Professorship Named for One of Oberlin's Most Revered – and Feared – Faculty Members
March 2001
Michael E. Marks '73, chairman and chief executive officer of Flextronics International, has endowed a professorship in psychology and named the chair in honor of his mentor, Professor of Psychology Norman D. Henderson.
This is the second professorship to be established during The New Oberlin Century. No one will be named to the chair until Henderson retires.
To fund the professorship, Marks donated Flextronics stock valued at $2.1 million. Flextronics is the second-largest electronics manufacturing services firm in the world, with design, engineering, and manufacturing operations in 28 countries on four continents.
Marks became chairman of the board in 1993 and CEO in 1994. Under his leadership, annual revenues have increased from $93 million in 1993 to $12 billion in 2000.
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| Michael Marks (right) and his wife, Carole Marks (left), posed with Norman D. Henderson (center) at the dinner honoring Marks and Henderson in Peters Hall. |
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Henderson, who joined the faculty in 1960, teaches courses related to research design, experimental methods, and statistical analysis, which, he admits, makes him one of the most dreaded faculty members in the department. Executive editor of the journal Behavior Genetics, Henderson is collaborating with colleagues at the University of Colorado and Oxford University in a research project seeking chromosomal links to anxiety and funded by the National Institutes of Health.
To celebrate the gift and honor Henderson and Marks, a small dinner party was held in the Great Hall of Peters Hall last October.
Many of Henderson's current students and several of his former students including James Jones '63, Charles Snowdon '63, and Janet Hyde '69, attended the event. Most current members of the psychology faculty also attended, as did emeritus professors Frank Laycock and Ralph Turner.
Among those who came to honor Marks, their former classmate, were Richard Lewis '73, Boyer Rickel '73, Joan Sapinsley '73, and Diana Stork '72.
Clayton R. Koppes, dean of the College and acting president, was master of ceremonies for the event, which was part tribute and part roast.
Al Porterfield, chairman of the psychology department, was the first to skewer Henderson, telling the story of how, when he was hired 18 years ago, Henderson tried to convince him to teach social psychology. Porterfield declined due to a lack of expertise, and Henderson retorted, "Ahhh, anyone can teach social." The audience burst into laughter as Porterfield exaggerated Henderson's penchant for fast, off-the-cuff remarks.
"One of the privileges of being in academia is that I have had the opportunity to meet some really smart people," Porterfield continued. "Time and time again, I'm amazed by the fact that Norm is right up there at the top of all the smart people that I've seen. He is an absolute expert in his field, but he also seems to know so much about so many other things. When he says, 'Anybody can teach that,' he means, 'I could teach that,' and he absolutely could."
James Jones added fuel to the fire under Henderson's feet. Jones, a professor of psychology at the University of Delaware, entertained the assembly with tales of how Henderson steered him down the wrong career path not once, but several times, both before and after his graduation from Oberlin. In the end, he acknowledged Henderson's crucial influence.
"I was interviewed this summer for a public television show on psychology. At the end of the interview, they asked me which psychologists had influenced me. It took me about a nanosecond to say, 'Norm.' He brought me into the lab and made psychology real, made science real, made himself real to me as a person who was knowledgeable and who cared. I feel very privileged to be his friend and colleague."
Nor was the generous donor spared from jabs. Diana Stork put her entrepreneurial friend on the spot, recounting a tale of one of Marks' early business ventures, a colossal flop in which he convinced family and friends to invest while he was pursuing graduate studies at the Harvard Business School. Stork invested $3,000.
"The net result of my investment is that I lost about $2,000," she said. "It seems to me that Norm should understand that some of Michael's business acumen was learned by using other people's money, and that in a way, I contributed to this endeavor." Peals of laughter followed.
Stork then thanked Marks on behalf of all Henderson's students. "So often we go through life without thinking about the important people in our lives. Only when something happens like a funeral do we have that time to reflect and reminisce. By punctuating this time with your gift, you've given us the opportunity to think about how important Norm has been to us," she said.
The post-dinner ribbing took tangible form as Emcee Koppes presented Hitchcock chairs symbolizing the endowed chair to both Marks and Henderson. In addition, Marks, who plays the piano, was presented with a certificate redeemable for a piano lesson with Peter Takács, professor of pianoforte, because, as Koppes noted, "Everyone could use a little more work."
During his turn at the podium, Marks recalled his work as a master's degree student with Henderson, doing research and developing promotional examinations for the Cleveland police department. The experience cemented his friendship with Henderson, he said.
"I've been asked a lot about why I did this," Marks continued. "The answer is pretty simple. Most of you here are at an age where you can look back and think of the people who made a big impact on your life. Oftentimes, those people are educators. Norm was the best one that I had. He was the best teacher, the best friend. He helped me and guided me. For me, I just can't think of any better way to say thank you."
Henderson was the last to take the podium. He noted the anonymous nature of Marks' gift, stating that most donors of a gift this size would want their own name attached to the building or professorship. "But he decided to do it in my name, and that's a tremendously flattering thing," he said.
Henderson spoke about how he came to Oberlin as a last-minute replacement for an ailing professor, as well as his reasons for staying at Oberlin for 40 years. "I have to admit it's not the weather, or the location, or the nightlife, or the shopping, or the paycheck, or the food in Wilder basement. My colleagues have been fabulous. And the students have always been a joy, and they remain a joy."
He told numerous stories of his students, former and current. Then, seeming to realize that he'd talked at length, he abruptly ended the evening.
"Okay, enough reminiscing," he declared. "I'm not dead yet. Michael, thank you so much for what you've done."
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