Letters

Dance Partners

Robert Druckenmiller ’51 writes that he “received quite a ‘bolt out of the blue’” when he was reading the January-February issue and came to page 54, where there was an archival photo of the 1950 NROTC Ball.

“Yes, I do recognize several persons on page 54. I’m the second midshipman from the right. My dance partner is Priscilla Bartlett ’52. Arthur Rosen ’51 is the midshipman on the right.”

He adds that he and Sarah Luitwieler ’52 were married in June 1952 and are currently living in Seaford, Delaware. Three of their sons also graduated from Rochester: David ’77, Robert ’81, and Daniel ’91, who was in NROTC. “He is currently a captain in the US Navy Reserves, balancing his Navy work with Michelin,” his father writes.

We also heard from Marcy Elizabeth Shapiro, a member of the Class of 1972, who also identified the midshipman on the far right as Arthur Rosen ’51, her father’s first cousin.

Wild about Harry

I was thrilled to see my mentor and friend Harry Reis featured in Review (“How Do We Relate,” January-February). And while I loved the article, I wish you had had the space to describe Harry’s formidable skills as a teacher. I can still remember my first psychology class at Rochester, an introductory social psychology course taught by Harry. The class was nothing short of transformative. I clearly remember dragging myself out of bed when I was really too sick to come to class, simply because I couldn’t bear the thought of missing a lecture. Every one of Harry’s lectures was incredibly interesting, simultaneously answering my questions and upon reflection, generating new ones.

One thing I have never forgotten was Harry’s lecture on the last day of class. He looked at those of us who always sat in the front row, mesmerized by his lectures. He thanked us for always nodding, always laughing at his jokes (they really were pretty good!) and generally making the lecture experience a two-way street. As one who has been teaching for years now, both at the University of Pittsburgh and UNC Chapel Hill, I have never forgotten that moment in Harry’s class. Once you’ve been a teacher, you realize just how gratifying those “front-row” students really are. How kind of him to thank us for something that he made so easy.

You quoted Peggy Clark of Yale University at the end of your piece (she also became a mentor after I finished my PhD), rightly praising Harry’s ever-increasing contributions to research. All true. I’d just like to add that we should honor Harry the teacher as well. As a teacher and a scholar, he is in Dr. Clark’s words “amazing.”

Betsy Sementilli Bennett ’85

Raleigh, North Carolina

Celebrating Dentistry

Your feature article “A Higher Grade of Dentistry” (January-February), highlighting the 100th anniversary of the Eastman Institute for Oral Health, remarkably coincides with the University of Alberta’s celebration of its centennial this year. As a graduate of Rochester, I was privileged to work with its renowned dental researcher, Michael Bunocore, who invented the now widely used “acid etch technique” for dental adhesion of fillings and orthodontic banding.

As an alumnus, I am honored to have been invited to deliver a lecture to the Eastman Institute for Oral Health in April, 58 years after graduating from the University.

I send Centennial Greetings from the University of Alberta to the University of Rochester’s Eastman Institute for Oral Health.

Geoffrey Sperber ’58D (MS)

Edmonton, Alberta

The writer is a member of the medicine and dentistry faculty at the University of Alberta.

Remembering WRUR

The letter from George Landau ’55 about his experience at radio station WRUR brought back fond memories of the U of R and WRUR (Letters, January-February).

I grew up in Manhattan in the 1950s. I used to listen to AM radio and my favorite program was The Make Believe Ballroom, with disc jockey Martin Block. He played all the songs popular in those days—Perry Como, Eddie Fisher, Frank Sinatra, Patti Paige, Tony Bennett, and others. When in 1954 , the Penguins group recorded “Earth Angel,” arguably the first rock and roll song, Block refused to play that song or any other rock and roll songs. So he became obsolete.

When I went to WRUR to see how the station operated, I was offered a one-hour program, to play whatever music I chose, on Friday evenings, at eight or nine o’clock. I called the show The Cool Show.

My opening and closing theme was from the late, great Chet Baker, “Little Man, You’ve Had a Busy Day.” During the program I played Baker, Stan Getz, Chris Connor, the Australian Jazz Quartet, Miles Davis, and others. Although the program was on Friday evening, I did get some positive feedback from a few people on campus.

One anecdote: the late, great jazz pianist Oscar Peterson gave a sold-out concert one time at Strong Auditorium. His jazz playing was phenomenal, but what impressed me, aside from his musical talent, was his vocal improvisation—his “scat”—while he played. For my program that week, I dedicated all the music to Oscar Peterson and between the records, I talked about how much Peterson’s scat abilities impressed me. I received a lot of feedback. People appreciated that I emphasized it during the program.

Although I enjoyed my time as a DJ on WRUR, I pursued another career. Thinking about my time at WRUR brings fond memories.

Howard Silbersher ’60

Princeton, New Jersey

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Review welcomes letters and will print them as space permits. Letters may be edited for brevity and clarity. Unsigned letters cannot be used. Send letters to Rochester Review, 22 Wallis Hall, P.O. Box 270044, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627-0044; rochrev@rochester.edu.