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 Columbia University Club of New York 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 Saturday Night Live 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 Max Kellerman ’98 and Arab Spring from Cairo. Marcellus Wiley ’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 key 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 Presiden tial 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 a B.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.