the college magazine fall 2006

CollegeThe F a l l 2 0 0 6

S t . J o h n ’ s C o l l e g e • A n n a p o l i s • S a n t a F e

Jane Austena n d t h e L i v e s o f Wo m e n

The College (usps 018-750) is published quarterly by

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postmaster: Send addresschanges to The College

Magazine, CommunicationsOffice, St. John’s College, Box 2800, Annapolis, MD

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Rosemary Harty, editorPatricia Dempsey,managing editorEmily DeBusk, assistant editor

Jennifer Behrens, art director

Annapolis410-626-2539

Santa Fe505-984-6104

ContributorsEva Brann (HA57)

Roberta Gable (A78)Barbara Goyette (A73)Ruth Johnston (A85)Tilar Mazzeo (SF93)Rhonda Ortiz (A05)

Namara Smith (SF07)

Magazine design by Claude Skelton Design

O n J a n e A u s t e n

Jane Austen’s novels offer a glimpse into a world that seems tremendouslyappealing to those of us vexed with modern society. No one seems to havetime to talk today, unless it’s into a cell phone, and that’s only when the iPodor Blackberry aren’t in use. Long, aimless walks through the countryside andafternoons spent sitting in a sunny parlor, catching up on the village gossip,can’t compete with high-definition television and HBO. In Jane Austen’sworld, there was always time for writing letters, playing music, lingering over

a lavish midday meal, and reading (assuming one’s family could afford tomaintain a library).

Of course, there was a serious downside to this gentle lifestyle: young, unmarriedwomen without fortune or connections could find themselves—as Jane Austen did—entirely dependent on the generosity of family. Like Marianne and Elinor in Sense andSensibility, she knew what it was like to leave a beloved home to make way for a malerelative. She was whisked away to Bath, just as Anne Elliot in Persuasion, and likeAnne, she learned to make the family budget stretch. As the Bennet girls did, she knewwell what it meant to have dim prospects for a good marriage.

But unlike her poorer heroines, Jane Austen had a marketable skill. She beganwriting fiction as a teenager and stopped only when her final illness forced her to putdown her pen. A shrewd observer of human nature, she wrote both from a burningdesire to tell stories and from economic necessity. She never made a fortune from thenovels published in her lifetime—Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility togetherbrought in only £250—but she was pleased and proud to have made her own money.

Most of what we know about Austen comes from her letters, though only 160 survivefrom the thousands she wrote. Her sister, Cassandra, censored everything that spoke to illness, unhappiness, and misfortune. The seventh of eight children, Jane was bornin 1775 to the Rev. George Austen and Cassandra Leigh. George had a modest living as rector of the church at Steventon, and Jane’s early childhood was happy and stimulating. With only a few years of formal schooling, she read books in her father’slibrary—everything from Samuel Johnson to gothic novels and burlesque plays.

Austen’s life was not without trial: a cousin’s husband went to the guillotine, a sister-in-law died young, an aunt was tried on shoplifting charges. Her life was alsonot without romance and suitors; she greatly enjoyed flirting and dancing at balls. She was even engaged for one night, but apparently thought better of it in the morning.She became a doting aunt to her many nieces and nephews, and spent the latter part ofher life living quietly in a cottage at Chawton, the estate of her brother, Edward AustenKnight. She died in 1817, attended to by her beloved sister, and was buried inWinchester Cathedral.

Readers respond to Jane Austen because her characters are so richly drawn, her plotsso satisfying, and her language so elegant, witty, and precise. We get a glimpse into along-ago society but we know people like Mrs. Bennet and Lady Catherine de Bourgh;we can laugh at Austen’s silly and misguided characters because we see our own flawsreflected in them. In this issue of The College, our contributors consider Austen’swomen, from spinster Anne to orphan Fanny, examining what these enduring characters say about human nature, society, and the life of women.—RH

{ C o n t e n t s }

CollegeThe F a l l 2 0 0 6V o l u m e 3 2 , I s s u e 3

T h e M a g a z i n e f o r A l u m n i o f S t . J o h n ’ s C o l l e g e A n n a p o l i s • S a n t a F e

p a g e 8Philosophy and War Santa Fe Tutor James Carey (class of1967) shares great books and great ideaswith future Air Force officers.

p a g e 10A Celebration ofCommunity Commencement speakers Judith Seegerand David Levine (A67) talked of ties thatbind Johnnies.

p a g e 12For the StudentsSustaining the college’s need-basedfinancial aid program is a top priority ofthe college’s $125 million capitalcampaign.

p a g e 18The Lives of WomenThe women of Jane Austen’s world speak to human qualities we can all relate to, particularly the need to findlove and happiness.

p a g e 29HomecomingWere members of the Santa Fe Class of1976 the last of the rebels?

d e p a r t m e n t s

2 from the bell towers• Febbies: The End of an Era• Annapolis Cannon Set Straight• A Living Shoreline • The Kindness of a Stranger• Santa Fe’s Extreme Makeover• A Home for the GI in Santa Fe• News, Announcements, Honors

letters28 Bibliofile

From the Bible to baseball: a compendium of alumni books.

37 alumni notesP R O F I L E S

32 Marcus Eubanks (A88) thrives in emergency medicine.

36 Kevin Ross (AGI97) leads Lynn University.

39 Richard Field (SFGI98) gets high school students hooked on classics.

41 Game show success for Celeste DiNucci (A87)

43 ObituariesRemembering Brother Robert Smith

46 alumni association news48 st. john’s forever

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o n t h e c o v e r

Jane AustenIllustration by David Johnson

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{ T h e C o l l e g e • St. John’s College • Fall 2006 }

{ F r o m t h e B e l l T o w e r s }

Elizabeth Burlington, a studentaide in the St. John’s Collegecommunications office, inter-viewed each member of the Classof 2009 Febbies, slated to be thelast class enrolled in January onthe Annapolis campus. Thecollege first began enrollingfreshmen in the middle of theacademic year in the 1960s. The January Freshman programwill continue in Santa Fe.

Several weeks into their“Febbie Summer,” the final 17 students to enroll in Januaryin Annapolis as freshmen werebusy writing freshman essays.But in the heat of a June after-noon, the entire Febbie class—the campus virtually their own,since summer Graduate Institute students had not yetarrived—congregated aroundone small table on the Quad.

“After seminar I feel good,”said Michael Cooney, who, at21, is a bit older than his fellowFebbies. “I feel like the Yin andthe Yang.” Sitting next to him,Patrick Jones, who skipped hislast two years of high school andattended the University of Maryland for a semester to easeinto college, laughed at hisfriend’s remark. “That’sabsolutely right, Mr. Cooney.”

Febbies from years gone bycherish the closeness thatFebbie summer promotes. What appears to be a period ofisolation to outsiders translatesinto an unusual bonding experience to those who participate in it.

Among other things, thestudents talked about experi-ences spent at other colleges;

hardships that Febbiesencounter, particularly in theabbreviated summer session;and the camaraderie andconflicts that develop when asmall group of students spend alot of time together, in the samedormitory, at the same DiningHall table, and in the sameclasses.

In September, the Febbieswho stayed at St. John’s meltedinto the sophomore class,getting to know more studentsand likely seeing less of eachother. But they will be distin-guished as Febbies until the day they receive their diplomas,and then at Homecoming gatherings in Annapolis foryears to come.

On choosing St. John’s:

“I really like great books, but Columbia University’s great books program was reallydisappointing. All the teacherswere grad students. That wasn’tmy type of environment, so Ijust packed it up and camehere.” Wynn Hedlesky

“Once I knew what the Programwas all about I didn’t want to goany where else.” Rian Thune“I wanted to read every book onthe reading list, and I knew thatthey were too difficult to under-stand on my own. Before this, I graduated from communitycollege in Georgia.” JesseShearer

On seminars:

“After seminar, usually peopleare mad or they are very happy.Usually the ones that are happyare the ones that everyone elseis mad at.” Sara Luell

“After seminar I feel like wehave exercised our intellects inthe class, and that we are stillfeeling the burn.” Patrick Jones

“We are actually more energeticafter seminar, even compared tothe seminars in the firstsemester. We seem to be a lotmore interested in the thingswe’re reading, and of course,there’s a lot that we don’t get tosay during seminar that needsexpounding afterward. With thetutors coming to our FebbieSnack afterward, there are a lotof fruitful discussions.” Kelvin Chung

On difficulties of theFebbie year:

“Finding time to sleep.” KelvinChung

“Having to do 16 weeks’ worthof work in 10.” Mallory Gill

“Not getting time off to writeour freshman essays.” TimothyBrisnehan

“I have difficulty doing myGreek and sleeping.” Sara Luell

“Socially, I feel like we wereisolated from the otherfreshmen.” Jody Whelan

On being a Febbie:

“I feel like being a Febbie hasmade me a different studentthan I would have been if Iwould have come here in thefall. I feel special.” Sara Luell

“We absolutely do share a bondwith each other, more than theregular August freshman.”Kelvin Chung

“I was glad I was a Febbie. I likethe peace and quiet here in thesummer time.” SteffaniePeterson x

A Farewell to FebbiesSpecial Bonds, Lasting Memories

Annapolis’ Febbies cut loose inSpector Hall after seminarlast summer. The practice ofenrolling January freshmenhas ended in Annapolis, butwill continue in Santa Fe. al

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Henry Robert, class of 1941,nodded with satisfaction as twowelders from the McShane BellFoundry set to the task ofrighting a wrong. For 40-oddyears, the cannon mountedbetween Pinkney andMcDowell halls has been asource of irritation to Mr. Robert, who spent a year in the old program beforebecoming one of the few St. John’s students to startagain in the new.

This cannon “of the typeused in the defense of Baltimore in the War of 1812,”according to a plaque attachedto the barrel, was presented toSt. John’s College by the localchapter of the D.A.R. and theNational Star-Spangled BannerCentennial Commission onSeptember 14, 1914. Theplaque celebrated the collegeas alma mater to Francis ScottKey and suggested that it may

have been fired in the war that was the subject of his celebrated anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

When Mr. Robert was astudent, the cannon sat as itshould: level, pointing straightahead to College Avenue. Over time, St. John’s studentswiggled the cannon in itsmounting, and it eventuallyrusted into a position about 45 degrees from horizontal—historically inaccurate, and, toMr. Robert’s eye, ridiculouslyimpractical. “If a shot werefired in that direction, it wouldfall helplessly before everreaching its target,” Mr. Robertremarked.

Last year, Mr. Robert gave adonation to the college toremount the cannon and tospruce it up. In September, amuch improved, shiniercannon was returned to thecollege by conservators of the

Maryland ArchaeologicalConservation Laboratory atJefferson Patterson Park andMuseum.

The cannon’s original exterior was lost long ago, totime and the salt water of Baltimore Harbor, where it was submerged for untold yearsbefore a dredging projectuncovered it. The inner surfaceis heavily pitted and had rustedover the years. ConservatorDonna Smith air-abraded thesurface, applied a corrosiveinhibitor, painted it with blackRustoleum paint, and coveredit with a liberal coat of BowlingAlley Butcher’s Wax. McShaneworkers re-aligned the bracketsand re-tapped the bolt holes inthe journals in order for thenew trunnion collars to fitsecurely into the mount, thenthey spot-welded it in place.This should keep future Johnnies from developing “the devilish notion” to try to

wiggle the cannon, says Mr. Robert.

As for the cannon’s role in the War of 1812, that’sdoubtful, says HowardWellman, lead conservator forthe Maryland Historical Trust.It’s too small to have been usedon a battleship or in a fort, andwas more likely mounted on amerchant ship for defenseagainst pirates. It could evenhave been mounted on aBritish ship.

Mr. Robert has fond memories of the cannon, eventhough he recalls taking part inthe hazing ritual that employedthe artifact. “Shooting fromthe cannon” required “rats”(freshmen) to run from thecannon to College Avenuethrough a gauntlet of belt-wielding upperclassmen whowould try to strike the men asthey ran by. “I ran fast,” Mr. Robert recalls with a smile.“It wasn’t so bad.” x

The Cannon: Battle-Ready at Last

Henry Robert, class of 1941,was on hand in September tosee the cannon remounted.Mr. Robert underwrote thecost for the restoration andremounting of the cannon.

The cannon, as it was in HenryRobert’s days as a Johnnie.This famous St. John’s photo,by Alfred Eisenstaedt, wastaken for LIFE magazine in the1940s.

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A LivingShorelineThis fall, St. John’s studentsreturned to a dramatically transformed shoreline alongCollege Creek, one intended tonurture a healthier and morediverse variety of plant andanimal life. Along the shoreline,which was once a bulkheadedseawall, there is now a sloping,ecologically restored wetlandprotected from erosion withbio-logs and native species ofmarsh grass. The 885-footshoreline restoration,completed this summer, is oneof the largest projects of its kindalong the Chesapeake Bay. Italso showcases St. John’s role asenvironmental citizen,educator, and partner withregional environmental organizations.

A volunteer corps includingstudents and local residents(many of them Chesapeake BayFoundation members) providedseveral work days to helprestore the area to a morenatural state, thanks to supportfrom several foundations. TheChesapeake Bay Foundation is

pleased that the college is“leading by example,” says Ron Schnabel, one of the CBFstaff members who havedonated time and expertise to the project.

The CollegeCreek shorelineis an ideal site forecologicalrestorationbecause ofminimal boattraffic, currents,wind, and waveaction, accordingto Don Jackson,St. John’sdirector of operations. Thecreek has longbeen a resourcefor Johnnies in

freshman lab. “We’ve knownsince the late 1960s how valuable the marsh is,” saysJackson, who worked in envi-ronmental conservation beforejoining the college. “However,support and funding for theproject were bolstered by devel-opment of new techniques forsuccessfully restoring them.”

The bulkhead was installedon College Creek about 50 yearsago to keep harmful sedimentfrom reaching the ChesapeakeBay. “Up until the late 1960s,the ecological value of marshesand wetlands were not wellunderstood, and they were oftenthought of as insect breedinggrounds,” explains Jackson. “As a result, bulkheading wasoften installed along the shore-line and back-filled with earthto create more useable land.”

In the past 10 years there has been an environmentalmovement to curb erosion andlook for ways to stabilize theshoreline without using bulkhead and rip-rap.

Seven years ago the shorelinerestoration was begun as a pilotproject to restore 125 feetbetween the Hodson Boathouseand King George Street. The project involved gradingthe shoreline to a natural slopeand planting native species,such as spartina, bayberry, andbulrush on a prepared plantingterrace constructed on sand anddirt fill imported to the site.

Planning and design for thesecond phase of the projectbegan two years ago, thanks to a$200,000 challenge grant fromthe Arthur Vining Davis Foundations. This past springthe college received the fundingto match it, and in June beganrestoring the remaining 760 feet of structural bulkhead.Contributors and partnersinclude the Chesapeake BayFoundation, the ChesapeakeBay Trust, the MarylandDepartment of the Environ-ment, FishAmerica Foundation,and the Vernal W. and FlorenceH. Bates Foundation. x

Tutor NickMaistrellisdonned wadersto help plantnatural grassesalong the shore-line.

Last summer, thanks to student and community volunteers, the hardened bulkhead along CollegeCreek was removed and the shoreline was restored to a natural marsh.

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The Kindness ofa StrangerLauren Cooper, a freshmanfrom the Denver area, hadfewer Program books to buythis year, thanks to ChristineRobinson (A90) of San Francisco. Robinson is quickto point out that her act ofgenerosity was inspired by aJohnnie who came before her.In Robinson’s case, the inspiration was Mike VanBeuren (A75), a former house-mate in Annapolis who gave all his books to the St. John’slibrary when Robinson was a student.

Since she graduated fromthe college, Robinson hasembraced many careers:tourism, advertising sales, andworking for a labor union trustfund. She finished her MBA,immersed herself in the studyof foreign languages, lived inParis for a year, and became astudent of the tango.

She was expecting to spend afew years traveling in SouthAmerica, but her mother’sfailing health meant a detourto Denver to clean out hermother’s home in preparationfor a move to an assisted livingfacility. “I thought I could shipall these books back to California and put them in astorage unit, but that didn’treally make sense,” she says. “I wanted to get them back incirculation.”

Robinson contacted thecollege, and Roberta Gable(A78), associate director ofadmissions, alerted Denver-area freshmen to Robinson’s

offer. Cooper, after an injury-shortened career in the Armyand a disappointing experi-ence at American University inWashington, D.C., had foundSt. John’s again, many yearsafter a high school teacherrecommended the college. She visited the Santa Fecampus. “After sitting in on aseminar on Aristotle, I wassold,” she says.

Cooper arranged a time topick up the books; just aswelcome as the gift was thechance to visit with a Johnnieand talk about the Program.“Christine told me junior yearwas the hardest, and said totake advantage to learn things

outside thecurriculum.”Robinson’s fondnessfor the Program justmade Cooper moreeager for the start ofthe semester.

Her new books—almost two-thirds ofthe Program works—were in very goodshape. She took awaytwo Iliads, one inEnglish and one inGreek, and somebooks that seem brandnew. She enjoys thenotes written in someof the margins. “Hergiving the books wasrepresentative of ageneration of ideasand thoughts. I was so pleasedthat an alum cared enough todo this,” Cooper says.

Robinson couldn’t part withFear and Trembling, Euclid’sElements, or her volumes ofFrench poetry. But she knowsmost of the other books she’d

like to revisit are online. Andshe likes the idea of her booksmaking another trip toAnnapolis. “They’re going tobe there, in seminar,” she says.“It gives me a connection tothe college now.” x


{ F r o m t h e B e l l T o w e r s } 5

“After sitting inon a seminar onAristotle, I was

sold.”Lauren Cooper (A10)

Above, Christine Robinson ofSan Francisco decided a newJohnnie should have herProgram books; right,Annapolis freshman LaurenCooper makes room on herdorm room bookshelf. chel

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{ F r o m t h e B e l l T o w e r s }6

An alumnus of the Graduate Institute in Santa Fe has made a $5 million gift to fund construction of a center for the college’stwo graduate programs on the campus. Dr. Norman Levan(SFGI74) of Bakersfield, Calif., made his gift in gratitude for the intellectual enrichment he gained through the graduateprogram.

“The Graduate Institute changed my life,” Dr. Levan saidwhen the gift was announced July 28 as part of the opening celebration for “With a Clear and Single Purpose”: TheCampaign for St. John’s College. “It was an amazing experiencefor me, and I’m grateful that this program exists.”

The Norman and Betty Levan Hall will be home to thecollege’s two graduate programs: the Master of Arts in LiberalArts and the Master of Arts in Eastern Classics. The building willhouse classrooms, faculty offices, and common space for grad-uate students, and will be situated between Weigle Hall and theFine Arts Building. The building will also be dedicated to thememory of Dr. Levan’s late wife, Betty, who enjoyed visitingSanta Fe each summer while Dr. Levan was a student.

Building a home for the GI, established in 1967 in Santa Fe, isamong the top priorities of the campaign for the college’swestern campus, says Santa Fe President Michael Peters. Designfor the building is underway and the college hopes to break ground for the project in the next few months, he says.

“We are exceptionally pleased that an alumnus had such a goodexperience in the Graduate Institute that he wants to help thecollege build a permanent home for the institute,” he says.

Dr. Levan is professor emeritus and former chief of dermatology at his alma mater, the University of Southern California School of Medicine (class of 1939). He has enjoyed along and distinguished career in medicine. He established theHansen’s Disease Clinic at the Los Angeles County/USC MedicalCenter in 1962 at the request of state and federal health officials.At age 90, he still spends one day a week seeing patients in hisdermatology practice.

He came to the GI in the middle of his thriving medical careerat the suggestion of a colleague who had found the experienceintellectually invigorating. In Santa Fe, Dr. Levan found alearning community united by a common love of books andideas, one that welcomed students of all ages. In those days, hesaid, most of the GI students were classroom teachers who werepassionate about improving education. His favorite readingincluded Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War and deTocqueville’s Democracy in America.

“I thought I would come for just one summer,” he says. “Then I just kept coming back. It was a turning point in my life:being able to read the original texts, being part of a community,experiencing a faculty so different from ours at USC.”

Santa Fe GI Director Krishnan Venkatesh said students,faculty, and alumni have been touched by Dr. Levan’s gift. “This is a magnificent expression of generosity,” Mr. Venkateshsays. “This building will give the Graduate Institute a respectedcentral place on campus, a permanent home.” x

“I Just Kept Coming Back” Gratitude Prompts a $5 Million Gift for a Santa Fe GI Center

Extreme Makeover

For several months last summer, members of the Santa Fe campuscommunity were detouring around work crews and barricadeswhile the Campus Core Renovation project was under way. The inconvenience proved well worth it when the project wascompleted in mid-September. More than 105,000 bricks were laidfrom Peterson Student Center to Santa Fe Hall, replacing theconcrete pavement. The koi pond was given a new waterfall andadditional lighting. New teak benches, tables, and trash cans have been installed throughout the area, along with an additional 14 light fixtures and two ramps installed to provideadditional accessibility for the disabled. The improvements were part of the $2 million Santa Fe Initiative.

