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Now Playing “What is true now is not going to be true in ten years. In this business, if you can’t stay fresh enough, curious enough, engaged enough, you are going to miss the best stories.”
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From the President The Hub CAMPUS LIFE ATHLETICS FACULTY BOOKS
Data Bank “We can break really big questions into smaller, solvable parts, divide up tasks, conduct research, analyze and poke holes in findings, and then present them—the whole scientific process.”
Looking Back Alumni News
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PROFILES CMCAA PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
The Bruno Factor “It’s easy to forget, but I’m still autistic. I just act like I’m not.”
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CLASS NOTES IN MEMORIAM
Parting Shot
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Unrestricted thinking requires unrestricted giving Your gift helps CMC shape the next generation of critical thinkers, real-world problem solvers, innovators, entrepreneurs, and leaders. With your support, there’s no limit to what CMC students can do—on campus and beyond!
Timothy Gallagher ’19 Hometown: Stowe, Vermont Major: Chemistry • • • • •
Fulbright Research Fellow Research Assistant to Dr. Anna Wenzel Senior Interviewer at Office of Admission Resident Assistant at Appleby Hall Outstanding Senior Organic Chemistry Student Award, American Chemical Society • Best Presentation, SoCal Undergraduate Chemistry Research Symposium
EDITORIAL
Thomas Rozwadowski Susan Price Valerie Ramos VISUAL
Anibal Ortiz DESIGN
Jay Toffoli ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT FOR PUBLIC AFFAIRS AND COMMUNICATIONS
Peter Hong
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ALUMNI ASSOCIATION COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE
Dan Freeman ’96 - co-chair Ken Gilbert ’73 - co-chair Laura Lulejian Klein ’92 Kimberly Munoz ’10 Rob Poy ’90 P’21 Faye Sahai ’90 P’22 Edgar Warnholtz ’19
“Being part of such an ambitious student body helped me realize it was OK to pursue my dreams. The guidance of CMC professors and the resources available on campus allowed for endless opportunity to make those goals a reality.”
Ways to give
www.cmc.edu/donate V E N M O : @CMC-AnnualFund P H O N E : 1-800-448-3226 ONLINE:
Fall 2019 CMC, Volume 42, Number 2 Published by Claremont McKenna College Claremont, CA 91711-6400 Claremont McKenna College, CMC, and Leaders in the Making are registered trademarks of Claremont McKenna College, and all applicable rights to use of the trademarks are reserved. Claremont McKenna College does not discriminate on any illegal basis in the administration of its admission, educational, or employment policies and practices. Claremont McKenna College is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer. To read online, go to www.cmc.edu/news/cmcmagazine. Copyright © 2019, Claremont McKenna College
CLAREMONT MCKENNA COLLEGE
from the president Dear Friends, Success, it is said, is where preparation meets opportunity. In this old saw, opportunity is external, something to be found. Undeniably, CMC’s rigorous liberal arts program, strong research institutes, competitive athletics, and vibrant residential life all prepare emerging leaders to seize the opportunities of our time. But CMC does more. We prepare students and alumni to create their own opportunities. CMC instills the courage and self-confidence in our students and alumni to carve their own new paths. In this magazine, you’ll find ample evidence of this claim. CMCers don’t wait for others to shape their fate. They take it into their own hands. You will see how. Lauren Iungerich ’96 and Tendo Nagenda ‘97 both pivoted in an evolving entertainment industry to assert control over their careers and create the stories they wanted to see. Bruno Youn ‘19 climbed out of his own challenges with autism and turned them into strengths. Scott Akasaki ’98 used a study abroad trip to become a walking encyclopedia of Japanese baseball and all but force his hometown Los Angeles Dodgers to give him a job. John Spinosa ‘80 aimed to solve problems using data at the San Diego Blood Bank, and turned to a CMC professor and associate dean, Emily Wiley, to develop a student-directed pilot study. Think of the rigorous education and invaluable encouragement from faculty, staff, and peers that inform Steve Bullock ’88 and his run for the presidency. These individual stories inspire our institutional path, as well. Consider the meteoric rise of the Murty Sunak Quantitative and Computing Lab, which attracted over 11,000 visits in only its first year. Reflect on the Institutional Excellence Award from the Heterodox Academy, noting that the CMC commitments as an exemplar for freedom of expression, viewpoint diversity, and effective dialogue “mark a critical inflection point in the open inquiry movement.” Anticipate what’s still to come as we deepen and broaden our founding vision, strengthen and fully integrate sciences and computation in our strong liberal arts program, and yes, expand the powerful tools students have to create their own opportunities. Wishing you all the very best,
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thehub Making Their Mark
Heard at
Commencement “Class of 2019, you are something really quite special.” Sharon Basso, vice president of student affairs and dean of students, opened CMC’s 72nd commencement on May 18 with words of admiration for the College’s latest graduates. Love and the courage to love were a consistent theme throughout the day as speakers implored CMCers to take risks with their hearts and minds.
“What drives leadership is the confidence that we can overcome our inabilities, face our limitations, supersede our insecurities, and especially when most tired, do the hard work it takes to make a difference,” President Hiram E. Chodosh told the group gathered at Pritzlaff Field. Bachelor of Arts degrees were conferred on 307 students, with nine graduates also receiving their MA degrees. Keynote speaker Arthur Brooks was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree. Timothy Wright ’77, a lawyer and political adviser, delivered the invocation and also received the Distinguished Public Service Award. The three valedictorians were Ellery Koelker-Wolfe (Atlanta), Joseph Scheuer (Seal Beach, Calif.), and Meredith Thieme (Mercer Island, Wash.).
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Photo: Sandy Lopez
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“Nobody in history has ever been insulted into agreement. If your job is persuasion as opposed to showing your virtue, then you must love.” —Arthur Brooks, author of Love Your Enemies: How Decent People Can Save America from the Culture of Contempt
The List
Distinctive CMC honors for the Class of 2019 Patrick Elliott (Chicago) William H. Alamshah Award for Student Leadership Connor Bloom (Whitefish, Mont.) Alumni Association Citizenship Award Amiya Narula (New Delhi, India) Alumni Association Citizenship Award Corie Hack (Manorville, N.Y.) Alumni Association Outstanding Athlete Award for Women Mitchell Allan (Danville, Calif.) Alumni Association Outstanding Athlete Award for Men
HETERODOX ACADEMY
Leading the Way CMC was named this year’s winner of the Institutional Excellence Award by Heterodox Academy (HxA). President Hiram E. Chodosh received the award on behalf of the College at the HxA Open Inquiry Awards dinner this summer in New York City. CMC was chosen as “the college or university that has done the most to advance or sustain open inquiry, viewpoint diversity, and constructive disagreement either on its campus or nationally.” HxA hailed CMC’s Open Academy initiative (including government professor Jon Shields’ co-taught University Blacklist course with Pitzer professor Phil Zuckerman), the variety of speakers and viewpoints presented at the Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum, and its first-in-California Green rating for free speech from The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE). “The college has moved the conversation from reaction to intention, beyond ‘what’s wrong?’ to ‘how do we fix it?’” HxA officials said. Founded in 2015, Heterodox Academy is a nonpartisan, nonprofit collaborative of more than 2,500 professors, administrators, and graduate students.
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Mackenzie Cooney (Lisle, Ill.) William Dickinson Athletic Award Madeline Lee (Bellevue, Wash.) Brian Walkenbach Award for Outstanding Resident Assistant Melia Wong (Seattle) Brian Walkenbach Award for Outstanding Resident Assistant Lindsay Burton (Highland, Calif.) H.N. and Frances C. Berger Award for Outstanding Senior Woman Rafael Velasco (Waukegan, Ill.) H.N. and Frances C. Berger Award for Outstanding Senior Man See the full list of CMC and national award winners at cmc.edu. 5
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An All-Athenas Final As teammates, Caroline Cox ’21, Catherine Allen (SC ’20), Sarah Bahsoun ’22, and Nicole Tan ’20 are used to pushing one another in practice. This was different. This was unexpected. This was for the national championship. When Cox and Allen faced Bahsoun and Tan during the NCAA Division III Women’s Tennis doubles national championship in Kalamazoo, Mich., shared team goals— unfortunately—had to go out the window. Even head coach Dave Schwarz was forced to stay impartial and simply watch his four players play, as a fan. “I’ve never experienced anything like that before,” Cox said of competing against her fellow Athenas in the championship match. “It was tough because you want your teammates to succeed and win all of the time. The day before, we were cheering each other on just to get to the final. Then you realize how close you are to winning a national title—and they’re on the other side.” Cox and Allen came from behind to win the doubles national championship in three sets (6-7, 6-1, 6-3). The all-Athenas final also came at the end of an emotional roller coaster ride in Kalamazoo. Just four days before, CMS capped another unbelievable team season (27-2) with its second-straight appearance in the national title match. The Athenas, who were SCIAC and regional champions, lost a 5-4 heartbreaker to Wesleyan University to finish as the national runner-up. CMS had five players—Allen and Rebecca Berger ’21 for singles, along with Allen, Cox, Bahsoun, and Tan for doubles—earn All-America distinctions, the most in the nation. —Chris Watts
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Men’s Tennis The Stags, ranked No. 1 for six weeks, cruised to SCIAC and regional championships before losing to Emory 5-3 in a closely contested national title match. CMS (33-2) has now won 14-straight SCIAC titles, with a conference match win streak of 133. This was also the fifth time in the last decade that the program has played for the national championship. Nikolai Parodi ’20 advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division III singles championships and was named an ITA All-American (singles/ doubles) along with Jack Katzman ’21 (singles) and Julian Gordy ’19 (doubles).
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The Stags baseball team registered its most wins since 2011, led by All-West region selections Zach Clarke ’20 (pictured) and Justin Hull ’20.
Aracelia Aldrete ’20 and Amelia Ayala ’21 (pictured) were both second team AllSCIAC for an Athenas water polo squad that narrowly missed the post-season.
Lacrosse The Athena lacrosse team won the SCIAC championship for the third year in a row. The Athenas have won 30-straight conference matches dating back to the 2016 season. Corie Hack ’19 ended her career as CMS’ No. 2 all-time goal scorer (213 goals).
Golf
Softball The Athenas softball team had not won a SCIAC regular season title since 2011. That all changed as CMS earned its sixth conference championship with a 31-13 record, 24-4 in SCIAC play. Designated player Megan Perron ’21 was named second team All-American and first team All-Region, while utility Chloe Amarilla ’19 and catcher Maddie Valdez ’21 were second team All-Region.
Track and Field The Stags had eight athletes (four individuals and one relay team) at the NCAA Division III track and field championships, while three Athenas qualified. Prior to Nationals, the Stags and Athenas both won the SCIAC championship this season. For the Athenas, it was their fifth conference championship in a row.
The defending national champion CMS women’s golfers were once again in the mix for a title this season, placing fourth at the NCAA Division III Championships in Houston. Amy Xue ’22 was the conference’s individual champion this year and helped lead the Athenas to the program’s third-straight SCIAC title. For the second season in a row—and the third time in the last five seasons—Stag golfers placed in the top-10 nationally at the NCAA Championships. Led by SCIAC champion and conference player of the year Mason Chiu ’21, CMS placed eighth at Nationals.
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Seeing the big picture Coreen Rodgers was in her early twenties when she decided she’d like to be the chief operating officer of a college. A senior auditor with Arthur Andersen at the time, she worked closely with the University of Miami’s CFO on their annual audit. As Rodgers watched how he spent his days, she knew she’d love to one day have a similar role. “There were many, many steps I’d have to take to get there, but it was the path I wanted to be on,” said Rodgers, who became CMC’s vice president of business and chief operating officer in May. Rodgers oversees the financial and operational enterprises of the College, including finance and accounting, information technology and security, building and grounds management, human resources, food services and campus dining, and The Children’s School. Collaborating with President Hiram E. Chodosh, the Board of Trustees, and senior leadership on thoughtful financial stewardship of the college is her daily task, but Rodgers always keeps the big picture in mind. “What I really care about is the experience on campus—that students are well served, that parents, donors, and alumni have a great experience when they are here,” she said. “That’s everything from the moment they arrive—making sure there is somewhere to park, that the lighting is right, that everything is clean.” One of her first moves: reconfiguring the business offices in Bauer South so that people can easily find her and her staff and have a comfortable space to meet. Before joining CMC, Rodgers was vice president and chief financial officer of the Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens; chief operating officer of USC’s Keck School of Medicine; and senior administrator of the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute at the University of Miami. A CPA, Rodgers holds a B.S. in accounting from Pepperdine University and an MBA from the University of Miami. She lives in San Marino with her two children. “CMC’s mission represents all the core values that I personally hold true: to lead a thoughtful and productive life and to demonstrate responsible business leadership,” said Rodgers. “My heart swells a bit as I’m walking around campus. It feels like I’ve come home.” —Susan Price
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Game, Set, Match Erica Perkins Jasper was the former chief operating officer for the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, a head tennis coach at several Division I colleges (University of New Mexico, Michigan State), and a pioneering player at Washington State University. She joined our community as director of CMS Athletics in June.
Career highlights • Team captain and Academic All-
American at Washington State University • First WSU player to compete in the NCAA singles championship (three times) • First WSU player to play in four NCAA team championships • Member of first WSU women’s tennis team to play in the NCAA Tournament • First women’s tennis player inducted into the WSU Hall of Fame
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A Seattle native, Perkins Jasper’s parents both attended the University of Washington. Her dad, Doyle, was also a prolific tennis player there in the ‘50s. For someone who started playing tennis in preschool, college seemed pre-ordained. Except Washington only offered her a walk-on spot, so she went five hours east. “My dad said, ‘You should go where you are wanted.’ It wasn’t easy to accept, and I have to admit, there was always some extra motivation when I played Washington. It felt special to beat them.”
“I’ll always think of myself as a coach,” Perkins Jasper’s biggest goal upon arriving Perkins Jasper said. It’s why her leadership to Claremont: Immerse herself in the approach will extend to all students at social culture of CMC and CMS Athletics. CMC—not just those on organized CMS Expect to see her family—husband, Colin, teams—through health and wellness and two sons, Miles (7) and Caleb (5)—at activities at Roberts Pavilion. “Recreation plenty of games. “My sons are so happy to and physical education is a huge part of have a team—or in this case, teams—to my world. I want to get everyone excited root for again. They’ve grown up around about fitness through a class or an activity. my life in sports, so they’re used to getting Especially with students, I want to teach to know the student-athletes really well. them to be high-achieving and wellThey will absolutely be out in full force rounded in the entirety of their college during the season.” experience.” —Thomas Rozwadowski
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Global Imagination As a child in New Delhi, Aseema Sinha was surrounded by political discussion “in the kitchen, at the dining table, everywhere” with her socially conscious parents. While her Ph.D. program and mentors showed her how to marry deep and contextual knowledge of India with political science, Sinha knew she had another advantage: Her curiosity about what the rest of the world could teach her. Sinha is an expert on the political economy of India, India-China comparisons, and international organizations. By teaching students to love distant lands and traveling through a discipline like political science, they can better understand the “complex and fast changing world.” “I believe that my role is to share a global imagination with students so that they can understand their own unique place as actors among the complex web of political, economic, and social networks,” said Sinha, Wagener Family Professor of Comparative Politics and George R. Roberts Fellow. “Political ideas vary and change across different countries, and we can’t close our door to the global world. We need to open windows of ideas and understanding.” —Samantha Bonar
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PARIS MUSE Henri Cole pens a tender ode to a beloved city
MARCO GIUGLIARELLI
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alking in Paris, as an early spring blossoms around him and bees depart their hives, Henri Cole considered the similarities between their work and his own: “Like a worker bee, I take something raw and try to make something gold from it,” he writes in his latest book, Orphic Paris. Cole, Josephine Olps Weeks Professor of Literature, is the awardwinning author of nine collections of poetry, including Middle Earth, which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Orphic Paris shares the pristine sentences and stirring insights of Cole’s poetry, but its form is a departure. The book is part diary, part essay, part autobiography, part commentary on poets and their art—and, because Cole is a “chronic photographer”—part photo album. As a whole, Orphic Paris is a tender ode to the city he loves, an affection he shared with his French-born mother, who passed away not long before he started writing. “It is a mother’s book,” said Cole. “I also think the book is French literature-inflected, because it is meditative, and because of its associative nature.” Orphic Paris came about after Cole was invited to contribute to a literature blog on The New Yorker’s website. He asked if he could write about Paris. After several diary-like entries—Cole visits the city several times a year—he began to see a book take shape. “I began to see themes, as if it were a carpet with certain colors reappearing,” said Cole. Those themes include the ones that have FALL 2019
animated his poetry since he began writing as a college student—nature, friendship, death, Eros, and solitude. When writing about poetry in Orphic Paris, Cole took the same “encouraging and upbeat” approach he uses in the classroom, though his vigorous opinions about his art are clear. A poem is something akin to taking a “thermal photograph” of the world, he writes, and a good poet must not only possess the ruthless ability to craft sentences, but must align with the quiet vibrations of the world. “A poem must burn with a truth-seeking flame and be a small symphony of language, too,” writes Cole. Teaching CMC students about poetry, Cole said, goes beyond developing their skills in “assembling language.” “I really don’t think the most important thing I do is teach them about writing,” he said. “It is also to help them become who they are becoming. The most rewarding part of teaching is watching that.” Paris played a vital and vibrant role in his own becoming. In a chapter the book’s reviewers described as “exuberant“ and “Whitmanesque,” Cole writes a cascade of sentences beginning with J’aime for the city in which “the call of life is so strong,” where “I wrote, I was nourished, and I grew.” —Susan Price 11
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What do you want to watch? If you’re among the 55 percent of Americans who subscribe to streaming services, answering that question means choosing from hundreds of shows, or, if you’re in the mood for a movie, from thousands more titles. Home entertainment has come a long way from a handful of shows playing on a handful of channels. And from 1997, when Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph started Netflix to create a sort of Amazon (then, still a really big bookstore) where people could rent VHS tapes and DVDs, which arrived in their mailboxes in spiffy red envelopes. Those envelopes are now marketing icons, and Netflix a juggernaut with about 190 million subscribers in every country in the world except China, North Korea, and Syria. Netflix does have powerful rivals: that former bookseller, Amazon, Hulu, and the soon-tolaunch Apple TV+ and Disney Plus. To keep its subscribers loyal, and to keep signing up new ones, the company is making a huge bet on original content. It streamed its first original show,
House of Cards, in 2013, and last year, spent $8 billion making its own series and movies. Streaming services have changed how and what we watch. Rising fast in this revolution are two CMC alums: Lauren Iungerich ’96, a writer, producer, and director, and Netflix executive Tendo Nagenda ’97. Meet the new Hollywood.
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ON LAUREN’S BLOCK
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was midnight in California, and Lauren Iungerich ’96 was checking her Twitter feed. So were teenagers around the country. News had spread that the second season of On My Block was dropping on Netflix when the clock struck twelve PST, and the show’s fans were tweeting in anticipation—so much so that Netflix’s hugely popular handle tweeted that kids should go to bed and to school the next day. The series would be there when they got home. Iungerich had wrapped up filming on the show she co-created six months before, and had been preparing to direct her first feature film. Now she shifted gears. Gone are the days when a TV series unfurled in weekly episodes over a span of several months and the response would be swift. She monitored fan reaction on social media. Fielded media calls. Waited for the critics to praise, or pounce. The first season of her coming-of-age comedy set in a neighborhood resembling South Los Angeles had been the most binge-watched show on the streaming giant in 2018, and it had ended in a cliffhanger. Shots rang out at a quinceañera. Did Olivia survive? Ruby? Iungerich was already known for her spot-on depictions of teenagers and the ability to deliver a hit (thanks to her first series, Awkward) when she went on to create On My Block—a show born from her desire to bring the stories of underrepresented kids to TV. She assembled one of the most, if not the most, inclusive teams in the industry—in front of and behind the camera. In doing so, she has built a show with a rabid fan base and stereotype-busting characters while boosting opportunities for female,
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“ now even more conscious of the impact of storytelling, and how it can bring our world together.” African American, and Latinx talent in a Hollywood in which diversity is sorely lacking. She’s also fired up her own voice. “What started as a mission to tell stories about kids who were not always represented transformed my entire life. I am now even more conscious of the impact of storytelling, and how it can bring our world together,” Iungerich said. “A lot of people talk about inclusion, and believe it means inviting a few more people to the party. But inclusion, to me, means making sure everyone gets to dance.” Within a few days, it was clear Iungerich and her team had avoided the sophomore slump. On My Block’s second season was a hit with both fans and critics. Seven days later, Netflix ordered up a third season. 15
Voice on the page The Southern California native loves a good story. “I’ve always been a connector, and I like to communicate,” said Iungerich. After high school she headed to Bryn Mawr, but missed the West Coast, and in her sophomore year transferred to CMC. She knew it well. Her father, attorney Russell Iungerich, had graduated in 1963 from Claremont Men’s College. While at CMC, she thought about becoming a journalist, and attended the Washington Program and interned with CNN and PBS NewsHour. But it was another internship, at a small film production company, that really lit her up. Iungerich got a job reading scripts after graduating and spent evenings and weekends writing and networking. Three years later, she sold one. “I knew I had a great sense of storytelling,” she said. “Even when I was banging my head against the wall for years, I had faith in the process, that at some point I would hone the craft.” Iungerich went on to sell numerous spec
summed up most people’s teenage selves in a single word: Awkward. Iungerich’s writing was highly personal, vulnerable, and funny—and the show was a hit. As a first-time showrunner— producing and directing, as well as acting as the series’ creative force—Iungerich was learning how to balance being an artist with being a savvy businessperson. After three seasons, Iungerich made the painful decision to leave her creation, when she and the network couldn’t see eye-to-eye on its direction. Things turned around when a friend sent her videos of numerous teenage fans from communities of color reenacting scenes she had written in the finale of Awkward’s third season, Iungerich’s last episode. It is cliché to say someone had an “a-ha” moment, but Iungerich did. “I was in a dark period of my life,” she said. “And to see these incredible kids love my work so much that they made hundreds of tribute videos—I knew in that moment I needed to create a show for them and about them. I needed to create a show for kids who are not properly represented in the media.”
the show, but it is a total collaboration with incredible artists who represent the world and the stories we are telling,” she said. “There is no whitewashing.” The show balances bleak moments and serious drama with comedy that is often broad, even slapstick—On My Block, as a critic writing in Vulture noted, ”contains multitudes.”“We all have the same hearts,” Iungerich said. “I tend to write things in which the characters are specific, but the ideas are universal. One of the great things about writing about high school is that everyone, no matter who you are or where you come from, can relate to the up-anddown touchstones of coming of age.” Like most new series, On My Block had little promotion until it began to find its audience, largely though social media. “They literally throw things against the wall and see what sticks,” she said of Netflix’s “Darwinian” process. “They rely on data, which is understandable, but data doesn’t tell you who you will fall in love with.”
Expanding her influence
features, and at 30, sold two TV pilots in one pitch meeting. A TV career was born.
Her track record helped her to sell a pitch to Netflix—which at the time was only buying completed scripts. So did her reputation for making high-quality content on a low budget. On My Block became one of Netflix’s first low-budget series. “At CMC, I got such a good foundation for business, and since college I learned how to brand myself and make something at a price that would work for them,” said Iungerich. “My acumen has helped me become a successful creative.”
The idea had bounced around her head for a while. When Iungerich did find the time to write the script for I Won’t Be Coming Home for Christmas, it took her only a month. This time, the teenager at the center of the story was a 16-year-old girl who convinces her parents to allow her to spend Christmas on a ski trip with her boyfriend instead of in Southern California. When he dumps her, she returns home with a broken heart to endure her embarrassing family and their ludicrous holiday traditions.
Her path wasn’t typical: showrunners tend to spend years on the staffs of existing shows before landing their own. But from the start, Iungerich’s goal was to see her own ideas on screen. She was on a writing staff only once—to learn more about how they worked—before she made an off-thecuff pitch to an executive at MTV about a teenage girl who has an accident that everyone mistakenly believes was a failed suicide attempt. MTV bit, and after writing and making a successful pilot, Iungerich began writing a series whose name
One of her first decisions with On My Block was to ensure the show was authentic. It is not impossible, of course, for a writer to fully imagine another perspective, but Iungerich wanted On My Block to ring with the authenticity that had helped make Awkward a smash. She partnered with the screenwriting team of Eddie Gonzalez, who had grown up in Compton, and Jeremy Haft (Gang Related, All Eyez on Me) to create the series. After the show was green-lit, they hired a staff of only African American and Latinx writers. “I am the chief architect of
Writing a movie script allowed Iungerich to flex different storytelling muscles. “Characters are what drive TV,” she said. “I do use a lot of plot for TV, which I am known for, but with a series you can keep developing characters as it goes on, making them more complicated and showing more layers. You have this beautiful opportunity to take your time with stories.” Writing a movie script is another matter: “It is more plot than character, but you still need to write layered characters that have a narrative
“ I NOW have the privilege of making people’s lives better.”
