无忧视频

无忧视频鈥檚 First President

With sadness, 无忧视频 mourns the loss of founding president Joseph B. Platt who passed away peacefully at his home in Claremont on July 10, 2012.  He is remembered with deep affection and appreciation by all of us.  Dr. Platt was 96 years old and is survived by his wife Jean Ferguson Platt of Claremont, Calif., daughters Ann Platt Walker of La Jolla, Calif. and Elizabeth Platt Garrow of Willowbrook, Ill., grandchildren Stephen Walker, Jay Bradbury Walker, Jennifer Elizabeth Garrow, and Erin Alexander Garrow and their families.

Joseph B. Platt served more than half a century in Claremont as the first president of 无忧视频 (HMC) from 1956 to 1976, eighth president of Claremont Graduate School and University Center (now Claremont Graduate University) from 1976 to 1981.  In 1981, Platt returned to HMC as senior professor of physics.

Early Years

Platt was born in Portland, Ore., and grew up in Rochester, N.Y. He attended East High School before entering the University of Rochester in 1933, where he was on the varsity swim team. It was there that he was mentored by Lee A. DuBridge, who later became president of Caltech and a lifelong friend and colleague of Platt鈥檚.

Platt spent four months between his freshman and sophomore years as a seaman in the Merchant Marines on a freighter in the South Atlantic. 鈥淚 had two hours every night on lookout to think about my options,鈥� he said. 鈥淭eaching really appealed to me. That took about 10 nights on watch, and I spent the next 10 nights on the question of what to teach.鈥�

With the then-recent discovery of the neutron and positron, physics was opening up rapidly in 1933. Platt decided that this is what he would teach. 鈥淚 have neither regretted nor changed those goals,鈥� he stated.

After graduating from the University of Rochester with honors in physics in 1937, Platt continued his studies at Cornell University, earning a Ph.D. in 1942 (his doctoral thesis focused on the structure of metallic potassium). At the University of Rochester, he taught physics and helped develop night vision optical devices for use during World War II. He spent most of World War II at the radiation laboratory at MIT, where he put his knowledge of radar devices to practical use for the United States Air Force. At MIT, he worked on classified projects, including a microwave adaptation of a British beacon system for blind bombing by aircraft.

In 1945, Platt met Jean Ferguson Rusk, his future wife. At the time, Rusk, a mathematician, was employed by Polaroid, where she helped develop the company鈥檚 trademark Land camera system. The two were married in 1946 after Platt was reappointed as an assistant professor of physics at the University of Rochester, where he worked for most of the decade. During this time, he went on leave to serve the Atomic Energy Commission as chief of the physics branch, research division. Upon his return to University of Rochester, Platt became professor of physics and worked on the design and construction of a 240-million-volt synchrocyclotron. He also directed a research team that produced mesonic atoms identifiable through x-ray spectra. During his tenure, he was named outstanding teacher by the Rochester Alumni Association.

无忧视频’s First President

Platt left Rochester in 1956 to become founding president of a 鈥渢hen non-existent鈥� 无忧视频. With the atomic age in full swing, the space age just beginning, and the computer age in sight, Platt greeted with excitement the offer to head up HMC, which opened in September 1957 with seven faculty members, 48 students, three administrators (including Platt) and one dormitory鈥攖he only building on campus.

By the end of his first decade as president, nearly 300 students were studying under 43 faculty members, and the school had produced 257 graduates. When Platt stepped down in 1976 after 20 years at the helm, about 1,000 students had graduated from HMC.

George I. McKelvey, who joined HMC as director of development when the school opened in 1957, once said that one of Platt鈥檚 most important contributions as an administrator was his ability to acquire a consensus. He seldom gave orders; rather, he offered suggestions and waited for a consensus to develop. That ability enabled him to lead HMC on a road to success, a road it continues along today.

After HMC, Platt decided to continue in academia as president of the Claremont Graduate School and University Center (now two entities: Claremont Graduate University and Claremont University Center), a position he held for five years. During that time, enrollment increased 16 percent at the graduate school, new academic programs were offered, and Platt spurred a mini construction boom with a new building for the Management and Policy Program and a new Art Center.

