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SUMMER 2015 NEWSLETTER
Contents:
1. Welcome Message from the President, Sphinx Board of Governors
2. Over 100 Sphinx Alumni and Undergraduate Members Attend Spring Banquet and
Alumni Weekend Champagne Brunch
3. Sphinx Raises Over $7500 From Nearly 60 Sphinx Alumni But You Can Still
Donate
4. Current Sphinx Campus News: Meet the Sphinx Class of 2016 and the Sphinx
Board of Governors, 2015-2016
5. Annual Report of the Sphinx Class of 2015
6. Annual Daily Pennsylvanian Ad Bids Farewell to Sphinx Class of 2015
7. Sphinx Alumni News
8. Sign Up for the New Online Sphinx Class Alumni Directory
9. Order Sphinx Gear Directly From “Zazzle,” and Via Sphinx Gmail Account
10. Visit Penn Campus as a Distinguished Sphinx Alumnus
11. Mentor a Sphinx Undergraduate
12. Contribute to a New Sphinx Historical Archives Page
13. Help Us Identify Missing Honorary Sphinx Members
14. Join the Sphinx Facebook and LinkedIn Groups
15. Send Us Your News, Comments, and Suggestions
1. Welcome Message from the President, Sphinx Board of
Governors
Since our Spring Newsletter in March 2015, the Sphinx Senior Society, now in its 115th
year, has continued to implement its five major goals through its 17-member Board of Governors
(BOG), the 30 members of the Sphinx Class of 2015 and so far, the 23 newest members from the
Sphinx Class of 2016:
1. Strengthen alumni outreach;
2. Support the undergraduate program;
3. Upgrade our online Sphinx Class Alumni Directory as part of our ever
improving web site, www.sphinxseniorsociety.com ;
4. Expand the “Sphinx Links” mentoring program; and
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5. Raise funds to reduce or eliminate undergraduate dues as well as support the
Society’s activities.
In this Summer 2015 Newsletter, you can read about our most recent actions to achieve our
goals. These include:
Expansion of our new Sphinx Class Alumni Directory, where you can sign up, enter your
profile, and contact other members of your Sphinx class or any signed up alumnus;
Continuation of a program started by the Class of 2014 to invite distinguished Sphinx
alumni to campus to meet with the current Sphinx class;
Matching of 12 Sphinx Class of 2015 mentees to date with 15 Sphinx alumni mentors in
various professional fields through our “Sphinx Links” mentoring program, now in its
sixrh year;
Our continually expanding website, www.sphinxseniorsociety.com, which contains news
of current Sphinx events, alumni accomplishments, an updated Class Awards list going
back to 1900 and the founding of Sphinx, and later this year a new Sphinx historical
archives page. This archive will include a video Mika Rao, Chief ’96, and Carrie
Kitchen-Santiago,’92, made to celebrate the 100th
anniversary of Sphinx in 1999-2000.
The video is entitled “Sphinx Senior Society: Celebrating 100 Years.” We showed the
video at our annual Spring Banquet on April 25, 2014, and will eventually post the video
on our web site. Here's a link to it
now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MWVf6hWkGk&feature=youtu.be&noredire
ct=1
Please read this newsletter and check our website to see how you can get involved this coming
academic year in the Sphinx Senior Society. For example, you can:
Mentor a Class of 2016 Sphinx student in the “Sphinx Links” mentoring program;
Speak on campus as part of the new Sphinx Alumni Series;
Join already 165 Sphinx classmates who’ve done so and enter your profile in our new
Class Directory and email classmates; Send us your personal alumni news and memorabilia for the new Sphinx archives page
Interview a fellow Sphinx classmate of public interest for a future newsletter;
Attend the annual Sphinx-Friars Homecoming Reception in Houston Hall,
Saturday, November 7, 2015, 3-5 p.m.
Donate to support these activities.
In sum, please join us and …Think Sphinx!
Steve Klitzman, C’66, President, Sphinx Senior Society Board of Governors,
[email protected] , [email protected]; W: 202-418-1763; H: 301-263-0616; C: 202-277-9509.
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2. Over 100 Sphinx Alumni and Undergraduate Members
Attend Spring Banquet and Alumni Weekend Champagne
Brunch
Two major Sphinx Senior Society events since our Spring 2015 Newsletter we sent you in March
were the annual Spring Banquet held April 24, 2015 at the historic Orpheus Club near
Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia, and the annual Alumni Weekend Champagne Brunch held
on May 16, 2015 in the LGBT Carriage House on the Penn campus.
Spring Banquet. Nearly 60 undergraduate members and Sphinx alumni bid
farewell to the Sphinx Class of 2015, inducted the Sphinx Class of 2016, and a
new Honorary member, and socialized with Fellow Sphinx Alums!
At the banquet we officially initiated the Sphinx Class of 2016 and this year’s Honorary
Sphinx member, Professor Justin McDaniel, Professor of Religious Studies, Chair,
Department of Religious Studies and Undergraduate Studies Chair.
