By Bill Sargent
James Allen Carney Jr. died November 7, 2018. He left the State Department in 1966 to form Behavioral Management Inc., a consulting company in the field of organizational development that served clients throughout much of the world. He was particularly interested in birds, wildlife, and travel.
John Badham says, “I’m still directing episodes of TV’s Supernatural and Siren as well as holding down my professorship of film and media at Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts. My book John Badham on Directing has just been published in Mandarin Chinese in addition to its Japanese, Italian, and Spanish versions.”
Josh Taylor reports that he and Jean visited Bill and Susan Fort in Seattle.
John Hansman sends word, “An article in the Nov/Dec alumni magazine piqued my interest. It was about being the first in your family to graduate college. Neither of my parents had much formal education. They educated themselves through reading and established a quiet expectation that their kids would do their schoolwork conscientiously and go on to college.” John notes that for today’s first-in-family attendees, the article emphasizes the cultural, scholastic, and financial shock for students attending Yale. He observes, “In 1957, there were so many more families than now who did not have college experience. The article states that about 12 percent of the class of 2017 were in the first generation to graduate. Yale has no data, but my guess is that at least one third of our classmates were in that situation. As a result, there was less risk of feeling out of place.”
Dan Veber writes, “My first job after completing PhD in chemistry at Yale was in exploratory research at Merck & Co., developing new methods of peptide synthesis. This led to a leadership role in a project to synthesize an enzyme, Ribonuclease-S. The accomplishment of this ‘first’ in chemistry was widely covered in the press in 1968 and published in a series of five papers in the Journal of the American Chemical Society on which I am co- or lead author. Last month I had the pleasure of returning to Merck in Rahway, New Jersey, for a recognition ceremony by the History of Chemistry division of the American Chemical Society, declaring this a ‘chemical breakthrough.’ I am the only living member of the four-member leadership team of 50 years ago.”
Phillip Periman reports, “I went to Paris to celebrate my 80th birthday. While there I had a three-hour lunch with Nick Gardiner. We solved the problems of the yellow vests in France and Brexit in the UK, but did not find the solution to the current political mess in the US. I am currently writing an occasional essay for a project I call The Final Exam, which are my reflections on life after retirement.” Phillip says he would be pleased to share with anyone interested. Nick, incidentally, has resurrected the Passy Press, which was originally started by Benjamin Franklin and now periodically publishes essays on important issues.
John Paoletti reports that “for health reasons” he has decided that he should not be a member of the Yale tour to Mantua and the northern tier of Italy. John has given many well-received lectures on past Yale tours to Italy.
John Westley writes, “Last May my wife Joan and I decided not to continue with our teaching positions at John Cabot University in Rome. Joan had been teaching there since 1999, and I’d been at it since 2003.” John adds that in light of some questionable US policies, he very much enjoyed teaching economics last spring.
Bill Jastromb says that last October, “my wife Nini and I drove from Northampton, Massachusetts, to Salem, Connecticut, to participate in another micro-reunion of my Branford roommates and their wives: John and Katharine Bingham, Charlie and Martinna Dill, Tom and Tina Edwards, Charlie and Linda Hamlin, Ken and Stephanie MacLean, Jamie and Meg McLane, and David and Ann Simmons.” John’s grandfather, Hiram Bingham, of Machu Picchu fame, established the Bingham Camp in Salem, and it provided accommodations for everyone. John adds, “Over the years the eight of us who roomed together in Branford have tried to keep to a regular schedule of micro-reunions at various locations around the US. It is always a treat to catch up on recent activities, to spend wonderful times together, to share enjoyable laughs, and to reminisce and to remember stories which have withstood the test of time. An indication that we have not grown weary of each other is that the final moments of every micro-reunion are consumed with enthusiastic conversation about where the next micro-reunion will take place.”
A reminder: The next class mini-reunion will be held in New Haven this May 2–4, and will feature some of the best faculty lecturers. The weekend should be an intellectual feast.