Jack M. Wilson: An Autobiography

-Jack M. Wilson

© 2000-2014  Jack M. Wilson     [Index  to Items in Memoirs]

Table of Contents  (Tentative –Subject to Revision)

 In preparation for potential publication in the coming year.

Jack M. Wilson: An Autobiography           1

Table of Contents       1

Chapter 1- Introduction: Don’t Look Back           6

Chapter 2-Surrounded and Supported by Family            9

Ode to Judi     13

Mother: Ruth Josephine Leiseder Stauffer.    14

Father Jack Maurer Wilson:    20

Grandfather Martin “Pop-pop” “Hubby” Leiseder:   25

Grandmother Sarah Sutter Leiseder   29

Grandmother Olive Viola Maurer Wilson Cappe       29

Chapter 3- The Early Years -My personal story: 1945-63            31

Born in 1945 in Indiana-The First Baby in the Baby Boom   31

The Early Years on the Northside of Pittsburgh        31

Moving to the House We Built in Glenshaw  32

Early School Days      34

Trying to be a Rocket Scientist at an Early Age         35

Butler County Fair Tornado   37

The First Congregational Church of Etna Pennsylvania         38

From a Small Town to University President   39

Chapter 4-  Off to Thiel College and Other New Experiences:  1963-67 41

John F. Kennedy is Shot         42

H.J. Heinz       42

Temple University Hospital    44

Learning about Life at Thiel   45

The Wedding Years    50

Chapter 5- The Graduate School Years: 1967-72  53

Kent State       53

The Kent State shootings and my time at Kent State Columbiana county branch.   55

The Kent State Killings          59

Leaving Kent  60

Chapter 6- Making a New Life and Career in Texas: Sam Houston State  1972-1982          63

Chuck Manka Becomes a Mentor       63

Department Chair –My First Administrative Position            65

On Making Decisions in Whitewater  66

Creating a Family        70

A Car Crash in the Mountains            70

Broken Bones 72

My Sailing Era            74

Building the Home on the Lake         77

Chapter 7- Return to the Northeast and My Time at AAPT: 1972-90           81

Who is Susan Lucci?   85

First visit to Asia in 1983 to Taiwan.  86

Summer workshop in La Lond Les Maures France.   87

Creating the Physics Olympiad          88

1986+- Trip to East Germany 90

Visiting Russia            96

Teaching Modern Physics       98

My Early Visits to Japan         100

Hosting Tae Ryu in Washington, DC 102

Meeting Several Presidents.    103   <excerpt>

The University of Maryland-M.U.P.P.E.T. and CUPLE       106

A Time of Family Transition   112

Meeting Judi Chang    112

Chapter 8- The RPI Years: 1990-2001       117

A New Chapter in my Personal and Professional Life           117

Marrying Judi Chang on August 18, 1990     118

Sailing in Hawaii         119

Creating a Family in Troy       120

John Becomes Quite Ill           121

Making our nest in a new home in Troy.        122

Family Vacations        124

Taking the Red Eye with Kato Kaelin Shortly After the O.J. Simpson Trial in 1995           124

Leading a Mutiny on a Delta Airlines Flight  126

Building the Anderson Center for Innovation in Undergraduate Education 128

The 3C’s and the 5C’s            129

Learning to raise money          131

Gretchen and Erika Ski Tuckerman’s Ravine 134

John and I are attacked by a rabid fox.          135

From Roland Schmitt to Byron Pipes to Shirley Ann Jackson           137

On Sabbatical in 2000- Anna Maria Island to Amsterdam    143

Erika and Gretchen get married.         146

Chapter 9- ILinc –Interactive Learning International- Inc.-The LearnLinc Story        149

Interactive Learning on Networks-An Opportunity Recognized       150

AT&T releases WorldWorx, but declines to invest in my follow-on idea      151

Degerhan Usluel and Mark Bernstein convince me to start a company         151

Turning an Opportunity into a Company Requires Resource Raising-The Wimpy Method  152

ILinc Enters the Market with a Category Defining Software Product.         153

The Intel Investment and Working with Andy Grove           155

Becoming a Public Company  156

Acquisition by Gilat in Israel  157

Chapter 10- The UMassOnline Years: 2001-2003 159

Coming to UMass       159

September 11, 2001    161

David and I Ride Harleys Over the Rockies  162

Gretchen Moves From Sandpoint Idaho to Wisconsin          163

Chapter 11- Getting Started as the President of the University: 2003-2006.       165

