1978 launched Ben & Jerry’s, Legos, The Blues Brothers, our class, and Billy Joel’s first hit single, Just the Way You Are. 45 years later we invite you back to Yale – JUST THE WAY YOU ARE! We are planning an easygoing reunion that will combine the traditions we have come to love with plenty of time and space to hang out with old friends and make new ones. Whether you have been to every reunion since graduation, or this will be your first time coming back to New Haven, we welcome you. Already over 200 of our classmates have indicated they will be joining us in June.
We have some wonderful panels and events planned but you will also have plenty of time to just hang out with friends old and new. To encourage a free and easy-going atmosphere we will have spaces reserved for quiet conversations, snacks available all day, and family style dinners.
Check out some of our exciting panels and activities below, and don’t forget some have limited capacity so be sure to register early…
Thursday, June 1
Lecture by John Mauceri ’67
Join the Class of ’68 for a lecture by John Mauceri ’67 a Tony, Grammy, and three-time Emmy winner. Mr. Mauceri served on the Yale faculty for fifteen years, beginning in 1968, and built the Yale Symphony Orchestra into one of the most respected student orchestras in the world. He has also appeared as a conductor with most of our leading orchestras and opera companies and is the founding director of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. He will give a fascinating lecture, interspersed with the playing of movie soundtracks and other musical works, based on his book, “The War on Music - Reclaiming the Twentieth Century.”
Friday, June 2
Climate change -- Is there hope?
On the day we graduated Yale, the air we breathed had roughly 335 parts per million (ppm) of carbon dioxide (CO2) -- already a higher concentration than at any time in human history. Today, the air we breathe has roughly 420 ppm of CO2. The steady accumulation of heat-trapping gases such as CO2 in the atmosphere has contributed to devastating heat waves, wildfires, droughts and floods, with much more possible in the decades ahead. Yet at the same time, a clean energy revolution and growing public awareness offer hope for averting the worst threats from climate change.
Join classmates Sheldon Whitehouse (US Senator, Rhode Island and author, The Scheme), David Sandalow (author, Guide to Chinese Climate Policy and former senior official at the White House, State Department and US Department of Energy) and Gail Kalison Reynolds (Yale FES in Terrestrial Ecology and land conservation expert), along with Yale Trustee Fred Krupp (President, Environmental Defense Fund and Yale College Class of 1975) for a discussion of these issues.
Yale Art Gallery Tours – Limited Capacity
This year the gallery is offering our class the choice of two private in-depth hour-long tours led by Yale’s distinguished curators. You can choose between either…
Minimalism and American Posters led by Lisa Hodermarsky, the Sutphin Family Senior Associate Curator of Prints and Drawings, Isabelle Sagraves, the Florence B. Selden Fellow, and guest curator, our classmate and Yale Art Gallery Board Member, Mark Resnick, who will speak about select posters from his collection that are on loan to the Gallery.
or
Modern & Contemporary Paintings & Sculpture and Contemporary Art & Design led by Keely Orgeman, Seymour H. Knox, Jr., Associate Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art and John Stuart Gordon, Associate Curator of American Decorative Arts.
Whiskey Tasting – Limited Capacity
Join classmate Tom Potter as he leads you through a tasting tour of how and why craft beer and craft spirits have conquered the drinking world. Potter, the co-founder of Brooklyn Brewery and The New York Distilling Company, conducted one of the first-ever public tastings of Brooklyn Lager at our 10th Reunion in 1988. He returns 35 years later to demonstrate the breadth of change since then as artisan brewers and distillers have invigorated historic styles and imagined entirely new ones, including one terrific non-alcoholic. See and taste why this is beverage alcohol’s golden age. Introduction by our very own Don Moloney.
Cabaret
Life is a cabaret, whether you choose to participate or just want to sit back and enjoy performances by our talented classmates, all are welcome. The cabaret will be lead by David Barnett.
Saturday, June 3
Turbulent Times—A Discussion about Civility, Collaboration and Change
American politics have become more divisive over the last decade or so, and unfortunately, there is no sign that these turbulent times will not continue. Our classmates/panelist have been on the frontlines in dealing with many of these issues in different ways and venues. They will lead our discussion about how one can be strong in advocating for his/her beliefs but do so in a collaborative and civil manner, and whether that is a more effective way to influence change.”
With Michael J. Gerhardt (Burton Craige Distinguished Professor of Jurisprudence at UNC), David A. Thomas (President of Morehouse College and Yale Board of Trustees), Evan Wolfson (Founder of Freedom to Marry), and Ellen L. Weintraub (Commissioner on the Federal Election Commission).
Yale Farm Tour & Talk – Limited Capacity
This year the Yale Farm celebrates its 20th anniversary of clearing a tangled one-acre lot on Edward Street to create an Edenic teaching farm where students could learn place-based sustainable farming techniques and see firsthand how climate change affects local agriculture; the economics of farming; and how to tailor seeds and crops to meet the needs of different classes spanning the natural and physical sciences, the social sciences, and the arts and humanities. Join Corby Kummer ’78 in a discussion with Yale Sustainable Food Program staff leaders, Lazarus Summer Interns, and faculty members to hear how the farm has enriched campus and classroom life—and taste the pizza from the wood-fired oven that has lured several generations of undergraduates and graduates alike to become part of the life of the farm. Corby Kummer is executive director of Food & Society at the Aspen Institute, a senior lecturer at the Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition Science, and a senior editor of The Atlantic.
Dance to the sounds of the 70s
Whether you want to “Shake Your Grove Thing”, be a “Dancing Queen”, or “Turn the Beat Around” get out your dancing shoes, send us your favorite song from the 70’s and get ready to rock out to the sounds of our bright college years.