Students who were not team athletes also participated in Graves’


work. In April, they had an opportunity to sign and write their ideas about Humanics on a driveway length banner. “These kids do have significant interaction with coaches who teach academic classes, so they get exposure to what the coaches bring from the courts and fields of competition. In fact, one of my former non-athlete students came from a distance, attended the lecture, and sent me thoughtful messages explaining how much our coaches influence the educa- tion of all students, not just the athletes. It is gratifying to know we are having an impact on all students and to see it come back in these messages,” she added Graves’ Humanics Lecture in April was attended by several


hundred people. “To advertise the lecture, we created buttons reading ‘It’s not about me, it’s about we.’ It was fun, a tremendous honor, and I am humbled to have been able to do what I did. My year as the distinguished professor taught me so much about how the teacher-coaches are true stewards of the Humanics philosophy. “I’ve attached new and special significance to being called ‘coach,’” she concludes.1


The Man Who Plants Trees


Chuck Redington, 2012-2013 Distinguished Springfield Professor of Humanics By Chris Gregor


chuck rEdinGton, Ph.D., this year’s Distinguished Springfield Professor of Humanics, is executing an exciting plan to link themes from his long career in life science education and his dedication to Humanics. A professor of biology at Springfield College since 1969, he is working to put a unique twist on the tree plantings now underway following the loss of 800 campus trees during the 2011 tornado. “I found out that since our founding in 1885,


Springfield College has had students from over 101 countries. What better symbolizes the Humanics philosophy of service to humanity around the world than these graduates? I researched and made a list of all the countries our students have come from, and was able to find trees from every country, even ones from tropical countries, able to grow in our temperate deciduous forest biome. The idea is to plant them on campus and have a sign on each tree with the common name, scientific name, and the country where it grows corresponding to a country from which a student hailed,” he explains. Redington sees the trees as a metaphor for Humanics, growth,


TRIANGLE 1 Vol . 84, No. 1 Chuck Redington


and living, and decided to make the loss of the trees to the tornado a new beginning, another metaphor for change in our lives. The Lyman Plant House at Smith College helped Redington with his research into finding the trees and their habitat. He has teamed with the Office of Alumni Relations to determine the countries students originated from, and will work with nurseries that will help him locate and acquire the appropriate trees. President Richard B. Flynn, a gardening enthusiast, already had a landscaping plan in place to replant the lost trees, but when he learned of Redington’s plan, he was intrigued and is working closely with him to see it through. “The global diversity of our students over


the years will now be reflected in the bio-diversity of the trees on our campus. We are in service throughout the world, and the trees will represent that. I am honored to be named the distinguished professor and to be able to do this very exciting project,” Redington says. So, be on the lookout around campus for the man who plants trees and cultivates the global impact of Humanics.1


17


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36