Pierson Reunion

Pierson College Reunion

Pierson College Reunion & 80th Anniversary Celebration

FEBRUARY 15-17, 2013

     From our newly minted grads, whose journeys have just begun, to our most distinguished alums, all of our paths can be traced back to a single place, Pierson College.   So please join us this February for an historic all-Pierson College reunion, inviting back every graduating class from Pierson’s storied eighty-year history.

      The festivities will start Friday evening with an open house at the Master’s House, and continue on through Sunday brunch.  Come tour the renovated Pierson College.  Celebrate the college’s phenomenal history even as you learn from current Piersonites about Yale today.  Reconnect with old friends and meet current and former Masters and Deans.  Be entertained by student performers, be enlightened by the panels of faculty and alums.  Raise your glass in celebration at the eightieth anniversary of Pierson in Commons with a gala dinner.

     But most of all, come back and celebrate some of the most wonderful years of our lives.

Click Here to Register Now!

Sincerely,
 
Harvey Goldblatt
Master, Pierson College

Register for the Upcoming Yale Women Conference

Don't miss out - registration space is limited and hotel rooms are going fast! YaleWomen in association with Yale World Fellows and the Yale Alumni Association is pleased to present Vision, Values, Voice: Women Changing a Changing World April 19-20, 2013 Washington, D.C. Capital Hilton You will meet and connect with Yale women alums, be inspired by dynamic speakers, and have opportunities to engage with YaleWomen leading and creating positive change in the world. Visit the website today for ongoing program and speaker announcements. Tickets are $250 per person and include: Tickets are $250 per person. Reserve your spot now: ywconference2013.alumni.yale.edu We look forward to seeing you in April! About YaleWomen: YaleWomen is the global network of Yale women alums, dedicated to advancing women’s voices and perspectives while enriching and inspiring Yale women, Yale and our communities. www.yalewomen.net This conference is brought to you by the generous support of our sponsor Follow us on:

Register for the Upcoming Yale in Hollywood Event

REGISTER NOW: Early Bird Reduced Rate!

Yale in Hollywood Conference:What’s Your Story?
March 8-9, 2013
The Sheraton Universal Hotel333 Universal Hollywood Drive
Universal City, CA 91608

Join us in celebrating the 10^th Anniversary of Yale in Hollywood at our major conference this March. Whether you are just getting started in the business, an industry insider or just curious about the entertainment world, this conference is for you. Celebrating the contributions of Yale alumni in the entertainment industry, we use this seminal gathering of alumni to promote our national student and alumni initiatives in the Arts. This year’s theme, “What’s Your Story?” provides an opportunity for alumni to build creative networks and fosters an atmosphere where the best of Yale can be the best for Yale and our greater communities throughout the world. The conference will bring together emerging and established alumni in film, TV, music and publishing to discuss the latest trends having an impact across these creative and business sectors of the industry. Unparalleled access to some of the most creative minds and industry leaders, together with a celebration of Yale, makes this an event you don’t want to miss!
Weekend Highlights Include Panels and Speakers on:

• Creative Workshops: So You Want to Publish a Book? and Crafting the Nonfiction Story for Documentary Film
• You Tube & Yale
• Turning Notes into Cents
• How to Sell What Hollywood is Buying
• Creative Development for Film & TV
• The Look of Hollywood
• Expanding the Brand
• Digital Success Stories: Studios & Startups
• In Conversation with Writer and Director Alan Poul
• Gala Luncheon with Keynote Gary Newman, Chairman, 20^th Century Fox Television
• 10^th Anniversary Cocktail Party, Networking Mixers…and much more!

Take advantage of early bird registration and save $100 of the registration fee if you register by Feb. 8th. Register now at http://hollywood.alumni.yale.edu as space is limited.
Detailed program and travel information can be found at http://hollywood.alumni.yale.edu. Discounted hotel rooms are available at the stylish Sheraton Universal subject to availability so book early. Visit our “Travel” page for booking information at http://hollywood.alumni.yale.edu.
We’ll see you at the conference!
Kevin Winston
President, Yale in Hollywood
Nicholas Roman Lewis
Sr. Director, Shared Interest Groups
Association of Yale Alumni

New videos from Kevin Berlin

Here are the latest from artist Kevin Berlin:

Rabbi Julie Schonfeld Prays at Inaugural Prayer Service

Thanks to Ethan Goldstine for the heads up that our own Rabbi Julie Schonfeld participated in the Inaugural Prayer Service as part of President Obama's inauguration festivities recently.  Click below and watch beginning around minute 37.




Here is Julie's on-line bio:

Having occupied the position of director of rabbinic development for the Rabbinical Assembly since 2001, Rabbi Schonfeld is a well-known, respected and much-beloved rabbi. Prior to becoming the executive vice president of the Rabbinical Assembly in July 2009, she oversaw the revision of the placement process for rabbis graduating from North American seminaries and worked on all aspects of their training and placement. She has advanced numerous landmark projects of the Conservative rabbinate, including a study of women rabbis that was released in 2004, and follow-up programs to further the career advancement of female clergy. She has worked on issues of clergy self-awareness and boundaries and launched multiple intervention programs for Jewish communities in crisis following clergy transition, conflict, misconduct and tragedy.

Tim Calkins writes about Super Bowl Ads

Check out the latest article by classmate Tim Calkins, a marketing specialist at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.  It is an interesting discussion of the interplay of TV advertising and social media:

The overall impact is that the stakes have increased for Super Bowl advertisers. Effectively using the Super Bowl is now about managing an entire multimedia campaign, not just one spot. Done well, a strong Super Bowl effort can propel a brand forward. Chrysler, Honda, M&Ms and Samsung have all moved ahead sparked by a strong Super Bowl campaign. A botched Super Bowl ad, however, can damage brands and careers.

