Class Note 1981
Issue
July-August 2023
Class of ’81s are giving back in big ways. You may recall that our class formed a committee comprised of Byron Boston, Hap Brakeley, Bill Burgess, Lynnette Eubanks Marshall, and Shelley Warren Wieler to choose two classmates for the Class of 1981 John G. Kemeny Award. The criteria this year was unsung heroes who have made noteworthy local or global impact.
You’ve probably heard by now that Lisa Robinson Spader and Marshall Brown are the first recipients of this honor and will accept their awards Homecoming Weekend (October 20-21).
Lisa is a cofounder and president of Global Pearls, an international nonprofit organization that uses the tools of education and training to focus on the well-being of women, children, and marginalized groups. Projects located in Latin America, Africa, Asia, and Europe include programs in Guatemala, Honduras, Peru, Morocco, Cameroon, Kenya, India, Ukraine, and Nepal.
Marshall cofounded and became executive director of the Long Island Conservancy, which supports local habitat restoration projects across Long Island as well as Save the Great Bay, a group of more than 15,000 scientists and community members who are a powerful local voice for environmental and shared problems. Marshall is also a partner in Spadefoot Water Treatment Services in New York, focusing on innovative ways to address wastewater treatment.
In more giving back, the former Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, New York, is now the Albright Knox Gundlach (AKG) Museum. Jeffrey Gundlach donated $62.5 million for the largest cultural capital project in the city’s history that was on schedule to reopen recently after a two-year renovation. Congratulations, Lisa, Marshall, and Jeff!
A recent big question was about ’81s’ positions on the early edge of coeducation and how post-Dartmouth life has changed our perspective on that. We received numerous excellent, heartfelt responses, and Bates College French and francophone studies professor Kirk Reed’s thoughts were especially impactful. He reflected with strong feelings on his tacit participation in a culture of admittedly “toxic misogyny,” and said, “Bottom line, for me, and for many men: It was an extremely challenging time to come into one’s own as a man. While there were exceptions to the culture of conquest or derision, Dartmouth kept so much in place to make men socialize and mature in problematic ways.” However, “Much of my cocurricular education was bonding in adversity,” which was “fruitful and often hilarious.” He concluded with, “I still seek a way to reconcile both the injury and the gifts of Dartmouth’s early years of educating women and men together. I think a more honest introspection about what the transition and its aftermath meant for men is worth our continued contemplation.”
Keep up the good work giving back, ’81s.
I regret to close with the sad news of the death of Betsy May Hudson in March. Our sincere condolences to our classmate Thomas Hudson, their daughters, and extended families.
—Ann Jacobus Kordahl, P.O. Box 470443, San Francisco, CA 94147; ann@annjacobus.com; Emil Miskovsky, P.O. Box 2162, North Conway, NH, 03860; emilmiskovsky@gmail.com
You’ve probably heard by now that Lisa Robinson Spader and Marshall Brown are the first recipients of this honor and will accept their awards Homecoming Weekend (October 20-21).
Lisa is a cofounder and president of Global Pearls, an international nonprofit organization that uses the tools of education and training to focus on the well-being of women, children, and marginalized groups. Projects located in Latin America, Africa, Asia, and Europe include programs in Guatemala, Honduras, Peru, Morocco, Cameroon, Kenya, India, Ukraine, and Nepal.
Marshall cofounded and became executive director of the Long Island Conservancy, which supports local habitat restoration projects across Long Island as well as Save the Great Bay, a group of more than 15,000 scientists and community members who are a powerful local voice for environmental and shared problems. Marshall is also a partner in Spadefoot Water Treatment Services in New York, focusing on innovative ways to address wastewater treatment.
In more giving back, the former Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, New York, is now the Albright Knox Gundlach (AKG) Museum. Jeffrey Gundlach donated $62.5 million for the largest cultural capital project in the city’s history that was on schedule to reopen recently after a two-year renovation. Congratulations, Lisa, Marshall, and Jeff!
A recent big question was about ’81s’ positions on the early edge of coeducation and how post-Dartmouth life has changed our perspective on that. We received numerous excellent, heartfelt responses, and Bates College French and francophone studies professor Kirk Reed’s thoughts were especially impactful. He reflected with strong feelings on his tacit participation in a culture of admittedly “toxic misogyny,” and said, “Bottom line, for me, and for many men: It was an extremely challenging time to come into one’s own as a man. While there were exceptions to the culture of conquest or derision, Dartmouth kept so much in place to make men socialize and mature in problematic ways.” However, “Much of my cocurricular education was bonding in adversity,” which was “fruitful and often hilarious.” He concluded with, “I still seek a way to reconcile both the injury and the gifts of Dartmouth’s early years of educating women and men together. I think a more honest introspection about what the transition and its aftermath meant for men is worth our continued contemplation.”
Keep up the good work giving back, ’81s.
I regret to close with the sad news of the death of Betsy May Hudson in March. Our sincere condolences to our classmate Thomas Hudson, their daughters, and extended families.
—Ann Jacobus Kordahl, P.O. Box 470443, San Francisco, CA 94147; ann@annjacobus.com; Emil Miskovsky, P.O. Box 2162, North Conway, NH, 03860; emilmiskovsky@gmail.com