Good Writers and Good People

The hallways of The Carolina Inn on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are filled with photographs and paintings of people who made a difference in the university’s 228-year history. After staying in the inn for three nights last month, I felt like I had a sense of how UNC was influenced by the two centuries of faculty, staff and alumni whose likenesses lined the halls.

As we finish the academic year with the urgency of papers and projects due, exams to take and commencements to celebrate, I am filled with a sense of history and gratefulness for those at UF who have come before us and on whose shoulders we all stand.

UF is stronger and better because of Michael Gannon, an emeritus member of the UF history department faculty who died last Monday, April 10, at the age of 89. In addition to his UF doctorate, he also had a graduate degree in theology and was for several years a Catholic priest, serving at St. Augustine Church and Catholic Student Center. Numerous articles in the past several days have extolled the way Professor Gannon influenced UF and his area of scholarship.

In his 36 years as a UF faculty member, he taught over 16,000 students, was a prodigious scholar of Spanish and Florida history and a mentor to many. A list of his international and local awards for scholarship, teaching and service would fill several columns.

Professor Gannon was once asked how he wanted to be remembered. He first said he wanted to be remembered as a good person and then he corrected himself and said he wanted to be remembered as a good writer. In the history of UF, Professor Gannon will forever be known as both a good person and a good writer.

I had the privilege of speaking at B’nai Israel Synagogue on Saturday, April 8. I shared with the congregation my two goals for UF: first, that our university’s stature will continue to rise among the world’s great research universities; and second, that the people of UF will be even more caring, loving, encouraging and joyful.

In other words, I hope UF will be filled with Michael Gannons – good writers and good people.

I wish everyone stamina and joy as we all finish well the race of the academic year.