T HE P SIREN A Publication of the Psi Chapter of Pi Kappa Phi at Cornell I THACA , N EW Y ORK
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T HE D ELTA C LASS By Ethan Pollack The recently initiated Delta Class of Psi Chapter can already be seen sporting their letters around campus, a showing of pride in not only their personal accomplishment in completing the member education process, but also pride completing yet another step of the s u c c e s s f u l reestablishment of Pi Kappa Phi on the Cornell Greek scene. The initiation of the 17 members of the
H OMECOMING 2008
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A LUMNI S POTLIGHT — D AVID B LITZER
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PCAC B OARD
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P SI C HAPTER ’ S OFFICERES
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CELEBRATION AFTER THE GAME ! THERE WILL BE A SPECIAL MEMORIAL PLAQUE
J OURNEY OF H OPE
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Mailbag
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ad memoriam
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S EPTEMBER 26-28 B IG R ED VS . Y ALE J OIN
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US AT THE
H OUSE
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DEDICATION FROM THE I OTA CLASS OF MEMORATE THE UNTIMELY DEATH OF
M ICHAEL J OSEPH S HORE PSI #793.
’94
TO COM-
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Psi Chapter Alumni Corporation P.O. Box 788 Ithaca, NY 14850-0788
President Shahar Ziv, (Psi 982) sziv50@gmail.com Vice-President William Chang, (Psi 989) wpschang@gmail.com Treasurer Matthew Estersohn, (Psi 1005) estersohn@gmail.com Secretary
Delta class brings the Psi brotherhood up to seventytwo brothers, the highest number of brothers since the re-founding in 2004. During the member education process the Deltas went through the various Psi and national rituals, and were also expected to complete various projects to build class unity. The projects included a PUSH fundraiser, two house improvement projects, an associate ritual,
an associate brotherhood event, two social events planned by the associates, as well as a class plaque that was presented at the final oral boards. The Delta class consisted of 14 freshmen and 3 sophomores. Activities of some of the Deltas include Varsity Lightweight Crew, Club Ultimate Frisbee, Mock Trial, Sketch Comedy, and Cornell EMS among others.
A LUMNI S POTLIGHT — D AVID B LITZER
Alok Tayi, (Psi 1028)
By Shahar Ziv
alok.s.tayi@gmail.com
As Managing Director and Chairman of the S&P 500 Index Committee, the last year has been a hectic one for David Blitzer (Psi #471). As I caught up with him, he was preparing for several trips to Europe to meet with leaders and discuss the implications of recent US economic events. With the recent collapse of Bear Stearns and other indicators showing signs of further economic downturn, it
Directors •
Fred Schneider, (Psi 314)
fschnei1@optonline.net •
Michael Davis, (Psi 795)
mad4@cornell.edu •
Jack Cognetta, (Psi 985)
jcognetta@gmail.com •
Michael Reinitz, (Psi 1016)
mikereinitz@gmail.com •
Father Robert Smith, (Psi 1033)
rss44@cornell.edu
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ONLY WAS D R . B LITZER NAMED TO S MART M ONEY MAGAZINE ’ S DISTINGUISHED LIST OF “ THE 30 MOST INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE IN THE WORLD …”
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A LUMNI S POTLIGHT — D AVID B LITZER appears that he will have his hands full for the next few months as well. Dr. Blitzer graduated from Cornell with a Bachelor of Science degree from the College of Engineering. He was initiated into the Psi Chapter on May 7, 1967. As I was telling him about the some of the current accomplishments of the Psi Chapter and mentioned the work the alumni board was doing to get back control of the lease to the 55 Ridgewood Road property, David mentioned how the 55 Ridgewood house wasn’t even in the fraternity’s possession when he was an undergraduate; the chapter was then housed at 722 University. A lot has changed at Psi and Cornell since then, including the North Campus Initiative to house all freshman – David mentioned that there really wasn’t a “North Campus” when he was an undergraduate – and the recent West Ca mpus Resid entia l Col l eg e Initiative. After graduating from Cornell, Dr. Blitzer went on to receive an M.A. in Economics from the George Washington University and then
