William Charles Pennington – 50th Reunion Essay

William Charles Pennington

323 Sutton Pl.

Richardson, TX 75080

pennington.w@gmail.com

214-282-7682

Spouse(s): Karen (1969–present)

Child(ren): William Jr, Jeffrey, Kyle

Grandchild(ren): William III, Eleanor, Jeffrey Jr, Jackson, Jane, Jemma, Jill, Jovey, Hayes, Landon, Jase

Education: University of Chicago, MBA, 1975

Career: 45 years with Telecommunications Infrastructure providers

Avocations: Technology, modular next-gen nuclear power, grandkids

College: Branford

I feel extremely fortunate to be able to provide input to our 50th reunion class book. I remember seeing a 50th reunion class visiting campus back in the day and thinking it would be quite an achievement to be in that position. My life journey essentially started at Yale. My Branford classmates can remember my beautiful red-headed date for the major weekends. She became my best friend, love of my life, wife, and lifelong partner. I look at pictures of us taken on those weekends and reflect on just what a wonderful journey it has been.

After graduation I returned to the Midwest and began a long career in the telecommunications industry as an engineer and software developer. After two years on the job I found an old computer science course final project folder. The project was too difficult to complete at Yale, but I had learned enough on the job that I was able to find errors in the project microcode that the instructors had given us. Was it an honest mistake or were they just sneaky bastards? I thought the latter. I also found in my engineering career that a phase I heard in my first E&AS lab would stick with me. Proffessor Jim Clark told us “go to work boys and don’t blow your f—cking heads off!” Our generation has gotten to witness the full timeline of Moore’s Law unfold. What a miracle. The rate of technological advance has been incredible, but it has been a double-edged sword. My industry, which had employed millions of people when I started, has shrunk to almost irrelevance. At an all-men’s school, most of us remember the dreaded long-distance phone charges. We also remember the acres of airport phone booths with lines to use them. Lots of revenue then—now voice calls are an afterthought. Productivity enhanced by technology is inevitable, but we are struggling to manage the social cost. My career has taught and reinforced the need for objective problem solving. I have never been a glass-half-full or a glass-half-empty guy, but a glass-twice-as-big-as-it-needed-to-be kind of guy. Numbers are not “dehumanizing” in problem solving—they are key to success and survival.

My relationship with Yale has been distant at best. Part of that was geography. I came from the Midwest, started my career there, and then moved to Texas 40 years ago. My personal and professional network did not extend much to the East Coast. I made it to the 10th, 15th, and 20th reunions and enjoyed them. A week before the 25th, I helped my neighbor clear brush by her house and got a raging case of poison oak for my efforts. Reunion travel was canceled. Since then I have maintained contact with my roommates but few others. I got very involved with the schools my sons attended which displaced Yale in my collegiate universe. I want to wish everyone and their families well on this occasion.