On the cover: President Andrea E. Chapdelaine in her office in Fanning Hall. Story on page 18; photo by Sean D. Elliot
This page: Silfen Field and Track in the midst of a makeover. Drone photo by Sean D. Elliot
Forward Together A few months into her tenure, President Andrea E. Chapdelaine is invested, excited and determined to do the hard work.
Plant Detective Vermont State Botanist Grace Glynn ’14 is on the hunt for rare and endangered plants.
Long Journey Home Four decades after they were accidentally unearthed on Conn grounds, the remains of an Indigenous American have been repatriated.
State of the Press At a crucial moment for America, journalism is at a crossroads. Can it be saved?
Art of Consumption Ames Prize-winner Ciara McNamara ’24 exposes the spectacle of America’s food system.
Notebook Hallmark at Conn, In the Round, new scanning electron microscope, new BOT chair, Azizi Life art, New England Chamber Orchestra, Strengthening the Sun, The Sixth, Caption King, Ink & Tracks, Women’s Soccer
It is hard to believe that as this issue of CC Magazine hits your mailboxes, it will be four months since I arrived on campus. Dave (my husband) and I have felt a very warm welcome from the Conn community. Thus far, it has been a voyage of discovery and learning—of people, places and possibilities. I have focused on being present on campus through attending campus events, visiting with faculty and staff, and meeting with students. I have also had the pleasure of speaking with alumni, parents, families and community members beginning with Reunion in June, at events in various regions and most recently during Fall Weekend. Through these many conversations, my understanding of and conviction to serve as Connecticut College’s 12th president have deepened. The passion, commitment and pride that have been expressed have fueled my enthusiasm and optimism for the future of Conn.
As I shared with our new students at President’s Assembly when they arrived in August:
“Like you, I am also starting my first year at Conn. Like you, I am still unpacking, finding buildings and trying to get to know every member of the community. And like you, I’m just starting to discover all the wonderful opportunities this great school has to offer. I’ve served small, liberal arts colleges for more than 30 years, as a faculty member, a dean, a provost and a president. When I decided to take the next step in my career, there were many reasons I chose Conn—a beautiful campus, great location, the Connections curriculum and more—but there are three main ones that I want to highlight today. First, the mission of Conn is one that deeply resonated with me—‘to educate students to put the liberal arts into action.’ Throughout my academic career, my focus has been on helping students apply what they learn in order to affect positive change in the world. Conn will enable each of you to chart your own pathway of learning, discovery and then, action. Second, Conn is a deeply student-centered place, meaning that it is your success and well-being that drives everything we do. And third, which follows from the first two, is the people who make up the Conn community: trustees, alumni, faculty, staff and students. Our community is composed of smart, passionate and welcoming individuals who foster a sense of belonging and inclusion. How fortunate we are to have this opportunity to learn, work and live together as Camels here at Conn!”
If you would like to read more of my early remarks to the Connecticut College community, please visit www.conncoll.edu/at-a-glance/meet-ourpresident/speeches/. To see when I will be in your area over the next year, visit https://bit.ly/camelsconnect or scan the QR code below. I look forward to getting to know you and learning your Connecticut College story.
Yours,
Andrea E. Chapdelaine, Ph.D.
From the President CC
CONNECTICUT COLLEGE Magazine
VICE PRESIDENT FOR MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS: John Cramer
EDITOR: Amy Martin
ART DIRECTOR: Benjamin Parent
STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER: Sean D. Elliot
SENIOR WRITER: Melissa Babcock Johnson
WRITER: Tim Stevens ’03
CLASS NOTES COMPILED BY: Alumni Relations
CC Magazine is published by the Office of Communications. We are committed to covering a diverse group of stories in order to profile the human condition as seen through—and sometimes written by—our alumni, faculty, students and staff; we strive to publish features and photography that illuminate the College’s story.
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CONNECTICUT COLLEGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Seth W. Alvord ’93, Chair, Jessica L. Archibald ’95, Betty Brown Bibbins ’73, Maria Wyckoff Boyce ’85, Vice Chair, Andrea E. Chapdelaine, President, Isaac H. Clothier V ’79 P’10, Loulie Sutro Crawford ’89, Lawrence B. Damon III ’93, Mark D. Fallon ’92 P’28, Marisa G. Fariña ’93, Hannah E. Gonzalez ’23, Young Alumni Trustee, Kim-An Hernandez ’99 P’28, Samirah Jaigirdar ’22, Young Alumni Trustee, Jonathan A. Krane ’90, John D. Linehan P’18 ’23 ’24, Erica L. Lovett ’14, Sarah A. Mudho ’98, Devon Danz Preston ’93 P’28, Leslie Rosen ’02, Peter D. Skaperdas P’17, Vice Chair, Dwayne C. Stallings ’99, Vice Chair, Jonathan S. Stavin ’85, Susan Ekberg Stiritz ’65, Diane E. Stratton ’91, Maarten D. Terry ’83, Anne A. Verplanck ’80, Rajneesh Vig ’93, Shawnia A. Yon ’24, Young Alumni Trustee, John S. Zeiler ’74
ALUMNI ASSOCIATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Thomas Anderson ’07, Angela Bannerman Ankoma ’97 P’27, Taylor Austin ’24, Laila Bera ’23, Michael Boswell ’10, Isaac Chip Clothier V ’79 P’10, President, Philip Dolan ’99, Daniel Garcia ’02, Susan Mabrey Gaud ’68 P’07, Susan Peck Hinkel ’65, M. Grant Hogan ’07, Deion Jordan ’17, Julia Kaback ’18, Betty Fluegelman Kahn ’68 P’92, Mario Laurenzi ’90, Jennifer Lapan Mann ’94, Secretary, Rasheed Mitchell ’13, Erin Holstein Mogel ’09, Samantha Capen Muldoon ’88, Derrick Newton ’18, Jacob Nozaki ’22, Steve Owen ’80 P’12, Allan Rogers ’14, Harris Rosenheim ’09, Vice President, Katrina Sanders ’92, Tamsen Bales Sharpless ’89, An-Ming Sze Truxes ’71, Aidyn Urena ’10, Richard Vancil ’82, Veronica Venture ’86, Vice President, Denise Wheeless ’80, Mariko Wilcox ’99, Yoldas Yildiz ’18
CC Magazine Copyright 2024 by Connecticut College, all rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. Views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect official policy of the College.
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Sean D. Elliot
A Very Conn Christmas
Fansof Hallmark’s “Countdown to Christmas” series will recognize some familiar backdrops (and maybe even a few familiar faces) when Trivia at St. Nick’s airs on the famed holiday channel Nov. 8. Numerous scenes were filmed on campus this summer and members of the Conn community were invited to apply to be extras.
Set during winter break at an elite university in Vermont (special effects will be used to achieve that signature “season of the sticks” look), the film follows Celeste (Tammin Sursok), a Type-A astronomy professor who is looking forward to the annual Christmas Bar Trivia Tournament, an event that combines the magic of Christmas with her greatest comfort in life: knowing the
right answer. But when her colleague drops out to do a month-long lecture tour in Asia, Celeste’s team must adopt Max (Brant Daugherty), the football team’s new offensive coordinator, who strikes Celeste as nothing more than a grown-up class clown. If you happen to be new to Hallmark films, you’ll have to tune in to see what happens next!
Writing about her experience as an extra in The College Voice, Mia Penasa ’27 jokes that she was “pulled from obscurity at 6:30 p.m. on a random Sunday to act alongside a main character … the classic college-student-onsummer-break-transformed-into-moviestar-in-less-than-24-hours narrative.”
For several days, she and another Conn student filmed at multiple locations
“deemed Hallmark-worthy” across campus—and learned a lot in the process.
“I not only gained an inside look at the College’s newfound claim to fame, but also found myself immersed in the process behind creating a large-scale production, witnessing every element from blocking to rehearsal to the grand finale,” Penasa wrote.
“Though the temperature may have been 80 degrees, I nonetheless pulled on a sweater and boots each morning with a smile on my face, captivated by the (slightly sweaty) Christmas magic both students and the public alike will experience this winter.”
Trivia at St. Nick’s airs Friday, Nov. 8, at 8 p.m. (7 p.m. Central) on the Hallmark Channel.
In the Round
NEWMAN CIVIC FELLOW
Diamoni Davis ’27 has been named a 20242025 Newman Civic Fellow by Campus Compact, a Boston-based coalition dedicated to higher education civic and community engagement. He is now part of a network of student leaders who will spend the year developing strategies for social change.
GOLD STARS FOR SUSTAINABILITY
Conn has received its second consecutive Sustainability Tracking Assessment & Rating System (STARS) Gold rating from the Association for the Advancement for Sustainability in Higher Education. The program scores participating institutions on campus sustainability in five areas: academics, engagement, operations, planning and administration, and innovation and leadership.
UP T H E CAMELS
We asked Conn athletes: What’s your favorite pregame jam?
■ Kickstart My Heart by Mötley Crüe
■ Dancin’ In The Country by Tyler Hubbard
■ Disturbia by Rihanna
Today, I am handing you a sopping wet sponge that is your Connecticut College experience. You have four years to wring that thing completely dry.
— ASSOCIATE DEAN OF CAMPUS
LIFE GEOFF NORBERT TO NEW STUDENTS ON ARRIVAL DAY
■ All Too Well (10 Minute Version) by Taylor Swift
■ HOT TO GO! by Chappell Roan
■ Get Ready by Pitbull
■ New To Country by Bailey Zimmerman
■ Can’t Stop by the Red Hot Chili Peppers
■ Welcome To The Jungle by Guns N’ Roses
Mia Green ’28 looks over course listings in Shain Library. More photos:
Caring leads to change, and every generation, including yours, has changed seemingly impossible situations when they have cared enough to do so.
— ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF ECONOMICS
MÓNIKA LÓPEZ-ANUARBE DURING HER CONVOCATION
KEYNOTE, “THE COURAGE TO CARE”
WHAT NOT TO WRITE
Dean of Admission and Financial Aid
Andrew Strickler was quoted in a June article in Forbes, “How Not to Write Your College Essay.” Strickler advises, “Do NOT get caught in the trap of trying to figure out what is going to impress the admission committee. You have NO idea who is going to read your essay and what is going to connect with them. So, don’t try to guess that.”
ALL IN FOR DEMOCRACY
In honor of her four years of effort to get out the vote, Miranda Van Mooy ’24 was named to the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge Honor Roll, a list of 137 students across the United States who went above and beyond in their commitment to nonpartisan democratic engagement and contributions to their local communities.
1.8 million
Views on Conn’s viral TikTok video, “Who are you wearing?” in which professors share the origins of their Commencement regalia. Answers varied from “I am wearing Harvard University” (very demure) to “I went to Penn State … but this is from Amazon” (very mindful!).
NEW CAM E L S NAPSHOT
This is research I can put on a resume.
—MASON HUGHES ’26, WHO CONDUCTED INVASIVE SPECIES RESEARCH WITH BOTANY PROFESSOR CHAD JONES AS PART OF CONN’S SUMMER SCIENCE RESEARCH INSTITUTE
471 new students 458 first-years 12 transfers 1 return to college 34 states and 22 countries represented 28% domestic students of color 16% first-gen college students
New students ring the Castle Court gong to signify the start of their academic journey at Conn.
Extreme Close-Up
Students and faculty will soon see the world in a new light on campus. The College has won a $251,418 National Science Foundation grant to purchase a scanning electron microscope (SEM) with energy dispersive spectroscopy capabilities.
The new microscope will replace the current, now-defunct SEM in New London Hall acquired in 1996, which was one of the first computercontrolled SEMs obtained by a primarily undergraduate institution. The new
SEM will enable interdisciplinary faculty and student research and training in chemistry, biology, botany, environmental sciences and anthropology.
Compared to regular microscopes, the SEM provides much higher magnification, easily imaging structural features 1/100 the diameter of a human hair, explained Professor of Chemistry Stanton Ching. This is because the SEM uses electrons for imaging, which have higher energy and a shorter wavelength compared to visible light. The scanning
Space Grant Eligible
Conn is now part of the Connecticut Space Grant Consortium, a NASAfunded program administered at the state level that sponsors faculty and student research and student internships across the U.S.
Students and faculty are now eligible to apply for 42 different grants to support research, conference travel, equipment purchases, STEM education programming and more. Proposals must link to one of NASA’s six National Mission Directorates, which are Aeronautics
Research, Exploration Systems Development, Science, Space Operations, Space Technology and Mission Support.
Despite the program’s name, proposals need not be related to space. Assistant Teaching Professor of Astronomy Alex Gianninas, who serves as Conn’s campus director for the program, said Conn’s proposals will most likely fall under the Science Mission Directorate.
“They mean ‘science’ in the broadest sense, so that could be physics, astronomy, math, biology, botany,
feature allows observers to move the beam of electrons across a sample, creating images analogous to a drone recording footage over a landscape.
“Students will love using this instrument. It’s not that hard to teach them how to use it, and it’s very visual … it’s almost like a video game,” Ching said.
Conn will also invite students and faculty with the University of Connecticut at Avery Point and the U.S. Coast Guard Academy to collaborate and share use of the microscope.
psychology, neuroscience—anything that falls under the large umbrella of STEM can be applicable here. Working on something specifically related to space or space exploration is not necessary to apply,” he said.
Students are also eligible for funding for a range of full-time, 10-week summer internships at Connecticut-based industries or organizations that focus on engineering, aerospace, architecture, STEM education, pharmaceuticals or astronomy.
Varroa destructor, a bee parasite, under an electron scanning microscope at 55x magnification.
New London’s Own Chamber Orchestra
WhenAssistant Professor of Music
Shou Ping Liu arrived at Conn a little over a year ago, she quickly set to work rebuilding the Connecticut College Orchestra, which had struggled to rebound after COVID. But she had other ideas, too.
“There wasn’t much going on in New London in terms of artistic orchestral music,” she recalls. “So I started to think about forming a group, just incorporating all these great musicians I know are around me.”
To gauge interest, Liu began reaching out to some of the finest professional musicians in the area, including several from the United States Coast Guard Band.
“I called every person, one by one, and said, ‘I would love to work with you.’ And they all said, ‘Yes, yes, yes.’”
And thus, the New England Chamber Orchestra (NECO) was born. Liu serves as the artistic director for the group, which prides itself on discovering rarely performed chamber orchestral works
and introducing them in their historical context.
Among NECO’s 15 permanent members is Taylor Isberg, a clarinetist for the Coast Guard Band.
“I perform in a band and NECO is, well, an orchestra. So that opens me up to a whole new repertoire of music, gives me a whole different range of composers’ work I can perform,” Isberg says. “I studied orchestra for a long time. I love playing band music, but it’s really great to do orchestra as well. Especially with the level of players I’m able to interact with here.”
NECO performed its first concert, which Liu described as “artistic level” and “absolutely stunning,” in April. The group’s second concert, performed in Evans Hall on Sept. 22, featured the sublime and mysterious Symphony No. 4 of Gustav Mahler (Klaus Simon Chamber Version). It was no easy feat, Liu says, since the smaller collection of musicians in a chamber orchestra must still produce
the kind of sound that a larger symphony would in order to do the piece justice. “Only the best musicians are able to accomplish this.”
Students from the Connecticut College Orchestra also had the opportunity to team up with NECO to perform the witty and unforgettable overture to Mozart’s Così fan tutte, and NECO will perform at least one work with the Conn students at each of their concerts.
“The students get to play alongside the professional musicians, and it is this boost of ‘I can do this’ for them,” Liu says.
Having presented Mahler to orchestral music enthusiasts in New London County, Liu has her sights set on the next hurdle.
“[I’ve hired] a Grammy-winning producer to help us make a CD,” she reveals. “We want to build this step by step, and releasing a professional recording is an important part of that. I can feel us building real momentum.”
Sean D. Elliot
Assistant Professor of Music Shou Ping Liu conducts the New England Chamber Orchestra at Evans Hall in September.
Activism, Advocacy, Art
Lastfall, Taylor Austin ’24 attended a New York City fundraiser for the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund and secured a gift for Conn: a large wall display of baskets woven by women artisans in Rwanda.
Austin and her father, Scott, won the art, a donation to the fundraiser from Azizi Life, in a silent auction. The fair-trade organization has an ongoing relationship with the Fossey Fund and partners with skilled artisans in Rwanda to bring their work to the world. Azizi Life estimates that about seven months of handcraft work went into the piece, which features several original designs and seven bowls inspired by the unique nose-prints of a few of the area’s famous gorillas. The 12.5’ x 6.5’ display is now part of Conn’s Campus Art Collection and located in Unity House.
The fundraiser celebrated the 40th anniversary of Dian Fossey’s book, Gorillas in the Mist, and the 35th anniversary of the film adaptation starring Sigourney Weaver as Fossey, a primatologist and conservationist who was tragically murdered in Rwanda in 1985 after nearly 20 years studying gorillas and
seeking to protect them from poachers.
Austin, who describes herself as passionate about sustainability and conservation, attended the fundraiser to support the Fossey Fund’s goals of protecting the critically endangered Grauer’s gorillas in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the endangered mountain gorillas in the Virunga mountains of Rwanda. She also wanted to meet Weaver. The film star’s recent work, which Austin characterized as “empowering, subversive and resistant to the stereotypes surrounding older women in film,” inspired her senior thesis, “Aging on the Margins: The Older Woman as a Queer^ Subject.”
“I really wanted to be able to thank her for everything that she’s done for me both personally and academically, helping me find my passions through her films and activist work,” Austin said. “I found this art through film, in a sense, and I was thinking about how art can spread messages, sometimes in nontraditional ways.”
Austin donated the baskets to Conn to raise awareness of the fund’s message
and share the beautiful art with as many people as possible.
“My father and I thought that it really aligned well with the intertwined nature of activism and advocacy that is so integral to Conn’s community,” Austin said. “I often notice that conservation efforts are kept very separate from activism efforts rooted in community and social justice—particularly regarding equitable access to food, water and other essential resources—but the approach at Conn is very integrated. You see that with the Fossey Fund and Azizi Life, too. This art benefits the environment as well as the surrounding Rwandan communities that provide critical support to the Fund’s mission. This perfectly reflects the expansive spirit of activism at Conn.”
Laura Becker, Conn’s director of gift planning, agrees. “Many of the pieces in our Campus Art Collection are traditional works of art rather than contemporary ones made within the last year, so this is exciting,” she said. “We decided it would fit nicely in the PepsiCo room at Unity House, a meaningful gift in honor of Unity House’s 50th anniversary.”
Azizi Life art display in Unity House
Sean D. Elliot
Seth Alvord ’93 Leads Board of Trustees
Seth Alvord ’93, founder and managing partner of the private equity investment company Balance Point Capital Partners, has been elected to serve as chair of the Connecticut College Board of Trustees for a three-year term. A member of the board since 2016, he began his tenure on July 1.
Alvord has fond memories from his days at Conn studying political science and rowing as a member of the men’s varsity crew team. He had loved his high school experience at private Northfield Mount Hermon School in Massachusetts, and chose Conn—his mother’s alma mater—to replicate that close-knit, smallschool feel.
“I felt at home,” he says, recalling impactful relationships with professorsturned-mentors, challenging classroom environments and lessons on teamwork, discipline and commitment learned out on the water. “I remember that when I was engaged and stimulated, those were the peak performance periods for me, and the College afforded me many of those opportunities.”
Still, Alvord says he only began to fully recognize the value of his liberal arts education when he decided to pursue an MBA from the Johnson School of Management at Cornell University. “It wasn’t until I got back into that academic
setting that I realized the learning capabilities, study habits and foundation in critical thinking I developed at Conn had prepared me to step into that graduate environment with relative ease and allowed me to really excel.”
Now, at 53, Alvord says his perspective on the role of higher education has continued to evolve. He joined Conn’s board after serving on Northfield Mount Herman’s board for 10 years, an experience he found rewarding. “I love being part of a group that has a common passion for the cause and the mission,” he says, adding that, in many ways, Conn’s mission to educate students to put the “liberal arts into action” resonates now more than ever.
“When I’m on campus, as soon as I shut my car door, I can see it, I can feel it. The teams are all practicing, the students are going in and out of the academic buildings, the Long Island Sound is glimmering on the horizon—there is a real vibe. I find it invigorating. The energy is compelling; there’s a sense of possibility, a sense of the future.”
It’s that enthusiasm that is driving Alvord at a pivotal moment in Conn’s 113-year history. He served as a trustee representative on the search committee that named Andrea E. Chapdelaine as Conn’s new president in March. Buoyed
by the selection, he agreed to succeed Debo P. Adegbile ’91 as chair of the board; he and Chapdelaine officially assumed their leadership roles on the same day.
“I wanted to help with this transition and position the College to move forward,” he says.
Alvord acknowledges that, like many small liberal arts colleges, Conn has its challenges, but he’s confident in the ability of all Conn’s constituents—faculty, staff and students—to engage in constructive dialogue alongside the board to understand and react with collective resolve.
“We need to continue to evolve ourselves as an institution and be more vocal advocates of our mission in ways that maybe, historically, we could take for granted. We’ve done a lot of good things, but we need to keep that momentum,” he says.
“I’m excited to be part of the team that will reimagine what it means to put the liberal arts into action in today’s world. The opportunity set for tomorrow’s graduates is different than it was in 1911 or even when I graduated in 1993. How do we continue to position Conn to best meet the needs of today’s students? It’s revitalizing to be part of that discussion and journey—I am truly grateful to be at the table.”
Sean D. Elliot
Board of Trustees Chair Seth Alvord ’93 addresses students at the 110th Convocation in August.
Strengthening the Sun
Analisse Rios ’08 is back in the game training some of the WNBA’s best.
BY MELISSA BABCOCK JOHNSON
It might only be 9 a.m., but it’s already been a long day for Analisse Rios ’08.
As the head strength and conditioning coach for the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun, she travels with the team to away games. On this morning in late August, she had gotten in at 3 a.m. and grabbed a few hours of sleep after the team had taken on the Indiana Fever—and the formidable Caitlin Clark—in Indianapolis the previous evening.
“It’s crazy how the Caitlin Clark era has completely changed the WNBA. We’ve played in more sold-out arenas this season than ever in a WNBA season, and I love that for the athletes,” Rios says.
The Fever generated a bit more heat that August evening than the Sun, who lost by four points. But Rios was busy readying the team for their next game in D.C. that weekend against the Washington Mystics, which the Sun would win 96-85.
Being on the move has been a constant theme in Rios’s life. She grew up in Bolivia with two brothers and very active parents. “We would go to our high school on Sunday mornings and just kick the ball around, race each other on the track and do all sorts of things for hours,” she says.
Bolivia’s male-dominated soccer realm had no female soccer club teams when Rios was a teen, so, in an unprecedented move, she played on a boys’ team throughout high school. When she was 16, Bolivia formed a women’s national team and recruited her. For six years, Rios played all around South America, even flying from Connecticut to Argentina at one point to play in a tournament. At Conn, she she played on
the women’s soccer team and ran track.
“I still see sports as fun, so that’s why I absolutely love my job,” she says.
