Spring 2013 - Eckerd College

Spring 2013
Director’s Report Jamie Gill
The Friends of the Eckerd College Library Supplemental
Book Grants program has quietly passed
several milestones. In the last seven years, thirty
individual faculty members have been awarded grants
totaling $26,044. From these grants, the Library has
gained 573 books and films that supplement College
courses in anthropology, Arabic, classics, economics,
Japanese, religion, Spanish, and many more disciplines.
The supplemental book grants were conceived
by former library director David Henderson. In 2006,
he approached the Friends of the Library Board with a
request for funds to strengthen the library collection
in three new areas of study: art history, environmental
studies, and film studies. The Board approved the
allocation of $10,500 to purchase materials on these
topics. The annual Friends of the Library Book
Grants program grew from this idea.
Early in spring semester of each year, faculty
members are invited to submit proposals for materials
that supplement new courses, new programs, or new
majors. Faculty members engaged in redesigning
courses and focusing on new areas of interest are also
perfect candidates for these awards.
I am pleased to announce that the 2013
grants recipients are: Michael Flaherty (Sociology)
for materials for his Time and Temporal Systems class;
Lauren Highfill (Psychology) for resources for a new
comparative psychology course she is developing;
Jing Chen (Political Science) for a new winter term
course on environmental policy in China; Daniel
Spoth (Literature) for materials for a new course
called Southern Literature and the Environment;
Christina Petersen (Film Studies) for resources for
American cinema; and Michael Albrecht (Media
Communication) for materials for two new courses
and a new Winter Term covering new media, radio and
television, and reality television.
We are making one change to this successful program
— its name. Many faculty members request DVDs
because they use them in their teaching. In recognition
of this, starting in 2014, the program will be called the
Friends of the Eckerd College Library Supplemental Materials
Grants. Many thanks to the Friends of the Eckerd
College Library for funding such a wonderful program.
Commencement Challenge
Bill McKibben noted author, educator and
environmentalist, was nominated by
students to give the commencement address
for the 50 th Eckerd graduation.
Miles Collier, chairman of the Board for the
College, told graduates “Commencement speaker Bill
McKibben resonates with your optimism that significant
change can be achieved through peaceful activism. As
President Eastman reminds us, "Eckerd College changes
lives, and Eckerd graduates change the world."
McKibben’s
recent
book,
Eaarth, is
required
reading for
all seniors
in Eckerd’s
Quest for
Meaning
course.
Why is
Eaarth misspelled?
The author

writes about the iconic image astronauts
captured of the earth from
space in1968, “Earthrise.” Crewmember
Jim Lovell said, the earth
suddenly appeared as “a grand oasis.”
“But we no longer live on
that planet,” McKibben says. “We’re
everyday less the oasis and more the desert. The world
hasn’t ended but the world as we know it has … It’s a
different place. A different planet. It needs a new
name. Eaarth.”
“This is one of those rare moments, the start
of a change far larger and more thoroughgoing than
anything we can read in the records of man, on a par
with the biggest dangers we can read in the records of
rock and ice.”
McKibben appealed to graduates, “What I
want to talk to you about today … is citizenship. …
Now you are needed as you were never needed
before.” “If we don't get it right, the 100th Commencement
won't be right here because this will be
underwater.“
Recognizing that Eckerd graduates a significant
number of students in environmental studies and
in marine science, McKibben said, “you know all that
I'm telling you already. But you know it with real
depth and power. You know what it means when we
say that the ocean is 30% more acidic than it was 40
years ago. That's a change on an almost epic scale. You
know what it means when we say that last summer
while you were in college the Arctic melted.”
“Every generation has its challenges, but no
generation has had a challenge like the one before
you.”
Eckerd students are already onboard, responding
to this challenge. Because he inspired more than
200 Eckerd students to travel to Washington for the
February protest against the Keystone Pipeline, President
Eastman called McKibben a “pied piper of
environmentalism.”
McKibben said, “I won't soon forget, standing
outside the White House in Washington a year ago, as
we were trying to gather enough people to circle that
White House in what was the largest, to date, demonstration
about climate that this country has ever seen.
We didn't know when we asked people to come
whether people really would. And to watch bus after
bus roll up from Eckerd College from a long, long
bus ride away — to know that this college had sent,
per capita, more students off to that demonstration,
and many other demonstrations, than any college in
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this country — was to understand that this is a key place
for the future, and you are key players for the future.”
McKibben’s 350.org, has organized 20,000 demonstrations
around the globe, inspiring worldwide
involvement by individuals and environmental groups.
The name comes from a leading climatologist who identified
the maximum safe number for carbon dioxide levels
in the atmosphere. “The day Jim Hansen announced that
number was the day I knew we’d never again inhabit the
planet I’d been born on, or anything close to it.” When
Eaarth was written, this number had already reached 390.
Now it is 400.
In the book, McKibben surveys the rise of carbon
levels stoked by the fossil fuel industry and does not
forsee enough political resolve on national levels to turn
the tide. “We have been taught to let the markets work,
and get out of the way. Clearly the markets are not saving
the oceans.” “All of us, engaging as citizens, must do the
political work to make sure something changes.” A year
ago, McKibben began a campaign to call for major universities
to divest their investments of fossil fuel related
stocks. Five have already done so.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do if we’re going to
survive on this Eaarth, but most of it needs to be done
close to home. Small, not big; dispersed, not centralized.”
McKibben identifies community actions and energy production
that help us tread more lightly on a damaged
planet — smaller farms producing varied crops as opposed
to energy intensive agri-business; wind and solar, both
achieving great success in cloudy Germany. When he flies
into Florida, he is surprised at how few solar systems are
on roofs. McKibben’s next book, Oil and Honey will be
published in September of this year.
Honorary doctorate degrees were presented to
Bill McKibben and John Lasseter, Chief Creative Officer
of Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios and parent
of a graduating senior.
Sandra Ripberger
Eckerd student Celine Currier (far left) marches on Washington
with fellow protesters. Photo by Charlie Diaz

