To the Great Class of 1969:
The Academy held its 214th Commencement on May 26th,
and the rest of the school dispersed the following Friday until next fall. In
case you’re wondering whether my urge to time the posting my blog to coincide with
these seasonal milestones may be waning, the answer is “No”, particularly with
our 45th Reunion now just a year away. My usual end of term report
card is delayed this year for the simple reason that I thought that to post it
without telling you where this year’s graduating class was heading would be the
equivalent of an “incomplete”, which was worse than delaying it a week.
News
of the Academy
As it turns out, the 191 members of this year’s
graduating class are dispersing to 79 colleges, up from 67 a year ago. This diaspora
plus the fact that 35 colleges are getting just one newly-minted Deerfield alum
highlight how dexterous the college placement office needs to be these days. Yale
and Dartmouth proved the two most popular with ten each. Overall, 25% of the
class will be going to Ivy League schools.
Boys Lacrosse got off to a rocky start, losing its
season opener to Brunswick, but never looked back. The team finished the season
15-1, ranking first in New England and seventh nationally. Also of note this
spring, Deerfield won the 2013 New England Girls’ Water Polo Championship. The
team finished 16-0 in league play.
What we have always known as the Memorial Building
is being transformed into the Deerfield Center for the Arts beginning this
summer. Construction is scheduled be completed in time for the beginning of the
2014-2015 academic year. You can read the full story in the May issue of The Scroll.
We all know by now that the email in January that
named Mr. Hindle was followed up in March with a second email confirming the
original allegations and disclosing that the inquiry had uncovered other inappropriate
behavior. This was a disappointing, if not a surprising outcome, and the
reaction of the members of the Class I was in touch with was muted. While some initially
questioned the need to look for skeletons in the closet after so many years, all
expressed sadness. As a reminder, you can post your own thoughts on our Class’s
members-only Google
site if you wish.
News
of the Class
Charlie
Bishop is now President and CEO of the Renal Products
division of OpKo Health. OpKo completed the previously announced acquisition of
Cytochroma, which Charlie headed, in March. On June 4th he spoke at
the Jefferies global healthcare conference.
From the alumni website of New York Medical
College comes this bit of news, “Richard C. Prokesch, M.D. ’76, continues
in the private practice of adult infectious diseases with two other physicians.
He is also on the board of directors of their primary hospital and for the past
two years served as chair. His daughter is in her first year of an infectious
diseases fellowship and plans to join the practice upon completion”.
Christopher
Beach, the President and Artistic Director of the La
Jolla Music Society since 2005, is going strong. This spring the organization
announced 29 concerts, the most in its 45-year history.
Money
Matters
Imagine Deerfield
moved $27 million closer to its $200 million goal since this time a year ago,
and now stands at $140 million according to the website.
For those members of the Class who contribute to
Annual Support each year but who have not done so yet, please remember that the
fiscal year ends on June 30th.
Here’s a link
for the well-intentioned which will spare you a follow-up e-mail or call from John Kjorlien.
In case you were thinking about upgrading from the
dorms to the Deerfield Inn for our 45th Reunion next June 6-8, you’re
already too late. The Inn, which had
been closed since Hurricane Irene flooded the Lower Level and Main Street in
August 2011, reopened in April following a $2 million renovation.
Classes begin on September 6th. Make
the most of the summer.
Best wishes to all.
DWS