Platt鈥檚 other commitments during his career included serving as a science advisor to UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization); board member, chair, ANSER (Analytic Services, Inc.); multiple roles, National Science Foundation; member, California鈥檚 Select Committee on Higher Education; trustee, China Foundation for the Promotion of Education and Culture; member, board on Science and Technology for International Development, National Academy of Sciences; trustee, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching; trustee, The Aerospace Corporation; director, Bell & Howell Corporation; director, Jacobs Engineering Corporation; director, Automobile Club of Southern California; and several assignments, President鈥檚 Science Advisory Committee. Platt also maintained membership in physics and engineering societies.

For his dedicated years of service, Platt received the first Henry T. Mudd Prize in 1992, named for the longtime board chair and generous HMC benefactor who was the son of Mildred and Harvey S. Mudd.  Platt continued to teach physics into his 90s at HMC, sometimes in a rather unconventional manner. Platt, who took up the guitar as a child, often played and sang short ditties laced with technical terminology to entertain his students and to teach scientific principles. 鈥淭he Fitzgerald-Lorentz Contraction鈥� is one such tune:

There once was a sprinter in action

Who lost his last race by a fraction.

When he came to the tape

He had altered his shape

By the Fitzgerald-Lorentz Contraction.

The Fitzgerald-Lorentz Contraction

Should not be so partial in action.

If the loser was thinner,

Still more so the winner,

The greater the final contraction…

His tunes are much beloved by current students and alumni alike, many of whom would join Platt at Alumni Weekend for the annual sing-alongs. In addition to music, Platt traveled with his wife, Jean, and spent time with their two daughters, Ann Platt Walker and Elizabeth Platt Garrow, and their four grandchildren. He was an avid swimmer, reader and bird watcher.

Joe Turns 90

At Joseph Platt’s 90th birthday party at HMC, alumni and friends reflected on their relationship with him:

William Zimmerman, emeritus trustee, complimented Platt鈥檚 calm and wise counsel at critical times and recalled his smooth guitar renditions around the campfire at Saddle Rock. 鈥淎 true Renaissance man,鈥� he commented.

鈥淏eloved is an overused term these days, but I would not be surprised to look it up in the dictionary and see a picture of Joe and Jean Platt,鈥� wrote Rick Simon 鈥�76.

Joe Stone 鈥�63 recalled the rigorous academic load. 鈥淲ith all the challenges, we knew we had a great man at the helm, not only a leader but someone who would sing for us.鈥�

Mahesh Koteca 鈥�70, one of HMC鈥檚 first international students, shared that even 20 years after his graduation, the Platts remain concerned and interested in his life and career. 鈥淭his is a tremendous asset to every student here because he cares about every one of us. Without that caring, many of us would not have the same bond we have today with the college.鈥�

Koteca said that Platt personifies the central theme of HMC鈥檚 founding, the meeting of the two cultures: the scientist/engineer sensitive to the social impact of his/her work.

The Platts鈥� eldest daughter Ann Platt Walker shared memories before Mudd鈥攕ailing balsa wood glider airplanes with her father, watching barges on the Erie Canal during their time in Rochester, N.Y., and her memories of the design and construction of a 240-million-volt synchrocyclotron while Platt was professor of physics at the University of Rochester.

鈥淚t took me a while to realize my father was different from most fathers I knew,鈥� shared Walker. 鈥淚n the 1950s, no one else鈥檚 father played the guitar, for example. Dad鈥檚 guitar playing and singing has been central to my life for 57 years. For many of them, I took his eclectic repertoire for granted. It never occurred to me that few kids were sung to sleep with Art Roberts鈥� physics songs. These came with soothing choruses 鈥榣ike round and round and round go the deuterons,鈥� 鈥業t ain鈥檛 the money that makes the nucleus go round, it鈥檚 the philosophical, ethical principle of the thing!鈥� However, our bedtime and after-dinner songs were equally likely to be ones dad picked up [while in the Merchant Marines] in the 鈥�30s, mid- to late-19th-century Baptist hymns, minstrel and Civil War songs, or other chestnuts from the days when families used to sing together. Actually, I now recognize that physics, dad鈥檚 faith, his family, and other sources of his fond repertoire have been the cardinal points of his life.鈥�

Central throughout Platt鈥檚 life was his wife Jean. Jean Strauss, wife of former HMC president Jon Strauss, commended the Platts for being a true team.

