In Memory of John Silber

I write to thank and congratulate you for the splendid Winter–Spring 2013 issue of Bostonia. I was especially moved by the letters in praise of the late John Silber and your very honest and comprehensive tribute, which completely filled the space given to faculty obituaries.

John Silber was a brilliant, autocratic, but visionary leader whose legacy lives on under President Brown’s vibrant administration. The University ranks among the best urban institutions of higher learning. Silber could also be an irascible curmudgeon.

My longest pastorate was a large church in Columbus, Ohio. When we learned that Silber was passing through Columbus on his way to the Midwest, I asked if he would meet with a delegation of United Methodist pastors, all alumni, who were concerned (alarmed) about the structural changes being made at the School of Theology: eliminating the third- and fourth-floor dormitories to provide office space for University faculty.

When I raised the issue in the meeting, he shot back, “The School of Theology is the most pampered school in the University, and we will not tolerate any further favoritism. Let the theologues find outside lodging like other graduate students.” In other words, preserving a sense of community be damned. No one dared challenge him. The meeting was mercifully brief. He did not “suffer fools gladly.” Yet he transformed Boston University into a world-class institution. I wonder what he’s up to in heaven.

William E. Smith (STH’48,’54)
Southern Pines, N.C.

I am sure I was not alone in my outrage when I saw that President Silber’s obituary, and the discussion of his legacy, was relegated to page 76 of the latest issue of your magazine. Although Silber may have been a controversial figure at times, he not only dedicated 33 years of his life to Boston University, 25 of them as its president, but his tireless dedication was instrumental in transforming BU from a small, struggling, bankrupt, and unremarkable university into the top-tier academic institution that it has become. Your failure to put Silber’s photograph on your cover, and to have the appropriate coverage of his years of service and his passing, in the front pages of the magazine, is simply unconscionable.

It is my opinion that you owe Silber’s family, and the Boston University community, an apology. In the meantime, please unsubscribe me from your magazine and, most certainly, from your list of potential donors.

Stephanie A. Herbert (LAW’95)
Vienna, Va.

I write to comment on the faculty obituary for John Silber that was published in Bostonia. My career as an active Boston University faculty member (1965–2000) covered most of the period that Silber led the University. I found the obituary to be an excellent summary of Silber’s career and of his BU leadership. It includes both the good and bad aspects of his time at BU. However, I feel one major result of his leadership should have been mentioned.

In the early 1970s, faculty unhappy with Silber’s treatment of them called for faculty unionization under the auspices of the American Association of University Professors. Although Silber argued strenuously against unionization, the faculty voted by a clear majority for a union. Over the next four years, the Silber administration tried unsuccessfully to get the National Labor Relations Board to overturn the vote. It was during this time that 10 deans and three-quarters of the Faculty Assembly called for Silber’s resignation, as reported in the Bostonia obituary. In April 1979, the Silber administration, having exhausted its court appeals and facing a strike threat from the faculty, had to enter into negotiations with the new faculty union. The administration reached an agreement with the union and then reneged on it just before it was to become official. The faculty called a strike immediately. The next day picketing faculty were joined by clerical workers and librarians, who had also formed unions and who also did not have a contract. This was not the first strike on Silber’s watch. Buildings and Grounds workers were on strike for a week in 1978.

After a strike lasting nine days, a faculty contract was finally agreed upon and made official. The faculty strike ended. The clerical workers did not get a contract until the fall of 1979, and then the school slowly returned to normal (although Silber attempted to fire five tenured faculty for refusing to cross the clerical workers’ picket lines, and this caused continuing unrest on the campus). The faculty strike brought unwanted national attention to BU and seriously affected the school in many ways. As you can imagine, during this time of confrontation we did not have the best teaching environment for our students and significant faculty time was taken away from scholarly activities.

I think the fact that a majority of the faculty was driven to form a union, and even more astonishing, driven to walk picket lines on Commonwealth Avenue should have been mentioned in your obituary of John Silber. He did many good things for BU, but putting faculty in a situation where they felt compelled to leave their classrooms and go on strike was not one of them.

Arthur H. Brownlow
College of Arts & Sciences Professor Emeritus of Geology
Westborough, Mass.

