Drew Magazine | Spring 2010 by Renee Olson

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Drew University Madison, NJ 07940 drew.edu

SPRING 2010 I Farewell, Dean Beach I Slinging Mud at Thomas Jefferson I UC Makeover Women Fighting Back I Producer Kevin Murphy C’89 on Fooling His Parents

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Drew I Summer 2010 and beyond MORE DREW EVENTS drew.edu/calendar DREW ATHLETICS drewrangers.com

June 14 Golf Digest ranks the course at Plainfield Country Club, home of The Barclays PGA Tour event in 2011, among the top 100 in the nation. Give it a try at the inaugural Blue and Green Golf Outing, beneﬁting Drew athletics. drew.edu/golfouting

24–25

Former U.S. poet laureate and Pulitzer Prize–winner Maxine Kumin visits Drew’s MFA in Poetry program for a two-day series of events open to the public, including a symposium on her work and a reading with Drew’s own National Book Award–winner, Gerald Stern. And if that’s not enough, evening readings by faculty and guests also run June 22–25 & 28–29.

August 2–6

“I don’t like writing very much, to be honest,” says William Giraldi C’01, in an interview with The Southeast Review. “I’m a profoundly indolent fellow. I’d much rather tickle my baby or watch The Office or read the diaries of Samuel Pepys, which are, aside from the Sherlock Holmes stories, the most fun a reader can have with a book.” Register for “Sentences 2: A Conference on Writing Prose,” and you’ll be able to study with Giraldi—who, besides being utterly charming, teaches in Boston University’s writing program —and with other accomplished alumni writers, including Mark Jacobs G’87, Joyce McDonald G’92,’94 and Charlotte Nekola C’76. A Caspersen School of Graduate Studies program. drew.edu/sentences

September 24–25 Old friends, good times and sore muscles for the ruggers. Alumni Homecoming Weekend 2010 promises this and much more. Details, pages 4 and 46. drew.edu/homecoming 973.408.3229

drew.edu/mfaevent

July 26–28 Bone up on instructional strategies for ages 8–13 during the Teaching with Historic Places workshop. An Historic Preservation Certiﬁcate program. drew.edu/historicplaces 973.408.3185

October 19–21 “Soul-Work: A Conversation on Spiritual Practices” is the theme of this year’s Tipple-Vosburgh Lectures and Theological School Alumni/ae Reunion. The gathering also marks the launch of the Spiritual Formation Certiﬁcate program. drew.edu/tipple

Spring 2010

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Peter Murphy

The Devil Was in Us Daniel Uhagaze T’08 lost several family members, including his mother and a sister, to the Rwandan genocide more than 15 years ago. It nearly took his own life as well. By John T. Ward

Resistance Movement In an unusual self-defense course combining physical training and theory, psychology professor Jill Cermele C’92 gives conventional thinking a smackdown. By Leslie Garisto Pfaff

The Drewid’s Guide to How To Do Everything Better We tapped the Drew community—an impressive crowd, if you don’t mind us saying so—for savvy advice on everything from getting a job to getting out of a straitjacket. By Christopher Hann

He Made Those Housewives Desperate All it took to get producer Kevin Murphy C’89 to Hollywood was a set of wheels, his buddy Dan Studney C’89 and Zappa on the stereo. By Christopher Hann

DEPARTMENTS 2 Letters 3 Mead 207 5 Into the Forest 44 Classnotes 64 BackTalk

Mead 207

Letters

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

TO THE EDITOR

DREW MAGAZINE Volume 37, No. 2, Spring 2010

CHIEF COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER David W. Muha

on the High Seas k Hates I Alumna I The Man Hosni MubaraThe Labyrinth Maker ess Can Be Yours Tennis? I WINTER 2010 I Happin Continue for Men’s Can Winning Streak

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EDITOR Renée Olson CLASSNOTES Tricia Brown C’10 DIRECTOR OF PUBLICATIONS AND ADVERTISING Margaret M. Kiernan

I AM DREW

ART DIRECTION AND LAYOUT Margaret M. Kiernan, Lynne DeLade, Melanie Shandroff

10 Amazing Students for 2010

EDITORIAL ASSISTANCE Michael Bressman C’06, Brooke Goode, Erin Hennessy C’95, Nina Maynard, Kristen Daily Williams C’98 EDITORIAL INTERN Samantha Pritchard C’10 VICE PRESIDENT DEVELOPMENT/ALUMNI RELATIONS Christopher M. Biehn ALUMNI ASSOCIATION OFFICERS Camper Bull C’91, president, College Alumni Association Jeffrey Markay C’88, T’95, president, Theological School Alumni/ae Association Drew Magazine (ISSN 0889-0153) is published three times a year by Drew University, 36 Madison Ave., Madison, NJ 07940, USA. Standard rate postage paid at Madison, N.J., and additional mailing office. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Office of Alumni Records, Alumni House, Drew University, Madison, NJ 07940. All material in Drew Magazine is ©2010 by Drew University. SUBSCRIPTIONS Through your relationship to Drew University, you are a subscriber to Drew Magazine. ADDRESS CHANGES OR TO UNSUBSCRIBE Office of Alumni Relations, 973/408-3229, alumni@drew.edu LETTERS TO THE EDITOR magazine@drew.edu or to the first address above Drew University is an equal-opportunity, affirmative-action employer and educator. Views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect official policy of the university.

Yang Yang, Junior Future Doctor

that is special and unique about Drew. One of my fondest memories of Drew is the graduate-level seminar that I took with Paul and four other students. More often than not our classroom was a pub in Madison where we drank some beer, ate some food and participated in lively and interesting free-flowing debates on political and legal issues, most of which were not really on the syllabus. Boy, it sure would be great to go back to 1982 and have a drink with him. Stephan Pahides C’83 MEDIA, PA.

A warm response to our online tribute to the late Professor Paul Wice, shout-outs to our photographers and how we triggered a memory of a pachyderm’s posterior. Model U.N.’s Long History I enjoyed the profiles of Drew’s amazing students [“I Am Drew,” Winter 2010], where we read that Bente Sterrett helped found Drew’s Model U.N. program. As a point of clarification, Drew’s Model U.N. team was quite active in the late 1970s and early ’80s. Students acted as delegates for such countries as Libya, Iraq and Yemen, and a number even gave major speeches from the podium of the General Assembly Hall at the United Nations. I’m glad to hear the Model U.N. Program still lives at Drew! Ron Jautz C’81 NEW YORK, N.Y.

Remembering Paul Wice An appreciation of Professor Emeritus of Political Science Paul Wice (1942–2009) appears on our blog, drewmagazine.com. Paul was the embodiment of all

Eye Candy Every time I open the magazine I find myself drawn to the creative and intriguing photography. The personalities of your subjects are captured beautifully, and each shot is both comfortable and clearly well thought out. Keep up the good work! Katharine Dolin C’09 CRANFORD, N.J.

Beast at the Beach Lucy the Elephant—beautifully restored through the persistence and expertise of Drew faculty member Margaret Westfield— looks out toward the Atlantic Ocean from Margate, my hometown [“Saving Jersey’s Past,” Fall 2009]. My parents, who owned Mack Realty for many years (those of Lucy’s neglect), would often comment that it was difficult to rent or sell properties that faced Lucy’s dilapidated hindquarters. Congratulations to Lori Chambers for the snappy writing of the profiles and to the photographers who captured the charm, joy and pride of the preservationists. Elaine Bunn PROFESSOR EMERITA OF SPANISH HIGHLANDS, N.J.

Facing page: Bob Handelman

PRESIDENT Robert Weisbuch

ALKING INTO A THEO SCHOOL

faculty meeting often feels like being in a winning team’s locker room at halftime. Serious issues get discussed, which supplies a little game-time tension, but the laughter is spontaneous and loud and there’s a sense that we are all in it, whatever it is, together. It is as productive and just plain enjoyable an academic environment as one can imagine. It is also evidence of the character of our great dean, Maxine Beach, who is retiring this spring. Maxine’s intelligence is exceeded only by her wisdom, and her spirituality is matched only by her moment-to-moment spirit. No easy rider, Maxine lobbies hard for the interests of the Theo School—whenever I hear the drumming of her knuckles on the table at our cabinet meetings, I know the Beach temperature is rising—but she also exudes a collegiality that is utterly infectious. There’s more that makes Maxine’s achievement still greater. This is as diverse a student and faculty community as one can imagine—international and multieverything. It is also a community that, unlike many seminaries associated with universities, has a large and still-growing role in the overall community. Maxine has embraced the notion of Drew as a uni-versity and encouraged her gang to open its doors to undergraduates and Caspersen students and to teach Maxine is the architect with faculty from the rest of Drew. On a material level, her tenure has been marked by her ability to raise funds and expand of something still more Seminary Hall. But for me, Maxine is the architect of something still more worthy—all that takes place inside that building. worthy—all that takes In fact, I urge Drewids to stop by Seminary Hall for a service. As you enter to the sounds of an African liberation hymn and place inside Seminary Hall. live through an hour of meditation, personal speech and joyous music, your sense of the human potential for good will revive. Maxine is in all of this, as she is in the bookshelves that hold the prodigious publications of the professors, as she is in the continuing improvements of the academic programs and, most, as she is in the hearts of the students. We are all a little fearful about what Drew will be without Maxine. But it is overpowered by something still greater: the legacy of human and divine love, a continuing breeze of energy and achievement and goodwill by which Dean Beach will remain vibrantly at Drew wherever she may be.

Farewell, Dean Beach “She speaks her mind, very often saying things some of us think, but don’t dare say out loud.” Read what Theo School faculty have to say about Beach on the eve of her departure, page 8. at drewmagazine.com

Robert Weisbuch

Cert no. SW-COC-002556

Spring 2010 3

Drew University Proudly Honors These Exemplary Individuals At

Alumni Homecoming Weekend 2010 COLLEGE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION (CAA) ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS BREAKFAST AND CEREMONY, SEPTEMBER 25 These alumni will be recognized for their exceptional professional success, significant contributions to society and unwavering dedication to the mission and goals of Drew. ACHIEVEMENT IN BUSINESS Dean T. Criares C’85 Drew University trustee ACHIEVEMENT IN THE LIBERAL ARTS Robert E. Schmidle Jr. C’75 Major General, U.S. Marine Corps ACHIEVEMENT IN THE SCIENCES Jonathan Spanier C’90 Associate professor, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Drexel University; 2007 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers FRANCES B. SELLERS De’Andre Salter C’92 Entrepreneur, pastor and author

ALUMNI SERVICE Michelle Hampton C’85 Associate director, TOEFL Client Relations, Global Division of Educational Testing Service; former CAA director; former DART chair, reunion committee member and class secretary ALUMNI VOLUNTEER Claudia Luecke C’89 Attorney, Citigroup; cancer advocate, National Breast Cancer Coalition Project LEAD Graduate Board and N.J. Cancer Center Institutional Review Board YOUNG ALUMNI Moniza Khokhar C’05 Founder and publisher, élan: The Guide to Global Muslim Culture

Working with Newark high schoolers has been great for future theater teacher Brent Rivers C’11.

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT Robert Drew Simpson C’45, T’48,’54 Retired senior minister, Chatham United Methodist Church; Drew University trustee emeritus

HALL OF FAME

Opening Act

INDUCTION DINNER AND CEREMONY, SEPTEMBER 24

A new course is producing theater unlike anything else done before at Drew.

These alumni will be honored for their outstanding contributions to Drew athletics.

Sid Zwerling C’56 First player to break 1,000 points in Drew men’s basketball history

Karen Townsend C’00 Played soccer, basketball and lacrosse, holds Drew’s all-time points record with 360 and won 2000 USILA Player of the Year and MAC Most Valuable Player

For more information or to register, visit drew.edu/homecoming or call 973.408.3229.

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Emma Bascom C’96 Led the women’s basketball team in scoring and was All-Conference from ’94–’96

Peter Murphy

Maureen Horan, coach Most career wins in field hockey and winner of three MAC Championships in women’s lacrosse

BY ALEX DAWSON

HAT’S THAT SMELL?” A YOUNG GIRL NAMED ASHLEY, IN FLEECE-PIPED UGGs

and a black T-shirt that says “I Love My Hubby,” scrunched her nose. A red star made from glitter and cardboard dangled from her neck. “Something’s burning.” Not burning really, but you could smell the heat. Her mentor, Lili Ashman C’10, pointed at the high ceiling. “Lights,” she said. Ashley tilted her head and looked up at the grid of hot spots and washes. “Oh, yeah,” she marveled, smiling big. Ashley is one of 10 students from Newark schools participating in a newly minted Drew theater program that pairs urban teenagers with 14 theater majors from the university. Classes meet in both locations, but after several snow days, this is the first time Ashley has been on campus. Tonight she and her Drew counterpart, Ashman, will perform an original scene under the bright lamps of the Thomas Kean Black Box.

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Into the Forest

A girl with shaky faith belts out her doubt to a Bible, clapping and rocking as if in a gospel choir.

Drew students and high schoolers shuttled between campus and Newark.

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fringe of stand-up hair that encircles his face like a lion’s mane. And all the Drew students agreed that they, too, love their cell phones. One month in, Ceraso thinks they’d already reached many of their projected goals, which include helping both crews “gain a fuller sense of self.” By semester’s end, the students will have created a more “ambitious” company piece, says Ceraso, “something that allows both communities to speak about a common issue, individually and together.” But apart from its sociological accomplishments, how does the work hold up artistically? “I was shocked at the skill level these kids have,” says Rivers. And, indeed, the Newark kids were surprisingly loose and limber, moving freely about the stage despite the scripts in their hands, effectively evoking beds and tables, pews and park benches, with only a series of black plywood cubes. And the scripts were good, filled with many memorable moments: a smoggy block is described as a place where “even the birds chirp horror music”; a girl with shaky faith belts out her doubt to a Bible, clapping and rocking as if in a gospel choir, “I got my own back, yeah-eh!”; a human flip phone sings its Lady Gaga ringtone a cappella. Among the objectives of the program is showing Newark students that a place like Drew is available to them, and a great example of the program’s immediate success is Eeotree Thomas, who’s already been accepted to Drew. But certainly as real a result is the confidence boosting of Jerome Thompson, a baby-faced Newarker with a faux hawk. “I didn’t want to write a play because [I think] I’m a poor writer,” he says. “But I was proud of what I wrote because of the audience. Because they enjoyed it.” His skit was clever and, like all the others, enthusiastically met with laughter and applause. “The lights, the focus of this space, instead of daunting them, actually made them step up,” says Ceraso. “I was really impressed.”

A Royal Find Thailand comes looking for books sent by the son of the king in The King and I.

Making Her Debut Peter Murphy. Facing page: Bill Cardoni; Shelley Kusnetz

The program is the brainchild of Associate Professor of Theatre Arts Chris Ceraso, dressed tonight in stagehand black, and Rodney Gilbert, a gregarious Drew adjunct who began the class with a lively lesson in taking direction disguised as Simon Says. Officially titled “The Community, the Individual and the Impact of Theatrical Art,” the course is loosely patterned after the 52nd Street Project, a New York City not-for-profit that matches disadvantaged Hell’s Kitchen kids with theater professionals. Its campus catalyst was a conversation during which President Bob Weisbuch asked Ceraso, who’s currently involved with the 52nd Street Project, if Drew could do something similar with Newark, and Ceraso thought they could. Ceraso approached Gilbert, who runs a drama program for Newark teens at the Newark Public Schools Marion Bolden Student Center, and the plan took shape. The fanciful two-person sketches, written by the visiting students with the prompting and guidance of the undergrads, rose from a series of improv exercises that imagined a “bad day” dialogue between the Newark student and a personified object. Four sketches featured cell phones, two Xbox remotes, one a taco, one a Bible, one a set of lamenting lungs. Of the nine skits performed, only the last reflected the harsher experience of inner-city life (the coughing lungs belong to a track star with no place to train but a polluted lot), with the other sketches highlighting the generational similarities between the two ostensibly distinct groups. “I think Cyrus [his Newark protégé] and I have a lot in common. I mean, I’ve spoken to my remote before,” says Brent Rivers, a Drew junior with a frizzy

Tiphanie Yanique kicks off her first book tour at Mead Hall. BY SAMANTHA PRITCHARD C’10

F YOU’D HAD YOUR EYES CLOSED, YOU WOULDN’T HAVE KNOWN IT WAS

Assistant Professor of English Tiphanie Yanique up at the podium at the English Department’s Writers at Drew event this spring. A native of St. Thomas, Yanique gave a captivating reading in the Caribbean patois of one of her characters, Slick, a St. Croix drug dealer smitten with a woman home from an American college. The story is from How to Escape from a Leper Colony, Yanique’s highly regarded debut collection of short stories exploring identity across cultures. Writing in The Boston Globe, novelist Margot Livesey had this to say: “I reached the end of [the book] with the exhilarating sense that I had been on the best kind of journey—not, finally, to the Virgin Islands nor Trinidad nor Houston nor London, but to the imagination of a wonderfully talented young writer who has many more stories to tell.” at drewmagazine.com

You pick up the phone one night, and it’s the Thai Embassy in Washington, D.C., asking whether, by any chance, you still have a 39-volume, leather-bound set of Buddhist scriptures donated by King Chulalonkorn more than a century ago. Library staffer Bruce Lancaster got that very call last year, sending him on a sleuthing mission for the set, known collectively as Tipitaka or, translated from the Pali language in which the scriptures were inscribed, “The Three Baskets.” It took “ancient issues of The New York Times,” international catalogs and the help of library conservator Masato Okinaka, says Lancaster, to find the collection— which the Thai government plans to reissue—safe in the rare-book room.

Spring 2010 7

Into the Forest well describe how the school has changed under her leadership. An Emphasis on Community Beach grew up in a family she describes as “pretty heathen” and was introduced to Methodism by a highschool friend. She began graduate studies in religion when she was in her late 30s, getting a master’s and a doctoral degree, and was the first woman to head Drew’s Theo School, a post she calls “a dream job.” Beach talks about her “sense of amazement” at the level of scholarship and teaching at the school when she arrived in 2000, but says she felt a lack of cohesion. “I think together we grew into an identity,” she says. Catherine Keller, professor of constructive theology, agrees. “She just tuned in to where we were as a collective and where we wanted to head. She’s someone who is very gifted in tuning into a vision if she feels the integrity of it, and then works to actualize it.” Part of finding cohesion meant reveling in difference. She continued to diversify the school’s student body and faculty—today both are around 40 percent nonwhite. She also created an atmosphere where people could say what they thought. “We became increasingly able as a faculty to be ourselves,” says Otto Maduro, a professor at the school since 1992. “She speaks her mind, very often saying things some of us think but don’t dare say out loud,” explains Maduro. “And the fact that she does it makes us realize that there is license to say things that we would have felt either uncomfortable or even scared of saying 15 or 20 years ago. For example, we don’t just talk politely about race and racism. We have heard her talking about this being a white institution and needing change. You seldom hear a white leader saying that.” Beach sees this atmosphere of honesty permeating the school’s approach to study and scholarship. “It’s a place that educates people and asks hard questions of them,” she says. “It wants them to go deep and wants them to go wide; wants them to understand the traditions and argue with the traditions and critique what’s happened and where we are.” Faculty are also quick to mention Beach’s regular dinner parties at her home as an important part of the supportive, collegial atmosphere she’s nurtured.

