Meet our New Christopher Reeve Scholar–Ashley Alexander

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In early November I enjoyed the best Cornell Performing Arts experience of my life: the premiere of Orlando’s Gift, written and directed by Cornell professor, David Feldshuh.  It’s an amazing script and was brilliantly acted.  The choreography, set and costumes added a great deal to the story.  I owe this memorable experience to our current Christopher Reeve ’74 scholar*, Ashley Alexander ’25, whom I recently met at a reception hosted by classmates John Foote and Kristen Rupert.  Wow!  You’ll read in her bio that Ashley is entrenched in theatre activities at Cornell.

 

My name is Ashley Alexander. I am a senior at Cornell University double majoring in Government and Performing Arts. I bring both talent and dedication to my studies and extracurriculars in the College of Arts and Sciences. I was born and raised in New York City. My parents were both born in Guyana, making me a proud first-generation college student. At Cornell, I have contributed to both on-stage and backstage roles in productions such as “Desdemona”, “Family Copali”, and “Orlando’s Gift”. Known for my kindness and hard work, I am a familiar face at the Schwartz Center for Performing Arts, where I not only take my classes but also hold a student job and spend countless hours in rehearsals.

My ambitions post-graduation include securing an internship at a production company, television studio, or courthouse while continuing to audition for film and theater roles. My ultimate dream would be to one day perform on Broadway or star in a major television show. In my day to day life as a student at Cornell, I find moments of joy by shopping at the Cornell Store and studying with my peers at Olin Library.

 

*The Christopher Reeve ’74 scholarship was started in 2005 by several of our classmates working with the College of Arts and Sciences.  Recently, the newly appointed Dean of the College, Peter John Loewen, told a group of visiting alumni that support for College scholarships is a top priority; my ears immediately perked up, knowing that some of our classmates continue to support this scholarship in memory of Chris.  If you would like to contribute to this scholarship click here.

Class Scholar Summer Parker-Hall ’25 Leads CU Women’s Basketball as they Open the Season

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This coming Monday the Big Red Women’s Basketball team tips off its 2024-25 season.  While you might not think this is a big deal, it is!  The team is led by our Class of 74 Scholar*, Summer Parker-Hall, who is a senior and plays forward.  Summer hails from Chicago and is studying communication in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.I

n a recent note Summer said,

For my senior year, my academic hopes are to take fun classes that interest me, as I’ve completed all my requirements, and to finish academically on a great note. As I prepare for life after graduation, my dream is to work with a WNBA team in areas like marketing, business operations, or analytics.

 On the basketball court, I’m recovering from a shoulder injury after tearing my labrum last season. I’ve spent the off-season in physical therapy, and now I’m excited to be healthy and play under our new coaching staff for my final season at Cornell.

It’s bittersweet that this is my last year, but I’m staying in the present, savoring every moment at Cornell and how beautiful Ithaca is. I feel incredibly blessed to be here, and I wouldn’t change a thing if I had the chance to do it all over again. Looking forward to seeing you at some games.    

 Go Big Red, 

Summer 

For those of us who had the opportunity to meet Summer at Reunion (she was one of our fabulous student clerks),  Summer epitomizes the best of Cornell—smart, committed, and fun.  Try to catch a game or two.  (Cornell Women’s Basketball Schedule)

Go Big Red!

* Our Cornell Class of 1974 Scholarship was started by Bob and Joan Saltsman Oelschlager in honor of our 25th Reunion.  Through donations by many classmates since, this scholarship has helped seven undergrads through their Cornell journey and they have all made us very proud.  In honor of our 50th Reunion, our class gifted this scholarship $10,000.  If you would like to contribute to this wonderful scholarship here is the link.  Summer is pictured here with classmates John Foote and Kristen Rupert.

Memory Book Deadline Oct.30; Pres Kotlikoff Speech; Meet New ’74 Pres

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Good news for you procrastinators–the Memory Book is still open!  Make your page, edit your page and publish your page until October 30th.  Don’t be left out of the fun.  Please note that pages in draft form need to be “published” to be included in the book.

