The recent trail blazing legacy left by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg reminded us of Jay Alexander, who served as one of Justice Ginsburg’s law clerks from 1986 to 1987. For him, Justice Ginsburg was a teacher and a model of unchecked excellence who routinely worked late into the night to always try to get it “right.” Her law clerks’ children were her “grand-clerks” and her smile lit up when they visited. Jay says Justice Ginsburg paved the way for our daughters to have a seat at the table and for our sons to benefit from seeing the world through different lenses. May we all have her wisdom to listen intently, to learn from those with whom we disagree, and to be better for the effort. HBO’s newest limited series from writer and producer David E. Kelley, The Undoing, is based on Jean Hanff Korelitz’s page-turner, You Should Have Known, and has been heralded as a thrill ride by many critics. The cast and crew are filled with award-winners, including Hugh Grant, Nicole Kidman, Donald Sutherland, director Suzanne Bier, and cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle. According to Jean, “It’s quite different from the novel, especially toward the end, so don’t ask me what happens. I’ve seen all but the final episode and I have no idea who did what to whom.” Then, in time for your 2021 summer reading, be on the lookout for Jean’s latest novel, The Plot, before Memorial Day. Speaking of publishing, another anticipated book release, this winter, will be Luise Kaish: An American Art Legacy. It’s a career retrospective. Melissa Kaish, founder of the Kaish Family Art Project and daughter of Luise Kaish, is also happy to announce the launch of their redesigned website. Peter Kilmarx was recently awarded the Distinguished Service Medal for his career at the U.S. Public Health Service responding to HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases and building health research capacity worldwide from 1996 to 2019. The award is the highest award granted and recognizes an exceedingly high level of achievement by an officer who possesses a genuine sense of public service. Peter retired from the Public Health Service in 2019 to become the deputy director of the Fogarty International Center at the National Institutes of Health. Congratulations, Peter! Following up on the architecture and construction theme of our last Class Notes, Richard Walsh is president and CEO (fourth generation) of Walsh Brothers Construction. Founded in 1901, the firm originally focused on constructing monumental classic academic buildings on college campuses throughout New England and New York. Today Walsh Brothers’ work reflects evolving styles of architecture, with numerous projects involving contemporary and traditional design, adaptive re-use, renovation, historic restoration and preservation, updated code compliance, and everything in between. The firm has even moved older structures and performed “facade-ectomies”—maintaining certain features of an established building to integrate with new master plan designs. Rick’s favorite traditional buildings at Dartmouth are Baker Library and Dartmouth Hall. His favorite contemporary building is the Hood Museum.

—Elliot Stultz, 421 West Melrose St., #8A, Chicago, IL 60657; elliotstultz@yahoo.com; Shanta Sullivan, 1541 North Sierra Bonita Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90046; shantaesullivan@gmail.com