By Thomas J. Bourgeois
Commencement 2022, a joyous event for obvious reasons, was especially so for the families of Kim Elliman, Chip Carey, Bruce Kagan, and Nancy Young. Kim’s son Henry received his degree from the School of Management, and twins Claire and Theo—following their father’s footsteps in Davenport—enjoyed a delayed celebration two years after earning their Yale College degrees. Chip’s daughter Miho, also a second-generation D’porter, was recognized in what might be called real time as a member of the Class of ’22. Bruce’s son Ezra finished Yale Law this year. Bruce proudly reports that Ezra is both “the first lawyer in the family and third generation to attend Yale,” beginning with Bruce’s father, Marshall Kagan ’54. Nancy’s daughter Jade Ford was belatedly honored as a 2020 Yale Law graduate. Jade, by the way, was also an undergrad in Davenport. There seems something vaguely conspiratorial afoot. Pierson demands answers!
“It’s not how you start. It’s how you finish.” Recent news from Peter Krentz attests to the wisdom of this time-worn sports adage: “Just over 47 years ago, the 1974–75 Yale men’s volleyball team competed in the NCAA Final Four at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion against UCLA, UCSB, and (The) Ohio State for the men’s national collegiate championship. Despite coming up a bit short in that initial effort, the team has finally achieved its golden aspirations. Playing as the ‘Old Blues,’ Peter (‘Captain’) Krentz, Jeff Magnes, Jim (‘Dink’) Patrick ’76, Rob Wieboldt ’77, John Wren, and Tom Ziko won the gold medal in men’s 4×4 beach volleyball (65-plus age group) at the 2022 National Senior Games, held in Fort Lauderdale in May. Teammate Mike Sholtz ’77 was the chief (and only) cheerleader present, having declined to join his former teammates due to prior commitments. His success at the games—gold in the men’s 6×6 indoor volleyball (65-plus), gold in the men’s 4×4 beach volleyball (55-plus), and silver in the men’s 2×2 beach volleyball (65-plus)—made it hard for his friends to complain. They did anyway. In addition to several of Chef Wren’s excellent meals and much exaggerated reminiscing about former glories, the group enjoyed a Zoom with Andy Fishburn ’77, who transferred to Stanford after the ’75 season and became one of the world’s best beach volleyball players. Though admittedly a HIPAA violation, a full and extensive injury report is available upon request.” Congratulations to all (even the defector to Stanford), and Boola Boola!
Charles Leiserson, still teaching and researching at MIT, writes, “I’m pleased to report that the fourth edition of my textbook Introduction to Algorithms was published in April after great effort by my three coauthors and me. We had hoped that the new edition would push us over the one-million threshold for copies sold worldwide. But our publisher surprised us last October with the news that the first three editions had already exceeded that sales volume. Ours may well be the best-selling textbook to date in computer science, which I find remarkable since it targets upper-level undergrads and beginning grad students. When we published the first edition in 1990, we hoped that we might sell 15,000 copies a year for five or more years. Life can be strange!
“Introduction to Algorithms has achieved minor notoriety in popular culture. On February 16, 2022, it appeared in a $600 clue during the National College Championship on the game show Jeopardy! hosted by Mayim Bialik. Sadly, none of the contestants knew the answer.
“The book even seems to be a big hit in China. The recent Chinese miniseries Forever Love, which aired last December, features it starting in episode 3. You can find the episode, about thirty minutes long and subtitled in English, on YouTube. In fact, it’s the subject of a three-episode story arc. I’m tickled that the book appears in a love story, and an entertaining one at that.”
Speaking of story arcs, Part Two of Charles’s report to the class will appear in our next exciting installment.
More book news from Michael Van Ness: “I published my second book, entitled To the Front: Grandfathers’ Stories in the Cause of Freedom. Released in June, the book is a compilation of stories of heroes from our times: their sometimes troubled loves, their accomplishments and losses, and their hopes for redemption. Good stuff for the times we live in. It’s available online.”
In Memoriam: Thomas Turley Noland Jr. died peacefully in his Louisville, Kentucky, home on January 15, 2022, after a two-year battle with cancer. A native of Norwalk, Connecticut, Tom began his career as a journalist in 1973, while still in college, as a summer intern at the locally owned newspaper in Anniston, Alabama, The Star. That same year Tom transferred from Duke to Yale. Two subsequent internships followed in Florida at the St. Petersburg Times.
Tom spent a year after graduation traveling in Europe and Great Britain, and in 1976 he returned to Anniston and The Star, where he spent three years covering local culture, election disputes, and the 1961 burning of a Freedom Rider bus on the outskirts of town. In 1978, the Associated Press recognized Tom with a feature writing award for his piece on a local high school basketball star who faced challenges upon graduation. After two years in Paris, where he wrote articles for US-based syndicates and taught journalism and English at the American College, he returned stateside in 1981, and a year later he married fellow writer Vivian Ruth Sawyer. Tom and Vivian enjoyed their first two years of marriage in Paris before establishing their lifelong Louisville home.
Tom spent more than three decades in corporate communications at Humana, becoming its chief spokesperson. He was also vitally involved in Louisville’s civic and cultural affairs, serving on several boards of directors, including his beloved Filson Club Historical Society, the Louisville Ballet, the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival, the Kentucky Opera, and the Kentucky Center for African-American Heritage. He also served on the vestries of Calvary and St. Francis in the Fields Episcopal churches. In addition to his widow Vivian, Tom is survived by son Andrew, daughter Sidney Wood, sister Katherine Noland, niece Julianne Mariano, nephew James Mariano, and grandchildren Helena and Jenny Wood and Adrian Noland. Donations in Tom’s memory are welcomed at the Filson Club Historical Society, the Louisville Orchestra, or the Community of St. Anselm via the Consortium for Christian Unity, c/o Barlow Associates, Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner and Smith, 101 Bullitt Lane, Suite 400, Louisville, KY 40222. I thank Sue (Banfield) Beck, who was also Tom’s high school classmate, for her helpful correspondence in the wake of his death.
Finally, just before submitting this column, I learned that Arthur Thomas Keefe III (DC) died on July 6. A fitting memorial will appear in the next class notes.
As always, I invite your news.