The UMass Presidency and President’s Office in Crisis        165

Road to the Presidency: The trip to Wisconsin and return on crutches.         168

Arriving home to a surprise     169

Selection of the Interim President      170

September 2, 2003      170

Welcome to the Presidency: Budget Cuts and Difficult Relations with Government           171

Getting to Know Senator Kennedy    173

The Search      176

The Search Concludes            181

Restructuring the UMass Building Authority –the First Tough Job  183

Stabilizing the University       184

The University as the Path to Economic and Social Development    188

Jessica and I have breakfast with Governor Romney.            190

The July 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston Nominates John Kerry  190

The University of Massachusetts Law School            192

The Inauguration         202

The First Woman Senate President and our Nantucket Field Center.            204

Picking the UMass Boston Chancellor           206

The UMass Lowell transition  213

Getting to distinction by overcoming challenge.        214

Marketing UMass       214

Microsoft Visit            216

Nelson Mandela          217

Surgery to rebuild my neck.    225

Chapter 12- How 2006-2007 Became the Academic Year of Spectacular Highs and Debilitating Lows.         231

Romney looks to Washington 231

Lombardi is evaluated            232

Romney Upends the UMass Board    236

The Nobel Prize          238

Deval Patrick Becomes Governor       240

The “Perfect Storm” of 2007  242

The story of the Medical School search that brings Terry Flotte – friction between clinical and basic sciences.      248

The Lowell Search Concludes            252

Lombardi’s Departure 255

Governor announces $ 1 Billion Capital Initiative.    260

The Charles Hof Donation      262

Starting the Next Academic Year on a High. 265

Chapter 13:  A University on Fire: A New Direction Brings New Successes:  Fall 2007-          267

The Governor asks for a change in the Chair of the Board of Trustees.        267

Search for the next Chancellor at UMass Amherst    267

Governor’s Delegation to China- December 2007.    269

Traveling to Japan in 2008:  Renewing relationships with Hokkaido University, Waseda University, and Kyushu University.      271

A University on Fire   275

Meeting President Obama      276

There is no victory lap 276

The paradox of fees and financial aid.           279

Stabilizing the University Once Again           284

UMass and MIT Partnership - a Green High Performance Computing Center          286

The Sad Loss of Senator Edward M. Kennedy         289

The National Security Higher Education Advisory board.    294

Ink in Barrels  296

The Return of the Law School           301

Creation of The Edward M. Kennedy Institute         320

Chapter 14;  Leaving the Presidency          326

The Evaluation Process for the UMass Amherst Chancellor  332

The BCS Football Issue          334

The Evaluation Continues-The Tufts Controversy        336

Passing of My Mother Ruth Josephine Leiseder Wilson Stauffer      338

Salary Brouhaha on my departure      338

The Jack M. Wilson Presidential Scholarship 340

Chapter 15  After the Presidency – The Fun Never Ends            341

Becoming the President of The Edward M Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate           341

Kara Kennedy, a vital Board voice, died unexpectedly         346

Donation of the Kennedy Compound            347

Leaving the Edward M Kennedy Institute to get back to teaching, research, and service.   350

Becoming the Interim Dean of Engineering   352

Chapter 16: Looking back   353

Appendices     354

Appendix 1:  Bulleted Dates  354

Memories        354

Appendix 2: Two Dozen Somewhat Surprising Facts            361

Appendix 3:  Su-Chen Chang Obituary         363

Su-Chen “Susanna” Chang              -Born 8 December 1933; Died 30 October 2006          363

Appendix 4:  Poplar Grove by Martin Leiseder         364

Appendix 5:  Raymond Wilson  Dec 13, 1920 - July 31, 2010          366

Appendix 6 Salary Controversy         367

Appendix 7:  Khalil Gibran Poem      376

Appendix 8  -Wilson Letter to Trustees Announcing Future Plans to Leave the Presidency.           377

Appendix 9:  Wilson response to the report of the evaluation committee      379

 