She does all the cooking, trying out new recipes, and she also makes sure there’s plenty of wine. “You’re real with people when you’re sharing a glass of wine and some food with them. I lived in Kenya, and you would never get down to business without having eaten and shared time together,” Beach says. What She Leaves Behind Beach laughs at the thought of a long-planned renovation and expansion at Seminary Hall being remembered as a major legacy—“You get a Ph.D. so you can mess around in theological education, and you end up running a building project.” But she points out that the increased space, unveiled in 2005, also strengthened the community: More faculty moved their offices into Seminary Hall, and much of the new space provides common areas where students and teachers can meet and discuss and, of course, eat together. She has also supported and found money for new conferences and scholarship: the Transdisciplinary Theological Colloquium, GodTalk with Black Thinkers and the Center for Christianities in Global Contexts among them. And she successfully engineered the Graduate Division of Religion’s administrative move from the Caspersen School of Graduate Studies to the Theological School. Faculty members give every impression that Beach will be sorely missed. “I think it’s a fairly unusual thing to make a transition to a new dean from such a position of strength,” says Morris L. Davis, associate professor of the history of Christianity and one of 10 faculty members hired during Beach’s time as dean. “It’s difficult to think of what’s urgent. We mostly think about what we don’t want to lose.” Beach always planned on being at Drew for 10 years. “Schools need new visions, new eyes—new energies,” she says. She and her husband, a recently retired Methodist minister, are moving down to Florida—“It’s a cliché!” she laughs—to a house on the Gulf Coast. Adds Beach, “I don’t want 6 a.m. sunrises or winter anymore.”

The increased space in Beach’s Seminary Hall renovation has strengthened the community.

A Reluctant Farewell

N A BRIGHT, SUNNY DAY IN BETWEEN

patches of early February snowfall, a crowd of students, faculty, friends and family filled Seminary Hall’s Craig Chapel to welcome 12 new Theological School students. Before they lined up to sign their names in the heavy matriculation book—the same one that recorded the names of Drew’s first class in 1867 —Dean Maxine Beach described how she thinks the school should prepare students. She read a passage she’d often read in the past, quipping

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that since this was her last matriculation, “I can do whatever I want.” The passage describes the difference between enabling students and molding them: “If a young man comes here with the lion in him, do not begin to pare his nails, or trim his mane, or tone his voice, or tame his spirit, but let his claws grow, let his mane lengthen, let his eye brighten.” Looking toward the students, Beach then recast the idea: “Don’t stop being who you are, but get better at it.” These words could also

Bill Cardoni

Don’t be surprised if Theo School people appear bereft these days. They’re losing Maxine Beach, their warm and graceful guru, to retirement. BY BRUCE WALLACE

at drewmagazine.com

Spring 2010 9

United Arab Emirates

Into the Forest

Faculty members Nora Colton and Carlos Yordán take a Drew International Seminar to Dubai and Abu Dhabi in May.

AROUND THE

The Miscellany

Drewniverse

McLendon Hall Drew’s newest residence has been given silver Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification, making it New Jersey’s first “green” dorm. Video at drew.edu/leed.

An insider’s guide to what’s happening on campus.

The Commons Drewids will soon be able to nosh at an outdoor eating space next to the Commons, thanks to a gift from the Class of 2010.

Helping Hands Mead Hall

Brothers College

T.J. Stiles, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt, told a Friends of Mead Hall audience that Daniel Drew was likely illiterate.

John Hockenberry, the paraplegic host of NPR’s The Takeaway, lectured to the “Social Construction of Disability” course.

Sitterly House Vanity Fair calls Professor of English Peggy Samuels’ new book, Deep Skin, “a probing examination of the way painters such as Klee and Calder helped shape Elizabeth Bishop’s poetry.”

From January on, Drewids have fanned out doing volunteer work and fundraising for two high-profile natural disasters: Hurricane Katrina and the earthquake in Haiti. The Drew Disaster Relief crew, together with Centenary College, rolled up sleeves in New Orleans this winter break for the fifth year in a row. “Drew has sent over 125 people in that time, and we’ve probably helped about 150 families clean up and repair their homes,” says trip organizer Shawn Spaventa. Haiti’s January 12 earthquake prompted the Center for Civic Engagement to rally for both short- and long-term assistance for that country. Campus fundraisers netted nearly $1,400, while students gathered soap, toothbrushes and other toiletries to ship there. Drew’s Communities of Shalom and friends started working on longer-term efforts, including the possibility of sending a relief group to Haiti in 2011.

Athletics Follow Rangers sports live at the revamped drewrangers.com.

Learning Center Drew Magazine’s 2009 article, “The Day She Should Have Died,” won gold for best article from the Washington, D.C.-based Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), District II.

Campus Sunny daffodils brightened the campus in late March, a welcome break after a grim, damp winter.

Acorn Academy Drew’s child care facility will soon have new digs at the university’s neighbor, the United Methodist Church—and a new name, courtesy of Theatre Arts Professor Dan LaPenta.

Hall of Sciences This fall, Madison high schoolers can take introductory computer science courses at Drew and, for a modest fee, receive both high school and college credit.

The Forest

Commencement Michael Lewis, author of The Blind Side and The Big Short, will deliver this year’s commencement address.

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Ted Johnsen C’07 is back on campus as a video correspondent. Follow him on Twitter at @TedAtDrew.

at drewmagazine.com

Map by Anne Smith

Katrina

Spring 2010 11

Into the Forest

Rebecca Rego Barry G’01 archived the drawing, which measures 9.5 by 14.5 inches.

Paper Cuts

HAT’S KNOWN ABOUT THOMAS

Gibbons, father of the man who built Mead Hall, is this: He was a Southern rice plantation owner; a cantankerous, litigious steamboat magnate; a Federalist mayor of Savannah, Ga., and a fortunate man who, despite being rather broad in the beam at some 300 pounds, managed to not get shot in a duel. What’s not clear, though, is how a lewd sketch of Sally Hemings, the slave with whom a widowed Thomas Jefferson is believed to have fathered several children, managed to land in Gibbons’ papers at Drew and stay there, virtually unnoticed, until now. Done in ink and watercolor on now-yellowed linen paper, the sketch shows a bare-breasted Hemings, holding the hand of a son named “Tom.” Accompanying the undated drawing, titled “Mrs. Sally Jefferson,” is a scrap of doggerel written in Hemings’ voice:

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It was Late in the Night When Masa came too me He give me fine tings + kisses He get for me a Pickinene All most as white as young Masa (or Misis) Little Tom Jeffer— the young Congo Dauphin While the handwriting appears to rule out Gibbons as the caricature’s creator, it’s “in keeping with his Federalist attitudes,” says Barbara Oberg, professor of history and general editor of The Papers of Thomas Jefferson at Princeton (and wife of Perry Leavell, Drew professor of history emeritus). From the stance of patrician Federalists, Jefferson, a Democratic-Republican they dismissed as an atheist, “becomes the symbol of everything threatening to law and order” at a time when the young nation’s federal government was just being shaped, she says.

Shelley Kusnetz, courtesy Drew Archives. Facing page: Joe Ciardello

A racist caricature in Drew’s archives of Sally Hemings, Thomas Jefferson’s slave, comes off as an early 19th-century stab at swiftboating. BY RENÉE OLSON

“All the language this piece uses is standard Federalist press discourse,” says History Chair Sharon Sundue. “It’s racist to its core, describing Sally Hemings as a seductress, and is entirely an attack on the character of the white man who would lower himself.” Still, the initial bomb for Jefferson came not from a Federalist, but from a former Jefferson ally named James T. Callender, who outed the relationship in the Richmond Recorder on Sept. 1, 1802, a little over a year into Jefferson’s first term. The Scots-born Virginia journalist had turned on Jefferson when refused a political appointment. Although the content doesn’t break new ground, the sketch, creased as though folded to fit in an envelope and perhaps mailed to Gibbons, has value for, well, being a sketch. Representations of Hemings are virtually unknown—Annette Gordon-Reed, the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Hemingses: An American Family, knew of just two before seeing Drew’s drawing. In this case, the spiteful doodler clearly wasn’t striving for verisimilitude. “Whoever drew this never saw Hemings, or else he wouldn’t have drawn her as a dark-skinned woman with tightly curled hair,” says Gordon-Reed. “We know what she looked like—she was light-skinned with straight hair—and what her kids looked like, some of whom lived as white people.” Nor did Hemings have a son named Tom, explains Gordon-Reed. “The point for a Federalist was to make things as shocking as possible. The president with a darkskinned mistress and a dark-skinned child were particular affronts—playing into all facets of sexual and racial hysteria,” she says. Sundue used the sketch this semester in her “American Revolution” course to launch a discussion about racial attitudes of the time. “You can’t not talk about Sally Hemings as part of this conversation,” says Sundue. “I wanted to show this to my students and have them interpret what they’re seeing here, as well as understand the range—and limits of— 19th-century critique of slavery.”

Poisoned Pen Thomas Gibbons was slinging mud at Jefferson and Hemings around the time he had his own troubles with a servant. Despite its slanderous tone, the letter, archived at the University of Michigan, is considered one of the first primary sources, together with James Callender’s Richmond Recorder article (see main story), to document the existence of a relationship between Jefferson and Hemings. But interestingly, Gibbons goes a step further and includes a detail not included in the newspaper account: the belief that Hemings “That Jefferson lives in open was the daughter of Martha defiance of all decent [rule], Jefferson’s father and his with a Mulatto Slave his prop- slave, Elizabeth Hemings. erty named Sally, is as correct “This information was not as truth itself, and that his printed [by] Callender,” says children, to wit, Tom, Beverly Annette Gordon-Reed, the & Harriot are flat nosed, thick lipped and Tawney I can have author of The Hemingses: An American Family. no doubt tho I never saw any Gibbons appears to have one of them, And what adds been “somehow privy to all to the monstrous disgrace these other networks,” says of this amorous encounter is History Chair Sharon Sundue. first that she is half sister to his first wife, and secondly His information is “not just that she is the most abansecondhand out of the paper.” doned prostitute of her color— Gossip-gathering wasn’t pampered into a lascivious Gibbons’ only talent. Around course of life, with the benefits the time the Hemings rumors of a French Education, she is started, Gibbons apparently more lecherous than the other managed to impregnate one beasts of the Monticellian of his own servants. CorreMountains.” spondence about this, though nothing that specifies her race, appears in Drew’s Gibbons Family Papers, says T.J. Stiles, 2010 Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The First Tycoon, who used the collection in his research. Gibbons worked to deny the accusation, writes Stiles, “against the advice of some of New York’s leading attorneys.”—R.O.

HOMAS GIBBONS, FROM whom Thomas Jefferson snatched back a federal judgeship given in a socalled “midnight appointment” by an outgoing John Adams in 1801, preferred to launch his attack on Sally Hemings in prose. This excerpt from a scathing letter he wrote to New Jersey Federalist senator (and in-law) Jonathan Dayton on Dec. 20, 1802, holds nothing back.

Spring 2010 13

Into the Forest

Raise the Roof The UC is—yes!—finally getting a makeover.

Drew by the Numbers First-year and transfer applicants for Fall 2010, the most in a decade.

6,000+

ENIOR ANDY BENAVIDES KNOWS

that the University Center, where he works at the main desk, has seen better days. But he was finally convinced the facility needed work when he heard a squirrel scrambling around in the ceiling over his head. “This building is old,” says Benavides, an econ major. “The university is growing, and it’s time we got something more fitting.” The university won’t argue with that. “The UC is not adequate when compared with peer institutions,” says Michael Kopas, director of special projects. “From a student comfort perspective, from a retention and recruitment perspective, this project is necessary.” So in May 2011, a yearlong, largely privately funded renovation—the first significant rehab since the UC opened in the late 1950s— is slated to begin, says Kopas. The project, with Princeton-based KSS Architects LLP, is expected to cost approximately $12 million. The renovation will use the UC’s existing single-floor footprint and introduce a new brick facade. In a significant departure from the current building, certain areas will feature high ceilings,

Drink It In

BY AMY VAMES

some vaulted and soaring to 24 feet. “We’re going to be able to—literally— raise the roof,” says Kopas. The still-evolving plans also call for a radical and highly flexible reconfiguration of the space: The snack bar expands and moves out front, where the pool tables are now; the bookstore moves to the Commons to make way for a new lounge with a fireplace (sweet!); and student meeting space shifts back to the area vacated by the snack bar. The Pub will take over a larger space, the bookstore’s current back office. Environmental stewardship is also steering the project, says Kopas. Massive windows will let in more natural light, and more efficient lighting and ventilation systems will be installed to conserve energy. “We’re pushing for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification, at the silver or maybe even gold level,” says Kopas, who admits he also covets a “bio wall,” an interior wall of plants that cools air in the summer and humidifies it during cold weather. “That totally depends on fundraising,” says Kopas, laughing. “It’s not part of the budget.”

Larry Schneider has tasted and served thousands of wines in his career as a sommelier. Here are seven of his favorites, priced from $20 to $40:

Sommelier to the Stars: Schneider recommended wines to Yankees players.

How to Stop Wining

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Dry Creek Vineyard, Dry Chenin Blanc. The picnic wine to end the debate.

Russian Hill, Syrah. Like eating a freshly baked blueberry cobbler.

BY CHRISTOPHER HANN

KSS Architects LLP. Facing Page: George Tenney

at drewmagazine.com

In the redesigned UC, an entrance tower will usher students into soaring interior spaces.

A year ago Larry Schneider was overseeing the launch of gourmet dining at Yankee Stadium. Today he’s studying the Holocaust at Drew. FTER SUPERVISING THE OPEN-

ing of the exclusive Legends Suites Club during the inaugural season at the new Yankee Stadium, the capstone to a long career in restaurants, Larry Schneider’s next career move seemed obvious: He would enroll in Drew’s Caspersen School to pursue a doctor of letters degree in Holocaust and Genocide Studies. OK, maybe not so obvious. The 40-year-old certified sommelier was offered the job with baseball’s most storied franchise in January 2009, not long after moving to New Jersey. Although Schneider had little experience as a restaurant manager— wine was his forte—he found himself in perhaps the most prestigious such posting in American dining. He hired and trained the 275-person staff for the field-level restaurant, where membership starts at $500 per seat per game. From time to time, Schneider found himself tending to the gastronomic whims of club members Billy Crystal, Rudolph Giuliani, Jay-Z and

their deep-pocketed brethren. Although he’s a Cubs fan, says Schneider, a Chicago native, “It was still really cool.” So how does a World Series–class purveyor of wine and victuals become a postgrad in Holocaust studies? Schneider says he’s always had an abiding interest in the Holocaust. “Being Jewish and hearing about the Holocaust all through growing up,” he says, “it was something I always studied on my own.” His girlfriend persuaded him to continue his studies, so he started classes in January. He spent spring semester doing an independent study preparing for a Center for Holocaust/ Genocide Studies seminar he’ll give this fall on Reagan’s visit to Bitburg Military Cemetery. Ultimately, Schneider says, he’d like to work as a lecturer or researcher, preferably in a Holocaust museum. “So far it’s a very wonderful experience,” he says of his time at Drew. “I couldn’t have chosen a better change in my career path.”

Emilio Moro, Tinto Fino. A sumptuous bouquet of licorice, black currants and jammy cherries.

5 6

Basilisco, Aglianico. The rich black plum, prune and spiciness of clove and black pepper make you demand a rib-eye steak or loin of venison. Tinto Pesquera, Rioja. A sexy wine with layered blue and black fruits. Avalon, Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Imagine you are drinking rich Bing cherry juice out of a metal straw and a puff of cocoa powder blows in your face. Molly Dooker, The Boxer. I can drink this while watching a baseball game, which I do often. —C.H.

Spring 2010 15

Into the Forest | Sports

INTERVIEW

Sloane Coles C’11 The Grand Prix equestrian and All-Landmark Conference lacrosse player on show jumping, falling off her horse and keeping it real. BY ALEX LANGLOIS C’03

Introduce me to the sport. I do show jumping, which is

Athletic SHORTS WOMEN’S BASKETBALL (15–11) got off to a 9–0 start and was one of eight teams to compete in the ECAC Metro Tournament at season’s end. The Rangers upset number-two seed, St. Vincent, before losing in the semifinals to NYU. Sophomore Danielle Barber C’12 took home first-team allLandmark Conference honors as she led the Rangers in five offensive categories.

what you see sometimes on TV. My parents were both professional riders, so that’s how I got into it. Today I compete at the Grand Prix level. I’m a professional, so I only compete against professionals. Are you familiar with Michael Bloomberg’s daughter, a fellow equestrian? Georgina is one of my good friends. Show jumping looks incredibly dangerous. You have to trust your horse. It’s just getting in the ring, getting the experience. And I’ve been lucky and gotten that experience. I want to compete at the highest level, and I want to show in Europe. It’s amazing competing against all the best riders in the world. Ever had a nasty fall? When I was little I got my foot [caught in] the reins. I fell off, and the pony took off and went through all these jumps and fences, and I was dragging behind. I looked like a rag doll. I had two scars on my arm, and I tore ligaments in my foot, but I didn’t break anything. What’s your schedule like? I fly out every Wednesday

night to Wellington, Fla., near West Palm Beach. It’s the equestrian capital of the world. So you get in Wednesday and compete Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday? Yeah. I fly back either Sunday night

Jonathan Newton/Washington Post; Chris Pedota

or early Monday morning. How do you take classes? I take a couple seminars that

only meet once a week, and then my other class meets Monday and Wednesday. And you squeeze in lacrosse. When I came to Drew, I told Kim [head lacrosse coach Kim Christos] I wasn’t going to play. Kim sat down with me and told me we could work it out. Somehow we did, and I’m glad we did because it’s been a great experience being on the team here.

Point guard Danielle Barber scored 321 points this season; guard and sophomore transfer Terrell Brown scored 310.

MEN’S BASKETBALL (7–18) saw a great rookie campaign from Terrell Brown C’12, Landmark Conference co-Rookie of the Year. He finished ninth in the conference in scoring, averaging just over 12 points a game. He also ranked in the top five in the conference in field-goal percentage and offensive and defensive rebounds. FENCING hosted NCAA Middle Atlantic and South Regional Fencing Championships where two Drew fencers placed in the top 15. Alex van den Bergh C’11 placed 12th in the men’s épée tournament while Katie Galpin C’12 finished 14th in the women’s épée. WOMEN’S SWIMMING had standout performances from Kati Eggert C’11 and Selena Davis C’10 at the Landmark Conference Swim Championships. Eggert finished fourth in both the 50-yard and 100-yard freestyle, while Davis took sixth in the 200-yard backstroke.

Are you looking forward to graduating in 2011? The horse-show world is such a different place. I’ve always used school as kind of an outlet, and I think I’m going to miss that.

Coles, a native of The Plains, Va., is majoring in sociology. Spring 2010 17

Into the Forest

Mr. Drew! IVE INTREPID SOULS— (clockwise from left) Tim Lane C’10, Kelechi Ugochukwu C’10, John Feniello C’11, Sulia Mason C’10 and Zach Bunda C’10— competed this spring for the 2010 Mr. Drew crown. The event raised funds for both a local child suffering with leukemia and Haiti relief. While the judges won’t say, Lane’s minimalist approach in the sleepwear category may have helped him snag the title.

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THE DEVIL WAS IN US

Daniel Uhagaze T’08 escaped Rwanda’s genocidal madness, fleeing to the safety of a refugee camp. But that was before he was branded a Tutsi spy, stabbed and left for dead.

Edel Rodriguez

BY JOHN T. WARD

Spring 2010 21

he minivan that Bahati Daniel Uhagaze T’08 steered into a spot outside a T.G.I. Friday’s one afternoon last year was no Chrysler Sebring convertible, the car he tagged on his Facebook page as “Ma Baby.”

Peter Murphy

Uhagaze’s mother was Tutsi, his father, Hutu.

