20070424

Beeman leaves for U of MN

On any college/university campus there are always those profs whose classes you never take but you end up knowing them by reputation and/or domain. So into that Brunonian pool I can't put political commentator Darrell West whose poli sci course I tooked (if not finished) or Barrett Hazeltine in whose "gut" Engin 9 I fumbled and managed to pull a C. (Note: "guts" aren't easy if you have zero interest in the topic! And, perhaps if I'd paid more attention I'd be another B-entrepeneur instead of unemployed.).

Other profs that come to mind include Ken Miller, a biologist now more commonly known for being a religious (Catholic) scientist than for having attended many of the same Brown women's basketball games that we did. Same with public policy prof Ross Cheit who along with his wife Kathleen Odean, a librarian, were at the same games. (BTW, she's also the author of Great Books for Girls (1997) and Great Books for Boys (1998).)

There's also Thomas F. Banchoff, a mathematician much noted for his dimensional lectures involving a little old book Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions which may arrive at a cinema near you! Or public speaking aficionado Barbara Tannenbaum whose kids I once babysat and now are old enough to be in high school and college. (Heck, they may have graduated from both by now!) While a professor in Brown’s Department of Theater,Speech, and Dance, Tannebaum was much involved in women's politics at the campus level as well as locally including being a consultant to a range of political hopefuls.

Since I realize now that politics has become a theme here, this headline seems sad news for Brown, if not Minnesota:

Frustrated with Middle East studies program, longtime prof. leaves Brown.
Bill Beeman is another who I seem to recall being a professor whose political voice was a standout in a less disinterested way than the intentionally apolitical academic. For a deeper drink from the Beeman faucet, here's some archived op-eds and his blog: