Articles

Colleagues Remember Syracuse Dean for Personality, Sense of Humor

University Wire
September 7, 2007 Friday
Byline: By Chelsea Prince, Daily Orange; SOURCE: Syracuse
Length: 676 words
Dateline: Syracuse, N.Y.

Syracuse University faculty arrived minutes early for an afternoon conference, waiting in eager anticipation of the moment dean emeritus Raymond F. von Dran would enter the room.

Without words, he filled the room with his out-sized personality.

Von Dran started every meeting at the School of Information Studies by clapping. He continued until the entire room was clapping in synchronization, creating a faculty of one.

This is Syracuse University Chancellor Nancy Cantor's foremost memory of beloved von Dran before he passed away in New York City on July 23. He was 60 years old.

"He was such a dynamic person," Cantor said. "Everyone gravitated to him. He was very thoughtful, funny and just a great person."

A memorial service at Hendricks Chapel will honor his life and achievements today at 4:30 p.m.

Von Dran served as dean of IST from 1995 to 2007, with previous experience as dean at North Texas University's School of Library and Information Science. He announced his retirement as dean from SU in March 2006, expecting to take a year sabbatical with his wife and return later as a professor. His leave of absence was due to begin this past summer.

Cantor knew of von Dran's reputation as a talented leader before he even appeared on the SU scene. Upon transferring to the Hill, Raymond instantly put IST on the map, Cantor said.

"He really defined the iSchool in a way that traditional departments could understand, and that gave it a unique identity," she said.

During von Dran's term, he made several long-term contributions, recognized by US News & World Report. He introduced seven research centers, many new academic degree programs and almost tripled IST's undergraduate and faculty population throughout his tenure.

"The school was Ray, and Ray is still the school," said Jeffrey Stanton, associate dean for research at IST. "He was really well-suited for his role. You would say of him that he was a born leader."

Von Dran picked up on the spirit of the school and made it his mission to carry it forward, Stanton said. He instilled the basic childhood virtue among faculty to play well together without division or pettiness.

Besides the nationally recognized achievements, von Dran ensured IST lived up to its motto of serving people through information.

"You really feel that he is still here in so many ways," said Stanton, who still finds old e-mails from von Dran in his inbox. "Physical absence doesn't really affect us in terms of carrying on what he believed in."

IST is a professional school with faculty who train people to work in applied settings. But many faculty members are not professionally certified to the highest degree, and others are still actively involved in companies.

"If you think about how things would play out in a normal system, there would be a caste system," Stanton said of the standard business hierarchy. "If you ask someone in the corporate world, they would say we have a very flat system"

Instead, von Dran believed that everyone was important and he tried to communicate that to students, too.

"He promoted a sense that 'what they do is just as important as what I do,'" Stanton said.

Elizabeth Liddy, a well-known researcher and IST faculty member, now serves as the school's interim dean.

"There will not be any changes that would not be consistent with what Ray believed," Stanton said. "The core idea is that Ray really lives on, but I don't think that any changes Liz Liddy would take would undermine some of the fundamental ideas that Ray believed in."

IST created a memorial page for von Dran, inviting viewers to add comments and pictures in remembrance. Family members, deans, students and alumni have added kind words of encouragement and tidbits of memories to the Web page, in a true information studies fashion.

Hendricks Chapel and IST extend an open invitation to anyone who wants to participate in or attend von Dran's memorial service. A reception will follow the memorial on the first floor lobby of Hinds Hall.

"Stop by the memorial," Stanton said. "It will be packed."

Load-Date: September 7, 2007
Language: English
Publication-Type: Newspaper