Fall 2002

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Contents

Features

Observations

Letters

On campus

Faculty focus

Books

Sports

Arts on view

Alumni affairs
and development

Class notes

’70

Barbara Crossman Bell
bici@suite101.com

After a long and tiring spring of ill health culminating in a quadruple heart bypass in May, I have recovered completely and have only scars to remind me of the experience. My husband and I celebrated my recovery, his birthday, and our anniversary with a cruise to the Caribbean in August. To top it off, we’ve adopted a seven-month-old Brussels griffon named Macarthur—we feel like new parents!

Carolyn Schatz left a 20-year career in television to become editor of the Harvard Women’s Health Watch, a monthly newsletter with a circulation of about 230,000. She is adjusting to a daily two-hour commute and muses, “I told myself this is the last time I’m going to learn a whole set of new tricks, but I say that all the time and do it anyway.” Husband Jack LeMenager is doing well as a freelance business communications consultant. Carolyn notes that he also excels at “handling offspring drop-offs and pick-ups at school and music, art, and tennis lessons.” Son Lucien, 11, entered McCall Middle School in Winchester, MA, this fall, where class president Beverly Armsden Daniel teaches English. Son Sebastien ’06 is at Skidmore. “We look forward to visiting old haunts as well as finding new ones in Saratoga—and we’re happy for Sebastien, too!”

Carolyn often sees Cambridge, MA, resident Betty Gelburd Gass, who stays in touch with Sherry Locke, director of marketing for a Minneapolis medical firm, and Nancy Ehmann Aronzon, an academic advisor at Marist College. Betty and Carolyn had lunch recently with Jill Lord Eaton ’71, who has a thriving children’s knitwear business in Portland, ME, and has authored several knitting books.

Bev Armsden Daniel finished her first year teaching in England and confesses that she “loves it.” Oldest daughter Julia graduated in May from New College in Sarasota, FL, and is now organizing farm workers there. Audrey ’03 is in Saratoga, and son Ben is still in high school. Husband Warren’s architecture firm continues to thrive in designing golf clubhouses—due, says Bev, to the number of “aging baby boomers switching from running to golf.”

Margery Mellman is one of the 750 artists in the Drawing Center’s 25th Anniversary Benefits Selections Exhibition, which runs through October 26 at the center’s 35 Wooster Street Gallery in NYC.

Congratulations to Hansell Patterson and partner Ruby Packard, who adopted son Samuel last year!

Our condolences to Christine Waterbury Dearnaley, who lost husband Peter last year. Christine credits sons John, 22, and Steve, 19, for “providing wonderful support.” John is a senior engineering major at nearby Drexel University; Steve is a freshman business major there.

’71

Lise Bang-Jensen
scallions@aol.com

’72

Nancy McNiff
nmcniff@aol.com

Those of you who attended Reunion know what a great time it was. For those of you who did not, you missed an opportunity to renew friendships, spend time with classmates whom you did not know well during the Skidmore years, and see a campus that continues to grow and to mature beautifully.

Mary Ferriter Gonzalez, along with the entire reunion committee, did an incredible job putting together a weekend for all to remember. In fact, Mary did her job so well that she was elected our new class president!

Susan Opie Smeragliuolo, traveling with her daughter during Reunion, was sorry to have missed it. A social worker, she moved back into a community-based job this past spring and continues “slowly renovating” a home on a river south of Baltimore with husband Dan, who “keeps her sane.” Their oldest child, Jessie, lives and works in NYC, son Sam is a junior at Colby, and daughter Abby began a master’s program at the University of Virginia this fall.

Pat Lawrence Bucher, who has been presenting local and national workshops on teaching math to diverse learners in secondary schools, was keynote speaker for the National Security Agency’s Summer Institute for Secondary Mathematics Education. Our sympathy goes out to Pat, whose mother, Margaret “Peg” Mackey Lawrence, passed away in July.

’73

Reunion ’03!

Elizabeth Raff Nace
tnace@adelphia.net

Honorary alumna Anne Palamountain, former Skidmore first lady, attended the wedding of Bonnie Eissner, daughter of Bruce and Judith Pick Eissner ’64, in Marblehead, MA. Anne reports that the celebration was “truly magical.”

’74

Beth Chiquoine
chiqmore@nycap.rr.com

Nancy Booth McLean earned her master of arts in public history in May. It is her third master’s, making her a confirmed professional student!

During a trip to Scottsdale, AZ, in April, Emily Pavlovic Chiles arranged to celebrate her husband’s birthday with Judy Joseph ’74 and her husband, Steve. After discovering the coincidence that their husbands shared the same birthday (although different years), Emily announced that she was turning 50 this year, astonishing Judy, who would also turn 50 the exact same day! A joint celebration was held.

