Madison, Wis.: Eric Brown '67 gathered 40 area alumni and their families in February for a pot-luck party at the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Unitarian Universalist Church. Betty Moss Evanson '56, Tim Kinnel '85, Phyllis Hasbrouck '78, and Bill Raich '93 helped organize the festivities, which attracted a third of Madison's Swarthmore population.
New York City: Swarthmore theater-goers attended Ike Schambelan's ['61] Theater By the Blind; the Pig Iron Theatre Company's Poet in New York, starring Dito Van Reigersberg '94; and Home: A Boat, a play by Kate Wilson '84, at the WOW Café. Folk music enthusiasts enjoyed performances by Martha Leader '71 and Steven Swartz '78. Completing the arts spectrum were a world premiere by Kloppenberg Dance, featuring founder Brian Kloppenberg '93 and Sally Hess, assistant professor of dance at Swarthmore, and a talk on the late Willem de Kooning by Robert Storr '72 at the Museum of Modern Art. Julia Stock '94 continues to host monthly lunches at Café Europa. And Swarthmore volunteers had a fine showing on New York Cares Day, led by Suzanne Kazenoff '90.
Philadelphia: More than 50 Swarthmoreans attended a private tour of the Rodin-Michelangelo exhibit at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, organized by Martha Salzmann Gay '79. Stephen Welsh '84 presented an "explosive evening of new dance works," and young alumni have begun to meet for monthly happy hours with Bryn Mawr, Haverford, Ivy League, and Seven Sisters graduates at local hot spots.
Seattle: The Pratt Fine Arts Center opened its doors to Swarthmore alumni for an evening of experiencing art firsthand. Deb Read '87 coordinated the popular program.
San Franciscans were invited in June to the home of Seth Brenzel, Ellen Chen, and Petra Janopaul (all '94) for a screening of Dykes on Ice, a "mocumentary" chronicling two lesbian ice dancers' quest for the bronze at the 1998 Gay Games. The film was produced by Janopaul and Kari Hong '94.
Washington, D.C.: Artist and science reporter Jane Warren Larson '43 welcomed Swarthmoreans to her Bethesda, Md., ceramics studio for a tour of her "wild tile" art. Guests learned how Jane transforms imprints of wildlife into clay vases and murals. Kristin Johnsen-Neshati '87 and Serge Seiden '85 continued to engage area alumni with productions by Theater of the First Amendment and Studio Theatre. Discussions with cast members followed each performance.
Israel: The Swarthmore Connection is alive in Tel Aviv, where alumni met for an evening of conversation with Economics Professor Larry Westphal at the home of Amy Singer '82.
Garnet Sages enjoyed an April tour of the Hudson River Valley, led by Supreme Sage Elinor Jones Clapp '46. The trip included visits to Kykuit, the Rockefeller family estate; the sculpture gardens at Pepsico's world headquarters; and the Union Church of Pocantico Hills, with its stained glass windows by Chagall and Matisse.
New York alumni can choose this month among tours of a Long Island winery on June 14, the Metropolitan Museum's Cloisters on June 21, and Manhattan architecture with Kaori Kitao, the William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Art History, on June 28.
A Swarthmore alumni team competes June 21 and 22 on "Remember This?" with Al Roker on MSNBC. Players are Sheila Brody '57, Carl Courant '73, and Jennifer Nolan '90. They face Duke and Columbia.
The College welcomes nominations for recipients of honorary degrees at Commencement in June 1998. Criteria used by the Honorary Degree Committee include:
The Committee prefers to recognize less-honored candidates over those who already have received many honorary degrees.
Alumni who wish to make a nomination are asked not to inform the individual that they are doing so. All nominations will be kept confidential. Biographical information and a persuasive letter addressing the criteria noted above should be mailed by October 1 to the Honorary Degree Committee, c/o Vice President Harry Gotwals, or by e-mail to hgotwal1@-swarthmore.edu.
A Folk Festival in '98?
Many memories about Swarthmore's legendary folk festivals were evoked by "If I Had a Song ...," the cover story by Ralph Lee Smith '51 in the March Bulletin. And the feature inspired a decision to consider a Folk Festival Reunion as the Alumni College for June 1998.
This question was explored during Alumni Weekend '97 at an informal Saturday afternoon hootenanny organized by Ralph on Parrish lawn&emdash;a familiar venue for such gatherings. If you didn't make it to campus this June but would like to help organize a celebration of two great musical decades on campus, please contact Ralph Lee Smith by phone at (703) 471-0724, by fax at (301) 249-0305, or by e-mail at ralphleesmith@compuserve.com.
Over the past two years, the Alumni Council's mission has been to encourage alumni to increase their participation in service, both to the College and on its behalf. Not only does this increased participation strengthen our collective loyalty to Swarthmore, but it also enhances the College's image and provides a critical resource for students. At the Council's spring meeting March 21&endash;23, we were able to initiate and complete projects that represented significant steps in furthering this mission.
The Council ap-proved the creation of a new award that is intended to recognize alumni who have unself-ishly given their time and talents in service to their local community. Swarthmore is an institution that was founded on Quaker beliefs. One of the critical foundations of these beliefs is an emphasis on service. Many of our alumni give of themselves to their communities without recognition, and we felt that the Alumni Association should recognize that commitment.
This year, during Alumni Collection at Alumni Weekend, the first Arabella Carter Community Service Award was presented to Ross H. Ogden '66.
Arabella Carter was one of the great unsung workers for peace and social justice in the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. She was a student at Swarthmore College's preparatory division from 1884 to 1886. A member of Byberry Meeting in Bucks County, Pa., she became the first peace superintendent of the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting when the Peace Section was formed in 1892. She remained its secretary until shortly before her death in 1932. She was also active in issues involving African-American rights, serving for 17 years as secretary of the Pennsylvania Abolition Society and as a member of its Committee for the Laing School in South Carolina. Although she never sought recognition for her service, according to the College's archivists she made significant contributions to Quaker efforts toward peace and social justice over three decades.
At the end of its spring meeting, the Council, in conjunction with the Black Alumni Weekend Committee and the Career Planning and Placement Office, hosted a career planning and networking dinner with students. More than 60 students attended and had the opportunity to talk with about 40 alumni representing a wide variety of occupations. The response was overwhelmingly positive. We hope that this becomes a regular event on campus. More important, the Council wanted to encourage all alumni to share their post-Swarthmore life experience in general and their career experiences in particular with students. The alumni in the Washington, D.C., area this semester shared their occupations and indeed their homes with student externs during academic breaks. Participating students report that they received invaluable advice. We encourage all of you, when the opportunity presents itself, to take time to share with a student.
As my term ends as Alumni Association president, the Council will be very involved in advising the College as it engages in planning for its future. In addition the Council will continue to create ways in which we all can communicate more easily to share ideas and experiences or just keep in touch. I am sure that our new president, Jack Riggs '64 of Washington, D.C., will create new ways to intensify our dedication to the College and its mission. He has been a tremendous help to the Council during my tenure, and I am confident that there will be new and exciting projects during his leadership. I wish him the best.
&emdash;Alan Symonette '76
President, Alumni Association
Swarthmore College. All rights reserved. 1997