Tag: 1985

Greetings, ’85ers! I saw a lot of you at our reunion and missed many of you who couldn’t make it. Time marches on, but I thought we all looked pretty good!

Hillary Hess writes: “I rode up to Reunion with my freshman-year roommate, Caroline Wilkins [that’s ME!]. A highlight for me was the gathering at the boathouse—Emily Denham Swomley, Margaret Bracken Thompson, Caroline, and I rowed a four, guided by the current assistant coach and current rowers. (The previous evening, Dave Barr had said to us that he wasn’t rowing because he was afraid of hurting something—saying what I was thinking, but we all got back to the dock unhurt and kept the boat on a more even keel than I expected.) Terry McClenahan represented the class for the men’s team, and former coach Pat Callahan ’71 joined us on the apron. Outside the senior art show, I ran into French majors Jeanne LaVallee and Ellen Campbell. At the class dinner, I caught up with fellow rowers Wendy Buffett and Denise Pasche and coxswain Paula Carbone.”

Hillary and I also caught up with Mike Jacobs,Bill Duryea, Jill Hamada, and Diana Lefer at a lovely class dinner held at the new Fries Center for the Arts, named for our 230 Washington Street housemate, Mike Fries, for whom Bill Wrubel gave a lovely introduction. Bill also led the class in a moving memorial to classmates who’ve passed away, inviting us to name friends we’ve lost and hold them together in our hearts.

I also heard from several classmates by email:

Dr. K.T. Korngold writes: “I graduated this May with an EdD in Montessori Studies from University of Wisconsin–River Falls, and my case studies are included in the newly published book by Patrick Frierson, Maria Montessori’s Philosophy, Following the Child (Oxford).”

I heard from Beth Purnell Gartman who has served as a school-based psychologist since 1989, including the last 11 years dedicated to supporting elementary-age students at a small independent school for neurodivergent learners. Now she’s embracing a new chapter: “I will be transitioning to part-time work as an independent educational consultant. In this new role, my goal is to empower families by helping them identify and prioritize their children’s needs, navigate school choices to find the ideal fit, and implement diverse strategies to support their unique learning styles.”

She adds, “The ’85 crew is still going strong! Amy Hamburg Shir, Jenny Henkind, and I have made it a tradition to gather annually for a long weekend trip. This year, I’m delighted to host the group here in Atlanta. My new home, which my kids affectionately call my ‘next phase of life’ home, is a true gem. I purchased this 1952 mid-century- modern beauty a year ago from dear friends. The groovy, 1960s, kidney-shaped pool adds to its charm, making it an ideal spot for entertaining. Should your travels ever bring you to Atlanta, please don’t hesitate to reach out, as I have a wonderful guest suite ready for visitors.”

Marquis Lobban missed our reunion but writes: “I currently reside in Los Angeles with my new wife, Nkem. My new wife came with a bonus daughter. So now, I have three children and am a newly minted granddad. My work as a commercial real estate developer requires many trips to the East Coast. I wish everyone in Class of ’85 many blessings!”

Shelley Stark lives in Attleboro, Massachusetts, with her husband, Louis, and works at Arcadis, a global engineering firm managing the document control department. “My son, Spenser, remains in school at Bridgewater State and my daughter, Holland, graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2023. I see good friends and fellow alums Rosilyn Ford (frequently), Leslie Turner ’88, and David Shopper ’82 when I can.”

Rosalind (Brown) Stewart wrote that she hasn’t attended a reunion or written to the class notes for years, so she filled me in: “I have lived in London, UK, with my husband, Ian, since 1989. I haven’t been to a Wesleyan reunion since, although I did log on to our virtual one in 2020, which was great fun. I had planned to attend this year, but our daughter (we have three adult children) had just graduated from her master’s program at Penn that same time. So, I met up with some Wesleyan friends of mine to create a series of ‘mini’ reunions instead. First, in April, Cindy Van Wynen, who was on my floor in Foss 10 back in 1981, returned to London to spend time with her daughter. We spent some happy times together, going to a play (Shakespeare’s Richard II), the Saatchi Gallery, and the ballet at Sadler’s Wells. Then in May, just after said daughter’s graduation, Ian and I went to Washington, D.C., for a couple of days and had dinner with Derek Reisfield and his wife. I had lunch the next day with Ira Dassa and then met up with Robin Wolser Guinot, who has temporarily relocated with her job to D.C. So, although I missed the whole shebang in Middletown in May, I did see four of my friends, all from the Class of 1985 this spring.”

