From reading “Memories of a leader who mastered the art of listening” (feature, May 14), I can see my most memorable experience of President Robert Goheen ’40 *48 was right in character.
In early 1970 I founded a town/gown group called Princeton Energy Action. True to the tenor of the times, we developed three “demands” that I took directly to the ever-accessible President Goheen. We “demanded”: 1. Close and allow us to reclaim a road that was eroding into Carnegie Lake; 2. Designate a wild, natural area an area near faculty housing that was slated to be cleared for sports fields; and 3. Form a committee to plan a multidisciplinary ecology program.
In fact he did listen, and then, disarmingly, agreed immediately. For me this was psychological judo. With nothing to push against, I looked back at myself in chagrin at my unnecessarily demanding attitude. That and his measured response to the sit-ins at the Institute for Defense Analyses, which I also participated in, won my everlasting admiration.
President Goheen was an extraordinary soul in the right place at the right time.
From reading “Memories of a leader who mastered the art of listening” (feature, May 14), I can see my most memorable experience of President Robert Goheen ’40 *48 was right in character.
In early 1970 I founded a town/gown group called Princeton Energy Action. True to the tenor of the times, we developed three “demands” that I took directly to the ever-accessible President Goheen. We “demanded”: 1. Close and allow us to reclaim a road that was eroding into Carnegie Lake; 2. Designate a wild, natural area an area near faculty housing that was slated to be cleared for sports fields; and 3. Form a committee to plan a multidisciplinary ecology program.
In fact he did listen, and then, disarmingly, agreed immediately. For me this was psychological judo. With nothing to push against, I looked back at myself in chagrin at my unnecessarily demanding attitude. That and his measured response to the sit-ins at the Institute for Defense Analyses, which I also participated in, won my everlasting admiration.
President Goheen was an extraordinary soul in the right place at the right time.