Magazine - summer 03 - St. John's College

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48 {St. John’s Forever} st. john’s college archives/greenfield library An Accidental Architect One of the most important men in the modern history of St. John’s College was also one of the preeminent figure of 20th-century architecture. John Gaw Meem was born to missionary parents in Brazil, earned an engineering degree at Virginia Military Institute, then went to New York to work for his uncle’s construction company. After World War I, during which he served as an army captain, Meem choose a career in international banking. He had just begun a new job when he developed tuberculosis, and to regain his health, went to the Sunmount Sanatorium in Santa Fe. His interest in architecture and the culture of the Southwest was kindled during the five years he spent at the sanatorium, and after he recovered, he took a job with the Denver architecture firm of Fisher & Fisher. From 1924—when he designed a home for a fellow patient at the sanatorium—until his retirement in 1959, Meem was one of the most influential architects of the West. He was credited with creating the Territorial Revival style of architecture. In addition to his professional accomplishments, he was a civic leader in Santa Fe and a major figure in the preservation of the city’s historic architecture. The idea for an expansion campus of St. John’s initially came from a citizens’ group in Monterey, Calif., but though the interest was there, the funding was not. In 1960, then-president Richard Weigle was corresponding with California backers when a group of Santa Fe citizens came forward to make their bid for the college. Meem and his wife, Faith, donated John Gaw Meem (left), shown with thenpresident Richard Weigle and shaking hands with former assistant to the president William Hooton, was a founding benefactor of the Santa Fe campus. His gift of 225 acres of land made the founding of the campus possible. 225 acres northeast of their home for the college. Meem later assisted with his successor firm, Holien & Buckley, on the design of the college. In Facing Southwest: The Life and Houses of John Gaw Meem, the architect is described as someone that any Johnnie would welcome at the seminar table: “Meem knew how to ask questions and then be quiet and listen, how to identify common interests, and how to allow imaginations and enthusiasms to mingle.” In 1990, the college named its newly completed library in Santa Fe for Faith and John Gaw Meem. x { The College • St. John’s College • Fall 2004 }
{Alumni Events Calendar} Clockwise top: PARALLEL UNIVERSE, by Betsy Williams, SF87; REDUCTION, by Donna Loraine Contractor, SF82; SILVER BARK BROOCH, by Nancy Kahn DeMulder, SF80. Santa Fe Whitewater Rafting Trip June (details on date and location pending) Homecoming 2005 Friday July 1-Sunday July 3, 2005 Join the classes of: 1970, 75, 80, 85, 90, 95, and 2000, celebrating their reunions, at Santa Fe this summer. Summer Alumni Program July 4-8 A special Eastern Classics Alumni Seminar week will be offered with two additional seminars. Alumni Art Show A Success This year’s Alumni Art Show featured paintings, drawings, photographs, sculpture, jewelry, video, textiles, and glasswork from 22 Santa Fe and Annapolis alumni. Opening over Homecoming Weekend July 3, the show was on display in the college’s Fine Arts Gallery through August 30. In addition this year, the Alumni Association Board’s Events Action Team sponsored a breakfast and meeting for alumni artists seeking some guidance in turning their art into a business. Geoffrey Gorman, from Advisory Services for Artists, offered a presentation on how to put together a professional portfolio and how to approach commercial galleries. Interested in including your work in next year’s show? Contact Maggie Magalnick in Santa Fe: Maggie.magalnick@sjcsf.edu Annapolis Third Annual Alumni/Student Networking Reception Sunday, November 21, 4-7 pm. Check the Alumni section of the Web site for updated calendar information. Back cover: Photo by Peter Howard, 1998 { The College • St. John’s College • Fall 2004 }
Page 1 and 2: College The F a l l 2 0 0 4 St. Joh
Page 3 and 4: College The Fall 2004 Volume 30, Is
Page 5 and 6: {From the Bell Towers} 3 Gilliam Ha
Page 7 and 8: {From the Bell Towers} 5 Satisfied
Page 9 and 10: {Letters} 7 Free Thought and Reason
Page 11 and 12: {Eastern Classics} 9 and people int
Page 13 and 14: “The city—and a lot of the coun
Page 15 and 16: {Johnnies Abroad} 13 understood her
Page 17 and 18: {Johnnies Abroad} 15 “The guerill
Page 19 and 20: {Johnnies Abroad} 17 bellows invita
Page 21 and 22: {Culture and Context} 19 From the c
Page 23 and 24: {Culture and Context} 21 “The Naz
Page 25 and 26: {Commencement} 23 david trozzo but
Page 27 and 28: {Commencement} 25 david trozzo No c
Page 29 and 30: {Homecoming} 27 Opposite top: Futur
Page 31 and 32: {Bibliofile} 29 The Man in the Moon
Page 33 and 34: {Alumni Profile} 31 This painstakin
Page 35 and 36: {Alumni Notes} 33 practitioner, an
Page 37 and 38: {Alumni Notes} 35 more efficiency,
Page 39 and 40: {Alumni Notes} 37 2004 and will be
Page 41 and 42: {Alumni Notes} 39 After graduating
Page 43 and 44: {Obituaries} 41 tion of the heart.
Page 45 and 46: {Croquet} 43 Clockwise: Johnnies ad
Page 47 and 48: {Alumni Voices} 45 method less fuel
Page 49: {Alumni Association News} 47 Passio

Magazine - summer 03 - St. John's College

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