Rosalind adds that she and Cindy, who lives in Nassau, Bahamas, keep in regular contact with Janet Macomber Williamson, who lives in Portland, Oregon: “We three spent a week together in February 2023 in the Bahamas, first Nassau and then Eleuthera, to celebrate our collective 60th birthdays that year. It was the first time we had spent time together without family and spouses since 1985 . . . and what fun it was!”

John Vigman also wrote from across an ocean: “Greetings from Tokyo. Still working, been at Veolia here in Japan since 2011 but nearing retirement and thinking of moving to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, learning Spanish and relaxing a bit. Anyone in Tokyo for beers and yakitori, let me know.” 

Barbara Schwartz shared, “I’m trying to see how to make a difference when the world is so painful. I am a therapist and continue to counsel and supervise. I volunteer with SURJ (Showing up for Racial Justice) and attend meetings with Color of Change. They both are great organizations that give hope that we can do something besides bemoan how bad the country/world are.  For some peace, I hike somewhere each weekend and spend two weeks hiking each summer. This summer we are going to Joshua Tree, Phoenix, and Sedona. This fall, we are going to San Fran where I will have the pleasure of seeing Marc Stein.”

Hilary Jacobs Hendel had exciting news: “I’m going to be a grandmother, and I’m launching my new book at the end of September called, Parents Have Feelings, Too: A Guide to Navigating Your Emotions So You and Your Family Can Thrive. This book is important for parents with children of all ages from zero to 100 years old. Here’s a recent picture of me with the book cover.

Hilary had promotional events planned at the Barnes & Noble on the Upper West Side and the New York Public Library at 42nd Street in late September.

Dave Given has retired to Montana! “After careers in pension actuarial (me) and corporate finance (Irene), we moved 2,500 miles from Natick, Massachusetts, to Lolo, Montana, and retired early in 2022. Zero regrets! Golden retrievers, horses (her thing), volunteer work, and plenty of off-roading and hiking. Right now, the magpies are squawking in the orchard because the cherry trees are LOADED this year. The picture is me with dogs at the Missoula Pride festival and along the shore of Lake McDonald up at Glacier National Park.”

Dale Hernsdorf is based in LA and is a goldsmith: “I make one-of-a-kind pieces in high karat gold with curated gems and the occasional ancient rare coin. The line, cleverly named ‘Hernsdorf,’ has done well. I love what I do. My daughter, Annie, is marrying Brett Keating ’15 later this summer.” Here is one of Dale’s pieces:

Mark Schafer writes: “My essay about the work of the Jewish-Mexican poet Gloria Gervitz (whose book-length, life’s work poem, Migraciones, I translated for New York Review Books in 2021) was published in December in Este es el testimonio del oyente: Aproximaciones críticas en torno a Migraciones de Gloria Gervitz, the first collection of critical writings published on Gervitz’s poetry. In June the Latin American Jewish Studies Association awarded this book its 2025 book prize for an edited volume published in 2024.”

Mark also recently signed a contract with New York Review Books for his revised translation of the Cuban author Virgilio Piñera’s novel René’s Flesh and Cold Tales, a dramatically expanded collection of stories of the same title, originally published in 1987 and based on his 1985 College of Letters thesis!

He adds:

“Inspired by a local resistance gathering, I designed and made a banner with my daughter, my friend Yvon Augustin and his daughter, and with two other friends. [It was designed and] made to activelycounter the forces of fear and hate that have grown so loud recently in our country—especially for people ‘of the global majority’ and other marginalized and oppressed groups. We’ve been holding it over highways in Boston during rush hour and we marched with it in this year’s Boston Pride parade.”

Finally, “While my 15-year-old daughter, Carmel, is hanging out with a bunch of summer camp buddies at a rented house in Cape May, New Jersey—with chaperones!—I will be visiting my dear old friend, Catalina Ríos ’84 in Philly.”

