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CLASS NOTES
COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY
COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY
CLASS NOTES
Center. Wearing hard hats, we were
hoisted to the 39th floor, where
we gazed over a panorama of the
scene and its surroundings. We
then toured the 9/11 Memorial, in
particular the two impressive pools
of moving water, which are surrounded
by the names of all who
perished in the disaster.”
The Reunion Committee, consisting
of George Abodeely, Paul
Alter, Lester Hoffman, Richard
Kobrin, Burt Lehman, Stan Lupkin,
Ed Pressman, Leo Swergold,
Peter Yatrakis and myself, clearly
outdid itself.
REUNION WEEKEND
MAY 30–JUNE 2, 2013
ALUMNI OFFICE CONTACTS
ALUMNI AFFAIRS Fatima Yudeh
fy2165@columbia.edu
212-851-7834
DEVELOPMENT Valentina Salkow
vs2441@columbia.edu
212-851-7833
63
Paul Neshamkin
1015 Washington St.,
Apt. 50
Hoboken, NJ 07030
pauln@helpauthors.com
Our 50th reunion is only nine
months away! If you haven’t
already marked your calendar for
Wednesday, May 29–Sunday, June
2, 2013, do it now. This is the big
one and none of us should miss it.
Columbia and the Reunion Committee
are planning a memorable
weekend. If you want to join the
committee or have suggestions for
our program, please contact me
or the appropriate staff member,
noted at the top of the column.
On Class Day, May 15, Henry
Black, Doron Gopstein, Harvey
Cantor and Lee Lowenfish joined
me for the annual Alumni Parade of
Classes and helped carry the Class
of 1963 banner (Don Margolis, who
has joined me in past years, had to
cancel at the last minute). Harvey’s
youngest daughter, Elizabeth ’12,
graduated that day. Congratulations
to both! This event is great fun,
a wonderful opportunity to join
graduates and their families at one
of the most joyful days of their lives.
Join us next year.
Larry Neuman and Herb Soroca
joined me at the annual crew reunion
and lunch at Gould/Remmer Boathouse
for oarsmen from the ’50s and
’60s. It was great to see so many guys
from the early ’60s. Next year, let’s
get all the rowers from ’63 to come
out on the Friday of reunion. I’ll be
calling each of you!
I’m sad to report that Yoshi
Fujisawa has died. His daughter,
Natsuko, writes, “I regret to inform
you that my father, Yoshiharu
(Yoshi) Fujisawa, passed away on
March 15, 2012, due to pancreatic
cancer. He retired in June 2011
from the CEO/chairman position
of Internix, which he founded in
1970.”
I also learned that William F.
Finley Jr. died in NYC on April
14, 2012. Bill met Brian De Palma
’62 at Columbia and was in the
core group that joined him to bring
coeducation to Sarah Lawrence.
He was an actor in many of Brian’s
films, most memorably as the star
of Phantom of the Paradise (1974).
Ken Ostberg writes, “My wife,
Andi, and I have been happily and
busily retired for seven years and
pass most of the year in Winston-
Salem, N.C. We recently celebrated
our 30th anniversary, share good
health, remain active and involved
in the community and, when we’re
not in Winston, are someplace else
on the globe. I recently returned
from five weeks in Japan, South
Korea and China. We head to the
shores (east and west) of Lake
Michigan in late July, followed
by a couple of weeks in Toronto,
the queen city of North America.
We’re also planning for a fall trip to
Scandinavia. Our older daughter,
Kristen, is a special education
teacher working with severe and
multiply-handicapped children,
and Adrienne, our younger, completes
her M.F.A. in documentary
film at UNC Greensboro in May.
While both are in serious relationships,
neither is married and there
are, as yet, no grandchildren. Andi
hopes that situation changes soon
because she desperately wants to
be a grandmother. Life is good!”
Marty Greenfield writes, “I am
married with three children and
four grandchildren. My eldest
daughter is a College alumna,
Elizabeth ’91. I am an endocrinologist
in a large group practice in Lake
Success, N.Y. I am on the governing
council of The Medical Society
of The State of New York, having
previously been president of the
Nassau County Medical Society. I
also am on the Board of Directors of
the Lower New York Chapter of the
American Association of Clinical
Endocrinologists. In my spare time,
I serve on several committees of the
North Shore-LIJ Health System.”
Barry Reiss reports that David
Rubinson now lives in France.
David, let us know more about
your life’s adventures!
