on Amtrak a trip to Antarctica courtesy of the Triumphant Comeback from Crash EMAIL to the address at about three days a week during Columbia Alumni Center. Yes, those Victim to Elite Athlete. It tells the sto- the top of your column. the academic year. During the six raffles to come in and participate at ry of Matt Long of the FDNY, who hours of uninterrupted working Columbia events do have winners! was nearly killed in a bike accident MAIL to the address at the time, I finished a major book on What an unbelievable voyage, from during the 2005 transit strike. After top of your column. Chinese historical linguistics in the sights (stark, icy landscapes; a three-year recovery, Matt first ran Class Notes received by 2005 and then began a new project rookeries of penguins), sounds (rip- the New York City Marathon (with Wednesday, October 5, using computational tools to study ping, howling winds; caving gla- Charlie) in 7 hours, 22 minutes, Chinese lexicography in a way ciers) and smells (pungent ‘guano’ and then completed an Ironman are eligible for inclusion in it has never been studied before. or penguin droppings; sulphuric triathlon (without Charlie). The the Winter 2011–12 issue. I lived like that for four years, volcanic soil). It was quite a sensory paperback edition came out in Au- commuting long distance during adventure. The Drake Passage itself gust. Charlie lives in Emmaus, Pa.,

FALL 2011 98 COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY CLASS NOTES

with his wife, Sarah Lorge Butler well on the rankings, and many we may have gray hair (and less Street Journal, among others. [Edi- ’95, and their two children. five-star reviews have been posted hair), a few more pounds midsec- tor’s note: See “Columbia Forum” Karl Hampe has been featured in (“compelling, gripping, thrilling tion and poorer eyesight, but we in this issue.] Jonathan also started The Wall Street Journal and various story that is action-packed yet it nonetheless looked good for our teaching at Amsterdam University other publications about working also educates; also compared it age. Friday night featured dinner at College. He’s in touch with Jose Al- as a managing director in the Liti- to works of literary classics but V&T with pizza and pasta served fano ’87 in Australia, Al Iczkowski gation and Fraud Investigation with a Grisham or Patterson thrill like old times, followed by drinks at in Florida and Henry Hollander Practice of BDO US while publish- and pace”). Book clubs have put a wine bar on Broadway that could in San Francisco. “Anyone passing ing a comic that recently reached its it next on the reading list and are never have existed in the mid-’80s. through the Netherlands is certainly 200th strip at TheRegularsComic. encouraging other clubs to pick it On Saturday, there was a barbecue welcome to look me up!” Jonathan com and various media around the up. John has been invited to quite a lunch on the lawns in front of the says. country. few book club discussions already. Steps (I wasn’t at the lunch but was Barry Adelman reports that Billy He is a physician and a senior told that the California contingent REUNION MAY 31–JUNE 3 Deresiewicz’s article, “Solitude and executive at Pfizer. made an appearance). That night, ALUMNI OFFICE CONTACTS Leadership,” was adapted from a Tom Vinciguerra had two ar- we had our class dinner at Casa Ital- ALUMNI AFFAIRS Ken Catandella lecture he delivered at West Point. ticles published within one week of iana, a beautiful, landmarked build- [email protected] David Brooks from The New York each other in June in The New York ing on Amsterdam Avenue built in 212-851-7844 Times cited it as one of the best mag- Times. First, his article “The Murder- 1927 by architects McKim, Mead DEVELOPMENT Grace Lee ’02 azine essays of the year. Recently abilia Market” (June 5) discussed and White (we wondered why we [email protected] released is Billy’s new book, A Jane the growing demand for the pos- had not had events there during 212-851-7492 Austen Education: How Six Novels sessions of convicted killers (more college). Following comments Taught Me About Love, Friendship, than just weapons; such items as by Rick Wolf, Michael Solender Sarah A. Kass and the Things That Really Matter. He clothing, artwork or the typewriter and me, we enjoyed the humor- 87 PO Box 300808 lives in Portland, Ore. You can see from the Unabomber). Second, in ous recollections of David Rakoff. Brooklyn, NY 11230 what he is up to at www.billderesie an op-ed piece “My Bad: A Political Afterward, we walked to the Steps, 87 [email protected] wicz.com. Medley” (June 8), Tom highlighted where a tent was set up with a In a recent column, we reported 24 quotations from a variety of band, dance floor and champagne Plans are in the works for our 25th on Tim Tomasi, who was sworn politicians who had attempted to bar for the Starlight Reception. The Alumni Reunion Weekend, sched- in as a Superior Court judge in apologize for their misdeeds. Tom is center of the campus was lit up and uled for Thursday, May 31–Sunday, Vermont last December. Barry was the editor of Backward Ran Sentences: gorgeous, and made us remember June 3, and we and the Reunion in attendance at the swearing in The Best of Wolcott Gibbs from The why we love Columbia. While I had Committee — Kyra Tirana Barry, ceremony, as was former Governor New Yorker. quick conversations with many of Yale Fergang and Alex Navab — Jim Douglas; Tim’s wife, Vivian On the home front for yours you at reunion, I didn’t get enough want YOU to be a part of the plan- Ladd Tomasi ’86 Barnard, and truly, my son Isaac ’14 spent the for proper updates, so please don’t ning as well as festivities! How children, Devon (15), Isabel (14) summer between freshman and be shy. Email me so I can do you can you take part if you don’t live and Jason (9); Chuck Karparis ’84; sophomore years at the new justice. in New York? Easy! Help us reach Joel Feldman and his wife, Pamela out to your friends at Columbia. Schwartz ’85 Barnard; and Becky We are looking for people to lead Cohen ’86 Barnard. Since 2009, Othar Hanson ’86 has been leading the groups to help us find and invite to Glenn Alper has been an obstet- the reunion those with whom they ric anesthesiologist in Berkeley for team that launched Google Instant. shared common activities. People 18 years and his wife is a physician who were on teams together, were at the University Health Services in clubs together, protested together, Tang Center at UC Berkeley. “Our Broadway dorm (corner of West Visit the CCT website to view sat in together, watched TV in their oldest son, Teddy, is studying busi- 114th and Broadway) as he worked our class photo and to see a list of respective Carman, McBain or Jay ness at Penn State; our daughter, several on-campus jobs for IT and classmates who registered: college. lounges together. We also want to Evelyn, will start at UC Davis this Residential Housing; compared to columbia.edu/cct/fall11/reunion. know the kinds of activities that fall and plans to be an orthodontist; many of the spaces we “enjoyed,” Othar Hanson wrote, “Since would make you and your old and our youngest son, Elliot, will be the facilities, open spaces and 2009, I’ve been helping to lead the friends want to instantly jump on a sophomore in high school and is general appearance are vastly team that launched Google Instant, a plane to come to this reunion. I a football and lacrosse player. I was improved in that space. giving you search results as you want you to take a few minutes fortunate to have the opportunity And finally, I have been also type. It was a huge effort spanning to think about this right now and get together with several friends intruding on our neighboring Class the whole company, and I was then immediately send an email from John Jay 11th floor freshman of ’86; I reconnected with fellow proud to represent the team at the to me at the new email address at dorm this year both in New York Kingsmen Phil Birnbaum ’86 (still launch event last September. My the top of the column, and I will and San Francisco: Kevin Kelly, leading the Budweiser charge in team of engineers and user-expe- forward it instantly to the reunion Andrew Andriuk ’89, Dimitri Col­ Chicago) and attended one of the rience designers now is back in chairs. We want to make this not evas, Larry Gallagher and Mike recent 25th reunion events for ’86, crazy demo mode, trying to make just our most amazing and suc- Coudreaut. New York is a lot nicer and was glad to also briefly catch Google search more interactive cessful reunion ever but also the than when we arrived in 1981!” up with Rick Wolf ’86 and Corey and more effective. In my spare most amazing and successful and (As a fellow member of 11 Jay with Klestadt ’86. time, I’m board president at Kara, well-attended reunion ever! And Glenn, I remember all too well the a grief-counseling agency in Palo that cannot be done without you! midnight soccer games, the showers Alto, and I desperately try to catch I will now wait while you have a without stalls and this new thing on Everett Weinberger up to my wife Ellen’s superior think and send your emails. the television called MTV.) 86 50 W. 70th St., Apt. 3B skills at skiing and bicycling.” Thanks so much for sending Adam Fischer and Jim Mavros New York, NY 10023 Jonathan Gill updated us from those emails. You will not regret ’85E jointly report that David 86 Amsterdam, where he moved with it! Starting out this issue’s column [email protected] Feldman was to marry Kathleen wife, Eveline ’98 GS, and sons, are some updates from classmates Coletta on July 10 at Hastings-on- It was great seeing everyone who Primo and Oskar, in 2005 to work who have never contributed to the Hudson, N.Y. Congratulations! came to the campus for our 25th on his book on the history of Har- column, and I am so happy to hear John Balian recently published reunion in early June! Like Michael lem. Harlem: The Four Hundred Year from them! his first novel,Gray Wolves and Apted’s excellent Up film series in History from Dutch Village to Capital Isabelle Balmadier Lanini, our White Doves, through BookSurge which he films the subjects’ lives of Black America was published last first first-time writer, said that her Publishing. It’s available on Ama- every seven years, it is interesting year by Grove/Atlantic and got daughter has been accepted into zon.com. After four weeks out (as to see how we are faring every great press from The New York Times, this year’s incoming class at General of this writing), it had done very five years. I’m pleased to say that The Washington Post and The Wall Studies, following in the footsteps of

