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John Bancroft Profile
john bancroft
He casually but briskly enters his sparsely furnished office. As he nudges his rolled sleeves further up his arms, he adjusts his glasses. He clears his
throat and then gives a soft, candid smile. ComfOrtably seating himself, he gives a short clap of his hands and enthusiastically asks, "Well, where do we begin?" in his thick Scottish accent.
Dr. John Bancroft \\ ill surel y use this eager, candid and confident manner to tackle his new position as director of the Kinsey Institute fOr Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction. "I'm eager to begin. I've set myself an ambitious target even though I'll only be here for six years. But I don't like to 1-1111, and this position poses positive pressures — it gives me sort of a buzz though," Bancroft said.
Bancroft was appointed to the director position of the Institute May 1 by IU Vice President for Research and Dean of Graduate School George Walker following selection b y a search committee of faculty and administration in Bloomington and Indianapolis, which called qualified candidates over the country and beyond. Dr. Jeff Alberts, Assistant Dean for Research, said upon reconvening, the committee discovered unanimous astonishment at Bancroft's qualifications. Alberts said, "He is eminently qualified. We couldn't do better."
Bancroft followed the controversial directorship of Dr. June Reinisch, but spoke of the appropriateness of t011owing in her role. Reinisch retired prematurely after allegations which cited that Reinisch engaged in unprofessional conduct, misused funds and failed to respond to the need for AIDS research. "Dr. Reinisch transformed what was a moribund establishment into a modern and well-equipped institute. I think the collections are now m uchC better catered for, although there arc still problems to be overcome. It is appropriate for me to be able to follow her the director's role," Bancroft said.
Bancroft hoped to continue to promote the emphasis on an interdisciplinary approach to human sexuality that Reinisch introduced, but also had several new interests of his own. "In many respects, I have a very different approach, and [I] will be focusing much less on public education and much more on the science. In addition, I will be introducing a clinical component, which has not previously existed at the Kinsey Institute," he said.
This clinical component stemmed from Bancroft's expertise in the 19 years he has specialized in reproductive biology. Prior to the appointment, he supervised a staff of researchers in the Behavior Research Group at the Medical Research Council in Edinborough, Scotland. In addition, he specialized in sexual research for 30 years as a ps ychiatric medical doctor.
He described his researching interests: "Initially, I was more involved in behavioral modification of sexual behavior, and in more recent years, I have been more engaged in understanding the relationship between reproductive hormones and behavior, women's reproductive health as it relates to sexuality and wellbeing, and the neurobiology of male sexual response."
He said, "There is nothing I enjo y more than doing research and making sense of the data I obtain."
But he also said his new administrative position did not allow him to do as much research as he did in the past. "Mv task here is extremely unique — I'll still he able to work at my research but I will supervise, too. That's why I like it so much," he said.
But, research was only one of the primary goals he set for his directorship. He organized a Collections Advisory Board to help make decisions concerning the Kinsey collections, the library services and the information services of the Institute. He also planned to start two clinical services in Indianapolis, one for sexual problems and the other for menstrual cycle related problems. He hoped these clinics would eventually provide a database of information for research in addition to the counseling services the clinics will provide. He mentioned the challenges of his directorship would include meeting these goals, finding- the funding for all of his research and responding to the recent attempts to discredit the early works of founder Alfred Kinsey. But he added, "I've got a lot of experience with having a lot of balls in the air at the same time."ri
story by kathy revtyak
photos by robb hill
C ivil Rights Activist. Minister. Family Man. Leader. Hero. The image of Martin I miler King Jr. is all these things and more to members of this campus. To honor his memory,
IU recognized Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday as an official University holiday for the first time in its history . Although IU did not close its doors Jan. 16, it allowed students to be excused from classes if they wished to attend the University-sponsored celebrations.
As Dean of Afro-American Ali-lairs, Lawrence Hanks thought that the absence of a King day celebration was a major omission from the IU calendar. "Everyone I talked to thought it was something we should do, but no proposal had ever gone forth," he said.
The celebration's activities, which began the evening of Jan. 12, and ran through Jan. 16, included a public speaking and essay contest, a King Day breakfast, a convocation and a lecture.
The public speaking and essay contest, held at 7 p.m. Jan. 12 in the Frangipani Room of the Indiana Memorial Union, kicked off the celebration. During winter break, contestants submitted essays dedicated to the intellectual significance of King's life and ideals. Authors of the top six submissions read their works at the competition and were evaluated on their public speaking ability.
The winner of the contest, junior Erica Hart, a psychology major, focused her essay on the goals of education firr AfricanAmericans. She said, "Our task as we f'ace the turn of the century is to re-evaluate and redefine ourselves as a people. The new definition of Negro must embody academic excellence."
Hart's winning essay was also read on King's birthday during the leadership breakfast in the Tudor Room of the IMU. Chancellor Kenneth Gros Louis presided at the breakfast with remarks made by Hanks, convocation speaker David Garrow and keynote speaker Robert Franklin.
Franklin, associate profi:ssor of ethics and society at Emory University in Atlanta, is most well known for his book, "Liberation Visions,- which compares the visions of several Afro-American leaders including King. His remarks at the breakfhst focused on the lessons mankind can learn from King's teachings. "King was a stellar, classic leader who was skillffil in wearing the narratives of human possibility ," Franklin said. He also said the lessons We can learn from King include an "ability to move together to solve problems" and a "commitment to create community by orchestrating practical and tangible things."
The highlight of the celebration was the noon convocation Jan. 16 at the Musical Arts Center that attracted a diverse crowd of students, teachers, professionals and families. Guest speakers included Garrow and Franklin. Members of the AfroAmerican Choral Ensemble and the instrumental ensemble from the School of Music also perfiwmed. A text from Dr. King's last Sunday morning sermon on Passion Sunday of 1968 was delivered during the instrumental and set the stage for Franklin's keynote address.
He focused his speech on King's ability to relate to diverse groups of people and his enduring vision of democracy and equality of all Americans. "King urges us to be a stranger to no culture, to be open-minded, and to be at home in all cultures," Franklin said.
To conclude his speech, Franklin pointed out that eradicating violence was one of King's major concerns. He stressed violence was a problem before King's death and still remains to be solved.
Repeating King's own words, Franklin said, "You must convince your comrades that the person who does not hit back is the strong one. To return violence for violence does nothing but intensify the extremes of violence and evil in the universe."
To conclude the day's celebration, approximately 40 members of the Black Student Union gathered at 6 p.m. to participate in a march to honor King's memory. The march, sponsored by the NAACP, began at the Black Culture Center and ended at Showalter Fountain and included stops such as President Myles Brand's home. Marchers lit candles and sang songs including the Black National Anthem.
In planning future King Day
HONORING
celebrations, Hanks hopes to increase attendance at the events. "It is important 1-1- people to see that the King holiday is a holiday for everybody ... He helped all Americans," Hanks said. El
Heidi Kachmann
KING'S LIVING
MEMORY
In front of President Myles
Brand's home, junior Vicki Parker joins approximately
40 others in singing the
Black National Anthem.
They were participating in
the NAACP March on Ian.
16, King's birthday, which began at the Black Culture
Center and ended at
Showalter Fountain.
