After the busy Homecoming report in the last column we still have other events taking place among our classmates. Bruce Hamilton spent five weeks in Tianjin, China, last spring and was so busy there meeting with investors he had to cancel trips to Hong Kong and Shanghai. He and his partner had a successful time, however, as it appears likely they will secure sufficient capital to move their project forward. If completed, Bruce will be staying in China for three to six months each year. We hope he will live in a place with guest rooms.


The class continues to produce authors. Paul Pillar has written another book published last fall by Columbia University Press: Intelligence and U.S. Foreign Policy with the subtitle Iraq, 9/11 and Misguided Reform. I have yet to read the book but a lengthy review appeared in the October 2, 2011, New York Times “Book Review” section as well as being discussed in the article on Paul in our recent DAM. That reviewer said, “Paul R. Pillar’s long-needed examination of just what the Central Intelligence Agency got right or wrong before the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and the invasion of Iraq in 2003, will find one observation or another that seems more disquieting than the rest.” I have the book on my Kindle and am looking forward to diving in.


The treasurer of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has appointed Al Gordon deputy treasurer for policy. Al has had key leadership roles in the state treasury department following his early service as congressional aide and policy consultant for firms in Boston and Washington, D.C. After graduation he attended Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and earned a master’s in public administration. Al describes his new position as continuing what has been a great opportunity to turn ideas into substantive policies.


Many of you received a note from Paul Tuhus, our class representative to the Alumni Council, regarding the latest meeting of that body. He reports one of the more significant actions was the nomination of three distinguished alumni for seats on the board of trustees. You can read about those candidates at http://now.dartmouth.edu/2011/12/dartmouth-alumni-council-nominates-thr…. 


Paul reported the main session opened on Thursday evening with a presentation by Provost Carol Folt on a new strategic plan now under way at the College. This proved to be a controversial topic, causing unease and concerns among many of the councilors. Paul provided me with a second recap of the meeting penned by another class representative that echoed Paul’s concerns about the tone and directions this strategic plan was taking. The provost referred numerous times to the concept of a “research university,” never mentioning the term “college” in her presentation or in the Q-and-A afterward. Both reported this planning is in its infancy and the various planning groups involved promise to maintain an open mind to all parties interested in the College’s future. It is a subject Paul will be watching closely and we can keep abreast of developments by visiting http://strategicplanning.dartmouth.edu/.


Please continue to pass information about your lives to Allen Denison and me.


—Steve Larson, 9101 W 146th St., Overland Park, KS 66221; (360) 770-4388; wheat69@earthlink.net