Anne Robertson, the Claire Dux Swift Professor in Music and the College, has been appointed Associate Provost for Research and Education and will become an ex-officio member of the Laboratory Schools Board of Directors. She will assume the post held by Arthur Sussman, General Counsel of the University, who recently resigned to take a position with the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. In this dialogue, Robertson discusses her background and her views on the relationship between the University and the Laboratory Schools. She has a B.A. from the University of Houston and did graduate work there as well as at Rice University. She received a Ph.D. in musicology from Yale University and has been a faculty member at Chicago since 1984.
What was your own school experience before college?
I graduated from St. Thomas Episcopal School in Houston, where my father was
the headmaster and my mother was a third-grade teacher. One interesting thing
about my junior high and high school experience was that I took seven years
of Latin, starting in the sixth grade, which has ended up figuring very prominently
in my work as a medieval musicologist. I loved Latin because of my love of history,
particularly the history of the classical world. Latin is such a fantastic tool
for appreciating the grammar of the English language and the roots of so many
of our words.
Why is Latin so important to your work?
The documents one reads as a medieval musicologist are largely in Latin, up
until about the 13th century, and then they switch over to French. I was lucky
enough to receive a very good grounding in French at St. Thomas. I continued
to study the language in college and graduate school.
As a student at an independent school you must have had some wonderful teachers.
What do you remember about them?
I had a very special Latin teacher for all of those seven years. She was somebody
one remembers for all of one's life. I am still in close contact with her. In
fact, she's the godmother of my oldest child. She not only knows Latin inside
and out, but she also has a love of learning and a love of books. She was able
to communicate that in no uncertain terms. It was truly inspirational. You left
the class wanting to go out and get what she had just talked about that day
and read it.
Tell me about your own experiences with Lab.
We've had two sojourns at Lab. We lived in Hyde Park until 1991 and our oldest
child attended the Nursery School. Then we moved down to Flossmoor. My oldest
child is now back and is an eighth-grader. She's been at Lab since sixth grade.
This summer, we're moving back to Hyde Park and my younger child will be a third-grader
in the fall.
We've been absolutely delighted with the teaching, both in the Nursery School and the Middle School. The curriculum in the Middle School has been so challenging, yet so imaginatively put together that we couldn't be happier. We're very strong advocates of the combination of history and English in the humanities core. We feel that our daughter has learned to write and also has gained a real sense of the histories of several different periods. The other thing I've been pleased with is her learning French. She will be taking Latin next year in High School and we're very excited about that. The mathematics and science curricula are also formidable and stimulate the students to think logically and critically.
What do you see as the relationship between the Lab Schools and the University?
I think it's wonderful that high school students in their junior and senior
years can take University courses for credit in mathematics and languages and
other courses for which they are enormously well prepared. I would like to see
this relationship continue and expand, in fact. I would love to see more interactions
with entities on campus, such as the Oriental Institute, which has much to share
with students studying ancient history. Professors at the University would love
nothing more than to offer their expertise in the classroom from time to time.
I would love to see the relationship expand.
Why was the Schools' connection to the University moved to the Provost's
office?
Art Sussman was a wonderful liaison with the Laboratory Schools. He had a long
history of connections with the Laboratory Schools, as a University administrator
and as a parent. When he left, Provost Geoff Stone decided it was logical that
the Provost's office should oversee the Laboratory Schools since it oversees
all of the University's other programs and curricula. The substance of the relationship
will not change.