Giving @ 2017 Richard Gilder and Peggy Tirschwell A BROTHER’S GIFT Hunter’s Newest Dance Studio Honors Our Dear Peggy n the halls of Hunter College, there is public policy programs at Roosevelt House. no more beloved presence than Peggy The Peggy is just the latest jewel in ITirschwell. She started here in 2002 Hunter’s world-class Dance Department, after a distinguished CUNY career, and CUNY’s only free-standing dance depart- retired in 2013 as assistant provost (although ment. Under the leadership of acting chair we are fortunate that she still comes in on Carol Walker, former dean of dance at a part-time basis). SUNY Purchase, the department offers a To honor her stellar service to Hunter BA in dance and, starting this fall, an MFA. and celebrate her love of dance, Tirschwell’s The department also houses the Arnhold brother, Richard Gilder, donated $500,000 Graduate Dance Education Program, to renovate The Peggy, the newly dedicated which offers a BA/MA in dance education, state-of-the-art dance studio on the sixth funded by Hunter Foundation Trustee Jody floor of Thomas Hunter Hall. Gilder is one Arnhold, chair of the Dance Advisory Board. of Hunter’s most generous supporters, most The Peggy sports a professional sprung recently donating $400,000 to support the floor, a cyclorama curtain, performance continued on page 2 FROM THE 17TH FLOOR: HUNTER’S GOT TALENT A Message From President Jennifer J. Raab A $1 Million Gift Helps Find the Best and Brightest e ended an already stellar year etermined to give Hunter students stars are spotted by faculty, then at Hunter with our first Rhodes the access to top-flight scholarships nurtured, mentored, and given Scholar, Thamara Jean ’18, who Denjoyed by Ivy League students, help writing application essays W Harold (Hal) and and preparing for interviews. will be off to Oxford to study for her master’s in political theory. Ruth Newman ’54 Mentoring students is very Much of the credit for Hunter’s record-breaking donated $1 million important to Ruth Newman, year of student awards and scholarships goes to to the College a member of the Hunter the Harold and Ruth Newman Office of Prestigious in 2016 to College Foundation Board Scholarships and Fellowships (see story on page fund a director since 2008. She has worked 3), which allows us to talent-spot, mentor, and for the newly to expand Hunter’s men- develop the Thamara Jeans of the future. established toring program, and she Ruth and Hal Newman Ruth and herself mentors a student Another highlight of 2017 was the opening of our Thamara Jean state-of-the-art library facilities on the sixth and Harold Newman Office of Prestigious every academic year, taking seventh floors of the East Building and the spring Scholarships and Fellowships. her mentee to restaurants, museums, and In 2010, Joan Tisch (left), her daughter, Laurie, and and summer were marked by ribbon-cuttings and The results have been spectacular: since the theatres, all to immerse the student in the son Jonathan attended the Joan H. Tisch Public Health celebrations. Our students now have two new arrival of director Dr. Stephen Lassonde, Hunter world of New York City. She and Hal also Forum at Roosevelt House with President Raab. floors for studying, reflecting, or hanging out, as students have won a record number of academic fund a postgraduate fellowship in the President’s well as joining tutoring groups in the state-of-the-art Learning Centers. awards, bookended by the Marshall Scholarship Office and endowed the Ruth and Harold And we had the opening of The Peggy, our beautiful new dance studio named for our beloved won by Faiza Masood ’17 and the Rhodes Newman Dean of Arts and Sciences. Peggy Tirschwell. Scholarship won by Thamara Jean ’18. Masood Dr. Lassonde has brought a wealth of Amid all those reasons to celebrate, though, there’s the sad news that we lost Joan Tisch, a great and Jean are the first Hunter students ever to experience in supporting students from his friend to Hunter College. When she died on November 2 at age 90, Joan left an extraordinary legacy win the Marshall and Rhodes, and Matthew previous positions as dean of student life at of philanthropy. Her enthusiastic involvement benefited a wide range of New York City institutions, Locastro ’17 is the second Hunter student to Harvard, deputy dean at Brown and assistant from the Museum of Modern Art to the 92nd Street Y to Citymeals on Wheels. win a Luce Scholarship. dean at Yale. As Lassonde explains, “The pool At Hunter, her name will live on in the Joan H. Tisch Community Health Prize, funded by The Office of Prestigious Scholarships and of talent at Hunter is very deep and this new the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund and presented annually to recognize grassroots efforts in Fellowships is modeled after advising services at office provides resources to focus on identifying urban public health. To Laurie Tisch and to the rest of Joan Tisch’s family, the Hunter community elite private