Expose: Professors Reveal All

You see them every day. They can make you laugh, and they can make you cry (especially when they give assignments that overwhelm you at exactly the wrong time—like right now). But how often do students wonder what professors do outside of class? What are they like when they’re not being referred to as ‘Doctor’ and using academic speak?

English professor carves time for woodwork

If you value your life, when Dr. Scott Blanchard offers to give you a ride, insist on walking. However, if he offers to build some furniture for you, don’t turn him down.

Blanchard, professor of English and director of MU’s Honors Program, has been involved in woodworking since he was in college. He started by building theatre sets for Columbia University’s drama department, eventually moving on to contracted work, including cabinet making. He says his hobby is a change of pace. The manual labor involved contrasts with the hours spent teaching and correcting papers. Woodworking also has a long learning curve, he says, always offering something new to learn and comprising of varying levels of difficulty. Outside of school, Blanchard is always working on a project. His only problem? He simply doesn’t have enough time to devote to his favorite hobby. Blanchard has been working on a black walnut secretary desk modeled on an 18th century Pennsylvania secretary—for seven years.

Blanchard focuses on furniture but he also does some carpentry around the house. Some of his projects include a country style chair, a red oak linen-fold panel chest, a black walnut and quilted mahogany Italian writing desk, a bed in cherry and cherry kitchen cabinets. Blanchard also has built a kayak from scratch. Although he used it more in the past, he has been with it to the Adirondacks about a half a dozen times.

‘Comic class’ prof admits fancy footwork

Dr. Patrick Hamilton, assistant professor of English, often refers to his experience in the theatre, but he never really elaborates. As it turns out, when he was young, Hamilton took tap-dancing lessons with his two sisters for about three years. His high school had a strong theatre department, and Hamilton’s background in tap-dancing helped him join the chorus lines in his school’s musicals. His footwork was so fancy he was once in charge of teaching other students how to dance. He also acted in lead roles.

Hamilton says his favorite experience was his participation in the play “The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams because and he had landed the leading role of Tom. He was so proud about being the leading man that he still remembers parts of his opening monologue. Hamilton’s participation in the theatre stopped when he entered college due to lack of time and although he’d love to participate in community theatre, he can’t seem to fit it into his hectic schedule.

However, there is more to Hamilton than his past stardom in his high school drama department. Hamilton puts it simply. “I am an avid TV watcher. Always have been.” He collects seasons of his favorite television shows. Today, his stash swells to a staggering count of 160 separate season sets of television shows. “Lost” remains his favorite because Hamilton loves the complexity of the plot. He likes to study the narrative and enjoys the fact that it falls into the science fiction genre. According to Hamilton, “Lost” draws on a number of genres. Plus, it has some of the original writers and producers that have written a number of the other shows in his vast collection.

Hamilton describes this year as a ‘light’ year in terms of his television routine, since many of his shows don’t come on until mid-season or have been cancelled. Mondays he watches “Heroes;” Tuesdays are for ABC’s new show “V” and “Lost”;” Wednesdays bring “South Park” and ”Top Chef,” and he ends the week on Thursdays with “The Office,” “Fringe” and “Flashforward.”

Hamilton claims to have the uncanny ability to predict what will happen next. He usually predicts when people will die, but on occasion has also predicted how certain people are related. So, when the rest of the dedicated viewers of “Lost” are shocked to learn that so-and-so is someone’s father, Hamilton remains one step ahead of the game.

“Since I’ve watched so much TV, I’ve figured out how TV narrative works and can predict what’s going to happen.” The most recent example of this unusual talent? Hamilton predicted that the show would eventually include time travel that ultimately causes the accident that led the plane to crash on the island in the first place.

Hamilton has another quirky habit: He has been collecting comic books since 1987. He used to pick up comics at the grocery store before his mother pointed that there was a comic book store across from his high school. She encouraged both his education and his hobby by giving him 10 comics every time he received straight A’s. He’s been collecting the Avenger series the longest, and even scored the first issue, which was published in 1963.

He and Dr. Allan Austin, associate professor of history, co-teach a class on race and ethnicity in post World War II graphic narratives, which they hope to teach again next spring. Students often refer to this as the “comic book course,” and they fill the roster within hours.

Psych prof ‘plays’ in many ways

Dr. Alicia Nordstrom balances her psychology courses with motherhood, and while caring for a two-year-old keeps her moving, she still finds the time for community theatre and game nights.

She is a board member for the Bracken Theatre Company, which tends to do shows that are a bit unusual. Nordstrom has acted, directed, and as a board member, has helped read and select several plays. She also lends a hand with the tech and publicity. She focuses on her theatre work during the summer and breaks.

Nordstrom says she’s most often cast as the “weird,” comedic character. In the play “Bleacher Bums,” Nordstrom played a fanatical Cubs fan with half of her face and hair painted blue and the other-half painted red. One of her favorite roles was in the drama “Death Trap” in which she played a housewife who witnesses her husband commit murder. Nordstrom had fun with this role because she got to play a normal person, she loved the psychological themes—and, heck, she got to die.

“I feel like for me theatre is a way to get to connect with experiences I don’t really have a way to act out [like] anger, rage, and desperation and have me connect to those [feelings].”

Nordstrom has also directed productions, most recently the “Voices Project” performed at MU. She loves the opportunity to be creative and try to push the actors to develop their character as meaningfully as they can.

As an actor, Nordstrom loves to get feedback from directors. As a teacher, Nordstrom has learned to give feedback in a way that she’d like to receive it. “Give them something to strive for that will make them really proud of what they’ve accomplished. I think that’s really my hope.”

Nordstrom has also learned the art of gaming from her husband, Dr. Justin Nordstrom. According to Nordstrom, her husband has taken paying games to a whole new level. He started playing with his friends in college and particularly enjoyed playing role and imagination games. Today, the Nordstrom’s play a lot of games from Europe based on strategy, risk and history. Leave it to the professors to play games at a skill level a notch above the rest!

A few times a semester they host a game night, inviting Hamilton, Austin and his wife, Vicki, and Dr. Rebecca Steinberger to their house. According to Nordstrom, the professors bring a range of personalities to the gaming circuit. She says the Austins are extremely humble, especially in victory whereas Hamilton is more of a competitive man, who gets mad if he doesn’t win. She cautions others not to play Trivial Pursuit with historians, unless you’re on their team.

Nordstrom thinks she has found her own winning approach to gaming. “I think my strength in games is my strategy and patience. I’m also good at waiting things out and planning ahead.”