Class Notes

March 2002

by Tony Lee

60 Minutes ran a story on intercollegiate athletics in January '02 which included segments of an interview with Jim Duderstadt. Jim's book, Intercollegiate Athletics and the American University, describes how big-time college football and basketball programs are totally out of control and subvert the main purpose of our educational institutions. As 60 Minutes reported, football coaches are often paid 25 times more than professors, less than 50% of the athletes graduate, and some universities collect up to $3 million per football game. Our class web site has an excellent review of Jim's book.

Jim emailed the following: "The real issue is the exploitation of student-athletes by the out-of-control commercialization of college sports, an industry that makes coaches rich, builds gigantic athletic complexes for universities, maintains the power structure of the NCAA, and keeps college athletes at poverty levels while depriving them of the opportunity for a real college education. It is a national travesty, but one that commercial interests, greedy coaches, and an insatiable public perpetuate."

Gordon Davis has taken on a challenge: "I've accepted a pro bono position with the American Bar Assn. in Beijing for a year. I will be working with the Chinese State Environment Protection Agency on a program to train Chinese lawyers in Chinese environmental law. I'm excited and have no clue what I will do on returning to the US in February 2003, but what's the quote about something being sufficient unto the day thereof?"

Bill Maillard checked in from California: "After 27 years with a major law firm, I set up a solo practice in 1994 in Santa Rosa, CA. I have 3 sons ages 34, 32 and 28. I was also in the horse business as a breeder and trainer of cutting and reining horses. About 2 years ago, I dropped the business, but still have one cutting horse which I continue to show. Along with my long-time interest in hunting and fishing, I have recently taken up golf at which I am terrible. I am single and in reasonably good health. I am the recipient of the same machine installed in Dick Cheney, but didn't get nearly the press. It doesn't inhibit my activities in any way. Amazingly enough, I don't think I have run into even one classmate in the last 20 years."

Bob Post has been chief of the Biological Psychiatry Branch at the NIMH for 31 years, and is now looking for greener pastures. His wife Susan has a rare auto-immune disease which is stretching many of the best medical minds in the country. Despite her illness, she continues a most successful social-work practice. His son David teaches at a private school in Alexandria. Daughter Laura got married last September on Martha's Vineyard.

Professor Tom Rowe tied the knot! He wrote: "It's never too late! This past year, Professor Susan French of the UCLA Law School and I were married. Performing the ceremony in the century-old courthouse of the US Court of Appeals in San Francisco was Susan's brother Circuit Judge Willy Fletcher (Yale Law '75). Susan and I hope to live together in both Los Angeles and Durham, NC where I'm in my 27th year of teaching at Duke, by reciprocal teaching visits and coordinated leaves until we eventually retire in southern California."

Russell Sunshine sent the following from Italy where he is living: "My wife Nancy Swing and I are enjoying second careers as writers. She's completing her first novel in a planned series, this one set in Vientiane, Laos. I'm cranking out a sequence of short autobiographical vignettes for stand-alone publication and then eventual collection into a book-length memoir of 30+ years spent living and working in Africa, Asia and Europe."

Evelyn and Jim Turchik celebrated their 33rd wedding anniversary on February 22, which also happens to be the birthday of his best man, Butch Hetherington. The Turchik's daughters Rebecca (who attended our mini-reunion in Washington, DC) teaches in Shanghai and Kristin is a publisher of a magazine. Son James works at a bank in Buffalo, NY.

Other news: Bill Taylor's son Brian graduated from Tulane in 1999 and became a winged Navy pilot in October. Bill Galvin's son Tim was married in October.

On a personal note, I'm about half way through a very enjoyable stint as your Class Secretary. I've met many new classmates and for the most part the flow of news has been excellent. One observation I'd like to share is that email dwarfs telephone calls, faxes, and written letters/notes as the most efficient means of communicating. I encourage all classmates to check the email directory in our Class web site and make sure your email address is listed correctly. We will primarily be using email to coordinate some class activities.

On a really personal note, I'm celebrating my 60th this month by running the New Bedford half marathon on March 17. I'll be the youngest guy in my new age bracket but probably not the fastest.