Immediate Past President Shelley Cosgrove DeFord recently introduced me, Jim Schoonmaker, as our new Class of ’74 President.  I thank her and all our previous Presidents for their terrific leadership of our Class, and I am honored to follow in their footsteps.  We are indeed a Notable Class!

I feel that you and I already know each other: first, because I was the Saturday morning DJ at WVBR during our junior and senior years, and second, because for the last 10 years I have been one of our Class Correspondents, first in print and then online, and thus have had the privilege of sharing your stories with our fellow classmates.  This has given me a unique insight into who our Class is, what you have done, are doing, and plan to do, as we continue our journeys, individually and together as Cornellians.

Personally, I’m proud to be a Cornell son (Ethel ’35) and father (Annalise ’14).  Here in the DC area, I am a current Board member and former officer of the Cornell Club of Washington, where I work very closely with several ‘74s, and look forward to doing so with you.  For more about me, check out the Memory Book or LinkedIn.

I returned to campus for Homecoming and joined our small but engaged group of classmates for our pre-game event.  Many thanks to Lou and Roberta Bandel Walcer for planning the fun event.  And, despite the rain, it was great to be at Schoellkopf to watch the Big Red get the victory over Yale!

Last week, CornInterim President Michael Kotlikoff gave his first State of the University address to hundreds of alumni on campus for Trustee-Council meetings.  He spoke about how Cornell’s founders succeeded in establishing the university in 1865 despite long odds.  And he stated that Cornell is committed “to educate citizens to think for themselves, and live together; and to value truth.”  Read more about the address here.

If you are in the NYC area Thanksgiving weekend, join classmates from the Classes of the ’70s for a pre-game reception before the Frozen Apple Cornell vs. Quinnipiac men’s hockey game.  The party is Saturday, November 30, at 5:30 pm.  For details and registration click here.

Lastly, I joined a group of about 30 Cornellians from the Cornell Club of Washington DC to view Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story.  Whether you knew Chris at Cornell or just followed his acting career (I saw him on campus in Waiting for Godot), this documentary shows what a super man he truly was.  The film is now in theaters and will soon be streaming on AppleTV and Prime Video.  Be sure to catch it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoy the fall!  It’s certainly beautiful in Ithaca!

Class of ’74 Memory Book Deadline is October 15th–Don’t Miss Out

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Don’t miss your final opportunity to create your page in our Class of 74 50th Reunion Memory Book.  It’s free and easy.  You’ll want to be able to access this rich treasure trove of information about our notable classmates for years to come.

There are only four days left for you to create or edit your page.  Our contract with the vendor ends on October 15.  That is a firm date.  After that date, no changes or updates can be made.  The Memory Book will be accessible to all classmates who have created a page.  However, there will be no access for classmates who have not created a page.

Almost 600 classmates have provided info for the Memory Book.  Please join them in creating your own page.  Do it now!

Here is the link to get started.

Keep those memories alive!

Thanks for the Memories–Let’s Keep Making More!

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Being our Class President for the past 5 years has been a true honor, culminating with our 50th Reunion.  Undaunted by COVID and world events, we came together, as our Class always does, and showed up big for our 50th, breaking records, doing new things, having fun and making new friends and new memories!

At our Saturday Reunion dinner, I asked everyone who helped, in any way, to stand up and be celebrated–this included our Reunion Chairs and their team, our Affinity Leaders and Chairs, our Memory Book Chairs, our Fundraising Chairs, our emcees and Bill H. for the Saturday evening show, our RED Talkers, our Class Correspondents, our Membership Chair, the WVBR people, all the classmates who reached out to friends about Reunion, and non-Cornell spouses who worked hard too.  Almost every one of our 600 diners were on their feet.  That’s teamwork!  That’s notable!  From the bottom of my heart, thank you!

