{"id":169967,"date":"2025-06-27T11:29:36","date_gmt":"2025-06-27T15:29:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/?p=169967"},"modified":"2025-09-25T13:09:07","modified_gmt":"2025-09-25T17:09:07","slug":"im-retiring-after-8300-days-and-about-that-many-great-days-to-be-a-bobcat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/2025\/06\/27\/im-retiring-after-8300-days-and-about-that-many-great-days-to-be-a-bobcat\/","title":{"rendered":"I’m retiring after 8,300 days \u2014 so many great days to be a Bobcat"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I arrived at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ on Thursday, Jan. 2, 1992. That\u2019s 33 years ago. But to give that a bit of relativity, when I arrived, James Reese had already been at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ for 14 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the term \u201conboarding\u201d was not yet in use back then, there was a purpose to how I was welcomed into the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

These remarks were spoken during a reception at the Bobcat Den on June 24, 2025, to mark Jay Burns’ retirement on June 30 as senior editorial director and editor of ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Magazine<\/em> and ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½News<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n

First, my office space. At some point, maybe Donna Duval, someone came to me and said, \u201cLet\u2019s go down to the bomb shelter and pick you out a desk.\u201d For some of you, that sentence makes perfect sense. Others, see me after.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Second, getting to know Lane\u2019s HVAC controls. If you walked into offices in Lane back then, No. 2 pencils dangled from the thermostats. It made perfect sense to us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At some point, perhaps Lysanne Doucette, someone taught me how to call for more office heat in the winter. You took a pencil, eraser side up, and tucked it into the vintage Powers dual-mode pneumatic thermostat, which pressed a small lever forcing the system to stay on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
A No. 2 pencil dangling from a Lane Hall thermostat: It made perfect sense to us in the early 1990s. (Jay Burns\/ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Third, sources of information. If you needed to know an endowment total, you walked into Larry Cannon\u2019s office, and he had a 3×5 card with all the key facts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fourth, Lane Hall etiquette. When having a meeting in the President\u2019s Office in that bygone era, you didn\u2019t linger afterward. I missed the memo, and one day after a meeting the president\u2019s gatekeeper, Kay Stevens, arched a brow my way and said, \u201cDo you need something?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fifth, banking. Need some cash on payday? You could just walk up to the roll-up cashier\u2019s window in Lane to cash your paycheck. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Jay
Jay Burns relaxes in the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Communications Office greeting area after publishing ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½News<\/em> on Friday, Oct. 18, 2019. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On my third work day, ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ held a campus reception to celebrate the major renovation of Gray Athletic Building from a dusty, dirt-floor field house into a multipurpose space. The project had been identified by strategic planning that students needed more and better spaces for recreation and wellness. Sound familiar?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I remember attending that gathering in Gray. It was a proud moment for ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, but only partly because the college had created much needed recreation space for students. It was also because the renovation was handled in large part by the talented folks in Facility Services. President Don Harward said, \u201cIt makes a comment about the quality and ability of our staff.\u201d Some things don\u2019t change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Gene Taylor, Class of 1956, the master of ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ introductions, at his 50th Reunion in 2006. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

That event may have been where I heard a certain phrase from one of my advancement colleagues, Gene Taylor, Class of 1956. Gene was in charge of what we called way back then, \u201cPlanned Giving.\u201d It\u2019s now called \u201cGift Planning.\u201d C\u2019mon folks, try to keep up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At one of his ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Reunions, Gene\u2019s class carried signs that read \u201cThe Silent Generation,\u201d which is the demographic name of his generation, sometimes criticized for its conformity. Huge mistake. Like many of his generation, and his generation of ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ies, Gene was dogged, caring, and intensely devoted to the betterment of ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ and his home communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, Gene knew that whatever delusions I had about the potential superiority of my education and early career work at Bowdoin would be swept away by getting to know ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ people. Every so often he would approach me in the office and say, \u201cI want you to meet\u201d so and so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The use of that phrase \u201cI…want…you…to…meet\u201d was common once. My mother would use it when introducing friends or others she thought I should meet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It seems formal, but is quite personal. It seems ceremonial, yet conveys an invitation to connect \u2014 only connect. (If you\u2019re keeping score, yes, there\u2019s the obligatory early 1900s English author reference.) I asked my dad yesterday why that phrase carries meaning, and he said, \u201cIt\u2019s simple. It\u2019s someone saying, \u2018Hey, I like this person. I think you\u2019ll like them too.’\u201d Gene was putting himself out there to bring me into a new community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And so a meet up would be arranged, in the Den, or the old cafeteria at St. Mary\u2019s, Campus Cuisine, where I met folks whose ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ portfolios overflowed with ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, like Milt Lindholm ’35, Helen Papaioanou ’49, or Norm Ross, Class of 1922.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Helen Papaioanou ’49, seen in 2005, was the personification of ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ devotion. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

