Haverford College - Record Yearbook (Haverford, PA)

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RUSSELL R. WILLIAMS, JR. WILLIAM E. CADBURY, JR. ROBERT I. WALTER CHEMISTRY Haverford ' s chemistry department is unique in many ways. For one, it has its own private building — a struc- ture with high stone walls, creaky stairs, underground chambers, and bars on the windows. The Chemistry Building houses the largest and steepest lecture hall on campus, a room where clanging radiators have dis- tracted many lecturers (and even dozing students) . In addition, the Chem Building possesses its own nauseat- ing smells, created by black-aproned inhabitants en- during 1-o-n-g laboratory periods, the first of which for every course is always spent washing apparatus and bending glass. Certainly the chief distinction of any department, however, is derived from the men that teach in it. These four years have been a period of significant change for all. Since the fall of 19 ' 4, there has been an almost complete change of personnel m the chem- istry department, due to the death of William Mcldrum ( the grand old man of the Chem. Department ) and turnover of most other members. It is strongly felt by students of the department that the new faculty has soundly reassessed the needs and curriculum — securing a solid foundation for present and future development. Probably the most obvious evidence of this is that the atmosphere of the depart- ment is now less dictated by desires of the non-major pre-medical students. By way of introduction for some, and for the Record, the following are members of the department. Dean William ( The Cad ) Cadbury, the single man who has remained from the past faculty, teaches physical chemistry. His research interest involves phase rela- tionships. Students of the course remember numerous derivations of formulas and appreciate the extremely well-organized laboratory work. The Dean, of course, IS familiar in a tweedy suit, raincoat and hat — with pipe. Russell Williams, the chairman of the department, is a quiet, bespectacled gentleman whose trademark is a large briefcase. He left teaching at Notre Dame in 19 6. He specializes m nuclear physical chemistry and will carry on research with aid from a grant given by the Atomic Energy Commission. Williams teaches both elementary chemistry and advanced physical chemistry. The department is making good, strong progress under his direction. Harmon Dunathan, the most recent arrival, is fa- mous for an hour e.xam that actually took five hours. Fourteen

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ANDREW M. SCOTT STEVEN MULLER H. FIELD HAVILAND, JR. ( ' stands up and waiJ{s toward the wall, flexing Jus left arm. Then reahzes that there is no blackboard in the room and paces bacl{ while speaking.) This all reminds me of an exercisi: I was on while in the navy. . . . Somers: I think we have to be more rigorous than that, Andy. I Lights his pipe.) By the way, when I was in England studying their workmen ' s compensa- tion, I found something that might he of use to the economics. . . . But to get back to the topic, how can we strengthen student participation in classes? After all, it is they that form the real learning process. Scott: Sure. Discussion is important, but it is also necessary to fill the students in on the material that is not in the textbook. Reitzel: As I understand it, the lectures and readings, particularly in Political Science 22, give an incomplete and unbalanced picture of the actual realities of the situation. This should be remedied by some judicious interposition of factual knowledge. Don ' t you think that is a fair statement of your position, Andy? ( Ex- tinguishes one cigarette and lights another as Scott nods. I Midler: Yes. and I think that the students should be required to come up to the real standards that the col ' lege has advertised. The preparation and work of the students here is, on the whole, abominable. But if we are to adopt this suggestion, I think it should be along the lines of the tutorial system at Oxford. I Opens his pac of Players cigarettes. ) Scott: I was talking with some of my students after class about that yesterday, and they said that this did not lead to a balanced education, i Blows smo}{e away from his face. I Somers: Getting back to the main point of the meeting. . . . Midler: Just a minute. Red. but I think it would be an excellent idea if there were a stiffer language re- quirement for political science majors. I think it is an atrocious commentar ' on the state of American educa- tion that college seniors are unable to read — say — de Jouvenel ' s introduction to Rousseau in the original. Somers: Yes, Steve, I agree, but I was going to sug- gest first that students should be brought to the point where they can carr ' on reasonable, factual class dis- cussions in English. Reitzel: Certainly, Red, but more attention should be paid to orienting the students in the field of inter- national relations. A while ago I heard a foreign service officer comment on this point. Somers: The fundamental problem of the political science department. . . . Reitzel: If you don ' t mind. Red, 1 have to leave now to catch a train for Washington. I have an early ap- pointment at the Brookings Institution. Scott: Hm-m. 1 just remembered that I promised to take care of my four kids before working tonight on my new text in American political theory. Mailer: I have to take care of a couple more books tonight. Scott: O-o-kay, let ' s call it a day. All exeunt ex- cept Somers.) Somers: I wonder who ' ll be at the next meeting. Thirteen

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He is an organic chemist concerned with structural problems. This year he taught the second semester of general organic and the first semester of the advanced course. Chemistry (i} . Word has it that ' Yi.V was a character builder. Colin MacKay is a bright young nuclear chemist who is very congenial and helpful to interested students. Like Bob Walters, he burns the midnight oil. MacKay often spends v .x ' ekends doing research at Yale. This year he taught the second semester of physical chemis- try while Dean Cadbury was on leave. Robert ( R.I. ) Walter is already a legend. He teaches one of the most notoriously difficult courses on campus — general organic. No student can forget this one. Those who last through it, come out knowing and retaining a lot, their mark, no matter how high, being a real purple heart. Students like Walter ' s friendli- ness and are often awed by his tireless and productive devotion to teaching both in and out of the class room. Walter ' s research interest concerns many problems — prominent among these is free radical chemistry. This interest ignited the Defense Department Controversy of 1957. The remaining spark of the teaching team during the last semester was Frederick ( 79 ) Brutcher, alias: Beware, visiting lecturer from the University of Pennsylvania. His intormation p.icked lectures, sprin- kled with generally good anecdotes (in the best Haav- ard accent), provided advanced organic students with an almost palatable dose of reactions and reaction mechanisms. Brucher ' s research interest concerns syn- thesis of natural jiroducts and reaction mechanisms. It may strike some that having a strong and active chemistry department on an admittedly liberal arts campus is a bit incongruous. Yet, following out the uniqueness theme, the department is strong because of its faculty .md students, and also because of its prox- imity to the humanities. Thus, it is possible that through the interaction and complementation of quality training in both areas, those who leave here will have the concerned initiative and sound direction so vita! to meaningful progress for mankind. COLIN F. MacKAY HARMON C. DUNATHAN Fifteen