OUR 67th REUNION – A HARVARD CRIMSON SOCIETY REUNION -- WILL BE HELD THURSDAY & FRIDAY, JUNE 3 & 4, 2027!
HARVARD CRIMSON SOCIETY: Yes, you are a member of the Harvard Crimson Society. Crimson society reunions are held every year – each year visit https://alumni.harvard.edu/reunions/haa-crimson-society for detailed schedule & registration (and to see who else is attending). Essentially, the Crimson Society events, open to all who have experienced their 50th Reunion, is intended for those who are not that year experiencing their quinquennial reunion! The Harvard and Radcliffe Classes of 1960 were represented on the original Crimson Society Committee by Ron Goodman, Joan O’Connor and Bill Markus.
When you return to Harvard, peruse the Harvard self-guided tour guide (below).
__________________________
HARVARD AND RADCLIFFE CLASSES OF 1960
66th REUNION
JUNE 4 & 5, 2026
To my knowledge, a small … and I do mean small … group of H&R’60 classmates and some of their spouses gathered at Harvard on June 4 & 5, 2026 to celebrate our 66th Reunion (and Harvard & Radcliffe generally).
Those with whom I interacted, in addition to my wife Jean, were Steve Weddle, Fred Leventhal and his wife Jean (R’63), Charlie Maier, Hope Haff (R’60), Lionel Spiro and his wife Vivian, and Richard Saval. Also registered were Tom & Kathleen Oleson and Nancy McMahon (R’60), but I didn’t see them there. There may have been others with whom I did not connect (and some may have attended Radcliffe Day May 29).
I also interacted with our HAA Assistant Director Kristen DeAmicis, HAA Class Liaison Lauri Coulter, Red Book Chief Diane MacDonald, former editors of some of our Red Books Debby Smullyan and Jason Hale, HAA IT Guru Jack Cashman, and our 65th Reunion HAA Liaison Lily Gillespie.
Logan McCarty [Associate Dean of Science Undergraduate Education, Lecturer on Physics, and Lecturer on Chemistry and Chemical Biology] led off the presentations describing the impact of generative AI at Harvard and beyond. I was struck by Logan’s use of AI, prior to the first session of his General Education course on understanding and using Generative AI, to bring all enrolled students up to the same level of abilities both in using AI and in developing AI-proof skills (that is, incorporating the intrinsic values of human interaction and human responsibility). (Logan, with his colored hair and his high heeled shoes, is distinctively engaging.)
Maya Jasanoff [Professor of History] presented some of her thoughts concerning her special interest “Ancestors: Where Do We Come From and Why Do We Care” (The title of her multidisciplinary General Education course). Maya clearly demonstrated that ancestry has played a huge role in determining the social order – the rights enjoyed (or not) by those inhabiting a country. What role to be want ancestry to play? Who should decide? As a maximum-legacy admission to Harvard, I couldn’t help but jump to today’s debate concerning the current legacy admissions debate (though she did not). She did, however, stress that inclusion generates exclusion). Generally, Maya would like the dial to be turned toward less influence of ancestry.
On the morning of the second day, we heard Nicholas Burns [Harvard Kennedy School Professor of the Practice of Diplomacy and International Relations who served six presidents and nine secretaries of state] discuss “The United States in a World of Disorder”. Nick is a terrific speaker and touched upon many of the key foreign policy issues before the United States today. Most of his recent speeches and public pronouncements are available on the internet (though I couldn’t find this one); so, I won’t attempt to summarize what he said in his address to us on the morning of June 5, 2026. Nonetheless, while he offered hope as well as horror, one very striking (to me) statistic Nick stated is that, prior to President Trump’s second term, the percentage of professionals in the U.S. Foreign Service was 70%, whereas, today, that percentage is seven!
I held our “1960” signpost as I marched alone (!) into the Tercentenary Theater for the 156th annual meeting of the Harvard Alumni Association. Jonny Kim, an American NASA astronaut, physician, U.S. Naval Officer, and former Navy Seal, was the keynote speaker. His speech is at Harvard Alumni Day 2026 Keynote Address | Harvard Alumni and Transcript of Johnny Kim’s Speech for Harvard’s Alumni Day on 5 June 2026 | Educational Technology and Change Journal.