The Sphinx Class of 2016 inducted at the Spring Banquet (above) and the three officers of
the Sphinx Class of 2016 (below), left to right: Sydney Schneider, C’16, Scribe, Devin
Grossman, W’16, Chief, and Prashant Ramesh, ENG’16, Pharisee
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Sphinx Alumni and Undergraduates at Spring Banquet
Sphinx 2015 Honorary Member Prof. Justin McDaniel (center) speaks at annual
Spring Banquet with Steve Klitzman, C’66, President, Sphinx Board of Governors (left)
and Elizabeth Katz Miller, W’87, Board Secretary (right)
Spring Banquet Honors Sphinx Members of the 50th
Penn Reunion Class of 1965
At the Spring Banquet we also honored members of the Sphinx Class of 1965 celebrating their
50th
Reunion during Alumni Weekend in May 2015. Representing the Class of 1965 was Charles
E. Dagit, Jr., a distinguished Philadelphia architect and author of a new book on his late, great
Penn teacher- renowned architect Louis I. Kahn. Dagit’s book is entitled “Louis I. Kahn,
Architect: Remembering the Man And Those Who Surrounded Him,” Transaction Publishers,
2013. (see also Sphinx Alumni News)
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Tim Lee, Sphinx Chief 2015, Mrs. Carolyn Hoyler, wife of Carl Hoyler, ’59,
and Charles E. Dagit, Jr., C’65 and Sphinx ’65, chatting and smiling at the
April 24, 2015 Sphinx Spring Banquet
Society Bestows 2015 Paul Miller Leadership Award on Rishi Simha, W’15
At the Spring Banquet, we also bestowed on a graduating member of the Class of 2015 the
annual Paul Miller Leadership Award for outstanding public service and campus leadership.
The award is named in memory of the late Paul Miller, C’83. He was a former Sphinx Scribe,
Mask & Wig performer, graduate of Harvard Law School, an author of the Americans With
Disabilities Act, a Commissioner on the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission from
1994-2004, Obama Administration official, and law professor at the University of Washington
School of Law.
The winner of the 2015 Paul Miller Award is Rishi Simha, W’15. Simha won the award for
his outstanding campus and public service leadership as Chairman, The Mask & Wig Club,
President, One in Four, a leading campus educational group which seeks to prevent and to
respond effectively to sexual assault and rape on campus, Resident Advisor, Fisher-Hassenfeld
Residential House, and Recruiting Director, Wharton Council.
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Greg Suss, (left) C’75 and Vice President, Sphinx Board of Governors and Steve
Klitzman,(right) C’66, President, Sphinx Board of Governors, present 2015 Paul
Miller Leadership Award to Rishi Simha, W’15
Here’s a link to the Spring Banquet pictures:
Sphinx Open
See also Sphinx Facebook page for banquet pictures at https://www.facebook.com/sphinxseniorsociety
Alumni Weekend Brunch. Members of the graduating Class of 2015, their families and friends,
members of the Sphinx Board of Governors, and fellow Sphinx alumni, especially a number
from the 50th reunion year of 1965, kicked off Alumni Weekend at our annual free Champagne
Brunch on Saturday, May 16, 2015. We held the brunch just before the Class Parade down
Locust Walk to College Hall Green. Sphinx held the brunch as it has for the past several years in
the Goodhand Room of the Carriage House and LGBT Center, 3901 Spruce Street, Philadelphia,
PA, 19104-6031.
Sphinx Alumni Members and one Friars Alumnus attending and/or RSVPing to the
brunch included : Claire Choi, C’10, Alison Cote, C’95, Howard Coonley, C’66,
Charles E. Dagit, Jr., C’65, Dr. Robert Daroff, C’57, Robert Fabrikant, C’65, Ray
Flores, W’10, Lesley Horton, C’10, Sarika Pandit, W’09, John R. Reese, C’65,
Steve Roth (Friars 1966), Aviva Vogelstein, C’10, Richard and Terri Zacharia,
C’65, as well as Sphinx Board Members John Fiorillo, W’85 and Sphinx Board
Treasurer, Steve Klitzman, C’66, and Sphinx Board President, Glen Schuster, C’85,
and Gregory Suss, C’75 and Sphinx Board Vice President.
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Sphinx Board Officers at May 16, 2015 Alumni Weekend, Champagne (and Orange Juice)
Brunch, left to right: John Fiorillo, W’85,Treasurer, Steve Klitzman, C’66, President, and
Greg Suss, C’75, Vice President
Sphinx Alumni, Family and Friends at Champagne Brunch
Here’s a link to the brunch photos:
https://upenn.box.com/s/a0mtunggt2n3uuwnie0vai91lybvq126
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3. Sphinx Raises Over $7500 From Nearly 60 Sphinx Alumni
But You Can Still Contribute
Penn President Amy Gutmann Hosts the Sphinx Senior
Society Class of 2015, November 2014
The Sphinx Board of Governors (BOG) is very pleased to announce that nearly 60 Sphinx
alumni helped us strengthen our support of the undergraduate Sphinx membership and the entire
Society by donating in the 2015 Sphinx Alumni Fund Campaign.
They responded well to the following “pitch” to which we encourage any of you who’ve yet to
contribute to do so as well:
Why: To build a stronger connection between Sphinx alumni and undergraduate members, it’s
important to strengthen the current community and a future leadership legacy that extends
beyond the senior year at Penn.