That evening our Class gifted me a beautiful watercolor, Cornell Oak, by Susan Booth Titus.  I LOVE it and look at it often; it fills me with such joy.  As so much of our campus has changed, this view will always be my view of Cornell.  (Read more about this special tree here.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Passing the baton, I would like to introduce our new Class President, Jim Schoonmaker.  Jim has been one of our Class Correspondents for the past 10 years and has been very active in the Cornell Club of Washington D.C.  As a Cornell student, Jim worked for WVBR which led him to a lifetime career in broadcasting at several companies, including joining CNN at its infancy.  Jim organized the amazingly fun WVBR live broadcast dance party at our Reunion.  With Jim’s leadership and with classmates like you, we can look forward to the next five years and an amazing 55th Reunion.  So please welcome Jim as our President!

As Jim takes on a new class leadership role, please know that I am not going anywhere.  As Immediate Past President, I will continue to help manage the class website and our ongoing communications.

Finally, I have one last request.  Cornell sent a short, very generic Reunion survey but we’d love your opinion on our Reunion–likes, dislikes, ideas, in your own words.  Please send comments to me.  We will compile them, read them, share them and use them to plan our 55th!

A heartfelt thank you for the memories!  Let’s keep making them!  And be sure to read the many P.S.’s below.

PS:  Memory Book submission deadline is October 15.

PPS: Poor audio at our Friday Reunion dinner prevented you from hearing remarks from classmate Lois Bennett and me.  Our theme was remembrance, connection and celebration, and a very well-deserved award was made to classmate Bill Walker.  You can read our remarks here.

PPPS:  Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story documentary, selected screenings.

PPPPS:  Homecoming Pre-Game Meet-Up and Tour of the Center for Life Science Ventures.

Closing the Books on our 50th Reunion

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As promised, here are the last four links to those wonderful RED talks from our Reunion.  Even if you were there you could only go to one and they were all so good!  So we wanted to share as much as we can so everyone can see the talents and passions of our classmates.  Can’t wait for the 55th!  These final four, all Cornell professors, have shared their research and passions with so many students at our alma mater.

Don’t Breathe the Air! Indoor Air Can Be 100 times More Polluted Than Outdoor Air presenter Cornell Professor Emeritus Joe Laquatra ’74 has been conducting research on indoor environmental air quality since 1986 and is focused on improvements that can result in healthier indoor environments.

Rebels: Jews and the Roman Empire presenter Barry Strauss ’74, a best-selling author, historian and Cornell Professor, talked about Jewish rebellions against the Roman Empire in ancient times and how they still shape our world today, 2000 years later.

The Love Bug: What Fruit Flies Tell Us About the Molecules of Life and Love presenter Mariana Wolfner ’74, Cornell Professor of genetics, developmental biology, and evolutionary biology in CALS, talked about how fruit flies reveal the genes and proteins essential for fertility in insects such as mosquitoes that transmit the Dengue and Zika viruses.

Hits & Flops from a Tree Fruit Entomologist’s Playlist: The Journey of a Bug Guy presenter Cornell Professor Emeritus Art Agnello ’74 describes himself (not necessarily in this order) as a tree fruit extension entomologist, amateur trumpeter, home winemaker, and travel buff.

Our 50th Reunion was right in the middle of the Cornell campaign To Do the Greatest Good.  We just got the final numbers and wow did our Class step up!  Raising almost $58 million from 779 donors and 96 Tower Club gifts, our class set a new 50th Reunion donor record and exceeded all our fundraising goals.  Our last minute challenge to get 774 donors was successful and our Class gifted $10,000 to our Class of 1974 Scholarship.  Many thanks to our Chairs, Andrea Glanz, Jim Irish and David Miller and all of you who gave–we sure did our greatest good!  (Class of 1974 Donor Honor Roll)

As we close the book on our 50th, don’t forget to make (or edit) your page in our Class of ’74 Memory Book.  The DEADLINE IS OCTOBER 15th.

If you are back on campus for Homecoming join our Class of ’74 Pre-Game event.

And don’t forget about the selected screenings of Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story–even the trailer is a tear jerker!  Consider getting together with Cornellians in your area for this.

Be well and stay tuned for my final email as our Class President.

