RELEASED: December 10, 2009

DANVILLE, KY—1. Where did you grow up (and describe the place in one phrase or sentence)?
Congress Heights in Washington D.C., a modest little neighborhood that turned into perhaps the most dangerous in the country a few years after I reached puberty—there being no connection between these two events.

2. What are your hobbies? Henry James, Herman Melville, Maxwell Bodenheim

3. Favorite foreign city? Perryville

4. Most prized possession (and why)? A bodhrán (Irish drum), because I can bang on it.

5. Favorite novel (and why)? Moby-Dick, because all the important stuff is there and it is so intelligently comic.    

6. Most memorable trip or vacation?  The last one

7. Movies: favorite dramatic film? Favorite comedy? Casablanca; Manhattan

8. Favorite album (and why)? Chopin's etudes played by Zimmerman

9. Favorite band, favorite solo singer, and favorite comedian/comic actor? Willie Nelson; Steve Carell

10. Favorite food? Rhubard pie

11. Most memorable study abroad experience? I didn't get to study abroad; almost no one my age did.

12. Historical figure you'd most like to meet? Epictetus

13. Favorite aspect of your job? Like Proteus, it keeps changing.

14. Favorite Centre tradition? Having the faculty applaud the students as they march through the two faculty lines on their way to Newlin Hall to receive their degrees.

15. What would you be doing if you weren't working at Centre? I'd like to open a restaurant with my daughter-in-law, who's a chef.

16. Educational experience that's been most helpful to you? A year-long history of philosophy course as an undergraduate

17. Best thing about growing up in your family? It was nuclear (but not explosive): three siblings, dedicated father, ambitious mother who not only survived but prevailed (thank you, Faulkner) after father's untimely early death.

18. Favorite place on campus (and why)?  My office (outside view on two sides) and Norton Center foyer (smashing inside views)

19. Advice you'd give to a first-year college student to make career success more likely? Study abroad early and often; attend at least 15 Norton Center events every year.

20. Wish for members of the Centre community during this holiday season? Think "study abroad."

BONUS QUESTION!
If you could only read literature by one author for the rest of your life, whose works would you choose?
Henry James / John LeCarre

Have comments, suggestions, or story ideas? E-mail leigh.ivey@centre.edu with your feedback.

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Founded in 1819, Centre College is ranked among the U.S. News top 50 national liberal arts colleges. Consumers Digest ranks Centre No. 1 in educational value among all U.S. liberal arts colleges. Centre alumni, known for their nation-leading loyalty in annual financial support, include two U.S. vice presidents and two Supreme Court justices. For more, visit http://www.centre.edu/web/elevatorspeech/

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