Athletic training is a second career for Rios. She taught fifth and sixth grade for almost nine years, but she felt called back to sports, and in 2018, she decided to reach out to Conn’s Head Women’s Soccer Coach Norm Riker. “I just want to get back into it,” she told him. “Can I come in and help? I’ll come to practices, kick balls, pick up cones. Whatever you need me to do, I’ll do.”
Rios quickly realized the team could benefit from an official strength and conditioning program, so she started doing research and got certified as a personal trainer. She offered to write a program for the team to follow over the summer, and Riker gladly accepted. It paid off—the following season saw the team advance to the NCAA tournament, and Riker promoted Rios, who was then still teaching full-time, to assistant coach. When other Camel teams caught on, the College hired Rios as the full-time sports performance director.
“More and more colleges, professional teams and even high schools are investing in strength and conditioning. But seven years ago it was still an up-and-coming thing,” Rios says. “DIII teams didn’t require a strength and conditioning coach, and a lot of WNBA teams had no strength and conditioning coaches yet, either.”
Never one to do only one thing at a time, Rios also began working with Connecticut Sun athletes. She pulled double duty for four seasons, but in October 2023, the WNBA offered
to bring her on full-time. While Rios considered continuing to do both, something had to give.
“I hadn’t had an off season for four years, because I went straight from all 10 to 15 sports that I worked with at Conn right into the Connecticut Sun season, and then there was an overlap where everyone was back on campus and I was still in season and traveling with the Sun. It was a lot,” Rios explains.
Her family life was also top of mind. Rios and her wife, Amy, have been married for 12 years and serve as foster parents—they currently have a foster son who is about 16 months old.
“I hated leaving Conn, because Conn has been a part of who I am since I came to the States in 2004, but I needed to do this for me, for my growth, for my family,” Rios says, adding that she still attends games whenever possible to cheer on the Camels.
With a better work-life balance, Rios has hit her stride with the Sun, training players and rehabbing injuries yearround. One of her proudest moments, she says, was watching Alyssa Thomas, whom she has worked with for five seasons, win Olympic gold in Paris with the U.S. Women’s Basketball team.
“She tore her Achilles tendon three seasons ago, and I did the rehab process with her,” Rios says. “She is the strongest, most athletic, most powerful person I’ve ever worked with. As a professional athlete, your body is your job, and I was with her at her lowest of lows with the injury, when she was literally learning how to walk again. And now, seeing her on the court is amazing.”
l still see sports as fun, so that’s why I absolutely love my job.
— ANALISSE RIOS ’08
Sean D. Elliot
The Sixth
Filmmaker Sean Fine ’96 set out to make a documentary about the peaceful transition of power. It did not go as planned.
BY TIM STEVENS ’03
The assignment was fairly straightforward. Academy Award-winning documentarians
Sean Fine ’96 and his wife, Andrea Nix Fine, founders of Change Content, had hired a crew led by cinematographer Caz Rubacky to capture what was expected to be then-President Donald Trump’s last speech in office. It was Jan. 6, 2021.
“Ironically, we were making a film about the peaceful transition of power,” Fine explains.
Just before noon, Trump began addressing thousands of supporters from a park just south of the White House fence. As he had done for weeks prior, Trump repeatedly questioned the validity of the 2020 election. “All of us here today do not want to see our election victory stolen by emboldened radical-left Democrats, which is what they’re doing,” he said. After speaking for more than an hour, Trump invited supporters to march to the Capitol, where Vice President Mike Pence was scheduled to officially certify the electoral vote and declare Joe Biden as the next president. “We fight. We fight like hell and if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore,” Trump told the crowd.
Twelve minutes after the speech’s conclusion, reports indicate as many as 15,000 people moved on the Capitol from multiple directions. Thus began an insurrection that would not end for nearly six hours.
“He had numerous chances to stop them, to get people to calm down,” Fine contends. “You see in our film that when
he finally did, it was too late.”
Rubacky, watching firsthand as the crowd began marching toward the Capitol, reached out to Fine and Nix Fine to ask if he should go as well. They gave him the green light as long as he continued to feel safe. The footage Rubacky and his team captured would become the backbone of THE SIXTH, a feature documentary produced in collaboration with A24 and released in May.
Even for seasoned documentarians, the footage was shocking.
“It was like seeing the worst of human nature unfold for hours,” Nix Fine says. “There’s this one moment that always sticks with me. There’s this man up by the tunnel. He’s there within the whole group of insurrectionists, but he’s screaming, ‘We’re better than this! Stop!’ And he’s trying to scream into this crowd of 10,000 people. It’s just heartbreaking. But it also pisses you off.”
THE SIXTH tells the story of the day from the perspectives of six individuals who were there: freelance photographer Mel D. Cole, Rep. Jamie Raskin, Congressional staffer Erica Loewe, Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Chief Robert J. Contee III, and MPD Officers Daniel Hodges and Christina Laury.
“We wanted the film shaped by the words and emotions of people who went through it themselves. Everyone had a moment—or a few moments—where they thought their life might end or something really bad would happen. It was so important to us to show that,” Fine says.
“We always talk about [the severity of] things based on how many people died. But I think there’s a toll that something like this takes. It’s not worse than people dying, but it’s bad.”
And yet, the film also reveals moments of hope and bravery, Fine says, pointing to the fact that each of the film’s subjects—and many public servants on the scene—chose to stay and defend the established democratic process.
“Jamie Raskin, he did the right thing; he stayed all night. [Officers] Daniel Hodges and Christina Laury, they did the right thing, stayed on for hours, kept returning to the front line. They all were injured; they all could’ve just gone home. They believed in something about this country,” he says.
Despite the fact that the attack on the Capitol is “the most filmed crime scene” in U.S. history, Nix Fine says many Americans haven’t truly grappled with its impact.
“This film felt like what we can do—to be good citizens, to be good filmmakers, to be good human beings,” she says. “You owe it to yourself, as a citizen of this country, to understand what happened that day.”
THE SIXTH is available for purchase or rent on streaming services including Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play and YouTube, and Fine and Nix Fine have also launched a “Stream It Forward” campaign to bring the film to as many theaters and college campuses as possible.
To learn more, visit thesixthmovie.com/ #impact.
This film felt like what we can do—to be good citizens, to be good filmmakers, to be good human beings. You owe it to yourself, as a citizen of this country, to understand what happened that day.
— ANDREA NIX FINE
There aren’t many ways to get yourself published in The New Yorker. Long a bastion of the literati, many talented people have found their dreams dashed on the sidewalks in front 1 World Trade Center, the magazine’s home. But there’s no such thing as a genuinely impenetrable fortress. Lawrence Wood ’84, an attorney in Chicago by day, discovered a way in when he first won The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest in 2007.
Since then, he has seized the brass ring seven additional times. To put the achievement in context, his next closest competitor has tasted victory a mere three times. Wood has also made it to the finalists’ round an unprecedented 15 times.
The feat is impressive enough that it snagged him another publishing milestone: his own book, Your Caption Has Been Selected: More Than Anyone Could Possibly Want to Know About The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest. It hit shelves this summer, gaining acclaim from the likes of Kirkus Reviews, which praised Wood’s talent for “mixing the bizarre, the jocular and the wise into a clever package.”
While the book took about two years to write, Wood has loved words and wordplay since his youth.
“It started with Mad Magazine and the National Lampoon,” he reminisces. “I always loved The New Yorker. I started reading it young. Too young. But back then, it was just the cartoons.”
Caption King
Record-holder Lawrence Wood ’84 shares his secrets to winning The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest.
BY TIM STEVENS ’03
It wasn’t until arriving at Conn in 1980 that he began reading the articles, too, thanks in part to Conn’s extensive archives. When the Caption Contest went weekly in 2005—it began as a periodic event in 1999—Wood was immediately drawn in. He quickly developed a Monday morning routine around it.
“Oh, it’s a ritual,” he asserts. “I’m very impatient; I’m like a child. I have to get it done first thing.”
The idea for the book came from one of the few who could rightfully lay claim to an even more significant role in the Caption Contest than Wood: contest creator and former New Yorker Cartoon Editor Bob Mankoff.
“He contacted me after I became a finalist the fifth time,” Wood recalls. “He said, ‘We have to ban you now.’ I told him I understood and he said he was joking.”
That joke kicked off a relationship between the two. To start, Mankoff asked Wood to submit 10 cartoon concepts weekly for five weeks. After that, the editor started to connect Wood with other cartoonists at The New Yorker who might be interested in collaborating. Then, Mankoff suggested Wood write a book about his experiences as the winningest caption writer in The New Yorker’s history and include tips on how to, perhaps, beat him at his own game.
“I bragged to everyone that Mankoff had suggested I write the book because I never thought it would actually get published,” Wood says.
But it was, by St. Martin’s Press in June. The book, which features a foreword by Mankoff, takes readers behind the scenes to learn about the contest’s history, the way it’s judged, and what it has to say about humor, creativity and good writing. Wood also wanted to honor the cartoonists who gave him his platform, so he included 175 of The New Yorker’s best cartoons and used most of his $1 million advance to pay the cartoonists for the rights to republish them.
Now that the book’s a concrete reality, Wood has shifted his focus to making it successful. In addition to sitting down with CC Magazine, he’s authored a companion article for The Atlantic, in which his signature humor comes through.
“I have entered more than 900 contests,” he writes, “losing almost all of them.”
Love at a Girls’ School
By Diana Altman ’63
This funny and touching collection of short stories previously published in the Notre Dame Review, North American Review, The Sea Letter and other respected literary journals, includes several set at an institution that may feel quite familiar to regular readers of CC Magazine. Using her penetrating eye, wicked sense of humor and vivid imagination, Diana Altman shares her take on college life in the 1960s.
Listen, Wonder, Ask
By Elly Berke ’09
of his art, one that positions nature as a hidden but vital core of his work.
In the Life Ever After
By Alice K. Boatwright ’69
When Nadine asks a new friend if she has a coming-here story too, she sets off a chain of neighbors and new friends asking thoughtful, curious questions and listening to those around them. This lyrical, pay-it-forward story encourages children to engage with those around them and see each similarity and difference as part of the colorful landscape of community.
Nabokov’s Secret Trees
By Stephen H. Blackwell ’87
In nearly all his literary works, Vladimir Nabokov inscribed networks of trees to create meaningful patterns of significance around one or more of his passionate interests—in consciousness, memory, creativity, epistemology, ethics and love. This book explores this neglected area
In book three of the Ellie Kent mystery series, Ellie and Graham Kent finally take a honeymoon, but their holiday mood is interrupted by the news that convicted murderer Corinna Matthews has been released from prison. Ellie’s efforts to support Corinna are complicated by her increasing doubts about what really happened 15 years earlier, as well as by a disturbingly suspicious death in the present.
Bare Nipples: Poetic Stops on My Healing Journey
By Blair Nichols Chandler ’83
This interactive book of sacred intimate poetry touches on love, death, dreams, longing, shame and personal passions to help readers find their voice, inspiration, healing and compassion in their own experiences and truths.
I’m Here to Ask for Your Vote: How Presidential Campaign Visits Influence Voters
By Christopher J. Devine
’06
Ink & Tracks
those campaign visits make a difference come Election Day? If so, how and under what conditions? Devine, an associate professor of political science at the University of Dayton, provides a comprehensive analysis of the strategy and effectiveness of presidential campaign visits.
Twelve Feminist Lessons of War
By Cynthia Enloe ’60
Drawing on firsthand experiences of war from women in Ukraine, Myanmar, Somalia, Vietnam, Rwanda, Algeria, Syria and Northern Ireland, Twelve Feminist Lessons of War shows how women’s wars are not men’s wars. With her engaging trademark style, Cynthia Enloe demonstrates how patriarchy and militarism have embedded themselves in our institutions and our personal lives.
How Technology, Social Media, and Current Events Profoundly Affect Adolescents
By
Mark A. Goldstein and Myrna Chandler Goldstein ’70
During presidential campaigns, candidates crisscross the country nonstop. But do all
Using research and clinical studies, this husband-and-wife team examines 18 contemporary issues—including sleep, stress, anxiety, depression, substance use, cyberbullying, racism and poverty—and their impact on the biological, psychological and social domains in adolescents. An analysis of current events, including the COVID pandemic and war, completes the book.
Ink & Tracks
Treatments for Anxiety: Fact Versus Fiction
By Myrna Chandler Goldstein ’70 and Mark A. Goldstein
This book examines 25 well-known and well-studied options for combating anxiety, including first-line treatments such as benzodiazepines, SSRIs and cognitive behavioral therapy, as well as complementary modalities such as animal therapy, exercise and dietary supplements. Each entry discusses a treatment’s origins and underlying principles, how and in what contexts it is used, and potential side effects and risks.
Downfall of the Straight Line
By Charles O. Hartman,
Lucy Marsh Haskell ’19 Professor Emeritus of English
Charles Hartman’s eighth book of poems vibrates with dazzling rhythms, masterful syntax, linguistic wit, and descriptions that are precise and surprising at the same time. From a dead backyard tree to a Greek city, from a lovers’ bed to a lost lover, the poems display both intellectual depth and emotional complexity.
Distant Journeys
By David Katzenstein ’76
This visual chronicle of humanity takes readers on photographer David
Katzenstein’s 49-year artistic journey through 37 countries. Drawn from an exhaustive body of work, the 120 duotone images taken between 1974 and 2023 are thoughtfully accompanied by excerpts from The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles.
The Future Was Now
By Chris Nashawaty ’91
In the summer of 1982, eight science fiction films were released within six weeks of one another: E.T., Tron, Star Trek: Wrath of Khan, Conan the Barbarian, Blade Runner, Poltergeist, The Thing, and Mad Max: The Road Warrior. Expertly researched, energetically told and written with an unabashed love for the cinema, The Future Was Now is a chronicle of how a revolution sparked in a galaxy far, far away finally took root and changed Hollywood forever.
If Anything Happens to Me
By Luanne Rice ’77
This heart-pounding young adult thriller from New York Times bestselling author Luanne Rice follows two girls desperate to catch a murderer still on the loose. Eight months after the body of Eloise Parrish is found in the woods, the case is growing cold, and only Eloise’s sister, Oli, seems to care. But then Oli finds another girl left for
dead, in the exact spot Eloise’s body was found. The two girls join forces to unravel a mystery that is all too real— and all too dangerous.
MAJIKAL
By Ben Robinson ’82
Following his 2020 autobiography/film
The Outlaw Hero, Ben Robinson offers what is “MAJIKAL” about pop culture, the zeitgeist and strife vs. enlightenment. From ancient acupuncture to 21st-century body piercing, this non-traditional book— featuring cover art by Charles Chu— contains humorous, insightful essays on master actor Gary Swanson, the CIA’s first nonfiction magician John Mulholland, little-known facts about the legendary Houdini, and much more.
We Had Fun and Nobody Died
By Amy T. Waldman ’81
with Peter Jest
This entertaining and irreverent biography provides a rare window into the music industry from a fiercely independent promoter’s perspective. Documenting decades of rock, folk and alternative shows, it’s an inspiring story of a oneof-a-kind character whose stubborn streak, soft-heartedness and love of music helped him put Milwaukee on the live music map.
Game Face
Camel defender Sarah Hobbs ’25 powers past a University of Saint Joseph player in women’s soccer action on Freeman Field in September.
Sean D. Elliot
FORWARD TOGETHER
BY MELISSA BABCOCK JOHNSON
A few months into her tenure, President Andrea E. Chapdelaine is invested, excited and determined to do the hard work.
President Chapdelaine on campus walking her bernedoodle, Koda
It feels strange to imagine the new president of Connecticut College, Andrea E. Chapdelaine, ever being alone. Sure, she goes for solo sunrise runs and likes to have a few minutes to herself in her office each morning, but people are central to her life and work—and that’s been the case for a long time. On campus, Chapdelaine often eats meals with students at Harris Refectory and attends their evening events. She makes a concerted effort to have face time with faculty and staff, sometimes walking into academic and administrative buildings just to say hello, and she immerses herself in events in the greater New London community. Meanwhile, in her house near the Williams Street entrance to the Arboretum, her husband of 29 years, David Tetreault, and their bernedoodle, Koda—short for Kodachrome—keep her company. The couple’s grown sons, Daniel and Benjamin, live short car rides away. And now, her extended family will see more of her, too.
Chapdelaine grew up in western Massachusetts as the youngest of five children whose grandparents all emigrated from Canada. The family spent weekends at Misquamicut Beach in Rhode Island and winters ice fishing and snowmobiling at Mount Monadnock in New Hampshire. “It was a good childhood, it really was,” Chapdelaine says. “My dad and mom were very committed to their faith and family. We were everything to them.”
Chapdelaine’s father, William, left school in eighth grade to help support his mother and siblings and earned his high school diploma later, while working full-time. Her mother, Jacqueline, spent two years studying at Boston College before leaving to start a family. “They both dreamed of a college education for their children,” Chapdelaine says, “and we were really blessed that they were going to do what they could to make that happen.”
set the course of Chapdelaine’s career. “Throughout my life—all the way back to Sister Jean in first grade—I’ve been fortunate to have amazing teachers,” Chapdelaine says. “I’ve stayed close to my undergraduate adviser. She’s supported all the big professional milestones in my career, and that really made the difference for me. She got me excited about psychology and research and helped me understand graduate school and why that could be an opportunity.”
In graduate school, Chapdelaine worked as a teaching assistant and “fell in love with teaching,” she says. Another mentor advised her to consider teaching at a small liberal arts college. “He told me, ‘That probably is the place where you will be happiest.’”
So she did. After earning her Ph.D., Chapdelaine taught psychology first at Wabash College in Indiana, then at Trinity College in Connecticut and later at Albright College in Pennsylvania (where she also held several senior leadership roles).
As she took on more administrative responsibilities during her career, including moving curriculum and student services forward and fundraising for academic programs, Chapdelaine realized she could amplify her impact by making the jump to administration. While she admits it was hard to leave the classroom, she says she came to understand that “if I can help and support all the faculty and staff who are educating and supporting our students, then I can actually better serve students that way. And my success just kept growing until the point where mentors said, ‘You really need to start looking at a presidency.’”
When you’re talking about moving an entire institution forward, you can’t do that alone. The number one factor is the strength of the people around you.
—PRESIDENT ANDREA CHAPDELAINE
William opened the family business, Chap de Laine’s Interiors, Inc., in 1957. Every Saturday, the parents and each child who was able would clean, organize and “do whatever needed doing,” Chapdelaine remembers. “It was important that we all help and learn the value of hard work.” The commercial and residential furnishings company in South Hadley, Massachusetts, is still going strong today under the longtime leadership of Chapdelaine’s sister Lisanne.
‘A
MULTIGENERATIONAL IMPACT’
A focus on family, community and caring for others compelled Chapdelaine to study people. She earned a B.A. in psychology with a minor in justice studies from the University of New Hampshire and an M.A. and Ph.D. in social psychology from the University of Connecticut. Her thesis explored justice and satisfaction in interpersonal relationships.
It was her own relationships with the people around her that
In 2015, her work ethic, interpersonal skills and ability to rally people toward a common goal caught the attention of Hood College in Maryland, and she was appointed president. She served in that role—still teaching when possible—until she began her tenure as Conn’s 12th president in July.
Chapdelaine says she initially never imagined herself where she is now. “Earlier in my life, there was no thought of being a college president. I didn’t even know I’d be a college professor,” she says. “A lot of things happened through good mentors saying, ‘You need to look at this,’ and I was always brave enough to try it and it would work out—or not, on occasion. But it is amazing how much my psychology training prepared me for what I do every day, which is focus on building trust, relationships, listening, hearing many voices and coming to a place that hopefully most of us are comfortable with in terms of how we move forward.”
The support of her family—especially her husband and sons— has been essential, too. “Dave and I met while I was in graduate school, and he has now moved five times for my career,”
Chapdelaine says. “He stepped down from his career when our eldest was born to become a full-time caregiver, raising our sons
If I could, I would give access to every single student who could thrive and be happy and do well here at Conn.
— PRESIDENT ANDREA CHAPDELAINE
into the amazing young men they are today. I could not have worked as hard, taken advantage of all the opportunities and had a wonderful marriage and family without him.”
Throughout an interview with CC Magazine in Fanning Hall on a sunny September afternoon, her bronze camel statueadorned office illuminated by large windows overlooking Tempel Green, the president’s expression alternated between serious reflection and a warm smile. When the committee of faculty, staff, students and trustees tasked with finding Conn’s 12th leader announced in March that they had unanimously chosen Chapdelaine, they noted her enthusiasm throughout the interview process. Enthusiasm, she says, is in her DNA.
“I have a generally positive disposition, and I think that I inherited that from my family, who are social people,” she explains. “I also find myself getting energized by solving problems and serving students and seeing where I can make a difference. Who could not stay motivated and excited about doing the job that all of us here are doing? We are transforming students’ lives and making a multigenerational impact. Our students are going out and doing amazing things.”
Chapdelaine says the people she met during her interviewing and onboarding at Conn were transparent and forthright, so nothing about the College has surprised her. Rather, she makes pleasant, but not unexpected, discoveries all the time. Among those, she says, are the strength and range of opportunities for students in and outside of the classroom and the agency Conn
gives to students to carve their paths and to be leaders. “I’m absolutely loving the voice of the students here, the strength of their role in governance, and how much I can lean on student leaders who are thoughtful, smart and engaged.”
COMMITMENT AND COMMUNITY
At 113 years old, Connecticut College is not immune to the challenges many institutions of higher education face—aging infrastructure, a demographic cliff, rising costs and shrinking revenues. But these hurdles only fuel Chapdelaine’s passion. “Those are scary challenges, hard challenges,” she acknowledges, “but in some ways, they just make me more determined to do the hard work. I know how important this work is now more than ever.”
The confidence instilled by her track record bolsters that enthusiasm—Chapdelaine has successfully addressed similar challenges before. During her nine years leading Hood, she helped launch new academic programs, greatly expanded strategic partnerships, invested in employee compensation, grew enrollment, increased student retention, invested nearly $100 million in major campus renovations, grew the endowment by 103% and secured the largest gift in Hood’s history. And she learned a lot along the way. “I think the difference between my first and second presidency is I’m more decisive,” she says. “There are some urgent issues right now for Conn, and I’m glad I have more of a sense of the right path forward than perhaps I would have had the first time around.”
Sean D. Elliot
President Chapdelaine speaks at the College’s 110th Convocation in August.
With her confidence also comes humility. “That doesn’t mean I’m not going to make mistakes,” she says. “Every college has different needs and different ways of approaching problems. I’m not assuming I know everything.” Instead, she looks to the people. “When you’re talking about moving an entire institution forward, you can’t do that alone. The number one factor is the strength of the people around you. The sense of commitment and community here was something that I absolutely had to feel was true before I would step in because I know we’re only going to get there together.”