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NICOLE GOODE/NETFLIX
Lauren Iungerich ’96 (top left) directs a scene on the set of her hit Netflix show, On My Block.
arc,” she said. “It is just a shorter arc.” Iungerich tried to drum up interest in the script, but it fell to the bottom of her jampacked to-do list until she had lunch with Eli Roth, an old friend and accomplished filmmaker who had been a protégé of Quentin Tarantino. Roth and his business partner, producer Roger Birnbaum, had recently started a production company of their own. As soon as they read Iungerich’s script, they signed on. In three days, they’d made a deal with Miramax, with Iungerich and her husband, music producer Jamie Dooner, producing with Roth and Birnbaum. “It was a magical movie experience,” she said of how quickly it came together. (Though the Miramax deal evaporated during budget talks, the project was quickly picked up by MGM. The producers expect to begin filming in the fall.)
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It has been, no question, a great time in her career. But it hasn’t all been smooth sailing. On My Block’s startup year coincided with a busy period in her personal life. Iungerich and Dooner had their second child, and Iungerich was recovering from a C-section while her mother was battling cancer. At times, she has fielded criticism from within the industry for being tough—a tired trope hurled at women from Hollywood to Wall Street. “I do have high standards, and if I am tough it is because I have to be twice as good as a man to be seen as equal,” she said. A by-product of the rise of streaming platforms is how much content they demand. Talented voices that struggled to be heard in the past are finding opportunities denied them before—On My Block being a perfect example. Change,
“ MY ACUMEN has helped me become a successful creative.” though, is still “very slow,” said Iungerich. “The business is becoming more ‘woke’ to everything, but it is still a rough place for women. I am kicked in the face daily. Things get said and done to me that would never have been said to a man.” Those arrows no longer wound her. “When I started my career, my greatest fear was how people perceived me. I cared too much about what other people thought,” Iungerich said. “But now the fear is gone. It is true that with age comes wisdom. I focus on the things and people I care about. I now have the privilege of making people’s lives better, and that’s all that matters.” 17
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In
The Magician’s Nephew, one of The Chronicles of Narnia, C.S. Lewis wrote, “What you see and what you hear depends a great deal on where you are standing.” Tendo Nagenda ’97 might venture to add that the stories you tell are different, too.
For Nagenda, vice president of original film at Netflix, the magic of movies is how they transport viewers to a world—real or imagined; past, present or future—they would otherwise never know: a slum in Uganda, as in Queen of Katwe, which Nagenda shepherded for Walt Disney Pictures, the Vietnam jungle, as in Da 5 Bloods, Spike Lee’s upcoming Netflix film, or Narnia itself, as the streaming giant is developing films and series based on Lewis’ books. Exploring through someone else’s eyes does more than entertain. It can bring people together. “Regardless of genre, I’m drawn to and believe audiences connect to stories that take people to places and experiences they couldn’t or wouldn’t otherwise go. These stories connect us to one another in ways that we’re not always able to do in our everyday lives.”
A wide lens Nagenda grew up in and around Los Angeles, the oldest child of a Ugandan father and a mother from Belize. In summers, he visited relatives around the world, and he lived in Uganda for a year when he was 12. “Growing up, I was always conscious that I didn’t quite fit in anywhere,” he said. “I was African American, but not really. I was Ugandan, but not really. Belizean, but not really. I was always looking for how to make sense of it.” FALL 2019
If he sometimes felt like an outsider as a child, the benefits of his personal history became apparent over time. “Because I never fit in one place, I learned to make the most of all the places,” Nagenda said. “I can relate to a lot of different experiences. What was an annoyance growing up has become a way into other people’s points of view.”
“I always ask myself, ‘What can I read? What classes can I take? How can I get better at what I do?’” As a kid, he loved dipping into other worlds through movies—and while living far from L.A.’s multiplexes in Uganda—through novels. But Hollywood wasn’t on his mind when he arrived at CMC after a friend of his family’s encouraged him to apply. A generous financial aid package, he remembers, made it possible (recently retired Admission & Financial Aid director Georgette DeVeres was a “godsend.”) As the first-born child of immigrants, Nagenda “majored in getting a job,” which meant a dual 19
Tendo Nagenda ’97 (far right) poses on the red carpet with Oprah Winfrey, Ava DuVernay, Mindy Kaling, and Reese Witherspoon, among others. DIMITRIOS KAMBOURIS/GETTY IMAGES FOR HEARST
major in accounting—“I heard accounting majors had something like a 99 percent job-placement rate”—and government. He snapped up a job at Deloitte after graduation. It was not quite mission accomplished. Nagenda’s clients included Boeing and Northrup, and listening to employees talk passionately about fuselages and airplane models made him want to feel the same passion for his work. He liked finance, but something was missing. “I started a path to figure out what that was,” Nagenda said. “The fact that CMC encourages and teaches students 20
how to think even more than what to think on any specific subject gave me confidence. I knew I would be fine because I had a very firm educational foundation.” A year and a half into his job, he took a leave of absence and spent four months at a New York film program, making “short films no one will ever see,” he said. Back in L.A., he decided to bring his finance skills to the entertainment industry. He came across a listing for a production finance job at HBO—“it couldn’t get more perfect than that,” he said. HBO’s offices happened to be across the street from Deloitte’s, so he walked over
and handed a receptionist his resume, asking her to pass it along to HR. She did, and he got the job. While working on financing for landmark series such as Band of Brothers and The Sopranos, Nagenda took screenwriting and film production classes at night to develop his creative chops. “At CMC, I developed, and still have, a love for education and an understanding that you are never finished learning,” he said. “I always ask myself, ‘What can I read? What classes can I take? How can I get better at what I do?’” Nagenda looked up CMC alums on the creative side of the industry, CLAREMONT MCKENNA COLLEGE
“The fact that CMC encourages and teaches students how to think even more than what to think on any specific subject gave me confidence. I knew I would be fine because I had a very firm educational foundation.”
including Lauren Iungerich ’96, who helped him land a few informational interviews. After a meeting with one production company, he proposed a sort of apprenticeship: What if he used his vacation days to help out in any way he could? “Getting over the fact that I was supposed to be in a certain place at a certain age was an important lesson for me,” Nagenda said. “I saw how it was important to keep learning and reinventing. It is not where you start or when you start, but what you do with the opportunities you get, whenever you get them.” A few months later, the company offered him a full-time job—and a new career.
A million stories Nagenda’s willingness to pivot is a necessary mindset in an everevolving industry, particularly as it undergoes one of the biggest shifts in its history. “The entertainment business is always remaking itself,” he said. “What is true now is not going to be true in ten years. In FALL 2019
this business, if you can’t stay fresh enough, curious enough, engaged enough, you are going to miss the best stories.”
Reeves in the movie. It became one of the most buzzed-about parts of the film.
Nagenda and his team source He arrived at Netflix in October 2018 movies in various ways, from working with legendary filmmakers after almost eight years at Disney, where in addition to Queen of Katwe, like Lee to snapping up scripts, articles, and book rights, including he was part of live-action remakes of classics like Cinderella, Beauty and the Narnia series. “Part of our the Beast, Mulan, and Ava DuVernay’s creative advantage—one of the reasons why people value Netflix— A Wrinkle in Time. Netflix’s original studio film division, which Nagenda is the range and diversity of the content we make,” he said. leads, handles about 20 studiolevel—as in, budgets of $25 For Nagenda, that means diversity of million and up—films a year, from all kinds—“experience, geography, acquisition and development to gender, race, sexuality, religion, financing. “We find great stories socioeconomic status, and a host and ideas, develop them, package of other things that can give them with amazing talent in front people insight into other lives and of and behind the camera, and then stories,” he said. “I want to push oversee their production and release the boundaries of what stories get into the world,” Nagenda said. It told, who gets to tell them, and isn’t just deal-making, either. One how these stories are distributed of Nagenda’s recent high-profile to people all over the world. Netflix creative adds: suggesting that reaches over 190 countries. There instead of a joke mentioning a song are millions of stories from millions title, “I Punched Keanu Reeves,” in the of perspectives. The possibilities are recent Always Be My Maybe, to write limitless for us, and that’s profoundly exciting.” and include an actual song about 21
| DATA | BA N K COLLABORATIVE LEARNING HELPS CMC STUDENTS FIND THE PULSE OF INTERDISCIPLINARY SCIENCE BY SUSAN PRICE
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JOHN SPINOSA ’80 wanted to try a new
approach. Before he’d arrived at the San Diego Blood Bank in the summer of 2017, Spinosa had co-founded a biotech company. Now, as the pathologist and chief medical officer began digging into the blood bank’s fundamental challenge—how to meet the constant demand for multiple varieties of blood from a supply dependent on a largely unpredictable pool of volunteer donors— he turned to one of an entrepreneur’s favorite tools: data. “I looked at things in a new way for them, thinking about problems as I had at the start-up,” Spinosa said. The SDBB had been gathering information about donors and donations for about a decade, with spreadsheets listing donors’ ages, hometowns, blood types, and the like. But putting that data to use was another issue. Spinosa knew that machine learning— applying algorithms and computational models to the trove— could uncover patterns that would help the organization operate more efficiently. He brought it up at a staff meeting. The response was enthusiastic, but then came the inevitable question: How can we afford to hire someone to do it? “I said, well, I know a college,” Spinosa joked. He pitched the idea to Emily Wiley, associate dean of the faculty and professor of biology at CMC. They’d met about a decade ago, when Spinosa had arranged a talk on genomics at the Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum, and stayed in touch. Wiley was helping to develop CMC’s new data science sequence, which included a capstone project for students, and thought Spinosa’s proposal might be a great fit. Her hunch was spot on.
That conversation evolved into an interdisciplinary team of students conducting a data science pilot project last spring. Under the guidance of Wiley and Jeho Park, visiting assistant professor and director of the Murty Sunak Quantitative and Computing Lab, the students mined the SDBB’s data for information that would help the nonprofit make the best use of its resources. For Wiley, the pilot was an example of the interdisciplinary, collaborative learning that she has championed throughout her own career—and that is a distinctive strength of CMC. As scientific research increasingly stretches across traditional disciplines such as biology, chemistry, and physics, projects such as this—team-taught, gathering students with diverse interests and skills—are necessary preparation for students
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heading into careers in science and medicine. Further, proficiency in a broad array of quantitative skills is crucial for all students as technology continues to transform industry, business, and our daily lives. “This project illustrated to us that we can bring together students from different majors to work together collaboratively and productively. We can break really big questions into smaller, solvable parts, divide up tasks, conduct research, analyze and poke holes in findings, and then present them—the whole scientific process,” said Wiley. “We are teaching students how to think like productive citizens.”
A M U LT I FA C E T E D T E A M Kelly Watanabe ’20 wanted in as soon as she heard the word “interdisciplinary.” In high school in Honolulu, Watanabe had hated physics and expected to major in biology at CMC. A first-year class that combined biology, chemistry, and physics changed her mind. “I saw how the areas of biology and physics illuminated each other, and I became a biophysics major,” said Watanabe. “I think there is a lot of value and new things to be learned when you combine disciplines, and I also like when there are multiple professors so you learn from their different perspectives.”
“ONE OF THE MOST VALUABLE THINGS ANYONE CAN LEARN IS HOW TO TELL A STORY FROM DATA.”
Working with a blood bank was particularly appealing to her, as the project would integrate biology and quantitative research. “This was a good opportunity to take some of the skills I’d learned in biophysics and math modeling and apply it to data science and interpretation,” said Watanabe, who is a long and triple jumper for CMS women’s track and field. “One of the most valuable things anyone can learn is how to tell a story from data.” In data science, that story is both descriptive—understanding what the data actually reveals and looking for patterns within it—and inferential—using computer modeling to predict what the data suggests might happen in the future.
The pilot was a “perfect fit” for Naveen Shastri ’20, a computer science and economics major from Northern California. “Economics is about understanding specific models, such as supply and demand, but with computer science you design 23
John Spinosa ’80
specific programs to answer specific questions. I learned how to be creative in CS.” Shastri is pursuing a career in finance, and wanted to participate as the project focused on an organization’s actual challenges. That it had a social mission was a bonus.
“WE ARE TEACHING STUDENTS HOW TO THINK LIKE PRODUCTIVE CITIZENS.”
Park and Wiley rounded out the team with two students with strong coding ability: CMC’s James Ren ’19, a computer science major, and Lathan Liou ’19, a Pomona College pre-med. On the first of what became weekly calls, the team’s new client described the students’ overarching goal: to discover which factors were associated with collecting the most blood, and the most needed type of blood. Like all blood banks, the SDBB has a complicated task. Volunteers donate blood at one of its six locations or during a blood drive— its 12 bloodmobiles cover a wide swath of Southern California. But running blood drives is not an exact science. The number of donors participating varies widely and is difficult to predict. Of those who do sign-up, about 16 percent either don’t show or don’t wind up donating during the event. Also hard to estimate: the characteristics of the blood that is collected during each drive. There are four primary blood types—A, B, AB, and O, which is the most common, and therefore, the most
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needed by hospitals. Those groups are only the beginning. Blood banks must separate and sort all donations by 32 factors, creating distinct products for patients. “If someone needs a transfusion, you have to find blood that matches their group and with the right antibodies,” said Spinosa. “It’s a time-consuming process.”
WORKING TOGETHER As the students began to understand the SDBB’s work and the questions it wanted answered, they divvied up tasks. “More than each having a deep knowledge in an area, what we saw was that they had different soft skills and played to those strengths,” said Wiley. Shastri agreed that the team’s mix of skills improved the experience. “We talked about how to complement and help each other,” he said. The first challenge was getting a handle on the data set itself, understanding what information had been collected, and making sure it was consistently categorized and labeled. Once over that hurdle, the students refined the SDBB’s broad mandate so they could develop computational models to answer specific questions. “Because it was a pilot, and because they asked us for ideas, it allowed us to look for our own ways to solve the problem,” said Shastri. “That allowed for creativity.” Professors Park and Wiley were always available to the students, but also wanted to give them a lot of leeway. “That was perfect because it taught us to work together to decide how we wanted to learn, rather than being told,” said Shastri. Watanabe said she wasn’t as strong on computer skills as the rest of the team, but developed those with her teammate’s assistance
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while keeping the project organized and on track. Shastri’s role was to look at donor trends in specific types of locations. At first, he struggled. Shastri wasn’t sure which type of modeling would reveal the most information about a location. Clarity came after he visited the blood bank, where talking to staff and seeing how they spent their time helped put the data into context. After trying several models, Shastri developed a logistics regression model that looked at two populations: Millennials, a group the blood bank wanted to court, and donors with the O blood type. In addition to Shastri’s model, the team used a linear regression model to identify variables that might predict the amount of blood donated, a time series model to identify trends in donations over time, and a decision tree framework to help predict whether a donor will complete the donation process. “When you are working with large data sets, the questions can morph as you get going, which is exciting,” said Wiley. “But learning to communicate back and forth with the team and the client as things evolve is important.” Another benefit of applying the scientific method for every student: developing patience. “Much of their lives now revolve around getting instant answers, so it is good for them to keep testing and questioning,” Wiley said. After the team presented its research to Spinosa on campus in May, he deemed the pilot a success. The SDBB can build on the students’ work to help guide decisions as it moves forward. More important, he said, was seeing the students successfully collaborate to tackle problems. “I am quite enamored of working with CMC students,” Spinosa said. “This kind of realworld experience is exactly what they need to be prepared to succeed when they graduate.”
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SCIENCE+ECONOMICS Connor Bloom ’19 wanted to go big for his senior thesis. A science management major at CMC, he had been thinking about applying science and economics to genetic testing in the health care market. What will happen when the majority of Americans start to get tested as part of a routine doctor’s visit? How will that change how people can access information about potentially at-risk outcomes? What will it mean for disease development down the road? Asking those big questions became too massive (and hypothetical) for a single project. So with the help of John Spinosa ’80 at the San Diego Blood Bank, Bloom was able to find a starting point for his yearlong thesis. Spinosa’s challenge for him: Can genetic technology predict what’s on the surface of red cells, the place where many adverse reactions happen? If matches could be made easier and with more accuracy, donors with rare blood types might be able to find units faster through a database rather than by conducting time-intensive tests. It would not only be safer for those in need of blood; it would reduce costs. “The great thing about Connor is that he not only understood the science of why we wanted this, but he also had the economic discipline to put it into a framework—why and how it all matters,” Spinosa said. During the summer of 2018, Bloom spent six weeks at the blood bank looking at financial documents to determine the economic feasibility of whole blood system genotyping. Spinosa even let Bloom stay in a spare room at his home to help save money. Bloom immediately felt at ease in the San Diego wetlab because of his hands-on science learning in CMC classes. The fusion of corporate finance and genetics allowed him to craft a thesis, that with more time and resources, could end up being part of truly cutting-edge research for the blood bank. “At CMC, I had a lot of practice synthesizing information and figuring out what is actually useful for the research,” Bloom said. “My major was specifically designed for the blood bank project. If I went to any other school, I don’t think I would have had the skills or confidence to take it on.”
To read Connor Bloom’s thesis, visit scholarship.claremont.edu and type his name into the search engine at top left. —Thomas Rozwadowski
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THE BRUNO FACTOR AUTISM GAVE BRUNO YOUN ’19 A DISTINCT CHALLENGE —AND IDENTITY—THAT HE IS SHARING WITH OTHERS BY THOMAS ROZWADOWSKI FALL 2019
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Coffee, tea, hot chocolate. Coffee, tea, hot chocolate. Coffee, tea, hot chocolate. Bruno Youn ’19 relies on scripts. They play like running movies in his head, reminders of how to act because this is what everyone else has adopted as routine behavior. While at the Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum last academic year as one of two Woolley Fellows, Youn knew to offer each night’s speaker something from the drink bar. It was an important part of his campus job, so Youn filed the script to his mental database. “When I ask a speaker if they’d care for coffee, tea, or hot chocolate, I’m not doing that because I’m thinking, ‘Oh, they might really want coffee, tea, or hot chocolate.’ I do it because I’ve seen other people do it, so I know it must be the right thing to do,” Youn said, pausing.
Proud mom, Josette Thompson, at commencement.
“It’s easy to forget, but I’m still autistic. I just act like I’m not.” Fitting in has always been Youn’s defining challenge. Academics were easy; he excelled in courses that scared off classmates. But, diagnosed with moderate-to-severe autism at age 4, he didn’t have an aptitude for the rites and pleasantries of everyday social interactions that came naturally to others. When Youn was looking for a college, he wanted to immerse himself in what came hardest. “I knew in order for others to consider me a success, I would have to get better at my social skills,” he said. CMC, with an entirely residential social environment teeming with exuberant extroverts, was just the place. Fortunately, Youn’s into-the-fire plan worked. The child who was nonverbal for years ended up being elected class speaker at commencement, as well as a Phi Beta Kappa graduate in philosophy, politics, and economics. But being social took a toll. After nights at the Ath, Youn would often have to recharge for an hour or two. His reliance on scripts also meant that a deviation from what was expected could take the form of an awkward or unwelcome outburst. The temptation to hide—to disconnect from society’s version of “normal” behavior—is always present, Youn said. “It wasn’t that long ago that I was alone, playing Fallout 4 in my dorm room for hours and hours,” he said. “I’m incredibly aware that the easiest thing for me to do is retreat to that world again.”
EARLY CHALLENGES Though he was already reading poems at age 3, Youn could only mimic words like a parrot. He didn’t understand his relationship with language, said Josette Thompson, Youn’s mother. For instance, when asked if he wanted a cookie, Youn couldn’t say “yes” or “no” or nod his head. “To get a cookie, he would move your hand to the cookie jar,” she said. “He didn’t see you as a person. He saw you as a machine who gets him the cookie.” Youn grew up in Seal Beach. Much of his childhood was admittedly lonely—a lot of solitary meals in the school cafeteria; no cliques,
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sports teams, or extracurriculars to speak of. When Youn was diagnosed with autism, Thompson, a family physician, took immediate action. She hired speech and behavioral therapists; put up posters at local colleges searching for students who were interested in special needs work. Youn went to school with an aide for the majority of his elementary and middle school years. At home, Youn’s younger sister and two step-siblings (his dad died when he was in first grade) became more than family. They were the testing ground for him to learn social skills. With the bigger picture always at the forefront, Thompson went into overdrive to help her son. “I basically tied a porkchop around his neck. Got a Dodgers ticket package so that he could invite other kids to games. Enrolled him in social skills classes,” Thompson said. “It was my project. I said, ‘If I don’t do everything I can now, he’s never going to be able to go to college.’” Youn doesn’t remember much about his childhood therapy, other than when he was rewarded for progress with his favorite candy, Smarties. At school, while he had an acute sense he wasn’t like his classmates, Youn doesn’t bear the emotional scars of bullying or being ostracized. Instead, his response is rational and detached, which is often typical of someone with autism. “I knew, in theory, that I should go up to other kids and talk to them. I just didn’t know how to,” Youn said.
STAYING TRUE He began to create scripts to help. Youn didn’t always understand why he was supposed to fit in. He just knew that since everyone else seemingly had friends and led carefree, happy childhoods—and his mom and aides were encouraging him to do the same—Youn
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should probably start paying attention to the basic formula. In fourth grade, he pretended to have a crush on a girl “simply to appear to be normal” like other boys in school. At the grocery store, he watched with wonder as his mom casually chatted with the cashier. “I figured I better know how to do that, too,” Youn said. Youn opened up about those scripts to his classmates at commencement, calling them his “negotiations with society.” The scripts remind him not to flap his hands or pace back-and-forth. They direct him to vary his voice inflection to sound less robotic and to make more eye contact. While his peers might not have known about Youn’s use of mental scripts to get through his days, he was open about his autism. Doing so allowed him to become progressively more engaged each semester, and during his sophomore and junior years, he’d often sign up early to sit at the head table with speakers at the Ath. He enjoyed that experience so much that he applied—and was selected—to be a student fellow. It is the “crown jewel” position for campus visibility, said Ath director Priya Junnar. Fellows write and deliver introductions for the speakers, greet guests as they arrive, and manage the question-and-answer portion of the program. Except Youn wanted to embrace the challenge his way. He wanted to see if he could adapt to expectations while still being true to himself. Junnar said it was important to allow Youn to showcase his personality, which meant dropping a bit of his sense of humor into opening remarks. For instance, at an end-of-the-school-year celebration for CMC’s institutes, Youn declared “let anarchy reign!” to start the buffet line. The experience proved to be another leap forward. Youn is proud to have left a distinctive mark at the Ath. “If you drew a graph of my confidence at CMC, it spikes as soon as I became a fellow,” he said. “I still had to rely on scripts, but I got to do it in a style that reflected who I really am.”
FACING THE FUTURE Outside of the Ath, Youn taught himself statistics, data science, and machine learning. He shared that knowledge by tutoring other students at the Murty Sunak Quantitative and Computing Lab. Youn was also a research assistant at the Rose Institute of State and Local Government and worked at SOURCE Nonprofit Consulting, a studentrun firm. Along with the milestone accomplishments, however, Youn’s senior year experiences also included moments that tested his resolve. After a string of dead-end job interviews, he felt like the lonely kid in the elementary school cafeteria or the freshman playing Fallout 4 again. He began to question all that he worked on, and whether it would be good enough outside of CMC. When, right before graduation, he landed a position as a product specialist at Qualtrics in Provo, Utah, Youn said he was ecstatic because of the potential for stereotypebreaking the job—and all of its social interaction—offered. There was also palpable relief that “something” about his personality hadn’t made him unhireable. The constant second-guessing is why Youn asks himself: How much is it my responsibility to adapt to society, and how much is it society’s responsibility to adapt to me? But just putting himself out there socially is forcing others to think and act differently, said Grace “Zippy” Wilson ’19, one of Youn’s closest friends. Youn’s authenticity made CMC a kinder, more welcoming place, she said. It’s inevitable that by “just being Bruno,” he will have the same impact elsewhere. “Because Bruno is so honest and open about who he is, it allows everyone to feel a little safer that they can be who they are,” Wilson said. “I call it the Bruno factor,” Thompson said proudly. “He’s so much more courageous than I could ever be. He refuses to hide from what he’s weakest at.”
Bruno Youn ’19 in his CMC element as an Athenaeum fellow.
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looking back
Alumni News PROFILES 32
CMCAA PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE 36
BEFORE SMARTPHONES From 1977: A CMC student with a favorite handheld device of the day, the trusty calculator.
CLASS NOTES 37
IN MEMORIAM 60
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spotlight
n i ’ l e v Tra n Ma Scott Akasaki ’98 keeps the Dodgers moving in the right direction By Thomas Rozwadowski
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These travel trunks, on display at Dodger Stadium, moved equipment and luggage from the team’s original home at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn.
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cott Akasaki ’98 points to a framed team photo in his office—the joyful aftermath of the Los Angeles Dodgers returning to the World Series after a 29year absence. Moments before, as players and coaches rushed the Wrigley Field mound to celebrate, Akasaki was right beside them, passing out 2017 National League championship t-shirts.
