POLYPREPM A G A Z I N E

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2007–2008 POLY PREP BOARD OF TRUSTEESCHAIRMAN Vincent J. Vigorita MD ’68, P’96, ’99 VICE CHAIRMAN John B. Madden Jr. Esq. ’72 TREASURER David M. Womack P’14, ’16 SECRETARY Grace M. Sawyer P’82

Cynthia Capone ’88 Elizabeth A. Comerford P’09, ’11, ’14 Michael A. Correra ’87 Charles M. Diker ’52Jeffrey S. Ferraro ’88Susanna Furfaro MD, P’13, ’15Karen E. Burke Goulandris MD, PhD, P’15Richard L. Grand-Jean P’05, ’08Andrew F. Gurley ’55John S. Herbert P’03, ’05Alan M. Kantrow MD ’65Thomas H. Parker ’65Stephen M. Raphael Esq. ’59John J. Regan ’86Robert G. Sabbagh ’87Victor M. Samra Jr. ’59Scott M. Smith ’75Malcom P. Travelstead P’93, ’96Clifford Barr Esq. ’48, EmeritusHarry J. Petchesky Esq. ’55, EmeritusNathan K. Trynin Esq. ’48, Emeritus

2 Letter from the Editor

3 Letter from the Headmaster

SCHOOL NEWS

4 News from the Classroom

5 News from the Mansion

6 News from the Stage and Studio

7 News from the Fieldhouse

8 Overheard in Chapel

9 Major School Awards

FEATURES

10 Celebrating 40 Years of Ed Ruck

13 Poly Faculty and Students Connect to Cambodia

16 2008 Auction Celebrates the Arts at Poly

17 Summer Renovations Prepare Richard Perry Theatre for 20th Anniversary

18 Class of 2008 Graduates Join Ranks of Alumni

19 Grade 4 Steps Up to Middle School

20 Alumni Celebrate at Special Reunion 2008

ALUMNI AND FACULTY NOTES

23 Class Notes

39 Faculty Notes

InsideCover On the Road Again: Regional Alumni Receptions

ContentsS U M M E R 2 0 0 8

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2 P O L Y P R E P M A G A Z I N E

The two main stories in this issue, theretirement of Ed Ruck and the journeys offaculty members to Cambodia, highlight

the most important aspect of Poly: teaching. Every school—independent or public, primary orsecondary, large or small—should be focusedabove all on education. And the heart of educationis the interaction between students and teachers.

While modern technology provides enhanced facilities for learning,nothing supersedes the dedication of a great faculty. This summer, threePoly faculty members are working with Cambodian teachers, who oftenmust educate children without books, not to mention computers andSMART Boards. Coach Ruck has been inspiring students to excel on andoff the fields for decades, beginning long before the Poly Prep AthleticsComplex. In different ways, both examples reflect a fundamental realityof education. All you really need for a successful school are teachers, students, and a willingness to learn.

Poly has always had these three key elements. Our faculty is an inspir-ing group of teachers, who work hard to provide the best educationpossible to our inquisitive and exceptional students. This is clear asPoly’s teachers work with students studying science in the natural set-tings on campus or in Prospect Park, rehearsing dance pieces in everyempty space available, or crowding a team into Commons to celebratea sports championship.

The success of Poly’s teachers is clear from our dedicated alumni. Poly isproud of the many alumni who have gone on to change the world throughimpressive careers in medicine, law, athletics, arts, nonprofit work,education, and other fields. But our teachers’ true impact on students ismost evident when alumni return to campus or complete reunion ques-tionnaires. Their comments always make it clear that their thoughts arefilled with memories of great teachers.

I hope that reading about the work of current teachers reminds you ofyour own time at Poly, and renews appreciation for the outstandingteachers who shape the school’s past, present, and future.

Laura ButchyDirector of Development Communications

L E T T E R F R O M T H E E D I T O R

E D I T O RLaura ButchyDirector of Development Communications

A S S O C I A T E E D I T O RJoshua MehiganAssociate Director of Communications

D E S I G NAmy Thesing

P H O T O G R A P H YLaura Butchy: inside covers, 3–6, 9, 16,

17, 19–22, 33, 39, back cover

Lisa Della Pietra ’86: inside back cover

Guy Devyatkin: 1, 6, 17

Martyn Gallina-Jones P’15: 1, 7, 18, 21, 22, 25, 27, 30–38

Frank Fournier: front cover

Joshua Mehigan: 4, 39

Michelle Poiré: 1, 11, 12

Shelley Ruchti: 1, 4, 7, 8, 12, 15

Poly Prep Archives: 10

Poly Prep Magazine is published twicea year by the school’s CommunicationsOffice. Inquiries and submissions arewelcome; send to the Director ofCommunications, Poly Prep CountryDay School, 9216 Seventh Ave.,Brooklyn, NY 11228, or call (718) 836-9800.

POLYPREPM A G A Z I N E

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This has been an exciting and productive year in teaching and learning at Poly Prep. Iam struck not only by the breadth and reach of our program, but also by our ability toprovide an elite and democratic educational experience, focused on the practical

needs of everyday learning.

The graduating senior class is among the most talented group the school has seen, with arecord six PSAT/NMQT National Merit Semi-finalists, 10 AP scholars of distinction, andunprecedented achievement across a range of testing norms. And lest I be accused of asso-ciating standardized testing with student achievement, I frame these remarks aroundanother of the class’s many distinctive accomplishments. One of our graduating seniors received the National CumLaude Society outstanding essay award, demonstrating in his paper the sophisticated thesis-driven, research-based,analytic academic writing that we hope to teach all students.

The Mathematics Department has made strides to support the advanced needs of students, with nearly 75% of Polygraduates completing a full year of calculus. This fall, we will have two tracks in Upper School math, including AdvancedGeometry for ninth graders. The department also plans new electives in Statistics, Applied Engineering, andMultivariable Calculus. In the Middle School, we have developed a curriculum that supports a variety of learning styles,including accelerated courses for advanced students and workshops for students who need extra help. In the ScienceDepartment, the Special Advanced Program track serves our most able students, and expanded elective offerings sup-port students who need a general education in science. In Middle School Science, foundation skills are nurtured andstudents come to understand connections to other subjects and the world at large.

The English Department also meets student needs across a range of abilities, adding a new AP English Language andComposition seminar and continuing the successful Senior Seminar. Our Middle School program has been collaborat-ing with a consulting group that specializes in teaching writing, which complements the work of faculty in workshops atTeachers College focused on the teaching of writing. The same consultancy will begin working with Middle School his-tory this fall in an effort to solidify skill-sets in younger students. We have also seen the History Department develop anumber of new and interesting projects, including the revised Economics elective.

The Language Department is building on the dual language track in Middle School, where 75% of students complete twoyears of full-time study in a modern language and Latin. In the Upper School, students continue to study two languagesand increasingly graduate with real facility. We have instituted an after-school program in Mandarin Chinese and planto have an Arabic course sequence ready for 2009.

We have also spent time this year considering the move from Lower School to Middle School, striving to create a seam-less transition between academics on both campuses. We have made huge strides with conversations among teachers,implementation efforts in curriculum mapping, and stronger articulation and dedication of expectations, skill-sets,and desired outcomes between the two campuses.

Poly’s success rests on the ongoing desire to bring skill-based learning to students, preparing them for college and lifebeyond. Our young people are entering a world marketplace that is ever changing, more competitive, and increasinglyglobal in scope. At Poly, our goal is to provide students with the requisite academic skills and personal values to assim-ilate information readily, to work cooperatively and productively with others, and to be active, competent, compassion-ate, and responsible global citizens.

David B. HarmanHeadmaster

L E T T E R F R O M T H E H E A D M A S T E R

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IN THE CLASSROOMSenior project presentations demon-strated outstanding range this yearwithin the broad topic “PopularCulture.” Head of Upper School BudCox congratulated students on theirsuccess at the Major Awards Chapel,noting that 32 seniors passed withdistinction.

Grade 6 students impressed fellowMiddle School students, faculty, andfamilies with their knowledge onAncient Civilizations Day. Murals createdby arts students served as a backdrop for a musical performance featuringrhythms embodying Sophocles’ themesin the Oedipus cycle. Actors offeredtheir interpretation of the myth ofPerseus slaying Medusa, followed bytwo dance pieces: a Greek sailor’s danceand a traditional Greek wedding folkdance. Following the performance, students explained their various historyand English projects.

Glee Club enjoyed a visit from Polyalumnus and professional singer DougJabara ’84 in January. Jabara and hiscolleagues performed sections of LaTraviata and Gilbert and Sullivan’s “IAm a Pirate King,” after which Jabaratalked to students about the differ-ences between Broadway, operetta,and opera styles.

Middle School students welcomedguest author and X-Men creator ChrisClaremont P’15, ’15 in April. Claremontspoke in an assembly about his storiedcareer as a novelist and writer of comicbooks, and later met with smallergroups of students for in-depth discus-sion. Claremont explained that his cre-ative process begins with reserve,patience, and perception.

ACTIVIT IES AND AWARDSThe annual Academics Awards Chapelwas divided in two this year, allowingtime to recognize the accomplish-ments of more than two dozen UpperSchool students. An earlier Chapelinducted four seniorsinto Cum Laude Societyand six juniors intoOasis Society.

Upper and MiddleSchool students at all lev-els earned distinction inthe National Latin Exam.Summa Cum Laude hon-ors were awarded to tenLevel I students, threeLevel II students, andone Level III student. InLevel V, four studentsearned Cum Laude honors, and inLevel VI, one student garnered MagnaCum Laude recognition.

Middle and Upper School studentfinalists impressed fellow studentsand faculty during the annual BearnsSpeaking Contest. Students in Grade5 performed poems, and the presti-gious Joseph H. Bearns Medal went toJair Froome. In Grade6, first-place honorswent to Dylan Wrobel.Christine Croasdailetook top honors forGrade 7, and HansBilger was awarded firstplace for Grade 8.

Grade 9 recitedsoliloquies, with MattSafian taking the topspot for his perform-ance of a Shylock speechfrom The Merchant of

Venice. Grade 10 memorized excerptsfrom famous speeches. Sean Ryanwon first place for his recitation of“Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death.”Juniors delivered speeches excerptedfrom novels, and Kyle Wynter-Stoner won with a monologue fromDostoevsky’s Notes from Underground.Seniors recited monologues frompopular films. Molly Hurwitz wonfirst place for her humorous per-formance from Waiting for Guffman.

In February, Upper School Chapelwas a multilingual celebration of lovepoetry that invited some of the topforeign language students in theschool—along with a few teachers—torecite poems in Spanish, French,Polish, Russian, Latin, and Greek.After recitations by finalists in vari-

ous languages, a winnerwas chosen for eachlevel of study.

Middle School for-eign language studentfinalists presentedtheir recitations fortheir peers and facultyin May. Each Grade 8French and Spanishstudent was required tomemorize and recite apoem, and one studentwas selected as a win-

ner for each language. French stu-dents recited “Il pleure dans moncoeur,” by Paul Verlaine, and Spanishstudents recited “Al Espejo,” by JorgeLuis Borges.

For more Poly news, photos, and awardwinners, visit www.polyprep.org/news/news.

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IN THE CLASSROOMWriting has always been an importantpart of the Lower School curriculum,and this year there was a new focus asstudents participated in NationalNovel Writing Month. The project hadGrade 3 participants dedicate the 30days of November to writing a novel ina month. Grade 3A head teacherMicaela Blei, who has participated inthe past, brought the program to Polythis year. At the Lower School, stu-dents chose word counts for them-selves ranging from 500 words to5,000. Students finished the monthwith a Novel Celebration, during whichthey shared excerpts of their novelsand wrote compliments to each otherabout them. Blei hopes to includemore students in the project next year.

Last fall, Lower School studentsjoined kids around the country in set-ting a world record for reading.Partnering with the national nonprof-it Jumpstart, Poly helped the Read forthe Record campaign break the recordfor the second year in a row. Thenational event included hundreds ofthousands of children and adultsreading the official campaign book,The Story of Ferdinand, at more than1,900 events across the country. Morethan $1 million was raised throughdonations and sales of a special-edition book to support Jumpstart’searly education programs for at-riskchildren in communities across thenation. At Poly, every Lower Schoolclass joined in the campaign.

Lower School students set anotherrecord at Halloween, when Grade 4sponsored the annual Bread for Breadbake sale. Rather than dress up in cos-tumes, students brought in bakedgoods from home for Grade 4 studentsto sell in the cafeteria. Nurserythrough Grade 3 students bought thetreats to enjoy during class parties,helping Grade 4 raise more than$1,000 for UNICEF with the record-breaking bake sale and specialUNICEF trick-or-treat boxes.

Other grades joined in with theirown community service projects.Grade 3 collected coats betweenThanksgiving and winter break, whileGrade 2 collected canned goods. Grade1 spearheaded the Lower School’s par-ticipation in the Common Cents PennyHarvest. For the past 12 years, Poly stu-dents have joined hundreds of otherNew York City schools, both independ-ent and public, to “harvest” millions ofidle and unused pennies and donatethem to a worthy cause.

SPECIAL GUESTSIn February, Lower School studentsenjoyed a visit from James Otis Thach,author of A Child’s Guide to CommonHousehold Monsters. Thach met withGrades 1–4, reading from his bookand discussing the process of writing,from getting the idea to getting pub-lished. Students also had the chance toshow off their drawings of monsterscreated for his visit.

In April, Lower School students wel-comed a special group of human andpuppet guests, the Striking Viking StoryPirates. The Story Pirates visited Polytwice to work with students to dramatizetheir writing. Early in the month, stu-dents were introduced to the writingprocess at an assembly. Students thenreturned to their classrooms to write sto-ries, fragments of stories, or plays basedon the Lower School book How to Have theBest School on the Planet. The Story Piratestook the stories and used improvisation-al techniques to bring the book to life in a play that they performed at the Lower School later that month.

In science class, guest speakerCarolyn Hall joined students this springfor an interactive investigation of wateryecosystems, focusing on salt marshes.Students were able to smell the sulfur inclumps of grass and mud, touch a horse-shoe crab and various plants, and observemussels, clams, mud snails, worms, andother specimens Hall brought. Hall, amaster’s student at the School of Marineand Atmospheric Sciences at SUNYStonybrook, discussed different types of coastal habitats, including rockycoasts, sandy shores, and salt marshes.The third graders were also able toobserve a core section of marsh, whichshowed layers of roots, sand, and mud.

N E W S F R O M T H E M A N S I O N

DANCEPoly’s 12th Annual Dance Concertimpressed crowds in April, with morethan 180 Grade 5–12 students perform-ing. The Richard Perry Theatre waspacked for three nights as students fromUpper and Middle School dance classes,Upper and Middle School After-SchoolDance, and Dance Team lit up the stagewith their talent in numbers choreo-graphed by students and teachers.

Lower School students showed offtheir dancing at a pair of May perform-ances. Grades 1 and 2 offered a per-formance for families at the LowerSchool, while Grades 3 and 4 traveledto big Poly to perform the LowerSchool Spring Concert in the RichardPerry Theatre. Grades 3 and 4 per-formed their own choreography, whichcombined moves of their own inven-tion with established dance styles.

MUSICStudents of all ages filled Poly withmusic this spring, beginning with theUpper School Spring Arts FestivalConcert on May 1. Faculty and fami-lies enjoyed performances by ConcertBand, Glee Club, Blues Devils, ACappella, and Concert Choir, as wellas soloists. Later that month, MiddleSchool musicians demonstrated theirtalent at the Middle School SpringConcert. Students impressed apacked Chapel with performancesfrom the Middle School Band, MiddleSchool Jazz Band, Young Singers, andTower Singers.

Lower School singers brought their Spring Concert to the RichardPerry Theatre on May20. Grade 3 opened the event playingrecorders, then sang awide variety of musicalnumbers, accompany-ing themselves on xylo-phone and percussion.Grade 4 followed bydemonstrating theirdexterity on percus-sion, xylophone, violin,and flute, in addition totheir singing skills.

