The Cardinal vanquished the Oregon Ducks 49–7. The Band staged an epic reunion (slogan: Countless Bans, 3 Suspensions, 54 Years, 1 Band). And Reunion Homecoming weekend offered countless opportunities for connection. The dean for religious life summed it up best when she said, “It’s in each other that we find meaning.”
Photo: David Gonzales, ’93Former U.S. ambassadors Bill Monroe and Tom Riley returned for their 45th reunion. They’re two of the four Class of 1972 graduates who went on to become U.S. ambassadors; the others are John Danilovich (Costa Rica, Brazil) and John Ordway (Armenia, Kazakhstan). Riley says he and Monroe didn’t know each other as undergrads but later connected on a State Department trip back to the United States. Riley’s tenure in Morocco from 2003 to 2009 didn’t start off easy: The day after President George W. Bush (who calls Riley “T-Bone”) offered him the job, Casablanca was struck by suicide bombers. Monroe, meanwhile, served as deputy chief of the embassies in Kuwait and then Pakistan before assuming the ambassadorship to Bahrain from 2004 to 2007.
Photo: Forrest Glick"I came to Reunion because the Band lured me back in! I don't think universities should claim that they've produced people who have the right answers. But they should claim that they produce people who continue to question, who continue to think analytically and work at moving the needle for a better world. That Stanford did for my family, and I will be forever grateful." - Teri Bowman Gildberg, '76 (Dollie '74-75)
Photo: Cindy Pearson, ’80, MA ’82
Photo: Eli Goodman, ’21
100-year-old George Jedenoff, ’40, MA ’42, co-emceed the Cardinal Society luncheon for the fifth year running, where he blended quips with observations and advice.
• “The biggest lie we tell ourselves is, ‘I don’t need to write that down—I’ll remember it.’”
• “You miss the days when everything worked with just a simple on-off switch.”
• “In life we encounter many problems and difficulties—especially as we grow older. It’s so easy to dwell on the problems to the point where we are dominated by them and we overlook all the positive things that we have in our lives. Take time to be grateful for all these blessings.”
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