FALL 2011 99

CLASS NOTES COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY her father, Don Lanini ’96 GS, who yet again having magnificent buddies launched freshman year is said of Maria, “Her leadership in works at Columbia. But like her adventures! Divya said, “I recently proceeding right on schedule!” service of the Latino community mother and all of the women in the returned from a month of working Closer to home, Holly Kutin in East Los Angeles is a shining Class of 1987, she is a trailblazer, as at Bedford Orthopaedic Hospital in Sragow of West Orange, N.J., says example of the best of a Columbia she is also part of the pioneer Class the East Cape region of South Af- she has been balancing family, career alumna and what we all hope for of 2015 in the new dual B.A./M.A. rica. It was an intense and reward- and volunteer work. An NYU Law our community … Ms. Cabildo has program between Columbia and ing experience serving a poor, rural grad, Holly was a prosecutor in the been a longtime advocate for hous- Sciences Po in France in public and community. Lots of trauma surgery, Bronx and an appellate court at- ing equity and rights in the East Los international affairs. Isabelle writes, along with infections (mostly HIV torney in Manhattan before stopping Angeles area. Born and raised in “We’re very proud of her, and we and TB).” Divya also spent a few full-time work to devote more time Boyle Heights, she has committed were looking forward to heading to weeks in India in January visiting to family. Now married for nearly herself to ensuring affordable hous- France to drop her off!” family, including her grandfather 20 years, Holly and her husband, ing for the Latino community. She Our second newcomer to the (98) just a month before his pass- Howard, have three kids. Holly is has spent her career promoting and column is Nancy Silver Basri, who ing, and sightseeing in Rajasthan. contributing much of her spare time advancing socially and economical- along with her husband, Bill Basri She said among the highlights to volunteer causes, particularly her ly just community development in ’84, are ecstatic to report that their were a tiger safari, and elephant work as a court-appointed special East Los Angeles. During her tenure son, Ross, will enter Engineering and camel rides. advocate for children. at East L.A. Community Corp., in the fall with the Class of 2015. Divya is now back at work, and My former roommate Lee Had­ an organization she co-founded Nancy wrote, “We are so proud to she said she is “planning my next dad immigrated to Israel four years in 1995, ELACC has developed a share the Columbia tradition with medical mission abroad, and my ago and lives in the settlement Har community development model our new lion. Ross is planning to next wildlife adventure.” Adar, outside of Jerusalem. Despite that fuses grassroots community major in operations research. Please note that in the May/ living overseas, he continues to be organizing, contextualized real “We recently spent two nostalgic June issue, this column offered full-time executive director of the estate development, and asset days on campus attending lectures congratulations to Justin Goluboff New York-based Yad Avraham building to preserve and enhance geared toward incoming students as on his admission to Class of 2015, as Institute, which Lee says “provides communities. Over the last 10 years, well as touring buildings,” Nancy well as to his mother, Nicole Belson Jewish education on a global basis ELACC has captured and invested said. “We were so excited to visit Goluboff. However, Justin’s father, as well as funding of philanthropic over $125 million in affordable the new Northwest Corner Science Erik Goluboff ’86, was omitted, projects in Israel.” He and his wife, housing and community develop- Building and all it has to offer, and due to an administrative error. I am Pamela, have the rare distinction ment resources, and organized were just as thrilled to tour the suites very sorry for the omission and I of parenting two sets of twins, ages the participation of hundreds of in Carman!” know that both Erik and Nicole are 6 and 4. Since living in Israel, Lee community residents in develop- Nancy Rabinowitz Friedman equally proud of Justin’s admission has made contact with Philip Levy, ment decision making, community also wrote: “After a long career in to Columbia, and we are so happy also involved in Jewish scholar- planning and anti-displacement what I fondly refer to as the armpit for the entire Goluboff family. ship. Philip teaches and studies in efforts. By the end of 2012, ELACC of television (on-air promotions), Please remember that this column a Torah education program in Jeru- will have helped build over 800 I stopped working several years does not write itself. I can only do salem and is the father of seven. units of affordable housing in ago and started blogging. Because it with your help. So how about And now for the most person- Los Angeles and their new goal why write for money when you as soon as you get done read- ally meaningful update I have yet is to build 1,000. Previous to her can write for free? But seriously, ing this, you drop me a line to let to submit: My wife, Hedieh, gave leadership of ELACC, she was the blogging took me into a whole me know what you are doing so birth to our first child, a boy, on deputy director of A Community of new world — new friends, new that I can pass it along to all of our April 5 in Washington, D.C. So Friends, where she was responsible community, new life. And now, not classmates for a future issue? Do it while some of our classmates are for real estate development activity, only do I have my own blog, From now, while you are thinking about already sending their children off including identification of new Hip to Housewife (fromhipto it and thinking about how great it to college, I’ll be majoring in dia- supportive housing rental projects housewife.com), but I also co-host would be to catch up with all of our per-changing this year. Emanuel and other development opportuni- a weekly podcast about social me- old friends with whom we’ve lost Herschel Fusfield weighed in at ties, responsible for supervision of dia as one of The Blogging Angels. touch! C’mon, you know you want a substantial 9 lbs., 11.3 oz. and a project development staff of five. We are geared toward women in to! And you will be so glad you did! measured 21 inches. Little Manny During tenure as deputy director, social media, an underserved group. is named after his grandfather, she oversaw the completion, con­ “The biggest change, though,” Emanuel Fusfield ’48 Business. struction and pre-development of Nancy said, “is that I have started Eric Fusfield Could our son one day become a 433 units of affordable housing. an online business. It’s a website for 88 1945 South George third-generation Columbian? Stay Her other work there also included tweens called Kidz Vuz (facebook. Mason Dr. tuned for the Class of 2033 admis- preparation of Supportive Housing com/l/b3cdasoI8hQRRmXUu87Z 88 Arlington, VA 22204 sions announcement. Program applications and budgets. wRhha1Q/KidzVuz.com). It’s a [email protected] She served as the agency’s liaison to review site where kids leave and the Los Angeles Homeless Services watch video reviews about what- David Osachy writes from Odessa, Emily Miles Terry Authority.” ever interests them. I’ve launched Ukraine, “to announce that I re- 45 Clarence St. Maria lives in Los Angeles with it with a friend I met through cently merged my family company 89 Brookline, MA 02446 her two school-age children. blogging and so far, so good. I never of Osachy & Sons, with interna- 89 I heard from Ellen (Wohl) [email protected] thought I had an entrepreneurial tional holdings in mining, manu- Vaknine, who after Columbia bone in my body, and here I am facturing and vending machines, In March, Maria Cabildo received moved to Seattle for a while, with not just one business, but three into the well-established local firm the Heritage Award from the Latino worked in economic development, — one of them big enough to merit of Bentzion Krik & Associates. I’m Alumni Association of Columbia then moved to Boston, where she a round of capital-raising. I can’t happy to say that Kevin Keenan University (LAACU) and the Co- worked in publishing until she quite believe it, and I think my hus- ’86 will remain managing partner, lumbia Alumni Association (CAA). “finally realized” that she needed band and 11-year-old twins are a overseeing day-to-day corporate The Heritage Award was estab- to be back in NYC. She got back little shocked, too, but I’m traveling operations, while the Rev. Kevin lished to acknowledge a Latina/o to NYC and continued to work a lot, speaking at conferences and Fedarko (better known these days alumna/us who has shown a in publishing — on the technol- generally having a great, though as Archimandrite Zosima of the dedication to the Latino community ogy side — but decided she had exhausting, time.” Autocephalous Ukrainian Ortho- within and outside of the Univer- had enough of it. When Ellen’s My dear friend, Carman 5 floor­ dox Church in America, Eparchy of sity gates. The award was presented husband, Eli, whom she met while mate and first European traveling Parma, Ohio) has come on board to to Maria at the 12th Annual El doing Israeli dancing, suggested buddy, Divya Singh, who by day serve as honorary office chaplain. Regreso in Low Rotunda.­ Maria that she join him in his catering is a hand and orthopedic surgeon Obviously, the plot to take over the delivered the keynote address. In business, she laughed at first. in Seattle, has been on the road world that we three John Jay Hall acknowledging her work, LAACU Eleven years later, they still work

FALL 2011 100 COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY CLASS NOTES

together. Their company, Esprit Events (espritevents.com), offers boutique, upscale, full-service kosher catering for weddings, bar mitzvahs and charitable events as well as for casual office meetings, synagogue dinners and more. Ellen writes, “Food tends to make people happy, so our clients are for the most part a pleasure to work with! On the home front, I have two boys (7 and 4). Running keeps me sane, and Pilates keeps me strong. It would be a pleasure to hear from any hungry Columbians in the NYC area.” Ellen and her family reside on Long Island. I also heard from Danielle Maged, who with her husband, Greg, and two sons has returned to the East Coast after a long stint in San Francisco but still works for StubHub. Danielle writes, “We moved last July. Crazy how fast it has all gone by. But things are great, I live in the same town as Donna MacPhee (Ridgewood, In what has become an annual tradition, a group of alumni took part in a “fellas” trip to Austin, Texas, in N.J.) and am settling in. Kids are March. Golfing and dining were (left to right)Francois Furstenberg ’94, Chad Steele ’92, Albert Andres ’94, doing well, adjusting. All good.” Brian Shaklee ’93, Miguel Javier ’93E, Matthew Murphy ’93, Matthew DeFilippis ’93 and Richard Brosnick ’92. In Tucson, Ariz., Kim Harris Or­ tiz, mother of two young teens, pur- sued a legal career out of Columbia. ried to Hamadi Njoroge Ngaruiya lot, talked too much and laughed New Jersey. I then spent one year She recently was promoted from of Nairobi, Kenya, and they have almost enough to last us until the at Georgia State University and assistant district attorney to chief three children (5, 2 and 10 months). next time we see each other.” For- another year at the University counsel of criminal prosecutions Warigia and her husband own tunately, Ken Shubin Stein came of Louisville. I’ve been teaching in Tucson. If anyone recalls Kim’s two small businesses, including a to my rescue and was my ears and at Eastern Kentucky University barbed insults from the bleachers safari company, African Wildcats eyes for some updates. Ken runs since 2003, where I’m associ- at our basketball games, it appears Adventure Safaris (wildcatssafaris. Spencer Capital Management and ate professor of philosophy and she has only sharpened her verbal com). Warigia is on leave from the splits his time between New York Chautauqua Lecture coordinator, acuity and ability to shout down the Department of Public Policy Lead- City and Westport, Conn. He also responsible for developing and bad guys — though I’m sure she ership at the University of Mis- is an adjunct professor at the Busi- implementing the university’s does it with poise. sissippi. She is teaching nonprofit ness School. annual lecture series. In my latter And speaking of good talkers, management and leadership at the Some others in attendance at capacity, I’ve invited a number Jill Pollack, mother of adorable School of Global Affairs and Public reunion: Jim Burtson, who heads of Columbia faculty members Sam, hosts a show for HGTV Policy at the American University up the Global M&A Department to EKU, including Brian Greene Canada called Consumed (facebook. in Cairo. Warigia brings her un- for Time Warner, and his wife and (mathematics and physics) and com/consumedtv). The show is derstanding of the nonprofit sector children are lucky enough to live a Graciela Chichilnisky (econom- a one-hour program dedicated to class when she teaches because quarter-mile from Ken in Westport; ics and statistics). Both of their to helping families declutter and she is on the board of Kamusi, a Cory Flashner, who works in the lectures were hugely successful change their lives. It debuted last nonprofit formed byMartin Benja­ U.S. Attorney’s office in Worcester, on our campus. I’ve been married September and already is looking min focusing on digitizing African Mass., was to be married in July; since 1998, with two daughters, good for being picked up for a languages. Michelle Jacobson is a partner and we love it in Kentucky.” second season. Jill shoots part-time Warigia blogs at democratizing in a private equity firm in Seattle; And, finally, Ken Shubin Stein in Vancouver, which is a bit of a egypt.blogspot.com. She would Ted Ashenafi and his wife flew in told me about a wonderful charity commute for her, as she and her like to reconnect with classmates. from Ethiopia, where Ted runs an organization that he, his sister Beth family recently moved back to her Contact her at [email protected]. energy company; Ilana Porat made Shubin Stein, and Beth’s husband, home state of Connecticut last year. I’d love to hear from the rest of the trip in from California; Mela­ Chris Ahmad ’90, started called Please note my new email ad- you, too. nie Frager and her husband, Jason Crutches 4 Kids (crutches4kids.org). dress, at the top of the column. Griffith ’92, are still in New York Its mission is to facilitate mobility City; and Tory Frye lives in New for economically disadvantaged Margie Kim York City and is a scientist. children by providing crutches to Rachel Cowan Jacobs 91 c/o CCT I expect to have more updates in those in need. With the help of this 90 313 Lexington Dr. Columbia Alumni Center the next issue after Elise Scheck, organization, these children gain Silver Spring, MD 20901 91 622 W. 113th St., MC 4530 Julie Levy, Annmarie Giarratano independence, dignity and hope. 90 New York, NY 10025 Della Pietra, Jodi Williams and Facilitating local drives, fundraising [email protected] margiekimkim@ Beth Shubin Stein give me all of and working with hospitals and What a time to hear from a class- hotmail.com their scoop. like-minded organizations are the mate in Cairo! Warigia Margaret Visit the CCT website to view charity’s main activities. It has an Bowman sent an update in late Greetings, all! Unfortunately, due our class photo and to see a list of expanding network of partners, March, via the Columbia College to an unexpected health issue, classmates who registered: college. including Manhattan’s Hospital for Today website (so easy and fast: I was unable to attend our 20th columbia.edu/cct/fall11/reunion. Special Surgery, which distributes college.columbia.edu/cct/submit_ reunion in June. Although I’m Minh Nguyen sent in this 20,000 crutches each year. Contact class_note). Warigia earned her recovered, I’m so sad that I missed update: “After receiving my Ph.D. Liz Jacobs (lizrossjacobs@gmail. doctorate in public policy from the festivities. It sounded like a fun in philosophy from Columbia com) if you have questions about Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School time was had by all. In the words in 1999, I worked at a number the organization. of Government in 2009. She is mar- of Melanie Seidner: “We drank a of institutions in New York and Until next time … cheers!

