Life & Letters A publication of the College of Liberal Arts of The University of Texas at Austin Volume 2 Issue 1 Behind the Veil Pro Bene Meritis Winners Making a Difference in the Languages of the World Life & Letters From the Dean Volume 2 Issue 1 Once again, the school year is drawing to a close. It has certainly been a year of challenges. On campus, we have been faced with The College of Liberal Arts at The University budget cuts and increased enrollment. As a nation, we have been of Texas at Austin publishes Life & Letters for through a war abroad and continue to confront an economic battle alumni and friends of the College. at home. But through out it all, I have had the redeeming pleasure of working with 13,000 of the best and brightest college students Editor: around. Robin Stanton Gerrow It is a great pleasure to tell you that we will have more than 2,100 of those students participating in commencement ceremonies Contributing writers: this month. Economics, Government and Psychology are the Michelle Bryant largest groups, with more than 300 graduating from each of those Lauren Downey departments. This year’s class of graduating seniors include winners of Marshall and Mitchell scholarships. We are also proud to have two winners of Truman scholarships, Heidi Boutros and Corinna Kester, in our Plan Photographer: II program. You can read about some of Heidi’s wonderful work on Marsha Miller page 17. It is also an honor to introduce you to this year’s Pro Bene Meritis winners, Elizabeth Warnock Fernea, Betty Sue Flowers, Joe Long & Alumni Editorial Advisors: Teresa Lozano Long, and Charls Walker. Each of these people have Michael Appleman made significant contributions to the liberal arts--I think you will enjoy reading about each of them in this Coby Chase issue of Life & Letters. Joan Fitzgerald Curry I frequently talk about the excitement and the impact of the liberal arts, and there are several articles in this issue that show how our students are using their education to tackle global issues. They, along with several faculty members, are doing work in Peru, India and right here on campus, to help indigenous Web Address: www.utexas.edu/cola communities preserve their culture and heritage. This is typical of the reach and power of the work being done in the College of Liberal Arts. Though we will have fewer students on campus over the summer, that doesn’t mean we will be taking a To submit an item for “Class Notes,” send it, along break. With enrollments expected to remain high, there is significant work to do in preparation for the fall with your major and year of graduation, to semester. The cuts that we have undergone and the projected cuts in the next biennium present us with real [email protected] or mail to challenges to our ability to deliver the same high quality education that has earned UT a glowing and growing reputation throughout the world. Life & Letters, College of Liberal Arts, 1 University The wonderful faculty and staff of this College are working hard to find ways to deal with this situa- Station, G6000, Austin, TX 78712 tion—with the needs of students being the primary concern. It is an honor to work with such dedicated folks. Cover: Faegheh Shirazi, Speaking as a parent and as an educator, I tell you with pleasure that the students have never before seen in photo by Marsha Miller this College a faculty of such high dedication and such international distinction. To you alums this means that your degree has never had the luster that it has today. You can be more proud today of your UT degree than ever before. Thank you all for your continued support and good wishes. I look forward to hearing from you. Richard Lariviere Dean, College of Liberal Arts Contents Features Dying Languages Pro Bene Meritis ......................................................3 page 7 Breathing Life Into a Dying Language......................7 Fear Factor.............................................................19 Tolkien's Tongues of Middle Earth..........................21 Shirley Thompson page 14 Departments Alumni...................................................................13 Faculty ...................................................................14 Research ................................................................15 Students.................................................................17 The Back Page ........................................................30 Middle Earth page 21 page 2 Elizabeth Warnock Fernea Narrowing the distance from East to West One of the first things you notice about Elizabeth Warnock Fernea is her ease with people. Walking across campus, she’ll greet familiar faces and those who simply recognize her. Her manner towards others probably helped her live among strangers and their customs in several countries including Morocco, Egypt and Iraq. Before traveling far and wide, Fernea traveled within the United States to pursue her education. She received her undergraduate degree from Reed College in 1949; worked on her graduate fellowship in English from Mount Holyoke College in 1949-50; and continued her graduate work in English at the University of Chicago from 1954-56. Shortly after college, Fernea married Robert Fernea, who was then an anthropology graduate student from the University of Chicago, moving to Iraq for fieldwork in 1956. Rather than remaining behind, Fernea accompanied her husband to the small Shiite village in Southern Iraq. For two years, Fernea dressed in traditional clothing, learned the language, and shared her life with the local women. From her experience abroad came her first ethnogra- phy, “Guests of the Sheik,” in 1965. “I wrote about the Middle East because I realized people didn’t understand their culture,” Fernea said. “When I returned, people wondered how I lived there, but really I wouldn’t have survived without the kindness of those women. So, I wanted to write about my experience in a personal way.” Following their residence in Iraq, Fernea and her husband moved to Egypt in 1959 for the next six years, which led to her second book, “A View of the Nile.” Though Fernea Fernea continued on page 26 Pro Bene Meritis Award The Pro Bene Meritis Award is to honor individuals who are committed to the liberal arts, who have made outstanding contributions in professional or philanthropic pur- suits, or who have participated in service related to the College of Liberal Arts at The University of Texas at Austin. This year’s honorees, Elizabeth Warnock Fernea, Betty photo by Marsha Miller Sue Flowers, Joe R. Long, Teresa Lozano Long and Charls Walker are profiled in the following pages. page 3 For most people work is far from enjoyable, but for Dr. Betty Sue Flowers work is synonymous with fun. As director of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum, Flowers handles tasks that allow the LBJ Library to serve as a center for schol- arly research. Not only does Flowers see her job as important; she loves investing her time in it. “I enjoy my job, and I like putting in the time it requires,” Flowers said. “I think of it more as ‘what I like to do’ rather than a job.” Flowers was raised in Texas, growing up in Abilene and Waco. She graduated from The Univer- sity of Texas at Austin in 1969 as a Plan II student with High Honors and Special Honors in English. She continued at the university to earn her master’s degree in English with a minor in history in 1970. After completing her doctorate from the University of London in 1973, Flowers returned to her position at the university until 1979, when she became an associate professor in the English Department. During her tenure at the university she has also served as the associate dean of the graduate school and the director for Plan II Liberal Arts Honors program. Flowers became a full professor in the English Department, where she taught until photo by Marsha Miller recently. In 2000, she was selected as the director for creative writing, and in 2001 was chosen as the Joan Negley Kelleher Centennial Professor. Betty Sue Flowers She has hosted a series on KLRU, the local affiliate of the Public Broadcasting System (PBS), called “Conversations with Betty Sue Flowers,” and took part in a national series with Bill Moyers on PBS titled, “Six Great Ideas.” Nationally, Flowers has served on the United States Personnel Committee, Following her participated in several panels for the National Endowment for the Humanities, as well as the American Academy of University Professors. own bliss Flowers continued on page 25 page 4 JOE R. LONG & TERESA LOZANO LONG The Power of Two Joe R. Long and Teresa Lozano Long have become known as a dy- namic duo in Austin where they make their home—creating a legacy of art, health and education. “Whatever we do, we do it together,” Teresa said. Both got their start in small Texas towns. For Teresa it was in Pre- mont where her parents operated a dairy farm. She earned the distinction of class valedictorian and was a bookworm who enjoyed school and piano lessons. Joe was born in San Antonio, but his family moved around to several small towns before settling down in Centerville. Joe excelled in school participating in Interscholastic League and declamation, the memorization of famous speeches and poetry. He served as class president for four years and Toscanini conduct the New York Philharmonic almost 50 years ago in Gregory was also valedictorian of his class. Gym,” Joe said. At age 16, Teresa began attending The University of Texas at Austin. She He completed his ROTC training and upon graduation in 1951, was called graduated in 1948 completing her bachelor of science degree in only three years. into the service during the Korean War as Second Lieutenant as a military police In 1965, she earned her doctorate in education becoming the first Hispanic to officer, attached to the 7th Army Military Police Battalion in Stuttgart.