Haverford College - Record Yearbook (Haverford, PA)

Page 29 text:

SOCIAL SCIENCES Will Lyons resorts to a quality control chart to hold attention on a late Friday afternoon. ECONOMICS The Executive in the ec department is chair- man Howard Teaf, who guides his future Adam Smiths with an iron hand. When the finger points at you, watch out ! You had better be exactly right, if you want to be heard. A stickler for precision, Mr. Teaf has been known to spend an entire class period looking for a single word — and we sometimes suspect that he has it hidden in his long sleeves near the floor. His weekly disai pearances are accounted for by his varied off-campus activities as a C.P.A., labor arbitrator, and advisor to the state insurance program. And his vigorous tax- ation of dormant intellectual resources has had multiplier effects on student development. Mild-mannered, even-tempered Ho Hunter, ' 43, demonstrates his marginal propensity for statistics in his latest book, Soviet Transporta- tion Policy. (Approximately one-third of the book is charts and graphs. ) Students knew well his love for figures even before the book was published. His favorite diversion while travel- ling between Woodside Cottage and Whitall, thir d floor, is attempting to break his own speed record in climbing and descending stairs. Once in class. Ho sits with hands folded and feet extended, ever ready to give an animated dem- onstration of some obscure point, such as the indifference curve applied to sticky buns and orlon shirts. He is pleased when consulted about KlI I J Messrs. Hunter, Lyons, and Teaf sit engrossed in thought concerning Haverford ' s academic recession. papers and anyone bringing him a rough draft is almost sure to get a 90. Will Lyons came to Haverford in the fall of ' 57, having sacrificed a lucrative Wall Street career to join the ranks of long-suffering col- lege professors. Further armed with a hard- earned M.I.T. education and experience on the War Production Board, he seems to us novices in the world of practical affairs to be the pos- sessor of an unlimited number of acquaintances and hot tips on the market. This background enables Will to conduct lively classes, liberally spiced with original, thought-provoking con- cepts — all without notes. A sympathetic lis- tener to every student ' s problems, he makes a fine coffee companion. With the.se virtues and a love for stocks ending in 0-I-D, Will lends a bit of color to the ec department. The Ec Club celebrates a rise in Polaroid stock: (seated) Lyons, Roberts, McLeod, Hobaugh, Kaufman; (standing) Davis. Fox, West, Speakman, Long, Krone, Hurford, Shelton. Blanchard, Silverblatt. Kain.

Page 28 text:

ScMKil iiiU ' riiiin r I ' l ' iii- I ' l iii ' al .1 de Graaft ' leads a Russian discussion. RUSSIAN Frances de Graaff is the human dynamo who generates knowledge of the one Slavic language offered in these parts. Teaching phrases for all occasions, she presents her subject with both dispatch and care, and makes a point of intro- ducing her students to the lighter sides of the language as well as the more serious. Multi- lingual Miss de Graaff is the owner of a polylingual dog named Tony. This intelligent beast listens to her elementary and secondary classes with the bored yawn of an old pro. Ruth Pearce arrived on the scene last Sep- tember to help the beleaguered Miss de Graaff cope with the quadrupled enrollment in Ele- mentary Russiari. She brings to the subject a high regard for accuracy and a fanatical deter- mination to have everyone speak with an im- peccable Moscow accent. Although she admon- ishes those stumbling on vowel mutations, con- jugations, aspects, and declensions to memor- ize like parrots, an ochvn kIio)osIio greets the performance of the knowledgeable. A smiling Ruth Pearce and a dubious Frances de Graaff prepare a class for their budding diplomats. SPANISH There are many clues to the personality of Sefior Manuel Jose Asensio: his physiology (short, stocky, dynamic) ; his philosophy (con- fident optimism coupled with sympathetic understanding) ; and, most significantly, the personal devotion he inspires in all who come to know him. The atmosphere of la Casa (pro- saically, Williams House) is a case in point — only el Senor (and la Sefwra) could make that cold grey Quaker pile of stone reflect the rich warmth of a Spanish atmosphere. No one who has studied literature ivith him can forget the depth of his insights or the sound scholarship that documents them. On sabbatical leave for the past semester, he will return next fall, ready to give several more courses than he ' s paid to teach. When Senor Asensio ' s second-semester re- placement failed to arrive, a frantic plea to B.M.C. produced Seiior Joaquin Gonzalez- Muela, a pleasant, easy-going scholar in modern Spanish poetry. His wide teaching experience adds color to his courses, and class discus- sions range from College problems to the Cuban Revolution. Joining the Haverford faculty in February, Senor Casiano Fernandez (another Asensio substitute) announced, We do not learn things about the language. We learn the language it- self. A strong believer in the conversational method of teaching, he furnishes delightful digressions into all aspects of Spanish and Latin American culture. Manuel Asensio, benevolent despot of Spanish house, radiates a regal warmth throughout his tiny realm.

