The Rochester Review, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, USA
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University of 
Rochester

Letters To The Editor

The Review welcomes letters from readers and will print as many of them as space permits. Letters may be edited for brevity and clarity. Unsigned letters cannot be used, but names of the writers may be withheld on request.

The Right Size for Rochester?

Regarding the University's five-year plan outlined in the Fall '96 issue: With undergraduate applications up to record levels and enrollment scheduled to be reduced by 20 percent, it simply means that a large number of promising young people will not get the opportunity to attend Rochester. They will have to look elsewhere, to colleges that are growing to meet the needs of growing numbers of young people. I would like to see the University be less concerned with rankings in U.S. News & World Report and more concerned with doing what is right.

Second, as far as the stated goal of emphasizing the residential aspect of the College, my recollection of the Rochester metropolitan area is that there is already a large supply of reasonably priced residential units. Why should the College focus its goals on creating a residential setting?

I would like to see the University reach out to the community by offering extension classes in the manner of UCLA, improve athletic facilities, and at least maintain the present size of the undergraduate classes.

Stuart L. Rubin '76
Sherman Oaks, California

Rochester has always excelled as a national university on a personal scale, and the Renaissance Plan ensures that quality, rather than quantity, is the guiding goal for campus programs. (In recent years the undergraduate student body size has grown to nearly 4,500, well beyond what the campus was planned for.) By enrolling only 900 freshmen of high academic achievement each year (leading, in four years, to an undergraduate body of 3,600), the personal scale and opportunities for every undergraduate will be perceptibly and significantly increased.

The idea of creating a "residential setting" is less a matter of available housing and more a matter of educational philosophy--in keeping with the belief that an important part of undergraduate education comes from one's peers, through the round-the-clock interactions most likely to occur in a residential setting-- Editor.



More on Minorities and the V-12

I would like to comment on the letter from Normal Eagle '46 (Fall 1996), who infers that there were no blacks in the V-12 program. I must differ. When I was assigned to Company E in July of 1944, there were two blacks, Marcus Battle '48 and Fred Mosby '47. They lived two doors from me on the third deck of Crosby. Fred is on the extreme left of the third row of the Company E picture. He graduated with us in 1947 with a B.S. in mechanical engineering, and I believe received his Navy commission. I'm not sure what happened to Mark.

Edward F. Gerwin '47
Williamsport, Pennsylvania


I remember serving with at least three black men in V-12 at the University. Fred Mosby graduated in '47 in mechanical engineering and is the first man on the left in the third row of the photo. Mark Battle played on the soccer team. A third V-12er was named McQueen.

The minimal minority representation of 50 years ago was not limited to the V-12 unit by any means but to society in general. In the '47 and '48 editions of Interpres, there are only three black persons pictured, two of whom were Messrs. Mosby and Battle.

James G. Schneider, in chapter 22 of his book, The V-12 Program: Leadership for a Lifetime, gives an informative review of the history of black men in V-12. Prior to March 1944, there were no black officers in the entire U.S. Navy, but 12 were commissioned at that time. From the scanty records available, a total of some 75 black men participated in V-12 nationwide. As summarized in the last paragraph of the chapter:

"The V-12 program was the first step in the integration of the officer corps of the United States Navy. It admitted black trainees to the officer-training route a full nine months before the United States commissioned its first black naval officer. It was a pioneering effort, established by the decision of the president of the United States and carried out faithfully by the officers in charge of V-12 program. As such, it deserves landmark recognition."

Yes, Norman, our country, the U.S. Navy, and the University have all come a long way in many respects in 50 years.

Richard R. Gardner '47
Memphis, Tennessee



Remembering Eastman Prep

Reading the Fall issue, I was interested in the letter from Dave Mott '46E that accompanied a picture of the 1942 class of high school seniors graduating from the Eastman Preparatory Department. He mentioned two other young men in the photo, Ken Pasmanic and Tommy Goodman (standing, third from the left), adding that he knew nothing about the latter.

Tommy was indeed a wonderful pianist and an extraordinarily gifted person. He was a good friend of mine, and I have seen him twice over the years since I left Eastman. I don't know his whereabouts now but in the '60s he was in New York. When I last saw him he had been an assistant to Frank Loesser and had been successful as a composer of singing commercials.

Since my Eastman years, which were the happiest of my life to that point, I have been a wife and mother of two as well as a college teacher of piano and music history. (I am glad Harold Gleason never had to know that I was so presumptuous as to teach the latter.) Recently I have retired from teaching at Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana. I continue to be a collaborative pianist, a love I learned when accompanying in the studio of Jacques Gordon and generously encouraged in more recent times by Jean Barr. My 50th anniversary of graduation is this year. Does Eastman have alumni gatherings for such things?

Eleanore Hunt Vail '46E, '47E (Mas)
Oxford, Ohio


As always, I greeted the Spring/Summer 1996 Rochester Review with a great deal of pleasure and anticipation. What a wonderful surprise when I opened to the "Letters" page and found a letter and picture from David Mott '46E.