Index

AAPT, 11, 12, 24, 43, 83, 84, 85, 87, 115

Aaron Lazare, 172

Ahmed Kathrada, 225, 226

AIP, 86

Allan Bromley, 106

American Association of Physics Teachers, 11, 43, 119

American Bar Association, 319, 322, 325

American Institute of Physics, 86, 119

American Physical Society, 86

AmeriCorps, 85, 86, 123

Amy Biehl, 227

Andrew Tarsy, 352

Andy, 27, 33

Anzio, 9, 21

APS, 84

Art Gaudio, 318, 322

Arthur Eisenkraft, 87, 105

AT&T, 152, 153, 155, 159

Attorney General, 169, 245, 315, 321, 323, 344, 345, 373

Bay State Medical Center, 280, 342

Bea, 27

Bell Laboratories, 153

BHE, 167, 199, 200, 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 246, 306, 309, 310, 323

Bill Russell, 233, 297

Board of Higher Education, 196, 199, 200

Board of Trustees, 4, 119, 170, 173, 180, 181, 182, 195, 196, 198, 212, 224, 231, 235, 238, 240, 241, 246, 248, 264, 271, 272, 287, 306, 307, 308, 309, 316, 317, 321, 326, 332, 336, 341, 342, 343, 365, 374, 375, 383, 385, 386

Bob Connolly, 169, 182, 194, 218, 242, 243, 248, 295, 308, 345, 373

Bob McCarthy, 182, 183

Boeing, 120, 159

Boston Pops, 205

broken bones, 74

Bulger, 65, 66, 170, 171, 172, 179

Bush, 105, 106, 107, 108, 178

Camp Adderbury, 22, 33

Cappe, 21, 30, 31, 33

Caret, 343, 351, 358, 386

Carnegie Mellon, 43, 55

Carol Twigg, 164

Caroline Kennedy, 294, 327, 349, 356

Cellucci, 315

Center for Technological Entrepreneurship, 155

Chancellor MacCormack, 196, 282, 307, 309, 310, 316, 324

China, 5, 6, 35, 87, 89, 273, 274, 275, 277, 279, 300, 334, 348, 363

Chuck Carletta, 179

Chuck Manka, 65, 66

CIA, 298, 300

Clinton, 107, 108

College Park, 11, 24, 84, 86

Committee on Academic and Student Affairs, 339

Congregational, 15, 26

Craig Mello, 220, 235, 243, 253, 254, 256, 257, 265, 266, 273, 274, 287, 334

Dave, 25, 30, 31, 164

David, 9, 31, 33, 164

David Gray, 173, 289, 333

DeBenedetti, 55

Degerhan Usluel, 154, 159

DeHaven, 36

Delores Mason, 87

Deval Patrick, 4, 235, 244, 245, 246, 258, 273, 278, 280, 307, 310, 316, 322, 336, 365, 366, 385

Diane Moes, 172

Dianne Wilkerson, 214, 282

Dodge, 85

Dr. J, 191, 297

dyslexia, 36, 37

Ed Parrish, 180

Ed Schlossberg, 327, 349

Edward M. Kennedy, 5, 44, 293, 295, 326, 330, 331, 332, 334, 347, 353, 356, 357

Edward M. Kennedy Institute, 331, 354, 359

Elizabeth Leonard, 89

emergency room, 139, 230

Erika, 3, 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, 28, 37, 72, 73, 74, 75, 85, 86, 90, 91, 92, 119, 123, 126, 136, 137, 148, 149, 150, 152, 207, 294, 361, 364, 365, 366, 367

Ethel Kennedy, 355

FBI, 167, 248, 298, 299, 300

Football, 5, 339

fox, 137, 138, 139

Frank Phillips, 180, 355, 357

Gene Sutter, 33

General Electric, 119, 226

Gilat, 152, 160

Gillette Stadium, 340

Globe, 137, 167, 171, 179, 180, 182, 183, 203, 214, 215, 225, 258, 285, 301, 302, 303, 304, 305, 309, 311, 313, 315, 330, 333, 339, 344, 346, 355, 357, 365, 368, 373, 374, 375, 376, 377, 380, 381, 382, 387, 388

Governor, 4, 5, 61, 86, 167, 168, 169, 173, 174, 176, 179, 184, 187, 188, 190, 192, 193, 194, 197, 198, 199, 200, 204, 205, 206, 210, 211, 216, 220, 235, 240, 241, 242, 244, 246, 255, 258, 265, 266, 267, 270, 271, 273, 274, 275, 278, 280, 281, 283, 284, 285, 286, 287, 288, 289, 290, 292, 294, 301, 306, 307, 310, 311, 313, 315, 316, 317, 336, 337, 338, 342, 345, 365, 366, 384, 385