THEATREIn January, Grades 7 and 8 presentedthe comedy Little Red Riding Hood (andthe Power Mutants), by Ed Monk,offering 16 talented students thechance to shine. Middle School students also impressed audienceswith their inspiring May productionof Fiddler on the Roof. Grades 5 and 6

students took to the stage with thenew Middle School Drama Club, pre-senting the comedy Homework EatsDog (and Other Woeful Tales), by AlanHaehnel. Many of the students weregraduates of the Lower SchoolMusical, which performed the sameevening in the Richard Perry Theatre.More than 30 Grade 1–4 studentssang, danced, and acted in a variety ofmusical numbers.

Upper School actors put on agrand-scale production in the springmusical, Urinetown. The contemporarysatire by Greg Kotis and Mark Hollmanfeatured a talented cast of 36 singersand dancers. Before the February 29opening, cast members enjoyed a visitfrom Kotis, who spoke about the show,took questions, and watched a scenefrom Poly’s production.

VISUAL ARTSPoly’s visual artists decorated the hallsof both campuses this spring. At theLower School, projects included Grade1’s colorful puppets inspired by thepuppets of Paul Klee, and Grade 2’sdrawings based on a surrealist game,The Exquisite Corpse. Grade 3 collab-orated on a major mixed-media proj-ect based on their study of sculptorAlexander Calder, and Grade 4 enjoyed

the annual painting ofstools to recreate a workstudied in art history.

Middle and UpperSchool students pre-sented their creations atthe Spring Arts Festivalon May 1. Every inch of hall was hung withart: still lifes, abstractpaintings, aerial cityviews, detailed draw-ings, Russian construc-tivist collages, andmore. Sculpture andceramics recreated

everything from classical vases tosneakers to a dessert tray. The TowerGallery included a Grade 8 voodoo doll project, and the library offeredscreenings of student films.

For more arts news, photos, and awardwinners, visit www.polyprep.org/news/news.

6 P O L Y P R E P M A G A Z I N E

N E W S F R O M T H E S T A G E A N D S T U D I O

WINTER SPORTSA highlight of the winter sports seasonwas the triumph of the varsity girls’swim team, which claimed the IvyLeague Championship title. Poly girlsfinished with 389 points, beating outHackley, Horace Mann, Riverdale,Trinity, Fieldston, and Dalton. Thewin was particularly poignant for the team, as it was teacher Ed Ruck’s last year coaching. (See page 10.) The varsity boys’ swim team finishedfourth in the Ivy League.

The varsity boys’ basketball teamfinished a tremendous year 24-0 inregular season play, a first for Poly.They ranked fifteenth in the MadisonSquare Garden Tri-State Poll andtenth in the New York Hoops Poll.Losing only to Collegiate in a double-overtime play-off game, the BlueDevils were among only three otherteams in New York State to be unde-feated in regular season play. Varsitygirls’ basketball finished their seasonat fourth place in the Ivy League with a 13-9 record, and qualified for thefifteenth consecutive year for theNYSAIS state tournament.

Varsity boys’ and girls’ trackmatched accomplishments this sea-son, with both teams taking secondplace in the Ivy Championships. Thevarsity wrestling team had an equallyexciting season, placing second intheir Ivy League Championship meet.The team finished the season with two

fifth-place, two second-place, and twofirst-place finishes.

Both varsity squash teams playedhard this winter, leading the girls tocomplete the season 10-3. The boys’team finished 7-5 and was runner-up inthe New York State Boys’ SquashChampionship. They earned sixth placein nationals among Division C teams.

SPRING SPORTSThe spring sports season broughtBlue Devils championships to campusin softball and baseball. The varsitysoftball team finished 12-0 in the Ivy League to win their third consecu-tive championship. The team alsowon its third consecutive NYSAISChampionship, allowing only .9 runsper game on average. Blue Devils var-sity baseball finished the Ivy Leagueseason as undefeated champions 13-0

and won the NYSAIS Championship.Poly baseball has taken both champi-onship titles two years in a row, win-ning their last 33 consecutive games.

Varsity boys’ track and field came insecond at the Ivy Championship meet,and the team took second place at theNYSAIS meet. Varsity girls’ track andfield team completed its season in thirdplace and finished the NYSAIS meetfourth out of 21 schools.

Though varsity boy’s tennis com-pleted the season with a record of 2-12,the team expanded to include moreplayers than ever before. The varsitygolf team also faced a tough season,finishing 1-12-1.

Varsity boys’ lacrosse finished theseason with an overall record of 8-9,losing five of its matches by only onegoal, with three of those in sudden-death overtime. The team made it tothe first round of Metro playoffs. The varsity girls’ lacrosse team’s 9-6record made them a number-fiveseed in the NYSAIS Tournament. Thegirls’ team welcomed a special newmember in April—four-year-old LilyLangbein, a young New Yorker fight-ing a brain tumor. The Blue Devilsbecame the first high school team towork with the Friends of JaclynFoundation to “adopt” a pediatriccancer patient. Lily and her familyvisited Poly, where team memberspresented her with gifts, including apink lacrosse stick.

To read more, view photo galleries, andsee complete lists of MVP and MIP awardwinners, visit www.polyprep.org/program/athletics.

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N E W S F R O M T H E F I E L D H O U S E

8 P O L Y P R E P M A G A Z I N E

S E V E R A L S P E C I A L G U E S T Svisited the Middle and Upper Schoolsto speak at Chapel this spring.

On January 18, Poly welcomedLynda Blackmon Lowery as thespeaker for both divisions honoringMartin Luther King Jr. Day. Loweryturned 15 in 1965 while marchingfrom Selma to Montgomery to protestfor African-American freedoms andvoting rights. Authors Susan Buckleyand Elspeth Leacock, whose bookJourneys for Freedom: A New Look atAmerica’s Story explores Lowery’s

experience, joined her for the pre-sentations.

Lowery talked about feeling movedby King’s words and message, as well as her experience on March 7,1965, when 600 civil rights activistsmarched east out of Selma on U.S.Route 80. They made it six blocksbefore state and local lawmen attackedthem with billy clubs and tear gas.

“Up to that point, we had not beenconfronted. I felt myself being pulledback after we heard the tear gas pops,”she said. “I bit the hand that waspulling me—that was a big mistake. Iheard him call me ‘nigger,’ and thenhe hit me twice. I ran into the gas, andwhen I woke up, they had put me in ahearse. I saw people, got up, andstarted running.”

Lowery told students that shelearned a lot from her experiencesand that she has been glad to seeprogress over her lifetime, eventhough King’s dream is not yet fullyrealized. “The dream has not comefull circle. It is our responsibility tokeep things moving,” she said.“Change starts with one step.”

On January 31 and February 1,Middle and Upper School studentstook part in Focus the Nation, anationwide event to spread awarenessabout global warming issues. EvanVogel ’78, P’13, ’16 spoke to students

about the past, present, and future ofsolar energy. He gave a brief history of how Albert Einstein’s NobelPrize–winning work on the photoelec-tric effect paved the way for the devel-opment of the solar cell, a necessarycomponent for harnessing light energyand converting it into electric energy.

“Right now, Germany offers its cit-izens the most aggressive incentivesfor switching to solar power,” he said,“but in about three years, Californiawill catch up.” He closed his presenta-tion by showing students several loca-tions on Poly rooftops that would pro-vide ample space for solar cells, if Polydecided to use solar power.

Former teacher Shari Fogler P’91,’94 returned to Poly on March 7 tohost Community and Diversity Day atthe Upper School. In addition to aperformance by theatre companyStage 13, the day involved workshopsin advisory periods with activities toencourage open dialogue about iden-tity issues and diversity. The UpperSchool then reconvened in the Chapelfor an open-mic session, in whichstudents commented on the day andrecommended ways that Poly couldmove forward with changes exploredin the advisories.

“You—as a community—know whatworks,” Fogler said. “Moving aheadwith what works, that is your charge.”

Students joined Lynda Blackmon Lowery for discussion in the library after she spoke at Chapel for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

O V E R H E A R D I N C H A P E L

Evan Vogel ’78, P’13, ’16 spokeabout the future of solar energy.

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POLY ANNOUNCES2007–2008 MAJORAWARD WINNERSOn May 27, Upper and Middle Schoolstudents gathered in the gym for PolyPrep’s annual Major Awards Chapel.The ceremony began with the MiddleSchool awards, which were presentedby Upper School students who hadpreviously received them.

The Maryanna Sheller Award, givento a Grade 6 student deemed outstand-ing in scholarship and character, waspresented to Edward Spinelli.

The Ralph Dupee Award is given to the Form I students who have made outstanding contributions inacademics, extracurricular activity,and personal character. The award wasshared this year by Jacqueline Chirdoand Christine Croasdaile, who willserve as co-presidents of the MiddleSchool next year.

The Myron Ruckstull Award for outstanding sportsmanship in daily lifeat Poly was presented to eighth gradersKatharine Friel and Nicholas Caso. TheMarjorie Bull Award for outstandingacademic achievement in Grade 8 wentto Jennifer Shyue and Hans Bilger, who won last year’s Dupee Award.

Math chair Anita DeRuiter pre-sented the first Upper School award,the Emmett Gold Routt Cup, awardedannually to the student who has shownthe greatest academic improvementduring senior year. She gave the

trophy to Matthew Mirman, whom shepraised for his grit, determination,and intellectual ability.

The 2008 School Service Awardwent to Katie Giovinazzo, praised by peers and teachers for her extra-ordinary initiative and hard work inleading the Cambodia Project. (Seepage 13.) The Service Award honors a senior student for character, loyalty,service, and decorum.

Performing arts teacher SonyaBaehr presented Ian Holden with the Creativity Prize, awarded to thesenior who has shown outstandingoriginality and imagination in a par-ticular discipline. Baehr describedHolden as the embodiment of artistryin theatre, dance, music, and film.

The 2008 Williams Prize forIntellectual Curiosity was awarded to two students, Margot Elmaleh and Amedeo Turturro. Elmaleh was

described as a studentwho is always thinkingabout thinking, andTurturro was calledpatient and exacting.The Williams Prize isgiven to the senior or seniors who mostclearly demonstrate agenuine pursuit oflearning and enthusi-asm for knowledge.

Kevin Heller won theScull Plaque, awardedannually to a senior whohas excelled in bothscholarship and athlet-ics. Heller’s talent and

ability have prompted a New York Metsscout to say that he could easily playmajor league baseball after college.

The celebrated Joseph Dana AllenAward went to Elizabeth Balsam.Named for the headmaster who servedPoly from 1917 to 1949, the honor isawarded for the highest scholarship,combined with commensurate charac-ter. Balsam received an A or A+ in everyclass but two, in which she earned A-.

The Poly Cup, given annually to thesenior who has stood for the most atPoly, went to Jennifer Buchholz. Headof Upper School Bud Cox called her “a model of intellectual and moralintegrity.” Buchholz’s character, hesaid, simply epitomizes the qualitiesof empathy, humility, and courage.

When the awards had all been pre-sented, Grade 5 closed the Chapel bysinging “Far Down on the Heights CalledDyker” to the outgoing Class of 2008.

The annual Major Awards Chapel recognized Middle School (above) and Upper School(below) award winners.

M A J O R S C H O O L A W A R D S

A t the end of the 2007–2008 school year,after forty years at Poly Prep, beloved coachEd Ruck retired from his position as aphysical education teacher.

Ed is Poly history. In 2008, it’s easy to lose per-spective on what it means to have done any one thingfor 40 years. One might hear of sweethearts recogniz-ing one-month anniversaries, or of retirees adoptingsecond careers. At Poly, teachers receive milestonegifts beginning with five years’ service. So here are afew things to put Ed’s career inperspective.

Ed came to Poly Prep in 1968.He has worked at Poly for morethan one-quarter of its 154-yearexistence and four years longerthan former headmaster JosephDana Allen. When Ed came to Poly,the Verrazano Bridge was new, andPoly was a boys’ school. None ofEd’s students had everheard of Neil Armstrong,Saturday Night Fever, SpaceInvaders, The White Album,AIDS, the Internet, cellphones, or al Qaeda. WhenEd had already worked hereten years, several of Poly’scurrent teachers were stillunborn. And when he hadalready worked here twentyyears, East Germany wasstill a country.

As headmaster DavidHarman P’04, ’06 put it,“headmasters come and go,but Ed has been one of theindispensable people thatholds the school together.”

A neighborhood kid, Ed grew up in Bay Ridge during the fifties. “Never got too far out of Brooklyn,”he says. “I went to PS 104, right up on the corner, andFort Hamilton High School on Shore Road and 83rdStreet.” After high school, Ed attended BrooklynCollege, where he meant to become an architect.

“I received awards for mechanical drawing in highschool, so I thought that’s what I wanted to do,” he says.“I was doing well, but sitting behind a desk all day justwasn’t me.”

He had always gravitat-ed toward sports, and atBrooklyn College Ed got toknow several people on thephysical education staff. Thesefriendships were instrumentalin convincing Ed to switchcareer paths. His first job as aPE teacher was at John Jay,where he worked for one year.

But Ed wanted to teachsoccer. John Jay is a publicschool and, as Ed says, “Iwas the low man on thetotem pole. I realized Iwasn’t going to get to coachsoccer for years. My wife’suncle taught at Poly, so Icame here.”

In his years at Poly, Edhas taught Middle Schooland freshman physicaleducation. He served asathletics director for nineyears and as head of hisdepartment for 16 years.He has coached MiddleSchool soccer and fresh-man soccer, and he was

1 0 P O L Y P R E P M A G A Z I N E

Celebrating 40 Years of

Ed Ruck

Ed Ruck (back, with wife, Diane) has spent many years at Poly, ashave most of his family members, including (left to right) his sonChristopher ’97, daughter-in-law and Poly teacher Vanessa,daughter Lisa Taliercio ’95, and son-in-law Michael Taliercio.

the boys’ varsity soccer coach for 20 years. He has alsoserved as Middle School, freshman, and varsity base-ball coach and as head varsity swim coach.

Mike Junsch ’71, P’94, ’95 was the first soccer cap-tain Ed coached at Poly, and has been his fellow athlet-ics teacher at Poly for 33 years. Junsch credits Ed for hisdecision to become a physical education teacher.“Thank you for teaching the boys and girls of Poly ‘howto play the game!’ ”

Ed may be best known for his charismatic leader-ship as coach of the swim team, which he worked withthroughout his 40-year tenure. Christine Capone ’02,now a student at New York Medical College, still recallsEd’s signature whistling from the side of the pool, whichshe said he could sustain for an entire 6-minute race.

Health coordinator Patti Tycenski Mastro, Ruck’sassistant swim coach for 13 years, adds that the whistleis piercing enough that swimmers can hear it underwa-ter. She speaks fondly of their years working together,calling Ruck a “colleague, mentor, and dear friend.”

As an astonishing finale to Ruck’s tenure as a coach,the 2007–2008 girls’ swim team ended their season bywinning the Ivy League title. It was the first time a Polyswim team had won the championship since 1980.

“They sent me out a winner!” Ed says with a smile.Ed’s philosophy of teaching is simple.

“Involvement of everyone,” he says. “Everyone has arole. I try to make it as enjoyable as possible, and alsoeducational.” Ed wants all his students to learn coop-eration and to gain an appreciation of whatever activ-ity they’re practicing in class. Sometimes, he says,students have found skill development boring. “Theywould rather play!” he says. “They have to learn first.After that, they love playing against each other andplaying against other schools.”

The coach received several standing ovations thisspring, when chants of “Ed-die! Ed-die!” from alumniand faculty, or “Ruck! Ruck! Ruck!” from students,would erupt at the mention of his name in Chapel andelsewhere. April 18 was officially declared Ed Ruck Dayat Poly. That morning, when Ed walked into Chapel, hewas greeted by 450 cheering students and facultydecked out in ‘I Love Ed Ruck’ T-shirts.

That night, alumni, parents, faculty, and staffgathered at Brooklyn’s El Caribe Country Club for anunforgettable celebratation of Ed’s extraordinarycareer. The event included a reception, live band, anddinner for more than 640 guests. In El Caribe’s enor-mous dining hall, elegantly decorated with strings oflights and Poly Prep iconography, guests cheered asspeakers testified to Ed’s dedication, easygoing atti-tude, and savoir-faire in athletics.