Welcome to 2025, our 40th Reunion year! I hope that you’re planning to come to Middletown in May. Here’s a bunch of good news to whet your reunion appetite:

Marcelo Halpern got married on October 26 to Tamara Chaplin, a professor of modern European history at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Representing the Wesleyan cohort were Jill Hamada and Jonathan Axelrad ’84.  Marcelo’s “kids,” Samantha (28–a cardiothoracic surgery resident at Massachusetts General) and Noah (26–a data scientist for a tech start-up in San Francisco) were there as well. He lives in Chicago, continuing his career as a partner at Perkins Coie LLP, focusing on technology transactions. Marcelo will miss the reunion this year, but before you feel too sorry for him, know that he’ll “be on an extended trip in Europe [taking] a three-month sabbatical from work.” Marcelo would love to hear from anyone in or passing through the Chicago area.

Beth Purnell Gartman will wrap up her 36th year as a school psychologist this summer and will “likely” work in educational consulting next. She recently moved to a new home in Atlanta near Emory, with a pool, great walking trails, and a nature preserve nearby, and a wonderful guest suite—she welcomes Wes visitors! Beth also sings in a community chorus and formed an a cappella group with colleagues who also sang in a cappella groups in college. She adds, “I keep in close touch with Jenny Henkind and Amy Hamburg Shir. We began a tradition of taking a yearly getaway together, which has been a great way to stay connected. Whether we are perusing art at a festival in Louisville, hiking in the woods, or downing oysters on the half shell, we have created memories and a closeness that we all cherish.” Beth also spent time with her children in Italy: “A true highlight … was a day trip from Siena through Tuscany, which included a three-hour meal at Officina della Bistecca in Panzano in Chianti. We not only savored every course but enjoyed the company of diners from all around the world who desired to experience a meal prepared by Dario Cecchini.”

Ken Haim wrote just after landing in Hong Kong to say that he was “devastated by the loss of Bill Queen ’86” and that recognizing how precious our time is “we are traveling more extensively. I am amazed at how much has changed and how much is the same.”

Rob Menard went to the wedding of Ethan Beardsley ’86 in Paris in September, and “to Hanoi for the seventh time to perform craniofacial surgery there as a clinical professor of plastic surgery at Stanford.”

Terry McClenahan’s first grandchild, Arthur, was born in Charlottesville, Virginia, in June 2024! “If he was any cuter it’d be illegal,” he reports. Terry adds, “Daughter, Katie, is a 2L at Georgetown Law, and our son, Rory ’24, graduated in May from Wesleyan (no less). Last summer he was a field organizer for Josh Riley’s successful New York [Congressional District] 19 campaign for the U.S. House. My wife, Kara Kelly, continues to do astounding work in her eighth year as chief of pediatric oncology at two Buffalo hospitals and the medical school. I still work on warehouse and commercial projects with Acquest Design.” It will be no surprise that Terry is rowing “with Buffalo River RC, winning medals at Midwest Sprints and Head of the Welland Regattas.” He also got to race at the Head of the Charles Regatta for “the 14th or 15th time.” Terry also recently heard from another crew buddy, Bill Wasch ’84.

Crystal Turner-Moffatt, an expert in environmental and occupational health and safety in the construction industry, is completing her PhD this spring.

Margaret Bracken Thompson saw Lynn Meade ’86 in Palm Springs during Modernism Week (February 2024) at the convention center there. Margaret report’s that Lynn’s “art is amazing!”

Paul Kusserow’s book, The Coming Healthcare Revolution: 10 Forces That Will Cure America’s Healthcare Crisis, has recently been published. Paul notes that it is “selling well.”

Hilary Jacobs Hendel also has a new book coming out in 2025, Parents Have Feelings, Too. Hilary’s oldest daughter recently got married, and her youngest child became a medical doctor!

I heard from so many classmates in this last call for class notes, so I got that goin’ for me, which is nice!

Marc Stein has been elected the vice president of the Organization of American Historians, on track to serve as president-elect in 2025–26 and president in 2026–27. He recently was interviewed by John Yang ’80 on PBS News Weekend. He writes about his time at Wesleyan in his 2022 book, Queer Public History: Essays on Scholarly Activism (University of California Press), and is currently working on a book about the U.S. Bicentennial, which he hopes to publish before the U.S. Semiquincentennial (which he says he keeps mispronouncing because of the Wesleyan sesquicentennial).