FALL 2011 101

CLASS NOTES COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY

REUNION MAY 31–JUNE 3 That’s all I have for now. Can you reports, “I went to New York with FLAVORS, a custom clothing ALUMNI OFFICE CONTACTS believe we’re less than a year away Brian ‘Swede’ Hansen ’94 (Swede company that caters to personali- ALUMNI AFFAIRS Jennifer Freely from our (gulp!) 20th reunion? is knocking on the door of being ties in the entertainment industry. [email protected] chubby) in January for Billy Basso’s “I started this business while a 212-851-7438 40th birthday. Billy is doing great. junior at Columbia College in East DEVELOPMENT Eleanor L. Coufos ’03 Betsy Gomperz Billy is a little chubby. Billy and his Campus H201. Next year will be our [email protected] 41 Day St. wife, Danielle, have three daugh- 20th anniversary in business! Can’t 212-851-7483 93 Newton, MA 02466 ters. While in New York, we met believe it’s been that long already,” 93 up with Tom Casey (skinny), Eric she writes. Sharene invites everyone Jeremy Feinberg [email protected] 315 E. 65th St. #3F Redhead ’94 (a little chubby), Ari to visit 5001flavors.com to see some 92 New York, NY 10021 Miguel Batista and Suzette Batista Perlman (skinny) and Bryan Paul of their designs on their celebrity cli- opened an art gallery in Englewood, ’92 (skinny). I see Joe Ori regularly entele. [Editor’s note: See the profile 92 jeremy.feinberg@ N.J. They developed a passion for (still chubby). Joe and his wife, Beth, of Wood in this issue.] verizon.net art after the birth of their first son, have four children, holding strong Burke Banda moved back to Hi, everyone. A lighter mailbag this Gabriel. He passed away in October to the Italian tradition: Pietro (9), Austin, Texas, and has time, but still some stuff to pass 2008 (a couple weeks shy of his Santino (8), Brigidelle (5) and his been there ever since. He and his along. Here we go. third birthday), and that passion for newest addition, Valentino. I have wife (they married in 2000) have two I heard from Brad Randleman art only deepened. Galerie Gabriel not talked to John Cerza lately, but children, son Brice (7) and daughter first. He recently was named editor- is an homage to him and serves as it is safe to say that he still is chubby. Lizzie (3). “They are super-fun and in-chief for the Journal of Refractive a legacy for their second son, Noah And last but not least, in case into all kinds of things. Strangely Surgery and became a member of (interestingly, born on the 21-month you were wondering, I am a little enough, they try lots of sports but the International Society of Refrac- anniversary of Gabriel’s passing). chubby, too.” have avoided tennis,” Burke writes. tive Surgery Executive Committee. Office space has been secured for Finally, I heard from Phedora “I still see quite a few people from According to Brad, his involvement private viewings. Ads will run in Johnson, a fellow former McBain school and we try to do at least one in ISRS will take him to meetings ArtNews and other major art publi- resident (and after living there trip back to NYC each year to catch and speaking events in Geneva, cations. And by the time you read for three years, she was also its up with additional friends. Being in Buenos Aires, Vienna and Bordeaux this, galeriegabriel.com should be president!). Phedora speaks four Austin, I have to do what I can to in the next few months. up and running! A portion of any languages — French (her college keep Columbia in my kids’ minds Sticking with Brad-themed news, sales will go toward The Marrow major), Japanese and Spanish as since they are quickly becoming I noticed a nice piece on Bradley Foundation. well as English — and has traveled proud Longhorns.” to 20 countries. Phedora teaches Burke also has stayed connected high school Spanish in eastern to Columbia by doing interviews North Carolina, where she recently for prospective Columbia students Miguel Batista ’93 and Suzette Batista ’93 opened an was chosen as one of 12 people (studentaffairs.columbia.edu/ad art gallery, Galerie Gabriel, named after their late across the state to go to Senegal missions/alumni/volunteers.php). as part of the Fulbright-Hays — “Every year I am more amazed how son, in Englewood, N.J. Group Projects Abroad Program old I am getting and how talented through Appalachian State Uni- are the kids that are applying,” he versity. The program is intended to writes. Hutton in the Albany Times Union Matthew Murphy ’94 wrote, de- give teachers a window into French- Some of our classmates have in early April. As the Times Union scribing his annual alumni “fellas” speaking Africa through intensive recently welcomed new additions. reported, Bradley is director of the gathering in March in Austin, Texas. seminar studies, tours on location in Patricia Ybarra and her husband, Bureau of Early Intervention, New Matthew was joined by Francois metropolitan and rural Senegal, and Milind Shah ’93, welcomed a son, York State Department of Health. Furstenberg ’94, Chad Steele ’92, a six-day home stay in Ndondol. Naveen Tomás Ybarra Shah, on He oversees the $700 million service Albert Andres ’94, Brian Shaklee, February 28. Jen Higgins and her system for children from birth–3 Miguel Javier ’93E, Matthew partner, Jacqueline Woo, welcomed who have either disabilities or devel- DeFilippis and Richard Brosnick Leyla Kokmen son Elliot Nejm Higgins-Woo on opmental delays, with the goal of ’92. The group played golf at the 94 440 Thomas Ave. S. March 13. He joins sister Mika (2). getting them to a point where they Roy Kizer Golf Course and enjoyed Minneapolis, MN 55405 Kate Gutman welcomed daughter are caught up with their typically great meals at Juan in a Million, Salt 94 Stella on May 15. Kate has “been [email protected] developing peers or, if not, prepar- Lick BBQ, Franklin Barbecue and living the life of a new mom — ing their family to better care for Guero’s Taco Bar. “I’m happy to Lots of great news to report this sleepless nights, feeding and many, them. Here is the full feature piece: report we all returned to our homes time! many diaper changes — ever since. timesunion.com/default/article/ safely,” Matthew writes. In other Sharene (Barnett) Wood, who That said, my husband, Paul, and Capital-Profile-1321074.php#ixzz years, the group has visited New married her business partner, Guy, I couldn’t be more excited to have 1IYHmyfMh. Orleans and Tampa. in May 2007, vacations yearly with Stella in our lives and it’s now Roberta Bassett reports that after I also heard from Joe Calcagno, Kemba Dunham, Nicole (Johnson) tough to recall life without her.” two years as a tertiary education a Carman 11 floormate (and across- Sanders (married to Omar Sand- Congratulations to all of your specialist doing global education the-hall neighbor): “My wife, Julie, ers ’93), Annys Shin and Leslie growing families! work in Washington, D.C., “a.k.a. and family are doing fine. Four (DeLara) Luck (married to educator In 2003, Stephen J. Mathur mar- World Bank HQ,” she is back in kids, Joey (12), Taylor (11), Jillian Phil Luck). “We group of hap- ried Urmi P. Vaidya ’99 Barnard, ’02 London, where she now is a senior (7) and Jack (5). My daughter pily married and working moms SW. The couple has two children, education specialist for the bank’s Taylor recently returned from vacation annually to reconnect and daughter Bodhi Navona (6) and Europe and Central Asia Region. As the World Irish Dancing Cham- share the wonderful joys of mother- son Rig Veda (3). They live in New Roberta describes it, she works on pionships in Dublin. Taylor, who hood. Nine kids in total, so that’s Jersey, and Stephen is a high school policy-based lending and technical dances for Trinity, is on the 13U a lot of complaining … err, excuse assistant principal at the Eagle Acad- advising around reforms in higher team that won the World Champi- me, celebrating how hard we work emy for Young Men, an NYC public education across the region, mostly onship. We are very proud of her. all year,” Sharene writes. The group school in the Bronx. Urmi is a social right now in the Balkans and newest I believe it is the Italian genes that has traveled to Mexico, Miami, worker at Hackensack University EU member states. Equally impor- have allowed her to do so well in Scottsdale and Las Vegas. “Colum- Medical Center in New Jersey. tant, Roberta tells me that her whole Irish dance. The rest of the kids bia was a great educational experi- David Knowles has been mar- family, including husband Derek, are deeply entrenched in all their ence but also a great connector of ried to Heather (née Payne) for 1½ daughters Charly (7) and Jeannine spring sports, and Julie and I run lifelong friends,” Sharene continues. years. He is in a private urology (3), and her mother (who serves around like crazy people.” “Here’s to our next trip!” practice in Mount Vernon, Ill. as nanny), are happy to be back in Joe has stayed in touch with On the work front, Sharene Monique Williams Morris London. a number of folks and colorfully founded, owns and operates 5001 recently launched the MWM Con-

FALL 2011 102 COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY CLASS NOTES

Sharene Wood ’94 Spins the Look of Popular Culture

B y K a r e n K e ll e r ’05J

n 1992, an Uptown Records the lower level of a Harlem intern with a dream needed brownstone to serve as an new threads. His name was office. Top stars such as Mary J. Sean Jean Combs. Farther Blige and LL Cool J kept rolling Iuptown at Columbia, Sharene in. But then around 2000 came Wood ’94, a 20-year-old junior, a sharp decline in business, had just opened a custom cloth- and the company expanded ing company that lacked clients. to sports stars, especially NBA The pair met at a music in- players. Now athletes account dustry event. Nineteen years for about 40 percent of the com- later, 5001 Flavors, a Harlem- pany’s clients. “Music and sports based company, outfits some of are so intertwined,” Wood says. the biggest names in entertain- The economy wasn’t the only ment. Combs, the megastar who thing in the business that had its has won three Grammy Awards ups and downs. and today goes by the name Sharene and Guy Wood stop- Diddy, still wears 5001 Flavors. ped dating for more than a The company website (5001 decade, though they continued Flavors.com) unfurls like a show- to work together. Things eventu- case of who’s who in hip-hop: ally became romantic again, and singer Alicia Keys in a one- they married in 2007. The couple shouldered purple unitard, sing- Sharene Wood ’94, CEO of 5001 Flavors, browses fabrics at Mood lives in West Orange, N.J., with er Chris Brown in a Boy Scout- in Manhattan’s garment district while wearing one of her com- their daughter, Sydney (2). inspired top, the late Notorious pany’s dresses. Recently Wood started a B.I.G. in a 5001 Flavors outfit PHOTO: KAREN KELLER ’05J separate company, The Wood featured in the Rock and Roll Agency (thewoodagency.biz), Hall of Fame and Museum. Yet The company has spent didn’t know it would turn into which connects wardrobe styl- the company’s diverse client list exactly zero marketing dollars my career.” ists with clients and helps celeb- also includes Elmo, the fuzzy — every customer comes by When the company started rities with personal shopping. red Sesame Street character; word of mouth. Prices range in the early 1990s, Wood didn’t Next Wood hopes to make NBA stars including LeBron from $100 for a pair of jeans have an office. She had a dorm 5001 Flavors a household brand. James, Kobe Bryant, Dwyane to $10,000 for a snakeskin room and a lot of class work, This year she plans to hire a Wade and Shaquille O’Neal; and coat, depending sometimes on plus a part-time job at a busi- full-time publicist and attract a the Rev. Al Sharpton, who was whether the person is already ness consulting firm in Midtown. major investor. featured on an August 2010 famous or up-and-coming. She made phone calls on the The company hasn’t started cover of Newsweek wearing a “We hear a lot of, ‘We’re go to drum up business while any major branding efforts 5001 Flavors black suit with a working with this cool guy. He Guy designed the clothing and because Wood believes fans crimson tie. doesn’t have a lot of money outsourced manufacturing to will quickly connect with 5001 Together with her husband but he’s going to be huge,’” vendors who made the glitzy Flavors once they recognize and business partner, Guy Wood, Wood says. “Sometimes it frocks in their shops. the hundreds of outfits worn the sociology major has racked turns out to be true ... Then, Kemba Dunham ’94, who by their favorite artists. up continued success despite since we create their look, we has known Wood since their Plus, her company’s name a sharp downturn in music in- ride the wave with them.” time at Columbia, says Wood’s already appears in millions of dustry revenues starting around A pre-law student whose trajectory was not a surprise. plastic jewel cases. 2000, when the Internet made favorite class was criminology During college, “Sharene “A lot of people do read the downloading music cheap. and who credits Columbia with always was very sophisticated CD liner notes,” she says. Singers don’t spend as much on teaching her discipline, Wood about financial matters and custom digs when their earnings originally planned to become how things operated, things To see a slideshow of celebrities drop, but Wood’s business still is an entertainment lawyer. But not on any of our radars at wearing 5001 Flavors clothing, humming. when the Harlem native looked the time,” says Dunham, a go to college.columbia.edu/cct. With up-and-coming artists at law school students, “I no- longtime Wall Street Journal emerging “almost quarterly,” ticed nobody seemed happy,” reporter who now works in Karen Keller ’05J is a freelance there’s a never-ending supply she says. corporate communications. journalist based in the New York of potential clients, Wood Her future husband, who 5001 Flavors soon flourished, City area. Her work has appear­ says. “If an artist like LL Cool J, had connections in the en- despite no outside funding to ed in The Daily, AOL News, whom we dressed for 15 years, tertainment industry, asked start, Wood says. During its first Esquire.com, amNY, The Star- doesn’t have staying power, Wood if she wanted to start a year, the company made “more Ledger, Fortune, Travel & Leisure then we have [a new singer- venture instead. “I was always than I had dreamed of making and other publications. Keller songwriter star such as] Jason super-organized and he was in five years.” is the author of Portuguese For Derulo,” she says. really creative,” she says. “I The company soon bought Dummies.

