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YALE62.ORG 50th REUNION SPECIAL EDITION!
ENRICHING
More than 300 classmates, plus spouses and friends for a total attendance of 567, made it to our 50th reunion. This special edition of Yale62.org, for both attendees and those who couldn't make it, tries to capture the stimulating public events, and to convey some sense of the private reconnecting and discovering that produced a glow of unforced fellowship. (For names of attendees, click here.) Afterward came stories of continuing contacts, and a chorus of wistful comments like "I wish I'd had time to catch up with even more people" and "Gee. I wish I'd known him better when I was at Yale." Stay tuned for possible mini-reunions. To find items of particular interest to you, see the table of contents to the left. You can find more details on many events by following links in individual items, including the survey and expanded accounts of the global warming session, a topic much in the news since reunion and the national emergence of Paul Ryan, a skeptic. All the reunion photos we have so far are here; send more to our webmaster. For a second chance to order reunion gear, click here. To make overall comments on the reunion or this site, click here, or contact any of us:
A WELCOME FROM OUR CHAIRMAN
"GREAT CELEBRATION," REUNION CHAIRMAN SAYS. "The goal of our reunion as I saw it was to foster a gathering of classmates who could interact with old friends, make new friends, and share, as they wished, life's experiences 50 years on. I tried to offer the greatest variety of activities and attractions in order to lure the largest numbers, in a friendly, warm, relaxed and non-competitive setting where people could have an enjoyable time. I think we achieved this. "We had special guests: Yale's investment guru David Swensen, hockey coach Keith Allain, football coach Tony Reno, and swim coach Tim Wise. President and Mrs. Levin joined us during the cocktail hour Saturday evening. We had a super reception on the new Susman Floor at the Yale Art Gallery. "But best of all, it was our classmates who delivered remarkable and memorable lectures, panels, presentations, performances, exhibitions and events. And we had time to talk, reminisce and compare notes on our lives. Attendees included two widows: Lee Radsch (Dick's widow) and Patrice Bell (Jim's). A great celebration. "No wrap-up can be complete without thanks to all the dedicated and talented volunteers in our class who expertly planned and carried out their presentations and helped with a myriad of other chores leading up to it. The most complete list I can come up with is here; apologies if I have overlooked anyone." — Bob Oliver
BIG, BIG GREEN FOR BLUE
Some of the funds came in on a gust of enthusiasm after the reunion. A challenge from an anonymous Midwestern classmate who later identified himself as Clark Winslow set a new, all-time, 50th reunion record for the portion raised for the Alumni Fund. Our $1.063 million surpassed the $1.022 million set by our friends in the Class of 1959, and the $1.042 million raised by the Class of 1985 in their 25th Reunion. THURSDAY, MAY 31, 2012 OTHER GREENS
SIGNS OF A CHANGED YALE
A MASTER'S CLASS IN MONEY
Success indexes. Predicting the "inevitable" breakup of the Euro and more growth for China, and outlining the 15 percent of Yale's portfolio invested in natural resources like timber and gas, Yale's Chief Investment Officer Dave Swenson started formal reunion events with a private seminar for the class. Even the many sophisticated money managers in the audience, he said, probably do not have the access or research to manage many of the strategies he uses, so for most of us his recommendation was index funds. FINANCIAL FIXES... BUT LIKELY TO BE LONG TERM The Global Financial Crisis of 2008/9 - and glimmers of hope for preventing a repeat - drove a lively discussion an hour later chaired by venture capitalist Ed Goodman. Comments came from stars in related fields: Oxford University economics professor and Rhodes Scholar Richard Portes; economist, entrepreneur and investor Robert Rosenkranz; trial lawyer and senior partner of his eponymous firm, Steve Susman; economist, University of Chicago professor emeritus, and prolific academic author and consultant Roman Weil; and the retired former CEO of the Nuveen mutual funds group, Robert Bremner. They found Obama's crisis moves "superb," disagreed on whether Wall Street avarice is worse than ever (but maybe more scary), and backed reforms ranging from a restored Volcker rule to regulating derivatives. Not surprisingly, Ed says no one in the audience fell asleep. Click here for his report. URBAN FIXES? NEW HAVEN
Changing cities. The dim view of New Haven we had 50 years ago has yielded to interest, especially when urban planner Alex Garvin is talking. His oversubscribed walking tour morphed into a presentation that walked more than 50 of us through the early days of slum clearance to the contemporary successes of Wooster Square, the Elm Haven neighborhood, and Yale's new West Campus. Downtown remains problematic, but immigration may be the "savior," Garvin said; cities "attract immigrants and make them do well." Yale62.org hopes to have an expanded version of Alex's paper one day, after he publishes his scheduled next two books. The heart of the reunion... is getting together on campus and in reunion headquarters. A complete archive of all the photos we have gotten from our marvelous corps of volunteer photographers is here. |
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