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Now that, he says with a broad smile, was a sweet ride, an open-topped taste of the American Dream. But the dream dies hard sometimes, and Ma Baby turned out to be a real heartbreaker, demanding one repair after another before she became too costly to hold onto. Anyway, his minivan suited him just fine, Uhagaze said, the windshield reflecting the red-and-white stripes of a restaurant awning. Besides, what’s the relative luxury of automobiles to a survivor of Rwanda’s 1994 genocide? Uhagaze (pronounced “yoo-huh-GAH-zee”) had come to lunch to talk not about cars but the horrors that wiped out nearly a tenth of that country’s population in just 100 days, his own mother and a sister among the 800,000 slaughtered. It’s a story that he would parcel out in his French-marbled accent with no small amount of reticence. But over a mesquitesmoked turkey and bacon sandwich in a noisy strip-mall restaurant, and continuing periodically over the ensuing months, he would also shed light on what can become of a refugee from unfathomable bloodlust when fate tosses him up onto America’s shore, soon leaving him with a master’s degree in divinity studies, a car he can’t afford to fix and a bicycle to ride to his two minimum-wage jobs. Yet even as he sometimes longed for the simplicity of his home village of Nyanza, where, he explains, “everyone always had something to eat” because every family grew its own crops, Uhagaze said he felt fortunate to be in the United States. After all, he was alive and pursuing ordination as a Methodist minister to fulfill a promise he made to his creator in exchange for sparing his life.

“I am not a victim,” Uhagaze says. “The people who died, they were the victims. I am blessed.”

Bahati: His father had given him the Swahili word for “lucky” as a first name. But “lucky” is not the word Uhagaze, now 33, uses to explain how he survived when so many died. He attributes that to divine intervention and sees the genocide as the work of its opposite. “The devil was in us,” he says. “The devil planted its seed, and it grew up and consumed the humanity. People became animals and savages.” Today, Uhagaze says, forgiveness is key to preventing a return of rampages that tore through the country in 1959, when longoppressed Hutus seized power from the reigning Tutsis, and again in 1994, when the Hutu Power movement stoked fears that the Tutsis were bent on revenge and re-enslavement of the majority. Still, tribal tension had almost no presence in Uhagaze’s boyhood, he says. Born of a Hutu father and Tutsi mother and raised as a devout, Bible-carrying Seventh Day Adventist, he grew up in relative comfort with six siblings in a small mud-and-brick house on “big land” covered with banana and potato fields. His paternal grandfather, though a Hutu, had been a devoted employee of the last Tutsi king, close enough to the monarch “to be able to insult his hunting skills,” Uhagaze says. His mother’s father, a Tutsi, had managed to pass as a Hutu after the revolution and win respect as a mayor. At the government-run boarding school where Uhagaze was a 10th-grader excelling in biology and chemistry, there was little evidence of inherited enmity among Tutsi and Hutu boys.

Spring 2010 23

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In mid-May, Uhagaze and “the entire town” left, heading toward a French-controlled zone in the southwest. “Everybody was walking,” he says. “There were goats, cows, sheep being stepped on by cows. Children crying. It was like Exodus.” Along the way, he peeled off from his mother and older sister, Katherine, heading with another sister, Gemma, and her husband, Zacharia, for Zaire, where Zacharia had friends. Theirs became an epic journey. At a roadblock, Gemma, who has the long-nosed features of a Tutsi, was unable to produce her official ID card, the type that since 1935 had indicated whether one was Tutsi or Hutu. The guards started shooting their AK-47s into the air, saying, “We got some cockroaches here.” When one lowered his weapon at Gemma’s midsection, Uhagaze pleaded for her life. “You can’t kill my sister. I followed her in my mother’s womb,” he says he cried, even as he was being beaten. “I am a Hutu. Here is my ID. Here is our father’s ID with all his children’s names here.” It was only the intercession of a passing school headmaster that prevented their being killed on the spot, Uhagaze says. Later, on his own in a refugee camp in Zaire, Uhagaze was accused of being a spy for the RPF, hauled off in the middle of the night, beaten, stabbed in the gut and left for dead. Passersby found him barely alive the next day and alerted the Red Cross, which nursed him back to health. Later still, a reunited Uhagaze, Gemma and Zacharia landed in a Zambian prison as undocumented persons. After six weeks there, he was sure he would die of starvation. Writing in the French-language Bible that he had carried all along, he pledged one night in September 1995 to devote his life to the Almighty if he survived. United Nations aid workers soon won the trio’s release, and Uhagaze spent the next several years in a refugee camp, cultivating rice and making clay roof tiles.

“

You can’t kill my sister. I followed her in my mother’s womb,” he says he cried, even as he was being beaten. “I am a Hutu. Here is my ID.

Uhagaze doesn’t know exactly where his mother, Zelpa, died, or who killed her. A “sweet, very Christian” woman who had endured widowhood, displacement and unfathomable loss, she was slain as she headed home from the French zone, thinking the senseless killing had ended. As to how, and who might have done it—it’s not something that’s even discussed. Uhagaze believes his sister Isabel witnessed the killing, but she has remained silent about what she might have seen. “There are many things Rwandans do not like to talk about,” he says. “They just tell you, ‘this person is gone.’” He arrived in the United States in 2000 as part of a refugee resettlement program and, impatient to get on with his life, earned his high-school

Peter Heineck. Facing page: Peter Murphy

The abrupt start of the killing was thus all the more shocking. On April 6, 1994, a plane was shot down as it prepared to land in Kigali, the capital. Among those killed was Rwanda President Juvénal Habyarimana, who was returning from signing a peace treaty with the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), exiled Tutsis led by now-president Paul Kagame. Who brought down the plane remains a mystery, but what’s clear is that extremist Hutus, angry over the prospect of sharing power under the treaty, had for months been stockpiling crude weapons and fomenting rhetoric hateful toward not just Tutsis but moderate Hutus. That night, electricity in Kigali was cut, and tens of thousands of otherwise average Rwandans, armed with machetes and nail-spiked clubs supplied by the government and stoked by hateful propaganda broadcast over the nation’s most popular radio station, took to the streets after the “cockroaches.” “I remember a journalist screaming in French on the radio, ‘People are cutting, killing in the streets. It’s like surgery without anesthesia,’” Uhagaze says. “We were in the village wondering, ‘What the heck is going on there? How can people kill each other like that?’” Two weeks later, refugees from the massacre began flooding outlying villages like Nyanza, the wave of rage close behind. The menace came barreling into town on four wheels. Uhagaze tells of a carload of Hutu militiamen and government soldiers racing past the sweet potato field where he and his mother were working and onto the property of a prominent Tutsi family. Shots were fired, and the soldiers returned, triumphant. Local leaders who refused to participate in the spreading slaughter were summarily killed by the military, their bodies left in the street to let citizens know what awaited them if they also refused. Soon, mobs were going from house to house. If even one Tutsi was found among Hutus, all present would be killed. Uhagaze’s aunt and uncle on his mother’s side were killed. A young Hutu uncle had a wife who was a Tutsi; when the uncle banded a group together to check on his in-laws, 17-year-old Uhagaze went along. They found the family murdered—all but a 4-year-old daughter, who was “still breathing” despite savage machete cuts. She survived. “In my area, it swept,” he says of the violence. “In two weeks, every Tutsi, now gone. Now people started hunting who else to kill.”

equivalency degree within months. He pushed himself through a bachelor’s program at Centenary College in just three years and segued into the M.Div. program at Drew, graduating in 2008. Though he, too, remains reluctant to discuss his Rwandan nightmare, Uhagaze says he feels his ministry now compels him to do so. He once sat on a panel with Dith Pran, the late New York Times photographer who survived the Pol Pot genocide in Cambodia, and has addressed criminal justice classes at Centenary about the violence directed at women and children. “People want to know how it was to be in the midst of genocide,” he says. “People want to know how it felt to see members of your family being killed. But I don’t find ways to express when you hear machetes crushing the bones, you hear people screaming or somebody tells you, ‘your school friend is lying dead. They just killed him.’” Of course, audiences also look for insight that might help them comprehend the incomprehensible, something he, too, wrestles with. “I still feel that maybe there was supposed to be another way,” he says. “To hit each other in the face but not to cut the neck. It was not supposed to go that way—not to kill your neighbor.” Uhagaze favors the efforts of President Kagame, whose RPF returned from 35-year exile to recapture the government and end the genocide, to bring about a hybrid of justice and reconciliation. Kagame is overseeing a controversial experiment using local, informal courts known as gacaca (pronounced “ga-CHA-cha”)—tribunals often held in the open air by local citizens, sometimes at the scene of killings, and without the help or hindrance of lawyers and judges. In exchange for full confessions—including details about who they murdered, where, when and how—killers may win their freedom from the country’s teeming prisons and return to the communities in which they committed their atrocities. It’s an imperfect system, engendering no small amount of bitterness, but necessary and “something to build on,” Kagame told the New Yorker last year. Uhagaze is keenly aware of how divisive gacaca has been. At the time of the T.G.I. Friday’s lunch, he was dating a Rwandan woman who was adamant that the killers should be prosecuted and jailed. The issue, Uhagaze said with regret, was increasingly a flash point in their relationship.

”

Several months later, Uhagaze relaxed at a Dunkin’ Donuts a couple of blocks from the house he was sharing with two roommates in Madison; he didn’t know it yet, but within weeks, he’d wind up working at the doughnut shop, supplementing his part-time job in the produce department of a supermarket. He’d shed 30 pounds. He and his girlfriend had split, he said, “because of differences in our backgrounds.” Careerwise, Uhagaze found himself stalled, hoping for an appointment as a pastor to a church, but the near-term prospects didn’t look good. With the economy ailing, older ministers were delaying retirement, and other ordination candidates— natives without challenging accents, for starters— seemed better positioned than he was to get whatever spots might open up, he says. So he was planning a trip to Ohio, where there are clusters of Rwandan immigrants in Columbus and Dayton, and hoping to network his way into a church job, as soon as he could get together the cash necessary for the trip. Over coffee, Uhagaze returned to an earlier topic: naming customs in Rwanda, where no two members of a family have the same last name. Inspiration, not patrimony, rules the day. His last name, he says, translates from Kinyarwandan as “the one who is still alive,” though it’s less triumphant than it sounds. Instead, it’s more a reminder, he says, always to be patient. Says Uhagaze, “It means, if you are still alive, still breathing, you can find what you are looking for.” John T. Ward is a Red Bank, N.J.–based freelance writer.

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e c n a t s i s Re t n Move me Jill Cermele C’92 never imagined she’d teach young women to defend themselves. But her seminar on gender violence has become a big hit. By Leslie Garisto Pfaff

HE VIDEO IS UNSETTLING: A YOUNG WOMAN, A DREW

Students in “Gender Violence and Women’s Resistance” learn how to ward off assailants both verbally and physically.

Bill Cramer

student dressed in a black T-shirt and loose-fitting yoga pants, confronts a man whose size and bulk lend him the appearance of a superhuman adversary in some particularly violent video game. As he moves in closer, the woman throws up her arms, elbows bent, forearms shielding her face. “I don’t want to talk to you,” she says, and then, shouting as he takes another step: “You need to leave me alone.” But the man lunges toward her. She screams “No!” as she pushes his chin upward and back with the palm of her hand. “No!” again as she kicks him in the groin. He doubles over, affording her a chance to get in another kick. She takes it—“No!”—and he’s down. To the resounding applause of bystanders, the young woman steps back, beaming.

Spring 2010 27

This may not be your idea of a typical college seminar, but over the past decade the course, “Gender Violence and Women’s Resistance,” has become a popular offering—with a perpetual waiting list—from Drew’s psychology department. It delivers the potentially subversive message that women confronted with violence can and should resist. “People talk about how women can prevent and avoid violence and what to do after it’s occurred,” says Jill Cermele, professor of psychology and the course’s instructor. “But until recently, there hasn’t been much said about what to do when violence is in the moment.” Cermele’s office in Hannan House is filled with NO WHINING signs, along with emblems of female empowerment like a Rosie the Riveter doll and a plaque inscribed, “She believed she could so she did.” Cermele is a petite blonde with delicate features, but her passion for the class and what it communicates lends her an aura of no-nonsense determination. She radiates spunk. Maybe that’s because she’s been through the self-defense training herself or because she’s been consumed with the idea of women’s resistance since she worked as a trauma therapist at the Center for Family Resources in Metuchen, N.J., in the mid ’90s. One of her supervisors at the center first introduced her to Prepare, a New York City–based group teaching physical and verbal techniques for resisting violence. Cermele and her colleagues eventually incorporated the techniques into a group-therapy intervention. At the time, she never imagined it would one day become the focus of what she calls “the most important thing I teach.”

In fact, as an undergraduate at Drew, living in Foster Hall and majoring in psychology—and even later, after she’d gone on to graduate school at the University of Delaware—Cermele never envisioned herself teaching. “I’d always intended to be in private practice,” she says. “And then midway through graduate school, I started teaching, and I loved it.” When a position in Drew’s psychology department opened in 1997, she jumped at it. She was teaching abnormal psychology and research methods, and with her clinical background in trauma, she often talked to her students about violence. After she took a self-defense class in 1998, the idea of offering one to students, along with an academic component examining the literature on violence and resistance, was, in a word, irresistible. The course, she says, is predicated on research—including a 10-year study published in 2007 in the journal Criminal Justice and Behavior—showing that “fighting back significantly reduces the likelihood that an assault will be completed,” something many people, including her students, find hard to accept, at least initially.

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That intellectual resistance stems in part from traditional messages delivered to women about violence: Don’t resist, give your attacker what he wants and you’ll have a better chance of surviving. Cermele’s message also flies in the face of conventional visions of femininity. Cayley Barlow C’10 enrolled in the course in fall 2009 and even though she’d studied Tae Kwon Do for 12 years, she wasn’t convinced that she could

Bill Cardoni

Cermele’s course is predicated on research showing that “fighting back significantly reduces the likelihood that an assault will be completed.”

defend herself in a real-life attack. “You’re taught that women are the weaker sex,” she says, and that women should not fight back. The course convinced her otherwise, not so much through reading and analyzing the data, though there was plenty of that, but through the physical training itself. Barlow cried the first time she had to confront her mock attacker, but she emerged from the class with a sense of empowerment. “I’d never been more proud of myself,” she says. The course is composed of two distinct segments, the first 20 hours focused primarily on full-contact self-defense training. Students are expected to get physical from day one. If you’ve never been faced with two helmeted, super-padded instructors spewing obscenities, it’s hard to imagine just how difficult that can be. “So there you are in your yoga clothes, wondering what’s going to happen, and the adrenaline is building, and you’re thinking, ‘What if I can’t do this?’” says Rachel MooreBeitler C’06, who took the course in 2005. What gives the training its power is that every student in the class discovers that, yes, she can. The program, known as IMPACT and taught by Prepare, was developed by male and female martial artists who, having been assaulted, found that their skills didn’t translate to a real-life attack. So there are no lessons about pressure points or specialized kicks. Students learn which parts of the body can be used to inflict the most pain; where, on their attackers, that pain can most easily be inflicted (generally, the face and groin); and how to fight and think when they’re adrenalized, frightened, maybe even crying. While the goal is to fight to the point of disabling an attacker, students learn that they don’t necessarily have to go that far. Research shows that when you’re the target of an assault, one aggressive response generally ends the attack because most attackers aren’t in it for the fight. Often an attack can be avoided altogether, which is why the second part of the IMPACT approach involves verbal strategies. You’d think that would come as a relief after the in-your-face physical training, but many students find verbal confrontation particularly tough. Frequently, Cermele notes, “They’ll start out saying, ‘Can’t I just hit him?’” Two graduates of the course, Cermele says, have actually used their skills to fend off date rape. But even those who don’t face physical violence may experience other forms of aggression. “If someone at a party puts his arm around you and you don’t want him to, kneeing him in the groin isn’t the next step,” Cermele says. “The next step is saying, ‘Take your arm off me, now.’” An important element of the program, she says, is

Self-Defense 101 The philosophy that drives the IMPACT self-defense program is that people can—and should—learn to defend themselves against potential violence. The program is as much about defusing violence as using it against an attacker. Based on her experience with IMPACT and with Prepare, psychology professor Jill Cermele offers the following strategies for maintaining personal safety:

1 2 3

Trust your instincts. Before an attack, victims of violence usually have a sense that “something isn’t right.”

Get training in physical and verbal personal safety skills. The techniques

Learn about the strategies used by predators; an excellent resource is Gavin De Becker’s The Gift of Fear.

Never forget that you’re entitled to act in your own best interest, even if that goes against the interests or desires of others. It sounds simple, but many of us don’t stop to consider what our best interests really are.

are simple, but to master them, Cermele says, you need to learn them in a simulated assault situation. For more, go to prepareinc.com. —L.G.P.

teaching students how to assess a situation, determine risk and figure out which tactics will allow them to emerge safely. In fact, Cermele’s students emerge knowing a great deal more than how to respond to an attack. This isn’t just a self-defense course; it’s a college seminar. “We look at the theory and data from a lot of disciplines—psychology, sociology, women’s studies, criminal justice,” Cermele says. That means examining not just what’s known about women’s resistance, but also what’s assumed about it, often erroneously. A textbook for the course is The Gift of Fear by Gavin De Becker, a leading authority on self-defense. Last year De Becker co-authored an article in the Huffington Post bemoaning the “physical illiteracy” of most incoming college first-year students and advising parents to ask whether a prospective college offers “adrenaline-based, realistic-scenario self-defense training.” “When I read that,” Cermele recalls, “I said, ‘Yes! We’re here!’” But while she isn’t alone—a small but increasing number of colleges do offer classes in self-defense—few offer them for credit or with an academic component. Martha McCaughey,

Spring 2010 29

a professor of sociology at Appalachian State University and author of Real Knockouts: The Physical Feminism of Women’s Self-Defense, calls the class “unique and innovative.” “The combination of the intellectual with the physical is so effective,” McCaughey says. “When you get women to engage these issues at the bodily level, a whole new set of intellectual challenges comes to the surface.” Cermele’s graduates seem to agree. “So much of what you’re doing in the beginning of the course is so physical that you’re almost not processing it,” Barlow says. For many students, the physical engagement enhances the academic

can do that, then you can ask for a raise, you can ask your mother to stop calling you every day, you can tell your roommate you don’t like it when she brings her boyfriend in.” Even if you never have to face an attacker, Cermele says, the experience of the course “changes the way you move through the world.” That may be why Drew’s administration has been so supportive of it. It’s an expensive class to run: The IMPACT training alone costs about $25 an hour per student, so funding has always been an issue. After Cermele’s initial grant expired, she made her case to outgoing university president Tom Kean. Just before he left, Kean personally endowed the course. “I had talked to some of the students in the class, and they told me it changed their lives,” Kean says. “You couldn’t ignore something like that.” The endowment allows Cermele to offer the course every other year, in off years holding workshops for faculty and staff (the next one is scheduled for June). While some might question the academic value of a class in women’s self-defense, Kean clearly didn’t, and when you hear Cermele make her case for it, you can understand why. “I think of a liberal arts education as a way to empower students to go out into the world so that they can say what they need to say and accomplish what they need to and maintain their integrity,” she says. “And I feel that this course does that. Having that physical experience changes the way you think, and it changes your assumptions about what’s possible.”

“I had the feeling that this would be the kind of course that would make you see the world in a different way, and I was right.”

Last year Cermele’s gender-violence seminar went beyond academia into the community, which, for Barlow, added another level of understanding. Instead of writing a traditional research paper, students were offered opportunities for civic engagement. Barlow and a group of classmates worked at the Morris County Sexual Assault Center, revamping the center’s PowerPoint presentations on rape and sexual awareness. Denise Lang, the center’s coordinator, was particularly impressed with their passion to understand the dynamics of sexual assault. “Every single one,” Lang says, “came here with a dedication to find out more about violence against women and children in particular, and sexual violence as a whole.” It’s a dedication that isn’t likely to dissipate after the course is over. When she signed up, Barlow remembers, “I had the feeling that this would be the kind of course that would make you see the world in a different way, and I was right.” Cermele has stayed in touch with many of her former students, and she sees what she calls a “spillover effect” in their everyday lives. “Once you’ve fought back in a simulated assault scenario,” she says, “other things aren’t as hard. Because if you

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The course helps combat what one expert calls “physical illiteracy.”