But if she could wave a magic wand to solve one problem in higher education—and she actually does have a Dumbledore wand in her office, although its magic powers have yet to be proven—Chapdelaine says it would be accessibility. “There are bright people around this world who would benefit so much from a Conn education, and there are still barriers preventing that from happening. That is why philanthropy is so important, as it opens doors that might be shut otherwise. So, if I could, I would give access to every single student who could thrive and be happy and do well here at Conn.”
trust in the community as well. “It’s mutual. It’s a relationship and a shared belief in the power of what we can do together to serve our students. I need that for my own sense of agency, but I also recognize there’s no president who can make that happen alone. It has to be a communal trust, a belief in Conn that we all work and strive toward.”
We are transforming students’ lives and making a multigenerational impact.
— PRESIDENT ANDREA CHAPDELAINE
That includes Conn’s vast network of alumni. Chapdelaine says she enjoyed meeting many graduates during Reunion Weekend in June, and the enthusiasm was mutual. “What was very edifying for me was how excited they were to be back and how much their deep engagement with the College has continued, whether they were a five-year or 50year alum. They were very warm and welcoming and excited to see what will happen next for their beloved alma mater. Hearing those stories deepens my understanding of the institution and makes me a better president.”
Although Chapdelaine’s tenure has just begun, the fit on both sides appears more obvious every day.
Problem solving, though, is more often a slow climb. On one of her first days in office, Chapdelaine said one of her priorities was to “earn the trust of Connecticut College.” She expanded upon that more recently, pointing out that she’s building her
“When we were weighing the move, I said to my husband, ‘Aside from all the professional reasons to accept this position, it is also personal, as it will enable us to be closer to family. If love is pulling us somewhere, how could that ever be a bad decision?’” Chapdelaine recalls. “I told him, ‘Conn is a place I know I will come to love, too.’”
After a quick pause, she adds, “I think I’m already there.”
From her first day on campus, President Chapdelaine has made interacting with students a priority. She holds regular open office hours for students, staff and faculty.
Sean D. Elliot
President Chapdelaine with her husband, David Tetreault, and Koda in the Arboretum
Sean D. Elliot
PLANT DETECTIVE
Vermont State Botanist Grace Glynn ’14 is on the hunt for rare and endangered plants.
BY JENNA RUSSELL
For those who rarely search for anything beyond a misplaced set of keys or a cellphone, the life of a botanist might look impossibly poetic: combing through fields of wildflowers or perusing mossy riverbanks in search of elusive plants with names like handsome sedge and rough false pennyroyal.
The whimsical image fit when the state of Vermont announced last month that a plant thought to be locally extinct—false mermaidweed—had been found through a chain of events that seemed stolen from a fairy tale.
It began with a sharp-eyed turtle biologist for the state, Molly Parren. She had been out surveying the habitat of wood turtles in rural Addison County on May 7 when she spotted some wild meadow garlic, which is extremely rare, beside a stream. Parren snapped a photo and sent it to her colleague, Grace Glynn ’14, Vermont’s state botanist. ►
Left: Grace Glynn ’14, Vermont’s state botanist, surveying false mermaid-weed.
But when Glynn opened the photo, another plant, visible in the foreground, seized her attention. She knew at once what it was: Floerkea proserpinacoides, or false mermaid-weed, an herb that had not been documented in Vermont for more than a century, and one that Glynn had sought in vain for years.
She called Parren right away. “You won’t believe what you just found!” she told her. Then Glynn called her friend Matt Charpentier, a field botanist in Massachusetts who had helped her look for false mermaid-weed in Vermont in recent years while pursuing a similar search in Massachusetts.
“She said ‘Are you sitting down?’ and immediately I knew she’d found Floerkea,” he said of the phone call. “It was the right time of year.”
(An “excitable person” by his own admission, Charpentier said he once became so fired up after hearing that an endangered plant had been located—American chaffseed, rediscovered on Cape Cod in 2018—that he backed into another car in a parking lot.)
“There was a lot of screaming,” Glynn acknowledged of her own reaction when she noticed the Floerkea in the photo.
Unassuming and easily overlooked, false mermaid-weed appears in late April, flowers for about a month and retreats by early June. Its delicate features, including flowers just a centimeter wide, make it hard to see and identify.
Its name refers to its superficial resemblance to marsh
mermaid-weed, an aquatic plant that can adapt to live on muddy shorelines.
The day after the false mermaid-weed was spotted, Glynn rushed to the rural site to confirm its presence in person. She found a dense carpet—“so many plants, it was hard to imagine how they had been overlooked,” she said.
And yet her disbelief was familiar. “It happens a lot, people saying, ‘We couldn’t have missed that,’” she said. “But we do, and we’re humbled over and over—I love that.”
Far from an anomaly, rediscoveries of plants thought to be extinct are a relatively regular feature of field botany. The bulk of a botanist’s work is looking for and documenting rare and endangered plants, and using that knowledge to try to protect them, said Glynn, who acquired her expertise as a botany major at Conn and in the field naturalist program at the University of Vermont.
Lacking a staff to deploy, she also relies on field reports from far-flung botany enthusiasts who, like Parren, send in their own sightings.
Combing through the state’s forests, bogs and meadows, Glynn keeps dozens of lost-but-not-forgotten species in mind, drawn from a state list of some 600 such plants that is updated every few years. Each bears a rarity rating, from S3 and S2 (somewhat rare) to S1 (extremely rare) and SH. The H stands
Left: A false mermaid-weed habitat in Vermont. Right: Seeds of false mermaid-weed.
for historical, meaning that the plant was once found in Vermont but that it has not been seen in decades and may be gone.
Botanists convene at regular meetings to ponder the status of each species.
It’s a little like sending your child off to college ... You’re happy because you want them to be independent, but it’s also a little sad.
— Grace Glynn ’14
“It’s like, ‘Next up, red-root flatsedge—what do you think? Are you seeing it?’” Glynn said. “Some rare plants are doing well, expanding, so there is downranking—moving them from S1 to S2, for example.”
Among those doing well is Crepidomanes intricatum, or weft fern, a “weird” specimen that lives in caves and looks like “a fluff, or a little Brillo pad,” she said. Once ranked S1, it has moved to S3 and may drop off the list altogether, a milestone that can elicit mixed emotions.
“It’s a little like sending your child off to college,” Glynn said. “You’re happy because you want them to be independent, but it’s also a little sad.”
Tricky as it is to find elusive species, it is harder to pinpoint why they thrive or dwindle, and how such shifts might be related to a changing climate. Flooding is cited as one possible factor in the disappearance of false mermaid-weed from
Vermont. And yet flooding in the state last summer may have helped it flourish by the stream where it was found, Glynn said, by depositing sediment and creating a more hospitable habitat.
To help preserve the species, she will send some Floerkea seeds to a seed bank in Massachusetts that houses more than 230,000 seeds of rare plants native to New England as a backup for an uncertain future.
She has also updated the status of the plant, scrolling through a drop-down menu on her computer screen and clicking once to switch Floerkea’s rating from SH—a plant once known, but lost—to S1, extremely rare, but undeniably present.
“It’s a glimmer of hope,” Charpentier said of such occasions, “in an otherwise grim world.”
Associate Professor of Anthropology and College Archaeologist Anthony Graesch, right, and students conduct a formal archaeological survey on a field adjacent to the lower athletic fields in 2023.
Sean D. Elliot
LONG JOURNEY HOME
BY MELISSA BABCOCK JOHNSON
Four decades after they were accidentally unearthed on Conn grounds, the remains of an Indigenous American have been repatriated.
Sometime in the 16th or 17th century, an Indigenous North American individual died and was carefully buried on land near the banks of what we now call the Thames River. This ancestor, who likely descended from one of the many tribal communities who lived in the territories known today as Connecticut, would rest in peace for hundreds of years.
By 1981, European settlers and their descendants had long overtaken the area, the Industrial Revolution had given way to the Space Age and Connecticut College was celebrating 70 years since its founding. While land was being cleared to make way for a new athletic field near the campus riverfront in March of that year, a bulldozer operator inadvertently uncovered human remains.
Construction was halted temporarily upon the discovery, and Harold Juli, then an assistant professor in Conn’s Anthropology Department, was called to the scene. Certain aspects of the burial indicated to Juli that the person was likely Native American and, as was customary in anthropology at the time, he began a three-day salvage excavation to remove the bones before construction continued.
During or after 1982—no records have been found— Juli transferred the remains to Marc Kelley, a biological anthropologist specializing in the study of human bones at the University of Rhode Island. Juli and Kelley eventually co-authored a report on the discovery.
According to an article published in The Day shortly after the ancestor was unearthed, Juli said he would notify the Connecticut Indian Affairs Council about the discovery, which he did later that month. In his letter, he explained that a “prehistoric Indian” burial had been exposed, damaged and scientifically excavated.
Yet even at the time, Juli seemed to sense that longstanding anthropological practices would eventually need to be rethought.
“Connecticut Indians have become concerned about what happens to the bones of their ancestors after chance excavations,” Day reporter Steven Slosberg wrote at the time. “Juli said the potential exists for argument over whether the remains should be reinterred or preserved for scientific and historic value.”
In the end, it would take more than 40 years, a federal push and a stroke of luck to bring the ancestor home.
NATIONAL RECKONING
Across the United States, Indigenous remains and artifacts were historically treated as objects to collect, study and even display. Descendants of native people have long pushed back, arguing tribes should be consulted on the care of their unearthed ancestors and remains should be repatriated whenever possible. Yet for most of U.S. history, there weren’t any laws protecting Indigenous remains or established protocols for returning them to their tribes.
That changed in 1990, when Congress created a roadmap to navigate these emotionally fraught situations with the passing of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). The law states that human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects or objects of cultural patrimony determined to be of Native American or Native Hawaiian origin must be returned to the tribe or organization from which they originate, if that can be determined. The law also established procedures that institutions receiving federal funding must follow if Indigenous remains are unearthed on their property, or if a federally funded institution takes control of the remains, and called for all remains and associated
The remains of 96,488 Native Americans had yet to be repatriated as of September 2023.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
The Thames River region is the ancestral home of several Connecticut tribes.
Conn students regularly participate in formal archaeological site surveys and data collection.
funerary objects to be inventoried in consultation with potentially affiliated tribes by 1995.
But adherence has been slow, hindered by lack of funding and staffing, poor historic record keeping and the general difficulty of establishing a link to a specific tribe. In September 2023, the United States Department of the Interior’s NAGPRA Review Committee reported to Congress that just 54.8% of the 213,466 Indigenous remains reported had been repatriated in the 33 years since NAGPRA’s passing.
Some institutions had attempted to skirt the law by designating much or all of their related collections as “culturally unidentifiable.” A January 2024 amendment to NAGPRA does away with this designation option, stating institutions and federal agencies must defer to the Native American traditional knowledge of lineal descendants, tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations when attempting to determine the origin of unearthed bones or artifacts. Under the amendment, institutions must also obtain “free, prior and informed consent” from these groups before displaying objects or conducting research on human remains and cultural items.
The independent, nonprofit newsroom ProPublica reported in 2023 in its Repatriation Project that just 10 institutions hold about half of the reported Native American remains in the U.S. that have not been made available for return to tribes. In March of 2023, nearly 90% of the approximately 204 unreturned remains taken from sites across Connecticut were located at the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History in New Haven. On its website, the museum states it has increased staff and funding to support its extensive and ongoing repatriation efforts.
A RIGHTFUL RETURN
For years, no one knew what had become of the ancestor unearthed at Connecticut College. Juli and Kelley both died in 2007, and knowledge of the ancestor’s whereabouts disappeared with them.
But in November of 2022, Fiona Jones, then the NAGPRA coordinator at URI, came upon a box of remains in an archaeological repository. The only external label read “CC7,” and there wasn’t much else to go on. Yet Jones, who had previously assessed some of Juli’s work at a different institution, thought she recognized Juli’s labeling method. Another clue was a small piece of paper that noted a date from March of
Sean D. Elliot
Francis Sesenaya ’24 sifts soil from a test pit.
1981 and an identified quadrant, which archaeologists use as a measurement of excavation.
“This led me to believe that this was most likely the work of a professional archaeologist in March of 1981 and Harold Juli—and therefore, Connecticut College—could have been involved,” said Jones.
She contacted Conn’s Associate Professor of Anthropology and College Archaeologist Anthony Graesch, and the two compared the description of the box’s contents with Juli’s lab notes about the remains unearthed on Conn grounds to officially confirm Jones’s hunch.
“It was definitely a feeling of relief,” said Jones, who recently left URI to pursue a Ph.D. in anthropology at Syracuse University. “Unfortunately, it can happen that human remains become unidentifiable and end up staying at the institution. When I first started inventorying CC7, I really thought that might be the case.”
Graesch, who had long hoped the ancestor might someday be found, immediately contacted Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Historic Preservation Officer Michael Kickingbear Johnson and Mohegan Tribal Historic Preservation Officer James Quinn to inform them that their tribes could begin the process of repatriation. At long last, the ancestor was repatriated and laid to rest in November 2023.
“Sadly, it’s pretty common where an ancestor who was unearthed ends up miles and miles away from their original homeland. The goal is to have these ancestors returned,” Johnson said. “Through the process of repatriation, we eventually know our ancestors are home, safe and respectfully at rest as originally intended.”
A NEW WAY FORWARD
Interim Vice President for Administration Justin Wolfradt says his team now works with Graesch and Arboretum Director Maggie Redfern at the outset of campus projects.
“Through this collaboration, we were able to identify and preserve the majority of a historically significant rock wall while designing the new East Lot, which relocates faculty and staff parking to enable the Crozier Boulevard Pedestrian Promenade and Crozier-Plex Pedestrian Connector projects,” Wolfradt said. “This partnership allows us to work together to find ways to make campus improvements, while at the same time mitigating the impacts to important cultural and natural resources wherever possible.”
Advances in technology are also helping to usher in a new era of non-invasive archaeological study. For example, one of Graesch’s first actions as college archaeologist was to apply for a Connecticut State Historic Preservation Office grant in early 2023 to help fund a geophysical survey of the area where the ancestor was discovered in 1981.
“Once the repatriation process started, one of the more immediate tasks I set out to address was whether there were more ancestors needing care,” Graesch explained.
Oncethe repatriation process started, one of the more immediate tasks I set out to address was whether there were more ancestors needing care.
— ANTHONY GRAESCH, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF ANTHROPOLOGY AND COLLEGE ARCHAEOLOGIST
In the summer of 2022, shortly before the ancestor was rediscovered at URI, dead ash trees were removed from Conn’s waterfront. During the process, no human remains were uncovered, but an archaeological site was unintentionally disturbed.
That incident spurred Conn to create the college archaeologist position and institute new processes to protect important archaeological sites and cultural heritage resources, including several dozen known Indigenous and settler-colonist burials near the Thames River waterfront.
As the inaugural college archaeologist, Graesch serves as a consultant to help minimize the likelihood of damaging or destroying archaeological resources, works to build ongoing heritage-related curriculum and education at Conn, and develops and deepens relationships with tribal historic preservation officers.
To complete the study, the College partnered with TerraSearch Geophysical, a company known for their expertise and training in ethical archaeological practice.
“They used non-invasive groundpenetrating radar and magnetometry to determine the presence or absence of subsurface cultural features, including human burials,” Graesch said. “Conn students from multiple classes had the opportunity to visit the site and were introduced to the methods of geophysical survey, and several students participated in data collection.”
The surveys, conducted in October and November of 2023, revealed at least 10 features below one of the athletic fields, most or all of which are highly likely to be burials, Graesch said.
Dean of Students Victor Arcelus, who oversees Athletics and partnered with Graesch’s team and the Dean of the Faculty division to support the surveys, said that as a result of the discovery, varsity track and field javelin and discus throwing events are being relocated and club rugby will no longer play on the field. “We are committed to partnering with our tribal neighbors to respectfully care for any Indigenous human remains and artifacts on our campus, and we want to reduce the risk of them being disrupted in the future,” he said.
TerraSearch returned to campus in summer of 2024 to conduct three new geophysical surveys, and the data from those surveys are still being processed. Johnson says the tribes realize that most burials are disturbed unintentionally and welcome this non-invasive approach to archaeology and campus planning.
Timeline of Events
Ancestor dies and is buried along the banks of what is now the Thames River.
Ancestor is accidentally unearthed during athletic field construction at Conn.
Juli sends remains to Kelley at URI for analysis.
We’re not necessarily trying to stop development, but many tribes look out for their interests in these culturally sensitive areas.
PEQUOT TRIBAL HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICER
KICKINGBEAR JOHNSON
“We’re not necessarily trying to stop development, but many tribes look out for their interests in these culturally sensitive areas,” he said. “From cultural stone landscapes to highly sensitive places such as a burial site, if we can develop a respectful and constructive working relationship with a university, that is the best outcome.”
In May, Graesch organized the first summit on campus for Connecticut College senior administrators, faculty and staff and ambassadors from local Connecticut tribes. The summit focused on how the College stewards Indigenous cultural heritage as well as the opportunities for education and research collaborations centering on Indigenous history, culture and the unresolved process of colonialism, Graesch said. “At the core of the conversation were issues of racial justice, cultural respect, sovereignty,
reconciliation and legal and ethical obligations. It was a remarkably powerful and impactful meeting.”
Johnson, who attended the summit, said the area’s tribes appreciate their growing partnership with the College.
“We would like to continue building a relationship with Conn and other institutions, including seeking opportunities to educate the public about our unique Indigenous cultures,” he said, adding that he can only speculate on the life led by the ancestor now returned to a rightful resting place.
“Our ancestors walked these lands since time immemorial. When people are buried, it’s with a purpose, and we always hope that they lived a good life. Like other families, we just want them to be able to rest in peace.”
—MASHANTUCKET
MICHAEL
Government passes NAGPRA.
Juli and Kelley publish a report on the ancestor.
Juli and Kelley die; no records are left to indicate location of remains.
Jones makes possible connection between box of remains and Conn. Graesch confirms.
Ancestor repatriated and laid to rest.
STATE of the PRESS
At a crucial moment for America, journalism is at a crossroads. Can it be saved?
BY TIM STEVENS ’03
“No experiment can be more interesting than that we are now trying, and which we trust will end in establishing the fact that man may be governed by reason and truth. Our first object should therefore be to leave open to him all the avenues to truth. The most effectual hitherto found is the freedom of the press.”
—Thomas Jefferson
It has not been a stellar year for journalism. In January, the Los Angeles Times fell into what the Daily Beast labeled a death spiral, dismissing at least 115 employees from its newsroom. That same week, Business Insider terminated 8% of its newsroom and TIME magazine laid off roughly 15% of its unionized workforce.
Even specialized fields once thought untouchable found themselves brutalized by the tide. Massive layoffs in February gutted Sports Illustrated, once the premier voice in sports journalism. This came only five years after SI dismissed 30% of its staff following the magazine’s purchase by the brandmanagement firm Authentic Brands Group. Pitchfork, previously one of the most successful internetnative publications, halved its staff as it was folded into GQ by parent company Condé Nast.
Near the end of February, Columbia Journalism Review called out the early months of 2024 as an incredibly dark time in journalism’s history. It cited the loss of more than 800 reporter jobs, including 300 in one swipe with the shuttering of The Messenger. The cutbacks didn’t stop there, either. In mid-August, Axios laid off around 50 employees. At the same time, Slate cut several, including Joel Anderson, a writer and podcaster who scored a “Best Podcast of the Year” Ambie for the outlet only five months earlier. That’s all on the heels of “over 2,500 layoffs in broadcast, print and digital news media” in 2023, according to Columbia.
And yet, in the midst of an election campaign that many argue could determine the future of the American democratic experiment, the need for reliable, accurate reporting has never been greater.
At this pivotal juncture, CC Magazine asked alumni journalists and experts: Can journalism be saved?
NOT BUSINESS AS USUAL
The advent of the internet sent a fledgling Information Age into overdrive. No longer did Americans have to wait for news to leave the printing press and ride on a truck or in the basket of a bicycle to their front porches. News was more accessible than ever before in human history.
But news organizations, which had long relied on advertising dollars, saw their business models in peril. eBay quickly killed the classified ad. Traditional advertisers were slower to make the switch, but 31 years after the launch of the World Wide Web, the impact on the industry is abundantly clear. ►
“As tech behemoths like Google and Facebook have taken more and more of the advertising dollars that used to fund a robust lineup of reporting in print, television and online, many outlets have failed,” says Joshua Green ’94, Bloomberg Businessweek’s senior national correspondent and political reporter. “Or [they’ve] been acquired by rapacious private equity companies with no sense of civic obligation or responsibility, which have bled them dry or reduced them to a shell of what they once were.”
That’s exactly what happened to the Standard-Times of New Bedford, Massachusetts, says Daniella Melo ’04, founder and board member of the independent nonprofit publication The New Bedford Light.
“It was bought and sold several times, first by News Corp, then by a private equity firm [Fortress Investment Group]. Each time, progressively more people are fired and the paper gets smaller. The coverage lessens. Soon, there was very little investigative reporting happening,” Melo says. “And that has happened to a lot of papers across the United States.”
Freelance reporter Tara Law ’14 says the pressure on those who remain is immense.
THE ‘TRUMP BUMP’
Since the heyday of Yellow Journalism in the late 1800s, when New York newspaper tycoons William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer locked themselves into an epic circulation battle, one thing has been clear: sensationalism sells.
In the modern era, there’s one particular catalyst who has sent shock waves through the industry.
The biggest change in my field of political journalism—by a factor of 10—has been the rise, fall and possible resurrection of Donald Trump.
— Joshua Green ’94, Bloom B er G Businessweek’s senior national correspondent
“There’s a sense that we’re always racing. There’s pressure to publish much faster. Junior reporters have fewer opportunities to build up a place in a field now because they’re expected to be generalists. It makes it harder to publish truly in-depth pieces that are much more important for readers,” she says.
Martha Joynt Kumar ’63, an emeritus professor of political science at Towson University and director of the White House Transition Project, has spent decades recording and analyzing the relationship between journalists and the White House. A scholar of the presidency and the press, she’s gravely concerned about the degradation of news at the local level— and its impact on the national level.
“So many newspapers have gone out of business, leaving many areas important to citizens uncovered: budgeting at the local level, actions of the citizen council that people are asked to vote for,” she says.
“At the same time, the Associated Press is so important to bringing national news to the local level, but with fewer and fewer papers, it makes it more difficult for them to operate. We’re having a paucity of information that’s critical in a democratic society.”
“The biggest change in my field of political journalism—by a factor of 10—has been the rise, fall and possible resurrection of Donald Trump,” says Bloomberg’s Green, who is also the author of the New York Times bestseller Devil’s Bargain: Steve Bannon, Donald Trump and the Storming of the Presidency.
“For reasons I still can’t fully comprehend, he’s an object of endless fascination and controversy for tens of millions of Americans across the political spectrum.”
That fascination translated into what Law refers to as the “Trump Bump” for the journalism industry, with the former president’s first two campaigns and time in office driving people to online publications and social media in record numbers.
There were positive effects, including a greater public interest in political journalism and the inner workings of government and skyrocketing participation in elections, Green says. But the news wasn’t all good.
“It had plenty of negative effects, too, including, on the journalistic front, a diminution of interest and support for local and non-Trump national journalism.”
The COVID pandemic coincided with the 2020 election cycle, further driving interest in national news.