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He felt like a kid—and it was perfect. “All the pride I ever imagined feeling about the Dodgers swelled up in this one moment, and we were just bursting with excitement,” said Akasaki, who grew up rooting for his hometown team 20 minutes away in Monterey Park. “It was incredibly special to me.” Akasaki, the Dodgers’ traveling secretary and director of team travel, has been the franchise’s steady hand since 2005. He is in charge of logistics— “basically, get the team from one place to another”—which often involves thinking three travel trips ahead during the season. It’s scheduling, accommodations, ticket requests, human resources, finances and billing,
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“whatever the organization needs” down to finalizing an itinerary at 1 a.m. for a Triple A player to fill an injury spot on the main roster for a next-day game. During the World Series, which the Dodgers have played in the past two seasons, his behind-the-scenes work (just think of the ticket requests alone) reached “a whole new magnitude.” A job in sports is all Akasaki ever wanted while at CMC. An avid baseball card collector who cheered for the Dodgers and Lakers, Akasaki had the same ritual every morning. He’d grab his subscription copy of the Los Angeles Times at his dorm, pull out the sports section, and toss the rest. Then he’d head to breakfast and read it front to back, just like his dad did at home. “That consumption of sports at CMC was what led to my career,” said Akasaki, a government and legal studies major who was originally set on law school. “In my mind, I wanted to get paid to read the sports page.” A study abroad trip to Japan as a junior gave him a sense of how that could be done for the first time. A homesick Akasaki found comfort in the familiarity of what he loved back home, baseball. “It was Japanese. But a ground ball to short is still a ground ball to short,” he said. Akasaki was also watching two Japanese legends, Ichiro Suzuki and Hideki Matsui, play for the first time. Both would go on to productive careers in Major League Baseball, but save for Dodgers pitcher Hideo Nomo in 1995, few Japanese-born players had made the leap overseas. Akasaki knew that was about to change. Entering his senior year at CMC, he found his way back to Japan through the Freeman Fellowship, which allowed a student to study a chosen topic in Asia. He lived with relatives throughout Japan, continued to teach himself the
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language, and went to every baseball game he could—high school, college, pro, spring training, the Japanese AllStar Game—“it was my life.” “My goal was to become the most well-versed English-speaking expert on Japanese baseball,” said Akasaki, who augmented his research by filing freelance reports for U.S. publications like International Baseball Rundown and the Los Angeles Japanese Daily News in exchange for press credentials. “I wanted to know how the draft worked, who the equivalent of the Dodgers and Yankees were, all the ins and outs. There’s so much to study now, but back then, none of that existed.” When he returned to the U.S. to begin a full-time job search, Akasaki had more than 500 pages of professional data from Japan. At the end of 1999, he contacted every Major League Baseball team with a simple proposal: “If you hire me, I will give it to you.” His hometown team took him up on the offer. The Dodgers, because it had found success with Nomo before anyone else, already had an Asian operations department. Akasaki joined as an assistant, and in 2002, became an interpreter for Nomo (who returned to the Dodgers after being traded in 1998) and new pitcher, Kazuhisa Ishii. “Honestly, I would have picked out staples and moved copy paper just to be part of the action,” Akasaki said. His road experience as an interpreter landed him the job of traveling secretary. By serving as the conduit between “upstairs and downstairs” operations at Dodger Stadium, Akasaki has to be trusted to do his job with utmost professionalism and ethics. Players and coaches are employees, too—and his office is right next to the team clubhouse and manager Dave Roberts. You can’t put them on a pedestal or ask for personal favors.
You can’t be an awestruck fan. The idea of team extends beyond the uniform, Akasaki said. “I see Clayton Kershaw and Walker Buehler more than I see my family. And that can be tough,” he added. “It’s a 162game season. You have to really love who you are flying and busing with, having meals with. You have to really love and respect the organization.” Occasionally, his family—wife, Tiffany, and four children, Miya, 8, Timothy, 6, Cole, 3, and Tristan, 1—make road trips with him. That’s the best part of his job, he said—the joy of giving his kids a chance to visit major American cities at such an early age. Akasaki has also traveled with the team to China, Taiwan, Mexico, and Australia, and in 2017, he was honored by his peers with the Don Davidson Memorial Award, which goes to the MLB Traveling Secretary of the Year. But it’s a Dodgers team goal that, 20 years in, would mean the most to him: Not just get to the World Series, but win it. “It’s Jackie Robinson. It’s Sandy Koufax. It’s Fernando Valenzuela. It’s Hideo Nomo. The Dodgers are a pioneering organization with a lot of history and pride,” Akasaki said. “I embrace the privilege to work here every single day.”
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CMCAA president’s message Dear Fellow Alumni, I had the privilege over Alumni Weekend to be included in the ceremony honoring the Class of 1969 during their 50th reunion. Their time at CMC was a trying one for the College and our country. In spite of the instability and complications they faced, making for much uneasiness concerning their college years, nearly 40 members of the class returned to celebrate. I was humbled to remember that it was their generation—and the ones before—who built the foundation of our institution. They, and the many before them, created the values and ushered in the success we see today. In addition, over the weekend I had the opportunity to chat with members of the Class of 1954. They took a tremendous “risk” attending such a new institution. We should all be grateful for their legacy; they should be proud of what has happened to our CMC in such a short period—and we should honor them on every possible occasion. On April 23-26, 2020, we welcome back the 0s and 5s, to salute their many contributions to the College and their successes in life. We hope to see many of you there. At Alumni Weekend 2020, the College will also celebrate a milestone with the Class of 1980: together we will honor the first four-year coeducational class and its 40th reunion. Our third class of Pioneers, and the first to spend all four years at CMC, will gather to recognize CMC milestones and this incredible group. The 2019-20 academic year will be one of enhanced engagement and attention to our most important priorities, not to mention the nearing of our 75th anniversary, which we will celebrate from July 1, 2021–June 30, 2022. I encourage you to give your time, talent, and treasure to our beloved alma mater, especially as we approach this momentous event. If there is anything your Alumni Association or the Office of Alumni and Parent Engagement can do for you, please do not hesitate in contacting us. Thank you.
Paul “Pablo” Nathan ’80 President Claremont McKenna College Alumni Association
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CLAREMONT MCKENNA COLLEGE
Missing your class?
class notes Pacesetters ’48 ALUMNI WEEKEND
2020
Go to page 59 to learn more.
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You heard it here first: The Pacesetters will hold the first-ever 70th Reunion at CMC! Fire up your calendars for the weekend of April 23-26, 2020.
JIM STOESSEL ’50
200 Cumberland Woods Drive #233 Allison Park, PA 15101 412-837-2930 jhstoessel@comcast.net
’55
ALUMNI
FRANK TYSEN is dialing back
his activist lifestyle. His involvement in the downtown Palm Springs redevelopment scandal uncovered corruption that indicted the then-mayor and two major developers. The matter was turned over to the FBI and the case is now in court. He decided to end his activist role, which for the past 30 years fought to maintain the charm and character of the city of Palm Springs. No longer an innkeeper there, he and his partner recently sold the historic Casa Cody Inn and have been restoring a Tuscan villa, also in Palm Springs, which is for sale. He’s now looking forward to relaxation and more travel. During the ’80s and ’90s, Frank ran numerous tours to exotic, developing countries, from Brazil’s Carnival to India’s magnificent palaces where he had lived in the ’60s. He has taken two small ship cruises—one along the southern coast of Spain that included the island of Ibiza, and the other to the Greek Isles. Encouraged to write the story of his adventurous life, Frank says, “I have always felt I was born at the right time. I’m happy that most of it was in the last century, which I prefer to the current one. My life at CMC in the ’50s certainly ranks high among those experiences. I thought I was in heaven at the time.” WEEKEND
2020
A bronze sculpture by FRANK COLSON is the subject of a local Sarasota, Fla., TV program set to air this fall. The piece is part of a major collection of his works at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall in Sarasota. Before his passing in 2015, Frank miraculously turned a 16-inch Frank Lloyd Wright sculpture, originally executed in clay, into a life-size bronze that stands outside the hall. This was quite a feat, as it was cast in Frank’s backyard foundry. Diana Colson (Scripps ’53), is set to speak on camera about the sculpture and Frank’s long career as an artist. Diana is currently working as a lyricist on 1692, a musical based on the Salem witch trials. TOM NATHAN continues to mentor second graders
in preparation for careers in creative advertising in FALL 2019
Hartsdale, N.Y. He still has memories of all-nighters at Stinky’s. Tom recently celebrated his 85th birthday with his wife, Norma, his two daughters, sons-in-law, grandkids, and great-granddaughter. He’ll be heading to Seattle in August where his daughter Lauren is opening her second restaurant. Still no empty nest with a granddaughter crashing for three months while interning in Manhattan. Tom would love to hear from any CMCers. TOM BERNSTEIN ’55
tlbernstein@earthlink.net In late April, JOHN DEVEREUX checked in to let us know he had been able to inform JIL STARK ’58 GP’11 that she was to be immortalized by the College with a bronze sculpture of her, which would be installed near the Athenaeum (subject to grounds committee approval). The idea to honor Jil had originated with various members of the Class of ’57 and had been strongly sponsored and supported by a committee of three class members: JOHN, RUSTY GROSSE, and PETER KEADY. Class members contacted by the committee were enthusiastic, realizing Jil’s countless contributions to the College, especially the Athenaeum. John said that when he informed Jil, she was totally surprised, very excited, and thrilled. For her part, Jil said, “My life has been blessed to have friends like all of you and many more. So, I thank you all from the bottom of my heart for keeping my smiling face somewhere near the Ath at CMC, a place where I grew up to become the person I am today.” Our thanks go to JOHN, RUSTY, and PETER (as well as to SCOTT EVANS) for the work they did to gain the approval of the Board of Trustees Public Arts Committee. Thanks to all Class of ’57 members who have given support, and also to members of the Classes of ’55, ’56, ’58, and many others, including Scripps friends.
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It is with heavy hearts that the Class of ’57 says goodbye to one of its dedicated Class Liaisons, REID SHANNON. Please see his obituary in the In Memoriam section. BERNIE MARSHALL ’57
members of our class: GLENN HICKERSON was given the JACK STARK ’57 GP’11 Distinguished Service Award, and BUZZ WOOLLEY received the GENE WOLVER, JR. ’51 Lifetime Service Award.” He added, “We were saddened to get the news that classmate PETE MARR had passed away.” OMER LONG sends us, “Earlier this year I fell leaving my office, which ultimately resulted in a drain temporarily installed in the brain! I’m in rehab still using a walker and a cane.” Omer later explained that the fall has caused ataxia, which affects the cerebellum, a pretty major problem. BOB BEASLEY ’59
bobbeasley38@gmail.com
’60
ALUMNI WEEKEND
2020
POSITION OPEN
alumni@cmc.edu I want to thank all the classmates who sent in comments about my retina issues. Unfortunately, many of you decided to elaborate on your own medical problems. ¡No más! Let’s return to comments/recommendations on novels that you have read recently or trips that you have taken.
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On a more serious note, we lost another classmate, FRANK MYERS. I attended his memorial service along with BILL SYMINGTON and BOB KREUTER. The four of us had a long and fun-filled journey together beginning in junior high, high school, and then college. Bill played with Frank (also known as “the flame thrower”) on the CMC baseball team. We also had a great four years at the school and then Frank went to law school, joined the Army, got married, and raised a great family. A life well lived. Let’s keep going meden agan (everything in moderation).
berniemarshall@verizon.net MARSHALL SALE ’62
’59
RAY REMY writes, “The 60th reunion was attended by CARL BLOOMENSHINE LIND, HARRY BENTER, JR., Laurie and BART BROWN, Jean and TEDD DETERMAN, BUZZ WOOLLEY, Jane and GLENN
505-690-0299 m_sale@msn.com
HICKERSON, and me and my wife, Sandra. We also were joined by JACK ’57 GP’11 and JIL STARK ’58 GP’11. Two of the five major alumni awards were given to
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’65 Proud to serve DEAN DAVIDGE, who flew helicopters in the Vietnam War, delivering food and supplies and evacuating the wounded, was named the first Santa Barbara County Veteran of the Month from the Third Supervisorial District. Retired U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. Davidge received a proclamation that not only highlighted his military service but also his community service at the Board of Supervisors meeting. An article in the Santa Maria Times notes that Dean earned the Distinguished Flying Cross during his service and, after a 20-year career with the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, retired to his native Santa Ynez and moved into the house in which he grew up.
LARRY FORD writes, “Gennifer and I are about to leave Sarasota, Fla., where we have lived for 19 years, and head to our summer location, Salida, Colo. About nine years ago, after three hurricane evacuations, we decided to explore the Rocky Mountains and found a small rural town that attracted our attention. Our summer town has a population of about 5,000 and is located on a world-class fly fishing river, which is one of my retirement passions. We leave Florida in mid-May and return in mid-October. This is a great lifestyle. I get to fish in the Everglades in the winter and in the mountains during the summer. It also turns out to be very healthy for Gennifer, who has had a severe asthma history that is now almost 100 percent gone. It turns out that our grandkids like both Florida and Colorado so this arrangement has been good for the entire family.”
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From DICK MCKAY: “Barbara and I continue to travel while the body still allows. Since this time last year, we spent seven days in an overwater bungalow on Moorea; and another 10 days on the Paul Gauguin seeing Polynesia; then a fall cruise to the Baltics, including St. Petersburg and Moscow; skiing in Colorado; New York for Christmas cheer; CES in Las Vegas; and last month, a week in Maui. In June, we are headed to Bayeux, France, to help commemorate the 75th anniversary of D-Day, and check out Paris and London in the process. As far as living, we are not moving anywhere—with all its warts, the rural-
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like Palos Verdes we call home in California is perfect for us. Our health is good, so onward and upward.” MIKE WHEELER sends this note: “Hi folks. I’m still alive and ticking. After a tumultuous personal life, I’m happily settled with Wendy, my partner of 23 years, in San Pedro. With the help of six medical specialists, a pacemaker, back surgery, macular degeneration, and other things, I’m actually doing quite well. I enjoy conditioning walks with the Sierra Club two or three times weekly in the Palos Verdes Peninsula area. I completed their Wilderness Travel Course at age 69. Wendy and I regularly travel to visit children and grandchildren in Woodland, Calif., Seattle, and Kapaa, Hawaii, and relatives in Rhode Island. Professionally, I ended up being a computer nerd which, for me, turned out to be more fun than work.”
From BOB BOIES: “Barbara and I are looking forward to a trip to Egypt in January, and visiting Boston to see our granddaughter in The Nutcracker with the Boston Ballet. She is the newest and youngest (17) member of Boston Ballet II. I had a nice lunch and visit with my CMC roommate, ORLEY ASHENFELTER ’64. He was recently admitted to the American Society of Philosophy (founded by Ben Franklin) and the National Academy of Science (the only economist honored this year). I enjoy attending CMC donor events. My favorite this year was with George Will who arrived early so we had a chance to talk about books and politics. I was saddened to hear of the passing of JOE BATTAGLIA and JIM RIDGEWAY, friends whom I had seen in recent years at alumni events.” BILL BAKER writes, “Margo and I were in Sarasota this month to see my brother and sisters and to attend the 60th reunion of my Sarasota High School graduating Class of 1959. It was held at the Sandcastle Hotel on Lido Beach. Sarasota has grown and continues to grow, especially downtown with all the new hotels, apartments, and condominiums. We stayed at the new Art Ovation Hotel downtown for a few days and really enjoyed the hotel and downtown vibe.
“I retired after 32 years with IBM and Control Data and formed Baker Cadence Solutions in 2000, so I am still working and enjoy it. My company provides software solutions to small-and mid-sized law firms in the western states and western Canada. We have relationships with over 800 law firms and corporate legal departments. Margo and I have been married for 54 years and we are blessed with good health so that we can travel and enjoy being with our two sons and their families who also live in Northern California. We are planning a trip to Japan next year. “I continue to see JOHN WELLS, and will be joining him and his son with my son and grandson at the Wells family cabin on the western slope of the Rockies in July for a week of R&R and some fly fishing.” KENT GREENE says, “Zeta and I continue to enjoy our home in Carlsbad. I walk to La Costa every day to work out at the gym, play tennis and pickleball, do yoga, and hang out. It’s a nice, friendly community that we’ve enjoyed for the past dozen years. Zeta’s focus
is more on the arts and crafts, and she’s very good at it. We set up a separate building for her to work. It’s a mess, which is a good sign of a productive artist. I continue to write software and enjoy supporting my customers. I’m very grateful that I can still do this challenging work. We returned from a trip to Japan and South Korea yesterday. Zeta is much more of a travel enthusiast than I am. This trip was a Smithsonian cruise and the passengers were very smart, friendly, and accomplished. Lots of interesting stories and points of view from all over the U.S. and Canada. The boat was good but the people were the best part for me. We’re fortunate to have my son and his family living just a short drive up the coast. I was very saddened to hear of JOE BATTAGLIA’s passing. We shared both high school and college.” LARRY FORD ’63
lford@me.com We are advised by the CMC administration “that ORLEY ASHENFELTER may be too modest to share this news with you, but he was recently elected to join both the American Philosophical Society and the American Academy of Science. As an economist, it’s rare to be elected to either one of these distinguished societies, much less both.” Kudos and congratulations, Orley! Very impressive, indeed.
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At the recent CMC Alumni Weekend, the following class members were in attendance: LARRY BERGER, CARL BRICK, BILL DAWSON, LARRY EPPENBACH, REX HEESEMAN, PHIL MANN, STEVE MCCLINTOCK, DAVE MOFFETT, WESTON NAEF, DOUGLAS NOBLE, CHRIS ROSE, TOM SALTZMAN, DICK SMITH, JOHN TAYLOR, and JOE ULLOA. Many attended excellent lectures by Professor Jonathan Petropoulos on the restoration of Nazi looted art and Professor Jon Shields on “Trump’s Democrats.” The academic excellence of the CMC faculty was on full display in these lectures. STEVE HALLGRIMSON had planned to attend Alumni Weekend, but reports that he was injured performing a yoga exercise. (This is an excuse acceptable in California, but perhaps not elsewhere.) JOHN HEATON reports that he is listed as a life master in The Bridge World. He also was on a world cruise, and “on the weekend of the class reunion, I will be in the U.A.E. and Oman [but] thinking about all of you in Claremont.” BILL DAWSON, LARRY BERGER, MARSHALL JARVIS, and their wives, Ruth, Diana, and Joan took a cruise trip to the Galápagos Islands last year. This year they traveled to the Middle East; first to Jerusalem, and then on a cruise on the Nile River with stops in Cairo, Luxor, Karnak, and Abu Simbel. TOM SALTZMAN reports that he was for many years a director of marketing for Fox News. He feels lucky to have avoided one of the California fires that ravaged the state this past summer and stopped 100 feet from his house. Tom also stays in touch with his friend DICK SMITH, who, for 38 years, was an accountant for an auto parts manufacturer in Maryland. DOUGLAS NOBLE reports that PHIL MANN was for
CLAREMONT MCKENNA COLLEGE
years a trader in municipal bonds. Phil has a son and daughter, and a mother-in-law who for years worked for Central Casting in Hollywood. Doug also reports that after seeing 152 countries (out of 195), he may now have reached the end of his checklist. Liaisons’ Note: If you know of someone who has not been reported on—but should be—please let us know. Or if you’re reading this, and would like to share some news, please let us know. Our goal is to reach as many classmates as possible, before. . . . well, let’s not go there. LARRY BERGER ’64
laurencewberger@gmail.com BILL DAWSON ’64
billdaws@comcast.net STEVE HALLGRIMSON ’64
steven.hallgrimson@berliner.com
Documents belonging to TOM HOFELLER, the deceased WEEKEND 2020 GOP redistricting specialist, suggest the controversial 2020 census citizenship question was added to redraw political maps to favor Republicans and non-Hispanic white people, according to a new court filing. Articles in most major media outlets discuss his role in detail.
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ALUMNI
BILL BENKOVSKY treated himself to a cruise to Hawaii
this spring for his birthday. Bill is also experimenting with stem cell treatments to avoid a knee replacement. Entertainment reporter BILL HARRIS says this will be his year of the rerun—as the star he calls the last real living legend on the face of the Earth has agreed from her home in Switzerland to resume their coast-to-coast tour of two years ago. Sophia Loren will relaunch her first-ever one-woman show in November with Bill as host/narrator/Q&A moderator. Bill says if you start saving immediately you should be able to afford to have a photo taken with her. He says his own shots remain $1.25 each. ANSON REGO writes, “I am still working as a solo practitioner in Hawaii and look forward to the 55th reunion at Alumni Weekend 2020, April 23–26. Mahalo and aloha.” PERRY LERNER proudly reports, “My grandson, LOGAN MILLER ’19, graduated with CMC’s Class of 2019. We celebrated with Logan’s mother, MARCI (LERNER) MILLER ’89.” DON JOHNSON reports, “A busy 12-month travel schedule. Last October–November to Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda—back to Africa primarily to see the gorillas in Uganda; December–January to Peru with our two boys (COLIN JOHNSON ’16, and Braden, 22, we skipped the middle generation and went directly to grandkids) to see the Nazca Lines and spend a week on the Amazon; March to St. Barth’s for the Bucket Regatta with yachting friends; May–June to Greece and the Dalmatian coast; July–August to Iceland; and September–October to Spain. In our spare time we love home in Laguna.” JOE BRADLEY ’65
jbradley2004@verizon.net FALL 2019
Dr. Ricardo Quinones began teaching at CMC in our class’ freshman year, 1963. The article in the spring issue from his son, Sam, sparked comments about this fine professor:
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“Two stand out as most vivid,” wrote FRED MERKIN, “that he was the last person I had seen just east of Pitzer Hall shortly before I learned at the bookstore that President Kennedy had been shot, and a comment he once made to several members of our class—during a gathering near the football field on a Homecoming Saturday, probably in the 1980s—‘that the Class of 1967 was the last CMC class in the 1960s that had not been radicalized.’” BOB GROOS contributed this memory: “I did not take any courses from Quinones, but I did know Ricardo as a colleague during the years I taught French at CMC. He was an intellectual activist, as evidenced by all his lifetime accomplishments. During faculty meeting discussions on curricula, for example, I remember his voice resounding in passionate counterpoint to more conservative ones, such as that of Professor Phelps. That was bold for an untenured faculty member. It was a time when CMC was increasing its black student population, and there was a lot of pressure to add black studies at all the Colleges. What was CMC’s mission, and how was it to be fulfilled? Faculty meetings were the occasion of some very interesting discussions, for sure, and Quinones was at the forefront each time.”
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VAN SMITH contributed: “I never took a class from Quinones, but I did have a couple of very friendly visits during the summer of 1970 when I was taking chemistry at Harvard and he was on sabbatical. (This was the same summer I saw ALAN BALCH, our valedictorian, who was finishing his doctorate in government.) We had some spirited conversations. I had already been to the Jung Institute, and resolved on pursuing medical psychiatry because lay analysts always seemed to struggle with accreditation (not that I thought the prescribing of medication had much to do with psychology). Little did I know that that approach, with an emphatic shove from Big Pharma, would completely eclipse psychological work as we then knew it. Oh, America.” ROBIN BARTLETT’s own memory of Dr. Quinones was freshman year, first assembly in the Berger Hall lounge to review the books we read over the summer. Dr. Q entered, sat down, and proceeded to identify each freshman in the room by first and last name without making one
The best of times The Class of ’67 shares a few favorite memories from four years at CMC: • “In its early years, Athenaeum events were held in what was formerly the president’s house. That made it an intimate venue and very special. I held French class dinners there, and we dined on some fine food (especially when compared to Collins Hall fare). So, my thanks to (the late) Professor Mike Riley for getting that started.” —BOB GROOS • “I was selected to be the new RA for Beckett Hall (in spring 1966). Now, to say that Beckett was not one of the rowdier dorms in those days would be an understatement. I probably was assigned there because it would be the least challenging of all the dorms. Not exactly full of nerds, but not the liveliest place on earth. So, it came as quite a surprise when I found a 100-pound rock left in my room one day after returning from classes with the words ‘The Phantom’ printed on it. The Becketteers may have been quiet but they also were inventive.” —JIM CARSON • “I think for all of us on the CMC tennis team, there were wins that no one thought we should have won and a whole bunch of ‘almosts’ that we could have won if the tennis gods had favored us. In our years, we were about in the middle of the pack. We weren’t far from the best, but we weren’t the best. Most of us probably remember our own matches more than the matches of the others on the team. It’s an individual sport, but we really did support each other. Like BOB NOVELL, I felt really proud/privileged to be playing on a college team. Since I am from Minnesota, I had played in high school mostly on slow courts that were gravel. I’m not making this up, they were composed of clay and slow asphalt. So, playing on CMC’s slick concrete and many other California fast surfaces was a real change for me. I was able to adapt, but it was hard to play the Californians, all of whom, as far as I could tell, were over 6’3” tall and left-handed!” —BRUCE BEAN • “In my freshman year, I had a single room in Berger Hall. I was next to a double with CHIP HARDINGE and ROBERT SWANSON. The single on the other side of me was our RA. In my sophomore year, Chip and Bob were still in the double and HAYNES LINDLEY moved into the single. It must have been spring semester, when one early evening I heard a noise outside my window and discovered, much to my delight, that there was a young lady trying to climb into my room. Then I heard Haynes’ voice whisper ‘not that room, I’m over here!’ I don’t remember any other incidents although I suspect they were numerous.” —MARTIN KAPLIN 39
mistake. The man had memorized the Look Book! He had a few comments about hair style changes and clothing, but we were all totally blown away by this introduction. I’ve never forgotten the event and was totally intimidated by him for my entire four years. Based on LOREN SATTINGER’s submission about JFK’s assassination in the spring issue, two classmates reflected on their own experience on that fateful day. “I was coming down the stairs from Dr. Myhre’s calculus class,” GUY BAKER remembered, “heading towards Dr. Rood’s political science class when I heard the news. I know exactly which step I was standing on when I heard the news that day. Our class gathered around a radio for the hour, in total disbelief. I have always thought JFK’s assassination marked a major shift in the political landscape of America.” MARTIN KAPLIN recalls: “Kennedy was in Houston on Nov. 21, where he made a speech at Rice Stadium challenging America to land a man on the moon. MIKE STONE said something like, ‘You crazy Texans are probably going to shoot Kennedy!’ I don’t remember my response, but we both laughed. Nov. 22 at about 11 a.m., Mike and I were both washing up for lunch. Someone came in and said that President Kennedy had been shot! Thinking it was a joke because of our previous day’s banter, Mike said something like, ‘See! I told you!’ I don’t remember my exact reply, but I remember I, too, made light of the news. At that moment, neither of us realized the tragedy had happened! I think there were three Texans in our freshman class, VAN SMITH, TED PARRISH, and me. For days following Nov. 22, I was nervous being from Texas and thought I’d be somehow be blamed for this tragedy."
