C o l u m b i a U n i v e r s i t y RECORD September 7, 2001 7

Don Bunch Steps Down After More than 43 Years of Dedication to Nevis LabsBY JASON HOLLANDER

In an age where many peo-ple play musical chairswith their jobs, Donald

Bunch has been a symbol ofloyalty and unwavering com-mitment. On August 31, 2001,Bunch finished his last day ofwork at Columbia’s Nevis Lab-oratories after more than 43years of dedicated service.

Bunch, who was born atColumbia-Presbyterian Hospi-tal, concluded his career as afinancial assistant, having start-ed out as a stock clerk for Nevisin May 1958. As a financialassistant, he helped to preparebudgets, maintain financialinformation and manage thetelecommunications operationfor the Labs, located in Irving-ton, N.Y.

"I never got bored. It wasnever monotonous," Bunch saysof his time at Nevis. TheHarlem native sought out asmany diverse projects andresponsibilities as possible. Hesays multi-tasking was a skill heacquired early at Nevis and achallenge he came to relish."The more you take on, themore knowledge you gain,"Bunch says.

Higgins Professor of PhysicsWilliam J. Willis has spent 11years working at Nevis andinteracting with Bunch. "Ifound he was a very importantpart of the life of the lab," saysWillis. "It’s a big operation andhe could always anticipate whatwould happen next."

Willis said that Bunch’s con-tribution extended beyond thegrounds of Nevis’ 60-acre cam-pus in Irvington, noting thatBunch would often greet inter-national scientists at the airportand help them get settled in thearea. "He understood these peo-ple who came from all over the

world and who had many per-sonal and scientific needs,"says Willis.

Bunch attributes this abilityto his mother, who he calls hisidol. "She taught me how toaccept and respect all differentpeople," he says. "She taughtme not through words, butthrough her deeds."

Bunch is most proud of thereliability he exhibited, due inpart to his thirst for knowledge."Anything they asked me to do, Idid it," says Bunch. When a newtask would arise, Bunch wouldsay, "Give it to me. Let me takethe job and learn something new.Then, I’ll be able to do evenmore with that experience."

One of the most rewardingaspects of his job has been inter-acting with the scientists atNevis, says Bunch. In fact,Bunch has read extensively onphysics and astronomy since hestarted at Nevis and learnedmuch about the subjects over theyears. "Now I can understandmore of what [the physicists] aretalking about," he says.

The end of his time at Neviswill not be the end of Bunch’sworking life. "Retirement hasnever been in my vocabulary,"he says, referring to the changeas "a lateral transfer." Bunchwill continue instructing classesat the Court Sports fitness cen-ter near his home in DobbsFerry. For more than two years,he has been instructing studentspart-time in cycling and yoga-based exercises and will bestudying to become a certifiedpersonal trainer.

As a instructor, Bunch callsupon memories from the U.S.Army, in which he served forthree years before starting atNevis Labs. He references thediscipline he learned and triesto instill it in others. Though heused to be tentative aboutspeaking in front of groups,

After more than 43 years of service to Columbia’s Nevis Laboratories in Irvington, NY, Don Bunchis stepping down. Though Bunch is leaving Nevis, he says that retirement is not a word in his vocab-ulary. The New York native will teach yoga-based excercises while he studies to become a certifiedpersonal trainer.

RECORD PHOTO BY JASON HOLLANDER

WKCR to Mark 60th Anniversary with Special Programming this Autumn

WKCR, Columbia’s stu-dent-run radio station, willcelebrate its 60th anniversarywith special programmingfrom September 23, the birth-day of John Coltrane, throughOctober 10, the birthday ofThelonious Monk. Duringthat time period, WKCRhopes to raise funds to pay forequipment that has been pur-chased for its new studios inLerner Hall. The radio stationspent the past five yearsbroadcasting from temporaryquarters in Riverside Churchuntil moving into Lerner thismonth.

“We hope that moving intoLerner will increase studentawareness and involvementwith WKCR, and that morestudent volunteers helping outwill increase our impact inNew York City as well,” saysEugene Sit SEAS”02, generalmanager of WKCR. “The newspace and equipment willgreatly expand WKCR’scapabilities.

“Just as an example, in ourold studio, we had to use thestudio space to store CDs and

records, so live performanceswill be much easier to accom-modate in the new studio.”

Sit also stressed that thenew equipment should enableWKCR to solve some of thetechnical problems caused byold, outdated equipment.

Asked what makes WKCRspecial, Sit replied, “Com-pared to most college stations,WKCR is unique in theopportunities it gives to itsstudents. A lot of that has todo with the fact that Colum-bia’s in New York City. Butalso, if you look at the breadthand depth of our program-ming, we try to bring the artsto the New York communi-ty—or New York’s communi-ties—in a way other arearadio stations don’t.”

In addition to birthdaymarathons for Coltrane andMonk, WKCR’s special pro-gramming will include high-lights from other jazz greats,special sports broadcasts andselections from the best of itsclassical, American, newmusic, Latin, arts and In AllLanguages programming.

For more information, con-sult the radio station’s Website, www.wkcr.org.

BY ALEX SACHERE, CC’71

A radio broadcast from campus, circa 1942.

Bunch says that once he startedinstructing, his fears meltedaway almost immediately.

The new career, he says, isrewarding in similar ways tohis old job. "It’s very fulfillingif you can help people," saysBunch. "That’s the whole idea."

At the conclusion of many

classes, Bunch notes, the stu-dents actually begin clappingfor him, recognizing the moti-vation he inspired in them."That’s a great feeling," hesays. "You can’t beat it."

As for the future, Bunch’sgoal is simple: "I want to live to100 and still be instructing

classes." Though he is moving on to

pursue other things, Bunch sayshis time at Nevis will beremembered fondly. "I’m goingto miss my work. I’m going tomiss my challenges. I’ll missthe Nevis of past and present.I’m proud of that place."

PHOTO COURTESY OF COLUMBIANA ARCHIVES