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CLASS NOTES
COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY
COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY
CLASS NOTES
Allan is a cardiologist and internist
who works as a hospitalist at United
Hospital in St. Paul, Minn. We
were in high school together, as well
as fellow pre-meds at Columbia, so
we had a lot of catching up to do.
There were talks to choose from
on Saturday morning as part of
Dean’s Day, but our class events
began with a luncheon in the 15thfloor
conference center of SIPA. The
last time I’d been there was a little
more than 38 years ago — on my
wedding day. My wife, Dede, and
I had chosen the conference center
with the great view of the New York
skyline in the then-new SIPA building
as the site for our wedding.
Gene Ross came to the luncheon
in his Army Medical Corps
uniform. After serving as the only
ENT doctor in Iraq in 2005–06, Gene
returned to practice in Westchester,
though he still serves in the Army
Reserve. We talked about some of
his experiences in Iraq, where he
treated everything from shrapnel
wounds to soldiers with fish bones
stuck in their throats, and about
being on-call round the clock as the
only ENT in the country.
Lunch was followed by a class
discussion in Alfred Lerner Hall
(for those of you who didn’t know,
Ferris Booth is long gone, replaced
by glass-fronted Lerner with its
endless ramps). The discussion, led
by Rick Kurnit, was about second
careers at 60. I should not have been
surprised that it quickly felt like
we were back in CC, with some
classmates challenging the premise
that we necessarily need to think
about doing something different
with the rest of our lives; others
saw the problem as residing in a
system that discards good people
after they have contributed to their
organizations for so many years.
Neil Izenberg told me after the session
that he’d already gone through
a transition, having shifted from
being a practicing pediatrician with
a specialty in adolescent medicine
and a side interest in educational
media to doing the latter full time.
Neil is CEO of KidsHealth, a project
of the Nemours Foundation, which
produces online, video and print
media for parents, kids and teens.
The culminating event of the
weekend was the Saturday class
dinner at Casa Italiana. Lots of
classmates and spouses were there,
including Bruce Jacobs, co-founder
and principal of Jacobs Levy Equity
Management in New Jersey; Mark
Lesky, who is director of responsible
care at Nova Chemicals in
Pittsburgh; Gene Cornell, who
runs Cornell-Mayo Associates, a
software firm, and still is passionate
about social justice; and Arnold
Horowitz, retired from the State
Department and working for the
“intelligence community” in Washington,
D.C. (I’m a pretty intrepid
reporter but I didn’t dare ask more).
After dinner, Mike Gerrard,
the Andrew Sabin Professor of
Professional Practice at the Law
School and a leading expert on
environmental law, gave a terrific
talk about the impact of global
warming. Mike represents the
Republic of the Marshall Islands,
likely soon to be submerged under
the rising waters of the Pacific. The
islands’ situation, as he said in his
understated way, raises “novel
legal issues.” [Editor’s note: Read
CCT’s May/June 2011 feature
about Gerrard online.]
Richard Macksoud, who wasn’t
able to attend, nonetheless wrote
to say that he’s now a grandfather.
“My daughter Jennifer Dukes
delivered James Michael late in
March. By the way, does any of
our famous doctors have a for-sure
cure for acid reflux in a baby?”
Other classmates who registered
for the weekend (I’m not relying
on my memory to tell you who else
was there) included Stuart Bernsen,
Emilio Carrillo, Peter Darrow,
Dennis Greene, Tariq Hasan,
Steven Howitt, Harlan Lachman,
Joseph Lowe, Keith Luis, Jeffrey
Matloff, Eugene Nathanson,
Gerard Papa, Allan Reiss, Joseph
Smith, Gary Szakmary, Harold
Veeser and Robert Williams. My
apologies to those who were there
and whom I missed, and for failing
to do justice to the many wonderful
conversations I had with so many
classmates during the weekend. I
hope many more of you will join us
for our 45th — just five years away.
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
73
Barry Etra
1256 Edmund Park Dr. NE
Atlanta, GA 30306
betra1@bellsouth.net
As we settle into our 60s, our vision
shortens (literally) as our existence
approaches twilight. Is it possible
we’re finally feeling our age? Could
be …
Dr. Ken Kutscher ’77 P&S recently
became governor of the New
Jersey chapter of the American College
of Cardiology; he works with
local cardiologists on education and
insurance issues. Ken also has taken
the lead in statewide advocacy by
establishing a state PAC to work
with the governor and legislators
on issues of concern to both patients
and physicians.
