Volume 8, Number 12, December 2002

Selected Highlights Banner Year for ARI Scholarly Gathering at from the Year University of Texas Media Department and Contests [Note: The data cited here and in the Last month Dr. and Dr. Robert accompanying article refer to ARI’s fiscal Forging Ahead Mayhew each delivered a scholarly paper at a col- year, which runs from October to loquium held under the aegis of the Fellowship for September. ] Despite a serious downturn in the economy and in the Study of at the University of Texas the midst of savage acts of foreign aggression Media Successes at Austin. Faculty members from the university against the United States, the Institute has ■ Twenty-five television interviews, including were the primary intended audience for the event; continued to grow and expand its cultural influence. appearances on Fox News, PBS and MSNBC. two University of Texas professors were invited to ■ Contributions to the Institute have reached a new Key newspapers that published ARI commen- comment on the papers. A number of philosophy high of $3.3 million—a growth rate of 30 percent. taries: the Los Angeles Times, The Houston graduate students from the university and from Chronicle, Miami Herald, Philadelphia Inquirer. With the help of those funds we were able to intro- other schools, took part in discussions and a mini- Newspapers that carried our articles for the duce millions of people to the ideas of Ayn Rand. workshop following the presentations. first time in 2002: the New York Post, Christian In the last fiscal year (October 2001 to At the colloquium Dr. Gotthelf presented a Science Monitor. Thirty-three newspaper edi- September 2002), the media department smashed torials commented on ARI’s op-eds. paper on “Similarity, Sameness, and Kinds in five records. It released 58 editorials (14 more than ■ Most successful op-ed: “Honoring Virtue,” an Aristotle, Locke, and Ayn Rand.” A renowned last year), which were published a total of 623 times article on Memorial Day by Dr. Andrew scholar of Aristotle and head of the Ayn Rand (more than double last year’s total of 253), and Bernstein, was published in a record 31 news- Society, Dr. Gotthelf is Professor of Philosophy reached an aggregate circulation of 35.6 million papers, with a total circulation of 5.2 million. (emeritus) at The College of New Jersey. From ■ newspaper readers (twice as many as last year). Thanks to a surge in the number of Web sites January to August of 2001 he was a member of the that carry our articles, we had op-eds published Our speakers and writers were interviewed or Institute For Advanced Study in Princeton. During 200 times on the Internet (the total publication had their writing mentioned in print more than 400 the fall 2002 semester he was a Visiting Professor count, including newspapers, was 623); last times (a 30 percent increase). Of that total, 25 in the Philosophy department at the University of year hardly any Web sites carried our articles. interviews were on television programs, including ■ Texas at Austin. (This latter appointment was Our articles were excerpted on the air by the top-rated The O’Reilly Factor, which are numerous top-rated talk-radio hosts, including made possible thanks to the Fellowship for the viewed by millions of people (the number of tele- Dr. Laura and Rush Limbaugh. Study of Objectivism.) vision interviews is a five-fold increase over last ■ Total airtime of radio and television inter- Dr. Mayhew, a scholar of Aristotle, is a profes- year). Dr. , executive director, took views: 10,450 minutes; the average interview sor of philosophy at Seton Hall University and the part in 150 interviews, including most of the tele- was 30 minutes. editor of (among other books) Ayn Rand’s vision appearances. Our speakers and writers gar- Essay Contests, Campus Projects Marginalia and The Art of Nonfiction by Ayn nered a total of 10,450 minutes of radio and televi- ■ The combined total of entries to the Rand. Last year he taught an advanced philosophy sion airtime. [See sidebar for further highlights.] and Fountainhead high school essay contests seminar at ARI’s Objectivist Academic Center “ARI’s projects differ in their target audience,” was 10,456, a 12 percent increase since last (OAC). His paper at last month’s colloquium was said Dr. Brook. “Whereas our newspaper editorials year and our highest total to date. on “Aristotle, Ideology, and the Number of Teeth ■ and media appearances aim at the general public, Not only was the combined total higher than in Women.” ever, but the total for each contest saw an the essay contests focus on high school students, continued on page 4 increase, too. who are among the most open to Miss Rand’s ■ Thousands of college students, professors and ideas. And here too the results were encouraging.” members of the public attended ARI-spon- We received an all-time record number of sored lectures at such campuses as Harvard, entries: 10,456, a 12 percent increase over last Stanford, UCLA and Michigan. Lecture Series 2002 ■ The total number of live lectures reached