R&C 2017
Past Honorary Degree Recipients
Reunion Classes
5th Reunion
WESeniors Reunion
WESeminars
Reunion Essentials
Family Essentials
Camp Cardinal
Previous Weekends
Future Weekends
35th Reunion Class of 1982
Reunion Recap
What a weekend! Where to start? We caught up with old and new friends, there was a brief re-appearance of the Douglas Cannon, we succeeded in our fundraising efforts to raise $100,000 for the Class of 1982 Endowed Scholarship, and we were treated to a re-Commencement event at our Saturday class dinner.
Here from Beck Lee, the Master of Ceremonies for the Saturday dinner, are his thoughts: "It seemed like a message in a bottle. Wesleyan's Class of '82 was assembled for its reunion dinner this weekend, and the brilliant David Brancaccio announced that he had located the Commencement speech of Carlos Fuentes, the Mexican writer and diplomat who had died in 2012. After great effort, David found it squirreled far away in the NY Public Library stacks. It was a speech most of us never heard. Why? June 6, 1982 saw a deluge of Biblical proportions that forced the graduation to move indoors to a badly lit, over-hot and acoustically horrendous hockey rink. Though he made it to campus, late due to road closures – a feat in itself – Fuentes' words barely registered. When David read some of the speech to us at dinner we all realized that Fuentes might have been speaking to our future selves, when his words might hold the deepest meaning:
"I know that sooner or later, your generation will be facing, courageously and decisively, the human needs in this country; democracy not only in the voting booth, but in the working place; decentralization, reindustrialization, the stamping out of crime, better schools, thorough racial integration and sexual equality, the great technological breakthroughs that can only be achieved through the quality of higher education and investment in research all of this inseparable from compassion and legislation favoring the poor, the elderly, the handicapped."
We listened to this as sunlight flooded the dining room where we sat. This day, many years later, was, in fact, our graduation – a time to get busy, a time to action.
And we realized, the spirit for rebellion that was engendered in us then, in the early Reagan years, would be needed now more than ever. Ironically, whereas that spirit was focused mostly on questioning our government…today we find ourselves called to protecting it. Like Fuentes, the Class of '82 WILL BE HEARD FROM ANEW!"
Check out pictures from the weekend here: R&C 2017 and on our Facebook group: Wesleyan University '82 Reunion. If you'd like to share any other Reunion stories or chat about anything else related to Wesleyan, email Kate Quigley Lynch '82, P '17, '19.
So far, our class has raised just over $287,000 for the Wesleyan Fund, close to our goal of $300,000. The class Reunion Gift, which includes multi-year gifts and pledges totals just over $2,041,000. Our goal is $$2,065,000. It's not too late to make a gift: GIVE
Reunion Committee Members
Joe Barrett
Julie Broude Bordwin
David Brancaccio
Bruce G. Crain
Stephen Daniel
Joe Fins
Laura Fraser
Richard Klein
Beck Lee
Greg Makoul
Thomas Parkinson
Seth Rosenthal
Danielle Kornfeld Rudess
Bob Russo
Ed Stearns
Ed Weil
Sunday (Commencement)
Everyone—alumni, parents, students, and families—please check in for a final weekend schedule (with updates and event locations), meal tickets, a welcome packet, campus maps, and more.
Usdan University Center (show in map)
9:00 AM to 11:30 PM
Welcome Picnic Lunch
Join friends, classmates, and family members for lunch when you arrive on campus for the weekend.
TICKETS: This lunch requires advance purchase/registration. Lunch is included for members of reunion classes with a flat rate fee (5th, 10th, and 50th Reunion classes). Lunch is complimentary for WESeniors (Classes of 1940 through 1966) and their guests. To make sure that we have an accurate number of meals, we'd like to know if reunion alumni who have the flat rate fee and who are WESeniors plan to attend this lunch. Please click on the Friday lunch option when registering if you plan to attend. All other reunion classes and parents and families of graduating seniors will be charged the following for lunch:
$20 per person for all other adults and children over age 12 (including graduates)
$10 per person for children 12 and under
Russell House Lawn
President's Reception Honoring Leadership Donors and Volunteers
Please join President Michael Roth '78 and the Wesleyan Board of Trustees at a reception celebrating members of the Wesleyan Leadership Societies. Wesleyan Leadership Societies—the Wesleyan Circle, the 1831 Society, the Olin Associates—recognize the extraordinary commitment and support of Wesleyan leadership donors and volunteers. By invitation only.
