The Office of Alumni Relations is pleased to offer many ways for alumni to stay in touch with each other, and with Colgate! E-mail me with questions or concerns at tmansfield@colgate.edu. — Tim Mansfield, associate vice president, institutional advancement and alumni relations Questions? Contact alumni relations: 315-228-7433 or alumni@colgate.edu
2015 Alumni Council Election
The Nominations Committee of the Alumni Council has selected the slate of alumni for election at Reunion 2015. The candidates, chosen from approximately 300 nominees, have strong records of varied Colgate volunteer service, a consistent history of giving financial support to Colgate, and meaningful personal or professional accomplishments or contributions to the greater community.
You can find complete information about the election and challenge petition process, as well as full biographies of the nominees, at colgate.edu/2015candidates. Paper copies are available by calling 315-228-7433, or by sending an e-mail to alumni@colgate.edu.
9/11 Memorial tour
“Having been in New York City on Sept. 11, 2001, I thought I had no need to be reminded of that horrible day by a museum,” said Allison Rosen ’82. “I was wrong.”
Rosen was one of many alumni in the Club of New York City who experienced the new National September 11 Memorial Museum together in November. Inside, they toured multiple exhibitions that tell the complex story of the rise and fall of the World Trade Center — and pay tribute to the nearly 3,000 people who died in the attacks of 1993 and 2001 (seven of whom were Colgate alumni).
“The museum is powerful and overwhelming,” Rosen said. “If you can, go.”
At the 9/11 Memorial Museum, a retaining wall of the original World Trade Center serves as a backdrop to the “Last Column,” which is covered with mementos, memorial inscriptions, and missing posters. (Photo by Jin Lee)
Presidents’ Club celebrates 50th in D.C.
The Presidents’ Club launched its yearlong 50th anniversary celebration Homecoming Weekend, and the commemoration continued in November, when members in the Washington, D.C., area gathered at the United States Institute for Peace.
Together, they honored five decades of tradition, leadership, and impact — and had the chance to hear from Sarah Deasy ’13, a former member of the NIH Study Group who is conducting breast cancer research as a postdoctoral fellow at the National Cancer Institute. “The generosity of the Colgate community has given so many students access to experiences that have shaped them personally and professionally, and allowed them to cultivate a desire to be part of something bigger than themselves,” Deasy told the crowd. “That type of learning begins on campus, but extends to the rest of our lives.
“I hope that one day these opportunities will be open to any student, and the price tag that I worried about as I submitted my application back in 2008 will no longer have to be a concern. Now wouldn’t that be cool?”
Since its founding in 1964, the Presidents’ Club has grown its membership from 93 individuals to more than 3,600 alumni, parents, students, and friends — together, they have raised more than half a billion dollars throughout the decades. As hundreds of recent grads join the ranks, members also give their time, networking with students, providing advice, and offering internship opportunities.
Hitting the Oregon Trail
I am still energized from my recent visit to Portland, Ore., with Steve Dickinson ’13, sustainability office program assistant, and Katie Williams ’15. We were in town for the annual higher education sustainability conference, AASHE 2014, where Katie and I presented on Colgate’s campus master plan and our institutional commitment to carbon neutrality by 2019. (More at colgate.edu/sustainability.)
At the conference, we connected with other Colgate graduates who are doing incredible work in the field of sustainability: Lisa Cleckner ’86, director of the Finger Lakes Institute at Hobart and William Smith Colleges; Caitlin Steele ’01, director of sustainability and energy at San Francisco State University; Jessica Prata ’01, assistant vice president of environmental stewardship at Columbia University; and Adam Costello ’10, sustainability fellow to the SUNY Office of Sustainability and Research Foundation.
Afterward, we met with the Club of Portland in a cozy downtown restaurant. A huge thank you to Richard Beck ’71 and Ginny Haines ’72 for all their work organizing the group. Of course, we discussed my favorite topic — sustainability! But I also heard fascinating personal stories of roads traveled since Colgate, including Richard’s impassioned work on the West Coast Electric Highway, a network of electric vehicle charging stations that run from Washington State to California.
I returned from Portland feeling motivated and privileged that I have the opportunity to collaborate with so many incredible Colgate alumni. Thank you to Laura Masse and Tim McEvoy ’13, assistant directors of alumni relations, for making this trip possible.
–John Pumilio, director of sustainability
Steve Dickinson ’13 and Katie Williams ’15 check in at the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education conference in Portland, Ore.
Alumni enjoy Snow in May
Author Kseniya Melnik ’04
On October 19, Kseniya Melnik ’04 visited Common Good Books in St. Paul, Minn., to read from her new book Snow in May, a series of fictional stories about life in her native Magadan, Russia. The Club of the Twin Cities, organized by club president and classmate Jeremy Striffler ’04, gave Melnik a warm welcome at the bookstore owned by Garrison Keillor.
Snow in May was released to rave reviews this year and appeared on the short list for the 2014 Dylan Thomas Award alongside books by Joshua Ferris and Eleanor Catton. To read more about Melnik’s premiere work, check out the Autumn 2014 Scene feature “You are Here.” To hear Melnik’s NPR Weekend Edition interview, visit kseniyamelnik.com.
Entrepreneur Network starts up Dallas panel conversation
Think of it as the domino effect of alumni club events. The Club of Dallas president, Devon Skerritt ’00, was sitting with Matt Himmelfarb ’02, Aaron Terwey ’06, and Robert Johnson ’94 at a Colgate Day happy hour last summer, mulling over ways to introduce his fellow Texan Raiders to the power of Colgate’s new professional networks. He looked around the table and made an important connection.
Himmelfarb, Terwey, and Johnson each operate within the burgeoning Dallas start-up ecosystem — a perfect trio for an Entrepreneurship Professional Network panel. So, on November 10, the event was held at the Dallas Chamber of Commerce. Another area business creator, Paula Andrea Gean, joined the lineup, and the conversation was moderated by Trey Bowles, a chair of Startup America Partnership: Texas.
Nearly three dozen alumni and parents, as well as local admissions counselors and entrepreneurs, attended the panel discussion after a networking reception and opening remarks by President Jeffrey Herbst.
“It is a Dallas coming-out party for Colgate and its role in the emergent and transformative entrepreneurial sector,” Skerritt told the audience. “This is a sector that is shaping and reshaping industries and locales across this country, from central New York to North Texas.” Read more about Colgate’s eight professional networks at colgate.edu/networks, and watch colgate.edu/alumni for events in your area.
Advent of the Atomic Bomb: a fusion of teaching and technology
Professor Karen Harpp met with members of the Chenango Valley Club on November 11 to talk about her plans to reprise her legendary Advent of the Atomic Bomb course. The legend grew last year when Harpp invited alumni to join the class from the comfort of their homes via ColgateX, the web-based teaching platform created through a partnership with EdX.
During the spring 2015 semester, Harpp is once again capturing the attention and imagination of alumni, parents, and students alike with dynamic conversations, hydrogen fireballs, and perhaps even another Twitter play — with students taking on the principal personas at the heart of the Manhattan Project.
“The experience of actually sitting in the classes with students was especially rewarding,” said spring 2014 class member Art Steneri ’56. “It’s another way to be involved with Colgate on a number of different levels — online class discussions, contributing to thoughts about the course content, getting to work on a particular project. It can make you young again!”
Learn how you can take a seat in the class at colgate.edu/atomic.