universities. Potential academic that talent.” extends its condolences. She was a woman of kindliness, courage, and vision. She was, in short, a great New Yorker. We are proud to maintain her legacy. KEEPING THEIR DREAM ALIVE Helping Hunter’s DACA Above, U.S. Sen. Dick students stay in the land Durbin (center) at they call home Roosevelt House. Right, The Peggy Honors Our Peggy continued from cover Eva Kastan Grove ’58 unter’s DACA students, brought to with her daughter (and Hunter College lighting, and a brand new audio-visual the U.S. as undocumented children, Foundation Trustee) system. “A dance studio seemed the have a special place in our hearts. obvious way to honor Peggy,” said H Robie Spector. That’s why the Eva Kastan Grove Campaign President Jennifer J. Raab at the January to Advance Dreamer Legislation sponsored a Endowment Fund, supports student engagement ribbon-cutting. “The Hunter Dance conversation at Roosevelt House on November in legislative solutions for Dreamers. Department would never have become 17 featuring Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL). Before Eva Kastan Grove’s affinity for immigrants a reality without Peggy’s leadership a packed house of Hunter’s DACA students, comes from her own family’s history. She arrived and passion.” Durbin, a sponsor of the Dream Act of 2017, in New York City in 1954 from Bolivia, where As for Richard Gilder, there was walked his audience through the recent perils— her Viennese family had found refuge from the no doubt about his motivation: “I love and possibilities—of their path toward becoming Nazis. Her husband, the late Intel CEO Andy dance,” he said, “I love Hunter, and Americans. “After years of hiding in the dark,” he Grove, escaped Communist-ruled Hungary. For I love my sister!” said, “our Dreamers stood out in the sunlight.” both, the United States represented a safe haven, At the dedication of The Peggy, from left: The Grove campaign, part of the Eva a place to make a life. Eva Kastan Grove wants Richard Gilder; his wife, Lois Chiles; and Kastan Grove Scholarship and Internship the same for the Dreamers. Peggy Tirschwell 2 INVEST IN HUNTER • WWW.HUNTER.CUNY.EDU/ALUMNI/GIVING-TO-HUNTER GIVING @ 3 LOOK, UP IN THE SKY! BOUNDARY DISPUTE HUNTER COLLEGE PRE-LAW ADVISORY BOARD Zabar Visiting Artist Robert Longo Takes Pre-Law Students Enjoy Free- Carol Crossdale ’92, Chair, Partner, CrossdalePaul The First Amendment to Hunter’s Sky Bridges wheeling Free-Speech Debate Fabio Bertoni ’91, General Counsel, The New Yorker Sheila Birnbaum ’60, MA’62, Partner, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan Lisa C. Brice, Vice President, Bank Holding Company Compliance, Goldman Sachs Seanna R. Brown, Partner, Baker & Hostetler LLP Regina Calcaterra, Partner, Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP Jed Candreva ’88, Partner, Troutman Sanders Barbara Chesler, Trustee, Hunter College Foundation Peter Dopsch, Partner, Morrison & Foerster Floyd Abrams, Stanley Fish, Soraya Chemaly Margaret Enloe ’79, Certified Coach and Advisor hat kind of language is permissible? What’s offensive? Where do we draw Martin Flumenbaum, Partner, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison the line? Should we draw a line? W Michael Frankfurt ’57, Founding Partner, These issues lie at the heart of a robust evening Frankfurt, Kurnit, Klein & Selz of debate held at the Kaye Playhouse to support Jeffrey Friedlander ’67, Retired, 1st Assistant eeing the original document of the First Advisory Board, Hunter’s Pre-Law Program. The evening started Corporation Counsel, New York City Law Dept. Amendment in the National Archives, initiated and curated with a screening of the documentary Can James Ganley ’12, Associate, Milbank, Tweed, renowned American artist Robert Longo the American Bridge We Take a Joke: When Outrage and Comedy Hadley & McCloy S Jeffrey Glatzer ’65, Retired, Partner, Reed Smith was struck by the realization that our most Project, funded by Collide, followed by commentary by three deeply held beliefs about free expression are Artnet, with additional legal and media heavyweights: scholar and Stuart W. Gold, Retired, Partner, Cravath, ultimately just words written by hand. funding by Metro Pic- literary theorist Stanley Fish; First Amendment Swaine & Moore “The humanity of it got to me,” he says. tures; Jules Demchick stalwart Floyd Abrams, and media critic and Dave S. Hattem ’78, Senior Executive Director & General Counsel, AXA Equitable Life Insurance And so, starting September 1, passersby and Barbara Nessim; activist Soraya Chemaly. Maja Hazell, Director of Diversity and Inclusion, The screening and discussion, which raised could look up from the sidewalk outside Carol Goldberg ’56 and White & Case Judith and Stanley Zabar $100,000, were organized by the Pre-Law Hunter and see those words installed on floor- her husband, Arthur; Ari Joseph, Director of Diversity & Inclusion, to-ceiling glass panels on the sky bridges over and the Landy Family Foundation.