Hillary Jacobs Hendel writes that she continues to be in touch with Wes friends Lucy Lehrer, Tracey and Robert Pruzan, Andy Behrman ’84, John Nathan, and Marc Sholes ’84, and more: “I continue to practice psychotherapy. My book on how to tend to our emotions for improved mental health, It’s Not Always Depression, continues to sell well in the U.S. and abroad. I have new book coming out in 2025 on emotions and parenting. I offer classes and curricula on emotions and house many free resources for those interested in emotional health on my website at hilaryjacobshendel.com. I spend half my time in Connecticut and the other half in NYC. Thought to include a pic of me, Amanda Wolf ’87, my sister, and our children (minus one who lives in Minnesota).”

Although Gary Crump did go to law school, that’s not what brought him to the Supreme Court. Instead, Gary, who teaches social studies in Buffalo, “attended an amazing program at the U.S. Supreme Court with other educators from around the nation. The Supreme Court Summer Institute (SCSI) is a program sponsored by Street Law, Inc. and the Supreme Court Historical Society for teachers to examine and analyze how the court processes cases.”

K.T. Korngold is a doctoral candidate at the University of Wisconsin, River Falls. K.T. expects to defend her dissertation on the presence of agency in infants in the spring of 2025.

You know you lived at 230 Washington Street your freshman year if you get an email that opens, “I was just thinking about ‘Boot House’ the other day.” This one was from Ken Goldschneider:

 “September 15, 2024, marks the 25th anniversary of my founding the Pediatric Pain programs at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital (currently the #1 ranked Children’s Hospital in the country). Over the past 25 years, we have grown to be one of the biggest and most comprehensive pain and palliative care programs in the world for children and young adults. We have provided care to many thousands of pediatric patients, trained numerous practitioners, and published two books and hundreds of scientific articles. We are very excited about and proud of all of it. I have always said that what I have been most proud of in my professional life are the teams that I have assembled, which have been extraordinary and extremely high functioning as well as comprising the most wonderful human beings. I have always considered them an extended family. It has been one of the great privileges in life, because to have teams that work that well together and can remain friends and friendly colleagues for over two decades is not common. The sad part in some ways is that I will be stepping down from my role as director of the Pain Management Center. On the other hand, I have a large number of hobbies to pursue and never seem to have enough time to pursue them to the level I want to do. That’s a privileged thing to say, so I am not complaining. But with the kids grown and launched into their respective lives and careers, the hobbies will become a crucial part of my survival, because if I don’t get out of the house regularly my wife (Jennifer Metters Goldschneider ’84) will probably run me over with a Zamboni.”

Rich Stoller also picked up the retirement theme, writing that he is entering his “final year of gainful employment, as interim associate dean of Penn State’s honors college, after which I will retire to gardening and Facebook rants (not about gardening). I last visited Wesleyan three years ago, and when my daughter (then looking at colleges) pronounced the campus unlovely, I said that it was a protest against injustice in the world. She believed it and to some extent I did too, but it was probably just the construction.”

Finally, I had the good fortune to spend a long weekend in Nags Head, North Carolina, with Hillary Hess and Jolynn Jones (speaking of Boot House!). We had a wonderful time walking on the beach, drinking champagne, and just generally catching up on life, love, and the world.  It was probably more sedate in some ways than our weekends at Wesleyan were, but we probably laughed just as much.

Start thinking about our Reunion in the spring—it’s always so much fun!

Take care, ’85ers,

Caroline

Please write to your class secretary.

Happy New Year, ’85ers!

I’m writing this from my desk in the English department at the University of Maryland. I’m procrastinating on finishing my grading! Anyone who knew me at Wes recalls that I have some next-level procrastination skills. . . .

Speaking of people who knew me at Wes, Hillary Hess and I just had a night out with our husbands (Peter Gimlin and Michael MacDonald, respectively) to see Velocity Girl at the Black Cat in D.C. A super fun evening!

John P. H. Vigman wrote that he’s still in Japan, having worked for Veolia for “well over a decade, going from head of legal to [the] VP of Business Development Major Projects for Japan and India,” adding that he’ll be in Tokyo for another couple of years, so “if anyone is in the area, look [him] up.”

