Robert Craig C’75, History and Urban Studies
“I grew up in Chicago and attended high school a mile or so down Foster Avenue from North Park at Amundsen High. Nothing in my high school history classes could have prepared me for my first history lecture at North Park—an American history class taught by Dr. Wiberg in the auditorium. It must have been a 101 class because there were over a hundred students. Dr. Wiberg sat on a stool on the stage—no lectern, no notes—and just started speaking. It was the most incredible thing I had ever heard. I was mesmerized! I happened to look around and everyone else had their heads down and were writing in their notebooks. I thought to myself ‘they should be listening to this; it’s wonderful!’ About then the person next to me whispered and told me I should be taking notes. ‘Notes?! What is that?’ I didn’t have a clue! Luckily, I had some great friends who rolled their eyes, laughed at my plight, and then pitched in to give me a crash course in note-taking. It must have worked.
“Being a history major influenced me greatly, not only in my knowledge and understanding of history but in how to research and most importantly to write. Classes with Charles Wiberg and Zenos Hawkinson were an incredible experience. I learned how to learn from these men. Every class required a research paper, and we were taught to write clearly and succinctly. Neither would accept anything but grammatically correct and structurally sound papers. There was no such thing as good writing, only good re-writing. Papers were to be properly annotated and footnoted. It was only after your paper passed muster in these areas that content was examined. When your paper was finally accepted, it was a cause for celebration. The ability to write well was crucial in my chosen profession, and after having those classes I was prepared for just about anything.”