Henry Black has written Hypertension,
A Companion to Braunwald’s
Heart Disease, which was recently
published.
Roland Droitsch writes, “I live in
Washington, D.C., a stone’s throw
from the Capitol. Am having a family
get-together and it will be a joy
for me. Am retired after spending
years in the federal government as
the deputy assistant secretary for
policy at the U.S. Department of
Labor. Think about Columbia and
the good times there. I have not
heard from Michael Silbert and
would like to get a brief notice, if
possible.”
Michael, write Roland (and me).
Paul Reale will have a CD released
of his complete violin works,
performed by Jessica Mathaes, on
the Centaur label this fall.
If you live in the Bay Area, you
should get on Mike Nolan’s email
list. I enjoy it even from the East
Coast. Mike always has something
interesting going, a musical
evening, a party at a local venue or
even genealogical research.
You can reach Mike at mikey
davy@gmail.com.
Mike Lubell writes, “Laura
Appelman and I were married last
December in a small ceremony
conducted by Joette Katz, commissioner
of the Connecticut Department
of Children and Families and
a former Connecticut Supreme
Court justice. Laura, who hails
from Chicago, is an artist, currently
working in polymer clay. Her new
focus is on unique handcrafted
jewelry, which garnered attention
at spring craft shows in New York
and Chicago (lauraappelman.com).
“My daughter, Karina ’02, does
antitrust work for Shearman and
Sterling. She lives in Washington,
D.C., and is celebrating her fifth
anniversary with her husband,
Romain, who works at KPMG in
Tyson’s Corner, Va.
“I commute weekly (or more) between
New York and Washington,
carrying out my physics teaching
duties at CCNY and public affairs
work for the American Physical
Society (APS) from a suite in the
National Press Building. Amtrak
and Delta love me.
“I’ve pioneered an interactive
mode of teaching to keep 300 students
engaged in intro astronomy.
Using a wireless, hand-held mic, I
roam the lecture hall playing Jerry
Springer, but without the pathos,
engaging the students with Q&A
throughout. The students love it
and their grades demonstrate its
success. I also teach a seminar on
science, science policy and politics
to students in CUNY’s Macaulay
Honors College.
“In Washington, I run a successful
public affairs group for APS,
which now counts seven members,
who focus on science lobbying,
policy and media. In addition I
have become a board member of
the Task Force on American Innovation
and a consultant to Our
Energy Policy Foundation.
“Most recently, I have begun
another gig as an opinion writer
for Roll Call, one of the three Capitol
Hill newspapers (circulation
20,000). I write the ‘Inside the Beltway’
column for APS News, which
reaches 50,000 readers worldwide.
“So my life continues to be busy
and enjoyable, so much so that I
don’t even think about retirement.”
Bill Burley writes, “Separated
my left shoulder in a bike crash in
Hungary. Nevertheless, I am training
on the bike and was planning
to race up Mt. Washington on July
7. Fortunately I’m racing against
others in our age group, so if some
20- and 30-somethings beat me, so
be it. I’ll send a photo from the top
when (not if) I get there.”
Bob Heller writes, “My son,
David, was honored by Prep for
Prep at its annual dinner for his
contributions to the work of that
organization, which is an educational
leadership development program
that prepares selected innercity
kids of color, places them at
independent schools and provides
them with ongoing support and
life-changing opportunities. Following
secondary school, the vast
majority pursue their educations at
Ivy League and other highly competitive
colleges. Since the program
began, 111 Prep for Prep students
have graduated from Columbia
and 26 are enrolled; 156 have gone
to Harvard, David’s alma mater.
“My daughter, Pamela Heller,
a Brown alumna, is president of
Project Morry, another successful
program for inner-city kids. A
year-round youth development
organization, it offers each child a
multi-year commitment anchored
by a residential summer camp
experience each year. The children,
for whom these experiences would
not otherwise be available, benefit
from a network of support and gain
increased social skills, enhanced
self-esteem, positive core values
and a greater sense of personal
responsibility. Many of them go on
to college as well. Pam has been on
the board for several years, as has
David.
“My wife, Amy, and I (we cele -
brated our 47th anniversary in July)
are proud of both David and Pam.
Yes, there is that one blemish; I
could not persuade either to go to
Columbia, but we’ll see about the
grandchildren, the oldest of whom
is only 9. Not too early to start lobbying.”
