Miriam Z. Langsam

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Thank you Catherine and good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. As the current President knows the IUP why senior Academy I'm pleased to welcome you to the 2017 last lecture senior accounting for your information as an independent an association of retired staff faculty whose members continue to contribute their expertise and experience to support the service research and educational ambitions by two p y. A last lecture series is sponsored by the senior Academy the IEP why administration and the IOP UI Foundation and is one of the highlights a senior can be efforts to enrich the community that we serve. Afraid. His last lecture was made famous in 2007 by Carnegie Mellon Professor Randy Pausch. A few months before his death for pancreatic cancer at age 47. He delivered a courageous last lecture in which he conveyed a life lessons. He saw as most important. His lecture that became an internet sensation and a best selling book. Last lecture series is an IEP why it's inspired by the idea of having distinguished senior colleagues share wisdom gleaned from their Wong and productive careers. Speaking from their hearts and heads as AF is true. We were their last lecture. You can access all of the IEP why last lectures given the date in their archive on the senior Academy website. This afternoon I have the privilege to honor and the pleasure of introducing one of the most dedicated most respected and most gloved persons in the annals of IU PUI to deliver this last election. She is Miriam awesome. She has American Emeritus Professor of History Emeritus Associate Dean for students in the School of Liberal Arts. Dr. moms IMU was born and grew up in Brooklyn New York. What a place right graduating from college in 1916 and earned her PhD in History from the University of Wisconsin Madison in 19 sixties up. While finishing her PhD she served as a resident lecture in the IU Indianapolis extension programming from 19641967 whereupon she was appointed Assistant Professor of History two years before I knew and Purdue Extension programs were merged to form IUP UI. In 1969 She attained the rank of full professor in 1981 and retired in 2003 after 40 years service. Mirrored is an IU PUI icon. One of the original pioneers and visionary leaders who played a key role in the development of IEP why to read her curriculum vitae is to read the story of this develo for she created much of the plot herself memory it has been a driving force in virtually every aspect of the missions of IUP BY teaching research community service and administration. Honors are legion. I will mention only a few of the outstanding ones. The Outstanding Teacher Award in 19701972 a literally a fellowship in 1975 the Outstanding Faculty Award and liberal arts. 1979 the IEP why experience excellence Recognition Award in 1984 the Alvin asked buying a manager a war in 2002. The IU PUI Outstanding Alumni Award in 2003 and IUP UIs highest Alumni Award. A mayor K hind metal in 2009. Miriam's efforts at benefited with faculty staff and administrator administration alike. But the people she carriage reward the most are our students. I wanted to read a long quote from a 2009 news story on the IOU alumni awards that are that are married him with the Hein. Now. So star looks chromatin is professor of Awesome was unmatched in her advocacy for the needs of IU. Pri student's evidence most particularly in her service as Associate Dean for students in the School of Liberal Arts from 1986 until her retirement in 2003. Dean modeled efforts on behalf of students and the institution help to frame the student-centered mission a bike and PUR or advocacy was inclusive and encompassed traditional and non traditional students alike. She worked to expand opportunities for our undergraduate academic gifted students for first-generation students for homeschooled students. For student athletes for students with disabilities for women and minority students. She derived and beyond IU PUI honors program for more than 15 years from 1981 to 1996 creating a structure that allows part-time and full-time students participating in the enrichment of it. Excuse me and available. Through this program she was none faction weight as dock via generation in pre-college gifted and talented students who participated in the Young Scholars program that she created in 1982 and directed until 1996. This was one of the first programs to present IEP why as an important resource to primary and secondary students Her work which Americans with Disabilities Act led to the creation of our university's office of adaptive education and her advocacy for hearing impaired students led to the creation of the American Sign Language and interpretive degree in the School of Liberal Arts and quote. One person knew Merriam Well what's her counterpart in the school science professor of mathematics and Associate Dean and students Joseph could cascade in an interview prior to Miriam's retirement Dean 2j couscous said her legacy with thousands of students who have experienced her as a caring and professional presence and an inspiring and challenging teaching. Enough said please welcome Dr. Miriam Langsam whose last lecture title is from Brooklyn to retirement. What I learned on the way >> Yesterday. Hello. Thank you David and thank you Kathy. Thank you friends. It's wonderful to see you all. I have been giving this speech to myself every night for two months. So I don't buy remember. I want to star in Berlin. I was three years old. When I started my education >> Both my parents work but wanted to pay for preschooler Mike all buildings all the furniture for nursing school. It