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Hundreds of friends, family, and colleagues gathered for Ed’s retirement dinner, including (left to right) his daughter Lisa Taliercio ’95, hisson Christopher Ruck ’97, Alex Donnenfeld ’07, Ed, and Peter Sessa ’68.

The incredible outpour-ing of love and appreciationfor the teacher and coachbegan with master of cere-monies and associate headof school Steve Andersen,who told the audience thatby the end of the evening,they would “understand,even more, the full impactthis kind and committedman has made on our lives.”Thanks and congratulationsto Ed were given by many,including Harman, Junsch,Capone, and TycenskiMastro.

Headmaster emeritusBill Williams P’89 portrayedEd as a teacher whose exam-ple will be followed for yearsto come. Peter Sessa ’68,Ruck’s first swim captain,gave credit to Ed for helpingthe 1969 team win their firstseason, 6-3. Thomas Fritsch’87, captain of Ruck’s finalPoly soccer team, describedhimself as one of two kids onhis team who really couldn’tswim. “But Mr. Ruck took meunder his wing,” Fritsch said.

Harold Theurer ’75,P’13, past president of theAlumni Board of Governors,has been a close friend ofEd’s since meeting him as astudent. “Thank you to myteacher,” he said. “Thankyou to my coach, and thankyou to the best man at mywedding.”

The dining room erupted with laughter when themoment came to unwrap a mystery present on thetables: a bobblehead doll of Ed Ruck, complete withwhistle and coach’s outfit. Guests also received a DVDcopy of Ruck—And Know They Love You, a film producedby assistant head of school for finance, Robert Aberlin’62, P’00, ’03.

Further and fitting testimony to Ed’s status as a

Poly Prep superstar is thatPoly has received substan-tial donations in his honor.“To honor Ed in perpetuity,”headmaster Harman said,“we have received two leadchallenge gifts. First, wehave received a gift to reno-vate the pool completely, sowe will have a much-improved pool in which todefend Poly’s Ivy Leaguetitle. Second, we havereceived a lead gift to estab-lish an endowed athleticschair in Eddie’s name.”

Ed greets these displaysof gratitude in his typicallyself-effacing manner: “Somuch for quietly slipping outthe back door into retire-ment,” he joked when hetook the stage at his retire-ment dinner.

One thing that shouldn’tbe lost in all the hubbub surrounding Ed’s retirementis the fact that Poly’s love ofEd is hugely requited. In his5,500 days at Poly (give ortake a few), Ed has madelifelong friends, mentoredgenerations of athletes, andworked with hundreds ofstudents and colleagues,including two of his ownchildren and a daughter-in-law. He attributes hislongevity as a teacher, andhis devotion to Poly, to them.“You out there are the reason

for my 40 years at Poly,” he said.“It’s been an unbelievable 40 years.”

To read more and see additional photos of Ed’s dinner, visit www.polyprep.org/news/news/detail.asp?from=archives&newsid=437482. For more information aboutsupporting the pool renovation and athletics chair honor-ing Ed, contact Gabrielle Gilliam at (718) 836-9800,3240, or ggilliam@polyprep.org.

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The crowd laughed as Ed unwrapped his bobblehead at his retirement dinner on April 18. Earlier in the day, Polycelebrated Ed Ruck Day with “I Love Ed Ruck” shirts and aserenade of the school song by the Middle School.

P oly Prep’s StudentGovernment embarkedon an ambitious com-munity service endea-vor last year: a school-

wide initiative to build a schoolin Cambodia. A host of Upperand Middle School initiativessupported the Cambodia Project,including T-shirt sales, holidaygift cards, and a semi-formalfundraiser. Poly raised the nec-essary $13,000 to build theschool by spring and then con-tinued raising funds for anEnglish teacher, computers,books, and solar panels.

The Poly community is notonly reaching out to Cambodiafrom afar but also sponsoringfaculty volunteers. This summer,teachers Michael Bass, LizRapacchietta, and Louise Forsythare in Cambodia giving workshops for Teachers AcrossBorders, an organization of American and Australianteachers who offer two-week workshops in pedagogyand school leadership for Cambodian teachers, whotypically have 50 to 70 students in a class.

This will be the third trip for Forsyth, whom Polysponsored as a TAB workshop leader in 2006 and2007. Here are excerpts from the journal she keptduring her previous trips.

The Cambodian PeopleThey are the loveliest people, I think, that I’ve evermet. They are amazingly polite, patient, friendly, andwarm, with ready smiles and warm eyes. I didn’t seeone example of rudeness or anger, even on the roads.Here we have bicycles, motos, tuk-tuks, and cars, allsharing one lane, and virtually no traffic lights. Yeteveryone cheerfully makes way for the larger vehicle

when they beep gently—almost no real honking exceptfor the arrogant cars. In Siem Reap (but less common-ly in the capital), the Cambodians greet each other withhands together at the chest or face and do this whenthey say “thank you” too. Where you place your handsshows your degree of deference to the other person—atthe top of your forehead for god, at your nose for parents, etc. It’s a lovely form of greeting. Everyonesays hello—in Siem Reap at least, which is a relativelysmall city of about 1,000,000. Everyone politely letsyou pass or make your way through the mud. They areearnest, and go out of their way to help.

The Cambodians are a cheerful people, they like tolaugh, they like jokes, they offer that radiant smile atthe drop of a hat, they seem happy to be alive. The SiemReap airport is tiny, just two gates, with only a fewflights out each day, but you walk to the plane and climbup the stairs, and it just feels right. I hope I’m notromanticizing people just beginning to catch up—but I

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Forsyth leads a Teachers Across Borders training session for Cambodian teachers.

Poly Faculty and StudentsConnect to CAMBODIA

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don’t think so. Neveronce in Siem Reap didI feel unsafe, eventhough many of thestreets are not lit atnight and you can walkin near pitch dark-ness. It makes it hardto see how they killedeach other so brutal-ly—there’s just nothreat of violencearound. That’s nottrue, if I remembercorrectly, for PhnomPenh. In Siem Reap, Inever felt the need togrip my purse, as peo-ple used to do in Italybecause of the motor-cycle thieves who’d grab your bag right off your shoul-der. There are a zillion motorcyclists in Siem Reap, andI never worried about this at all, even when I was carry-ing money back to the hotel—which, of course, didn’taccept credit cards.

They seem to have no rancor about the KhmerRouge. One of the young translators told me that peoplewere glad that the trial of a few leaders had just begun(Pol Pot died in 1998 and his military chief just died afew year ago). He wanted the trial not so much to pun-ish the leaders but to make the younger generationknow that this type of behavior would not be tolerated.But he told me that the Khmer Rouge had been invitedinto the government to avoid civil war, although no onehad voted for them. The issue of governmental corrup-tion is fierce and profound; few people seem to expectmuch from the government. There are two main polit-ical parties—the Cambodian People’s Party andFuncinpac. Our translator said that in order to get agood job you needed to belong to one of these parties.The better was the CPP.

They are amazingly neat, the Cambodians, and virtu-ally everyone looks clean and pressed every day. Don’tquite know how they do it, in view of all the rain and themud and the lack of washing machines in most homes.

Almost all the womenin Siem Reap wear tra-ditional Khmer dress,which is a shirt withsleeves worn with a longskirt, plain with a deco-rative panel, often gold,at the curved bottom,either a wraparound orwith a clasp on the sideand doubled over infront. I finally gotmyself a couple, andthey are pretty com-fortable. I’m wearingone right now as Iwrite—although, as I’mbig in comparison withCambodians, it hangsdifferently on me.

They seem to bear whatever happens with greatequanimity. At the teacher-training institute where weworked, there was a huge, huge class of about 100teacher-training students who had to sit on a hardconcrete floor for hours; only the lecturers had chairs.You can’t imagine American students willing to do thisfor three hours every morning. The pedagogical insti-tutes have pleasant classrooms but they have only oneor two electric outlets—no TVs or VCRs and no com-puters—just chalk and chalkboards.

Schools in CambodiaSome 90 percent of Cambodians are peasants in oneway or another or live in what they call remote areas,with high rates of illiteracy, high infant morality rates,and terrible poverty, so children are taken out ofschool by their parents to work. Supposedly some ofthe schools built in these remote areas had no toilets,and that means girls are even more unlikely to stay inschool. It’s a real problem here, keeping kids inschool, even through the age of ten or eleven.

And the schools are so poorly outfitted! A few of us visited a primary school outside of Battambang quitespontaneously on the way back from Wat Ek. It has 900

Forsyth presents her Cambodian interpreter with a laptop donated byTeachers Across Borders.

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students, in twoshifts of four hourseach, 600 in themorning and 300 inthe afternoon, andonly forty teachers.In the afternoonsession, there weretwo kids to a desk,but obviously in themorning it must bethree. One class-room block is madeof concrete, meagerbut tolerable. Theolder section of theschool is wooden,with rickety woodendesks, and a loneblackboard. The stu-dents get a paper-back textbook/work-book of about 100pages for the whole year’s work in any subject. I lookedat the history text for the high school, and it’s pretty paltry. They have history only one hour a week in anycase, geography another hour, so it’s hard to imaginehow much they can actually cover. And it explains whythe teachers keep saying, “Well, what you present isinteresting, but we can’t do it.”

Teaching in Battambang I had a nice class of 20, almost all of whom were thereevery day. Only one absence! Fourteen men, six women,about two-thirds history teachers and one-third Khmerliterature (by which they mean, I think, any writing inKhmer), and a few miscellaneous others. I was present-ing the five-paragraph persuasive essay that just aboutevery American kid learns to do. They were quite resist-ant at first, saying that students could then argue foranything, but I think they understood that it wouldn’tnecessarily lead to a defense of corruption or murder. Ihad them identify the chief issues facing Cambodia andthen work in groups to prepare speeches on those

issues. That wasreasonably good.Then we discussededucation issues,and they worked infive groups to pre-pare the persuasiveessay on that topic.After they had donea first draft, theydid peer editing,which I think was a very successfultechnique that theyhadn’t been famil-iar with yet, andthen we went to theteacher traininginstitute library todo research, withtwo students goingoff by moto to anInternet café.

The library has meager resources and is quite dis-organized—obviously it’s not used much for research.Hong, my excellent interpreter, told me that they don’tdo research in any case—it’s a foreign idea, and of courseI can see why, as their resources are so few. But theteachers seemed engaged with what they did in thelibrary for an hour or so. When each group had finishedtheir final essays, they read them before the class, whichthen voted for which ones had the best arguments. Ihave no idea if they were any good at all, as time wasshort so I didn’t have Hong translate. I was pleased thatthe teams managed to finish their essays, which werethen translated and put into the teachers’ notebook thatis prepared at every TAB program for dissemination.Quite a few of my group told me they would use what theylearned in my workshop in their classes, but whoknows? If one or two people really got something out ofit, then it was worthwhile. Next year, however, I’ll doreal history stuff—a trial, a simulation, a debate. Theywere very sweet on the last day. Several gave me gifts,and one woman was nominated to make a farewelladdress. I actually got rather emotional and teary.

Forsyth (right) speaks with author, lecturer, and human-rights activist Loung Ung,who spoke at Poly in September to kick off the Cambodia Project.

More than 300parents, alum-ni, faculty, andfriends of Poly

gathered at the 2008 ArtsAuction on April 5 for anexciting evening that raisedmore than $130,000 for thevisual and performing arts.

Guests browsed thesilent auction offeringswhile enjoying hors d’oeuvres and the soundsof the Blues Devils playingon the Malkin Terrace.More than 100 works of art, including paintings,sculptures, and drawings,were on display for biddingthroughout Commons, theTrophy Room, and Poly’shalls. Other items up forgrabs included vacationhomes and tickets toBroadway shows and television shows. There werealso enticing raffle prizes on view, including every-thing from jewelry to books to dinner with collegecounselor Mike Muska.

As the silent auction began to close, the enthusias-tic crowd gathered in Commons for the live auction.Host Stephen Massey, a professional auctioneer andappraiser seen on Antiques Road Show, led the biddingfor items such as a guitar autographedby Jon Bon Jovi and tickets to the pre-miere of the film Mamma Mia!

Proceeds from the auction willsupport the visual arts in the Lower,Middle, and Upper Schools. In addi-

tion, a portion of the proceeds will support the RichardPerry Theatre renovation project. Sponsored by thePoly Prep Parents’ Association, the auction was madepossible by the efforts of a large Auction Committee,led by co-chairs Stephanie Ingrassia P’11, ’13 and MelKendrick and Mary Salter P’05, ’09.

For more photos, visit www.polyprep.org/news/gallery.

2008 Auction Celebrates the Arts at Poly

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R enovations are underway in the RichardPerry Theatre this summer, preparing thespace for its 20th anniversary. Plans toupgrade and refurbish the Theatre include

replacing carpeting, curtains, and seats, as well asupdating lighting, sound, and video equipment.

Headmaster David B. Harman announced the plans at a December 9 concert at Poly by the BrooklynSymphony Orchestra, led by artistic directorand Poly Performing Arts Department headNicholas Armstrong.Harman introduced theevent to more than 150students, parents, alum-ni, faculty, and friendsby emphasizing the need to begin upgradingarts spaces at the DykerHeights campus.

“This is a beautiful space,” Harman said, “andfor its 20th anniversary, we need to bring it up to thequality of the performances that happen here all yearlong.” A lead gift of $100,000 kicked off the project,which will cost more than $600,000 to complete. Aportion of the proceeds from the Arts Auction in Aprilwill also support the renovation.

Seats in the renovated theater may be purchasedfor $500 each, whichincludes a plaque on theseat recognizing the gift.Additional naming oppor-tunities are available forlighting equipment, soundequipment, video equip-ment, and curtains. Formore information, con-tact director of capitalgiving Gabrielle GilliamP’21 at (718) 836-9800,ext. 3240.

Summer Renovations Prepare RichardPerry Theatre for 20th Anniversary

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On May 30, a sun-soaked ceremony inductedthe Class of 2008 as Poly’s newest alumni.Headmaster David B. Harman began theproceedings by bidding farewell to the class

of students that began at Poly’s main campus the sameyear he did, wishing them well and reminding them thatthey are the ones who will determine our future. Hequoted Mary Oliver’s poem “The Summer Day,” whichconcludes with the question: “Tell me, what is it you planto do / with your one wild and precious life?”

Next, head of Upper School Bud Cox took the stage andspoke of the class’s knowl-edge, understanding, andempathy, which he said he had witnessed over and over in the halls andclassrooms of Poly. Hethen introduced seniorspeaker Ed McCole ’08,who thanked his inspiringteachers and classmates.

“There were days Ididn’t think I’d ever getout,” McCole said. “Andthere were days I didn’twant to go home because I was hav-ing so much fun. Nothing comesclose to expressing the love I havefor you students out there.”

Retiring Poly Prep teacher,coach, and senior master EdRuck served as the featured

speaker. The much-revered Ruck, who retired after 40 years at Poly, said he felt that he was graduating withthe class. “Be yourself” he advised. “I know you’ll besuccesses in whatever you decide to do.” When Ruckfinished, A Cappella came forward to sing the seniorsong. Led by senior soloists, the group performed theirrendition of “I’m Yours” by Jason Mraz.

The first diploma of the day was awarded toMichael Kay ’58, a former Poly student who left schoolwithout graduating fifty years ago. He thanked head-master Harman for the long-deferred honor. Then

Board of Trustees chair-man Vincent Vigorita’68 introduced scienceteacher—and new seniormaster—Paul Raso to dothe honors of handingout diplomas.

After each studenthad processed forward toreceive his or her diplo-ma, Fernando Bolles ’08led everyone assembledin singing the schoolsong, “Far Down on the

Heights Called Dyker.” When thesong was finished, Harman con-gratulated the newest class of PolyPrep alumni, the Class of 2008.For more photos of Commencement,visit www.polyprep.org/news/gallery.

Join Ranks of AlumniCLASS OF 2008 GRADUATES CLASS OF 2008 GRADUATES

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G rade 4 students marked their departurefrom the Lower School with a memo-rable Stepping-Up ceremony on June 12.A crowd of faculty, family, and friends

filled the Big Room, and head of Lower School LaunaSchweizer welcomed everyone in attendance andthanked all those who helped the students succeed at Little Poly.