President's House Lawn
Red, Black, and Green! All-College Dinner
Join friends, classmates, and family members for an informal, eco-friendly buffet dinner in the Marketplace at the Usdan University Center.
TICKETS: This event requires advance purchase/registration. Dinner is included in the registration fee for WESeniors (Classes of 1942-1966) and members of reunion classes with a flat rate fee (5th, 10th, and 50th reunion classes). To make sure that we have an accurate number of meals, we'd like to know if reunion alumni who have the flat rate fee and who are WESeniors plan to attend this dinner. Please click on the Friday Red, Black, and Green Dinner option when registering if you plan to attend. All other reunion classes, parents and families of graduating seniors will be charged the following when they register:
$20 per person for adults and children over age 12 (including graduates)
Usdan University Center
Please join Wesleyan's Jewish chaplain, Rabbi David Leipziger Teva, and the Wesleyan Jewish community for Shabbat services. All are welcome. No reservations necessary.
The Bayit, 157 Church Street
35th Reunion Reception for the Class of 1982
Zelnick Pavilion
Shabbat Dinner
At this special dinner for returning alumni, graduating seniors, and their families, we will welcome Shabbat with song, food, and joyful fellowship.
TICKETS: This dinner requires advance purchase/registration.
$20 per person for all and children over age 12 (including graduates)
Daniel Family Commons, Usdan University Center
View some celestial wonders through the renovated 20-inch Clark refractor. Weather permitting.
Van Vleck Observatory
10:00 PM to 1:00 AM
Friday Night Annual Reunion Party
All are welcome! Come dance the night away and mingle with classmates, fellow alumni and graduates. Featuring alumni bands The Straw Dogs and Balloon.
10 p.m.-11:30 p.m.: The Racquets with band members Sam Beck '17; Jared Feinberg '17; Ryan Breen '17; Jeremy Freeman '17
11:30 p.m. - 1 a.m.: Balloon with band members Nick Earhart '07; Nick Nauman '07; Michael Hurder '07; Owen Roberts '07
8:00 AM to 10:00 AM
Annual Family Swim
Enjoy a morning swim in the Freeman Athletic Center pool. Towels will be provided.
Freeman Athletic Center (show in map)
Informal Breakfast for the Class of 1982
Homewood Suites by Hilton, Glastonbury, CT
Cardinal Loop Fun Run (2.1, 3.2, 4.3 Mile Courses)
Start the day off with an exhilarating run through campus.
Meet at the base of Foss Hill (show in map)
Education and Ideas in Dark Times: A Conversation with President Michael S. Roth '78 and Leon Wieseltier
Speakers: Michael S. Roth '78 became the 16th president of Wesleyan University on July 1, 2007. Formerly president of California College of the Arts (CCA), Roth is known as a historian, curator, author and public advocate for liberal education. A professor in history and the humanities since 1983, Roth was the founding director of the Scripps College Humanities Institute in Claremont, Calif., a center for intellectual exchange across disciplines. He developed a reputation as a leader in the arts community through his accomplishments as associate director of the Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles and his success as President of the California College of the Arts in enhancing that institution's academic quality, national reputation and financial strength. Roth describes his scholarly interests as centered on "how people make sense of the past." He has authored six books, most recently, Beyond the University: Why Liberal Education Matters (Yale University Press, 2014). Leon Wieseltier is the Isaiah Berlin Senior Fellow in Culture and Policy at the Brookings Institution. He has had a long and distinguished career as a writer, editor, and social and political commentator. From 1983 to 2014, he was the literary editor of The New Republic and currently serves as a contributing editor and critic at The Atlantic. Wieseltier holds a bachelor's from Columbia University and was a member of the Society of Fellows at Harvard University. At Oxford University, he studied under Isaiah Berlin. He holds honorary doctorates from Brandeis University and the Jewish Theological Seminary, and was awarded the Dan David Prize in 2013. He is the author of several books, including the widely acclaimed Kaddish (Knopf, 1998).