More Reunion Memories and New Events

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Summer is almost over, students are back on campus, a new school year has started, and yet it feels like just yesterday that we were celebrating our 50th Reunion.  And what a Reunion it was!  We broke records–attendance, donors, first-time attendees.  We did new things–Food Trucks, WVBR Dance Party, RED Talks.  We had fun and made memories.

Cornell Class of 1974 Reunion photo June 2024

Speaking of memories, please make (or edit) your page in our Class of ’74 Memory Book.  The DEADLINE IS OCTOBER 15th. You can also edit your existing page until October 15.  Posting in the Memory Book is fun and easy, and you can read what classmates have written about themselves.

Our Reunion Class RED Talks were new this year and very popular.  From the idea behind the well-known TED talks, fifteen Notable classmates gave a presentation on a topic about which they are passionate. We shared links earlier this summer to six of these talks—here are five more.

Classmate John Williams, founder, owner and winemaker at Frog’s Leap Winery ,demystified the subject of “terroir” in his Think like a Grapevine talk.

Our Class VP of Fun, Saturday night MC and former Big Red Bear, Bill Quain talked about The BIG BUSINESS of college today and how alumni can turn it all around!

Wrestling with Wolves: Saving the World One Species at a Time presenter Bill Konstant ’74 is a scientist, conservationist and author who describes himself as “Mowgli meets Forrest Gump”.

Wild Birds are Canaries and Our Planet is the Coal Mine (and Coal is Winning)!presenter John Fitzpatrick (Harvard ’74) is the former head of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and one of the world’s preeminent experts on birds.

DEI–Looking Back/Moving Forward presenter Renee Alexander ’74 has been deeply involved in DEI initiatives in higher ed, including at Cornell.  She believes this topic “encapsulates our generation”.

Looking ahead, Homecoming is right around the corner–September 27-29.   Ithaca classmates Lou and Roberta Bandel Walcer have organized a pre-game event.  On Saturday September 28 at 10 am, Lou will conduct a tour of the Center for Life Science Ventures where he is Director.  He will show labs and equipment, talk about the incubation process, and discuss some of the companies currently engaged in research and development.  Meet at the 4th floor conference room in Weill Hall. There will be food and socializing!  Please consider joining the fun!  For more info, contact Roberta.

Finally, Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story the documentary film about our classmate’s heroic life and work after his paralyzing riding accident will have limited theater release on September 21st and 25th.  Watch the trailer and click here for ticket information near you.

Enjoy the rest of summer and please be well!

Check Out Our Notable Classmates; RED Talks at Reunion

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Your 50th Reunion co-chairs Cris Cobaugh, Bob Baldini and I are catching our breath after a busy and stimulating reunion.  Over the summer we’ll highlight and share info on several special reunion events.

Borrowing from the idea behind the well-known TED Talks, we inaugurated Class of ’74 Reunion “RED Talks”. Fifteen Notable classmates each gave a presentation on a topic about which they are passionate.  Many of us wished we could attend more than one Talk!  Although these RED Talks were not recorded, you can learn more about our classmate presenters through the links. Here’s a rundown on a few Talks—we’ll share info on other RED Talks in future emails.

Evan Stewart ‘74, senior partner in a New York City law firm, spoke about Myron Taylor, namesake of the Cornell Law School building.  Evan recently published Myron Taylor: The Man Nobody Knew, and will soon publish The Worst Supreme Court Decisions, Ever!  Watch  another talk he gave about his book durning the Reunion weekend.

Angel Harper ‘74, Los Angeles-based actress, voice-over artist and studio teacher, spoke on “From Cornell to Tinseltown…Debunking the Hollywood Industry Myth.”  Angel shared her experiences in the glamorous (and sometimes not so glamorous) world of Hollywood and offered insights on the complexity of the production process for films, videos, theatre productions, and musical acts.

Bruce Mainzer ’74, a longtime Chicago-area resident who retired from the hospitality industry, shared a fascinating story about his mother and aunt, called “Fleeing the Nazis: A Journey of Two Sisters and the Hero Who Outwitted the Gestapo.”  Bruce spent several years doing research in the US, Israel and Europe as he pieced together the story of how his mother escaped Nazi-occupied Prague in 1939.