a year. Nearly two-thirds of the Anthem entries and new high of 56. continued on page 2 Book Promotions ARI’s Lecture Series 2002 draws to a close on ■ Despite a slump in the publishing industry, the December 12 with a talk by Dr. Brook titled “The sales of Ayn Rand’s books continued to grow Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: What Is the Solution?” steadily. The total sales exceeded 400,000 More than 400 people attended the third lecture copies; alone accounted for on November 18, titled “Back to the Dark Ages?: 128,626 copies. Today’s Attacks on Reason and ” and ■ A new book, The Ayn Rand Sampler, was pub- given by Mr. Peter Schwartz, chairman of ARI’s lished and distributed for free at bookstores. board. Videotapes of selected lectures are available, The first printing was 150,000 copies. as a premium, for a contribution of $50, which ■ Ayn Rand’s books were prominently featured in summer reading displays at such major includes shipping and handling to the United States bookstores as Barnes and Noble and Borders. and Canada. To obtain a video, please visit our Web ■ ARI Press published Facets of Ayn Rand. site (www.aynrand.org) or call us at 949-222-6550. The Lecture Series 2003 will Outreach to Business and the Public begin in January. ■ In partnership with AT&T Broadband and ARI’s speakers garnered 10,450 minutes of radio and television C-SPAN, we sponsored a series of public lec- airtime between Oct. 2001 and Sept. 2002. tures and events in conjunction with the broad- cast C-SPAN’s live program on Miss Rand and . Announcement Inside this Issue ■ A newly designed Web site was launched for ■ Employment Opportunities at ARI. We are cur- ■ Excerpts from Facets of Ayn Rand page 2 our Capitalism Defense Project. The site rently seeking an Education Department Assistant, offers essays and articles in defense of the ■ Discovering Ayn Rand’s Philosophy: morality of profit. a Professional Outreach Manager and a Media The Trader Principle page 2 ■ In addition to other engagements elsewhere, Research Coordinator. For complete details about ■ Part two of the Staff Profile of Dr. Brook was invited to deliver a lecture at the these positions and how to apply, please visit our Air Force’s National Air Intelligence Center at Web site: www.aynrand.org/employment.html. Jeff Britting, Archivist page 3 Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. Banner Year for ARI, Continued from page 1 one-fifth of the Fountainhead entries were the result of teachers assigning the books in class. Our DISCOVERING contests, which are in their second decade, are among the largest and best known in the country. AYN RAND’S On college campuses around the country ARI sponsored an all-time record of 56 live lectures on applications of Ayn Rand’s philosophy, Objectivism, PHILOSOPHY to current affairs. We also sent taped lectures, videos, books and other educational materials on Objectivism to a network of about 100 college The Trader Principle to the virtues of another, the spiritual payment campus clubs. given in exchange for the personal, selfish pleasure [Each month Impact suggests readings for fans of which one man derives from the virtues of another To encourage the reading of Miss Rand’s Miss Rand’s novels who wish to learn more about writings, ARI helped to underwrite the production her philosophy, Objectivism.] man’s character. Only a brute or an altruist would of 150,000 copies of a new book, The Ayn Rand claim that the appreciation of another person’s Sampler, which is being distributed at bookstores bjectivism holds that virtues is an act of selflessness, that as far as one’s for free. The 112-page book is intended for any- Oeach man’s own hap- own selfish interest and pleasure are concerned, it one who knows of Miss Rand but has yet to dis- piness, achieved by his makes no difference whether one deals with a cover her writing; it features several excerpts own work and trade, is his genius or a fool, whether one meets a hero or a from her fiction and nonfiction work. The com- highest moral purpose. thug, whether one marries an woman or a bined sales of all of Ayn Rand’s books last year The ethical code of slut. In spiritual issues, a trader is a man who does continued to grow steadily and amounted to more Objectivism is rational not seek to be loved for his weaknesses or flaws, than 400,000 copies. egoism. Contrary to the only for his virtues, and who does not grant his In May C-SPAN, a cable television channel prevalent view of egoism, love to the weaknesses or the flaws of others, only with a weekly audience of 28.5 million, broadcast which portrays man as a to their virtues.” a two-hour live program on Ayn Rand and The mercenary exploiter of To learn more about the application of the Fountainhead, featuring Dr. , Dr. others, Ayn Rand held that Objectivist ethics, please consult the suggested Eric Daniels, a historian, and Jeff Britting of the each man should live by readings. Ayn Rand Archives. To capitalize on the attention his own mind and for his own sake, neither sacri- focused on Miss