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Brown Club of Philadelphia
c/o Maddock Alumni Center
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In the Spotlight:
Robert Day ’76, Ph.D
Bob Day is Director of Clinical Research and Development at the
Calgene Corporation, but he’s being interviewed for his experience as a
Jabberwock.
Interviewed by Hannah Lee
What was your major?
What was your major? Aquatic Biology. I told people I
majored in Marine Biology because I couldn’t keep my grades
above C level.
Heh, heh, “above C level.”
I was part of a barbershop quartet at my first job at a
dermatology company. We called ourselves The Four Skins
(and only worked for “tips”)!
When were you a member of the Jabberwocks?
From 1972-1975. It was co-ed at that time.
I’m younger than you, so I didn’t know that the group
ever had female singers. How did that affect the musical
arrangements?
Arrangements were classic soprano, alto, tenor/lead, bass. I
was a baritone who had to struggle to hit the real low notes. Many
of our songs were contemporary, eg, Simon and Garfunkel,
Mamas and Papas, Beatles. I think Jon did the arrangements.
We also had a guitar player so were not a capella. Chattertocks
were a contemporary
women’s group at the
Robert Day
(cont’d. on page 3)
time. My background was
in instrumental music-- the
baritone horn, trombone—
but I enjoyed the singing
more. It’s more direct, no
translation through something
mechanical.
How did the group affect
your experience of college?
It was a fantastic experience
and I am grateful to the other
2011 Ne w s l e t t e r
Br o w N Cl u B o f Ph i l a d e l P h i a
Ne w s l e t t e r &
Me M b e r s h i p re N e wa l
The Jabberwocks, January 17, 2010
Our Brown Club Scholar:
Kevin Pires, Class of 2013
Dear Brown Club of Philadelphia:
I am writing to express my deepest gratitude for your support.
Brown has allowed me to grow as a person and as a scholar, an
experience that has been at once wonderful and challenging.
Now that I am in my second year at Brown, I realize that the
truths and realities of an issue are rarely black and white, and a
clear right and wrong seldom exists. And so I go forward with
the knowledge of life’s rich complexities, I feel better able to
comprehend lessons of history, as well as my relationships with
those around me.
Going into Brown, I had my mind very much set on
exploring English and art history. While my interest in both of
these disciplines has not diminished, I find myself becoming
increasingly interested in issues that are a bit less concrete but
also closer to my own experiences. Material that I was exposed
to in an ethnic studies class played on what I learned in a city
politics class in interesting and elucidating ways. It gave a
voice and an academic face to some of the problems that I
witnessed while growing up in inner-city Philadelphia. These
are concerns that I cannot and do not want to forget about.
(cont’d. on page 3)

Brown Club of Philadelphia
President
Larry Kerson ‘64, larrykerson@aol.com
Vice President
Linda Tuch Donoho ’93 donohol@uphs.upenn.edu
Secretary
Arlyn Bell ’72 znania@aol.com
Treasurer
Tim Kunda ’82 tim@kundabev.com
Event Coordinator
Karen Richter ’94 jkrichter@comcast.net
Webmaster
Onyeka Iloabachie ’03 oci23@ymail.com
Newsletter Editor
Hannah Lee ’82 hannah@barzel.org
BASC Area Coordinator
Meryl Raskin ’66 merylraskin@verizon.net
All Ivy Liason
as of December 2010
Jennie Kerson Pritzer ’00 jkerson@alumni.brown.edu
Inman Page Coordinator
Thierry Fortune ’84 tfortune@meeproductions.com
Executive Committee
Rebecca Chance ’05 rebeccachance@alumni.brown.edu
Lawrence A. Kerson ’64 larrykerson@aol.com
Caroline McCall ’85 nyubee3@aol.com
Marissa Parker ’02 marissarparker@gmail.com
Stephen Robertson ’82 steverobertson16@yahoo.com
Rebecca Starr ’93 rebecca.starr@alumni.brown.edu
Abby VanVoorhees ’79 AbbyVanV@comcast.net
Michael Young ’98 myoung10@gmail.com
Jeff Sumner ’92 sumner@painlesstechnology.com
Abby VanVoorhees ’79 abbyvanv@comcast.net
From the President’s Desk:
The Brown Club of Philadelphia has had a varied program
during 2010. We look forward to increasing engagement from
our 2300 plus alums in the Philly area. With involvement of
the Club’s Board, we have an annual newsletter and website
that are both accessible via Brown Alumni Association website
(alumni.brown.edu). The Board meets every two months and
is open to participation by any alum with an interest in working
on program development.
In the past year with the leadership of the board and outgoing
president Jennie Pritzker ‘00, our programs included a family
event with children at the Academy of Natural Sciences, a
concert by a Brown a capella group, happy hours in Center
City, a faculty visit/lecture by Professor James Morone (topic:
health care law), a chamber music concert by Curtis conducting
student Vinay Parameswaran ‘09 and a friend of his from Curtis,
and a tailgate gathering at Penn football game. Earlier events
also included a backstage tour of the Kimmel Center prior to a
concert, Phila Museum of Art events, community service days,
Phillies games, and Admission Director Jim Miller’s update on
the changing college admissions scene. Our club is unusual
in having its own endowed scholarship that partially funds a
student at Brown from the Philly area each year.
