When I saw the news last month that my alma mater (aka the Alma Mater of the Nation, aka William & Mary) had hired a new president, I was struck by something:
Katherine Rowe was an English major in college. That makes one thing (and probably the only thing) we have in common, because, I, too, majored in English.
Rowe went on to be an English scholar (she specializes in Shakespeare, Milton and others medieval and Renaissance writers) and, eventually, the provost of Smith College in Massachusetts. But as an undergraduate or maybe sometime before, Rowe decided she preferred to read books and write papers instead of peering into a microscope, preparing case studies or student-teaching.
Come to think of it, there are quite a few other English majors kicking around the presidential offices in higher education. Vincent Price, the new Duke University president, was an English major. His predecessor, Richard Brodhead was not just an English major; he's also an English professor.
English Department
