M A G A Z I N E
Spring 2014
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INSIDE EXPERIENCE AS EDUCATION WEBB’S NEW 24/7 SUMMER NEW AQUATICS CENTER A DINOSAUR NAMED JOE FAWCETT AND WILSDON RETIRE
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help make great things happen for our students. annual support from our alumni, parents and friends enhances our students experience and prepares them for their journey at Webb and beyond! This is your last chance to name a seat in the new susan a. nelson Performing arts Center. a gift of 5, or more uali es you to engrave a chair pla ue in the theater. Contact danielle gordon at ( ) 4 2-52 for more information. uantities are limited! make a gift to the 2 3- 4 Webb fund campaign today at www.webb.org giving.
A D M I N I S T R AT I O N Taylor B. Stockdale Head of Schools
M A G A Z I N E Spring 2014
Peter Bartlett Director of Student Life Donald L. Lofgren, PhD Director, Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology Leo G. Marshall Director of Admission and Financial Aid
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Hector Martinez Director of College Guidance Brian Ogden Dean of Faculty
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Janet K. Peddy Director of Finance, Planning and Operations Theresa A. Smith, PhD Director of Academic Affairs
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Joe Woodward Director of Institutional Advancement
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BOARD OF TRUSTEES 2013-2014
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Paul M. Reitler ’54, Chairman of the Board Claire H. McCloud, Vice Chair, Secretary R. Larry Ashton ’70, Chairman, Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology, ex officio William M. Bauman ’82 Blake H. Brown ’68 Sanjiv P. Dholakia ’87 Jenna Z. Gambaro ’95 Wayne L. Hanson ’59 Janel Henriksen Hastings, PhD ’87 John Holliday ’84 Ming Chung Liu David Loo ’79 Christina Mercer McGinley, PhD ’84 Roger J. Millar ’61 Timothy C. Moore ’59 David Myles, PhD ’80 Susan A. Nelson, Head Emerita, ex officio RJ Romero Miles R. Rosedale ’69 Mary A. Schuck Taylor B. Stockdale, Head of Schools, ex officio Ralph D. Young ’63 LIFE TRUSTEES Hugh H. Evans, Jr. ’49 Anne Gould H. Earl (Bud) Hoover II ’52 Murray H. Hutchison Robert Stragnell, MD Volume 17, Number 2 On the Cover—Photo taken at 98,000 ft. from a weather balloon with GPS and GoPro camera attached. More on this Unbounded Days adventure and others at www.webb.org/unbounded2014.
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from the head of schools reading fast slow internship you are here Claremont Webb s new 24 summer experience
athletics arts The alf at Webb faculty a liates giving Volunteering alumni Pro les WsC and VWs news in memoriam final Word don lofgren
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one o our hi h ta ented and devoted acu t members ave an address to the students that thou ht was articu ar movin .
hen in chapel, you may remember that the hand-crafted wooden pews tend to creak at the slightest movement, and so it is common to hear an occasional light creaking sound throughout a service. When the pews don t creak at all, i know that the speaker really has the full attention of the audience and what he or she is saying is reaching all of us in a deep and meaningful way.
on this night, as i looked out on the students from the altar, i noticed a particular attention to our speaker, as his message was both relatable and insightful. The gist of it was that we as students and adults tend to learn much more from defeat and failure than we do from success. he was making the point from an athletic standpoint, using the recent sochi olympics as his reference point (he also happens to be an olympic-level speed skater and cyclist), but it soon became clear that his message related to all facets of life. as people, young and old, we succeed and we fail. dealing with success is straight-forward enough, but how we deal with failure and adversity can often de ne us. some of us emerge stronger and more resolved from it, and others recoil, see themselves as victims and become defeated. of course, it got me to thinking about Webb and our mission, and how important it is to foster not only the academic skills and habits of mind
Webb Magazine • Spring 2014
that will generate success in life s pursuits, but also the inner strength and fortitude to pick oneself up from defeat, dust off, and move on as a better, wiser, more determined person. you will nd bundled with this issue of magazine 1 22 2022, a plan anchored in our mission of honor and moral courage and framed by our ve distinctive ualities. in it you will note that The Webb schools Webb school of California, Vivian Webb school and the raymond m. alf museum of Paleontology are on a journey in time. soon we will be celebrating our rst century. This approaching milestone encourages us to look backward. reminiscing has its own value, but knowing our history also offers perspective needed for moving forward. in creating an elaborate strategic plan for leading Webb s three institutions into its second century, we recognize our past and present strengths. We also imagine Webb reaching new heights. While most plans of this nature are politely glanced at and placed on a shelf, only to be reviewed every several years, this plan deserves far more respect. for it contains goals and aspirations that few schools would have the courage to establish. it seeks, on one hand, to honor fully our founders vision of a place that de es modern day trends and relativistic culture, and encourages an education deep in developing inner fortitude and moral courage. and on the other hand, it is truly forward looking, harnessing all that is changing in education and in the
world establishing a dynamic experience for our students, which is unparalleled at the high school level in depth and in impact.
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as my favorite philosopher once said, a good education prepares you for success, but a great education prepares you for failure. at Webb, since our founding, we have been all about striving for success and excellence. and at the same time, we have known that inner fortitude, strength, honor and having the moral courage to do the right thing, even when the right thing was the toughest path to take, are the attributes that count most. Taylor b. stockdale head of schools
The Webb Schools • WEBB.ORG
Reading Fast and Slow
let me tell you a story a story about stories. stories are ever present in our lives so ubi uitous we rarely stop to consider them, unless we re studying them in school. from homer s
, shakespeare s plays and the
to the latest romance or thriller, stories explain, explore, arrange. The best of them help us make sense of our lives and our world, and to consider uestions of life and death, love, good and evil. stories also create connections among people, across cultures and times, between storyteller and story-hearer. Telling and hearing for almost all of human existence, stories were told and heard. after the development of the written word, stories were still mostly told and heard. While storytellers developed other forms of storytelling plays, pageants, poetry they were oral and visual. We live in an unusual historical moment an era in which, in much of the world, the printed book is considered the central and highest form of storytelling. but new technologies are challenging the ascendency of the printed book graphic novels (the comic book s respectable offspring, in which the printed word and visual storytelling co-exist on the same page), e-books (which make the traditional two dimensional reading experience three dimensional with the inclusion of links to other information, from word de nitions to animated maps to art performances), recorded stories (from audio recordings to 3d movies), media mash-ups (combinations of several forms of storytelling in one piece) and the internet (allowing storytellers to share their stories, almost instantaneously, with a global audience).
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however stories may be told, the nature of the story itself will not change, nor will the reasons why we are drawn to stories, for entertainment and enlightenment. and the best stories those that push us to examine and understand our lives and our world will be taught at The Webb schools. stories ll english and history courses, and for years Webbs english and history departments have coordinated their curricula. now those departments, together with the ne arts department, are developing a new, interdisciplinary humanities program integrating traditional knowledge of literature, history and art with the skills Webb students will need to consider stories in college and beyond. The humanities program will still re uire four years of english and three years of history, says director of academic affairs Theresa smith, but it also will stress skills in storytelling and story reading, both traditional (close reading, writing, critical analysis) and next gen (oral and visual presentation using digital tools, internet literacy). a core th grade course focusing on these skills will be complemented by a humanities survey course covering art, history and literature, with an emphasis on ethics and leadership hallmarks of aWebb education and topics perhaps best considered through the study of literature as stories. sophomores will enroll in a double-block course on american studies, while juniors and seniors will have the opportunity to choose from a range of elective humanities courses. These research-based electives will allow students to focus on their own interests, smith says. They ll be an area of choice and inspiration for students. While they are still under development, smith says that Webb s humanities courses will be structured around ideas that all civilizations have grappled with, such as relationships between the individual and society, the nature of justice, good and evil, and what it means to be a man or woman. This broad scope, smith says, is appropriate for a school in 2 4, especially for a school such as Webb, that wants to create globally connected students. and, yes, she adds, we still want them to know how to use commas. There s room for that, too. Webb s four-year humanities program will build on the skills learned in the core th grade course. The skills are what we most value, explains smith. schools aren t really supposed to be a place where you just come and receive knowledge... They re places where students and teachers explore knowledge together.
While smith argues that visual, as well as written, communication skills are important that s a huge piece of how you communicate today, she says she adds that the humanities program will be a return to Webb s roots, too. The new courses
will require slow, close reading and the ability to evaluate texts, tasks well-suited to Webb’s block schedule. The extended class sessions “create deeper thinking spaces in a world that tends to be moving away from that,” smith explains. at the same time, new technologies are creating richer reading spaces. for example, smith says, while they can distract, embedded links in an electronic text can deepen understanding of a work and allow for greater engagement between the reader and the story. The humanities course series will create a common, foundational experience for all students at Webb. english department Chair andy dahlstrom says that the process of developing Webb s new humanities program has given faculty the chance to re ect on what they feel it is most important for Webb students to learn. While course readings are still being selected, dahlstrom says they will emphasize universal human experiences, expressed in both Western and non-Western literature. although the program may enhance classic two dimensional print stories through the use of technology, dahlstrom says that in another sense it s a rming a traditional approach. “We’re valuing
what students get by the deeper, more personal read,” he explains. “Close reading means they’re slowing down to savor the word and think about the connotation and denotation of a word.” education at The Webb schools has always included an emphasis on the humanities, says head of schools Taylor stockdale, both as a way to address uestions fundamental to students development as leaders and citizens global citizens, today and as a way to instill key habits of mind like critical thinking. When i rst came to Webb i was truly inspired by larry mcmillin and his individual humanities course. i think the new humanities program is, in a sense, a tribute to larry and individual humanities it will give students an opportunity to deeply consider the humanities in a complete context. in blending the traditional printed word with other forms of storytelling, The Webb schools humanities program is setting an example for the future of storytelling, story reading and story hearing. rather than threatening the printed story, new technologies enrich the experience in part by making other traditional forms of storytelling, such as plays, more accessible.
by selectively adding technology to traditional texts, we re all now able to search more easily for allusive and contextual information, notes george erving , associate professor of english, humanities and honors at the university of Puget sound. but, he adds, the fundamental analytical moves that produce insight remain the same. The issue facing proponents of the printed word isn t so much the existence of new technologies as it is the ability to integrate them appropriately. for example, erving says, in lower division college courses, where much of the work is about building analytical skills, e-texts are super uous. They can be useful, however, in upper division courses, which tend to situate literary works within historical and theoretical contexts. The further removed a story is from our own time and culture, the more useful technology can be. That s certainly the case for sonia sabnis 4, associate professor of Classics and humanities at reed College. from the digital concordances of latin literature she uses in her own research to e-texts allowing students to understand unfamiliar greek or latin words without interrupting their reading, sabnis says digital technology helps make the past more present. When the cultural gap between story and reader isn t so great, the free imagination is best, says author leslie epstein 5 , director of creative writing at boston university that is, the reader engaging with the printed word alone, unin uenced by someone else s notion of what characters look like or how she should react to them. epstein adds that there s a place for technology, too audiobooks, for example, when the listener is washing the dishes, or exercising. anything that saves time, can be bene cial, he says. There isn t just one kind of reading, smith notes. There are lots of types of reading. The close reading that will be key to Webb s humanities program may be complemented by informational reading, scanning, and other types of story reading and hearing all of which provide different experiences. so while the ascendency of the printed book may be waning, new technologies are making stories more accessible. one of many ways to tell stories, books may become , rather than our society s central storytelling medium.
as a form of entertainment, literature s market share has been on the decline for at least a century with the rise of cinema, television, popular music, video games, et cetera, says erving, but imaginative literature (novels, poems, plays, etc.) will always nd an audience because it offers a uni ue mode of intellectual and aesthetic experience.
speaking of the classics, epstein is not bullish on the future of literature but then, he sets a low bar. Three percent of the population will continue to enjoy it, he says, but not much more than ve percent ever really did anyway with Proust, with Cervantes, even those numbers are too high.
of course, the same can be said for each of the arts.
nevertheless, as erving notes, literature offers an experience no other form of storytelling can. Those defending the relative merits of literary art argue that it does a better job of capturing the interiority of subjective experience, he says. The ability of literature to express that interiority, and the chance literature affords readers to slow down and read closely to re ect on the story and on the uestions it raises assures the place of the printed word in any humanities program. Which stories to read, however, is a matter of some debate. epstein argues that Western texts should be foundational to any humanities education. you can t hope to understand another culture until you have a grip on your own, he explains. That grip is never tight enough. globalization, he adds you will sense the need to know more more will come seeping through those clenched knuckles and your horizons will broaden beyond Western classics. erving adds that, after all, we live in a Western society and the rest of the world, for better and for worse, has been on a Westernizing trajectory. however, we should not teach the West s in uential texts uncritically. studying humanities, he says, leads to important uestions about the nature of justice, for example, and the relationship between the individual and society and students should learn how those uestions have been considered in both Western and non-Western cultures. The point, he says, is to take a hard look at the ideas that have brought us to where we are. sabnis, whose own research focuses on the roman empire, uestions the idea that Western classics are fundamental because we live in the Western world. still, she says, They re ideal texts for learning how to read and think critically. They deal with, in such beauty, basic uestions about life, humanity, love. That, ultimately, is what assures the place of literature in Webb s humanities program and the centrality of Webb s humanities program in the school s curriculum. even beyond crucial analytical skills and habits of mind that the humanities foster in students, studying the humanities “allows
one to discover the best that those who have come before us thought and made and dared,� says Epstein. “And when we have begun to understand that, then, as Tolstoy ............................. been forced to love life. That is
101 I N T E R N S H I P
Experience as Education
anyone working in almost any eld can tell you that there s an enormous gap between education and real-world experience. internships are an effective way to help students bridge that gap and prepare for their careers.
internships or experience in any eld is essential to getting your rst job and offers a stepping stone on one s career trajectory, says Cal state northridge professor Jonathan Kelber, Ph.d. 3, who had two Webb interns this past summer. We talked to Webbies and the parents and alumni who opened their organizations to them through the new Webb Work program about their internship experiences.
WHAT IS AN INTERNSHIP? What distinguishes an internship from a part-time job sanjay dholakia , chief marketing o cer of the marketing automation rm marketo, explains, i think the core difference is that with an internship, there is an educational lens to it. While there is the expectation that you re going to do real work, the intern has the opportunity to learn something they wouldn t otherwise have the opportunity to learn one, through exposure to work settings and contacts, and two, through mentorship.
The latter aspect was especially compelling for melissa Tong 4, who interned at lPl financial. each day, she would present the latest stock market information to Ceo marcus Paredes P . Then, melissa says, We would have long discussions as he patiently answered my uestions and, like a teacher, taught me about the economy. i was able to catch a glimpse of his life his struggles and his journey. mr. Paredes has become a role model for me.
another distinction is that internships are often more exible than regular jobs. We try to base every internship on the individual what they would like to accomplish and achieve and where they would like to focus their efforts, says michelle lamon-Paredes P , lPl financial s internship coordinator. We give interns a basic job description, but allow each intern to develop their own program once they begin. such exibility sometimes yields surprising results. at marketo this summer, abhi mantha 4 initially worked with the company s software engineering team. after about three weeks, he says, an idea came into my head that it would be cool to work with some actual data. he spent the remainder of his internship developing customer insights from marketing data, which introduced him to sentiment analysis, a new discipline intertwined with neuroscience and even philosophy.
