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CLASS NOTES
COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY
COLUMBIA COLLEGE TODAY
CLASS NOTES
enjoyed the spread as well as the
view of the Empire State Building,
lit in blue and white. Of the reunion
overall, John adds, “The events
were very well organized this year.
The lectures were truly stimulating.
I attended one on brain research
that was viewed from a multidisciplinary
perspective. The Wine
Tasting was great because Barnard
alumnae were present, including
my wife, Mary Ann Lofrumento
’77 Barnard, and you could mingle
with the broader reunion crowd.
As is predictable, we talked about
surviving the 1970s and classes and
professors that we appreciated a
great deal. The food was generally
excellent but did not surpass the
discourse and the weather. The
recent grads also appeared to be
very enthusiastic.”
Someone else at Bill’s reception
was Mike Aroney, who seems to
have kept up a frenetic pace during
the weekend; he brought his wife,
Kathy; daughter, Brittany; son,
Kell; and daughter-in-law, Brittany.
As Kell is a recent graduate of the
business school at Southern Methodist
University and Brittany had
just graduated (with honors, yet)
from the University of South Carolina’s
College of Nursing, “the trip,
in part, was a graduation present,
and I acted as tour guide for most
of the time. We stayed in Tribeca
and saw just about everything,
and it seems I walked the younger
folks to the point of crying ‘uncle.’
We sent the kids off to see War
Horse, so they had to humor Dad
with a trip to MoMA, an art gallery
crawl in Chelsea and lunch at the
Boathouse on Friday,” followed by
Bill’s event. “I gave the kids a tour
of campus and told some stories.
Kell wanted to see the B-school
and Brittany wanted to know
about the medical school. The kids
attended our class dinner with
Kathy and me, but left early from
the champagne and dancing to go
back to the hotel. I do believe they
were in bed by 10, while Kathy and
I made a fair job of the dancing and
champagne consumption.
“Funny story: our daughter is
an attractive, 6-foot tall, 22-yearold
blonde. When we arrived at
the dinner for cocktails, my wife
went over to the bar to gather
some refreshments while I greeted
classmates. Brittany came back
and was standing next to me and
eventually when it was clear she
was a daughter, a few classmates
confessed they were relieved to
learn she wasn’t a trophy wife!”
Also at reunion were (with
apologies to anyone I left out — or
put in! — by mistake): Craig Brod,
Leslie Cohen, Mark Goldberger,
Michael Katzman, Bob Kent,
Marty Kutscher, Jon Lukomnik,
Peter Nagykery, Dan Sang, John
Santamaria, Jim Shapiro, Michael
Sherman, David Stanton, Christopher
Sten, Robert Werner and
George Whipple. Among attendees
I heard from, there was agreement
on the fine weather, the good work
of the reunion staff and (unfortunately)
the relatively low turnout of
our class. Here’s to a bigger 40th.
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
78
Matthew Nemerson
35 Huntington St.
New Haven, CT 06511
mnemerson@snet.net
I continue to be amazed and humbled
at the achievements and broad
range of our class. Bravo! I have
been wondering as we approach
our 35th reunion if we are closer to
half our allotted time as Columbia
grads, or two-thirds done. It’s beginning
to make a difference …
John Nastuk, also ’78E, writes,
“The news from Danvers, Mass., is
that I’m a senior engineer with GE
Aviation but bigger news is that our
son, David, recently started his first
full-time job as a mechanical engineer
after graduating from UMaine
last fall, and second son, Eric,
recently graduated from UConn as
a biomedical engineer. Three engineers
under one roof is sufficient to
make Karen — the artist, wife and
mother — about crazy.”
Steve Bargonetti has enlisted
his wife, Diane, to do his column
PR (I advise this for all of you). She
writes, “My husband was honored
by author David Maraniss when he
was chosen to be in the new Obama
biography, Barack Obama: The Story
[see Bookshelf]. This is not a political
statement from us but rather an
honor to be part of history for Steve.
If you have a chance, check out the
book (especially page 435!). It is rare
that people in the ‘real world’ are
interested in what musicians have
to say.”
