New Deans Get Candid
In June, the Forty Acres family welcomed Linda Hicke, former Northwestern associate research VP, to lead the College of Natural Sciences, and Ward Farnsworth, former Boston University associate law dean, to lead UT’s School of Law.
Here, they prove they’re not all work and no play.
Ward Farnsworth
Quirkiest Hobby
I collect metaphors and other exotic specimens of 19th-century English rhetoric.
Hidden Talent
I can appear to cut a deck of cards but actually leave them in the same order. I do this for recreational purposes only.
Toughest Job
Academic jobs are hard work but not tough work; it was tougher being a bartender in my twenties. I learned that my talents lie elsewhere.
Oddball Office Decor
A nine-banded armadillo.
Most Anticipated Texas Tradition
For the past 15 years I taught at a university that has no football team. Enough said.
P.S. I don’t really have an armadillo in my office. But someday.
Linda Hicke
Knitting. When I finally stopped doing experiments in the lab 11 years ago, I picked up knitting needles.
Hidden Talent
Rock climbing. I’ve been told it’s the only sport that I ever exhibited any natural ability for.
Toughest Job
I waitressed my way through college on the 3-11 p.m. shift after I finished with classes for the day. I learned the value of hard work and perseverance.
Oddball Office Decor
On my office wall hangs a very colorful artist’s interpretation of Rosalind Franklin’s X-ray diffraction images of DNA.
Most Anticipated Texas Tradition
Meeting Bevo XIV.
Photos from top: courtesy Ward Farnsworth, Courtesy College of Natural Sciences.
