Recollections of Allen L. Shields

Abstract

In the spring of 1967 I returned to the United States, fresh from a seven-year sojourn in Europe, seeking employment. I obtained a position in the Department of Mathematics at the University of Michigan. None of my previous positions had quite prepared me for the scene that was Ann Arbor in the late 1960s; this was my first acquaintance with the academic world as an employee. During my first two and one-half years I was the secretary in the Graduate Student office. The departmental copy machine was located in my office, and my office was also the pathway to the faculty mailboxes. So I saw most of the faculty quite often, but didn't really have the opportunity to get to know them. It was not until 1975 w h e n Allen Shields became Chairman that I really got to know him as a boss and a friend. Very early on I remember warning him that I thought he should add a particular word to his vocabulary; he looked rather puzzled, and then I suggested the simple two-letter word "NO." It was very difficult, if not impossible, for Allen to decline any request from a family member, colleague, student, stranger, or friend, whether it be for money, a letter of reference, to referee a paper, etc. His intentions were of course always the best, but it was indeed impossible for him to actually carry out all his promises. To say that Allen wasn' t overly fond of the administrative duties of the chairmanship is not to do him an injustice, for his sense of responsibility was very great: it simply didn't always extend to the bureaucratic paperwork. When it came to important department business, he would give generously of his time. It was this quality of being always ready to help that made m y job interesting on occasion. It was often a challenge for me to get him to read his daily mail and act on it . Occasionally he would ignore the "In" basket, preferring to talk with colleagues about their problems, to discuss mathematics , etc. There were t imes when I would have important messages or important documents that needed immediate handling. If they were left in the "In" basket, he just wouldn't see them. To draw his attention to something I found it necessary to place it on his desk chair. However, this wasn't always a solution either, as he just sat down on it. Some years later I had a discussion with an earlier colleague about Allen and the fact that Allen would spend so much time in our Commons Room. The colleague was shocked to hear this, saying that couldn't be true, as he remembered Allen was always too busy proving theorems to waste time chatt ing in the Commons Room; he then said, you realize it was only Allen procrastinating on his administrative duties that kept him in the Commons Room where we have no telephone. It was here where he usually pored over the New York Times and talked with students and colleagues. Allen's predecessor as Chairman, Fred Gehring, kept a "Log" of all personal conversations made in his official capacity as Chairman. We encouraged Allen to follow suit. Those who know Fred will realize the tremendous contrast in their modus operandi! Allen kept the Chairman's Log with a faithfulness that sharply contrasted with his usual aversion to paperwork. He considered it very important that any commitments made by the Chairman be recorded: more evidence of his real concern for his fellows. Allen was irrepressibly curious. On one occasion we were at the home of a colleague where a visitor to the depa r tmen t was being enter ta ined. As we were standing next to the door saying our thanks to the hostess, Allen noticed what appeared to be a doorbell inside the house, but at an unusual height--unusual for most people, but not Allen who was 6'4"---and Allen casually pushed the bell, saying "What is this for?" I had never seen the host move so quickly-the bell was part of the security system to notify the police of problems. We left the house immediately. Allen loved fresh vegetables. There is a Farmers' Market that Allen often visited on Saturdays. Early one fall when I came to the office on Monday morning my colleague was quite disturbed because of an odor in the office; she thought there must be something