IN TRIBUTE TO MARY ROGERS BECKERT
We are reproducing the followings message from Kathleen McGrory to Cecilia Welna in its entirety
as the covering remarks clearly showed the deep affection that Kathleen had for Mary. The trilogy,
so to speak, by three devoted friends, Frances Josie Reynolds, Cecilia Welna, and Kathleen
McGrory, is now complete. Gleaning from the three beautiful and special tributes, and from personal
knowledge, we cannot but help appreciate Mary's presence in our midst even more. Ceil Welna's
tribute is the one with the owl, immediately preceding this one, posted on the EACTBLOG on
1/30/2011, and Josie Reynold's is the one with the picture of her handwritten tribute also posted on
the blog on 1/23/2011. Thanks to all. .
From: Kathleen McGrory. to Cecilia Welna
Date: Sunday, January 30, 2011
Dear Ceil,
I have been wanting to put these thoughts in writing ever since Dec. 2, but have suffered
writer's block when it comes to expressing my remembrances of Mary. I hope I'm sending
to the correct address the few thoughts I am able to express.
I first met Mary in the fall semester of 1978, when I reported for duty as ECSU's new, first
dean of arts and sciences, after having spent the previous nine years as a prof. of English
at Western in Danbury. At my first Eastern faculty meeting soon after the opening of the
academic year, a faculty member (not Mary) introduced a motion that the two new deans,
Peagler and McGrory, should return to their previous places of employment and leave the
Eastern faculty united under one dean (the late, dear Bill Billingham). I knew this sternly
phrased motion was not personal, so was not bothered by it, but I did have a long
breakfast at McDonald's the next morning with the Senate president. He clued me in
about where this was coming from. I did understand. But it was Mary who took the trouble
to apologize and to assure me there was no personal offense intended. None taken, but I
did appreciate Mary's first gesture of friendship and discovered in subsequent years that
she was always the peacemaker, but without sacrifice of her own strong principles. Mary
was a woman of principle and an untiring advocate of good teaching and academic
freedom. Eventually, in that first year, I moved next door, from the low-rise apartments in
student housing on campus, to Mary's house at 150 High Street, after she had moved to
live with her husband Herm Beckert in the Beckert family home. It's rare happening, in
this life, that a tenant feels privileged to have gotten to know a landlady. But as Mary's
tenant, I did feel privileged to know her as the most efficient and considerate landlady I
have ever known, in all my subsequent years of renting spaces to live in college towns
like Willimantic: Stanford, Charlottesville and Washington, DC. Mary was a Biblical good
steward of all she possessed, and she shared what she had with others less fortunate.
During her last illness, I had the added privilege of putting her home files in final order. I
found everything she mentioned in exactly the place or drawer she had said it would be.
As a woman of science, she knew the value of order, but she also practiced the
proverbial prudence of the Native American ideal about how to live, to "hold tight with
open hands." Her little known promise, to pay for textbooks of high school seniors
desirous of going to college, was kept religiously, until each had graduated. Her files were
filled with letters of thanks from dozens of students whose progress she had followed
quietly and privately--some of them family, but most of them not. It has been a privilege to
know Mary Rogers Beckert and her family.We discovered early on that my last name,
McGrory (in Irish Mac Ruaidhri, an Ulster name), is translated in the Norman French of the
island as Rogers, both meaning "red," for the Red Hand of Ulster that is the identifying
symbol of that ancient northern Irish province. I'd like to think we were related in that
way, too, but we are blessed in this life if we find even one person with whom we can feel
"in the deep heart's core" a genuine spiritual bond based on mutual respect and love of
neighbor. Mary was exactly that sort of person, a woman of deeply held faith that she
never preached, but instead, lived. She is missed.
Kathleen McGrory
as the covering remarks clearly showed the deep affection that Kathleen had for Mary. The trilogy,
so to speak, by three devoted friends, Frances Josie Reynolds, Cecilia Welna, and Kathleen
McGrory, is now complete. Gleaning from the three beautiful and special tributes, and from personal
knowledge, we cannot but help appreciate Mary's presence in our midst even more. Ceil Welna's
tribute is the one with the owl, immediately preceding this one, posted on the EACTBLOG on
1/30/2011, and Josie Reynold's is the one with the picture of her handwritten tribute also posted on
the blog on 1/23/2011. Thanks to all. .
