LAST WORD
John Nyhart, BA ’93, passed away on Sept. 7. John married Charlene (Charly) on Sept. 20, 2003, in Houston. He was a member of Knights of Columbus and a founding member of the Groundhog Rugby Alumni Association at UD. He is survived by his wife and son; three siblings and their spouses; and six nieces and nephews. His many friends will miss his big spirit, laughter and friendship.
Tradition and Tomorrow nce upon a time in the days before COVID, I described our distinctive approach to education to a group of high school guidance counselors, highlighting UD’s signature Core and how it undergirds a student’s major, and was surprised when afterward one of the listeners jumped out of his seat and enthusiastically thanked me for the address. He said this was the first time he’d heard an administrator make the case for a core curriculum and not highlight shortcuts students can take to get to their diploma more swiftly. I gave more or less the same talk to another group of counselors a few weeks later, and one of the listeners expressed his dismay that the University of Dallas was stuck in the past, clear evidence of which he took to be the classical orientation of our Core. It is remarkable the difference the disposition of a listener makes with respect to what is heard. The first counselor appreciated hearing a reasoned case for an education that formed the souls of its receivers by tried-andtrue methods while readying them to make innovative contributions in their professional careers; the second could not imagine preparing students for tomorrow without focusing on tomorrow. The University of Dallas is unambiguous about where we stand. We are a Catholic liberal arts university. We steep our students in the best the Western intellectual tradition has to offer. We want our students to be trained classically through the liberating arts and sciences so that they think, write, speak, analyze, synthesize, create and understand clearly and well. There are no tricks to this process. It takes time and hard labor, both for our students and our professors. It takes patience, and the conviction that the benefits far surpass the investment — indeed, that the benefits are eternal as well as temporal. Being clear about who we are and what we provide is no guarantee that we will not be misunderstood. It is a grave mistake to think that immersing oneself in great thinkers of the past enslaves one to the past. It is a grave mistake to think that taking the time to recreate scientific experiments in the laboratory prevents one from making new discoveries. It is a grave mistake to think that studying the art, architecture and cultures of older or other peoples impairs one’s appreciation for one’s own. It is a grave mistake to think that by taking seriously both sides of an argument one will be blinded to the truth of the matter. Perhaps the gravest of mistakes is thinking that a university best prepares students for successful lives by focusing exclusively on the skills they will need for their first jobs. We do, of course, prepare our students well for their first jobs, but we also prepare them well for their fifth and 15th. Our education prepares students for lives of deep meaning and purpose, to live reflectively, and such a preparation, as anyone can see by the tremendous successes of our graduates, is deeply complementary of their career preparedness. Perhaps the worst reason not to do something right and good is the fear of being misunderstood. At UD, we courageously train our students classically, that they might be the leaders and innovators of tomorrow.
Elizabeth (Betty) Josephine Veitenheimer Waters, BA ’61, passed away on May 23 at age 81 in Lake Jackson, Texas. Betty worked for the IRS for eight years, then in the income tax business for 48 years. She married Donald David Waters on Nov. 24, 1962. Betty was a member of St. Michael’s Catholic Church and could often be found in the back pew, rosary in hand. She loved her grandchildren and people in general. She is survived by her husband; daughter, Mary, and Mary’s fiancé; two sons and a daughter-in-law; four sisters; two sisters-in-law; and seven grandchildren. Ronald Williams, MBA ’86, passed away on July 19 at Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas. Ronn worked as a computer programmer and computer consultant. He enjoyed golf, biking, collecting guns and watching his sons play sports. He traveled throughout Europe to watch his son Tony play international soccer. He and his wife, Diane (Crane) Williams, of 57 years, also traveled to Italy and Sicily with his cousin Mary Ann, to visit the area where his grandparents lived before immigrating to the U.S. Ronn is survived by his wife; three sons and a daughter-in-law; six grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; two brothers and a sisterin-law; sister; and brother-in-law, as well as many nieces and nephews. Anna Claire Boyd Zawislak, BA ’67, passed away on July 7 at age 75. While teaching elementary school in Dallas, she met and married Albert M. Zawislak. The couple raised two children in Little Rock, where Anna Claire taught art at Mount St. Mary Academy, and later worked with the Little Rock school system and the Arkansas Arts Center. Her family’s spiritual leader, she prayed daily rosaries and read Bible stories to her children and grandchildren. Anna Claire is survived by her husband; children and children-inlaw; 13 grandchildren; seven of her nine siblings and their spouses; brother-in-law and his wife; and many nieces and nephews.
Jonathan J. Sanford Provost
WINTER 2021
29