Rand, we partnered with AT&T ficing himself to others nor others to himself. (By Suggested Readings: Broadband and C-SPAN to sponsor a series of pub- “sacrifice” is meant the surrender of a higher value lic lectures, panel discussions and film screenings for the sake of a lesser or non-value.) As she wrote: ! “The Objectivist Ethics” in The Virtue of in the days leading up to and following the live “The principle of trade is the only rational ethical Selfishness by Ayn Rand broadcast. Some of these lectures were also filmed principle for all human relationships, personal and ! “Galt’s Speech” in and later broadcast by C-SPAN. The program on social, private and public, spiritual and material. It by Ayn Rand Miss Rand was part of the American Writers is the principle of justice. ! Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand by Series, and was rebroadcast numerous times. “A trader is a man who earns what he gets and Leonard Peikoff; see especially chapters Around the start of the fiscal year (Nov. 2001) does not give or take the undeserved. He does not seven, eight, nine and 11. ARI Press published Facets of Ayn Rand, a book of treat men as masters or slaves, but as independent ! Dr. Peikoff’s Web site (www.peikoff.com) memoirs by Mary Ann Sures and her husband, the equals. He deals with men by means of a free, vol- features excerpts from his books as well as a late Charles Sures. (See below.) untary, unforced, uncoerced exchange—an complete list of his numerous taped lecture Our efforts in defense of the morality of capi- exchange which benefits both parties by their own courses on Ayn Rand’s philosophy. talism have drawn an encouraging response from independent judgment. A trader does not expect to ! The Ayn Rand Bibliographic Search Engine some businessmen. Not only has corporate support be paid for his defaults, only for his achievements. (www.aynrand.org/books/biblio/) allows you for ARI increased by 40 percent, but the Institute He does not switch to others the burden of his fail- to locate where in Ayn Rand’s writings she was recently approached by a publicly traded tech- ures, and he does not mortgage his life into addressed a specific topic. nology firm and asked to help develop an bondage to the failures of others. ! The Ayn Rand Lexicon, Dr. Harry Objectivist-oriented training program for their “In spiritual issues—(by ‘spiritual’ I mean: Binswanger, ed., is a mini-encyclopedia of senior executives and management team. (That ‘pertaining to man’s consciousness’)—the curren- Miss Rand’s views on some 400 topics. intensive educational program began last month.) cy or medium of exchange is different, but the ! ARI’s Web site offers suggested reading lists “The last year for ARI has been tremendous,” principle is the same. Love, friendship, respect, as well as introductory essays on said Dr. Brook. “With regard to each of our main admiration are the emotional response of one man Objectivism: www.aynrand.org/objectivism/. audiences—students, businessmen, the general public—we are making significant inroads, intro- ducing more people to the philosophic ideas that In memory of Mr. Sures, Impact has selected ARI: So accepting two-dollar stamp gifts from underlie Miss Rand’s novels. excerpts from his sections of the book. In this issue you was an exception? “On behalf of the staff and board of directors we reprint passages from Chapter II—“Ayn Rand Charles: A very happy exception. And it was of ARI, I’d like to extend our thanks for the finan- and Charles Sures”—on Miss Rand’s approach to one way of reciprocating for the times I stayed cial support that our donors have provided us. stamp collecting, a hobby which she and Mr. Sures overnight at the O’Connors’ when in town for a Without your help, none of our advances in defense shared, and on Ayn Rand as hostess. stamp show or other business. of reason, egoism and capitalism would have been —Editor ARI: We’ll have to talk about those possible. In the coming year, we’re setting our overnighters [see below]. But, first, tell me about sights far higher. Much is possible to us.” From Chapter II: Ayn Rand and Charles Sures Miss Rand and the stamp shows. “Stamp Collecting” Charles: There were two large shows in New York City, one in the spring and one in the fall, and ARI: [D]id you help her acquire . . . stamps? we tried to make it to at least one of them, and some Facets of Ayn Rand Charles: Sure. I attended more stamp shows than years we went to both. Over the years, Ayn and she did, and before I went to one, I would check in Frank did not initiate many phone calls. Mary Ann Impact is pleased to reprint the following excerpts with her to see if there was anything she wanted. She and I did most of the calling. But she never failed to from Facets of Ayn Rand; a different excerpt would give me a list of stamps she needed and the call about the date of a stamp show and make appeared last month. The book of memoirs, pub- price range for each one. I made a number of pur- arrangements to go if she could. lished by ARI Press in 2001, is based on