Psi Chapter’s New Officers Archon : Chris Sarra
Secretary : Joel Posner
Major: Materials Science and Engineering E-mail: cws32@cornell.edu
Major: ILR E-mail: jsp46@cornell.edu
Vice-Archon : Matthew Bloom
Warden : Matthew Murphy
Major: Biological Engineering Major: Mechanical Engineering E-mail: mgm45@cornell.edu E-mail: mb448@cornell.edu
Treasurer : Benjamin Schreff Major: ILR E-mail: bts34@cornell.edu
Historian : Brian Steinmetz Major: Mechanical Engineering E-mail: bds52@cornell.edu
Chaplain : Jason Shapiro Major: ILR E-mail: jes263@cornell.edu
Push Exec : Christopher Chamberlin Major: Mechanical Engineering E-mail: crc35@cornell.edu
D AVID B LITZER : M ANAGING D IRECTOR AND C HAIRMAN OF THE
S&P 500 I NDEX
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A LUMNI S POTLIGHT — D AVID B LITZER earned his Ph.D. in Economics from Columbia University. Prior to joining Standard & Poor’s, the world's foremost provider of financial market i n t e l l i g e n c e, i n c l u d i n g independent credit ratings, indices, risk evaluation, investment research and data, Dr. Blitzer was Corporate Economist at The McGraw-Hill Companies, S&P's parent
B LITZER HAS AUTHORED TWO BOOKS ABOUT INVESTING AND THE ECONOMY .
corporation. Prior to that he was a Senior Economic Analyst with National Economic Research Associates, Inc. and did consulting work for various government and private sector agencies including the New Je r s ey D e p a r t m e n t o f Environmental Protection, the National Commission on Materials Policy, and Natural Resources Defense Council. As I spoke to Dr. Blitzer and did the requisite “Google Search” on him, I was amazed that our national fraternity has not added him to its list of Famous Pi Kapps. He has authored two books, Outpacing the Pros: Using Indices to Beat wall Street’s Savviest Money Managers (2001) and What’s
J OURNEY OF H OPE 2008 By Bill Chang On May 17th, I’ll be joining this year’s Journey of Hope riders Elan Greenberg and Tim Lutz on a ride around Lake Cayuga along with Dave Peterson, Max Cann, Tom Stephenson, Jeremy Schwartz and several other former Psi JOH riders. It will be the first time I will be back to Ithaca since graduating in 2001 and I’m
the Economy Trying to Tell You? E v e r y o n e ’s G u i d e t o Understanding and Profiting from the Economy (1997). Additionally, not only was Dr. Blitzer named to SmartMoney magazine’s distinguished list of “the 30 most influential people in the world of investing, which ranked him seventh in 2000, but in 1998, he was also named the nation’s top economist, receiving the Blue Chip Economic Forecasting Award for most accurately predicting the country’s leading economic indicators for four years in a row! Needless to say, PKP National will be getting an email from me shor tly nominating him to join this distinguished list.
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J OURNEY OF H OPE 2008 Hope riders every year which ended with Dave and I. I was disappointed that such a long tradition had ended, but I’m glad that Psi is sending JOH riders again. Having met some of the new alumni, I think that the chapter is in good hands with the new Psi’s.
looking forward to seeing how things have changed. Psi chapter had a long record of sending Journey of
Dave and I rode the South route in 2001 and it was one of the best experiences of my life. I met some amazing people, both the other riders and the people with disabilities that we worked with along the
way. I also got to see the country in a way that few people get to experience, from crossing the Golden Gate bridge to cycling the last few miles to the steps of the Capitol in Washington, D.C. I hope my fellow alumni help to support the Journey of Hope and any future riders that the chapter may send. It’s an amazing experience for the riders and the funds that are raised go towards a great cause.
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AND I RODE THE S OUTH ROUTE IN 2001 AND IT WAS ONE OF THE BEST EXPERIENCES OF MY LIFE .”