FALL 2011 103

CLASS NOTES COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY sulting Group, a research and tech- Many thanks to everyone who National Geographic in September); Alpert Levine and her husband, nical assistance firm that works to wrote in. Love hearing all your Leila Kazemi, who recently gave Elie Levine; Topher McGibbon; advance concepts of fairness, diver- stories. Until next time! birth to a daughter (congratula- Michelle Neptune; and Jeanette sity and inclusion. “I was deeply tions, Leila!); Barbara Antonucci; Balk. Pete Freeman kicked off the saddened by the passing of my men- Michael Kadish; Vivien Labaton ’96 event with a humorous speech, tor and former Columbia professor, Janet Lorin Barnard; Brandon Kessler, CEO and followed by a very funny discussion Manning Marable (I was the first 127 W. 96th St., #2GH founder of ChallengePost, a start-up in an Inside the Actor’s Studio-type person he hired at the Institute for 95 New York, NY 10025 company that allows individuals forum between Noah Cornman and Research in African American Stud- 95 and organizations to challenge Tom Kitt, in which Tom discussed [email protected] ies) and participated in a segment the public to solve problems and his career and path to his success on MSNBC discussing his new book Congratulations to Jennie Erin innovate; Brad Meacham, run- — one of the highlights of Alumni on the life and legacy of Malcolm Smith, who recently published ning for Seattle City Council; Sam Reunion Weekend, without a doubt. X: .msn.com/id/42436273,” the nonfiction book Stolen World: Lanckton ’00; Marcel Agueros, an Jodi Kantor, who had given a talk Monique writes. “I was at Columbia A Tale of Reptiles, Smugglers, and assistant professor at Columbia in on campus earlier about the biogra- on May 26 for his memorial on the Skulduggery. Read more about it the Department of Astronomy; and phy she is writing about President steps of Low Library.” [Editor’s note: at jennieerinsmith.com. Crown Robin Shulman, writing a book and Barack Obama ’83, also was there, See “Around the Quads.”] published the book in January. formerly a reporter for The Wash- along with Dan Morenoff, an Monique writes regularly on top- Thanks to Winifred Teng for ington Post. Michelle Patron, whom attorney at K&L Gates in Dallas ics affecting the African-American sharing the update. Please keep the some of you may remember as an and running for Congress. Rowie community for TheGrio.com: the news coming. aerobics instructor at Columbia, is a Villanueva, who graduated from grio.com/author/monique-morris. senior director at Pira Energy Group. Northwestern Law and the Kellogg Shannon Halkyard sent in her Uchenna was there too. School of Management with a joint first Class Notes update — while Ana S. Salper Kudos to the Reunion Committee J.D/M.B.A., works at a hedge fund, on vacation in Bora Bora, no less! 24 Monroe Pl., Apt. MA and the Alumni Office for making Atticus Capital. Needless to say (but “Having a great time and getting a 96 Brooklyn, NY 11201 the Saturday barbecue on campus I shall say it anyway), Uchenna was nice break from work back in San 96 so kid-friendly. It was a beautiful in attendance as well, along with his [email protected] Francisco,” she writes. She is teach- day for a barbecue, and there was a lovely wife. ing and also studying for a doctor- Greetings, classmates! Welcome to bouncy castle, a balloon-maker and Following the dinner, we all ate in education at the University the reunion update column. It was a series of other kid-related activities, went dancing on Low Plaza under of San Francisco. Shannon earned great to see so many of you at our leading my 5-year-old daughter, the stars at the Starlight Reception, an M.S. in chemistry at UC Berke- 15th reunion in June — so many Isabelle, to ask, “Mommy, was the which was an absolute blast. I ley in 1997, then was an environ- familiar faces, and many new ones bouncy castle here when you were must admit that I reconnected with mental consultant/chemist for four as well. What struck me the most is at Columbia?” I, of course, replied my favorite place to sit on the Steps years and “left it to do something how much happens in five years … in the affirmative, leading Isabelle (which apparently also was the more satisfying — teaching.” there weren’t many kids running to state “OK, so I really want to go favorite place of members of the Congratulations to Ty Buckelew, around at our 10th reunion but at to Columbia too!” much to my Class of 2006 because we had to who married Eleanor Margaret this one there were kids galore! Yet delight. This, mind you, was after share it — somewhat unwillingly Shephard in New York in May. despite a lot of us being parents, no she proudly found the owl in Alma — with the young ’uns). Ty is the executive director for the one appears to have aged one bit! Mater — another of Columbia’s Visit the CCT website to view Institute for Civic Leadership, a Was there some sort of youth elixir big attractions for her, apparently. It our class photo and to see a list of nonprofit in partnership with the on the Morningside Campus? You was great to see Tony and Pulitzer classmates who registered: college. Dwight School, a private school all looked great. prize-winner Tom Kitt with his columbia.edu/cct/fall11/reunion. in New York that encourages OK, here we go. The reunion family — wife Rita Pietropinto-Kitt If I didn’t get the chance to catch high school students to become kickoff event on June 2 at HB ’93 and their adorable kids. If you up with you during reunion, I am involved in community service. Burger Times Square was relatively haven’t seen Next to Normal, which sorry I missed you. Please send in Steven Cohen is married with small but fun. Not surprisingly, the completed its Broadway run in Janu- notes for the next column — I want three children, Alexa (6), Will (4) first person I saw wasUchenna ary and is now touring the country, to hear from you! Please note my and Ty (2), and lives just outside Acholonu, who is an obstetrician go see it! Also in attendance were new email address, at the top of of Philadelphia. He recently was at Mount Sinai and remains one of Lisa Courtney; Melissa Gajarsa; Jill the column. promoted to associate professor at the nicest people I have ever had Fromson Van Beke; Moha Desai, I leave you with this, in honor of Thomas Jefferson University in the the pleasure of knowing. Also in who works at Deloitte in Boston; and our reunion: Department of Orthopaedic Sur- attendance were several members Hussien Rashid. After completing “It’s not the years, honey — it’s gery; is a sports medicine surgeon of the Columbia football team, who a master’s in theological studies at the mileage.” at the Rothman Institute, serving were great fun to hang with, includ- Harvard Divinity School, Hussein —Indiana Jones (in Raiders of the as the director of sports medicine ing Craig “the Hammer” Valentine, earned an M.A. and a Ph.D. from Lost Ark) research; and is an assistant team who works at Merrill Lynch; Arthur Harvard’s Department of Near East- physician for the Philadelphia Phil- Smith, who works at Barclays Capi- ern Languages and Civilizations. REUNION MAY 31–JUNE 3 lies and St. Joseph’s University. tal; and Chris Valvo, who works at He is an associate editor at Religion ALUMNI OFFICE CONTACTS Ayanna (Parish) Thompson Ticonderoga Securities. Dispatches (religiondispatches.org); ALUMNI AFFAIRS Jennifer Freely recently was promoted to full pro- Patrick Belton was there with an active blogger at his own site, [email protected] fessor in the Department of English his wife, Soo Koon Lee ’96 Barnard. islamicate (islamicate.com); and his 212-851-7438 at Arizona State University. She Patrick works at a hedge fund he work has appeared on the websites DEVELOPMENT Harrison Kobb also has a new book out: Passing runs with his brother. Also in at- Goatmilk, The Huffington Post, [email protected] Strange: Shakespeare, Race, and Con- tendance was Alex Vinnitsky, who City of Brass, altmuslimah and Talk 212-851-7444 temporary America, which explores is an attorney in private practice Islam. Oh, and Uchenna was at the the many ways U.S. culture draws specializing in commercial and barbecue too. Sarah Katz on the works and the mythology bankruptcy law. Alex graduated The Saturday dinner at Faculty 1935 Parrish St. of Shakespeare to redefine the from the Law School in 1999. House was a great event. In atten- 97 Philadelphia, PA 19130 boundaries of the color line. Julie Satow hosted a lovely dance were Omar Sayed, a portfolio 97 [email protected] And finally, Matt Spielman has event at her parents’ loft in Soho the manager at P. Schoenfeld Asset been appointed v.p. of strategic following evening. Among many Management, Asian and European CC ’97, where is the love? Please partnerships and alliances at Event- others, in attendance were Jeremiah Equity; Dulcie Lin, who works in send updates. I know you all are ful. He will head the San Diego- Crowell, a director at National real estate; John Scott, a partner up to great things! based company’s recently-opened Geographic television (watch for at Reed Smith in the Financial After co-launching a digital me- New York office and be general the series Brain Games, directed Industry Group; Nadia Kihiczak, a dia company called AudienceFUEL manager of the Northeast region. by Jeremiah, scheduled to air on dermatologist in Los Angeles; Jodi (audiencefuel.com), which allows

FALL 2011 104 COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY CLASS NOTES

Jerome Chang ’99 Tries To “Democratize” Dessert

B y N at h a l i e A l o n s o ’08

astry chef Jerome on to Le Cirque, a renowned opened in January 2010. He in African-American studies Chang ’99 has forged French restaurant in Manhat- now runs both the truck and the and notes that he grew up in a his culinary niche by tan, where he was pastry sous store with a team of likeminded segregated neighborhood. introducing traditionally chef from May 2006–April 2007. colleagues. Eager to live in New York City, Phigh-end desserts into New The concept for DessertTruck “The gourmet truck concept Chang chose Columbia as the York City street fare at mouth- came to Chang while he and his wasn’t just a novel idea. It venue in which to explore those watering prices. former roommate and business broke with old-fashioned molds, interests. He earned a J.D. from Chang, co-founder of Dessert- partner, Chris Chen ’06E, ’08E, with traditional assumptions the University of Illinois in 2002 Truck and its Lower East Side ’08 Business, experimented that there’s always been a very and practiced law for a year brick-and-mortar spinoff, Dessert- with a late-night snack in their specific setting for high-end, at a New York City insurance Truck Works (desserttruck.com), Harlem apartment. well-made food,” says Susana defense firm before attending began selling sweet concoctions “Chris was trying Nutella for Garcia, also a former Le Cirque culinary school. in out of a re- the first time,” recalls Chang. “I pastry sous chef, who joined “I had become really vamped postal truck in October said, ‘Put some sea salt on it, I’ll DessertTruck full-time in 2009. unhappy,” says Chang. “I went 2007. His menu features delica- caramelize some bananas and Sincere and straightforward, to law school for all the wrong cies such as vanilla crème brûlée put it on some toast.’ We took a Chang grew up in a suburb of reasons — peer pressure, didn’t and a highly acclaimed warm bite out of that and knew it could Kansas City. He did consider know what to do.” chocolate bread pudding with be sold on the street. Everything himself a “foodie” as a Col- The same gut feeling that an unexpected but delectable just sort of clicked. It made sense lege student, but his academic later spawned DessertTruck led bacon custard sauce. as a business and it also was the aspirations at the time were Chang to quit his job and enroll The most expensive item on perfect way to help democratize fueled­ by the same commitment at the French Culinary Institute. Chang’s menu is $6. Though he food.” to equal access that inspired His gambles have paid off, as purchases ingredients from the Permit troubles forced Des- DessertTruck. “I am extremely DessertTruck boasts a robust same vendors many four-star sertTruck to shut down for al- passionate about social justice, and loyal clientele. Business restaurants use, Chang is able to most a year beginning in August equality of opportunity and figur- received a boost in 2009 with offer a less expensive product 2009. During that time, Chang ing out why social differences Chang and Chen’s appearance because he sells larger quanti- established his storefront, which exist,” says Chang, who majored on Throwdown!, a Food Net­ ties while avoiding the overhead work program in which celeb- expenses of a restaurant. rity chef Bobby Flay competes “My disposition is to be as with chefs known for a par- inclusive as possible,” says ticular dish — in Chang’s case, Chang. “In this country, some bread pudding — and attempts of our best food is found in fine to produce a superior version dining places. But what is fine of the dish. The episode was dining? It’s very pretentious, filmed in October 2008 and and it’s meant to exude exclu- aired in January 2009. Chang sivity. You have to have enough and Chen prevailed. money, time and patience to “When I saw the judges actually get into one of these eating, I could tell that we were restaurants and get a really nice going to win,” recalls Chang. dessert.” “They looked ecstatic.” Chang, a 2004 graduate of the French Culinary Institute’s Nathalie Alonso ’08, from six-month pastry arts program, Queens, is a freelance journal- landed his first job in January ist and an editorial producer of 2005 as a pastry cook at Cope- LasMayores.com, Major League land Restaurant at the Westin Jerome Chang ’99 places a batch of his acclaimed chocolate bread Baseball’s official Spanish lan- Governor Morris hotel in New pudding into the oven at the DessertTruck Works kitchen. guage website. She also writes Jersey. From there he moved PHOTO: NATHALIE ALONSO ’08 “Student Spotlight” for CCT.

