By Shawn Hutchinson and Jody Barhanovich
At the end of a dark, narrow hallway in
Wilson-Short Hall you will find room 240. The number plate is not easy
to see, and could go unnoticed by someone passing by. Behind the door is
a cluttered office filled with books about the history of Chicago
gangs, and an elderly man slowly working at his desk. The man is
Professor Emeritus James F. Short, Jr. He has devoted his entire
professional career to understanding and explaining the sociology of
Chicago gangs, and age 91, he still enjoys his research.
“If I ever stop learning, I think I’ll drop dead. I can’t imagine not wanting to learn more,” said Short.
Short
said when he first arrived at the university in 1951, he replaced
someone who had only been there for a year. He also served as dean of
the graduate school under C. Clement French’s presidency, and spent
another 15 years as the director of the pioneering Social Research
Center after being asked by Glenn Terrell to take the position.
“For
some reason, good things just kept on happening, and I’m still sitting
here at 91 years old,” Short said. “I still serve on the occasional
graduate student committee, but I don’t chair committees or classroom
teach anymore.”
Wilson-Short Hall, located across from
the CUB, was rededicated to Short in 2009 to honor his lifetime
achievements in research and his work for the university.
“I
was told by Lane Rawlins they were naming a building after me,” Short
said. “We knew each other and respected each other, but I hadn’t the
foggiest notion he was going to do that. I’m gratified and also pretty
humbled by the experience.”
Short met his wife in graduate school at Denison University, and it was love at first sight.
“My
first night on campus, I fell in love hard,” Short said. “She didn’t
fall as hard for me. After a few months, we smoothed out those
differences, and got married in December of 1947.”
When
they first came to Pullman in 1952, they lived in temporary housing on
the site of current-day Beasley Coliseum. They were married for 64 years
before she passed away in 2011. One of his sons now lives with him to
help him with day-to-day activities.
“I still miss her
like crazy,” Short said. “She was a wonderful companion. She was 85 or
86 when she died, and that’s a good long life. You can’t expect to live
forever, and so far I’ve had a very good one.”
Short
said his wife helped him with a lot of the statistical calculations for
his dissertation. He said he originally took the job at WSU on a
temporary basis, but his wife’s pregnancy played a role in the family
staying in the area.
“This place had 4700 students, much
smaller faculty, and we fell in love with this part of the country
immediately,” Short said. “It’s just a great place to live and be a part
of, and I think it’s a pretty darn good university.”
While
many people his age have retired or died, Short continues to work in
sociology, combining his research with some of the work being done on
gangs today.
“It was probably the most comprehensive
study of street gangs, not only in Chicago, but any place else,” Short
said. “In effect, the research is still continuing. As communities and
institutions change, technology changes, and that changes gangs.”
Short said he enjoys seeing new things in his field, and he shows an enthusiasm for learning.
“My
parents always encouraged me to learn,” Short said. “Every time I check
something I want to write about, I always find something new. I have
friends who are doing research now.”
Short said he has seen a lot of changes in what growing up is like now compared to when he was young.
“The
thing I worry about for younger generations is that there are fewer
jobs,” Short said. “It’s harder to grow up now than it used to be.”
Even at 91 years old, the man who works in a building bearing his name still enjoys what he does.
“I’m still having fun. I hope I can continue that for a while longer,” Short said.
No comments:
Post a Comment