Tag: 1966

We celebrate the lives of Jeffrey Kent Nilson and Robert H. Chickering. Jeff died on January 10, 2025. Though we were fraternity brothers at Wesleyan, both being English majors, I did not get to know Jeff well during our years on campus. But I knew enough to admire him, wanting to be more like him: his infectious smile, easy way with people, wit and good humor. It wasn’t until I became class secretary at our 50th Reunion that Jeff and I began to know one another better. I was, and I wasn’t the only one, stunned, inspired, and grateful for his moving talk at that reunion. I had no idea what he and his wife, Marieta, had been through. And then he began to send contributions to the class notes, contributions that were informative and full of fun—his children’s stories and light verse never failing to delight me and, I am sure, many other members of our class. He clearly loved, and was proud of, his children and grandchildren. I found his reaching out to our fellow classmate, Don Craven, ever so moving. He will be greatly missed.

Rob Chickering died on February 25, 2025, Harold Potter alerting me to his death. Harry “met Rob in grammar school. We both attended the same middle school, high school, and Wesleyan. After that our paths diverged but we kept in touch.” David McNally writes that “Rob (‘Bob’ in our college years) and I roomed together all four years, from 214A Howland Hall to 418 Harriman Hall (reputedly the largest double on campus), to two years in the Commons Club fraternity house. We both started in the College of Social Studies sophomore year and both dropped out midyear. Rob then majored in government, as did I.”  Dave goes on to observe that “Robert never aspired to climb the corporate ladder or make a lot of money. He lived a good life, made and kept friends easily, served his community in many ways, and cherished Rhoda and her two sons. There wasn’t a mean bone in Rob’s body, and he was upbeat and in good spirits to the very end. RIP, dear friend.” Here is a link to Rob’s obituary: https://www.timesargus.com/obituaries/robert-h-chickering/article_8dfb88d3-ed76-5bac-9e10-7dd519adab05.html

Harry and his wife, Lee, “continue to travel,” recently to Sicily. “Stunning island. Great food and classic European hillside villages with spectacular sea views. Too many churches for me but that was to be expected. We plan to be in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, in July this year for our annual family vacation with our three children, their spouses, and our seven grandchildren between the ages of seven and two. We have been in Steamboat several times before for skiing. This will be the first summer vacation there. Looking forward to it. I am still skiing, albeit not so well anymore, and playing a lot of tennis. Last summer, we had our family vacation in Michigan on Lake Charlevois. The grandkids loved the easy access to lake swimming. Beautiful spot.”

Harry shares this update on his “lifelong friend from Wesleyan, Bill Machen, who is still traveling the world. He lives primarily in Bald Peak, New Hampshire, a beautiful golf and recreation community in Melvin Village, with his wife, Leslie. We see them often and have a weekly Zoom call with them and several mutual friends. I also remain in touch with two of my roommates from Wesleyan, Stanton Healy and Joe Pickard. Stanton still lives in Mashpee on the Cape, and Joe lives in Londonderry, Vermont, when he is not sunning himself in Appalachicola or St. Thomas.”

I was delighted to get this note from Robert Dannies. He and his wife, Priscilla, “spent a night with Rick Crootof and his wife, Linda, and participated in the monthly KNK Zoom. We also drove through the Hands Off demonstration in Sarasota, which was quite a turnout and gave us some sense of hope. Finally, Michael Roth’s op-ed in the New York Times seems to have resonated not only nationally, but with many friends in New Haven. Priscilla and I are well; two-week trip to the UK planned in August for walking/hiking in the Lake District and then on to Edinburgh for the Fringe Festival. Keep up the good work.”

I was taken aback by Jack Knapp casually mentioning in an email that he took a class with Rosalie L. Colie while at Wesleyan. I had no idea Colie taught at Wesleyan and wish I had. Her book, Paradoxia Epidemica, was to have a great influence on my work. Hannah Arendt’s name also came up, Jack writing: “On the subject of Hannah Arendt, I have a very distinct memory of sitting in the middle of a couch flanked by R. R. Palmer and her in the home of Edward T. Gargan, where I had been invited for dinner. I listened quietly as they sparred but was awed by the experience. Another great example of the opportunities afforded us by the Wesleyan we attended.” How true.