online publishers to trade their art is good for us all. board, and other board members older daughter, Molly, plays beauti- unsold inventory with one another, In April, Jill Jacobs became include Rabbis Sharon Brous ’95, fully with her.” Ted is an oculoplastic Edward Yaeger joined 20x200, a executive director of rabbis for ’01 GSAS and Aaron Levy ’97 GS. surgeon at Albany Medical Center. startup that sells limited-edition art Human Rights-North America, an Jill’s second book, Where Justice prints for as low as $20. Edward is organization that engages rabbis Dwells: A Hands-On Guide to Doing enjoying the highly entrepreneurial in taking action on pressing moral Social Justice in Your Jewish Commu- Sandie Angulo Chen atmosphere at 20x200, where the issues, including state-sponsored nity, was published in June. 10209 Day Ave. mantra is that art should be acces- torture, human trafficking and Edward Wladis and his wife, 98 Silver Spring, MD 20910 sible and affordable to everyone. other human rights concerns in Lianne ’00L, are thrilled to announce 98 [email protected] He encourages his fellow alums to North America, Israel and the the arrival of their second daugh- check out some of the great prints Palestinian Territories. Rabbi Ra­ ter, Rebecca, on November 14. Ed Hope you were all somewhere at 20x200.com because living with chel Goldenberg is co-chair of the writes: “She is wonderful, and our balmy and breezy for at least part

FALL 2011 105

CLASS NOTES COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY of the summer season. me a list of 800 email addresses for nie Marquit (née Lainer) and Billy with her husband, William Lowrey. For the first time in a couple our class so I can individually reach Kingsland about two weeks before We got married in Los Angeles of years, I have graduation news out to everyone. Please let me know Sarah and her husband, Donny and are settling into our new home to share. Adina (Berrios) Brooks if you want to unsubscribe. Kranson ’99E, welcomed their new in Silver Lake. I’m still at the U.S. received her master’s in politics and addition on June 16 — daughter Lily Attorney’s Office in the Violent education in May from Teachers Mabel Kranson weighed 6 lbs., 13 oz. & Organized Crime Section, and College. Adina, who was nearly Prisca Bae and was 19 ¾ in. long. Congratula- Eszter is an attorney representing eight months pregnant with her 344 W. 17th St., Apt. 3B tions to Sarah and Donny! doctors and hospitals in medical second child at graduation, lives 00 New York, NY 10011 Nancy Michaelis (née Perla) malpractice defense suits.” in Harlem with her husband Ross, 00 and her husband, Matt, announced Congratulations to the entire [email protected] and their daughter, Nola. Congratu- the birth of their daughter, Mar- Class of 2001; we’ve certainly lations, Adina! On March 2, Sarah Spatz (née Green) garet, on May 23 at 9:09 a.m. She accomplished a lot in the last 10 and her husband, Mark, welcomed weighed 7 lbs., 4 oz. and was 19½ years! Please continue to stay their second daughter, Vivienne, in. long. Congratulations to Nancy in touch and let me know what Laurent Vasilescu into the world. She joins Chloe (2). and Matt! you’re all up to these days. 127 W. 81st St., Apt. 4B Sebastian Chan moved from I ran into Sara Batterton and 99 New York, NY 10024 New York City to San Francisco in Christian Sparling separately at REUNION MAY 31–JUNE 3 99 May to join Morrison & Foerster reunion. Then, through the power laurent.vasilescu@ ALUMNI OFFICE CONTACTS as a finance lawyer in the Financial of Facebook (and their respective gmail.com ALUMNI AFFAIRS Sarah Trimmer Transactions Group. status updates about a perfor- [email protected] Greetings, classmates. Here are Please send news. Your class- mance of Les Miserables put on by 212-851-7977 some updates on the literati front. mates want to hear what you’re third-graders), I learned they have DEVELOPMENT Donna D. Desilus ’09 Dan Alarcón wrote in collabora- up to! been working together for three [email protected] tion with artist Sheila Alvarado a years. Christian is the director of 212-851-7941 graphic novel, Ciudad de Payasos, operations at North Star Academy which means “City of Clowns.” Jonathan Gordin Charter School in Newark, N.J., and Sonia Dandona He is working on a piece about 01 3030 N. Beachwood Dr. dad to Violet. Sara is director of real Hirdaramani Peruvian prisons. Erica Loberg, Los Angeles, CA 90068 estate for Uncommon Schools, an 02 2 Rolling Dr. who lives in Los Angeles, recently 01 urban charter school organization. 02 Old Westbury, NY 11568 [email protected] published a book, Inside the Insane, Genevieve DeGuzman ’07 TC [email protected] which depicts life inside a psy- Greetings! I attended our 10-year wrote: “After five years in private chiatric crisis ward in California. Alumni Reunion Weekend in June sector development, working with Lots of happy news in this column. Pierre Stefanos recently made a and had a wonderful time con- micro and small businesses on Please keep the updates coming to movie, Bedfellows, after winning necting with so many old friends projects throughout the Asia-Pacific [email protected]! first place in a writing contest. The (way too many to mention here!) region, I found myself catching Dave Myers started working at movie will be showcased at more from the Class of 2001. The one the entrepreneurial bug! Soon SecondMarket, the marketplace for than 100 festivals by the time the thing I left at home during my trip after returning to the States in late alternative investments, where he run is finished. It came out on May (besides my daughter) was my 2010, I co-founded a small, indie is a senior software engineer. He 17 at Amazon, Target, Best Buy and reporter’s notebook, so I decided digital press and editorial services married Diane Clifford on August Barnes & Noble. Pierre also reports my strategy would be to follow company, Night Owls Press (night 22, 2010, at the Queens County that Jay Albany and his wife, up with people I saw at reunion owlspress.com) in San Francisco. Farm Museum. In attendance Miranda Stamps ’00 Barnard, had during the next few months to We work with small businesses and were Daniel Ramirez; his wife, twins. They live in Brooklyn and populate future columns. I’ll have nonprofits on topics related to social Eliza Bobek ’02 Barnard; and their seemingly are having a ball with some great updates in the next few entrepreneurship, innovation, social daughter Lucia. Dan Hammerman their kids. issues, as I learned that several media, economic development and and Robyn Schwartz ’03 Barnard Riaz Ali is happily married. classmates definitely will have more. We’re always looking for traveled from Genoa, Italy, where He lives in D.C. and works for a some exciting news to report. Here partners for interesting editorial Dan is an architect at Renzo Piano’s health policy strategy firm there. are a few to get us started, but projects. If anyone wants to collabo- office.Andrew Cheung made it in He’s busy teaching his son Raiyan first, visit the CCT website to view rate, get in touch with me at editor@ from Holland, and Nick Schifrin (1) new words and phrases every our class photo and to see a list of nightowlspress.com. was in from Pakistan, where he is day, such “please,” “thank you,” classmates who registered to attend: “Our first in-house title, Work- a correspondent for ABC News. “Chewbacca” and “Yoda.” In the college.columbia.edu/cct/fall11/ ing in the ‘UnOffice’: A Guide to Justin Marks, who also got married meantime, he is still trying to re- reunion. Coworking for Indie Workers, Small last year, came in from Los Angeles. coup his investments from Sameer Rebecca Bradley’s husband, Businesses and Nonprofits (cowork Josh Lebewohl ’03, Catherine Burns Shamsi, who upon graduating John, deposited his dissertation in ingguide.com) was expected this ’02 Barnard and Chung Lim ’02 Bar- from HBS, convinced Riaz to invest May. He’s officially a Ph.D., and summer on Amazon, iBookstore nard also joined in on the festivities. in a start-up men’s cologne called he’ll be teaching a class at Wiscon- and Barnes & Noble. We inter- Dave’s parents, Phil Myers ’66 and “Shamsitude.” Riaz’s biggest regret sin this fall. viewed more than 30 start-ups, Anne Hoffman ’70 Barnard, were was that he never actually tested After finishing her M.B.A. at small businesses and nonprofits, there to celebrate as well. the scent. Turns out the formula NYU’s Stern School of Business, and talked to dozens of coworking Agnia Baranauskaite Grigas was an exotic mix of cooked spices Jessie Tubridy moved back to her space founders from New Work and her husband, Paulius Grigas, watered down with an abominable hometown of Rockaway, Queens. City, the Hub, PariSoMA, Affinity welcomed their first child, Greta, amount of Drakkar Noir. She works in NYC at Reliance Stan- Lab, Next Space, Loose Cubes a healthy and beautiful bundle of We wish you the best, Riaz! dard Insurance Co. selling ancillary and others. I’ve been personally joy, on March 16 in Santa Monica, With that, I thank everyone who insurance plans to corporations. fascinated with the concept of Calif. submitted updates. I look forward Jenny Tubridy has been an coworking and have been wanting Sarah Hsiao HuYoung and to hearing more stories. I would assistant district attorney at the to start a shared space in Manila to James HuYoung ’01 welcomed like to give a big thank you to Queens County District Attorney’s bring together the dozens of NGO their first child, Nathan James, Stacy Rotner for making sure that Office for the last four years. She is and aid workers who work there on his due date, November 8. He I’m constantly updated with the currently assigned to the Narcotics with the burgeoning community of was promptly outfitted in his first latest news from our classmates. Trials Unit. local entrepreneurs.” Columbia onesie. Sarah recently She reports that Kay Rokhsar had I saw Sarah Rosenbaum- Ariel Neuman writes, “I got returned to work at Sanctuary a second baby, and Mike Erman Kranson’s new apartment (so close married in February! My wife is for Families, the largest nonprofit got married. to campus on a beautiful stretch of Eszter Lengyel and in attendance at organization in NYC dedicated These are all the updates this time Riverside Drive) along with Rebecca the wedding were David Sandler exclusively to serving victims of around. Columbia College Today gave Mermelstein, Michael Smith, An­ and Adriana Galvan ’01 Barnard domestic violence and sex traf-

FALL 2011 106 COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY CLASS NOTES

ficking, as assistant director of development. James is a corporate attorney at Winston & Strawn. [Editor’s note: CCT highlighted Sarah and James’ courtship in May 2003: college.columbia.edu/cct_ archive/may03/features6.php.] The Houtsma family keeps grow- ing. James P. Houtsma’s daughter, Sally Kathleen Houtsma, was born on March 17. Brian House is a creative technol- ogist in the Research and Develop- ment lab at The New York Times. Zena Tsai (née Park) and her husband, Raymond Tsai, welcomed a healthy daughter on April 2. Her name is Zoe and she has enjoyed her first few months of life!

