Class Notes

October 2002

by Tony Lee

Hundreds of our classmates are dedicating thousands of hours to non-profit, educational and community projects here and abroad. As our business and professional careers wind down, I expect our volunteer efforts will become a bigger part of our lives. Be sure to send me information about your experiences so I can share them with classmates.

You may recall in the April, 2002 notes that Paul Manchester was working with a local community organization to keep Colonel Sanders out of Four Corners, Virginia. I just got an update from Paul that they won. They raised $12,000 in petition drives and bake sales for a legal fight and created a web site, aptly named www.geocities.com/nochicken2002. You can read all about it on our class web site. Paul also wrote to say he had been elected to the Board of the Yale Club of Washington: "Before you congratulate me, I should point out that there were five candidates for five positions, thus it was not exactly a highly contested election. The main responsibility of Board Members is to organize at least two events for the upcoming year. I didn't have to go outside the Class of '64 to do this, as Bob Kaiser and Gus Speth have both agreed to address the Club."

Gus Speth was recently awarded the international environmental Blue Planet Prize by the Tokyo-based Asahi Glass Foundation. The prestigious prize has been awarded annually since 1992 to two individuals or organizations that have made major contributions to global environmental conservation. Dean Speth received the prize for "a lifetime of creative and visionary leadership in the search for science-based solutions to global environmental problems and for pioneering efforts to bring these issues, including global climate change, to broad international attention."

I exchanged a series of nice emails with Tom Roderick. He has worked for 20 years with Educators for Social Responsibility: "Founded in 1982 by educators concerned about the danger of nuclear war, ESR Metro continues to educate young people about nuclear weapons and other controversial issues. We run ongoing programs in conflict resolution and intercultural understanding in more than a hundred New York City public schools each year. And we've been helping schools address needs arising from the September 11 attacks. I've been executive director since 1983.

"My book, A School of Our Own: Parents Power and Community at the East Harlem Block Schools, was published in November 2001. The book provides an action portrait of these path-breaking community schools, and shows why they had such a strong positive impact on people's lives. My wife Maxine Phillips is managing editor of Dissent Magazine. Our daughters Emma Rose (17) and Anne Marie (14) attend public schools in New York City."

From Jon Auerbach: "Jim Leitner '75 and I have established some interesting Internships for undergraduates, and I pass this along in the event you are desperate for news." [I am.] The accompanying press release announced a Yale College internship program starting this year which will take students across the Atlantic Ocean to the stock exchanges and brokerage communities of Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Hungary and Turkey where they will study how capital markets function abroad. Five students have been selected for the initial 2002 program. The objective is to give qualified Yale College students a unique experience learning about the rapidly evolving international markets, and for this knowledge to be of great value to them and the organizations they work for after graduation. Jon adds: "This is our version of the Peace Corps, as capitalism is the 21st Century tool for leveling the global playing fields." There was a high degree of competition for the five places available this year.

Ed Gaffney writes from Albuquerque: "My wife Susy completed her M Div at Brite Divinity School at TCU, and is ordained by the United Church of Christ. After spending the summer as chaplain at a cub scout camp in Oregon, she is now a resident chaplain at a hospital in Albuquerque. I am still at Los Alamos and doing numerical modeling of phenomena associated with a possible volcanic intrusion into a nuclear storage repository."

Bob Charles' daughter Lisa and her husband each skippered a boat in the Volvo Around the World Sailing Race. They passed through Baltimore-Annapolis in April.

Margie and I spent 10 glorious days camping and hiking in Glacier National Park, Montana this summer with 10 friends. The park is spectacular, and we saw many flowers and animals. If you enjoy the outdoors and hiking, put it on your list. We're creating a web site of our best photos. If you want to see them, drop me a line. And while you're at it, send me some news.