Next year is our 40th Alumni Reunion
Weekend. Mark your calendar
for, Thursday, May 30–Sunday,
June 2, 2013. If you’re interested in
being part of the Reunion Committee
(planning the weekend’s events)
or the Class Gift Committee (fundraising
for the Columbia College
Fund), contact the appropriate staff
member at the top of the column.
You need not be in the New York
area and can participate in meetings
via conference call.
Columbia will send materials by
email and postal mail as the date
grows closer. If needed, update your
contact information at reunion.col
lege.columbia.edu/alumniupdate,
or call the Alumni Office: 212-851-
7488.
Hey, that’s all I got. Shake off
those PCs and keep us informed;
no news is bad news.
74
Fred Bremer
532 W. 111th St.
New York, NY 10025
f.bremer@ml.com
With the presidential election
garnering all the media attention, it
is important to remind one and all
that it is the 40th anniversary of another
seismic “presidential event”:
the Watergate break-in on June
17, 1972. It doesn’t seem that long
ago that we were hearing about
CREEP (the Committee to Reelect
the President) and how Washington
Post reporters Woodward and
Bernstein, with the help of Deep
Throat, uncovered the wiretapping
of the Democratic Party
headquarters at the Watergate
Hotel. Woodward recently said,
“Watergate implanted a cynical
bomb about American politics that
will probably never go away.” This
year’s big money PACs and inaccurate
slurs (from both sides) have
only added to the popular distain
of our politicians. Let’s hope that
the 50th anniversary of the breakin
will find political leadership that
operates at a higher level and that
no future President will have to
declare on TV, “I am not a crook!”
All of this political talk seems
like a perfect segue to the John
Edwards trial that ended in June.
We must extend our congratulations
to Edwards’ lead attorney,
Abbe Lowell, for his incredible
defense that led to the government
dropping all charges (mainly
involving using alleged campaign
contributions to support Edward’s
girlfriend and their “love child”).
This must have invoked a sense
of déjà vu for Abbe. He came
into the national spotlight in 1998
when he defended President Bill
Clinton at his impeachment trial
over Clinton’s alleged perjury in
his characterization of his “lurid
relationship” (this is a family
publication) with White House
intern Monica Lewinsky. [Read
CCT’s profile of Lowell online in
the Winter 2011–12 issue.]
After these two unsavory entries,
let’s cool things down with news
of the Ozzie and Harriet variety. A
few months ago I caught up with
Tom Sawicki, who was in from Jerusalem,
where he is the director of
programming for the Jerusalem office
of AIPAC (the American Israeli
Public Affairs Committee). Tom
and I, joined by fellow 8 Hartley
floormate Joe Lipari ’75, compared
the differences in our households.
I have two kids too young to have
left for college, Joe has two kids
who left for college but have now
returned, and Tom and his wife, Susie,
are adapting to life without their
two sons (28 and 24, both career
officers in the Israeli air force), who
have both graduated college and
are living in their own apartments.
Seems like Tom and his wife are
doing quite well — enjoying hiking
with several other couples, going
to the opera and the like. Tom also
shared that he has a weekly Sabbath
gathering with his buddies to
sample single malt Scotches. (I seem
to recall some serious drinking in
Fiddler on the Roof. Ah, “tradition,
tradition” trumps Ozzie and Harriet
in the lives of the Class of ’74!)
Tom was in the United States in
part to surprise D.C. resident Leon
Wieseltier at his 60th birthday
party. This reminded me of seeing
Leon mentioned in a New York
Times Style Section article (where
else?) about Chris Hughes and
Sean Eldridge (called “the new
Power Brokers” by the Times). The
article talked about how Hughes
was a co-founder of Facebook and
has used his newfound wealth
both to host Democratic fundraisers
and to buy a majority stake in
The New Republic. Because Leon has
been the longtime literary editor
at the magazine, Hughes wanted
to make sure he was on board
with Hughes’ politics. A picture
accompanying the article showed
an amazing contrast between the
boyish Hughes and Eldridge (28
and 25) and the not-so-boyish Leon
with flowing white locks. (It was
kind of like Clark Kent standing
beside Perry White in those old
Superman TV shows!)
But who needs Superman when
our class has its own “Super Doctors”?
Each year a company polls
doctors in the New York area to
find the most respected physicians
in various fields of medicine.