Jack recently received the great news that Choice Magazine has published a glowing review of his book,  A Carpetbagger in Reverse. “This biography of Mitchell, who has been virtually forgotten by history, is essential reading for scholars to understand the early days of the modern civil rights struggle.” As the email goes on to note: “This is Choice’s highest recommendation, which means your book is likely to be included in the Outstanding Academic Titles 2025 list.” Congratulations on this remarkable achievement! A review by Choice is a prestigious recognition, and A Carpetbagger in Reverse is truly deserving of this honor. This is as good as it gets.

One of Bud Smith’s books is also drawing praise. This past June, Shanti Arts announced the publication a new edition of Claude Clayton Smith’s Quarter-Acre of Heartache. First published in 1985, Bud’s book is an account of “what the late Chief Big Eagle of Connecticut’s Goden Hill Paugussett Indians called ‘the war for the quarter-acre,’ a struggle for one of the oldest (1659) and smallest Indian reservations in [the] United States.” The Hartford Courant said the first edition of Quarter-Acre of Heartache (Pocahontas Press, 1985), by Bridgeport-born Claude Clayton Smith, “easily joins other distinguished works on the American Indian such as Edmund Wilson’s Apologies to the Iroquois (1960) and Dee Brown’s Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (1970). I would say that is pretty good company.

And congratulations are in order for Bill Dietz on being honored with the Distinguished Graduate Award from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Here is Bill’s eloquent acceptance speech that captures some of what he has accomplished and how those—his family, the faculty at Penn—have nurtured his splendid career, one that I am delighted to note goes on.

“I am deeply honored to receive the Distinguished Graduate Award from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. I want to begin by citing my wife, Nancy, who deserves to be the co-recipient of this award. She has made this award possible through her tolerance and resilience for our multiple moves on behalf of my career—from Philadelphia to Panama, Syracuse, Boston, Atlanta, and most recently Washington, D.C. It has not always been easy for her to establish her own networks, but she has repeatedly done so with aplomb. Thank you—I am so grateful for your love and support. I would also [like] to recognize Tony and Sue Scirica, our closest friends, with whom we shared multiple respite weekends at their house in Conshohoken during medical school and my internship at CHOP. I am indebted to Jack Yanovski, School of Medicine Class of 1986 who submitted my name for consideration of this award.

“I was incredibly fortunate to have been here as a medical student in the zenith of the pediatric program at HUP. Lew Barness had assembled an exceptional group of pediatricians committed to teaching and patient care—including Frank Oski, Walt Tunnessen, Bill Mellman, and Mike Miller. One of my most memorable learning experiences came from a Saturday morning seminar for medical students interested in pediatrics in which one of these extraordinary clinicians would focus on the differential diagnosis of common symptoms, like diarrhea, abdominal pain, or headache. I still have the notes from those seminars.

“Those who know me know that I ask a lot of questions. I have always been most interested in questions with no answers. These represent the frontier between what is known and what is unknown and identify a question ripe for research. I have been exceedingly fortunate to have worked with mentors who gave me the freedom and encouragement to pursue these questions. Those mentors included Mike Miller and Bill Mellman here at Penn. In an attempt to answer the question of why children with Down’s syndrome [have] an increased susceptibility to infection, I worked with Drs. Miller and Mellman to assess immunoglobulin levels in newborns with Down’s syndrome. The finding that newborns with Down’s syndrome had reduced levels of IgG, and that lower IgG levels could account for an increased susceptibility to infection led to my first two publications in the medical literature.”

We end with a photograph of Will Rhys, Sandy Van Kennen, and Rick Crootof, who attended our 59th Class Reunion, a reminder to all that our 60th Reunion will take place May 22–24, 2026. Please do plan to attend.

Our classmate, Robin M. Burns, died on February 5, 2015. Recently his wife, Rena Grossfield, wrote: “February 2025 marks the10th anniversary of Robin’s passing. I thought this would be an apt moment to pass on information that has come to light in the years since he died. It turns out that Robin’s cancer and death resulted from his many months working at Ground Zero after 9/11. He was one of four on-site project managers of the cleanup for the NYC Department of Design and Construction. (For details, see his page in the 9/11 Memorial and Museum Registry: https://registries.911memorial.org/#/workers/list/term=Robin%20Burns). He was one of many ‘second responders’ who were active at the site until it was officially closed in May 2002. Since learning of the full extent of his work there, I applied for and received a settlement from the Victims Compensation Fund, which will be used for our two grandsons’ college educations. It would have made Robin happy to know that despite not being here to watch the boys (now 17 and 15) grow up, he is still caring for them. I am writing this so his friends at Wesleyan—and not just our grandsons—know that their ‘Pop’ was a hero.” If you wish to reach out to Rena, here is her email: rgrossfield@gmail.com.