Michael Novielli Maria Wong ’03 and Robert Hora ’99 were married in August 2010 at St. Paul’s Chapel. Celebrating following 03 World City Apartments the ceremony were (left to right) Carey Gibbons ’03; Lee Schutzman ’03 and his wife, Kristen Kupchik ’03E; Attention Michael J. the bride; the groom; William Kwok ’03E; Christine Phillpotts ’03 and Jonathan Zimmerman ’03. 03 Novielli, A608 PHOTO: DAVID MIELCAREK Block 10, No 6. Jinhui Road, Chaoyang District Beijing, 100020, People’s but I love New York, so hopefully Biological Diversity. Working full- campus with her husband, David Republic of China will stay here. I’ve been married to time and finishing a thesis was not Form ’02, and their children, Miles [email protected] Keli Tawil Rifkin ’03 Barnard for the wisest of moves, but it’s getting (3) and Mia (15 months), to show eight years. We have one daughter, done so I’m pretty excited about their children where their parents I hope that you enjoyed the warm Lois (5).” that. I’ve lived overseas for four met and so they could “sit on the weather and good company of the Raquel Gardner writes, “I gave years now: two years in Thailand, Steps.” After receiving her M.P.H. summer season. Please take a few birth to my first baby, Azaria Gard- one in Vietnam and one in Hong from the Mailman School of Public minutes now to catch up on the re- ner Esensten (or Azi, pronounced Kong. We are looking forward to Health in 2005, Sharon worked at cent accomplishments of our class- ‘Ozzy,’ for short) on March 12. He repatriating soon in order to catch Deloitte Consulting before moving mates, including Alan Lue, who is amazing, and we are all doing up with friends and family.” to Pfizer as a managed care strate- recently started working for Pimco well. I returned from maternity Congratulations go out to Mike gist and data analyst. in Newport Beach, Calif. Celine leave in May to finish up the re- Podwal, who graduated from the Sophie Beal was married in Goetz writes, “I graduated from maining year of my residency in Business School in May and is October and has a Mellon Postdoc- University of Chicago Pritzker neurology at UCSF.” moving to Seattle to start work at toral Fellowship in the Humanities School of Medicine this spring and Katori Hall shares, “My play Amazon as the senior product man- at Tulane. matched into the internal medicine The Mountaintop, starring Samuel ager on the Kindle. Congratulations Emily Shin is almost halfway residency program at NewYork- L. Jackson, is scheduled to open on to Akshat Pujara, who graduated done with her orthopedic surgery Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Broadway on Thursday, October­ from Cleveland Clinic Lerner Col- residency at Walter Reed National Cornell Medical Center. I started 13. Visit themountaintopplay.com lege of Medicine of Case Western Military Medical Center. After my intern year this summer.” or follow me on Twitter (katorihall) Reserve University. Akshat will spending an additional four years Priya Purushothaman’s new for information on the show!” move to San Francisco for a pre- at P&S, she has been working book, Living Music: Conversations Katori was presented with the liminary year residency in internal largely with the war wounded from with Pandit Dinkar Kaikini, “is the I.A.L. Diamond [’41] Award by The medicine at Kaiser-San Francisco Afghanistan and Iraq. She writes, dialogue between a sincere guru Varsity Show earlier this year. prior to heading to NYU’s School of “I feel so privileged to be able to and an earnest disciple, in which a Medicine for residency in diagnos- work with these patients and be realized soul explains his philoso- tic radiology starting in 2012. a vital part of their surgical care. phy of Hindustānī Rāgsangīt and Angela Georgopoulos Courtney Shay included a Lauren (Turza) Greer is here with his personal journey to becoming a 200 Water St., Apt. 1711 springtime trip down memory me as well as a general surgery consummate performer, composer, 04 New York, NY 10038 lane with her news: “When I think resident. It’s so great to work with scholar and guru. In a very intimate 04 of Columbia in the spring, the classmates!” [email protected] portrait of the man and the musi- first thing that comes to mind is Aaron Schwartz and Ashley cian, Living Music explores Pandit Hello CC ’04! I hope you are all well! the Steps. My favorite springtime Edwards ’04E, ’05 live in Berkeley, Kaikini’s theories of sound, melody, On to the news: memory is when it would finally where Ashley is in medical school rhythm and creativity while simul- Walker Young checked in from get nice enough out that everyone and Aaron is working on his own taneously following him during his Hanoi, where he lives with his would hang out there. Once I even startup, Modify Watches, which de- life of courage, uncompromising wife of three years, Marisa, and is studied until 4 a.m. for a final exam signs modular silicone watches; any devotion to music and constant posted as the regional monitoring while sitting outside at the top of face can be mixed and matched with spiritual enquiry.” and evaluation coordinator for the Steps. I brought a blanket to sit any strap (modifywatches.com). Katie Day planned to marry the Worldwide Fund for Nature. on, my laptop and there was just They live not too far from Lindsay Columbia Athletics employee Dan He writes, “I cover the Mekong enough light from the lamps for me Shortliffe, who is a Psy.D. working Benvenuto in Cooperstown, N.Y. region including Thailand, Laos, to see. After receiving my M.P.H. at Berkeley. A new neighbor is Vijay on July 30. Judah Rifkin writes, “I Cambodia and Vietnam. Living from the Mailman School of Public Sundaram ’04E, who is working on made the move to Citadel Invest- in Hanoi has been equal parts Health in 2007 and subsequently a startup of his own in San Francisco. ment Group about a year ago. I’m excitement and utter chaos. I am receiving my B.S.N. from the Johns Abigail Druck Shudofsky received a v.p. and senior analyst covering also in the processing of finishing Hopkins University School of Nurs- a Ph.D. in cell and molecular biol- telecom, Internet and media. I’m my master’s thesis, which explores ing in 2010, I am an operating room ogy from Penn and is a postdoc- based in Citadel’s NYC location, the relationship of the Thai private nurse at the University of Maryland toral fellow at Uniformed Services which currently is home to 500 em- sector to the national implementa- Medical Center in Baltimore City.” University of the Health Sciences, ployees. The firm’s HQ is Chicago, tion of the U.N. Convention on Sharon Bartel recently was on a federal institution chartered by

FALL 2011 107

CLASS NOTES COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY

now works for Ogilvy & Mather. Upstate Medical University starting Charlotte Jacobs writes: “I this fall. She looks forward to con- finished my fifth year as a seventh- necting with fellow CU alumni in grade humanities teacher at the Syracuse! In June 2010, Eva Colen University of Chicago Labora- moved to Richmond, Va. She’s a tory Schools. In July, I moved to regional director for recruitment at Philadelphia to begin an Ed.D. Teach For America, managing TFA’s program in teaching, learning and recruitment efforts across Virginia teacher education at Penn. I’m and West Virginia. really excited to be going back to Dan Kessler lives in Los Ange- school and to have the opportunity les, where he started Palindrome to lose myself in books for a while. Media, a production company; he As for Columbia connections, I’m spends much of his free time with roommates with Elodi Dielubanza his longtime friend Grace Parra. ’04, who is a second-year resident Holly Guzman has been admit- in urology at Northwestern Memo- ted to the joint M.B.A./M.P.P. pro­ rial Hospital. I met up with Lizet gram at The University of Chicago Lopez when she was in town for a Booth School of Business and reunion for the Kellogg Gradu- Harris School of Public Policy. She ate School of Management. She’s will graduate in June 2013. This a consultant for A.T. Kearny and summer, she interned at American based in Dallas. I also see Rachel Express, Global Merchant Services Carman 5 roommates paused from partying to pose for a photo during Feinmark often. She’s completing in NYC. Rebecca Silberberg ’05 and Eric Levine’s wedding in March: (left to right) a Ph.D. in history at Chicago.” Teddy Diefenbach is entering Bridget (Geibel) Stefanski ’05, Lindsey May ’05E, the bride, Alexandra Holly Gaglio (née Miller) and the final year of his master’s pro- Seggerman ’05 and Stephen Poellot ’05. Ryan Gaglio are happy to announce gram at USC’s Interactive Media PHOTO: MARTIN STEFANSKI that their son, Abraham Julius, was Division of the School of Cinematic born on March 9. Abe weighed 7 Arts and is working on his thesis lbs., 8 oz., and was 20 ½ in. long. in game design. He was excited to Congress for the purpose of military moved back to the city in January Congrats to Holly and Ryan! spend the summer designing at medicine. She is conducting research after graduating from law school Max Shterngel writes: “I emi- Microsoft Game Studios. on HTLV-1, a virus that causes Adult last May. He spent last fall travel- grated from the Upper East Side to Emily Bregel is spending six T-cell leukemia/lymphoma, and ing, which included visiting Lily Williamsburg, Brooklyn, in March; months working on an organic lives in downtown Silver Spring, Wohl in Argentina while she con- the change of scenery has been farm in northern New Mexico in an Md., with her husband, Aryeh, and ducted ethnomusicology research, enchanting, and I am mere weeks effort to learn as much as possible son, Adiv (3). and spending many nights in away from squeezing into the about sustainable agriculture and to Francoise Villeneuve writes, Lauren Parmington’s living room skinniest of jeans. I practice inter- better understand the source of her “I’m a journalist/food writer at on one of her air mattresses while national law at White & Case, but food. She left her job as health care StarChefs.com, the online maga- swinging through the city. Cedrick I probably can’t help your cousin reporter for the Chattanooga (Tenn.) zine for culinary insiders. It’s been wanted to swing by Tokyo to visit with that D.U.I. Finally, an open Times Free Press newspaper, where a whirlwind 1½ years of travel- Ken Kiyota, who is a corporate invitation: a motley crew of ’05 she worked for almost five years, ing all over the country, tasting, associate for Sullivan & Crom- Columbians has taken to compet- and she plans to return to journal- writing and tasting some more, well, but was unable to make the ing in trivia nights at various East ism after her stint on the farm. but it has allowed me to put my trip. Cedrick is a bankruptcy and Village bars, so if you want to join And last but not least, Eric Am­ degree from The Culinary Institute restructuring associate at Fried, your brain with ours, holla @ cha stutz and Natalia Tovar ’08E were of America and my experience at Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson. boi: [email protected].” married in Miami on February 12. various New York and Chicago Chetan Bagga launched the so- Always a pleasure hearing Their Columbia attendants at the restaurants (Aquavit, Spiaggia, cial venture Buyve.com earlier this from classmates. Please keep us all wedding were Dean Kinports ’07, Park Avenue Cafe) to good use. year. Buyve is an online bookstore informed. Sam Kuntz, Matt Palmer ’07 and I celebrated my second wedding that funds college scholarships. Kristin Van Heertum ’08. anniversary with my husband, Ed Jennifer (Cho) Magiera writes: Hardy (no, not that Ed Hardy), “I teach fifth-grade inner-city Michelle Oh Sing REUNION MAY 31–JUNE 3 a chef at Marcus Samuelsson’s students and train new teachers in 9 N 9th St., Unit 401 06 ALUMNI OFFICE CONTACTS restaurant Red Rooster.” Chicago public schools through an Philadelphia, PA 19107 ALUMNI AFFAIRS Sarah Trimmer Finally, in award show news, urban teacher residency program. 06 [email protected] [email protected] Shawna Ryan won an Emmy in the Outside of school, I’m involved in 212-851-7977 “Societal Concerns: Program Fea- math curriculum writing with the It was wonderful catching up with DEVELOPMENT Amanda Kessler ture/Segment” category at the 54th University of Chicago and technol- so many of you at our fifth Alumni [email protected] Annual National Academy of Tele- ogy integration. Recently I was Reunion Weekend in June. I’m very 212-851-7883 vision Arts and Sciences on April 3 named an Apple Distinguished pleased to report that we had 340 for the piece “High School Sports Educator for my work integrating people at our class dinner, with 239 David D. Chait Desk: A Woman Among Boys” that 32 iPads into my daily instruction. alumni — a record for the fifth-year 07 1255 New Hampshire she wrote and produced. I started a blog, teachinglikeits2999. reunion. Classmates from across the Ave. N.W., Apt. 815 Congratulations Shawna! blogspot.com, and have been country and around the world gath- 07 Washington, DC 20036 traveling around Chicago provid- ered to mark this milestone. Before [email protected] ing workshops for teachers on iPad we know it, another five years will Peter Kang and technology integration.” pass and we’ll be celebrating our I hope that everyone had a wonder- 05 205 15th St., Apt. 5 Luis Saucedo, who is at the Yale 10th! Until then, please continue to ful summer! See below for some Brooklyn, NY 11215 School of Management, interned keep us posted by submitting notes exciting news from classmates. 05 this summer at the California State for this column. Elizabeth Klein has been ac- [email protected] Treasurer’s Office in the public Visit the CCT website to view cepted to the M.F.A. acting program After a brutally long winter, allergy- finance division in Sacramento.Ife our class photo and to see a list of at the New School for Drama and laden spring and muggy summer, Babatunde received her M.B.A. classmates who registered to attend: will begin classes in the fall. “I am we have some updates from class- from the Kellogg Graduate School college.columbia.edu/cct/fall11/ thrilled to be returning to New York mates: of Management in June. She was reunion. and can’t wait to reunite with all my Cedrick Mendoza-Tolentino excited to return to New York and Christina Persaud will attend CC friends in the city,” she said.