What: Our specific campaign goals are two: first, to reduce the amount of Sphinx dues for the
next Sphinx Class of 2016, and second, to add to the Sphinx Alumni Endowment Fund we’ve
created to support current and future Society programs and activities.
Current undergraduate dues are $225 per the 30- member class. These dues support
programming, events, and get-togethers of the current Sphinx class.
The Ask: We seek to raise funds to build our Sphinx Alumni Endowment Fund initially to
offset$4,000 ($125 x 30 members) by April 24, 2015, the date of the annual Sphinx Spring
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Banquet. These funds will reduce the dues of the incoming Sphinx Class of 2016 to $100 per
member.
We intend to use further endowment contributions to keep future undergraduate dues to an
affordable level, or even eliminate such dues, as well as to support ongoing activities of the
Society. These include the Fall and Spring undergraduate smokers and inductions, the Fall
Sphinx-Friars Homecoming Reception, the Spring Banquet, the Alumni Weekend Champagne
Brunch, the “Sphinx Links” mentoring program, the Fall, Spring and Summer Newsletters, our
new Sphinx alumni Class Directory and our ever improving web site,
www.sphinxseniorsociety.com
How: Be part of this important initiative by:
* Donating here. OR
* Mailing your check made out to the Sphinx Senior Society to John K. Fiorillo, Esq. W'86,
Treasurer, 1634 Wildlife Drive, Chester Springs, PA 19425; OR
* Responding positively when members of the Sphinx BOG call you in the coming weeks or
months.
The Bonus:
-Donate $1000 or more- receive an attractive Sphinx hooded sweat shirt with the Sphinx logo, a
Sphinx pin and hat, and a ticket to the Spring Banquet to be held on April 24, 2015(or on April
22, 2016) at the historic Orpheus Club near Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia, PA;
·Donate $500-$999- receive a Sphinx pin and hat and a banquet ticket;
·Donate $250-$499- receive a Sphinx pin and hat;
·Donate $100-$249- receive a Sphinx pin.
Whatever you donate, the Sphinx BOG thanks you for your support as will the Sphinx Class of
2016 and future Sphinx classes.
Here is the 2015 Honor Roll of our Sphinx Alumni Donors. Please contribute if you haven’t
yet done so we can add your name to this growing list:
Rachel Baye, 2011
Shari Beck, 1987
Adam Behrens, 2011
W. Joseph Blood, 1946
Louise Borke, 1976
Kenneth Brause, 1985
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Sharie Brown, 1979
John Budd, 1989
Beryl Bugatch, 1966
Heidi Cohen-Lieberfarb
Howard Coonley, 1966
Robert Daroff, 1957
Jennifer Davidson, 1994
Ernesto Del Valle, 2012
Adrrienne Edwards, 2013
Rene Fiechter, 1970
Eric Fisher, 1973
Norman Glickman, 1963
David Goldsmith, 1993
Risa Goldstein, 1978
Russell Goodman, 1966
Jeffrey Hack, 1987
John Hannum, 1966
David Helfenbein, 2008
Walter Herman, 1955
Andrew Kaplan, 2007
Jason Karsh, 2008
David Kaufman
Thomas Lang, 1966
Lance Laver, 1966
David Levine, 1976
Louis Marks, 1966
Stephen Marmon, 1971
Alec Miller, 2013
Gary Mintz, 1970
Wolete Moko, 2012
Eugena Oh, 2003
Bobabk Parang, 2009
Louis Pichini, 1967
Paul Pimentel, 1996
Suzanne Quint, 1989
Raja Ramachandran, 2001
John Reese, 1965
Carlos Rodrigues, 2012
David Rutstein, 1966
Jay Samoff, 1966
Michael Siegmund, 1982
Jared Susco, 2001
Amy Tananbaum, 1980
Ernest Tracy,1961
Jessica Trief, 2008
Robert Varney, 1966
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Kevin Vaughan, 1977
Michael Vondriska, 2002
Keith Wasserstrom, 1989
4. Current Sphinx Campus News
a. Meet the Sphinx Class of 2016
The Sphinx Class of 2015 has selected the first 23 members of the Sphinx Class of 2016. And
the 2016 class will select 7 more members of their class this fall.
Here’s a list of the new inductees with their Penn schools and activities. The Society welcomed
these newest members warmly and inducted them officially at the Spring Banquet on April 24,
2015, at the Orpheus Club in Center City, Philadelphia:
Diana Cabrera C’16 (Latin@ Coalition)
Victoria Chen C’16 (Sigma Psi Zeta, Penn Q&A)
Kevin Grossman W’16 (NEC)
Peter Jeffrey W’16 (Parliamentary Debate)
Brooklyn Juday W’16 (Women's Basketball)
Connie Kang C’16 (Penn Chinese Theater)
Erich Kessel C’16 (Lambda Alliance)
Hong Kim E’16 (Penn Labs)
Jin Kim C’16 (APSC)
Alex Kleis W’16 E’16 (Assembly of International Students)
Bobby (Robert) Lundquist C’16 (1 in 4)
Matt Mantica C’16 (Daily Pennsylvanian)
Shannon McCarthy N’16 (Student Nurses at Penn, Track and Field)
Jane Meyer C’16 (Undergraduate Assembly)
Afrah Mohammad C’16 (PRISM)
Rachel Palmer W’16 (UMOJA)
Cathryn Peirce C’16 (Class Board / VagMons)
América Perez C’16 (Penn for Immigrant Rights)
Ingred Prince N’16 (4A)
Prashant Ramesh E’16 (Penn Masala)
Sydney Schneider C’16 (Quaker Girls, Reach A Peer)
Zach Shen C'16 (Mask & Wig, SPEC)
Joe Step C’16 (Shira Chadasha)
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The Sphinx Class of 2016 Makes the Sphinx Sign
b. Meet The 2015-2016 Sphinx Senior Society Board of Governors
In early May 2015 nearly 100 Sphinx alumni voted in the annual Spring Board
election. Alumni re-elected for another three-year term Gregory Suss, C’75, Vice
President, and Kiera Reilly, C’93.
