IRIS login | Reed College home Volume 92, No. 1: March 2013
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"reunions"
Fanfayre honors history and achievement
Cricket Parmalee '67, Babson Award recipient. Photo by Leah Nash
Reunions 2012 traveled backward and forward through time at the Fanfayre ceremony celebrating outstanding alumni, staff, and faculty.
John Sheehy '82 presented his the epic oral history of Reed College, Comrades of the Quest, an volume of "almost biblical" dimensions that was, he said, the closest thing Reed has to scripture. Despite its size, he noted that the "director's cut" would be about 30-percent longer: "Reedies appear almost incapable of expressing themselves in a single sentence when a full paragraph—or a full dissertation—will do just as well."
Continue reading Fanfayre honors history and achievement
A Five-Octave Finale
The Douglas F. Cooley Memorial Art Gallery was packed to the rafters last week as alumni from many eras came together in a hush of anticipation to witness a unique occasion--the unveiling of the French double harpsichord created by professor Nicholas Wheeler '55 [physics 1963-2010] over a span of 26 years, and showcased during Reunions '12: Reedfayre.
Nick became fascinated by the harpsichord (the distinguished ancestor of the piano) while playing at a concert his freshman year at Reed and resolved to build his own some day. He finally began work many years later, in August 1985, when he was A.A Knowlton Professor of Physics. While the bulk of the carpentry and metalwork were completed in the two years that followed, the venture languished for two decades when his teaching and other things took greater precedence. Nick was not able to put finishing touches on the instrument until after his retirement in 2010, after 47 years of service.
"This is a Reed instrument and its first public appearance. It's something I've fantasized about for 60 years," Nick remarked. Returning students and friends continued to ask over the years when and if the project would ever be finished. "It is a doubt which I confess, I sometimes shared: it gave me anxiety because I did not want to leave to my heirs the problem of figuring out how to dispose of a stringless box that looked like a harpsichord, but was unplayable." However friends, such as professor Kathleen Worley, [theatre 1985-] helped along the way by picking up some gold-dipped hardware and wood scrapers.
Continue reading A Five-Octave Finale
Paradox Embraced: A History of Reed Presidents
Reed President Richard F. Scholz, ca. 1920.
Reed's presidential history, like that of the college itself, is a history of paradoxes.
This was the argument of trustee and historian John Sheehy '82 in his lecture "The Presidents of Reed" at Reunions 2012. The central paradox of Reed, he said, is the combination of academic conservatism with cultural progressivism. This has given birth over the years to such quandaries as Reed's historically high attrition rate (as students struggled to impose the self-discipline required for intellectual freedom) to ongoing debates like faculty pay equity or marijuana use on campus.
These conflicts, though, have by no means held Reed back. Instead, Sheehy said, "the only way to move forward was to work within the paradoxes." The Honor Principle was one example of this, occupying the "middle ground" between rules and anarchy. In the end, it has been how well each president has embraced the Reed paradox that has determined his success.
Continue reading Paradox Embraced: A History of Reed Presidents
Sweating It out in the Steam Tunnels
Ne'er-do-wells infiltrate tunnels in mid '80s.
Dimly lit pathways, dusty pipes, graffiti, and intense humidity. At Reed, that could mean one place on campus—the steam tunnels.
One of the attractions during Reunions: Reedfayre '12 was a tour of Reed's mysterious steam tunnels by the Physical Plant's own Steve Yeadon. The labyrinthine route, which made one feel like Indiana Jones on a dangerous mission, started from the basement of Physical Plant, where two gigantic boilers (usually fired by gas, but sometimes by oil, if gas is too expensive) generate the steam that gives the tunnels their purpose.
The tour then wound its way through the depths of Reed, as visitors took care not to bump into the cobwebbed walls or pipes. The abundant graffiti on the pipes, preserved through the years (because as one alum mentioned, the pipes were the only things not whitewashed over for commencement every year), proved highly entertaining.
Continue reading Sweating It out in the Steam Tunnels
Grazing at Gastronomy Northwest
Photo by Leah Nash
By Angie Jabine '79
Vegetarian banh mi, ice-brewed coffee, salted watermelon, and a luscious Imperial Black Saison beer were just a few of the delicacies that drew throngs of alumni to Gastronomy Northwest at Reedfayre '12. For two hours, the student union was packed solid with Reedies vying for sips and samples, while taking care not to tread on various toddlers underfoot.
Continue reading Grazing at Gastronomy Northwest
Griffin to Make Triumphant Return to Rose Parade
After more than 75 years' absence, a Reed College float will once again join the Portland Rose Festival's Grand Floral Parade, taking place this Saturday, June 9.
Reed first entered a float into the Rose Parade in 1936; although Reedies have played many important roles in the festival since, our beloved institution has never again been represented by its own float.
Continue reading Griffin to Make Triumphant Return to Rose Parade
The Magic Hand Plane
When people come to Gary Rogowski '72 with questions about making a living as a woodworker, he sets them straight.
"It's a terrible way to make a living," he says. "You want to drive a Porsche? Forget it. But it's a great way to live."
Throughout Reunions week, Gary led visiting alumni on tours of his studio in an elegant, old industrial building in Southeast Portland. Amidst the smells of wood, the scratch of sandpaper, and walls lined with hand drills, Japanese pull saws, and clamps, guests posed question about such things as wood pegs versus nails.
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Defining Reed
It's been several weeks, but I'm still recovering from Reunions 2011 and its glorious aftermath. Quite apart from the epic rugby match, the spectacular musical performances, and the phenomenal chance encounters, I found myself pondering anew the question that President Colin Diver posed at his centennial address. Stripped to its elements, how do you define Reed?
To read Diver's speech, click here or watch the video.
Continue reading Defining Reed
Reed Takes Center Stage, Literally
By Ethan Knudson '11
Ten decades of Reed were celebrated at Centennial Reunions in one-act plays rife with academic jokes, historical references, and the tumultuous emotions that permeate a return to campus.
Reedies from several decades stepped on stage in the chapel to play stressed-out seniors, hesitant freshmen, and even legendary philosophy professor Marvin Levich. In one scene, merry prankster Ken Kesey wrestles Owen, the freshman from Idaho, at an early Renn Fayre.
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Deal Faster, Cried the Losers
By Brandon Hamilton '11
No one likes to lose, and when the cost of defeat is an entire year's worth of timê, the stakes are high.
Continuing a long tradition, classmates sat down at the poker table in the Capehart room at Centennial Reunions to indulge in a little exercise in combinatorics.
Continue reading Deal Faster, Cried the Losers
Making Waves: Alumni Generate Mini Tsunami
Never underestimate the power of Reedies. At a Centennial Reunions class on Thursday, June 9, I learned firsthand that all we need to create a tidal wave in our very own sports center swimming pool is two dozen Reedies and a leader with an understanding of classical physics.
Okay, perhaps "tidal" is a bit of an exaggeration of the wave's size. But it's no overstatement to say that we managed to slosh water out of both ends of the pool by doing nothing more than hopping in and out of the shallow end at the direction of Brad Wright '61. Brad gave an explanation of the physics of wave-making before the experiment began (here is an extended version of the video above, complete with full scientific explanation). I confess that between the poor acoustics of the pool deck and the anticipation of jumping in the water, most of the science to passed me by. I can tell you that coordination of the physics of the event required someone to stand at the pool's edge swinging the so-called Pendulum of Destiny, a group of four rubber duckies with a golf balls attached to their bases floating in the middle of the pool, and our willingness to hop in when the wave was at its highest point only to hop back out each time it ebbed to its lowest.
Continue reading Making Waves: Alumni Generate Mini Tsunami
Rugby: Eighties vs. The World!
Brandon Hamilton '11
It's an ancient debate--are youth and speed a match for age and guile? At Centennial Reunions, Reedies traded eye goggles for mouth guards and lab coats for cleats to settle the question on the pitch as alumni from the eighties (the "First Fifteen") faced off against younger grads for a little post-thesis physics experiment.
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At the Helm: Bragdon, Koblik, Diver
By Ethan Knudson '11
Reed presidents past and present Paul Bragdon [1971-88], Steve Koblik [1992-2001], and Colin Diver [2002-] held a panel at Centennial Reunions to discuss how they surmounted immense challenges to preserve Reed College amidst financial and national turmoil (video).
Continue reading At the Helm: Bragdon, Koblik, Diver
Reed Breaks Ground for Performing Arts Building
By Alex Walker '12
President Colin Diver and several professors broke ground for Reed's new $28 million performing arts building before a crowd of alumni celebrating Centennial Reunions last week.
Continue reading Reed Breaks Ground for Performing Arts Building
A Song of Two Syllabi with Prof. Wally Englert
The first lines of Homer's Iliad reverberated to the carved rafters of the chapel on Friday as Reedies of all generations were reunited in the shared experience of reliving their first Hum lecture during Centennial Reunions. However, there was a twist. On the back of the lecture handout (distributed by a beaming President Colin Diver, who marched up and down the aisles brandishing copies) was a timeline that began, not in Greece, but in Egypt. And the Homeric epic of choice for the semester was not the tale of Achilleus and his anger, but that of Odysseus and his quest to return home. As professor Wally Englert [classics 1981-] explained, the Hum syllabus has undergone some significant changes in the past year...
"We used to say 'The Greeks were strange,'" Englert noted, while discussing the inclusion of new material from other Mediterranean cultures on the reading list, "But I'm going to do something a little radical here and say: Ancient cultures were strange."
Continue reading A Song of Two Syllabi with Prof. Wally Englert
Olde Reed: Was It Better?
It's a cry familiar to freshmen from every decade of Reed's existence: "You're doing what? Hah! Back at Olde Reed..."