Alex Chang ’12 interned with Dr. Jon Kelber ’93 at Cal State Northridge.
mantha now plans to double major in computer science and neuroscience. before marketo, i didn t think to study cognitive science, but after , i felt like i had a good understanding of how i could apply technology and integrate that within elds like medicine, chemistry, and biology, he says.
“Doing this internship has changed my life.” PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE internships teach professional skills
that are di cult or impossible to learn in the classroom. for Jac ueline lee 2, a premed biology neuroscience student at Carnegie mellon, researching cancer in Kelber s developmental oncogene laboratory taught her about the practicalities of lab work. lab eti uette is an important and very useful thing
to learn that cannot be taught by reading a textbook or a lab manual, she explains. The interactions between lab mates can greatly in uence the e ciency and productivity of the lab. sean James , a computer science major at Carnegie mellon who is doing his second internship with san francisco s autodesk, says for programmers, internships are a pretty valuable experience. you learn a lot about the actual processes that go into building the real-life code and software products. interning at the travel-oriented media company matador network gave Jessica rice 2 (a Colgate student planning to double major in political science and english) an introduction to online publishing. i got a chance to learn about everything that must be done to publish an article from start to nish, she says. That included not only hTml and content management systems,
but also strategic lessons like the fact that at times controversy over an article can be a good thing, as it prompts people to share and talk about your article. internships have helped Ken liu , a harvard senior studying government and economics, better understand how governments and economies actually function, whether it s seeing economic diplomacy in action between two superpowers at the u.s. department of the Treasury or learning about los angeles business issues at the mayor s o ce. he is currently a research assistant to former finnish Prime minister esko aho. seeing and learning about a country from its prime minister was incredible, says liu. hearing his experience serving as a prime minister has shown me the enormous challenges such leaders face every day. FREEDOM TO EXPLORE some internships are one step in a larger career plan. i want to start my own business and be able to operate at an international level, says daniel hu 4.
“I took the internship from LPL Financial because I wanted to gain hands-on experience in finance, investments, and banking. Researching market trends and interacting with the company’s analysts helped me greatly understand economics, governmental law regarding the field, and finance.” Marcus Paredes and Michelle Lamon-Paredes P’11 of LPL Financial hosted three internships last summer (pictured with Melissa Tong ’14, Daniel Zhu ’14 and Andy Lee ’12).
internship provided a perfect opportunity to get my feet wet, since it was a cancer research internship. others, like shihan Wijeyeratne , studying business at the university of richmond, don t yet have a career direction in mind, but use their internships to expand their skill set. Through his internship at the specialty nance company imCa Capital, he says, i learned a lot about the amount of effort that goes into every last detail of a marketing campaign. an internship can also help students decide if a path is right for them. after interning at matador network, rice concluded that while a travel journalism career would meld several of her interests, it might not be a good t with her other priorities. i still want to travel as much as possible, but i like a certain level of consistency that i wouldn t be able to maintain if i spent the majority of my time traveling, she says. you don t have to go into an internship saying, oh, i m going to do this for the rest of my life, says rachel heng 2, an earth and ocean sciences major at bowdoin College who interned at Connolly Counseling and assessment, the group practice founded by psychologist bob Connolly, Psy.d. . you re experiencing something that may or may not work out. i don t think a lot of college students think that way. REAL CONTRIBUTIONS The bene ts of an internship
aren t just for the intern. during her internship at Connolly Counseling, rachel helped us expand and look over our marketing, particularly our efforts in social media, says Connolly. she was aware of a lot of platforms that we weren t. she also really had a good sense of what we were doing wrong and what we could be doing better from a social media standpoint. mantha had the privilege of presenting his analytics work to marketo s entire engineering team. it was a great feeling to know my work will contribute in some ways to the future of marketo, he says. That to me was really important. James has been working on actual software. over the summer, i was working on some prototypes for new features in autoCad, which is pretty much autodesk s biggest product, he says.
alex Chang 2, a premed neuroscience student at Pomona College who also interned in Kelber s lab, was interested in getting some experience in the biomedical research eld ... this
don t create make-work internships, says dholakia. Center the projects around things that are of real value to the organization. These kids won t disappoint.
STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS While each internship was different,
the students and alumni offer similar advice first, approach the internship ith the right indset. you obviously want to take it seriously, says imCa Capital founder blake Johnson 5. Come with the intent to work hard. alex scola , who also interned at matador network and is now a staff writer, adds, P.s. it never stops being an interview. second, kno hat you ant to achie e. for students looking at internships, have a clear idea of what you want to get out of that and communicate that clearly with the employer, suggests matador network Coo Preston Clarke . if you have a clear idea of what you are trying to learn or gain experience in, you can focus on those areas, says rice. having clear-cut goals also makes it easier to prepare. one of the biggest concerns within the software internship is that you only have to 2 weeks to make a signi cant contribution, says James. The less time you spend learning tools is more time you can spend on the project. Third, don t be afraid to ask for help. The great thing i realized is that as a student, people are really enthusiastic about helping you and showing you the way, says mantha. People who have been in the eld for years want to pass off their knowledge to driven students who want to pursue something passionately. above all, ne er underesti ate the po er of the Webb connection. for one, says Johnson, it can produce some pretty strong mentors business owners that but for the Webb association aren t going to open up their time. The Webb experience also provides valuable common ground. Take advantage of the fact that the alumnus you re working with has gone through the same experience you have and maybe been in the same position you re in of not knowing what you re doing, says heng. CREATING AN INTERNSHIP What does it take to create a rewarding
internship if you have space, have a job to do that a newbie can learn in a week, and work in an industry that you envision being prominent within the next years, you are a good candidate, says Kelber. Clarke adds, Just be sure you have some idea of the structure of the intern program, what they will be doing, and who will be managing them. i would recommend having a general idea of how an intern would t into your company and then having the exibility to model the internship to the strengths and the desires of the intern, says Connolly. you never know what someone is going to add until you get to know them. Johnson has more pragmatic advice never do it, he laughs. i don t want the competition i want all the Webb alumni i can get!
Staying
with Webb
Internships are a great way to make the professional connections that are essential for success. The challenge is staying in touch with those contacts after the internship is over. One solution is LinkedIn®, a professional networking platform that allows you to link to business contacts, mentors, and classmates. ou can al o oin group for your pecific fiel an chool e ha four such groups: The Webb Schools Network, with more than 1,000 members; Webb in Asia; Webb in New England; and Women of Webb. “This is a great professional network,” says Jonathan Kelber ’93, “but to take full a vantage of it utility, one mu t en ure that one profile i updated and professional.” Ken Liu ’10 warns not to let the online tool become a substitute for staying in touch in other ways. “Your past supervisors will not remember you a a Linke n profile they remem er you a a per on, he ay “Be proactive in keeping in contact through person-to-person methods.” Sanjay Dholakia ’87 advises not being afraid to make contact with other alumni. “Generally, every Webb alum has a really warm place in their heart for Webb,” he says. “Determine what you want, what you’re interested in, and reach out.”
Jacqueline Lee ’12 and Alex Chang ’12 with Dr. Jon Kelber ’93 at Cal State Northridge. Jessica Rice ’12
Webb@Work
is an alumni networking program that shares internship opportunities with young alumni in college. our goal is to share internship or shadow opportunities with college-aged Webb alumni. last summer we posted over internships and secured 5 placements.
Here’s how you can help a young alum: Tell us about the internship program at your company. help facilitate applications through your company s selection process. Create an internship speci cally for a Webbie. or host a shadow day at your o ce. find more information at www.webb.org/webbatwork To register as a Webb Work participant, ll out the online registration form. To see what internships are available, visit the Jobs board. if you have any uestions, contact laura Wensley, director of alumni relations at lwensley webb.org or ( ) 4 2-52 .
âž” You are here
In the brightly-lit bustle of Southern California, there is something distinctly stately about Claremont. Could it be the hundreds of trees that line its streets? Or its eight institutes of higher learning? Or the fact that it sits in the foreground of the magnificent San Gabriel Mountains?
S i m i Va l l e y
When Thompson Webb rst laid eyes on the small citrus settlement, it was a village of just 2, inhabitants (today that number stands at approximately 35, , still a small town by California standards). While the campus retains its rural feel thanks to its hillside location and Vivian Webb s thoughtful planting of hundreds of trees, the community around it has experienced amazing growth that provides Webb students with une ualled recreational and cultural opportunities, and adds another dimension to the learning experience, with prospects for eld study, community involvement and internships. The City of Claremont was established in , incorporated in , and later earning its moniker as the City of Trees and Ph.d.s with an ambiance and culture unlike that of any other small town in southern California.
Lake Arrowhead
The rst known inhabitants of the Claremont region were the serrano indians. in , as the spanish period in California began, mission san gabriel was founded with lands that stretched from the san bernardino mountains to san Pedro bay.
Hollywood
Westwood
Los Angeles
Clare mont The small town at the center of everything Palm Springs
according to the City of Claremont s o cial history, after the missions were secularized by the mexican government in 34, most of the land within the present city limits became part of the rancho san Jose owned by ricardo Vejar and don ygnacio Palomares.
Laguna Beach
The expansion of the santa fe railroad provided the impetus for the creation of a community named Claremont in January . it was one of 3 town sites laid out between san bernardino and los angeles in anticipation of a population explosion resulting from the arrival of the railroad. The real estate boom was short-lived, however, and Claremont would have become one of a long list of ghost towns if not for the decision of the local land company to transfer its hotel Claremont and 2 vacant lots to the recently-founded Pomona College in . as early as , the rst 225 trees were planted in town today, american elms grace the city s main north-south thoroughfare, indian hill boulevard, and giant eucalyptus viminalis line another main street, College avenue. Claremont is at once a tight-knit community devoted to higher education (with ve undergraduate and three graduate focused institutions within its borders), and yet the town s location offers easy access to the Paci c ocean, the mojave desert, the san gabriel mountains and the artistic endeavors and global business boom of the City of los angeles. Claremont itself is home to two fully accredited museums, including rancho santa ana botanic garden and Webb s own raymond m. alf museum of Paleontology, as well as the Claremont museum of art, the
Te m e c u l a
folk music Center (featuring hundreds of rare and anti ue musical instruments), the Pomona College museum of art, the ruth Chandler Williamson gallery at scripps College and the Petterson Collection of intercultural art at Pilgrim Place. nearby Pomona features amoCa, the american museum of Ceramic art, one of the few museums in the united states devoted exclusively to ceramic art.
Malibu Pier
Just a short car ride away ne art a cionados can visit Pinkie (by Thomas lawrence) and blue boy (by Thomas gainsborough) at The huntington library, art Collections and botanical gardens in Pasadena. other world class institutions within easy commuting range include The los angeles County museum of art (the largest art museum in the western united states), the broad Contemporary at laCma, the norton simon museum of art and The getty Center.
Paramount Studios
The natural history museum of los angeles features more than 35 million specimens, dating back 4.5 billion years. its a liated institution, the Page museum, has 3.5 million fossil specimens of ice age creatures that were literally pulled from the earth in the middle of downtown la. Those seeking stars (massive, luminous spheres of plasma, not the standard hollywood variety) will nd the mount Wilson observatory only a few hilltops west on mount Wilson, a 5, 5-ft. peak in the san gabriel mountains near Pasadena, and the gri th observatory sits on the south-facing slope of mount hollywood in los angeles gri th Park (also home to the los angeles oo with , mammals, birds, amphibians and reptiles representing more than 25 different species of which 2 are endangered).
Closer to home
The Huntington Library
Mount Hollywood
general discourse with some of the world s greatest minds can be enjoyed at the marian miner Cook athenaeum at Claremont mcKenna College, which features public programs scheduled monday through Thursday during the academic year with speakers (this year) including shirin ebadi, nobel Peace Prize laureate (2 3) and founder, defenders of human rights Center in iran british novelist adie smith and Tom ridge, u.s. secretary of homeland security (2 3-2 5), governor of Pennsylvania ( 5-2 ) and Pennsylvania Congressman ( 3- 5). natural wonders also abound within an hour s drive of town. Point dume, a promontory on the coast of malibu which affords a vista of the Palos Verdes Peninsula and santa Catalina island, is the site of one of the most famous scenes in moviedom the grand nale in the sci- classic, where Charlton heston nds a neglected statue of liberty sticking of the sand and realizes (movie spoiler) that, all along, he was back on earth, a planet that had undergone nuclear destruction. in addition to all the marvels that nearby hollywood studio backlots provide (Warner bros., university studios, Paramount studios, and many more are less than miles away), there are ve national Parks in southern California including Joshua Tree national Park (famed for its unusually-shaped trees) and Cabrillo national monument (where in the winter months, december through february, visitors can watch the annual migration of Paci c gray Whales). There aren t many locations in the united states from which it is possible to surf at the beach in the morning and ski in the mountains in the afternoon. The City of Claremont provides Webb students with a tremendous array of educational, social, cultural and sports activities while at the same time maintaining the small town atmosphere that makes it a charming place to live.
Joshua Tree National Park
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Kravis Center at Claremont McKenna College L a e m m l e T h e a t e r, C l a r e m o n t Vi l l a g e
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sk any student or parent and they will most likely concur one that s both fun and intense, full of learning opportunities, activities and friends. at Webb, that translates to a new summer program where participants will share countless experiences together and where students will achieve far more than they thought they could. “We wanted a summer program that was more closely tied to our mission, and that
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took great advantage of our distinctive qualities and boarding school community,� said Head of Schools Taylor Stockdale.
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Webbs summer Programs launch in late June early July with a global leadership Program for rising th through 2th graders and a Junior Paleontology Program for rising th and th graders. both programs welcome students from across the country and all over the world to live and learn at Webb. summer participants will live in Webb s dorms, supervised by teachers and residential advisors who will live alongside them. We ve had a summer program at Webb for 4 or so years, with a variety of classes from museum studies to the basics to athletics, but there has been a distance between what happens during the summer and what we do during the school year, said dr. Theresa smith, director of academic affairs. our new program is in line with the ethos of Webb it does really well what we represent and care about. The new three-week l al leader r ra for older teens will assist students with ambitious academic goals and help them prepare for the rigors of the best colleges and for leading and serving in a complex world in one of two life paths entrepreneurship or science engineering. The new ten-day residential n r ale n l r ra provides a one-of-a-kind science encounter with the only institution of its kind located on a high school campus, the raymond m. alf museum of Paleontology.
