Remembering Dean Gordon

Elyse Graham ’07’s Princeton Portrait of Dean Ernest Gordon illuminates a dark part of the life of this remarkable man. I had the honor of meeting him for the first time when I was recovering from illness in the Princeton Infirmary in 1978. His charisma (in the truest sense of that word) and geniality made a lasting impression. I confessed I was agnostic, and, to my surprise, he claimed he was as well. He had spent time in India, and reminisced about his experiences there. We dined together once or twice and greeted each other when our paths crossed on campus.

This is the first Portrait of a Princeton luminary whom I personally knew. It makes me feel a bit older than I thought I was.