Rochester Review, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, USA
Rochester Scholar Medals Go to Graduate Alumni George Walker and Richard McKelvey
At commencement in May, the University honored three alumni. The Hutchison Medal, the highest honor the University gives to its alumni, went to former Xerox chief David Kearns. Distinguished Rochester Scholar awards went to composer George Walker '56E (DMA), '57E (DMA) and political scientist Richard McKelvey '71 (PhD).
Kearns, who was also commencement speaker for the College, served as chairman and CEO of Xerox from 1982 to 1990. Under his leadership, Xerox demonstrated that American business could reinvent itself and compete successfully in a global economy. He co-wrote Prophets in the Dark to detail the company's rebound. He also co-wrote Winning the Brain Race, a volume that outlines a plan to make American schools competitive. In 1991 he became deputy secretary of the Department of Education under Lamar Alexander. He left there in 1993 to become a senior university fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He is a University trustee who has served as chairman of the board of trustees and co-chair of the Campaign for the '90s.
George Walker is the eighth Eastman-affiliated composer to win the Pulitzer Prize for music since its inception in 1943. He has built an impressive career as a pianist, composer, and educator, publishing more than 70 works that have been performed by virtually every important orchestra in the United States and England. (For more on Walker see Rochester Gazette/Surviving the Pulitzer.)
Richard McKelvey is a professor of political science at California Institute
of Technology, whose current research includes analyzing the importance of
information and learning in voting and other behavior, applying evolutionary
models to political matters, and developing sophisticated mechanisms to help
analyze game theory situations.
Alumni Lois Watts and Robert Colón Win Awards for Service
Hugo Sonnenschein, president of the University of Chicago, served as the Distinguished Alumni Speaker for Reunion '96 in June on the River Campus. His talk focused on the future of higher education in the United States.
Also at Reunion, Lois ("Inky") Ingersoll Watts '51, '73W (Mas) and Robert Colón '88 received the James S. Armstrong Alumni Award and the Hyman J. V. Goldberg Alumni Award, respectively.
Sonnenschein has a long and distinguished career as a scholar and administrator in higher education. After receiving his undergraduate degree in mathematics from Rochester in 1961 and a Ph.D. in economics from Purdue University in 1964, he taught at the University of Minnesota, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Northwestern, and Princeton. In 1988, he became dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at Penn and three years later became provost at Princeton. A member of the University's Board of Trustees, he is married to Elizabeth Gunn Sonnenschein '61, a cancer epidemiologist.
Lois Watts has long been a volunteer leader in alumni activities in the Rochester region, serving as a member of the executive committee of the Meliora Club of Greater Rochester (now the Rochester Regional Alumni Council) and of the Rochester-area committee for the Campaign for the '90s. She has also served as co-chair of her class reunion committee.
Robert Colón is an associate of the law firm of Woods, Oviatt, Gilman, Sturman, and Clarke. He has contributed to the work of the Center for Work and Career Development in many ways, helping students and alumni with job networking and serving as a panelist for programs that explore a legal career.
The Armstrong Award recognizes outstanding service to the University in
broad and varied volunteer roles. It honors the University's former director
of alumni relations, a member of the Class of 1954 who served at the University
from 1976 to 1987. The Goldberg Award is presented for outstanding work on
behalf of current students and alumni in the area of career development.
This fall, these alumni joined the Trustees' Council, the senior governing board for the Alumni Association:
Stephen Berman '74 of New York City, self-employed venture capitalist
Lawrence Cohen '66 of Los Angeles, radiologist (and spouse of Jane Zimelis Cohen '67)
John Hewitt '73 of New York City, vice president, equities division, Goldman Sachs
Judith Kleiner '78 of New York City, vice president, Goldman Sachs
Teresa Lozeau '95 (and Take Five scholar '96) of Hanson, Mass., a "Young Alumni" representative
John Major '67 of Barrington, Ill., senior vice president, Motorola
James T. McKinlay III '69 of West Palm Beach, Fla., attorney, Pratt & Whitney
Kathy Waller '80, '83S (MBA) of Atlanta, Ga., executive assistant/ controller, McDonald's Account Group, Coca-Cola Company
As always, the Alumni Association seeks nominees for the Trustees' Council.
Please submit nominations with brief profiles to: Larry Bloch '75,
President, Alumni Association, Fairbank Alumni House, University of Rochester,
Rochester, NY 14627-8993.
Planning Events for Families and Alumni of All Ages
More than a year ago, we surveyed alumni in the Rochester area to learn what kind of programs they were interested in. They responded, loud and clear, that they wanted a variety of events that appealed to different groups.
Over the past academic year, the Rochester Regional Alumni Council put that request into action. Last spring, for instance, nearly 200 alumni, friends, and family members took part in an Easter Egg Hunt on the Eastman Quadrangle.
The preceding fall, the Rochester group inaugurated a lecture series, the "Rochester Life Series," featuring faculty experts who discussed topics of concern to us all. Here's a list of the speakers and their subjects:
These lectures have been very popular--to the extent that Regional Alumni
Councils around the country may sponsor similar events in the future. If
you have questions or ideas on this topic, please call Terry Gurnett
'77 or Ann Frederick '92 at (800) 281-2055 or (716) 273-5894. We look
forward to hearing from you and seeing you at upcoming events.
The Forsyth Family Includes 13 Rochester Alumni (at Least)
It all started with brothers Walter ("Jack") Forsyth '14 and Charles ("Ben") Forsyth '15, who attended the University back when men and women studied together on the Prince Street Campus.
Jack Forsyth--a star athlete who lettered in baseball and football and captained the football team--had three children, including Sally Forsyth Cumming '73W (Mas) and Donald Forsyth '43. Don married Ruth Keene Forsyth '45, '46 (Mas)--and it's a good thing for the University, as the two of them have been loyal alumni, recently serving as co-chairs for this year's Slater Society Reunion on the River Campus.
