Sterling Library. Photographed by Bill Fowkes ’72, November 2014.

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Welcome Class of 72′ to our Alumni website. Here you can register for an account, take part in our alumni community, read articles, browse photos, and stay in touch. Thanks for visiting.


Class Updates

A Note from Rob Bildner, Class Secretary

Classmates,

I am ecstatic that by every account our 50th reunion was an enormous success, beginning with a fabulous turnout of  almost 500 classmates and guests. I had a wonderful time and am particularly proud of our inspiring programming that hit the bullseye. As a classmate expressed, the programming-  from the “moth” talks to the authors salon to the sessions on grandparenting, becoming an environmental advocate and “Bright College Years” – featured learning from each other, not just sitting in a room listening to talking heads and “experts. This set the tone as we chilled out with old friends and made new ones. And who could forget , as some of us whirled around on the dance floor, our classmates’ guest performances with the Regressions from vocalist Craig Mason to violinist Jim Caron? How much fun was that? Bottom line: We came together as a ‘72 community in a joyous, stimulating 50th reunion weekend.

How do we follow up from the reunion? For one, you can share your photos through the Google Photos link set up by Corresponding Secretary Jonas Zdanys. Click on this link  https://photos.app.goo.gl/oyf9hNrpzuPmnhYi8  and you will be able to upload your photos, see your  classmates’ photos and even download the ones you like. Secondly, we recorded the program sessions and Memorial Service (unfortunately we were not able to record the author’s salon) for the almost ⅓ of our class who were not able to attend the reunion and those who attended and want to revisit these superb sessions. Eventually you will be able to access these recordings and we will keep you informed when both are ready for your viewing. Our classmates Ken Barish and Mick Smyer told me they will make some of their handouts and slides from their excellent presentations available through our class website. Finally, keep your eye out during the summer for the Class Book featuring entries from over 500 classmates. Do some bench pressing to get ready for the book – it is over 1,000 pages!

Finally,  I am very grateful that many of you took the time to tell me during the weekend how much you appreciated our hard work to plan this event.  I am thankful as well for the opportunity to continue my service as Class Secretary and give back to the Yale community that so enriched my life and that of my family.

Have a great summer!

Rob

Check out the 50th Reunion Book Directory Website Here

https://yale72.reuniontechnologies.com/

LIVESTREAM 50th REUNION EVENTS

You can watch the following Class of 1972 50th Reunion Events here:

 

THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2022

2:30-3:45PM. The Art and Science of Grandparenting (and Parenting Difficult Relationships)

4:00-5:45PM. Moving from Anxiety to Action on Climate Change

 

FRIDAY, JUNE 3, 2022

2:00-3:30PM. Special Events and Special Guests

5:00-6:00PM. MEMORIAL SERVICE from Battell Chapel

 

SATURDAY, JUNE 4, 2022

1:30-2:30PM. Classmates as Storytellers: We Pivoted.

3:00-4:00PM. Classmates as Storytellers: Take 2.

 

Directions: Just click on the appropriate link below at any of the times listed above to see the livestream feed of the event.

 

LINK #1 – For all events EXCEPT the Memorial Service:

NOTE: The link will only work when the events are happening.

 

LINK #2 – JUST for the MEMORIAL SERVICE:

Check Out the 50th Reunion Book Directory Website

CHECK OUT THE 50th REUNION BOOK DIRECTORY WEBSITE
While we wait for the printed 50th Reunion Books to arrive (currently scheduled for delivery in early July), you can view some of the content on our Reunion Book Directory Website, including personal profiles, photos, and In Memoriam essays and remembrances. It’s a great way to prepare for and get psyched about the in-person reunion. (When the printed book arrives, you’ll also find lots of additional editorial content.)
Here is the reunion book directory website link: https://yale72.reuniontechnologies.com/
[Note: if you need your Yale ID#–which you can also find on your Yale Alumni Magazine address label–please contact Corresponding Secretary Bill Fowkes at williamfowkes@aya.yale.edu]

