Page 2
Fiom Chabotar, p. 1
and faculty who feel that an ef
fort to preserve and strengthen
Guilford's Quaker traditions
weighs more heavily than any
thing else.
Chabotar considered it a
precedented decision, though,
noting that two-third of the
nation's Quaker colleges are
headed by non-Quakers.
Max Carter, head of campus
ministries, explained that al
though there are plans to help
Chabotar learn more about
Quaker ideology - and Chabotar
said it's one of his priorities - the
problem is larger-scale, and has
to do with the direction the col
lege takes in the future.
"The worry with having a
non-Quaker president is not the
first non-Quaker," Carter said.
"It's the second and third and
fourth. The first non-Quaker
may well pedal very hard to con
vince everyone that you can be
a non-Quaker president and
support the Quaker values, and
may bend over backwards to as
sure folks that a Catholic as
president of a Quaker school is
not the fox in the henhouse.
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Serendipity Schedule
See next week's issue for complete schedule
Times listed here are tentative*
Thursday, April 18
-7 p.m. Larry Keel Experience, Snake Oil Medicine
Show, Dirty Dozen Brass Band. Dana
-12:30 Glowstick Capture The Flag, Sponsored
bythe Outdoors Club ** 4
Friday, April 19 i
-2-3 p.m. Sprinklers in between Milner/Bryan
-Afternoon Milner Luau Sponsored by Milner Hall
Council. o
-7:30 MF Doom, Atmosphere. Sternberger
-12:00 Late night dance party w/DJ Terry Mulland.
Sternberger
Saturday, April 20
-11:30-l:30 Picnic Lunch sponsored by Guilford Dining
-12-6 p.m. Inflatable Games. Dana
-8:30 Ween (doors open at 7:30)
-10-1 Apartments Party
* All outdoor events subject to change due to weather
"Bui once that has been es
tablished. it's easier for the next
president not to be a Quaker.
And bit by bit you wonder if sub
tly, and in ways almost not rec
ognized, the college takes on a
trajectory towards being just
another line secular liberal arts
college."
Benji Hebner. a junior and
Quaker, agreed and said that
Quakerism still has a marked ef
fect on the college.
"People do still come to
Guilford and see something dif
ferent," he said. "I think the
people who are in charge of this
school don't see how fragile that
is. This is just the first tap in a
long series of dominoes."
But students like Bryan
Warf. a sophomore and Quaker,
see no problem, so long as the
president doesn't stray from the
principles upon which the school
was established.
"The Board of Trustees
picked who they felt would do
the best job," Warf said. "I've met
many people who have never
heard of Quakers or knew what
we are about, but they still fit
right into our way of doing
things."
The Guilfordian
News
Chabotar said. "[Guilford's]
got great values in terms of can
dor, complicity, and tolerance
that I would embrace as a
Quaker or a Catholic." He went
on to say that while he can talk
all day about how great those
principles are. the most impor
tant thing is for him to actually
practice them.
Chabotar said one thing he
looks forward to most at Guilford
is the community's "ability to con
front each other openly by saying
'I think we made a mistake.' Stu
dents can expect lots of showing
up at events to get to know people.
They can expect me to be acces
sible. They can expect me to be
brutally candid and honest, and I
expect the same from eveiyone,
from students and faculty."
Chabotar outlined his goals
for at least the first six months
of his presidency. He said he
wants to first identify the key is
sues and determine the best pro
cesses for managing them,
whether that involves fixing
something or taking advantage
of an opportunity.
"Until you know what the
answers are, it's hard to raise
money, because people give to
something specific, they give for a
\ision. they give for a defined prod
uct," he said. "And I think
Guilford's got lots of those at
tributes and I just want to revisit
them to make sure it's the best
possible definition before I start
trying to raise money or start a
budget process."
Beyond that, he said his fo
cus will be three things: fi
nances, strategic planning, and
governance.
"Some people believe that
Guilford's curriculum is fairly
narrow." he said. "I don't think
that's true. 1 think it's verv broad.
In fact, one of the issues is how
broad it should be. We can still be
a broad curriculum while still
emphasizing certain things we
think are particular points of
light."
He also said that Guilford
can expect him for seven to 10
years as a rough estimate. "At
Bowdoin, I thought I'd last five
years and I lasted 1 1," he said.
"And frankly. I'm coming to a lot
better weather, so that alone is
going to be a big attraction for
me."
Chabotar will be moving to
Greensboro in mid-August but
will be making campus visits April
18 and 19. and sometime in May
and June.
He sounds excited about
the transition and is looking
optimistically to the future. He
said, "The Trustees are setting
high expectations for me and
for the college, and I think high
expectations bring out the best
in us."
April 12, 2002
News
briefs
Alison Buck
STAFF WRITER
Distinguished alumnus
speaks 011 math and religion
University of Tennessee
mathematics professor Conrad
Plaut delivered the Sheridan A.
Simon Distinguished Alumni lec
ture on the history of European
mathematics April 8 in Bryan
Auditorium.
The lecture, entitled "The
Pythagorean Mistake, " focused
on how European mathematics
had to free itself of entangle
ments with philosophy and reli
gion. This confusion began in
ancient Greece with Pythagoras
and the Pythagoreanism. who
extensively explored certain as
pects of mathematics but con
sidered others taboo.
"Their mixing of religious
ideas and philosophical ideas and
mathematical ideas may have
done more to slow mathematics
down than their theorems did to
speed it up," Plaut said.
Plaut delivered a talk aimed
at an interdisciplinary audience,
rather than those with a back
ground in mathematics. He fo
cused on history as well as math.
"This is not serious schol
arship," he said. "It's just a tale."
Guilford Mathematics Profes
sor and Department Chair Rudy
Gordh introduced Plaut.
"He was one of my favorite
students in mathematics." Gordh
said.
Plaut, a 1983 Guilford
graduate, has taught at the Uni
versity of Tennessee since 1992.
He has also taught at Ohio Uni
versity and the Max Planck In
stitute of Mathematics in Ger
many.
Guilford honors student
employees
Student Employment Ser
vices held a reception April 2 to
honor student employees, also
marking National Student Em
ployment Week.
Sodexho Campus Services
provided a cake and the bookstore
donated door prizes which could
by won by guessing the number
of jellybeans in a jar.
"They do this every year, and
I think it's really nice of them."
IT&S worker and senior Merritt
Johnson said.
President Don McNemar
spoke briefly, thanking the stu
dents for their efforts.
"A lot that gets done in the
community gets done by stu
dents," he said.