Other notes of interest: JIM CARSON mentioned that “Margie and I will be celebrating our 50th anniversary in July with our son and daughter, their spouses, and five grandchildren on a cruise to Alaska. We decided we should do this now before the entire state melts.” RONALD DOUTT wrote, “My wife recently suffered a heart attack and my energies are with her caregiving and house upkeep, along with selected family matters. She gave me quite a scare and is now mending nicely and should be good as new shortly.” JOHN PETTIT wrote, “I’ve been philosophical. Last January, I determined to undertake a year-long project to randomly read the collected short story writings of four marvelous writers. As of mid-December, I have finished the works of Paul Bowles, Vladimir Nabokov, D. H. Lawrence, and am about to finish the book of short stories by William Trevor. If I had to rank them, I would put Trevor slightly ahead of Lawrence, but mainly because of the latter’s verbose style—which was common 80-100 years ago when he wrote. Nabokov would be third because there were a few times I could not figure out what he was trying to say, and then Bowles because he was even more opaque than Nabokov. The last two were mostly fascinating, but they should have edited a few of their works more closely. Since Trevor’s book was published in 1992 and he only recently passed away, I still have much of his extant material ahead of me, which I anticipate to a great degree. For 2019, I will undertake the complete
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short stories of Anton Chekhov, and tuck into the Greek tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. Again, I will read these in a random order, because whenever I read one author straight through many works, I get bored—all their stories start to sound the same. I first realized that in college when I read two Charles Dickens novels in a row and was totally bored by the second one. Random works best for my brain. Today, I finished Eugene Onegin by Aleksandr Pushkin, and now I understand why he is considered the greatest Russian poet in history—Russia being a country where it is not unusual for 20,000 people to attend a major poetry reading. Although I have been studying Russian culture, history, government, etc. since high school, I am embarrassed to admit that I am just now getting around to this cornerstone of Russian literature and culture. Now onto another cornerstone for a first-time reading: Chekhov. Better late than never, eh?” BILL SLAVIN added that “the 50th reunion was a
wonderful weekend for me. I came away so impressed with the gravitas of this class of gentlemen. Thanks to BOB NOVELL and the committee for a well-run event. It’s amazing to snap back in time and remember. It seems like yesterday! Best regards from Danville, Calif.” “I worked with other Rotarians on Memorial Day to stage 1,000 American flags to honor veterans and special people in our lives,” wrote BOB NOVELL. “ I purchased a flag for deceased vets WILLIAM PEDERSEN ’68 and STEWART MOODY last year, and this year have also included JESSE CLARK ’65, as well as two other friends who were veterans. Pedersen started with our class but needed to drop out for a semester because of health problems and graduated one year behind us. We were good friends and played on the tennis team together. Moody and I became friends at CMC, although we played on opposing basketball teams in high school. He went through ROTC and became a helicopter pilot. Pederson was also a helicopter pilot, but in the Marines. On his last day in Vietnam, packed and ready to come home, Bill volunteered to fly one last fateful mission and was shot down. Our Rotary places the flags on a busy corner park in Arcadia. The flags are up for eight days. There is a lot of work that goes into getting them placed and then eventually taken down, but I do it every year in memory of classmates and friends. “My understanding, growing up, was that life slowed down as we got older. The word ‘older’ does not have the same meaning as ‘older’ when we were growing up. We have, unfortunately, lost some of our classmates over the years, but for those of you who are reading this Class Note, we will probably live much longer than our parents. GUY BAKER and I got together for lunch several months ago; he is still working as I am. He has slowed down a little but is doing some amazing things and enjoying his work day. (Liaison comment: I’m not sure that Guy would agree with that! See Guy’s note following.) “I have spent the last few years doing several things: improving my investment skills, which takes time but will benefit my family; playing a major role in helping a client create a private funding foundation that gives grants to operating foundations that support the fine arts for high school students and focuses on low
income areas in Southern California; doing volunteer work with the Rotary; and playing duplicate bridge weekly at tournaments and at our local bridge club. My partner and I are better players than we were in college, but unfortunately our competition has become better as well. “Finally, my thanks to JOE JOHNSON and his wife, Judy, who have provided some guidance on how to lose weight and reduce my ‘gut.’ (I am sure none of you have gut problems, right?) And second, I am still working on writing my life history by decades. I create short paragraphs of memories of how I lived my life. It has been fun. All of us have stories to tell and they need to be told and left for our families. I have told my youngest daughter, Kelly, of this task and mentioned the fact that ‘I was no saint growing up, but just a normal young boy.’” “I was just in Harrisburg, Pa., to speak to the Central Pennsylvania Vietnam Veterans Round Table and talk about military working dogs in Vietnam,” wrote DICK BAUMER. “I went to a kennel in Washington, D.C., to visit Ft. Myer/Belvoir with the Military Working Dog Team Support Association (MWDTSA) and then attend the reinternment of a Navy handler who was KIA in Afghanistan last year. His family was finally able to get him buried at Arlington. I’ve also been doing nursing duties for my Labrador. Neurological problems with a degenerative spinal cord have affected his ability to walk and now even to get up by himself.” (Dick commented in a subsequent email that, unfortunately, he had to put his beloved Brutus down.) AL CARPENTER and ROBIN BARTLETT attended a recent meeting of the N.Y./N.J. chapter of the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile). We spent the time catching up on stories and reliving similar experiences. In 1968, after serving as a platoon leader with the 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry, operating along the DMZ border from the Gulf of Tonkin to the Laotian border for seven months, Robin caught a staff assignment with the 14th Military History Detachment in Phuc Vin, north of Saigon. Al stopped by for a visit. Al commented that “we did a lot of drinking and talking on that day, but I don’t remember much more.” During the time with the Military History Detachment, Robin also visited DICK BAUMER’s tracker dog team and wrote a report about their missions. He and Dick just missed seeing each other in Vietnam, as Dick was on R&R at the time.
“Now that I am old and grey,” commented ED STANTON, “my athletic endeavors have moved from basketball and lacrosse to the golf course. Candidly, I’m no better at golf, but fortunately, the game has handicaps. For the past 12 years, I’ve gone either to Ireland or Scotland with seven other hackers for a week on the links. During the last two trips, we’ve rented a house in St. Andrews and played the Old Course (1413), the New Course (1895) and others in the area—and there are many. A few of the courses that I enjoyed most were Crail (1786), Balcome (1894), Elie (1875), and Lundin (1868). These were all tough enough for me, and the cost per round was somewhere under $100 each. If you want to move up in reputation, then Carnoustie and Gleneagles are also challenging courses. We play all six days and trust me, that tests your mettle.”
CLAREMONT MCKENNA COLLEGE
“Family dynamics dominated our lives since the last report,” added GUY BAKER. “Our granddaughter in Oak Ridge, Tenn., got married, triggering a great family reunion. The occasion was held at a ranch and the wedding was an outdoor ceremony. Great fun. There was a slight shadow that surrounded the event: a very serious motorcycle accident that grounded our grandson who also lives in Oak Ridge. Fortunately, his body armor and helmet were firmly in place and saved his life. A broken leg and arm, plus a concussion took him down, but he is now ready to ride again. (You just can’t fix stupid!) Colleen and I went to Wales and then Dublin, Ireland (for a board meeting) in January. We found a quaint village in Wales and enjoyed the slow pace for several days. In Ireland, we heard the testimony of an IRA terrorist who is now reformed. He was an interesting chap, to say the least. He told of his conversion and how he was motivated by hatred for Margaret Thatcher. “In April, I was the keynote speaker in Seoul, South Korea, at a financial symposium. It was a short trip, but I had a wonderful time visiting with many of the conference sponsors. I will be heading to Norway in August, and then Antarctica and Buenos Aires in January 2020. Both are bucket list trips we have planned for some time. In June, I conducted two workshops at an international convention in Miami on the science of investing. Our money management company just went under the supervision of the SEC, adding much more responsibility to our compliance department. I am wrapping up the formation of a merchant bank to fund succession plans for closely held businesses. There are several large transactions lined up once the bank is fully funded. This has taken 18 months to put together. We shall see what happens when the dust settles, and this is the story of my life.” STEVE MARTIN moved to the fun side of the wall.
“I’m now director for Villa Nova in Mexico (150 houses which is part of Ajijic which, in turn, is near Guadalajara). We’re working on getting a neighbor to cut his tree back so that we can see Lake Chapala again. I’m also treasurer for Hospital de la Familia Foundation which is a nonprofit supporting medical, educational, and nutritional services in Guatemala near its border with Mexico.” STEVE RUDD and Martie Northrup travelled to southern Italy this spring to tour the Amalfi Coast. They stayed at the Hotel Plaza Sorrento, a fine hotel with a splendid rooftop bar, sipping complimentary bottles of wine while watching the sun set on the coast. “We toured the 800 B.C. Greek ionic temples, the 97 A.D. Roman trading city of Pompeii, and the 97 A.D. Roman seacoast resort of Herculaneum. We also sailed out to the island of Capri, once the home of Roman Emperors Tiberius and Caligula, both of who made significant contributions to the decline and fall of the Roman Empire. Today Capri is a delightful garden island with a small seaport, fishing villages, and high-end fashion boutiques. Little has changed since Tiberius and Caligula.” Steve and Martie encourage any classmates visiting Silicon Valley to drop by and visit them. ROBIN BARTLETT ’67
Rbbartlett01@gmail.com
FALL 2019
Developing leaders
’67 ROBIN BARTLETT recently had the pleasure of attending the Kravis Leadership Institute dinner in NYC—and because HENRY KRAVIS is such an important member of our class—thought you would enjoy reading the takeaways from the evening’s discussions led by three current CMC professors: David Day, Jay Conger, and Ron Riggio P’10, all faculty members with KLI. This year will mark the 25th anniversary of KLI, with a campus celebration scheduled for March 5-6. Bartlett chatted with Riggio about its history.
How did KLI come about?
“KLI was about a year old when I became the director. (The first director was Dr. Martin Chemers). Henry Kravis was interested in creating a center to develop leaders and he was on boards of trustees at CMC, Harvard, and Brown. He said that only CMC was interested in creating the institute. That makes sense given the leadership mission of CMC. Henry, Marty Chemers, and President JACK STARK ’57 worked to create KLI. Susan Murphy was hired as associate director and the concept was to conduct cutting-edge research on leadership and help develop leadership in the CMC student body.”
How has the KLI mission matured and developed?
“KLI went from being the youngest and smallest of the 11 research institutes at CMC into one of its largest and most active. We now have a ‘minor’ called the Leadership Studies Sequence that students can pursue, and it goes on their graduation transcript. It is a vigorous and renowned program of professional research. There are two endowed Kravis chairs in leadership (Jay Conger and my own), a host of programs designed to foster leadership development in CMC students, and a growing international reputation as a center for the study of leadership. For example, KLI has hosted visiting scholars from China, Germany, Switzerland, and England, and dozens of CMC students have worked on research with professors over the past 25 years.”
What has been Henry Kravis’ influence?
“As expected, Henry has been very ‘hands on’ in helping to direct the Institute. For several years he served as the chair of KLI’s Advisory Board (S&P CEO DOUG PETERSON ’80 P’14 P’15 is the current board chair). Henry has contributed financially and with his time. For many years we honored leadership in the nonprofit sector with the Kravis Prize award, and Henry has been very generous with his time—speaking with CMC students in NYC and giving talks on campus throughout the years.”
What are KLI’s major successes?
“The measures of success include our annual Kravis-de-Roulet Leadership Conference, which has produced several books on leadership, and has presented research from leadership scholars around the globe. We continue to work with Kravis Prize-winning organizations that host CMC student interns every summer. In fact, KLI was the driving force behind CMC’s now campus-wide internship program. There have been dozens of KLI students who have co-authored publications or conference presentations with KLI faculty members, and some of our KLI alumni now serve on our Advisory Board.”
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The following classmates attended our 50th Reunion back in April: TEDDY
’69
AIKEN, JIM AMBERG, MELVIN ANDERSON, BILL BOREEN, MIKE BRUCE, JEFF BRYSON, JAMES CLAYTOR, JOHN DEGROOT, LARRY DE SIMONE, JOHN DOGGETT, STEVE FRATES, KARL GRAEBER, WAYNE HAWLEY, GENE HEWET, CHIP KYLE, GARY LEPAGE, STEPHEN MILLS, STEWART MIMS, DOUGLAS MONTGOMERY, BOB NAKASONE, ED NISHIO, STEVE OLIVER, CLAY PETERS, DAVID PRESKILL, HUDSON REYNOLDS, PETER RUBEN, WAYNE RUHTER, BILL SHEFFLER, RICK SHERMAN, RICH STROCK, BOB STRUBLE, ALAN THOMPSON, CHRIS WALKER, KNOX WASLEY, BILL WHITE, GREG WILKINSON. All had a great time!
Save the Date Alumni Weekend 2020 April 23 - 26
ROB BLY ’69
rob.bly@gmail.com
cmc.edu/alumniweekend
’70
ALUMNI
PETE GOODLATTE writes: “My
wife, Maria, and I have lived in New Smyrna Beach for six years and love it in central Florida on the Atlantic side. We live just south of Daytona Beach and we’re not far from Orlando and the parks, St. Augustine, and the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral. Our children and grandchildren are located in Miami and in Maryland, and we enjoy visiting fairly often in both Florida and Maryland, as well as with frequent video calls.” WEEKEND
2020
DENNIS MAHONEY writes: “I was not previously aware of (CMC’s 2019 commencement speaker) Arthur Brooks. But, having looked him up, I think he must be a much better choice as commencement speaker than William Sloan Coffin. (And, that being said, I no longer recall a single word of what Coffin had to say.)” DAVE OFFICER sends greetings from Bordeaux. “My
wife and I, along with some nephews and nieces, just finished a week cycling through the Left Bank. That, plus a few days in Paris, are part of my campaign to lose 20 pounds before I show up at CMC next April. Working with Dan and the team to get more classmates to join us. Good start, but need to keep at it.” STEVE HAMILTON writes: “My wife, Andrea (CGU ’71), and I have been living in Santa Fe, N.M., since 1977, where I have been working as a trial lawyer—first as an assistant attorney general, and since 1984 with the law firm of Montgomery & Andrews, where I am currently Of Counsel. Andrea was employed first as a teacher at the Santa Fe Waldorf School, and later as a principal and school administrator with Santa Fe Public Schools, retiring in 2010. Keeping up the Claremont tradition, both our daughters graduated from Pomona College, Amy in 1998 and Maria in 2006. Amy is currently an English professor at the University of Northern Michigan, and Maria is a pediatrician in Albuquerque. Andrea and I are also blessed by being the grandparents of three lively and intelligent grandsons. I am looking forward to seeing long-lost classmates at our 50th!” JOHN L. FLEGEL says, “I am looking forward to CMC’s 50th reunion next year. In September, fellow graduate RICHARD LANDERS and I, together with my wife, Ellie,
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attended the 50th reunion of our junior year studying abroad in Vienna, Austria. We had great fun visiting old friends and traveling. Although I certainly appear to be 50 years older, Vienna appears in much better shape than when we were there. I am practicing law in Menlo Park, and though slowing down, I still enjoy handling civil litigation cases with my son and the other ten partners in our law firm. I remain active in the Menlo Park Rotary Club, and my son and I also attend the S.F. Giants games on Friday nights and all the Stanford football games.”
training airplane while involving younger enthusiasts. TERRY BARNES ’70 is still CEO of Tropical Irrigation based in Chino. He’s continuing to keep the California farmers in water during their growing seasons. Those seasons have now grown to all four seasons and his business has irrigation pipe from the southern border of California to the South Bay. While many are retiring or have retired, Terry says he’s in it for the long term!” That’s it for now. Send news when you can. And remember, less than two years until the 50th reunion sponsored by Viagra and Depends.
NEFF POWELL messaged: “Looking forward to the 50th
reunion.” BRIAN PUTT says, “We need to beat the Class of ’69 with
only 36 attendees!” Save the date for our 50th reunion! April 23-26, 2020.
DAN COOPER ’71
5036 N. Calle Bosque Tucson, AZ 85718-6302 520-529-9427 dcooper@cooperudall.com
GLENN WARING ’70
waringg@gmail.com Here are the Class Notes for the aging but unbowed Class of 1971: 70 is the new 50. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. DONALD KLEIN and I, along with about five other geriatric friends, were feted at a party here in Tucson at Klein’s house thrown by our wives, Marsha and Jayne. The party began at 7 p.m., close to my bedtime, but I managed to stay up to have one beer and celebrate infirmity. Otherwise, I seem to be working harder than ever although these 70-hour weeks are a bit more arduous than they used to be. Thankfully, crime pays. At least for some of us.
’71
ORM RANKIN kindly sent me some news about classmates. Ormond is still in the Boise area and he, too, is unretired and working as a consultant. Ormond wrote, “TOM GOODMAN has remained retired and is now living in Palm Desert during the winter and back to Portland in the spring. I had breakfast with him in November and he is still quick with a repartee! OLIVER COOLIDGE is spending most of his retirement enjoying private airplanes. He has two classic planes which he has restored and also participates regularly in a local airplane club. The primary project is to build a club
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A number of class updates this time— and the news covers the spectrum of life’s events.
First, some memories from CHRIS RUNCO about Michael Riley and Ricardo Quinones: “Learning about Mike Riley’s passing really hit home for me. Like all of us, I have lost family members and friends, which makes me really appreciate how much the people in my life matter. I have great memories of Riley’s class—wonderful films and great discussions on their meaning and visual power. Those lessons stuck with me throughout my career in entertainment. Plus, the class got a field trip to Universal Studios to see a new TV movie, Duel, and hear from its young, rookie film director, Steven Spielberg! Dr. Quinones was also instrumental in my education— his love of literature was inspiring. Great wry sense of humor, too. I still use my copies of Major British Writers, Vols. 1 and 2! I have quoted frequently from the poetry he introduced to us: ‘A man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s a heaven for?’ He also chewed me out royally when I edited the Look Book and got it published a week late, after classes started, thus messing up his usual pattern of learning every freshman’s name. The shame I felt! I salute them both.”
CLAREMONT MCKENNA COLLEGE
’71
A ‘legacy without equal’ RILEY ATKINS reports (sadly) that in February, classmate ALAN RAPPOPORT passed away. Riley wrote the following obituary about his friend of 49 years: “Alan Rappaport (April 1, 1953–Feb. 18, 2019) was diagnosed with metastatic lung cancer in the fall of 2017, despite the fact that he had never been a smoker. Although he left his beloved family and dear friends far too young, he did so only after fighting with every ounce of his indomitable spirit. Those of us who knew and loved him were not surprised by this fact because Alan never did anything in a small way, at CMC or during 31 years with Barbara and his two loving daughters. Although no more than 5’8” and about 150 pounds, Collins Hall could barely fulfill the boy’s insatiable appetite! And Alan was in a hurry, having skipped a grade, entering CMC at 17. In the early ’70s, political junkies attended the former Washington Semester Program at American University as juniors. Alan would have none of that and insisted (successfully) he attend as a sophomore. “Alan attended one year at Duke Law School because ‘I suppose I should get a law degree,’ like so many of us did. He hated it. His passion was journalism and it was nurtured at the Columbia School of Journalism where he received his master’s degree. Although his CMC buddies didn’t know it at the time, Alan’s ability to focus on the truth, separate the wheat from the chaff, and listen with laser-like intensity to whomever spoke with him, would later serve him well as an Emmy Awardwinning television investigative reporter, and later as an independent media consultant to Fortune 500 companies and celebrities. “Alan’s ability to make you feel like the most important person in the room was his personal gift to each of us. Although Alan was raised in the San Fernando Valley, he spent the last two-plus decades in Seattle. He hated the rain, but loved his Seattle native spouse, Barbara, more. Unquestionably, he cared about those around him and told them so, with his words and often a bear hug. Of course, his CMC buddies relished occasionally making light of his unceasing earnestness, but not because he was insufferable, but because we loved him as much as he did us. And, besides, he always laughed the hardest when he was the butt of our good-natured humor! “Alan’s loss to his family is incalculable, but his legacy is also without equal. Daughters Mindy and Jamie accelerated their wedding dates to allow their proud Dad to attend their two weddings last summer. Alan even happily danced with the brides, despite the fact that illness had severely limited his mobility. The tears of the guests were overwhelmed by Alan’s smile and the gleam in his eyes. Barbara and Alan’s close friends have the legacy of his indomitable spirit to comfort us. We also know that somewhere in Heaven, Alan is intensely interviewing the Proprietor concerning accommodations and privileges—and offering suggestions for improvement when those he left behind come calling.”
MARK SPROWL writes that he and his wife, Jan, traveled from Richmond, Va., to attend his 50th class reunion at Alexander Hamilton High School in West Los Angeles in May. He led a commemorative moment at the gathering, recalling those who had passed away, ending, most thought befittingly for the Class of ’69, with all joining in a chorus from Those Were the Days. He and Jan vacationed in San Diego the next week where they connected with LOWELL SEARS, who was in La Jolla for a business meeting. Mark isn’t sure when he’ll be in SoCal next, but he looks forward to seeing everyone in 2023 at our 50th class reunion. CHARLES MCNEILLY reports that he joined Fiserv as a remote employee in 2014, which laid the foundation for moving to the Oregon coast. “Sue and I now live in Rockaway Beach, a town of 1,400 on the north Oregon coast, just 20 minutes north of Tillamook (home of the world’s best cheese). Rockaway Beach offers four terrific restaurants, a bakery, a coffee shop that is much better than Starbucks, three recreational marijuana stores (those were the days but no more), and easy access to a beach that affords long, leisurely walks as the sun sets over the ocean. My time at CMC was a key building block in getting here. Life is good!”
FALL 2019
REID DABNEY PM’12 writes that his son CRAIG DABNEY M’12 married Maya Perelman on June 1 in Point Reyes,
Calif. “It was a marvelous occasion for family and many friends.” If you think you’ve read this story before, it was Reid who got married in December 2018. MARK ROSENTHAL updates us on his research work: “Still awaiting funding from the National Institute on Aging for our estrogen drug development. This drug should fill a huge gap in care for older women around the world. We continue to work on our electron-based device, which we have demonstrated treats almost every recognized medical ailment, and we have a cancer diagnostic device that is pending various clinical studies. I’m still married to my Yale-and Harvard-trained wife, who works harder than I do. I may actually take a week off from work one of these days.” PAUL BENINGER P’09 reports that he was promoted
to associate professor at Tufts University School of Medicine and that he’s still teaching and publishing. Kudos thrice.