“With the boarding program, the boundaries of the classroom can extend with opportunities for evening and weekend programming,” said Dr. Tracy Miller, Webb’s new director of experiential learning. “We wanted to create a summer program that was more mission-driven and one that incorporates Webb’s commitment to unbounded thinking and 21st century living. This is a dynamic program that will bring of Webb’s location.”
students will also help repair and prepare larger fossils of mammals and dinosaurs using air scribes and other prep tools, and then identify these fossils and create 3d images utilizing the museum s new 3d scanner and printer. This is a special hands-on program in paleontology that is rarely, if ever, offered to middle school students, added lofgren. We are proud to be able to share our collections, facilities and e uipment with budding paleontologists who are looking for an authentic and uni ue scienti c experience. The class, designed by dr. lofgren and dr. andrew farke, alf curator, will be led by robyn dahl, paleontology fellow and middle school educator.
e n r ale n l r ra introduces middle school students to the wonders of the alf museum. Through the program, students will be immersed in the world of the research scientist as they learn the latest methods and technologies for reconstructing the prehistoric world.
e l al leader r ra prepares high school students to be next-generation leaders. students will choose a eld of emphasis and will have the opportunity to learn about what leadership means in the eld of their choice either entrepreneurship or science engineering.
We want to give these students a taste of what paleontologists do over the normal course of a working day in terms of their curation and research activities, said dr. donald lofgren, director of the museum. They will be screen-washing sediment that contains tiny 5-million year old vertebrate fossils (mammal and dinosaur teeth, sh scales and bones, and the bones of lizards, frogs, crocodiles, turtles, and more), and then they ll sort through the dried screen-wash residue picking out the tiny fossils using a microscope. They will identify what they ve found and curate the specimens into the museum s permanent collections.
a typical day nds students preparing for a start-up weekend where these burgeoning business magnates will share ideas, form teams, and launch startups. They ll conceive of and pitch a business complete with a marketing proposal, explained miller. students will interact with and learn from business, entrepreneurial and tech leaders, including Webb alumni and Webb parents. We are fortunate to have a deep and vibrant pool of alumni and parents to tap into, added miller. We ll be utilizing their skills for presentations, company visits and even skype interviews.
PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS • Harvey Mudd College, one of the United States’ top engineering colleges, is one of our Global Leadership Program partners. Our Science & Engineering students will study with Harvey Mudd faculty and students and participate in design challenges crafted by leading engineering professors. • Guest speakers include Brittan Berry ’05, People Operations Specialist at Google, Josh Saltman ’87, Associate General Counsel of the Walt Disney Company, and Jennifer Ishiguro ’91, head of the Corporate Transactions Group of the Legal Department of Toyota Financial Services. •
Junior Paleontology students will hunt for fossils in Barstow, Calif., and visit the La Brea Tar Pits and the Los Angeles Museum of Natural History. Participants in our entrepreneurship program will visit the Patagonia Company,
and ethical business practices. Science & Engineering students will experience the cutting edge of science and robotics at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab and explore the labs of the Keck Graduate Institute of Life Sciences. • College Week will play host to an unparalleled group of admission deans and directors and offer students a chance to connect with and learn from admission experts in an intimate, personal setting. We will host representatives from Harvard University, University of Southern California, Georgetown University, New York University, California Institute of Technology, Wellesley College, Colorado College, University of Chicago and many more incredible colleges and universities. • College Week students will also tour leading Southern California colleges and universities, including The Claremont Colleges, UCLA, Caltech and USC.
days will include a combination of studies in the classroom and in the eld. for example, students will learn about a design feature and the next day visit an alumnus who utilizes design in his or her work. The program will feel relevant and empowering to students who love being able to explore their own passions and interests, and get out of the classroom to engage real world problems. The experience will ultimately endow participants with an entrepreneurial mindset, one which will allow them to forever see the world as a place of opportunity.
or day participants. The seven-day course will be led by Webbs own hector martinez, director of college guidance. martinez is one of the most well-respected and well-known college admission professionals in the country, with 24 years of professional experience as a teacher, counselor and administrator. he previously spent eight years as a senior admissions o cer at Pitzer College, two years as college counselor and faculty member at The buckley school in los angeles, and is currently in his 5th year at Webb.
ethical leadership issues will also be explored.
martinez has been an active participant and panel presenter at many professional events including the national association for College admission Counseling, Western association for College admission Counseling, aCT and College board. he has taught college counseling courses at uCla. he also has served as chairman of The College board Western region and was a member of the Council of the College board scholarship service. martinez has also written for numerous publications on the subject of college admissions and is fre uently pro led or uoted in the , , , , and .
another important component of the program is public speaking. We ll have improv teachers to help students learn to think on their feet, said smith. after this experience, a student should be able to get up and make an elevator pitch (a uick, succinct summation of what one s company makes or does) about their business.
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College Week includes visits to local colleges and universities, as well as great networking opportunities.
This is also a great opportunity to use the summer Program as a laboratory to try out new things that can be translated or integrated into the Webb school year, said miller.
College Week will be an exclusive opportunity for high school students to learn not only about the complexities of the world of selective college admissions, but also to have a behind-thescenes look at how america s best colleges make decisions. The week will include eldtrips to some of the best colleges in the greater los angeles area and a chance to participate in a mock admissions committee through our College Case studies program, explained martinez. it will be a week full of interesting and important information about colleges and the admissions process that students will both enjoy and nd very useful for their future collegiate plans!
for students interested in honing the tools and con dence to navigate the highly competitive world of college admissions, the summer program also features an optional C lle e ee program from July 2 2 which students can attend as boarding
or ore n or at on a out e vst e or su er
hanks to the boarding element of the program, teachers will also have opportunities to work with summer school participants in the same way they do with Webb students throughout the school-year in the dorms, during meals and during the in-between moments throughout the day (passing between classes, heading to the dining hall).
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A The Barbara Mott McCarthy Aquatics Center opens vistas for Webb swimmers
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Webb Magazine • Spring 2014
It’s fast, it’s clear and it’s beautiful . There’s no doubt that the new aquatics center for water polo, swimming and diving is making a splash with Webb’s aquatic athletes.
The change is even more dramatic for water polo practice. not only can each team member swim laps in her own lane, says VWs assistant water polo coach rebecca durrer, there s room for both the varsity and JV water polo teams to share the pool. all lap swimmers have clean water that is, they re not swimming in someone else s turbulence. The pool s size also means Webb water polo teams can practice long patterns for offense. When Webb teams compete in smaller pools, it will be relatively simple to modify the patterns, durrer explains. Teams used to smaller pools, however, often nd themselves at a disadvantage competing in a larger pool. This year, adds Torrance, we ll have the home team advantage since we ll be hosting league prelims and nals. The best thing it offers is that we are now able to host Cif California interscholastic federation games on our pool deck, which really helps the team push through a tough game, says Webb school water polo team captain miles Wehner 4. The pool s setting is important, too. for training the open space is phenomenal, says durrer.
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he pool is fast, explains triathlon coach donald ball, thanks to a rim ow design allowing swimmer-created waves to lap over the pool s edge, rather than rebound back into the pool, creating turbulence which can slow swimmers down. The pool s 3-foot depth helps, too turbulence doesn t rebound from the bottom. The fast pool means that it s just a lot easier to train and compete in because it makes you feel good when you re swimming, explains Vivian Webb school swimming and diving captain shannon Torrance 5. it s design details like these that make Webb s new pool a standout. We have the best pool in the league, hands down, and it s awesome knowing that all the other teams know it, too, says Torrance. This pool outshines our old one in every respect, which is why everyone loves it so much. and there s room for everyone signi cantly larger than the swimming pool it replaces, the new pool features 2 lanes for competition and two for warm-up and cool-down. before, says ball, three to ve triathlon team swimmers had to share a lane during practice the new pool takes that down to one or two swimmers per lane.
The pool is an environment that s easy to coach in, agrees ball. The outdoor setting, coupled with southern California s mild winters, means practice sessions can continue past nightfall, an important consideration when practice sessions last for two hours each weekday, the case with the VWs water polo teams. The pool deck is a lot cleaner and better suited for practices that go past sunset, says Wehner. it helps, adds ball, that the pool s temperature controls keep the water at a constant - f.
made possible by a gift from avery mcCarthy 52, the a uatics center also boasts a state-of-the-art scoreboard and public address system, remodeled locker rooms and new landscaping, and a Colorado Time system including swimmer touch-pads the same system used at us diving and us Water Polo national meets, and at the nCaa championships and olympic team trials. We now have the opportunity to practice and play in a pool that is more than simply up-to-code, says swimming and diving head coach Ken rosenfeld, it is elite.
The Webb Schools • WEBB.ORG
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The Curtain Rises on Endless Possibilities The susan a. nelson Performing arts Center showcases Webb s Vibrant Creative diversity Webb students capacity for creativity is every bit as strong as their aptitude for academic achievement, and the newly renovated susan a. nelson Performing arts Center provides the ideal environment for inspired work and inventive approaches. With the major renovation of the former mudd building, and the addition of the Copeland donahue black box Theater and digital media studio, young performers now have the facilities to match the top-notch instruction they ve always received.
Celebrating its grand opening in September 2013, the state-of-the-art, 10,400-square-foot Susan A. Nelson Performing Arts Center provides continued educational opportunities for students, along with the deepening and continued growth of Webb’s robust arts program.
it s a playground for now, said stefanie hamlyn, fine arts department chair, of the versatile new space. We re able to dream big we don t have to scale back. To celebrate the complete metamorphosis of the building, hamlyn chose mary immermans a collection of ancient greek tales told in a modern idiom as the opening show. With the new cyc (or cyclorama, a large white curtain at the back of the stage that can be lit to represent the sky or other backgrounds) Jonathon Capone, the digital media teacher, was able to project a storm at sea, said hamlyn. he also projected images of soaring birds, which lent a dramatic nish to the piece. We were able to fade to black and show the birds ying away, added hamlyn.
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a water feature added another vivid effect. bill baldwin, parent of marcus 5, a trustee of the raymond m. alf museum, and also a partner in the design build rm hartmanbaldwin, constructed a pool on
Webb Magazine • Spring 2014
“It is great having a Fine Arts hub—the arts are swirling around this space!
stage that was re ected to the audience through the use of a mirror xed to the new rigging system. With all new audiovisual e uipment, including a new speaker system, percussive sounds could also be projected from the back stage area. before, this wouldn t have carried to the audience, said hamlyn. The theater s design lends itself to amazing exibility, according to hamlyn. first of all, the actors can be heard throughout the theater without mics, she said. We now have a proper off-stage area, there are side and back entrances and we can easily make the stage feel smaller or larger through the use of multiple curtains. before we only had lights, now there are more than . dance performances can be lighted from the front, instead of just the sides. We can put on a more sophisticated show. and, the new, high-tech control booth is large enough to run two spotlights. The
kids are learning about theatrical design, electronics and lighting, added hamlyn. This year s holiday show offered expanded opportunities with orchestra members, the choir and dancers participating in a cross-discipline show. There are ve possible entries to the space, and our candlelight processional (with students carrying led candles) utilized them all, said nina gilbert, choir director. We also had gobos on the spotlight to make it look as if there were small candles around all the walls.
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students in front of high-level performances on youTube and have them practice with a professional orchestra. it is also easier to oversee multiple students practicing. in my afternoon music activity, i can have students in all of the classrooms in the new nelson Center the windows open to the outside of the building and i can make my rounds to help each group individually, as well as physically see how they are working together, merely by walking by, added silva.
rchestra teacher linda silva is e ually enthusiastic it is great having a fine arts hub the arts are swirling around this space! i am able to cross-over and synthesize ideas with dance and drama faculty. We also have a fantastic instrument storage room, where, for the rst time, all instruments are stored.
in addition, she enjoys being able to have a piano near the staging area, which wasn t possible before the renovation. orchestra members and dancers now have a broader space in which to work.
With new technologies in place, including large, at-screen TVs, silva is able to place
Webb s two professional performance theaters the liu Chung Theater and the Copeland donahue black box Theater and digital media studio provide optimum venues to spotlight student talent across all performing arts disciplines. for the rst time in our history, the departments of music, dance, and theater are housed in a central location that includes rehearsal and performance space, o ces, scene and costume studios, collaborative spaces, and a multimedia lab.
and dancers love the new spring oor, a oor that absorbs shocks, giving it a softer feel which enhances performance and greatly reduces injuries.
The nelson Center is an extraordinary resource for our students to grow and develop as artists and scholars. The liu Chung Theater has already hosted the most impressive student performance ever mary immerman s was stunning, said head of schools Taylor stockdale. and the surrounding next generation classrooms are taking full advantage of the latest in applied technology in the humanities.
The Webb Schools • WEBB.ORG
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News from the Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology at The Webb Schools
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he skeleton of oe as disco ered by accident by e in erris on the 2 summer Peccary Trip, where students and staff of The Webb schools search for 5 million year old fossils of dinosaurs and other organisms within grand staircaseescalante national monument in southern utah. out on a prospecting hike with other students and augustyn family Curator dr. andy farke, Terris spied a piece of bone protruding from a rock ledge. Thinking the bone was nothing more than a scrap of rib, farke told Terris not to bother with the nd as a fragmentary bone wasn t worth the effort. but moments later, farke turned over a chunk of rock nearby and exposed the skull of a small dinosaur. only at this point did they connect the dots ... Kevin s rib was in fact the toe bones from the same skeleton. Kevin had discovered a nearly complete dinosaur! e n err o e Webb Magazine • Spring 2014
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as often happens, this spectacular nd was made on the next-to-last day of the summer Peccary Trip, so there was no time to investigate further. additionally, because Joe was found within a national monument, any large-scale excavation re uired federal permits. so the crew stabilized the nd and left it for the following year, returning in 2 with a permit and excavating tools in hand. it took two weeks to complete the excavation, resulting in a bandaged block of rock exceeding pounds in weight. This was far too heavy to carry out by hand, so the alf museum secured a helicopter to do the job. bad weather complicated the operation, but on the second try the skeleton was safely in the back of big red, the museum s eld truck, and on the road back to California. The real work was only beginning, though. it took over ,2 hours of cleaning by fossil preparation specialist michael stokes to reveal Joe (the nickname honors the late Joe augustyn, a long-time supporter of the museum whose family sponsored the preparation). a research team led by farke, along with Webb students derek Chok 3, annisa herrero 3 and brandon scolieri 3, and fossil bone expert dr. sarah Werning (stony brook university), studied the skeleton over a two year period. They used nearly every research tool at their disposal from microscopes to medical CaT scanners to extract as much information from the specimen as possible. Their research paper was reviewed by a panel of experts and nally published in the scienti c journal (peerj.com articles 2 ).