Ben Forsyth--who transfered to Syracuse, where he was captain of the football team--had three sons, all of whom went to Rochester: John ("Jack") Forsyth '43, William Forsyth '44, '46M (MD), and C. Benn Forsyth '47 (married to Sally Henderson Forsyth '50). (Brothers Jack and Benn and cousin Don are all attorneys, by the way, while William is a physician.)
The University tradition extends to the third generation, to Bruce Forsyth '80S (MBA), son of Benn and Sally, and George Forsyth '74 and Mark Forsyth '82S (MBA), the sons of Don and Ruth. Their third son, Scott, is married to Laureen Burke Forsyth '93, '97M (MD).
Which adds up to 13 alumni (doesn't it?)--with more to come, perhaps, depending
on where the members of the fourth Forsyth generation choose to study.
"If it weren't for scholarship support, I wouldn't have been able to attend the University of Rochester. It just wouldn't have been possible," says Cynthia Rapp '96. A member of the senior honor society known as Keidaeans, she is pursuing a graduate degree in Public Policy Analysis, aiming for a career in state or federal government.
Rapp, who graduated in the spring with a double major in political science and economics, is one of seven students who over the past academic year received support from the Ezra A. and Josephine Booth Hale Scholarship fund. The others are Claire Barthelemy '98, Jennifer Faler '98, Jeffrey Geiss '98, David Hilton '97, Nancy Mychalak '98, and Meagan Rouse '98.
The late Ezra Hale '16 established these scholarships in 1972 to honor the memory of his wife, Josephine Booth Hale '17, and to commemorate the couple's long and fruitful relationship with the University. The awards are given to undergraduates on the basis of achievement, promise, and financial need. Both of the Hales served on the Board of Trustees--the only husband and wife to hold that distinction. Josephine Booth Hale was the first alumna to serve as a trustee and the third woman ever to serve on the board. For 43 years, Ezra Hale was the president of the Lawyers Cooperative Publishing Company, which was co-founded by his grandfather Ezra. He also held the distinction of being the first University graduate to be honored by the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Today, a significant majority of Rochester undergraduates receive financial
aid. Much of this support comes from endowment gifts provided to the University
by alumni like the Hales and other friends of the institution. With a gift
of $25,000 or more, you can establish such a fund. For more information,
call the Alumni Association at (800) 635-4672.
Call the individuals listed below. If you'd like information on Regional Alumni Councils, call the Alumni Association at (800) 281-2055. (The Rochester- area number is 273-5894.) The e-mail address is info@alumni.rochester.edu, and the URL for the Alumni Association home page is http://listener.uis.rochester.edu/alumni.
CALIFORNIA
Los Angeles: Call the Alumni Association
San Francisco: Jim Gebhardt '92 --(510) 208-3837
COLORADO
Denver: Jody Morrow Moore '89 and Jeff Moore '89--(303) 765-4382
CONNECTICUT
Fairfield County: Jane Todd Ross '85S (MBA)--(203) 656-0342 and
Helen Calhoun Jaeger '63 --(203) 655-1466
GEORGIA
Atlanta: Kathy Waller '80, '83S (MBA)--(404) 676-6396
MASSACHUSETTS
Boston: Olivier Sartor '89--call the Alumni Association
NEW YORK
Buffalo: Call the Alumni Association
New York
City: David Kelson '86 --(212) 628-9135
Rochester: Call the
Alumni Association
PENNSYLVANIA
Philadelphia: John Doyle '81-- (609) 216-1776
WASHINGTON, D.C.
Metropolitan area and Baltimore: Gerry Smith '83
(Mas)--(410) 757-4941, e-mail:
gerry_smith @sra.com
AFFINITY GROUPS
Hellenic Alumni Council: David Gosling '63--(716)
546-8077
Lambda Alumni: Bob Dardano '77 --(202) 544-8459 (h), (202)
707-9493 (o),
e-mail:
dardano@mail.loc.gov
INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
For more information on international alumni
activities in Hong Kong, Japan,
Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and the United Kingdom (London),
contact Maura McGinnity '87, director of international alumni relations
and
development, at (716) 275-8928. Her e-mail address is
mmcginnit@alumni.rochester.edu.
The fax number is (716) 275-8186.
Each year, Rochester students, alumni, faculty, and staff members venture out into their community for a day of public service. The event is known as Wilson Day, in honor of the late Joseph C. Wilson '31, founder of Xerox Corporation, former chairman of the Board of Trustees, University benefactor, and community leader.
This year, Wilson Day will extend far beyond Rochester, as alumni around the country take part in service projects in their own communities. At this writing, members of the Regional Alumni Councils in Atlanta, Denver, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C., are joining in the effort.
In the spirit of the University's motto, Meliora--"better things"--alumni
across the country are rolling up their sleeves to help improve their own
communities and, as a result, generating new recognition and respect for
their alma mater.
Last year, the Alumni Association began working with regional clubs nationwide to establish a new organizational model: the Regional Alumni Councils. These are the central organizations in each part of the country that oversee all alumni volunteers and activities, ranging from social events to community service to fundraising to student recruitment to career networking to reunion planning. The goal is an all-inclusive structure that promotes communication and interaction among the various groups of alumni volunteers.
Regional Alumni Councils are now in development in Atlanta, Buffalo, Denver,
New York City, Philadelphia, Rochester, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C.--and
we look forward to establishing two more in 1996-1997 in Boston and L.A.
To get involved in one of these regions, call the Regional Alumni Councils
staff at (800) 281-2055. In Rochester, it's (716) 273-5894.
Copyright 1996, University of Rochester