University of California Berkeley - Blue and Gold Yearbook (Berkeley, CA)

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ConRncmcnt to a wheelchair (due to polio) does not prevent Professor Muir from teaching political science passionately. He has earned deep respect from his students and campaign supporters.

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profile: Professor Willi U1 Muir Politics ofTeachin BY ANNIE HUANG Good evening. I ' m calling on behalf of William Muir, the Cal professor who is running for State Assembly ... Excuse me, but did you say William Muir? That ' s correct. Well say no more . He has my vote as well as the rest of m family ' s. I took a class with Professor Muir back in 1 984 and I still remember what an exceptional experience it was. He was by far one of the best professors 1 had. if vou get a chance, please send him my yery best. Over the last two months I ' ve worked on various projects for Professor Muir ' s campaign tor State Assembly including everything from envelope stuffing to phone campaigning. I had the above conversation with one of the residents of the 14th Assembly District. His response did not surprise me at all. Many of Professor Muir ' s tormcr students share similar sentiments, myself included. 1 took Professor Muir ' s political science course titled Prosperity and Misery in the fall of 1995. The experience that I had in his class has been unparalleled. After attending only a few of his lectures it became obvious why he had earned the Distinguished Teaching Award. His teaching style was engaging, compassionate, and thought-provoking. He actively involved his students, regardless of class size. Rarely could 1 be found anywhere but the front row . I wanted to absorb his every word. I left every lecture feeling invigo- rated and filled with questions. The opportunity to interact with Professor Muir outside the classroom further validated m deep admiration and respect for him. Professor Muir, Sandv to his friends, hails from Motor City, Detroit, Michigan. Sandv is his nickname because every male in his family for as long as he can trace back has been named William. His family used nicknames to make it easier to distinguish one William from the next; however, this long-standing tradition suffered a break when his nephew recently had twins; they both could not be named William. Muir attended high school at a boarding school in Connecticut. The school was a feeder for Yale, where he earned his first B.A. in politics and economics in 1954. His life changed dramatically the year he earned his degree. While checking on a friend ho had just been diagnosed with polio, Sandy Muir developed the highly contagious disease. True to his optimistic nature, Muir took the news believing that he was fortunate, in one sense, to contract the debilitating disease so far into his life. His luck h.id allowed him to experience what he loved most as a youth: athletics. Still today, polio does not pre ent him Irom enjoying a full life with his wife, Pauli, and two daughters, Kerry and Hattie. As a means of escaping the confinements of a hospital, he chose to attend University of Michigan law school. Upon graduation, he taught for a year at Michigan, practiced law the following year and then decided to return to Yale to earn his Ph.D. in political science. In 1966 he received a call from an advertising agent representing four prominent Republicans, one of w horn was the soon-to-be elected governor of California, Ronald Reagan. As Muir explains, I was hired to put mv stamp of approval on the plans of the advertising agency. They wanted some means of telling their client that their orders were law. One way thev could back up the validity of their claims was through their expert. I was that expert. More than just a simple career move, the opportunity brought Muir to California. When Reagan defeated Governor Pat Brown, Muir concluded that California was in good hands and decided to make the state his new home. In California, Muir found a university that perfectly suited him. He adores Cal for its pure energy and vibrancy. I think walking through Sproul Plaza in late . pril, vou really feel the energy that is palpable, so that vou almost have to cut it away. Everybody is so alive, he comments. Many may find the enormity a drawback, but Professor Muir loves the size of the campus because he can be sure that no matter what he says, somebody out there, a teacher or a student, will say the exact opposite. I love the intellectual zestfulness of diversity. Professor Muir tries to teach what he can in class, but ultimately he knows the only way for his students to really learn is to simply go out and be an active participant in the outside world. I can attest to the satisfaction and sense of accomplishment that I derived from such an approach to teaching. Muir often quotes one of his own teachers, saving, You can see the w hole world in a grain of sand, vou can see humankind in the garb of a hobo, vou can sec in the most minute c ents, things that shed light on the greatest things. It is w ith this philosophy, an unquenchable enthusiasm for teaching, an optimistic outlook on life, and a radiant smile that William Muir became so admired and well-respected by those fortunate enough to be touched bv him. 30 I I I I

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Casual curiosity leads us to questions that we rarely find the answers to. What ' s the name of those trees on Sproul? How many people live in the dorms? We found out. on campus Addi mi it up The first freshman class included 38 men. There are 32 libraries including the main libraries and the campus affiliates. Chancellor Tien ' s birthday is July 24, 1935. The university was founded on March 23, 1868. The knuckled looking trees native to Sproul Plaza and the LeConte Campanile walkway are called London Plane Trees. The first Blue and Gold Year- book was published in 1875. It takes the Cashier ' s OfTice eight days each year to process and deposit the registration fees of 31,000 students. With 60 note-takers and 12 editors on its staff. Black Lightning distributes over 1 5,000 sets of semester notes each year. There is a service provided by the seismographic stations in McCone Hall that gives reports to students on daily earthquake activity in Berkeley. Their phone number is 642-2160. Including incoming, outgoing, and on-campus delivery, university Mail Services processes over 1 .5 million pieces of mail each month. 2 3,000 copies of the Daily Californian are in circulation each weekday. There are about 50 student taught De-Cal classes each semester. The complete construction of Tan Hall will cost $ 39.2 million dollars. maximum capacity The dimensions of People ' s Park arc 270 x 450 feet. The University Art Museum houses over 9 ,000 pieces of artwork that is shown in their 1 5-20 exhibitions per year. Cal Performances disburses 95,000 tick- ets per season, 1 8% of which are sold to students. The seven campus dorm units ofier a total of 4, 900 bed spaces. 32 I.I I i: