SBS bids farewell to the 'very model of a modern dean'

by Daniel J. Fitzgibbons, Chronicle staff

f a history of campus administrators is ever recorded, Glen Gordon is likely to stand out as one of the most resilient of the breed. Over 30-plus years, Gordon chaired the Political Science Department, completed two stints as dean of Social and Behavioral Sciences and served a three-year term as provost.

     "How have I survived?," Gordon asked on the eve of his retirement. "It's simple: I have friends in low places."

     And those friends came out in droves Aug. 29 to pay tribute to Gordon in a loving and sometimes irreverent celebration in the Lincoln Campus Center Auditorium. Emceed by his interim successor, Legal Studies professor Janet Rifkin, the event was a variety show, retirement salute and a last hurrah all rolled into one.

     In short, it was a classic Gordon-esque night. Who else would command (and perform in) a Valley Light Opera serenade to the 'very model of a modern dean?"

     Clad in an elegant tuxedo, Gordon genially greeted guests to the invitation-only event ("You can figure out who's not here," he said in a conspiratorial aside). Observers of academic politics studied the crowd like photos of the old Soviet Politburo to see which veterans of past administrations made the cut.

     Former interim Chancellor Richard O'Brien, who tapped Gordon as provost, was there. So were former provosts Cora Marrett and Pat Crosson. Lee Edwards, dean of Humanities and Fine Arts, and Chancellor John Lombardi and his wife, Cathryn, also attended.

     Longtime colleague Lewis Mainzer noted that Gordon's five elections as Po-litical Science chair topped FDR's four terms.

     Citing Gordon's "extraordinary temperament for the politics of academic administration," Mainzer credited his success to the fact "that he still views himself as a faculty member who happened to be dean."

     "He rules for and with people, not over them," Mainzer added.

     Another former colleague, William Connolly, now chair of the political science department at Johns Hopkins, called Gordon "a great support, friend and ally."

     Connolly admitted that he chaired the search that selected Gordon for his first term as dean of SBS. "I thought Glen needed more seasoning," said Connolly. "He did get the job."

     Connolly and Ph.D. alumnus Michael Gibbons also presented a skit portraying Gordon as department chair in the early 1970s. With a long, dark wig and unbuttoned shirt, Connolly played himself as a junior faculty member making a pitch for conference money to a pipe-smoking Gordon portrayed by Gibbons, now an associate professor at the University of South Florida.

     After pleading his case for travel money and fees to attend a conference on democratic socialism, the pseudo-Gordon paused thoughtfully and said, "I think we could do something - $100 or something."

     Pressed for more by Connolly, the Gordon character then offered a critique of his colleague. "That's the problem with you socialist guys - you're so morose. Look at those guys in Economics. You need some Gilbert and Sullivan."

     Gordon's days as department chair were also recalled by former graduate student Zillah Eisenstein, now professor of politics at Ithaca College.

     Life as one of two female graduate students in the department, said Eisenstein, was "sometimes felt a little uncomfortable and a little lonely," especially for a radical feminist. "Most women left the department. I stayed because there was Glen Gordon."

     Eisenstein also noted that her dissertation committee chair, Bill Connolly, continued to press for rewrites until Gordon put the brakes on his colleague. "Glen said, 'Bill, Zillah is done. If you want to continue working on the dissertation, you can write it.'"

     Fresh out of graduate school, Eisenstein was hired by Gordon to fill in while Connolly was on sabbatical, she told the crowd. "It was my first job and the very best one."

     Nearly three decades later, Eisenstein said, "I think of Glen Gordon all the time. I came here tonight to just say thank you, thank you, thank you."

     While the speakers all praised Gordon's administrative acumen, some also threw a few barbs towards his various antagonists.

     "Glen was perhaps the last successful provost we've had," said Richard O'Brien. "He got things done and made some devastating changes on campus without being assassinated."

     O'Brien confided that many of the major policy decisions he and Gordon made were cemented "in Stop & Shop on Saturday mornings in the produce section."

     "It was the last time the provost and chancellor got along together," said O'Brien. "It was a great time when the provost and chancellor really enjoyed each other's company."
Then, in a swipe at Gordon's 1994 dismissal by Chancellor David K. Scott, O'Brien said. "He was hired for all the best reasons and fired for the worst reasons. It was unexpected, brutal and wrong."