was also the best cook in the family. My mother was a ball sellable though Eclair the person didn't knew more about the retirement program for education in New York City at that time I I am a proud product of public education. When I grew up >> You grew up in an almost perfect flakes. First of all I was surrounded by some of my mother's said insistence entered my father's sister and brother. It was like being in a village and they spied on and you can never get anything done about five blocks. Civil way was this field. The famous ended as a field of Dodgers Jackie Robinson Roy Kim but now we'll. We reason by the way my father caught for Pee Wee Reese and baseball leagues. And on to not realize that at all baseball teams went on an integrated until I was a little older because that's what our new. If you went a little further you went to Oberlin tanning and garments which probably has something to do with my lifelong love of flowers and growing things. It was also where I met my first screen readers know that if you went a little further than that there was at the Brooklyn Museum of Art. Now they had and one of the finest collections of Egypt mythology. And in the afternoon some time after school Senior Director point sting was in a wheelchair sat and talked to me about Egypt. He was waiting for the new Egypt lectured. Exhibited at the Brooklyn Museum. He didn't unfortunately live to see that >> But the experience of an adult talking to you as a grown-up Syria is learned and I made a tremendous impression about learning and dominance and students. I went on Erasmus whole high school about a seven minutes on the bus >> And the man some absolutely outstanding teachers. One of them Thomas Gordon. Lawrence was a southern commonwealth during the Depression. And we'd kind of a mean bids on the blackboard separating their nucleus from the rest. And that's one of the amine but died. He would sing a Latin and Greek last fall I mean by that. And at the same time I launched to the Brooklyn Academy of classifying on it. But it's a hard word might be on diatoms a wonderful elusive single-cell creature that they couldn't decide whether what some plant or an animal. But fortunately I also met a teacher in physics who was not a good teacher. He asked class and live the way I always raised my hand Which way do the William is below. Webinar de la north and south east and west and up and down. No way that's blow down how stupid could be. At that point I do not care how many calories in sugar to melt an ice cube. I forgive me. One bad teacher can really determine what you wanna do. I enter Brooklyn College as a biology major. And in my first semester I met a chemistry teacher from Switzerland who announced proud or linking to a glass probably half women than there were only two kinds of good women. Though is that load lighten Bridget Bardot. And for those of you that the Marilyn Monroe dadadadada and women who can fly out with a 40 pound pack. After very little thought I realized that I was not either one of those people. So I switched over to the liberal arts. And the way I must tell you years later when I wanted to teach the history of science and technology I would tell them maybe for an undergraduate in geology and went into the field and jam and discovered that sexism among scientists was alive and when men and many years later >> But I had a hard choice when I was at Brooklyn. I love history. I love limited Show. And I love the classics. And I might very well have follow-up data and become an Egyptologist. But when you're an Egyptologist you have to study lots of languages German and French and Russian Hebrew. And I'm this >> Discovered that it was not very good at languages. Unfortunately a man a German teacher my mother hadn't Brooklyn College and she Canada raising questions about my eight years later. I discovered that I have something called an auditory discrimination problem which is also a line. I just wanted to violin and guitar as well. Fortunately in those days or we had to do was read online which otherwise I would still be a giraffe out from college I eventually ran into some of the most wonderful teachers. Teachers that inspire me I'm fortunate to be given by John Hope Franklin. Probably Bach's time the form of African American there's a star whose books and millet sounds changed the way people studying and social and cultural history. He sent any lawful to Wisconsin. And I had a wonderful time at Wisconsin except in the year I was supposed to be writing my dissertation. I got too tired. I am going to schools and signers 4a and that was 21 years. And that is a long time to go to school. I got a job offer from a school in Minnesota that had the town had to church it is one of the Catholics. And for everyone else. Now I must tell you that when I remove world wonder there were some things and even I knew that I know one of them was Protestants. If middleware revives him and he was probably someone who is China needs. Sam who was a friend of the family and the other thing I didn't know about or at least I thought I didn't know about was surely no decent particularly in New York or a chilly helminths lots things like that. But in Chile. So seeing when I got some good scans and I had a while to learn. When I've got a second lot if I were to come to him and was former money and few classes. I took the job and came here. It was a very fortunate time to come in. 1964 although I didn't know it close to the point that the extension and the Purdue Extension would've emerge more about that later. In our teaching schedules we talk. I taught in room that had a steam heater in the bank and some of my students leaned up against the wall and when to