Class Note 1966
Issue
July-August 2021
Graciela and Joff Keane put self-isolation to good use. Josh tackled long overdue projects around the house in Alexandria, Virginia, particularly gardening and a kitchen remodel, while wife Graciela finished writing a book, now available everywhere, titled Adoption: The Joys and Sorrows of Adoption.
Joff believes, “Sadly, our nation grossly mismanaged the pandemic.” For the next pandemic he says, “we cannot sacrifice our future on the altar of a misguided conception of ‘privacy,’ when the whole world already knows what we buy, what we read, where we go, and which doctors we see.”
Rear Admiral (Ret.) Bill Hayden had a truly distinguished 30-year career in the Navy that started in NROTC at Dartmouth, included 125 carrier-based combat missions during Vietnam, serving as the commissioning commanding officer on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and chief of naval air training.
But if you asked Bill what he is proudest of today, he would likely focus on the Starbase Victory STEM program he founded for fourth- to sixth-graders and has run as volunteer executive director in conjunction with the Portsmouth, Virginia school district. It’s helped about 15,000 kids in the past 20 years. “I don’t do the teaching,” Bill says, “but I do raise the money for Starbase to function. If you find any spare change in that couch you’ve been sitting in this year, I could use it (for the kids, of course!).”
It has not been easy being a president these last four or five years. Ask anyone. In fact, we asked outgoing ’66 class president Jim Lustander for his thoughts and received this frank appraisal: “A great pleasure of the job was connecting with classmates whom I haven’t seen or heard from in years. In that regard, I was grateful that Ben Day, Erv Burkholder, and Bob Cohn initiated the special, online Covid-19 editions of our newsletter so we could share our experiences with the pandemic. Working with the team to organize our 75th birthday party in Newport, Rhode Island, was another highlight, as was establishing the Seymour endowment to memorialize Thad and give students the opportunity to address hands-on some of the world’s problems.
“Beyond the public missteps (underutilized student ‘houses,’ sports team debacle, golf course closure, weathervane removal, biomass plant debacle, sexual harassment suits, etc.), I was disappointed in the administration’s belated recognition of Thad’s death and their takeover of the ’66 webcams without appropriate negotiation because we could have helped fix the problem.
“But on balance, pluses outweighed minuses. Being a local lets me interact frequently with students and faculty, and I can say that the College is in fine shape academically. And the students who have benefited from our class’s support are bright, eager to learn, and very grateful to be here.”
As John Rollins prepares to figuratively step into the ’66 oval office, Jim’s looking forward to travel. Many thanks to Jim and good luck to all our new class officers, and to all of you. Be well and stay safe.
—Larry Geiger, 93 Greenridge Ave., White Plains, NY 10605; (914) 860-4945; lgeiger@aol.com
Joff believes, “Sadly, our nation grossly mismanaged the pandemic.” For the next pandemic he says, “we cannot sacrifice our future on the altar of a misguided conception of ‘privacy,’ when the whole world already knows what we buy, what we read, where we go, and which doctors we see.”
Rear Admiral (Ret.) Bill Hayden had a truly distinguished 30-year career in the Navy that started in NROTC at Dartmouth, included 125 carrier-based combat missions during Vietnam, serving as the commissioning commanding officer on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and chief of naval air training.
But if you asked Bill what he is proudest of today, he would likely focus on the Starbase Victory STEM program he founded for fourth- to sixth-graders and has run as volunteer executive director in conjunction with the Portsmouth, Virginia school district. It’s helped about 15,000 kids in the past 20 years. “I don’t do the teaching,” Bill says, “but I do raise the money for Starbase to function. If you find any spare change in that couch you’ve been sitting in this year, I could use it (for the kids, of course!).”
It has not been easy being a president these last four or five years. Ask anyone. In fact, we asked outgoing ’66 class president Jim Lustander for his thoughts and received this frank appraisal: “A great pleasure of the job was connecting with classmates whom I haven’t seen or heard from in years. In that regard, I was grateful that Ben Day, Erv Burkholder, and Bob Cohn initiated the special, online Covid-19 editions of our newsletter so we could share our experiences with the pandemic. Working with the team to organize our 75th birthday party in Newport, Rhode Island, was another highlight, as was establishing the Seymour endowment to memorialize Thad and give students the opportunity to address hands-on some of the world’s problems.
“Beyond the public missteps (underutilized student ‘houses,’ sports team debacle, golf course closure, weathervane removal, biomass plant debacle, sexual harassment suits, etc.), I was disappointed in the administration’s belated recognition of Thad’s death and their takeover of the ’66 webcams without appropriate negotiation because we could have helped fix the problem.
“But on balance, pluses outweighed minuses. Being a local lets me interact frequently with students and faculty, and I can say that the College is in fine shape academically. And the students who have benefited from our class’s support are bright, eager to learn, and very grateful to be here.”
As John Rollins prepares to figuratively step into the ’66 oval office, Jim’s looking forward to travel. Many thanks to Jim and good luck to all our new class officers, and to all of you. Be well and stay safe.
—Larry Geiger, 93 Greenridge Ave., White Plains, NY 10605; (914) 860-4945; lgeiger@aol.com