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beyond being a beautiful skeleton, Joe revealed a wealth of scienti c information. it measured an estimated feet from the tip of the nose to the end of the tail, clearly a small animal. study of the microscopic anatomy of the bones revealed that Joe was a baby, perhaps under a year old when it died. but what kind of dinosaur was Joe features on the skull indicated that it was a very young a plant-eating duck-billed dinosaur famous for the long bony tube on the back of its head. Joe was the smallest and most complete skeleton of ever found. but Joe didn t have the tube on top of its head, only a little bump, a critical observation for understanding how grew and used its tube. Joe shows that started growing its headgear at an earlier age and for a longer period of time than did other crested dinosaurs. scientists speculate that the tube, which is
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lled by nasal passages, may have helped as a resonating chamber in sound production, like a trombone. Calculations show that Joe would have had a much higher-pitched call than an adult , which would allow a young and old to tell one another apart even though they couldn t see each other. aside from a few sneak previews for the Webb community and friends of the alf museum, Joe was kept under wraps until the scienti c study was reviewed and published. This ensured that only the most accurate information about the fossil was released to the public. artists, under the guidance of farke, produced beautiful restorations of the skeleton and living animal. after 5 million years, Joe was ready to meet the world.
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The announcement was made on the morning of october 22, 2 3, and rapidly swept the news media. The phone lines were busy with interview re uests from reporters and television news teams lined up for a chance to lm Joe and interview farke. blogs, social media, websites, and magazines highlighted the discovery, with pictures of Kevin Terris and Joe front and center. newspapers worldwide, including the and , ran articles and photos. even a comic strip joined in the fun. a special website for the discovery, www.dinosaurjoe.org, logged over , visitors in the rst 4 hours after the announcement. a uni ue feature of the website is a virtual copy of Joe even if one can t view the fossil in person at the alf museum they can examine digital scans of the bones from every angle. right now, oe is the ost publicly accessible dinosaur in the orld! The publication and display of Joe highlights the remarkable symbiosis between science, education and outreach at The Webb schools and alf museum. The nd offered an unprecedented opportunity to share the uni ue mission of these institutions, while simultaneously advancing scienti c knowledge and public understanding of earth s history. That is truly worth a 5-million-year wait.
The Webb Schools • WEBB.ORG
News from the Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology at The Webb Schools
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Dr n re r e e e g yn y r or of eon o ogy e oo r ff o e e e effor o f y e e o e re e r rogr e n on y re e e on e n e n e o on o ro e n n r e e re e r o or n y for en n y o en o y re e ne r y re e r er een e en o or but until this year, a designated space for student research activities did not exist, so students worked on folding tables in the collections room and staff o ces. Conditions were primitive and there was a lack of sophisticated research e uipment, factors that limited productivity. To address this need, the board of Trustees of the alf museum determined that creation of a new research lab, as well as renovation of the existing malcolm C. mcKenna fossil Preparation lab, were of the highest priority in the museum s new ten-year strategic plan (2 3-2 22). soon thereafter, Webb Magazine • Spring 2014
andrea and blake brown made a generous donation to fund the research lab and e uip it with state-of-the-art technology. in summer 2 3 an existing science classroom was renovated and by september the new lab was being used by Webb students and museum staff for their research. The new research lab is an amazing addition and is an extremely important step in getting the museum closer to its long-term goal of being truly world class. The lab is exceptional, having a large central work table with specimen storage beneath, twelve work stations with computers, a 3d laser scanner and printer for digitizing and replicating specimens, a high powered digital imaging system where tiny specimens less than a millimeter in size can be photographed for publication, and more. This new research facility exceeds those of most major museums and universities in the nation. Just as exciting, the malcolm C. mcKenna fossil Preparation lab is currently under renovation (andrea and blake brown also funded this project) and will reopen June 2 4 to host Webb s new Junior Paleontology Program, a summer boarding camp for middle school students interested in a uni ue hands-on experience in paleontology (www.webb.org summer). The creation of a new research lab and renovation of the mcKenna lab are giant steps in improving the museum s research and collections facilities and will greatly bene t Webb students, museum staff and visiting scholars.
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The trip is July -2 , 2 4 and costs 5,35 (not including round-trip airfare from the usa to ulaanbaatar, mongolia). Price includes round-trip ights from ulaanbaatar to the gobi desert and all meals and accommodations while in mongolia. Contact museum director don lofgren (dlofgren webb.org) for more information or to re uest an application form.
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a few spots remain for this once in a lifetime trip to mongolia where you will experience the wonders of this seldom visited country and search for dinosaurs in the gobi desert. one highlight will be visiting the legendary flaming Cliffs named for its sandstone bluffs that glow brilliantly at sunset, where in 22, roy Chapman andrews and his team from the american museum of natural history found the world s rst nest of dinosaur eggs.
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each year the alf museum celebrates the wonder of paleontology by offering fossil fest, our largest public outreach event of the year. This annual event is a day of hands-on science learning and fun for the general public as it offers a uni ue opportunity for families to meet our paleontologists, dr. don lofgren and dr. andy farke, who conduct behind-the-scenes tours of the museum and make presentations describing exciting fossil discoveries made recently on Peccary trips. other activities include the opportunity to make casts of animal footprints and search for fossils in a dig pit. fossil fest emphasizes hands-on fun for visitors of all ages and has been part of the museum s outreach program since 2 . We thank all the Webb students and parents, and museum docents who volunteer with their time and talents to make fossil fest exciting and engaging for all.
WEBBSAURUS LOFGRENI for a paleontologist, the highest honor isn t a nobel Prize, it s getting a species named after you. scienti c names are a lasting monument, a permanent part of the professional vocabulary. recently, both The Webb schools and alf museum director dr. don lofgren were so honored. was a tiny lizard, about inches long, that lived around -million years ago in southern utah. The name means lofgren s Webb lizard, recognizing lofgren and all of the paleontology students of The Webb schools for their efforts that contributed to the understanding of the paleontology of the western united states. essentially, the name honors every Webb student who ever went on a Peccary trip. dr. randy nydam, an expert on fossil lizards at midwestern university in glendale, ariz., and fre uent research collaborator with the alf museum, named . The scienti c article naming appeared in the book , published by indiana university Press.
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Papers published or in press over the last twelve 2 months (Webb students in bold) include •
Farke, D. Chok, A. Herrero, B. Scolieri, and S. Werning. 2013. Ontogeny in the tube-crested dinosaur Parasaurolophus (Hadrosauridae) and heterochrony in hadrosaurs. PeerJ 1:e182; DOI 10.7717/peerj.182
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Maiorino, L., A. A. Farke, P. Piras, M. Ryan, K. Terris, and T. Kotsakis. 2013. The evolution of squamosal shape in ceratopsid dinosaurs (Dinosauria, Ornithischia). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 33:1385-1393.
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Williamson, T. E., and D. L. Lofgren. In press. Late Paleocene (Tiffanian) metatherians from the Goler Formation, California. Journal of Vertebrae Paleontology.
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Lofgren, D. L. M. C. McKenna, J. Honey, R. Nydam, C. Wheaton, B. Yokote, L. Henn, W. Hanlon, S. Manning, and C. McGee. In press New records of eutherian mammals from the Goler Formation (Tiffanian, Paleocene) of California and their biostratigraphic and paleobiogeographic implications. American Museum Novitates.
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A. A. Farke. In press. Evaluating combat in ornithischian dinosaurs. Journal of Zoology.
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Farke, A. A., and L. Herrero. In press. Variation in the skull roof of the hadrosaur Gryposaurus illustrated by a new specimen from the Kaiparowits Formation (late Campanian) of southern Utah; in D.C. Evans and Eberth, David A. (eds.), Hadrosaurs: Proceedings of the International Symposium at the Royal Tyrrell Museum. Indiana University Press, Bloomington.
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Farke, A. A., M. M. Henn, S. J. Woodward, and J. A. Xu. In press. Leidyosuchus (Crocodylia: Alligatoroidea) from the Upper Cretaceous Kaiparowits Formation (late Campanian) of Utah. PaleoBios.
The Webb Schools • WEBB.ORG
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Passion, Purpose and Personality David Fawcett ’61 and Diane Wilsdon reflect on their extraordinary years at Webb They have lived and taught on campus for a combined 69-plus years. The students well into the thousands. And the contributions they have made in time, thoughtfulness and generosity are nearly innumerable. As a pair, they are an institution within an institution; as individuals, they stand out for the unique ways in which they have enriched the experience of their students, co-workers and community.
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or different reasons and with distinctive skills, diane Wilsdon and david fawcett found their ways to Webb eventually they discovered each other and together have crafted an enduring legacy. dave arrived rst. When asked what brought him to Webb, he answers simply, my mother. Priscilla damon fawcett travelled across the country with her young son to nd a boarding school to his liking. he wasn t impressed by exeter or andover, nor did he like a number of others, including one on Vancouver island. of his visit to Webb, dave recalls, i knew when i went over the rst speed bump that i wanted to be here. dave s class of was one of the last to enjoy Thompson Webb s tenure as headmaster (he retired a year later), but the venerable founder was a xture on campus for many years after. dave recalls coaching a soccer game in the mids during which Thompson suddenly strolled onto the eld, handsomely bedecked like a true southern gentleman in a crisp white suit and hat. as a student, dave was best known for his interests in politics and current affairs. he was a competitive debater, a member of the California scholarship federation he had a love of music, participated on the soccer and tennis teams and was a copy editor for . The opening line of dave s senior page in reads dave fawcett once said, upon leaving his room, i shall return... upon graduation, he rst attended hamilton College but transferred to Claremont men s College (now Claremont mcKenna College) from which he received a b.a. dave also holds a master s degree in political theory from Claremont graduate university. my father had in mind that i should be a lawyer, says dave, but he was drawn to teaching and in , he did return to Webb.
Webb Magazine • Spring 2014
an enduring memory of that time includes then-headmaster, fred hooper, accosting the young teacher near the sh pond he told me i needed to wear a belt! dave left Webb in because, i thought i wanted to be something other than a teacher, he explains. after a brief stay in denver, where he drove a taxi, worked at a junior college and while employed as a stock boy at harry hoffman s house of li uors, read work by leo strauss (political philosopher and classicist who taught at CmC in the mids), he returned to southern California to work at CmC. by 4 he was back at Webb, teaching history and english to th and th graders. his rst lodging as a teacher was in the old upper dorm where he spent most of one summer repairing the roof. dave has taught european and world history and a class known as american Political institutions, which he describes as challenging for the kids. We used a college text and read primary texts, including about one-third of the federalist Papers, he recalls. he has served as chair of the history department and dean of students. in addition to strauss, dave says that harry Jaffa (professor emeritus at CmC and Cgu) is another intellectual mentor. diane describes herself as a product of the public schools. she grew up in Carmel, Calif., where her father was a member of the school board and her mother was an elementary school teacher. i knew i wanted to be a teacher, says diane, when i was 5 or , i would teach my dolls math and make math problems for them. she attended Pomona College, where she majored in math and anthropology (with a minor in psychology) and upon graduation she taught at Cate for a year. in 4, she arrived at Webb among her priorities was an honor code. That was very important to me, she says. Pomona had an honor code, and when i sat in the chapel at Webb, i just knew it was the right match for me. fortuitously, dave was one of the administrators (he was then dean of students) who interviewed diane. she lived in the alamo where she advised boys. Within 24 hours of her arrival on campus, there was a re behind the school. both diane and dave have served as re marshalls for the campus ever since. outside of that initial interview, diane says that dave s next communication with her didn t occur until a student trip to ion national Park which they both chaperoned. our curfew was pm, but i was playing Pente (a board game) with some students. it was close to midnight and we were being pretty loud, explains diane. dave was trying to sleep nearby and yelled at us, shut up! We ve always joked about those being his rst words to me. later, on the same trip, a ash ood warning found the two teachers walking to the ranger station to get information.
That s when we rst really talked, relates diane. Their rst date wasn t until february 5, but diane says that the two always found excuses to work together. The pair was married on January 3, , in the Vivian Webb Chapel. Then-headmaster Craig Weber announced their engagement at a faculty meeting. diane s dress was handmade by al alvarez s (former director of food services) wife, elena. dave s late son damon fawcett served as his best man while diane s -month-old puppy was the ring bearer. Throughout the ensuing years, the pair continued to teach and lead with distinction. diane, who has served as an honor Cabinet advisor, dorm head, theater director and held various other o cial and uno cial roles was honored with the Jean e. miller excellence in Teaching award in 4 and with a Perry award in and in 2 . she has been active in the community, particularly with h.o.P.e., a local animal rescue group. dave is the recipient of the Jean e. miller excellence in Teaching award, , and a Perry award in 2 2. along with his parents, Priscilla damon fawcett and W. russell fawcett (who was a life Trustee of Webb), dave and diane have been incredibly generous to the school. among the family s larger gifts are Webb s stately octagonal W. russell fawcett library and a be uest to complete renovations to the Jameson dormitory. it is di cult to uantify dave and diane s value to Webb s growth, campus and legacy, says head of schools Taylor stockdale. Their contributions are innumerable their great number of devoted students, their colleagues among the Webb faculty and countless other friends will deeply miss their daily presence at school. We wish them many years of deserved happiness.
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s they move on to their next adventure in san luis obispo (not a total retirement as diane hopes to work with animal rescue groups, the local historical and genealogical society, and do some tutoring and dave is interested in nding out more about distance learning and the educational applications of electronic communications like skype), the pair looks back on their experiences at Webb with great fondness. There s a real sense of community at Webb, says diane, People want to interact with one another.
adds dave. and, through their shared love of learning, commitment to honor, and concern for the common good, diane Wilsdon and dave fawcett be ueath an enduring legacy to the school where they ve demonstrated-by-doing, a life well-lived. CELEBRATE DAVE FAWCETT ’61 AND DIANE WILSDON May 18, 2014 • Terrific Triangle BBQ • Noon to 3 pm Look for your invitation in the mail The Webb Schools • WEBB.ORG
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affiliates
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Those who can,
do ... those who can do more, volunteer!
beth gaumer
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ebb s parent volunteers are an important part of the school family and culture, and each parent volunteer is essential to the school s success. The a liates is the parent organization at Webb that works to further the interests of Webb and the alf museum. for parents, being involved as a volunteer is a worthwhile undertaking and a meaningful way to meet others and enjoy their student s journey as part of the Webb community. here, we highlight a few of Webb s many extraordinary school boosters.
MIKE AND BETH GAUMER are the parents of maddie gaumer 5.
We ve always been involved at maddie s schools, says mike. all parents are invited to go to a liates meetings, so that s where we started. They provided a lot of good information. Through their volunteer efforts at Webb, the gaumers feel that they ve developed a stronger bond with the community and enjoyed the opportunity to set a good example, not only for their daughter, but other students as well. beth has served as a parent class representative, along with Carolyn spangler (P missy 5), supporting the efforts of the student-led associated student body, which includes bringing snacks to class meetings, coordinating celebrations for students birthdays on campus, and cookie-decorating at the Winter Party. This year, she also worked with the robotics team, enlisting her father, michael a. erlinger, the Csilla and Walt foley Professor of Computer science at harvey mudd College, to join her in learning how to referee the meets. it was a blast, says beth. i had never been to a robotics camp before. We went to training and it was very interesting to watch the kids designs. mike is a local state farm agent who serves as the a liates co-recording secretary with linda Turczan (P nathan and dylan ). beth and mike are simultaneous in their enthusiasm and say they have had fun working at all types of events, from admissions open houses to debate tournaments.