Santa Fe President Michael Peters and Dr. Norman Levan(SFGI74).

Annapolis tutor EVA BRANN hasbeen selected to receive theWilbur Lucius Cross Medal ofthe Yale Graduate SchoolAlumni Association. MissBrann was scheduled to be fetedat an October 12 gala dinnerand awards ceremony in NewHaven. The Wilbur LuciusCross Medal is an honorpresented each year by theGraduate School Alumni Association to a small numberof outstanding alumni. The medal recognizes distin-guished achievements in schol-arship, teaching, academicadministration, and publicservice.

AppointmentsJON ENRIQUEZ has been namedRegistrar in Annapolis.

Mr. Enriquez holds a Ph.D. inHistory and an A.B. in Amer-ican Studies from GeorgetownUniversity, and an M.A. inAmerican Civilization from theUniversity of Pennsylvania.

Most recently, he has servedas Registrar and Associate Dean of Academic Affairs andDirector of InstitutionalResearch at Hanover College in Indiana.

Still Changing Lives St. John’s College is included asone of only 40 distinct collegesin the United States that “excelat developing potential, values,initiative and risk-taking in awide range of students,”according to a new edition of acollege guidebook. St. John's“is a school that inspires self

confidence, that makes itsstudents believe they can doanything,” writes author LorenPope in a new version ofColleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Changethe Way You Think AboutCollege.

Pope refers to St. John’s asone of the “four most intellec-tual (and indispensable)colleges in the country.”

Scholarship WinnerERICA NAONE (A05) was one ofonly 77 students chosen nation-wide to receive a scholarshipfrom the Jack Kent CookeFoundation Graduate Program.The scholarship supportsstudents who “have a strongappreciation for the arts,financial need, strong academicskills, leadership, and a desireto contribute to society.”

Combining her love for mathand science and her talent forwriting, Naone is currentlyenrolled in the MassachusettsInstitute of Technology’s graduate program in sciencewriting. x


7{ F r o m t h e B e l l T o w e r s }

Greatness in a TwilightWorldThere is a small error of fact inyour obituary for tutor ThomasMcDonald [Winter 2006], thecorrecting of which will allowme to add my own minor tributeto that great tutor.

The obituary stated that Mr. McDonald had a sabbaticalyear in Germany, 1976-77.However, that was the first year Iknew him at St. John’s in SantaFe. He arrived in the fall of 1976with his wife and his painfulailment, medication for whichmade it impossible for him toteach in the mornings.

Our section of junior Frenchwas scheduled to meet twice aweek at 2:30 p.m., with the thirdmeeting scheduled forWednesday at 9 a.m. He told usat our first class that he couldn’tmeet so early on Wednesday,and asked if we could find analternate time agreeable toeveryone. When this proved

impossible, we got our firstglimpse of his characteristichumor: “How about 2 a.m.? I’mnot doing anything then!”

It was a romp of a Frenchclass. A wrong answer would bemet by a swift hand reachingunder the table to push a buzzer,sending an imaginary electricalcurrent to the erring student.From time to time he wouldrise, slowly, painfully, to putsomething on the blackboard.We wondered if he would makeit. Passing him on the Placita,we might ask that questionseldom meant seriously: “Howare you?” His answer once was,“50-50,” as he bent down,turning his hand from side toside, “comme ci, comme ça.” He was smiling. It was in thatFrench class that we memorizedpoems. Two of them, to beprecise. “Mr. Austin,” he beganclass one day, “tell us about youryouth.” Ma jeunesse ne fut qu’unténébreux orage, I butchered on,vowels, consonants falling dead

all around me. While he wasserious about the work oflanguage, he also had a lighthand with the serious things. Iremember the joy of listening tohim read to us Borges’ storyabout the Minotaur.

My recollection is that Mr. McDonald did not partici-pate in academic processions,on account of—I was told—hisnever having completed anacademic degree. I asked himabout that once, and he saidsomething about obtaining adegree being an impediment tohis education. Again, a smile.

Some nine members of theclass of 1978 were present at ourtenth reunion. There we were,at a picnic table, wonderingwhat it was that we had incommon. The answer came: wewere all in that junior Frenchtutorial with Mr. McDonald. Aswe began sharing his jokes andmannerisms, we recalled how hebore his burdens lightly andshowed us the joy of touching

greatness even in a twilightworld.

—Victor Austin, SF78

Correction: In the article, “Outof Africa: Journalist LydiaPolgreen (A97)” (Spring 2006issue), Lydia Polgreen’s motheris incorrectly listed as Pamela.Rahel Polgreen is Lydia’smother; Pamela Polgreen is thesecond wife of Lydia’s father,John Polgreen (SF71).

The College welcomes letters onissues of interest to readers.Letters may be edited for clarityand/or length. Those under 500 words have a better chanceof being printed in theirentirety.

Please address letters to: The College magazine, St. John’s College, Box 2800,Annapolis, MD 21404.

Letters can also be sent via e-mail to: [email protected].

News and Announcements

{ L e t t e r s }

Erica Naone (A05), Jack KentCooke scholarship winner


8 { T h e T u t o r s }

Eddie Kovsky (SF03) spent two years as a staff writer for thebase newspaper at the United States Air Force Academy. The summer he began, Santa Fe tutor James Carey (class of 1967)joined the faculty as the Distinguished Visiting Professor ofPhilosophy. In January2006, Kovsky met with himto discuss his experienceteaching at the academy andthe role the classics play inpreparing cadets to becomeofficers.

What authors are youteaching here right now?

Well, right now thesemester’s just begun, somaybe I’ll tell you a little bitabout what I did lastsemester. All of us in thephilosophy departmentteach a class called Philosophy 310. It’s really aphilosophical ethics course.It’s a nicely designed course,and it meets for 41 sessionsin 42 days. One of the 42 days is devoted to aformal lecture. We arerequired to do four sessionson issues of military professionalism—such thingsas obedience and civilian-military relations. And thensix of those 41 meetings aredevoted to just-war theory,the conditions for going towar, what just grounds theremight be for engaging inhostilities to begin with, and then how to conduct oneselfaccording to a certain standard of justice once hostilities havebegun. That’s 10 of the classes. For the remaining classes wehave a number of required meetings on Plato’s Republic, Aris-totle’s Nicomachean Ethics, Hobbes’ Leviathan, Kant’s Founda-tion for the Metaphysics of Morals, and Mill’s Utilitarianism.What that means—since this is a core class—is that St. John’s isnot the only college in the country you can’t graduate fromwithout having read some of Plato’s Republic. Who would haveguessed that the Air Force Academy was another one!

For the remaining classes the instructor has a lot of discretion.We’ve read Thomas Aquinas and Machiavelli in my classes,

things like that. So even in the core philosophy course there’sbeen a lot of liberty.

The other class I taught was a semester-long course on Kant’sCritique of Pure Reason, a seminar that I co-led with a colleague

in the department. We hadeight cadets and we workedour way through the book,reading about 90 to 95 percent of the wholework. I also taught a classcalled Great Philosophers—we devoted that class toXenophon and Plato. We just read somedialogues, and that wentquite well. And then finallyI taught a class on appliedlogic. We spent some timeon symbolic logic becauseI’m interested in that, butwe also read a Platonicdialogue, the Euthydemus,rather slowly, and we reada good chunk of Aristotle’sOrganon.

This semester I’mteaching the core courseagain. I’ve also got aseminar that I’m again co-leading. It’s a large one,about 20 students, and it’son Nietzsche and Dosto-evsky. We’ll read a work ofNietzsche’s, but the betterpart of our meetings willbe on The Brothers Karamazov, which is whatwe’ve just launchedourselves into.

What are those classes like? Is there a feeling among the cadetsthat they need to get something more pragmatic out of eachmeeting? Is there an application they’re looking for when theyread these authors?

In the Philosophy 310 class we talk a lot about just war. There is,then, at least a component of the class that has an immediatebearing on their work as officers. So it does have practical consequences. What the cadets take from the class varies fromindividual to individual. Some people really love reading anddiscussing great books; other people prefer a Powerpoint

Air Force Academy cadets are not that different from Johnnies, Santa Fe tutor James Carey (class of 1967) has discovered as a visitingprofessor at the academy.

Philosophy, Justice, and WarTutor James Carey Among the Cadets


{ T u t o r s } 9

presentation. I will say that the most conspicuous differencebetween the cadets and the St. John’s students is not ability oreven ultimately interest, at least if I think about the ones I’vehad in the seminars, but it’s reading habits [outside of class] . . .St. John’s students tend to be people who love books, really lovethem, whereas a lot of cadets are not particularly in love withbooks. Still, I would say that the cadets that I’ve had in my elec-tive courses have been, in terms of their interests, very similar toSt. John’s students. I’ve had cadets in my core class who wouldhave done quite well at St. John’s, but I’ve also had cadets in mycore class who would not have been very happy at St. John’s.Some of them seem disconcerted by questions that can’t beanswered by crunching numbers.

Since you just have them for that short period of time, whatphilosophy do you think is important to get across to them?What, from your background, are you trying to bring to them?

Well, it depends on the class. Regarding Philosophy 310, thecore class, I’d put it like this: I think a lot of discussions of justwar, of just grounds for going to war and just ways of conductingyourself in war, presuppose a certain clarityabout what justice itself is. But what justiceis is not a clear notion. Reading theRepublic, the Nicomachean Ethics, andsimilar classical texts helps provide us with afoundation, with reflection about whatjustice is, before we go into the particulartheme of just war itself. I regard anencounter with the classics as indispensablefor getting clarity about a number ofconcepts that get bandied around ratherloosely today. What do we mean by a morallaw? And what is justice? What do we meanby fundamental rights and basic humanequality? The great philosophers thoughtseriously about such questions, and readingtheir books forces us to think seriouslyabout them as well.

How do you try to remedy that, to teach without compromisingthe sense of duty to their long-term mission, which comes first forthe cadets?

In a sense, the interesting question is “Why do we have militaryacademies?” There are other models. One is officer candidateschool, and there are a lot of good officers that come out of OCSand ROTC too. And then there’s the British model, as I under-stand it. People get a college degree in whatever they’re doing,classics, chemistry, what have you, and then those who want amilitary career go to Sandhurst for an exclusively military graduate education.

The Air Force Academy, like the Naval Academy and the Military Academy, tries to provide both an undergraduate education and a military experience. So one might wonder,“What do you expect to get out of that?” And that’s a very interesting and complicated question.

I’ll revert to my earlier formulation that education is first of allabout educating human beings. If we’re going to be involved in

the educational process we can’t gauge everything that we dohere by asking, “Does that have an application in a combat situation?” In a sense it probably does, because human beingsare in combat situations. But if you’re reading a Platonicdialogue on the nature of knowledge or a Shakespeare comedy,it’s not immediately clear that that’s going have a concrete application in Iraq. But it will make you a broader person. If we’re going to have a military academy then both the educational and the training sides of the enterprise have to bedistinguished and they both have to be supported. At least someof education—and this is the classical view of a liberal education—is for its own sake, but it has consequences too: a broader humanbeing is a better human being, maybe a better pilot too, butalmost certainly a better human being.

Now, it looks as though a lot of what’s on the horizon for themilitary is peace keeping and nation building. That by itselfsuggests that the development of breadth of mind in militaryofficers has to be a prime concern. And that’s something that aliberal education can help with.

The [USAFA] dean wants the academy to become morelearning focused, and that seems to me a very important step in

the right direction. I think it’s vital thatthose of us who teach here think deeplyabout what learning is. That will help usdistinguish between training and education, because a person can be welltrained without really learning anything.That’s true of a dog too. Learning requiresa kind of initiative and engagement on thepart of the learner that does not lend itselfto metric assessment but is the verycenter of the learning experience.

You had said that you wanted to try tochange the relationship between St. John’sand the military, because there’s not a lot of overlap there. Is there anything that you’re trying to do here that you want to bring back to Santa Fe, or the

Annapolis campus for that matter?

I would like to see cadets have an opportunity to participate atleast in the Summer Classics in Santa Fe. I’ve been very faithfully impressed with the cadets and I really like them.They’re intelligent, they’re capable of wonder, they can getexcited over important things. Moreover, the cadets know thatthey may have to make sacrifices, that they’re in the military.What does it mean for a young person, a high school junior, maleor female, to decide to go for a career in the military? That’s alsoa kind of eccentric decision. I would say that the young peoplewho choose to go to St. John’s and the young people who chooseto go to the military academies have this much in common:they’re not marching to the same drummer most young peoplemarch to. x

“. . .a broader humanbeing is a

better human being, maybe a

better pilot too. . .”James Carey (A67)

{ C o m m e n c e m e n t }10


Judith Seeger,completing her term asassistant dean of theAnnapolis campus, andoutgoing Santa Fe DeanDavid Levine (A67),

were chosen by the seniorson their campuses to deliver thecommencement addresses inMay. Seeger and Levine eachcelebrated the St. John’sCollege community, both as atangible collection of ritualsand rules that allow a group ofindividuals to live together andas an abstract circle of theauthors who help shape thecollege’s model of liberal education.

At the commencement ceremony in Annapolis on May 15, 100 Annapolis seniorsand 34 Graduate Institutestudents received their degrees.Seeger opened her speech bydescribing her experiencesamong indigenous groups inBrazil. To conduct research forher doctoral dissertation, Seeger spent months at acoastal fishing village recordingballads and stories passed orallyfor generations, experiencesthat shaped her ideas aboutcommunity: “In the jungle Ilearned how to live in peace andcompanionship with peoplewhose way of life was verydifferent from mine.” In herspeech she shared “the fourcardinal rules by which weaspire to live together at this

college: responsibility, civility,honesty, and citizenship.”

Seeger concluded by celebrating the graduates’passage to a new community.“Soon you will make thatmomentous walk across the platform and with that walk thiscommunity in the form it hasexisted for you during the pastfew years will disband and youwill pass into another commu-nity—that of graduates. . .So weshould celebrate our lastprecious moments in this particular community with asong.” She sang a traditionalballad, “The Water is Wide,”

chosen to emphasize how onecan help another overcomedifficulty to reach a goal.

On May 21, 83 undergraduatesand 33 master’s degree candi-dates received their diplomas inSanta Fe. Levine considered the question: Who is the class of 2006?

“One can’t ever answer thatquestion fully,” Levine said.“We might, however, make abeginning and say somethingabout who you are, or ratherwho you have become over thepast years of growth at thecollege under the transformativemagic of the Program. We say

C E L E B R A T I N GC O M M U N I T Y

Commencement 2006

Above: among the 33 GI gradu-ates in Santa Fe last May were(l. to r.) Jacquelyn Poplawski,Samantha Johnson, and LauraLeigh Birdwell.

Opposite (clockwise, from topright): David Levine, shownwith wife, Jacqueline, toldgraduates their work is farfrom over; Santa Fe President Michael Peters inthe recessional; Annapolisgraduates Cameron Healy (l.)and Aaron Brager look to thefuture; Judith Seeger serenaded Annapolis graduates.

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years of growth, because thiscollege is a place where onegrows.”

He elegantly traced some ofthe ways several authors in theProgram shape students’ experiences at the college.“Throughout our tradition,from Plato through Nietzsche, it was generally recognized thateducation—the manner in whichone learns and not just thecontent of what one learns—inshaping your mind, also shapesyour person, your character,indeed your community.”Among the authors he cited, Levine described Alexis deTocqueville’s observations oncommunity and the individual:“In America he found peoplewith a wondrous capacity forcommunity and workingtogether and yet an intellectualinheritance of Cartesian ego-centricism and abstraction of

thought that threatened toundermine this very potential.He saw an isolating individu-alism at work where ‘the bondsthat unite generations arerelaxed or broken, and that putsociety at risk of losing itscentering customs . . .’ ”

Graduates leave the collegewith two gifts, but their work isfar from over, he concluded:“You have seen greatness. You have known community.However, a gift is only asbeneficial as our capacity to useit well. Your education is thusnot over. And so, in the spirit ofcommencement, that is begin-nings, we ask you today topledge yourselves anew to theunfinished work that theseauthors so nobly began.” x

The commencement speeches areavailable on the college’s Website, www.stjohnscollege.edu.

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{ C a p i t a l C a m p a i g n }

by Rosemary Harty

Consider what financialaid means to students,their desire for theProgram, and their hopesto do vital and satisfyingwork after earning their

degree. Andrew Hsui (A02), pursuing aPh.D. in comparative literature atPrinceton University, says St. John’swould have been out of his reach without“a very generous financial aid package.”Drawn to the college by the books, theProgram, and the community, Hsui wasdetermined to attend St. John’s, eventhough his parents were anxious aboutthe cost.

Now finished with his graduate coursework and ready totackle his dissertation (perhaps Dante, perhaps Spencer), Hsuiis more grateful than ever to have attended the college. “At St. John’s you gain this sort of intellectual courage to tackledifferent texts no matter whether it’s Sophocles’ Antigone orHegel’s Phenomenology,” he says. “The fundamental questionswe pursue in graduate school are the same problems that occurin freshman seminar.”

As is the case with more than half of the students who attendSt. John’s, Hsui received a St. John’s grant for each of the fouryears he attended. Thanks to a federal work-study award, heearned money working on campus. He entered graduate schoolwith manageable debt. “Could I have attended St. John’swithout financial aid? Absolutely not,” Hsui said.

Building the college’s $100 million endowment to meet thefinancial aid needs of future Johnnies is one of the top prioritiesof “With a Clear and Single Purpose”: The Campaign for St. John’s College. Of the $125 million campaign goal, $46.5 million has been earmarked for building the endowment,with $33 million designated to ensure a robust financial aidprogram. In addition, the college seeks to raise $29 million inAnnual Fund contributions through 2012 to help support moreimmediate financial aid needs.

The Campaign for St. John’s College Plans

for Student Needs

“WITH A CLEAR ANDSINGLE PURPOSE”

A few central facts help toframe a discussion on thecollege’s approach to financialaid:

• The college remainscommitted to a need-based financial aid policythat ensures thatqualified students canattend the college regard-less of their family’seconomic resources.

• During the 2005-06academic year, 63 percentof students on the SantaFe campus received aiddirectly from the college;in Annapolis, 53 percentof students were aidrecipients. College-wide,St. John’s provided $9.4million in institutionalaid funded by tuitionrevenue, Annual Fundgifts, grants, and drawfrom endowment.

• Meeting the gap between what families can afford and thecost of tuition will become increasingly more expensive forthe college.

• The college’s endowment is not sufficient to meet the anticipated need for financial aid in the coming decade.

The college’s strategicplan, which shaped the goalsof the campaign, takes intoaccount that the college willbe spending more to meetthe demand for financial aidin the next few years. “TheAmerican economy is notgiving back to the poor andthose in middle-incomefamilies, where the need is growing the fastest,” says Christopher B. Nelson(SF70), president of theAnnapolis campus. “So far,we’ve been able to keep pacewith our institutional aid.But the situation is not goingto improve.” If the collegeenrolled only those studentswho could afford to attend,“we’d be a college of 200students,” he says.

The first question thatparents, alumni, andsupporters of the college

want answered in a serious discussion of financial aid, Nelsonacknowledges, is why the college is getting more expensive. Hepoints out that the college’s annual tuition increases of about


{ C a p i t a l C a m p a i g n } 13

The college’s capital campaignseeks to address priorities thatwill sustain the Program andstrengthen the college.Funding these priorities willrequire $125 million.

FINANCIAL AID: $33 million for need-based aid.

FACULTY AND ACADEMIC SUPPORT:$34 million to increase facultysalaries to the median of peerinstitutions; provide facultydevelopment opportunities;develop program-relatedstudent instructional material

(manuals and workbooks); and ensure small class sizes and1:8 tutor-to-student ratio.

STUDENT SERVICES: $3.5 millionto improve services to students,fund internship opportunities,and provide grants so thatelementary and secondaryteachers can attend the Graduate Institute.

ST. JOHN’S IMPROVEMENT FUND:$5 million for library collec-tions and laboratory equip-ment; improving InformationTechnology infrastructure;

staff professional developmentand compensation.

BUILDING PROJECTS ON THE

TWO CAMPUSES: $49.5 million forbuilding projects, including aSanta Fe dormitory, a GraduateInstitute center in Santa Fefunded, and the addition to andrenovation of Evans ScienceLaboratory. The renovation ofMellon Hall and the addition of two new dormitories inAnnapolis are completed and fully funded.

continued on p. 15

14



Annika McKinney is pursuing a Ph.D. in education at the University of Maryland. Her dissertation research explores howreading original texts and discussing them—similar to the JuniorGreat Books program she encountered as a teacher—could beapplied to arts education.

“I thought I might interview some tutors and research the St. John’s approach a bit,” she says. “I wrote away for some information, and the Graduate Institute sent me a DVD and acatalogue. Then I decided that I had to do the program formyself.”

McKinney persuaded her doctoral advisers at the University ofMaryland to approve independent credit for her work at St. John’s.“I’m loving it,” McKinney says. “I know about Aristotle and Plato,but I’ve never been able to read these texts, not in this way.”

In a summer course she presented to graduate students andaspiring teachers at the university, McKinney demonstrated a St. John’s approach to reading A Raisin in the Sun with secondarystudents. Her professor was so impressed with the quality of thediscussion, he asked her to share the lesson plan with a languagearts class in the fall. “I told my advisers that what takes place atSt. John’s is something all teachers should experience. The Program can benefit every teacher, no matter what subject he or she teaches,” McKinney says.

Teachers like McKinney—innovators in the classroom who havea strong desire to enrich their own intellectual lives—representthe principle behind the National Educator’s Grants, offered bythe Graduate Institute in Annapolis and Santa Fe. The college offers a grant of one-third tuition to teachers and administratorsinterested in pursuing a Master of Arts inLiberal Arts. Providing funding for the educators’ grants by establishing an endowment is one of the goals of the campaign.

Teachers were among the first students inthe GI when it was established in Santa Fe in1967 (Annapolis followed a decade later), andthe college still believes that teachers canbenefit greatly from aprogram that nurtures critical thinking, carefulreading, and discussionskills—on top of all the mate-rial covered in the classroom.

“By educating teachers, weare trying to affect nationaleducation by supporting thenotion of educating thewhole human being, insteadof just teaching for tests,”says Krishnan Venkatesh,director of the GI in SantaFe. “Moreover, in learningfrom us how to make realconversations about big questions happen, our

teachers can benefit our polarized nation by teaching kids how totalk to one another about important issues.”

Also, because they’re devoted to education, GI teachers makeexcellent students. “They know how to take responsibility for aclass as well as their own learning,” Venkatesh says. Many becomegood recruiters of prospective students.

However, it was evident early on that the GI was losing teachersbecause they often did not have the resources for tuition.“Teachers are usually the poorest of our students and always needfinancial assistance to be able to do this. For them, doing either ofour MA programs is a serious commitment, and this is even moretrue of those teachers who have to relocate families and homes tocome to distant Santa Fe,” he says.

Classroom teachers aren’t the only educators benefiting fromthe grant program: Jennifer Kinkaid, a student in the Santa FeGraduate Institute, is a college counselor at Loomis ChaffeeSchool in Windsor, Conn., who has been devoting her summers tothe GI. In addition to the ideas she gains from the books, she hasalso honed a valuable skill.

“I think listening has been one of the most important skills I’ve developed through the GI seminars. Not only are we learningto clarify our own ideas, but we learn to listen carefully, ask questions, and help others clarify their thoughts,” she says.Christopher Kaufmann, a public school teacher in LoudonCounty, Va., left his full-time position and signed on as a substitute in order to enroll full-time in the Graduate Institute

and complete the program in two years. Thegrant relieved a bit of the economic hardshipinvolved in quitting his job.

“I can see how much this will help in theclassroom,” he says. “I can better formulategood questions for discussion. I can betterencourage students to develop their own opinions on something they read and feelcomfortable sharing their ideas with others.”

Vashti Pearson (AGI06) completed twosegments over summer breaks from her job

in Birmingham, Ala. “I cameto St. John’s frustrated andexhausted from the class-room. I hadn’t read a bookoutside my prep for class thewhole year. Coming here waslike summer camp—I wentback refreshed and excited,”she says. x

GI Educator’s Grant: Bringing the Program to the Classroom

Annika McKinney (l.), acurrent GI student alsoworking on a doctorate ineducation, and VashtiPearson (AGI06), broughtnew ideas and approachesfrom their graduate studiesback to the classroom.

“The Program canbenefit every

teacher, no matterwhat subject he or

she teaches.”Annika McKinney

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5.5 to 6 percent have been in line with thoseof other private, independent colleges inthe U.S.

If tuition rises at rates higher thanannual inflation, it is largely because acollege such as St. John’s can’t take advan-tage of the standard business cost-cuttingmeasures, such as automation. “Educationis expensive because it requires the sharingof the life of one well-educated humanbeing with another, a devotion of time thatcannot be compromised without beingcheapened,” he says.

Nelson also emphasizes that no student pays the true cost of a St. John’s education. This year, tuition is $34,306; without the college’s subsidy, it would be $44,555. “Alumni who attendedthe college during my era may not view it this way, but the educa-tion at St. John’s College is a veritable bargain,” he says. “It costssubstantially more to educate our students than what we’recharging in tuition.”

And unless they have college-age children, alumni may not beaware of how the changes in federal financial aid programs areaffecting lower- and middle-income families who want to send a son or daughter to St. John’s. Programs such as Pell Grants andSupplementary Educational Opportunity Grants, made available tothe neediest students, would not come close to meeting the cost oftuition at any private liberal arts college. Funding for federal grantprograms has not increased in the past four years, and most studentloan programs now have higher interest rates.

At St. John’s, financial aid is guided by policies and principlesrevisited often by the collegewide Management Committee andadministered on an individualized basis on each campus. Policy isreviewed annually by financial aid committees composed of thepresident, dean, treasurer, assistant dean, financial aid director,and admissions director. The committees meet before each fallrecruitment season to assess the previous year’s results, anticipatedifficulties in the upcoming year, and adjust policy in light of thebudget.

The financial aid directors carry out policy and approach eachprospective application with the goal of putting the best packagetogether to meet an individual family’s needs. In Santa Fe, about 65 to 70 percent of students demonstrate some form of need, saysMichael Rodriguez, director of financial aid for the campus. “It’s alarge portion of our population, but the financial aid programprovides the opportunity for us to attract and matriculate studentsfrom a wide economic spectrum. Without that diversity, we’d be avery different college,” he says.

And without institutional grants, low-income students could not consider acollege such as St. John’s. The federalmaximum Pell Grant award is $4,050;some students also qualify for a Supple-mental Educational Opportunity Grant(SEOG), but the college matches 25percent of the SEOG awards. “The buyingpower of a federal grant is much less,”Rodriguez says.

After 21 years at the college, Rodriguezis still impressed by the sacrifices made byparents who want to see their childrenattend St. John’s. “They do what they have

to because they recognize that this is the school for their child, thatthis is where he or she will flourish,” he says.

Paula Abernethy, financial aid director in Annapolis, hasobserved that the college’s need-based financial aid is viewed as fairand equitable by most families, but the college does occasionally lose a student to another college because St. John’smakes awards based strictly on need, not merit. “Sometimesparents will come in with a package from another college, and say,‘can you match it?’ All we can do is offer the best package, and thenstudents and their families have to make a decision,” she says.

More than half of St. John’s students receive grant aid, andbarring a change in financial circumstances, each student cancount on that assistance to remain consistent through their fouryears at St. John’s, Abernethy explains. “We have a strong institutional commitment to aid,” she says. “If you look at that ratioin other schools, we’re actually quite high. We really do care aboutthe students and we want to give them the best aid package we can.”

The St. John’s grants are paid for by tuition, draw from endow-ment, and gifts to the college’s Annual Fund; federal grant aid is only a small part of the overall budget. Of the $19.2 million packaged in undergraduate financial aid awards last year, less than$900,000 in grant aid came from federal programs. In addition,the college gets $287,000 in federal aid for work-study, allowing a limited number of students to earn $2,800 a year from on-campus jobs.

Federally subsidized loans, PLUS loans for parents, and increas-ingly, private loans help students meet tuition and expenses, butinterest rates are on the rise for these programs, and small privateloans are now turning up in some financial aid packages. “We don’thave enough of the favorable loan money to cover our needs so wehave begun to include a private loan in the aid package,” says Aber-nethy.

When he first joined the college in 1985, Rodriguez saidstudent loans usually topped out at $10,000 over four years. Theaverage debt for the Santa Fe class of 2005 is $21,700—

continued

For the Students“With a Clear and Single Purpose”: The Campaign for St. John's Collegeseeks to raise $36.5 million for prioritiesrelating to students and student life onboth campuses:

• $33 million in endowment and AnnualFund for need-based financial aid, toensure access for all studentsadmitted to the college.

• $3.5 million in endowment and AnnualFund to improve services to students,fund internship opportunities, andprovide grants for teachers to attendthe Graduate Institute.

16


far less than the cost of one year’s tuition, but a burden he’d liketo see fewer students saddled with. “It’s worrisome, particularlywhen so many of our students go on to graduate programs,” he says.

At least once a year, Rodriguez has revisited a financial aidaward to help a struggling student. “When there are extenuatingcircumstances, we go back to the financial aid committee to seewhat can be done,” he says. “But we’re always up front with thestudents that we’re hampered by limited dollars.”

Another concern, along with loan debt, is the knowledge thatsome students are working at several jobs to help pay theirexpenses. Abernethy knows that a few students are working acampus job and nights or weekends at retail or restaurant jobs;some work 20 hours a week. “The Program isn’t meant for that,and these students are struggling,” she says. “Sometimes theycome in, and we try to help them in some way.”

Thanks to the Caritas Society, a group of Annapolis-area resi-dents who raise money to help students with unexpected

financial needs, Abernethy has a rainy-day fund to offer studentsat critical moments: she can give students up to $3,000 a year tohelp in emergencies. Each year, several students receive Caritasbook grants of $400; several endowment funds also generatemoney to help students purchase books.

At the financial aid conferences she attends, Abernethy hearsthe prevailing concern that middle-income families are thosewho struggle the most in this new financial aid climate. This year, she worked extensively with several families to makesure their dream of sending a child to St. John’s could happen.“It’s really nice when you go to Convocation, and you see thosekids up on the stage,” she says.

This May, Rodriguez will have the pleasure of seeing one of hisaward recipients graduate after an unusually long pursuit of abachelor’s degree. Nick Cabbiness, in his 40s and an inde-pendent student, never found a program that suited him—until heheard of St. John’s. “I tried college a few other times, and I would


“We really do care about the students and we want to give them the best aid package we can.”

Paula Abernethy, Annapolis financial aid director

17


end up triple-majoring, because I always had a desire to knowmany different things,” he says.

While he has worked in several campus jobs his first threeyears, served as a resident assistant, and contributed what hecould from savings, Cabbiness was most grateful for the grant aidhe received from the college. After graduation, he plans to

pursue a teaching career. From time to time over the years, he’sstruggled greatly with the demands of the Program, but he didn’thave to worry about paying tuition. “I’m so thankful to thecollege in many ways, but I’m most grateful to have the freedomto pursue work that I want to do, and not just for monetaryreasons,” he says. x


Somewhere in the midst of junior and senior years, students turntheir thoughts to life outside of St. John’s. The transition can bedaunting, especially to those students who don’t have a clear graspon a career path. To assist students as they consider variouscareers, Annapolis has the Hodson Internship and Santa Fe theAriel Internship.

Funded on a temporary basis, the Ariel program awarded itsfirst internship in 2005. To date $75,600 has been distributed,including six awards for fine arts internships funded by the Thaw Charitable Trust. Last year 38 applications were submittedand 15 stipends (ranging from $1,800 to $3,600) were granted.This summer the campus expects to fund 18 internships, awardedcompetitively to students who present a clear plan for where theywant to work and what they hope to discover through the experience. A campaign goal is to establish an endowment thatwill provide permanent funding for the Ariel Internships.

The Hodson Internship Program was established in 2000, with a generous endowment from The Hodson Trust. Each year,the program funds up to 25 internships with stipends of up to$3600 each.

Zacc Coker-Dukowitz (SF05)received an Ariel Internship thesummer after his senior year. His experience at an educationalorganization served as a catalystfor his first professional job, asassistant director of Break-through Santa Fe at Santa FePrep. Coker-Dukowitz’s Arielstipend allowed him to work asan intern at the BreakthroughCollaborative, based in SanFrancisco, and dedicated tohelping underprivileged kidsgain a better chance at highereducation. Coker-Dukowitztaught English classes toseventh- and eighth-graders, andhis St. John’s experience

influenced his approach in the classroom. “Inquiry is important inevery situation,” he says.

When Coker-Dukowitz applied for his internship, he wasn’tcertain that education was the field he wanted to pursue. His internship solidified his ambition, honed his talents, andpresented him with a specific direction.

Catherine Pisha (A06) had a similar experience during herinternship at the Women’s Rape Crisis Center in Burlington, Vt.,made possible by a grant from The Hodson Trust InternshipProgram. She entered the summer with vague ideas about whatshe wanted to do, but not how to do it.

“For a long time I have known that I enjoy work involving close interpersonal contact and emotional healing throughconversation, but I have not had a clear idea as to how that mighttranslate into a job,” she wrote in her post-internship report. By the end of the summer, she says, her career goals were“strengthened and honed. . .Being an intern at the Womens’ RapeCrisis Center allowed me to see that there is a wider range of jobsthat might meet these needs and interests of mine than I had

previously thought.”Not only did her experience at

the WRCC give her confidenceabout pursuing this field, it alsoprepared her for similar employment. She now works forthe Winooski Family Center, a nonprofit which providesvarious services to low-incomefamilies. For Pisha, the intern-ship was more than a financialgrant. It provided the clarity sheneeded to pursue a meaningfulpath after graduation. x

Internships Offer Johnnies Experience and Insight

An Ariel Internship set ZaccCoker-Dukowitz (SF05) on thepath to a job with Break-through Santa Fe, an educa-tional organization.te

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{ J a n e A u s t e n }18


Sometimes they are hamperedby pride or foolishness. Inother novels, their lack ofsocial status or fortunecreates the drama. But theheroines of Jane Austen’s

novels are always memorable: for theirfoibles, their dignity, their intelligence,their quick wit, and their sheer persist-ence. In these short essays, St. John’salumni, students, and tutors celebrate thewomen of Jane Austen’s world.

Elizabeth’s ComeuppanceBy Roberta Gable (A78)

Tiresome Elizabeth Bennet. How nice for her that she gets thehappily-ever-after treatment.

To recap the familiar plot of Pride and Prejudice: Mr. Bennet(he used to be disgusted, now he’s just amused) and Mrs. Bennet (more fatuous than which shall not be conceived,if you’re not counting the Collins branch of the family) havefive daughters: Jane (the saint), Elizabeth (the smarty-pants),Mary (the book-reading twerp), Lydia (the trollop-in-training)and Kitty (the trollop-in-training’s trollop-in-waiting). Janeand Elizabeth, the two eldest, usurped all virtues available tothe five girls, with the exceptions, perhaps, of seriousness(Mary) and malleability (Kitty). Virtuous or no, they all mustmarry, and in fact there are five offers tendered during the

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H E R O I N E S

Opposite: Witty Elizabeth Bennett brightens the pages of PRIDE

AND PREJUDICE. (Keira Knightly in the 2006 film.)

{ A u s t e n }


20

course of the action, but again, not doledout evenly: Lydia gets one, of the shotgunvariety; Jane gets one, from the oh-so-desirable Mr. Bingley; and Elizabeth getsthree, one from her ridiculous cousin Mr. Collins, and two from the detestableMr. Darcy, the second of which she accepts, and we’re made tofeel glad for her, because it turns out that Mr. Darcy is not sodetestable after all.

And most of the time we forget to dislike Elizabeth, too.She’s witty, she’s a fun read, and her behavior is regulated bygenuine feeling, not conventional manners. Hurrah for ourside, we think—the snooty rich women (Miss Bingley, Mrs. Hurst, and the tyrannical Lady Catherine de Bourgh) getwhat’s coming to them, at least in some small degree, and ourElizabeth, heroine, not of the working class, but of the genteelaspirers, is rewarded with the hand of a good-looking rich guy.(So is Jane, for that matter, but she’s insufficiently dimen-sional for us really to care about her.) The main obstacles tothe Elizabeth/Darcy match—his horror of marrying beneathhimself, her profound disgust for him—are graduallysurmounted, and happiness abounds. Love triumphs. Moneysoothes all concern for the morrow.

She who prides herself, however, on her independent mind,her ability to discern character, and her subtlety (especially incomparison with Ma and Pa) must first dine on crow. For thefirst 200 pages or so she judges, she gossips, she caricatures,she deplores, she assumes, she exults in her superiority, andshe trusts Wickham, the one true rascal in the story. Then shemust repent having been an ass. She who always has some-thing to say is made to shut up and listen: two letters, the firstfrom Darcy, defending himself, and the second from her aunt,revealing Darcy’s virtually superhuman goodness, effect thenecessary comeuppance.

“Oh! how heartily did she grieve over every ungracioussensation she had ever encouraged, every saucy speech shehad ever directed towards him.” While her self-flagellation isonly verbal, words are what drive reality in this comedy ofcharacter. Everyone is who people say he is, until they startsaying something different, and then he’s that; what happenshasn’t much happened until it is discussed. Finally Elizabethfinds she must re-create not only others but herself in words,no mean feat for a woman rightly accused of sometimes sayingthings precisely because she doesn’t mean them.

Lest we too become twerpy in our book-reading, andmoralize like dear sister Mary, let’s be easy on Miss Elizabeth,

with her lovely feet of clay. She herself getsover it, and lets the happy ending befallher.

Roberta Gable is associate director ofAdmissions in Annapolis.

Fanny Reconsideredby Rhonda Ortiz (A05)

To my teenage self on first reading Mansfield Park:

My dear Miss F——,Thank you for your last. Yes, I do remember receiving the

St. John’s College pamphlet: small, brown, with all thoseobscure authors listed ceremoniously on the cover. I’m notsurprised that you noticed Jane Austen’s name. Pride and Prejudice was the first work of literature that captivated youboth as an amusing story and intellectual food for thought.This singular delight in Austen was one of the primary reasonsyou decided to attend St. John’s College.

But right now you say you’re bewildered by Mansfield Park.How, you ask, could Austen, who created the brilliant,charming Elizabeth Bennet, also pen this repressed, unin-spiring, prudish Fanny Price, and call her a heroine? Where isher wit? Why is she so timid, so nervous? Why has Austen leftthe brilliant repartee, the intrigue, even all the action, to theother characters? And what’s all the moral fuss about?

I know that you are bound and determined to like every-thing Austen has written, and, don’t worry, you will.Mansfield Park and Fanny Price will surprise you yet. It willprobably take you multiple readings and, perhaps, a largeessay to realize that Fanny Price is more than likable. Theproblem now is your disposition.

In life and novels you prefer confident, agreeable,humorous, open characters. But like many 16-year-olds, youare willing but unpracticed in slowing down to notice—reallynotice—other people. It is easy to appreciate ElizabethBennet’s brilliance, but patience and sympathy are required tosee through Fanny’s awkwardness to her subtle beauty.

At nine, Fanny is sent by her struggling Portsmouth familyto live with her wealthy uncle and aunt. Shy, awkward, over-looked, and homesick, Fanny is miserable at Mansfield Parkuntil her cousin, Edmund, notices her unhappiness andbefriends her. Edmund discovers Fanny “to be clever, to havea quick apprehension as well as good sense, and a fondness for

Love triumphs. Money soothes all

concern for the morrow.

{ A u s t e n }


21

reading.” He attempts to bring Fanny “forward” but isthwarted by the behavior of the rest of the family, who, unwit-tingly or not, in their turn treat her as a sponger, a personalservant, a child to tease, a dimwit, or simply someone toignore. Not the kindest family. Furthermore, Fanny is hope-lessly eclipsed by her cousins, quintessential small-town beauties, and, later in the narrative, by the cosmopolitan Mary Crawford.

Given her life at Mansfield Park, it is easy to understandFanny’s awkwardness. Her sensitive nature feels sufferingacutely, and, habituated to lowliness, she becomes easilyflustered by attention or praise. Edmund, sensitive to Fanny’ssituation, sees past her awkwardness to her good qualities. Youshould try to do the same. It will give you a way into her character.

As to Fanny’s being so morally fussy, well, this is purposeful.Fanny’s character is meant to push some buttons. The story ofMansfield Park is driven primarily by the tension causedbetween traditional, Christian morality and skeptical,

modern, metropolitan mores. Consequently, the story givesrise to the same tension already in the soul of most modernWestern readers, including you. Mary Crawford, the story’santagonist, stands for the pragmatic and cynical modernwoman who regards society, marriage, tradition, and thechurch with an unbelieving eye. Fanny, on the other hand, cansee the moral good at stake in both small events (like the gift ofa necklace) and large ones (like marriage proposals). Mary isimmediately attractive and Fanny is not, yet it is Fanny whoAusten wants us to admire.