Governor Romney, 179, 192, 193

Graca Machel, 221, 222, 223, 225

Grace Fey, 181, 182

Graham Spanier, 145, 236, 239, 335

Gretchen, 3, 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, 28, 36, 72, 74, 75, 76, 83, 90, 91, 92, 119, 122, 123, 126, 136, 137, 149, 150, 151, 152, 165, 166, 170, 171, 207, 229, 290, 294, 361, 364, 365, 366, 367

Gwen, 27

Hafemeister, 55

Heinz, 23, 43, 44

Henry Thomas, 339, 341, 387

HIV, 223, 228

Holub, 272, 273, 291, 320, 321, 337, 338, 339, 341, 342, 343, 344, 383

Hwei Tien Huang, 89

IBM, 120, 152, 155, 159

ILINC, 152, 155, 156, 157

Inauguration, 205

InterAmerican Council, 87

Jack Connors, 326, 350, 358

Jack Welch, 182, 226

Jackie Brennan, 311

Jane Fonda, 62

Jean F. MacCormack, 307

Jean MacCormack, 196, 204, 271, 324, 337, 382

Jena, 42

Jennifer Braceras, 271, 306, 309, 311

Jessica, 12, 13, 122, 126, 137, 139, 170, 171, 192, 193, 221, 225, 228, 229, 230

Jim Karam, 195, 204, 206, 235, 236, 239, 240, 241, 242, 261, 307, 317, 341, 373

Jim O’Keefe, 157

Joe Kennedy, 191, 219, 296, 348

John, 12, 13, 21, 24, 28, 30, 31, 42, 44, 75, 84, 122, 126, 137, 139, 170, 171, 183, 221, 225, 228, 229

John Connolly, 65

John Lombardi, 235, 236, 237, 239, 241, 242, 245, 247, 248, 250, 252, 257, 259, 263, 340, 366

John Silber, 196, 313

John Toll, 85

John Wayne, 63

Judi, 12, 13, 76, 115, 137, 139, 170, 171, 180, 192, 221, 230

Julius Erving, 191, 199, 233, 297

Kara Kennedy, 5, 351, 353

Keith Lockhart, 207

Keith Motley, 162, 195, 209, 212, 215, 216, 235, 247, 260, 261, 263, 264, 268, 271, 282, 295, 326, 338, 351, 366

Kennedy, 44, 205, 226

Kennedy Compound, 5, 354

Kennedy Library, 177, 193, 194, 295, 326, 327, 349, 350, 388

Kent State, 55, 57, 63

Kiki Kennedy, 353

Kipras, 12, 13, 207

Kolossvary, 43

La Lond Les Maures, 90

Lake Tomahawk, 170

Lance Billingsley, 86

Larry Bacow, 342

Larry Boyle, 170, 183, 240, 241, 263, 306, 309, 311, 315, 365

law school, 195, 198, 201, 205, 218, 236, 237, 240, 241, 306, 307, 308, 309, 310, 311, 312, 314, 315, 316, 317, 319, 320, 321, 322, 323, 324, 325, 332, 333, 334, 346

Law School, 4, 5, 195, 199, 200, 202, 203, 204, 236, 240, 306, 315, 316, 317, 319, 323, 325, 382

LearnLinc, 152, 155, 156, 157, 159, 160

Lee Fentress, 326, 328, 347, 350, 352

Lena, 12, 13

Lenz, 27, 90

Leslie Granese, 169

Linda Biehl, 227

looks can be deceiving, 170

Marcellette Williams, 89, 279, 334

Marcie Williams, 211, 333

Mardee Xifaras, 307

Mark Bernstein, 154

Mark Rice, 155

Martin Leiseder, 12, 26, 90

Marty Baron, 303, 311

Maryland, 11, 24, 83, 84, 85, 86, 119, 123, 179

Mayor Thomas Menino, 221

Medical School, 4, 162, 167, 168, 172, 191, 218, 220, 223, 230, 235, 241, 243, 247, 250, 253, 256, 257, 260, 261, 263, 264, 265, 266, 270, 271, 279, 287, 334, 337, 342, 344, 345, 347, 365, 366, 373

Melba Phillips, 85

Mentergy, 152, 160

Michael Collins, 18, 162, 213, 214, 216, 233, 235, 247, 260, 263, 264, 271, 287, 337, 366

