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Alumni News:
Reunion
2002
Distinguished
Alumni Awards
Sylvia
Nasar '70 Says a Beautiful Mind Opened Hers to Human Possibilities
Carol
Greenwald '77 loves her Arthur
In
Celebration of the Alexanders
Antioch College Alumni Board Membership 2002-2003
The
Antiochian is published by the Office of Development and Alumni Relations.
Articles submitted for publication should be addressed to the Antiochian
Editor, Antioch College, Yellow Springs, Ohio 45387-1697. Or send via email: alumni@antioch-college.edu Editor:
Rachel Moulton '97
Contributing
Writers:
Laurien Alexandre
Derek Ali
Patricia Corrigan
Masha J. Etkin '63
Lauren Heaton
Dan Kaplan '76
Fred Kraus
Mary Laskowski '02
Meredith Moss
Rachel Moulton '97
Robyn Overstreet '96
Anne Townsend '03
Photography:
Dennie Eagleson '71
Lauren Heaton
©2002
Antioch College
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In Celebration
of the Alexanders
By Rachel
Moulton '97
Dorothy Hall Alexander was an artist, an author, an
editor, an avid reader and a life-long Antioch community member. Pauline
(Polly) Alexander '51,
technically Dorothy's step-daughter-in-law, calls Dorothy an "award
winner in everything she did. She won every contest there was." And
indeed Dorothy was recognized for her editorial work in Yellow Springs
and in New York City; for her pottery, primarily in Tucson, Arizona;
and for
her writing as evidenced in her various publications.
Dorothy earned her BA and MA in English literature at
Oberlin College. Shortly thereafter, she began her relationship with
Antioch, where she met
and worked with her future husband, Walter Boyd Alexander -- referred
to as "Alex" by his friends, family, and colleagues. In 1941,
she left Antioch to participate in a year of graduate study at the University
of California at Berkeley where she married Bourne Smith. After Smith's
death, she returned to Yellow Springs and to Antioch to teach and co-author
a book with then president A.D. Henderson, Antioch College: Its Design
for Liberal Education. Later, she moved to Columbus, Ohio where she found work
with American Education Press. In the early 1950s, she went to work for a
publishing firm in NYC where she edited children's books and wrote
the Little Golden Book of Children's Poems. During this time, she also
became editor for a management-consulting firm where she stayed for
11 years.
"She
cared about art and the environment and intellectual life. She
sought to share that position with
as many people as possible."
Michael B. Alexander
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In 1965, Dorothy and Alex married. Alex's influence on Antioch began
in 1929 when he joined the faculty as a mathematics instructor and continued
until 1963 when he retired as vice president. During this time (1929-1963),
he served the college in a variety of ways that included two periods as acting
president and many years as Antioch's first dean of the faculty. A
Philadelphia native, Alex taught mathematics at Temple University before
coming to Antioch. He received his BA and MA from the University of Pennsylvania
and upon retirement, an honorary doctorate from Antioch. Along with Arthur
Morgan, he was an energetic architect of Antioch's commitment to excellence.
Walter Boyd Alexander was known by colleagues as a "quiet hero" in
Antioch's history. He passed away in 1981 in their home in Tucson,
Arizona where he and Dorothy had been living since 1971. Dorothy passed
away in the same house, almost twenty years later in December of 2000.
Their impact
on Antioch College, however, is lasting.
Polly Alexander and Michael B. Alexander, Dorothy's step-grandson and
Alex's grandson, recently had the occasion to visit campus. Both Michael
and Polly are connected to Dorothy by marriage but feel the connection much
more deeply. Polly recalls her own personal relationship with Dorothy, "I
was like a sister to her. She was able to interact with people of all
ages, and I was proud to be called her sister."
Michael grew up in Columbus, Ohio, and fondly recalls
holidays spent visiting the current President's house, where Alex lived for many years,
and later Hayfield Hill, a home the Alexanders built just outside of Yellow
Springs. Michael described Dorothy as "a strong, fiercely intelligent,
probing woman." He went on to say, "She cared about art and the
environment and the intellectual life. She sought to share that passion with
as many people as possible." Michael emphasized Dorothy's gender,
saying that her activities were twice as impressive considering the time
in which she grew as a professional and an artist: "She had strong
feelings for Antioch and Oberlin. Both were known as places that treated
women equally and encouraged their professional, personal, and intellectual
environment. They were seminal in her life."
It is, however, the Alexanders' most recent contribution to the college,
coming two years after Dorothy's death and 21 years after Alex's
death, that brought Michael Alexander and Polly Alexander to campus. They
left a bequest of well over $500,000 to benefit Antioch's endowment.
A portion of the bequest will fund "The Bourne Smith Memorial Book
Fund," named for Dorothy's first husband who passed away in 1944,
only a few short years after the marriage in 1941. The principal is to remain
as endowed funds for the College, and the income and gains may be used by
the Olive Kettering Library. In recalling Dorothy, Michael says, "She
often spoke wistfully about her first husband. They shared a love of books." In
this way, the bequest is more than fitting.
The remaining funds are designated for "The W. Boyd Alexander Memorial
Scholarship Fund," named for and initiated by Dorothy's second
husband and Antioch's own former dean. In this case, the principal
will again remain as endowed funds while the income and gains may be
used for financial aid grants for undergraduate students. Alex committed
most
of his professional life to Antioch and supported access and diversity
in education. He wanted to support students in need. It is fitting
that this money be left to do just that.
Polly was strongly influenced by Dorothy and Alex's love of Antioch.
She was equally influenced by Dorothy's love of books, and passion
for art. Polly does not hesitate to share credit for who she is today: "Dorothy
and Alex and Antioch shaped my adult life. Dorothy was the most brilliant
woman I've ever known, and I've known quite a few. She was off
the charts."
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