Horace Mann Magazine - Fall/Winter 2010-11 - (Page 45)

alumni news photo by Ruth Seligman Prof. Margaret Galland Kivelson ’46 (left) was joined at the event in her honor by her Horace Mann High School for Girls classmates Jean Sack Wollan ’46, Judge Sondra Markowitz Miller ’46, who was honored as a Distinguished Alumnus in 1994, and Rabbi Emily Faust Korzenik ’46. Dr. Kivelson visited an Upper Division AP physics class. photo by Peter Finger raphy collection lists her along with Mme. Marie Curie and Sir Isaac Newton. Prof. Kivelson has also been a role model for young women academics, the Alumni Council president noted. “At UCLA, she served on the first Chancellor’s Committee on the Status of Women, later chairing the committee. She has also served as President of the Association of Academic Women at UCLA and helped to initiate UCLA’s Women’s Studies Program. Like Jupiter, Prof. Kivelson is a giant in her field and a giant among our alumni body.” Horace Mann School Board of Trustees Chair Steve Friedman ’72 said it was wonderful to see Dr. Kivelson join the ranks of HM Distinguished Alumni, who include the 2009 awardee Dr. Simon Parisier ’53, developer of the cochlear implant, essential New Yorkers and food impresarios Saul ’46 and Stanley ’49 Zabar, explorer and philanthropist Peter Athans ’75, violinist Gil Shaham ’89, and historian Robert Caro ’53. Horace Mann Head of School Dr. Tom Kelly hailed Prof. Kivelson for her accomplishments, her advocacy on the part of her students, particularly as a mentor to young women, and for inspiring both teachers and students at Horace Mann today. “We often repeat this quote to our younger students: ‘Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss you will land among the stars.’ Prof. Kivelson, you have done both.” Thanking the Alumni Association for the recognition Prof. Kivelson recalled some of her experiences at Horace Mann High School for Girls. In a power point presentation that chronicled those years, she offered the audience a glimpse of the Horace Mann School of her day, when she and her younger sister Ellie (Elaine Galland Shelton) would travel to the school at the Columbia University campus via trolley car. Dr. Kivelson’s presentation included class photographs from her first-throughfourth grade years, that included some in the audience. Featured in the presentation were scenes from Dr. Kivelson’s graduating class of 1946, depicting class members Judge Sondra Markowitz Miller ’46, who was a Distinguished Alumna in 1994, Rabbi Emily Faust Korzenik ’46, and Jean Sack Wollen ’46, who joined the evening’s festivities. (To view Dr. Kivelson’s presentation, please go to www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIJrg4iU-XQ.) Dr. Kivelson then narrated the history of her physics education, as the only woman among 73 students at Harvard to pursue a Ph.D. under the Nobel-laureate Prof. Julian Schwinger. She also filled in details of her space research career, which began just as the world was first engaging with space exploration, and as the United States, spurred on by Russia’s launching of the Sputnik satellite, entered this dynamic field. Elaborating on her experience as a woman in the scientific profession of her day, Dr. Kivelson noted that when she first began working at the RAND Corporation she worked parttime, earning enough money to cover the cost of childcare for her two young children. After joining the faculty at UCLA it would take 23 years for her to gain tenure, despite her contributions to the country’s emerging space program. The day following the award dinner was a special one for students at Horace Mann School, as Prof. Kivelson visited the Upper Division campus and spoke to students in the AP physics class of Dr. Stephen Palfrey, and the Topics in Physics class taught by Dr. Jeff Weitz. Prof. Kivelson met over lunch in Dr. Kelly’s office with members of the School’s Women’s Issues Club. There she spoke candidly about the extra effort women students may still find themselves having to make in the field of science even today, and pointed out that both men and women need to learn to balance their work life with other pursuits, including family, and, above all, to forge ahead to realize their academic, professional and personal goals. In fact, Dr. Kivelson continues to do the same. Now, as a UCLA professor emeritus, she has recently switched her focus to the study of Saturn, and is working with NASA in this new area of exploration. “Dr. Kivelson’s visit was a wonderful experience for our students and for all of us,” said Dr. Kelly. “She represents the goal of a Horace Mann School education. To see her interact with our students was a privilege.” To read more about the Alumni Association Award for Distinguished Achievement, and previous award recipients, go to www.horacemann.org/news . $ Horace Mann Magazine Fall/Winter 2010-11 45 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIJrg4iU-XQ http://www.horacemann.org/news

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Horace Mann Magazine - Fall/Winter 2010-11

Horace Mann Magazine - Fall/Winter 2010-11
Contents
Letters
Greetings from Dr. Tom Kelly, Horace Mann School Head of School
Greetings From Melissa Parento, Horace Mann School Director of Development
Horace Mann School Today
Dr. Tom Kelly Looks Back, and Forward, with Appreciation
Patricia Zuroski Launches New Diversity Initiative
Marcia Levy is New Head of Nursery Division
News of the School
Alumni Council Corner
Bookshelf
Class Notes
Memorials
Philanthropy and You

Horace Mann Magazine - Fall/Winter 2010-11