of 1978), business executive involved in the restructuring of several American business institutions including Western Union and Sears. Dani Shapiro (born 1962), novelist. Lee Shelley (born 1956), Olympic épée fencer in 1984 and 1988. Gaddis Smith (class of 1950), historian, professor at Yale University for over forty years. Todd Solondz (born 1959), filmmaker. Charles August Sulzer (1879–1919), delegate to the United States House of Representatives from the Alaska Territory. Richard Tregaskis (1916–1973), war correspondent and author of Guadalcanal Diary, the source for the 1943 film of the same name starring William Bendix, Richard Conte, and Anthony Quinn. MJ Tyson (born 1986, class of 2004), jewelry designer. Carl Van Duyne (1946–1983), sailor who competed in the Finn event at the 1968 Summer Olympics. Gillian Vigman (born 1972, class of 1990), actress. Notable faculty Stephen Kovacs (1972–2022), saber fencer and fencing coach, charged with sexual assault, died in prison Sexual abuse scandal Initial allegations On March 29, 2016, The Pingry School sent a letter to "parents of current students, the entire alumni and school trustees" informing them that the School had "recently learned from a few of our alumni that students were sexually abused by Thad Alton, an employee of Short Hills Country Day School from 1972 to 1974 and, following the merger of the two institutions, an employee of the Pingry School from 1974 to 1978." The letter stated that Pingry had hired a security firm to conduct an investigation on behalf of the school. The letter was signed by Headmaster Nathaniel E. Conard and Jeffrey N. Edwards, chair of the board of trustees. At that time, Crew Janci LLP, "a law firm that specializes in suing schools and youth organizations for their negligent handling of sexual abuse[,] announced it has been investigating Alton's tenure at Pingry for over a year." Crew Janci LLP's investigation on behalf of the victims was "credited with persuading the 166-year-old [Pingry] school to launch its own investigation[.]" Crew Janci's website made clear that its investigation on behalf of the victims would continue, despite the announcement of the Pingry School's commissioning of an investigation. On April 1, 2016, The Star-Ledger revealed court documents indicating that Alton had previously been convicted for his sexual abuse of Pingry students. The spokesperson for the Pingry School was quoted as responding to this information by saying: "I'm afraid such a conviction is news to us" and that "[i]t wasn't until