Class Note 1973
Issue
January-February 2026
Class Note 1973. Greetings, 2026!
’Twas a busy summer of golf for the foursome of Chet Homer, Bob Glovsky, John Lundgren, and “Digger” Donahue. First, Chet hosted the group at Cape Arundel in Kennebunkport, Maine, followed by delicious lobster rolls on his dock. Shortly thereafter, Bob hosted them again to the Belmont Country Club in Massachusetts for a competition. Per Digger, lots of competitive scoring and “the Dartmouth foursome finished in the money but not at the top!”
As of this fall, the Dartmouth Alumni Magazine has a new editor, Scott Allen, who provided an introductory summary of himself in the September-October issue. Please note, as proclaimed in the masthead—“Editorially independent since 1905”—DAM is completely independent of the College.
After serving for eight years, Elizabeth Smith stepped down as dean of the faculty of arts and sciences on September 1. In her honor, an undergraduate research fund has been created to provide ongoing support for undergraduate research projects. See “Dartmouth Celebrates Elizabeth Smith’s Legacy as Arts and Sciences Dean.”
After more than seven years as vice president for alumni relations, Cheryl Bascomb ’82 retired on January 1.
Retired financial services professional Clifton Berry—whose career in banking included commercial real estate lending, loan review and administration, and government and community relations—is a principal at the Unpaid Labor Project. The unpaid labor movement honors the first 12 generations of Africans in America.
The Dartmouth Outdoor Programs Office released its 2025 annual report. It has been several years since such an activity report was issued, but it certainly made this reader long to be a student again.
Professor Jonathan Smolin, an expert in the Middle East who has taught at Dartmouth since 2005 and presented several webinars to us, is our most recent class adoptee. From his College online biography: “I believe passionately that the classroom is a space of curiosity, open dialogue, and critical thinking. I am committed to building a learning environment where students engage deeply with different viewpoints and experiences. In my teaching, the Middle East is a site of nuance and complexity, not rigid categories and polarization.” He is particularly enthusiastic about joining our ranks, not only because we are a great group, but because he was born in 1973!
In the main corridor of the newly renovated Hopkins Center, 500 Hinman Box doors are inserted into the wall to pay homage to the original Hinman mailboxes. The location is close to the site of the prior mail center.
The class officers would like to try using email to disseminate the class newsletter. This approach would enable more frequent, timely, and cost-effective communication. Doing so, however, requires an up-to-date accurate email address for each class member. Hence, all classmates are requested to update their alumni profile (you control the amount of detail) at https://alumni.dartmouth.edu/update-your-info. Contact alumni.help@dartmouth.edu or (855) 215-9024 for assistance if you prefer.
Sadly, in late August, longtime Groveland, Massachusetts, resident Mitch Kroner died. Obituary is at https://dartmouthalumnimagazine.com/obits.
—Val Armento, 227 Sylvan Ave., San Mateo, CA 94403; valerie.j.armento.73@dartmouth.edu
’Twas a busy summer of golf for the foursome of Chet Homer, Bob Glovsky, John Lundgren, and “Digger” Donahue. First, Chet hosted the group at Cape Arundel in Kennebunkport, Maine, followed by delicious lobster rolls on his dock. Shortly thereafter, Bob hosted them again to the Belmont Country Club in Massachusetts for a competition. Per Digger, lots of competitive scoring and “the Dartmouth foursome finished in the money but not at the top!”
As of this fall, the Dartmouth Alumni Magazine has a new editor, Scott Allen, who provided an introductory summary of himself in the September-October issue. Please note, as proclaimed in the masthead—“Editorially independent since 1905”—DAM is completely independent of the College.
After serving for eight years, Elizabeth Smith stepped down as dean of the faculty of arts and sciences on September 1. In her honor, an undergraduate research fund has been created to provide ongoing support for undergraduate research projects. See “Dartmouth Celebrates Elizabeth Smith’s Legacy as Arts and Sciences Dean.”
After more than seven years as vice president for alumni relations, Cheryl Bascomb ’82 retired on January 1.
Retired financial services professional Clifton Berry—whose career in banking included commercial real estate lending, loan review and administration, and government and community relations—is a principal at the Unpaid Labor Project. The unpaid labor movement honors the first 12 generations of Africans in America.
The Dartmouth Outdoor Programs Office released its 2025 annual report. It has been several years since such an activity report was issued, but it certainly made this reader long to be a student again.
Professor Jonathan Smolin, an expert in the Middle East who has taught at Dartmouth since 2005 and presented several webinars to us, is our most recent class adoptee. From his College online biography: “I believe passionately that the classroom is a space of curiosity, open dialogue, and critical thinking. I am committed to building a learning environment where students engage deeply with different viewpoints and experiences. In my teaching, the Middle East is a site of nuance and complexity, not rigid categories and polarization.” He is particularly enthusiastic about joining our ranks, not only because we are a great group, but because he was born in 1973!
In the main corridor of the newly renovated Hopkins Center, 500 Hinman Box doors are inserted into the wall to pay homage to the original Hinman mailboxes. The location is close to the site of the prior mail center.
The class officers would like to try using email to disseminate the class newsletter. This approach would enable more frequent, timely, and cost-effective communication. Doing so, however, requires an up-to-date accurate email address for each class member. Hence, all classmates are requested to update their alumni profile (you control the amount of detail) at https://alumni.dartmouth.edu/update-your-info. Contact alumni.help@dartmouth.edu or (855) 215-9024 for assistance if you prefer.
Sadly, in late August, longtime Groveland, Massachusetts, resident Mitch Kroner died. Obituary is at https://dartmouthalumnimagazine.com/obits.
—Val Armento, 227 Sylvan Ave., San Mateo, CA 94403; valerie.j.armento.73@dartmouth.edu