Summer had not even officially begun when we were jolted by the news of President Jeffrey Lehman s resignation. POSTMAS- TER: Send address changes to Cornell Alumni Magazine, c/o Public Affairs Records, 130 East Seneca St., Suite 400, Ithaca, NY SEPTEMBER / OCTOBERĤ Letter From Ithaca Trying Times THE SUMMER OF OUR DISCONTENT summertime AT CORNELL: A RELAXING SEASON when the sun shines almost every day, there are only a few people on campus, the pace of life slows down, and as the song says the livin is easy. Periodical postage paid at Ithaca, NY, and additional mailing offices.
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Cover photograph by Frank DiMeo / University Photography 20 Currents HOT FUN Scenes of Reunion 2005 LET S MAKE A DEAL Student fund managers at Big Red Ventures try to pick a winner TENDING THE LIBERTY TREE Arborist-politician turns over a new leaf STORYTELLER Is he the most prolific writer in Cornell history? URBAN LEGEND A war hero s last campaign Plus A flack gets to be a star, and a big idea pays off 112 Cornell Alumni Magazine (ISSN USPS ) is published six times a year, in January, March, May, July, September, and November, by the Cornell Alumni Federation, 401 East State Street, Suite 301, Ithaca, NY Subscriptions cost $30 a year. But behind the scenes, the Abby Factor can still move markets. 13 Sports Poker face 16 Authors End of the road 18 Wines of the Finger Lakes Featured: 2004 Thirsty Owl Dry Riesling 58 Classifieds & Cornellians in Business 61 Alma Matters 64 Reunion Notes 75 Class Notes 110 Alumni Deaths 112 Cornelliana Take it to the bridge 2 52 The Leading Indicator SUSAN KELLEY In the dot-com days of the 1990s, investment analyst Abby Joseph Cohen 73 built a reputation as the plainspoken Wall Street oracle who made fortunes for her clients.then boom turned to bust, and critics turned on the stock guru who stayed bullish too long. Plus:The search is on, the woodpecker speaks, Ithaca returns to the sky, and uncorking New York State wine. In the wake of the resignation that stunned the campus, we try to address the multitude of questions that still linger.what will be Lehman s lasting impact on Cornell? What did he accomplish? Why did he resign? Plus: an interview with Lehman by higher education journalist Scott Jaschik Letter From Ithaca The long, hot summer 4 Correspondence Feelings of resignation 8 From the Hill Redbud resolution. 44 The Lehman Legacy THE CAM STAFF 44 It was the briefest presidential term in University history, but the two years that Jeffrey Lehman 77 spent in Day Hall didn t lack for drama. Bourke-White s eye for landscape and composition was shaped by her years on the Hill, and the themes she explored with her camera would echo in the iconic images of her later work. 3 Contents alumni magazine Features 38 Fortune Before Fortune, Life Before Life SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2005 VOLUME 108 NUMBER 2 RONALD OSTMAN AND HARRY LITTELL Before photojournalist Margaret Bourke-White 27 found fame in the Depression-era pages of Life magazine, she was a struggling Cornell student paying her way through school by selling prints of campus scenes for a quarter apiece.