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Vassar, the Alumnae/i Quarterly Vol. 423 Fall 2009 volume 105 Issue 4

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 14:35:00 -0000

Mixed Media

Vassar Quarterly — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 23:47:00 -0000

Nonfiction, Fiction, Drama, Poetry

A Meaningful Life on the “Other Side”: Patrick Manning ’86

Vassar Quarterly — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 23:40:00 -0000

At first glance, former New York State assemblyman and 1986 Vassar grad Patrick Manning’s life in “retirement” seems almost slow and peaceful. At his farmhouse in Hopewell Junction, New York, a padded hammock graces the back porch and several chickens cluck under foot; his property hosts acres of woods, a waterfall, a pond, and a neatly tended garden.

If I Only Was a Man

Vassar Quarterly — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 19:51:00 -0000

Every once in a while I go rummaging through my past in an attempt to figure out who I am. Among the various items I recently came across was a newspaper clipping from the December 15, 1932 edition of the New York Herald Tribune. The headline over the one-column story that ran on an inside page was “Fiery Cross on Jersey Lawn of Clubwoman.” The “clubwoman” was my mother, Elvira Kush Fradkin, class of 1913. Also among the items was an unpublished manuscript of 43,000 words. By Philip L. Fradkin

Anne Cleveland '37

Vassar Quarterly — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 15:22:00 -0000

Every Vassar graduate is familiar with the work of Anne Cleveland ’37, even if she or he doesn’t know Cleveland or her frequent collaborator, Jean Anderson ’33, by name.

AAVC Outstanding Service to Vassar Award: Richard "Ricky" Roberts '74

Baize Buzan '10 — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 15:13:00 -0000

After considering Judge Ricky Roberts’s numerous commitments, both academic and extracurricular, during his time at Vassar — Madrigal Singers, house fire captain, Senate Grievance Panel member, and a double major in black (now Africana) studies and political science, to name a few — it may come as no surprise that this Renaissance man did not stop wearing multiple hats after graduation.

An Unusual Bequest

Sarah E. Brown '09 — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 14:51:00 -0000

When Beth Hughes was given a Vassar College graduation pin that had belonged to a friend’s mother, Ethel Marie Burr, class of 1909, she knew she had a unique treasure on her hands. The tiny pin is shaped like an owl wearing the numbers “09” over its eyes like spectacles, with the initials “E.M.B.” on its back. (Hughes, a history teacher, had also been given Burr’s Vassarion, which she liked to show to her students.) As the hundredth anniversary of Burr’s Vassar graduation approached, Hughes wanted to do something special with the pin — perhaps to present it to a member of this new century’s Vassar ’09ers.

Wishing Well: Maria Jose Mendez '10

Vassar Quarterly — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 14:31:00 -0000

According to the World Health Organization, 1.1 billion people — nearly 20 percent of the world’s population — lack access to safe drinking water. This staggering number hits close to home for Maria Méndez ’10, a native of Honduras. After learning of her grandfather’s frustration trying to convince the local government to fund a water project in the community of El Ciruelo, Méndez was struck by an idea.

Following Intuition: Caterina Fake '91

Bronwen Pardes — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 14:00:00 -0000

Caterina Fake ’91, cofounder of Flickr, the revolutionary online photo-management and sharing application, talks about her latest venture, Hunch, a website that gathers information about users to help them answer questions about everything from “Which Woody Allen movie should I see?” to “Which flat-screen television is right for me?” By Bronwen Pardes '95

A Survivor

Baize Buzan '10 — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 11:18:00 -0000

“Soccer crazy. Inspired philanthropist. Mad inventor. Survivor winner. Big dreamer.” The words Ethan Zohn ’96 chooses to describe himself embody all that has kept him in the headlines since his Survivor: Africa win in 2002.

Who Is Greg Lichtenstein '12?

Vassar Quarterly — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 11:08:00 -0000

Congratulations to Greg Lichtenstein ’12, who made it to the semifinals in the Jeopardy! 2009 College Championship this past May. Lichtenstein was the first-ever Vassar student to compete in the championship, and the only freshman to make it to this year’s semifinals.