But as life slowly began to return to normal and President Joe Biden officially assumed office in 2021, there was a noticeable shift in public attention.
“You had a lot of people following what Trump was doing, but I think people also became exhausted,” Joynt Kumar says. “When Biden came into office, they were just less interested in following the news. You can see that in the difficulties he’s had as president getting coverage of what he was doing.”
Law, who covered the pandemic for TIME, says that outcome isn’t wholly surprising.
“Each time there’s a bump, a down period follows,” she notes. “Publications struggle to get the same numbers of readers online. There was also a concern about a possible impending economic downturn triggering a loss of advertisers for publications; that led to another contraction. Then, it becomes a scramble to hold on to readers by seizing on to big news events.”
UNPRECEDENTED ELECTION
Trump becoming a known quantity and thus more predictable— insofar as that term can ever be applied to him—seems to have blunted the “bump” this cycle. Democrats, on the other hand, have provided plenty of surprises. Biden announced he was ending his re-election campaign on July 21, following a poorly received debate performance and intense speculation about how his age, at 81, might impede his ability to do the job. Vice President Kamala Harris’s rapid ascension to the nomination and the subsequent selection of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate provided more fodder for journalists.
Christopher Devine ’06, an associate professor of political science at the University of Dayton and author of Do Running Mates Matter? The Influence of Vice Presidential Candidates in Presidential Elections, says Biden’s exit from the race marked a shift in media coverage.
“Instead of talking about policy, records and credentials, so much of the conversation was bogged down by this debate about Biden’s ability to serve—‘Is he going to get out? When is he going to get out? Should he get out?’ I think a lot of people were exhausted by it,” he points out.
“So, strange as it sounds, when Harris took over, there was the chance for a more ‘normal’ campaign. It wasn’t just about if someone was too old to serve in the role. Although that conversation can still be had about Donald Trump, it’s just not being discussed at the same level as it was when Biden was a candidate.”
Despite the unprecedented nature of Harris’s candidacy, Devine says the media fell into a familiar trap as she worked to select a running mate.
“We did see a lot of media focus on who could deliver a swing state. And one thing I’ve been very critical about when it comes to the vice presidential selection process is—and this is based on data—the media talk a lot more about the electoral angles than they do about governing credentials, about whether this person is actually qualified to be the vice president of the United States and potentially the president. That’s problematic for a number of reasons.”
Still, there are bright spots. “Election coverage is still something that news organizations are willing to put the money into,” Joynt Kumar argues.
“I think ProPublica has been an example of success in a world that otherwise has brought us a lot of bad news. Their pieces on Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, for instance, kicked off an interest in ethics and the Supreme Court that is still being debated and discussed all this time later.”
Law agrees. “I still think there is great journalism being published right now—at local publications, nonprofit news sites, even larger papers like The New York Times.”
TIPPING POINT
Regardless of how the media rise to the occasion—or don’t—for the 2024 election cycle, the news won’t stop with the counting of electoral college votes and the challenges will remain. Are there paths to improving the journalistic landscape? Is it possible to
maintain journalistic ethics in the face of economic and political pressures?
Melo thinks so. “There is an understanding that there’s been a tipping point in the industry and new models are necessary,” she says. That’s what drove her to work with other members of her community to launch The New Bedford Light, a free, nonprofit, nonpartisan digital news outlet dedicated to community-based coverage of important local issues and funded through individual contributions, foundation grants, sponsorships, underwriting and partnerships with other local media outlets.
“We got tired of just complaining and so we tried to do something about it. And we’ve been quite successful in becoming part of this … revolution of local news coverage. It’s incredibly gratifying,” she says.
“Starting at the local level makes the most sense. That ensures reporters are part of the community and makes it easier to hold them accountable. That helps us build trust. We have a board that is completely separate from our newsroom. We go to great pains to maintain that journalistic independence, first and foremost.”
While The Light’s model is just one way of operating, Joynt Kumar and Law agree that it is essential to move away from outlet ownership by “hedge funds that want to see a 20% profit” year over year.
“I think the nonprofit model, at least for smaller publications, is the future,” says Law. “I’d like to see billionaires create endowments for journalism instead of just buying publications. I think this sense that publications need to be for-profit is shortsighted. For our country to get the level of news coverage it needs for the long-term, it’s going to be hard in a for-profit model.”
Art of Consumption
Ames Prize-winner Ciara McNamara ’24 exposes the spectacle of America’s food system.
BY AMY MARTIN
It was food that got Ciara McNamara ’24 into preschool. The budding artist remembers impressing the interviewers considering her for a spot at a school in her hometown of Brooklyn, New York, by describing an elaborate make-believe pizza.
“I confidently explained it contained all the meats and vegetables I could list in my 4-year-old brain,” she says.
McNamara, who double majored in studio art and psychology and minored in English at Conn, says she has always been fascinated by food. But it was while studying abroad in Rome in the spring of 2023—“eating her way through Europe,” finding new artistic inspiration and reckoning with the ethics and impact of her own meat consumption—that she decided to devote her senior year to diving deep into hyper-consumerism, food politics and waste in the United States.
“I felt flooded with ideas on how I could express food in my artwork,” she says.
The result, “The Spectacle of Consumption: I’m Lovin’ It,” is a multidimensional thesis featuring three collections of paintings, a series of pen-and-ink drawings, a found-object sculpture, an installation, and a 70-page written and illustrated component grappling with greed, corruption and crisis on a global scale.
“Simply put, there’s a lot of work and it is excellent,” says Associate Professor of Art and Art Department Chair Chris Barnard, who served as McNamara’s thesis adviser.
“Ciara’s combination of legible imagery and material experimentation packs a visceral punch and engages all viewers. The work is accessible, yet challenging without any contextual knowledge, and this is what I find to be its greatest strength. It does not tell viewers what to think, but engages—and at times, provokes— viewers, encouraging them to look more closely and reflect on what arises for them.”
McNamara’s artwork, including an installation that combined audio, visuals and scent to fully immerse the viewer in the production chain of a McDonald’s Big Mac, was on display as part of the Senior Art Major Thesis Exhibition in May in Conn’s Cummings Arts Center. It impressed the faculty committee charged with selecting the best thesis of the year, and McNamara was awarded the 2024 Oakes and Louise Ames Prize for most outstanding honors study at Conn’s 106th Commencement on May 19.
“Ciara’s work evidences high technical achievement and a great deal of experimentation,” Dean of the Faculty Danielle Egan said during the award presentation.
“While themes and influences overlap throughout, individual pieces reference specific artists and subject matter, further situating Ciara’s work within today’s contemporary art discourse.”
Now based in Brooklyn, McNamara is focused on launching her career in the art world. Two of her “Spectacle” works, Farm, Fast, Factory, Fresh and Vapes for Teens, were recently featured in the “Untitled Summer” exhibition at Chelsea Walls Gallery in Manhattan, and she plans to continue to specialize in art that addresses critical environmental issues.
“Shifting away from the food industry and hyper-consumerism would be impossible now ... I feel as though I have but dipped the very ends of my toes into the frightening yet compelling murky waters,” she says. “My senior project serves as a forward, or introduction, to the path of future research and artwork collections. I have planted the seeds that will continue to grow.”
Blood Fish, Fresh and Clean Oil, acrylic on canvas, wood panel 36 x 48 in.
Captions adapted from “The Spectacle of Consumption: I’m Lovin’ It” by Ciara McNamara ’24
Behind the Scenes, Bon(e) Appetit
Oil, acrylic on canvas, wood panel 36 x 48 in.
Behind the Scenes, Bon(e) Appetit and Blood Fish, Fresh and Clean (previous page) are part of my four-piece food industry series implicating food options and consumer choices at grocery stores, local markets, restaurants and fast-food chains. In Behind the Scenes, Bon(e) Appetit, a collage of images composed together suggests the ignorance that comes with fine dining. Food waste and general landfill waste are referenced through colorful, thickly dried globs of crusty oil paint. The two animated human figures sit in the top left and right sides of the painting, posing forward, in blissful oblivion, ignorant of the food that they are wasting as well as of the farmers and factory workers who prepared the food before it reached the restaurant. In Blood Fish,
Fresh and Clean, faults within the fishing industry are brought to the viewer’s attention through the abstracted jumbled imagery of muddy ocean species, a struggling sea lion and fish tangled in netting and other fishing equipment regularly dumped by commercial fishing vessels into the ocean after use. Within the murky shambled ocean, Disney’s Nemo and Marlin swim blissfully unaware of the massacre taking place around them. The painted ship is a Thai fishing ship featured in the film Ghost Fleet, which was thought to be carrying enslaved men. The juxtaposition of the ocean imagery with the market scene above forces the viewer to think more deeply about how to avoid unethical food practices, especially the consumption of “blood fish.”
Vapes for Teens
Oil on canvas 24 x 30 in.
In October of my senior year, Professor Chris Barnard lent me a heavy Wayne Thiebaud book and suggested I take a look at his work. I fell fast into a deep infatuation with Thiebaud’s marvelous and appetizing food paintings, neatly organized compositionally through tables stacked with cakes, meats and salads. I decided I wanted to do studies that paralleled Thiebaud’s style and focused on the hyper-consumerism of an individual item in the context of the well-groomed industrialized American ideal. Vapes for Teens is the third painting in my Thiebaud collection, and the one I believe most accurately accomplishes Thiebaud’s style.
Throughout my four years at Conn, the popularity of single-use, disposable and flavored electronic vapes has risen dramatically. Companies market these lithium ion-operated carcinogenic devices to teenagers with bright packages and tasty flavors. In my painting, the attractive silky ballerina ribbon-tied cellophane that surrounds the vapes, as well as their vibrant colors and intriguing flavors, purposely distorts all the dangers that come with buying one and draws attention to corporations’ toxic pressure on the consumer.
Austrian Cow Friends Pre-Slaughter Oil on canvas, wood panel 48 x 24 in.
While studying abroad in Rome, I took a short backpacking trip with my roommates. The last stop was a small village surrounding Attersee Lake, just east of Salzburg, Austria. The rental home we stayed in was on a tiny local farm, with stables of curious cows just below us. One of my roommates and I snuck into the stables one day and befriended the cows that resided there.
Later that day, I wandered down into another room, where many bottles filled with a moonshine-like substance labeled with Xs sat to one side of a counter, and a large meat slicer littered with crumbs sat to the other side. It seemed to be the room where the cows I had newly befriended might end up. When I think back on the journey that led me to become a vegetarian, I remember this as the moment in which I first contemplated if I would even want to continue eating meat.
This painting is part of my ongoing farm animal collection. During this part of the project, I shifted away from exposing disturbing problems with how we eat meat to humanizing the animals more directly.
See more of McNamara’s work at ciaramcnamara.squarespace.com.
Ciara McNamara ’24
Sean D. Elliot
Beautiful weather set the stage for a magical Reunion Weekend! We welcomed close to 900 alumni and friends back to campus—where the spirit of fun, camaraderie and Camel pride was on full display.
See the full Reunion photo gallery. ▶
Sean D. Elliot
CC Magazine welcomes your Class Notes and submissions. Please contact your class correspondent, email notes to classnotes@conncoll.edu or submit Class Notes online at: conncoll.edu/news/cc-magazine
denotes a Reunion class year. The next Reunion is May 30-June 1, 2025.
49
Jeanne Webber Clark, of Duxbury, Ma., died peacefully in her sleep in May with her three children at her bedside. At Conn, Jeanne majored in math and became lifelong best friends with her roommate, Esther Coyne Flanagan. Jeanne’s oldest daughter married Esther’s oldest son and the couple had four daughters, so the two best friends shared four grandchildren. Jeanne will be missed.
51
Correspondent: Mona Gustafson Affinito, forgivenessoptions@earthlink.net, 723 Water Street, Apt. 1001, Excelsior, MN 55331, 612-760-5007 How delightful to receive these responses to my June letter! Janet Young Witter is alive and well, living independently in her retirement community apartment. “Gave my car to my granddaughter on my 94th birthday. Life is confining, but a wise choice. I’m busy with bridge, book club and knitting groups. Chestertown, Md., a small college town, has lots of activities, particularly music and art. Elizabeth Ann Hotz and I were roommates for one year.” Jane Muir moved from Guilford, Conn., to Asheville, N.C., where she lives with her younger daughter and family. “I spend days working in the garden, going to the library and swimming at the Y—about a quarter of a mile, resting at each end. I’ve previously mentioned a UFO that I saw. I thought the government or someone would eventually reveal their handiwork. Forty years and nada! Not only that, originally it was written up in the New York Times, but now it has disappeared! I am in pretty good health although limping at times.” Jane Swett Lonsdale wrote, “Sorry it took me this long to answer your nice email! I did not make long-term friends at CC, mostly because I was placed in a junior dorm freshman year. However, it was through a junior gal that I met and married my wonderful husband, who wrote three books, which I edited. The first, featured in a full display in Brentano’s front windows, led to TV appearances like ‘Will the real Adrian Lonsdale please stand up?’ At one point his assignment was as the Coast Guard liaison to Hollywood, leading to more exciting and fun experiences. Unfortunately I lost the love of my life in April 2017. But I was lucky to have him that long.” Phyll Hoffman Driscoll challenged my June letter: “But there are not fifty-one ’51ers left. Nancy Libby Peterson died in November 2011. Her husband, Karl, died in December 2017. My husband, Frank, and I used to have lunch with Karl in Maine when visiting my daughter, Mary Jane, in New Hampshire.
Staying in touch with Nancy’s daughter, Patricia, via ‘letter’ Christmas cards, it’s fun to hear about Nancy’s talented granddaughters. Patricia, also very talented, just retired after 20 years teaching at MIT.” Barbara Wiegand Pillote’s June postcard said, “Hello from Bethany Beach! The family is here for a week celebrating Bob’s 95th birthday. Brings back memories of June ’48 when the North Cottagers came here.” Sue Askin Wolman started out with references to me which I am, of course, happy to share: “I was profoundly moved by your book My Father’s House. It resonated with me, as I also grew up in a home where my mother suffered from depression, and I know the impact on the family. To this day it arouses feelings of sadness for her. Interesting that we both ended up in the mental health field. By the way, your description of our CC days resonated. I’m impressed you’re still writing and look forward to your next book.” She added, “I want to assure you I am alive and
ing in Duluth, Minn. I love that the ship will deliver us close to home. Please keep sending news and forgive the editing for word-count requirements.
52
Eleanor Souville Minners passed away in Bethesda, Md., on June 11. She was 93. Eleanor majored in French at CC and then earned a master’s degree from NYU. Eleanor became a French professor at the University of Vermont and subsequently at the University of Virginia.
54
There
are some advantages to our advanced age!
— JOANNE WILLIAMS HARTLEY ’54
well. I moved to Roland Park Place, a retirement community, two years ago, after COVID. There are many Hopkins University and Hospital retirees here, plus others who’ve lived and worked in various parts of the world, so it’s a stimulating environment. I enjoy bridge, the symphony and the theater—especially the frequent concerts right here. Two of my children are nearby. My third loves working from home in Lewes, Del. I never expected to live this long (95) or to see our democracy threatened from within. I fear for our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. The hatred and violence, the wars, the damage to our climate, on and on … We can only hope things will turn around.” Harriet Bassett MacGregor’s super recordkeeping made the updated list of ’51 survivors possible. Finally, me, Mona Gustafson Affinito. Yes, I am still writing: A Healthy Woman Is a Crazy Person. I’m searching for an agent. Meanwhile, Doug (my son) and I, if all goes as planned, leave on Aug. 1 for a 15-day cruise down the Great Lakes, starting at Niagara Falls and end-
Correspondent: Joanne Williams Hartley, jodihartley69@icloud.com, 69 Chesterton Road, Wellesley, MA 02481, 617620-9385; Sally Ashkins Churchill, sachurchill@ comcast.net Louise Klump Tanner attended our 70th reunion with daughters Katie Cultrara and Beth Schwarz, and I joined her with my daughter, Margot Hartley MacArthur ’87. It was a beautiful, hot day in New London. The reunion committee combined our class with the Class of 1959 for an indoor luncheon and again for a lovely formal dinner. It was nice to be out of the heat and not have to tramp on the lawn carrying food; there are some advantages to our advanced age! Following the morning parade, all classes gathered in an auditorium to celebrate certain individuals and to hear from the interim president, who shared current issues facing CC and other small colleges in the aftermath of COVID, including deferred facility maintenance, loss of personnel, changes in
Class of 1949 group photo (likely taken in 1948) featuring Jeanne Webber Clark ’49 (top row, second from left) and Esther Coyne Flanagan ’49 (bottom row, second from left). Jeanne and Esther remained lifelong friends until Jeanne’s passing in May. Jeanne’s daughter Carol and Esther’s son Tom married and had four daughters, so the former roommates shared four grandchildren.
1954 70th Reunion (L-R): Margot Hartley MacArthur ’87, Jodi Williams Hartley ’54, Louise Klump Tanner ’54, and daughters Beth Schwarz and Katie Cultrara
student and alumni participation, etc. CC is active in making necessary improvements. We then met the new president of the College, Andrea E. Chapdelaine, Ph.D. From her brief remarks it is clear she is excited about her new position and enthusiastic about leading the school. A highlight of the afternoon was a tour of the waterfront facilities. CC has taken advantage of their extensive property and created fields and facilities that are a wonderful addition to the school. The school arranged for a boat to take us down the river and under the highway toward Long Island Sound. A popular activity, it attracted many people on a hot afternoon. Before Reunion I received a lovely note from Susan Greene Richards She has attended most Reunions and was disappointed to miss this one. She sends warm regards to all. She has moved to a lovely senior facility in western New Jersey, six minutes from son Peter. Son Andrew lives on Cape Cod, and she has four grandchildren. Her new home is on a large, lovely campus and offers many activities. Ann Marcuse Raymond also wrote that she would miss Reunion but would think of us all with fond memories. She was doing well; I hope to reach her for a phone visit. With deep regret I report the passing of Ann Heagney Weimer, who died peacefully surrounded by family on March 22. Ann was a wonderful classmate and a friend to all who knew her. She was born in Illinois but grew up in Cuba, spoke several languages and was engaged in social enterprises throughout her life. After graduation until her death she was a cheerleader and driving force within the Class of ’54. She is sorely missed; our deepest sympathies go to her family.
one in Georgia and one in Darien. She also has four grandchildren. She worked in real estate for years, buying rundown houses, renovating them and reselling them. Condolences to Joan Heller Winokur, who lost her dear daughter, Dale, to pancreatic cancer at the end of April. We think that Dale was the earliest child among all classmates. Joan published a book of poetry, Leaping Fences: Thoughts on Aging. If you’d like a copy, just send Joan $10 to cover mailing expenses. Her address is available from me or from the CC Office of Alumni and Parent Engagement. Joan also makes jewelry from glass beads, which she showcases at her senior residence in Fort Myers, Fla. Unfortunately, we have lost several classmates in recent years. Helen Morrison Elkus died in Atherton, Calif., in July 2023. She had been active in community affairs, including the board of the local high school and the board of ambassadors of Children’s Health. As a result of her contribu-
Trying to keep up with technology and the changes in the world ... and keeping positive.
— BETSY FROMENT BROWN ’60
Correspondent: Elaine Diamond Berman, 100 Riverside Blvd., Apt. 20C, New York, NY 10069, elainedberman@ comcast.net Elaine Manasevit Friedman and her partner, Bob, moved to Meadow Ridge, an assisted-living facility in Redding, Conn. Their oldest granddaughter, Mara Sara, is a 2024 magna cum laude graduate of Brandeis University, and her parents planned a busy celebration weekend in Boston. Mara majored in psychology and has job offers in the Boston area. She is also considering a program in Paris, teaching English to French students. Granddaughter Madeline, a junior at Tulane, is spending fall semester in Copenhagen. Their oldest grandson, William, is a sophomore at American University in D.C. and is quite happy there. His younger brother, Jack, is a junior at Collegiate, a prep school in New York, and involved in sports. Mary Goodnow White has been widowed for a number of years. She lives in a house on the Maine coast that her grandfather inherited. Mary keeps busy with the house’s large garden. Her two daughters also returned to Maine; one of them opened two restaurants near Damariscotta. Mary also has a son in Los Angeles, where her grandson runs a popular pizza parlor. Mary moved from Cape Cod, where she used to teach. Louisa Brown Miner lives on the family farm in Waterford, Conn. She taught science at a local middle school for many years. Louisa has a son, a daughter and four grandsons. Vanda Francese Baker has lived in Darien, Conn., since 1958. She has three children: one in California,
tions to the community, including a University of California at San Francisco lecture series in honor of her father, Dr. Lewis Francis Morrison, Helen received personal recognition from President Barack Obama. Helen and husband Richard had a son, two daughters, seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Jo Munigle died in August 2021. Her family and several friends were with her when she passed away. Jo had a Ph.D. from Cornell and was a postdoc at McGill. She worked for Ciba-Geigy and retired as a corporate vice president. Mary Burns McKee died in 2018, and Judith Clark Smultea died in 2019. I have no further details about their passing. If anyone knows anything about them, please contact me.
