Glory is Fleeting
Last Wednesday night, Anderson Hall was featured on the Style Network program, “My Celebrity Home.” I didn’t write about it at the time, or provide a preview of this coming attraction, because the habit of disciplined blogging, according to a regular schedule, still eludes me.
Early in he fall, for reasons unknown to me, My Celebrity Home producers decided to do their first show at a university. DC Area University administrators were invited to submit proposals for a makeover. AU’s proposal, as I learned much later, was to have students surprise me by making over the Anderson Hall first floor lounge so that I would have a larger and more elegant venue to serve my bi-weekly gourmet dinners. We won the competition!
The makeover brought 25 style network producers, hosts and production staff to Anderson Hall. I was asked to show up for a ‘command performance’ on a Sunday morning – so I knew something was up. Floodlights were set up in the parking lot outside my apartment; I couldn’t see for what. A large, nondescript panel truck was parked out front – it reminded me of scenes from an old TV favorite, “Mission Impossible.” The Dorm lobby seemed unusually crowded with post-college-age men and women. When I greeted them – as is my practice with strangers – and asked why they were visiting, the responses were vague/
The program ran four times, including an hour of prime time. I didn’t get to watch - it was in the midst of finals and end-of-semester demands – but a colleague kindly made me a DVD and I have watched snatches. Today, there will be a formal viewing at the University Architect’s Office, to which I have been invited. He was the one who made the recording. The makeover also made the front cover of AU’s Alumni Magazine – a memorable picture of students dining in the made over lounge, with an apron clad dormgrandpop in the background, that I will treasure for many years.
On the academic side of AU, the event came and went with scarcely a ripple. “Academic Affairs” administrators, staff and my faculty colleagues. mostly live on a different planet than those who create Style Channel events and those who view them. Before the makeover, I had never even heard of The Style Channel, let alone viewed it. When I met yesterday with my immediate supervisor to discuss recent accomplishments, Center for Teaching Excellence budget requests and upcoming events, “My Celebrity Home” and the Alumni Magazine Feature were not even topics of passing reference.
Early in he fall, for reasons unknown to me, My Celebrity Home producers decided to do their first show at a university. DC Area University administrators were invited to submit proposals for a makeover. AU’s proposal, as I learned much later, was to have students surprise me by making over the Anderson Hall first floor lounge so that I would have a larger and more elegant venue to serve my bi-weekly gourmet dinners. We won the competition!
The makeover brought 25 style network producers, hosts and production staff to Anderson Hall. I was asked to show up for a ‘command performance’ on a Sunday morning – so I knew something was up. Floodlights were set up in the parking lot outside my apartment; I couldn’t see for what. A large, nondescript panel truck was parked out front – it reminded me of scenes from an old TV favorite, “Mission Impossible.” The Dorm lobby seemed unusually crowded with post-college-age men and women. When I greeted them – as is my practice with strangers – and asked why they were visiting, the responses were vague/
The program ran four times, including an hour of prime time. I didn’t get to watch - it was in the midst of finals and end-of-semester demands – but a colleague kindly made me a DVD and I have watched snatches. Today, there will be a formal viewing at the University Architect’s Office, to which I have been invited. He was the one who made the recording. The makeover also made the front cover of AU’s Alumni Magazine – a memorable picture of students dining in the made over lounge, with an apron clad dormgrandpop in the background, that I will treasure for many years.
On the academic side of AU, the event came and went with scarcely a ripple. “Academic Affairs” administrators, staff and my faculty colleagues. mostly live on a different planet than those who create Style Channel events and those who view them. Before the makeover, I had never even heard of The Style Channel, let alone viewed it. When I met yesterday with my immediate supervisor to discuss recent accomplishments, Center for Teaching Excellence budget requests and upcoming events, “My Celebrity Home” and the Alumni Magazine Feature were not even topics of passing reference.
posted by dormgrandpop at 6:03 AM
2 Comments:
Hello from Warrenton,
I am a writer for the Fauquier Times-Democrat/Citizen, and I'm doing a piece on local blogging. I notice that you were/are a resident of The Plains?
I'd love to interview you briefly, by email, either anonymously or with your real name. How can I contact you?
Laura
Hi Laura. You can email me at jrich@american.edu. I would be happy to respond or, if you prefer, speak with you over the phone, My best wishes for a joyful holiday season.
Dormgrandpop.
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