From: Kathleen McGrory. to Cecilia Welna
Date: Sunday, January 30, 2011
Dear Ceil,
I have been wanting to put these thoughts in writing ever since Dec. 2, but have suffered
writer's block when it comes to expressing my remembrances of Mary. I hope I'm sending
to the correct address the few thoughts I am able to express.
I first met Mary in the fall semester of 1978, when I reported for duty as ECSU's new, first
dean of arts and sciences, after having spent the previous nine years as a prof. of English
at Western in Danbury. At my first Eastern faculty meeting soon after the opening of the
academic year, a faculty member (not Mary) introduced a motion that the two new deans,
Peagler and McGrory, should return to their previous places of employment and leave the
Eastern faculty united under one dean (the late, dear Bill Billingham). I knew this sternly
phrased motion was not personal, so was not bothered by it, but I did have a long
breakfast at McDonald's the next morning with the Senate president. He clued me in
about where this was coming from. I did understand. But it was Mary who took the trouble
to apologize and to assure me there was no personal offense intended. None taken, but I
did appreciate Mary's first gesture of friendship and discovered in subsequent years that
she was always the peacemaker, but without sacrifice of her own strong principles. Mary
was a woman of principle and an untiring advocate of good teaching and academic
freedom. Eventually, in that first year, I moved next door, from the low-rise apartments in
student housing on campus, to Mary's house at 150 High Street, after she had moved to
live with her husband Herm Beckert in the Beckert family home. It's rare happening, in
this life, that a tenant feels privileged to have gotten to know a landlady. But as Mary's
tenant, I did feel privileged to know her as the most efficient and considerate landlady I
have ever known, in all my subsequent years of renting spaces to live in college towns
like Willimantic: Stanford, Charlottesville and Washington, DC. Mary was a Biblical good
steward of all she possessed, and she shared what she had with others less fortunate.
During her last illness, I had the added privilege of putting her home files in final order. I
found everything she mentioned in exactly the place or drawer she had said it would be.
As a woman of science, she knew the value of order, but she also practiced the
proverbial prudence of the Native American ideal about how to live, to "hold tight with
open hands." Her little known promise, to pay for textbooks of high school seniors
desirous of going to college, was kept religiously, until each had graduated. Her files were
filled with letters of thanks from dozens of students whose progress she had followed
quietly and privately--some of them family, but most of them not. It has been a privilege to
know Mary Rogers Beckert and her family.We discovered early on that my last name,
McGrory (in Irish Mac Ruaidhri, an Ulster name), is translated in the Norman French of the
island as Rogers, both meaning "red," for the Red Hand of Ulster that is the identifying
symbol of that ancient northern Irish province. I'd like to think we were related in that
way, too, but we are blessed in this life if we find even one person with whom we can feel
"in the deep heart's core" a genuine spiritual bond based on mutual respect and love of
neighbor. Mary was exactly that sort of person, a woman of deeply held faith that she
never preached, but instead, lived. She is missed.
Kathleen McGrory
From: Cecilia Welna
Date: Sat, 29 Jan 2011
MARY ROGERS BECKERT
It was in the early seventies that I met Mary. I was looking for admission to an Emeritus
Association program which was being held at Trinity College in Hartford. I ran into Mary and
asked whether I could attend and she said "just pay the six bucks and become a member".
If there was a lecture worth attending, a course worth taking Mary was there. Distance did
not matter to her. She took several courses with the President's College at the University of
Hartford.
Mary traveled to the Hartford area once a month to have lunch with Esther Cohen, Ann
Curran, Stasia Ziobrowski and me. Discussions were lively and we all learned from Mary.
Several times we were the last group to leave the restaurant.
Mary's knowledge of astronomy, physics, mathematics, art and theater was vast. We
sometimes argued about how some of this should be taught.
Mary took frequent trips to New York City to attend theatre. She was seen at almost all
productions at the Hartford Stage. She also was known to attend programs at the University
of Connecticut. She made several trips to Europe. What was amazing was a walking tour of
Ireland that she took at the age of almost 90.