Remember that Edmund observes in Fanny an intuitive,intelligent mind, and a great amount of ‘sense.’ WithEdmund’s encouragement, Fanny grows to be not only sensi-tive and moral but also poetic and philosophic. “If any onefaculty of our nature may be called more wonderful than the

Patience and sympathy reveal the true heroism of MANSFIELD PARK’sFanny Price. (Frances O’Connor as Fanny in the 1999 film.)

continued on p. 23

{ A u s t e n }


22

Anne’s Second Chanceby Eva Brann (HA57)

Anne Elliot would seem to be the heroine of Persuasion, JaneAusten’s last complete novel. Persuasion is my favorite of the six—that is to say in between the others, since whichever I’m actuallyreading is my favorite at the time. I love Persuasion best, but I’m notso sure I love its heroine most. There’s a sure-fire test for such pref-erences: Imagine by whom you’d like to be asked to tea. That wouldbe, for me, Elizabeth Bennet of Pride and Prejudice or Emma Wood-house of Emma, the former because of the delightfully sparklingway she crosses wickedness with propriety, the latter, because thisyoung person, in her delicious self-confidence, gets everything socleverly wrong.

Anne of Persuasion, on the other hand, has had her spiritsdamped by disappointment and her demeanor shaped by too oftenhaving “scolded back her senses.” She is kind, competent, anduseful—universal usefulness being the spinster’s default position—and her nature has been more molded by self-control than by self-expression. I think she could not help depressing even a sympatheticguest from a later century by her air of grief bravely and silentlyborne—at least when we first meet her.

“When we first meet her:” The year is the summer of 1814; justabout the time Jane Austen must have been writing Persuasion. We are told on the first page that Anne was born on August 9, 1787.So she is 27 when the story begins, the oldest by at least seven yearsof all the heroines and the only one who lives in real time, alongsideJane Austen.

Moreover she has a past fitted into real history. In the summer of1806, just 200 years before my writing this little piece, a young navalofficer, Frederick Wentworth, had come into the neighborhood as aresult of his promotion after “the action off San Domingo.” Annehad been “an extremely pretty girl,” with gentleness, modesty,taste, and feeling. “She had hardly anybody to love,” for she isafflicted with a pretty awful father and two very unlovable sisters,and her mother had died in 1800 (or 1801). So she falls “rapidly anddeeply in love.” No other heroine does that; they take their time, andit isn’t clear that they “fall in love” at all. I think I can prove, and willone day, that Elizabeth, who surely loves Darcy, is not at all in lovewith him, though he, the proud and inhibited owner of a fine estate,is the most attractive of that gallery, mostly of young clergymen stiffwith propriety and rectitude while waffling as lovers, with whomJane Austen’s girls elect to make their happiness.

“A short period of exquisite happiness follows,” but then Annesends him away, persuaded by the opposition of the well-intentionedbut essentially obtuse Lady Russell who had taken a mother’s placein Anne’s esteem. “Lady Russell had little taste for wit,” whileCaptain Wentworth was brilliant, headstrong, and—“had nofortune.” Lady Russell’s persuasion “was more than gentle Annecould combat,” for it dwelt on duty.

Now he is back in Somersetshire, rich with prize money and risingin his profession. We are sure he’ll be an admiral, as two of JaneAusten’s brothers were to be. This Frederick Wentworth is the onlyactive fighting man, the only suitor in the six novels, who is both

spirited and reliably a gentleman; usually the brilliant ones, likeHenry Crawford of Mansfield Park, are sadly corruptible. Whatmakes Anne attractive is partly that she can love and be loved by sucha man.

But there has been a hiatus of eight years, of pique, anger, andsuccessful action for him, of confused, patient, lonely grief for her.Her inconsiderate sister repeats to her that Captain Wentworth,who has himself lost none of his attractiveness, had observed her tobe “so altered he should not have known her again.” So begins hersecond ordeal, in which Wentworth is kept from approaching her, atfirst by the misconstruals of disappointed pride and eventually byjealousy, as Anne is courted by the heir to the family estate. So too,Anne’s shrinking spirit prevents her from bringing about anymutual clarification until the very end. Of course, were she bolder,she wouldn’t be Anne Elliot, and Persuasion wouldn’t be a full-length novel, the slow unraveling of the adversities that have keptthem apart. But finally all the grief is dissolved and perfect felicityensues: “It was but a card-party, it was but a mixture of those whohad never met before, and those who met too often.” The two havingthat afternoon declared themselves to each other but not yet to theworld, Anne moves through that evening of bliss: “some moments ofcommunication continually occurring, and always the hope ofmore, and always the knowledge of his being there.” It is, as far as myreading goes, the most perfectly captured moment of the inwardbliss of yet unpublished love in literature.

There is a coda to this tale which throws light on what Jane Austenmeant by it. Her nephew, James Edward Austen-Leigh, reports in A Memoir of Jane Austen that perhaps because of ill-health (she wasto die on July 18, 1817, exactly a year from the night he tells of) “sheretired to rest in very low spirits.” She thought the chapter of reso-lution tame and flat. “But such depression was little within hernature,” and the next day, revived in spirits, she canceled theoffending chapter and wrote two new ones. If you read both thecanceled and the substituted climactic chapters you might at firstfind them equally lovable in different ways, but then it dawns on you.The new chapter recounts a confidential conversation betweenAnne and one of Wentworth’s fellow officers which is accidentallyoverheard by him, and this conversation reveals the deep theme ofthe novel: women’s and men’s constancy in love, differently constituted, but equally strong in both. For Wentworth, Anne’sgentle insistence on women’s faithfulness is the signal he needs todeclare himself.

Everyone agrees that Persuasion is somehow deeper and darkerthan the earlier five. “Darker” doesn’t seem quite right to me—“more feeling-fraught” is better. But this feeling isn’t Anne’s orFrederick’s feeling only; it is—again “somehow”—Jane Austen’s. Notthat Persuasion is autobiographical; there is no evidence at all thatshe nourished an undying love for anyone, and gentleness hardlydescribes the loving malice of her temper. Nonetheless, she is,somehow, ever-present in Persuasion, her spirit is more palpable inthis than in any other of the perfect six, and on second thought, it’sher presence for which I love that book; she’s its heroine.

Eva Brann will begin her 50th year at St. John’s next fall.

rest, I do think it is memory,” sheexclaims, inspired during a daily walk.“There seems something more speakinglyincomprehensible in the powers, the fail-ures, the inequalities of memory, than inany of our intelligences. . . .We are to besure a miracle every way.” Fanny, among many things, thinksabout thinking. She is attentive to the wonders both in natureand in herself.

The point is, be sensitive to Fanny. I don’t think Austenintends for us to immediately like her. If she did she wouldn’thave penned as delectable an antagonist as Mary Crawford.Mansfield Park is called her most philosophic novel; perhapsAusten wants to engage us in a philosophic challenge—to learnto see Fanny, and then see what Fanny sees. See what happensif you reconsider Fanny.

I remain yours, etc. etc. R.O.

Rhonda (Franklin) Ortiz wrote her senior essay on MansfieldPark; she teaches elementary school in Washington, D.C.

Emma, Enlightenedby Namara Smith (SF07)

The real evils indeed of Emma’s situation were the power ofhaving rather too much her own way and a disposition to thinka little too well of herself; these were the disadvantages whichthreatened alloy to her many enjoyments. —Emma

Emma Woodhouse’s “disposition to think a little too well ofherself” does not manifest itself in the obvious way, throughpride in her beauty. Emma’s delighted initiation of her fickle“projects,” both her artistic endeavors and her matchmaking,reveals that her vanity is satisfied by gazing, not at her physicalreflection, but at a world that reflects her wishes. Because heractions are unchecked by her father and her governess, she hasalmost no outside judgment to make her doubt her own perfec-tion; the only criticism she receives is from Mr. Knightley, “oneof the few people who could see faults in Emma Woodhouse,and the only one who ever told her of them.” Mr. Knightley’smoderate rebukes alone are not enough to make Emma see thedangers of her position. Emma’s vanity in her mental image ofherself, not her physical image, shows her partially correct self-

awareness. Emma is not stubbornly orperversely defying her reason and experi-ence—she is, in fact, uncommonly clever.This half-truth, without the balance ofsufficient candor from others is, in part,why she remains unaware of the dangershe faces.

Perhaps the most disturbing characterto Emma is the new bride of Mr. Elton, a woman who is vain,meddlesome, socially manipulative and ridiculous. From thefirst mention of Augusta Hawkins, some connection betweenEmma and the future Mrs. Elton is implied. Mr. Elton proposesto Emma, is refused, runs off to Bath, and almost immediatelyproposes to Miss Hawkins. To Mr. Elton, at least, Emma andMrs. Elton both possess the qualities that he seeks in a wife:money and social class. Mr. Elton’s airy assumption of theirrelative equality is Emma’s first worrisome indication that theworld does not necessarily share her own rose-colored vision ofherself. As a result, Emma feels she must, on some level, criticize his new bride and distinguish herself from her in orderto correct his lack of judgment. As readers, we realize that hercharacter and dialogue has been deliberately constructed toecho Emma’s earlier manners. Mrs. Elton’s unblushing assertion that “blessed with so many resources within[herself], the world was not necessary. . .” parodies Emma’sstatement: “If I know myself, Harriet, mine is an active, busymind with a great many independent resources.” Emma’s reac-tion to Mrs. Elton is the catalyst that forces Emma from herpassive self-satisfaction into actively defining her position inthe world.

When the new Mrs. Elton makes her first appearance inHighbury, Emma almost instantly recognizes in Mrs. Elton thesame “evils” that are ascribed to her at the beginning of thenovel: “[a] quarter of an hour quite convinced her that Mrs. Elton was a vain woman, extremely well satisfied withherself, and thinking much of her own importance. . .shemeant to shine and be very superior . . .Miss Hawkins, it mightbe fairly supposed, from her easy conceit, had been the best ofher own set.” Emma can see the source of Mrs. Elton’s short-comings although she is blind to the dangers of her own vanity,and she perceives that Mrs. Elton’s “easy conceit” comes fromher limited experience of the world.

Mrs. Elton uses her social status as the foundation for herextravagant claims to aesthetic taste. The most noticeable

{ A u s t e n }


23

continued from p. 21

With Edmund’s encouragement,

Fanny grows to benot only sensitive

and moral but also poetic and

philosophic.

{ T h e C o l l e g e • John’s College • Fall 2006 }

{ A u s t e n }24

example of her role as a self-appointedaesthetic judge is her treatment of JaneFairfax. When Mrs. Elton thrusts herselfinto the role of Jane Fairfax’s custodian,she presents herself as the only personwith the sensibility to recognize and culti-vate Jane’s talents in the aesthetic wasteland of Highbury.Speaking to Emma of her resolution to “bring Jane forward,” Mrs. Elton quotes a poetic couplet: “Full many a flower is bornto blush unseen, and waste its fragrance on the desert air.” In terms of Jane Fairfax, this attitude is patently false. FromJane’s first appearance, everyone acknowledges her artisticaccomplishment and skill. Mrs. Elton uses her association withJane to enhance her own appearance of aesthetic superiority.

These incidents seem insignificant, but they foreshadowMrs. Elton’s most contemptible action towards Jane—herconstant pressure to trap her into the inferior position of agoverness. Mrs. Elton’s actions toward Jane show no real appre-ciation or respect of her artistic excellence. She uses Jane tofurther her own social status, while attempting to limit Janefrom having real social power.

Mrs. Elton’s treatment of Jane Fairfax highlights thehypocrisy of Emma’s mentoring of Harriet Smith. Emma doesnot cultivate Harriet as a social lever, however, but more as akind of game or project, an example of Emma’s playful disposi-tion leading her astray. Although Emma’s intentions aredifferent from Mrs. Elton’s, the effect is the same. They bothharm and improperly influence Harriet and Jane. Emma’ssocial neglect of Jane is just as damning as her carelessinfluence over Harriet. Jane is left with no arena to develop hertalents, no peers, no one to really appreciate her socially. Inpart, this neglect leaves her vulnerable to Frank’s illicit offer ofa secret engagement. Mrs. Elton’s actions lead Emma to realizeand regret how she has mistreated Harriet and neglected Jane.

Emma’s first interactions with Mrs. Elton represent animportant turning point in her character. For the first time, her social position and its related aesthetic values are notenough to distinguish her from someone she feels is her inferior. Emma’s new awareness of the deficiency of socialforms is revealed in a disturbing incident right after her firstinterview with Mrs. Elton—Emma’s only argument with herfather. Superficially, this disagreement is about whether Mr. Woodhouse needs to visit Mrs. Elton and pay his respects.However, Emma’s frustration with her father’s inability to see

beyond Mrs. Elton’s social status as abride reveals her new dissatisfaction withpurely social definitions. Correspond-ingly, she realizes that the near-universalapproval and even praise of her thatcontributed to her vanity is not a

complete reflection of her character. She begins to feel theneed to move beyond her home and establish an independentposition in the world.

Mrs. Elton pushes Emma out of passive immersion in herimmediate society by reflecting Emma back to herself in anunsettling manner. Emma must now choose between ironicdetachment from the world or fully aware, moral participationin society.

Miss Smith wrote about Emma for her junior essay in Santa Fe.

Sensible Elinor by Barbara Goyette (A73)

What is so striking about Elinor Dashwood, the heroine of Senseand Sensibility, is the way she bears heartsickness. She falls inlove with and believes she is loved by an amiable, educated, hand-some young man of some prospects, only to discover that he isengaged to another. Upon the death of her father, she and hermother and sisters must leave the small estate of Norland, wherethey have lived happily for many years. Her beloved sister Marianne falls for the perfidious but charming Willoughby, whonot only leaves Marianne without a word of explanation but turnsout to have an unsavory past. When Marianne becomesextremely ill, Elinor must nurse her back to health in mind as wellas body. Not only does Elinor suffer these misfortunes silently,but she also endures the remonstrances of her mother and sisterwhen they tell her she appears to be unfeeling about everydaytrials. The depth of her disappointments and struggles is never revealed.

Elinor shows herself to be strong, emotionally sound, capableof excellent judgment, and able to appear to recover her spiritsquickly even in the midst of devastating events. She is neitherdashing nor exciting, and is pretty in an unremarkable way,except to those who see her true character. Extremely sensitive tothe inner lives of those around her, she at times appears to hidefrom her own goodness.

Emma is not stubbornly or perversely defying

her reason and experience—she is,

in fact, uncommonly clever.

{ T h e C o l l e g e • John’s College • Fall 2006 }

{ A u s t e n } 25

Her infatuation with Edward Ferrars can seem baffling—is sheimagining his charms? Is she expecting less for herself in lovebecause she thinks this is all she deserves? Her highly developedsense of irony almost leads her down dangerous paths a numberof times, as she treats her mother, sister, and acquaintances withless than genuine attention because, we may infer, they lack theseriousness of her own concerns. She knows she is superior—morally and in both sense and sensibility—and yet she lives outher life in the background.

The work of the novel is to fill in the picture of Elinor’s truecharacter—to herself and to us as readers—her nature as a humanbeing living with a particular set of people in a particular place,at a particular time. Although it might seem that who she is andwho she becomes could be the result of the constraints of her

situation (which is drawn in great detail), Austen shows usinstead that Elinor determines her own character—outside of,although influenced by, the situations that we are used tothinking of as those that make women like Elinor who they are:birth, rank or status, social connections, education, role insociety, income.

Early in the novel we are presented with a scene that lays outthe various connections between the characters. Mrs. Dashwood,Elinor, Marianne and their younger sister Margaret are newlyarrived at Barton Cottage, having been displaced from theirhome following the unexpected death of Mr. Dashwood. Sir John

The Dashwood sisters are drawn as opposing personalities.(Emma Thompson as Elinor, Kate Winslet as Marianne in Ang Lee’s 1995 film.)


{ A u s t e n }26

Middleton, a cousin of Mrs. Dashwood,has offered them the cottage for a veryreasonable rent. The women are recon-ciled to their reduced circumstances,although it is clear that only Elinorunderstands the kinds of changes theywill have to make in their way of life. Thecharms of the new countryside, as wellas the possibility of new acquaintances,have made them fairly cheerful. The Dashwoods have been invitedto Barton Park, the home of Sir John and Lady Middleton. Also inattendance are Mrs. Jennings, mother to Lady Middleton, andColonel Brandon, a neighbor and friend of Sir John.

In the scene when all these characters convene for the first time,Austen shows clearly that character is independent of both natureand nurture. There is a kind of merry chaos in which each personcontradicts our expectations of what they will be like based ontheir situation.

Sir John Middleton, a member of the traditional gentry, shouldbe stuffy and proud. Instead, he is warm, kindly, generous, andoutgoing. His wife Lady Middleton, through her marriage a socialequal of her husband, is reserved, cold, and possesses a “commonmind.” Her mother, Mrs. Jennings, is decidedly bourgeois,wealthy enough, effusive, more than slightly vulgar. Where doesSir John’s generous nature come from, and why is his wife soaffectedly elegant? Neither their situation nor their backgroundaccounts for the differences in their characters. Colonel Brandon,situated similarly to Sir John, offers a further contrast—he ismoody, intelligent, and concise, more like a member of the clergythan a military man with property.

Elinor and Marianne are drawn as opposing personalities aswell. While Elinor is reserved and sensible, Marianne believes theheart must always show the way. Both are in a precarious statesocially and financially and we might think the accepted route totheir happiness and security would lie in good marriages for both.And yet through Elinor, Austen suggests that character develop-ment determines happiness. Elinor forms herself rather thanallowing her circumstances to make her.

Barbara Goyette is vice president of Advancement in Annapolis.

Artless Catherineby Tilar J. Mazzeo (SF93)

As Jane Austen warns her readers at thebeginning of Northanger Abbey,Catherine Moreland is an unlikelyheroine, and, when it comes to tributesto Austen’s women, Catherine can be a

bit of a hard sell. She lacks the wit and charm of Elizabeth Bennet.She can’t boast the self-possession of Elinor Dashwood. Even themeddlesome Emma Woodhouse has the advantage of beinggenuinely clever. Perhaps most fundamentally, Catherine falls inlove with a man who is primarily attracted to her intellectual limitations and to her good-natured eagerness to be guided by thesuperior knowledge of others without developing any of her own.Henry Tilney is an enthusiastic lecturer of young women, andAusten reminds her readers that nothing is more flattering to thevanity than the wide-eyed wonder of one’s interlocutor, writingthat “Where people wish to attach, they should always be ignorant.”

Ironically, however, the nature of Catherine’s ignorance is whatmakes her such an interesting and ultimately likeable character—not, I hope, because she flatters my vanity as a reader, but becauseit seems to me that the exploration of her ignorance over thecourse of the novel is part and parcel of Austen’s larger themesabout artlessness and the art of the novel in Northanger Abbey.

Of course, Northanger Abbey is a novel about the status of thegenre, part satire on the excesses of the gothic variety so popularin the early 19th century and part defense of the novel as a “workin which the greatest powers of the human mind are displayed.”The satire on the gothic is what most readers remember aboutNorthanger Abbey, and Catherine’s introduction to the genre,coinciding with her introduction into fashionable society, is acomic misadventure in which she learns to over-interpret the incidents of domestic life, imagining melodrama where it does notexist. In fact, it seems that an education in the aesthetics of thegothic novel is simultaneously a process of learning to read forfigurative and double meanings. Catherine’s interpretive zeal,however, ends unhappily when she comes to a mistaken conclusion. Embarrassed and conscious of her own error, she endsby rejecting the genre and recognizing the unfortunate “influenceof that sort of reading.”

While Elinor is reserved and sensible, Marianne believes the

heart must always show the way.


{ A u s t e n } 27

If Catherine’s newfound understanding of gothic novels andthe dangers of interpretation were simply part of her education asan increasingly sophisticated reader, then we might say that shewas a slow study but on her way. Instead, she returns to whatappears to be her natural state of ignorance, a state in which shedemonstrates an inability to recognize irony or to negotiate theways in which language creates duplicity. Perhaps the most tellingmoment occurs late in the novel, when it is precisely Catherine’sinability to understand this duplicity that most endears her toEleanor and Henry Tilney. Faced with the prospect of hisbrother’s marriage to the deceitful Isabella Thorpe, Henry sarcastically advises Eleanor, “Prepare for. . .such a sister-in-lawas you must delight in!—Open, candid, artless, guileless. . .formingno pretensions, and knowing no disguise.” Eleanor immediatelygrasps the irony, assuring Henry that such a sister-in-law as thatshe would welcome—for the characterization describes Catherineprecisely. Only Catherine fails to understand the wit or to recognize herself as the half-subject of the exchange. Catherine’sinterpretive simplicity and literal-mindedness, if those phraseswork to describe her ignorance and intellectual limitations moreprecisely, lend some of the humor to this passage, of course. Butwhat I find most curious is the description of Catherine, here andthroughout the novel, as artless. From the earliest moments of thenovel, readers are assured of her limited accomplishments: “shecould not write sonnets. . .there seemed no chance of her

throwing a whole party into raptures by a prelude on thepianoforte. . . .she had no notion of drawing”. Her interest infashion is remarkably lackluster, and her tastes in reading arelimited to the gothic novel, with which she shortly becomes disen-chanted. At the same time, she remains singularly innocent ofirony. Catherine is, in other words, artless in at least tworespects—she is both ignorant of aesthetics and inexperienced atmanipulating representation. She is incapable of either engagingin or understanding duplicity.

