DR. DAN GOODMAN

Dr. Goodman came to Frostburg State University under the two year contract he had come to be so very fond of. Get in, get out, teach some things, shake the students, move on to fresh new lives. Such was his philosophy (as I understood it). Dan is one of those professors who borders on the radical, and reminds me of the great free thinkers who have rumbled more than one person's world view, much like a Kuhnian "outer circle" free-thinking questioner. Indeed, he is liberal, flirts with Marxism, is certainly a prominent free-thinker, and is better than most at persuasion to his paradigm. He had (still has) all of the characteristics of a professor who does just that: moves in, rattles the students about a bit, causes fundamental shifts in world view, and moves on, like an evangelist of free-will, running away with his newly fattened acumenical checkbook to lounge on Dover beach and laugh.

Dan didn't expect what he found at FSU. Sure, we had our erudite, intellectually nubile sect of students who were prime meat for Dan's intellectual pedophilia and mental fondling, but he was surprised (and, I have no doubt, disappointed) to find that our minds had already been seized by another, a most unexpected other.

That other was Dr. Glynn Baugher. Glynn had been described by Dan as "an old-order member of the crusty literati" Glynn appeared to be unassuming, certainly not radical, rarely muttered a word of opinion on anything other than literature and language, was a typical hard-nosed grader with high expectations of us students, and yet HE had siezed us all: he held our minds as he might his favorite pen, and with them could scribe eloquent prose and really nifty handwriting. Dan was confounded. He decided to stay, as it became his mission in life to discover what it was that this old-order member was doing that he could commandeer the minds of the free-thinking students without a breath of radicalism.

I certainly cannot answer the question, and I am as puzzled as Dan. Yet, a few incidents shed some insight into the issue for both Dan and me. Dr. Baugher is an ardent fan of Samuel Johnson, in fact, he nearly lives for Johnson. One day, Dr. Goodman made a statement which he concluded with "I refute him thus", or something quite similar, and asked if anyone knew the allusion. One of our Baugherian sect answered Samuel Johnson. Dr. Goodman became visibly animated, declared nearly violently that Samuel Johnson didn't have everything intelligent to say, and proclaimed, "I have come to FSU to end this Baugher tyranny!"

Needless to say, we of the Baugher group were most entertained by this display and announcement, and of course, being the drones we were, rushed to our next class (which happened to be Dr. Baugher's "Age of Johnson" class) and reported the event in vivid detail. Dr. Baugher was terribly amused. He, of course, knew that it was Johnson who said, "I refute him thus," in reference to Barclay's philosophy, and kicked a rock to illustrate his point. We decided (actually, it was my idea, and I started a mini-movement) that our class should storm Dr. Goodman's class and declare the true author of the statement, and defend his honor. Much to our surprise, Dr. Baugher capitulated, and storm we did. Our class poured into Dr. Goodman's class, interrupting his lecture, and with Dr. Baugher as our fearless leader, we announced that "I refute him thus" was indeed said by Samuel Johnson. Dr. Goodman, and his students, were shocked, surprised, and in no small way irritated.

The incident was the most radical thing I have ever seen Dr. Baugher do, and that's really rather mild. Yet, that one moment forever cemented Dr. Baugher into the minds of those in which he was not already set. But, the upshot of the incident was that the tyranny statement became a good standing joke between the two professors, and they became fast friends, which no doubt has helped Dr. Goodman on his quest.

However, many of us, by the end of that first semester with Dan, realized, much to our dismay, that he had effected a fundamental shift of world view in us. He certainly did for me. I credit him with an outstanding ability to do in one semester what it took other professors years to do (at least for me). Since my graduation, I have not failed to keep in regular contact with Dan, and his mentorship, as well as friendship, has been a driving force for me. He is one of the most intellectually challenging people I have ever had the fortune to know, and I thank him for that, for it has lead to much growth for me. I recently told Dan that in every visit with him I never fail to be mentally belittled, but I always walk away rewarded, enriched, and, strangely enough, extremely happy.

This man must be recognized. He has an overwhelmingly terse, but naked and compelling, understanding of society, and the fools we are. He is a free-thinker of the highest order, and I doubt not that one day he will be recognized as one of modern man's best.