When Dean of Faculty James Wright recognized nine retiring professors at the final faculty gathering this spring, he noted that together they had been teaching at Dartmouth for 278 years.
Each of the nine taught at Dartmouth for twenty years or more.
Professor Fred Berthold graduated from Dartmouth in 1945 and returned to teach four years later. He was the founding chair of the Religion department and first dean of the William Jewett Tucker foundation. Berthold plans to work on a book, which he says might be titled "Evil and Human Learning."
French and Italian Professor Colette Gaudin said she will spend her winters in France while continuing her research in Hanover during the rest of the year.
Professor Richard Crowell, an expert in a field of mathematics called knot theory who also served as the department chair, says he is unsure of his plans for the future.
English Professor Blanche Gelfant, an American literature specialist, whose book "The American City Novel" was nominated for a prestigious Pulitzer Prize, said she is unsure of her plans.
English Professor Jeffrey Hart will continue to serve as senior editor of The National Review, and his syndicated political column will remain a weekly feature in The Dartmouth Review. He said he plans on finishing his next book, "Smiling Through the Cultural Catastrophe."
Professor Thomas Kurtz, who with former College president John Kemeny co-wrote the computer language called BASIC and developed the Dartmouth Time-Sharing System, said he plans to keep in touch with the math and computer science departments.
Environmental Studies Professor Noel Perrin, a former chair of the English department, will continue farming and writing. He said he is planning a cross-country trek in his electric car sometime in the next few years, a task too tough for the commuter car chronicled in his 1992 book "Solo."
Professor Merelyn Reeve is co-director of the office of speech. She is working on a book on the wives of Dartmouth Presidents, from Mary Brinsmead Wheelock to Bathsheba Freedman, and the impact of women on Dartmouth through its history.
Professor Melvin Spiegel, who helped begin the biology graduate program at Dartmouth, will stay on at Gilman Laboratory to continue research and writing in developmental biology.
Retired faculty members often teach courses as adjunct professors depending on their departments' needs.