New York magazine then has the
company narrow the list to 1,160,
and it highlights those chosen in
the “Best Doctors” issue each June.
Incredibly, our one class, which has
around 150 doctors (many outside
the New York area), had at least
four of these best doctors: Mark
Lebwohl (dermatology), Burt Rochelson
(maternal and fetal medicine),
Larry Stam (nephrology,
i.e., kidneys) and Steve Schonfeld
(neuroradiology). The New York
magazine article did not list college
affiliations, so my apologies to
anyone on the list I failed to notice.
Please send in omissions!
You don’t need to be doing
things that lead you to be featured
on the evening news, in newspapers
or in magazines to be of
interest to our classmates. Here are
some vignettes from around the
country that document the busy
careers of our classmates in areas
as varied as science, architecture,
finance, business and the law.
From Fairbanks, Alaska, comes
news from Jim Beget, who recently
completed his 28th year as a professor
in the geology and geophysics
department at the University
of Alaska. Jim is involved in a new
National Science Foundation project
looking at the effects of climate
change on frozen ground. Part of
the research project takes place in
a “permafrost tunnel” — a mine
shaft drilled into an area of frozen
ground where the temperature is
only about 20 degrees Fahrenheit,
even in the middle of the summer.
To make up for spending part of
his summer in a dark frozen tunnel,
Jim and his wife, Mary, headed
to Arizona in July to join a float trip
down the Grand Canyon.
Closer to home we got an update
on the career of New York architect
Larry Marner, who works on a
range of projects from helping local
private schools expand their facilities
to updates at Grand Central and
Chelsea Piers (a sprawling sports
complex along the Hudson River).
Larry writes, “The ‘fam’ is doing
well. My wife, Elisabeth Post-Marner
’74 Barnard, practices architecture
in Stamford, Conn. Daughter Nell is
applying to nursing school. Son Ben
is in his third year at Iona College in
New Rochelle, N.Y.”
Moving one step closer to retirement,
Bob Fuchs and his wife,
Bobbie, moved from Connecticut
to North Carolina four years ago.
Bob wanted to increase his time on
the golf course and Bobbie wanted
more time on the beach. A longtime
IT person, Bob is able to work parttime
from home. He is doing some
financial control work for Delta
Dental’s IT department, located on
the other side of the country. Bob
adds, “Bobbie and I celebrated 38
years of marriage this past summer
… 1974 was a busy time — graduating
in May, starting a new job in
June and getting married in August.
We have four children ranging from
34–24 and one granddaughter (4).
My kids all have graduated from
college, one has a master’s and one
is working toward an M.B.A. I’m
happy and fortunate to say they all
have good jobs.”
A short update came from Joel
Almquist, in Boston. He is a partner
at K&L Gates law firm, where he
counsels clients on a range of tax
issues (from mergers and acquisitions
to hedge funds to real estate
transactions, to name a few). Joel
tells us that one son is a broker at
UBS and the other is an investment
banker at Barclays. He adds, “I ran
the Paris Marathon last spring.”
The “Energizer Bunny Award”
must go to Will Willis, in Palm
Beach Gardens, Fla., what some
people might consider retirement
country. But Will writes, “All six
of my companies are doing great.
Book No. 3 is coming out in January.
Can’t retire, having too much
fun!”
Will’s latest adventure was a
real surprise for two reasons. First,
he received a huge contract to
put 6½-foot micro-wind turbines
on 400 Wal-Mart stores. Then he
began working with Brad Higgins
(managing partner of the U.S.
investments at private equity firm
SOSventures) on the funding of the
turbines. When I asked Will how
the two hooked up, he replied, “We
connected on LinkedIn. After we
talked, we found we had similar
business interests and investment
requirements.”
Maybe there is more to this
social media revolution than many
of us give it credit for.
There you have it. Classmates
featured on TV and in newspapers
and magazines for their amazing
achievements. Other classmates
pursuing their passions in a variety
of fields. For a class of only 600
guys, we have a lot to be proud
of — not least of which is that no
one has had to declare, “I am not
a crook!”
75
Randy Nichols
734 S. Linwood Ave.
Baltimore, MD 21224
rcn2day@gmail.com
Not one to skip a reason to celebrate
(and taking some time to themselves
now that they are empty-nesters),
Yasmin and Jim Dolan were in
France in early summer. Jim proposed
to Yasmin in Paris.