58Anne Richardson Johnson died on Dec. 14, 2023, in Blue Hill, Maine. The class conveys condolences to her husband, Ted, and their family. Anne was an active and valued member of her communities in Hartford, Conn., and Blue Hill, most recently as a leader in the Blue Hill Country Club. The class also sends heartfelt sympathy to the family of Jean Tierney Taub, who died on Oct. 13, 2023. Jean was an untiring worker for our class and Connecticut College. Not only our class agent chair for many years, she also served on the Alumni Association Board of Directors from 2006 to 2012. She was a class correspondent, class treasurer, and a member of our reunion committee. Jean was awarded the Agnes Berkeley Leahy Award in 2013. Her devotion to the College and generous spirit were truly inspirational. 59
Correspondents: Carolyn Keefe Oakes, carolynoakes07@gmail.com, 3333 Warrensville Center Road, Apt. 412, Shaker Heights, OH 44122, 216-752-5384 Carolyn Keefe Oakes shared a wonderful reunion weekend with alumni, especially noting the boat ride on the river and the development of our waterfront and boats. Roxandra “Ronnie” Illiaschencko Antoniadis lives in Mystic, Conn., in a senior-living place that is like a hotel. She has a Ph.D. in Comparative Lit and a master’s degree in social work. She worked with vets in New York and hopes to volunteer with them in New London. Also at Reunion was Carole Broer Bishop, who lives in Newburyport, Mass., and is part of a nonprofit all-volunteer group of neighbors who respond to cries for assistance with rides and repairs. She has a son about an hour away and a daughter in Vermont. Sara Gail Glidden Goodell, our reunion leader, visited her daughter in Maryland and also saw Olga Lehovich in her nursing home; Gail gave Olga a ride outside to see the flowers. Gail met a nurse from Ivory Coast who speaks French. Patricia Chambers Moore was escorted to the reunion lobster bake by her son, Todd, who is stationed at the Navy sub base working on underwater tactics. His son and daughter are in high school and looking at colleges. Cordelia (Corky) Dahlberg Benedict went on a dig around the Egyptian pyramids. Sandra (Sandy) Sidman Larson’s granddaughter graduated from medical school and her grandson from culinary school. She has two poetry books on Amazon. Lolly Espy Barton plays bass in a Dixieland jazz band and still plays by ear. Carolyn (Lynn) Graves Mitchell is in a chorus that performs at nursing homes and in a knitting group that knits for the homeless, plus she does drawings for a monthly newsletter. Edith (Edie) Berkowitz Hargreaves is a psychoanalyst in London and still supervises other analysts. Constance (Connie) Snelling McCreery is in the Vineyard chorus. Joella Werlin still works on the Shakespeare folios and does WWII reading and trips to Holocaust sites. Jean Alexander Gilcrest’s granddaughter graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno, and works in environmental areas. She received an award for getting the transportation to allow UNR students to ride the bus for free. It saved over 100,000 carbon emissions! Another granddaughter is in med-
Roxandra Antoniadis ’59 P’89 had a scarlet oak tree overlooking the Tempel Green soccer field dedicated in memory of her daughter Gabrielle Antoniadis ’89 on Aug. 2, 2024. Gabrielle, wife of Women’s Soccer Coach Norm Riker, passed away in October of 2023. Roxandra and Gabrielle spent many afternoons sitting under the tree watching soccer games with friends and family.
ical school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where they had two lockdowns. Her grandson owns a computer programming company mining for Bitcoin and has traveled to Turkey, France, and Saudi Arabia. Elisabeth (Hope) Gibson Hungerford has a son in the oil business in Anchorage, Alaska; another son started his own business handling companies facing bankruptcy; and a third wrote a book, From Enslavement to Freedom, that centers around Plymouth Church. We send condolences to the family of Juliane (Julie) Solmssen Steedman, who passed away from pancreatic cancer. She was a social worker and a professional photographer who had a master’s degree in pain management. Her husband was a diplomat, and they traveled to Chad, Mali, and the Philippines. She was a board member of the York, Maine, library. Finally, we were honored for our reunion gifts: We had 50 donors, 34% participation, and raised $909,072! 60
Correspondent: Millie
Price Nygren, 1048 Bedford St., Fremont, CA 94539, 408-4642907, m.nygren@att.
net Our 65th reunion is May 30 to June 1, 2025—put it on your calendar! Susan Hillman Crandall has taken “pen in hand” to acknowledge the 60-plus years since
CC. After earning a master’s degree in social work at the University of Michigan, she practiced medical social work for two years in NYC, then married Milford Crandall, who taught on eastern Long Island and brought her back to her hometown. “I worked in school social work, became involved with infants and students with learning challenges, and was fortunate to retire at age 55. Our son, Mark, still lives (with his daughters) in his hometown. The Rotary Club student exchange program took him to Zimbabwe as a high school junior, an experience that has shaped his life. He founded Hoops4Hope, introducing sports and other activities to young people in Southern Africa. I have been fortunate to travel a lot with family and friends, visiting Africa, the Galápagos, and much of Europe. Milford and I have been snowbirds for many of our retired years, wintering in the Florida Keys. I have done volunteer driving for Meals on Wheels and minor jobs in my church. I am not an athlete, but aquatics at our local Y has kept me moving during the process of aging and gaining some bionic parts.” Barbara Paust Hart is doing well, although with some changes in these later years. Her husband, Wally, died in 2018 from cancer. “I still miss him terribly but count my life with him as one of many blessings. I am now in assisted living and adjusting to the change. My biggest news is that I am a great-grandmother to the most adorable 8-month-old precious little girl. I send my love to all.” Betsy Froment Brown writes, “I lead a healthy but simple life between New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Not too much travel except when a grandchild graduates from high school or college. Plenty of activities and friends in both states keep me busy; two of my children
are in New Jersey and one is in Oregon. Did our last reunion during COVID on the phone. Trying to keep up with technology and the changes in the world, emotionally, physically and politically, and keeping positive.” Mildred Price Nygren writes, “Our former correspondents are doing well. Joan Murray Webster spent her summer in Maine and visited with Del Merrill Welch. My advice from a ladybug: ‘Spot new opportunities, spend time in your garden, be well-rounded, enjoy the wonders of nature, don’t let small things bug you, keep family close by, be simply beautiful.’”
Correspondent: Bonnie Campbell Billings-Wauters, bsq22@aol.com, 1348 Winding Oaks Circle W, Vero Beach, FL 32963, 802-734-1876 Such a bounty of responses to my February plea for news! Many “first-timers.” And many thanked me for my persistence. However, through some publishing snafu, only a few of the submitted notes were published in the last issue! So here are the rest, along with a few more-recent additions: Phyllis Hattis recently published with Skira, Milan, Italy, Masterpieces from the William Rubin Collection: Dialogue of the Tribal and the Modern and Its Heritage, a monograph on her late husband, William Rubin, and their personal art col-
us in honoring the extraordinary achievements of Connecticut College alumni who shine brightly in their careers and communities and exemplify the spirit of Connecticut College. The 2025 Alumni Awards recognize individuals whose dedication, innovation and leadership set them apart.
Harriett Breslow ’60 at her granddaughter’s bat mitzvah
Class of 1963 alums Bonnie Campbell Billings-Wauters and Gale Flannery Tunnell got together in Florida
Alumni Award Winners
lection. A most interesting piece came from Suzi Fuld Marger about her mother, Elizabeth Schwab Fuld ’41, who passed away this year at the age of 104! Throughout her long life, her memories of her days at Conn remained vivid. Suzi is living in Westerly, R.I., and keeps busy with a cardio-swim class, movie groups, and volunteering at a local senior center, where she does taxes for seniors. She sees Kathy Pitcher ’64, who lives in her same senior community, and is in touch with Eileen Silverman Vail and Joan Snyder Abelson Nancy Allen Waterfill wrote that she and husband Joe have resumed a more limited (no international) travel schedule since 2019. In April, they enjoyed a trip with a botanical garden group, touring “lovely public and private gardens in Santa Barbara and Pasadena and the Getty Museum. We’re planning a trip to the Hudson River Valley with the same group. I’m still a duplicate bridge fanatic, a volunteer at the Atlanta Botanical Garden and a book club member.” They have lived in a cluster home for 15+ years, “which makes living easy without a large yard to maintain.” Marion (Bing) Bingham left Conn after freshman year in Plant to marry, drive to India and back, and have many more adventures. After raising two children and divorcing, she returned to Conn, graduating magna cum laude in Art in 1991. She continued on to Wesleyan for a master’s degree and has been an artist ever since. “My artwork has been exhibited in Asia, Europe and the U.S. and has become part of both private and public collections. I am represented by Walter Wickiser Gallery in NYC.” Currently (March ’24), she is showing a body of work, unique prints of endangered species, at ICBAA, an art community in Sausalito, Calif. Bing and husband Ken are soon moving back to Connecticut from California. Milbrey Wallin McLaughlin writes that she is incredibly healthy and well, despite some medical issues and surgeries throughout the year. Mil lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, after a long career as a professor of education at Stanford. Her son and family live in Northern California. “My precious granddaughter Emily is about to turn 16 … she’s a delight and taller than I! I would love to see any ’63 classmate who happens to be in the Bay Area. It would be such fun to revisit adventures, misadventures and post-CC life!” It all started with a blind date in New London: Francette Girard Roeder and husband Bernie have now been married 60 years and are “healthy, happy and traveling again, after COVID. Cruises out of our home area of San Di-
ego; Honolulu; a Caribbean cruise with family in Florida; and then, after a trans-Atlantic crossing, a visit with family near London, including 61/2 year-old grandson and new twin granddaughters. Jenefer Carey Berall “moved to NYC right after graduation and got into data processing. I traveled the world with two wonderful, now deceased, husbands and am now back living in Connecticut in a great retirement complex. I have few worries beyond attending Great Courses, playing bridge and making dinner reservations. I still have my car for visiting ‘outside’ the community.” Living with many “new” older friends, who have also had eventful lives and exciting past adventures, makes for a fun and stimulating conversation. “My only regret was never being able to have children … but my brothers shared theirs with me and all come to Connecticut to visit Aunt Jenefer. AND some are now having destination weddings, which just add to my travel adventures to retell around the dinner table.” Susan Hall Veccia wrote: “After lots of sailing and an active retirement in my ‘forever’ home in Annapolis, Md., I pulled up stakes in
I have few worries beyond attending Great Courses, playing bridge and making dinner reservations.
— JENEFER CAREY BERALL ’63
2021 and moved to Grapevine, Tex. Minutes from my son and family, watching my two young granddaughters grow up, well offsets the things I miss. My little house and garden, community activities, and family keep me busy enough. I keep in regular contact with my close Conn pals, including Lonnie Jones Schorer, Carolyn Boyan Raymond, Debbie Morris Kullby, Linda Osborne and Nancy Schoepfer Sanders—Linda and Nancy have already been here to check things out. If you’re in the Dallas–Fort Worth area, be in touch!” Barbara Thomas Cheney reports that “all’s well in my family … daughter Diana has moved in with me and Dexter, which helps especially since some vision changes caused me to give up my driver’s license. We’re about to go on a Bahama cruise. We’re grateful to be in circumstances that offer so much to celebrate.” Elana Brown Anderson continues to be busy with her writing group and duplicate bridge and many family events. She and Bill are now living fulltime in Deer Isle, Maine, overlooking Sylvester Cove and surrounded by Lanny’s beautiful gardens. “Various health concerns and COVID (again) cramped our style for a while, but we did have an anniversary trip to the Loire last year. And we are great-grandparents!” I, Bonnie Campbell Billings, and my husband, Joe, had a wonderful July 4th (’24) week visiting. The usual family lobster picnic included several Conn cousins. Seizing the opportunity for a get-together, Gale Flannery Tunnell and I met in April for lunch in Jupiter, Fla., halfway between our homes in Vero Beach and Fort Lauderdale, where she was about to embark on a cruise. When not traveling, or off on a cruise, Gale lives in San Francisco, near her two sons and family. Barbara Drexler Lockhart stays in touch with her freshman Winthrop buddies, as well as “with folks I grew up with and work friends in Denver. I’m very busy with a singing group and I play the flute with
a small Eastern European dance band in Amherst, Mass., that plays out monthly. I live at Treehouse, a small, amazing, intergenerational community in Easthampton, Mass. It consists of seniors and families with adopted or foster children. I’m on the board and active with all community members. Mostly, this keeps me out of trouble.” Susan Albro Barkan reports that her life has settled into a pleasant routine. “I’m doing weekly ESL tutoring for immigrants from Central America, and now, Ukraine. I’m now organizing a Tuesday hiking group that has a 25-year history. Ages range up to 90. I’m the second-oldest. Four-mile strolls have replaced our eight- to nine-mile hikes, but we enjoy the views, the flora and occasional fauna. I’m also in a monthly book discussion group. My most recent travel was a Road Scholar trip to Oaxaca for their Dia de Los Muertos holiday celebrations and a tour of pre-Aztec ruins.” Kitsie Converse left Conn “for women” after sophomore year to transfer to coed Penn. However, she still remembers Robert Frost’s words, speaking to us freshman year: “Forgive, O Lord, my little jokes on Thee/And I’ll forgive Thy great big one on me.” She now lives in Philadelphia and Barnstable, Mass. She’s still in touch with her Conn roommate, Linda Mueller Fratta. She noted that her oldest of four daughters graduated from Conn in 1988, Jennifer Schelter. “It was great to see how much CC had grown.” Chick Schriner Barnes writes that, “after 52 years in Wayne, N.J., we are moving with our Virginia Beach daughter to Compass Point, a golfing community, in the Wilmington, N.C., area—a big move for both of us. I’m still playing piano, subbing at church services and occasional theater cabarets. No traveling, unfortunately.” Sara Manwell Bradford updated her recent post: “After a year of retirement from my landscape architectural practice I am still trying to figure out what it means and what I should be doing, but I had a wonderful garden tour trip to Normandy in June.” Four of us, all wintering in Vero Beach, Fla.—myself, Sue Kellogg Grigg, Aggie Cochran Underwood and Nancy Feuerstein Milstein (we missed Marcia Mueller Foresman)—got together for lunch at Sea Oaks in May. I have met many CC alums from our own and other classes here in Vero Beach, where we are from October through May. Any other Vero CC alums reading this, please get in touch! We still summer in Stowe, Vt.
Class of 1963 alums Nancy Feuerstein Milsten, Aggie Cochran Underwood, Bonnie Campbell Billings-Wauters and Sue Kellogg Grigg gathered for lunch in Vero Beach, Fla.
Joan Stuart Ross ’64 presented a solo exhibition, Archipelago, at RiverSea Gallery in Astoria, Ore., from April 13 to May 7, 2024.
Correspondents: Susan Peck Hinkel, 1064 N. Main St, Danby, VT 05739, rerob@mac.com; Pat Antell Andrews, 2800 S. University Blvd., Unit 4, Denver, CO 80210, pandre0615@gmail.com Class Presidents Marge Landsberg Goldsmith and Judy Trauner Stone announced the kickoff for our 60th reunion: Friday, May 30, to Sunday, June 1, 2025, at CC. “We can look forward to greeting old friends and seeing all the new attractions on campus, including a new Crozier, the Thames waterfront sailing and ecology site, the renovated Plex, and more. We can anticipate the CC lobster bake and campus picnic on the Green, the class parade, plus many lectures and discussion groups. Our class can plan more based on your suggestions. Think about special tours or events you’d like. Please volunteer to be part of the planning committee, working with the alumni office to make this 60th reunion memorable for all. Email us to join the committee. Many thanks in advance. All the best, Marge (margegoldsmith@optonline. net) and Judy (jaytstone@prodigy.net).” After 26 years in Durham, N.C., Beth Overbeck Balkite is moving to the Charleston, S.C., area to be near one of her daughters and her family. “I look forward to discovering a new city and seeing more of my family. I will continue my work in genetic genealogy from my new location. Last spring I was the guest speaker about ‘DNA and Your Family
I love applying my study of genetics that began at Conn to new uses. — BETH OVERBECK BALKITE ’65
Tree’ for a chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and I taught a course last winter at Duke about the use of AI in genealogy. I love applying my study of genetics that began at Conn to new uses besides genetic counseling—a fun way to enjoy retirement.” To register for one of Beth’s courses, visit www.learnmore.duke.edu/ olli/. At 55, Lucia Pelecchia Correll retired from her career in social service in Colorado, and she and husband Tim moved to Romania, where Lucia advised the government and the U.S. embassy on transitioning from the Communist-era system of warehousing children in large institutions to a modern system for child welfare. During their six years there, “we saw tremendous changes for the better with the development of community services, training of social workers, standards of care, etc.” Then, still not ready to really retire, the Corrells consulted for governments in several African countries that needed to develop child welfare systems because of the AIDS epidemic, which had overwhelmed the traditional pattern of relying on family members to care for orphaned children. Lucia and Tim have returned to Denver and live across the street from their son and his family. Her grandsons are a large focus of her life. In early June, Lucia joined Calista (Sally) Morrill, Patti Olson, Sue Peck Hinkel and Pat Antell Andrews for a leisurely lunch, talking of life since 1965. Patti worked in the actuarial business and as a benefits consultant in Chicago and Louisville, Ky., and reminisced about her active role in the women’s rights movement. After visiting Calista in Colorado many times, Patti moved to a small
mountain community in the Rockies, though she recently joined a retirement community in Estes Park. Calista’s careers included a stint in Morocco with the Peace Corps, many years as a massage therapist and other adventures. She and her husband are renovating a home in Lyons, Colo., not far from the Rocky Mountain National Park. Sue Gemeinhardt Carlson summarized the decades since graduation: “I spent over 40 years as a teacher (English and health education) and counselor in a variety of independent boarding schools and retired from Deerfield Academy in 2008. Since then I’ve been busy with a sewing business, making quilts, aprons, tablewares, etc., to sell at craft fairs and from home. I also volunteer at our local hospital. After living in school housing for most of my career, we built a retirement home in the country in Leyden, Mass., where we live now. My youngest grandchild (of five) graduates from high school next year. We feel fortunate to be healthy and busy.” Eileen Pleva Akers was elected to serve as Lions district governor for 2024-2025 beginning on July 1. Responsibilities include leading more than 2,000 Lions and Leos in over 50 clubs in eastern Connecticut’s four counties. Harriet Pinsker Lasher moved into the independent-living section of Glenaire Continued Care Retirement Community in Cary, N.C. “I’ve been here since April and so far I love it.” Her daughter has a new job based in Wilmington, N.C., and Harriet looks forward to having her closer. Her numerous grandchildren live in Arizona and Virginia. Plan for Reunion!
Correspondents: Carol Chaykin and Bridget Donahue Healy, ccnotes66@ gmail.com Jane Brown LaPrino, Kate Curtis Donahue, Bridget Donahue Healy, Jill McKelvie ’67, Terry McNab Rixse and Deborah Nichols Losse met for a week in June at the Marginal Way House in Ogunquit, Maine. There were many walks, followed by lobsters, ice
cream, laughter and lively debates. They enjoyed the beautiful Ogunquit Museum of American Art and a fabulous production of Crazy for You at the Ogunquit Playhouse. All in all they celebrated joie de vivre Carol Chaykin sings second alto in the Nashir Chorale, a local choir on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The choir consists of about 16 singers and performs liturgical and secular music in several languages by Jewish composers. In July the group performed at the 2024 North American Jewish Choral Festival—a great honor for such a small community choir. Ellen Kagan has been working hard to reelect Democrats, but she has also been going to the beach and shopping and having a great time on Cape Cod, where she lives. Olga Karman Christiansen emigrated from Cuba in 1960. CC accepted the two years she had completed at Havana’s Universidad Católica Santo Tomás de Villanueva and—when she was 26 and her daughter was 3—Olga graduated summa cum laude with our class. “There’s a lot more about a clueless Cuban immigrant at CC in my memoir, Scatter My Ashes Over Havana.” Now 83, with a son and daughter, six grandsons, and three great-grandchildren, Olga says that these last years are the ne plus ultra Maureen McCrea ran in the Mount Marathon Race (Seward, Alaska), crossed the finish line, and made history as the first female octogenarian finisher in the 96-year race. “It’s a short race, 3.1 miles, but elevation gain is almost 3,000 feet, approximately a 36% average grade.” Maureen was more than eight minutes under the 2.5-hour cutoff time. Susan Mikkelson went to her 50th high school reunion and reconnected with a former classmate, Ed Solano, who is now her husband! They have been married for 11 years. Three months after their marriage, Susie retired from Queensborough Community College, where she had overseen the enrollment and retention of 7,000 freshmen. Susan thought often of Dean Alice Johnson, who was an important figure in her college career—in part because Susie was on academic and social probation during her freshman year. Dean Johnson gave her a great gift: the ability to take oneself seriously. Seven years ago, Susie and Ed moved from Sea Cliff, N.Y., to Portland, Maine. Susie is busy with volunteer activities and with four grandchildren ages 5 to 14. In early July, Rona Shor met with Andrea Wollensak, multitalented CC professor of art, design and technology, at Anderson Ranch in Snowmass Village, just outside of Aspen. Professor Wollensak was a Fulbright scholar last fall at the Estonian Academy of Arts in Tallinn, Estonia. (Learn more about Professor Wollensak on the CC website or at andreawollensak.com.) Barbara Smith Taylor was thrilled to unexpectedly meet classmate Kate Curtis Dona-
Class of ’65 alums Calista (Sally) Morrill, Sue Peck Hinkel, Lucia Pelecchia Correll, Patti Olson and Pat Antell Andrews met in Denver in June.
Maureen McCrea ’66 (second from right), with niece Kate Wright, daughter-in-law Pamela Hatzis and daughter Sarah Pautzke atop Mount Marathon in Alaska
Judy Lefevre ’66, Nancy Macalaster ’66 and dog Wiggy, and Marny Morris Krause ’66 celebrating Judy’s 80th birthday in Franconia, N.H.
hue and her husband, Bill Donahue, 58 years after Barbara and Kate graduated from Conn. Barbara and her husband, Frederick Craw, traveled 5,500+ miles from San Francisco to Amsterdam for a Viking Rhine River Cruise in April. Several days into the trip they shared dinner with two couples from New England: Kate and Bill with their friends Rainie and Larry. As they were getting to know one another, Kate and Barbara suddenly shrieked with the discovery of their CC connection. They thoroughly enjoyed the time they shared and hope to continue this newfound friendship—in California where two of Kate’s sons live, in Vermont where Kate and Bill live, or elsewhere during another foreign adventure. It’s never too late for a new friendship with a CC classmate! Last spring Lorna Wagner Strotz and husband Chris traveled east from their California vineyard to visit their granddaughter in college and a friend in Vermont. Passing by Boston, they stopped for a night in Scituate, Mass., and gathered at Liz Leach Welch’s home, along with Martha Blanchard Twigg and Dick, for a lobster feast. Afterward, Lorna and Chris visited Paula Schwartz Hagar at her home in Lincoln, Mass. Paula and Lorna have known each other since grade school in Whitefish Bay, Wis. We extend our condolences to the friends and family of Leslie Feely (March 29, 2024) and belated condolences to the friends and family of Susan Smith Lewis (Dec. 7, 2022). Please continue sending your news and photos. We want to share your news!
Correspondents: Deborah Greenstein, debbyg837@verizon.net; Marcia Hunter Matthews, marciamatthews3@gmail. com Marcia Hunter Matthews writes, “My beloved roommate, Judi Rosman Hahn, and her husband, Philip, just left after a wonderful two days with us in Kennebunkport, Maine. Judi mentioned how moved she was by our message to the class. We FaceTimed with Nancy Blumberg Austin. Nancy’s husband, John, is in rehab for a
fall caused by Parkinson’s, and she was happy to talk.” Old friends and teaching colleagues Marcia and Jan Macdonald Smith ’69 P’95 GP’26 had a great visit in Venice, Fla., in April. Walis Lindberg Nicita and Marian Coates lived on the top floor in Katharine Blunt. Mari visited Wally while on a trip to promote her wonderful book, The Pelton Papers, about Agnes Pelton, a local woman painter. It was a great way to see her triumphant in her talent. [From Debby: It is a beautifully written and fascinating story.] Debby Greenstein has had many CC moments over the past few months. Ethel Bottcher Cullinan visited her in Florida, where they indulged in culture, food and the sheer pleasure of being together. Back in D.C., Debby had lunch with Judy Betar Metro and went for a walk with her CC neighbors Abi Philip ’10, Zoe Philip ’10, Ashton Rohmer ’10, Abi’s Coast Guard husband Chris Pappe, and the star of the encounter, future Camel Talula, daughter of Abi and Chris. Debby was at the Gap when she encountered a small boy carrying a stuffed camel. When she told him that the camel is her college mascot, his mom said “Connecticut College?” and explained that her niece was a 2022 graduate and the camel was from the CC Bookshop. Lynn Weichsel Hand’s family moved to Topsham, Maine, where they live in the countryside. It’s quite a change, although they’ve always spent time in Maine during vacations. They moved to be closer to their daughter’s employment in Brunswick. Lynn enjoys painting and reading, now that she has retired, and hearing from her classmates. Sandra Stevens had many falls this past year, and now both hands are in splints/casts, “so writing or doing anything manual is very difficult. Just keeping house is like performing surgery with boxing gloves on! And I SO wanted to sail this summer. Rats.” Liz Martin O’Toole keeps in touch with just a few classmates by email, text and an occasional phone call “to share news of ourselves and our families and to exchange book or movie/TV recommendations.” In May, after many years of not traveling, she went to Seoul, South Korea, with daughters Jessica and Megan. “I had never been anywhere near that part of the world.” Jessica was there working as the showrunner, an executive producer and a writer for the second season of XO Kitty, a Netflix series. While Jessica worked, Liz and Megan explored South Korea. “It was a truly wonderful experience. I traveled with a very inclusive trip insurance policy, a necessity at this stage of our lives. My husband, Steve, is fine. He just prefers not to travel and so doesn’t.” The class sends condolences to the family and friends of Martha Kidd Cyr, who died on April 21. Marty is survived by her husband, Roland “Moe” Cyr; an aunt, Pollie Straw-Thayer of Little Compton, R.I.; and several nieces and nephews and their partners. On a personal note, we knew and loved Marty—she was a great friend to our class and to the College. She is missed.