Leslie Garisto Pfaff is a freelance writer in Nutley, N.J.

Bill Cramer

engagement: “You can read about violence and not really think it can happen to you,” Barlow says. “But after you’ve been in such an adrenalized state, you really can understand it a lot better.”

ver wonder how to escape from a straitjacket? Or uncork a bottle of champagne with panache? Or do you just need a little boost reaching the next rung on your career

ladder?

WE THOUGHT SO. We did the hard work of collecting—from

Drew faculty, staff and alumni—all you need to know to glide through life. By Christopher Hann • Illustration by Leigh Wells

Be a locavore Kim Peavey T’97 Owner, Hillside Springs Farm Westmoreland, N.H.

Spend a great day in Paris Marie-Pascale Pieretti Professor of French and chair, Department of French and Italian or time travelers: Musée de la Vie Romantique, the former home of the Dutch-born painter Ary Scheffer (1795–1858), which reflects Parisian life during the Romantic period, when Scheffer played host to the likes of Chopin, Delacroix and George Sand.

For contemporary art lovers: Le 104, or CentQuatre, a massive new museum (104 Rue d’Aubervilliers) exhibiting a head-spinning array of art forms. “It emphasizes the importance of making visible the process in which art is produced.” For fans of open-air markets: Marché Biologique des Batignolles on the Boulevard des Batignolles. “Everyone wants to communicate important information about the vegetables they’re selling, the modes of production, the quality of the asparagus.”

For devotees of decadent pastry: The legendary Pâtisserie Stohrer, founded in 1730 by Nicolas Stohrer, a pastry chef for Louis XV. Pieretti recommends the Baba au Rhum, a yeast cake (sometimes filled with fruit) soaked in rum. For those who come alive at night: Rue Oberkampf, in the 11th arrondissement, a street filled with bistros. “That’s where the new things are happening.” For something a little more elegant, try Café Chic, in the eighth arrondissement.

ommunity-supported agriculture, or CSA, generally refers to small farms that sell memberships to locals who, during the growing season, receive regular supplies of tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and whatever else the farm produces. To Kim Peavey, who grows vegetables, herbs, berries and flowers on about five acres of her 53-acre spread, one of the keys to enjoying a CSA farm is understanding the seasonal nature of its crops. Take sugar snap peas. “People have to know they’re only around for a four-week season,” Peavey says. The challenge, she says, is

getting people to taste food that’s grown naturally and in season so they know what it’s supposed to taste like. Just think of the difference between a fresh strawberry picked in the middle of June versus that overgrown yet utterly flavorless berry you find in the supermarket in January. Also, food grown naturally on a small farm will inevitably bear some imperfections. Get over it. “It’s not just about appearance,” Peavey says. “It’s about good taste.”

For café denizens: Pieretti prefers not to cite a single café. Instead, “just get to know one near where you’re staying and get the local flavor.”

B O T T O M LINE:

Eat the Baba au Rhum.

Die well Ginny Samuel T’75 Professor, Theological School amuel teaches a popular elective in the Theo School titled “The Landscape of Loss: Pastoral Care in Situations of Death, Dying and Grief.” It’s a subject she has some experience with. She spent four years as a hospice chaplain, counseling terminally ill patients through their final days. And she confronted her own mortality when, as a 40-year-old mother of two boys, ages 3 and 7, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. “I made a conscious decision that I would live my life without regrets,” Samuel says. “To do what I want to

do, be faithful in my relationships to people, to be kind, all those things that mean something to me.” Sounds like the secret to dying well is living well. “You bet,” she says. “Living authentically will, I believe, usher in a dying-well experience.” So what does dying well look like? Samuel believes dying in peace is the good death. “I’ve seen people die in peace,” she says. “Peace looks like, ‘I accept this, I’m not fighting it. I trust that there’s something beyond here, that God will be waiting for me on the other side.’”

Spring 2010 33

Communicate with alien worlds Find a job in this stinking economy

Robert Murawski Assistant professor of physics

Kim Crabbe

urawski, who taught a college seminar last fall called “The Physics of Science Fiction,” prophesies that radio signals represent our best chance. “Radio will travel through space unencumbered,” he says, “and it travels at the speed of light. Since we’ve been broadcasting radio transmissions for the past 60 years, it’s conceivable that a planet that’s light years away from us could pick this up and listen to us.” For years, Murawski says, the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) Institute, based at the University of California at Berkeley, has been searching for radio waves emanating from some as-yet-undiscovered planet. “The nearest star from us is 4.2 light years away,” he says. “That means that radio waves traveling at the speed of light would take 4.2 years to get there. If we wanted to communicate with them, the whole transmission would take 8.4 years. But that’s what this group does. They scan the heavens.”

Live your own best life James Hollis G’67 Jungian analyst, author of Finding Meaning in the Second Half of Life he second half of life is not so much a chronological event but a psychological encounter. It begins when you ask what are the forces driving you. “The recovery of personal authority is the central task of the second half of life. Namely, what is true for me, and do I have the courage to live that truth in the world? We all have so much traffic in our heads that discerning our voice from the many we’ve internalized is a lifelong process. This constitutes an invitation to a deepened conversation about the meaning of our own journeys. “Secondly, we are invited to pay more attention to the

“T

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promptings of our feeling functions, our energy systems and our dreams. All of these are autonomous expressions of the psyche’s intent. But we’ve learned to override them in the first half of life. “In the end, we want to have experienced two things. Namely, that we lived our life and not someone else’s, and that we stood in relationship to transcendent values. Those values will vary from person to person. For some, it will be found in nature. For some, through relationships. For some, through the work of hands. For some, through the life of the mind. Each of us has a different path through the dark wood.”

Director, Center for Career Development

rabbe’s office serves mostly current students, but these days she’s seeing more alumni returning to the center to seek help with their next career move. “The economy has shaken up everybody,” she says, “so everybody is looking to redefine themB O T T O M LINE: selves.” It really is Alumni who who have lost their job, fear losing you know. their job or find themselves mired in an industry slithering down the toilet would do well to seek the center’s help. Crabbe says freshening up a dusty résumé is often a good first step. The center will not rewrite your résumé, but it will offer helpful advice. “If an alum has been out there for 10 years or more, it’s a more complicated process because the résumé is more complicated,” she says. “Sometimes what’s needed, truthfully, is a complete overhaul.” Last year Crabbe started a series of job-search workshops (two each semester) strictly for

alumni. Recent workshops have focused on interviewing techniques and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, a questionnaire widely used to guide job seekers to career options that fit their personality. “It gives you a sense of your natural talents and gifts and, knowing what they are, how to use them in the best ways for your career,” Crabbe says. Just about any job search will involve networking, perhaps the most successful job-search technique ever invented. Crabbe says she’s been working with Drew’s Alumni House to build a network of alumni mentors to help fellow Drewids

find their dream jobs. She also suggests that anyone looking to move up or move on join professional organizations and attend conferences. And she’s a big fan of LinkedIn (linkedin.com), the online networking program. Today’s job market, Crabbe says, has only made networking more important than ever. It really is who you know.

Spring 2010 35

Get out of a straitjacket Cliff Gerstman C’83

Sniff out bad data in the media

High school physics teacher by day, magician by night

modern-day Houdini, Gerstman has earned a reputation for his ability to extract his upper torso from the snug confines of a straitjacket (he’s even done so while aboard an aircraft at zero gravity). No doubt such a maneuver has obvious benefits. Gerstman agreed to provide step-by-step instructions, but be warned: He insisted on keeping certain trade secrets—in his words, “deeper secrets”—close to the vest. Disclaimer notwithstanding, here goes:

Sarah Abramowitz Associate professor, math and computer science

H Find more college financial aid Renée Volak Director of financial assistance irst the bad news: Volak says the popular notion that a secret stash of financial aid lurks somewhere in the shadows is something of an urban myth. Now the good news: Federal and state governments remain the two largest lenders to students, and New Jersey, through the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority, offers one of the most generous aid programs of any state. All students applying for government aid of any kind need to fill out what’s known as the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, at fafsa.ed.gov. Beyond that, Volak says students should cast a wide net. They should have their parents check into aid programs available through their employers. They should check with their churches, mosques or synagogues. And they should visit fastweb.com, a clearinghouse for financial aid opportunities. Finally, Volak says, review financial aid packages carefully, even if your child gets one from Drew. “If you want more information about why you got what you got, ask questions,” she says. “We don’t renegotiate packages. But if there are circumstances we’re not aware of, we need to know because it may impact how much financial aid you get.”

F First, bring your arms up and over your head. If the jacket is put on correctly, this is not as easy as it sounds. A tight straitjacket pins your arms tightly to your body, so lifting your arms takes a great deal of strength and leverage. The strap that holds your arms to your sides goes around your back, so lifting your arms over your head should cause the strap to come loose. Done properly, your arms will end up in front of you and, though still strapped together, will now be about 18 inches apart, allowing you to perform the next move.

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Reach around your back to undo the neck and crotch straps. Again, this is not as easy as it might seem, as your hands are gloved in thick canvas. Articulating with your fingers is all but impossible. Maneuvering through the canvas is just a matter of developing a sense of touch and pressure, so you can sense what you are doing. All the fine motor work is done behind the back.

Lastly, pull the jacket up over your head and off. This maneuver has been known to take some skin off with the jacket, as the heavy canvas drags on your arms and face.

B O T T O M LINE:

Do not try this at home.

ow can you discern the truth from surveys that may or may not be legit? Abramowitz tries to wade through the firehose of data unleashed daily on consumers of media in a seminar titled—what else?—“Four Out of Five Drew Students Recommend This Seminar.” Consider these factors, she says, when trying to decide whether to believe what you’re reading. Research design: Were the researchers truly independent? If Abramowitz reads a survey about breakfast cereal, she wants to know whether the cereal industry paid for it. “I’m really looking for conflicts of interest,” she says. Measurement: Which concepts were truly under study? As Abramowitz says, “It’s all about how the questions are asked.” Data analysis: “The biggest issue is going to be people reporting either the mean or the median to try and mislead you,” Abramowitz

says. She recalls a newspaper story that reported the typical wedding cost $30,000. But the story relied on a survey that used the mean (or average) wedding cost, which meant that million-dollar weddings skewed the final figure. Using instead the median (the middle point in a list of numbers), the typical wedding came out to $15,000. Data reporting and farfetched conclusions: Beware of conclusions derived from faulty leaps of logic. Abramowitz’s current favorite target is a national campaign to encourage families to eat dinner together. So far, so good. But the campaign claims that kids who eat dinner with their families are less likely to have drug or alcohol problems. That may well be, but it doesn’t mean that the family dinner plays a direct role in a kid’s ability to avoid a life of addiction. In Abramowitz’s world, that’s known as drawing a causal conclusion from a correlation. And that’s not good.

Spring 2010 37

Uncork champagne with style Jason Tesauro C’93

Keep the planet in balance Sara Webb Professor of biology and director, Environmental Studies and Sustainability program surprising number of seemingly innocent plants and trees can spread out from backyard gardens and wreak havoc with nature. Here are a few examples of what happens when non-native, invasive species are allowed to flourish: Norway maple trees invade undisturbed forests and suppress diversity in a hostile takeover; purple loosestrife, a lovely flower that blooms all summer, damages bird habitats in wetlands; and oriental bittersweet and wisteria vines clearcut the forest by literally choking trees to death. All of these and more are freely sold at most garden centers, so beware. Before buying new shrubs or trees, check lists of invaders provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (usda.gov), the National Park Service (nps.gov) and state native plant societies. By taking the time to choose native plants, trees, shrubs and wildflowers, you’ll help restore the entire ecosystem, from butterflies to nutrient cycles.

Think like a Middle Easterner Nora Colton Professor of economics and acting chair, Department of Economics and Business Studies

olton has focused her professional life on economic conditions in the Middle East, where she has traveled extensively. Here are ways to view U.S. policy from the perspective of those living in what is a far more diverse region than commonly understood.

were a lot of expectations with the elecn “There tion of Obama as president. He made the trip to Egypt. He offered up a much more tolerant foreign policy toward the Middle East. But the feeling on the Arab street is it’s all the same, it doesn’t matter who we elect because various interests in the United States will always dominate the discourse. There’s a sense of being let down, a sense of betrayal.” also need to play a more honest broker in n “We the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. I do believe U.S. foreign policy will always get back to the ArabIsraeli conflict. The vast majority of people who live in the Middle East are just as perplexed and unhappy about organizations such as al Qaeda. It’s not our going after these organizations that disturbs people. It’s the lack of any kind of resolution on the Arab-Israeli front.” the end of the day, people in the Arab world n “At would like to have democracy. I think they often suffer under regimes that are very oppressive, that use the language of combating terrorism to suppress them. A case in point is Yemen.”

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Co-author, The Modern Gentleman: A Guide to Essential Manners, Savvy and Vice

esauro fancies himself as something of a modern-day James Bond, minus the gadgetry, and among his enviable talents is the ability to properly saber a champagne bottle—that is, to remove the cork simultaneous with a thin ring of glass from the bottle’s neck—a practice whose origins Tesauro traces to Napoleon’s cavalry. “I think it’s great that gentlemen have a new wrinkle to add to their repertoire of woo,” he says. Tesauro recommends using the dull side of a large, heavy knife, although he has sabered with an iron file, a spatula, a tire iron, a lawnmower blade and an 1862 Confederate sword. This step-bystep guide will surely make you the hit of your next party, so woo on:

Start with a cold bottle of champagne. As the temperature goes up, so does the pressure. The warmer the bottle, the greater the chance it will explode in your face. Not smooth.

2 3

Remove the foil, leaving the neck bare, then remove the wire cage.

Lay the blade flat on the belly of the bottle, as if you’re about to whittle a hickory stick. Pressing firmly, slide the blade up the seam in one clean, fast motion, following the contour of the bottle up to the annulus. Tesauro likens it to a sharp break of the rack in pool. “It’s not how hard you hit the annulus,” he says. “But you’ve got to have some precision.”

For maximum effect, end with your sabering arm fully extended (and, presumably, still clutching your saber tool of choice).

Find the seam of the bottle and follow it to where the seam meets the lower lip of the bottle. This is called the annulus, and it’s your target area for sabering.

Freelance writer Christopher Hann now sabers at parties on request.

Spring 2010 39

He Made Those Housewives

Desperate By Christopher Hann

Musicals are your first love. How did that happen?

I loved musicals when I was in high school. I would do backstage crew because I wasn’t a very good singer. And I would occasionally act because in community theater in suburban southern New Jersey you never have enough guys. Anyone that’s got an X and Y chromosome and a pulse is sort of dragooned. How’d you start writing for the stage?

The spring of my freshman year there was a course being offered in writing for musical theater. It was a lab class on Monday nights at 7 p.m., three hours long. And I thought, “Wow, this is cool. I’d like to write a musical.” So I

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hooked up with another theater major that I didn’t know really well named Dan Studney C’89. And I asked him if he wanted to collaborate on a musical version of Jean Anouilh’s Antigone. Dan didn’t give me an answer for a while, so I supposed he wasn’t interested until we were both at a party and Dan was telling someone else about this awesome Antigone musical that we were writing together. Dan and I wrote a couple of musicals that got produced at the Kirby Theatre [then called Bowne Theater]. We specialized in wildly ambitious musicals that were far beyond the actual financial and logistical capacity of the Department of Theatre Arts to execute.

George Tenney

he occasionally apoplectic Emmy Award–winning writer Kevin Murphy C’89 on Hollywood, George W. Bush and baking pies for The Other End.

I knew I could double major, so it would be “ possible to mollify my parents into thinking I was doing

”

something that would eventually make me money. Let’s talk about Desperate Housewives. You were in on the ground floor, eventually becoming a co-executive producer.

I had finished shooting the Reefer Madness movie. This was 2004. I got a call from a colleague of mine, Tom Spezialy, and he said that he was doing this new show Desperate Housewives, and they needed someone to be a high-level writer-producer. So I met Mark Cherry [the show’s creator], and we shared a deep and abiding love of Stephen Sondheim. We hit it off. I was essentially head writer. I was the last person who would touch the script before it would go to Mark and Tom. I read that your favorite housewife is played by Felicity Huffman.

Murphy came back to Drew last year to accept an alumni achievement award.

I adore her. Why?

We were listening to “Joe’s Garage,” Frank Zappa’s brilliant, totally anarchic stab at writing a musical that was semiserious in nature. And Dan goes, “What about Reefer Madness?” And we realized that that was the perfect way to tell this outlandish morality tale but at the same time talk about things that were important to us, such as people who stand up on a podium and use religion and use fear and use their children as weapons against other people. This was a period when Bill Clinton was being attacked for really ridiculous reasons when he was trying to do really good things. And I felt angry about it. When we went to write the movie screenplay, Bush was in office. If I was angry when I was writing the first Reefer Madness screenplay, I was apoplectic writing the movie screenplay. The Bush administration gave a tremendous gift to us in making our drama more relevant.

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You’ve made musicals of Antigone and Reefer Madness, which is quite a range.

That’s without even touching on the musical version of Dennis the Menace, which I’ve written and we workshopped in Seattle in 2008, [or] Heathers, starring Kristen Bell. We’re also in negotiations to write a musical about the life of Cher.

Your wife [Noreen Halpern] is the executive producer of HBO’s Hung. Do you tell friends that you were the inspiration for that show?

Well, they had to downplay it a little bit because otherwise the truth would be implausible.

Would Cher play Cher?

No. It’s going to be dealing with her life, and one of the things that is really important to her is being able to tell her story in an honest, straightforward way using the facts of her life that have never been revealed. You’re also an executive producer of the new show Caprica on Syfy.

I was hired as a consultant. We did some rearranging, and I took over as showrunner. A showrunner essentially makes the day-today creative decisions for what we put on the screen, particularly with regards to text. I’m a huge, longtime fan of Battlestar Galactica. This show is a prequel. It takes place 58 years before the events of Battlestar Galactica, but it’s set in the same universe.

Courtesy ABC Media, Syfy. Facing page: George Tenney

I read that you and Dan were on a long car ride from L.A. to Oakland when you decided to write the Reefer Madness musical [which began as a stage play and was later made into a Showtime movie, featuring an Emmywinning song adaptation].

She’s wicked smart, cares deeply about her character, cares deeply about where her story lines go and she asks a million questions—and it’s never in a confrontational way in which you feel that you’re bumping up against preconceived notions.

Is there a best perk about being a success in Hollywood?

People feel safe about continuing to hire you for new jobs. You have a 2-year-old son, Carter. Do you work any differently now that you’re a father?

I try to balance what I’m doing because there’s a lot of stuff that he won’t be able to see for 10 years. For every Reefer Madness, I try to do a Dennis the Menace. I have another project, Green Monkeys, a children’s animated series. It’s something that Carter could enjoy immediately.

Do you always have two or three or four balls in the air?

If you’re successful, 90 percent of everything you develop never gets to see the light of day. At Drew you and some friends helped start The Other End, the coffeehouse in the basement of Sitterly. Did you know it’s still around?

I’m delighted by it. I was the original kitchen manager. I had to cook apple pies in bulk. Why Drew?

Partly because I knew it was a school where I could double major, so it would be possible to mollify my parents into thinking I was doing something that would eventually make me money. Then I could bait-and-switch them and add the theater major once I’d been here a month. So I acted the first semester. Then I saw the talent surrounding me, and I was like, “Oh shit. I suck.” So I never auditioned again. It sounds like there’s a direct line between what you learned at Drew and what you’re doing now.

It’s such an eerily direct line that I would hate to give people the impression that it’s just that easy. You know: “Come to Drew, and you’ll meet two longtime writing partners, and you’ll meet a professor who will help you launch your professional career, and suddenly they’ll introduce two courses that are exactly tailored to the thing you want to do.” There are no limits here beyond those which you set for yourself. My experience is the school will say yes to anything.

Murphy wrote for the first three seasons of ABC’s Desperate Housewives; Caprica (Syfy) is his latest project to air.

Freelance writer Christopher Hann teaches journalism at Rutgers.

Spring 2010 43

Classnotes

THE COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS

SADLY, WE REPORT THE DEATHS OF

Joseph Taylor C’37, Donald J. Renz C’50, David Logan Potts C’63, P’91, Shirley (Smith) Gilmore C’59, Calvin Ronnie Howard C’85 and Katherine E. Lynch C’00. See In Memoriam, pages 61–63. Hello, classmates! Toni and I moved 200 miles south from the cold, ice and snow of Prescott, Ariz. (at 5,200feet elevation), to the warmth of Marana, just north of Tucson. Yes, at times it does get to 110–115 degrees in the summer, but we can stay in our air-conditioned home or car, and until Prescott is sold, we can go there. We are now living in a “senior community,” which offers a great clubhouse, fitness center and other facilities plus lots of activities. Yes, there is a golf course, but I had to give that up years ago because of a balance problem. I’m taking Spanish lessons in a class of 15 and will participate in a discussion group focusing on the economy and the federal government. Our home is about half the size of the Prescott house, but it’s much easier to take care of. What’s your news? Drop me a note at our new address, 5120 West Desert Eagle Circle, Marana, AZ 85658, call 520.638.6765 or e-mail me at the address below.

42 Minatee, a music teacher in the Plainfield, N.J., public schools, will soon start her D.Min. degree at Drew.

Oh Happy Day What did it feel like when you heard you won the Best Traditional Gospel Album Grammy for Oh Happy Day? We had to pick up Dana, so we did not get to the awards ceremony until Elton John and Lady Gaga were performing, so we didn’t know we won. [The gospel category award is given before the main show.] I get a text, and it says, “God be praised.” And I said, “Oh, that’s so nice. My friend is so happy I’m here.” And then I get another one from my students saying, “Congratulations, Ms. Minatee.” So I said, “Dana, I think we won.” And she said, “Really? Let me text somebody.” So, she texts somebody, and when Beyoncé was coming out, Dana jumps up and says, “WE WON!”And we’re in there screaming. How did you start singing? I grew up in the First Baptist Church in Nutley, N.J. My former pastor, the late Rev. Lawrence Roberts, was the first AfricanAmerican producer for Savoy Records. And my mother is a member of the Angelic Choir that won a Grammy in 1962 for Peace Be Still. So I grew up in that environment. I was about 5 years old when they recorded that.

44 Drew Magazine I classnotes@drew.edu

Where did you meet Queen Latifah? We met about 20 years ago at the First Baptist Church. Her mother was in the choir I directed there, and Dana would come with her. We’re family now. Dana actually didn’t think she could sing. I said, “Dana, I believe you have a voice.” One Sunday I just called her up out of the audience and said, “Dana’s going to sing ‘God is Standing By’ with the choir.” She was nervous but she sounded great and has been singing ever since.

Ted Marks, proftedm@yahoo.com

What got Oh Happy Day off the ground? EMI wanted to do a compilation CD with secular artists and choirs. They gave Dana a list of songs, and she called me and asked what song she should choose and if we [Minatee’s Jubilation Choir, based at New Jersey Performing Arts Center] would back her up. I told her “Oh Happy Day” because we’ve done it with Ray Charles, I’ve sung it over in Europe, I know everybody loves the song. It’s been incredible, but we don’t do this for awards. We thank God for everything, but our purpose really is ministry. If along the way we get recognized, that’s wonderful.—reNée oLsoN

Noel Hansch was unable to attend Homecoming 2009 weekend last year but hopes all his fellow classmates had a great time. Mary “Hogan” Tamburello Nilsson reports that taking care of her 16-month-old great-grandson and invalid husband prevented her from attending her 60th reunion. She still makes lovely stained-glass items for friends and family.

at drewmagazine.com

49 Peter Murphy

Classnotes

The rev. stefanie r. Minatee T’07 and Queen Latifah—that’s Dana owens to her—won a 2010 Grammy for their take on a gospel classic.

ofﬁce of Alumni relations, classnotes@ drew.edu

Christmas 2009 brought a lot of news. Alice “Cappie” (Cappuccino) Gentile writes th that she and our class president, Bob, spend several months in New Jersey each year. Along with seeing many old friends, they celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary at a party hosted by church friends. Cappie reports that she and Bob still stay busy and active. While in

60 Reunion

Florida Cappie sings in the choir, exercises three days a week, enjoys red Hat luncheons and attends her Fortune Hunter Investment Club. Like many of us, she wonders why she has never found her fortune!

Eleanor and Walt Gallati started last year with a wonderful cruise to the western Caribbean. In February they spent a week in Ecuador with relatives, helping out at an orphanage in Quito. Despite problems with the recurrence of an atrial flutter, and later an emergency surgery for a ruptured appendix, the Gallatis stay involved with volunteer work, gardening, card clubs, pottery and reading. They also made a fall visit to Portland, Maine, to see their son and family and a Thanksgiving visit to Portland, Ore., to visit with their daughter and family. Diana “Dee” (Lum) and Bob Cunningham celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary with a 15-day, round-trip cruise from San Diego to Hawaii. They spend most of their time enjoying their children, grandchildren and their first great-grandchild. Peg and Howard Sanborn spent several summer weeks at their treasured Maine cottage. Howie reported on their six grandchildren, ranging in age from 7 to 26: “One is now in postgraduate work, two have fine jobs in Canada and two are in college. I think we should keep an eye on the 7-year-

old, who loves second grade, which is good because in first grade he begged his parents to let him quit school and get a job!” Joyce (Hart) Maynard tells of a short but wonderful trip to Paris with her daughter and granddaughter. The first of her 16 grandchildren will be married this summer. She spends a month in New Jersey with most of her five children for the holidays but lives the rest of the year in Florida, enjoying the pool, beach and great women’s club. Bill Dinsmore writes that he and his wife, Laurie, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary last year. Laurie still teaches art to young children, while Bill covers the home front by keeping busy at his church with work from the Christian-education area to the grounds committee to pastoral

Development and Alumni Relations VICE PRESIDENT Christopher M. Biehn cbiehn@drew.edu ALUMNI RELATIONS DIRECTOR Jeanne Marano jmarano@drew.edu ANNUAL GIVING DIRECTOR Linda DeTitta ldetitta@drew.edu PLANNED GIVING DIRECTOR Greg Ellmer gellmer@drew.edu

ALUMNI RELATIONS alumni@drew.edu 973.408.3229 ANNUAL GIVING giving@drew.edu 800.979.DREW ALUMNI HOUSE 36 Madison Avenue Madison, NJ 07940

Spring 2010 45

Alumni Homecoming Weekend 2010

Come home to Drew!

September 24–25 Whether you’re a current student or parent, graduated five years ago or more than 50, you’ll have great fun on Drew’s beautiful campus, catching up with old friends, making new ones and participating in the many activities offered during Alumni Homecoming Weekend.

There’s something for everyone: Connect with faculty at Alumni College sessions hosted by the College of Liberal Arts and the Caspersen School.

Check out the Alumni BBQ and Kids Carnival, with musical and student performances.

Participate in athletic matches, including soccer, rugby, lacrosse, fencing and more.

Catch up with old friends at the Pub or during your Class Cocktail Reception.

Dance the night away under the tent at the Alumni Dinner.

Celebrate your reunion! If you graduated in a year ending in “0” or “5,” join us as we honor your class. Visit your class page at drew.edu/homecoming.

46 Drew Magazine I classnotes@drew.edu

THE COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS

care. Two of his grandchildren are mulling college acceptances as I write this column. This is true of the Horner family, as well, with one in college and two to go next year. Perhaps we can report on the final decisions in the next column! Carole (Kreeger) Stone’s latest book of poetry, Traveling with the Dead, was published in 2007 by Backwater Press. Marjorie (Freeman) Hull reports that she has been happily retired for the last 20 years in Cambridge, Md. It is a small city off Chesapeake Bay. She is involved in an organization that gives historic tours of Cambridge and Lester. She invites any Drewids in town or the area to contact her. Joel Hemmendinger C’46 reported that James H.R. Davis passed away in October 2009. Classmates, this is our 60th anniversary year! Does it seem possible? We do hope that some of you will be able to return to campus for our reunion in September. In the meantime, your secretary for all these 60 years very much hopes to receive your news. I have not heard from many of you for far too long.

No matter how far away, returning to Drew is definitely worth the trip!

Classnotes

Did you know that I have a scrapbook ﬁlled with each and every one of our columns? If you want to know what we were doing in 1974, for example, just drop me a line. Anne Horner, 706A Constitution Drive, Durham, NC 27705

Save the date and watch your mail for more information coming soon.

Office of Alumni Relations 973.408.3229 alumni@drew.edu drew.edu/homecoming

Jeanne (Boyd) Richards’ husband, William, and son, Logan, passed away

in 2007.

ofﬁce of Alumni relations, classnotes@ drew.edu

Celebrating our 55th year since graduation, we were a small but lively group at the September reunion: Pat and Bill Berman from Morrisville, Pa., Marianne (Kirchkoff) and Warren Campbell from Pomfret Center,

Conn., Nan (Lawthers) Dreselly from Vernon, Conn., Larry Hepburn and me from Athens, Ga., Dick Hammond from Baton Rouge, La., Joan (Fisher) and John McLellan from Alexandria, Va, Grace and Bob McKee from Poughkeepsie, N.Y., Marion Pinsdorf from Leonia, N.J., and Nancy and Dick Rice from White Plains, N.Y. We had a fine time talking and reminiscing at meals, walks across the campus and cocktail gatherings. We applauded Dick Hammond for coming all the way from Baton Rouge to his first reunion as he proudly received the 50-year medallion from President Weisbuch at the Golden Oak Luncheon. Dick did not repeat his freshman feat—climbing on Francis Asbury’s horse, earning him the nickname “Hoppy” in 1950!

Dick was among a number of C’54 graduates who had been “lost” to the alumni office over the years and who were contacted and reconnected to Drew in 2009. I used computer data searches to find and then con-

tact Dick, Charles “Chic” Cross, Donna Jamison Grivicich, Ellie DeNike Heffner and Howard Thain. I learned that Chic Cross retired as a pilot for US Airways in 1986, and he and wife, Judy, now live in Willsboro, N.Y. Donna Grivicich retired from teaching, counseling and college administration, and in the 1980s moved from Michigan to Naples, Fla., with her husband, Bob. Ellie Heffner resides in Lancaster, Mass., and asks about class members from her dorm. She was truly sorry she was not well enough to make the trip to Madison. Howard Thain, with his vocal and piano accomplishments, has spent many years in musical performance. He is an associate of the Royal College of Music in London and spends part of the year abroad and part in Cocoa Beach, Fla. He was truly pleased to learn that the campus has a new center for the arts. A letter to classmates was sent by Pat Carnaghan Kroepke from Vero Beach, Fla. Ruth Brown Padawer sent greetings from Roslyn Heights,

Spring 2010 47

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THE COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS

N.Y., with copies of several of her recent watercolors featured in galleries. Cliff Edwards sent regards from Richmond, Va., and copies of his three books on Vincent Van Gogh for the Drew Library. Two of our classmatesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Charles Koomruian, of Youngsville, N.C., and Bill Warren, of Furlong, Pa.â&#x20AC;&#x201D; were recovering from surgery, and though they could not attend, sent e-mail messages for the class. Mary (Zoghby) Hepburn, mhepburn@ uga.edu

Charles Hankins Tâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;59,â&#x20AC;&#x2122;75 has been working with our veterans, including th those who served in Iraq. Ruth Zecchini writes that the past year was remarkable, and hap-

55 Reunion

pily it is over. She fell and broke her left hip, which was pinned; subsequently, she needed a total hip replacement. Sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s very much on the mend now and expects to be fully healed when the warm weather arrives. For the past 10 years ruthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been working on requirements to become a master weaver and has now ďŹ nished all but one last pieceâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;her master project, which she expects to complete by June. She eagerly looks forward to

this achievement and plans on attending our 55th reunion. I have had some e-mail correspondence with Sol Gittleman and Nish Najarian. Sol is still teaching at Tufts, his 45th year, and Nish is still going strong and teaching some classes at LIU. Since I am not yet retired, this gives me some consolation. As most of you probably

'BD FCPPL 5 J S F E P G V Q E B U J O H Z P V S J O G P S NB U J P O J O NP S F U I B O P O F Q M B D F "E E U I F %S F X 6O J W F S T J U Z "M V NO J $P O O F D U J P O T B Q Q M J D B U J P O C V J M U P O ÂĽ Q M B U G P S N B O E Z P V S J O G P XJ M M B V U P NB U J D B M M Z V Q E B U F U I F ' B D F C P P L P O %3 &F U 8 U I F O Q B T T XP S E Q S P U F D U F E P O M J O F D P NNV O J U Z G P S %S F X B M V NO J XI F O Z P V V Q E B U F Z P V S J O G P S NB U J P O P O ' B D F C P P L 4J H O J O H P O J T T J NQ M F 7 J T J U E S F X F E V B M V NO J B O E D M J D L P O U I F i 0O M J O F $P NNV O J U Z w M J O L G P S NP S F J O G P B O E J O T U S V D U J P O T 2V F T U J P O T /F F E Z P V S M P H J O J O G P S NB U J P O $P O U B D U U I F 0G m D F P G "M V NO J 3F M B U J P O T B U %3& 8 F U !OS F E X F E V P S

48 Drew Magazine I classnotes@drew.edu

know, Sol was also the provost at Tufts for many years but has given up that post. Nish proudly reports the birth of his first grandson, which he states keeps him busy. I also have an 18-month-old granddaughter, who is just about the sweetest little thing anyone could imagine. As a result, I can hardly keep my wife home with me! Nish reports that he is still playing golf twice a week, which is more than I can say, having given up both golf and tennis to become a couch potato. I also had some contact with Bob â&#x20AC;&#x153;Cubbyâ&#x20AC;? Tiger Câ&#x20AC;&#x2122;52, mostly concerning the passing of Jim Castenada. Cubby is retired and living in East Stroudsburg, Pa. I expect Warner Johnson Câ&#x20AC;&#x2122;57 and his wife, Joan, to arrive any day now to winter here in DeLand, Fla. Warner still plays in the Drew alumni baseball game every year, although last yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s game was canceled because the field was under repair. I received a nice e-mail from John MacLean. He had open-heart surgery in May 2009 but apparently recovered well and started traveling again in the fall. In October he spent two weeks touring Turkey and then spent two weeks visiting a close friend in La CoruĂąa, Spain. He planned to visit Israel and Jordan in February. He reports seeing some beautiful and historic places on his travels. Just a reminder: This year will be the 55th anniversary for our class reunion (now in the fall). I hope to be there, and I look forward to seeing as many classmates as possible. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m supposed to have knee-replacement surgery, probably in the summer, so I may be hobbling but still hope to attend. Best wishes to everyone! Bill ottinger, bottinger@landispa.com

Place: Rose Memorial Library. Time: Orientation week 1952. Speaker: Ed Fortney. He said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Look to your left. Now look to your right. One in three of you will not be here in four years.â&#x20AC;?

True to his prediction, the group that graduated was smaller than the one gathered in that room. Sally Lewis Almeida, Tom Putney, Bill Wilkins, Jane (Stackpole) Seeds, Mary Rohrbach, Claire Van Meter, Carolyn DuShane, Soupy Campbell, Bill Onderdonk, Lynn Lowden, Addie Fabian, Margie (Scotten) Hill, Ivan Clark, Christina Azzaro, Diane Braillard, Annette Dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Alessandro, Margie (Kelly) Brokaw, Carmen Carallo, Susan (KortĂŠ) Palmore, Matt Leach, Jean Nichols Pâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;85, Fran Petroff, Gail Kling, Diane Redfern, Patti Watts, Art Hosmer, Judy Bohnwagner, et. al., where are you now? You are still part of the Class of â&#x20AC;&#x2122;56! The word for next time: Books on Reserve. The whole class should be extremely proud of our record of ďŹ nancial support for dear old Drew. In case you missed the notice in the last issue, our giving totaled $127,704. The next closest class, 1980, gave $64,408. Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s keep leading the way!

Carole (Horncastle) Câ&#x20AC;&#x2122;58 and Dick James Câ&#x20AC;&#x2122;56, Tâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;59, in their new Endwell, N.Y., home, have reconnected with many friends from their earlier years in Endicott, N.Y. Caroleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s picture appeared with the Class of â&#x20AC;&#x2122;59 at their 50th reunion. They managed a cruise to the Caribbean as well. Jeanette Fenby and Bob Nida Tâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;56 grew wings and flew to Ecuador to visit their daughter Nan and her husband, Ken. The foursome then ventured to the GalĂĄpagos Islands. The Nidas also visited their daughter Anita and family in Virginia. Daughters Joy and Renee and seven grandchildren round out the Nida family. Dottie (Simpfendorfer) and Clyde Noyce supported the medical fraternity last year. Clyde has a pacemaker, had eye surgery, some skin surgery and goes for dialysis three times a week. Granddaughter Samantha was married in August. Dottie and Clyde now live in Arkansas with their daughter, Tina.

