At the last Class of ’60 Executive Committee meeting held in October, two candidates for very important Class leadership positions were proposed and approved: Donald Dell for Yale Alumni Association Representative and John (“Rusty”) Wing for Chairman of our 60th Reunion in 2020.
Every year just prior to the last home football game, the Yale Alumni Association (until recently the Association of Yale Alumni) holds a conference focusing on an aspect of the Yale education – this year’s was on the sciences. At the conference, virtually all aspects of the alumni body are represented, notably Class Secretaries and a specific YAA Representative from each class. Our Class rep has most recently been Peter Knudsen who is filling in for Ned Cabot; his three-year term expires next June 30. Donald will be taking over on July 1 and will automatically become a member of our Executive Committee.
Rusty will have a tough act to follow, namely the great work that Al Puryear and Harry Mazadoorian did for our 55th. As you can imagine, putting on a reunion is no easy task. Encouraging attendance, creating exhibits, lectures, directories, meals, entertainment, etc., etc. all have to be planned for flawless execution. Rusty will undoubtedly be reaching out for some assistance, so stand by. As is the case with Donald, Rusty will join the Class Executive Committee.
Short bios of both of these generously volunteering classmates are included below.
Donald Dell
After a great tennis career at Yale and some Davis Cup experience shortly after graduation, Donald received his law degree from the University of Virginia. He started at the Hogan & Hartson law firm in Washington, D.C. then worked in politics for Robert F. Kennedy, as a Special Assistant to Sargent Shriver at the Peace Corps and then the Office of Economic Opportunity.
After his stint in the political arena, Donald founded ProServ, Inc. in the ‘70s, which represented sports talent, events, T.V., and sports marketing on a global basis. He sold ProServ a few years ago but still works daily in sales, T.V. negotiation and the marketing of sports. In addition, Donald has, since 2001, taught a Sports Law Seminar at the UVA Law School.
John (“Rusty”) Wing
Rusty has lived for many years in Brooklyn Heights, New York with his wife Audrey Strauss and does his best to keep track of four children, Ethan (1967) a real estate broker in Tacoma, Washington; Catherine (1972) a published poet and tenured professor at Kent State University; Carlin (1980) a professor at Scripps College and Matthew (1983) Head of Communications for Advanced Technologies at Uber. After leaving Yale, Rusty attended the University of Chicago Law School in the good company of Yale classmates Dick Sigal, Bob lindgren, Tim Ritchie, Tip Bliss, and Colin Johnson, graduating with a J.D. Degree in 1963. For the last 50 years Rusty has been actively involved in criminal trial and appellate work, initially as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York, where he was the Chief of the Securities and Business Fraud Unit from 1971 to 1978. He then joined a large New York law firm, Well, Gotshal & Manges, as the firm’s first litigation partner specializing in criminal defense. After reaching the firm’s mandatory retirement age at the end of 2005, Rusty joined the litigation boutique firm of Lankier Siffert & Wohl LLP,where he has continued his criminal defense practice.
Over the years he has represented Fortune 500 corporations, law firms, banks, business executives, lawyers, political figures, media figures, accountants, doctors, bankers, small business owners and individuals from many other walks of life. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, a past President and Director of the New York Council of Defense Lawyers, and has been listed in the Best Lawyers in America for over 30 years. He has published and lectured extensively on jury trial work and criminal law topics. In 2015, he successfully defended a small community bank which was acquitted after a 4 month trial on 80 counts charging grand larceny, mortgage fraud, conspiracy and false business records. The bank case was the subject of an Oscar nominated documentary entitled “Abacus: Too Small to Jail.”