Newly elected to the Board for also a three-year term is Kevin E. Vaughan, C’77.
Kevin is a former Sphinx Chief, 1977, and chair of the student lecture series,
Connaissance, President of the Sphinx Board of Governors, 1980-1984, former
member of the Penn General Alumni Society Board, founder of the Penn Black
Alumni Society, and former Deputy Commissioner, Philadelphia Department of
Public Health .
Kevin Vaughan, Sphinx Chief, 1977, and new member Sphinx Board of Governors,
holding a peregrine falcon from Phuiladelphia’s City Hall Tower where Kevin helps
document and protect the birds as a volunteer for the Pennsylvania Fish and Wildlife
Commission
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Sphinx Senior Society 2015-2016 Board of Governors
The following is the entire 2015-2016 Sphinx Board of Governors:
Stephen Klitzman, C’66, President; Gregory Suss, C’75, Vice President; John K. Fiorillo,
W’86, Treasurer; Elizabeth Katz Miller, W’87, Secretary; Merrie S. Frankel,
C’76, President-Emeritus; Samuel Rappaport, W’15, Pharisee-Emeritus; Samir Malik,
C’08, W’08, WG’14; Eileen McKeown, C’10, Coordinator, Sphinx Links Mentoring
Program; Kiera Reilly, C’93, Coordinator, Alumni Outreach; Lex Ruby-Howe, C’07,
WEV’09, WEV’10, GED’12 ; Anita Saggurti, C’12; Glen S. Schuster, C’86, Co-
Coordinator, Web Site and Class Directory; Franklin Shen, ENG’03, Co-Coordinator,
Web Site and Class Directory; Kevin Vaughan, C’77; and Current Student Officers: Devin
Grossman, W’16, Chief; Prashant Ramesh, SEAS ’16, Pharisee; and Sydney Schneider,
C’16, Scribe.
5. Annual Report of the Sphinx Class of 2015
by Sam Rappaport, W’15, Pharisee
Sphinx Class of 2015 Officers (left to right): Sam Rappaport, W’15,
Pharisee; Victoria Ford, C’15, Scribe, Tim Lee, C’15, Chief
2014-2015 was an incredible year for Sphinx! Early in the fall, we were at last able to complete
our class and inducted 7 incredible Penn leaders. Our successful recruiting extended into the
Spring, where we recruited 23 inspiring Juniors, including heads of student government,
publications like the Daily Pennsylvanian, performing artists, athletes, activists, and more!
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The hallmark of the Sphinx experience is the ability to form incredible friendships in your senior
year. To that end, Sphinx held several events throughout the year, including:
A Holiday Party
A fall lunch with honorary Sphinx member, President Amy Gutmann
A donation drive to collect items for Philly AIDS thrift
A spring trip to the beach
A visit from Sphinx Alum Elliot Williams , Sphinx 1998 (See #11 Visit Penn Campus
as a Distinguished Sphinx Alumnus.)
Mixers with Friars, including November Homecoming Reception, a social in the fall, and
a brunch during Spring Fling
All Sphinx members achieved a lot at Penn, with many earning graduation honors. Some
highlights from the year include:
5 of 8 Senior Awards went to Sphinx members (Ariel Koren, Joyce Kim, Victoria
Ford, Taylor Culliver, Rishi Simha (See picture below.)
Shadrack Frimpong won the President’s Engagement Prize
Two members, Joyce Kim and Yinks Muraina, won a Fulbright Award
Ariel Koren won the Truman Scholarship
Taylor Culliver and Dilip Rajan teamed up to start a company - Vytex
Penn Masala, led by Dilip Rajan, had a role in the feature film “Pitch Perfect 2,” and
also appeared on India’s “Got Talent”
Other performing artists who ended their Penn performing careers included Kanad
Ghosh (Strictly Funk), Wyatt Shapiro and Rishi Simha (Mask & Wig), Joanna
Kamhi and Lauren Ballester (Penn Monologues), Victoria Ford (Excelano Project),
Eric Shapiro and Abrina Hyatt (African Rhythms), James An (KLASS/PennSori), and
Jason Fernandes (Onda Latino/Yalla)
Several Sphinx Penn athletes finished off their careers in style: Sydney Turchin (Softball
Ivy League Finalists), Katy Allen (Women’s Basketball, USNIT), and Louis Schott
(Penn Soccer).