Commons, Fries Center for Global Studies, Fisk Hall
Class of 1982 Bike Ride (all are welcome)
Take a scenic bike ride through Middletown, Middlefield and Durham with Bob Russo '82. The ride is open to all ability levels, no one gets dropped. The group will meet in front of OIin Library (on Church Street) at 9am. The 25 mile loop runs out Long Lane and
into farm and orchard country. Stop and have coffee afterward at Pi Café.
Meet in front of Olin Library (on Church Street)
WESEMINAR Parenting Through the College Admission Process
Admission Deans Nancy Meislahn, Chris Lanser and Cliff Thornton, and University Relations Assistant Director Kate Quigley Lynch '82, P'17, '19, will host a "fireside chat" with the Class of 1992 to discuss parenting children through the college admission process. Parents from other classes are welcome.
Note: This session is specifically for parents. The Office of Admission offers information sessions and tours on Thursday, 5/25, and Friday, 5/26, for interested families.
McKelvey Room, Stewart M. Reid House, Office of Admission
The service remembers all alumni who have passed away. Individuals are invited to offer personal remembrances.
Memorial Chapel (show in map)
Crew Reception and Alumni Row
Relive good times on the water. All former oarsmen, oarswomen, and friends are invited to gather at the boathouse for an afternoon row and refreshments.
Macomber Boathouse, 35 Harbor Drive
WESEMINAR Enemies of the American People: A Report from the Front Lines of Media and Technology
Speakers: John Borthwick '87 is betaworks CEO, founder. Betaworks is a startup platform that builds and invests in companies across the social, data driven media internet. Its platform combines three areas of expertise. A studio for building products like Giphy, Dots, bitly and Tweetdeck. An investment fund for early stage start-ups related to the areas the company is building in. Previous investments include: Tumblr, Kickstarter, Medium and Gimlet. And camp, a thematic accelerator program for start-ups in frontier technology such as Bots, AI and Verbal Computing. Betaworks works to bring together these three areas to create extraordinary companies and work with exceptional people combining art and science. Prior to betaworks, John was CEO of Fotolog. Fotolog was one of the first and largest social photo sharing sites — pre Flickr and Facebook. John was an angel investor in Fotolog and then stepped in as CEO. In less than a year he turned the company cash flow positive and sold the business for $96M. Before Fotolog, John was SVP of Alliances and Technology Strategy for Time Warner Inc. He came to Time Warner from AOL. At Time Warner he worked with the management team and the divisions to drive technology strategy across the company and lead several large technology partnerships for the company, including Microsoft, Google, Sony and Intel. During this period John got involved in driving technology policy for the company, and as part of this effort he became an expert witness in the Microsoft Antitrust trial. Prior to Time Warner John was an executive at AOL, leading the new product development studio. John arrived at AOL after they acquired his first company, WP-Studio, founded in 1994, one of the first internet companies in New York. Since 1994 he has been a leader in New York technology. John holds an MBA from Wharton and an undergraduate degree in Economics from Wesleyan University. He sits on the board of WNYC, NYPR, Data and Society, Giphy, Dots and Blade. Jim Friedlich '79, P'17 is a media and philanthropy executive. He serves as Chief Executive Officer of The Lenfest Institute for Journalism, a non-profit foundation that supports journalism innovations and technologies nationwide and is the owner of The Philadelphia Inquirer, winner of twenty Pulitzer Prizes. The Inquirer is now the largest newspaper in America operated as a public benefit corporation and owned by a non-profit foundation. Friedlich served as group publisher of The Wall Street Journal for Europe, Asia, and Latin America, was a Board Director of CNBC International, and a co-founder of WSJ.com. He is an active media venture capital investor and was a seed investor in Business Insider before its sale to Axel Springer in 2015. Laura R. Walker '79, P'21 is President and CEO of New York Public Radio, the largest public radio station group in the nation. Ms. Walker led New York Public Radio during a period of dramatic growth and innovation. Under her leadership, New York Public Radio has increased its audience from 1 million to 23.9 million, has raised more than $150 million in long term investment, created WNYC Studios, the second largest podcast producer in the country, and has been described by Neiman Lab's Ken Doctor as being on "innovation overdrive." She has established New York Public Radio as a place that produces award-winning enterprise journalism, nurtures today's most creative talent, and creates innovative products that bring the best of public radio to listeners everywhere. Ms. Walker holds an MBA from the Yale School of Management and a BA in History, magna cum laude, from Wesleyan University where she was an Olin Scholar.