Alzheimer’s, my bride of 18 years, Gillian, passed away peacefully May 2. I was blessed with having found true love in my life and was fortunate to have had the ability and opportunity to care for her at home throughout. Although she is gone from my sight and my arms, she’ll forever be in my heart. I plan to hold off on most major decisions, but I will be selling my home in Port Angeles, Wash., and ‘down-sizing.’ Maybe buy and live on a sailboat again. I still practice law in Alaska, and with Gillian’s passing, it has gone from being my second part-time job to my full-time profession until I retire— and who knows when that will be. My best to all my classmates and college friends.” Keith, our condolences and thoughts to you. KEN GILBERT ’73
4308 Goodfellow Drive Dallas, TX 75229-2816 214-353-9828 kpgilbert@sbcglobal.net
KEITH STUMP writes with sad news. “Big changes for me in 2019. After a valiant and truly remarkable and graceful 11-year fight against her early onset
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’77 Rewarding research “Although I’ve been on the board of CMC’s Roberts Environmental Center since I was appointed by JACK STARK ’57 GP’11 many years ago,” writes MICHAEL GRABER, “it’s only been recently that I’ve been able to give serious time and energy to the REC. Not many alumni are aware the College owns and maintains a research facility tucked into an isolated Aspen grove at 7,000feet elevation and a few miles from the eastern boundary of Yosemite National Park. During the summer months when CA 120 is open, over a million Yosemite visitors will drive past the dirt road leading up to the research station and have no idea of its existence. Currently, I’m a member of an ad hoc committee preparing the facility for student interns for summer 2020. Our committee has been reaching out to local government agencies (USFS, BLM, CA Department of Fish and Wildlife) and nonprofits (Mono Lake Committee, Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep Foundation, to mention only a few) to identify various internships available to CMC students in the REC program. The feedback has been incredibly positive. Had this opportunity been available when I was at CMC, I would have eaten dirty laundry for a month to intern on any of these projects. Working with the REC has been enormously rewarding on a personal level due to the fantastic members on the research station committee. From the College: William Ascher, Susan Edwards, Kristin Miller, as well as JIL STARK ’58 GP’11, BRENT HOWELL ’62, CAM TREDENNICK ’88, and ELIZABETH THOMAS ’07.”
The 2019 reunion was a wonderful event. Seventeen members of the Class of ’74 came from all over the country to be part of the weekend festivities. Attendees included WAYNE AKIYAMA, MIKE BOARDMAN, GREG BREEN, TOM CERRUTI, TIM DONAHOE, BOB ERNST P’05 P10, JAY FLATLEY P’03, PHIL FRIEDMAN P’14, JOHN HARTNETT, GIB JOHNSON, TREY LITTLEJOHNS, JIM MCELWEE P’12, DON ROBINSON, DENNIS ROSENBAUM, DARRELL SMITH P’00, SKIP WEISS P’15, and JASON ZELLER.
’74
In addition to enjoying the camaraderie, the excellent food and beverages, as well as the CMC organized programs, we gathered for the first time to remember classmates that had passed. Twenty-two that we’ve accounted for (DAVE BALDRIDGE, BEN BOONE, DAVE BUDINGER, CLAYTON BUFORD, JIM COSTELLO, MARK GORDON, ERIC HANSEN, STEVE HASKELL, JOHN LEWIS, ALAN MACGREGOR, DON MOORE, STEVE MOORE, TOM ORTEGA, TONY PEREZ, ALAN RAPPOPORT, CORNELL RIDLEY, DARRYL RUSK, VINCE SKILLIN, MIKE THORNTON, JOHN WALLIS, TOM WEXMAN, and MARK WOLFF). Many in attendance offered remembrances of classmates as we gathered around the JOHN ALLEN ’73 Memorial Tree planted by the Class of ’73 in memory of John. The tree is located in the North Quad. We will do this again in 2024. At this year’s reunion we posed the question: If you were making the commencement address to the CMC Class of 2019, what would be your message? Here are the responses I received. GIB JOHNSON: “On the occasion of the 45th anniversary of my graduation from CMC, I’d like to emphasize to recent graduates the importance of family and friends. Stay in touch! What a treasure they are!” TIM DONAHOE: “In the years ahead, remembering who the keynote speaker at your college graduation was—much less what that speaker said—will not be an easy task; overshadowed as it will be by the memory of family and friends sharing in the celebration of this milestone in your life. The next big step on your life’s journey.
“But keep in mind who brought you to this moment: your family, your friends, your teachers, and you. Keep in mind the love and support your family has shown you (in their own ways and in varying degrees) throughout your life—and know that they will continue to do so. “Keep in mind your friends—old ones, new ones, and really close ones. Friends are an intricate thread in the fabric of your life. They have helped you become who you are—and will continue to share in the adventures that lie ahead of you. “Keep in mind your teachers—whether they have been in a classroom, on an athletic field, or in a religion. Stay in contact with those you have learned from and, as you go out into the world, seek out those who you can learn from. Most people like to share the wisdom they have acquired through their experiences in life. Ask them to share it with you. “Keep in mind that you have arrived at today because you have a vision of and for yourself, and every day you have worked to clarify that vision. It has been, and
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will continue to be, a lifelong endeavor. Stay true to yourself and challenge yourself to be a better person than you were the day before. “And keep in mind that each day that lies ahead is an opportunity for you to make a positive impact on those around you—be they family, friends, business colleagues, or total strangers—especially total strangers. There is an old song that contains the words, ‘If you smile at me, I will understand, ’cause that is something everybody everywhere does in the same language.’ “Keep in mind that the simplest gesture of kindness, of generosity, of gratitude, of thoughtfulness toward your fellow humans, can have a lasting impact on those around you. Try and make such gestures every day. Be that pebble which, when dropped in water, creates a ripple effect in all directions.” DENNIS ROSENBAUM: “Use the knowledge and critical thinking skills you have acquired at CMC to pursue the truth and advance knowledge of the world, wherever you decide to make your mark. Never follow the temptation to distort the truth for political, economic, or personal gain—there will always be plenty of room to argue about whether the glass is half full or half empty, but don’t deny independent measurement of the volume present. Always be open and transparent with your actions and motives. Honesty, integrity, and transparency are essential values of good people in a good society.” JASON ZELLER: “You’ve just finished receiving one of the best undergraduate educations available in the U.S. and no doubt you have a lot of high expectations about the rest of your life and career. You will likely find that life has a way of confounding your expectations in ways that you cannot anticipate. Try to avoid the error of making your career into a kind of secular religious pursuit—you are far more than what you ‘do’ for a living. Strive for balance in your life between your job, family, recreational pursuits, and other activities. I urge you to remember those less fortunate than you and to commit to at least one act of kindness every day. Don’t forget the humanity of others in whatever endeavors you engage in—there’s more to life than simply greasing the wheels of capitalism.” JIM MCELWEE P’12: “Appreciate every gift you have received. You will be starting with a major advantage, which is a CMC education. Whatever job they put in front of you, do the best job at it that you possibly can. If you hit a negative experience, take the high road. Do not be bitter. This will pay off later. Trust is everything; do not do anything that threatens your moral foundation. Never stop reading and learning. Keep your channels open and be ready for opportunity.” WAYNE AKIYAMA: “Based on my experience in environmental consulting as a geologist at 10 companies over 40 years, you will have great and terrible bosses and coworkers. You can learn from both, if you set your ego aside (sometimes a hard lesson to learn!). Some of you will be lucky enough to have great mentors, as I have. Learn from them, learn your craft, treat your profession as a profession, not a job. Go to professional meetings and meet people—they may change your career; it did for me. And yes, when you start out, as I have told my sons, you will get crap CLAREMONT MCKENNA COLLEGE
assignments in the beginning of your career, but the better assignments will come with the experience you get from the crap assignments. Learn from every assignment, even though it isn’t exactly what you are interested in. You may have a manager that requires that skill in the future. Work, like college, is competition. Do the best job you can and don’t skate. If you do skate, your managers and coworkers will know, which will result in more crap assignments. When you do a great job and your client or manager says you do a great job, ask them to write it down, so that you can use it in your review, or remember that manager/client. You may need them to give you a recommendation for your next job. TREY LITTLEJOHNS: “Do what you love. Focus on what
you are passionate about. Along that path will come self-mastery and a plethora of opportunities.” SKIP WEISS P’15: “You are here for only a short time, so make the most of every day. Discover what’s important to you and live it from the inside out. Discovering ‘it’ may take some time, but if you remain present and curious, you will thrive by filling your life with growing knowledge and life experiences that feed the soul. Perfect the art of asking questions. In so doing you will become an agent of change in this world. To that end, never stop moving, never stop asking.
“I’m reminded of a line from a song I heard many years ago: ‘Make new friends but keep the old. One is silver and the other is gold.’ Look at all the friends around you—at this moment—and appreciate what a gold mine you will carry with you.” FRANK HOBBS: “For the Class of 2019, my message
might have been that despite my passion for them, my opinions are not facts. As the 20th-century prophet John Wooden said, ‘it’s what you learn after you know it all that really counts.’” In other class news, BRUCE NORMAN reports, “Toughly enjoying retirement, splitting my time between the mountains of northern New Mexico in Los Alamos, and just outside of Tucson in the winter. Working on my golf game, staying in shape and reading. I get together with Chicagoans BARRY GOLDBERG and STEVE SHOLL ’75 at least once a year on golf outings.” PAUL BOVARNICK writes, “Neither my wife, a judge, nor I have any immediate plans to retire. In fact, I’m about to buy a building to house my law practice. My two oldest, both women, are married and live in Portland. My son also lives in Portland and is about to receive a master’s in teaching. My wife and I are in pretty good health. I climbed Mt. St. Helens with my kids for my 65th birthday, and both my wife and I are regular gym-goers.
“I still ski and bike, and neither of us have slowed down. So far as I know, I have no classmates in Portland. But if any of the Class of ’74 visit Portland, they should give me a call, since I love to show people around my favorite city.” WES KAN writes from Panama City, Fla., “Upon departing from the legal profession in Honolulu after two decades, I spent six years at a Lutheran seminary in Indiana before being called as pastor of a ‘historic black’ church in Panama City, Fla. I retired three days after my
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65th birthday. ‘Retirement’ in Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod parlance means being permanently on-call to substitute for active pastors. Last summer I ended up preaching in every state in my church’s southern district: Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. In late September, I accepted an interim call from a parish in Crestview, approximately 100 miles away. “Three days after beginning that call, Hurricane Michael carved a path of destruction through the Florida Panhandle. The category 5 winds, 155 mph or more, came first from the east. This was followed by a heavy, dead silence as the eye passed over us. Then the hurricane’s back wall with winds from the west scoured the land, snapping or uprooting the trees that had been weakened by the initial assault. “Our brick house fitted with hurricane windows is one of the 10 percent in the hurricane’s path that did not suffer total destruction or major damage. The galvalume roof we installed five years earlier proved to be one of the smartest decisions we ever made. Surprisingly, neither our van nor shed suffered significant damage, though the roof of the well house (we pump our own water) will need to be repaired or replaced. Thanks be to God for His mercy. Virtually all of the long-needle pine trees on our three acres were either snapped or uprooted. A number of them were a century old. Most of the oaks and magnolias were also damaged or destroyed. We will be clearing the land for the next five years or longer. My younger son and I have become proficient in wielding chainsaws.” SKIP WEISS ’74 P’15
skipweiss@aol.com
’75
ALUMNI WEEKEND
2020
BILL ANDREWS ’75
billfandrews@gmail.com DAVE HECKENDORN has left a medicaldevice marketing role at Philips Healthcare, joining InterVarsity Christian Fellowship to pastor international students at Harvard’s nine graduate schools. Harvard enrolls 3,500 grad students from other countries, many of whom have never learned Christian values and teachings. Dave is splitting his time for the next few months between raising support (InterVarsity staff raise their own salaries and expenses) and engaging with students (MBAs and many MDs doing post-doc research). In his first formal event on the Harvard campus, a grad student worship/fellowship evening, the first person Dave encountered at Harvard Chapel was CHRISTA FOSTER CRAWFORD ’91, a Harvard Law School grad who works for Freedom Resource International in Bangkok, to prevent and reverse human trafficking. Their paths crossed again over Christmas, when Christa was back in the U.S. to speak at InterVarsity’s tri-annual student missions conference, Urbana ’18.
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TIM WRIGHT received CMC’s Distinguished Public Service Award at the College’s commencement ceremony in May. A lawyer and former government official, Tim served in the administrations of Presidents Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush. He also served as special counsel and director of intergovernmental affairs for Chicago Mayor Harold Washington. Tim participated in the constitutional negotiations in Cape Town, South Africa, that led to the release from prison of Nelson Mandela. He holds a Master of Divinity degree from the Chicago Theological Seminary, and is pursuing a doctorate in ministry. Tim is an alumni trustee of CMC. AL HARUTUNIAN III ’77
619-844-5960 al.harutunian@yahoo.com Several classmates commented on the passing of Professor Ricardo Quinones. PAUL FANN remembers him as “one of my influencers”: “Crap, I have to reread what I just wrote until the very last moment the document is submitted to enable me to get a damn passing grade, with some portion not be redlined.”
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DAN GOLDZBAND noted that he ran into Professor Quinones at an Alumni Weekend: “He crocked his finger and I knew I was in trouble, just like one of his students who had not prepared for class. The best defense is a good offense, so I said, ‘I must confess. I have not yet read your book on dualism,’ as I’d said I would a year earlier. ‘And why not?’ he demanded. Here goes, I thought. ‘Because I was reading the new translation of Aristotle’s Nichomachean Ethics’ (an excuse that had the added benefit of being true). He immediately relaxed. ‘Oh,’ he said, ‘that’s OK then.’” Dan observes that “something about CMC makes it easy to develop relationships with professors after you graduate.” Dan never took a class from Quinones but they struck up a fine acquaintance in the ensuing years. PHIL SINDLINGER said, “I attended the memorial for Professor Quinones about two months ago and walked away with a newfound respect for the man and admiration for how he impacted everyone’s life, especially everyone affiliated with CMC. Like many, I was ignorant about his life except for his genius, a genius that finally defied his association with MENSA. I managed to mumble a few words about his great Shakespeare class and yet I will wonder what he thought of the work of some who believe the man of Falstaff and Hotspur was none other than the anonymous Lord Oxford. I also wondered if Ricardo ever made it to the summit of any nearby mountain peak like his colleague Langdon, but that ritual musing is merely a vain attempt by me to connect to his great 21st-century wallet poetry of European north and south. He now stands on the summit of many great poems as a reminder of freeway cars far away. I hope this makes sense to some who have read his poetry.” KEN DE JARNETTE reports that he retired from Deloitte in San Francisco on May 31.
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Put to the test STAN HELFAND lives in Agoura, Calif., and they had a fire—a really big fire that came within a house of Stan and Mollie’s. Stan works for the FBI. Here is what happened: “On the morning of Nov. 8, 2018, I responded to the mass shooting at the Borderline Bar and Grill. It should be noted, getting multiple emails at 4 a.m. describing a mass shooting, or any shooting for that matter, is never a great way to start your morning. Approximately 14 hours later my wife called me to say the Woolsey Fire was getting bigger and I should get home to help start packing. “Again, just slightly less adrenaline-producing than a 4 a.m. email, but still a pretty dramatic way to end the day. Fast forward four hours later, we had our four cars packed and we left our home. Fortunately, the fire department fought the fire in our backyard and our house did not burn. First lesson learned—not burned does not mean not damaged. Over the next five months we lived at the Hilton dealing with contractors who wanted us to sign blank contracts (‘they would save us time and fill in everything later’) to contractors who had ‘forgotten’ that their business license had been suspended from the contractor’s board to the recommended personal property cleaning company who returned our 200-plus boxes of clothing still wet and with some items having visible mildew. And now, we are at the point that our insurance company is saying ‘not fire-related damage,’ even though there was no damage prior to the fire. So, second lesson learned—no matter how good you think your insurance company or policy is, after a catastrophic loss, in order to make a full economic recovery, you have to consider this your second, almost full-time, job. “The last takeaway—once you pack the cars (and assuming the kids are old enough to drive their cars), the stuff that doesn’t go is just stuff you really don’t need, and you can live without. As we unpack and assess, we are keeping this in mind. When put to the test, you can separate important and meaningful items and the stuff that just clutters your life.” (Of course, after five months at a Hilton, Stan had enough Hilton points to take a vacation in Maui. There is always a silver lining.)
TOM LINN reports that “I’ve been very fortunate. My wife of 37 years and I raised three boys, all of whom graduated excellent universities in four years and immediately became gainfully employed and selfsufficient. Many hiccups, challenges, and setbacks along the way to that milestone but a great result in the end in our view. In 2016, my partners and I sold our management consulting/mergers and acquisitions advisory firm after 20 years of building the organization to 110 professionals. I’m still working a 30-hour week, which seems like a breeze after many years of 50+ hour work weeks and constant travel.
“My wife and I have participated in many adventures we always dreamed of. In 2017, we spent a month in Spain and France. In 2016, 2017, and 2018, we wintered in Lake Tahoe, logging almost 50 ski days a year. In the summer of 2018, I trained like a maniac on my road and mountain 46
bikes, won my age group in a big mountain bike race, came in 19th out of 500 on a 70-mile road bike race, and had several other good results in various cycling events, successfully competing with guys in their 30s and 40s. We spent the month of September 2018 touring around Indonesia. A lifetime surfer, I enjoyed surfing several remote and famous Indonesian surf breaks I’ve always dreamed of. My wife went on an around-the-world tour of Italy with her friends. A few weeks after my return from Indonesia, my oldest son and I went to Micronesia to surf yet another legendary surf break. In Micronesia, we also enjoyed the kava, amazing snorkeling, exploring ancient ruins Indiana Jones-style, and bathing in remote pools below giant waterfalls. “This winter my doctor discovered a small malignant tumor in my prostate. I’m currently recovering from what appears to be a successful prostate removal
surgery and hopefully the end of any cancer concerns. Only time will confirm or deny that hope. If anyone should have a similar diagnosis, I would be happy to share my experience and process with them. Feel free to contact me at tklinn@aol.com. Carpe diem!” FRANK CHMELIK ’78
Chmelik Sitkin & Davis 1500 Railroad Ave. Bellingham, WA 98225-4542 Phone 360-671-1796 ext 204 Direct 360-306-3001 Cell 360-223-5633 Fax 360-671-3781 fchmelik@chmelik.com What happens in Claremont stays in Claremont! This must have been the theme of the Class of ’79’s 40th reunion, since no stories surfaced from the event, which I sadly could not attend (due to Passover). The pictures that went online showed that everyone was having a lot of fun reconnecting. The nametags that I saw I’m sure were a great plus, since I would have been name-tongue-tied. More than 40 classmates attended. Kudos go to the Class of ’79’s Reunion Committee: JOEL ACHRAMOWICZ, JILL ANTER WIEDER, JEFF DAAR, NICK DAIFOTIS, JOHN FARANDA, FORD FROST, RONNY GIMBEL, ELLEN KNIGHT GORDON, RUSS GREENBERG, SUSAN HARRISON, DON LOGAN, JOHN MCDOWELL, LESLIE OLSON-COLLINS, MARIANNE BITTERBAUM SHARPE, CODY SMITH, and BRUCE SOLL.
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I did hear from some classmates who told me why they unfortunately couldn’t attend the reunion. Like me, HOWARD JACOBSON was celebrating Passover, and he celebrated the holiday in Jerusalem. He wrote me this story: “We were having Friday night dinner in Jerusalem at our Chabad friend’s. He asked me to speak. I told the group of 20 that it was my 40th reunion that night and I really wanted to be there with my college classmates. Then I mentioned how everything in life is divine providence. My wife was sitting next to a lady who asked what college I went to. She told her CMC. Then a remarkable event happened. She told my wife that she graduated from Scripps in 1979! Okay, tell me the mathematical chance of that? We spoke at length about all the professors and people we both knew. Even Ben Beliak! Crazy stuff.” SCOTT ANDERHOLT and WHIT LATIMER couldn’t attend the reunion due to an even higher calling. They played in an annual golf tournament.
What was ROSS BAKER’s excuse? “The main focus of my work, public policy advocacy with the Washington State Legislature, came to a crescendo reunion weekend with the conclusion of Washington state’s 2019 regular legislative session.” Wow, now that sounds like fun! The sole response to my Class Notes survey was from ERIC WEBER. I asked: We’ve seen a lot of presidential elections in our time and we’re seeing a lot of Democrats run for president (including CMCer STEVE BULLOCK ’88). My questions are: 1. If you could pick any (living, U.S. citizen) person to run for president (it can be yourself ), who would it be, and why? JEFF DAAR is eligible (Why CLAREMONT MCKENNA COLLEGE
Jeff? He ran for Los Angeles City Council). 2. What would be the walkout song for that person? For Jeff it would be “Oh! Darling” by The Beatles. Eric’s choice? Nicolas Cage and “Born to Be Wild.” Enough said. JOHN BECKER shared a very interesting essay on the
current state of things that I shared via email with the class. Maybe John should run for president. I love getting hello notes from classmates. This quarter I got notes from STAN CHONG, STEVEN TRENHOLME, JEFF NICKELL, TURK ABLIN, JOEL SUSEL, and KEVIN GOODWIN. Finally, GARY LICHTIG shared his memories about Professor Ricardo Quinones, when Gary heard of his passing: “One of the best professors I had. Great teacher with a big personality that made it fun and interesting to go to class. He was always passionate about the subject matter. Very witty with a somewhat dark sense of humor. Always called me ‘Lichtig’ and never uttered my first name. I was an English major and had three classes with Professor Quinones, including Lit 10 and Shakespeare. Funny how I came into Lit 10 thinking I was a good writer and quickly learned that I was not. I can still see my papers coming back to me with more red marks and comments from Quinones than words that I had originally put on the page. One of my main memories of him was on the baseball diamond. He never seemed like an athletic guy, but he came out and pitched fast pitch softball against us in the all-star softball game or maybe some student/faculty game. He was surprisingly good and agile and of course, as you would expect of him, could not stop talking smack to every batter he faced.” CLINT GREENBAUM ’79
61 Seafield Lane Westhampton Beach, NY 11978 cgreenbaum@aol.com
Championship glory Classes of 1977–1983: Join us on Saturday, November 16 to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of CMC’s 1979 SCIAC championship football team. We’ll reconnect with longtime classmates to reminisce about the life moments we shared together, relive old plays and key games, and toast and roast the success of the team that became SCIAC champs in 1979. Significant others, friends, and fellow classmates are welcome. Tentative schedule • 11:30 a.m. – Pregame BBQ • 1 p.m. – Kickoff vs. Pomona-Pitzer • 4 p.m. – Roberts Pavilion tour and reception • 6 p.m. – Cocktail hour • 7-9 p.m. – Dinner and program Save the date and look for a registration email. For more information, please contact STEVE SCHIRO ’80 (sschiro@hotmail.com) or DAVE FLATTEN’80 (stagsno50@aol.com). We’ll see you in November. Go Stags!
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Well, Class of 1980, you all being so rule oriented, I 2020 asked you, “How would you describe your CMC experience in 15 words or less?” You provided such great responses. A few of you liberally used the hyphen to sneak in at the 15-word limit. I applaud your ingenuity. A few of you chose Haiku, which scores extra points.
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ALUMNI WEEKEND
From HERB BOWMAN: “CMC experience: No way to put into words. I’m just grateful I was given four years in that wonderful place to grow up a little.
Please plan to be in Claremont next April for Alumni Weekend 2020. I am hoping to have at least 75 members of our class attend our 40th reunion. What a great chance to reconnect and be back at a college so few of us could ever get admitted to today!
“Update: I’ve spent most of the last 20 years doing legal reform work in developing countries. Last stop was Hanoi, Vietnam, where I was the international narcotics and law enforcement affairs coordinator for the State Department in Vietnam. I’m back in my hometown of Durango, Colo., probably for the long term since my youngest daughter is starting high school next year. May start a solo law practice here. We’ll see. I’m hoping to attend the reunion next year. Just spoke with 1980 classmates MARTIN MAHONEY and KEN HEININGER about the possibility of meeting up there.”
From JEFF ARCE: “More than just the classroom, it was the classmates, profs, study abroad, and social life. And, just in case you want it in the form of Haiku:
From BOB FARRA: “Those tests still haunt me. That damn thesis too. Meet at The Buff around noon. (15 frickin’ words Wayne!)”
amazing classmates tennis, studies, drinking, broom ball many skills I learned “Here’s a quick update on me: I’m still in Honolulu. Going on 37 years now. And I am still with The MacNaughton Group (going on 30 years). I carry a new title now: ‘senior advisor.’ People ask me what that means and I say, I’m older than everyone else and, if anyone wants (and only if they want), I give them my advice and/or opinion. Others simply call it semiretired. While I occasionally hobble around the tennis court, hampered by painful knees and a bad hip, I do manage to get in some golf and fly fishing. “My wife, Loan, and I recently enjoyed visiting the CMC campus for Family Weekend and we enjoyed our earlier visit last August as we dropped off our middle daughter, CAITLYN ARCE ’22. I am officially a CMC parent. She has taken a job in the athletic department, so she is the second Arce to work there! She is really enjoying her CMC experience. For those that keep track of such things, our eldest daughter, Jamie, is working on her master’s degree in education, with a focus on becoming a child life specialist (basically pediatric psychosocial and health care coordinator in a hospital). Our youngest daughter, Brianna, is now a high school freshman and, with her sisters off on the mainland, she gets mom and dad solo, full time. Lucky girl!