Yet, understanding duplicity is essential both to irony and to thesort of fiction that Northanger Abbey—this novel about novels—celebrates. Early in Northanger, in fact, “effusions of wit” areidentified as a central to the genre. What we have here is a witlessand artless heroine, and the choice is perhaps one of Austen’smost striking experiments in and, ultimately, satires on realism.After all, Catherine is precisely the sort of girl most likely toappeal to a slightly vain and entirely ordinary country clergyman.In the context of a romance, she might just pass as a heroine, for,if she is unlikely, she is not unlikable. But, while not under-standing duplicity might be an admirable thing in a 19th-centuryheroine, the art of the novel and the art of the reader demandsomething more.

Tilar Mazzeo is assistant professor of English at Colby College.

Wit and Wisdom from Jane AustenOn Good CompanyAnne smiled and said, “My idea of good company, Mr Elliot, is

the company of clever, well-informed people, who have a greatdeal of conversation; that is what I call good company.”

“You are mistaken,” said he gently, “that is not good company;that is the best.”—Persuasion

On CandorSeldom, very seldom, does complete truth belong to any humandisclosure; seldom can it happen that something is not a littledisguised, or a little mistaken.—Emma

On One’s Self“We have all a better guide in ourselves, if we would attend to it,than any other person can be.”—Fanny Price, Mansfield Park

On Men and Books“Men have had every advantage of us in telling their own story.Education has been theirs in so much higher a degree; the penhas been in their hands. I will not allow books to prove anything.”—Anne Elliot, Persuasion

On Women and MarriageWithout thinking highly either of men or of matrimony,marriage had always been her object; it was the only honourableprovision for well-educated young women of smallfortune, and however uncertain of giving happiness, must betheir pleasantest preservative from want.—Pride and Prejudice

On Youth“. . .there is something so amiable in the prejudices of a youngmind, that one is sorry to see them give way to the reception ofmore general opinions.”—Colonel Brandon, Sense and Sensibility

28


{ B i b l i o f i l e }

The past few months have brought a widevariety of alumni books to The Collegemailbox, on topics from religion to baseball.

The Grail Code: Quest for the Real Presenceby Mike Aquilina and Christopher Bailey(A87)Loyola Press

The authors traceHoly Grail storiesand legendsthroughout timewith the aim ofshowing how theseaccounts haveradically skewedthe Eucharisticmeaning of theGrail. “Powerfulforces tend to pullthe story of the

Grail toward heresy,” Aquilina and Baileywrite in this study that includes considera-tion of the King Arthur legends, Marie deFrance’s stories of love and magic writtenin the Middle Ages, and even Hollywood’stake on Christian symbolism and the Grailin films such as Indiana Jones. Theydismiss many Grail stories, particularlymodern ones such as Dan Brown’s Da VinciCode, as written by members “of the wackyfringe.” In the authors’ opinions, thesearch for the Grail becomes a quest foradventure and entertainment in thesestories instead of an experience fueled bythe purpose of changing the seeker’s life ina deep, spiritual sense.

The Truth is Out There: Christian Faith and the Classicsof TV Science Fictionby Thomas Bertonneau and Kim Paffenroth (A88)Brazos Press

Star Trek fans out there will enjoy seeinghow some of their favorite episodes of the1960s science fiction classic relate to Plato,the Bible, and St. Augustine. ProfessorsThomas Bertonneau and Kim Paffenrothlook to science fiction as a lens that showshow religion and science can be integrated.They cite Plato’s dialogue Timaeus aspossibly the “first science fiction story”that discusses the idea that the world wascreated by a god who is rational and moral.

The authors then analyze science fictiontelevision shows such as Star Trek, Dr.Who, The Prisoner, and The Twilight Zone.

Star Trek, the authors propose, can beconsidered a showcase for Christian virtuessuch as humility and moderation. The trioof Kirk, Spock, and the crotchety McCoyfunction as a whole being, drawing analo-gies to Plato’s views of the triumviratesoul. “Star Trek’s consistent vision seemsto be about morality,” they write. Theauthors also show how The Twilight Zoneillustrates the impact of original sin. The more recent series, The X Files, is cast in a darker religious light—that of theapocalypse.

Cooking with the Bible: Biblical Food, Feasts, and LoreAnthony F. Chiffolo (AGI94) and RaynerW. Hesse, Jr.Greenwood Press

Food, history, andreligion simmertogether in thiscookbook by Chif-folo, an editorialdirector and Hesse,a minister. Theauthors spent morethan three yearsresearching andtesting recipes forwhat they describeas an interfaith

cookbook that is as much a study ofetymology as it is a collection of recipes.Each recipe is based on a food found in theBible, but presented in its modern day“translation.” For instance, the apple inthe Garden of Eden is probably more likean apricot since the Middle Easternclimate wasn’t conducive to growingapples. Each chapter begins with the menufor a biblical feast. More intellectual thanthe average cookbook, Cooking with theBible offers short essays describing thetheological, historical, and culturalsignificance of particular feasts. “The KingJames Bible says that St. John the Baptistsurvived on locusts and honey,” Chiffolorecently told The Journal News of NewYork. “Current scholars say that this is amistranslation—‘locust’ really refers tokarib, which grows on trees in the MiddleEast. In the Middle East, karib is referredto as St. John’s Bread.”

Among the meals Johnnies might recog-

nize from sophomore seminar: TheWedding Feast at Cana from the Gospel ofJohn, the meal that Abraham feeds thethree angel visitors in Genesis, and themeal that Jacob feeds Esau to steal thebirthright.

Management by Baseball: The Official Rules for WinningManagement in Any FieldJeff Angus (SF73)HarperCollins Publishers

What can themanager of astruggling busi-ness learn fromYankees managerJoe Torres? Whendoes a player in aslump (an under-achievingemployee) needextra coaching,and when shouldhe be sent back to

the minors or cut from the team? Jeff Angus describes the complexity of

the organization in baseball, usingAmerica’s favorite past-time as an analogyfor managers in other fields. “It’s a prag-matic, how-to book that aims to teachmanagement practice through examplesfrom the most open, accountable, anddocumented competitive system in theU.S.: baseball,” says Angus.

“Baseball managers are ideal rolemodels for mangers in other professionswho are required to handle many differenttasks under high-pressure situations,”writes Angus. He quotes the famous TyCobb, “A fellow bossing a big league ball-club is busier than a one-armed paper-hanger with hives.”

Angus, who is a management consultantand baseball writer with a passion for thegame, shows how baseball can helpmanagers “explode out of the batter’s box”and learn how “the New York Metsconfront the diseconomies of scale.” Anguspitches advice on how to establish a reputa-tion in the style of Dick Williams (formermanager of the Oakland A’s) and describesthe management style of several other topmanagers of the game. x

29


It was an interesting but unsettledtime in America when membersof the St. John’s College Class of1976 arrived in Santa Fe. Mostcollege campuses were still in anuproar over the Vietnam War.

The draft would be in effect for anotheryear. The Paris Peace Accords had justbeen signed. And in each freshmanmailbox was a letter from PresidentRichard Nixon, congratulating thestudents for matriculating as members ofthe Class of 1976, America’s bicentennialyear. “We thought it was kind of sappy,”recalls Rick Lightburn.

“It was the 1970s, a kind of a turbulenttime, and I think we thought of ourselvesas kind of renegades,” says ChuckGunter of the class of 1976. “Watergatehappened, the Vietnam War endedduring our years here, and Nixonresigned.”

Clouds and the threat of rain in mostlysunny Santa Fe couldn’t dampen the highspirits of the 15 members of the class of 1976 who returned tocampus the last weekend of July. About 100 other alumni, manywith children in tow, came back to share memories and newswith classmates. At the Friday night coffee shop party, the D.J.

{ H o m e c o m i n g }

H O M E C O M I N G2 0 0 6

Santa Fe Alumni Remember Nixon, the Draft, and a Growing Campus

It was a turbulent time in America when the Class of 1976 first arrived on the Santa Fe campus. The threat of stormsmoved the picnic inside, but didn’t dampen spirits at Homecoming 2006.


30 { H o m e c o m i n g }

played the Rolling Stones’ “Brown Sugar,”Aretha Franklin’s “Respect,” and severalDoors songs as a tribute to the 1970s.

In 1972, Richard Weigle was president;William Darkey was dean. And tutor BobNeidorf allowed his hair to grow longer in apersonal protest against the state of thecountry, recalled Gunter.

“Santa Fe was a really different city,”added Gunter, who lives in Albuquerquenow. “It was much smaller, and it hadbecome this really interesting hippie artscommunity.”

The campus was still new, with buildingsgoing up around them. There was noMeem Library, no Student ActivitiesCenter. The main administration buildingbecame Weigle Hall and the tower and bellwere added.

Lightburn recalled that members of hisclass were impressed by an attempt the yearbefore by upperclassmen to bug the facultyenabling meeting. “We put fake TVcameras in for our enabling, but the facultyfound them,” he says.

Paula Fulks, Judy Kistler-Robinson, andMiriam Marcus Smith were trying to drumup interest in reviving a favorite pastimeduring their years at the college: a game of“Murder,” played on Friday and Saturdaynights in Evans Science Laboratory. “We’dscatter out through the whole building,”Fulks recalls. “When you ran across a‘victim,’ you’d have to figure out who killedthem and get back to the safe room beforethe murderer got you. I almost won acouple of times.”

During the weekend, alumni were partof a gala opening celebration Friday nightfor The Campaign for St. John’s College.They were pleased to see the developmentson campus, even if it meant skirting

barriers and taking detours while a projectto replace the concrete pavement withbricks was underway. “It’s really nice tosee all the improvements,” Gunter said.

During the All-Alumni Meeting, Presi-dent Mike Peters gave an update on news atthe college. Alumni stood and clapped toacknowledge a gift by Dr. Norman Levan(SFGI74), given for construction of a newGraduate Institute Center. And Katharine(Kay) Harper became an honorary member

of the Class of 2006, by virtue of her dedication to the college’s CommunitySeminar program. Ms. Harper has spentmore than 25 years attending seminars atthe college (more on page 46). x

Santa Fe associate director of alumniactivities Michael Bales (SF06) gets hintson chair balancing from Rick Lightburn(SF76). “It’s really tough on the CoffeeShop floor,” Lightburn says.

{ H o m e c o m i n g }


31

Clockwise from top left: Alumni visit in thecoffee shop after the Saturday picnic; RebekkaShugars (SF) and friends; Bill Malloy (SF77)admires future Johnnie Clare West, with parentsAlison Bentley West (SF91) and Ben West. Gina Ironside and Charles Harrison (SF81) catchup on news; Johnnie kids strike a pose on the MeemLibrary Placita: Alice Acciani, Ben Goldstein,Teodore Davison, John Stukenberg, CalebGartner-Colon, and Nicholas Miller.

photos by teri thomson randall


{ A l u m n i P r o f i l e }32

An average day forMarcus Eubanks(A88), alwaysintersects withunusual days forother people.

In the emergency department atBeaver Medical Center, inBeaver, Penn., Eubanks seeseverything from mosquito bitesto acute infections to accidenttrauma. But October 28, 2003,was an unusual day even for thisexperienced ER doctor.

A man with very severe flusymptoms had elevated liverenzymes, and Eubanks realizedthat he was dealing with the sixthHepatitis A victim in one week.He had treated several in the pastdays, and a colleague had treatedanother. One Hepatitis A casewould not be news, but even twoor three were odd. Six seemedbeyond coincidence, and thishunch was confirmed when thewife of one of the patients, anurse, said that they had all eatentogether at the same restaurant.Could it be food poisoning? That mightmean that the source of the poisoning wasstill out there, or that more patients wereunaware of the danger, and thought they justhad the flu. Eubanks didn’t want to set off apublic panic, but this was too urgent toignore or allow to idle longer.

A quick call to public health officials set inmotion a sweeping investigation into whatturned out to be one of the largest hepatitisoutbreaks in recent times. Federal anti-terrorism officials had to evaluate thepossibility that it might be bioterrorism,while the medical team had to find otherpossible victims for pre-emptive treatment.Three Beaver County patients died, whilehundreds were infected and required treatment. The victims had all eaten at alocal Chi-Chi’s, and the search for the exactcontaminant eventually led investigators tofour Mexican farms to examine theirmethods of washing green onions. The outbreak put Eubanks in the spotlight,

and he has served on several public-healthpanels to discuss his experience.

Eubanks likes “high-acuity medicine,”and always knew he wanted to be on thefront lines, where fast action mattered. Highacuity medicine means facing “a dynamiccondition where aggressive and intensiveintervention on the part of the clinical teamis called for, and without which the patientwill continue to deteriorate and probablyeither die or suffer some kind of catastrophicinsult from which they can’t recover.”

As a student at St. John’s, he began takingsummer courses to prepare for medicalschool, first at Johns Hopkins, then at BrynMawr College. When he first began studiesat Temple University Medical School, hethought he might like to go into traumasurgery. Instead, he chose emergency medicine because it combined the urgency of trauma surgery with the need to beprepared for a wide variety of problems.

In an average week in his emergencydepartment, Eubanks evaluates several

patients with acute mentalillness, both children and adults,as well as dealing with all levelsof injury and disease. Somepatients come in too readily,while others wait too long.“There’s always the guy whowaits till the football game is overbefore coming in. His heartattack started with the pre-gameshow, but he had to watch thegame.” He sees women in labor,premature babies, and people inthe last stages of death fromlong-term metastatic cancer.

One thing he loves aboutemergency medicine is the needto think broadly, to avoid formulaic thinking. “Medicine ingeneral requires you to integratea lot of different things. You needto be okay with people ingeneral, you need to understandthe hard empirical science ofwhat’s going on, but you need tobe able to think broadly so thatwhen something out of the ordinary crops up, you can think“how does this work?”

That’s one similarity he sees between hisfield and St. John’s. “By going through theSt. John’s Program, you see how severaldifferent fields or disciplines of study can bebrought to bear on a question. But, ofcourse, a lot of ER medicine is simple,empirical stuff. You have a sore throat: howam I going to treat you? What Pascal has tosay about it isn’t going to be as important.”

Not taking himself too seriously is animportant part of Eubanks’ personal philosophy, as well as medical practice. On a recent day, a woman came in with painin her side. She thought she had appen-dicitis, but it looked like diverticulitis tohim. “I thought, ‘okay, let’s see who’s right,’ ” he jokes. “Guess what? I waswrong.” In acute medicine, that’s always apossibility to keep in mind.

As a medical student, Eubanks usedcreative writing to deal with his adjustmentto a world where personal tragedy and anordinary work day could routinely intersect.

by Ruth Johnston (A85)

Emergency Room physician Marcus Eubanks identified a deadlyhepatitis outbreak in suburban Pittsburgh.

Broad Thinking in the ERMarcus Eubanks (A88) Solves a Medical Mystery


{ A l u m n i N o t e s } 33

1940OSCAR LORD’S eldest son, Gen. Lance Welty Lord, retiredfrom active duty as commanderof the Air Force Space Commandon March 31, 2006.

1943MILTON PERLMAN writes, “I am delighted that Ms. PatriciaLocke is doing a study of Proustand that Swann’s Way is againbeing studied in language tutorials the senior year.”

1944Happy news from JOHN DAVIS

HILL: “I have been married toDorothy Murdock for 60 years.Recently Dorothy was recog-nized at the Annual Meeting ofthe Nebraska CongregationalUnited Church of Christ for 65 years in the ministry. Shereceived her degree from theUniversity of Chicago DivinitySchool and the Chicago Theo-logical Seminary, where she wasordained in June 1941.”

1951A love letter of sorts from ERNIE

HANKAMER: “To my fellow classmates: On the eve of the55th return of our graduation in1951, I think we are all aware ofbeing indebted to St. John’s

College for helping us todiscover, and recognize, theworth of liberal education.Although most of us would prob-ably hesitate to call ourselvesliberal artists, my guess is thatmost of us attempted to be some-thing like liberal artisans—in ourfurther education, personallives, and professional pursuits,tacitly taking the measure ofthings by standards we learnedfrom our tutors and one another.

In a culture in which, all toooften, education is conflatedwith training, philosophy is

confused with ideology, and religion is confounded with idolatry, liberal artisanship issurely, indeed, sorely, needed.

I am grateful for the librislibraque.”

1952WALTER SCHATZBERG hasretired from his position asProfessor of German at Clark

After the death of a patient in a particularlygruesome accident, he wrote an e-mail to hisparents that detailed both the event and hisviewpoint as one of the doctors who had toremain business-like and detached. Hisfather encouraged him to publish it, so, on alark, he submitted it to Jason Snell, editor ofInterText, one of the first professionallyedited online fiction venues. Snell publishedEubanks’ e-mail, now titled “Mr. McKennais Dying,” and wanted to see more. InterTexteventually published five short stories,giving Marcus his fifteen minutes of fame incyberspace, as well as motivation to createhis own site for unpublished writing,www.riotcentral.com.

But continuing to use his sharp, wittyvoice to explore the world of medicine mightnow clash with his career. As a student, hedidn’t feel he had much at stake, but as aresponsible doctor in a small community,Eubanks would need to take careful, perhapseven extravagantly careful, steps to remainanonymous. “The really tragic, funnypatients aren’t likely to read the stories,” buthe would have to try to protect their privacy,as well as his.

Although he grew up in the rural outskirtsof Pittsburgh, Eubanks prefers to live in thecity neighborhood of Oakland. He and his

wife, Rochelle, a critical care nurse, boughta “bombed-out frat house” that requiredextensive reconstruction. It’s close to friendsand activities, and it’s not far from Seton HillUniversity, where daughter Laurin, 19,attends. Thierry, a baby girl born in July,joins Robert, 10, in the family that remainsat home.

Eubanks’ 40-mile commute takes himright past the well-known teaching hospitals,but he’s not seriously tempted. BeaverMedical Center is a typical small-townhospital, but its emergency department seesfifty thousands patients a year, and Eubanksloves the work environment. He sees somepatients frequently enough to get to knowthem, and finds he has to use all his peopleskills to view them simultaneously as indi-viduals and as medical cases. A patient with amysterious problem might need to hear adoctor admit that in spite of all the tests hecan run, “I just don’t know what’s wrongwith you.” A worried mother who brings achild with an ordinary cold probably justneeds reassurance. Eubanks gladly tells herwhat a great job she’s doing, and to keep upthe good work. He sees a lot of children, likea little boy who ran into a pole at the play-ground and came in with a large cut abovehis eye.

Emergency room abuses, such as patientsshowing up just to get prescription Tylenolthat is covered by insurance, rather thanbuying it over the counter, can leave manydoctors with a cynical attitude. “Sure, we getcynical, even sarcastic at times,” saysEubanks. “But in the emergency room, eachindividual presentation, taken by itself, isactually very interesting. Take the little kidwith the eyebrow laceration: I was looking atthe exposed bone, nerve, bridging vesselsthat I had to preserve. I needed some deepsutures to take tension off the wound. . . .Ican make it sound very complicated but it’sactually not. I love what I do. Most of thetime, it’s a lot of fun.”

The new focus on privacy laws hasn’tchanged much in the emergency room, andEubanks comments that recent attention tovirulent strains of bacteria isn’t news in hisfield, either. But there’s another trend helikes. “Increasingly, in emergency medicine,there’s a push toward making people leavehappy.” Eubanks’ cheerful personality vali-dates this approach, though some doctorsworry that it means catering to patients toomuch. “Across a large population, leavinghappy means quality of care. It probablymeans better medical practices, too.” x

Enchanted by China

JACK A. NADOL (class of 1957) writes that he and Polly justreturned from a three-week tour of China and Japan. “It was great to experience the ancient Great Wall,Forbidden City, temples, tombs, palaces, and the modernChina with all its free enterprises, business, and construction boom,” he writes. He was also impressed

that all high school students and above speak English. x

continued on p. 34

University (Worcester, Mass.)after 40 years of service. Heearned his Ph.D. from the JohnsHopkins University in 1966. At Clark he chaired the Department of ForeignLanguages for 10 years and wasdirector of Clark’s Program inLuxembourg for 12 years. He isthe author of several books andarticles in the field of GermanStudies including the relationsof literature and science in theGerman Enlightenment, theJewish response to Germanculture, and films in the WeimarRepublic.

1953 FRANK ATWELL and TOM

HEINEMAN are regulars atMiami’s seminars (Kierkegaardwas the latest book; next year,Einstein), and they invite otherClass of 1953 veterans in SouthFlorida to join them.

1955 HAROLD BAUER’S Songs of Warand Death for tenor, mezzo, andorchestra were performed by theNorfolk University SymphonyOrchestra in March. Harolddirects the opera program atNorfolk. He conducted a concert

during Northwestern University’s Harmonic Conver-gence festival. And he’s paintinglike crazy. “Nothing like a calmretirement,” he writes.

