St. Ambrose Legends Retire - St. Ambrose University

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Tech Revolution? Nope, Evolution Rich Legg watches the parade of thumbs dancing across smartphone keyboards as students exit his biology classes and he wonders if they might better be served by a few minutes alone with their thoughts. The rapid march of technology dramatically has changed the world and the world of education since Legg came to St. Ambrose in 1978. On the other hand, Legg would argue, not much has changed at all. “Students really haven’t changed,” he said. “They’re 20 years old. They’re narcissistic sons-of-guns. It’s their job.” That, of course, is a taste of the sardonic wit for which Legg will be remembered when he retires from teaching in May. In a more serious vein, his intellectual training tells him that what seems like a technological revolution really is just the earth spinning on its axis. “I’m an evolutionary biologist,” he said. “Thirty years is nothing, for gosh sakes.’’ Between Legg’s birth in New York City in 1950 and his arrival at St. Ambrose, the television transformed society, too, he noted. Before that, the telephone, the automobile and the airplane changed the world as well. “The automobile basically shaped the planet the last century,” Legg said. He did concede that “nothing impacted education, short of the printing press, more than the computer. You have instant access to so many ideas you would never even have encountered before.” He said he wishes students did not come to his classroom as jobfocused as they now seem. Yet, on the whole, Legg insisted, “I still see our students as largely having the same quality. They read and write about as well as students I had 30 years ago. I don’t know about penmanship, because you don’t see it.” But, oh my, can those thumbs dance. About those bows … There is a simpler explanation than you might imagine to those bow ties the lanky Professor Legg has made his signature during his 30 years at SAU. Traditional, overhanging ties were a bit of a problem when the biologist put an eye to a microscope. But that’s not to say Legg isn’t also a bit of a non-conformist. He donned his first bow to deliver his master’s oral summation. “Along with cardinal red pants with big billowing sheep on them,” he said. “I guess it was some kind of a statement.” So’s the bow. Legg owns 50 of them: “One for every class in a semester,” he said. And nope. No clip-ons. He ties his bows. “Just like putting a shoe on your neck,” he explained. Rich Legg “I’m an evolutionary biologist. Thirty years is nothing.” 12
“Now we know that there are other types of music that are worthy of our study and respect. I really like where music has gotten to in my lifetime.” Joan Trapp Trapp Rhymes with Rap For the record, Joan Trapp does not own an MP3 player. But among a case of CDs she packed for a recent drive to visit her mother in Indianapolis, the Jay-Z/Kanye West collaboration “Watch the Throne” got the heaviest play. That’s right. Joan Trapp—small-town Iowan, accomplished classical pianist, doctor of musical arts—has gone hip-hop. Just a little, anyway. “It’s a fabulous album, very artful, “ she said of a CD she was vetting for discussion in music appreciation classes in her final semester at St. Ambrose. “ I was really amazed how much I did like it. It became not just a listening exercise for class.“ After 38 years in the St. Ambrose music department, Trapp’s appreciation for music has not waned and the advent of new technology only has created more avenues to appreciate wider ranges and different genres. “I don’t see a downside,” said Trapp, who noted doors to new music have been opened by radio options like Sirius and internet sites such as Pandora and YouTube. Surprisingly, much like the students she remembers from when she arrived here in 1973, modern collegians remain a bit narrow in their tastes. Trapp said she challenges them to open their minds and ears. “To me, the risk of taking on new and different music is something that I enjoy,” she said. “So you don’t like it? OK. Don’t go back there. But there is so much that is worth trying.” Trapp’s central interest is classical music. Yet, even there, easier access has helped push boundaries beyond the proverbial “Dead White Men,” she said. “Those are still wonderful composers,” she said. “But now we know that there are other types of music that are worthy of our study and respect. I really like where music has gotten to in my lifetime.” About that piano … More than 50 years at her craft doesn’t afford a pianist the luxury of not practicing. “A lot of my own self-respect is tied up in getting to the piano every day,” said Trapp. “So, of course, I feel horrible on days that I don’t. If I can get in three hours a day, I feel pretty good.” There are days, though, when she can squeeze in only an hour or two at best. So (current students, please stop reading) what gives then? “I should practice scales and arpeggios and such,” she said, before sheepishly confessing: “I don’t always.” 13
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St. Ambrose Legends Retire - St. Ambrose University

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