Profs and Scholars

Unconvinced minds and other parting shots

Playing Catch Up

I find I must disagree with the administration's assumption, as expressed by Charles Wheelan '88 in his essay "What Comes Next" [June, 1998], that "Great teachers must be active researchers."

Ironically, that is one of those tenets of the research universities that is rarely, if ever, challenged or even examined in places supposedly created to do just that.

A little reflection will reveal that Socrates, the greatest teacher of all time, was not an "active researcher," nor was Jesus or the Buddha, for that matter. Each was simply a wise man who used his common sense to think things through.

This notion that research is the highest academic calling seems to have come to us from Germany in the 1880s, a trend that Dartmouth resisted for almost a hundred years. I am sure that most of us who attended the College in mid-century can recall with pleasure being instructed by professors who were not "active researchers."

Surely now is the time to recall Dartmouth to its historic and primary function of educating undergraduates, just when other institutions of higher learning have begun to discover its importance both to individuals and to our society as a whole.

Holyoke, Massachussetts

Professor Freedman

Reports of James Freedman's departure mention that he will continue at Dartmouth to teach, butnone mentions his subject. To the best of my knowledge, his post-graduate education was confined to law, and Dartmouth has no law school. I find nothing in his book that indicates a scholarly command of a body of knowledge consistent with Dartmouth's curriculum. Did the Trustees offer a teaching post as reward for his years of service? If so, does that accord with the Board's policy of faculty appointment?

Enfield, New Hampshire

As president, and by long-standing tradition, Freedman 's tenure is with the College, not with any particular department. After a sabbatical and a fourmonth teaching stint at the University of lowa, Freedman will return to Dartmouth to teach courses in the government department. His title will be "Bicentennial Professor," the same one given John Sloan Dickey '29 upon Dickey's retirement in 1970. Ed.

Jim Freedman's Presidential Range [lnfluential Minds, May] illustrates American education's poverty. Freedman states that limitless growth and increasing productivity created inflation and expanded consumer debt. Increased productivity drives down the prices of goods and services. Computers, for example, have become cheaper and easier to use thanks to the efforts of for-profit computer manufacturers. The same thing can not be said for American education. Not-for-profits, including public and private universities, are inefficient corporations because they lack accountability, and it is not clear what they should be producing.

Hanover, New Hampshire

Jim Freedman discusses four books published earlier this century [lnfluential Minds] which he says reveal the power of intellectuals to open our minds to important current issues and deepen our understanding of them. Alas, while the authors and books he chooses are certainly of interest, the column itself seems geared instead to advancing Freedman's personal political biases, and it ultimately demonstrates the very short-sightedness he would have us avoid.

Freedman's point that we should value the works of intellectuals is indeed correct for the very reasons he suggests. But his reading audience would have been better served here had he stuck to his stated theme instead of peppering his piece with his own political opinions.

Menlo Park, California

With reference to Jim Freedman's "Influential Minds," may I utter my sternest rejoinder? Well, here it is, BALDERDASH.

Freedman appears to say, "Intellectuals free us from the tyranny of short-sightedness." I say that intellectuals have no greater vision than many other intelligent individuals and a great many have incredibly clouded visions that beget such global tragedies as the present but thankfully fading concept of communism.

That a book may have great influence on a society is, as well, no measure of its ultimate worth. Mao's "Little Red Book" has moved millions. There is even a "Little Green Book" by Muammar el-Quddafi, which presumably moves many Libyans. But both books are full of cant and absurdities that have led to murders and worse.

Freedman is simply pushing his own personal agenda in this article. He's free to do so. But so am I free to disagree.

Boulder, Colorado

People who ought to know better, such as President Freedman, should stop trying to credit John Kemeny with showing "leadership" in coeducation [June]. If Kemeny ever really joined the cause, it was long after it became popular.

In May, 1958, a petition proposed a study of some form of coordinate education. Notice that the petition did not ask for coeducation. It did not ask for coordinate education. It asked only for a study of some, form of it.

Some will say he had a revelation and changed his mind after he became a politician. Perhaps. But at the critical moment in 1958, he wanted the world to know that he saw no merit in even a study of some form of coordinate education.

Wheaton, Illinois

Wetterhahn Remembered

I first met Karen Wetterhahn in the summer of 1976. She and my husband joined the chemistry department on the same day. I was struck by her openness and down-to-earth appeal. There was nothing pretentious about this very talented woman. Over the years I heard of her many successes, and when I called to congratulate her on being promoted to associate professor with tenure, she brimmed with joy and appreciation for such a small gesture. I can still hear her contagious laugh, when a few years later she was named dean of sciences, and I asked whether I should call her Karen or Dean Wetter hahn.

Lebanon, New Hampshire

I always had my doubts about the effectiveness of latex gloves as a barrier against toxic compounds ["The Trembling Edge of Science," April]. I grew up on a farm and was used to working with heavy gauntlet-style leather gloves and the reduced dexterity that comes with them. Various amusing experiences with chain saws, poisonous snakes, and barbed wire made me appreciate at a tender age the advantages of having as much protection as possible between you and the world. I carried those lessons with me to graduate school and always made it a point to use heavy gauntlet style neoprene gloves at all times; I can remember several occasions when this practice kept me from serious harm.

I question the writer's generous assessment of the value of Material Safety Data Sheets ("they reflect the limits, rather than the extent of knowledge") and the bureaucracy that administers them. She is far too kind. A more telling story about the general depravity of the Material Safety Data Sheet ("MSDS") situation, and the failure of government regulation in general, comes from The Death of Common Sense (1995), a recent work by Philip K. Howards. It seems that at one point OSHA even required MSDS for bricks. Eventually the brick lobby beat back the enemy and was able to overturn the decision.