Correspondent: Susan Cannon, susecannon@icloud.com Shelley Carpenter Reynolds married Steve Reynolds 24 years ago in December. They have been in Orleans on Cape Cod since they both retired from Wittenberg University in Ohio. They spend winters in Charlotte, N.C., near some of their seven grandkids. Joan Hosmer Smith hiked the Wild-
Bridget Donahue Healy ’66, Kate Curtis Donahue ’66, Deborah Nichols Losse ’66, Jane Brown LaPrino ’66, Jill McKelvie ’67 and Terry McNab Rixse ’66 in Ogunquit, Maine
Marcia Hunter Matthews ’67 and Jan Macdonald Smith ’69
Wally Lindburg Nicita ’67 and Mari Coates ’67
Kate Curtis Donahue ’66, Barbara Taylor Smith ’66 and husband Frederick Craw, friends Rainie and Larry Kelly, and Kate’s husband, Bill Donahue, in Rudesheim, Germany
Philip and Judi Rosman Hahn ’67 with Marcia Hunter Matthews ’67 and husband Bill
Liz Martin O’Toole ’67 and daughters Jessica and Megan
Abi Philip ’10, Debby Greenstein, and Abi’s daughter, Talulah, future Camel
Judy Betar Metro ’67 and Debby Greenstein ’67
Ethel Bottcher Cullinan ’67 and Debby Greenstein ’67
er Kaiser range in Austria with friends who call themselves the “Wilderness Women.” They’ve hiked every year since 1997 (except during COVID). They don’t see many septuagenarian women doing that! They do take the comfort route, however; lovely lodges—no tents—with luggage transport and sometimes chairlifts! Babette Gabriel Thompson and John moved to a senior independent-living facility in Ventura, Calif., last October but are moving back to Whidbey Island with its incomparable beauty and unique culture. While Babette loved dorm life at Conn, she finds communal living very different at age 76 than it was at 18. This was their second attempt at senior living, and she would be happy to discuss pros and cons with anyone considering such a move. After 44 years Stephanie Phillips still actively manages Globe Travel, with no plans to retire soon. She hopes to hear from any classmates who have not responded to the August email on opportunities to travel with classmates. For the second year, Cordalie Benoit opened her garden at Thompson’s Corner in Westerly, R.I., as a fundraiser for The Garden Conservancy’s Open Days program. A member for many decades, she has always enjoyed visiting other peoples’ gardens. Hers has more than 30 tree species, features native plantings, and has two water features and three antique buildings, including a three-seater outhouse now serving as the world’s smallest “she shed.” Ellen Lougee Simmons spent a wonderful summer at her home in Rockport, Maine, with all five daughters and their families (nine grandchildren!), who visited at various times throughout the summer. Jane Holloway enjoyed seeing so many classmates from near and far at our 55th. She expects to have an equally fun weekend at our 60th. So she swims and walks to improve her prospects of being there! Maria Varela remembers the beautiful years she spent studying at Conn. She taught French and English language and literature for many years in Montevideo, Uruguay. Now retired, she enjoys her grandchildren, children and husband, who are all in good health. She goes to the gym and swims; enjoys concerts, theater and films; and travels occasionally to California, where her eldest son and his family live. Tina Scott Brogadir loved Reunion! “It was so great to be back on campus with classmates!” She found it well planned, with so much to do; husband Dick enjoyed it too. They attended Dick’s 55th reunion at Bates College and then headed west for a family celebration in Salt Lake City, Utah, and a visit to Antelope Canyon, a spectacular and incredibly beautiful natural wonder in Page, Ariz. They are fine, in good health, fortunately, and busy seeing their kids, grandkids and friends, as well as playing the piano (Tina) and guitar (Dick), reading lots of books, and working in the garden (Tina)! I, Susan Cannon, loved seeing so many classmates and spouses at Reunion and taking a leisurely drive to and from Ohio in order to get there. I enjoy my new role as class correspondent and look forward to hearing more from all of you in the coming months and years.
Correspondent: Myrna Chandler Goldstein, myrnacgoldstein@gmail.com Elaine Frey Hester writes that since
Elaine Frey Hester ’70 and Cecilia Muench Decker ’76 pose outside a puppet show in Palermo, Italy, in May 2023.
Karen Nielsen Bevan ’70 and husband Stuart at the Blue Hill Troupe’s Centennial Celebration
John’s retirement in 2017, they have been traveling a lot. A favorite trip was to Africa in August 2022. They enjoyed two weeks of safaris in Kenya and Tanzania with Go2Africa, followed by two weeks in Botswana, Zambia and South Africa with GATE1Travel. “Oh, the wildlife we saw!” Through GATE1 they have gone to China, Tibet, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Ecuador, Guatemala and Belize, and Patagonia. In May they traveled to Sicily and Malta. At a puppet show in Palermo, they were talking to some fellow travelers and learned that the wife, Cecilia Muench Decker, graduated from Conn in 1976! Then Elaine asked, “What are the chances that your husband, Mark Decker, graduated from Wesleyan?” With big eyes, they both said, “Yes, he did, class of 1974!” (Elaine’s husband, John, graduated from Wesleyan in 1971.) John and Elaine still enjoy tent camping, hiking in the mountains of North and South Carolina, kayaking, and bicycling. “Gardening is good exercise, too!” Son Jonathan lives in Berlin, where he is a techno music producer and DJ. Daughter Katie has taught in China and Guatemala and now teaches in a Spanish-immersion school in Minneapolis, Minn. Karen Nielsen Bevan and husband Stuart performed at the Blue Hill Troupe’s Centennial Celebration,
Gardening is good exercise,
too!
— ELAINE FREY HESTER ’70
May 17-19. They performed an original skit and quintet from Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Gondoliers on the stage of the Ziegfeld Ballroom in NYC in front of more than 350 past members and attendees from around the world. In its 100-year history, the BHT has raised the inflation-adjusted equivalent of over $12 million for NYC-based charities by putting on G&S operas and Broadway or off-Broadway shows. This is Karen and Stuart’s 46th year of active membership! In New York City, Amy Taylor, who earned a master of social work degree from Columbia and a degree in family therapy from the Ackerman Institute in New York, works part-time with individuals and couples. She also enjoys taking care of her two young granddaughters every Friday and traveling with husband Al. “We still live in our brownstone in Chelsea, and enjoy gardening and being in the city.” Youngest son Peter graduated from Conn in 2006. Mother Angele (formerly Joyce Arbib) was in Blackstone during her freshman year but transferred to New York University. She worked
as a manager of opera singers for almost 30 years. “It was a fascinating career. I loved living in NYC and had (and still have) very close friends there. But when I was 46 I was invited to accompany a friend for a visit to the Abbey of Regina Laudis in Bethlehem, Conn., and discovered a community of women whose lives were so rich and fulfilling that in 1998, after years of reflection, I entered the Roman Catholic Benedictine monastery. My life here is full, rewarding and happy. The abbey is a working farm on 450 acres, home to our community of 34 women as well as cows, donkeys, chickens and sheep. I’m in close touch with several CC alumnae and would love to hear from others. My email is motherangele@gmail.com, and our website is abbeyofreginalaudis.org.” As for the Goldsteins, we’ve had two books published recently. I am the first author and Mark is the second of Treatments for Anxiety: Fact versus Fiction. It presents peer-reviewed journal studies on the positive and negative aspects of 25 different treatments for anxiety. Mark is the first author and I am the second of How Technology, Social Media, and Current Events Profoundly Affect Adolescents, specifically written to meet the contemporary challenges faced by parents and caregivers of adolescents and medical professionals who treat adolescents. Find both on Amazon and other sites. A few months ago, we signed a contract to research and write a book on gastrointestinal health.
71Correspondents: Lisa McDonnell, mcdonnell@denison.edu, 79 Audubon Avenue, Binghamton, NY 13903, and Lois Olcott Price, loprice@yahoo.com, 933A Alto Street, Santa Fe, NM 87501 Joanne Settel authored a new children’s science book, Fish Farts and the Other Amazing Ways Animals Adapt, released by Atheneum on July 9. It explores the surprising and sometimes hilarious ways animals survive: by tricking, trapping and frying predators; feeding on other animals’ poop and skin; and using electric zaps, slime and farts to communicate. The book is Joanne’s seventh for Atheneum, including Exploding Ants: Amazing Facts About How Animals Adapt, which was listed as an Outstanding Science Trade Books for Children. Joanne lives with husband Barry in Columbia, Md. Their daughters, Jen and Maya, live in Hoboken, N.J., and Hawaii, where Joanne and Barry frequently visit them and their children. LaMarian Hayes-Wallace traveled to Tokyo in March and enjoyed a 12-day cruise. She also participated in an entertaining line dance conference in New Orleans in July. She looked forward to rejoining her walking group, the Nature Gurlz. LaMarian’s first grandchild, KaMaria Inez Wallace, was born on Aug. 31, 2023; LaMarian and her husband enjoyed celebrating her first birthday with her. Trinki Anderson Brueckner has been in remission from lymphoma for two years. In September 2023, she enrolled in Boston University’s School of Theology and is working toward a master of divinity degree. (“Yes, I am the oldest student in the theology school!”) She loves hanging out with her younger classmates and finds the coursework fascinating. When she’s not studying, she’s gardening—trying to make a haven for pollinators. Trinki and husband Tom have two sons and two grandchildren nearby; their daughters live in Philadelphia and San Francisco. Trinki en-
joyed meeting classmates at the Sykes Luncheon in May and touring the Arboretum. Barbara Kahn Stewart, Tammis Forshay Greene and Nancy Bowen attended a small but delightful ’71 reunion in Seattle in June, hosted by Jane Gilbert Snyder and Anne Sigmund Curtis. They were initially disappointed that more classmates couldn’t attend, but they had a cozy time talking together in a way that would have been difficult in a large group. Beverly Edgar Myers Grady retired in 2022 after practicing law for 45 years in southwest Florida. Although husband Bruce still works, they enjoy traveling in their RV. In August 2023 they acquired a home in Sapphire, N.C., on the side of Hogback Mountain. A ring camera in their driveway revealed how much they share their home with “neighbors”: deer, bushytailed fox, mountain lion, skunk, the chubbiest groundhog, and bears—a mother with two cubs and a single male bear. Beverly and Bruce took a Viking Cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam last summer. In August, they went to Paris to cheer on daughter Rebecca, a New Hampshire high school principal, who was invited to run a night marathon scheduled between the men’s and women’s Olympic marathons. Beverly’s volunteer activities include serving on church committees, driving for Meals on Wheels and growing food for the farmworkers mission in Immokalee, Fla. Beverly keeps up with the wonderful women from the Class of ’70 whom she met in Marshall as a sophomore transfer student. Ronna Reynolds loves retirement, dividing time between Newport, R.I., and Greenwich, Conn., where she and her husband live on the same street as daughter Kate, a family therapist, and grandchildren Annabel and Pauly. In addition to her CC work, Ronna volunteers at and fundraises for the Martin Luther King Center and Indivisible. Winter trips have included Santa Barbara, Calif., and St. Martin, while theme-based autumn trips have been to their four ancestral seats in Italy and film sites of beloved Jane Austen and Charlotte Brontë movies in Northern England. In the U.S., she loves taking jaunts with CC “culture pals.” She took in the Edward Hopper exhibit at the Whitney with Pat Adams Sheehan, traveled to the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Mass., with Anne Maxwell Livingston, and attended England’s Royal Ballet at Jacob’s Pillow with Eleanor Drury ’66. Ronna also enjoyed seeing many classmates at the spring luncheons in NYC and Providence and looks forward to seeing many more at our 55th reunion in 2026. Classmates: We received an unusually large number of Class Notes this time—thank you!—and we have a word limit. If your news is not here, it will appear in the next issue.
Who knows where the time went? I don’t feel like 50 years have passed .
— CAROL BLAKE BOYD ’72
Correspondents: Barbara White Morse, barbarawmorse@gmail.com, and Ann Tousignant, anntousignant@gmail.com Ted Chapin confesses, “It looks like I failed at retirement.” After stepping aside from his long run at Rodgers & Hammerstein in May 2021, he found interesting projects to stay busy. In February he was tapped as the interim CEO of Broadway Li-
censing Global, “the newest and scrappiest” of the theater licensing houses. “I spend the working days there and find it amusing to step back into a world I used to be in, but now, with a new generation of (smart) theater makers with new challenges.” He is also working on some book projects and helping write the memoirs of a reigning Broadway orchestrator, Jonathan Tunick. In April he co-hosted a concert of Follies at Carnegie Hall. Ted is grandfather to Marlowe (2), his daughter Anika’s son—“a pretty great experience!” Judy Eldredge and Deborah Garber King continued the spirit of CC reunions and joined Bill Piper ’74 for his 50th reunion in June. Judy reports their adventures included a tour of New London, beautiful weather, delicious lobsters, a ride on the water taxi and discovering souvenirs. At Reunion, Judy enjoyed meeting Jean Bradley ’49, who lives in the same retirement home as Judy’s mom. Carol Blake Boyd announced that the summer of 2024 was the “Anniversary Season.” She and husband Peter celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. They had a fun Fourth of July family reunion at Nemacolin Resort in western Pennsylvania with her sons, daughters-in-law and grandchildren. They visited NYC, where she and her husband first met, and dined on their actual anniversary with Marge Johnson Hewitt and husband Simon, Barbara Vosburgh Omohundro and husband Dan (who was Peter’s med school roommate), and Barbara Zaccheo Kohn. All these Conn women were in Carol’s wedding. Carol commented, “Who knows where the time went? I don’t feel like 50 years have passed, but then again, I didn’t feel that way at Reunion.” Norma Walrath Goldstein consults for the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC), training both the national association’s board of directors in Santa Fe, N.M., and facilitating board-of-trustees training for several tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) in Denver, Colo. She also consults for the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) by developing an exemplary board policy library for colleges around the country. Following their 14-month sailboat trip from Maine to the Bahamas, Norma and husband Allen are now in home waters in Seattle, Wash. Maria Spencer Freedberg and husband Paul spent a week with Meg Gemson Ashman and husband Jay in the Berkshires of Massachusetts. As Meg and Maria reminisced about good times at CC, they also mourned the passing of their friend Betty Cohn Simpson Ruth Ritter Ladd’s activities this past summer included a long-anticipated trip to the Canadian Maritimes. She continues to raise puppies for Guiding Eyes for the Blind; plays the handbells; serves on her town’s Conservation Commission; edits newsletters for the Citizens for Lexington Conservation; is a “weed warrior” for Sudbury Valley Trustees, removing invasives from around a local bog; babysits her youngest grandchild once a week; takes a therapy dog to schools and assisted-living facilities; and attends Boston College sporting events with her husband. Her daughter says Ruth needs “to retire from retirement.” In early April, while traveling to be with her children in
Class of ’71 regional reunion in New York City. L-R: Ellen Parry, Pia Gille O’Connell, Barbara Yanchek Braun, Linda Sullivan, Cheryl Tenin, Jane Davis Turchiano, Bev Sager, Ronna Reynolds
Class of ’71 regional reunion in Seattle, Wash. L-R: Jane Gilbert Snyder, Anne Sigmund Curtis, Tammis Forshay Greene, Nancy Bowen, Barbara Kahn Stewart
Class of ’71 regional reunion in Providence, R.I. Front row: An-Ming Sze Truxes, Ronna Reynolds, Susan Scott Kelley, Fran Howland Gammell-Roach, Jill Goodrich-Mahoney, Marsha Kartzman. Back row: Pat Adams Sheehan, Anne Maxwell Livingston, Susie Chadwick Pokress, Joan Dagle, Cynthia Parker
Maria Spencer Freedberg ’72 and husband Paul, with Meg Gemson Ashman ’72 and husband Jay, in the Berkshires of Massachusetts
Betsy Breg Masson ’71 and Crindy Leahy Stormer ’72 at the Filoli estate, in Woodside, Calif., where President Biden and Xi Jinping met last fall.
Ann Tousignant ’72 and husband David Gute ’73 on a rigid inflatable boat (RIB)-boat tour of fjords in Flåm, Norway
Judy Eldredge ’72, Jean Bradley ’49 and Bill Piper ’74 at Reunion 2024
New England, Margaret Williams visited Nancy Kaull and her husband, Paul Jacobs, at their Rhode Island home. She often sees Joan Loewenberg ’71. Margaret also enjoyed a visit from the late David Clark ’73, who stopped at Margaret’s home in Maryland while en route to Maine and, eventually, to the 50th reunion of the Class of 1974. Ann Tousignant and husband David Gute ’73 spent six weeks in Talloires, France, where David, a Tufts University professor, taught at the Tufts European Center. They visited the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and met with WHO officials who were on the ground in the war-torn Middle East. They also spent two weeks in Norway visiting Oslo, Flåm and Bergen. Ann loved the cultural sites in Oslo, especially the Munch Museum, the Opera and the Nobel Peace Center. A train ride from Bergen to Oslo, considered one of Europe’s most beautiful journeys, took them through scenic mountains, waterfalls and fjords. Mostly they enjoyed experiencing the beautiful people, food and landscape. 73
Correspondent: Hester Kinnicutt Jacobs, djacobs@midrivers.com I’d like to acknowledge all that David Clark, who sadly passed away in July, did for Connecticut College and for our class. He thought his health would prevent him from attending our 50th Reunion, yet he vigorously helped plan the event, and I was so excited that he was able to be there. It was a pleasure working with him on the Reunion committee and seeing him at Reunion. Our class sends condolences to his family and friends, and some of our classmates offer the following thoughts. KC Nappi: “We just can’t say enough about how much we will miss our beloved David Clark. He touched so many of us and will be fondly remembered.” Nancy N.W. Ward: “Dave was most likely the most devoted to the school among us. He was a CC enthusiast and supporter from the time of his first prematriculation tea in Wellesley to his final days in Florida. He was at the college at some point every year since graduation and was serving as class president. My husband
and I had lunch with him in Florida in March, and he was full of news about the college and his plans to return to his camp in Maine, where he volunteered each spring. At our 50th reunion, Dave was given the Goss Award for his significant contributions to the college community: ‘Dave Clark is one of the original students who helped begin the integration of men at Conn in 1969. He was a Government major and involved in student government, the student newspaper, rebooting WCNI, housefellowing and was a charter member of the first Camels basketball team. Dave had a long and successful career in buying and planning and local politics. He has been to all his class reunions, chaired his 20th reunion, served as class president for five years after that and is a co-chair for his 50th reunion. He was elected to the alumni board in 2012 and re-elected in 2015. Dave has mentored and interviewed more than a hundred Conn undergraduates and has been a class gift officer since 2013.’” Terk Williams: “Our recent loss of David Clark will forever alter our class. He was so dedicated and giving.” Lynn LeLoup Pennington: “David Clark was an incredible friend to our class; he will be remembered for his warmth, humor, kindness, generosity, wit and unwavering support of CC. He was a rare individual who will be sorely missed by his classmates.” Lynn and husband David stayed home this past summer. David had his second back surgery in 10 years. But they are planning their next adventure down under: flying to Tahiti for a week in January, then traveling on to New Zealand. Donna Burkholder Potts flew to California for a few days and then did a cross-country road trip with her son, Joe Potts ’00. “He does the trip every year but this was my first time!” Their first stops were Winslow, Ariz., and the Petrified Forest. Next was Santa Fe and two stops in Oklahoma, including a stay in Price Tower in Bartlesville, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Other stops included Kentucky, North Carolina and Pennsylvania before home again to Cape Cod. “I had a great time seeing parts of the country I hadn’t seen before and spending time with my son.” In June, Joan Pierce introduced the opening of a standout art, science and advocacy exhibition, The Horseshoe Crab: Against All Odds, at the Plymouth (Mass.) Center for the Arts. Joan was one of three curators of the exhibit. By all accounts (artists, attendees, featured speakers and the Plymouth Center for the Arts), the exhibit was an enormous success. The exhibition featured over 70 works from 50
artists. The originality, diversity and quality of the art made the exhibit a success. No one expected to see horseshoe crabs presented in so many different contexts and media: textiles, photography, fine art, ceramics and more. 74
Correspondent: Barbara Herbst Tatum, barbara.tatum52@gmail.com J. Brandon Wilson-Evitt was excited to become a grandmother in May and is now considering fully retiring from her city planning work this year as a result. She was also looking forward to our 50th reunion in May! Rev. Thomas W. Caruso has relocated to the Shady Side area of Pittsburgh after nearly 10 years of United Church of Christ ministry in central Pennsylvania. A Lancaster (Pa.) Theological Seminary graduate, he guest-preaches in metro Pittsburgh and loves living near dozens of churches, restaurants, parks, concerts, nature preserves and healing centers. Reach Tom at pastortomcaruso@aol.com. At the end of May, CC rolled out the red carpet for our 50th reunion on a picture-perfect weekend. Nearly 60 of us gathered to celebrate our years together, the friendships we made with classmates—then and in intervening years—and the impact of our education at Conn on our lives after graduation. Charlie Morrison and wife Ann had a wonderful time. Highlights for Charlie included the convocation, with our raucous entrance (“The 50th reunion class is supposed to be the most obnoxious—we fit the bill”), and watching Warren Erickson present our then-interim president and new college president with a huge check. Charlie also noted our 50th reunion dinner, where he delighted in meeting three of his Conn professors (Melvin Woody, Michael Burlingame and Ann Devlin). Additional highlights included the Arboretum tour and the memorial service, with its beautiful music and contribution by Ann Swallow Gillis. “Hanging out with our classmates in our reunion lounge was great, particularly all singing together with Pam Strawbridge Mashke, who wrote a Conn-centered song for Reunion.” But Charlie felt the best part was spending time with
Joan Pierce ’73, giving opening remarks at the reception launching the exhibition The Horseshoe Crab: Against All Odds, in June 2024
Donna Burkholder Potts ’73 and son Joe Potts ’00 at the Petrified Forest
1974 classmates Jonathan Gold, Anne Swallow Gillis and Deidre Kaylor Richardson at their 50th Reunion dinner
The Class of ’74 getting ready to lead the Reunion Parade
Author Janet Lawler ’74 with her books at Creative at Conn
friends from previous reunions: Barbara Herbst Tatum and John, Warren Erickson, Caroline Cole, and Tony Sheridan (none of whom he knew well while at Conn); and the new friends he made: particularly Kathy Powell, Brian Peniston, Susan Wittpenn Ott, Janice Curran, Marianne Casey Reinhalter and Fran Axelrad. “It was truly a glorious weekend!” Also in attendance were two classmate authors, Margaret Hamilton Turkevich and Janet Lawler. Janet enjoyed renewing old friendships and making new ones. She was honored to participate in Creative at Conn on Saturday, which included a talk by Ann Napolitano ’94 and a book signing by David Grann ’89. Janet’s favorite activity was the Arboretum tour, chatting along the way with Janice Curran and Susie Compton Pollard. The perfect weather contributed to Janet’s impression that Conn is “more beautiful than ever, with much promise, energy and positive hope in the air for the future of our fine institution.” Janet thanks the reunion committee and Alumni Liaison Luci Chaplin for an outstanding job. With deep gratitude, Ann Swallow Gillis also wrote a beautiful reflection on our reunion
weekend. She had not been to campus for many years and was delighted by the presence, diversity, enthusiasm, generosity and warmth of our gathered classmates. Reuniting with longtime friends and teachers is now a precious Reunion memory. The opportunity to experience new aspects of our college was an unexpected bonus. Ann says she might now major in filmmaking, host a radio show, explore the expanded Arboretum, join the sailing team—she was tempted to re-enroll! But mostly Ann relished the chance to converse, laugh and tear up with such interesting classmates, whom she had only known in passing. She had not anticipated forging these new, vibrant friendships. “Yes, it does take time, energy and money to attend our CC reunions,
The 50th reunion class is supposed to be the most obnoxious—we fit the bill.
