An iconic year, an accomplished class
The Class of 1969 returns to Brooklyn to celebrate their Golden Jubilee
Alumni gather on the steps of Wunsch Hall on Back to School Day
By any measure, the year 1969 was world-changing. Neil Armstrong, a crew member on Apollo 11, became the first man to walk on the moon; nearly 400,000 attended Woodstock, a music festival that helped define the era; and the New York Mets, led by future Hall of Fame pitchers Nolan Ryan and Tom Seaver, defeated the Baltimore Orioles for the World Series title.
A stellar class of new engineers also graduated from what was known as Brooklyn Poly. This year, on April 13, more than a dozen of them returned to celebrate Back to School Day and be honored as members of the Golden Jubilee Society, marking the 50-year anniversary of their graduation. (One member of the Class of 1959, Dr. Jack M. Hochman, was in attendance with his wife, Jane, a 1964 graduate of Steinhardt, and he had the honor of being the longest-standing alum at the event.)
The new Golden Jubilee members took photos on the steps of Wunsch Hall, were welcomed by Dean Jelena Kovačević, heard a presentation by Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Miguel Modestino, discussed school history with archivist Lindsay Anderberg, and enjoyed reminiscing about their time as students.
"I enjoyed the event very much and am contacting other friends who attended Brooklyn Poly with me to encourage them to go to future events,” said Ilan Guy, who traveled the furthest of any attendee, from his home in Ashdod, Israel. “Were it not for the long and expensive trip from my home to New York, I would return every year to celebrate with fellow alumni."
"I was very happy to see that the traditions of two great engineering schools, NYU and Brooklyn Poly, are being continued with NYU Tandon School of Engineering," alum Phyllis Diosey asserted. "It was very encouraging to hear from the Dean that women made up 43% of the incoming engineering class since there were only two of us in the Aeronautics and Astronautics program at the Heights campus back in the 60s!" (And in a nod to her NYU roots, she concluded with a rousing, "Go, Violets!")
View more photos of Back to School Day
