Posted by Joe in : personal , trackback
The Dean of the School of Information Studies at my alma mater, Syracuse University, passed away this morning. You can read about it .
I never got to talk to Ray as much as I would have liked to. When you are a visionary (and a hell of a good storyteller), your time is always in demand. Nevertheless, there are some golden moments that stand out for me:
- The von Drans took me and some of my classmates out for an elegant dinner at the end of the Spring 2006 semester. While we sat in an elegantly wallpapered room with piped-in cello music, Ray loudly told a story about how codfish was “inedible” and was a good candidate for a cheap weapon. Amidst laughter from our table, he said that frozen codfish would make the perfect bomb. If it didn’t knock our enemies out when it fell on their heads, he said, it would knock them out in a few hours from the smell.
- Ray helped to teach the management class that I took in Fall of 2006. Although his wife Gisela was the instructor of record, he often sat in and shared his own insights on managing organizations. During the break, Ray was often in the front of the classroom, carrying on with students and laughing his unmistakable laugh. His lecture on communication differences between men and women had the entire class in stitches as Gisela looked on indulgently.
- Liz Liddy, who is now the Interim Dean, once presented Ray with a high-end trash can as an award. Rather than be insulted, Ray carried the trash can around and showed it off–it was a design marvel.
Ray was the person who helped me start on the road to realizing that art and science are in reality not separate disciplines–they are merely lenses through which we all try to understand the universe around us. Ray’s unspoken but ever-present argument was that things–and by extension Life–can be both functional and beautiful. His own field was Information, and even Information can be beautiful; properly considered, it fully embodies what the OED wants it to be: “that quality or combination of qualities which affords keen pleasure to other senses (e.g. that of hearing), or which charms the intellectual or moral faculties, through inherent grace, or fitness to a desired end.”
I wish that the world had more people like him. Thank you, sir, for what you have done for all of us.
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Comments
I’m sorry to hear about this; my thoughts are with the family and friends.
Your remembrance is excellent.
Joe, I’m so sorry to hear about this. I talked to Mom tonight and she told me what happened. I’m just glad we did get to meet him after all. We’re thinking of you.
Love, Jen (and Tim)