Through the sliding glass doors of
For those who haven’t met him, he remains a mystery. For
those who have met him, they can pass him in the Quad and get a cheerful smile
and an enthusiastic wave. That’s because he is, quite frankly, the man on
campus.
Our first meeting happened two years ago. His office had
just been renovated, and he shared his joy about that just before we got down
to business.
It was my very first interview as a shy Tech Talk
reporter with him, and he made me feel at home. Since then, we’ve chatted
numerous times in his nicely decorated office which is filled with lots of
bulldog memorabilia, including a bronze bulldog statue just like the one in the
Last Thursday I went to visit him for a general chat and
thought it would be fun to get down to business on who
he is as a person. So as a favor to everyone he hasn’t personally met yet, he
agreed to fill me in on what you all are just dying to know:
Favorite books — The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
and You Can’t Go Home Again by Thomas Wolf.
Favorite movies — Doctor Zhivago (1965) and
Favorite music — Any type of
country western.
Free time — “Being outdoors. My
family has 160 acres 25 miles away. We catch fish, cook them and have horses
out there. It’s just a place to relax and get back to nature. I love to putter
around and hunt, too.”
College friends — “They would have described me as
studious back then. They’d say, ‘Look, there’s Dan walking around with his
slide rule in his belt loop.’ I still keep in touch with my old roommate and
friends.”
And, for those of you wondering if he ever rubs the
bronze bulldog statue for good luck as so many students do, the answer is
“Occasionally.”
As important and powerful as this man is, he really is
just a regular person like all of us. So, when you see him on campus, give him
a smile and a wave.
You have now been formally introduced.
Julie Miller is a senior journalism major from Shreveport
and serves as editor for The Tech Talk. E-mail comments to jem028@latech.edu.