Barbara Drozdowski Galbraith celebrated many events in 2002 in Omaha, NE—the big 50, her 26th anniversary with husband Dennis, her son Alex’s 10th birthday, 19 years with Schering-Plough, currently as a production planner for animal vaccines, and a cruise from Puerto Rico to the Virgin Islands. She would love to hear from classmates at bdgal1@cox.net.

When Karen Elkind-Hirsch perused 1974’s class notes in the last Scope, she realized she might be the youngest classmate. Of course, back in our college days she didn’t brag about being two years younger than everyone else, but she just celebrated her 48th birthday in April. Karen’s son Jordan is in business school at the University of Texas in Austin; son David is a high-school junior embarking on the college tour circuit. Husband Gary is a gastroenterologist in private practice. Karen is a reproductive endocrinologist with a joint appointment as the research director of reproductive medicine for the Women’s Health Research Institute and associate professor at Louisiana State’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge.

For 16 years Nancy Watkins Lanzoni has been working for ABN AMRO Bank in NYC, where she’s a group VP managing the lending portfolio for overseas multinationals with subsidiaries in the U.S. During her rail commute home to Old Greenwich, CT, where Claire Simonelli lives around the corner, Nancy naps in preparation for meeting her 8-year-old twins, Ben and Will, who, she says, are “like little Energizer bunnies!”

’75

Noreen P. Reilly
reilly@netway.com

Michael Moss and wife M’lissa are busy with family life. Children Adam, 12, and Chelsea, 9, are attending the Waldorf School of Baltimore, where they both gravitate toward arts and music. Cautions Michael, “Get ready, Skidmore!”

Marcia McFarland-Gray earned an M.S.W. from Columbia University and worked for eight years on the north shore of Boston, developing community-based programs to assist elders in remaining independent. Switching careers in the mid-1980s, she joined Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts, where she earned membership in the President’s Club for sales excellence. An active community volunteer, Marcia has founded several youth service-learning programs, garnering a citation from Governor Jane Swift as Point of Light of the Month last August. On July 29, she was named the Daily National Point of Light, receiving congratulatory letters from both current and former Presidents Bush (www.pointsoflight.org). Marcia lives in Clarksburg, MA, with husband Gary and son Steven, 13.

I took a few road trips this summer with daughter Niamh, 4. We visited Barbara Shirey Fernald, her gem of a husband, Bruce (who makes a mean shoofly pie and apple pan dowdy), and 19-year-old twins Fritz and Robin (whom I last laid eyes on at 6 months)—currently students at Wheaton and Goucher, respectively. Niamh and I then traveled to Little Cranberry Island in Maine to see Susie “Cream Cheese” Thompson McNamee and son Simon, 12.

’76

Ingeborg Hegemann Clark
iehegemann@aol.com

Holly Leather Kelsey had fun skiing out west in Snowman, CO, with children PJ, 15, Tommy, 12, Charlotte, 11, and Bobby, 8, as well as Robin Maley, Charlotte’s godmother.

Matt Rosen and family are relocating to Columbus, Ohio. He’ll be general manager at THK Manufacturing of America in Hebron. Matt has 17 years of experience with Fujitec and Mitsubishi; THK will be his third Japanese company. “I guess it’s my niche,” he says.

’77

Constance Martin
conniegmartin@yahoo.com

At his 25th reunion, dance historian Robert Tracy gave a talk about the Alvin Ailey Concert Dancers, the subject of his latest book project, and also interviewed some José Limón dancers in residency at Skidmore. Robert’s class gift was a group of 82 photos for the Skidmore Dance Collection that he started shooting during his senior year and to which he has added over the years. (Several of the photos, documenting a Skidmore January-term ballet workshop by Melissa Hayden in 1976, were shot by the son of Berry Delahanty Richardson ’45.)

’78

Reunion ’03!

Barbara Balaguer Blundell
b_blundell@msn.com

Mickey Ravin offers this tribute to a lost classmate: “Last July, I had the very unfortunate duty of tending to the funeral arrangements for Eugene Pietroluongo. Al Bouknight and Marc Chusid were among those who paid their respects. Eugene was an assistant prosecutor at the time he tragically died. I miss him so. Months later, with Eugene undoubtedly smiling down upon me, I was appointed a superior court judge. I presently preside over criminal jury trials in Essex County, NJ. Yet my wife, Paula, has the more difficult role as homemaker for me and our energetic children, Ian, 8, and Dominique, 5. I noted with regret the passing of Prof. Irwin Levine; Eugene always spoke of him with veneration. I extend my best wishes to Profs. Jim Kiehl and Stuart Witt upon their retirement. The time I spent as a student in their classes was some of the most constructive, productive time I have spent in any endeavor.”

Sarah Ann Michels married Donald Sigmund in October 2001. The couple lives in Georgetown, DC, with Sarah’s children Haley, 15, and Harlan, 13. In May, Sarah spent time with freshman roommate Liz Olcott Towne, who lives in Kennebunkport, ME, with her three daughters.

’79

Kim West
kdw@caltech.edu