Nov/Dec 2017 Vassar Honors Collington Resident by George Newman the Vassar College Generosity, and Alumni Association Has Compassion
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Sustainability, p. 3; Christmas Cheer, p. 8; Lessons from the Heart, p. 11 The Collingtonian Vol. 29 No. 9 A Monthly Publication of The Collington Residents Association Nov/Dec 2017 Vassar Honors Collington Resident by George Newman The Vassar College generosity, and alumni association has compassion. For honored Collington a faculty [member] resident Glen Johnson to have all of those with its inaugural qualities is rare.” Outstanding Faculty/ Glen’s two stints as Staff Award. acting president came A Vassar during sabbaticals announcement said for Vassar President Glen, who taught Frances Fergusson. at Vassar for nearly Monica Vachher of 40 years and twice the class of 1977, served as the college’s who worked with him acting president, as a Vassar trustee “influenced and Glen and Sipra Johnson with their daughter, Denise, at the during that time, said Oct. 21 Vassar awards ceremony. Vassar College photo. inspired generations of he “brought to that students.” He taught international politics, U.S. role the same dignity and grace that pervades foreign policy, South Asian politics, international all of his activities.” Though the campus was, law, and international human rights in Vassar’s at times, marked with moments of tension Political Science Department. He also was the and strife, she said, “Glen did not shirk from founding director of the International Studies confronting and dealing with tough issues. But Program. importantly, he managed and defused moments Glen holds the title of Shirley Ecker Boskey that could have been incendiary with sensitivity Emeritus Professor of Political Science and and concern.” International Relations. The current occupant Glen and his wife, Sipra, also a former Vassar of that chair, Robert Brigham, said, “Glen lives faculty member, continue to serve the college’s at the intersection of integrity, intellectualism, see Vassar, p. 2 U. of Hawaii Lauds Mary Vassar from p. 1 Olmstead’s Gift alumni as hosts of the Vassar Travel Program. By Frances Kolarek Indeed, the Oct. 21 dinner at which Glen When Mary Olmsted retired from the received his award came shortly before their diplomatic service she had recently completed departure for Sri Lanka. a four-year tour as Ambassador to Papua-New After retiring from Vassar, Glen worked part- Guinea, a new country on a remote Pacific time for two years at the American University island. She once characterized her years there in Cairo, helping to establish an American as “the happiest of my life,” caught up in the Studies program. He has twice been a Fulbright beauty of the sunsets and of the country, itself. Professor in India, where he took a three-year On her arrival at Collington, she established assignment as Director of the American Studies a sizable fund, the income from which was Research Centre in Hyderabad. dedicated to students from Papua-New Guinea Facts about Prince George’s County and at the University of Hawaii. Surroundings compiled by Pat Bozeman A recent letter from the University brings (Taken from Alan Virta’s Prince George’s the news that the Ambassador Mary Olmsted County: A Pictorial History (1984) Fellowship Fund is providing assistance to two Tobacco leaves adorn the columns of the U.S. recipients of scholarships, one a graduate in Capitol, a reminder that the city of Washington Economics, the other in the field of tropical plant was once Prince George’s County tobacco pathology. land. Malia Peters, director of Scholarship Development of the University of Hawaii Foundation, in a letter to Mary Olmsted, writes: The Collingtonian Financed by Residents, “With tuition increasing each year, your Written by Residents for Residents continued support helps alleviate financial 10450 Lottsford Road, Mitchellville, MD 20721 obstacles and provides the confidence our Phone: 301-925-7349 students need to inspire their educational Published monthly (except July and August) by the Collington Residents Association, Inc. journey.” Editor: George Newman; News Editor: Frances Kolarek. Additional staff and contributors for this issue: Editor’s Note Mary Bird, Pat Bozeman, Ann Davie, Marian Fuchs, Bud This is a double issue, covering November Gardiner, James Giese, Carl Koch, Peggy Latimer, Peter Pfund, Bill Preston, Marion Robbins. Doris Walsh. and December and comprising 16 pages Distribution Manager: Ernie Blake. rather than the usual 12. The November This issue and many past issues of the Collingtonian Collingtonian was delayed by the editor’s are now online at collingtonresidents.org. hospitalization (See p.11). Barring further The Collingtonian invites all Collington residents to disruptions, we will return to the normal submit articles, photographs and story suggestions, preferably concerning Collington and its people. We also publication schedule in January. Thanks for welcome “Letters to the Editor” commenting on the Col- your patience and