Diane also included the below,
which was originally written for
the NYC musicians’ union paper.
“How many Local 802 Musicians
do you know who have been interviewed
for a presidential biography
and actually quoted for the book?
Well, if you know guitarist Steve
Bargonetti then you know at least
one!
“He graduated from Columbia
University around the time
President Obama transferred there.
Steve has a similar bi-racial heritage
and, at the time, was the leader of
the premier jazz fusion group, So
What, on the Columbia campus.
The bands playing at The West End
during Obama’s first year included
So What, whose name was inspired
by the first cut of the Miles Davis
album Kind of Blue.”
Steve’s wife concludes with the
reference that, “Maraniss felt Steve
offered great perception into Columbia
University’s campus life, socially,
politically and racially … a look into
the environment experienced by
Steve and, thus, the future President.
To quote Steve from the book:
‘There were racial inferences from
both sides, which were completely
disavowed once we started bringing
people together via music.’”
So there you have it. Proof that
the Class of 1978 was intimately
involved in the President’s experience
at alma mater.
From David J. Margules, “Things
are good here. Four sons, and no
one at Columbia! My eldest, Andy,
graduated from medical school at
Jefferson (along with his wife) and
started his residency in urology. He
claims to have picked it because
it gives his friends lots of fodder
for rude jokes about the kinds of
things he ‘handles.’ (My mother
still tells me I should have been a
doctor and that it’s not too late to
go to medical school.) My second
son, Elliot, has finished his second
year of law school and has been
working for Josh Dratel. He loves
the practice and is looking forward
to graduating. My third, Sam, starts
culinary school in September and
wants to open a pastry/coffee shop.
My youngest, Will, is in the middle
of 1½ years in yeshiva in Israel and
will start at Yeshiva University in
January. My wife, Michelle Seltzer
’77 Barnard, and I are very proud of
each.”
Midwestern refugee Robert
Blank sends this from Madison,
Wis.: “Scary how time flies. Nothing
Daniel Pincus ’78 sang the national anthem at
numerous Lions’ football and basketball games
during this past year.
fun or exciting to report. Sorry to say
the recall was a disaster here, and
[Gov.] Scott Walter is truly evil.”
Henry Aronson has been busy
as always, “My wife, Cailín Heffernan,
and I were selected for the
Rhinebeck Writers Retreat for this
summer; [at this writing in June
we planned to go] for a week in
August to continue working on our
new musical, Loveless Texas. I do
some orchestrating for the Rocktopia
symphonic/rock fusion ensemble,
kicking off with the Youngstown
(Ohio) Symphony in September; I’ll
be playing keyboards in the concert,
too. Meanwhile, I’m still music
director/conductor of Rock of Ages
on Broadway.”
Jeffrey Moerdler looks down
on Gotham from his perch at Mintz
Levin, telling us, “My oldest son,
Scott, graduated from Mount Sinai
School of Medicine and is starting
his residency in pediatrics at Mount
Sinai Medical Center (he got his
first-choice match) and plans to
specialize in pediatric oncology. He
is getting married in October. My
twins are both at NYU, Jonathan
in the Stern School of Business
and Eric in the College of Arts and
Sciences, majoring in architecture
and urban planning. Jonathan
[was scheduled to] get married in
August.
“I’m busy in my real estate legal
practice and in particular in my
specialty in data center and telecom
real estate. I also spend lots of
my time on my three unpaid parttime
jobs. For starters, I’m commissioner
of the Port Authority of
New York & New Jersey (yes, the
recent toll increases are my fault);
I’m very involved in all of its major
real estate projects, in particular
the World Trade Center. I’m also an
EMT on my local volunteer ambulance
service and co-president of
my chapter in Riverdale as well as
president of my co-op apartment
building.”
