St. Ambrose Legends Retire - St. Ambrose University

Reading Really is Fundamental
Books fill every nook and more than a
few crannies of Paul Jacobson’s Ambrose
Hall office. Although he will confess to
being a fanatical supporter of order, the
longtime St. Ambrose philosophy professor
finds comfort amid the stacks.
The idea of tidily transferring his collection
of books to an e-reader he could hold
in one hand? That’s a concept more foreign
than the tranquil Quad Cities once seemed
to a New Jersey kid who grew up across the
bay from bustling Manhattan.
Jacobson’s passion for the printed page
is a philosophy he has been sharing with his
St. Ambrose students since he arrived on
campus in 1977. And it’s one he will continue
to espouse until his last class closes its
books in mid-May.
“Maybe people will be glad I’m gone
because this approach seems so outmoded
to many students,” he said. “But I tend to
use the Xerox machine a lot because I want to get words into the
students’ hands and I want them to read things carefully.”
Reading drew Jacobson to teaching and philosophy.
“Reading really changed my life,” he said. “And I don’t mean
deciphering letters. I mean learning how to milk a text. I mean to
really take it apart. Some of the works of Plato I have read many,
many times and I am still finding things I didn’t see before. And I
try to communicate that excitement of discovering meaning to my
classes.”
As both the world and the word grow more digital, Jacobson fears
texting and tweeting are being confused for reading and writing.
“What are you capable of expressing in 140 characters?” he asked.
“The shortest Platonic dialog is 17 pages of text.”
Jacobson conceded the immediate availability of information
today is an educational gold mine.
“The challenge,” he said, “is to help people—not just students,
faculty as well—mine all that information. They have to be
challenged to read important things and to read them closely and
carefully.”
About those jackets …
The short answer? Pockets.
“I smoked for a long time,” Jacobson said of the cotton,
multi-pocketed, safari-style coats he has sported almost daily
through his 34-year St. Ambrose career. “I always had my
cigarettes one place. I’ve got a calendar here. I’ve got my coffee
card up here. Single dollar bill down here. Nail clipper. Key fob.
Banjo picks. I’m organized in a world that seems to resist my
best efforts.”
So no deeper, philosophical explanation for owning a dozen
or more such jackets? Well, he confessed, “It’s not quite an
academic gown, but it is a uniform.”
Paul Jacobson
“I am still finding things I didn’t see before. And I try to
communicate that excitement of discovering meaning to my classes.”
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