Now proud alumni, we are looking forward to continuing to build our relationships with each
other and with past and future classes of Sphinx.
Members of Sphinx Class of 2015 Win 5 of 8 Top Penn Senior Awards
Five members of the Sphinx Class won five of the top 8 Penn 2015 Senior
Awards:
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Sphinx Class of 2015 Award Winners (left to right): Victoria Ford C’15 (Goddard Award),
Joyce Kim , C’15 (Harnwell Award), Rishi Simha, W’15, (Spade Award), Taylor Culliver,
W’15 (Cane Award) (missing from photo: Ariel Koren, C’15 (Hottel Award)
6. Annual Daily Pennsylvanian “Graduation Goodbyes” Ad
Bids Farewell to Sphinx Class of 2015
For the fourth year in a row, the Society bid farewell to the graduating class and reintroduced
the Society “brand” to the Penn community. It did so by taking out a full, back page color ad in
the annual “Graduation Goodbyes” issue the Daily Pennsylvanian publishes each Graduation
Weekend. Click here for the ad.
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7. Sphinx Alumni News
a. New Member, Hong Kim, ENG’16, Sets Up“FreeForCoffee” Text-Based
Tool for Alumni and New Members to Meet Over the Summer and Beyond
Hong Kim, ENG’16
Here’s how Hong Kim describes his idea on the Sphinx Facebook page:
“I'm a new member in Sphinx in the Class of 2016 and am very excited to be a part of this
family. The Board and I thought it would be fun to present an opportunity this summer for
Sphinges of different classes living in the same city to meet, especially for new members/recent
grads to meet alumni.
To do that we set up a FreeForCoffee. It is a text-based tool that helps with organizing coffee
chats. ... See More”
Hong reports that since he made his Facebook posting on July 19, 2015 over 40 Sphinx alumni
have signed up. During the first week alone of the service, over 20 members participated to meet
another Sphinge in Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, and Washington, DC.
Hong and the Sphinx Boaard hope to continue this “FreeForCoffee” initiative in the coming
school year. For more information , you can contact Hong Kim at [email protected] .
And if you send us a brief description of your Sphinx coffee klatsch with a picture and photo
caption, we’ll be pleased to run what you send us in a future Sphinx newsletter like we did in our
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Summer 2014 Newsletter with reports and pictures of earlier Sphinx happy hours and brunches
in Chicago, New York City, and San Francisco.
b. Charles E. Dagit, Jr., Sphinx 1965, Publishes Book About His Penn
Teacher, Legendary Architect, Louis I. Kahn
Charles E. Dagit, Jr., C’65, member of Sphinx, 1965, and distinguished Philadelphia architect,
has published a book about his Penn architecture teacher and mentor, Louis I. Kahn. One of the
most prominent architects of the 20th
c., Kahn designed such famous buildings as the Richards
Laboratories behind the Men’s Quad at Penn, the Salk Institute in La Jolla, CA, the Kimbell Art
Museum in Fort Worth, TX, and the National Assembly Building in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Dagit spoke about the book both at the Sphinx Spring Banquet and during Alumni Weekend. As
noted earlier in this newsletter, the book is entitled “Louis I. Kahn Architect: Remembering the
Man And Those Who Surrounded Him,” Transaction Publishers, 2013.
Here’s a customer review of the book by Steve Klitzman, C’66, and President of the Sphinx
Senior Society Board of Governors:
"Louis Icon": A Succint but Moving Tribute by a Former Student to Louis I. Kahn, a Master
Architect of the 20th Century
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“I was an undergraduate student at the University of Pennsylvania from 1962-1966 and lived my
freshman year very near one of Louis I. Kahn's masterworks, the Richards Laboratory Building. I
knew he was an architectural icon but I never saw him in person on campus or teach graduate
students in his Masters Studio. Recently, one of my closest Penn friends, now a Philadelphia
architect himself, Lance Laver, C’66, and a fellow member of the Sphinx Senior Society,
Penn’s oldest senior honor and leadership society, recalled seeing a sign at Penn in our day
which actually read "Louis Icon!", for Louis I. Kahn.
Reading Charles Dagit's succint but deeply felt tribute to his former teacher, this master of 20th
c. architecture, makes me realize more fully than before why indeed Louis I. Kahn could be
renamed "Louis Icon!" Like many geniuses, he was idiosyncratic but brilliant and as Dagit very
well documents an inspiring teacher. Both architects and lovers of exquisite modern architecture
will appreciate this personal memoir and tribute to "Louis ["Icon"] I. Kahn Architect." -Stephen
Klitzman, University of Pennsylvania, College 1966 , Bethesda, MD.”
c. Josh Gottheimer, Sphinx Class of 1997, Is Running for Congress
Josh Gottheimer, Sphinx Scribe, 1997, is seeking the Democratic nomination to run for
Congress in the 5th Congressional District of New Jersey against Rep. Scott Garrett (R-NJ), a
seven- term “Tea Party” Republican.
A former speech writer for President Clinton, senior policy advisor to former FCC Chairman
Julius Genochowski ,and executive for both Microsoft and the Ford Motor Company, Gottheimer
hopes to run against and defeat Scott Garrett in the November 2016 General Election. He’s
already raised over $600,000 and is considered by informed observers to be “the real deal” as a
potential Garrett opponent.
