Class of 1971 Quotes and Reflections
The following reflections were taken from the Class of 1971 reunion at Case Hall, September 2001.
| Scott Fairmont | Gary Frost |
| Mark Kohl | Robert Banks |
| Martha Cohen | Larry Epstien |
| Bill Decker | Tom Ferstle |
| Beth Thomas-Schroeder |
"I still write to George Will and say remember when you taught at Madison
College, and I was in your class, and you thought I was a dummy. Well,
now I dispute what you say."
-Scott Fairmont
"George Will had a pronounced impact on me. Although I consider myself
more of a progressive, when it comes to financial things and stuff like
that, I’m extremely conservative."
-Mark Kohl
"When Peter McPherson was appointed president of the university, he
appeared in Kalamazoo for a reception...at the time Madison was being
challenged.... It was a very small reception and when he took questions,
the first question was about James Madison. The second question was about
James Madison. President McPherson...quickly understood to say to his
audience, ‘How many of you have some connection to James Madison College?’ Fifty
percent of those in the audience raised their hands. And we still have
the college, and I hope that part of this realization by the university
that we needed to continue occurred that night in Kalamazoo."
-Martha Cohen
"The thing that I often remember about those first four years at Madison
College was... what an incredible point in time it was....The class of
'71 is pretty unique... not only because we were there in the beginning
but we had a professor, Wesley Fishel, that many radical publications
held responsible for MSU/USA involvement in Viet Nam, teaching a course
on Viet Nam. We had conservative, articulate George Will giving Policy
lectures to dozens of students who'd just returned from massive antiwar
protests....We had Dr. Robert Greene, a friend and I believe a pall bearer
at King's funeral, teaching a class on education and poverty....We also
witnessed the transition from Case Hall, favored home of star athletes,
to Case Hall, full of academic nerds and ‘hippy, peace creep, commie
faggots’ (as we were seen by ‘The Jocks’)."
-Bill Decker
"Memories -- I remember very well my first exposure to Madison.
I was visiting MSU during, I believe, a scholarship weekend. Dean Garfinkel
spoke to the potential MSU students as part of the introduction....
Everything was so positive! ...A number of us in the first class remember
Dean Garfinkel that night--especially how he rocked back and forth
on his heels! Early memories--5 of us to a room and figuring out where
to put everything-- ordering Domino's pizza, which was a very new thing--students
in other dorms playing the song "they're coming to take you away, ha,
ha" as we walked to the auditorium behind Case....I especially remember
Wesley Fishel, Alan Spitz, George Will, and John Holt. Dr. Fishel was
just completing his book, Vietnam, Anatomy of a Conflict, and he involved
a number of us in planning his ‘Winds of Change’ seminar. My eyes were
opened to the international world...."
-Beth Thomas-Schroeder
"Madison College & MSU have played such an incredible role in our
lives. I regret not being able to attend.... In times of crises family & community
are even more important. The timing of this gathering is meaningful....What
we accomplished in those early years still stands as an incredible testimony
to a quality experiment, which has stood the test of time."
-Gary Frost
"The thing that always struck me about the first class is that we started
planning this program.... in about August before the first class arrived.
Based on the material people got about the program... I can never figure
out why folks came.... to engage in this kind of experience. It said
we have this broad outline; we’re going to do some interesting things;
it’s going to be small and intimate; we’ve got some programs that relate
to social issues and problems of the day... come along and join us. And
they did. And it really takes a lot of gump and risk taking...."
-Robert Banks
"Mostly I remember the outstanding faculty that we had. Just unbelievable.
People like George Will lecturing to freshmen....Wesley Fischel, who
was a palace advisor to Ngo Dinh Diem in Vietnam, teaching a twenty-
student seminar to sophomores….we just had such an outstanding opportunity
to be
among great minds..."
-Larry Epstein
"Wow! 30 years? You’ve got to be kidding. I may not look the part, but
still feel like a college student....Let’s see... Ferstle (sometimes
called ‘Fersti’) was ‘1st’ to have the most # of roommates at James Madison,
freshman year (due to being 1st in snoring). 1st in James Madison to
have a home-made non-electric refrigerator. James Madison College was
the reason I survived the big university fears of a small town boy attempting
to survive college years....Right at the time of the Detroit race riots,
we...were learning the ‘who, what, when, where, how & why’ as a core
of us took up ‘Ethnic and Religious Inter-group Relations.’ The small
classroom structure, the excellent instructors and the guest speakers
gave us a unique opportunity to learn, as we witnessed the world turning
upside down....I had no clue, then, how important this schooling would
be to me for the rest of my life, as I eventually settled into a career
in social work, helping others in need....Gee, I miss MSU, Madison, Case
Hall, my ’63 Studebaker even more than I had realized! I must repeat--James
Madison College was good for me--probably wouldn’t have graduated without
it."
-Tom Ferstle
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Carrie Booth Walling (IR/PTCD '97) has been awarded a three year postdoctoral fellowship in the Michigan Society of Fellows at the University of Michigan. The fellowship includes an appointment as Assistant Professor in the Gerald R. Ford School of Public. She recently successfully defended her dissertation (titled "The United Nations Security Council and Intervention: Causal Stories about Human Rights and War") and has received her Ph.D, in Political Science from the University of Minnesota.
Richard Cordray (JMCD ’81) was nominated on June 21st by the Ohio Democratic Party as their candidate for Ohio Attorney General. He currently serves as the Treasurer of the State of Ohio. Cordray is a Marshall scholar, a five-time Jeopardy Champion, and a member of Madison’s Board of Visitors.