Flora (Robinson) and Bob Hullstrung Tâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;60 settled permanently into their Vermont home, emigrating with the Jameses out of Florida. Ruth (Schubert) and Roy Haynes continued their biking efforts last year, managing 257 and 830 miles respectively. The Schubert clan had a family reunion in Virginia in September. Roy can still be found in a corner of the chem lab at Wooster from time to time. Both are active with church duties and community organizations. Gayle Slater Falk has five greatgrandchildren with a sixth on the way. Granddaughter Jessie is a senior at Findlay University in Ohio. Gayle is active in her church, in the herb guild and with concerts and teas. Prunella Read Williams visited India with her daughter, Lynn, and son-in-law, Gautam. They saw lots of wildlife. Not happy with just a visit to the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;? country, Pru went for two â&#x20AC;&#x153;Aâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;sâ&#x20AC;?: Argentina and Alaska, including Alaskaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s northernmost city of Barrow. Somewhere in there she found time to attend grandson Markâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s graduation from Alfred University in New York, as well as get to California and Florida. Frank Deodene still puts in about three days a week at the Chatham Bookseller. He has an inventory of more than 21,000 books listed on the Internet. Son Chuck has had some crossword puzzles in The New York Times and works for the Oxford English Dictionary. Daughter Mary works at a bookstore in Peterborough, Canada. Mary Bouton Wilson traded in her old hips for two new titanium ones. They help Mary carry around and soothe her newest great-granddaughter. Debbie Norris Crouchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s grandson, Mitchell, plays football for Texas A&M. Debbie taught him all the right moves. Jean Barbour Peterson is very active, musically speaking, helping out in choruses and a folk orchestra. Lots of active grands, with Katie

enjoying her freshman year at Christopher Newport University. Jean went with a family contingent to Costa Rica and visited Drew friends in Florida. David Rein helped with the list of names at the beginning of this column. Thanks, DPR. Patty (Kiefer) Vander Schaaf and I, your secretary, had an active year on many fronts. Pattyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first brain surgery had to be followed by a second when a hole opened at the site of the first and allowed air to enter the cranial cavity. Two graduations: one at the University of South Carolina for grandson Nathan and one in New Jersey at the Magnet High School in Union County for grandson Mark. Nathan has been accepted at law school and Mark is a freshman at Rice. I am the treasurer for our residential association and also headed up the stewardship drive at our church. ronald Vander schaaf, van5256@ yahoo.com

David Hargreaves and his wife, Germaine, moved to Costa rica in November 2007 and live in a delightful part of the central valley. He writes that Santa

Ana is a busy little rural town just 15 kilometers from the capital, San JosĂŠ. He is still working in business with his son, thanks to the wonders of the computer and Internet. He also makes time to travel internationally and to enjoy the small, beautiful country of Costa Rica. He says if any class members want to know about Costa Rica, they can reach him by e-mailing ukinus1950@gmail.com or, if in Costa Rica, call him at 2582-2065. Helen Câ&#x20AC;&#x2122;59 and Jerry Nicholas celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with a June cruise to Alaska with their entire family. They had lots of fun, saw beautiful scenery and spent a few days in Seattle. Their daughter, Dawn, works with Credit Suisse and did a fantastic job

Spring 2010 49

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with their cruise arrangements. Jerry continues to serve on their condo board, and Helen is social chair of the condo pool club. Jo (Zimmerman) Wishart had cataract surgery in November and is enjoying better vision. I wonder how many of us have had our cataracts removed? I had mine removed in July but have lost a little of my peripheral vision. Is age catching up with us? Jo’s husband, Vern T’58, was honored by the edmonton Historical Board in November for his book What Lies Behind the Picture. He is

now working on a second book, highlighting the lives of Saskatchewan and William Flett and their lives in service of the Hudson’s Bay Company. Jo and Vern had a fabulous holiday in Kananaskis, Canada, golfing at Mount Kidd and Mount Larrett courses. They also stopped at Peyto Lake and Athabasca Falls and enjoyed the marvels of that part of the world. eleanor stearns, ebstearns@rochester. rr.com

Llewelyn Pritchard received the prestigious 2010 Father Robert F. Drinan Award at the American Bar Association (ABA) in February. The award recognizes an individual whose sustained and extraordinary commitment to the ABA’s Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities has advanced its mission of providing leadership to the legal profession in protecting and advancing human rights, civil liberties and social justice. richard edel, 7869 Crosswinds Way, Mount Dora, FL 32757; 352.357.9428

The Class of ’59 celebrated its 50th on a lovely fall weekend in September. Twenty class members and some spouses attended; we were each given a Drew backpack upon arrival. Friday featured Alumni College classes, followed by an all-alumni reception that evening at the Dorothy Young theater with passed hors d’oeuvres

50 Drew Magazine I classnotes@drew.edu

and assorted beverages served in the lobby. Corridors had scattered small tables where plenty of conversation ensued. If you ate enough hors d’oeuvres, dinner wasn’t necessary. Ronnie (Shepherd) Glick said she’s been retired “forever.” She travels a lot and just had a nice trip to Greece last May. Ben Powell and his wife, Edna, came just for that day, en route to visit grandchildren. Janet (Logan) Florin attended with her husband, Dick, along with Carol (Tulenko) Irving and her husband, Jim. Dick Kiefer said he still has a few research students in chemistry at the College of William & Mary. Jodi (Della-Cerra) C’60 and Peter Headley report that they ride motorcycles “all over.” Pete and Jim Riordan, who was there with his wife, Liz (Drysdale) C’60, made a mission of calling all class members over the summer to drum up attendance at our reunion and deserve a big thank you for their efforts. For the first time since commencement day, my two roommates and I were back at Drew together: Elva Shultis, at a reunion for the first time, Joan (Patchen) Naab, with her husband, Geoff, and two other third-floor Rogers House residents, Adma (Schneller) Ross T’01 and Lorie (Philibert) McConnell C’60. Joan and Geoff continue to enjoy their summer cottage in Maine. Lorie is a proud new grandmother and works hard to get book bags to kids in need. On Saturday we enjoyed a delicious luncheon in Mead Hall’s Founders Room (the room where Dean Morris used to have teas and the University Choir rehearsed), which featured a musical performance by a Drew a cappella group, 36 Madison Avenue, and a presentation by President Weisbuch to the 50th anniversary class. We each received a beribboned Drew medal, a picture frame and a copy of the senior portion of our Oak Leaves yearbook with the current

photographs and short updates we had submitted. One comment from classmates was that more of you should have submitted something. Following the luncheon, we had our class photograph taken on the beautiful front steps of Mead Hall. Dinner on that evening was again held in Mead Hall’s beautifully decorated Founders Room. We found out that much research had gone into ﬁnding the appropriate mural wallpaper from a period design that now graces the walls. Mead Hall truly shines in its restoration.

One of the most pleasant features of the weekend was the transportation Drew provided via minibus from the Madison Hotel to the campus. Carole (Horncastle) and Dick James C’56, T’59, Jim Mills, Cynthia (Harry) Bedell, Don Rathjens, John Carson, Dave Fults and his wife, Elinor (Schupple) C’62, Jim Moore and his wife, Ellen C’61, and Roger Navratil and his wife, Margaret, rounded out those in attendance. Roger proudly wore his green beanie dink. After dinner Ken Rowe and I laughingly recalled College Choir tours where we were fed virtually the same meatloaf dinner at each stop. The next year it was all chicken, with the Asian flu hitting many choir members. Last-minute circumstances kept three class members from attending: Don Cole, George Groom and Walt Lidman, who wrote later that his son, who’d broken his hip, needed hip-replacement surgery. Barbara Jahreis writes that she enjoys her pets, of which she has several, and is learning more about antique dolls and, recently, silver hallmarks to help identify them for her animal-rescue group’s thrift shop. Like most retirees, she volunteers in her community. On a sad note, Shirley (Smith) Gilmore passed away in Cincinnati. See In Memoriam, page 61. We extend our deep sympathy to Russ

and to her family. In August I enjoyed my first trip to Alaska from Vancouver, visiting Bouchart Gardens, sailing up the Inside Passage, including Glacier Bay National Park, then traveling by land to the pristine Denali National Park and Preserve. I want to go back! Let your fellow ’59ers catch up with what you’ve been doing. Please write your news to the alumni office. You can even do it online.

60 50th Reunion

ellen M. deLalla, edelalla@verizon.net

Marjorie (Terwilliger) Austin reports that she is enjoying retirement and doing well.

ofﬁce of Alumni relations, classnotes @drew.edu

Hello, classmates, from the Caribbean Sea on the way to transit the Panama Canal tomorrow.... Ken Wilson reported that he had a wonderful afternoon in August visiting Ward Landrigan at his country home in the hills of western Connecticut. Ken said that he and Ward hadn’t really talked in about 48 years, and it seemed as if only 48 hours had gone by—they just picked up where they had left off.

Elizabeth “Betsy” Feldman and husband, Leonard C’61, welcomed their second grandchild. Betsy enjoyed seeing Shelly Steiner C’61 and wife Marion; Suzanne C’62 and Ron Saldarini C’61; Shirley (Heller) C’62 and Irwin Bloch. I am making progress but still struggling with Facebook, so please send your news to my AOL address! Thanks, and I hope to hear from you soon. ellen earp Baker, eebaker@aol.com

Adding to his list of impressive achievements, Paul C. Friday, professor of criminal justice at the University of

North Carolina–Charlotte, was named senior research scholar for his many contributions to working with community-based coalitions. Paul is the elected chair of the CharlotteMecklenburg Drug Free Coalition, an 80-agency coalition of substanceabuse prevention, treatment and other agencies. More recently, Paul was named head of the International Institute for Justice Studies in conjunction with China’s Southwest University of Political Science and Law. Jacqueline shahzadi, J_B_shahzadi@ yahoo.com

Art Valenzuela wrote in November that he has taken a leave of absence th from Georgetown University to enter government service. He will be receiving an honorary doctorate from Drew at commencement on

45 Reunion

May 15. Bruce Littman has decided that, after the embarrassment of getting only two points during the alumni fencing match two years ago, he may try to come back strong this year, at age 72, and get maybe three points. On the already

accomplished side of his life, he now has three grandchildren. Two of them are deep in the mountains of Colorado. Their mother, Bruce’s daughter Gail, is a part-time ski instructor in Telluride. Another daughter, Julianne, has a sweet little girl in Philadelphia, who just recently saw her first snowfall, of 20 inches. Your corresponding secretary, Allen Hood, spent the fall and winter undergoing radiation and chemotherapy for cancer. I am now recovering nicely and looking forward to more travels with friends and family.

Valley Forge Expert | Nancy

Loane C’65

For Nancy Loane, all it took was a visit to George Washington’s Headquarters at Valley Forge (Pa.) National Historical Park and a simple question to ignite a passion to learn about the women of the 1777–78 encampment. “I toured Washington’s house,” says Loane, “then casually asked the park ranger: ‘Did Martha Washington sleep here?’ I was stunned to learn that she had.” Now, after 11 years of research and studying more than 500 Revolutionary War–era diaries, letters and records, Loane has published a book, Followingthe Drum: Women at the Valley Forge Encampment (Potomac Books, 2009), the first to fully tell the stories of the women of the camp, from Martha Washington and officers’ wives to cooks, prostitutes and slaves. A former Pennsylvania Commonwealth Speaker, Loane has given close to 100 lectures about Martha Washington and other women at the encampment. She is also a founding member of the American Revolution Round Table of Philadelphia and an honorary lifetime member of the Society of the Descendants of Washington’s Army at Valley Forge. Loane hopes that through her book people will acknowledge the work of the women at Valley Forge: “We speak today about the women in Afghanistan but not about the women at Valley Forge. These were the women with America’s first army, fighting for our freedom.”—samantha Pritchard C’10

Spring 2010 51

Classnotes

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Allen e. Hood, allen.e.hood@hitchcock.org

The recently established DREWnet site (drew.edu/ DREWnet) is another outlet for alumni to leave news and messages separate from the print version of Classnotes in Drew Magazine. Karin Krueger and Sarah (Gordon) Weathersby have both left notes on that site. Thornton Ash sent a message saying that when he and his wife, Kathy, moved to Carlisle, Mass., 25 years ago, they became friends with their neighbors, the Tomljanovich family. Now their friends’ son, Marc, is an economics professor at Drew so they get firsthand accounts of Drew news. Thornton has retired from the computer industry after many years, now dividing his time working on the town finance committee, sailing and traveling, particularly to historical sites such as Hadrian’s Wall, the Verdun and Waterloo battlefields and the Scottish Western Isles. He is in frequent contact with former Hoyt-Bowne roommate Ned Helms, with whom he took many trips to Europe. Thornton added that he and Ned both celebrated their 60th birthdays in Provence at a party organized by Ned’s wife, sally.

Gregory Rood was proud to report that both his children are attending Wakefield University. Daughter Cailyn graduated Davidson College in May 2009 and is currently at Wakefield Medical School; while son Douglas graduated Barnstable High School and is currently an undergraduate at Wakefield.

Joyce subjack, joycesubjack@ hotmail.com

Stephen Laufgraben’s oldest son, Mark, recently got married. For the past 25 years, Stephen has been working for Roswell Park Cancer

52 Drew Magazine I classnotes@drew.edu

Institute. ofﬁce of Alumni relations, classnotes@ drew.edu

70 40th Reunion

Everett Post P’95 was excited to share that his son is applying to Drew. Frances edwards, kc6thm@yahoo.com

Linda Carnes’ daughter, Chloe Michelle, graduated from Cushing Academy and has started as a freshman at Nichols College in Dudley, Mass. Meanwhile, Linda just returned from a friend’s wedding in France and is planning on attending Drew’s London Semester reunion. Thomas Hackett writes, “I’ve been working for IBM for 29 years. I have two grown children and enjoy music (classical, folk, jazz), photography, hiking, travel and lots of things I don’t have enough time for. I live with Linda, a wonderful woman I met in 2006.”

Diane Bourne, dianeholly@gmail.com; Patricia Jessop, pjessop@tulane.edu

Steve Lindahl and his wife, Toni, live outside of Greensboro, N.C. Steve’s novel Motherless Soul has just been published by All Things That Matter Press.

David Green, greendavid@aol.com

William B. Menczer is a publictransportation consultant and an adjunct faculty member at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. Since he retired from the U.S. Department of Transportation headquarters in 2008, he has been providing public-transit consulting services, primarily to PriceWaterhouse-Coopers and teaching for the National Transit Institute (a component of Rutgers) at various public transportation

agencies around the United States. He teaches introductory and advanced management/ supervision courses and another course in transit agencies’ mandatory reporting to the National Transit Database. Jane Simpson was very sorry to miss our 35th reunion in September. It coincided with Family Weekend at Bucknell University, where her younger son, Mike, is a freshman, planning to major in animal behavior. Older son, Will, is a junior at the College of Wooster. (Wooster is not in Massachusetts as they say in Ohio!) He’s majoring in sociology. Jane and husband, Carl Christiensen, are now ofﬁcial emptynesters and enjoying it. She sees

Leslie Karpf frequently and keeps in close touch with Julia (Fowler) Boynton, Diane Strom C’76, Elaine (Robertson) Warren and Susan (Maling) Zarbo. She has been working at Church & Dwight in Princeton, N.J., for more than 17 years and, with both boys in school, expects to continue working for at least a few more years. Outside of work, she participates in the bell choir at church and continth ues to be an avid reader.

75 35 Reunion

Mark Lang, mlang@langlaw.net

Please keep in mind our 35th reunion is in September. You’ll be hearing a lot more about it. I encourage everyone to register on DREWnet, the online community. It’s a great way to stay connected to Drew, classmates, etc.

robert Zwengler, robert.zwengler@ cbre.com

It was a pleasure to hear from Eileen (Waldman) Davis, who was my roommate in Hoyt-Bowne junior year. In June 2008, she and

her husband, Russ, moved from Pittsburgh to a new home in Rock Hill, S.C., about 15 minutes from Charlotte, N.C., where Russ was transferred as a pilot. They proactively bought an “early retirement” home by Lake Wylie and enjoy their neighborhood beach and ski boat. She and Russ together have six grandchildren, including identical twin grandsons. While they are primarily empty nesters, they treasure visits from their children, who live in Fort Myers, Fla., Johnstown, Pa., and Nashville, Tenn. We had a party last July 4 that included, among others, Marla C’78 and Paul Boren C’78, Oona Stieglitz C’79 and her husband, Lee Arbetman, and daughters, Amy and Gwendolyn, now 8, Kathy (Hyman) Floyd C’78, and Mike Boyle C’75 and his wife, Maureen, and their daughter, Kate, 5. In August, Chas, our daughter, Kate, and I visited Nikki Shomer C’78 and her husband, John Buchbinder, at their lovely weekend/summer home in East Hampton, N.Y. sitting around a crackling ﬁre on a deserted beach at night listening to music and looking up at a moonlit sky was particularly memorable.

Jenny Beaver wrote a book called Container Gardening for California. It is available on Amazon and at major bookstores. She is finishing another book for the same publisher on edible gardening for California. Her son, Jamie, is at Cal State-Long Beach. He was inducted into the college-level National Honor Society and is president of the philosophy club. Jenny and husband, Alan Tolkoff, hope to get back into the real estate business. For several years they were into fixing up and flipping houses and hope to do so again, taking advantage of current opportunities. 2009 was a big travel year for Laura Papa and Larry Babbin C’79. They had trips to Paris and Rome and visited Buenos Aires,

Santiago and Montevideo on a cruise to Antarctica. They also visited the Falkland Islands and Tierra del Fuego, Ushuaia, and sailed around Cape Horn on their cruise. Their son, Andrew, is pursuing graduate studies at Princeton, and their daughter, Aimee, is studying medicine at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. While Laura continues in her role as registrar of Monmouth University, she is using her law degree as a volunteer with Legal Services of New Jersey’s lowincome tax clinic doing pro bono work to help those with state and/or federal tax problems. Congratulations to Laura and Larry, who celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary in 2010! Tim Sperry thrives as a consultant to natural and organic food producers, and his wife, Lynne Tirrell, is still a professor of philosophy at the University of Massachusetts in Boston. Their son, Matt, is a sophomore at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn., majoring in philosophy, playing rugby (like his dad at Drew) and independently studying music. A 2009 family highlight was a trip to Ireland. Over the winter holidays, we heard from Sandi (Stanton) Sloane, husband Larry and children Will and Steph. We also heard from Karen (Marx) and Lloyd Hyman. After both retired in 2009, the Hymans moved from their longtime home in Montgomery, Ala., to Salisbury, Md. Their son, Louis C’09, is currently a student in Drew’s new MAT program. Their daughter, Elizabeth, and husband, Rob, welcomed a daughter—Karen and Lloyd’s first grandchild—Natalie Marie, last January. Speaking of Hymans, we spent New Year’s Eve with Kathy (Hyman) Floyd C’78 and friends in NYC. Kathy is now deputy director of investor education for the Securities and Exchange Commission.

She is commuting between Washington, D.C., and New York for the time being. Her son, Steven C’13, is a freshman at Drew, and her daughter, Connie, moved to Seattle in January, initially to attend Seattle Central Community College and then transferred to the University of Washington. Christine (Stack) and Paul Bell C’76 wrote me from their home in Jacksonville, Fla., that their daughter, Callan, is interning at a museum in Tallahassee this spring while attending college, and their son, Alex, is working full time and completing his undergraduate degree at night. Nancy (Baughman) Csuti and husband, Gene, juggle their regular jobs with running their farm in Granite, Colo. The Csutis’ booming egg business was temporarily shut down by a visit from a black bear that went after their chickens and turkeys until Nancy’s sister, visiting from out of town, killed it with a shotgun. They bought their first

pig this year, which joined their growing herd of yaks. They had their summer vacation in the Ozarks. By the tone of their holiday letter, Nancy and Gene clearly are very happy in their beautiful, historic mountain home. Ellie (Rosenberg) Portnoy’s daughter, Lara Portnoy C’08, is getting her master’s degree at Ben Gurion University in Israel. We hear periodically from Doug Goodman C’76, who lives in Walnut Creek, Calif. After firmly deciding that California is the state for him, he is hoping to sell the townhouse he bought while living here in Old Town Alexandria, Va. I hear from Brenda Yanni from New York throughout the year by e-mail. I have run into many of you on Facebook, too many to report here. Please send me an e-mail with your latest news!

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D. Beth Yingling, dbyingling@ hotmail.com

Tom Tani, 973.292.9334, ctsquared@ optonline.net

Gary Freed reported he hosted the Drew Atlanta Chapter holiday event at his house in early December, where they “pigged out on fresh stir fry and much vino.” C’78 attendees were Walt Shellman and his wife, Susan, Bob Beer C’76 and his wife, Cheryl, and Bruce Hershatter. Attending from other classes were Lori Ann (Olejniczak) Haydu C’85, Craig Keyworth C’80 and Kathy Forbes C’80. Bruce Hershatter also sent a note that Joe Rubacky ran the Marine Corps marathon in under four hours. He also said Gary Sousa is in Japan with IBM, eating healthy. I also received an e-mail update from Gary saying he has been there for a couple of years.

JoAnn Keatz moved to the Boston area in June, is working at MIT as a leadership giving officer and is loving every minute of her new life, before and after 5 p.m. She continues to enjoy exploring New England and the greater Boston area, from athletic and cultural endeavors to great restaurants and historic landmarks. Please join JoAnn and other alumni and faculty for planning and th attending upcoming activities in the Boston area. Log on to drew.edu/alumni/ regional/boston. She would love to hear from anyone living in or visiting the Hub at JoAnnKeatz@aol.com.

Martha Herrmannand I had a spirited e-mail exchange on the merits of some holiday movies out there. (We disagreed on the appeal of A Christmas Story but both gave a thumbs up to Bad Santa.) She

said her oldest son, Eddie, came home from his semester abroad in Spain, and she was extremely jealous thinking it was only yesterday she was doing that. She also saw Marla and Paul Boren and Barbara (Gauge) C’77 and Chip Gertzog C’77 for Christmas. Jim Miller checked in with news that he was going to be a grandpa again in March! His new grandson is named Benjamin Ronald Despain. His brother, Daniel James Despain, is 18 months old. As the saying goes, “When one door closes, another one opens.” Susan (Weidman) Moore began the candidacy process of entering the ministry in the UMC and began studies at Evangelical Theological Seminary in Myerstown, Pa. Keep the updates coming!

54 Drew Magazine I classnotes@drew.edu

80 30 Reunion

sandra Craig, pencraig@verizon.net

For the second time since 1980, I missed Alumni Weekend and the alumni rugby game last September when I traveled with Ralph Scoville and other Morris Masters RFC teammates to Bavaria. We did some sightseeing in Munich, checked out Oktoberfest, played in a six-team rugby tournament hosted by the Munich Old Boys RFC, mingled with the natives and scaled Zugspitze, the highest peak in C’77 and Germany. Rich Fisch Greg LeuserC’77 e-mailed me to tell me they missed seeing me at the reunion and wondered if their streak of being mentioned in the C’80 column would come to a halt.

Ralph and I and the Morris RFC are currently planning a trip to New Zealand in 2011 to coincide with the Rugby World Cup being played there. In November, Tom Keoughan hosted his annual post-Thanksgiving get-together at his firehouse home in Hoboken, N.J. Drewids in attendance were Edith (Wolf) C’86 and

her husband, Tony Marucci C’85, Jennifer and Mitch Kweit C’84, Chrissy (Koble) C’86 and Chris Van Cleef C’85, Nick Ungaro C’83, Robin Borst C’84, Bradley Toll C’81, Bob Joyce C’82 and his wife, Dana, Jennifer (Helton) C’85 and Steve Piniaha C’85, Mickey Green C’79, Steve Thompson C’83 and, flying in from points north and west, Tony Buttacavoli C’82. Over the Christmas holidays my family and I got together with Lisa (King) C’84 and Chip Nolet and their kids for dinner. Chip and Lisa’s oldest, Charlie, who is my godson, is applying to colleges and auditioning his bass-playing skills. Our 30th anniversary reunion is coming up in September. Keep an eye out for details. Drop me a line, and let me know what you’re up to.

Chris Walsh, chris.walsh@alumni. drew.edu

Ann Ormsby-Cary’s son, Charles, just started at the University of Chicago, pursuing a degree in economics. Ruth Sayward and husband, Gery Torborg, are happily living on the island of Vinalhaven, Maine. Don Voorhees has a new book, The Essential Book of Useless Information (Perigee, 2009).

82 83

Michael Lampert, mlampert@prbinc.com; Janet LeMonnier, janetlemon-

nier@ comcast.net

Mila Su accepted the appointment by SUNY– Plattsburgh president John Ettling to be the Cardinals’ new NCAA faculty athletic representative. Judith Campbell, jcampb6739@aol.com; William ehlers, ehlers61@yahoo.com

Susan (Pease) Gadoua authored her second book, Stronger Day by Day: Reflections for Healing and Rebuilding after Divorce (New

Harbinger, 2010). Susan enjoys life in Northern California and keeps in touch with Cindy Waneck, Jennifer Garrett, Susan (Koppel) Haviland and many others from the Welch 2 gang, as well as Oscar Goldman C’81, Matt Kirnan C’82, Stu Klugler C’82 and Kevin Mahaffey C’82. Hope to hear from more of you next time—don’t be strangers! susan (Kessler) Apter, apter4@ gmail.com

In April 2004, Paul Frank launched the ETFOX mutual fund, which he has managed since. Its portfolio is made up almost entirely of exchange traded funds. Lydia (Schafhauser) Sangree lives in New Providence, N.J., with her bond analyst husband, Harry, and their two children. A proud homemaker, Lydia is also a novice soccer coach. At our recent reunion, she enjoyed reminiscing with professors emeriti Vivian Bull and Perry Leavell, as well as Dean Edye Lawler, with whom she studied as a German minor. Speaking of our reunion, I can attest that those who attended seemed to have a great time, especially at the luncheon and dinner in the tent behind Mead Hall. We even got to dance the night away to songs from the 1980s played in our honor! With apologies to those not mentioned, here’s a partial list of those of us, besides Lydia, who returned to campus for that weekend in September 2009: Jim Bacchus, Bill Carney, Sue Clark, Roberta De Fiore, Eve Del Rio, Jim Diverio, Monique (Weggeland) Flynn, Sue Gunby-Hammond, Anne Hamilton, Roxy (Epling) and John Hammett, Donna (Filion) Hartley and her daughter, Laura Hook, Terri Kelly, Rob Kohn, Debbie (Guthardt) and Franco Labbadia, Jonathan Lander, Ari Levine, Annette (Patino) Marsh and her husband,

Mike Milligan, George Mullen and his wife, Chris (Celli) and Steve Ohnsman T’86, th John Passantino, Lauren (Oliveto) Santa Ana, Doug Schneller, Andy Shapero and Andrea (D’Auria) Vallandingham as well as newlywed Ken Vega and his bride. De Lacey Davis was honored at a ceremony that Saturday morning, and a number of us enjoyed Roger Verdi’s concert that Friday night.

25 Reunion

John Hammett, dochamm@aol.com

Colin MacDougal is proud to announce the birth of his first child, Justin MacDougal. Bill Pezzuti, billpezzuti @att.net

Congratulations to Sherry (Williams) Michalik, who welcomed her first grandchild, Madisyn Lee Kleiser, on Aug. 11, 2009. Sherry also writes that last summer she met up with Marc Scarduffa on one of his frequent Washington trips. They spent the time catching up on work, family and politics. Marc’s travel doesn’t stop in D.C. apparently because he e-mailed as he was boarding a plane from Lima, Peru, to Cuzco, where he was going to hike to Machu Picchu. After 12

years with Pfizer, he was recently promoted to vice president. Elizabeth (Gombach) Junod wrote to say she has a new job as pastoral associate at the Westside Presbyterian Church in Ridgewood, N.J. The part-time role is a perfect complement to the full-time work of raising Lilly, 9, Liam, 7, and Luke, 3. After many years home with her own children, Susan Curtin is rejoining the world of earlychildhood education. As of January, she began teaching pre-K in a small

private school very close to her home in Highland Park, N.J. The hours are ideal, the summers are off and she is looking forward to being appreciated for more than just the ability to chauffeur a minivan. As for her three daughters, ages 8, 11 and 14, they are currently being tutored in the fields of laundry and school lunches. In 2009, Brenda Rhodes ran her first 10K, then a few 5Ks after that. Brenda is also

taking steps to start her own nonproﬁt organization to help homeless and low-income individuals. In November, she was on MsNBC as

The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn. Ralph Waldo Emerson

ontributions to Drew s Annual Funds provide vital support to the University in the Forest and nurture the next- gen eration of Drew students. Installment pledge- pay ments made on a monthly, quarterly or semi-annual schedule offer a convenient, budgetfriendly option and can be arrangedthrough Drew or For personal more information, your online please contact Linda DeTitta banking service. in the Office of Annual Giving. 800.979.DREW giving@drew.edu

Spring 2010 55

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part of a national segment on volunteering. She also won the

President’s Volunteer Service Award again, this time the Lifetime Award, which is for more than 4,000 hours of volunteering. I look forward to hearing your news or catching up on Facebook. sandra Miller, sandraAMiller@aol.com

It was great to see so many of you at our 20-year reunion last September. It’s hard to believe that so many years have gone by since we were hanging out in the Pub! I had a chance to catch up with Anne Hahn-Smith while we both stayed with Jackie (Pestana) Malave during Alumni Weekend. Anne is still living in Benicia, Calif., with husband Steve and their three children, Madeleine, Elijah and Jackson. Jackie and her husband, Raul, live in Mountainside, N.J., with their three sons, Aidan, Jeremy and Gavin. We also spent time with Ann (Darling) Turner, who lives outside of Washington, D.C., and Peter Bunnell, who lives in Hoboken, N.J. The freshman girls from Welch 1st also had a minireunion at the class cocktail hour including Cheryl (Steele) Newcomb, Debbie (Backes) Grissmer, Cyndi (Radli) Keeting, Loredana (Pugliese) Cromarty, Stacy Fischer G’05, Kirsten Sutt, Jackie and me. Cheryl lives in Florida with her husband, Chris Newcomb C’90. She is an emergency-room nurse, and Chris is a manager at Enterprise Rent-a-Car. Their daughter Tiffany is a junior at the University of Central Florida; son Christopher is a senior in high school, being recruited for college baseball; and daughter Faith is in third grade. During the weekend at Drew, a group of us including Michael Carri , Peter Bunnell and Anne Turner took a tour of Hoyt and met the current students who live in our former dorm rooms. It was a

fun walk down memory lane! Other C’89 attendees at the reunion

56 Drew Magazine I classnotes@drew.edu

included Joe Somerville (who was still in rare form on the rugby field), Steve th Lemanski, Maryann (Miragliotta) and Mark Doherty, Eamon Lavin, Ed Moed, Tony Vela, Claudia Luecke, Martina (Nowak) McElroy, Dave Terdiman, Jamie (Tome) Pagliocco, Paul Hook, David Norton, Balaji Srinivasan, Michael Carri, Lauren Godfrey, Catherine Hay, Jacqueline Malave, Martina McElroy, Kevin Murphy (see article, page 40), Susanne Reardon and Ami Shecter. Congratulations to Ed Moed and Kevin Murphy on their alumni achievement awards!

20 Reunion

sue reardon, sreardon1@msn.com

Anne Marie Weber-Main, an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School, published her second book, Faculty Success Through Mentoring: A Guide for Mentors, Mentees and Leaders (Rowman and Littlefield, 2009). Her first book is The Research-Productive Department: Strategies from Departments that Excel (Anker, 2004). She says her Drew education gave her the foundation she needed to combine her dual passions for science and writing into a dream career.

ofﬁce of Alumni relations, classnotes@ drew.edu

Keith Feinstein is the partner and owner of Eureka Exhibits. His current exhibit is “Be the Dinosaur.” Joe Discher is the associate artistic director of the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey. He did casting for a documentary film and secured, among others, Edward Herrmann to narrate the piece. He was also

in the film as the voice of surgeon James Thatcher.

baby girl—Lucia Ann Ferlazzo—on May 3, 2009, with her husband, Matthew Ferlazzo.

Jennifer stanford, bonibaru@optonline.net

James Armstrong ’s play The Metric System premiered in May at Playwrights Forum in Memphis, Tenn., and is now published by Playscripts Inc. The play was also

After a whirlwind summer of 5K and 8K races and then bed rest, Vanessa (Allen) Sutherland and her husband welcomed a little girl, Sydney Sutherland, to the world on Aug. 5, 2009. Christina Carlson, cmcarlson@ optonline.net

In September 2009, Caroline (Jacobsen) Berdzik began a new position as assistant general counsel for Care One LLC, a national senior care company based in New Jersey. Although the new job comes with a longer commute, Caroline enjoys her new position and the excitement of her new responsibilities. Cynthia (Anderson) Ryan and husband, Jeff, welcomed a baby girl, Holly, on May 4, 2009. Graham Paine and wife Donelle welcomed baby girl Emily Paine in August 2009. Cassey Allen sent in news of her new position at Razorfish. Since August, Cassey has been working as part of the business development team where she focuses on global marketing initiatives. When not working, Cassey continues to enjoy hikes, cross-country skiing and exploring the Northwest. Cassey keeps in regular touch with Valerie Burdette, who is teaching high school English literature and leading her school ski and snowboard club in Northboro, Mass. Heather (Tobin) Abrams gave birth to a son, Tyler Joseph Abrams, on Nov. 21, 2009. Tyler weighed 7 pounds, 1 ounce, and was 19 inches long. Both Heather and her husband, Clayton Abrams, are adjusting happily to parenthood. I continue to miss the fun of working on the Classnotes with a partner. If anyone is interested in

Justin serpone C’01 married Angela McMahon on Aug. 1, 2009.

helping with the class column, please let me know. Thank you to everyone who sent in updates via e-mail and Facebook! Leah K. Parker-Moldover, leahkparker@ hotmail.com

Sara Scanga graduated in December 2009 with her Ph.D. in ecology from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse. She also welcomed a son, Robert Nelson Schirmer, to the family in January. Greg Colonna was promoted to second assistant chief with the Halesite (N.Y.) Fire Department.

read at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater in New York City in January. Caroline (Rugg) Garrison moved to Aiken, S.C., a couple of years ago. Her third child, Benjamin, was born Jan. 4, 2008. She recently opened her own law firm, specializing in the areas of domestic law and court appointments. Jen Jones received her M.S.W. from Smith College in 2002, became licensed to practice social work in the state of New Jersey in 2005 and is working for Summit Overlook Hospital’s Intensive Outpatient Program for psychiatrically ill adults. She also maintains her own private psychotherapy practice in Maplewood, N.J. Last spring, Sara Hall Phillips and husband Joe bought a house

in Columbus, Ohio. Sara recently began the position of acting deputy director of unemployment compensation for the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. Lastly, lots of baby news: Kerrie (Delaney) Swingle and her husband, Ron, had a girl, Kara Delaney Swingle, on Jan. 20, 2009. Sharon (Nielsen) and Marc Schuley had a girl, Paige Elyse, on Nov. 28, 2009. Erinn Beagin and her husband, Bob Bidabadi, had a boy, Braeden Patrick, on Dec. 29, 2009. Matt Verbarg and his wife, Stephanie, had a girl, Jacy Michelle, on January 4. Cathi (Corcoran) and Dhar Sreepada welcomed Kieran Patrick, born on Oct. 26, 2009. Christina (DiGeronimo) Master and her husband, Sameet, had their first baby, Mahlia, on Oct. 12, 2009. Daniel Ilaria, dilariaj@verizon.net

Robert Pasqua and his wife, Jacki, announce the birth of their second child, Vincent James, born Oct. 30, 2009. He joins his big sister, Maria Teresa, 21 months. Vincent was 7 pounds, 11 ounces, and 19 inches

Steve Santucci worked on the documentary Morristown: Where America Survived with NJN, which went national in March on the PBs family of stations. Steve also worked

with NJN and the Morristown National Historical Park in developing the content and format of the companion Web page and the educational material. Josh McKee is the head men’s and women’s tennis coach at Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y. Jessica Maccario received her master’s degree in adolescent education from Mercy College in New York in May 2009, but before she could attend graduation she had a

THE CAMPBELL-MAROTTA WEDDING, JULY 26, 2008 Front row: Christie ray-Marchetti C’01, Nick Marchetti C’01, e. Axel Larsson C’01, Pete Talarico C’01, G’07, Mike Marotta C’96. Back row: Charlotte Diffendale C’01, Christina Minkovich C’03, stephen Marotta C’01 (groom), Lauren Campbell C’03 (bride), Meg Desko C’03, Joy Kovacs C’02. Not pictured: Alec Fulop C’01, Jaclyn Green C’00, stephanie Lavorgna C’01, Kevin Missett C’99.

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THE ZIMATORE-DREHER WEDDING, JUNE 20, 2009 Kaitlin Notti C’04, Cal Dupre C’05, sarah Pope C’05, Justin Bernstein C’04, Lauren Nicoll C’04, Tamara Purwin C’04, Matt Dreher C’04 (groom), Carolyn Zimatore C’04 (bride), Alex Halpern C’04, Karen Mooney C’04, Brent Archer C’04, erica Nahm C’05, Corey Bunje Bower C’04.

long. Daari Bristol Daniels and her husband, Jayson W. Daniels Sr., just celth ebrated their son’s first birthday on January 16. Jayson Wynn Daniels Jr. (they call him Wynn) was born at New York Presbyterian Hospital. He was 7 pounds, 10 ounces, and 19 inches long. He was their own miracle on the Hudson! Jessica Appicelli and Eric Purcell had another baby, Andrew “Andy” Logan Purcell. Andy, named in part as a tribute to their alma mater, joins his big sister, Lane, 2. Andy also has two Drew alums as an aunt and uncle: Bill Appicelli C’04 and Mary Kate Appicelli C’93. Jessica, Eric and their family are enjoying life in Boston. Eric has been working for RBC Capital Markets for about three years now, and Jessica is taking a break from the workforce to raise their children.

10 Reunion

Kristy Materasso, kmiskoff99@alumni. drew.edu

Edward Dooley and wife Stacey welcomed baby boy Shawn Patrick Dooley on June 15, 2009. On March 30, 2009, Emily

58 Drew Magazine I classnotes@drew.edu

(Stine) C’02 and Jeremy Maisto welcomed their first child, Caroline Sophia. Margaret Wohltmann, margaret wohltmann@hotmail.com

The fall of 2009 was a busy time for our C’01 classmates. In September, Cortney Beiser-Riley Bozack started her own LLC called Bozack Physical Therapy and Wellness. Also in September, Tamera Ranney changed jobs from small commercial sales representative at the Hartford Insurance Company to account manager at Otis Elevator Company. In october, Tamera traveled from her home in Dallas, Texas, to Tuxedo, N.Y., for a wedding and visited Drew’s campus for the ﬁrst time since graduating. she reported that the new dorm looks really nice. Since it was

Parents’ Weekend, she was able to hear Professor Hans Morsink speak about human rights. Many little Drewlers were born in the fall of 2009. On September 25, Jake Thomas Rhine was born to Ginny and Jay Rhine. Jake weighed 9 pounds, 1 ounce, and was 22 inches long. He joins older brother Josh, 4, and sister Grace, 2. On September 26, Laura (Wood-

worth) Daniels gave birth to a beautiful girl. Kaitlyn Aerelie Daniels weighed 7 pounds, 13 ounces, and was 211/2 inches long. Both mom and baby are happy and healthy and doing very well! On October 28, Rob Siris and his wife, Kimberly, welcomed their first daughter, Katelyn Taylor Siris. She weighed 6 pounds, 10 ounces, and was 20 inches. The family lives in Yardley, Pa., where Rob teaches sociology, economics and world religions, and coaches lacrosse at Hopewell Valley High School in Pennington, N.J. Chelsea (Hoffman) Pashen and her wife, Rikki Pashen, also had a daughter. Carrie Frances Pashen was born November 4. Chelsea reports that all is well, as they try to catch up on sleep. Finally, Sara (Koepf) Csaszar and Greg Csaszar welcomed a new baby girl into the world on November 6. Her name is Clare Hudson Csaszar. Justin Serpone was married on Aug. 1, 2009, to Angela McMahon, who is the head women’s lacrosse coach at UConn. The couple is now living in Longmeadow, Mass. See photo, page 57. Stephen Marotta and Lauren Campbell C’03 were married on July 26, 2008, at Scotland Run Golf Club in Williamstown, N.J. They honeymooned in Scotland and now live in Brookline, Mass. See photo, page 57. Finally, congratulations to Maria E. Perez, who reported that she is halfway done with her pediatric gastroenterology fellowship and just recently found out that she passed her pediatric boards!

Maren Watkins-Calzia, MarenCalzia PhD@gmail.com

Ambre (Tousley) Dailey loves living in California with her dog and is very happy working at the Marin Literacy Program as coordinator of the F.L.A.G. ship Mobile

Learning Center. Ambre

was recognized on Nov. 11, 2009, by Cambridge Who’s Who for demonstrating dedication, leadership and excellence in education services.

Paige (Miller) Hackett was married on Aug. 8, 2008, and welcomed a baby girl, Dagny Justine Hackett, on Sept. 23, 2009. Audrey Tresham, a first-year master’s student at the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management at the University of California, Santa Barbara, has been awarded the Pamela and Fred Harris Prize for 2009–2010.

