By Arthur Greenwald
2006? Now how did that happen? The discussion in our most recent class notes about stay-at-home moms couldn’t have been more appropriate. It dovetailed perfectly with a longer story featured on the cover of the alumni magazine. Have you noticed how much more timely the magazine has become? It’s also livelier and more visually pleasing, thanks to Kathrin Day Lassila ’81 and her hardworking staff.
Alas, there’s a downside to these shorter lead times. The magazine announced Jeff Brenzel’s appointment as Yale’s new dean of admissions before his classmates had a chance to congratulate him here. But there was praise-a-plenty at November’s AYA Assembly, including a citation by President Levin honoring Jeff for his outstanding service and innovation as executive director of the AYA. Among Jeff’s many accomplishments: the overhaul of class reunions, the expansion of online services, the establishment of alumni shared interest groups (including special events for African American and other minority alums, Yale’s first women graduates, alums passionate about the environment, with more to come). Jeff also earned rave reviews as a philosophy teacher in the directed studies program.
With Margit Dahl continuing her stellar service as director of undergraduate admissions, Yale’s top two gatekeepers are members of the Class of 1975. Naturally this gives each of us an almost magical influence on the admissions process. In our dreams.
The theme of November’s Assembly was “In After Years,” which focused on Yale’s present and future relationships with alumni in the decades following graduation. From many quarters there seemed to be a consensus that Yale wants to strengthen ties to its graduates by expanding services for alumni interaction and lifelong learning. There was also much discussion about how alumni might donate not just money but also their insights and expertise to improving programs and resources on campus. (Never fear. Yale will happily accept your money, too.) Watch the magazine for more on these evolving topics — not only on paper, but also at www.yalealumnimagazine.com.
Speaking of online services, Treasurer Mike Green-wald and I want to switch our communications to classmates to e-mail-only, as much as possible, beginning with our class survey that went online in December. Our chief motivators are time and money. It takes weeks to prepare and send paper correspondence and weeks more to receive replies. What’s more, it never costs less than a thousand bucks to print and mail paper, often two or three times that amount.
Trouble is, we only have accurate e-mail addresses for about 75 percent of the class. Therefore I have two urgent requests. First, please let us know what you think of this plan, using the e-mail or postal address listed above. Secondly, as soon as possible, please visit www.aya.yale.edu/lists and make sure we have your current e-mail address.
While you’re at it, please subscribe to our lively class listserv (also available in convenient daily “digest” mode). In the near future we’ll expand that service using an older technology — telephone conference calls. Among our initial topics: an informal focus group about future class activities, a discussion of homeland security issues with expert classmates, and a question-and-answer session with a Yale faculty member or two.
The Assembly also let me catch up with AYA board member Rami Levin, who’s got a new job. While continuing as composer in residence and associate dean of the faculty at Lake Forest College, Rami has been named director of the Center for Chicago Programs, which artfully merges the resources of Lake Forest with those of Chicago’s leading cultural institutions. Check out www.lakeforest.edu/chicago. Rami was doubly pleased to visit Yale and spend some time with her son Daniel, who’s a senior this year.
Despite the bitter denouement of The Game, I had a great time with BK Munguia and her husband Jonathan Mark. I was amused to watch BK during the first two quarters. The alleged technophobe used her cell phone nonstop to arrange a halftime rendezvous with various friends and current Yale students.
Only one e-mail this month. Susan Freedman reports that she has departed my hometown. “After 12 years in Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, we’ve moved back to the Boston area. My husband Mark Zeidel ’76 is chair of medicine at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. I have joined the Women’s Health Associates at Massachusetts General Hospital. Oddly enough, we moved to Cambridge only two blocks from where we lived as residents! Daughter Rebecca graduates from Harvard this spring, Sarah is a junior at Yale, and Josh graduates from Exeter in June.”
Please follow Susan’s fine example and send some news for the next class notes. And don’t forget to visit www.aya.yale.edu/list to update your e-mail address. Right now. I mean it. What are you waiting for?