Hotchkiss Magazine Fall 2017 by The Hotchkiss School

Fall 2017

the

ART of DESIGN

F a l l

2 0 1 7

Campus

n ec t i o n Board ofcon Trustees

Alumni Association Board of Governors

Charles Ayres ’77

Casey Reid ’01

Craig Bradley, Head of School

Miriam Gelber Beveridge ’86 VP and Co-chair, Gender Committee

Robert Chartener ’76, P’18, Vice President

Sirin Bulakul ’06

William Sandberg ’65

John Coumantaros ’80, P’16,’19

Adam Casella ’06 VP and Chair, Alumni Services Committee

Thomas Seidenstein ’91, President

Elizabeth Ford P’11,’13 Sean Gorman ’72, Secretary Robert Gould ’77 John Grube ’65, P’00 Elizabeth Hines ’93 Raymond McGuire ’75, Vice President Kendra O’Donnell Thomas Quinn ’71, P’15,’17,’19 Chris Redlich Jr. ’68 Jean Weinberg Rose ’80, P’18, President Thomas Seidenstein ’91 President, Alumni Association

COVER PHOTOGRAPH BY BRAD FAUS

Blake Ruddock ’12

Nathalie Pierrepont Danilovich ’03

Sheria Smith ’01 VP and Chair, Alumni of Color Committee

Charlotte Dillon ’10

Richard Staples ’74, P’10,’12

Marita Bell Fairbanks ’84

Thomas Terbell ’95

Meredith “Mark” Gall ’59

Michael Thompson ’66

Peter Gifford ’93

Carolyn Toolan ’97

Fall 2017

the

ART of DESIGN

Caldwell Hart ’87, P’16,’20 Secretary and Chair, Nominating Committee for Membership

EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS

Katheryn Allen Berlandi ’88, P’19 Past President, Alumni Association

Annika Lescott ’06

Edward Greenberg ’55 Past President, Alumni Association

Barrett Lester ’81

Rebecca van der Bogert

Nisa Leung Lin ’88

Gwyn Williams ’84, P’17, ’19, President, The Hotchkiss Fund

Nicholas Moore ’71, P’89,’01,’06

Daniel Wilner ’03

Paul Mutter ’87 VP and Chair, Nominating Committee for Awards

David Wyshner ’85, Treasurer

Emily Pressman ’98

Craig W. Bradley CHIEF COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER

Hellen Hom-Diamond EDITOR

Wendy Carlson

Jean Weinberg Rose ’80, P’18 President, Board of Trustees

MAGAZINE DESIGNER

Julie Hammill

Gwyn Williams ’84, P’17,’19 President, The Hotchkiss Fund

WRITER & DIGITAL CONTENT PRODUCER

Chelsea Edgar ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS

12 The Class of 2017 EFX Lab

VIDEOGRAPHER AND DIGITAL MEDIA SPECIALIST

14 The Art of Teaching Design

WEBSITE AND DESIGN MANAGER

Margaret Szubra CONTRIBUTORS

Roberta Jenckes Roger Wistar

PHOTO BY WENDY CARLSON

The Hotchkiss School does not discriminate on the basis of age, sex, religion, race, color, sexual orientation, or national orientation in the administration of its educational policies, athletics, or other school-administered programs, or in the administration of its hiring and employment practices.

Board of Trustees: Front row, left to right: Chris Redlich, Becky van der Bogert, Liz Hines, Craig Bradley, Jeannie Rose, Kendra O’Donnell, Gwyn Williams, and Jan Ford. Back row, left to right: John Coumantaros, Tom Quinn, Roger Smith, John Grube, Charlie Ayres, Robert Chartener, David Wyshner, and Sean Gorman. Not pictured: Bob Gould, Ray McGuire, Tom Seidenstein, and Dan Wilner.

F E AT U R E S

Danielle Sinclair

Tyler Wosleger

M a g a z i n e

HEAD OF SCHOOL

Craig Bradley, Head of School

Keith Holmes ’77 VP and Co-chair, Gender Committee

Roger Smith ’78, P’08

H o t c h k i s s

Brooke Harlow ’92

Chip Quarrier ’90 VP and Chair, Communications Committee

Hotchkiss Magazine is produced by the Office of Communications for alumni, parents, members of the faculty and staff, and friends of the School. Letters and comments are welcome. Please send inquiries and comments to: The Hotchkiss School, 11 Interlaken Road, Lakeville, CT 060392141, email magazine@hotchkiss.org, or phone 860-435-3122.

18 Designers, Architects, and Artists

Who Are Shaping Our World 19 Nader Tehrani ’81 26 Takemune Takuma ’98 23 Spar Patton ’02 28 Fred Cray ’75 24 Gail Bernard von Staden ’86

32 A Car Named Hotchkiss 34 A 125-Year Tradition of Helping Others 36 125 Years of Football 40 Annual Report D E PA RT M E N T S

4 Campus Connection 54 Class Notes

82 In Memoriam 88 Parting Shot F a l l

2 0 1 7

From the head

o f sc h o o l LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

A Farewell to Elms

“That ethos of craftsmanship runs deep at Hotchkiss. We strive to instill in our students the value of thoughtful, persistent work, of doing one’s best, no matter the task.”

Head of School Craig Bradley in his woodshop in the basement of Frank House

W 2

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

section of a log. A newly cut log can have between 35 and 50 percent water content, and the first turning is also called “wet turning” because so much water is released in the process. After the first turning, you seal the bowl and put it away and return to it several months or even a year later, when it has mostly dried out, and put it back on the lathe to “finish turn” the bowl. During the months the wet-turned bowl is drying, it warps, so it needs to be re-turned and made round again, then sanded and finished. I have wet-turned a few pieces of the old elm and will finish-turn them next summer. I also set aside a few more pieces to use with students and colleagues in a winter woodturning workshop.

PHOTOS BY WENDY CARLSON

hen students returned to campus this fall, they found some differences from the campus they’d left in June: the parking lot at the MAC had been repaved, and construction of the new Class of 2017 EFX Lab in the science building was nearing completion. The other significant change to the campus was not something new or renewed; it was the loss of the big old American elm tree that stood proudly on the southeast corner of the Edsel Ford Memorial Library. Like so many elm trees in Europe and North America over the past century, the elm succumbed to Dutch Elm disease and needed to be cut down. Fortunately, new hybrid varieties of elm that are resistant to the disease have been developed, and we have been planting them on campus over the past few years. There are a few Princeton variety American elms planted just south of the Frantz Student Center by the Main Circle. When the old elm was cut down, my friends in the Facilities Department kindly dropped off a few small logs for me to turn into bowls. I enjoy woodworking, particularly woodturning, and have a lathe set up in a woodshop in the basement of Frank House. Bowl-turning is a two-step process, and, depending on the size of the bowl, one might wait one year between the two steps. The first step is to rough-turn the bowl from a

Craftsmanship is an ethos with which I approach my work and family life. It’s about the daily discipline of working carefully and thoughtfully, paying attention to the details and continually trying to improve. That ethos of craftsmanship runs deep at Hotchkiss. We strive to instill in our students the value of thoughtful, persistent work, of doing one’s best, no matter the task. Examples of this spirit of craftsmanship abound here. Perhaps the most enduring example is the practice of lower mids writing Daily Themes, one of the defining academic experiences at Hotchkiss. As has been the case for generations of students, the purpose of the exercise is to learn, through daily practice, to read closely, think clearly, and express one’s thoughts cogently and succinctly. Daily Themes also teach students the value of revision, which they come to see as integral to the writing process. Revision is as integral to writing as re-turning is to bowl-turning. The tradition of Daily Themes instills in our students the craftsman’s spirit, what the Japanese call shokunin kishitsu. A shokunin is one who understands that excellent craftsmanship requires discipline, practice, patience, and tenacity. My sincere wish for all of us at Hotchkiss — students, faculty, and staff — is that we approach our time here with a spirit of craftsmanship, that we see ourselves as pursuing mastery in our work, paying attention to the details, and reflecting on how we might go about our work and lives — whether that be turning a bowl from the old elm or writing yet another Daily Theme — in a way that results in continual improvement and greater satisfaction and happiness.

I thoroughly enjoyed the “Hotchkiss Hidden Places” piece in the recent magazine, especially the article on the School’s elm trees. I would suggest that when discussing that subject, much credit be given to Bob Royce, who taught me astronomy in my lowermid year and who had assumed the role of business manager when I returned to teach at the School in 1973. By that time, many of the lovely old elms were showing signs of Dutch Elm disease, and Bob mounted a huge effort to learn everything he could about how to stop — or at least slow the advance of — the infection. He consulted repeatedly with arborists at the University of Connecticut at Storrs and instituted a program on campus to first remove and destroy all the affected trees, and second, to treat the remaining ones so as to increase their resistance. The few heritage elms that remain (and I sadly understand that the biggest of them all, next to the library, was removed), and have done so far longer than might have been expected, are, I believe, wholly due to Bob Royce’s tireless efforts. Michael Thompson ’66

Cabin Nostalgia I am an avid Grateful Dead fan, a passion developed during my expansive senior year as a co-ed “pioneer.” I also had the great pleasure of spending time out at the cabins with Charlie Whittemore ’77 and a posse of other fun and musical students. They taught me jitterbug moves out there next to a stream. But the cabin, “Shelter from the Storm,” was not named after a Grateful Dead song. The song was not written by any member of the Grateful Dead tribe. It was written by Nobel-prize-winner Bob Dylan and released on his 1975 tour de force album (allegedly about divorce), Blood on the Tracks. Even though the Dead and Dylan toured and played together extensively, I believe that the Dead only played “Shelter from the Storm” once, with Dylan, in 1987. Separate Dead members have also covered the song, but authorship is all Dylan’s. I thoroughly enjoyed your discussion of the cabins and of Charlie’s contributions. We lost a great friend and joyous spirit much too soon. I’m always grateful that the cabins keep that spirit alive and among us. Another wonderful tradition is that of the cabin journals, notebooks left for visitors to record whatever they’re thinking. Non-Hotchkiss people can’t believe that the School gives students such freedom to wander. Just thinking of the woods and cabins and of sharing each season outside with friends fills me with peace and happiness. I’m grateful that the woods and cabins receive such great care, yet still remain quiet retreats. Thank you for bringing back such good memories. Allison West ’75

We want to hear from you!

Send your comments on the current issue to magazine@hotchkiss.org.

F a l l

2 0 1 7

Campus

con n ec t i o n Two New Trustees Began Their Five-year Terms on July 1, 2017

A Message from the Board of Trustees ROBERT CHARTENER ’76, P’18

The trustees met in Lakeville last August for a two-day strategic planning retreat and again in early October for nearly three days of board and committee meetings. The meetings coincided with the beginning of Craig Bradley’s second year as head of school, making it an appropriate time to reflect upon his first year at Hotchkiss. Mr. Bradley has brought a practical, forthright, respectful, and decisive style of leadership to Hotchkiss. He has emphasized many of Hotchkiss’s historical strengths, such as its sense of place, the importance of excellence, and the value of relationships within the community, and he has challenged several ingrained practices and asked difficult questions. Mr. Bradley’s understated but strong style of leadership has earned the respect and confidence of those around him. After a period of changing leadership, Hotchkiss now seems alive with a new sense of excitement and optimism.

school students at Cardigan Mountain School, as the new prep class dean, a role redefined so that she will work closely with each incoming prep class. Liz Droz, the new dean of students, and Heather Perrenoud, dean of residential life, substantially refreshed proctor and orientation leader training, and new students arrived a day earlier than returning students and were greeted with a friendlier welcoming process. After several years of “vertical” or “integrated” housing, in which all four classes lived together, Hotchkiss returned to age-based housing (i.e., preps with lower mids in some dorms and upper mids with seniors in others). Mr. Bradley and his colleagues are considering further improvements, such as changes to the advisory system and in dorm faculty responsibilities.

Strategic Planning – The trustees met with several members of the faculty and staff, as well as an experienced facilitator, to identify a range of priorities and initiatives that the School might pursue in carrying out its mission. In October, the trustees refined the preliminary set of options, which are also being reviewed with groups of faculty members, staff, parents, alumni, and students. The board had an extremely helpful session with the dormitory proctors, who spoke candidly and creatively about such topics as residential life, the role of dining in the community, the quality of our faculty, athletics, and the importance of financial aid. The process is continuing with the goal of adopting a new strategic plan at the May 2018 meeting.

Excellence in Teaching – Merrilee Mardon, the new dean of faculty, worked closely with last year’s interim dean of faculty, Tom Drake, to transition from departmental co-chairs to single chairs. The new department chairs participated in a new training program and have begun the year with clear approaches to leading their departments and improving learning outcomes. To strengthen faculty development, the School has introduced “annual teaching portfolios” that include specific professional goals, peer-to-peer observations, and student feedback. Similarly, all non-teaching staff will be evaluated annually. Finally, the faculty has begun meeting periodically in 10 smaller, seminarlike groups as an experiment to elicit ideas and promote engagement.

Supporting Younger Students – Mr. Bradley reviewed several initiatives that he has led to support younger students, particularly preps and new lower mids. He appointed Nora Yasumura, who previously worked with middle-

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

Buildings, Grounds, and the Environment – This committee, led by John Grube ’65, P’00, reviewed several projects in addition to the ongoing ten-year capital plan. The parents

of the Class of 2018 will be encouraged to support the $1.5 million renovation of the Cullman Art Center, the facility’s first major upgrade since its construction in 1981. The committee continues to refine the plans for renovating the oldest dorms, with Memorial remaining the most immediate and highest priority. Notably, the committee has been assessing how the Dining Hall might be renovated to support today’s students. The hall opened in 1948 for a school of 350 students, but the building has changed little in 70 years, despite dramatically different needs. Student Well-being – Mr. Bradley appointed Quincy McLaughlin, formerly dean of student health, as dean of student well-being, with expanded responsibility for policies and training to ensure the safety, health, and support of our students. An independent expert audited the School’s residential life program last spring, focusing on structures, policies, practices, training, and evaluation of those involved in student well-being. The Board discussed at length legacy issues of sexual abuse, including the third-party investigation begun in 2016. Other Achievements – The board reviewed several other actions at Hotchkiss, including analytical tools to assess applicants’ perceptions in the admission process; the creation of a School-wide Council on Diversity and Inclusion, co-headed by Mr. Bradley and Instructor in English Rachel Myers; Tom Drake’s appointment as head of the Center for Global Understanding and Independent Thinking; the approval of a revised — and balanced — budget for 2017-18, and progress toward reducing enrollment to 585 students.

Christopher Redlich Jr. ’68 joined Marine Terminals Corp. (MTC) after earning his undergraduate degree from Stanford University in 1972. Chris learned the business from the ground up, beginning as a vessel planner at Oakland’s Seventh Street Terminal. Chris became president of MTC in 1987 and chairman in 1997, eventually retiring in 2007. The firm became one of the largest stevedoring and ocean terminal operators in the United States. Currently, Chris serves on the board of Stanford Health Care, the leadership council for Conservation International, and the board of overseers for the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. Chris served on Hotchkiss’s Centennial Campaign Committee for the San Francisco region and has hosted two Coast to Coast events. He is a regular member of his reunion

committees. In addition to his very generous gift of Redlich Hall, which opened in fall 2016, Chris has supported the Robert H. and Carolyn O. Mattoon Fund. Chris has two children, Francesca and Rudy. Chris is the brother of Leslie Cockburn P’97 and uncle of Chloe Cockburn ’97. He lives in San Francisco, CA. Gwyn Williams ’84, P’17, ’19 is a partner at the international law firm of Latham & Watkins LLP, and serves as the global chair of the firm’s product liability, mass torts, and consumer class actions practice. Gwyn has extensive experience in the defense of mass tort and product liability claims relating to retail consumer, pharmaceutical/ medical device, and industrial products. Her consumer class action experience includes cases involving a variety of consumer products, work

in the consumer financial services sector, and experience with a wide variety of state and federal consumer protection statutes. Gwyn also provides product liability counseling and risk assessments to clients in a variety of business contexts, and she is a frequent speaker on issues relating to mass torts and consumer class actions. Prior to joining Latham & Watkins, Gwyn was a partner at Goodwin Procter LLP. Gwyn became the president of The Hotchkiss Fund in 2017 and served on the Alumni Association’s Board of Governors prior to that. She has also been active in hosting Hotchkiss alumni and admission office events in Boston. Gwyn has an undergraduate degree from Princeton University and a J.D. from Boston University School of Law. She lives in Boston with her husband, David Kreisler, and their three children, Jack ’17, Emma ’19, and Owen.

Update on Carlton Fields’ Third-Party Investigation In June 2016, the School requested the law firm of Carlton Fields to undertake a third-party investigation into reports of sexual misconduct by members of the faculty or staff that occurred at any time in the School’s history. We asked the lead investigator, James Sconzo, to conduct as thorough an investigation as possible because the School is committed to understanding the extent of wrongdoing, to taking all steps to ensure it cannot happen again, and to apologizing to those who, as students, were victimized by adults who abused their position and the trust placed in them. The School has not yet received the Carlton Fields report because their investigation remains active. Two additional investigators, Jillian Orticelli and Miriam Berkman, have been added to their team in recent months. Ms. Berkman has deep experience in Title IX investigations. We are grateful to those who have already contacted Carlton Fields, and we strongly encourage anyone with relevant information to speak with a member of the investigative team. Their contact information appears at the end of this letter. Our community’s participation in this investigation is crucial if it is to shed a light on the past and guide us in the future. We recognize that deciding whether to come forward is a difficult, complex decision. That is certainly true for survivors and can often be so

for witnesses or those in whom survivors have confided. In recognition of this, the School has arranged for Johanne Bach, MSW, a clinical social worker who works with survivors of sexual abuse and who is knowledgeable about the investigation process, to be a resource for those who are trying to decide whether to come forward. Her contact information is also provided below. Please be assured that you will be treated with sensitivity and respect at all times. The Board of Trustees has directed Head of School Craig Bradley to develop a program for survivors who wish to obtain professional counseling. When this program is in place, details will be provided to alumni and made available on the School’s website. The Hotchkiss Board of Trustees is resolute in its commitment to investigate these matters thoroughly, to communicate transparently with the School community about the results of this investigation, to apologize to those who were harmed, and to take prompt, appropriate actions as warranted by the investigator’s report. We have made clear to Carlton Fields that the School is seeking an investigation that is as thorough—and conducted as expeditiously—as possible. However, because this letter is intended to encourage any additional survivors—or anyone else with relevant information—to

come forward (or to contact Johanne if they are debating whether to do so), Carlton Fields cannot provide a date by which the investigation will be completed and a report issued. We would like to express our appreciation to those who have come forward thus far and to the Hotchkiss community for its continued support as we undertake this necessary reconciliation with our past.

Contact information: • James Sconzo, Carlton Fields LLP – phone: (860) 392-5022; email address: hotchkissinquiry@carltonfields.com • Jillian Orticelli, Carlton Fields LLP – phone: (860) 392-5055; email address: hotchkissinquiry@carltonfields.com • Miriam Berkman, JD, LCSW – phone: (203) 668-4338; email address: Miriam.Berkman@yale.edu • Johanne Bach, MSW – phone: (860) 424-2092; email address: johannebach8@gmail.com

Craig W. Bradley Jeannie Weinberg Rose ’80, P’18 Head of School President, Board of Trustees

F a l l

2 0 1 7

Campus

con n ec t i o n

Meet Liz Droz, New Dean of Students

Is that why you keep a pair of sneakers under your desk? Yes! I walk around a lot during the day — that’s how students get to know me. I wear sneakers 99 percent of the time. I like the idea of being a “walk around dean” — being available and attending events and club meetings. I want to get to know students in all areas. They might see me as a disciplinarian some days, but I will also have gotten to know them as someone who’s part of a community, part of a family. I live on campus in Van Santvoord with my husband, who is a professor — he teaches online full time. We’ve enjoyed having a sense of engagement, going to music events and joining the local community.

She’s the One Wearing the Sneakers

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

The biggest difference is the developmental piece. An incoming 13 or 14 year-old has very different needs from a 17 or 18

What are your initial impressions of the Hotchkiss community? Where do you see its strengths, and what are some areas for growth? Everyone at Hotchkiss is very engaged. When I interviewed for the position, there was a table full of parents, alumni, and students, all of whom were incredibly professional. They were respectful and asked wonderful questions, and I was left with the sense that this is a great community. I think collaboration with many of our departments will be a continual plan, as well as working closely with the head of school and the board of trustees. I see all of these areas as opportunities. And I think we need to keep coming back to some essential

questions: What is our mission? Who are we? What does progress mean? Growth has a lot to do with clarifying things, defining where we’re going with our mission and new strategic plan.

You were a three-year student at St. Paul’s. How did that experience shape your decision to work with students? My boarding school experience was wonderful. I came from a very close Latino community in Brooklyn, and I was sponsored by a large religious community. I had to come back on breaks and give public reports on my success at St. Paul’s. So there I was — 14 years old, at the microphone, giving reports and thanking everyone. My experience at St. Paul’s really made me want to return to that sense of community again and help students, whether they have a similar background or not. Things have changed quite a bit in the boarding school world since I left St. Paul’s, but that sense of community is the same, and I’m looking forward to that here.

New Appointments

How would you describe your approach to the dean of students role? I think that the dean of students should be the point person who knows all the rules and sets the tone of the school. My philosophy is that we’re responsible to each other. I want to ensure that there’s a great deal of respect, that we honor history and legacy, but are also progressive. So I work collaboratively with everyone to ensure the health and safety of students and serve

as their voice. I believe in being the “walk around” dean, and that means being present. I don’t need to always be on stage during certain programs, but I will be in the back of the auditorium. When I started working here, I went to graduation to see the end of the story, so to speak, before I started, because I wanted to see the community and sit with parents before they even knew who I was, and just walk around.

PHOTO BY WENDY CARLSON

Elizabeth (Liz) Droz joined the Hotchkiss community as dean of students last July. A licensed psychologist, she has a deep understanding of adolescent development and finds great joy in working with young people. For the past four years, she served as assistant vice chancellor for student affairs for the State University of New York system, where she oversaw a range of student services, forming collaborative teams and creating programs and policies to address the needs of diverse groups.

You worked in the SUNY administration prior to coming to Hotchkiss. How is working with college-aged kids different from working with high schoolers?

year-old. What I like about working here is that parents are partners —- with my office, with faculty —- so that’s the biggest difference. At a university, you work with parents, but as an ancillary. I like that at Hotchkiss, we’re intentional about programs, about housing.

Nora Yasumura

Rachel Myers

Prep Class Dean

Coordinator of the Diversity & Inclusion Initiative

While she is new to Hotchkiss as an employee, Nora Yasumura is not new to the School. She and her husband, Michael Fitzgerald, instructor in history, live in Redlich Hall with their daughter, Midori. Prior to coming to Hotchkiss in 2014, Yasumura and her husband worked at Cardigan Mountain School, where she served as the director of the Global Community Initiative, lived in a dorm, and coached soccer and tennis. Prior to that, she worked at Dartmouth College as an assistant dean of student life and advisor to Asian and AsianAmerican students. She and her family will continue to live in Redlich Hall as she begins her new role as prep class dean.

Rachel Laws Myers, instructor in English, has been named coordinator of the Diversity & Inclusion Initiative. Prior to coming to Hotchkiss in 2014, Myers worked at the Watkinson School in Hartford, where she taught English and history, coached girls varsity basketball, and served as an advisor. She earned a Ph.D. in African American & African studies with a concentration in English from Michigan State University. As an undergraduate at Binghamton University, she earned a B.A. in Africana studies with a minor in sociology and played four years of NCAA Division I basketball; in 2016, she was inducted into Binghamton University’s Athletic Hall of Fame. Myers is a published scholar who has written on the experience of Olympic black female athletes, media representation in sport, and conceptions of masculinity in sport. She lives in Tinker Hall with her son. F a l l

2 0 1 7

Campus

con n ec t i o n

At the Farm, a Celebratory Gathering

Jack Blum ’47 Visits Fairfield Farm

n Oct. 6, trustees, members of the faculty, and family and friends of Mary Graf — and, of course, Mary herself — gathered at Fairfield Farm for a dedication ceremony and dinner marking the completion of the new Mary M. Graf Barn and the renovation of Bissell House. The post-and-beam barn, which officially opened in the spring of 2017, has greatly expanded the Farm’s capacity to support teaching and learning, with classroom space, room for tractors and machinery, produce storage, and an apartment for the Farm manager. Maria Harrison Bissell House, renovated as a faculty residence in 2017, once served as the home of Charles Henry Bissell, brother of Maria Bissell Hotchkiss and one of the School’s 11 founding trustees. When Bissell died in 1921, he willed the house and the surrounding farmland to the Maria Hotchkiss Association on the condition that the School “use the bequest...to create an agriculture course or department where...various branches of farming, dairying or fruit culture or other kindred agricultural subjects can be both practically and scientifically taught.” Nearly a century later, Bissell’s vision has become a reality, thanks to Graf ’s ongoing support. “It is impossible to imagine the success of the farm program and the potential for its future without the exemplary benevolence of Mary Graf,” said Head of School Craig Bradley. “From your support of staff positions to the creation of these two beautiful buildings that we dedicate now, I offer

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

Charlie Noyes presents Mary Graf with his painting of the Farm.

PHOTOS BY WENDY CARLSON

Above, Mary and Jack Graf; left, the Maria Harrison Bissell House, which is now home to Dean of Faculty Merrilee Mardon and her family

you my sincere gratitude. Thank you for transforming The Hotchkiss School and advancing its mission in ways that would not be possible without your involvement and generosity.” As a token of gratitude, Instructor in Art and Farm Curriculum Coordinator Charlie Noyes ’78 presented Graf with a framed watercolor of the view of the fields behind the barn. Graf, in accepting the painting, thanked those who worked on the barn construction and the Bissell House renovation, some of whom attended the ceremony. “They’re the ones who deserve the credit,” she said.

In September, Jack Blum ’47 visited Fairfield Farm, his former property, for the first time since Hotchkiss transformed it into an educational, agricultural, and recreational resource serving the entire Hotchkiss community. In 2004, the School acquired the farm from Jack and his wife, Jeanne. Commenting on his visit, Blum said, “I think Hotchkiss has made spectacular use of the farm. It is very gratifying to Jeanne and me to see the absolute wonder of what it has become. We could not be happier, and we thank all those who made the transition happen.”