Stu Kricun may hold the record
for appearances in this column
(what Joan Rivers was to Johnny):
“I have worked at Disney since
2005, after spending 12 years at
Playboy. Talk about 180-degree
changes in the subject matter. If any
of our classmates’ kids are fans of
Good Luck Charlie or Lab Rats, those
are two of the shows for which I am
production counsel. My kids are in
the prime demographic right now
for Disney. My daughter, Arianna, is
7 and my son, Jordan, is 5 (yes, I did
start really late compared to some of
the rest of you!).
“I find myself reminiscing every
so often about the good old days at
Columbia. Hard to believe it’s been
almost 35 years. One of these days,
I need to take a trip with the entire
family and show my little ones
where dad went to college.”
Gary Pickholz gets the award
for eclectic activities. “My new
book, for background context, is
my nonfiction project at Stanford’s
Writer’s Studio, which has been a
truly marvelous and eye-opening
experience,” he writes. “I have
been blessed with many sharp colleagues
in many universities and
firms worldwide, across a number
of disciplines, in my career, but this
is by far the most fascinating group
of colleagues I have ever enjoyed
spending time with.
“My son Dov got engaged to a
lovely young lady originally from
Paris, whose family also made
aliyah. I now have an appointment
at the Business School. I have two
books coming out (hopefully) this
year, one on some of the significant
failures in capital markets and
one a nonfiction autobiographical
discussion of a Jewish divorce and
its policy considerations, both in the
United States and Israel. My son
Josh now is in an elite combat unit,
and my daughter Tamar will serve
in the office of Prime Minister Bibi
Netanyahu (whom I used to play
basketball with in the Philadelphia
synagogue league when his name
was still Benjy), as her national
service.
“I will be testifying before the
Knesset once again in October, this
time on the topic of Israeli-continued
insistence of taxing American
and British charitable contributions,
an embarrassment that your
local UJA-Federation and Israel
Bonds representatives prefer be
ignored by American donors.”
An interesting story about fame
in the big city from Daniel Pincus:
“This past year, I sang the national
anthem at numerous Lions’ football
and basketball games. I sang the
tenor solos with the Barnard-
Columbia Chorus and with the
Collegium Musicum. At the end
of Yom Kippur last year, a young
congregant came up to me and said,
‘Cantor Pincus, there is something
about the way you sing and your
style that reminds me of John Amarante
at Madison Square Garden.’
“A week later I called Columbia
Athletics and onto the roster I
went, and was requested for the
Harvard games. Thinking that this
was going very well, I contacted
Fordham. They won all six games
I sang at, and alerted the New York
Daily News to write a story about it,
resulting in a full-page article. Two
days later, Clyde Haberman of The
New York Times picked up the story
in a column.”
Capt. Jeffrey L. Canfield, USN,
writes: “I am concluding an assignment
as Headquarters ISAF Ministerial
Advisor to the Government
of Afghanistan Ministry of Rural
Rehabilitation and Development
in Kabul, Afghanistan. I will be
assigned next from the Pentagon to
the United States Institute of Peace
in Washington, D.C.”
On the home front, my family
abandoned me this summer. My
wife, Marian ’77 Barnard, is teaching
near Paris at INSEAD, the European
business school. Daughter
Elana (21) took courses in London.
And Joy (18), who is recently
installed as social action v.p. of the
National Federation of (Reform)
Temple Youth, split the summer
between Washington, D.C., and the
movement’s base in Warwick, N.Y.
Next year is our 35th 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.
79
Robert Klapper
8737 Beverly Blvd., Ste 303
Los Angeles, CA 90048
rklappermd@aol.com
Thomas Costigan of Falls Church,
Va., is a contract employee for a
specialized agency of the federal
government dealing with international
trade issues (that’s all
he can say about this one or he’d
have to remove Bob Klapper’s
knee caps). Tom also is co-chair of
the Northern Virginia Columbia
Alumni Representative Committee
and would love to hear from
area alumni who can help out with
admissions interviews.
Theodore Anton writes with
news that his son, Constantine,
was hired as coordinator of emergency
services for the Red Cross
Coastal Virginia region. His daughter,
Marja, begins medical school
at the Loyola University Stritch
School of Medicine in Chicago this
fall. Ted’s new nonfiction book,
Mortal Coils: The Strange Race for
the Secrets of Longevity, will be published
by University of Chicago
Press in 2013.
