The Letter and Spirit of the Clock Tower Accords

Dr. Fred Pestello is the president of Saint Louis University (SLU). He is Jesuit educated and has spent all of his over 30-year career in Catholic higher education as a faculty member, a vice president of an academic senate, a department chair, an associate dean, a provost, a senior vice president for educational affairs, and a president. His academic training is as a sociologist. Pestello was inaugurated as SLU’s first permanent lay president just ten days prior to the occupation of the campus by protestors and on the heels of a difficult period in SLU’s history. In August 2014, after Michael Brown was killed in Ferguson and protests erupted, SLU held a vigil calling for peace and justice. At the vigil, Pestello called for dialogue and promised that in the fall, SLU would host scholarly fora where concerns such as poverty, violence, and racial disparity would be explored by members of the campus and greater St. Louis communities. An occupation of the campus is surely not what he had in mind, but that is what was to come. Pestello’s reflection focuses not on the events of Occupy SLU, but on its aftermath. An agreement known as the Clock Tower Accords ended the occupation. Two weeks later, Pestello received a note of thanks from U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. The letter closed with the following statement: “Your leadership in a time of great difficulty has been nothing short of exemplary, and it provides an instructive model of inclusion and empowerment. I want to thank you, once again, for your dedication to peace. Our nation will continue to rely on you, and other principled leaders throughout the area, to help us reduce tensions, confront long-simmering conflicts, and to achieve lasting peace and justice for the people of St. Louis.” The Clock Tower Accords commit SLU to various efforts to advance diversity, inclusion, and educational and economic opportunity for people of color on campus and in St. Louis. Pestello’s reflection highlights progress towards these ends. It also admits challenges and failures, and calls for all of us to be inspired – by the spirit of those who occupied the campus – to work for justice

Spots on a Gnat’s Ass, Good Soldiers, and Sociology Departments: Stan Saxton’s Pragmatist Approach to Sociology

Most academics build their careers and establish reputations in the traditional manner, through research and publications. Certainly, this is not the only way to secure a place in the lore of academia. Some are great teachers who gather a large following of students. Still others get involved in professional organizations. While Stan Saxton had a respectable record of publications, was a masterful teacher, and a marvelous critic, his notable contributions to sociology came through his organizational work as a chair of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Dayton. After his tenure as chair, Stan continued to be a visible and moral corporate actor in the university, in professional associations, and in academia. His ability to employ sociological knowledge to organizational processes that worked to the advantage of sociology was truly remarkable. His clear vision based on a strong sense of justice was inspirational. Stan’s success as an organizational player occurred during a period of transition for the University of Dayton. Up to 1977 the university was primarily a teaching institution and parochial in its orientation. When Stan was hired as chairperson in that year, a new administration aimed to make the university a leader in Catholic higher education. Stan’s charge was to bring the Department of Sociology and Anthropology in line with the larger project. He found himself in the right place with the right set of circumstances to realize his vision of a sociology department, a vision that fit the conditions of work and the expectations of a private, Catholic university