Barry Thomas writes: “The work in Burundi continues. Going on seven years. Does not seem that long ago that we sent a few hundred dollars to a young man with a mission of service and a big vision to accomplish change in his country after decades of conflict, violence, and reinforced poverty. The purpose was to help buy porridge materials, cups and spoons, so that he could provide a nutritious meal to malnourished children in a really poor, rural community. He expected 50 children to come with their mothers. About 250 appeared. The work of accomplishing change toward a better life for these very poor people has been steadily growing and rewarding, but yet an unfinished journey. As programming has expanded, buildings have been added, and the numbers of children and women both receiving help and helping themselves, the caring and generosity of people in our home community in the mountains of North Carolina, as well as from old and new friends around the country, has been heartwarming. I cannot express enough appreciation for the support provided by members of our Wesleyan class community.”

Barry goes on to write: “We have progressed from the start-up phase and have emerged during the past year into more of a growth-and-development phase. The health and nutrition programs have progressed from the simple provision of nutritious porridge to longer-term focus on family nutrition and income generation using more modern methods of agriculture and family nutrition. The school program is now composed of a preschool and a growing primary school through grade 3. A tutoring program has been of great importance for the high school girls whom we are helping to stay in school. They are now performing quite well on the national exams in comparison with the city girls. The women’s vocational training and microfinance programs have over 600 participants. The organization is well-established and results are being witnessed.

“I will add that there are now 178 children in the community school program; the women’s vocational training and microfinance programming has participants approaching 1,000. Complementing the porridge and kitchen garden programs, D4C has initiated a first community farm program. Land has been acquired and 25 women who originally came to D4C with their malnourished children for a cup of porridge are now cultivating the land for the first of three growing seasons in the year. A friend and farmer from our local community in the mountains of North Carolina has provided funding for the start-up and is providing guidance. A group of North Carolina medical professionals have come together to support the organization and training of a team of community health care workers. This team will be reaching into the homes in the D4C rural community with the implementation of a ‘Where There Is No Doctor’ type of program. Finally, two young women, who originally joined the D4C program to help high school girls stay in school, passed the required national exams, and are now in the first year of university. Juliet is studying accounting and Ann Marie expects to become a nurse/midwife. They are the first young women from this rural community to attend university. Really exciting! Our original purpose was to find ways to help these really poor children overcome their malnutrition and get a head start on their education so they could gain access to possibilities for a better life. Making progress!” I’ll say!

John Neff has a new grandchild: Remy!

Sad news from Jon Clark: “Lost Andrea, my wife of 47 years, to ALS in August,” a disease that haunts our class. And good news: “Thanks to our new ‘work remotely’ culture, our three kids, all Wes grads, were able to spend considerable time with us, especially during the final year. My granddaughter, Isabel Levine-Clark ’23 [was] the sixth generation Clark to [graduate from Wesleyan]. Adjusting to living alone and have begun traveling again. Still living in Branford, Connecticut. Wish good health to all as we enter our 80s.”

As for those 80s, David Luft asks, “Is it possible that people in their 80s are less active and out and about in the world? I’m leaning toward swearing off trips to Europe and conferences. I don’t even visit my mother-in-law in Palo Alto.” David is, nevertheless, keeping active. “I am writing three books, and I think my writing keeps getting better.” 

On the theme of books:

Mine on the work of John Wilmot, second Earl of Rochester (1647–1680), Rochester and the Pursuit of Pleasure, was published in June. The London Review of Books just reviewed it:
https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v46/n24/clare-bucknell/the-readyest-way-to-hell.

We end with a great book story. Many of you no doubt took a course with Professor Nathanael Greene. Jack Knapp went further, “taking every course that Professor Greene offered . . . marveling at his preparation and style. . . . What impressed me most . . . was that he wanted you to disagree with him, provided you had evidence to support your point of view.” How many of you know that Professor Greene is alive and well and still teaching at Wesleyan? Jack does, having kept up a “60-plus-year friendship.” Jack’s book, Carpetbagger in Reverse, has just been published. “It’s a biography of Arthur Mitchell, the first Black democratic congressman and a most interesting fellow. Possessed of an almost photographic mind and able to quote stoic philosophers from memory, he was also politically incorrect in many aspects of his behavior. Born in Alabama, where he spent the first 40 years of his life, he later moved to Chicago because he saw that the Windy City’s First Congressional District was the only place that could elect a Black Democrat to Congress in 1934. But he only represented his Chicago constituents to the extent that he followed the machine’s orders, largely serving as a funnel for patronage. His real purpose was to represent the interests of the disenfranchised Blacks of the South. Hence the title. The book details the ups and downs of his career, which culminated in his being the first Black to argue successfully before the Supreme Court when that body found unanimously in his favor in Mitchell v. United States (1941), the case that began the long undoing of the Jim Crow transportation system in the South.”