In the summer Mary also planted and cared for a vegetable garden. When we met for our fall
luncheon meeting we were supplied with wonderful vegetables from Mary's garden.
In my entire life, I have never met a person who was so well-versed in any area that may be
mentioned to her. Mary was a scientist, a teacher , a communicator when comments were
important, a person with a marvelous sense of humor and best of all , a wonderful friend. I
shall miss her very, very much.
Cecilia Welna
Date: Sat, 29 Jan 2011
MARY ROGERS BECKERT
It was in the early seventies that I met Mary. I was looking for admission to an Emeritus
Association program which was being held at Trinity College in Hartford. I ran into Mary and
asked whether I could attend and she said "just pay the six bucks and become a member".
If there was a lecture worth attending, a course worth taking Mary was there. Distance did
not matter to her. She took several courses with the President's College at the University of
Hartford.
Mary traveled to the Hartford area once a month to have lunch with Esther Cohen, Ann
Curran, Stasia Ziobrowski and me. Discussions were lively and we all learned from Mary.
Several times we were the last group to leave the restaurant.
Mary's knowledge of astronomy, physics, mathematics, art and theater was vast. We
sometimes argued about how some of this should be taught.
Mary took frequent trips to New York City to attend theatre. She was seen at almost all
productions at the Hartford Stage. She also was known to attend programs at the University
of Connecticut. She made several trips to Europe. What was amazing was a walking tour of
Ireland that she took at the age of almost 90.
In the summer Mary also planted and cared for a vegetable garden. When we met for our fall
luncheon meeting we were supplied with wonderful vegetables from Mary's garden.
In my entire life, I have never met a person who was so well-versed in any area that may be
mentioned to her. Mary was a scientist, a teacher , a communicator when comments were
important, a person with a marvelous sense of humor and best of all , a wonderful friend. I
shall miss her very, very much.
Cecilia Welna
Here we have a fond remembrance of Mary Rogers Beckert by her
fellow EA member and official for 10 of the twenty years, when Mary
was solely responsible for editing and publishing the EA newsletter, and
her dear friend Cecilia Welna. We appreciate your sharing, Ceil. Thank
you so very much.
fellow EA member and official for 10 of the twenty years, when Mary
was solely responsible for editing and publishing the EA newsletter, and
her dear friend Cecilia Welna. We appreciate your sharing, Ceil. Thank
you so very much.
A Personal Tribute to Mary Rogers from Frances Josie Reynolds
January 23, 2011
Frances Reynolds, "Josie" as she is known, responded to our request and sent us what she
has written in memory of her great friend Mary Rogers Beckert. Please click on the image at
left for a larger view. Josie indicated that she hoped "the brief summary of Mary's life
captures the essence of Mary's energy and zest for living" and that "I still miss our daily
phone calls and i often forget that she is no longer there when something interesting comes
over the news."
Thank you so much, Frances Josie Reynolds for sharing.
January 23, 2011
Frances Reynolds, "Josie" as she is known, responded to our request and sent us what she
has written in memory of her great friend Mary Rogers Beckert. Please click on the image at
left for a larger view. Josie indicated that she hoped "the brief summary of Mary's life
captures the essence of Mary's energy and zest for living" and that "I still miss our daily
phone calls and i often forget that she is no longer there when something interesting comes
over the news."
Thank you so much, Frances Josie Reynolds for sharing.
12/2/2010 From Flo Hatcher, Executive Director, CSC-AAUP:
Dear Colleagues: May Giger just informed me that Mary Rogers passed away today.
She was a long-time member of the Emeritus Assembly and the editor of their
newsletter for many years. Mary was a good friend to the CT State Conference and we
will note her passing in our next Vanguard issue.
Flo
12/3/2010 From Stephen Greatorex , CSU-AAUP Business Manager
I am very sad to hear of Mary’s passing.
Steve
12/5/2011 From Eli Dabora, Vice President, Emeritus Assembly, CSC-AAUP
I have known Mary for only a short period, particularly during the time she was
President of CLIR (Center for Learning in Retirement) and through the many classes
we both happened to attend within. I was always impressed by her incisive questions,
comments and her wit.I know I will sorely miss her presence.