David Orme-Johnson writes, “As
it turns out, this is an active time in
my career. I got a review paper accepted
on the effects of transcendental
meditation on coronary heart disease
(blood pressure, cardiovascular
reactivity to stressors, congestive
heart disease, angina, atherosclerosis
and left ventricular hypertrophy). I
also recently completed a year learning
about meta-analysis and recently
submitted my first one on the effects
of TM on perceptual-motor behavior
under time pressure (rapid fire pistol
shooting, driving speed, 50-meter
dash, etc.).
“My wife, Rhoda, and I recently
went to her 50th Vassar reunion;
it was so fun and inspiring being
around all those intelligent and
lively people that I definitely want
to come to our 50th next year. We
are now on an extension of that
trip through Vermont, Quebec and
New Hampshire, sightseeing and
visiting friends and family; I’m also
doing watercolors of the beautiful
landscapes. We gave some lectures
on TM in Quebec — Rhoda on her
book of Maharishi on language
and literature, which she delivered
in French, and me on the TM
research, delivered in jargon. Hope
everyone comes to our reunion.”
Frank Sypher is the author of
Strangers and Pilgrims: A Centennial
History of The Laymen’s Club of
the Cathedral Church of Saint John
the Divine. The Laymen’s Club,
founded in 1908, has sponsored
numerous projects in the construction
of the cathedral, especially the
Pilgrims’ Pavement, dedicated in
1934. Since then the club has supported
many other additions to the
cathedral, especially of sculpture
and other structural features. The
club played a prominent role in
observances at the reopening of the
cathedral in 2008 after a program
of renovation. Other volumes of
church history by Frank include St.
James’ Church in the City of New York
1810–2010 and St. Agnes Chapel of
the Parish of Trinity Church in the
City of New York 1892–1943.
Harley Frankel reports that his
nonprofit College Match had its
best year ever in getting lowincome
students into the nation’s
great colleges. For details, visit
collegematchla.org.
Jerry D. Glickson, professor of
radiology and director of molecular
imaging at the University of
Pennsylvania School of Medicine,
was awarded the Gold Medal from
the International Society of Magnetic
Resonance in Medicine for
introduction of nuclear magnetic
resonance spectroscopy to the
study and management of cancer.
The award was made in Montreal,
Canada, on May 9, 2011, and was
shared with John R. Griffiths of
Cambridge.
Steve Barcan is celebrating his
70th birthday by taking his whole
family (12 people) on a cruise to
Bermuda, where he and his wife,
Bettye ’65 Barnard, honeymooned
in 1965. He met her 50 years ago at
Columbia when she was a Barnard
freshman.
Gershon Levinson writes, “I am
president of Northern California
Anesthesia Physicians. My
youngest son, Jonathan ’12 SIPA,
did five years as an Army infantry
officer and then went to SIPA for a
master’s. My oldest son, Charles, is
Jerusalem bureau chief for The Wall
Street Journal.” Gershon added, “I
definitely plan to attend reunion.”
Ken Master is a retired physician
splitting his year between
Boynton Beach, Fla., and NYC. He
plays golf regularly with David
Saxe, who still is a justice in the
Appellate Division, First Judicial
Department of New York. Both
came to our class lunch in June
along with seven of our regulars.
The Class of ’63 lunches at the
Columbia University Club of New
York are a great place to reconnect.
If you’re in NYC, try to make one
of the next few; they’re scheduled
for September 13, October 11 and
November 8 (always the second
Thursday). Check out cc63ers.com
for details.
In the meantime, make plans for
attending our 50th reunion! And,
as always, let us know what you
are up to, how you’re doing and
what’s next.
64
Norman Olch
233 Broadway
New York, NY 10279
norman@nolch.com
As I write this note in June, we
have just had our final informal
monthly class lunch before the
summer break. In May and June,
the following classmates attended:
Joel Abramson, Steve Case, Marty
Isserlis, Howard Jacobson, Gil
Kahn, Fred Kantor, Larry Kessler,
Beril Lapson, Jeff Newman, Nick
Rudd and Allen Tobias. Bernard
Catalinotto, visiting New York from
Mill Valley, Calif., joined us, too.
He is a cartographer (mymapbook.
com) and it was fascinating to hear
and see the latest developments and
techniques in mapmaking.
Steve Case, who retired as a
University trustee in 2011 after 14
years, has co-authored Treacherous
Beauty: Peggy Shippen, the Woman
Behind Benedict Arnold’s Plot to Betray
America [see Bookshelf].
Gil Kahn has a blog, Kahntentions,
at njjewishnews.com/kahn
tentions.