Rhonda Singer, ’72 YAA Rep, Reports on Latest Assembly

RHONDA SINGER, our Class of 1972 YAA representative, has filed the following report on the most recent YAA Assembly:
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The Assembly and Convocation 2021, a combined activity of the Yale Alumni Association, and the Yale Alumni Fund, took place, virtually, from November 4 through November 6. The theme, as expressed by President Peter Salovey, was “Collaborating for Impact – Yale’s Multidisciplinary Approach to Global Challenges”, an endeavor which he described as having a “nearly existential urgency”. With a strong focus on climate change, which the whole of Yale is addressing, President Salovey described efforts across campus, by engineers, scientists, and humanists, to break down interdisciplinary barriers and prepare future leaders for the challenges ahead. With the introduction of Yale’s newest School, the Jackson School of Global Affairs, and a major $100 MM gift from FedEx, Yale is exploring issues of global health, political instability, and cyber warfare, on a global scale.
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Thursday’s session opened with a wide-ranging panel for alumni on Non-Profit Governance and Best Practices in Starting a Non-Profit organization, as well as a presentation on 1st Gen. Yale, led by its founder, Lise Chapman, ’81.
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In the Opening Plenary Session, President Salovey held a dynamic conversation with Secretary John Kerry on climate change. Secretary Kerry emphasized that, while we’re not where we need to be, climate change can be managed successfully, and that the next 10 years are crucial. He sees the world as being in a “moment of global responsibility”,and is undergoing a technological transformation that is the biggest since the Industrial Revolution. He stressed the need for a united global effort, with a strong role for universities. Secretary Kerry said that there is “no automatic pilot for democracy”, and that the cause now relates to our freedom and liberty. Yet, he concluded optimistically that managing climate change ” is so do-able”, and in fact cheaper to do than not to do.
—
Friday’s session led with a spirited description of the Yale Jackson School of Global Affairs, by alum Jim Levinsohn, a founder of the School, which is to open officially next fall. The School is organized around four key areas of global challenge: 1) international security, 2) international economics, 3) international social, political, and economic development, and 4) the global “public good”, including climate change and global health. The aim is to create a best-in-class School, tightly integrated with the rest of Yale, and building bridges with Yale’s Schools of Management, Law, Environment, Public Health, and other schools. There will be a new undergraduate Global Affairs Major in Yale College, as well as a graduate program, with a strong “ladder” Faculty, supplemented by Jackson Senior Fellows (who are policy professionals), with an aim to have graduates go on to careers in government, NGO’s, and the private sector.
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The next session, entitled “Joint Degrees Making an Impact: A Conversation with Yale Deans”, was led by Dean Tamar Gendler, and featured the Deans of the Divinity, Environment, Management, and Public Health Schools, all of whom described the many and varied joint degree programs offered by their schools.
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The following session, “Beyond Tradition: Certificate Programs in Yale College”, was led by Dean Marvin Chun. The panelists explained that Certificate programs functioned as a form of “minors” or ‘miniature majors” in various interdisciplinary fields, such as Education, Global Health and Energy Studies, and reflected a high level of skill obtained by the student in the fields. Students commented that they liked having “something to show for it”, upon completion of a certificate program. Interestingly, participants asked if such certificate programs could be made available to Yale alumni.
—
An additional session, entitled “Environmental Justice: Toward a More Sustainable and Equitable Future For All”, continued to explore the large themes of climate change, public health, and economic security. The speakers acknowledged the difficulties in measuring progress in these areas, while emphasizing the necessary value of social justice as the overall aim.
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At Saturday’s session, three current Yale Trustees, Annette Thomas, Carlos Moreno, and Chip Goodyear, emphasized their mission of advancing President Salovey’s goals, and recognized the importance of respect both for Yale’s individual community members, as well as for the University as a whole.
—
All in all, the Assembly overcame the limits of the virtual platform, and its speakers and participants managed vibrantly to convey the current goals and aims of Yale’s global impact efforts.

THE CLASS OF 1972 ART & ARCHITECTURE MIAMI MINI-REUNION (March 6-8, 2020)

Photos by Ed Tan, Karen Gantz, Rob Bildner, Hux Miller, Kay Hill, and Deborah Bernick.