F a l l

2 0 1 7

Visitors

Campus

con n ec t i o n

Author Lorene Cary on the Writing Life

O “No one will discover you. You have to make them see you, hear you, and reach you.”

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

PHOTOS BY WENDY CARLSON

n Sept. 29, Lorene Cary, a senior lecturer in creative writing at the University of Pennsylvania, visited Hotchkiss, where she attended several English classes and spoke to lower mids in Walker Auditorium about the challenges of being a writer and her experience as a student at St. Paul’s School. Cary grew up in a working-class neighborhood in Philadelphia. In 1972, she was one of a few female African-American students enrolled at St. Paul’s, where she attended boarding school for two years. She went on to earn an undergraduate degree and her M.A. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1978. After being awarded a Thouron Fellowship, she studied at Sussex University in the UK, where she received an M.A. in Victorian literature. In 1991, she published Black Ice, a memoir about her experience at St. Paul’s, which was the lower-mid class’s summer read. She went on to publish three more books and has written scripts, worked for several magazines, and founded Art Sanctuary, a nonprofit that showcases the work of young minority artists. At Hotchkiss, she visited English Instructor Rachel Myers’s class, where she listened to seniors read and critique their pieces in a workshop. In the classroom, “she memorized every student’s name; she recalled every student’s question or comment; and she modeled teaching, learning, and listening at their finest. In her own words, we must all work to find and share in this undercurrent of humanity that exists beyond our daily to-do lists. Needless to

say, we will remember this visit for years to come,” said Tyler Gardner, head of the English department and instructor in English. “Beyond captivating students and faculty members alike through her voice and her words, Professor Lorene Cary showed us, as a community, what it means to engage and to empathize with one another,” he added. During her presentation in Walker, Cary fielded questions about her own writing. She tapped into an experience she had at a high school in Philadelphia where a student asked her how a young writer can get discovered. “I thought of the day I mailed 40 queries to publishers for my first mystery novel. But that image wasn’t enough, I wanted those students to envision me as a hungry young writer,” she said. To get their attention, she climbed up on the side of the bleachers, rattled the metal supports and shouted, “Read me! Read me! Publish me! Publish me!” “No one will discover you,” she said. “You have to make them see you, hear you, and reach you.” As a student at St. Paul’s, Cary was driven, but the demands she placed upon herself to be a model minority student left her feeling isolated at times. “That experience remained in my life in a big way,” said Cary, who returned to St. Paul’s in 1982 to teach for several years and later served as a trustee. While the boarding school culture has changed since she attended St. Paul’s, students today face a similar pressure to succeed that she did. “You’ve got this great education that is jacking you up to constantly do better,” she said. “At St. Paul’s, I often felt I was rushing along so fast that that I was not enjoying that exquisite sense of consciousness and life that I felt in nature.” “But then, I’d be walking across campus, and there’d be some miraculous moment — just the sound of chickadee echoing, echoing, echoing — and I was back into my body, back into awe for life that I had lost when I had been busy trying to figure out how to do better on the next thing.” It’s important, she told students, to be open to “that sense of awe — of being present in the moment.” — Wendy Carlson

Astronomer Jeffrey Hall ’82

effrey Hall ’82, director of the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, AZ, spoke to astronomy and physics students in the newly opened Class of 2017 EFX Lab on Oct. 9. Established in 1894 by Percival Lowell, the Observatory is significant both for its cultural heritage and its scientific discoveries. Recognized as a Registered National Historic Landmark by the National Park Service, Lowell is known for discovering Pluto and gathering the earliest observational evidence of the Big Bang theory. In 2011, Time magazine named Lowell Observatory one of “The World’s 100 Most Important Places.” During his visit to Instructor in Physics and Astronomy Ian Chute’s class, Hall shared insights from his career at the non-profit research center, where he has overseen projects that range from building a $50-million telescope to “dark sky” preservation efforts in Arizona. Hall’s own research focuses on how solar activity affects Earth’s climate, an area of growing importance in light of the increasing frequency of severe weather events. Hall fielded questions from students about working at an observatory, particularly the challenges of dealing with fragile, highly sensitive equipment. In one instance, he and his researchers found slight inconsistencies in data that were the result of continental plates gradually shifting over time. Other students were curious about who uses the observatory; Hall explained that while Lowell Observatory is often used by graduate and doctoral students of several universities, including Boston University, the University of Maryland, and Yale, access to telescopes is becoming more difficult as funding grows scarce. Cloudy skies prevented Hall from using the telescope in the Hotchkiss Observatory later that evening, but he was able to take a tour with a group of astronomy students. “Dr. Hall brought enthusiasm and clarity to the complex world of astronomy and astronomical instrumentation,” said Chute. “An overview of his research on solar variations and solar influences on climate showed the importance of astronomical research, detailing how it directly influences our everyday life and the future environment of our planet. He also provided the students a look into the life of an astronomer, giving a glimpse into the process from college to postgraduate work and how competitive it is in the scientific community.” — Chelsea Edgar

F a l l

2 0 1 7

The lab features retractable outlets for easy access.

“What’s great about this is that it’s right across from the classrooms, so we can apply what we’re learning with real materials right here,” said Coffy. “I feel like I can get stuff done here, apply what I learn and actually do it. It’s really cool.”

Faculty members Paul Oberto and Adam Lang show students the Class of 2017 EFX Lab and the Leung Prototyping Studio.

The Class of 2017

EFX LAB ENGINEERING FABRICATION EXPLORATION

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

hat might you imagine happening in here?” Economics Instructor Adam Lang asked students in his Design for Social Impact class as they toured the new Class of 2017 EFX Lab. “Industrial design!” shouted one student. “Art and architecture projects,” chimed another. Robotics, engineering, science, math, chemistry, photography — the possibilities of how to use this bright new space seemed endless to students. As they explored the lab, they looked quizzically at the new equipment and machines. “I don’t even know what this does,” said Gabbie Coffy ’18, peering at a drill press in the Leung Prototyping Studio, a soundproof, glass-enclosed section of the lab. In October, students and faculty got their first glimpse of the Class of 2017 EFX Lab (Engineering, Fabrication, and Exploration), located on the lower level of the A. Whitney Griswold Science Building. In the coming months, they will learn how to safely use the machines and tools to work on individual and group projects. The parents of the Class of 2017

PHOTOS BY WENDY CARLSON

“

provided the majority of the funding for the $1.4 million project as a Senior Parents Gift, and alumni also made significant gifts. The Leung family — Nisa Leung Lin ’88, Erik Leung ’94, and Jeffrey Leung ’99 from Hong Kong — funded the Lab’s centerpiece, the Leung Prototyping Studio. “Nisa Lin deserves immense credit for this project,” said Head of School Craig Bradley. “She helped us conceive what could be possible and organized and led a tour of lab spaces in Silicon Valley for several of our faculty members.” The 3,136-square-foot lab provides space for collaboration, innovation, and problemsolving for student projects in areas of study beyond engineering and design. “Students are so excited about the new space,” said Paul Oberto, instructor in biology and chemistry and associate dean of faculty. Oberto co-directs the lab with Instructor in Physics and Astronomy Bill Fenton who is currently on sabbatical. “Early in the year, I brought my chemistry

class down to the EFX Lab. Before anyone had asked a question or picked up a tool, a student very matter-of-factly said, ‘It’s so open and bright. I just want to come down here to work on something. Can we have class in here today?’” “The tools and equipment and the open layout will allow students to create in ways they most likely haven’t yet experienced, but my initial hope is that the EFX Lab simply draws people into its space to work together,” he said. In thanking the parents who contributed to the gift campaign last spring, Bradley said, “The new facility will have a significant impact on the School by providing a ‘maker space’ with tools, equipment and space for handson, experiential ways to engage in engineering and innovation projects. It will forge new links across subjects such as fine arts, the sciences, economics, architecture, robotics, and environmental initiatives.” In the Leung Prototyping Studio, “students will be able to design and prototype projects, often as a team, to dig deeper into cross-

disciplinary initiatives, and be prepared for a world that requires innovation and problemsolving in new ways,” he said. The studio contains a CNC router, largeformat laser cutter, chop saw, band saw, drill press, and storage for materials. Other lab features include a folding glass garage door that allows large prototypes to be moved in and out of the lab, soldering stations, mobile work tables, seating, and white boards. The lab also has a student project display area, sinks and counter space for “wet” projects, and a shop annex for 3-D printers. “What’s great about this is that it’s right across from the classrooms, so we can apply what we’re learning with real materials right here,” said Coffy. “I feel like I can get stuff done here, apply what I learn and actually do it. It’s really cool.” Neale Barkley ’18 added, “It would be great if a group of students could work together and be responsible for creating something for the School by the end of their Hotchkiss career.” ––Wendy Carlson

F a l l

2 0 1 7

The Art of Teaching Design Brad Faus P’10, 2017 Lufkin Award Winner, helps students forge their own visual path BY WENDY CARLSON

enior Oyinlolu Fasehun looks thoughtfully at the coiled stacks of paper on her desk in the Cullman Art Center. It’s the first few weeks of architecture class, and her assignment — to design a structure using only discarded booklets — is coming together. But judging by her expression, she’s not entirely sure what to do next. The billowing structure is composed of rolled pages cut from old Hotchkiss admission brochures, arranged so the photos of students face outward, representing the School’s mission of diversity and inclusiveness. “It works conceptually, but does it work aesthetically as a form?” asks Instructor in Art Brad Faus, who has come over to check on Fasehun’s work. If it’s animated, it might be more compelling, says Faus, who is this year’s Lufkin Prize winner and director of the art program. He suggests that she raise a set of the rolled pieces above the other to give the structure height, making it more dynamic. At the other end of the table, another student is trying to stabilize a three-tiered tower, while yet another student is working on a series of three forms that resemble a miniature sculpture garden. All this folding and cutting, rolling and bending, twisting and creasing of paper may seem like extreme origami. But the process helps students to better understand design concepts, like repetition, rhythm, pattern, and modulation. More importantly, it teaches them how to resolve aesthetic and structural issues while creating their own pieces. Throughout the process, students evaluate their own work and the work of their peers to give them a solid grasp of three-dimensional vocabulary and formal design concepts. This hands-on approach to teaching is a far cry from the early 1970s, when Art Instructor Blanche Hoar began to offer a course in architecture for upper mids and seniors. Her background was in drafting, so students in those early classes focused on blueprints. Their tools were T-squares and mechanical pencils rather than X-Acto knives, handsaws, and laser cutters. Back then, students focused on perfecting their lettering and accuracy of

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

PHOTOS BY WENDY CARLSON

The paper projects join a display of folded books in the art wing, Main lobby, and Harris House, where other examples of architecture and design by students are showcased. Some of those pieces are featured on the following pages.

Henry Wilmot ’18 works on his folded paper project.

F a l l

2 0 1 7

“ Some of our assignments come from architecture schools, including a second semester project based on the Solar Decathlon, a collegiate competition which asks students to design an environmentally sustainable, 1,000-square-foot home,” Faus says. perspective by creating blueprints; today, they study aspects of three-dimensional design, like how positive and negative elements affect a space, or how light and shadow animate the surface of a piece. Faus emphasizes the importance of problem-solving through a hands-on technique using simple, accessible materials — wood, paper, cutting tools — so that students can better understand more abstract architectural concepts, like space, form, pattern, size, and scale. In another assignment, called “rhythmic squares,” students create an engaging rhythmic pattern in low relief using only squares of vellum paper. The paper squares can be scored, folded, curled, cut, or twisted and then arranged in a sequence, but no part of any square can be cut away entirely. In the process, students begin to identify certain aspects of design problem-solving, and concepts like height, width, and depth take on real meaning. As the semester progresses, class assignments become more similar to those expected from students in their freshman year in architecture school, including real-world design challenges, perspective, drawing to scale, and sketch and presentation model design. “Some of our assignments come from architecture schools, including a second semester project based on the Solar Decathlon, a collegiate competition which asks students to design an environmentally sustainable, 1,000-square-foot home,” Faus says. Several Decathlon models are on display in the English wing and in Main hallway,

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

including senior Krishna Sivakumar’s project, which was inspired by Japanese architecture and the designs of master furniture-builder Isao Hanafusa. “Hanafusa said that there are two things in life: against nature and with nature. You have to choose either one,” Sivakumar says of his project. “I chose ‘with nature’ for this project and relied on hand-cut pieces. The mullions, front wall, bridge planks, doors, railing and room walls were all hand-cut and fitted with little or no glue, but with Japanese-style joinery.” Students like Sivakumar are passionate about all types of design: engineering, industrial design, and architecture. Others, like Fasehun, who was interested in photography at first, are just beginning to discover their interest and potential. “When I was photographing, I found myself taking so many photos of buildings until I realized that I enjoyed looking at architecture much more than I did photographing it,” says Fasehun, who plans on applying to architecture schools this spring. Faus hopes his class will prepare her for that step. Architecture schools, he says, aren’t really looking for students with only 3-D software experience; instead, they prefer to see a student’s raw designs, process studies, and sketches from observation. Being able to take a three-dimensional idea and translate it to a two-dimensional drawing is essential. As for his role in the learning process, Faus says: “For as long as I’ve been teaching, which is nearly 40 years, including 30 years at Hotchkiss, I have embraced the trend for students to learn from each other. My role is not always at the front of the class lecturing as the definitive instructor, but more as a coach, facilitator, and collaborator.” The student voice, he says, is at the core of the learning experience. “I’m helping them find their own path through visual discovery.”

F a l l

2 0 1 7

THE FUTURIST From his office in Boston, award-winning designer Nader Tehrani ’81 talks about his “aesthetic awakening” at Hotchkiss, his latest design challenge, and juggling a career in two cities

DESIGNERS, ARCHITECTS, AND ARTISTS WHO ARE SHAPING OUR WORLD

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

PHOTO: WENDY CARLSON

PHOTO: JOHN HORNER

Rock Creek House in Washington, D.C., designed by Nader Tehrani

BY WENDY CARLSON

F a l l

2 0 1 7

Helios House, Los Angeles, CA

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

door handles resembling duck feet. Nader Tehrani, principal and co-founder of NADAAA, moves seamlessly between these two worlds, dressed in his signature white shirt, black pants, and spotless white Adidas sneakers — a uniform that, he says, is “like my haircut: it gives me one less decision to make when I wake up.” Time is of the essence for Nader, who splits his seven-day work week between New York, where he heads the Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture at Cooper Union, and his office in Boston. “I take the train at 6 a.m. Tuesdays to Cooper Union, and that ride becomes an office for me, so I can write for four hours, without the distractions of iPhone or Wi-Fi. It’s like an isolation chamber,” he says. On mornings when he doesn’t commute, he typically begins his day at 5:30 a.m. with a three or four-mile run, followed by a 15-mile

bike ride. But even when he’s exercising, Tehrani is working on designs in his head. Since he was a kid, Nader has been living and working on the move. His dad served in the Iranian diplomatic corps, so the family relocated from country to country and culture to culture, living for periods of time in Pakistan, Iran, and South Africa. Travel exposed Tehrani to various architectures and what he calls “aesthetic events,” like the day he saw Hotchkiss for the first time. The year was 1978. Tehrani was visiting Hotchkiss after one of the worst nor’easters of the decade had pummeled New England. Snow had drifted halfway up Scoville Gate, and Tehrani, who was touring prep schools with his friends, barely made the trip to Lakeville. But what he remembers most about his visit wasn’t the record-breaking blizzard, but Main Building, which, at the time, bore the design of modernist Hugh Stubbins, the

PHOTO: ERIC STAUDENMAIER

t first glance, the nondescript brick building in Boston’s gritty south end seems an unlikely place for a cutting-edge design office. But inside this former plaster-casting studio, the grimy sidewalks and faded facade give way to an airy interior suffused with light filtering down from a series of sloped skylights. At long wooden tables, a dozen or more designers work side by side, quietly tapping at their computers or sketching floorplans. A puppy snoozes in a dog bed at one end of the office; at the other, a shelf showcases models that look like tiny abstract sculptures. It’s decidedly quiet here, but one floor below, the hum of machinery fills the air. In the NADLAB, a fabrication studio, another design crew works with saws, drills, routers, 3-D printers, and laser cutters, making one-off pieces like a curvaceous bureau fashioned out of compressed plywood and plastic composite

PHOTO: JOHN HORNER

“I WOULD LIKE TO BRING THE EMPHASIS AROUND TO HOW THE ARCHITECTURAL DISCIPLINE ITSELF CAN BRING A SENSE OF TRANSFORMATION TO THE HUMAN CONDITION — AT HOME, AT WORK, AND IN THE PUBLIC REALM.”

architect best known for Citicorp Center’s landmark tower in Manhattan. When he first saw Main, he remembers thinking to himself: “This is where I want to be.” Before the building was redesigned in its current Georgian iteration, Main resembled a series of abstract brick planes receding in space, without any apparent windows. “It was scaleless, blank, and while composed of brick, it was completely edited of all the detail and iconography for which the rest of the campus was known,” says Tehrani. “It was a veritable piece of architecture; it was hard and brutal, but to me, its minimal restraint was stunningly beautiful.” At Hotchkiss, Art Instructor Blanche Hoar inspired Tehrani to pursue a career in architecture, but his first impression of Main on that winter day instilled in him an appreciation of how architecture can define the ethics and environment of a place.

This holistic approach to architecture has been a guiding force throughout his career. A recent article in The New York Times describes Tehrani as part of a “bumper crop of designers whose sensibilities are bringing new depth to contemporary architecture around the world.” For Tehrani, that sensibility first emerged at Rhode Island School of Design, where he earned his BFA and B.Arch. in 1985 and 1986, respectively. After a post-graduate year at London’s Architectural Association, he continued his studies at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, where he earned a masters in architecture and urban design in 1991. In 1992, Tehrani began an extensive career in academia, including teaching stints at Northeastern University, Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where, from 2010-14, he served as the head of the architecture school. Since co-founding NADAAA in 2011, Tehrani and his partners, Katherine Faulkner and Daniel Gallagher, have worked on a wide range of nationally and internationally acclaimed projects, including public, institutional, and private commissions. Currently, the firm is completing the renovation of the University of Toronto’s John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design, transforming one of the city’s most iconic neo-Gothic buildings into a work of contemporary architecture. The project was a milestone for Tehrani, making NADAAA the only firm in the country to have designed three university schools of architecture, with a fourth master plan underway for the University of Miami School of Architecture.

Now, Tehrani is facing a brand-new challenge: designing a new jail system in New York City as part of a proposal to close Rikers Island Correctional Facility. Last spring, Tehrani and his partners were selected to be part of Justice in Design, a team comprised of architects, designers, planners, psychologists, and incarceration reform advocates who are working with The Van Alen Institute, a nonprofit urban think tank, on a proposal to close Rikers. For decades, city leaders have debated shuttering Rikers because of its notoriously corrupt reputation, brutal treatment of detainees, and inhumane conditions. Critics of the proposal argue that the complex of 10 jails and about 10,000 detainees can’t be closed because the city lacks alternative infrastructure. Last July, Justice in Design released a report outlining design principles

Banq restaurant, Boston, MA

F a l l

2 0 1 7

EVERY KID SHOULD BE ABLE TO RIDE A BIKE

University of Melbourne, Australia

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

BY AARON GARLAND, RIT

S texture, and light in each of their works.” In 2007, Tehrani was co-principal in the design of Helios House, a hulking structure made out of large stainless steel triangles that looks more like a gleaming metal sculpture than a gas station. The building has become a Los Angeles landmark and the first LEEDcertified gas station in the country. More recently, he helped transform a contemporary art installation made of 28 gigantic wool fiber ropes into blankets for Syrian refugees. And one of those small pieces on his office shelf was developed as a model for a research project to illustrate how unlikely structural properties can work together — in this case, 60 individual carved and interlocking blocks of polyurethane foam board. In the NADLAB, he and his team of 20 designers continue to innovate, creating new building methods and materials, using digital technology and 3-D manufacturing. “We are trying to rethink material properties — ways of assembling materials through new means and methods, and engaging other disciplines as a basis for innovations in the construction industry, adopting techniques that may not have been tried before,” Tehrani says. Each designer takes turns working on different phases in the design process, whether they’re assembling

composites, cutting block materials on a CNC router (computer numerically control router), or piecing together large architectural models. In his career as an educator, Tehrani has emphasized a similar model of collaboration. “I’m trained as a traditional architect and have basically spent 25 years constantly re-educating myself through the younger generation,” he says. “The idea of a teacher as the central master is all but obsolete,” he says. “We learn horizontally: students learn from each other, and teachers more often learn from students. Whereas we may bring more experience to the conversation, the next generation brings an openness and a digital dexterity that often overturns one’s assumptions. The academic environment is just a very different place than it was when I was in school.” In the future, Tehrani plans to keep challenging design and building concepts and pursuing projects that have far-reaching social impact. “While I know that many people talk about social activism these days, I would like to bring the emphasis around to how the architectural discipline itself can bring a sense of transformation to the human condition — at home, at work, and in the public realm.”

TOP PHOTO: JOHN HORNER BOT TOM LEFT PHOTO: WENDY CARLSON

Tehrani in his Boston office

Spar Patton ‘02 designs a special handlebar grip for a two-wheel bike

PHOTO: MAGGIE STOCKMAN, RIT

and programming for borough-based jails, or “Justice Hubs.” Design on its own isn’t going to solve the city’s criminal justice issues, Tehrani says, but the process has given him insight into the workings of the system and how it can be improved through justice hubs and the participation of the communities they serve. As part of the team, he and firm co-founder Daniel Gallagher met families and individuals who are personally affected by the incarceration system, and he came away with a profound sense of their frustration. “Sometimes, families wait for hours just to speak to their loved ones, only to find out they’ve been moved somewhere else,” he says. Hubs in each of the city’s five boroughs would make it easier for detainees to connect with their families, as well as with courts and social, educational and health services. “Jails also lack some of the most basic human rights that we take for granted: air, light, or views, for instance. Most cells are designed without basic privacy and acoustic insulation, and we need to rethink that,” he says. The task will be designing the hubs in conversation with the surrounding urban environment, he adds. Over the span of his career, Tehrani has challenged established design principles with his use of materials, building concepts, and style. His work has ranged from galleries and pavilions to residences and schools, reflecting the influence of a wide range of international architects, including Eladio Dieste from Uruguay, Miguel Fisac from Spain, and Pier Luigi Nervi from Italy. These architects, he says, “looked beyond structural optimization and considered the role of geometry, materiality,

par Patton has been doing his part to ensure one young girl isn’t denied the sense of fulfillment that comes with learning to ride. Patton, a graduate of RIT’s MFA industrial design program, constructed a customizable handlebar grip kit that makes operating a bicycle far easier than before for a motivated girl with a different range of motion in her right elbow, hand, and fingers compared to kids of the same age. Patton’s bicycle cockpit tweaking was done specifically for 6-yearold Emily in an effort to make a substantial difference in her ability to balance and look ahead on a two-wheel bike. Patton exhibited a prototype of the handlebar grips equipped for Emily at the Effective Access Technology Conference April 21 in the Gene Polisseni Center. The product, which brings key steering components closer to the bike user, is his thesis project. Patton decided to revolve all of his research and production around Emily, rather than it being more universal, and he’s worked with the young girl and her family since the fall. Emily has what’s called ulnar club hand in her right forearm and hand. It’s characterized by the ulna (a long forearm bone) and other soft tissue structures on the ulnar side of the hand developing abnormally, leading to either instability in the wrist or elbow. Emily’s right radial bone bows and she has two digits on her right hand. It causes her to position her body in different ways while riding a bike and grasp and balance using her armpit and pointer finger. But Patton’s handlebar system is giving Emily a smoother, more efficient ride. It features a standard straight grip on the

left side. The right side consists of the same straight grip, with a connected elbow adapter that extends toward the body. A looped handle then screws into the adapter. The structure brings the right handlebar directly to Emily’s right hand. It gives her increased control of the bike and prevents her from overreaching and risking instability. The system helps Emily’s steering, balance, and leveraging of the pedals. “She was having a lot of difficulty getting power to the pedals and also keeping her head up and being able to read terrain and consistencies,” Patton said. “So I basically worked with her with a number of different prototypes to figure out the ergonomics of where she wanted to make contact with the bike.” It’s equipped for all bicycles, too, as the grips and associated parts are easily attached to and separated from frames. “That’s kind of the idea — simple and fun,” Patton said. “Go ride a bike.” Using Patton’s current model, Emily has ridden on training wheels the last monthplus while exhibiting elevated strength and muscle memory. “Pretty soon (the training wheels) will come off,” Patton said. “She is determined to ride a two-wheel bicycle. … I think every kid should ride a bike, no matter what.” Emily and Patton worked together to find the perfect design that addressed three areas in need of improvement and put less physical stress on Emily — control (balance and steering), approachability (familiarity and comfort), and safety (robust and forgiving). The compatibility aspect of Patton’s innovation allows it to grow with Emily. Patton designed the grips to adjust as personal

range and bike size changes. Like any other lock-on grips, these are suitable for any bike. The colors are customizable, too, with Emily deciding on a pink-and-purple color scheme. “Every kid should be able to go into a bike shop and not have any special accommodations or have to go and see some special fabrication expert,” Patton said. “I think it should be an option that is just ready to go, like you would install any component on your bike.” Patton sought to provide Emily with an all-encompassing bicycle experience. His consideration of all factors during the process of generating this assistive technology reflects that. Patton’s research went beyond exploring just the functionality of the handlebar grips. What he came up with is something that is practical, travel-ready, sturdy, and personally rewarding. Patton set out to make a difference for Emily with this project and said he hasn’t given much thought to its wider marketability. While he noted that designing product details for one specific person does lend itself to widespread interest, he is still most concerned with this leading to Emily being able to cruise on two wheels. “If it is (helpful) for her,” Patton said, “that’s all that matters.”

This article was reprinted with permission from Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). It was published on College of Imaging Arts and Sciences website on April 26, 2017. Patton graduated last spring from RIT with a master’s in industrial design and is excited by the opportunity to help people realize their potential with thoughtful design.

