 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||
|
CLASS NOTES
Everett
Weinberger The alumni office sent me a clipping from the New York Daily News that reported that NBC White House correspondent Claire Shipman broke the Joe Lieberman-VP-candidate news story on the Today Show (by the time you read this, he either will be VP-elect or a historical footnote). Claire got the story confirmed at 4:30 a.m., just hours after Gore made his decision. Warwick Daw received a Ph.D. in Math from UCLA and has been doing research in statistical genetics (a great conversation stopper at parties). He develops and implements mathematical and statistical methods to locate human disease genes. He's been at Washington University in St. Louis, the University of Washington in Seattle and now the University of Texas's M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, where he's an assistant professor in the department of epidemiology. Warwick has been married for 11 years to Christina Marie Nunez and they have two kids, Brennan (8) and Marguerite (6). Another first-timer in the column, Joe Rio, wrote that after Columbia, he studied law at Georgetown and then set roots in Washington D.C. Following stints in publishing and at the World Bank, Joe is currently business manager for Latin America and the Caribbean region at Chemonics International, a development consulting firm. Joe also specializes in legal reform projects. Since 1999, Joe has helped to rebuild the division's project portfolio with wins in Peru, Colombia, Guyana, Honduras and Nicaragua. When not traveling to Latin America, Joe can be found on the circuit between Santo Domingo, the south of France and the South Bronx. Dr. Kenneth Iczkowski moved back into academic medicine this past summer, accepting a tenure track position as assistant professor of pathology at the University of Florida in Gainesville. His running total of papers written stands (for the moment) at 36. You asked for it - you got it! Here's the third installment of the List, those who have been too modest to give us news about their progress since graduation: Ira Pataki, William Zuckerman, Jonathan Socolow, Enrique Sanchez, Lenel Hickson, Ken Kitatani, Paul Bacanovic, Colin Crean and Denis Fitzgibbons, plus Naftali Bendavid-Val '85. Feel free to write in if you know of their comings/goings (as well as those on the prior Lists). And just in case you don't think anyone responds to the List, we heard from Greg McNulty, now working as a computer programmer for ColabNet, an information technology services company. Previously, he was a JAVA programmer with Alphanumerica. He received a master's in computer science at NYU and lives in Battery Park City. Finally, I'm sure you were all as surprised as I to read the reminder cards telling us it will be 15 years this spring since we graduated. Hope to see all of you this spring, baby carriages, expanding waistlines, receding hairlines, and all!
Robert V. Wolf I've had the good fortune of recently re-connecting with a friend from Columbia, Irene Tucker. We had dinner in Washington D.C. over the summer - just in time for me to pick up some important news for this column: Irene's first book, A Probable State: The Novel, the Contract and the Jews, is due out November 2000 from the University of Chicago Press. The book is about the relationships of liberalism, nationalism and the novel, and it's based on her dissertation from Berkeley. After being an assistant professor at Duke in the English department for two years (1997-99), Irene has been at Johns Hopkins since September 1999 as an assistant professor of English. "I really like Hopkins because there is a very active departmental, intellectual culture," Irene says. "There are talks every week and everyone always gets together to talk about ideas, which is sort of unusual." Jon Klavens and his wife, Margie Boone, welcomed to the world their second son, Noah Boone Klavens, in April. Noah's a cutie - and a good travel companion. (I know this from personal experience, after Jon's family and my family rented a house in Maine together for a week in July.) Cathy Webster, who now works as the sophomore class dean at Barnard, and her husband, Bill Dycus, celebrated the birth of their daughter, Meredith Webster Dycus, May 26. She was four weeks early, but weighed in at a healthy 7 pounds, 2 ounces. Paul Schimek has accepted a new job as a data mining consultant with Vignette, an e-commerce software company. "I had been working as a researcher for the U.S. Department of Transportation in Cambridge, Mass.," Paul writes. "I completed a Ph.D. in urban planning at MIT in 1997. I'm also president-elect of the Massachusetts Bicycle Coalition and an Effective Cycling Instructor. I will be taking two weeks in France between jobs, including some cycling in Provence." Ralph Falzone was married April 15. In attendance at the wedding were classmates Chang Lim and Joy Phanumas. Anitha (Jayakumar) Patel has recently started her own ophthalmology practice in Connecticut. Anitha earned her medical degree at Cornell, where she met her husband, Prakash, and did her residency at Penn. Anitha's husband has since left medicine and is now vice president of Internet Healthcare Group. Shelly Friedland, an associate in the litigation department at Kronish, Lieb, Weiner and Hellman in New York City, married Michael Zorek in September.
