By Arthur Greenwald
I’m just returned from the AYA Assembly, which included a sneak preview of Yale’s new and expanded resources for alumni. While bold and exciting, the plan won’t amount to much if alumni don’t get involved. So don’t be shy about offering your constructive feedback via the AYA website: www.aya.yale.edu.
The weekend began with a terrific overview of Yale’s ambitious “sustainability” (i.e. environmental) reforms. There’s lots of great information at www.yale.edu/sustainability. Read it closely because they kinda bury the lead—namely Yale’s leadership role in establishing meaningful metrics that quantify the real-world costs and benefits of going green.
Also at the assembly was BK Munguia, who has posted her summary on our class listserv, as has classmate Dan Cohn, pinch-hitting for treasurer Mike Greenwald. Here’s what Dan has to say about Yale’s Sustainable Food Project: “Originally a pilot project in Berkeley College, the local, seasonal, and organic foods became so popular that Yale now offers sustainable choices in all the dining halls. [Meanwhile,] on the back side of Science Hill, the Yale Farm serves as a demonstration project for sustainable agriculture, providing opportunities for student volunteers to sink their hands into the earth and offering weekly tours and a pizza party. My 13-year-old daughter Lisa pronounced the great-tasting, super-hot chili peppers the most beautiful she’s ever seen.” Read more at www.yale.edu/sustainablefood.
Several classmates are actively rescuing the environment, among them architect-developer Alex Twining, who writes: “At Yale I took those early morning courses at the Forestry & Environmental Studies School. Even in high school I wrote papers on mass transit, started a ZPG chapter, and was a member of Environmental Defense Fund. Ironically, one of my best friends at Yale, Fred Krupp, now heads Environmental Defense. I was focused on green design back in the 1970s (remember the oil crisis?). Today I specialize in Urban Mixed-Use Green Development Next To Transit—putting places to live, work, and play close together, which means less commuting. So even before we put a building up, it already meets most of the Green LEED standards.”
In recent years, Alex has spent a lot of time at Yale as a participant in the Dean’s Council and other programs, and now as the proud father of daughter Lily ’11, who “retired from figure skating and took up crew. They welcomed her to dive in and she loves it. Her roommates are from China, Alabama, and L.A., and all get along extremely well. Now Lily is taking intensive Chinese so she can be ready for the world beyond. I’m especially impressed by Yale’s key mission to have all students travel and be globally connected and to become global stewards.”
Joining Alex as COO of Twining Properties is Mike Reid who, says Alex, “is married with five kids (three in college—two at Duke plus a Yale sophomore). Mike was an English major who went on to Yale Divinity School (MDiv), and then moved to Manhattan where he was my roommate, worked in advertising, real estate, and then in investment where he rose to the top at Lehman Brothers as a managing director, taking a lot of companies public.”
Sarah Mead just celebrated her “25th year directing the Brandeis Early Music Ensemble. After a big reunion concert last December, I left for my first-ever sabbatical, which took me to England, Canada, and around the U.S. teaching viola da gamba and Renaissance music theory. During the Boston Early Music Festival in June, I received the Thomas Binkley Award from Early Music America. Academic musicians sometimes fly below the radar, so the recognition has been a wonderful boost. Mack and I celebrated our 30th anniversary with a trip to the Grand Canyon in September. Son Patrick is about to graduate from Brown, where he has focused on computer science and singing, while daughter Caroline is in her third year at Massachusetts College of Art and Design, pursuing her lifelong passion for animation.”
Ann Larson ’74 wrote to tell us that Jessica Crist was elected to a six-year term as a bishop of the Montana Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. And Cynthia Tauxe reports that she heard a BBC News interview with John Guernsey, who is a priest leading the All Saints’ Church in Woodbridge, Virginia. His church has placed itself under a Ugandan primate and separated from the Episcopal Church in the U.S., primarily because of the ordination of a gay bishop in New Hampshire. In fact, John is now a bishop of Uganda, in Virginia. “I remember John was very dedicated to missionary work in Africa while still an undergrad,” says Cynthia. (Editorial comment: Oy Gevalt!)
In other international news, you can hear my podcast interview with the U.S. ambassador to Ecuador, aka our classmate Linda Jewell. While diplomatic, she’s delightfully frank about the joys and challenges of her high-profile gig. Check out our homespun Yale ’75 Podcast Page at http://web.mac.com/arthurgee/Yale_1975_Podcasts. There you’ll also find a lively debate about alumni donors who seek to shape college curricula, featuring professor Rob Watson and science writer/consultant Chris Edwards.
Last time I promised highlights of Another Opening, Another Show, my recent production for the Television Academy. Details are here: http://www.emmys.org/events/2007/anotheropen-wrap.php.
It’s my sad duty to report two recent deaths. Former Davenport College master Katherine Lustman-Findling died on May 22 at the age of 87. Many in our class know her as a friend and mentor—and I’m proud to be in that group. Much of what I know about children I learned from Kitty, a preschool teacher with a keen developmental eye who was in many ways the heart and soul of the Yale Child Study Center. Memorial contributions may be sent to the Calvin Hill Day Care Center, Kitty Lustman-Findling Kindergarten, 150 Highland St., New Haven, CT 06511.
On September 29, our classmate Hugo Black III died unexpectedly at home. The grandson of his namesake, the Supreme Court justice, Hugo was a highly regarded federal prosecutor in Miami where one colleague described him as “an outstanding lawyer and an incredible guy.” Previously he’d been a partner in a Los Angeles entertainment law firm. Hugo is survived by his wife, Jeannine Black, his father, and two sisters.
Let’s end on a happier note and celebrate the September wedding of Brian Ameche and Amy Bloom. Brian is an architect with Marx/Okubo in Farmington, Connecticut. Amy is an adjunct professor of creative writing at Yale when she isn’t otherwise engaged as a novelist and as the creator/executive producer of the critically praised Lifetime series State of Mind.
Please keep in touch! Subscribe to the listserv at www.aya.yale.edu/lists. And update your contact information at http://www.alumniconnections.com/yale. As always, your class notes news is welcome. Write to yale1975@aya.yale.edu.