Known to many of us for his
high profile in sports labor negotiations,
Jeffrey Kessler recently led
70 other former partners of Dewey
& LeBoeuf to Winston & Strawn,
where Jeff now is on the executive
committees. Joe Tato, also formerly
of Dewey, has joined other former
Dewey partners at DLA Piper.
Both rainmakers will continue to
represent their portfolios.
Classmates gathered with other
Columbians at Dean’s Day on June
2. Lou Dalaveris and Ira Malin
spent some time chatting. Bob
Schneider and his wife, Regina
Mullahy ’75 Barnard, toured the site
of the new Manhattanville campus.
Floyd Warren had registered but
no one saw him, and I wasn’t able
to contact him before these Notes
were due, which was shortly after
Dean’s Day.
A couple of weeks back, I got
an email from Bob Sclafani asking
if I knew how he could get our
Jeffrey Kessler ’75 recently led 70 fellow former
partners of Dewey & LeBoeuf to Winston & Strawn,
where Kessler now is on the executive committee.
yearbook. I told him I didn’t know
but would loan him mine. I sent it
off, with the condition that when
he got (and returned!) it, he also
would send me stuff for Notes.
Look for news in the next CCT.
I have just spent the most amazing
weekend here in my hometown
of Baltimore — remember, I’m writing
this in June — taking part in its
Star-Spangled Sailabration, which is
the official kickoff to the nation’s celebration
of the 200th anniversary of
the “Star-Spangled Banner.” Those
of you elsewhere on the East Coast
may have experienced it as OpSail
2012. Sailing ships, tall, medium
and small. Ditto for naval, marine,
Coast Guard and other Grey ships,
all from around the world. There
were air shows, including the Blue
Angels, which I swear I could have
reached up and grabbed as they flew
over my roof deck. I did more than
24 hours of volunteering, walking
the promenades of the harbor as a
Sailabration ambassador, during the
last four days, but that also put me in
the middle of enjoying it. Now, I’m
gonna collapse and recover. From all
the standing and walking, my body
aches in places that I didn’t know or
had forgotten existed.
And, of course, this edition of
CCT is the first of the new fiscal
year of the Columbia College Fund.
For early givers, especially those
who want a 2012 tax deduction,
now’s the time to pencil in those
transactions. Others, pledge early.
(Often is not necessary, but then
please back up that pledge with a
check or credit card.)
Give by credit card at college.
columbia.edu/giveonline or by
calling 212-851-7488, or mail a
check, payable to Columbia College
Fund, to Columbia College
Fund, Columbia Alumni Center,
622 W. 113th St., MC 4530, 3rd Fl.,
New York, NY 10025.
76
Clyde Moneyhun
Boise State University
Department of English
200 Liberal Arts Building
1910 University Dr.
Boise, ID 83725
cam131@columbia.edu
I hope the members of the Class of
1976 are enjoying a wonderful fall.
Please send your news to me at the
above email or postal address. Your
classmates would love to hear
from you!
77
David Gorman
111 Regal Dr.
DeKalb, IL 60115
dgorman@niu.edu
Our class held its 35th Alumni
Reunion Weekend from May 31–
June 3. Although I wasn’t there, I
received a number of enthusiastic
reports that I have attempted to
cobble together, hopefully not too
inaccurately. (They make this kind
of thing look so easy on the CSI
shows.)
Lou DeStefano says that Karen,
his wife of two years, was impressed
by her first view of the campus;
she saw much of it but not all. A
night in Carman was “not so bad
as an inexpensive hotel,” but when
Lou wanted to show her John Jay
lounge, he was stopped by campus
security. Lou adds that he was
pleased to see Peter Buxbaum, a
first-timer at a Columbia reunion.
Tom Wagner and his wife,
Miriam Furey ’77 Barnard, had
dinner on reunion Thursday
with his fraternity brothers from
Beta Theta Pi, including James
Camparo (with his wife, Lori ’77
Barnard), Jim Mullin (plus his
wife, Linda) and Kevin Roach
’77E; this was followed by a show,
The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess. Tom
reports that he “sees the Mullins
at most Homecomings, since they
are local, but the Camparos live out
West and we had not seen them in
many years, making for a wonderful
reunion.” Tom and Miriam also
went on the Chelsea art gallery
crawl tour the next day, followed
by lunch on Tenth Avenue — and,
alas, an early departure due to
other commitments. They missed
a class reception held by Bill Gray
in his office.
Among those who made it
to Bill’s was John Hallacy, who
FALL 2012
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FALL 2012
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