From JOE MCDONNELL: “I laughed. I cried. It became a part of me (still five to spare). I will try to make the reunion though it really should also be billed as my birthday party.” From STEVE CASSELMAN: “Wonderful opportunity for growth—personal, intellectual. Found life friends. Way more fun than working.” From LARRY GONZALES: “It was a great time to learn about other people, points of view, the world, and myself. “Update: My eldest daughter, Megan, is engaged to be married and has a date set for August 2020. My wife, Linda, and I will be traveling to Germany with friends for a few weeks and will attend the Rotary International convention.” From STUART MORRIS: “Here goes (15 words): Riko, JR, T-More, Roy, Wetle, Louie, Pitzer Patty, Copenhagen, Beer, CindyG, all so much fun!
“Loan and I (and our girls) have had some enjoyable visits with CMC folk in 2018 such as Jennie (Scripps ’81) and RIKO WERNER, LOU CARON, CRAIG SNODGRASS, and ERIC AFFELDT ’79. Quick shout out to more ’79 CMC ‘BUGS’ while I’m at it (SCOTT A, WHIT L, DALE Y, JOHN K). I’ll see you at our 40th in 2020, if not before.”
“On another note: I’m the proud pappy of an incoming freshman this fall, my son JAY DEREK MORRIS ’23. I see ROY HEBARD five or six times a year on his West Coast trips, JR every summer on his Del Mar August retreat, and DEREK every week for morning coffee (when he is not circumnavigating the world with Jennie J.). The Green Hall gang was saddened by SCOTT WHITTEMORE’s passing three years ago. His humor and kindness are sorely missed. I am happily married to my one and only wife, Anne. I’m an old daddy; I still have kids in the pipeline with my youngest moving up to eleventh grade this fall. Yikes! She will graduate from college in 2025. I will be at the CMC reunion. Can’t wait!”
From LOU CARON: “Challenging. Rewarding. Foundational. Memorable.”
From JIM DUNSTAN: “My 15 (or so) words, in somewhat Haiku format:
From DEREK WERNER: “The education, great people, and friends for life that made my CMC experience. “After 29 years overseas (living in Germany, Poland, Philippines, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Colombia (twice), Sri Lanka, India, China, Vienna, and London, my wife, Jennie (Scripps ’81), and I have just moved back to the U.S. (Little Italy in downtown San Diego) into a little apartment. We welcome contact from any CMCers, especially if you pass through San Diego.”
Sleep? Later. Econometrics, why? Elliott singing parties. Arce Baseball. Crammed four years into two. “Life remains entertaining. I’m in my tenth year of independent law practice after leaving ‘big firm’ life in Washington, D.C. Can’t imagine going back to the grind (or commute). My client base of telecommunications (including representing a number of Native American
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tribes), video game developers, and upstart outer space companies keeps me hopping. Last year I also came on board as part-time general counsel to TechFreedom, a free-market advocating technology think tank in D.C. I’m really enjoying working on the policy side of things for a change. I got to testify before the Senate Outer Space Subcommittee on private enterprise and U.S. treaty obligations, and am neck deep in areas such as privacy, data security, and social media and the First Amendment. Had a great time reconnecting with TIM PECKINPAUGH ’81 at the CMC Washington Program 40th anniversary (turns out we were the official gray hairs of the group that celebrated). I spend most of my spare time with music, just retiring after 25 years as the handbell choir director at my church, and playing French horn with the Fairfax Wind Symphony and the Silver 5 Brass Quintet.” From PAUL NATHAN: “Intellectually challenging, rewarding, great environment, and a very ‘warm’ place. Developed best lifelong friendships.” From BILL ANDERSON: “Friendships, Denmark, D.C. internships, travel, oh, and a bit of knowledge, that broaden my life. “After CMC, I went to Harvard for a master’s in city and regional planning. I went on to a 23-year career with Economics Research Associates (ERA) in Boston, Los Angeles, and San Diego, and was a commissioner/ chair of the San Diego Planning Commission. I took a position as planning director for Mayor Sanders. We updated the general plan to set the stage for urbanization. Since then, I’ve been with AECOM as director of city and regional planning and was president of the American Planning Association. I was lucky to marry Shawna 33 years ago. We have two terrific children, Ryan, 20, and Mila, 17, and live in the Mission Hills neighborhood of San Diego. To past and current CMC friends out there, look me up next time you’re in San Diego. I hope to see some of you at the 40th! Until my next 40-year Class Note for 2060.” From BRANT BAKER: “My CMC experience could be described by the words, ‘Eye-opening, thoughtprovoking, life-preparing.’ I am still in ministry and have just returned to Arizona from a brief stint in California to help a small church outside of Phoenix. Great to be back near family (including a very precious granddaughter) and love the desert. Still writing, and just released Famous Fish of the Bible to go with Famous Cows of the Bible and Famous Donkeys of the Bible. Playing golf and pickleball and loving life! Sorry to miss the reunion but know it will be fun.” From TOM CORNWELL: “Daughter Ella graduated from Polytechnic School in Pasadena this June and is headed to the University of Chicago in the fall to study international relations and how to stay warm during the polar vortices. I’m still plugging along in health care IT, now working at L.A. Care Health Plan after many years at Kaiser Permanente. I should be able to retire in time to volunteer during the L.A. Olympics in 2028.” From JOHN SPINOSA: “Much different than high school.” From ALISON (MEYER) O’CARROLL: “Coming in as a transfer student, CMC blew my mind. Great professors, hard work, and Foster’s Donut runs!
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“The quick story: After living for more than 20 years in Seattle, I have recently returned to Atlanta, Ga. My husband, PATRICK O’CARROLL ’79, works for the Task Force for Global Health in Atlanta and I am looking for my next career position. I earned a joint JD/MBA degree from Emory University, practiced law for a number of years, and then built a career in nonprofit fundraising. Patrick and I have two wonderful daughters, Fiona and Siobhan, both of whom, I am proud to say, are following in my legal footsteps. Life is good—come visit us in Atlanta!” From ART DODD: “The ABCs: Athletics, Bauer, Berger, Boswell, Buffalo Inn, Coed, Collins. “2019 travels: Six new states visited: Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, and North Carolina. Six return visits to Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, and Utah.” From KATHLEEN FITZPATRICK: “Opened my eyes, mind, and heart, then filled them up with experiences, knowledge, and lifelong-friendships. (It’s really 16 words, but I cheated by making ‘lifelong-friendships’ one word. What can I say? I’m a rule bender.) “My update: I am still living and working on our 40acre ranch with John, my husband of 34 years, in Black Forest just north of Colorado Springs. I’d like to extend an invitation to any of my CMC classmates to come visit. We just put our little lake cabin and our bunkhouse (that sleeps 13) both on Airbnb, so we’ve got space for you if you want to see beautiful Colorado. “Our twin daughters are 25 and ‘fully launched.’ Kenna is a NICU nurse and Kaitlin an electrical engineer. I work out of my home office as the senior program manager for a national nonprofit, the National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity Education Foundation. I work with educational institutions and workforce development agencies in 38 states to change their culture and messaging to attract and retain more women and students of color in STEM and the trades. I am leading efforts to assist Toyota in bringing more women into their advanced manufacturing career paths as well as working more broadly with industries that are struggling to attract women to their apprenticeship programs. In addition to my day job, evenings I teach entrepreneurship and innovation at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. I also volunteer as the executive director of the Southern Colorado Girls STEM Initiative that reaches more than 400 middle school girls annually with the STEM career message. John is retired, but I’m not planning on retiring anytime soon. I like keeping busy and I like making a difference for young women across our nation. I am, though, planning on joining BLAKE ISAACSON ’81 and several Scripps friends this fall at our Institute for European Studies 40th reunion in Vienna, Austria. The rest of you, I am looking forward to seeing you next spring at our (yikes!) 40th reunion.” From JOHN MCKISSICK: “CMC was a rite of passage for boys to become men, girls to become women. “I would love to come to the 40th reunion next year. I’m currently in Budapest, still working for UNHCR after 20 years. I’ve been re-assigned as a representative in Tajikistan and I’m waiting for the agreement of the Tajik government. I’ve worked in the following
countries since I began my career with UNHCR in 1998: Turkmenistan, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Cambodia, Thailand, Nauru, Afghanistan, South Sudan, Burundi, Uganda, Azerbaijan, Russia, Georgia, Bangladesh, and Hungary.” From KEVIN SMITH: “CMC conservative bastion in California! Dr. Rood student and hooped with great Stag teammates/coaches. “My wife, Vicky, and I just graduated our fourth child, Kelli, from Bellevue West High School. She’s following her three siblings on a scholarship to the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Still enthused in post-Air Force retirement gig, serving as a plans officer with the United States Strategic Command. Looking forward to Danube River cruise and some additional touring this summer.” WAYNE SLAVITT ’80
wayneslavitt@gmail.com HUGH CLARY writes, “I just returned from two and a half weeks in Italy, where my lovely bride, Judy, and I were married in a beautiful lakeside ceremony at the Villa d’Este in Lake Como on May 29. We celebrated the occasion with my three sons, Brandon, ANDREW ’16, and Evan, as well as 10 of our close friends who made the journey for some fun-filled days on the lake. Afterward, Judy and I enjoyed our honeymoon in Tuscany, visiting Florence, and several of the small towns in the countryside. We are now living in Newport Beach, where we recently moved to a home that is a short walk from the harbor in Bayshores. As for my boys, Brandon is 28 and finishing a Ph.D. in physics at UConn, Andrew is 25 and working in M&A for Eastman Chemical in Tennessee, and Evan is 21 and studying at Orange Coast College.”
’82
NOHEMI (GUTIERREZ) FERGUSON ’82 P’17
nohemi.ferguson@gphlawyers.com Hello, ’83ers, I am back from a sailing trip to Croatia. It was the first time Vic and I were the skippers, and all went well! MIKE TURPIN gave us some good advice based on his recent visit there. Last time I was in Croatia, it was Yugoslavia. Libby and PETER HUTT were nearby in Paris, but our paths didn’t cross, alas. You all have ignored my requests for info this quarter. I went to my 40th high school reunion. Who else did? Shocking how the time flies. Your devoted, but neglected, Class Liaison, Tammie Krisciunas.
’83
TAMMIE (CALEF) KRISCIUNAS ’83
tammiekrisciunas@mindspring.com MARYL (GLADSTONE) PETRECCIA: “I’ve recently moved to Encinitas in north San Diego and love it! It’s a little bit of heaven there. I’m happy to report that my 23-year-old is almost off payroll. She moved to Northern California and works for United Way. She’s my highly capable, potent Earth-child activist that has me no longer worrying about the future of our planet.
’84
CLAREMONT MCKENNA COLLEGE
“I have published my first book of a series called GPS to Joy that is a No. 1 bestseller on Amazon. From losing my husband to cancer and my parents to illness, I learned about what it takes to start again when the odds are not looking so good. The book is my way to walk with people who have gone through turbulent times to reinvent their lives and find joy again. “I dance when nobody or anybody’s watching (swing and hip hop mostly), I travel to keep myself sane and a little insane too, and I volunteer and support causes. All is well.” JAMES HANLEY: “I’m living in Newport Beach, married to
Cathy Hanley and COO for Crowd Machine, Inc.” ROD STREEPER: “Went to the reunion in April—first time
I’ve been on campus in 30 years. Lots of changes, but lots of memories on the old campus, too. Loved The Cube—if you haven’t seen it, it’s amazing. Tons of light, a great centerpiece to north campus and looks like a great place to study. Met up with BILL JOHNSON and TIM HOWETT ’83 at Walter’s—still the same (the restaurant, that is)—as well as our whole class group at the dinner. Met up with BILL MCCOLL before all his Europe adventures. Missed JOHN ANDERSON, CARL ROSSI, and CHUCK WEST—hope to meet up with them soon! PETE LUND and I had breakfast the following weekend; great to see him and catch up—we had a lot to talk about as it has been literally decades since we met!” PAIGE (KEENE) and MIKE BINGHAM: “It was great to see
everybody at the class reunion. We enjoyed some great wine from LIZ LA MANNA and, most importantly, all the great company.” JEROME HAIG P’22: “We had another great reunion. CMC did a fantastic job welcoming us. We connected with friends, some of whom hadn’t seen each other since 1984. We laughed, we drank, we talked, we hugged, we trekked around campus. And then we went back to our lives, with fantastic memories of a wonderful weekend. Our class may have been small, but our attendance was better than ever. Thanks to all the committee members who worked so hard to make Alumni Weekend a success. Hopefully the recent connections between us all will keep us close. It was frequently uttered that ‘five years is too long! We need to get together.’ I agree. I hope to see texts, phone calls, emails, or even a knock on the door from a fellow classmate between now and 2024.” JEROME HAIG ’84 P’22
jeromehaig@me.com
’85
ALUMNI
JIM MOTTER P’19: “In April of
this year, I watched a CMC 2020 baseball game with MIKE SAUNDERS. It was truly refreshing to catch up with him and even more refreshing was how much he likes his career and life. His sincerity could not be faked and he is doing well. Sadly, I cannot forgive him for accusing me of inventing the mullet. WEEKEND
“Graduation at CMC has come a long way from when we walked. It is odd now that my son refers to me as a fellow alumnus. I guess parents create their own monsters.” FALL 2019
DAVE EASTIS: “Proud of Steve Bullock ‘88 for his devoted service as Montana AG, governor and now as presidential candidate.”
Save the date for our 35th reunion, April 23-26, 2020! DAVE EASTIS ’85
Davide7777@iCloud.com BOB MOORE sent a note that opens with a heartwarming reminder: “Stags, connections for life.” He continues with, “earlier this year, Kris and I spent time with JIM CRANFORD ’86 and his wife, Robin, at their home in Napier, New Zealand. As Napier is a top wine region, we dutifully began wine tasting at 9:30 a.m., finishing late with our antlers a bit wobbly.
’88
“BRIAN SILVER ’89, TODD MCKENZIE, and I continue to run a business together. Lunch is a daily session of ball-busting and laughs. Sophomores for life! RICK BREGMAN ’85 and I caught up recently for a sweet session of bodysurfing in the morning, followed by an event for one of the many charities the Bregmans support in the evening. Airports seem to be gathering grounds for Stags and Athenas. Recently I ran into ANDREA ELDRIDGE ’88 on a flight out of Ontario. She was our pilot! On my return flight, I ran into my neighbor, RANDALL LEWIS ’73 P’10 P’11 P’13. “We spent Memorial Day weekend at our annual ‘Family Camp’ with TOM WHITTEMORE ’86, DAVE NEAULT ’86, TODD MCKENZIE, and Lorry Lynn (Scripps ’88), and their families in attendance. MIKE SUTTON ’76 (congrats to Mike on another successful year leading Stags athletics) dropped by, upping the Antler-fest. We also spent an afternoon at Inland Valley Down Syndrome Association’s ‘bunco’ fundraiser with SUTTON, MJ Neault (Scripps ’76), DAVE NEAULT ’86, PAUL NEAULT, RICK NEAULT ’90, and the rest of the family members. Sharon Neault, Dave’s spouse, was instrumental in the founding of the IVDSA (www.ivdsa.org). “ERIK JENSEN ’89, Tom Moore (HMC ’89), ADAM ENGELSKIRCHEN ’90, BRIAN SILVER ’89, TODD MCKENZIE, and I gather a few times a year for 24 hours of Trump (the card game). The singing, whistling, and laughing are ear shattering. The last time we played, defying logic, physics, and laws of probability, Todd achieved his first Trump king crowning. (The Trump crown is a 25-plus-year-old Burger King crown kept by the champion until dethroned.) “In late July, we held a ‘ride with a pro’ day from my home in Claremont. JAY MCCABE ’94 and I put together a foundation focused on putting an end to MS. More than a decade on now, we continue to hold recruiting events like this to keep our foundation and focus strong. Kris and I still reside in Claremont. Our children have been out ‘adulting’ for many years now. Our daughter, Piper, is marrying next year. If you’re ever in Claremont, please look us up. “Connect. Stags life. Go Bullock ’88!”
“All good,” says MARK PALMER, but he has every reason to be more impressed with his daughter than any of the 64 Democratic candidates for President: “Daughter PALOMA ’19 graduated from CMC, which is a pretty good school. She attended Coachella all four years, received honors in French, had the best thesis in modern foreign language, but worst of all, she got honors in PPE and slightly higher grades than me. So now she knows she’s smarter than me. She’s off to Senegal as a Boren National Security Scholar. Oh, wait, what am I doing? Compared to that, nothing much. Just sipping some nice tequila in Mendocino and pulling for Steve.” Mark is referring to STEVE BULLOCK, who announced his candidacy for president of the United States on May 14. He’s traveled to several cities since the announcement and has encountered many fellow CMC grads along the way. There are also informal “CMC for Bullock 2020” groups on all the major social media outlets. We’re posting updates frequently, including calendars of fundraisers and events.
’84 The joy of teaching CASS DYKEMAN reports that he recently got promoted to full professor at Oregon State University. “I have enjoyed my career in higher education. In the last few years my doctoral students and I have gotten into using corpus linguistics to investigate issues in my field (counseling). It’s been a lot of fun. This month, my 35th advisee successfully defended her dissertation. I have been lucky to have great students who keep pushing me!”
Already aware of the events noted above, CHRIS HUBBARD wrote to leak some “breaking news:” “Inspired by the recent presidential announcement of STEVE BULLOCK, fellow classmates KEN LITTLE, TODD MANSBRIDGE, and GARY WONG have all launched their own exploratory committees! Can you believe we might have four CMC ’88 grads running for the highest office in the land?!? What a class!” KEN LITTLE claims that Chris is lying. CAM TREDENNICK is father to an 8-year-old boy, Tai; is continuing his quarter-century career in land and water conservation (mostly real estate and law); and lives in California’s Great Central Valley. Cam is blessed to remain in touch with many lifelong CMC friends. In fact, one of them, JOHN HUSSEY, recently convinced Cam to start playing soccer again after an eight-year hiatus. Goalkeeping is out of the picture, but the beautiful
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spotlight Steve Bullock ’88 2020 Presidential candidate The country is getting to know Steve Bullock ’88 a little better these days. A household name in Montana, where Bullock has served as governor since 2012, the CMC politics, philosophy, and economics major announced his run for President in May. This summer has been all about getting his name and platform out to a national audience. In late June, Bullock appeared—nine times over—in a mock debate with himself on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert. A July Washington Post profile followed Bullock in Iowa and cited his record fighting dark money from undisclosed donors. That same month, in a New York Times op-ed titled “This Guy Got Republicans to Vote for a Democrat,” Montana native Sarah Vowell praised Bullock’s “good manners, logic, and willingness to compromise when he can.” “Like some leftist Dr. Dolittle, Mr. Bullock has a talent for knowing how to talk Republicans into doing Democratic things. It resulted in his reelection in 2016 in a state President Trump won by over 20 points,” she wrote. Finally, after missing the first Democratic Party debates, Bullock qualified for the main stage in Detroit. Upon joining several progressive frontrunners for the first time, he was notable for pushing against what he called “wish list economics.” Making it to the next debate in September will require more fundraising and support, however—fulfilling a DNC measure to winnow the crowded field that Bullock said should be up to the voters, not internal rulemakers.
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CLAREMONT MCKENNA COLLEGE
DANIEL ACKER/BLOOMBERG VIA GETTY IMAGES
FALL 2019
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game is as welcome as it has always been. Speaking of the beautiful game, MATT KINNEY writes: “YNWA!”… and that’s it. However, sources inform us that Matt lives in Florida with his wife, Alison, and two amazing daughters who are very good volleyball players and mostly take after mom. JOHN TEEPLES is finishing his 29th year of teaching at
his alma mater. Two of John’s former students are at Harvey Mudd and one is currently at CMC. John and his husband are getting ready to see the total solar eclipse and spend the Fourth of July with RICK DE LAMBERT in Buenos Aires. CHRISTINE ERBACHER is still with Booz Allen Hamilton doing organizational consulting work. She also serves as chauffeur for her basketball-playing son, Evan, who just turned 16 and has his permit, and her 12-year-old soccer-playing daughter, Zoe. Christine supports Evan in his lawn mowing business as he saves money to buy a car, which he’ll be able to drive in January. Christine hopes to catch Steve on his next swing through D.C., if schedules work. ERIC VON COELLN writes: “I am in my fourth year at The New York Times running the crossword and puzzles business. My incredible team has helped The Times more than double puzzle subscriptions to over a half million. (If you don’t think crosswords are for you, try our free two minutes or less daily mini crossword). Due to the NYT code of ethics, I can’t give to Steve’s campaign but am wishing him well! Son Karl will be pursuing film at Brooklyn College and daughter Kathryn will start at Oberlin in the fall. Susan and I plan to visit Portugal and Iceland this year.” JOHN SPROUSE is in his seventh year at Deloitte still doing tech consulting. He has “two boys now in college, doing stupid stuff. Remember that? Lol.” PAUL NEAULT lives in Claremont with his wife, Kristin,
and their 9-year-old son, Ricky. His household also includes dogs: a Lab/pit mix named Boo and a beagle/ basset mix named Barney. Paul goes on to write: “On June 5, I concluded my first year of teaching art and world history at Norco Intermediate School in the Corona-Norco Unified School District. This completes a long and challenging 10-plus year journey to change careers and become a teacher after working as a construction superintendent and project manager for almost 20 years. I’m thrilled and grateful to be teaching at N.I.S., my experience made even more terrific by the fact that my brother RICK NEAULT ’89 teaches language arts only three doors down from me! “Also, while working as a long-term substitute teacher in the CNUSD before being hired for my current position, it was a pleasure to teach a year and a half at Orange Grove High School in Corona under the direction of dedicated assistant principal (and fellow Stag) JOE ANTONELLI. “At a recent Stags gathering in May, I joined BRIAN KENT, JIM FALEY, JONATHAN LINSCOTT ’89, and RICK JONES ’89, along with our wives, for dinner at hosts JON HAWKINS and wife Shannon’s house in Fullerton. Naturally, there were plenty of laughs as we waxed nostalgic and expressed our shared disbelief over the fact we’re now. . . . old Stags!
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“Jon, Jim, and I are also still rocking in our band, The Noble Ones (Facebook and YouTube) and although we don’t get to play very often, we relish the times we do.” DALE BATHUM writes: “I am living in Sun Valley, Idaho, and would love to see any other Claremont graduates if they come to town. I fish, mountain bike, ski, and fly my airplane. Also, I do business consulting for a living, helping companies raise capital.” DEAN KNOX writes: “Proud parents LTC (Retired) Dean and Lynn Knox announce happy milestone as youngest son Andrew Knox graduated this past May from Whitworth University and commissioned second lieutenant U.S. Army, joining his brother, first lieutenant Nathan Knox, on active duty.”
And BILL GUM is living in Hawaii. He says, “We just got back from our son’s college graduation where he earned his degree in chemical engineering and chemistry from Rose Hulman in Indiana and will start work for ADM next week! We are so very proud of him and now are truly empty nesters.” Bill sends a mahalo to all. CAM TREDENNICK ’88
camtred@me.com After nearly three decades as litigators, DEREK EMGE and SUZANNE (KATLEMAN) EMGE ’87 launched Emge Mediation last April, where they help clients in pending lawsuits find common ground and settle cases before going to trial. Their oldest child is a firefighter paramedic for Orange County Fire Authority and their youngest is on her way to Madrid, Spain, on a Fulbright Scholarship.
’89
LANCE WATKINS has a new business that helps people and families strengthen their personal financial health and wealth called BWP. If you would like to learn more, please reach out. ERIC STEINWINDER: “Accenture moved my family from Seattle to Melbourne, Australia, in September 2018, and we’ll be living Down Under for at least two years. I have Asia Pacific and Middle East responsibility in this alliance role, so travel to Tokyo and Singapore regularly, and still looking forward to first trips to Saudi Arabia, Dubai, and South Africa. Loving life in Australia so far, and learning all the different ways one can be killed by the indigenous wildlife. Never a dull moment! Disappointed to have missed our 30th reunion this year, but glad I’m able to stay in touch with so many CMCers via Facebook.” NIRU (SAVDHARIA) PARMAR and her husband adopted the love of their lives last year and feel blessed to be a magical family of three now. Kai-Min is 9 years old and keeps them actively entertained.