Webb Magazine • Spring 2014
Beth Gaumer and her daughter Maddie.
Kristi and Scott with their son Kienan.
KRISTI DIXON is the mother of Kienan 4 and a rst vice president, along with saundra holmes (P harrison and Chandler 5), of the a liates board executive committee. in this capacity, Kristi and saundra organize back-to-school functions and the new Parent Welcome Tea. Kristi has also served as the athletic liaison, working with athletics director steve Wishek and individual coaches to insure that all sports have a team parent.
linda Ta inger (P. lauren and landon 3) had the job for six years she really taught me the ropes, says dixon, who has served as a team mom for lots of different teams. she also works with the black student union, organizing events and outings for the group to local attractions. as one of the parent representatives of the Webb fund, Kristi encourages fellow Class of 4 parents to contribute to this important effort that raises unrestricted funds to directly support the schools operating budget.
“I love interacting with other parents and coming up with an idea and making it happen,� says Dixon. even her husband, scott, pitches in he has worked as an announcer for the gaul s football team. and though their son graduates this spring, the dixons fully expect to stay involved at Webb. i tell them, keep us on the list! she says. We still want to be with the families and kids we ve connect with especially the families whose kids are boarders. We can give those kids a big hug for their mom or dad. When you re at Webb, it just becomes a big family. The gaumers concur. it s over so uickly, says beth of her child s four years at Webb. We re glad we can look back and know we did all these things.
NEW BOARD MEMBERS
B L AK E
broWn
blake brown graduated from Webb in and Pomona College in 2. he is the president and owner of the John Tillman Company. recognized for over 5 years as the top manufacturer of uality welding gloves and garments, the company s product line encompasses more than , different items. blake and his wife, andrea, who has worked as an educator for many years, have been generous leadership supporters of The Webb schools. They contributed a lead gift to the hall of life renovation, a gift to support the building and e uipping of the new alf museum research lab, and are currently underwriting the renovation of the malcolm C. mcKenna fossil Preparation lab and new physics laboratory. The browns, who live in rolling hills, Calif., share a passion for excellence in education they have generously supported Chadwick school, from which their three grown daughters graduated before going on to Colby, middlebury and grinnell colleges. While a student at Webb, brown traveled on summer Peccary trips, which he fondly remembers, and he holds dear the memories of the great teachers he enjoyed including ray alf and larry mcmillin. he played soccer, basketball and baseball, and values les Perry s coaching and life lessons.
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M IN G C H U N G
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liu P
ming Chung liu P is the executive deputy chairman of the board and Ceo of nine dragons Paper, asia s largest producer of paper products. he is a Taiwan-born brazilian national who holds a bachelor s degree in dental surgery from the university of santa amaro in brazil. he met his wife, yan Cheung, in hong Kong and they moved to the united states in , where they set up a paper recycling business, america Chung nam. during the next 2 years they grew aCn into a billiondollar company and global leader in providing an integrated supply chain for recyclables from sources around the world. he later returned to China and started paper manufacturer nine dragons with his wife and brother-in-law. liu is an honorary citizen of the City of dongguan, guangdong Province, China. in 2 , he was appointed a member of the ninth Committee of the Chinese People s Political Consultative Conference of guangzhou of guangdong province and a consultant of the Committee for affairs of hong Kong, macao, Taiwan Compatriots and overseas Chinese.
“I am very pleased to serve on the Board. It will be a privilege to work
liu and Cheung, parents of Ken liu , have been generous supporters of Webb, including making the lead gift to the susan a. nelson Performing arts Center resulting in the liu Cheung Theater. Ken will graduate this spring from harvard university their other son, lau Chun shun, is an executive director of nine dragons Paper.
with Taylor Stockdale, his staff, and a very dynamic and committed
“I am very honored to be invited to serve on the
Board. I look forward to helping Webb achieve its educational and
Board of Trustees. I believe strongly in the work and
fundraising goals.”
the mission of The Webb Schools.”
The Webb Schools • WEBB.ORG
NewsNotes FROM AND FOR THE ALUMNI OF THE WEBB SCHOOLS
leading the charge to innovate health care for millions of americans alumni s otlight
a e
a na
Sahai
Against the backdrop of health care reform, Faye Karnavy Sahai ’86 makes it her job to identify and assess new and emerging technology and trends that could be of value in the delivery of health care.
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These technologies would include direct patient care like robotic surgery, to member experience like inventive mobile applications. in her role as Vice President, innovation advanced Technology, digital health Technology strategic initiatives for Kaiser Permanente, Karnavy sahai oversees the board of Kaiser Permanente s internal innovation fund for Technology, which supports innovative technology projects within the organization, and she serves on the board for KP Women in Technology and KP Women embracing life and leadership.
Throughout a typical day, Karnavy sahai says she is meeting, discussing and ideating with various Kaiser Permanent teams and members about opportunities and issues that emerging technology can address to transform health care.
Permanente s care settings are using such radio fre uencies to prevent never events and are experiencing amazing results. Karnavy sahai also identi es and connects with entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and technology innovators about potential partnerships and solutions. her innovation and advanced Technology team includes physicians, nurses, designers, program managers, business consultants, solution consultants and innovation laboratory teams.
for example, Kaiser Permanente established a new operating room protocol and technology that has thus far eliminated retained foreign objects in surgeries. according to Karnavy sahai, the original uestion was could radio-fre uency technology help surgical teams keep track of sponges and instruments during surgery and prevent these items from being left inside patients sponges and instruments are left inside patients bodies after surgery as much as , times a year across the u.s., according to research studies and government data. yet few hospitals have adopted new technologies to prevent these never events (de ned as inexcusable actions in a health care setting) until now. all items used in surgical procedures at Kaiser facilities from scalpels to sponges are radio-fre uencytagged an electronic mat is located under the patient on the operating room table when the surgery is near completion, a surgical team member waves a detecting wand over the patient to determine that all surgical materials are cleared. Today, many of Kaiser
in addition, she is the iT partner to the sidney r. gar eld Center for innovation, a3 , -s .-ft. simulated care delivery environment and laboratory for testing new technology, designs and ideas it is the largest health care innovation center in the united states. according to Karnavy sahai, the gar eld Center has simulated hospital, clinic and home environments that help ensure value to Kaiser Permanente s members with, for example, spaces that mimic hospital and clinic environments
With more than 5 billion in revenues, Kaiser foundation health Plan and hospitals is america s largest not-for-pro t health maintenance organization. according to its most recent, 2 2 annual report, Kaiser Permanente has more than million health plan members, 5, employees, , 5 physicians, 3 medical centers, and medical o ces and other facilities.
Webb Magazine • Spring 2014
The Webb e
to help designers explore the convergence of space, technology, and work ow, according to the website. other ideas, such as real-time location systems that help improve e ciency in operating rooms, are also studied for use by hospital staff. Karnavy sahai is the daughter of dr. nopaval Karnavy, a pediatrician and dr. Vichiem Karnavy, a family doctor during her high school years, she often assisted at her parent s medical o ce. as a member of one of the earlier graduating classes from Vivian Webb school, she was a well-rounded student who was not only a record-holding discus thrower, but also a year book editor and honor Cabinet member. Webb was a very supportive and nurturing environment that allowed me to explore my interests and gain meaningful and memorable experiences, she says.
at Claremont mcKenna College, Karnavy sahai studied economics and psychology she then earned an mba at uCla. as a consultant at deloitte, Kaiser Permanente was one of her clients. she also worked with Toyota, agilent (a spin-off of hewlett Packard) and blue shield of California. i nd my education and experience supports me in looking at opportunities from multiple angles nance, people, technology, cross industry and more, says Karnavy sahai, who also serves as the president of Kaiser Permanente s Women in Technology, is a member of the steering Committee for Kaiser Permanente Women embracing life and leadership, and sits on the board of directors for the berger research institute at Claremont mcKenna College. er experience with the honor Cabinet and the honor Code at Webb is one that is still a very big part of who she is.
it really is all about that, says Karnavy sahai. i always stress to my team that it is not only how they do something but why they do it that is most important.
ook shelf
eleases
e e (bearmanor media) is a memoir by ob oste who worked for 35 years in the movie industry, spanning the time from the studio system to the current spate of independent lmmakers. The book is a light-hearted look at the movie industry from the inside the good, the bad and the ugly. e (WordTech Communications) is a collection of poetry by Webb humanities teacher Abb he . e b e e e (Cloudchaser Publishing) is a Kindle book by T ace Wa ne bee . she shares ideas and recipes collected and developed over many groggy mornings. W e (forist) is an autobiography by nangy ghafarshad, father of As a ea dsle , which chronicles his life in afghanistan and the united states. The ghafarshads are owners of the Claremont favorite Walter s restaurant. e e (starhaven) is written by hi a tin , who has lived mainly in london since the early s. he writes criticism under the name of stoddard martin and is the author of a se uence of linked novellas. All books e books a e a ailable on Ama on com
The Webb Schools • WEBB.ORG
NewsNotes
22 and a hal minutes
with ro essor ohn Verano
growing up in Claremont, John Verano 3 became fascinated with bones. he started going on Peccary trips even before he enrolled at Webb and later decided to parlay his interest into a career. Verano went on to study anthropology at stanford, earned his m.a. and Ph.d. from uCla, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the museum of national history at the smithsonian institution. since 4, he has been a professor at Tulane university in new orleans, where he teaches courses like paleopathology and the bioarchaeology of mummies. Verano s research focuses on archaeological digs in the andes mountains of south america. he has appeared on various television programs, including the 2 noVa special ghosts of machu Picchu, and is currently nishing a book, . Verano is also a forensic consultant who assists law enforcement agencies in investigating human remains.
Webb Magazine • Spring 2014
A Wh t dre y u t the tudy
hu
n re
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i m not sure what drew me to studying human remains and archaeology, but i know that i started collecting bones when i was in elementary school. i found human bones particularly interesting, so i went on archaeological digs as soon as i could. i also loved to visit cemeteries and read gravestones. i guess it was an interest in past lives that still makes cemeteries interesting to me. Wh t dre y u t
nde n
uth
eri
like many things in life, it was good timing and good luck. i was in graduate school looking for a dissertation project and an archaeology professor in my department was looking for someone to study human bones from a ceremonial complex in Peru. Peru turned out to be so interesting that i have continued to go down there every summer for 3 years now.
H
did y u get in l ed ith ren i nthr n ulting nd n ly ing hu n re in rl en r e ent gen ie
l gy
i rst started doing forensic anthropology work in with dr. douglas ubelaker of the smithsonian institution, who for many years has been the principal forensic anthropology consultant to the fbi. it was a great experience learning from him as we examined various cases together. i ve worked on simple things, like skeletons found during construction or by hikers, and on more complicated cases like a serial murderer who dismembered his victims to try to conceal their identities. i m happy to say that i ve been able to provide evidence that is keeping several of these people behind bars. H d e y ur ren i r h e l gi l eld r Wh t uld y u y h di ery t d te
een y ur
t re
r
le
There is not a single one that i can say was the greatest, but i ve been part of some great discoveries, including the royal Tombs of sip n (often called the King Tut of the new World) and the tomb of the lady of Cao (also known as the tattooed mummy ). i ve dug a number of human sacri ce sites, which have revealed some spooky things about pre-Columbian Peru. H d e hy i l nthr l gy dd t ur under t nding hi t ry nd ther ulture in physical anthropology and archaeology, we try to bring together many forms of evidence (artifacts, evidence of health and disease, ancient diet, architecture and settlement patterns, etc.) with written and oral history to reconstruct life in ancient societies. my own research uses human skeletal remains to reveal details about ancient health, warfare, human sacri ce, and genetic relationships between ancient populations. We try to pull together as many disciplines as we can to answer uestions about the past.
r
re t y ur
They are different, but they complement each other. The uestions i ask are usually uite distinct. for example, at an archaeological site i may excavate a cemetery containing the remains of many people. my uestions in this case might include how did they die, how healthy were they, with what grave goods were they buried, and what might this say about their lives in the forensic context, the focus is usually on identifying a single individual, determining how long the person has been dead, and if there is evidence of foul play. Wh t d y u li e t d ut ide Wh t d y u re d
r
outside of work, i do a lot of physical activity. i bike and walk my dog every day and do strength and aerobics training and martial arts. When traveling, a good suspense novel like the reacher series by lee Child makes the trip go more uickly. Wh t h een the ti e t We
t l ting i
t
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i had great teachers at Webb and made many good friends there. i m glad to see that Webb continues to thrive and that the alf museum continues to educate and inspire future bone and fossil specialists like me! Visit www.johnverano.com to read more about his work. The Webb Schools • WEBB.ORG
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NewsNotes
Events and Highlights A L U M N I , PA R E N T S , A N D F R I E N D S R E C O N N E C T O N C A M P U S A N D A T R E G I O N A L E V E N T S .
e ul
Chan Sung ’86 (far right) and Webb parents enjoyed dinner with Taylor Stockdale at Hanilkwan Restaurant.
ei ing
Dinner at the Grand Hyatt with parents, alumni and friends.
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Alumni Networking Mixer at the Red Lantern. Thanks to Regional Rep Lily Chen ’04.
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5th annual holiday mixer with College Guidance Director Hector Martinez. Thanks to Regional Rep Tim Tzeng ’06.
ew rlean
Regional Rep Albert Walsh ’00 and his wife Jordan Shay held an alumni gathering at their home.
an Fran i
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Regional Rep Jessica Anand ’05 hosted a Webb15 holiday wine and cheese party at her home.
AFFINITY GROUPS
ng
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Over 40 alumni and parents attended the Webb reception at the Island Shangri-la.
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Young alumni Holiday Mixer in Price Dining Hall.
W
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Four decades of Vivian Webb alumnae gathered at TAG Gallery for a wine and cheese reception. Amy Aminah Teachout ’04 was the guest speaker.
hanghai
Thanks to Li Tian Yang and Wei Yi Chen (parents of Sean ’15) for hosting alumni and parents at the Vizcaya Club.
an Fran i
Museum Director Don Lofgren enjoyed seeing alumni at the December reception held at the Fairmont Hotel. Webb Magazine • Spring 2014
Angele
Over 75 alumni, parents and friends gathered at the Natural History Museum.
hiladel hia
3rd annual holiday dinner with young alumni. Thanks to Regional Rep Katherine Kilmer ’10.
atin
Webb
The Latinos of Webb organized a trip to the Autry Museum to see the Vivan Los Muertos Festival.
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Alumni Weekend
Hello Alumni family!
More than 350 alumni, faculty and friends returned to campus for Alumni Weekend 2013.