“Tonight, your last night as Lower Schoolers, welook on you with wonder, amazed by what you haveaccomplished,” she said. “My wish for you as youleave is that you remember the lessons you havelearned here.... A Poly child knows how much fun itis to go to school, and therefore how much fun it is tolearn, to work, and to build a happy life.”

“This is a momentous occasion,” added head-master David B. Harman.“This class of fourthgraders, the Class of 2016 at Poly Prep, you are the first class to step up fromthis building.” After hisremarks, the audienceenjoyed a slideshow of thegraduates, showing thestudents throughout theiryears before and at theLower School. Then theclass sang “Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive.”

Four students offeredtheir thoughts about theirtime at the Lower School,including favorite memo-ries such as second gradesumo wrestling, uniquelessons taught by Grade 4 teachers, music andphysical education class-es, classroom pets, andthe great friends made atPoly. Grade 4 teachersalso offered a list of great moments from the

students’ time with them.Every Grade 4 student then had a chance to

speak, as the class passed a microphone around fortheir group poem, “Things Inside of Me.” Finally,the moment arrived for students to officially stepup. One by one, each graduate stepped from thestage to shake hands with Schweizer and receive hisor her certificate.

The ceremony concluded with the class perform-ing “School, Glorious School,” an alternative versionof “Food, Glorious Food” from Oliver. The new lyricswere written by students to reflect their feelingstoward the Lower School. The evening ended with areception in the side yard.

S U M M E R 2 0 0 8 1 9

Grade 4 Steps Up to Middle School

More than 200 alumni reunited at Poly on April 26 for Special Reunion 2008. The fun-filled day began with breakfastin Commons Hall at 10:00 AM. Alumni,

families, students, and friends then gathered in theChapel to remember David Winder and recognizealumni award winners.

After an opening song from A Cappella, headmasterDavid Harman thanked alumni for attending. He spokeabout how much haschanged at Poly overthe years—from goingco-educational to pur-chasing the LowerSchool—but noted thatthe school’s bedrockprinciples have stayedthe same.

“Today we recog-nize a few individualswho have distinguishedthemselves,” he added.“We begin with DavidWinder, who taught atPoly for 38 years andclearly loved and wasdevoted to the school.”Robert Gallagher ’78 and HenryGluckstern ’66 provided trib-utes to the beloved English,Latin, and drama teacher,remembering his influence as ateacher and director.

After A Cappella returnedto the stage to perform “Ain’tNo Mountain High Enough,”Harman introduced the SchoolService Award, which is pre-sented annually to alumni who have demonstratedexemplary commitment to advancing Poly and its mis-sion. This year the award went to Arthur Rasi ’38 for his

years of dedication to the school and his role in creatingthe successful Class of ’38 Scholarship. Though Rasi wasunable to attend Special Reunion, the award was pre-sented to his classmate Will Jabara ’38 in his absence.

Harman then introduced Hal Rose ’74, P’04, ’09,president of the Board of Governors, who welcomedalumni to Special Reunion. Board of Governors AwardsCommittee chair Matt Walsh ’92 presented theDistinguished Achievement Awards.

The first honoree,ophthalmologist Dr.Jules Baum ’48,thanked Joseph DanaAllen for acceptinghim to Poly in thethird form. “Poly gaveme tools for life, notjust for a career,” hesaid. “That I am trulythankful for.” WhileEd Fein ’53 wasunable to attend, hewas recognized for hissuccessful career as afinancial analyst andstockbroker on WallStreet, as well as

founder of the EdwardFein Foundation.

The final award winner was RichardSaltzman ’73, president ofColony Capital, LLC. “Igive great credit to thediverse and well-roundedbackground I receivedhere that prepared me formy work,” Saltzman said.

“It is always fun to come back to Poly—the memories, thestories—and this one will be even more special and I willcherish it even more. Thank you.”

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Alumni Celebrate atSpecial Reunion 2008

REUNION 2008

S U M M E R 2 0 0 8 2 1

REUNION 2008

Harman closed the ceremony by invitingA Cappella back up to lead the crowd in “Far Down on theHeights Called Dyker.” With Gallagher accompanying onthe organ, the enthusiastic crowd all stood and joined inthe school song.

Outside at the Poly Prep Athletics Complex, BlueDevils fans congregated for varsity softball, baseball, andgirls’ lacrosse competitions against Hackley. Poly sluggersprovided big wins, with Blue Devils softball shutting outHackley 2-0 and baseball winning 11-2. Girls’ lacrosse losta tough match 15-13. Other spectators spent the morningat the tennis courts cheering on the boys’ tennis team,which lost to Hackley 4-1.

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In the afternoon, student members ofBlue Key offered campus tours, highlight-ing new additions to campus. Alumni withan interest in the arts were able to catch asneak preview of Fiddler on the Roofrehearsing in the theatre. In the Chapel,alumni could view the film Ruck—And KnowThey Love You (produced by assistant headof school for finance Robert Aberlin ’62,P’00, ’03), which honors teacher and coachEd Ruck, who retired this year after fourdecades at Poly. Meanwhile, future BlueDevils enjoyed Kidz Camp, where childrenages three and older enjoyed crafts, games,and videos.

The class of 1958 gathered in theFaculty Room for a 50th reunion luncheon,while the class of 1953 and the Old Guardluncheon took place in Commons. On theOval, younger alumni enjoyed a casual barbecue. At 1:00 PM, boys’ lacrosse facedHackley for an exciting game, narrowly losing 6-5 in overtime.

The day came to a close with a festiveAlumni Reception in the Joseph Dana Allen Library. Headmaster David Harmanthanked all the alumni for attending beforeseveral classes adjourned for individualdinners in Brooklyn and Manhattan.

To see more photos of Special Reunion, visitwww.polyprep.org/alumni/gallery.

REUNION 2008

1929William T. Strauss died August6, 2007, in Damariscotta, ME. Strauss earned BA and MD degrees from ColumbiaUniversity and completed aresidency in internal medicineat what is now Nassau CountyMedical Center. After twoyears in private practice,Strauss became assistant medical director for HoffmanLaRoche and, later, othermajor pharmaceutical compa-nies. While at CIBA Pharma-ceuticals, he coined the term“tranquilizer” for its newdrug, Serpasil. Strauss devel-oped ABC’s Medical Horizons,the first national medical pro-gram, from 1955 to 1957. Inlater years, he taught post-graduate medicine and editedmedical textbooks. Strauss issurvived by his wife of 66years; daughter Sylvia Nona;son W. Theodore III; andthree nieces.

1930Harold L. Warner Jr. hasmoved to South Carolina to becloser to his daughter, MaryAnn Warner Putnam.

1932Alan F. Rath died April 6. His son Bill writes that hisfather “always talked fondlyof his days at Poly and trulyloved his school.”

1933John W. Wort, of BaskingRidge, NJ, died July 28, 2007.Wort earned a BS in chemi-cal engineering from theEngineering School and wenton to serve as Merck’s researchadministration director for 32 years. He retired in 1973.Wort was an active member ofthe Liberty Corner Presby-terian Church, the Executive

Ministries Men’s Bible Study,and the Ham Radio SunriseBible Study Net. As a restorerand driver of horse carriages,Wort also helped found theAmerican Driving Society. Hewas predeceased by his wife,Jean, and is survived by sonJonathan; daughters Pamela W. Jones, Joan W. Lindquist,and Grace; sister Mavis W.Lupton; 10 grandchildren; and14 great-grandchildren.

1934Rear Admiral Maurice “Mike”Rindskopf (retired) has beenpresident of his cooperativeretirement community inAnnapolis, MD, for more than ayear. With his wife, Sylvia, herecently traveled to AtlanticShores Retirement Communityin Virginia Beach, where hespoke about submarines. DeanHatheway ’38, a longtime resi-dent at Atlantic Shores, attend-ed the event. Afterwards thetwo had a “delightful session”reminiscing about Poly.

1938David Boyd Arentzen diedFebruary 19, 2007, in Brooklyn.He was educated at Cornell and NYU, where he earned two master’s degrees. Arentzenwas a navigator in the Army AirForce during World War II andin the Air Force during theKorean War. In later years, hewas a social worker for the New York City Department ofWelfare. Arentzen is survivedby daughter Elizabeth and son-in-law Chris Rost. Elizabethwrites: “He always spoke fond-ly of his time at Poly.”

Dean M. Hatheway enjoysmusic, especially singing. Amember of the BarbershopHarmony Society for 35 years, he also sang for adecade with The Blenders.Hatheway teaches voice, singssolos at church, and enjoys

S U M M E R 2 0 0 8 2 3

C L A S S N O T E S

Poly in the 1930sIn celebration of his 70th class reunion, School ServiceAward–winner Dr. Arthur Rasi ’38 offers some reminiscencesabout his time on the heights called Dyker.

There were 24 of us who started in the fifth grade in1930, and we graduated in 1938, 92 boys strong. Theschool census was 450–490 students, and tuition

was $450. Those were the Great Depression years; theywere hard years for our families, and we appreciated thesacrifices they made to send us to Poly. We saved ourallowance to spend at the candy storewhen we came out ofCommons Hall afterlunch. The candy storewas operated by a fewhonors students, whoset up two tables in thetrophy room. Theycarried a variety of ourfavorite nickel candybars, such as BabyRuth and Oh Henry!The most popular wasthe Plantation Pie,which was the biggestand best value.

We held enormousrespect for the “mas-ters” who taught us,beginning with the headmaster and the assistant headmas-ter. They were men and women to be revered, and each hada memorable personality. They were passionate about theirsubjects and made them come alive before our eyes.

Chapel was a great learning experience that we looked for-ward to on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. It brought usall together as a unified student body, one family. We learnedhymns, scriptures, college songs, old chestnuts, and popularmusic of the day, all of which have been a part of us throughlife. The school orchestra played as we came into Chapel, thenthe whole student body fell silent as the headmaster rose fromhis armchair and approached the podium. He wouldannounce the opening hymn and Chapel would begin.

Sports were an important part of school life. Therewere teams for every level of skill, assistants and managersfor the teams, and extra activities for those who were notathletically inclined. The fencing team was very popular,as was the rifle team with its well-equipped range. Hockeywas a popular winter sport. The lakes froze over in earlyDecember, and the ice lasted into mid-February. Thehockey rink boards were placed in the lake duringThanksgiving vacation to be ready for hockey practice.

In those years, Poly was not surrounded by homes and tallbuildings. The VA hospital hadn’t been built, and there wasopen space between the white tower and New York Bay. Wehad an unobstructed view of the ships that plied their way!

The Joseph Dana Allen Society recognizes alumni, parents, and friendswho have made provisions in their estate plans for Poly Prep.

Planned gifts—ranging from bequests to life insurance to giftannuities and charitable trusts—enable you to support Poly’s

legacy of educational excellence in ways that can provideimmediate tax benefits and won’t affect your family’s security.

If you have already made provisions for Poly in your estate plans, please let us know so that we may recognize you as part of the Joseph Dana Allen Society. To learn more about planned giving opportunities, please contact director of development Gabriele Gossner at (718) 836-9800, ext. 3091.

brisk walks, biking, andcanoeing.

Dr. Arthur S. Rasi writes:“After returning from theservice in ’47 as a lieutenantcommander in the dentalcorps, I settled down withEmily in Brooklyn Heights,where I practiced dentistry for49 years.” Rasi has been a fel-low and president of numer-ous academies, societies, and colleges of dentisty, includingthe New York Academy ofDentistry, American College of Dentists, and InternationalCollege of Dentists. His sonSpencer attended Poly, and his daughter Emily attendedPacker. Rasi and his wifemoved to Arizona in 1993 butkeep a summer home inHuntington, NY, where theygolf, swim, and sail. At SpecialReunion on April 26, WillJabara accepted the School

Service Award on Rasi’sbehalf. (See page 20.)

Donald F. Rice died January23 in Ridge, NY. He is survivedby his wife, Mary.

Rockwell S. Staniford writes:“‘Hello, Poly! Well, hello,Poly!’—the beginning of theparody I wrote for our 50th.”

1939Jerrold S. Lieberman, MD,died April 3 in Manhattan. Aphysician and cardiovascularresearcher, Lieberman was anassociate professor of clinicalmedicine at Weill MedicalCollege of Cornell Universityuntil 2000. He earned hisundergraduate and MD degreesfrom Cornell University. Heserved in the U.S. Army as asurgeon in the 31st InfantryRegiment in Korea, then wenton to establish a private prac-

tice in internal medicine whileholding academic appoint-ments at Cornell for more than 50 years. An avid photog-rapher, jazz aficionado, worldtraveler, and chef, Liebermanis survived by his wife, Janet;stepson, Randolph Hugh Chase;two daughters-in-law; twograndsons; a granddaughter;and a step-granddaughter.

1941Joseph P. Clavin died Novem-ber 9, 2007. After serving as a marine in World War II, he attended the AmericanAcademy McAllister Institute ofFuneral Service. His faith tem-porarily led him to the monasticlife as a Trappist. Clavin thenserved as a funeral director untilthe early 1980s. Upon retire-ment, he traveled extensivelyand settled in Gulfport, MS,until illness brought him back

to Bay Ridge. Clavin was prede-ceased by three brothers,Michael E. Clavin; James R.Clavin; and Thomas A. Clavin,all veterans of the armed forces.He is survived by two sisters,Mary Shanahan and PeggyBrown, and by many nieces,nephews, grandnieces, andgrandnephews.

1943From 1943 to 1946, Walter A.Bobrow fought in World WarII. He writes that he went over-seas in 1944 to cross “RuinRiver,” and that “RemhaganBridge was still up when we gotthere.” His brother Henry ’41was a POW during the war. In1948, Walter graduated fromNYU’s School of Commerceand went on to receive his JDfrom Harvard. In 1951, hejoined Levine & Singer, whereStewart Steinbrick ’23 was a

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Lasting Gifts that Everyone Can Afford

“My testamentary gift to the Endowment Fundwill have influence and meaning for Poly for

many years. I was able to make a substantial contribution without substantial impact upon my

current needs, and I have flexibility to amend the gift as circumstances change.” —PAUL ZOLA ’53

partner. Walter’s two nephewsgraduated from Poly, JamesBobrow ’62 and DonaldBobrow ’65. He has three chil-dren and four grandchildren.Jerome Gans’s daughterrecently recognized him inFlorida when she noticed hisPoly reunion hat.

Brigadier General George D.Eggers retired in 1978 from the Army and in 1989 fromPrinceton University, where hewas director of development. In 1980, he graduated fromPrinceton, where his educationhad been interrupted by thedraft 36 years earlier. Eggersvolunteers as a board memberfor the Alumni and Friends of Princeton ROTC and TrinityCounseling Service, and as a member of the Steward-ship Advisory Committee andAlumni Council of Princeton.Among his awards are the U.S.Army Distinguished ServiceMedal, the Silver Star, theLegion of Merit Medal, theBronze Star, and the CombatInfantry Badge. He enjoys read-ing and traveling.

After graduation, Stuart T.Hodes entered the Army andserved in the Western Pacific,New Guinea, Leyte, and Luzon.He graduated from Yale in 1950with a bachelor’s in chemicalengineering and worked forseveral companies before mov-ing to the Caribbean to run atransportation service. Hodeslater rejoined the chemicalindustry with Mobil Chemicaland worked as a general manager and vice president inColombia, Mexico, the Hague,and Chicago. He retired toChicago, where he marriedHelen Leach in 1984. As tandem bike riders, he and his wife have toured theNetherlands, Belgium, andFrance. They now live inFlorida and summer inCastelsagrat, France. Hodes

writes “The French andSpanish I first learned at Polywith Messrs. Coan and Routtserved me well . . . . Dr. Tuttle,along with Dr. Allen and Dr.Kastendieck, played a large partin the formation of my charac-ter.” Hodes has two sons,Edward Steichen and Bruce Ira.

Gerald F. Phillips was a subject of the recent article,“Neutral, 82, Is Leader ofEvolving ADR Trends,” pub-lished in the Los Angeles Daily Journal.

Ross Socolof is recognized as one of the foremost expertson tropical fish.