     As a new student years ago, associate provost Bryan Harvey recalled taking an introductory Political Science class with Gordon, whom he regarded as a "thoughtful, humane and engaged" professor.

     Working many years later with Provost Gordon, Harvey said he learned a number of important lessons, including "something is always possible," writing things down, "humor is the best and sometimes the only possible option" and a strong commitment to the University.

     "How many of us could match his level of enthusiasm, good humor and grace if we were in the same situation?" asked Harvey.

     One of the highlights of the evening was a performance by the Musical Chairs, a band comprised of five department heads: Melinda Novak, Psychology; Tom Jura-vich, Labor Relations and Research Center; Randy Stokes, Sociology; Ralph Faulkingham; and Michael Morgan, Communication.

     One song paid homage to Gordon's unsinkable career with the chorus:

Glen came back the very next day,
Glen came back. They thought he was a goner.
He just couldn't stay away.

     The Musical Chairs also offered a up a Glen Gordon rap and parodies of "My Way" and "Hey Jude."

     Morgan also discussed his dealings with the inscrutable dean on money issues.
"I'd ask Glen for four TAs and he'd say, "OK, I'll give you two.' I thought I recognized a pattern after about seven semesters," said Morgan. "So I said, 'Hey, Glen, I need eight TAs and he said, "OK, I'll give you two."

     Morgan lauded Gordon's service as dean.

     "He has tremendous energy and enthusiasm. He's always looking for ways to improve things for the students," said Morgan. "On behalf of all the past and current chairs, even with all the bumps, it's been a great ride."

     Cora Marrett, now vice president of the University of Wisconsin system, said Gordon "represents the very best of the University of the Massachusetts, Amherst," and said she often refers to Gordon-authored documents, a short history of the campus administration and a treatise on the role of the provost.

     Then, dressed in a professorial costume, Gordon joined the Valley Light Opera on stage for a Gilbert and Sullivan-style performance tracing his career. "I live and die a dean," he sang.

     Still wearing his stage cap and gown, Gordon then, as so many times before, had the last word.

     "I've been administering something on campus since 1970," he said. "I'm a relic. My pedagogy is out of date."

     He thanked his longtime secretary, Beverly Labbee, and recalled the days when his office was located between Humanities and Fine Arts dean Murray Schwartz and Natural Sciences and Mathematics dean Fred Byron. "I learned conflict resolution and mediation skills," said Gordon.

     He also remembered that on his first day in the Provost's Office, the campus received a $20 million cut in state funding. Gordon praised the deans as a "splendid group" that he enjoyed working with until his appointment "was cut short."

     His exile from Whitmore and the retirement of SBS dean Sy Berger led to an unexpected second run as dean when a search proved fruitless, said Gordon. ("Here's a guy rattling around Thompson, doing nothing.") Seven years later at age 70, he grudgingly accepted a retirement bonus package.

     Gordon said he's come to terms with retirement, partly because he has a new grandchild nearby to spoil and also because he's ready. "These days when I wake up everything hurts. And what doesn't hurt, doesn't work," he joked.

     Gordon also used the occasion to thank his wife, Nelly, for urging him to go to the hospital the night before commencement four years ago. What Gordon passed off as indigestion was a heart at-tack that led to a quadruple heart bypass.

     When word of the surgery got around campus, he said, "My hospital room at Baystate was filled with flowers. The head nurse came in, sat on my bed, and asked 'Who are you?'"

     Gordon said he tried to convince her he was just an ordinary UMass faculty member, but the nurse replied, "The last time there were this many flowers was when the head of the Springfield Mafia was in for a valve job."

     The dean also reserved some praise for his successor, saying he was "absolutely delighted" by Rifkin's selection. Gordon also used the opportunity to laud Chancellor Lombardi, who, he said, "is capable of explaining things in plain English."

     Gordon said he is joining the fastest-growing group in Amherst, the ROMEOs - Retired Old Men Eating Out.

     Then with a theatrical flourish, Gordon ended the night by declaring, "This dean is retired. God save the new dean."