FALL 2011 108 COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY CLASS NOTES

Earnest Sweat and Tanya Lind­ Neda Navab say also are off to school this fall. 08 7 Soldiers Field Park, Both will start at Northwestern, Apt. 7C attending the Kellogg School of 08 Boston, MA 02163 Management. [email protected] Anna Natenzon writes, “I gradu- ated from med school at NYU in Natalia Tovar ’08E married Eric May, and this July, I started my resi- Amstutz ’06. “We were married in dency in ob/gyn at Albert Einstein Miami on February 12. We had Co- College of Medicine.” lumbia attendants at the wedding: Bennett Chan, Dianna Ng and Dean Kinports ’07, Sam Kuntz ’06, Khalil Savary also graduated from Matt Palmer ’07 and Kristin Van medical school this May, Bennett Heertum.” from SUNY Downstate, Dianna Gabriel Lefkowitz was named from NYU and Khalil from Stony concertmaster at the Knoxville Brook. Bennett and Khalil are off to Symphony Orchestra. This marks Jacobi Medical Center in NYC for the first change in the position in residencies in pediatrics. 30 years. Gabriel (who studied Matt Reuter shares, “I graduat- economics and music) earned a ed from medical school at George- master’s in violin performance at town this spring and moved to the Juilliard School last year. He the Jersey Shore! I matched into played his audition performance Anna Louise (née Corke) Vlasits ’09 and Justin Joseph Vlasits ’11 met on an orthopedic surgery residency with the orchestra during the campus and had their first date on a subway car. They were married in at Monmouth Medical Center in January pair of concerts. He said of March at Pisticci in Morningside Heights. Long Branch, N.J., and will work his January performance with the just two blocks from the beach. KSO, “It was an incredible, lifesav- I expected to put in long hours ing experience to play with a high- Mark Johnson, our senior class still never left the Eastern Time at the hospital for much of the quality professional orchestra, but president, will return to the east Zone (no lie). summer but planned to spend also a group of musicians that was coast after completing his two- After graduation, Matt Heiman some of the precious free time that open for me to lead them … I’m year commitment with Teach for joined the equity finance trading I have on the beach or swimming really looking forward to a regular America in Hawaii. After teaching desk at JPMorgan. He eventually in the ocean. I also planned to set of opportunities to be part of seventh-grade math and complet- assumed responsibility for the join my family for a vacation at a community that appreciates the ing work on a master’s at the Uni- overnight financing book and was Hilton Head Island, S.C., in early arts,” he said. Gabriel’s first perfor- versity of Hawaii, it appears that tasked with raising additional capi- August.” mances as concertmaster was the this alum has not had enough of the tal to help the firm meet new regu- Rhiannon Pimentel will attend May 19–20 Masterworks concerts. classroom. He will matriculate at latory requirements. Last summer, The George Washington Univer- Chenni Xu is a research fellow at Harvard Law in the fall. He wishes Matt spent two weeks off the trad- sity beginning this fall for a Ph.D. Tsinghua University, Beijing, China, the class “Aloha,” and is excited to ing floor, instructing the incoming in American Studies. Rhiannon researching China-Africa relations. again be around people who will analyst class on the topics of credit plans to study Mexican immigrant She also writes for the blog of a understand his Decameron jokes. analysis, fixed income analytics communities and mental illness in Paris-based NGO, Women’s World­ Mark is not the only one moving and derivatives. In his free time, urban and suburban contexts. wide Web (womensworldwideweb. to Cambridge, Mass. Jisung Park Matt is a mentor for New York Elyse Pultz shares exciting news: org). She welcomes all to read the will return to the United States in the Needs You, which is focused on “I planned to marry my Columbia blog and to be in contact if in Beijing. fall to pursue a Ph.D. in econom- first-generation college students. In ‘sweetheart,’ Nick Oleksak ’06, on Ben Teitelbaum spent five ics at Harvard after completing his February, Matt left JPMorgan for a July 3 at the Wequasset Resort and months in Tel Aviv on a journalism master’s in development economics position at McKinsey & Co., and is Golf Club in Chatham, Mass.” internship and is heading back to at Oxford. Jisung recently helped working in New York and London Riddhi Dasgupta shares, “I ran Columbia this fall to attend the launch a semi-weekly podcast on his first project. the Paris Marathon on April 10. I’d Journalism School. called Sense and Sustainability, in After two years teaching middle- wanted to push these boundaries collaboration with the Earth Institute schoolers in East Harlem, Sara for a while. This spring was about at Columbia and Consilience: The Vogel will be moving to Mexico for traveling and seeing a few things. Alidad Damooei Journal of Sustainable Development. eight months to work as a Princeton The most memorable — totally c/o CCT Sense and Sustainability features in Latin America fellow for an unrelated and yet not! — were the 09 Columbia Alumni Center guests from a range of disciplines educational organization that seeks Great Wall of China and Bernini’s 09 622 W. 113th St., MC 4530 including economics, law, political to reform rural public schools “from the Ecstasy of Saint Theresa (Rome).” New York, NY 10025 science, engineering, and the health the inside out.” Afterward, she John Schneider writes, “My wife [email protected] and environmental sciences as well will spend eight months teaching and I moved to Houston, where I as professionals from government, English as a Fulbright teaching started work at Chevron as an ex- Anna Louise (née Corke) Vlasits NGOs and the private sector. You assistant in Argentina. She is excited ploration geologist in its Energy and Justin Joseph Vlasits ’11 were can download episodes from sense- to escape New York — she’s been Technology Company. Anyone com- married in March at Pisticci rest- andsustainability.net, or subscribe to there since she was born! ing through Houston should give aurant in Morningside Heights. the podcast on iTunes (search “Sense And, finally, Anthony Bernard me a ring and I’ll buy you a drink.” They were joined by many friends: and Sustainability”). Kelley Jr. graduated from Northern And lastly, Caitlin Shure is Akash Gupta, Ariel Zucker, John This fall, Brendan Price will Illinois University with a master’s “ready to disown the next person Klopfer, Kate Smith, Lauren Biggs, start a Ph.D. in economics at MIT, in philosophy. who moves to L.A.” Caitlin feels Kristen Schenk, Maryam Parhiz­ where he plans to build on his that such persons are a disgrace kar, Kabita Parajuli ’10, Sarah Leon- undergraduate interest in labor not only to the Columbia com- ard ’10, Phil Crone ’11 and Rob Post economics. By the time CCT goes Julia Feldberg munity but also to the popula- ’11E. The couple met while working to press, he and his fellow ’09ers 4 E. 8th St., Apt. 4F tion of New York at large ... and on The Blue and White, a campus Ricardo Saavedra ’09E, Andrew 10 New York, NY 10003 possibly the human race. Caitlin publication, and had their first date Scheineson and Lok Kin Yeung 10 [email protected] is distraught over the residential on a subway car. This fall, Anna and ’09E, ’10 may have undertaken a crisis and can only describe the Justin will begin Ph.D. programs summer camping trip in the Great Hi 2010, circumstances as “LAME.” at UC Berkeley, in neuroscience Smoky Mountains. If the trip As always, I am amazed by the Thank you all for your submis- and philosophy, respectively. [See occurs, however, it is unlikely to exciting things that our classmates sions, and have a great fall! photo.] change the fact that Brendan has are up to. I’ll dive straight into the

FALL 2011 109

CLASS NOTES COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY updates: bittersweet. I took a year off and ing. Don’t forget to send in your Werbe will move to Washington, Gabriella Ripoll writes, “Law during that time I was a science notes for the next issue! D.C., as well to start a business fel- school is really hard! I’m really and biology teacher at the Ad- lowship at the Atlantic Media Co. glad I’m at NYU, especially since delita Cancryn Junior H.S. in my She would love to meet up with we trounced Columbia Law in the hometown of St. Thomas, USVI. Colin Sullivan anyone in the area. Dean’s Cup this year. (Sorry CU! I It was an amazing experience 11 c/o CCT Dehui Kong is hoping to get her still love you!) This summer, I was a to watch my students develop. I Columbia Alumni Center feet wet in the New York City tech research assistant for NYU’s Center ended the year on a high note, re- 11 622 W. 113th St., MC 4530 start-up scene before beginning on Law and Security. I can’t wait ceiving the ‘Award for Excellence New York, NY 10025 full-time at Barclays Capital. until I’m done with my first year.” in Teaching’. While I will surely [email protected] Staying home in Pennsylvania Hannah Salomons recently miss being called ‘Ms. Gregory’, I for the summer, Linda Magana finished her Master’s in marine am excited to take on the new title Greetings to the College’s most was a summer program coordina- mammal science, which was a of ‘Dr. Gregory’.” recently graduated class! There tor at a community-based youth one-year program at the University After wrapping up a year of are many updates involving travel center serving a largely disadvan- of St Andrews in Scotland. She was teaching and research in May with adventures, various forms of relax- taged population. This allowed her hoping to move back to New York the Fulbright program in Indonesia, ation and other post-graduation to spend time with the children in September and was looking for Paige Johnson will start working plans. she has mentored as well as with a job there. Hannah also hopes that toward a Ph.D. in performance After returning home to Colorado her family before starting a new everyone has enjoyed their first studies at UC Berkeley this fall. for a few weeks to hike a few moun- chapter at Oxford in the fall. year out of college and is looking Paige sums it up best: “Here’s to tains, Zack Susel was in the Camino Some folks are moving out west. forward to catching up with every- five more years of school!” de Santiago (the Way of St. James), For her journey back to the west one in NYC this fall. A big congratulations are in which traverses about 600 miles of coast, Sheri Pan is taking a road trip Chiara Arcidy still cannot be- order for Will Berlin. Will writes, the Spanish countryside. After this, from New York to Los Angeles and lieve more than a year has passed “I married my high school sweet- Zack will return to New York where eventually to San Francisco, where since graduation. She is excited to heart, Clare, on April 9. We’ve been he will start work with an invest- she will begin as a legal assistant in share that she is an assistant in the working for a nonprofit (Diabetes ment firm. the Bay Area while volunteering at On-Camera Commercial Division Foundation of Mississippi), and I Other folks had international trav- a legal aid agency on the weekends. of the CESD Talent Agency. entered the University of Missis- el plans as well. Christina Patterson Sean Udell split his summer Rebecca Salley writes, “I got sippi School of Medicine Class of is enjoying traveling and spending between Phoenix and Denver, your email about Class Notes right 2015 in August. Clare and planned time with family and friends from where he was in training with in the midst of celebrating the fact to undertake the road trip of our her year abroad in England before Teach for America for his career as that I got offered my dream job, so dreams: Jackson, Miss., to Brevard, returning to New York to start work a middle school special educator. I thought I’d send this in. After a N.C., to Grand Canyon National with the Federal Reserve Bank. Upon completion of his training, year that entailed working as a field Park to San Francisco to Yosemite Scott Maxfield is traveling and Sean will teach at West Denver organizer on an unsuccessful U.S. National Park to Kings Canyon relaxing before entering the “real Prep’s Highland Campus. Before Senate campaign in Kentucky and National Park and back to Jackson. world,” that being Goldman Sachs. all this kicks off, Sean hopes to en- generally wallowing in post-grad Enjoying life! Wish everyone well.” Before starting at McKinsey, Ben joy a weeklong road trip from his identity crisis, I am thrilled to be Ruqayyah Abdul-Karim and Cotton is spending time with family hometown of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., joining the Paralegal Unit of the Whitney Green ’10E spent the and traveling. He also plans to train to the Great American West. United States Department of Justice, better part of June vacationing for an Olympic-distance triathlon. Hannah Perls writes, “OK, sum-­ Antitrust Division. The life change in Southeast Asia with Deysy Mike Mirochnik plans to un- mer was a little nuts.” After gradu- is made exponentially better by the Ordonez-Arreola. They began wind and tie up loose ends. He is ation, Hannah lived aboard the fact that I plan to live in Arlington, their adventures in Macau, China, finishing his year-long internship Clearwater sloop (the large sailboat Va., with two of my best CC ’10 where Deysy had completed a at Weinstein Smith and working Pete Seeger owned) to teach middle friends, Tory Bresnahan, who also Fulbright fellowship. From there, on his piano skills, something that school kids about oceanography is my future Antitrust Division they journeyed to Singapore to had taken a back burner during and the history of the Hudson coworker, and Courtney Chin, my visit Evelyn Phan. While there, his time at Columbia. Additional- River. Following that, she attended four-year Columbia roomie/life- they dropped in on a Summer ly, he plans to travel to California Bonnaroo, the music and arts festival mate. We can’t wait to be reunited!” Advising Session and handed out as well as to Europe. Lastly, Mike in Tennessee. Later in the summer, During the first and second copies of The Iliad to the Singapore hopes to assist some Harvard Law she planned to attend a colloquium weeks of June, James Bogner contingent of the Class of 2015. School professors with corporate on free market environmentalism in presented his work with high- Ruqayyah, Whitney and Deysy legal research before beginning Montana and work on an organic need students within Columbia’s rounded out their adventures with classes there this fall. farm in Washington. Lastly, she undergraduate population as part stops in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Sara Jacobs is interning with the hoped to spend three weeks aboard of his work with the Financial Aid and Bangkok before heading back UN Development Program in the the research vessel Langseth with Office. The deans and directors to the States. They thank Asia for Office of Peace and Development folks from Lamont-Doherty look- of the Consortium on Financing its beauty, hospitality, delicious Advisor in the Fiji Country Office ing at seismic data in the Aleutian Higher Education were receptive food and great shopping! before returning to SIPA for the sec- Islands off the coast of Alaska. to the groundbreaking efforts tak- And our column would not be ond and final year of her master’s India is also is claiming a few ing place within the Financial Aid complete, of course, without the program. Mary Martha Douglas recent graduates! Nirav Chheda Office as administered by James. latest from Chris Yim. He writes, was a residential fellow and the spent the summer in Mumbai, Billy Organek recently moved “Bad news: My engagement was director of student activities at working for a microfinance institu- to Shanghai, where he lives and broken off as a result of unforesee- The Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, tion. In September, he begins full- works with Europeans while try- able events. Essentially, her family Conn., before returning to the city in time at IBM Global Business Ser- ing to learn Chinese. He planned to did not approve of my southern August to start as a political analyst vices in New York. Karen Woodin meet up with Adam Valen Levin­ roots as a Virginian. Good news: at Benenson Strategy Group. She Rodríquez also is in Mumbai, son in Bali for a bit in July, and he I am now an analyst, investing will be in her second year of the where she will work for two years hopes to run into any Columbian in distressed companies, at TBG. political science master’s program with Mahindra as part of the firm’s he can find in Asia. After some recent soul searching, I at GSAS. Global Recruit Program. Alani Gregory writes, “I will be realized that I need to retire in the Isaac Lara is in Washington, Last, but never least, George returning to Columbia, this time next 10 years. My dream is to start D.C., working with Hewlett-Pack- Mu is traveling throughout China, a little more uptown, as a medical a chocolate factory and realize the ard as part of the Eben Tisdale Fel- spending a good portion of his time student in the Columbia College Willy Wonka dream. Lastly, Tiger lowship. In September, Isaac will in Shanghai. When he returns, he of Physicians and Surgeons Class Woods wins the 2011 U.S. Open. begin work as a Coro Fellow in will be working with me at Booz & of 2015. I’m excited to return to You heard it here first.” public affairs, a national graduate Co. in New York. the city but the move is a little Let’s keep those updates com- level leadership program. Helen

