By Matt Wall '67
It seems only yesterday that the vintage Mercedes convertible pulled up in front of Job Hall and Jim Whalen strolled up the steps to take on his new job at Ithaca College.
Is it possible that the seniors who graduated this May were not yet born that summer? In the generation that has passed, "J.J." signed the diplomas of some 24,000 Ithaca graduates. He welcomed them at August convocations with words of encouragement and wisdom from his Turtle Bridge, always wanting to have just the right message for each succeeding class. Four years later, he sent them off again to the world beyond Ithaca, each with a memento of their time here and all with his "Irish blessing."
He chatted with them in the snack bar and residence halls, and over sandwiches at many a boardroom lunch. His words of praise at their banquets and honor society inductions came from the heart. When they saw him again at Reunions or at alumni events across the country, there was always a warm chorus of greetings for J.J. Many kept in touch, and he delighted in their reports of grad school, careers, and families. |
My special memory: Reunion weekends on Saturday nights when President Whalen would join us for singing the golden oldies, especially my favorite, "Danny Boy." Mike McKillop '42 |
``And he always wrote back. The collected correspondence from Jim Whalen's Ithaca years must fill a room. Long, meaty epistles to trustees, donors, colleagues, and friends emanated from his dictaphone. These were letters that cemented friendships with people like Lois Smiddy, Bill and Carolyn Emerson, Bob Colbert, and Roy Park. They were messages of concern and accountability to parents, words of commiseration to fellow presidents, and nuggets of advice to protégés.
There can be little doubt that Ithaca's first laudatory appearance in U.S. News and World Report's special issue ranking the colleges, with standings based on a survey of college and university presidents, was due in large part to Jim Whalen's prominence in higher education circles. Jim never liked the notion of rankings, and he argued against them in lively correspondence with then editor David Gergen. Nonetheless, his own "approval ratings" were uniformly high. |
When the pep band went to the national football championship in 1988, President Whalen came on to the band bus and gave each of us a gift: a baseball hat of the College. President Whalen apparently had these hats made especially for us. This really meant and still means a lot to me. Jeffrey A. Lacoff '90 |
Among the folks who took a special liking to Jim Whalen during his years of board service were the members of the association staffs. They saw him take on the tough assignments as no other board chair had, and they admired the way he carried out his leadership roles with professionalism and good humor. Secretaries, researchers, and vice presidents alike would invariably tell us how lucky we were to have a president who was fun to work for, who listened to what people had to say, and who was dignified without taking himself too seriously.
J.J. is well remembered by many soccer, field hockey, baseball, and softball athletes for standing behind their benches or in their dugout to cheer them on against the visitors. He piloted that big Oldsmobile to Springfield, Canton, or Alfred on many a November weekend to stand in the afternoon chill with his football Bombers. In all those years, he may have missed a half-dozen games. He was devoted to our student-athletes, and they always knew J.J. would be there for them. On the daily runs up and down the hill, the Oldsmobile always stopped to pick up hitchhikers, who were inevitably Ithaca students. Judging by their reminiscences, President Whalen must have given rides to half the alumni population during their years at Ithaca. One after another recalls the cold or rainy Ithaca morning when a black sedan pulled over at the foot of Aurora Street and they would be rescued from the elements. If they did not know who the driver was, sometimes they wouldn't find out until he wheeled into the parking spot marked "President." More often, J.J. would be recognized or he would introduce himself and ask how things were going or if they had any gripes he should hear. No matter how hectic his schedule, it was not unusual for the Black Maria to pull up in front of Job Hall and for two or three book bag-laden students to roll out along with the driver. |
Thank you, J.J., for "Ithaca, my Ithaca . . ." since the experience will never leave me. Pablo Cora '95 |