From MIKE DAWE and COURTENEY (HAMBERG) DAWE: “First time contributing, but seeing that Mike and I will be empty nesters come September, it was time! Our oldest graduated from NYU in 2016 and works at a PR firm in Manhattan. Our youngest son received his master’s in public policy and administration at Cal Lutheran in November and works for L.A. City Councilman Bob Blumenfield. Our youngest son will
be transferring to Cal Lutheran from College of the Canyons in September. We’ll just be left with our four dogs. Mike celebrated 30 years with Morton Alan Haas & Co., CPAs, where he is a partner. I left teaching 20 years ago to raise our children and have never looked back! Life is good!” From JOSH PUTNUM: “Sorry to have missed reunion weekend; I’d actually been in L.A. on business that week but had to make it home for my son Derek’s trombone choir to perform in the state solo and ensemble competition. Suddenly our mailbox is full of colleges with strong music programs, and now he’s qualified for the all-national high school concert band in November and a performance at Carnegie Hall next year. (Did someone say music scholarship?) “Meanwhile, after staying out of local politics while my sons were in high school, I’ve thrown my hat in the ring again for city council in our little town of Pacific (fewer than 8,000 people, only two freeway exits long between Seattle and Tacoma.) Only two candidates, so there’s no primary, straight on to the general election ballot in November. It’s a non-partisan race, with no local newspaper or TV, so elections are won or lost on personal connections and reputation.” Finally, my oldest son, Willy, graduated from UPenn in May and has now moved to San Francisco where he will do product marketing for tech startup Terminus. TODD THOMAS ’89
8709 E Spanish Barb Trail Scottsdale AZ 85258 480-466-5839 toddthomasaz@yahoo.com
’90
ALUMNI
MICHAEL SHEAR will write a
book on President Trump. It’s a behind-the-scenes examination of the first two years of his presidency, as seen through the issue of immigration and the efforts of his top advisers to flip 70 years of immigration law and policy on its head. It is officially described as “New York Times White House correspondents Julie Hirschfeld Davis and Michael D. Shear’s Untitled on President Trump and Immigration, a vivid portrait of President Trump and his administration as told through the prism of immigration, the issue that animated his campaign and has defined his tumultuous presidency.” WEEKEND
2020
FAYE (KARNAVY) SAHAI ’90
fkarnavy@gmail.com
’91
It is a milestone birthday year for the Class of ‘91, so I asked about their news at this transition:
HELENA WALLIN-MILLER writes, “I still don’t believe I’m 50—really, how can being this old still feel so young? Balancing a 10- and 12-year-old, work, and being chair of the local school board has been somewhat of a high-wire act this year. We ran a $103-million school bond campaign that passed by almost 80 percent—so that counts as a great birthday gift right? This fall, I’ll have two kids in middle
CLAREMONT MCKENNA COLLEGE
’91 The privilege to empower CHRISTA (FOSTER) CRAWFORD shares: “I never could have imagined where I’d be professionally as I approach 50. As an independent international consultant (Freedom Resource International), I continue to do work against human trafficking: teaching, training, writing, and speaking. The last two years I had hoped to focus on pending book projects and articles but instead found myself on planes to invited speaking events in Rwanda, London, Burma, Cambodia, Thailand, St. Louis, Wisconsin, Harvard Law School (twice), USDOJ, U.S. Consulate, and most recently a Blockchain for Social Impact Conference in New York City. I feel like I’m only 25-30 years old, so I’m always surprised about the crazy opportunities I’ve had here in Thailand and beyond. I love speaking and connecting with audiences. I even enjoy the travel (especially when the sponsor splurges for business class). But most of all, it’s a great privilege and pleasure to empower individuals and organizations (NGOs to government to tech) to greater effectiveness in ending exploitation of young kids from online sexual harm and refugee men trapped in slavery over the shrimp we eat.
that had been brewing for years by purchasing a Tesla Model 3. Among my proudest moments this past year: when I told my family we might be moving from California to Philadelphia, my 14-year-old daughter said, ‘At least our votes will make a difference there!’” PAUL KRAMER writes, “College does not seem that long ago for us, and now many of our children are about to start on their college experience. Our daughter, Lauren, is graduating from Huntington Beach High School summa cum laude. She will be starting the fall semester at Lewis and Clark College in Portland as a geography/international studies major. She really has no idea what she wants to do (thank god). However, she does enjoy the Spanish language, math, and traveling.” KIM (HANSEN) MORISAKI
sent news. “I’ve been doing economic development in my hometown of Kalispell, Mont., for the last 12 years. After living in Japan for 11 years, my husband, Yuji, and I moved back to Montana with our first son, Keaden, when he was 3. Now he has just finished his first year at Boston College. His little brother just finished his freshman year of high school. I cross paths with STEVE BULLOCK ’88 from time to “Please come and visit MARK CRAWFORD time and get to work with his ’89 and me in Chiang Mai, Thailand. And keep economic development team an eye out on Facebook—who knows when I’ll sometimes. The only other unexpectedly show up in a city near you!” Montana CMC alumnus that I know of, MATT MONFORTON, gets his name in the paper, too. He is a lawyer in Bozeman and sometimes does work for the Republican Party. CMC is well-represented on both school, so any advice on how to survive these years are sides of the aisle in Montana. I find myself very involved greatly appreciated!” locally doing community development, as well as From MICHAEL SHAI CHERRY, “Since it took me so assisting startups and expanding businesses. Every day long to get my B.A., I’m older than almost all of you in there is something new to learn. We live just outside the class. I turned 50 in 2016. I joined Orange Theory of Glacier Park and it is one of the fastest growing Fitness so I wouldn’t just slide lamely into the night. rural communities in the country, which makes my I also figured the time is now or never to make a job both interesting and challenging. Yuji is building different contribution, so I’m switching gigs. For the homes—including ours last year. Our boys love hockey past 20 years, I’ve been teaching Jewish studies at and baseball, so we have spent a lot of time building Vanderbilt, UCLA, and the University of San Diego. up youth sports organizations. We enjoy all of it, and Beginning in July, I will be the rabbi at Congregation I am glad to really be part of this community, but I Adath Jeshurun, just north of Philadelphia. As soon daydream about having another adventure in a foreign as I was offered the gig, I resolved the mid-life crisis country in a few years after Kane graduates. I can imagine selling our house and taking off to another FALL 2019
continent. Anyone have any suggestion about which continent it should be? I’d love to hear from anyone who plans to visit Glacier Park and wants some ‘local’ suggestions.” JOSH GOLDSTEIN sends news that he has a new baby boy; Gideon is 15 months as of writing and will be Class of 2039 (major undeclared). Josh adds, “I met up with SCOTT TORREY in downtown Los Angeles and he snuck me into the California Club. With Scott’s help, I managed to make it past the velvet ropes to attend the Robert Day Scholars dinner where I chatted with young alumni who seem so impossibly smart and polished. I’m certain that I’d never—like, no chance—make the cut in today’s admission standards. I also met EVAN RUTTER ’06, an alumnus working at CMC’s alumni office. And then, a week later, through sheer kismet, I ran into him again at a bar in downtown Los Angeles. Fate drew us together, I suppose.” LIZ SOLLIE shares that, “I have been living in Luanda, Angola, with Chevron for almost three years now (working on the Angola LNG Project), and for my impending significant milestone birthday, I am going on a walking safari in Zimbabwe (Mana Pools) and Zambia (South Luangwa) for a few weeks (viewing lions from a car, while always spectacular, wasn’t making the heart race in terror quite as much anymore). Very much looking forward to the adventure.” INGRID (MORRIS) ENSING ’91
ingridensing@live.com ERIC WISE ’91
ewise@gibsondunn.com
’95
ALUMNI WEEKEND
2020
JORI HAYNER ’95
TM Financial Forensics 353 Sacramento St, 22nd Floor San Francisco CA 94111 cmcnotes@jorihayner.com CHRIS GOOCH ’95
gooch_chris@yahoo.com
’98
The Class of 1998 continues to blaze trails around the globe! It’s always a pleasure to hear from classmates near and far.
ELIZABETH WYDRA is president of the Constitutional Accountability Center in D.C., an organization devoted to the progressive promise of the Constitution. Check it out at www.theusconstitution. org. And not to bury the lede or anything, but Liz just had a gorgeous baby! For now, baby Julien is content to sit in the control room of various D.C. news organizations while his mama films segments for BBC World News and the like. We’ll keep you updated on when Baby J takes control of the control room! TOM SHEETS reports that all is well with the clan: Riley, 13, Braden, 10, and Harper, 6, and of course Summer, who many of us met way-back-when more
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spotlight Andy Byrne ’04 Program analyst at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency RESPECT AND PROTECT: Growing up, Andy Byrne ’04 was attuned to environmental issues—not just the major impact that human action can have on the natural environment, but how “smaller impacts can cumulatively devastate an ecosystem.” An international relations and Spanish dual major at CMC, an environmental law class his senior year helped solidify Byrne’s career path. He furthered his environmental studies while in law school, and at the EPA in Washington, D.C., Byrne focuses on Federal Indian Law—specifically, how policies like the Clean Water Act influence and affect the unique status tribes have. “My educational experiences at CMC helped prepare me for tackling big issues and jumping in,” Byrne said. “There are 573 federally recognized tribes in the United States, quite the breadth and variety. I believe my work with tribes helps preserve their cultures and respects the relationship that the federal government has with them.”
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CLAREMONT MCKENNA COLLEGE
than 20 years ago. They live in Manhattan Beach and are fully engulfed in the beach lifestyle with more outdoor activities than Tom ever imagined humanly possible. He is still working at Cushman & Wakefield and enjoying almost every minute of it. The family recently spent spring break in Tavarua, Fiji, where the two oldest impressed Old Man Sheets by paddling into well-overhead waves and embracing all of it. Tom looks forward to connecting with classmates and encourages reaching out if you are in the South Bay area. (Some of us like the little waves, Tom!) Dr. MATT SCHMIDT spent June taking a class to Omaha Beach for the 75th Anniversary of D-Day (Prof. Rood would be proud!), then to Chernobyl, and finally Italy where he, partner Charlotte Anderholt (daughter of SCOTT ANDERHOLT ’79), and three kids are hanging out in Sardinia until the semester kicks off again in Florence. Matt welcomes visitors—they are there until January! LYNN MORRISON started a new role as the marketing director for ClimateCare, a profit-for-purpose business that helps companies take responsibility for their impact on the environment. She lives in Oxford, England, with her husband and two daughters. KJIRSTI O’BRIEN and her family moved to Boulder and are enjoying the lifestyle! They are off to France for a few weeks where they will visit friends in Nice and attend three World Cup games. RYAN BEAUREGARD lives in Boulder, Colo., and works as the manager for Zendo Project, a division of MAPS.org (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies), which provides psychedelic peer support for individuals experiencing challenging experiences at Burning Man and other events. Ryan supports development of a local center for research and legal therapeutic use of psychedelic substances to heal PTSD, depression, and trauma. He is also enjoying the amazing nature and wilderness of Colorado through snowboarding, hikes, swimming in the creek, and bike rides. KRISTAL DEKLEER ’98
kdekleer@yahoo.com The Class of ’99 made a magnificent showing for our 20th reunion this past April. Our collective thanks to CHELINA ODBERT and CATHERINE HARRIS PALLADINO for mountains of hard work and hospitality. It was great to catch up with folks, and to those of you who couldn’t make it, you were dearly missed. Here’s to our 25th!
’99
LANCE LANFEAR is still knocking it out of the park, burying the lede of his Emmy nom as if we still wouldn’t all be shouting how proud we are. He writes: “Still proud daddy of two growing boys. Carter, 4, has an amazing gift for building and engineering anything from Legos to puzzles far beyond his age range. Benjamin, 6, made the 6U travel all-star baseball team and is looking forward to kindergarten soon. Daddy is finishing up producing and directing on Awesomeness show Light As a Feather. Watch the second season on Hulu soon! Earlier this year, my Emmy nomination as supervising producer of two seasons of Zac & Mia was released on Hulu as well. Go Dodgers!”
FALL 2019
ASHLEE PETERS is starting a new position at Pomona Unified SD, stepping out of the classroom for the first time as an AVID teacher specialist. The AVID program helps kids prepare for college, including developing skills in critical thinking, teamwork, organization, and reading skills. She’ll start in August upon her return from touring England and its environs with her 10-year-old son, Landon.
Last, but certainly not least, JARED GORDON is running for Fresno City Council in a special election for District 2. Running on the platform “Independent, Fiscally Responsible, Experienced,” we heartily endorse his candidacy. To put some election change in Jared’s coffers, visit his Facebook page @ GordonForFresno. LOUIS LEVINE ’99
571-331-7844 llevine@ngpsoftware.com 1999cmc@gmail.com CAMILLE GRIEP ’99
camillegriep@gmail.com
’00
ALUMNI WEEKEND
2020
STEVE GROVE ’00
sdgrove11@gmail.com ALLISON (DAVIS) O’KEEFE ’00
Bridging the culture gap
’97
MICHAEL THURESSON published an illustrated memoir about the last decade of his life in Japan, The Salaryman. Thuresson was previously a journalist at the Los Angeles Business Journal and various other business publications. The Salaryman, his first book (and written under his pen name, Michael Howard), does a deepdive on the U.S.-Japan culture gap, including business culture/customs and differences in middle-class consumption behavior. The book also contains more than 70 illustrations from a professional Japanese manga (the Japanese cartoon style) artist and depicts “aspects of daily life in Japan and my struggle to adapt to it.” Thuresson works at Amazon Japan and published the book using Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing program.
allisonokeefe@gmail.com MATT POLADIAN ’03
mattpoladian@gmail.com Hello, all. Lovely seeing so many of you for the recent 15-year reunion weekend. I’ve been told by our man on the inside (CAMERON PINCKNEY) that we topped 50 classmates on campus, which is apparently a super turnout for a 15-year reunion. I think we can beat it next time around, though. Those of you who couldn’t make it, you were certainly missed!
’04
Relatively light slate on the updates this time around. I guess a lot of people feel pretty caught up after that great weekend. JON ATABEK recently found time out of his hectic work
schedule to go to Legoland with his wife and two kids. He did not find time to come to Alumni Weekend. Now we all know where we stand in the rankings, at least. AMANDA N. JOHNSON started a new gig, working for Google as a threat detection and response program manager. Not sure what that entails, but it sounds pretty exciting! If anyone needs any responses managed or threats detected, now you have someone for that! RANDY MOSER and his wife, Jenny Lee (Pomona ’07), welcomed their son, Aiden Moser, onto this planet on May 23. Randy’s doing his level best to make sure the Pomona onesie gets lost in the wash. We all appreciate your efforts, sir!
PATRICK SHIM wrote in to let us all know that he was recently promoted to managing director at Mirae Asset. There was a press release and everything. Great stuff, congrats! DANIEL SCOTT TAYLOR responded to my plea for contributions from infrequent Class Note participants by emailing me a Spanish-language Facebook post from the Costa Rican U.S. Embassy’s account. Neither one of us have any idea what it says. If you’d like to know more please reach out and I’m happy to share with you this important update from our friends in Costa Rica. MIKE AVENT ’04
518-88-AVENT mike.avent@gmail.com
’05
ALUMNI WEEKEND
2020
CALEB NERSTAD and JUSTIN TEVIS drove to Los Angeles
from Santa Barbara to link up with ZACH FOGEL ’22. The purpose was to discuss and answer questions about their careers in Ops Management. It was great to relate lessons learned and stay plugged in on what was new at CMC. They also had the opportunity to visit with JEFF MANASSERO ’06, and JASON KAMIENSKI ’06 at MARK MCKELVY’S incredible home. They look forward to the 2020 reunion! 55
called Soco Rey Therapy and its tagline is ‘therapy that’s chill AF.’ It is specifically aimed at destigmatizing mental health services for POC. My biggest NorCal fan is YAN (PU) COUNTRYMAN’s baby girl, Chloe, who rocks her Soco Rey hoodie with style and grace. The process has been exciting and exhausting, but mostly exciting. The grand opening will be celebrated with the Chamber of Commerce and many friends, family members, and local community members. Looking forward to growing and serving as many folks as possible.”
Had a new baby? Drop a line to alumni@cmc.edu. Your family just might receive a gift! Howie Norman Weismann, son of Class of ’08 alums, Zach Weismann and Kevyn Klein
CARA CICCARELLI welcomed baby girl, Parker Ruth
Lyles, on May 2, 2019. She and her husband are adjusting to life on minimal sleep. PATRICK MCHONETT reports: “After 12 years at Phoenix
Country Day School, my family and I just moved back to Southern California, where I will be the new Head of School at St. Margaret’s Episcopal School in Orange County. I am excited for the opportunity, as both of my kids will also be students there (Charlotte in first grade and Jack in our preschool division). One of my many PCDS highlights was supporting ten graduates to become Stags/Athenas at CMC!” DANA WEISER received tenure and was promoted to
the rank of associate professor at Texas Tech University. She has been a faculty member in the Human Development & Family Studies department at Texas Tech since 2013. TIFFANY WILLIAMS went on a lovely train ride up the Pacific Coast to visit the first capital in California: Monterey. She enjoyed walking on Cannery Row and visiting the Monterey Bay Aquarium. The playful otters were her favorite.
Hope to see you all at reunion weekend in 2020! TIFFANY WILLIAMS ’05
tiffany.williams@gmail.com MITCH BROWNE ’05
mitchell.browne@gmail.com
’06 56
SOCORRO CHRISTMAS-REYNOSO shares an exciting life update: “Per KAZUMI IGUS’ orders, I must write to tell you that I have launched a mental health corporation in Inglewood. The biz is
There are two exciting additions to the CMC ’06 family to announce: HAYES HUMPHREYS and his wife, Jessica, welcomed Hudson Burke Humphreys into the world on March 6, while CHRIS LEWERT and SAMANTHA SHOEMAKER ’09 had a future Athena, Eva Joan Lewert, on May 30.
performance in archery (and wrote a textbook about it, too!) and in 2015 was inspired to create posturefocused furniture with a beautiful aesthetic. He thinks back to his formative days and a long conversation he had with Dan about a maxim of Benjamin Franklin’s— “Search others for their virtues, thyself for thy vices.” Tyler says, “Dan has the magic of always sharing your best virtues and taught me a few vices make for style and good storytelling.” As for me, Emily, I recently saw ERIN BAUER, ALICE CHANG, and TALIA KAHN in Seattle for a 661E reunion! Have a great summer, and send me your updates as they happen (or wait until my next mass email). EMILY FERRELL ’07
emilygferrell@gmail.com TAUSEEF RAHMAN ’07
KEVIN BLAIR ’06
kevinmblair@gmail.com Thanks to everyone who wrote in with updates! Here they are in no particular order: KRISTEN NIVLING got engaged in April, and is looking forward to a small wedding toward the end of 2020. JOSHUA OKLAN welcomed baby No. 3, Amelia Claire Oklan, born April 29. CAITLIN STUART KOWALSKY and her husband, Matt, welcomed another baby girl in December 2018. Margot Isobel joined the family at a whopping nine pounds after a difficult pregnancy filled with non-stop morning sickness. She’s a happy, healthy baby and they are so grateful to have her as a part of their family. KATHAYOON KHALIL recently relocated from Seattle to Portland, to work at the Oregon Zoo as their new conservation impact manager! In this role, she will be creating and implementing the zoo’s action plan for global conservation. If you’re ever in the area and want to visit the zoo, let her know!
’07
As the natural resources director of the League of Women Voters of Torrance Area, for Earth Month 2019 GLORIA (BRACY) GUTIERREZ hosted “Envisioning a Path to Zero Waste: A Panel on the Future of Recycling” in Torrance, Calif., along with movie screenings for The Lorax and The Age of Consequences in Lomita and Torrance, respectively. If anyone in the Los Angeles area would like to partner or present for another public education event in the area, please reach out. Life has been busy for ROBBY FIELD in Hawaii. He recently started a new job as president of Island Pacific Distributors—they do pretty much anything related to doors. In the fall, he will be starting an executive MBA program at the University of Hawaii. TYLER BENNER recently finished the third edition of his archery textbook, Inside the Archer. He wrote/published the first edition in 2009, and released an updated second edition last spring. He sold out of the second edition in a single year and is amazed and proud to see the international audience that has translated the book into German, Japanese, Czech, and soon Italian. He had a lot of fun competing again at the U.S. Nationals last summer. It has also been a privilege and honor to share his Venn Design chairs with DAN CURTIS’ Robb Vices this spring. He first learned how proper posture creates
tauseefrahman@gmail.com
’10
ALUMNI WEEKEND
2020
EMILY MEINHARDT ’10
emeinhardt@gmail.com ABHI NEMANI ’10
abhi.nemani@gmail.com
RDS’10
ALUMNI WEEKEND
2020
ALEX SHAKIBNIA M’10
alex.shakibnia@gmail.com ED CONRAD M’10
edwardtconrad@gmail.com The Class of 2011 is back and making moves! JACLYN D’ARCY graduated with an MBA from The Kellogg School of Management and started a new position at Lumere as the sales enablement manager. SAM CORCOS recently moved to New York in January (shoot him an email if you’re in town!), and over on the West Coast, SHANE DAVIS started his residency in physical medicine and rehabilitation at UC Irvine.
’11
Speaking of making moves, JACK LAMB’s Aslan Brewing Company will be opening its third location in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle this coming summer! NIKKI HOLZBERG has exciting adventures for the summer, too—she has been bicycling through New Zealand, France, and Spain before she starts business school at Columbia University in August. She visited ATHENA CABOT ’10 in Australia and will go to JESS MACKAY’s ’09 wedding this summer in California with a crew of CMCers including EMILY MEINHARDT ’10 and MOLLY DOYLE ’09. Nikki would also love to connect with CMCers in NYC soon! On the other hand, we have classmates who are not moving (homes, that is). CHRIS JONES and JACINTH SOHI have continued to defy conventional wisdom
CLAREMONT MCKENNA COLLEGE
spotlight Harmony Palmer ’13 Project manager for global operations at Lyft CHOSEN FAMILY: The first thing Harmony Palmer ’13 did after seeing a listing for a position at Lyft was to find out if any CMCers worked for the ridesharing company. Helen Liu ’14 did, and immediately replied to Palmer’s message with advice and encouragement. Palmer, now Lyft’s project manager for global operations in San Francisco, sees it as another example of how the CMC community continues to impact her life. She is married to a classmate, Jen Ringoen ’12, (their honeymoon was a cross-country bike trip) and counts former CMS softball teammates and fellow RAs, as well as a handful of CMC professors, as part of her extended family. “My professors were really invested in making us not only smarter students, but better humans,” she said. “My life is happier because CMCers are in it.”
FALL 2019
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’11
Class of 2015
Adding honors Congratulations to SAM BASTIEN, who received the 2019 William Koury III Outstanding Alumni Award at the Claremont Accounting Association’s 38th Annual Spring Awards Banquet at the Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum in April. Sam was presented with the prize by Professor Marc Massoud P’89, who touted the critical assistance Sam has provided to CMC students pursuing the accounting profession. Sam, who is a CPA, is a manager in the EY-Sinek Consulting Practice in Los Angeles. Her parents were in the audience to applaud her award, as were Susan and BILL KOURY P’93, the parents of WILLIAM KOURY ’93.
about millennials and consistency by having been roommates in the same apartment in San Francisco for the last eight years. That’s legendary if you ask us! The Class of 2011 has had some visitors up in San Francisco, too: REED HOGAN—and definitely not HARRISON DOYLE ’13—came to visit JAKE BAUCH, HENRY LYFORD, and CARL PEASLEE in S.F. They played some tennis but only had three people because rumor has it that MARSHALL FISHER is afraid to challenge Jake in any athletic event after losing to him in golf, biking, and responding to text messages promptly. More big updates: KEVIN BURKE bought a house and is getting married in July! MARCO PINON is living in San Diego and celebrated three years of marriage in May with his wife, Summer Valentine. He also completed his first AIDS Lifecycle (charity ride from S.F. to L.A.) this June and is continuing to explore fundraising and bike riding opportunities. BEN CASNOCHA is investing in early-stage startups at Village Global—if you’re starting a company and seeking financing, please reach out to him! In other celebratory news, MICHELLE HARVEY and GIZELLE PERA rang in KAT YALE’s 30th with a unicornthemed cruise to Ensenada. Lately, the three have been doing a lot of escape rooms (that’s their thing) and they went to see the Backstreet Boys in August! Gizelle has also been doing a lot of yoga because her “old lady knees” are catching up to her. She is heading to Japan with STEVE FARENBAUGH ’08 in September and can’t wait to explore!
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May 29 - 31, 2020 5-Year Reunion
https://online.cmc.edu/reunion-weekend When it comes to exploring, CHRISTOPHE BINDERT is doing it big! He is currently at business school at INSEAD in Singapore, which has been a lot of work but also lots of traveling. He has traveled through Southeast Asia on weekends, including a trip with CHRIS SERCU and LAUREN BUCHANAN ’12. Next, Christophe will be spending the summer in Amsterdam to work in strategy at Nike’s European HQs (thanks to LAURA HAGEN’s magic!) and, as if the year wasn’t CMC enough yet, he will be rooming with ALEXANDRE COUCLELIS ’10 while out there. Post-summer, he’ll be switching to the INSEAD Paris campus, where MALINI SEN is warming up the lecture halls already. DIVYA VISHWANATH ’11
dvishwanath@gmail.com KATHRYN MGRUBLIAN ’11
kmgrublian@gmail.com
’14
The Class of 2014 had 152 alumni return for an incredible Five-Year Reunion. Thanks to the committee and everyone who came out!
