55th Reunion Reflections

Kudos to the Reunion Committee (Bill Newman, Derry Allen) for putting together an excellent, interesting and informative array of “Class Only” events.  For those of you who could not attend, here are some materials and related items from each of the Class Only lectures:

Yale Class of 1969 Survey Redux: New Information About the Class as It Turns 55

Our classmates Tom Guterbock and Mike Baum, who presented the main survey results in 2019, will walk us through our 2024 responses – what changed, what did not and how we are evolving.
Slides

“For Whom, for Country…” Revisited: Spirituality in Our 70’s in the Class of 1969

Our 50^th Reunion Survey asked some probing questions about our collective approaches to spirituality, and the 55^th Reunion Survey sought to determine whether and how our beliefs have continued to evolve.  This presentation will examine the spiritual state of our class, raise some questions about why it is and what it is, and present some individual views and questions to ponder as we age.  Yale’s new University Chaplain will respond to the presentation and compare our class to Yale today. Speaker: Michael Baum; Contributors: Michael Folz, Matthew Flynn; Respondent: Maytal Saltiel, University Chaplain.
Handout

The Future of Liberal Education: Yale College Dean Pericles Lewis Addresses Our Class

Where does liberal education go from here? Pericles Lewis, the Douglas Tracy Smith Professor of Comparative Literature, Professor of English, and the Dean of Yale College, will provide his thoughts and then lead a discussion on the road ahead. Dean Lewis should have a good deal to say, as he is currently writing a book on this topic. Among several other pivotal positions at Yale, Dean Lewis has also served as vice president for global strategy. He will be introduced by Bill Newman.

The Science of Aging Gracefully – or Not, with Terri Fried, MD, Yale School of Medicine, and ’69 Classmates

Terri Fried, M.D., a star of the Yale Medical School faculty, where she is Humana Foundation Professor of Medicine and Section Chief, Geriatric Medicine, will address our class. Dr. Fried has focused her research on decision-making for older people with advanced illnesses and with multiple conditions, with a particular interest in the elucidation of patient preferences. She will join our classmate-experts to share the latest information on expanding “healthspan” and managing declining capacities. Our classmate Harold Mancusi-Ungaro, M.D., a plastic surgeon, will lead the classmate panel, and he will be joined by Wilfred Lam, M.D., a cardiologist, and Jerry Rosenbaum, M.D., a psychiatrist.

For God, for Country, and for the Planet (Redux): How Do Members of Our Class View Current Developments in Climate and Energy?

The challenging relationship between people and the planet has been one of the defining issues of the half century since we graduated. Nowhere has this issue been more fraught than on climate and energy. How do members of our view what is happening? This popular topic from our 50th Reunion will add new voices and share class survey results on climate change, plus the latest science and what we Boomers can do about the issues. We will hear from Derry Allen, Tom Emmons, Tom Guterbock, Skip Hobbs, Eugene Linden, and Wayne Willis.

The “Climate and Energy” panel shared all its materials on a separate page — Yale1969.org/climate

Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Boomers: Perspectives of Two Yale Professors

As Al is increasingly integrated into every facet of society, it both reflects and shapes societal norms, ethics, and human behavior. Along with tantalizing expectations that Al will relieve us all of many tedious tasks and will profitably extract evermore value from oceans of data, the hyper-speed deployment of Al has led to some troubling results, raising urgent questions about the ethical implications and governance demands that come with Al. Two outstanding professors will lead our discussion: Nisheeth Vishnoi, the A. Bartlett Giamatti Professor of Computer Science and a co-founder of the Computation and Society Initiative at Yale, and Edward (“Ted”) Wittenstein, Executive Director of International Security Studies at the Yale Jackson School of Global Affairs. The discussion will be introduced by our classmates Doug Colton and John Adams and will include Q&A.

6Y9 | Class of 1969 Memorial Service, Battell Chapel

We will hold our traditional memorial service to remember those members of our class who have passed away since June 2019. Our classmate Rev. J. Douglas Ousley will officiate; Daniel A. Seiver will read names; and Richard A. Williams, Jr., Eliot Norman, and a small chorus of classmates will provide music.

• Slides
• Program