Boulder / Denver – September, 2008
Dear Classmates:
Last weekend about 70 of your classmates, 50 spouses/friends, and 10 wives of deceased classmates gathered in New Haven for an outstanding mini-reunion. To me, and probably to most others, the primary focus of these mini-reunions is the opportunity of getting together with friends and extending the circle of friends.
This mini also had a great range of interesting events including a tour of the West Haven Campus, guided tours of the newly refurbished Yale Art Gallery, and four outstanding lectures. The latter included:
- Akhil Amar, Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science at Yale Law School and Yale College, spoke on The Constitution: Written and Unwritten. One of his fascinating interpretations was that the inclusion of three fifths of the number of slaves in the population counts was not a compromise between small and large states as often claimed, but was a necessary step in getting southern states to agree to the proposed constitution.
- Joanne Freeman, Professor of History and American Studies, discussed The Field of Blood: Political Violence in the Early Nineteenth Century. We tend to think of Preston Brooks caning of Charles Sumner on the Senate floor as an isolated event, but Professor Freeman indicated that she been able to document over 120 duels and fist fights between 1830 and 1860 that involved members of Congress.
- John Gaddis, The Robert A. Lovett Professor of Military and Naval History spoke on Lincoln, the Grand Strategist. Starting with the idea of foxes and hedgehogs (foxes cleverly pursue many objectives, and hedgehogs are single minded in purpose) Professor Gaddis suggested that Lincoln was a fox in his ability to deal politically, but was a hedgehog in his rarely revealed objective of getting rid of slavery. Later he noted that Grand Strategy is really just “common sense”, avoiding mistakes by thinking several steps ahead of proposed actions.
- John Walsh ’61, former Director of the Getty Museum and Visiting Professor of the History of Art at Yale, discussed John Trumbull and Historical Fiction: The Battle of Bunker Hill. What was fascinating about this and other Trumbull works was, first, that they were great works of art with wonderful composition, color and detail, and, second, that the details included many historical elements, which were not intended to be accurate representations of events, nonetheless conveyed true stories related to the event celebrated by each particular painting.
During the weekend I heard a question, “What about Yale has meant most to you?” and heard a great answer, “You know, I walk taller.” I walk taller every time I get together with my classmates.
The next class mini-reunion is set for Santa Fe, NM, May 1-4, 2014. You should receive details in the near future.
Bill Sargent, Secretary
Chicago – October 2009
Joe Schwartz’s photo album:
Boulder/Denver – September 2008
Materials from the Colorado mini-reunion may be accessed by clicking on the hyperlinks shown below. Each document, both pdf and ppt, will be automatically downloaded when you click on its name. To download the mp3 files, however, after clicking on the mp3 file’s name which will initiate its playing, use your browser’s “save as” command to also initiate its downloading. If you have any questions about mp3 downloading, please contact ourwebmaster Louis Allyn at lallyn@snet.net
Bob Noun’s Powerpoint Presentation to us about NREL is available as:
Bob Noun NREL 9.12.08 Talk.ppt
Patty Limerick asked that if we have any suggestions regarding the “Twelve Steps” process she outlined (below), please contact her at 303-492-4879 or patricia.limerick@centerwest.org. The documents she mentioned to us in her talk are:
Patty Limerick – How the West Will Be Won – WSJ.com.pdf
Patty Limerick – Princeton Encyclopedia of American History.pdf
Patty Limerick – Twelve Steps to Reduce Fossil Fuel Addiction.pdf
Michael Potts recommended that we review “Natural-Capitalism” by Amory Lovins and Paul Hawken, as well as Tom Friedman’s book “Hot, Flat, and Crowded”. Michael is reachable through his assistant Nar Brach atnbrach@rmi.org.
In addition to the suggestions for each of us personally (as well as for our friends and family) in the document below, Bob Yuhnke recommended that we obtain James Gustave Speth’s book “The Bridge at the End of the World” (Yale Press) – Gus is head of the Yale School of Forestry . He also recommended that one of the very best ways to stay abreast of environmental issues is to visit the Yale e360 website: http://e360.yale.edu/. Bob is reachable atbob.yuhnke@prodigy.net or 303-499-0425.
Bob Yuhnke – ACTIONS TO REDUCE GREENHOUSE GASES.pdf
Anne Parker recommended the Bioneers website http://www.bioneers.org/ for our consideration, and that we review the curriculum contents and philosophy of Naropa University’s Environmental Leadership programs (graduate and undergraduate). Anne is on sabbatical for the 2009 academic year, but she is (somewhat) reachable through aparker@naropa.edu.
Anne Parker – Notes / Bibliography for Talk for Yale Alumni.pdf
Recordings of the Environmental Symposium at Naropa’s Performing Arts Center are available as mp3 files, shown below as hyperlinks in the order of their presentation:
1 Eddie Cantor 9.13.08 Opening Remarks.mp3
2 David Levin 9.13.08 Welcome & Michael Potts Intro.mp3
3 Michael Potts 9.13.08 Talk.mp3
5 David Levin 9.13.08 Intro of Tom Coburn.mp3
6 Tom Coburn 9.13.08 Talk & Anne Parker Intro.mp3
7 Anne Parker 9.13.08 Talk.mp3
8 9.13.08 Final Panel Discussion.mp3
San Francisco, 2005