Prof. Longhair
Frank Calabria, professor emeritus of psychology,
has written an autobiography, “Let It Be a Dance” (Writers
Club Press, 2001) in which he describes a life that
included growing up a first-generation Italian-American in
Brooklyn, becoming (with his wife, Angela) an
accomplished ballroom dancer and teacher.
But it is his self-deprecating description of teaching
at Union during the tumultuous 60's that may strike a
chord with the Union community.
In a chapter where he refers to himself as
“Professor Longhair” and “Crazy
Frank,” Calabria writes of his first year at Union in 1966: “I trusted
my intuition as to what felt right in teaching my courses …
within the first month of classes, on a beautiful autumn day,
I perched myself in front of my students on a wide branch
of the gingko tree in Jackson's Garden.
“In the midst of my lecturing, waving my arms for effect …
I was aghast to see Prof. (Bill) Huntley, chairman of
the department, peering at me through the garden
railing. When I saw his look of amazement, I felt as shaky
as a fiddler on the roof. That evening, when I
returned home, my instruction to my wife was brief: “Pack!”
Alas, Calabria did not have to pack, and stayed on
until his retirement in 1989.
Bad sign
Those of us who are prone to typographic errors
can't help noticing those of others once in a while.
A recently-installed sign at the former Office of
Computer Services read, for a day or two until it was fixed:
“Informational Technology Sevices.”