THE PROGRAM:
Friday, March 6, 2020 – Welcome dinner at 6PM – Joe’s Stone Crabs of South Beach
Saturday, March 7
Morning tours:
– Walking tour of Miami Beach’s Art Deco District
– Curator’s tour of Wolfsonian Museum of Art and Design
Lunch: on your own.
Afternoon:
– Tour of the Design and Art Districts of Miami, including a docent led tour of the De la Cruz Collection.
– Visit to Miami’s newest museum, International Contemporary Art Miami.
– Tour of the Wynwood Art District
Cocktails and dinner at Rhouse Wynwood
Sunday, March 8
Morning:
– Visit to the Vizcaya Museum & Gardens
– Brunch at Glass and Vine in the historic Peacock Park, Coconut Grove.
 

DONATE TO THE CLASS OF 1972 WOMEN’S SCHOLAR SHIP FUND

HOW TO DONATE:
To donate make checks payable to Yale University. In the memo line, write “Class of 1972 Women’s Scholarship Fund.” Check the “Other” box and write in the exact name of the fund. Online follow the directions at https://secure.yale.imodules.com/s/1667/giving/17/form.aspx…
When you receive your tax receipt/thank-you letter, make sure it specifically references this fund. Please note that contributions to the Class of 1972 Women’s Scholarship Fund do not count toward annual fund credit but do count toward reunion class credit.

ANOTHER WAY TO GIVE–Consider making a bequest to the Class of ’72 Women’s Scholarship Fund: Designate the exact name of the fund, the Class of ’72 Women’s Scholarship Fund, at Yale University, in your will. If interested, you may also contact Mary Beth Congdon at Marybeth.congdon@yale.edu in the planned giving office.

FROM CAROL WHITEHEAD:
“Sixteen years ago the women of the Class of 1972 created an endowed scholarship for transfer students called The Yale ’72 Women’s Scholarship Fund. The recipient for the past three years has been Rona Ji ’18. She transferred to Yale as a sophomore, like the women of 1972 who started this scholarship in 2002 in honor of our 30th Reunion. Rona has embraced all that Yale has to offer. She recently graduated with a dual major in economics and ethnicity, race, and migration. Her most rewarding experience outside the classroom was with Yale Building Bridges, which brings high-achieving college students to teach English in rural China. Rona helped expand this program to deal with mental health and gender equality. She has given back to the local community by tutoring through New Haven Reads. Rona has been involved in the Yale China Economic Forum, and spent a semester abroad in Beijing. A talented musician as well, Rona played the flute with the Yale Band in Australia following graduation. Later this summer she will teach in the Yale Young Global Scholars Program, before starting her MBA at the Yale School of Management with a view to working in US and Chinese commerce relations. Cynthia Brill, Carol Whitehead, Ann Linden and Connie Royster have been involved in shepherding the fund over the years. It now has over $300,000 in assets with contributions from many of our pioneering class of women, and has provided scholarship assistance to numerous talented women transfer students. This scholarship fund continues to accept donations. Thank you!”

Yale Reunion

Reunion Links

AGING WELL PANEL: Thursday, June 1, 2017.:

Mick Smyer’s (BK) presentation, “Is There a Secret to Aging Well?”  the class of 1972’s AGING WELL panel at our 45th reunion. Mick, Professor of Psychology at Bucknell University, has provided us with his slides. Click here: 6-1-17SmyerAgingYale72PDF

Here is the full article that formed the basis of Mick’s presentation:  https://www.thesolutionsjournal.com/article/how-shall-we-age/

Helen Kivnick (ES), Professor of Social Work, University of Minnesota, gave a presentation at the AGING WELL panel at our Class of 1972 45th Reunion, June 1, 2017. Here are the slides from her presentation: https://yale72.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/KivnickAgingWellFrYOU-6-1-17notes.pdf

REUNION PHOTOS: https://yale72.org/photo-galleries/reunion-photos/

PERSONAL REMEMBRANCES FROM THE 45TH REUNION MEMORIAL SERVICE: https://yale72.org/notes/personal-remembrances-45th-reunion-memorial-service/ 

Website Tip – How To Find Obituaries Of Class Members

How To Find Obituaries Of Class Members:

To see RECENT OBITUARIES of class members, go to the menu item “In Memoriam” under “CLASS NEWS” in the righthand column on every page. To see ALL OBITUARIES, go to the menu item “In Memoriam” in the drop-down menu under “THE CLASS” in the blue heading on every page.