Eli Dabora
12/5/2011 From Celia Chung Chow http://www.legacy.
com/guestbook/hartfordcourant/guestbook.aspx?n=mary-
beckert&pid=146911664&cid=gbsrchres
Hi, Mary, good bye! I wish that we had more time together, so that I can learn more
from you. You were indeed a pioneer in physical science, while there are still so few
females entering the field. Since my field is physics, you were indeed my teacher and
my mentor.
After reading this long page of your life, we should celebrate your long and
successful life...And find inspiration from you as our own guide... Rest in Peace...
My sincere sympathy to your family members.
----Celia Chung Chow
2/2/2011 From Erika Kares
Please allow me to add my thoughts to honor Mary Rogers,
Mary had the most wonderful retirement; she enjoyed travels and was very eager
to share her experiences, a most devoted and caring friend; and always theeducator
and scientist. She welcomed me as a new friend only a few years ago. As a very
active president of CLIR she spent countless hours to ensure continued success of
this important learning environment.
Old age did not take Mary, cancer did.
with fond memories from Erika Kares
Dear Colleagues: May Giger just informed me that Mary Rogers passed away today.
She was a long-time member of the Emeritus Assembly and the editor of their
newsletter for many years. Mary was a good friend to the CT State Conference and we
will note her passing in our next Vanguard issue.
Flo
12/3/2010 From Stephen Greatorex , CSU-AAUP Business Manager
I am very sad to hear of Mary’s passing.
Steve
12/5/2011 From Eli Dabora, Vice President, Emeritus Assembly, CSC-AAUP
I have known Mary for only a short period, particularly during the time she was
President of CLIR (Center for Learning in Retirement) and through the many classes
we both happened to attend within. I was always impressed by her incisive questions,
comments and her wit.I know I will sorely miss her presence.
Eli Dabora
12/5/2011 From Celia Chung Chow http://www.legacy.
com/guestbook/hartfordcourant/guestbook.aspx?n=mary-
beckert&pid=146911664&cid=gbsrchres
Hi, Mary, good bye! I wish that we had more time together, so that I can learn more
from you. You were indeed a pioneer in physical science, while there are still so few
females entering the field. Since my field is physics, you were indeed my teacher and
my mentor.
After reading this long page of your life, we should celebrate your long and
successful life...And find inspiration from you as our own guide... Rest in Peace...
My sincere sympathy to your family members.
----Celia Chung Chow
2/2/2011 From Erika Kares
Please allow me to add my thoughts to honor Mary Rogers,
Mary had the most wonderful retirement; she enjoyed travels and was very eager
to share her experiences, a most devoted and caring friend; and always theeducator
and scientist. She welcomed me as a new friend only a few years ago. As a very
active president of CLIR she spent countless hours to ensure continued success of
this important learning environment.
Old age did not take Mary, cancer did.
with fond memories from Erika Kares
A TRILOGY
Comments
A LEGEND IN OUR TIMES
The Spring 2011 issue of the Emeritus Assembly, CSC-AAUP Newsletter, (Timothy
Killeen, Editor), is dedicated to the memories of Mary Rogers Beckert. For the
e-version, go to http://eact.info/Newsletter/nlspring2011.pdf. For a copy of the
original printed newsletter, please email to Tim Killeen at killeen3@charter.net.
Killeen, Editor), is dedicated to the memories of Mary Rogers Beckert. For the
e-version, go to http://eact.info/Newsletter/nlspring2011.pdf. For a copy of the
original printed newsletter, please email to Tim Killeen at killeen3@charter.net.
A SPECIAL EDITION OF THE EA NEWSLETTER
12/6/2010 From Tiimothy Swanson, Chair Person, Department of Physical Sciences,
ECSU
From: Swanson, Timothy A. (Physical Sciences)
Sent: Mon 12/6/2010 9:59 AM
To: Admin Distribution List; Faculty Distribution List
Subject: Remembering Mary Rogers Beckert
In the history of Eastern Connecticut State University there have been faculty
members who stand out in the memories of those who knew and taught with them,
faculty who played a major role in the development of the University as it exists today,
faculty who were held in high regard for both the quality of their service to the
University and for who they were as colleagues. Mary Rogers Beckert, who passed
away last week at the age of ninety three, was such a person.
Mary Rogers Beckert laid the foundation for both the Department of Physical
Sciences and the Department of Environmental Earth Sciences at Eastern. When I
came to Willimantic State College in the fall of 1966 to teach physics, all science lab
courses were taught in three rooms on the second floor of Shafer Hall. One room
was used to teach biology, a second was dedicated to science education under the
direction of Robert Wickware, who would become Dean of the College, and after
whom the Wickware Planetarium is named, and in the third room, Mary’s room, all
the other sciences were taught. It was a time before departments existed here. When
departments were formed, she became the first Chairperson of the Department of
Earth and Physical Sciences. With the major emphasis on teacher education at the
College at that time, all students were required to take two semesters of biology in
their freshman year and a year long course in the physical and earth sciences as
sophomores. The sophomore course was Mary’s course. In it she taught
astronomy, meteorology, geology, chemistry and physics. The year before I came, Max
Ferguson was hired to teach additional courses in chemistry, and in my first year, a
geologist and I were hired to teach in our respective specialties. Mary continued to
teach the required sophomore course.
In the spring of 1967 we moved to the then new, now the old science building,
Goddard Hall. It was the second building on the North Campus and was referred to
somewhat enviously by a member of the English Faculty as “that temple of science
with its priests and priestesses.� Mary was instrumental in the design and the
equipping of the second floor of the building, in which she included a faculty lounge
with men’s and women’s showers for those wanting such facilities after
geology and biology field trips. She managed to obtain the maximum amount of
equipment for her part of the new building with the funds available by ordering many
of the pieces of physics equipment as kits to be assembled. I spent a good part of
that semester soldering and assembling those kits. Mary would check in occasionally
and see how I was doing.
In the early 1970’s money became available to build the Science Annex, now
known as the Planetarium. In addition to being involved in the design of that facility,
Mary became the first Planetarium Director. In that role she expanded the
Planetarium’s use to the way it functions today, used not only in the teaching of
astronomy but also as a facility that presents programs to the public and surrounding
school system classes. Back then, she did both the teaching and the presenting.
Mary was highly respected by both faculty and students alike, for her competence as
a teacher, for her willingness to go the extra mile for the benefit of her students, and
for who she was as a person. She was someone who would downplay her own
achievements and accomplishments in favor of those of her colleagues. Yet, if
something needed to be said or done, she could be forceful when she thought she
needed to be. She would knock on the office door of anyone in the administration,
including the President, if she decided that person needed to hear something she
thought important. When I asked her if I could change some of the items on her
equipment order list for Goddard Hall in order to obtain equipment I needed in
general physics, she of course agreed, but said I should give my changes to the then
Business Manager. He was a crusty, older gentleman, who with secretarial help,
conducted the financial matters of the College as essentially a one person show.
When I mentioned Mary’s name in relation to the list, I heard him say to himself â
€œthat damned woman.â€� That alone, is a tribute to who Mary was. She had
obviously knocked on his door a number of times in relation to Goddard Hall.
Mary was also a mentor to younger faculty members such as myself. Fresh out of
graduate school, I benefited greatly from her advice and experience as an educator.
Her suggestions as to how I might improve my teaching were always presented in a
constructive and considerate way. The number of faculty and staff at Eastern who
knew Mary has diminished over the years since her retirement in 1989. If there have
been legendary members of the faculty at this University, then Mary Rogers Beckert
is surely one of them. However, the highest accolade I can give her is that she was
first and foremost a teacher, a teacher who cared about her students and colleagues
and gave them the best she had.
Tim Swanson
Chairperson
Department of Physical Sciences
ECSU
From: Swanson, Timothy A. (Physical Sciences)
Sent: Mon 12/6/2010 9:59 AM
To: Admin Distribution List; Faculty Distribution List
Subject: Remembering Mary Rogers Beckert
In the history of Eastern Connecticut State University there have been faculty
members who stand out in the memories of those who knew and taught with them,
faculty who played a major role in the development of the University as it exists today,
faculty who were held in high regard for both the quality of their service to the
University and for who they were as colleagues. Mary Rogers Beckert, who passed
away last week at the age of ninety three, was such a person.