The Alumni Council trusts that 2014 has started off well for everyone.
alumni came from as far away as China, Costa rica, india, el salvador and different states. Weekend highlights included an alumni water polo game in the newly renovated barbara mott mcCarthy a uatics Center, the grand opening of the susan a. nelson Performing arts Center, and a celebration for the campaign. The alumni Council, which recently undertook a sixth reprinting of laurence mcmillin s book , presented guests with a complimentary copy at saturday s dinner.
excited to share some of our projects with you.
O
ur a nity groups remain active planning events that may be of interest to you and our regional representatives have also been hard at work bringing Webbies together. recent events include los angeles, san francisco, boston, new york, Philadelphia, new orleans and hong Kong, with additional events coming this year. We are one year closer to Webb s th anniversary (in the year 2 22) and the Council plans two new initiatives to highlight our school and alumni a survey to highlight former teachers and a series of awards that will showcase the various accomplishments of our alumni body.
Head of Schools Taylor Stockdale Ken Colborn ’47 with the Colborn award for his exemplary service to Webb.
recently the Council helped lead an effort to do a sixth printing of laurence mcmillin s book, . special thanks to david shernoff 5, david loo , mitchell shernoff 5 and steve farley for their contributions. if you would like a copy of , please contact alumni webb.org. finally, the Council fondly remembers our longest standing member, Ken Colborn 4 , who passed away in december. his service to Webb was unparalleled, and is duly commemorated in the alumni award named after him. his sense of humor, wisdom and perspective will be sorely missed. dr. rahmi mowjood alumni Council President
The Webb Schools • WEBB.ORG
NewsNotes r
e r aC l
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Andi am o none, parent of Cooper ’06 and sister of Michael ’98, is curator of the Lancaster Museum of Art and History. In January, Andi received an award from the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to recognize her work on the Wasteland Project, a green initiative partnership with Eastside High School, which aims to combat illegal dumping in the Antelope Valley. - 1 onnie hen , headmaster of Diocesan Boys’ School in Hong Kong, visited with Taylor Stockdale and toured the Webb campus in June. Thanks to aul ai , a DBS and Webb alumnus, for making the introduction. In October, Webb parent e o ess was inaugurated as the 16th president of Wabash College, one of three men’s colleges in the United States. He was joined by his wife Lora, and daughters Abb , a sophomore at Wellesley College, and e edith, a VWS senior. -
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She ie Sta ele Sin e is assistant principal for curriculum and instruction at Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy in La Cañada. She lives in Pasadena with her husband, Jeff, and son, Max. -
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• At the age of 85, ohn ake ohnston keeps active and is still working for an insurance broker handling large farm accounts. • a l i sch is living in Weston, Mass. He remembers woodworking at Webb and even has the wooden pig carving that he made as a student. Alec Miller helped him carve the eyes. • ha les eff made a surprise visit to Webb this summer. He enjoyed visiting the chapel where he remembered helping Thompson Webb make the adobe bricks that were used to build it. • o m lackbu n and his wife, Nancy, enjoyed a cruise from Boston to Montreal. “We stayed a few extra days in Canada to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary. ike u a and I were talking about u ie att recently. Did you know he had parts in two movies? White Line Fever and Escape From Bogan County. I was in a crowd scene in The Big Race but ended up on the cutting room floor.” • Five members of the Class of ’53 returned to Webb for their 60th reunion. Wicks Ste hens flew in from Pennsylvania to join the gang from California - 7 8 • aul eitle and ill aile are putting together a 60th reunion for the class of ’54. Alumni Weekend is on October 24-25, so mark your calendars! Contact Bob Fass at rfass@webb.org for more details.
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• The 55-year reunion is coming up on October 24-25. ill at a , Ski anson and im all are on the reunion committee. Contact Bob Fass at rfass@webb.org for information. • obe t aum and his daughter, Christine, attended the Peccary Dinner and enjoyed a tour of the new research laboratory. - 9
ill Wideman wrote, “The Wideman clan is doing wonderfully, and we count our blessings daily.” • hi eenin , odd ische and lliott T ommald are members of an informal discussion group that meets in Portland, Ore. Chip writes, “We enlist speakers to provide the grounding for a discussion. They have included a physics professor who discussed the effects of sun spots on global warming, a former ambassador to Yemen, a Taliban leader from the tribal area of eastern Afghanistan, and a former ExxonMobil executive who discussed the geopolitical and environmental implications of the country’s growing energy independence.” - 10
Congratulations to a August 25, 2013. - 11
W i ht and Deborah Kathleen Davis who married on
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Webb Magazine • Spring 2014
• Twenty-seven members of the Class of ’63 returned to Webb to celebrate the 50th reunion. ale olle , Sam i h and im oss gave a special chapel talk during the alumni service. - 1 1 1
uce a ks wrote, “I retired from the US Geological Survey after over 35 years as a hydrologist. I then took a part-time position with FEMA as a hazard mitigation specialist where I helped the recovery efforts from hurricanes in Florida, Mississippi and Alabama from 2004-2007. In 2008, I started volunteering at The Peregrine Fund, a non-profit whose mission is to conserve birds of prey worldwide. We have a visitor’s center in Boise, Idaho, where I work. We have a number of falcons, hawks, eagles, and owls that visitors come and see. The work I do now is some of the most fun and satisfying that I have ever done.” • The th eunion celeb ation is comin u on ctobe ick inkle is chairing the reunion with help from Ste hen o e , h is olmes and a l Ste n. Watch for more details or contact Bob Fass at rfass@webb.org for information.
Ste hen o e and his wife, Priscilla, cycled 2,600 miles from St. Petersburg to Istanbul, through a fascinating collage of cultures, languages, religions, rivers and mountain ranges in 10 countries. “My work with Green Village Schools in Afghanistan continues. We have rebuilt the school that was destroyed in 2008 and have been running an advanced education center for three years.”
Tom buTTerWorTh 3
Tom butterworth 3 shared these great photos from pre-Webb days at bob stark s Talako Club in the summer of 53. i am 4th from the left. more surprising is the guy who is 5th from the left. it s morgan White 2. morgan was in school with me in la Canada. The camp was at howland s landing on Catalina, the site of les Perry s summer camp. The second photo, taken in , shows that someone had remembered les by naming a softball eld after him.
• i ht o an and en lliott reunited in Freeport, Maine, just after Thanksgiving. They had a wonderful brunch at a fabulous old hotel resort. - 1
We enjoyed seeing a id W i ht at our Boston event in November. He sends his best wishes to a e a cett on his upcoming retirement. - 1 • Class of ’66 was well represented at the Peccary Dinner with on a ande and on W ant. They enjoyed catching up with former Spanish teacher Dick Walker. - 17
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The Webb Schools • WEBB.ORG
NewsNotes at ick am bell, u t un el, hi a tin, and enton ol h held a mini-reunion at Kurt’s home in Oakville, Calif., last July. Chip wrote, “We discovered in conversation that we are all fathers of twins! It was a beautiful evening, with a golden sun setting over vineyards stretching off into the foothills.” - 18 • It was nice to see ohn aim on campus in September. He recalled teaching an English class at Webb, coaching and working in development back in 1982. He’s now working on various writing projects and living in the desert. - 19 • A big thank-you to lake o n and his wife, Andrea, for sponsoring the Museum Research Laboratory in the Alf Museum. The new research facility exceeds those of most major museums and universities in the nation and will greatly benefit Webb students, staff and visiting scholars. - 0
It was great to see Al a ies and ohn ibba d at Alumni Weekend to celebrate their 45th reunion. They flew down from Santa Rosa, Calif., in Al’s plane. - 1 h is obe and his wife, Melanie, attended the Peccary Dinner in October. -
The gift of a lifetime in your lifetime! The Thompson and Vivian Webb society includes alumni, faculty, friends and parents who have made an estate or life income contribution for the longterm bene t of the schools. establish your legacy today and insure your values are transferred to future generations. you may designate your gift for a speci c purpose such as faculty support, nancial aid, or the alf museum, or you may leave it unrestricted for the school to decide the best and highest purpose. endowed funds can bear your name in perpetuity and are recognized annually. Planned gifts of this nature are also recognized in reunion giving. and don t forget, gifts such as charitable gift annuities and charitable remainder trusts offer substantial tax bene ts and pay you income during your lifetime.
ete Sa e s and his wife, Melissa, visited Russia last year. “We cruised from St. Petersburg to Moscow on the inland waterways with numerous stops in between. Very highly recommended to all for a future trip.” • et ead fo the th eunion. Mark your calendars. Alumni Weekend is on October 24-25. For more information, contact Bob Fass at rfass@webb.org. • Ste e illie wrote: “Say hello to the crew of the inaugural flight of the first nonstop commercial jet service from Seattle to Shanghai of ANY airline, ever.” Steve, a captain with Delta Airlines, is in the lower right of the picture. He is based in Seattle and flies Boeing 767s. -
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Webb Magazine • Spring 2014
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During the Campaign Celebration, icke o ak was recognized for his tireless efforts in chairing the $50.4 million Fulfilling Our Promise campaign. His wife Jody and son Caleb attended the dinner. • ete iness is now posted at the State Department in Washington. He is the desk officer for Burundi in the Office of Central African Affairs. • Class of ’73 celebrated its 40th reunion during Alumni Weekend. A group met up for dinner at Walter’s on Friday (Sand a son, icha d S allo , ia o ta a i, a id lliott, icha d id e and Stua t Ste ens). On Saturday, h is d e s joined the group for dinner in the Village. A big thanks to Stuart for rallying the troops for the reunion. • Walte ie met up with Alumni Director Laura Wensley in Boston. He is president and CEO of Acetylon Pharmaceuticals. Walter and a e aha are looking forward to chatting up the class about the big 40th reunion. Save the date! October 24-25. • After 5 1/2 years of living and working in Chile, a im han and his wife, Daria, have moved to Mumbai, India, to work on a project there. Karim says Mumbai is a complete and crazy change from Santiago, and it already feels like home. - 7
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• In January, an in le made a surprise visit to campus with his wife and father. Dan lives in Olympia, Wash., where he has an acupuncture practice. It was his first visit back in a very long time. - 8 • icha d ukes was on campus to represent the Class of ’78 at Alumni Weekend. He’s still living in Kalamazoo, Mich., and working for A.M. Todd as director of business development for the Asia Pacific region. - 9 • It’s the Class of ’79s 35th reunion on October 24-25. lai o n, a id oo, d acht ieb and h is adfo d have joined the reunion committee. Contact Laura Wensley at lwensley@webb.org for more details.
It was great to have a id oo at our fifth annual Webb15 holiday mixer in New York. He caught up with Tim T en (pictured) and other young alumni at Onieals in SoHo. - 0
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• ohn uden is the new class agent for the Class of ’81.
u tis Scheu is the proud parent of a WSC sophomore. His son, , is a boarder who played on the varsity football team during winter season and is now on the varsity wrestling team. Curtis is pictured with his dad, Allyn Scheu, and son CJ at a home game. - 1 • Tom Athe stone is the proud parent of a VWS freshman. His daughter, a ie, is a boarder in North Hutch dorm. Tom lives in Northern California and has a successful company, Glass Onion Catering and Gourmet Foods, which provides prepackaged, grab-and-go gourmet foods. • 1983 had a great turnout for the 30th reunion with over 20 members of the class attending. h is i io came all the way from China. e ek eske flew in from Georgia, ohn a le from Missouri, and eo e Ahn from Nevada. Wall ablo and Ste e Scandu a represented ’83 proudly in the alumni water polo match. A big thanks to the reunion committee: e ek, h is, ike c e mott, ohn o ell, and d atinoff. -
ichael c e mott was sad to miss the reunion, but he enjoyed seeing ooks Ald ich on a United flight from SFO to PEK. He was also involved with the Academy Award-winning feature film HER. See page 45. d atinoff and his wife, Marissa, are the proud parents of a WSC freshman. Their son, osh, is a Holt boarder. -
The Webb Schools • WEBB.ORG
NewsNotes i oshi Sasaki has a psychotherapy practice in Long Beach, Calif., and is also faculty and chair in the Department of Psychology at the University of the West in Rosemead, Calif. In December, ustin Thomas and his wife, Connaught, visited campus with their three sons. They live in Paris and were visiting family in Arizona. They also enjoyed seeing ichael c e mott and ohn o ell in Laguna Beach. • t s the bi th eunion fo the lass of . Alumni Weekend is on October 24-25. Make sure to visit the class’ Facebook page. There are lots of fun photos posted. Contact Laura Wensley at lwensley@webb.org for more details.
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ohn lements, ohn amilton and ohn uden were at the Walk to End Epilepsy. Clements and Hamilton were on Josie Hamilton’s Wolfpack team. - 7 ick Wan shared, “On my flight from Beijing to San Francisco on United Flight 888, what a surprise. It was ooks Ald ich (classmate, good friend, and fellow baseball teammate) who flew me and made the most beautiful landing at SFO. Then when I visited my daughter’s college apartment, I found out that her roommate’s uncle is ike c e mott, my buddy and tennis team captain at Webb. What a day! - 8 9
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• Ste hanie i io is a voice-over artist and vocalist in Los Angeles, and some of her clients include commercials for Arm & Hammer, narration for PBS’ American Masters, character voicing for Final Fantasy and World of Warcraft video games, singing and animation VO for Pulitzer Prize winning political animator Mark Fiore, and many more. She is proud of the diversity of her work and is forever grateful for finding her voice in theater and music while at Vivian Webb and later at Northwestern University. You can see and hear samples of her work at StephanieRiggio.me.
In June, a mond an visited campus with his family. They live in Singapore, where Ray is director of MSR One Investments and his wife, Melanie, is a VP with eBay. - 0 • o e i ell emet iades’ exhibit, “The North Stars: Canonizing the American Abolitionists,” was displayed, in February, at the Center for Wellbeing in Sierra Madre, Calif. The mixed media work features important Civil War and anti-slavery figures juxtaposed with religious iconography and natural materials. - 1
In April, e an ein e was appointed senior vice president and general manager, head of U.S. Bank Payment Solutions-Elavon at U.S. Bank. Based out of Atlanta, she oversees sales and efficiencies across the U.S. Bank divisions, including 3,100 branches. Previously Megan was at SunTrust where she led the Wealth and Investment Management Business Intelligence Group. She also spent several years with HSBC where she oversaw the North America Retail Banking and Wealth Management technology group. anel en iksen astin s writes, “After another successful Reunion Weekend, the kids tell the parents that it’s time to go home. From left: Scott esche n and sons Samuel and Matthew; me and Elizabeth; and obe t ee and his partner, Michael Deal.” We enjoyed seeing ichael dinner in Shanghai. -
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Tan a e ki k is in her sixth year as associate director of international education at Millsaps College in Jackson, Miss. “I’m the main study abroad advisor for students. It’s hard to believe but I’ve been at Millsaps for 13 years now. My son Liam is 10, active and fun and an avid soccer player. I’ve reconnected with ath Simon (formerly Hasse), our beloved API teacher and VWS ’87 adopted class member, as she’s also in the field of international education and we see each other often at conferences. I try to get back to California whenever I can to see family and dear VWS friends—but it’s never often enough!” -
Webb Magazine • Spring 2014
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• 1988 had a fun gathering for the 25th reunion. obe t ee and anklin a flew in from New York, Tomas e alado from El Salvador, au a a ne unham from Texas, and several of the NoCal gang were there ( a Ashfo d, achel aufman, Scott ennell , and ionel an ). Kudos to Scott, Tomas and Rachel for representing ’88 in the alumni water polo game. A bi thanks to the eunion committee: a en eene obinson laudia ackethal Sand a ee ebish and ionel an -
ose h oon and his wife, Margaret, were on campus last summer. Their children, Conrad, 9, and Sophia, 7, attended Webb summer school. - 7 icholas Willott s family welcomed their third daughter in February 2014. anklin a caught up with Tomas e alado a ini aka Regs/Wegs and e in ea n when they visited NYC. - 8 • Attention Class of 1989, your 25th reunion is just around the corner. Save the date for October 24-25. ob onnoll , an u a and isa ille , ichele ot in a hael and Tomm ei have signed on to serve on the reunion committee and there will be a full schedule of activities beginning with a class kick-off party on Friday the 24th. If you’d like to join the committee, contact Danielle Gordon at dgordon@webb.org.