Digging Deeper

Vassar Quarterly — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 10:46:00 -0000

I read with interest the recent letter from Eleanor Livingston ’41 headed “Artifact Check” [Letters, Summer 2009; re: Vassar Yesterday, Spring 2009]... by Jane Shadel Spillman '64

Re: "The Importance of Earning Interest: Ben Mangan '92," Summer 2009

Vassar Quarterly — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 10:30:00 -0000

Congratulations, Ben, on your vision and work helping low-wage workers lift themselves up out of poverty. The Bay Area is a terrific location for your venture. Congratulations, Amy, on your moving article... by Alice Mellors Kozar '67

Vassar News that's Fit to Print

Baize Buzan '10 — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 10:24:00 -0000

As returning Vassar students make the trek back to Poughkeepsie each fall, they bring the experiences of the summer along with them — months in exotic cities or familiar towns, hours spent behind desks or among crowds, freshly accomplished ventures and newly formed relationships. For Brian Farkas ’10, the summer of 2008 brought him back to Vassar with a hefty amount of research and a 150-page manuscript — the first version of what would become his nearly 300-page book, Covering the Campus: A History of the Miscellany News at Vassar College.

News About The Vassar Quarterly from the AAVC Board President

Vassar Quarterly — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 10:23:00 -0000

As part of Vassar’s response to the current economic downturn, AAVC — along with each of Vassar’s departments — has been asked to cut its budget by 10 percent for the 2009-2010 fiscal year. One of the most reasonable and achievable scenarios involved Vassar, the Alumnae/i Quarterly (VQ), one of AAVC’s largest budget items... by Margaret Venecek Johnson ’84

President's Page: Change, Continuity, and the Class of '13

Catharine Bond — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 10:14:00 -0000

As a scholar of economics, I’ve always had a keen appreciation for numbers and the stories they can tell. With the new academic year just under way, the statistics about our newest students, the Class of 2013, are telling indeed. They speak simultaneously of our college’s core values, which remain unchanging, and also of how the face of Vassar, like the face of America itself, is changing, becoming ever more diverse—a new development that, paradoxically, underscores why Matthew Vassar’s magnificent enterprise was created in the first place. To begin with, it’s worth noting that in a year of enormous uncertainty on so many levels, Vassar received 7,577 applications for this year’s freshman class—yet another all-time record that, somewhat unexpectedly, reflects an increase of three percent over the previous year. As a result, our acceptance rate of 24.7 percent is another all-time record. By Catharine Hill

Vassar Yesterday

Vassar Quarterly — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 07:49:00 -0000

The online Vassar Encyclopedia notes that although football “has never exactly been a sport central to Vassar student life,” the fall semester of 1962 saw “the Vassar campus [become] impassioned by the sport — at least the ‘touch’ version.” This photograph accompanied an above-the-fold front-page article in the November 17, 1962 edition of the Poughkeepsie Journal titled “Vassar Challenges Kennedys to Touch Football Contest.” The article described a match between “the Vassar eleven” and a team comprised of male faculty members. (The game ended in a 12-12 tie.) Pictured here are, from left to right: Barbara Currier Bell ’63; Heather Ross ’63; Joe D. Burchfield, instructor in physics; Elizabeth Wilbur Miner ’63; and John E. Austin, instructor in English. “Vassar College’s touch football team today issued a challenge to the Kennedy family in Washington: play us,” the article says. “The Kennedy family, particularly the Attorney General, has been depicted as being adept at touch football. ‘We’ll take them on any time,’ Miss Wilbur happily declared.” — T.H.

Have a comment about this article? Email vq@vassar.edu

Two Faculty Members Hang up their Robes

Vassar Quarterly — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 06:28:00 -0000

During Vassar’s 2009 Commencement ceremony, Dean of the Faculty Jonathan Chenette acknowledged the “extraordinary dedication” of William Miller and Robert Suter, retiring educators who have served the college and its students for a combined total of 60 years. VQ takes a look back at their careers at Vassar.

High Stakes in Las Vegas: Alexandra Berzon '01

Vassar Quarterly — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 06:12:00 -0000

Journalist Alexandra Berzon ’01, who won a 2009 Pulitzer Prize for a series of articles examining the death of construction workers on the Las Vegas Strip, compares notes with former reporter Matthew Brelis ’80, who received the prize in 1987. By Matthew Brelis ’80

Combined Efforts: Bioinformatics at Vassar

Vassar Quarterly — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 06:09:00 -0000

Spurred on by advances in genomic sequencing, the rapidly growing field of bioinformatics combines mathematical, statistical, and computational methods to model and analyze biological systems. Vassar’s bioinformatics course is one example of the college’s growing investment in science education. By Jeff Kosmacher