With all the moving parts, fielding a Super Bowl spot is more difficult than ever, but the opportunity, for those who do it well, is bigger than ever, too. 

Bruce Feiler to Speak in Atlanta

New York Times Bestselling Author Bruce Feiler Discusses His Newest Book, The Secrets of Happy Families At a Page from the Book Festival of the MJCCA Event – Feb. 28, 2013

On Thursday, February 28, 2012, from 7:30 – 9:00 pm, the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta (MJCCA) is pleased to welcome back New York Times bestselling authorBruce Feiler, a columnist on contemporary families for theNew York Times. In Feiler’s latest book, The Secret of Happy Families: Improve Your Mornings, Rethink Family Dinner, Fight Smarter, Go Out and Play, and Much More, Feiler combines cutting-edge science with novel techniques that leading figures in business, sports, technology, and the military use with their own families. Smart, funny, and fresh, this book will forever change how your family lives every day. The event will be held at the MJCCA (5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody, GA 30338). Tickets are available online atatlantajcc.org or by calling the MJCCA Box Office at 678.812.4005.

Click here for the full story.

Caprice Young active in Texas education issues

Our classmate, Caprice Young, was active recently in dealing with education issues in Texas.  Click here for the full story, which quotes Caprice:

It believes the state is adequately funding schools but should distribute that money better, said Caprice Young, vice president of education for the Houston-based Laura and John Arnold Foundation, which seeks to "minimize injustice in our society."

Feb Club Emeritus

Feb Club Emeritus is about to kick off -- with parties around the world all of February.  This Yale alumni experience was launched by the Class of 1987 six years ago and it is still going strong.

We are trying to rally a group of 1987 class members to join us at the Yale Club of New York on February 1.  Please visit www.febclubemeritus.com for the complete story . . . and to sign up.  See you there!

Some pictures from past Feb Clubs:

Modifying a Child’s Behavior Without Resorting to Bribes – This Life - NYTimes.com

Here is the latest piece by Bruce Feiler.  What do you think?  (Click below for the whole article.)

SOMEONE asked me recently what my New Year’s resolution was as a parent. Without thinking, I said, “more creative bribing.”

I find the issue of bribing children — or to be more precise, the giving of blunt, uncreative rewards for desired behavior (“If you just stop kicking that seat in front of you on the plane, I’ll give you 10 minutes of iPad time”; “Clean your room this weekend, I’ll give you 10 bucks”; “If you use good manners at Grandma’s house, I’ll let you have an extra brownie”) — to be one of the more nagging challenges of being a parent.

Modifying a Child’s Behavior Without Resorting to Bribes – This Life - NYTimes.com

LA New Year's Eve ritual: The smoking deaths billboard

Her's a piece from LA Observed, that highlights classmate Gideon Brower:

Last New Year's Eve, Westside playwright and screenwriter Gideon Brower found community in an unexpected place. He waited with a small crowd that gathers on Santa Monica Boulevard below Westwood to watch a billboard that totes up estimated smoking deaths. At midnight, it resets to zero. "People cheer and drink champagne," Brower says in a piece that aired today on KCRW.

Here's the thing. The billboard doesn't reset to zero automatically. Every New Year's Eve for the last 20-plus years, an employee of the billboard company has climbed up the ladder just before midnight. When his cellphone gives the word, he starts the death count over again.

KCRW website story | Listen below on Soundcloud:

Brower wrote about this earlier in the year on the LA Times op-ed page.http://www.laobserved.com/archive/2012/12/new_years_eve_at_the_smok.php

Claire Messud to publish new novel

A new book to look out for in May, 2013 from Claire Messud.  This from a story I saw:

Claire Messud's best-selling novel The Emperor's Children was perhaps the most distinguished of the post-9/11 books. Her new novel The Woman Upstairs will be published by Virago in May. The story is set in Massachussetts, where Messud lives. It concerns a teacher who finds salvation in the works of art which she refuses to show.

Work/life balance and the Electronic Cottage

I have been giving a lot of thought lately to how to better balance work and life.  Technology, it is often assumed, will help people be at home more, with their kids more, with their loved ones more, out of the office more.  But, is this all a fallacy?  Do our blackberrys, iPhones, computers, etc. really act as electronic tethers that shackle us to work?  

I was reading an interesting Slate piece, 
Tearing Down the “Electronic Cottage” Why telecommuting may destroy your work/life balance,  on this, which said, in part:

Could it be that the labor-saving gadgets that were supposed to help restore our work/life balance would only make it worse? If so, historians of technology would not be much surprised by this ironic twist. In her classic More Work for Mother, University of Pennsylvania historian Ruth Schwartz Cowan showed how the introduction of supposedly labor-saving devices into the household resulted in women doing ever more work. Gender relations aside, Schwartz's broader philosophical point was both simple and intriguing: The supposed benefits of such devices cannot be assessed in isolation from the broader social, economic, and cultural context in which they are put to use.

I would be interested to hear what you think.  Does telecommuting work? How do you find balance?

Happy New Year

The Class of 1987's 2012 was a going really well until the final weeks.  We saw books published, businesses flourish, children grow, movies released and much. much more.  We had a terrific reunion.  Sadly, we also lost one of our classmates, Siobhan Sharkey, to cancer.

May 2013 be filled with the triumphs we hope for, the service we can all provide to others, and much more time together as classmates.  And, should troubles rise, may we help each other bear those burdens.