My Old School

Back in 1979, the year I graduated from UNCG, I was listening to a lot of Steely Dan. So here I am in 2017 and what am I doing on a Friday night? Still listening to Becker and Fagen. Now in 79' I was listening to them on an eight track player in my massive, two door, eight cylinder, two tone yellow 1974 Chevrolet Impala. Tonight I'm listening to "My Old School", "Deacon Blues" and "Hey Nineteen" courtesy of Alexa, the voice of my Echo audio speaker.

Some things change. Some stay the same. Call it loyalty, nostalgia, or sentiment, but we get attached to some of life's experiences more than others.

Like where we went to college.

This week I participated as the UNCG Alumni Association president in an oral history project for UNCG in connection with the 125th anniversary (which is fast approaching). It's part of the university's digital archives. https://libcdm1.uncg.edu/cdm/oralhistory/ It reminded me how fortunate I was to have found my way to UNCG. And, to steal another Steely Dan song title, I would "Do It Again".

Some of the memories the project brought back were funny. Like the professor who walked into our econ class by mistake and filled the blackboard with complex equations and then, coming back to his roll book, began reading the names of students who weren't there. He was in the wrong class as our perpetually late instructor pointed out to him as he stormed out of the room.

I remember the greasy cheeseburgers (really good greasy cheesburgers) they served in the basement of the EUC. Learning Fortran or Cobol (I forget) in an introductory class in computing and creating punch cards which we fed into a massive, room sized, computer to generate page after page of printouts. That computer likely had less computing power than the one I'm typing this on. Hiking in from the far end of Oakland Avenue in the driving rain because you couldn't find a parking space (some things don't change). Admiring the view from the Jackson Library, which had this remarkable new technology called micro fiche.

But mostly I remember being happy to be there. I can say I had, without exaggeration, brilliant professors. Dr. B. David Meyers comes to mind. He understood political systems in emerging regions and the practical linkages that fuel geopolitical relations better than anyone I have heard or read. There were many others. Dr. Allen in various economics courses, Dr. Clodfelter in International Law.

I loved the campus because it looked like what I always pictured a college campus would. Wonderful old buildings and a few modern ones. The Graham Building (which is now 47 years old) was fairly new. I used to walk by the Alumni House and wonder what went on in there. Now I'm president of the Alumni Association, which is something I could never have imagined back then.

When I was at UNCG we weren't long removed from the WC years. I was grateful to the Woman's College generation because their academic achievements set a standard that meant a UNCG degree was worth more. We knew we were at a special place where special people had come before.

And I remember William Friday, one of the great figures in North Carolina history speaking at our graduation. But I don't remember a single word he said. I remembered that fact when I made brief remarks on behalf of the alumni association at the most recent graduation. If they didn't remember William Friday, I doubt the graduates in December will long remember anything I said.

But memory matters. It calls us to give the current generation the chance to make the great memories we have by donating to the University. It creates pride in place that gets spoken of and handed down and encourages us to speak up for UNCG, whether it is to encourage today's high school students to come here or advocate on its behalf. And these memories rekindle friendships and happy feelings.

While we're thinking of the past we should also enjoy what's going on today at UNCG. It's a place that is growing in ways we couldn't have imagined in our time on campus. As alumni we need to stay aware of what's going on and to be the face of the university throughout the region, state, and around the world. And we need to have pride in the present and let today's students know how proud we are of them.

Donald Fagen, in the song "My Old School" sings "I'm never goin' back to my old school." Well, I am returning as often as I can and always enjoy coming back. You'll be happy to see the old familiar places and amazed at how UNCG has grown. You can go home again, and I hope you will soon.