Friday, April 12, 2002
Volume 66, Number 16

All in a day's work: the real world of Mooney

by James Christie

Michael Mooney. As a junior, I've been hearing that name spoken in either reverent or despising tones since arriving at Lewis & Clark. All the faculty members I chat with have strong opinions on our school's President. Students utter his name in hushed tones, sometimes to share grandiose rumors concerning him or to emulate the praise or criticism of their professors. There is certainly an aura of power and mystery surrounding the man.

But who is Michael Mooney exactly? Are all the rumors true? Does he want to be rid of our school's hippies? Is he really your prototypical evil rich white guy? Does he completely ignore the students? And most importantly, is it the praise or the criticism of him that is most appropriate?

I've had these questions for three years, and I saw that it was high time to shed light on them, so I decided to shadowed our school's President, which I did for eight and half-hours, hoping to find these answers.

The day I spent with President Mooney can be surmised in an answer he gave when Dean Curtis Johnson asked why a student was following him around for a day: "I want him to see how boring a life I have."

The comment was an astute one. It'd be absurd to compare a day with Michael Mooney to an E-ticket to Disneyland. Mooney's collegiate presidential world consists of meetings with fellow administrators, analyzing statistics concerning our school, reading and writing letters, receiving and returning phone calls, talking with people, making decisions, planning for the school's future, sending birthday cards to Trustees, and the ballet (he's chair of the search committee for a new Artistic Director of the Oregon Ballet).

His job, however, does come with its perks. Such as eating lunches in fashionable art deco restaurants, working in an office so beautiful that it reminds one of an art museum, and being required to live in a mansion on eight acres, as soon as the recently donated presidential residence is renovated.

But the largest perk is the opportunity to mold a dream into reality. This dream is Mooney's vision for LC and it means being in almost complete control over our institution. In all matters I saw during the day, he would give the final nod.

Mooney envisions LC as a top ranked college of arts & sciences. To accomplish this vision, the President wants to bring the best faculty and students to LC and provide them with an appropriate financial foundation. Mooney gave up working on a book and was hired by the Board of Trustees in 1989 with a mandate to realize this vision.

This vision also entails more diversity within the student body, such as gender, race, ideological viewpoints, academic interests, and geographic location.

"An institution is more interesting with variety," Mooney said. "I'd like to see more students interested in the sciences, and, beyond any question, we need more ethnic diversity."

After he mentioned this I asked him one of the questions I had thus far been hesitant to ask. "A lot of hippies I've talked to think you want to get rid of them. Is this true?"

"No, I think they're fun. I want a variety of students," Mooney responded.

The President then began talking about one common misconception about him.

"A lot of students think I'm a conservative, but I'm a Kennedy liberal," Mooney said. "A free market doesn't take care of all human needs. Sometimes you need the government to step in to give everyone a fair shake."

Throughout the day I'd see him striving towards his vision for LC. He would glide from task to task, concerning the faculty, the students, the Master Plan (architectural development), data concerning the college's demographics, LC's foundation, the college's image, the Board of Trustees, and the future implications of all this with ease. At one point I found myself noting, "When does he slow down?"

After a business lunch off campus, he was back at his office scanning through his mail and efficiently replying to each piece, until he came across a letter and took ten minutes to read it deeply. The change of pace was so drastic that it immediately pulled me out from my own thoughts. He finished reading the letter and left his office for a bit. I asked him about it upon his return.

"There are times when you have to help out a staff member. Sometimes I'm the only one in this institution who can break through certain tangles," he said.

Mooney is mechanically effective but not heartless, and even when he's going through his administrative routines, there's a formal warmth to him. He's quick to smile, whip out a joke, perform a Monty Python bit, and laugh. Plus, he'd make comments to himself throughout the day such as "Everything is just nuts," "It's raining like the dickens," and "This is the second bum number I've been given".

These comments reminded me that the President is three times my age. At one point, Mooney was holding a meeting with fellow administrators and senior faculty members when I realized I was the only one without gray hair and glasses.

But does this mean that Mooney falls into the stereotype of being disconnected from LC's student body, which is nearly two generations his junior? Is the critique that he ignores LC students correct?

Numerous times during the day he'd learn of and talk with fellow administrators about the successes of individual students, such as two students being considered for an extremely prestigious scholarship and another being admitted to an Ivy League graduate school.

"It's always a joy to learn of students' successes," he said.