In November Jack wrote to Professor Greene:

“Hi Nat. Happy Thanksgiving. The book is coming out December 3–10, but I’ll need your address to send it to the dear friend to whom it is dedicated.”

Professor Greene responded:

“Hi Jack, Wonderful news! And Happy Thanksgiving to you as well. This is an undeserved honor, but I will cherish it. . . . Hope you are well. My seminar this fall went very well, with really outstanding students. I am scheduled for two courses in the spring. . . . The new PAC is working very well for all. Best, Nat.”

Carpetbagger in Reverse is dedicated “to Nathanael Greene and all the Wesleyan students who benefited from his teaching.” As Jack puts it so well: “My exchange with Nat Greene. A 60-plus-year friendship. That’s what Wesleyan was all about.” I hope still is.

We celebrate the life of Irvin E. Richter who died on June 22, 2024. His son, David Richter, writes that before Irv retired in 2016, “he was the chairman and CEO of Hill International, Inc., a global construction management firm. Irv started Hill as a one-man consulting firm in 1976, and when he retired, it had nearly 5,000 employees,100 offices around the world, and was a publicly traded company listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Irv was named a Distinguished Alumnus by Wesleyan as well as by Rutgers University School of Law, from which he received his law degree in 1980.” Irv served as our class secretary for a number of years, and as Rick Crootof memorably puts it in a note to David: “Irv was a BMOC in our class, seemingly running everything and known and respected by all. Like the James Garner character in The Great Escape, the Scrounger, he could get you anything! Most memorably he was the agent for our class rings. I was so glad to see him at our 50th, a real lovefest, and he looked enormously contented. I hope the last eight years continued that way. All of ’66 share in your loss.”

The Wesleyan Class of 1966 held its 58th Reunion on Zoom, May 24, 2024. Rick Crootof, Sandy Van Kennen, and Will Rhys were in Middletown, attending the Wesleyan Commencement and our reunion in person. Tom Broker, Larry Carver, Bill Dietz, Bill Fehring, Jack Knapp, David Luft, David McNally, John Neff, Barry Reder, and Sandy Shilepsky attended on Zoom. Rick prepared a perfect Zoom setting for our gathering, his nighttime photograph of the back of an illuminated Olin Library. 

Each of us spoke, Sandy Shilepsky starting us off. Sandy and his wife, Carol, live in a cottage in Bishop Gadsden Episcopal Retirement Community, Charleston, South Carolina. Their daughters, Lisa and Beth, live close by. Sandy took up pickleball a few years ago, enjoying that and water volleyball too. A retired professor of mathematics, Sandy continues to follow higher education, reading The Chronicle of Higher Education and lamenting the troubles and challenges confronting college campuses. Wells College, where Sandy taught for 35 years, is closing, which I don’t think any of us knew.

David McNally recalled his 25-year career with what is now the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. He and his wife, Michelle, still live outside of Alexandria, Virginia. David talked, with good humor, about his coming down with ALS five years ago and what living with that vicious disease has been like, its deleterious effect on all parts of the body, save for the mind and eyes. David’s mind is as sharp as ever, his eyes keen and bright. Through it all, he remains remarkably active, grateful for all that his wife Michelle does. He meets on Zoom regularly with a group of former graduate students, and Rick Crootof has organized a Friends of Dave group—Rick, John Neff, Sandy Van Kennen, Alberto Ibargüen, Will Rhys, Andrew Kleinfeld, Paul Gilbert, and me—who gather once a month with David on Zoom. David, an inspiration to all, closed by telling us how much he is enjoying life.