interviews chases for her over the years and kept up the They were all-day affairs and could be tiring. with Mary Ann Sures and her husband, the late accounting. There were times when I purchased a There were hundreds of booths and tables for the Charles Sures, who were longtime personal friends stamp she didn’t have and which a good collection dealers, and thousands of people attended. But she of Ayn Rand. should have, but which was expensive. I would tell was a trooper; she had the stamina. She said she This month marks the second anniversary of the her that if she didn’t want it, I would keep it in my found that just being there was energizing. founding of the Charles Sures Memorial Scholarship collection. I meant it, even though the stamp was a She approached a stamp show in a very busi- Fund, which was established by ARI and Mary Ann duplicate of one I owned. But she always bought it. ness-like way. She always came prepared with a Sures. In keeping with Mr. Sures’ wishes, the Fund ARI: Did you give her any stamps as gifts? list of what she needed. Also, she had a stamp gives financial aid to Objectivist scholars. Since its Charles: Yes, but at her insistence we agreed budget. On the way to a show, she would declare inception, more than $25,000 has been contributed that I could not spend more than two dollars on a a budget limit—usually around three hundred dol- by 51 donors. The Fund has awarded four scholar- stamp gift for her. As a general rule, Ayn did not like lars. But if she found a stamp that exceeded her ships, which include a book grant to Dr. Robert to receive gifts from admirers, and it was her policy budget, she would pause, look at me, and ask, Mayhew, and several awards to graduate students. to return a gift if she had not met the person or knew “Should I?” I always said, “Yes,” whereupon she To all the donors who have contributed to the Fund, that person only casually. She said that accepting a treated herself to it with a kind of resigned sigh of we and Mrs. Sures would like to say again: Thank gift created an implied obligation upon her to recip- pleasure—as if she were succumbing to the irre- you for your generous support and the awards you rocate, and she thought it an “enormous”—one of sistible. Like all collectors, she went over budget. have made possible. Contributions to the Sures her favorite adjectives—presumption, especially if But I can’t recall any stamp purchase over four Memorial Fund may be made at any time. (For more she had not met the person sending the gift. hundred dollars. information, visit: www.aynrand.org/support/.) continued on next page 2 JB: If you want the Hollywood version of the Staff Profile: Jeff Britting, Archivist story—which is also the true version—I can tell you this: I’ve been to the Oscars twice. The first time When ARI was founded Impact: In addition to the documentary, there was over fifteen years ago. I cooked at them—liter- in 1985, the staff con- were several books based on archival materials that ally stuffing rosemary rolls into baskets in an out- sisted of just one came out around that time. I’m thinking of Journals door kitchen behind the red carpet as the guests employee: our first of Ayn Rand, Letters of Ayn Rand and Ayn Rand’s arrived. The second time—I was an invited guest executive director, Dr. Marginalia. It sounds as if there was a growing need with a picture in the running. Michael S. Berliner. for a formal repository. When I attended as a guest along with Michael, Since then, as we have JB: Absolutely. Over time, we have acquired I was not nervous at all. I was too distracted to be added new programs other items from a variety of sources, including nervous, because, until the limousine arrived, I was and expanded existing people whose names we discovered among Miss busy attempting to tie a bowtie. When we arrived at ones, our staff has Rand’s papers. Scott McConnell, in particular, was the event and were seated, however, I knew this was grown. To introduce you going through the materials, while conducting it. Because the nominees for the various categories to ARI’s staff—to help research for the early stage of the oral history pro- are scattered throughout the audience in small you put a face to a name—Impact will occasionally gram. He would interview people, and ask about groups, when your category is up, the camera crew feature profiles of our staff. documents or photos, which might be available. approaches you like some curious spider, just inches Impact recently spoke to Jeff Britting, who is the Little by little, we started to acquire new items from away, waiting for you to win or lose. When Robert archivist of the Ayn Rand Archives. This is the con- individuals and organizations. De Niro pronounced Ayn Rand’s name, with the clusion of the interview that appeared last month. In the beginning, we had a box for newly cameras staring at us—it was then that my heart acquired items, which we called “Box 41.” Over * * * starting pounding. time, one box couldn’t hold it all, so it became many Impact: What was the most