FALL 2011 110 Classified CLASSIFIED AD INFORMATION

Advertising REGULAR CLASSIFIED RATES: $3 per word for one issue, discounts for four consecutive issues. Ten-word minimum. Phone (including area code) and PO boxes count as one word. SERVICES Words divided by slashes, hyphens or plus signs are counted individually. Email and web addresses are priced based on PROMOTE YOUR BOOK on tv, radio talk shows, print. Columbia alum offers length. No charge for Columbia College class years or free consultation. Frank Promotion, 561-737-2315, [email protected]. ampersands (&). We boldface the first four words at no charge. NYC MATCHMAKING SERVICE is offering complimentary memberships to Additional boldface words are $1 per word. men. Meet attractive, accomplished individuals who are interested in long-term, Display Classifieds are $100 per inch. substantive companionship. 212-877-5151, [email protected]. PAYMENT: Prepayment required on all issues at time of order. RENTALS Check, money order, MasterCard, Visa and Historic Jekyll Island, Georgia. 4BR cottage near beach. Weekly. Bingham ’65 Diners Club with MasterCard logo only. CC. 732-571-0552, jekyllrental.com. No refunds for canceled ads. PERSONAL 10% discount for Columbia College alumni, faculty, staff, students and parents DUTCHESS COUNTY, N.Y. CC grads Classes 1950–1960 contact Fred Ripin ’54 for reminiscences at [email protected]. Mail or email orders to: Columbia College Today Columbia Alumni Center 622 W. 113th St., MC 4530, 1st Fl. New York, NY 10025 Email: [email protected] Online: college.columbia.edu/cct/advertise_with_us Telephone: 212-851-7951 Deadline for Winter 2011–12 issue: Thursday, October 27, 2011

Letters Alumni Corner (Continued from page 6) (Continued from page 112) of it. I doubt that there will ever be cation deadline, he transferred from lessons from the classroom. When advantage of the foreign buyer, an end to anti-war literature, since I Engineering to the College. we visited Renatha’s maize- and so they asked for 800 Francs cannot foresee an end to war. In the 1987 Class Notes of the growing cooperative in the rural — an unreasonable price. Then, Anson K. Kessler ’47 same issue, we indicated that Ni- district of Kayonza, the coopera- the women who had attended the Hendersonville, N.C. cole Goluboff ’87 is the mother of tive leaders beamed with pride as business training, including Re- Justin Goluboff ’15. That remains they told us about their contract natha, came in to broker the deal. Publish or Perish? true, but we neglected to mention, negotiations with a potential They negotiated with the buyer Is this how “publish or perish” in either the 1986 or 1987 Class agricultural broker. According to based on their understanding of began — right here, at Columbia? Notes, that Justin’s father is Erik them, the buyer wanted to buy how to appropriately price the “[A] proposed plan for putting Goluboff ’86. We were unaware maize for 200 Rwandan Francs maize by calculating their costs. new life into Columbia College. of that fact at the time and per kilogram. Women in the co- They knew to talk about costs and Pierce holds that professors may apologize for the omission. operative thought they could take the market price. They negotiated be prevented from degenerating a contract for 330 Francs per kilo- into drones by requiring of them to gram — a great feat. accomplish something every year At the graduation ceremonies or every six months, making it a Student Spotlight several months later, our women condition of holding office that at (Continued from page 12) chanted self-written lyrics about certain periods they produce some the importance of cashbooks, essay, memoir, or investigation.” arrangement, Rehman plans to her options open. their commitments to implement August 16, 1852, entry in the diary of remain a CHH resident as a junior. “I’m not going to pigeonhole change in their cooperatives and G. T. Strong (Class of 1838) Most recently, Rehman was a myself anymore in terms of think- their hopes for leading change in Manfred Weidhorn ’54 summer fellow with Health Leads ing I just want to focus on mental their communities. Fair Lawn, N.J. (healthleadsusa.org), an organization health or women’s health,” says What is the first word that that works to connect low-income Rehman. “I’m interested in health comes to my mind when I hear Editor’s note: George Templeton Strong patients with resources pertaining to care services in general and I have “Rwanda”? (Class of 1838) was the author of a vital needs such as housing. After as- a growing desire to focus on urban “Icyiringiro.” Hope. 2,250-page diary, discovered in the sisting patients one-on-one as a fam- communities, but I’m open to ev- 1930s, that includes entries from Octo- ily advocate for the organization, she erything at this point.” Neda Navab ’08 continued to ber 5, 1835, until his death 40 years later. was tasked with making its program pursue her passion for development, at Harlem Hospital more efficient. Nathalie Alonso ’08 is a freelance working on projects in Tanzania and Addenda Though Rehman is on a pre- journalist and an editorial producer South Africa this year. She is attend- Isaac Johnson ’14 was listed as Isaac medical track, she is hesitant to of LasMayores.com, Major League ing Harvard Business School to earn Johnson ’14E in the cover story of name specific career goals, noting Baseball’s official Spanish language an M.B.A. with a focus in social en- our May/June issue, “A Passion for that if there is something she has website. She also writes a career blog trepreneurship. She hopes to return to Science” (page 22). After our publi- learned at Columbia, it is to keep for women, herfabcareer.com. Rwanda in the near future.

FALL 2011 111

COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY

A l u m n i C o r n e r Rwanda Moves from Desolation to Hope

B y N e da N ava b ’08

hat is the first word that comes to mind setbacks resulting from the genocide are overwhelming. Since when you hear “Rwanda”? 1994, the government of Paul Kagame has promoted coopera- Is it “genocide”? If my sampling of tives, group enterprises largely operating in agriculture, to ad- family and Columbia-educated friends vance rural economic progress and political stability. Many of the are any indication, that is probably the cooperative leaders, however, lack the basic business skills to run most common answer. a microenterprise. My task was to launch a “principles of busi- WDuring the course of 100 days in 1994, about the time we ness” training program for 200 cooperative leaders, all of whom watched O.J. Simpson take flight in his white Ford Bronco, nearly are genocide survivors and their families’ sole providers, to accel- one million Tutsis (Rwanda’s minority population) were mur- erate the income-generating potential of their cooperatives and dered at the hands of their friends, neighbors and co-workers. their 7,000 members. To be precise, 10,000 people were slaughtered every day for 100 The value placed on such training became swiftly apparent days. A country was left, at the turn of the 21st century, with six when I met Renatha, a maverick smallholder (small plot of land) million people whose lives were shattered into little pieces. How farmer with a baby strapped to her back. At our first lesson, one does a nation heal from that? of the local instructors noticed that there was a woman in atten- I landed in Kigali National Airport in August 2010 with one dance who was not on our list. When asked what she was doing goal: to teach rural Rwandan women basic business principles. there, Renatha said that she had become determined to attend Now, before you rush to categorize me (“Bono-loving, tree-hug- the course as soon as she had learned of it from her cooperative’s My task was to launch a “principles of business” training program for 200 cooperative leaders, all of whom are genocide survivors and their families’ sole providers.

ging, do-gooder volunteer”), let me clarify. I leaders. Unfortunately, our tight budget had spent my first two years out of college prevented us from covering the expenses of working for Mc­Kinsey & Co. in New York any additional participants, including trav- City, consulting for huge for-profit corpora- el vouchers to get to and from training each tions. But when McKinsey offered me the day. We apologized for the situation, but opportunity to leave everything behind and welcomed her to stay for that day’s lesson. volunteer for a nonprofit in Rwanda, one The following day, Renatha returned. And image immediately came to mind, and it again the next day. And the one after that. was not of the genocide. It was of my “Prin- Through my translator, Diana, I asked ciples of Economics” professor, Sunil Gulati, Renatha how she was managing this. She giving his last lecture of the course in the stood up, gestured emphatically with her spring of my sophomore year with a slide- hands and spoke loudly in Kinyarwanda. show of images from developing countries Diana explained that Renatha had taken — a reminder of the real-world implications out a loan from friends to pay for her travel of my economic studies. I’m sure fellow Co- to the class. Renatha defiantly declared that lumbia graduates will understand when I she would continue to do so until we told say it was a lecture I will never forget. With her to stop. She knew from the first day that image in mind, I did not hesitate to sign The president of a local women’s cooperative in how powerful the knowledge of running a up to move to Rwanda for firsthand experi- the Muhanga district presents Neda Navab ’08 business could be, and said she would do ence of the issues I had only ever studied in with a handmade basket as a token of thanks at anything to access that knowledge in order Morningside Heights. the training program graduation ceremony. to teach it to her family. I smiled, handed Why a business training program for ru- Renatha 2,000 Rwandan Francs (less than ral Rwandan women? Rwanda often is touted as a sub-Saharan $4 U.S.) for travel and said “Ni ahejo,” see you tomorrow. Africa success story. GDP grew at 7.5 percent last year, infant During the next few months, I and the team of instructors I mortality has decreased by almost half during the last decade supervised taught and re-taught lessons on profit and loss, test- and primary school enrollment rates are at 97 percent. On the ed and re-tested the women’s understanding of marketing and ground, though, where 93 percent of the population lacks access visited the cooperatives to see how they were implementing the to electricity and where the GDP per capita is still only $500, the (Continued on page 111)

FALL 2011 112 Columbia College TODAY

PHOTO: EILEEN BARROSO Columbia College Today is your magazine, and we are changing to serve you better!

Starting with this issue, we will publish quarterly, in Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer. We’re working to bring you more and richer content, new depart- ments, better artwork and online extras. We’re keeping the things you love about CCT, such as our extensive Alumni News section (including Class Notes, Bookshelf, Obituaries and Alumni Corner), features on the Col- lege and its people, thought-provoking articles in Columbia Forum and the latest campus news. CCT always is available online at college.columbia.edu/cct. You can read the lat- est issue, reference archived issues going back to 1999, contact us via the web or email, manage your subscription and more. You also can reach us the following ways:

N By Mail E Stop By Our Office Like Us on Facebook Columbia College Today Visit the Columbia Alumni Center, Check out the latest issue of CCT: Columbia Alumni Center 622 W. 113th St., between Broadway facebook.com/columbiacollege 622 W. 113th St., MC 4530, 1st Fl. and Riverside Drive, to use our today, or see what’s going on at New York, NY 10025 courtesy office to make a phone call, the College: facebook.com/colum- browse the Internet or check your biacollege1754. R By Phone email; peruse Columbia lore in the Call us at 212-851-7852. Welcome Center’s library; have a Follow Us on cup of coffee or tea; or ask our front Twitter desk staff about the myriad benefits ( Support CCT See what’s happening on campus available to you as an alumnus/a. Make a tax-deductible donation and then share your thoughts on of any amount, anytime, to help The Center’s hours are Monday– all things Columbia: @Colum- us defray our publications costs: Thursday, 8:30 a.m.–7:00 p.m.; bia_CCAA. college.columbia.edu/cct/ Friday, 8:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m.; and giving. Thank you! Saturday, 10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY Nonprofit Org. U.S. Postage Columbia University PAID Permit No. 724 622 W. 113th St., MC 4530 Burl. VT 05401 New York, NY 10025

Change service requested

50 YEARS AGO: Members of the Kingsmen, Columbia’s all-male a capella group that dates back to 1949, gather around (and atop) a piano in this photo from the 1961 Columbian.