La Salle University - Explorer Yearbook (Philadelphia, PA)

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Taking a Second Look Behind the Comedy — Dedication and Professionalism For sixteen years, Dr. John Reardon has been re- presenting La Salle at area high schools to recruit prospective students. He believes that in order to attract good students, you just can ' t sit back. You must give them something that will make them look at La Salle a second time. If anyone can make students look twice, it ' s Jack Reardon. Even if they don ' t notice his uncanny resemblance to Robert Redford, they ' re sure to respond to his sincerity, enthusiasm, and humor. Every year he continues to receive outstanding evaluations from his students, and his sections are the first to close at registration. His classes are fun. Charm- ing, suave, and witty (multiple choice answers that often appear on his tests describing you-know-who), Dr. Reardon makes learning enjoyable because if stu- dents aren ' t with, he says, they won ' t learn. Hence, the scribbling on the walls and closet doors, the Hallow- een and Christmas stories, the vignettes, the heel kicks, the threats to jump out the window, and his infa- mous critique of African Queen. His performance, however, is no act. Although comic on one level, the underlying theme is serious and de- rives meaning from his own experience. He teaches about learning — his jokes, expressions, and spontane- ity are merely props. There he stands at the front of the class, relating some of the most embarrassing mo- ments of his life, just to make his students laugh. Most of his humor is directed toward himself; he plays upon his own insecurities and limitations. Because students rec- ognize Dr. Reardon ' s ability to joke about himself, they also respect and trust him. When he tells how he almost passed up a college education for a career making bobby pin tips, they don ' t doubt his earnest plea to take their educations seriously. Each semester, he sets aside a class period to talk about choosing courses wisely — not just to meet reauirements, but to take advantage of the learning opportunities that will be gone after graduation. His dedication to students won him a Lindbach Award for Distinguished Teaching in 1969, after only seven years at La Salle. A La Salle gradute himself, Dr. Reardon has a sense of the changes that the school has undergone in the past thirty-five years, and he continues to be an active force in La Salle ' s develop- ment. Well-respected for his integrity and judgment, he was elected to the faculty senate for 13 years, and then elected by the senate to the University council. Dr. Reardon is one of three academic counselors for the Pre-College Counseling Program, has moderated the Accounting Association, and, most recently, was appointed to the committee commissioned to ap- prove the building of the new library. In 1986, he was awarded the Sigma Phi Lambda Roland Holroyd Award for these and many more contributions. A devoted family man with two children at La Salle, Dr. Reardon is admired for other, intangible qualities best described by his colleagues. Brother Gerry Moly- neaux of the Communication Arts Department, and once a student of Dr. Reardon ' s, marvels at his ability to adapt and respond quickly to situations while remain- ing calm and offending no one. His judgment is a val- ued commodity at faculty meetings where controver- sy can often lead to heated discussions. Even in his younger days, Jack Beans Reardon was looked up to, and as head baseball coach Gene McDonnell remi- nisces, He was quiet, but a team leader. With pride, we dedicate the 1987 Explorer to one who has given twenty-five years to our school, and whose uniaueness has added new dimensions to the words teacher and friend. MLG