Dr. Joseph R. Whelanreceived his BS and BNS fromTufts College in 1946 and latergraduated from New YorkMedical College with an MD.He retired from the U.S. NavyReserve in 1990, after 44 years.Whelan practiced surgery andER medicine for 40 years andalso ran a private practice inBrooklyn. An attending sur-geon at Merck and St. FrancisHospitals from 1962 to 1992, hehas since retired to Great Neck,NY, where he enjoys photogra-phy, reading, and travel. Heremembers Dr. Kastendieck,Mr. Scoboria, and Dr. Tuttle ashis favorite Poly faculty mem-bers. Whelan and his wife,Isabelle, have been married

since 1950 and have two chil-dren, Edward and Kathy, andthree grandchildren. Whelanwrites that Tom Dinsmore wasthe best man at his wedding.

1944 Bill Dunkak died on January11 in Scottsville, AZ, where hehad lived since 1991. For thepreceding 23 years, he lived in Honolulu. Dunkak enlistedin the Navy in 1944 and graduated from Yale in 1947.He retired from Merrill Lynchas a vice president.

Donald E. Wolf retired fromcivil engineering and since themid-’90s has been indulginghimself in the long-deferredcareer that he says he aban-doned “(grudgingly) after a year as managing editor of The Polygon.” His third book,Crossing the Hudson, will bepublished by Rutgers UniversityPress in 2009. All three of his books are historical non-fiction, partially concerned withcivil engineering.

1947 Sheldon Kravitz was re-elected president of PlusMedia Buying Service, Inc.,and elected to the board ofdirectors of the Lauri StraussLeukemia Foundation.

1948Richard Abouchar diedNovember 29, 2007, inSummit, NJ. He was retiredpresident of J. Abouchar &Sons of New York. Aboucharserved in the Army from 1953to 1955, spending most of histour in Korea. He later workedtoward an economics PhD atNYU. He was a member ofCentral Presbyterian Churchand enjoyed painting andsculpting. He is survived by his wife, Dorothy; children,Allison and Keith; brother,Edward; and grandchildren,Justin and Ryan Cross.

Edward I. Barz graduatedfrom Brown. Initially to escapethe draft, he enlisted in the Navy’s Officer CandidateSchool Program, but heremained in the Navy, finallyretiring as a lieutenant com-mander. Barz began an adver-tising career in 1957, and soonafter married his first wife,Dierdre, with whom he hadtwo daughters. Dierdre diedjust short of the couple’s 40thwedding anniversary. Barz isremarried to Janet Marcus and has five grandchildren.He writes: “I remember Mr.Conover throwing erasers atinattentive students.” Barzretired from business in 1994as an executive vice presidentof sales at Simmons MarketResearch Bureau.

At Special Reunion, Dr. JulesBaum received a DistinguishedAchievement Award from theAlumni Board of Governors.(See page 20.)

Warren B. Cook Sr. attendedHobart College with BobMcShane and served in Koreaduring 1951 and 1952, attain-ing the rank of Army sergeant.He and his wife, Joan, have two children, Warren Jr. andMarion. Cook spent 50 yearsin the insurance business as a

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Class of 1948 Special Reunion attendees included (left to right, frontrow) George Smyth, Chuck Kaufman, Ellis Mottur, Alan Roland,Hugo Freudenthal, (back row) Ed Barz, Dan Dorff, Nick Trynin,Dave Marrus, and Steve Carb. Jules Baum, Steve Seligmen, andDick Glass also attended (not pictured).

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company manager and then asowner of his own agency inRidgewood, NJ. Since 1985, hehas served as president of anonprofit group striving togain official recognition of the scientific accomplishments of his uncle, explorer Dr.Frederick A. Cook. The socie-ty named for him believes Dr.Cook was the true discovererof the North Pole.

Richard A. Debs is an advisory director at MorganStanley and a member of itsInternational Advisory Board.He graduated summa cumlaude from Colgate Universityand received his MA and PhDfrom Princeton as a FordFoundation Fellow. Beforejoining Morgan Stanley, DavidRockefeller persuaded him toserve as a pro-bono advisor toEgyptian President AnwarSadat. Debs joined MorganStanley International as itspresident. He has remainedactive on the boards of manybusinesses and organizations,among them the CarnegieEndowment for InternationalPeace, the Federation ofProtestant Welfare Agencies,and the New York StockExchange. Richard has beenhonored with awards from the Fulbright Association, the Arab-American BankersAssociation, the NationalAcademy of Design, and oth-ers. His wife is BarbaraKnowles Debs.

Dr. Hugo D. Freudenthal hasbeen a research fellow at theAmerican Museum of NaturalHistory, working on marinemicroorganisms; director of Aerospace Medicine atFairchild Republic; vice presi-dent of environmental sci-ences at several consultingengineering firms; and presi-dent of his own environmentalconsulting firm. Freudenthalhas won awards from NASAand the Explorers’ Club, and

has been a Poly DistinguishedAlumnus. He fondly remem-bers running the projectionbooth in Chapel. Freudenthalis active in sailing, aviation,and the Coast Guard Auxiliary.

Charles D. Kaufman left pub-lic accounting to spend 10 yearswith IBM and 23 years with ITT as a financial executive. His work has taken him toParis, London, Mexico City, andBelgium. Kaufmann retired toScottsdale, AZ, in 1993. Hewrites: “I am doing volunteerwork and enjoying horsebackriding and skiing in Colorado.”

Throughout his career, Ellis R.Mottur shaped public policyfor science, technology, andinnovation. He has worked asan assistant secretary of com-

merce in the Clinton adminis-tration and a principal advisorto Ted Kennedy on high-techissues, and also helped foundthe Congressional Office of Technology Assessment.Mottur is retired; his favoritepastimes are politics, ball-room dancing, writing poetry,reading, golf, and playing withhis grandchildren. At Poly, he won the John WoodwardProfessor Memorial Prize forhighest scholarship and char-acter commenseurate there-with. Later honors includebeing a scholar at WoodrowWilson International Centerand a commendation letterfrom President Eisenhower.Mottur has one child, Alfred,and three grandchildren,Tommy, Caroline, and Teddy.

Dr. Alan Roland continues topractice and teach psychoana-lytic therapy. He has publishedthree books: In Search of Self inIndia and Japan; CulturalPluralism and Psychoanalysis;and Dreams & Drama. Rolandenjoyes skiing, traveling, andtheater, and he exhibits paint-ings and is working on a libret-to, Ahmed’s Razor. One of hiswatercolors recently receivedan award from the AmericanSociety for ContemporaryArtists. He says he is fortunateto see his two children andgrandson frequently.

1949Class agent Donald Conoverwrites: “Recent years havebeen busy, interesting trips toIreland, the Baltic countries,cruises in the Caribbean, andmore exploration of our owncountry. Last year, we returnedto the Southwest for a delight-ful reunion with John Howes’50 in Santa Fe, and then somefabulous hiking in Sedona. Athome in Bucks County, Pattiand I enjoy gardening, tennis,hiking, and stretching the oldbones at yoga, as well as variouscommunity activities ... . Sinceour last reunion, I haveenjoyed seeing Malcolm Belland Dana Fearon, exchangingChristmas notes with OtisPearsall, and reliving Polydays by phone with JeffreyRose. It is fitting to note that,as a class, we can be proud of acontinued record of leadershipin alumni giving (highest-percent participation of classesin our decade). What a grandway to support the school thatmeant so much to each of us!Thank you, and let’s try to beatour own record as we approachour sixtieth year since gradua-tion. A final note: I encourageyou to write something of youractivities to share in these classnotes. And, if you should learn

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A watercolor self-portrait by Alan Roland ’48.

of any classmate’s death, let meknow at donpatcon@aol.comor (215) 968-0608.”

Paul Kravitz was re-elected tothe presidency of Boca Raton’sMed-Gen, Inc.

1951Neil M. Levenson, an accom-plished pianist and composer,died January 7, 2007. JohnLimpert Jr. called Levenson“a child prodigy, with impos-ing credentials.” Levensonstudied with legendary pianistMoriz Rosenthal, well knownas the last pupil of composerFranz Liszt. Limpert addedthat “Neil was the legitimateinheritor of this grand musicaltradition,” and told of beingprivileged to hear Neil playChopin and Schubert inChapel. Peter Malkin writesthat Neil “frequently enter-tained the entire school atChapel . . . . My recollection isof his fiery rendition of deFalla’s Firedance. The entirerowdy student body, even thefaculty, stayed quiet and alertthrough Neil’s performancesof this extraordinarily compli-cated piece.” Levenson wasalso a songwriter, who wrotepop songs such as “Denise,”which was recorded by Randyand the Rainbows and, later,Blondie.

Dr. Stephen Sigler died inNovember 2006. ClassmatePeter Malkin writes: “Stevewas first in our ’51 class, firstin our Harvard ’55 class, and agraduate of Harvard MedicalSchool. After a brilliantinternship and residency atMt. Sinai and St. Vincent’sHospitals in pediatric surgery,he gave up the highly compet-itive practice and moved toSagaponack, NY, where hepracticed for many years as afamily pediatrician and builtone of the first environmentalsun-powered homes.”

1953Howard I. Cohen’s son Darreland daughter Sheri are bothoncologists. His son Dan is anengineer at Intel.

James L. Crawford’s primarynon-business activity is golf.He works in investment man-agement “20 percent of thetime,” and travels as often as hecan: “a golf trip to Germany andSwitzerland last summer. NewMexico to see our granddaugh-ter Isabella and daughter-in-law in Albuquerque andSanta Fe.” James feels lucky tohave had such great Poly teach-ers. His favorite traditions were the Oasis Blue and GrayCompetition and having funwith a wonderful bunch of guys.

From 1957 until retiring in2000, Clifford K. Eriksenwas an English teacher atnumerous prep schools. Hisson Tim, whose work has been recorded for 25 CDs andtwo movies, is an ethnomusi-cologist teaching at Amherst,Dartmouth, and Hampshire

Colleges. Tim’s Carnegie Halldebut was in February 2008.Eriksen’s grandson Luka was Renée Zellweger’s baby in Cold Mountain, one of themovies for which Tim recordedmusic. Eriksen’s younger son,Ben, plays drums, buildswooden boats on Martha’sVineyard, and works as agraphic designer. Eriksen isactive in church work and writ-ing, with translations in ninelanguages. He enjoys traveling,gardening, his grandchildren,music, and theatre.

At Special Reunion, Ed Feinreceived a DistinguishedAchievement Award from theAlumni Board of Governors.(See page 20.)

Dr. William J. Gershellhas practiced psychoanalysis,adult and geriatric psychiatry,and psychopharmacology, andhas been listed for 17 years as one of the “Best Doctors inNYC.” He has lectured inter-nationally, helped found theAmerican Association forGeriatric Psychiatry, andserved as president for theNew York Group for GeriatricPsychiatry. He is a Life Fellowof the American PsychiatricAssociation and a Fellow ofthe American Association of Geriatric Psychiatry andGerontological Associations.Gershell has traveled to theAlps, North Africa, Europe,and the Antarctic. His pas-times include Shakespearestudies, swimming, and scubadiving. He remembers a Polyclassmate whose excuse forchronic lateness was “Sorry,

Class of 1953 Special Reunion attendees included (left to right, front to back, row 1) William Gershell,Bruce Bernstein, Harlow Parker, Peg Parker, Richard Fearon, (row 2) Alan Schechter, George Siegel,Harlan Stone, Allen Mottur, (row 3) Mark Abramowitz, Jim Crawford, Peter Liebert, Cliff Eriksen, (row 4)Ron Pohls, Henry Salzhauer, John McNeil, Arthur Bellinzoni, Richard Merhige, and Al Mushkin.

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Cliff Eriksen ’53.

prof, my donut got stuck in my coffee cup.”

Dr. Robert A. Harwoodwrites: “I retired from generalsurgery practice in 1995 andspent six and a half years with Ortho Biotech in clinicalresearch. After another year in full retirement, I returned topart-time surgery as an assis-tant to two vascular surgeons. Irecently hiked to the HavasupiIndian Reservation. I’m activein photography groups andbecoming proficient in AdobePhotoshop.” Harwood has beenmarried for 45 years and has a son, a daughter, and threegrandchildren. He is a Fellow of the American College ofSurgeons and emeritus associ-ate professor of surgery at USC.

Dr. Howard M. Jaffe is aretired DDS and lives in Mt.Pleasant, SC, with his wife,Sondra.

After serving in the Army,Peter M. Kalison spent 40years in marketing and adver-tising, mainly as a managerwith Fortune 500 corporations.Now retired, his employersincluded Monsanto, Apple, andSun Microsystems, where hereceived a Top ContributorAward. With his wife, Marsha,he has three daughters andseven grandchildren. Kalisonis an active runner and tennisplayer and attends historyclasses at William and Mary,where he writes a column forthe football program. In 2008,a wing in the new LaycockFootball Building at Williamand Mary was named after himand his wife for service to theathletics department. Kalisonfondly remembers singing thePoly song at the end of everyChapel. “We have always heldPoly in our hearts and minds,”he writes.

Dr. Robert Kirschner writes:“Too long! Too many years!Too much! What I can say is

that, whenever we get togeth-er, it’s remarkable.”

Leslie G. Leonetti plays golfand collects U.S. Mint coinissues.

Ron Pohls has spent time in West Virginia, Texas, andNorthern California, where he is retired. Pohls wrote with the sad news that Al Raschdied in 2002: “My images ofAlan remain of the enthusiasticyoung man with a wonderfulsense of humor and bow tie, whohad an answer for everything.”Pohls and Bruce Bernstein,another classmate, direct alum-ni to Rasch’s Polyglot entry:“Class politician; staunch sup-porter of ‘de Kingfish’; eventries to out-talk Malina; ardentPOD student; talks his waythrough courses.” Rasch is survived by his wife, Shelley.

Henry E. Salzhauer works atBenjamin Partners in NewYork City, where he lives withhis wife, Susan.

Harlan F. Stone II is retiredand living in Woodside, NY,with his wife, Helen.

After 36 years in pediatric prac-tice, Samuel Wilmit left clinicalmedicine in 2002 and joinedUnitedHealthcare as a full-time medical director. He hastwo children and three grand-children, and continues to enjoylife with his wife of 50 years.

1955On May 1, class members HarryPetchesky, Paul Brown, LarryLefkowitz, Jack Swift, BillGillen, Stu Mackler, LesLarsen, Bob Field, Joe Stella,Tony Junker and Peter Stonegathered for a reunion dinnerat Lattanzi in New York City.

1956Jim Flug will teach this year asa visiting associate professor

and acting director of theFederal Legislation Clinic atGeorgetown Law School.

Dennis Fox reports, “I retiredfrom practicing law one yearago and am having no troubleadjusting. Have found quite abit of volunteer work which, asyou can imagine, is a lot easieron both the mind and body.”

Ted Fuller writes: “All is well in New Hampshire. Mary and Ihave moved into a new condojust a mile down the road . . . .Fortunately for us our kids are all doing well and our ten grandchildren are still youngenough to visit and play. FullerCommunications, my executivecounseling and coaching com-pany, is still open ... . I am start-ing a new business catering toschool and college bookstores.”

Peter Gilbert writes fromWashington, DC, that he prac-tices law with the Export-Import Bank of the UnitedStates, including recent proj-ects in India, Korea, Nigeria,and Turkey. Gilbert’s wife,Robin, specializes in interna-tional trade law. Gilbert reportsthat sailing in Chesapeake Bayhas become a major activity forhim and his son, Jeff.

Mike Heitner practices televi-sion sports and entertainmentlaw and corporate financetransactions as “a gray-hairedpartner” at Herrick, Feinsteinin Manhattan. He spends timeskiing and sailing with his wife,Susie, at their home outsideStowe, VT, and enjoying visitswith his two grandsons inBuenos Aires. Mike looked forward to celebrating his 70th birthday with ChuckKaufman, Bruce Ducker, andNeil Koreman at a DartmouthClass of 1960 birthday celebra-tion in June. He reports sight-ings of Jim Flug and PeterGilbert, who he says “areworking and playing in truePoly style.”

John Kells works at NOWIRZ,providing computer solutionsfor customers and focusing onbusiness development. Thecompany is off to a great startworking with various condo-minium projects, school sys-tems, and hospitals. “In thetradition of Gordy Bunsick,”he writes, “the normal dis-count of 10 percent applies toall Poly referrals.”