Los Angeles-based Ali Gheissari,
president of Advanced
Cardiothoracic Surgery Medical
Group, has been practicing cardiothoracic
surgery in Los Angeles
for more than 20 years. He writes,
“I am blessed with a beautiful
wife and two beautiful children.
My son, Reza ’14 (20), finished his
sophomore year at the College and
spent the summer in L.A. doing an
internship at NASA Jet Propulsion
Laboratory. He is majoring in physics
and mathematics. My daughter,
Roya (16), is a high school junior
and hopes to study medicine. I owe
my achievements in life to my education
at Columbia, and having a
son at Columbia College has further
strengthened my bonds with alma
mater.”
The “big news” from Harlan
Greenman is that his daughter
Catherine ’12 is “not only a proud
graduate of the Class of 2012, where
she majored in computer science
math, but also is relocating to Texas
and starting her career with Microsoft
in July.
“In other news, I have been kept
busy with building New York City’s
first totally new subway line —
the Second Avenue subway, first
proposed in the 1920s, partially dug
before the 1970s fiscal crisis that
nearly bankrupted the city and now
on track to open during this decade.
Lastly, our younger daughter, Beth,
accomplished a personal triple
crown, having all in one day made
her bat mitzvah, received our Little
League’s most prestigious memorial
award (known as the Chris
Ciuffani Award) for her fairness
and respect for others, and, with
her team, won the championship
with a come-from-behind effort in
the bottom of the last inning. It was
in true storybook fashion, with two
outs and the bases loaded!”
Robert Klapper: “Here’s my
Columbia College thought for this
column. As an orthopedic surgeon
in Los Angeles for the past 23
years, I’ve operated on 500–600
patients every year, which means I
have opened up more than 12,000
shoulders, hips and knees. I cannot
believe where the time has gone.
“In order to begin a surgery,
you must scrub your hands. This
moment at the sink is a miniopportunity
for meditation. It’s
actually ironic that in this act, by
rubbing your hands together and
letting them dry, you take the position
of praying. Before one of my
recent surgeries, in this meditative
state of becoming sterile (without
a vasectomy), my mind wandered
back to my first organic chemistry
lecture; I still struggle with
understanding the relevance of this
ridiculous course and the necessity
to excel in this subject when it has
no relevance whatsoever to what
one does as a doctor. But I remember
Professor Charles Dawson ’38
GSAS in 309 Havemayer beginning
the first class of the first semester
by drawing three giant circles on
the blackboard. He then turned
to the class and said, ‘I think of
my students in one of these three
circles. Some of you are in this first
circle, for whom everything I say
here in this classroom you will
understand completely. Some of
you are in this middle circle, where
you won’t understand everything
that I say today but you will go
home tonight and read and study
hard and then understand it. And
some of you are in this third circle
… who never will.’
“I guess the lesson I learned was
I was never going to be in that first
circle, and I need to spend the rest
of my life staying out of that third
circle.”
80
Michael C. Brown
London Terrace Towers
410 W. 24th St., Apt. 18F
New York, NY 10011
mcbcu80@yahoo.com
As fall begins we look forward to
seeing how the Giants, Jets and Columbia
Lions fare on the gridiron.
We are only a little way into our
new era with coach Pete Mangurian,
but already I am impressed
with our commitment and effort
each week.
Eric Granderson ’80 has been named in-house
lobbyist for New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu.
Eric Granderson has been named
in-house lobbyist for New Orleans
Mayor Mitch Landrieu. A New
Orleans native, Eric brings three
decades of experience in the city’s
government to his new post steering
the administration’s relations with
council members, local agency officials
and community leaders.
Joel Moser joined Kaye Scholer
as an energy and infrastructure
partner. He will be instrumental in
building out the practice, which is
viewed with great optimism by his
partners. Joel has extensive experience
in the industry and has been
recognized as a leading project
lawyer.
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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