The Psi Chapter Mailbag W. John Zygmunt 434
Tony Balda 999
needs to work on his handwrit- got married in 2007 and a bunch ing or invest in a typewriter! of Pi Kapps were there. He also had a few too many beers with Jim P. Trozze 403 Chris Fong and Steve Stern while Jim‘s daughter Olivia will be in Dan Kurnos claimed to be “sick” Cornell’s Class of 2012 in ILR
Richard Lissa 514 changed jobs and now works for Formasa Plastics as Director of Logistics & Management in Livingston, NJ
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The Psi Chapter Mailbag Staton Lorenz 358 is semi retired after selling his motorcycle racing and swap meet business of 33 years. He is currently working with a hotel lobby brochure advertising agency www.unusualideas.com Alex Sherer 597 and his wife have been running a Veterinary clinic together for 19 years. They just bought a vacation home in Tahoe’s Northstar Ski Resort. Their oldest son Nicholas is in his first year studying Physics at UC Santa Barbara. Gary Fisher 445 recently spoke with Henry Siebel (class of 1968) Henry is the reunion chair for the Cornell class of 1968’s 40th reunion in June 2008. Bill Newell 436
Ad Memoriam We regret to inform you of the passing of the following brothers of the Chapter Eternal. The Psi Chapter extends its heartfelt condolences to the friends and families of:
Edward William Harker Jr (Psi 170) Eugene Gibson Arnold (Psi 333) Michael Joseph Shore (Psi 793) We will carry on the memory of our dear brothers as we continue a tradition of fraternity and camaraderie. We invite all brothers to join us and the Iota class of ’94 this Homecoming for a special memorial plaque dedication in memory of Michael Joseph Shore (Psi 793).
And his wife Brenda just became grandparents in May 2007. Their daughter Mary presented them with a beautiful granddaughter Caitlynn Maeve Nick Linder 980
Justin Teo 1000
is graduating from Law School this spring. Then headed back to his hometown of Indianapolis, IN to clerk for a federal court of appeals judge for a year. He is hoping to see some Psi brothers in Denver for the Supreme Chapter (July 2529)!!
recently moved to Tokyo, and is currently working for a hedge fund covering Asian equities. Feel free to look him up if you ever make it to Tokyo. Also “Great Job Shahar for reconnecting with the alumi base.”
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Psi Chapter thanks you for your donations
Alumni Club
Archon’s Club
James Dodd 299, Gary Fisher 445, Kenneth Kelly 460, Richard Lissa 514, William Salomon 531, Claudio Gualtieri 941, Nick Linder 980, Corey Berthold 983, Mike Reinitz 1016, Steve Stern 1018, Christopher Keenan 1031
Fred Thorne 285, Staton Lorenz 358, Jim Trozze 403, W. John Zygmunt 434, Michael Piscitelli 538, Alex Sherer 597, Vincent Gentile 610, Greg Della Rocca 687, Joshua Cheron 783, Mike Davis 795, Gabe Heafitz 822, Tom Stephenson 862, Tony Balda 999, Justin Teo 1000, Alok Tayi 1028
Red Rose Club
Founders Club
Robert Smith 149, George Heinrich 429, Shahar Ziv 982
Bill Newell 436
The 51st Supreme Chapter in Denver, Colorado Register today: •
http://denver.pikapp.org/
•
Phone: (800) 929-1904
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http://www.cornellpikapp.com
Check us out on the web!
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Ithaca, NY 14850 55 Ridgewood Road Pi Kappa Phi, Psi Chapter
Create a Profile on CornellPiKapp.com! Hey Psi Alumni! Did you know that you can create your own personal profile and keep in touch with active brothers as well as fellow alumni? Tell us what you’re doing now, where you are currently located, or just leave an Alumni comment. Your confidentiality is respected; you can fill in as much or as little information as you would like. Additionally, only active brothers and other alumni with profiles will be able to view your information. To create a profile on CornellPiKapp.com, just email our webmaster, Spencer Marks, at sam259@cornell.edu.
Old Pi Kapp Photos?....Send ‘Em Our Way! The Psiren is looking photos and stories for our next issue. If you have any photos or short stories from your undergraduate days in Pi Kappa Phi, you can email digital copies to ourWebmaster Spencer Marks at sam259@cornell.edu. Send your hard copies to the chapter house: Pi Kappa Phi c/o Alumni Relations Chairman We’ll scan and return any photos you send us!
55 Ridgewood Road Ithaca, NY 14805