F a l l

2 0 1 7

Gail Bernard von Staden ’86 is building an urban renaissance BY CHELSEA EDGAR

ail Bernard von Staden learned how to size up a room when she was a goalie for the ice and field hockey teams at Hotchkiss. Today, she uses the laserfocus and poise she honed in the net when she’s at the table with clients of her firm, Von Staden Architects, which she co-owns with her husband, Tamas, in the suburbs of Detroit. One of her current commissions, the offices of the grand poohbahs of the Detroit Red Wings, has taken her back to her roots in more than one sense. Von Staden, who’s all of five feet tall, says that her hockey credentials usually command respect in a room full of men, a situation she finds herself in more often than not. “I can’t name too many other female-owned firms in the city, and certainly none that are doing the kinds of projects we’re doing,” she says. And when one of the men in the room happens to be Ken Holland, general manager of the Red Wings, being able to talk shop can be particularly useful. (Incidentally, she’s also a big fan of his team.) The Red Wings headquarters will be located in Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena, an $863-million stadium at the center of a major push to revitalize downtown Detroit. As part of von Staden’s contract, she has to pick out furniture for all of the other offices in the

Quicken headquarters in Detroit

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

PHOTO: BRIAN DOBEN STUDIOS

MEANWHILE, IN DETROIT...

Gail Bernard von Staden, left, and her husband and co-principal, Tamas

arena, “which is exactly what I was hoping to avoid by getting an architecture degree,” she says, laughing. She first discovered architecture as an escape from a varsity-sports-induced burnout during her senior year at Hotchkiss, when she took a design class with Art Instructor Blanche Hoar. After graduating from Hotchkiss, she went to Rhode Island School of Design to study interior architecture, which focuses on redesigning spaces within existing buildings. It didn’t take long for her to realize that she wanted to do more than “select fabrics and pick out furniture,” so she switched to the architecture program. But 23 years later, as the lead architect for the corporate offices of an NHL franchise, von Staden has found herself back in the realm of fabric swatches. Much of von Staden’s work has involved designing offices in existing buildings. “One of the best strategies for sustainability is not to build anything new,” she says. (A major exception: von Staden’s firm has been commissioned to design the Little Caesars pizza company’s corporate headquarters, the first new high-rise to be constructed in the city in two decades.) In Detroit, which has undergone a major, if uneven, urban renaissance over the past few years, there’s no shortage of available space for new projects.

But there’s a big problem, von Staden says: a dearth of skilled labor. “I feel this labor shortage acutely every single day,” she laments. “It’s a very interesting time in Detroit, because there’s so much construction going on and not enough trade labor.” Von Staden’s work involves constant calculation — not only in terms of ensuring there’s enough qualified labor to get each job done, but in the day-to-day challenges of designing for an urban environment. She approaches each project like a puzzle, weighing a client’s needs against practical constraints. “It’s always a very interesting math problem,” she says. “You’re figuring out how many people fit into one space, what kind of amenities they need, looking at different work groups and how they work together, looking at the environment you’re building in, putting all those pieces together.” And there’s a dose of pragmatism in her work: von Staden has to create spaces that are flexible and adaptable enough to allow the company to sublease or sell off square footage if needed. One of her first major projects was designing a skyscraper for a tech company that employed 3,000 people in the early 2000s. Just a few years after outfitting them in fancy digs, von Staden had to help them pack their boxes. But Von Staden says she didn’t become an architect for the thrill of designing glamorous high-rises; instead, she finds satisfaction in the quieter, detail-oriented aspects of her job. “I think a lot of people choose architecture because they like the idea of designing fabulous buildings, but not a lot of people are really passionate about the physical work of it — the writing and drawing and detailing — whereas I really like that aspect,” she says. Von Staden draws inspiration from the work of the Saarinens, a family of architects whose résumé includes the Gateway Arch in St. Louis and much of the Cranbrook Academy of Art, where her husband earned his master’s in architecture. “They created a culture and family of responsibility to making their environment beautiful and a better place than they left it,” she says. That’s the ethos around which she’s built her career, and a mantra she hopes will fuel Detroit’s resurgence as a vibrant cultural center. F a l l

2 0 1 7

DESIGNING FOR TWO CULTURES Architect Takemune Takuma ’98 reflects on the Mexico City earthquake — and his stint as a bum

akemune Takuma received his bachelor of architecture degree from Cornell University in 2004. By then, he had spent much of his teens and early twenties in the U.S. and decided to move back to his native Tokyo. After stints at a few architecture firms, he decided to quit to roam around Japan with a sketchbook, recording what he saw. In 2007, he moved to Mexico City to work in the office of renowned Mexican architect Alberto Kalach. In 2013, Takuma, still residing in Mexico City, decided to set up his own practice. Since then, his main focus has been fusing Mexican architectural elements with Japanese sensibilities. But when an earthquake struck on Sept. 19, he returned from a trip to Japan to find the city in rubble. Hotchkiss Magazine talked to him about how to better design buildings for natural disasters, his recent projects, and what inspired him at Hotchkiss.

Q: What was the impact of the quake on the city? Were any buildings spared? A: My office and home were saved, and my neighborhood is mostly okay. It’s not that the entire city is flattened. But it does make you wonder. You can reinforce your house to your heart’s desire, but when a big earthquake strikes, you could be visiting one of these collapsed buildings. It’s up to fate and luck, really. The actual damage in the city is sporadic. However, the buildings that failed did so devastatingly. A similar earthquake struck Mexico City in 1985, in which the number of collapsed buildings and victims was far greater. After the event, the building code was supposedly updated to ensure the safety of future constructions (“Japanese Standard,” a local engineer once told me). As far as construction goes, Mexico can adapt the building and engineering techniques practiced in Japan or California and make structures more earthquake-resistant. But for most projects, the cost will be prohibitively high. I visited Kobe, Japan, two months after the great earthquake of 1995, and I saw much more destruction there. So Japanese engineering is not a panacea, either. In the aftermath, the government updated the building code and emergency contingency plans and structurally retrofitted many buildings. I’m afraid that Mexico has no

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

resources or political will to do the same, and that’s what worries me. Corruption in the construction industry is well-known and exists everywhere, but the problem is widespread and entrenched in Mexico. It is a known fact that clients and contractors pay bribes to get building permits from local governments, environmental and historicpreservation regulators — even to unions and corrupt police to “maintain peace” around construction sites. Many contractors and firms disband and disappear after a project is finished, making it hard to seek accountability when something goes south. Q: How does your practice fit into that landscape? A: I’m not sure what kind of image my architectural practice gives off, but in reality, it is mostly a quiet, one-man operation. In Mexico, as an independent architect, I have yet to have an opportunity to design a brandnew building except for a few that ended as projects. Recently, many reasons brought to my attention this issue of corruption, and I agonize over it. It pains me to think that to be an architect in Mexico means, in one way or another, to participate in this system of corruption. This is not an architectural problem. It is a structural problem of the society, economy, and politics, for which I have no good answer yet.

Steel staircase in Tokyo townhouse designed by Takuma

Q: What prompted you to quit your job at the firm in Tokyo and wander around with your sketchbook? What are some of the tenets of Japanese design that you took back with you? A: Architecture is a grueling profession. When I was working in an office, I hardly had free time to do anything else. I got sick of it, dropped everything, and basically became a bum. It is hard to pinpoint the essence of traditional Japanese architecture. I am drawn to its atmosphere and ambience created by disparate elements, materials, and gardens. I use it as a point of departure and a source of inspiration. I’m not too keen on historicism, as some architects and scholars use it as a kind of dogma of design.

“Conifer,” an urban home in Japan

Q: How did you end up in Mexico, and what made you want to work for Alberto Kalach? What’s the biggest difference between Japanese and Mexican architecture? A: After living in Japan for a few years, I got an itch to get out of the country again. Mexico just happened to be the opportunity that fell in my lap. I saw Alberto Kalach’s work in architecture magazines. His work had a very earthy, fundamental quality, a wild yet refined aura that spoke to me. Just out of curiosity, I sent him my CV and portfolio. After six months, he sent me an email: “If you’re still interested, come over.” In Japan, contemporary architecture is geared towards the avant-garde and involves the use of new technology and building materials. The result often exhibits lightness and complexity. In Mexico, especially in Kalach’s work, architecture has “primitive” strength and is more grounded. Q: Tell me how you first became interested in design. Did any of the classes at Hotchkiss spark your interest? A: I was always inclined to “make things” as a small boy and enjoyed art classes at school. My first encounter with architecture, I recall, was a TV documentary about Frank Lloyd Wright. Hotchkiss’s fine arts program was the first “real” art class I enrolled in. By that, I mean it taught the basics of theory and techniques required to be an artist, as opposed to one of those “just grab a brush and paint something pretty” kind of classes. During those years, I remember being intrigued by Cubist art and Art Deco-era architecture. If I may add, though: in retrospect, the arts in general were regarded very lowly at Hotchkiss and did not receive the respect (or funding)

they deserved. For most students, art was something they took once during four years so they looked “well-rounded” when the time to fill their college application rolled around. Among all the excellent art teachers at the School, I think I had (and still have) a great

rapport with Brad Faus. He knew how to teach the fundamentals, but also gave us fun assignments that let us explore our creativity and imagination.

F a l l

2 0 1 7

THE GIVEAWAY ARTIST For more than a decade, the photographer Fred Cray ’75 has been hiding his “Unique Photographs” — more than 30,000 so far — all over New York City REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES PUBLISHED ON OCT. 1, 2017 WRITTEN BY ADRIENNE GRUNWALD

“ THEY CAUGHT ME

PHOTOS BY FRED CR AY

AT THE GUGGENHEIM ONCE,” HE SAID. “THEY TOLD ME, ‘YOU CAN’T DO THAT.’ I TOLD THEM, ‘WHY NOT?’”

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

Studio view of untitled double-printed photographs and photo booth self-portrait, 2017

ecurity guards at Bergdorf Goodman kept an eye on Fred Cray. A 60-yearold man wearing cheap cherry-red reading glasses and a floral shirt, Mr. Cray adjusted his battered leather messenger bag, peered around his shoulder and pushed his glasses back up his nose as he browsed the racks in men’s wear. Eventually, the guards lost interest in him. That was when he struck. He approached a jacket by the designer Thom Browne and reached into his bag. He pulled out a photograph of a Japanese cityscape at night and stuffed it into a jacket pocket. He slipped another — a dirty man with long hair — into a leather wallet. Then he placed one into a Gucci jacket, one behind a pillow, and on his exit, boldly, he opened the elevator’s utility box and taped a photograph of a faded clown onto its interior panel. “They caught me at the Guggenheim once,” he said. “They told me, ‘You can’t do that.’ I told them, ‘Why not?’” Throughout the day, Mr. Cray deposited over 30 photographs throughout the city. He hid four in a dusty microfilm division of the main branch of the New York Public Library, three inside photocopiers at a Staples, and one behind takeout menus at a taqueria in Brooklyn. He taped one onto a cereal box at a deli in Chelsea, and at a Bed Bath & Beyond he placed some into picture frames and tossed one (an eerie figure scaling a ladder) into a bin of electrical cords.

Over the past 12 years, Mr. Cray has hidden many more photographs around New York. His tally, scrawled on a piece of paper at his studio in Brooklyn, is over 32,600. The photos have appeared in locations as improbable as behind the Venetian-plastered walls of Park Avenue apartments and tucked into the back seat of a police car. To those who find them, they are largely inexplicable: aside from a stamp on the back with his name and the number of their creation, they offer no explanation. Mr. Cray is an artist who has lived in New York since the 1980s, and the photographs are his longest-running project, a series he calls “Unique Photographs.” A pile of pictures ready for distribution sits by the front door of his home in Sunset Park. The place is littered with stacks of them, and they sputter out from his four printers constantly. Their purpose, he explained, is to weave disruption and serendipity into the fabric of the city. The images are of his own creation. Each is different, and their often bizarre imagery is achieved through double exposures; Mr. Cray’s photography has long experimented with superimposing images, which he says can imbue hidden meaning. “Putting one photo over another adds depth and time,” he said. “It adds experience and richness. It adds history.” Pictures from Mr. Cray’s series are currently on display at the Janet Borden Inc. gallery in Dumbo, and the show runs through Oct. 14.

F a l l

2 0 1 7

Untitled unique photograph on street poster in New York City, 2010

Untitled double-printed photograph installed at Venice Biennale, 2011

“PUTTING ONE PHOTO OVER ANOTHER ADDS DEPTH AND TIME,” HE SAID. “IT ADDS EXPERIENCE AND RICHNESS. IT ADDS HISTORY.”

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

Some photographs, like one he recently stuffed into a gap in a bronze statue in the garment district, go unnoticed for weeks. Others, he said, like one he slipped into an obscure music score in an archive at Lincoln Center, can take years. Often, he has no idea what happens to them. But just as often, he hears from those that find them. “I have found Unique Photo #379,” one man emailed him in 2008. “I enjoy finding such treasures in my daily monotony.” The note added cryptically: “You have only been the second person to leave their trace, everyone else is simply a ghost, thank you for your existence.” A woman who found Unique Photo #2019 wrote him: “No need to respond to this email but I did wish to let you know a human being

connected with the picture you left.” And in 2013, someone wrote: “unique photograph 7645 … i would like to come by your studio … to find conversation.” Mr. Cray said that people now find him easily now through his Instagram, but that for years, it took greater effort to contact him. Mr. Cray’s images, however, have gone much farther afield than the metropolitan area. He has deposited them across India, Brazil and Vietnam. When he has slid them into unpurchased envelopes at post offices, they have ended up in Japan. And he has a group of accomplices who aid him with, as he calls it, “seeding” photos across the globe. He claimed that one collaborator recently placed pictures around the Kremlin and Lenin’s tomb. An old college friend of his, Scott Blanchard,

tucked photographs around Tuscany a few years ago. “There was a small town in the hills outside Florence — only reachable by car,” Mr. Blanchard said. “Most people never noticed me hide the photos, but this one old local man saw me. He just looked at me and nodded his head. He said, ‘Bravo.’” The other day, Mr. Cray wandered around Chelsea hiding photos. As he strolled through Bed Bath & Beyond, he suggested that his work followed in a spiritual line of artists like Marcel Duchamp. “He was working even when people thought he wasn’t working,” Mr. Cray said. He had just slipped a photograph (#9845) into a microwave. But few seemed to notice his clandestine work. A man stocking shelves at a bodega eyed him suspiciously, and the salesman at a frame shop grew irritated when he didn’t buy anything. On an R train from Brooklyn to Manhattan, however, Olivia Hamilton, 23, noticed him stick a photograph (#8446) to an advertisement. “In New York everyone sees everything and nothing,” she said. “This could be like: ‘You put a photo there. So what? Someone is shooting heroin in the next subway car.’ But this intrigues me. It makes me want to think.” Mr. Cray was born in Evanston, Ill., in 1957, and he moved to New York in 1979. An early project of his involved photographing the era’s notorious night life at the club Area, where he brushed shoulders with Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat. He has published six books of his photography. Like many artists in New York, Mr. Cray keeps a side gig to make ends financially meet; he is a decorative painter, which is how he came to hide some Unique Photographs within the plastered walls of Park Avenue apartments. “An artist friend who comes from money once asked me, ‘Fred, how do you do it?’” he said. “‘How do you make art without a trust fund in New York?’” Mr. Cray has no plans to end the project, which started with a picture slipped into a book at the Strand. He will stop, he said, only if his imagination runs out. At his studio last month, a series of new pictures sputtered out of a printer. On a desk lay a note scrawled

with his tally of photos alongside a set of stamps that he uses to mark his images. At one point, Mr. Cray considered the most outlandish place he’d ever hidden a photo at over the course of the project. The question stumped him. “I shouldn’t be proud of it,” he finally said. “But when my father died, I placed one into his casket.”

Then he smirked. “Well,” he added. “There were a few other caskets in the room, too.” Fred Cray’s work was exhibited along with the photography of Sandy and Bob Haiko, who started the photography and film program at Hotchkiss, at The Tremaine Art Gallery from Sept. 9 - Oct. 22.

F a l l

2 0 1 7

A CAR NAMED HOTCHKISS

business, Benjamin moved to France in 1867, in part to search for new markets for his military hardware, but also, as the story goes, to marry his mistress. In France, he started a munitions factory, Hotchkiss et Cie, in a suburb of Paris. There, he helped supply Napoleon III with quick-firing rifles. Business thrived; by the early 1880s, there were five Hotchkiss factories in five different European countries. But it wasn’t until nearly 20 years after Benjamin died in 1885 that plans for a Hotchkiss car reached the drawing table. When the market for firearms declined in peacetime, the company began directing its

efforts toward automobile manufacturing. In 1903, the first Hotchkiss car — an 18-horsepower, four-cylinder model — rolled off the factory floor. It debuted at the Paris Salon that same year, its distinctive round radiator bearing a crossed-gun badge, a nod to the company’s roots. By 1905, a six-cylinder model Hotchkiss had become the favored ride of the English aristocracy, competing with the RollsRoyce Silver Ghost for the distinction of most reliable car in the world. The Nizam of Hyderabad (Prince of India) rated the Hotchkiss his favorite among his fleet of

luxury cars; the Duke of Westminster and the Marquess of Linlithgow each had two Hotchkiss automobiles. Despite its popularity in Europe, the first Hotchkiss car was not imported to the U.S. until 1907. Meanwhile, the company continued to produce armaments. By 1914, it manufactured an air-cooled, gas-operated infantry machine gun mounted on tanks that was widely used by several countries, particularly France, during World War I. Over the years, the Hotchkiss company changed ownership several times, and the Hotchkiss had numerous incarnations. In

1954, the company merged with Delahaye, another French luxury car brand, to become Société Hotchkiss-Delahaye. In 1956, that company was taken over by Brandt, a household appliance maker, to become Hotchkiss-Brandt, which was bought in 1966 by Thomson-Houston. The company continued to manufacture military vehicles until 1967, and trucks until 1971. But today, the legacy of the Hotchkiss car has all but faded into history, and the only place you’re likely to spot one is at vintage car shows — or flipping through the pages of Tintin.

From the Dirt Roads of Lakeville to the Monte Carlo Speedway BY WENDY CARLSON

During the 1900s, they crossed the finish line in the French Riviera to win the coveted Monte Carlo Rally six times, and they even had a cameo in the Adventures of Tintin comic books. Savvy vintage automobile aficionados may know all about the car named Hotchkiss and its eccentric past, but most alumni aren’t aware of the French automobile’s connection to the School. Enter Mark Gall ’59, a longtime British car buff who has owned the same 1969 MGB for 48 years. He didn’t know the Hotchkiss car existed until last year, when he went to a British Motor Club of Oregon meeting and met a man named Frank Hotchkiss. Gall wondered if he had any relation to the School. He didn’t. But he did inform Gall about the Hotchkiss car. The news sent him digging to see if the car had any connection to Maria Bissell Hotchkiss, the School’s founder. The search led him to a 1981 article from a British publication, Automobile Quarterly, that traced the history of the Hotchkiss car

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

back to Benjamin Berkeley Hotchkiss, the husband of Maria Bissell Hotchkiss. As it turned out, the cars were made between 1903 and 1955 by the French company, Hotchkiss et Cie, in Saint-Denis, Paris. The car badge was a pair of crossed cannons, a clue to its Lakeville connection. Benjamin Hotchkiss had been a machinist in the Colt Firearms Factory in Hartford, founded by Colonel Samuel Colt, inventor of the Colt revolver and the Winchester rifle. He eventually set up his own shop in Sharon, CT, where he and his older brother, Andrew, also a machinist, began working on a new type of cannon projectile. It was so successful that during the Civil War, the brothers delivered more shells to the North than all the other suppliers combined. But that was just the beginning. Benjamin Hotchkiss went on to invent an even more popular firearm, a light mountain gun that could be mounted on mules and accompany a cavalry troop travelling in rough country. It would prove to be a decisive weapon during the Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890, and again in Cuba for the attack on San Juan Hill during the Spanish-American War. Buoyed by the success of his armament

CAR AD: HERITAGE IMAGE PARTNERSHIP LTD/AL AMY STOCK PHOTO; HOTCHKISS EMBLEM : LES L ADBURY/AL AMY STOCK PHOTO

or a time, they were the chariot of choice for maharajahs.

F a l l

2 0 1 7

St. Luke’s Society members work with Roger Liddell ’63, P’98 clearing woods near campus.

The history of St. Luke’s Society, the School’s oldest community service organization

L 34

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

performance, she yelled to me. We had shared a fun time together, and her connection to me filled my heart. I had made a difference.” The same holds true today for students like Daniel Pai ’19, co-head of St. Luke’s along with Natalie Yang ’18 and Alisa Ghura ’19, who says he became involved in St. Luke’s because of his belief that “there is a moral obligation to help those in need.” The oldest continuously active organization at the School, St. Luke’s Society began in 1892, the year Hotchkiss was founded, just after St. Luke’s Day on Oct. 18, which honors the patron saint of artists, writers, and physicians. Its stated purpose was to “promote Christian fellowship among members of the School.” The vast majority of students belonged to the club, giving rise to the

belief, noted in the 1908-09 Handbook, “as St. Luke’s goes, so Hotchkiss goes.” As time passed, St. Luke’s mission became more focused on charitable work and less on its Christian roots. In keeping with its tradition of community outreach, the society began a program to assist the boys of the Ore Hill Mines in 1908 (see accompanying story). The description of St. Luke’s in the 194950 Handbook reads: “It is the duty of the St. Luke’s Society to see that Hotchkiss makes its contribution to the life outside the School and also to improve relations between different groups in the School and to help the life of the School in whatever way it can. It provides aid for the community of Lakeville and conducts drives for various agencies, organizations, and worthy

hunger relief. Beginning in the mid-1970s, St. Luke’s started volunteer programs with two local schools, Salisbury Central and Maplebrook. A decade later, its activities had expanded to include candy striping at Sharon Hospital, visiting with residents at Noble Horizons retirement community, tutoring and mentoring local school children, participating in Big Brothers/Big Sisters, and serving in the town EMT program. St. Luke’s has shown its strength in adapting to a rapidly changing world. At the same time,

Ore Hill Boys

BY ROBERTA JENCKES

PHOTO CREDIT: THE MISCH

inda Van Voorhis ’89 experienced a turning point in her life when, on a winter weekend in March of her upper-mid year, she helped organize a Special Olympics event at Schmidt Rink with St. Luke’s Society. That day, sounds of laughter filled the rink as Special Olympians skated and competed. The event was a fun and formative experience for Linda (now Linda Bowen). “My time with St. Luke’s was the confirmation about the type of service I felt a calling for,” she says. Today, a special educator teaching middle-school children in Webster, NY, she recalls an especially meaningful moment. “I remember sitting in the stands watching a young girl skating, and when she completed her

Members of St. Luke’s Society pose outside Main in 1976.

TOP PHOTO: DANIEL PAI ’19, BOT TOM PHOTO: HOTCHKISS ARCHIVES

A 125-Year Tradition of Helping Others

1976

causes.” During the postwar years, St. Luke’s spearheaded an annual collection for the School’s adopted war orphan, Henri de Fouw of the Netherlands, and contributed annually to CARE, an international humanitarian relief agency. In 1974, when a fire ravaged a two-family house in Lakeville, St. Luke’s helped to raise $924 for food and other essentials for the victims. Over time, St. Luke’s created ongoing service opportunities for students while continuing to respond to crises and host special events on campus, such as the annual CROP walk for

2017

From its earliest days, St. Luke’s Society has connected Hotchkiss students with the local community — notably with the Ore Hill Boys, who worked in the nearby Ore Hill Mines. According to the Hotchkiss Record, this link was forged in 1908: “The first seed for the Ore Hill Boys’ Club was probably sown in the Chapel on Sunday morning in 1908, when Mr. Estill told of a poor family in Ore Hill who needed help and to whom the day’s contribution would be devoted. Some of the Hotchkiss boys became interested in this family and, after looking into the conditions at Ore Hill, decided to see what could be done to make it possible for Hotchkiss boys and Ore Hill boys to get together…”

some things have remained constant. The Bow Tie Bowl, the annual multi-week academic competition in the spring between teams of students and faculty, continues to draw enthusiastic audiences and raise funds. And the Red Cross blood drive is still a strong School tradition, along with the annual drive to collect winter clothing and serve food to the homeless on the Green in New Haven. “The first St. Luke’s event I participated in was Chapel on the Green,” says Pai, one of this year’s St. Luke’s co-heads. “I helped to distribute sandwiches made by students on campus to the homeless in New Haven, along with Isabella Schwartz ’19, Eleanor Gray ’19, Brant Hadzima ’20 and Mrs. Hadzima, and Lou Pressman (longtime advisor to St. Luke’s). It truly was a wonderful experience to be able to give to the homeless. It was a rainy day, but there was still a large crowd waiting in line. “The more community service activities I participate in, the more I realize how much more I can and should do to help those in need,” says Pai. “I think, along with all the other St. Luke’s participants, that community service is really about giving; however, in turn, we get more than we give, and maybe that’s why each time I participate in an activity, it leaves me wanting to do more.” Special thanks to Joan Baldwin and Rosemary Davis of The Hotchkiss School Archives & Special Collections for their assistance with this article.

1917

Portrait of St. Luke’s Society in 1917 from the Misch

Permission was obtained for the old school house in Ore Hill to be used as a clubroom on Saturday nights, when the Hotchkiss boys would arrive with musical instruments and games to be enjoyed with the Ore Hill boys. The gatherings proved so successful that plans for a permanent, larger building were approved. Hotchkiss students and alumni, along with Lakeville residents, raised the needed funds. The Ore Hill boys, who toiled in the mines during the day, worked evenings on the new extension, which included a basketball court. Thus, a friendly sports rivalry developed between the Ore Hill and Hotchkiss boys. Spectators paid a small admission fee to watch the teams engage in good-natured competition.