Michael Dukakis, 301, 303, 313

Michael Kane, 159

Mike Marvin, 155, 159

Minocqua, 12, 150, 170

Moessbauer, 55, 56, 83

Monty Sharma, 171

Murray, 208

Murray King, 27

Myra Kraft, 310

Myrt, 31

National Merit, 37, 43

National Security Higher Education Advisory Board, 298, 335

Ned, 28, 42, 90

Nelson Mandela, 108, 221, 222, 223, 224, 225, 227, 228

Nessen, 167, 168, 169

Nevirapine, 228

New England Law School, 311

New England Patriots, 310, 340

New England School of Law, 197, 201, 204, 236, 242, 306, 307, 309, 311, 312, 313, 315, 317, 318, 322, 324

Nick Littlefield, 326, 351

One Beacon, 172

One Physics Ellipse, 86, 87

Padraig O’Malley, 228

Park Service, 348, 350

Parris N. Glendening, 86

Patrick Kennedy, 351, 357

Paul Reville, 287, 289, 316, 336

Paul Severino, 155

Peaches, 87

Peter Canellos, 313, 355, 356

Peter Meade, 326, 328, 347

Pew, 164

Physics Department Chair’s Conference, 87

Physics Olympiad, 87, 105, 106, 119

politics is a blood sport, 168

Pop-pop, 27

rabies, 138, 139

Radley, 12, 13, 150, 170, 171, 229

Ranny Cooper, 326, 351

Raquel Welch, 63

Ray Howell, 179

Raymond, 21, 30

Reagan, 107

Rensselaer, 108, 149, 152, 153, 155, 157

Richard Riley, 107

Rob Manning, 241, 242, 269, 271, 332, 333, 336, 341, 366, 384

Robben Island, 225, 226

Robert Caret, 342

Robert DeLeo, 311

Robert J. Manning, 316

Robert Kraft, 340

Roland Schmitt, 119, 182

Romney, 4, 167, 169, 170, 173, 174, 192, 193, 200, 203, 206, 235, 240, 241, 242, 244, 246, 266, 271, 278, 294, 306, 308, 315, 316, 317, 365, 384

Rosalyn Carter, 108

Rosenberg, 241, 242, 262, 317, 318, 319, 320, 321

RPI, 12, 36, 119, 123, 161, 179, 180

Russian tanks, 42

Ruth, 9, 13, 15, 26

Sam, 33

Sam Houston, 65, 68, 83

Samuel, 33

Sandy, 27, 33

Santayana, 6

Sarah, 11, 26, 30, 33

Satchel Paige, 6

Scott Lehigh, 180

Secretary of Education, 107

Senator Kennedy, 3, 176, 177, 206, 207, 293, 295, 326, 328

Sigmund Haffner Gasse, 27, 90

SNESL, 195, 196

Solomont, 178, 179, 182, 183

South Africa, 6, 221, 222, 223, 224, 225, 226, 227, 228

Southern New England School of Law, 195

Spinnhirn, 90

Stan Rosenberg, 200, 240, 242, 262, 316, 317, 366

Stauffer, 9, 13, 15

Steve Lenhardt, 172

Steve Tello, 351, 358

Steve Tocco, 167, 200, 203, 204, 235, 240, 241, 242, 246, 248, 259, 261, 262, 271, 306, 316, 340, 341, 365, 366

Suffolk Law, 311

TAC, 228

Tarogo Gorge, 89

Teddy Kennedy, 176, 206, 294, 295, 356

Terry Flotte, 4, 253, 256, 257

Thiel, 11, 43, 44, 47

Todd Wallach, 344, 373, 376

Tom Reilly, 169, 216, 245, 258, 321, 322, 323

Truth and Reconciliation Commission, 227

Tsinghua, 274, 348

Tufts, 5, 192, 290, 305, 342, 346

Uhrich, 55, 56

UMass Memorial Healthcare, 358

UMassOnline, 65, 161, 169

US-Japan-China Physics Education Councils, 87

Vicki Kennedy, 327, 329, 347, 348, 352

Viñoly, 327, 349

Virginia O’Sullivan, 88, 333

Washington College, 85, 86, 123

White House, 62, 105, 106

wildest dreams, 206

William Mow, 155

Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 180

WPI, 180, 181, 182

You look important, 170