The Riffin' Griffin

This season of fresh starts and affectionate missives is the perfect time to announce our exciting new partnership with Reed Switchboard—an online forum for Reedies to connect with one another about jobs, housing, and other goods and services. Like Craigslist (but especially for Reedies), on Switchboard you can ask for what you need and offer what you have to give.

We are fortunate to have a student worker who serves as a public face and a wonderful advocate for Reed Switchboard. I am pleased to introduce our community manager, Kaori Frieda ’15, and share the announcement in her own words.

—Mike Teskey, director, alumni & parent relations

I’m Kaori Freda ‘15, a junior art major who loves Reed College. I’m writing to announce Reed’s official partnership with Switchboard.

If you haven’t heard of it: Switchboard is a networking site created by Reedies. It is a place where Reedies can ask for what they need, and offer what they have to give; examples include jobs, internships, mentorship, advice, places to stay in cities around the world, and even a chance to sail the Mediterranean. Students, alumni, staff, faculty, parents, and friends connect there to find opportunities and meet each other’s needs.

Alumni and students have logged countless success stories, from finding jobs at the World Health Organization to finding hosts in New York and San Francisco. Take me, for example. Through Switchboard, Mara ‘02 and Andrew ‘02 hosted me in Florence, Italy. Then they connected me with an internship with Harvard in Italy. These connections happen every day through Switchboard. Reedies share a special connection and as alumni, you have much to offer and ask of the Reed community.

Let me be the first to personally invite you to use Switchboard: post your own ask or offer, browse the site for opportunities, and see the successful connections being made by Reedies around the globe. On Switchboard you can help a Reedie out and strengthen what we mean when we say “Love Reed.” We have almost 1,000 posts, and more are added every day.

I look forward to sending you the occasional update, and watching the Reed community flourish and support one another on this new platform.

Warmest wishes,

Kaori Freda ‘15 and Alumni & Parent Relations

P.S. Mark your calendars for an open house celebrating this union on Thursday, February 20, 6-8 p.m. at the offices of Wieden+Kennedy in Portland’s Pearl District!

What do Richard Danzig ’65, Barbara Ehrenreich ’63, and Gary Snyder ’51 have in common (other than being Reed College alumni)? They are the first three honorees of the college’s Thomas Lamb Eliot award (Danzig was the first recipient in 2011). Who will be the fourth? Help us grow the pool of potential recipients by nominating a worthy graduate.

Officially, the award is called the Thomas Lamb Eliot Award for Lifetime Achievement by a Reed College Graduate. Here are the criteria:

• Achievement: The awardee should have achieved distinction in one or more fields of endeavor. That distinction should be based on the quality and importance of his or her contributions to those fields or to society. The awardee’s record of achievement should be both intrinsically impressive and importantly consequential for the world. Popular fame is not necessary, but recognition by experts in one’s field is necessary.
• Record of achievement: The awardee should have produced a record of achievement over a sustained period. A single achievement, no matter how impressive, is unlikely to be enough to merit a nomination.
• Exemplifies Reed values: In addition to the distinction of the awardee and the quality of his or her record of achievement, it is important that the awardee exemplify qualities that valued by the college, including intellectual rigor, independence, and integrity.

Each year, the past presidents of the alumni association provide the college with a list of names for the college to consider, and then a panel of faculty and staff forwards a recommendation to the president and the board of trustees.

We seek names and are open to nominations for this year until March 15. Nominations stay in the pool for consideration in subsequent years, so even if you miss this deadline, please consider submitting a name to alumni@reed.edu.

 

New Reedies with alumni parents (or other relatives) qualify as members of a prestigious organization fondly referred to as O.R.G.Y (Offspring of Reed Generations of Yesteryear). They, along with family members, were invited to join other Reed legacies for a group photo on Wednesday, August 22. Gorgeous weather graced this photo shoot on the chapel steps, and everyone received an O.R.G.Y button to wear proudly!

Here’s a picture of some Reed alumni and their excited/nervous/non-plussed Reedie progeny (future alumni!).

Left to right (back): Jazz Weisman, Anthony Leong, Rose Gittel, Jody Hoffer-Gittel ’85, Galen Blair, Kurt Blair ’92; (middle) Joe Weisman ’65, Keith Allen ’83, Sarah Allen, Darryl Leong ’72, Ruben de la Huerga, Lafcadio Flint, Maria Blair ’91, Gavin Flint ’82; (front) Anne Gendler ’81, Naomi Gendler, Sandra Moffet ’79, Millie Dunn, Corinna Jackson, Holly Hurwitz ’79.

Continue reading Reed Offspring at Orientation

“Mateo Burtch ’82 has mapped out Reed’s dominance of a corner in Eastmoreland since 1950.” (John Sheehy ’82)

Enjoy viewing this history of the Reed College campus 1950-present, as told through maps. The maps from 1950 to 1996 were collected and combined by Mateo from the college catalogues sent out to prospective students during that period.

(It has come to our attention that there exists an aerial history of campus as well!)

Continue reading The evolution will be mapped