Page 30 text:

HISTORY Thomas Drake, together with Wallace Mac- Caffrey, gives the history department one of the most effective one-two punches in the Col- lege. If either of these remarkable men were to leave, the number of history majors would be alarmingly reduced. With a peculiar obses- sion for books, historians, and details, Dr. Drake covers in his American history classes anything from a discussion of steamboat navi- gation on the Arkansas River to research on the first name of the editor of the Atlantic Monthly in 1901. His rationale for this pro- cedure is his belief that a college course in American history should be advanced, al- though certain neophyte historians have ac- cused him of neglecting the basic issues. To his students, Mr. MacCaffrey appears as both Clio and Nemesis incarnate. His class procedure follows three steps: (1) Having for- gotten a pencil, he borrows a student ' s to take the I ' oll. (2) He asks innocuously, Well, what did you read for today? (3) The fur (of the students) flies. Skillfully battering and parry- ing his class with probing questions, Mr. Mac- Caffrey blithely piles on interminable, volumi- nous lists of suggested reading. Although .stu- dents may dread his insatiable expectations, they will remember him as a teacher who encouraged thinking as much as knowing. John Coddington ' s pocket watch, head full of anecdotes, affirmative tone, and well-chosen vocabulary demand one ' s attention. Mr. Cod- dington has something valuable to say on any subject and is never too busy to converse with a student. With precise diction and mellifluous tone, he invariably asks visitors, Why don ' t you sit down? . . . you look so temporary. Dusty original source material is perused by his- torians MacCaffrey, Drake, and Coddington. Red Somers points out to Gerald Freund and Arnold Rog-ow that Einstein was a political scientist. POLITICAL SCIENCE Herman Somers skillfully applies his child- hood dramatic training in clarifying the vari- ous political problems raised in class. His caustic and concise thrusts at the political Leviathan sometimes jolt idealistic freshmen, but in reality conceal a warm and friendly per- sonality. Head of the poll sci department, Somers is also master of Scull House (once a fearsome position). But since the Great Re- form of ' 58, his sole problems are maintaining the excellence of his department and keeping up with the social security laws, not to mention the current political ferment. Gerald Freund brings to the poli sci depart- ment a solid background encompassing the entire political spectrum : principles learned from Red Somers, empirical knowledge ac- quired as president of the Students ' Associa- tion, and e.xperience gained assisting George F. Kennan. Freund ' s approach attests to a shrewdly analytical mind, which is quick to see fallacies bandied about by political amateurs as well as professionals who should know better. His presentation takes on undertones of ecstasy when he brings forth the Golden Key in all political triumphs : Power, gentlemen ! Arnold Rogow, mighty monotone of the de- partment, is reputed to have the great ambition to apply the game theory of political science to gunning creatures of the wild. Excluded from the latter category, his students are the target only of his marks. Although his delivery arouses few to ecstasy, Mr. Rogow possesses an excellent command of analytical tools for dis- secting any issue at hand. So long as his chain of cigarettes lasts, the Rogue is nonpareil.