Class Notes

October 1995

by Dennis Lynch

The Class of ’64 Breakfast Club hosted by Bob Musil and Jon McBride is alive and well in Washington, D.C. Eleven classmates attended a recent gathering. Bob Musil describes the group as “a raucous bunch!” Additionally, he and Jon “continue to sing in a small a cappella group that performs in senior centers, etc.” In the not-too-distant future, perhaps some of us may be listening to familiar strains sung by our own classmates in one of these “senior centers.”

“Okay, now you can call me Doc.” So states an announcement card I received from Jethro K. Lieberman. He received his PhD in political theory from Columbia, May 17, 1995. Jethro confides that he garnered his latest degree (fourth) “after registering 24 consecutive terms since September 1983.” Rhetorically, he asks, “Do I also hold the dubious distinction of having spent the most years in getting it?” One would think so.

Jon Auerbach and his family were last photographed eating pizza on the front page of a New York Times restaurant review. According to Chris Getman, “Auerbach doesn't look like he's missed too many pizzas over the years.” Hmm ... Sounds a little like the pot and the kettle.

The Special Olympics were hosted in New Haven this past summer. Peter Jokl MD, director of the Department of Orthopedics and Rehabilitation at the Yale Sports Medicine Center, served as medical commissioner for the Summer Games, which were a tremendous success.

John Ashcroft, the freshman senator from Missouri, was the subject of a provocative column in The Washington Post. The author of the commentary, William Raspberry, cited John's attempts to deal with welfare reform. “At the risk of sounding maudlin, I believe there is a character associated with voluntary charity that is distinguished from the character of governmental entitlement. ... I think our culture will be successful to the extent that we start developing an interface between the people on welfare and the people who aren't on welfare.” It is uplifting that John and other classmates are attempting to find solutions to intractable social problems.

Earlier this year, Network World cited Peter Bradford as one of the most powerful people in telecommunications. Peter, as head of the New York State Public Services Commission (PSC), has been one of the most aggressive public advocates in promoting competition among all kinds of network services. The article states: “What's more, Bradford's PSC has pushed for incentive-based regulation that encourages innovation and network investment.” Peter's reward: “Of course, with the change in governorship in New York, I was replaced a week later — such is fame and powerfulness.”

Jeremy Wood sent two articles from Boston periodicals about classmates Bob Kuehn and Tom Hout. The former is a prominent real-estate consultant and developer. His current project is a conversion of a nine-story warehouse in Boston into 48 studio apartments. The project has provided affordable housing for a variety of artists and has created a cultural district within the community. Tom Hout, vice president of the Boston Consulting Group, is a leading authority on organizational structures used in business management. He believes that “an organization that is too horizontal (in its structure) is unlikely to make a great company.” His thoughts run counter to the current business vogue of processed-based, horizontal organizations.

John Nathan's daughter Elizabeth and her classmate, Gabriella Pollack, 17-year-old juniors at the Brearley School in Manhattan, defeated more than 450 teams from New York and New England to win this year's NYNEX Science and Technology competition. They invented a non-reusable syringe to help prevent the spread of AIDS. Proud papa John would like us to think that the apple does not fall very far from the tree.

Sadly, I report the death of Stan Thomas. The cause of death was non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. “On May 1, there was a memorial service at the Yale Club of New York City, attended by more than 400 friends and colleagues,” so writes Tony Lavely. In addition to Tony, Hank Higdon ’63, Chuck Mercein ’65, Jim Heyworth, and Rich Niglio were in attendance. Rich gave a vivid and emotional eulogy recalling their many happy days at Yale. According to Tony, “there weren't any dry eyes.” Stan is survived by his wife Lydia and his four children.