I also heard from Bradley Solomon who has retired from the California Attorney General’s Office and is now a different kind of counselor: “I’ve . . . started a new career as a private college counselor, helping students and families apply to college.” We can check out his new venture, Solomon College Advising, online.

Ben Wenograd ’85.5 was selected deputy mayor of West Hartford, Connecticut, in the November 2023 election. He previously served on the town council for eight years. His service has focused on affordable housing.

If you don’t want to email when I send out my quarterly appeals for class notes, you can send me your news anytime via FaceBook or Instagram. Wishing yours peace and health.

Hello, Class of ’85!

I hope you had wonderful summers. I’m guessing you were busy because I only heard from THREE of you.

One was Dave Pontrelli who joked that rather than “exhorting” you to write in, perhaps I should extort you! He might be onto something. . . .

I also heard from Rich Stoller. Rich is on the faculty at Penn State, in the Latin American Studies Program. He wrote: “I hope to retire next year from academic administration (not as glamorous as it sounds, and it doesn’t even sound glamorous), to devote myself to gardening, travel, and indecorous social media posts. We toured the Wesleyan campus with my then-high school student two summers ago and she asked why there weren’t any flowers on campus. I told her the students wouldn’t permit it as long as there was any suffering in the world, and at least for a moment she believed me, so Wes’s reputation remains intact although I *would* like to know why there are no flowers on campus.”

Lee McIntyre ’84 reported the sad news of Jonathan Haber’s passing in 2022. Remembrances can be read here:

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/bostonglobe/name/jonathan-haber-obituary?id=34816401

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2022-05-15-remembering-jonathan-haber-who-taught-so-many-to-think-critically

I hope to hear from more of you next time!

Hello, ’85ers! I had the good fortune to visit campus at the end of January to take part in a very fun mentoring workshop with current women athletes. The more Wes changes, the more it stays the same. I’ve reached that stage of my life where I visit places and say, “That used to be . . . .”  I found myself repeatedly noting, “That used to be a package store!,” which I thought was pretty funny.

I heard from Tim Clark that he, Larry Attia, and Steve Pace ’84 have continued their now 38-year-old tradition of watching a Mets road series together each year. “This year we will be traveling to Camden Yards for a Mets-Orioles set. We also upped the boys of summer ante a bit during the pandemic, with a weekly call on all things Mets and life (quite amazing how some codgers can talk about baseball passionately for an hour even in the off-season during the dead of winter). Two other happy items to report: my daughter Kyra ’23 will be graduating from Wes this coming spring; and I ran my first marathon in the fall (Marine Corp with a sub-4 finish).”

Stephen Schwartz writes that he returned last year to the U.S. after living and working overseas in Asia since 2004. He moved to Indonesia in 2004 as the IMF’s senior representative in Indonesia. In 2008 he left the IMF and moved to Hong Kong where he worked in a variety of banking and economics research positions, most recently with Fitch Ratings. Stephen now lives with his partner Jennifer in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, where he has been enjoying hiking in the summer and cross-country skiing in the winter. He enjoys the relative peace and quiet after many years of living in the hustle and bustle of Asian cities.

Ellen Campbell is also planning a move to New England: “After a little more than 20 years in Tucson, my husband and I are putting our house on the market and ‘downsizing’ to Vermont. For the past few summers, we’ve been fixing up an old house adjacent to where I grew up . . . it will be our home base moving forward. It’s bittersweet leaving the Desert Southwest, such a lovely place! But new adventures lie ahead. I’ll have lots of barn space for a ceramic/painting studio in Vermont, and will continue teaching yoga classes in person and on Zoom. Winters? We may escape the Northeast (I’m a wimp!) . . . to be continued! Wishing everyone the best as we are so fortunate to be embarking on a new and exciting decade. How did that happen?!!” You can see some of Ellen’s work at www.ellencampbellart.com.

And, finally, it wouldn’t be the class notes without a cryptic yet lyrical note from Christopher Kylin: “Still conspiring to overawe reality with subtle genius and struggling against the bindings of inertia and ennui. In two years, I’ll be celebrated or dead.”

Let us all hope for the former rather than the latter. Take care, my friends, and keep in touch.

Please write to your class secretary.

Please write to your class secretary.