Dear Class Officers and Council Members,
WOW!!! It’s been over a year since our last communication. Cornell AAD sends out routine mailings to our class reminding them of various activities including paying the annual dues. But as a council, we have been remiss in our communications. As a class, we have not done much.
CONFERENCE CALL: Debbie and I will try to organize a class conference call in February. Stay tuned.
CLASS NEWS: Our class correspondents are always looking for the latest news and events from our classmates. Send news to: Pam Meyers (email Pam), Dave Ross (email Dave) or Phyllis Haight Grummon (email Phyllis).
DUES PAYERS: For the 2025-2026 fiscal year, we have 207 dues payers. Our goal was 200. Last year, FY2025, we had 230 dues payers, which was higher than FY2024 with 220 dues payers. We hope all class officers and council members have paid the class dues.
SCHOLARSHIP FUND: We received a letter from our scholarship recipient, Ian Applegate, thanking us for the support. He has been the recipient for several years. He is a senior in (structural) engineering, a captain of the Sprint Football team, and an advisor for the Concrete Canoe project team. The BOOK VALUE of the Scholarship fund is $824,425 as of December 31, 2025. The class goal is to reach a book value of $1 million by our 55th reunion – we need to raise an additional $189,000 in 29 months. That is a very attainable goal. As of December 31 2025, the market value has reached $1,167,426 million with a payout of approximately $40,385 to Ian Applegate ’26 (Engineering). While this is a good amount for a scholarship award, the total cost to attend an endowed college or as an out-of-state resident at a state college at Cornell is about $100,000. The total cost to attend a state college at Cornell as a NY state resident is about $75,000.
BOOK FUND: The BOOK VALUE is $16,475 with a market value of $34,771 as of September 30, 2025. The expected payout in Fiscal Year 2026 will be about $1,248. We received a note from the library’s development office:
“The Class of 1973 Book Fund has had a powerful impact on the Library — and all of Cornell — since its establishment and we remain grateful for your thoughtful generosity. In the 2024-2025 academic year, the fund Income was used for acquisitions at the discretion of University Librarian, including resources like the following:
· Evangelische Theologie.
· An aristocratic compatibilist’s providence : components of Aquinas’s soft determinist view / by Petr Dvorský.
· Luke on trial : a literary analysis of the function of divine testing in Luke-Acts / Cato Gulaker.
· Old and New : essays on continuity and discontinuity in the New Testament / Morna D. Hooker; edited by Ahreum Kim”
FOR THE BIRDS: The classes of 1962 and 1969 extended an invitation to the classes of 1960 to 1979 to a Zoom on January 22, 2026 at 4:00-5:15 pm (EST) for a webinar For the Birds: A History of Bird Song Recordings at Cornell featuring Randolph Little ‘62.
ALUMNI TRUSTEE ELECTIONS: During the month of February, remember to vote for the Alumni Trustee. Here is the link to “Meet the Candidates”. Please vote – it is important.
GIVING DAY is March 12, 2026. I am sure we will all hear from Wayne, Susan and Ron regarding the status of our endowed funds scholarship and book funds. Of course, everyone is urged to give to these and other Cornell activities of interest to you.
REUNION: Lastly for this mailing, our 55th reunion is on June 8 to 11, 2028, only 29 months away!!!! Mark your calendars. Spread the word.
HAPPY NEW YEAR and best wishes for a healthy, safe and productive 2026,
Rich and Debbie