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September 2007 Fellow 1972’ers:
I am glad to have this opportunity to write to you as your new president.
Our Vice President, Pam Lloyd Coulter, recently included me on an email thread in which she and Gayle Delaney were reflecting on their shared position as daughters of Princeton alumni. Pam noted that she did not know many members of our Class when she graduated, and that when attending reunions in the years following, she would spend more time at her Dad’s 1942 reunion than at 1972’s. “As it happened, on my Dad’s deathbed, he gave me sage advice that woke me up: When I opined that he had been so lucky to have so many friends from his Class, making reunions so rewarding, he looked at me as if I had three heads, responding, ‘You don’t think I knew these guys when I was at school, do you? That’s why you go to Reunions, to meet people!’ ”
These are wise words to keep in mind as we review the status of our Class and our plans for the next five years. I am honored and excited to have the opportunity to serve as Class President. 1972 is super! I. State of the Class
By every measure, the Class of 1972 is on track to be one of the greatest in Princeton’s history. Our numbers are phenomenal.
Reunions: With about 235 classmates attending, along with over 200 spouses and friends and some 75 children, we had a super turnout for our 35th Reunion. We pride ourselves on being the best of the major reunions and having the most fun, and we did it again this year.
Annual Giving: You have already been mailed a report on this year’s stellar campaign. We raised some $3.3 million in gifts, our second largest amount ever raised in a single year and the third highest 35th reunion total in the history of Annual Giving at Princeton. We climbed to 5th place among all Princeton classes (from 7th in 2002) in cumulative Annual Giving at $16,357,828. Our participation rate was 65 percent, the 9th consecutive year that we have topped 60 percent in this important measure. You are exceedingly generous in your support of Princeton!
Scholarship Fund: In round numbers, the book value of our Scholarship Fund is $338,000, and the market value is $976,000. We will have in excess of $45,000 in income from the Fund to award for the 2007-2008 school year. The amount needed to endow a restricted scholarship is $250,000. The Class currently has two scholars. We could add a third scholar this fall, and if we were to receive new gifts of approximately $24,000, we would have enough money to have four Class scholars, one in each undergraduate Class. This will be a topic of discussion for the Executive Committee at its fall meeting. We welcome your thoughts on this.
Memorial Fund: The Class Memorial Fund was set up to provide a means by which we can memorialize our deceased classmates with gifts to Princeton. By your steady donations over the years, we have funded the Class of 1972 Plaza outside McCosh 10, the new Class of 1972 dining room at Whitman College, the Class Teaching Initiative, and a booster to our 25th reunion Annual Giving campaign in which we set a new record in excess of 5 million dollars. However, because of these outlays, our Memorial Fund currently has less than $50,000. Our focus going forward is to get it back to a substantial level so that when attractive memorial opportunities come along for the Class in the future, we can take advantage of them.
Class Teaching Initiative: The Fund we endowed provides money for University departments to teach courses that might otherwise not be offered in the curriculum. Professors apply for grants from the Fund and a University committee led by Skip Rankin decides what is funded. Skip will update the status of this Fund on the Class website.
University Leadership: Peter Wendell and Bob Murley are senior leaders of the Board of Trustees, both serving 10-year terms as Charter Trustees. This is Bob’s second term as a Charter Trustee and he will also be co-chairing the University’s upcoming capital campaign. Liz Plater-Zyberk has also served on the Board of Trustees. Skip Rankin recently chaired the Alumni Council, and is an ex officio member of the Committee to Nominate Alumni Trustees. Professor Jim McPherson, our newly minted honorary Class member, recently won the first Pritzker Military Library Literature Award, a $100,000 prize presented for lifetime accomplishments in military history.
II. Broadened Opportunities for Leadership and Involvement
The leadership of our Class over the past 35 years by Fritz Cammerzell, Jim Robinson, Charlie Hughes, Bob Murley, Skip Rankin, Art Wood, Ed Strauss, Tom Hoster and others, has been incredibly strong. There are many of you who may not have had the time or inclination in the past, who now are at a stage in life where you want to participate in our Class’s affairs in a more serious way. There is a great opportunity here for our Class and the University to gain the benefit of your energy and talents. It is my hope for us, as a Class, to tap into that reservoir.
