Lift the Chorus: Cornell Stories
Tisch chair keeps top professors in the classroom.
James and Andrew Tisch
When Walter LaFeber learned that he had been named the first Andrew H. and James S. Tisch Distinguished University Professor, he thought, "Andy and Jim Tisch must have been listening in on history department discussions." Explains LaFeber, "We've been considering how we would replace people who are retiring or will be retiring. This award is significant because it provides the kind of resources we need to maintain the high level of teaching quality that's been a tradition in the history department and at Cornell."
The Tisch Distinguished Professorship, established in October 2001 by Andrew Tisch '71 and James Tisch '75, is awarded to a senior faculty member who is recognized as a leader in his or her academic field, a superior teacher, and someone who has greatly "influenced his or her students' thinking, values, and understanding of the world." The Tisch brothers designated that the chair be awarded to a senior professor who has retired or is nearing retirement, with the intent of keeping outstanding teachers in the classroom. Tisch professors will focus exclusively on undergraduate teaching and will have no research or administrative responsibilities.
"Walter LaFeber was the inspiration for this professorship," says Andrew Tisch, chairman of the executive committee of Loews Corporation. "He's had such a tremendous effect on so many people, on so many generations of students. The fact that Walter is the first recipient is what makes this idea so powerful." Andrew notes that the idea came to him and his brother James, chief executive officer of Loews, following a pre-30th anniversary reunion dinner he hosted for his class in November 2000. "Walter was invited to lecture and he did so in his special way, using very few slides and that precise manner of speaking for which he is known. For the 50 minutes that he spoke, we were all transported back in time to 30 years ago, sitting in Bailey Hall listening to him lecture. There were 70 or 80 people in the room that night, and we all thought it was magical."
After the dinner Andrew talked with his brother. "We heard that he (LaFeber) was considering retiring, and that got us thinking: Why not set up a professorship that would ideally be given to someone who has been an outstanding teacher throughout his or her career and who is thinking about retiring? The professorship would help extend an excellent teacher's time in the classroom," James Tisch explains.
LaFeber, the Marie Underhill Noll Professor Emeritus of American History, says he is flattered to be the inaugural recipient of the Tisch professorship. "I've always been very aware of how our alumni are committed to teaching. I know Andy and Jim and their commitment to Cornell. So I especially feel personally honored to be given this chair in their names."
The Tisch professorship brings with it another key benefit in that it enables the university to fill an additional faculty position. "The professorship makes it possible for departments to make orderly transitions since it opens up another faculty line. The history department can take Walter's endowed chair and give it to someone else and at the same time, we can keep great teachers like Walter teaching," Andrew Tisch says.
"Walt LaFeber really captures the spirit of this professorship," James Tisch adds. "At the heart of this professorship is great teaching. This will make it possible for professors who have been excellent, who have built a career working with and teaching students, to continue in the classroom for a few more years so that more students can benefit from their wisdom."
Adapted from Communiqué, Summer 2002. Originally written by Joe Zappala.