F a l l

2 0 1 7

1977

125 YEARS of FOOTBALL

1938

Through Two World Wars and an Influenza Outbreak, the Hotchkiss Legacy Has Never Fumbled

1892 1954

BY ROGER WISTAR

2000

1976

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

1977

F PHOTOS: HOTCHKISS ARCHIVES & SPECIAL COLLECTIONS

1925

2017

rom its earliest days at Hotchkiss, when the forward pass was still a figment of the imagination of audacious coaches, through 13 decades of battling on the field, football has brought acclaim and prestige to the School. This year, Hotchkiss commemorated the 125th anniversary of the football program, its longest continuously running interscholastic sport. Hotchkiss marked the occasion with a special reunion weekend this fall. Former players and coaches returned to Lakeville on Oct. 28 for a lunch with the current members of the team, followed by a campus visit and culminating in a game against Williston that evening. Coach Danny Smith P’18, ’20, athletics co-director and head of the football program since 2001, who led the Bearcats to the New England championship in 2008 and a return to the finals in 2009, emphasized the importance of preserving the bonds between past and current players.

“Every time we get together with former players, our kids get a lot out of it,” said Smith. “They’re reminded what a special place this is and what an impact it has on people’s lives.” The benefit for football alumni is equally important, said Smith. “Former players, who are all in various stages of their lives, get nostalgic. They’re very willing to share their experiences and their background with our current students.” Last year offered a preview of this year’s event, when several members of the 1991 championship team returned to campus for a similar, but much smaller, reunion with the current team. The 1991 team was in its third decade under head coach Rick DelPrete P’85, ’87, ’91, who led the program from 1978-2000 and remained involved with the team for more than a decade after that. Indeed, the legacy of Hotchkiss football, in part, has been its history of stability and continuity, with relatively few head coaches over its history.

“It’s about tradition,” said DelPrete. “It’s about 125 years of kids putting on blue uniforms to represent Hotchkiss on the football field, about taking pride in that.” DelPrete recalls fondly the 1991 championship game, a heroic 42-41 comeback victory over Governor Dummer that saw the Bearcats, who hosted the game, trailing by 20 points in the fourth quarter. Following Governor Dummer’s final score, Hotchkiss returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown and sparked an epic rally. “Afterwards, one of the refs told me that it was the best game he’d ever been involved with,” said DelPrete. Towering over all of them, of course, is the School’s first athletic director, Otto Monahan, who set the program on its successful course. He was a pioneer not only in Hotchkiss sports, but in the sport of football as a whole. In 1941, looking back on more than four decades of coaching football at Hotchkiss,

F a l l

2 0 1 7

Messages from the Alumni Association

Expressions of anticipation and agony on the mud-splattered faces of players as they wait on the bench during a 1956 game.

“

IT’S ABOUT TRADITION. IT’S ABOUT 125 YEARS OF KIDS PUTTING ON BLUE UNIFORMS TO REPRESENT HOTCHKISS ON THE FOOTBALL FIELD, ABOUT TAKING PRIDE IN THAT.” – Rick DelPrete

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

Bearcats outscored their opponents 204-8 and defeated a team of Yale freshmen. In 1912, the team scored what at the time was a record score for a single game, a 103-6 victory over Albany Academy. The total tallies for 42 years of Hotchkiss football were staggering. Monahan’s record as a head coach was 178-72-20, outscoring his opponents by a margin of 5,509-1,670. Monahan’s chronicle of football also provided a window into the times. Writing in 1918, Monahan noted that, “We had great hopes for a fine team in 1918…but the war activities took several players from School and after the season opened other regulars were called to service.” The team played only four games that season, due to the war and the worldwide influenza epidemic, which forced many schools into quarantine. With the outbreak of World War II, the Bearcats were forced to suspend their annual series with Hill in 1941. The game would not be played again for 60 years, when Smith took his squad down to Pennsylvania in 2001 for a special game to commemorate the old rivalry. Monahan also viewed himself as a football pioneer, noting in 1911 his establishment of

touch football (or “touchball,” as he called it) as a way of encouraging more familiarity with the sport for newcomers. In that same year, Monahan noted his innovation in forward passing. “Though the forward pass had been in use for several years, very few coaches had made a comprehensive study of the fascinating possibilities of this phase of the game, and it was about this time that we laid the foundation for what in later years became the most interesting angle of the game from the standpoint of the coach, player, and spectator.” More than any focus on strategy or tactics, Monahan’s abiding belief in the lessons of football have carried through generations of coaches and continue to this day. “I can look back feeling that a great many of the ablest scholars of Hotchkiss have played football, have improved their grades while playing, and many, many more, less able scholastically, have become ambitious to succeed in their classroom duties as a result of the discipline, courage to overcome obstacles, and good habits of application that are acquired on the football field,” said Monahan, “and all of this, to my mind, leads to the development of character, leadership, and real men.”

PHOTO: HOTCHKISS ARCHIVES & SPECIAL COLLECTIONS

Monahan penned a sports memoir, Forty-Two Years of Hotchkiss Football, that provides insights into not just the sport he coached, but the life of the School during those formative years. Legendary sportswriter Grantland Rice wrote the forward, underscoring Monahan’s impact. “He knew every angle of his job as a football coach. Beyond that, his influence upon the characters of young fellows who were lucky enough to be on his squads is something beyond any summing up,” wrote Rice. Some of Monahan’s accounts evoke memories of a simpler time. In 1897, his second year, Monahan wrote: “We were at a disadvantage owing to the fact that School was in session until four o’clock and as it was dark by five, it was absolutely necessary for the fellows to dress before the last recitation.” In 1904, when the team battled against The Hill School, at the time a football powerhouse and the program against which Monahan measured the Bearcats each year, he wrote: “We held Hill on the one yard line, took the ball on downs and steadily forced them near the goal when time was called to allow them to catch a train.” From these humble beginnings, Monahan began to build a juggernaut. Even in 1897, the

Building Connections, Building Legacy: Alumni of Color Reunion n June 18, the School hosted its first-ever Alumni of Color Reunion. Fifty alumni, including faculty and staff members and friends of the School, participated in the event, which included brunch, panel discussions, and a special memorial to faculty of color who have passed away. Nicole Phillips ’89 and Sean Nash ’89 (in absentia) paid tribute to Barbara Brown; Kevin Herrera ’12 honored Julia Wu Trethaway; and Keith Holmes ’77 shared remembrances of Walter J. Crain. Panel discussions included “Our Trailblazers,” featuring Gigi Pan ’77, Nader Tehrani ’81, Dina D. Strachan ’84, and Sunil Desai ’87, who talked about how education is key to upward mobility and remains crucial to overcoming what can seem like unreasonable odds and unbearable challenges. Andre Swanston ’99, Nailah Ellis Timberlake ’00, and Claire Brooks ’07 talked about their career trajectory after graduating from Hotchkiss. Their stories “taught us the importance of building on legacy by leveraging social networks and friendships formed at and beyond Hotchkiss for the purposes of creating ’new’ legacy,” said Nicole Phillips, chair of the Alumni of Color Committee. In discussing philanthropy and community activism, John Ellis ’74, Ivan Henderson ’95, and Alexsis M. Blakely ’00 stressed the value of applying time, talents, and funding to initiate social change. Commenting on the reunion, Nicole Phillips said, “By the close of the day, the Alumni of Color Committee of the Board of Governors had welcomed and welcomed back alumni of color to celebrate, connect, and participate in building new legacy— rooted in a Hotchkiss legacy that began 125 years ago: a legacy that has supplied us with vivid memories, shaped solid friendships, and leaves us with unwavering hope in an even brighter future. The Alumni of Color’s celebration of the School’s first 125 years and our inaugural Reunion event are both an outgrowth and natural development of Maria Harrison Bissell Hotchkiss’s benevolent spirit and long-lasting legacy.”

Be an Advisor! Our alumni network is a valuable resource. The Hotchkiss Alumni Career Network allows users to tap into this network, pairing advisors with advice seekers. This network allows advisors to choose the services they would like to offer (i.e., career conversations, resume critiques, or mock interviews), and advice seekers can search for alumni in many fields. Signing up is fast and easy at www.hotchkiss.firsthand.co. Questions? Email Gail Massey in the Alumni Office: gmassey@hotchkiss.org

Other ways to stay in touch:

F a l l

ALUMNI

2 0 1 7

2 0 16 - 20 17

Annual Report of Giving

PHOTO: MARGARET SZUBR A

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

2 01 6 - 2 0 1 7

A n n ua l

Re p o r t

o f

G i v i n g

2016-2017 Annual Report of Giving

Dear members of the Hotchkiss community, I am proud to report the results of the School’s overall fundraising efforts during 2016-2017, Hotchkiss’s 125th year. A record-breaking number of donors — over 4,200 — contributed to The Hotchkiss Fund, The Parents Fund, and various endowment and capital initiatives. The community raised an extraordinary $25.1 million in total gift revenue to assure that the School has the resources to provide an exceptional residential secondary education to unusually talented young people while supporting a superb faculty and outstanding staff.

Honoring those who have made a decision to support the vision and mission of the School by remembering Hotchkiss in their estate planning.

ince Maria Bissell Hotchkiss provided a 65-acre-parcel of land and an endowment of $200,000 and $75,000 for the construction of The Hotchkiss School in 1891, we have sought to offer an environment where exceptional learning opportunities challenge both teachers and students. In this endeavor, Hotchkiss has benefited from the generosity of thousands of alumni, parents, grandparents, and friends who, following in the footsteps of Maria Hotchkiss, have made gifts and bequests in support of the School. Countless School programs, including many of our 200-plus named scholarships, have either been established by or supplemented by those who have made planned gifts to Hotchkiss. We are pleased to report that in the past several years, five new endowed scholarships have been established through estate gifts. Commitments such as these have a tremendous impact on our School today. We are truly grateful to those who have followed in our founder’s footsteps by including Hotchkiss in their estate plans.

The Hotchkiss Fund, which provides critical support to the School’s operating budget, raised $5,448,974. A total of 3,049 Hotchkiss alumni donated $3,150,914 to The Hotchkiss Fund, a 38 percent participation rate. Parents of current students raised a record-breaking $1,941,444 for The Hotchkiss Parents Fund. Eighty-one percent of parents contributed to The Parents Fund, one of the highest rates of participation among our peer schools. This success was created by the many members of the community who made gifts and encouraged others to support the School. Your devotion and engagement are inspirational. Thank you.

The Charles J. Harrington ’29 Scholarship The Charles A. Brown ’42, P’68 and Walter H. Brown ’42, P’70 Scholarship

Sincerely,

The Andrew J. McDonald ’47 Scholarship

PHOTO: WENDY CARLSON

The Robert F. Swift ’51 Scholarship

Craig W. Bradley Head of School

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

The Todd J. Mueller ’60 Scholarship

2 01 6 - 2 0 1 7

A n n ua l

Re p o r t

o f

G i v i n g

2016-2017 Annual Report of Giving

at a glance

Revenues and Expenditures

Report of Gifts July 1, 2016 – June 30, 2017

The 2016-17 operating budget was approximately $51.4 million. The School takes great pride in the stewardship of its funds. Charitable giving allows Hotchkiss to continue providing an outstanding education.

The Hotchkiss Fund

Percentage of Total Revenues

$112,565

$5,448,975 Restricted Current Use

Net Tuition (Gross less financial aid)

48.3%

Authorized Endowment Utilization

33.0%

Restricted Endowment

The Hotchkiss Fund

10.6%

Fees and Other

3.8%

$12,412,388

Auxiliary Enterprises

2.5%

Unrestricted Endowment

Summer Portals

1.5%

Restricted Annual Gifts

0.3%

$132,994

Giving Societies

Property, Plant, and Equipment

Percentage of Total Expenditures Salaries, Wages, and Stipends

42.3%

All Benefits

17.4%

Plant Operations

9.8%

Other General Institutional

7.8%

Plant Capital and Special Items Student Support

$7,056,559

All cash gifts to the School from July 1, 2016 – June 30, 2017

Gifts Pending Designation

Donors

The Hotchkiss Fund

Total Given

Minerva Council $100,000 or more

$742,875

$18,347,490

6.9%

Head of School’s Council $50,000 - $99,999

$440,185

$1,207,577

5.5%

Leadership Council $25,000 - $49,999

$1,025,646

$1,738,144

Legal, Insurance, and Other Professional Services

5.5%

Interest on Debt

2.8%

Summer Portals

1.3%

Gift Level

$300

Total Gifts

St. Luke’s Society $10,000 – $24,999

122

$1,197,961

$1,562,784

$25,163,781

Maria Hotchkiss Society $5,000 - $9,999

152

$703,192

$843,175

The 1891 Society $1,891 - $4,999

232

$511,006

$592,899

Olympians 1st – 5th Reunion $250 - $4,999

$1,550

Pythians 6th – 10th Reunion $500 - $4,999

$34,977

$35,452

3,653

$791,583

$861,888

Contingency 0.7% PHOTO: ANNE DAY

Blue & White Society up to $1,890

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

2 01 6 - 2 0 1 7

A n n ua l

Re p o r t

o f

G i v i n g

2016-2017 Annual Report of Giving

The Hotchkiss Fund

$5,448,975 Total amount raised in 2016-2017

38% 28 40% overall alumni participation

alumni classes that achieved 50% participation or higher

reunion class participation overall

27 classes in FY15 25 classes in FY14

The Hotchkiss Parents Fund

$1,941,444 Total amount raised in 2016-2017 Thank you, Hotchkiss parents!

PHOTO: WENDY CARLSON

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

Once again, the Hotchkiss parent community has set a new philanthropic record by achieving the highest level of parent fundraising results in the School’s history! Thanks to the extraordinary leadership of Parents Fund Chairs, Sandy and April Neubauer P’14,’18, and the enthusiastic outreach of our 60 volunteer families, a total of $3,237,758 was raised through both annual and capital gifts to

Hotchkiss this year from current and past parents. Parent participation increased to 81 percent from 78 percent last year. The entire Hotchkiss community extends its sincere gratitude to all of our generous families. Contributions to The Hotchkiss Parents Fund totaled $2,407,755 ($1,941,444 from non-alumni parents and $466,311 from alumni parents).

2 01 6 - 2 0 1 7

A n n ua l

Re p o r t

o f

G i v i n g

2016-2017 Annual Report of Giving

Class Giving Summary Results July 1, 2016 – June 30, 2017

Non-Reunion Classes CLASS YEAR

% OF THE HOTCHKISS PARTICIPATION FUND

DONORS ALL FUNDS

TOTAL DOLLARS ALL FUNDS

1935 1936 1938 1939 1940 1941 1943 1944 1945 1946 1948 1949 1950 1951 1953 1954 1955 1956 1958 1959 1960 1961 1963 1964 1965 1966 1968 1969 1970 1971 1973 1974 1975

71% $34,118 5 $34,118 100% $5,699 2 $5,699 67% $214 2 $50,214 71% $3,663 5 $3,663 100% $2,000 2 $2,000 14% $500 1 $500 31% $1,950 5 $1,950 79% $18,315 15 $18,415 44% $2,150 12 $32,400 59% $3,575 10 $8,613 65% $11,189 17 $39,189 98% $12,245 41 $10,012,245 66% $20,759 21 $20,759 58% $14,345 23 $245,122 85% $68,292 39 $193,342 60% $8,325 25 $9,825 58% $60,577 25 $139,771 77% $45,350 36 $65,400 81% $34,656 43 $78,456 66% $19,703 35 $50,903 70% $61,570 30 $111,570 43% $11,791 25 $11,841 55% $43,449 27 $145,928 62% $29,392 24 $262,294 40% $36,272 35 $176,802 56% $17,913 49 $154,810 32% $37,568 28 $3,540,543 47% $60,132 40 $625,682 62% $19,468 47 $26,968 39% $44,481 27 $58,981 38% $27,865 35 $33,865 40% $45,330 40 $46,870 37% $24,005 42 $24,355

CLASS YEAR

% OF THE HOTCHKISS PARTICIPATION FUND

DONORS ALL FUNDS

TOTAL DOLLARS ALL FUNDS

1976 1978 1979 1980 1981 1983 1984 1985 1986 1988 1989 1990 1991 1993 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2001 2003 2004 2005 2006 2008 2009 2010 2011 2013 2014 2015 2016

44% $48,960 53 $116,100 43% $148,744 57 $173,748 46% $75,234 66 $105,527 24% $345,575 31 $1,633,606 38% $223,806 55 $320,565 34% $84,294 45 $84,519 44% $61,248 62 $86,848 36% $83,275 52 $97,275 38% $67,081 59 $67,106 28% $49,719 43 $49,754 42% $64,546 62 $70,171 36% $38,295 48 $38,920 28% $45,408 42 $45,858 32% $16,000 51 $16,100 27% $18,702 41 $19,302 19% $65,065 31 $66,565 30% $15,197 46 $15,217 16% $7,623 24 $7,673 24% $8,126 40 $8,226 25% $17,128 41 $24,803 22% $3,070 33 $11,020 36% $12,196 53 $30,032 32% $8,388 57 $11,888 35% $6,070 58 $6,295 33% $5,357 52 $5,507 49% $6,686 88 $7,187 39% $15,859 71 $15,869 33% $12,162 57 $12,162 39% $14,055 70 $14,095 28% $2,088 49 $2,088 26% $2,895 45 $2,895 29% $2,839 51 $2,859 40% $2,103 72 $3,488

Reunion Classes % OF THE HOTCHKISS PARTICIPATION FUND

DONORS ALL FUNDS

TOTAL DOLLARS ALL FUNDS

1937 1942 1947 1952 1957 1962 1967 1972

50% $304 1 $304 100% $3,900 8 $4,400 71% $10,895 29 $170,213 64% $14,825 21 $25,325 75% $41,103 43 $61,103 55% $5,615 22 $5,615 50th Reunion Campaign in Progress 43% $57,708 40 $77,458

CLASS YEAR

% OF THE HOTCHKISS PARTICIPATION FUND

DONORS ALL FUNDS

TOTAL DOLLARS ALL FUNDS

1977 1982 1987 1992 1997 2002 2007 2012

44% $219,476 61 $245,476 22% $50,534 32 $120,534 48% $145,861 70 $179,386 28% $27,743 42 $29,943 29% $46,673 44 $50,523 34% $14,908 54 $114,908 32% $3,811 57 $4,011 43% $4,722 75 $12,892

* For classes in a reunion year, ‘Total Gifts’ reflect all cash and newly-established commitments to the School from July 1, 2016 – June 30, 2017. Multi-year pledges and planned gifts are reflected in full in the fiscal year in which they are made, and at the level of any cash received in subsequent years.

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

PHOTO: WENDY CARLSON

CLASS YEAR

2 01 6 - 2 0 1 7

A n n ua l

Re p o r t

o f

G i v i n g

2016-2017 Annual Report of Giving

Hotchkiss 125 Challenge Results

$1,114,659 Raised for Hotchkiss

1,430 161 First-time donors

OVERALL DONORS

Donors from the Class of 2016 (the most of any alumni class)

25 Different funds at Hotchkiss were supported

312 People

attended one of 14 different “Toast To 125” events around the world

1,011 Alumni 308 Parents & Grandparents 111 Faculty, Staff, Students & Friends

PHOTO: WENDY CARLSON

Donors 50

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

by Constituent Group

203

Likes, Shares & Retweets of Hotchkiss 125 Challenge content on Facebook and Twitter 2 01 6 - 2 0 1 7

A n n ua l

Re p o r t

o f

G i v i n g

2016-2017 Annual Report of Giving

senior

CLASS GIFT

PARENTS GIFT

The Class of 2017 Beachfront Activity Area

The Class of 2017 Senior Parents Gift

121

members of the Class of 2017 made a gift to the Senior Class Gift Campaign to support the installment of the Class of 2017 Activity Area at the beachfront of Lake Wononscopomuc.

71.2% $1,588

74 parents supported this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Senior Parents Gift effort, raising a total of

$737,490

of seniors gave, raising a total of

to fund the construction of a new, state-of-the-art EFX (Engineering, Fabrication, and Exploration) Lab in the Griswold Science Building. The Lab, completed in September 2017, provides students with the space and equipment to engage in hands-on engineering and design projects and integrate STEM disciplines with other subjects, such as economics, architecture, robotics, the arts, and science.

for their project.

As a result of their successful fundraising campaign, members of the Hotchkiss community can now enjoy a lakeside game of tetherball, or take in the view from one of the new, weather-resistant Adirondack chairs, which furnish the Class of 2017 Activity Area.

THANK A D O N O R D AY

of our loyal and generous donors.

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

PHOTO: MARGARET SZUBR A

900

PHOTO: WENDY CARLSON

Last year, students, faculty, and staff members wrote thank you notes to over

2 01 6 - 2 0 1 7

A n n ua l

Re p o r t

o f

G i v i n g

Class not es

Hotchkiss Reunion Class Photos

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

PHOTOS: JONATHAN DOSTER AND BRIAN WILCOX

otchkiss welcomed 675 alumni, family members, and friends from the Classes of 19472012 on the weekend of June 16, 2017. Highlights from Reunion Weekend included outdoor yoga taught by Greg Montgomery ’77, an astronomy lecture by Kevin Baines ’77, a book discussion with Tom Reiss ’82, P’20, and a Global Citizenship panel led by Sunil Desai ’87, George Longstreth ’57, P’82,’85,’96, GP’21, and Herster Barres ’52. Head of School Craig Bradley and Board of Trustees President Jeannie Weinberg Rose ’80, P’18 were presented with a check for more than $1 million to The Hotchkiss Fund on behalf of all the returning classes. Record-breaking numbers of reunion guests spent Saturday afternoon at Fairfield Farm for a presentation and farm-to-table food tasting. The weekend culminated with attendees of all ages dancing the night away in the Harris House tent.

F a l l

2 0 1 7

Class not es

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

F a l l

2 0 1 7

Class not es 39

From A L S I L B E R M A N : “Off to Houston for a cancer check-up. So far, all is well. Beautiful here on Lake Michigan. I am concerned somewhat that my memory is failing. I have difficulty remembering things that I have recently done. So that is the good news for the day. I take six pills in the morning and four at night, but it is better than the alternative. My daughter, L A U R E N ’ 9 6 , had one of her pictures at the art gallery at Hotchkiss for the School’s 125th birthday. She was very pleased, as were we.”

CLASS AGENT: Ed Cissel

CLASS AGENT: Bob Royle

43 CLASS AND REUNION AGENT: Len Marshall

CLASS AGENT: Alan Kirk

CLASS AGENT: Blair Childs B L A I R C H I L D S writes, “Even though we lost two old friends, W I N N I E M A X W E L L and H A N B O W M A N , there are still 26 class survivors in our 90s who would be interested in our post-retirement biographies. Here is mine, and I hope others will follow: After many years with United Technologies, they gave me a golden handshake in 1987. I took it gladly, since I was an only child and my parents were ailing, making frequent trips to Washington, D.C., necessary. This would not have been possible while working. In addition, I did some consulting as well as driving the town ambulance, acting as a volunteer reading instructor in a state prison, and participating in town politics. I was chairman of the board of finance for 20 years and treasurer for four. In 1992, my wife was diagnosed with Alzheimers, which took most of my time until she died in 1999. A couple of years later, I luckily met Peggy Robards, and we have been happy ever since.” J E R E M Y M O N TA G U

writes, “Retired since 1995 from lecturer/curator post at Oxford University’s Bate Collection of Musical Instruments, and now am emeritus fellow of Wadham College, Oxford. Been writing books ever since: the latest is The Shofar; the most important, Origins and Development of Musical Instruments. Lots of free downloads, mostly musical, on my website, jeremymontagu.co.uk; an autobiography, Random Memories; and an entertaining storybook, Wendy, The Lives and Loves of a Dragon. Now a widower with

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

Jeremy Montagu, retired since 1995 from lecturer/ curator post at Oxford University’s Bate Collection of Musical Instruments, is currently emeritus fellow of Wadham College, Oxford.

From J E R R Y G R E E N : “At last, I have gone home. That is to say, I have moved back to Grosse Point; intend to switch it back to my tax-paying, voting residence from Palm Desert, CA. I’ve reverted to snowbird status the last couple of years anyway, with temporary addresses in our Michigan towns. Therefore, I managed to meet with W O O D I E W O O D H O U S E at a Senior Men’s Club luncheon in May. I continue to love nostalgia.” From W O O D I E W O O D H O U S E : “Met J E R R Y for lunch last week at our Senior Men’s Club and welcomed him back to Grosse Point from the golden west. He is looking well, and we did talk Hotchkiss a little bit. Our new address is 17111 E. Jefferson Ave., Apt 6, Grosse Point, MI 48230.” GREEN

three children, 10 grandchildren, four greatgrandchildren. Lots more info on the website.”

CLASS AGENT: Hocky Hotchkiss

The stalwart class agent, H O C K Y H O T C H K I S S , has gathered the following news from his fellow ’46ers: T E D D A N A writes, “My PCP is the same age as my son. He has my records going back some 30 years. Looks like he’s been taking good care of me, but maybe I deserve some credit, too. I pay attention to the do’s and don’ts of living these days. And I try to get in a 1.5 mile walk most days. I can’t forget what’s wrong with me, though, because he lists them all in each of his reports. The last count was 28. Fortunately, almost all of them don’t show! We had a family gathering over the Fourth, in part to celebrate the 60th birthday of my twin daughters, courtesy of my nephew Bob Dana. He has a big made-over farmhouse and barn in the Catskills sufficient to accommodate some 30 family members plus nine dogs. A great time was had by all. Next for me is EAA, the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) event in Oshkosh, WI. Word has it that EAA lands some 14,000 aircraft there in one week.”

