January 2020 Class Letter

Dear classmates —

For all of you who wanted to see what the Cornell Alumni Leadership Conference was all about but couldn’t make the trip to the East Coast, CALC has gone west! CALC 2020 will be in Las Vegas February 21-22, 2020. You can find the whole program here. From behind-the-scenes tours to updates on admissions and student life, from communicating across differences and generations to the always-inspiring thoughts of Risa Mish ’88, CALC is the place to go to recharge your Big Red batteries. Everyone is welcome!

In this letter:

Class website gets a facelift

You are looking at the revamped the Class of ’73 web site www.cornell73.com, thanks to our Class of ’73 webmaster Steve Mallon and our ad hoc communications committee members Larry Taylor and Phyllis Grummon. Our goal is to make the web site the go-to place for you to get and provide information about all things relating to yourself as a classmate, the class itself, and Cornell. The key is the top-level menu:

  • The Me link enables you to submit news for the class column in the Cornell Alumni Magazine, update your Cornell contact information, get a Cornell NetID if you want to get a Cornell email address, and pay your class dues.
  • My Class has information about the Class of ’73 Scholarship Fund and the stories we’ve run in the class newsletter about our recipients since 2015.
  • My Classmates has the lists of missing and deceased classmates, and a way for you to let us know of the passing of any classmates.
  • Class Letters is the archive of class letters since 2014.
  • Events contains pictures of past Reunions and will include information about upcoming events.
  • Cornell contains links to find other Cornellians, donate, or volunteer. If you’ve ever wondered about volunteer opportunities check out the CUVolunteer link to explore opportunities for an organization, school or college, or geography, check out “Done in a Day” opportunities for short-term commitments, or even nominate yourself for a volunteer office.

We’ve also changed the landing page to be the current class letter, which will move into the archives when the next one is written.

Meet our class scholarship recipient

Isabelle Haberstock ’22, granddaughter of classmate Ellen Walser DeLara ’73, is the current recipient of the Class of ’73 Scholarship (as she was last year as well). Isabelle is a Hotelie from Skaneateles, NY, and works at the Taverna Banfi at the Statler, so if you are dining or visiting there, stop by and say hello. Read more

Isabelle Haberstock '22
Isabelle at her Hotchkiss graduation with her parents Lynn ’87 and John Haberstock, and her siblings Sabrina and Taylor

Telling stories for a living

In some of my class letters I’ve interviewed classmates who have applied skills from their vocations to their avocations as Cornell volunteers. This time, I’d like to introduce you to our classmate Mitch Weiss, who along with his wife Martha Hamilton, has a decidedly nontraditional occupation: storyteller. Read more

(Do you know a classmate with an unusual occupation, hobby, or volunteering experience? Drop a dime and let us know!)

Book Fund builds scholarly collections

In addition to our scholarship fund, the Class of ’73 has a modest endowment for a book fund to support purchases by the Cornell Libraries. I’ve written about some of their purchases here and here. Patrick Stevens, the Selector for Jewish Studies, who chooses the books, wrote recently about their latest acquisitions in early Christianity and New Testament studies made from our book fund. Read more

Have you read the Cornell Alumni Magazine lately?

In the past I wrote about the differences between class dues and donations, and how your class dues support the work of the class.  This year I want to focus on another dues benefit, namely, the Cornell Alumni Magazine (CAM).  Founded by alumni in 1899, it is the only independent alumni magazine in the Ivy League.  Under its editor Jenny Barnett, Oxonian and former editor of Harper’s Bazaar, CAM has taken on a new look and has run some really interesting stories:

  • The Big Red Band is still the only REAL marching band in the Ivy League.
  • CALS is the first school in the country to offer a course in a commodity whose mere possession in our day might have gotten you thrown in the slammer.
  • Does your owl not give a hoot? Does your porcupine suffer from prickly heat? Here’s where they can get some relief.

For a single dues payer, just over half your dues amount goes right to CAM for your subscription.  The subscription year and the dues year run from July 1 to June 30, so the dues you pay before July 1 get you the full magazine subscription, starting with the July/August 2020 issue (you can always request back issues if your subscription starts later).  Don’t delay — pay your class dues today.  (And please support students while you’re at it by donating to our class scholarship fund.)

In conclusion…

To find events near you, check out this University events link. I look forward to seeing you at a Cornell event soon!

best regards —
Paul

Paul M. Cashman
President, Cornell Class of 1973