Milestones

For alumni, alumnae, and friends of the Harvard Extension School, the year 2000 has been a time of milestones, memories, and challenges. The coincidence of the School's 90th year with Michael Shinagel's 25th year as dean has inspired much merrymaking and self-appraisal. The passing last September of Edgar Grossman, our beloved Harvard Extension Alumni Association (HEAA) founder and the school's most generous benefactor, recalls the extraordinary growth the Extension School has enjoyed since Edgar first enrolled in 1953, as well as the warmth and camaraderie alumni(ae) have shared as members of the HEAA.

This edition of the Alumni Bulletin offers a panoramic view of the millennial year experienced at "Harvard in the evening." Words from Edgar Grossman's memorial service--memories of his grandfather by Yoni Goldberg--begin our review. A new section, "Extension in the News," reprints some of the best feature stories about our school and its graduates that have appeared in the national and local press--from ethnobotanist Mark Plotkin's rainforest adventures, to Allan Crite's visual tribute to African-American Boston, to Bob Burns's dual life as a teamster and an ALB candidate.

We profile two of the Harvard Extension School's most renowned instructors, Professor of the Classics David Gordon Mitten and Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures, Emerita, Wilga Rivers. James Gilligan, our longstanding, and sometimes long-suffering, librarian, relates some of the lengths to which he and his staff have gone to serve the thousands of Extension students who seek sources and solace at the Grossman Library each year. James E. Conway, ALB '85 and HEAA leader, tells our reporter of his award-winning tenure as Harvard's director of alumni and development information services--and of his fond hopes for the Extension School's future.

The Bulletin would not be complete without the stirring speeches and celebrity photos of Harvard Commencement. This year's AA, ALB, and ALM recipients were addressed by Kimberly Parke, ALM 2000, and an ALB advisor who has shepherded hundreds of Extension students into "the company of educated women and men." Meanwhile, former Cambridge Mayor Frank Duehay regaled recipients of the CSS, CAS, CPH, CMS, and CPC with insights from his four decades as a Harvard student, alumnus, and community leader.

The 2000 Extension Alumni Banquet will go down in Harvard history as the night Mayor Anthony Galluccio proclaimed June 7 "Dean Michael Shinagel Day in the City of Cambridge"--to honor Dean Shinagel's service to Harvard and pay tribute to the courses, scholarships, and special programs the Extension School has offered to thousands of Cambridge high school students, city employees, and citizens. As always, we acknowledge the many alumni(ae) and friends who contributed to our successful fund drive, and we end by sharing news of alumni(ae) milestones, career accomplishments, and personal passages.

One wonders how we will top this year in 2010, when Harvard Extension School reaches its centennial. We hope you will help us plan that party!