George
Gianfrancisco I am pleased to report that the popularity of this column, as indicated by direct relation to the amount of letters that I receive, is once again healthy. Not pre-1986-keg-on-the-steps healthy, but healthy nonetheless. This summer has been unique for classmates Andrew Marlowe and Jessica Bendinger. The two screenwriters both saw their films released in movie houses. Former Light Blue fencer Marlowe continued his string of big-budget films with Hollow Man, updating the Invisible Man story. Surely some of Andrew's inspiration for the lead character must have been drawn from his freshman year suitemate on 4 Carman: the illustrious Matt Sodl. Jessica Bendinger wrote the wry cheerleader comedy Bring It On that took the summer box office by storm. Funny, I don't seem to recall Jessica being one of the Lion rah-rahs. Sodl, by the way, just celebrated his daughter's first birthday. Among those on hand for the festivities were Ed Cespedes and his wife. Claudia Kraut Rimerman is expecting her second child in November and ran into Rennie Brodeur, who is working as editor-in-chief of Zoetrope in N.Y.C. Former hooper Steve Stastny wrote from Birmingham to announce his marriage (written up in the 'Bama society pages, I might add). Of course, John Collins was there as one of the groomsmen. Stas is still lawyering, doing management-side labor, which he tells me means he "scoops the same poop" as Mike Bissinger. Thankfully, one of them is in Alabama and the other in Jersey. I don't even want to think of the poop that Biss might scoop, especially when he goes on his annual fishing trip with Mike Lavelle, who with his family moved to Columbus, Ohio, from Arizona. That only means that the boats docked on Lake Erie are no longer safe overnight. I also received a great letter from Chris Dunlavey, who sat through Alice Harris's French class right alongside myself and a group of relative nonconformists. Chris lives in Great Falls, Va. with his wife of seven years, Janet, and their daughter, Taryn. An architect by training, he is currently president of a sports facility development and management firm. His projects have ranged from stadiums for the Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns to the Cincinnati Reds and Bengals. From his letter, I can tell that he is enjoying his life and career and wants everyone to know that if you're passing through D.C., just give him a call at (202) 289-4455. Finally, I must thank everyone for your letters, especially those who have taken the time to thank me for this column. Over the past 12 years, I've tried to service our class as best as possible while pontificating as little as possible. Hopefully, everyone gets a little smile when they catch up. To our benefit, a number of 1987 graduates have asked to be mentioned herein: I'm going to try to accommodate them as best as possible without treating them like the second class citizens that they are. Tom Johnston '87 still walks, talks and climbs the walls. Joe DeGaetano '87 lives in California and builds commercial real estate. Gary Rempe '87 is doing an Internet start-up in Santa Fe and wants Nick Leone to give him a ring. Chris Riga '87 is a Green Beret in Africa. Larry Alletto '87 is a big shot investment banker. Petey Von [Schoenermark] says hello. Carlo Bruno GS'87 is a massage therapist in Calif. Joe Policastro '87 retired from coaching football. And has anyone heard from Carl Pellini since he left CU in '86?
