Wheaton College Norton, Massachusetts

Alumnae/i


Fiftieth Reunion Summary

 Part I

   Fifty-nine fabulous women attended this milestone event and brought along eighteen
dashing gentlemen to cheer us along the way.  It was a heartwarming and gratifying experience for all.  To those who could not attend, we missed you and hope you will enjoy these pictures and all the news we have to share.
   Those who arrived early enough on Friday had an opportunity to take in two of four classes especially designed to illuminate some minuscule microcosms and captivating connections.                         
   Just recently, we asked Jean Kessler Wolf what she and Fran Anderson Sharpless were observing so intently in "The Intersection of Science and Art: Living Architecture", a seminar developed by Professors Bob Morris (Biology) and Evie Staudinger (Art/Art History) for a "Connections" course.
   Jean responded with great alacrity, “After some thought and re-experimentation with the piece of Polaroid and the torn plastic I saved, I’ve relearned what we were doing.  We were looking through small pieces of Polaroid plastic in conjunction with a piece of clear plastic mylar.  The normal mylar looked clear, but when we looked at a torn piece of the mylar and turned the Polaroid, a rainbow of colors showed up—showing the misaligned molecules and identifying the stress we had inflicted on the plastic. The Polaroid filter changed the refraction of the light and allowed us to see these stresses in the make-up of the mylar.  Georgene Botyos Herschbach  and her husband, Dudley, were in the talk….maybe she has a better scientific explanation or memory of what we were supposed to be looking for.”  Go Jean! We love your answer and are amazed how quickly and clearly you responded months after the experience!
    Wheaton's ever-popular professor of political science, Jay S. Goodman, regaled us over the question, "Will Obama be a One-Term President?"  Goodman received great reviews for his fair and balanced presentation. With much more material to examine now, it might be even more interesting to hear his thoughts at Reunion 2012!  Those beautiful heads belong to Nancy Berman Gabel, Sally Stapleton Campolucci, Wendy Fox Williams and Mimi Patterson Mead.
Biology professor, Betsey Dyer '75, is another favorite among returning "students". We agree with Georgene Herschbach, our class liaison for shaping Alumnae/i College 2011, that the talk should have been entitled, "Good Bacteria: Our Friends in Nature and in the Good Life."  She reported, "Betsey's high energy and unabashed fascination, even love for bacteria, is contagious.  She can make even gross-looking bacteria seem interesting." Indeed! We had no trouble at all imbibing and devouring the lovely spread of bacteria-created wines and cheeses Dyer set out for us.   
   After taking in the beauty of the campus and settling into a whole new perspective on dorm life, we gathered in the Faculty Dining Room for cocktails and dinner on Friday evening. The inviting space provided a relaxing setting for "looking back" and "catching up".  Soft crescendos of happy voices rose from every table in the room.  With ease, we fell in with one another realizing that, however our paths differed, we have much in common as women of our generation.  The first of two Class of 1961 videos, created and produced by Betsy Armstrong Demir and Georgene Herschbach, was "aired" to everyone's delight.
   Class President Terry Stratton Flagg thanked the extraordinary staff for their wise counsel and administrative support that helped us transform our goals into such a satisfying reality:   Left to right are Sheila Medeiros, administrative assistant and managing editor of our Book of Memoirs, Diane Robbins, director of the Wheaton Fund, and Sharon Howard '87, executive director of Alumnae/i Relations, who had to pull almost every trick out of her hat to channel our enthusiasm.  Sharon and Diane retired this summer. We like to think that our class provided the high note. The evening was delightful making us all the more eager for the following day.
  Another key person on our Wheaton team was Katherine McKay, associate director of Gift Planning.  Not only did Katherine help some of you when planning an estate gift for Wheaton, she was also our host for the entire Reunion weekend.  You may remember her snapping pictures of us with various cameras or getting us lined up for the commencement procession and alumnae/i parade.  Pictured with Katherine, is Pagna Eam '13, the student volunteer assigned to our class in Beard Hall.  Pagna won our hearts and admiration for the great care and respect she gave us throughout the weekend. We introduced her to you in the latest newsletter and hope you will read more about her generous spirit on the sidebar. 

Commencement
The 50th Reunion Class always follows the baccalaureate candidates during the commencement procession and how proud we were to fulfill that role!  It took time to organize the students and faculty which gave us some time to talk and take pictures.  To refresh your memory for names and faces, click Reunion Attendees (here) or on the sidebar.  Be sure to come right back!
 
  We wish we had one great image of all the mates who attended Reunion, but here are three terrific guys and you'll see more on other pages.  These gentlemen are George Longstreth (Betsy Beard), Rick Johnson (Sue Smith) and Eliot Fenander (Phyllis Chapman).













   Commencement speaker, Richard Stengel, managing editor of TIME magazine, urged the graduates to be cautious in this media-frenzied time: Be careful what you take as gospel; question ideas that cannot be proven; and beware of certitude.  It was quite alarming to hear him report a statistic that 85% of 2011 college graduates would not have jobs upon graduation and most would be heading home to live.
   In addition to Stengel, there were three honorary degree recipients and one of them was our very own Hope Hamilton Pettegrew.  Here she is receiving her hood from Provost Linda Eisenmann. 

We encourage you to read Hope's citation and her speech by clicking on the sidebar after you finish this summary.  Hope, congratulations and thank you.  We are so proud of you!
   The sun shone (at least it seemed to) when President Ronald A. Crutcher, Provost Linda Eisenmann and Dean of Students Lee Burdette Williams conferred Bachelor of Arts degrees on  382 jubilant new Wheaton graduates.  A very proud moment for all!