One of the most conservative Republicans in the House of Representatives, Garrett opposed the
re-election of John Boehner as Speaker, opposed Federal relief for victims of the destruction of
the Word Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, and Hurricane Sandy in October 2012, and according
to the DC-based Politico, in mid- July 2015 told a closed door meeting of Republican members
of the House Financial Services Committee that he refused to contribute to the National
Republican Congressional Committee because of their past support of LGBT candidates.
As a result of this last Garrett position the editorial board of one of the largest circulation papers
in New Jersey, the Star Ledger, has called for Garrett to be removed from office and for another
candidate to run for the seat. The newspaper editorialized that “Garrett's position is the moral
equivalent of excluding African-American candidates, or women, or Latinos… It is grounds to
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remove him from office, and our fervent hope is that he is eventually knocked off by a more
sensible Republican or Democrat.” Star Ledger
Editorial.http://www.nj.com/opinion/index.ssf/2015/07/post_135.html
For more information about Josh and his candidacy and to contribute to his race,
see www.Josh4Congress.com
Josh Gottheimer, Sphinx 1997, running for the Democratic nomination to unseat long-time
Tea Party Republican Rep. Scott Garrett in 5th
Congressional District of Northern New
Jersey. To his right, a picture of Gottheimer and his former boss, President Bill Clinton,
for whom Josh wrote speeches.
d. More Recent Postings from the Sphinx Senior Society Facebook Page
Jareau Wade
July 16 at 10:57pm · San Francisco, CA
I can't be the only person to notice that one of the most popular songs of 2015 was produced by a
Sphinge, right?!
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Just wanted to shine some light on Nana Kwabena Tuffuor, Sphinx 2008 (aka “Nana Baffor-
Bonnie”) who co-produced "Classic Man" by Jidenna, which has over 15 million views on
Vevo/YouTube: http://www.vevo.com/watch/jidenna/classic-man/USSM21500236
Nana's also produced "Love In The Future" for John Legend, another Sphinx/Penn alum,
1999(aka “John Stephens”) : http://www.johnlegend.com/us/music/love-future
June 25
Triathlon Teammates Have Divine Perspiration on Their Side
A Christian minister, a Muslim chaplain and a Jewish rabbi competed in a triathlon this past
June. While that may sound like the beginning of a bad joke, three religious leaders from the
University of Pennsylvania joined together to bike, swim and run in the Johnson & Johnson
TriRock Philadelphia Triathlon for Wellness, June 28, 2015 — and raise money in the process.
Chaz Howard, Penn’s University Chaplain, and Sphinx Chief 2000,completed the swimming
portion (0.9 miles) while Kameelah Rashad, Interfaith Fellow and campus minister to the
University’s Muslim community, ran 6.2 miles, and Josh Bolton, senior Jewish educator of the
Jewish Renaissance at Penn Hillel, biked for 24.8 miles.
They also reached their $3,000 donation goal which will be shared with three different charities.
See the article about their efforts here: http://jewishexponent.com/…/triathlon-teammates-have-
divine… and you can donate here:
https://www.crowdrise.com/interfaithtriathlon…/…/chazhoward…
Penn religious leaders (Left to right): Penn Chaplain, Chaz Howard, Sphinx
Chief 2001, Muslim chaplain Kameelah Rashad, and Hillel Rabbi Josh Bolton teamed up to
raise money by competing in a June 28, 2015 triathlon. Stephen Marmon, C’71 June 21 · Pearl River, NY ·
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Great piece by fellow Sphinx and 2015 Oscar winner John Legend, C'99 (aka John Stephens) in
Wall Street Journal:
John Legend on the Ins and Outs of Travel
As he prepares to lead a luxury expedition on two continents, the singer talks about his favorite
places, restaurants that are worth the trip and the hotels he’ll never forget.
wsj.com| By Christian L. Wright
June 17
Los Angeles Sphinx! Bing Chen, Sphinx '09, spoke on Wednesday, June 17th, at the Penn in
Pictures event. He was just one of a fabulous panel of Penn Alumni in the entertainment industry
Did you know that Bing Chen was recognized as one of Forbes' Top 30 Under 30 rising stars?
Bing Chen, ‘09
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May 31
Our fellow Sphinx, Richard Clarke C'72, former White House advisor on terrorism, appeared on
ABC's This Week on ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos, talking about ISIL, the
situation in the Mid East, and his great new novel, “Pinnacle Event.”
May 2
Sphinx reunion in Madrid! Kiera Reilly C'93, member Sphinx Board of Governors, meets with Madrid resident, Jesus Guerrero '95! at Hotel Meliá Madrid Princesa
- PLEASE SEND YOUR SPHINX ALUMNI NEWS TO
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- REQUEST TO ALL FORMER SPHINX CHIEFS, PHARISEES, AND
SCRIBES: PLEASE SELECT ONE INDIVIDUAL FROM YOUR CLASS TO
BE YOUR SPHINX ALUMNI CLASS NEWS EDITOR. WE WOULD THEN
REQUEST EACH CLASS NEWS EDITOR TO COMPILE AND SEND NEWS
FROM THEIR CLASS TO [email protected]
8. Sign Up for New Online Sphinx Class Alumni Directory
Please log onto Sphinx’s latest website feature: a new Class Directory. You can click
here to log on: http://www.sphinxseniorsociety.com/community/ Join 165 Sphinx alumni to date
and create your own user name, password and profile page. Then start contacting your Sphinx
classmates or other Sphinx alumni in the Class Directory. Rekindle old Sphinx connections and
kindle new ones!
