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ALUMNI CORNERLet’s Have a ReunionDear Members of the Classes of ’36, ’41, ’46, ’51, ’56, ’61, ’66, ’71, ’76, ’81, ’86, ’91, ’96, and ’01-05: Reunion weekend is June 8-11. It is going to be fun, so please come!By Brian Krisberg ’81 During the past decade, the College has encouraged alumni to feel connected to Columbia, to their classmates and other alumni, and to the exciting things going on at the University. The College has pursued this in a variety of ways: a prime example is Reunion Weekend. First, a personal digression, which is not atypical for Columbians. I have no recollection of my fifth reunion, and during my 10th I was living overseas. My main memories of my 15th are a Friday night dinner at V&T attended by maybe 15 people, followed by a quiet walk around campus with my wife and a handful of close friends, then a sparsely attended dinner at SIPA on Saturday. During this period, I also attended a Dartmouth fifth reunion and a Brown 10th reunion (with my wife, a Brown ’84 graduate) and noticed how festive and well-attended the events were — and how appreciative people were for the opportunity to reconnect with other alumni and the schools. Things started to improve at my 20th reunion in 2001. We had a terrific barbecue at Marc Mazur ’81’s home in Westchester and an enjoyable and beautiful Saturday night dinner at Butler Terrace Restaurant. The improvements in recent years reflect the focused and dedicated effort of the Alumni Office. This effort has been led by Dean of Alumni Affairs and Development Derek Wittner ’65 and Executive Director of Alumni Affairs Ken Catandella, with significant contributions by the entire staff (working with the Class of ’81 were Taryn Deaton, Karri Brady and Paul Staller). The Alumni Office has made a concerted effort to build reunion programming around the interests of individual classes, rather than impose general programming on the broader group. This year, for example, the Class of ’66 will have tours of the Museum of Modern Art and the Rose Space Center at the Museum of Natural History and a tour of historic Harlem, and the Class of ’71 will have tours of MoMA and the American wing of the Metropolitan Museum. And the 50th reunion has shifted back to campus from Arden House, setting registration records in the process. So when the Alumni Office contacted me a year ago and asked me to participate in the 25th reunion planning, I said “Certainly.” I was eager to build on the success of our 20th reunion and create a 25th that would provide a memorable experience for my classmates and benefit the College. Participating on the Class of ’81 Reunion Committee has been thoroughly enjoyable. Sean D’Arcy and Dan Tamkin have provided significant leadership and energy for our meetings every six weeks or so during the academic year. Successful pre-reunion events have been held, including a December cocktail party in midtown and a reception before the Columbia-Harvard basketball game at Levien Gymnasium. Our committee has worked to create an interesting and diverse weekend of events. Tom Glocer will host a cocktail party on Thursday, June 8, at Reuters headquarters in midtown, and Steve Klein and Tod McGrath will host a barbecue on campus on Friday, June 9. Kevin Costa led a “phone tree” project, reaching out to classmates to invite them and asking them to reach out to classmates with whom they are in touch. Jeff Pundyk has featured reunion planning in our Class Notes to keep the weekend on everyone’s mind. Lee Tablewski, working with the Alumni Office, conducted a class poll for our Saturday, June 10, dinner speaker, which was won by Student Council President Michelle Oh ’06. 
The Alumni Office has made a concerted effort to build reunion programming around the interests of individual classes. 
Some reunion objectives are obvious, including attendance and participation. On Friday, more than 1,400 alumni of the Classes of ’96–’05 are expected to attend Casino Royale followed by dancing at the Hammerstein Ballroom. For alumni in the Class of ’01, the College is hosting you (yes, that means events are free) if you sign up five classmates to attend as well. The same offer has been extended to the Classes of ’02–’05 in an effort to introduce young alumni to reunion before their five-year graduation anniversary. Other objectives are less obvious. These include getting alumni to engage with each other on an ongoing basis rather than relying on the Alumni Office to initiate contact every five years. Reunions therefore become the high point of a continual dialogue among classmates during the intervening years, supplemented by gatherings at the Columbia Club or at events such as Homecoming or Dean’s Day. I would be remiss if I did not mention the fund-raising aspect of Reunion Weekend. In addition to partying and connecting with alumni, faculty and administrators, each reunion class must make a concerted effort to raise as large a class gift for the Columbia College Fund as possible. The fund, which has a goal of $11 million in unrestricted gifts this year, is crucial to the College’s need-blind admissions and full-need financial aid policies. Columbia operates in an extremely competitive environment and needs our support in order to maintain these policies. My 25th reunion is only weeks away, and I am looking forward to it. I am looking forward to seeing classmates and socializing with friends, faculty, deans and administrators. Finally, I am looking forward to remembering all the positive aspects of my years on Morningside Heights and to thinking about the significant role Columbia played in shaping the person I am today. I hope to see you there.
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