Parlour Talk
Magazines are a felicitous combination of words and pictures, but because we "read" magazines, many of us tend to think that the visual elements are secondary to the verbal. Yet, in the best magazines, a delicate balance is struck between language and image--an artful combination that enhances ideas and engages readers in ways that words alone cannot do.
For 30 years, the artfulness of the Swarthmore College Bulletin has been the domain of Bob Wood, our graphic designer. His name has been on our masthead longer than anyone's except Editor Emerita Maralyn Orbison Gillespie '49, who hired him in 1970. She recalls that he walked into her office and told her he thought he could make the Bulletin better. Handing him the proofs for her current issue, Maralyn asked him to redesign the cover. He did so to her satisfaction, and his work has continued to satisfy Bulletin editors--and readers--for more than 100 issues.
Bob's genius for combining the verbal and visual has its roots in the liberal arts. After earning a degree in art history from Oberlin College, he studied design at the Pratt Institute, where he says that his liberal education gave him an advantage over his fellow art students: "I didn't know a lot about any one thing, but I knew a little about a lot of things." A successful career in advertising and many years as a sought-after freelance designer followed. But as he approaches his 86th birthday, Bob has decided to disengage from the relentless schedule of the Bulletin to make time for other projects that fill his days.
I have never worked with a person quite so multitalented as Bob Wood. In addition to his layout skills, he has been an extraordinary photographer; painter; sculptor; filmmaker; and, in recent years, computer artist. The digital tools he has taught himself in the past decade have opened up whole new creative outlets.
We'll miss Bob Wood's designs, but we'll also miss the wise counsel--and first-rate journalism--of Barbara Haddad Ryan '59, who will leave her job as associate vice president for external affairs in August. As my boss, she has been unwavering in her support of a high-quality, independent-minded alumni magazine.
Barbara has also acted as a quiet mentor for dozens of students considering careers in journalism. After graduating from Swarthmore, where she was an Honors English major, and the Columbia School of Journalism, she was a reporter and columnist for two Denver newspapers for 20 years. Later a public relations executive and chair of the journalism department at Denver's Metropolitan State College, Barbara has served her alma mater with distinction since 1992.
As readers will see in her article, "The New Swarthmore Journalists", the College played an important role in her career, as it has in the work of the six young journalists she profiles. As Will Saletan '87 told her, "You don't have to get a Ph.D. to write thoughtfully about the world." But a Swarthmore education clearly helps.
I think of each issue of the Bulletin as a little like a term at Swarthmore--with four feature "courses," a collection of "news" events, some sports, a few good books and arguments, and a chance to get to know some of the best people you will ever encounter. In a magazine, words and pictures are intertwined; so it is in a small college, where the worlds of ideas and everyday life are inextricable. Thanks to people like Barbara Ryan and Bob Wood, the Bulletin's words and pictures bring you the richness of Swarthmore. Enjoy.
--Jeffrey Lott
ALUMNI DIGEST / BOOKS BY ALUMNI / COLLECTION / EDITOR'S NOTE / FEATURES / LETTERS /
OUR BACK PAGES / PROFILES / ARCHIVE / TALK BACK
All rights reserved. Copyright 2000