First and foremost, I think the title “Gentleman’s Time” requires a bit of explaining. I decided over the summer that the student body was fairly familiar with the formal view of college administrators--their credentials, sound bites, and other official pieces of personality are readily available in any community. Beneath these glossy, official exteriors are the workings of a person, and it is my mission to explore the lighter side of the people presiding over our community.

This week, I spent time with Pomona’s ninth and newest president, David Oxtoby. His achievements have been heavily touted amongst the College’s more official literature, but what is Oxtoby really like? First, I was nervous as to how to address him; I’m not a very formal person, and certainly any increased formality involved would detract from the original purpose of the column. “The Ox” is how I refer to him in casual conversation, but dare I address him as such? A few popular alternatives included “D Ox,” “Prezzy D,” and “Dave,” but in the end, I had not the gall with which to address him as any of these.

President Oxtoby decided he would like to eat Chinese food, so we hopped in my car and headed to Rowland Heights. Having the new President of the College strapped into my passenger seat as I hurtled down the freeways was an interesting experience in itself; he maintained an impressive amount of composure and grace, despite my admittedly hasty pace. His demeanor was calm and casual, a good sign that this evening would be relaxed and altogether enjoyable.

After ordering, my prying began. Friends and other editors on staff had suggested a slew of less serious questions to ask President Oxtoby. I started with a real kicker--I wanted to hear about his first girlfriend. Nervous laughter and a struggle to come up with an appropriate answer followed, only to have the question shrugged off. Reminiscent of the grandfather you knew when you were younger, he claimed that he was far too old to remember those days, as the laughter continued.

“So be it,” I said, and I went for a potentially less risky question, “what was your most memorable college moment?” Or, “Could you describe what college was like for you?” I believed these questions held immense value; how was college life for the president of my own college? Would any of these instances be reflected in the way he will now govern over a college?

President Oxtoby graduated from Harvard in 1972, and the changes wrought during this time period were considerable. When he was a freshman in 1968, everyone was required to wear ties in the dining hall, and by the end of that year, half the student body was occupying administration buildings to protest the war in Vietnam. President Oxtoby never participated in any of these protests, but he appeared very pensive and almost regretful over these tumultuous times. By the time he graduated from the country’s most prestigious university, things had settled down. The number of soldiers in Southeast Asia was decreasing. The President had obviously spent much time mulling over the years he spent in college, and it fostered a comfortable feeling within me. He has spent nearly his entire life living, attending, or working at a college, and it is obvious that the value and importance of higher education is paramount in his mind and heart.

When asked if he could pick any moment that he thinks defined or represented his time in undergraduate school, he quickly settled on just one. During his time at Harvard, the very tip of Cape Cod in Massachusetts was going to be fully eclipsed by the sun. He hitchhiked down the Cape and joined a throng of other young people enjoying the spectacle of an amazing astronomical coincidence. He even remembered someone strumming the Beatles’ classic “Here Comes the Sun.”
Our conversation was a mixture of funny anecdotes and phrases that he certainly says a thousand times a day regarding college planning and his new job. The most noticeable thing about his character is that President David Oxtoby is undeniably nerdy. When I told my thesis advisor Kathleen Fitzpatrick that I was going to go out on a limb and call him nerdy, she immediately responded that it is “the best kind of nerdy.” Indeed, The Ox, despite his presidential charm, is a chemistry nerd--no different than the rest of Pomona College students. He is likely to get any jokes which use the Gadsen Purchase as a punch line, he was most excited to answer questions about his chemistry research, and I would even bet that his favorite movie is some pseudo-intellectual “artsy” film that the rest of us would enjoy discussing during a hungover Sunday brunch.

The Ox is a nice guy, and although some of the things he told me were stock answers that everyone else received, he still managed to convince me of his genuiness. He is a nerdy guy who can’t manage to leave college, who rides his bike daily, and drives a minivan. He is tired, but he never let it show. He really enjoys what he told me was “the best job in the country.” He even took the time on a weekend to share dinner with an inconsequential jackass like myself. He is our new president, and despite the rhetoric, he is genuine.