Dr. Dietz chimed in next. Following his distinguished career as a physician and administrator focusing on treating childhood obesity, Bill and his wife, Nancy, are back in Washington, D.C., where he serves as director of the STOP Obesity Alliance and is working to make the world better through the power of food. He pointed out how reducing the consumption of meat would contribute to mitigating climate change. I kept thinking how I wish Bill were a candidate for the presidency of the United States and called attention to his speech upon receiving an honorary degree from McGill University, June 6, 2022. If you have not heard the speech, do so: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9V-LR9VxBy4

“Doing well for a man of my age,” opined David Luft. I’ll say, David looking like he just came from teaching one of his classes 40 years ago. I had a hard time believing David, given his publication record, when he told us that he finds retirement more intellectually engaging. But that seems to be the case. He has two books on the boil and is teaching himself Czech. His wife, Jennifer, breeds dogs, one making an appearance.

Bill Fehring, who has a PhD in behavioral biology, continues to do in retirement what he did while working: educating people about environmental issues. His latest endeavors include getting more minorities involved in the environment, including blind students. Bill hikes and bikes and is doing a good deal of wildlife photography, going out occasionally with Rick Crootof, another avid photographer.

Tom Broker and his wife, Louise, now professors emeriti at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, continue their pioneering work on HPV, the goal being to eliminate cervical cancer. They are also peripatetic, visiting Europe once or twice a year, venturing to Africa twice last year, Ghana for work, birding in Costa Rica, and traveling to New Mexico, where they visited among many places, Ghost Ranch, communing with Georgia O’Keefe. The Brokers have an astonishing collection of old master prints, some 6,000 to date, which they loan out for exhibitions. They are also engaged in environmental issues, and Tom and Louise power walk. Whew!

There was much joy and laughter in this reunion, none more so than when Sandy Van Kennentook the stage, wanting us to know two things. First, that he has now acquired two new knees, which are doing so well that he can work once again on cars. Second, Sandy’s long history of growing marijuana and his interest in medical uses of cannabis may have a bright future. It involves what he calls “bubble hash,” the marijuana buds being sent through a washing machine numerous times, the result being a product with 50% THC. Buy stock now.

Will Rhys reminded us that there are 43 4,000-foot mountains in Maine, and he continues to climb them. Though he cannot run anymore (he has a 2:47 marathon to his credit), he bikes. Central to his retirement is public service. He serves on the board of the library in Bridgton, Maine, which is a center for internet users. In keeping up with his lifelong love for, and work in, the theater, he continues to do a one-man show every Christmas.

Having worked six days and six nights a week for 43 years, Barry Reder, who all those years was a lawyer in San Francisco, is trying hard to do nothing. Well, not quite. He has become fascinated on how human beings learn words, how these words come to have meaning. But this once workaholic, runner (Barry has run the Bay to Breakers 35 times), and avid golfer has been slowed down by two ruptured discs in his back. As he drolly put it, he spends time on physical therapy and on making and canceling doctors’ appointments. Rick asked Barry about the reports of the deteriorating life in San Francisco. Barry said that the news is overblown.

Jack Knappbegan with a great story. Turns out he and Rick were roommates at Wesleyan. When COVID broke out, Rick invited Jack and his wife, Carla, longtime citizens of Chicago, to stay in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire. The Knapps have fallen in love with small town, rural life, and now have a home in Wolfeboro; the Crootofs recently hosting a celebration for Jack’s 80th birthday. Jack has a new book coming out: A Carpetbagger in Reverse: Arthur W. Mitchell, America’s First Black Democratic Congressman. Movingly, he dedicates the book to Professor Nathanael Greene and to the Wesleyan students who benefited from his teaching.

First grandson just graduated from the University of Virginia, and it has been 50 years since that grandson’s grandfather, John Neff, received his PhD from Harvard. And what is he doing now? Listening to music, being intensely interested in poetry. He attributes being a perpetual student who loves research to his Wesleyan education. Rick asked John about that haunting thought he made in his biographical sketch for our 50th Reunion book: “Still think I’ve not done what I’m here to do.” John continues to think he has not yet done what he is here to do.

Rick Crootof and his wife, Linda, split their year between Sarasota, Florida, and Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, and Rick, with gratitude of all of us, continues to be our class leader, organizing reunions, Zoom meetings, keeping us up to date on all things Wesleyan through email. He reported that he had to give up his lifelong love of playing tennis (and he was very good at it) because of a heart condition. The report is premature: Rick recently won a Wolfeboro tennis tournament. He continues to take great joy in photography and is looking forward to meeting James Sugar ’67. John Neff thinks the photograph that Rick took of the chapel at this last Commencement is a gem. It is (see below).