Eric Knutsen reports: “Gailand I take great pleasure inhosting and visiting our fourgranddaughters, all of themresidents of Brooklyn. After 30 years, I will no longer playSanta Claus at an annualChristmas party for kids, as ouroldest granddaughter Oliviasaw through my costume.”

George Marks writes: “Hi,’56ers and Poly friends. 2007has been a traveling year: Spain, Italy, Yosemite, Montreal,and New England. For moredetails, please click on our Web site at georgemarks.com.Hope 2008 is wonderful andhealthy for all.”

Colonel Landy T. Nelson hadthe pleasure of seeing hisdaughter Sandra McNaughtonpromoted to lieutenant colonel,with his son Tom as emcee.McNaughton is an Army nurse practitioner serving inKandahar, Afghanistan. His sonTom, who will be promoted tolieutenant colonel later this

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Eric Knutsen ’56 with two of hisgrandchildren.

year, is assigned to thePentagon’s Joint Staff. Alongwith Colonel Nelson’s son-in-law Clint Kirk, Tom is a veteran of Iraq. Kirk, who ismarried to Nelson’s daughterJulie, will be deployed to Iraqagain in early 2009.

Gene Sirianni has sold hisVictorian house in SaratogaSprings, NY, and purchased aone-floor townhouse. “I don’tfeel any guilt watching some-one else working our lawnsand plowing and shoveling our snow!” he says. “Duringour 50th Poly reunion, Ihooked up with Marsh Ryon.We drove to Montreal and flewto Deer Lake, NL, and heli-coptered to a remote camp. Onour first day, Marsh took a bullmoose.”

Harry Yates writes: “I’ll be 70 on May 21, when Sara and Iwill be in Paris, thanks to myemployer, Edward Jones, ratedby Fortune as the number-fouremployer in the country. Theysent Sara and me to India lastOctober. We saw the Taj Mahal

and lost four pounds each in two weeks. Can’t beatthat! I tend to forget things.Forgetting is not all bad, though.I now think I won every race Iran at Poly and Penn. Oops, Iforgot. I didn’t run at Penn.”

1957Harvey Scheff reports thatthe Class of 1957 held a mini-51st Reunion on April 4 in alovely Long Island restaurant.Attendees included Scheff andhis wife, Margie; MichaelHyman and his wife, Arlene;George Malin and his wife,Elaine; Victor Rich and hiswife, Patty.

1958Robert S. Brower says hefound his niche on the side of ahill in Central Vermont. In addition to starting college(Woodbury College), Browerenjoys his family, gardening,studying dreams, and teachingyoga. “A big part of who I am,” hewrites, “is working for peace and

social justice.” He has been incontact with Mark Groothuis,John Sands, Anthony Valerio,and Rich Giustra, all of whomhe esteems greatly.

Richard D. Coopersmithwent to Brown University andColumbia Law School. Hebegan his career with 12 yearsat the Federal Reserve Bank ofNew York, then joined hisfather’s law firm. He writes:“It took a while to give up thebachelor life, but I finally gotmarried when I was 39. Mywife was worth waiting for—welaugh every day.” Their son Halalso graduated from Brownand will join the family busi-ness. Richard says his fondestmemory is of “watching coachParker award my son the IvyLeague Wrestling Trophy . . .for four years wrestling atHorace Mann!”

Dr. Barry A. Feldman is aboard-certified orthodontistwho has practiced for 38 yearsin Cheshire, CT, where he liveswith his wife, Fern. Both oftheir sons, David and Jonny,have practiced with Feldmanfor ten years. He enjoys skiing,golf, and computers.

Edward B. Gradinger has twochildren, Gary and Jackie, andtwo grandchildren, Ashley andMax. He and wife, Daryl, havebeen married for 44 years. Aftergraduating from Brooklyn LawSchool in the top ten percent ofhis class, he worked for severaltelevision companies, includ-ing ABC, Columbia Pictures,and 20th-Century Fox. Amongthe many shows he producedwere MASH and The WonderYears. Gradinger also helpedlaunch Fox Network. He writes:“The actors, actresses, produc-ers and directors I have workedwith, golfed with, dined with,and know personally are toonumerous to list, but each hasadded some flavor to my life’sexperiences.”

Jeffrey Graham vividlyremembers Poly teachers Mr.Lucas, Dr. Kastendieck, Mr.Westfall, as well as the Formrooms, Chapel, and lettersweaters. Graham graduatedfrom William and Mary with a law degree in 1965. After a brief period working for the Department of Justice,Graham accepted a commis-sion in the Air Force as a judgeadvocate, with his first assign-ment “in the jungles of Dover,DE.” Graham’s work took himaround the world, to suchlocations as Germany, Turkey,Greece, France, the SouthPacific, and Antarctica. Hisspecialties have includedmedical malpractice, militaryconstruction, space, andintelligence. Graham retiredto Colorado Springs in 1992and has since been in privatepractice. With Helen, his wifeof 30 years, he has two sons,Jeff and Andrew. Grahamwrites: “I often think of Polyand what a rare opportunity itwas for all of us. I read aboutthe modern Poly and know itmust be great, but the Poly of’58 is frozen in my mind as thereal Poly Prep.”

Ed Khouri of Palm Springs,CA, died October 21, 2007.Khouri received his BS fromWharton School of Businessand served in the U.S. ArmyReserves while pursuing acareer in the entertainmentindustry. Starting at theWilliam Morris Agency in themailroom, Khouri worked hisway up to director of humanresources before retiring in1989. Upon leaving, he begana career in kitchen design, and in 1998 was recruited byLowe’s to open a new store inPiscataway, NJ. In 2001, hetransferred to Palm Springsand became one of the mostsought-after kitchen design-ers in the Coachella Valley.Khouri is survived by his

Sandra McNaughton, daughter of Colonel Landy T. Nelson ’56, hasbeen promoted to lieutenant colonel.

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wife, Stacie, and children,Scott and Christie.

Marvin S. Lerman is a found-ing partner of RosenbaumLerman & Katz PC. With hiswife, Terry, he has two children,Scott and Stacey. Josh and Jakeare his grandchildren. Lermanenjoys playing bridge, reading,and traveling. Among hisawards are the Bronze Star fordistinguished service in theVietnam War and a ServiceAward from the NYU LawSchool Alumni Association.

During 35 years with ColumbiaPictures, S.A. Manne lived inBrazil, Italy, France, Portugal,and—“most daunting”—LosAngeles. His son, Simon Henry Manne, was born in2000. Manne is a member of the Academy of MotionPicture Arts and Sciences; theBritish Academy of Film andTelevision Arts; and the MotionPicture Pioneers/Will RogersFoundation.

Although Alan Newman andhis wife, Ali, are planning to

retire, he is active part-time asthe president of CrosscurrentsPublications, LLC. The cou-ple’s son Matt just returnedfrom Kansai-Gadai Universityin Japan and recently graduat-ed from Union College.Newman writes: “I play at least150 rounds of golf each year,including during the winter!”His skill designing boardgames was recently recognizedwith a nomination for 2008Best Family Strategy Gamefrom Games magazine. Hisfavorite Poly tradition waseraser hockey.

Arthur L. Rebell reports:“After three years of law, I joined Wertheim (laterSchroder), where I was for 28years. At the end, I was on theExecutive Committee and wasresponsible for all invest-ment banking. In 1997, I leftand, after teaching mergersand acquisitions at NYUGraduate School of Business,I joined Loew’s. I am on the Board of Diamond Off-shore, chairman of Boardwalk

Pipelines. I have three chil-dren and two grandchildren.”Rebell enjoys golf, skiing, and music.

Edward A. Reiss graduatedfrom Bucknell University in1962, served in the Army from1962 until 1964, and became amember of the AmericanStock Exchange in 1968. His

son, Joseph, will graduatefrom Fordham Law in 2010.Erica, his daughter, will grad-uate from Boston Universitynext year. Reiss is active inseveral service organizations,including the YMHA andJewish Home and Hospital.

Anthony Valerio attendedColumbia University, where“the great Voltarean JeanSareil took me under his stylish French wing.” Whiletraveling in Italy and Spain,Valerio began to write, and he published his first story,“The Skykjacker,” in The ParisReview. Valerio was a staff editor at McGraw-Hill andSoftcover Library, and editedwriters such as Shel Silversteinand Toni Cade Bambara. His own books include TheMediterranean Runs ThroughBrooklyn, Valentino and theGreat Italians, and Lefty andthe Button Men. He has readand taught at writers’ confer-ences and creative writingprograms at NYU, CUNY, andWesleyan. Valerio has fourgrandchildren, including newPoly student Stella Tannen’22. He recently crossed pathswith Ed Jeffer, Bob Brower,Ed Reiss, and John Sands.

Class of 1963 Special Reunion attendees included (left to right, frontrow) Larry Denmark, Michael Krinsky, Stewart Rahr, (back row) JimSteinberg, Arthur Richman, and Warren Appleman.

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Class of 1958 Special Reunion attendees included (left to right, front to back, row 1) Alan Newman,Richard Giustra, Barry Feldman, Roger Wagner, (row 2) Robert Robinson, H.R. Thayer, Edward Reiss, BillDrucker, Mark Groothius, (row 3) Marvin Lerman, Christophil Costas, C.D. Elligers, S.A. Manne, JohnSands, Ralph Gallo, Joseph Giardina, (row 4) Edward Jeffer, Eugene Spiritus, Howard Siegel, RobertBrower, Fred Levine, and Anthony Valerio.

1959Robert Bero, artist and print-maker, died at his home inTuxedo Park, NY, on June 24.Bero received his BFA at thePratt Institute and later gradu-ated from Yale with an MFA.He taught at SUNY Potsdam,Brown University, and SUNYPurchase. Critic John Canadaywrote in The New York Timesthat “Bero’s enormous wood-cuts, years in the making anddays in the printing, expandthe horizons of printmaking.”Bero’s work has been exhibit-ed at the Library of Congress,the Smithsonian Institute, andYale, among other places.

1963Dr. Victor M. Zion has fivechildren and two grandchil-dren and loves retirement.

1965Rob Ratzan recently releaseda new album, Mystereality,which can be heard atwww.cdbaby.com/all/ratzan.

1968George Couri runs a largeinternational rug company.

Richard B. Eckhaus is a semi-retired freelance writerliving in Alameda, CA, with his wife, Kate. After working asa stage technician, Eckhausbegan writing for film and tele-vision, regularly contributing toprograms such as The Jeffersons,Welcome Back, Kotter, Diff’rentStrokes, and Angie, and featurefilms. He was a Humanitas Prizenominee for his work on TheJeffersons. From 1991 to 2005,he taught at Boston Universityand the University of Maine,and he wrote a media/humorcolumn for The Boston Phoenix.He and his wife settled in theSan Francisco Bay Area in 2005.

Ronald Haddad worked atNYU for ten years as aresearch scientist in the fieldof human tumor immunology.Since 1982, he has taught highschool science in Blairstown,NJ, and Boulder, CO. He andhis wife, Eileen Faughey, weremarried in 1985. Haddadwrites: “Since college, I havehad an intense interest in the outdoors: cycling, back-packing, fishing, and back-country skiing. We have beeninvolved in environmentalissues since the 1970s. I havebeen the recipient of twoOutstanding Science TeacherAwards from Sigma Xi, thenational research society. Iam most grateful to chemistryteacher Mr. Weinroth forencouraging me in scienceand for getting me to behavelike a human being in class.”

Paul Homsy is an accom-plished international lawyerspecializing in the MiddleEast.

Peter Sessa, the first Polyswim captain under coach EdRuck, spoke at an April dinnerheld in honor of Ruck’s 40thand final year at Poly. (See page10.) Sessa said that his formercoach helped earn his teamtheir first winning season, 6-3.

Robert M. Shelala has twodaughters, both out of collegeand married, and a son whograduated from college withhonors. Shelala enjoys skiingand sailing and recentlysailed to Alaska with ScottMiller ’67.

Dr. Vincent J. Vigorita, chair-man of the Poly Prep Board ofTrustees, writes: “Our greatestjoys are the personal and professional growth of ourchildren: Vincent, 15, in hisfirst year at the HotchkissSchool; Tommy, 12, who playsguitar and piano; stepson J.W., 29, who works for theIndianapolis Colts and isengaged to be married; andstepdaughter Jenni, 26, who is asports documentary producer

based in Chicago. Four healthyand accomplished children—weare blessed!” Vigorita fondlyremembers eloquent lecturesfrom Miles Kastendieck, theBearns speaking contest, andproductions by David Winder.

1970Lennox E. Montrose com-posed, arranged, and pro-duced the songs that make upthe album Euphoria, by artistMonty Guy. The CD wasincluded in the 50th GrammyAwards Entry List Process, andgarnered 12 credits, includedAlbum of the Year, Record ofthe Year, and Producer of theYear. At Poly, Montrose partic-ipated in track, for which hewon a Scoboria Trophy; in soc-cer (as captain); in the ArtClub; and in the cheerleadingsquad during boosting assem-blies. He has also served as amember of the Alumni Boardof Governors. He attended theUniversity Of Pennsylvaniaand graduated from theWharton School.

1973Steven Barenfeld spent nineyears at the New York Post andfive years at ESPN. He has

Class of 1968 Special Reunion attendees included (left to right, front to back, row 1) Keith Shaftel, FredJabara, Ira Turret, John Kaldi, Bob Shelala, (row 2) Vincent Vigorita, Mike Seligman ’69, retired facultyguest Ralph Herreros, Jay Innes, Jay Brandt, (row 3) Mike Jacobs, Mitch Bedell, Bruce Johannessen, HarryOttaway, and Ron Haddad.

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Vincent Vigorita ’68 and hiswife, Patty.

worked in advertising sales forthe past 10 years. Steven andhis family celebrate every NewYear’s Eve with his best friend,Louis Harrison ’74.

Byron L. Moger and his wife,Amy, live in Florida and havethree children: Ariel, 17, whois applying to college in NewYork; Andrew, 11, who likes to sail; and Aidan, 8, who likesto ride horses. Moger is executive director of Cushman& Wakefield’s MultifamilyBrokerage Service. His inter-ests include sailing and flying.

After graduating from Yale LawSchool, Robert L. Plotz wasbriefly a law clerk for U.S.District Judge Edward Weinfeldin Manhattan. After working fortwo years at a large New York lawfirm, he became an AssistantUnited States Attorney inManhattan, where he served formore than five years investigat-ing and prosecuting narcoticsand securities violations. Forthe last 19 years, he has been alitigator in private practice atOrans, Elsen, Lupert & BrownLLP. He lives in Park Slope withhis wife, Sue, and three sons.His son Ben ’07 is pre-med atUniversity of Chicago. His son

John ’09 is a talented pianist.His son Mike is in ninth gradeat St. Ann’s, where he is active inphotography and filmmaking.

At Special Reunion, RichardSaltzman received a Distin-guished Achievement Awardfrom the Alumni Board ofGovernors. (See page 20.)

1974Tim Hollister published anarticle, “My 9/11 Lesson,” in theHartford Courant. The articlewas inspired by his Poly class-mate Andrew Rosenblum,who died in the September 11,2001, attacks on the WorldTrade Center. Rosenblum, hewrites, taught him “the powerof optimism and humor.”

1975Ira Feldman had an article inthe fall 2007 SustainableDevelopment Law & Policy:“Preparing for The Day AfterTomorrow: Frameworks forClimate Change.”

Dino Veronese P’82 reportsthat his nephew, lieutenantcolonel Sherman R. McGrew,was married on October 26,

2007, before beginning hispresent tour of duty with the Army Reserves in Iraq. McGrew and his wife, Tove, were married in Brooklyn and now live inthe Netherlands. This isSherman’s second time inIraq, where he is a lawyer incivil affairs in Baghdad. Polyattendees at the weddingincluded Frank Jenks ’69 and William Veronese ’82, the groom’s cousin.

Kenne th S imur ro writes: “In May 2008, I will receive my DMin degree from the

Lutheran Theological Seminaryin Philadelphia. It’s only taken ten years, but who’scounting? This is also 25 yearssince I received my MDiv from the same institution. In October, I will have beenordained for 25 years. It was ahuge pleasure to share Mr. Ruck’s retirement celebration.Godspeed, Mr. Ruck!”