gratifying aspect, Impact: In working on the documentary [Ayn boxes. Today, we affectionately use the term “Box for you, of working on the documentary? Rand: A Sense of Life], I imagine you must have 41” to refer to some 72 boxes of documents, plus JB: Well, I set out to do something in music and been scurrying left and right for archival material, shelves of facsimiles and a whole room of film at the age of 22. And here I was working on a given that there was no organized repository for unprocessed new material. film that was a real work of love—expressing ideas such things. What were your sources? By the time the documentary film was over as a that I love and wish to expose to the public. That the Jeff Britting: Let me say this. If I had music, I full-time or even a part-time effort, I was offered the documentary was made and released, and still plays would underscore my words here: without our job of managing the Ayn Rand papers held at ARI. I on cable—is a miracle, really. I’m grateful to all access to the materials on deposit at ARI, and I mean guess my primary qualification was that I could those who helped make it become a reality. instant access, there would have been no documen- organize a lot of details. And I never lost anything. Impact: Let’s zoom forward a few years; as the tary, as we know it. This project would have taken But I had a lot to learn about collection manage- archivist, you were the chief coordinator of ARI’s 500 years to complete. That is not an overstatement. ment, the craft of being an archivist—which I did public events during the C-SPAN weekend in May. If you have worked in manuscript repositories, you eventually learn. It’s a wonderful field, with a lot of Despite having your own lecture to deliver at the know how long it takes to access materials. scientists, artists and literary people interacting event, you made it all come together. Tell me what it At the time most of the items came from Dr. together—all united by a love of history. was like coordinating the event. [In May C-SPAN Leonard Peikoff [Ayn Rand’s legal and intellectual Impact: Once Ayn Rand: A Sense of Life was in devoted one program of its American Writers Series heir]. In 1995 he decided to place the materials on distribution, it won a nomination for an Academy to Ayn Rand and The Fountainhead; in conjunction deposit at ARI. Previously, he had made a gift of Award. I remember watching the Oscars in 1998 and with that live program, ARI arranged a weekend of handwritten drafts of Ayn Rand’s four novels to the seeing you and [the public events.] Library of Congress. But the bulk of the material— producer/writer/director] appear on screen, as the JB: Again, as with a film or with managing a such as personal letters, journals, photographs— nominees were listed. Tell me what was it like, com- repository, with thousands of elements that must be went to the Institute. There were more than 40 ing from “Box 41” and the dream of a movie—to organized—it’s the challenge of putting them in boxes. Some of which had not been sorted or looked that night, and all those hundreds of millions of eyes, order, of taking a vision from the absolute beginning at since Ayn Rand’s death. around the world, on the movie, you and Miss Rand? continued on page 4

Facets of Ayn Rand, continued from page 2 evening. Frank usually turned in before we did. If I yawned, When we entered a show, we were given name she would say, “OK, that’s it,” tags to wear, and she always wrote “Ayn Rand” on and we would call it a night. hers, not “Ayn O’Connor.” She was proud of being She would tell me to help a stamp collector and wanted to go as the author of myself to anything I wanted in her article on stamp collecting. [Miss Rand’s arti- the refrigerator. And she would cle, “Why I Like Stamp Collecting,” originally then proceed to make up the appeared in Minkus Stamp Journal, spring of 1971, couch with sheets, pillow, and and was later reprinted in The Ayn Rand Column blanket. I told her that I would (edited by Peter Schwartz), Second Renaissance make up the couch, but she Books, 1998.] always insisted on doing it as a * * * service, she said, for her “cor- ner tenant.” I never got used to “Ayn Rand as Hostess” her doing chores like that. I never forgot who she was and ARI: [. . . ] What was a visit to Miss Rand like? what she had accomplished. Charles: She jokingly called me her “corner As a guest, I have a special tenant.” She explained that in communist Russia, recollection of a January 1. We living quarters were at a premium, so much so that a had been to a New Year’s Eve person who had an apartment could rent the four party, and Mary Ann and I corners of a room to tenants. So I became her “cor- drove them home. We had ner tenant”—without paying rent, of course. planned to drop them off and go Ayn took seriously being a hostess. She made directly home to Maryland, sure her housekeeper had everything ready for my where I had to prepare for a stay. She pointed out the fresh towels in the guest trial. They expressed concern bathroom; there was