Introduction: Brad Lubin '87 P'20 graduated from Wesleyan with a BA in economics, where he was a rower on the Varsity Crew team, and received an MBA from New York University School of Business in 1990. He was an Associate in the Citibank Global Information Group until 1992, before moving to Israel to participate in a training program with the Israeli Defense Forces. In 1993 he returned to the United States to lead his family's specialty chemical manufacturing businesses, Sanolite Corporation and Cavalier Corporation. Over a twenty year period he developed their national distribution of products and services and in 2011 he spearheaded the sale of Sanolite Corporation to a publicly traded global corporation. He currently consults for several companies in related industries and is developing his former manufacturing facilities in Sunset Park, Brooklyn (deemed "one of "New York's Next Hot Neighborhoods" by the New York Times in 2016) into residential and mixed-use commercial real estate. He lives in Westchester, NY and is married with three children, Gillian (Wesleyan Class of 2020), Ethan and Jake.
Hansel Lecture Hall (001), Public Affairs Center
Assemble for the Annual Parade of Classes
Seniors and their families are invited to join alumni for this traditional Wesleyan festivity featuring a live Dixieland band. The parade is scheduled to begin promptly at 11:30 a.m. rain or shine, and is followed immediately by the Assembly and Annual Meeting. Look for the class year signs and line-up beside the sign with the year you graduated. The parade begins on Huss Courtyard (behind the Usdan University Center) and parades around the Memorial Chapel onto McKelvey Green. All parade participants are encouraged to parade into the Memorial Chapel for the Wesleyan Assembly and Alumni Association Meeting.
Huss Courtyard, Usdan University Center (show in map)
Wesleyan Assembly and Alumni Association Meeting
This year's featured speaker is distinguished alumnus award recipient, Nicholas J. Rasmussen '87, Director of the National Counterterrorism Center who will speak on "The Pursuit of Public Service in a Politically Divided America: Reflections of a Career Civil Servant."
The 2017 Distinguished Alumni, McConaughy, and Outstanding Service Awards are presented at this time.
Distinguished Alumni Awards are presented to alumni in recognition of achievement in their professions.
Michele A. Roberts '77
Amy Schulman '82, P'11
Tos Chirathivat '85, P'14,'17
Nicholas J. Rasmussen '87
Isaac O. Shongwe '87
Santi White '97
Robert Lewis Allbritton '92
The James L. McConaughy Jr. Award was established in 1959 by the class of 1936 in memory of James L. McConaughy Jr. '36, the James L. McConaughy Jr. Memorial Award recognizes a member of the Wesleyan family (including students, faculty, alumni, parents, and members of their respective families) whose writing, or other creative achievement, conveys unusual insight and understanding of current and past events.
Matthew H. Weiner '87, P'18
The Outstanding Service Award is presented to alumni, parents, or other members of the Wesleyan community in recognition of outstanding volunteer service to Wesleyan, their community, or the nation.
Rick Nicita '67
Memorial Chapel
Strolling Magician and Magic Show
For children of all ages!
Andrus Field (show in map)
Picnic and Festival on Foss Hill
This lively festival of entertainment and games is a great place to connect with friends and family members between WESeminars and other weekend programs. Don't miss the magic show, tattoos, and more. Lunches are portable and can be picked up on your way to Foss Hill, afternoon WESeminars, or other events and destinations.
