Honors program lauds professor

In the fall of 1952, Prof. H.D. Cameron came to the University intending to be a mathematician. He took classes in chemistry, physics and German. But when he encountered the humanities distribution requirement, his plans changed.

Recalling the exact moment when he let go of being a mathematician, Cameron made a reference to one of his Latin professors who he described as "my great teacher and my life-long friend." While sitting on a window ledge of the then brand new Mason Hall, Cameron's favorite professor recounted Homer's tale of the 10-year war between the Greeks and Trojans and Achilles' struggle in the "Iliad."

Cameron knew then that he wanted to be a classicist.

In recognition of his many years of involvement with the honors program and teaching Great Books, the honors program appointed Cameron as its first collegiate fellow.

"It came as quite a surprise" Cameron said after the lecture Friday.

To celebrate Cameron's appointment, the Honors Program and the College of Literature, Science and the Arts hosted a public lecture Friday in the Chemistry Building, followed by a reception in the atrium of the building. The lecture's title, "The Best Course I Ever Took," is a quote many students have used to describe Great Books. During the lecture, Cameron reflected on his long history with Great Books and shared personal experiences about former faculty members, students and Graduate Student Instructors.

More than 75 people - a mix of former and present students, GSIs, alumni and faculty members - attended the lecture.

After obtaining a classical studies degree as an undergraduate student, Cameron continued his doctoral studies at Princeton University, where he wrote his dissertation on Aeschylus.

He then returned to the University in 1959 for his first job. A few years later, he became a professor of Great Books. Now, 37 years later, he is still a professor of Great Books, as well as a professor of Latin and Greek. Cameron also is an adjunct curator for the Museum of Zoology, specializing in spiders and scorpions.

He has taught more than 6,600 graduates of the Great Books Program and has shared the teaching responsibilities with 167 GSIs Cameron said.

"He is a mentor in the true sense of the word" said Ashby Kinch, a doctoral candidate in English medieval literature who has worked with Cameron since 1996.

The University started the Great Books Program after World War II and based it on a model program at Columbia University. The ideals of the program were to provide first-year students with a chance to take small classes taught by senior faculty; to help students avoid early specialization; to read original texts beginning with the ancient Greeks and to provide students with a body of knowledge to build on. Later, the honors program incorporated Great Books into its curriculum as an English requirement.

Kevin Amadon, a Great Books and German lecturer, was a first-year student in Great Books 11 years ago and has since returned to teach the course with Cameron.

"It's hard to measure what we gain from it, but I think its immense" Amadon said. "It is a privilige to be able to spend time with these kinds of ideas and books."

The Collegiate Fellow in Honors award is a multi-year award recognizing someone who teaches Honors students and who has done it well, said Rob Van der Voo, honors director and geology faculty member. The award, funded by alumni donations, gives $15,000 to the recipient during a three year period. An endowment of $50,000 that alum Mark Graham donated also will be used for the award.

LSA sophomore Matt Abelson was one of Cameron's Great Books students last school year. He said he attended the lecture because he wanted to hear Cameron lecture again.

"He's a very engaging lecturer," Abelson said. "I really value him as a person, especially in my second year."

"It was really fun to see him lecture again because I really enjoyed the class last year," said LSA sophomore Ari Melber, another one of Cameron's former students.

"I think that the lecture and the event would have been of interest to most U of M students because the intellectual and academic issues that Cameron discussed based on personal history and Greek Literature are relevant to us all," Melber added.

11-22-99