One of my other guides back then was Ruth Rowe Wilson, Class of 1936. She was the former ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Magazine<\/em> editor, the Class Notes editor when I began as editor. She was the daughter of Harry Rowe, a graduate of the Class of 1912 and the first ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Magazine<\/em> editor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She liked to remind me that a bad-ass streak ran through ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ alumni, like William Worthy, Class of 1945, who defied the U.S. State Department to cover stories in communist countries. Inspired, Phil Ochs wrote a protest folk song about Worthy<\/a> with the line, \u201cIt is strange to hear the State Department say, \u2018You are living in the free world, in the free world you must stay.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Image
Journalist William Worthy ’46 (center), a iconic ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ badass of the mid-1900s, is shown in 1980 setting up a press conference at a Tehran hotel with spokespeople for the students who held 52 U.S. diplomats hostage for 444 days. (Randy Goodman)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I am grateful that my forays into quirky projects were tolerated. In 1997, I turned bookie to take cash bets on the annual ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½\u2013Bowdoin football game, complete with over-unders and prop wagers, such as whether both the Bowdoin president and ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½\u2019 Harward would attend the game. (Don attended, the Bowdoin president didn\u2019t.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the mid-2010s, I thought I had good insight into everywhere that ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ excelled: facilities, advancement, athletics, dining, academics, community engagement. But then my two children came through ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, and Student Affairs was like, \u201cOK, hold my beer.\u201d Meaning, I never knew the deepest ways that ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ supports our students. As I like to say, ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ is great when our children are at their best, and also when they are not. Thank you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bookends…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ broke ground for Gray Athletic Building, the place where I first met so many ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ people in my third day at work, one century ago and a few days ago, June 20, 1925.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Milt Lindholm ’35, legendary ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ dean of admission, photographed at his home on Nelke Place in 2004. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The first story I wrote for ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Magazine<\/em> was a profile of board chair Jim Moody, Class of 1953, who had just made the first million-dollar gift in ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ history. Jim died the other day, remembered as a great business and civic leader. And a great ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ alumnus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first cover story in my tenure as editor of ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Magazine<\/em> was about the emerging potential of the internet to support connection and learning. The final cover story is about the enduring capacity of the college library to support student connection and learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
In 2002, Ruth Rowe Wilson ’36 (right) poses with her friend Jane Ault Lindholm ’37, ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Magazine<\/em> proofreader and husband of Milt ’35. Wilson reminded folks that ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ alumni were out in the world doing hard, fearless work.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Bookends are an attractive metaphor, a story told from beginning to end. I am mindful of what researcher Jon Adler \u201900 said on the Hidden Brain<\/em> podcast<\/a> about how we tell stories about our lives. How we tell them matter. Do the stories about what happens to us evoke how we can overcome bad things, or do we tell stories about being swept along?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jon also talks about the meaning of how we mark the chapters of our life. There have been times that I thought that my ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ chapter would conclude without feeling uplifted. I\u2019m sure we\u2019ve all had that feeling. So I am so happy that this chapter break feels good and fulfilling, in the Adler\u2019s parlance, \u201ca redemption sequence,\u201d a feeling of accomplishment and pride. Thank you all for that. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½
One last spin around the Puddle, December 2024. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There have been around 8,300 work days since Jan. 2, 1992. I\u2019m sure I have had a big laugh every day. Thank you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thank you to my colleagues, past and present, who have made me feel comfortable in who I am. Thank you for making so many of my days at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ \u2014 all together now, in the words of the late Web Harrison \u201963 \u2014 A Great Day to be a Bobcat!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I arrived at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ on Jan. 2, 1992. That’s 33 years ago. But to give that a bit of relativity, James Reese had already been at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ for 14 years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":104,"featured_media":170008,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_hide_ai_chatbot":false,"_ai_chatbot_style":"","associated_faculty":[],"_Page_Specific_Css":"","_bates_restrict_mod":false,"bates_author_byline_override":"","_estimated-read-time":"","_post-template":"\/usr\/local\/webserver\/webpve\/htdocs\/new-www.bates.edu\/wp-content\/themes\/b\/news\/single-big-header-image.php","_header-color":"#000000","_photo-credit":"Phyllis Graber Jensen","_header-effect":"parallax","override_related_with_tag":"","_table_of_contents_display":false,"_table_of_contents_location":"","_table_of_contents_disableSticky":false,"_is_featured":false,"footnotes":"","_bates_seo_meta_description":"","_bates_seo_block_robots":true,"_bates_seo_sharing_image_id":0,"_bates_seo_sharing_image_twitter_id":0,"_bates_seo_share_title":"","_bates_seo_canonical_overwrite":"","_bates_seo_twitter_template":""},"categories":[7,9946,11009],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-169967","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-exclude-from-loops","category-the-college"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169967","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/104"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=169967"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169967\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":170041,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169967\/revisions\/170041"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/170008"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=169967"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=169967"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=169967"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}