“Our class had its 50th reunionin September,” writes CAROLYN

BANKS LEEUWENBURGH. “It wasthe nicest reunion I’ve been toin 50 years. Those who lent theirtalents were really at their best.The food and camaraderie werememorable for the next 50 years.Thanks!”

1956GEORGE E. SAUER has beenelected treasurer of the Repub-lican Central Committee ofMontgomery County, Maryland.

1959JOHN E. MCDEVITT III is agreat-grandfather. “Mygrandson’s wife gave birth toRichard in April. And I continueto fill in at the junior college;taught meteorology when thefull-time instructor was ill for sixweeks and then astronomy whenan adjunct quit with no notice.”

MICHAEL K. and BLAKELY L.MECHAU (class of 1958) arelooking forward to visits from

SAM and EMILY KUTLER (class of1954 and 1955), EVA BRANN

(HA89), MIKE (class of 1961)and RENE GOLD, HERMINA

LITTLETON, widow of the lateMICHAEL LITTLETON (A95), andDAN (A93) and LIZ LITTLETON

this summer—“all connected bystrong ties to St. John’s.”

1962DAVID W. BENFIELD is enjoyingteaching philosophy at Moun-tain State University in NewJersey. “To 1962 classmates: Isay the 45th reunion in 2007 is abig one! Let’s all try to make it!”

1967LOVEJOY DURYEA was selected as the honoree for the International Interior DesignAssociation National LeadershipBreakfast in New York in April.In May, she served on a panel for NIDA, and she led the New York St. John’s seminar onRembrandt’s self-portrait withKATARINA WONG (A88). She wasalso elected as the Gold Medalistfor Design from the NationalArts Club in 2003.

HELEN HOBART has a “newdirection, which amplifies theessential habit of curiosity andlistening deeply begun at SJC.I’m now an interfaith/Buddhistchaplain resident at a largehospital and acute psychiatriccenter in Sacramento—every dayis a blessing.”

1968TOM KEENS (SF), a professor ofPediatrics, Physiology, andBiophysics at the Keck School of

Medicine at the University ofSouthern California, has beenelected chair of the PediatricPulmonology Subboard of theAmerican Board of Pediatrics,2007-08.

GEORGE W. PARTLOW (A) isback in Alaska for the summerafter wintering in Yuma, Ariz. “I took part in a seminar onPlato’s Apology sponsored bythe new Phoenix alumni chapterin early April. Enjoyed seeingMARIAN (CUNNINGHAM) COHEN

(A69) again, and meeting tutorLouis Kurs’ daughter Jean. Ouroldest daughter Erika, currentlya student at Western OregonUniversity, will be moving backto Alaska with our five grandkidsin August. Daughter Hilary hasjust returned after seven monthsin South America (including theobligatory trek to MachuPicchu). Michael is a senior atthe University of Oregon inEugene. I am busy doing TaiChi, reading Don Quixote, andbeing a householder . . . and gladto be home with my Steinwayagain!”

1969 MARIELLE HAMMETT KRON-BERG (A) writes: “Our son MAX KRONBERG (‘our’ beingmine and Ken’s and Ken beingKENNETH KRONBERG, SF68)graduated from St. John’s inAnnapolis on May 14, 2006—loving the college as much asKen and I did and do. We had awonderful time at Commence-ment, seeing SAM and EMILY

KUTLER, ELLIOTT ZUCKERMAN

(HA95), and EVA BRANN—whomMax had the great good fortuneto have as his freshman seminarleader. Best of all was seeingMax in cap and gown and bachelor’s hood!”


{ A l u m n i N o t e s }34

Pretty Much Retired

Iam pretty much retired and doing some traveling,” writesJOHN POUNDSTONE, class of 1962. “My oldest daughter isin Beijing, China, working for the World Health Organization as an AIDS epidemiologist. We hope to visither this fall. My youngest daughter lives in New York Cityand is an artist/designer, having graduated from the

Parsons School of Design. I am remodeling the house I grew upin here in Lexington, Ky., and hope to move in some time thisfall. Meanwhile, we’ve got a trip to Lisbon, Athens, and Santorinito participate in a paleopathology conference.” x

“

continued


{ A l u m n i N o t e s } 35

BETH KUPER (SF) has justopened an online digital download music store at:www.burnlounge.com/goodmojomusic and invitesJohnnies to take a look for their favorite tunes.

Hazel & the Delta Ramblers, theNew Orleans band that includesLarry and HAZEL SCHLUETER

(A) and grandsons Grey andKaden performed at the NewOrleans Jazz and HeritageFestival. It marked Hazel’s 30th time performing at thefestival, and Grey’s seventh.Hazel writes: “We stayed in ourhome in New Orleans duringKatrina. At the height of thestorm our phone rangconstantly. Among all the offersof help was a call from St. John’sCollege, offering a place to stay.Thank you. Everyone I tell thisstory to is amazed at our college.Thank you. We are homerepairing, repainting, andplaying bluegrass around ourcity and state with Hazel and theDelta Ramblers.”

1970JOHN DEAN (A) sends news and poetry: “Life goes well.Following my years at theUniversity of Strasbourg, I’m now at the University ofVersailles—tenured professor inCultural History. I’ve written

eight books since I graduatedfrom St. John’s, so many, and sofew, years ago. This summer Ihad the opportunity to put inquality research time as avisiting scholar at the HagleyMuseum in Wilmington, Del.,deepening a long-term projecton industrial and managerialdevelopment in the first half ofAmerica’s 20th century. Wher-ever I go, everything I learned atSt. John’s—the environment, thegifted tutors, and fellow studentsI acquired it from—follows meand nourishes me. Sounds idealistic, I guess, but it’s meantas altogether realistic. As Miltonwrote: “But let my due feet neverfail, /To walk the studious Cloysters pale, /And love thehigh embowed Roof, /Withantick Pillars massy proof.”

STEVE HANFT (SF) writes thathis son will be headed to PomonaCollege in the fall. “Couldn’tinterest him in St. John’s,” hewrites. “My wife, Ruth, gardens,arranges flowers, paints, volunteers for communityservice. I’m sitting on the sofa,reading.”

1973WILLIAM M. BLOUNT (SF) tookretirement from ExxonMobilafter 21 years of service as apetroleum geologist and started

a new job in the same field withEl Paso Corp. He and his familystill live near Houston.

Another alum in the Callahanfamily: LAURIE FRANKLIN

CALLAHAN (SF) writes that herdaughter, ERIN CALLAHAN

(A06), graduated from St. John’sin Annapolis in May and beganlaw school at The George Wash-ington University in the fall. “Iknow her Johnnie backgroundwill serve her well!” she writes.

Chicago film critic JAN LISA

HUTTNER (A) recently earnedher second consecutive SilverFeather Award from the IllinoisWoman’s Press Association, forwriting the most award-winningarticles in IWPA’s annual MateE. Palmer CommunicationsContest. Seven of Huttner’s nineawards were for articles dealingwith Jewish themes, and her twofirst-prize winners were bothabout Israel: “Israeli Films:Coming Soon to a Theatre NearYou!” analyzed which Israelifilms get picked up by Americandistributors; and “ ‘IsraelRocks!’ Celebrates Diversity”reviewed a documentary that-which explores ethnic and political conflicts in the contextof Israel’s music scene.Although the second intifadacrushed the fragile hopes nourished by Oslo, Israelifilmmakers were energized,”says Huttner. “They’ve beencatapulted to a whole new levelof artistic accomplishment.”

1974MARY GEOGHEGAN JOLLES (SF)is completing her ninth year asprincipal of Colebrook Elementary School (K-8).Recently she visited her olderson Phil (29) in Carbondale,Colo. He and his wife have aneight-month-old, my grandsonOwen David Wolf Jolles. “Lastfall my husband and I decided to

become foster parents to a 15-year-old boy, Todd, who was indesperate need of a home,” shewrites. “Our other two children,Diana (26) and Karl (24) arebusy—Diana is in a doctoralprogram in biology at Ohio StateUniversity, and Karl is a rooferin southern New Hampshire.”

ERIC (SF) and LISA (GINSBERG)ROSENBLUM (A80) have profes-sional and family news: InNovember 2005 Lisa started ajob as library director for theCity of Hayward, Calif. Eric andLisa’s daughter, Anna, will graduate in June from HarvardCollege with a degree in Classical Archaeology, while sonSam will enter the University ofCalifornia-Santa Barbara as afreshman in the fall.

PAUL SZABO (A) has been recognized as one of the topintellectual property lawyers inthe country in the 2006 Chambers USA Guide, a legalresource used by general counseland other purchasers of legalservices. A partner in the Cleveland firm of Calfee, Halter & Griswold, Paul counsels publicly and privately-held clients regarding issuessuch as patents and copyrights .

1976CHRISTIAN BURKS (SF) has beenin Toronto for four-and-a-halfyears. His wife, Janet Moody, isnow working at Creative Niche,recruiting creative/design staff.One of their daughters starts anew job teaching sixth graders inSan Diego in August, while theother starts law school at theUniversity of Washington inSeattle.

“After 20 years of teachingcollege composition, literature,and related liberal arts classes, I

Taking a Break

WENDY MCDONALD FLORENCE (SF89) is nowliving in Tucson, Ariz., with her husband,two daughters—Kennedy who is 3 years oldand Addison who is 5 months old—and adog, Marley. “I’ve taken a hiatus from mypractice of internal medicine to enjoy the

girls in these early years,” she says. “I will return to medicinesomeday but I appreciate each day now for what they bringthrough giggles, discovery, and occasional tears. I’d love to hearfrom other alumni in the area. x

continued on p. 37

{ A l u m n i P r o f i l e }


36

Kevin Ross (AGI97),who grew up oncampus at LynnUniversity in BocaRaton, Fla., thrivedon the lively

conversations of his parents, academicleaders, and intellectuals, as well as“more college food than anyone Iknow.” On July 1, he became the fifthpresident of Lynn University, and atage 40, one of the youngest collegepresidents in the country.

Ross follows the footsteps of hisfather Donald Ross, the former president of Lynn. Over his 35-yeartenure, the elder Ross piloted thegradual transformation of LynnUniversity into a four-year liberal artsinstitution with an accredited master’sand doctoral programs. In 1971 aspresident of Wilmington College inDelaware, the elder Ross visited Marymount College and convincedWilmington trustees to aid the struggling junior college; this institu-tion evolved into the College of BocaRaton and finally Lynn University.

Before taking the helm at Lynn,Ross says he wanted to get his “feetwet in education without any helpfrom my family.” After earning hisbachelor’s degree in English at ColgateUniversity, Ross embarked on a career ineducation administration. He gained experience in admissions and developmentat the Hill School in Pottstown, Penn. Hereturned to Lynn in 1999 as dean of Lynn’scommunications school and later becamechief operating officer. Along the way, heenrolled at St. John’s, at the suggestion of aHill School colleague who had attended theGI and knew of Ross’ interest in the liberalarts. Later, Ross earned a doctoral degreein education from Peabody College ofVanderbilt University.

Though they are both passionate aboutLynn University, Ross and his father sharedifferent leadership styles. “He isabsolutely a visionary, damn-the-torpedoes, kick-the-doors open, let’s

make-it-happen type of leader,” says Ross.“I’m more pragmatic.” Ross uses thisapproach to build on his father’s accom-plishments as president. He seeks to fosterthe strong sense of community at Lynn, asmuch an asset to the university as itsprograms in music, aeronautics, and international studies. “Lynn has this familyfeel, and it is something that was verypurposeful from the outset,” says Ross.“This is something that my father stronglyvalued, and I do too. We want to be one ofthe most innovative, international, andindividualized small universities inAmerica.”

Ross is a consensus builder. While developing the university’s strategic plan,he sent a draft and a red pen to staff,faculty, and students, asking for feedback.

“As the president I throw ideas outthere, and we have a conversation. In fact, the educational approach of St. John’s has informed much of what Ido. Consensus doesn’t mean that we’reall going to agree, but I would preferto have an argument in the right sense,to see if an idea will stand the test oftime. It should be able to be beat up alittle bit, and critically picked apart.”

Ross says his studies in the GI represent “the most profound educational experience of my life.”He’s even considering how LynnUniversity’s distance learningprograms—seemingly incompatiblewith a discussion-based approach—could benefit from the St. John’smodel. “What led me to my interest ininstructional technology were thefundamentals that came from St. John’s—the liberal arts curriculumand the idea of continuing a conversa-tion. In the past, it always struck methat you’d walk into a classroom, flickthe lights on, say, ‘Okay, its time tolearn,’ then you’d turn the lights offand say, ‘Okay, go read on your ownand come back later.’ It made me thinkabout the conversations we had here at St. John’s. I didn’t want seminar toend at 10 p.m. when I was at the

Graduate Institute.” Ross hopes to reach the goals of his

strategic plan in 10 years, instead of theplanned 15. One of his priorities is to travelthe country to garner support of alumni toincrease the university’s endowment.“None of our challenges are insurmount-able,” he says. “Sometimes a large endowment can be an excuse for poormanagement because you can rest on yourlaurels. There is a scrappiness about Lynnand this real nimbleness, which is one ofour great strengths.”

Amidst all the pressures of his new position Ross says he hopes to make timefor St. John’s. “If I have a sabbatical thefirst thing I’ll do is go to Santa Fe and dothe master’s in Eastern Classics. I’d go in aheartbeat.” x

Following in Familiar FootstepsKevin Ross (AGI97), President of Lynn University

by Patricia Dempsey

Kevin Ross (AGI97) hopes to lead Lynn Universityto great things.


{ A l u m n i N o t e s } 37

am working as a psychotherapistin Phoenix,” writes IDELL

KESSELMAN (SFGI)“Here, I can keep an eye on

my parents—and my 27-year-olddaughter. Active in my synagogue, I look forward tonurturing my own continuinglove of giving.”

1977EDWARD F. GRANDI (A) iscompleting a second year asexecutive director of the Amer-ican Sleep Apnea Association.He’s active again with the D.C.Alumni Association chapterafter a long hiatus and “gener-ally loves life!”

MICHAEL LEVINE ST. JAMES (A)enjoys Santa Fe’s Summer Classics. “Last summer, I tookthe Don Quixote seminar, led bytutors ERIC SALEM (A77, mysophomore roommate) andCAREY STICKNEY (A75, my Paca-Carroll dorm-mate), andhad a fantastic time,” he says.“This summer I return for Aristotle’s Ethics, led by thesame tutors. I can’t recommendSummer Classics enough!”

“Life in Boise has settled into aroutine,” writes MARLENE F.STRONG (A). “I just completedmy second year of working at anonprofit mental health center,where I do therapy with childrenand adults. I am enjoying fourdistinct seasons, and I love my100-year-old house and biggarden. I do miss the ocean!Looking forward to seeing my classmates next year for our 30th.”

1978RACHEL BARRETT (SF) hasmoved to Ashland, Ore., whereshe works for an Internet

start-up company making clipart. So far, the sites includefaithclipart.com, christmastime-clipart.com, babytidings.com,and weddingclipart.com. Shewrites, “In my spare time I’msinging with the SiskiyouSingers, a community chorus of100+ people. Lots of fun!”

1979SUSAN HERDER (SF) is livingvery happily in San Francisco,where she has a thriving practiceas a bodyworker. “For fun, I’minto athletics, swimming in thebay often with my friends at theSouth End Rowing Club,running, biking, and doingtriathlons. A big event in my lifepresently is buying my firsthome, and it’s in Santa Fe! I’mnot moving though, will justspend more time there, and I’mlooking forward to seeingeveryone as our paths cross.”

After several years of consultingfor reproductive rights organizations, MARJORIE

HUTTER (A) has what shedescribes as her “dream job” asDirector of Development for theWomen’s Fund of Western Massachusetts: “My “non-Johnnie” husband and I havebeen together for 20 years andare enjoying raising our twodaughters—Simone “Mo,” 13 years old, and Gracie, 10 yearsold. I send my best wishes to allof my classmates.”

1980JOSHUA KATES (A) last fallpublished Essential History:Jacques Derrida and the Development of Deconstruction.He has left his position at Santa Fe, and he and his wife arecurrently associate professors ofEnglish at Indiana University(Bloomington) and have a six-month-old son, Zeke.

GERI GLOVER (SF) has joinedthe Education Department atthe College of Santa Fe.

1981ANNE O’MALLEY CULOTTA (A)encourages friends and class-mates to try their best to makethe 25th reunion of her class. “I promise you won’t want tomiss the fun and the flashbacks,”she writes. “Sometimes thesequel is even better than theoriginal! Let’s get the partystarted.”

THOMAS J. SLAKEY, JR. (SF) isworking as a technical writingconsultant at companies all overSilicon Valley. He’s married tothe lovely Susan Slakey, and histwo stepsons are turning 18 and21 this year. He welcomescontact at [email protected]

1982KELLY GENOVA (SF) was marriedJune 27 to James Rowley. Herformer husband, STEPHEN

LEACH (SF), was expected toattend with his fiancée, SallyBuxt. Writes Kelly: “I still practice law; Stephen is an associate professor in the philosophy department at theUniversity of Texas-Pan American, where his mothergraduated many years ago.James is a lawyer as well, inAlbuquerque, concentrating onpersonal injury matters and therepresentation of workers’compensation claims. I defendsuch claims. It should make foran interesting marriage.”

LESLIE SMITH ROSEN (A) writesthat her eldest daughter,Marielle, is engaged to bemarried, with the wedding totake place in May 2007, afterMarielle completes her master’sdegree at Johns Hopkins. “My younger daughter isfinishing her first year at theUniversity of Chicago (SJC a little too intense) and myyoungest, Sam, is in highschool,” she writes. “Time flies and tuitions soar. Bestwishes to all, and lookingforward to our 25th!”

1983“I just launched a series of threesatellites to study the Earth’smagnetosphere and got a littlecloser to the eidos of engineering,” writes PETER

ROSSONI (SF). “Send me [email protected]. I would love to hear from anyclassmates.”

TED ZENZINGER (A) is aprofessor of philosophy at RegisUniversity in Denver, Co. He and

Puppies and Girls

MICHAEL RYAN (SF86) reports that his familyand business are both growing: “We haveadded a boxer puppy to our three girls andboxer-mix dog. There is plenty of happinessand chaos to go around. My architecture firmin Albuquerque has grown to 11 people and we

are taking on some large projects in four states. I look forwardto seeing everyone this summer.” x

{ A l u m n i N o t e s }3838

his wife just celebrated the firstbirthday of their seconddaughter, Olivia. Ted writes,“She and her sister, Sophia (2),keep us busy!”

1984JOHN (SF) and Elizabeth BUSH’soldest son, Salem, who was bornin Santa Fe, graduated fromJames Madison University inHarrisonburg, Va., this pastspring.

FATHER ROBERT NICOLETTI,M.J., (SF) is a missionary inUkraine: “Does anyone want tohelp a Ukrainian orphanage? I’ll send you more info. Manythanks.”

1985ANNA LOUISE DAVIS (A) wassorry to have missed her 20th reunion last fall, but shelooks forward to catching upwith everyone in a few shortyears at the 25th. In the meantime she is headed back toschool for a Master of PublicHealth from the Johns HopkinsSchool of Public Health.

LIZA HYATT (SF) is “happilydivorced” and a mother toMaggie, who turned nine inAugust. “I am self-employeddoing a variety of things: I am amosaic artist and work withcommunities (such as localschools, Indiana University’scancer hospital, a women’sshelter) to create mosaic muralsfor their buildings; I am an arttherapist in private practice; Iam a storyteller and perform atlibraries, schools, and festivals;and I am adjunct faculty for twograduate programs at St. Maryof the Woods College. And, after40 some years of believing Ican’t sing, I joined a choir and

am loving it. I would love to hearfrom other Johnnies! E-mail meat [email protected].”

JOHN SCHILLO (SF) and hispartner, David Maltin, recentlypurchased several apartmentbuildings in Albuquerque and ahome in east Sandias, wherethey will be relocating towardthe end of this year. John looksforward to seeing old friendswho still live in New Mexico orwill be visiting there, as well asmaking new acquaintances atalumni events. He can bereached on his home e-mail:[email protected] or at hiswork e-mail: [email protected].

1986SUSAN READ (SFGI) writes thather son, Harry, will be in fifthgrade this fall. “I am stillteaching high school, stillskiing, still talking.”

1987CHARLOTTE GLOVER (SF) joinedwith some friends in Ketchikan,Alaska, to start a chapter of“First Book,” which helps low-income children build homelibraries. “The national organization has been awesometo work with,” she writes. “Seeyou next summer in Santa Fe!”

1989“I am nearing the end of myDoctor of Ministry in PastoralCounseling and Marriage andFamily Therapy at the LouisvillePresbyterian Theological Semi-nary,” writes DAVID DILLARD

(A). My research has beenfocused around finding hope in a

context of severe mental illness,and is based in my first 11 years’work as an acute care psychiatricchaplain.”