- Henry Marcy 6/23/2026
__________________________
HARVARD AND RADCLIFFE CLASSES OF 1960
65th REUNION
JUNE 4 -6, 2025
OUR 65th REUNION MEMORIAL SERVICE
To view the videorecording:
Note: It is NOT necessary to download the videorecording in order to view it. You can download the video recording but be aware that the file is quite large.
1. Click on this link -- https://spaces.hightail.com/space/fl6OifWSz2
2. You do NOT need to log in.
3. Find the red box on the lower left.
4. Click on the middle of the red box ("View File" will appear in the red box).
5. When the video recording appears (it will take several seconds), start the videorecording by clicking the play button on the bottom left.
__________________________
OUR 65th REUNION: COMMENTS AND PHOTOS
Note: please send any thoughts you have concerning our 65th Reunion
and any photos you would like to share to Henry @ hjmarcy@comcast.net.
LIIA VILMS’ PHOTOS:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/S9R9NuZB6SBcU2fy9
JON REIFF’S COMMENTARY ON OUR 65TH REUNION
__________________________
OUR 65th REUNION: HARVARD ALUMNI DAY, JUNE 6, 2025
Link to Harvard Alumni Association videotape:
Harvard Alumni Day 2025
__________________________
OUR 65th REUNION PLANNING COMMITTEE:
for R’60: Liia Vilms (R’60 Reunion Co-Chair), Susan Diamond, and Jane Simon.
for H’60: Steve Weddle (H'60 Reunion Co-Chair), Lionel Spiro, Ron Goodman, David Greene, Henry Marcy, Bart Dunbar,
Ed Tarlov, Bill Markus, Bob Adams, and Fred Leventhal.
___________________________
OUR 65th REUNION PROGRAM SCHEDULE
Wednesday, June 4
6:00–9:00 P.M. - Welcome Reception @ Harvard Faculty Club -The event will include a dinner buffet.
Thursday, June 5
8:30 – 9:30 A.M. - Breakfast @ Sever Quad Tent
9:30–10:30 A.M. - House Renovation Update @ Science Center Hall D
11:00 A.M.–12:00 P.M. - Memorial Service @ Memorial Church
12:00–2:00 P.M. - Class Luncheon (boxed) @ Harvard Hall, Rooms 201 & 202
2:00–3:30 P.M. - Tour of Houghton Library, Solomon Collection, Solomon/1960 Gate
This program will be an opportunity for Thomas Hyry, Librarian of Houghton Library, Harvard's Rare Book Library, to showcase our classmate Peter and Susan Solomon's immense contributions to the library! There will be time for classmates to mingle, view the library renovation and exhibit, and gather at the Solomon/1960 Gate at the nearby crossing of Quincy Street between Lamont Library and the Harvard Faculty Club.
2:00–3:00 P.M. - Crimson Society Program: "Tariffs and Global Trade: Navigating a Shifting World Order" @ Lowell Lecture Hall
This program features Mark Wu, AB'95, Henry L. Stimson Professor of Law, Faculty Director for the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies, and Faculty Co-Director of the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society.
3:30–4:30 P.M. - Crimson Society Program: "Libraries as Time Machines" @ Lowell Lecture Hall
This program features Harvard Class of 1960 classmate Robert Darnton. Bob's talk, entitled "Libararies as Time Machines" will offer reflections on his experiences with Harvard's libraries, the long-term history of libraries, and the future of libraries.
6:00–9:00 P.M. - Class Dinner (buffet) @ Annenberg Hall (west end of Memorial Hall)
Friday, June 6
8:30 – 9:30 A.M. - Breakfast (continental) @ Sever Quad Tent
9:30–10:30 A.M. - Crimson Society Program: "The Ghost Budget: Paying for America's Perpetual Wars" @ Lowell Lecture Hall
This program features Linda Bilmes, AB’80, MBA’84, Daniel Patrick Moynihan Senior Lecturer In Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School. She will be discussing her forthcoming book, The Ghost Budget: Paying for America’s Wars (Cambridge U Press) which examines how we paid for all U.S. wars prior to 9/11 and how and why this changed after 9/11 … and the serious implications of this shift.