sleep because they haven't been going since six in the morning. I found this offensive. So I taught Latin or one of the first things that I thought I was on a mission stream and we're talking the sum with no air conditioning. And the trunks on Michigan Street required to speak very long Which I did and I probably could do right now. But when I got to one of my senior class is it at night and I'm teaching Westerns sieve and we got into the world of oppression. And one of them I don't students. Oh by the way I was the youngest in the class a far different sea bed today I might one of the gentleman raised his hand and said some of us talking at a brand or an entity you don't mind. We would like to share with you our experiences of the depression in any man was and I sat down and let them talk. And it became apparent to me. Not only did I learn something better than they seem far morning engaged act they had contributed to the conversation. And as a result Einstein to the sending. And I would like to share with you a couple of stories about what happened to me and my students. First of all when I was teaching the American version I noticed that some of the students in my class hello goods Holmes didn't pay any attention whatsoever and I've found that with a business an econ students and they really didn't care until Ivan hosted the question. What do you think the Americans did from Iran if they were rejecting the British Empire where they had all sorts of suggestions. But I never answer that question. That started me on and try to engage students in learning by excluding their interests. One of my favorite stories came about the time of the War of 1812. Now assume that most of you don't remember what happened after the war of 1812 lacking follows telegraphs iPads et cetera. The Battle of New Orleans was after the war was over and the Americans did extremely well. So well that they bundled off several leading officers of the British army. And then the question arose I told my students what to do with the body as well. The students said let's just bear. Do you know how you get to be an officer in the British on. At that time you had to be of nobility and accomplishes your commission was just leave noblemen from awaited him Buried in New Orleans they would have sunk into the water and it would have been very bad. So the question is why don't to deal with the bodies and if I had a good class I could encourage them and they make suggestions. I must admit it that all classes were easy to do that. We're going to take some seem sensible. Does everybody know how well the team from New Orleans to an English poet. One of the noblemen would want a rod back. We finally decided that we mine sold them. And I've said it they would come back all need login. So we finally put them in wrong. That is good for tabling things. And this was especially painful for the clients that a man early in the morning. Cause when they got back to England >> The case had been shrank by the body was still there but at the end of the course of the last letter. So we talked about why it was. So the first thing they always said chairs all those horrible chairs and looked at them and said did you ever scrape your knee when you or if she hadn't played and I'm going to eat your mom being put on in alcohol >> What do you think R1 is alcohol in fact I mentioned that we didn't even know about germs then so it wasn't possible for anybody who would be upset germs. And they said but it was about I said vaccines may your potatoes and it's not quite on bottom but still. If I had a good class it would be somebody who was suspicious about them >> Whole score I remember reading about that in my textbook. Well think of it this way. Do you know how many books on the Civil War are published every year a 100 or so. There's no way a textbook could contain all of the things and they don't want to excite students so they leave out all the goods off. It also makes the teachers a little bit more interesting. To students more suspicious >> So I would say sometimes I had to leave them on a little to get them to think about this. To prove that I faced was to you right here in the front of the classroom. And we would have a discussion about historiography. Of course we never mentioned the word historiography or one establishes when something is true. An issue which is very prominent recently I understand anyhow. So much for the balance. And the interesting thing that one has when I'm teaching a second hash history I'd want him to get the students involved. So go talk to their parents about the Depression and World War two >> Students found that an interesting one to remind young. First-time. Sarin people that talk to parents or back fire. And I flipped backwards grouping. Imitation asked students to bring in a recipe an ethnic recipe for to show the influence of folks from a board that still existed the day the project within o. And we're going to make a recipe book. One of the stimulus to the side of the remnant said I'm sorry my family mirror 100% America. Any farm recipes. It was about the time of Thanksgiving. So I asked him what they did for Thanksgiving. He said turn pecan pie grain games. What everybody else does >> But I'm very sorry. I said one of them in this course Duffy and Cambridge painted what everyone else does. Sarah crack. Well it turns out that and his family lived in the south of Indianapolis above than German farmers with their houses. But what shocked me and the rest of the class Y that remaining in modern times A person who could truly believe that the rest of the bus stop or Turkey sauerkraut. Now to be fair sauerkraut its voice. It's salty it's veggie. So it makes perfectly good