Harold Theurer, past presi-dent of the Alumni Board ofGovernors, spoke at an Aprildinner in honor of coach Ed Ruck’s 40th and final year at Poly Prep. (See page10.) Theurer offered amusingreminiscences and expressedtremendous gratitude to Ruck,who has served as his teacher,coach, and best man.

1978Dr. Egils K. Bogdanovicslives in Litchfield, CT, wherehe has a private endocrinologypractice and runs a diabetescenter. He fondly remembersmoving closer and closer to thefront and center of Chapel ashis eight years at Poly went by.

Robert P. Gallagher is asso-ciate director of music at St.David’s Episcopal Church inWayne, PA, where he lives withhis wife, Phyllis.

Class of 1973 Special Reunion attendees included (left to right, front to back, row 1) Jeff Rifkin, David Smith,Donald Leibner, James Oussani, Bob Plotz, (row 2) Joe Murphy, retired faculty guest Ralph Herreros, RichShapiro, Richard Saltzman, (row 3) Ed Ruck, George Brown, Marty Gottlieb, and Stuart Weiss.

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Lieutenant Colonel Sherman R. McGrew ’75 was married on October26, 2007, before returning to duty in Iraq.

David A. Scholar lives inScotch Plains, NJ, with hiswife, Debi. Scholar works as asenior IT specialist for IBM.

1979George Pearlman reports thathis mother, Lucy Pearlman, hasdied: “I know that many in the

Poly community have fondmemories of her, and she soenjoyed the years she worked atPoly Prep.” Pearlman runs acontemporary ceramics gallery

and studio, St. George Pottery,in St. George, ME. His work has appeared in shows at thePhiladelphia Museum of Art,the Decordova Museum of Art, and the Montclair ArtMuseum. He recently visitedwith Warren Gunther inSeattle, where he spent a day atthe zoo with him and hisseven-year-old son, Jack.Pearlman also visited DavidBezahler and his wife, Amber,at their home in Vancouver,BC. Pearlman writes: “I treas-ure these lifelong friendshipsthat first started in fifth gradeat Poly in 1971.”

1980David S. Schuman is anattorney-advisor with NASAGoddard Space Flight Center.He and his wife Miriam(Kleinerman) ’82 attended Ed Ruck’s April retirement

Class of 1978 Special Reunion attendees included (left to right, front to back, row 1) Joseph Aievoli, RobertSicurelli, Albert Dauro, David Scholar, Robert Gallagher, (row 2) Michael Mazzola, Gregg Caserta, AdamRoberts, Frank Galtieri, (row 3) Lawrence Brandman, Egils K. Bogdanovics, Daniel Parnassa, Tod Greenfield,and Evan Vogel.

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Have you moved recently? Have youchanged your name or your e-mailaddress? Let Poly know!In addition to the Poly Prep Magazine, Poly sendsout numerous important mailings each year,including invitations to Homecoming, SpecialReunion, regional receptions, and special events.Poly also sends alumni the monthly e-newsletterThe Polycam, which is filled with news storiesabout happenings on campus, updates aboutclassmates, and features about faculty members. If you have changed your mailing or e-mailaddress, let us know so we can stay in touch!

Send Poly your current contact information by e-mailing associate director of alumni relations Maria DiNaso at mdinaso@polyprep.org or calling (718) 836-9800, ext. 3090.

Calling All Alumni

dinner. Schuman writes thathe missed this spring’s DCAlumni Reception because hewas busy cheering on Miriam,who ran the Boston Marathon.“One of the great benefits ofPoly’s athletics program is thatit fosters lifelong habits.Thanks to Paul Raso and EdRuck, our family continues tostay very active.”

1981 On May 24, Edwin Antonucciand his wife became the proud parents of Ryan EdwinAntonucci, 7 pounds, 14 ounces.

1982 Dino Veronese reports that hisnephew, Lieutenant ColonelSherman R. McGrew ’75 wasmarried on October 26, 2007,before beginning his presenttour of duty with the ArmyReserves in Iraq. Poly atten-dees at the wedding includedFrank Jenks ’69 and WilliamVeronese, the groom’s cousin.

1983John Bonina lives with hiswife, Patricia, in BrooklynHeights, and works as a partnerat Bonina & Bonina PC. He is president of the New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers.American Lawyer Media and

New York Magazine have namedhim one of the best lawyers in New York, and MartindaleHubbell rated him as an AV-level attorney, for profes-sional excellence. John coachesthe teams of his sons, JohnWilliam and Nicholas, at the78th Precinct Youth Council.

Gai l Henderson-Be l s i towrites my life’s journey,an inspirational blog, at silvermine.blogspot.com.

In 2007, after 15 years on WallStreet, Edward F. Monahanretired to Kiawah Island, SC.

Major William Mott spentfour years at IBM as a technicalwriter. For 16 years, he hasserved as an Army personnelofficer. He has two daughters,Morgan, 8, and Lauren, 5.

1984In October 2007, RobCarvalho and family dedicat-ed a new Poly classroom inhonor of Carvalho’s mother,Anita, a longtime math teacherat the school.

In January, Doug Jabara visit-ed Poly’s Glee Club and sangseveral songs, among them bitsfrom La Traviata and Gilbertand Sullivan’s “I Am a PirateKing.” After his performance,the singer talked to studentsabout the differences between

Broadway, operetta, and operastyles. (See page 4.) Jabara sangat the Mineola Choral Society’s60th Anniversary Celebrationin January at the Cathedral ofthe Incarnation in Garden City,NY. The Mineola Choral Societyis directed by Tom Jones, long-time head of Poly’s Performingand Visual Arts Departmentand husband of performingarts teacher Sonya Baehr.

1985Steven Kessler and SarahSarina Gordon welcomedTobias Glen Kessler (7 lbs. 11oz.) to the family on March 11.

1986Drew Koven’s business, Geoff& Drew’s Incredible CookieCompany, was honored in Mayby the Junior AchievementBoston Business Hall of Fame.The company was cited for itsoutstanding corporate citizen-ship and for furthering JuniorAchievement’s mission toteach students about business,financial literacy, and work-force readiness.

1987Thomas Fritsch, captain ofcoach Ed Ruck’s final soccerteam, attended Ruck’s Aprilretirement dinner. Fritschtook the podium to pay tributeto Ruck, who volunteered histime before school everymorning to teach Fritsch toswim. (See page 10.)

1988Stella Angelakos is runninga succesful human resourcesconsultancy and just finishedher master’s at Columbia.

Christos Athanitis graduatedfrom Lehigh University withhis MS in manufacturing systems engineering. Heworks as a global commoditymanager at Black & Decker in Annapolis, MD. He and his wife Lindsey have twoboys, Loukas and Nicholas.

Matthew Bracco works forthe Bank of Tokyo and lives in Atlanta with his wife, Ann. The couple has two children,Matthew, 2, and Katie, 1.

Cynthia (Cheswick) Caponerecently traveled with her fami-ly to Sardinia and Munich. “Wewent to a different, gorgeousbeach every day. The weatherwas absolutely perfect.”

Melissa Davidson-Grimesgraduated from SUNY Albanywith a master’s in informationscience. “I was interested ingoing back to school, post-Internet, having gotten my BApre-Internet. I am now look-ing for a full-time library posi-tion. I live in Ulster County,NY, but am looking for awarmer climate.”

Samantha L. DiGennaro’sfavorite Poly tradition was hearing Dr. Patterson read

Class of 1983 Special Reunion attendees included (left to right, frontrow) E.J. Antonio, Karen (Govertsen) Schaepe, Andrew Klapper,Harris Gertz, (back row) Rich Merhige, John Bonina, Bill Mott, andClaudio Caballero.

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Lindsay Noelle and Alexis Lynn,daughters of Todd Prager ’88.

Tobias Glen, son of StevenKessler ’85.

“There never was such agoose.”

Alexander S. Polonsky mar-ried in 1999 and has four children: Moshe, 6; twinsTaylor and Maddie, 2; andBenjamin, 5 months. He prac-tices nuclear regulatory law atMorgan Lewis in Washington,DC, and has co-authored thebook Fundamentals of NuclearRegulation in the United States.He stays in touch with DaleKulick and Dave Siegfeld.

Dr. Todd Prager graduatedfrom NYU College of Dentistryin 1996 and, after a residencyat Staten Island UniversityHospital, founded AlliedDental Practices. He and hiswife, Michelle, have twodaughters: Alexis Lynn, 5, andLindsay Noelle, 1. The familylives in Holmdel, NJ.

Dr. Joanne (Siu) Post is aphysician with PeninsulaKidney Associates. She andher husband, Ronnie, movedto Virginia in 2001 so he couldhonor his military commit-ment. The couple ended upliking it there and stayed. “We

miss New York, though, andwelcome any visitors!” Postwrites. She and her husbandkeep busy with their threesmall children.

George Venetoklis marriedKalliope Tsirilakis, a pediatricpulmonologist, and now worksas president of EmmonsEnterprises Corp., doingbusiness as El Greco Diner-Restaurant-Café.

1990Three films directed by RebeccaFeldman were screened in NewYork recently. Feldman co-wrote and starred in A/V Club,a film shot on Poly’s campus.The film was screened on adouble bill with Uber Alice atthe Chashama Film Festival inMay. The third film, theaward-winning My First TimeDriving, was written by LizFeldman ’95 and screened atNewfest in June.

Francesca Susino-Lilikakisand her husband, Stamati, arethe proud parents of MichaelJohn Lilikakis, born April 25,

2007. Susino-Lilikakis’s uncleAnthony Sgarlato ’74, auntSandra Susino ’91, and cousinLouise Imbesi ’85 celebratedthe birth, along with Michael’sbig sister, Talia Grace, 2.

1991Jessica (Lasher) Brookswrites: “All is well here inWestfield, NJ. With husband,Peter, and daughter Aden, wewelcomed Avery SamanthaBrooks into the world on July5, 2007. She is great, and life iswonderful!”

1993Annmarie Bommarito is themother of two beautiful boys.

Jean Mary Bongiorno says,“So much has happened in 15years! I attended and graduat-ed from Franklin & MarshallCollege in Lancaster, PA. Razand Mrs. DeRuiter attendedmy graduation as a surprise.I’ve worked at the BrooklynMuseum of Art, the Guggen-heim, Sotheby’s, the PeabodyEssex, and now the Museum ofModern Art, where I met myhusband-to-be!”

Nicole T. Bonica asks: “What-ever happened to the BlueDevil mascot uniform? I think Senior Herreros has it.”Among her favorite Polymemories are Oasis Night andthrowing clay at the fans inceramics class.

Eugene Buono has a one-year-old named Sam. JohnnyGiacalone is the godfather.

Jennifer (Goykhman) Polovetskyis an attorney with Tuchman,Korngold, Weiss, Lippman &Gelles, LLP. She is married toAlex Polovetsky.

Frank Scotto has a son,Frankie Jr.

Dr. Vanessa (Solar) Haganand her husband, John, are theproud parents of Dylan, 4.

After graduating from Villa-nova with a finance degree,Christine L. (Kando) Szabo

Class of 1988 Special Reunion attendees included (left to right, front to back, row 1) Daniel McElhinney,Ernest Vidal, Samantha DiGennaro, Matthew Bracco, Todd Prager, (row 2) Joanne Siu-Post, Cynthia(Cheswick) Capone, Cara Lynn Cuite, (row 3) Lisa Wall, Laura Krausman, Stella Angelakos, Victoria(Hasson) Zanotto, Donna Merhige-Petrick, Jennifer Santo, Erika (Boccio) Farrell, Jodi (Coates) Fairbairn,(row 4) Jeffrey Ferraro, Christos Athanitis, Jeffrey Welger, Renato Stabile, Ethan Litwin, Stephen Petrick,Rob Sturtz, and George Venetoklis.

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Talia Grace and Michael John,children of Francesca Susino-Lilikakis ’90.

Aden and Avery, daughters ofJessica (Lasher) Brooks ’91.

pursued a career in investmentmanagement, but left to be astay-at-home mom. Szabowrites: “It was a big sacrifice,but well worth it. This gave methe opportunity to start my ownbusiness, Errands on the Go,LLC, four years ago. I work as aprofessional organizer anderrand runner. The businesshas grown nicely and I nowhave a team of errand runners.”

James Vavas lives with hiswife, Vicky, in Brooklyn, NY, where he is president ofVavas Insurance and FinancialServices. The couple has ason, Daniel James Vavas, bornJune 23, 2006.

1994In 2007, Dan Fogler starred inBalls of Fury. He has also writtenand directed a play, Elephant in the Room (inspired byEugène Ionesco’s Rhinoceros),which played last summer atthe Bleecker Street Theatre.Fogler voices two characters in the movie cartoon HortonHears a Who.

Peter Poulakakos’s businessventures, in particular his bar Ulysses, were featured in a New York Times articleabout the revival of lowerManhattan’s commercial andresidential life. He recently

opened Gold Street, a restau-rant that never closes.

1995 Mark Ahasic is an MBA candidate at the Kellogg Schoolof Business at NorthwesternUniversity, where he receivedthe ENO Transportation Foun-dation Leadership Develop-ment Fellowship.

Abrielle (Benkel) Sallowayand her husband, William, had a daughter, Leah IsabelSalloway, on January 14, 2007.

Meredith (Norfolk) Blandand her husband, Michael,are the proud parents oftwins Benjamin William andMegan Lynn, born February6, 2008.

Michael Errigo’s wife, Courtney,gave birth to Chloe Anna onMarch 1, 2007.

1996Mana Behbin married RichardEvans Jr. on May 12, 2007.

Thomas Yu was recently thesubject of a TimeOut New Yorkfeature. The article, “JusticeLeague,” listed him as one of the next generation of civil-rights action heroes. Yu,whose family was homeless inHong Kong and who lived in public housing much of his life, is the director of hous-ing development with AsianAmericans for Equality.

1997Leah Horowitz, a Poly theatrealumna and Clark Award win-ner, stepped into the role ofCosette in the recent Broadwayrevival of Les Misérables.Horowitz made her Broadwaydebut in Thoroughly ModernMillie, appeared in Fiddler onthe Roof with Harvey Fierstein,and was a member of theBroadway casts of The Womanin White and La Cage aux Folles.

Dr. Tom Baehr-Jones, son ofdrama teacher Sonya Baehr andformer arts department headThomas W. Jones, has moved to

the University of Washington inSeattle to help start a newnanophotonics lab. Jones cre-ates programs that synthesizeelectromagnetic fields and haswritten papers exploring thechallenges of sending informa-tion along beams of light.

1998Francis Barbiere marriedNicole Frenkel.

Christopher Bruno studiedeconomics at Williams Collegeand works as an executivevice president of FullTurnMedia, Inc.

Adam Dumey is engaged toStephanie Tramontana. Hewill receive his MBA fromDuke University’s FuquaSchool of Business.

Robert P. Kallinicos marriedJennifer Joyce in 2003.

Frances J. Messano has stud-ied and worked in business. Forfour years, he was employed atMorgan Stanley in equity deriv-ative sales, and later matriculat-ed at Harvard Business Schoolto study marketing. He hasrecently sung back-up vocalsfor a number of bands andclimbed Mt. Kilimanjaro. Hefondly remembers ChristmasChapel and “The Twelve Days ofChristmas.”

Mary-Breen O’Connor is aresearcher at the RutgersUniversity Cell and DNARepository. Before working atRutgers, she worked at theChief Medical ExaminersOffice in New York City, usinggenetic analysis to help identifyvictims of the World TradeCenter attack. She has a daugh-ter, Grace, 2, and is studying fora master’s in social work.

Allison Rizzuti worked in therecord industry at AtlanticRecords for two years beforestarting medical school atSUNY Downstate College of

Class of 1993 Special Reunion attendees included (left to right, frontrow) Christine (Kando) Szabo, Jean Mary Bongiorno, (back row)Alexandra Spessot, Annmarie (D’Alessio) Bommarito, and Maria Plantilla.

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(Left to right) Dan Fogler ’94, his parents Shari and Richard Fogler, andJodie Capes at the Hollywood premiere of Balls of Fury in August 2007.

Medicine. Her favorite Polytradition is Christmas Chapel.