10:30 A.M. - Alumni Parade Line-up near southwest corner of Thayer Hall
11:00 A.M.–1:00 P.M. - Harvard Alumni Day Parade & Program @ Tercentenary Theater
All Harvard alumni are invited to join the Harvard Alumni Association for the fourth annual Harvard Alumni Day, a day for and in celebration of Harvard’s vibrant, global alumni community with awarding of the Harvard medals, remarks by President Garber and by keynote speaker Atul Gawande, acclaimed surgeon, writer, and public health leader.
1:00–3:00 P.M. - Tree Spread Luncheon @ Holden Tent
3:00–6:00 P.M. - Harvard Alumni Day Afternoon Programming @ various locations
Generally, this time will include programming open to all, including talks, Shared Interest Group meet-ups, and other alumni-organized mini-reunions.
___________________________
OUR 65th REUNION ATTENDEES
Note this is not the final (official) list. Some listed may not have been able to attend and others not listed may have shown up without prior notice.
Note also: Radcliffe '60 classmates are listed under their matriculation name
Robert Abbe & Elizabeth Baker Bill Abbott Linda Abrams Braun Bob & Pam Adams Bruce Alberts Liia Annus Vilms Irwin & Ann Avery John Bassett Ed Baum Roger & Patrice Bove Bob & Diana Bray Angela Brown & Garry Fischer Paul Buttenwieser Judy Cabot Marriner Perry & Diane Caminis Peter & Shirley Chen Richard Chute Stephen Cole Jim & Cynthia Connor Jay Cooperson Robert Cotton Ed Cutter Paul & Gisela D'Andrea Bob Darnton |
Bob David Bruce Denny-Brown Jim & Dolly Dineen Stephen Doctoroff & Aimee Wiley Ralph & Jackie Dormitzer Bob Downie & Patricia Bourke Burt Dudding & Pauline Mills Bart Dunbar & Lisa Lewis Mark & Paula Eisner Dorothy Elia Howells Peter & Marie Eliades Bob Morton Fisher & Sherrie Kaplan Robert W. & Grethel Fisher Janine Evnin Luke Heidi Fiske Don Gellert & Elaine Koss George & Anne Gingold Phyllis Goldberg London Ron & Elizabeth Goodman Bob & Doris Gordon David Greene Elizabeth "Beedy" Greenman Parker Sam & Jill Halaby Robert & Ann Hallowell |
Mary Gene Hartmann Myer Mel Heineman Ala Hencken Reid Paul Horwitz Leslie Jaffe Warshaw Davis Kennedy Paul & Gail Kirk Tim Leland & Julie Hatfield-Leland Fred & Jean Leventhal Barbara Lisann Talamo Frances Trumbull Little Webb Charles Maier Henry & Jean Marcy Harvey & Deena Mazer Elisabeth McSherry & Howard Green Peter & Cynthia Weiner Mebel Ruth Nemzoff (Harris Berman's widow) Tom & Kathleen Oleson Alan Percy Joan Peters O'Connor Keith Raney & Christine Nielsen Boyd Ratchye Jack & Jane Reardon Jonathan Reiff |
David Ries Hope Rogers Haff William & Sherry Rogers Erika Keller Rogoff (Jerry's widow) Richard Rosen Bruce Rosenberg Jayn F. Rosenfeld & Jerry Siegel Joel Rubenstein Robert Sakowitz Richard Saval John Shewmaker Carol Snyder Boulukos Lionel & Vivian Spiro Ed Tarlov Elisabeth "Betsy" Thomas Peterson Henry & Pauline Wadzinski Wes & Jurdis Walton George Waterman & Susan Firestone Steve Weddle Jerry & Mary Weidler David & Margot Wizansky Ellen Wolf Schrecker David Young |
___________________________
HARVARD AND RADCLIFFE CLASSES OF 1960
64th REUNION
MAY 30-31, 2024
PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR A REPORT ON OUR 64th REUNION
___________________________
HARVARD AND RADCLIFFE CLASSES OF 1960
61st REUNION
MAY 21, 2021
The Crimson Society planned excellent programming for the Commencement period in 2021 and excellent programs the day prior to Harvard Alumni Day in both 2022 and 2023. The high standard set at these times is expected to be exceeded for future commencement periods.