From E D D O W N E , “Nothing new, Hocky, but you’re nice to keep up considering all the pill hassle. You’ve got a great spirit.” From B O B V A N M A R X : “Nothing much new. We took a Viking trip up the Elbe River. It started in Berlin to Potsdam and Wittenberg, where we got on the boat to Prague. A very good trip, wonderful service and food, and a few nice people, mostly Brits. Would like to take another one but things look a bit dicey at the moment. Maybe a trip to the northwest. Over the summer, we went to the School and attended Portals concerts. First class. I reduced my pill intake to about seven. Had a friend who took 18 pills a day and felt terrible. Someone suggested he see another doctor to see if the pills were compatible. Apparently, two-thirds were not, and that caused the problem. Who knows?” Another note from T E D D A N A : “I forgot to report on my kidneys. I have stage three kidney disease, but my doc says I won’t be on dialysis until I reach 100. Fat chance. My

kidneys quit a couple years ago. Eight days in the VA hospital brought them back to life. I’ve got an ultrasound coming up to see how they’re behaving. No problem. I watch my potassium consumption, which is bad for kidneys, and keep going. That’s it.” And a note from P E T E L I M B U R G : “My e-mail address is now peterrlimburg@gmail.com. We went on a family visit to daughter, Ellen, and kids in New Mexico in August. The reason was to take the youngest grandchild, Mark Santistevan, to college in Denver. This is his first year in college, and he plans to major in music production and management. He and his roommate have each a bedroom to themselves, a bathroom, and a little kitchen with stove, fridge, and dishwasher; quite different from what we had at Yale. Incoming freshmen were greeted by student volunteers with lists in hand; their belongings were quickly loaded into cardboard boxes on wheeled platforms and whisked off to their rooms (five minutes unloading time was allotted per vehicle), and the students were led to their new abodes. That evening, all six of us went out to dinner while Marky attended a floor meeting (at CU Denver, the dorms are organized by floor rather than stairwell). After that, the college had a big luau, which he said was pretty good. I should also mention that the incoming freshpersons (coed) passed through a courtyard in which a DJ was loudly playing the music of the young, and snacks were handed out. The next day, we went to an IKEA store and bought Marky all the stuff he needed and didn’t have. Ellen and Mark’s siblings helped him put together bookshelves and put the room in order. Maggie and I and Ellen’s gentleman friend went to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science and saw some interesting exhibits. I forgot to mention that on the way up, we made a side trip to a town called Manitou Springs and visited a wonderful nature park called the Garden of the Gods, which featured spectacular red rock formations.” Reflecting on Hotchkiss days, Hocky writes, “Mostly, dorm life was pretty boring, but FRED SHAFFER and his cousin, Bill, found ways to make it interesting. One day, Fred got a box of chocolate candy from his grandmother for his birthday. Fred thought this was a good chance to play a trick on a classmate

who loved candy. So they took a razor blade and carefully cut a hole in the bottom of each candy. Then they sucked the filling out of the candies. Then they took some Ex Lax they happened to have and melted the Ex Lax on the radiator. They poured the Ex Lax into each of the candies, put them out on the window ledge to harden, then used the razor blade to shave the bottom of the candies, which they put back in the box and then placed the open box on Fred’s desk. Sure enough, the target classmate stopped in their room, and seeing the candy, helped himself to some. Then he went to his room. About a half hour later, the target guy came running down the hall as fast as he could to the men’s room. Fred and Bill laughed like hell.”

CLASS AGENTS: Hank Duckham, Hank Hamlin,

and John Schullinger JACK BLUM

returned to Lakeville in September to visit Fairfield Farm and tour the new Mary M. Graf Barn and the Grange. “It’s just wonderful,” Blum said of the renovations to the Blum house and the other developments at the Farm.

48 CLASS AND REUNION AGENT: Frank Kittredge F R A N K K I T T R E D G E sends this dispatch: “Contrary to some erroneous information I sent out earlier this year, there WILL BE a 70th Reunion for the great Class of 1948 on June 15-17, 2018. More information will follow shortly by letter, but mark your calendars!” SKIP NALEN

attended his 65th reunion at Princeton and writes that he “found it a bit sad with most of my friends gone, but thanks to name tags (with very bold print), I could find a surprising number of familiar good guys. On the whole, however, it was basically a bittersweet affair. I did run into two Hotchkiss classmates: K E I T H D A W S O N and G I L D U N H A M .” G I L D U N H A M brings us up to date with his news. “We have contracted to sell our home in New Canaan, CT, and have purchased a condo in Hanover, NH, where we’ll probably spend the rest of our days. Hanover is quite an exciting town, and New Hampshire is very much like Connecticut was 40 years ago. Both Abby and I went back to Princeton for our 65th reunion

and were joined by S K I P N A L E N and K E I T H D A W S O N , both of whom led distinguished careers in business and medicine.” D I C K K I R K reports, “All is well in Denver, and with Susan’s death, I am now back on the bridge circuit. I just enjoyed a week in Seattle and the San Juan Islands with Janet Ketcham, Sam’s widow, and friends. We share a house in Cabo San Jose, where I go frequently in the winter. I still go to my office, where my secretary of 53 years and I have a successful fingerprinting company, which is now up for sale. Two of my daughters attended Hotchkiss; so many fond memories.” C Y R I L G S E L L writes, “It was good to hear that at least a few of the Class of ’48 are still kicking. I’m still keeping busy, golfing as much as possible and still walking the 18, but not getting any better at the game. Had to quit skiing a couple of years ago after being blindsided by an out-of-control skier at Deer Valley in Utah. Luckily, no permanent damage.”

In response to the letter and obituary of D O D G E F E R N A L D , S P E N C E B R E N T sent Frank a very interesting summary of his activities since leaving college. Frank says, “I’ll include a copy in the next letter we send out. In the meantime, his Air Force jet flying experience and his tennis career have combined to make a very full and successful life.” Finally, classmates at the Yale 1952 Reunion were: D O C B O N N I E , T E D E W I N G , J O H N H I N C K S , W I L L I S V A N D E V A N T E R , and FRANK KITTREDGE.

CLASS AGENT: Marvin Deckoff M A R V I N D E C K O F F writes, “It may be an ominous sign, but a lot of my ’49 classmates are into writing their memoirs. S A N D Y M C C O R M I C K just sent me a beautifully produced volume entitled Yankee Oilman. In full color, it tells of Sandy’s career and family life, and there are many references to his early years at Hotchkiss. P E T E R W E S T E R M A N N , too, is publishing a series of smaller publications, each detailing an aspect of his life. The most recent concerns his artistic development as an orchestra conductor, but the one I like best is about the summer he spent pouring concrete for the Quogue fire house. J O N N E W M A N has just published a book called Benched!...Tales from the

F a l l

2 0 1 7

Class not es 54

CLASS AGENTS: Al Ferguson and Cal Heminway PAUL DUNN

writes, “My cousin, S A M A B E R N E T H Y ’ 6 1 , travelled 350 miles on his motorcycle to visit me and my wife, Anne, at our camp on Little Long Lake in the Adirondacks the last weekend in August. I had not seen Sam since his wedding 34 years ago — it was a great visit.”

51 John French III with his wife, Carole, who is holding the 2017 Artistic Distinction Award they received from Young Concert Artists of New York this spring for their years of service

Paul Dunn ’54 and wife, Anne, with Dunn’s cousin, Sam Abernethy ’61, who travelled 350 miles on his motorcycle to visit them at their camp on Little Long Lake in the Adirondacks last August

Life of A Federal Judge. I haven’t read that one yet, but it is available from Amazon. With all the recent discussion of infrastructure spending, it sounds to me as though the Class of 1949 is a shovel-ready project!”

Metropolitan Opera Guild, and was executive director of the U.S. Privacy Protection Study Commission. She is currently president of the St. Bartholomew’s Conservancy in NYC.”

CLASS AGENT: Bob Blankfein

CLASS AGENTS: Harvey Black, Peter Genereaux,

and Charlie Roraback JOHN FRENCH

writes, “Carole and I were awarded the 2017 Artistic Distinction Award from the Young Concert Artists of New York this spring for many years of service to YCA and to music internationally. YCA is a 50-year-old organization dedicated to locating and sponsoring extremely talented young musicians and singers, including Emanuel Ax, Dawn Upshaw, Murray Perahia, Carter Brey, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, and many more. I served as an active board member for 22 years and established its endowment. I was also a trustee of the New York Philharmonic, the New York City Opera, and the Smithsonian Institution, among others. Carole is a life trustee of the Wadsworth Atheneum, a trustee of the Washington National Symphony and the

54 61

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

BUD HUDSON

relates this story: “This past May, Pamela and I invited Jody and J O N A T H A N B U S H to join us at a Trout Fly-Fishing Club (Fontinalis Club) in northern Michigan, near the town of Vanderbilt. Many trout were landed and released by all over the three-plus-day stay.”

CLASS AGENT: Julian Coolidge

53 CLASS AND REUNION AGENTS: Rusty Chandler,

A L F E R G U S O N delivers this dispatch: “W A R R E N C L A R K , now retired from the head job at Churches for Middle East Peace in D.C., played host to Al and Ann Ferguson, who ventured from Fishers Island, NY, in their very small outboard boat to visit Renny and Elizabeth at their summer place on Mystic Island, CT, in July. We had a tour of the very pretty island, drinks at the Clark’s summer house, and a wonderful clambake dinner at the Mystic Island Yacht Club, a very small, absolutely charming establishment on the southeast side of the island. It was small and informal, full of very salty looking sailors who had been racing that afternoon, among whom were some of Warren’s children. Warren had attended the memorial service for M A I T E D E Y at West Tilbury on Martha’s Vineyard on May 6, where he heard tales about Mait’s courtship adventures on the barge that Mait and P E T E R D U C H I N had bought on a river in the middle of Paris. Apparently, they and D A N S T A U F T spent most of their time in jazz clubs in Paris when not figuring out what to do with the barge. Warren is also a participant in an email conversation with P A U L D U N N and J E S S E L E M I S C H about the proper use of Rule 1 (there should not be any incomplete sentences) and Rule 2 (two complete sentences joined by “and” need a comma). Carl Parsons apparently authored these rules, but C L I N T E LY ’ 4 5 modified Rule 2 (if the sentences are very short, then no comma). If you want to join in that debate, feel free.”

Jay Lehr, Phil Pillsbury, and Don Streett J AY L E H R

was honored to have been asked by the White House to assist the President in the development of his energy policy and to support his decision to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord with substantial scientific data. Jay also reports that he can no longer stay up to speed on a bicycle with his Ironman triathlete wife, Janet, so he has bought an electric-asset bike that adds four miles an hour of speed to his normal output, bridging the gap with Janet and making cycling more fun than ever.

Al also writes, “F R I T Z V O H R retired as the doctor in charge of medical services at Rhode Island’s prison system and moved to Florida. Fritz has been very active on Facebook, detailing his travels and places visited. He recently used Facebook to quote the legend of Faust selling his soul to the Devil, and one Facebook post urged Hurricane Irma to leave him and his Jensen Beach home alone. Fritz’s most recent post celebrated Irma’s diversion to Florida’s west coast, leaving Fritz and

Herster Barres ’52

Saving the Planet, One Forest at a Time BY WENDY CARLSON

ome might compare him to the Lorax, the embattled creature in Dr. Seuss’s environmental tale, for his indefatigable effort to save the planet by planting trees. For more than 50 years, Herster Barres has been developing new models of farm forests in the tropics. These forests, which store carbon in the form of wood and release oxygen back into the atmosphere, are designed and managed to offset greenhouse gas emissions (CO2). His foundation, Reforest the Tropics, received federal endorsement under President Clinton’s Climate Change Action Plan in 1995. Today, at 83, he’s still at it. Barres helps manage a four-person staff in Mystic, CT, and in Costa Rica, where they oversee 500 acres of sustainable farm forests. The project is funded by businesses, corporations, individuals, and schools, including Hotchkiss, which pay a one-time, tax-deductible fee to sponsor a farm forest. In exchange, they receive verified information showing the tonnage of CO2 sequestered in their forest each year for 25 years. Currently, the organization has 69 forest farms under contract, the oldest of which is 19 years old, with more than 100 U.S. sponsors. Hotchkiss became a sponsor of two 2.5acre farms in 2008 and 2009. Considering the years Barres has devoted to Reforest the Tropics and the constant quest for funding for new projects, reforestation may seem like just a drop in the bucket to mitigate climate change. Still, Barres remains undaunted. He knows that there’s no easy fix to reverse the effects of CO2 buildup. “Will this project alone solve climate change? No,” he says. “But it can be a significant player.” One company in Cambridge, MA, for instance, has planted enough forests to offset all of their CO2 emissions twice over. Trees have been a lifelong passion for Barres. A former United Nations (UN) forestry official, he has been studying tropical forests and their tree species for more than a half-century. He credits Headmaster George Van Santvoord for fostering his interest in the environment. Van Santvoord, an amateur naturalist, gave Barres a beehive to tend when he was a student, which spurred his interest in the natural world. After Hotchkiss, Barres went on to graduate from Yale and earn a master’s from the Yale School of Forestry. In 1961, he graduated with a Ph.D. in technical science from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, and then began his long career as a tropical forester. Barres was acutely aware of “global warming” years before it became a political topic. He knew that forests play a role in climate change because of their ability to store carbon dioxide. Yet, in Costa

Rica, forests were being destroyed to create pastures for cattle. He realized that he had to develop a reforestation model that was economically sound and marketable. To that end, Reforest the Tropics works with farmers in Costa Rica, contracting with them to plant fast-growing klinkii trees in mixtures with other species on their pastures. Farmers sign renewable 25-year agreements to reforest their land, and, in turn, they receive a one-time payment of between $2,000 and $4,000 per hectare (about 2.5 acres) for establishing and managing the forest. When it is time to thin the forest to stimulate its growth, approximately every five years, the farmers profit from the sale of the harvested logs. Barres chose Costa Rica for the project because it was the site of his original research more than 50 years ago. He worked in the country for 11 years as a forest officer for the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization and built relationships with many farmers. The wet tropics, he notes, also offer much faster tree growth, greater potential for sequestration, and an availability of deforested land. Ultimately, he hopes his model for forest farms will be adopted by other countries. As for his tireless efforts to green the planet, Barres has this to say: “The world is not addressing climate change fast enough. It’s been a curse and a blessing for the project, because trees need time to grow. Our model of permanent farm forests is an effort to begin the long process of reducing the amount of CO2 in our atmosphere.” So, Barres pushes onward, one forest at a time; perhaps, like the Lorax, he knows that “unless someone cares a great deal,” the situation will never improve.

F a l l

2 0 1 7

Class not es 62 58

JIM ARDREY

and S T E V E O ’ B R I E N have homes on the Gulf Coast of Florida and have been fishing and quail hunting during the winter months near Boca Grande on Gasparilla Island.

NORMAN URMY

writes, “Still living in Nashville (35 years, the longest I’ve lived anywhere! Does that make me a southerner?). Retirement is great...lots of golf, fly fishing, travel, and time with grandchildren. I’m still building custom acoustic guitars and have just co-authored my first book(let), Fly Fishing Truths or Are They Lies?, available online.”

Jamie Brickell visited classmate Ham Brown in Seco, NM, in early fall.

Jensen Beach relatively unscathed. N E W E L L A U G U R checked in from Maine, where, retired from practicing ophthalmology for 15 years, he still teaches math at a local middle school, which his children attended. His comments on the U.S. educational system: misinformed academic communities; freedom of speech is in grave danger; gender politics are taking over. His comment on U.S. health care: the U.S. spends four times as much as other developed countries and yet is 24th in the world by most measures. E D H O L A H A N still lives in Fairfield, CT, sails up and down the New England coast and enjoys being the father-in-law of Sen. Chris Murphy (D. CT), who is on the Senate committees overseeing foreign relations and health care. P H I L B A R N E Y reports from Los Altos, CA, on a very successful 81st birthday party; Phil and Sally leave their hilltop mansion only to spend time with grandchildren in Omaha and to see how the real world lives. Finally, we note with sadness the passing of R O S S E D M U N D in Holland, MI, on May 28, 2017, after a long and distinguished 30-year career as an art historian at the University of Illinois at Chicago and a noted appraiser of art and antiques.” (See In Mem.)

CLASS AGENTS: Pete Nelson and Toby Terrell B O B M U R R AY

writes, “Miss my classmates! Hope we can all get together and tell lies about each other!”

CLASS AGENT: Dave Bentley

H o t c h k i s s

CLASS AND REUNION AGENTS: Kip Armstrong,

Detch Detchon, Roger Liddell, and John Sallee KIP ARMSTRONG

On Sept. 16, members of the Class of 1961, from left to right: Dar Gillett, Jeff Miller, Lonnie Goff, Earl Potter, and John Schenck, presented Athletic Director and Football Coach Danny Smith with a plaque commemorating the 1960 undefeated, untied, and unscored-upon Hoyt Reptiles club football team that was dedicated to “their esteemed coach” Clint Ely ’45.

CLASS AGENTS: Peter Carnes, Jon Larsen,

and Dusty Reeder DUSTY REEDER

writes, “I strongly encourage the reading of G E O R G E L O N G S T R E T H ’ S first novel, You Call Me Roc. He weaves his professional experiences as a surgeon with the drug world in Bridgeport, CT. The book is partially autobiographical; many of the events happened to George. Some of the main characters, including Roc, were his patients. He is currently working on his second book and is looking for a good agent specializing in medical mysteries. He encourages buying the book, which will be appropriately inscribed, directly from him at bblglb@gmail.com. It is a fun read and well worth your time. You can buy it directly from the publisher Lulu, at lulu.com, or on Amazon.”

M a g a z i n e

new memories. On another note, S A M O R R has a home in northern New Mexico. From time to time we have visited. He has done a tremendous job of thinning the overgrown forest on his land. When I visit large cities, I am so grateful that I live in the Land of Enchantment, where nothing important happens.”

CLASS AGENT: Nathaniel Floyd D A V I D S P E N C E R continues practicing tax and banking law in New York City. His articles about international tax are published in Journal of International Taxation, and he frequently gives presentations on international tax issues.

CLASS AGENT: Bill Hobbs

58 CLASS AND REUNION AGENT: Tim Fisher HAM BROWN

56 62

writes, “In the summer of 2016, Susie and J A M I E B R I C K E L L visited Ham Brown and Martha Worthington in their new RV. We had a lovely day sharing old and

CLASS AGENTS: Dave Egan and Jim MacIver

was one of two in his class inducted as an honorary member into Omicron Delta Kappa, the national leadership fraternity, at his 50th reunion at Washington and Lee in May. There were 80 men back (of about 200 still standing), and the class raised $9.7 million for their 50th reunion gift. Kip also had a nice visit with Cindy and M A R C H O F F R I C H T E R at their home in East Liverpool, OH, on July 31. On July 8, R O C K Y M A R T I N E T T I and wife, Ky, visited their daughter Francoise at the School, where she was attending the environmental science Summer Portal. They had a mini reunion on Fa and R O G E R L I D D E L L’ S terrace in Sharon with K I P A R M S T R O N G and D E T C H D E T C H O N . Rocky is a lawyer in California. VICTOR ASHE,

father of

MARTHA ASHE ’11

and brother of L A W R E N C E A S H E ’ 5 8 , visited Ireland for 10 days in July with his wife, Joan. He visited Easter Island in February, attended his 50th Yale reunion in May, and went to Moldova in September. In May, he, along with Martha Ashe, did a one-week cruise in Alaska from Juneau to Sitka.

CLASS AGENTS: Bob Graffagnino and

Jody Nachman

Class of ’63, from left to right: Elliott Detchon, Kip Armstrong, and Roger Liddell. Back: Fa Liddell, Ky and Francoise Martinetti

CLASS AGENTS: Bill Fusco, Bill Sandberg, Jerry

Sprole, and Kip Witter F R E D P A C K spent his summer in Vail, CO, with the intention of hiking, biking, enjoying the scenery, and going to Wyoming to see the total solar eclipse on Aug. 21. His biking plans were foiled by a fall, resulting in a broken clavicle and surgery, but the eclipse (the fourth he has seen) was a true celestial spectacular. Robert Royce, esteemed Hotchkiss physics and astronomy teacher, encouraged all his students to view the 1964 total eclipse in Maine, but Fred, as usual, didn’t follow his teacher’s advice and has regretted it ever since.

CLASS AGENTS: Steve Kirmse, Barry Svigals,

John Welles, on right, and Art Thorn, left, both Class of 1967, watched the eclipse in St. Matthews, SC, about 100 miles south of Charlotte, NC.

Michael Thompson, Dusty Tuttle, and Eliot White PETER LEE

writes, “Met up with Dave Thompson, director of international programs, and students participating the Round Square Conference who were in Johannesburg touring the Apartheid Museum.”

NEIL WALLACE

John Burke, Chris Casler, Demetrie Comnas, Bill Elfers, John Luke, Mark Pierce, Carlton Smith, and Neil Wallace

CLASS AGENT: Bill McMorran

REUNION AND CLASS AGENTS: Eric Bruenner,

just signed a partnership agreement with IBM Watson for oncology. “Really excited about working to advance cancer treatments. Less excited about going back to work full-time.”

B I L L M C M O R R A N offers this roundup of Class news: “By now, I hope that you have all heard

F a l l

2 0 1 7

Class not es 68

migrated west to her hometown of Santa Fe, NM. Owen’s classmates may discern a certain consistency in these news flashes, since even at Hotchkiss, he was often the last student to make it to Chapel before the service began. Some things never change. Anyone craving green chile or spiritual enlightenment should feel free to get in touch.

Jon Berk ’68

Holy Pancakes, Batman! That’s Some Collection!

M A C S TA R R I N G

Above, Paul Mindus ’68 at his wedding with attendees Gary Johnson ’68 and his wife, Kyle; left, Mindus and Eva Berger were married on Aug. 6 at the Sequoyah Country Club in the Oakland hills.

writes, “Excited that after 30 years as pastor of Faith Bible Church in Littleton, NH, we are able to expand our campus and purchase the 14,000-square-foot building in front of the church as well as all its parking. Retirement seems unlikely until my 70s. God has blessed Jan and me with three great kids (ages 40, 38, 35) and kids-in-law (ages 49, 37, 36) and seven grandkids (ages 16, 14, 12, 12, 9, 4, and 1). Just think: our 50th cometh in 2019!!!! How can we all be this old?!!!”

BY CHELSEA EDGAR

CLASS AGENTS: Bill Benedict, Bob Clymer, Parky

Conyngham, Mark Hinckley, Tom Randt, Jorge Rodriguez, and Will Smart

At the traditional Thunder Mug Competition our lower mid year, I A N L A M B E R T O N was one of the stars. Little did we know that we were watching the emergence of a master comedian! This summer at the Paradise Theater in Gig Harbor, WA, Ian had the starring role in Curtains. The critics raved: “Played by Ian Lamberton, Lt. Cioffi is the square-jawed lawman until he isn’t. Mr. Lamberton came perilously close to laughing, Carol Burnettstyle, at one point, but that’s okay in a show such as this. He did a nice job in the role and an even nicer job with his consistent Boston accent.” Perhaps we can mount a 50th Thunder Mug event at the Reunion?

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

Finally, as you may also know, our classmate P E T E G I D W I T Z passed on in Chicago on June 5, 2017. The Class extends our sympathy to his family. Make plans now to be at the 50th. We will celebrate new beginnings. We will remember our shared experiences, good and bad. We will honor those classmates who can no longer be with us.” PAUL MINDUS

and Eva Berger were married on Aug. 6, 2017, at the Sequoyah Country Club in the Oakland hills after a five-year courtship. They live in Oakland, CA. Paul’s daughter, Sophia, lives in London. Eva’s daughters, Sara and Malkie, live in Tokyo and New Jersey, respectively. Attending with friends and relatives were G A R Y J O H N S O N and his wife, Kyle.

CLASS AGENTS: Doug Campbell, Ace Crary,

Andy Cushman, Richard Dana, and Nick Moore

CLASS AGENT: Tom Keating

Former publishing maverick O W E N L I P S T E I N proudly reports that he married Maggie Fine in 2015 at his property, Shakespeare on the Hudson, in Athens, NY. He is equally delighted to announce the birth of his first child, Charlotte Benjamin Lipstein, on June 23, 2017. He and Maggie have recently

Owen Lipstein ’69 and his wife, Maggie Fine, welcomed their first child, Charlotte Benjamin Lipstein, on June 23.

PHOTO BY PETER HVIZDAK / NEW HAVEN REGISTER

that our BIG 50th is set for Sept. 28-30, 2018. If you haven’t received the initial letter yet, drop me a note. It includes critical information on hotels and scheduling. In response to my requests for news over the past several years, many of you have promised to join us for the 50th and provide all of the lurid details then. Well, the time is coming — make your plans now! Also, we need help planning. The alumni office has a basic framework, but we need to have everyone’s input to make it a great event. Please let me know if you’d like to help as we bring the event details together.

Dock builder, conservationist, and Edgartown poet laureate S T E V E E W I N G is this year’s recipient of the Walter Cronkite award from Sail Martha’s Vineyard. The award honors someone who lives up to Mr. Cronkite’s legacy of conservation and maritime tradition.

on Berk likes to say that the obsession began during his lower-mid year at Hotchkiss, when he would spend Saturday afternoons sprawled on the floor of John Titcomb and Jeff Wenk’s double on the second floor of Coy, engrossed in the escapades of Sgt. Fury and the Fantastic Four. At home in Roslyn, Long Island, comicbooks (Berk insists that “comicbook” is one word, not two, as it’s commonly written) were forbidden; his parents threw out his collection while he was at camp the summer before he came to Hotchkiss. But that didn’t stop him from sneaking the occasional copy of Batman or The Amazing Spider-man from the local five and dime — and, over the course of his life, amassing what’s widely regarded by prominent enthusiasts and appraisers as one of the best collections of all time. Quips Berk: “If it weren’t for parents like mine who threw out all those books, they wouldn’t be the prized collectables they are today.” Berk, a personal injury lawyer in Rocky Hill, CT, first became serious about collecting while he was in law school at Boston University. He lived near Boston Square, which had a comicbook store that sold hard-to-find vintage editions. When he saw that he could get his hands on these rare comics, he was hooked. “I’m a geek,” he says matter-of-factly. “I was always interested in the things that were obtuse and not well-known.” Berk was a serial collector: he’d start with one superhero, like Spiderman or the Hulk, and find everything he could within a particular era, then move on to another character. Part of the excitement, he says, was in tracking down the books — which, in the pre-Internet age, required a considerable amount of sleuthing. “I wrote a lot of letters,” he says. “People would advertise in the comicbook buyer’s guide, and you’d write. You didn’t know what they looked like. I didn’t even know what the covers looked like. You found books by luck. You networked, went to conventions.” Berk wasn’t only interested in the books; he was also fascinated by the stories behind them. About 15 years ago, he came across a copy of Mystery Men that held a clue to its previous owner: a coupon slipped between its pages with the name “Lamont Larson,” a renowned collector, sketched on it in pencil. Determined to find out whether the book had once belonged to Larson, Berk embarked on a fact-finding mission that concluded with a call to Larson’s 91-year-

old mother in a nursing home in Wausa, NE, eventually confirming that the book was, indeed, a Larson original. (Says Berk: “She was very nice!”) Gradually, his collection morphed into a mini-museum, consisting of nearly 18,000 books, pieces of art, and other memorabilia, that took over his entire basement. According to Vincent Zurzolo, co-founder of Metropolis Comics, Berk’s collection is unmatched in its breadth and depth. “Between the comic books and the art, this is one of the best collections ever assembled,” Zurzolo said in an interview. “We had to process this to put it into our database, and often, when we entered a book, it was the first one we’d ever had. Metropolis Collectibles has been the largest buyer of vintage comics in the world for over 30-40 years — so we’ve had pretty much everything. When I’m seeing ‘Does not exist in database’ over and over again, I know we have a very, very special collection.” For decades, Berk thought he’d hold on to his comics forever, but at some point, he realized that he’d reached the pinnacle. “It was time to pass on the hobby,” he says. Last June, Berk divested himself of most of his collection, selling off more than 17,000 items in a four-day auction. He won’t get into what the pieces sold for, but one source that tracks vintage comic sales reports that a 1940 copy of Fantastic Comics #3 fetched $243,000. The few pieces Berk can’t bear to part with are some of his personal favorites: the Larson copy of Mystery Men, some Spider-man illustrations by Jack Kirby, and original drawings by Lou Fine, Berk’s favorite comicbook artist. Now, he seems at peace with his decision to downsize, but some days, the sight of his near-empty basement makes him sad. “But I don’t have any regrets,” he says. “I simply redistributed some of the books, so they’re out there for someone else to collect and assemble.” Old habits die hard, though: “Have I since accumulated a few inexpensive comics? Well, yeah.”