It was remarkable how Jim Whalen balanced his on- and off-campus roles as president. He made them both full-time jobs, which is only possible if you devote all your waking hours to the office. No vacations. No weekends. Ever. He was always in touch with the campus while on the road, usually several times a day, regardless of how far-flung his travels. In earlier years, we knew we were home free for at least a few hours during his flights to the Coast or to the London Center. Then they put telephones in airplanes. Jim Whalen's vision for a secure institution with the highest quality programs did not unfold in grand presidential gestures; it was writ large over two decades of utter dedication and untiring hard work. The College always came first, and he thought and acted on behalf of the entire institution. He always believed that all of our roles are important to the College's mission, from classroom instruction and sophisticated research to the myriad tasks we perform in support of a dynamic campus community. We tend to use the phrase "institutional perspective" as if it were one of those proverbial hats you can put on and take off. Jim Whalen is one of the few who see things that way all the time. The campus that shines in clear relief against South Hill on crisp September mornings is one tangible dimension of Jim Whalen's legacy. He made certain it has been cared for as if it were our home, avoiding the deferred maintenance that plagues even the finest universities. He changed the face of our campus, adding state-of-the-art academic buildings, residence halls, playing fields, and roads. The funds needed to expand Ford Hall and to create the Center for Music are being donated in his honor. Plans are being finalized for a new academic facility for health sciences and a new fitness center. Ground has been broken across Danby Road for the new Ithacare center, and Jim Whalen's vision for a renewed and enhanced partnership with our friends at Ithacare is soon to be realized. None of these projects, including the massive rehabilitation of the Terraces complex just completed, would be a reality without his insistence and determination that they be accomplished. And so it has been over all these years, as students learn in better class- rooms, as faculty teach in improved surroundings, and as we all can take pride in a campus that so beautifully supports our lofty enterprise. It is difficult to gauge the impact of a single leader on things more elusive than buildings or endowments. But for all of us who have borne witness over the years, the institution we are today is palpably better than it was 22 years ago, and the role Jim Whalen played in enhancing quality in every quarter of the College cannot be gainsaid. The new president who arrived that summer of 1975 wanted to make a very good institution even finer. The early years of the Whalen administration were a time of ratcheting up standards and elevating expectations. Those may have been contentious times, but they set the bar for the much-admired college we have become. A presidency must be an agency for change, and that has certainly been true of Jim Whalen's. Whether through reorganizing structure, promulgating policies, demanding accountability, or spurring on new programs-he always insisted that we change and grow. And so we have.
Soon thereafter, the venerable Olds made a final shuttle to its berth in front of Job Hall. The Mercedes convertible, now a classic, will be taken out of its garage in New Hampshire for rides around Thorndike Pond, trips to Jaffrey and down to Boston to catch a flight to New York or Washington, and, we hope, many a return to Ithaca. |
Had
you asked the 48-year-old president on one of those first days in 1975 how
long the Ithaca stint would last, the answer would almost certainly have
fallen short. Twenty-two years may be a brief chapter in the unfolding history
of an enduring institution, but it is by any standard a fair measure to
give of one lifetime.
They are the reason he worked so
hard, and their successes are his rewards. He applauded at their concerts
and plays, cheered them on from the sidelines in weather fair and foul,
and debated issues with them at student government.
Jim Whalen's leadership roles in
higher education associations were a natural extension of his commitment
to issues and the "big picture." He made the rounds tirelessly
in Washington and Albany, with entreaties to the governor to restore Tuition
Assistance Program funds and with testimony before congressional committees
on federal student aid or intercollegiate athletics. He presided over the
state and national annual meetings with aplomb and wit, earning the respect
and friendship of his presidential peers. In so doing, he advanced the institution
with which he has so long been associated.
His extensive work with the National
Collegiate Athletic Association and the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate
Athletics was a labor of love on behalf of the thousands of Ithaca students
who played sports over the years. It also stemmed from his conviction that
the truly amateur intercollegiate athletics represented by Division III
are the unheralded jewels in the NCAA's crown. He argued forcefully for
Division III's fair share of association resources and in favor of propositions
to strengthen academic standards. He stood up at many a crowded annual meeting
to exhort his fellow presidents to take vigorous responsibility for the
integrity of their athletic programs. He has long been an outspoken advocate
of women's athletics and was a driving force as cochair of the NCAA Gender
Equity Task Force.
During senior week J.J. made one last round of the festivities, and
the revelers of '97 had their hundreds of pictures taken with the prez.
On May 18 there was one final Commencement, at which J.J. got the last word
before sending the class off with his Irish blessing. Then there were more
pictures with J.J., as there always have been, and then one last Reunion
as president . . . his 22nd.