Speaking of the Website

In a brief 8 months, under the diligent management of webmaster JEFF KAPLAN, Princeton1969.org has started to become the clearinghouse of Class communications and business we were hoping for. If you want to stay current, it’s really the only way. As of this writing, 153 classmates have already established login IDs, and we had over 2,000 page visits from 10 different countries last month alone! The site features photos, class news, event announcements, and much more. Since it's a secure site, with a number of areas (like the Class database and the financial transaction pages) password protected, classmates can confidently pay dues, make contributions, and register for events.

The site is continually evolving. Recently, we added BROOKE STODDARD's "Catching Up With …" series of classmate interviews (folks you may not have heard from for a while, not just the Usual Suspects), also the Springfield mini-reunion registration page, photos of our 42^nd reunion, and a page of memorials for deceased classmates. Coming soon: an updated Home Page slideshow, a "favorite music" page, and (of course) information and registration for all the rest of our Class events for the year.

But we still need your help, because any site is only as good as its content. Here are some of the things you can do:

• Establish a login username and password by clicking on the First-time sign up button in the box at top of the home page. You'll find instructions for signing up. If you already have a TigerNet account, you can use the same username and password for convenience if you like. If you hit a snag, simply email Jeff for help. 153 classmates with IDs is a fine start, but we need twice that many to rate as a plugged-in class for our vintage and three times that many to compete with the young’uns.

• Everybody loves pictures -- help fill out our photo album collections. Just click on the Photos button to the right to see our current photos and instructions for submitting yours. We're looking for reunions (especially majors), mini-reunions, class events, shots taken on campus, etc. Particularly fun would be more pix from our undergraduate days.

• Got a blog? Submit your link to the Webmaster. Your classmates will enjoy seeing what you are up to and have to say. If you'd like to be interactive, we'll even provide a "comments" button.

• Send news items for posting on the site. You can also submit Class Notes to the Secretary for the PAW via the site.

• Try out our secure payment facility by paying your dues online. Can't remember if you've paid for something as the year goes by? You can click on My Profile and hit the Payments tab to find out.

• Give us suggestions and encourage your friends to sign up. We're excited about the site's progress to date, but we want to stay interesting and inclusive, which we can do only with your ideas and support.

Coming Events

Organizers PAUL SITTENFLED, BRUCE ROSENBERG and ALAN AND ROSEMARY MEYERS advise that arrangements are well in hand for our next mini-reunion in Springfield, Illinois October 14-16. So far 45 classmates and spouses have signed up. Want to know who’s coming? Just click here to find out. In a late-breaking development, Prof. Michael Burlingame ’64 has agreed to be our dinner speaker Saturday evening. In the New York Review of Books, Jim McPherson calls his Abraham Lincoln, A Life (2008) "definitive” and goes on to say that Prof. Burlingame "knows more about Abraham Lincoln than any other living person.” It’s not too late to join us. And we will be trying something new – regional dinners in both Chicago and St. Louis Thursday evening before the mini-reunion. These will be open to all classmates and will be preceded by an afternoon of local sites of interest in these two fair cities. Watch your e-mail and the website for details and sign-ups.

We will shift gears a bit from our usual historical/political focus with our guest speaker for the fall dinner in Princeton, Saturday, November 12. Prof. Steve Pacala, Frederick D. Petrie Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Director of the Princeton Environmental Institute, and his wife Lise will be our guests of honor. Steve’s research centers on processes that govern ecologi­cal communities, the interplay between community and ecosystem-level processes, and the interactions between the global biosphere and climate. He is one of Princeton’s most renowned experts in global climate change. He will also give us an overview of the Grand Challenges Program, now in its fourth year. Watch the website for details of the weekend and sign-ups for the dinner.

It is now very easy through the website to generate regional e-mails to organize small-scale events and gatherings. But as ever, we need more volunteers to extend our reach further afield. If you would be interested in sponsoring a regional dinner or other event for classmates please click here to send me an email. A half-day event followed by dinner is an attractive model. It’s a bit of work to sponsor even the small events. It’s a lot more to organize the big ones. But it immeasurably enriches the life of the Class. We are deeply indebted to the classmates and spouses who have done this for us over the years. It’s one of the many things that makes ’69 so special. And it’s also a lot of fun. So join the party-makers. You’ll be glad you did.

Class Finances

• Treasurer’s Report – DAVID PENSAK reports another solid financial year for the Class. 235 classmates contributed a total of $32,105 in support of general class activities, including PAW subscriptions for the entire Class. After providing for all FY 2011 expenses we have a balance of $48,624 in general Class funds and $1,364 in the major reunion account. We again owe special thanks to our leadership dues payers whose additional generosity will allow us among many other things to continue the policy of free off-year reunions. The Class transferred $8,180 to the Class of 1969 Scholarship Fund administered by the University and $16,100 to the Class of 1969 Community Service Fund, both amounts funded by dues check-offs. In the case of CSF this is only a fraction of the $75,000 total contributed by classmates last year.