Amy Perkel When the Labor Day weekend lake house excursion was first billed, there was no mention of correctional facilities of any type, let alone a "maximum security institution for approximately 800 convicted felons." Hence, upon reviewing the very detailed directions from the Paducah, Ky., airport to Todd Thomason's lake house in Eddyville, a number of us were surprised to learn of the close proximity to just such an institution. While his mother provides her weekend houseguests with an alternate set of directions, Todd recommends visitors follow the "very well-marked" signs to the Kentucky State Penitentiary. He assured us-Matt Assiff, Lisa Landau, Jason Au '90, and myself-that being less than a mile away is a good thing. Assuming a breakout-which has not occurred in more than 16 years-those taking flight would aim to get as far away as possible as soon as possible. Or so Todd's real estate agent would have him believe. As prepared as we thought we were, the facility was daunting. We crept along the winding road. Around the bend, large and imposing, illuminated by floodlights in the black, black night, there she was. A gothic architecture-somewhat similar to the Princeton campus, as Todd notes-met us, flanked by a tall, cold, metallic water tower. Like roadkill, we could not take our eyes off her. That said, we had a great weekend recreating and chillin' in the house; boating on the lake; fishing, tubing and skiing; eating RudyBurgers, an Eddyville specialty; picnicking with the neighbors (not the inmates); and holding precious Caroline, Todd and Allison's newborn daughter. Todd spent much time chatting up the neighbors-indeed, it appears as if he is fixing to get involved in local politics-though, we believe we were successful in redirecting his civic-minded interests. The real power in town, we pointed out, resides in one position-not that of mayor, but warden. Todd is mulling it over, pondering a repositioning of his investment banking skills. To check out his future digs, situated on prime lakefront property, visit www.angelfire.com/ky/ksp/. By the way, Lisa, Matt and Jason are doing great. Matt continues on with DLJ in investment banking out of Houston. Lisa is still running up a storm, and remains with Merrill Lynch (6+ years) in N.Y.C. Jason and his new wife are based out of Chicago. Another loyal employee, he has been with Andersen Consulting in Chicago and Brazil and back to Chicago since graduation. It was a pleasure speaking with Alex Margolies, who returned my e-mail with a call, after I pilfered his e-mail address from one of Renny Smith's e-mail blasts! Thanks, Renny. If you missed Alex at reunion-incidentally, he looked terrific in a very stylish ultra-suede taupe-colored blazer-we'll bring you up to speed now. He earned a joint M.B.A. and J.D. from Columbia a number of years ago and practiced law for a year in Chicago. He returned to New York and joined Morgan Stanley, where you can still find him, structuring equity derivatives for corporations. It sounds complex, but he assures me it's not. I still don't believe him. Alex caught us up on a number of Columbia folk. He ran into Alec Tolmazin GS'91 at the U.S. Open, where they watched Venus Williams defeat Lindsay Davenport. While we reported this would be transpiring in an earlier column, we are confirming that Doug Teasdale married in St. Louis. During the wedding weekend, Alex and Renny got in a round of golf, and they visited with Todd Thomason and family, also St. Louis denizens. All marveled over baby Caroline (I think we're all still in a state of shock over Todd's fatherhood, though seeing him in action, we are reassured). The wedding, a Saturday evening affair, was a lot of fun. In other news, Alex reports that John Sturt touched down to spend a few weeks with him in the midst of his ongoing whirlwind tour-something like 363 straight days outside of the U.S.-having just returned from India. John spent quite a bit of time traveling across Africa as well. We hear that he will be heading back to India and Nepal. On the professional front, he passed the New York state multi-part architecture exam, so is now registered. Alex also put us in touch with Mark Hanes, who hosts a series of wine tastings every few months where a number of his Phi Ep friends congregate, including Alex, Eddie Kopel and his wife, Andrea, and Jen Carmona '91. In addition to working part-time at the Chelsea Wine Vault, Mark is working on a website dedicated to the New York wine scene. Additionally, he puts out a monthly wine review on 70 or so wines and includes information on where best to buy wine, what wine bars are new and hot and the like for those visiting or living in New York. To get on his e-mail distribution list, get in touch with Mark at mhanes@rcn.com. Thanks to Gina Shishima for sending us info on Karen Mochizuki's July marriage in Pasadena to Chester Kano, also an architect. It was an elegant affair, the bride looking beautiful and happy. Classmates in attendance included Eric Altbach, in from D.C., where he consults on the status of Asian economies for the State Department. Bryan Wong '89E, also at the nuptials, completed his Ph.D./M.D. in biological science in Philadelphia. He currently lives in New York. Other Columbians present included Dean Kato '87, the best man, and Pat Katayama '87. In fact, it was the best man who first introduced the bride and groom. More on Gina: she moved to the law firm of Fulbright and Jaworski, where she is a patent attorney in the biotech field in Austin. Congratulations to Gina's husband, David Sosa, who is now a tenured professor of philosophy at the University of Texas. Go, David, go. That's about it for now. Thanks much to all for the updates. Have a great fall/winter season. Roar, Lions, roar.
Dan Max
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