Yes, it's Olde Reed! That elusive golden age in which classes were harder, Renn Fayres were crazier, laurels were shinier, and hijinks were, er, jinkier. Olde Reed was always dead by your freshman year, unless you are telling the story, in which case it was dead by your listeners' freshman year. It was epic, it was extraordinary, and it was, in whatever indescribable fashion, better.
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100 Years of the Canyon
Ask anyone about Reed's campus and they are sure to mention the canyon. The 28-acre watershed--a critical part of the Crystal Springs Creek--is a beautiful sanctuary for observing wildlife, taking a walk, or simply gathering your thoughts. It's also, as one alumna put it, "very romantic."
Biology professor Keith Karoly agrees. "That's biology, too," he quipped during his presentation on science in the canyon, a lecture he gave June 8, as part of Centennial Reunions. The participation of the audience--alumni from the 1940s to the present--made it clear that the canyon is a central part of both Reed's and Reedies' identities.
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From Prometheus to Pork Shoulder
Steven Raichlen '75 knows more about barbeque than Prometheus knew about fire. His stat sheet includes 26 books, five James Beard Awards, three IACP awards, a PBS-TV series, his own line of grilling tools, the founding of Barbeque University, a beat-down of Bobby Flay in a barbeque cook-off, a BA in French literature from Reed, and his liver has never been eaten by a raptor. Not to gloat, but another advantage over Prometheus.
"I'm not a chef," Raichlen told alumni celebrating Centennial Reunions this week. "Food, for me, has always been a window into culture."
Continue reading From Prometheus to Pork Shoulder
Reed Activists Stage "Sit-Down"
By Brandon Hamilton '11
Several generations of activists assembled in the Chapel to trade insights, strategies, and stories as a part of Social Justice 101, one of more than 200 events being held this week to celebrate Centennial Reunions.
Speakers ranged from Peter Bergel '65, executive director of Oregon PeaceWorks, whose self-styled "graduate education" took the form of years of living in a commune, to professor Kristi Hansen '96, an agricultural economist who teaches at the University of Wyoming.
Continue reading Reed Activists Stage "Sit-Down"
Get Your Kicks at Reunions
Yes, there's still time.
Register for our spectacular Centennial Reunions, June 6-12. And check out a sampling of the incredible delights that await you. Rugby. Dance. Basketry. Majuscules. A HOT-AIR BALLOON. Gary Snyder '51. Eggdog. (No, not eggnog. Eggdog.) Tikkler. Davis Rogan '90 and the Allstar New Orleans Rhythm & Blues Revue. FERRIS WHEEL. Stand-up economics. Gilbert & Sullivan. Fireworks!
For more about Reunions, especially the amazing art that will be be everywhere on campus, see more on our sister blog, the Riffin' Griffin.
Continue reading Get Your Kicks at Reunions
- The Turning of the Thesis
- Looking back, thinking ahead, loving Reed
- Davis Winner Hatches Scholarship Plan
- Celebrating “4/20” At Reed
- The Perfect Dinner
- Occupying Wall St--From the Inside Out
- Farewell Professor Rhyne
- Reedies Hold Union on Student Autonomy
- Memorial for Professor Emeritus Steve Arch
- Watson Winner Will Go to Africa
- RIP Professor Steve Arch
- March Madness at Reed—Yes, Reed
- How Do We Define Reed in the 21st Century?
- Educating Women Steadies the World
- Lena's Paintings on Display
- Memorial for Ottomar
- Beyond Paideia
- March Gets RAW
- Reed Takes to the Road in Seattle
- Paideia Pandemonium
Reed Blogs
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Reed Alumni Blogs
- Caroline Miller ’59
- Barbara Riddle-Dvorak ’64
- Peter Ash ’66
- Joanne D'Antonio ’67
- Howard Rheingold ’68
- Tim Patterson ’68
- Gerson Robboy ’69
- Tamim Ansary ’70
- Sibylle Hechtel ’72
- Karen Greenbaum-Maya ’73
- Willa Goodfellow ’75
- Jon Bethune ’77
- John Hedtke ’77
- Charles Krakoff ’78
- Maggie Rudy ’80
- Martha Nichols ’80
- Mira Kamdar ’80
- Lisa Dale Norton ’80
- Greta (Muelder) Christina ’83
- Tim Flanagan ’87
- Marty Smith ’88
- Paul Knoepfler ’89
- Matt Giger ’89
- Noah Iliinsky ’95
- Brandon Barnett ’95
- Francisco Toro ’97
- Karen Leibowitz ’99
- Brett Sills ’01
- Alex Dickow ’02
- Nick Blake ’03
- Noah Brand ’05
- Josey Rose Lee ’06
- Julie Pachico ’08
- Rebecca Kreston’07
- Arianne Rivard ’10
- David Azrael '12 and Ned Carson '12
- Taylor Thompson '12 and David Azrael '12