Beloit College Magazine
Beloit College Magazine
Spring 2001 Contents
Departments
Features
- Do You Do What You Say You Do?
- Renewed Spirit Marks Inauguration Day
- On the Trail of Roy Chapman Andrews
- A Hands-on Approach to History
- Chalk One Up for Student-Faculty Research
- The Writing is On the Wall
- A Touch of Gold
- A Beloit and the Peace Corps: Adventures in Service
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Beloit’s African Connections
I was pleased to see the article on “Beloit in Africa” in your winter edition. Such an excellent institution as Beloit has a lot both to offer and to benefit from close ties with the many countries and cultures of Africa. ... There are many African and American alumni living and working throughout Africa, putting into practice what they learned at Beloit. This is an important consequence of Beloit’s emphasis ... on global knowledge and awareness. I do not know the extent or range of Beloit alumni’s African-oriented careers, but I am sure their impact is significant.
Personally, I credit Beloit in large part with setting me on my current course, which has included work in 10 African countries over 15 years, in various capacities. Perhaps Beloit College Magazine could find the space to examine further the African connection from the point of view of alumni careers, as a follow-up to the recent article.
—Adam Koons’77
Regional Coordinator
CARE International in Kenya
koons@ksm.care.or.ke
(P.S. I will be happy to see any Beloiters passing through Kenya, or to correspond with anyone interested in discussing the issues mentioned above.)
A Teacher as Memorable as Aristotle
I would like to add to the true stories about our beloved professor, “Dickie” Richardson [who taught at Beloit from 1901 to 1947]. I was fortunate to be enrolled in Dickie’s never-to-be-forgotten course “Underlying Ideals of Western Civilization.”
Dickie lectured from a wooden platform, built about 8 to 10 inches above the classroom floor, where he could stride around, gesturing when needed (to emphasize a point). His energy was astonishing. One day, most of us were taking notes, writing furiously to keep up with Dickie, when a girl dropped her pencil. Before anyone else could move, Dickie shot off the platform, picked up the pencil, handed it to the girl, and was back on the platform. He hadn’t missed a word in his lecture.
When Dickie was speaking of Aristotle, he hiked up his [make-believe] toga and led the entire class into a nearby stream ... until they came to a big plane tree. ... The class scrambled up the bank and gathered under the plane tree to listen to the rest of Aristotle’s discourse. ... Dickie had a wonderful way of making his lectures come to life. He was truly a great teacher.
—Frances Puckett Wilbur’42
A Woman of Accomplishment
I was saddened to hear of the passing of a friend known so briefly at Beloit College, Anne Dyson [wife of former President Roger Hull].
I think for many of us, we knew her on a variety of levels. ... She was the physician and local pediatrician, the philanthropist who wished to change the world, and always the dedicated advocate to child welfare globally. ... After reading her obituary in The New York Times, I’m happy that she accomplished so many of her dreams, if only by age 52. How sadly ironic that breast cancer claimed the life of a gifted physician.
—Christopher H. Johnston’83
Minneapolis, Minn.
Corrections
A story about the International Poetry Festival, printed in the Fall/Winter 2000 issue, gave an incorrect title for Donna Oliver, who is chair of Beloit’s department of modern languages and literatures.
Also, information about the educational background of Ulla Hahn, one of the featured poets, was misleading. It should be noted that she earned a Ph.D. in German Literature.