By Libby Levitan
At the end of the day-long retreat in New Rochelle last September, the program gave a party to honor Steve Tuber's twelve-year tenure as program director.

Despite inclement weather, the turnout was extraordinary. Amidst an Indian buffet, a full bar and DJ Peter Fraenkel spinning, a large crowd gathered, including current students and faculty, their families, and alumni spanning generations. Also in attendance were Steve's wife Jody, his youngest son Savi, and some surprise guests including friends from Steve's childhood in Hastings and Jody's mother, "the sole surviving grandparent." The party began with toasts by faculty members Elliot Jurist, Arietta Slade, and Peter Fraenkel, as well as alumni Melissa Ritter, Jeannie Blaustein and Paul Donahue.

Steve was given a small glass mountain with an inscription. It reads, "With much admiration and love, we honor Steve Tuber for twelve years of wise, generous and loyal service as the director of the Ph.D. program in clinical psychology at CUNY. You have led us through difficult times, and the program is now richer and stronger as a result. You have our everlasting gratitude." Elliot Jurist also presented to Steve a Boston Celtics jersey with "Tuber" embroidered on the back.

Steve said of the party, "So much of my experience growing up was the belief that I would never be fully appreciated. This has been a transformative experience. People said such nice things and were so warm. It is an experience of getting back more than you deserve. It was reparative."

Last year was filled with milestones for Steve. In January, he celebrated his fiftieth birthday. In March, his youngest son was Bar-mitzvahed. In July, he officially stepped down as director. Currently, his oldest son is applying to college. He describes it as "a watershed year of shifting my way of being a parent and my home life. It is in that context that I had the idea of stepping down. I was also experiencing fatigue with the superego dimensions of being a parent, like making evaluative decisions and thinking like an administrator. As a parent, I was experiencing emerging colleagueship with my children, so it felt right to want to shift to being more of a teacher/colleague with younger peers and students."

Steve remarked that Elliot was the right person to take over the position and that this fact allowed him to step down with confidence. "The party and the decision were very unambivalent," he said. However, Steve made sure to point out the party's one failing: "There was a dearth of dancing on the part of students." It remains unclear whether this hesitation was due to the bittersweet nature of the celebration or merely unanalyzed inhibition.