Julie Kane ‘74, poetry scholar, professor, and the former Poet Laureate of Louisiana, spoke about how poetry pervaded Cornell in the 1970’s and how her experiences on campus inspired a lifelong passion.

Jack Corrigan ’74, a Cleveland native, radio announcer for the Colorado Rockies, and previously the voice of the Cleveland Indians and the Cleveland Cavaliers, regaled classmates with tales of amazing plays he’s called, role models (think Vin Scully) he’s known, and players whom he’s covered in his 40-plus year broadcasting career.

Bert Bland ’74, Associate VP of Energy & Sustainability at Cornell, explained his work as project manager for the Cornell Borehole project.  Cornell has drilled 2 miles deep, near the site of the apple orchards, to understand the potential for using earth source heat/thermal energy to heat the Ithaca campus in winter.

These presentations were informative and great fun.  The best part was the ensuing discussions—the Class of ‘74 knows how to engage!  I can’t wait to see the RED Talk lineup for our 55th Reunion.

Finally, we need just 30 more gifts to Cornell to meet our 50th Reunion participation goal.  If you haven’t yet donated, please give any amount to any area at Cornell and put us over the top!  Please make your gift by June 30.

Hope your summer is off to a good start!

50th Reunion–What You Missed

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Whether you made it to Cornell for our 50th Reunion or not, we want to share some of the weekend’s highlights with you.  Even if you were in Ithaca, you may have missed some events or just want to relive them.  I know I did, and I do!

Cornell Class of 1974 Reunion photo June 2024

Thursday night’s highlight was a wonderful talk by Cornell Historian Corey Earle ’07 in which he entertained our standing-room-only crowd with a look back at our time on the Hill.  Watch Corey’s slideshow here.

Friday’s Olin Lecture, a Cornell Reunion tradition since 1987, featured journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin ’99, on campus to celebrate his own 25th Reunion.  Watch that lecture here.

President Martha Pollack gave the State of the University Address on Saturday as is the custom on Reunion weekend.  This address, however, is President Pollack’s final address as our President.  Watch it here.

Saturday evening ended with the spectacular Cornelliana Night at Bailey Hall featuring the Cornell Alumni Chorus and Alumni Glee Club singing multiple Cornell songs, one of which included a special solo by our classmate Jay Spiegel.  The sing-along concert also featured a lively rendition of our Class of ’74 50th Reunion theme song Dancing in the Moonlight.

Please enjoy watching all of these.  And watch and rewatch our Class Slideshow.  Check in often to see the Reunion photos being posted daily by classmates on our Class Photo Site .  Password for these is notable.

Don’t forget to create or update your Memory Book page.  And there is still time to make that gift to Cornell to help us meet our goal—please do this by June 30.

Enjoy the memories and keep dancing in the moonlight!

50th Reunion Slideshow & Photos

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What a fabulous Reunion weekend we just had!  We crushed the previously held record for 50th Reunion attendance as we Danced in the Moonlight!  Whether you made it to Ithaca for our 50th or were with us in spirit, please enjoy and relive the weekend through this wonderful slideshow made by classmate Bill Howard.  Watch here:  password is notable.

Bill is also busily uploading lots of photos from the weekend to our class photo site in the Reunion 2024 folder.  Please share yours with everyone here or email them to cornell74Photos@gmail.com.  Please include a brief caption with the photo.

Old and new friends have been texting and emailing and sharing their photos with each other.  You can share your photos with everyone in the class on social media (Instagram/Facebook/X-Twitter) by using the hashtags #Cornell74Reunion and #CornellReunion.

We will be sharing more about the weekend in the coming days and weeks but wanted to get our slideshow to you right away.  So stay tuned for more Reunion highlights.

We have a couple of requests.  Please complete your page in the Class of ’74 Memory Book.  Consider adding a Reunion photo or two to your page.  And we are so very close to reaching our 50th Reunion donor goal of 774.  We only need 52 more!  You can make a gift to any area in any amount here.

Thank you for making our 50th so special!