March 2012 Newsletter
PAC-12 Happy Hour and Tournament and Stanford Basketball Game Watch
Wednesday, March 7 5:30-8:30 pm, Stanford game 9:10PM
RFD
810 7th St. NW
Washington, DC
Join us for the PAC-12 Tournament Happy Hour, the latest all PAC-12 alumni
networking event in DC!
We’ve arranged the following specials (and we’re working on more!):
$5 BEERS – Bear Republic, Sierra, Rogue and Widmere
We have a private room reserved for the evening so grab your PAC-12 friends
and join us as we tip off the tournament and watch Stanford play Arizona State at 9:10PM Eastern time.
The Latino Electorate and the 2012 Election
Thursday, March 8
Reception at 6:30 pm, Discussion at 7:30 pm
The Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Center
2661 Connecticut Ave NW
Washington, DC
Stanford in Washington presents The Latino Electorate and the 2012 Election:
A Discussion with Professor Gary Segura. Segura is a Political Science professor
at Stanford, chair of the Chicana/o Studies Program, principal investigator with
American National Election Studies 2012, and visiting faculty at Stanford in
Washington
If you wish to attend, please contact Carmi Schickler at carmis@stanford.edu or (202) 332-6235.
Book Club Discussion
Sunday, March 11 5-8 pm
Potomac, Md.
The book club will meet at at the home of Jody Thayer to discuss the novel Sea of
Poppies by Amitav Ghosh. The April book is Most Human Human by Brian Christian. For information on the book club, email Alison Westfall at alisoncolew@hotmail.com
Boomers to Busters: 2nd Anniversary
Party
Friday, March 23 6-8 pm
The Mansion
2020 O St. NW,
Washington, DC
Hors d’oeuvres and Cash Bar
Do You Remember When It Was “Neat” to be
“Cool?” If so, come to the Boomers to Busters 2nd
Anniversary Party. Boomers to Busters is targeted
for undergraduate and graduate alumni from the
mid-1970s to mid-1990s, and their spouses, partners,
and guests.
Join us where the group started! Talk about how not
much has changed in your life during the past two
years with people who remember when lots
happened in less time. Enjoy one of Washington’s
hidden gems with over 100 rooms. Disappear
behind a few hidden doors and admire amazing
antiques.
Online registration is $30 at
(www.alumni.uchicago.edu, Connect & Learn, Events,
By Region, DC) or
Boomers_to_Busters_March_2012 until Tuesday,
March 20th. Email reservations and walk-ins are $40.
Schools advertising Boomers to Busters events
include Amherst, Brown, Bryn Mawr, Carleton,
Carnegie-Mellon, Chicago, Haverford, MIT, Mount
Holyoke, Northwestern, Pennsylvania, Pomona,
Smith, Stanford, Swarthmore, Tulane, Vassar, Wellesley,
and Williams. Others are welcome.
MEMBER PROFILE: PATRICIA MARBY HARRISON
Patricia Marby Harrison, BA ’91, was never quite the same
after she participated in the Stanford Programme in Oxford
her junior year. Having caught the travel bug during her two
quarters of study abroad, Patricia’s career and personal life
have reflected her passion for cross-cultural experience and
global engagement. She headed to London directly after
graduation to work in a bookstore before grad school, then
eventually lived in Germany and Australia before returning to
the US. After a detour through academia, earning a PhD in
English from UC Santa Barbara and teaching at UCSB and
Clemson University, Patricia transitioned to the nonprofit
sector after volunteering to teach English to recent
immigrants in South Carolina.
Currently, Patricia is a manager of international professional
exchange programs at World Learning, an international
development nonprofit in DC. She designs projects for the US State Department’s International Visitor
Leadership Program, which brings emerging leaders from around the world to the US for professional
development. A member of the Stanford Associates and a Class Correspondent for Stanford Magazine’s Class
Notes, Patricia also serves as the Treasurer for WDCSA. She is married to Graham Harrison, BS ’91, who
works for the National Science Foundation; they have an eleven year-old son and live in Arlington.
How to Lead the Good Life:
Lessons from the Ancient Greeks
Tuesday, April 10 6:30-8:30pm
Embassy of Greece
2217 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20008
WDCSA SPEAKERS SERIES
If one talk could change the way you approach your
life, this might be it!
Dr. McCall, one of the storied professors and
speakers on campus, will share and encourage
discussion about the core ethical beliefs of Socrates,
Plato, Aristotle, the Epicureans, and the Stoics.
Together, we will consider how these philosophers
and philosophical schools confront the fundamental
human issues of justice, absolute versus relative
morality, fear of death, fate versus free will, and the
relationship between humans and the divine.
Handouts will be provided.
Dr. McCall is the founding dean of the Continuing
Studies Program. He received his doctorate in
Classics at Harvard in 1965 and taught at Harvard,
Johns Hopkins, and Berkeley before arriving at
Stanford in 1976. His research lies in the areas of
Greek tragedy, ancient rhetoric, and textual criticism.
He has received Stanford’s greatest honors … the
Dinkelspiel Award for outstanding service to
undergraduate education in 1991, and Stanford’s Phi
Beta Kappa Teacher of the Year award in 2000. In
2006, he received the Richard W. Lyman Award for
exceptional volunteer service to the university from
the Stanford Alumni Association.
Light refreshments will be provided, including wine
generously provided by the Greek Embassy’s Office
of Cultural Affairs.
The cost of this event is $20 for WDCSA members
and $25 for non-members. Please register by
Tuesday, April 3, 2012 here: http://pgnet.stanford.edu
goto/event8919reg.
Questions: Email Chris Shinkman at c.shinkman@verizon.net or Risa Shimoda at
risa@theshimodagroup.com.
Directions: The Embassy of Greece is located three
blocks northwest of the Dupont Metro Station (Red
Line).
This event is a part of the WDCSA Faculty Speaker
Series, and it is presented jointly with the Stanford
Alumni Association.
The Greek Embassy in Washington hosts a variety of
cultural, intellectual, and social events, many of which
are free of charge. If you would like to receive email
announcements of these events, please write to Zoe
Kosmidou, PhD, Minister Counselor, Cultural Affairs,
Embassy of Greece, and USA Office Director,
Hellenic Foundation for Culture, at
zkosmidou@greekculture.us.
MARCH 2012
EVENT SPOTLIGHT: STANFORD NIGHT AT
WASHINGTON WIZARDS GAME
WDCSA members received an exclusive and rare invitation to watch Washington Wizards and New York
Knicks players up close during pre-game warm-ups at the Verizon Center on February 8th. About 50
Cardinal fans were in for a special treat as they watched Stanford class of 2010 alum Landry Fields, Jeremy
Lin and the New York Knicks defeat the Wizards 107-93. More photos
Stanford Day at the Races
Sunday, April 29 1pm
Middleburg Hunt Point to Point Races
Glenwood Park
Middleburg, VA
Get out your hat and binoculars for a day at the
Middleburg Races!
Rain or shine
The admission price of $25.00 per person will cover
tasty tailgate picnic and libations in a patron space
overlooking the finish line. Children under 12 are
free.
Space is limited, so please RSVP by April 21 with a
check payable to WDCSA and send to Margaret
“Maggie” New, P.O. Box 933, Middleburg, VA
20118-0933.
Tickets and directions will be mailed to you.
For further information, call Margaret “Maggie” New
703-298-2525 or email maggie@middleburggroup.com
Stanford at the National Museum of the
American Indian
Sunday, April 29 6:30-9:30pm
300 Maryland Avenue SW
Washington, D.C.
Join us for cocktails, Native
American-inspired hors
d’oeuvres, and a talk with
Stanford archaeologist
Laura Jones at an exclusive
reception alongside one of
the world’s most extensive
collections of Native
American arts and
artifacts.
Ranging from ancient
Paleoindian arrowheads to
contemporary fine arts,
the National Museum of
the American Indian
collections include works
of aesthetic, religious, and
historical significance
representing virtually all
tribes in the United States,
most of those of Canada, and a significant number of
cultures from Middle and South America and the
Caribbean.
Price: $30 per person, $25 young alumni (undergrads
’02-’12; grads ’07-’11) includes exhibit access, talk and
reception. Price will increase $5/person on April 9 and no onsite registration is permitted due to museum policy. Space is limited. Register early!
To learn more and register, visit www.stanfordalumni.org/erc/regional/detail.html?ref=erc&cid=209369. Space is limited; do not delay!
Questions: Contact Jessica Fitting at jfitting@stanford.edu
Stanford at the Opera
Thursday, May 10 7:30 pm
Kennedy Center
Nabucco – Verdi
WASHINGTON NATIONAL OPERA PREMIERE!
Verdi’s powerful blockbuster about the defeat,
enslavement, and exile of the ancient Babylonian Jews
by King Nabucco features a grand and gorgeous
score. Thaddeus Strassberger’s new production will
transport you to the lost wonders of the world to
witness a royal family at odds with their nation and
each other.
Buy tickets now!
Deadline for ordering is April 5th.
Prime Orchestra $146.50; 2nd Tier $ 79.
For tickets – send a check payable to WDCSA to
Betty Byrne, 1822 Ingleside Terrace NW, Washington
DC 20010. Contact Betty @
bettybyrne@stanfordalumni.org or 202.483.4048.
All performances are by the Washington National
Opera (WNO) and are at the Kennedy Center.
Stanford In the News
- In a five-year fund-raising campaign that concluded
December 31, Stanford raised $6.2-billion, the
largest sum ever collected in a single campaign by a
higher-education institution. - For 50 years, scientists searched for the secret to
making tiny implantable devices that could travel
through the bloodstream. Engineers at Stanford
have demonstrated just such a device. Powered
without wires or batteries, it can propel itself
through the bloodstream and is small enough to fit
through blood vessels.
Get Involved
- WDCSA Co-Ed Softball
Spring is just around the corner and it’s time to
kick off the 8th annual DC Stanford softball season!
The regular season runs from April to July and ends
with a post-season tournament over two weekends
in August. Most regular season games are played
during the week on the Washington Monument
grounds. Players should expect to pay a nominal
team fee to cover league and equipment costs.
The quality of play is at moments brilliant and
at other times hysterically pathetic, but we
always have a good time! If you are interested in
playing, please send an email to
wdcsasoftball@gmail.com (we have a particular
need for women this season to complete our
roster). We hope to see you this spring! - The Capital Alumni Network (CAN) is creating a
book of businesses to try to keep business within
the CAN family. It will list plumbers, doctors,
lawyers etc… There will be a website coming
out. CAN is looking for a 2nd football
commissioner to help run the Flag Football
League. CAN is looking for bars located close to
the Mckinley Tech soccer fields to host for pre/post
soccer game happy hours. If you are aware of any,
please contact Greg Billings at
billings.g@gmail.com.
This month’s newsletter is available for download in PDF format.