understanding. lingtonian and its content. Submissions may be e-mailed to [email protected] or placed in the Collingtonian 2 The Collingtonian Nov/Dec 2017 mailbox. All submissions are subject to editing for length, clarity and style. On the Road to Sustainability By Pat Bozeman In 2009, all Kendal “residents can expect to affiliates approved 13 see more accomplishments sustainability goals. by [the Sustainability] However, Collington (which committee as it works with wasn’t a Kendal affiliate in management to achieve 2009) didn’t begin working their common goals.” on these goals in earnest At about the same time, until 2015. yours truly undertook Since then, under the the project of updating leadership of chair Sara and reorganizing the Case, the Sustainability late Bessie Carrington’s Committee has been original 2015 table, charting working steadily with the Gay Kelly writes a comment for the suggestion Kendal’s goals and the box. Photo by Pat Bozeman. administration to bring the accomplishments made by campus into closer alignment with the goals. Collington toward those goals. After a months- (The table now is published on the Collington long effort, campus-wide accomplishments residents’ website (Collingtonresidents.org). were brought up-to-date, with the Sustainability Scroll down, under Resources, listed on the Committee agreeing to regularly update the left-hand column, to Sustainability Resources, accomplishments table as new efforts are where the table of Kendal goals and Collington’s realized. achievements may be found. Click on “Kendal In addition, a sustainability flier, based on Goals and Collington Assessment.” These Collington’s accomplishments, was written and goals and achievements also are on the Kendal produced by Marian Fuchs. It was delivered webpage (http://www.kendal.org/kendal-affiliate- to the Marketing staff to give to prospective sustainability-initiatives/). Both sites will be residents, further advertising Collington’s updated as necessary.) commitment to sustainability. In the January 2017 issue of the Collingtonian, Beginning Sept. 8, the Sustainability Jim Giese, in an article titled “Aiding the Planet Committee began a 13-week poster publication and the Bottom Line,” reported on Collington series, located in the Clock Tower that becoming a member of the Community ran through Dec. 1, with a closing date for Purchasing Alliance (CPA), allowing the commentary on Dec. 8. The purpose is to community to partner with a new trash hauler, highlight Collington’s accomplishments that saving about $144,000 annually, as well as are in line with Kendal sustainability goals. a five-year conversion by the administration Along with the weekly-changing poster, to move the campus to complete LED light see Sustainability, p. 10 bulb use. Already the cottage walkways have Nov/Dec 2017 The Collingtonian 3 been converted. In conclusion, Jim noted that Hugh then worked for the Pacific Northwest National Lab. His work there contributed to the We Welcome awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to the Inter- Our New Neighbors governmental Panel on Climate Change in 2007. A framed certificate on his wall commemorates Hugh Pitcher (Apt. 130, Ext. this achievement. 7594): A Role in a Nobel Prize Hugh was married and divorced twice; he then By Marion Robbins had a partner who is currently living in Washing- A man of many interests, Hugh ton. He has two sets of daughters, born in 1965 arrived at Collington after living in and 1968, and in 1985 and 1987. Three of them Washington, D.C., for 46 years. live nearby. Asked what gives him most joy these He was born in Snyder, N.Y., a small town near days, he said, “seeing my daughters.” He feels Buffalo, but when he was 5 the family moved to that coming to Collington was a good choice. Granville, Ohio. And he happened to find two classmates from Hugh earned a degree in Economics from Oberlin: Bill and Bobbie McCuskey. Oberlin, and then studied at Northwestern. During Hugh continues to be fascinated by patterns, his first year in graduate school, he married anoth- so he’s looking at data, trying to understand how er graduate student. Soon thereafter, he went on patterns, such as longevity, are changing. He to teach Economics at the University of Kentucky. has a sister living on Baffin Island near the Arctic He came to Washington in 1971 to work for Circle, and that brings him to tracking sea levels. the Institute for Defense Analysis for one year, In view of the recent hurricanes and floods, I creating a model of the U.S. economy in case of asked him if he was an optimist about the effects nuclear attack. During the Daniel Ellsberg/Penta- of climate change. He replied, “No, I think I’m a gon Papers affair, the Institute lost its funding, so realist.” Hugh moved to the Labor Department. He had the good fortune to land in a small office providing Priscilla Lindenauer (Cottage support for the Secretary of Labor, who happened 1007, Ext. 7207): From New to be the chairman of the Department of Econom- Jersey to Collington ics at the University of Kentucky, and a friend.