TICKETS: This lunch requires advance purchase/registration. Lunch is included for members of reunion classes with a flat rate fee (5th, 10th, and 50th reunion classes). Lunch is complimentary for WESeniors (Classes of 1942 through 1966) and their guests. To make sure that we have an accurate number of meals, we'd like to know if reunion alumni who have the flat rate fee and who are WESeniors plan to attend this lunch. Please click on the Saturday Festival on Foss Hill lunch option when registering if you plan to attend. All other reunion classes, graduates, and parents and families of the graduates will be charged the following for lunch:
$15 per person for adults and children (including graduates)
Tent, Andrus Field and Foss Hill (show in map)
WESEMINAR The Wesleyan Course Hidden in Your Attic
Many of us unwittingly sent messages to our future selves while we were students; it is high time we opened these time capsules. Chances are you have a few of your old Wesleyan papers, essays, stories, plays, or poems stashed in a banker's box or an accordion file folder somewhere. Now here's the part that requires just five minutes of homework: find one (don't worry, you probably only saved the good ones). Re-read the piece. Recognize the author? At all? What did you just learn about the subject or yourself then and now? Come to our session to share.
Speakers: David Brancaccio '82 is host and senior editor of public radio's Marketplace Morning Report. David has reported from all over the world, hosted the weekly public television news program Now on PBS, and co-produced the documentary film Fixing the Future. He hosts the Esquire Classic podcast with Esquire Magazine. His book about money and values, Squandering Aimlessly, was published by Simon & Schuster. Virginia Pye '82, P'15 is the author of two critically acclaimed novels, River of Dust and Dreams of the Red Phoenix, short fiction in literary journals, and essays at The New York Times, Literary Hub, The Rumpus, and elsewhere. She is married to art museum director, John Ravenal '81, and is mother of Eva Ravenal '15. After Wes, Tom Wu '72, P'16, '20, did an MBA at NYU and then auditing/taxes with KPMG, HR at GE, marketing with Colgate and M&A at Sara Lee. After working in Asia for fifteen years Tom relocated to the balmy climate of Seattle. Tom served as an alumni-elected Wes trustee and is the proud parent of two Wes students.
Putnam Classroom (114), Boger Hall
Alumni of Color (AOC)/ Students of Color (SOC) Reception
Please join us at a reception honoring Alumni and Students of Color. All are welcome.
Tent adjacent to the Center for African American Studies
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) Alumni Reception
Please join members of the LGBTQ Alumni Network, parents and friends as we welcome graduating seniors to the alumni community.
McKelvey Room, Stewart M. Reid House, Office of Admission (show in map)
WESEMINAR Wesleyan in Hollywood
Join entertainment industry experts – leaders in film and television production, documentary filmmaking and management – for a conversation about lessons learned in show business.
Sasha Alpert '82 is Executive Vice President in charge of both casting for Bunim/Murray as well as BMP Films, where she started the documentary division in 2006. Her television casting and production credits include Project Runway and The Real World, and her work with BMP Films has earned her two primetime Emmy Awards. Bradley Fuller '87 is a producer, known for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Purge, and Partner at Platinum Dunes, along with Michael Bay '86 and Andrew Form. The company, established in 2001, creates opportunities for first-time directors to make commercial, high-concept movies on modest budgets for a global audience. David Kohan '86, P'17 is the Creator/Executive Producer of Will & Grace, Good Morning, Miami, and Executive Producer of The Stones. For his work on Will & Grace he has been honored with an Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series and a People's Choice Award for Favorite New Comedy. Rick Nicita '67 is the former Co-Chairman of Creative Artists Agency (1980-2008) and Co-Chairman and COO of Morgan Creek Productions (2008-2011). He recently executive produced Mel Gibson's Oscar-nominated Hacksaw Ridge.
Moderator: Jeanine Basinger, the Corwin-Fuller Professor of Film Studies, is the founder of the Wesleyan Cinema Archives and the originator of Wesleyan's distinguished Film Studies Department, for which she defined a liberal arts approach that combines history/theory and production as a unified subject of study.
Goldsmith Family Cinema, Center for Film Studies
Annual Reception Honoring Retiring Faculty
All are welcome to honor members of the faculty who retire this year.