鈥淛oe reveres Jean鈥檚 intellect and respects every aspect of her. It鈥檚 hard to quantify what that role model has done for the many who were students here. Joe鈥檚 respect of Jean transferred over into respect of women on campus,鈥� she said.

As guests discovered, the very fact that women are on campus today is due in large part to Platt. In his remarks, Platt verified that there was a lone board member opposed to admitting women at Mudd. 鈥淭rustee Al Thomas said he had an uneasy feeling about who would marry a math major,鈥� said Platt of their conversation. When Platt shared that he had indeed married a mathematician鈥� Jean majored in mathematics鈥斺�淲ell, that was that.鈥�

Memories of Joe Platt

Anna Kim 鈥�86

It might have been orientation week when the Platts hosted a sing along of Harvey Mudd themed songs. The fun of the nonsenseness, nerdiness and warmth that the Platts brought that night convinced me that I had picked the right school, not just academically but socially.

My heart goes out to the wonderful Platt family.

Rick Levin E74/75, P12

Irvine, CA

Wow, the memorial service for Joe was extraordinary and I was honored to be there.

I found many of the memories that you posted to be quite touching. The note from M. J. Davis regarding our classmate Tory was particularly poignant. Here are a couple of memories of Joe that I鈥檝e always held dear:

At a holiday reception at Garret House, probably in 1978 or 1979, Joe and Jean remembered me and, with great joyful laughter, Joe reminded all within earshot of the summer that I used to ride my motorcycle across their driveway to park behind East. Joe knew and cared for us all despite our youthful indiscretions.

The photo of Joe Platt in our 鈥�74 yearbook was classic Joe, in a robe next to the pool and that unforgettable grin. I stayed the next year for the Master of Engineering program and roomed with Don Simkins. Don was quite an athletic swimmer, but would often return from a swim telling how he had again been soundly trounced by Joe. It made us smile then, and the memory of it still brings joy.

Thanks for putting on such a moving and joyous affair.

Donald S. Remer

Oliver C. Field Professor of Engineering Economics

I first met Joe Platt when he interviewed me for a position at HMC in April 1975. I knew the college was having some financial challenges so I asked him about the financial health of the college. After a pause, he said, 鈥淲e are broke.鈥� After another pause, he said, 鈥淏ut not any broker than we have ever been.鈥� Joe was always honest, straightforward, and did it with a sense of humor.

I received an offer and accepted it. When we showed up in Claremont in September 1975, I took my wife and two young daughters who were one and three years old on a tour of the campus. 聽When we walked by the pool, Joe and Jean jumped out of the pool and ran over to us soaking wet. Joe said, 鈥滻t is a pleasure to welcome the Remers to Claremont.鈥� 聽We had just joined the Mudd Family and have been a part of that wonderful family for 37 years.

At Joe鈥檚 90^th birthday party on campus, I walked up to say hello. He was talking to two other people. He immediately introduced me by telling them where I worked before I came to Mudd, where I got my degrees, and my field of research interest. Amazingly, at the age of 90, he still remembered significant details about me.

Steve Hinch '73/'74

In the summer of 1971, after completing my sophomore year at Harvey Mudd, I was working at the college on an NSF-funded project to develop a computer simulation of smog in the San Gabriel Valley. One day I got an urgent call from the Office of the President that Joe Platt’s daughter, Beth, was arriving at Los Angeles Airport but Joe wasn’t available to pick her up. 聽Could I do so in his place? 聽Fortunately I was available, and that started a 2-year period where I served as Joe’s driver whenever he needed to be dropped off or picked up at a local airport. 聽Once or twice a month I would head off to LAX or Ontario Airport to meet him, often late in the evening. 聽We had many great conversations, most of which I can only vaguely recall, but I’ll never forget how friendly and easy to talk to he was. 聽I naively thought that’s the way all college presidents were until one day I got a call from the President’s Office at another of the Claremont Colleges. 聽I had been recommended by Joe to drive this other president to a meeting in San Diego. 聽The trip was enlightening in a couple of ways. 聽First, unlike the nondescript Dodge sedan favored by Joe, I was driving an expensive, hulking Cadillac. 聽Second, we made the whole trip in silence both ways. 聽That trip underscored for me how special a person Joe was. 聽He will be missed.