In the picture (seated, second from the left, was my sister), Josephine E. DeCarne, flutist, who went on to graduate from Eastman in 1946. After graduation she played with the Corpus Christi Symphony and the Oklahoma City Symphony and had been offered a post with the Minneapolis Symphony when she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. She died in 1992 after struggling for years with the incapacitating disease.

I also am a graduate of the Eastman School and am indebted to the excellent training I received. My long career in teaching and orchestral playing has been a constant joy. My thanks to all who contributed, but especially and in memoriam to Rufus Mont Arey, my clarinet teacher, and Karl Van Hoesen, who was my high school orchestral teacher and then my conducting/string teacher at Eastman. Thank you, David Mott, for the memories.

Angela DeCarne Robinson '46
Henniker, New Hampshire



Fanfare for Don Parry '51

Donald Parry, the University's coordinator of special events, retired at the end of 1995. There was little fanfare at his departure, most likely to his delight and relief. What's worthy of clear notation in the historical record, however, are the enormous contributions this "gentle giant" has made during the past half-century in his service to and participation in the life of the University.

He entered as a freshman in the fall of '47 and was relentlessly active as a member of Theta Chi fraternity. He was also acclaimed for his prowess as pitcher for their softball team at a time when fast-pitch was the only game in town and the University intramural league, including faculty and students, was intensely competitive and drew passionately partisan fans.

Working first with George McKelvey '50 and later with Harm Potter '38, Don's talents were instrumental in building the alumni office.

After some eight years of service, he was asked to establish a University conference office. He became a key player in planning and managing all manner of programs and events.

Among those at all levels with whom he connected directly, Don generated deep appreciation, respect, and friendship. On so many occasions, he has made people, departments, divisions, and the entire University look really good, and he has contributed immensely to institutional morale. His long service and his galaxy of indelible marks upon the University over the course of a full one-third of its lifespan are deserving of gratitude and recognition, whether he wishes it or not.

John C. Braund '53, '61W (Mas)
Rochester

Don Parry, it should be noted, is also credited with creating that longstanding University tradition, Dandelion Day-- Editor.



Classes of 1956-59: She Needs You

I am a doctoral student at the State University of New York at Buffalo. The purpose of my dissertation is to compare the education of male and female undergraduates at the University of Rochester under the coordinate systems of education. I am interested in learning about the period of transition from the perspective of alumni from the Classes of 1956, '57, '58, and '59.

Interested alumni who are willing to complete a brief questionnaire are asked to contact me at the following address: 139 Greenway Blvd., Churchville, NY 14428 or at my e-mail address: lundtc@rwc.roberts.edu. Thank you.

Christine M. Lundt
Churchville, New York



Rochester's Olympians

I was amazed to see that the Review made no mention of the University's three Olympic athletes. Ann Marsh is a first-year student in the medical school; Leslie Marx is an assistant professor of economics and management at the Simon School; and Felicia Zimmerman is an undergraduate in the College. Marsh and Zimmerman made up two-thirds of the women's foil (fencing) team and Marx was on the epée (also fencing) team. While you have missed the wave of interest in the Olympics, presumably many of our alumni would still be interested to hear of the accomplishments of those associated with the University.

Glenn MacDonald
Rochester

An accomplishment indeed. Marx, ranked top U.S. women's epée fencer, finished eighth in women's team epée and reached the third round of women's individual epée before losing. (For more on Marx, see Books & Recordings/Recommended Reading.) Foil fencers Marsh and Zimmerman finished tenth in team competition, and in their individual bouts got as far as the quarterfinals (Marsh) and second round (Zimmerman).

Among other Rochester folk with 1996 Olympic ties of one sort or another are medical student Greg Lewis, who was a first alternate in the sculling doubles, and composer Michael Torke '84E, who was commissioned by the Atlanta Symphony to write an Olympic theme, Javelin, which was heard during the games and is the title track of a new all-Torke CD just released by Argo Records--Editor.



Susan B. Anthony and Her Pioneers

After reading the article about Susan B. Anthony in the Fall '95 Rochester Review, I am prompted to write to say that a shiver went through me when I saw my mother-in-law's name, Vera Chadsey Twichell '04.

I had known that Vera was one of the first class of women admitted to the University, but had not remembered that their admittance was tied to Susan B's pledge of her life insurance. I did remember her telling about "Papa" coming home and telling her to go right down and register at the University of Rochester. Vera's cousin, Lulu Covey Keople, also registered in that first class.

Doriot Anthony (later Doriot Anthony Dwyer '43E, first flutist with the Boston Symphony and also the first woman to hold a principal chair in a major symphony orchestra) was an undergraduate when I was a graduate student at Eastman. Not knowing her well, I had not realized her relationship to Susan B. In later years I always looked for her when the Boston Symphony's programs were televised.

Marjorie Beck Twichell '41E (Mas)
Wooster, Ohio



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