always a fresh bar of soap; she about the five-hour drive, and reminded me of the juice and sandwiches in the they urged us to come up with refrigerator. them for a rest and a bite to eat There was an amusing ritual. She explained that before our journey, which we the[ir] cats, being mischievous, were not permitted did. Now, the living room win- in the living room overnight. Their seclusion was dows of their apartment looked guaranteed by implementing what she jokingly des- down on 34th Street, where I The above memo from Mr. Sures to Ayn Rand (and annotated by her) is repro- ignated “the decompression chamber.” had parked the car across from ARI: What was that? duced from page 56 of Facets of Ayn Rand. Copies of the book may be obtained directly from ARI (www.aynrand.org/books; or call 949-222-6550) and from such their building. We said our Charles: A long hallway connecting the living bookstores as Amazon.com. Facets is based on interviews conducted by Scott goodbyes, which included room with the master bedroom. There were doors at McConnell of ARI, as part of the Oral History Program of the Ayn Rand Archives. admonitions to drive carefully, each end. The cats stayed in the bedroom and were to stop and rest at diners, and so prevented from escaping into the living room by the and I would call out from time to time. [. . . ] on. We walked to our car and looked up and there policy of never having both doors to the “decom- ARI: What were evenings like after dinner? they were, Ayn and Frank, standing at the window, pression chamber” open at the same time. This Charles: I enjoyed talks that lasted into the making sure we got into our car safely, and waving saved her and Frank from chasing cats. The guest early morning hours. Ayn was not indefatigable, to us. It was an endearing sight. bathroom and her study were off this chamber, and but I never met anyone who outlasted her. She if I entered it I had to make sure there weren’t any might get tired, and she might unabashedly yawn, * * * cats in it waiting to escape. “All clear,” Ayn, Frank but she was never the first to call an end to the 3 Staff Profile: Jeff Britting, Archivist Continued from page 3 is very important. I feel very proud that we have the programs we do. What we do will ensure a continu- and being a part of the final product. That is how I thousands of years, I think, without museum treat- ity of knowledge about her, one that will not simply approach things, breaking things down into steps, ment. And because Southern California’s climate is evaporate over time. We, and others to follow, are and then going all out towards the final goal. so close to North Africa’s, which is very dry, I feel here to capture history and make it known. Also, I’m glad it represented ARI well and we have time on our side. Impact: Before we conclude, I want to return helped to bring Ayn Rand’s life and ideas into mil- Impact: As one of the many hats you wear, you to your interest in music. I know that you composed lions of homes and classrooms around the country. are editor of the newsletter Archives Annual: tell me the score of Ayn Rand: A Sense of Life; do you still One of my hopes is that the C-SPAN program a little about what’s in the upcoming issue. pursue your interest in composing? itself—along with the ARI-produced events— JB: The Annual is a way of presenting new JB: Music brought me to philosophy, in effect. serves to present an audiovisual introduction to the findings to the public, especially while our collec- And composing music is what I do. I am able to Ayn Rand papers. It’s a look at the resources of the tions are still closed to the general public. Our next work on it, supporting myself with a fascinating Archives department and what kinds of things are issue will feature an update of our acquisitions over “day job.” The opportunities are rather limited for available there. It’s going to be especially helpful in the last year and a half. Also, in the same issue, there art composers. However, you can make your own producing programming during the centenary of will be an edited version of the talk that I presented opportunities. Each year I take a “sabbatical” to Ayn Rand’s birth in 2005. Having the C-SPAN pro- during the C-SPAN weekend. The talk’s original compose or continue composing a major work. I am gramming on video—and also on the Internet— title was “Ayn Rand and Hollywood: Soviet Film working on an opera, at present, based on an origi- gives museum curators and archivists a sense of School to The Fountainhead.” nal libretto. It is like the culmination of all my activ- what we are made of, literally. Impact: What’s your long-term goal for the ities to date, which is very satisfying. Throughout Impact: Tell me about your favorite discovery Archives Annual? the year, on the weekends, I compose smaller, short- from your archival research. JB: My goal is for the Annual to grow into a er works, chamber works and works for piano, JB: That would have to be discoveries. Every scholarly journal devoted to essays on the Archives which is my great