October 16, 2023

In Times Square Remade, Lynne Sagalyn explores the enduring appeal of Times Square, a place that has fascinated us for over a century, despite its many transformations. Her book traces the significant changes in this iconic location, highlighting the shift in 42nd Street’s role, from a hub for theater to a center for vice, and government-led efforts to clean it up. (Read More)

Lynne B. Sagalyn is Earle W. Kazis and Benjamin Schore Professor Emerita of Real Estate at Columbia Business School, as well as a real estate professional.

Perhaps the greatest delight of belonging to EPIC is the opportunity to meet peers from across the Columbia world and to have the luxury of time to develop friendships. Over the years many friendships have formed between EPICureans who worked at the University for decades but never crossed paths. One such friendship was between Heidi Rotterdam, a pathologist, and Ruby Senie, an epidemiologist. Both were frequent EPIC attendees. Both were mentors to formerly incarcerated students in the Justice in Education program. (Ruby introduced her mentee to the Metropolitan Museum of Art - the first visit for this middle-aged man.) During COVID Heidi and Ruby made regular outdoor excursions together. We recently lost Ruby, with whom I once had the pleasure of jointly developing a course on women’s health. —Jeanne Stellman

PHOTO: Professors Elliott Sclar, Nancy Aries, and Ruby Senie at the reception in Faculty House with Provost Mary Boyce, May 11, 2023

REMEMBERING RUBY SENIE

Ruby:

We can no longer sit on the benches along the East River in Karl-Schurz-Park,

Watch the ferries and boats come and go, not talking of Michelangelo,

But of breast cancer and the effects of DES on the children born to mothers who took it.

And we talked of EPIC, the institution that enabled us to meet and bond.

We can no longer plan our next shared dinner at Quatorze or Arturo or the 92nd street diner

(You ate so little that I knew something was wrong, but you didn’t want to talk about it).

You rather discussed your latest Carnegie Hall or New York Philharmonic concert,

Or the next opera you would go to with David, your son and Cordelia, your granddaughter.

I will remember all this and more: our last meeting in my apartment four days before you died.

The last brunch, you and David and me. You liked the yogurt with lemon juice and fruit,

You drank coffee and even ate a croissant. But nobody can truly feel another person’s pain.

The best we can do is briefly reduce the suffering.

Though seriously ill and obviously struggling, you did not complain.

You emanated an eerie calmness that I now see as your acceptance of the inevitable.

Thank you for having shared a part of your life with me.

You will not be forgotten.

—Heidi Rotterdam

Ruby Senie’s Obituary

Emeritus Professors in Columbia (EPIC) brings Columbia academic retirees together in professional and social fellowship with regular talks, fall and spring receptions, music performance, yoga and wellness sessions, and collaborative Columbia community initiatives,

such as the Douglas Chalmers Graduate Scholars Lectureship for young doctoral and post-doctoral scholars. EPIC is your powerful advocate for the retiree community.

Do you have questions about EPIC? Email us at epic@columbia.edu.