CLASS OF 1982 | 2025 | SPRING ISSUE

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Dear classmates,

I hope despite everything happening in the world, you all are well and it’ll be a productive and happy year for you and your families.

Carlos Hoyt has just published Diversity Without Divisiveness (Routledge), which he says was written in the spirit of Toni Morrison’s encouragement, “If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” He has been doing DEI since long before it came to be called “DEI” and says, “I lament that we’ve been bamboozled into a false conflict between those who are pro-DEI and those who are anti-DEI. The truth is that no one is anti-DEI. It’s impossible to be anti-DEI because DEI dynamics are part and parcel of human interaction. DEI is in our DNA, DEI is as elemental as H₂0, DEI is as American as apple pie, and all of us are DEI practitioners.”

I’m looking forward to reading his much-needed book, which he says, is “an attempt to provide this corrective understanding of what DEI is, what’s really in play, answering serious questions about DEI practice, and demonstrating what effective DEI practice can look like.” Congratulations, Carlos!

My old Clark Hall floormate Bruce Mayer writes that he and his wife, Rita, are looking forward to retirement. Bruce has been working for 25 years as a professor at UConn Health (not far from Middletown!) and the second edition of his textbook on cell signaling just came out, so he’s leaving on a productive note. I was sorry to hear that his retirement plans took a difficult turn when their adult son was hit by a car while he was walking in Colorado, where he was living, resulting in serious brain injury. After months in intensive care and a neuro rehab hospital, he is at home with his parents. Wishing Bruce’s son, Pete, the best recovery possible.

Another Bruce on Clark Hall, Bruce Charendoff, writes with very sad news:

“Our classmate and friend, Sheri Lesser Samotin, died suddenly and unexpectedly on January 28, just 10 months after moving from Los Angeles to New York City to live closer to family, including her two sons, Sacha and Noah. At 64, Sheri was looking forward to starting the next chapter of her life, including retirement from the company she founded that has helped several thousand seniors and their families manage the complexities that often come with the slow and steady process of getting older. Her former Wesleyan RA, Amy Rabinowitz ’80, beautifully eulogized Sheri and her strong morals and values and said that from the moment she welcomed Sheri to Wesleyan, she knew they would be lifelong friends.

“I fondly remember my dear friend’s generous spirit as well as her warmth, wit, and drive—Sheri was a force of nature who intuitively knew how to get stuff done. I am shaken by her untimely loss, and I know our classmates will join me in celebrating the blessing of her memory and holding those we love a little tighter.”

Joanne Godin Audretsch ’81 reports that her friend Michael Lucey is still teaching at Berkeley and recently attended a celebration in honor of Professor Henry Abelove’s 80th birthday—“a lovely tribute to a beloved professor who gave so much to his students through his many years at Wesleyan.”

Alex Thomson writes that his tradition of gathering with his old pals continued this year at his home in Scituate, Massachusetts, as it has every year since graduation, with Jack Taylor, Stephen Daniel, John Mooney, Peter Frisch, Kevin Foley, Dan Hillman, and Bruce Crain.

John Robinson has been busy producing shows here and in Europe: Paul Budraitis’ I Love That for You opened in Berlin a few months back and then toured the U.S. The next season of The Uncertain Detective, a fun detective/comedy/noir about a dysfunctional artistic family that runs a detective agency on the side, is now available on YouTube. And Sweetheart Deal, a hard-hitting documentary about sex workers, has just been nominated for best documentary by the INDIE awards. He’ll also be at NYC’s the EstroGenius Festivalin May. 

I saw my co-secretary Michael Ostacher and his wife, Laurie, at my husband’s, Peter Eckart ’84, and my annual Penultimate Party, where Marc Mowrey ’83 showed up in a snazzy jacket and Jonathan Weber took a break from writing a new book . . . about which, more later. Good to stay in touch with my old friends.

A book I co-authored with scientist and MacArthur “genius” Saul Griffith, PhD is due out in Australia in a couple months. Called Plug In!, it makes the case for electrifying everything the next time a fossil-fueled appliance in your life needs to be replaced—to save money and fight climate change. I love my induction stove, and my next car, as my bumper sticker says, will be electric.

LAURA FRASER | laura@laurafraser.com

MICHAEL OSTACHER | mostacher@gmail.com