F a l l

2 0 1 7

Class not es 72

CLASS AGENTS: Dave Balderston and

Michael Gourlay PHIL KAPLAN

and R I C H R O S E N B A U M (both ’73) are working with Caroline Phipps and D E N N I S W A T L I N G T O N on developing Watlington’s autobiography, Chasing America, into either a TV or feature project. Currently in its early stages of development, Chasing America tells the story of Watlington’s time in the Jim Crow South, shaking heroin addiction as a teenager growing up in East Harlem, finding a pathway from street criminal life and incarceration to Hotchkiss, and then coming back home, where he led the largest street gang in New York. With the death of close friend and fellow Hotchkiss alumnus, N O E L V E L A S Q U E Z , in a rival gang ambush and finding a sense of purpose in writing, Watlington became a playwright, as well as a writer for various publications (including Vanity Fair), television (winning an Emmy), and feature films.

Class of ’74: Roger Benedict, Cliff Ftizgerald, Bob Morris, Rob Crandall, and Kirk Talbott gathered in August at Roger and Megan Benedict’s farm in Silverton, OR.

Charlie Denault and Henry Sethness caught up with each other on the waters of New Hampshire last summer.

CLASS AGENTS: Bill Collin, Andy Luke,

Chris Meledandri, Cindy Schmidt Softy, Simon Strong, and Allison Sirkin Woolston

Henry Sethness

CLASS AND REUNION AGENTS: Phil Baldwin, Sally

Cliff Fitzgerald writes, “Five of our classmates gathered in August at Megan and R O G E R B E N E D I C T ’ S farm in Silverton, OR, to witness the solar eclipse. Roger’s place was in the ‘zone of totality,’ so we were treated not only to great hospitality, but to the astonishing experience of seeing the eclipse. Present were Roger, R O B C R A N D A L L , B O B M O R R I S , K I R K T A L B O T T, C L I F F F I T Z G E R A L D , and eight of the group’s children. Soccer, frisbee golf, and cornhole were played, and a few beers were retired. The next eclipse in North America is

Gilliland, Doug Landau, Chris Simonds, Roger Smith, and Scott Sullivan

CLASS AGENTS: Charlie Denault, Penn Hulburd, and

CLASS AGENTS: Tom Davidson, Dan Dranginis,

Michael Gillis, and Larry Ross IAN WOOLLEN

recently published a new book, Muir Woods or Bust, “the latest in comic cli-fi [climate-change fiction].”

M a g a z i n e

writes, “We are taking our time to settle into our new state — traveling around playing tourist, learning about the area, soaking in the beauty, history, and culture of Kentucky. I hope to resume my counseling practice eventually, but for now, we are concentrating on purchasing a home or land to build our new house for our ‘senior’ stage of life. I am always open to seeing or hearing from my fellow Hotchkiss alumni. Sharon and I have had fun spending time with the Marchant family over the last decade.”

H o t c h k i s s

and Dan Pullman TERRY RUWET

Rogers, Jon Sprole, and Steve Byrns

CLASS AND REUNION AGENTS: Ned Nunes, Peter

April 8, 2024 — do not miss it!”

CLASS AGENTS: Denise Arcand McClintic

writes, “L O U I S E O B E R and I happened to run into G E O R G I A B A Y L O R B U L L I T T at a restaurant in Darien, CT, on June 2, when Louise was in town from California for the wedding of John’s and my daughter, Laura. We were also glad to have my brothers, B I L L H A Y D O C K ’ 7 5 and T O M H A Y D O C K ’ 7 9 , there as well.”

73 74

CAROLINE TIBBETTS

73 75 77 Georgie Tierney ’77, Bob Moriarty ’73, Larry Ross ’75, Mike Whiting ’75, and Will Verity ’77 at the USSGA Pacific Coast Invitational in April

JEREMY SPEAR

writes, “I spent an amazing summer that began by leading the USA Masters (35+) Team to a gold medal in fastpitch softball at the World Maccabi Games in Israel. As team captain, I was selected to receive the USA Team Gold award that will ultimately find its way to the trophy cases at USA Sports for Israel in Philadelphia, PA. And lastly, I was inducted into the Maccabiah Hall of Fame for fastpitch softball. All this was unexpected and most fulfilling at this advanced age, but the greatest joy was having my wife, Janu, and my twin boys, Kaimana and Kainalu, witness this all firsthand. After the competition, we toured extensively throughout Israel, Jordan, and Portugal. Now that we are back home, any classmates who wander through Honolulu are most welcome to stay with us and get their surfing stoke

77 Left to right: Caroline Haydock Tibbetts, Louise Ober, and P. Georgia (Baylor) Bullitt, all Class of 1977

(‘He’e nalu’) on the south shore of Oahu!” DOUG LANDAU

writes, “C H A R L I E N O Y E S got his hands dirty during the School’s ‘Visual Arts Day’ last May. He was also one of the featured alumni artists in the Tremaine Art Gallery show that included J E R E M Y S P E A R , M A R K M E N N I N , L U K E G R A Y, R O B I N L O W E , and J O H N M O S L E R . The weekend’s events included alumni artist demonstrations in a variety of media, career breakout discussions, and a community painting project. The

weekend also coincided with the annual ‘Day of Service,’ in which alumni returned to Lakeville to help clear trails around Charlie’s beloved Fairfield Farm.” Some of the Class of ’78 artists featured in the “Becoming” exhibition during “Visual Arts Day” caught up and compared notes at dinner in the Faculty Lounge. Artists Mark Mennin, Charlie Noyes, and John Mosler received local spirits as “thank you” gifts for their participation, and, along with P H I L

F a l l

2 0 1 7

Class not es B A L D W I N , Mrs. Mennin and D O U G L A N D A U , toasted their classmate and artist F R A N K W E E D O N . Some of Frank’s artwork can be seen on permanent display in the Main Building.

What’s Going On in Your Life? Submit a class note and photos to magazine@hotchkiss.org by January 5 for the Winter/Spring issue.

78 Charlie Noyes, instructor in art, helps paint a wall mural during Visual Arts Day at Hotchkiss last May.

Stay Connected

78 Jeremy Spear led the USA Masters (35+) Team to a gold medal in fastpitch softball at the World Maccabi Games in Israel.

Former Hotchkiss Bookstore Supervisor Guy Gnerre helped lead a used bicycle drive with the Hotchkiss Cycling Society on campus to provide wheels for the Pilgrim House/North Canaan Church. The 20 bikes were cleaned, fixed, and given to people who need them. D O U G L A N D A U , whose “Putting Lids on the Kids” program in Virginia helps teach students about brain injury and safe cycling, provided free Bell helmets and bags to the bike mission after hearing about the effort. If you would like to be a part of the Pilgrim House Bike Mission, contact Fishes & Loaves in Canaan, CT. “How many classmates remember Ms. Perrotti and Mr. Blackburn selling LPs, typewriter ribbons, and White-Out in the bookstore?” Doug writes.

80 Left to right: Peter Beshar ’80 and his daughter, Isabel Beshar; and David Rios ’80 and his son, Christopher Rios, at the white coat ceremony at Stanford Medical School

CLASS AGENTS: Seth Krosner and Tom Tyree

CLASS AGENTS: Wendy Tanner Bermingham, Bill

to Hotchkiss and friends.

Boscow, Mike Collette, Erik Gaull, Jennifer Mugler Peterson, Tom Philip, and Wendy Weil Rush PETER BESHAR

and D A V I D R I O S saw each other last August at the white coat ceremony at Stanford, where each of their children are now medical students.

CLASS AGENTS: Sheila Ball Burkert, Gib Carey,

Bill Gates, Ellis Ketcham Johnson, Henry Robinson, Becky Stebbins, and Bill Tyree

www.hotchkiss.org The Class of ’78 will have its 40th reunion in June. Pictured above, left to right: Beth Rockefeller, Carrie (Danish) Theiss, Eliza Webb, Saraellen Toulmin, Bill Detmer, Peter Hermann, and Charlie Owen

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

Z E N A M A R T I N writes, “I am excited to share that, after living in London for 19 years (well, actually, one of those years was in Paris), I am moving back to the U.S. in November! I have absolutely loved the experience, but it’s time for a new chapter and to spend more time with family and friends on the other side of the pond. I will be moving to St. Simons Island, GA, where my family and I have been spending vacation time for the past 15 years. I will remain a dual citizen but am looking forward to reconnecting with my birth country and U.S. friends in person! Hope to catch up soon.”

Pictured left to right, Bill Tyree, John Lambert, Henry Robinson, and Nick Bellamy toasted the Class of ’81 at L’Entrecote in New York in July. Antje Siebel, with granddaughter Lou Elisabeth, sends greetings from Germany.

F a l l

2 0 1 7

Class not es 82

CLASS AGENTS: Ally Bulley, Lisa Chandler, Rich

D’Albert, and Nao Matsukata

M I N T E R D I A L co-authored Futureproof: How to Get Your Business Ready for the Next Disruption (Pearson, Sept. 2017). Among all the new technologies, Futureproof breaks down 12 that are arguably the most critical and disruptive for business. The book presents the three most important mindsets that every business leader needs. M A R C E L L A B U T L E R passes along the sad news of the recent deaths of both of her parents, Sally and Allen Butler. “My mother passed away on Nov. 18, 2016, and my father died April 13, 2017. Both deaths were unexpected. They were both extremely proud of their association with the School and spoke of the decision to enroll me at Hotchkiss as their best parental decision,” she writes. M AT T H E W C H A S E - D A N I E L

spent the month of September with his wife on a desert

85 Justin King ’85 with his wife, Maria, on 27,000-mile trip with a stop in Australia

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

and Stephanie Bowling Zeigler

BY WENDY CARLSON

M A R I TA B E L L FA I R B A N K S

writes, “I spent the summer traveling and saw fellow classmates E L I Z A G I N N F O U L K E in Aspen, CO, and L E S L I E R O M O S E R R Y L E E in Prouts Neck, ME. After my husband and I dropped our kids at camp in Maine, we traveled to London, Sicily, Rwanda, Tanzania, the Maldives, Bhutan, and India — a phenomenal bucket-list trip. I hope to be in NYC in the fall for several weekends to see Hotchkiss friends.”

S T E P H A N I E B O W L I N G Z E I G L E R writes, “It was an awesome birthday surprise when my husband sent me and my best girlfriends on a Cowgirl Yoga retreat in Montana (two of my favorite things are horseback riding and yoga, and one of my most favorite places is Montana). But an even bigger and more remarkable surprise, unbeknownst to any of us, including my husband, was that A D D I E F O S T E R was the owner of the ranch! I had known that Addie was living in Bozeman, MT, and I was thinking of reaching out, but

PHOTO: WENDY CARLSON

Dayton, Nikki Williams Dietrich, Biffy Roraback Fowler, Charlie Lord, and Matt Meade

Stephanie Zeigler ran into Addie Foster while on a yoga retreat in Montana. Foster owns a ranch in Montana.

In Search of Jane Austen

CLASS AGENTS: Charlotte Cudlip Bartol, Larry Pratt,

CLASS AND REUNION AGENTS: Andrew Carey, Jim

Kathleen Flynn ’84

Minter Dial ’83’s latest book

island in the Gulf of Mexico in an extremely secluded artist residency of the National Parks Arts Foundation. A book of their photographs and writings is forthcoming.

athleen Flynn first discovered Jane Austen at age 12, when she happened upon a dog-eared paperback of Pride and Prejudice at her grandmother’s house in Falls Village, CT. She immediately became enthralled with the book. “It was an old copy from the 1940s, and I just started reading it and became fascinated,” says Flynn, whose debut novel, The Jane Austen Project, was published by HarperCollins last spring. “I remember thinking it was just really funny. I still have that copy with lots of the pages marked with exclamation points and underscored sentences.” That was about the same time that Flynn decided she wanted to be a writer. “I knew I either wanted to be an illustrator or a writer. These days you could do both as a graphic novelist, but back then I thought I needed to choose one path,” she says. The daughter of a kindergarten teacher and an electrician, Flynn grew up in Falls Village, a stone’s throw from Hotchkiss. She attended the same school through eighth grade, graduating with a class of about 20 students. Throughout her elementary school years, she had visited Hotchkiss on class trips, admiring the beauty of the campus and imagining its academic challenges. When it was time for high school, she persuaded her parents to let her apply to Hotchkiss. A recipient of both the Richard Hellman Scholarship and the George Van Santvoord ’08 Scholarship, Flynn says her time at Hotchkiss was transformative and helped cultivate her love of writing. In her senior year, she was one of a few students who took creative writing, and she was co-winner of the coveted Teagle Prize for her short novella, an honor that astonishes Flynn to this day. “It was probably terrible,” she quips. “In the intervening 33 years, I have managed to forget what it was I wrote about — I never went back and looked at it again. Now I understand that the secret of writing is rewriting, but at 18, you just want to keep writing new things and not look at the old ones.” Looking back, the most valuable trait she gained from her Hotchkiss education was perseverance. “I think the through-line between novel-writing and Hotchkiss is the amazing amount of hard work and persistence required — that it takes all you have and then some more you didn’t know you had,” she says. “This is certainly the thing I took away from Hotchkiss that has proven the most useful in writing a novel.”

Her instructors and coaches were also a source of inspiration and encouragement, particularly History Instructor Tom Drake and instructors Walter Crain and Geoff Marchant. After Hotchkiss, Flynn earned a B.A. in English from Barnard College and a master’s in journalism from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. But her career trajectory zigzagged from washing dishes at an ice cream parlor on Nantucket Island and folding towels in a hotel laundry (“I was not trusted to fold sheets,” she explains) to teaching English in Hong Kong, all the while trying to write fiction. After Chapel Hill, she landed a job as a copyeditor at The Raleigh News and Observer. In 2005, she joined the copy desk at The New York Times, where she now edits The Upshot, a digital news section. Over the years, Flynn continued writing fiction pieces, but was never satisfied with them. It wasn’t until 2007, after she had settled in Brooklyn with her husband, Jarek Karwowski, that she felt she could fully commit her time to The Jane Austen Project. While Flynn had long admired Austen’s subtle wit and understated genius, she found herself wondering what it must have been like to be Austen — so immensely talented, yet so constrained by her circumstances, hiding her struggles behind a mask of brilliant irony. “I thought, if I only I had a time machine, I could find out,” she says. “Which I didn’t. But, what if I could write a story in which some people do?” Fittingly, the novel is about two time travelers posing as researchers whose mission is to meet Jane Austen in England in the year 1815 and recover a manuscript that she wrote before she passed away. She admits that at first, she had no idea how to structure a novel. “I only began to see the shape of it in the process of writing,” she says. She did have a few clear objectives, including revealing what Jane Austen was really like and investigating how she died at the early age of 41. She immersed herself in all things Austen, becoming a member of the The Jane Austen Society, visiting England, and spending long hours reading and researching. She learned everything she could about the speech, clothing, and mannerisms of 19th-century England to accurately depict the time period. Holding a day job as journalist while trying to recreate the world of 1815 was, at times, daunting. “But, she says, “fiction has functioned for me as a respite from fact, from the daily tide of information and news, often tragic, that washes over me at work,” she says. “A place where I can control the narrative.”

F a l l

2 0 1 7

Class not es wasn’t sure I would be able to get away to see her...and there she was! I have always adored Addie and I was literally thrilled to see her and have some good laughs! Her beautiful ranch, The Double T Ranch, is available to rent out, and you might get to see Addie too! Hope everyone is well!”

86 88

CLASS AGENTS: Masha Galanin Gaither,

Paul Poggi, and David Wyshner JUSTIN KING

80s alumni at a Boston Red Sox Game on Sept. 13 at Fenway Park: Nian Lee Wilder ’86, Jennifer Appleyard Martin ’88, Rebecca Allen Ehrhardt ’86, and Ainsley Martin

89 The children of Jody Lou and Carter Lifton ’89 and Alaine and Matt Grossman ’89 got together at the home of Lindsay and James Wilcox ’89 in Los Angeles in August. Pictured clockwise from the top: Nicholas Grossman, Jack Wilcox, Whitney Wilcox, Simon Lifton, Oliver Lifton, Henry Wilcox, Elliot Lifton, and Kiera Grossman

writes, “My wife, Maria, and I took the 27,000-mile trip of a lifetime and participated in a five-day Pakistani wedding in Bali, replete with private fireworks shows, camels, fire-dancers, and over 600 guests. On the way to Indonesia, we stopped in Australia for a long weekend and undertook the famous Sydney Harbour Bridge climb. Definitely not for anyone with vertigo or the faint of heart!! We would love to hear from any classmates at jabking@aol.com.”

CLASS AGENTS: Justin Abelow, Miriam Gelber

Beveridge, Weijen Chang, Derek Dietrich, Andrew Gale, Buhl Hudson, Alison Ambach Illick, Kurt Liebich, Becky Markus McIntosh, Cece Luthi Powell, and Nian Lee Wilder

CLASS AGENTS: Daphne Murray Butler, Hilary

Deckoff Langworthy, Paul Mutter, Susan Green Roberson, Ray Strong, and Jeff Williamson

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

Berlandi, Alex Blanton, Tom Davidson, Mark Geall, Nisa Leung Lin, Jen Appleyard Martin, Steve Newman, Matt Poggi, and John Tortorella

Kate McCleary, Chip Quarrier, and Derek Rogers

CLASS AGENTS: John Bourdeaux, Alison Wille

Harris, Alexis Bryant La Broi, Karriem Lateef, Cari Berlage Lodge, Marnie Virden McNany, Clarke Miller, Nicole Morrison, Philip Pillsbury, Tom Seidenstein, and Marcy Denault Wemple

Katy Anderson Gray, Matt Lenehan, Colin Pennycooke, Jon Prather, Rue Richey, Lisi Miller Vincent, Sarah Virden, and Clara Rankin Williams

LAURA DUNN GOLDBERG

ELIE DÉU

M A R C Y D E N A U LT W E M P L E

writes, “This summer, my 25th year as an educator, has brought with it a wonderful role change. As a founding faculty member at Avenues: The World School’s

93 On July 15, Class of 1993 members Erik Wesolowski, Diane Hanson, Robin Sobolewski, and Neetu Ahluwalia joined Pennie Rotolante to celebrate her marriage to Aaron Freedman (not pictured) at Salt Waterfront Restaurant in Miami, FL.

and Hannah. (Yes, there is skiing in western New York!) Marcy and her husband, John, live in Barrington, RI, and are super active keeping up with their sons, Stuart, Elliot, and Reed, who enjoy sailing and tennis.

my marriage to Aaron Freedman at Salt Waterfront Restaurant in Miami, FL.”

Robertson Hershey, Amy Liu, Robin Meyersiek, Colm Singleton, and Rob Witherwax

Philip Gale, Norm Hetrick, Aaron Oberman, Allison Pell, and Elizabeth Newman Smyth

CLASS AGENTS: Emmett Berg, Sarah Duxbury Chin,

met up with for a fun day on Martha’s Vineyard this August. Laura resides in Cleveland, where she practices sports medicine and enjoys sailing and skiing with her husband, Jon, and two daughters, Sophia

CLASS AGENTS: Deirdre Morton Carr, Margaretta

CLASS AGENTS: Mo Cronin, Liam Dohn,

Deirdre Hughes, Alessandra Nicolas, Ethan Oberman, Kathleen Donnelly Renouf, Tom Terbell, and Andy Torrant

93 CLASS AND REUNION AGENTS: Neetu Ahluwalia,

CLASS AGENTS: Jasen Adams, Thad Constantine,

CLASS AGENTS: Liza Reeder Carey, Alice Gouge,

Elie Déu is head of school of Williamsburg Northside School in Brooklyn, NY.

New York campus, I had the distinct pleasure of learning from former Hotchkiss Head of School Skip Mattoon. I held various positions at Avenues, including head of grade, director of middle and upper school admissions, and dean of students. In fact, one of my former students, I’m very proud to say, is a brand new Bearcat and member of the Class of 2021. This June, however, I left Avenues to embark on a new adventure. I’m thrilled to announce that in July, I began my tenure as head of school of Williamsburg Northside School in Brooklyn, NY. Northside has a thriving preschool campus for twos and threes, as well as a terrific lower school program for grades PK-5. In September 2018, the new middle school program launches. I am incredibly grateful to Hotchkiss for showing me what excellence in teaching looks like. I hope to send a host of Northside graduates to Hotchkiss in the coming years! I welcome Bearcats in the vicinity to come by and say hello!”

CLASS AND REUNION AGENTS: Katie Allen

Laura Dunn Goldberg met up with Marcy Denault Wemple on Martha’s Vineyard in August.

Dre Alicea, Brendan Behlke, Ellie Peters Bergquist, Rafe Carbonell, Amanda Carlson, Laura D’Anca, Jenn Feeley Hyzer, Peter Gifford, Kara Marchant Hooper, Erica Johnson, Maureen Marsh, Mo O’Donnell, and Pepper Riley

CLASS AGENTS: Will Copenhaver, Carolina Espinal

de Carulla, Janie Fleming Fransson, Sarah Hall, Biz Morris, Paul Nitze, Matt Oberman, Javier Rodriguez, Adam Sharp, Wade Tornyos, and Will Woodbridge

From Y U L E H Y U N : “After nine years on the West Coast, I will be moving back east. I accepted a position at the United Nations Pension Fund. I loved living in California and Washington, but I am now headed back to New York City. My family will live in northern New Jersey. I have two young boys. Boys are a handful! They never sit still!”

M I C H A E L T A Y L O R reports that after a decade at UC San Diego and a sabbatical at Google, he is moving with his family to Seattle and joining the faculty of the University of Washington’s school of computer science and department of electrical engineering.

PENNIE ROTOLANTE

CLASS AGENTS: Tim Donza, Casey Copenhaver

15, classmates E R I K

writes, “On July

WESOLOSKI, DIANE

HANSON, ROBIN SOBOLEWSKI, NEETU AHLUWALIA

and joined me to celebrate

Fraise, Rob Hill, Bill Lane, Keltie Donelan McDonald, James Moorhead, Kim Mimnaugh Sillman, John Stewart, and Kate Allen Tholking F a l l

2 0 1 7

Class not es 02

98 Kells Hetherington ’98 and Alison Marie Devenny were married on June 10 at the Willard in Washington, D.C.

Charlie Duncan Ebersol ’01 and Melody Brooke McCloskey were married July 29 at Blackberry Farm in Wallard, TN.

00 Emily Danziger ’00 and Jonathan Vlock were wed on May 13 in Old Saybrook, CT. From left to right: Jim and Blair Ethington ’00, Emily and Jonathan Vlock, Julie Sharabutt ’00, Eliza Little ’00, and Bevin Ramsay

98 CLASS AND REUNION AGENTS: Ryan Constantine,

Chris Looney, Emily Pressman, Sarah Helming Stern, and Kate Calise Strotmeyer K E L L S H E T H E R I N G T O N and Alison Marie Devenny were wed on June 10, 2017, at The Willard in Washington, D.C. Alison is a director of the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund Alliance. She graduated from The George Washington University and received a master’s degree in public administration from N.Y.U. Kells is an independent trader and financial analyst trading stocks, bonds, and options. The couple are living in Pensacola, FL.

CLASS AGENTS: Clare Dooley Evans, Allie Ray

McDonald, Jesse Minneman, Mike Salguero, and Susannah Vincent Toy

CLASS AGENTS: Kate Kramer Azzouz, Patrick

01 04

Endress, Matt Grossnickle, Susan Harrison, John Moreno, Michael Sachs, Camille Spear-Gabel, Dan Spencer, and John Weiss

Charlie Ebersol ’01 and Willie Ebersol ’04 with Marc Dittmer, instructor in German and 2019 class dean, at Charlie’s wedding

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

E M I LY D A N Z I G E R and Jonathan Vlock were wed on May 13, 2017, in Old Saybrook,

CT. In attendance were B L A I R H A M I LT O N and her husband, Jim Ethington, E L I Z A L I T T L E and husband, Bevin Ramsay, and J U L I E S H A R B U T T . Emily and Jonathan live in San Francisco with their Frenchton, Axl, and work in experiential and tech marketing, respectively.

