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Henry Gartner W'25
Few alumni can appreciate Wharton's history like 101-year-old
Henry Gartner, who was in town for his 80th reunion. "I'd say
the campus has changed about as much as automobiles have
changed since the invention of the original model T," he said.
Gartner, who hails originally from Newark, NJ, came to
Wharton for undergraduate study in the 1920s because he
was looking for an accounting background. "At that time, the
school was very well known for its accounting department,"
he said.
Gartner put himself through school by working—most often
at a local A&P supermarket—and his after-school jobs cut
a considerable chunk out of his study time. "I took classes until
3 p.m. and I worked until 10 p.m. I basically ate on five dollars
a week. Then, in the summer, when the other supermarket
managers went on vacation, I would take their place."
Yet Gartner has vivid memories of his academic experience,
particularly attending lectures in the school auditorium. "My
favorite classes were Professor Young's class on the constitution
and another on the insurance of stock markets. Those are the
two I seem to carry with me through the years."
Gartner parlayed his scholastic interests into a successful entrepreneurial
career. He met his future wife while at Wharton,
and after graduation they moved to Atlantic City where he
got a job in an accounting firm. In the 1940s, he founded the
Garwood department store, one of the first of its kind in the
region. Later, he started an early predecessor of today's dollar
stores in a trolley-car storage shed. He eventually expanded the
Discount Shopping Center to four locations in South Jersey.
An active member
of the local Jewish
community, Gartner
founded a synagogue
and country club and
served as president of
both organizations. He
also served as president
of the local merchants'
association before retiring
more than 30 years
ago. Today he has two
children, six grandchildren
and 12 great-
grandchildren. (One is currently considering applying to
Penn.) At home in Boynton Beach, FL, Gartner still enjoys
playing golf four or five times a week.
Before the 2005 Alumni Weekend, Gartner had last been
on campus for his 75th reunion, when, he recalled, it literally
rained on the parade. This year was different story. Leading
the Old Guard in Saturday afternoon's Parade of Classes, the
sun was shining and Gartner was enthusiastic to be back at
Wharton. "I never expected to attend my 80th reunion," he
said. "It's absolutely overwhelming, but I'm thrilled."
Catherine Bonnier Grossman WG'80
Catherine Bonnier Grossman began the MBA program in
1978 after completing an undergraduate degree in economics
at the Sorbonne in Paris. While Wharton has been international
from the very beginning—the first four-person
graduating class in 1884 included a student who became
a member of the Japanese Diet and another who became
U.S. ambassador to Brazil—Grossman was one of the first
French women to attend Wharton. At the time, fewer women
and international students attended U.S. business schools,
but Wharton attracted more than its share.
"When I came to Wharton there were not many students
from around the globe, though at the time it seemed incredibly
diverse," she said. She recalled that one November she
woke up to discover the campus was largely empty, save for
a handful of other international students who did not know
about the American holiday Thanksgiving.
While at Wharton, Grossman, now a vice president in
the Capital Advisory Group at JP Morgan in New York,
first discovered her passion for international business. "I was
fascinated by my Comparative Management class. We had
a fabulous Italian professor who introduced us to different
management practices and cultural differences in countries
around the world. It was so interesting that I toyed with the
idea of pursuing a PhD on the topic," she said. Later, in a
finance class, Grossman wrote a term paper on French banks'
strategies in the United States. While interviewing executives
in New York, Grossman recalled that she got to sample lunch
at the city's best restaurants. "I thought, if this was banking, I
definitely wanted to make a career of it."
As a student, Grossman taught herself Spanish and joined
the Wharton Latin American Association (WHALASA). The
region has since become the focus of her entire banking career.
Grossman was in Philadelphia earlier this year with her
son Jared, a junior in high school who is considering applying
to Penn. A tour through Jon M. Huntsman Hall revealed
just how far Wharton's learning facilities have evolved.
"There is an incredible amount of advanced technology at
the students' fingertips. When I visited the campus with my
son we were impressed with the group study rooms where
students can use the smart boards and download the information
on their personal computers—it's a great way to
facilitate the sharing of ideas," she said. "I still remember
the huge computer in Vance Hall to which we used to feed
punch cards. I typed my term papers on a mechanical typing
machine with carbon paper—the electric ones were still
pricey at that time."
She also noted how the environment for international
students has changed since the 1970s. "With the Lauder
Institute, there is even more of an international presence at
Wharton, and students there are actually obligated to spend
two months abroad, which is something they did not do often
when I was a student."
Grossman began celebrating her reunion at the
WHALASA-sponsored mixer at World Café Live on May
13th. Over the weekend she met up with some international
classmates she had not seen since graduation: Isabel Alvarez,
Carlos Zaldivar and Jean Jacques Bienaime. Twenty-five years
later, she is glad she toughed out that first lonely November
holiday. "Wharton took me from a provincial French view
of the world to a new international level of thinking that I
would never have gotten otherwise."
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