Boston University College of Practical Arts and Letters - Sivad Yearbook (Boston, MA)

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acenl GEORGE RALEIGH COFFMAN, A.B., A.M., PH.D. Professor and Head of the Department of English Did you know that once, during his youth, the head of our English Department threatened to wear ministerial garb, but has since contented himself with the flowing academic gown, accompanied by its significant hood? What caused him to deviate from the path and “follow the line of least resistance’ is not generally known, but—be it whispered softly !— we believe he was so full of compassion toward those of his audience who might have heard him that he didn’t want to disillusion them entirely, and so came to P. A. L. to practise his theological training. Those of us who have been so fortunate as to have heard him deliver a weighty dissertation on the awful doom and punishment meted to late papers, and then have seen his face brighten and with an apologetic smile heard him remark that he didn’t mean anything by what he said, cannot readily visualize him prophesying a terrible end to anything. The pulpit probably lost a splendid man, but its loss has been our gain in the person of a true friend and valuable teacher. JOSEPH RICHARD TAYLOR, A.B., A.M. Pro fessor of English “T think that P. A. L. is a very live department, well organized, well equipped with all that goes to make college life joyous as well as profit- able. I like the social spirit of the college, the cordial co-operation be- tween teachers and the taught. My high opinion of the college is strength- ened with each successive year. “A typical P. A. L. girl is sensible, practical, a good student with marked social grace; she is well-born, well-bred.”’ A message: ‘“‘You have made a remarkable record in the eight years since the establishment of the college in 1919. It is a joy to enter the P. A. L. building. The good cheer, the great range of activities, the general air of efficiency in the administrative office and the class-room, the spirit of comradeship in the corridor, all tell of a live college where hard work and sane enjoyment go hand in hand.” STANLEY ROYAL ASHBY, A.B., A.M., PH.D. Assistant Professor of English With his Freshmen in the Composition courses and the upper-classmen in American Literature and Prose and Poetry, Professor Ashby must cer- tainly be considered one of the family; and knowing us, he likes us. He said so! As for Boston, he thinks it a mighty fine city and would not leave it—even though the greater part of his life has been spent in the South—the immortal South of song and romance. His life has been extremely interesting and varied, and just think, he has been abroad three times ‘‘at somebody’s else’s expense”; first as a Rhodes Scholar; then as a Welfare Worker during the War; and finally, last summer, on a Fellowship from Harvard University. Emerson, Keats, Shelley, and Irving have provided a delightful means of becoming acquainted with Professor Ashby, and his personal enjoyment and interest in the work seem to have been carried over to the girls in his classes. Of course, his greatest interest and enthusiasm is his little boy, and how proud he is of him! [ 20 ]

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m 4 iH Tee m i EDWARD AUSTIN WARREN, A.B., A.M., PH.D. Instructor in English Dr. Warren’s vocabulary is at once the inspiration and despair of his classes, where he has the faculty of promoting lively discussions shading from literature into philosophy, religion, and ethics; for he considers him- self not a mere teacher of English, but a teacher in general. He is a firm believer in the right of self-expression, and maintains his Opinions in spite of opposition and satire. At present, he is much inter- ested in philosophy and religion, and is a member of the Philosophical Club of Boston University. Of course, he reads and writes constantly. So many of our assemblies have been enriched by his admirable per- formances on the organ, we wonder why he didn’t make music his voca- tion; but should that have happened, P. A. L. would never have known him, and the Writers’ Club would be minus a willing and helpful sponsor. His special hobby is St. Peter’s School of Liberal and Humane Studies, a summer school at Hebron, Connecticut, which he founded, and of which he is now the dean. Get him to tell you about it some day! L. so much. We feel that he thoroughly @nce has included secretarial science. between the various sounds and inflections. Club, we wonder? cere friend as well as a capable instructor. CHARLES FREDERICK ROBINSON, A.B., A.M., S.T.B. Instructor in English Rev. C. F. Robinson feels that he may justly be thought of as an “‘old- timer” at P. A. L., since he and his good friend, Professor Smith, began here in 1923, when the College was only four years old. Mr. Robinson in that time, at the request of Dean Davis, has established daily chapel ser- vices; put upon a class-work basis Business Letter-writing and Journal- ism; and introduced as entirely new subjects Biblical Literature and Ethics. He is pleased to see the trend in student attention towards cul- tural subjects, and believes P. A. L. has a bright future as a “separate college for women’. Teaching as he is, for his fifth consecutive year, a division of Freshman English, he finds the standards of admission becom- ing higher. Mr. Robinson is seeking this year to broaden the influence of Chapel by enlisting other members of the faculty to assist him. While he admits the attendance is all too small, he believes that more different individuals attend during the year than one might suppose; that the whole college feels the influence of this quiet fifteen minutes; and that some constant attendants find the service a source of real comfort and inspiration. [ 21 ] he cia Gx IRVING HAMILTON WHITE, A.B., A.M. Instructor in English We were indeed glad to learn that this comparatively new member of our English Department likes Boston and enjoys his work here at P. A. understands “ practical arts’? as wellas of ‘“‘letters’’, since his former teaching experi- of Although few of us possess well-developed vocal cords, he insists upon our using them to “sing vowels’! Whether or not the results are harmon- ious, he doesn’t say, but he seems to delight in our attempts to distinguish Does one have to pass through this ordeal in order to qualify for membership in his successful Dramatic Because he is such a sympathetic listener, we like to talk to him, and because he has so many interesting things to tell us and such a charming manner of expression, we like to listen. These qualities make him a sin-