— CHARLIE MORRISON ’74
NOMINATE A PEER FOR THE
ALUMNI ASSOCIATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Know a passionate Connecticut College alum who wants to make a difference?
Nominate them for the Alumni Association Board of Directors! The Board leads alumni volunteer efforts worldwide and collaborates with the College to enhance activities for alumni, both on and off campus. Our 33-member Board includes alumni from the 1960s to the 2020s, representing diverse classes across the country.
and I heartily recommend it. Who knows the new interests and relationships such an effort might spark?
75
Correspondents: Estella Johnson, estjohnson1@aol.com, and Miriam Josephson Whitehouse, mirwhitehouse@ gmail.com Mark Warren organized a dinner at Penny Lane Pub (Old Saybrook, Conn.) for visiting Seattle-based alum Walter Chacht ’78 and his wife, Cima. They were joined by Bob Ballek ’73, John O’Hare, Steve Brunetti ’76 and Jim Michaolve ’76. Estella Johnson and husband Sekazi shared a lovely lunch with Lisa Goldsen Yarboro and Tim Yarboro in June. Looking forward to getting together for our 50th next year. Can’t believe it’s been that long.
76
Correspondents: Kenneth Abel, 334 West 19th St., Apt. 2-B, New York, NY 10011, kenn616@aol.com, and Susan Hazlehurst Milbrath, P.O. Box 3962, Greenwood Village, CO 80155-3962, shmilbrath@gmail.com
After 29 years in business in Cleveland Heights,
Alumni Association Board of Directors at Fall Weekend 2023
To nominate a fellow Camel, scan the QR code at right. Nominations received after Oct. 31, 2024, will be considered for the 2025-2026 term.
50th Reunion classmates of 1974 Janice Curran, Susie Compton Pollard and Janet Lawler in the Arboretum
Pastor Tom Caruso ’74 (right) on a sightseeing cruise in Pittsburgh with friend Tom Sturgill
Mark Warren ’75 organized a dinner at Penny Lane Pub (Old Saybrook, Conn.) for visiting Seattle-based alum Walter Chacht ’78 and his wife, Cima. They were joined by Bob Ballek ’73, John O’Hare ’75, Steve Brunetti ’76 and Jim Michaolve ’76.
SUPPORT CONNECTICUT COLLEGE AND RECEIVE INCOME BACK
devoted alumnus who cherishes the close relationships she made while a student, Marcia Matthews ’67 decided to make a gift to Connecticut College through a charitable gift annuity. “My husband and I have always been in education and feel strongly about giving back to our schools and colleges. I like the idea that I can give this gift and still get some money back during our lifetimes. The College is also remembered in our will.”
Ohio, John Emerman sold his Stone Oven Bakery Café and has enjoyed retirement since February. Like every other retiree, he started playing pickleball and loves it. He also volunteers at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, plays guitar, takes lots of walks to get through his audiobooks, and enjoys his grandson, who thankfully lives nearby. John has reconnected with his freshman roommate, David Diprete. Over Memorial Day weekend, John flew to Seattle to see David and his family at his house on Marrowstone Island. Now they swap daily results of the New York Times Connections game; reminisce about having to share probably the worst room on campus, a converted storage closet in KB; and wonder how John got David interested in taking a calculus class. Nina George-Hacker is finishing her second novel, due out late this year or early next. Her first novel, Foreign Friends, under the pen name Lia Giannakis, came out in early 2023. Nina is in her eighth year as rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Compass, Pa., where husband Rick Hacker continues as organist/choir director. With their three cats, they enjoy living at the Cornwall Manor Retirement Community in Cornwall, Pa., although neither plans to retire anytime soon. Veronica Makowsky retired from UConn in 2021 as a professor of English and off-andon administrator. She and husband Jeffrey Gross celebrated their 46th anniversary at their new home in Deep River, Conn., a few blocks from the Connecticut River. They downsized to restore an 1838 artisan’s cottage, where they live with their Australian shepherd and three cats. Veronica continues to research and publish, volunteers at the town’s historical society, cooks, walks, does yoga, and, as ever, reads a lot. They enjoy visits with their two sons, who used their humanities degrees advantageously to become a video game programmer and a lawyer. Kate Tweedy Covey turned 70, like many of us. She celebrated with a bouncy castle and a weekend of cycling and lake fun with her siblings and family from California, Montana, Colorado, Hawaii, Nigeria, D.C. and Maryland. Bill Eldon did a major update this spring. He hopes to make his first reunion—our 50th!—in a couple of years, now that it’s not impossible for an employed academic!
Correspondent: Stuart Sadick, stuart.sadick@gmail.com Luanne Rice’s most recent novel, Last Night, came out in February. It’s a thriller that takes place at the Ocean House in Watch Hill, R.I., during a blizzard. She has also written several young adult novels. “It’s been interesting writing from the perspective of a teenager—all the feelings come back and make it easy to remember those high school and early CC days.” Her latest YA, If Anything Happens to Me, came out Sept. 17. “It is set on the southeastern Connecticut shoreline, including New
London.” It’s been a year since I, Stuart Sadick, moved to Worcester, Mass., with my family. All goes well. I’m finding ways to reconnect with the community; recently I was elected board president at Preservation Worcester. In June I celebrated 25 years at Heidrick & Struggles, now in a partner emeritus role focusing on initiatives and programs related to the development of our firm’s people and culture. I also enrolled in a coaching certification program through Columbia University’s Teachers College. Life is full and good. As class correspondent I encourage you all to send me updates. It’s always good to hear from you.
Correspondent: Laurie Heiss, laurieheiss@gmail.com Hoping you enjoyed your 50th high school reunions and are looking forward to 2028 at CC! Sarah Mognoni and Russ still live in South Jersey; she started a YouTube channel last year (Ahavah Productions-Intuitive Horsemanship), which now has 166,000 subscribers, where Sarah gets the word out on natural horsemanship. She planned to release a short film in the fall on women who enlisted in the cavalry during the Civil War; find info on her Facebook page and the YouTube channel. “Grandchildren Greyson (5) and Waverly (18 months) continue to delight us. Anyone visiting the Philly area is welcome to get in touch and visit; would love to see you!” Beth Ross, who started with our class but finished at UMass, still lives outside of Davenport, Calif., in the coastal range of the Santa Cruz Mountains. She wrote to us from southwestern Florida, where her entire family celebrated her parents’ 70th anniversary: “How lucky am I? Impossible to quantify … Wishing the very best to the Class of ’78.” Jim Diskant writes from Germany. He has been engaged in politics in his district in Berlin to help re-energize the Left Party (check out a post on his blog: tinyurl.com/256w68dj). He continues to consult for EuroClio, which supports history education. He enjoys theater, music, art and living in Berlin; a trip in May to Barcelona and surroundings was lovely. Jim will be back in the U.S. this fall to visit friends in Boston, his daughter (28) and granddaughter (2½) in Honolulu, and then the Philadelphia area for his 50th high school reunion at Lower Merion High School. Barry Gross and wife Cindi celebrated their 40th anniversary by touring Rome and Tuscany. They both still work full-time. Barry does not plan to attend his 50th high school
reunion
Susan Greenberg Gold ’78 and Steve Gold arrive at Machu Picchu: “On the bucket list.”
but is looking forward to our 50th CC reunion in 2028! Susan Greenberg Gold completed a bucket-list destination in June by hiking up to Machu Picchu for the iconic view and archaeological deep dive into Incan history and culture. “It was a truly phenomenal experience!” Sue continues her service as an end-of-life doula in Manhattan and Brooklyn and serves as an escort/accompanier for young women coming to NYC for abortion care. She is an active and avid political advocate for the New York State ERA proposition to enshrine equal rights protections in the state constitution and for Compassion & Choices working to legalize medical aid in dying in New York State, and she coordinated the writing of thousands of postcards to registered voters to Get Out the Vote in November. Sue and Steve enjoy “retirement/ re-wirement” to the fullest, and Morocco is next on their list. Win Morgan lives in Bethesda, Md. He and his spouse and colleague, Ann Levin, returned from the Philippines, where they had been helping the government to plan the elimination of cervical cancer. They traveled to Cote d’Ivoire on a similar mission earlier this year and look forward to visiting Guatemala soon for similar public health consulting work. They are off to Scotland in November to present their work at the International Papillomavirus Conference & Basic, Clinical and Public Health Scientific Workshops in Edinburgh. Son Ian continues his postdoc work at the National Institutes of Health and his spouse combats climate change at George Mason University, while Win’s daughter, Sarah, continues her work as a data analyst at the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Alan Goodwin joined 20,000 other cyclists at RAGBRAI (IYKYK) in July, bicycling from the Missouri River across Iowa to the Mississippi River. His seven-day journey covered 333 miles and 12,500 feet of climbing, with camping each night. As an Art History major, a highlight of his ride was a stop at the American Gothic house in Eldon, Iowa, featured in the background of Grant Wood’s well-known painting of rural life. Jenny Rudnick played the role of Starkeeper in the Music Theater Works (Skokie, Ill.) production of Carousel
Yes, Conn did breed dreamers.
— JONATHAN GOLDMAN ’80
Correspondents: Connie Gemmer, chgemmer58@gmail. com, and Lois Mendez Catlin, fabulois824@gmail.com Martha Brest moved to Boston right after college and lived in various neighborhoods; she now lives in Beacon Hill, where she hopes to remain even if the rest of Boston falls into the ocean. She worked in the banking industry for five years, then switched to a career in executive recruiting, first specializing in investment management and then executive search for nonprofit institutions. She retired in 2014 and began traveling: Machu Picchu, Galápagos Islands, Vietnam, Cambodia, Singapore, and most recently Amsterdam and Paris. She is planning a cruise to the Greek Islands in the fall of 2025. Currently she volunteers at Mass General Brigham Hospital and is an architectural preservation activist. Jonathan Goldman and Nicole Novick Goldman look forward to seeing folks next year. As artists they are still in their studios every day: Nicole with her fiber art, natural dyeing, weaving, etc. and Jon with his three-year-old TRUTH PROJECT, for which he has been working to deploy an 8-foot-by-48-foot aluminum sculpture of the word “TRUTH” for the piece TRUTH LOST AT SEA. If all goes as planned, he will launch it first in Woods Hole and then in Boston Harbor, then drive it down I-95 to the Hudson River and the Schuylkill River, and then down I-95 again to the Supreme Court in D.C. It will be TRUTH PROJECT’s “October Surprise tour.” Solar-powered, internally lit and mounted on two pontoons, it is draining Jon with the challenges. “It is an attempt to get people talking about this concept critical to the foundation of our democracy, to build a bridge of dialogue and break down the divisiveness. Yes, Conn did breed dreamers. Stay cool!” Kathy Davis Guay and her husband retired two years ago to Brunswick, Maine, a college town north of Portland. They love the beauty of Maine and the kindness of the people. One son lives nearby and the other lives in Brooklyn, N.Y. Before moving, Kathy retired from teaching special education and now looks forward to finding some meaningful volunteer work. For the past four years, she has enjoyed taking watercolor classes. She keeps in touch with several friends from freshman year in Burdick and looks forward to Reunion! Fred Kuehndorf and Aimee Hamelin Kuehndorf ’95 moved to Naples, Fla., last year after living in Westport, Conn., for 23 years and raising two great kids. They miss Westport but love Florida! Son John just graduated from Boston College (Class of ’24) and daughter Elizabeth is a junior at Colgate University. They plan to spend their summers in the Boston area (Charlestown this past summer) but haven’t settled on a more permanent spot just yet.
ALUMNI INSIGHTS
A message from your Alumni Association Board President Chip Clothier ’79 P’10
Fellow Alumni,
This marks the beginning of a series of letters from your Alumni Board president. In each issue, you’ll find messages from me highlighting information of particular interest to Connecticut College alumni.
Welcome President Andrea E. Chapdelaine, Ph.D. As a member of the Presidential Search Committee, I am thrilled to welcome President Chapdelaine to the College. Dr. Chapdelaine impressed us with her nine years of experience running a college, successfully addressing challenges such as physical plant improvements, rising costs, fundraising efforts, and faculty and staff wages. She deeply values the role of alumni in supporting the College, not just through fundraising but also through engagement. I met with Dr. Chapdelaine during her second week on the job, and she is genuinely excited to be here and get to work.
Reunion 2024
We enjoyed a beautiful weekend celebrating the Reunion of classes ending in 4s and 9s, with over 1,000 alumni and guests returning to reconnect with classmates and explore the College’s new attractions. The highlight was the CC Blues and Brews Bash at The Kohn Waterfront, featuring the Class of 1989 band, The Plex Pistols, delicious cocktails, a cornhole tournament, and water taxi rides on the Thames. The Celebrations Reunion, which coincided with the 50th Anniversary of Unity House, offered numerous events celebrating diversity at Conn and culminated in a beautiful gospel brunch attended by more than 50 alumni.
How Can I Get Involved?
Your Alumni Board is always looking for alums to help us foster community. You can host a “Camels Connect” event in your hometown, nominate fellow alums for the Alumni Awards given out at Reunion, support the Hale Center for Career Development by offering guidance or internships to students, or assist your class gift officer with fundraising.
How Do I Stay Up to Date?
Stay informed about alumni activities at the College and beyond by regularly checking the calendar of events in the Alumni section of the College’s website (www. conncoll.edu/alumni) and following us on social media:
Facebook (@conncollalumni)
Instagram (@conncollalumni)
TikTok (@conncollege)
If you have any questions, please contact me at ihc@hfcsearch.com.
Alan Goodwin ’78 at the American Gothic house in Eldon, Iowa, featured in Grant Wood’s well-known painting
The Unconventional Traveler
For the past 35 years, explorer and international documentary photographer Daryl Hawk ’79 has traveled alone to some of the most remote and isolated places in the world, spending weeks at a time documenting different cultures and landscapes.
In 2016, after strict travel restrictions for Americans were lifted, Hawk made his first trip to Cuba. “That became a transformative experience for me,” says Hawk, who has since returned more than a dozen times on a mission to create what he calls the “most in-depth photo documentary” ever on the communist island nation.
already difficult financial situation become even more dire for Cuba’s people, including the many small business owners he’s befriended during his travels.
I’ve visited every province, every city and nearly every town.
“I’ve visited every province, every city and nearly every town,” Hawk says. And while most Cuban citizens live in poverty and have difficulty accessing essentials like medication, Hawk says he likes to focus his photography on the positives—the vibrant culture, the captivating architecture and the resilient people.
Still, over the last eight years, Hawk says he’s seen an
— DARYL HAWK ’79
That inspired the former host and producer of the cablevision television show The Unconventional Traveler, which featured some of the world’s leading explorers, adventurers and filmmakers sharing their work from various expeditions and documentaries, to found a personal travel company called, fittingly, Unconventional Travelers. Through his new business, Hawk takes adventurous travelers on off-the-beaten-path trips through Cuba, allowing them to experience the culture while at the same time injecting money into the local economies.
When he isn’t traveling, Hawk spends his time lecturing, writing, leading workshops and enjoying the White Mountains of Lancaster, New Hampshire.
For more information, visit theunconventionaltravelers.com.
Aimee and Fred celebrated their 25th anniversary in a ceremony at Harkness Chapel with many ’80 and ’95 alums in attendance, too many to list here. They miss groomsman Chuck Mathews ’80, who sadly passed away five years ago. They caught up with Frank Diaz-Balart and Steve McElheny on the Cape last summer: “Fun times!” Janice Mayer writes from Santa Fe, N.M., where she is the grants and development director of the Sky Center/New Mexico Suicide Prevention Project. The Sky Center provides no-cost family counseling for youth and their families. She spends leisure time enjoying music concerts with Marty Noss Wilder, the owner of Aspen Bodywork Center, and Linda Hale Osborne ’63. Annie-B Parson was nominated for a Tony Award for choreography in 2024. She choreographed a performance that opened at Storm King Arts Center on July 19. She also choreographed the opera The Hours at the Metropolitan Opera in May and a music video for Kim Deal, also in May. William (Kip) Tobin is happily retired and volunteers at Akron Children’s Hospital four days a week—the best job he’s ever had! He has two grandchildren: a 3-year-old boy and a 1½-year-old girl. Fortunately, his son and daughter-in-law and the kids live nearby, so he tries to see them regularly: “They grow and change every week!” Kip’s daughter is in Denver. He looks forward to hearing about others in our class! Anne Verplanck has retired from college teaching. She spends her time writing a long-delayed book (she will change our names if it is a tell-all) and volunteering for her community and for Conn. I, Lois Mendez Catlin, thank you for all your submissions! It is always fantastic to hear updates about your lives. I would be remiss if I begged for contributions but did not also contribute. I now have two grandchildren: mi nieto (grandson) Xavier Blane (6 weeks old at writing) and nieta (granddaughter) Cynthia Marie (1 year and 4 months). It is fun to see them learn the things we forget that we didn’t know how to do and now take for granted AND to see the frustration on their parents’ faces at things they wondered why we were “overreacting” to! Ahh, the marvels of parenthood. I look forward to seeing you at our 2025 Reunion. Please send your thoughts on anything you want to make sure we (the reunion committee) include!
Classics conference. “Our 40th class reunion was awesome,” writes Sheryl Edwards Rajpolt. “I especially enjoyed celebrating Annie Scott’s Unity Award, the Blues and Brews Waterfront Bash cruise on the Thames, staying in my freshman dorm room in Plant, and catching up with so many great classmates! I also celebrated my 40th anniversary at IBM this year while balancing work and fun with friends and family.”
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I have taken up ballroom dancing, which is extremely fun!
— HELEN MURDOCH ’87
Correspondent: Jenifer Kahn Bakkala, JKBBlue@gmail.com, 51 Wesson Terrace, Northborough, MA 01532, 508-5238930 Dawn Carleton lives in Napa, Calif., where she is the assistant head of school at a small, PK-8 independent school. She has “two amazing granddaughters: Vivienne, 2, and Serena, 3 months, who live in Novato—a mere 35 minutes away. It is the BEST to be a Gramma! They crack me up all the time!” Frank Tuitt has been named a fellow for the 2024-’25 year at the American Council on Education. He was also honored at the 11th Annual 100 Men of Color Black Tie Gala & Awards in Hartford, Conn., which recognizes 100 men of color in Connecticut and Massachusetts for their impact in leadership, entrepreneurship, education, athletics, entertainment, health care, government, and public and community service. Helen Murdoch works at CYPHER Learning, a learning management platform for schools and organizations, as the trainer for the United States and Canada. “It combines my decades of teaching experience with a love of tech. There is also the bonus of remote working (think: working while I visit friends and family). I am still president of a couple local nonprofit boards and have taken up ballroom dancing, which is extremely fun!” Helen looks forward to a visit from Peg Harlow and Paul Stueck ’85. Geoff Buckley and Alexandra MacColl Buckley ’89 met up with Leslee Carlson Wagner ’89 and Eric Wagner ’88 this past July in Portland, Ore., to celebrate the wedding of Geoff and Alex’s oldest son.
8981 Lisa Gersumky Geberth retired as vice president of the Structured & Project Finance division at the Export-Import Bank of the United States in March and joined SAIC as an expert advisor in support of the Department of Defense’s Office of Strategic Capital in July. She lives in New Hampshire.
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Julie van Roden, Michael Ridgway ’75 and Christine (Chris) Hargreaves Ewing gathered on Martha’s Vineyard in the summer of 2023.
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Crai Bower received a Lowell Thomas Award for Excellence in Travel Journalism, and his essay “Two Farmers Make a Trail” was selected Best Story on Ireland by a series of national editors at the prestigious Travel
Correspondent: Deb Dorman Hay, camel89news@gmail.com Greetings from your newly elected class correspondent! I, Deb Dorman Hay, spent 25 years in this role before serving stints as VP and president and am happy to be back to the news! Our other class officers, all voted in at Reunion, are Noelle Ifshin (president) and Alix Davis Cummin (VP). Our 35th reunion was filled with smiles and laughter and perfect weather! Thanks to everyone who helped plan such a great weekend, especially co-chairs Mark and Stacy. Mark Howes wrote to say, “It was a pleasure and honor to co-chair the 35th reunion with Stacy Xanthos and see everyone who attended Reunion and the unofficial gathering at Abbott’s having such a great time reconnecting and witnessing David Grann and Jamie Glanton Costello receive awards.” If you are ever in the OC/LA area, give Mark a shout! Elizabeth Bankson was sorry to miss Reunion! She lives in Winston-Salem, N.C., putting her Hispanic Studies major to use teaching Spanish to grades 1-5. She gathered with classmates Deb Schachter, Jonathan Schwarz, Alison Knocke
Julie van Roden ’82, Michael Ridgway ’75 and Christine (Chris) Hargreaves Ewing ’82 gathered on Martha’s Vineyard in the summer of 2023.
Class of ’84 freshman roommates: Stephen Wilkins and Will Kane with Martha Clampitt Merrill and Sheryl Edwards Rajpolt
Class of ’84 Freeman friends: Michele Rosano Fitzgerald, Julie Perlman, Sheryl Edwards, Diane Gozemba and Julia Siegal
Renner Johnston ’89 (left) with Mogavero Architects’ founder David Mogavero
Deborah Marconi ’89, Sarah Warner ’89 and Mars Devassy ’89 enjoyed a reunion in Vancouver.
Forbes and Jamie Forbes in Jamaica Plain, Mass., this summer. Deb Dorman Hay and husband Eric attended a really fun show in July, featuring Andrew McKnight with his band, Beyond Borders. Keep an eye on Andrew’s website (www.andrewmcknight.net) for upcoming dates. Love it or hate it, never underestimate the power of Facebook to bring about impromptu reunions. Paige Margules Tobin, Tamsen Bales Sharpless and Mark Howes discovered they were all in Las Vegas the same weekend and got together for coffee. Mariamma (Mars) Devassy, Deborah Marconi and Sarah Warner caught up for a laugh-filled time in Vancouver this summer. Sarah has her doctorate in clinical psychology and runs a private practice. Mars is in her 31st year as a high school math teacher. Deb has owned her own marketing consulting business for the past 10 years, after being in the corporate world for nearly three decades. Renner Johnston, AIA, has been appointed president of Mogavero Architects, a renowned architecture
firm based in Sacramento, Calif. Founded 40 years ago by David Mogavero, the firm is known for its innovative and sustainable design solutions across a range of projects, from mixed-use developments and transit-oriented neighborhoods to student housing and residence halls. In his new role, Renner will lead the firm’s daily operations. Send your news to camel89news@gmail.com. You can also use this email to send us pictures of mini-reunions and milestones, which Mark Howes will add to the ever-growing slideshow of class memories accumulated since August 1985.
90Correspondent: Kristin Lofblad Sullivan, kls.sullivan@gmail.com Tanya Feliciano DeMattia’s daughter Alexia is a student at Conn, Class of 2027. “A lot has changed on campus (the Plex is now the preferred place to live!), but a lot is still the same. She loves it!” Tanya asked me a question I bet a lot of us are curious about: Who else has kids who ended up attending Conn? Let me know! While you’re at it, send me an update. After 25-plus years working for the Department of Children and Families in Massachusetts, Nicholas Holahan transitioned into a family law practice just west of Boston. “Challenges aplenty with four kids, two dogs, and a house held together with duct tape and sheer will. Thankfully, I married my soulmate and look forward to what comes next. Hope to see plenty of folks at Reunion next year!” After more than 25 years in NYC, Mare Neary Rubin and John Rubin have transitioned to small-town life in West Cornwall, Conn. Do not be fooled … they may have moved, but they have not slowed down. Mare works as a branding and marketing consultant and is involved in various boards and organizations, including the Economic Development Commission and the local monthly newspaper. John is a thera-
pist and still runs a small rock-band music school in NYC. He plays in several bands and is as happy behind the drum kit as he was in the days of Gerrymander Bob. (Remember that band?!) During the pandemic, John and the Rubin kids—Maddie and Caleb—formed a band that plays local events each summer. Word on the street is that Mare has been known to join in on the bass or tambourine. Speaking of the “p-word,” during the pandemic Mare checked off a bucket-list goal and became a certified yoga teacher, now teaching classes a few times a week in Cornwall. She caught up on Zoom with Christin Shanahan Brecher, Nora Olsen Nelson and Julie Smith Reinhardt. Reminder from Mario Laurenzi that every year on June 22 is World Camel Day. Who knew?! Send me a photo of you in Camel gear for the magazine (or at least for the Class of 1990 Insta!). Liz Michalski is celebrating her 30th anniversary with Bill Willard ’88 this summer. (How is that possible? Aren’t we all around 30? Don’t answer that.) Liz writes that her second book—Darling Girl—was a Book of the Month Club pick and had film rights optioned by the company that made Downton Abbey. “I’m working on my third novel in between bouts of missing my kids, who are at college. I’m not quite ready to be an empty nester, but yet here I am!” Abbe Bartlett Lynch writes: “I don’t have anything fun to share but wish the Class of ’90 well!” Yvonne Smith Dier echoes Abbe: “Nothing really exciting to share, maybe next time.” Listen, folks … don’t undersell what you’re up to. If you went to Target and the grocery store on the same day, that counts as an update. Mark your calendars for CC-sponsored holiday parties in Boston and NYC and start planning for our 35th reunion, coming in 2025!
Eric Wagner ’88, Alexandra MacColl Buckley ’89, Leslee Carlson Wagner ’89 and Geoff Buckley ’87, after a three-mile run in Portland, Ore.
Correspondent: Daniella Garran, dkgarran@gmail.com It was amazing to see so many classmates at Reunion in June. Assembling in the Windham living-roomturned-quad, we rearranged furniture in preparation for our own 50-something version of a TNE. As we caught up and compared notes on various medical procedures and physical ailments, we came to the striking realization that we are no longer 20 years old. But along with the gray hairs have come numerous accomplishments for our classmates, especially Saveena Dahll and Ann Napolitano, who were honored with awards from the College at Convocation. Thanks to Jen Lapan Mann and Carol Giusti Cahalane for making ribbons to honor our late classmate, Esther Potter Zaff, which we proudly wore all weekend. Additional thanks to Jon Finnimore, who has curated the perfect playlist over the past 30 years. I think it’s safe to say that our dancing remains as awkward as ever but the music is on point. As always, Ramsay Vehslage and Andrew Bogle provided ongoing colorful commentary and laughs all weekend. During the weekend, we learned that many ’94 Camel offspring are off on their own college journeys. Chris Rogers’ daughter, Ava, matriculated into Conn’s Class of 2028, and his sons have taken up rowing, following in their dad’s footsteps. Igor Serov has passed on his championship rowing genes to daughter Natalia, who was recruited to row for UCLA. Summer 2024 was a Camelpalooza for Dana Rousmaniere. In addition to Reunion, he caught up with Eddie Kiaune in Portland, Maine; Pete Esselman on Cape Cod; and Kevin Kelly and Erika Buck ’95 in Newport, R.I. Dana rode in the Pan-Mass Challenge with Jon Zaff ’95 in memory of Esther Potter-Zaff and then participated in a 25th annual golf weekend with Jon Finnimore, Dan Levine, Chris McDaniel and Chuck Stackhouse. Dana quips, “You can never have enough Camels in your life!” Colleen Gorman Toporek is doing well and working for Apple in Seattle. She is still recovering from a couple of surgeries and treatments in 2022, but so far the tumor in her brain is stable. She hated to miss our 30th reunion and still talks to Jessica Ammirati and Kathy Burdette often! Chad Marlow was appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, to the Federal School Safety Clearinghouse External Advisory Board, a group of school safety experts and education leaders that will provide advice and recommendations on enhancing the safety and security of America’s K-12 schools while protecting students’ civil rights and liberties.
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Ed Peselman launched a truecrime podcast, Where the Trail Ends, with the help of Drew Lagace ’08. Where the Trail Ends can be streamed on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and more!
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Claudia Bachmann-Bouchard is super excited that her work has been published in the Geography Teacher Journal. The multiday lesson “Won-
ders of the World: Exploring Living Creatures,” created for multilingual learners, has been spotlighted in the journal. “It is extremely important to teach geography in all content areas and to all types of learners.”
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Lindsey Sundberg Chisholm and husband Brendan Chisholm have become great friends with fellow Camel Nancy Finn Kukura ’68 during their
Weddings
Gideon Olshansky ’15 married Margret Wiggins ’15 on Oct. 8, 2023, in Beacon, N.Y. There were plenty of Conn alumni in attendance. Back row (L-R): Alexander Wolff ’14, Benjamin Weinstein ’15, Christopher Giri ’15, Kurt Reinmund ’15, Emily Coffin ’15. Front row (L-R): Lucy Drayson ’15, Josephine Bingler ’15, Margret Wiggins ’15, Gideon Olshansky ’15, Ines Finol ’15, Kaitlyn Garbe ’15.
College sweethearts Alexandra Baltazar ’19 and Anthony Joseph Wallace ’19 said “I do” on Oct. 1, 2023, at The Starting Gate, in Hampden, Mass, and were joined by many fellow Conn alumni.
She said yes! Elisabeth Smith ’20 and Bobby Mullins ’18 got engaged during a beautiful waterside picnic on April 17, 2024.
Katie Vason ’06 and Greg DeVaney were married on June 15, 2024, in Madison, Ga, and currently live in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Camels gathered in December to celebrate the wedding of Matthew Hyszczak ’16 and Natalie Dumart Hyszczak ’19. L-R: Emma-Cate Rapose, Riley Myhaver ’21, Danielle Garside, William Yates Bogle V ’16, Maya Holland ’19, Jacob Brookhart, Garrison Smith ’19, Matthew Hyszczak ’16, Natalie Dumart Hyszczak ’19, Meg Bellavance ’20, Kendra Bolt ’19, Ben Shalek, Julia Fife ’19, Emma Henricks ’19, Delena Nguyen.
The Class of ’94 assembles for the parade of classes at Reunion.
time at the Melrose Rotary Club. They recently gathered for a surprise 50th birthday for the executive director of the chamber of commerce.
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Correspondent: Nora Mirick Guerrera, noramguerrera@gmail.com After 17 years with Bank of America’s Private Bank as a managing director and senior trust officer, Ben Hillyard became a partner and fiduciary specialist with Fidelis Capital. Fidelis is an advisor-owned wealth management firm and “outsourced family office” providing comprehensive financial advisory services to high-net-worth clients and their families. Fidelis was created by former executives and thought leaders from rival institutions to deliver a better private bank experience. Theo Sites lives in Seattle, working in marketing and swimming a lot. She’d love to get in touch with any other CC folks in the Seattle area! Tiana Davis Hercules, founder of Lady Jane, is hitting big business milestones, with her first adultuse dispensary scheduled to open soon. She, along with fellow cannabis-business owners and the CTPardonsDay Coalition, completed a program that assisted more than 300 residents with clearing their criminal records during Juneteenth week. Shahzad Zaveer, Usman Amin Sheikh, Malik Sarmad Asif ’05, Syed Kamran Hasnain ’02 and Fahad Shams ’06 got together at Meet Bros Steakhouse in Paddington, London, after nearly two decades. CC all the way!
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Correspondent: Julia Jacobson, julia.jacobson@gmail.com On summer break from teaching third grade, Helen Martin gathered with friends and family while visiting Shenandoah National Park. Caroline Damon graduated with her Ed.D. from NYU in May. Ianthe Hensman Hershberger was thrilled to meet up with Katie Roth Huray and Kristi Clough while at a forum in D.C. Katie Vason and Greg DeVaney were married on June 15 in Madison, Ga., and live in Brooklyn, N.Y. A mini Camel reunion in Brooklyn, N.Y., to celebrate Julia Jacobson’s 40th birthday included Elaine Weisman ’05, Megan Glendo Dhilla ’05, Caroline Martin, Julia Jacobson, Katey Nelson, Abby Geller Wein and Sarah Davis Lieponis. Hold on to your humps, Conn Coll! The Coin College Boys—Craig Rowin, Zach Protta, Rory Panagotopulos, Dan Cayer ’04, Rich Kappler ’04, Ben Johnson ’04 and Alex Waxman ’04—the inventive minds behind Sentimental Coins—have some huge news. “While you may have heard that our flagship location in Boulder, Colo., has shuttered, we’re not letting this camel’s back break. When one door says ‘coin-voyage,’ another one always opens. We’re now embarking on a new journey into the digital world. We’re pleased to announce that Sentimental Coins is partnering with AI startup FrameFlame Solutions to launch SentimentAI Coins. This next-generation product uses artificial intelligence based on large language models, limitedly invasive facial scans and predictive neural nets to take cherished photos of your deceased loved ones and imagine how they might look today, all while transforming them into collectible coins. When our new product goes live, we plan to offer the first 50 CC alums a free Sentimental Coin tank top reading, ‘Sentiment, Coin, Repeat.’ Just use the promo code SENTIMENTALCONN at checkout and you’ll be ready to coin some new memories in your fresh gear. Stay tuned for more updates as we coin a new path in the world of collectibles.”
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Correspondent: Whitney Longworth, whitney.longworth@gmail.com Nik Roybal was accepted into the MFA Creative Writing program at the California Institute of the Arts. They continue to craft their debut collection of poetry: i g n e o u s.
09
Elly Berke published her first children’s book, Listen, Wonder, Ask, with Tilbury House, an imprint of Cherry Lake Publishing. The story follows the spark of curiosity from a young girl as she notices the different languages spoken in her neighborhood. Released Sept. 15, the book is available in stores and online.
15
Gideon Olshansky married Margret Wiggins on Oct. 8, 2023, in Beacon, N.Y. There were plenty of Conn alumni in attendance, including Alexander Wolff ’14, Benjamin Weinstein, Christopher Giri, Kurt Reinmund, Emily Coffin, Lucy Drayson, Josephine Bingler, Ines Finol and Kaitlyn Garbe
16
On Dec. 16, 2023, Matthew Hyszczak married Natalie Dumart Hyszczak ’19 in East Bridgewater, Mass. They were joined by family, friends and plenty of fellow Camels!
18
Bobby Mullins and Elisabeth Smith ’20 got engaged during a beautiful waterside picnic on April 17. Hallie Carmen earned a master of science degree in communications from the prestigious S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, all while maintaining her role as a marketing manager at the China General Chamber of Commerce-USA in Manhattan. She looks forward to applying her freshly acquired academic credentials, fluency in Mandarin Chinese (which she developed during her time at Conn), and her passion for the Olympics and global sporting events as she embarks on a career transition into the sports/sports media industry. On April 21, Meghan Lembo became one of the youngest runners in the world to earn the Abbott World Marathon Majors Six Star Finisher medal. Meg started running marathons in 2019 after playing field hockey and ice hockey at Conn. Her Abbott World Major journey started in Chicago in 2021 followed by Boston, Berlin, Tokyo, New York and finally London in April. She is one of only 14,000 runners in the world to earn the Six Star Finisher title. It has been a journey for Meg supported by her family and friends, including many Conn alumni.
19
College sweethearts Alexandra Baltazar and Anthony Joseph Wallace said “I do” on Oct. 1, 2023, at The Starting Gate, in Hampden, Mass.
22
Gianna Ferrara received her master of public health degree from Vanderbilt University with a concentration in epidemiology on May 10. Her thesis studied the “Associations Between Household Secondhand Smoke Exposure in the First Year of Life and Subsequent Recurrent Wheezing and Asthma Diagnoses in Childhood,” and she completed her practicum with Lwala Community Alliance, a Kenyan-founded organization.
Claudia Bachmann-Bouchard ’02 was published in the Geography Teacher Journal.
Caroline Damon ’06 graduated with her Ed.D. from NYU in May 2024.
Helen Martin ’06 with her four children, spouse, and teacher friends from Connecticut to Florida, hiking at Shenandoah National Park
Ianthe Hensman Hershberger ’06 was thrilled to meet up with Katie Roth Huray ’06 and Kristi Clough ’06 while at a forum in D.C.!
A mini Camel reunion in Brooklyn, N.Y., to celebrate Julia Jacobson ’06’s 40th birthday! Pictured: Elaine Weisman ’05, Megan Glendon Dhilla ’05, Caroline Martin ’06, Julia Jacobson ’06, Katey Nelson ’06, Abby Geller Wein ’06 and Sarah Davis Lieponis ’06
Meghan Lembo ’18 in London, April 2024 after the London Marathon
Lindsey Sundberg Chisholm ’03 and husband Brendan Chisholm ’03 have become great friends with fellow Camel Nancy Finn Kukura ’68 during their time at the Melrose Rotary Club.
1940s
Margaret Blanchard ’40 died February 3, 2019
Elizabeth Schwab Fuld ’41 died January 19, 2024
Guldane Keshian Mahakian ’41 died December 28, 2023
Constance Hillery Murcott ’41 died September 9, 2010
Leann Donahue Rayburn ’41 died October 12, 2016
Margo Hotchkiss Kyle-Keith ’42 died May 1, 2017
Marion Bisbee Smith ’42 died June 16, 2019
Maryanna McElroy Kelly ’43 died July 14, 2024
Helen Johnston Shea ’44 died September 20, 2022
Estelle Raymond Lussier ’45 died April 24, 2024
Mary Watkins Wolpert ’45 died August 4, 2021
Ann McBride Tholfsen ’47 died November 19, 2023
Marian Stern Kafka ’48 died March 15, 2024
Janet Regottaz Bickal ’49 died May 2, 2024
Gale Craigie Chidlaw ’49 died April 12, 2024
Jeanne Webber Clark ’49 P’73 died May 23, 2024
1950s
Naomi Harburg Levy ’50 died April 8, 2024
Marjorie Theleen Medalie ’50 died July 23, 2010
Mary Bundy Mersereau ’50 died February 22, 2024
Nancy Sherman Schwartz ’50 died June 10, 2024
Joanne Willard Nesteruk ’51 died March 28, 2024
Georgianna Albree Markel ’52 died November 12, 2022
Eleanor Souville Minners ’52 died June 11, 2024
Patricia Mottram Anderson ’53 P’88 died May 9, 2024
Sydney Allen Marshall ’53 died July 2, 2024
Janice Adams ’54 died June 15, 2022
Lois Keating Learned ’54 died July 10, 2024
Ann Heagney Weimer ’54 died March 22, 2024
Carole Struble Baker ’55 died November 11, 2021
Marta Lindseth Jack ’55 died May 14, 2024
Zelda Groper Smith ’55 died April 28, 2024
Geneva Grimes de Labry ’56 died April 10, 2024
Barbara Jenkinson ’56 died April 8, 2024
Joy Shechtman Mankoff ’56 died June 1, 2024
Victoria Sherman May ’56 died April 15, 2024
Esther Pickard Wachtell ’56 died June 1, 2024
Helen Morrison Elkus ’57 died July 1, 2023
Sarah Luchars McCarthy ’57 died April 16, 2024
Mary Burns McKee ’57 died March 28, 2018
Jo Anne Munigle ’57 died August 2, 2021
Nancy Stevens Purdy ’57 died July 1, 2024
Judith Clark Smultea ’57 died April 12, 2019
Eugenia Cuyler Worman ’57 P’91 died April 8, 2024
Emily Graham Wright ’57 died April 15, 2024
Nancy Dorian ’58 died April 24, 2024
Suzanne Gross Englander ’58 died November 20, 2023
Lucy Abbott Green ’58 P’89 GP’28 died March 2, 2024
Suzanne Rie Day ’59 GP’09 died January 16, 2024
Dorothy Fleming King ’59 died August 1, 2024
Mary Benedict Monteith ’59 died March 11, 2024
Elke Baring Oetting ’59 died January 7, 2023
1960s
In Memoriam
Susan Scheller Johnson ’60 died March 14, 2024
Linda Strassenmeyer Stein ’60 died May 13, 2024
Patricia Ingala Scalzi ’62 died April 30, 2024
Evelyn Efthimion Dracon ’63 died March 23, 2024
Marion Pierce Hart ’63 died June 3, 2024
Deane Fischer Edelman ’64 died May 15, 2024
Leslie Feely ’66 died March 29, 2024
Susan Harrigan ’66 died March 23, 2024
Susan Smith Lewis ’66 died December 7, 2022
Martha Kidd Cyr ’67 died April 21, 2024
Priscilla Smalzel-Delas ’67 died January 8, 2024
Corinne Bronfman ’68 died October 7, 2022
Gary Schnirel ’69 died November 17, 2023
1970s
Emily Eisenberg Karelitz ’70 died March 10, 2024
Betty Cohn Simpson ’72 died April 10, 2023
Zell Steever ’72 died April 15, 2024
Deborah Zilly Woodworth ’72 died May 16, 2024
David Clark ’73 died July 18, 2024
Donald Eccleston ’74 died July 4, 2023
Cheryl Freedman ’74 died August 26, 2010
Benjamin Howe ’74 died June 1, 2024
Nancy Slosberg Klotz ’74 died July 24, 2017
Cecily Allen Mermann ’74 died June 4, 2022
Anita Reznichek Riedinger ’74 died April 11, 2009
Irene Lunaas Servidio ’74 died March 3, 2022
Lon Sulkowski ’74 died November 11, 2015
Meryl Taradash ’74 died March 7, 2024
Rhea Lavigne Taylor-Russell ’74 died January 28, 2020
Anita Van Lente TeHennepe ’74 died December 20, 2023
Moira Griffin-McKenna ’77 died March 7, 2024
Kenneth Alpert ’79 died September 5, 2023
Paul Canelli ’79 P’12 died May 1, 2024
1980s
Andrew Nikel ’80 died April 4, 2024
Susan Wagner ’80 died May 16, 2024
Elizabeth Belshaw ’82 died March 22, 2024
Diane DelGrasso Ray ’83 died April 3, 2024
Jean Richardson Cade ’88 died June 6, 2024
2010s
Kendall Walton ’11 died March 13, 2024
Faculty and Staff
John P. Anthony, Professor Emeritus of Music, died August 9, 2024
Eugene TeHennepe, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy,
Deaths as reported to CC between 3/11/2024 and 8/9/2024 died in August 2024
John P. Anthony, professor emeritus of music, died Aug. 9 after a brief illness. A beloved member of the Conn community, Anthony taught in the Music Department for more than 50 years and also served as the College’s organist.
Born in Massachusetts, Anthony grew up in Arkansas and graduated from the University of Arkansas with majors in organ and French. He went on to earn a Ph.D. in music history from Yale University. He taught at Bates College and at Wheaton College before joining the Conn faculty in 1971.
At Conn, Anthony taught “Making Music at the Keyboard,” “Basic Keyboard Skills,” “Seminar in Music History” and “History of Western Music,” as well as music lessons. Even after retirement, he served as an adjunct performance faculty member teaching master classes and individual lessons. Anthony’s talents were a regular feature of campus life. He played in the Music in the Chapel Series, and he performed with a variety of his invited guests in the annual Halloween Concert. Anthony also endowed
No Stops Unpulled
a Chapel organ maintenance fund to ensure the future of organ music for the College and the community.
Anthony played recitals throughout New England and in Europe. He was a member and past dean of the New London County Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, and he was the organist and choirmaster at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Niantic, Connecticut.
“John’s contributions to the College are immeasurable, and as college organist he was integral to campus life. Playing for countless weddings, funerals and Mass services, John was also well known in the wider community. His passionate musicianship, generous spirit and care for students will be greatly missed,” said Chair of the Music Department Dale Wilson.
The College held a service of remembrance for Anthony in Harkness Chapel on Sept. 15. Anthony is survived by his twin brother, sister, three nephews and their families.
THE FUTURE IN FOCUS
By providing flexible funding that can be used right away, your support of the CC Fund enables Conn to meet immediate needs, like maintaining our beautiful campus and resourcing faculty/ student research. Just as important, annual fund dollars, which are spent in full each year to meet the day-to-day needs of our exceptional students, make it possible for the College to confidently plan for the future.
Campus Renewal
Renovations are underway on Crozier-Williams, at the center of our spectacular campus, to create a vibrant hub for students, faculty and staff.
Associate Professor and College Archaeologist Anthony Graesch checks in with field archaeology student Leslie Villegas ’24. Students are conducting subsurface archaeological testing in advance of a solar array project that will be installed on the south end of campus.
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Conn students march past the Manwaring Building while participating in the eighth annual We Are New London Parade in September.