instrumental love. few months, we discover some new unpublished or and its collections. Impact: If music is like another career for you, heretofore unheard audio of Ayn Rand. Her interest- Impact: I gather that you field a pretty con- have you time for hobbies? ing thoughts, captured in one medium or another, stant, and growing, stream of inquiries from schol- JB: Cooking, especially since I don’t have to just keep coming in from the world at large. There ars researching Ayn Rand. do it for a living anymore. I chose the field during are hundreds of thousands of things on hand; it is JB: That’s right. Interest is coming at this point college because it was an industry devoted to man’s hard to pick a favorite. Besides, in archive parlance, from all over the world, including Russia. I am pleasure. It’s completely non-tragic. You’ll never the basic unit is the whole collection, rather than any awaiting an essay on Ayn Rand and 20th-century say: here, eat this and feel rotten. The field outdoes single item of it. So, my favorite activity is encour- modernism, which was published in the journal of itself to make life happier. I’m certainly all for that! aging the growth of the collections, which is an the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of * * * ongoing discovery. But a recent acquisition?—how Sciences. That is one sort of thing we have done ref- [This interview with Jeff Britting was conducted by about a totally unknown Q & A session, about an erence work on—and we will continue to field ques- , Impact editor.] hour’s worth. It was recently donated and we are tions, especially since our policies have been pub- taking a look at it. lished online. Impact is published monthly by the Ayn Rand® Institute Impact: You mentioned that you had to learn Impact: What do you enjoy about your work? (ARI) and is complimentary to current donors who contirbute $35 or more per year. For information on how quite a bit about running an archives. What sort of JB: It’s an integration of interests that have you can support ARI and to learn about our projects, challenges did you face? coursed through my life. I was always interested in please visit our Web site: www.aynrand.org. JB: Collection management can overwhelm Ayn Rand’s development, not just the published you at first. There are so many things to address. works, but also the work she put into creating her Editor: Elan Journo. However, you just start with finding out what you works. I am fascinated by how her ideas developed. Editorial Advisors: Dr. Yaron Brook, Mark Chapman. have. Then you progress onto preserving—or taking It’s been a fascinating way to expand my under- Designer: Simon Federman. Printing: David Antonacci. Headquarters: 2121 Alton Parkway, Suite 250 precautions to preserve what you have. Anytime I standing of Objectivism. And there is my interest in Irvine, CA 92606-4926. Phone: 949-222-6550. feel we are going at a snail’s pace, I remind myself “giving Ayn Rand her due”—to borrow a phrase Fax: 949-222-6558. All rights reserved ©2002 of the Dead Sea Scrolls. They existed in urns for from [Senior Archives Advisor] Mike Berliner. That

Scholarly Gathering at University stantial issues of philosophy as well as profession- al issues concerning effective strategies for pursu- of Texas, continued from page 1 ing scholarly work in academia. The visiting students, who came from the This scholarly gathering was coordinated by University of Pittsburgh, Johns Hopkins, University Dr. Smith, a philosophy professor at the University of Illinois and Stanford, received advance copies of of Texas and the first beneficiary of the Fellowship the two papers, and were required to write brief for the Study of Objectivism. essays analyzing them and relating the topics to The Fellowship was established at the their own work. (Most are also students of the University of Texas with a grant from the Anthem OAC.) Two students from the University of Texas Foundation for Objectivist Scholarship. Last year also took part in the mini-workshop. the Fellowship sponsored two visiting profes- During the workshops, which lasted about five sors—Drs. and Darryl Wright— hours, the students, Dr. Gotthelf, Dr. Mayhew and at the university, and the Anthem Foundation pro- Dr. discussed issues arising from the vided the financial support for another Fellowship presentations and the students’ written comments. for the Study of Objectivism at Ashland University Among the topics discussed, there were both sub- in Ohio.

Happy Holidays from the Staff of ARI

Seated (left to right): Dr. Yaron Brook, Julie Repass, Mark Chapman. First row standing: Marilee Dahl, Debi Ghate, Kathy Cross, Donna Montrezza, Jason Sagall, David Holcberg, David Antonacci, Elan Journo. Back row: Dan Norton, Bryan Hochstetler, Sean Green, Simon Federman, Mark Wortkotter, Larry Benson, Scott McConnell, Jeff Britting, Dr. . Not shown: Dr. Michael Berliner, Duane Knight, Andrew Lewis, Stewart Margolis, Amy Peikoff, Richard E. Ralston, Robert W. Tracinski.

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