sense. But the fact that students live in their own worlds have did not share with me and with part of the plant the same symbols the same vocabulary the same appreciation for things was a very important lesson >> Again trying to make sure that communication from me was actually reaching the students in my teaching to me was a critical part. And as David mentioned in his last lecture it is in fact the critical mission of the public universities to educate students to think and to write. And to be somewhat aware of the world around them >> I have one more interesting story about what I've learned from my students. One day when I was with the dean the associate dean for students. One of my colleagues from sociology with her on linked around that young man came walking into my office and said. To him my girl students. Notice Danny was packing a gun. Now for those of you who don't know IMP UI has a policy that no unpacks a gun unless you're a millionaire was police officer >> And so I said to the young man thinking you know what the rules are. And he said yes I do. But I work for a war that deals with there and contentious violent divorces. And so what I wanted to protect myself I have been gone call the office and see if i'm not telling the truth. So I called the office and gotten a woman's voice. And I said she said oh my god batch drying >> And then she said did you know it was legally blind and it's possible for legally blind people to care and it's so dangerous to be Indian students. Now I don't want to switch gears and talk about the second leg on the on the tripod but in addition to teaching and that is service >> For many of us and for many of you in this room when we first came to PUI in Western IUP you want. It was I believe extension. Purdue Extension. By the way Purdue Extension of voided coming down to campus for ceremony it is because they weren't sure they approved. And in addition to that I knew and Purdue. And as a result we had no rules all answered rules that were in the way of students happy in education. Now I must tell you. Some of you may know this that I am abiding ski. Probably due to lack of administrative proficiency rather than a job description that told me what I was supposed to do and what I was not supposed to do. I suppose if they could back the administration when real likes that was a serious one state >> So with the help of many of my friends some of whom are here. We began to build a structure that helps do. We for example infer still came back and wanting to change some grains that they had gotten some horrible X would these. Because they hadn't enrolled in the armed forces. They can't go to every single school and pick on a separate piece of paper and follow >> Different rules on how to proceed. With the help of one of my favorite my favorite admitted Murray API PEC academic policies and procedures that had the other assistant and associate deans. We pump that's me pushing down agreeing mostly to Bombay and all the forms into one form. And one procedure. And with the help of Mark grow our registrar redeemed everything wonderful and kept our athletes at a travel for years. We created a single form. And that sort of was the beginning. I ran gifted programs and met a high school principal from one of the local high schools who said. My students won't take advanced placement because they know they are coming to IMP uh why and when they get here they won't get credit for advanced placement. Sour Just around some more and we discard joke whose couch seek help me gather data. I went to Purdue people and said If you don't work and we combine and get an IMU pin you wanted policy can show you how you can palpate on u. Then I went up to the idea that people hadn't told them the same little Fib that the Purdue policy but it's going to be stuck on. No one was came up with emerging powers and it really was helpful. We also aren't in dozens of other policies to help our students. An addition to that. We began to create the programs. David mentioned some of them the Women's Studies program the African-American studies program. And something I really loved the individualized major product great. You may not know but we have had students graduate from PUI with degrees in classics. Now it took a little juggling. The voices that Bob Sutton taught a buy-in from the medical school who taught Latin and some courses from Ball State. And a few from Buchla. It wasn't debris. And one of those students who was an interestingly are not in the span program. Number span program was a program that David mentioned which was to allow high school students to take advanced courses at IEP you on. And for students very bright and had dropped out of high school. One of those students that came to the university through the span program is currently a tenured track faculty a tenured faculty member at P1. We know departments we built all sorts of things. The honors program was very special to me. Done a dime of the economics department helped create it. Of course we didn't get very much funding from central administration. So running the gifted and talented program and bringing in a million dollars in grant money gave us money to one keep a secretary full time. And to pull off a Faculty Fellowships to develop honors classes and scholarships for students. Today the honors program is doing a blank better with money from the administration but in those days we didn't have it. So we had to do them and know that area which we work in What is adaptive educational services and most of you know Pam came. And between the two of us there was hardly anything anybody could do to stop us. When ADA passed our campus was the only campus. In the island system. I can't speak to Purdue. That actually did what we were supposed to do and actually made some of the changes that allowed ten limbs staff and faculty. To find by higher education working for a higher education institution palatable Pam even cleared vocations a boy so that students could go abroad. These may seem like small things. But I think institutionally they were very important. And I owe a lot of my success and how will they do these things to cabin or hole because when I came to campus and even when I taught at the extension we had everybody together. I'm in people in social work. People embeddedness Island people in nursing and having signed world in some way prevent a lot of that happening. I also served and thousands of committees. I think one-year I counted 60. We also did something else on campus. That was very important. Was the great divide between the north part of Michigan Street and the second part of Michigan Street. And one of the ways that was first bridged was in the ball things Bowen's overview where faculty members for tenure what denied tenure for various reasons and through the border reviewed or we reverse the Department of Medicine I won't mention names. And the faculty met a precinct tenure. Maybe drawing in professional schools was an important part of building either PUI. Whether it was dentistry more or the medical school. And I think this was equally important to creating the kind of institution that became. Now I have to check my clock to sing how much time. Well I will just tell you two more stores. Stop. Hardly any My mind because he's from Brooklyn. The first story is about my proudest achievement. I gotta tie in when advising students that I had to find a bullet from every school. Some of them didn't have some of that day that ADA. So with the support of Bill planar and might be PPC committee we put together the first single bullet for PUI >> Combining materials and all those bullet wounds have rubber be introduction. I didn't meet index and I held the liver the things and they were henry bulk Earth. Now that only lasted a few years maybe three years in printed form before it online. But to me it was very symbolic of the fact that we were coming together as a university that we could be put together in a single volume and that it was a tremendous help to advisors >> To students and to people who might want to come to IGP. Now one final story. As you might have gathered I was very proud of my institution. And I hated people who went holy and so on. >> I made up a story and I'm going to tell you my story. Once upon a time there was a new university in California and they called it. Hello. After awhile they didn't call it output. And we don't call our institution that bad word. We call it IMP a woman. And we might be proud of it. Thank you >> Now I understand anybody want this microphone and ask a question Or I can just scale. I wonder talk a little bit about when you were doc but I capital D And tell us what happened in bands. You still have the unclick finance. I don't think that we're talking about the younger scholars program >> Just once established to take stimulus from the third to the tenth grade and have them on campus with the opportunity to take gifted courses taught by faculty or staff. It's interesting I got a phone call from a vice principal because during lunchtime the kidneys actually talk to each other. And the principal said that some fifth graders we're talking to fourth graders and would I please stop that. They were playing chess. Then we're trading cards. There were also questions about what a young person could possibly learn. Mandarin Chinese in a very short period. And what I said was that I believe the brain was like an insect I. And if any of you know what an insect I look slide or some of them. They have thousands of little places on nearby. And my theory was that if anything happens to open one of those little shutters that bin Laden years maybe not even remembering why students my study Chinese might study Asian culture my studying theater. And that this was a way of broadening. I still lose opportunities to notice a world. I have a picture at home which I nearly brought which shows me in Sean's center dragging a little red wagon. That's how it was taking supplies to the Young Scholars program. It was a wonderful and I think probably my most important teaching experience in my entire life we had a course on geology. And I'm showing the students how In some way or your maps they have isobars. That show dishes were 8060 50% is Well thank you take wires and you drown data or what those circles. You get really of what that was. And if those isobars are mountains what you get is a picture of topography and that verbal boy look at me with a look in his honor that I have never seen since. And you could just see it running through his brain he well that idea and understood. And it was just outstanding anyhow. I don't know what else you want to hear. I can't hear you. My kids are considerably past the age invincible. Now just hold there but homodyne him to this day they always calling u dot and I'm calling you Dr. lengths and they don't call it you know it's not an tongue a little bit about that when kids working with the kids you didn't mentioned enhance them did you know I don't know if this is for reference the hats. But when I retired I had a retirement party and it was cold. And everybody was supposed to wear different kinds of hacks to celebrate the fact that I had so many different paths that I wore while I was at IMP your Y. A dot. Googler to nickname is the kids sort of thought it was a big name for me. That's what I mean something that does what does the kids came up with to call him and you know the worst quiesce them up well the most challenging class. We once had something playing for vendor to infinity third to tenth graders any rain. And we went into a lecture hall. And fortunately I had prepared something like this. And for lots of other reasons I had a series of slides of childhood. And so extra water to this nice group bulb from whatever lecture halls. I would talk to them about childhood. And I got as far as Egypt And there is a very famous relief a land manager surveyor with his head on a child's head. The man himself was blind and the child led him around on whose duties. Don't ask me how he did land surveying being blind. I don't know that. And I said to the kids what do you think about that spending your entire day >> Leading this guy around the discussion that followed was unnamed using. First of all people the kids wanted to kill off the adults. Now I don't know if you've ever stood in front of a group of folks who want to kill a lot of the adults. But it was an amazing discussion about food and living in education. But it was tough >> And that was the worst. Thanks. Yes. As you know you you you shouldn't have to go national international YMCA like many others who are going to be one of those >> That has to do I think that we have some very fine scholars that have certainly added. We have had people who are great researchers. But I think the bottom line is that we waste the early generations work together for a common purpose and goal. We had an understanding of a metropolitan university that would serve the needs of the city. In fact my carer the stadium is now named after him was one of the fathers of AI and PUI in some funny ways because he and a group of other people said we have to have an international well known institution in Indianapolis. If this subsidy It's going to be important maybe not the biggest not the best in some ways. But higher education is critical to this city. And so from the beginning we had support of the mayors and the various political people with the idea of making a great institution. And I think many of you in this room contribute into the efforts with your teaching with new programs with the various centers. And together that effort that dedication that commitment staff faculty and administrators helped the other thing I would leave you with is that committee sitting in committees. It's exceedingly boring. The only way to survive is to learn how to do. And I have notes at home that are doodles. And in fact at my retirement party Amy Jones and crew made two of my doodles and chill little figures. So I would recommend that if you are not already proficient in doodling that you'd get some colored pencils. Because it allows you to both do something with your hands and listen and make positive improvements to this campus. Destin law much of things to be done. One more one more questions Dr. exit. But great great privilege and honor to be here with you at you here regardless a career. Let's again reflected or as I like to ask if you would reflect on the experience you have leaders that with Dr. Taylor and others may have made an important contribution to the work that you have gotten to regular community and the university together. Joe Taylor was an absolutely wonderful man who understood administration. He had on the corner of his desk a pile of papers received from the administration. And when he was asked to do something but she didn't think would be helpful to the School of Liberal Arts. He moved those papers to the bottom of the pile. Not all of our genes did that. But he did and he was actually a relative a John Hope Franklin's. The professor I mentioned >> And he was a man who had a vision of what if Campus could be and I learned from him. I learned also how can we ignore the administration which was helpful some time am I done David we become pick you up. But he's a wonderful inflections likelihoods. Oh wonderful. By the Vice President were gotten Foundation was special. Can you hear it Excellent. Thank you. It's a pleasure today into bad one. Let's try this again. Some reflections at truly captures the spirit >> I want to just hang out like close to each other. Shall we arrived OK cool. Doctor I let's try one more time. Dr. Langsam. Usually reflections today have truly captured the spirit and the essence of the last lecture series. Your presentation. If this were your last lecture what would you share with your colleagues and students at this moment in your life is both insightful and provides a unique perspective for all of us. Thank you for your caring your commitment and your passion which have played a vital role in making IU PUI what it is today >> You had touched the lives of countless students faculty staff for more than the entire life of the campus. Thank you for that. Indiana University Foundation has been proud to support the IVP like last lecture for the last for the past nine years. And on behalf of the Foundation I am honored to recognize this prestigious location with this honorarium. Congratulations. I want to make a comment. Here. We're game to join Professor Langsam upstage birth special recognition UIs that senior and distinct. But she didn't tell me this. Because surprise I'm going to abandon this microwave miriam IUP. Why senior can award you a plaque appreciation and sincere. Thanks. For your presentation of this year's. Last what. I also hear a lot these days but statutes. Which means I have one staff while you were our age or one more senior. Girls were people wonder like her boss. Note also that there's Bayesian our laws or our senior coordinators or it's all astronauts were spatially. So what he's doing and myself are recessed