Mary Rogers Beckert laid the foundation for both the Department of Physical
Sciences and the Department of Environmental Earth Sciences at Eastern. When I
came to Willimantic State College in the fall of 1966 to teach physics, all science lab
courses were taught in three rooms on the second floor of Shafer Hall. One room
was used to teach biology, a second was dedicated to science education under the
direction of Robert Wickware, who would become Dean of the College, and after
whom the Wickware Planetarium is named, and in the third room, Mary’s room, all
the other sciences were taught. It was a time before departments existed here. When
departments were formed, she became the first Chairperson of the Department of
Earth and Physical Sciences. With the major emphasis on teacher education at the
College at that time, all students were required to take two semesters of biology in
their freshman year and a year long course in the physical and earth sciences as
sophomores. The sophomore course was Mary’s course. In it she taught
astronomy, meteorology, geology, chemistry and physics. The year before I came, Max
Ferguson was hired to teach additional courses in chemistry, and in my first year, a
geologist and I were hired to teach in our respective specialties. Mary continued to
teach the required sophomore course.
In the spring of 1967 we moved to the then new, now the old science building,
Goddard Hall. It was the second building on the North Campus and was referred to
somewhat enviously by a member of the English Faculty as “that temple of science
with its priests and priestesses.� Mary was instrumental in the design and the
equipping of the second floor of the building, in which she included a faculty lounge
with men’s and women’s showers for those wanting such facilities after
geology and biology field trips. She managed to obtain the maximum amount of
equipment for her part of the new building with the funds available by ordering many
of the pieces of physics equipment as kits to be assembled. I spent a good part of
that semester soldering and assembling those kits. Mary would check in occasionally
and see how I was doing.
In the early 1970’s money became available to build the Science Annex, now
known as the Planetarium. In addition to being involved in the design of that facility,
Mary became the first Planetarium Director. In that role she expanded the
Planetarium’s use to the way it functions today, used not only in the teaching of
astronomy but also as a facility that presents programs to the public and surrounding
school system classes. Back then, she did both the teaching and the presenting.
Mary was highly respected by both faculty and students alike, for her competence as
a teacher, for her willingness to go the extra mile for the benefit of her students, and
for who she was as a person. She was someone who would downplay her own
achievements and accomplishments in favor of those of her colleagues. Yet, if
something needed to be said or done, she could be forceful when she thought she
needed to be. She would knock on the office door of anyone in the administration,
including the President, if she decided that person needed to hear something she
thought important. When I asked her if I could change some of the items on her
equipment order list for Goddard Hall in order to obtain equipment I needed in
general physics, she of course agreed, but said I should give my changes to the then
Business Manager. He was a crusty, older gentleman, who with secretarial help,
conducted the financial matters of the College as essentially a one person show.
When I mentioned Mary’s name in relation to the list, I heard him say to himself â
€œthat damned woman.â€� That alone, is a tribute to who Mary was. She had
obviously knocked on his door a number of times in relation to Goddard Hall.
Mary was also a mentor to younger faculty members such as myself. Fresh out of
graduate school, I benefited greatly from her advice and experience as an educator.
Her suggestions as to how I might improve my teaching were always presented in a
constructive and considerate way. The number of faculty and staff at Eastern who
knew Mary has diminished over the years since her retirement in 1989. If there have
been legendary members of the faculty at this University, then Mary Rogers Beckert
is surely one of them. However, the highest accolade I can give her is that she was
first and foremost a teacher, a teacher who cared about her students and colleagues
and gave them the best she had.
Tim Swanson
Chairperson
Department of Physical Sciences
TRIBUTE TO MARY ROGERS BECKERT by Kathleen McGrory
On Behalf of the Emeritus Assembly
May 12, 2011
The Graduate Club, New Haven
AAUP CT
Mary Rogers Beckert was the quintessential State university scholar-teacher. From
1963, when she first came to Willimantic State College, until her retirement in 1989, she
taught physics at Eastern Connecticut State University, served as chair of that
department and was director of ECSU’s planetarium. She died on December 2, 2010
at the age of 93. For many years she edited the Newsletter of the AAUP Emeritus
Assembly and was a faithful participant in meetings and AAUP events. But it was faculty
service that she valued most of all.
Mary received many academic honors—a General Electric Science fellowship for
Teachers, she was an NSF fellow for a year at Brown University and again later, at
Wesleyan, she was a Fulbright scholar and exchange teacher in Cornwall, England, and
in her earliest teaching positions was named Rhode Island Teacher of the Year in 1957.
She was one of eight teachers chosen in 1958 for inscription in the National Honor Roll
of Teachers by the U.S. Department of Education and McCall’s magazine.
Mary was not a large person, hardly an inch over five feet in her socks, but oh, was she
large in spirit, character and determination. I first met Mary 41 years ago when she was
representing Eastern on the Faculty Advisory Council to the Board of Trustees and I
was a new Wesconn faculty member representing Western. Before there was AAUP in
the state of Connecticut system, there was Mary Rogers. At that time, collective
bargaining was not yet a reality in the State, and faculty at the four state colleges had
not had a raise for 7 years. Gov. Meskill had come into office with guns blazing and had
imposed a freeze on faculty salaries, the two extremes of Hell, fire and ice. Mary
Rogers and our fearless leader, Edna Sole, well named, and a.k.a. “The Lady in the
Hat� from Southern, kept the trustees honest and on their toes. I remember coming
back to Wesconn after one such meeting of the Faculty Advisory Council at Central in
the ‘70s, just in time for the opening faculty assembly called by Western’s
formidable president, Ruth Haas. At the start of the meeting, Dr. Haas called down from
the stage to ask me if I had anything to report from that day’s meeting with the
Board of Trustees. I had hoped to have a few minutes in private to prepare her for the
news, but there was no time. I had to blurt out the only item on the agenda, that the
Faculty Advisory Council had unanimously passed a resolution calling for the Trustees
to resign en masse in protest of the state’s shoddy treatment of its state
employees. That was Mary’s doing. Dr. Hass’s silence was deafening while the
faculty applauded wildly. But after the meeting, Dr. Haas greeted me with a hug and
called me her “Wild Irish Rose.� More of Mary’s doing. Mary was both very
Irish and very New England Yankee. We had discovered early on that we shared a love
of Irish history, literature and music, and that my name, “McGrory,� which in the
Irish language means “red,� was the same as her name “Rogers,�
translated into Norman Irish. In 2006, I led a Literary Tour of Ireland and Mary came
along. At age 89, she was the first person out of the tour bus at every place we stopped.
Because all the members of the AAUP Emeritus Assembly wanted to contribute to this
brief memorial, I took an informal poll during this week’s Emeritus Assembly
luncheon and tour of the Bradley Air Museum, to ask what word or phrase each one
thought of, when summing up his or her impression of Mary Rogers during her lifetime.
The results were unanimous in every characteristic, with lots of exclamation points: â
€œOn top of it!â€� “Enthusiastic!â€� “Original!â€� “Delightful and combative,
in other words, feisty!â€� “Engagee!â€� “Fully a participant!â€� “Active!â€� â
€œIncisive!â€�
Mary was a scientist and a woman of faith. During her last painful illness, she
understood the science too well, but it was her faith that sustained her. During her final
months, when I worked at her house organizing her files and finding memorabilia she
thought might be of interest to her large, blended families, the Rogers and the
Beckerts, I came across a bulging file filled with thank-you notes from high school
students. Unbeknownst to her colleagues and friends, every year Mary sent an
invitation to seniors at Windham High School, offering to pay for their college
textbooks during each year that they persevered in college. Judging from those
heartfelt notes and enclosed receipts, she was the role model and inspiration for
several generations of public high school kids as well as her own nieces and nephews.
I would ask now for a moment of silence to remember Mary Rogers Beckert and all
those AAUP members who have left us during this past academic year…On behalf of
Mary and everyone in her AAUP Chapter in Heaven, thank you.
Kathleen McGrory
On Behalf of the Emeritus Assembly
May 12, 2011
The Graduate Club, New Haven
AAUP CT
Mary Rogers Beckert was the quintessential State university scholar-teacher. From
1963, when she first came to Willimantic State College, until her retirement in 1989, she
taught physics at Eastern Connecticut State University, served as chair of that
department and was director of ECSU’s planetarium. She died on December 2, 2010
at the age of 93. For many years she edited the Newsletter of the AAUP Emeritus
Assembly and was a faithful participant in meetings and AAUP events. But it was faculty
service that she valued most of all.
Mary received many academic honors—a General Electric Science fellowship for
Teachers, she was an NSF fellow for a year at Brown University and again later, at
Wesleyan, she was a Fulbright scholar and exchange teacher in Cornwall, England, and
in her earliest teaching positions was named Rhode Island Teacher of the Year in 1957.
She was one of eight teachers chosen in 1958 for inscription in the National Honor Roll
of Teachers by the U.S. Department of Education and McCall’s magazine.
Mary was not a large person, hardly an inch over five feet in her socks, but oh, was she
large in spirit, character and determination. I first met Mary 41 years ago when she was
representing Eastern on the Faculty Advisory Council to the Board of Trustees and I
was a new Wesconn faculty member representing Western. Before there was AAUP in
the state of Connecticut system, there was Mary Rogers. At that time, collective
bargaining was not yet a reality in the State, and faculty at the four state colleges had
not had a raise for 7 years. Gov. Meskill had come into office with guns blazing and had
imposed a freeze on faculty salaries, the two extremes of Hell, fire and ice. Mary
Rogers and our fearless leader, Edna Sole, well named, and a.k.a. “The Lady in the
Hat� from Southern, kept the trustees honest and on their toes. I remember coming
back to Wesconn after one such meeting of the Faculty Advisory Council at Central in
the ‘70s, just in time for the opening faculty assembly called by Western’s
formidable president, Ruth Haas. At the start of the meeting, Dr. Haas called down from
the stage to ask me if I had anything to report from that day’s meeting with the
Board of Trustees. I had hoped to have a few minutes in private to prepare her for the
news, but there was no time. I had to blurt out the only item on the agenda, that the
Faculty Advisory Council had unanimously passed a resolution calling for the Trustees
to resign en masse in protest of the state’s shoddy treatment of its state
employees. That was Mary’s doing. Dr. Hass’s silence was deafening while the
faculty applauded wildly. But after the meeting, Dr. Haas greeted me with a hug and
called me her “Wild Irish Rose.� More of Mary’s doing. Mary was both very
Irish and very New England Yankee. We had discovered early on that we shared a love
of Irish history, literature and music, and that my name, “McGrory,� which in the
Irish language means “red,� was the same as her name “Rogers,�
translated into Norman Irish. In 2006, I led a Literary Tour of Ireland and Mary came
along. At age 89, she was the first person out of the tour bus at every place we stopped.
Because all the members of the AAUP Emeritus Assembly wanted to contribute to this
brief memorial, I took an informal poll during this week’s Emeritus Assembly
luncheon and tour of the Bradley Air Museum, to ask what word or phrase each one
thought of, when summing up his or her impression of Mary Rogers during her lifetime.
The results were unanimous in every characteristic, with lots of exclamation points: â
€œOn top of it!â€� “Enthusiastic!â€� “Original!â€� “Delightful and combative,
in other words, feisty!â€� “Engagee!â€� “Fully a participant!â€� “Active!â€� â
€œIncisive!â€�
Mary was a scientist and a woman of faith. During her last painful illness, she
understood the science too well, but it was her faith that sustained her. During her final
months, when I worked at her house organizing her files and finding memorabilia she
thought might be of interest to her large, blended families, the Rogers and the
Beckerts, I came across a bulging file filled with thank-you notes from high school
students. Unbeknownst to her colleagues and friends, every year Mary sent an
invitation to seniors at Windham High School, offering to pay for their college
textbooks during each year that they persevered in college. Judging from those
heartfelt notes and enclosed receipts, she was the role model and inspiration for
several generations of public high school kids as well as her own nieces and nephews.
I would ask now for a moment of silence to remember Mary Rogers Beckert and all
those AAUP members who have left us during this past academic year…On behalf of
Mary and everyone in her AAUP Chapter in Heaven, thank you.
Kathleen McGrory
