Class Notes, May/June 2022
By John M. PinneySpring is definitely on the way: despite a cold front arriving as I write, an osprey has returned to the nest just off our property. Whether it’s the same family as last year is hard to tell, but ospreys are the official harbingers of spring here on the Chesapeake Bay. I take it as a sign of hope for the remainder of 2022. And speaking of hope, Bob Leich and Chris Kinney have begun planning for our annual class dinner, live in New York on Friday night, October 28. Stay tuned for details.
The ’65 Zoom team delivered two more excellent programs in February and March. The February 16 program featured classmate Fred Roberts presenting “Giving Students Around the World a Voice Through Photography,” an update on his ten-year effort to teach photography to young students. Carl Farrington and photographer Ni Rong (wife of classmate Dorsey Gardner) moderated the Q and A portion. Fred indicated he was working to transition the program to Yale, and followed up with an announcement on March 1 which included the following: “While our track record is impressive, we are really a large prototype. We need a larger host in order to evolve. In addition, despite the visible impact we have had on our students, we only have anecdotal evidence of the program’s success. The path for our future seems clear. To that end, I am pleased to announce that, going forward, these workshops will become a part of the Yale School of Art. Given all that you know about our program, I think you will agree that this is the perfect outcome. This combination gives us far more than permanence, while providing the students and faculty of YSA with yet another creative and enriching experience.”
On March 16, the program could not have been timelier: “Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine: What it Means for the Future of Democracy”—a wide-ranging discussion of the potential near- and longer-term implications of the Russian invasion featuring Larry Diamond, a global thought leader and authority on democracy, senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, and the Mosbacher Senior Fellow in Global Democracy at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University. He was joined by our classmate Carl Gershman, who retired in 2021 after 37 years as the founding president of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) where he oversaw the NED’s grants programs in Ukraine and over 100 other countries around the world, including Russia and China, as well as the creation of the Journal of Democracy, the World Movement for Democracy, and other activities aimed at fostering democracy around the world. The session was moderated by Shaun Byrnes, who served 30 years in the foreign service, primarily in Eastern Europe. He served in Moscow during Perestroika, was on the team that opened the US embassy in Kyiv, and led the US mission in Kosovo during the insurgency. Shaun was joined by Chris Murck, who worked as a banker, consultant, and president of the American Chamber of Commerce in China during his 17 years as a resident in Beijing.
Both sessions were recorded and can be viewed on our class website. The Zoom team of Roscoe, Hammond, and Mack will continue their winning streak for the foreseeable future.
Brief notes: David Roscoe reported interest in our Zoom program: “I spent time with Y’60 who heard about what we’re doing and are eager to clone us. Sent them samples of all our materials, scheduling criteria, balancing classmates and faculty, recruiting classmates as moderators, etc. They’re off and running!” Tim Merrill has been in touch with Peter Cummings who is still living in Santa Fe doing well and creating fine art. As he reported in the 55th reunion class book, Peter discovered he has some Apache blood and has added a new middle name: Peter Nighthorse Cummings. This news from Charlie Harte: “I’m forced to report on my recent visit to Costa Rica, where I planned to destroy our classmate (my roommate) John Ordman, who lives there. This trip was for golf goofing off and several days to see the country. I’m ashamed to confess John sandbagged me into a ridiculous handicap and crushed me in all three of our matches.”
We have lost five classmates in recent months. Ken O’Sullivan sent me the obituary for our classmate Richard (Dick) Foster, who died on February 18. David Roscoe reported the loss of his roommate, Dick Hoyt, also on February 18. David Ralph and Tony Lavely ’64 alerted me that Matthew (Andy) Baxter died on February 21. Andy began with ’64 and graduated with our class. We also lost Tim Carnes in February and Chris Moore on March 1. Please visit the class website to read their obituaries and post remembrances.