This made me a little sad, because I'll probably never reach the success necessary to add prestige to my alma mater, thus not help Mooney realize his vision. If I hadn't shadowed him for a day I doubt Mooney would have ever known who I was. This realization concerned me. It made me feel more like a unit of potential prestige than a human being.

After spending a day with Mooney, I personally lean towards praising him. Our President is an extremely intelligent, caring, funny, and charismatic person. He has all the ingredients of an amazing leader, and he most certainly is one.

Yet how often does his strive for our college to become a top ranking one get in the way of him slowing down and helping a member of the LC community in a tangle? He may have already provided us with an answer to this question: "I'm only human. I can't do it all."

History Department losing dedicated professor

by James Christie

History Professor David Savage is retiring this May after 29 years of teaching at Lewis & Clark College. In his time here, he has helped establish the writing center, develop the gender studies program, and shape the current overseas program to India.

Savage has taught courses in British history, the British colonial empire, and Indian history. He originally came to LC as an administrator in 1973 to serve as the Associate Dean of Faculty. While serving as Associate Dean, he directed what was then the General Education program, Society & Culture.

In 1985 he began teaching full-time at LC, after spending the 1982-83 school year as acting Dean of Faculty, taking a yearlong sabbatical in India and England in '83-84, and in '84-85 teaching part-time.

"[LC] has been a good place to me," Savage said, "I've been privileged to see the college grow and develop. It has provided me intellectual stimulation through colleagues and with extraordinary opportunities to travel abroad."

Upon his retirement, Savage plans to continue traveling abroad with his wife, perform volunteer work, and finish a book on the British Protestant Missionary enterprise in colonial India.

He notes, however, that he will miss the regular interaction with young people that teaching provides him.

"Interacting with young people keeps you on your toes," Savage said, "I don't want to lose that kind of stimulation. That's why I'm planning to keep in touch with many of the students I've had over the years."

Many students will also miss the professor, such as senior Matt Chastain, who greatly respects Savage as a historian and considers him to be an incomparable resource on Indian history; a resource that LC will unfortunately lose upon his retirement.

"Beyond that, he is a warm, funny, effective, and challenging professor. I consider him both teacher and friend," said Chastain.

Sophomore Amy Lillis is another student that has been greatly influenced and aided by Savage. He and his wife Carolyn kept in correspondence with her while she participated in LC's India overseas program last semester.

"They both were very caring, had an amazing amount to contribute in their contact with me while I was in India - at times changing my perspective or goals," Lillis said. "Even the family that I lived with in Jaipur [India] remember both David and Carolyn as caring, intelligent and memorable individuals from their brief meetings years before."

Although Savage is looking forward to his retirement and the extra time it will allow him to experience new and different things, he will miss the routine of LC, which he has had for all these years. Savage will also miss preparing for class, because it has always provided him with the opportunity to question his assumptions on the respective subject manner.

"It's always worthwhile to rethink what you think you know," Savage said.

Having spent a great amount of time here, Savage has had the opportunity to witness a few quite amusing situations that will forever be in his memory.

One such situation was the time when he observed an anonymous faculty member pouring a glass of beer on another anonymous faculty member for making a few particularly disliked comments about women at a faculty retreat.

Before coming to LC he taught at Clark University in Worchester, Massachusetts and in the Western Civilization program at Stanford. He received his Ph.D. from Princeton in 1963. Savage was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and raised in Northern Kentucky.

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"Famous" alumni

by Megan Flowers

After my last article on "famous" alumni, international and political students at Lewis & Clark should be able to see whom else they have to live up to besides their parents' dreams.

Now, however, I turn my attention toward distinguished alumni in the arts so that all students with "fluff" majors such as English, Communication, Art, Music and Theater can dream of solid possibilities.

You may have seen Ted Rooney, '84, as a guest star on such shows as "ER", "Profiler", "The Pretender" and as a basketball player in the film "Celtic Pride." While watching "Twister," Wendy (Wendle is her stage name) Josepher, '87, could have caught your eye as a storm chasing meteorologist. Other flicks with Josepher have included "Last Action Hero" and "North".

Ever watch the 1980's TV show, "Night Court"? Then you've witnessed alum, Markie Post, class of '75, playing a lawyer opposite John Larroquette.

Mike Pippi, '69, has worked for Turner International Broadcasting producing programs, as well as the Walt Disney Company as executive director of Artist Development. Pippi has also worked locally as executive director of the Portland Regional Arts and Cultural Council. Andrew Lieberman, '93, theater major, is a national freelance set designer.