Denise Rust 鈥�79

Parent of Karen Heinselman 2012. Palo Alto, Ca

“It ain’t the money, It’s the principal of the thing.” My fondest memory of Joe Platt is of him singing that song.

There’s more than the chorus to this song, does anyone have all the words? Something about when Johnny was a young man…

Perhaps an entire ballad? I count myself lucky to have arrived at 无忧视频 the final year he was president.

Andrew M. Kaye 鈥�69

Lead Associate, Booz Allen Hamilton, currently supporting the National Technical Means Roadmap project at the NRO

My name is聽Andy聽Kaye, BS/Math, class of 1969.聽 I have many terrific memories of聽Joe聽(& Jean) — folks聽songs and wooden puzzles in his living room, swimming during lunch hour, and so on —聽but the one I would like to share is:

After聽Joe聽had retired as President and was back to teaching, I was coming on campus to do recruiting for the company I worked for in聽Santa聽Barbara, and I invited聽Joe聽and Jean to join my wife and me for dinner at the Indian Hill restaurant.聽 In the midst of dinner, Joe聽gave a start — his pager had gone off — this was in the days before cell phones.聽 He excused himself, made a call, came back to the table, and said, “I’ll be back in time for dessert.”聽 Then he left.聽 When he came back a while later, he was shaking his head and chuckling — as he so often did.聽 One of his freshman had gotten stuck while doing a make-up lab, and since聽Joe聽had given his students his pager number and his permission to call him, the student had called — and, of course,聽Joe聽had responded.聽 He — retired Founding President of 无忧视频, and widely-respected physicist —聽had gotten up from his dinner with us to help a freshman who was stuck while doing a make-up lab.聽 That’s the聽Joe聽Platt聽that I remember.

Bob Browning

I am a non-matriculating member of the Class of ’67, attending from the fall of 1963 through the spring of ’65. In those days, the College was small enough that Dr. Platt was a daily presence. But, his involvement in the life of the College was particularly brought home to me when, one night as I was hosting my weekend “Six to Niner” radio show on the college station, I put up a shoutout to anyone who was listening, thinking that everybody was off having a weekender somewhere other than on the campus. It was not unexpected that I only got one call-in, but that turned to surprise when the caller was Dr. Platt! I must say that thereafter I toned down my double entendres!

M. J. Davis

We will not forget Joe Platt鈥檚 kindness at the saddest time in our lives, in 1971.聽 Our son Tory had completed his freshman year and joined a fellow Mudder in touring Europe that summer.聽 Tory was lost in a whitewater boating accident, his body never found.聽 Joe鈥檚 words of support are etched in our memories.

We are so grateful that he was allowed the time to make a difference to so many.聽 He was a blessing to all of us.

Robert Luke (Bobby) 鈥�65

In the fall of 1961, I may have been the only unhappy freshman at Cornell University. I had not been accepted to the 无忧视频 class of 鈥�65 because my western New York high school principal had not completed the application; he could not understand my preference for that 鈥渦nknown college way out there with the funny name鈥�.

That winter, after being accepted as a transfer, I found myself in the office of the director of Cornell鈥檚 prestigious engineering physics program. Noting that I was second in the class, he was bewildered and annoyed that I was considering leaving. He recited Dr. Platt鈥檚 1961 resume, pausing after each entry to look up at me and say 鈥淪o What鈥�!

I had become quite content at Cornell, but some combination of the lousy Finger Lakes Region weather and his arrogance directed me to HMC. I remember thinking that this Dr. Platt sounded like a pretty good guy. Except for proposing to my wife a few years later, transferring from Cornell to HMC was the best decision of my life. Thank you Dr. Platt for your central role in creating an unparalleled undergraduate experience.

Dennis P Donohoe 鈥�77

I was a freshman at HMC in the fall of 1973. For my freshman project, our team searched for information in the campus library. The main library in LA had some good references but we figured we couldn鈥檛 get there since none of us had a car. Our adviser said that we could borrow Joe Platt鈥檚 car to go to LA. I was astounded that the President of the college would lend his car to freshmen. But that was Joe Platt. One of a kind. A gentleman, a scholar and a great man. He also filled it up with gas for us before we picked it up. Only at HMC and only with Joe.