The first dues card and return envelope for this year have been mailed out. Participation is the name of the game and we were down a bit in FY 2011 from FY 2010. To our consistent contributors, many thanks, and for everyone else please join or rejoin your classmates in supporting ’69. Mail the card or even better, save the stamp and do it on the website today. Online payment also makes the bookkeeping easier and eliminates the chance that you will get one of David’s follow-up letters when you don’t deserve it.

• Annual Giving Report – Class Agent BOB AXELROD reports that his team, with the help of 433 classmates, raised $283,933, the highest ’69 non-major reunion Annual Giving total ever and well in excess of our goal of $269,000. 58.6% of the Class contributed. While 18 classmates short of our 61% goal (and the University average), this was our highest participation level since the 30th. Cumulatively, our class has now contributed over $14 million to Annual Giving since we graduated.

The calls made by the volunteers were, as always, unquestionably the key to this success and Bob made it fun for everyone. But he could use even more help to find the classmates next year to put us over our 61% participation goal, so join the team by clicking here to send Bob an e-mail.

Community Service Fund and the PICS Program

As many of you know, shortly before the 2010 reunion, the Community Service Fund reached agreement with the University for a new operating partnership with the Pace Center for Civic Engagement, which now collaboratively administer the Princeton Internships in Civic Service program. With a year of joint operation under our belt, CSF Chairman CHUCK FREYER reports that the partnership has been a success, and achieved most of the goals we had hoped it would. Most strikingly, the number of students applying for internships was up by 20% this year to just shy of 500; that is more than double the number of applicants just 4 years ago and represents 10% of the undergraduate student body! PICS placed 74 students for 2011, 9 more than last year but still only 15% of the applicants, in summer internships all across this country and beyond. These interns are almost equally split among Princeton freshman, sophomores and juniors, demonstrating the breadth of the appeal of PICS.

The core of support for CSF and the PICS program comes from about 150 of our classmates and a steadily growing number of other Princeton classes and regional associations. ‘69ers contributed nearly $75,000 during the CSF fiscal year ended December 31, 2010 supplemented by $55,000 from other alumni. These direct contributions are highly leveraged by co-funding from the organizations that sponsor our interns and the federal work-study program. 84% of the total budget goes directly to fund internships, which is possible largely due to the time and effort put in by the CSF board members from ’69 and the other supporting classes and associations.

With the University partnership working well, the CSF board has embarked on a two-pronged strategic development effort to take PICS to the next level. The first entails nurturing the interest that more and more classes and regional associations are taking in the PICS program as a way to get involved with community service—both at reunions and year-round. Some of these discussions could result in transformational commitments to PICS by classes new to the program. The second involves targeted internship development to increase offerings specifically in the areas of most interest to students. If you are not already involved with our Class legacy program, now is an exciting time. Creating an internship in a worthy organization you already support is a great way to help meet the overwhelming student interest in PICS. CSF Executive Director SEVA KRAMER would be delighted to guide you through the process.

PICS’ first annual report is posted on the website and is a great way to learn more about what the program means to the students, the alumni and the University broadly.

The Secretary’s Corner

Mr. Sittenfeld has published his summer newsletter and is now fresh out of material again. You can send him news of your life on the dues card you received in the mail or over the website. He loves to hear from us.

The Calendar

Here’s a review of the main events scheduled so far for this year. Mark your calendars and watch your e-mail and our Coming Events web page for details of these and other regional events.

• October 13, 2011 – Regional dinners in Chicago and St. Louis.

• October 14-16, 2011 – Mini-reunion in Springfield, Illinois.

• November 7, 2011 – Another special Magic Night featuring Penn and Teller at McCarter Theater arranged by LYNN SHOSTACK. As usual Lynn has taken a block of tickets for the Class and is planning a dinner beforehand. This is probably not one for the young kids, but it will certainly be a sellout, so mark your calendar and watch for Lynn’s invitation in the early fall. We will also post details on the website when arrangements are final. And while you’re on the website, read about Lynn’s most recent inspiration to out-of the box innovation at Princeton – the permanent endowment of Project X. It seems the faculty very much likes the freedom to tinker.

• November 12, 2011 – Yale game weekend with traditional Class tailgate, Class Steering Committee meeting and Class dinner in Princeton.

• February 25, 2012 – Alumni Day, Service of Remembrance and Class dinner in Princeton.

• May 31- June 3, 2012 – 43^rd Reunion in Princeton.

Warm regards to all,

J. William Charrier