These young women and men have been remarkably talented
students who keep the club abreast of their educational journey.
Recently, an alum from out of state, gave a significant gift to
this fund. She had gone to high school locally. Continued
support of this endowed fund will help future students.
We plan an early March happy hour in Center City to
engage more of you, broaden the base of our board, and
come up with new ideas and programs. Please look out
for emails announcing this event in February. Ideas are
welcome, of course, any time.
My email is: larrykerson@aol.com.
Ever true,
Larry Kerson ’64, P’00,
Past President
Scholarship Fund Financial
Report
For fiscal year ending 6/30/2010
Established in 1989 by the Brown Club of Philadelphia to support
students from the Philadelphia area.
Book Value
Balance as of 6/30/10 $66,071
Market Value
Balance as of 6/30/10 $102,356
Income
Distribution for FY11 $5,034

Philadelphia BASC Report
By Meryl Smith Raskin ‘66, P’97
BASC Area Coordinator
Here’s the report for Early Decision applicants for the class
of 2015:
Total Applied = 77
Total Accepted = 20
Total Deferred = 47
Total Denied = 8
Total Withdrew before Decision = 2
Number of interviewers = 57
If you would like to interview prospective students, please
contact these BASC Area Chairs.
Philadelphia North:
Leslie K. Siegel, ‘83 siegel31@comcast.net
Jennifer Keller, ‘82 jenkeller403@gmail.com
Philadelphia West:
Geoff Scott, ‘76
gc_scott@comcast.net
Dena Meyer Weker, ‘76 dmweker@comcast.net
Philadelphia Central:
Jennie Pritzker, ‘00 jenniepritzker@gmail.com
(In The Spotlight, cont’d. from page 1)
members for letting me join. We had some very talented singers
and great people. We went to Bermuda during spring break
1973 and had a great time, singing two shows a day.
Was there a professor who took a personal interest in you?
Bill Ermey helped but the group was mostly student-run.
Jon O’Brien was the driving force in the early days.
Can you tell if the Jabberwocks has changed from your
time in it?
Absolutely. I think the Jabberwocks disappeared in Spring
1975. I was away from campus. When I returned, I joined
the High Jinks which had started up that year. The Wocks
were reconstituted and returned to their roots as an all-men’s a
capella group. Then, we were very laidback, singing folk music.
It’s much more polished and professional now.
How has your experience with the Jabberwocks affected
your life since Brown?
I was in a barbershop quartet in graduate school and in my
first job. I have remained in contact with Amy Paller through
our careers. Jon Huyck and others have done a great job of
tracking down Wock alums and keeping us connected. I would
love to devote more time to singing, but my 50-mile commute
to work is too long.
How about the popularity of Glee and Sing-Off?
I think it is great that such talents are on display in such
popular shows. The variety of music and presentations by a
capella groups is really impressive. I love a very good blend; the
excitement is when you get four voices that click. It’s like an
oscilloscope—I’m picturing a wave pattern, an overlap of all
the voices in tune. An amazing feeling.
(Scholar, from page 1)
Even though I find it quite difficult to choose my favorite
class, I would have to say that Introduction to Creative
Nonfiction with Professor Ed Hardy was particularly enjoyable
for me. Professor
Hardy created a workshop environment that was conducive
to honest critiques of each others’ writing. Instead of knocking
down each other’s work, it was about providing criticism that
would prove to be truly helpful. He supplemented this with
his own thoughtful comments on our pieces.
In addition to my classes, last year I was on the editorial
board of a literary magazine on campus called the Round.
Having spent most of my high school career working on a
newspaper, I wanted to try something different. Working at
the Round allowed me to shift gears from the pure journalism
of newspaper work to something that more aptly matched my
interests in creative nonfiction. I continue to participate in the
Round this year.
I spent my summer as an editorial intern at Philadelphia
Magazine. I did everything from fact-checking and making
copies, to doing the research for pieces that ran in print and
contributing to one of the magazine’s blogs. The time I spent
there and the work I did confirmed in my mind that magazine
work is what I would like to do in the future.
Since I can remember, I have been filled with the same
nervous excitement before the first day of school. As I
prepared to come back to Brown this year, I experienced that
edgy thrill once again. You truly have played a great part in
making me this happy. My family is currently experiencing
the difficulties of this tough economy in a very real way. My
father is unemployed and without your help, the education that
I am receiving would be utterly unattainable. So even though
my family does not know you personally and has never even
seen your faces, please know that you form a very real and
important part of our lives. You make my reality possible, and
for that my family and I extend our deepest gratitude. Thank
you.
Sincerely,
Kevin Pires
Save the Date:
Professor Kurt A. Raaflaub will speak on
“All Ways Lead to Brown: What Is Special about Brown, and
Why Does Ancient History Matter Today?”
on Sun April 3 at 5 pm
Evite to follow.