ALEXANDRA COOKE ’14
acooke14@cmc.edu MERRIEL FOSTER ’14
merriel.foster@gmail.com
’15
ALUMNI WEEKEND
2020
TRICIA WANG graduated from
Le Cordon Bleu with a Japanese cuisine diploma and a French cuisine diploma, and is currently in China filming a TV show.
MICHAEL ELDHARDT: “This September, I’m planning on leaving my job at the USAID malaria program in Washington, D.C., and moving to France. I’ll be in
Orléans for seven months as an English teaching assistant with the Assistants de Langue program run by the French Ministry of Education. My next step after France isn’t certain yet, but I will want to find another role in global health based either in Africa or the U.S.” SOPHIE GALANT never learned to ride a bike, so KIM SCAMMAN taught her on the streets of Shanghai and
two weeks later they did a 10-mile bike ride in southern China. Sophie then paid her back by taking her on a noodle tour (you can now sign up for her official Airbnb experience!)—check their Instagrams (or visit!) for incredible views and drool-worthy photos. KIM SCAMMAN: “Hi all! I currently live in Shanghai, China, working for Adidas. So, if you’re ever out this way, please let me know. I promise your stay will be filled with all the dumplings and noodles your heart desires!” ELAINA FAUST is moving to Washington, D.C., in August to pursue an M.A. in global human development at Georgetown’s Walsh School of Foreign Service. CLANCY TRIPP: “I’m heading back to graduate school this fall, this time at Ohio State University to earn my Master of Fine Arts in creative writing. I’m so excited to be back in the Midwest where I have to explain to people, “it’s a small liberal arts college in California, don’t worry, you’ve never heard of it.” SANJANA RAO: “I graduated from medical school at Oregon Health and Science University! I will be doing a family medicine residency at Community Health Care in Tacoma, Wash.” HESTER LAM has become a not-so-proud mom of the dumbest Goldendoodle on the planet. At least Peyton’s pretty cute! CHRIS RAMA settled down and got married one week after graduating from CMC. He’s now happily married with four children—one little Rama for each year spent at CMC—which also happens to be the number of
CLAREMONT MCKENNA COLLEGE
An enchanted Euromeet
Mr. Stag ceremonies he participated in. Each of his children was named after a phase of life in college— Schris, big ole Chris, Topher, and Ramchay. He spends his days slanging tech, his evenings rearing little Rama pups, and his nights frequenting the nearest deep house or dubstep show. Sometimes he brings the whole pack along. ABBY MICHAELSEN ’15
abbymichaelsen@gmail.com
’16
CELIA FLINN is working as a domestic violence victim advocate with the NYPD in Midtown Manhattan, and living across the river in N.J. with her pet cat, Satan.
After surviving three Minnesota winters, CAROLINE WARD is excited to move back to SoCal where she is getting her MBA at UCLA Anderson. ANNA BRITO ’16
annacbrito12@gmail.com MADISON GEPHART ’16
madison.gebhard@gmail.com KELSEY GOHN ’16
KelseyGohn@gmail.com EVAN MOLINEUX ’16
EMolineux16@students.claremontmckenna.edu
Submissions To send a Class Note to CMC, please contact your Class Liaison. Is your class missing? Contact ClassNotes@cmc.edu to submit or volunteer to become a Class Liaison. A full listing of liaisons is also available under the Connect tab at online.cmc.edu.
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lumni, students, faculty, and parents gathered in Edinburgh for the CMC Alumni Association’s 30th annual Euromeet. The group enjoyed the sights and tastes of Edinburgh, including a private tour of Holyrood Palace, a visit to the Royal Yacht Britannia, a lecture on the Scottish roots of the enlightenment by George Thomas, Burnet C. Wohlford Professor of American Political Institutions, and a chat with 2019 Euroscholar Hanna Shiferaw ’20 and other CMC students. The group photo (top)was taken on the grounds of Edinburgh Castle during a walking tour of Castle Rock. Several CMCers also joined a two-week post-Euromeet tour of Scotland, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland. They traveled by boat, bus, ferry, train, and foot to explore the history and culture of those enchanted lands. The group regrets that they did not return with any photos of “Nessie,” the Loch Ness monster. FALL 2019
CMC does not accept engagement, pre-birth, or legacy application announcements; fundraising or solicitation notices, obscenities; libelous, defamatory, or harassing statements. All submissions to Class Notes are subject to editing for style, clarity, context, length, and strict adherence to content guidelines. Please be advised that the editorial staff neither guarantees the validity of any Class Notes information in this magazine nor is responsible for the appearance of any inaccurate or libelous information.
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In Memoriam
GERALD S. PATTERSON ’52, of Los Angeles, died February 18, 2015. Patterson served as a pilot in the Korean War before attending CMC. He is survived by his wife, Carol; one child; and one grandchild. ROBERT W. ARNETT, JR. ’53, of Lafayette, Calif., died
1950s ROBERT B. CHAPMAN ’50, of Salinas, Calif., died August 17, 2016. A native of La Jolla, Calif., Chapman served in the U.S. Navy as a radar operator and was awarded several commendations. He enrolled in CMC’s first four-year class and worked as a manager at the student café. Chapman ran his family business, Lacey Automotive Parts, in Salinas. He was an early supporter of California State University, Monterey Bay, culminating in the dedication of the Chapman Science Academic Center in 2003. Chapman is survived by his wife, Patricia; three children; one stepson; eight grandchildren; and four stepgrandchildren. RICHARD T. GRAY ’50, of Mammoth Lakes, Calif., died March 7, 2019. A native of Pasadena, Calif., Gray was a captain in the U.S. Army and a veteran of WWII and the Korean and Vietnam wars. Gray later worked in the solar industry and at the National Science Foundation. He also served in the U.S. President’s Science Advisor Office. He is survived by three children; a daughter-in-law; and two grandchildren. PAGE J. THIBODEAUX ’50, of Orinda, Calif., died December 7, 2015. Thibodeaux served in the U.S. Navy and was employed at Deloitte & Touche, LLP. He was the volunteer president of the board of the Ruth Bancroft Garden in Walnut Creek. He is survived by his wife, Virginia; three children; and one grandchild. JOHN D. DIEHL ’51, died November 9, 2014. Diehl majored in business administration at CMC. He is survived by four children. CALVIN R. HEMPHILL ’51 P’69, of Guadalajara, Mexico, died February 23, 2016. He was president of Hemphill Schools, an online vocational school for Spanish speakers founded by his father with 26 offices across North, Central, and South America and the Caribbean. He is survived by five children, including L. Arturo Delgado ’69. WILLIAM H. PATTERSON ’51 P’74, of Mendocino, Calif., died May 1, 2019. Patterson was a native of California and served in the Korean War. After graduating from CMC, he attended the Wharton School and Claremont Graduate University. Holding several executive positions, Patterson spent 30 years in the independent banking industry. He served as a CMC Trustee and CMCAA Board member. He is survived by his wife, Susan; three children, including William B. Patterson ’74; and two grandchildren.
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August 17, 2015. Arnett was raised in San Marino, Calif., and served several years in the U.S. Air Force in pilot training. He worked in insurance before joining the Fry Reglet Corporation, his family’s architectural metals company. Arnett and his wife, Shirley, helped provide opportunities to many CMC students through the Bob & Shirley Arnett Scholarship. He is survived by his wife; one daughter; one son-in-law; and three grandchildren. RONALD H. PORTER ’55, of Pomona, Calif., died April 18, 2015. Porter was a native of Grand Forks, N.D., and grew up in Seattle. He studied business administration at CMC before serving in the U.S. Army for three years. Working in real estate, Porter opened Ronald H. Porter Realty in Upland, Calif., and Century 21 offices in Rancho Cucamonga, Ontario, and Pomona, Calif. He is survived by his wife, Mary; four children; and four grandchildren. LAWRENCE P. SPARKS ’55, of Athens, Ga., died April 26, 2015. Sparks was a native of Los Angeles and served in the U.S. Navy. He retired as a salesman for McGregor Office Supply Company. He is survived by one child. E. REID SHANNON ’57, of Pomona, Calif., died June 20, 2019. Shannon was born in Shanghai, China, and was a resident of Claremont for 66 years. He was New Mexico’s top-ranked junior tennis player and swimmer while attending high school at the New Mexico Military Institute. Shannon served CMC as vice president of events on the CMCAA Board, and was former president of the Inland Empire chapter. In Claremont, he was a founding member of the Claremont Tennis Club and opened the city’s first sporting goods store, The Sportsman. He is survived by his wife, Georgia; two children; four grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. ROBERT B. HOUGHTON ’59, of San Francisco, died January 14, 2014. Houghton served two years in the U.S. Army before attending CMC, and was a CMCAA Board member from 1966-69. He is survived by his wife, Barbara; two children; five grandchildren; and his brother, Dr. Michael E. Houghton ’68. PETER L. MARR ’59, of Newport Beach, Calif., died March 17, 2019. Marr was born in Los Angeles and raised in Pasadena, Calif. He served three years in the U.S. Army and was a member of the CMCAA Board. Marr retired as vice president and international and European liaison at Coldwell Banker Commercial. An avid traveler, he visited all 50 U.S. states and 120 countries. He is survived by his wife, Shirley; eight children; 16 grandchildren; and eight greatgrandchildren.
1960s RICHARD H. WHITNEY ’60, of Phoenix, died March 23, 2019. Whitney earned his law degree from the University of Arizona and was an attorney with Gust Rosenfeld, P.L.C., representing intergenerational families and arts-related nonprofits. He contributed to his Arizona community by serving as state regent and chairman of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel; establishing scholarships, and crafting legislation that established the Arizona Commission on the Arts and Humanities as a state agency. He is survived by his wife, Linda; two children; and two grandchildren. DR. EWART W. GOODWIN, JR. ’61 P’90, of San Diego, died May 24, 2019. Goodwin served six months in the U.S. Marine Corps. While attending CMC, he met his wife, Sherrilyn, a Pomona College student; they graduated the same year. Goodwin’s career was in insurance, beginning at Percy H. Goodwin Insurance Company, founded by his grandfather. Passionate about his community and the arts, he and his family played a major role in the reemergence of the La Jolla Playhouse, which he considered his greatest legacy. He is survived by his wife; three children, including Laura (Goodwin) Romero ’90; one son-inlaw; and three grandchildren. FRED D. COLBY ’62, of Covina, Calif., died February 19, 2015. Colby served as president of the California Association of Realtors in 1988 and managed his brokerage firm, Fred D. Colby Realtors, in San Dimas, Calif. He is survived by three children. FRANK B. MYERS ’62 P’92, of Lake Balboa, Calif., died March 28, 2019. Myers majored in political science at CMC, and attended Loyola Law School. He is survived by his wife, Alice; and three children, including Catherine (Myers) Somer ’92. NICHOLAS M. PARTCH ’62, of Sacramento, Calif., died July 21, 2014. Partch was a literature major at CMC. He is survived by his wife, Penny, and one child. WILLIAM E. CASSELMAN II ’63, of Boston, Va., died September 10, 2018. Casselman served as counsel to President Gerald R. Ford from 1974-75, and later practiced law with firms in the Washington, D.C. area, most recently with Waldron & Casselman. He was born in Washington, Pa., and lived in the D.C. area since 1965. Casselman was also legislative assistant to Rep. Robert McClory (Ill.) and a congressional assistant in the Nixon White House. He is survived by his wife and two children. PATRICK T. RILEY ’63, of Cambridge, Mass., died March 10, 2015. After graduating from CMC, where he received the Student Citizenship Award, Riley earned an M.Phil. from the London School of Economics and a Ph.D. from Harvard University. Riley researched social contract theory and wrote books on social, moral, and political philosophy. He retired after 36 years as a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and continued to teach at Harvard University. Riley is survived by his wife, Joann, and two children.
CLAREMONT MCKENNA COLLEGE
Eugene Wolver ’51 Board of Trustees President of the Claremont McKenna College Alumni Association Eugene L. Wolver, Jr. ’51, one of the longest serving members of CMC’s Board of Trustees and past president of the Claremont McKenna College Alumni Association, died May 11. He was 86. Wolver was elected to the Board of Trustees in 1959. During his five decades on the Board, he served as chair or vice chair of more committees than any trustee, including time with the Academic Affairs, Alumni Affairs, Budget, Building and Grounds, Executive, Research Institutes, and Student Relations committees. He served as president of the CMCAA from 1959 to 1960, and was the founder and first chairman of the CMCAA’s Past President’s Council. “Gene Wolver embodied CMC’s mission through his long and selfless service to the College,” said David Mgrublian ’82 P’11, Board of Trustees Chair. “He will be sorely missed as a dear friend, trusted advisor, and wise mentor to countless CMC leaders.” A recipient of the Jack L. Stark Distinguished Service Award and the Robert A. Day Board of Trustees Service Award, Wolver was instrumental in the College’s shift to coeducation. As vice chair of the board and legal counsel, Wolver was one of three trustees on the ad hoc committee studying coeducation who supported admitting women; four were undecided and four opposed. Wolver worked at persuading his fellow board members, including arranging a meeting with Dorothy Wright Nelson, dean of USC Law School and Wolver’s law school classmate. During the meeting—held at the California Club, which did not admit women members at the time—Nelson explained that the most important policy decisions required the perspectives of men and women. It was important, Nelson said, that men and women be educated together to become more effective leaders. The trustees approved coeducation by a one-vote margin, and women were admitted in 1976. Wolver’s numerous contributions to the College include supporting the John E. Allen ’73 Black Alumni Merit Award Fund and the Community Service Internship Fund, as well as establishing endowed scholarship funds honoring the memories of professors Golo Mann and John Dunbar, and his grandfather, Martin L. Wolver. The CMCAA’s Lifetime Service Award is also named in his honor. Two of Wolver’s favorite sayings, recalled vice president and ambassadorat-large John Faranda ’79, were that CMCAA stood for “Create More Conscious Alumni Awareness” and that his “blood runs CMC maroon.” At the 50th anniversary of the CMCAA’s founding, Wolver spoke about the special bond alumni have with the College—and why it drove him to be so involved. “You’ll find that among alumni, there is a passion for the institution that rivals or exceeds anything I know—a real sense of dedication,” he said. “The alumni organization, as an incorporated body, was to serve alumni, serve the College, and serve the cause of education thereby. We wanted to have ways and means of getting to know each other and continuing our relationships with the institution.” A Los Angeles native, Wolver earned his bachelor’s degree in international relations from CMC and a Juris Doctor from UCLA. He was chief executive officer and president of the Wolver and Wolver law firm—started by his father, Eugene, Sr.—in Woodland Hills. He loved cars and spent several summers at a seaside cottage in Sweden with his wife, Anita. The couple lived in Hidden Hills. Wolver, who mainly practiced business law, spoke highly of his CMC liberal arts education and said classes in literature, philosophy, history, and the humanities “stood the test of time” for him. He often encouraged students to concentrate on a broad, general education and, of course, “get to know the Alumni Association and be involved.” “CMC had a significant effect on my life, and I believe each of us who has benefited has the obligation to give in return,” Wolver said in a 1987 alumni magazine profile. “The great love of my life, after my family and my profession, is CMC.” —Thomas Rozwadowski
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Dan Guthrie P’83 Biology professor Dan Guthrie P’83, longtime biology professor at the W.M. Keck Science Department, died July 1. He was 80. Guthrie specialized in comparative anatomy, animal behavior, introductory biology, and environmental science during his 48 years with Keck Science. He and his wife, Judy, moved to Claremont in 1964 when Guthrie was hired as a founding faculty member of Pitzer College. Guthrie was instrumental in setting up the new science department for CMC, Pitzer, and Scripps that same year. He served as chairman of joint sciences from 1972-74 and again from 1986-1990. Guthrie was born in Terre Haute, Ind. and raised in Garden City, N.Y. As a boy, he loved to explore nature, and at 12, Guthrie recorded all of the birds he had seen each day for a year. His passion for birdwatching and the environment defined his life pursuits. Guthrie’s daughter, Ruth ’83, joked that her father owned the most camera equipment and binoculars anyone has ever seen. “Some people are born with a passion and they know what they are going to do. He was that guy. It was birds the whole time,” Ruth said. Even as his mobility worsened, Guthrie always made sure to call a family member so he could get out of the house to watch birds and enter data into Cornell’s eBird database. His extensive collection of birdwatching notebooks continued through 2019. All told, his bird life list reached 7,153 species. “He always needed to be outside. Even if he had seen the birds before, it didn’t matter,” Ruth said. “I remember when he was older, he still wanted to know what was going on with burrowing owls and habitat decline. He knew that 15 to 20 of them lived near the Ontario airport. So, we drove out there, and he had every little road, every back place, still in his head. Sure enough, we’d come to the middle of a vacant lot and there would be a burrowing owl. He’d count and record it.” Guthrie attended Amherst College, where he studied biology and played lacrosse. He earned a Master’s degree in biology from Harvard and a doctorate from the University of Massachusetts. As a biologist, Guthrie salvaged and collected U.S. bird skeletons for use by museums and teachers. He donated his time and expertise to finding and identifying fossil bird bones from road cuts, excavations, and collections for local educational institutions. Guthrie authored more than 70 papers and studies in biology and led numerous field trips both locally and abroad. He was also a fellow for the American Associate for the Advancement of Science and was active in the Southern California Academy of Sciences. “My dad wasn’t a super social guy, but when he was a professor, he was transformed,” said Ruth, who followed her dad into academia as a professor of computer information systems at Cal Poly Pomona. “It was so easy for him to talk, share, and be excited about his passion for science with students.” Guthrie lived in Claremont for 55 years and was an active member of the Pomona Valley Audubon Society, where he served in every capacity over the past four decades—from president to provider of free owl pellets to teachers in elementary schools. His love for learning never faded, and inspired his travels to more than 40 countries. A “vacation” to Guthrie, Ruth said with a laugh, was sleeping in a tent in Mongolia and burning cattle dung to stay warm at night. “My dad never paid attention to ‘no trespassing’ signs,” Ruth said. “I remember a lot of trips in the family Volkswagen where we’d take dirt roads with potholes. We’d come across an old bridge and he’d get excited: ‘Oh, we have to see what’s up there!” My mom would have us get out of the car and wait for him to drive over it in case the bridge collapsed.” Guthrie is survived by his three daughters (Kate Poaster, Ruth, and Winnonah Larson), eight grandchildren (Lee, Ben, Bobby, Acacia, Sage, Jack, Teddy, and Alex), and three great grandchildren (Aydan, Gavyn, and Cypress). Ruth and her sisters especially cherish their childhood summer trips from California to New York and visits to tidepools at Cabrillo Beach. Guthrie also loved soccer, attending CMC games, and was watching the FIFA Women’s World Cup right up to his passing. The family encourages those who knew Guthrie to honor his memory by enjoying nature and looking for a Spotted Towhee, a Redtailed Hawk, or a Summer Tanager. —Thomas Rozwadowski, with special thanks to Ruth Guthrie ’83
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R. WILLIAM FERRANTE ’64, of Vista, Calif., died April 21, 2015. Ferrante worked for AT&T and the City of San Diego Attorney’s Office. He is survived by his wife, Karen, and two children.
ALFRED B. BACON ’79, of Los Angeles, died November 18, 2016. Bacon majored in chemistry at CMC, and became a chemist for Fluor Corporation. DAVID J. WATERS ’79 died December 15, 2016.
CHARLES F. STAY ’64, of Huntington Beach, Calif., died
August 18, 2018. Stay majored in accounting at CMC, and was chairman of Bert Co. Industries, Inc. He is survived by his wife, Gigi; two children; and one grandchild. STUART H. YOUNG, JR. ’65 P’96, of Lewisburg, Penn.,
died September 20, 2017. Young graduated from Stanford University Law School and was a partner at Hill, Farrer & Burrill. He is survived by his wife, Helen; and two children, including Stuart H. Young III ’96. CAMERON HARTFORD ’68, of Claremont, died
March 13, 2019. An amateur radio enthusiast from Lakewood, Ohio, Hartford became well-known at an early age for his speed and accuracy in Morse Code. He served in the U.S. Army from 1970-72 and worked in the insurance and manufacturing industries. Hartford is survived by his wife, Martha, and two children. ROBERT B. MUZZY ’68, of San Diego, died September 12, 2014. Muzzy was an economics major at CMC, and became president of La Jolla Land Company. He is survived by his wife, Yvonne, and one child. JAMES E. PAYER ’68 died December 15, 2016. DAVID CREAR ’69, of Negros Oriental, Philippines, died September 23, 2018. Crear majored in science at CMC, and worked in agriculture. He is survived by one child. REV. JAMES E. FURMAN ’69, of Glendale, Calif., died February 24, 2019. A native of Long Beach, Calif., Furman earned his B.A. at CMC, an M.A. at Stanford University, and a Master of Divinity at Church Divinity School of the Pacific. Through various roles, he spent his life serving churches in Los Angeles, San Diego, and Honolulu. He authored the book, Sand & Stars: A Possibility Book of Christian Education, and contributed to faith-based publications.
1970s WILLIAM J. MICHIELS ’70, of Seattle, died March 24, 2019. Michiels was born in Shanghai, China, and grew up in Southern California. After graduating from CMC as an economics major, Michiels continued his education at the London School of Economics and the Wharton Business School. In Los Angeles, he was a partner at Coopers & Lybrand, as well as at Freeman & Mills. He was a CMCAA Board member for three years and chaired the Alumni Fund Phonenite Committee. Michiels is survived by his wife, Karen; two children; and two grandchildren. JEFFREY K. NASLUND ’72, of Claremont, died June 2015. Naslund was a political science major at CMC, and played tennis and basketball with CMS. He is survived by one child.
1980s DANIEL W. MOMYER ’89, of Portland, died March 23, 2015. After attending CMC, Momyer entered the Clark Honors College at the University of Oregon.
1990s KRISTEN (ROBINSON) OLSEN ’90, of Riverside, Calif., died September 3, 2015. After studying international relations at CMC, she received an MBA from Claremont Graduate University and a JD from McGeorge School of Law. Olsen worked in civil litigation helping abused and at-risk children. She also supported Olive Crest, a nonprofit, and Loma Linda Children’s Hospital through funding and community events. Olsen is survived by her husband, Craig, and one child. TYLER J. SNOW ’95, of Diamond Bar, Calif., died April 25, 2019. Snow established a successful commercial painting and contracting business, Streamline Painting and Coatings. He was a four-year, two-sport letterman in CMS soccer and baseball, and reached the NCAA soccer playoffs in three of his four years at CMC. He also enjoyed golfing, fishing, and coaching youth athletic teams. Snow is survived by his parents and five siblings. BOYLE KE ’99, of Claremont, died July 26, 2019. A native of Fujian province, China, Ke graduated with a degree in biology. For more than 19 years, he served the Keck Science Department as manager of technology and scientific instrumentation. During his time with CMC, Ke provided technical support to countless students, faculty, and staff.
Board of Trustees BARBARA WHEELER, of Newport Coast, Calif., died June 1, 2019. Wheeler was wife to Donald R. Wheeler, a longtime trustee and former Board chair of CMC. She attended the University of Illinois near her hometown, Kenney, Ill. The Wheelers supported many CMC students through gifts to the Barbara & Donald R. Wheeler Scholarship Fund; the Esther & Stuart G. Wheeler Scholarship; and the Ida & John Romick Scholarship. Wheeler was an active member of the Philharmonic Society of Orange County and the Newport Beach chapter of PEO. She is survived by two children; four grandchildren; and five greatgrandchildren.
ROBERT G. WALSH ’72 died September 1, 2014.
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You are part of the CMC Family. Are we a part of yours? With a gift from your estate to CMC— or naming the College as a beneficiary of your life insurance or retirement plan—you can make CMC “one of the family” while still leaving a full inheritance for your loved ones. The next step: If you have already made CMC a part of the family by providing us with details about your gift’s intended purpose, you will enable the College to make sure your wishes are fulfilled. For additional information, please contact: Office of Planned Giving 400 N. Claremont Blvd. Claremont, CA 91711
www.cmc.edu/pg (888) 311-4717
CLAREMONT MCKENNA COLLEGE
parting shot
A Perseid meteor streaks across the sky over CMC's Ellsworth Kelly art sculpture before sunrise on August 12.
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CLAREMONT MCKENNA COLLEGE 500 EAST NINTH STREET CLAREMONT CA 91711-6400 A D D R E S S
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Just like yesterday Nearly 700 alumni and family members returned to CMC in spring for Alumni Weekend 2019. Attendees had a great time mingling at the Alumni Club, attending thoughtful ContinuED sessions, and connecting with current CMC students. Mark your calendar for next year’s celebration: April 23-26.