We’re in the process of upgrading the Class Directory to make it even more user friendly
and interactive. Please look for an announcement of these improvements on the Sphinx web site
and in future newsletters.
9. Order Sphinx Gear Directly From “Zazzle” and Via
Sphinx Gmail Account
Also look later this year for further word about how you can order directly various Sphinx “gear”
like shirts, sweatshirts, hats, beer mugs, umbrellas, and other apparel from the Zazzle Com
interface on our soon-to-be updated website. Zazzle (represented by the circle Z logo above) is
an online retailer that allows users to upload images and logos to create their own merchandise,
or buy merchandise created by other users, as well as use images from participating
companies. Zazzle will provide you the ability to customize your order and meet your Sphinx
gear and apparel desires without having to place big bulk orders. Stay tuned.
See Wikipedia for more information.
And thanks to Risa Perlmutter Goldstein, Sphinx 1978, for first suggesting we make our
Sphinx merchandise available online.
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Purchase Now Sphinx Hooded Sweat Shirts, Hats and Pins
You can also purchase directly now via our gmail account,
[email protected] a limited supply of:
1. Attractive hooded, wool, long-sleeve black sweat shirts with the gold Sphinx
logo- $30.00 (Indicate desired size: Medium, Large, Extra Large)
2. Sphinx beanie caps with the gold Sphinx logo- $20
3. Sphinx pins- $10.
10. Visit Penn Campus as a Distinguished Sphinx Alumnus
The Sphinx Class of 2014 initiated the Sphinx Distinguished Alumni Visitor Program.
This is a program in which the Sphinx undergraduates invite alumni back to campus, upon
recommendation or self-nomination, to speak to and meet with the current seniors and the
campus community about their experiences at Penn and their post-Penn personal careers.
The second Sphinx Distinguished Alumni Visitor was Elliot C. Williams, Sphinx
Class of 1998. Elliott visited campus in November 2014 and met with members of the Sphinx
Class of 2015. He’s currently the Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Office of Legislative
Affairs, Department of Justice, where he oversees legislative affairs operations for the DOJ Civil
Division as well as the Civil Rights, Antitrust, and Environmental and Natural Resources
Divisions. He also served as Assistant Director for Congressional Relations, U.S. Immigration
and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security.
Williams graduated cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania and received a law
degree and a Masters degree in journalism from Columbia. Until July 2009 he was on the staff of
the Senate Judiciary Committee, as counsel to Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New
York where he advised the Senator on various matters, including immigration, firearms, crime
and drug policy, antitrust, bankruptcy and intellectual property.
Williams also served as a Trial Attorney in the Criminal Division of the Department of
Justice as well as clerked for Judges Charles R. Wilson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th
Circuit and Donald M. Middlebrooks of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of
Florida.
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Elliot C. Williams, Sphinx 1998
During his visit to the Penn campus, Elliott shared valuable career and life wisdom with
the Sphinx Class of 2015. Lessons he shared included defining yourself by something other than
your work, “paying it forward,” and recognizing that no decision you make career-wise is
permanent, and that no job is really necessary for another job.
For more information about the Sphinx Distinguished Alumni Visitor Program, please
contact [email protected] . Whether you would like to be a Sphinx Alumnus
Visitor, are planning to visit Philadelphia, or are just passing through the City of Brotherly Love,
the Sphinx undergraduate members would love to meet you!
11. Mentor a Sphinx Undergraduate
The Sphinx Society Board of Governors created “Sphinx Links” in 2010 as a new
mentoring project to offer the career and life advice of experienced Sphinx alumni to current
Sphinx seniors. Since 2010 we've made mentoring matches for over 60 Sphinx undergraduates
with alumni mentors in dozens of professional fields. These have ranged from the arts, business,
entertainment, finance, journalism, law, media and medicine, to biotechnology, global
development, and public health.
For the Sphinx Class of 2015, the Sphinx Links mentoring program matched 12
undergraduate mentees with 15 alumni mentors. Mentors and mentees are connecting over job
searches, sharing networks and career counseling.
Urja Mittal, C’14, W’14, and now a second--year law student at Yale Law School,
was an undergraduate mentee in 2014. She says of her mentor, Josh Gottheimer, C'97: “His
thoughts on careers in law were really insightful, and I'm looking forward to talking to him again
in the future to learn more about his diverse background and experiences. It's wonderful how
Sphinx makes the Penn connection more meaningful and interesting.”