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march , 2 4 marked the kick-off of the 2nd annual Webb Fund March Madness Challenge! alumni classes from the years of 5 to 2 3 are competing head to head over weeks to determine who will reign supreme. each gift to The Webb fund counts for one point for your class total, with extra points given for upgrades and leadership gifts. Class standings are posted every friday on our website at .
• As part of our Thanksgiving Week programming, ee ee hou hoi returned to campus to deliver a chapel talk to Vivian Webb School about why she chooses to give back to Webb. Diane Wilsdon was especially happy to see Lee Lee. - 9
Make your gift today and help see your class into the playoff rounds beginning on March 31!
• ee hou volunteered as a mentor at our first ever Webb15 professional networking event in Los Angeles. Lee answered questions and gave advice to young alumni looking to pursue a career in medicine. Pictured here with his brother, ee , and sister, ee ee .- 0
give online at or contact danielle gordon, director of The Webb fund, at ( ) 4 2-52 for more information.
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NewsNotes essica e eckman writes, “I received DVM and MS degrees from Tufts University in 2012 (I went back to school at age 33). I married Christopher Maden also in 2012. This fall I have enrolled in a PhD program at the University of Illinois, in genetics, genomics and bioinformatics, studying canid domestication (what makes a dog different from a wolf?) and dog behavioral problems (why are some dogs aggressive?). • Class of 1993 celebrated its 20-year reunion in September. More than 20 classmates attended the weekend. onathan elbe hosted the Friday night kick-off party and everyone was out to cheer on onathan, a te ones, and h is a mon in the alumni water polo game. - 1
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• Attention Class of 1994, your 20th reunion is just around the corner. Save the dates of October 24-25. ad Sa ent, Will Allan, ik am Ahlu alia and enee olanco have signed on to serve on the reunion committee and a Friday night party is tentatively scheduled at Will Allan s Verdugo Bar in Los Angeles. If you would like to join the committee, please contact Danielle Gordon at dgordon@webb.org. • Sa ah White ollenko f and her husband, Jack, enjoyed seeing ance William at the Peccary Dinner. • In 2013, ha les un opened a new restaurant, EMC Seafood & Raw Bar in Los Angeles to critical acclaim. In August, he hosted over 50 Webbies for our first Webb15 professional networking mixer. • Sandia han is living in London with her husband James Knappett. In 2012, they opened Bubbledogs, a restaurant which serves gourmet hot dogs with some of the world’s greatest grower champagnes. eston la ke ate there and said it was great. Visit their website, www.bubbledogs.co.uk, or find them on Facebook. -
Webb15 Young Alumni Chair eston la ke caught up with ick ee and ohn hoi at our Webb15 professional networking mixer at EMC Seafood in Los Angeles. - 7 a lanne married Dr. Thibaud Kossler on July 13, 2013 at Wren Chapel, Pembroke College, Cambridge, England. A civil ceremony was held one week earlier in the Swiss village of Celigny. ean lanne was maid of honor. The couple met while both were obtaining their PhDs at Cambridge (Mary in medieval English literature; Thibaud in oncology research). Mary is teaching at University of Lausanne, outside of Geneva; Thibaud is an oncology resident at Hopitaux Universitaires de Genève. - 8 The lass of celeb ated thei ea eunion in Se tembe Classmates returned from near and far for a full weekend of celebrations. Many thanks to the reunion committee for organizing a special weekend. - 9
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Thatche Woodle had dinner with ason ooks in New York. Thatcher is the varsity swimming coach and the director of the Department of Athletics at Polyprep Country Day School, and Jason is the world languages chair at Brooklyn Prospect Charter School, both in Brooklyn, N.Y. - 0 • oanne oh and her husband, Joseph, welcomed their first baby, Julien Christopher Chou, on March 31, 2013, an amazing blessing for them on Easter Sunday. Joanne has been working for Citibank in Hong Kong since graduating from Cornell, and is enjoying her life as a busy working mom. - 1
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Attention Class of 1999, your 15th reunion is just around the corner. Anthon Shin, Authu han , e an c osh and e Webb are on the reunion committee. Save the date for October 24-25. There will be a full schedule of activities beginning with a class kick-off party on Friday the 24th. If you would like to join the committee, contact Danielle Gordon at dgordon@webb.org.
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Webb Magazine • Spring 2014
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TV & FILM ic T en , Socheatta en , and anessa ell connected at the fifth annual Webb15 holiday mixer in New York City. Juli James enjoyed seeing e Webb on campus over the winter break. Gregg and his wife, Shelley, live in Palo Alto, Calif. They also had dinner with Dave Fawcett and Diane Wilsdon. • ean lanne received her law degree from Harvard in 2008, passed the New York bar and practiced corporate law in London for three years, followed by a clerkship on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals; she is now practicing law (litigation) in Seattle. She is engaged to Benjamin Judge of Pasadena, Calif.
Alumni Behind the Camera Her— received Golden Globe and Oscar nominations, plus an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for director Spike Jonze. Michael McDermott ’83s company Gung-Ho Films helped produce the Shanghai footage of
ick Wan is living in New York and has launched her own wedding proposal consulting business: A Modest Proposal. She is very excited about helping clients create a unique and memorable “moment of wonder.” Visit her website at www.amodestproposal.us. • o othea ufo d e els gave birth to a baby girl, Jayla Mae Buford, on December 6, 2013. She weighed 6 lbs., 11 oz. and measured 19-inches long. The new mom is overjoyed with her new lovebug. -
a e hen is in Spain. “I’m here studying for my MBA degree at IE Business School, I’ll be here until December 2014.” Sue Ann on has signed on to serve as the class agent for 2001. Sue Ann is a software engineer at Facebook and lives in San Francisco. She looks forward to catching up with her classmates and staying connected. She recently attended an alumni reception in San Francisco with ean im, An ela Shin and essica Anand .att au ia and his wife, Ashley, welcomed daughter Parker on June 15, 2013. Matt writes, “She’s really into books about dinosaurs, so she’s getting a head start on her museum studies course work.” Matt and his family are living in New York City, while he is working for a hedge fund in Greenwich, Conn. -
The Pretty One—
at the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival. The Pretty One stars Zoe Kazan (It’s Complicated, Ruby Sparks The New Girl).
Building Wild— the hit show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition) and Alan Eyres (NatGeo), to develop the concept from producer for National Geographic Channels on the West Coast. She’s also worked on other hits such as Treehouse Masters Sons of Guns Season 1 (Discovery), Let It Ride and Meltdown (NatGeo).
The Webb Schools • WEBB.ORG
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NewsNotes JasneeT aulaKh essica unn She ha d and her husband, Jeffrey, are the proud parents of daughter, Hana, born in July 2013. • isten enkins and Surendra Ambegaokar were married on September 7, 2013. The traditional Hindu ceremony was held at Twin Oaks Garden Estate in San Marcos, Calif. The bride and groom met at UCLA while pursuing their doctoral degrees in neuroscience and now work as postdoctoral fellows at Fox Chase Cancer Center and UPenn, respectively. - 7
VWS Class of 2002 made a strong showing at our recent alumni reception at the Fairmont in San Francisco. Here are ath Sun, a isa hai, ate Walsh a ett and Amanda o is. - 8 omini ue a cia is entering her second year of her PhD program in art history at the University of Arizona. • During Alumni Weekend, iana u delivered a chapel talk to the Vivian Webb School. She was introduced by classmate and best friend, ac uel n mof. - 9
Fulbright Award Winner
Jasneet aulakh is the recipient of a prestigious fulbright fellowship, which recognizes academic achievement and a commitment to cultural engagement. Jasneet, who graduated from usC dornsife last may with a triple major in history, english and philosophy, is using her fulbright award to travel throughout india for a year to study the role of women in village governments. The inspiration for her research came from a personal experience. Jasneet s aunt won a seat on her village government board through the 3rd Constitutional amendment act of 3, which mandates that village governments reserve one-third of the seats for women. however, Jasneet later learned that this was really a springboard for her uncle s entry into local government with a proxy vote. according to Jasneet, it s easier for women to get these positions, so sometimes a man will put his wife s name on the ballot and basically run the show himself and attend all the meetings. Jasneet, who speaks both Punjabi and hindi, is interviewing elected women from various socio-economic, religious, partisan and caste backgrounds. from these eld interviews, she hopes to augment the sparse literature on the topic of proxy votes and research and share comparative systems of government that fully enact reform parity. following her fulbright year, Jasneet will pursue graduate school at oxford university.
Webb Magazine • Spring 2014
h is o ne has been accepted into the PhD program at Yale and will be studying the medieval history of southern Spain. He spent this past summer in Jerusalem learning biblical Hebrew. It was great to see icha d ao and ic eeman in San Francisco. Richard recently graduated from law school at the University of San Francisco and Eric is a writer for Yahoo! Sports. - 70 aleb o se has successfully finished his first year at Stanford Business School and has been admitted to Stanford’s master of science program where he will pursue an MS with an emphasis in energy and clean-technology in tandem with his MBA.
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The lass of celeb ated thei ea eunion in Se tembe . The weekend of activities kicked off on Friday night at Union on Yale in the Claremont Village with more than 20 Webbies in attendance. Many thanks to the reunion committee for organizing a special event. - 71 7 • Ad iana Ale and o is living in the Washington, DC area, and working as a consultant for DutyFirst, a veteran-owned small business based in Virginia. She returned to campus in December to see her sister Vicky’s chapel talk. - 7
Congratulations to Stanle osakul, who received his MD from Tufts Medical School in May. Dr. Eosakul is currently in his anesthesiology residency at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. - 7
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Will abos and Ste hanie o have enthusiastically signed on to serve as the class agents for 2004. First on the agenda is planning the class’ 10-year reunion on October 24-25. They look forward to seeing their classmates back on campus and staying in touch througout the year. Ad ienne Wilson uencho and her dad, a c Wilson Alumni Weekend. They live in Washington state. - 7
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iana hou married Chris Akelman on July 27, 2013. a ba a o nds was her maid of honor and a en T e was among her bridesmaids. The couple honeymooned in Beijing, China, and Kauai, Hawaii. They are living in Cambridge, Mass., while Diana is working on her MBA at Harvard Business School. - 7 • icol ssa has been living and working in Haiti for over three years. She is managing an English program at the Computer Science University and teaching as well.
Whitne Se esind and GT Wharton exchanged wedding vows in Claremont on June 15, 2013. They have relocated from Washington, DC, back to California. • It was great to see And e an at our recent Webb15 mixer in Philadelphia. He is a first year medical student at Thomas Jefferson Medical School.
In December, athleen Te is graduated with an MSc in forensic anthropology from the University of Central Lancashire in England. Thomas u attended the Webb15 mixer in San Francisco. He recently relocated to the Bay Area from Pittsburgh after completing his master’s degree in engineering and public policy in 2011. He is a regulatory analyst at Pacific Gas and Electric Company. - 77 • VWS Class of 2007 met up at our summer Women of Webb alumnae reception at the TAG Gallery in Santa Monica. It was great to see essica holakia, a tina a ano a, atalie Sacks and An ie Ale ande . - 78
Annie i elo and her sister, Eliza, have launched a new magazine - UNTUCKED. Their first issue is out. mil Ste a t is their artist-in-residence, and oll ai and etitia hai have features as well. Visit their website for more details - www.untuckedmagazine.com. - 79 • The lass of celeb ated thei ea eunion in Se tembe Highlights of the fun-filled weekend included a taco party at the Valera home and a class party at Casa 425. Many thanks to the reunion committee for organizing a very special event. -80 81 8
The Webb Schools • WEBB.ORG
NewsNotes COLLEGE LIFE a panel of young alumni spoke to about 5 parents at the January a liates meeting to share their thoughts on the college selection process, visiting schools, and the bene ts of building relationships with faculty and staff. The importance of traveling abroad, alumni networking and the Webb Work internship program were also discussed.
• Attention Class of 2009, your 5th reunion is just around the corner. Save the date for October 24th and 25th. Wint Thu Saun , lan Sitti and ab a ah have signed on to serve on the reunion committee and there will be a full schedule of activities beginning with a class kick-off party on Friday the 24th. If you would like to join the committee, please contact Danielle Gordon at dgordon@webb.org.
Inside The Prison Library Project is a short documentary produced by ale ie ook, a an Sin h and their associate Eddie Gonzales, with music by ab a ah. It was part of the Fourth Annual 909 Film Festival at Pitzer College. - 8 Congratulations to isette acial. She’s opened The Yoga Unit in Claremont for yoga and fitness lovers! There are yoga and meditation classes in one studio room, and Zumba, Total Body workout and Piloxing fitness classes in another. Classes are offered seven days a week in the morning and evenings. Visit her website www.theyogaunit.com for more information. - 8 e in oh graduated from Brown University in May 2013. He was employed by (now governor) Terry McAuliffe’s campaign in Virginia. In January, he began working as senior field organizer for State Senator Mark Takai’s congressional primary campaign in 1st District of Hawaii ( Honolulu).
Many thanks to Ivie Tokunboh ’12 (Harvard), Bailey Stockdale ’11 (Colorado College), Megan Kilmer ’12 (Bryn Mawr), Natalee Cruz ’12 (Barnard), Jordan Burns ’12 (Vassar), Jared Jackson ’11 (Pepperdine) and Katherine Kilmer ’10 (Bryn Mawr).
• COLLEGE CONNECTIONS during a trip to new york hector martinez and anthony shin from the College guidance o ce met up with young alumni from barnard, Columbia, nyu, aada, bard and harvard.
Webb staffer and proud oxy grad danielle gordon met up with lisa Pangilinan 2, dylan sittig , harry Chen 3 and ari Chalian 2.