Larry Kessler had aortic valve
replacement surgery and now has a
cow’s valve in his heart. Larry is the
Richard J. Cardali Distinguished Professor
of Trial Advocacy at Hof stra
Law. He has been accompanying his
wife, Barbara Barron, to far-off places
such as Moscow, Tbilisi, Georgia and
Paris, where Barbara has been giving
programs in trial advocacy. According
to Larry, he has the greatest
appearance of success in our class,
with the least amount of work!
Beril Lapson has been traveling
to China and Mexico on business.
He and his wife, Ellen ’69 Barnard,
have become grandparents.
Jeff Newman, a horse racing
fan, attended this year’s running
of the Belmont Stakes. Jeff saw
Secretariat win the Triple Crown
Andy Russakoff ’64 has been named one of America’s
best professors in The Princeton Review book
The Best 300 Professors.
in 1973! He is president and executive
director of the National Child
Labor Committee.
Allen Tobias sang the praises
of the “extraordinary lectures” at
Dean’s Day, held on June 2.
Marty Isserlis skipped the class
lunch and went to New Haven to
visit Mike Kerbel, director of the
Yale Film Study Center.
Marty Weinstein traveled to the
Dordogne in France with his wife,
Ruth, to celebrate his 70th birthday.
Andy Russakoff has been named
one of America’s best professors in
The Princeton Review book, The Best
300 Professors, which is based on student
comments on ratemyprofessor.
com; Andy teaches computer science
at St. John’s University.
Congratulations, Andy.
We resume our monthly lunches
in September (always the second
Thursday) at the Columbia University
Club in Manhattan. Join us.
I am saddened to report the
death of Daniel Nussbaum. I
remember that Dan was a math
major and a varsity swimmer. He
earned a Ph.D. in mathematics
and was in the worlds of academia
and national security, at one time
serving as senior adviser to the secretary
of the Navy. I had not seen
Dan for several years. Please write
to share your memories of him.
Requiescat in pacem.
65
Leonard B. Pack
924 West End Ave.
New York, NY 10025
packlb@aol.com
The Hon. Barry Kamins was appointed
administrative judge of the
Criminal Courts of New York City
in January. He comments, “I don’t
expect to see any of our classmates
coming through, except as attorneys.
Please tell them to stop by and
say hello.”
As an attorney licensed to practice
law in the state of New York,
I update my legal knowledge by
taking continuing legal education
courses. I was delighted recently to
find an online lecture by Barry, “Recent
Developments in New York
Search and Seizure Law.” I found
his coverage of this subject to be
magisterial in its completeness and
in his effortless cross-referencing of
different strands of this important
body of law. I wrote Barry a compliment,
to which he replied, “Thanks
so much. You made my Sunday!”
You can reach Barry at bkamins
@courts.state.ny.us
Eric Marcus has been reappointed
to a second, five-year term as director
of the Columbia University
Center for Psychoanalytic Training
and Research. Eric is a professor
of clinical psychiatry at P&S. He
writes, “I look back on my Core
Curriculum experience with great
reverence and still have my class
notes. The Core helped me write
one of my psychoanalytic books
where I cited Plato and Kant!”
You can reach Eric at erm4@
columbia.edu.
Ed Merlis writes, “Leonard
asked me to submit something for
Notes on the same day that President
Barack Obama ’83 delivered
this year’s Barnard Commencement
address. Since that reminded me of
the last Barnard Commencement I
attended — that of my wife, Carole
Franklyn Merlis ’67 Barnard, 45
years ago — I figured I should help
him out. So here’s a recap of my life
since graduation:
“We have two very talented
daughters, although neither even
considered Columbia. The elder,
Pamela Conover, is a v.p. and senior
legal counsel at T. Rowe Price in
Baltimore, and mother of grandsons
No. 1, Hap Conover (13) and No. 3,
Teddy Conover (10). The younger,
Jennifer Houston, is a teacher at
the Bullis School in Potomac, Md.,
and mother of grandsons No.
2, Will Houston (12) and No. 4,
Ben Houston (9). We are indeed
fortunate to have all of our children
and grandchildren within one hour
of our home in McLean, Va., and to
have wonderful sons-in-law.
“Going back in time to 1965:
What’s Your Story?
Letting classmates know
what’s going on in your
life is easier than ever.
Send in your Class Notes!
ONLINE by clicking
college.columbia.edu/cct/
submit_class_note.
EMAIL to the address at
the top of your column.
MAIL to the address at the
top of your column.
FALL 2012
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FALL 2012
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