21 Questions with Dean Stanfiel

HCND recently had the pleasure of pestering Arts and Letters Assistant Dean Joe Stanfiel with a few questions. Dean Stanfiel has supported some of the coolest student initiatves at Notre Dame, such as bringing Christopher Hitchens to campus in conjuction with the God Debates, facilitating the Holy Votes, and offering students an opportunity to mix with professors at the Student Pub far away from the gray halls of Decio Commons. In this interview, Dean Stanfiel reflects on what makes a good dean, the challenges facing undergraduates today, and the truths surrounding the business school. 

 

Name: Joe Stanfiel

Hometown: Atlanta

Affiliation with Notre Dame: Assistant Dean, College of Arts & Letters

 

I try to solve problems. (And they aren’t mine.)

 

Christopher Hitchens and Dinesh D’Souza arrived on campus to participate in the

first God Debate about five hours before we expected them. It created an opportunity

for Malcolm Phelan, Daniel O’Duffy and I to have lunch with them. That lunch was

probably my most satisfactory moment both because it was a great thrill for me to get to

have a nice discussion with them and also to see Malcolm and Daniel’s excitement as

everyone in the Morris Inn watched them at the same table with Hitchens and D’Souza.

It was the first real feeling of success with the God Debates.

 

This is a tough one. Most academics don’t set out to be administrators. They get PhDs

with the intent to teach and do research. I came to Notre Dame as a visiting asst prof in

Classics for my first two years. I moved into administration after that due to a variety of

not especially interesting personal reasons.

 

I can tell you who makes a good asstistant dean, though. It’s someone who cares about

helping somebody figure out what they want to do and what the best way to achieve

it is. It’s also someone who can do more listening than talking when they’re trying to

help someone solve a problem. Personally, I think we asstistant deans are some of the most

important reasons for coming to Notre Dame. Every university has professors and

classrooms and technology and scholarships. But it’s a rare university that has an office

to help you figure out how to make the best of it all, or that finds out when you’re having

trouble and goes out looking for you to make sure you’re ok.

 

The prospect of supporting the baby boomers in retirement. They’ll be fussy.

 

I thought I was going to be a journalist. I had worked on my high school paper

and the Atlanta paper. I started college as a journalism major. But I discovered

it wasn’t for me.

 

I would stop offering undergraduate business degrees.

 

It wasn’t here, but I took an aesthetics class my senior year. I didn’t expect to enjoy it,

but it turns out to be the class I think of first when I remember being an undergrad. It

exposed me to a way of thinking I’d never experienced before as well as to a lot of great

thinkers like Clive Bell and Arthur Danto. It also left me with the bit of advice from a

professor I use more than any other: instead of asking, “what’s this supposed to be?”

ask “what do we have here?”

 

Grad school, probably. But because of what it represented for me. I had a

career and a family. I quit my job and moved away from my favorite place in the

world to pursue an interest. There was every chance in the world that it wouldn’t

work out. But I didn’t want to keep working my old job wondering what could

have been. That lent my grad school experience a certain intensity.

 

There are a lot of great courses here and a lot of great professors. If you put a

gun to my head, I’d take the Justice Seminar from the PPE minor.

 

Don’t lie to yourself.

 

The God Debates.

 

Being stuck in a cave (like this).

 

Bully Beatdown,

 

Beer. I’d be more creative if the bar was fully stocked.

 

I don’t really think along those lines. I have a nice picture of the full moon over the

Parthenon in my office. I guess I like that as much as anything.

 

I’m in the fortunate position that everything I read is for pleasure. I’ve just

finished re-reading Cicero, Augustine and C.S. Lewis in preparation to write

a former student. My new favorite novelist is Patricia Highsmith. Try The

Talented Mr. Ripley.

 

San Francisco– right across Columbus from Vesuvio.

 

I’m going to dodge the question and answer with a point I’d like to make to students:

virtually everything you’re interested in can be accommodated by one A&L major or

another. Give some thought to what you’re interested in and pick the major that comes

closest. Then really delve into it. At Oxford they do three whole years of one thing.

You won’t hurt yourself by taking 15 classes in your major. And consider a thesis.

 

19. If you could give one verb of advice for current students what would it be?

Cultivate (your own garden– the lesson from Candide).

 

Sorry, I don’t have one other than to do the best for my daughter.

 

I have a different perspective on this than students and maybe even classroom faculty.

I have worked in development (fund-raising) at two universities. I know institutional

bullsh*t when I hear it. But there really is a Notre Dame family and the students really

are in it. You don’t have to do or be anything beyond that. Once you’re here we try very

hard to look out for you.