myAuggieexperienceCourtesy photosA pilgrimage to find my college mentor: Professor F. Mark Davis“Who in your life do you consider your mentors?”Oregon author George Wright’s inquiry to me came from his ownexperience of locating a long-lost store manager who had once befriendedhim. Twenty-five years later, a search by Wright led to a reunionand frequent luncheon meetings. Pondering the importance ofpositive influences, especially in one’s early years, gave Wright a plotline <strong>for</strong> his 2009 book, Driving to Vernonia.I recently followed the lead of Wright’s protagonist, EdmundKirby-Smith, whose search <strong>for</strong> his mentor takes him to a small Oregontown. I sought an important teacher in my life: <strong>Augsburg</strong> <strong>College</strong>English advisor Professor F. Mark Davis.Finding Davis was no small challenge. Internet searches werefruitless. No <strong>Augsburg</strong> contacts I made were helpful. A letter to anotherretired English professor revealed that Davis when leaving Minneapolisbecame a dean of a small, unidentified college in the East.In 1970, Donald Q. Smith ’70 invited his mentor, EnglishDepartment chair F. Mark Davis, to his parents’ home inMonticello, Minn.Davis (right) and Smith, both now retired, were reunitedwhen the <strong>for</strong>mer student successfully searched <strong>for</strong> hisadvisor and visited him in suburban Washington, D.C.And then came vital help from a most unlikely source: a financialrecruiter combing a list of alumni in the Northwest. We had a friendlyvisit <strong>for</strong> an hour in a downtown Portland hotel, which ended cordially,even though I revealed that our estate planning directs an educationalgift not to <strong>Augsburg</strong> but rather to the foundation of the shared highschool of my wife, Nancy, and me. That was acceptable to David Benson,who then asked: “Is there anything I can do <strong>for</strong> you?”“Yes, find Mark Davis!” I abruptly responded.That he did, querying a contact at <strong>Augsburg</strong> I had not tried. Firstto come to me from Benson was a chronology of Davis's educationaldegrees and positions. That led to an e-mail to his undergraduateschool in Tennessee (Bryan <strong>College</strong>), which <strong>for</strong>warded my e-mail tohim. Within days, an e-mail arrived from my one-time professor.Davis, who had come to <strong>Augsburg</strong> as English Department chair in1968 when I was a junor, expressed delight at the contact. Duringhis first two years in Minneapolis, we spent considerable time togetherin the classroom (including a course in his specialty, Chaucer)and in department meetings (I was a student appointee to facultymeetings). He and his wife, Kay, once hosted Nancy and me in theirsouth Minneapolis home at a gathering of English majors. He evenhad made the one-hour trip by car to Monticello to visit our hometownand meet my parents.More amazing than finding him after months of occasionalsearches was the discovery of his home in retirement in SilverSpring, Md., just weeks be<strong>for</strong>e my five-day visit to the same area.One evening, I determined, could be devoted to meeting with mymentor whom I had not seen since the early ’70s.Mark was waiting outside the entrance to his building in theirsprawling retirement community. The professor I knew when he wasnearing 38 (I was 22) appeared somewhat like the man in the 1970picture that carried. For the next hour and a half, the four of us satin their apartment, reflecting on careers, familyand grandchildren, travel, what we read today,retirement activities, people from <strong>Augsburg</strong> wemutually knew.There were parallels in our lives: We both havesons in the San Francisco Bay Area. We choseour retirement cities to be near grandchildren.We have downsized from larger, single-familyhomes to urban housing complexes. We reflected,with personal satisfaction, on our workinglives—college professor and dean of students(Mark), weekly newspapering (Don) and K-12 education(Kay and Nancy).Time didn’t permit reminiscing about the courses we shared at<strong>Augsburg</strong> ... or how a <strong>for</strong>mer English major and a professor later appliedtheir studies in different pursuits. Nor did we reflect on the frequentcampus turbulence during the ’60s from protests against theVietnam War to the necessary demands <strong>for</strong> justice and equality byboth black Americans and women.As a gift, I brought a Wright-signed copy of Driving to Vernonia <strong>for</strong>Davis. In the fictional “Vernonia,” Edmund’s search <strong>for</strong> mentorRichard Vickerman was (in the author’s words) “awkward, suspensefuland tinged with risk.” Not so <strong>for</strong> me. Rather my personal (andsuccessful) drive to find Mark Davis was easy to do, without risk, andfulfilling.DONALD Q. SMITH ’70Former editor and publisher of the Monticello, Minn., Times; he lives in Portland,Ore., where he occasionally writes “Don’s Column”-like pieces as if he still has anewspaper deadline. He can be reached at donaldqsmith@yahoo.com.52 <strong>Augsburg</strong> Now
anaugsburglegacyHazel Thorson Stoeckeler“While I’m not an Auggie by degree …I know <strong>Augsburg</strong> makes such a difference<strong>for</strong> so many students. Through mycharitable gift annuities, I know my giftswill make a difference <strong>for</strong> future Auggies,and I receive added financial security.”1-800-273-0617 www.augsburg.edu/giving
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