A letter from Echol Nix, Jr. (STH’00, GRS’07) in the recent issue of Bostonia begins this way: “John Silber’s tough side is well known. Less known is his other side. After Anthony Campbell (STH’65), a School of Theology professor, a preacher-in-residence, and a mentor, died of a massive stroke in a car with me on September 27, 2002, President Silber and Dean Robert Neville approved a fellowship based on my academic work and unusual institutional service.”

My relationship with Silber began another way. The Reverend Jesse Jackson appeared on the television program Nightline, and after the program, Silber made comments about Jackson’s commentary on the program that I felt were unfair. I wrote to Silber expressing my disagreement with his reactions, and I was surprised to receive a response to my letter. Of course, Silber disagreed with my disagreements, with comments that were representative of his unique personality and intellect. In our subsequent correspondence, we “agreed to disagree agreeably,” with an understanding that we saw and experienced race and racism in different ways; I because I am African American, he because he was not.

I and others experienced John R. Silber’s “tough side,” but even as he and I disagreed, I appreciated his candor and the depth and breadth of his intelligence. Your obituary says this about Silber’s leadership: “BU experienced a period of unprecedented growth and engagement with the city of Boston.” I, and I am sure most BU alums, regardless of our disagreements with Silber, would agree.

Gilbert H. Caldwell (STH’58)
Asbury Park, N.J.

Defining Life

After reading “What Is Life?” (Winter–Spring 2013), I felt there was something lacking. I was surprised that there was no mention of God, his marvelous creation, the human body with all its complexities, the soul, which animates the human body and returns to its Maker upon death. To me this is more believable than the idea that we crawled out of the ocean as an amoeba and grew into such complex human beings.

Joseph D. Gomes (SED’58)
Bristol, R.I.

With all due respect for Roberta White’s learned answer to the question “What Is Life?” you failed to include a theological perspective. White briefly referred to the concept of “soul or spirit,” but the biblical portrayal of humans as part of the natural world and also specifically related to God was missing. Neither David Roochnik’s nor Tom Bania’s observations were helpful.

At what was once the center of the Boston University campus stands the Daniel L. Marsh Chapel, attached to the School of Theology. As chaplain of Boston University, I had the privilege of presiding over the first public worship service held in the new chapel on the first Sunday in October 1950. I cherish a picture of President Marsh and me standing in our robes on the chapel steps before the services began.

The School of Theology traces its beginnings to 1839, when a “fledgling biblical institute” opened its doors in rural Vermont. It was the first professional school for the training of Methodist clergy in the United States. Later it was relocated in Boston and became the founding school for what would become Boston University. Today it is one of the premier graduate theological schools in North America.

We need to remember that a human body is more than the sum of its parts; 60 percent hydrogen, 25 percent oxygen, 10 percent carbon, and 2 percent nitrogen completely misses the distinctive characteristic of a human being. The Genesis story of creation portrays humans as part of the natural world, but also specifically related to God. And our democracy rests on the affirmation that all persons are created equal.

I strongly suggest that the next time you delve into the origin of human beings, you invite a professor of theology to join the conversation. It would be in the finest Boston University tradition.

William E. Smith (STH’48,’54)
Southern Pines, N.C.

For the Record

I was very pleased to see a terrific feature article (“Taste Makers,” Winter–Spring 2013) on my industry, the industry of craft beer, in Bostonia. However, I must correct the implication that the Pink Boots Society is an “all-women beer club.”

The Pink Boots Society (PBS) is not a club, rather, it’s a professional organization of women in the brewing industry. It is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of professional women in the beer industry through education. We are about to announce our first scholarship recipient on behalf of the PBS and the Siebel Institute in Chicago.

Your story implies that the society is among other consumer-driven organizations. Being referred to as an “all-women beer club” displayed a lack of research on the organization. A little fact-checking may have properly represented its mission and function, to recognize the many women professionals in the beer industry.

I am a brewer and alumna of Boston University. I spent seven years brewing in my alma mater’s backyard, at Cambridge Brewing Company, and am currently brewmaster for Bluejacket, a brewery under construction in Washington, D.C. While I may not be at the top of a company like Al Marzi (COM’90) or Garrett Oliver (CGS’81, COM’83), I have been a very active and prominent member of this industry for several years.

It would have been nice to be recognized along with my fellow BU alumni for our successes in this industry, into which we have all poured much blood, sweat, and tears.

Megan O’Leary Parisi (CFA’91,’93)
Chevy Chase, Md.