Webb Magazine • Spring 2014
In September, h istine Wheaton started working as an instructor at High Trails Outdoor Science School in Big Bear, Calif. noch on, Winston ale, Sid e ma, Tim oo, and ohn u attended the first Webb15 professional networking mixer at EMC Seafood in Los Angeles. Alumni in attendance spent the evening chatting with professionals from the medical, entertainment and technology industries, just to name a few. - 8 • Congratulations to And e ant for receiving the Northwestern Mutual Student-Athlete Spotlight for his outstanding achievements on and off the track. Andrew, who still holds the Webb record for the 800m, is now a senior at Davidson College, which competes at the NCAA Division 1 level. - 8
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oah Wood a d s article, “Loss in Movement as the Game Progresses,” was published in The Hardball Times Baseball Annual 2014 edition. - 87 a id han and affi han reconnected with Hector Martinez, director of college guidance, at the fifth annual Webb15 holiday mixer in New York. Both brothers attend Columbia University. - 88 During his final semester at USC lias ashou a is pursuing a new certificate program called the Certificate of Excellence and Leadership in Real Estate Finance, and he’s also involved in starting a new honors club called MREA: Marshall Real Estate Association. Simi batusin spent the past year abroad studying international relations at UCL in London. She also did some research at the International Labor Organization, a UN agency in Switzerland. Austin Ste lin took three years at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and he’s now starting on a PhD in Computer Graphics at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. • mil an is a junior at Claremont McKenna studying premed. She is also an assistant coach for the VWS varsity basketball team. h istina u on is the head coach for JV girls basketball. - 89
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Congratulations to ebecca ai for winning Duke University’s STEAMy Summer Challenge Grand prize and First place People’s Choice Award. The STEAMy Summer Challenge invited Duke students and young alumni to submit short creative video entries highlighting the importance of STEAM, an interdisciplinary approach that bridges the traditional STEM disciplines (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) with the Arts, humanities and social sciences in meaningful ways. - 90 T le ad id and e in ua dia are assistant coaches for the WSC wrestling program. Tyler is finishing his third year at Cal Poly Pomona, studying hospitality management. Kevin finished his first semester at Pitzer College. - 91
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• Stac hen declared a double major in communications and political science at University of Michigan. She’s also involved with Detroit Partnership, one of the largest service learning organizations on campus. “I’m the coordinator of a dance program for first and second graders. I have 5-6 volunteers and I take them to Detroit once a week for a two-hour dance class, and we have a recital at the end of each semester. It’s a lot of work but I love working with the kids.” • T le umont is loving freshman year at George Washington, and he’s excited about an upcoming internship with Congresswoman Donna Christensen, a delegate for the Virgin Islands.
obb on ale heads to Mexico City over Spring Break as the only freshman board member of HILAR (Harvard Initiative for Latin American Relations), and then to Washington, DC, to help run a program at the SEED school. elinda ei writes, “Georgetown life has exceeded my expectations. I’m the freshmen representative of the Asian American Student Association and heavily involved with the International Relations Club. This semester, I’m interning at the Washington, DC, Mayor’s Office on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs.”
The Webb Schools • WEBB.ORG
In Memoriam 1936
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ai ad alade died in 2 2 at the age of 4. he was the last surviving member of his class. he is survived by his wife of 3 years, marion, and two sons. Craig was an all-around athlete at Webb and excelled in football, track and eld, and basketball. he developed a lifelong friendship with Will rogers son, Jim, who was almost as funny as his father. Craig often spoke of helping the rogers save their horses when a brush re nearly destroyed their ranch in Paci c Palisades in the 3 s.
hili unnell passed away on may 2, 2 3. he was preceded in death by his wife of 3 years, Phyllis lybarger. Philip was an active member of the California scholarship federation. he was an outstanding athlete, earning two varsity letters. Philip attended the university of idaho Pocatello where he participated in the navy V- 2 program. he nished his undergratuate studies at uC berkeley and earned a master s in agricultural engineering from uC davis and later taught there. he joined fmC Corporation s defense Technology group, where for most of his 3 years, he participated in their research and development division working on a wide variety of projects, ranging from a sea-going privy to a mars rover.
en olbo n died on december , 2 3. he is survived by his children, ann, Kate and matt, and many grandchildren he was predeceased by his wife susan in 3. at Webb, Ken was a member of the honor Committee and block W. he played football and tennis, and participated in choir and drama. he was editor of , manager of the baseball team, and a member of the ri e Club, dance committee, student council and gymkhana. upon graduation, Ken entered Claremont mcKenna in 4 , he joined the naval reserve and in 4 , he transferred to usC. he was called to active duty during the Korean War and served as chief engineer on landing craft, destroyer escorts and destroyers in the Korean and Vietnam con icts. he remained in the navy reserve for 24 years, retiring as a commander. during the busy family and work years, Ken entered the aerospace industry. he also found time to volunteer in his Pasadena community where he was a member of the Tournament of roses Committee, and in , was sworn in as president of the Pasadena Council of the u.s. navy league. his volunteer efforts at Webb are legion he has been a past president of the alumni Council three times. in october, Ken was honored at alumni Weekend with the rst Colborn distinguished alumni service award to recognize his tireless service to the school.
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ames edde passed away on January 3, 2 4. he is survived by his wife leslys, son nicholas and daughter robin, and brothers Philip 4 and John 44. Jim was the class valedictorian and received a life membership in the California scholarship federation. he was a member of block W playing football, track, and basketball. Jim was senior class VP and a contributor to . he attended Pomona College for undergrad studies and earned his Phd in experimental nuclear physics from uC berkeley. in 2, he retired after a distinguished career as a research scientist for lockheed and nasa. finding a love in the ancient, Jim was involved in archaeological excavations worldwide. he published articles on experimental archaeology in the . he was a member of the american Physical society, the american geophysical union, sigma i, and the american institute of archaeology. in 2 , Jim and leslys made a major gift to the alf museum s hall of life to sponsor the mesozoic era exhibit area.
Webb Magazine • Spring 2014
ohn a ie died december 2 , 2 3 in Chicago. he was 4. after Webb, John graduated from harvard and later received a master s in american art and architecture from Cooperstown graduate Program in new york. he is preceded in death by his parents and brother Peter. he is survived by his brother, William magie, of georgia, his sister, margaret dunham, of minnesota and their family members. ick Wh te passed away on July 2 , 2 3. he is survived by his brother ron , sister-in-law ann and many family members. rick devoted his life to Webb, beginning as an th grader in 52. he was an avid athlete playing forward on the basketball team for four years, second baseman on the baseball team for three years, and served as manager of the football team for four years. he also played the ute in the school orchestra all ve years and began his lifelong hobby of stamp collecting. after Webb he attended amherst College, returning to campus as the last teacher hired by Thompson Webb. rick lled a myriad of roles during his 4 -year Webb career. Prior to retiring in 2 2, he taught english, latin and history served as dorm head, registrar, dean of students, college counselor, and assistant athletic director and coached baseball and basketball. rick was a long-standing member of the rotary Club and in 2 the Claremont Committee on aging presented him with the Josephine smith award for service to seniors. in 2 2, the annual VWs basketball tournament was renamed in his honor.
A celebration of life
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a t obe t ob anson passed away on July , 2 3, of a heart attack. bob is survived by his wife susan, children robert and Katrina , brother Wayne skip hanson 5 , a member of Webb s board of Trustees, and his brothers-in law larry and Jim somers, both class of . at Webb, bob was a charter member of the Chapel guild, serving as its VP and president. for two years he managed the student store, was active with , Trap Club, and the varsity football, lacrosse and track teams. bob completed his bachelor s in social sciences at usC. in , bob was designated a naval aviator. he served in three helicopter s uadrons (hs2, hs and hs4) and served as air boss aboard the uss Vancouver (lPd 2). in , he earned his rst master s degree at the naval Postgraduate school of engineering in monterey. after serving as commanding o cer of helicopter anti-submarine s uadron four, bob served on the Third fleet staff in hawaii. he obtained a second master s degree from the naval War College and his nal naval assignment was as naval attach to sweden. bob retired from the navy in 4. Through larry and Jim somers he met his wife susan. bob was a loyal and dedicated alumnus. We enjoyed seeing him back on campus for the Class of 2 5 th reunion celebration.
William ill A ne died on July 2 , 2 3 at his home in new mexico. he is survived by his wife, flo Perkins, sons marshall and elliott , and sisters margaret and mary-ellen agnew-Place. bill suffered complications of West nile encephalitis for nearly a year. born in Pasadena, Calif., he was active with KWeb, , , and asb at Webb. a dedicated alumnus, bill served as class agent for several years and reunion chair for his 4 th and 45th reunions. The agnew family has deep ties to Webb. bill s father david 35, son elliott , uncle seth 3 , and cousin Carson all attended Webb. bill attended harvard university and earned a master of architecture degree from miT in . bill spent his career in santa fe. in 4, he founded agnew and associates architects, later agnew and mifsud architects. bill designed many notable buildings in santa fe and the surrounding area, including the bradbury science museum, oppenheimer Place and aspen ridge lodge, all in los alamos. he received a number of awards for his architectural work, including the nahb award for the best senior housing for Ventana de Vida apartments in santa fe. his passion for design and building was as personal as it was professional among other projects he designed and helped build was his home in Pojoa ue and restored a nearby adobe farmhouse, which is now on the national register of historic Places.
1965 ichael Wheele died on January 3, 2 at his home in Pasadena. he is survived by his wife Cyndia and daughter Caitlin. michael was senior class coordinator and a member of the drama and debating societies. his prowess for academics was well-known, and he received a letter of Commendation from the national merit scholarship ualifying exam. michael earned both a bachelor s and master s degree from uCla pursuing his passion for the humanities, becoming a professor of english at glendale College.
1973 We recently discovered that ete isho passed away on april 3, 2 at the age of 52. at Webb, Peter left his mark on many areas of campus. he was a member of the varsity track and eld and football teams, and a national merit semi nalist his senior year. Peter wrote articles for the school newspaper which the faculty often found lled with sophisticated insight. 1980 a o n passed away suddenly on december 2, 2 3. gary is survived by his wife Christine and daughter madeline, his mother barbara brown of Claremont, and brothers blair and Todd 2. gary had lived in roseville, Calif., and was a nancial advisor at stifel nicolaus. at Webb, he was a day student and a member of the varsity baseball and soccer teams. gary continued to maintain many close friendships among his Webb classmates. The Webb Schools • WEBB.ORG
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few weeks ago, a research paper that was Thus, a Webb student with a limited background twenty years in the making was published in paleontology could research an underdeveloped by the american museum of natural history area of study and make a signi cant contribution new records of eutherian mammals from to scienti c knowledge, thereby expanding the Don Lofgren with Malcolm McKenna ’48 the goler formation (Tiffanian, Paleocene) Peccary experience at Webb beyond just nding of California and their biostratigraphic and paleobiogeographic fossils on peccary trips. students would now also act as research implications, by d. lofgren, m. mcKenna, J. honey, r. nydam, paleontologists, an exciting proposal. C. Wheaton, b. yokote, l. henn, W. hanlon, s. manning, and C. mcgee. The project was a group effort as it included Webb staff so we tried it, and in the early years, the number of students (lofgren) and students (Christine Wheaton , bryan yokote , involved was small and results were mixed. but we did publish lexington henn , stephen manning , Carter mcgee , and a few papers, one with robert ondervan 3 and erin smith 3 Whitney hanlon 4), research paleontologists from other states which described goler specimens representing California s oldest (honey and nydam), and a renowned paleontologist who graduated fossil primates, specimens that indicated the area now known as from Webb (malcolm mcKenna 4 ). The author list is extraordinary the mojave desert had a tropical climate million years ago. in that it includes Webb students collaborating with one of the greatest paleontologists of the 2 th century, a Webb alumnus! shortly thereafter, we welcomed dinosaur specialist, how rare is that i m fairly certain it s a rst. in fact, how the dr. andrew farke, to the museum staff and created a class goler research project developed laid the foundation of Webb s solely dedicated to student research, honors advanced museum uni ue paleontology research program for students, the only research (hamr). interest rose sharply, and by 2 , twenty one of its kind in the world offered at the high school level. students were enrolled in hamr. With these increased numbers, research projects assigned to students were uite varied in it all began in 3, when malcolm and i started our goler content, which resulted in dr. farke and i having to go back to project, named for an obscure sedimentary rock unit in the school. We were supervising projects about topics that were northern mojave desert. This was serious business as mcKenna 4 , almost as new to us as they were to our students. essentially, a paleontologist and top scientist at the american museum everyone was learning, both teachers and students. of natural history and one of the world s foremost experts on fossil mammals, could do research anywhere he wanted in the recently, additional goler primate fossils were recovered that world. Why the goler The few vertebrate specimens found there indicated the presence of a new species. These fossils were studied indicated that goler fossils were the key to unlocking the early by students and the new species, , was named Cenozoic geologic history of California and there was nothing in honor of richard dick lynas 55 for his amazing support of mcKenna liked more than solving a geologic puzzle. The roots the museum s research and collections programs. The publication of mcKenna s illustrious paleontological career were sown in of our goler paper by american museum of natural history last high school working with ray alf and i think this inspired him month made it o cial. to suggest we include Webb students in our project. This seemed like a radical idea, but then he said, you know, unlike a lot of at some point in this twenty-year process, the alf museum other scienti c elds, in paleontology, it s not that di cult to had passed a threshold we became an important contributor get to the edge of knowledge, and with a little guidance Webb to scienti c knowledge, by employing a uni ue partnership of students could get there. What he meant was that a large number students, staff, and colleagues from around the world, such as of research topics in paleontology had only been cursorily our own dr. malcolm mcKenna 4 . malcolm passed away in researched. Why Partly because paleontologists are surprisingly 2 , but his in uence on Webb s research program lives on. few in number, for example, there are less than 2 dinosaur researchers in the united states, or about four per state. =
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The Class of
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is To be CongraTulaTed for iTs ouTsTanding resulTs in early admissions
arly admission offers poured in!
While faced with incredible competition and what seems like impossible odds of being admitted to top colleges and universities, Webb continues to enjoy good news despite high selectivity.
We look forward to reporting more good news later this spring for all seniors still awaiting decisions from their colleges.
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babson College (5) barnard College boston College (3) Case Western reserve university (2) Chapman university Columbia university Cornell university davidson College duke university embry-riddle aeronautical university fordham university georgetown university (2) harvard university indiana university Juniata College les roches international school of hotel management, switzerland loyola marymount university (2) menlo College (2) mills College new york university (4) northeastern university northwestern university
reed College rice university scripps College skidmore College soka university of america Texas Christian university Trinity university (3) Tulane university (2) university of arizona university of Chicago (2) university of illinois at urbana-Champaign (2) university of Kansas university of la Verne university of michigan (3) university of montana university of Pennsylvania (2) university of Puget sound university of san francisco (2) university of utah Vassar College Washington and Jefferson College Wellesley College (5)
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