Table Of Content

Her dear friend, classmate Beth Ames Swartz, had come to NYC for the opening of her new art series at a gallery in Manhattan. At a restaurant meal that followed for our classmates, Ruby and I sat next to one another. Our paths had never crossed on campus, but we soon were deep in conversation.
Veterinary Medicine
He retired in 2015 and started a second career in academia. He is still working hard and enjoying the college faculty experience. Wayne Mezitt, MBA ’66, who lives with wife Elizabeth (Pickering) ’65 in Hopkinton, MA, catches us up on a lot! He writes, “In July 2023, Beth and I published a book, For the Love of Gardening, which describes our family experiences as we commemorate the 100th anniversary of our family business, Weston Nurseries.
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Rich Saltz, MBA ’74, our current class co-president, and his spouse, Lynn (Rosenbluth) ’75, attended the wedding of their daughter Marcy ’06 on Rich’s birthday in a restaurant in Greenwich Village. Adding to Rich and Lynn’s joy, their son Ted ’12 became engaged to Alyson Stein ’13. Mark Schimelman writes that he retired 12 years ago and is enjoying the freedom and time with his family. He sadly recalls the passing 12 years ago of Joel Shapiro ’73, his best friend in college (besides his wife, Shelley (Grumet) ’73). She will be using this position to help connect classmates who want to reconnect with those they have lost contact with.
Biden visits key city in swing state as Trump rails against him at courthouse

I served consecutively as news editor, editor-in-chief, and senior editor (the paper’s best position!). Since my graduation in December, I’ve worked as a graduate fellow in Sun operations and alumni outreach. I enjoy cooking, running, and exploring Ithaca’s many natural gems, and I hope to pursue a long career in journalism and communications. I’m excited to introduce this new column, which will highlight the achievements and celebrate the lives of Sun alumni.
Nancy Decker Stephenson is a retired registered dietician and office manager for a veterinary practice. Her activities include volunteering with meals for the homeless and the DAR. Hobbies now include gardening, reading, classical piano, and travel. Other countries visited include family visits in the Netherlands, plus trips to Norway, Switzerland, France, Italy, Greece, Hungary, Austria, Germany, Scotland, Israel, and Colombia. Family activities include annual reunions, vacations, and holiday/birthday get-togethers.
Business
Clay Pittman (Bellbrook, OH) tells us he had two great roommates, Glenn Russo and Carlos Guevara, and really enjoyed their company. His ROTC classmates were great as well, and he really appreciated their friendship and support. After graduation he had a long career in the Air Force as an engineer and pilot. He met his wife at a squadron Christmas party, and he says they have been blessed with six children and a wonderful life together.

Agriculture and Life Sciences
A touring company first presented Hadestown at the John F. Kennedy theater in Washington in October 2021 and is still touring the U.S. and Canada. A new company held a successful opening of Hadestown at the Lyric Theatre in London’s West End in February 2024. Philip also produced Once Upon A One More Time, featuring Britney Spears’s music, and was co-producer of A Christmas Carol starring Jefferson Mays, and Terrence McNally’s Frankie & Johnny in the Clair de Lune starring Audra McDonald. Philip sits on several boards of corporations and foundations. ❖ Caroline Mulford Owens (email Caroline) | Jack Brophy (email Jack) | John Nixon (email John) | Bob Neff, JD ’56 (email Bob) | Alumni Directory.
About the Sierra Club
Elsa Waymer Dempsey retired from technology sales last year and continues to enjoy the good life in Florida. She has been in her husband’s hometown of Venice, FL, for the last 30 years. She and her husband enjoy tennis, gardening, and traveling with their twin daughters, Laura and Erica. Elsa has fond memories of her many friends from field hockey, lacrosse, Pi Phi, and even engineering classes. Last fall, I went to a conference honoring former Cornell history professor Walter LaFeber at Cornell Tech on Roosevelt Island.
Lisa Spellman Porter ’89 has received numerous awards, including the National Science Foundation Career Award. Chris Arbogast wanted us to know that, since retiring from software engineering last summer, he has been spending his time sprucing up his home in Nevada. Stevens, a novelette called The Wallace House of Pain, which received a 2023 American Fiction Award. The same story was adapted into a stage script, published by Choeofpleirn Press in their autumn 2023 issue. The characters in the novelette are also featured in her forthcoming novel, Beautiful and Terrible Things (Black Rose Writing, July 2024). I just had my six-year work anniversary with Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America.
Recently, Traci was at a conference in Denver and she hung out with Larry Goldman at the beautiful botanical gardens. During Reunion weekend, she was thrilled to reconnect with her freshman roommate Sue Henry Muldoon. They laughed and danced the night away with Jake White and his wife, Sharon Rose.
“I’ve written several books and write a 1,500-word story for my blog every day.” He does heavy-duty hillside gardening, something he learned working at the Cornell Plantations, when it was called that. His other pastime is riding the hills and deserts on one of his BMW motorcycles. Kim is still singing cabaret both in California and in New York. He and his wife, Andrea, are still waiting for grandkids as his son, Daniel, and daughter, Shira, have other ideas. Back in 1995 Elias co-wrote Dark Carnival, a biography of film director Tod Browning (Dracula, Freaks) that was recently revised into a larger, limited-edition volume (with a paperback due later this year).
Expect to hear from Corinne soon as she prepares to embark on this new initiative. After four years’ absence, Stephen Appell traveled to Ithaca via the Campus-to-Campus bus for a weekend of Cornell basketball—and this time, to root only for the women’s team. Having apprised the Statler staff of the purpose of his visit, they welcomed him with a goodie bag of Cornell souvenirs, including a basketball cap, and made him feel like a VIP.
Lorlei Boyd develops AI tools for Gray Decision Intelligence, a software company that provides platform evaluation software to colleges and universities. She first started at Gray DI as an analyst but quickly transitioned into a developer (she led the integration of generative AI into Gray’s interface). While grounded in critical thinking, she draws from her humanities background at Cornell to approach her work in shaping technology with a human element. ❖ Class of 2023 (email c/o Alexandra Bond ’12) | Alumni Directory.
Don’t miss this chance to come back to the Hill for a fun-filled and memorable weekend! Stephanie Cosner sent in some exciting news of her own as well—she was recently appointed provost at Simmons University, following her role as dean for six years and, prior to that, her work as a tenured professor at Boston College. In closing this column, a heartfelt congratulations to David Cohen for his successful re-election to District 4 of the San Jose City Council! You can learn about all the great things David is doing for his community here.