Officers: We welcome David Kixmiller and Nikos Monoyios as new Vice Presidents of the Class and thank Mary Wadsworth-Darby, who is rotating off as a Vice President, for her many years of service. We retain the continuity of our other officers and welcome Marty Franks, who has signed on to co-chair the Memorial Fund with Randy Harris.
Executive Committee: Our Class constitution vests the management and control of the affairs of the Class in the Executive Committee. Currently, we have 36 members on the Executive Committee, but the makeup of this important group has changed little over the years. In recognition of this, many of the members of the Executive Committee have graciously volunteered to rotate off, in order to give other Class members an opportunity to lead and to get involved. Going forward, we will be asking Executive Committee members to commit to taking an active role in Class activities and leadership, such as helping to organize or host a Class event in his or her region or reaching out to involve previously uninvolved members of the Class. For example, we are looking for ways to build on the sense of community among the women members of our Class, both independently of and in conjunction with Class events and activities. We will be looking for those who can take a service or leadership role in a Class community service project.
If you are interested in making such a commitment and/or serving on the Executive Committee, email me at williamdegolian@johnsonward.com. Share your thoughts on the Class’s activities and how you might contribute. Obviously not everyone can serve on the Executive Committee. However, there will be a wealth of other opportunities in the coming years for service and leadership. If you have the time and interest, we will accommodate you!
We will communicate more and more by email as time goes on. Please keep your profile, with email addresses, current on the Class website. If you need any help with this, our Web Master, Al Glossbrenner, is more than willing to help. As a reminder, the Class website is http://www.princeton72.org/.
III. Class Events: 2007-2008
We have a number of events planned for the coming year.
Harvard Game - Saturday, October 20, 2007: For the first time in many years, we will have a Class table at the Tiger Tent, sponsored by the Princeton Association of New England. This is billed as the largest gathering of Princetonians outside of Reunions. It coincides with the Head of the Charles Regatta and promises to be a spectacular fall weekend in New England. Yale Game - Saturday, November 10, 2007: We will have a cocktail party, perhaps with the Classes of 1952 and 1992, in the lobby of the Icahn Laboratory following our victory over Yale on Saturday, November 10, 2007. Alumni Day - Saturday, February 23, 2008: We have had record numbers of classmates turnout for Alumni Day in recent years. Following the Service of Remembrance, we will have a Class cocktail party and dinner at the Field Center.
Reunions - May 30 to June 1, 2008 The great news for reunions is that Fritz and Robby have agreed to stay on in the critical role of Reunions Co-Chairs. We will have our usual non major reunion events this year, including the popular offsite Friday night dinner.
IV. Class Trips The several Class trips that Robby organized over the past five years were exceedingly popular and we hope to continue these events. We have several suggestions under consideration and we hope to sponsor Class events in various regions of the country, including Northern California, the Southeast, the Midwest and Texas.
Assault on Mount Princeton Bob Wright has enthusiastically agreed to lead the Class in an assault on Mount Princeton in Colorado. This will likely take place during the summer of 2008. Checkout Bob’s profile on the Class website about his climbing experiences. Start getting in shape!
V. Community Service Project Jim Robinson and Skip Rankin have had preliminary discussions with Blair Blackwell, the Program Director of Princeton in Africa. There may be opportunities for us as a Class to get involved at different levels of service, given the huge needs that exist in Africa. We are in the earliest stages of discussions on such a project and the size and extent of any community service project we undertake will be dictated by your interest and support. I encourage you to contact Robby (jrobinso@lehman.com) or Skip (clyde.e.rankin@bakernet.com) with your thoughts.
As is the normal practice, I enclose with this letter our first dues notice for the coming year. Your prompt response, if possible, allows us to remain solvent as a Class after we pay for our part of the Princeton Alumni Weekly, the Class website, and fund the various activities that set us apart from other Classes.
The hard work of others before me has left our Class in great shape. The sense of spirit and camaraderie at our 35th Reunion was tangible. Let’s continue to build on a great thing. Cheers!
Cordially yours, William D. deGolian
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