(Lf to rt) Howard Bavender and John
Quincy Adams
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Students Send
Bavender First-Class to Paris by Dick Jones Howard Bavender, professor emeritus of political
science, always said he wanted to begin the new
millennium on the banks of the Seine River in Paris,
sipping champagne.
And so he shall – traveling first class en route
– thanks to the generosity of his former students.
Fifteen Millsaps alumni and two faculty colleagues have
contributed about $7,500 to buy “Bav” a
first-class air ticket from Washington, D.C., to Paris
and back again.
“Because he has always preached to us – during
and since college – that we should work for the poor
and downtrodden, we are calling this the ‘Paris with
the Plutocrats Tour’ since he’s going to be up
front with the fat cats,” says Wayne Edwards, B.A.
1973, executive vice president of Bill Hudson and
Associates, a Nashville advertising and public relations
firm.
The first-class ticket and certificate of appreciation
were presented to the unsuspecting Bavender on October 29
at Les Halles Restaurant in Washington. He thought he was
simply going to have lunch with a former student, Janet
Hall, B.A. 1978, who is director of America Online’s
European operations.
“This is an opportunity for us to show him what he
means to us,” says Janet Hall. “I think he
already knows what he means to us but we’re
delighted that we can do this.”
Bavender, who will turn 80 on January 4, 2000, taught
political science at Millsaps for 24 years. An Iowa
native, he came to academe late, after serving in the
Army Air Corps during World War II and in the U.S. Air
Force in the Korean War. After teaching at Springfield
College in Massachusetts, he was hired at Millsaps in
1966 by Professor John Quincy Adams who had met him years
before while both were in graduate school at the
University of Texas.
“The two of us were the Millsaps political science
department for a lot of years,” says Adams, who also
has retired to the Washington area. “Our offices
were next door to each other. Our doors were always open.
A lot of teaching went on outside of the classroom.”
It still does. Bavender and Adams have helped to organize
a book club for their former students who live in
Washington. “Sometimes it’s more like a
salon,” says Adams, “because we don’t
always focus on a book – just current political
events.”
“Bav just has an enormous network of Millsaps
alumni,” says Janet Hall. “He’s an avid
reader and is always sending us books and commentaries on
books. He is particularly delighted when you argue with
him. Then it becomes just like class was back at
Millsaps.”
“Bav doesn’t have a driver’s
license,” says Scotty Greene, 1974. “Never did,
as far as I know. And he doesn’t need one because in
most cities around the world he has students and friends
who are more than pleased to chauffeur him and have him
stay in their homes.”
Though he retired in 1990, Bavender continues to teach
through a staggering load of personal correspondence.
Scotty Greene has 29 years worth of letters from
“Bav,” who is also the godfather to his child.
“I worked for a year as a deck hand on a Norwegian
Steamer,” recalls Greene, who lives in Atlanta and
is CEO of Integral Assisted Living. “I’d get
into Toronto and there would be a packet of letters from
‘Bav’ waiting for me. What a thrill.”
“Letters from him are treasures. Discussions with
him are priceless,” adds Wayne Edwards.“He is a
source of on-going strength and comfort. I know I could
call on him with any problem and he would be there.”
In class, Professor Bavender was a commanding presence. A
common recollection of his students is what they call
“the parting of the desks” as he moved toward
them – seemingly in a straight line – to engage
them in debate. His mid-term and final tests were oral
exams, unusual – and intimidating – for an
undergraduate setting.
“He thrived on the dynamic of the give and
take,” says Greene. “He challenged the
bookworms to be articulate and the extroverts to do their
homework and not get by on their speaking abilities. And
when he talked about Karl Marx or FDR, he became that
person.”
“Howard Bavender remains a teacher’s
teacher,” reflects Greene. “He lives to impart
knowledge.”
“And when he gets back from Paris he will tell us
exactly what the French government is up to,” adds
Janet Hall.
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