ETHINGTON

Xtehn Titcomb ’01 and Erin Frame were married on Aug. 19 on Vashon Island, WA. Back row, left to right: Philomena Garvey, Vehro Titcomb ’03, Diane Garvey, Anna Williams, Zahlen Titcomb ’00, Peter Titcomb ’73, John Titcomb ’68, David Thompson, Amalia Thompson, Peggy Hsia. Front row: Rohre Titcomb ’05, Tara Campbell, Colin Campbell ’01, Alma Campbell, Qxhna Titcomb ’11, Xtehn Titcomb ’01, Erin Frame, Serena Thompson, and Linde Behringer Donna Wilson Smith ’02 and Trevor Smith were married at the Laing Art Gallery in Newcastle, U.K., on July 29.

to lead fund development and innovation at Hiawatha Academies in Minneapolis.

CLASS AGENTS: Jonathan Hill, Andrew Kryzak,

CLASS AGENTS: Jess Buicko, Jessica Chu,

Casey Reid, Peter Scala, Rebekah Sprole, and Nate Thorne

Matt Douglas, Matt Himler, Isabelle Kenyon, Stephanie Korey, Andrew Langer, Doug McPherson, Lilly Haberl Nannes, Jon Terbell, James Thaler, and Madison West

CLASS AGENTS: Kyle Boynton, Courtney Quick

Burdette, Emily Bohan Hyland, Molly Shanley Labella, Sarah Armstrong Moffet, and Beth Schmidt

Libby Hubbard Stegger ’04 and her husband, Fiete, are pleased to welcome daughters, Ann and Ruth, born June 5 in Minneapolis, MN. They join older sisters Thea, 4, and Bess, 2.

DONNA WILSON SMITH

writes, “On July 29, I married Trevor Smith at the Laing Art Gallery in Newcastle, U.K.”

03 CLASS AND REUNION AGENTS: Alex Bierce,

Mimi Sapp Brown, Nathalie Pierrepont Danilovich, Megan Denault, James Eberhart, Lauren Gold, Caroline LaMotte, Rauly Ramirez, Christina Bechhold Russ, Lindsay Failing Sinex, Stephanie Xethalis Stamas, and Cyrus Tingley MIMI SAPP BROWN

writes, “We are proud to announce the arrival of Henry Badger Brown, born June 7.”

CLASS AGENTS: Matt Boller, Lindsey Bruett, Mike

Cacchio, Christina Claudio, Conor Cook, Trip Cowin, Brian Fenty, Will Holliday, Vicky Pool Holm, Jay Mills, Rowan Morris, and Cara Seabury Radzins LIBBY HUBBARD STEGGER

and her husband, Fiete, are pleased to welcome daughters, Ann and Ruth, born June 5, 2017, in Minneapolis, MN. They join older sisters Thea, 4, and Bess, 2. Libby continues

CLASS AGENTS: Misha Belikov, Henry Blackford,

Adam Casella, Krishna Delahunty Nirmel, Lizzie Edelman, Anna Simonds Glennon, David Keating, Nika Lescott, Lindsay Luke, Daniel Nassar, and Haley Cook Sonneland

On July 1, K A I T P E R R E L L E married Jason Leonard in Beacon, NY. In attendance were her brothers, J E R E M Y P E R R E L L E ’ 0 1 and JON PERRELLE ’02, ROBIN CHANDLER ’87, R O G E R C R A I N ’ 8 6 , W I L L B O S C O W ’ 1 1 , and fellow Hotchkiss employees Peg Hsia, Ana Hermoso, Blake Wynot, Maggie Crain, Amy Rasner Clulow, and Ted Weihman.

F a l l

2 0 1 7

Class not es

On July 1, Kait Perrelle ’06 married Jason Leonard in Beacon, NY. Bearcats in attendance: Jeremy Perrelle ’01, Jon Perrelle ’02, Robin Chandler ’87, Roger Crain ’86, and Will Boscow ’11. Fellow Hotchkiss employees Peg Hsia, Ana Hermoso, Blake Wynot, Maggie Crain, Amy Rasner Clulow, and Ted Weihman also attended.

06 06

In early October, Haley Priebe hosted a mini-reunion in Rhode Island. Classmates included: Harry Whalen, Margy DeClue Blackford, Henry Blackford, Lindsay Luke, Eliza Hill Cuddy, Adam Casella, Haley Cook Sonneland, and David Keating.

06 Adam Casella ’06 married Holly Donaldson on Aug. 26, 2016, in Landgrove, VT. Bearcats in attendance included: Haynes Johnston ’06, Haiey Priebe ’06, John Luke ’67, Bill Benedict ’70, Johnny Luke ’12, Annie Keating ’09, Cate Caruso ’06, Cayla O’Connell ’06, Tom Keating ’69, Perry Trethaway ’06, Mike Glennon ’05, Anna Simonds Glennon ’06, Eliza Hill Cuddy ’06, Lindsay Luke ’06, Spike Whitney ’06, Alex Cathcart ’06, Holly Donaldson Casella, Misha Belikov ’06, Adam Casella ’06, Harry Whalen ’06, Joey Rault ’06, Lincoln Foran ’06, Haiey Cook Sonneland ’06, David Keating ’06, Henry Blackford ’06, Margy Declue Blackford ’06, Daniel Nassar ’06, Leila Clifford-Ong ’07, Aaron Casella ’17, and Avery Brooks ’06.

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

On Aug. 19, John Buckley ’06 and Meera Sivalingam ’08 were married in Moorestown, NJ, in a Hindu ceremony. Pictured from left to right: Ram Sivalingam ’06, Priya Sivalingam ’14, Meera Sivalingam ’08, Vij Sivalingam ’17, and John Buckley ’06 Diego Galvez ’06 and Mar Portilla were married on July 2, 2016, in Mexico City. Bottom row, left to right: Gavin Carson ’06, Diego Galvez ’06, and his bride, Mar Portilla, and Daniel Nassar ’06. Second row: Lena Gaviria ’07, Matt Zingsheim ’06, Ram Sivalingam ’06, Misha Belikov ’06, Laura de Yturbe ’94, Alan Finch ’06, and Alejandra de Yturbe ’98. Third row: Luis de Yturbe ’64, Luis de Yturbe ’96, Haley Priebe ’06, Harry Whalen ’06 (semi-hidden), and Paul Dranginis ’06 F a l l

2 0 1 7

Class not es Claire Brooks ’07

From New York to Hollywood, and Back BY WENDY CARLSON

07 Andrew Fowler ’07 and Emily Migliaccio were married on June 24 in Warwick, RI.

D I E G O G A LV E Z

and Mar Portilla were married on July 2, 2016, in Mexico City.

06 07 08 Bearcats at a Boston Red Sox game on Sept. 13 at Fenway Park. Left to right: Brett Huntley ’07, Liz Norris ’08, guest Bethany Arnold, and John Moulthrop ’06

H A L E Y C O O K S O N N E L A N D reports on a mini-Hotchkiss ’06 reunion in Rhode Island in October. “ H A L E Y P R I E B E hosted H A R R Y WHALEN, MARGY DECLUE BLACKFORD, H E N RY B L A C K F O R D , L I N D S AY L U K E , E L I Z A H I L L C U D D Y, A D A M C A S E L L A ,

and me (Haley), plus a few non-Bearcat significant others and spouses: Spencer Cuddy, Scott Gates, Josh Sonneland, Holly Donaldson Casella, David Keating, and one potential Bearcat: Milly Sonneland (Class of 2034?) for a perfect fall weekend.”

CLASS AGENTS: Abel Acuna, Kate Balderston, Dana

Bohan, Ellie Edelman, Caroline Emch, Alex Korey, Liz Krane, Bart Marchant, Alex Rogers, and TT Sitterley A N D R E W F O W L E R married Emily Migliaccio in Warwick, RI, on June 24, 2017.

H I L LY N O V I K

married Derek Sandberg on June 24 in Sharon, CT. The following classmates attended: D A N A B O H A N , M A R Y

R O C K W E L L , H E AT H E R WA R B U RT E N , J A M I E V I L L A D O L I D , M I C K M A C L A V E R T Y, T R E V O R CARLISLE, LIZ BRIM, CHLOE LABRANCHE, ELLIE EDELMAN, TEDD HIMLER, LEILA

Hilary (Hilly) Novik ’07 of Lakeville, CT, married Derek Sandberg of Montreal, Quebec, on June 24 in Sharon, CT. Classmates in attendance included Dana Bohan, Mary Rockwell, Heather Warburten, Jamie Villadolid, Mick MacLaverty, Trevor Carlisle, Liz Brim, Chloe Labranche, Ellie Edelman, Teddy Himler, Leila Clifford, Mary McKenna, Alex Korey, Chase Delano, Liana Tedesco, Olivia Novik ’09, Tom Best, and Tyler Cheney

laire Brooks is adept at making quick transitions. By the time she graduated from NYU film school in 2011, she had 12 internships under her belt. After college, she immediately flew out to Los Angeles to work at Illumination Entertainment as an executive assistant to the company’s founder, Chris Meledandri ’77, a producer and creator of award-winning animated films. There, she worked on marketing campaigns for The Minions, Despicable Me 2, and The Lorax. Last December, she founded SuperSwell, a New York City production company that partners with startups and businesses to create live events, like music and film festivals and multicity pop-up events. But Brooks is never one to sit still for too long. This fall, she is juggling her career with graduate school at Columbia, where she’s working toward an MFA in film production. She first learned to switch gears during her childhood in Queens, when she was accepted to the Prep for Prep program, a highly selective academic enrichment program in New York City that identifies the city’s most promising students of color and enrolls them in independent schools throughout the northeast. She attended the The Nightingale-Bamford School, which opened her eyes to a world of possibilities. “I was commuting from Queens every day to the Upper East Side; the transition was just so intense,” recalls Brooks. Eventually, she realized she needed a space away from home and from the city where she could go to grow and flourish on her own. That place was Hotchkiss. “The adjustment was tough at first. No one in my family had attended boarding school, so it was up to me to pursue the experience on my

own,” she says. “So I started game-planning what I was going to accomplish at Hotchkiss, because that’s what I’ve been doing since I was a kid — looking for ways to move from one challenging environment to the next.” At Hotchkiss, she fell in love with theatre. She wrote, directed, and produced some of her own work; she was also on the board of the Hotchkiss Dramatic Association for four years and stage-managed over a dozen student productions. While she felt certain she wanted to pursue a career in the arts, she knew it wasn’t a sure money-making endeavor. In fact, she says, “I was the only person in school who wanted to be a producer.” As a prep, she began networking, reaching out to alumni in the entertainment field for internship opportunities. Not only did she secure internships; by connecting with alumni who were successful in the arts, she started to gain confidence that she could succeed in that field. “My first internship was with Eric Falkenstein ’87 (a Broadway producer) and my first job out of college was at Chris Meledandri’s Illumination Entertainment. Both opportunities provided the foundation of my career,” she says. While learning the ropes in film production at Illumination Entertainment, Brooks also began working with an underground art collective, producing events during her time off. She soon found herself trying to manage both jobs at the same time. “I was counting cash from a music event in some back room by night and working as an assistant in Hollywood by day; the disparity in my life was huge,” she says.

“I’d be in the bathroom, standing on the toilet seat so no one would recognize my shoes, making phone calls to raise money for an art event while I was rolling calls for my boss!” Eventually, she had to make a choice between staying at her job or becoming a fulltime cultural arts event producer in LA. She decided to make the leap and be her own boss, but there were fits and starts in the business. Although she learned to roll with the punches, it wasn’t as she had hoped. Eventually, she decided to return to New York, where she landed a job in marketing, first for the National Basketball Association, then for an ad agency as a producer. “So it took me a number of years, two different industries, and four different jobs before I was officially a producer,” she says, wryly. Meanwhile, she had gone from producing $50,000 events in Los Angeles to producing multi-million dollar projects almost overnight. “At one point, I looked at the numbers and I realized I could do this myself,” she said. So, once again, she struck out on her own by starting SuperSwell. Now, she receives calls from clients like actress/singer Zendaya, for whom she curated a three-city pop up event to launch the entertainer’s first fashion line. One of her Fortune 100 clients even asked her to produce an even more outrageous event that involved flying a helicopter rigged with cameras to film a flash dance mob happening in Times Square. “They wanted to know, can I do it?” she says, with a laugh. “I said, ‘Sure. With enough money and time, you can do anything.’”

C L I F F O R D , M A R Y M C K E N N A , A L E X K O R E Y,

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

F a l l

2 0 1 7

Class not es CHASE DELANO, LIANA TEDESCO, OLIVIA N O V I K ’ 0 9 , T O M B E S T,

and

T Y L E R C H E N E Y.

This fall, M A R G U E R I T A T E N H O U T E N moved from Colorado with her two cats to Washington, D.C., to start her masters in political science at George Washington University. She will be focusing on the intersection of research methodology and political psychology in American politics.

92 10

CLASS AGENTS: Pierson Fowler, Heather Krieger,

Teddy Mackenzie, Shintaro Matsui, and Charlotte Dillon Ross

CLASS AND REUNION AGENTS: Daniel Camilletti,

and her brother, J A C K held a mini-reunion at their house in Pound Ridge, NY, in July.

Emmy Brigstocke, Chloe Field, Kelsie Fralick, Liza Johnson, Taylor Peterson, Abby Rogers, Isabella Steyer, and Annie Wymard

writes, “J E S S I C A G O N Z A L E Z lost all her property in late August due to Hurricane Harvey. She is raising money to replace possessions. Visit gofundme.com/ houston-flood-family.”

’04

08 08

CLASS AND REUNION AGENTS: Will Benedict,

Justin Portes recently completed his first ultramarathon, the Mt. Hood 50K, in Mt. Hood, OR.

09 On Oct. 8, 2016, Haley F. O’Brien and Paul W. Trethaway, both Class of 2009, were married at St. Marys Catholic Church in Greenwich, CT. Bearcat attendees, left to right: Charlie Noyes ’78, Tom Trethaway ’75, P’06,‘09, Annie Keating ’09, Eliza Hanson ’10, Olivia Segarra ’09, Chance Reuger ’09, Claire O’Brien ’12, James Kelly ’11, Kevin Powers ’09, Caroline Buck ’09, Paul and Haley Trethaway ’09, Will Burchfield ’10, Grant Tomashoff ’09, Ben Softy ’09, Sam Schultz ’09, Anne Lykes ’08, Jon Tomashoff ’09, Chris Burchfield P’08,’10,’18, instructor in English, Nathaniel Sobel ’08, James Flexner ’08, Anthony Frisenda ’09, and Jackie Nichols

On Oct. 8, 2016, H A L E Y F. O ’ B R I E N and P A U L W . T R E T H A W A Y were married at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Greenwich, CT, followed by a reception at the Westchester Country Club in Rye, NY. While at Hotchkiss, Haley was the advisee of Julia Wu Trethaway and swam on the swim team for Tom Trethaway. After a close friendship at Hotchkiss, Haley and Paul attended Senior Dance together, and the rest is history. Many alumni and faculty attended the wedding, and others were there in spirit! Attendees not pictured in photo included P E R R Y T R E T H A W A Y ’ 0 6 , K E R R Y LY N C H , C H A R L O T T E D A Y - R E I S S , S A R A I D D O N N E L LY, C A M E R O N H O U G H , CAROLINE KENNY BURCHFIELD ’77, ZANE B U R C H F I E L D ’ 0 8 , Brad and Ginny Faus, Rick Hazelton, and Wayne and Nancy Gaynor.

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

Meghana Koduru, George Lampe, Isabel Reed, and Eva Warren

Gulden, Kei Helm, Kevin Herrera, Stephen Langer, Alexa Nikolova, and Blake Ruddock

CLASS AGENTS: Dylan Alles, Jay Anderson, Whitney

Will Burchfield ’10 and Kris Atteberry ’92 crossed paths this summer. Will is a sportswriter for CBS Detroit, covering the Detroit Tigers, and Kris is the pre-and post-game host for the Minnesota Twins Radio Network.

CLASS AGENTS: Konstantin Baranov, Katie Comfort,

Maddy Dwyer, Liam Fleming, Seabelo John, Walker Jordan, Casey Kemper, Avery Klinger, Ben MacShane, Justine McCarthy Potter, Hafsa Moinuddin, Cam Pal, Jade Pinero, Olivia Ryder, Emily von Weise, and Jake Yoon

recently completed his first ultramarathon, the Mt. Hood 50K, in Mt. Hood, OR. Justin writes, “I had an absolute blast running the race. The scenery was beautiful, and the weather conditions were perfect. I will be following up with a 50-mile race next spring.”

Annie Keating, Kevin Powers, Henry Ross, Sarah Scott, and Jiezhen Wu

JUSTIN PORTES

CLASS AGENTS: Natalie Boyse, Cameron Hough,

MCCOWN ’11,

CLASS AGENTS: Amro Arqoub, Emilie Bae,

Dana Brisbane, Alexandra Burchfield, Alexander Douglas, Aleca Hughes, Taylor Kenyon, Lizzie Langer, Daniel Lippman, Clark Maturo, Greg Maxson, Emily Myerson, Molly Reed, and Michael Wu

Addison Haxo, Christian Lange, Catriona Leckie, Charlotte McCary, and Noelle Wyman CAROLINE MCCOWN

CLASS AGENTS: Will Boscow, Shannon Brathwaite,

MICHAEL CHEN

CLASS AGENTS: Nicholas Bermingham,

Amelia Cao, Julia Chen, Stephanie de Lesseps, Cahleb Derry, Sumner Erbe, Normandie Essig, Kanika Gupta, Jack Kagan, Brooke Lummis, Stella McKew, Erin Mirkovic, Stephen Moon, Teni Odugbesan, Jack Patterson, Naomy Pedroza, Marco Quaroni, Jonvi Rollins, Harlan Schade, Allie Shuldman, Anne Elizabeth Sidamon-Eristoff, Sam Sitinas, Camila Toro, Turner White, and Hannah Xu

16 Nick Bermingham and Jack Kagan helped the Middlebury College squash team to a Summers Cup win at the CSA Team Championships in February, along with coach Mark Lewis ’89. The team finished 17th in the national ranking.

11 13 Bearcats from the classes of 2011 and 2013 gathered in Pound Ridge, NY, last July. Back row, 2011 Bearcats, from left to right: Will Knorring, Isabella Steyer, Cooper Puls, Sara Boretsky, Annie Wymard, Jack McCown, Ryan Manseau, and Maggie Bluhm. Front row, 2013 Bearcats, left to right: Faris Mourad, Christina Fallon, Caroline McCown, Maggie Lederer, Geordie Henderson, Cody Cintron, Jack McCarthy, Brigitte Desnoes. Dexter Puls also came for the weekend but isn’t pictured.

JACK KAGAN

writes, “N I C H O L A S and I helped the Middlebury College squash team to a Summers Cup win at the CSA Team Championships in February, along with our coach, M A R K L E W I S ’ 8 9 . Our team finished with a national ranking of #17.” BERMINGHAM

CLASS AGENTS: Carly Berry, Aaron Casella, Cecily

Craighead, Neil Dabholkar, Hannah Frater, Sarah Glasfeld, Allie Hubbard-Gourlay, Jelani HutchinsBelgrave, Alyssa Iferenta, Kira Johnson, Christian Kohlmeyer, Corbin Kucera, Sally Kuehn, Kanghee Lee, Canning Malkin, Fin Ong, Pallavi Pemmireddy, Aba Sam, George Sidamon-Eristoff, Katie Smith, Annabel von Weise, Arielle Warren, and Sophie Wilder

F a l l

2 0 1 7

Hotchkiss in m em o ri a m

Charles F. (Chuck) Gulden ’79, P’12 President of The Hotchkiss Fund and Enthusiastic Volunteer for the School

Left, Chuck with his mother at Hotchkiss; right, with daughter, Whitney

he Hotchkiss community lost one of its most dedicated alumni volunteers with the unexpected passing of Charles F. “Chuck” Gulden ’79 on June 21, 2017 at age 55. He was, at the time of his death, serving as a partner at Boomerang Capital, a hedge fund marketing and advisory firm. He was president of The Hotchkiss Fund and as such, served his alma mater as a member of the Board of Trustees. Chuck loved Hotchkiss and had been passionately engaged with the School since graduation. He always answered the call to work on behalf of the School he loved, serving in numerous capacities. A dedicated Reunion volunteer, Chuck also participated in many Volunteer Leadership Weekends. He was a class agent and lead agent for the Class of 1979 since his graduation from Hotchkiss, and more recently was a parent volunteer. His daughter, Whitney ’12, follows in his footsteps as a class agent and he was immensely proud of her attending Hotchkiss after being inspired by him. Born on Nov. 22, 1961, in New York, NY, to Charlie and Katherine Ann (K.A.) Gulden, then of Rye, NY, Chuck came to the School as a prep. He played JV hockey,

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

lacrosse, and was a proctor in Van Santvoord. After graduating in 1979, he then went on to Denison University, where he was president of the Interfraternity Council as a member of Phi Delta Theta, graduating in 1983 with a B.A. in economics and political science. Chuck started what was to be a distinguished career in finance in 1983 at the Bankers Trust Company. He was an early employee at Templeton (now Franklin Templeton Investments), where he rose rapidly, based on his intelligence, insight, work ethic, gregarious nature, and generous and joyful spirit. Following Templeton, he served as a founder and held leadership roles at Hansberger Global Investors, TIG Advisors, and Boomerang Capital. Chuck held a chartered financial analyst (CFA) designation and was well known as a leader in his field. Chuck is remembered at Hotchkiss as a stalwart, loyal, influential, and effective volunteer. Head of School Craig Bradley remembered him in this way: “Chuck was devoted to Hotchkiss and to the extended Hotchkiss community. Personally, Chuck was very supportive and encouraging to me during my first year, and I learned a great deal from him and from his example of extraordinary

service to Hotchkiss. We miss Chuck and are grateful for all he gave to the Hotchkiss community.” Sonia Bonsu, director of The Hotchkiss Fund, spoke on behalf of the Fund team, which worked closely with him: “Chuck was a very special man who could light up a room with his smile, his booming voice, and his warm personality. His fondness for Hotchkiss was infectious, and he had an amazing ability to engage his fellow alumni and keep them involved with the School. We are truly fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with him and to know him.” In recognition of his extraordinary service, Chuck was posthumously named this year’s recipient of the Thomas W. Armitage ’25 Award, given annually to a member(s) of the Hotchkiss alumni body for distinguished service to The Hotchkiss Fund. Chuck’s late father, Charles “Charlie” Gulden ’53, P’79, GP’12, who was president of the Alumni Association and an ex-officio trustee, also received the Armitage Award in 1997. Charlie’s friend, classmate, trustee emeritus, and former headmaster Rusty Chandler ’53, P’82, ’85, ’87, GP’10, ’14, ’16, wrote the following to Chuck shortly before the end of his term as president

of The Hotchkiss Fund: “As you prepare to step down from your responsibilities as president of The Hotchkiss Fund, I want to congratulate you on a job well done. When in my time a goal of $1 million dollars seemed almost unobtainable, it boggles my mind to consider a goal of $5 million dollars today. I know your dad looking down on us appreciates and salutes you. You have given meritorious service to Hotchkiss, and the School is indeed grateful for your dedication...” Chuck was most proud of his 30-year marriage to the love of his life, Jennifer Wentzel Gulden, and their cherished daughters, Whitney Gaynor ’12 (23), and Abigail Perry (22). Jen, Whitney, and Perry were the light of his life. Whitney, who will be accepting the Armitage Award on her father’s behalf this November, writes fondly: “My dad was a life-long advocate and lover of Hotchkiss, he always said we would have that in common. He truly believed that education was one of life’s great gifts, and that we as alumni owed an immeasurable debt to the incredible education Hotchkiss gave us. He taught me that giving of our time was one of many ways to give back, and that giving time to Hotchkiss would always come with its own rewards of friendship and connection. Thank you to everyone at Hotchkiss who was a friend to my father, from his prep friends to the Hotchkiss Fund team — he loved you all.” In addition to his wife and daughters, Chuck is survived by his mother, K.A. of Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., his motherin-law, his two brothers-in-law, and his sister-in-law. He was a favorite uncle to his six nieces and nephews. His Hotchkiss relatives include his great-uncle, Donald Streett ’53, and cousins Eliza Webb ’78, Angela Webb Kensinger ’82, and Electra Tortorella (former director of The Hotchkiss Fund). He was predeceased by his father and his father-in-law. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to The Hotchkiss Fund and/or the Alzheimer’s Association (www.alz.org).

Ralph Vogel ’52, Dedicated Alumni Volunteer and Former Trustee Former Hotchkiss Trustee Ralph B. Vogel ’52 of Hobe Sound, FL, and formerly of Beverly Farms, MA, died peacefully with his family around him on July 17, 2017. He was 84. Born in Boston, MA, on April 1, 1933, he grew up in Milwaukee, WI, and attended the University School there. He came to Hotchkiss in September 1949. In his three years at the School, he served on the Dance Committee and on the stage crew of the Hotchkiss Dramatic Association. He worked on the Mischianza staff all three years and was assistant editor as a senior. He played on the basketball, golf, and soccer teams, and won the Probasco Cup Award. After graduating in 1952, he earned a B.A. degree from Harvard College in 1956, where he was a member of The Hasty Pudding and the Delphic Club. He later earned an M.B.A. degree from New York University. He served in the U.S. Air Force and returned to Boston for the last six months of his tour, where he met and married Mabel H. Harris in 1961. He began his business career working for P&V Atlas in Milwaukee but soon thereafter joined the investment bank Smith Barney in New York. He was transferred to Smith Barney’s Boston office in 1964 and worked there as office head until 1980. An enthusiastic and dedicated alumnus, he was a trustee from 1976-1986. He served as class agent for 1952 from 1991-1994 and as a member of the Reunion Social Committee from 2001-2002. He also served on several Harvard-related committees and on the boards of numerous organizations, including The Trustees of Reservations, The New England Aquarium, Boston Children’s Service, the Vincent Memorial Hospital, and Pine Manor College. The Vogels lived on the north shore of Boston for many years. When they moved to their second home in Florida, he became deeply involved in the Boys & Girls Club of Martin County, The Hobe Sound Nature Center, and Christ Memorial Chapel in Hobe Sound. In addition to his wife, Mabel, he is survived by his daughter, Virginia V. Yonce; sons, William D. Vogel II and Ralph B. Vogel Jr.; nine grandchildren; his sister, Virginia V. Mattern; and his brother, Frederick Vogel III ’53. He was predeceased by his sister, Grace V. Aldworth.