My own view of the first “Crimson Society Reunion”, shared with Philip and the Crimson Society Committee chairs was expressed thusly: “I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunities to interact with classmates (May 27, 2021) and housemates (June 4). I and the others who participated had some good discussions and lots of fun reminiscing during both events.
Another highlight for me was ‘Inside the Harvard Art Museums: Talk and Tour’ with Martha Tedeschi and Alexis Boo. (The link to the talk and tour is: https://alumni.harvard.edu/programs-events/inside-harvard-art-museums-talk-and-tour.) The overview was quite informative, and the Student Guide tour was fabulous.
I also found Professor Sandel and his students to be extraordinary. I had taken the Professor’s “Justice” course and recently read his ‘The Tyranny of Merit’ and am so impressed by him … and by his students who did not necessarily support him on every point. The link to this session is: https://alumni.harvard.edu/programs-events/keynote-program-with-michael-sandel.
___________________________
HARVARD AND RADCLIFFE CLASSES OF 1960
60th REUNION
Philip Lovejoy, former Harvard Associate Vice President and Executive Director of the Harvard Alumni Association, expressed a view I (Henry Marcy) share: "Canceling the spring, 2020 Reunions was heartbreaking, and I know there is no true replacement for seeing your classmates in person."
Yes, our 60th reunion was cancelled. Yes, Harvard has also indicated that the reunions originally scheduled for May, 2020 will NOT be held.
___________________________
LEARNING IN RETIREMENT (From Ron Goodman's Planned 60th Reunion Seminar. Much is still relevant and, as Ron hoped, is still useful.)
If you follow the links provided you will be able to follow the opportunities to their sources. We are fortunate that in this digital age there are so many useful and enjoyable learning opportunities directed to retirees.
I start with Harvard's online and mobile offerings:
-
The major adult learning offerings are the result of the work of Bernard Osher: https://www.osherfoundation.org/index.html. There are Osher offerings at most major universities and if you aren’t close enough to be there physically, many of them have online capabilities. The fees are most reasonable and are up to the individual university to set.
Harvard, being Harvard, has it’s own offering: The Harvard Institute for Learning In Retirement, HILR: https://hilr.dce.harvard.edu/. It is controlled by the Harvard Extension School.
Go to the Harvard Extension School and you will get an idea of the enormous range of courses offered, many conducted by senior professors. You should also look into local university courses for retirees since many of them have either free or much reduced fees for people of our generation. Boston University does not charge or has minimal fees, as does the Boston Campus of UMass, Boston College, and Regis College.
-
HarvardX (just Google it) is a treasure trove of online offerings managed and created under the auspices of the University. Many are free or most reasonable for Harvard affiliates.
-
EdX:, https://edx.org
-
These are often referred to as MOOCS, Massive Online Open Courses. Just following the EdX link will bring you to a new world of often free course offerings.
-
-
Class Central, https://www.classcentral.com/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=product&utm_campaign=new_user_welcome
-
This is the clearing house for many of the MOOC offerings and are often organized by offerings of universities around the country and the world. Again, the range of topics will keep you busy and enthralled well past any present or future pandemics.
-
-
-
Avail yourself of the Harvard Mobile App for your smartphone. This contains information and access to most of the University, including news, courses, libraries, athletics, admissions, etc.
-
The Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study is another treasure trove of academic and social offerings. www.radcliffe.harvard.edu. The seminars and workshops are expertly and thoroughly presented. I’m not sure if they are going to stream previous seminars, but just looking at their present and previous offerings will amaze and delight.
Many of the following links are covered above, but there are several clearing houses that help to direct you to courses geared to retirement learning.
-
Osher has offerings at most universities and you can find them online. HILR is Harvard’s corresponding equivalent.
-
Adult education in some cities. The Cambridge Center for Adult Education is representative of national adult education sites: https://ccae.org/
-
Coursera, https://www.coursera.org/, collaborates with over 190 universities and companies. These courses are mostly aimed at professional and academic development, but you can often follow specific links to find offerings suited to your interests.