Tom Pulliam writes that “his granddaughter, Madeline, entering junior year at University of Hawaii has, with Hardy Spoehr’s assistance, landed a job as lifeguard at a Honolulu- area pool managed or owned by Hardy’s daughter.” Tom and his wife, Alice, spent “three weeks in Italy (Tuscany, Florence, Venice, Amalfi Coast) . . . lots of wonderful sights, but too many tourists . . . Stanford women’s rugby team, which I have been helping with for 13 years, surpassed all expectations. Without a player who had played rugby before coming to Stanford, they won the national championship in Houston on May 5. In that final game, they played nine players who had never played rugby until this year, and two key players played that game with, respectively, a broken wrist and a broken foot. I consider myself the team grandpa and absolutely love helping these young women learn the sport that has been a very large part of my life, starting at Wesleyan . . .  Madeline’s brothers, Evan (17) and Jay (14), continue their MLSNext soccer. We were in Nashville 10 days in June for one of their tournaments, and both played exceptionally well. Jay had [a] badly sprained ankle (and it was also broken) in training 15 days before. I was commiserating with him as he was on crutches and in a boot a day or two after the injury. He told me he was still planning to play. I thought he was badly mistaken. Turned out, I was the one who was badly mistaken. On a heavily taped ankle, he played every game. In the final game he scored two goals to win the game. Both Evan and Jay will play rugby for their high school team, which will provide more spectating fun for us. In sum, life is good. One day at a time.”

Bud Smith has been fishing!

I thought Daniel Lang had retired, but read this: “Clare Warner (Mount Holyoke, 1974) attended her 50th class reunion with her husband, Tim [Warner ’73]. Our daughter, Kate, is director of Student Financial Services at Mount Holyoke. Result: Tim and I spent a long weekend together in May recounting the time that he and I were close friends while I was associate dean of admissions, and he was a student. We both left Wesleyan at about the same time, Tim for an MBA at Stanford and I for a PhD at Toronto. We both ended up in nearly identical careers: Tim as vice provost, Budget and Auxiliaries Management at Stanford and I as vice provost, Planning and Budget at Toronto. (That alone might be a factoid for Wesleyan alumni news: two Wes alumni, same job, same time, at two top 20 world class universities.) We kept in touch professionally and personally. When our son was born, we named him Timothy. When the Warner’s son was born, they named him Daniel. Talk about coincidence after coincidence! Everyone had a grand time at our personal reunion. . . . Other news, I finished teaching two graduate public economics courses in a row, finishing in June. Most of the students were top-notch, so there was as much stimulation as work. There is a lot of interest in Canada in the connections between immigration policy and fiscal policy in relation to higher education. So, plenty to talk about. Three papers that I had been working on for months finally went off for publication. 

“Being a member of the board at King’s University College has taken up more time than I expected, some of it controversial but all rewarding and worth the effort. My work on the board of Saint Augustine’s Seminary lately involves mainly finance and endowment management, sometimes complicated. If you think university politics are full of intrigue, try three-way negotiation between the Vatican, an archdiocese, and a seminary. Most recently we spent a few days deep in the Adirondacks at the same time as Hurricane Debby blew through. Roads and trails washed-out, tall trees blown down, obviously no power, no internet, and no cell phones. A genuine and welcome getaway from daily life.”

“I wonder,” David Luft recently wrote, “if the admissions office could have predicted that we would be professors at major universities.” I replied: “You touch on a topic dear to me. As class secretary and well before then, I came to realize how talented, accomplished, and public-spirited members—an overwhelming number—of the Wesleyan Class of 1966 are. As you probably know, many would not have dreamed of such as assessment at the time, our class being maligned, as many put it: the class of Robert Norwine’s revenge. Norwine was the director of admissions from 1953 to 1964. Apparently, our class was his attempt to recruit and accept students that Wesleyan had not courted, such as the blacksmith’s son from Colorado Springs and, yes, even some African Americans, Jimmy Johnson and Thomas Shaw. Some saw this as a dumbing down of Wesleyan, our class being particularly cited. Some dumbing down, some revenge. I know of fourteen of us who became professors, one of whom, Tom Broker, should have won a Nobel Prize. I no doubt have missed some. Sam Carrier, who taught at Oberlin for many years, did a paper on where the professoriate comes from. It’s not from the UT Austins of the world, but small, liberal arts schools. I rather imagine Wesleyan is continuing to graduate students who came to love research, fell in love with a field, and went on to graduate school to become professors.” 

I close with comment that David Griffith made about our class, a sentiment that I share: “I really like the class notes . . . within the tight confines of our class in terms of ethnicity and background, it is surprising to see the diversity. A great place at a great time.”