1961

Countdown to our 65 th Birth- day Reunion Weekend Party in Palm Springs, California, on April 22-25. Many classmates have already committed and many more seriously attempting to make it. We hope, by the time you read this article, you will have been among the attendees for this well-planned and exciting weekend. The "host group" of classmates did a great job in planning and organizing the event, and the class thanks them.

One of our deceased classmates, Michael Steinberg, has been honored. The Trinitas Foundation of Quincy, Massachusetts, recently gave a $1 million gift to the Dartmouth College Hillel for the creation of the Michael Steinberg Class of 1961 Rabbinic Endowment. Michael had been a trustee of the Trinitas Foundation for many years prior to his death in 1997 after a four-year battle with cancer. Our congratulations go out to his widow, Josene Steinberg, and their two children (both Dartmouth graduates).

Once again Dick Beattie has leaped into the news as a behind-the-scenes (or perhaps not so behind-the-scenes) power broker. It appears that Dick, the long-time chairman of a major law firm (Simpson Thacher & Barlett), was a key element in the recent bank mega merger between JP Morgan Chase (out of New York) and Bank One (out of Chicago). And we thought that during this past decade, Dick was merely resting on his laurels after his significant involvement in KKR's takeover of RJR Nabisco (read Barbarians at theGate if you have forgotten this). Dick has quietly become a rainmaker who has had and is continuing to have a major impact on the American business world. In his earlier life, as you will recall, Dick had been (among other things) general counsel to the former U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare.

Another classmate who has distinguished himself is Stuart Kauff man, a theoretical biologist who studies the insignificant field concerning none other than the origin of life and the origins of molecular organization. Stu is a former recip- ient of the highly prestigious John D. and Cather- ine T. Mac Arthur Fellowship, more commonly known as the "genius award," for 1987-1992. His maj or areas of research include development ge- netics, theoretical biology, evolution, the origin of life and economic'webs. Question: How many of us even comprehend what these terms really mean? In addition, Stu has written three books, published more than 100 papers and holds two dozen patents. In the mid-1990s Stu formed a software development and consulting company which within a few years was acquired by a larger entity, on whose board of directors he now serves. After receiving B.A. degrees from both Dartmouth and Oxford University, Stu obtained his M.D. degree from the University of California, San Francisco.

Well, that's it for this article. I've used up my space allotment.

5 Red Ground Road, Old Westbury, NY11568;victor rich@rsmi.com