Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the College Hans Palmer arrived at work on January 29 to a special surprise. David Foster Wallace, the celebrated novelist, had returned the signed papers that made official his acceptance of the newly endowed Roy Edward Disney Chair in Creative Writing.

The position was created by Roy Disney ’51, who endowed the new chair with a gift of approximately $1.75 million, well above the going rate for an endowed chair, according to Professor of English Arden Reed. Mr. Disney made it clear that a primary criterion for the chair should be reputation, and the search committee did not disappoint him.

According to English Department Chair Rena Fraden, Mr. Wallace "has won just about every award you can possibly win as a writer, including the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship." He is the author of the critically acclaimed Infinite Jest, a novel purported to defy classification by any conventional means except perhaps by the apparent literary consensus that it captures something essential about the 1990s. Mr. Wallace is also the author of many short stories as well as a frequent contributor to Harpers and The New Yorker.

In fact, these impressive credentials led many students and faculty to be wary of the candidates. "I was expecting someone pretentious," said English Department Liaison Paul Dahlgren ’01. He was surprised to learn that his fears were without warrant. Dahlgren said that Wallace was "quite the opposite [of what he had expected]. He was genuinely nervous about giving a public reading. He was modest and human, phenomenal, and at least as good as any of Pomona’s best professors."

The other department liaison, Kristen Kearns ’02 agreed with Dahlgren’s assessment. She was in charge of setting up a creative writing workshop as part of Wallace’s interview at the beginning of December. Kearns said that he read a short story of hers and ended up writing her a five-page letter about it.

Kearns was a leader in elevating creative writing in the English Department’s list of priorities. Since Professor Robert Mezey retired two years ago, the department has been without a creative writing specialist. The department has relied on adjunct faculty to teach some creative writing courses. Kearns was instrumental in raising awareness of the need for a specialist, which resulted in a petition that was presented to President Stanley.

The need for a professorship in creative writing coincided seren-dipitously with Roy Disney’s desire to make a donation to the college. According to Professor Arden Reed, Disney had been an English major during his time at Pomona, and he wanted to give back to the department in the area of creative writing.

President Stanley indicated that Disney’s "dream of strengthening creative writing at Pomona coincided with the aspirations of the English faculty and many, many students. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more perfect marriage of donor intent and institutional desire. The Disney chair gave us the privilege of wishing upon a star."

Mr. Wallace will begin teaching at Pomona for the 2002-2003 academic year, and the chair he occupies will be permanent. Wallace was hired directly into a tenured position, which is an exception to Pomona’s normal hiring practices, according to President Stanley. Professors involved in the search indicated that the nature of a creative writing position necessitates hiring a candidate whose publications show a record of skill and imagination. The desire to bring in a truly remarkable writer necessitated hiring at the senior level.

To obtain the services of an appropriately distinguished writer, the English department advertised in high profile literary publications like the New York Book Review and the London Review of Books and sent letters to many prominent writers. The department received many responses and invited two authors, one of whom was Wallace, to visit the campus.

Fraden stated that although Wallace was the first to interview, it became clear during his visit that the department could not have hoped to do any better. "Everybody in the department was just so delighted–I think he’ll make all kinds of connections all over the college," Fraden said. Wallace is known for his diverse interests. He is currently writing a book about a mathematician and is interested in cognitive science and environmental issues.

Although the department was well aware of Wallace’s skill as a writer, they did not know if he would be able to teach. They quickly learned that he could. In speaking of the mock class Wallace conducted, students and faculty sounded more like they were describing a magician than a mere professor.

Dahlgren described him as "a charmer" with an ability to raise the level of discussion through his astute questions. Fraden also felt that he inspired the faculty to play at the top their game. "We loved being in conversation with him," she said. "It was sort of a mutual interview."

Reed exemplified the most common reaction of those involved in the selection process when he said, "I’m still kind of pinching myself."