Sandra Osawa, '64, was named Native American Filmmaker of the Year at the Taos Talking Pictures Film Festival in 1997, and she has had several projects air on PBS and at Sundance.

In the music industry, Chris Roberts, '81, had the title of head of PolyGram Classics and Jazz within four years of working for the company. Roberts records with the group ValGardena, under the name Christopher James.

Several authors have graced our campus as well. Donald Hines, '53 wrote and published "Celilo Tales: Wasco Myths, Legends, Tales of Magic and the Marvelous." Ann Dobyns, '68 is co-author to "Literary Conversation: Thinking, Talking and Writing about Literature."

Phyllis Karr, '71, under the pen name Irene Radford, has written numerous fantasy novels. J. Kingston Pierce, '79 has written four books and is a freelance magazine author. Pierce's "America's Historic Trails with Tom Bodett" was a PBS television companion volume. Kathleen Tyau, '69 won a Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Award in 1995 for her first novel "A Little Too Much is Enough."

The past Piolog staff has even hit it big in the real world. Peter Larsen, '83 won a Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting with his staff at the Orange County Register in 1996.

In the art world Lewis Sharp, '64, at the Denver Art Museum was responsible for a $25 million project that renovated the museum.

Although Genevieve Gorder, an interior designer who appears on the TLC show "Trading Spaces," didn't graduate from LC, her passion for design was ignited during her three years as an LC student.

There are many, many more LC alumni, including very recent graduates that have gone on to be successful in their careers. Perhaps when you graduate, the WB will extend you a role in a situation comedy, publishers will take you out to an extravagant dinner, or Virgin Records will court you with flowers and a five album contract.

Or maybe you'll simply start out at the local Starbucks - just so long as you start somewhere.

Former LC student connects urbanites through internet

by Jeff Auxier

Four years ago, Lewis & Clark College legend Steve Schroeder made a lasting impact on Palatine Hill. If he has his way, the world's metropoli will be next.

In December of last year, Schroeder launched the website, www.urbanhonking.com, an online magazine devoted to exploring the subtleties of city life.

Along with co-founder Mike Merrill, Schroeder hopes the website will highlight the intricacies inherent with high-density communal living.

Schroeder, who left LC after three years in 1999, has since worked a variety of jobs in a variety of cities.

His Lewis & Clark career was famous for a number of intriguing enterprises. He hosted huge parties featuring bands such as Wolf Colonel, and edited Pio Hoops Weekly, an independent newspaper devoted to the untold story behind LC men's basketball.

The idea for his most recent project, Urban Honking, came to him on a drive through Portland.

"I was driving down the street when a guy honked at me. I looked to see who it was, but my friend told me not to worry, it was just a friendly honk," said Schroeder. "With so many people living and co-habitating with each other, we develop codes to represent different sayings. This developed into a general idea of things that go unsaid in city life: loud music, dirty industrial areas, it could be anything."

In addition to film, music, and television reviews, along with some fiction, recent installments on Urban Honking include features highlighting amateur boxing, FM radio, veganism, and the history of the brass monkey.

Next week's installment, in a series on urban scams, describes how to make free calls from public telephones. A series on horrible jobs will feature diaries of work in a call center, as a cab driver, and as a convenience store clerk.

"There's a lot more to it than advising customers on what sort of wine prostitutes like," said Merrill.

Aside from their devotion to urban-based journalism, other values are near and dear to Urban Honking's heart. Positivity, for one, is a central element for the UH staff. Each article is a celebration of urban life, not a criticism.

"Sincere appreciation is a lot more fun to read than well-written cynicism," said Schroeder.

Anonymity is another ideal. Bylines on the website are pseudonyms, and the site doesn't claim to hail from any city, either. Instead, it strives to be representative of all of great urban centers.

"We want the website to stand on its own creativity," said Schroeder.

"We represent all cities," added Kyle Kiang, an infrequent UH contributor. "We like the rust belt, the coasts, and have writers from all over the country."

The site also serves as a launch pad for some of Urban Honking's favorite musical artists. Dave Longstreth's classically-influenced pop rock and the space rock band Yume Bitsu are favorites. Urban Honking even recently recorded a live CD of their music.

In the near future, Urban Honking hopes to promote other forms of art as well. The release of a book of art is currently in the works.

"We're going to do a lot of it ourselves. Nothing will be factory produced. It will all be homemade," Schroeder said.

For Schroeder, Urban Honking could represent a lifetime of urban chronicles.

"Our main goal is to get more and more people to the site everyday," said Schroeder, "and release more and more things we feel strongly about."