GEORGE ALBERT ERHARD (SF)has moved from Northern Cali-fornia to Irving, Texas, where heis now a Network Fault Manage-ment Engineer for AT&T. Also,George would like to announcehis marriage to Claire AlyceJohnson, who has shared his lifefor the past 10 years.

REGINA LANDOR (A) writes thatshe and her husband, Bill Wood-ward, welcomed their secondson, Gabriel, in December.Their first son, Ethan, is now 2.

1990TATIANA N. MASTERS (SF)finished the second year of herdoctoral program with her usualaplomb. She is finishing thepage proofs for her first paper inPsychology of WomenQuarterly. She is still three yearsfrom completing her studies justlike last year. Her partner JasonSpainhower is proud of heraccomplishments. They live inSeattle and have listed numbersand unusual names.

1991DIANNE JANETTE COWAN (A)writes, “2005 was a busy year forme, with three big events. InAugust, I finally left my miser-able job for a better one ineducational publishing. InNovember, I got elected theAlumni Association president ofthe Boston chapter, and two dayslater the Red-Haired Boy of mydreams asked me to marry him.Sadly, I won’t be able to make itto the Class of ’91 reunion, sinceit is, inconveniently, theweekend before my wedding. ButI’m consoled by the fact that allJohnnie weddings are mini-reunions. And with any luck, I’llbe around for the Class of ’92bash in ’07. Please drop a line [email protected].

BEN FOLEY (SF) is living inOakland, Calif., teaching 7th-grade humanities and doing a lotof hiking in the Sierra.

TEDDI ANN GALLIGAN andDAVID ALAN DIGGS (both A),announce with great joy thebirth of their second daughter,Josephine Lucia Diggs-Galliganon July 20, 2005, in Wash-ington, D.C. Writes Teddi, “Big sister Sophia Emmanuelleis enjoying her new statusimmensely.”

Art in Ensenada

INYA LASKOWSKI (SFGI97) is Mexico bound: “My partner,a painter, and I are invited to Ensenada, Mexico, for a 10-day artist residency. The participants will come fromaround the globe and will create their art at the site,which will then be exhibited at the local museum. Also,Andrei and I had a well-received exhibition at Gallery

Route One, Point Reyes, Calif. Look at our work at www.gallery-routeone.org.” x


continued on p. 40


{ A l u m n i N o t e s } 39

Studying in the St. John’s Graduate Institute “lit a fire inmy mind,” says Richard Field(SFGI98), a senior humanitiesteacher at AlbuquerqueAcademy, a private college

preparatory school. Now he’s trying to dothe same thing for his students through hisweekend Classics Club, a group he startedto give students another place to discussbooks and ideas.

Field enrolled in the GI in Santa Fe aftercompleting a doctoral program in historyand philosophy. He had heard of the undergraduate program, admired it, andstarted to read Program books on his own.Then he heard about the graduate programin Liberal Arts.

“From my very first class with Mr. LeCuyer and Ms. Honeywell, I absolutely loved it,” he says. “St. John’sopened a new way of thinking for me, and I can’t go back. I became this insa-tiable reader of the classics and I haven’tstopped since.” Even after finishing the GI program, he went back to campus totake the History segment.

Field began his teaching career in theschool’s physical education department,but he soon talked his way into the humanities program, where he’s beenhappy ever since, teaching seminar classes

based on St. John’s. “I love the material somuch that kids have written to me to tellme my excitement and enthusiasm spreadto them,” he says. “The people whoinspired me were two Johnnies who wereworking here. They were the catalyst.”

Inspired by the movie Dead Poet’sSociety, in which a teacher cultivates a lovefor literature in his students, Field decidedto start an extracurricular club for studentswho want to read ancient and modern classics that regular classes would neverhave time for. Over the years, the club hasread works including The Sorrows of YoungWerther, The Communist Manifesto,Beowulf, A Portrait of the Artist as a YoungMan, the Symposium, and Pride and Prejudice.

The group meets once a month, usuallyin a local coffee shop, and recently, Albuquerque Academy alumni have begunto attend. “It’s very rewarding,” he says. “I start with an opening question, thoughgiven the nature and age of the kids, onequestion is usually not enough to keepthem going.”

Club members had an assignment overthe summer. Read Democracy in Americaand come back ready to discuss it. Meet-ings are usually an hour, but the groupwent almost 90 minutes and decided toschedule an extra meeting to finish their

discussion on the book. “They saw quite afew parallels with what’s going on todayand what de Tocqueville talked about,”Field says. “But they think his views aboutthe ‘middling state of American education’are no longer true.” Next up: The Picture ofDorian Gray.

Every year Field works in some Russianliterature. “I read The Brothers Kara-mazov in a tutorial with Victoria Mora,and now I’m a Dostoevsky nut,” heconfesses.

He rewards club members everysemester with a party, during whicheveryone plays games like Trivial Pursuit’sBook Lover’s edition. He also brings aplayful attitude to his regular humanitiesclasses; once a year, when seniors arescheduled to read Thus Spoke Zarathustra,Field dresses up “gansta” style (completewith St. John’s cap pulled low over his face)to perform his “Nietzsche Rap.” “I origi-nally wrote it in 1996,” he explains. “It’s away to relate some of Nietzsche’s ideas tostudents in a modern, fun, and hip way.” x

39

The Nietzsche Rap

Gonna teach ya Nietzschecaus’ I can’t reach ya’man must first go under so he doesn’t

blunder-

Try to teach you overmanbecause man is a rope,a dope, between a man and hope-over an abyss.

Ubermensch, ubermenschGod is deadAntichrist, Will to Powerhave you read-ZARATHUSTRA...!

Hooked on ClassicsRichard Field (SFGI98) Nurtures Book Lovers

Albuquerque teacher Richard Fieldknows how to get the attention of hishigh school students.

by Rosemary Harty


{ A l u m n i N o t e s }40

1992Rebecca Paige Brandreth wasborn April 26, 2006, announcesCYNTHIA BRANDRETH (AGI).

J. ELIZABETH (HUEBERT)SCHOEMAKER (SF) and JeremySchoemaker welcomed theirfirst daughter, Juliet J. Schoemaker on June 23, 2006.Juliet weighed 7 lbs. Her mothercontinues to practice anesthesi-ology in Lincoln, Neb.

1993“I’ve been going through thedevastating effects of late-stageLyme disease since February2004 and am interested ingetting in touch with peoplegoing through similar

experiences from this under-recognized ailment,” writesBARBARA ARNOLD (SF). “I’dappreciate hearing from anyJohnnies out there who havefriends, family, or who are them-selves dealing with the illness:[email protected].”

SALLIE (SFGI) and GEORGE

BINGHAM (SF66) celebratedtheir second wedding anniver-sary this past July. George hasenjoyed rejoining the college’sBoard of Visitors and Governors.

CHRISTOPHER GRAM (A)welcomed the birth of his seconddaughter, Celeste PenelopeGram, on March 25, 2006.

VALERIE DUFF-STRAUTMANN

(SF) has poems appearing inZoland Poetry (SteerforthPress), an annual anthology ofcontemporary poetry fromaround the globe.

THOMAS E. SCHNEIDER (AGI)has a new book out: Lincoln’sDefense of Politics: The PublicMan and His Opponents in theCrisis Over Slavery (Universityof Missouri Press, 2006), basedon his dissertation in politicalscience from Boston College.

1994NATHAN HUMPHREY (A) iscurate at St. Paul’s EpiscopalChurch, K St., in Washington,D.C. “My former junior labtutor, ANN MARTIN, is a parishioner, and my formerFebbie Lab tutor, ROBERT

DRUECKER, lives behind thechurch. Several Johnnies andparents of Johnnies are membersor regular visitors.”

1996ANGELA BILLICK (SF) waspromoted to vice president andjoined BNP-Paribas, a Frenchbank. She is based in a New Yorkoffice. She’s been accepted tothe Executive MBA program atNYU’s Stern School of Businessand is “looking forward toflexing the gray matter onceagain!” Drop a line [email protected]

“As of this Easter, I have celebrated my first year as aRoman Catholic,” writes ERIN

N. (HEARN) FURBY (A). “I haveenjoyed the supportive and intellectually vibrant Catholiccommunity here in Anchorage,Alaska (many of whom are closecousins, being St. ThomasAquinas College alumni).”

MARYBETH GUERRIERI (A) graduated in June from theBarbara Brennan School ofHealing, from which shereceived a Professional Skillsdiploma in Brennan HealingScience.

CHERYL S. HENEVELD (AGI) isstill taking part in vigils at 5p.m. every Saturday against thewar in Iraq, as well as writingand working for the end of wars.

1997KATHLEEN EAMON (SF) writesto report that she has justaccepted a teaching position atEvergreen State College, whereshe was hired in philosophy.“But, as anyone who knows the place knows, I’m slated toteach more broadly than that.LYNARRA (Featherly, SF94) and I have spent the last six years in Nashville, where I am nowwinding up work on my disserta-tion at Vanderbilt University.Neither of us made it big on thecountry scene, but Lynarra hasbecome a widely-sought (ifreluctant) interior designer,hounded by friends and realestate agents alike. She has alsoacquired mad-carpenter skills,after having renovated twohistoric homes from top tobottom.”

DAMON KOVELSKY (A) is back in Brooklyn, with a new job injournalism, a wife, and a cat.“Bloomberg, LLP hired me intheir newsroom, Meg marriedme a couple of years ago, andMax makes three. If there areany Johnnies within the citylimits, please shout out an e-mail [email protected].”

JESSICA CAMPBELL MCALLEN

(SF) shares baby news: “IsaacOrion McAllen was born onApril 11, 2006! Lowry and I areso excited to have a little boyaround the house. He was 8 pounds, 20 inches. A littleblessing!”

“Currently, I am teachingEnglish in China with my wife,Emily Kaplan Murbarger, thedaughter of BART KAPLAN (A65)and cousin of MEGAN DROLET

(A08),” writes JOSHUA

Officially a Doctor

PAIGE ELIZABETH FORREST, A00, received the degreeof Doctor of Medicine during graduation ceremoniesat the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine onMay 22, 2006. She was also the recipient of twofaculty awards: the Florence L. Marcus, M.D. Prizein Family Medicine and the F. Lorraine Bruni Prize

in Geriatric Medicine.On graduating from St. John’s, she received a Howard Hughes

Foundation summer research internship at the University ofVirginia Medical School. Following the internship she attended

James Madison Universityin Harrisonburg, Va., fortwo semesters of postbac-calaureate studies to satisfythe science prerequisites formedical school. While inHarrisonburg, she was alsoan emergency medical tech-nician with the Harrison-burg Volunteer RescueSquad.

Paige began a three-yearresidency in family medi-cine on June 23 at theUniversity of PittsburghMedical Center-St.Margaret Hospital, in Pittsburgh. x

{ A l u m n i N o t e s }


41

MURBARGER (A). “We started in Jinzhou (for six months) inthe northeast of China and willsoon move to Qingdao. We havea great blog: www.peer-see.com.Follow our adventures and greatfun.” This news comes to TheCollege via Bart and BettyKaplan.

1998JULIANA (MARTONFFY)LAUMAKIS (A) and her husband,John, are very happy to reportthe birth of their daughter,Amanda Adeo, this past January.

MARJORIE ROUECHE (A) is afreelance science writer andeditor in Berkeley, Calif. “I amalso doing what I can to help thenext groundswell of feminism. If

anyone is interested in helping,e-mail me, or visit me at www.insubordinatewomen.com.”

1999STEVE and KRISTIN DUMONT

(both SF) are proud to announcethe birth of their daughter,Quinn Alessandra—born healthyand screaming February 14,2006. She has brought wondersand joy to their lives every daysince.

ANNAMARIA CARDINALLI-PADILLA (SFGI), who completedher Ph.D. in Theology from theUniversity of Notre Dame in2004, was recently named alaureate for the 2006 MotherTeresa Awards for her work as an American classical musician.For updates on her career since St. John’s, visit www.annamaria.ws andwww.elduoduende.com, orwww.sonicbids.com/Anna-Maria2 and www.sonicbids.com/ElDuoDuende.

Some contestants of Jeop-ardy! are so nervous on theset of the popular gameshow that they freeze up,hand clutching the buzzerin a death grip, face set in a

grimace of anxiety. Jeopardy! watcherswho tuned in last July and caughtCeleste DiNucci (A87) on her five-daywinning streak saw a contestant wholaughed vigorously and often, jokedwith Alex Trebeck, and clearly enjoyedthe whole experience, right until theFinal Jeopardy question that ended aglorious run.

“I approached the whole thing as,‘this is just a game,’ ” says DiNucci, adoctoral student at the University ofPennsylvania and a grant writer for anonprofit organization. “I wasn’tnervous at all.”

DiNucci tried out in June 2005 inPhiladelphia, where she lives. She did wellon the written test, then took part in a mockgame that was videotaped. After the monthswent by, she figured her chances at gameshow stardom were slim. “Then in April,they called me at work and suggested sometaping days,” she says. Since tapingconflicted with her job at the AmericanPhilosophical Association, she asked if shecould pick other dates. “They said these arethe last two taping days of the season, andyou come now or you don’t come at all.”

DiNucci went. After just a few hours ofsleep in her hotel room, she waited, bleary-eyed, in the lobby for the Jeopardy! shuttleto transport her to the set. The make-up

people gave her the TV treatment, and shewas wired for sound.

“After the game show scandals, they’rereally careful about sequestering contest-ants, so you don’t see Alex much. I had agreat time meeting the other contestants.”She was later to defeat all but one of them.

At times, DiNucci was surprised by howmuch she knew. Where did she learn, forexample, that what is also called heavy wateris deuterium? There were also a few uncom-fortable moments. A $200 question onShakespeare asked for the play in whichMercutio and Balthasar are characters. “I rang in immediately, but then I thought,‘hey, there’s no Balthasar in Romeo andJuliet’ so I said something else. But he has alittle part in the last act.” DiNucci had to

endure great embarrassment on thatone, since her dissertation research ison Shakespeare and performancetheory. “I still get grief from mycolleagues,” she says.

Several times in her six appearances,DiNucci didn’t know the Final Jeopardyanswer and other contestants did. Butshe had built up a big enough lead andwagered wisely to prevail over hercompetitors—until the last day, whenthe category was American womenauthors. The answer quoted HenryJames describing the mystery author as“the novelist of children. . . the Thack-eray, the Trollope of the nursery andthe schoolroom.” DiNucci came upwith Beatrix Potter; the answer wasLouisa May Alcott. “I feel like I reallyshould have won that one.” Half the

battle, of course, is being quick. “The realtest is in the buzzer. There were plenty ofquestions I knew the answer to and I justwasn’t fast enough.”

DiNucci ultimately left Los Angelesexhausted, but with $85,000 in winnings.The money has allowed her to take a leavefrom her job to finish her dissertation, andshe’s planning to splurge on a trip to Italy.She has no regrets about her performance—except maybe one.

“I didn’t get around to talking about St.John’s” in the meet-the-contestant part ofthe show, she says. But should she be calledback for the Tournament of Champions, shepromises a nod to the college that helpedcontribute to all that valuable knowledge. x

“Great Books for $1,000, Alex…”A Johnnie Wins Big on Jeopardy!

Her Jeopardy winnings allowed Celeste DiNucci totake a leave of absence to finish her dissertation.

by Rosemary Harty

42


{ A l u m n i N o t e s }

2000This fall BUCK COOPER (A)starts a Ph.D. program in education at the University ofNorth Carolina Chapel Hill.“Can’t seem to shake the allureof the Tarheel State,” he says.

ALAN (A) and Heidi RUBENSTEIN

celebrated their two-yearwedding anniversary in June2006 and are very happy in their“treehouse” in Takoma Park,outside of D.C. “The samemonth, I had my first poetryreading, which went well, andbegan my new job,” writes Alan.“I am now working for the staffof the President’s Council onBioethics as a researcher andwriter. This is a serious challenge—one that I amenjoying very much.”

CHRISTOPHER VAUGHAN (A) isliving in Annapolis and workingfor Realistic Builders. “Nice tosee the college on a regularbasis,” he writes. “It is really abeautiful place to watch theseasons change. Having lived infour states in the last 10 years,Annapolis really stands out asthe best walking city. My freetime is spent walking puppies orriding horses. Hope all my class-mates are doing well and findtime to reflect on where their lifeis going. Looking forward toreunion 2010!”

2001“Just wanted to announce to alland sundry that I have taken ateaching position in Burma(middle school math) for thenext two years!” writesMATTHEW LIPPART (SF). “Comevisit! I’ll buy you a beer or five!My new e-mail is:[email protected] e-mail or I’ll be lonely.”

KATHERINE J. PETERS (SF) isliving in Charlottesville, Va.,working as a criminal defenseattorney for a private law firm.Her fiancé, Bill Finn, a New YorkCity native and artist, is

employed by SNL Financial. “We are currently in the throesof planning our November 4,2006, wedding.” We love Charlottesville and would relishthe chance to show visitorsaround, so feel free to look us upif you’re planning a visit,”Katherine writes.

SUZANNAH SIMMONS (SF) will bein Washington, D.C., thissummer, living near DuPontCircle. “If there are any Johnnieswho would like to get together,please e-mail me ([email protected]). I am greatlylooking forward to the Santa FeClass of 2001 five-year reunionin July.”

In June 2006, JOSH VAN DONGE

(SF) received his Master ofArchitecture from the Universityof Washington and is currentlyliving and working in Seattle.

2003After a year as an account executive for a Dallas advertisingagency, LARIN MCPEAK (EC) isnow teaching Business Englishand American Culture at the ISLSprachschule in Koblenz,Germany. She uses her weekendsand free time travelingthroughout Europe, playingsoccer with a local team, andreading some of the Easternstudies books she managed tohaul to Germany. You can e-mail her at [email protected]

2004MICHAEL LOOFT (AGI) will bestudying at Harvard DivinitySchool this fall to become aUnitarian minister—“just likeEmerson.”

What’s Up?The College wants to hear fromyou. Call us, write us, e-mail us.Let your classmates know whatyou’re doing. The next issuewill be published in Feburary;deadline for the alumni notessection is December 7.

In Annapolis:The College Magazine St. John’s College, P.O. Box 2800 Annapolis, MD 21404; [email protected]

In Santa Fe:The College MagazineSt. John’s College1160 Camino Cruz Blanca Santa Fe, NM 87505-4599; [email protected]

Another Book Lover

ERIN MCGINTY JAMES (SF05) and her husband, Mike, welcomed a small but august presence onJune 2, 2006. August Michael James arrived earlybut healthy, weighing 5 lbs and measuring 17 inches.“He has already fallen in love with his first book,”his mother says. x

Catch Up With Friends

It’s not the same as the Coffee Shop, but the online alumnicommunity may be the next best thing—a place to catch up withfriends, start a conversation, find a new lead on a job, and keeptrack of what’s happening on the Santa Fe and Annapoliscampuses. Share your news, share your pictures, sign up for a St.John’s e-mail address. More than 4,000 alumni have joined todate. Get back in the conversation!

43


{ T r i b u t e }

Brother Robert Smith, F.S.C. (HA90), amuch loved and respected member of theSt. John’s College community for nearlyhalf a century, died September 12, 2006,in Napa, California, at the age of 92. Hefirst joined the faculty of St. John’sCollege as a visiting tutor in 1966 andbecame a permanent member of thefaculty in 1972, seeking and gainingspecial permission from his order, the De La Salle Christian Brothers, to leaveSaint Mary’s College to teach at St. John’s. Brother Robert bonded in aspecial way with the college; he served asa mentor to tutors and students alike, and inspired all with his deep faith, distinguished intellect, generosity, and friendship.

Robert Smith was born in Roundup,Mont., and was raised in Oakland, Calif.He attended a Christian Brothers highschool in Berkeley, where he discoveredhis vocation. As a novice, he pickedgrapes and helped move the ChristianBrothers Winery to Mont La Salle in 1932.After earning his bachelor’s degree atSaint Mary’s College in 1935, BrotherRobert taught at the Christian Brothers’high school in Sacramento. He earned hisPh.D. degree from the University of Lavalin Quebec, Canada, and wrote his dissertation on the liberal arts from thepoint of view of St. Thomas Aquinas. He returned to Saint Mary’s as a professorin 1941, and, being familiar with the St. John’s Program, soon instituted aseminar based on the St. John’s reading list.

Those efforts blossomed into a projectthat is an important part of the Californialiberal arts college today. In 1956, BrotherRobert founded Saint Mary’s IntegratedLiberal Arts Program, described as a“college within a college,” and shaped inpart by the program at St. John’s.Students in the Saint Mary’s programexplore the great works of the liberal artstradition through seminar discussions,tutorials, and scientific laboratories. In the course of helping to develop theprogram, Brother Robert made severalvisits to St. John’s to study the academic

program here. He came to know thefaculty very well, particularly Dean Jacob Klein, whom he had first met in the forties.