Sam Pasternak, C'13, now a writer on NBC's Meredith Viera Show, said the media
and entertainment mentoring he received via the Sphinx Links mentoring program
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was "invaluable" and taught him the importance of networking with and learning from younger
alumni in the media industry as well as networking with more experienced alumni
Sam further noted that "as you're about to take your first step into a post-grad world, it's
nice to be able to talk to those who have been there before. The conversations I had as part of
Sphinx Links were always reaffirming and encouraging. Sphinx is filled with ambitious,
passionate people who thrive when surrounded by like-minded individuals, and Sphinx Links is a
natural extension of what can be accomplished in that undergraduate experience. What I'm
saying is that Sphinx Links is a good idea, it's helpful in practice, and it's got a catchy name.
What more could you want?"
We are always looking for dedicated Sphinx alumni to serve as mentors for our Sphinx
undergraduates. If you are interested in serving as a mentor, please send your name, location of
work, professional field, and a brief career description and/or resume to Eileen McKeown, C'10,
Sphinx Links Coordinator, at [email protected]. If you are a current Sphinx
undergraduate, please also feel free to email Eileen to indicate your interest in having a mentor.
12. Contribute to a New Sphinx Historical Archives Page
In 2002, a group of Sphinx undergraduates, including current Sphinx Board member,
Franklin Shen, ENG’03, sought out pieces of Sphinx history through the years to put together a
membership book to be distributed to all new members. This membership book explains the
origins of the Society, lists notable alumni, and notes events and initiatives Sphinx has organized
and taken in the past. Unfortunately, the contents of the book aren’t easily accessible nor have
they been updated since the early-2000s.
In 2014, Jennifer Sun,’14, updated and expanded the 2002 membership book and
planned to upload it with additional Sphinx archival material to a new Sphinx History page on
our website. She also visited the Penn Rare Books & Manuscripts Library, the University
Archives and local newspaper archives and discovered some historically interesting items. See,
e.g., these two lengthy news stories in the New York Times reporting on Sphinx’s election of its
first two African-American student members in 1952 and its first female members in 1971.
Be on the lookout on our web site for the new Sphinx History archives page in the future
and send us your own Sphinx memorabilia items to include on the page to
13. Help Us Identify Missing Honorary Sphinx Members
Sphinx members - we need your help. We are trying to complete our list of honorary
Sphinx members. On our website we have good records for 1903, the very early days of Sphinx,
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a few listings in 1939, and then the list picks up again in 1997! We also have a list of people who
were made honorary members but either not the year that they were inducted or their title. If you
have any recollection of the honorary Sphinx inductees from your or other missing classes on the
Honorary Members list, or old photos or articles that might help solve the mystery, please let us
know at [email protected] Thanks for your help.
You can find our incomplete list of Honorary Sphinx members at
http://www.sphinxseniorsociety.com/alumni/honorary/
Here are the “missing years” for induction of our Sphinx Honorary Members:
1901
1902
1904-1938
1940-1996
1998-1999
2001
2003
2007
Here are the named inductees whose year of induction and/or title we still need to identify:
Year
Unknown C. Louis Borie III Penn graduate and architect
Unknown Arthur Latham Church -
Unknown Morris L. Clothier -
Unknown Charles Day -
Unknown Thomas Blaine Donaldson -
Unknown Thomas Sovereign Gates University’s First “President”
(1930-1944)
Unknown Frank Bacon Hancock -
Unknown Robert Carmer Hill University Trustee, namesake of
Hill College House
Unknown Samuel Frederic Houston University Trustee, son of donor for
Houston Hall
Unknown Sydney Elmer Hutchinson Head of the Council on Athletics at
Penn
Unknown Joseph Levering Jones -
Unknown Crawford C. Madeira -
Unknown Louis Childs Madeira -
Unknown Randal Morgan
University Trustee
Unknown Harry R. Neilson Professor of Chemistry and
University Provost
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Unknown
George Wharton Pepper
Penn Law Prof.(1898-19918); US
Senator (R-PA)
Unknown
Owen J. Roberts
Associate Justice, U.S. Supreme
Court
Unknown Judith Rodin University President (1994-2004)
Unknown Sydney Thayer -
Unknown Francine Walker Director of Student Life Affairs
Unknown Joseph Henry Dean of the Wharton School (1933-
1939)
14. Join the Sphinx Facebook and LinkedIn Groups
We encourage you to join our Facebook and LinkedIn Groups, both named Sphinx
Senior Society. These are closed groups and only open to members of Sphinx.
15. Send Us Your News, Comments and Suggestions
If you have any personal news, comments or suggestions for future newsletters or emails
you’d liked to share with us and/or the Sphinx alumni community, please email us at
[email protected] Steve Klitzman,C’66, Newsletter Editor and President, Sphinx
Senior Society, Board of Governors, [email protected], W: 202-418-1763; C: 277-
9509; H: 301-263-0616.
Note to Sphinx Alumni - You are subscribed to this email list as a member of The
Sphinx Senior Society. We subscribed alumni to this list based on information indicating who is
a Sphinx in the Penn Development and Alumni Relations database.
As the Penn database is not up to date and 100% accurate, we also ask you to share
this newsletter with your Sphinx classmates. If they did not receive this newsletter, they should
email Kiera Reilly, Sphinx '93, member, Sphinx Board of Governors, at
[email protected] Kiera can code alumni in the Penn database and add Sphinx members to
our email list for all future newsletters and other Sphinx information.