Retiring Faculty 2017:
David Beveridge, Joshua Boger University Professor of the Sciences and Mathematics and Professor of Chemistry (attending)
John Finn, Professor of Government
Albert Fry, E.B. Nye Professor of Chemistry (attending)
Peter Patton, Alan M. Dachs Professor of Science and Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences (attending)
Rex Pratt, Beach Professor of Chemistry
Michael Roberts, Robert Rich Professor of Latin and Professor of Classical Studies (attending)
Ruth Striegel Weissman, Walter A. Crowell University Professor of the Social Sciences
In addition, we will honor faculty who retired in 2016:
Abraham Adzenyah, Adjunct Professor of Music, Emeritus
Philip Bolton, Professor of Chemistry, Emeritus
Alex Dupuy, Professor of Sociology, Emeritus (attending)
Mark Slobin, Winslow-Kaplan Professor of Music, Emeritus
Susan B. and William K. Wasch Center for Retired Faculty, 51 Lawn Avenue
Reunion Class Receptions and Dinners
WESeniors (Classes of 1942–1966) and the Classes of 1957, 1962, 1967, 1972, 1977, 1982, 1987, 1992, 1997, 2002, 2007, and 2012 gather for their Class Dinners and special programs.
WESeniors: Andersen Meeting Room (110), Usdan University Center
1952: Andersen Meeting Room (110), Usdan University Center
1957: Taylor Meeting Room (108), Usdan University Center
1962: Olson Commons, Gordon Career Center
1967: Campbell Reference Center, Olin Memorial Library
1972: Patricelli '92 Theater
1977: Mink Dining Wing, Usdan University Center
1982: Daniel Family Commons, Usdan University Center
1987: President's House Lawn
1992: Beckham Hall, Fayerweather
1997: Tent with red flag, McKelvey Green (lawn in front of College Row)
2002: Tent with black flag, McKelvey Green (lawn in front of College Row)
2007: The West Wing, Usdan University Center
2012: Russell House Lawn
TICKETS: Each dinner requires advance purchase/registration. Dinner is included for members of reunion classes with a flat rate fee (5th, 10th, and 50th reunion classes) and is complimentary for WESeniors (Classes of 1942 through 1966) and their guests. All other reunion classes will be charged the following for dinner:
Traditional All-College Sing
Steps of North College; Rainsite: Memorial Chapel
All-Campus Party featuring The Rooks
All are welcome to attend this year's annual All-Campus Party with The Rooks. Open to all. Don't miss it. Cash bar. ID required. Bar closes at 12:45 a.m. No outside alcohol permitted.
The Rooks, formed at Wesleyan in the fall of 2011, are equal parts kick-back, head-knock, and get-down; the music you rock to at the party, and the perfect soundtrack for the ride home.
Hard-hitting performances at NYC's Irving Plaza, Mercury Lounge and Brooklyn Bowl, as well as highly successful residencies at Arlene's Grocery and Pianos NYC (second highest grossing residency in venue history) have earned them further acclaim, including Deli Magazine's Artist of the Month award (Feb 2014) and win of the 14th Annual Independent Music Awards in the R&B/Soul category.
After their 2013 EP "Something You Can Take," their 2015 follow-up "Wires," several tours, and more hours watching Beyoncé videos on YouTube than they care to admit, The Rooks are getting into the studio to work on their first full-length album.
Band members: Graham Richman '11, Guitar; Spencer Hattendorf '12, Sax, Vox; Garth Taylor '12, Lead Vox; Connor Schultze, Bass (Manhattan School of Music 2016); Donnie Spackman, Drums; Daniel Papson, Keys (Skidmore College 2012)
Tent, Andrus Field
Roman Catholic Mass
Homewood Suites, Glastonbury
Rate: $149/$159 per night
Cutoff: 4/21/17
Please send new notes to the Class Secretary:
Stephanie Griffith
stephaniedgriffith@gmail.com
Be sure to update your contact information on Wesconnect so that your classmates can get in touch. For fast signup help contact the Wesconnect staff.
Kate Quigley Lynch '82, P'17, P'19
klynch@wesleyan.edu