Stacy (Perlstein) Gallin and her husband, Stuart Gallin, who is currently a doctor of medical humanities student at Drew, welcomed their first child, Ethan Matthew Gallin, on Oct. 21, 2009. Stacy works th on her dissertation during Ethan’s naptime and is hoping to complete it sometime before he begins preschool! On March 30, 2009, Emily and Jeremy Maisto C’00 welcomed their first child, Caroline

05 5 Reunion

Sophia. David Lee, dlee@alumni.drew.edu

Allison Weigang and Douglas Silvestro were married in 2009. Carolyn Zimatore and Matt Dreher were married on campus on June 20, 2009. Carolyn is a college relations and diversity associate at Penguin Group. Matt is the director of distributor marketing at Rainbow Media Holdings. See photo, page 58.

Christopher Lotito has been accepted into the artists registry at the National september 11 Memorial Museum for his artwork “abessemori,” a mixed-media work of wit-

Classnotes

THE THEOLOGICAL SCHOOL

We sadly report the deaths of Leonard Thompson Wolcott T’43, Bennett Brudevold T’44, Arnold T. Herbst T’45, Harold Jenkins T’54, P’78, Richard G. Penna T’87 and Margaret “Margie” (Redmond) HammillHuffmon T’91,’96. See In Memoriam, pages 61–63. Howard A. Lyman T’45, retired UMC minister and pastor emeritus, is the author of the new book The Bigger Picture (AuthorHouse, 2009), about the destiny of human beings and the vital importance of the Christian faith, which, he states, is much more than religion.

40s

George W. Paterson T’55, the supervisor emeritus of the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education, received the Distinguished Service Award from the North Carolina Region of the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education. Norman Tiffany T’56 is on the board of Habitat for Humanity, the organization that builds low-income housing for families in need.

50s

Wallace L. Truman T’56 is lecturing and writing a daily history blog called “Bits of History Centered in Faith.” Walter H. Everett C’56, T’60 retired last June. He is now devoting his time to the abolition of the death penalty in Connecticut; his interest stems from the murder of his son 25 years ago. Alice Knotts T’69 recently published To Transform the World: Vital United Methodist Campus Ministries (United Methodist General Board of Higher Education, 2009) and Lifting Up Hope, Living Out Justice: Methodist Women and the Social Gospel (Frontrowliving Press, 2007). She works with the Wesley Foundation, serving San Diego State University.

60s

Barry Lambert T’73,’76 was called to be the pastor at the Woodlong Presbyterian Church in Sharon, S.C. Barry welcomes e-mails from his fellow classmates, revbarrylamber2@hotmail.com.

70s

David E. Wiley T’75,’76 is now a member of the Theological School Alumni/ae Board. Lee R. Wigert T’82 has been promoted to Department of Psychology chair at Hastings College in Hastings, Neb. Mark Slaatte T’84 attended the 2009 Tipple-Vosburg lectures. He is finishing his fourth year in ministry at the Ogden/Broadlands, Ill., churches in the Great Rivers Conference of the UMC and 25 years total in ministry. His father, Howard Slaatte T’45, G’56, is in a nursing home in Garner, N.C., and just celebrated his 90th birthday. The elder Slaatte has published 27 books in philosophy and taught at Temple University, McMurry College and Marshall University. Former Drew Professor Carl Michalson performed the wedding of Mark’s parents at Craig Chapel in 1951. Joy Witek Amick T’89 and her husband moved to Noblesville, Ind., finding the cost of living more manageable in Indiana, where her stepdaughter and family live. She’s

80s

Spring 2010 59

Classnotes

THE THEOLOGICAL SCHOOL

pursuing a master’s degree in library science online from Rutgers University, hoping to become a theological school librarian and combine her two interests. Modise MolefeT’90 just completed his ﬁrst feature movie, Unjustiﬁed Grounds. Check out the trail-

90s

er at imdb.com and YouTube—just enter “Modise Molefe” in the search

00s

field. Richard Bardusch T’06 became the rector of St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Taunton, Mass., in December 2009. Jeffrey Gamblee T’06 accepted a position as interim minister at First Unitarian Society of Westchester in Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y. Jeffrey was ordained to the Unitarian Universalist ministry in January 2009, by the congregation of Community

IN MEMORIAM

The Drew community and its alumni associations extend their heartfelt sympathy to the families and friends of those alumni and members of the Drew community listed. Our ranks are diminished by their loss.

Unitarian Church at White Plains, N.Y. Tamoya Buckley T’07 received her first pastoral appointment to St. John AME Church in Jersey City, N.J. James Korzun C’77, T’07 was installed as pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Gulf Shores, Ala., on Nov. 15, 2009. Ann (Connolly) Ralosky T’07 was called as senior minister to First Congregational Church in Montclair, N.J.

Classnotes

THE CASPERSEN SCHOOL

Ph.D.

At the age of 80, Peder Borgen G’56 stepped down after 13 years as president of the journal Novum Testamentum and the monograph series Novum Testamentum Supplements. The journal and the series are published by Brill Royal Academic Publishers of Leiden, the Netherlands. Peder and his wife live in Lillestrøm, Norway. John Mood G’69 published the book A New Reading of Rilke’s “Elegies: Affirming the Unity of Life and Death” (Edwin Mellen Press, 2009) on the German-language poet Rainer Maria Rilke, who John began studying decades ago at Drew. Bruce Grob C’73, G’84 and his wife, psychotherapist Banta Whitner, co-authored the book This Congruent Life: A Spiritual Ecology Practice (Outskirts Press, 2009), a guide to contemporary living. Kathleen Lowney G’84,’86 was appointed editor of the American sociological Association’s journal Teaching Sociology for a threeyear term. Kathe plans to continue

the journal’s strong leadership in the scholarship of teaching and learning.

60 Drew Magazine I classnotes@drew.edu

Linda Sue Galate G’93,’97, fellow of the Caspersen School, presented her research explaining an aspect of figural representation found in the Rome catacombs at the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) international meeting in Rome, which also marked the 400th anniversary of the Gregorian University. Linda had presented her preliminary research at the SBL meeting in Baltimore. Paula L. Cameron G’96,’02 earned tenure in September 2009 and was promoted to associate professor on Nov. 19, 2009, at Sullivan County Community College, N.Y., where she teaches in the liberal arts and humanities division. Carol Lynn Patterson T’07 reports that Jerry M. Carter Jr. G’00, T’07 is the conference lecturer at the Hampton Ministers’ Conference this year. He will be lecturing about homiletics. Past attendees included the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1962; the Rev. Wyatt Tee Walker of Abyssinian Baptist Church in New York; the Rev. T.D. Jakes and, in 2007, Barack Obama. Carol recalls Dr. Simpson taking some students to the conference for an intensive when she was a theological student.

D.Litt.

Jude Pfister G’07 published The Jacob Ford Jr. Mansion: The Storied History of a New Jersey Home (History Press, 2009).

Jeffrey Richards G’83,’85, the author of several books concerning historical and theological subjects, recently published War Time Preaching and Teaching (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2009). Mitchel Modine G’03,’06 is the author of The Dialogues of Jeremiah: Toward a Phenomenology of Exile (Gorgias Press, 2009), a study of the perceptions of the Exile in the book of Jeremiah, suggesting that the varied materials in the book represent something of the range of options available for understanding the Exile.

M.Phil.

On Nov. 6, 2009, Janet Handler Burstein G’70, ’75 celebrated the marriage of her son, Mark Burstein, in Darien, Conn. Janet retired from Drew as a professor of English. Her son is the executive vice president of Princeton University. James Rovira’s G’04,’08 first book, Blake and Kierkegaard: Creation and Anxiety, is due to be published by Continuum in June 2010.

M.A.

Courtesy Howard University

We regret to report the deaths of James Edward Cheek G’62 and Arlene I. Glasser G’95. See In Memoriam, page 61.

Bennett Brudevold T’44, served UMC churches in New Jersey and Minnesota for 40 years, 35 of them at Aldersgate United Methodist Church in St. Louis Park, Minn., married to Helen for 51 years, raised a large family, loved to travel and celebrated his 84th birthday in his ancestral home of Syvde, Norway, in 2001, of Venice, Fla., on Oct. 10, 2008; survived by his children, Duane, Keith, Jean and Susan. James Edward Cheek G’62, on Jan. 8, 2010. See story at right. Shirley (Smith) Gilmore C’59, married Russell Gilmore and graduated from Oklahoma University in 1959, during Drew days was a psych major, choir member, enthusiastic bridge player, resident of “Mad” House and all-around exciting, fun and kindhearted woman, of Cincinnati, on Aug. 18, 2009; survived by her husband, three children and four grandchildren. Arlene I. Glasser G’95, taught high-school English in Middlesex and Essex counties in N.J., retired last year after 27 years in the CaldwellWest Caldwell (N.J.) school system, adviser to student newspaper and student book club, coach to mocktrial team, cooperating teacher for many Montclair State University student-teachers, clinical faculty member of Montclair State University’s New Jersey Network for Educational Renewal and coordinator of this group for Caldwell-West Caldwell School District, of Montclair, N.J., on Dec. 11, 2009; survived by her husband, Brian; her daughter, Jessica; and her son, Seth. Margaret “Margie” (Redmond) Hammill-Huffmon T’91,’96, taught in the Washington, D.C., area following her marriage to Greg Hammill, ordained a Presbyterian minister in 1997, served two churches in New

Jersey, most recently was interim minister of Ramah Presbyterian Church in Huntersville, N.C., from February 2007 until July 2009, of Cornelius, N.C., on Nov. 26, 2009; survived by her second husband and Drew faculty member, the Rev. Prof. Herbert H. Huffmon; her three sons, Randall Hammill, Bradley Hammill and Jeffrey Hammill; two stepchildren, Allan Huffmon and Kristin Huffmon Borland; and five grandchildren.

Arnold T. Herbst T’45, UMC minister for 40 years serving in Deadwood, Brookings, Mitchell and Sioux Falls, S.D., and St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, served six years as district superintendent of the Sioux City District of the Iowa Conference and nine years as assistant to the president for church relations at Morningside College, Sioux City, also served as eldercare pastor for

James Edward Cheek G’62 | 1932–2010 James Cheek was not a large man, or a loud man, but his quiet erudition and the force of his beliefs combined to give him a commanding presence. That was true at Shaw University, at Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School and at Drew, where he received a doctor of philosophy degree in classical theology. But it was most obvious at Howard University, which he led for two decades. Cheek, who died Jan. 8, 2010, at the age of 77, in Greensboro, N.C., became president of Shaw at the age of 30. Within five years he stabilized the school’s finances and attracted many new students, feats he would repeat at Howard. His meteoric rise in higher education did not surprise his professors at Drew, according to Robert Bull, professor emeritus of church history and archaeology. “We knew almost at once that Jim Cheek was not headed for the pastorate,” says Bull. “He was a superb student, an excellent presenter who could teach the teacher.” Cheek arrived at Howard in 1969 with a reputation as a progressive educator bent on raising academic standards and improving the faculty. He succeeded, dramatically expanding the school’s facilities and increasing its budget. “Howard had been a small good school, but he really took it to a much higher level,” says Vivian Bull, Bull’s wife and a professor emerita at Drew. “He had a much larger vision for the university than it had of itself.” In 1983, Ronald Reagan awarded him a Presidential Medal of Freedom and he was later appointed Secretary of Education in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Drew awarded Cheek, who served on the university’s board of trustees, an honorary degree in 1971. He is survived by his wife, Celestine; a son, James Jr.; a daughter, Janet; and four grandchildren. —MArY Jo PATTersoN

Spring 2010 61

Classnotes

IN MEMORIAM

four years at First United Methodist Church in Sioux City, served on four college boards of directors, was a Mason for 50 years, of Sioux City, Iowa, on June 18, 2009; survived by wife, Fern, and sons, John and Alan. Calvin Ronnie Howard C’85, of Riverdale, Md., on Jan. 6, 2010. Harold Jenkins T’54, P’78, served as an instructor in radio communi-

cations for the Air Transport Command, later attached to the special services of that group, appointed to the General Board of Global Ministries of the UMC in 1961, served as treasurer and comptroller of the Commission on Education and Cultivation, became coordinator of systems and procedures in 1967 and instituted computer automation of

where he led a mission board with more than 2,000 missionaries in 100 countries and 9,000 medical, educational, evangelistic and relief programs; was vice president of the National Council of Churches, where he led delegations of church leaders in 1968 to Vietnam and in 1980 to the Middle East, missionary to China and Singapore, most recently active in Habitat for Humanity, hospice, Resurrection House and his church, of Sarasota, Fla., on Dec. 16, 2009; survived by his wife, Junia; sons, Tracey K. III, Robert V. Moss Jr. and Timothy J. Moss; daughters, Judith Watson and Deborah J. Breitenbach; nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Katherine E. Lynch C’00, started career with Ernst & Young as part of the IT STEP program, began as programmer and worked in various areas of application development within the IT organization, over the last several years contributed as software development specialist, was a charter member of Women in America’s IT group, valued member of the many teams with which she worked, of Lincoln Park, N.J., on Oct. 26, 2009. Richard G. Penna T’87, retired UMC minister, founding pastor of Genesis UMC of Fort Worth, Texas, other pastorates included First United Methodist Church of Waco

gift processing for the Board of Global Ministries, retired in 1989, of Leesburg, Fla., on Oct. 23, 2009; survived by wife, Marguerite, and daughters, Debra and Loren. Tracey K. Jones Jr., in his retirement served as Theo School professor, from 1968 to 1980 was general secretary of the Board of Global Ministries of the UMC,

Taylor moved on. He became a psychologist. Joe Taylor embarked on Husband. Father of two. Adjunct professor. Museum many pursuits after retiring as staffer. Cartoonist. “He had such joie de vivre,” says director of a Philadelphia child his daughter, Barbara Taylor. But a surprise awaited. welfare agency, including one A few years ago, classmate Herman Rosenberg as a writer and, more recently, C’37, a letterman himself, came up with a sweater blogger (joe1915blogspot.com). for Joe. The garment belonged to Rosenberg’s In a self-published memoir buddy Buck Newsom C’38, but had originally been completed shortly before his presented to Jim Frazer C’43. Frazer passed it along death, at age 94, on Dec. 5, 2009, after learning Newsom never got his sweater. in Salem, Mass., Taylor recounted “That sweater represents the spirit of true alummany of the lessons he learned in life. One involved ni,” says Rosenberg, 93. “Drew was a wonderful a bitter pill he had to swallow while a senior at Drew place for all of us. It opened up our world.”—MArY in April 1937. He attempted to make light of the experience, but the memory obviously rankled. Jo PATTersoN Taylor, an excellent student, had been awarded a trip to a meeting of the Academy of Political and Social Sciences in Philadelphia. As captain of Drew’s tennis team, though, he had a match on the second day of the meeting. Taylor decided to take a train to Madison after the morning session, play and return to Philadelphia. His coach, theology professor Stanley Hopper, loaned him $7 for the fare, to be repaid by graduation. Taylor won his match and saved up the money. Yet rather than repay the loan, he used it to take his girl to the senior prom. Coach, whom Taylor described in his memoir as “a Gary Cooper–like man, tall, slim, reserved, laconic … whose character had been formed around the moral questions that occupy the mind of a theologian,” refused to extend the loan. Worse, he denied The 1936–37 varsity tennis team, him a varsity-letter sweater. with Taylor (middle row, center) and Coach stanley Hopper (far right).

62 Drew Magazine I classnotes@drew.edu

active social life; started a second career as a businessman and realtor; upon final retirement from professional life, traveled to Europe, Mexico and throughout the United States and was an avid gardener, volunteer for the V.A. health care system and philanthropist for several charities; founding member of barbershop quartet One More Time and was a member of the San Diego Barber Shop Chorus, of Coronado, Calif., on Sept. 14, 2009; survived by his wife, Lisa; his son, Eberhard; and his brother, Eugene. Joseph Taylor C’37, on Dec. 5, 2009. See story, page 62. Leonard Thompson Wolcott T’43, United Methodist missionary to India, esteemed professor of missions at Scarritt College of Nashville, Tenn., from 1953 to 1980, served additional missionary assignments in Zaire and Ecuador, frequent conference speaker and lecturer, author of over a dozen books on Biblical studies, theology, poetry and Christian biography, several of which were co-authored with his wife, publisher of a number of articles in various scholarly journals and religious magazines, of Fairfield Glade, Tenn., on Nov. 5, 2009; survived by wife, Carolyn Mueller Wolcott; daughter, Joy Vaughn; and grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

1937 Oak Leaves

Joseph Taylor C’37 | 1915–2009

and Northwest Hills (Austin) United Methodist Church, of Austin, Texas, on Oct. 16, 2009; survived by his wife, Carolyn Kennedy Penna; daughters, Carrie DuVall, Andrea Fisher and Lindsay Wright; stepsons, Ryan, Travis and Foster Baird; and six grandchildren. David Logan Potts C’63, P’91, following a 20-year career as an attorney in New York attended seminary, was ordained a Presbyterian minister and for the last two decades served churches in Philadelphia and Ebensburg, Pa., and East Syracuse, N.Y., recently retired, always valued his Drew education and carried many fond memories of his Drew years, of Liverpool, N.Y., on Nov. 3, 2009; survived by his wife, Carolyn Potts. Donald J. Renz C’50, upon graduation from Drew joined the Navy, with assignments in many different locations including Washington, D.C., Norfolk, Va., Japan, Vietnam, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, San Diego and Coronado, Calif.; career highlight was participating in 1955 and 1956 as the navigator of USS Arneb, flagship for the first of several naval operations conducted in support of International Geophysical Year explorations in the Antarctic; upon retirement made a home in Coronado, Calif., where he and his wife had an

Spring 2010 63

BackTalk

Omar Rodriguez-Graham C’02 Next-generation painter I grew up in Mexico City. I lived in the suburbs of Philadelphia for a

few years with my grandparents. My mother was born and raised there. Other than that, I spent basically my whole life here in Mexico before going to college. I wasn’t looking at school to do art, to tell you the truth. I was looking to study physics. For some reason Drew always stuck out in my mind. My mother said she had a dream, and Drew seemed like the place. It seems kind of supernatural at times why I ended up there. What was really important to me was the transparency of painting,

where you could really see the process. I realized that the human mind has this capability of recognizing through symbols things that are so much greater than symbols. When I got back to Mexico, it was just when all the decapitated people started showing up. I could recognize in a severed head a whole body and at the same time recognize a whole person. There’s definitely a lot of [drug] violence in Mexico. It’s not something

I could have painted when I was living in New York or Philadelphia or New Jersey. It’s something that, upon returning to Mexico, just made sense. The Roman Catholic Church glorifies death. We have these very rich traditions in Mexico. So it’s not just a thing of sorrow, but a thing to celebrate. Art is more of a search through process than an imposition of an

image onto the artwork. I think it was de Kooning who said that oil paints were made to represent the flesh. It’s not opaque, and it’s not transparent. When you look at photographs of dead people or you look at meat, it’s got this luscious, sensuous feeling to it.—CHRISTOPHER HANN

In 2009, ABC News called Rodriguez-Graham one of Mexico’s “up-and-coming painters,” carrying on the tradition of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera.

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SPRING 2010 I Farewell, Dean Beach I Slinging Mud at Thomas Jefferson I UC Makeover Women Fighting Back I Producer Kevin Murphy C’89 on Fooling His Parents

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Drew I Summer 2010 and beyond MORE DREW EVENTS drew.edu/calendar DREW ATHLETICS drewrangers.com

24–25

August 2–6

September 24–25 Old friends, good times and sore muscles for the ruggers. Alumni Homecoming Weekend 2010 promises this and much more. Details, pages 4 and 46. drew.edu/homecoming 973.408.3229

drew.edu/mfaevent

July 26–28 Bone up on instructional strategies for ages 8–13 during the Teaching with Historic Places workshop. An Historic Preservation Certiﬁcate program. drew.edu/historicplaces 973.408.3185