In 1966-67, he spent a year as a visitingtutor at St. John’s. He then returned toSaint Mary’s to continue his work as

Director of the Integrated Liberal Artsprogram. In 1972, he joined the St. John’sfaculty and taught full time from 1972until his retirement in 1985. At St. John’s,other faculty members recognized hisskills as a seminar leader. Former DeanCurtis Wilson described him as

Brother Robert Smith, F.S.C. Tutor

gary

pie

rpo

int

A much loved member of the St. John’s community, Brother Robert Smith will be remembered for his intellect, generosity, and friendship.

{ T r i b u t e }


44

“enormously generousin his willingness to letstudents entertain andexamine the widestvariety of points ofview.” Brother Robertremained an activemember of the community—teaching,lecturing, taking part instudy groups and facultymeetings—through theend of the pastacademic year. Earlythis summer, poorhealth required him to move from hisHistoric District home in Annapolis tothe community of retired ChristianBrothers at Mont La Salle in Napa, Cali-fornia He kept in close touch with scoresof his former students, who consideredhim a valuable friend as well as a tutor.

In addition to his intellectual pursuits,Brother Robert enjoyed gourmet French cooking and wines, music, andconversation with his wide circle offriends. “A friend of Jacob Klein’s sincethe 1940s, Brother Robert was deeply

concerned to preserve and propagateKlein’s understanding of a liberal artseducation, in which the intellect holds thecentral place,” says Michael Dink, dean ofthe Annapolis campus. “Nonetheless (I can hear his protest at this adversative!)Brother Robert was an affectionate andthoughtful connoisseur of all thingshuman: the earthy humor of Rabelais, theelegant French of Madame de Sévigné’sgossip, fine wine and gourmet cooking,the meticulously thought through asceti-cism of the desert fathers, world politics,French and English poetry, and the lives

and careers of his countlessfriends among thealumni.”

When he was made anhonorary member of theClass of 1990, the citationnoted “his exemplary devotion to the liberal arts,over a long career as ateacher”; “his life ofservice in faith”; and especially “the friendshipthat he has bestowed uponnumerous colleagues andstudents.”

“Brother Robert was one of the mostinfluential of the Brothers in thecurriculum at Saint Mary’s College,” said Brother Donald Mansir, Chair of theBishop John S. Cummins Institute andteacher in the Saint Mary’s IntegralProgram. “A true son of Saint La Salle, a friend to hundreds of students, and aninspiration to many of the greatest mindsof the last century, Brother Robert will beterribly missed.” x

GILBERT CRANDALL

Gilbert Crandall, a member of the class of1932, died August 24, 2006, in Annapolisat the age of 91. He was born and rearedjust a few blocks from the St. John’scampus. After graduating from thecollege, Mr. Crandall taught English andhistory at Glen Burnie High School. In 1941, he joined the staff of the Amer-ican Red Cross, and during World War IIserved in Puerto Rico, Italy and Norwaywhile attached to the armed forces. Forhis work, he was awarded the Italian RedCross Bronze Star for humanitarian services rendered during wartime.

After the war, he worked for the StateDepartment as director of theParaguayan-American Cultural Center inAsuncion, and later in public affairs withthe Foreign Service in Bolivia andArgentina. In 1961, he became the firsttourism director of the State of Maryland,and later served as head of the publicaffairs office at for the state Departmentof Agriculture. After retiring in 1977, hecontinued writing, publishing articles in

publications including Bon Appetit,Motor Boating and Reader’s Digest.

The spring 2006 issue of The Collegeincluded a charming essay Mr. Crandallwrote about his experiences at St. John’sbefore the New Program.

CECIL KNIGHTON

Cecil Claggett Knighton, class of 1940, asuccessful entrepreneur in Annapolis, diedJuly 13, 2006. Over the span of his career,Mr. Knighton owned several successfulbusinesses and many different commercialproperties in Annapolis.

After leaving St. John’s, Mr. Knightonborrowed money from an aunt to buy asmall general store in Davidsonville, Md.He sold the store when joined the Army inWorld War II, serving as a paratrooper inthe European theater. He built the AcmeSupermarket at the foot of City Dock in1951. He also opened an auto supplycompany and a movie house. During the1950s, he was a successful automobiledealer, known by many as the “car czar.” A parking garage on West Street, built on

property he donated to the city ofAnnapolis, bears his name.

He was also a shrewd investor in realestate in Annapolis and developed a shop-ping center in Parole that he owned untilthe time of his death.

ROBERT HAZO

Robert G. Hazo, Class of 1953, died Jan. 6,2006, in Pittsburg, Penn. A dedicatedalumnus of St. John’s with a great interestin preserving the college’s Program and history, he rarely missed a fall Homecoming, and he was a passionaterecruiter of potential Johnnies.

A brilliant political analyst, Mr. Hazofounded the University of Pittsburg’sAmerican Experience program, inspired inpart by his experience studying the liberalarts at St. John’s. After graduating fromthe college, he received a senior fellowshipto Princeton, a Fulbright scholarship forstudy at the Sorbonne, and a Rockefellerfellowship to study at the American University of Beirut.

{ O b i t u a r i e s }

“A true son of Saint La Salle, a friend tohundreds of students, and an inspiration to

many of the greatest minds of the last century,Brother Robert will be terribly missed.”

Brother Donald Mansir, Chair of the Bishop John S. Cummins Institute and teacher in the Saint Mary’s Integral Program


45

Following graduate studies, Mr. Hazowas named associate director of the Institute for Philosophical Research in San Francisco. He then was appointedsenior editor for political, legal, social and economic articles at EncyclopediaBritannica. He joined the University ofPittsburgh in 1970. As director of theAmerican Experience Program, he led aprogram that offered Pittsburgh’s mid- tohigh-level managers insight into politicaland economic thought, with the goal ofimproving the quality of politicaldiscourse.

In the toast Mr. Hazo gave in honor of hisclass at Homecoming 2003, Mr. Hazodescribed his enduring love for theCollege. “When a group as complex as thiscomes together for a purpose, the idealthat unites them is perforce a simple one. I know an ideal that is simple and familiaryet mysterious and profound. It is a love affair.”

TORIN B. OWENS

Torin Bernard Owens, class of 1985, diedAugust 11, 2006, of complications relatedto pneumonia. Mr. Owens was reared inFernandina Beach, Fla., and displayed hisacademic gifts at an early age. By age 14 hewas the champion of nine Florida spellingbees. In high school he was awardednumerous honors and scholarships,including the National Achievement Scholarship, National Merit CommendedScholar, and Society of DistinguishedAmerican High School Students.

By the time he was 17, Mr. Owens hadtwo life objectives: to be a Florida statesenator and to graduate from St. John’sCollege. On May 28, 1985, he reached thelatter goal, having written his senior essayon “The Legitimate Powers of Govern-ment.” However, a serious car accident inAnnapolis in November 1985 changed Mr. Owens’ life and plans. He sustained a traumatic brain injury and spent manyyears in rehabilitation. Six years after hisaccident, he began speaking again.

A remembrance prepared by his familyemphasized that Mr. Owens’ strong faithpersisted even in the face of such a devastating blow: “Torin lived in thecomplete will of God until his demise. He leaves to his relatives, friends, andacquaintances his unbiased love, his open-mindedness, his perseverance, his love of music and the spoken word, his trust and obedience to God, his parentsand authorities, his patience, his willingness to explore un-chartered territories. He accepted his lot in life withunfeigned joy.”

SEAN GREENWOOD

Sean Edward Greenwood (SF86) died onAugust 23, 2006, of complications fromuntreated pain. He was the loving husbandof Siobhan Reynolds and father of a 14-year-old son, Ronan.

Mr. Greenwood worked as a legal assistant at law firm. He was a victim ofchronic and debilitating pain, for which heand his family moved to New York in searchof progressive pain care. Mr. Greenwood

was passionately devoted to the task ofbringing down the many barriers to painrelief faced by millions of other afflictedAmericans. He and his wife founded thePain Relief Network in 2003 to challengethe U.S. government’s legislation on painmedications.

ALSO NOTED

ERIC GUNNAR BACK (CLASS OF 1964),DECEMBER 5, 2005

ILEANA BASIL (CLASS OF 1973), AUG. 24, 2006

IRENE DORTCH (CLASS OF 1966), AUG. 12,2006

WILLIAM HABERLAND (CLASS OF 1933), APRIL

22, 2006

EDWARD C. HUDSON (CLASS OF 1937), JULY 1,2006

EUGENE F. MARTIN (CLASS OF 1951), FEB. 24,2006

WILLIAM C. OWENS (CLASS OF 1938), JUNE 20,2006

WILLIAM WARFIELD ROSS (CLASS OF 1947),JULY 4, 2006

EDWARD SENSENEY (CLASS OF 1952),SEPTEMBER 9, 2006

{ O b i t u a r i e s }

Robert Hazo, class of 1953, rarely misseda Homecoming in Annapolis. In 2005, hebrought a prospective student.


46 { F r o m t h e B e l l T o w e r s }{ A l u m n i A s s o c i a t i o n N e w s }46

Homecoming isalways a time ofremembering andreflection for me.Back on the campuswith friends andcolleagues and inconversation insideand outside the classroom, I pauseand take stock of my Johnnie experience inthe context of my life. I also consider my lifein the context of the college—both hercommunity and her program of instruction.This homecoming was particularly movingfor two reasons.

This was our 30th reunion. Many came forthe celebration in Santa Fe, and theybrought news of others. We huddled in smallgroups sharing bits of past and hopes for

future. I remembered why some had beenespecially dear to me in those long-ago days.I discovered that others might have been,too, if circumstances (or I) had beendifferent. The weekend was planned to giveus plenty of time to chat over food anddrink, dance to the old tunes, listen to Mariachi, laugh and cry with Singin’ in theRain, meet families, and soak up Santa Fesunshine. Thanks to all who came back forthe fun!

The other reason why this homecomingwas significant for me is that it was my lasthomecoming in Santa Fe as president of theAlumni Association. In late September, I’llcelebrate another “last” homecoming whenwe meet together in Annapolis, and JasonWalsh (A97) will be elected to take my place.These six years have been wonderful. It hasbeen a pleasure to work with the AlumniAssociation Board as we helped “morealumni connect more often and morerichly” to each other and to the college.

Throughout my tenure, an image hasinspired me. It came from a lecture delivered by Sally Dunn when she was atutor in Santa Fe. Her subject was friendship, and her source was Aristotle.

She explored the various kinds of friendshipthat Aristotle describes in the Ethics. Whenshe got to the final one—friendship for theGood—she turned to reflections on thecollege and its program of instruction.Friendship for the Good, you will remember,is when a friend serves as your mirror. He orshe is similar enough to you that you seeboth your strengths and weaknessesreflected in the other. Each interactionopens opportunities to learn and to improveyourself as you are reflected in your friend.Ms. Dunn further extended the image byproposing that our relationship to theprogram books is also a friendship for theGood. In their pages we see ourselvesreflected and, consequently, open opportu-nities for increased growth toward the Good.

As I reflect on my 30th reunion and theclosing days in my role as president of theAlumni Association, I want to express mythanks. Thank you for this opportunity toserve you, our community of alumni, andthe college that continues to bring ustogether. Thank you for sharing thesefriendships for the Good.

Glenda Eoyang SF76

From the AlumniAssociation President

An OfficialJohnnieby Emily DeBusk (A06)

Sixty years ago, Kay Harper earned her firstdegree, in fine arts, from Goucher Collegein Baltimore. At that time, Goucher didn’toffer a degree in physics, her original field ofinterest, and the dean talked her out of hersecond choice, philosophy. Looking backtoday on her educational path, Harperbelieves her time spent in unofficial self-education—including 25 years of attendingcommunity seminars at St. John’s College inSanta Fe—has been the most fruitful part ofher life.

This summer, the Alumni Associationrecognized Harper’s dedication to St. John’sby making her an Honorary Alumna,honoring her as one who possesses all thequalities of a true Johnnie: insatiablecuriosity, a love for reading and discussion,and a fierce dedication to lifelong learning.

Though she spent one summer at theGraduate Institute, Harper’s experiencewith St. John’s has been centered on thecollege’s noncredit offerings, the weekendor evening Community Seminars that draw

residents to the campus. After graduatingfrom Goucher, she worked at the JohnsHopkins School of Hygiene and PublicHealth in various positions: librarian,editor, sometime fetcher of coffee for profes-sors. While there, she attended lectures andread scientific and medical papers floatingaround the department. In one paper, sheread that the last place in the country to gettelephone access was a place called HidalgoCounty, New Mexico. She drove her Stude-baker across the country and made NewMexico her permanent home.

In 1949, she enrolled as an undergraduate

at the University of New Mexico, from whichshe graduated in 1951 with a major inanthropology and minor in geology. Afterthat, she was able to return to her first love,physics, when she was hired at the LosAlamos National Laboratory.

Year after year she returns to the commu-nity seminars, “reading everything from theGreeks to the Russians,” because shebelieves that learning is something that willnever be finished. Without hesitation, shesays that her favorite seminar, led by Barry Goldfarb, was on Plato’s Republic. She was also deeply impressed by seminarson Tolstoy and Dostoevsky led by Steve Van Luchene.

Reflecting on her experience at St. John’s,Mrs. Harper noticed that, “College-agestudents are at the steepest point of theirlearning curve. They learn fast and well.”She encourages current students to beconfident in their education. And althoughshe laughingly implies that she is beyond thepeak of the learning curve, her record ofunceasing learning testifies to the contrary,and makes her a confirmed Johnnie, officialor not. x

Kay Harper has attended Santa Fe community seminars for 25 years.


47 { F r o m t h e B e l l T o w e r s }{ A l u m n i A s s o c i a t i o n N e w s } 47

ALBUQUERQUERobert Morgan, [email protected]

ANNAPOLISBeth Martin Gammon,

[email protected]

AUSTIN Joe Reynolds, SF69jpreynolds@

austinrr.com

BALTIMOREDeborah Cohen, A77410-472-9158deborahcohen@

comcast.net

BOSTONDianne Cowan, [email protected]

CHICAGORick Lightburn, [email protected]

DALLAS/FORTWORTH

Paula Fulks, [email protected]

DENVER/BOULDERLee Katherine

Goldstein, SGI90720-746-1496LGoldstein@

Lindquist.com

MINN./ST. PAULCarol Freeman, [email protected]

NEW YORK CITYDaniel Van Doren, A81914-949-6811president@

sjcalums.com

NORTHERN CALIF.Reynaldo Miranda, A99415-333-4452reynaldo.miranda@

gmail.com

PHILADELPHIAHelen Zartarian, AGI86215-482-5697helenstevezartarian@

mac.com

PITTSBURGHJoanne Murray, A70724-325-4151Joanne.Murray@

alcoa.com

PORTLANDJennifer Rychlik, [email protected]

SAN DIEGOStephanie Rico, [email protected]

SALT LAKE CITYErin Hanlon, [email protected]

SANTA FERichard Cowles,

[email protected]

SEATTLEJames Doherty, [email protected]

SOUTH FLORIDAJon Sackson, A69305-682-4634jonathan.sackson@

ubs.com

SOUTHERN CALIF.Elizabeth Eastman,

[email protected]

TRIANGLE CIRCLE,NORTH CAROLINA

Susan Eversole, [email protected]

WASHINGTON, DCDeborah Papier, [email protected]

WESTERN NEWENGLAND

Peter Weiss, SF84413-367-2174peter_weis@

nmhschool.org

Tar HeelChapter ThrivesAkira Kurosawa’s epic film Seven Samurai,Georgioni’s painting The Tempest, and mostrecently Emmanuel Levinas’ essay “IsOntology Fundamental?” were among theeclectic works North Carolina chaptermembers selected for their seminar discussions. “With films, we arrange for aviewing a few days prior to the seminar whenwe discuss it; paintings can be viewedonline,” says Susan Friedman Eversole(SF79), who has been the North Carolinachapter president for the past 11 years. “The person who suggests the work asks theopening question, but we especially welcomevisiting tutors to lead our seminars.” PhilLeCuyer, a beloved tutor from Santa Fe, ledthe group’s June seminar on Levinas’ essay.

Eversole, who has lived in Chapel Hill for

the past 22 years, says that in the early daysshe and a few Johnnies met in a local usedbookstore for an informal reading group.Then in 1990, she helped spearhead theprocess to formally charter the chapter. Shehelped organize regular monthly seminarsand social gatherings, drawing membersfrom nearby towns of Durham, Raleigh, andGreensboro, and as far west as Asheville.“There are a lot of retirees in this area,” says Eversole, “as well as young alums whoare starting their careers.” According toEversole, the younger alums are especiallyinterested in the chapter’s social events—suchas a recent dinner at La Residence in ChapelHill—to network and develop career contacts.In addition to attracting retirees, graduatestudents and young professionals, theRaleigh-Durham Research Triangle region isalso a magnet for computer professionals.Two of Eversole’s colleagues, Lucy Adams(A78) and G. Kay Bishop (A75) are, like Eversole, employed on long-term contracts

with the EnvironmentalProtection Agency, eitheras software developers orworking on computersystems with environmental data.“Given all the universi-ties in the area, we alsohave several graduatestudents, even some inmedical school, whomake time for the seminars,” she says.

About eight to ten Johnnies attend eachseminar, previously held in an office in theResearch Triangle Park, and lately at Ever-sole’s home in Chapel Hill. In the future,the seminars will meet at the University ofNorth Carolina’s Chapel of the Cross.

Eversole, who is retiring as president,passes the helm of the North Carolinachapter to Richard Ross (A82) and ElizabethPyle Ross (A92), but she plans to stay activein the chapter. “All of us want to be tutors inour souls, to retire as tutors, to keep ourminds working.” x

ST. JOHN’S COLLEGE ALUMNI ASSOCIATIONAll alumni have automatic membership in the St. John’s College Alumni Association. The Alumni Association is an independentorganization, with a Board of Directorselected by and from the alumni body. Theboard meets four times a year, twice on eachcampus, to plan programs and coordinate theaffairs of the association. This newsletterwithin The College magazine is sponsored bythe Alumni Association and communicates association news and events of interest.

President – Glenda Eoyang, SF76Vice President – Jason Walsh, A85Secretary – Barbara Lauer, SF76Treasurer – Bill Fant, A79Getting-the-Word-Out Action Team Chair –Linda Stabler-Talty, SFGI76

Mailing address – Alumni Association, St. John’s College, P.O Box 2800, Annapolis,MD 21404, or 1160 Camino Cruz Blanca, Santa Fe, NM 87505-4599.

Alan Brinkley, BarbSmalley, and RachelDarrow, ChapterNetworking Chair.


{ S t . J o h n ’ s F o r e v e r }

Former St. John’s Collegepresident Richard Weiglewas skilled in public relations, and one of thesmartest things he did for thecollege was to hire Annapolis

photographer Marion E. Warren. Warren took yearbook photos in 1949, and the following year, began shootingpromotional shots of the campus. Weigle

also arranged for Warren to photographthe emerging Santa Fe campus.

Born in 1920 in Billings, Mont., Warrenhad a lifelong dream of becoming a photographer. After freelancing and brieflyworking for the Associated Press, he wasdrafted into the Navy and became a specialphotographer to the Secretary of the Navy.After the war, he moved to Annapolis andopened a studio. His photos captured city

life, watermen on the Chesapeake Bay, andMaryland’s rural communities. He diedSeptember 8, 2006.

Warren photographed St. John’s peopleand events up to 1987 when he retired fromcommercial photography. The GreenfieldLibrary’s photo archive includes more than400 of Warren’s prints—distinct andremarkable photographs capturing life atthe college. x

48

mar

ion

war

ren

An Eye for Beauty


{ A l u m n i E v e n t s C a l e n d a r }

The Campaign on the Road Tuesday, December 12, 2006Alumni, parents, and friends of the collegein the greater Houston area are invited tojoin Presidents Christopher Nelson andMichael Peters at The Coronado Club incelebration of “With a Clear and SinglePurpose”: The Campaign for St. John’sCollege. Wine, beer, and light fare will beserved. The reception will begin at 6 p.m.,with a program beginning at 7 p.m.Contact Penelope Bielagus in the college’sadvancement office at 505-984-6113 [email protected].

The college is planning several addi-tional events across the country in thecoming year that are designed to keepalumni informed about how the college isplanning for its future; to invite dialoguebetween the college and its alumni,parents, and supporters; and to buildmomentum for the campaign. Details onevents will be posted on the college Web site: www.stjohnscollege.edu.

April 21, 2007Croquet Match with the Naval Academy.

Rain date: April 22

Homecoming scenes from Santa Fe: Above,visiting in Schep’s Garden; Annapolistutor Sam Kutler (class of 1954), LizJenny (SF80) and Lee Goldstein (SFGI90),at Saturday’s picnic; Allan Hoffman (class of 1949) and Steve Thomas (SF74).

Photos by teri thomson randall

back cover photo by teri nolan

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