COLLISTER “CODDY” JOHNSON

died peacefully on July 8, 2017, at his home in Far Hills, NJ, surrounded by family. He was 99. “Coddy,” as he was known, was born in Orange, NJ, in 1917. In 1939, he graduated from Yale, where he was the captain of the polo team. At the time of his death, he was the oldest living member of Yale’s Whiffenpoofs. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1942-46 in the Persian Gulf. After the war, he worked for the M.W. Kellogg Company as senior vice president. He retired as a senior vice president of the petroleum division of the Engelhard

Corporation, a chemicals manufacturer in Iselin, NJ. He and his family were lifelong summer residents of Martha’s Vineyard, where they swam, fished, hunted, collected crabs and steamers, sailed, and gave legendary beach picnics, always with singing around the bonfire. Over the years, Mr. Johnson, a strong swimmer who respected the ocean, rescued several people from drowning off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard. He was accomplished at golf and tennis, accumulating many trophies over his long sporting career. A lifelong lover of music and sports, he was part of both a successful polo team and a singing quartet with his

F a l l

2 0 1 7

Hotchkiss in m em o ri a m brothers. He was predeceased by his beloved wife of 70 years, Eleanor Muir Johnson, and his three brothers, all Hotchkiss alumni: Francis (“Frank”) Johnson ’31, W.B. (“Ben”) Johnson ’33, and Robert (“Bob”) Johnson ’38. He is survived by his daughters, Sheila and Lee, a son, Collister (Terry) Johnson Jr. ’64, six grandchildren, and 12 great-grandchildren. He is also survived by Hotchkiss alumni nephews Richard (“Rick”) Johnson ’57, David (“Dave)” Johnson ’65, and L. Oakley (“Oakley”) Johnson ’66. His father, Francis Johnson Jr. ’01, and uncle, Wallace Johnson ’17, as well as a cousin, James (“Jim”) Johnson ’44, and a nephew, George Haines ’61, all predeceased him. H A R O L D B A R T L E T T “ H A L” S C O T T J R . ,

who served in the administrations of Presidents Nixon and Ford, died on June 2, 2017, in Palm Beach, FL. He was 99. He was born July 11, 1917, in Tarrytown, NY. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Yale University in 1939. After serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II, Mr. Scott returned to his family’s business, The Denver Chemical Co. He went on to become Pfizer’s vice president for South America, directing sales of the then-newly invented drug tetracycline. In the 1950s, he founded Harbesco to represent major American drug and toiletry companies worldwide. He was appointed assistant secretary of commerce in the administrations of Presidents Nixon and Ford from 1969-72, and from 1973-79, he served as president and CEO of the US/USSR Trade and Economic Council, dedicated to increasing trade relations with the Soviet Union. He and his wife of 43 years, Jane Russell Scott, lived in Palm Beach and Lakeville. He became chairman of the Palm Beach Civic Association and served on the boards of several organizations, including Figgie International, Key Bank of Florida, and Planned Parenthood. “Under his leadership, our organization took an active role in local issues and worked to make town government more effective,” wrote Ned Barnes, Civic Association president. He is survived by his wife Jane, and their son, Harold, and daughter, Alexandra, as well as daughters Jane, Susan, Judith, Audrey, and Anne, with his late wife, Mary Rachel Baker Scott; and 23 grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by a brother, Charles (“Brace”) Scott ’39 and a cousin, Clement Brace ’34.

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

RICHARD GUNDRY JENNINGS JR.

died on Aug. 7, 2017, at his home in Asheville, NC. He was 93. Born on Aug. 2, 1924, he attended Hotchkiss from 1939-40; later, his studies at Yale were interrupted by the war, where he served in the Philippines with the Army. After the war ended, he made his way south to Cashiers, NC, where he started a mink farm in 1948 and, shortly after, a trout farm. The farm was on untamed land that his grandfather had purchased over his lifetime. At one time, that land spanned about 30,000 acres, from Jackson to Transylvania Counties. He and his wife, Frances Clark, of Asheville, raised their three children there and carved out a significant niche within this Appalachian community. In the early 50s and 60s, Mr. Jennings was instrumental in building a community center in Cashiers. In the 60s, he and Frances made their way to Asheville, where, over the next three decades, he served on numerous boards. During his years in Asheville, he expanded his trout business to include a large rearing facility in Haywood County. Mr. Jennings’s greatest legacy may be his grandfather’s property in Cashiers, which he protected and preserved in order to pass it on to his children. Even at 90, he still drove out to the farm on a regular basis, giving good counsel when he deemed it appropriate. He is survived by his wife of 66 years, Frances Clark Jennings, their three children, nine grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren.

back to Seattle in 1951, where he worked at Frederick & Nelson and then King TV. Mr. Minor entered the investment world, first with Pacific Northwest Co. and then with Kidder Peabody. He served on the boards of the Seattle Children’s Home and the Seattle Opera. In 1976, the Minors moved to Bainbridge Island. He grew up spending summers there and was delighted finally to return. After his wife’s death, Mr. Minor moved in 2011 to California, where he resided until his death. He is survived by his three children and several grandchildren, whom he adored, and his sister.

H A M I LT O N B U S S E R “ H A M ” B O W M A N

died on June 28, 2017, at his home in Duxbury, MA. He was born May 28, 1927, in Pittsburgh, PA. He graduated from the Merchant Marine Academy in 1946 and Yale University in 1950. He served in the Navy on the U.S.S. Worcester from 1950-53. He was a steel company executive with Bowman Steel Company, C. Drew & Co., Teledyne Rodney Metals, and Teledyne Inc. He owned and ran Hamilton House necktie company, the ParkerDawson Boat Company, and Olde Cape Cod Stoneware. He served on the boards of Derby Academy, Noble and Greenough School, Compugraphic Corporation, and Cranberry Hospice. He sang in the St. John’s Episcopal Church choir and the Boston Saengerfest Men’s Chorus. He was a longtime member of Duxbury Yacht Club. Survivors include his wife, Ann (Learnard), three daughters, and six grandchildren. He was predeceased by his brother, Joseph.

S TA N L E Y N . “ S TA N ” M I N O R J R .

died peacefully in Carmel, CA, on July 20, 2017, after a long illness. He was 91. The son of Gladys and Stanley Minor, he was born and raised in Seattle. He attended Lakeside School before entering Hotchkiss in 1942 and graduated in 1944. During WWII, Mr. Minor was assigned to the Navy V-12 program at the University of Washington. After the war, he attended Yale University, graduating in 1948 with a degree in English. Well into his 80s, he was still able to recite by heart the opening lines of The Canterbury Tales, in the original Middle English. After Yale, he served in the Marines, reaching the rank of captain. Mr. Minor married Elizabeth Carey Seaver (Betsy) in 1950, and they had their first daughter, Chrissie, in 1951. They moved

W I L L I A M H O W I E M U I R I I of Farmington, CT, died on July 30, 2016, concluding a life filled with adventure and love. He was 87. Born Sept. 23, 1928, in Grosse Pointe, MI, he attended Hotchkiss from September 1944 until his graduation in 1946. Following college graduation, he volunteered for the Army infantry in Korea. Once a salesman of Catholic Bibles, once a licensed driver of 18-wheelers, Mr. Muir spent most of his professional life at his alma mater, Trinity College, Hartford, where he served as director of admissions. His final working years were spent at the United World College in Montezuma, NM, working with students

and faculty from around the world. He was happiest on the road, on the water, or on the trail. In 1966, he and his first wife pedaled across the country on a tandem bike. In 1972, he and his 15-year-old son biked 4,000 miles north from Dawson Creek, B.C., through Alaska, much of it on gravel roads, and south from Seattle to Muir Beach, CA. To celebrate the new century and visit his California family, he crossed the country again by bike, alone, at age 72. Then in 2008, at 80, he bicycled south from Dawson Creek to Corvallis, OR, with his 13-year-old twin grandsons. In his 60s, he rode his Harley over 100,000 miles of scenic highways, exploring the natural wonders of America. By canoe, he paddled the Everglades, Lake Okeechobee, the Rio Grande, and the Suwanee River, often solo. In 2007, at 79, he hiked solo from the rim into the Grand Canyon, camped by the river, and climbed out, carrying all his gear and water. He is survived by his first wife, Ann Mayo Graf; a daughter and a son; his second and third wife, Elenor Gibson Reid, of Farmington, with whom he shared nearly 45 years; and two grandchildren. His brother, William Ker “Sandy” Muir, Jr. ’49, of Berkeley, CA, died in 2015. Other Hotchkiss relatives include a deceased cousin, Thomas Hunter Jr. ’45; a cousin, Richard Bodman ’55; and niece, Kerry Muir ’80.

FREDERICK BARTON “FRED” CHURCHILL,

retired Indiana University professor, died unexpectedly on July 22, 2017, in Hanover, NH. He was 84. Born on Dec. 14, 1932, he attended Shady Hill School in Cambridge, MA, before coming to Hotchkiss. After graduation in 1951, he attended Harvard University, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in biology in 1955. After two years of service in the U.S. Army, he mustered out in Germany, where he had studied the German. Returning to the U.S., he continued his education at Columbia, where he earned a master’s degree in history. Shortly thereafter, he began his Ph.D. studies in history of science under Everett Mendelsohn at Harvard. After completing his Ph.D. in 1967, he joined the new department of history and philosophy of science at Indiana University in Bloomington. He retired as professor in 1997, having fulfilled multiple roles within the department, including department chair. Mr.

Churchill was a beloved colleague, teacher, and mentor at IU. As one of his students said, “We all loved Fred ... students and advisees normally respect, admire, appreciate, and otherwise positively value their advisors. But very few advisors are such wonderful people, so kind and generous and just deeply and truly good. Fred was special.” Mr. Churchill’s research was devoted to understanding the important German biologist, August Weismann (1834-1914). In 2015, Dr. Churchill completed his second book on Weismann, explaining the development of his cytology and embryology work. Over his career, he published numerous articles in the history of heredity, development, and evolution. In 1981, he married Sandra Riddle Smith, whom he had met on a backpacking trip in the Smoky Mountains. He is survived by Sandra and his brother, Algernon “Jerry” Churchill ’55; his sister-in-law, and eight nephews and nieces. Mr. Churchill loved having a family, and he enjoyed summers in Strafford, VT, finding peace and joy on his walks in the mountains there.

D. ROSS EDMAN

died on May 28, 2017. He was 80 and had lived in Holland, MI, for 42 years. He was born on July 14, 1936, in Pittsfield, MA. He studied at The Fessenden School and Hotchkiss, spending summers abroad with his parents in Rome and Athens while his father served in the U.S. State Department. Mr. Edman then attended Harvard University and enjoyed managing and traveling with the Harvard Glee Club. After working at the Seattle Art Museum, he earned his master’s degree from Oberlin University before beginning a 30-year career as a professor of art history at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He taught introductory courses in Japanese, Chinese, and Indian art, as well as in Japanese architecture and art appreciation. His commitment to the education of undergraduate students there earned him the Silver Circle Award for Excellence in Teaching and the respect and appreciation of generations of students. In recognition of his contributions, the University’s department of art history established the Ross Edman Fund to support undergraduate students in art history through scholarships, awards, and travel for research. While living in Chicago, Mr. Edman became a noted appraiser of art and antiques before

retiring to Holland. He derived great pleasure from cooking, gardening, reading, music, his Pekinese dogs, and simply “staying put” in Holland. A warm, generous, and caring person, Mr. Edman delighted his colleagues, friends, and family with his elegant turns of phrase, intelligence, and unflagging sense of humor. He appreciated the loyalty and devoted friendship shared with him by his neighbors and friends. Mr. Edman leaves a brother and eight nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his other brother, Silas G. “Si” Edman ’48; and long-time partner, Jon Waltz.

J O H N W. D E C S E P E L

died peacefully on July 28, 2017, at age 81. Born in Budapest, Hungary in 1936, he arrived in the U.S. in 1946. While living in New York City, he attended middle school at the Eaglebrook School in Deerfield, MA, before coming to Hotchkiss. After graduation in 1955, he earned his undergraduate degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and his M.B.A. from New York University. He began his career as a financial analyst at Burnham & Company. Later, he became a stockbroker and remained so for the rest of his career. He enjoyed his longest tenure at Paine Webber, which was acquired by UBS before he retired. As an active member of the Greenwich, CT, community, he was for many years an OGRCC soccer and softball coach. He attended St. Catherine of Siena Church in Riverside and served as a lector for 50 years. After retirement, he joined the Retired Men’s Association, where he soon became chair of the program committee, bringing in a range of engaging speakers. He was an enthusiastic driver for Meals on Wheels of Greenwich. For the past six years, he had served on the public works committee. Among his personal passions, classical music ranked highest, followed closely by traditional jazz. Mr. de Csepel loved being outdoors, gardening, and made time every day for a long walk exploring all corners of Greenwich. He was an early adopter of books on tape and amassed a large collection, which he loved to share with his friends. He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Lennie de Csepel, two sons, a daughter, and their spouses. He also is survived by six grandchildren and his two sisters.

F a l l

2 0 1 7

Hotchkiss in m em o ri a m 56

HENRY ELLSWORTH “HANK” GLOVER,

79, of southern Vermont, formerly of Simsbury, CT, died at his home on July 10, 2017. Born on Aug. 6, 1937, he was also the grandson of Henry Ellsworth, Class of 1896. After graduating from Hotchkiss in 1956, he joined the U.S. Marine Corps, serving his country for four years and receiving an honorable discharge. He started his career as a news/ sportscaster in Maine, working for WTVL while attending Colby College. He then accepted a position with a textile company, designing and selling its products throughout the country. Taking early retirement, he owned and operated a country store in Tolland, MA, which gave him great pleasure. During his years in Simsbury, he was involved with the Simsbury Land Trust, served as treasurer of The Simsbury Cemetery Association, and was active with the Simsbury Light Opera Company. He took great pride in serving with the Simsbury Volunteer Ambulance Association, where his leadership skills were evident. He loved all sports, especially football and hockey, which he coached for many years. After moving to southern Vermont, he had more time for his gardening skills. He became involved with Trout Unlimited, Wounded Warriors, The Maine Wilderness Watershed Trust, and The Audubon Club. He was a Master Mason from Social Lodge #38 in Wilmington, VT. Besides his wife, Lynzy Bruscoe Glover, he leaves his two stepsons and grandson and a cousin. From his first marriage to Ann Ottenheimer Glover, he leaves his two sons and a daughter, a sister, seven grandchildren, and a great-grandchild. He was predeceased by a brother, Gordon (“Gordy”) Glover ’53.

R. COURTNEY JONES

died on Nov. 23, 2016, from a head injury following a fall on ice. He lived in Stockbridge, MA.

WILLIAM MICHAEL “MIKE” HERRICK,

74, of Gibson Island, MD, died on Sept. 18, 2017, in Baltimore, MD. He was born in Elizabeth City, VA, on April 26, 1943. Although his family moved around the country in his youth, his roots were in Delaware. He attended Hotchkiss from 1959 until his graduation in 1961. After studies

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

at the University of Pittsburgh, he enlisted in the U.S. Army, serving as a helicopter gunner and crew chief in Vietnam and receiving two Purple Hearts. He later worked in Vietnam with Air America. The Veterans Administration classified him as disabled due to his exposure to Agent Orange during his military service. He earned a B.S. in business administration from the University of Delaware in 1971 and moved to Washington, D.C. He began his professional career as a financial analyst and examiner at the Federal Home Loan Bank Board (later the Office of Thrift Supervision), attending law school at night. After receiving a J. D. from American University Washington College of Law, he became a lawyer for that agency, leaving in 1980 to become the assistant director of the securities and corporate practices division of the Comptroller of the Currency. From 1981 to 1997, he was an associate, partner, and then senior partner with the law firm of Elias, Matz, Tiernan & Herrick in Washington, D.C., a corporate law firm specializing in banks and other financial institutions. In 1997, he became senior counsel to the firm. After retiring from the active practice of law, he served on the Board of Silvergate Bank in La Jolla, CA, and enjoyed traveling, boating, reading, and getting together with friends. He is survived by his wife, Elizabeth Soyster, of Gibson Island, MD; a brother, John; a sister, Sarah; and nine nieces and nephews.

P E T E R E D W A R D G I D W I T Z , 67, of Chicago, IL, died peacefully on June 5, 2017. Born in Chicago on Jan. 13, 1950, he attended Hotchkiss from September 1965 until his graduation in 1968. An alumnus of Brown University, he served in the U.S. Air Force as a reserve medic. After a short stint at the Harris Bank, Mr. Gidwitz rose to chairman of the Burnham Companies. He was active in many non-profits and governmental agencies, including as chairman of the Illinois Development Finance Board; life member, Access Living; Mt. Sinai Hospital; and the MS Society. He is survived by his sister and three brothers, all of them Hotchkiss alumni: Ron ’63; Jim ’64, P’98,’00,’01,’03; sister Nancy; and Tom ’71; his son and two daughters; his ex-wife, Melissa Moe; many nieces and nephews, including Jamee ’98, Brant ’00, Clare ’01, and Lydia ’03; and

two stepchildren. He was predeceased by an ex-wife, Jackie Dukker.

ANDREW GEORGE IGOR LINIEWSKI “ANDY” B I T T S O N , 66, of Houston, TX, died on July 24, 2017. He was born March 13, 1951, in New York City. Mr. Bittson entered Hotchkiss in September 1965 and graduated in 1969. He earned his undergraduate degree from Williams College with a degree in geology and German and received his master’s degree in geophysics from the University of Arizona. A retired geologist and geophysicist, he worked in the oil and gas industry, with his last position at Devon Energy as a manager of integrated geosciences. He was a member of the Houston Geological Society, the Society of Exploration Geophysicists, and the American Association of Petroleum Geologists. He was an avid traveler with a love of visiting new places with his family and friends. He is survived by his wife, Helen Elizabeth Bittson, and his daughter, Elizabeth.

T H O M A S J . P A U L H U S of North Kingstown, RI, died on July 19, 2017. Born in East Providence on May 2, 1960, he attended East Providence High School before enrolling at Hotchkiss in 1978. After graduating in 1979, he graduated from Brown University with a degree in creative writing. He was an avid hockey player who played school hockey at all levels and continued to play recreationally into his fifties. Mr. Paulhus was an active member of As220 Providence, where his creativity and outgoing personality gained him celebrity for his comedic routines and the Neo Nineties Dance Band. He was a lover of music, especially The Grateful Dead, and a lover of animals, especially the dogs he cared for so much. His faithful pet and companion, “Buster,” was never far from his side. Predeceased by his mother, Eileen W. (Ryan) Paulhus, he is survived by his father, Donald Paulhus, and his wife; two sisters and two brothers; many beloved nieces and nephews; and a large community of close friends.

W I L L I A M C H I L D S S C H E N C K died on May 11, 2017, at his home in Stamford, CT, after a valiant struggle against prostate cancer.

He was 50. He was an avid outdoorsman, a gifted cook, and a nationally known publishing executive, but his greatest skill was his facility for deep and lasting friendships. Born in Bronxville, NY, on Nov. 30, 1966, he attended Hotchkiss from 1981-82, graduated from The McBurney School in 1985, then from Bowdoin College in 1989, where he earned a B.A. in English language and literature. Following in the footsteps of his father, John Schenck ’61, he went into magazine publishing and rose quickly to the top of New York’s publishing industry. After senior sales positions at Conde Nast’s Gourmet and Vanity Fair, he became publisher of Men’s Journal in 2005 and then publisher of Rolling Stone from 2008 to 2010. He served as chief revenue officer at Fairchild Fashion Media from 2010 to 2013. In his career, Mr. Schenck was known as a creative, resourceful marketer and a passionate advocate for the unique place magazines hold in a changing media landscape. “Will always brought his ‘A+ game’: he had enormous energy, an innate sense of decency, a huge intelligence and wonderful sense of humor,” Gina Sanders, Condé Nast’s global head of development, and the former president and CEO of Fairchild Fashion Group, told WWD (Women’s Wear Daily). “Will brought these qualities to Fairchild and to all his roles throughout his career. I am so grateful to have known Will as a colleague, and also as a true friend.” He loved bird watching with his son, Will, in Central Park, singing with his daughter, Julia, and skiing with his family in Sun Valley, ID. He is survived by his wife, Vanessa, their son and daughter; his mother and stepfather, Deborah and Richard Kessler; his father, John Schenck ’61, and stepmother, Holly; a sister and three brothers, including Charles “Chip” Schenck ’88 of Stamford; and his maternal grandmother.

Business School. Mr. Wertheim worked for the New York City Office of the Mayor as chief of staff to the deputy mayor for housing and economic development. On learning of his death, Mayor Bill de Blasio made a statement, which read, in part: “As a colleague, Peter was a trusted advisor to me on many of our most important housing and economic development projects. I, like many in our administration, came to rely on his keen intellect, steady leadership, and eminent grace in meeting some of our toughest challenges. As a friend, Peter was so much more than that to many at City Hall. His wit, generosity and unwavering spirit brightened the days of anyone fortunate enough to be around him. Peter was a funny, caring and supremely loyal man whose decency will continue to guide me and countless others through the rest of our days. At 39, Peter’s already remarkable career had yet to reach the depth of its promise. For that, New York City and the countless organizations that relied on Peter’s public service are left with unfillable voids. It is with great confidence that I believe those Peter inspired and mentored will continue to breathe life into his mission.” He is survived by his husband, Ben Loehnen, his parents, and two brothers.

M AT T H E W I M B E R “ D E W E Y ” R O S E N F I E L D

died suddenly of an asthma attack on Sept. 7, 2017, in New York City. He was 31. He was born in Boston, MA, and attended Hotchkiss from 2004-05, graduating that year, and graduated from George Washington University with a degree in business finance. He was a partner and account executive at JN Phillips Auto Glass. He is survived by his wife, Alexandra W. Nash; his parents, Judy and Philip Rosenfield; his brother, Joshua; his sister, Leslie; his grandfather, Norman S. Rosenfield; his grandmother, Gertrude Imber; and his in-laws, Nancy and Harry Nash.

PETER WERTHEIM,

39, of New York City and Sharon, CT, died unexpectedly in San Francisco, CA, on May 21, 2017. The son of Mark and Allicia Wertheim, he was born in Hartford, CT, on Aug. 25, 1977, and attended the Renbrook School. He came to Hotchkiss in 1993 as a lower mid and ran cross-country; he was an active and loyal alumnus. After graduating from Hotchkiss, he earned degrees from Harvard and Columbia

received the following message from Maud Mandel, dean of the college, and Eric Estes, the vice president of campus life & student services: “Ted Choi ’19 was a kind and gracious young man who expressed gratitude for the opportunity to be at Brown, and was a great ‘big bro’ to his four younger siblings. Ted seemed to be particularly proud to be part of the next generation of his family at Brown; he followed in the footsteps of his father, graduating from The Hotchkiss School before coming to Brown. While Ted’s studies were largely STEM-focused, he always saved at least one spot for a course in literature, education, philosophy or archaeology. Ted had a tremendous curiosity about the world and a great sense of humor that kept those around him chuckling.” Joanne Hayhurst, his advisor at Hotchkiss, shared this special memory of him: “My advisees gathered once a week, and when it was a birthday, we’d celebrate. Usually I brought a gooey confection — cake, butter cream frosting, strawberries — we’d sing and enjoy. When Ted’s 16th birthday came about, he asked me if I could possibly find ‘kimbap,’ a Korean specialty common at picnics, instead of the cake. It happens that our local Sharon Market is owned by a Korean couple who did indeed make the kimbap, much to Ted’s surprise at the advisee birthday party. We all tried a piece — Ted was proud to share his heritage, and the advisee group was thankful that he did!” Thomas Herold, dean of the Class of 2014, observed: “As his time at Hotchkiss went on, I grew to appreciate how many lives he touched and how genuinely fond of Ted were all those, especially his 2014 classmates, whom he got to know well.” Three of Ted’s Hotchkiss 2014 classmates (Yuna Hur, Emily Ito, and Diana Dangoor), who attended Brown with him as well, wrote a touching tribute on the Class of 2014 Facebook page: “He was an invaluable member of our class...Sharing classes with or running into Ted at Hotchkiss and then at Brown were always happy moments. He always greeted us with kindness and made us smile whenever we interacted with him.”

T E D M . C H O I , a junior at Brown University, died on May 24, 2017. Born on Nov. 17, 1995, he was the son of Theodore (Ted) Choi ’85 and the late Sarah Choi. He is survived by his father and stepmother, Jubee Lee, of Seoul, South Korea. At the time of his passing, members of the Brown community

F a l l

2 0 1 7

Class pa rt i n gnotsesh o t

Hotchkiss Reunions June 15-17, 2018

•

Classes ending in 3 or 8

Early Bird Registration Opens January 2018 Visit www.hotchkiss.org/alumni (Events & Reunions)

For more information, please contact Kamaren Suwijn, associate director of alumni relations, at (860) 435-3114 or ksuwijn@hotchkiss.org. You can also visit www.hotchkiss.org/alumni and click on Events & Reunions.

Heads Up What’s been dubbed “the Great American Eclipse” made landfall on Aug. 21 in Oregon and tracked southeast before passing over the Atlantic near Charleston, SC. Instructor in Physics and Astronomy Bill Fenton and Instructor in Photography Greg Lock were on opposite coasts photographing the event. Fenton camped with his family on an organic farm with about 750 other people in Kimberly, OR, while the Locks drove more than 1,000 miles to Highlands, NC, where Lock captured images of the eclipse just as the clouds were parting. Fenton’s photos are pictured above, left and right, and Lock’s photos are below, left and right.

Classes of 1953 and 1968: Save the Date for September 28-30, 2018.

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e

Alumni Association F a l l

2 0 1 7

Class not es

Nonprofit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Permit No. 36 Pittsfield, MA

11 Interlaken Road Lakeville, CT 06039-2141 (860) 435-2591 www.hotchkiss.org ALUMNI

H o t c h k i s s

M a g a z i n e