The predictable industrial response to all this silliness, alluded to in Ms. Endicott's article, is that manufacturers will characterize every compound in the most overblown fashion for liability reasons, thus making it impossible to distinguish the innocuous from the truly deadly.

Warrenton, Virginia

Statistics 101

Dartmouth has reason to be proud of the volunteers it has sent to the Peace Corps. The 482 alums reported in the April issue ["On the Hill"] is impressive. But it may not warrant second place in the rankings you suggest. If you take into account the size of each school's undergraduate population, Dartmouth actually ranks sixth and Carleton College ranks first.

Washington, D.C.

Doetors

President Freedman feels that future doctors should have a greater exposure to the social sciences and humanities ["The Uncertain Future ofMedical Education," December, 1997]. Is there any evidence to support the hypothesis that this will make better physicians? For 20 years the mantra was always "we need a well-rounded candidate with a strong background in the humanities." I postulate that empathy cannot be taught. In my career I discovered that women make much more caring and compassionate physicians than most men. Forget all of the humanity courses, just accept only women to medical school. The reasoning would probably be easier to prove and support.

Parkland, Florida

Green Mountain

In my junior year, Horace Jones T '34, Don Legro '34, and I hiked up the Carriage Road and found the Halfway House open, but all the mattresses locked up! The stove didn't put out much heat. I recall that we brought in a big icicle, and tied it to the back of a chair. When we wanted water, we moved the chair closer to the little stove and put a bucket under it. The next morning was very cold. But the weather was clear as a bell. We could see the sun sparkling on the ocean 80 miles away.

Another trip to the summit was during the post-reunion after our 50th. We rode the cog railway for a picnic on the summit, which hadn't yet opened for the season. The top of the mountain was clear with no wind and the temperature around 80°! Again we could see for miles. But with the sun higher, we didn't see the sparkling ocean.

Cincinnati, Ohio

Question for Vox?

So who is this AlexMuromcew '85 ["Who was Hinman?" April] and why does he want to know about us?

"'ROUND THE GIRDLED EARTH"

Myth and Taxes

I enjoyed "Dart-Myths" ["Dartmouth Undying," April], particularly the "myth" about the student-packed town meeting where they voted to build a two-squarefoot by 75-foot-tall tower. This is not a myth! My uncle, Stan Ungar '23, told me about the meeting, which took place around the time he was at Dartmouth. It seems that the town fathers, feeling that they could pick up some extra revenue, decided to tax Dartmouth students as residents. Naturally, the students were not too thrilled with this, so they attended the next town meeting, proposed the tower, and then passed it into law. The town quickly reversed itself, and the students once again became untaxed residents.

Scotch Plains, New Jersey

Guiding Retirement

Nothing is wrong with retirees [Retirement Advertising Section, April], but much is wrong with the way developers build for them. Houses given the "traditional New England" label, for example, bear their garages in front and otherwise ignore the model of traditional urbanism that Hanover embodies. Such developments isolate dieir inhabitants, forcing them to treat the automobile as a necessity rather than a conveinence. One wonders what such sprawl can possibly add to the small-town charm that presumably attracted people to live near (but not in) Hanover in the first place.

Charlottesville, Virginia

Disputed Calls

I couldn't believe my brother Douglas Everett '26, was not included in the March sports issue. Doug played hockey for Dartmouth all four years, was captain his junior year. He was All-America his sophomore and senior years, a member of the Olympic hockey team in 1932. In 1972 he was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Hanover, New Hampshire

When Jack Donovan '38was a sophomore, Bob MacLeod '38 [listed in the March issue as a great athlete] arrived as a highly-touted football player and outstanding low hurdler. Harry Hillman '40 pitted them in several trial races. Bob quickly withdrew from track and concentrated on football and basketball.

Pottstown, Pennsylvania

I agree that in the 1980s Gail Koziara was exceptional—way ahead of her time. We felt so strongly about women's basketball in the sports information office during those years that I traveled with the women's team. Buddy Teevens '79, however, would have been my call for the 1970s.

West Long Branch, New Jersey

Steve Mullins's claim ('54 Class Notes) that placing fifth (actually sixth) in the nationals in 1954 was Dartmouth swimming's finest hour is a judgment open to dispute. Much as I had a rooting interest in that team (coinciding with my time at Dartmouth) that team had the advantage of having John Glover '55 as its most dynamic swimmer, but subsequent Dartmouth teams were far more well rounded.

Between 1960 and 1980, coached by Karl Michael '2 9 and later by Ron Keenhold, Dartmouth had 20 All-America swimmers and divers, was highly competitive in the Ivy league and beyond, and swam before large and enthusiastic crowds.

New Hampton, New Hampshire

Charles "Jay" Urstadt '49, a star swimmer in the immediate post-World War II years, was omitted from the March sports issue. He was a first team All-America in 1946, broke the College breaststroke record several times and captained the swimming team in 1948. After missing much of the 1947 season because of an appendectomy, he was named first team All-America again in 1948.

Sacramento, California

Mistaken Identities

Editor's Note: Our apologies to Don Davidoff '56 mid Cliff Emiico '75 for failing to correctly place a name with a photo in June's "D-mail" section honoring Alumni Club award recipients. Davidoff, the 1987-88 District Enrollment Director of the Year, received lots of calls complimenting him on how young he looked. Ennico, the 1997-98 Club President of the Year, simply ply asked us if we could fix the mistake. Congratulations once again to both.