Alumnus Paul J. D’Anieri (IR ‘86) has been selected as the dean of the University of Florida’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. He was formerly the associate dean of humanities at the University of Kansas.Dennis Rasmussen (PTCD '00) has published The Problems and Promise of Commercial Society: Adam Smith's Response to Rousseau (The Pennsylvania State University Press, 2008). He is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Houston.
Madison alumnus, Peter Spadafore (SRP ’07) is the recipient of the prestigious political leadership fellowship awarded in February by MSU’s Michigan Political Leadership Program (MPLP). Spadafore is the Associate Director for the Michigan Elementary and Middle School Principals Association. As a student, he served as the president of the JMC Student Senate.
Alumnus Paul Stern (JMCD ‘75) published a new book, Knowledge and Politics in Plato's Theaetetus (Cambridge University Press, 2008). Stern is professor of politics at Ursinus College. His first book, Socratic Rationalism and Political Philosophy: An Interpretation of Plato's Phaedo, was published in 1993.
In November, 2007 David Thompson (IR 71) of Arlington, Virginia, was elected to the Board of Directors of the MSU GLBT Alumni Association. David was voted as a Member at Large to the recently formed association. For additional information about the association's activities and future plans, go to their website. David is currently employed by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration, Department of Health and Human Services as the Senior Public Health Advisor for the HIV/AIDS and Methamphetamine Team.
Alumnus Bob Dorigo-Jones (JMCD ’85) published a book titled: Remove Child Before Folding: The 101 Stupidest, Silliest, and Wackiest Warning Labels Ever
Madison alumnus Mark Reading-Smith (PTCD/IR '05) is co-author of a study "False Pretenses," claiming that false statements preceded the Iraq War. The report was posted on the Web site of the Center for Public Integrity, which worked with the Fund for Independence in Journalism and has been highlighted in various national media including MSNBC and the New York Times.
Madison alumnus Nathan Triplett (PTCD/SR ‘06) won a seat on the East Lansing City Council November 6 and will be sworn in November 14.
Madison alumnus, Wallace Jefferson (Urban ’85), is the recipient of the MSU Distinguished Alumnus Award. Wallace is the Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court, the first African American to be elected to that court. The award is given annually to MSU alumni who have distinguished themselves by obtaining the highest level of professional accomplishments and who possess the highest standards of integrity and character to positively reflect and enhance the prestige of MSU. Wallace was the recipient of the JMC Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2001.
Alumnus, Jon Hoadley (SR ’06) was named Executive Director of the National Stonewall Democrats Board of Directors. Jon formerly worked at Gill Action, an issue advocacy organization working to secure equal rights regardless of sexual orientation or gender expression.
Madison alumnus Alberto Nickerson (PTCD '03) has been awarded a Fulbright U.S. Student scholarship to Nicaragua in Cultural and Intellectual History, the United States Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board announced recently. Nickerson is one of over 1,300 U.S. citizens who will travel abroad for the 2007-2008 academic year through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program.
Recent Madison grads were featured in a June 10, 2007 Grand Rapids Press article about Michigan's college grads leaving the state:
Madison alumnus Ronald Tenpas (IR '85) will be nominated by President George W. Bush to be Assistant Attorney General (Environment and Natural Resources Division) at the Department of Justice. Tenpas currently serves as Associate Deputy Attorney General at the Department of Justice and previously served as US Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois.
Matt Clayson (IR/PTCD) has been selected as the chairperson of a new organization called Leadership Next affiliated with United Way for Southeastern Michigan. Clayson is a legal coordinator at ePrize L.L.C. in Pleasant Ridge.
Ari Kohen (IR/PTCD '99) published In Defense of Human Rights: a Non-Religious Grounding in a Pluralistic World, James Madison University (2007). Kohen is Assistant Professor in the Department of Justice Studies at James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Virginia. For more information on the book, visit:
Tom Boyd (Metro ’85) won re-election as a 55th District Court Judge in Ingham County, Michigan.
Richard Cordray (JMCD '81) was elected the Treasurer of the State of Ohio. He won 57% of the vote. Cordray, a Madison College (and University of Chicago Law School) graduate is a Democrat.
Matthew Clayson (IR '03) was recently featured Crain's Detroit as one of the "20 in their 20's"--20 young persons who are working to make a positive change in the Detroit Region. Over 400 were nominated by business and government leaders from the region.
After serving in communications at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Madison alumnus, Michael Polyak (IR '04), is working at the State Department in Washington, DC.
Ronald Tenpas (IR '85) was appointed in October 2005 as Associate Deputy Attorney General by Acting Deputy Attorney General Robert McCallum Jr. He most recently served as United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois .
IR alumnus Dave Schrumpf ('82), an attorney with General Motors, has been a presenter in the STEPPS class FW/MC 181, Introduction to Science, Technology, Environment and Public Policy; one of the gateway courses to STEPPS. His talk involves " Environmental Policy Making at General Motors."
Claudena Skran (IR '83), associate professor of government at Lawrence University, has been awarded a $60,000 grant by the Fulbright Scholar Program to conduct a study on the role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in refugee resettlement in post-civil-war Sierra Leone .
During the week of April 14, Madison alumnae Riina Kionka (IR/German '83 participated in a series of events hosted by International Studies and Programs and James Madison College. She was part of a panel of current and former ambassadors all with connections to MSU, celebrating the university's tradition of international engagement.