Erica Saviano married BobbyTsioutas in November 2007 at Cipriani in Manhattan. Her brother, Frank Saviano ’99, Marisa Passafiume,and Lauren McElroy ’00 were in the bridal party. Stella Koutros, Sal Vacarro’99, Joseph LaFemina ’99,Will Karczewski ’99, ChristineSforzo ’99, and AndriaCastellano ’00 attended.

Lauren Tafuri is a wardrobestylist in California.

Adam Tosto acts and modelsfull-time. He recently hadstarring roles in a short film,Indecent Space, and in an off-Broadway production ofMuch Ado About Nothing. Helives in Prospect Heights,Brooklyn, with his girlfriendand two dogs. He recalls Mr.Stone once calling him a “dou-ble jerk” in Shakespeare class.

James F. Valentino attendedUniversity of Pennsylvania LawSchool from 2002 to 2005. Heworks as a litigation associateat Cahill, Gordon & Reindel.

Albert Zirino is an engineerat Flack and Kurtz. He writes:

“Ray Guarini and JasonD’Amelio were inducted intothe 18th Avenue Hall of Fameback in 2002. I think theywould be too shy to let anyoneknow of their achievement.”

1999Christine Sforzo is engagedto Will Karczewski, whoproposed at Poly in November2007.

2000In April, Noah Aberlinappeared in New York CityOpera’s production of Candide.After graduating from Poly,Aberlin earned his BFA in musical theatre fromSyracuse University. He hassince performed in showsacross the United States and Canada. Candide wasAberlin’s first opera per-formance.

Lieutenant Brian M. Hart isdoing his first tour in Iraq.His classmates write to wishhim well and thank him forhis support.

Matthew Murumba per-formed in The Moonlight Room,

by Tristine Skyler, at the BankStreet Theatre in February.The show also marked his first foray into producing.Murumba returned to Polythis year for Community andDiversity Day, as part of the education component of theatre company Stage 13.

2001Leona (Kotlyar) Shnaydermarried Garry in summer2008. She is a junior atUniversity of Buffalo School ofDental Medicine.

In June 2005, after a year at the University of Aix,Genevieve Waite graduatedcum laude from Bates College.Her honors thesis (in French)examined trends of post-9/11American tourism in south-ern France. After graduation,she taught English to child-ren in Aix-en-Provence andManosque for two years and is currently under contractwith Hatier Publishers to produce a textbook. Waitesends best wishes to her Polyfriends and invites them to getin touch if they visit theLuberon, Vaucluse, Provence–Alpes–Côte d’Azur regions.

2002Christine Capone spoke at an April dinner in honor ofcoach Ed Ruck’s 40th and finalyear at Poly. Capone recalledRuck’s signature whistling,which, according to her, hecould sustain for an entire 6-minute race. (See page 10.)

Frankie Nasso produced thefilm Officer Down, which wasscreened at the Staten IslandFilm Festival in June. Directedby Richard Recco, the moviewon the award for Best ShortFilm in the Babelgum OnlineFilm Festival at Cannes in May.

2003Marsha Bannister graduatedcum laude a semester earlyfrom Georgetown University.She is studying public policy atHarvard’s Kennedy School.She writes: “I remember try-ing to dye Mr. Oliveras’s hairred when we went to Spain, butit only ended up turning hisscalp pink for the rest of thetrip. What a good sport!”

Jesse Campoamor is leadcommunity organizer for theHealthcare Education Project, a joint initiative of the GreaterNew York Hospital Associ-ation and 1199 SEIU UnitedHealthcare Workers East.

Anthony Ciccone receivedhis BS in information systemsmanagement from QuinnipiacUniversity. He works at PepsiBottling Group as an IT busi-ness analyst, has volunteeredfor United Way and Habitat forHumanity, and helped raisemoney for AIDS awareness.He lives in White Plains.

Matt Dresher went to BowdoinCollege. A former captain ofPoly’s squash team, Dresherworks at Greenwich Academyin Connecticut, whose squashteam has been rated best in thecountry. Dresher will bring

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Class of 1998 Special Reunion attendees included (left to right, front to back, row 1) Julius Nasso, NicoleBarbiere, Ranee Jaber, (row 2) Lillian Feldman, Michele Yuras-Jaber, Allison Rizzuti, Jennifer Greene,Danielle Lissance, Frances Messano, MaryBreen O’Connor, (row 3) Ali Ouni , Ray Guarini, JoshRosenthal, Chris Bruno, Francis Barbiere, John Barone, David Cerutti, (row 4) Wil Acosta, Al Zirino, AdamTosto, Jason D’Amelio, James Valentino, Ted Hart, and Adam Dumey.

Greenwich Academy’s middleschool squash team to playagainst Poly.

Jason Goldstein is majoringin management.

Nicole Grillos recently workedas an usher at the Broadwayshow Curtains, with occasionalstints at Valentino FashionGroup. She writes: “I audition alot, I sing, and I do not dance. Itraveled to Europe for a monthin April and visited London(after spending five weeks therefor study abroad while inschool), Paris, Amsterdam,Copenhagen, Prague, Krakow,Vienna, and Salzburg.”

Diana Ioannides is substitutingat public schools in New York.

Leah Sherman plays squash atGeorge Washington University.

2004 Idriz Bauta is an offensive line-man for the Villanova Wildcats.

Cassandra Cona graduatedfrom Claremont McKennaCollege in December andbegan graduate work at LomaLinda University a month later.

She is director of the PomonaCollege Youth Radio Program at88.7 FM, KSPC, which providesmentoring and workshops tounderprivileged Los Angeleshigh schoolers. Several of herundergraduate compositionswere published by InkwaterPress in the anthology The Bestof Civilization. She lives in SanDiego, CA.

Minoo Fadaifard plays squashfor Brown University.

Naheem Harris plays foot-ball for the University ofPennsylvania as a defensivelineman. In 2007, he was

first-team All-Ivy for the sec-ond year.

Last year at the University ofPennsylvania, Will Milneplayed on an offensive linethat led the Ivy League andfinished seventh nationally insacks allowed per game.

A concert violinist since the ageof six, Jesus Reina has per-formed in some of the world’sgreat concert halls, mostrecently with the SymphonicOrchestra of Barcelona and theNational Arts Centre Orchestraof Canada. He has played theRoyal Festival Hall and

Wigmore Hall in London, andCarnegie and Steinway Halls inNew York City.

2005Jerome Giovinazzo recentlyplayed squash for Amherstagainst Brown University. TheBrown squash line-up includ-ed fellow Poly alums MinooFadaifard ’04 and Evan Besser’05. Tom Rapisarda ’07 isamong Giovinazzo’s Amherstteammates. In the end, Brownwon, but not before Giovinazzoscored a point for Amherst.

In 2008, Kristy McLean ledthe Bentley College Falcons inthree-pointers, steals, andscoring, with an average of 11points per game.

John Roelofs has been electeddrumline captain and vice pres-ident of the Duke Universitymarching band.

2006Imer Bauta is a civil engi-neering major at VillanovaUniversity, where he is an offen-sive lineman for the Wildcats.

2007Former squash teammates EvanBesser and Tom Rapisardarecently faced each other across the court in college play. Besser, who now plays for Brown University, beatAmherst’s Rapisarda, helpingBrown to a victory.

Cosima Higham led theBucknell women’s basketballteam to victory in this year’sPatriot League Tournament.Higham dominated the court,going 4-for-4 from the floorand finishing with 10 points, sixrebounds, three blocked shots,and three steals in 21 minutes.The fifth-seeded Bucknell’s 57-45 victory over Holy Crosscaptured the program’s secondleague championship.

3 8 P O L Y P R E P M A G A Z I N E

Class of 2003 Special Reunion attendees included (left to right, front to back, row 1) Lydia Popper,Meekaelle Joseph, Maxine Donskoi, Marsha Bannister, Leah Sherman, Shanell Bryan, Emily Rubin, (row 2)Kazmira Pytlak, Dominique Zirino, Jennifer Romanelli, Oksana Magomedova, Julia Morrison, SigourneyChin, Amanda Ammirato, (row 3) Maria Marinakis, Peter Rocco, Alexis (Abbracciamento) Bruno, AllisonReddy, Beth Becker, Amanda Atallah, Amanda Owaid, Serena Vaccarino, Rachel Shafer, NanditaKripanidhi, (row 4) Kathryn Aberlin, Susannah Kalb, Kirk Deligiannis, Anthony Ciccone, Mark Kleynerman,Rob Francis, Jonathan Bracci ’02, Vanessa King-Jones, (row 5) Christopher Mihal, Tristan O’Donnell, KetanBhalla, Jesse Richman (guest), Michael Falotico, Paul Nolan, Andres Dass Patacsil, and Robert Shelala.

Former Blue Devils faced off on the field at Villanova in September:(left to right) Naheem Harris ’04 (playing for UPenn), Imer Bauta ’06(Villanova), Will Milne ’04 (UPenn), and Idriz Bauta ’04 (Villanova).

C L A S S N O T E S

F A C U L T Y N O T E S History teacher Michael Basswill visit Cambodia withTeachers Across Borders thissummer. During the trip, he willlead a workshop for Cambodianteachers on the subject ofhuman rights law. In August,Bass will visit Georgetown LawSchool to participate in “TheAmerican Judiciary,” a seminarconducted by Supreme CourtJustice Sandra Day O’Connor. The seminar is sponsored by theGilder Lehrman Institute ofAmerican History.

Math teacher Alex Bassonwas chosen to deliver Poly’s 2008–2009 Miles M.Kastendieck Lecture in theHumanities. The working titleof Basson’s talk is Harmony ofSpheres: Pythagoras and Bach.

Lynn Chandhok was awarded a2008 Genna Luschei Prize fromPrairie Schooner magazine for six

poems published in their fall2007 issue. She was also the March 2008 Poet of the Month on Poetrynet(www.poetrynet.org), and inthe same month traveled toDeland, FL, where she was avisiting writer at StetsonUniversity.

Grade 5 dean Marie Corkhilland Middle School learningspecialist Denise Cotognoare planning to develop andconsolidate the “dean time”curriculum for fifth graders.The students attend the“dean time” class, taught byCorkhill and Cotogno, once aweek over the course of a yearto learn organization, self-evaluation, and study skills.

As part of her coursework fora state certificate in schooland district leadership,Middle School learning spe-cialist Denise Cotogno will

participate in a six-weekinternship at a New York Citypublic school.

Math chair Anita DeRuiter wasappointed to Poly’s William M.Williams Chair in Professional

Studies. She shares the three-year appointment with her colleague in the EnglishDepartment, Gail Karpf.

History teacher CaesarFabella has been selected

Kristin Wynne-Jones (left) will give the 2008–2009 Livingston Lecture,while Alex Basson and Louise Forsyth will offer Kastendieck Lectures.

S U M M E R 2 0 0 8 3 9

F A C U L T Y N O T E S

SAVE THE DATE: SEPTEMBER 26 2008–2009 Annual Fund Kick-Off and Student Musical Revue

THANK YOU! The 2007–2008 exceeded its goal,

thanks to the support ofPoly’s many devoted alumni,parents, faculty, andfriends. Your has helped to fund countless Poly programsand is truly [appreciated].–The Poly Prep Development Office

AnnualFund

generosity

appreciated

to participate in two NationalEndowment for the Humanitiessummer seminars on Land-marks of American History and Culture. The seminars are“Ellis Island 1891–1924: Immi-gration, Public Health, and the American Workforce” and“Immigration, Religion, andCulture on New York’s LowerEast Side.”

Middle School drama teacherMonica Flory’s adaptation ofThe Jungle Book was publishedby Playscripts and performed at South Coast Repertory inCosta Mesa, CA. Her play Third Wheel is soon to be published in an anthology of ten-minuteplays. Twilight, a full-lengthplay, has received a series ofworkshop readings throughThreads Productions. Her article, “Eloquent Mirrors:Gender, Race, and Ethnicity in a Grade Eight’s SoloPerformance,” was publishedin Stage of the Art magazine.

History chair Louise Forsyth(see page 13) was awarded a 2008–2009 Miles M.Kastendieck Lecture in theHumanities.

Kaya Amira Freeman was bornon October 24, 2007, to scienceteacher Erika Freeman andher husband, former Englishteacher Khari Freeman, joiningbig brother Khari Jr.

Art teacher Neddi Helleris participating in a travel-ing exhibition called “YourDocuments Please.” The show

involves more than 200 inter-national artists, who were askedto create small artwork aboutthe size of a passport, leading toan exploration of identity anddocumentation. Heller’s piece,“China,” will travel from Japanto Hungary and Slovakia nextyear before eventually arrivingin New York.

Middle School English coordi-nator Gail Karpf is one of twoPoly faculty recently named to athree-year appointment as aWilliam M. Williams Chair inProfessional Studies. The otheris math chair Anita DeRuiter. InAugust, Karpf will attend theSummer Reading and WritingInstitute at Columbia Univ-ersity Teachers College for thesecond year in a row. Then shewill be “chasing Vermeer”across Belgium and Amsterdamin order to learn more about thelife and times of the great artist.She writes: “Chasing Vermeer isone of the first books we read in fifth grade English. The Rijks-museum houses several ofVermeer’s famous paintings.Upon my return, I will be ableto share my knowledge withfifth graders and the greaterPoly community.” Karpf willalso work this summer withother Middle School Englishteachers to establish bookclubs for Grades 5–8.

Dance teacher and Form IIIdean Amy Kohn won Poly’sRaymond Hamway SummerStudy Grant, which will allowher to study world dance,

including African, Flamenco,and Brazilian.

Grade 1B head teacher AnneLeibler completed her firstsemester as an adjunct pro-fessor at Bank Street Collegeof Education, teaching EDUC808: The Study of Children in Diverse and InclusiveEducational Settings throughObservation and Recording.

Middle and Upper School Latinteacher Michael McGrann andhis husband, David Allen, arethe proud parents of TheodoreJames Allen McGrann. Theowas born on December 7, 2007.

Associate director of commu-nications Joshua Mehiganhas recently had poems inPoetry and The New York Sunand reviews in Poetry and else-where. This fall, he will teach asix-week seminar on politicalpoetry at the 92nd Street Y.

Art teacher Jo-Ann Menchettiwon Poly’s James and AnnaFantaci Grant in Visual Arts.

Track-and-field and cross-country coach MatthewMiller will marry Carolina

Sofia Cometto on July 25 inSan Diego.

This summer, math teacherElizabeth Rapacchietta andscience teacher SuzanneWolbers will participate in ateachers’ workshop in Belize.Sponsored by InternationalZoological Expeditions, theworkshop concerns tropicalrain forests and coral reefs.The pair hope to use the expe-rience to develop a ninth gradescience trip to study biodiver-sity, conservation, and envi-ronmental responsibility.

Pre-KB associate teacherPamela Weinstein earnedher early childhood educationand special education degreefrom Brooklyn College thisspring. She will be studying inPuerto Rico this summer.

Science teacher Kristin Wynne-Jones was invited to deliver a2008–2009 Livingston Lecturein the Natural Sciences. In herlecture, she will discuss theimpact of early Nobel laureates,such as Svante Arrhenius andthe Curies, on the fields ofphysics and chemistry.

Michael McGrann (right) and his husband, David Allen, with theirson Theo Allen McGrann, born December 7, 2007.

F A C U L T Y N O T E S

Neddi Heller’s “China.”

4 0 P O L Y P R E P M A G A Z I N E

Cliff Barr ’48 (left) and Nick Trynin ’48 (right) met with head-master David Harman at the Florida Regional Alumni Receptionon January 29.

The March 12 New York Regional Alumni Reception broughttogether (left to right) Marianne Bertuna ’94, NadiaMastromichalis ’94, and dean of faculty Susan Beiles.

Diane and Ed Ruck (left to right) chatted with Eric Chaikin’85and Brian Levell ’86 at the March 18 Los Angeles RegionalAlumni Reception.

Ellis Mottur ’48 (left) spoke with Russell Tilley ’43 (center) andLenore Briskman at the Washington DC Regional AlumniReception on April 21.

On the Road AgainPoly alumni have had a busy spring, gathering not only for Special Reunion but also foralumni receptions all over the country. To see more photos of these and other alumni events,visit www.polyprep.org/alumni/gallery.

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