Sweet Auburn: The Magazine of the Friends of Mount Auburn Mount Auburn as a Mosaic of American Culture | Page 21

People and Happenings
Interments and Memorial Services of
Note in 2009-10
• Surendra Dangol (1970-2009), of Somerville, Mass.
and Nepal, age 39, a convenience store clerk, died during
a robbery of the store where he worked in Jamaica Plain,
Mass. A large public memorial service and a private Hindu
funeral service were held at Mount Auburn on Monday,
January 4, 2010.
• Peter P. Gil, Ph.D. (1922-2010), of Newcastle, N.H.,
age 87, Associate Dean of the Sloan School of Management
at MIT
• Dr. Malcolm Hayden Hebb (1910-2009) of Eustis, Fla.,
age 99, a renowned physicist
• Howard W. Johnson (1922-2009) of Lexington, Mass.,
age 87, former president of MIT
• Dr. Carl Kaysen (1920-2010) of Cambridge, age 89, an
economist, MIT Professor Emeritus, and member of the
Kennedy adminstration
• Leon Kirchner (1919-2009) of New York, N.Y., age 90,
a composer, teacher, and Pulitzer Prize winner
• Dr. Michael E. Moody (1952-2010) of Needham, Mass.,
age 57, Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean of
Faculty at Olin College
• Paul A. Samuelson, Ph.D. (1915-2009) of Belmont, Mass.,
age 94, 1st American Nobel laureate in economics and
uncle of Lawrence H. Summers, former president of
Harvard
• Ihor Sevcenko (1922-2009) of Cambridge, age 87,
Harvard professor of Byzantine history and literature, wrote
a Ukrainian translation of George Orwell’s Animal Farm
• Dr. Paul C. Zamecnik (1912-2009) of Boston, age 96,
a molecular biologist who co-discovered RNA
The Results Are In…
Mount Auburn Visitors Survey Update
“I was always told Mount Auburn was wonderful,
but I am AMAZED. I definitely want to come here more
frequently.” So wrote one participant in our recent Visitors
Survey when asked about her visit to the Cemetery. In order
to better understand the needs and wants of our visitors, the
Cemetery recently took part in “Visitors Count!,” a survey
and data analysis program sponsored by the American As-
sociation for State and Local History. During the spring
and summer of 2009, staff and volunteers stationed at key
Cemetery landmarks—the Visitors Center, the Tower, and
others—distributed a 36-question survey to visitors willing
to provide us with their feedback. Visitors completing the
survey ranked the Cemetery’s performance in a number of
areas including customer service, ties to the community,
facilities, exhibits, and the overall visitor experience. In
November, the Cemetery received a report of our survey
results from the Center for Nonprofit Management in
Nashville, Tenn.
“A positive experience…”
Overall, our visitors reported a positive experience. The
Cemetery received top ratings in half of the areas questioned
and received “good” ratings in most other areas. But, as
always, there are opportunities for improvement. While
our visitors are clearly impressed with the beauty of the
Cemetery and the fact that it is so meticulously well-kept,
we also learned that they would like to see more frequently
held concerts and family-friendly events. Making accessible
the information about the Cemetery’s notable people,
By Bree D. Harvey Director of Education & Visitor Services
its art and architecture, its horticulture, and its history is
another area that warrants attention. An electronic kiosk, to
be installed at Mount Auburn’s Egyptian Revival Gatehouse
this spring, is one of the first steps in improving visitor
amenities and making information more readily available.
Improvements to come
As we continue to sift through the survey results, we will
begin focusing our attentions on the areas highlighted for
improvement while still striving to maintain the high stan-
dards in the areas where we are already receiving top marks.
Maintaining and enhancing the experience of our visitors
has always been one of our top priorities.
Spring 2010 | 19