Boston: New Connection chairs Sanda Balaban '94, David Hochschild '93, and Jeremy Weinstein '97 kicked off their three-way leadership with a Jazz Potluck Brunch, then headed to Boston Common for ice-skating and hot chocolate.
Chapel Hill, N.C.: Timothy Riggs '64, assistant director of the Ackland Art Museum, led a tour of an exhibit of works by early 20th-century painter Marsden Hartley, followed by a reception, all coordinated by Priscilla Coit Murphy '67.
Chicago: Marilee Roberg '73 hosted an evening of browsing and book talk at Something Wicked, a mystery bookstore. Mystery writer Mary Alzina Stone Dale '52 signed copies of her books.
Los Angeles: President and Mrs. Alfred H. Bloom saluted new Caltech President David Baltimore '60 at a reception in Pasadena. The gathering was organized by John Crowley '41, George Bond '42, and Walt Cochran-Bond '70.
New York City: President and Mrs. Bloom met area alumni, parents, and friends for hors d'oeuvres and conversation at the Players Club in Gramercy Park, thanks to Stephen Lang '73. Also this spring, Ike Schambelan '61 invited Swarthmoreans to press night at Theater by the Blind, and David Wright '69 hosted the 12th annual wine symposium.
Philadelphia: Chris Edley Jr. '73 discussed his book Not All Black and White: Affirmative Action and American Values in February at a book-signing arranged by Scheryl Williams Glanton '74 and The Links, Inc. Many families attended a tour of 30th Street Station, coordinated by Martha Salzmann Gay '79 and Colette Collins Mull '84, and an Indian dinner at Palace of Asia.
Seattle: A tour of the University of Washington seismology lab was so popular that Connection Chair Deb Read '87 scheduled a second visit to accommodate all who signed up.
Washington, D.C.: Kathy Stevens '89, the new Metro DC/Baltimore Connection chair, welcomed President and Mrs. Alfred Bloom, alumni, and parents at a reception at the Cosmos Club, with the assistance of Gretchen Mann Handwerger '56.
You can get the latest information on upcoming alumni events and activities around the country on the alumni home page: www.swarthmore.edu/Home/Alumni.
Garnet Sages: The Sages' visit to Washington, D.C., April 21&endash;22, will include stops at the offices of White House Counsel Chuck Ruff '60, Michigan Senator Carl Levin '56, and Heidi Hartmann '67, director of the Institute for Women's Policy Research as well as a tour of the Sackler-Freer galleries, led by Associate Curator Jenny So '71. Gretchen Gayle Ellsworth '61 and Dan Singer '51 will address the group.
Ann Arbor, Mich.: The Michigan League will be the site for a gathering hosted by President and Mrs. Bloom on Tuesday, April 14. Rebeccah Bennett '96 will help coordinate this event.
Boston: President and Mrs. Bloom will visit with area alumni and parents at a reception on Thursday, April 16.
Chicago: David Porter '58, president of Skidmore College, will present a lecture piano recital in honor of Charles Miller '59, retiring professor of politics and American studies at Lake Forest College on Wednesday, April 8.
Philadelphia: The next young alumni happy hour will be at Cutters on Wednesday, April 15.
San Francisco: Board of Managers member Sameer Ashar '91 and Associate Dean of Admissions Jenny Rickard '86 will team up to welcome accepted students at a gathering with alumni in April.
Seattle: The Connection will present a program in May featuring a panel discussion on the Seattle educational system.
Washington, D.C.: Alumni Association President Jack Riggs '64 and Ralph Tryon '71 have invited alumni to participate in the annual Christmas in April project Saturday, April 25. In May, book group coordinator Sue Willis Ruff '60 will bring the six groups together for a lecture by Philip Weinstein, the Alexander Griswold Cummins Professor of English Literature, who designed the curriculum.
First since 1989
The long-awaited new Swarthmore alumni directory will be published later this year, with the same convenient sections as in the past: alphabetical listings and listings by class and geographical area.
The directory will be free to all alumni whose current mailing addresses are on file at the College. It also will be offered on CD, formatted for Macintosh or Windows systems, at a nominal cost.
The publication also will be available on the College's secure Web site within a few months after publication of the printed version. The online edition will be available to only Swarthmore alumni, and it will be designed for individual use. Both the online and the CD versions of the directory will include career information that can be searched, helping alumni make connections within areas of interest.
Alumni will receive surveys in the mail this spring with the information about them that is currently on file in Alumni Records. They will be asked to approve or correct the data, which will be the basis for the directory listings.
Those who choose not to be included may indicate this on the survey.
Leo Braudy '63, a widely acclaimed authority on film, fame, and American popular culture, will be the Collection speaker on Saturday, June 6, at Alumni Weekend.
Braudy, who graduated from Swarthmore with highest honors in English literature, is the Bing Professor of English at the University of Southern California. He earned a master's and a doctorate at Yale, and he has taught at Yale, Johns Hopkins, and Columbia, where he was one of the youngest scholars to be named a full professor.
Among his books are The Frenzy of Renown: Fame and Its History, The World in a Frame: What We See in Film, and Native Informant: Essays on Film, Fiction, and Popular Culture. His next book will explore masculinity and war.
In response to a request last year for guidance on electing new class presidents, a nominating form appeared in December issues of the Bulletin that were mailed to members of classes with reunions this June. Ballots were to be included in the March issues going to those alumni.
There are no ballots in this issue because all the nominations sent to the College were of incumbent presidents.
The Alumni Association bylaws state that class presidents "shall serve until their next reunion, or until their successors shall have been elected and qualified." The Alumni Council's Executive Committee and the College's associate vice president for external affairs are responsible for helping the classes with the process when needed. They will decide this spring whether reunion classes should continue to receive nomination forms.
"Future Shock," the 10th annual Sager Symposium in Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Studies, will be presented on campus April 3&endash;4. This anniversary program will be interdisciplinary, featuring Swarthmore alumni as speakers and performers. The first part will look back at the experiences of lesbian, gay, and bisexual students at Swarthmore since the 1940s. The other part will look forward, celebrating the contributions that those alumni have made in politics, community building, education, business, and the arts.
The University of Pennsylvania's Penn Club of New York City welcomes Swarthmore alumni as affiliate members. Located on "clubhouse row" at 30 West 44th Street in Manhattan, the handsomely restored 1901 clubhouse has guest rooms, formal dining rooms, a grill room, meeting and conference rooms, a library, and a two-story banquet room.
A reciprocal program gives all Penn Club members access to more than 40 other clubs in this country and abroad.
The club schedules a variety of activities for members and their guests, some with other university clubs in New York. Initiation fees and annual dues are determined by age. Members may reserve overnight accommodations for their guests; a surcharge is added to the nightly rate. Privileges in the club's Palestra Fitness Center are available for an additional fee.
Details are available from Joy Dargent, director of membership, by phone (212) 403-6627, or by e-mail at joy@penn.-club.com.