‘FUN’ RAISING
With a twinkle in his eyes, Don Crane knows how to
put the “fun” in fund-raising! Don is a member of the
Friends of the Library (FOL) Board whose primary
mission is raising money to buy new books. He filled
the seat on the FOL Board left when his late wife,
Shirley, passed away unexpectedly in 2010. Since then
he has been reappointed and is a strong advocate for
the Library.
One of Don’s long-time passions is restoring
vintage cars. After an accident damaged his 1934 Rolls
Royce, he restored a 1954 Bentley—a gorgeous automobile
that turns heads when he takes it out on the
road! Don had occasionally donated his vintage automobiles
to benefit the SE Guide Dogs Association, an
organization in which Shirley was active.
Recently, a friend’s daughter was getting married
and Don volunteered to “chauffeur” the Bride and
Groom on their wedding day. Don arrived in a dark
suit and chauffeur’s cap to pick up the newlyweds
and showed the happy couple a great time as he ferried
them to their destination! Afterwards, when the
family wanted to thank Don, his suggestion was,
“Make a donation to the Eckerd College Library!”
And that is what they did! A generous gesture from
Don Crane became a generous donation to our
library. It was a ‘win-win’ for all! Kudos, Don!
Donald R. Crane, Jr. is a long-time Florida
resident. He was a successful independent insurance
agent, land developer, and charter board member for a
bank. He was elected to the Florida legislature, serving
two terms before deciding not to seek re-election.
Tallahassee, however, continued to call on Don, as
Governors Kirk, Askew, Graham and Chiles each
appointed him to head up a variety of Florida
transportation, environmental and land managementboards
and task forces, including the governing board
of the Southwest Florida Water Management District.
Don was the first director of the St. Petersburg
Downtown Development Corporation. He
served as President of the Pinellas Suncoast Chamber
of Commerce, and member of the Florida Chamber of
Commerce Board. With his strong interest in transportation
issues, he served as president of Floridians
for Better Transportation, on the advisory board of
the Center for Urban Transportation Research at the
University of South Florida, the Pinellas Suncoast
Transportation Authority and the Tampa Bay Regional
Transportation Authority Citizens Advisory
Committee. He was named one of the “Top Public
Officials of the 20 th Century” by the American Road
and Transportation Builders’ Association, and named
to the “Florida Transportation Builders’ Hall of
Fame.”
He is currently writing a book, No Guts
…Florida’s Wrong Turns in its Quest for Greatness.
His premise -- Florida has been built on the cheap and
now the results of those ‘gutless’ decisions are being
felt.
Don recently married the lovely Mary
Broughton, a friend dating back to their grade school
years. They share many interests and enjoy being with
friends and family at their homes in St. Petersburg and
Old Lyme, Connecticut.
Stephanie Graham
Eckerd College Featured in The
Princeton Review's 2013 Guide to
322 Green Colleges
Eckerd College is one of the 322 most environmentally
responsible colleges in the U.S. and Canada,
according to The Princeton Review. The nationallyknown
education services company profiles Eckerd in
the fourth annual edition of its free downloadable
book, The Princeton Review's Guide to 322 Green Colleges.
First recognized in the guide's inaugural edition in
2010, Eckerd
is one of nine
Florida
schools to be
noted for its
green efforts.
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BOOKNOTES Volume VII #3

Chair’s Corner
Eileen Deegan
The conclusion of each academic year is often bittersweet.
It is filled with memories, friendships, and
intellectual accomplishments but also good-byes. And
as students are often reminded, commencement does
not mean the end but rather the beginning, the going
forth to pursue new endeavors. So it is with the
Friends of the Library Board at Eckerd College.
As we look back on a successful year we wish
to thank all of the board members who have worked
very hard and contributed so much to our programs.
Thanks also for the service of: Angela Baisley, Len
Block, Naomi Block and Bill Parsons who are leaving
the board. Maxine Terry and Christine Eastman, both
experienced former board members, stepped up to fill
vacancies when they occurred late in the school year
and we thank them for their generous and willing
spirit to continue to serve. Finally, welcome to our
new members Ilda Hall Littel and Phyllis King who
have graciously accepted the duties of the FOL
Board.
It has been both an honor and a privilege to
serve as Chair and I look forward to continuing to
serve as board member. This academic year may have
The Officers for 2013-2014 are, left to right: chair,
Betty Shamas, treasurer, Jamie Gill, vice chair,
Louise Chapin, not pictured, secretary, Jane Beam
and Booknotes editor, Sandra Ripberger
come to its conclusion but the work of Eckerd College
and the goals of the Friends of the Eckerd College
Library are ongoing. We will continue to work to enrich
the library’s collections and enhance the Library’s
increasingly diversified services and resources.
To Join Friends of the Library visit
www.eckerd.edu/library. Direct questions and
comments about Booknotes to Sandra Ripberger,
Editor, sandrarip@yahoo.com.
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